Xi signs order to commend military units, individuals

Xinhua) 08:05, August 01, 2025

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, has signed an order to award citations for merit to two military units and five individuals.

An office of Troop 63920 of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was honored with a first-class citation for merit, while Ding Yang from Troop 92853 of the PLA received a first-class citation for merit in defense-related science and technology.

Troop 96712 of the PLA was awarded a second-class citation for merit.

Wang Haidou from the former Army Academy of Armored Forces, Gao Yuqi from the Army Medical University, Yang Zichun from the Naval University of Engineering, and Chen Wei from the Institute of Military Medicine under the Academy of Military Sciences, were honored with third-class citations for merit in defense-related science and technology.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
2 Chinese nationals seriously injured in attack in central Tokyo

Xinhua) 09:10, August 01, 2025

TOKYO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Two Chinese men were attacked on the street by four men in central Tokyo on Thursday, suffering severe head injuries, local media reported.

The four unidentified men in their 20s attacked the victims with iron pipes in Chiyoda Ward in the Japanese capital at around 9 a.m. local time, and fled the scene in a car with a Kansai license plate, Jiji Press reported.

The two victims, sustaining serious head injuries, and bleeding, said they had no prior acquaintance with the attackers, and no demands for money or anything else were made, the report said.

The two Chinese men were walking down the street when the incident happened.

Police were currently searching for the attackers.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
It is confounding how politicians, especially members of Congress, manage to increase their wealth far beyond their pay or inherited assets. This is epitomized by the ghastly Nancy Pelosi, whose wealth mushroomed unfathomably after she became House speaker. Its speculative, but she may -- may -- have passed hints to her trading hubby before others even had a chance to read the bill. Maybe her husband has uncanny trade timing; or maybe she blurted things out in her sleep, and has plausible deniability. (Peter Schweizer has interesting things to say about this.)

Regardless, it is understandably tempting to sanctimoniously react by imposing a stock trading ban on all members of Congress (and other officeholders). Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has fallen for this simplistic approach, joined by not one single Republican, but many Democrats. No wonder President Trump calls him a second-tier senator who has been co-opted by Dems.

The myopic senator (at least on this issue) is shepherding through the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee the Pelosi-cum-Honest act. In part, it proposes to ban all members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks while in office. There are a few other tidbits, including banning other officeholders (including the President and Vice President after Trumps term).

The first obvious point is that such a ban may further dumb-down the pool of potential congressional candidates. In our MAGA meritocracy, making money legally is to be extolled, especially if it is a reward for also increasing societal wealth through capital deployment in innovative technologies. Admittedly, trading on insider information likely crosses the line of propriety, and becomes downright nefarious if a politician cajoles others to vote for an outcome that benefits a company in which he holds stock.

However, congressional stock trading is not necessarily dubious, let alone scandalous. Politicians privileged knowledge of the intricacies of American business sectors, emerging technologies (e.g. AI and cryptocurrency), and regulatory oversight may be unavoidable, but the disparate benefit need not be. Instead of a draconian ban on all their stock trading, the general public could also benefit. If you cant beat them, join them.

Heres one way: Exchange-Traded Funds based on assets that Congress members own. An ETF is a fund holding various assets (stocks, bonds, commodities) that can be bought and sold like a stock (allowing for more nimble trading than a typical mutual fund). There are ETFs for just about everything under the sun these days, composed of many different asset types and employing a variety of trading strategies along the continuum of bullish to bearish. And yes, there are ETFs that track congressional stock picks.

A recent count put the number of ETFs at about four thousand. Lets add to that with additional ETFs composed of baskets of stocks owned by congressmen and their spouses. This data is available in the public domain, which closes the information gap. This online tool shows that elected politicians executed about 11,563 trades during the past year (through 28 July, 2025), so theres fodder for multiple ETFs.

Here are two that track congressional stock trades, delineated by party. Perhaps theres room for more based on committee assignment. It would be interesting to review their relative performances. Indeed, such transparency might alleviate trading shenanigans from the likes of read it and weep Pelosi (if applicable), while facilitating a potentially lucrative investment vehicle for the general public.

Given the public domain accessibility to lawmakers trading activities, and the potential for enhanced ETFs based thereon, Hawley may be looking for a solution in search of a problem. Thats often what regulatory zealots like the Dems hes aligned with tend to favor. Im afraid that President Trumps brutal honesty about Hawley becoming a pawn of Dems (on this issue, at least) may be correct.

Besides, while his proposed legislation focusses on members and their spouses, they could still drop a few hints to their extended family members at the holiday gatherings. For example, by casually touting Ethereum and Stablecoins as the GENIOUS Act navigated its way through the legislative labyrinth. Not dissimilar, in a sense, to the plastics recommendation in the movie The Graduate. Nudge, nudge, wink-wink, and say no more.

Image: Library of Congress
For years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has no legal right to exist, has far overstepped its usurped authority, forcing regulations on companies without the approval of Congress; they have become a de facto lawmaking body. Although lawsuits have stopped some of these unconstitutional actions, these abuses have continued.

Finally, Administrator Lee Zeldin stepped in to stop this misuse of power:

Environmental Protection Administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to overturn the agencys 2009 endangerment finding that declared greenhouse gases a threat to human health and welfare. This landmark reversal would undercut the regulatory foundation for the Biden administrations sweeping climate agenda and represents a significant step toward reining in overreach by federal agencies that have long weaponized climate science to push costly, job-killing regulations.

Its taken a few years to restrain the EPA and its power. In the 2022 case West Virginia v. EPA, the SCOTUS established some clarity between the authority of the agency and the power of Congress:

Congress did not grant the Environmental Protection Agency in Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act the authority to devise emissions caps based on the generation shifting approach the Agency took in the Clean Power Plan. Under the major questions doctrine, there are extraordinary cases in which the history and the breadth of the authority that [the agency] has asserted, and the economic and political significance of that assertion, provide a reason to hesitate before concluding that Congress meant to confer such authority. This is one such case, so the EPA must point to clear congressional authorization for the authority it claims. It cannot do so.

This ruling was a major step in setting limits on the administrative state in general, and on the EPA in particular.

Also in 2022, SCOTUS revisited the Chevron deference, which had permitted an agency to determine the details of vague legislation passed by Congress.

Chevron deference, Roberts explained in his opinion for the court on Friday, is inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act, a federal law that sets out the procedures that federal agencies must follow as well as instructions for courts to review actions by those agencies. The APA, Roberts noted, directs courts to decide legal questions by applying their own judgment and therefore makes clear that agency interpretations of statutes  like agency interpretations of the Constitution  are not entitled to deference. Under the APA, Roberts concluded, it thus remains the responsibility of the court to decide whether the law means what the agency says. [snip] Justice Clarence Thomas penned a brief concurring opinion in which he emphasized that the Chevron doctrine was inconsistent not only with the Administrative Procedure Act but also with the Constitutions division of power among the three branches of government. The Chevron doctrine, he argued, requires judges to give up their constitutional power to exercise their independent judgment, and it allows the executive branch to exercise powers not given to it.

These cases laid the groundwork for Zeldins choosing to overturn the EPAs 2009 Endangerment Finding. These criteria were based on questionable science and limited data, and as noted above, was the foundation for much of Bidens regulatory Green New Deal crusade. The costs for Bidens agenda would have been substantial, with the Heritage Foundation asserting this:

President Joe Biden has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50-52% by 2030. My colleagues at The Heritage Foundation estimate that taking the steps needed to make such drastic reductions would result in nearly 8 million lost jobs in 2026, a 90 percent increase in gasoline prices, and a more than $7 trillion hit to the economy. Thats vast economic significance, indeed.

The decision to eliminate the endangerment finding will further actualize Zeldins plans for the agency. He wants to ensure that all Americans have access to clean water and air; that our energy dominance will reduce energy costs for everyday Americans; that private business projects will be streamlined within the EPA; that the U.S. will become the artificial intelligence leader of the world; and that our auto industry will make a comeback as domestic production grows.

Congress has the opportunity to take back its power and clarify its role relative to the administrative state:

Even if the Supreme Court does not clarify the scope of the major questions doctrine in West Virginia v. EPA, the increasing frequency of legal arguments about this doctrine suggests that it could continue to be an emerging and important issue in administrative law. If the Supreme Court were to adopt the doctrine as some individual Justices have expressed it, then courts applying the doctrine could potentially determine that an agency lacks the ability to determine authoritatively a major question unless its underlying statutory authority clearly permits or requires it to do so. Therefore, if Congress wants an agency to have the flexibility to address potentially complex and difficult-to-foresee policy issues that courts might consider to be of vast economic and political significance, Congress could consider how to clearly specify that intention in the relevant underlying statute, as opposed to relying on vague or imprecise statutory language. Alternatively, if Congress wants to prevent an agency from administratively addressing certain major policy issues, it could consider how to clearly circumscribe the agencys statutory authority.

Those people who have relied on the scaremongering of climate change extremists will try to challenge Zeldins plans. But with the questionable science and data that they have relied on, and the repeated overstepping of the administrative state, the U.S. is ready to set the standard for its role as world leader and for powerful economic growth.

Image from Grok.
Given the penchant for creating chaos that is the hallmark of George Soros and his minions, it ought not surprise anyone that the Soros organization, known as the Open Society Foundation, has turned up in a new trove of documents indicating how the Russian collusion hoax against President Trump dogged his first term.

According to this declassified memo, found in a 'burn bag' at the FBI:

The Durham annex DECLASSIFIED:



Here is Hillary Clintons plan at Olympic Level.



The email attached from Leonard Benardo, Senior Vice President Open Society FoundationsGeorge Soros:



From: Leonard Benardo

Sent: July 27, 2016

Hi,

HRC approved Julia's idea about Trump and pic.twitter.com/gR5o1CPORs  RealRobert (@Real_RobN) July 31, 2025

Soros operative Benardo proposed the Russia collusion hoax and Hillary Clinton approved it. Assuming the memo is true, from there on out, it set off a course of events that hobbled Trump's first term, ruined the lives of many people who were close to him, and demonstrated the level of corruption found in the FBI, of the kind that no one would have suspected, such as altering documents to win FISA approvals from judges.

Soros, of course, loathes Republicans, and has been close to the Clintons or years. But the bigger question is how much this Russia collusion hoax, smearing Russia, too, for things it didn't do, was connected to the war in Ukaine, which somehow Putin launched, in response to something he considered a provocation. Was Soros behind that, too? He has clashed with Putin for years?

If so, it signals an unspeakable trail of destruction, all for a lie, and all for the hatred of President Trump and the Americans who elected him.

It's time for an investigation as to how legal and deep and destructive this really was.

Image: X screen shot
President Trump and his administration continue to be administratively harassed by a judiciary that is destabilizing the constitutional basis of our government, and making a mockery of law in the process.

Harvard Law Professor Adrian Vermeule writes somewhat surprisingly in this weeks New York Times, that someone is defying the Supreme Court and it isnt President Trump.

Vermeule describes how district court judges have almost no accountability; they are like feudal lords who lay down the law in their local courts. If they are reversed, at least they will have stymied for some time the implementation of presidential policies they find objectionable.

The details of his argument can be read in the article.

What I would like to point out is a larger administrative or management question: who judges the judges?

That is, what can our form of government tell us about rogue, effectively outlaw courts that have decided to use their position as a partisan policy mechanism, beyond appropriate judicial behavior bounded by a judicial oath in a court system with circumscribed authority?

As in all things legal, the answer is subject to some uncertainty.

This is a complicated topic, but Id like to point to just two areas that seem like they should carry more weight in how we manage our federal courts.

One is the Supreme Court itself, in the roles and leadership responsibilities of the Chief Justice. The current justice serving in that capacity continues to avoid controversy, and back away from making tough administrative decisions that might offend political interests. His uneven legal opinions can also appear to selectively reflect irregular pressure and influence.

The other point of government authority in solving this issue of rogue judges, is the Speaker of the House. He earlier made threats to shut down some courts, and judicial impeachment is another remedy. Like the Chief Justice, the Speaker appears to under-manage the administrative dimension of his public leadership function.

Professor Vermeule thinks that one solution involves something called departmentalism which is a constitutional law theory which implies that a sitting U.S. president could ignore a judicial order, if in his judgment it exceeds lawful judicial power. But this just kicks the can down the road, and throws the problem of rogue courts back in President Trumps lap, leaving it unresolved. Or does it?

Constitutional departmentalism raises a fascinating issue that Vermeule may not appreciate: As conservative constitutional historian and the Raoul Berger Professor at Northwestern University Law, Stephen Presser (also professor of strategy at the Kellogg School of Business) recently told me, Weve been conditioned to think that only the courts can tell us what the Constitution means, but that's never actually been the case, and presidents from the beginning of the republic have repudiated assorted court actions. Jurisdiction stripping  taking matters out of the hands of the inferior courts is another remedy, but getting Congress to act is not easy.

In other words, despite the bias of most law professors, reinforced by the concept of judicial review, our courts really dont have a monopoly as constitutional law interpreters. President Trump perhaps holds more cards than may be appreciated. He has historical precedent if he chooses to ignore bad court orders  effectively holding judges in contempt  and it may be argued that he has a right and a duty under his oath, to do so.

This points to one other critical issue with our judicial system: most of its problems arent legal, theyre managerial. Legal maneuvering cant replace responsible management. The Speaker and Chief Justice have a job to do, and that includes recognizing executive office constitutional duty when judges go rogue, or when they cant find the law in their opinions and orders.

Matthew G. Andersson is the author of the forthcoming book Legally Blind concerning law and ideology. He is a former CEO and has testified before the U.S. Senate. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

Image: Pixabay / Pixabay License
The Pixel 6a comes with a SIM ejector tool, a quick switch adapter, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and of course, the phone. But with recent battery issues, maybe Google should consider bundling a fire extinguisher with future iterations of its Pixel A-series models.

Because over the past year, at least five Pixel 6a units have caught fire. And were not talking about fire in the colloquial this phone is fiyah kind of way. Were talking battery-swelling, chassis-melting, display-popping literal flames. One user woke up to the smell of smoke. Another had to toss their flaming phone into the toilet.

To be clear, these Pixel A-series battery issues arent isolated accidents. They come on the heels of Google issuing software updates that deliberately nerf the battery performance of both the Pixel 4a and 6a, supposedly to avoid overheating. But yet here we are. Melted phones and no official recall in sight. Just a quiet Battery Performance Program that were not sure actually works.

Which makes you wonder: are corners being cut somewhere, and are users paying the price? And is this Googles Samsung Galaxy Note 7 moment?

The Pixel A-Series Proposition: Great Value, Until It Isnt

Googles Nexus phones were all about clean software, no gimmicks, and fair pricing. That spirit carried over briefly into the early Pixel years, before prices started climbing to match Apple and Samsung. Suddenly, pure Android came with a premium. Call it the Google tax.

The A-series was supposed to be the answer to that. Budget-friendly, stripped-down, and smart. You didnt get the latest hardware, but you got the Pixel experience, such as timely updates, great software, and the same camera magic. It was the sensible choice, especially in todays economy.

But now the batteries are swelling, melting, and catching fire. And that value proposition? Its starting to look more like a liability.

To hit those budget-friendly price points, Google clearly had to make compromises. And maybe, just maybe, those corner-cutting decisions are finally catching up. The Pixel 4a and 6a are now both on battery-throttling life support.

Worse, this isnt just an A-series problem. Even the flagship Pixels have been riddled with hardware issues: screens showing pink lines, fingerprint sensors that barely register, phones that overheat under light use, camera bars literally popping off the Pixel 9. Lets not forget, software issues that have not been addressed for half a year.

These are not isolated incidents. Its starting to feel like a pattern of inconsistency and poor quality control.

From Battery Throttling to Battery Fires

The Pixel A-series battery issues didnt start with the 6a. It started with the 4a. Earlier this year, Google quietly pushed a software update that throttled battery performance, citing overheating concerns. Charging got slower, and battery life went into the toilet. The fix was a limited battery swap program or $50$100 in Google Store credit. More on that later, but it wasnt exactly generous.

In Australia, the situation escalated. The ACCC issued an official recall, warning that the Pixel 4as overheating battery could cause fires or burns.

Then the Pixel 6a caught fire, literally. At least five cases have surfaced so far, including one phone that already had the safety update. Another unit melted into a users clothes while charging overnight.

Googles response came in the form of a software patch called the Battery Performance Program. After 400 charge cycles, it slows down charging and caps battery use to reduce risk. But it doesnt always work. And even when it does, it leaves users with a crippled device. In some places, replacement batteries arent even available.

So users are stuck with a choice: live with a phone that is a shell of its former self, or buy a new one. Either way, Google escapes liability, and users are left holding the fire hazard.

No Recall, Just Risk Management

So far, five Pixel 6a units have caught fire, with one of them catching fire after receiving Googles so-called Battery Performance Program update. The fix was supposed to prevent exactly this. It didnt. And yet, theres still no recall, no formal investigation, and not even a warning page pinned to Googles own support site.

Instead, Google quietly pushed out a software update that throttles battery capacity after 400 charge cycles and called it a day. The ACCC echoed this, telling users that as long as they update their devices, theyre fine, and that Consumers do not need to return their devices. But fine doesnt describe phones that melt, explode, or burn through clothing.

Google is lucky no ones been injured. Yet. But are they really going to wait for that headline before taking action? Are they going to wait until someone shows up in the ER with third-degree burns? Do they really want to have that scrolling across the news ticker in the evenings?

Unlike Samsung, Google doesnt have the luxury of a dozen different smartphone lines. Theres no Pixel Lite brand to sacrifice. If one Pixel burns a hole in someones pocket, literally, it scorches the entire brand. Samsung ultimately killed off its Note series, but it still had the Galaxy S-series to fall back on. It also has its budget-friendly Galaxy A-series that drives most of its revenue.

This is when Google needs to get proactive. Issue a recall. Make it right. Because if they dont, theyre not just risking battery fires, theyre risking the reputation of every Pixel to come. At this point, I wouldnt feel comfortable recommending a Pixel phone to anyone.

Loyalty, Punished

Googles idea of compensation for these battery issues is a choice: $50 in cash, or $100 in store credit toward a new Pixel. On paper, it looks fair. But in practice? Less so.

The cash can be used freely. The $100 voucher, on the other hand, cannot be stacked with sales, according to a customer posting on Googles support forums. Try to use it during a discount, and the voucher gets absorbed into the sale price. This essentially makes it worthless. You pay what everyone else pays, and your compensation evaporates.

So if you chose the voucher thinking it was the better deal, youre punished for wanting to stay loyal to Google. Thats exactly what happened to the original poster, who detailed how they planned to keep their phone for another year or two, but were forced to replace it early due to Googles software update throttling the battery. They chose the voucher in good faith. However, little did they know it would trap them into paying full price for a phone that anyone else could get cheaper.

When they asked Google Support for help, they got copy-pasted policy replies that completely ignored the issue.

Thats just bad business ethics. Google broke these phones and then tried to spin a bait-and-switch as compensation. What happened to You break it, you fix it? The message is clear: Google thinks its indispensable to the point where brand loyalty can kiss its colorful behind.

Maybe its time we start taking our money elsewhere.

Conclusion: Google Needs to Wake Up

Google cant keep treating the Pixel A-series battery issues like theyre just another support ticket. Throttling the Pixel 6as battery might lower the odds of it bursting into flames, but it doesnt change the fact that it ever could in the first place. That alone shouldve triggered a recall. Instead, we got silence, store credit, and half-hearted firmware updates.

And its happening while Google pours money into its custom Tensor chips, ramps up Pixel availability worldwide, and tries to convince us its serious about hardware. But you cant ask people to buy into the Pixel brand when your response to literal fire hazards is a $100 Play Store voucher.

Thats not how you treat customers who are willing to spend their hard-earned money on your product.

Most people who bought a Pixel A-series phone just wanted a reliable, affordable device. They didnt sign up for hidden battery throttling or the risk of waking up to smoke. If Google wants to compete with Apple and Samsung, it needs to grow up and take responsibility. That means real transparency, actual fixes, and an apology that isnt buried in a firmware changelog.

Because right now, its not just batteries that are catching on fire, its everything the Pixel brand was supposed to stand for.
Samsungs flagship mobile devices have a decent camera setup. Their software optimization is also remarkable. However, most Samsung flagships have issues with the cameras shutter speed. This could result in images coming out blurry or the main object being out of focus. But the latest Galaxy Z Fold 7 camera seems to have finally fixed the issue.

Galaxy Z Fold 7s camera system addresses Samsungs known issue

Samsung flagships are known for having slow shutter speeds. This issue does not impact most scenarios in which the subject remains still. However, it is incredibly hard to capture images of a moving object. The images sometimes end up having an unwanted motion blur effect.

Well, according to Samsung itself, you shouldnt have that problem anymore, starting with the Galaxy Z Fold 7s camera. The South Korean giant claims that the Galaxy Z Fold 7 has 7x faster shutter speeds compared to its predecessor.

There are no specific details about how Samsung achieved this improvement. However, if the claim is true, you should now be able to capture photos of the moving objects without motion blur.

No more blurry or missed-focus shots on Samsung flagships

While the issue may not be eradicated completely, we are expecting it to at least bring down the probability of the issue. One of the reviews of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 mentioned that it was able to capture sharp enough photos of the running dogs. However, its also important to consider that the photo was taken in ideal lighting conditions. Its in more challenging conditions where phone cameras really struggle.

It would be a really good improvement if Samsung could implement this in future flagship models as well. Perhaps the time when Samsung users can finally boast images of moving objects without motion blur is finally here.
Air India flight to London aborts take-off due to technical issue weeks after fatal crash

An Air India flight bound for London was forced to abort take-off due to a suspected technical issue.

Flight AI2017, which was scheduled to depart Delhi for London on Thursday (31 July) was brought to a halt after the cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run.

Passengers on board the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner were asked to disembark as precautionary checks were carried out. Air India later deployed an alternative aircraft to complete the journey to London.

An Air India spokesperson said: Flight AI2017, operating from Delhi to London on 31 July, returned to the bay due to a suspected technical issue.

The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the takeoff run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks.

An alternative aircraft was deployed to fly the passengers to London.

The incident comes just weeks after an Air India flight bound for London Gatwick struck a medical college hostel in Ahmedabad minutes after take-off, killing 241 people.

Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (REUTERS)

Indian aviation officials confirmed the pilot issued multiple distress calls before the Gatwick-bound flight crashed in Gujarat state on 12 June, killing 241 people on board and at least 29 more on the ground.

Thrust not achieved... falling... Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! the pilot is reported to have said moments before the aircraft lost height and erupted in flames.

There were 230 passengers and 12 crew members on board, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese citizens and one Canadian, according to Air India.

Alongside the formal investigation, the Indian government has set up a high-level committee to examine the causes leading to the crash.

The committee will focus on formulating procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies in the future, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

Air India and the government are looking at several aspects of the crash, including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down.
British Airways parent company has described hotel tycoon Surinder Aroras Heathrow expansion as credible.

International Airlines Group (IAG) chief executive Luis Gallego said competition is good to improve things.

Mr Arora and Heathrows owners submitted rival third runway plans to the Government this week.

The former is proposing to build a shorter, 2,800-metre (9,186ft) runway so the M25 motorway does not need to be diverted.

His Arora Group company claims this would result in reduced risk and avoid spiralling cost.

In contrast, Heathrow is seeking permission for a full length, 3,500-metre (11,482ft) runway.

It says a short runway would reduce operational flexibility, and still require either additional capacity on the M25 or alternative rail schemes.

British Airways is the largest airline operating at Heathrow.

Mr Gallego said: We need to work closely with both parties to understand better what they have proposed because the proposals are not comparable.

He said they are different solutions that we need to analyse.

Mr Gallego added: We have two credible proposals.

We always think that competition is good to improve things, and we have seen that in commercial aviation in the past.

Mr Gallego continued: We need to work with both of them. We dont have any preference.

We only want to build something affordable thatll allow everybody to have more passengers, but they dont have to pay the level they are paying today.

He said a change in Heathrows regulatory model is required if a third runway is to be built, as this level of investment is not possible with the current one.

Heathrow said its runway and airfield plan would be privately funded at a cost of 21 billion.

Its total plan, including terminals and supporting infrastructure, would be expected to cost 49 billion.

Mr Gallego said the proposals are credible (Maja Smiejkowska/PA)

Mr Aroras plan has a cost estimate of under 25 billion, not including the redevelopment of the airports existing central area.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will consider the third runway plans over the summer so that a review of the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS) can begin later this year.

The ANPS will provide the basis for decision-making on any development consent order application.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said it is essential the UK increases its airport capacity to ensure the things that we make here in Britain can be exported and sold throughout the world.

Asked about the proposals to expand Heathrow during a visit to Scotland, she told the PA news agency: Two of the biggest exports from Heathrow are Scottish salmon and Scotch whisky, so this is good for the whole United Kingdom.

She added: This Government are absolutely determined to seize the opportunities that come from being an open trading economy.

Pressed on Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khans opposition to the expansion, Ms Reeves said: These are decisions the national government make, and this Labour Government backs Heathrow expansion.
The supreme court judge Alexandre Moraes has said the move was engineered by Brazilians opposed to the current administration. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images

The supreme court judge presiding over the trial of Brazils ex-president, Jair Bolsonaro, has said a cowardly and treacherous plot is afoot to pave the way for another attack on the South American countrys democracy.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes was put under sanctions by the US on Wednesday, as part of an apparent push by Donald Trump to help his ally Bolsonaro escape punishment for allegedly masterminding an attempted coup after losing the 2022 election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Trump also slapped a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports in response to what he called the witch-hunt against the far-right former president.

On Friday, Moraes, a shaven-headed Muay Thai practitioner known by the nickname Xandao (Big Al), came out swinging. He told the court that Trumps tariffs and the spurious sanctions targeting him and other supreme court justices recently stripped of their US visas, were part of an illegal and immoral ruse to obstruct justice that was being engineered by a group of Brazilian traitors who had lobbied foreign authorities to carry out hostile acts against the countrys economy.

Moraes said the campaigns objectives were identical to those of the 8 January 2023 riots in the capital, Brasilia, when hardcore Bolsonaro supporters stormed the supreme court, congress and presidential palace in an attempt to reverse his election defeat. Those rioters, Moraes said, had hoped to generate social chaos that would provoke a military intervention and make way for a coup.

Two and a half years later, Moraes claimed that by lobbying foreign authorities to impose tariffs, the Brazilians behind the alleged plot were trying to trigger an economic crisis, that would create a social and then a political crisis so that, once again, there might be social instability and the chance of a new putschist attack.

To the disappointment of these Brazilian traitors, [that] will not occur, the judge added.

Moraes did not name the supposedly patriotic Brazilians he claimed were leading the supposed plot from overseas. But his comments were an unmistakable reference to Bolsonaros third son, the congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who moved to the US in February and has admitted to lobbying Trump officials to pressure Brazil over his fathers plight. After Trump hit Moraes with sanctions this week, the younger Bolsonaro thanked him and said: I have a feeling of mission accomplished.

The supreme courts coup trial is expected to conclude in the coming weeks and Bolsonaro  who has denied leading a power grab  is expected to be convicted and sentenced to up to 43 years, meaning the 70-year-old could spend the rest of his life in jail.

Moraes vowed that the courts work would continue as normal, despite the ham-fisted attempts at coercion. There would be no cowardly surrender from its members as they sought to defend their countrys democracy.

Related: Classic tinpot dictator: Trump exports his assault on democracy to Brazil

Trumps attempt to pressure Brazils government and judiciary over Bolsonaros fate has sparked the most severe diplomatic crisis between Brazil and the US in decades. The US governments interference in the Brazilian justice system is unacceptable, Lula said on Wednesday, after Trump signed his tariffs into force and hit Moraes with Magnitsky sanctions normally reserved for the perpetrators of severe human rights violations.

Polls suggest most Brazilians oppose Trumps attempts to meddle in the functioning of their countrys institutions.

Steven Levitsky, a Harvard University political scientist and Latin America expert, believed Trump was trying to punish the government of a country which had done a better job than the US by quite some distance at holding an authoritarian leader accountable.

Right now, Brazil is more democratic than the United States, Levitsky said.

Brazils democracy is flawed. Its got problems. Its polarized. But its a real functioning democracy and of course many Brazilians are pissed off that the Trump administration is trying to use trade policy to undermine the legal process there.
Exclusive details: Army reservist accused of robbing same bank twice in less than a month - and his uniform did him in

A 25-year-old Army reservist, former correctional officer and failed school board candidate is accused of robbing the same South Florida bank twice in less than a month  and it was his own military uniform, in large part, that gave him away.

Christopher A. Borchardt targeted a USF Credit Union branch just 1,500 feet from the Sarasota apartment where he was living with a pair of unsuspecting strangers who had recently rented him a room via Facebook Marketplace, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed Thursday.

Borchardt had no car, no credit or debit cards, and didnt appear to have a regular job, but he was known to neighbors as a flashy guy who likes to brag about owning luxury items like a Rolex watch, the affidavit states.

One tenant of the Sierra Park complex told FBI investigators that Borchardt had asked him to recommend a good tattoo artist, as he wanted to get a new tattoo on either his neck or throat and was unconcerned with the cost of the tattoo, it says.

And while Borchardt complained to roommates Rebekah Harwell and Desmond Johnson that finances were tight, he arrived home one day with a large stack of $100 bills that he proudly fanned out on the kitchen counter, according to the affidavit.

Johnson, who described Borchardts stash to the FBI as rapper money, thought it was unusual that Borchardt refused to leave the apartment for an entire week in July  which he didnt know at the time was the period immediately following the second alleged bank robbery. On July 25, when law enforcement descended on the Sienna Park apartment complex, agents connected the dots for Johnson, he said Friday.

It was insane, Im still trying to process all of it because it just happened last week, Johnson, 22, told The Independent. I noticed there was something weird when there was a damn helicopter roaming around, like, hovering right there above us. When I went downstairs to get my car, the FBI comes at me. They asked me about my roommate Chris, and they showed me the photos. Im like, Dog, what was you thinking?

Christopher Borchardt wore his own Army uniform to one of the bank robberies he is accused of committing, giving investigators a juicy lead that quickly brought them to his front door (US District Court for the Middle District of Florida; Sarasota County Sheriff's Offic e)

The apartment is right next to the bank, its less than a minute walk away, Johnson said, adding, Did you really think you were gonna get away with that? Have a plan, come on.

Borchardt, who is presently in the Sarasota County Jail awaiting an August 21 court appearance, does not yet have an attorney listed in court records and was unable to be reached.

The first heist went down at around noon on June 20, when a tall man in blue jeans, black T-shirt, black sunglasses, black shoes and a black beanie walked into the USF Credit Union on Sarasotas Clark Road, according to the FBI affidavit.

After entering the branch, the man handed a teller a note demanding $7,000, the affidavit continues. It says that when the teller attempted to stall and alert her coworkers to what was happening, the man became very anxious and aggravated, and said he would shoot her if she didnt hurry up. Once the teller handed over the cash, the man ran away, the affidavit states.

Deputies from the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office canvassed the area, and heard from a witness who said they saw someone matching the suspect's description walk into the Sienna Park apartments shortly after the robbery.

A booking photo of 25-year-old Army reservist, former correctional officer, and failed school board candidate, Borchardt, who is facing decades in federal prison over accusations he twice robbed a bank mere steps from his apartment (Sarasota County Sheriff's Office)

On July 18, the same USF Credit Union branch was robbed again. This time, a bank employee recognized the suspect as the same person from the June 20 robbery, according to the affidavit. Although it was a 91-degree day in Sarasota, the man wore a full Army camo uniform with long sleeves, a hat and tan combat boots, the affidavit states.

He approached a teller and demanded $8,000, the affidavit alleges, noting that the suspect then reached behind his back as if he were going to draw a concealed weapon. But before the teller could hand over any loot, the man reached over the counter and grabbed $2,500 before again running away toward the Sierra Park apartments, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses told sheriffs deputies that they had seen a man in an Army uniform shortly after the bank robbery, hiding in the bushes behind a private home adjacent to the Sierra Park complex, the affidavit contends. Surveillance footage from a building in the vicinity showed the man walking into Sierra Park at roughly 2:40 p.m., which was immediately after police were notified of the robbery, according to the affidavit.

It says officers showed pictures of the suspect to Sierra Park residents, one of whom said they had previously seen the man at the complexs pool with Desmond Johnson, who lived in an apartment on the second floor. The resident identified him as Chris, and said they had also seen him wearing an Army uniform in the past, the affidavit states. Investigators perused Johnsons Facebook friends and soon homed in on Borchardt as the Chris they were looking for, according to the affidavit.

Borchardt was quickly identified by the FBI, thanks largely to the Army uniform he wore during the pair of alleged robberies, bolstered by eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage (US District Court for the Middle District of Florida)

Official government records revealed that Borchardt is a current U.S. Army reserve member, the affidavit says. Borchardt held the rank of Specialist in the E-4 paygrade. In the July 18, 2025, robbery, surveillance footage from USFCU captured the suspect wearing a Specialist/E-4 rank insignia on his Army uniform.

A further review of open-source records showed that Borchardt  who in April ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the District 307 School Board in Bradley, Illinois  had previously served as a corrections officer in the state, according to the affidavit.

The FBI searched the apartment where Borchardt had been living for the past six weeks. There, they found credit cards and a law enforcement training certificate bearing his name, a U.S. Army patch, a pair of tan combat boots and a camo Army uniform and hat, all of which the suspect wore to the second bank robbery. Agents also located a pair of black shoes identical to the ones worn by the suspect during the first bank robbery, the affidavit states.

Harwell, Borchardts other roommate, told the FBI that she and Johnson needed a third roommate after their previous roommate moved out, and that they posted an ad on Facebook Marketplace to find one, according to the affidavit. Following an introductory video call with Borchardt, he moved in on June 8, paying $900 a month for the main bedroom, it says.

Things immediately seemed odd, as Borchardt refused to send the rent money through Zelle or another online service, but would instead give cash to Johnson, who would deposit the money into his bank account, then transfer the money electronically to Harwell, who would pay the landlord, the affidavit states. Johnson, for his part, told FBI agents that the arrangement frustrated and annoyed him, and that Borchardts behavior over the past several days had struck him as exceptionally strange.

The FBI found the Army boots and camo uniform they say Borchardt wore during one alleged bank robbery, and the black shoes he allegedly wore during another (US District Court for the Middle District of Florida)

Johnson thought it was unusual that Borchardt had not left the apartment for the entire week after the July 18, 2025, USFCU robbery, the affidavit asserts. During this same timeframe Borchardt asked Johnson to leave and go buy him beer, which Johnson believed was odd because the store is within walking distance of the apartment.

On July 25, amid heavy police activity outside the apartment complex, Johnson became curious and stepped outside to see what was going on, according to the affidavit.

It says this made Borchardt extremely nervous and told a confused Johnson not to leave, which he ignored. After Johnson returned, Borchardt was tense and quiet for a long time afterwards, the affidavit states.

Borchardt was arrested the same day, and is now facing two federal counts of bank robbery, each of which carry a potential 20-year prison term.

I asked him, Whyd you do it? Johnson told The Independent. It didnt make sense to me at all.

He never got an answer.

Johnson was willing to talk about Borchardt and his thoughts on the case, saying on Friday, Im not afraid to share. Im not going to be seeing that guy ever again.
An injured Ukrainian soldier stuck behind enemy lines for days was rescued after being delivered an e-bike by a drone.

A video of the dramatic rescue showed a UAV drone airdropping the 40kg bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces, before he cycled away.

The soldiers Rubizh brigade said three men were killed by enemy fire during a skirmish in Siversk, northern Ukraine, leaving the soldier on his own for five days.

Footage showed a UAV drone airdropping the bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces (Rubizh Brigade)

In a video the soldier, call sign Tanker, said: Our drones covered us from above as best as they could. Then they threw two gas cylinders straight into our hole and a lighter. We caught fire.

Every day, I was surrounded, from all sides. I fought back as best I could.

Brigade commander Mykola Hrytsenko explained the challenges they faced in trying to rescue their stranded comrade.

The enemy was in front, behind, and on both flanks, completely surrounded, the commander said. It was impossible to drive up with equipment because the enemy was everywhere. He couldnt get out on his own either, because he had to walk 1.5km to the nearest position.

In his condition, with his injuries, he simply wouldnt have made it.

The bike was lowered to the wounded soldier so he could make his escape (Rubizh Brigade)

The brigade then came up with the bold plan to deliver a vehicle to him by drone.

The first two attempts to fly the bike in failed, with Russian forces shooting the first out of the sky and the second crashing.

They managed to get the bike to the soldier on the third attempt  but his ordeal was not over yet.

After fleeing 400m, he hit a remote mine. Tank limped a further 200m with a leg injury before he was rescued. A second e-bike was then delivered, which he rode for 15 minutes to an evacuation point.

To carry out this operation, they had to calculate the right time of day, the right weather conditions that would allow him to do it, Cdr Hrytsenko added.

The soldier fled around 400m on an e-bike delivered by drone, before hitting a mine and limping the rest of the way (YouTube/Rubizh Brigade)

Reports of the rescue effort emerged after Vladimir Putins forces launched a wave of missile attacks on the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, killing 16 people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged his allies to bring about regime change in Russia following the attack.

If the world doesnt aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries, he said.

Today the world has once again seen Russias response to our desire for peace ... Therefore, peace without strength is impossible, the Ukrainian president added.
James Milner will wear the number 20 shirt at Brighton this season in memory of the late Diogo Jota, describing his former Liverpool team-mate as a great friend.

The Portuguese forward died aged 28 last month in a car crash, alongside his brother Andre Silva, just weeks after helping Liverpool clinch Premier League title glory.

Liverpool have retired the number 20 jersey worn by Jota in his five seasons at Anfield, three of them alongside Milner before the veteran England midfielder moved to Brighton in the summer of 2023.

The lowdown on our new 25/26 numbers  pic.twitter.com/3YKtoEoZdQ  Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 1, 2025

With Carlos Baleba opting to have 17 on his back ahead of the 2025/26 campaign and vacating 20, Milner, who has been Brightons number six, has swooped in to pay a touching tribute to Jota.

Once I heard Carlos was looking to change his number and 20 was available, I wanted to do it as a mark of respect and pay tribute to Diogo Jota, Milner said on the clubs X channel.

He was an amazing player who I was fortunate to play with and a great friend as well.

It will be a great honour to wear his number in the Premier League this year.

Milner  whose contract was extended by Brighton in June for another season, which will take him past his 40th birthday  was among a number of Jotas former team-mates who attended his funeral in July.
Keir Starmer

If you havent yet used The Telegraphs interactive tool to see how your name ranks in the newborn popularity stakes, then I would urge you to do so. With holiday flights cancelled, junior doctors threatening strikes until Christmas  and Britain appearing both lawless at home and toothless abroad  it brings some much-needed light relief.

I thought Camilla would become extinct after being named 30 years ago as the third person in Princess Dianas crowded marriage to Prince Charles, but 62 girls were called it in 2024. Confirmation, perhaps, that were a forgiving bunch when it comes to royals, except perhaps the Duke of York and Meghan (peaked at 101 newborns when she married Harry in 2018, now down just 14 namesakes last year).

Prime ministers usually enjoy a bounce in the newborn name charts after taking office  with Boris and Rishi both experiencing a moderate rise in popularity. Even the number of girls named Liz went up after Trusss 49-day tenure in 2022, although that may have had more to do with the death of Queen Elizabeth II two days after she entered Downing Street.

Yet, despite being the first son of a toolmaker to become PM last year, no one called their own male descendant Keir to mark the occasion. Not one.

Such is the lack of affection for the current incumbent of No 10 that devoted mums and dads preferred Gordon, Tony  Clement, even  to their Labour successor. The revelation reflects how far Starmer has sunk in the estimation of the great British public, who are increasingly regarding him as a national embarrassment.

After U-turning on winter fuel, rape gangs and welfare cuts, he was already considered a domestic policy dud. Even Gary Neville is turning against his tax policy. He has tried triangulation, one moment warning Britain is becoming an island of strangers, the next back-tracking after a brief pushback, and it hasnt worked. His approval rating, according to one July poll, has plunged to -43.

And now, Never Here Keir can also add his recent foreign affairs failures to the lengthy list after presiding over a truly humiliating week for Britain. He is failing by his own standards, neither a domestic visionary nor even an international statesman. Having won some rare plaudits for securing a historic UK/US trade deal in May (thanks largely to the Brexit vote he desperately tried to reverse in Opposition), he then squandered any advantage in Turnberry with an appearance alongside Donald Trump which made Blairs poodle act look positively Rottweilerish.

At least when George W Bush famously greeted our former prime minister with a fratboyish cry of Yo Blair! at the 2006 G8 summit, it spoke to the bromantic nature of the special relationship. Although supplicant, Blair was far from invisible; indeed, the criticism was that they were standing shoulder to shoulder as Iraq-invading soulmates.

By comparison, Starmer was completely overshadowed by The Donald in Scotland, the US President dominating the tartan-clad meeting despite it being held on British soil. He barely made any valuable contributions to the 72-minute press conference, where he appeared to perfect the art of the thousand yard stare, seemingly unable to cope with the spontaneity of the Q&A. They called Theresa May the Maybot  but Starmer is fast resembling Westminsters own C3PO; unbending in his fussy and fastidious adherence to the rules at all costs.

Much as we all enjoyed Trumps assault on nasty London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Starmers spineless hes a friend of mine defence was nothing short of pathetic. Call out a colleague widely blamed for the capitals descent into borderline lawlessness? Computer says no. Undeterred in the face of such insipidity, the Commander in Chief went on to say: I think hes done a terrible job. Agree or disagree, at least the guy says what he thinks rather than sticking to some vapid pre-arranged script dreamed up by No 10 types who appear to have less human contact than Tatooine Womp rats.

The friendly rhetoric is welcome, though it jars with what Trump seems to make of other Lefty liberal European leaders. As he remarked earlier of French President Emmanuel Macrons plan to recognise the Palestinian state, for instance: Heres the good news: What he says doesnt matter. Its not going to change anything.

Were Starmer not such a paranoid android, obsessing over backbench rebellions, the resident oddballs of the SNP and now, Corbyns new Left(field) Party, he might have had the guts to side with the Yanks and Israel on Gaza. Theyre two of our closest allies, after all. Sadly, he appears incapable of independent thought, and instead appears to be buffeted either by events or his backbenchers.

Offered an alternative to the status quo, this man  who famously once said he preferred Davos to parliament  will cowardly plump for the consensus every single time. Even more cravenly, hell kowtow to his fellow conformists by using the cloak of international law to defend his actions  even when theyre shown to be morally questionable. Then, if met with criticism  hell gaslight the public by changing tack for political expediency  while pretending nothing has changed.

The complete and utter mess hes made of rushing to recognise Palestine is a case in point. First, he announces that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel halts the appalling situation in Gaza and agrees to a two-state solution.

Recognition of Palestine will happen regardless of whether or not Hamas release the remaining hostages. Then, sensing a growing backlash, No 10 tries to pivot, with a spokesman clarifying that they must be released while still demanding that Israel desist from removing Hamas by force. Meanwhile, its pointed out Starmers plan is actually in breach of international law.

So we now have a prime minister who is willing to give away the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the basis of an International Court of Justice ruling that wasnt even legally binding in the interests of anti colonialism  while ignoring the actual international treaty on recognising statehood when it comes to Palestine, which is all a little, well, imperialist.

And who could forget the Brexit reset, in which we traded our fundamental freedoms for some technical benefits, such as access to passport e-gates on the continent, which may in some cases not be realised.

All the while, were to believe that this is statesmanlike Starmer acting in the national interest. In fact, its simply to save his own bacon. Yet the Government could lose a vote on the issue in the House of Commons and increasing numbers of Muslim voters could opt for independent or Green alternatives to Labour.

Theres a name for all this, and it isnt leadership.
Lando Norris edged out championship rival Oscar Piastri in opening practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Norris trails Piastri by 16 points heading into Sundays round at the Hungaroring  the final race before the summer break.

But the British driver laid down an early marker in the first running of the weekend when he beat Piastri to top spot by just 0.019 seconds.

The chequered flag is fluttering  FP1 TOP 10Norris PiastriLeclercHadjarHamiltonBearmanAntonelliRussell Verstappen Stroll#F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/Q70A2DpUrQ  Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025

Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, two tenths off the pace, but two places clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion, who has a record eight wins and nine pole positions in Hungary, finished four tenths behind Leclerc.

Hamilton complained his car didnt feel good and ran off the road at the first corner following a major lock-up. RBs Isack Hadjar split the Ferrari drivers with British rookie Ollie Bearman sixth for Haas.

George Russell ended the running in eighth, one position clear of four-time world champion Max Verstappen  who on Thursday ended speculation he could leave Red Bull at the end of the year by committing his future there for at least another season.

Norris world championship bid suffered a setback at last weekends Belgian Grand Prix when Piastri overtook him on the first racing lap and went on to claim a comfortable win.

Lewis Hamilton finished fifth for Ferrari in the first session (Bradley Collyer/PA)

However, it was Norris  who has never been out-qualified by a team-mate in six previous visits to the Hungaroring  that stole an early advantage at a circuit he has declared among his favourites on the calendar.

Kimi Antonelli is in the midst of a poor run of form  scoring just once in his last seven appearances  but he will take some encouragement from finishing in seventh, half-a-tenth clear of team-mate Russell.

Fernando Alonso was absent from first practice with a back injury. Aston Martin are waiting to see if the 44-year-old will be fit enough to contest the rest of the weekend.
Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling in a photoshoot following their engagement announcement - i5 Media/PA

The Princess Royals son Peter Phillips has announced his engagement to NHS paediatric nurse Harriet Sperling.

The couple, who have been together for one year, told the King and Queen before two photos were published by Hello! magazine.

They are pictured smiling in a field, with Ms Sperling opting for an all-white ensemble with her new diamond engagement ring while Mr Phillips sported a plaid shirt for the occasion.

Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling celebrate engagement

It comes after Princess Dianas niece Lady Eliza Spencer announced her engagement to long-term partner Channing Millerd on Thursday.

The announcement of Mr Phillipss engagement comes 17 years after he caused controversy by allowing Hello! magazine to exclusively photograph his wedding to Autumn Kelly in 2008.

The unprecedented access to Windsors St Georges Chapel, as well as to senior members of the Royal family including the late Queen and Prince Philip, was regarded as a serious error of judgment by Buckingham Palace at the time.

In return for the photographic rights, Mr Phillips and Ms Kelly were reported to have received a 500,000 sum.

The move resulted in Queen Elizabeth, who was not consulted in advance, to halt celebrity magazine photography deals involving senior members of the Royal family.

The pictures marking Mr Phillips and Ms Sperlings engagement were taken privately and provided by their official spokesman. It is understood that no commercial arrangement was made with Hello!, or any other publication.

Mr Phillips, who has no title, has always been regarded as a private member of the family because he carries out no official royal engagements and is not in receipt of public money.

The eldest grandchild of the late Queen and the eldest child of Princess Anne, Mr Phillips made his public debut with Ms Sperling at the Badminton Horse Trials in May 2024.

Mr Phillips and Ms Sperling speaking with the Princess Royal at Royal Ascot - Chris Jackson/2025 Getty Images

They were pictured at the event hand-in-hand while supporting his sister, Zara Tindall. The couple reportedly first met at a sporting event.

A statement was issued for the pair by spokesman Gerard Franklin on Friday, reading: Mr Peter Phillips, the son of HRH The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips and Ms Harriet Sperling, daughter of the late Mr Rupert Sanders and Mrs Mary Sanders of Gloucestershire, have today confirmed their official engagement.

Both families were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement.

Their Majesties the King and Queen [and] the Prince and Princess of Wales have been informed of the announcement. No date has been officially set for the wedding.

In June, Ms Sperling made her official royal debut in the carriage procession at Royal Ascot and was seen meeting her husband-to-bes uncle, King Charles.

Mr Phillips and Ms Kelly share two daughters, Savannah and Isla. They confirmed their separation in February 2020 and officially divorced in June the following year.

Ms Sperling, meanwhile, has one daughter named Georgia. She has previously spoken about her experience being a single mother.

Meanwhile Lady Eliza, the daughter of Dianas brother Earl Spencer and former model Victoria Aitken, revealed the news of her engagement on Instagram with pictures on holiday in the southern Greek island of Santorini.

The couple, who have been together for nine years, were pictured smiling at a candlelit dinner set up for the occasion.

Lady Eliza, who works as a model and brand ambassador, wore a long red dress while Mr Millerd, a tech executive, is pictured sporting all white while down on one knee.

Channing Millerd proposed while the couple were on holiday in Santorini

Lady Amelia Spencer, the models twin sister, led the congratulatory messages to the pair, saying: The best news in the world! The most perfect couple and dream engagement. My heart is bursting for you both.

Their eldest sister Lady Kitty Spencer added: So happy for you and love you both very much.

The couple first met at a dinner party in South Africa hosted by Greg Mallett, Lady Elizas brother-in-law, who was friends with Mr Millerd through school.

Lady Eliza and Mr Millerd have been together for nine years

Lady Eliza, 33, has previously told Hello! magazine that she shares such a strong, loving and supportive relationship with Mr Millerd, describing him as her best friend.

We understand each other so well, she added, saying: No matter what life brings, were always there for one another.

I absolutely believe hes The One  our bond is built on so much trust, laughter and shared values.

She captioned her engagement post with forever and ever, and included a photo featuring her new pear-shaped ring.

Mr Millerd and Lady Eliza at the Tatler Little Black Book Party - Dave Benett/Getty Images

The announcement comes after her twin sisters wedding to fitness expert Mr Mallett in Cape Town in 2023.

The sisters spent most of their childhood in South Africa as part of Earl Spencers efforts to keep them out of the spotlight following Princess Dianas death in 1997.

Lady Kitty, 34, has been married to Michael Lewis, a 66-year old South Africa-born British businessman, for four years.

The couple married in a glamorous three-day event at the Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, south-east of Rome.

Lady Eliza has previously said that she and Mr Millerd love the idea of a destination wedding, similar to her elder sister.

We feel drawn to Italy, she said, adding: Especially somewhere by the ocean  that feels so romantic to us.
Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Chris Noble who denies any wrongdoing (Alamy/PA)

A police chief has been suspended after serious concerns were raised about his behaviour outside of work.

Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Chris Noble, who denies any wrongdoing, is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for the matters which pre-date his employment with the force.

The watchdog said it is also probing allegations that Mr Noble shared confidential information without a policing purpose.

Staffordshire police and fire commissioner Ben Adams said his decision to suspend Mr Noble was a "neutral act" and has "no bearing on any indication of guilt".

Mr Adams said: "Public confidence in the police service is vital so all allegations of misconduct must be fully and independently investigated.

"In the interests of the public, Staffordshire Police and the chief constable himself, I have decided to suspend Mr Noble from his role pending the outcome of the IOPC's investigation.

"Suspension is a neutral act, to enable an independent and thorough investigation to take place. It has no bearing on any indication of guilt and should not be seen as such."

Mr Adams added: "I know that this announcement will come as a shock to many across Staffordshire, especially our hard-working officers and staff, but it is right that allegations of this serious nature are dealt with consistently and investigated properly and thoroughly."

The police and fire commissioner said his team is working to identify a temporary chief constable.

An IOPC spokesman said: "We received mandatory referrals from Staffordshire's Office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner on April 30, June 27 and July 29 this year in relation to Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Chris Noble.

"The referrals relate to reports we've received raising serious concerns over Mr Noble's behaviour outside of his work duties.

"The matters pre-date Mr Noble's appointment as Chief Constable for Staffordshire Police.

"The IOPC is also separately investigating Mr Noble over allegations he shared confidential information without proper policing purpose.

"That followed a referral in 2024 from the Office of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire.

"Our enquiries are ongoing."

A spokesperson from the Chief Police Officers' Staff Association said: "Chief Constable Chris Noble completely and categorically denies any wrongdoing, and will continue to co-operate fully with the IOPC investigation."
Not wanting to face questions about her vice-presidency may help to explain why Kamala Harris is not running for governor of California - Win McNamee

What did Kamala Harris know, and when did she know it? The least embarrassing answer for her time as vice-president is that she wasnt trusted enough for anyone to tell her anything. Not wanting to face those questions may help to explain why she isnt running for governor of California.

The ongoing scandal of Joe Bidens presidency is that he simply wasnt mentally or physically up to the job  certainly not by the time he launched his 2024 re-election campaign, and possibly as early as when his campaign team kept him out of the public eye for much of 2020. With multiple now it can be told books published, the curious timing of revelations of Bidens cancer, and continued Congressional investigations into Bidens decline and its cover-up  including into the use of the autopen for mass presidential pardons  the question hasnt gone away.

On the one hand, White House staff and Bidens family cant escape their complicity in staying silent about what they must have seen up close, and in keeping even senior Democrats and the Cabinet limited in their access to a fading old man who was increasingly a figurehead in his own presidency. But then, many of those people are now permanently out of politics, and family and loyalist Biden staffers might be expected to shield the president at the expense of their own reputations.

On the other hand, the political press and many Democrats in the Cabinet and Congress are claiming deniability: they were kept in the dark, how could they have known? This is hogwash: the American people could see it with their own eyes, its the job of the press to be sceptical, and the Cabinet has a constitutional responsibility to decide if the president needs to be removed for incapacity. But then, they only vote on that if the vice-president asks them.

Which is yet another reason why Harris has nowhere to hide. She had to know because she needed to know. And she wasnt silent: she publicly excoriated special counsel Robert Hur for questioning Bidens mental faculties. Yet, even after-the-fact reporting has been suspiciously silent on the role of Kamala Harris before or during the period when Biden was forced out of the re-election campaign in her favour, and even more silent on what was happening when Bidens autopen was handing out pardons like so much Halloween candy.

Harris was either a fool or a knave. The case for her being a fool is that she had practically zero influence as vice-president. She spent her brief presidential campaign effectively denying that shed been given the roles that Biden publicly handed her. There has been little public indication that she either helped shape Bidens agenda or acted as an important emissary to Congress or foreign leaders. She seems to have been shut out of the inner sanctum, and perhaps she didnt really see that much of Biden. There is visibly no love lost between Harris and Jill Biden. Harris couldnt even keep her own staffers from constantly quitting, and she was the target of frequent hostile media leaks from the White House.

The case for her being a knave, in addition to her diatribe against Hur, is that the first job of the vice-president is to be ready to step into the big job at any moment, so how could she not have paid attention to what shape the oldest president in history was in? Harris played the loyal soldier and the loyal party woman  nothing in her record suggests that shed ever have done otherwise. And she had to know, after her disastrous 2020 presidential campaign, that being drafted to run at the last minute was her only shot at getting the Democratic nomination.

Either way, we can draw some conclusions from her decision to avoid running for governor (a race in which she would stand to raise a lot of money and likely win) and the fact that shes selling a new book that focuses only on her presidential campaign  not her time in office.

Harris may be trimming her sails because she is lazy and doesnt actually want to be governor, or because she has received more blowback and less enthusiasm behind the scenes from fellow Democrats than she lets on. In either event, those problems will only get worse if she runs for president in 2028  but she can remain relevant in the public eye for a few more years just by teasing the possibility of such a bid, or by running and failing quickly (as Mike Pence did in 2023).

But maybe Harris knows there are more shoes to drop. As investigators and the press dig deeper, full scrutiny about what Harris knew of Bidens diminished mental capacity may lie ahead  and Harris may be realising that, when it does, it will be brutal for her reputation.

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review
Four people are dead after a shooting at a bar in Anaconda, Montana.

The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar on Friday, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation told the Associated Press. Officials have identified the suspect as 45-year-old Michael Brown.

He is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous, according to the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center. Brown was last seen near Stump Town, west of Anaconda. More than a dozen officers are in the area and appear to be searching for him in the woods, the AP reports.

The Granite County Sheriffs Office said the suspected gunman is wearing a tye dyed shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana. He was last seen driving a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup with Montana license plates, Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement told NBC Montana.

Officers from Denvers Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are responding. The FBI is also assisting, a spokesperson for the agencys Salt Lake City office told the AP.

Police have identified 45-year-old Michael Brown as a suspect in the Anaconda, Montana shooting (Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center)

Photo of Brown distributed by police (Granite County Sheriff's Office)

A SWAT team cleared the suspects house in Anaconda, the sheriffs office said at 1:30pm local time.

The Montana Highway Patrol has urged people to stay away from the area.

"There is a heavy law enforcement presence west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road, the agency said. Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be armed.

The sheriffs office said troopers stopped a driver in a white F-150 while searching for the suspect. The driver was not the suspected gunman.

Police respond to an shooting in Anaconda, Montana (MTN News)

Local business owner Barbie Nelson told the AP the incident has shaken residents.

We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybodys pretty rattled, Nelson said.

Its a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there, she added.

Governor Greg Gianforte said hes closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda.

Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy, Gianforte wrote on X.

Montana Senator Tim Sheehy also issued a statement on the attack: We are monitoring this tragedy and are in touch with local authorities. We thank law enforcement for their ongoing efforts to protect our communities and pray for the victims, their families, and the entire Anaconda community.
Two top US officials visited aid distribution sites in Gaza on Friday, hailing the work of a controversial agency delivering food, after the UN said hundreds of Palestinians have died while seeking help.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee joined Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff for a visit to an aid site in Rafah run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which took control of aid distribution in May.

The pair are the first high-profile US officials to visit the enclave, which has been in the grip of a hunger crisis in recent weeks, since the war began. Mr Witkoff said the visit was part of a bid to put together a new US-backed aid plan for the war-shattered territory.

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, left, visit a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (US Embassy Jerusalem)

Mr Witkoff said the purpose of the visit was to give Mr Trump a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.

We received briefings from @IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) and spoke to folks on the ground, Mr Huckabee said on X following the visit. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat! he added, echoing claims by the agency.

But experts say that controversial distribution methods have contributed to hundreds of Palestinian deaths since the GHF took control of aid in May.

At least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, including 859 near GHF sites, mostly by the Israeli military, the UN Human Rights Office said on Thursday. Gazas health ministry said 91 had died in the past day alone.

Palestinians carry bags of flour that they obtained from aid trucks which entered Gaza through the Zikim crossing point, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip (AFP/Getty)

The UN says GHF aid distribution methods are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles. In a report issued Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said the GHF was at the heart of a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.

The GHF contends that nobody has been killed at its distribution points and says it does a better job of protecting aid deliveries from looting than the UN.

It has yet to respond to the Human Rights Watch report directly but in a statement on Friday marking the 100 million meals the GHF says it has delivered since May, it said: GHF remains the only reliable food aid system in Gaza, delivering millions of meals each day to aid seekers.

Meanwhile, new data shows nearly 90 per cent of aid trucks for the UN and other humanitarian groups are being looted by military age men, with many civilians being injured and trampled.

The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

Witkoffs visit to Gaza was the first by a top White House official since the war began (US Embassy Jerusalem)

Hours after the visit by Mr Witkoff and Mr Huckabee, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces had shot dead three Gazans near a GHF site on the enclaves southern edge. It is unclear whether these deaths were at the same location visited by US officials.

The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident, in which it claimed soldiers had fired warning shots at what it described as a gathering of suspects approaching its troops, hundreds of yards from the aid site.

GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay said: President Trump understands the stakes in Gaza and that feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority.

During a visit to Scotland earlier this week, Mr Trump announced a new aid plan which would involve the US setting up food centres in Gaza, but he is yet to reveal any details about the plan.

Starvation in Gaza remains significant, and the chief of Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Friday the UN has 6,000 trucks loaded with aid stuck outside Gaza waiting for the green light to enter, two days after he described the crisis as an entirely man-made famine.

An aircraft airdrops humanitarian aid to Palestinians over Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip (AP)

On Friday, the Israeli military said that 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza.

Israel says Hamas and the UN are to blame for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza.

Germany made its first airdrops into Gaza on Friday, following in the footsteps of Jordan, the UAE and France. Mr Lazzarini said the airdrops are highly costly, insufficient and inefficient, adding that the only way to respond to the famine is to flood Gaza with assistance.

In addition to the three Gazans shot near a GHF site, medics said at least 12 other Palestinians were killed in air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the deaths.

The war, which began after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel in October 2023, has now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Keir Starmer as a young boy

Imagine if in 1945 hundreds of Brits christened their newborn sons Adolf. That might have rattled us as a nation, right?

I feel similarly about the news that, last year, 583 baby boys in the UK were given the name Yahya.

Yes, hundreds of families saw fit to bestow on their little ones the name shared by the one-time leader of Hamas and the architect of the worst mass murder of Jews since Adolfs days  Yahya Sinwar.

The Top 100 Boys Names of 2024 were released this week, and Yahya has really blown up.

It reportedly enjoyed a larger spike in popularity than any other male name. It leapt a staggering 33 places up the rankings, to become the 93rd most popular boys name.

The name that made the second largest jump was Vinnie, which went up 20 places to become the 91st most popular boys name. There were 585 boys called Vinnie and 583 called Yahya: its like a grainy snapshot of the tense times we live in.

As the Jewish Chronicle says, theres no definite correlation between the spike in boys being called Yahya and an outburst of support for Yahya Sinwar. And yet it seems pretty clear something weird is going on. Its the sudden leap in the popularity of Yahya that freaks me out.

The calendar year in which the most popular names were compiled started less than three months after Hamass pogrom of October 7, 2023. Its a year in which Sinwar would have been in the news a lot, including when he was bumped off by the IDF in October 2024.

It was also a year in which the dimmest of the pro-Palestine set will have clogged up social media with gushing praise for Sinwar, calling him a resistance fighter and whatnot.

Can it really be a coincidence that as Hamas and its then top dog hit the headlines, the name Yahya rose higher up the rankings than any other boys name? Perhaps.

Whats in a name, people ask. A lot. Years ago I wrote a piece for the BBC about how the popularity of a name waxes and wanes in tandem with world events. I talked to women in their 80s called Lolita, who as kids had been blissfully unaware of what would become of their name following the publication of Nabokovs infamous novel in 1955.

The name Adolf all but disappeared in Europe after World War II. Myra collapsed in the UK following the Moors Murders. I spoke to the only British male to have been named Lucifier  he calls himself Luke now.

Names have meaning. So surely it means something that more families than ever called their boys Yahya in the months after a man with that very name gave the go-ahead to the worst anti-Jewish pogrom in decades.

Not one baby boy was called Keir last year. Thats not surprising. Its an old-fashioned name, and whats more it is now associated with one of the lamest-duck PMs weve ever been saddled with.

And yet you dont have to be a demographic doomerist to feel unnerved that while no boy was called Keir, 583 were called Yahya.

That where not one kid was named after the Prime Minister, 583 now share the name of one of the wickedest men of our times.

Heres a more heartening story. Last week, Jimmy Pacheco, a Filipino migrant worker who spent 49 days in the clutches of Hamas after being kidnapped on 7 October, welcomed his new baby daughter to the world.

He called her Israela.
Surveillance image of a man abducting a toddler in a shopping mall.

A man diagnosed with schizophrenia  and who has a violent past  was seen abducting a 3-year-old girl in a Virginia mall before he was stopped by the tots mother, disturbing video shows.

Andres Caceres Jaldin, 26, was captured on surveillance camera snatching the toddler in his arms and walking away with her after she wandered away from an indoor play area at the Fair Oaks Shopping Center on July 18, security footage shared by the Fairfax County Sheriffs Office shows.

Her panicked father had been watching his daughter and called his wife, who was shopping at the JCPenney nearby.

Andres Caceres Jaldin, 26, was seen snatching a 3-year-old girl who wandered away from a play area at the Fair Oaks Shopping Center in Virginia, security footage shared by the Fairfax County Sheriffs Office shows. Fairfax County Police Department

Luckily, she spotted Jaldin carrying the youngster on the second floor of the store and confronted him, according to court records obtained by NBC Washington.

Jaldin handed over the child without incident and claimed he was only trying to help the girl find her parents, according to the criminal complaint.

He then fled the shopping center in a car he had stolen from a local auto shop just before allegedly kidnapping the girl.

Police tracked the vehicle to a hotel in nearby Chantilly, where Jaldin was arrested.

The accused kidnapper has a checkered past with a history of violent assaults on his family members, court records show.

Jaldin, previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, has a criminal past, having been charged with multiple counts of assault and battery, malicious wounding, and property damage against his own family members last year. Fairfax County Police Department

He was charged in 2024 with multiple counts of assault and battery, malicious wounding and property damage.

The victims were his mother, father and brother, according to the complaint.

While he was out on bail awaiting trial, he was again accused of assaulting his family.

He was diagnosed with schizophrenia following a psychiatric evaluation conducted as part of the criminal proceedings, NBC Washington reported.

The toddler didnt suffer any injuries during the abduction as her mother confronted the suspect on the second floor of the mall before Jaldin handed the child back to her and fled from the shopping center. Fairfax County Police Department

All the charges involving his family were eventually dropped.

Jaldin was charged with abduction of a minor and grand larceny in the scary mall incident.

He is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
An amusement park in Saudi Arabia was shut down after a ride collapsed and injured at least 23 people, local media reported.

The "360 Big Pendulum," located in the Al Hada district of Taif, a popular mountain resort city in western Saudi Arabia, snapped and crashed violently while in operation during the evening of July 30, the Khaleej Times and state-owned Arab News reported.

Video footage of the accident, circulating widely on social media, shows the fully occupied ride swinging in a large arc before experiencing a structural failure in its central column, prompting it to split horizontally while in motion. As a result, the part of the ride holding the strapped passengers crashed to the ground, amid screams and calls for help.

Video shows ride collapse at amusement park

3 people critically injured: reports

Taif Governor Prince Saud bin Nahar bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, in a statement, ordered the immediate closure of the resort and called for an investigation into the incident, reported the Saudi Gazette. Authorities expect the preliminary findings to be released in the coming days.

Several injuries occurred; some were treated at the site, while others were transferred to hospital care, the statement read. No fatalities were reported.

However, Arab News, citing emergency teams, reported the victims sustained varying injuries, with three people in critical condition. While some of the injured were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment, others received aid on the scene, according to Gulf News.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amusement park ride in Saudi Arabia snaps, crashes, reports say
Israel Vallarta hugs his family as he leaves Altiplano maximum security prison after a judge ordered his release in Almoloya, near Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Vallarta served almost 20 years behind bars for being the leader of a kidnapping ring before a judge ruled on Thursday that the evidence didn't support the charges against him. (AP Photo/Haaron Alvarez)

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The alleged leader of an infamous Mexican kidnapping ring walked out of a maximum security prison after nearly 20 years Friday, hours after a judge said there wasnt sufficient evidence to support the charges holding him.

Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez on Friday rattled off a list of appeals, injunctions and complaints filed over the years of Israel Vallartas imprisonment in a case that never arrived at a verdict.

Vallarta had been charged with organized crime and kidnapping, but a judge tossed those out Thursday.

The Attorney Generals Office did not immediately respond as to whether it would appeal.

Vallarta was arrested in 2005, along with his girlfriend French citizen Florence Cassez.

Cassez was eventually convicted and sentenced to 60 years on charges of aiding a kidnapping ring, in a case that soured relations between Paris and Mexico City.

She acknowledged living with Vallarta at a ranch where kidnap victims were being held, but professed her innocence, saying she was unaware of their presence. One victim identified her as a kidnapper, but by voice only rather than by sight.

A day after Cassez was arrested, police had forced her to take part in a staged raid on the ranch purportedly to rescue hostages and arrest suspects. It was covered by the media and broadcast on television.

In January 2013 the Supreme Court overturned Cassezs conviction due to procedural and rights violations. She was released and became a cause celebre in France.
For 35 years, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, known across the country as Dr. Beach, has been compiling an annual list of Americas best beaches. He bases his evaluations on observable and scientific metrics by covering over 50 criteria, such as water purity, sand texture, safety standards, and preservation of natural dunes.

Every year, coastal communities wait to see where they land, and travelers follow these findings to plan their trips. For decades, the top spot almost always went to a stretch of sand in Hawaii or Florida. This year broke that pattern, and no one in beach culture saw it coming.

Meet the Beach That Took the Crown

Image via Wikipedia/User:Gadfium

Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York, climbed to number one and knocked out the usual tropical leaders. Its wide shoreline, soft grainy quartz, and protective dunes earned points across categories.

When visitors step off the shuttle from town, a view that feels removed from the city's pace greets them. Hamptons homes line the background, lifeguards keep watch, and a concession stand has become famous for fresh food on breezy afternoons. Parking is steep at $50 a day, but locals recommend using the free Circuit shuttle, an electric cart that moves people from village lots to the sand.

Some longtime favorites slipped for reasons tied to nature and infrastructure. Coronado Beach in California, for example, saw water quality issues after untreated wastewater moved north through the Tijuana River and affected ocean conditions. Caladesi Island in Florida is recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024. Lighthouse Beach in North Carolina continues to battle erosion that has uncovered old military structures leaking harmful substances.

A Broader Look at the 2025 Rankings

Image via Unsplash/Simon Hurry

The latest list still shows strong representation from Hawaii with beaches like Wailea on Maui and Poipu on Kauai. Florida appears with Delnor-Wiggins Pass and St. Andrews State Park. Main Beach in East Hampton holds fifth place; it appears that the northeast is stepping up in national conversations about summer destinations.

The surprise is how a New York beach rose above all, considering it's not a tropical zone. Those who have spent their afternoons lounging with umbrellas at Coopers, though, have a lot of reasons they agree with the ranking. Someone from East Hampton said the air feels different once you step on the sand, cooler and lighter than the inland streets. A woman from Great Neck explained she comes early for a calm atmosphere.

An Invitation for Travelers

The new rankings open a fresh chapter for those looking to plan a summer getaway. Coopers Beach is an East Coast option that holds its own beside wellknown island destinations. Its presence at number one is a reminder that beauty and good management can create standout experiences.

The rankings will change again as repairs are completed and conservation efforts succeed in other places. For now, the spotlight is on a stretch of sand in Southampton, and travelers are already making plans for this new chapter in Americas beach culture.
Types of Big Birds  Sergei25/Shutterstock.com

In Pakistans Cholistan Desert, a group of rare birds was recently documented by wildlife photographer Syed Rizwan Mehmood. On July 20, Mehmood witnessed six Great Indian bustards engaging in pre-breeding behavior. The unexpected sighting is notable because it offers the first documented proof that these critically endangered birds are breeding in the region. Conservationists are excited that the area now appears to be home to a small, yet stable population of between 30 to 35 bustards.

Northern cardinals, blue jays, American robins, and house sparrows are common birds throughout North America. These small, aerodynamic creatures soar through the sky and sing to one another from their perches. Their larger relatives, however, are much less common in populated areas. This article covers 10 types of large birds. Read on to learn about their tremendous heights and astonishing wingspans.

This post was updated on August 1, 2025 to include information on the new sighting of 6 Great Indian bustards in Pakistans Cholistan Desert.

10. Dalmatian Pelican

A Dalmatian pelican on the surface of Kerkini Lake, northern Greece. Georgios Alexandris/Shutterstock.com

Dalmatian pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) are found in southeastern Europe and Central Asia, with their range extending from the Balkans and Russia to parts of the Middle East and South Asia. During the winter season, they typically remain in India or the southernmost parts of Europe. These aquatic birds can weigh up to 30 pounds. Though their large bodies give them an unwieldy walk while onshore, they qualify as big birds that fly. Theyve been observed flying at altitudes of 10,000 feet and higher.

9. Andean Condor

Due to their weight and size, condors prefer to fly in windy areas. BearFotos/Shutterstock.com

Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) make their home in the Andean mountains of South America. Considered the largest bird of prey, adult Andean condors can weigh as much as 33 pounds. This bird is recognizable by its black wings tipped with white feathers. Its long, curved beak and the white ring of feathers around its neck make these condors stand out. In addition to having a large body, Andean condors have a wingspan of up to 11 feet. They are the national symbols of Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.

8. King Penguin

Four king penguins are standing together on a beach at Volunteer Point in the Falkland Islands. fieldwork/Shutterstock.com

A male king penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) can weigh up to 35 pounds, while females weigh slightly less. King penguins leave the hopping to smaller penguin species. They prefer to walk at a slow pace along the beach. They have a white chest paired with a black back and head. In addition, they have orange feathers on both sides of their head. This orange coloration spills down below their chin.

7. Kori Bustard

The kori bustard is one of the worlds heaviest flying birds; however, it spends most of its time on the ground and is reluctant to fly unless in danger. ArCaLu/Shutterstock.com

The African kori bustard (Ardeotis kori) can weigh up to 40 pounds. While able to fly, they prefer to walk or run around. They have gray and white feathers, long legs, and a pointed beak. The kori bustard is notable for both its tremendous height and heavy weight. Adult males can reach a height of about 4.5 feet.

6. Darwins Rhea

Darwins rhea is also known as the lesser rhea. They are flightless birds with strong, powerful legs, allowing them to run at speeds of up to 35 mph. RudiErnst/Shutterstock.com

Darwins rhea (Rhea pennata) is native to South America. They are found in grassland or scrub habitats. Darwins rheas weigh 33 to 55 pounds. While unable to fly, Darwins rhea can run at speeds of around 37 mph.

Darwins rhea has a thick layer of spotted brown and white feathers. Its long legs and neck make it resemble an ostrich. Darwins rhea has sharp claws that it uses to defend against predators.

5. Domestic Turkey

Domestic turkeys love to be stroked, petted, and cuddled. They will remember your face, and if they like you, they will come up to you to greet you. iStock.com/DA69

The domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo domesticus) is easily recognizable by its fan of black and brown tail feathers tipped with white. Also, domestic turkeys have a bright red wattle below their beak, paired with a bright red snood on top of their beak.

Domestic turkeys are seen around the world, but they descend from turkeys that originated in central Mexico. Domestic turkeys can weigh up to 86 pounds. Though some wild turkeys can fly, domestic turkeys are unable to do so, as they are too heavy to lift their bodies off the ground.

4. Emperor Penguin

An emperor penguin feeding its chick at Snow Hill Emperor Penguin Colony, Antarctica. robert mcgillivray/Shutterstock.com

Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) live in Antarctica, just like king penguins. When it comes to big birds of the penguin family, the emperor penguin holds the title as the largest member. Emperor penguins weigh up to 90 pounds and stand tall at 51 inches. They have black feathers on their back and white on their chest and stomach. This bird has bright yellowish/orange feathers around its throat. Male and female emperor penguins look identical.

3. Emu

Emus can travel great distances. iStock.com/Gilnature

The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) has brown, gray, and black feathers. Furthermore, it has long legs with three toes on each foot. Emus weigh up to 120 pounds and therefore are unable to fly. However, they can run at a speed of 30 mph through the Australian desert.

Emus have powerful legs, which makes them a danger to predators. It has a powerful kick along with sharp claws that can cause injury. Most emus stand between 5.7 and just over 6 feet tall, which is enough to ward off many predators.

2. Southern Cassowary

The cassowary is thought to be more similar to ancient dinosaurs than most other birds. Kensho Photographic/Shutterstock.com

The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is native to northern Australia and New Guinea. Notable for its blue feathers and the horn on its head, called a casque. It has bright red wattles just under its blue head, along with thick black feathers on its rear. Females are larger than males, weighing between 154 and 175 pounds, while males weigh up to 121 pounds.

While southern cassowaries dont fly, they can walk, swim, and run. The claws on their feet help them traverse the debris of their tropical forest habitat.

1. Common Ostrich

A male ostrich in courtship display at the Masai Mara Park in Kenya. iStock.com/slowmotiongli

Of all the big birds, the common ostrich (Struthio camelus) is the largest one worldwide. Specifically, the common ostrich typically weighs 287 pounds, though rare individuals have been recorded at higher weights. A male common ostrich can grow to a height of nine feet, while females are typically around seven feet tall.

Common ostriches are native to Africa. Their soft, fluffy feathers range from dark brown to black with a gathering of off-white tail feathers. This birds long legs and clawed feet allow it to run at a speed of 43 mph. In addition to running, they also use their legs and clawed feet to defend against predators. Their feet can withstand the tough desert terrain they walk and run on. Unable to fly, ostriches use their wings to maintain balance.

The post From Andean Condors to Bustards: Discovering Natures Big Birds appeared first on A-Z Animals.


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Over the past few weeks, Anne Hathaway has been generating all kinds of buzz thanks to her Andy Sachs wardrobe for the upcoming The Devil Wears Prada 2but it was her off-duty style that caught the most attention this Wednesday.

As she was photographed leaving the set of her upcoming film, the actor showed us a different, more industrial side to her fashion, with a stark-white jumpsuit from Wildfang.



James Devaney - Getty Images

The zip-up design was like a painters coverall, featuring a snap neck closure, ruler pocket, hammer loop, and utility pockets along the pants and chest.





The Essential Long Sleeve Herringbone Coverall

$92.00 at wildfang.com

Hathaway then achieved a high-low balance thanks to a few luxury accessories, including a Brunello Cucinelli calfskin bag in caramel, needlepoint slippers from Stubbs & Wootton, and tiger-print sunglasses from Villa eyewear. Earlier in the day, the Oscar winner was seen wearing the same workwear outfit, but with a different pair of luxury shoes: Valentino sandals with golden, chain-like thong straps. Lets just say that none of these pieces would exactly be safe for a work zone.

James Devaney - Getty Images

Although these articles seemingly stemmed from Hathaways own wardrobe, the fit seemed to wink to the denim jumpsuit she was seen wearing just last week. For one of the first days of filming, the actor wore a mechanical ensemble from the 2022 Re/Done x Ford collaboration that celebrated the car manufacturers roots with a series of upcycled products. The ensemble seemed like an unusual one for her character to wear, and it indicates she might be going through a bit of a fashion evolution for the sequel. Maybe Anne is going through an evolution as well.

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Police on Thursday charged a suspect with attempted first-degree murder after a Virginia city councilman and sales executive was set on fire outside his workplace Wednesday.

Danville police identified the suspect as Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29. He was also charged with aggravated malicious wounding in the case, which police have said stemmed from a personal matter between the two men.

Danville councilman Lee Vogler, 38, was being treated at a burn center in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he was airlifted after the midday attack. The extent of his injuries is unknown.

News out of Virginia

Police said Wednesday that officers had responded around 11:30 a.m. to an office building in central Danville, several blocks away from city hall, after a report of a man set on fire. Danville, a city of 42,000, is in southwest Virginia at the North Carolina border, about 45 minutes north of Greensboro.

Andrew Brooks, publisher and owner of Showcase Magazine, said in a video posted on Facebook that a man had forced his way into the magazine's offices with a five-gallon bucket of gasoline before pouring it on Vogler, the publication's sales director.

"Lee attempted to flee and ran to the front of the building," he said. "The individual followed him and set him on fire."

Officers, acting on witness descriptions, apprehended Buck Hayes in his vehicle a few blocks away and arrested him without incident. He is being held without bond in Danville City Jail.

Police say the attack was unrelated to Vogler's city council position, and the incident is still under investigation.

The incident prompted an outpouring of support from Virginia officials, including Governor Glenn Youngkin, who offered his prayers. "We pray for a swift recover for Lee and peace to be on the entire Danville community," Youngkin said in a Facebook post.

According to Danville's city website, Vogler was the youngest person ever elected to the council when he was voted in at age 24 in May 2012.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charges filed after Virginia councilman set on fire
By Luis Jaime Acosta

BOGOTA (Reuters) -Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced by a judge on Friday to 12 years of house arrest for abuse of process and bribery of a public official, in a long-running case over connections to former right-wing paramilitaries.

Uribe was convicted of the two charges on Monday by Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia in a witness-tampering case that has run for about 13 years. He has always maintained his innocence.

Heredia read the sentence to the court in an afternoon hearing on Friday. Uribe will be fined $578,000, Heredia's ruling said, and barred from public office for more than eight years.

Uribe, whose legal team has said it will appeal, is to report to authorities in Rionegro, in Antioquia province, where he resides, and then "proceed immediately to his residence where he will comply with house arrest," the ruling said.

The conviction made Uribe the country's first ex-president to ever be found guilty at trial and came less than a year before Colombia's 2026 presidential election, in which several of Uribe's allies and proteges are competing for top office.

It could also have implications for Colombia's relationship with the United States. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week that Uribe's conviction was a "weaponization of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges" and analysts have said there could be cuts to U.S. aid in response.

Uribe, 73, and his supporters have always said the process is a persecution, while his detractors have celebrated it as deserved comeuppance for a man who has been accused for decades of close ties with violent right-wing paramilitaries but never convicted of any crime until now.

"In my condition as a convict, because of this ruling, I request very respectfully before you an appeal," Uribe said during the hearing, where he and his lawyers appeared virtually, adding his legal team will formally appeal in writing to overturn the convictions in their entirety.

Heredia has attacked his defense team and his family during the trial, Uribe added, an accusation the judge has denied.

He still has a right to be considered innocent, Uribe said, adding the case is meant to "destroy a voice for the democratic opposition."

TESTIMONIES FROM FORMER PARAMILITARIES

Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010 and oversaw a military offensive against leftist guerrillas, was charged over allegations he ordered a lawyer to bribe jailed paramilitaries to discredit claims he had ties to their organizations.

Those claims stemmed from leftist Senator Ivan Cepeda, who collected testimonies from former paramilitaries who said Uribe had supported their organizations in Antioquia, where he once served as governor.

Uribe alleged in 2012 that Cepeda orchestrated the testimonies in a plot to tie him to the paramilitaries, but the Supreme Court ruled six years later that Cepeda had not paid or pressured the ex-paramilitaries.

Instead, the court said it was Uribe and his allies who pressured the witnesses. Cepeda has been classed as a victim in the case and attended both Monday and Friday's hearings in person.

Two jailed former paramilitaries testified that Diego Cadena, the lawyer formerly representing Uribe, offered them money to testify in Uribe's favor.

Cadena, who is also facing charges, has denied the accusations and testified, along with several other ex-paramilitaries, on Uribe's behalf.

Each charge carried a potential sentence of six to 12 years.

Uribe, who was placed under house arrest for two months in 2020, is head of the powerful Democratic Center party and was a senator for years both before and after his presidency.

He has repeatedly emphasized that he extradited paramilitary leaders to the United States.

Colombia's truth commission says paramilitary groups, which demobilized under deals with Uribe's government, killed more than 205,000 people, nearly half of the 450,000 deaths recorded during the ongoing civil conflict.

Paramilitaries, along with guerrilla groups and members of the armed forces, also committed forced disappearances, sexual violence, displacement and other crimes.

Uribe joins a list of Latin American leaders who have been convicted and sometimes jailed, including Peru's Alberto Fujimori, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Argentina's Cristina Fernandez and Panama's Ricardo Martinelli.

(Reporting by Carlos Vargas and Luis Jaime Acosta, additional reporting by Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes CobbWriting by Julia Symmes CobbEditing by Rosalba O'Brien)




NEED TO KNOW

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were fatally stabbed Saturday in Devils Den State Park in Arkansas



Andrew James McGann, 28, has been charged with two counts of capital murder



McGann was previously investigated at his job as a fourth grade teacher







The man who authorities allege fatally stabbed a couple he didn't know while they hiked with two of their children in Arkansas was investigated in his previous job as a fourth grade teacher in Texas.

Arkansas State Police arrested Andrew James McGann, 28, on July 30, at a barbershop in Springdale, Ark., roughly 35 miles north of Devils Den State Park, where Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were stabbed to death on Saturday, July 26.



The couple's two daughters were found uninjured, and police believe Cristen Brink took the girls to safety before returning to help her husband.

McGann was charged with two counts of capital murder in what authorities believe to have been a random attack.

Cristen Brink/Facebook

Following his arrest, a school district where he previously taught sent a letter to families, which was shared with PEOPLE, noting he had been placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2023. The district said it had investigated complaints of poor classroom management and poor professional judgment, specifically regarding alleged favoritism.

McGann resigned in 2023, after the investigation found McGann's classroom conduct to be below expectations, though the investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior towards students.

Arkansas State Police via AP Andrew James McGann

When McGann joined the Donald Elementary School in Aug. 2022, he introduced himself to the community in a Facebook post that said, among other things, that his favorite thing to do was exercise, specifically running. A parent whose child attended Donald Elementary told PEOPLE that McGann started a running club for students at the school.

McGann had a new job in Arkansas at Springdale public schools at the time of his arrest, but he hadn't yet started work, the district superintendent said.

Prosecutor Brandon Carter tells PEOPLE he intends to pursue the death penalty against McGann, who made his first court appearance on Aug. 1. He is being held without bond, Carter noted.

Authorities alleged McGann confessed to the crime while in custody, but he did not enter a plea at his hearing on Friday morning. He is due back in court on Aug. 25.

The trails at Devil's Den have been closed to the public since Saturday.



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Inside a small art studio not far from Atlanta, 67-year-old Basil Watson is shaping history.

The Jamaican-born artist is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship. Smalls would go on to become a top Union naval officer during the Civil War, and is celebrated as a champion of civil rights and equality.

"It's an honor to get to put this piece on the state Capitol in South Carolina," Watson said.

His statue of Smalls will be the first monument honoring an individual African American on the State House's grounds. Currently, the statues surrounding the Capitol are all of White men, many with ties to the Civil War or the Jim Crow-era South.

Basil Watson is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship. / Credit: CBS News

A bipartisan push from state lawmakers made Smalls' statue a reality.

"It helps to complete the incomplete and unfinished story," historian John McCardell said.

"Here is someone whose intelligence was recognized almost literally from birth," McCardell said of Smalls. "He was bold and courageous on that night in May of 1862 when he brought his family and others on board, and, almost miraculously, delivered that ship to the Union blockade offshore."



Watson's plans for Smalls' statue depict the icon's journey from illiteracy to a pioneering statesman, using a stack of books as a platform symbolizing Smalls' elevation. The completed sculpture will be about 12 feet tall, Watson said.



"I will fade into the background, but I want them to remember is Robert Smalls, what he did, and to understand where African Americans are coming from," Watson said.

Tennessee manhunt underway for suspect in killings of abandoned baby's relatives

Arkansas officials reveal new details about Devil's Den murders of husband and wife

Reporter's Notebook: Trump's White House ballroom and Martin Van Buren
In a powerful show of hope and environmental ambition, Ethiopia launched a massive national campaign this week to plant 700 million trees in a single day. The bold reforestation effort is in service of the country's vision of a greener, more sustainable future.

The project, called Ethiopias Green Legacy Initiative, has been personally championed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He took to social media this week encouraging citizens across the country to dig in (literally).

And they did. Photos online show residents grabbing shovels and seedlings, ready to contribute to the nationwide push.

This is more than just tree planting, Abiy said in a statement. It is a call to action for every citizen, young and old, urban and rural, to take part in restoring our environment, protecting our water sources, improving livelihoods, and securing a sustainable future for generations to come.

Forest cover in Ethiopia has dramatically declined over the past century, contributing to soil erosion, food insecurity, and the effects of climate change. Planting trees, organizers say, is one of the most direct and accessible ways to restore ecosystems and boost resilience.

(MORE: Can Planting Trees Cause More Rainfall?)

Government officials told the Associated Press that more than 40 billion tree seedlings have been planted since the initiative launched in 2019, transforming landscapes and sparking global attention. The ultimate goal is 50 billion trees by next year.

With tools in hand and optimism in the air, Ethiopia is proving that even the most ambitious goals can take root when communities come together.

Weather.com lead editor Jenn Jordan explores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.
By Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici and Sarah Marsh

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON/BERLIN, August 1 (Reuters) -European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data the United States historically made freely available to the world, and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews.

The effort - which has not been previously reported - marks the most concrete response from the European Union and other European governments so far to the U.S. government's retreat from scientific research under President Donald Trump's administration.

Since his return to the White House, Trump has initiated sweeping budget cuts to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies, dismantling programs conducting climate, weather, geospatial and health research, and taking some public databases offline.

As those cuts take effect, European officials have expressed increasing alarm that - without continued access to U.S.-supported weather and climate data - governments and businesses will face challenges in planning for extreme weather events and long-term infrastructure investment, according to Reuters interviews. In March, more than a dozen European countries urged the EU Commission to move fast to recruit American scientists who lose their jobs to those cuts.

Asked for comment on NOAA cuts and the EU's moves to expand its own collection of scientific data, the White House Office of Management and Budget said Trump's proposed cuts to the agency's 2026 budget were aimed at programs that spread "fake Green New Scam 'science,'" a reference to climate change research and policy.

"Under President Trumps leadership, the U.S. is funding real science again, Rachel Cauley, an OMB spokesperson, said via email.

European officials told Reuters that - beyond the risk of losing access to data that is bedrock to the world's understanding of climate change and marine systems - they were concerned by the general U.S. pullback from research.

"The current situation is much worse than we could have expected," Sweden's State Secretary for Education and Research Maria Nilsson, told Reuters. "My reaction is, quite frankly, shock."

The Danish Meteorological Institute described the U.S. government data as "absolutely vital" - and said it relied on several data sets to measure including sea ice in the Arctic and sea surface temperatures. "This isnt just a technical issue, reliable data underpins extreme weather warnings, climate projections, protecting communities and ultimately saves lives," said Adrian Lema, director of the DMI's National Center for Climate Research.

Reuters interviewed officials from eight European countries who said their governments were undertaking reviews of their reliance on U.S. marine, climate and weather data. Officials from seven countries - Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden - described joint efforts now in the early stages to safeguard key health and climate data and research programs.

LEANING ON THE U.S.

As a priority, the EU is expanding its access to ocean observation data, a senior European Commission official told Reuters. Those data sets are seen as critical to the shipping and energy industries as well as early storm warning systems.

Over the next two years, the senior official said, the EU plans to expand its own European Marine Observation and Data Network which collects and hosts data on shipping routes, seabed habitats, marine litter and other concerns.

The initiative was aimed at "mirroring and possibly replacing US-based services," the senior European Commission official told Reuters.

Europe is particularly concerned about its vulnerability to U.S. funding cuts to NOAA's research arm that would affect the Global Ocean Observing System, a network of ocean observation programs that supports navigation services, shipping routes and storm forecasting, a second EU official told Reuters.

The insurance industry relies on the Global Ocean Observing System's disaster records for risk modelling. Coastal planners use shoreline, sea-level, and hazard data to guide infrastructure investments. The energy industry uses oceanic and seismic datasets to assess offshore drilling or wind farm viability.

In addition, the senior EU Commission official said, the EU is considering increasing its funding of the Argo program, a part of the Global Ocean Observing System which operates a global system of floats to monitor the world's oceans and track global warming, extreme weather events and sea-level rise.

NOAA last year described the program, in operation for over 25 years, as the "crown jewel" of ocean science. It makes its data freely available to the oil and gas industry, marine tourism and other industries.

The United States funds 57% of Argo's $40 million annual operating expenses, while the EU funds 23%. The White House and NOAA did not respond to questions about future support for that program.

The European moves to establish independent data collection and play a bigger role in Argo represent a historic break with decades of U.S. leadership in ocean science, said Craig McLean, who retired in 2022 after four decades at the agency. He said U.S. leadership of weather, climate and marine data collection was unmatched, and that through NOAA the U.S. has paid for more than half of the worlds ocean measurements.

European scientists acknowledge the outsized role the U.S. government has played in global scientific research and data collection - and that European countries have grown overly dependent on that work.

"Its a bit like defense: we rely heavily on the U.S. in that area, too. They're trailblazers and role modelsbut that also makes us dependent on them," Katrin Boehning-Gaese, scientific director of Germany's Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, told Reuters.

'GUERRILLA ARCHIVISTS'

A number of European governments are now taking measures to reduce that dependence. Nordic countries met to coordinate data storage efforts in the Spring, Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland told Reuters. European science ministers also discussed the U.S. science budget cuts at a meeting in Paris in May.

Aasland said Norway was setting aside $2 million to back up and store U.S. data to ensure stable access.

The Danish Meteorological Institute in February started downloading historical U.S. climate data in case it is deleted by the U.S. It is also preparing to switch from American observations to alternatives, Christina Egelund, Minister of Higher Education and Science of Denmark, said in an interview.

"The potentially critical issue is when new observations data stop coming in," the Institute's Lema said. While weather models could continue to operate without U.S. data, he said the quality would suffer.

Meanwhile, the German government has commissioned scientific organizations, including the center, to review its reliance on U.S. databases.

Since Trump returned to the White House, scientists and citizens worldwide have been downloading U.S. databases related to climate, public health or the environment that are slated for decommissioning - calling it "guerrilla archiving."

"We actually received requestsor let's say emergency callsfrom our colleagues in the U.S., who said, 'We have a problem here... and we will have to abandon some datasets, said Frank Oliver Gloeckner, head of the digital archive PANGAEA, which is operated by publicly funded German research institutions.

About 800 of NOAA's 12,000-strong workforce have been terminated or taken financial incentives to resign as part of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency cuts.

The White House 2026 budget plan seeks to shrink NOAA even further, proposing a $1.8 billion cut, or 27% of the agency's budget, and a near-20% reduction in staffing, bringing down the NOAA workforce to 10,000.

The budget proposal would eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA's main research arm, which is responsible for ocean observatory systems including Argo, coastal observing networks, satellite sensors and climate model labs.

It is also reducing its data products. Between April and June, NOAA announced on its website the decommissioning of 20 datasets or products related to earthquakes and marine science.

NOAA did not respond to requests for comment.

Gloeckner said there were no legal hurdles to storing the U.S. government data as it was already in the public domain.

But without significant funds and infrastructure, there are limits to what private scientists can save, said Denice Ross, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit science policy group and the U.S. government's chief data officer during Joe Biden's administration.

Databases need regular updating - which requires the funding and infrastructure that only governments can provide, Ross said.

Over the last few months, the Federation and EU officials have held a series of talks with European researchers, U.S. philanthropies and health and environment advocacy groups to discuss how to prioritize what data to save.

There is an opportunity for other nations and institutions and philanthropies to fill in the gaps if U.S. quality starts to falter," she said.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels, Valerie Volcovici in Washington, Sarah Marsh in Berlin and Alison Withers in Copenhagen. Additional Reporting by Andreas Rinke. Editing by Suzanne Goldenberg)
Mauricio Santana/Getty Micky Madden, the former bassist of Maroon 5





NEED TO KNOW

Catherine Blair Bowman, the wife of former Maroon 5 bassist Mickey Madden, is seeking a restraining order against him

Bowman wrote that she was "terrified" of him following an alleged physical assault

Bowman alleged that Madden assaulted her after she confronted him about "sexting with teenage girls"





Catherine Blair Bowman, the wife of former Maroon 5 bassist Mickey Madden, wrote that she was "terrified" of him in new court filings and alleged that he physically assaulted her after she confronted him about sexting with teenage girls.

Bowman is seeking a restraining order against Madden, 46, in new documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, July 30. The documents note that the musician is currently in a rehabilitation facility. A judge granted a temporary restraining order, effective until a court date scheduled for Aug. 20.

The restraining order also covers their two huskies, Toast and Jam. Bowman and Madden do not have children. The documents obtained by PEOPLE indicate the date of the alleged physical assault was July 21.

Dave J Hogan/Getty Mickey Madden (second from left) with Maroon 5 in 2019 before his 2020 departure.

Bowman claimed that on July 21, she received a message from a teenage girl alerting her to Madden's alleged sexts with her. "I was extremely hurt and disturbed. I needed to understand what was going on between them," Bowman's statement read.

Bowman then described the alleged incident of assault in detail. "When he denied it, I asked him to hand me his phone," she wrote. "He would not hand me his phone, but I could see that he was quickly deleting the evidence from his phone."

After grabbing the phone and running out of the house, Bowman alleged that Madden "became enraged."

"He put both his arms around my body around my abdomen and arms to restrain me. He then slammed my body against the marble kitchen counter. I felt pain in my hip and waist area. He shoved me to the ground and was out of his mind. I landed on my knees. He kept screaming for me to give him the phone. He appeared literally insane to me. I had never seen such uncontrollable anger and a completely different person," Bowman's filing alleged.

The documents also allege that another incident of abuse took place on May 14. "He physically abused me. Extreme emotional harm. I'm now terrified of him," Bowman wrote.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

In screenshotted text messages submitted in the request for a restraining order, Madden allegedly referred to the sexting as "A private and fake harmless fantasy" that had "No bearing on real life at all."

In the alleged text messages, Bowman wrote, "Mickey. I do not know the man who hires 18 year old prostitutes to text them about wanting to be their stepdad and rape them while we are on our honeymoon." Bowman then appeared to allude via text that she similarly experienced an abusive relationship with an older man as a teenager.

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Madden allegedly responded, "I am beyond sorry for my actions and for engaging in any form of expression of those impulses..it's all completely unacceptable. but I have to draw the line at that characterization of what I did ..This was entirely relegated to text..It's not excusable by any means but I have to make it clear that I would never act on any of that consensual fantasy talk."

In the documents obtained by PEOPLE, Bowman also alleged that Madden "withheld" sex from her after she expressed a desire to conceive a child together, and instead began sleeping with a "prostitute."

Madden left Maroon 5 in 2020, two weeks after an alleged incident of domestic violence. In June 2020, he was arrested on a felony charge in Los Angeles, according to jail records. He was released on the same day after posting his $50,000 bond.

In 2016, Madden was arrested for cocaine possession in New York City. He took a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to one day of community service.

A representative or direct contact for Madden could not be located at the time of publication.

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.

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The U.S. public safety net can be a catch-22: These services act as a lifeline for people with disabilities, but it bars people from meaningfully saving, investing and building personal wealth. Money stashed in a retirement account or brokerage account counts against the small, strict asset limits imposed by certain benefit programs such as Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and SNAP benefits.

For years, disability rights groups lobbied lawmakers in Washington D.C. to change this. They finally succeeded in 2014 when the Stephen Beck, Jr. Achieving a Better Life Experience Act (ABLE) became law.

Theres a huge opportunity for folks to invest long-term in these accounts, says Thomas Foley, executive director of the National Disability Institute, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit organization focused on improving the economic well-being of people with disabilities.

If youve been on SSI or federal benefits your whole life, an ABLE account might be the first opportunity youve ever had to invest, adds Foley.

Compare advisors: Bankrate's list of the best financial advisors

What is an ABLE account?

An ABLE account is a tax-advantaged savings and investment account available to eligible people with disabilities. Established in 2014, these accounts allow people to save and invest money without losing eligibility for certain public benefits like SSI or Medicaid.

These needs-based programs enforce strict asset limits, typically just $2,000, across traditional savings and investment accounts.

But up to $100,000 in an ABLE account doesnt count against resource limits that determine public benefit eligibility.

That can be a game-changer for people with disabilities and their families, says Matt Stagner, a certified financial planner and a lead advisor at Foster Group.

Those benefit programs are designed to essentially keep people at or just below the poverty line, he says. But people want the opportunity to build up some financial independence, and ABLE accounts are a pretty groundbreaking way for people with disabilities to do that.

But you dont need to receive public benefits to enroll in an ABLE account.

Im totally blind and I max out my 401(k) at work, says Foley. But having access to an ABLE account gives me even more ways to save and invest.

Contributions can grow tax-free in an ABLE account and be withdrawn tax-free when used for qualified disability expenses.

Each state administers its own ABLE account program, similar to 529 education plans. You can open an ABLE account on your state programs website.

Who can open an ABLE account?

Not everyone with a disability can open an ABLE account. To qualify, your disability must have started before you turned 26 years old. Theres no age limit to open an account though.

Your disability also needs to be considered significant. There are two ways to meet this requirement:

Receiving SSI or SSDI: If you receive SSI or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) due to a disability before age 26, youre automatically eligible.

Doctors certification: A licensed medical doctor can provide a letter stating you have a disability that began before you turned 26.

That being said, most ABLE programs simply require people to certify that they have a disability and are eligible to open an account. You generally dont need to send in medical records or diagnoses in order to open an ABLE account.

However, you must make the proof available for the IRS or your states ABLE program if requested. You also may need to recertify eligibility each year.

Starting January 2026, the disability onset age will increase from 26 to 46, expanding eligibility to an estimated six million people.

How to invest with an ABLE account

ABLE accounts are often described as savings accounts. In reality, nearly every state program gives people the option to invest as well.

During the setup process, most programs will ask you to select from a handful of investments that vary in terms of risk, from conservative to aggressive.

These investments are called target risk funds, and they hold a mix of underlying investments like stocks and bonds. Conservative funds will be heavily weighted in bonds, money market funds or even high-yield savings accounts, which are all considered less risky but generate lower returns. Aggressive funds will favor stocks, which are more volatile but have historically netted higher returns over time.

Heres an example from Indianas ABLE plan:

Aggressive option: 90 percent in stock ETFs and index funds, 10 percent in bond ETFs and index funds.

Conservative option: 10 percent stock funds, 30 percent bond funds and 60 percent in a money market fund.

Generally, youll get to choose from four to 10 investment options.

They try to make investment selection simple by basically giving you a limited number of choices, says Stagner. So you can pick the right portfolio that youre most comfortable with without having to try to learn a lot about stocks and bonds.

Investment accounts are managed by major investment companies, including BlackRock, Vanguard and Charles Schwab. Fifth Third Bank is the primary banking partner for ABLE accounts.

Each state maintains a disclosure document online where you can look under the hood and see the specific funds, investment strategy, expenses and asset allocations for each target risk option.

Or, the ABLE National Resource Center maintains an overview of each states investment options and fees.

If youre not ready to invest, you can always utilize an FDIC-insured savings option if its offered and delay selecting an investment option until youre ready.

Contribution limits

The annual contribution limit for an ABLE account is $19,000 in 2025.

Anyone can make contributions to an ABLE account, including the account holder, friends, family, an empower or even a Special Needs Trust.

But you may be able to contribute even more if youre working and your employer doesnt offer a retirement plan, like a 401(k). In this scenario, you can make an additional contribution up to $15,650 from your earnings into your ABLE account. It is higher for residents of Alaska ($19,550) and Hawaii ($17,990).

This makes ABLE accounts an amazingly powerful retirement vehicle, says Foley. It has all the power from a compounding standpoint as many retirement accounts, but youre able to access the money for a disability related expense whenever you want.

The initial minimum contribution requirement to open an ABLE account is about $25 to $50 in most states.

The limit on total lifetime contributions ranges from $235,000 to $600,000 or more, depending on the state.

Fees and expenses

While major investment companies and traditional banks have been shedding small fees in recent years, many state ABLE accounts still maintain them.

Most plans charge an annual maintenance fee, usually deducted from your account every three months, that can range from $15 a year to $58. Three states  Florida, Tennessee and Massachusetts  dont charge account maintenance fees at all.

You may face other fees if you want to access a checking account or a debit card.

Certain state plans will reduce some of these fees if you maintain a specific account balance, enroll in electronic statements or reside in the state sponsoring the ABLE account.

Fund fees, or the costs automatically deducted from your funds by the investment company, are generally in the 0.25 to 0.50 percent range, for many states plans.

You can find all fee details in each state plan disclosure document.

Learn more: Best ways to get free financial advice

Tax benefits of investing with an ABLE account

Investing in an ABLE account offers tremendous tax benefits, especially when the time comes to withdraw funds.

First, you wont pay income taxes on any increase in the value of your investments inside the account or any interest earned on your savings.

You wont owe income taxes on withdrawals either, so long as theyre used to pay for qualified disabilities expenses, which includes anything that improves or maintains the account holders quality of life.

The list of qualified expenses is quite broad and that was intentional when ABLE accounts were put into place, says Foley.

A few examples of qualified disability expenses include:

Education

Housing

Transportation

Health care expenses

Assistive technology

Daily living needs, including food

The tax benefit is like a Roth IRA, where after-tax dollars go in, and the money accumulates tax free, Foley says. And as long as you spend it on a qualified disability expense, that money remains tax free.

The breadth of these tax-free withdrawals makes ABLE accounts more flexible than other types of investment accounts, such as a 529 plan, which is intended only for educational expenses, or a health savings account, which levies a penalty for non-medical expenses.

Ive seen people use ABLE accounts to save up for their first home or to start a business, says Stagner. Ive seen people use them like retirement plans.

Another tax benefit for ABLE account investors is the ability to qualify for the federal Savers Credit, which can reduce the amount of tax you owe. Typically, the Savers Credit is available to working individuals with low incomes who contribute to a retirement account, but you can also qualify by contributing to an ABLE account.

Finally, certain state programs offer a state tax deduction for contributions made to your ABLE account.

What to consider before investing with an ABLE account

Regardless of where you live in the U.S., you can enroll in any state ABLE plan so long as the plan accepts out-of-state residents and you meet the requirements for opening an account.

Youre only allowed to have one ABLE account, though, so its important to explore your options and pick a plan that fits your needs.

You can use this tool from the ABLE National Resource Center to select up to three states for a side-by-side comparison of multiple ABLE program features.

As you explore your options, keep these things in mind:

Annual maintenance fee: Most states charge surprisingly high annual fees on ABLE accounts. In New Hampshire, ABLE account holders are charged a $58 annual fee while Maryland charges $35 annually. Many states lower the fee if you sign up for electronic bill statements. Account holders pay these maintenance fees whether they save or invest in an ABLE account.

Lifetime account balance: The lifetime state limits for ABLE accounts are the same as the states 529 plan limits, which is to say, theyre very generous, ranging from $235,000 to $621,411 in 2025. If you plan to superfund an ABLE account for yourself or a loved one, youll want to compare the maximum allowed in each state.

Access to a debit card: Many states offer a checking account option when you sign up. If you want to utilize this, check to see if the plan offers a debit card so you can easily access your funds. But be aware that pesky fees may apply here, too: South Carolina charges a flat $5 per month to use a checking account, though many states waive their $2 monthly fee so long as you maintain at least $250 a month in your account.

State income tax advantages: If you live in one of the 41 states that levies state income tax, check to see the total amount you can deduct. Some states limit you to the first $3,000 to $10,000 in contributions, while others, like South Carolina, 100 percent of contributions are deductible. Typically, you can only take advantage of the tax deduction if you reside in the state sponsoring the ABLE account.

If youre planning to invest with an ABLE account, potentially growing a sizable nest egg for yourself, its also worth considering what happens to money in your account after you pass away.

Inheritance rules for ABLE accounts can be tricky, Stagner says. Some states allow you to name a beneficiary while others simply allow the account to become part of your estate after you die, exposing it to potential creditors.

If your beneficiary also has a disability, they may be able to keep the ABLE account intact and simply change the name on the account. If the beneficiary isnt disabled, theyll likely need to cash out the account, pay income tax on the earnings and transfer the funds to their own account, says Stagner.

If youre enrolled in Medicaid, some states allow whats known as a Medicaid clawback, in which the state attempts to recoup some of the Medicaid benefits it paid out. If youre on Medicaid, the state may attempt to seize these funds from your ABLE account after you pass away, though Stagner says this is changing in many states.

Generally, the trend has been moving away from state Medicaid programs coming after ABLE accounts after a beneficiarys death, he says. But its something to pay attention to.

If youre concerned about how an ABLE account fits into your estate plan, its a good idea to speak with a disability lawyer.

Bottom line

ABLE accounts give people with disabilities and their families a unique opportunity: To invest for the future in a flexible, tax-advantaged account  without jeopardizing public benefits. For working adults with disabilities, ABLE accounts can act as a secondary retirement plan, helping them avoid the early withdrawal penalties imposed by even the best IRAs.

Its financial inclusion, says Stagner. Its a chance to participate in the broader economy, just like everyone else.

Get started: Match with an advisor to help you achieve your financial goals

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.
A study from University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology found that when placed in simulated markets, AI trading bots did not compete with one another, but rather began colluding in price-fixing behaviors. According to the study authors, research on how AI behaves in market environments can help regulators understand gaps in existing rules and statutes.

Artificial intelligence is just smartand stupidenough to pervasively form price-fixing cartels in financial market conditions if left to their own devices.

A working paper posted this month on the National Bureau of Economic Research website from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology found when AI-powered trading agents were released into simulated markets, the bots colluded with one another, engaging in price fixing to make a collective profit.

In the study, researchers let bots loose in market models, essentially a computer program designed to simulate real market conditions and train AI to interpret market-pricing data, with virtual market makers setting prices based on different variables in the model. These markets can have various levels of noise, referring to the amount of conflicting information and price fluctuation in the various market contexts. While some bots were trained to behave like retail investors and others like hedge funds, in many cases, the machines engaged in pervasive price-fixing behaviors by collectively refusing to trade aggressivelywithout being explicitly told to do so.

In one algorithmic model looking at price-trigger strategy, AI agents traded conservatively on signals until a large enough market swing triggered them to trade very aggressively. The bots, trained through reinforcement learning, were sophisticated enough to implicitly understand that widespread aggressive trading could create more market volatility.

In another model, AI bots had over-pruned biases and were trained to internalize that if any risky trade led to a negative outcome, they should not pursue that strategy again. The bots traded conservatively in a dogmatic manner, even when more aggressive trades were seen as more profitable, collectively acting in a way the study called artificial stupidity.

In both mechanisms, they basically converge to this pattern where they are not acting aggressively, and in the long run, its good for them, study co-author and Wharton finance professor Itay Goldstein told Fortune.

Financial regulators have long worked to address anti-competitive practices like collusion and price fixing in markets. But in retail, AI has taken the spotlight, particularly as legislators call on companies to address algorithmic pricing. For example, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) called Deltas practice of using AI to set individual airfare prices predatory pricing, though the airline previously told Fortune its fares are publicly filed and based solely on trip-related factors.

For the [Securities and Exchange Commission] and those regulators in financial markets, their primary goal is to not only preserve this kind of stability, but also ensure competitiveness of the market and market efficiency, Winston Wei Dou, Wharton professor of finance and one of the studys authors, told Fortune.

With that in mind, Dou and two colleagues set out to identify how AI would behave in a financial market by putting trading agent bots into various simulated markets based on high or low levels of noise. The bots ultimately earned supra-competitive profits by collectively and spontaneously deciding to avoid aggressive trading behaviors.

They just believed sub-optimal trading behavior as optimal, Dou said. But it turns out, if all the machines in the environment are trading in a sub-optimal way, actually everyone can make profits because they dont want to take advantage of each other.

Simply put, the bots didnt question their conservative trading behaviors because they were all making money and therefore stopped engaging in competitive behaviors with one another, forming de-facto cartels.

Fears of AI in financial services

With the ability to increase consumer inclusion in financial markets and save investors time and money on advisory services, AI tools for financial services, like trading agent bots, have become increasingly appealing. Nearly one third of U.S. investors said they felt comfortable accepting financial planning advice from a generative AI-powered tool, according to a 2023 survey from financial planning nonprofit CFP Board. A report last week from cryptocurrency exchange MEXC found that among 78,000 Gen Z users, 67% of those traders activated at least one AI-powered trading bot in the previous fiscal quarter.

But for all their benefits, AI trading agents arent without risks, according to Michael Clements, director of financial markets and community at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Beyond cybersecurity concerns and potentially biased decision-making, these trading bots can have a real impact on markets.

A lot of AI models are trained on the same data, Clements told Fortune. If there is consolidation within AI so theres only a few major providers of these platforms, you could get herding behaviorthat large numbers of individuals and entities are buying at the same time or selling at the same time, which can cause some price dislocations.

Jonathan Hall, an external official on the Bank of Englands Financial Policy Committee, warned last year of AI bots encouraging this herd-like behavior that could weaken the resilience of markets. He advocated for a kill switch for the technology, as well as increased human oversight.

Exposing regulatory gaps

Clements explained many financial regulators have so far been able to apply well-established rules and statutes to AI, saying for example, Whether a lending decision is made with AI or with a paper and pencil, rules still apply equally.

Some agencies, such as the SEC, are even opting to fight fire with fire, developing AI tools to detect anomalous trading behaviors.

On the one hand, you might have an environment where AI is causing anomalous trading, Clements said. On the other hand, you would have the regulators in a little better position to be able to detect it as well.

According to Dou and Goldstein, regulators have expressed interest in their research, which the authors said has helped expose gaps in current regulation around AI in financial services. When regulators have previously looked for instances of collusion, theyve looked for evidence of communication between individuals, with the belief that humans cant really sustain price-fixing behaviors unless theyre corresponding with one another. But in Dou and Goldsteins study, the bots had no explicit forms of communication.

With the machines, when you have reinforcement learning algorithms, it really doesnt apply, because theyre clearly not communicating or coordinating, Goldstein said. We coded them and programmed them, and we know exactly whats going into the code, and there is nothing there that is talking explicitly about collusion. Yet they learn over time that this is the way to move forward.

The differences in how human and bot traders communicate behind the scenes is one of the most fundamental issues where regulators can learn to adapt to rapidly developing AI technologies, Goldstein argued.

If you use it to think about collusion as emerging as a result of communication and coordination, he said, this is clearly not the way to think about it when youre dealing with algorithms.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Tariff talk isnt usually light reading, but when former President Donald Trump rolled out his latest set of duties, the global reaction ranged from stunned silence to diplomatic damage control. These 15 countries took some of the hardest hits, whether for trade imbalances, fentanyl-linked concerns, or simply being on the wrong side of a negotiation.

Brazil

Credit: Getty Images

Brazil was staring down a hefty 50% tariff on key exports, mainly steel and metals. The move wasnt entirely unexpected, given Trumps long-standing friction with Brazilian trade policies. But what stung more was the timing, as it came right as Brazil tried to strengthen industrial ties with the U.S.

Switzerland

Credit: Canva

Known for watches and chocolatenot political dramaSwitzerland unexpectedly landed on the high-impact list with a 39% tariff. The reason? A trade surplus and, as Trump claimed, a lack of alignment on security issues. Swiss officials expressed deep concern, while businesses warned of potential price hikes on everything.

India

Credit: Getty Images

A 25% duty now applies to a range of Indian goods. U.S. officials said the hike addressed trade imbalances and strategic misalignments. The Indian Commerce Ministry warned of retaliatory measures, but so far, the reaction has leaned more tactical than emotionalan attempt to keep broader U.S.-India relations intact.

South Africa

Credit: Getty Images

South Africa had just ramped up diplomatic ties with Washington, only to be added to this list. Its 30% tariff hike came with little warning and even less explanation. While the U.S. cited non-aligned economic behavior, officials in Pretoria were quick to label the move unfair.

Taiwan

Credit: Canva

Despite strong tech ties with the U.S., Taiwan wasnt spared. Trumps administration tagged Taiwanese goods with a 20% tariff, citing an uneven trade relationship. Critics questioned the move given Taiwans geopolitical position and microchip exports, which are crucial to U.S. industries, but Trumps team remained firm.

Canada

Credit: Getty Images

Canada already had its share of tariff tension with Trump, but this round came with an extra twist. Goods linked to fentanyl-related ingredients now face a 35% tariff. Trump claimed Ottawa had failed to cooperate in controlling illicit product flows. Canadian officials fired back, calling the claim inaccurate and unfair.

Laos

Credit: Getty Images

An unspecified trade imbalance and lack of cooperation on U.S. trade goals led Laos to a 40% tariff. While Laos doesnt export massive volumes to the U.S., the symbolic hit drew attention across Southeast Asia. Regional analysts noted the move could push Laos closer to China in future trade strategy.

Syria

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Syria received the highest tariff rate of all41%which is more symbolic than economic. U.S. trade with Syria is already minimal due to long-standing sanctions and conflict, yet Trumps order listed the country as a top offender in terms of non-cooperation and economic misalignment.

Iraq

Credit: iStockphoto

Iraqi exports to the U.S. arent huge, but theyre diverse, from industrial goods to specialty materials. A 35% tariff now applies, with the administration citing national security and trade balance concerns. Economists say the long-term impact will depend on how strictly the tariff is enforced and whether exemptions are negotiated.

Serbia

Credit: Getty Images

Serbia had been expanding trade with the U.S., especially in the tech and automotive sectors. Now, a 35% tariff threatens to undercut that progress. Serbian media framed it as a wake-up call to reduce dependency on Western markets and build stronger commercial ties with Eastern Europe and China.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

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The nation had been cautiously rebuilding economic links with the U.S., especially in textiles and raw materials. Yet Trumps team flagged Bosnias limited transparency in trade practices and imposed a 30% tariff. Local businesses warned the tariff could reverse recent progress, especially for smaller exporters.

Myanmar

Credit: iStockphoto

Myanmar, also listed as Burma in the tariff order, faces a 40% hit on its goods. The announcement came amid ongoing human rights concerns and shifting U.S. policy in the region. While trade volumes remain modest, the steep duty serves more as a signal than a fiscal blow.

Libya

Credit: iStockphoto

Libya isnt a major U.S. trade partner, but its now facing a 30% tariff on everything it sends across the Atlantic. National security alignment, or the lack of it, was cited as the reason. Libya continues to struggle with internal divisions, and the added tariff likely wont have a major economic effect.

Algeria

Credit: Getty Images

Algiers expressed confusion upon the imposed 30% tariffs, saying they had recently participated in U.S.-Africa trade forums. Experts pointed to Algerias close energy ties with Europe and China as potential reasons. The affected sectors include raw minerals, textiles, and some agricultural industries, now weighing their export options.

Mexico

Credit: Getty Images

After a call between Trump and President Claudia Sheinbaum, most non-auto and non-metal exports got a reprieve, so long as they meet USMCA rules. Still, Mexico faces 50% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper, plus 25% on cars and goods linked to fentanyl. Mexico didnt escape completely, but it definitely caught a break.
MONTREAL  Alain Ejeil is a restaurant owner, not someone looking to stir up trouble.

Hed much rather serve up dishes like poulet a la Basquaise, braised chicken with pureed potatoes in olive oil, or tartare de boeuf, beef with an emulsion of lime, capers and chives.

But if you buy either of those specialties at his restaurant, Bidon Taverne Culinaire, just outside of Montreal, the chicken or the beef wont come from the United States. Nor can you pair those dishes with a California chardonnay or an Oregon pinot noir.

Ejeil stopped buying American food items and pulled U.S.-made wines and spirits from his shelves back in February after President Donald Trump started to taunt Canada with the threat of tariffs and American statehood. It wasnt an easy decision, he said, but as a Canadian, it was the right thing to do.

I love America, he said.

But he also feels a duty to his country and his kitchen. For those reasons, he has become a reluctant warrior in Canadas tariff war with the United States.

Canadians are known for their easy-going attitude, friendliness and hospitality. But Trump is testing the limits of their cordiality.

The U.S. president slapped a 25% tariff on nearly all Canadian imports back in February, then suspended them on many products. A new 35% duty on many Canadian goods takes effect Aug. 1, raising the stakes in a trade war that threatens to inflict even more pain on Canadians and further poison relations between the neighboring countries.

Even before the upcoming round of tariffs, Canadians have been feeling the impact of Trumps policies.

Alain Ejeil, owner of the Bidon Taverne Culinaire in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, near Montreal, looks over stock in his wine cellar. Ejeil has removed all American alcohol and food products from his menu to protest Donald Trump's tariffs and negative attitudes toward Canada

Many in the food and beverage industry, like Ejeil, have yanked American products from their shelves while a Buy Canadian movement has taken hold across much of the country.

A small business owner who makes custom-designed guitars from the basement of his Montreal home reported that some of his U.S. customers are getting hit with $1,000 tariff fees on top of the cost of their instruments.

Others are affected in different ways. A surge in Canadian patriotism has driven up sales of red-and-white Canadian flags, patches and lapel pins and spawned a demand for hats and T-shirts with slogans like Canada Is Not For Sale.

Canadian businesses are feeling the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian products. The duties are testing the limits of Canadian cordiality.

Even business owners like bagel maker Rhonda Shlafman have been swept up in the tide. Shlafman said she wasnt trying to make a political statement when she came up with a red-and-white creation that she called the Canada Bagel. She just wanted to do something to lift the spirits of her fellow Canadians, who she said seemed depressed by all of the recent negativity.

But Canadians are hungry for anything that promotes Canadian patriotism, even in the form of dough and yeast, so the Canada Bagel has been flying off the shelves of Shlafmans shop, Fairmount Bagel.

'Standing with Canada'

On a quiet street corner in the mostly residential city of Saint-Lambert, across the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal, Bidon Taverne Culinaire seems far removed from the tariff tensions roiling Canada and the United States.

Open since 2010, the cozy bistro serves up classic French fare like longlet de boeuf (steak) alongside other flavors from around the world and simple but popular dishes like fish and chips. Chalkboards mounted on the wall announce the menu and cocktail selections in large, loopy cursive handwriting.

The restaurants clientele are mostly locals. And they are loyal. Some dine there three or four times a week. Its not uncommon for someone to swing by for lunch and return later that evening for dinner, said Ejeil, who has owned the eatery since 2018 with his wife, Joyce Takla.

Alain Ejeil and his wife Joyce Takla at their Bidon Taverne Culinaire restaurant in Saint-Lambert, Quebec, in the Montreal area. Ejeil has removed all American alcohol and food products from his menu to protest Donald Trump's tariffs and negative attitudes toward Canada

The customer loyalty has extended to Ejeils decision to boycott American foods and alcohol. He removed them from his menu back in February after consulting with his wife and the restaurants manager. He announced the decision on social media and then watched as the post went viral. A few weeks later, Quebecs liquor board announced that it would cease importing all American booze.

Gone from Ejeils menu are Kentucky bourbons and wines from California and Oregon. The beverage selection is now heavy on Canadian ryes and wines from France, Italy, Spain, Africa and, of course, Canada.

'A big bully': Canada Day turns into grande fete and rebuke of Trump's call for becoming 51st state

Ejeil buys locally grown products whenever possible. Most of the chicken, duck and steak on his menu now comes from Canada, as do the vegetables. He tries to stick to Mediterranean fish or those found locally. Replacing fruits, like oranges and bananas, has been more difficult because of Canadas colder climate. Thus, some of his fruits come from South America and, when theyre not available anywhere else, the United States.

Ejeil, whose family left Lebanon during the countrys civil war and came to Canada in 1984 when his mother was pregnant with him, personally has nothing against Trump, whose entrepreneurial instincts he has admired for years. An entrepreneur himself, Ejeil hopes to one day expand his business into the United States, possibly Florida.

Canada and the United States have been allies and neighbors for so long that they should be standing together and growing together, not fighting over tariffs and statehood, he said.

But as long as there is a fight, he knows which side he's on.

"We're standing with Canada," he said. "We're standing against the tariff war."

$1,000 'just to cross the border'

From the basement of his Montreal home, Florian Bouyou builds custom-made electric guitars. What was once just a hobby is now a full-time job.

One wall of his workshop is covered with wooden templates of guitar bodies, necks and pick guards. A grinder, screwdrivers, cutting tools and other gizmos are scattered around the cluttered room. A guitar-in-progress rests on a workbench.

Bouyou carefully runs a string down the unfinished instruments long neck and threads it through a small hole in the tuning post. He pulls the string tight and snips off the excess with pliers. He twists the tuner, strums the string, adjusts the tuner again and then lays the instrument back on the table.

Guitar maker Florian Bouyou at his home workshop in Montreal.

Timeline: A look at key moments in Trump's feud with Canada

Bouyou was working as a cabinet maker a few years ago and tinkering with guitars on the side when a friend asked him to design and build him one of the instruments. A new career was born  one he fears could be wrecked by the tariff tensions between Canada and the United States.

Bouyou produces 18 to 25 custom-made guitars every year under the brand name Millimetric Instruments and ships them to musicians and other customers mostly in the United States and in Europe, Australia and Asia.

This year, at least four of his U.S. customers received an unwelcome surprise along with their guitars: A duty of around $1,000 on top of each instruments $4,500 to $5,000 price tag.

Trump imposed a 25% tariff on nearly all imports from Canada and Mexico in February, then later suspended them on products that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal signed during his first term in office.

The trade agreement is supposed to cover Canadian-made guitars. But the shipping company Bouyou hired to send his instruments to the United States listed them on paperwork as wooden products. Unlike guitars, wooden products are subject to the tariffs.

Its ridiculous  like paying $1,000 just to cross the border, Bouyou said. Its stupid.

Its also bad for business. Some customers hit with the tariffs said they wouldnt have ordered his guitars if theyd known about the hefty fees.

Guitar maker Florian Bouyou at his home workshop in Montreal.

Bouyou, who started playing drums when he was 12 and later taught himself to play guitar, understands their hesitance. He has switched shipping companies and hopes that will fix the paperwork snafu. But hes not sure it will, given the state of confusion surrounding the on-again, off-again tariffs.

You cant get the certainty of having your guitar shipped and not tariffed, he said.

Bouyou, a native of Brittany, France, who came to Canada nearly two decades ago, said he typically has a years worth of back orders for his guitars. After that, hes not sure what will happen.

He wonders how much of a future there is for him as a guitar maker. He is teaching himself how to repair electronic devices like vintage amplifiers and has started to think about shifting his business in that direction so the majority of his customers will be Canadian.

He already has made one business decision because of Trumps tariffs. He has stopped buying tuners and other guitar parts from U.S. distributors.

Im giving my money to Canadian companies, he said.

'The right time' for the Canadian flag

The shelves of Marc-Andre Bazerguis small shop in Montreals Cote-Saint-Paul neighborhood are stocked with the official flags of dozens of nations all over the world.

Flags from Haiti, Italy and Ukraine. Big flags. Small flags. Flags for a boat or car.

You can get all of them here.

Marc-Andre Bazergui, owner of Le Flag Shop in Montreal, says sales of the Canadian national flag have jumped this year as President Donald Trump has taunted Canada with threats of tariffs and statehood.

But the flag that people are asking for most often is the one from home.

Talk of tariffs and Canadian statehood have made Canadas red-and-white Maple Leaf a big seller, especially among first-time flag buyers.

People are saying, Ive been thinking about it, and now I think its the right time to do it, said Bazergui, owner of the specialty store called simply Le Flag Shop.

Canadian cold shoulder: Trump's antics anger our otherwise polite neighbor

Even in Quebec, where the French language and the francophile culture make the province feel like a country within a country, the Canadian colors are flying high.

People in Quebec are sometimes hesitant to raise the Canadian flag out of fear it will be seen as a show of support for remaining a part of Canada, which could be a bit awkward if your next-door neighbor backs Quebec independence. Quebec has voted twice  in 1980 and 1995  against becoming an independent country. But the Fleurdelise  Quebecs official flag, a white cross on a blue background decorated with four fleurs-de-lis  is still often flown in place of the Canadian Maple Leaf.

Now, many Quebecois are flying both, a political message intended not for the neighbors next door, but for those to the south, Bazergui said.

Bazergui said his store recently got a request from an 80-year-old woman who had been debating for years whether to fly the Canadian flag. The current state of affairs pushed her to a decision.

I need my flag on my balcony, she said. Help me set one up.

Other popular sellers in Bazerguis shop are Canadian lapel pins and patches often used to decorate backpacks. Canadians are coming into the store and buying them before they travel abroad. They dont want foreigners to confuse them with Americans, he said.

Items that arent going over particularly well: Those stamped Made in the USA. Bazergui said he has had customers refuse to buy flags once they see the U.S. manufacturing marker. A flag made in China almost passes better than a flag made in the U.S., he said.

Lucky for him, his Canadian flags are all made in Canada.

A bagel and Canadian pride

Shlafman, the bagel shop owner, doesnt want to talk politics. She just wants to make bagels. Its what her family has done for more than a century.

The cramped work area in the back of Fairmount Bagel, founded by her grandfather in 1919, smells of freshly baked bread. The overpowering heat from the ovens is made tolerable by a stream of cool air blown through the room by an air conditioner.

At a table, a worker in an apron kneads a huge ball of dough, slices off a strip and shapes it into a familiar disc with a hole in the middle. Across from him, another worker uses a long piece of plywood to scoop up bagels and pull them out of the oven. With impressive precision, he gives the plywood a flip, and the bagels sail through the air and land in a basket nearby.

He never misses.

Rhonda Shlafman, co-owner of Fairmount Bagel in Montreal, has created a red-and-white Canadian bagel to show Canadian pride

Shlafman, who owns the bakery with her brother Irwin Shlafman, came up with the idea for the Canada Bagel when she was driving to work one cold, rainy day in February, back when the tariff talk was heating up. As she listened to the news and watched people on the street, she couldnt help but notice: Everyone seemed depressed.

Why dont I make something thats fun, somethings that colorful, that will make people smile, she remembers thinking.

Et voila! The Canada Bagel was born. The chewy creation is made from two strands of dough  one red, one white  braided together to symbolize the Canadian flag. Food coloring gives the bagel its patriotic hue but doesnt change the taste.

A bagel baker throws some bagels just out of the oven into a container at Fairmount Bagel in Montreal, Canada.

Political fallout: Trump is the 'X factor' as Canada elects a prime minister

The Canada Bagel was a hit.

People started telling me and writing emails and giving a thumbs up  Oh, were proud of you. You made a Canada Bagel to stand up for Canada, she said.

That was never her intention, she said. Nor is she looking to get into a bagel war with the United States. Montreal and New York City have long had a friendly rivalry over who makes the best bagel. But as far as Shlafman is concerned, there is no contest.

Every day, you can come in here and buy a bagel, and youre going to get the same bagel you would have bought from my grandfather in 1919  the recipe hasnt changed, the technique hasnt changed, she said.

Bagel baker Manuel Naves prepares sesame seed for bagels. Rhonda Shlafman, co-owner of Fairmount Bagel in Montreal, Canada, has created a red-and-white Canadian bagel to show Canadian pride.

While other people may have viewed the Canada Bagel as a declaration of nationalist pride, I saw people looking happy and having fun  and that was really the goal, Shlafman said.

Even with the tensions over tariffs and statehood, thats a position Americans and Canadians can get behind.

Michael Collins is a national correspondent who writes about the intersection of politics and culture. A veteran journalist, he has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X @mcollinsNEWS.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Canadian businesses are feeling impact of Trump's tariff war
FILE - Workers carry out maintenance at the Pedro Miguel locks of the Panama Canal during routine upkeep in Panama City, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

HONG KONG (AP)  A subsidiary of a Hong Kong conglomerate entangled in U.S.-China tensions appealed on Friday for legal protection for businesses in Panama after the company's contract over its Panama Canal port assets has been faced with lawsuits in the Central American country.

Respect for the rule of law is essential to assure businesses that Panama is a safe place to invest in, Panama Ports Company, under Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings, said in a statement.

Panamas Comptroller General filed two lawsuits on Wednesday, seeking to declare unconstitutional a contract that granted the operation of ports at both ends of the canal to the Hong Kong subsidiary, and to nullify its renewal four years ago, saying it was abusive of Panama's interests.

In turn, Panama Ports Company said its operations have had a positive impact, from building world-class ports to creating more than 25,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing billions of balboas  Panama's currency  to the country's economy.

It said it wants to work with the government in Panama for a better future.

Regarding the ongoing legal actions, we firmly believe that respect for legal protection and the rule of law are essential in order to provide businesses and investors with the certainty that Panama is a safe country to invest in, it said.

The company operates the ports of Balboa, in the Pacific, and Cristobal, in the Atlantic, under a concession contract approved in 1997 and renewed in 2021 for 25 more years. CK Hutchison is controlled by the family of Li Ka-shing, the southern Chinese citys richest man.

Panamas comptroller authority in April said that an audit of Panama Ports Company found irregularities in the renewal of the concession. But the company denied allegations that it had failed to pay about $1.2 billion to the Central American country.

Panama President Jose Raul Mulino said during his weekly news conference on Thursday that he fully supported the comptrollers case and would await the courts verdict.

We have all seen what that contract has costed the Panamanian nation over time, Mulino said without elaborating. He alluded to some sort of public-private partnership for the ports, saying there was a lot of interest from private companies, but that it was in the early stages and provided no details.

CK Hutchison Holdings initial plan, announced in March, to sell its port assets in dozens of countries to a group that includes the U.S. investment firm BlackRock Inc., also got caught up in tensions between Beijing and Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has alleged that China interferes with the canal, initially welcomed that plan. However, it apparently angered Beijing and drew a review by Chinese anti-monopoly authorities.

After months of uncertainty, Hutchison said on Monday that it may seek a Chinese investor to join a consortium of buyers, which also includes BlackRock subsidiary Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, a subsidiary of the Mediterranean Shipping Company.

The initial deal, valued at nearly $23 billion, including $5 billion in debt, would have given the consortium control over 43 ports in 23 countries, including the two at the Panama Canal.

Panama Ports Company said Friday it would communicate with the Panamanian government at the appropriate time, affirming that it believes engaging with the government is vital to discuss the way forward for the company.

Panama's government maintains it has full control over the canal and that the operation of the ports by Hutchison does not mean Chinese control of it.

___

Associated Press journalist Alma Solis in Panama City contributed to this report.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Chicago on Jan. 26. (Christopher Dilts / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is newly flush with billions from the One Big Beautiful Bill spending legislation and under pressure to rapidly hire 10,000 new agents. But one tactic it recently tried to do that hiring  aggressively recruiting new agents from some of its most trusted local law enforcement partners  may have alienated some of the leaders it needs to help execute what the Trump administration wants to be the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.

Were their force multipliers, and this is the thanks we get for helping them do their job? Polk County, Florida, Sheriff Grady Judd said in an interview. Judd said hes not happy about a recruitment email ICEs deputy director sent to hundreds of his deputies, and he blamed Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE.

Kristi Noem needs to get on her big girl pants and do whats right. She needs to make sure that theres an apology, said Judd, who also made it clear that he wants to support President Trumps mission.

NBC News spoke to local law enforcement leaders in four states whose agencies participate in ICEs 287(g) program, under which local officers are deputized to help in immigration enforcement, and whose deputies ICE targeted for recruitment.

The recruitment email, sent this week, appears to have targeted law enforcement officers whose agencies participate in the 287(g) program.

The email, which NBC News has obtained, reads, in part: As someone who is currently supporting ICE through the 287(g) program, you understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law. Your experience in state or local law enforcement brings invaluable insight and skills to this mission qualities we need now more than ever.

The email also touts potential $50,000 signing bonuses as an incentive for joining ICE, and it links to a government recruitment website featuring an image of Uncle Sam, the headline AMERICA NEEDS YOU and the possibility of up to $60,000 in student loan repayment beyond the signing bonuses.

ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership, the Pinellas County, Florida, Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

The sheriff in Pinellas County is a Republican, as is Judd.

It was bad judgment that will cause an erosion of a relationship that has been improving of late. And its going to take some getting over, and its going to take leadership at DHS to really take stock, cause, hey, they need state and locals, Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs Association, said in an interview.

Thompson said the association has heard from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies about the recruitment emails. He also said that the group has not heard from DHS since the emails were flagged to the association and that he intends to send a very stern note to ICE.

This is inappropriate behavior of a partner organization, Thompson said. Were all on the same boat. And you just dont treat friends or partners like this.

One Florida police chief who did not want to be named out of concern that his department could face retaliation said departments that have partnered with the federal government now fear they could lose their best officers.

Now you know why everybodys so pissed, the chief said.

This is like the transfer portal in college sports, the chief said, adding: We see people leave us because they believe they can make more money at other locations. ... Law enforcement has always been a calling. Now its a job.

The DHS media office did not respond to questions about local law enforcement concerns but provided NBC News with a statement that it attributed to a senior DHS official: ICE is recruiting law enforcement, veterans, and other patriots who want to serve their country. ... This includes local law enforcement, veterans, and our 287(g) partners who have already been trained and have valuable law enforcement experience. Additionally, more than $500 million from President Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill will go to increasing our 287(g) partnerships with state and local law enforcement.

The sheriffs office in Forsyth County, Georgia, told NBC News that the Atlanta ICE office sent an apology for the recruitment email.

Not all sheriffs are upset with the recruitment effort. In fact, some say they support it.

Thaddeus Cleveland, the sheriff of Terrell County, Texas, said, I think if someone wants to better their life, better their career, you know, look towards the long years, the long game, retirement, theres nothing better than the U.S. government to go out and have a successful career.

Cleveland, who has just four deputies, admits he cannot compete with the $50,000 bonuses the agency is offering.

We may not be able to turn around and hire somebody the next day. It may take a few weeks. It may take a few months. But again, I support, you know, someone wanting to pursue something theyre interested in. I may end up having to work a little more, which is OK.

Goliad County, Texas, Sheriff Roy Boyd also said he is not upset about the recruitment and noted that his office also has to deal with the states recruiting new troopers from his department.

We cant compete with the salaries of the state and the feds, he said.
AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool; MEGA; Idaho Dep. Correction/ TMX/MEGA

Bryan Kohberger is behind bars in the same prison as Chad Daybell, who is Doomsday Mom Lori Vallows husband.

Us Weekly confirmed earlier this month that Kohberger was transferred to the Idaho Maximum Security Institution inside the Idaho State Correctional Complex in Kuna, Idaho, after being sentenced to life in prison.

Kohberger received four life sentences without the possibility of parole on July 23, more than two years after he broke into a house located at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022, and murdered college students Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. Police documents released after Kohbergers sentencing revealed that he stabbed Kernodle more than 50 times (she had visible defense wounds) and Goncalves over 20 times to the point where she was unrecognizable.

Kohbergers sentence was part of a deal in which he agreed to plead guilty to four counts of first-degree murder, removing the possibility of the death penalty, which was a possibility had the case gone to trial.

Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to 4 Lifetimes in Prison: Who Were the Idaho Murder Victims?

The Idaho Maximum Security Institution is the states only maximum security prison, which has a capacity of 535 inmates. The prison, which has been open since November 1989, houses Idahos most dangerous and volatile male residents and was on the list of 15 Worst Prisons in America published by Security Journal Americas in 2024. It was previously reported that there have been violent brawls, feces-covered recreation cages and a dirty ventilation system described as being biohazard in the prison.

Along with Kohberger, the prison holds serial killer Thomas Creech (whose lethal injection was botched in 2024) and Gerald Pizzuto (who is currently awaiting execution).

True crime aficionados, however, are more interested in Kohberger and Daybell, 56, being kept in the same prison. Chad was convicted of first-degree murder of his first wife, Tammy Daybell, and Loris kids Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 13. He was sentenced to death in June 2024.

What Idaho Victims Surviving Roommates Said at Bryan Kohbergers Sentencing

Chad was a doomsday author who claimed to have visions of the apocalypse. Lori eventually adopted his beliefs, and the two became publicly referenced as part of a doomsday cult. JJ and Tylee disappeared in September 2019, and their remains were found buried in June 2020 in a property owned by Chad. The murder of Loris ex-husband Charles Vallow also became part of the case, along with an attempted murder on Loris nephew-in-law Brandon Boudreaux.

Lori has been sentenced to five consecutive life sentences for her involvement in the murders of her children, Tammy and Charles plus the attempted murder of Boudreaux.
AP Photo/Jenny Kane; Courtesy Chapin Family Jim and Stacy Chapin; Ethan Chapin





NEED TO KNOW

Ethan Chapin's family have released a statement following Bryan Kohberger's sentencing last month

Chapin, 20, was one of four University of Idaho students murdered by Kohberger in November 2022

Stacy Chapin, Ethan's mother, said that the outcome of Kohberger's sentencing was "the right one" and said of her son, "There will never be another you"





The family of Ethan Chapin, who was one of the four University of Idaho students murdered by Bryan Kohberger, has released an emotional statement after choosing not to attend his sentencing last month.

On July 23, Kohberger, 30, was sentenced to four lifetimes in prison without parole in an Idaho courtroom for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Chapin, 20  plus 10 years for a burglary charge and $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.

The four victims were found brutally stabbed to death inside their off-campus Moscow home on Nov. 13, 2022.

According to ABC News, the Chapin family didn't attend the sentencing, but did share a statement on Instagram on Ethan's mother Stacy Chapin's account on Thursday, July 31, insisting they'd "given a lot of thought" to what they should say since the sentencing date.

Instagram; Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Kaylee Goncalves, (standing), Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle; Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse in Idaho

"[We] have edited this a million times. The entire situation has been a tough pill to swallow but at the end of the day, we believe the outcome is the right one," they said in the post, which was shared alongside multiple family photos of Ethan with his parents Stacy and Jim, and his siblings Hunter and Maizie.

Mentioning "the true heroes in our lives," the family thanked the Moscow Police Department, ISP and FBI, "who worked tirelessly on this case, and spent time away from their loved ones," as well as "the prosecutors who openly communicated with transparency, answered every call and email, and were fantastic throughout this process."

"The University of Idaho staff who consistently supported our family, especially Maizie and Hunter, from their first day of orientation through graduation this past May," the post added, as well as thanking their "incredible extended family, friends, and the communities that continue to lift us up every day."

"Theyre our backbone, and we recognize how fortunate and privileged we are to have this ongoing support," the caption read.

The statement also thanked, "All of the kids!! Close friends of the triplets, Greek family, and others who were part of this story from the very beginning."

"Although each of their experiences is different, all have suffered severe loss and trauma. We continue to be in awe of their strength, and will continue to support them in any way we can," the message read, as well as thanking "the media for providing us with opportunities to share our story while treating us with respect and care."

Courtesy Chapin Family Ethan Chapin

The family concluded by sharing a special tribute to Ethan, writing, "Finally, thank you, Ethan. You were only with us for 20 years, but you touched the lives of so many people."

"From the time you were a baby to when we dropped you off at college, you were an absolute joy and the glue that held our family together," the family continued. "We remember your smile, your laugh, how you kept us in check, and the many ways you brought happiness and light to any situation."

"There will never be another you. There would never have been enough time with you. We love you, miss you, and promise to continue honoring your legacy," they insisted.

The statement came after a trove of recently unsealed police reports released by the Moscow Police Department shed new light on the final moments of the victims' lives.

Evidence previously suggested that Ethan, who was sleeping at the time, nor his girlfriend Kernodle, were Kohberger's intended victims on the night they were murdered. The reports suggested thatKernodle had instead encountered the killer upon returning upstairs after collecting a DoorDash delivery left outside the door on the first floor.

Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty Bryan Kohberger

It's believed Kohberger may have chased Kernodle, stabbing her more than 50 times, before accidentally leaving behind the biggest piece of evidence in the case  his KA-BAR knife sheath. Kernodle put up a fight, and the commotion got the attention of surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen.

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During an emotional interview on the TODAY show shortly before Kohberger's sentencing last month, Ethan's parents spoke about their son and how the killer appeared in court.

"You expected some  I don't know  some remorse, emotion, something, and there was just zero," Stacy said of coming face-to-face with Kohberger for the first time during his plea hearing on July 2.

Ethan's parents said they speak to their son every day when they wake up. "I have him where I need him," Stacy said. "In my mind and my heart and my soul."



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King Charles reportedly wept the night before marrying Princess Diana, knowing he was still in love with his ex, Camilla. But he wasnt the only one to shed tears.

"They both [cried]," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital, referring to doomed couple Charles and Diana.

"Diana was reluctant about marrying Charles but was told by her sister it was too late. The tea towels with their joint images were already being sold. Charles was given cufflinks with a Camilla insignia, which he wore on his wedding day so that she could be included, which allegedly made him emotional."

Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana In Striking Blue Outfit At Trooping The Colour

Turners claims came shortly after People magazine looked back at Charles and Dianas royal wedding July 29, 1981.

Royal expert Ian Pelham Turner claimed both King Charles and Princess Diana shed tears before they married for different reasons.

"According to the biography Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Charles felt pressured into his marriage to Diana and was still torn about his love for the then-married Camilla," the outlet shared. "He even cried over it the night before his nuptials."

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British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital the books author, Sally Bedell Smith, told her that Charles did cry the night before marrying Diana.

The Prince and Princess of Wales on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on their wedding day July 29, 1981.

"In covering the kings coronation [in 2023], I was live on set with Sally Bedell Smith," she said. "I asked her about him crying the night before his wedding, which she confirmed."

British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital she confirmed the claim that Charles shed tears ahead of his wedding.

While the explosive marriage of Charles and Diana is well documented, Fordwich said the younger royals of today should be grateful that they wont have to ever endure similar heartache.

"The tumultuous love triangle of Charles, Diana and Camilla is an infamously sad study of the clash between traditional royal duty versus personal fulfillment and happiness at the heart of Britains monarchy," Fordwich explained.

British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital Prince Philip urged his son to marry Princess Diana.

"Then-Prince Charles reportedly told his friends he felt compelled by his father, Prince Philip, to marry Diana not due to deep love, but rather to comply with royal convention.

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Lady Diana Spencer initially had no idea what she was up against.

"He had to marry a virginal, suitable bride who would meet public expectations of a future queen," she shared. "Camilla was regarded as completely unsuitable due to her many previous relationships and marital status. Certainly, the Church of England wouldnt permit the heir to the throne to marry a divorcee.

"His godmother, Patricia Mountbatten, said he realized he was too committed to back out of marrying Diana," Fordwich continued. "Still, she knew he was making a mistake given his love for Camilla, who remained his soulmate despite being married to another man."

Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their honeymoon at Balmoral in Scotland.

Charles met Camilla in 1970 through mutual friend Lucia Santa Cruz. According to reports, Charles was instantly smitten. Despite a blossoming romance, Charles joined the Navy in 1971.

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles in 1979.

While Charles was serving, Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles, an ex-boyfriend of the royal's younger sister, Princess Anne, in 1973. According to reports, a devastated Charles tried to stop Camilla from marrying Parker Bowles, but the pair remained friends. As the former lovers stayed close, Charles began courting Lady Diana Spencer in 1980.

"By the time Charles married Diana, supposedly, Camillas physical relationship with him had ceased," said Fordwich. "However, their emotional bond continued, for which both were derided. The tabloids termed her the other woman."

Camilla kept a low profile as rumors intensified.

And it was easy for Diana to see that Camilla continued to play an important role in the life of the man she was going to marry.

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Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer pose for photographers at Buckingham Palace after the announcement of their engagement.

"At first, Diana professed to be very much in love with Charles but expressed to many she felt foolish and jealous once she fully grasped his emotional attachment to Camilla," Fordwich explained.

"The press, both sides of the family and even her Spencer sisters made it clear to her that she simply couldnt back out of the wedding once her face was on the tea towels.  The entire nation and the world were giddy with excitement regarding their imminent wedding.

According to British royals expert Hilary Fordwich, Princess Diana turned to her astrologer for guidance.

"On her wedding day  the public speculated her sleepless look was due to wedding nerves. No one was aware of her knowing of Camillas place in Charles heart, which rendered her distraught.

Lady Diana Spencer and Camilla Parker Bowles

"Diana later described feeling she was the luckiest girl in the world, but she also knew Charles' true affections lay elsewhere," Fordwich continued. "Her emotional turmoil would damage not only the rest of their marriage but, to this day, it has ramifications in Prince Harrys behavior, given his deep-rooted resentment of Camilla as well as his mistrust of the media."

Camilla made the royal weddings guest list, likely due to her husbands role as the Commanding Officer of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, People magazine reported.

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (left); Andrew Parker Bowles (third left); Princess Margaret; Countess of Snowdon (center); Lady Diana Spencer (second right); and The Queen Mother (right) stand in the parade ring at Sandown Park Racecourse March 13, 1981, in Sandown, United Kingdom.

While several reports claimed Camilla wore white during the ceremony, catching Dianas eye, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams clarified to Fox News Digital that she wore a "pale gray dress with a veiled pillbox hat."

WATCH: PRINCESS DIANA TOLD QUEEN ELIZABETH KING CHARLES WAS A NIGHTMARE: AUTHOR

Problems only worsened during Charles and Dianas honeymoon.

"From the start, the public preferred the princess, though privately she was angst-ridden and bulimic," said Fitzwilliams.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated in 1992.

"It does seem that fate almost inexorably decreed that, once it had been set in motion, it was impossible to call the wedding off. Diana's discovery of a bracelet Charles had bought for Camilla before the wedding worsened her suspicions that she had a dangerous rival."

Princess Diana wore her famous "revenge dress" on the day Prince Charles made an admission to adultery on television.

"The divide between Charles and Diana was exacerbated by the gulf between their respective ages, their completely different interests, as well as their worldviews," added Fordwich.

"Even on their honeymoon, they reportedly had some rather major personality clashes. Later, there was the lurid scandal of 1989 that exposed Charles and Camillas ongoing affair. It shocked the public and irreparably damaged Charles reputation."

Princess Diana died Aug. 31, 1997. She was 36.

"The British public hasnt forgotten," Fordwich added.

Charles and Diana separated in 1992. In 1995, Diana gave a bombshell interview to BBCs Panorama during which she declared, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."

Their divorce was finalized in 1996.

Charles and Camilla married on April 9, 2005.

Charles and Camilla rekindled their romance after Diana died in 1997. They married in 2005. The couple were crowned king and queen in 2023.





Original article source: King Charles cried the night before marrying Princess Diana, knowing he loved Camilla: expert
The North Carolina Supreme Court in Raleigh, N.C., is on the third floor, with a walnut-paneled courtroom and imposing partial screen of ionic columns behind the bench. Portraits of former chief justices adorn the courtroom, and portraits of former associate justices line the walls of the building's corridors. NCCourts.gov

(The Center Square)  Fridays start of a new month brings a provision from a new law into effect affecting the courts of the state and the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The State Judicially Managed Accountability and Recovery Court Program is part of what the North Carolina Judicial Branch calls a new vision for treatment courts.

Chief Justice Paul Newby, at a spring training, said a more trauma-informed Judicial Branch in service to North Carolina communities affected by addiction epidemics, adverse community environments, and adverse childhood experiences.

AOC Agency Requests, known also as House Bill 620, was signed by first-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein the day after he got it. It passed the Senate 45-0 and the House of Representatives 107-0.

Newly effective are technical and clarifying changes to existing laws of the North Carolina Judicially Managed Accountability and Recovery Court Program. The program facilitates creation, administration and funding of local judicially managed accountability and recovery courts.

The North Carolina Judicial Branch said more than 300 attended a training in Winston-Salem in the spring. Present were judges for Superior Court and District Court; prosecutors and defense lawyers; probation officers; treatment professionals; peer recovery support specialists; veterans services workers; educators; and housing specialists.

Newby in 2021 started the ACEs Task Force. The acronym is for Adverse Community Environments, Adverse Childhood Experiences.

North Carolina has 83 treatment courts for adults, mental health, veterans, family and juvenile courts. Thirty-three new recovery courts have started in just the last four years.
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The Barbados threadsnake may be tiny, but it has made big news in the scientific world. This elusive little creature, listed as the smallest snake in the world, had gone missing for 20 years but has made a come back delighting researchers. Now, experts want to learn more about the species and the habitats where it lives, so that it can be effectively protected.

This Is How Small a Snake Can Get

The smallest snakes in the world. Free for use  Original / License

Barbados threadsnakes (Tetracheilostoma carlae) are as small as a snake can get. These tiny creatures measure just 3 or 4 inches long when they are fully grown and have the same diameter as an earthworm. At a quick glance, you might mistake them for earthworms. You could also be forgiven for mistaking it for a Brahminy blind snake (also called a flowerpot snake), which was inadvertently introduced to Barbados.

Snake Hunting in Barbados

In March 2025, ecological surveyors working with the Barbados Ministry of the Environment and National Beautification, together with Re:wild made an exciting discovery. Hiding under a rock in central Barbados, they found this tiny creature.

The work was part of the Conserving Barbados Endemic Reptiles (CBER) project. In a Re:wild press release, Justin Springer, Caribbean program officer for Re:wild, describes how it was found. He says, I just had a feeling, but I couldnt be sure because we turned over a lot of rocks before that and we saw nothing. Under this particular rock, he found an earthworm and a tiny snake. Could it really be a Barbados threadsnake?

Microscopic Identification

Barbados threadsnakes need microscopic identification. Free for use  Original / License

Connor Blades, a project officer with the Ministry of Environment in Barbados, took the snake to the University of the West Indies, where it was examined under a microscope. The telltale distinguishing features were all there: pale orange dorsal lines running from its head to tail, eyes located on the side of its head, a rostral scale on its nose, and no gland lines on its head.

The morphological differences between the threadsnake and blind snake are really difficult to tell by eye, particularly because it was the first threadsnake we had seen, so we werent familiar with the species yet, says Blades.

The little snake was later returned to the forest.

No Longer Lost to Time

These threadsnakes are very rare and elusive. There have only been a handful of confirmed sightings since 1889. There were concerns that none of these snakes remained on the island and that they had been lost to science.

With this crucial discovery, the CBER researchers now have a better idea of where and when to hunt for more threadsnakes. The survey will continue so that they can understand the snakes preferred habitats and range. There are concerns about the loss of forest habitat and the introduction of invasive species on the island, which has already led to several other native species being driven to extinction. These include the Barbados racer, Barbados skink, and the Barbados rice rat. Springer emphasizes, The threadsnakes rediscovery is also a call to all of us as Barbadians that forests in Barbados are very special and need protection.

The post The Smallest Snake on Earth Has Been Found Again After 20 Years appeared first on A-Z Animals.
Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Nov. 27, 2017





NEED TO KNOW

Meghan Markle will turn 44 next week, but a birthday post from 2016 on The Tig blog hinted at her then-private relationship with Prince Harry

Meghan wrote that she was feeling "joyful" and "grateful," hoping for more "adventure" and "cheeky jokes"

The Duchess of Sussex will likely celebrate her 44th birthday with Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet





Meghan Markle is about to celebrate her 44th birthday, inspiring a look back at her previous celebrations.

The Duchess of Sussex will likely mark her Aug. 4 birthday on her relaunched Instagram page, but she used to reflect on birthdays on her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig. In a 2016 post tied to her turning 35, she revealed how her mom, Doria Ragland, viewed the annual events.

"My mom has always said that birthdays are your own personal New Year. Your own chance to make resolutions just for yourself and what you prognosticate for your year ahead," Meghan wrote, according to an archived version of the post.

"And while Ive always loved that sentiment, I have to say that when I close my eyes and think of what I wish for, I come up with a blank. A big old happy blank," she continued. "I am feeling so incredibly joyful right now, so grateful and content that all I could wish for is more of the same. More surprises, more adventure, more opportunities to grow, more days filled with giggles and cheeky jokes, more delicious meals, and more inspiration. Always more inspiration."

Desiree Navarro/WireImage Meghan Markle on March 17, 2016

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Although Prince Harry and Meghan's relationship wasn't public at the time that this post was written, they had met the month prior. The couple had their first date on July 3, 2016, meeting at Soho House in London after they connected over Instagram. The date went so well that they met again the following day, and later that summer, they spent a week together in Botswana.

Meghan's post may have hinted at the blossoming romance, with her feeling "so incredibly joyful." Another clue was her use of the word "cheeky," a term more frequently used in the U.K. than the U.S.

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Chris Jackson/Getty Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Invictus Games on Sept. 25, 2017

Meghan also shared a birthday post on The Tig in 2014 for her 33rd birthday.

I am 33 years old today. And I am happy. And I say that so plainly because, wellit takes time. To be happy. To figure out how to be kind to yourself. To not just choose that happiness, but to feel it, she wrote.

Meghan then looked to her past, including a cliquey high school and her early years in Hollywood.

My 20s were brutal  a constant battle with myself, judging my weight, my style, my desire to be as cool/as hip/as smart/as whatever as everyone else. My teens were even worse  grappling with how to fit in, and what that even meant. My high school had cliques: the black girls and white girls, the Filipino and the Latina girls. Being biracial, I fell somewhere in between," she said. I must have been about 24 when a casting director looked at me during an audition and said, You need to know that youre enough. Less makeup, more Meghan. "

Addressing her fans, she wrote, You need to know that youre enough. A mantra that has now ingrained itself so deeply within me that not a day goes by without hearing it chime in my head. That five pounds lost wont make you happier, that more makeup wont make you prettier, that the now iconic saying from Jerry Maguire  You complete me  frankly, isnt true. You are complete with or without a partner. You are enough just as you are.

I want you to be kind to yourself. I want you to challenge yourself. I want you to stop gossiping, to try a food that scares you, to buy a coffee for someone just because, to tell someone you love themand then to tell yourself right back. I want you to find your happiness," she concluded the post.

Meghan will likely celebrate her 44th birthday on Monday with her family: Prince Harry and their two children, a 6-year-old son, Prince Archie, and a 4-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet.

Since rejoining Instagram in early 2025, Meghan has celebrated her children's birthdays by sharing new photos of them.



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MIAMI  A federal jury on Friday found Tesla partly liable in a 2019 car crash that killed a pedestrian and left another person badly injured when the car was in Autopilot mode.

The jury awarded the plaintiffs $43 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering plus $200 million in punitive damages, which are intended to deter future harmful behavior by Tesla.

The verdict is a blow for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk as they try to convince the public, government regulators and investors that their self-driving software is safe.

The eight-person jury said that Tesla was partly to blame for the crash in the Florida Keys six years ago, when neither the driver of the Tesla sedan nor the Autopilot software braked in time for an intersection. The jury assigned Tesla one-third of the blame and assigned two-thirds to the driver, who was reaching for his cell phone at the time of the crash. He was sued separately.

The jury found that the plaintiffs experienced pain and suffering totaling $129 million, but Tesla will be required to pay only a third of that, or $43 million in compensatory damages, given its partial liability, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs' lawyers said.

Tesla denounced the verdict and said it planned to appeal.

Todays verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Teslas and the entire industrys efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology. We plan to appeal given the substantial errors of law and irregularities at trial," Tesla said in a statement.

The verdict follows a three-week trial in Miami that threw a spotlight on how Tesla and Musk have marketed their driver-assistance software, which despite its name requires constant oversight by a human in the drivers seat.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued Tesla oversold the capabilities of Autopilot, leading the driver of a Model S sedan to take his eyes off the road as he approached a T-intersection in the Florida Keys after sundown. The Tesla failed to stop at the intersection and slammed into a parked SUV, killing 20-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon as she was standing next to the SUV and injuring her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo.

The Tesla was traveling at 62 miles per hour just before the crash, according to data cited at trial. The intersection had a stop sign and a flashing red light.

Benavides Leons family and Angulo sued the driver and also Tesla, arguing that its Autopilot software should have warned the driver and braked before the vehicle crashed.

Jurors deliberated for seven hours Thursday afternoon and Friday before reaching a verdict. The verdict form asked jurors whether Tesla placed a vehicle on the market with a defect which was a legal cause of damage to the plaintiffs. The jurors found the answer was yes.

Punitive damages are generally intended to punish a defendant for especially harmful behavior and to deter similar behavior in the future.

Tesla maintained the driver was solely at fault.

"To be clear, no car in 2019, and none today, would have prevented this crash. This was never about Autopilot; it was a fiction concocted by plaintiffs' lawyers blaming the car when the driver  from day one  admitted and accepted responsibility," the company said in its statement Friday.

After the verdict was read in court, the two families hugged each other and their attorneys, with some crying. Angulo hugged his mother, visibly emotional.

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom said she accepted the jury's verdict and would issue an order accordingly.

Most wrongful death lawsuits reach a settlement or are dismissed, but this lawsuit went to trial as a major public test of Teslas safety record. Tesla argued that the driver of the Model S was solely responsible for the crash because he was reaching for a dropped cellphone when it happened.

The driver, George McGee, testified during the trial he believed Autopilot failed him.

My concept was it would assist me should I have a failure or should I miss something, should I make a mistake  that the car would be able to help me. And in that case, I do feel like it failed me, he said.

The plaintiffs sued McGee separately, and that case was settled.

Autopilot comes standard on all Tesla vehicles and is a package of several driver-assistance features. Tesla warns drivers in its online owners manual that Autopilot requires supervision and does not make its vehicles fully autonomous.

But the plaintiffs said Tesla lulled drivers into a false sense of security, causing drivers to become distracted.

The plaintiffs asked for $109 million in compensatory damages from Tesla and $236 million in punitive damages.

Tesla and Musk have for years touted Autopilot and another package of driver-assistance software, Full Self-Driving, as major steps forward in automobile safety. Musk has said that Tesla cars using the software are safer than human drivers, and he has bet the future of the company on developing a fleet of safe, autonomous taxis.

But federal regulators and their counterparts in California have for years questioned the safety of Teslas systems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last year said there was a "critical safety gap" in Autopilot that contributed to at least 467 collisions, including 13 crashes resulting in fatalities.

Brett Schreiber, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, blamed Musk individually in his closing summary to the jury Thursday.

It is Teslas CEO who created an expectation among consumers that Autopilot can perform beyond its limitations, he said.

He also said Teslas driver-assistance technology was unproven but that the company hyped it anyway.

We are here because Dillon Angulo and Neima Benavides were part of a beta test they never signed up for, he said.

Joel Smith, a lawyer for Tesla, told the jury in his closing summary that the driver of the Model S, not the vehicle software, was to blame for the crash.

Can it happen in any car? Of course it can. Does it happen in any car? Of course it does, he said.

Smith told jurors that McGee had traveled safely through the same intersection 30 to 40 times previously, without incident.

The only thing that changed was the drivers behavior, he said.

Musk did not appear in the Miami federal courtroom during the three-week trial, though his name came up, including during the jury selection process.

David Ingram reported from San Francisco, and Maria Pinero from Miami.
Police tape surrounds The Owl Bar in of Anaconda, Mont., on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, following a fatal shooting. (Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard via AP)

A shooting at a Montana bar left four people dead Friday, prompting a lockdown in a neighborhood several miles away as authorities searched for the suspect in a wooded, mountainous area.

The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the investigation. The agency confirmed four people were pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, identified as 45-year-old military veteran Michael Paul Brown, lived next door, according to public records and bar owner David Gwerder.

The bartender and three patrons were killed, said Gwerder, who was not there at the time. He believed the four victims were the only ones present during the shooting, and was not aware of any prior conflicts between them and Brown.

"He knew everybody that was in that bar. I guarantee you that, Gwerder said. He didn't have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped.

Brown's home was cleared by a SWAT team and he was last seen in the Stump Town area, just west of Anaconda, authorities said.

More than a dozen officers from local and state police converged on that area, locking it down so no one was allowed in or out. A helicopter also hovered over a nearby mountainside as officers moved among the trees, said Randy Clark, a retired police officer who lives there.

Brown was believed to be armed, the Montana Highway Patrol said in a statement.

Brown served in the U.S. Army as an armor crewman from 2001 to 2005 and deployed to Iraq from early 2004 until March 2005, according to Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, an Army spokesperson. Brown was in the Montana National Guard from 2006 to March 2009, Castro said. He left military service in the rank of sergeant.

As reports of the shooting spread through town, business owners locked their doors and sheltered inside with customers. At Caterpillars to Butterflies Childcare, a nursery a few blocks from the shooting scene, owner Sage Huot said shed kept the children inside all day after someone called to let her know about the violence.

Were constantly doing practice drills, fire drills and active shooter drills, so we locked down the facility, locked the doors, and we have a quiet spot where we play activities away from all of our windows and doors, Huot said.

Anaconda is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of Missoula in a valley hemmed in by mountains. A town of about 9,000 people, it was founded by copper barons who profited off nearby mines in the late 1800s. A smelter stack thats no longer operational looms over the valley.

The owner of the Firefly Cafe in Anaconda said she locked up her business at about 11 a.m. Friday after getting alerted to the shooting by a friend.

We are Montana, so guns are not new to us," cafe owner Barbie Nelson said. For our town to be locked down, everybodys pretty rattled.

___

Brown reported from Billings, Montana, and Slevin from Denver. AP writer Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report.
Federal Emergency Management Administration on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. By Andrew Rice | The Center Square

(The Center Square)  Nevadas Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is bracing for federal funding cuts to an urban security grant.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to cut $1 billion from the Urban Areas Security Initiative, as was leaked by CNN last week. Nevada looks set to lose considerable funds if President Donald Trump approves the move.

UASI cuts would create a less secure nation, especially at the border and in some of the nations most targeted cities, including Miami, Washington DC, and Dallas, read one of the leaked memos signed by senior White House administrators.

Federally, UASI is the largest of a slew of proposed FEMA cuts, with over $500 million provided to major U.S. cities.

FEMA has not issued a formal decision regarding its cancellation, Gail Powell, the Nevada OEM chief communications officer, told The Center Square Friday. The state continues to monitor the situation closely, engage with our federal partners, and advocate for the needs of our state and its communities.

Last year, the Las Vegas area received over $4.7 million from the UASI program, as per the Grants Office database. The federal funds help protect the city from emergencies and set up counterterrorism measures. It's largely used for high-density sections of the city, such as the Las Vegas Strip.

If FEMA funds are cut, Nevada is expected to get the money from other federal grants.

In the meantime, Nevada is proactively exploring strategies to ensure that the preparedness needs of both urban and rural communities can be met, said Powell. Should UASI funding not be released, the State Homeland Security Program funds will be utilized to sustain core capabilities and ensure continuity of operations across the state.

But the State Homeland Security Funds Program has also recently been changed to shorten the application timeline for states. The grant applications were issued July 28 and have to be finished by Aug. 8  a process that normally takes two months.

Nevada acknowledges the significantly expedited timeline for the SHSP grant application  substantially shorter than in previous years  and is responding with urgency, said Powell. While the timeframe presents challenges, NV OEM is committed to administering these grants through our established processes, albeit on a compressed schedule.

It remains to be seen if FEMA will follow through with the funding cuts, as Nevada and other states scramble to find a solution to the sudden budget changes.
Visitors enjoy a fairground ride at the funfair setup in the Jardin des Tuileries gardenin central Paris on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Guillaume BAPTISTE / AFP) (Photo by GUILLAUME BAPTISTE/AFP via Getty Images) Photo by GUILLAUME BAPTISTE/AFP via Getty Images

A video circulating on social media shows an amusement park ride in Saudi Arabia snapping in half, hurling riders to the ground.

At least 23 people were injured Thursday after the 360 Degrees ride crashed into the ground at Green Mountain Park in Taif, Saudi Arabia, Fox News reported. Three people sustained critical injuries.

The video shows the pendulum ride swinging passengers into the air moments before the center part appears to snap in half. The ride then slams into one of the support beams before crashing into the ground. The riders cheers of amusement quickly turned into screams of fear as the ride collapsed.

Eyewitness said people sustained injuries after the rides pole recoiled at a fast pace, striking riders on the opposite side, according to the Khaleej Times, a Dubai-based newspaper. Other riders suffered injuries after falling while still seated inside the ride.

Emergency services responded to the scene and authorities have launched an investigation into the rides malfunction, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Deadly Malfunction Causes State Fair Ride To Literally Fall Apart)

Riders were treated at the scene and multiple hospitals in Taif, Saudi Arabia, declared a Code Yellow emergency after receiving passengers, the Khaleej Times stated, citing a report from Saudi Arabia-based outlet Okaz.

Amusement park ride malfunctions are not common but are also not unheard of  in November 2023, riders in Orlando, Florida, were stuck mid-air in a vertical position for nearly an hour on Thanksgiving after a popular roller coaster in Universal Studios malfunctioned.

A similar situation occurred in the United Kingdom in December 2022 where passengers on a slingshot ride slammed against a support beam after a cord malfunction, leaving them dangling in the air. There were no injuries reported in these cases.

Experts told PEOPLE in 2024 that amusement park accidents are decreasing annually.

In North America, there has been a consistent decline in the rate of injuries per million rides and per million attendees over the past 20 years, Jakob Wahl, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry president and CEO told the outlet.

Wahl said eight percent of injuries were classified as serious in 2023, which was down 19 percent from 2022.
By Anna Mehler Paperny

TORONTO (Reuters) -Canada is working with the United States to "deal with" countries reluctant to accept deportees as both nations increase efforts to ship migrants back to their home countries, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

Since President Donald Trump began his second term in January, the United States has cracked down on migrants in the country illegally. But the U.S. has at times struggled to remove people as quickly as it would like in part because of countries' unwillingness to accept them.

As Canada has increased deportations, which reached a decade-high last year, it has also run up against countries reluctant to accept deportees. Canadian officials issued a single-use travel document in June to a Somali man they wanted to deport because Somalia would not provide him with travel documents.

In a redacted message to an unknown recipient, cited in a February 28 email, the director general of international affairs for Canada's Immigration Department wrote, "Canada will also continue working with the United States to deal with countries recalcitrant on removals to better enable both Canada and the United States to return foreign nationals to their home countries."

The department referred questions about the message to the Canada Border Services Agency, which declined to specify how Canada and the U.S. were cooperating, when the cooperation started, and whether the working relationship had changed this year.

"Authorities in Canada and the United States face common impediments to the removal of inadmissible persons, which can include uncooperative foreign governments that refuse the return of their nationals or to issue timely travel documents," an agency spokesperson wrote in an email.

"While Canada and the United States do not have a formal bilateral partnership that is specific to addressing this challenge, the Canada Border Services Agency continues to work regularly and closely with United States law enforcement partners on matters of border security."

When the email was sent, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in his last days in office before being replaced in March by Prime Minister Mark Carney. The Canada-U.S. relationship was strained by Trump's threat of tariffs, which he said were partly a response to migrants illegally entering the U.S. from Canada.

The spokesperson added the CBSA has committed to deporting more people, from 18,000 in the last fiscal year to 20,000 in each of the next two years.

Immigration has become a contentious topic in Canada as some politicians blame migrants for a housing and cost-of-living crisis.

The rise in Canada's deportations largely reflects an increased focus on deporting failed refugee claimants. Refugee lawyers say that could mean some people are sent back to countries where they face danger while they try to contest their deportation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; Editing by Frank McGurty and Rod Nickel)
BEIJING (Reuters) -Nvidia must produce "convincing security proofs" to eliminate Chinese users' worries over security risks in its chips and regain market trust, a commentary published by China's state-run media People's Daily said on Friday.

Foreign companies must comply with Chinese laws and take security to be a basic prerequisite, said the commentary - titled "Nvidia, how can I trust you?" - which was published on the paper's social media account.

In a statement sent to Reuters, an Nvidia spokesperson reiterated that "Cybersecurity is critically important to us".

"NVIDIA does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them," the spokesperson said.

The commentary appeared a day after Beijing raised concerns over potential security risks in Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chip, casting uncertainty over the company's sales prospects in China weeks after a U.S. export ban was reversed.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulator, said it was concerned by a U.S. proposal for advanced chips sold abroad to be equipped with tracking and positioning functions.

The regulator said it had summoned Nvidia to a meeting to explain whether its H20 AI chip had any backdoor security risks, as it was worried that Chinese user data and privacy rights could be affected.

A backdoor risk refers to a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls.

(Reporting by Beijing NewsroomEditing by Ros Russell)
Residents of Paris's picturesque Montmartre are sounding the alarm over escalating overtourism, fearing their hilltop neighbourhood could become the next Barcelona or Venice.

This concern follows a spike in tourist numbers after last year's Olympic Games.

While Paris has largely avoided the widespread anti-tourism protests seen in Spain and Italy, partly due to stringent housing regulations and its sheer size, some iconic areas are now feeling the strain. Locals on Montmartre's famed cobbled streets are urgently calling for change.

Anne Renaudie, who has lived in the area for 29 years and heads the Vivre a Montmartre association, said the historic quarter made famous by the 2001 film "Amelie" now resembles a theme park.

"People come for three hours, have fun, buy a beret or a crepe, and leave, as if they were in an amusement park," she told Reuters. Meanwhile, essential food shops for residents are vanishing, replaced by snack stands and souvenir stalls.

"We're down to two or three butchers, two cheese shops. They're disappearing one after the other," she said. "Now it's a lot of ice cream, crepes, taco places."

Tourists take photos in front of "La Maison Rose" restaurant in Montmartre, Paris, France, July 29, 2025 (REUTERS)

Her association has proposed measures to the town hall similar to those in other European tourist hotspots: limiting tour groups to 25 people, banning loudspeakers, and raising the tourist tax.

Tourism in the Paris region reached 48.7 million visitors in 2024, with about 11 million visiting Montmartre annually, largely to see the photogenic Sacre-Coeur basilica.

The narrow streets have become clogged with tour groups, leaving locals frustrated.

"Sometimes I have to really raise my voice and say, 'Sorry, I want to pass'," said Anthea Quenel, 44, a mother of two and local resident.

And things may only get busier. Paris officials say 2025 is shaping up to be a bumper tourist year, with a 20 per cent rise in January bookings over the same month last year.

Eric Lejoindre, mayor of the 18th arrondissement, which includes Montmartre, said rising housing prices could drive residents out.

A man touches the statue of Dalida in Montmartre, Paris, France, July 29, 2025 (REUTERS)

"For me, the big issue is housing. That means fighting against Airbnb and rental platforms," he said.

Real estate prices in Montmartre have risen 19 per cent over the past decade, according to website meilleursagents.com. A 40-square-metre apartment near Place du Tertre can now fetch around 500,000 (437,000).

To address this, Paris has tightened short-term rental rules, reducing the annual limit on renting out a primary residence from 120 to 90 days.

Even small things, like the cost of a scoop of ice cream, which can set you back 5, reflect the shift from neighbourhood to tourist zone.

"It's like Disneyland," Ms Quenel lamented.
(Reuters) -Four flight attendants on the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane that experienced a mid-air cabin panel blowout in January last year are suing Boeing for physical and emotional injuries.

In separate lawsuits, they are seeking compensation for past and future economic damages, citing physical and mental injuries, emotional distress and other financial costs.

"Each of the four flight attendants acted courageously, following their training and putting their passengers' safety first while fearing for their lives," Tracy Brammeier, the attorney representing each of the plaintiffs, said.

"They deserve to be wholly compensated for this life-altering traumatic experience."

Boeing declined to comment, while Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

The lawsuits were filed on Tuesday in Seattle's King County Superior Court and accuse Boeing of negligence and failure to exercise reasonable care in the production, sale and repair of 737 MAX jets and its parts.

"Boeing knew or should have known of the quality control issues present in its production of the 737 MAX line of aircraft," the filings said.

The incident sparked a crisis for the planemaker and prompted the U.S. Justice Department to open a criminal investigation into the company and declare that Boeing was not in compliance with a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement.

Last month, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Boeing had failed to provide adequate training, guidance and oversight to prevent the incident.

The board criticized Boeing's safety culture and its failure to install four key bolts in the panel during production, and accused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of ineffective oversight.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna, Chandni Shah and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Dheeraj Kumar and Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
The mother of Irish soldier Sean Rooney who was killed on a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has said she believes "justice was not done" following a trial that convicted and sentenced those involved.

Pte Sean Rooney was in an armoured UN vehicle which came under fire while travelling to Beirut on 14 December 2022.

The 24-year-old was the first Irish soldier to die while on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon in more than 20 years. Three others were injured in the incident.

In a statement, Mr Rooney's mother Natasha Rooney said the family felt "extreme disappointment and heartbreak at the recent court proceedings in Lebanon".

The main defendant in the case is Mohammad Ayyad. It is understood he did not appear in court on Monday.

A number of other men were convicted in relation to the shooting.

Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said Lebanon's permanent military court found six individuals who were charged over Mr Rooney's killing guilty. One person was acquitted.

The death sentence was announced at a military tribunal in Beirut, according to Irish broadcaster RTE.

"What happened in Lebanon is unreflective of what we regard as a trial process," Ms Rooney said.

"The trial into the murder of my son was heard and determined in less than half a day. Not only was justice not done, it was not seen to be done, with little to no information being disclosed or challenged in open court," she said.

"Instead, we are forced to believe the answers provided by a Lebanese justice system which from the outset has failed to hold those responsible to account."

Ms Rooney called the process a "sham trial".

She also criticised that the proceedings, originally scheduled for September 2025, were brought forward to this week, something she said caused "unforeseen pressures".

In a statement on Tuesday, Tanaiste (deputy Irish prime minister) Simon Harris said he raised his "deep frustration at the slow pace of proceedings" before the Lebanese Military Tribunal.

Irish government reaction

"While noting the sentence handed down to the main defendant, I am disappointed and share the disappointment of Pte Rooney's family at the lighter sentences imposed on a number of those convicted today," Harris said.

He added: "I appreciate that this is an incredibly difficult day for the family of Private Rooney. None of us can fathom their unimaginable pain and grief and all my thoughts remain with them at this time."

In her statement, Ms Rooney criticised the Irish government for issuing public statements before speaking to the family.

Ms Rooney said that "in a country where victims' rights ought to be paramount, it would perhaps be wise for the Tanaiste to speak to me, before seeking to speak for me, in his public statements".

Harris said he wants to support Ms Rooney's quest for justice [PA Media]

Harris visited Beirut last March and met with the Lebanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Defence.

RTE News on Thursday reported that Harris said in a statement he "cannot imagine the pain and suffering experienced by the Rooney family".

"I look forward to meeting Mrs Rooney and arrangements are underway to ensure this happens.

"Above all, I want to support her quest for justice in any way I possibly can."

Unifil said it "welcomes the conclusion of the trial process and the Government of Lebanon's commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice".

"Once again, we offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Private Rooney and the Government of Ireland."

Ms Rooney said that she will "dedicate every bone in my body to ensure justice for Sean, and to highlight the uncomfortable truths about the systemic failings by the United Nations, the Irish Defence Forces and the Lebanese justice system".

"That is the very least I owe my son Sean. It is the very least I owe Sean comrades."

More on this story
Nancy Mace

She couldnt keep it quiet.

Firebrand Rep. Nancy Mace appears to have prematurely revealed the launch of her gubernatorial campaign next week while promoting her series of town halls in the Palmetto State.

In a blast advertising the first stop of the Mother of ALL Town Halls Tour in Myrtle Beach, the congresswomans team tagged the event as being hosted by Nancy Mace for Governor.

A webpage for the event teases it as being hosted by Nancy Mace for

But a screengrab of the slip-up  whether it was intentional or inadvertent  quickly gained traction on social media. It comes ahead of Maces (R-SC) special announcement next Monday.

She hasn't officially launched her South Carolina gubernatorial campaign  a "special announcement" is planned on Monday  but Rep. Nancy Mace's upcoming Myrtle Beach town hall is being hosted by



 Nancy Mace for Governor.



pic.twitter.com/YMQDZnWhXE  Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) July 31, 2025

Rep. Nancy Maces special announcement comes next Monday. AP

When asked about the screengrab, a spokesperson for Mace told The Post, Will confirm on Monday!

Mace, who was first elected to the House in 2020, has long been dropping hints about her plans to jump in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster (R).

President Trump needs America First governors. South Carolina needs a fighter, Mace declared on X Wednesday.

Shes also cut videos hyping up her Aug. 4 special announcement, which will take place at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.

Mace graduated Citadel in 1999 and was the first woman to graduate from its Corps of Cadets program. Notably, Maxine Hudson was the first female to graduate Citadel in December 1969.

The Lowcountry rep has made a name for herself as a culture warrior in Congress and for her pomposity.

Late last year, for example, she crusaded to stop transgender people from utilizing the womens bathroom in reaction to the election of Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly transgender person elected to the House.

Eventually, GOP leadership opted to change the policy to require individuals to use the facilities that correspond with their biological sex.

Back in January, Mace joined firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) in storming into a womans bathroom in the House amid fears that a man snuck in there.

There is a crowded field of Republicans jockeying to succeed term-limited incumbent Gov. Henry McMaster (R). Epics

After some sleuthing, they discovered that wasnt the case and quietly walked away, according to Bloomberg reporter Billy House.

Mace also went viral in April on the eve of Easter for getting into a foul-mouthed shouting match with a random man wearing daisy dukes at a local store.

The man, whom she accused of being an unhinged lunatic and of harassing her, chided Mace for not doing more town halls. She countered that she will do plenty more.

And by the way, I voted for gay marriage twice, she noted, seemingly implying that he looked gay.

The two exchanged f-bombs, and Mace later posted a video of the encounter on social media.

In May, Mace displayed a naked photo of herself, only showing a silhouette of her, during a congressional hearing.

Sparse polling has pegged Mace as the frontrunner in the South Carolina gubernatorial contest.

Should she make the run for office official next Monday, Mace will face off against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), state Sen. Josh Kimbrell (R), Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R), and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R).

Nancy Mace is planning to barnstorm across South Carolina over the coming weeks. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Back in February, Mace publicly accused Wilson of ignoring evidence she presented, alleging sexual abuse from her ex-fiance and others. Wilson has vehemently denied that, calling it categorically false.

Mace is facing a defamation suit over those sexual abuse accusations. However, she made the accusations during a House floor speech, and lawmakers enjoy constitutional protections under the speech or debate clause.
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows NYPD officers carry a casket at a funeral, Image 2 shows Jessica Tisch speaking at a funeral, Image 3 shows Portrait of NYPD Officer Didarul Islam

Fallen NYPD hero Didarul Islam embodied the most New York story there is, serving his adopted city with steadiness, with heart, with conviction  and giving up his life to protect it in Midtowns mass shooting, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in an emotional eulogy Thursday.

The 36-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant  a husband and father of two sons, with a third child on the way  was honored during a tear-filled funeral inside his Bronx mosque, as thousands of police officers from across the nation lined up in the stifling heat outside under dark skies threatening to open up.

In his own words, the police were a blanket for the community, there to provide comfort and care, Tisch said, quoting from the short essay Islam wrote to join the NYPD about four years ago.

Jessica Tisch speaks at the funeral for Officer Didarul Islam, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in New York. NYPD

When he joined this department, he made that his personal responsibility, she said, but it was the man beneath the shield  steady in spirit, generous in presence  who left the deeper imprint.

The solemn service in Parkchesters Jame Masjid mosque included speeches from Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul and heartfelt remembrances by family. It was punctuated by a powerful end-of-watch tribute from Tisch  whose posthumous promotion of Islam to Detective First Grade drew thunderous applause.

Though his journey was cut too short, the way he lived this job with steadiness, with heart, with conviction, it reflected everything this title represents, she said.

I stand with you. I am so heartbroken for you and for your family.

Didarul Islam was promoted to detective first grade NYPD

Cops attend the funeral of Detective Didarul Islam. Tomas E. Gaston

Islam was among four innocent victims shot dead Monday as madman Shane Tamura terrorized a Park Avenue office highrise on a crazed vendetta against the NFL, which is headquartered in the building.

He was the first NYPD officer to be killed in uniform since Jonathan Diller last year.

The massacre quickly became a political flashpoint as it unfolded amid the mayoral race, in which socialist Zohran Mamdani is the frontrunner, despite concerns over his past rabid defund the police stance.

Adams pointedly did not mention Mamdani  who privately met with Islams family immediately upon returning from a trip to Uganda Wednesday  as he acknowledged elected officials in the funeral. Mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa also attended.

The mayor mentioned his own two recent sitdowns with Islams family and spoke as a father.

New York Police officers stand at attention as the hearse carrying the casket of officer Didarul Islam passes after his funeral, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in New York. AP

Members of the Bangladeshi American Police Association put up a banner for the funeral of slain NYPD Officer Didarul Islam. Getty Images

There is nothing more tragic than having a parent bury their child, he said.

Its been my entire life defending and fighting for the innocent people of this city, and each death I take personally, he said. Because, as the mayor, I am responsible for the safety of New Yorkers. That is my obligation, and that is my most basic function.

Tisch, her voice cracking, called Islam a son of two cities  Sylhet, Bangladesh and the Big Apple  who was called to his final, beloved home at the age of 20.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams leaves after attending the funeral services for New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer Didarul Islam, killed during a mass shooting event at a midtown Manhattan office tower on July 28, in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., July 31, 2025. REUTERS

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo departs the funeral service for slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam in the Bronx borough of New York City on July 31, 2025. Islam was one of four people killed when a shooter opened fire in a New York skyscraper before committing suicide on July 28. AFP via Getty Images

Islam sought the promise of a better life, and he fulfilled it by devoting his life to service, Tisch said.

The top cop recounted how Islam and his partner in the NYPD, an officer named Pablo, found common ground.

Pablo hailed from the Dominican Republic and was raising two daughters, while Islam was an immigrant from Bangladesh with two sons, the commissioner said.

Two traditions, two lives shaped, continents apart, she said. Yet here in this city, they found a bond as strong as family. A connection born of faith, carried by trust and rooted in the values that they both lived by.

New York City police officers take position during the funeral of New York City police officer Didarul Islam in the Bronx borough of New York, New York, USA, 31 July 2025. SARAH YENESEL/EPA/Shutterstock

Police officers line the street and salute as officers carry the casket of slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam to a hearse during Islams funeral services in the Bronx borough of New York City on July 31, 2025. Stephen Yang

And that is the most New York story there is, because only in this city do two people from the opposite ends of the Earth end up in the same room watching each others backs. Only in this city do those differences become strengths.

Islam often worked 12-hour shifts in his busy 47th Precinct in the Bronx, both to protect his city and provide for his growing family, Tisch said.

He had also picked up work at 345 Park Ave. under a program in which uniformed NYPD officers can provide security, where he tragically crossed paths with Tamura, who walked into the buildings lobby with an AR-15-style firearm spraying bullets.

Attorney General of New York Letitia James departs the funeral service for slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam in the Bronx borough of New York City on July 31, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

Tisch said Islam never looked for an easier way through life.

He just showed up and he did the work, she said. Theres a quiet dignity to that, a quiet dignity. Everything for him was about building something for his family, for his mosque, for his adopted city, and for his relatives back in Bangladesh. They were all in his care and he found peace in watching them grow.

Follow The Posts live blog for the latest coverage of the 345 Park Ave. shooting

He did believe in the American dream, not as something handed down, but as something built with your own hands. He may not be here to see that dream fulfilled, but his sons will surely grow up with its foundation beneath their feet.

Police officers leave after escorting the body of NYPD officer Didarul Islam to the cemetery in Totowa, N.J., Thursday, July 31, 2025. AP

The commissioner, presiding over Islams end of watch as an NYPD officer, then evoked his Muslim faith.

Theres a belief in Islam  Sadaqah Jariyah  that the good we do in this world doesnt end when we do, she said. That there is true power in good deeds, and a life of service leaves a lasting trace.

Officer Didarul Islam lived that kind of life, one that keeps unfolding in the world.

Islam leaves behind two sons, ages 7 and 5, and a wife whos expecting their third child.

Police officers salute in the rain during the burial of NYPD officer Didarul Islam in Totowa, N.J., Thursday, July 31, 2025. AP

His wife didnt speak at the funeral, but wrote a statement read by another woman.

To our family, he was our world, the representative read. To the city, he was a proud NYPD officer who served with compassion and integrity. He lived to help others and he gave his life protecting them.

Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice may have saved others in that lobby.

Kim Youngblood, right, and her husband Dan Youngblood hold flags and watch as the family and body of NYPD officer Didarul Islam arrives to the cemetery in Totowa, N.J., Thursday, July 31, 2025. AP

Many of Islams fellow Muslim faithful who were unable to get inside the packed mosque prayed outside alongside NYPD officers and at least one Orthodox Jewish man.

Several NYPD officers, clad in heavy dress uniforms, collapsed in the heat.

As mourners streamed outside after the service, they were greeted by a sea of wellwishers and a trickle of raindrops that turned into a somber downpour.

NYC Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa is seen at the funeral for slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam on July 31, 2025. Stephen Yang

NYPD helicopters fly overhead as police officers carry the casket of slain NYPD officer Didarul Islam to a hearse during Islams funeral services in the Bronx borough of New York City on July 31, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

When Islams coffin was carried outside, thousands of NYPD officers built a solid wall of blue down White Plains Road.

They stood in the pouring rain as a white hearse slowly drove past, headed to New Jersey for a private internment with his family, who were saluted by Islams fellow cops as they left the funeral service.

Here is the latest on the NYC mass shooting:

Nahiyan Ahmed, 23, a mourner who works at a law firm, said Islams mosque community will help his family.

Everybody wanted to see and say their last words, Ahmed said. Old friends came, old coworkers, everyone came. That makes me feel good. Its support for him, its support for his family, and its support for his community.

 Additional reporting by Matthew Fischetti, Craig McCarthy, Joseph Barberio, Isabella Bernabeo and Kaydi Pelletier
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shocked the world in January 2020 when they announced they were planning to step back as senior members of the British royal family.

Their decision, while controversial, wasnt the first time members of royal families around the world decided to abdicate the throne or step back from their royal duties.

King Edward VIII

1937  France: Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, sits with his wife Wallis Simpson at the Chateau de Cands in France. Photo shows a close-up view of the couple. (Getty)

Edward, Duke of Windsor, was crowned King Edward VIII in January 1936 following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

However, Edward, who was Queen Elizabeths uncle, abdicated the throne in December 1936, serving less than a year as king, so he could marry American Wallis Simpson.

Given my character, my roving curiosity and independence, my life appeared to form a disconnected patternduty without decision, service without responsibility, pomp without power, Edward wrote in his 1951 memoir. Meanwhile, something had happened that, although I did not realise it at the time, was destined to change the whole course of my life. I met Wallis Warfield Simpson.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Meghan and Harry pose for photos at One World Trade in New York

Meghan and Prince Harry pose for pictures after visiting the observatory in One World Trade in New York, on Sept. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Nearly two billion people around the world watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get married in 2018.

However, less than two years after the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs wedding, they announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping back from their roles.

The decision followed rumors of heightened tensions with Prince William and Kate Middleton, People magazine reported.

After spending some time in Canada after leaving the U.K., the couple moved to Southern California and are raising their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Princess Diana

Princes Diana

Britains Diana, Princess of Wales, is pictured during an evening reception given by the West German President Richard von Weizsacker in honour of the British Royal guests in the Godesberg Redoute in Bonn, Germany Monday, Nov. 2, 1987. (AP Photo/Herman Knippertz, File)

The late Princess Diana lost her official title of Her Royal Highness after she and then-Prince Charles divorced in 1996, according to People magazine.

Diana was still allowed to use her apartment at Kensington Palace and retained an allowance.

Princess Mako

Princess Mako and Kei Komuro staring at each other

Japans Princess Mako and her fiance Kei Komuro look at each other during a press conference at Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2017. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, Pool, File)

On Oct. 26, 2021, Princess Mako, whos the niece of Japans Emperor Naruhito, was forced to give up her royal title and benefits when she married Kei Komura in a no-frills ceremony due to Komura not being of royal descent, according to People.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused, and I am grateful for those  who have continued to support me, she said at her wedding, according to the BBC. For me, Kei is irreplaceable  marriage was a necessary choice for us.

Komuro and Maco moved to New York City in 2021 and welcomed their first child earlier this year.

Margrethe II of Denmark

FILE - Denmark's Queen Margrethe and Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen attend a memorial ceremony in Gilleleje Church, in Gilleleje, Denmark, on Oct. 9 2023. Denmarks Queen Margrethe II has announced that she plans to leave the throne to make way for her son, Crown Prince Frederik. The queen announced during her New Years speech on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 that she would abdicate on Jan. 14. (Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Denmarks Queen Margrethe and Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen attend a memorial ceremony in Gilleleje Church, in Gilleleje, Denmark, on Oct. 9, 2023. (Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who was the longest-running Scandinavian monarch after reigning for 52 years, stepped down as queen in 2024 so her son, King Frederik X, could assume the throne, People magazine reported.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Zambias Lower Zambezi National Park has faced more than its fair share of problems since it first opened in 1983. Lying next to porous borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the park  which spans more than 1,000 square miles  became a hub for illegal activities such as trophy poaching, bushmeat poaching, illegal mining of gold, and unregulated fishing along the Zambezi River.

With cases of human-wildlife conflict rising, and gunshots heard across the park most nights, in 1994, groups including safari operators and local communities around the park established the charity Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) to help government authorities protect the Lower Zambezi National Park, which is home to an abundance of wildlife including lions, leopards, more than 400 different kinds of bird species, and numerous other endangered species.

Conservation Lower Zambezi has reduced the number of canine unit patrols that it carries out since the start of the year as a result of cuts to US foreign assistance (Oliver Fly/CLZ)

A CLZ aerial patrol spies an elephant on the Zambezi. The charity has also reduced the number of aerial unit patrols that it carries out due to USFWS cuts (CLZ)

Today, CLZ has a team of 100 who work 365 days a year to protect the park. More than half of those employees are scouts from the local communities that work alongside government rangers on patrols of up to two weeks at a time, following tracks or tip-offs as part of regular, canine, aerial, or marine units. Whether its by sniffing out bushmeat from the villages that surround the park, removing poachers snares, or scouting out signs of illegal mining, CLZs work ensures the park is both a safe haven for wildlife and a key economic asset for Zambia.

But decades of hard-won progress are now under direct threat from cuts to US overseas aid. Specifically, frozen financing from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has left a $900,000 (680,000) hole in CLZs finances over the next four years. The past few months have left the charity scrambling to fill gaps where they can, says fundraising manager Frances Hannah, including by cutting the number of patrols it carries out and reducing activities in other programme areas.

Since the freeze came in January, weve been playing chess with our funding to cover gaps where we can, says Hannah. The walls are closing in, and I dont think anyone wants to discuss what kind of cuts we may have to make next, because it is not going to be good.

The Lower Zambezi National Park is only a haven for wildlife because of the support to the government and the constant surveillance that CLZ and rangers are able to carry out, Hannah continues. But the threats to the park remain fundamentally the same as when it opened: If you suddenly cant be putting out 10 patrol teams a week, and youre only putting out six, then there are going to be areas that are going to suffer, she says.

CLZs story is far from unique. Leaked USAID files analysed by The Independent show that biodiversity-supporting, multi-year grants in Africa worth more than $300m were cancelled after contract terminations were confirmed in March  and thats not even taking into account other conservation grants from agencies like USFWS and the State Department, which have also been ravaged.

Numerous organisations spoken to by The Independent, many of whom are continuing to do so anonymously over fear of possible reprisals from the US government, have described the devastating impacts that these cuts have had over the past six months. Their stories reveal the tenacity of aid workers in their drive to keep programmes going ever since the first stop work order on all foreign assistance was issued by the Trump administration on 24 January  and also reveal the impacts that aid cuts have had on global efforts to protect and restore the worlds wild places.

One conservation worker at a National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, described how the park lost a grant worth north of $5m functionally overnight. Meanwhile, Charlie Mayhew, founder and CEO of British conservation charity Tusk, told The Independent that a total of 40 Tusk project partners lost a total of $29.5m in funding.

Theyre all having to make immediate savings and quite drastic cost-cutting exercises, says Mayhew. Rural communities are being devastated by job redundancies, with one employed individual likely to be supporting up to 10 family members.

A pride of lions is collar-tracked as part of a Tusk conservation programme in Botswana (Tusk)

Christof Schenck, executive director of the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), is similarly reeling from major cuts to his own organisations finances. The FZS is one of the worlds most active conservation organisations, with an annual budget of around $50m and operations in 18 countries. Termination of FZSs USAID grant creates a $4.5m budget hole between now and 2027, while the withdrawal of its USFWS grant leaves another $4m gap between now and 2029.

We have worked very well with US aid agencies for many years, and we were always impressed by how effective their conservation programmes have been, says Schenck. We understand that aid could be more efficient, and more impact-orientated, but the current approach is hurting many successful projects, and we are very worried about the cuts.

The FZS carries out crucial conservation efforts in a number of countries, including law enforcement, surveillance of highly endangered species, and managing human-wildlife conflict. While the charity has so far made some employees redundant and cut some programmes, it is largely sustaining itself by tapping into reserves that the charity has amassed over many years. It knows that it will not be able to keep doing this indefinitely, but simply terminating conservation work is not really an option: We cant just stop now and leave, for example, black rhino populations or elephants without any protection, says Schenck.

US government funding represented a particularly vital lifeline for conservation programmes in Africa because it is both a sector and region of the world that struggles to attract required levels of investment.

The UN estimates that $200bn per year is needed globally to halt and reverse biodiversity loss  but only $154bn is currently mobilised. Africa, in particular, only receives around three per cent of global biodiversity finance, despite hosting nearly 30 per cent of the worlds biodiversity and nearly 20 per cent of global forest cover.

But while US money might have been crucial for African conservation programmes, for the aid agencies themselves, the money was a drop in the ocean. The $375.4m that USAID provided to biodiversity projects in 2023, according to information submitted to Congress last December, represented just 0.6 per cent of the agencys $60bn overall budget. Meanwhile, the roughly $50m that was directed to USFWSs key international programme streams represented around one per cent of that agencys overall budget.

Conservationists spoken to by The Independent are at pains to stress that the impact of cuts reaches far beyond just the animals. Firstly, theres the loss of vital jobs and investment, and the programmes enabling rural people to have a better quality of life. When you factor in the impact of aid cuts to non-wildlife-focused programmes in rural areas, which will leave people more likely to exploit the natural environment to survive, the crisis is clear.

William Peshut, from the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) in Kenya, is a man who understands that first point very well. In Kenya, only around 10 per cent of the countrys landmass is technically legally protected  but a further 16 per cent of the country is categorised as wildlife conservancies, which are areas managed by rural herders and farmers, where they have learnt to coexist with wild animals including elephants, giraffes and buffalo.

MMWCA plays a vital role in overseeing 25 conservancies spread around the Maasai Mara National Park, which together cover some 700 square miles of land. Key to this is supporting communities so that they feel willing to live alongside wildlife, whether through educational programmes to deter human-wildlife conflict or by encouraging gender parity in conservation work. Added to that is the employment of rangers in the conservancies, and the lobbying of the Kenyan government for greater legislative support.

Its all about helping communities coexist with the natural landscape, and also helping them generate as much income as possible from conservation work, says Peshut, who adds that the work has been so successful that wildlife numbers are actually higher in the conservancies than in many parts of the park.

MMWCA is now facing a major funding gap, with Peshut revealing that a USAID grant running between 2024 and 2028, which was worth $6.5m dollars, has been cancelled; that total represented 72 per cent of MMWCAs budget. The charity has been making do on reserves from previously allocated grants, but programmes are being reorganised and plans are being put on hold, including one to establish a major new wildlife corridor to the east of the park, which has now been cancelled.

Maasai villagers, who receive financial and education support from MMWCA (The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association)

Maasai herdsmen are pictured in the Maasai Mara conservancies (The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association)

Kaddu Sebunya, CEO at the African Wildlife Foundation, a Nairobi-based international conservation charity working across 17 African countries, details how he believes that aid cuts to non-wildlife-focused programmes are also having a major impact on wildlife conservation efforts.

Aid cuts to health programmes, agricultural programmes, or generally any rural development programmes are going to lead people to depend more on natural resources in the area, which will lead to deforestation, and greater competition between agriculture and habitats, he says.

Already, more than 70 per cent of Africans depend on agriculture as a main source of income, and over 70 per cent depend on wood for their energy, Sebunya continues. Those percentages are both going to increase as aid cuts push people out of stable work and healthcare programmes, and that is a major worry for us.

Cuts to healthcare programmes are having real impacts on conservation programmes in other ways too. One conservation charity told The Independent that in southern Africa, several conservation programmes had reported concerns that quite a lot of staff were on antiretroviral medication for HIV that has now been cut, creating new challenges around staffing ranger programmes.

A herd of wildebeest in the Maasai Mara conservancies (The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association)

Sebunya  whose own organisation lost the equivalent of 15 per cent of its annual budget to US overseas aid cuts  sees the problem facing conservation programmes right now as not just stemming from the decisions of the Trump administration, but also from a long-term failure of the African governments to develop sustainable business models around conservation.

We have not tied our conservation work to the economic aspirations of Africans, but instead only tied it to cultural aspects of Africans, he says. This means that our sector has always been funded by foreign NGOs and foreign governments. It leads to a situation such as has happened in Kenya, Sebunya continues, where the government has increased budgets for health and education, but not the conservation budget.

Its a failure on our part that we have not been able to prove that if conservation does not succeed, it is a sustainability issue, it is a health issue, and it is a rural economy issue, he says. And if it is a rural economy issue, it becomes an urban economy issue, because rural people will then come to the cities.

The good news, believes Sebunya, is that whenever there is a crisis such as now, there is an opportunity to change the narrative  and already there are striking stories of organisations looking to adapt to the new status quo.

In Kenya, Peshut says that MMWCA is currently in negotiations with the local government for 10 per cent of entrance fees charged at the national park gate to be placed in a wildlife conservancies fund to support the activities of the charity. MMWCA is also negotiating with landowners in the conservancies for greater financial contribution to MMWCAs activities, while negotiations are also ongoing for the local government to offer direct financial support to MMWCA.

The future is not going to be easy, but we are doing all we can to boost our own fundraising efforts before our grant financing runs out, Peshut says. What we do know is we absolutely cannot stop our activities in the conservancies, as that would be a total disaster.

But while organisations will naturally look to remain optimistic and seek alternative routes forward where they can, there is no denying the gravity of what has befallen conservation groups this year.

In my more than 40 years in conservation, I have never known anything like this... one contract party cutting off millions of dollars of funding practically overnight, says FZSs Schenck. Now, a time window is closing for us and other organisations, and the crisis gets deeper by day.

He adds: While our politicians might be increasingly reluctant to do so, we continue to see a responsibility from the global North to support conservation. We have much more money, with economies built on fossil fuels, and therefore owe it to them to help.

This article is part of The Independents Rethinking Global Aid project
By John Revill and Trevor Hunnicutt

ZURICH/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's latest wave of tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners sent global stock markets tumbling on Friday and countries and companies scrambling to seek ways to strike better deals.

As Trump presses ahead with plans to reorder the global economy with the highest tariff rates since the early 1930s, Switzerland, "stunned" by 39% tariffs, sought more talks, as did India, hit with a 25% rate.

New tariffs also include a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 20% for Taiwan, which said its rate was "temporary" and it expected to reach a lower figure.

The presidential order listed higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in a week's time for 69 trading partners, taking the U.S. effective tariff rate to about 18%, from 2.3% last year, according to analysts at Capital Economics.

U.S. stocks took an immediate hit. By early afternoon on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.96% to 43,708.00, the S&P 500 1.21% to 6,262.88 and the Nasdaq Composite 1.65% to 20,773.64.

Markets were also reacting to a disappointing jobs report. Data showed U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July while the prior month's data was revised sharply lower, pointing to a slowdown in the labor market.

Global shares stumbled, with Europe's STOXX 600 down 1.89% on the day and 2.5% on the week, on track for its biggest weekly drop since Trump announced his first major wave of tariffs on April 2.

Trump's new tariffs have created yet more uncertainty, with many details unclear. They are set to take effect on Aug 7 at 0401 GMT, a White House official said.

Trump administration officials defended the president's approach.

"The uncertainty with respect to tariffs ... was critical to getting the leverage that we needed to create the circumstance in which the president could create the trade deals we've seen over the last few weeks, which have been nothing short of monumental," Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran said on CNBC.

The European Union, which struck a framework deal with Trump on Sunday, is still awaiting more Trump orders to deliver on agreed carve-outs, including on cars and aircraft, EU officials said, saying the latest executive orders did not cover that.

Also, it is unclear how the administration intends to define and police the transshipment restrictions, which threaten 40% levies on any exporter deemed to have tried to mask goods from a higher-tariffed originator, such as China, as their own product.

Trump's tariff rollout also comes amid evidence they have begun driving up prices.

U.S. Commerce Department data released Thursday showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3% in June, the biggest gain since March 2022.

NO WINNERS?

Countries hit with hefty tariffs said they will seek to negotiate with the U.S. in hopes of getting a lower rate.

Switzerland said it would push for a "negotiated solution" with the U.S.

"Its a massive shock for the export industry and for the whole country. We are really stunned," said Jean-Philippe Kohl, deputy director of Swissmem, representing Switzerland's mechanical and electrical engineering industries.

South Africa's Trade Minister Parks Tau said he was seeking "real, practical interventions" to defend jobs and the economy against the 30% U.S. tariff it faces.

Southeast Asian countries, however, breathed a sigh of relief after the U.S. tariffs on their exports that were lower than threatened and leveled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the region's biggest economies.

Thailand's finance minister said a reduction from 36% to 19% would help his country's economy.

"It helps maintain Thailand's competitiveness on the global stage, boosts investor confidence and opens the door to economic growth, increased income and new opportunities," Pichai Chunhavajira said.

Australian products could become more competitive in the U.S. market, helping businesses boost exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell said, after Trump kept the minimum tariff rate of 10% for Australia.

But businesses and analysts said the impact of Trump's new trade regime would not be positive for economic growth.

"No real winners in trade conflicts," said Thomas Rupf, co-head Singapore and CIO Asia at VP Bank. "Despite some countries securing better terms, the overall impact is negative."

"The tariffs hurt the Americans and they hurt us," winemaker Johannes Selbach said in Germany's Moselle Valley, adding jobs and profits on both sides of the Atlantic would be hit.

L'Oreal and a growing number of European fashion and cosmetics companies are exploring use of an obscure, decades-old U.S. customs clause known as the "First Sale" rule as a potential way to soften the impact of the tariffs.

The "First Sale" rule allows companies to pay lower duties by applying tariffs to the value of a product as it leaves the factory - much lower than the eventual retail price.

CANADA, INDIA

Trump has tapped emergency powers, pressured foreign leaders, and pressed ahead with trade policies that sparked a market sell-off when they were first announced in April.

His order said some trading partners, "despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters."

Trump issued a separate order for Canada that raises the rate on Canadian goods subject to fentanyl-related tariffs to 35%, from 25% previously, saying Canada had "failed to cooperate" in curbing illicit narcotics flows into the U.S.

The higher tariffs on Canadian goods contrasted sharply with Trump's decision to grant Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs of 30% on many goods to allow time to negotiate a broader trade pact.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was disappointed by Trump's decision, and vowed to take action to protect Canadian jobs and diversify exports.

India is in trade talks with the U.S. after Washington imposed a 25% tariff on New Delhi, a move that could impact about $40 billion worth of its exports, an Indian government source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper, Julia Payne, Dan Burns, Alun John and Brendan O'Brien. Writing by Ingrid Melander and James Oliphant. Editing by Jane Merriman and Alistair Bell)
Donald Trumps latest tariff hikes have hit Asian countries the hardest, signalling a deepening rift with key economies in his drive to reshape global commerce.

The hardened position of the US towards longstanding partners such as India and Japan could reshape strategic alignments in Asia, casting doubt on the reliability of Washington as an ally.

Three months after unveiling sweeping tariffs for nearly all major countries in the world, Mr Trump on Friday enforced new and revised levies for over 90 nations, with rates soaring as high as 49 per cent.

Among the hardest hit were Americas allies in Asia  many heavily reliant on exports to the US markets for clothing, electronics, chips and cars  even as they scrambled to strike deals with Mr Trumps negotiators before his 1 August deadline. Myanmar, India and Laos in particular were slapped with almost prohibitive rates.

Steep penalties and divisions in South Asia

Mr Trump seemed to single out India among major economies, imposing a steep 25 per cent tariff on the South Asian nation while blasting it for its burgeoning energy and weapons trade with Russia.

Mr Trumps aggressive rhetoric in recent days had already undermined hopes of New Delhi getting preferential treatment in trade negotiations compared to other Asian economies given the presidents bonhomie with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. His announcement of a steep tariff put paid to any such hope.

The US president went after India even after calling it a good friend and despite the country being regarded as a partner in counterbalancing China in the Indo-Pacific.

File. US president Donald Trump with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC on 13 February 2025 (AFP via Getty)

New Delhi and Washington had been working to finalise a trade deal for months and Indian officials expected an agreement by September or October.

In recent weeks, though, the talks had reportedly reached a deadlock over agriculture and dairy. While Washington sought greater access to the Indian market for its farm exports like wheat, corn, cotton, and genetically modified crops, New Delhi insisted that agriculture and dairy sectors, which employ over 80 million people, were off-limits.

Although the 25 per cent levy on Indian exports announced on Thursday was slightly less than the 27 per cent proposed in April, it came with an unspecified penalty for New Delhis purchases of Russian oil and weapons.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Indias close relations with Moscow remained a point of irritation in relations with Washington.

Indias neighbours Sri Lanka and Bangladesh each face a 20 per cent levy, targeting export-reliant economies that send large volumes of textiles and garments to the US.

The tariff on Bangladesh is significantly lower than the original 37 per cent rate, a big relief to the world's second-largest garment supplier.

Pakistan received a 19 per cent tariff after Mr Trump announced a last-minute trade deal with the country.

Pakistan, an ally of China as well as the US, had been wooing Mr Trump ever since he first announced the tariffs in April. It credited American diplomatic intervention for ending a brief military conflict with India in May, while New Delhi denied it, and even nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Winners and losers in Southeast Asia

While Myanmar and Laos were slapped with a 40 per cent tariff rate each, fellow Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines faced a mid-range tariff of 19 per cent.

Myanmar and Laos were among the worst hit globally, with rates that could effectively price their exports out of the US market. These countries were especially vulnerable given their dependence on low-cost textile and agricultural exports.

Japan and South Korea managed to strike deals with the Trump administration in time and ended up with a baseline tariff rate of 15 per cent, lower than the 25 per cent floated in April.

A man looks at an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan (AFP via Getty)

However, a key area of concern remains unresolved: automobile exports from both East Asian nations continue to face a separate 25 per cent tariff unrelated to Thursdays announcement.

Given that Japanese and South Korean cars and semiconductors are their key exports to the US, the continuation of such sector-specific duties casts a shadow over trade relations in the long run.

Key US ally, Taiwan, the world's largest major semiconductor manufacturer, saw a tariff reprieve from the previous 32 per cent to 20 per cent. The levy on Taipei, though, is temporary as negotiators are trying to hammer out a deal in Washington.

The US side informed Taiwans negotiating team in Washington that a provisional tariff rate of 20 per cent would be applied to Taiwan, the islands president Lai Ching Te said on Friday.

The reason for the provisional tariff was that they had yet to hold a concluding meeting due to procedural arrangements, he added. If a final agreement is reached later, the rate may be lowered.

Lyndon Lin, owner CK Color Stone and Beads, walks behind beads from China and other Asian countries displayed at his shop in San Franciscos Chinatown on 18 April 2025 (AP)

In West Asia, Syria was hit with a 41 per cent tariff  the highest on the list  despite limited direct trade due to existing US sanctions. Iraq was put on a 35 per cent rate, raising concerns about its oil and mineral exports.

In Central Asia, Kazakhstan was hit with a 25 per cent tariff rate, suggesting that even neutral nations werent exempt from Washingtons pressure tactics.

Lower levies for Australia and New Zealand

Australia was placed on a 10 per cent tariff rate in April and it appeared to have escaped an increase, at least for now. Trade minister Don Farrell said on Friday the White House had confirmed that no country was on a lower tariff rate than Australia.

"While we remain in the best possible position under the United States' new tariff regime," a government spokesperson said, we will continue to advocate for the removal of all tariffs in line with our free trade agreement.

Neighbouring New Zealand saw its rate climb from 10 per cent to 15. Trade minister Todd McClay called the move unfair, saying Wellington had requested a call with US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer to start making a case for a reduction.

Trade with China in limbo

China was absent from Mr Trumps latest tariffed nations list, putting one of the worlds most critical trade relationships in limbo.

The two sides previously agreed a 90-day extension of their trade truce until 12 August.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday a trade deal with China was in the works, but it was "not 100% done".

US negotiators "pushed back quite a bit" over two days of trade talks with the Chinese in Stockholm this week, Mr Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. "I believe that we have the makings of a deal," he added.

How would the tariffs impact Asian countries?

The new tariff for India was expected to impact about $40bn worth of exports to America, an Indian government source with knowledge of the trade discussions told Reuters on Friday.

The official said the trade talks were still ongoing and a delegation from the US was expected to visit New Delhi later this month.

These significant tariffs, coupled with penalties linked to India's dealings with Russian energy and military supplies, pose serious challenges for key export sectors including electronics, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and textiles, said Ramnivas Mundada, director of Economic Research at Global Data.

Exporters in India said the high tariff would hurt the country's textile exports as its competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia got lower levies.

"We are hoping that the tariffs will be rationalised. We will have to recalibrate our strategies depending on the final tariff imposed, Chintan Thakker, chairman of industry body ASSOCHAM in the state of Gujarat, a major apparel exporter, said.

Bangladesh called the new tariff rate a "decisive diplomatic victory".

We proudly congratulate the Bangladesh tariff negotiators on securing a landmark trade deal with the United States, a decisive diplomatic victory, interim leader Muhammad Yunus told the press.
Almost 700,000 were enrolled to Oklahoma's public school system during the last academic year, per the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Credit - Jonathan Kirn - Getty Images.

Oklahomas education department has announced plans to introduce an America First certification test to ensure that teachers moving from liberal states align with its values.

"One of the things that we wanted to do is, first of all, make sure that they're great teachers, right? And No. 2, make sure we're not getting these woke, indoctrinating social justice warriors in the classroom," the states Superintendent Ryan Walters said in an interview with Fox Digital.

Walters said that every teacher moving to work in Oklahoma must pass the test in order to begin teaching, and that Conservative think-tank PragerU will assist in the development of the test.

We put the Bible back in our history standards," Walters said, adding that the America First test would include questions based on American history and common sense.

Walters said the teaching of gender identity in other states was one motivation for the test, which will roll out in time for the upcoming school year. We started seeing states like California, New York, Maine as well, that are putting out directives saying In this state youve got to teach your 27 genders, he said.

Read more: As Trump Moves to Dismantle the Department of Education, We Need a Constitutional Amendment

California state law requires students to be taught about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes schools must teach about all sexual orientations and what being LGBTQ means, the states Department of Education says.

None of the Education Departments in California, New York, and Maine make reference to teaching students about 27 genders.

Maine has pushed back against President Donald Trumps directive to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports.

At the start of his second term in office, Trump issued an executive order saying that there are only two recognized genders.

We love President Trump in Oklahoma, Walters said, adding that the MAGA agenda is saving education.

Walter also claimed teachers coming into Oklahoma were "fleeing the teachers unions, the grip that they've had on them in these blue states.

In 2023, Walters announced a maximum $50,000 bonus for teachers moving to the state with more than 5 years of experience, and for those in the top ten percentile in the United States. Smaller bonuses were offered depending on length of experience and what districts teachers had previously worked in.

A spokesperson for PragerU said: We fully understand why superintendents of education, like Ryan Walters, feel compelled to protect their students from the extreme left-wing ideologies being promoted in schools through teachers who often do not even realize the damage caused.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Tim Mossholder | Unsplash

(The Center Square)  New Jersey may soon follow Californias lead in a reinterpretation of its ABC test that would force as many as 1.7 million independent contractors to lose their self-employed status while increasing the amount of workers that can be unionized.

Director of Independent Womens Center for Economic Opportunity Patrice Onwuka told The Center Square that New Jersey is proposing to alter its employment test that determines whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor.

Onwuka said that instead of greater clarity, simplicity, and certainty, the NJ Department of Labor is introducing new uncertainty, confusion, and complexity with this ABC test.

The ABC test would go from three one-sentence factors that must be met to prove independent contractor status to three factors each burdened by numerous sub-factors or, as shown in an Independent Women news release.

New Jerseys proposed interpretation creates new hurdles for freelancers, self-employed people, and gig workers to keep their independent status, Onwuka told The Center Square.

According to Independent Womens news release, as many as 1.7 million New Jersey freelancers, entrepreneurs, and gig workers will have to abandon self-employment.

This is another mass reclassification effort to force people out of preferred flexible work into traditional 9-to-5 jobs, which are unionizable, Onwuka said.

Onwuka told The Center Square that New Jersey is copycatting the same issue that took place in California a few years ago and will reap Californias disastrous results.

In 2019, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), which codified a stringent ABC test, Onwuka said. Instead of businesses hiring their reclassified contractors, freelancers lost income, contracts, and livelihoods for freelancers in over 600 occupations.

Self-employment fell by 10.5%, and overall employment fell by 4.4%, according to research by the Mercatus Center, Onwuka said.

From unemployed Santa Clauses to small business owners who hired other stay-at-home moms seeing their businesses threatened, AB5 took its toll on the Golden State, Onwuka said.

Similar legislation failed in New Jersey in 2019, so that what policymakers could not enact through the law, theyre now seeking to advance through regulation, according to the Independent Women news release.

Onwuka stressed specifically to The Center Square the effect New Jerseys ABC test changes would have on women.

Women are going to be harmed by losing flexible options that allow them to stay attached to the workforce while balancing other priorities, Onwuka said.

Close to half of the over 70 million freelancers in this country are female, Onwuka said. Women balance earning income while raising children, caregiving for aging parents, managing their own health issues, and pursuing education.

For many women, it is impossible to work on a 9-to-5 schedule or on-site in a workplace, Onwuka said.

Onwuka said that if women in New Jersey are no longer classified as independent contractors through their small businesses and gigs, many will stop working altogether, creating new challenges and burdens for the state.

When asked what can be done to stop the finalization of New Jerseys proposed changes, Onwuka said that the states Department of Labor must hear from New Jersey residents that they oppose this rule, and it should be withdrawn.

The 60-day commenting period for the regulation ends on August 6, according to Onwuka.

Onwuka informed The Center Square that Independent Womens Voice also has an action center where New Jerseyans can submit comments and add their own personal stories of being an independent contractor.

In the end, Onwuka told The Center Square that no one should be forced into a 9-to-5 job.

Policymakers and activists on the left believe that traditional jobs are the only good jobs, Onwuka said.

Reclassification such as what New Jersey is doing is an effort to get more people into traditional jobs to expand the pool of workers that can be unionized, Onwuka said.

Americans deserve the freedom to choose when, where, how, and for whom to work, Onwuka said. This is worker freedom.
A relative of four people found dead in Tennessee this week described her family as heartbroken and confused, saying Thursday on Facebook that the suspect has literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids.

The statement, written by a woman who identified herself as the sister-in-law and aunt of three victims, was posted after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the suspect as Austin Robert Drummond, 28.

Drummond, who is wanted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and firearms offenses, remains at large and should be considered armed and dangerous, the agency said in a news release.

Suspect Austin Robert Drummond. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Drummond, who was added to the state's "most wanted" list, is believed to be driving a 2016 Audi A3. A reward of $15,000 is being offered for information leading to his arrest.

Authorities have not identified a possible motive.

The Facebook post's author, who said she is married to the brother of one of the victims, did not respond to messages on the platform or phone numbers associated with her. NBC News verified her Facebook profile.

The victims, found Tuesday in northwest Tennessees Lake County, were identified as Matthew Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Courtney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15.

They were relatives of an infant discovered in the front yard of a home in nearby Dyer County earlier that afternoon, according to Danny Goodman, the district attorney for Lake and Dyer counties. The child was alive and was being evaluated, officials said.

Authorities have not said how the four died. NBC affiliate WMC of Memphis reported that they were discovered in a wooded area in Tiptonville, roughly 40 miles north of the area where the infant was found.

The Dyer County Sheriffs Office said that the child was abandoned and that a witness saw the infant in a car seat and dialed 911.

In Thursdays Facebook post, the relative wrote that her family thought they knew Drummond well.

"We all trusted him," she wrote.

According to the post, Drummond previously dated a sister of Rose, the abandoned childs grandmother. Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the infants parents, Goodman said. Braydon was the maternal uncle.

Yes, he was close to our family, the post says. Yes, we cared about him and thought he cared about us. He has literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids every time he has been around us up until this point.

We NEVER expected him to cause ANY harm to ANYONE, much less anyone in our family, the post continues. We are heartbroken. We are confused. We are devastated. We are MORTIFIED. We are hurting. OUR KIDS ARE HURTING.

We want justice for my sister in law, niece, nephew, and nieces boyfriend, the post adds.

Public records show that Drummond was convicted of armed robbery in nearby Madison County in 2014. His sentence ended last September, prison records show.

Two months after the completion of that sentence, Drummond was charged with attempted murder and drug crimes, court records in Lake County show. Goodman said the allegations were related to crimes he is accused of committing while he was incarcerated at Northwest Correctional Complex, a prison in Lake County.

Drummond was out on bond on those charges at the time of the quadruple killing, Goodman said. His lawyer in the attempted murder case did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CORRECTION (Aug. 1, 2025, 5:02 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated Drummonds age. He is 28, not 29.
In a rowdy town hall on Thursday night, Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil was booed when he expressed support for President Donald Trump's trade policies.

An attendee pressed Steil on Trump's tariffs against scores of U.S. trade partners.

"I really feel that this is a terrible tax that's going to be placed on the citizens of the Unites States. I would like to know what dire economic circumstances put Trump in a position of deploying tariffs on over 190 countries?" the attendee asked, prompting applause from the crowd. "You have allowed him to do that and it's sad. So tell me the dire circumstances that triggered his tariff wars."

MORE: Trump unveils sweeping tariffs in 'new system of trade'

Steil's response prompted loud boos from participants.

"As we look at the broader tariffs back and forth with the administration, this really is, at its core needs to be, an opportunity to make sure other countries are treating the United States fairly," the congressman said.

Mark Hertzberg/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock - PHOTO: First District Congressman Bryan Steil holds an in-person listening session at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, July 31, 2025.

In the Elkorn town hall, the congressman was also pressed on other topics, including the impacts Trump's megabill will have on Medicaid and other services.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the cuts to Medicaid included the sweeping tax and spending cut bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4, will result in 10 million Americans losing health insurance.

MORE: Inside the GOP's mission to deliver Trump's megabill

Mark Hertzberg/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock - PHOTO: First District Congressman Bryan Steil holds an in-person listening session at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, July 31, 2025, as a constituent loudly criticizes him from the audience.

Responding to the event on X, Steil wrote "despite a handful of individuals attempting to disrupt the discussion, we had a great dialogue about the issues that matter most." He committed to holding future events.

Some in the room were local protestors, ABC News affiliate WISN reported, including members of a group who last week carried a mock cardboard coffin to Steil's home to protest Medicaid cuts.

Earlier this year, Rep. Richard Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, encouraged House Republicans to do more virtual events over in-person town halls after several House Republicans faced fiery constituents at in-person town halls.

House Democrats are being challenged at their town halls, too, facing pushback on topics such as the response to the war in Gaza. Earlier this week, Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat, hosted a town hall event where he was repeatedly interrupted by anti-war protesters.
THEPALMER/Getty Images Gorgeous landscape of Capri, Italy.

Italy is a large country that could take weeks to explore, but many travelers just don't have that much time. Although five days isn't long enough to experience Italy, it's still possible to tour the country and see top destinations. I've been planning trips to Italy for decades, and this is the perfect itinerary for busy travelers, plus some extra tips to make your trip as smoothand speedyas possible.

Days 1 & 2: Rome

Artur Bogacki/Getty Images The Spanish Steps and Barcaccia Fountain in Rome, Italy.

Start your journey in Rome. Wander the city to see its ancient ruins, historic architecture, and many other attractions. Rome is known as an open-air museum for a reason! You can walk from Piazza Navona to the Pantheon (you may need to book a ticket in advance), then the Trevi Fountain, and finally, and the Spanish Steps.

At the foot of the Spanish Steps, you'll find a shopping district, Via dei Condotti, full of high-end Italian brands like Prada and Missoni. Later that day, tour the Colosseum and the Forum with a private guide. For dinner, make sure to try classic Roman plates like puntarelle or carciofi, or, for a good night's sleep, have some carbonara paired with a glass of Bardolino, a light-bodied Italian red.

On the morning of day two, rent bicycles to ride the Appian Way, an ancient empire route turned tourist attraction, or the Parco degli Acquedotti, a large public park just outside the city. In the afternoon, cool off with gelato from Giolitti, then visit the Capitoline Museums to learn about ancient Roman art and architecture. For a sunset rooftop aperitivo, stop at the Bvlgari Hotel or the newly reopened Orient Express La Minerva's Gigi Rigolatto Roma. For dinner, walk up the Via di Ripetta and stop at Dal Bolognese or La Buca di Ripettareservations required.

Where to Stay

Palazzo Ripetta is a five-star hotel in the heart of the city with 78 rooms and suites plus multiple dining options, including a rooftop bar.

Day 3: Florence

Stefano Scata/Helvetia & Bristol Firenze Hotel Helvetia & Bristol's rooftop terrace.

Take the train from Rome's Termini station to Firenze. In as little as three hours, you'll be touring the city. Seeing the original statue of David never gets old (and neither does he). But be sure to get advance tickets to the Accademia Gallery. Later, go window shopping at the high-end boutiques along Via de' Tornabuoni. Renowned bar Procacci 1885 awaits you for aperitivo hour, and you can end your day with a Tuscan dinner at Ristorante Frescobaldi Firenze.

Where to Stay

Casa G. Firenze is a stylish boutique property just steps from the train station, while Helvetia & Bristol is a luxury hotel with a full-service spa and exceptional in-house Italian gastronomy by Cibreo Ristorante.

Days 4 & 5: The Amalfi Coast

Antonel/iStockphoto/Getty Images The hiking trail Sentiero degli Dei along the Amalfi Coast.

Take the early train to Napoli Centrale station, then take a private car or taxi to the famous Amalfi Coast. For a historic stop, take a tour of nearby Pompeii, or simply spend the afternoon lounging at a beach club and soaking in the sun. Partygoers may prefer to stay in Positano or Capri, while towns like Ravello offer tranquility and striking views. If staying in Ravello, head to the nearby village of Scala to dine on the terrace of Trattoria da Lorenzo for fresh seafood and thoughtful wine pairings.

Before flying out of Naples, your fifth and final day is yours to spend, and the options are endless: take a private boat along the coast; hike Sentiero degli Dei, or "Path of the Gods;" or ferry to Capri for its renowned shopping scene. In Italy, there are no wrong choices.

Where to Stay

Ravello Art Hotel Marmorata, which offers panoramic views and a private beach, is a cliffside boutique hotel housed in a former paper mill.

More Tips

Pack lightly. Only having a carry-on will make moving between trains and hotels quick and easy.

Fly to regional airports to save time. They're smaller and generally have shorter immigration lines. There are new nonstop flights from the U.S. to cities like Naples and Catania.

Plan ahead. Schedule tours and make reservations before departure so your trip goes smoothly.

Go during the shoulder or off-seasons. To avoid long lines and huge crowds, travel between November and March.

Travel by high-speed train. With Trenitalia Eurostar and Italo, you can hop between cities at 179 kilometers per hour. To save even more time, purchase your tickets online beforehand.



Joyce Falcone is a member of Travel + Leisure's A-List and specializes in Italy trips. You can create a tailor-made itinerary with Falcone by contacting her at info@italianconcierge.com.

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
dog food for large breed puppies  Rita_Kochmarjova/Shutterstock.com

If youre looking for a large, family dog thats full of affection, you cant go wrong with either a Saint Bernard or a Bernese Mountain Dog. Both breeds have much in common. They have similar appearances, are close in size, and both come from Switzerland. However, these are two unique dog breeds, each with its own characteristics.

Bernese Mountain dogs are one of four mountain breeds from Switzerland known as Sennenhunde. xkunclova/Shutterstock.com

The Origin Story of the Saint Bernard

The Saint Bernard dog is an ancient breed. The first record of the breed dates back to sometime between 1660 and 1670. The dogs were bred at a monastery and hospice which had been founded by an Augustinian monk, Bernard de Menthon. Traveling to the monastery was treacherous, as it is located at the Great Saint Bernard Pass, which is about 8,000 feet above sea level.

Saint Bernards are well adapted for snowy weather and mountainous terrain. Michael Kenney/Shutterstock.com

The monks dogs acted as watchdogs and companions to the monks living in the snowbound mountains. Although the Saint Bernards didnt actually wear the iconic little casks of brandy around their necks that they are often pictured with, they did perform heroic rescues of trapped travelers in the snow. Today, modern Saint Bernards are working dogs known for their tolerance of cold weather and gentle dispositions.

The Origin Story of the Bernese Mountain Dog

Similar to Saint Bernards, Bernese Mountain Dogs originated in the Swiss Alps. They are thought to be descended from large Roman mastiffs that came to the area in the first century. From these dogs, four mountain dog breeds were born: Bernese, the Greater Swiss, the Entlebucher, and the Appenzeller. The Bernese Mountain Dog was named for the midland region of Switzerland near Bern.

Bernese Mountain Dogs originated as working dogs in the Swiss Alps. Hannah Dahl/Shutterstock.com

Before the Industrial Revolution, Bernese Mountain Dogs were working dogs in the mountains, acting as guard dogs, herding livestock, and pulling carts. These affectionate dogs also made great companions. In 1937, the American Kennel Club recognized the Bernese Mountain Dog as a member of the Working Group.

Comparing Saint Bernards and Bernese Mountain Dogs by Size

Saint Bernards and Bernese Mountain Dogs are nearly the same in height, but Saint Bernards are heavier. Saint Bernard males are slightly larger than the females. They are about 28 to 30 inches tall and can weigh 140 to 180 pounds. Male Bernese Mountain Dogs are 25 to 27.5 inches tall and weigh 80 to 115 pounds.

Other Physical Differences

Bernese Mountain Dogs are heavy shedders. According to the AKC, their shedding level is hair everywhere. Saint Bernards do shed, but much less than a Bernese Mountain Dog. The Saint Bernard coat comes in two varieties: smooth and rough, while the Bernese Mountain Dog has a medium-length double coat. Both dogs require regular grooming. Another difference is in their drooling. The AKC rates the Saint Bernards drooling level as always have a towel. Bernese Mountain Dogs may drool somewhat, but not to the same extent.

Both Make Great Family Dogs

Each of these breeds is known to be good with children and highly affectionate to people. Both breeds are often referred to as gentle giants, and both make great service dogs. However, like any dog, its important to socialize them at an early age.

What Are the Biggest Differences Between Bernese Mountain Dogs and Saint Bernards?

Saint Bernards are more likely to be vigilant guard dogs than Bernese Mountain Dogs. Bernese Mountain Dogs require more exercise and attention. They are highly energetic and are often referred to as velcro dogs because they tend to follow their owners closely, as if they are stuck like velcro.

Bernese Mountain Dogs are loving and affectionate. Lebedeva Olga/Shutterstock.com

Saint Bernards show more independence than Bernese Mountain Dogs and can entertain themselves if left alone for short times. This temperament may also make Saint Bernards less eager to please than Bernese Mountain Dogs. Dogs that are eager to please are typically easier to train. Saint Bernards can be more stubborn during training, which may make them more challenging to train compared to Bernese Mountain Dogs. A dog that is eager to please is typically easier to train. Saint Bernards may show stubbornness during training and may be more of a challenge to train than Bernese Mountain Dogs.

How Much Exercise Does Each Breed Need?

Both dogs are large breeds and will need daily exercise. Surprisingly, Saint Bernards are lower energy than you might expect and should be fine with around 30 minutes of exercise per day. Bernese Mountain Dogs, on the other hand, have higher energy levels. Dog experts recommend giving them at least an hour of exercise per day, which should be split up into shorter sessions.

Does Breed Truly Affect a Dogs Temperament?

Saint Bernards are affectionately known as gentle giants. ItCameWithTheFrame/Shutterstock.com

Every dog is different, and there can be differences among breeds. We are discussing the general characteristics and traits of each dog breed, but this does not account for every individual dog. However, research has shown behavioral tendencies do run within breed families. That said, socialization and early positive experiences are important for a puppy to become a well-balanced adult. While genetics plays an important role, so does a positive environment.

The post St. Bernard vs. Bernese Mountain Dog: Whats the Difference? appeared first on A-Z Animals.
A pedestrians makes his way through cars on Fifth avenue during a rain storm Thursday, July 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Strong rain storms lashed the East Coast Thursday, delaying flights throughout the region and prompting emergency rescues of motorists trapped in deep water on busy highways from the Philadelphia area to New York City.

In New York, flash flooding briefly closed sections of major roadways and flooded train stations across the metropolitan region as the evening rush hour approached.

Commuters captured video of water pouring over a train on a platform in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal and water pooling on the floor of a city bus as it pushed through a flooded Brooklyn street.

Riders of one Long Island-bound commuter train were evacuated by firefighters as floodwaters rose. Other commuter rail lines on Long Island and New Jersey were suspended or severely delayed.

Amtrak officials announced Thursday evening that trains between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware were stopped because of severe storms sending high water over the tracks.

Once a route is available, anticipate residual delays, company officials posted on X.

Traffic cameras and social media posts on a highway in the New York City borough of Queens showed motorists at one point standing on the roofs of stranded vehicles and a tractor-trailer nearly fully submerged. Police said they pulled cars carrying two people from the flooded stretch before the waters receded and traffic slowly resumed.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other local officials pleaded with people to stay off the roads and urged residents in basement apartments to move to higher locations as rain was expected to fall through Friday afternoon.

In Pennsylvania, National Weather Service warnings of up to 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain in an hour produced flooding in Reading, a city about 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia.

Photos and videos online showed parked cars nearly underwater and water pouring down a narrow city street. Other videos from Reading showed emergency vehicles blocking off some streets or underpasses as flood waters had rendered them impassable.

In Maryland, emergency responders rescued multiple people from flooded vehicles in communities northeast of Baltimore.

Officials there also preemptively closed roads prone to flooding, shuttered schools and libraries early and opened emergency shelters as more thunderstorms were expected across Maryland. Flood watches and warnings were issued across the state.

Airports in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia all reported scores of flight delays and cancellations into Thursday evening.

Tornado warnings in New Jersey came and went with no reports of twisters, though more than 14,000 electricity customers were without power as of Thursday evening.

States of emergency were declared in New Jersey and New York City, though flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings were lifted in New York City by Thursday night.

Flood watches and severe thunderstorm watches posted in other locations remained in effect into Friday morning, with 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) of rain possible in some areas of the East Coast.

The weather service warned flooding was possible in small creeks and streams and along highways, streets, underpasses and places with poor drainage. Some areas could also see high wind gusts and hail.

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Marcelo reported from East Meadow, New York. Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz in New York; Anthony Izaguirre and Michael Hill in Albany; Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, and Lea Skene in Baltimore contributed to this story.
Supreme Court justices during a formal group photograph in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Friday expanded the scope of a Louisiana congressional redistricting dispute that has been pending for months by ordering new briefing on a legal question that could further weaken the landmark Voting Rights Act.

The court issued an order asking the lawyers to address whether, in seeking to comply with the 1965 law that protects minority voting rights, Louisiana violated the Constitution's 14th and 15th Amendments enacted after the Civil War to ensure Black people were treated equally under the law.

If the court rules that the state did violate the Constitution, it would mean states cannot cite the need to comply with the Voting Rights Act if they use race as a consideration during the map-drawing process, as they currently can.

Rick Hasen, an election law expert at the UCLA School of Law, wrote on his Election Law Blog that the order "appears to put the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act into question." That provision bars voting practices or rules that discriminate against minority groups.

The Supreme Courts 6-3 conservative majority is often receptive to arguments that the Constitution is colorblind, meaning no consideration of race can ever be lawful even if it is aimed at remedying past discrimination. In 2013, the court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act in a case from Alabama and further weakened it in a 2021 case from Arizona.

The justices heard arguments in the Louisiana case on more technical, less contentious questions in March and was originally expected to issue a ruling by the end of June. Even then, the constitutional issue loomed large.

The new order did not indicate whether the court will hear another round of arguments before it issues a ruling in the case.

The Louisiana map in question, which is currently in effect, includes two majority-Black districts for the first time in years.

The complicated case arose from litigation over an earlier map drawn by the state legislature after the 2020 census that included just one Black-majority district out of the states six districts. About a third of the states population is Black.

Civil rights groups, including the Legal Defense Fund, won a legal challenge, arguing that the Voting Rights Act required two majority-Black districts.

But after the new map was drawn, a group of self-identified non-African American voters led by Phillip Callais and 11 other plaintiffs filed another lawsuit, saying the latest map violated the 14th Amendment.

As recently as 2023, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the Voting Rights Act in a congressional redistricting case arising from Alabama. But conservatives raised questions about whether key elements of the law should ultimately be struck down.
A teacher arrested in the murder of a married couple found stabbed to death on a trail in an Arkansas park was held without bond after a brief court appearance on Friday.

Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, Arkansas, was appointed a public defender and is set to return to court on Aug. 25 for his arraignment. He has not yet entered a plea, prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter said.

McGann is charged with two counts of capital murder in the killings of 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and his wife, 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink, Arkansas State Police said. The Arkansas Public Defender Commission, which was appointed to represent him, has no comment at this time.

Washington County Sheriff - PHOTO: The booking photo for Andrew James McGann.

MORE: Teacher arrested for Arkansas double murder admits to killing married couple: Police

The Brinks were "fatally attacked" while out hiking with their two daughters at Devil's Den State Park on July 26, police said.

Following a dayslong manhunt for the suspect, McGann was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a barbershop in Springdale, about 30 miles north of the park, police said. Investigators were able to track him down based on a description of the suspect's vehicle, police said.

According to a newly released preliminary report from the prosecutor's office, a witness reported seeing a person who "emerged from the trail with what appeared to be blood on his face" and got into a black sedan.

Another witness reported the vehicle as a Kia Stinger, which was located at the barbershop in Springdale on Wednesday, according to the report. Investigators observed what appeared to be blood inside the vehicle, the report said.

Michael Woods/AP - PHOTO: The trail head to the Devil's Den trail at Devils Den State Park remains closed, July 28, 2025, in West Fork, Ark.

Investigators had found a trail of blood believed to belong to the victim leading from the crime scene in the park, according to the prosecutor's report. DNA from blood recovered from the crime scene matched McGann's DNA, Hagar said.

The suspect had sustained cuts on his hands during a struggle with the victims, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. Investigators who spoke to McGann at the barbershop observed cuts on his hands, according to the prosecutor's report.

MORE: Police release photo of person of interest sought after couple killed while hiking in Arkansas park

During an interview with police following his arrest, McGann admitted to killing the couple, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar said during a press briefing on Thursday. He "made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides," the prosecutor's report stated.

The report claimed the killings were planned and the suspect "waited with deliberated purpose and killed two hikers at the Devil's Den State Park."

Asked about a motive in the double homicide on Thursday, Hagar said it remains under investigation, though he did say it appeared to be a "completely random event."

The state will not be waiving the death penalty in the case, according to Carter.

Washington County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Mugshot of Andrew

McGann had recently moved to the area from Oklahoma and had been hired to work at a local school though he had not yet started, officials said. He had previously worked in school districts in Oklahoma and Texas.

In a statement, the Lewisville Independent School District, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, confirmed McGann was employed as a teacher at an elementary school there during the 2022-2023 school year.

The school system said McGann had been placed on administrative leave that spring "following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism." An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students, but McGann ultimately resigned from the school district that month.

The Brinks had recently moved to Prairie Grove from North Dakota, police said.

Their children, ages 7 and 9, were not harmed in the incident thanks to the actions of their mother, police said.

"We believe that the mother took them to safety, and then returned to help her husband," Maj. Stacie Rhoads with the Arkansas State Police said during Thursday's press briefing.

The couple has a third daughter who wasn't at the trail that day, Hagar said.

Their children are safe and in the custody of relatives, according to police.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter's corrected statement that McGann has not yet entered a plea.
This photo made available by his brother, Abdullah Khan, shows Abdul Rahman Waziri, right, an Afghan refugee who was fatally shot at his Houston apartment complex in April. (Family Source Via AP)

HOUSTON (AP)  The brother of an Afghan refugee who helped U.S. forces defuse bombs during the war in Afghanistan expressed frustration Thursday that it took more than three months for the Texas man accused of fatally shooting his sibling over a parking dispute to be indicted in the case.

When Abdul Rahman Waziri, 31, was shot while getting his mail at his Houston apartment complex on April 27, police knew who the alleged shooter was as the man had identified himself to officers at the scene, according to authorities. Katia Trevon Bougere, 31, told officers he and Waziri were arguing over parking, police said.

After consulting with the Harris County District Attorneys Office, the male was released and the investigation continued, Houston police said in a statement a day after the shooting.

On June 17, police said the case would be referred to a grand jury. Bougere was indicted on Monday on a murder charge. Bougere was not arrested after his murder indictment but issued a summons to appear in court on Aug. 5.

Abdullah Khan, Waziris older brother, said he and his family were upset that months had passed without any developments in the case.

It was heartbreaking  it was really hopeless. I couldnt imagine if someone is killing someone senselessly. And then the person walking free for months and months. Its just terrible, Khan, 36, told The Associated Press during a phone interview.

Waziri and his brother had worked for the Afghan National Mine Reduction Group, a highly trained unit that cleared improvised explosive devices and mines for U.S. Army Special Forces and Afghan commandos.

A group of Green Berets who had worked with the National Mine Reduction Group had sent a letter in May to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare asking for action in the case. A Change.org petition by the 1208 Foundation that asked for the alleged shooter to be charged has received more than 86,000 signatures. The foundation provides aid to Afghans who worked with U.S. Special Forces to clear explosives.

The Harris County District Attorneys Office declined to comment on the case.

As the case is pending, its not our offices policy to discuss facts related to the investigation, spokesperson Courtney Fischer said in an email.

Court records did not list an attorney for Bougere. He did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Omar Khawaja, an attorney for Waziri's family, said Bougere has claimed that he shot Waziri in self-defense.

Waziri was known as a gentle giant ... not someone who is going to lose his cool over a dispute in a parking lot, Khawaja said.

Khan said his brother had parked his car in front of the mailboxes at his apartment complex and was getting his mail when he was confronted by Bougere.

A witness who saw the physical confrontation between Waziri and Bougere indicated Waziri was not the aggressor and had raised his hands and told Bougere, Dont shoot, Khan said.

Khan had worked with the National Mine Reduction Group from 2008 until coming to the U.S. in 2020. Waziri worked for the unit from 2016 until U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Khan settled in Tampa, Florida. Waziri lived with his brother before coming to Houston about two years ago. Khan said his brother had planned to return to Tampa with his wife and two daughters after his apartment lease in Houston had ended.

When he came and we were feeling safe, we were like, Oh, thank God. We got out of Afghanistan and no more gunfire, no more bombs.' But unfortunately for my brother, it happened to him, Khan said.

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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
By Ryan Patrick Jones and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in "the appropriate regions" in response to statements from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev ... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump said in a social media post.

He added: "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances."

He did not specify what he meant by "nuclear submarines." Submarines may be nuclear-powered, or armed with nuclear missiles.

It is extremely rare for the U.S. military to discuss the deployment and location of U.S. submarines given their sensitive mission in nuclear deterrence. The U.S. Navy declined comment. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump and Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, have traded taunts in recent days after Trump on Tuesday said Russia had "10 days from today" to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit with tariffs, along with its oil buyers.

Medvedev on Thursday said Trump should remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort, after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words."

Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace in Ukraine, has given no indication that it will comply with Trump's deadline of August 8.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favor. He made no reference to the deadline.

Trump, who in the past touted good relations with Putin, has expressed mounting frustration with the Russian leader, accusing him of "bullshit" and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as disgusting.

Medvedev has emerged as one of the Kremlin's most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Kremlin critics deride him as an irresponsible loose cannon, though some Western diplomats say his statements illustrate the thinking in senior Kremlin policy-making circles.

Trump also rebuked Medvedev in July, accusing him of throwing around the "N (nuclear) word" after the Russian official criticized U.S. strikes on Iran and said "a number of countries" were ready to supply Iran with nuclear warheads. "I guess that's why Putin's 'THE BOSS'", Trump said at the time.

The U.S. president took office in January having promised to end the Ukraine war on Day One, but has not been able to get Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.

Only six countries operate nuclear-powered submarines: the U.S., the UK, Russia, China, France and India.

The U.S. Navy has 71 commissioned submarines including 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic-missile submarines, and four guided-missile submarines. All of them are nuclear-powered, but only some carry nuclear weapon-tipped missiles.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto, and Phil Stewart, Mike Stone and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made an extremely rare visit to Gaza on Friday amid the spiraling hunger crisis in the enclave under Israel's deadly offensive and aid restrictions.

The pair visited an aid distribution site in Rafah run by the controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has for months overseen the majority of aid distribution in the enclave under a new system launched in May.

"Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza," Witkoff said in a post on X. He said they spent that time "level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions," and meeting with GHF and other agencies.

"The purpose of the visit was to give @POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza," he said.

Huckabee said in a separate post that he had joined Witkoff on the visit to "learn the truth" about aid sites run by GHF. He said they also received briefings from the Israeli military and "spoke to folks on the ground." It was not immediately clear whom he was referring to.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, in an image shared by Huckabee. (@USAmbIsrael / via X)

In a post on X sharing images of the delegation in Gaza, he hailed the number of meals distributed by GHF  "more than one million meals a day" as an "incredible feat."

GHF has been predominantly responsible for the distribution of aid in Gaza since late May, when Israel said it would allow a basic amount of humanitarian supplies into the enclave after lifting a crippling blockade that barred the entry of food and other vital items for more than two months.

Israel on Sunday announced measures to allow more aid into Gaza amid mounting global outrage over rising deaths from starvation. Since then, GHF has continued to distribute about 1.2 million meals a day, according to data shared by the organization. In a population of roughly 2.1 million people, that equates to just over half a meal per person per day on average.

Humanitarian groups have said the aid that has so far been allowed into Gaza over the past week is not enough to stave off famine in the enclave.

They have also condemned incidents in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach aid in the weeks since the new distribution system came into effect.

Since late May, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food, with 859 deaths "in the vicinity" of GHF sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, said in a news release Thursday. It said most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military.

Witkoff and Huckabee made the trip as part of an effort by Washington to secure a plan to see more food delivered to Gaza as deaths from starvation in the enclave continue to rise, according to the White House.

It was not clear how arrangements for the visit, including the meetings with local Palestinians in Gaza, were being arranged, with Israel having maintained strict control over access to Gaza throughout the war, barring international media and foreign officials from entering the territory independently.

Basem Naim, a senior political official for Hamas, condemned the visit, writing in a statement addressed to Witkoff: "Gaza is not Animal Farm that needs a theatrical personal visit to take some pictures in front of the #Death_Factories that your American companies manage in collaboration with the fascist army of Israel."

Palestinians form a line to receive hot meals in Gaza's al-Zeitoun neighborhood Thursday. (Abdalhkem Abu Riash / Anadolu via Getty Images)

The trip comes as a growing number of Palestinians continue to die from starvation despite months of warnings from humanitarian groups about the impact of Israels offensive and the strict aid restrictions it has upheld.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Huckabee would brief Trump "immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region."

She said more details would be forthcoming once the plan was "approved and agreed on by the president of the United States."

Their visit to Gaza comes after Witkoff traveled to Israel and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday to address the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

Trump said earlier this week that "real starvation" was taking place, citing images he had seen on TV in a break with Netanyahu, who has denied there is starvation in the enclave and sought to blame Hamas for the crisis.
By Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper

(Reuters) -Thousands of license applications by U.S. companies to export goods and technology around the globe, including to China, are in limbo because turmoil at the agency in charge of approving them has left it nearly paralyzed, two sources said.

While U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has become a familiar face touting President Donald Trump's tariff and trade deals, sources said the export bureau under Lutnick's command has failed to issue expected new rules, stifled communications with industry representatives, pushed out experts, and lost staff through buyouts and resignations.

Shipments of artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia to China are the most high-profile example of licenses not being swiftly approved. The company said July 14 the government assured it licenses would be granted for its H20 chip, and it hoped to start deliveries soon. Lutnick and other officials confirmed sales would be allowed.

But sources said this week no licenses have yet been issued, and billions of dollars of AI chip orders are at stake.

One U.S. official said the backlog of license applications is the lengthiest in more than three decades.

A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment.

The Commerce Department defended its licensing practices, saying its Bureau of Industry and Security "will no longer rubber-stamp license applications that raise grave questions of national security," a spokesperson said.

"BIS is driving forward President Trump's agenda through strong rules and aggressive enforcement," the person added.

The turmoil and resulting inaction at an agency tasked with promoting overseas trade and safeguarding American technology are alarming both those seeking tougher restrictions on exports to China and companies trying to sell their wares abroad.

Licensing is how the U.S. does business and competes globally, said Meghan Harris, who served on the National Security Council in the first Trump administration and has worked at Commerce. "Delays and unpredictability put us at an unnecessary disadvantage."

BIS averaged 38 days per export license application in fiscal year 2023, the most recent data available, denying 2% of 37,943 applications.

The license process enforces U.S. export restrictions in an effort to make sure sensitive goods and technology do not reach countries or entities whose use of the items could harm U.S. national security.

Some staff have criticized Jeffrey Kessler, who became BIS undersecretary in March, saying he has micromanaged the bureau and failed to communicate adequately.

At a staff meeting soon after he took office, Kessler urged BIS staff to limit communications with company representatives and industry officials, according to two additional sources, who said he later asked for all meetings to be entered on a spreadsheet.

Getting approval from Kessler's office to attend meetings with other government agencies has also been tricky, those sources said, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The BIS spokesperson said Kessler "is restoring integrity" to the bureau and enjoys Lutnick's "full confidence."

FRUSTRATION AMONG EXPORTERS

Frustration is growing within U.S. industry.

Were seeing whole sectors where there is no movement or indication if or when licenses will be issued," including license applications for semiconductor manufacturing equipment worth billions of dollars, said Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council.

While the clock is ticking on license applications, Chinese companies are exploring and doing deals with suppliers in China and other countries, he said. The longer we have the delay, the more market share we're going to lose."

Jim Anzalone, president of Compliance Assurance, a Florida-based trade consultancy, said he has seen delays in license approvals for sensors, radars, and sonar to Latin America and other parts of the world. There's nothing official about what the policy is and when the backlog would be cleared, he said.

He has received denials sporadically after submitting some two dozen applications months ago to export semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, including four denials on Wednesday, he added.

Sources stressed that some licenses are getting approved, especially exports to allied countries, and they noted that some communication with companies continues, especially around license applications.

Commerce is also delaying regulatory changes. The agency said in May it would rescind and replace a Biden administration rule before it went into effect that month restricting where AI chips can be exported, but the agency has not done so yet.

Other rules, which sources said have been drafted for months, have not been published, including one to expand export restrictions to subsidiaries of companies already banned from receiving controlled U.S. exports.

Meanwhile, important staff vacancies such as China-based export control officers have not been filled, and high-level career employees have resigned. A retirement party was held this week for Dan Clutch, acting director of the BIS Office of Export Enforcement, the latest experienced staff member to leave.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Chris Sanders, Cynthia Osterman, Rod Nickel)
Pallbearers with the NYPD Ceremonial Unit carry the casket bearing the remains of Officer Didarul Islam during his funeral on July 31, 2025, in New York. - Angelina Katsanis/AP

The mournful notes of taps echoed through rainy Bronx neighborhood Thursday afternoon as six New York Police Department officers shouldered the casket of one of their own: Officer Didarul Islam.

They carried Islams remains out of a mosque where his funeral was held, and into the street where thousands of officers stood in silent salute. He was one of four people killed in a mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan on Monday.

As if signaled by the song, the trickle of rain began to fall in thick sheets over the funeral procession, soaking the green, blue and white NYPD flag draped over Islams casket.

The somber scene, shown here in pictures and video, took place in Islams own neighborhood at the Parkchester Jame Masjid.

A sea of uniformed officers from the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies stood for blocks under the pelting rain, as if cast in stone.

Members of the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies lined the streets during the funeral procession, offering a salute for the slain officer. - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The 36-year-old father of two was preparing to welcome a third child with his pregnant wife and he was his parents only child. His death has reverberated through his tightly-knit Bangladeshi community in Parkchester.

Loved ones, Muslim community members and some of New Yorks most prominent leaders mourned Islam on Thursday as a dedicated father and hardworking guardian of his fellow New Yorkers.

Islam's family members walked behind his casket. Mayor Eric Adams called on New Yorkers to "stand in unison with this family and this city as we heal together." - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Islam was fatally shot by an armed 27-year-old man in the lobby of a glossy skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue on Monday. The officer was off-duty at the time but was working security in the building.

During the funeral service, NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Islam had been posthumously promoted to detective first grade. Before continuing her remarks, Tisch knelt in front of Islams wife, and the pair embraced.

Everything for him was about building something for his family, for his mosque, for his adopted city and for his relatives back in Bangladesh. They were all in his care, and he found peace in watching them grow, Tisch said.

New York Police officers embrace outside Parkchester Jame Masjid. - Yuki Iwamura/AP

Officers flank each side of the white hearse carrying Islam's remains as it drives down White Plains Road after the funeral service on Thursday. - Yuki Iwamura/AP

Islam joined the NYPD as a school safety agent in 2019 and became an officer two years later, Tisch said.

In his own words, the police were a blanket of the community there to provide comfort and care, the police chief added.

Community members bow in prayer during the funeral services Thursday. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

NYPD Deputy Inspector Muhammad Ashraf, commanding officer of the 47th precinct, said Islams dedication to his job was an extension of his love of his community.

Islam was not just a cop, Ashraf said. He was a son of this city and another land, a proud immigrant from Bangladesh who came to this country full of hope and who chose to serve the city with honor.

An NYPD officer wears a pin in honor of Officer Didarul Islam, who joined the department as a school safety agent in 2019 before becoming a police officer. - Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

An NYPD employee speaks with a woman outside the funeral service. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

For Foysol Ahmed, a community leader in Parkchester, the slain officer brought pride to his community through humble service. When one of their own is represented in agencies like the NYPD or the New York City Fire Department, he said, its something to be celebrated.

We feel proud, he told CNN earlier this week.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the pain of Islams death as searing and urged the Bangladeshi community to lean on other fellow New Yorkers. Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani sat with Islams family and remained inside the mosque for prayers, his campaign confirmed.

Police recruits stand in formation during the funeral services at the Parkchester Jame Masjid. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Islams brother-in-law, NYPD officer Kamrul Hasan, spoke on behalf of the family and remembered Islam as his best friend and protector.

Islam was a proud father. He was an uncle. He was a brother, and he was a dependable person, Hasan said. He was a good leader. Anything anybody needed, anything, he came.

Hasan said he and Islam joined the police force within one year of each other, and the pair leaned on each other for support, often unable to bring the weight of their work home to their families.

Helicopters fly overhead as Islam's coffin is driven past a wall of loved ones, mourners and law enforcement officers. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Islam was a person officers would want by their side in times of crisis, Ashraf said.

One of his fellow officers described him as someone that brought calmness to any chaotic scenes, as someone that showed up with a smile on his face. He was humble, steady and reliable, the commander said.

Ashraf said the loss is a sorrow that no words can truly heal, adding, But it is also a moment to honor a life of courage, devotion and purpose.

He reminded mourners: In the Muslim faith, we firmly believe  indeed, to Allah we belong, and indeed to him we will return.

CNNs Mark Morales, Gloria Pazmino and Dakin Andone contributed to this report.

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The warm, dry September climate coupled with fiery seasonal foliage makes for ideal hiking conditions in Slovenia's Julian Alps. Photograph by Anton Petrus, Getty Images

This article was adapted from National Geographic Traveller (UK).

Is there a better month to feel a surge of travel spirit than September? As the summer holiday crush eases, Europe gets back to business and harvest time brings a bevy of the continents stellar produce to restaurant tables, from young wines to olives, Greek figs, British apples, Spanish almonds and so much more.

The change of season signals new beginnings and new adventures  perhaps a trip where you can try something to improve your skills or a hobby, or just to indulge some creative curiosity. From mindfulness courses to cookery classes, more purposeful travel can resume once the summer beach season is over.

Further afield, there are some stellar wildlife spectacles to see, from the big game that gather around dry-season watering holes in Africa to turtle spotting in Costa Rica, or watching humpback whales, blue whales and pods of orcas patrolling for sea lions along Californias coast. Heres our pick of destinations for travel in September.

1. Germany

Despite its title, Oktoberfest actually starts in September. Munichs mighty festival of beer usually gets off to a frothy start in the middle of the month (this year it runs from 20 September to 5 October), with a 1,000-participant folksy parade flying the colours of local landlords, breweries and ale houses. This is followed by the Hunters Parade, another riot of traditional Bavarian costume with a 12-gun salute to declare the bars officially open. There are 38 tents selling every conceivable iteration of German beer; most with regional food to try, too, from Alpine cheeses and North Sea oysters to hearty breakfasts, vegan eats and all manner of charcuterie and sausages. Wine lovers are also catered for, but its worth noting that September is also grape-harvest season, and Germanys picture-perfect wine country comes alive with tastings, tours and foodie events.

Oktoberfest is one of the world's largest festivals, with over six million revellers joining the festivities every year. Photograph by Nikada, Getty Images

2. Sicily

Italys southernmost island sheds beach holiday crowds opening up for those looking for some late-season sun coupled with buzzy city breaks. The capital, Palermo, reanimates as residents return from coastal resorts, and some of the islands best harvest fare starts making its way onto restaurant tables, including fresh figs, pistachios, almonds and mushrooms. Septembers temperatures make a Mount Etna hike more feasible, while tickets for ferries to the volcanic Aeolian Islands become more readily available. Its also a great time to explore the islands little-known hilly backcountry.

(How chocolate went from rough to refined in one Sicilian town.)

3. Cornwall, UK

September is a fine time to visit Cornwall, when sea temperatures are at their warmest, honeypot towns such as St Ives and Padstow are freed from log-jam traffic and summer crowds, and beaches are also far less busy. For two weeks every September, St Ives celebrates the arts with a festival of film screenings, art exhibitions, comedy and concerts  from folk to rock, classic to choral  as well as talks and guided walks in and around town, taking in everything from local history to megalithic tombs and Virginia Woolfs Talland House. September is also the time of Heritage Open Days (12-21 September), when landmark buildings across the country that are usually closed to the public throw open their doors for tours. There are some notable addresses in Cornwall.

(Where to eat the best fish and chips in Cornwall.)

The dramatic coastline at St Ives, Cornwall. Photograph by James Ms, Getty Images

4. Namibia

Dry season in Namibia (June to October) is a good time to spot the desert-dwelling elephants of the countrys northern Damaraland, which are otherwise somewhat invisible against the vastness of purple-red inselberg hills. But as the pachyderms gather at diminishing river systems and springs, sightings are more frequent. As temperatures rise, other animals are also found congregating around drying waterholes, including giraffes, rhinos, hyenas and sometimes leopards. Thanks to warm and sunny days  when cobalt blue skies contrast with orange sand dunes  and nights that are clear, star-studded but not too chilly, travellers will also appreciate Namibias dry season.

(See southern Namibia in a new lighton a lake cruise.)

Dry season in autumn is perfect for spotting springbok antelopes in Etosha National Park, Namibia, among other animals. Photograph by EcoPic, Getty Images

5. Slovenia

Its last call for hiking in the Alps, where the walking season winds down in autumn as weather reduces mountain access. September is a spectacular month to be at altitude, being still warm, dry and sunny, while the trees form a fiery seasonal display. Slovenias Julian Alps, at the mountain ranges easterly end, are defined by jagged limestone peaks offering an ever-expanding range of waymarked hiking routes. At the heart of the mountains, 9,400ft-high Mount Triglav is Slovenias loftiest peak, towering above the beautifully glacial lakes of Bohinj and Bled. The Juliana Hiking Trail is a recently mapped network of pathways across 168 miles of northwest Slovenia, taking in Triglav National Park and traversing some of the countrys most spectacular Alpine terrain in 16 10-mile sections.

(The step-by-step guide to the Juliana trail in Slovenia.)

To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
President Donald Trump remains open to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in hopes of achieving denuclearization, the White House said, even as Pyongyang warned against any pressure to abandon its nuclear arsenal.

"President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula and achieved the first-ever leader-level agreement on denuclearization," a White House official told Fox News Digital.

"The President retains those objectives and remains open to engaging with Leader Kim to achieve a fully de-nuclearized North Korea."

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, said in remarks carried by state media that relations between Trump and her brother are "not bad." However, she warned that any attempt to pressure North Korea to denuclearize would be viewed as "nothing but a mockery."

Trump Remains 'Receptive' To Dialogue With Kim Jong Un Despite Reported Letter Snub

She also claimed the countrys nuclear arsenal has significantly expanded since the two leaders last met  despite their pledge to pursue denuclearization  and stated that no future summit would be possible if it centered on nuclear disarmament.

Read On The Fox News App

"If the U.S. fails to accept the changed reality and persists in the failed past, the DPRKU.S. meeting will remain as a hope of the U.S. side," Kim Yo Jong said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Trump held three unprecedented summits with the North Korean leader  whom he once nicknamed "Little Rocket Man"  during his first term: in Singapore in 2018, Hanoi in 2019, and at the Korean Demilitarized Zone later that year, where he became the first sitting U.S. president to step foot on North Korean soil.

At the 2018 summit, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement pledging to "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and committed to establishing new U.S.North Korea relations.

North Korea Breaks Silence On Trump's Return, Sends Message From 'Rocket Man'

The pair initially signed a vague agreement for the Korean peninsula to denuclearize - but North Korea instead built up its arsenal.

However, talks broke down in subsequent meetings. North Korea did not give up its nuclear weapons, and the United States did not lift sanctions. Kim reportedly sought to dismantle only parts of the regimes arsenal in exchange for full sanctions relief  a proposal Trump rejected.

By 2020, the talks had completely stalled, and North Korea resumed weapons testing.

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says rocket drills that simulate a nuclear counterattack against enemies, at an undisclosed place in North Korea Monday, April 22, 2024.

In a statement Monday commemorating the 72nd anniversary of the end of the Korean War, Trump reflected on his meetings with Kim, saying, "I was proud to become the first sitting President to cross this Demilitarized Zone into North Korea."

He also reaffirmed the U.S. alliance with South Korea, adding: "Although the evils of communism still persist in Asia, American and South Korean forces remain united in an ironclad alliance to this day."





Original article source: White House responds to 'Rocket Man' and North Korea's threats over denuclearization
The penguins have been offered some relief. The people of Switzerland, Laos and Syria, not so much.

This is the unlikely jumble of winners and losers of President Donald Trumps finalized list of tariffs, which governments, markets and businesses across the globe were scrambling to make sense of Friday.

Some countries, such as Canada and South Africa, reacted with grave disappointment, warning that Trumps executive order could prompt job losses globally and rising costs for Americans. For others, the damage was not as bad as expected, with some able to thrash out deals before his deadline, and others hopeful of striking one in the future.

The president had already drawn confusion and alarm when first unveiling his tariff list in April.

Many analysts questioned, for example, why he was imposing a 10% levy on Heard and McDonald  two Antarctic outposts populated solely by penguins  or slapping a colossal 50% rate on the impoverished southern African nation of Lesotho.

A waddle of King penguins on the shores of Heard Island. (Matt Curnock / Australian Antarctic Division)

This weeks finalized list elicited reprieve but also dismay often with little or no explanation.

The harshest import taxes were slapped on Syria (41%), Laos and Myanmar (40%), three relatively poor nations with, at best, modest trading relationships with Washington. And Iraq, Serbia (both 35%) and Algeria (30%) also found themselves subject to Trumps executive pen.

(Brazil faces its own separate 50% tariff as punishment for what Trump says is a "witch hunt" against its former president and his right-wing ally, Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of plotting a coup.)

Elsewhere Thursday, Lesothos 50% rate was slashed to 15%  but not before huge damage was already wrought. The initial tariff saw American buyers pausing orders, thousands of people losing their jobs and the government declaring a state of disaster.

Meanwhile the Heard and McDonald Islands and its flightless bird inhabitants dodged the tariff Trump threatened to impose on Australia, which owns the islands, and remained at the 10% rate first announced in April.

It is hard to tell if there is any logic to deciphering why some countries have been hit so hard while others were spared, said David Henig, a trade expert at the European Center for International Political Economy, a think tank based in Brussels.

Without a detailed explanation from the White House, Henig told NBC News, the calculations were most likely based on the previous formula Washington used that placed the biggest tariffs on the countries with the biggest trade surpluses.

In announcing the tariffs Thursday, Trump said these surpluses constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States. (Many economists disagree that the U.S. trade deficit is inherently a bad thing, and his tariffs are the subject of an ongoing legal fight that is likely to end up at the Supreme Court.)

While the international uproar over Lesotho meant it was given a reprieve, other nations may have seen their tariffs maintained or even increased because they werent the most obviously unfairly treated developing countries, Henig said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on its rationale.

Its not only developing or obscure places feeling the heat of Trumps taxes.

Switzerland  one of the richest nations in terms of gross domestic product per capita  awoke Friday to find that it had been slapped with a colossal 39% rate, which its government noted with great regret.

This could spell trouble for Swiss chocolate and luxury watches, for which the U.S. is the largest market, with shares for Watches of Switzerland Group PLC tumbling 8.5% following the news Friday.

A Watches of Switzerland Group Plc store in London on May 15, 2024. (Hollie Adams / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

India also caught the eye as an American ally hit with a large 25% tariff but dismissed any suggestion of a rift, with Goods Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal saying the worlds most populous nation was confident that the relationship will continue to move forward.

In Southeast Asia, meanwhile, where exports to the U.S. have been increasing as manufacturers shift production from China, the reaction was generally relief.

Thailand and Cambodia, which just agreed to a ceasefire after a five-day border conflict that killed more than 40 people, welcomed their 19% rate as win-win and great news, while Malaysia described its own rate as a positive outcome. Cambodia had been threatened with 49%.

The consistency creates a level playing field for Southeast Asian governments  with Indonesia and the Philippines on the same rate, and 20% for Vietnam  after they had worried Trumps tariffs might favor some countries over others.

Taiwan, a tech hub that has a large trade surplus with the U.S., was hit with a 20% rate, lower than the 32% threatened in April but higher than the 15% negotiated by Japan, South Korea and the European Union. President Lai Ching-te said Friday that the 20% rate was temporary and that his government expected to negotiate a lower number.

President Donald Trump with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. (Susan Walsh / AP file)

Still up in the air are the final tariff rates between the U.S. and China, the worlds two largest economies, who rattled global markets this spring as they imposed spiraling tit-for-tat levies before both sides agreed to put most on pause until Aug. 12.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after meeting with Chinese trade officials this week that a potential extension of that pause could not be confirmed until Trump signed off on it.

Chinas position on tariffs is consistent and clear, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a daily press briefing Friday. There are no winners in tariff wars or trade wars.

Alexander Smith reported from London and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
As global concern over the hunger crisis in Gaza intensifies, Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, on Friday inspected the U.S. and Israel-backed aid distribution system there.

Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza on Friday to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Leavitt said that immediately following the visit, Witkoff and Huckabee would brief Trump in order to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.

Huckabee posted photos of the visit on X.

This morning I joined @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about @GHFUpdates aid sites. We received briefings from @IDF and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat! pic.twitter.com/GyVK5cwNgZ  Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) August 1, 2025

MORE: White House envoy Witkoff will travel to Gaza on Friday amid hunger crisis

Witkoff posted as well on X, saying, "At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies. The purpose of the visit was to give @POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza."

At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other pic.twitter.com/aCtLuMuhq1  Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) August 1, 2025

The president hinted at a new plan to address humanitarian concerns in Gaza on Monday following a meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

@netanyahu/X - PHOTO: Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, July 31, 2025.

We're going to set up food centers and where the people can walk in and no boundaries. We're not going to have fences, Trump said. He later added that he expected European nations to work with the U.S. on the initiative, and that he expected the plan to be operational very soon.

But so far, both the White House and the State Department have declined to elaborate on the presidents comments or provide a basic framework for the new plan.

The Trump administration and Israel have backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial American non-profit now charged with distributing most aid that is allowed to enter Gaza.

The GHF -- with Israel's approval and despite rejection from the United Nations -- took over most of the aid distribution system in Gaza on May 27, after an 11-week Israeli blockade on all supplies from entering the strip. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid provided by the U.N. -- formerly the main distributor -- and others to fund its militant activity -- claims which Hamas denies.

Earlier this month, more than 160 charity groups and NGOs called for the GHF to be shut down, claiming that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid from the organization and that its distribution locations have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.

But the administration has shown no signs of backing away from the GHF, which it has repeatedly touted as the only organization working in Gaza that is able to ensure aid doesnt benefit Hamas.

The U.S. has pledged $30 million toward GHFs efforts in Gaza and a U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday that the money was expected to be distributed to the group within the coming days -- a sign of the administrations continued confidence in the organization.

As of now, GHF operates only four distribution sites across Gaza. Trump administration officials have always maintained that its operations could be scaled up, but theres no indication the administration has played any direct role in planning for its expansion.

Ahead of his visit to Gaza, Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

Following their discussion, an Israeli official told ABC News that the two had agreed to several tenets related to bringing the war in Gaza to a resolution, including that it was time to consider a ceasefire framework that would free all Israeli hostages, that Hamas must disarm, and that Israel and the U.S. should work together to increase the flow of aid into Gaza even as the conflict continues.

Witkoffs visit to Gaza of Friday will mark his second trip to Gaza this year.

In late January, when the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was negotiated in part by both the Biden and Trump administrations was still in place, Witkoff became the first high-level U.S. official to enter Gaza in more than a decade when he toured an area of the Gaza Strip that was still occupied by the Israeli military.

-ABCS Michelle Stoddart and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
Australian Data Centres will look to grow its footprint outside of Canberra, with the hiring of former Microsoft international expansion lead for strategic missions and technologies Mark Pont.

As CEO, Pont has been tasked with significantly expanding ADCs presence from its home territory by attracting global customers and industry partners.

He enters the role with 25 years of technical and technological experience. Aside from Microsoft, where he worked for more than four and a half years, Pont has also previously worked at DataMark Solutions, CDC Data Centres, Vault Systems, IBM, PwC Australia, Intelledox and CA Technologies, among other organisations.

His time at Microsoft saw him oversee the tech giants $5 billion two-year investment in expanding its hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Australia.

ADC executive chairman Rob Kelly said Ponts international and Australian credentials make him an ideal candidate to lead ADCs next growth phase.

He, supported by other yet to be announced highly credentialed members of his senior leadership team, will provide the industry capability and experience required to position ADC as a leader in specialised technical infrastructure and sovereign capability, he said.
by Daniele Frison

From the Dominican Republic to New Zealand, hundreds of young people are in Rome visiting the exhibition dedicated to the Saint, canonised in 2016. Guided tours are also available to see the room she used during her stays in Rome. Her testimony inspires young people, who tell AsiaNews that she showed love in small things, not with words, but with actions.

Rome (AsiaNews)  In Rome, for the Youth Jubilee, the Missionaries of Charity are curating an exhibition dedicated to the life of Saint Teresa of Calcutta at the Scuola Pontificia Pio IX, on a side street off Via della Conciliazione. We don't give interviews. We let her, Mother Teresa, speak, said Sister Maria Dolores speaking to AsiaNews.

After passing through the Holy Door of St Peter's, young men and women from all over the world visit the school, chat with the many nuns present, contemplate the relics, and arrange themselves for adoration in the designated chapel.

Mother Teresa, founder of the order present in 130 countries with charitable works for the most vulnerable, speaks, once again, with her disarming radicalism, especially to young people.

"I think she's my favourite saint," Mariely Rosario told AsiaNews. The 37-year-old, from the Dominican Republic, just saw the exhibition, which includes panels depicting significant moments in the life of the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, such as her decisions to leave the Loreto Order, wear a simple white sari, and approach the poor who "suffer unimaginable agony as well as her decisive inner dialogue with Jesus.

Mother Teresa has had an impact on the world, not just in India," Mariely adds. "From her, I learnt that it doesn't matter that doing good deeds may be a drop in the ocean. The important thing is to do it. I volunteer with my friends; it's like being Jesus in action. It's beautiful to see the nuns with that smile that no one can take away."

Last year during Holy Week, Mariely Rosario visited Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), where Mother Teresa moved in 1949, at 14 Creek Lane, and founded the congregation.

It was transformative to see that it's not just young Catholics who are serving, she says. There are Hindus, agnostics, and even those who don't know what Catholicism is. With the Missionaries, they help people who are dying, or those living on the streets.

What is most striking about the Saint of Albanian origin is her humility in saying, Jesus, I don't want others to see me, I want them to see you in me. I think this is my fondest memory of that experience, she notes. It's what I pray for when I receive Holy Communion. That they don't see me, but see Jesus in me.

During the Jubilee, at Piazza San Gregorio al Celio, number 2, near the Circus Maximus, the Missionaries of Charity are also offering guided tours of the room where Mother Teresa stayed during her visits to Rome. Young men and women flock here, too.

Helping with the organisation is Kasius Ackimana, a 19-year-old biomedical student originally from Zambia, who is undergoing a period of discernment in Sweden.

For me, Mother Teresa is charity. In all the Missionaries of Charity chapels, next to the crucifix, there is the inscription 'I thirst, he says. These are the words Jesus spoke on the cross before dying. But they don't mean he thirsted for water; according to Mother Teresa, he thirsted for souls. When the nuns see a poor person, that person is Jesus Christ, but incognito, you understand? It's not a representation of Christ, but Christ himself in another form.

Betina Claure, 26, from Bolivia but in England for a volunteer project with the Lasallian Brothers, spoke to AsiaNews after visiting the exhibition on the saint canonised by Pope Francis in 2016.

I love taking time to talk to Jesus. So I appreciated the space to pray. I've always admired Mother Teresa; she's a great example of service. A blessing."

For the young woman, the Saint of Calcutta still inspires her peers, like all people, to be there for those in need.

Today, our world needs for everyone to act together to make an impact, because this is our home, the place God has given us. It is our duty and our responsibility to take care of it. Mother Teresa did a great job; she marked a starting point for us to inspire and follow her example.

Locquahn Tukerangi, 29, a participant in the Youth Jubilee, is from New Zealand. To reach Rome, his group walked 140 km along the Via Francigena in seven days, starting from Rieti.

I already knew Mother Teresa; my father-in-law always talks about her. But delving into her story here in Rome is an incredible experience," he says. "I was struck by how much she had Jesus in her heart, despite her inner darkness."

This is how Mother Teresa described the anguish she felt, a "terrible pain of loss," which over time she interpreted as a connection to the Passion of Jesus. Today she inspires us because she showed love in small things, not with words, but with actions," adds Locquahn Tukerangi. "And I think that for us young people, actions speak louder than words."

A nun says as much speaking to AsiaNews. What strikes young people the most about the Saint's life are the facts. Going out to meet the poor. In poverty, in joy.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The president granted amnesty to Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), and pardoned former minister Thomas Lembong in a sign of rapprochement with the opposition. Activists and lawyers slam a dangerous precedent and accuse the president of political opportunism, while PDIP leader Megawati Soekarnoputri announces support for the administration in parliament.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's surprise decision to show clemency to two former political adversaries has outraged public opinion and civil society groups.

The move, widely seen as a way to consolidate parliamentary support and forge an alliance with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), has led to accusations of political opportunism and called into question the coherence of the legal system.

The president granted amnesty to PDIP secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto, who was sentenced last week to three and a half years in prison for bribing an election official to secure a seat for a fugitive. The measure nullifies the sentence, but not the conviction. Hastos civil and political rights are expected to be fully restored.

Prabowo also pardoned Thomas "Tom" Trikasih Lembong through presidential abolition, a constitutional mechanism that cancels ongoing criminal prosecutions. Unlike amnesty, this legal tool applies when someone has not yet been convicted. The former Minister of Trade under President Joko Widodo (20192024) was recently sentenced to three and a half years for issuing sugar import permits deemed harmful to the national interest.

The government defended the decision, presenting it as a step towards national reconciliation and political stability. But civil society groups and legal experts view it as a dangerous precedent.

There is no legal consistency in our system, said Koerniatmanto Soetoprawiro, a law professor at Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, speaking to AsiaNews. In my view, this is clearly a political manoeuvre to boost the president's popularity and strengthen ties with the PDIP.

Political analyst Wisnu Rosariastoko also criticised the presidents action. There is no justice for ordinary citizens. When political elites and wealthy individuals are pardoned, it sends a clear message that justice serves only the powerful.

The move had an immediate political impact. Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri, the PDIPs long-time leader, announced that she had instructed her partys MPs to support the Prabowo administration.

While the decision sparked widespread criticism among activists and the public, it found strong support in the countrys parliament, where the PDIP holds a decisive influence.
by Lisa Bongiovanni

On August 4, parliament will vote on the Yellow Envelope Law, a measure that blocks companies from seeking compensation from workers for illegitimate protests and extends liability to subcontractors. Already approved last year, the bill was blocked by a veto from then-conservative President Yoon. The chaebol, Korea's large industrial conglomerates, are opposed to the bill, fearing they will lose further ground.

Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) - South Korea's parliament is preparing to vote on an important - and controversial - law on workers' rights. On August 4, deputies from the Democratic Party of Korea, the party of President Lee Jae Myung, which has a majority in the legislature, are expected to give final approval to amendments to the Labor Union Act, known as the Yellow Envelope Law. If enacted, the reform would significantly strengthen workers' rights and the power of trade unions in a country characterized by stark social inequalities, fierce competition, and a system often riddled with corruption.

In Seoul, the chaebol (large industrial conglomerates) traditionally dominate the labor market and block attempts at reform, with allegations of exploitation by workers who have long been demanding greater protections. However, in the delicate balance between economic interests and rights, some in the country fear that such measures could slow downor even paralyzethe economy, which is already struggling due to trade tensions with the US, only recently eased by a 15% tariff agreement. Lee seems determined to follow through on his election promise, unblocking a measure that his predecessor, conservative Yoon Suk-yeol, who was impeached after attempting to impose martial law, had blocked last year using his presidential veto.

The Yellow Envelope Law owes its name to a popular initiative in 2014, when citizens decided to collectively support workers laid off by SsangYong Motor by sending donations in yellow envelopes. The former employees of the company, in line with the legislation still in force, found themselves in serious difficulty: despite being out of work, they were burdened with the task of compensating their employer for all the financial losses caused by the strike. Since then, the yellow envelope has become a symbol of solidarity with the workers and, according to some, the name of the law is in itself overly political and misleading. The Yellow Envelope Law evokes a moment of strong national compassion, distracting attention from the actual content of the amendment.

In concrete terms, the proposed changes affect Articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, strengthening the right to strike and redefining the employer's responsibility, including in subcontracting relationships. The first key point of the reform aims to protect and expand the right to strike. In South Korea, the right to strike is formally guaranteed by law, but in practice it faces several obstacles. Companies can sue unions for substantial financial compensation for damages suffered during strikes (the popular protest that gave the law its name arose from a case of this kind). The problem stems from the fact that the cases in which the law allows protest through work stoppages are very limited, so most strikes are considered illegal. And if a strike is deemed illegal, the company can claim compensation that includes all losses in revenue caused by the work stoppage.

Given that these are often large industrial giants, the compensation demanded is often beyond the reach of workers. As a result, workers and union leaders are discouraged from organizing protests because of the economic risk they would face. Under the new law, however, workers could strike even on issues currently excluded from union negotiations: disciplinary measures, dismissals, and even investment decisions or corporate restructuring. On the one hand, therefore, it would be a way of rebalancing the power relationship between companies and workers by promoting participation. For critics, however, it would amount to forcing companies to obtain union approval before making important business decisions. It could also lead to continuous strikes, bringing industrial production to a standstill.

The other key issue in the reform is the broadening of the definition of employer. In concrete terms, this would mean that even employees hired by subcontractors could negotiate directly with large contracting companies. The aim is to make multinationals responsible for working conditions in their supply chains, even when they are not formally the employers. Currently, giants such as Samsung use extensive networks of subcontractors and do not officially appear as employers. To give an example: at the end of 2024, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries had 2,420 and 1,430 subcontractors respectively. These are highly specialized sectors, where each component requires a complex supply chain, making it difficult for client companies to do without the small companies that supply them. However, because of this necessary network, the demands raised by workers fall on the intermediate companieswhich are much smaller and weakereven though they are not the ones dictating production rhythms.

Critics are alarmed by the risk that multinationals could be forced to negotiate with hundreds, if not thousands, of different union representatives. South Korean car manufacturers, already concerned about the effect of US tariffs, warn that this could further weaken their export competitiveness, leading to higher costs, less flexibility, and longer production times.

According to President Lee Jae Myung, the Yellow Envelope Law aims to bring Korean labor legislation into line with global standards. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has repeatedly highlighted the problem of the dual structure of the Korean labor market, which is deeply divided between large and small companies. Industrial conglomerates, known as chaebols, hold disproportionate power and dictate the rules of the labor market, limiting long-term growth, the president said, calling the bill a necessary step.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The five countries in the region are increasing their purchases of these devices, which are increasingly used in conflicts, from Turkey, China, Russia, and Iran, and are opening their own production lines in agreement with foreign partners. Suspicions of triangulation that would allow Russia to be supplied while circumventing sanctions.

Astana (AsiaNews) - Central Asian countries are intensively acquiring unmanned aircraft technology, importing military and dual-use drones from Turkey, China, Russia, and Iran, and opening their own production lines in agreement with foreign partners. Most of these projects are still in their infancy, but experts warn that this is a very significant turning point for the region's military potential, which could transform Central Asia into a strategic hub for circumventing sanctions and playing the geopolitical game.

Until ten years ago, the use of drones in military operations was limited to a small group of countries, such as the United States, Britain, and Israel. Today, these aircraft have become a crucial element in armed conflicts around the world, playing a decisive role in the clashes in the Gaza Strip.

Today, these devices have become a crucial element in armed conflicts around the world, playing a decisive role in the clashes in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Syria, not to mention the war between Russia and Ukraine, where drones have caused more casualties than any other type of weapon. Most drones are operated by human operators, but often the decision to take out targets is made by artificial intelligence, and there is debate about the need to ban these variants internationally.

As Michael Hilliard, director of the Oxus Society, the military analysis center for Central Asia, states, until the recent conflicts, only three of the five Central Asian countries had the resources necessary to use fixed-wing aircraft, relying largely on surplus Soviet helicopters, considering that aircraft are extremely expensive, while drones have completely changed the picture.. Kazakhstan has the largest fleet of these aircraft and is now capable of building its own drones, in addition to importing them. Kyrgyzstan also has a significant arsenal, while Tajikistan has Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and even American drones.

The most ambitious plans in this field have been announced by Uzbekistan, which has recently imported large numbers of drones from all available markets, mostly for dual civilian and military use, some under commercial contracts and others under international cooperation agreements. Tashkent does not have the same level of infrastructure as Kazakhstan, but it has expressed a strong political and strategic will to create a specific branch for unmanned aircraft, as Hilliard assures us.

Military trade and production analyst Derek Bisaccio believes that the greatest success in this market is attributable to Turkey, which supplies Bayraktar TB2 drones to Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, while in Kazakhstan it mainly exports Anka drones for various purposes, produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries. Tajikistan is the only one of the five countries in the region that does not purchase drones from Turkey, and in any case it is difficult to determine precisely the figures for these deals and the size of the arsenals, which are not disclosed by the various governments.

For domestic production, Central Asian countries are following Russia's example, which purchased the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone technology from Iran, opening intensive production lines under a new name, Geran-2, widely used in attacks against targets in Ukraine. The agreement for these models between Kazakhstan and Turkey dates back to 2022, and after the necessary training, production began in 2024 in the southern city of Taraz, but according to the limited data available so far, no actual results have yet been achieved.

In January 2025, it was announced that the Chinese company Yesil Technology had invested million in Kazakhstan for the production of drones for agricultural work, in exchange for purchases of raw materials to create a circular ecosystem, developed by the activity of 300 drones per month. According to Hilliard, this system could be one of the ploys to get more drones into Russia while avoiding sanctions, fuelling the circulation of war.
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New generation of mushroom hunters boosts rural vitality in China's remote highlands

Xinhua) 09:32, August 01, 2025

KUNMING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- In the quiet moments before dawn, lights begin to glow in Jidi, a Tibetan village nestled in southwest China's Yunnan Province, as residents make their way toward the mist-shrouded forests over 3,000 meters above sea level.

For outsiders, hours of trekking across steep and slippery terrain might yield no more than a handful of mushrooms, if they find any at all. But for seasoned Tibetan villagers, each guarding their own "secret spots," the search is a daily ritual that defines them as the true matsutake hunters.

Today, however, the hunt is no longer the sole domain of longtime villagers. With the rise of mobile technology, a new generation has joined the quest.

Young people in China are now using short videos and livestreams to showcase the fashionable side of mushroom picking while introducing Tibetan culture to wider audiences.

Jidi, meaning "land of prosperity and peace" in Tibetan language, is perched among snow-capped mountains and forms part of Jiantang Township in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province.

Each year between July and September, the arrival of matsutake season breathes life into the village, drawing both seasoned and new mushroom hunters to the forests.

"These mushrooms were freshly picked by Tibetan villagers. What you see is what you get. Place your order now, and they will be shipped immediately," said Wu Xia, 22, dressed in traditional Tibetan attire as she hosted a livestream from the Shangri-La matsutake market.

Behind her, a team of young couriers and sorters, mostly born in the 1990s and 2000s, busily packed the "gifts from the mountains."

The session lasted until late at night, drawing over 110,000 viewers and generating nearly 120,000 yuan (about 16,785 U.S. dollars) in sales.

Another emerging figure among the new hunters is Chunpi, a young Tibetan who returned to Jidi Village in 2019 to launch a business.

As the village committee's deputy director, he has played a key role in local revitalization efforts by combining grassroots leadership with storytelling on social media.

Recognizing the ecological importance of mushroom habitats, he helped introduce a conservation-focused harvesting model to combat previous over-picking.

Under this model, enterprises and research institutions sign agreements with the village, granting villagers the right to harvest matsutake while allowing companies to purchase premium mushrooms at prices above the market rate.

The system mandates rest periods between harvests and forbids collecting immature mushrooms to safeguard the spore-producing forests.

"Villagers were reluctant at first, so we went door-to-door explaining the policy until they gradually accepted it," Chunpi said.

Since the establishment of a conservation and reproduction demonstration base, the natural growth rate of matsutake has risen by over 20 percent.

To boost trading efficiency, he has helped transform the local matsutake market into a hybrid platform combining in-person and livestreamed sales.

The matsutake market in Jidi now provides villagers with a fast and reliable way to sell their harvest. Transactions, from pricing and inspection to weighing, are swift and seamless, often completed within minutes.

Thanks to fair prices and immediate payment, villagers maintain a decent standard of living, while their matsutake are swiftly integrated into a streamlined cold-chain logistics network. This system ensures delivery to 264 cities across China within 24 hours and extends to Japan and the Republic of Korea within 36 hours.

"In the past, we had to travel long distances to sell mushrooms or accept low prices from local buyers," said 71-year-old Sanjie Dolma. "Prices used to fluctuate wildly throughout the day. Now, everything is transparent, and we can earn more by selling online."

The positive changes in the village go beyond how transactions are conducted. Every step in the matsutake supply chain has evolved. Thanks to internet-based "cloud" sales, this prized fungus has become a pillar industry driving rural prosperity on the Tibetan Plateau.

Ahead of the harvest season, Chunpi organizes e-commerce training for villagers. Many locals now earn income by livestreaming their mushroom-picking journeys. The village has also built a matsutake-themed campsite, offering immersive foraging experiences, stargazing and local cuisine.

Traditional Tibetan houses have been converted into guesthouses with ethnic dining and intangible cultural heritage experiences. Guided by Chunpi's vision, Jidi has become a model for rural revitalization through integrated agriculture, culture and tourism.

As one of the world's top matsutake-producing regions, Shangri-La has seen the rare fungus become a key commodity in both Chinese and global supply chains since the 1980s. During each harvest season, some local families earn between 10,000 and 80,000 yuan from selling the prized mushroom.

According to Shangri-La Customs, Diqing exported 67,818 kg of matsutake mushrooms in 2024, valued at 21.55 million yuan, an increase of 52.6 percent in volume and 30.3 percent in value compared to 2023.

The matsutake industry has become part of China's broader rural revitalization strategy, which aims to boost rural incomes, preserve ecological resources, and promote sustainable development through technological innovation and tourism.

Official data shows that rural residents' per capita disposable income in China rose from 17,131 yuan in 2020 to 23,119 yuan in 2024, marking an increase of nearly 35 percent. In 2024 alone, rural income grew 6.3 percent in real terms, outpacing urban income growth.

"The old mushroom hunters told stories about the mountains," Chunpi said. "We, the new generation, must tell the story of the whole matsutake industry. Young people are essential to rural revitalization as the future of the countryside depends on them."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian implied last month that he and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made serious progress on the thorny issue during their talks held in Abu Dhabi on July 10. In that regard, Pashinian said he is ready to accept a U.S. proposal to let an American company administer rail and road traffic through the would-be corridor.

Aliyev reiterated afterwards that the transit of people and cargo must be exempt from Armenian border controls. He warned Yerevan against continuing to oppose the so-called Zangezur corridor sought by him. Pashinian rejected those demands through a spokeswoman.

Hasmik Hakobian, a parliament deputy from Pashinians Civil Contract party, downplayed the lingering differences between Baku and Yerevan on which Armenian officials have made conflicting statements in recent weeks.

I fanatically believe that we will achieve the goals that we initially set for ourselves because we have invested a lot of effort in this and we will definitely achieve those most important goals: to have peace, to have open borders, and naturally, that will be followed by economic development, she said.

Armenian opposition leaders claim that Pashinian has already agreed to open an extraterritorial corridor to Nakhichevan through Armenias strategic Syunik province. They say that even outsourcing its management to a U.S. company would undermine Armenian sovereignty over the province bordering Iran.

The Azerbaijani demands for the corridor are also strongly backed by Turkey. A senior Turkish diplomat said on Thursday that it is important for not only Azerbaijan and Turkey but also other Turkic states.

Hakobian said in this regard that Ankaras and Yerevans positions on Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links have coincided in many cases. But she did not give concrete examples of that.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported the news in its readout of Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramovs farewell meeting with the mission chief, Dragana Kojic. It said they discussed, among other issues, the current state and prospects of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the fate of missing persons. They stressed the importance of continuing cooperation with the ICRC through its headquarters in Geneva after the delegation [in Baku] ceases its activities at the beginning of September, according to the statement.

ICRC officials have periodically been allowed to visit the 23 Armenian prisoners to inspect their detention conditions, inquire about their health and arrange phone calls between them and their families. They most recently did so in June. Some relatives of the prisoners said on Wednesday Red Cross officials have informed them that the Geneva-based organization will no longer have such access.

An IRCR spokeswoman in Yerevan did not explicitly confirm the information. But she did say that the Red Cross will suspend its activities in Azerbaijan soon. The Azerbaijani government announced plans to close the ICRC office in Baku early this year.

The prisoners include eight former political and military leaders of Karabakh who went on trial in January along with eight other Karabakh Armenians also captured during Azerbaijans September 2023 military offensive. The Armenian government criticized the mock trials in February after weeks of effective silence condemned by its domestic critics.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian claimed that explicit condemnation of the trials would only harm the defendants. Pashinians detractors countered that he is simply afraid of angering Baku. Some of them claim that he does not want the former Karabakh leaders, notably Armenian-born billionaire and philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan, to be freed.
1 August 2025 15:01 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Testimonies of civilians affected by Armenias missile and artillery attacks during the 44-day Patriotic War were heard at the Baku Military Court on August 1, Azernews reports.

Akifa Bayramova, a resident of Ganja, recounted how her home was destroyed by a rocket strike from Armenian armed forces around 2 a.m. on October 11, 2020.

I was injured. My grandson was pulled from the rubble and is still undergoing treatment, she told the court.

Another victim, Sevinj Hasanova, testified that she and her relatives were injured during an artillery shelling in Goranboy on October 5, 2020, while visiting her brothers family.

These hearings are part of the ongoing trial against citizens of Armenia accused of grave crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of terrorism, and violations of international humanitarian law during the war.
1 August 2025 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Life is returning to Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur not just in spirit, but with visitors, investment, and growth. July alone saw over 500,000 people come to these liberated territoriesamong them returning families, foreign tourists, entrepreneurs, culture professionals, and international media. This remarkable statistic is a testament to a region reborn: safe, modern, and brimming with opportunity.

Since the Patriotic War of 2020, Azerbaijan has transformed these territories from symbols of conflict into beacons of progress. Today, Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur are defined by restored infrastructure, thriving agriculture, and emerging industries. Roads, schools, airports, and smart-city initiatives are not merely construction projectsthey are foundations of future prosperity. Tourism and culture revival coexist with the reawakening of national identity and historical justice.

Azerbaijans tourism sector is experiencing a remarkable upswing. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the Travel & Tourism industry is expected to contribute 10.3 billion (approx. $6.06 billion) to the national economy in 2025, marking a 32% increase compared to the previous year and accounting for 8.2% of the countrys GDP. The sector is also forecasted to support around 472,000 jobs, representing nearly 10% of total employment. International visitor spending is projected to reach 5.5 billion (approx. $3.23 billion), while domestic spending is expected to hit a record 3.8 billion (approx. $2.24 billion).

Visitors to Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur are not just witnessing reconstructionthey are joining it. Through tourism, investment, and media engagement, these lands are steadily reclaiming their place in the national narrative.

Tourism is one engine of growth, but public investment and incentives are driving broader economic recovery. With official backing, new industrial zones and tax breaks are encouraging entrepreneurship. This mix of reconstruction and opportunity is attracting both domestic and foreign capital.

Every projectfrom factories to agri-developmentsis not only rebuilding infrastructure but also laying economic foundations. Once-secured areas are transitioning into active, resilient zonesliving proof of a state-led development strategy.

Tourism fuels demand for amenitieshotels, restaurants, transport, guidesall creating jobs and attracting further investment. As entrepreneurs open businesses and host foreign visitors, the regions begin generating their own economic dynamics.

The over half million visits in July show that tourists are drawn not only by landscapes and heritage but by confidence in security, infrastructure, and economic promise.

The restoration of Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur is more than physicalits cultural. Monuments are being rebuilt. Traditions revived. Cities are designed with smart infrastructure to serve resettled populations and future investors alike.

This story is about more than returnits about renewal. Each new enterprise, cultural festival, and historical monument adds layers to a revival that is both strategic and spiritual.

This is not a momentits a movement. The socio-economic renaissance of Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur aligns with broader efforts to diversify Azerbaijans economy and integrate these regions into national development plans.

Through tourism, innovation, resilience, and pride, Azerbaijan is scripting a powerful rebirth in territories once defined by conflict. Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur today represent a vision of what can be achieved when national unity, leadership, and strategic planning converge.
1 August 2025 19:45 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

On August 2, a historic development will unfold in Kilis, Turkiye, marking the beginning of Azerbaijani gas exports to Syria via Turkish territory. This event is more than a technical milestoneit is a strategic indicator of Azerbaijans growing influence in the Middle East and its readiness to support regional development in the post-conflict era.

The groundwork for this achievement was laid in recent months through a series of high-level engagements between Azerbaijan and Syria. Notably, the meeting between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Syria during a forum in Antalya signaled a new chapter in bilateral relations. This was followed by the official visit of the Syrian President to Baku on July 12, where discussions centered around economic cooperation, energy opportunities, and Syrias reconstruction efforts.

Under the guidance of President Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan has made it clear that it is prepared to contribute to Syrias post-conflict recovery and development. A delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Samir Sharifov, including officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited Syria to explore concrete areas in which Azerbaijan could assist the countrys rebuilding efforts. This reflects a sincere and forward-looking approach to regional partnership.

The export of Azerbaijani gas to Syria not only strengthens bilateral ties but also serves as a cornerstone of Bakus broader Middle East strategy. Just as Azerbaijan has played a key role in shaping energy cooperation with Europe and Central Asia, it is now expanding its presence in the Middle East through a balanced and multifaceted policy. President Ilham Aliyevs strategic vision has made Azerbaijan a trusted partner across various regions, and the Middle East is no exception.

This initiative also adds a new dimension to Azerbaijans energy diversification. Until now, Azerbaijani gas has primarily flowed to European countriestwelve in total. However, new markets are emerging. With Syria entering the picture, the Middle East is becoming an increasingly important geographic focus. This aligns with global trends where energy producers are seeking to expand access to new markets amid rising competition.

Syria can play a dual role: both as a consumer of Azerbaijani gas and as a vital transit country. The potential revival of the Arab Gas Pipeline, which links Syria to Jordan and once extended all the way to Egypt, could transform Syria into a key energy corridor. Azerbaijans entry into this space is timely and strategic. A reconstructed pipeline would enable Azerbaijani gas to reach the broader Arab world, from Jordan to Egypt, opening a new frontier for energy cooperation.

Moreover, Azerbaijans growing energy sector extends beyond natural gas. The country is rapidly increasing its electricity production, and the prospect of exporting electricity to Middle Eastern countries is becoming a realistic opportunity. With infrastructure investments and regional collaboration, Azerbaijan could play a significant role in ensuring energy security in the Middle East, just as it has done in Europe.

This new energy corridorstretching from Azerbaijan through Turkiye to Syriahas the potential to evolve into a broader axis of economic cooperation and stability. It is not only about pipelines and megawatts; it is about nations working together for mutual benefit. Through these efforts, Azerbaijan once again demonstrates that energy can be a tool for peace, growth, and unity.

As Azerbaijani gas begins to flow to Syria from Kilis, a new chapter is being writtenone that highlights Azerbaijans role as a responsible, forward-looking, and regionally integrated power. It is a development that serves both national interests and contributes to regional well-being, in line with Azerbaijans values and strategic outlook.
1 August 2025 12:44 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

A collegium meeting under the leadership of Vuqar Gulgammadov, Chairman of the Audit Chamber, was recently held, Azernews reports, citing the Chamber.

During the meeting, the auditors report on the results of the audit concerning the use of state funds and other assets by the Agrarian Services Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, along with its subordinate entities, was discussed in detail.

Following the discussions, the auditors report was approved, and a decision was made to implement necessary measures to address the identified deficiencies by the Agency.

Additionally, the collegium reviewed and approved the program to initiate a new control activity.
1 August 2025 13:24 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

August 1 is officially marked as Azerbaijani Alphabet and Language Day, established by a decree from National Leader Heydar Aliyev on August 9, 2001, Azernews reports.

He signed this decree after the complete transition to the Latin-based Azerbaijani alphabet was finalized in August 2001, recognizing it as a major cultural and political milestone for independent Azerbaijan.

Heydar Aliyev made significant contributions to protecting the Azerbaijani language. Back in 1977, when the USSR was adopting a new constitution, he strongly opposed the absence of a clause on state language and stood firm on the issue.

Thanks to his efforts, on April 2, 1978, during a session of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR, Article 73 of the republics constitution was amended to recognize Azerbaijani as the official state language. This was a historic achievement and a key step in preserving the countrys linguistic and cultural identity.

Reviews ongoing efforts in independent Azerbaijan to safeguard and promote the Azerbaijani language.

Heydar Aliyev's language policy was inseparable from his broader vision of state-building. His decrees from July 18 and August 9, 2001, on improving the use of the state language and establishing Alphabet and Language Day, are among the most significant steps taken to protect and strengthen the national language.

President Ilham Aliyev continues this mission with determination. His 2004 decrees on publishing in Latin script and releasing the Azerbaijani National Encyclopedia, as well as a 2007 order on translating key global literary works into Azerbaijani, have all played a vital role in promoting the language in every area of society.

Another important initiative is the 2013 State Program on the Use of the Azerbaijani Language in the Era of Globalization and the Development of Linguistics, approved by a presidential decree.

This program aims to increase government support for the study and use of Azerbaijani, align its use with modern needs, and strengthen linguistic research. It encourages the development of both theoretical and practical linguistic work and links language studies with pressing societal issues.

In 2018, President Ilham Aliyev signed further decrees, including one on boosting the presence of the Azerbaijani language in digital spaces and another on preserving its purity and improving how the state language is used.

These actions underscore the government's commitment to the language and its evolving role in national identity and governance.

Notably, from September 9 to 11, 2024, Baku hosted the third session of the Common Turkic Alphabet Commission, organized by the International Turkic Academy and the Turkish Language Association.

During the event, experts revisited the Latin-based Common Turkic Alphabet proposal initially introduced in 1991.

After thorough discussion, consensus was reached on a 34-letter alphabet.

Designed to enhance communication and cultural integration among Turkic nations, the alphabet considers the unique phonetic features of each Turkic language and serves as a shared linguistic framework for the region.
1 August 2025 14:01 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

On August 2, Azerbaijan marks the 127th anniversary of the birth of cinema in the country.

The foundation for this significant date was laid on August 2, 1898, with the mass screening of the first cinema footage in Baku.

In accordance with a decree signed by National Leader Heydar Aliyev on December 18, 2000, August 2 was declared "Azerbaijan Cinema Day."

This day is celebrated every year through a series of events, organized by the Culture Ministry to honor the rich legacy of Azerbaijani cinema.

This year, a series of events will also take place in celebration of the National Cinema Day.

On August 1, the amphitheater of Heydar Aliyev Park in the Khatai district will host a screening of the feature film "Goodbye, Schmidt!" (2019), directed by Ali-Sattar Guliyev, Azernews reports.

The event is organized jointly by the Culture Ministry, Cinema Agency, Baku City Culture Department, and the Khatai District Executive Authority. The creative team of the film will also attend the screening to meet with cinema enthusiasts. The film screening starts at 20:00.

On August 2, the Nizami Cinema Center will screen a series of films directed by local filmmakers.

Starting from 14:00, the films "The Red Color of the Second Planet" by Azer Guliyev, "Fence" by Gulu Asgarov, "The Last Autumn" by Rustam Babazadeh, "Two Days" by Teymur Qambarov, "The Eyes of War" by Elshen Zeynalov, and "Shusha Speaks and Shows" by Murad Muradov will be shown.

A ceremonial event dedicated to Azerbaijan Cinema Day will take place at the Nizami Cinema Center at 18:00. The ceremony is organized by the Culture Ministry.

During the event, cinema workers who have contributed to the development and promotion of Azerbaijani cinema will be honored.

The event will also feature the premieres of the short films "With Love from Orion" (directed by Rafiq Hajiyev), "Fallen Angel" (Elmar Farzali), and "May You Live the Earth" (Samir Karimov), which were commissioned by the Culture Ministry.

An open-air screening of the feature film "Where is Ahmad?"(1963), directed by Adil Isgandarov, will take place at Baku Seaside Boulevard on August 2 (20:00).

The event is organized jointly by the Seaside Boulevard Administration, Azerbaijanfilm studio, the Culture Ministry and the Cinema Agency.
1 August 2025 11:01 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana has called for the swift signing of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, emphasizing that such a deal would be transformative for the South Caucasus and beneficial to global peace and economic stability. His remarks were made in an article titled "A Peace Deal for Armenia and Azerbaijan", published in The Wall Street Journal, Azernews reports.

As President Trump has stated, Armenia and Azerbaijan are on the verge of signing a peace agreement in the South Caucasus. This would be an important step towards stability that would contribute to both regional and international peace, as well as economic benefits that extend far beyond the borders of the countries participating in this agreement, Daines wrote.

Reflecting on the decades-long conflict between the two countries, the senator noted, Many of the attempts to achieve peace over the years have been weak or short-lived. Previous administrations have not given the region and the peace talks the priority they deserve. He credited the Trump administrations approach for changing this dynamic, combining a peace through force model with pragmatic diplomacy.

Daines shared that he visited both Armenia and Azerbaijan this year with members of the Trump team, where they met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev. We explored the economic potential of the region and contributed to discussions on the most difficult points of the negotiations. Both leaders understand the importance of this historic moment and the significant opportunities that lie ahead, he said.

The senator also criticized Russias historical role in the region, stating, For many years, Russia has used this position as a mediator in the region to inflame the conflict and keep its southern neighbors weak and isolated. Now, both Armenia and Azerbaijan are throwing off the yoke of Russian hegemony and expressing their independent visions for the future. These visions coincide with the priorities of the United States.

He underscored the strategic significance of the Central Corridor, calling it the only land route between US rivals Iran and Russia, through which trade from Central Asia can flow unhindered to the West. He highlighted the resource wealth of both the Central Asian states and the South Caucasus, emphasizing their potential to reduce dependence on both Russian and Chinese supplies.

Daines stressed that the benefits of peace extend beyond diplomacy: Joint investments will create jobs and ensure financial stability. The Trump administrations determination has created a historic opportunity for these two nations.

Concluding his article, the senator urged decisive action: This anticipated agreement will change the geopolitical order in a way that will benefit not only the South Caucasus and Central Asia, but also the United States and our allies for decades to come. Therefore, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan should sign this agreement immediately for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world.
1 August 2025 11:46 (UTC+04:00)

Nazrin Abdul Read more

The international news channel Euronews has aired a report on the III Shusha Global Media Forum, Azernews reports.

The report highlighted that the forum, held in the city of Shusha, brought together representatives from 52 countries to discuss the growing impact of artificial intelligence on journalism. Key topics included media ethics, digital literacy, and the importance of global cooperation.

"The III Shusha Global Media Forum convened over 140 participants from 52 countries to address the increasing influence of artificial intelligence on journalism," the report stated. "Discussions focused on challenges such as disinformation, the need for responsible development of AI, and the urgent importance of improving media literacy worldwide."

Speakers from leading news agencies, technology companies, and academic institutions emphasized the need for stronger international collaboration to ensure resilience in today's rapidly evolving information landscape.

For host country Azerbaijan, the forum also served as a platform to showcase the regions growing role in shaping the global media narrative, as well as its commitment to adapting to AI technologies and safeguarding media integrity.
1 August 2025 17:05 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

The port of Astara in Iran has resumed operations for commercial vessels after a long suspension caused by sediment accumulation and declining water levels in the Caspian Sea, Azernews reports via Iranian Telegram channels.

The first Azerbaijani cargo ship has successfully docked at the port, marking a milestone in regional trade connectivity.

According to the report, Said Rasuli, Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran and Head of the Ports and Maritime Organization, confirmed the arrival of the ship from Azerbaijan. Carrying 1,600 tons of construction materials, the vessel became the first to enter the port following months of dredging efforts.

The port had been largely inoperable since last year due to a buildup of sediments in the entrance channel, which made navigation difficult. In response, Iranian authorities launched dredging operations in April 2025, removing 150,000 cubic meters of sediment to restore access.

Rasuli emphasized that restoring the ports functionality would boost Irans trade and transport capacity along the Caspian Sea. He also noted that it would contribute to the development of regional port infrastructure and enhance economic cooperation with neighboring countries, including Azerbaijan.
1 August 2025 11:21 (UTC+04:00)

President Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory letter to Swiss Confederation President Karin Keller-Sutter, Azernews reports.

"Dear Madam President,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you and your entire people on the occasion of your countrys national holiday.

I believe that we will continue our joint efforts to further develop Azerbaijan-Switzerland relations in an atmosphere of friendship and to sustain our fruitful cooperation.

On this joyous occasion, I wish you robust health, success in your endeavors, and everlasting prosperity and well-being to the Swiss Confederation."
1 August 2025 14:43 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

A significant quantity of marijuana smuggled from Iran was intercepted by employees of the Astara Customs Department, Azernews reports via the State Customs Committee.

The operation took place at the South-Astara customs post, where a truck transporting lettuce from Iran to Russia was subjected to X-ray screening. Suspicious images prompted a more thorough inspection of the cargo.

Following an alert from a trained sniffer dog, customs officers uncovered 152 kilograms and 295 grams of marijuana. The drugs had been carefully wrapped in foil, shaped to resemble lettuce, and concealed within the shipment to evade detection.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the attempted smuggling.
1 August 2025 14:11 (UTC+04:00)

Under the decree, Fakhraddin Manafov was conferred the prestigious Shohrat Order as a testament to his significant contributions to the advancement of Azerbaijani cinematic arts.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has signed a decree on the matter.

Fakhraddin Manafov has been awarded the Shohrat (Glory) Order, Azernews reports.

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1 August 2025 16:01 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received Israels newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan, Ronen Krausz, who presented a copy of his credentials during the meeting, Azernews reports.

Congratulating the ambassador on his appointment, Minister Bayramov wished him success in his diplomatic mission. The two sides reviewed the current state and prospects of Azerbaijan-Israel relations across political, economic, trade, energy, agriculture, investment, security, and humanitarian sectors, emphasizing the broad potential for development.

They also discussed the regional situation, with particular concern expressed over ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Minister Bayramov reaffirmed Azerbaijans call for peace and stability and its readiness to support diplomatic efforts toward this goal.

Ambassador Krausz stressed his commitment to enhancing cooperation during his tenure. The sides also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.
1 August 2025 23:41 (UTC+04:00)

Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to local media inquiries regarding the statement by Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation, regarding the removal of Ivan Aivazovskys bust, and on the usage of the name Stepanakert for the city of Khankendi by TASS News Agency.

Azernews presents the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, citing the Ministry's official X.

Question: While commenting on the removal of Ivan Aivazovskys bust in the city of Khankendi, Republic of Azerbaijan, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation, stated that this move by the Azerbaijani side was received with deep regret and characterized as an unpleasant and unfriendly step towards Russia. He called on the Azerbaijani side to act with caution and to end the war on monuments and the cancellation of Russian culture. Furthermore, in an article published on this matter by the TASS News Agency, the official state news outlet of the Russian Federation, the city of Khankendi was referred to as Stepanakert. What is your comment on these statements from the Russian side?

Answer: It is not the first time that Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, has joined the anti-Azerbaijani campaign based on certain instructions.

The bust of Armenian-origin painter Ivan Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Aivazian) was illegally installed on our territory by the Russian peacekeepers without the permission of the Azerbaijani side. This represented a clear manifestation of disrespect by Russia towards the sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The removal of such so-called monuments, which were unlawfully erected during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, is logical, legitimate, and fully in line with the law.

Mr. Shvydkoys allegations about the so-called cancellation of Russian culture in Azerbaijan are nothing but another lie. Despite the significant disparity in this field between the two countries, Russian culture has not been canceled in Azerbaijan. For example, while there are Russian-language theaters, schools, and publications in Azerbaijan, there are no Azerbaijani-language theaters, schools, newspapers, or magazines in Russia. Despite this disparity, we do not make allegations about the cancellation of Azerbaijani culture in Russia. However, high-ranking Russian officials should be aware that if their anti-Azerbaijani actions and statements continue, this disparity in cultural representation may be addressed and adjusted by Azerbaijan accordingly.

It is also regrettable that during Mr. Shvydkoys recent visit to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan, particularly to the city of Shusha, where he witnessed the vandalism committed against the monuments of Azerbaijani cultural figures such as Natavan, Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Bulbul, and othersas well as the widespread destruction on Azerbaijani territoryhe failed to show the courage to publicly condemn these acts.

The reference to the city of Khankendi as Stepanakert by TASS, the official state news agency of the Russian Federation, is considered as an act of disrespect and insult to the territorial integrity of our country.

We would like to remind the Russian side that the renaming of the city of Khankendi to Stepanakert in 1923 in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblastunlawfully created on the historical lands of Azerbaijanwas a disrespect to Azerbaijan, as it was named in honor of Bolshevik Stepan Shaumyan, who, together with Dashnak Armenians, carried out massacres against the Azerbaijani people.

We expect the Russian side to cease the distortion of Azerbaijani toponyms and the use of names adopted by the former separatist puppet regime to refer to our territories. If such actions continue, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, Azerbaijan may refer to various toponyms in Russia by their historical names.

We expect an apology and an appropriate correction from the TASS News Agency on this matter. Otherwise, in accordance with the law, relevant measures will be taken regarding TASSs operations in Azerbaijan.
1 August 2025 08:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

Saudi Arabia is embarking on an ambitious project to build 1,000 dams aimed at collecting rainwater, with an annual capacity of 4 million cubic meters. This move is part of the Kingdoms ongoing efforts to secure water resources in the arid region and improve its sustainability, Azernews reports.

According to Abdulrahman Al-Fadli, the Minister of Environment, Water Resources, and Agriculture, water production in the country has more than doubled since 2016, reaching 16.6 million cubic meters per day. Notably, 75% of this water comes from desalinated seawater. Additionally, the capacity of the Kingdoms strategic reservoirs has surged by 600%, significantly increasing the average duration of water supply in most cities, from just one to three days.

Efforts to reduce energy consumption have also been fruitful. Electricity consumption in the water sector has been halved compared to 2016. Saudi Arabia now provides water to over 22,000 settlements, including those located at altitudes of 3,000 meters, through an 18,000-kilometer pipeline network.

The volume of recycled water has also increased significantly, from 251 million cubic meters to 550 million cubic meters, which now accounts for 32% of the total water used. The Kingdoms initiative to build 1,000 dams will contribute an additional 4 million cubic meters annually, further enhancing water security. Impressively, 65% of local participation in the water sector and 97% of engineering projects are carried out by Saudi citizens.

In terms of conservation, the National Center for Efficiency and Water Conservation has successfully saved 120,000 cubic meters per day and plans to increase this figure to 300,000 cubic meters per day in the near future.

Saudi Arabia is making significant strides towards environmental protection, sustainable water management, and food security as part of its Vision 2030 goals. The Kingdom has implemented new regulations in the fields of environmental protection, meteorology, and waste management, some of which are being introduced for the first time in the country. Under the Green Initiative, more than 500,000 hectares of degraded land have been restored, and 151 million trees have been planted. The long-term goal is to restore 2.5 million hectares of land and plant more than 215 million trees by 2030.

Saudi Arabia has also expanded its protected areas, increasing the number of national parks from 18 to 500, covering 18% of the countrys territory, which is four times more than before. The Kingdom has made impressive strides in meteorology as well, with services now covering 100% of its territory through advanced sensing and forecasting systems.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia has established two groundbreaking centers: the Regional Center for Climate Change Research, the first of its kind in the Middle East, and the Regional Center for Sand and Dust Storms, one of only four in the world.

These efforts align with Saudi Arabias broader Vision 2030 initiative, which aims to diversify the economy, reduce dependence on oil, and establish the Kingdom as a global leader in environmental sustainability. By investing heavily in water resources, renewable energy, and green technology, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a pioneer in addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges of the 21st century. The country's water scarcity is being met with innovative solutions, making it a model for other arid nations in the region.
1 August 2025 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

Energy companies operating in Brazil have suspended oil exports to the United States following Washingtons decision to impose 50% import duties on Brazilian oil, Azernews reports.

Reuters reported this development, citing a statement from Roberto Ardenga, the head of the Brazilian Petroleum Institute (IBP).

This week, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new tariffs on oil imports from Brazil. The order explains that the tariffs were introduced in response to actions that, according to U.S. authorities, could undermine the country's interests.

The IBP represents Brazils largest oil and gas players, including Petrobras, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and Equinor.

Oil remains Brazils most significant export to the U.S., making this move a significant blow to both countries energy trade.

The imposition of such steep tariffs highlights the growing tensions between global trade relationships, particularly in the energy sector. With oil being a vital resource for both the U.S. and Brazil, this move could spur both countries to reconsider their energy strategies, especially as global oil markets remain volatile. This could also prompt Brazil to seek new markets for its oil, potentially strengthening its ties with China and other emerging economies, which have been increasingly active in securing energy supplies from Latin America. Meanwhile, U.S. oil producers may find themselves with less competition but could face higher prices due to the reduced supply of Brazilian oil. The long-term implications for global oil trade are yet to be fully understood.
In a gross and outlandish abuse of power, a crooked Biden judge, appointed by Biden's autopen, Trina Thompson, has ordered a stop to DHS Secretary Noem's order revoking Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nepal who are in the United States. Because she had no legitimate basis to do so, she cited "racism" in a sharply worded order.

TPS was granted to citizens of Nicaragua and Honduras because of the devastation of Hurricane Mitch in 1995 by President Bill Clinton. The hurricane damage was repaired decades ago, but TPS has been continued as a type of defacto amnesty. The Trump administration is putting a stop to this absurdity. TPS for Nepal was granted in 2015 due to an earthquake, whose impacts have, again, been long since repaired.

Temporary Protected Status is intended to be just that - temporary. Does this moronic judge not know the meaning of that word or is she so hepped up on politics and ideology, she just does not care. The judge's own extreme radicalism is evident in the first paragraph of her order: "The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American Dream. That is all plaintiffs seek. Instead they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood."

Does moron judge Thompson comprehend that they were actually told to leave because the natural disasters for which they were given TEMPORARY protection are long since over? Or again, does she just not care are wants to abuse power for ideological and partisan ends?

This nutcase judicial tyrant of a judge wants to take it upon herself to change their protected status from temporary to permanent. She lacks the Constitutional authority to do that. She is a threat to democracy and the Rule of Law.

https://redstate.com/bonchie/2025/08/01/judge-makes-wild-temporary-protective-status-ruling-may-have-topped-planned-parenthood-absurdity-n2192339

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/08/color-is-neither-poison-crime-biden-judge-pulls/

There needs to be very firm action taken against these out of control partisan hack Democrat judges who abuse their positions for political reasons. The Supreme Court tried to do that but they don't get the message. John Roberts needs to grow a backbone and take much stronger steps. If not, Congress needs to get involved. All judges appointed with Biden's autopen ought to have their positions declared vacant and be replaced with competent and common sense judges.

Our federal courts are becoming a freakin' bad joke.
Miami Showband Massacre survivor speaks at memorial on 50th anniversary: It's time to wise up and grow up. It's 50 years on

Des Lee also publishes new book on attack with journalist Ken Murray

The Miami Showband 50th Anniversary Commemorations

Niamh Campbell Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 08:00







A survivor of the Miami Showband Massacre has said he has no hate in his heart for those who killed his friends, and would prefer that everyone just wises up.
I was determined to do something after we lost my father-in-law: How NI man helped raise over 1m for charity
UK

6.3 million cancer cases could be diagnosed between now and 2040  report
A restaurant worker present as terrifying threats were shouted at young women fearing an attack on their home in Belfast has been put on 12 months probation.
A Belfast man who had been missing for over two weeks has been found alive in Paris, his family has confirmed.

Its understood Robert Kincaid is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in the French capital.

The 38-year-old, from the Tullycarnet area, was due to arrive in Dublin on the evening of July 17 but never boarded his flight.

The oil rig worker was returning from a stint working at a west African site in Benin and was set to board his connecting flight from Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.

On Friday the family confirmed that Robert had been found by emergency services.

In a statement to Belfast Live, Roberts brother Louis said: Rab has been found by emergency services and is requiring ongoing emergency treatment. While he is not out of the woods yet, we are just glad he is alive.

"As a family, we would ask for privacy in the time ahead as we deal with the situation."

In a post on Facebook, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the news was a massive relief for the family.

"Ive been with the Kincaid family this afternoon, he said.

They are delighted Robert has been found and are incredibly grateful for the public interest and community support.

They would now appreciate privacy as they reunite with their son.

Louis and a family friend flew to Paris on Wednesday to meet with British officials and assist in the search.

Ahead of the trip, he told this newspaper his last known point of contact was a video call with a friend made from a bar in the airport.

He said: I think he was in the airport bar having a chat basically. As far as Im aware, there was nothing bad said, there was nothing suspicious said.

A friend video-called Robert again, although a stranger answered the phone instead.

Robert Kincaid

News Catch Up - Friday 1st August

It looked like [they were in] a tin corrugated roof building. They basically said the phone [battery] was on 0% in broken English, Louis explained.

The second and final call made to Roberts phone was picked up by a woman, but the caller was unable to make out what was said before the line was cut off.

He doesnt have any contacts in France, but he is a very sociable person, he would make friends with anyone, his brother added.
Recent images shared online by boat tour company Abhainn Cruises have shown the extent of the damage caused to the Gobbins cliff pathway in Co Antrim.

The visitor attraction  which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year - posted online in February that it would be closed following recent rockfall but promised that it would reopen as soon as possible.

The Gobbins will remain closed to visitors following recent rockfall, read a post on Facebook.

We have a team working to reopen the attraction as soon as possible.

The Visitor Centre and cafe will remain open.

We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and we will provide further information regarding the reopening of the Gobbins when available.

Now, six months on, the cliffside visitor attraction still remains closed to the public.

Recent images shared online by Abhainn Cruises Boat Tours showed extensive damage to the pathway been crushed by fallen rocks and a huge boulder caught in netting overhead.

The images were taken by skipper and owner of the company Tim Griffin.

Lynn Gibson who works for Abhainn Cruises Boat Tours told the Belfast Telegraph: I wasnt there at the time, but Tim took the images whilst he was out on a passenger boat cruise.

We would do sea safaris sometimes and would see people out with their hard hats on but this time obviously its been closed, and you can see the size of the boulders and the damage to the paths.

In March of this year, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council issued a statement on the damage at the attraction saying: "We want to reassure visitors that all efforts are going into the repair work.

Damage to the Gobbins cliff path. Photo credit: Abhainn Cruises Boat Tours

News Catch Up - Friday 1st August

As this is a natural attraction built on rock faces in a difficult-to-access area, incidents such as rockfalls are beyond our control.

We are working closely with specialists to fully assess the damage and to develop a safe plan for reopening.

It continued: "Although this years opening has been delayed, we are focused on completing the necessary repairs as quickly as possible.

"We are confident that when it does reopen, it will be better than ever.

We are also excited to continue our celebrations throughout 2025, marking the reopening of the paths 10th anniversary with a variety of activities and events."
What is loyalism, what do loyalist women want and why do they not trust the media?
Private Sean Rooney was killed in Lebanon in 2022 (PA)

Tanaiste Simon Harris is set to meet with the mother of murdered Irish peacekeeper Sean Rooney.

It comes after Natasha Rooney expressed her disappointment at a lack of justice for her son.

Pte Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was killed when a convoy of Irish troops serving with a UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon was ambushed and fired upon on December 14, 2022.

The shooting happened near the town of Al-Aqbiya in a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Pte Rooney was from the 121 Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces.

On Monday, Mr Harris said he had been informed of the completion of a military tribunal in Beirut for those indicted for the murder of Pte Rooney.

One man was sentenced to death, but he remains at large. A number of other men were also convicted in relation to other offences over the shooting.

Simon Harris said he will meet Natasha Rooney next week (Brian Lawless/PA)

Ms Rooney expressed disappointment and contended it was not justice.

In a statement released through Phoenix Law, she said the perpetrator of her sons murder has been untraceable and untraced for many years.

She added: The verdict in reality is nothing more than a headline to the Lebanese authorities who masquerade this sham trial process as a semblance of justice for my son.

Ms Rooney also urged Mr Harris to speak to her before seeking to speak for me, in his public statements.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Mr Harris said he is meeting Ms Rooney next week.

Im going to preserve any further comment til I meet her, he said.

Natasha is a grieving mother fighting for justice for her son who died while serving with absolute distinction wearing the uniform of Oglaigh Na hEireann. He has my absolute and total respect, as does his family.

I look forward to meeting with Natasha and engaging with her directly next week.
CCTV image that was shown to a jury and is claimed to show US citizen Aimee Betro in Birmingham following the attempted shooting of Sikander Ali in September 2019 (West Midlands Police/PA)

Jurors trying a US citizen accused of involvement in a murder plot in the UK have been told they are likely to retire to consider their verdicts next week.

Evidence in the trial of Aimee Betro, who denies conspiracy to murder in relation to a plot to kill a rival of her UK-based partner, came to an end on Friday at Birmingham Crown Court.

Prosecutors allege Betro, who is originally from West Allis in Wisconsin but was living in Armenia until earlier this year, flew to Britain in August 2019 to take part in a plot orchestrated by co-conspirators Mohammed Aslam, 56, and his son Mohammed Nabil Nazir, 31, to attack a rival family.

The Crown also claim the 45-year-old graduate hid her face using a niqab when she got out of a Mercedes and tried to shoot Sikander Ali outside his home in Measham Grove, Yardley, Birmingham.

The attempted shooting took place shortly after 8pm on September 7 2019, the court has heard, but the handgun jammed, allowing Mr Ali to flee in his car.

Betro is also alleged to have returned to Measham Grove in a taxi around five hours later and to have fired three rounds at the windows of the intended victims property.

She suggested to jurors earlier this week that the perpetrator was another American woman who sounded similar to her, used the same phone and wore the same sort of trainers.

Betro also told jurors that it was all just a terrible coincidence that she was around the corner from the scene of the attempted assassination six minutes later.

Addressing the court briefly on Friday, trial judge Simon Drew KC answered a jury note querying why a forensic voice comparison had not been conducted during the investigation, with Betro denying that it was her voice captured on recordings of calls made to a taxi company.

A CCTV image said to show Aimee Betro following the attempted shooting (West Midlands Police/PA)

Judge Drew instructed the jury not to speculate as to why no forensic comparisons had been made, telling the panel: You decide the case according to the evidence.

Its a matter for the parties as to what evidence they put before you.

The judge added: That then is all the evidence you are going to hear in this case.

We will have speeches from counsel on Monday morning. Then I will sum up the case. My hope is that you will be retiring to consider your verdicts on Tuesday.

The defendant also denies possessing a self-loading pistol and a charge of fraudulently evading the prohibition on importing ammunition.
Police watch protesters outside the former Bell Hotel in Epping (Yui Mok/PA)

Police have imposed conditions on a protest against the use of a hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.

The Metropolitan Police said there would be an increased police presence for a protest and counter protest outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London, on Saturday.

A protest and counter protest will take place in Newcastle outside The New Bridge Hotel on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police said the protest against the use of the Islington hotel was organised by local residents under the banner Thistle Barbican needs to go  locals say no.

A counter protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and supported by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as other groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party, will also take place.

Police said the anti-asylum hotel protest had been endorsed by groups from outside the local community which is likely to increase the number of people attending.

Online groups that have voiced support for the protest include Patriots of Britain and Together for the Children.

The Metropolitan Police said plans were in place to respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers.

Conditions on the anti-asylum hotel protest include that anyone participating must remain within King Charles Square and that the assembly must not begin before 1pm and must conclude by 4pm.

Police said conditions on the counter protest include that participants must remain in Lever Street, near the junction with Central Street, and that the assembly must not begin before 12pm and must conclude by 4pm.

Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, in charge of the policing operation, said: We have been in discussions with the organisers of both protests in recent days, building on the ongoing engagement between local officers, community groups and partners.

We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides.

Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.

We have used our powers under the Public Order Act to put conditions in place to prevent serious disorder and to minimise serious disruption to the lives of people and businesses in the local community.

Those conditions identify two distinct protest areas where the protests must take place, meaning the groups will be separated but still within sight and sound of each other.

There are also posts online advertising a for our children, for our future protest in Newcastle on Saturday outside The New Bridge Hotel.

A stop the far right and fascists in Newcastle counter protest has been organised by Stand Up To Racism at the nearby Laing Art Gallery.

In a statement, the organisers of the counter protest said: Yet again far-right and fascist thugs are intent on bringing their message of hate to Newcastle. They aim to build on years of Islamophobia, anti-migrant sentiment and scapegoating.

In Epping and elsewhere recently we have already seen intimidation and violence aimed at refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.

Newcastle, like the rest of the North East, has a well-earned reputation for unity in the face of those who seek to divide us. Whatever problems we face, racism and division are not the answer.

Northumbria Police have been approached for comment.
The crew of a Nasa mission to the International Space Station pose before boarding their SpaceX rocket (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeings Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX.

The US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from Nasas Kennedy Space Centre. They will replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for Nasas two stuck astronauts.

Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months.

Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who should have launched last year, was ditched along with another Nasa crewmate to make room for Starliners star-crossed test pilots.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon capsule lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida (John Raoux/AP)

The botched Starliner demo forced Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to switch to SpaceX to get back from the space station more than nine months after departing on what should have been a week-long trip.

Ensuring their safe return meant stepping aside, Ms Cardman said before her launch.

Every astronaut wants to be in space. None of us want to stay on the ground, but its not about me, said Ms Cardman, the flight commander.

Even after launch, things can change at the last minute, so Ill count myself very fortunate when the hatch opens (to the space station), she said.

Nasas Mike Fincke  Ms Cardmans co-pilot  was the back-up for Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams on Starliner, making those three still the only ones certified to fly it.

Mr Fincke and Japans Kimiya Yui, former military officers with previous spaceflight experience, were training for Starliners second astronaut mission. With Starliner grounded until 2026, Nasa switched the two to the latest SpaceX flight.

Rounding out the crew is Russias Oleg Platonov. The former fighter pilot was pulled a few years ago from the Russian Soyuz flight line-up because of an undisclosed health issue that he said has since been resolved.

To save money in light of tight budgets, Nasa is looking to increase its space station stays from six months to eight months, a move already adopted by Russias space agency.

SpaceX is close to certifying its Dragon capsules for longer flights, which means the newly launched crew could be up there until April.

Meanwhile, Russias space chief has visited the United States to discuss plans for continued co-operation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station and lunar research with Nasas acting chief, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than seven years.

Dmitry Bakanov, the director of the state space corporation Roscosmos, met on Thursday with Nasas new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on a visit to attend the launch of the crew to the space station.

Roscosmos said Mr Bakanov and Mr Duffy discussed further work on the International Space Station, co-operation on lunar programmes, joint exploration of deep space and continued co-operation on other space projects.
Past leaders include convicted gun smuggler Frank PortinariUDAs London wing played a part in fundraising and gun smuggling during the troubles, but had been relatively dormant since

The refusal of loyalist paramilitaries to move on has long been the source of controversies, derision and headlines.

But there are occasional signs that some things are changing.

There are now reports that the London UDA has transitioned into an old comrades association.

The London leadership made frequent trips to Belfast following the groups rejuvenation in the 1980s, sitting on the wider organisations ruling Inner Council.

The faction fundraised for the UDAs activities in Northern Ireland during the troubles, and at times took part in smuggling weapons for UDA activities across the water.

Two of the London UDAs leading members, Frank Portinari and Eddie Whicker, were earlier arrested in Birmingham sting operation in May 1993. Police having discovered 260 rounds of ammunition and seven semi-automatic pistols in a car boot.

What is the London UDA, whats an old comrades association, and does it matter if the group has been considered dormant for a long time?

Ciaran Dunbar is joined by Dr. Aaron Edwards - an academic, author, and security analyst who broke this story.
Disgraced civil servant jailed over child images admits breaching sex crimes order

Pervert handed out origami animals to children at cultural hub in Belfast city centre

Peter Crawford

Paul Higgins Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 20:00

A paedophile living next to a home for vulnerable adults and children despite a ban on him approaching such places has admitted breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (Sopo).
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BENNINGTON  Kevin Hoyt, a former candidate for governor, State Senate and Bennington Select Board, is set to be arraigned Monday on a misdemeanor trespass charge for allegedly walking through the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington in April against a no trespass order, then posting the stroll on social media.

Hoyt, 55, is currently under a long-standing trespass order since 2021, which bars him from entering the hospital unless there is a clear and present medical emergency. The trespass notice does not have an expiration date.

According to an affidavit filed with the court, on Friday, April 18, 2025, a corporate risk manager alerted security that Hoyt had come to SVMC to visit a patient. Hoyt, unrecognized by hospital staff, was given directions to the Womens and Childrens unit despite the standing order.

Police eventually obtained security footage of Hoyt walking inside the hospital, and Hoyt was contacted and asked to come to the Bennington Police station so he could be arrested. Hoyt allegedly told police he was at the hospital for a kidney stone. When police probed further, Hoyt reportedly told them he was visiting, that he thought the trespass order had expired after a year, and that he wanted to see the order. Hoyt finally told police in a second phone conversation that he was on his way to Albany to meet with the FBI and could not return to meet them. Hoyt agreed to come in the next day.

Hoyt appeared the next day and was fingerprinted and photographed. He was issued a citation to appear at the Bennington Courthouse in June to face the charge. An initial probable cause check by Bennington Judge Jennifer Barrett did not find probable cause for the charge, and the case was closed. Three days later, State Prosecutor Anna Cykon filed a motion to reconsider the probable cause ruling. The case was then reopened, and probable cause was found. Hoyt was then cited again to appear, this time on August 4. He refused to sign the new citation.

Hoyt has a criminal history in Vermont. He pleaded no contest to one count of violating an abuse prevention/no stalking order back in March after violating a court order to stay away from former State Rep. Christopher Bates. In exchange for his plea, two other violations of the same order with the same victim months apart were permanently dismissed.

Hoyt was ordered by the court to stay away from Bates in March of 2022. Court documents accused Hoyt of violating that order three times: in June, October, and again in November of that same year after allegedly posting and threatening Bates on social media.

Hoyt posted a video on social media in which he threatened to shoot Bates. In the video, Hoyt can be observed leaving the Bennington Courthouse on South Street on Oct. 19, 2022, recording himself talking. Hoyt refers to a Sheriffs Deputy being off that day, as well as a judge, police, and federal officers. Hoyt goes on to say that no one will help protect him from Bates." Hoyt says that if Bates comes after him, I will shoot him. He then posted the video to his Facebook page.

At the time of the video, Hoyt was under a March 2022 Final Order of Stalking listing Bates as the plaintiff. Hoyt was ordered to stay away from Bates, which included refraining from talking to, posting about, or contacting other people as a means of communication with Bates. He was also ordered to stay at least 300 feet from Bates.

There were two other instances of Hoyt allegedly breaking the order, once in June and again in November 2022. An arrest warrant was issued for Hoyt in November 2022. He was picked up in Fair Haven in July 2024 and arraigned on all three violations that same day. It is unclear why over two years passed before his arrest.

Hoyt and Bates both have a long history of antagonism. An incident captured in March 2022 shows Hoyt videotaping town candidates at a voting station, during which the pair had a confrontation outside the Bennington firehouse. The verbal assault was caught on film.

Both men had a two-year stalking order placed on the other after that confrontation.

Hoyts arraignment is scheduled for Monday morning in Bennington.
Michael J. Caduto is a writer, ecologist, and storyteller who lives in Reading, Vermont. He is author of "Through a Naturalists Eyes: Exploring the Nature of New England." The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: www.nhcf.org.
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Short of outright abuse, close contact with students at Miss Halls School  such as a hug or an arm draped across a students shoulders  was normalized for decades, according to an external report released Tuesday that details the administrations repeated failure to protect students from misconduct dating back to the 1940s.
Culex pipiens, like these mosquitoes collected in Pittsfield in 2016, are among the common carriers of West Nile virus. Cases were detected in two mosquito samples taken from the city, one from upper North Street and the other from the South Street intersection with Dan Fox Drive, according to a press release from the city.
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LANESBOROUGH  For years, various owners of the Berkshire Mall have complained about high taxes levied by the Baker Hill Road District.

Now, the malls current owner, JMJ RE Holdings LLC, is appealing to a higher authority  the Massachusetts Inspector General  and questioning the road district's continued existence.

Tim Grogan, a development consultant for the company, filed the complaint 12 days after Linda Pruyne, the Baker Hill Road District's treasurer, said the district is insolvent because JMJ RE Holdings hasn't paid its taxes.

In recent months, the town, Lanesborough Village Fire and Water District, and the Baker Hill Road District have independently taken legal action against JMJ RE Holdings based on unpaid taxes and other obligations.

Grogan emailed a 31-page complaint to the inspector general detailing what he claims are abuses by the road district, the malls taxing authority.

The Office of the Inspector General is an independent, nonpartisan oversight agency mandated to prevent and detect fraud, waste and abuse of public resources at the state and municipal level, according to its website.

The complaint, which combines analysis and opinion, offers a blunt conclusion: The Baker Hill Road District has no reason to exist now except to fill the pockets of its administrators while temporarily satiating the town through massively overpriced contracts.

Grogans filing was acknowledged by email on July 21, the day he filed it.

Citing state law requiring confidentiality, a communications officer for Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiros office told The Eagle she could not confirm or deny that Grogans complaint had been received.

In the complaint, Grogan frequently targets Mark Siegars, the districts lawyer, whom he calls the de facto leader and decision maker for the Baker Hill Road District. Siegars declined comment on Friday.

The complaint is dotted with footnotes and has 36 attachments, including minutes from meetings, news stories, legislation, contracts and a state audit.

In March 2023, JMJ RE Holdings paid $1 to Mehran Namiri-Kalantiri for the Berkshire Mall and assumed a $5 million second mortgage due to Namiri-Kalantiri on Friday.

The initial plan was to use the mall as an indoor cannabis facility. Now the plan is to redevelop the site as a senior housing community. JMJ RE Holdings brought in Grogan to help realize this vision.

WHAT IS THE BAKER HILL ROAD DISTRICT?

Legal action Through its lawyer, Mark Siegars, the Baker Hill Road District sued JMJ RE Holdings for failing to pay $462,938 in taxes owed due June 30, 2024. The lawsuit was filed Dec. 17, 2024, in Berkshire Superior Court. As of Nov. 1, $61,183.43 in interest was also owed, plus $177.57 in interest per day. Representing the Lanesborough Village Fire and Water District, Siegars had already sued the mall owners on Nov. 6, 2024, for failing to pay for water. In that lawsuit, he said $91,951.99 was owed, plus statutory interest of $13,671. In its legal answer, JMJ RE Holdings denies it owes money to the Baker Hill Road District, calling the amount demanded excessive and its payment would unjustly enrich the Plaintiff. As to the fire and water district, JMJ denied it owed money for water because it hadnt used any. The town of Lanesborough also filed a tax taking at Northern Berkshire Registry of Deeds on the Berkshire Mall in December after JMJ failed to pay taxes owed directly to the town. JMJ later paid $296,380.99 and the property was redeemed, meaning its now owned by JMJ. In other obligations, JMJ owes a $5 million second mortgage due on Aug. 1 to the previous owner of the property, Mehran Namiri-Kalantiri.

During the development of the mall in 1988, Pyramid Management Group didn't have enough money to finish building the Route 7/Route 8 Connector Road. By home rule petition, the Baker Hill Road District was established to acquire the road, finish and maintain it. The bond to pay for the road was retired on July 1, 2014.

In 2018, the legislation was amended to allow for economic development and expand the Baker Hill Road District's powers. It may now can lease, own or acquire real property within the road district, including through tax title foreclosure.

In the complaint, Grogan includes the enabling legislation, then walks the reader forward, detailing the triple net structure of leases and the establishment of a condominium association in 2007. He notes that mall owners since 2012 have paid taxes only at foreclosure or sales.

The Baker Hill Road District taxes not only the Berkshire Mall but also Target, the sole operating retailer on the property, and BMG Newco c/o Pyramid Cos.

As the owner of the Route 7/Route 8 Connector Road, the road district has several financial obligations to the town. They include: money for a fire truck, the annual salaries of two police officers and 50 percent of the cost of a police cruiser every two years, plowing and maintenance of the road and other public safety services. The road district also pays the town of Lanesborough to provide tax collection services for the district. In addition, it pays for maintenance and repair of street lights. The district also has a website designer paid by contract.

'HIGHEST TAXES IN THE STATE'

By 2021 the mall was largely vacant, Grogan writes in the complaint.

Despite the crash of the propertys assessed value, from roughly $55 million to less than $8 million, the Baker Hill Road Districts budget continued to escalate unchecked further restricting its development, he writes.

While people in Berkshire County are desperate for a successful redevelopment of the site, Grogan writes, this remains exceedingly difficult given the owners pay the highest combined property tax rate in Massachusetts.

Using 2024 figures, Grogan calculated the tax rate at $84.37 per $1,000 dollars of assessed valuation.

While he notes that high assessed values and low tax rates are typical in Massachusetts (or vice versa), "here we see high valuations in unison with the highest possible tax rate at the Berkshire Mall."

The Baker Hill Road District and its taxes are the reason why the mall continues to depreciate, the complaint states.

ROAD COST PER MILE

The district's budget is $947,180.63 for the fiscal year that began July 1 and owes the town of Lanesborough a total of $541,760 for road maintenance, police services, half of a police cruiser, public safety equipment and town collector fees.

Grogan calls some of the districts obligations to the town noncompetitive contracts, referring to them more as donations and gifts rather than a transaction for discernible services.

Grogan calculated the per mile cost of road maintenance for the Connector Road as $71,992.50. Other roads in town cost $19,726.07 per mile. He notes that a 2022 audit criticized the Baker Hill Road District for failing to competitively bid out this cost.

In the complaint, Grogan frequently targets Siegars, whom he calls the de facto leader and decision maker for the Baker Hill Road District.

These bloated contracts can be seen as an active effort by the administrators of the District, particularly Mark Siegars, to avoid public criticism and also force the mall to be unable to make these substantial payments, Grogan writes.

He then turns attention to legal expense for Siegars, who is paid a total of $106,500.

It is incredibly telling that prior to Siegars representing the District, the legal expense amounted to between $4,000 and $6,000 from 2007 to at least 2012, Grogan writes in the complaint. Siegars would need to bill 350 hours to reconcile his expense on top of his retainer and labor covers, he states.

A stipend totaling of $30,177 per year goes to the three members of the Prudential Committee, which calculates to $2,514.75 per month to each member for no more than an hours work a month, Grogan writes, citing the length of meetings, according to the minutes.

The complaint also claims that Baker Hill Road District Chair Bill Prendergasts lifetime appointment to the district's Prudential Committee is in violation of the founding legislation and writes that the mall owners are being taxed without representation.

Grogan makes other claims as well about conflicts of interest involving the Baker Hill Road District.

In his conclusion, he writes that one of his primary goals in filing the complaint is to educate the people of Lanesborough.

If the site of the Berkshire Mall is ever to flourish again and not stand as the biggest white elephant in western Massachusetts, he concludes, the [Baker Hill Road District] must be called into check and dissolved.

John Goerlach, one of the three members of the Prudential Committee, declined comment when asked about the complaint.

"No, I got nothing to say," he said.

Hank Sayers, a member of the Prudential Committee, referred comment to Prendergast or Siegars. Neither could be reached for comment.
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BOSTON  The Legislature treated the last day of July as it so often does: with a blitz of action to advance or wrap up multiple bills before lawmakers give themselves an extended break.

On the eve of a traditional summer recess, the House and Senate sent Gov. Maura Healey measures instituting new legal shields to protect reproductive and gender identity care and investing heavily in local road repairs.

Also approved was a plan that would increase the pay for bar advocates who represent indigent defendants. However, many of the attorneys said the raise was insufficient and they would continue the job action they began in May.

The Senate also overwhelmingly approved legislation prohibiting cellphones in K-12 classrooms in most instances. With schools preparing for another academic year, House Democrats have not indicated if or when they plan to tackle that issue so it's unclear whether the policy offensive will have an impact in the fall.

Much of the work completed Thursday had been in the mix for months, and with the votes complete, lawmakers tied off key loose ends, hand the governor a trio of major bills before decamping for vacations.

"Today, as we know, is our last day of formal session before we take a much-needed recess in August," Senate budget chief Michael Rodrigues said from the chamber floor.

One pressing crisis the Legislature targeted in Thursday's flurry left some of those involved dissatisfied.

Roughly 30 bar advocates gathered on the Grand Staircase to slam proposed pay increases included in the spending bill lawmakers sent Healey. The attorneys sought raises of $35 per hour in the first year and $25 an hour in the second year, three times more than the $20 an hour over two years the Legislature approved.

Sean Delaney, a bar advocate who has become a de facto leader for attorneys frustrated by the situation, said he wants lawmakers to understand that "we're going nowhere."

"Your ridiculous proposal that you put forward yesterday has only strengthened our resolve. You must understand that before you go off on your monthly sojourn in August and disappear from these halls," Delaney said. "You're strengthening our cause and our resolve. Personally, I am not taking another case until they do what is right. They know what it is. They have the means and the manner to do it. They refuse to do it."

Some bar advocates stopped taking new cases in late May to protest their pay rates, which are significantly lower than other New England states. As a result, some courts had to release defendants or dismiss cases. The work stoppage began impacting cases in Central Berkshire District Court this week.

Legislative leaders, who were frustrated with the labor action, on Wednesday rolled out a proposal to increase bar advocate pay, declare any similar refusal to take new cases in the future an antitrust violation, and boost funding for the Committee for Public Counsel Services by $40 million to hire additional staff attorneys.

House budget chief Aaron Michlewitz on Thursday recounted efforts to scale back some spending increases in the final annual state budget, saying "there were many worthy line items and programs that saw reductions."

"Yet due to the work stoppage and some bar advocates holding people's constitutional rights to counsel hostage, we have found the space to offer these proposals," Michlewitz told his colleagues. "Many people would be thrilled at a 30 percent raise, because I can assure you that most state workers or contractors will not see anything comparable for any of that in the near future, and you don't see any of them holding up our constituents' constitutional rights as a bargaining chip or using them as leverage in negotiations."

Bar advocates are private attorneys hired essentially as independent contractors to represent clients who cannot afford lawyers. Without a centralized leadership, the decision on whether to resume accepting new cases will fall to each lawyer as an individual.

Christine Fosco, a bar advocate in Norfolk and Suffolk counties, called the Legislature's proposal "insulting" and a "very disingenuous offer."

"I was personally upset and insulted and disappointed, honestly. Honestly, that was my emotion when I heard that this was the offer," Fosco told reporters Thursday. "I was disappointed that the state of Massachusetts, who should be in the forefront of things like protecting constitutional rights, isn't doing it."

Advocates' new strategy is to call on Healey to do "the right thing" and return the supplemental budget to lawmakers with a "better suggestion," Fosco said.

In addition to the defense attorney funding, the bill lawmakers finalized Thursday includes funding for rental aid, elder home care services and chipped electronic benefit transfer cards.

The House voted 150-6 to accept the compromise legislation. All six no votes came from Republicans. The Senate then shipped the bill Healey's way on an unrecorded voice vote.

The latest-breaking addition to the Legislature's agenda arrived Thursday morning, when top Democrats announced they reached an agreement on legislation that would further shield reproductive and transgender care amid federal scrutiny and legal threats largely led by Republicans in other states.

That bill would update a 2022 state law intended to protect providers and patients of reproductive care, including abortions, and transgender care in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Supporters have cautioned that additional action is needed to plug gaps in the existing law.

It would limit the release of sensitive data, allow prescription labels to display a practice name instead of an individual physician's name, and codify a state requirement for abortion care to be provided in emergencies when medically necessary.

Lawmakers found easy agreement on the latest iteration of a road funding bill that typically passes in one form or another every year.

The Senate on Thursday approved the same $1.185 billion proposal that cleared the House last week, making no changes along the way, and both branches soon took the final votes to send the measure to the governor.

The bond package combines $300 million for one year of the Chapter 90 program with an additional $885 million for a road and bridge lifecycle asset management program, culverts, small bridges and congestion hot spots. Lawmakers carved out $100 million of the Chapter 90 funds to be distributed solely based on road mileage, pitching it as a boost to rural communities.

Like the supplemental spending bill and the updated legal shield law, the road funding bill landed on Healey's desk Thursday afternoon. She'll get 10 days to review each proposal.

The Senate also voted 38-2 on a bill largely prohibiting cellphones in public K-12 classrooms, taking aim at an issue that has frustrated educators, parents and some students for years.
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The Outlook reviews the week past and previews the week ahead for Berkshire County and beyond. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com.
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Maxivision Super Speciality Eye Hospitals invests Rs 100 Cr to expand network across Chennai

August 01, 2025 | Friday | News

Expansion in Chennai with the launch of 10 eye hospitals/vision centres

Maxivision Super Speciality Eye Hospitals, one of India's fastest-growing eye care providers, has announced its strategic expansion in Chennai with the launch of 10 eye hospitals/vision centres across Chennai.

With an investment of Rs 100 crore, Maxivision aims to expand its network across Chennai, starting with this launch. Maxivision already operates eye hospitals in Trichy, Madurai, Salem, Tanjore, Kumbakonam, Perambalur, and wishes to expand into all districts/towns across Tamil Nadu to fulfil its mission to deliver advanced, affordable, and community-centric eye care across Chennai & Tamil Nadu.

MS Dhoni also launched SiLK Elita- Chennais first flapless, blade-free laser vision correction procedure- offering a pain-free experience, next-day recovery, and minimal dry-eye risk at its Anna Nagar premises.

Dr GSK Velu, Chairman & Managing Director of Maxivision Super Speciality Eye Hospitals, said, It is long-term overdue for us, and we are pleased to arrive in Chennai, where Maxivisions corporate headquarters is based. Today marks a strategic step forward in expanding our footprint in the high-demand, high-potential market of Chennai. Our Chennai grand launch by MS Dhoni is aligned with our long-term vision to build a strong, decentralised ophthalmic infrastructure that can effectively address the growing burden of cataract, retina, glaucoma, and several other vision disorders. It also strengthens our talent ecosystem by creating avenues for ophthalmologists, optometrists, and allied professionals to thrive within their local communities. With this expansion, Maxivision reinforces its commitment to shaping the future of eye care delivery in Chennai and Tamil Nadu.

Dr Shibu Varkey, Regional Medical Director of Maxivision Super Speciality Eye Hospitals, added, Our mission is to bring advanced, accessible eye care to underserved and middle-income communities across Tamil Nadu. With state-of-the-art technology and a strong focus on early diagnosis and preventive care, we aim to reduce the regions long-term disease burden and establish Tamil Nadu as a hub for clinical excellence and ophthalmic skill development. The centres will serve as the first point of contact for early diagnosis of conditions like diabetic retinopathy, cataract, and glaucoma, helping reduce the long-term disease burden through timely intervention and education.

Prof Dr B Ganesh, Clinical & Academic Director, Maxivision Eye Hospitals, said, The launch of 10 Super Speciality Eye Hospitals across Chennai marks a significant milestone in our mission to make world-class eye care accessible to every corner of the Greater Chennai region. We will start several academic initiatives to train Ophthalmologists, Optometrists , Counsellors & Para medical professionals as part of CSR initiatives across Tamil Nadu."


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Aer Lingus owner IAG reported better than expected second-quarter earnings on Friday, helped by strong demand for its transatlantic routes despite fears of knock-on effects from US president Donald Trump's tariff war.

Europe's airlines have broadly managed to dodge turmoil over tariffs, with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa reporting strong second quarters and confirming their annual forecasts this week.

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IAG reported operating profit of 1.68 billion for the quarter, up 35 per cent from a 1.2 billion profit in the same period last year.

Aer Lingus reported operating profits of 135 million for the quarter, a significant improvement on its operating profit of 91 million the same time last year.

"We continue to benefit from the trend of a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel. We remain focused on our market-leading brands and core geographies, where we continue to see robust performance," chief executive Luis Gallego said in a statement.

The group confirmed its full-year financial forecasts and said it was seeing strong demand in its core North Atlantic markets, as well as Latin America and Europe.

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The airline group said it expected a slight rise in costs due to lower capacity growth tied to air traffic control issues in Europe as well as cancelled flights to destinations like Tel Aviv.

While Gallego acknowledged volatility in the US economic situation, he said any weakness was mitigated by strengths in other parts of the business.

Ireland Airport worker who told Aer Lingus rep to 'f....of... Read More

"The US point-of-sale economy cabin is still weak but it's offset by the strong premium cabin we have ... but it has been improving in the past few weeks," Gallego told reporters on a media call.

US airlines have not fared as well, with Delta pulling its full-year guidance this spring over worries about declining demand.

Growth in the Latin American market has also continued to boost the business, Gallego added.

IAG shares have been among the strongest performers among European airlines in recent years, but this year they have slightly lagged rivals Lufthansa and Air France-KLM as they have recovered from cost pressures.
A criminal investigation has been launched into a quantity of asbestos remaining at a site in south Belfast.

The site, located between the Donegall Road and the Westlink, hit the headlines last month when a loyalist July 11th bonfire was sited and lit despite the presence of asbestos, as well as its proximity to an electricity sub station.

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On Friday, Stormont Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir said the presence of asbestos on the site, which is privately owned, is now under criminal investigation by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir said a probe had been launched. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA.

He told BBC Radio Ulster that the NEA rightly considers this very seriously and will be doing all that they can in regards to it because this is an issue of concern and the officials in my department are working studiously in regards to it.

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs confirmed a criminal investigation has been initiated.

While the immediate focus for the NIEA is on the efforts by the landowner to remove the asbestos pile safely from the site, it should be noted that as NIEA has initiated a criminal investigation into this matter the agency is unable to comment further on the specifics of this site.

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It is important to note that removing the asbestos will be a highly specialised, complex and delicate operation that will require the site to be fully vacated. Indeed, the work is of such complexity that the full removal will take a number of weeks.
Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) show there were 9,271 patients treated on trolleys in July.

The hospital with the highest number of patients not treated on a bed was University Hospital Limerick (UHL), with 2,257 patients.

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Some 1,146 people were treated on trolleys in University Hospital Galway, with 889 people without a bed at Cork University Hospital.

INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said action is needed ahead of the autumn.

The figures speak for themselves, and high trolley numbers in summer only send a negative message to our healthcare workers and the people of this country. Nurses and midwives are disheartened heading into the autumn winter period, and they already know they will have to endure the added pressure of flu and other viral infections including COVID.

Trolleys are no longer just a feature in our emergency departments, they have now unfortunately become a feature across medical and surgical wards. In the space of ten years, the number of people receiving care on a trolley outside of the emergency department has risen by 30%. The Governments capital plan must include expanding the number of beds.

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Our members are already providing care under stress and strain due to hospital overcrowding and that has a negative impact on them and the patients in their care.

"The union has repeatedly called on the HSE for a commitment to building up our community services across the island to ensure we are set for seasons when we know there will be in increase in infections and increased hospital overcrowding.

All signs are pointing towards an extremely busy winter period. Over 68,154 patients have been admitted to an inappropriate care space in our hospitals so far this year and all trends suggest that we will have another record-breaking year for trolley admissions unless urgent measures are taken.

In the INMOs pre-budget submission we have called for a rebalancing of resources toward workforce development, the development of primary care and community services, the promotion of universal healthcare, and the expansion of nurse and midwife-led services. At the same time addressing the capacity issues, increased bed capacity across the health service, reducing waiting lists and addressing the privatisation of long-term care.

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"These measures will deliver stronger, more sustainable health outcomes and greater value for every euro spent.

There is a remedy for perpetual trolley crises if the Government wishes to invest properly in the health service.

On Friday, there were 368 people without a bed, with 65 people at UHL being treated on trolleys.
The chairperson of a leading Ireland India group says he is receiving reports of daily attacks on the Indian community in the greater Dublin area and has called on the government for an 'immediate and co-ordinated state response."

The Ireland India Council wrote to Tanaiste Simon Harris and Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan in the wake of an unprovoked assault on an Indian man in Tallaght and believes the same group of assailants may also be responsible for four other attacks on the Indian community in recent weeks.

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Among measures it is calling for is the formal recognition of the hate crime status, a cross-departmental task force on hate crime and youth violence and legislation to hold parents responsible both 'financially and criminally' for repeated violent actions of minors in their care.

The Ireland India Council is an independent, non-aligned prominent organisation dedicated to strengthening Ireland-India relations across public, private, academic and cultural domains, and was established in 2002 by the late Irish economist Professor Louis Smith and current chairman Prashant Shukla.

Mr Shukla said he is receiving at least two calls or emails each day about racial attacks on members of the Indian community living in the greater Dublin area.

"Incidents of assault, intimidation or harassment targeting Indian residents in Dublin are happening on the street, on the buses or in residential areas," he said.

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"People are now afraid to step outside during daylight hours. In one particular egregious case, a man's eyesight was affected. These cases cannot be dismissed or ignored."

He strongly condemned what he described as 'mischievous propaganda campaign' that falsely portrays Indian nationals as contributing to Ireland's housing crisis.

"This is a deeply misleading and divisive perception. Indians are purchasing homes at full market value and contributing positively to the Irish economy through lawful means.

Their property purchases have no bearing on the housing shortage and suggesting otherwise is both irresponsible and inflammatory and fuels the very resentment that leads to these attacks."

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Mr Shukla also highlighted the role Indian professionals play in Ireland particularly in healthcare and multinational industries and warned that any threat to their safety would have an economic consequence.

He believes that both ultra-left and ultra-right ideologies are 'fuelling harmful narratives and polarisation that risk undermining Ireland's social cohesion and international reputation.

"Ireland has always been respected as a nation of fairness, compassion and lawful order and that image is at stake if we do not decisively address this rising tide of intolerance."

However, Mr Shukla reiterated the importance of balancing integration with the preservation of the Irish identity.

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"The Ireland India Council is committed to supporting a well-managed immigration system. This system should support, not replace Irish demography and ethos. Ghettoisation must be actively prevented and integration must be genuine and inclusive - a two way street where everyone contributes to a safe and harmonious society.

In a letter to Tanaiste Simon Harris, the council expresses its 'grave concerns following a violent, racially motivated assault that took place on the evening of Saturday July 19th, 2025 In kilnamanagh, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

"The victim's life was narrowly saved due to the extraordinary courage of two Irish women who intervened at personal risk.

"We have credible reason to believe that this was not an isolated occurrence. Eyewitness accounts and reports from local residents indicate that the same group may be responsible for at least four prior assaults against members of the Indian Community in recent weeks.

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"These disturbing patterns point to an organised and escalating trend of racially motivated violence "

Ireland Woman (46) jailed after being caught on camera set... Read More

Shakla calls on Minister O'Callaghan for a formal recognition of hate crime status, a full investigation and prosecution of offenders in the Tallaght attack and enhanced garda deployment and community policing.

It also calls for new legislation to hold parents responsible for the action of minors both 'criminally and financially'

In seeking an urgent meeting with the government, Shakla states: "This incident has sent shockwaves to our communities. Fear has replaced trust. Parents are terrified to let their children walk alone. Immigrants who contribute daily to the social and economic fabric of Ireland feel under siege.

"We must act now. Failing to respond decisively risks normalising violence, eroding public trust and irreparably damaging Ireland's international standing as a nation of fairness, compassion and lawful order."
A judge has stressed that the trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Eleanor Donaldson should not be delayed again.

The couple both face charges relating to alleged historical sex offences.

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The trial had previously been due to start in March, but was delayed because of Eleanor Donaldsons ill health.

A new trial date has been set for November 3rd.

Eleanor Donaldson attending Newry Crown Court for a no bill hearing in February. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

The case was mentioned briefly at Belfast Crown Court on Friday morning for an update on an assessment over whether Eleanor Donaldson is currently fit to stand trial.

Ian Turkington KC, who represents Eleanor Donaldson, said his client was examined by a consultant psychiatrist on July 18th.

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We have been told we can expect a report, hopefully this Monday, he said.

That being so, Ive indicated that if there is an intention to serve any report, itll be done within seven days of our receipt of the report, assuming it is Monday.

The prosecution also intend to instruct a doctor to examine Eleanor Donaldson.

Judge Paul Ramsey put to Mr Turkington that this depends what is in the report, and expressed that he is keen to ensure the trial date is not interfered with.

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It was agreed the case would be mentioned on September 11th at Newry Crown Court for an update.

The judge said it would not be necessary for defendants to attend on that date.

Jeffrey Donaldson (62), who did not attend the hearing in Belfast on Friday, has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences.

The charges include one count of rape as well as allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency.

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These alleged incidents span a time period between 1985 and 2008, and there are two alleged victims.

Eleanor Donaldson (59), of Dublinhill Road, Dromore, who also did not attend court, is facing charges of aiding and abetting, which she denies.

Jeffrey Donaldson, the long-standing MP for Lagan Valley was arrested and charged at the end of March last year.

He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.

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Ireland Jeffrey Donaldson: Judge wants all sides to work t... Read More

Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into Stormont after a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.

Previous deputy leader Gavin Robinson was appointed his successor as DUP chief.

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.
Conor McGregor's failed appeal for his civil rape case makes the front pages of Friday's papers.

The Irish Times leads with the National Concert Hall seeking an exemption from paying for its redevelopment.

The Irish Examiner leads with criticism from the mother of the late Sean Rooney, who called the tribunal into his death a "sham."

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The Echo leads with concerns that Cork's English market is not getting enough investment following an announcement that Dublin's victoria market will get a renovtion from a 44 million fund.

The Irish Independent leads with Nikita Hand to sue Conor McGregor and two neighbours over evidence which was withdrawn from the trial.

The Irish Daily Mail leads with quotes from Nikita Hand after Conor McGregor's appeal against his civil raoe case against Ms Hand was dismissed.

The Irish Daily Mirror and Irish Daily Star leads with Ms Hand calling on victims not to be afraid to speak up.
Police have imposed conditions on a protest against the use of a hotel to accommodate asylum seekers.

The Metropolitan Police said there would be an increased police presence for a protest and counter protest outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London, on Saturday.

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A protest and counter protest will take place in Newcastle outside The New Bridge Hotel on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police said the protest against the use of the Islington hotel was organised by local residents under the banner Thistle Barbican needs to go  locals say no.

A counter protest, organised by Stand Up To Racism and supported by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, as well as other groups including Finsbury Park Mosque and Islington Labour Party, will also take place.

Police said the anti-asylum hotel protest had been endorsed by groups from outside the local community which is likely to increase the number of people attending.

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Online groups that have voiced support for the protest include Patriots of Britain and Together for the Children.

The Metropolitan Police said plans were in place to respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers.

Conditions on the anti-asylum hotel protest include that anyone participating must remain within King Charles Square and that the assembly must not begin before 1pm and must conclude by 4pm.

Police said conditions on the counter protest include that participants must remain in Lever Street, near the junction with Central Street, and that the assembly must not begin before 12pm and must conclude by 4pm.

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Chief Superintendent Clair Haynes, in charge of the policing operation, said: We have been in discussions with the organisers of both protests in recent days, building on the ongoing engagement between local officers, community groups and partners.

We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides.

Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.

We have used our powers under the Public Order Act to put conditions in place to prevent serious disorder and to minimise serious disruption to the lives of people and businesses in the local community.

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Those conditions identify two distinct protest areas where the protests must take place, meaning the groups will be separated but still within sight and sound of each other.

There are also posts online advertising a for our children, for our future protest in Newcastle on Saturday outside The New Bridge Hotel.

A stop the far right and fascists in Newcastle counter protest has been organised by Stand Up To Racism at the nearby Laing Art Gallery.

In a statement, the organisers of the counter protest said: Yet again far-right and fascist thugs are intent on bringing their message of hate to Newcastle. They aim to build on years of Islamophobia, anti-migrant sentiment and scapegoating.

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In Epping and elsewhere recently we have already seen intimidation and violence aimed at refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.

Newcastle, like the rest of the North East, has a well-earned reputation for unity in the face of those who seek to divide us. Whatever problems we face, racism and division are not the answer.

Northumbria Police have been approached for comment.
US President Donald Trump has called for the firing of the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Mr Trump in a post on his social media platform alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired.

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I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY, Mr Trump said on Truth Social.

She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.

Fridays jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated.

Ms McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the commissioner of the Bureau of Labour Statistics in January 2024.

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Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired.

The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

Mr Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data.

Job gains in the US in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and in June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000.

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In July, only 73,000 positions were added.

The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%.

No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers, Mr Trump wrote.

She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they cant be manipulated for political purposes.

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The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets.

The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5% lower Friday.

While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors  with millions of dollars at stake  have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.
US President Donald Trump said he is ordering the repositioning of two US nuclear submarines in a warning to Russia.

The move is based on highly provocative statements from the countrys former president Dmitry Medvedev.

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Mr Trump posted on his social media site that based on the highly provocative statements from Mr Medvedev he had ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.





The president added: Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.

It was not immediately clear what impact Mr Trumps order would have on US nuclear subs, which are routinely on patrol in the worlds hotspots, but it comes at a delicate moment in the Trump administrations relations with Moscow.

Mr Trump has said that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made.

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He cut his 50-day deadline for action to 10 days, with that window set to expire next week.

The post about the sub repositioning came after Mr Trump, in the wee hours of Thursday morning, had posted that Mr Medvedev was a failed former president of Russia and warned him to watch his words.

Mr Medvedev responded hours later by writing: Russia is right on everything and will continue to go its own way.

Asked as he was leaving the White House on Friday evening for a weekend at his estate in New Jersey about where he was repositioning the subs, Mr Trump did not offer any specifics.

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We had to do that. We just have to be careful, the president said. A threat was made, and we didnt think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful.

Mr Trump also said I do that on the basis of safety for our people and were gonna protect our people and later added of Mr Medvedev: He was talking about nuclear.

When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared, Mr Trump said. And were totally prepared.

Mr Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012 while Russian President Vladimir Putin was barred from seeking a second consecutive term but stepped aside to let him run again.

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Now deputy chairman of Russias National Security Council, which Mr Putin chairs, Mr Medvedev has been known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since the start of the war in 2022, a U-turn from his presidency, when he was seen as liberal and progressive.

He has frequently wielded nuclear threats and lobbed insults at Western leaders on social media.

Some observers have argued that with his extravagant rhetoric, Mr Medvedev is seeking to score political points with Mr Putin and Russian military hawks.

Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev have gotten into online spats before.

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On July 15, after Mr Trump announced plans to supply Ukraine with more weapons via its Nato allies and threatened additional tariffs against Moscow, Mr Medvedev posted, Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didnt care.

Earlier this week, he wrote: Trumps playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 and added, He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isnt Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that sets new tariffs on a wide swath of US trading partners to go into effect on August 7.

The move is the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and sturdiness of American alliances built up over decades.

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The order was issued shortly after 7pm on Thursday. It came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in the last several days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of the presidents self-imposed Friday deadline.

The tariffs are being implemented at a later date in order for the rates schedule to be harmonised, according to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on a call on the condition of anonymity.

After initially threatening the African nation of Lesotho with a 50% tariff, the countrys goods will now be taxed at 15%. Taiwan will have tariffs set at 20%, Pakistan at 19% and Israel, Iceland, Norway, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana and Ecuador among the countries with imported goods taxed at 15%. Switzerland would be tariffed at 39%.





My statement on Canada-U.S. trade: pic.twitter.com/0PSG9kKtiO  Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) August 1, 2025

Mr Trump had announced a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil, but the order was only 10% as the other 40% were part of a separate measure approved on Wednesday.

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The order capped off a hectic Thursday as nations sought to continue negotiating with Mr Trump.

It set the rates for 68 countries and the 27-member European Union, with a baseline 10% rate to be charged on countries not listed in the order.

The senior administration official said the rates were based on trade imbalance with the US and regional economic profiles.

On Thursday morning, Mr Trump engaged in a phone conversation with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum on trade. As a result of the conversation, the US president said he would enter into a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico, one of the nations largest trading partners.

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The current 25% tariff rates are staying in place, down from the 30% he had threatened earlier.



Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum (Marco Ugarte/AP)

We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and we got 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue, Ms Sheinbaum wrote on X after a call with Mr Trump that he referred to as very successful in terms of the leaders getting to know each other better.

The unknowns created a sense of drama that has defined Mr Trumps rollout of tariffs over several months. However, the one consistency is his desire to levy the import taxes that most economists say will ultimately be borne to some degree by US consumers and businesses.

We have made a few deals today that are excellent deals for the country, Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday afternoon, without detailing the terms of those agreements or the nations involved.

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The senior administration official declined to reveal the nations that have new deals during the call with reporters.

Mr Trump said that Canadian prime minister Mark Carney had called ahead of 35% tariffs being imposed on many of his nations goods, but we havent spoken to Canada today.

Mr Trump separately on Thursday amended a previous order to raise the fentanyl-related tariff on Canada from 25% to 35%.

Mr Trump had imposed the Friday deadline after his previous Liberation Day tariffs in April resulted in a stock market panic.

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His unusually high tariff rates, unveiled in April, led to recession fears  prompting Mr Trump to impose a 90-day negotiating period.

When he was unable to create enough trade deals with other countries, he extended the timeline and sent out letters to world leaders that simply listed rates, prompting a slew of hasty deals.

Mr Trump reached a deal with South Korea on Wednesday, and earlier with the European Union, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

His commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said on Fox News Channels Hannity that there were agreements with Cambodia and Thailand after they had agreed to a ceasefire to their border conflict.

Going into Thursday, wealthy Switzerland and Norway were still uncertain about their tariff rates. EU officials were waiting to complete a crucial document outlining how the framework to tax imported cars and other goods from the 27-member state bloc would operate.

Mr Trump had announced a deal on Sunday while he was in Scotland.

Mr Trump said as part of the agreement with Mexico that goods imported into the US would continue to face a 25% tariff that he has ostensibly linked to fentanyl trafficking.

He said cars would face a 25% tariff, while copper, aluminium and steel would be taxed at 50% during the negotiating period.
Of all the things that could affect Commonwealth Banks lofty share price, the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam in China is probably not top of mind.

But when bank-watchers scour the world for explanations on why bank shares lagged last month, an enormous hydroelectric dam project in Tibet is one of several factors that do come up.

The reason, according to analysts, is that big ASX investors are constantly tossing up whether to put their money into either of the markets two massive sectors: banks or miners. Which way investors lean between these two sectors can have a big bearing on share prices: if investors prefer miners, the banks tend to lag, and vice versa.

In market jargon, its referred to as rotating between the two sectors, and it can have a significant impact on share prices, especially for the most highly valued bank, CBA.

It means the price of bank shares can be influenced by things that have little direct bearing on banks core business, but that matter a lot for miners, such as the strength of Chinas construction sector, which affects commodity prices.
The worst offenders on the week were Atlassians omnipotent billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar this morning, championing AI efficiency to progress its customer service department. Nothing says progress like swinging the axe on 150 employees to replace them with faux company reps. Their pre-recorded video mustve been a real heart-warmer for those poor souls being shown the door.

A few outperforming darlings can light up the dark and dominated this weeks Runners list. This week with our Runner of the Week top spot was taken by a beleaguered health foods minnow, which looks to have turned the corner financially this reporting season as its share price decided to pick itself up off the canvas.

OLIVERS REAL FOOD (ASX: OLI)

Up 200% (0.5c  1.5c)

Bulls N Bears Runner of the Week is health fast-food chain Olivers Real Food, which burst out of the gate after dropping a quarterly report that had investors licking their chops.

The company runs quick-service restaurants along Australias eastern seaboard highways, offering healthy organic alternatives to your beloved pies and choccy milk.

It posted a tidy EBITDA of $356,000 for the quarter, in stark contrast to last quarters $247,000 loss. This better result was driven by a 13.9 per cent or $645,000 cut in expenses, including a 20 per cent drop in employment costs achieved through efficiency and cost-reduction initiatives.

Olivers reported a 5.97 per cent revenue dip to $5.768 million - due to two store closures - helped restructuring efforts to quickly bear its fruits.

The market devoured the news, with shares soaring 200 per cent to a high of 1.5 cents a share from last weeks 0.5c close on $130,000 in stock traded.

Its been a bit of a slog for long-term shareholders, with the stock down over the past 1.5 years, but Olivers forecast further improvements as its cost-cutting kicks in. As the worlds first certified organic fast-food chain, this plucky minnow could be carving out a niche in a health-conscious market, with its highway eateries poised to fuel a share price revival.

Black Dragon Golds Salave gold project in Austurias, Spain, where it is progressing towards development of its high-grade 1.6-million-ounce resource.



BLACK DRAGON GOLD (ASX: BDG)

Up 109% (4.3c  9c)

Second on the Runners list this week is gold development hopeful Black Dragon Gold, which roared back to life this week after it revealed progress on its Salave project in Spain was gaining momentum.

A December 2024 legislative change paved the way for the projects strategic investment designation, with a community consultation now showing that 63 per cent of locals support it as a genuine job-creating development.

The companys March scoping study update for the high-grade Salave forecast a massive $806 million after-tax net present value and 34 per cent internal rate of return for the project at a conservative US$2106 per ounce gold price.

Salave, one of Europes largest undeveloped gold projects, has 11.33-million-tonne mineral resource estimate grading a whopping 4.19 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 1.56 million ounces of gold.

The scoping study projects that it could produce 99,462 ounces of gold per year, putting it on par with some of Australias larger operations, but at a significantly higher grade.

Black Dragon is eyeing a 14-year underground mine life, with pre-feasibility studies planned for later this year and exploration drilling to extend its resources at depth and along strike.

The companys share price surged 109 per cent on the week to 9c from 4.3c per share last Friday, with punters betting on Salaves robust economics and low operating costs to kick off in a record gold price environment.

With potential financiers circling and the local provincial government warming to the projects economic benefits, Black Dragons high-grade bounty could spark a golden run in Europes mining landscape, turning this junior into a serious contender.

BSA LIMITED (ASX: BSA)

Up 84% (7.9c  14.5c)

Snagging the third Bulls N Bears Runners spot this week is communications aficionado BSA Limited, which pulled itself off the canvas with a quarterly report that had investors buzzing like a freshly installed 5G tower.

The company posted a 7 per cent revenue increase to $286.8 million for the financial year and a whopping 42 per cent jump in EBITDA to $30.9 million, again driven by operational efficiencies.

BSA designs, builds and maintains telecom networks for clients such as the NBN Co, Foxtel and Telstra and has shown plenty of financial resilience despite losing its NBN field services contract in February.

That NBN snub tanked the companys share price about 85 per cent, but BSAs focus on profitability and its remaining contracts in smart metering and electric vehicle charging solutions fuelled a comeback.

This week, the share price shot back nearly 85 per cent to 14.5c from last weeks close of 7.9c with $2.5 million in stock traded.

The company says it is managing an orderly demobilisation of its NBN contract, set to end September, while leveraging its 25-year track record to pivot to new opportunities.

With a strong client base and a knack for technical services, BSAs rebound could be the start of a new chapter. If it navigates the post-NBN landscape and capitalises on EV and smart energy trends, this communications stalwart might just keep climbing the ASX charts.

BEFOREPAY GROUP (ASX: B4P)

Up 45% ($1.64  $2.37)

Snagging the final runners spot is pay-on-demand lender Beforepay Group, after it, surprise!, revealed its quarterly report on Tuesday, highlighting a 76 per cent increase in net profit before tax to $2.4 million on the previous corresponding period.

The gains were fuelled by $210.1 million in quarterly advances, up 18 per cent), with 539,000 advances at an average $390 per clip.

A sharper credit model slashed net defaults to 0.56 per cent from 1.24 per cent, boosting confidence in its AI-powered lending platforms abilities (watch out employees).

Beforepays dual business strategy offers short-term, low-cost loans via its app, while it is developing an AI loan decisioning systems for multiple purposes.

The company, set up in 2019 to disrupt predatory lending, provides loans of up to $2000 with a fixed 5 per cent fee and no hidden costs, alongside budgeting tools for cash-strapped Aussies.

Its share price rocketed 45 per cent on the news to $2.37 per share from a $1.64 close last week, cracking a $100 million valuation for the first time.

With a $40.3 million equity balance and $19.2 million in cash, Beforepays stock is up a massive 465 per cent from its January 2024 lows of 38c share, a far cry from its rocky 2022 IPO. The companys US based AI arm is eyeing expansion, meaning this fintech firecracker could beon track to redefine ethical lending while cracking the US big leagues.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
Gather round, young workers. Let me tell you a story of what work was like in the olden days.

It might sound strange, but once upon a time people across the city would descend upon a central location at the same time, toiling away from Monday to Friday in a common space together.

Then, on the final afternoon of the last workday, a small ritual would occur in many workplaces.

After-work drinks are drying up, and its not just because we are working from home. Credit: Chris Hopkins

In some of them, platters laden with chips and dips would materialise on a large table near the kitchen. In others, a drinks cart would be wheeled between cubicles, offering cold drinks to weary workers. And, more often than not, a colleague would appear at your desk to invite you to the pub to digest the weeks events and swap upcoming plans for the weekend.
Collection

Your August hit list: Hot, new and just-reviewed places to check out this month

Spins on Filet-O-Fish, drive-through and exxy banh mis and a fancy burger in one of the sexiest places to eat in Australia (pictured) were among the buns we enjoyed this month. Catch up on new Melbourne venues, and weve included a bonus 13 openings to look forward to in the second half of the year. (Plus, you can create your own hit list on the Good Food app.)
While I am now well enough to return to work, I have decided to extend my leave to ensure the investigation proceeds without any perception of interference or a divergence from our standard practices, George said.

In a written statement sent to parents on Friday afternoon, George said he commenced planned leave at the end of term 2, and had since taken additional time off due to illness.

Kings headmaster Tony George is alleged to have clipped the back of a senior students head at a faith lecture attended by about 100 pupils in the private schools historic Futter Hall in late June, sources familiar with the matter told the Herald earlier this week .

The headmaster of the Kings School has announced he will take leave while an investigation continues into an alleged incident at a senior school biblical studies lecture at the end of last term.

I remain confident in the leadership of Stephen Edwards, who will step in as acting headmaster in addition to his role as head of senior school, and the executive team and know the school is in good hands. The wellbeing and safety of our students and staff have always been at the heart of my work, and I remain fully committed to those values.

George is the 20th headmaster of Kings, Australias oldest private school, and one of the wealthiest. He took up the position in July 2017 and was previously head of St Stephens School in Perth.

In the letter to parents, George said while the matter is being investigated he did not intend to comment further at this stage, except to say that I support the integrity of the schools processes and welcome the opportunity for a full and fair assessment of the facts.

Many of you will be aware that an allegation has been made concerning an interaction I had with a student during a lecture in Futter Hall at the end of term two, he said. The matter has received some media attention, although much of the media reporting is inaccurate or misleading.

It is a testament to the strength of our culture that the incident was reported in accordance with the schools policies. This reflects the strong child-centric culture within the school, an understanding of the pathways for reporting concerns, and, most importantly, confidence in doing so.
Staff as young as 15 are caring for up to 15 children in the Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) sector as industry heads raise the alarm about for-profit providers putting money over childrens wellbeing and call for nationally consistent regulation in the sector.

Accused child abuser 26-year-old David James, hired through recruitment agency Randstad, worked at 58 different OSHC operators, allegedly abusing children at six centres across Sydney.

Parents drop children off at Lane Cove West Public School, where Sydney childcare worker David James allegedly filmed abuse of children while working at the Helping Hands outside school hours care centre. Credit: Sam Mooy

He has been charged with 13 offences, including nine counts of aggravated use of a child to make child abuse material, one count of using a child to make abuse material, two counts of possessing abuse material and one count of refusing officers access to his phone.

The six centres involved are Pyrmont OSHC  City of Sydney; OSHClub  Barker College; Willoughby Kids House; Helping Hands  St Ives Park Public School; St Ives OSHC Centre  Kidzone; and Helping Hands  Lane Cove West. The AFP on Thursday published a list of 58 centres where James worked, including the six where the alleged abuse took place. (The list of 58 centres is at the bottom of the story.)
As of this morning, they further reiterated their intent on social media to carry out their intent and block the bridge, he said. I want people to imagine if it was their own loved ones who needed emergency services support and that emergency support was delayed by a protest. How would they feel if that was the case? More than 90 pro-Palestine rallies have been held in Melbourne. Credit: Wayne Taylor Our message for the protest group is to find another route. Rally organisers have vowed to let emergency services vehicles through, but police warned it was not enough to mitigate the risk.

Papworth said police had extensive intelligence that a smaller group of protesters might cause trouble. Loading If they do engage in criminal behaviour, they can expect to bedealt with by police and arrested, he said. We are now asking the broader protest group  the group that we know that are there to protest peacefully and lawfully  to do the right thing for their cause, to consider their protest and to protest lawfully and peacefully because all youll be doing is disrupting vital emergency services. Organisers of the rally have urged people to block the city for Gaza on Sunday where protesters are expected to march from Victorias State Library to the King Street Bridge.

Free the people, free the land, no peace on stolen land, an Instagram post said. Bring pots and pans to highlight the manufactured starvation that is causing mass casualties in Gaza. These shutdowns are in preparation for international mass strikes, sanctions and blockades to end Israeli impunity. The Melbourne rally comes as the Palestine Action Group lodged an application for 10,000 people to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Papworth cited security reasons in declining to comment on how many police would be at the Melbourne rally on Sunday or tactics that could be used by officers. However, he said police from as far away as Geelong would be in attendance.

Other officers were being called to work on their day off, Papworth said. On police advice, NSW Premier Chris Minns has refused to grant the group permission to march across Sydney Harbour Bridge, and said NSW Police were not given enough time to safely organise resources for the protest. NSW Police said the proposed gathering posed too great a risk to the public and officers. However, organisers said there was no alternative plan and thousands of people were expected to turn out.

In a last-ditch attempt to block the Sydney protest, NSW Police this week filed a summons in the Supreme Court seeking an order to block the protest. A court decision on the NSW protest is expected on Saturday morning. Students for Palestine co-convenor Jasmine Duff told Melbourne radio station 3AW that being able to walk over important landmarks highlighted the importance and seriousness of the devastation unfolding in Gaza. Its so important in this moment, where were seeing mass starvation kill thousands and thousands of people in the Gaza Strip, that people in Australia are willing to raise their voices, she said on Friday morning. That can mean something to people. It can galvanise people.

Loading Earlier this week, Victorias new top cop ruled out pushing for protest permits, and said they had failed to be a game changer elsewhere. It is the first time Victoria Police has taken a firm, public stance on the issue and could put Chief Commissioner Mike Bush on a collision course with the powerful police union and the state opposition, which have both backed such a scheme. Melbourne has hosted more than 90 weeks of pro-Palestine rallies in the CBD, along with traffic obstructions from climate change activists. Last month, an Israeli restaurant was stormed after an anti-police rally, while Land Forces demonstrations caused chaos last year and led to more than 100 arrests.
Most people save their credentials for their resume, but slain underworld player Athan Boursinos carried his criminal bona fides etched on his skin for all to see.

The souls I have taken will never haunt me, only the ones I havent, a tattoo on the left side of the 21-year-olds neck read.

Athan Boursinos was gunned down in a laneway behind his family home in Wollert on Thursday.

The quote, which was also tattooed on the chest of murdered Sydney gangster Hamad the Executioner Assaad, held a near prophetic meaning for Boursinos, who was gunned down in a laneway behind his family home in Melbournes outer north on Thursday morning. He was leaving his home to appear in court over a series of weapons, theft and driving charges.

Etched on his body were also insignias of criminal organisations from around the world.
Conservation groups have joined forces to challenge Alcoas advertising claims around environmental impacts of its bauxite mining operations in the northern jarrah forest in Perths Darling Range.

Alcoa placed two advertisements in the West Australian newspaper in May and June this year claiming, among other things, that Alcoa had rehabilitated 75 per cent of the jarrah forest cleared for its mining operations; and that its forest clearing operations had not impacted Perths drinking water supplies.

Public interest environmental legal practice The Environmental Defenders Office has prepared and lodged complaints to Ad Standards, Australias advertising regulation body, on July 28 on behalf of the WA Forest Alliance, Conservation Council of WA, and The Wilderness Society, alleging the claims are false or misleading and in breach of the Environmental Claims Code of Ad Standards.

The joint complaint comes as the US mining giants proposed 11,500-hectare expansion plans are out for public comment until August 21.

An Alcoa spokesperson said the company was fulfilling its obligations.

According to the globally accepted industry definition of rehabilitation as defined by the Society for Ecological Restoration and adopted by the International Council on Mining and Metals, we have completed rehabilitation works on more than 75 per cent of areas cleared for mining, he said.

These areas are at different stages of development, from newly completed rehabilitation work through to areas planted in the mid-1960s.

In more than 60 years of operating in the Northern Jarrah Forest, Alcoas operations have never had a negative impact on Perths drinking water supply.

Alcoa has handed back two areas, totalling 1355ha, and has Certificates of Completion from the Department of Environment and Conservation declaring that each area has met all of the appropriate criteria required by the Department of Environment and Conservation for rehabilitating them.

An independent review by renowned global environmental consulting organisation Stantec found that Alcoas rehabilitation practices after bauxite mining in the Northern Jarrah Forest, together with a substantial program of related research published in peer-reviewed journals, remains as sophisticated and comprehensive as for any mining operations globally.
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InspirationAsia Mistakes are forgotten and wishes realised at this luxe Thai hotel Forget Instagrammable  travel for the rich is a holistic endeavour where a holiday becomes the springboard to your best self. Julia Naughton August 2, 2025  5:00am Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Each autumn on the evening of a full moon, thousands of glowing lanterns are launched across Thailands rivers as part of the festival of Loy Krathong. Their senders? Locals who believe the homemade offerings represent mistakes of the past and wishes for the future. It is a 100-year-old celebration of promise: let go of negative energy and be rewarded with good fortune by the river gods. The very act of releasing a lantern is a way to send your problems away. A nod to the ancient ritual awaits you at Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, the latest offering from the luxury hotel group which welcomed its first guests in April. The glinting lanterns, known as krathongs, float below a life-like tree sculpture in the lobby  a sight matched only by the century-old Sompong tree the hotel is built around. Its lush branches form a canopy over the ninth-floor infinity pool, in sharp contrast with the capitals skyscrapers. The Aman Nai Lert Bangkok is built around a century-old Sompong tree. With 52 suites, a spa and wellness centre spanning three levels and a design focus rooted in nature, to stay here is to partake in a transformation of sorts; shake off the weariness and step into the best version of yourself. Of course, it will cost you at $1689 a night.

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Pegged as an urban sanctuary in the cult-followed Aman portfolio  the third of its kind after Aman Tokyo and Aman New York  Aman Nai Lert Bangkok is set in the cosmopolitan Phatum Wan district and feels distinctly appropriate for the $1 trillion wellness travel-sphere we find ourselves in. Here, luxury is about substance over show. It is about turning inwards to reach your full potential. A holistic endeavour for those whose lives are ruled by a Google calendar, and who already have access to infrared saunas, personal trainers and therapists. Floor-to-ceiling windows contrast the layered roof in a nod to traditional Thai architecture. Jean-Michel Gathys architecture firm Denniston was tasked with designing the hotel around the memory of Thai tycoon Lert Sreshthaputra (better known as Nai Lert), from whom the current owners descend. Its always a delicate balance between innovation and restraint. Everything must be subtle and refined, says David Schoonbroodt, Dennistons senior interior designer.

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In the age of MAGA wealth, it is a refreshing if not surprising approach. We intentionally avoid the wow effect, says Schoonbroodt. Guests may not be able to explain exactly why they feel good, they just do. That emotional connection is what brings them back. Feeling good, it seems, trumps constantly searching for the Instagrammable (though, with the hotels rich materials and elegant lighting, there is no shortage of the picture-perfect). My revitalisation begins at check-in with a ceremony involving rose-scented water being poured into my palms while I sip on a non-alcoholic coconut soda. Soon, Im escorted to my suite on the 11th floor  a pet-friendly floor, by the way (designer pooches under seven kilograms only). Stone flooring designed to mimic timber and muted tones intentionally transport guests to the hotels surrounding Nai Lert Park and the heritage home Nai Lert built for his family in the 1900s. The open-air, teak property served as the design inspiration for the hotel. Today, it is a museum filled with memorabilia paying homage to the businessmans pioneering spirit. (He introduced the citys first bus and taxi services and opened the first ice factory.)

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A fully stocked, all-inclusive mini bar and jars of dried mango and unsalted macadamia nuts await in my suite, and Im advised to contact the concierge via the iPads on either side of the king-sized bed for anything I need. Clothes pressed for the day? Give them 30 minutes. A post-dinner bathe in your freestanding tub? Staff will have it drawn in time for your return. Aman Nai Lert Bangkoks wellness offering spans three levels including a gym, Pilates studio and two spa spaces. Arva is the go-to for breakfast offering a combination of Thai classics, continental and fresh and light options (egg-white omelette with kimchi, chives and soy sauce). The focus shifts to Italian classics by lunchtime and a wine selection of more than 370 labels. On the 19th floor are two Japanese restaurants; Hiori, an immersive teppanyaki omakase experience, and Sesui, which focuses on fresh seafood and sushi. Related Article Luxury holidays This famous Aussie resort costs $3000 a night. But is it justified? At the Aman Spa on the 10th floor, guests are encouraged to experience the dry and steam saunas, hot tubs and icy plunge pools before their treatment. My 60-minute facial begins with careful scrubbing to cleanse the pores, followed by blue and red light therapy to welcome brighter skin. For those wanting a little extra, the medical wellness clinic on the eighth floor allows guests to consult a doctor before their chosen procedure. Botox, IV therapy and cryotherapy are all on the menu.

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Post-facial, I appreciate the guest-only elevator that takes me from the spa (or the gym) to my suite level avoiding the ninth floor lobby (privacy, especially post-treatment is all part of the service whether youre a somebody or not). As my bags are loaded into the BMW 740i for my transfer to Suvarnabhumi Airport, a hotel staffer gently places a gold leaf in my hands. Attached to it is a tiny rolled up piece of paper secured with string. It reads: This fortune speaks of dreams coming true, with every wish and hope realised. Ill take it. THE DETAILS

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FLY

Thai Airways and Qantas operate daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne to Bangkok. STAY

Rooms from $1689 a night. See aman.com VISIT

Entry into Nai Lert Park Heritage Home from $1.70 for adults with free admission for children under 100 centimetres. Guided tours begin at 9.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm and 4.30pm. See nailertgroup.com The writer travelled as a guest of Aman Nai Lert Bangkok.

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Travel newsTraveller letters Heres a hot tip on how to enter the US, hassle-free Each week Traveller publishes a selection of rants, raves and travel tips from our readers. See below on how you can contribute. August 2, 2025  7:19am Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 22 View all comments

JFK AOK We have just returned from an incredible trip to the US, following the same route (SYDHKGJFK) as the unfortunate traveller who was turned away by US immigration in March 2025. Understandably, we approached the passport booth upon landing with considerable apprehension, but to our relief, the customs officer was exceptionally courteous and welcoming. Hot tip: download the Mobile Passport Control app and complete your details in advance. It made the entire process seamless and stress-free, plus, JFK Airport has a dedicated immigration line for MPC users.

Stephen Lee, Mascot, NSW Use the Mobile Passport Control app for smoother entry into the US, recommends one Traveller reader. Getty Images Social engineering Your poor correspondent who was refused admission to the US following an initial positive response from ESTA (Traveller Letters, July 26) has a right to be aggrieved. He goes on to say that although no official reason was given he assumes it was as a result of his posting of criticisms of Trump online. Its pretty clear from this post, and others, that the department of homeland security must have a battalion of internet checkers at their disposal. Not only that, but when I filled in my ESTA application recently, I noted a question that had not previously been asked: what is your username log in for Facebook, X and so on. Because of a long-standing hatred of these things, my wife and I were able to tick the square No online presence with quiet smugness. Looks like they are on the lookout.

Ross MacPherson, Seaforth, NSW

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Letter of the week: On the planet Barcelona and its majestic Sagrada Familia. iStock Ive come to realise that not only are there too many of us on the planet, far too many of us are travelling. Noting the understandable response of Barcelona residents to overtourism, tourists inadvertently, but invariably, disrupt the place theyre visiting. While were unlikely to curb travel, lets try to be better tourists. Try to leave as little damage behind as possible. This can involve measures such as curtailing use of all plastics, not walking on coral, and using environmentally friendly sunscreens. When visiting Asian countries donate what you can afford to education  its the equivalent to growing trees when flying long distances.

Ashley Berry, Toolijooa, NSW First resort Beauty from every angle at Saffire Freycinet.

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There are regrettably few hotels or resorts in Australia with justifiable claims to being world-class but Saffire Freycinet in Tasmania is unquestionably one of them. Therefore, it was good to read Ben Groundwaters glowing review (Traveller, July 21). Its not just the stunning location, exemplary decor and Michelin star-quality food, but the superlative service so often lacking locally  the Saffire no nos ethos is definitely not just a marketing slogan. Although expensive on face value, Saffires all-inclusive package and range of free excursions  the in-water oyster and sparkling wine experience is truly unforgettable  ensures that those who can afford to visit will indeed be staying in one of Australias leading properties.

Chris Roylance, Paddington, NSW Uninvited guest I enjoyed Ben Groundwaters article on Saffire Freycinet. I stayed there in 2012, and it was just as magical then. Each night there would be a hot water bottle at the end of my bed. The manager had to reassure a visitor from overseas who rang him in alarm saying there was a small marsupial in her bed.

Elizabeth Howcroft, Hawthorn, Vic Exchange irate We all know, or should know, that when travelling overseas, and if given the choice of paying in local currency (in my case euros) or Aussie dollars, we should always say local. The business offering the choice makes a cut on the exchange rate by using their bank if you select Aussie dollars and you lose. Recently, when picking up a hire car in the mayhem that is Taormina, Sicily, I was not offered such a choice. On checking my contract later, I noted that the car representative had deceitfully scribbled on my contract that I was offered such a choice and had elected to pay in Aussie dollars. Be aware.

Vince Vozzo, Elwood, Vic

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Boiling points Like most visitors to Londons British Museum (Traveller, July 22) I have enjoyed its wonders, but while the new Great Court roof is a beautiful design, it creates a hot environment if the sun is shining. My last visit was during late September and I couldnt wait to escape to the cooler galleries. No doubt the design is fine in winter but in a city regularly experiencing hotter summer temperatures, I wonder how theyll keep visitors cool.

Jennifer McKay, Ashbury, NSW Hit the road We can one-up the packing and unpacking once benefit of cruising (Traveller, July 12). Ocean cruising still cant compare with land travel. We lease a car in Europe and put our shared case in the boot which becomes our wardrobe. No unpacking needed. Our tent, self-inflating mattresses and sleeping bags go in another case on the back seat. No need to book accommodation. Camping areas cost about 20 ($35) a night, often with swimming pools and restaurants. We mostly cook on a small campstove. We have been all over Europe and North America. This form of travel is not just for the young  on our last trip in French Languedic, Corsica and then Sardinia, we were 81.

Ainslie Morris, South Durras, NSW Connection disconnect

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Regarding Michael Gebickis otherwise good read on travel tips (Traveller, July 14), just because one has booked two connecting flights separately on two separate tickets doesnt mean one has to collect bags and clear immigration and check back in again as suggested. Many legacy airlines have agreements with each other to check baggage all the way to the destination irrespective of ticketing. Of course, this doesnt apply to most low-cost carriers. But it could be a problem if a passenger doesnt check the rules. One of the downfalls of online bookings.

Colin Hood, Carlton North, Vic Peace offering Justine Costigans article on the Peace Hotel in Shanghai (Traveller, July 31) reminded me of the first time I was there in 1967. I was with 53 other students from Australian and New Zealand Universities on what was meant to be a fairly mundane travel tour, but it turned out to be quite the reverse. We arrived by train in Shanghai at about 2am and were met by hundreds of Red Guard students from Fudan University, who escorted us from the station on foot to the Peace Hotel on the Bund. The hotel was officially closed at that time because of the onset of the Cultural Revolution, and we were the only guests. The elaborate art deco decoration and quality accommodation were quite spectacular and unexpected. Members of the Red Guard, who as students had been oppressed for years, were interested in change, and in their traversals of the hotel wanted to ensure we were looked after, and that all the exquisite and protected collections, including the wondrous crockery and porcelain, were uncovered, brought out, and used (which they were). At that time, as a student, I was extremely impressed (like Justine) and still have great memories of that hotel stay.

Paul Mulqueen, Melbourne, Vic Tip of the week: End of the line

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I have just returned from a trip on Far North Queenslands Savannahlander train travelling from Cairns to Forsyth. We journeyed through the beautiful savannah woodlands to Cobbold Gorge and the Undara Lava Tubes, a simply amazing experience. This highly recommended journey was well-organised with the overnight accommodation comfortable. Sadly two sections of the railway  Cairns to Mareebba and the last section to Forsyth  have been damaged by flooding and we had to use buses. For the Savannahlander to continue, the Queensland state government needs to provide funds for repairs, especially to the Cairns-Mareeba section, though the famous Cairns to Kuranda section is still operating. But with funding in some doubt, no bookings for the Savannahlander are being taken for next year. How short-sighted of the Queensland government to not prevent the closure of this wonderful tourist facility.

Marian Birchmore, Bendigo, Vic Hold the glitz Wild camels on Mughsail Beach near Salalah in Oman. Getty Images I would recommend Oman as a stopover en route to Europe. It is a fascinating country and with its low-rise and lack of glitz, so different in character to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The distances between sites are long (but roads are excellent), everywhere was clean and I felt safe. The original capital of Nizwa and the canyons of Jebel Shams were standouts. I used the services of Mytouroman and found it excellent to deal with. Oman Air also deserves plaudits for its service  Muscat Airport was spacious, clean and easy to negotiate.

David West, Berwick, Vic Pace setter

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Hiring a car with GPS allowed us to explore Croatia at our own pace, which is something flights and cruise itineraries cant match. Letting weather, local tips and time shape our plans made each day an adventure. We stayed in old-town pedestrian-zoned areas that offered charm and easy access to sights and dining. Often we parked for free and walked to our accommodation. All bookings were during shoulder season and easy to make.

Dianne McGowan, Sapphire Beach, NSW Nordic and nice Vestrahorn mountain, Iceland. Getty Images An inquiry to Michael Gebicki regarding driving around Iceland (Traveller, July 11) brought back wonderful memories of our self-drive, 11-day journey around the bottom half of Iceland. We used Nordic Visitor to book and plan our travels and were impressed with the level of service. They met us at the airport and the following morning took us to the car agents to select our car which was a Hyundai i30. It had a good GPS and a Wi-Fi hotspot which proved valuable when searching for cafe stops. On our return to the capital, Reykjavik, we spent a couple of days visiting the citys museums and its amazing concert hall.

Judi Rosevear, Wantirna, Vic Norfolk folk

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The two-night trip by your readers Harry Tys and Richard Gould to the remote South Pacific home of 32 of the descendants of the HMS Bounty mutineers is but a legacy of a fascinating backstory (Traveller Letters, July 19). In 1856, after two penal settlements were abandoned, Queen Victoria granted 193 descendants of the Bounty mutineers, who were living on Pitcairn Island, Norfolk Island. They left Pitcairn on May 3 that year. On June 8, with a baby born on board, the Morayshire landed at Kingston, the main settlement on Norfolk Island. The Pitcairners story continues with a move to bring the historic Pitcairn Island Register, a record of births, marriages and deaths from 1790 to 1854, from the UK in time for the 170th Anniversary of the ships arrival.

Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook, NSW Signed, unsealed and delivered I was pleased to see Namibia included in your cover story (Traveller, July 4) as one of the best countries for driving trips. We spent three wonderful weeks on a road trip there in May and felt safe in our reliable Toyota Fortuner from Namibia2Go. Covering 4255 kilometres and with some days seeing few other vehicles, we travelled as far south as the magnificent Fish River Canyon and north to Etosha National Park. Our advice is to not stay in the park, as the accommodation is overpriced. There is lots of fabulous accommodation just outside the park that offers Etosha game drives. While the scenery in Namibia is varied and starkly beautiful, most of the roads we travelled on were unsealed and ranged from dreadful to smooth.

Barb Hilling, Watsonia North, Vic The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com

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The lesson was clear: persistence, empathy, and deep product knowledge make the difference, she says. Sometimes you just need to be the person who believes in your client when no one else does.
China's high-level opening up is powering global growth

10:07, August 01, 2025 By Hannan Hussain ( China.org.cn

An aerial drone photo taken on May 29, 2025 shows cargo ships berthing at a container dock of Qingdao Port in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's approach to substantive, high-quality opening up is proving to be a critical endeavour for a safe and mutually progressive future. This can clearly be seen in a series of high-profile exhibitions and trade fairs held in recent weeks, such as the 3rd China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) and the 9th China-South Asia Expo (CSAE). Both events attracted dozens of trade contracts, economic agreements and cutting-edge technology innovations that have produced significant potential for robust global engagement.

"China's policy of attracting foreign investment will not change and the door to openness will only open wider," said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao in a recent meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Factor in visa-free entries and multisector offerings for investors, and it is clear that the path to embracing high-quality growth and modernization is promising. Here is how.

First, the 3rd CISCE is proof that China is bringing proponents of global innovation together. After all, breakthrough innovations spanning industry-specific technologies, new robotics and clean energy applications send a powerful signal that China is willingly opening up more sectors for foreign investors and exhibitors alike. Innovative measures such as a "Debut Zone" at the CISCE provided a melting pot for over 100 internationally competitive products to feature in a market that has a track-record of easing market access  both within and beyond the region.

These measures reflect a conscious push from China to create an environment for trading partners conducive to weathering the tide of protectionism, and generating enduring business-to-business linkages. It shows in the rampant increase in investments from major enterprises in China's cutting-edge technology sector, where the benefit of secure supply chains, firm and dependable government support, strong resilience against external shocks and deep R&D indigenization, affords vital strategic advantages. With heads of notable foreign enterprises making exactly this case this month, and new quality productive forces creating new inroads, it is clear that China is offering to share the dividends of long-term modernization.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), long viewed as a fixture of future trade advancement and trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific, also merits significant confidence. China's own contribution to bringing together the motivations of RCEP partner countries makes that point clear: The 9th CSAE saw nearly 1.4 billion yuan in new economic agreements, a vital value addition on the back of China's 4th RCEP Regional (Shandong) Import Commodity Expo. China's ability to convene a broad range of stakeholders, including the heads of major multinationals, partner group governments, budding entrepreneurs and international suppliers, demonstrates a forward-looking approach to high-standard opening up, and one where the policies undergirding high quality opening  cross-border data governance, streamlined financial support for foreign firms, and robust multisector investments in domestic R&D sectors  are conducive to the future demands of developing and developed economies alike.

As China looks to further evolve new quality productive forces and elevate its reforms of management frameworks, these are powerful endorsements of an innovation-focused development model and evidence of China's stronger global economic integration.

China's visa-free entry measures have also played a meaningful role in propelling trade and travel connectivity when it matters most. The country's visa-free access now spans dozens of countries, indicating a conscious investment in foreign exposure that has seen foreign entries soar beyond 13.6 million so far this year. Growing overseas receptivity to China creates fresh incentives for spending, in turn revitalizing core consumer industries at home, and enabling domestic and foreign firms to exercise healthy competition for cost-effective and high-quality product offerings.

The move also helps bring down transaction costs and generates pathways to setting up new small and medium-sized enterprises through easier market access. It has also helped business participation soar in major trade expos, from the Canton Fair to the CSAE and CISCE. The China-Malaysia mutual visa free agreement, and new pacts spanning Latin American states, further demonstrate China's deepening collaboration with the Global South  a vital indication to bring down trade barriers and prepare the ground for more inclusive, and growth-receptive economic architecture.

Glimmers of that architecture can be seen in China and Latin America's regular convenings on a shared future, including ministerial level convenings of the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Forum. This is important because major sectors such as renewable energy and digital technology are fast altering the productivity and manufacturing heft of many Latin American states, helping to empower local industries from the ground up. As China deepens its opening up with an eye on bolstering people-to-people exchanges, prospects of future business integration, public-private partnerships and deeper unity within the Global South merit considerable optimism.

China plans to enhance its pilot free trade zones by promoting innovative reforms and integrated development, aiming to elevate them into advanced platforms for higher-level openness and stronger reform momentum. Such efforts underline a commitment to bolstering mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, a consolidating factor for many countries taking part in major Chinese expos and trade fairs this year.

The China-South Asia Expo  which traces its origins back to 2013, the year of the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)  is a case in point. Participating exhibitors can view trade exhibitions as major avenues to promote BRI-linked market access, as the initiative provides a framework for infrastructure financing and allows partner states to promote specialty products, and consider deeper integration into regional supply chains. China's active promotion of key BRI corridors, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, sends a powerful message that the path to high-standard opening up is driven by a desire to extend modernization benefits to BRI partners overseas.

China's large and open market provides shared opportunities worldwide, and will keep fueling global economic expansion and dynamism. Using new productive forces to inject further resilience, vitality and international outreach in this market is therefore a critical indicator that China is supportive of mutual collaborations and an equitable, growth-friendly future for all.

Hannan Hussain is co-founder and senior expert at Initiate Futures, an Islamabad-based policy think tank.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
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By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA

A swathe of tariffs imposed on other nations shows Ireland would be worse off if there was not an EU-US trade deal, the Tanaiste said.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that sees tariffs of 15 per cent or above imposed on trading partners including Brazil, Lesotho, Taiwan and Switzerland.

The EU struck a trade deal with the US five days before Mr Trump said a 30 per cent tariff would kick in for the bloc.

The deal sees 15 per cent tariffs on most EU goods including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals entering the US.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP.

There are zero for zero tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals  as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars over three years.

Simon Harris said on Friday after a meeting of the trade forum at Government Buildings that a lot of detail of the agreement still needs to be clarified as he defended the deal.

Without a deal between the US and the EU, today would have seen 30% tariffs introduced by President Trump on the EU, and would also have seen very, very significant counter measures introduced by the EU to the tune of around 90 odd billion euro, the Tanaiste said.

Theres absolutely no doubt that that would have been a moment of catastrophe in terms of our economic wellbeing as a country.

He added: Wed be in a very different and a much worse position I think if we were standing here today with no deal.

You dont have to take my word for that, if you just see the executive order last night and all of the tariffs levelled in other countries, including countries that didnt have deals.

They were generally much, much higher than the tariff rate for the European Union.

He said the EU tariff rate of 15% would come into effect from August 7th.

Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would remain at zero until the US administration concludes its Section 232 investigation, relating to imported goods of importance to national security, into the sector.

President Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP.

Mr Harris said he was informed by Brussels that this is expected to conclude in around two weeks.

Mr Harris also said there is too many variables to yet know the effect of the tariff differential between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

He said he spoke with Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle ONeill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, and the Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald who agreed on this.

So to give you an example, at the moment butter in Ireland already has a tariff of around 16 per cent on it, pre-existing.

Its had 10 per cent on top of that since President Trumps last round, so thats meant butter in Ireland had a tariff of 26 per cent. Under the new EU deal, that will fall to 16%.

Butter in the UK, if I can use that as a comparison, will actually probably end up with 16%, plus 10%, so 26%.

Im just using a pound of butter as an example here, but if you look at it, you know, at a headline rate, youd say Well, thered be lower tariff on butter in the UK than Ireland, and actually thats probably not the case.

So we need to tease our way through this. But there is no doubt that there will be challenges that will have to be worked through.

He said: I suppose the last point Id make is that this is a subset of businesses. Its really a subset of a subset, because this will obviously only affect businesses that are doing cross-border trade and exporting to the United States of America. So its not to be in any way dismissive of that, but it will obviously only affect that proportion of the business community.

Pharma is another example. I mean, the EU seems to have a commitment in writing to 15 per cent or less, no more than 15 per cent for pharma.

The UK language is much more vague. It doesnt have a number beside it, so well need to see where that brings us in the weeks ahead.
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Animation auteurs Stephen and Timothy Quay make a long-awaited return to feature filmmaking with Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, which will make its U.S. theatrical debut at Film Forum in New York on Friday, August 29. The film is the American-born, U.K.-based twins first full-length feature in 20 years.

The film world premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival and has since screened to acclaim at the BFI London Film Festival and the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Inspired by the writings of Polish modernist Bruno Schulz, Sanatorium follows a man named Josef who arrives at a crumbling, otherworldly sanatorium to visit his dying father. What begins as a visit soon turns into a hypnotizing odyssey through dream logic, fractured time, and haunted memory. Told in seven segments, each corresponding to a mystical lens through which Josef views his surroundings, the film blends the Quays signature stop-motion animation with live-action sequences.

The Brothers Quay, based in London since the 1970s, have long been regarded as visionary artists in the realm of stop-motion animation. Their 1986 short film Street of Crocodiles  also based on Schulzs writings  is one of the most influential stop-motion films of the late 20th Century. Other acclaimed works include The Comb (1991), a hallucinatory tale of a porcelain doll navigating a dreamers imagination, and In Absentia (2000), a collaboration with avant-garde composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.

To celebrate the premiere of Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, Film Forum will present The Quay Brothers  On 35mm on Wednesday, August 27. Curated by acclaimed director Christopher Nolan, a longtime admirer of the Quays, the program features three of their seminal short films  In Absentia, The Comb, and Street of Crocodiles  alongside Nolans own 2015 short documentary Quay, which provides a rare glimpse into the brothers shadowy studio and creative methods.

Produced by Lucie Conrad and Izabela Kiszka-Hoflik, with animation cinematography and puppet design by the Quays themselves, Sanatorium is a UK-Poland-Germany co-production and is being released in the U.S. by KimStim. The films music is composed by Timothy Nelson, with live-action cinematography by Bartosz Bieniek.
In an unsurprising turn of events, reports have come out this week that Netflix is planning to expand its summer mega-hit KPop Demon Hunters into a full-fledged animated IP, and perhaps even expand into live action . (August 2 Update: Sources close to the film have told us that, contrary to early reports, there have not been any discussions about expanding the KPop Demon Hunters franchise into live action.)

According to an article published today by The Wrap, which corroborates information that weve been hearing for a couple of weeks now from our own sources, the KPop Demon Hunters filmmakers are keen on expanding their story into a trilogy of features, and plotting ways to bridge the gap between now and the earliest that a sequel could be ready, likely a few years down the line.

There are ongoing talks regarding an animated short and other possible options to keep the KPop craze going strong while fans wait for a sequel. That said, its still early days, and a lot can and almost certainly will change before any new content is available for fans to obsess over.

Its no surprise that the streamer wants to exploit its new fan favorite feature further. Netflix confirmed this week that K-Pop Demon Hunters has become the platforms most-viewed original animated film of all time. But how did this musically-charged anime-style adventure break through Netflixs notoriously crowded catalog and overcome the platforms limited marketing muscle for animation? And what metrics is Netflix using to back its claim?

The answer lies not just in raw numbers but in the evolving way Netflix defines and tracks success. Netflix is notoriously selective in what it will and wont share publicly, but by piecing together the companys previous announcements and tracking statistics, we can draw some verifiable conclusions.

A Shift in Metrics

Netflixs approach to measuring viewership has undergone several significant changes; it is, after all, as much a tech company as it is a content producer. These shifting metrics make direct comparisons difficult. Klaus, for example, debuted when Netflix viewer data was scarce and cherry-picked.

At different times, the platform has tallied total hours watched and percentage starters rates, and now rates its titles by number of views, defined as the total hours viewed divided by the running time of a film or a series entire season. For a long time, Netflix evaluated most content on a 28-day window. But executives found that animation often performs better over longer periods, as does almost all kids and family content. As a result, Netflix extended the evaluation window for all titles to 91 days.

In the case of K-Pop Demon Hunters, the film hadnt even reached the 91-day benchmark before outperforming all prior Netflix animated originals to become the most popular animated movie of all time on the platform. Streaming charts show it gaining momentum rather than tapering off, a rare pattern in Netflixs data.

The Viral Underdog

Interestingly, the film wasnt expected to dominate, even internally. According to multiple sources close to the film, the market testing had many at Netflix convinced they had a niche kids or teens movie on their hands pre-launch. With limited marketing and virtually no cross-functional promotion from Netflixs consumer products or regional marketing teams, the campaign focused narrowly on teen girls, an audience segment that ultimately became the spark for its viral breakout, but far from the only demographic to embrace the film.

Despite modest promotion, the film took off on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Its popularity snowballed from teenage girls to older teens, then young men, and finally trickled down to kids, almost the exact opposite of what many initially expected it to do.

Internal Data: Off the Charts

The film outpaced previous platform favorites like Leo and The Sea Beast in both initial views and sustained engagement. Its rewatch rates  particularly key with family and musical films  surpassed benchmarks set by any of Netflixs previous titles.

Unlike licensed titles such as Sing or the Despicable Me franchise films, which benefit from years of brand recognition and external marketing before hitting Netflix, K-Pop Demon Hunters had none of those advantages. It was a true original with no merchandising, franchise backing, or theatrical release.

The Netflix Conundrum

This runaway success also highlights Netflixs internal contradictions. Despite backing the film, Netflix provided limited merchandising support or mainstream homepage promotion, and even fumbled the YouTube music video strategy. Looking at Netflix and Sonys uploads, those posted by Netflix went to the streamers family channel, where comments are turned off. Conversely, Sonys YouTube uploads did allow comments and have become the internets favored place for sing-alongs and fan discussion. Netflixs lyric music video for Golden, for example, has 24 million views, while Sonys boasts 113 million.

As K-Pop Demon Hunters tops charts and garners sequel or spinoff interest from fans, Netflix finds itself in a reactive position, scrambling to explore the best ways to leverage the films popularity after the fact. Whether that was an avoidable error on the part of Netflix or an inevitable reality of the unpredictable nature of internet breakout titles is debatable.

What It Means for Original Animation at Netflix

Netflixs decentralized content model, unlike Disneys tightly integrated franchises, means its animated catalog often lacks a unified brand identity. But that also allows for creative risk-taking and genre diversity. K-Pop Demon Hunters, produced by Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix, is a case study in how organic fan support can beat algorithm fatigue.

More than just a streaming hit, the films unexpected rise could force Netflix to reevaluate how it supports animation, especially as it races to catch up with the cultural dominance of anime and the merchandising empires of legacy studios.

If theres one lesson from K-Pop Demon Hunters, its that in an oversaturated market, authenticity and fan-driven momentum can still create a phenomenon.
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Saudi Arabias City Cement Co has had its plans to acquire 100 per cent of the shares held by Umm Al Qura Cement Co (UACC) via a share swap arrangement put on hold. The Capital Market Authority (CMA) did not approve the prospectus or offer document that City Cement had earlier submitted for the acquisition.

[The rejection] was based on a breach of the Capital Market Law and its implementing regulations, specifically related to governance requirements, the company said.

The company earlier announced its intention to buy all 55m shares of UACC, each with a nominal value of SAR10 (US$2.66). In exchange, the company intended to issue more than 61m of its own shares for UACCs shareholders.

However, City Cement Co affirms its commitment to full regulatory compliance and will evaluate the possibility of resubmitting the offer following the fulfilment of all necessary regulatory requirements. "The company will keep its shareholders and stakeholders informed of any material developments in this regard," a company statement read.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is seeking comments for its 2026-27 fishing regulations, providing an opportunity for the public to share ideas and concerns about fishing regulations with TWRA staff.The comment period concerning fishing regulations is open from Friday, Aug 1 through Wednesday, Aug. 27. Any proposed fishing regulation changes will be previewed at a meeting of the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission in early 2026.The public comment period is another opportunity for anglers to provide feedback on TWRAs Fisheries management.Public comments will be considered with fishery independent assessments to select the best strategies and regulations to manage Tennessees resources while accommodating the widest variety of anglers.TWRA Fisheries personnel use a variety of techniques to manage fish populations and gather data about fish population size structure, recruitment, growth, density, and mortality. In addition, Fisheries personnel work to improve habitat to benefit fish species along with propagating and stocking numerous species of fish to ensure anglers have the best fishing opportunities possible. TWRA also conducts angler surveys to gain a better understanding of fisheries including, effort, catch, preferences, demographics, and economics. All this information is taken into consideration during the regulation process.There will be a public comment period on the proposed regulations after the TWRA presentation to the commission. Any approved regulations will go into effect Aug. 1, 2026. Please click the link or scan the QR code to submit your comments.The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for protecting, managing and conserving fish and wildlife species for the benefit of Tennesseans and visitors. The Agency also maintains public safety through law enforcement and safety education on waterways.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is seeking fields to lease for the upcoming 2025 dove season. Landowners can earn up to $4,000 for providing a dove field for public hunting. These fields must be available for a minimum of three priority hunt dates in September. The first segment of dove season opens at noon on Labor Day, Sept. 1.The standard fall leased field is a harvested grain field to which TWRA leases the hunting rights for three priority dates. The hunting access rate paid to landowners for fall leased fields may be up to $75 per acre for a maximum of 40 acres.Fields that are top sown with wheat are eligible for an additional $25 per acre. Interested landowners must sign up their fields in August.Anyone interested in leasing a dove field to TWRA should contact their TWRA regional office. TWRA has four regional offices across the state that interested landowners can contact: Region I (West Tennessee) 731-423-5725 or toll free 800-372-3928; Region II (Middle Tennessee) 615-781-6622 or toll free 800-624-7406; Region III (Upper Cumberland) 931-484-9571 or toll free 833-402-4698; Region IV (East Tennessee) 423-587-7037 or 800-332-0900. Offices are open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (local time).Mourning doves are a popular game bird and one of the most widely distributed and abundant birds in North America. More mourning doves are harvested than all other migratory bird species combined in 39 of the continental states. In Tennessee, an estimated 24,000 hunters harvest approximately 320,000 mourning doves each year.TWRA began its leased dove field program in the late 1980s, and the program has been very successful in providing quality hunting opportunities for hunters. In addition to leased fields, many public dove fields are provided on wildlife management areas in each TWRA region.The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for protecting, managing and conserving fish and wildlife species for the benefit of Tennesseans and visitors. The Agency also maintains public safety through law enforcement and safety education on waterways.
It is with much sadness and heartbreak that we announce the passing of our dear special needs sister, Angelia Marie Robertson. On a happy note, she was able to use a fast pass and go directly into heaven. Thats a perk for those with Downs Syndrome, and she earned it!Angie was 58 years old and born June 5, 1967. She was the fourth daughter of the late Henry Horton and Carolyn Reece Robertson. She was a proud member of Bethlehem Baptist Church, where she enjoyed attending each week for most of her life.She was preceded in death by her sister-in-law, Holly Robertson; brother-in-law, Steve Smith; grandparents, Sam and Nellie Reece of Dalton and Henry and Effie Robertson of Dalton.She is survived by her sisters, Phyllis Smith (CB) of Chatsworth, Ga., Beverly (William) North of Resaca, Ga. and Kathy (Eddie) Henson of Lafayette, Ga.; and brother Jeff Robertson (Becky Hecker) of Dalton, Ga.; nieces and nephews, Stephanie Smith Jones (Kim) of Chatsworth, Ga., Kristopher Smith (Mandy) of Chatsworth, Ga., Randell Smith of Dalton, Ga., Andrew Henson of Lafayette, Ga., Ryan Robertson of Dalton, Ga., and Meagan Perry (Jack) of Dalton, Ga.; great-nephew, Jaxson Smith Jones; and great niece, Juniper Perry.Angie had a small world, but was definitely large in it. This world centered most around her days at Cross Plains Community Partners in Dalton until February 2025. Health issues were beginning to take a toll. She was happy there, this being a source of stability, familiarity, love and care. Kay Sims, Marlene Jones and the rest of the staff were also her family. They were constants in her life and deserve medals for their never ending patience. She didnt communicate as we know it, but her hardheadedness and stubborn ways made her somewhat of a legend. If it was on her mind, you couldnt change it. In her early years she loved participating in the Special Olympics, where she proudly helped carry the banner, and was top notch at Shot Put. As the years progressed, she replaced that heavy ball with Klondike bars, and the scale was what was tossed. She also had an ability to find joy in simple things, and we learned to appreciate these things more because of her. No talent was as honed as her nature calls. Dogs and cats in the neighborhood are a little less stressed now that Coyotes arent being called by their leader. What else was there to do at 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning? Well, there were the howls or chicken clucking, or doing a quick dance. All too funny, and will be sorely missed.For the past four years we siblings had the pleasure of taking care of Angie. Since we had moved on with our lives and Angie had been with our parents for all her life, it shed new light on what we took for granted as normal family life. We prayed Lord help us more than once! What we relearned was the meaning of uniqueness. God made Angie just as He wanted, and He understood her perfectly. Imperfect things were OK; you just had to roll with her flow.We know that heaven sent their very best angel to take Angie home. Thats what they do for the most innocent souls. She was embraced by those who have gone on before her, including several fur friends each fondly named Tucey, aka Lucy. Steve, her best friend of many years, would have greeted her with a Dr. Pepper and she is probably STILL at the best spaghetti bar that only heaven can offer. Sorry Bev, dont take offense, but it does top yours! Our mother and Angie made a trip to Captain Ds restaurant in Calhoun every Saturday for many years until mommas death in 2021. They must surely have a booth named in their honor! Sadly, the Klondike bars and pudding cup makers will now also suffer a decline in sales. Even though this isnt how it works, when we get to Heaven we will envy her beautiful mansion, since it will be much grander than ours! Maybe she will return the favor and let us stay in a room!Each of us grieves Angies passing and expect this sadness to continue. As time moves on it will fade, but never be forgotten. Lulu, as her friends called her, will never leave our hearts. This was her journey, and our lives were enriched more than words can say by helping her take it. Her passing was her way home. Our memories are more precious than gold, and will be with us wherever our own journeys lead. Angie would tell us not to cry because shes gone, but be happy because she was here! Rest in Peace sweet sister  we love you  MAR you were a mighty force!Services to celebrate the life of Miss Angelia Marie Angie Robertson will be held Thursday, July 31 at 2 p.m. at Ponders Melrose Chapel, with Reverend Jay Tenney and Larry Lee officiating. She will be laid to rest with her family at the Robertson family cemetery with William North, Eddie Henson, Randell Smith, Andrew Henson, Ryan Robertson and Kris Smith honored to serve at pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Jaxson Smith-Jones and Claude Bell.The family will receive friends at Ponders Melrose Chapel after 11 a.m. Thursday morning until the service hour.Arrangements by Ponders Melrose Chapel, 138 Melrose Drive, Dalton, Ga. 30721. 706-226-4002. www.selectedindependentfuneralhomes.org
It's always Arbor Day in the little town of Nebraska City, Nebraska, where trees reign supreme.

On our ambitious cross country road trip, we reached an inauspicious section of Nebraska just above the Kansas line.

Suddenly we had arrived at the home of all things Arbor Day in an unlikely setting.

And it's all tied in with the Morton Salt fortune.

Our second stay was at the wonderful Lied Lodge that is the chief staying place for environmental groups from around the country and globe for conclaves dealing with taking care of the Earth.

It turns out that a man by the name of J. Sterling Morton in 1872 asked the Nebraska Board of Agriculture to declare a special day devoted to planting trees. The first Arbor Day involved the astounding goal of planting of more than one million trees in Nebraska.

Arbor Day is now observed throughout the world.

Morton had a son named Joy (yes Joy), who did the family proud. He got into the salt business, and the family's four-room home on a perch in Nebraska City eventually became 52 rooms.

That home was first on a bare hill, but the Mortons took care of that, planting a host of trees around it. One that is marked today was planted by the family in 1868. A black walnut still stands that Joy hand planted in 1871.

There's the remnant of an ancient chestnut that has been placed on display in the grand lobby of the Lied Lodge. Nearby are several tables crafted from thin rings from the huge tree.

The Morton mansion still stands, along with the family barns, as a part of the Arbor Farm. There's also a kid's tree house that goes way up and many greenhouses where new trees are sprouted.

Trees of multiple kinds are labeled along walking trails.

In going from the Benton Park Inn in St. Louis we went from a neighborhood almost exclusively brick to a lodge made of beautiful wood specimens, including wide beams and lacqured planks. Not a brick in sight here.

St. Louis turned to brick because of an 1849 fire that burned many wooden houses - and because of a big supply of clay between the nearby Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

Nebraska City, though with its rolling plains setting, has made the most of all the benefits that trees can provide - at least at Arbor Farm.

In the evening, Zef and Min won again - this time at Tens.

In the morning, we were just ahead of 150 reservations for two wedding parties in the spacious third floor restaurant (one of two dineries at Lied Lodge). Excellent scrambled eggs, ham steak, roasted new potatoes and biscuits.

Tomorrow: The Plains Hotel, Cheyenne, Wyoming.




Scenic City Womens Network announces The Honorable Victoria Tori Smith, Hamilton County General Sessions Court Division II judge, as guest speaker for the August Marketplace Luncheon Aug. 28 at noon at The Walden Club, 633 Chestnut St., #2100 in Chattanooga. A buffet and refreshments will be served.Registration is $30 and open to the public. Space is limited and registration ends Aug. 26. Register online here. https://www.scwn.org/events/august or call 423-698-6262.About the speaker:Judge Tori Smith began her law school journey in 2011 at Michigan State University College of Law.However, during her first year, her husband, Andrew Smith, was injured while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan. She immediately left school to care for her husband at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. It was during this challenging time that she truly understood what a hard day was. As Andrews recovery progressed, so did her determination to return to her studies. After her time at Walter Reed, she enrolled at Lincoln Memorial University in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she earned her law degree in 2018. She was honored with the faculty-voted Lincoln Lawyer Award for Ethics upon graduation.Following law school, she began her legal career at the Hamilton County Public Defenders Office. She served as an assistant public defender, representing thousands of clients. In her final year at the Public Defenders Office, she was promoted to General Sessions Court Team Leader. In this role, she led a team of seven attorneys, staffed the sessions courts, and practiced in municipal courts of Hamilton County. She began serving Hamilton County as a General Sessions Court judge in 2024.Judge Smith is actively involved in her community, serving on various boards, including the Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering with the Ooltewah Youth Association and the Adoption Advocacy Board at Silverdale Baptist Church.
A man with a long history of drug arrests was given a 12-year state prison sentence on Thursday on three felony charges.

Jeffery Nicholas Hudgins, 34, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of fentanyl and cocaine for resale, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The plea deal was entered before Judge Boyd Patterson, concluding a lengthy series of court proceedings that began over a year ago.

Hudgins faced three separate indictments stemming from arrests in 2023 and 2024. Charges included possession of controlled substances with intent to sell or distribute, unlawful possession of a weapon, evading arrest, resisting arrest, tampering with evidence, and being a felon in possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

As part of the negotiated plea agreement, Hudgins admitted guilt to three of the Class B felony charges: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

In exchange, other pending charges were dismissed, including additional felony drug counts and multiple procedural violations related to bond forfeiture and probation.

Hudgins is eligible for parole consideration after serving 35 percent of the sentence.

He was also fined a total of $10,000.

Hudgins had previously violated the terms of his probation in a related case and was the subject of multiple arrest warrants after failing to appear in court.

Court documents show a probation violation was filed in September 2024, and a probationary capias was issued shortly thereafter with no bond allowed.

He was ultimately arrested and held by the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office in June 2025 following a bond forfeiture earlier that year.

Throughout the proceedings, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Coyle represented the State, while local attorney Jay Morgan acted as defense counsel.

As part of the agreement, Hudgins family will be allowed to retrieve certain personal property held by law enforcement, including a red iPhone 12.

Hudgins remains in custody at Silverdale Detention Center and will be formally transferred to the Tennessee Department of Correction to begin serving his sentence.

His Hamilton County sentence will run concurrently with charges pending in Bradley County.
Educators across the region can now apply for the 2025 Tennessee Valley Authoritys STEM Award Program for science, technology, engineering and math education.

The program will provide $1.5 million to fund STEM learning projects in classrooms and schools in TVAs seven-state service area and is sponsored by TVA in partnership with the TVA retiree organization Bicentennial Volunteers Inc.

We know that todays students will shape the future of the Tennessee Valley region. Now, more than ever, we want to support and encourage STEM education  a career in STEM will provide good opportunities for students and ensure our regions workforce is prepared to provide energy security for the next generation, said Don Moul, TVA President and Chief Executive Officer.

The competitive STEM classroom award program is operated in partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, managed by the Battelle organization. The program received 647 grant applications last year, and 342 were selected for funding. Since 2018, TVA/BVI has provided nearly $8 million in STEM awards supporting over 730,000 students.



As a TVA retiree organization, Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated is honored to partner with TVA in providing STEM education awards to teachers across the Tennessee Valley Region, said Kathy Black, president of BVI. We recognize that exposing students to science, technology, engineering, and math will inspire many students to seek opportunities in those fields. This program helps to prepare students to meet future workforce demands of TVA and the region.

Teachers can apply at TVA.com/STEM for funding up to $5,000 for STEM projects with preference given to applications that explore TVAs primary area of focus: environment, energy, economic and career development, and community problem-solving.

Eligible applicants are teachers or school administrators in public or private schools, grades K-12. Schools must be in the TVA service area and receive electricity from a local power distributor served by TVA.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is the nations largest public power supplier, delivering energy to more than 10 million people across seven southeastern states. TVA has one of the most diverse energy systems  including nuclear, hydro, solar, gas, and advanced technologies. To prepare for the future, TVA is making significant investments in its power system toward new generation and transmission.
Foundation House Ministries celebrated the grand opening of their new thrift shop in Athens with a ribbon cutting held by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce. The thrift shop employs women in their program which serves mothers coming out of a crisis lifestyle.

Located at 225 E Washington Ave. in Athens, the thrift shop's ribbon cutting was attended by Tennessee State Representative Mark Cochran, Athens City Mayor Larry Eaton, Chamber President Rob Preston, Foundation House Ministries Executive Director Suzanne Burns and other local officials and nonprofit associates.

The thrift shop is funded by donations and the Tennessee Strong Families Grant, which supports expansion into the McMinn County area, including establishing a second maternity home for mothers in the program. Foundation House Ministries provides the only maternity homes for women coming out of addiction and homelessness for 150 miles.

This is the second thrift store run by the nonprofit which not only employs the women in the program but teaches them on-the-job training and life skills. The Cleveland thrift store is at 264 NW Broad St. The stores offer new and gently used women and children's clothing, toys, household goods and furniture.

Visit FoundationHouseMinistries.org to donate or learn about volunteer opportunities or call (423) 464-5351.
Initially, it was suggested by a forward thinking investor in one of our county's 3378 (or more) nonprofits, that the ideal location for one of the ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) detention centers in Tennessee for illegal immigrants would be the Brushy Mountain Penitentiary, (1896 to 2009) at Petros in Morgan County.However, the lease agreement with Chattanooga businessmen Pete Waddington and Brian May with the State of Tennessee might be a severe problem.In 2018, the two entrepreneurs took over the hotel accommodations that previously housed convicted murderers, James Earl Ray (Martin Luther King), Byron Low Tax Looper, (state senator Tommy Burks), and Paul Dennis Reed, a serial killer known as the Fast Food Killer, among many others.The initial financial risk taken by the two young men has evolved into a successful tourist attraction with its own distillery of a variety of alcoholic beverages, appropriately named the End of the Line."A cafeteria, Wardens Table Restaurant, serves Southern and American barbecue and sandwiches.Tours, private events, car shows, concerts, as well as being a site for movies such as The Green Mile and Walk the Line have partly been filmed at the historic venue.So much for the free advertisement for Brushy Mountain Booze.There is a closer location for the potential financial solution for the local property taxpayers and politicians headaches.The Hamilton County Jail (1976 to 2021) was formerly contained in the Hamilton County Justice Center in the 600 block of Walnut Street, and currently sits vacant, with many suggested private and public uses available to the members of the political body (Hamilton County Commission) responsible for the fate of the 45 year old structure.Since the state of Florida and other jurisdictions have created Alligator Alcatraz, etc., Tennessee's governor and legislators may want to provide the necessary funds to renovate the standing structure out of surplus tourist funds spent by new arrivals at the Wildwood Georgia Greyhound Bus Terminal.Hamilton County Alcatraz may be the solution to many problems.If Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell can ask for $2.5 billion to renovate his agency, building perhaps a few 100 million bucks to incarcerate illegal, criminal migrants for ICE in our county may be a real bargain.Our Hamilton County Sheriff (AG) has allegedly already established an ongoing relationship with ICE under its 287(g) Program Jail Enforcement Model that identifies and processes those with criminal or pending criminal charges, arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies without US citizenship.An enthusiastic group of about 150 potential voters held a rally at beautiful Miller Park on Thursday, July 25, 2025 to show their interest and support.As they waved signs and Ole Glory, they also chanted Sheriff G., get a clue, history is watching you, which some interested potential Republican-Democrat High Sheriff aspirants have interpreted as a prediction for the next election.Politics aside, the 465 million line item for ICE in the Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress recently might be the answer to the property tax increase issue, or what to do with the 45 year old white elephant?(Hamilton County Alcatraz has a certain melodious ring to it?)Jerry Summers
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A new era in career and technical education is taking shape in Hamilton County.This week, the banners officially went up at the historic Golden Gateway site, future home of the Franklin-Roberts Future Ready Center. Set to open in the 2026-2027 school year, the cutting-edge facility will service high school students from across the country."Every student who wants to build a better future should have that chance, and through our Future Ready Centers, we're making it possible," officials said.
What if a complex material could reshape itself in response to a simple chemical signal? A team of physicists from the University of Vienna and the University of Edinburgh has shown that even small changes in pH value and thus in electric charge can shift the spatial arrangement of closed ring-shaped polymers (molecular chains)  by altering the balance between twist and writhe, two distinct modes of spatial deformation. Their findings, published in Physical Review Letters, demonstrate how electric charge can be used to reshape polymers in a reversible and controllable way  opening up new possibilities for programmable, responsive materials. With such materials, permeability and mechanical properties such as elasticity, yield stress and viscosity could be better controlled and precisely 'programmed'.

A sketch of the conformations of supercoiled ribbons in dependence of the electric charge: neutral and writhe-rich (upper left); fully charged and twist-rich (upper right); partially charged with separated writhe-rich and twist-rich domains (middle). C: Roman Stano

Imagine taking a ribbon and twisting it by half before connecting its ends: you create the famous Mobius band  a loop with a single twist and a continuous surface. Add more twists before closing the ribbon, and the structure becomes so called supercoiled. Such shapes are common in biology and materials science, especially in circular DNA and synthetic (artificially produced) ring polymers. Whether and how the balance between twist the local rotation of the ribbon around its axis  and writhe  the large-scale coiling of the ribbon in space could be tuned in a controlled and reversible way is still unclear. The research team set out to investigate this question using a model system of ring-shaped polymers, where electric charge  introduced via pH-dependent ionization  serves as an external tuning parameter.

From writhe to twist To explore the tunability of this topological balance, the researchers combined computer simulations and analytical theory to study how charge affects the conformation of supercoiled ring polymers. In their model, each monomeric unit acts as a weak acid, gaining or losing charge depending on the pH value (specifies the acidity or basicity of aqueous solutions) of the surrounding solution. This setup enabled a gradual buildup of charge and revealed how the molecule reshapes in response.

The results: Neutral polymers adopt writhe-rich, compact shapes. As charge increases, electrostatic repulsion grows  driving the molecule toward more extended conformations and shifting the internal distribution from writhe to twist. These transitions are smooth at low supercoiling. At higher levels, however, the model predicts a striking feature: the polymer can split into coexisting twist- and writhe-rich domains  a kind of topologically constrained microphase separation. This hidden form of phase coexistence had not been observed in such systems before.

To capture these mechanisms, the researchers developed a Landau-type mean-field theory. This simplified mathematical model accurately predicts when a polymer will undergo a continuous or abrupt conformational change  depending on its degree of supercoiling and charge.

Topology as a design tool The idea of tuning not just molecular structure, but topology itself, opens up new ways to control responsive systems. "By adjusting the local charge, we can shift the balance between twist and writhe  and that gives us a handle on the shape of the whole molecule," says first author Roman Stano from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna (currently at Cambrigde Univesrity). Because each monomer can gain or lose charge, the polymer gradually reshapes itself  a behavior that resembles real polyelectrolytes, such as chemically modified DNA. The team suggests that synthetic DNA rings with pH-sensitive side chains  not yet realized experimentally, but now feasible thanks to recent advances in nucleotide chemistry  could display this kind of controllable shape-shifting behavior. These molecules would act as topologically constrained scaffolds, adjusting their form in response to local chemical conditions.

Responsive shapes, programmable function Polymer shape isn't just geometry  it governs flow, function, and interaction. The ability to reversibly shift between twist- and writhe-dominated states offers a powerful strategy for designing adaptive materials. Ring polymers that respond to subtle changes in pH could one day be used in microfluidic devices, where local conditions trigger controlled changes in shape and flow behavior. "What's remarkable," says co-author Christos Likos, Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna, is that the transition from compact to extended shapes happens gradually, can be controlled via pH  and doesnt require any changes to the molecules topology.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/ Joseph Lockley

A coalition of Christian groups and other organizations has filed a fresh lawsuit contesting the Trump administration's policy that permits federal agents to conduct immigration enforcement actions on church properties.

The legal action was initiated Monday in a federal court located in Massachusetts, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem listed as the defendants.

The lawsuit contends that allowing federal agents to use church sites during immigration enforcement efforts to deport undocumented immigrants have seen both attendance and financial giving plummet, due to the policy.

Congregations have gone underground to protect their parishioners, eschewing in-person meetings central to their faith. Baptisms that previously would have been occasions for communal worship and celebration are now being held in private, the complaint states.

Further, the suit claims, Churches have quietly stopped advertising immigrant-focused ministries and have canceled programming that served immigrant populations who are now too fearful to attend.

The plaintiffs include several regional chapters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the American Baptist Churches USA, the Alliance of Baptists, multiple regional entities of the Religious Society of Friends, and the Metropolitan Community Churches.

Representing these Christian organizations are the progressive legal groups Democracy Forward, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and Gilbert LLP.

Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, expressed support for the legal challenge, saying, Her organization is honored to be alongside these religious leaders in court. We will not give up until this unlawful and dangerous policy is struck down.

She added, Raids in churches and sacred spaces violate decades of norms in both Democratic and Republican administrations, core constitutional protections, and basic human decency. Faith communities should not have to choose between their spiritual commitments and the safety of their congregants.

Earlier this year, DHS announced the reversal of a policy that was introduced in 2011 during the Obama administration, which restricted immigration law enforcement activities from sensitive locations such as churches and schools.

This policy change drew criticism from some religious leaders and prompted multiple lawsuits claiming that the move violated the First Amendment rights of churches. In April, a lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Oregon by a group of churches and two other nonprofits, challenging the legality of the policy.

Later in the same month, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich of the District of Columbia, a Trump appointee, rejected a similar lawsuit brought by a coalition of Christian and Jewish groups.
A Christian woman in India is praying with her head lifted. | Photo Credit: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Indias Catholic bishops issued a strong condemnation of law enforcement for not prosecuting a state legislator who publicly offered up to $12,663 USD (1.1 million rupees) as a reward for violent attacks targeting Christian leaders.

Following Maharashtra MLA Gopichand Padalkars incitement to violence and the polices lack of response, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) voiced deep anguish and alarm over the escalating hostility and violence targeting minority communities in the country, highlighting the seriousness of the situation. Padalkar is affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a press statement issued on Monday, the bishops referenced Padalkars June 17 speech in Sangli District, Maharashtra state. In his remarks.

Padalkar said, We should keep prizes for those who bash up missionaries coming to convert people. Rs 5 lakh (500,000 rupees or $5,756 USD), should be declared for the first person thrashing such a missionary, the second one to be given Rs 4 lakh (400,000 rupees or $4,605 USD), while the third one to be given Rs 3 lakh (300,000 rupees or $3,454 USD) as prizes.

He also offered 11 lakhs (1.1 million rupees or $12,663 USD) for violence against Christian leaders, the bishops noted.

The bishops said the speech constitutes a clear instance of incitement to religiously motivated violence, amounting to a grave offense under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which penalizes acts that promote enmity between different groups and threaten the unity and integrity of the nation.

Padalkar made the controversial statements during a torch march in Sanglis Kupwad area on June 17, targeting Christian priests and pastors whom he accused of forced religious conversions. The remarks came after a 28-year-old pregnant woman, Rutuja Rajage, died by suicide in Sangli District, with the legislator blaming her death on alleged pressure from in-laws to convert to Christianity, though he provided no evidence for such claims.

The legislator called those involved in Love Jihad (in reference to Muslims) as green snakes and those forcing Christianity on others as pythons, stating: We need to run JCB on such pythons, referring to using heavy construction machinery to crush them.

Padalkar also threatened what he called unauthorized prayer houses, demanding that local officials declare a list of all unauthorized prayer houses in Sangli District, as soon as possible and on the third day, such prayer houses should be demolished.

Padalkars announcement triggered widespread demonstrations across Maharashtra. On July 11, thousands of Christians from various denominations gathered in the capital city Mumbais Azad Maidan for protest organized by the Sakal Christi Samaj and supported by more than 20 Christian organizations.

On July 8, protests broke out in Pune, where members of the Pune Christian Forum organized demonstrations outside the District Collectors Office. In Jalna district, Christians also held a march on June 30, with protesters carrying placards and urging authorities to file criminal charges against the legislator.

Religious rights advocates point to the hostile tone of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist BJP, which they say has emboldened Hindu extremists across India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took power in May 2014.
Home News Anglican chaplain says he contemplated suicide to protest exclusion from ministry 'This has been six years of silence, shame and spiritual exile'

An Anglican chaplain in the United Kingdom reportedly considered lighting himself on fire at the Church of England's General Synod to protest his ongoing exclusion from ministry after being labeled a risk to children for a 2019 sermon affirming biblical teachings on marriage and sexuality.

The Rev. Dr. Bernard Randall said during a recent interview with The Mail on Sunday that his own church's treatment of him has led to financial difficulties for his family and plunged him into "long periods of despair and hopelessness," leading him at one point to consider "self-immolating on the floor of General Synod as a protest."

Randall said he came to believe the hearts of those leading the Church of England have grown too hardened for such an act to make any difference.

"The tears came when I realized they'd just put it down as an unfortunate incident, and then carry on in the same way as before," he said.

Randall, who worked for five years at Trent College in Derbyshire, England, first made headlines in 2021. He took legal action against the Church of England-affiliated school for sacking him following a sermon that urged students to make up their own minds about the claims of LGBT activists.

The school also reported him to Prevent, the U.K.'s counterterrorism watchdog, which ultimately determined he did not pose a terrorist threat.

That year, the school allowed Elly Barnes, CEO and founder of LGBTQ charity Educate and Celebrate, to train school staff how to "smash heteronormativity." The now-defunct organization aimed to help schools and organizations "embed gender, gender identity and sexual orientation into the fabric" of their culture.

Following controversies that included allegedly pushing toddlers to question their gender, the organization shut down without explanation last year. Stephen Ireland, one of the charity's patrons, was jailed in June after being found guilty of raping "an extremely vulnerable" 12-year-old boy, according to the BBC.

Randall claimed he penned his controversial sermon in the wake of Barnes' visit, after a pupil approached him to ask why they "have to accept" LGBTQ ideology at a supposedly Christian school.

During the sermon, which remains available online, Randall explained the biblical positions on sexuality and marriage to his young students, aged 11 to 17. He added that the values of Barnes' organization conflicted with "the Protestant and Evangelical principles of the Church of England," and urged them to think for themselves on such topics.

"There are several areas where many or most Christians (and for that matter people of other faiths too), will be in disagreement with LGBT activists, and where you must make up your own mind," he told them.

Randall's sermon prompted the school's leadership to suspend and ultimately terminate him. He was restored to his position upon appeal, but was furloughed during the pandemic, never restored to full-time hours and made redundant on Dec. 31, 2020.

Randall's Diocese of Derby, headed by the Rt. Rev. Libby Lane  who became the Church of England's first female bishop in 2014  also reportedly "blacklisted" him from working after a safeguarding investigation determined he posed "a moderate risk to children" because of his beliefs about sexuality.

During their investigation against Randall, the diocese also reportedly determined that "the Church itself is a risk-factor" because of its historical teachings on the issue.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby blocked Randall's misconduct case against Lane, despite legal advice labeling his decision as "plainly wrong" due to a misunderstanding of his authority. A clergy discipline tribunal found "serious errors" with the case against Randall, but ruled Lane had no personal case to answer and recommended an independent review.

Randall, who is still trying to have his license restored, faced a new preliminary safeguarding meeting in June, during which concerns persisted about his potential future sermons. A Church of England safeguarding adviser referred to Randall's Christian beliefs as "your views," though the chaplain maintained they are the official views of the Church of England.

"This has been six years of silence, shame and spiritual exile. I have been punished not for wrongdoing, but for believing," Randall told The Mail on Sunday this week. "I am speaking out because I know I am not alone and because no one should suffer in silence for staying true to their faith."

During an interview with Fox News in 2022, Randall claimed he felt called by God to stay in the Church of England because his roots run deep in the institution, though he acknowledged he is unsure where he fits.

"I've always been in the Church of England," he told the outlet. "My family has always been Church of England. I can't quite imagine not being in the Church of England. It's more about the Church of England leaving me, in a sense. I'm not going to make any promises, but I think I want to stick it out."

"And if I need to be a nuisance to try to call the Church back to where it should be, I think maybe that's my calling. God never promised an easy ride, so I'll stay where God has put me and do the good that he has put in front of me. That's the basic attitude I take," he added.

Randall's lawyers at the Christian Legal Centre have denounced the Church of England's treatment of him, whom CLC Executive Director Andrea Williams described as "a faithful minister who has suffered deeply for simply preaching the Gospel."

"The Church's continued refusal to reinstate him, despite his vindication, is a failure of pastoral care and Christian witness. We urge the Church to show compassion, humility, and justice by restoring Bernard to fellowship and ministry," she said.

"It is heartbreaking to see a man of faith and integrity suffer so profoundly for doing what he was called to do. Bernard Randall has been vindicated time and again, yet the Church continues to punish him. How much longer must he wait for justice?"

"This has not been safeguarding, it is censorship. If the Church continues to refuse to reinstate him, they must be held accountable not only for the injustice, but as a serious safeguarding risk themselves to their own clergy," she added.

The Diocese of Derby said in a statement to The Christian Post that it is working with Randall "to address concerns which he has raised, and is following House of Bishops' guidance in doing so."

"We have therefore asked that Dr. Randall continues [sic] to work with the ongoing process, so that it can be concluded as soon as possible," the statement reads.

The Church of England has been losing members and trust among those in the U.K., according to a YouGov poll released earlier this year following recent abuse scandals. The same poll also showed that 50% of Britons favor the disestablishment of the Church of England, while only 23% prefer to maintain its status.

The office of the archbishop of Canterbury has remained vacant since January, when Welby stepped down following an inquiry that found that he failed to promptly alert police about serial abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps.
Home News Cracker Barrel faces EEOC complaint over rebranded DEI policies

Attorneys say Cracker Barrel may be in violation of federal and state civil rights laws related to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.

Nonprofit law firm America First Legal (AFL) has formally requested that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti investigate Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. over its DEI initiatives that allegedly promote discriminatory practices by providing employment benefits based on race and sex.

While Cracker Barrel rebranded its dedicated DEI website last year from Diversity and Inclusion to Culture and Inclusion, attorneys with America First Legal say the chain continues to promote apparently unlawful commitments to provide unique employment benefits to certain races and sexes.

Specifically, AFL alleges the companys 2024 ESG report tracks workforce demographics by race and gender, showing increased diversity from 2022 to 2024 across professional staff, store management and hourly employees. AFL claims Cracker Barrel uses diversity as a proxy for race and sex, violating civil rights laws.

The law firm also highlights Cracker Barrels Business Resource Groups (BRGs), which AFL says offer benefits restricted to specific identity groups. According to AFL, the Be Bold BRG aims to cultivate and develop Black Leaders within the Cracker Barrel organization, while the HOLA BRG [p]rovides opportunities to our Latino team members and promote[s] Hispanic and Latino culture through hiring, developing, and retaining talent within Cracker Barrel.

The chains LGBT-identified BRG offers "space for [LGBT] people to meet and support each other while increasing [LGBT] awareness at Cracker Barrel."

The Womens Connect BRGs mission is to inspire the women of Cracker Barrel by empowering, educating and engaging to achieve the strategic initiatives of Cracker Barrel while it [h]elps women on our team find connections and grow their careers.

AFL argues that even if all employees can join these groups, certain benefits appear exclusive to specific races, sexes or identities.

Will Scolinos, counsel for ALF, said treating employees differently because of their race or sex violates numerous federal and state civil rights laws.

Americans are fed up with major American corporations serving up DEI as if it is entirely OK, said Scolinos in a statement shared with The Christian Post. Treating people differently because of the color of their skin or their sex is not only wrong, it is illegal.

While many companies may be retreating from DEI initiatives after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 ruling against two universities that used race as a factor in enrollment decisions, Scolinos claims they are still retaining their discriminatory policies.

Cracker Barrel and other American corporations must take discrimination by any name off the menu once and for all, he added.

The EEOC and the Tennessee Attorney Generals office have not confirmed whether they will pursue the investigation. Cracker Barrel did not respond to CP's request for comment Friday.

On its now-deleted DEI page, Cracker Barrel boasted of its score on the Human Rights Campign's Corporate Equality Index, which it describes as a "national benchmarking tool" and a "driving force for [LGBT] workplace inclusion."

The page also boasts of Cracker Barrel banning an "anti-[LGBT]" Christian pastor in 2019 over plans for his church group to meet at a Cracker Barrel store in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"We issued a statement disagreeing strongly with the pastor's statements of hate and divisiveness, and he was not permitted on-site," the website said.
Home News Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elects first black leader

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has elected its first African American presiding bishop to succeed the denomination's first female head.

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, was elected to a six-year term as presiding bishop on Wednesday at the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, held in Phoenix, Arizona.

Curry won on the fifth ballot, receiving 562 of the 799 votes cast. The Rev. Kevin Strickland, bishop of the ELCA Southeastern Synod, received 237 of the votes cast.

In remarks given shortly after his election, Curry told those gathered about his initial hesitation to enter ministry work, having previously been a public school teacher.

"Perhaps I'm out there in one of you," Curry said. "I never saw myself as good enough, so for two years, I said no. I finally said yes. When I said yes, your support, this church's support, of that ministry meant everything."

"So if you want to know what your benevolence dollars look like, it looks like me, and I want to say thank you. Thank you for your investment."

Curry is scheduled to be installed as presiding bishop of the theologically progressive mainline denomination in October.

The ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod posted a statement on Thursday celebrating the election of Curry, calling for prayers amid "this time of celebration and transition."

"We are grateful for his leadership and ask you to join us as we pray for Bishop Curry, this synod, and the whole church during this time of transition," the synod stated.

"When Bishop Curry moves into his new role, we will receive an interim bishop by appointment. We will also initiate a bishop pre-identification process aligned with our governing documents and proceed with a bishop election at next year's synod assembly."

Born and raised in Chicago, Curry earned a Bachelor of Arts from Lewis University of Romeoville, Illinois, in 1995, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago in 2013.

Curry was pastor of Shekinah Chapel Lutheran Church of Riverdale, Illinois, from 2013 until 2019, when he was elected bishop of the Chicago Synod.

Curry is married and has three daughters.

In an interview with Living Lutheran in 2019, Curry said he did not become a Lutheran until his adult years, when he was invited by a friend to attend worship at an ELCA-affiliated camp.

"I used to say I would have never intentionally joined a Lutheran church," Curry told the outlet at the time. "But I say it this way to my community: 'I know where the gold is hidden: the gold is hidden in the Lutheran church.'"

"The more my network and friends and family learned about the tenets of Lutheranism, the more we started falling in love."

Curry will succeed the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who was elected in 2013 as the first female presiding bishop. She opted not to seek reelection after serving two terms.
Home News 'Flashbacks to Tehran': Iranian pastor urges Trump to protect persecuted Christians, not deport them

Evangelical Pastor Ara Torosian knows what it's like to become a "target" of Iran's Islamist regime.

Having been on house arrest for two years, Torosian, who now shepherds the Farsi-speaking congregation at Cornerstone Church in Los Angeles, California, fled his native country more than a decade ago and is grateful to have been resettled in the United States as a refugee.

"I experienced true religious freedom for the first time in my life in this country, of which I am now a proud, grateful citizen," Torosian, who is now a U.S. citizen, wrote in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times this week.

But in June, he was "shocked" when masked federal immigration officials detained five members of his congregation, including one couple seeking asylum. He said they were "separated from their families and threatened with deportation" back to a country that would "kill them for their Christian faith."

A viral video that circulated online purports to show one woman having a panic attack as officers arrest her husband on the street, a few blocks away from the church. Torosian ran over to the scene after being contacted by the woman. The pastor films the interaction and shouts at the officers, asking, "Why are you doing this?"

"I rushed over and began to film the shocking scene: First he was detained by masked officers, and then she was. I asked if they had a judicial warrant, but if they did, they would not show me," he recalled. "The woman experienced a panic attack and was taken to a hospital but discharged into ICE custody; she is now hours away in a detention center in California. Her husband is in a detention center in Texas."

What he witnessed, the pastor said, gave him "flashbacks to Tehran."

"I believe that America is better than this," he stressed. "This behavior reminds me disturbingly of what I fled in Iran. But I know that most Americans do not support this, nor do most fellow evangelical Christians: Many evangelicals voted for Trump because he pledged to protect persecuted Christians  not to deport them."

Last week, Torosian traveled to the nation's capital to fast and pray for three days in Lafayette Park outside the White House for the families that had been detained. He also lobbied on their behalf in the halls of Capitol Hill. With the support of the Evangelical refugee advocacy organization World Relief, the pastor met with lawmakers.

"I'm glad that at least they hear what's happened to my church members and Iranian Christian refugees," he said in an Instagram video during his first-ever visit to the U.S. Capitol. "Hopefully, it will work."

Torisian said that the couple was once "lawfully allowed" in the U.S. with "provisional humanitarian status" and secured work authorization. After they found Torisian's church, they were baptized and professed faith in Christ. Their first asylum hearing was scheduled for September.

The couple entered the U.S. through the CBP One process, the pastor said. However, federal agents said that the couple's status is "no longer valid."

Amid the Trump administration's mass deportation push since taking office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has instructed people who had been allowed to enter the U.S. via the CBP One app to leave the country, reversing an initiative initiated during the Biden administration that allowed asylum seekers to schedule appointments at ports of entry. Roughly 985,000 people used the app to enter the U.S.

The Trump administration contends that the Biden administration "abused the parole authority," and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has "full authority to revoke parole."

"Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security," the DHS said in a statement.

In his op-ed, Torosian said that many parolees have received letters telling them to self-deport. However, he claimed those letters also stated that the instructions did not apply to those who had "otherwise obtained a lawful basis to remain."

In statements to the media, DHS confirmed the arrest of the Iranian asylum couple, saying it detained "two Iranian nationals unlawfully present in the U.S.  both flagged as subjects of national security interest."

Among those who have received letters telling them to self-deport are around two dozen Afghan Christian asylum seekers who attend Church of the Apostles in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Church members have lobbied members of Congress and fear Afghan asylum seekers could also face severe persecution if they are deported back to Afghanistan. Evangelical leader Franklin Graham, who heads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical humanitarian charity Samaritan's Purse, has also reportedly spoken with leaders in Washington about the Afghanistan asylum seekers. He told The Christian Post in April that he believes "this will be resolved."

Other Iranian Christians who fled persecution have already been deported from the U.S., including 11 deported from the U.S. to Panama, who have reportedly received a six-month extension to remain in Panama on humanitarian visas. They have until December to find refuge in a third country.

In May, U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., the first Iranian American elected to Congress, introduced legislation to end expedited removal for refugees fleeing from countries recognized by the U.S. State Department as countries of particular concern for religious freedom violations or countries included on the agency's special watch list. Iran has been designated as a country of particular concern since 1999.

Under the bill, refugees from such countries would be entitled to have their asylum cases heard in immigration courts before they can be removed from the country.
ERLC Head Brent Leatherwood Resigns, AG Faces New Lawsuit, VCU Childrens Hospital Halts Sex Change Surgeries

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 07:06 07:06

Top headlines for Friday, August 1, 2025

In this episode, we explore the troubling lawsuit against a Florida church and a regional Assemblies of God body, accused of failing to protect children from abuse at a camp. Next, we turn our attention to the Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University's decision to halt body-altering gender surgeries and puberty blockers, highlighting the ongoing debate over gender-affirming care. Plus, we examine the call from 40 Southern Baptist leaders urging the Trump administration to prevent the mailing of abortion pills to pro-life states, a move that intensifies the complex discourse on reproductive rights.

00:11 ERLC head Brent Leatherwood resigns; acting president named

01:00 AOG church faces new lawsuit claiming it failed to protect kids

01:54 Man sues girlfriend's husband, doctor who mailed abortion pills

02:50 VCU Childrens Hospital halts sex-change operations for minors

03:39 40 SBC pastors urge Trump to ban mailing abortion pills

04:35 FBI launches probe into brutal attack at Ohio music festival

05:24 Brandon Lake, CeCe Winans, Forrest Frank nominated for Dove Award
Home Opinion A federal judge is seizing legislative power of the purse for herself

Federal judge Indria Talwani on Monday handed down her final preliminary injunction, forcing the Trump administration to continue sending Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood.



With breathtaking brashness, Talwani boldly asserted Planned Parenthood is likely to succeed in showing that Section 71113 constitutes a Bill of Attainder and denies Planned Parenthood Federation and its Members equal protection of the law.

To put it simply, Talwanis legal reasoning is a mess.

Talwani accepted Planned Parenthoods argument in the case that Section 71113 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, violates the abortion giants First Amendment right of association and is likely an unconstitutional bill of attainder, a legislative provision criminalizing a person or group without due process.

Section 71113 prohibits Medicaid dollars from going to any prohibited entity that is primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive health, and related medical care, provides for abortions and exceeded $800,000 in Medicaid dollars in 2023. The provision applies for a period of one year.

In ordering relief, the court is not enjoining the federal government from regulating abortion and is not directing the federal government to fund elective abortions or any healthcare service not otherwise eligible for Medicaid coverage, Talwani wrote in her 58-page opinion.

Instead, this order grants preliminary relief that prevents Defendants from targeting a specific group of entities  Planned Parenthood Federation Members  for exclusion from reimbursements under the Medicaid program.

The decision greatly expands her July 21 preliminary injunction, which had prevented the Trump administration from defunding a limited number of Planned Parenthood facilities.

Now, the Trump administration must take all steps necessary to ensure that Medicaid funding continues to be disbursed in the customary manner and timeframes to Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, and all other Members of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.

First, the legal theory that Section 71113 of the OBBBA is a bill of attainder is as novel as it is flawed. A bill of attainder, prohibited under Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution, is a piece of legislation that punishes a party perceived of a crime without due process.

But Section 71113 cant reasonably be read to insinuate that Planned Parenthood is guilty of any crime.

Nor can the statute, with Congress using its constitutionally delegated authority to direct the distribution of federal funds, be reasonably conceived as a punishment to Planned Parenthood.

Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution explicitly grants Congress the power of the purse, meaning Congress can fund  or not fund  whatever it so chooses for whatever reason. If Congresss decision to defund a specific group is a punishment, then Congress would be guilty of violating the Constitution any time it reduced funding for any entity in any budget bill.

Clearly, such a proposition is ludicrous on its face. Planned Parenthood has no constitutional right to anyones tax dollars. Period.

Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution, enumerating Congresss powers, states, No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.

This clear constitutional provision was given no mention in Talwanis 58-pages of legal sophistry. Instead, the judge decided she could single-handedly order the government to disburse money from the treasury in violation of the law.

James Madison, the architect of our Constitution, wrote in Federalist No. 58 that [Congress] power over the purse may, in fact, be regarded as the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people, for obtaining a redress of every grievance, and for carrying into effect every just and salutary measure.

Congress could, in theory, defund the entire judicial branch, the whole Medicaid program, or the military if it wanted to. So, a single federal judge overruling the explicit will of Congress on a spending decision is nothing short of absurd.

In Federalist No. 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote that the judiciary would be the least dangerous to the political rights of the Constitution because it will be least in a capacity to annoy or injure them.

The judiciary  has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever, he wrote.

Talwani, however, has seized the legislative power of the purse for herself.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has already appealed the judges July 21 order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and will likely appeal this one too.

The First Circuit, or, if necessary, the U.S. Supreme Court, should immediately reverse Judge Talwanis preliminary injunction.

Every additional day the Trump administration is forced by an unelected, unaccountable judge to violate the Constitution, and a duly enacted law passed by Congress and signed by the president, is a loss for the American people and the rule of law.
Home Opinion The ERLC's future after Brent Leatherwood's resignation

Yesterday, July 31, Brent Leatherwood submitted his resignation as president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, bringing to an end nearly a decade-long relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention entity. Leatherwood served from 2017 to 2021 as director of strategic relationships and from 2021 onward, first as acting and then permanent president.

Brent Leatherwood was called to serve Southern Baptists during a turbulent and divisive time. Scott Foshee, ERLC Board Chairman, in accepting Leatherwoods resignation, noted, While biblical values have been under attack, Brent has been a consistent and faithful missionary to the public square. We are thankful for his commitment to the Lord and to this Commission.

Leatherwood responded by thanking Southern Baptists for having had the opportunity to serve at such a time as this. Stating, I believe gratitude is at the heart of conservatism, Leatherwood said. I will always be thankful for the opportunity provided for me by our churches  for the support they have offered and the resources they have sacrificially given to this entity.

He assumed leadership of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (the public policy entity of Southern Baptists) in the midst of the vortex of controversy left in the wake of Russell Moores exit as head of the entity in 2021 after eight years of service.

At the last Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas this June, attempts were made to defund the ERLC. Although the motion to defund failed, the fact that 42.84% of the messengers or voters voted for defunding caused concern among some of the Commissions supporters.

Although Leatherwood has chosen to resign, it is important that the ERLCs ministry of applying biblical truth to the sins and evils of society continue. The Commissions call for Southern Baptists and other people of faith to bring their faith convictions to bear as salt and light in society is tremendously important for the spiritual welfare of American society.

Consequently, although Leatherwoods tenure has now come to an end, it is important that the work of this Commission go forward. It would be tragic if the Convention were to abolish the ERLC precisely when it has more opportunity to make a difference on U.S. government policies than it has had in its entire previous history. There are more legislators and members of the administration who are receptive to positions espoused by the ERLC on behalf of the Convention than ever before in the Commissions century-long history.

I believe that God, in His providence, has been preparing someone for many years to be the next president of the ERLC. We need to be in prayer that God will convict that person that the ERLC is his next ministry assignment and that the ERLC search committee will be led to him in due order.

As we pray for the man God has prepared to be the next ERLC president, let us keep Brent Leatherwoods leadership style, as described by Trustee Eric Costanzo, in mind as we envision his successor:

In each of his roles at the ERLC, including as president, Brent has equipped believers to think and act biblically in the public square. Brent has a great mind for speaking into and shaping policy that honors the Lord and demands dignity for all people who are made in His image. In a time when the nature of this work comes with stiff opposition and countless challenges, Brent has demonstrated integrity and has remained a faithful leader for this valuable entity.

When I was informed of Brents resignation, I responded with the following statement:

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and Southern Baptists owe a great debt of gratitude to Brent Leatherwood who accepted leadership at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission during a time of turmoil and crisis. He worked tirelessly to restore the Southern Baptists confidence in the ERLC during his tenure of leadership. I know from experience that being the head of the ERLC in many ways makes you a lightning rod for criticism from many different directions as you deal with a plethora of controversial issues. Brent served with grace and integrity and Southern Baptists should join me in being grateful for his leadership and ministry.
Home News Victim of UK Pakistani grooming gang imprisoned while rapists walk free without charge

Editor's note: This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse that some readers might find disturbing.

An abuse survivor who was sexually assaulted by hundreds of Pakistani men from the age of 14 onwards recounted how British authorities blamed her for her own exploitation instead of arresting and prosecuting those who raped her.

The grooming gang survivor identified as "Jade" detailed her experiences alongside former detective constable-turned-whistleblower and advocate, Maggie Oliver, during a Sunday episode of the "Triggernometry" podcast hosted by Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster.

Oliver had resigned from the Greater Manchester Police in late 2012, citing the departments mishandling of the Rochdale child sex abuse ring and prejudice toward victims like Jade.

Now in her 30s, Jade opened up about the abuse she endured at the hands of grooming gangs in the Buckinghamshire area, primarily by Pakistani men. The men would usually assault her at what they termed "house parties" after getting her drunk, according to Jade.

During the interview, Jade recounted how hundreds of men abused her after she left her mothers home to live with her father, who was a drug addict. Jade initially wanted to live with her dad because her mother was in a relationship with a man she didnt like.

When she was 14, Jades father took her along with him to a drug deal, and that's where she met her abuser.

And then it just went from there, the survivor recounted. He would pick me up; itd be all fun and games at first. I'll buy cigarettes; I'll take you to school, I'll pick you up from school. I will buy you alcohol. So, lets go to a house party.

At the time, Jade craved affection, especially after she stopped living with her father. Still only 14, she called social services and said she no longer wanted to live with her father and was subsequently placed into a "care home" in 2008.

Oliver explained that children living in a care home cannot be hugged or consoled when they're crying or upset to ensure that the workers avoid any accusations of abuse.

Although she was in a care home, Jade continued to be abused by the men in the grooming gang who would threaten to kill her father if she didn't provide them with sex.

During a house party in 2008, Jade and one of her friends were sexually assaulted. One of the predators bullied Jades friend into dropping the charges, according to the survivor. Jades charges were also dropped due to insufficient evidence, and the friend later went to jail for reportedly lying to the court about having been abused.

That same year that the assault occurred, a social worker took Jade to a McDonald's and asked her if she was prostituting herself for drugs and alcohol. The social workers question, combined with the polices skepticism, made Jade reluctant to seek help.

When you go to the police and they don't believe you, and then social services blame you for being a prostitute, you start believing that yourself, she said. So, even though you're out there being abused and you know what you're going through ain't right, when nobody believes you, you don't cry out for help that much anymore.

You just hold, she said. Ive held it.

For years, Jade has had to silently endure the trauma of the memory of several men taking turns assaulting her while she was intoxicated. She felt no one would believe her, so she decided not to tell anyone about the assault.

There was a time I woke up in McDonalds, not in my clothes, knickers inside out, upside down, and in my friends clothes, Jade recalled. I found my friend in a house in a bath wearing my clothes.

The abuse victim has no idea how she ended up at McDonalds and in someone elses clothes.

So, it makes you think, who dressed me? Who undressed me? That's how drunk they get you, Jade said.

When law enforcement did get involved, it wasn't to charge the men who had abused Jade. At 16, Jade was charged with inciting sexual activity with four adult men after authorities found her at one of the grooming gang's house parties.

Jade was sentenced to two years in prison. She was imprisoned for 14 months and placed on the sex offenders register. The abuse victim spent her 18th birthday in prison and missed her aunts funeral. Due to her classification as a sex offender, Jade cannot even go on school trips with her children.

I lost a whole lot of my life, she said, crying. I lost my childhood, obviously, due to the abuse and then being in jail.

Oliver, who founded the Maggie Oliver Foundation in 2019, a charity dedicated to helping survivors of sexual abuse find healing, explained that child rapists and predators target vulnerable people like Jade.

You know, my journey of the past 20 years, I've lost count of the number of children like Jade who I have spoken to and that we in the foundation have tried to support, Oliver said. And what it shows is that this was not a mistake.

This is systemic neglect of vulnerable children who have nobody fighting their corner."

Jade signed up for the foundation two years ago, where she participated in trauma-focused workshops and received emotional support through weekly phone calls. In addition to uplifting survivors like Jade, Oliver is working to ensure other victims don't experience what she did.

Oliver also touched on the role that the abusers ethnic background appears to play in the reluctance of the government and authorities to address the problem of grooming gangs.

When I first started speaking out, its true that the vast majority of the abusers in these gangs are Pakistani Muslim men, the former detective said. Those who are not are still Muslim, but they can be Afghanistani or Iranian or from Iraq.

These abusers are considered to be part of an underclass within their own countries, according to Oliver, and these men feel as if theyre entitled to sexually assault children.

So, we have to open up those conversations, Oliver asserted. But if people come to this country, the laws of this country are what we live by, and we cannot avoid the difficult conversations.
Home News Hamas: No ceasefire talks until Gaza hunger ends; Trump again calls Hamas to surrender, release hostages

The terrorist organization Hamas cut off communications with the mediators this week, stating that negotiations would resume only after the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is resolved

In a statement, Hamas affirmed its willingness to resume negotiations immediately once aid reaches those who deserve it, and the humanitarian crisis and hunger in Gaza come to an end.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Trump Donald Trump again sharpened his tone toward the terror group, writing on X: The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!

Earlier this week, Trump edged toward public criticism of Israel when he said the country had responsibility for the situation in Gaza, noting that the images emerging from the enclave cant be faked.

However, he has consistently blamed Hamas for the absence of a new ceasefire agreement.

A senior Israeli official told reporters on Thursday that there had been a breakdown in contacts with Hamas negotiators, despite discussions continuing throughout the week following the withdrawal of Israeli and U.S. negotiation teams from Qatar, where the talks had been taking place.

Hamas has cut off communication.  There is no one to talk to on the other side. This is also [White House special envoy Steve] Witkoffs understanding, said the official.

Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee had a very productive meeting with Netanyahu regarding delivering food and aid to Gaza.

President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart, and that's why he sent special envoy Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis, Leavitt said on Thursday.

In light of Hamas continued refusal to sign the proposed partial ceasefire agreement  which called for a two-month truce in exchange for the release of roughly half of the remaining living hostages and several bodies  the U.S. and Israel are reportedly considering a shift in their approach.

A senior political official told Israeli news outlets, An understanding is emerging between Israel and the United States that, in light of Hamas's refusal, the approach must shift  from a framework for releasing some of the hostages to a framework for releasing all the hostages, dismantling Hamas's military capabilities, and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip.

There will be no more partial deals, the official was quoted as saying. At the same time, Israel and the U.S. will work to increase humanitarian aid, while continuing the fighting in Gaza.

This marks a shift in Israels approach to an agreement, as Netanyahu has consistently stressed he would not sign a final agreement to end the war without the total removal of Hamas from power in Gaza.

Channel 12 News reported that Israel maintains several red lines it refuses to compromise on under any agreement.

This reportedly includes a maximum of 500 aid trucks entering Gaza per day; the requirement that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation continue its operations; a refusal to release Hamas terrorists who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre; and maintaining an IDF presence in a perimeter of up to 800 meters (about half a mile) and up to 1,200 meters (one-quarter mile) in some areas, along the Gaza border.

This article was originally published by All Israel News.
Home News Pro-life activist jailed for praying silently outside Michigan abortion clinic appeals to Supreme Court

A pro-life activist who has been convicted and sentenced to 90 days in jail for silently praying in a public area near a Michigan abortion facility is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his case.

Matthew Connolly, 42, was convicted with violating a vague ordinance in the city of Southfield that criminalizes behaviors causing annoyance or disquiet in public spaces, according to attorneys with religious liberty firm Advocates for Faith & Freedom.

According to a petition filed July 28, Connolly never entered the abortion clinic, raised his voice or disrupted any activity. Described by law enforcement as peaceful, he was arrested while kneeling in prayer in a public common area, attorneys said. After refusing a probation condition that would bar him from engaging in pro-life speech within 500 feet of any abortion facility nationwide  which attorneys argued could potentially restrict access to medical care at hospitals offering abortions  Connolly was jailed and fined.

Advocates for Faith & Freedom, alongside the American Freedom Law Center, filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, seeking to overturn what they call an unconstitutional gag order on pro-life speech.

This case is not just about Mr. Connolly, said attorney Erin Mersino of Advocates for Faith & Freedom. It is about whether the government can silence pro-life Americans and criminalize public prayer. If this unconstitutional gag order is allowed to stand, then no ones speech is safe.

The petition challenges the ordinances subjective standard, which attorneys argue chills free expression and invites arbitrary enforcement.

We are asking the United States Supreme Court to do what the Constitution already demands  protect the right of Americans, especially those who advocate for the sanctity of life, to speak freely, assemble peacefully, and pray publicly, Mersino added.

Calling it a pivotal moment for religious liberty and free speech, Mersino warned the case could have far-reaching legal implications.

If prayer can be prosecuted, preaching can be banned, she said. Silence now will only embolden government suppression of faith-based expression.

In March 2023, Connolly and three others were booked in Oakland County Jail for their participation in the Red Rose Rescue gathering outside the Southfield abortion clinic. Connolly and one other individual were convicted of trespassing, obstructing/resisting a police officer and disorderly conduct.

In total, six people were detained by police and went limp when they were told they were under arrest, requiring police to use wheelchairs to transport them to police cars, reports The Oakland Press.

This case follows prior legal troubles for Connolly.

In August 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against him for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act at a Planned Parenthood in Philadelphia. Connolly allegedly barricaded himself in a restroom for over three hours, prompting a SWAT team response and the clinics evacuation.

The action, linked to the pro-life group Red Rose Rescue, led to the rescheduling of at least 44 appointments. Prosecutors claimed Connolly was engaged in conduct calculated to shut down a reproductive health clinic for an entire day.

Connollys legal history includes at least eight arrests across four states for charges like trespassing and resisting arrest, with four convictions. He joined the Franciscan Brothers of Peace in St. Paul in 2009, but did not take final vows, according to the Catholic Review.
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The headline read: Whats Going On over There? Previously, the place in question had been known as the Cook Ranch. Now it was Cerro Pelon (Bald Hill) Ranch; in 1999, the grounds vegetation was razed in a pyrotechnics fire during the filming of Wild Wild West. For years, this settinga gigantic expanse in New Mexicos Galisteo Basin, abutting the tiny village of Galisteohad hosted movie crews making one kind of western or another. Then, in 2001, Tom Ford, the fashion designer, bought the property. These layers of recent history are connected with older ones in print by an art writer and curator named Lucy Lippard, who, for nearly thirty years, has been running a local newspaper called El Puente de Galisteo. The Whats Going On over There? article, from 2004, covered plans for Fords ranch, as well as apprehensions about water use, aesthetics, and fertilizer. Lippard reported that low volume mist would water a soft layer of Australian clover meant to harbor beneficial insects. Fords fondness for black is a plus here, she wrote, in that the irrigation riserswhich are usually white and stand out like sore thumbswill all be black. Finally, she noted, the only fertilizer is compost. Lippard printed the ranch managers phone number in El Puente, encouraging residents to see for ourselves whats going on.

Lippard, at eighty-eight, is one of the best-known multi-hyphenate art writers (-curators-critics-activists) of the past half century. Her career has focused on the large realms of feminism, activism, place, politics, and culture. She has also, in recent editions of El Puente, noted two recent road kills: a deer and a racoon, summarized local meetings about road signage, and edited an obituary, her name appearing not as a byline, but at the bottom corner of the newsletters final page, near the classifieds, some of which have continued to run unchanged since the mid-nineties, when El Puente began. El Puente, which Lippard often refers to as a newsletter (Whats the difference? she asked me), is an extraordinary (mostly solo) work of journalism, a map of history in progress, revealing a shifting landscape.

Galisteo, about thirty minutes south of Sante Fe, is an old, small village, composed of about two hundred and fifty people. Anna Cardenaswhose family has been in Galisteo for at least five generations, and who was once the author of El Puentes Dichos y Cuentos column, printed in Spanish has been a witness to much change, over the years. She remembers getting the bus to school at Saddleback Ranch, which is now Modern Elder Academy: the worlds first midlife wisdom school, run by Chip Conley, formerly Airbnbs head of global hospitality and strategy. Life here was pretty simple, Cardenas recalled. Artists from elsewhere started showing up in the seventiesAgnes Martin, Bruce Nauman, Fritz Scholderand in the eighties, a boom of newcomers arrived to the area, building houses. Property taxes spiked. Cardenass father and brothers, all in the construction business, lost work as cheap labor proliferated. As Cardenas and others remember it, many of the locals sold their houses or moved into mobile homes.

An apocryphal story about Lippards arrival in Galisteo revolves around visiting to see Halleys Comet, but that was a different year than Lippards first time out, and anyway, when she looked up she thought the comet was sort of underwhelming, she told me. She was more excited by the petroglyphs. Her house, which is off the grid, she used to power occasionally via her car; it sits across the bridge for which El Puente is named. The main room is painted banana-yellow and contains a lofted bed that she climbs a ladder into each night. On her coffee table, made by the artist Sol LeWitt, a friend, a thick crust of books rises. (LeWitt often complained the table was so covered with Lippards reading material that his handiwork was rendered invisible.) Lippardwho has gray hair and humored, flashing eyescasually uses phrases such as who gives a sweet hot damn and, describing herself, thick skin. But she is also markedly curious, listening until she suddenly becomes volubly, generously plainspoken. When I visited, she sat in her fathers old La-Z-Boy, near which her dogs crate served as a makeshift desk. Im ridiculously proud of living like a teenage boy, she has written.

Carolyn Graham, the editor of the Santa Fe New Mexicans weekly arts and culture magazine Pasatiempo, argues that living in a community such as Galisteo, or even Santa Fe, involves a sense of isolation. We need each other, more than you do in a big city like LA or New York, she told me. You need your neighbors. Were these small towns. We need to know, like, what the weather is going to be. If theres something coming that we need to know about. Of El Puente, she said, Its like, who lost their dog, or whos got a building permit going. You need help getting a rattlesnake off your property? I know this guy over here who does that. The answers to these questions are vital: news you can use.

Lippard, as El Puentes proprietor, has come to be viewedby both longtime Galisteans and million-dollar homebuyersas providing a kind of public utility in their hometown, built from a sense of local need and sponsored by whoever decides to throw some support the papers way. (Nauman gave the biggest donation Ive ever had for the newsletter, Lippard told me. It was kind of by mistake: He gave five hundred, and then the check didnt seem to be coming, so he gave another.) Alex Finlayson, who recently started working as El Puentes stringer, calls the paper a ribbon that binds this community. Stella Maestas, an old-time Galistean, said, of Lippard, she is one of ours.

Lucy does it all, Jean Anaya Moya, the chief of the Galisteo Volunteer Fire and Rescue, said, of El Puente. She writes it, she edits it, she folds them and puts them in the envelope and puts the stamp on them and mails them, she told me. In a small community, theres a lot of us that are tasked with a lot of responsibilities here to make this community work. We have a community association, water boards, the fire department, the art studio tour. Theres a lot of jobs that need to be done, and not a lot of people willing to do those jobs.

When Lippard moved to Galisteo, she was almost in her sixties. As a kid, her parents called her an antisnob snob. She worked at the MoMA, and later, the Village Voicetrying, she wrote, to punch holes in my art-centered specialization as I try to be accessible to a much larger audienceuntil she left abruptly, with some acrimony, in 1985. In a piece from the time, she railed against her editor, and the liberal assumption that significant questions and analyses can only be made from a so-called neutral and objective middle ground, that anything to the left of that particular position is unsophisticated (read uneducated, with class implications) or rhetorical (read a little too clear, and potentially dangerous). She later published a column called The Snipers Nest at Z Magazine and contributed to In These Times. She also cofounded Printed Matter, the artist-book collective, as well as the Heresies Collective, a group of feminist artists who put out an art journal by the same name. She curated major exhibits, guest-lectured, protested, wrote reams. She spent a period in Colorado. Her latest book, Stuff: Instead of a Memoir, quotes John Berger: the past is not for living in. It is a well of conclusions from which we draw in order to act. She calls El Puente her great love.

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Ive always worked with community and activist stuff, Lippard told me. I couldnt figure out how to do the kind of thing, you know, yelling and screaming in the streets and wheatpasting and so forth that Id been doing in New York and Boulder, Colorado. And so I thought: a newsletter. Maria Ortiz y Pino, a Galisteo old-timer who with discernible relish called El Puente a good little ragemphasis, I took it, on the ragrecalled the early days of Lippards reporting. All of a sudden this lady from wherever she was from was starting to ask a lot of questions, she said. Ortiz y Pino was skeptical. Ive been around long enough, she thought. I know people who know more than she does. I really dont have to read it if I dont want to. The paper was originally called La Puente, the more New Mexicanas opposed to Spanishversion of its name. We got some calls, Lippard wrote in the inaugural issue (word had already, apparently, gotten out, even before the paper was published). If you think we made the wrong choice, let us know. The next issue, then, featured an immediate follow-up: As you see, weve bowed to popular opinion and restored EL PUENTE to popular Spanish, Lippard wrote. We have also made the type larger and tried to lighten up a little, as requested.

Early issues were slim, wild, vibrant with guest opinions, and heavy on local lore. A column titled Here Then/Aqui Antes spotlighted old-timer Mela Montoyas memories of tiny snakes, thin like a pencil, called pichiquates, and a diphtheria epidemic that killed numerous children she knew. A photo announced an astounding find: a large ammonite fossil from between sixty-five and a hundred million years earlier. A caption noted the presidential award given to Agnes Martin, accompanied by a Romona Scholder, who seems to be keeping her distance from Bill [Clinton], while Agnes looks none too happy! Lippard examined the cadial, a large cocklebur pasture on the edge of the village with a tangled history of common and private use. A llama was stolen. A New Age institute sold, for years, in the classifieds, edible flowers and rented VHS tapes. Rebecca Solnit, passing through, became addicted to the tamales made by Josephine Anaya. Threatsmany, seriousseemed to close in. No blood for oil in Iraq, no beauty for oil in the Galisteo Basin, read a sign held in Lippards hands, in a photo of several female Galisteans at an anti-drilling march in Santa Fe. Five species of woodpecker were elucidated.

The coverage reflected Grahams observation about the practical aspects of what it means to make news in New Mexicokeeping an eye on the weather, on the water, on fires, and on the acequia system (the specific and precious communal ditch system by which New Mexicos surface water rights operate)as well as a need to connect the present to that which came before. This is a place where the immediate, the very-very-hyper-hyper-local, as Graham put it, can signal major stories, shifts. In late March, we had almost three days without water, courtesy of a difficult leak, Lippard reported in an April 2024 El Puente, plus three days (and counting) without Internet, courtesy of CenturyLink. Living in rural New Mexico aint always easy. Here, a piece of rock art tells a story, a rodent can destroy a vehicle and thereby your way of getting to a grocery store in winter, a knot in a rope signals an imminent revolt, a dried-up creek points to invasive, thirsty Russian olives and a fire waiting to happen. But whatever the first impression of these vast spaces, Lippard wrote in her book Pueblo Chico, about Galisteo, this is in no sense a timeless landscape. It is a landscape of many times thatonce the history becomes knowncan be experienced almost simultaneously.

An article on the bone-dry Rio Galisteo notes that a green team may need to be assembled in order to lop back thirsty Russian olives, but also that Charles and Anne Lindbergh, flying over Galisteo in the 1920s, took aerial photos that show a treeless arroyo, and that in the 1950s, a Galisteans mother-in-law planted sediment-accruing cottonwoods. All of this history relates to the disappearance of water from the ojitos, the springs, a common anxiety addressed by Lippard in El Puente. In a way, the paper is the New Mexicovillage version of Lippards long-held idea, from when she lived in the loft scene in New York City, to make an artwork consisting of a pile of maps on transparent acrylic sheets showing the trajectories of a large number of artists from one loft and neighborhood to another, detailing her or his partners, jobs, gallery affiliations, best art pals, and so forth, in order to display the subterranean networks that often determined aesthetic influences, careers, politics, and love lives. Replace artists, maybe, with water, cottonwoods, old families, Russian olives, deep time, state politics. The point of such a projectif art can be spoken about in such termsis the same as that of any news outlet: to keep track of real life. Then again, it may be a stretch to call El Puente an art project; after all, that framing perpetuates an idea shes spent a good deal of her career working against, that art and information are oppositional, and that the former belongs in an airy and impenetrable world.

Like Lippard, El Puente might be better understood as a force, in Finlaysons words. Finlayson added later, I believe El Puente is propelled by Lucys need to know Galisteo and to make sense of a very complicated place. In the end, the newsletter may belong more to her insatiable curiosity than it does to us. I cant imagine it without her.

Succession is not an uncommon problem for local news editors and publishers. Lippard may be particularly uninterested in modernizing business strategies, applying for grants, developing a newsroomnor is that necessarily what suits Galisteo. El Puente is primarily a print operation (Cardenas told me that she holds on to old copies: Weve got so many newsletters in our house that weve started putting it in a notebook, she said), though the archives are now, mostly, available online, with a tool that tells visitors how to search. For years, the kind disregard of the local postman enabled Lippard to illegally deliver print issues to all of the village mailboxes, until those mailboxes were replaced by a monolithic bank of lockboxes, to which El Puente is delivered, and, more expensively, by the USPS.

Finlayson, who debuted as a stringer in 2024, is seventy-three. She had been a playwright, and first drove into the Galisteo Basin a few years ago while she and her husband, Steve, were visiting their son, who lives across the highway, in the town of Lamy. I tried to google Galisteo, but there was no phone service, she recalled. She has, she told me, maybe the perfect background for El Puente. Drama, dark humor, lost causes, failure, humility, a nose for newsand as a stringer, Im almost anonymous.

Each month, she goes to Lippard with story ideas that get green-lit, or not. If its a personal piecesuch as one she wrote on native grassesFinlayson gets a byline. If its straight reportage, she doesnt, and Lippard edits the story down. Finlaysons first story was a piece on the vultures that swoop down on Galisteo nearly on the same late-March day every year, most recently roosting in Romona Scholders trees. (While vultures are quiet birds, their routine behavior includes projectile vomiting up to 10 [feet] if a bird is frightened; peeing and defecating down their legs to keep themselves cool; and streams of toxic white liquid scat which you can see on the wall beneath the roost. None of this bothers Romona.) People were appreciative, Finlayson said. She thanked Lippard, who immediately deflected and said something like It helps that you live next door. Ones ego always stays in check with Lucy.

That is Lippards way: even with her own pieces, she is occasionally an editorial voice (your editor), but it can be easy enough to forget, reading, that she is behind El Puente at all. My writing is often called reductivenot a compliment, she wrote once, in an essay subtitled Notes from the Radical Whirlwind. Yet reduction, or distillation, of complex ideas to forthright and accessible sentences is my deliberate intention as a writer. Who else would devote an article to Tom Fords sprinkler system, instead of the secondhand spray of his fame?

Some of that may be attributable to awareness of her own presence as a person who came from elsewhere. A century ago, one of the largest grazing empires in New Mexico, owned by Don Jose Ortiz y Pino, was headquartered in Galisteo, Lippard writes in Pueblo Chico. It was a company town. Today, she told me, Galisteo is basically run by Anglos. Lippard came just on the cusp of the gentrification, she said. I mean, thered been Anglos here before, but they didnt rule the place. A water hookup now costs ten thousand dollars. Moya described the village to me, these days, as an aging community; she can count the number of kids growing up here on one handa far cry from her and others memories of being kids themselves, playing all day in the bosque. On the brown historic plaque at the center of town, whose first line reads Spanish explorers found several Tano-speaking pueblos in the Galisteo Basin in 1540, someone has put quotation marks around found and offered, above it, LOL.

So Lippard fills El Puente with traces of people who have come and gone, impassioned editorials, reminders about birthday parties. April Fools editions, called El Arroyo, are stuffed with truly fake news. And there are corrections: a wedding anniversary was the sixty-seventh, not the fifty-seventh; Lippards highly recommended plumbers phone no. didnt make the [new Galisteo phone directory] so here it is ; a new subdivision had an illogical name (Hacienda Tranquilas) that Lippard had given as Haciendas Tranquilas, correctly according to the rules of Spanish, though also technically incorrectly according to the actual name of the subdivision. To do local journalism is, perhaps, to be of and for a community. When Lippard, the famous art world veteran, is asked by publications for a brief description of herself, she often chooses to mention her role as the editor of El Puente. She wants to leave Galisteo feet first, she has written. If I cant read and cant walk, please shoot me.
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Early this month, as soon as the news broke of Paramounts decision to pay President Donald Trumps foundation sixteen million dollars to settle a lawsuit against CBS News, the Freedom of the Press Foundation moved to take legal action. The FPF, as its known, tracks and resists government infringement on the news media. Its also a Paramount shareholder, prepared to push for those interests with corporate muscle. Trumps case, and the response of Paramounts board, immediately set off alarm bells, as the company was in the midst of pursuing an eight-billion-dollar merger with Skydance, a Hollywood studio, that required approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Theyre essentially making a handshake deal with Donald Trump, Seth Stern, the FPFs advocacy director, told me. He and the FPFs legal team believed that such a deal could be a violation of federal bribery laws. And, he noted, Shari Redstone, Paramounts controlling shareholder, stands to make two billion dollars from the merger. I would think that, regardless of what Shari has to offer the rest of the board, Stern said, the prospect of potential prosecution for bribery would be something they would think quite hard about.

Now its clear that Paramounts board has decided the risk of prosecution is well worth a multibillion-dollar payday. On Thursday, the FCC signed off on the Skydance merger, clearing a path for its completion. Americans no longer trust the legacy national news media to report fully, accurately, and fairly. It is time for a change, Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, announced, praising the deal for its commitment to unbiased journalism and assurances that discriminatory DEI policies will end. But when I spoke to Brenna Frey, a lawyer for the FPF, in the wake of the settlement announcement, she was incensed. This is an affront to the shareholders of Paramount, but its also an affront to CBSs reporters and to the First Amendment, she said.

In Sterns view, Paramounts willingness to settle had been a calculated surrender. The premise of Trumps lawsuitthat 60 Minutes editing of an interview with Kamala Harris last fall represented fraudulent interference with an electionwas unlikely to hold up to legal scrutiny. The lawsuit was laughable, David Snyder, the executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said. What they were trying to attack here was CBS Newss choices about how they edited footage from an interview. That sort of editorial judgment is at the core of First Amendment protections, generally, but especially if its about public figures right in the middle of an election.

But as a shareholder, the FPF had a right to do something about it. Back in June, the organization engaged Abbe David Lowell and Norm Eisen, both prominent litigators, as well as Frey, who had quit her previous firm, Skadden, over its offer of a hundred million dollars in pro bono work to Trumps foundation. (In announcing her resignation, Frey had described that deal as a capitulation to the Trump administrations demands for fealty and protection money.) Two days after the settlement was announced, the organization sent a letter to Paramount demanding that its board provide records relevant to the decision. Examining those records was a first step in putting together a shareholder derivative lawsuit, a mechanism of corporate law that allows the rank-and-file shareholders in a public company to recover damages caused by directors for making decisions that violate their fiduciary responsibilities. In their inspection request, the FPFs lawyers suggested that Paramounts board had breached those responsibilities by facilitating an illegal bribe.

That leaves the Paramount-Skydance deal, which is expected to wrap up soon and deliver an almost twofold premium on the current trading price of each Paramount share, subject to legal objection by members of its board. Its not open-and-shut: Stern told me that building a case that the settlement actually damages the companys bottom line would require the FPF to demonstrate that the board knowingly violated the law. But there is at least one precedent.

In 2023, Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems 787.5 million dollars because the network had falsely claimed that Dominion software switched votes in the 2020 election from Trump to Joe Biden; afterward, some Fox shareholders sued Rupert Murdoch and the rest of the companys board. That suit is still working its way through Delawares court system, where the FPFs suit against Paramount would also be filed.

Scholars in corporate law are skeptical that either suit will be successful. Theres been nothing like this before, Ann Lipton, a law professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, said. It is a very difficult claim to bring in the first place, but also I dont think a Delaware court is going to want to step into the middle of this, politically. Complicating matters further are some major changes to Delawares corporate legal code that went into effect this spring and limit the scope of the board records that shareholders are able to obtain.

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Nevertheless, the FPF is displaying admirable creativity in putting legal pressure on Paramount. If anybody has the resources to fight back against these kind of frivolous claims, these companies are it, Synder said. Instead, theyve chosen to make a craven capitulation to a president willing to abuse his power. As a result, Trump has been emboldened to assail press freedom like never before. Last week, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump contributed a lewd sketch and cryptic message to a book of birthday notes to Jeffrey Epstein, he followed up with a defamation lawsuit, writing on Truth Social, President Trump has already beaten George Stephanopoulos/ABC, 60 Minutes/CBS, and others, and looks forward to suing and holding accountable the once great Wall Street Journal. Can corporate law provide an unlikely means of protecting the independent press? The FPF seems to think that the stakes are high enough that its worth a try.

In legal circles, derivative suits are notoriously thorny. Thats because they contain a counterintuitive allegation: that a corporations board of directors has knowingly acted in a way that harms the financial prospects of the company each of them holds a large personal stake in. Another distinction of these suits is that the individual stockholders who file them are not seeking damages theyll receive directly, but rather asking a court to award money from the directors to the company itself. Jennifer Arlen, a legal scholar at New York University, explains it like this: an individual stockholder (such as the FPF) sues the company to get the company to sue the board.

There have been successful suits of this sort filed against Blue Bell Creameries (over a 2015 listeria outbreak tied to its ice cream) and Boeing (in response to the disastrous debut of its 737 Max aircraft, which led to deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019). Blue Bells board of directors was forced to pay back sixty million dollars to the company; Boeings board returned 237.5 million dollars to the corporation, the largest-ever payout of its kind. Successful derivative suits like these must show that a boards decision to intentionally ignore or skirt regulations led to a mission critical failure.

Such failures are obvious enough when they take the form of ice cream poisoning consumers or airplanes falling out of the sky, but what it looks like for a media company is more challenging to define. The legal system generally gives media companies wide latitude to operate under the First Amendment, so it takes a rare case like a successful defamation suit for a court to find that a networks reporting may have led to a mission critical failure. Last year, a judge in Delaware did exactly that in denying Foxs motion to dismiss the derivative suit it is facing. In the ruling, he sided with the plaintiffs argument that Murdoch and the rest of the companys board consciously broke the law by facilitating the defamation of Dominion.

The Fox case is still a long way from being resolved: in April, both sides began a discovery process meant to uncover the extent of the relationship between one of Foxs directors, Jacques Nasser, and the Murdoch family. If the court finds that Nasser was not compromised by his relationship with Murdoch, the case will likely be dismissed; otherwise, the company will probably seek a settlement. These cases dont go to trial, Arlen explained. Thats because damages ordered by a court arent covered by corporate liability insurance, while settlement payments are.

For the FPF, it may prove challenging to bring the same sort of case against Paramount that Fox News has now been fighting for two years. In part, this is because the FPF needs to establish clear documentation of wrongdoing. The plaintiffs in the Fox case made their complaint based on information that became public during the Dominion lawsuit. The FPF currently has much less information to go on. Some members of Paramounts board were concerned that settling with Trump could lead to criminal bribery charges, as reported by the Wall Street Journal and New York Postbut the FPF will almost certainly need evidence of those deliberations. The only way to get that is through the inspection request the FPF submitted to Paramount shortly after the Trump settlement.

Unfortunately, the scope of what the organization will be able to access was limited by the recent changes to Delaware law. Whereas it was previously feasible to obtain communications between directors in certain circumstances, that now appears almost impossible. You can still get board-meeting minutes, but thats not going to be useful at all, Christina Sautter, a law professor at Southern Methodist University, told me. Its hardly the kind of material thats liable to produce a smoking gun.

Timing is also a concern. The clock began ticking on the FPFs ability to even bring a suit against Paramount the moment the FCC approved the mergerand once the two companies officially become one, the window for litigation will close. They arent going to be stockholders of Paramount anymore, and that means they will not have the right to bring claims, Lipton, the UC Boulder scholar, said. Though the FPFs shares in Paramount will convert into shares of the combined Skydance-Paramount, decisions made by the predecessor firms board will have no bearing on the new entity. The only option, Lipton said, is to get an injunction to delay the mergerbut its hard to imagine a judge granting it.

I dont think any Delaware court at any time would have wanted to walk into the politics of this, and then you put on top of it that youre catching Delaware at this really particularly vulnerable moment, Lipton said. She highlighted how the recent changes to the states corporate code were made as a conciliatory gesture toward companies like Tesla, Meta, and Dropbox that have threatened to reincorporate elsewhere.

All of this adds up to a formidable challenge for the FPF, to put it mildly. Its lawsuit against Paramount is an attempt to win a free-speech argument in a courtroom where the First Amendment is simply not relevant. Its like trying to put a square peg in a round hole, Lipton said. As other regulatory avenues fall away, people increasingly turn to corporate law to bear that weight. It often seems like the only system that worksbut it wasnt designed to work like this.

When I asked Arlen if shareholder derivative suits represent a plausible path toward forcing media conglomerates to abide by basic editorial and journalistic standards, she was much more blunt in her assessment: No.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation is only able to consider a long-shot lawsuit in the first place because broadcast news networks are all owned by a handful of publicly traded conglomerates. CBS News is a minuscule component of Paramounts overall portfolio; the same goes for ABC News, which is part of Disney. (Disney made a similar deal as Paramount late last year, when the company agreed to pay fifteen million dollars to Trumps foundation, plus another million to Trumps lawyer, to settle a lawsuit over the way ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos described Trumps sexual assault of E. Jean Carroll.)

But smaller news outlets have refused to kowtow to Trump. The Des Moines Register is currently fighting a lawsuit Trump filed over an outlier poll the paper conducted in November. After six months of legal jockeyingduring which the presidents lawyers tried to force the litigation into a state court rather than a federal onethe paper has remained resolute. Last month, Lark-Marie Anton, a Register spokesperson, said the paper will continue to resist President Trumps litigation gamesmanship and believes that regardless of the forum it will be successful in defending its rights under the First Amendment.

Compare that statement with how George Cheeks, the co-CEO of Paramount, justified the settlement with Trump. In a call with shareholders, he said that their situation was no different from any other litigation that management might face, and that a negotiation resolution would allow them to focus on their core objectives rather than being mired in uncertainty and distraction.

Paramount evidently viewed Trumps suit as a business dispute. With a business dispute, Snyder noted, a settlement often makes sense, because business disputes are often about money, and really not much more than money. Battling constitutional threats, unfortunately, loses money.

Corporate consolidation has clearly compromised the editorial operations of CBS and ABC, much to the dismay of the journalists who work at each network. At the same time, other TV outlets are in the process of regaining some independence. Much of Comcasts cable portfolio, including MSNBC and CNBC, will be spun off into a new company called Versant by the end of 2025. Those networks generated around seven billion dollars in revenue last year, but they still represented only about 5 percent of Comcasts overall business. Should MSNBC face an extortionate lawsuit from Trump in the future, a smaller, media-oriented company would be much more likely to follow the Des Moines Registers example than that of Paramount.

Still, if the FPF ultimately sues, and if it is improbably successful in delaying or blocking Paramounts merger with Skydance, the action will serve as a warning to indifferent executives of media companies that, as Stern puts it, authoritarianism is bad for business. At the very least, the FPFs legal pressure is drawing attention to Paramounts disregard for the journalists it employs. People cant trust a news outlet that is bribing the same officials its supposed to hold accountable, Stern told me, citing the recent departure of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens and the firing of CBS News head Wendy McMahon.

Adam Rose, a former CBS employee and a stockholder in the company (which also employed his father, the longtime Southern California radio host Hilly Rose), said that the settlement has done irreparable harm to the company. One of the few things that really commands a true national audience is a 60 Minutes interview with a presidential candidate, he told me. Moving forward, do you think that this settlement will encourage the presidential candidates to actually come on? Will they trust that CBS isnt going to capitulate to their political rival?

In any other era, the well-resourced legal team at CBS News would have been empowered to demonstrate the frivolity of Trumps lawsuit in court. Instead, at perhaps the most trying time for press freedom in American history, it has become clear that corporate ownership is a serious liabilityand journalistic independence will require vigilant defense, sometimes through esoteric tactics.
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The first hundred days of Trump 2.0 brought forth more material than infinity reporters typing on infinity laptops for infinity years could possibly report. The flood the zone strategybrought to us from the mind of Steve Bannon, the MAGA media strategisthas been around since at least 2018, but now, as the New York Times put it, the flood is bigger, wider and more brutally efficient; the same article also included the phrases overwhelming sensory overload, drinking from a fire hose, and gasping in outrage. Each of these metaphors hit the news media directly, and hard. And then, on March 11, they gushed into the Signal chat of one journalist in particular.

Maybe you heard about it. But in case not: I hate to be the one to tell you that Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, joined a bunch of his colleaguesand oh, yes, also Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlanticon a group text message thread on the Signal platform about bombing Yemen. It was a whopper of a story, and a crowd-pleaser, too. It had everything: stunning levels of operational incompetence, JD Vance undermining his boss in writing, the fire emoji. Goldberg even treated readers to a description of himself sitting around in a supermarket parking lot refreshing his X feed, waiting to see if the chats plans came to fruition. (They did.) Goldberg, sensing that hed been invited unintentionally, decided not long after to leave the chat. He published a story about what happened. There were hearings; denials were issued. The memes were tremendous. It would have been funny if the thread in question werent about killing people.

The Trump administration, obviously, did everything it could to wave the whole situation away. The president claimed the debacle was no big deal because its not like a chat about whether and where to launch an air strike contains classified information. (Two days later, The Atlantic published a follow-up that included, among other revelations, screengrabs from the chat containing information about the precise times American planes were set to descend on Yemen.) The Atlantics reporting rendered Trumps defense of the chats existence and contents ridiculous. But what does that matter to this White House?

The absurdity of the response made sense to Margaret Sullivanthe executive director of Columbias Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security, who also writes for The Guardian and her Substack American Crisis. It doesnt surprise me at all that the reaction from the Trump administration has been to go on the attack and to criticize Goldberg and to say that hes sleazy and a bad journalist and all of that, she said. Because thats what they do. Goldberg was a model of caution and good judgment, as she put it in her column. She told me, There are certainly reporters who would have not left the text loop as soon as he did. There are those who would have maybe published some of the information earlier. I think he handled it ethically.

Soon, however, there were two conversations happening at the same time: the first about the eye-popping lack of respect for norms that the Trump administration officials displayed in conducting this grim business on Signal, and a second, way quieter one, about the journalistic norms to which Goldberg and The Atlantic adhered in reporting the story. Goldbergs decision to cut bait set off a cascade of texts in other (ostensibly private) chats, as journalists asked each other, Would you have stuck around longer than Goldberg did?

Some people were brave enough to ask the question in public, too. Curious decision to voluntarily leave the chat imo, Astead Herndon, a politics reporter for the Times, posted on X. Deserves more explanation. Obviously a good story but leave feeling like what we learned feels small compared to what we couldve. Herndon didnt respond to my request to discuss his views; nearly everyone I contacted for this piece was reluctant to expound on the subject of journalistic norms, probably in the interest of protecting their own credibility. I can hardly blame themthough, in an interview with CJR this week, Ryan Lizza weighed in on the subject broadly: Trump and his allies weaponize our industrys conventions (fairness, objectivity, etc.) against us, and we need to remember that its much more important to prioritize our industrys ideals (truth, intellectual honesty, democratic accountability).

Goldberg didnt respond to my request to talk, either, but in early April, he shared his thinking with his colleague Ashley Parker, during a video conversation for Atlantic subscribers. I take national security seriously, he said, on why he left the chat when he did. A reporters responsibility in a national security contextand Im very clear about this, I know there are some people who disagree with me about this, but Im very clearIm an American journalist. I might disagree with a policy, but Im not going to do anything that could endanger the lives of American pilots or service people. Whether you found yourself more aligned with Herndons or Sullivans feelings on his actions, Goldbergs respect for convention was inarguable.

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Indeed, my friend Max Read, who has a Substack called Read Max and an accompanying podcast, discussed the Goldberg-Signal situation on a recent episode, and observed that Goldberg actually seemed to care more about national security norms than Trumps national security team did. It actually is a huge bummer to have your suspicions about the operations of power be confirmed, Read said, referring to the power of the government and the US war machine. In Reads view, we have a better shot of building a better worldin which, say, civilians might not be killed in military strikeswhere there is at least a nominal commitment to some kind of norms and legal procedure.

For all the horrors Trump 1.0 visited upon the American people, the administration at least gave the impression of caring about the basic outlines of how things typically goappearing, for instance, to be aware of the concept of term limits. Fake news implied the existence of real news. Goldberg, in his talk with Parker, underlined how weird the Trump 2.0 response to him was. Hed expected Waltz to call him up and say something along the lines of Jeff, why are you on this chat? Something. Not what happened. Goldberg contrasted Trumps cabinets baffling lack of concern with what the reaction might have been if an ordinary administration were in charge: theyd call the editor and try to talk him or her out of publishing the thing, and the editor would make the best argument for transparency. What happened here was nothing. Nothing. And that was the most surprising thing about my withdrawal from the Signal chat, he said. That is something I cant explain. In the end, something did happen: on Thursday, the news broke that Waltz was out as national security adviser, and headed to the United Nations. Even so, the new stakes for journalism had already announced themselves: Who gets to set the norms around here?

For weeks leading up to Signalgate, as we began calling it, a sense had been growing that something wasnt right. Business-as-usual journalism seemed not to be penetrating for all of those people who had consumed the news in greater numbers during Trumps first stampede through the White House. Nor did the general public seem alarmed by what has felt to some journalists like a sudden onset of increased occupational hazards: in late March, Pew released a study finding that although most Americans were tuned in to coverage of the administration, word of Trumps attacks on the press wasnt getting around. Just 36 percent of survey respondents said theyd heard a lot about the Trump administrations relationship with the news media, and nearly a fifth said theyd heard nothing at all. That represented a significant drop from Trumps first term, when 72 percent of Americans said that they had heard a lot about his administrations dealings with the press. The lack of awareness of the tensionand the way in which the White House has utterly undermined journalistic norms, from populating the briefing room with MAGA freaks to spewing lieshas made it understandably hard for both reporters and followers of news to wring information out of propaganda.

That anxiety hung in the air on a night in early February, as I listened to a string quartet play a medley of business-thriller-inspired songs that included the theme to Succession. The audience wasnt there for chamber music, exactlybut what the hell, its 2025, you dont always get what youre expecting. Wed come to drink wine out of little plastic cups and hear Gabriel Sherman, a correspondent for Vanity Fair, discuss the making of his recent movie, The Apprentice. The event, part of a series called The Night Editor, was run by two journalist friends of mine, David Gauvey Herbert and Mitch Moxley. The basic idea is to hang out and hear tales out of school from editors and writers, working mostly in magazines. Some, such as Sherman, have hopped back and forth from reporting to movies.

If you havent seen it, know that The Apprentice is a Trump biopic thats mostly concerned with the presidents early mentor-mentee relationship with Roy Cohn, the lawyer-slash-monster who wielded extraordinary political influence in his time, including by assisting Joseph McCarthys persecution of suspected communists. Sherman described him at the event as providing the link between the underworld and the legitimate world for a young Trump. Eventually, Cohn succumbed to AIDS as Trump rose to the height of his real estate power and dumped his former father figure. The movie almostalmostmakes one feel bad for Cohn. Its very Shakespearean.

Sherman spoke of his challenges trying to get The Apprentice made, as the movie ran into the buzz saw of what he perceived to be Hollywoods cowardice. He also talked about the possibilities afforded by stepping outside the confines of traditional journalistic form, even as he based the screenplay on legal documents, interviews, and historical fact. Theres no shortage of information about Donald Trump, he told the room, and yet hes not known as a human being. Listening to Sherman, it was easy to see the appeal, to a longtime reporter, of turning to Hollywood to paint a fuller picture of Trump the man. And surely, such a picture would be useful to our collective understanding of this singularly powerful person. For a fleeting moment, I could squint and see a thriving media ecosystem concerned not with exactly what happened, when, and to whom but fundamentally what happened, presented with a little artistic flourish.

The problem is that thats not journalism. Its a curious thing that in pursuit of the same goalto provide as detailed a story of Trump as possibletwo forms might have such contradictory methods, such contrasting norms. One goes outside the minute-by-minute facts to reveal a larger, more profound reality. The other is devoted to reporting factseven if that sometimes smooths over complexity or context. Im oversimplifying here, but the contrast helps define journalisms limits. Theyre limits that, say, Bannon feels free to get creative withand, when faced with an administration that flouts those rules, abiding by them can make a reporters job so much harder.

And that is what happened to the Associated Press, just days after Trump took office. Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico toIm sorry, Im sorrythe Gulf of America. The AP declined to incorporate his preferred nomenclature into its style guide. Trump responded by giving the AP the boot from the White House press pool. Real nice. The AP has since challenged that decision in court, a move that suggests an enduring faith in norms and institutions that the administration itself lacks. No, the AP seems to be saying, we havent given up yet. It also reflects a similar impulse to the one Goldberg described: a refusal to match Trumps disregard with some disregard of its own.

Administrations have lied to reporters forever, but no ones ever done it quite like him. When youre dealing with Donald Trump, Sullivan told me, you are almost always dealing with misinformation, misstatements, and lies. And so journalists have to be attuned to what best serves the public, and that is seeking and publishing the truth and placing that above access. For Sherman, the answer was to make a movie, to step outside what wed consider classical journalism norms. But what enables Trump to care so little about convention is, at its heart, a lack of care about what is and isnt true. A movie such as The Apprentice does care about that distinction, and deeply. At the event, Sherman shared how he had to annotate the script basically line by line, every scene, every piece of dialogue, to make notes for the films lawyers about what was and wasnt real.

I thought that a film, Sherman said, a dramatic film, could puncture through the culture in a way that journalism couldnt. Considering those Pew numbers, its hard not to concede that hes got a point. After Shermans talk, I watched two journalists I know get back in line for yet another cup of warm wine. I completely understood.

Then theres the Bill Maher approach. Maher, who recently dined with Trump at the White House, described the experience on an episode of his show: The guy I met, he reported, was not the same as the Trump in public view; he was gracious and measured. (Larry David, in a Times satire, reimagined the scenario as a meal with an Adolf Hitler who is much more sensitive than his critics give him credit for, writing that it wasnt just a one-way street, with the Fuhrer dominating the conversation. David concluded that were not that different, after all. I thought that if only the world could see this side of him, people might have a completely different opinion.)

Maher was only the latest in a string of capitulatorsthere have been tech barons, law firms, universities doing versions of the sameand I wondered whether news organizations would follow suit. Already, the corporate owners of major newspapers have revealed their interest in trading editorial independence for corporate gain, including Jeff Bezos, of the Washington Post, and Patrick Soon-Shiong, of the Los Angeles Times, both of whom spiked endorsements of Kamala Harris, and have since made moves in support of Trump.

But when I asked reporters whether they thought all of thisthe calls coming from both outside and inside the newsroommerited a change of journalistic tack, they were firm: We have rules for a reason, everyone said. You cant print what someone said to you off the record if you both agreed to that. You cant ignore conflicts of interest. You cant pretend to be someone youre not. When Karoline Leavitt goes low, youve got to go high.

These are the norms that professional journalists continue to follow. But the political ascendancy of Trump upended the popular understanding of who gets to identify as part of that group, as the Bannons of right-wing media have proliferated, and filled the internet with drivel, confusion, and conspiracy. My friend Anna Merlan, a senior reporter at Mother Jones, covers that beat, including how it intersects with extremism. When I asked her about whether journalists need to rethink their approach, she wasnt sure she agreed with the premise of the question.

Did journalism not work because Trump is in power? she replied. I dont think thats the right way to look at it. I think our job requires us to try to understand the factors that led up to Trump being in power. Merlans parents are both historians, and she feels their influence on her work. Im doing two things, she said. One is creating the historical recordlike, news coverage creates a historical record for later generations to understand what was happening. The other thing is that I am hopefully giving people information now about the forces that govern their lives.

To that end, the basic rules have served us pretty well, she said. Even in situations like this where, you know, we dont know if our reporting is making an impact, or the people were reporting on dont always respect us, I still think theres a reason for the rules.

In the weeks after Signalgate, there were plot twists galore. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, has turned out to be something of a Signal power user, and Trump agreed to an interview with The Atlantic. Coverage of Waltz, who will become the ambassador to the UN, doesnt provide official word on why he lost his last job, though one imagines it may have had something to do with how much room for improvement there was in his opsec. But the further out we get from Signalgate, the less it feels like a news story and more like a news-about-the-news story. After all, Trump has had a trade war to wage, funding for medical research to slash, and American citizens to deport.

The cliche about deks with a question in them is that the answer is always yes. But in the face of the collapse of every norm we know, some of which we love, I find some relief in knowing that journalism isnt giving itself an overhaul. There arent infinity American journalists who can type for infinity years. But maybe we wont have to. Maybe, if we can just keep typing for the next four, declining to bend to the bullshit, we can meet a humble goal: keeping it to four.
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Once there was another newspaper here.

It was born with great hopes but died before it became a teenager. It sought to mix the solid journalism of the New York Times with the aggressively colorful coverage of the Daily News and the New York Post. Its staff was younger than that of most newsrooms, and strikingly more diverse. This newspaper was kinder than the tabloids, could wear its heart on its sleeve, and for this it was occasionally mocked. But over drinks, in a reflexive moment, the othersthe mockersmight just admit that they envied it a little bit, too.

New York Newsday was launched in 1985 and closed on July 16, 1995, thirty years ago this month. Its owner, the also long-gone Times Mirror Co., wasnt satisfied with its company-wide profit, which in 1994 had been more than $174 million.

Its slogan was Truth, Justice and the Comics, and its pages freeze-framed a remarkable decade of change and strife in New York City: The citys first Black mayor. Record-breaking crime. The ascent of Rudy Giuliani. A catastrophic nightclub fire in the Bronx. Race riots and police riots. The bombing of the World Trade Center. Foiled terrorist plots. Fierce cultural battles over schoolbooks featuring same-sex parents.

Today it seems incredible to imagine ita robustly staffed new newspaper, the citys first in color, entering the countrys most crowded media market and building a classic print infrastructure from the ground up: nearly a hundred reporters (unionized); a generously staffed city desk; bureaus in City Hall, two boroughs, police headquarters, and the courts; an investigative unit; a features section; a fat Sunday edition; editorial and op-ed pages; and movie critics, fashion reporters, a cartoonist, a restaurant reviewer, and a murderers row of columnists including Murray Kempton, Gail Collins, Jimmy Breslin, Jim Dwyer, Sheryl McCarthy, Liz Smith, and Ellis Henican.

It shared a powerful Washington bureau with Long Islands Newsday, from which it sprang, as well as a handful of foreign correspondents. And it worked hard to build a staff that reflected a multicolored, multicultural city.

No one had seenin journalism history, honestlyso many reporters hired that were so diverse: racially and ethnically diverse, age- and class-diverse, of the communities they covered, said Rose Arce, who joined the paper from the Daily News in her late twenties. I truly believe it made an enormous difference in the quality and breadth of the reporting.

Mari McQueen, an assistant Metro editor, in Newsdays 2 Park Avenue newsroom, 1995. AP Photo/Adam Nadel.

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Today, with the Daily News put out by a skeleton staff and printed in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Times sailing on without dedicated daily Metro pages in print nor even a New York City link on the homepage (just a drop-down), New York Newsday and the bet on local city journalism it represented seem like a distant, crazy dream.

And it was. When New York Newsday died, it became one of several short-lived but storied New York outlets that punched above their weight but died before their time, like DNA.info and the Wall Street Journals Greater New York section would later, as well as PM, the legendarily creative liberal afternoon newspaper from the 1940s.

For those who worked at New York Newsday, it fills an outsize portion of memory banks. I know it does for me. I was twenty-four when I was hired in the Brooklyn bureau.

Ive often wishedand I know Im not the only onethat at the time I had just relaxed into it and fully enjoyed it, said Michael Powell, the papers last City Hall bureau chief, who joined in late 1987 and now writes for The Atlantic.

But you are young, he said. You have ambition. You are applying to the Washington Post, talking to the New York Times. If I had it to do over again, Id say, Forget that. Because what was happening there was pretty fucking amazing.

But easy on the nostalgia: the place wasnt perfect. The papers tabloid instincts were never quite as sharp as its competitorsone dubbed it a Tabloid in a Tutu, and the name stuck. Being printed on Long Island required early deadlines that missed some big stories in that pre-internet era. And it turned out that mixing the old and the new isnt always easyespecially inside a place as volatile (or dysfunctional) as a newsroom.

Many of its alumni still plug away, writing or editing for the Times or running outlets like the Hechinger Report, to give just two examples. So many careers were launched that would never have been launched, honestlyparticularly among the Latino and Black reporters, said Arce, today a documentary filmmaker.

New York Newsday covered all kinds of stories from far-flung neighborhoods, not just the ones where someone got shot. It put new immigrants front and center (they were potential readers, after all). And it liked to have funSusan Forrests coverage of the emotional trials of Gus the Polar Bear in the Central Park Zoo (he was on Prozac) became a worldwide sensation; a column by Collins about police officers contending with a swarm of bees in Midtown remains one of the funniest things Ive ever read on newsprint.

Even the Times conceded: It was the first daily paper to cover more in the boroughs on a day-to-day basis than crime and the courts. It saw itself as the newspaper of a new, more diverse middle class. Flipping through a yellowing copy thirty years later, Im struck by the quality of the writing and reporting.

When eighty-seven revelers died in the Happy Land social club arson fire in the Bronx in 1990, scores of New York Newsday reporters covered it from every possible anglean editor was even dispatched to the scene to direct the troops. That coverage was a Pulitzer finalist.

The paper would soon have two Pulitzers: for a sixteen-page wraparound section covering a subway derailment in Union Square in 1991, and for Dwyer, the homegrown columnist who in many ways was its soul. Dwyers initial column, published three times a week, was devoted entirely to the universe of the New York City subways.

Jim Dwyer, of and by the city, was in some ways the soul of the paper. AP Photos.

That idea came from Don Forst, the papers editor, and it was one of his better ones. Forst was quiet, short and stocky (he lifted weights), with a shaggy 1960s haircut and a propensity for wide ties, suspenders, and overalls (not at the same time). Some loved him, some did not. Im still trying to decide.

Hed worked for the New York Herald Tribune and a raft of other papers, including the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, where he famously invented Hippo Watch to provide readers with daily updates on a hippopotamus named Bubbles who had escaped from a local zoo. (Bubbles later died.) When the Times Mirror Co., led by David Laventhol, a Forst chum from the Trib, made the bold decision in the mid-1980s to invade New York from the east, where the companys Newsday was so profitable it might as well have been printing hundred-dollar bills on its presses, Laventhol tapped Forst to run the thing.

We will never know if that was genius or a mistake, because no one else was ever given the helm. Was a golden opportunity missed to hire the citys first female editor in chief, or the first editor in chief of color? No doubt Forst had strong tabloid credentials, but his ideas didnt always mesh with the tastes of the journalists he hired. Nor was he always good at navigating these disagreements. And several former female staffers said Forst was among the chief culprits when it came to infuriatingly routine sexist banter in the newsroom, even as he regularly promoted women editors.

The Newsday team of reporters, editors, photographers, and other staff who won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a fatal subway derailment. Photo courtesy of the author.

When it came to the front page, Forst would say he wanted to engage the reader, rather than beat the reader over the head, and the paper certainly played with story ideas and presentations that were indisputably modern, almost like imbuing print with the internet sensibilities of today.

During the 1992 Democratic convention in Manhattan, for example, page one featured a checkerboard of beaming mug shots of Bill Clinton with the headline Bills All Smiles. After Clinton won, one front-page headline read, What It Means to Youan early precursor to the second-person headlines so often featured these days, in the Times and elsewhere. (What You Need to Know About [fill in the blank].)

Martin Dunn, the editor of the Daily News at the time, and a friend, mixed praise with constructive criticism, once telling me he thought New York Newsdays front pages were creative but tried too hard to be different, rather than simply putting the most important news of the day first for the reader.

And Forst could whiff. When Timothy M. Phelps, of the Washington bureau, broke details of Anita Hills accusations against Clarence Thomasa world-beating exclusive the relevance of which is still felt todayForst led with Liz Taylors wedding.

Asked for thoughts on his former boss, Michael Powell took a moment to find the right words. Forst was certainly complicated, he said.

Some called the paper Laventhols Folly. Accurate or not, it scared the competition, which began to hire more aggressively, turn up their already high volumes, and poach New York Newsdays best. The Times launched the City sectionthe remnants of which live on today in Sundays Metropolitan section. The big winner in all of this was New York City.

There were 2,225 murders in 1991, the year I was hired, and the paper was firing on all cylinders. It had just launched weekly sections for Brooklyn and Queens with their own dedicated columnists, and it had moved its main office into an entire floor at 2 Park Avenue in Manhattan. There was a feeling, even as we went about the grind of putting out a daily paper, that we were part of something that would never happen again.

New York Newsday was initially conceived as a creeping acquisition that would capture one reader at a time as it moved methodically west from Nassau County over the course of a decade. But a catastrophic strike at the Daily News in 1990 and 1991 altered the equation. For a moment it looked like the Daily News might not survive, and suddenly Laventhols Folly seemed like a brilliant idea; if the Daily News went away, then the New York market would have a juicy opening for New York Newsday. Even if the circulation was modest, it would still be a big buy for advertisers when combined with the Long Island readership.

It was during the strike when Forst called Collins, a columnist at the Daily News who was on the picket line, and offered her a job. I was allowed to do whatever I wanted to do, and what I wanted to do was make fun of the city government, she recalled. And so she did, twice a week.

So many columnists, she said, marveling, recalling the energetic row of cubicles where the name writers sat. We all got along well; I dont remember any sense of incredible hysterical competition between us.

But the Daily News did not go away; in fact, when the real estate developer Mort Zuckerman bought it, it entered its own new golden age, hiring aggressively, marketing itself aggressively, breaking more stories, and stealing some of the thunder from the interloper, which it belittled with ads mocking its suburban Long Island origins. (The ads featured cows.)

Now it was a knife fight.

The Daily News moved out of its famed but decrepit Superman-set offices on Forty-Second and into new offices on West Thirty-Third Street. It built a new plant across the Hudson River in Jersey City, a brick-and-mortar indication that it wasnt going anywhere.

Down on South Street, after its own near-death experience, the New York Post came back to life in 1993 with a new owner, a guy named Rupert Murdoch. Here were some deep pockets. The Times bulked up its Metro staff even more.

This was a war of attrition, and wars of attrition are expensive. The Times Mirror Co. began to grow impatient. Circulation for New York Newsday reached 300,000 during the Daily News strike before slipping to 231,000still impressive, but far behind the Daily News, which hit 750,000 post-strike.

Don Forst, editor of New York Newsday, on the day the papers closure was announced. On the phone is the papers publisher, Steven L. Isenberg. Photo by Peter Morgan of Reuters.

Then there was a deep self-inflicted wound, one that brought the paper unwanted national attention and was especially painful for a place that succeeded in being ethnically and gender-diverse and sought to meld old-school reporting chops with modern sensibilities. In a way it foreshadowed schisms between young and old in some newsrooms today.

In May 1990, Breslin wrote a column poking fun at his wife, a highly respected city politician. It began: I hate official women! Ji-Yeon Yuh, a young reporter in the Queens bureau, sent Breslin a note on the old ATEX computer system criticizing it. Yuh copied Forst.

Enraged, Breslin burst out of his office at 2 Park Avenue and launched into a tirade, calling Yuh a yellow cur, among other things, and reportedly using an anatomical term that, amazingly, could be considered even more offensive.

A group of reporters, young and of color, met with management and demanded that Breslin be suspended. At least a few expressed red-hot rage, according to a Los Angeles Times article about the episode (thats how far the story spread). At the same time, more senior staffers defended Breslin and criticized Yuh for copying the boss: such differences, they suggested, had been resolved reporter-to-reporter in city rooms of yore.

Initially, Forst and the other editors declined to punish Breslinit was, they said, a first offensebut then he went on The Howard Stern Show and seemingly made light of the situation. He got hit with a two-week suspension. His apology began: I am no good and once again I can prove it.

Arce, for one, gave the bosses credit for at least sitting down with the aggrieved but more junior staffers, unusual for the time.

But the damage was done. Breslin was almost never in the newsroom again. I saw him from time to time out on stories, including during the Crown Heights riots in the summer of 91, when he was set upon by a group of protesters who beat him and stripped him of his pants.

By 1994, Times Mirrors frustration with the paper and the companys naggingly low stock price had reached new levels. Roughly $100 million had been spent so far, with profitability a few years off (at the very least).

Mark Willes, a Mormon and former head of General Mills with no newspaper experience and little love for New York City, became CEO, with a mandate to cut costs and drive up revenue. By the summer of 95, rumors were rampant at 2 Park that we were doomed. The editors drew up a plan to keep the place going with a smaller staff. (By then Id moved to police headquarters, where, among other duties, we produced a tally of each days gun homicides under the heading The Toll. No one would tell me if I was going to make the cut.)

Forst, talking to a writer for the Times, said it was possible the paper would be closed, inadvertently handing the reporter his lede. Forst came under heated criticism for this slip, but I admired thishe told me afterward that, because he sent out reporters every day to ask tough questions, he felt he had to be honest when he got asked one; I wish that more of todays news executives would do the same.

Finally, in July, Willes and the Times Mirror management team came to visit. They took a helicopter ride around the city and toured the newsroom, chatting amiably with staffers. The next day the Newsday executives prepared to present their slimmed-down plan. But Willes stopped them: forget it, the paper would close. Editors had one more day to put out a fittingly robust final edition.

Mayor Giuliani, no friend of the paper, nonetheless implored Times Mirror to let it live. Dwyer led a fiery but brief public campaign. But it was hopeless. All that was left was a final raucous night in the vault-ceilinged bar across the street, Fioris, gathering as colleagues for the last time. Laventhol, suffering from Parkinsons, showed up and got a round of applause. The lights of television cameras lit our faces.

For that final edition Forst turned the tabloid page sideways and reproduced a dozen of New York Newsdays front pages, topping it with the headline Our Best to You.

It was an inside joke, the last time New York Newsday would engage readers rather than beat them over the headOur Best to You had been the slogan for Kelloggs, General Mills archrival.

The obituaries were glowing. It is bad enough when mediocre papers fail, The New Yorker wrote, but when one of the best papers in the country folds it is time for something close to despair. Willes was called the Cereal Killer. But Times Mirror investors were happy. The stock went from $18 to $31 after the closure.

New York Newsday announces its own death in July 1995. The competition reports the closure with glee. AP Photo.

One footnote, perhaps apocryphal: During that fateful helicopter ride, Willes is said to have noted that he didnt see any cranes, suggesting that no one was building in New York City. Why would anyone want to do business in a place that was clearly dying? Little did he knowlittle did anyone know in that hot summer of 1995that the city was on the precipice of a new, safer, and extraordinarily affluent Gilded Age.

To me, back then, newspapers had distinct personalities: The Daily News was a desk sergeant with a heart of gold but a limited worldview; the Post a fast-talking guy you met in a bar who was really funny but whom you didnt quite trust; the Times a middle-aged lady who enjoyed watching Masterpiece Theatre on Channel 13. And New York Newsday? I was never quite sure, and maybe that was part of the problem.

Over the decades many of those larger-than-life characters have diedForst, Kempton, Breslin, and many others, quite a few well before their times, including Susan Forrest and Jim Dwyer.

Others remain close, working together on various journalistic endeavors, holding reunions, throwing baby showers or attending long-running book groups, testimony to the lasting camaraderie of the place. We had a powerful network, a diverse newsroomand a lot of fun in a profession that isnt so much fun anymore, said Liz Willen, who now runs the Hechinger Report, an education news site. Among her board members is Nick Chiles, a former colleague from 2 Park Ave.

I went on to the Daily News and then the Times. In time they became my homes, my families outside my family, and the halcyon days of Laventhols Folly faded. Still, every now and then, on busy mornings like September 11 or in early COVID times, or during this years mayoral election, I find myself wondering

What ever became of all the stories that New York Newsday wasnt here to write?
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In early February, the news broke that employees of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, had received an email ordering them to stop using Slack while lawyers sorted out the matter of records migration. The reasons were unclear, but the change had significant implications for communication: according to Jason R. Baron, a professor at the University of Maryland and former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration, the transition represented the difference between DOGEs internal correspondence being covered by the Federal Records Act, and thus subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, versus the Presidential Records Act, which would exclude the office from FOIA. The administration position is that those records will not be accessible until 2034, Baron said. But if theyre subject to FOIA, those records are available now.

Lawyers who specialize in public records and government transparency were uniformly shocked. As DOGE raced to upend the federal government, it was evidently also seeking to avoid scrutiny. When I spoke to Katherine Anthony, the deputy chief counsel of American Oversight, a good-government group, she told me that DOGE was effectively claiming the right to decide for itself which laws it had to comply with. Its kind of like saying, Im copying my lawyer on this email so its attorney-client privilege. Thats not how that works! Anthony said. There are legal tests that you have to apply to the specific substance of that email to decide whether its attorney-client privilege. Same herethere are legal tests that tell you whether or not a component within the Executive Office of the President is or is not subject to FOIA.

But for journalists, who rely on FOIA to keep track of government operations, a practical problem remained. By the time DOGE decided not to follow the standard legal logic, it had already gutted USAID, offered buyouts to two million federal workers, and begun accessing government computer systems. FOIA requests for documents are notoriously slowthey can sometimes take yearsand the question of public-records compliance could easily become moot before it landed in front of a federal judge empowered to intervene. Anthony and her peers at other public interest groups got to work strategizing about how to force DOGE into a courtroom as quickly as possible.

On February 11, once a spokesperson confirmed the transfer of DOGE to the office of the president, American Oversight, which had already tried submitting expedited FOIA requests to DOGE, decided to file a legal complaint seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to compel compliance with the requirements of FOIA in connection with FOIA requests for communications involving Elon Musk and his key staff. A month later, Elizabeth Haddix, the lead author of the complaint, told me that DOGE hadnt responded, even though under an expedited FOIA process an agency is obliged to reply within twenty days. Ignoring requests is something, Haddix said, well need the court to make a ruling on. But the concern was still timing. American Oversight had not sought a preliminary injunction by a date certaina legal term of art meant to establish a firm deadline after which a documents request will no longer have any value. Haddix told me that American Oversight had not made its request along these lines because thats extraordinary relief that you seek when the records are urgently necessary based on some pending election or a decision thats about to be made.

On that point, another groupCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREWmade a different call. This DOGE situation is something of a unicorn, Nikhel Sus, the deputy chief counsel, told me. You have a completely new, de facto agency that is massively disrupting federal operations. And theres just an urgency to inform the public writ large about what this entity is doing and how theyre doing it. CREW, in drafting its own complaint, latched on to the idea of making a documents request by a date certain. As for the date: Sus and two colleagues, Jonathan Maier and Donald Sherman, decided to focus on the congressional budgeting process, which anticipated a March 14 deadline, when the government would run out of money and cease normal operations. They reasoned that Congress needed detailed information about DOGEs internal operations, Sus said, to not only meaningfully participate in this debate over appropriations, but also understand whats going to happen to those funds.

CREW lodged its complaint on February 20. The filing included a motion for a preliminary injunction that would force DOGE to release records sufficiently in advance of the budget deadlineno later than March 10. Records related to budget planning provided a source of urgency but, as Sus put it, the main purpose of bringing this case was to confirm that DOGE is exercising substantial independent authority throughout the executive branch and therefore is subject to FOIA.

The plan worked. With less than three weeks between when Sus, Maier, and Sherman filed their complaint and the date requested for relief, Christopher R. Casey Coopera United States District Court judge in Washington, DCcalled a hearing for March 6. (It was the earliest date he could manage; when the case was assigned to his docket, hed been on vacation.)

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In court, Judge Cooper expressed skepticism over the premise of CREWs request for an injunction by a date certain, since congressional budget stalemates have become fairly routine in Washington. (As it happened, days later Congress passed a continuing resolution keeping the government funded through September.) Nevertheless, he was glad to rule on the central question of whether DOGE was subject to FOIA. He sided with CREW, writing in his opinion that DOGE is likely covered by FOIA and that the public would be irreparably harmed by an indefinite delay in unearthing the records CREW seeks. DOGE was then ordered to preserve its records and respond to CREWs requests on an expedited basis. By March 20, DOGE had to estimate the total number of documents it would need to prepare.

Sus characterized Judge Coopers decision as an acknowledgment that theres an urgency here. He did recognize that DOGE is moving at an unprecedented rapid pace, and that due in part to the speed with which DOGE is moving, there needs to be corresponding transparency under FOIA. After all, being subject to FOIA means that you have to open yourself up to external scrutiny, so that the public and the press and others can make an independent judgment about the operations of government entities and how theyre using or potentially misusing taxpayer dollars.

But if Judge Cooper identified a sense of urgency in the pursuit of public records, DOGE has not. Rather than appeal the rulingwhich would land the case before the Supreme Court, where justices might be more sympathetic to arguments against transparencylawyers for DOGE have sought to delay the order. On March 14, they filed a motion for reconsideration; that was denied. Days later, they submitted a request for a summary judgment that would contradict Coopers ruling. These stalling tactics only managed to win DOGE a seven-day extension on the deadline to present an estimate on the total number of documents covered by CREWs request. Finally, on March 27, DOGEs lawyers produced a number: fifty-eight thousand. Later, Judge Cooper ordered that the office had to process a thousand documents per monthmeaning that years will likely pass before the scope of CREWs original FOIA request is fulfilled.

As the weeks went by, other groups felt emboldened to push for immediate relief under FOIA, too. The New York Times and CBS reported that, a day after Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, thanked DOGE for overseeing the cancelation of fifty-two hundred agency contracts, USAID employees were instructed to destroy personnel records and classified documents. In response, American Oversight sought a temporary restraining order against USAID that would force it to preserve all records covered by FOIA. Soon the matter landed in front of another US District Court judge in DC: Tanya Chutkan.

The hearing, on March 19, served mostly to clarify the judiciarys limited ability to keep a rogue executive branch in check. Judge Chutkan acknowledged the assurances of the Trump administration that no more documents were being destroyed. Then she turned to Tabitha Bartholomew, the US attorney representing the defendants. No USAID emails past or current are being destroyed? Judge Chutkan asked. Yes, your honor, Bartholomew replied.

Satisfied, Judge Chutkan told American Oversights lawyers that unless there was any evidence that USAID or other federal officials were lying, there was no reason to proceed. After all, even if she issued an order to the administrators of USAID telling them to preserve their records, the court had no means of enforcement more powerful than a sworn statement in court. (The implication being that if Bartholomew was later found to have lied during the hearing, she could be prosecuted for perjury.) Ultimately, American Oversight withdrew its request for a restraining order.

Judge Coopers finding that DOGE is likely subject to FOIA should compel DOGE to acknowledge and process all document requestsbut as Judge Chutkan reasoned, there is no way for the judiciary to ensure that compliance. In this way, the legal battle for transparency into DOGE traces the same path as much of the other litigation making its way through the federal courts: the Trump administration has shown its willingness to flout judicial orders, which means there can be no counting on compliance with any given FOIA request.

What were seeing is a constitutional crisis in the works about separation of powers, Carey Shenkman, a human rights lawyer, told me. Which isnt to say that free speech advocates should not pursue every recourse they can through the legal system. As Anthony, of American Oversight, put it, Its important that civil society is initiating these procedural lawsuits to ensure that the government is being held accountable to their legal obligations, because the result, if they arent, is just chaos. But these legal filings are a bit like using a microscope to look at an elephant. Though they may offer a glimpse of useful information, they cant capture a full viewespecially if the lens is covered, or the entire apparatus destroyed. That has turned out to be the case at the Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health, where personnel responsible for processing FOIA requests were recently fired en masse.

And there are only so many microscopes. CREWs success may not be easily replicated by other organizations, as courts are unlikely to welcome too many FOIA filings for an injunction by a date certain or requests for a restraining order related to document retention. Its incumbent on journalists, litigants, and groups like ours to really think carefully about when we do seek preliminary injunctions, Sus said. Because if you do it in every case, its going to overwhelm the courts, and its going to, frankly, annoy the courts. They have a lot of other mattersemergency mattersthat theyre considering right now, so we need to be responsible stewards of how judicial resources are used.

That means journalists will need to rely directly on sources rather than official document requests when it comes to covering DOGEor any other branch of the federal bureaucracy. In recent years, the number of FOIA submissions has risen dramatically, not just from reporters, but also private firms (in law, real estate, and so on) that have otherwise found it increasingly difficult to access public records. The influx has overwhelmed FOIA offices, many of them part of federal departments now facing stark budget cuts. Bloomberg has reported that, so far this year, the Department of Health and Human Services has already received two thousand FOIA requests. After layoffs authorized by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who runs the agency, the backlog is now anticipated to grow to more than nine thousand.

One tool that journalists have that we dont necessarily have, Anthony said, is well-developed networks and contacts that you can call and talk to. Maybe there are records you can get outside of the FOIA process altogether. A case in point is the Washington Posts scoop of DOGE blueprints for eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, based on a document reporters were able to obtain and bring to the public far more quickly than the FOIA process would have allowed.

Other reporters are finding creative ways to use FOIA to connect with sources, rather than merely as a means of obtaining public records. Jimmy Tobias, from a newsletter called Public Domain, told me, Ive been filing FOIA requests to get the names and contact information of all the civil servants at various Interior Department agencies, and then sending out emails saying, Im covering whats happening to your agency. If you ever want to talk, give me a call. I cant believe the amount of responses that Ive gotten from that. Its a positive sign, though well have to see how others fare at agencies where FOIA officers have lost their jobs.

The level of transparency you have is a reflection of the government you have, Lauren Harper, a public records analyst at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told me. More transparency means less corruption and potential for state capture. Its an existential issue, and not one that our federal records laws or the people in the bureaucracy are equipped to deal with when youre facing someone who moves as quickly as Elon Musk. Laws such as FOIA are necessary aids in keeping the government accountable. But in the DOGE era, reporters wont be able to rely on records requests as they may have in the past. Fortunately, Tobias said, a lot of people are so disturbed by whats happening that theyre willing to talk.
A woman who died in a car accident while driving intoxicated after a company-mandated wine tasting was responsible for her own death, lawyers for those who served her wine told a Connecticut court this week.

The estate of Nicole Silva is attempting to hold the server and his employer liable after an earlier failed attempt to hold liable the restaurant that employed and required her to attend the event.

After consuming wine at the event, Silva left the restaurant and drove toward her home. On the way, she was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. As a result of that collision, she was injured and died three days later.

Silvas estate has lodged allegations of reckless and wanton service of alcohol by Jason Kelley, the server, and his employer, liquor distributor Hartley & Parker LLC (now Martignetti Companies). The complaint alleges Kelley served her wine and other drinks, in spite of her being obviously intoxicated and even though he allegedly knew that Silva intended to drive home at the conclusion of the event.

But in their defense, Kelley and Hartley & Parker maintain that Silva assumed the risk for the accident that caused her death because she willingly and voluntarily chose to consume excessive amounts of alcohol and drive her motor vehicle while she was intoxicated.

Silvas own negligence, carelessness, and/or recklessness were substantial factors in causing her injuries and death, according to the servers legal answer. They claim Silva violated various state traffic safety laws including ones regarding posted speed limits, driving in the right lane, applying brakes when needed, and recklessly, knowingly, and voluntarily operating a motor vehicle after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol.

Silvas estate originally brought claims of common law negligence and wrongful death against her employer, Consiglios Restaurant in New Haven and its owner, and the servers for their alleged negligence in serving Silva too much alcohol and not offering her transportation to her home.

But in February 2024 Judge Elizabeth Stewart in the Superior Court in New Haven rejected Silvas claims in her original complaint, finding that there is no common law cause of action for negligent service of alcohol to a person, and the dram shop act only provides a cause of action to a third party who is injured by the person who was served alcohol, not to the intoxicated person herself.

The judge further found that there is no duty on behalf of a purveyor of alcohol to provide an intoxicated patron with transportation.

The court later acknowledged that while it was right to dismiss Silvas claims against Consiglios Restaurant and its owner, the court had erred in also dismissing the claims against the servers without weighing arguments related to their role. In January 2025, Judge Stewart granted Silvas request to reargue that part of her case, to which Kelley and Hartley & Parker have now responded.
Maire SpA and its two lenders won a U.K. court ruling against a 212 million ($243 million) demand by a company linked to a sanctioned billionaire.

EuroChem Group AG sued the Italian firm along with Societe Generale SA and ING Groep NV in 2022 in London over a giant construction project that was put on hold after Russia invaded Ukraine. The banks refused to pay a so-called performance bond provided as a guarantee by the Italian engineering group citing European Unions sanctions targeting Andrey Melnichenko and his wife.

Payments under the bonds would be unlawful as Melnichenko indirectly owned the Eurochem firm that demanded the money, the judge said in the ruling. The banks therefore are prohibited from honoring the bonds and paying under them, Judge Robert Bright said.

The ruling to prioritize sanctions over contractual payments is a boost for western firms and banks as continue to strictly enforce sanctions regimes. Sanctioned Russians have regularly turned to British courts to try an unlock capital or assets, leading to conflicting court orders by judges in Russia and the U.K.

A SocGen spokesperson declined to comment. Spokespeople for EuroChem. ING and Maire didnt immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The bonds worth 280 million were issued in 2020 and 2021 for Maires contract to construct a fertilizer plant in Kingisepp, north west Russia. EuroChem demanded the money under the performance bonds in August 2022 after the project stopped and the EU imposed sanctions on Melnichenko, the founder of Eurochem Group.

Melnichenko, who started the company in the early 2000s, withdrew as beneficiary of a trust that holds the shares of EuroChem Group AG through a holding company. He has repeatedly pushed back against the unjust sanctions, saying he had no political affiliations and that there was no justification for the EUs move. He is also sanctioned in the U.K.

EuroChem filed the London lawsuit after ING and SocGen rejected demands to pay the bonds in early August. The company then said it was never under sanctions and was controlled by EU trustees of a trust, whose beneficiary has no majority ownership of, nor influence over, EuroChem.

Top photo: Andrey Melnichenko, billionaire and owner of EuroChem Group AG, walks between sessions on day three of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 4, 2021. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
German pharmaceutical and biotechnology group Bayer said on Thursday it had set aside an additional 1.2 billion euros ($1.37 billion) in provisions to address ongoing litigation in the United States over weed killer Roundup.

The German group said that, on a currency-adjusted basis, it now anticipates annual sales of 46 billion euros to 48 billion euros, an increase of 1 billion euros at both ends from its prior forecast.

Bayer, which is grappling with costly U.S. product liability litigation, has already paid about $10 billion to settle disputed claims that Roundup, based on glyphosate, causes cancer.

Plaintiffs have said they developed non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other forms of cancer due to using Roundup, either at home or on the job. The company has since replaced glyphosate in U.S. consumer products with different weed-killing substances.

On Thursday, Bayer announced a significant settlement with a plaintiffs law firm, reducing unresolved glyphosate claims to 61,000. Of the total 192,000 claims, 131,000 have been settled or deemed ineligible, Bayer said.

Bayer forecast 2025 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted for one-off items, to range between 9.7 billion euros and 10.2 billion euros.

The group also reported preliminary second-quarter sales of about 10.7 billion euros and group EBITDA before special items of about 2.1 billion euros.

Bayer will report its April-June earnings on August 6.

($1 = 0.8759 euros)

(Reporting by Jaiswal and Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil DSilva and Subhranshu Sahu)
China accused the U.S. of exploiting a flaw in Microsoft Corp.s email servers to steal military data and launch cyberattacks on its defense sector.

The Cyber Security Association of China said in a statement Friday that US actors had been linked to two major cyberattacks on Chinese military companies, without naming them. They exploited flaws in Microsoft Exchange to control the servers of a key company in the defense sector for nearly a year, it added. The association is a little-known entity backed by the powerful Cyberspace Administration of China.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has repeatedly blamed China for major cyberattacks involving the same software. In 2021, an alleged Chinese operation compromised tens of thousands of Microsoft Exchange servers. In 2023, another alleged Chinese attack on Microsoft Exchange compromised senior US officials email accounts. A US government review later accused Microsoft of a cascade of security failures over the 2023 incident. And last month, Microsoft said Chinese state-backed hacking groups had exploited vulnerabilities in its SharePoint file-sharing software.

Related: Fermi Accelerator Lab Hit in Cyberattack Targeting Microsofts SharePoint

Every nation state in the world carries out offensive cybersecurity campaigns against others, said Jon Clay, vice president of threat intelligence at Trend Micro. Im assuming at this point, because of the recent SharePoint vulnerability that Microsoft attributed to China, they are coming out and saying, hey, the U.S. has been targeting us with exploits.

Representatives of the US embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Related: Microsoft Knew of SharePoint Security Flaw But Failed to Effectively Patch It, Timeline Shows

Ben Read, director of strategic threat intelligence for Wiz.io, in a recent blog noted that public attribution of cyber activities was a technique China was using increasingly to pressure Taiwan and shape the international dialogue around cybersecurity. Earlier this year, China had several releases alleging cyberattacks out of Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing deems part of its territory.

In April, China accused three NSA employees of hacking the Asian Winter Games held in Harbin, saying they targeted systems that held vast amounts of personal information on people involved in the event. While the US has repeatedly published names of alleged Chinese hackers and filed criminal charges against them, China has historically refrained from making similar accusations about American spies.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
A federal judge in Texas largely denied a request by the worlds largest asset managers to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Republican state attorneys general claiming they colluded to reduce coal output, in a case that threatens how the U.S. firms oversee trillions of dollars.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle in Texas said most of the claims brought by the states can proceed, including allegations that BlackRock Inc., BlackRock Group Inc. and the asset management arm of State Street Corp. collectively used their stock to attempt to substantially lessen competition. Kernodle dismissed part of the lawsuit that was based on alleged violations of state law.

In his Friday ruling, Kernodle said the states have identified enough circumstantial evidence to suggest that defendants agreed to collectively pressure coal companies to reduce the output of coal in the relevant markets and disclose future output information.

Representatives for the firms didnt immediately return requests for comment on the ruling.

In their lawsuit, Texas and other Republican-led states claimed the asset managers colluded to pressure coal producers to reduce their production under the guise of pursuing environmental goals. The states cite the firms participation in carbon-reduction alliances as evidence of a syndicate.

BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard hold major stakes in coal producers and profited when energy prices soared, according to the suit.

More recently, the firms have pulled back from ESG in the U.S. and participation in groups such as Climate Action 100+ and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. Texas even removed BlackRock from its blacklist of companies that boycott fossil fuels.

But the lawsuit, filed in November, said that formal withdrawal from Climate 100+ does not change the reality that defendants holdings threaten to substantially reduce competition in violation of U.S. antitrust law.

Lawyers for the three firms argued at a hearing in June that the firms did nothing to influence coal companies.

The antitrust claims in this case are unprecedented, theyre unsound and theyre unsupported, said Gregg Costa, a lawyer representing BlackRock. The claims just dont add up.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
Chinese envoy rejects U.S. accusations over Ukraine crisis

Xinhua) 11:05, August 01, 2025

UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday rejected U.S. accusations against China over its role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

At a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, the U.S. representative accused China of being "the most important supplier" of Russia's war efforts.

In response, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, dismissed the false and slanderous narratives against China from the U.S. side as completely unacceptable.

China did not start the Ukraine crisis and is not a party to it. China has never supplied lethal weapons to either side of the conflict and has strictly controlled the export of dual-use goods, including drones, said Geng.

"The parties to the conflict are not under Security Council sanctions. China has normal trade relations with Russia and Ukraine. By doing so, it does not violate international law or breach its international obligations. China's legitimate rights and interests must not be infringed upon," he said. "In fact, till now, the United States has maintained its trade with Russia. If the United States is doing that itself, why doesn't it allow others to do the same?"

The Ukraine crisis is at a critical juncture where there are prospects and hopes for a political solution. It is not right for the United States, on the one hand, to expect China to play a role in putting an early end to the conflict, and on the other hand, to keep on smearing and pressurizing China, said Geng.

China, once again, urges the United States to stop its pointless blame game, stop shifting responsibilities, and play a constructive role in ending the fighting and promoting peace talks, he said.

To resolve the Ukraine crisis, what is needed is unity and cooperation, not division and confrontation, he added.

On the supply of weapons to Ukraine, Geng expressed concern about the expanding variety and range of weapons flowing to the battlefield, as well as a growing lethality and destructive power.

The reckless supply of weapons to the battlefield will only intensify confrontation, prolong the conflict, cause risks of proliferation, and inflict further casualties and suffering on the people of both sides and the broader region, he warned.

The urgent priority for Russia and Ukraine is to work together to de-escalate the situation on the battlefield as soon as possible. They should maintain the momentum of talks, continue to build consensus and ultimately reach a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement, said Geng.

Since day one of the conflict, China has advocated for the peaceful resolution of disputes and has called on the parties to the conflict to end hostilities, start negotiations and restore peace sooner rather than later. China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in an early political settlement of the crisis, he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
 





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A Tesla vehicle passes the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse as jury selection began in connection with allegations regarding the safety of Teslas autopilot system on July 14, 2025 in Miami, Florida.

Tesla is facing a crucial verdict in a personal injury trial over a fatal Autopilot crash in 2019, the first time Elon Musk's automaker has been in front of a jury on such a matter in federal court.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs on Thursday asked the jury to award damages of around $345 million. That includes $109 million in compensatory damages and $236 million in punitive damages. The trial in the Southern District of Florida started on July 14.

The suit centers around who shoulders the blame for a deadly crash that occurred in 2019 in Key Largo, Florida. A Tesla owner named George McGee was driving his Model S electric sedan while using the company's Enhanced Autopilot, a partially automated driving system.

While driving, McGee dropped his mobile phone that he was using and scrambled to pick it up. He said during the trial that he believed Enhanced Autopilot would brake if an obstacle was in the way. He accelerated through an intersection at just over 60 miles per hour, hitting a nearby empty parked car and its owners, who were standing on the other side of their vehicle.

Naibel Benavides, who was 22, died on the scene from injuries sustained in the crash. Her body was discovered about 75 feet away from the point of impact. Her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, survived but suffered multiple broken bones, a traumatic brain injury and psychological effects.

The plaintiffs have included Benavides' surviving family members, and Angulo, who testified in the trial. Angulo is seeking compensation for his medical expenses and pain and suffering, while Benavides' estate is suing for wrongful death, pain and suffering, and other punitive damages.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs argued that Tesla's partially automated driving systems, marketed as Autopilot at the time, had dangerous defects, which should have been known and fixed by the company, and that use of Autopilot should have been limited to roads where it could perform safely.

They also argued that Musk and Tesla made false statements to customers, shareholders and the public, overstating the safety benefits and capabilities of Autopilot, which encouraged drivers to overly rely on it.

In opening arguments and throughout the trial, the plaintiffs' attorneys and expert witnesses cited a litany of Musk's past promises about Autopilot and Tesla's autonomous vehicle technology. The lawyers said

Tesla attorneys countered in court that the company had communicated directly with customers about how to use Autopilot and other features, and that McGee's driving was to blame for the collision. They said in closing arguments that Tesla works to develop technology to save drivers' lives, and that a ruling against the EV maker would send the wrong message.

The Benavides family had previously sued McGee and settled with him. McGee was charged in October 2019 with careless driving and didn't contest the charges.

While Tesla has typically been able to settle cases or move Autopilot-related suits into arbitration and out of the public eye, Judge Beth Bloom in the Miami court wrote, in an order in early July, that the case could move ahead to trial.

"A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit," she wrote in that order.

For closing arguments on Thursday, the Benavides family and Angulo were in the courtroom. They looked away from screens anytime a video or picture of the scene of the crash was displayed.

-- NBC News' Maria Pinero reported from Miami.

WATCH: Calling Tesla a car company is overrated
Another day, another deadline and another trade curveball from U.S. President Donald Trump just before the buzzer. The tariff deadline was set for August 1. Markets were watching. Countries were calculating. And then, right before midnight (well, UK time), came another announcement: 40% tariffs on transshipped goods, new rates for dozens of nations, and yet another reshuffling of Trump's trade playbook. All set to begin next week. If this feels familiar, it's because it is. We've seen this before. In April, Trump stunned global markets with a blanket 10% tariff hike, followed by a pause, and then a partial reinstatement. The July 9 restart was delayed at the last minute and pushed to August 1. Each time, businesses scrambled, leaders called Washington, trade lawyers worked overtime. But the element of surprise remained. This isn't just erratic policymaking. It's a signature Trump move. His leadership style mixes showmanship, brinkmanship, and a firm belief in the power of unpredictability. Announcements often come via social media with deadlines shifting, pressure building And when the world thinks the playbook is set, Trump throws in one more twist.

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Stephen Olson, Senior Visiting Fellow at ISEAS  Yusof Ishak Institute and former U.S. trade negotiator, told CNBC this week that Trump has "fundamentally rewritten the rules of global trade." Olson further added that with the U.S. stepping away from the very free trade system it once built and led, it's unclear whether that system can still hold together. "Don't assume this is the end of the story. Trump regards this as an ongoing reality show. More 'deals' or further tariff increases are almost certain to follow. While we haven't returned entirely to a 'law of the jungle' system, we have taken several huge strides back in that direction." It's the Art of the Deal, reimagined for geopolitics. And while the tactics may appear chaotic, they've produced results  at least by Trump's standards. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a prime example. Trump repeatedly threatened to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) unless Canada and Mexico agreed to stricter terms. After months of tense, down-to-the-wire talks and even a few midnight calls, the deal was signed. It came with tougher rules on automotive content, labor, and digital trade. Just days before implementing sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs, Trump announced a headline-grabbing agreement with the U.K., calling it a "very big and exciting day." The message was clear: act fast or face tariffs. Trump's late-night decisions This week's moves feels like it's cut from the same cloth. Countries like Thailand and Malaysia saw their rates adjusted at the last moment, while others, such as Canada, were hit harder. Switzerland also saw a steep 39% tariff slapped despite no major bilateral tension. The timing of the 40% penalty on transshipped goods is notable, given that the U.S. and China are currently negotiating a trade deal. But diplomacy-by-disruption carries costs. Global markets are jittery. CEOs across industries  from autos to semiconductors  are now building uncertainty into their forecasts. Investors dislike surprises and supply chains don't pivot that fast.
The U.K.'s Supreme Court is poised to deliver a long-awaited judgment on the country's multi-billion-pound car finance scandal , one which could have major ramifications across the British economy. Britain's top court is set to hand down its ruling on motor finance commissions at 4:35 p.m. London time (11:35 a.m. ET) on Friday, a few minutes after European markets close. The car finance industry has been in disarray since the U.K.'s Court of Appeal ruled in October last year that it was unlawful for car dealers to receive bonuses from banks providing motor finance without getting the customer's informed consent. The landmark judgement caught many in the industry off guard at the time  and opened up the prospect of a massive redress scheme to compensate consumers. The crisis has drawn comparisons to Britain's Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) scandal, which was estimated to have cost lenders more than 50 billion ($66.1 billion). U.K.-based lender Close Brothers and South Africa's FirstRand have sought to overturn the Court of Appeal's decision. It puts the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling in sharp focus, with millions of consumers poised to claim compensation from the banks involved. For its part, the U.K. government is thought to be closely monitoring the decision, amid fears that a judgement calling for billions of pounds in redress payments could significantly disrupt the car market. Potential costs Analysts at RBC Capital Markets recently slashed their estimates for how much the scandal could end up costing lenders. "We expect that the Court will find that the banks were liable under statute, focussing on egregious discretionary commissions, but will clear them of liability in equity and under tort," Benjamin Toms, equity analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a research note published Monday. "We believe this is an ideal way for this issue to be handed back to the FCA to set up a softer redress scheme," Toms said, referring to Britain's Financial Conduct Authority. As a result, analysts at RBC Capital Markets reduced their expectations for the estimated cumulative impact from motor finance redress by around 30%. They now anticipate a total sector impact of 11 billion, of which 4 billion for banks and 7 billion for non-banks. Alongside Close Brothers, rating agency Fitch previously flagged Bank of Ireland UK, Barclays, Investec, Lloyds and Santander UK as lenders that have been "significantly involved" in motor finance lending. Redress scheme Brian Nimmo, head of redress at financial services consultancy Broadstone, said the Supreme Court's forthcoming judgment could kickstart one of the country's largest-ever mass redress schemes. "The ruling should give clarity on whether discretionary commission was unlawful and also what the ramifications could be for other markets with elements of hidden commission," Nimmo said. "The FCA has already set out some of the key decisions it will make around the potential implementation of a redress scheme that would be highly complex in seeking to balance fairness for consumers and the integrity of the motor finance market," he added. The FCA, which is considering an industry-wide redress scheme, has said it will confirm whether to issue compensation to consumers within six weeks of the Friday ruling.
FILE PHOTO: Patricia de Stacy Harrison, president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), testifies before a House subcommittee holding hearings on President Donald Trump's first budget on Capitol Hill on March 28, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will shut down its operations after the loss of federal funding, the nonprofit said on Friday, in a blow to local TV and radio stations that have relied on its grants for nearly six decades.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a $9 billion funding cut to public media and foreign aid last month.

This included the elimination of $1.1 billion earmarked for the CPB  which distributes funding to news outlets National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service  over the next two years.

"Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations," CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said.
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 Friday's key moments. 1. Stocks were under heavy pressure Friday after a much weaker-than-expected jobs report. That has investors questioning whether Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's decision to hold rates steady Wednesday was the right move. As a result, expectations for a September rate cut are rising. Jim Cramer called the jobs numbers "jarring" and urged Powell to cut rates. Adding to the uncertainty, President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on several countries as Friday's deadline arrived. A pullback in the AI trade that's been driving the market higher also cooled, driven in part by the nearly 8% post-earnings drop in Amazon shares. 2. Cramer said the big Amazon decline is an "amazing buying opportunity." The market reaction followed mixed guidance, delivered Thursday evening, and growth concerns about its Amazon Web Services cloud business. AWS reported 17.5% year-over-year growth. While solid, that figure did not meet the high bar set by Microsoft's Azure cloud growth of 39% or Google Cloud's 32%. Jim believes AWS sentiment turned negative after CEO Andy Jassy responded to a cloud question on the call by proceeding to "wax about things that weren't as related to Amazon Web Services." That left the market thinking the unit may not be as strong as expected. "That's not the case," Jim said. "I don't want people to get mixed messages at all. It was a very good number." On "Squawk on the Street," Jim said he would "buy Amazon hand over fist." 3. Shares of Apple were trending lower despite delivering an excellent quarter. Jim highlighted the iPhone maker's better-than-expected performance, particularly in China, where smartphone competition is fierce. However, what put a cap on the stock is the company's lack of direction about its AI strategy. Jim spoke with CEO Tim Cook after earnings Thursday evening about the company's AI roadmap. Jim said he came away more confident that Apple is open to a deal with an external partner to enhance its AI capabilities if the right opportunity were to arise. 4. Stocks covered in Friday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: Chevron , Reddit , Clorox , Coinbase , and Figma . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AMZN, AAPL. 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.
Businesses across Asia are increasingly warming up to stablecoins for cross-border transactions  a trend set to accelerate further as Hong Kong moves to legalize the use of digital tokens, experts told CNBC. From online travel agencies and luxury goods resellers to high-end hotels, companies are embracing stablecoin for payments, citing both speed and cost-efficiency compared to the traditional financial system. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies usually pegged to sovereign currencies or even gold, making them more stable compared to other crypto assets. Hong Kong's new legislation , set to take effect Friday, will formalize the framework for financial firms to issue and manage these virtual assets, similar to the U.S. GENIUS Act . Cryptocurrency wallet platforms allow customers to pay via digital currencies, which are then converted into stablecoins or local fiat currencies while being credited to merchants, minimizing price volatility and settlement risk for businesses, according to several crypto industry veterans and business owners. Monthly stablecoin transaction volumes between businesses had surged to more than $3 billion by early 2025, from under $100 million at the start of 2023, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Artemis from May. The report was based on a survey of 31 stablecoin-based payment firms that process transactions on behalf of end users globally. Unlike conventional cross-border bank transfers that can take several days and incur steep processing fees, stablecoin transactions are nearly instantaneous and substantially cheaper, experts pointed out. "What blockchain is able do is to facilitate transactions between parties with less counterparty risks," said Ben El-Baz, head of global expansion at cryptocurrency exchange Hashkey Group. Blockchain is a technology used for keeping account of crypto transactions. "For cross-border payments, instead of having to go from originating bank to intermediary to correspondent bank, then down to the beneficiary ... stablecoins transferred via blockchain are basically an exchange of value that happens instantaneously," he added. That has attracted the interest of major payment processors such as Visa , Mastercard , and Stripe , all of which have begun integrating stablecoin support into their payment infrastructure. The momentum has been further fueled by the regulatory development in the U.S. in the past two months. The listing of USD Coin-issuer Circle in June along with President Donald Trump's GENIUS Act have sparked broader interest in digital payments across Asia. "Stablecoin has surely emerged as a supplementary currency to the conventional fiat currencies," said Alice Liu, founder and CEO of dtcpay. The Singapore-based fintech company helps clients process stablecoin payments and convert them into fiat currencies. Dtcpay's clients include Chinese businesses with legal entities in Singapore and Hong Kong to settle stablecoin payments into preferred currencies, often U.S. dollar, Singapore dollar or Chinese offshore yuan. Travel, luxury handbags, high-end hotel Singapore-based travel agency Wetrip, which specializes in organizing group tours to China, began accepting stablecoin payments in June. It accepts them via digital wallets such as the one offered by the world's top crypto exchange, Coinbase, lured by faster settlement and significant cost savings. "The lengthy processing period and hefty transaction fees with traditional banking network were real pain points," Vincent Xue, the company's founder and CEO, told CNBC. He added that if his suppliers were to start accepting stablecoin, he would not need to convert them back into local fiat money, allowing his entire payment stack to operate fully on blockchain. Global stablecoin payment volumes hit $94.2 billion over the two years ending February, with business-to-business transactions accounting for one third of the flows, according to Artemis. Stablecoin payments by consumers directly to businesses are also on the rise, climbing to over $300 million a month early this year from just $50 million in early 2023. Singapore and Hong Kong were among the top three markets for stablecoin flows, just following the U.S. The Singapore-China route, in particular, emerged as the busiest for stablecoin flows, the report said, while the next seven largest corridors all involved the U.S. Among retailers, many luxury businesses are embracing blockchain payments, with more high-end brands adopting stablecoin-to-fiat transactions for high-value purchases, citing speed, higher upper limits on transaction value as key advantages. Capella Hotel, a Singapore-based high-end hotel group, started allowing guests to complete transactions using digital currencies in October last year, due to "growing demand [for] secure and convenient payment option," according to its statement. Ginza Xiaoma, a specialist collector and reseller for Hermes Birkin handbags, began accepting stablecoin payments in Singapore earlier this year, as several local customers requested to pay in cryptocurrencies. The boutique handbag reseller is eyeing to expand crypto payments in its Hong Kong branch in the coming months, as well as in its Tokyo branch in the next few years. "More payment options mean a higher chance of sealing the deal," Qian Zhou, director of sales at Ginza Xiaoma, told CNBC. Zhou's outlet mostly sells to customers in Singapore, Hong Kong, the U.S. and Europe. About 3% of the company's transactions are currently settled in stablecoins  a share that could climb to as much as 20% by year-end, Zhou estimates, translating into half a million Singapore dollars ($387, 512) in monthly revenue. Beijing's testbed for stablecoin Chinese government has traditionally imposed stringent restrictions on crypto activity, citing concerns over financial stability, fraud and capital flight. Signaling a shift in policy direction, Shanghai government in July convened a work group, vowing to deepen their understanding of how to use blockchain technology in cross-border trades. While Beijing sticks to a conservative stance in mainland China, Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of the country, has emerged as a regulatory sandbox for Beijing with the aim of preserving its global edge in financial innovation. A slew of mainland-listed fintech companies recently announced plans related to stablecoin usage. Shenzhen-listed Yusys Technologies said in July that it is exploring real-world applications for introducing stablecoin payments into everyday retail scenes. Both JD.com and Ant Financial have plans to issue stablecoin backed by the Hong Kong dollar , after the new legislation takes effects Friday. "As more regulatory clarity comes out around stable coins. The ability of stablecoin payment networks replacing SWIFT-based payment networks is very high," said Hashkey's El-Baz. SWIFT, which stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications , is the dominant network for international money transfers. "We're really just on the cusp of this," he added.
How you start a new job can set the tone for your overall experience at a company, including the relationships you build and opportunities that come your way in the future.

That's why being strategic about your first 90 days is crucial, says Donna Morris, executive vice president and chief people officer at Walmart. Morris has been in the C-suite for almost 10 years, and has held executive-level roles since 1998.

Morris says her success is due, in part, to dedicating the first three months on a new job to communication and clarity  and she recommends that others do the same.

"In the first 90 days, do as much as possible to really understand who you'll be working with, how they work and what's expected," says Morris.

That means tapping into your interpersonal skills and asking your boss, managers and co-workers not just about their jobs and responsibilities, but who they are and how they show up best at work.

Actively listening to their responses can help you be more likable and influential in the workplace, and make you sound smarter, Harvard University associate professor Alison Wood Brooks recently told CNBC Make It.

"Foremost, make sure you understand what your job is and what's expected of you. Sounds like a basic [idea], but it's so important," Morris says. "And to go a little bit further, take what you've understood to be what's expected of you, write it out and share it with your manager, and make sure that you're both aligned."

Morris' advice comes as workers feel increasingly disconnected from their bosses. Nearly 50% of employees say their bosses don't understand them or their jobs, according to the April 2025 Workplace Perception Gap Survey from HR platform The Predictive Index, which sampled 1,000 workers across different industries, age groups and job levels.

The result: 44% of employees said they were overlooked for raises or big, exciting projects because their boss didn't understand the scope of their role, their skills and their work habits, like how they prioritize tasks or organize information. And 48% said their leaders and managers regularly undervalued their contributions, leading to feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt.

This miscommunication could possibly be avoided if employees and bosses discussed expectations, working styles and goals early on.

You don't have to have a decades-long career to have these conversations  even interns and associates should go above and beyond to ensure their first 90 days at a new job are productive. This helps you exude confidence and make a good impression, says Morris.

Want to stand out, grow your network, and get more job opportunities? Sign up for Smarter by CNBC Make It's new online course, How to Build a Standout Personal Brand: Online, In Person, and At Work. Learn from three expert instructors how to showcase your skills, build a stellar reputation, and create a digital presence that AI can't replicate. Sign up today with coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off the regular course price of $67 (plus tax). Offer valid July 22, 2025, through September 2, 2025.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life, and request to join our exclusive community on LinkedIn to connect with experts and peers.
Ingwervanille | Moment | Getty Images

Setting aside money in a rainy-day fund can bolster households' retirement prospects down the road, especially for hourly workers with inconsistent income streams, experts said. Emergency funds are a "security blanket," said Fiona Greig, global head of investor research and policy at Vanguard Group, an asset manager. That's because they offer a cash buffer for people who might otherwise raid their 401(k) accounts to pay for unforeseen expenses in the short term, she said. 401(k) investors with at least $2,000 of emergency savings are less likely than those without rainy-day funds to tap their retirement plans early, according to new Vanguard research.

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Specifically, they are 19 percentage points less likely to take a 401(k) loan and 17 points less likely to withdraw 401(k) funds for a financial hardship, Vanguard found. Leaving a job is another trigger that allows workers to access their 401(k) savings before retirement age. Job-switchers who have emergency funds are 43 percentage points less likely to cash out their 401(k) accounts than those without, according to Vanguard. "Emergency savings protect retirement savings," Greig said. Retirement savers with emergency funds also save a greater share of their incomes  2.2 percentage points more  in a 401(k) relative to those without them, Vanguard found.

401(k) 'leakage' is a large concern

Riska | E+ | Getty Images

Policymakers view so-called "leakage" from 401(k) plans  especially cash-outs  as a big impediment to retirement security. Withdrawing 401(k) assets early generally comes with tax penalties and shortchanges investors, who forgo years of investment earnings on withdrawn funds, experts said. There would be roughly $2 trillion of additional savings in 401(k) plans over a 40-year period if workers didn't prematurely cash out their accounts, the Employee Benefit Research Institute estimated in a 2019 paper. More from Personal Finance:

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Even many high-earning Americans don't feel wealthy Leakage is an especially large concern for hourly workers, Vanguard's Greig said. Hourly workers are less likely to have emergency funds and more likely than salaried employees to tap their 401(k) savings early, Greig said. (That's not just because hourly workers also tend to be lower earners, she said. The trend persists even when comparing hourly and salaried workers with similar incomes, according to Vanguard's research.) Hourly workers have more volatile incomes, Greig said. Without an emergency buffer, they may need to tap their 401(k) if cash flow decreases unexpectedly, she said.

How to build an emergency fund

Ideally, households would set aside enough money to cover three to six months of expenses (like a mortgage and groceries) in an emergency fund, said Carolyn McClanahan, a certified financial planner based in Jacksonville, Florida, and a member of CNBC's Financial Advisor Council. However, for households barely making enough to make ends meet, anything helps, McClanahan said. Financial planners generally recommend stashing an emergency fund in a conservative, liquid account like a high-yield savings account or money market fund, which earn more interest than a traditional bank checking account.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index provisionally closed 1.8% lower on Friday in its worst session since April, after the White House hit countries around the world with a range of new tariff rates.

While the European Union and the U.K. have already negotiated their own trade agreements, the news sent stocks lower around the world on global growth concerns. Stoxx 600 travel stocks closed 2.7% lower, while banks fell 2.9%.

"The fact Trump hasn't chickened out and pushed back the 1 August deadline to 1 September has soured the tone on the markets," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"Investors in the healthcare sector got a dose of the blues after Trump wrote to various company bosses outlining how they should cut U.S. prescription drug prices or face a crackdown," he added.

Corporate earnings season meanwhile continued Friday, with British Airways owned IAG closing nearly 2% lower despite reporting operating earnings jumped 35% year on year.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai gestures to the crowd during Google's annual I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, on May 20, 2025.

Google has purged more than 50 organizations related to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, from a list of organizations that the tech company provides funding to, according to a new report.

The company has removed a total of 214 groups from its funding list while adding 101, according to a new report from tech watchdog organization The Tech Transparency Project. The watchdog group cites the most recent public list of organizations that receive the most substantial contributions from Google's U.S. Government Affairs and Public Policy team.

The largest category of purged groups were DEI-related, with a total of 58 groups removed from Google's funding list, TTP found. The dropped groups had mission statements that included the words "diversity, "equity," "inclusion," or "race," "activism," and "women." Those are also terms the Trump administration officials have reportedly told federal agencies to limit or avoid.

In response to the report, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda told CNBC that the list reflects contributions made in 2024 and that it does not reflect all contributions made by other teams within the company.

"We contribute to hundreds of groups from across the political spectrum that advocate for pro-innovation policies, and those groups change from year to year based on where our contributions will have the most impact," Castaneda said in an email.

Organizations that were removed from Google's list include the African American Community Service Agency, which seeks to "empower all Black and historically excluded communities"; the Latino Leadership Alliance, which is dedicated to "race equity affecting the Latino community"; and Enroot, which creates out-of-school experiences for immigrant kids.

The organization funding purge is the latest to come as Google began backtracking some of its commitments to DEI over the last couple of years. That pull back came due to cost cutting to prioritize investments into artificial intelligence technology as well as the changing political and legal landscape amid increasing national anti-DEI policies.

Over the past decade, Silicon Valley and other industries used DEI programs to root out bias in hiring, promote fairness in the workplace and advance the careers of women and people of color  demographics that have historically been overlooked in the workplace.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision to end affirmative action at colleges led to additional backlash against DEI programs in conservative circles.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order upon taking office in January to end the government's DEI programs and directed federal agencies to combat what the administration considers "illegal" private-sector DEI mandates, policies and programs. Shortly after, Google's Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi told employees that the company would end DEI-related hiring "aspirational goals" due to new federal requirements and Google's categorization as a federal contractor.

Despite DEI becoming such a divisive term, many companies are continuing the work but using different language or rolling the efforts under less-charged terminology, like "learning" or "hiring."

Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai maintained the importance diversity plays in its workforce at an all-hands meeting in March.

"We're a global company, we have users around the world, and we think the best way to serve them well is by having a workforce that represents that diversity," Pichai said at the time.

One of the groups dropped from Google's contributions list is the National Network to End Domestic Violence, which provides training, assistance, and public awareness campaigns on the issue of violence against women, the TTP report found. The group had been on Google's list of funded organizations for at least nine years and continues to name the company as one of its corporate partners.

Google said it still gave $75,000 to the National Network to End Domestic Violence in 2024 but did not say why the group was removed from the public contributions list.

WATCH: Alphabet's valuation remains highly attractive, says Evercore ISI's Mark Mahaney
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025. Kent Nishimura | Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday stateside rejigged the so-called "reciprocal" tariff rates for several countries, ahead of the Friday deadline announced earlier. The White House also announced a 40% tariff rate for all goods transshipped to the U.S. to avoid the applicable duties. Countries not listed in the latest order will face an additional duty of 10%. The latest directive modifies tariffs imposed under the earlier executive order issued in April. Trump in a post on Wednesday said, "THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE  IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED. A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!" A White House official, however, told CNBC-TV18 on Friday that "reciprocal" duties would take effect from Aug. 7. Here are reactions to Trump's latest tariff announcements from countries around the world as the clock ticks down to an uncertain deadline.

Cambodia

"This is a good news for the citizens and economy of Cambodia to continue developing the country," Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said in a Facebook post on Friday after the revised table of tariffs was released. Cambodia now faces 19% duties, a massive cut from the "Liberation Day" tariff level of 49%  which were among the highest rates announced on April 2.



Manet also thanked Trump for "initiating and pushing for ceasefire between [the] Cambodian army and Thai army." The two countries were involved in a border conflict last week.

Thailand

Thailand's Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said in a post on X that the tariff rate levied on the country "reflects the close friendship and partnership between Thailand and the United States," according to a Google translation of his statement in Thai. The country faces 19% tariffs on exports to the U.S, lower than the original 36%. Chunhavajira added that the announced tariff helps Thailand remain competitive on the global stage, builds investor confidence and allows economic growth. However, he said that the government recognizes the impact of the tariffs on entrepreneurs and farmers, and has prepared "comprehensive support measures," including soft loans, subsidies, and tax measures so as to help Thailand adapt.

Taiwan

Taiwan has been hit with a 20% "temporary tariff," President Lai Ching-te said on his Facebook page, adding that negotiations were still ongoing. This is lower than the 32% rate announced on April 2. "If an agreement is reached, it can be expected that the tariff rate will be further reduced," Lai wrote on Friday. Taiwan will also discuss supply chain cooperation and issues related to Section 232 in the future, he added, referring to the sectoral tariffs that Trump had imposed on national security grounds.

Malaysia

Malaysia saw its tariff rate reduced to 19% from the 25% announced in a "tariff letter" sent to the country in July. Before the executive order, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the country's parliament that "Tomorrow's [Aug. 1] general tariff rate will ease and not burden our economy," according to a CNBC translation of his speech in Malay He also confirmed that Trump would be attending the 47th ASEAN summit in October, being held in Malaysia. The U.S. President attended only one ASEAN Summit in his first term.

Japan

Asia's second-largest economy had struck a deal with Trump that brought tariffs on Japanese exports down to 15% from 25%, on July 23. The agreement also slashed duties on the country's critical automobile sector down to 15%. In a press conference on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the new tariff rates "will reduce uncertainty regarding U.S. trade policy and lower the risk of a downturn in our economy and the global economy," national broadcaster NHK reported. Japan will continue to urge the U.S. to sign the presidential order to bring auto tariffs down as soon as possible, Hayashi added, according to a Google translation of his speech in Japanese. He also said the country will "do everything we can" to mitigate the tariff impact, including supporting the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises.

India

Having not arrived at a deal with the U.S. President, India faces 25% tariff in the rejigged table, the same as announced on Wednesday. On Thursday, India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goel told the country's parliament that the country has been negotiating with the U.S. for a trade agreement by October-November this year, according to a CNBC translation of his speech in Hindi. He added that the government gives great importance to protecting farmers, entrepreneurs, and medium and small enterprises, and will take all needed steps to safeguard its national interest.

Australia

Tariff rate on Australia was held at 10%, among the lowest level of duties that the U.S. has imposed on its trading partners. Don Farrell, Australia's trade minister, reportedly hailed this as a "vindication" for the government, adding that the country had conducted diplomacy with the U.S. in a "cool and calm" way. "What this decision means in conjunction with all of the other changes to other countries is that Australian products are now more competitive into the American market," he said, according to a Reuters report.

New Zealand

New Zealand is among the countries now facing a 15% tariff rate, up from 10% previously. Speaking to local media, the country's Trade Minister Todd McClay said it seemed as though the tariff rates were targeting countries that have trade deficits with the U.S., but that the size of it was "really not significant or meaningful" in New Zealand's case. "Many of the exporters are saying they have been able to absorb the 10 percent, or in many cases pass it on, but at 15 percent it is going to start having a greater effect on our exporters," he said. McClay said talks with the U.S. would continue, and that he would push for a lower tariff.

Norway

Norway has also been hit with 15% tariffs from Aug. 7  the same rate the country was given back in April. Cecilie Myrseth, Norway's minister of trade and industry, on Friday suggested to local media that talks with the U.S. so far have been constructive yet difficult, according to a Google-translation. The goal remained, however, for the two countries to come to an agreement, she said.

Switzerland

Switzerland is among the countries with a higher tariff rate of 39%. On social media platform X, the country's federal council, said it noted "with great regret that, despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerland's very constructive stance from the outset, the US intends to impose unilateral additional tariffs on imports from Switzerland." "Switzerland has been and remains in contact with the relevant US authorities. It continues to seek a negotiated solution with the US," the council added, noting that it would now assess the situation and decide on next steps.

Canada

U.S. neighbor Canada has been slapped with 35% tariffs, which have already come into effect. The two countries have been engaging in an escalating trade conflict since early this year. Goods that are covered by the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement are not impacted. In a statement, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the country was "disappointed" by the U.S. increasing tariffs. "While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong," he said. Carney also pushed back against the U.S. justifying higher tariffs with cross-border drug flows  an argument Trump has repeatedly made.

South Africa
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil tanker Nevskiy Prospect, owned by Russia's leading tanker group Sovcomflot, transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey September 6, 2020.

Indian state refiners have stopped buying Russian oil in the past week as discounts narrowed this month and U.S. President Donald Trump warned countries not to purchase oil from Moscow, industry sources said.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, is the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, a vital revenue earner for Russia as it wages war in Ukraine for a fourth year.

The country's state refiners - Indian Oil Corp , Hindustan Petroleum Corp , Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd - have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources familiar with the refiners' purchase plans told Reuters.

IOC, BPCL, HPCL, MRPL and the federal oil ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The four refiners regularly buy Russian oil on a delivered basis and have turned to spot markets for replacement supply - mostly Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabi's Murban crude and West African oil, sources said.

Private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy, majority owned by Russian entities including oil major Rosneft, have annual deals with Moscow and are the biggest Russian oil buyers in India.

On July 14, Trump threatened 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine.

Indian refiners are pulling back from Russian crude as discounts shrink to their lowest since 2022, when Western sanctions were first imposed on Moscow, due to lower Russian exports and steady demand, sources said.

Refiners fear the latest EU curbs could complicate overseas trade including fund raising  even for buyers adhering to the price cap. India has reiterated its opposition to "unilateral sanctions".

Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on goods imported from India from August 1, but added that negotiations were ongoing. He also warned of potential penalties for purchase of Russian arms and oil.

On Monday, Trump cut the deadline to impose secondary sanction on buyers of Russian exports to 10-12 days from the previous 50-day period, if Moscow does not agree a peace deal with Ukraine.

Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of India's overall supplies.

Private refiners bought nearly 60% of India's average 1.8 million barrels per day of Russian oil imports in the first half of 2025, while state refiners that control over 60% of India's overall 5.2 million bpd refining capacity, bought the remainder.

Reliance purchased Abu Dhabi Murban crude for loading in October this month, an unusual move by the refiner, traders said.
CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up to receive future editions.

There's an air of 'been there, done that' about the Moon these days.

Increasingly, the great minds of the space industry seem to be thinking bigger  and, since the start of the year, redder.

If you had doubts the Moon's being eclipsed of late, they might be dismissed by the recent announcement that aerospace group Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency will develop the first human lunar habitat, in a key update for the NASA-led Artemis program.

"Artemis' purpose is to ensure a sustainable human presence on the Moon as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars," the press release says. "Stepping stone" inevitably stands out.

China and India have only landed spacecrafts on lunar soil since the late 2010s, with commercial companies achieving the feat since the start of last year. Yet Moon ventures have gradually come to be seen as a pitstop, rather than a standalone final destination  with attention pivoting to the bigger, juicier endgame of setting boots on Mars.

Just check out U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk's effusive enthusiasm for colonizing the red planet: the rhetoric's shifted, even though lunar activity is set to dominate NASA's social calendar through the Artemis initiative over the next few years. After debuting with an uncrewed test assignment back in 2022, the next three missions under the Artemis program's umbrella target a manned flight around April next year, a South Pole human expedition in mid-2027 and delivering astronauts to live and work in the Gateway station  a NASA-led multi-agency venture  at some point in 2028.

At the same time, the American space agency is still pressing ahead with its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program (CLPS, colloquially called 'Clips'), capitalizing on the lower costs of the private sector to deliver science and tech payloads to the Moon. NASA previously said it's earmarked a combined maximum of $2.6 billion for contracts between the program's premiere in 2024 through 2028. Just two missions took place last year, with four due in 2025, and a handful more scheduled over the next few years.

The original space race kicked off in the 1950s as a largely two-nation exhibit of national pride, tech prowess and military firepower. It was the spiritual successor of the nuclear race between Russia and the U.S. during the Cold War  and began to wind down after Neil Armstrong's first step on the Moon in 1969.

The chase to reach Mars first is drawing a slightly bigger crowd. China's put down establishing a research base on Mars on its wish list by 2038 and has previously said it plans to send a manned mission to the red planet five years prior. The European Space Agency is setting sights on robotic exploration and sample returns off Mars in the short term and two years ago said it plans to send Europeans to the planet by 2040.

Russia, meanwhile, has been more guarded about disclosing its Mars plans. It has signaled intentions to work toward such missions alone after the 2022 suspension of the joint 1 billion euro ExoMars mission with the European Space Agency, in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The appeal of Mars is inevitable, once you shrug off any Hollywood heebie-jeebies about the hostility of the possible alien life. It's got more "Earth-like" environmental conditions than the Moon and decent potential for sustained hospitality (though some have made the case for one of Saturn's moons, Titan). But it'll be interesting to see whether national space agencies shift gears toward Mars  leaving Moon projects to increasingly become the province of private space companies that have been flocking to fill the gap.

One of them has been making this past week's headlines: building on the successful, upright landing of its Blue Ghost lander back in March, Northrop Grumman-backed Firefly Aerospace has now set sights on financial light-off and seeks a $5.5 billion valuation for its upcoming initial public offering. It boasts a backlog of roughly $1.1 billion and a sixfold jump in revenue to $55.9 million at the end of March. But it competes in a landscape of increasingly more advanced and cheaply-made satellites, orbital congestion and high developmental costs  with titan rivals ranging from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to SpaceX and national governments. Fitting to our theme, it's just been awarded its fifth CLPS contract worth $176.7 million to deliver five NASA-sponsored payloads to the Moon's South Pole in 2029.
Here are Friday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight The firm raised its price target on the stock to $240 per share from $235 following earnings. "This was Apple's strongest quarterly report/guide in 2+ years, with outperformance broad-based across Product/Services and regions." Read more. Bernstein reiterates Coinbase as outperform Bernstein said Coinbase remains extremely well positioned following Thursday's earnings report. "We expect increased upward market volatility and broadening of trading interest in blockchain assets such as ETH [Ethereum], SOL [Solana] and long tail of financial tokens, driven by strong market structural shift around stablecoins and asset tokenisation." Morgan Stanley reiterates Amazon as overweight Morgan Stanley said Amazon remains a top idea following earnings. "Retail growth and profit improvements are shining and driving earnings. 2Q AWS growth was better and we detail why we see faster growth ahead. Remain OW, $300 PT." Read more. Wells Fargo reiterates Roku as overweight Wells Fargo said shares of the connected TV company have more room to run following earnings. "We think this was a strong, and possibly pivotal, quarter fo r ROKU . Platform accel exceeded expectations and continues through '25." Bank of America reiterates Boeing as buy Bank of America said it is getting increasingly bullish in shares of Boeing. "We reiterate our Buy rating and increase our PO to $270 (from $260) which implies normalized FCF of $11/per share." Read more. JPMorgan upgrades DoubleVerify Holdings to overweight from neutral JPMorgan upgraded the digital media company after many years on the sidelines. "Since early-2022, we have remained on the sidelines as DV shares have traded as high as the $40s and through the $30s, and $20s, throughout that period expressing a view that the risk-reward skewed inline to somewhat unfavorable even as we maintained our positive assessment of DoubleVerify's technology and attractive positioning within the ad verification, safety, and performance optimization market." JPMorgan upgrades Citizens Financial to overweight from neutral JPMorgan said it sees a slew of positive catalysts ahead for the banking company. "In addition, near term, it should benefit relatively more than peers from higher markets-related revenues, especially capital markets fees, offsetting slower share buybacks. Citizens should also be positioned to return to increasing its common dividend this year after a pause for three years, with its improving earnings." Wells Fargo upgrades Canada Goose to overweight from equal weight Wells Fargo said the clothing company is a turnaround story. "GOOS has quietly begun to inflect their business post a ~24 month reset - with material improvements in product + marketing driving meaningful DTC growth, while wholesale upside now appears more visible." Jefferies upgrades Sprouts Farmers Market to buy from hold Jefferies said shares of the health grocery market company are too attractive to ignore following earnings. "SFM delivered a strong Q2, driven by DD% [double digit] comp growth, new store strength, and alignment with consumer demand for quality, health-focused products." Macquarie upgrades Nio to outperform from neutral Macquarie said it is bullish on the launch of the company's Onvo L90 vehicle. "Onvo L90 is set to address NIO's core problem: low volumes." Jefferies upgrades MP Materials to buy from hold Jefferies said it see a slew of catalysts ahead for the rare earths company. "MP shares have roughly doubled following transformational deals with the DoD [Department of Defense] (supporting scale) and Apple (validating capabilities)." Bank of America upgrades Unilever to buy from neutral Bank of America said in its upgrade of the personal home-care products company that Unilever's derating has "gone too far." "We believe, key risks (weaker consumer and FX) are well flagged, hard currency EPS growth is less of a 2025 focus and the expectations look derisked to us from here." Goldman Sachs downgrades Avis Budget to sell from neutral Goldman Sachs downgraded Avis Budget following earnings. "We raise our PT from $87 to $105 as we raise our multiple from 7X to 8X to reflect the potential growth opportunity from new initiatives. We see 39% downside to our revised price target vs. 1%downside for the rest of our coverage." JPMorgan upgrades Itron to overweight from neutral JPMorgan upgraded the water energy solutions company following earnings. "We are upgrading ITRI to Overweight from Neutral." Piper Sandler upgrades Appfolio to overweight from neutral Piper Sandler said it sees a growth rebound for the property management software company. "We are upgrading APPF to Overweight following impressive results in Q2 reflecting strong GTM [go-to market] execution and innovation helping drive success upmarket, premium tier mix shift, product adoption, and consistent new business wins." Bernstein reiterates Nvidia as outperform Bernstein said it is sticking with shares of Nvidia. "The datacenter opportunity is enormous, and still early, with material upside still possible. Citi upgrades XPO to buy from neutral Citi upgraded the trucking company following earnings. "XPO is gaining momentum under CEO Mario Harik for service improvement that has been driving margin expansion." Morgan Stanley reiterates Reddit as overweight The firm raised its price target o n Reddit to $230 per share from $170. "We raise our '25/'26 rev by 12%/22% as improvements in ad onboarding, new ad formats and a scaling salesforce highlight still long runway for growth, meanwhile 4 key initiatives across user onboarding, search, international and marketing set to stabilize user growth and improve multiple. PT to $230."
President Trump's trade war has already loomed large over the back-to-school and holiday season ordering of retailers. Spring season is next, and it is occurring just as Trump's latest sweeping global tariffs take effect.

While Spring 2026 may seem relatively far off into the future, for retailers, now is the time of year when they plan spring orders, and both retailing and manufacturing experts say the tariffs will influence the level of activity.

The retail industry warned on Friday that the latest tariffs may lead to higher prices, fewer products on the shelves, and job losses.

"Continued high tariffs from key sourcing countries, last-minute policy shifts, and unclear new requirements are creating the perfect storm for a difficult holiday season and a challenging spring," said Steve Lamar, CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. "America's most popular brands and retailers are in a flurry of navigating the still-unpublished details of new trade deals. As they plan for Spring 2026, they're weighing tough choices: whether to raise prices, cut jobs, or reduce the range of products offered to consumers," he said.

The U.S. fashion industry already carries what Lamar called an "outsized share of the burden."

In 2024, it accounted for less than 5% of all imports by value yet accounted for more than 25% of all tariffs the U.S. government collected.

During the summer months, companies are typically in the advanced stages of planning and placing orders for the new year and spring seasons. Now, there's a widespread hesitancy to make timely shipping and sourcing decisions.

"To stay competitive, American companies need clear, final trade terms now; not uncertainty layered on top of already unsustainable costs," Lamar said.

David French, the National Retail Federation's executive vice president of government relations, said in a statement on Friday that "binding trade agreements that truly open markets by lowering tariffs, not raising them," should be the administration's goal.

NRF warned that the "direct result of tariffs will be higher prices, decreased hiring, fewer capital expenditures and slower innovation."

"Retailers have been able to hold the line on pricing so far, but the new tariffs will impact merchandise in the coming weeks. We have heard directly from small retailers who are concerned about their ability to stay in business in the face of these unsustainable tariff rates," French said in the statement.

Retail CEOs under stress

Aabesh De, founder of plant health company Flora  which shot to popularity after his appearance on Shark Tank  told CNBC that with a product development and manufacturing cycle that is between 6 to 8 months, the tariff uncertainty, and in his company's case the layering of Chinese tariffs, led the Flora team to pause the release of a new Flora Pod.

"Originally, we were hoping for a December release, and we then pushed it back to the Spring," said De. "Now, we are back to the drawing board because we are paying a layered tariff of 60%. That would push the pod from $50 to over $100. It's become a big question mark of where do we source our pieces and existing components."

He is now looking at tariff supply chain scenarios with other countries, such as Vietnam. But he added, "There is no feasible way to make the product here in America in our price range."

Vietnam agreed to a trade deal with the U.S. in early July, which set tariffs at 20%. Talks between the U.S. and China are ongoing, and a 30% tariff is currently in effect, layered on top of other existing tariffs. If no deal is reached, tariffs on Chinese goods could reach as high as 145%. Trump officials have said talks with China will take longer, but progress is being made.

Jon Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at NRF, said that shipments through the first quarter of 2026 "will undoubtedly be impacted by the tariffs as the ongoing uncertainty has challenged retailers and their buying and sourcing decisions."

"Not knowing if certain key suppliers will have new trade deals or frameworks at lower or higher tariff rates has made it incredibly difficult for retailers of all sizes to properly plan and forecast what the next buying and selling season will look like. As a result, consumers may be subject to higher costs as well as less product availability," he said.

Xan Hood, founder and CEO of leather goods company Buffalo Jackson Trading Co., said he is pushing through the fear and uncertainty and ordering for spring with a product cycle for ordering and receiving products that is four to five months.

"When you are under stress, you tend to think short-term," said Hood. "But I need to think like a larger business and place my orders. I may not have the resources like a large business, so I do the best I can. If I seize up in this doom and gloom and don't place my orders, I won't have inventory. It's a risky move, but it's the right decision. I don't want to look back."

Hood said he never thought his company would be embroiled in a trade war since he sources his product in both Mexico and India.

"These two countries should be good partners for the U.S.," Hood said. "We still don't know how it will play out in the end."

The U.S. has extended a pause on additional 25% tariffs on Mexican goods, with Trump citing progress in talks, but India was a somewhat surprising target of higher than expected new tariffs at 25%.

Hood said making the same products in the U.S. would cost four to five times more, based on the estimated 50 man-hours of labor required to make a leather bag.

The trade war hasn't just hit the product economics, but Hood's ability to focus on strategy and growth as a CEO. He said the amount of time he is spending playing out countless scenarios and resolving logistics issues as a result of the tariffs is taking him away from planning ahead. "What used to take 10% of my time as the owner now takes up to 50%," he said. "Time I once spent on new product development, marketing, and strategy now goes to managing tariff-related issues," he added.

With the ongoing uncertainty related to Trump administration policies, the health of the factories in Mexico and India are major concerns. "The global supply chain is a very vulnerable system. Factories depend on orders from multiple companies. If they are not receiving orders, that would lead to closings, which could impact future orders for other companies," Hood said.

Retailers 'regret' pausing orders

Retailers do not want to pause orders, according to retail consultant and former retail industry executive Jan Rogers Kniffen, based on recent conversations he has had. He recently met with roughly sixty apparel, accessories, footwear, and cosmetics retailers and vendors equally split between the East Coast and West Coast. "There were two types of companies I talked to, retailers who did nothing regarding their 'on order' goods, and those who 'paused' goods and regretted that decision," said Kniffen. "There was not one company or person I talked to who said that they were glad that they paused. It was 100% agreed that pausing was too disruptive."

Orders for the fall season are down, but Kniffer said they are probably at 95% of what they would be in an "average" year.

"Retailers are doing what they always do when facing more uncertainty than usual, they buy a little bit less than planned and try to chase if things are strong," Kniffen said. "They are taking the same view on purchases for the spring season, and, I think it is for all of those same reasons. Consumers don't like uncertainty. Retailers don't like uncertainty. So, they express some caution on what they're buying for the next season. They would rather be a bit short and have strong gross margins and chase some goods than get caught with inventories that are too heavy and have to mark it all down to be clean for the following season," he added.

Ordering from China specifically is down and will continue lower, according to Kniffer. "Every retailer who is still in China tells me that they are bringing less out of China than last fall and will be bringing even less out in spring versus the prior year," he said.

But he added that the retailers still view the consumer as being solid and demand as healthy. Back-to-school spending started early and he said it seems "stronger than planned, and much better than last year. And I am not hearing people saying that tariffs will be a drag on profitability," he said. But he conceded, "I am undoubtedly the most optimistic of the analysts on the U.S. vendors and retailers handling tariffs with minimal impact on their top and bottom lines."

Even with the beginning of the August 1 tariffs on many nations, Mike Short, president of global forwarding at logistics company C.H. Robinson, said ongoing trade investigations and court hearings still hang over U.S. companies.

"It's clear that tariff and trade disruptions are far from over," Short said.

Much of that action is outside of retail, though it may add to the layering of tariffs that ultimately work their way into retail supply chains. For example, multiple investigations are active related to Section 232 of U.S. trade law, spanning sectors such as lumber, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, aerospace, trucks and truck parts, seafood, and critical minerals. "As we saw with copper this week, these investigations can swiftly lead to new tariffs," Short said, referencing the 50% tariff implemented on overseas copper products.

"The reality is that tariff volatility has become the new normal," he said.

In its earnings on Thursday, Amazon flagged "recessionary fears" and "tariff and trade policies" as potential headwinds for the second consecutive quarter. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said demand and pricing have held steady so far, and Amazon would absorb higher costs if tariffs rise.

Kniffen said that in the end, the strong in retail will get stronger while the weak get weaker. "Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Dick's Sporting Goods and TJX are the five best retailers in the country, so no matter where I put them on the 'affected by tariffs list,' they will handle it better than other retailers with whom they compete and just take share," he said.

"In retail, winners keep winning, losers keep losing until something changes that or the losers disappear. Tariffs are just a little kerosene on that fire," he added.
Pharmaceutical firms are scrambling to respond to a fresh ultimatum from U.S. President Donald Trump demanding "binding commitments" to lower their drug prices stateside.

The White House said Thursday that President Trump had sent letters to 17 major pharmaceutical firms outlining the steps they must take to lower the price of U.S. prescription drugs to "most favored nation" (MFN) levels by Sept. 29.

They were told that if they "refuse to step up," the government will deploy every tool in its "arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices," without stating what those measures could be.

The companies to receive letters were AbbVie , Amgen , AstraZeneca , Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb , Eli Lilly , EMD Serono, Roche' s subsidiary Genentech, Gilead , GSK , Johnson & Johnson , Merck , Novartis , Novo Nordisk , Pfizer , Regeneron and Sanofi .

Healthcare stocks tumbled Friday, following broader market losses as investors digested Trump's amended trade tariffs. Shares of Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk dropped 5% in early morning trade before paring losses to trade 1.3% lower at 11:15 a.m. London time (6:15 a.m. ET).

Companies were informed that they must provide MFN prices to all Medicaid patients, the U.S. health program for low-income patients.

They were also told not to offer medicines to other developed markets at better prices than those offered in the U.S., and that they should sell drugs directly to U.S. patients, thereby cutting out pharmacy middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

Trump has long lambasted pharmaceutical firms for what he dubs are unfair pricing practices, previously saying that he planned to bring down U.S. prices by 80%.

In May, the president signed an executive order to lower drug costs by tying the prices of some medicines in the U.S. to the significantly lower ones abroad under the MFN policy.

The U.S. consistently pays the most in the world for many prescription drugs, due in part to the U.S. highly complex and fragmented reimbursement system and lack of national pricing control.

The latest announcement comes as the pharmaceutical industry is also calling for clarity on potential industry-wide tariffs. Trump previously warned these could run as high as 200%.

Many companies have nevertheless shared that they agree with some of Trump's concerns.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said Tuesday that the Anglo-Swedish firm had been liaising closely with the U.S. administration over the MFN policy and investment in U.S. manufacturing more broadly. Last week, it announced plans to invest $50 billion in the U.S., following a slew of other pharma firms.

"There are issues around prices. I personally believe the president is right to say price equalization should happen," Soriot told reporters on an earnings call.
Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Stephen Miran said he expects even more government revenue from tariffs than previously projected, predicted more major U.S. trading partners will cut deals with the Trump administration, and waved off inflation concerns over tariffs.

"You mentioned revenues. That's also, I think, going to be absolutely fabulous," Miran said in an interview on CNBC's "Money Movers."

"A month ago, we expected $3 trillion in revenues [from tariff collections] over a decade," he said. "My team is still crunching the numbers as we have more tariff rates ... I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being much closer to $4 trillion than $3 trillion."

Miran said recent trade deals signed by the Trump administration, with the European Union, Japan and other trading partners, has "laid out a road map for how other countries can get trade deals if they want," including Canada, China and Mexico.

Those three countries are among the biggest trading partners with the U.S., and Miran suggested "it's only a matter of time until Canada and some others" reach similar deals.

"It's in their best interest to come to deal that makes America still remain open for business," Miran said. "Because outcomes with the deal will be much better than outcomes without a deal."

Asked if there is evidence that imposing tariffs on imports from other countries had lead to an increase in U.S. companies moving foreign manufacturing operations back home, Miran said, "I think it's going to take soem time for that evidence to accumulate."



He noted that "hyperglobalization" took years to occur, and likewise, "starting to rebuild the American domestic manufacturing base is also not going to happen overnight."

"I think we'll start to see signs of that coming in the near future," Miran said.

He said he did not think the new tariffs imposed by Trump will be "inflationary."

When "Money Movers" host Sara Eisen pointed to evidence of inflation in some goods sectors, Miran said he disagreed that it was due to tariffs, calling it "an international phenomenon" that is also seen in other countries.

- Dan Mangan
Linde on Friday reported better-than-expected quarterly results Thursday, showcasing what the industrial gas giant does best when times get tough. Revenue for the first quarter ended June 30, increased roughly 3% versus the year-ago period, coming in at $8.5 billion, ahead of the the LSEG compiled analysts' consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Adjusted earnings per share rose just over 6% year over year to $4.09, also outpacing the $4.03 expected, according to LSEG. Bottom line Linde delivered in a difficult operating environment  which is exactly why you own the stock. The company is a critical supplier so high up in the supply chain of so many various industries that it has the kind of superior pricing power that allows it to keep growing earnings no matter the backdrop. Case in point: Management raised the low end of its full-year earnings guidance, despite noting that the high end of the range already assumes an economic contraction. "Linde has always achieved positive pricing mix being  you know, be it through economic cycles which are up or down," CEO Sanjiv Lamba explained in the post-earnings call with investors. "And I think I'd say to you that remains the expectation going forward as well. A great proxy for our pricing is globally weighted CPI. You should see us track to that as we do at the moment. And I guess when I look at pricing today and you can see the numbers as we provided in the deck, you'll see that pricing across all countries is actually pursuing that and in line with that globally weighted CPI." One exception, said Lamba, is China, where sales are expected to remain flat for the year. Linde Why we own it: The industrial gas supplier and engineering firm has a stellar track record of consistent earnings growth. Its exposure to a wide range of industries, such as health care and electronics, and geographies  paired with excellent executive leadership and disciplined capital management  has been a recipe for steady success that should continue. Competitors: Air Liquid and Air Products Most recent buy : Dec. 18, 2024 Initiated : Feb. 18, 2021 Cash flow missed analyst estimates, but the first half of the year tends to be weaker due to the timing of tax payments, interest and employee incentive compensation. As a result, we should see improvement in the back half of the year. More importantly, the company's sale of gas backlog ended the quarter at record $7.1 billion, nearly double the level at the end of 2020. The backlog is a key item for investors to be mindful of as it serves to ensure future growth for the company. However, that's only true should the projects in the backlog actually come to fruition. In Linde's case, the company has strict requirements for what it will include in the calculation of the backlog, which allows investors to forecast future growth as a result of the backlog with a relatively high degree of confidence. "Unlike others in the industry, Linde's definition has been clear and consistent with the most disciplined criteria," Lamba said. "Inclusion at Linde's project backlog requires incremental growth, secured by contractual fixed fees with high quality customers. Contract renewals, plans without customer commitments or LOIs are not included in our backlog." Lamba added that while the size of the backlog is important, the turnover in the backlog  how quickly the company can convert the back log to sales while at the same time replenishing it  matters even more. Here Linde shines: Over the last four years, the team added $9.2 billion to the backlog while starting $5.7 billion worth of projects, indicating a greater than 150% backlog turnover rate. During the quarter, Linde also returned $1.81 billion to shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks. Given the results and management's confidence in being able to grow earnings through an economic slowdown, we reiterate our $500 price target. We are also maintaining our 2 rating until there is more clarity on global trade and growth. LIN YTD mountain Linde YTD return Commentary It was a decent quarter, with sales rising year over year as a higher prices more than made up for a slip in volume. Moreover, operating profit outpaced expectations thanks to healthy margin expansion. On a sequential basis, Linde sales benefited from both an increase in volume and price increases and a favorable product mix. Sales for Linde's Americas segment rose 4% year over year to $3.8 billion, driven by 3% increase in pricing and 1% gain in volume, largely thanks to strength in the electronics, metals and mining, and chemical and energy businesses. Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) sales were relatively unchanged versus the year-ago period as volume declines in the manufacturing end market was partially offset by the electronics end market. Sales for engineering , which Linde reports as an operating segment alongside the regional results, fell and missed estimates. However, the company's sale of plant backlog did increase slightly year over year. Guidance Linde raised its full-year outlook, but lowered its forecast for the current (third) quarter. For both projections, management said the higher end "now assumes economic contraction." For its fiscal 2025 third quarter, Linde expects adjusted EPS between $4.10 and $4.20, up 4% to 7% over last year but below the $4.20 expected at the midpoint. Full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance is now $16.30 to $16.50, a raise on the low end versus the $16.20 to $16.50 previously forecast. This represents annual growth of 5% to 6% and compares to a consensus estimate of $16.41, according to LSEG. Linde reiterated full-year capital expenditure of $5 billion to $5.5 billion to support growth and maintenance. At the midpoint, the capex assumptions exceeded the $5.11 billion expected. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long LIN. 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.
Sign at Martha's Vineyard Airport, Massachusetts Cindygoff | Istock | Getty Images

Martha's Vineyard has long been a summer vacation destination for Black families, but August in the Massachusetts beach community is becoming an important hub for Black entrepreneurs, investors and financial firms, too. "I would say the magic of it is really about introducing your network to someone else's network," said Calvin L. Butts Jr., founder of East Chop Capital, a private equity firm named after a neighborhood on the island. "We found great success raising capital there, we've had our portfolio companies speak as well, we've done very, very well with deal flow." A wide range of companies including Disney , Cisco , Goldman Sachs , McDonald's , Google , Ford , Mckinsey and CNBC parent company Comcast are hosting or sponsoring business-focused events on the Vineyard this month. The Black Economic Alliance is hosting an event called "The Gathering," bringing together corporate leaders to discuss ways to help increase the opportunities for Black employees and companies. "The Vineyard is a spot to capture an audience who wants to have an intellectual and financial conversation about how to uplift Black culture," said Melissa Bradley, general partner of the BEA Venture Fund.

Old traditions, new opportunities

Martha's Vineyard became a popular vacation destination for Black families over a century ago with the opening of the first hotel that allowed Black visitors, Shearer Cottage, in 1912. Since then, Black families have bought homes and created a community centered around the town of Oak Bluffs and Inkwell Beach, a name that is a nod to the segregation on the island in the past.

Sign welcoming visitors to Oak Bluffs Massachusetts on Martha's Vineyard. Melissa Kopka | Istock | Getty Images

This year, clothing brand Ralph Lauren released its Oak Bluffs collection looking to recognize and capitalize on the history and prestige of the island that hosts visitors like Michelle and Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Spike Lee. Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, CEO of EBONY Magazine, is hosting an event with the founders of Black-owned spirit brand Uncle Nearest and said she sees the Vineyard as a way to bring the history and the future of the magazine to life for its target audience. "For EBONY, being present on the Vineyard in August is both strategic and personal," Sklenar said in a statement. "It's an opportunity to connect with a powerful cross-section of our community, deepen meaningful relationships, and position the brand not just as a cultural icon, but as a modern business driving impact, visibility, and growth."

Eden Bridgeman Sklenar, CEO, Ebony & Jet, speaks onstage during EBONY Power 100 Gala 2024 at Nya Studios on November 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Leon Bennett | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Jason Nellis moved with his wife and their two sons from the U.S. to Europe this summer.

Jason Nellis has been on the move for the last three months: He and his wife Jennifer and their two sons, a 4-year-old and 9-month-old, have spent the summer traveling through Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They've taken every mode of transit possible and stayed in about a dozen hotels or Airbnbs since May. By the time the school year starts for 4-year-old Kit, the family will have officially relocated from the Washington, DC, area to just outside Cannes, France. The adventure has been more than eight years in the making and involved almost 18 months of planning, Nellis, 41, tells CNBC Make It.

A $20,000 investment

When Nellis began dating his wife, she was about to move to Berlin for her career but ultimately stayed in San Francisco to give their relationship a shot. "When she made that decision she half-joking, half-seriously said that I now owed her three to five years of living abroad," Nellis says. "And so when we got married, I made sure to include that in our wedding vows." The couple revisited the idea of relocating after Kit was born, and in 2024 began working with a law firm to draw up the paperwork. They considered cities in Australia and Southeast Asia, but ultimately landed on Europe to be closer to work and family in the U.S. "France was just the right combination of standard of living, quality of education available to us, and because I work in media and tech, access to places like Cannes" for conferences and events, Nellis says. They paused their plans after the birth of their second son, Ace, but then resumed by early 2025. The family will be able to live in France for up to four years on Jennifer's talent visa while she builds a hospitality business in the country. Nellis estimates they spent roughly $20,000 on the move between the cost of obtaining their visas, booking flights and shipping their belongings. They sold their car and spent a month selling other furniture on Facebook Marketplace. "Getting all that together made us realize the real investment of what we were doing," Nellis says. The family officially landed in France in May and have been traveling throughout Europe for the summer, living on their budgeted $12,000 to $14,000 per month (about what they lived on in the U.S.) and prioritizing stays at kinderhotels, a type of hotel in Europe that offers services like child care, family-friendly activities and all-inclusive packages.

Bringing work abroad

While Jennifer, who has experience in marketing and senior leadership, builds her business, Nellis continues to work for his U.S.-based company, SuperBam, as a chief product officer. The company has about 25 employees and is fully remote, which made Nellis' pitch to relocate a little easier. The biggest adjustment has been shifting his schedule to work 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Central European Time to have about five hours of overlap with colleagues in both Eastern and Pacific time zones. He takes a break from about 5:30 to 8 p.m. every night for dinner, family time and bedtime for the kids. "It's forced me to be much more judicious with my time and making sure that I am as effective as I can be with every minute," Nellis says. He and his wife also hold a weekly check-in with each other to go over their work schedules and split child-care responsibilities.

The opportunities yet to come, I think, is something I'm really excited about. Jason Nellis American in France

"When new things pop up on our schedule, we have to make sure that we don't just put it on each other's calendar," Nellis says. Their solution is "a constant stream of communication, of sharing when things are high priority and needs to be addressed, or when they're lower priority and they can be shifted around to accommodate the other person." Nellis says moving abroad hasn't shrunk his career ambitions, but rather expanded them. While he previously prioritized climbing up the career ladder, he now is curious about growing his career impact on a global scale  like bringing SuperBam, a U.S.-based digital rights company for creators, international.

'A different pace of life'


#WATCH | Delhi | On the case of Nimisha Priya, an Indian national facing the death penalty in a murder case in Yemen, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "This is a sensitive matter. The Government of India has been extending all possible assistance in the case. As a result of pic.twitter.com/wgIPc5hB0m

 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday, August 1, urged media to stay against misinformation in the case of Nimisha Priya's execution in Yemen, while urging caution in reporting the matter."This is a sensitive matter. The government of India has been extending all possible assistance in the case. As a result of our concerted efforts, the sentencing has been postponed. We continue to closely follow the matter closely and render all possible assistance," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing in New Delhi."We are also in touch with some friendly governments on the issue," he added.The MEA spokesperson emphasised that this is a sensitive and complex case. "Therefore, I would urge all to be mindful that media reports based on speculations and misinformation are not helpful at all," Jaiswal remarked."Reports claiming that there has been certain developments are incorrect. Please wait for an update from us. We urge all sides to stay away from misinformation," he added.On July 29, the External Affairs Minister had refuted the claims made by the Grand Mufti of India Kanthapuram AP Abubakar Musliyar that the Kerala nurse's execution had been completely overturned.However, the statement also reportedly added that an official communication from the Yemeni authorities was to be received in the matter.Nimisha is facing a death sentence for killing a Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. He was her business partner but later started to torture and sexually abuse her and even confiscated her passport.In order to flee and get her passport back, Nimisha injected Mahdi with sedatives but he died of an overdose.She was sentenced to death in 2018. Her appeals in the matter were rejected in 2020 and 2023. The Yemeni President signed her execution in 2024 and scheduled her execution for July 16, 2025, which was postponed.Priya's family is in Yemen to negotiate with the family of the deceased man to pardon her and accept blood money in exchange. However, the brother of the deceased man has indicated that the family is not interested in doing so.
Shares of Indian textile companies, Gokaldas Exports Ltd., Pearl Global Ltd., Arvind Ltd., Welspun Living Ltd., and their peers would be in focus on Friday, August 1 as well, after the latest set of tariff developments from the US administration under President Donald Trump.The Trump Administration announced that India will have to pay a 25% tariff, although the unexplained penalties remain unclear.However, the major reason why these stocks will be in focus today, is the fact that the tariff on Bangladesh has been cut down to 20% from the 35% that the Trump administration had imposed on India's neighbour back in April.India competes with countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam for garment exports to the US and Vietnam, which recently concluded a deal with the US, has a 20% tariff on its exports.Most of these listed companies like Gokaldas Exports and Pearl Global have anywhere between 50% to 70% of their topline coming from the US market. In addition to these names, stocks like Arvind Ltd. (30% of topline from the US) and KPR Mill (21% from the US) also have exposure to the US market.According to analysts, India has a 6% market share in the US ready-made garment imports, while Vietnam has a 19% share and Bangladesh stands at 9%.In an interaction with CNBC-TV18, Pearl Global's management said that it will be the end customer that will pay for the tariffs and not the company.Shares of Pearl Global are trading another 6% lower after a 7% drop on Thursday, while those of Gokaldas Exports fell over 2%, after Thursday's 4.5% fall.Shares of KPR Mill also declined over 4% on Friday, while those of Welspun Living are trading 1.3% lower after a brief recovery from the lows of the day.
Plus, where the inspiration for the voice of Cotton Hill came from

When Johnny Hardwick, who voiced King of the Hills lovable conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble, died in August 2023, fans couldnt help but wonder what that meant for the then-recently announced KOTH revival. Would Dale, one of the core characters, be killed off? Would he be recast?

Two years later, they finally got their answer when Variety reported that Toby Huss would be taking over the character.

In the original series, Huss provided the voices for Hank Hills neighbor Kahn Souphanousinphone, Hanks father Cotton Hill and Hanks co-worker Joe Jack. With Hanks retirement and Cottons death in Season 12, its unclear if Huss will ever play those latter two roles again, but its been confirmed that he will not reprise the role of Kahn, as it was decided that the Laotian character should be played by an Asian actor. And so, The Daily Shows Ronny Chieng, who was born in Malaysia, will take over the role instead.

Don't Miss

To talk about letting go of Kahn and taking over for Dale, Huss recently joined me via phone just in time for King of the Hills imminent return on Monday.

Whats it been like for you to come back to King of the Hill after so many years?

Its like a homecoming. Its getting to work again with people that I worked with for years and who I love and trust and have a great time with. Its less like a job and more like going to kind of a family reunion that keeps going.

One of the big headlines that came out about this season was you taking over the role of Dale.

Yeah, they were considering using some A.I. to help augment Johnnys voice because he voiced, I think, the first six episodes. Then I read for Dale in a read-through, and they said, Well, that kind of works okay. Why dont we just have Toby do it? I said, Okay, and that was about it. They offered it to me, and thats something you can't turn down. Its too wonderful, and its too good.

And it was Johnny. So, theres a lot of humility in taking this role and a lot of respect for those guys  (creators) Mike Judge and Greg Daniels and (showrunner) Saladin Patterson  for trusting me with it.

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What was it like working with Johnny during the shows original run?

He was a sweet guy, and it was so fun to hang out with him. Just doing read-throughs at Fox and then sitting in the green room for hours while people did voices, hanging out with Johnny and drinking a cup of coffee and having cigarettes on the roof. Those were fun times.

He didnt start off as an actor. He started off as a stand-up, so he came to acting kind of as an afterthought, which made him really good and really unique, too. It was so great to watch him in the studio coming up with these very Dale things.

There was a lot of Dale in him, right?

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Yeah. Not in terms of being a crazy conspiracy nut, but in terms of their body types and their earnestness. Even though Dale can come off as a nut a lot of the time, hes still a warm guy and hes a real friend to these guys. Hes always trying his best. That was Johnny, too. He wasnt a slacker at all. He was always Johnny; he was very authentic, and he was trying his best at all times. A good man, a really good man.

How do you step into a role that was someone elses and, on top of that, someone you knew?

I dont think Im ever going to be adding anything to what Johnny did. Im going to be doing something other. Itll sound a lot like Johnnys, but Johnny laid everything down, and he knew the secrets of Dale. He knew the ins and outs of Dale. He knew Dale more than anyone, and hes not here to transfer all this Dale knowledge. So, its up to me to be as Dale as I can in following the road that Johnny laid out. Its not just mimicking him  Ive come up with my own things to add to it  but Im not the expert on Dale. Johnny is.

In terms of Kahn, how do you feel about giving up the character? You seemed to have a lot of fun with him back in the day.

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Kahn was really fun to do. I had a great time. But back then, we didnt really ask the question culturally that we ask now. So, we started to ask the question about the appropriateness of me doing the voice, and we decided it was I mean, I wasnt part of the decision-making process, but the guys decided they wanted to go in a different direction and I totally agree. Culturally, its important to keep evolving, moving forward and asking these questions about whats right and whats appropriate.

Have you interacted at all with Ronny Chieng?

No, I havent spoken to him at all, and I havent seen him in any read-throughs either because I was added later. But from what I know about him, hes a super funny, sweet dude. His Daily Show stuff is really funny, and his specials are great. So Im sure he fits right in with the rest of the cast seamlessly.

Id love to talk about my favorite character: Cotton Hill.

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I loved playing Cotton. I based him a little bit on my Uncle Tom Rollins who looked like him a little bit  Uncle Tom wasnt the tallest man in the world  but attitude-wise, Cotton was in a world of his own. I love that dude because he was such a nod to that old, irascible, authentic guy that I remember meeting when I was a kid in Iowa. There were still World War II vets running around there, and youd meet them now and again and they were just tough old bastards.

Any chance well see Cotton in a flashback or anything in the new episodes?

There might be something in there. I guess youll have to get your Hulu membership all up-to-date.
Its been a few weeks since the first rumors circulated that the Skydance-Paramount merger would result in some major shake-ups. Paramount owns both CBS and Comedy Central where Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, two of Trumps most popular critics, helm late-night shows. Within a week of the first report about this possibility, CBS axed Colbert and the entire Late Show institution. CBS cited financial reasons; almost everyone else cited Trump and the Skydance merger.

Skydance was suspected of playing a role in the Colbert cancellation because in the lead-up to the merger, Skydance owners Larry and David Ellison had already capitulated to Trump in a few other ways: They were a reportedly motivating factor in the nightmare $16 million settlement between Trump and Paramount after Trump sued 60 Minutes, and they promised Trump up to $20 million in political advertisements in a side deal.

Stewart assessed the Colbert cancellation best: If youre trying to figure out why Stephens show is ending, I dont think the answer can be found in some smoking gun email or a phone call to CBS executives, or in CBS Quickbook spreadsheets on the financial health of late night. I think the answer is in the fear and precompliance thats gripping all of Americas institutions at this very moment.

Don't Miss

Basically, the decision to cancel Colbert wasnt some grand conspiracy, but the path of least resistance for cowards. That didnt stop Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Ron Wyden from sending a letter to David Ellison demanding transparency on the decision to cancel Colbert. The letter instructed Skydance to answer seven questions related to Trumps transactions with Paramount and Skydance. To understand the nature of any payments to President Trump, and whether these payments comply with our nations anti-bribery laws, we ask that you answer the following questions by August 4, 2025, the letter stated.

It seems that Skydance has at least partially complied by August 1st. In answer to the question Were you or other Skydance executives involved in discussions about canceling The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? If so, please provide information regarding the timing, nature of and participants in these discussions, including whether the pending transaction with Paramount was discussed, Skydance General Counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon said the company was not.

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Paramount did provide notice of its decision to Skydance, but only after Paramount reached its own independent decision, and shortly before Paramount publicly acknowledged the cancellation, the response stated, per Variety.

Is Skydance telling the truth?

Who can say? If senators writing strongly worded letters is the maximum level of enforcement regarding Trumps suspected bribery plots, theres not much incentive to be honest.
Summer is a time for vacation and a well-deserved break from the intensity of work. Its also a great time to be targeted for a cyberattack.

While cybercriminal activity extends throughout the year, summer has a special quality for cyber attackers. Whether its because our guard is down more than usual, because the weather invites us to relax, various studies show that the summer is one of the peaks of the year in terms of criminal activity in all areas, and cybersecurity is no exception  with more aggressive and indiscriminate campaigns awaiting organizations across every industry.

Why do cyberattacks peak in summer?

First, remote work intensifies. The beach, the mountains. Too many attractions not to embrace teleworking.
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When Hamas planned their massacres of October 7, 2023, they knew exactly what they were doing, and the response they hoped to provoke.

They had plotted the targets they would hit, the roads they would use on their motorbikes and their pick-ups and their paragliders. They knew all about the Nova music festival, and the ways into the kibbutzim  because some of them actually worked there.

They knew where they could find environments rich in vulnerable targets  especially women and young children  and they understood that if they were vile enough; if they tortured their victims with sufficient callous brio, and if they transmitted their screams down their iPhones to the world, then Hamas could provoke the Israelis to respond with great and probably unremitting violence.

They also knew that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would struggle to locate their enemy in the warrens and tunnels of Gaza, and that the Israelis would find it extremely difficult to winkle them out  let alone to recover the poor hostages that they planned to take.

Hamas perfectly anticipated the logistical horror of the IDF  complete with their embedded legal advisers  in trying to fight a war on terrain that was controlled and in many ways devised by a terrorist group.

They knew that any Israeli government would have no choice but to come after them, at least to get the 251 hostages. They also calculated correctly that no democratic government could permit the survival of a neighbouring regime, when that regime was not just rhetorically committed to wiping Israel off the map, but had actually demonstrated the practicality of its agenda by killing almost 1,200 innocent civilians on a single day.

They knew that it would be a fight to the death, between Hamas and Israel, on their home turf  and they welcomed it. As Ismael Haniyeh, leader of Hamas until his assassination last year, once said, We love death as they love life.

Their whole objective, from the outset, was to cause death, martyrdom, bloodshed, and to draw as much Israeli fire as they possibly could  and as visibly as possible - upon the innocent.

Sir Keir Starmer's statement seemed entirely designed to put pressure on Israel, writes Boris Johnson. He didnt even mention the 50 remaining hostages being kept in Gaza, of whom 21 are reckoned to be alive

They realised long in advance that the ensuing carnage would be a political and public relations disaster for Israel. Hamas and their Iranian sponsors knew that the war would blight Israels burgeoning relations with the Sunni Arab world. They also probably hoped that Israeli reprisals against Hamas could be eventually presented in such a way as to turn the stomachs of Israels Western allies.

On both counts, sadly, their plans have worked out. This is what Hamas wanted. This is what they schemed and killed for.

But never in the wildest dreams of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, can he have believed  when he and his colleagues instigated the horror of October 7, 2023  that only 22 months later the United Kingdom itself would be so craven and pathetic as to fall for Hamas propaganda and to turn against Israel.

Never did Hamas imagine that London would be so easily manipulated as to conclude that the way to end the crisis was specifically to reward Hamas for its mayhem by tearing up its long-standing policy and officially recognising the state of Palestine.

Let us be in no doubt what Starmers announcement means.

From next month we are going to recognise this territory, at least partly controlled by Hamas, as a fully-fledged state  like France, or the United States.

Under the terms of the Montevideo Convention of 1933, you cant recognise a state unless you also believe it has certain attributes, namely borders and a government that is in control of those borders.

By recognising Palestine, the UK government is effectively claiming that Palestine is an entity with recognised borders, even though those borders are, of course, very far from clear, and the UK is claiming that Palestine has a viable government, when that government is actually shared between Fatah and Hamas, and Hamas, in case you have forgotten, is a psychotic Islamofascist death cult that treats women as second-class citizens and throws gays off rooftops.

By recognising Palestine, the UK government is effectively claiming that Palestine is an entity with recognised borders, even though those borders are, of course, very far from clear

You might ask yourself what has driven Starmer to make this monumental change in government policy, and hand this massive win to Hamas  in the very week, as it happened, when the 22 countries of the Arab League went in completely the opposite direction, and announced that they would under no circumstances deal with Hamas. What has possessed the Prime Minister?

His statement seemed entirely designed to put pressure on Israel. He didnt even mention the 50 remaining hostages being kept in Gaza, of whom 21 are reckoned to be alive.

Might it not have been reasonable  if he really wanted to offer recognition of statehood  to ask for Hamas to return those wretched souls? He could have used this moment to rub in the truth: that if Hamas really want to end this war, its very easy.

They just have to hand back those last 50 hostages. Instead, Hamas is under no pressure to do anything in practice, not from the Brits. They dont have to cease fire. They dont have to stop the maiming and murder of their opponents. They certainly dont have to hand over the hostages. They simply have to hang on until one of their thugs is eventually asked to come to London and present his credentials as ambassador to the court of St Jamess.

Asked to explain his decision, the PM pointed to media portrayals of what is going on in Gaza. I think people are revolted at what they are seeing on their screen, he said, adding later that he had been disgusted by pictures of starving babies, children too weak to stand, images that will stay with us for a lifetime.

He is right, in the sense that the images have indeed been harrowing, and if it is true that Israelis have been wantonly shooting Palestinians as they queue for food, then that is horrific, a war crime, and one that cries for justice. But is it true? I dont know.

I have no doubt that terrible things have been happening in Gaza, and that at least some Israeli soldiers have killed entirely innocent people  sometimes accidentally, perhaps sometimes deliberately; and if so then they deserve to be punished. But, without minimising in any way the pain of the people of Gaza, I wonder whether every alleged incident is really quite what it seems.

You may remember that the war was only a few days old, in October 2023, when the IDF was accused of bombing the al-Ahli hospital and killing 500 people. This lie was churned for about 24 hours by the Western media, especially the BBC, and it took some time for facts to come out, namely that the casualties numbered about 100 and the cause was a misfiring Palestinian rocket. By then, of course, it was too late.

The idea was out in the worlds electronic bloodstream: that the Israelis were brutally targeting hospitals. Then this week there was the picture  to which Starmer was possibly alluding  of an 18-month-old Gazan boy called Mohammed Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq. The child did indeed look emaciated, and the New York Times put the photo on the front, with the caption Young, old and sick starve to death in Gaza.

As it turned out, the image was misleading: the child was not starving, but had pre-existing genetic conditions, as the New York Times rapidly conceded.

Yes, there has clearly been a serious problem getting food to the right people in Gaza, and yes, the Israelis would surely admit that they have made mistakes. But the fundamental difficulty was that Hamas was taking the stuff, selling it on the black market, and using the proceeds to fund its organisation. The Israelis had to try at least to find a way round them.

It may be true, as I say, that frightened and trigger-happy young Israeli soldiers have fired on people queuing for food  but it is odd that we have no footage of this incident. Technology has come a long way since Bloody Sunday; you would expect better evidence.

I am not saying any of this to try to exculpate the IDF  only that they are fighting an enemy whose whole purpose is propaganda, and whose tactic, time and time again, is to try to lure the Israelis to turn their fire on civilians.

That is why they use hospitals as bases, and why they locate the shafts of their tunnels in kindergartens, and why armed men drive around in ambulances. The IDF is trying to uproot a terrorist group in an urban warzone. It is extremely difficult and painful, and it takes time.

We forget, while we jab our fingers at Israel, that it wasnt that long ago that the UK was doing exactly the same thing. The battle for Mosul in 2016-2017 was one of the largest urban battles since the Second World War, and you will recall that the Western coalition  including the UK  was trying to get rid of Isis.

Unlike the Israelis, we didnt risk getting involved in hand-to-hand combat. We bombed from the air, from Tornadoes and Typhoons. We dropped huge 1,000 lb bombs. Did we know exactly who was underneath? Did we send them warnings  as the Israelis do in Gaza  in the form of text messages or leaflets?

Like hell. We pulverised that place. Mosul was 80 per cent destroyed. According to some estimates, the allied operation killed 11,000 civilians in Mosul, and perhaps 1,400 in Raqqa.

We thought it was worthwhile, to rid the world of a homicidal Islamist death cult, and we were right. It was awful, but we could see no other way. In the end it worked, and in the end  grim though things now seem  the Israeli operation will work in Gaza.

Hamas is not gone, but it is greatly reduced in its hold over the population. Some estimates say the terrorists only now properly control about a quarter of the Gaza Strip. Other groups have been moving in, some closer to Israel, some not.

One day, Gaza can have a great future. One day, perhaps sooner than currently appears, huge investment could go into the coastal region, from the United Arab Emirates, from Qatar, maybe from Egypt and others. That is because one day I hope and believe Gaza will indeed be part of a free, independent Palestinian state, recognised by Britain. But that day will never come, and peace will never come, as long as Gaza is run by Hamas.

No government can live next door to another government that is expressly dedicated to killing your entire population. That is why Israel is right to try to remove the terrorist regime in Gaza, and that is why the UK is so wrong to puff Hamas and offer recognition now.

Starmers gesture will do nothing to bring peace, nothing to accelerate a two-state solution, and nothing to bring back the hostages. But of course it was nothing to do with any of those foreign policy objectives: it was about Starmers oscillation between his own two states  a state of constipated paralysis, and a state of panic about the Labour Party.

We are pointlessly p***ing in the wind (if you'll forgive the expression), and prematurely recognising Palestine, because Starmer is frightened that he is losing the Muslim vote. He also fears that young lefties will all surge across to a new party of crackpot Corbynistas, led by the snaggle-toothed old guru himself.

This isnt about the scenes in Gaza. This isnt about the future for Palestinians. This is about managing the Labour Party. Thats the really shameful thing.
Deli and restaurant owners in the UK have been left outraged after 'overzealous' border officials slapped an import ban on unpasteurised soft cheeses such as mozzarella and brie from Italy and France.

One Marylebone retailer and distributor of artisan cheese told The Times how fans of 'all the lovely, soft cows milk cheeses like Camembert and brie' will soon struggle to purchase their favourites because 'everywhere will be slowly running out of stock'.

A surge in cases of lumpy skin disease (LSD) among cattle in the continental nations has prompted UK health officials to halt the importation of unpasteurised dairy products produced any time after May 23.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the ban was to protect the health of UK animals from disease, but critics and importers have labelled the move as 'overkill'.

Thankfully for cheese lovers, the UK has a host of alternatives that will delight the taste buds just as well as any mozzarella, Camembert or French brie could, according to Louise Allen, a leading cheese expert at Whole Foods Market.

Speaking to FEMAIL, she revealed the ultimate guide to the UK's top cheeses that could replace their French and Italian counterparts.

The list includes the best alternatives for French brie and Camembert, as well as Italian soft cheese, such as Robiola di Roccaverano.

Options to try include Rosary goat cheese, from Wiltshire, and Stinking Bishop, from Gloucestershire. Read on for Louise's full list...

Cheesemonger Louise Allen has revealed a whole host of British cheeses that will delight the tastebuds

Deli and restaurant owners in the UK have been left outraged after 'overzealous' border officials slapped an import ban on unpasteurised soft cheeses such as mozzarella and brie from Italy and France. Pictured, some of the local cheeses available in Whole Foods

Brie & Camembert replacements

1. Tunworth (Hampshire): A luscious, bloomy-rind cheese with a creamy, gooey texture. Modelled after Camembert but with more body and unique British depth.

Best replacement for: Camembert de Normandie (France). Tunworth is arguably the UKs finest Camembert-style cheese, offering a similarly gooey, mushroom-scented interior with nuanced rind ripeness, and made with pasteurised milk for regulatory compliance.

2. Croxton Manor West Country English Brie (Somerset): Creamy ripening brie, made using pasteurised Cow's milk.

Best replacement for: Brie de Meaux (France). While less pungent than the raw milk Brie de Meaux, Croxton Manor delivers a smooth, creamy profile that makes it a reliable, regulation-safe substitute for soft-ripened French brie.

3. Baron Bigod (Suffolk): Suffolk-born, traditional Brie-style cheese balances a clean lactic brightness with mushroomy, vegetal notes.

Best replacement for: Brie de Melun (France). Baron Bigods earthy rind, rich paste, and traditional raw milk production match the intensity and ripeness of Brie de Melun more than mild commercial bries. It offers depth and traditional character.

Taleggio replacements

Thankfully for cheese lovers, the UK has a host of alternatives that will delight the taste buds just as well as any mozzarella, Camembert or French brie could, according to Louise Allen (pictured), a leading cheese expert at Whole Foods Market

4. Wigmore (Berkshire): Made from sheeps milk using washed-curd techniques, it has milder acidity with clean, sweet tones  similar terroir to mountain-style semi-soft cheeses.

Best replacement for: Robiola di Roccaverano (Italy) or Tomme de Brebis (France). Wigmores gentle sweetness and smooth paste echo the delicate flavour and creamy texture of these traditional sheeps milk cheeses.

Washed-rind blends replacements

5. Rollright (Gloucestershire): A semi soft, washed rind cheese wrapped in a spruce band. The UKs answer to Vacherin.

Best replacement for: Vacherin Mont dOr (France/Switzerland). Like Vacherin, Rollright is spoonable when ripe, with savoury, piney notes. A standout seasonal soft cheese.

6. Oxford Isis (Oxford): Strong, sticky washed rind cheese.

Best replacement for: Epoisses de Bourgogne (France). Oxford Isis delivers the same bold aroma, gooey interior as Epoisses. Ideal for fans of intense, spoonable cheeses.

7. Stinking Bishop (Gloucestershire): A washed-rind powerhouse celebrated for its creamy interior and pungent aromatic punch, suitable for lovers of strong, earthy soft cheeses.

Speaking to FEMAIL, the cheese expert revealed the ultimate guide to the UK's top cheeses (pictured) that could replace their French and Italian counterparts

Best replacement for: Munster (France) or Taleggio (Italy). Stinking Bishops oozy, savoury centre makes it a natural stand-in for these European cheeses, with that same earthy depth.

The best UK goat cheeses for Camembert and brie fans

8. Capricorn (Somerset): Semi-hard English goat cheese with a sweet, nutty flavour.

Best replacement for: Tomme de Chevre (France) or Formaggella di Capra (Italy). Capricorns mellow profile mirrors these continental cheeses subtle complexity.

9. Brightwell Ash (Carmarthenshire): Ash-coated English goat cheese with a delicate, tangy flavour.

Best replacement for: Selles-sur-Cher or Valencay (France). Brightwell Ash emulates these Loire Valley classics due to its ash-ripened rinds, lactic brightness, and gentle mineral tang.

10. Dorstone (Herefordshire): Ash-coated, crumbly goat cheese from England with a fresh, citrusy flavour.

Best replacement for: Crottin de Chavignol or Charolais (France). Dorstone shares its crumbly texture, and fresh acidity, making it a perfect stand-in for these traditional options.

11. Rosary Goat Cheese (Wiltshire): A goat cheese for people who dont like goat cheese. Rosary has a clean, citrusy flavour without any of the tang that is sometimes associated with that type of cheese. Made on the Hampshire and Wiltshire border, the pasteurised cheese is soft, fluffy with a mousse-like texture.

Best replacement for: Chabichou du Poitou (France) or Caprino Fresco (Italy). Rosarys ultra-mild, whipped texture and citrus freshness closely resemble these soft, spreadable, and approachable continental cheeses.

Options to try include Rosary goat cheese, from Wiltshire, and Stinking Bishop, from Gloucestershire. Pictured: Cheeses available at Whole Foods

Italy confirmed an outbreak of LSD last month on June 21, while France confirmed its own outbreak eight days later.

Health officials slapped a ban on the importation of live animals, germplasm such as sperm and embryos, offal, raw dairy products (including cheeses) as well as skins and all by-products unless they have been heat treated.

Fresh meat is not affected by the precautionary measure, nor is pasteurised cheese - though the latter requires paperwork detailing the temperatures at which the cheese was treated to ensure it is up to scratch.

Upmarket cheese importers say their supplies are running low - and have blasted border officials for refusing to accept documents for pasteurised goods because they have been written in French and Italian rather than English.

Patricia Michelson, the founder of La Fromagerie, a Marylebone retailer and distributor of artisan cheese, is losing thousands of pounds of stock to spoilage as a result.

It supplies the finest cheeses to more than 100 upmarket restaurants including the three Michelin-starred Core.

She told The Times: 'At the moment, we cant supply all the lovely, soft cows milk cheeses like Camembert and brie. If people think that they can get what they want now, they wont, because everywhere will be slowly running out of stock.

'From Monday (today) we will only be able to offer an English brie-style cheese.'

Simon Goddard of chilled food distributor Dornack further told the newspaper that Defra did not seem interested in helping suppliers, even when he asked what he could be doing to make importing valid goods easier.

He said: 'Were trying to keep abreast of their requirements and uploading the additional documentation, but its still not stopping the queries and the endless delays at port.'

A Defra spokesperson told MailOnline: 'This government will do whatever it takes to protect British farmers and their herds from disease.

'We have strengthened protections by temporarily suspending imports of a small amount of products from Italy and France, following outbreaks of lumpy skin disease across Europe.

'Unpasteurised cheeses are restricted, but as most Italian cheeses, such as Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Gorgonzola, are pasteurised this should not have a significant impact on supply chains.'
Men have called for the end of a controversial women-only app that allows users to name and shame the guys they've dated.

Founded by American entrepreneur Sean Cook in 2023, Tea exploded in popularity earlier this month - in part due to its divisive premise.

The app, which in July soared to the top of charts on the US App Store, allows users to 'sip' and 'spill the tea' on potential love interests - meaning women can dig up dirt on the men they've dated and potentially expose them as catfishes, cheats, and liars.

Despite Cook lauding it as a revolutionary forum that gives 'women the tools they need to date safely in a world that often overlooks their protection', outraged men are urging a complete ban on the 'disgusting' app for spreading 'misinformation' and 'ruining lives'.

Tea currently has nearly two million users in the United States - with a waitlist that runs into hundreds of thousands of women clamouring for access to the background check app.

Considering it is billed as a safeguard for women against the dangers of modern-day dating, Tea has come under heightened scrutiny after back-to-back data breaches which exposed the photos and IDs of thousands of women in what one user has described as a 'massive and preventable cyber attack'.

Fuelled by their rage against Tea, men have shared these leaked photos on anonymous imageboard website 4chan, where they are being mocked and ridiculed.

It has also led to the creation of a Facemash-style website [the precursor to Zuckerberg's Facebook] where men are ranking verification selfies of women to decide the most - and least- attractive users.

Men have called for the end of a new women-only app that allows users to name and shame the guys they've dated (Pictured: British influencer Dylan Page discusses a growing gender rift seemingly caused by the Tea app)

On platforms like X and Reddit, men are asking for proof that the stories submitted to Tea are true, while one man queried how the world expected women to be 'honest' on such an app.

Of the many men claiming to be exposed on Tea, one said he was accused of ghosting and cheating on a woman, and has since 'noticed a steep decline in my Hinge/dating app matches' as a result.

A 'Men's Rights' subreddit has gone as far as calling for Tea to be completely eliminated and is urging fellow men to 'take five seconds out of their day to report' the app.

As put by US influencer Noel Glenn Carter, 'the Tea app is ruining men's lives'.

'The app is only for women so you have to prove that you're a woman before you get accepted,' the 26-year-old explained in a TikTok video.

'The way the Tea app works is women will leave either green or red flags for men that they've dated - green being good, red being bad. They can also leave Yelp sort of reviews on these men as well'.

Tea claims it's helped 'over 1,700,000 women make safer dating decisions' and to prove its dedication, has donated 10 per cent of its profits to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

'Dating should feel safe, informed, and empowering and Tea is here to make that a reality,' it added.

Tea uses Reverse Image Search to catch a catfish, Phone Number Lookup to check for hidden marriages, and a number of background checks to uncover criminal records.

CEO Sean Cook - whose CV includes stints at top product development companies Salesforce and Shutterfly - likely included these features after witnessing his mom's 'terrifying experience' with online dating.

'Not only being catfished but unknowingly engaging with men who had criminal records,' read a statement on the website.

'Realising that traditional dating apps do little to protect women, Sean knew something had to change. Thats why he built Tea - the first-ever dating safety platform for women'.

But this is the very cause that men are fighting against - and are loudly calling on others to join in the movement.

Some Reddit posts have called on men to report Tea app pages in both the Apple and Google Play app stores.

In one thread, an anonymous user raised his concerns about 'doxxing', and feared a 'psycho' he 'ghosted' in the past could turn up at his doorstep unannounced.

He wrote: 'The slandering and doxxing is only the tip of the iceberg. One of the advertised features is finding a guy's address just by inputting their phone number.

Tea allows users to sip and 'spill the tea'; meaning women can dig up dirt on the men they've dated and potentially expose them as catfishes, cheats and liars (Pictured: UK content creator MIKEZ takes a swipe at Tea)

Men are asking for proof that the stories submitted to Tea are true, while some have accused it of 'spreading misinformation'. Influencer Cyzz (pictured) appeared to praise the apps recent the data leak because women were 'hating' on men

'Dating as a man was already unsafe with how often violent behaviour towards men goes legally unpunished (even worse when it comes to sexual crime), but now you go into any date (or just message in a dating app) knowing that the psycho you rejected/ghosted could be at your doorstep tomorrow...

'...The fact that this is the #1 free app on the Apple store tells a lot about how normalised/encouraged this hostility and violence are.'

Another man pointed to the consequences of being featured in the app, after he was called out for being a 'cheater' and a 'ghost'.

'For the past few weeks I noticed a steep decline in my Hinge/dating app matches. I was wondering what was going on and saw something about the Tea app,' he wrote.

'[I] asked a friend to look and see if Im on there, lo and behold I am. For reference, I cheated once, in high school with my first girlfriend who I went to prom with. This was eight years ago and I've never cheated on anyone since'.

The post became even more alarming after he stated his suspicions about who was behind the post - someone he believed had given him a sexually transmitted infection.

'The manipulation arises from the same person,' he continued. 'And I am almost certain that the ghosting comes from a woman who gave me chlamydia, and when I found out she had lied about being tested, blocked her and never spoke again.

'This is f***ed. Im sorry I know this is a bit off topic but what the f***? Im not even a manosphere guy but this is such an Men fume over controversial 'name and shame' app Tea that sees women accuse their dates of 'red flag' behaviour

Tea uses Reverse Image Search to catch a catfish, Phone Number Lookup to check for hidden marriages, and a number of background checks to uncover criminal records

Elsewhere, one man questioned how Tea could be legal if anyone could 'make up literally whatever they want'.

'What a horrific deterrent for men to be active in the dating scene' he added.

'I dont see this app lasting for more than a month - seems like a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen,' said another.

It's certainly a possibility as this was the case for controversial Facebook group Are We Dating The Same Guy? last year.

The page was set up in New York in 2022 as a forum for women to warn each other of 'men who might be liars, cheaters, abusers or exhibit any type of toxic or dangerous behaviour'.

It allows women to routinely post screenshots of men they have matched with on dating apps as they call on others to 'dish the tea'.

Although its roots began in New York, the female-only group took off across multiple cities, including London, LA, Chicago and Brisbane. The London page skyrocketed from 20,000 members to 88,000 in less than a year.

At the time, British legal experts warned the Daily Mail that women in the UK must be 'very cautious' with what they write - and that false allegations could land them with a hefty legal bill.

A 'Men's Rights' subreddit has gone as far as calling for Tea to be completely eliminated

Men have also taken to X to speak out against the Tea app

A 27-year-old man from London was alerted to posts on the group about him that said he was 'too pushy'. He said a woman came back to his house and 'acted weird' before leaving.

He told Vice in 2023: 'I knew I was in that group because I heard it from multiple sources and obviously her side doesn't match my side.

'We had a miscommunication and then I'm hearing from girls I grew up with that I'm a creep or that I did something. I don't think these groups are helpful to anyone'.

Media law expert Jay Joshi of Taylor Hampton Solicitors told The Daily Mail if the allegation causes 'serious harm to the reputation' of the man, they could be exposed for claims of libel and misuse of private information.

'It's no different to whether it's on this Facebook page or some other group,' he explained. 'The same thing applies to any statements published on social media platforms.

'If you make statements that are untrue and it affects one's reputation in a serious way, then they are going to be exposed.'

There are various defences individuals can rely on in the UK, including truth and honest opinion. The former is if the publisher can show a statement published is 'substantially true' and the latter is if they can prove that it is reasonably-held opinion based on facts available at the time the statement was published.

As Tea is a women-only app, it has fueled a gender war that has seen men lock horns with ladies over what they claim is an unfair violation of their privacy.

A female London creator called Tea 'insane' and advised women not to subscribe to the app because 'we are so much better than this'

Tea recently suffered a major data breach which included 72,000 leaked images online

Some men have taken to TikTok to praise Tea's data leak, with one man in particular saying women deserved to have their personal information 'hacked' for being 'messy'.

One British man said the Tea users 'hating on men' were 'chopped' - GenZ speak for ugly.

'I ain't trying to violate but generally like 99 per cent of the women that were on this app hating on guys were chopped'.

He also presented the theory that the men targeted on Tea were disproportionate to the 'horrible'-looking women exposing them, and so perhaps was the reason for their allegiance to the app.

A female London creator called the app 'insane' before telling women to 'get it together' because 'we are so much better than this'.

She continued on TikTok: 'We don't need to be this messy - it's never that deep.

'It's [the Tea app] kind of weird I can't lie. Yes it may be funny for now but later there will always be repercussions,' she concluded.

Repurcussions like the cyber security incident earlier this month that saw around 72,000 images leaked online - including 13,000 images of selfies or selfies featuring a photo identification that users submitted during account verification.

Another 59,000 images publicly viewable in the app from posts, comments and direct messages were also accessed without authorisation, according to a Tea spokesperson.

No email addresses or phone numbers were accessed, the company said, and the breach only affects users who signed up before February 2024.

'Tea has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and are working around the clock to secure its systems,' the company said.

'At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that additional user data was affected. Protecting tea users' privacy and data is their highest priority.'

Less than two weeks later, Tea was forced to disable users' Direct Messages after a second hack that saw 1.1 million private chats - about sensitive subjects like abortions and details like phone numbers - as recent as last week leaked online.
The tears came without warning. I was standing in my baby son's bedroom when I broke down on the phone to my GP and could barely speak through the sobs. 'I don't know what's wrong with me,' I said. 'I should be happy.'

And I should have been happy  this is all I'd wanted, for so long. For ten, long, painful years of infertility I'd dreamed and prayed for this moment, when I'd finally be a mother.

But now little Charlie was here I just felt empty.

It's a sadly not uncommon lament from a first-time mother. Post-natal depression is a well-documented and cruel affliction, affecting one in ten women in the year after they give birth, and caused by multiple factors, including fluctuating hormones, anxiety and lack of sleep.

But I hadn't given birth. We'd adopted Charlie five months earlier, when he was ten months old. Yet all the symptoms of post-natal depression were there.

Even my GP was confounded; he asked me what I wanted him to do to help me. If he didn't know, I certainly didn't. I just wanted someone to tell me what was wrong.

Eventually, I was diagnosed with post-adoption depression, or PAD, by my GP. It is a condition so rarely spoken about even medical professionals seemed unsure how to handle it.

Yet it is real  different from post-natal depression, but just as valid and as painful.

We tracked my cycle, spent a fortune on ovulation and pregnancy tests every month and timed everything perfectly, but nothing worked

Proud Jodie with her son Charlie, who is now five

My husband Darrell, now 38, and I had married in 2008 and started trying for a baby straight away. Every month that passed without a positive test was another blow. At first, we were hopeful; after all we were young and healthy.

After 12 months, we went to the doctor, who kept telling us to be patient, that it would happen.

But it didn't. We tracked my cycle, spent a fortune on ovulation and pregnancy tests every month and timed everything perfectly, but nothing worked.

Every month, I cried when my period came, and Darrell would hug me. It just seemed so unfair; we ran out of ways to reassure each other.

We didn't tell anyone we were struggling until my sister announced she was pregnant in 2016. That day, the floodgates opened and I broke down in tears to my mum. She had no idea what we had been going through. With no small children in the family, the topic had never come up.

At the time, I worked in a baby room within a nursery. Every day I was looking after other people's babies, cuddling them, caring for them  then handing them back. It was heartbreaking, so much so that I quit my job and went to work in M&S.

Finally, at the beginning of 2018, when I was 29, we made our first visit to a fertility clinic, where doctors confirmed there was zero chance we would ever conceive naturally and IVF was our only option. But, even then, there was no guarantee.

It was painful to hear that my body couldn't do what a woman's body was 'meant' to do, and that we had wasted so much time and money pursuing something that was never going to happen. Yet knowing also gave us clarity  at least we could now work out the next steps.

Because of the postcode lottery in the Cotswolds where we live, we would only get one free try of IVF on the NHS  after that we'd have to pay privately.

With a single round costing anywhere from 4,000, that simply wasn't an option for us; I was working in retail and Darrell as a warehouse manager, and we certainly didn't have a huge pot of savings to dip into. If we paid for the IVF, we would have been left with no money to raise a child. Plus, I didn't want to put my body through something that might not work.

That's when I realised being a mother doesn't necessarily mean you have to be pregnant.

As we drove home from the fertility clinic, I turned to Darrell and said: 'Let's look into adoption then.' We had never mentioned it before, but now it was the obvious choice. We just really wanted to be parents and build our own family  whatever form that took.

The adoption process was intense. We had to share everything  our relationship history, finances, even our childhood experiences

Darrell was a hands-on dad, and was brilliant with Charlie, so I couldn't work out why I was so worried about leaving him

When we started researching, we decided we didn't want to foster-to-adopt  where you foster a young baby, in the hope you can later adopt them  a process that leaves a chance that the child could be handed back to their birth parents if circumstances change. I knew that after so long trying for a baby, it would kill me if that were to happen.

So we decided to try to adopt a child under the age of three, never dreaming we would get a baby.

The adoption process was intense. We had to share everything  our relationship history, finances, even our childhood experiences. We were assigned a social worker and went through hours of preparation training, psychological evaluations and home checks.

It took a full year to be approved as adopters. Then came another year of waiting during the matching process. It was a bit surreal  almost like a dating site. There's a database where each child has a profile including a photo, personality traits and health notes. As prospective parents, we had our own profiles, too, listing our jobs, home and lifestyle.

At first, we avoided looking at photos. We wanted to choose based on compatibility, not appearances. But then I saw a photo of a little boy around three months old. He had the most adorable smile with dimples on both cheeks and my heart stopped. 'That's our boy,' I told my husband  I just knew.

Funnily enough, the family finder had already bookmarked us as a potential match for him. It felt like fate.

We expressed interest in March 2020. Then the pandemic hit, and lockdown delayed everything. We couldn't even meet him in person until that September. In the meantime, we sent him a photo book of us and our home, and a cuddly fox toy that we hoped he would bond with.

When we finally met him at his foster carers' home, Charlie was nine months old. He was asleep in the front room when we got there, and we peeked through the glass door and saw him in his chair.

When he woke, one of the carers brought him in and put him on the floor to play. She wanted him to make his way to us when he was ready and, to my delight, he crawled straight over to us.

I had been so worried that after years of working as a nursery nurse I'd feel detached, but the feeling was like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

He wasn't just another baby; he felt like ours.

We stayed nearby for nine days, gradually increasing our time with him. After that, his foster carers brought him to stay in a hotel near us, and he visited each day to get used to our home.

On the day after he moved in, he turned ten months old. It was October 2020, and he was officially our son. I felt like I was on cloud nine, finally a mum after so many years of hoping and dreaming.

We'd had his bedroom prepared for months, and that first night Darrell and I had planned to take it in turns to see to Charlie when he woke up. Every time he cried, however, we were both up and ready to settle him together. No one got much sleep that night, but we were so happy.

With experience working with children, I knew I'd manage the practical side  the bottles and nappies  but I was nervous about how love would develop.

In the end, it came easily. We bonded quickly and it felt like he'd always been part of our lives.

Still, our transition into parenthood was abrupt. We'd spent ten years preparing in our minds but, in reality, we had just two-and-a-half weeks between being officially matched and having a baby in our home.

At first, I was too busy to notice how I felt. I had nine months' maternity leave to learn his routines, likes and dislikes, and adapt to the seismic shift in my life and identity.

Five months in, however, around the time the adoption was finalised in March 2021, making Charlie legally ours, cracks began to show.

I started crying regularly. I felt confused and flat, and I couldn't relate to the other mums at baby groups. While they talked about breastfeeding and labour stories, I had nothing to add. I felt like an outsider.

It wasn't that I was treated differently, but the conversations would invariably go towards why Charlie was adopted, and what had happened with his birth mother, who had been unable to care for him, though I never shared any details with them  it wasn't my story to share.

I was also careful not to reveal we'd been trying to have a baby for ten years, as I definitely didn't want people feeling sorry for me.

By the time my son was 17 months old, I was due to return to work  and that's when the depression really took hold. I didn't want to leave him. I'd waited so long to be a mum and now I was supposed to hand him over to Darrell, while I worked evening shifts.

Darrell was a hands-on dad, and was brilliant with Charlie, so I couldn't work out why I was so worried about leaving him.

Part of my depression manifested as obsession. I had to do everything myself  every feed, bath and bedtime. I felt like I had a duty to do it, because I was now Charlie's mum. Darrell was always happy to take on the routine, but I just found it so hard to let go.

It got to the point where I was crying all the time and didn't want to go out. I stopped attending mum and baby groups altogether.

No one around me seemed to understand. Friends sympathised with the challenges of sleepless nights and toddler tantrums, but not with the intensity and emotional roller-coaster of the adoption process. How could they? They'd never been through it.

By this point, we had little to no contact with social workers, as the adoption order had been granted. But in the back of my mind there was always the thought that if I reached out to them, they might see me as a failure of a mother. Looking back, I realise that was a ridiculous thought, but in the moment that's how I truly felt.

That's when I eventually called my GP in tears. Because of Covid, I couldn't visit in person, so I sobbed down the phone.

After asking me what I wanted them to do, they offered talking therapy, which I tried. But it was geared towards post-natal depression based on hormonal shifts, traumatic births or breastfeeding struggles.

I needed someone to acknowledge that I had just become a mother through adoption and that it came with its own set of emotional challenges.

So, on the GP's recommendation, I started taking antidepressants, which saved me from going to a darker place.

I also found online groups for adoptive parents and, finally, I felt understood.

Other mums shared their own experiences of PAD, and suddenly my feelings didn't seem so strange.

I was lucky to have such a supportive husband in Darrell. After a decade trying for a baby, a lengthy adoption process, plus PAD, I knew it could have been very different  but thankfully it was the making of our marriage.

Slowly, things began to shift. The antidepressants helped while I got my home and work-life balance in order, but then I started to feel numb. I'd gone from crying all the time to feeling nothing. I didn't even shed a tear when watching an emotional film.

Darrell tried to support me the best he could  as much as I let him in  and I know he was desperately worried about me.

So, after taking the medication for two months, and with advice from my GP, I weaned myself off the antidepressants.

After six long months, I learned to give myself a break and finally enjoy being in the moment with my boy, rather than worrying and obsessing about what I was missing when I wasn't there.

I was Charlie's mum and as good  and as fallible  as any other mother, whatever path I'd taken to build my family.

Now, our son is five-and-a-half. He knows he's adopted, and is happy to talk about it. He tells people 'Mummy and Daddy chose me,' which I love.

We have letterbox contact with his biological parents once a year and will continue for as long as he's happy to do so.

We currently have no plans to have face-to-face contact, but if that's something he wants to do when he's an adult, we're open to having that conversation then.

I love that he's proud of his story, and I now speak openly about the adoption process and the joys it's brought us.

It's not always considered by couples struggling to conceive, but it's been the best decision we ever made.

I'm also open about post-adoption depression, how it's perfectly OK not to be OK, especially in those vulnerable first months. I just wish there was more awareness and support for adoptive parents like us.

There is some support available, but it's not always well-funded, and only this year we saw services cut back and financial support reduced.

My biggest piece of advice to adoptive parents is to find your tribe. I've joined various support groups for adoptive parents, and we chat online and share advice.

I've taken part in adoption events, offered advice and spoken about my experiences on social media.

I've made some wonderful friends, one of whom's child came from the same foster carers as Charlie. We are so similar, and it feels so good to have her in my corner whenever I need her.

We may not have pregnancy or birth stories to share, but we have our own unique experiences  both lows and highs  and just as much love for our children as other parents.

Most importantly, I no longer feel guilty for struggling. I went through something huge and now realise I'm only human.

I've become a stronger, more resilient mother and I love my child just as much as mums love their biological children. Post-adoption depression is nothing to be ashamed of.

As told to Julia Sidwell
When I asked Jay, the boy fidgeting in front of me, what prompted him to seek help for his porn addiction, I wish I could say his reply shocked me.

In choked tones the 18-year-old confided that he wished he had a gun to shoot himself.

As a psychotherapeutic counsellor, working with porn addiction, I am depressingly familiar with this level of despair. I specialise in treating young people suffering because porn has distorted their view of sex, relationships and their self-worth.

We're experiencing an unprecedented crisis thanks to the impact of porn  so much so that child-on-child sexual abuse has become a problem, even in primary schools.

In efforts to address the problem, last week the Online Safety Act came into effect, meaning porn sites now have to verify their users' ages to prove they are over 18. But the checks have proven pitifully easy to circumvent, with tech-savvy young people installing Virtual Private Network (VPN) software that disguises their location online, rendering the UK rules null.

Among adolescent boys and young men, watching porn has become the norm. Shocking studies reveal one child in ten has watched porn by the age of nine and that one school-age pupil in ten considers themselves a porn addict. Because Jay is just one of a tidal wave of young men I've met so damaged by porn that they question whether life is worth living.

Jay started looking at porn aged 13 after hearing his peers discussing it  then looking online to see what all the fuss was about. At first, he enjoyed watching it. As most teen boys would, he liked how it turned him on.

Among adolescent boys and young men, watching porn has become the norm

But soon, watching porn stopped being something that helped him fit in with his peers. Soon every spare moment was spent chasing the high it gave him, isolating him from friends and family. Porn became his companion; he would try to stave off his loneliness by watching for up to eight hours, feeling lost when he couldn't access it.

Stopping felt impossible, going without made him depressed. Like any addict he was suffering withdrawal symptoms. Since turning to me, we've worked on dialling down his feelings of shame, helping Jay to understand that he is being manipulated by an industry that exploits the addictive nature of its product.

He no longer has thoughts of self-harm, but porn remains a problem that, a year later, he's still struggling to overcome. You might think Jay's story is one of the more extreme cases I've seen. Quite the opposite.

My clients include young men whose partners have told them they must seek help for their skewed take on what a loving sexual relationship looks like, or they'll leave, writes Samantha Marcham

I've worked with young men whose lives should have remained on a decent, upward trajectory. But their descent into addiction drags them into a world where they become so desensitised to hardcore pornography they can somehow persuade themselves it's OK to watch ever more violent acts.

My clients include young men whose partners have told them they must seek help for their skewed take on what a loving sexual relationship looks like, or they'll leave.

These are girls who are sick of being asked to perform extreme sex acts their boyfriends have seen on screen; men who believe porn represents a menu of sex moves they're entitled to in real life. I also see men who have serious body image issues; they compare themselves to men on screen and worry their genitalia aren't big enough.

Many develop a psychological condition called Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction. Sex with a living, breathing human  who expects love and affection and to receive pleasure herself  feels like too much pressure.

It's vital we tackle these problems long before our boys become men through sex education at school, with classes that focus as much on the risks of porn addiction as they do on avoiding pregnancy and STDs.

We need to answer the questions pupils have about sex and relationships to avoid them looking for information online  where they will find things such as women being choked and decide that's what 'normal' sex is like. But parents need to take responsibility for dispelling harmful ideas about sex, too.

One way of doing that is to encourage your son to watch dramas that depict the emotional, romantic side of sex, that show it as a loving act.

I get that watching Bridgerton with a 13-year-old boy is most people's idea of hell, but it's far better than the hell that awaits if he grows up thinking the only kind of sex is the sort he sees in pornography.

Jay's name is changed. For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit samaritans.org

Samantha Marcham is co-author of Porn Bomb: What Every Young Person Needs To Know About Pornography
Former WWE superstars Torrie Wilson and Sable are two of the biggest sex symbols to ever step into the ring.

Sable made history when she covered Playboy magazine in 1999, breaking the record for the highest-selling issue in the publication's history at the time.

Torrie followed suit in 2003 with her own cover shoot, before the pair teamed up together to become the first WWE stars to share a Playboy cover in 2004.

Despite being one of the top female stars in WWE at the time, Torrie told DailyMail.com that she made more money doing Playboy than she did in an entire year of wrestling.

The blonde bombshell, now 50, also said that she and Sable initially got along with each other and that it was their idea to do Playboy together, despite being locked in an on-screen feud about who the sexiest WWE star in the company was.

However, it didn't take long for their scripted storyline to spill over into real life.

'It's really funny to look back on because there was a hint of realness to that [feud],' she explained.

'We were on location in Mexico doing one of those WWE Divas shoots, and she and I started chit-chatting and we were like, "We should take some photos together and then go to Vince [McMahon] and give him this idea,"' she continued.

Torrie Wilson has revealed that she earned more money doing Playboy than she did in WWE

The former WWE star also opened up about her real-life feud with WWE legend Sable

'And then somewhere along the way we started having a little cattiness go on between us,' she added.

Torrie said that she and Sable 'had so much fun' shooting the cover together, but the claws came out when it was time to promote the issue.

'I just feel like she had a completely skewed version of who I was as a person,' Torrie shared.

'She thought that I was trying to like steal the spotlight or something,' she continued.

'I'm just a super people pleaser and will do anything you ask of me, you know?'

Torrie also said that she believes the wrestling business can breed competition between women.

'I think that the wrestling industry kind of creates this insecurity because there's always somebody coming up and you're always one show away from losing your job,' she explained.

'And you're under a microscope and people are judging you for every inch of your body, especially back then - it was very much about our looks,' she continued.

Torrie and Sable covered Playboy together in 2004 and Torrie claims that Sable thought she was trying to 'steal the spotlight' from her when they started promoting the issue

'I definitely think it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when Stacy [Keibler] and I came in and we didn't know how to wrestle and we got a lot of TV time. But what do you expect us to do?'

Torrie also insists that she has no regrets about stripping down for the magazine, despite the behind-the-scenes drama she experienced thanks to Sable.

'I don't regret it one bit. Playboy was "it" when I was growing up and I just loved my experience,' she gushed.

'There was a short time, like maybe towards the end where I felt like people judged me for doing it, but I've totally let that go. I don't care and I definitely don't shy away from being sexy.'

Wrestling fans can see more of Torrie's sexy side on her Passes page.

The WWE Hall of Famer recently joined the subscription-based app, which has been billed as a PG-rated alternative to OnlyFans.

Sable made history when she covered Playboy magazine in 1999 , breaking the record for the highest-selling issue in the publication's history at the time

Torrie tells DailyMail.com that she has no regrets about stripping down for Playboy twice

'What I love about Passes is that it gives me a chance to get to know my subscribers or fans better than on social media, where you have so much noise coming at you,' she said.

'I've had people come up to me and say, "You'd make so much money on OnlyFans!" But I don't wanna do anything nude and I feel like people expect [OnlyFans] to go there,' she continued.

'I love that Passes is a cleaner platform so people aren't gonna come on there expecting [nudity],' she added.

Torrie started out in wrestling in WCW, before joining to WWE in 2001 after the company bought out both WCW and ECW.

During her time at WWE, she become one of wrestling's biggest sex symbols and covered FHM magazine, as well as Playboy magazine twice.
A traveller has revealed her 'brilliant' suitcase packing method for a 16-day summer holiday, with many saying they wish they had thought of it sooner.

Silje Werner, from Stockholm, shared a 'satisfying' video showing how she stacked her holiday wardrobe neatly while the luggage was standing up on its wheels.

Packing your suitcase upright can help maximise space, making it easier to pull out a specific dress, shirt or a pair of pants you want to wear on any particular day - without having to create a mess from rummaging through everything.

By loading from the bottom up, you're pressing down on the clothes to compact them, so you get extra storage space to fit in souvenirs or spontaneous purchases from your trip.

'Next time you're travelling, try out this packing hack,' Silje said in her video.

'I'm blown away.'

Silje said she was packing for a summer trip to Albania so she wanted to see all the outfits she packed vertically.

'It really helped me stay organised during my two-week trip,' she explained.

Silje Werner has revealed her 'brilliant' suitcase packing method for a 16-day summer holiday, with many saying they wish they had thought of it sooner

'I really like this way of packing... Everything was perfectly in place after two flights and I managed to keep it organised during my 16-day trip.

'I find that packing this way gives you a good overview of what's in your suitcase... It's so handy.'

Silje said the other side of her suitcase was filled with three pairs of shoes, two hair styling tools, a towel, several sunscreens, two camera tripods and more.

She said her suitcase came to a total of 18.5kg.

Those who packed their suitcases using the same technique insisted it was 'better' than packing cubes because they could retrieve what they want to wear without disturbing the rest of their belongings.

'Packing cubes are terrible and bulky. This is the best method - my mum has been doing it for years,' one shared.

'Realistically you save more space with this method than you would with packing cubes,' another pointed out.

'I'm packing for a trip tonight and this works better than packing cubes,' one said.

'I pack exactly like that BUT I actually pack behind the liner. Open the zipper of the liner attach a zip tie on the zipper to make it easier to open and close. Then pack just like this, close the liner and then lock with the straps. I even add a purse or anything else right under the straps and it works out beautifully,' another added.

Packing your suitcase upright can help maximise space, making it easier to pull out a specific dress, shirt or a pair of pants you want to wear on any particular day - without having to create a mess from rummaging through everything

Many were 'mind blown', with one saying: 'This is actually pretty brilliant.'

'Why didn't we ever think about this sooner?' another shared.

'Now that is impressive,' one said.

'Very smart! I never thought of that,' another revealed.

'Why am I seeing this AFTER I was fighting for my life?' one joked.

'This makes so much sense,' another added, along with a crying emoji.

However, not everyone agreed, with some suggesting they swear by packing cubes.

'Good idea but packing cubes are the best,' one said.

'Packing cubes keep everything organised,' another shared.

But some defended the upright packing method, with one pointing out: 'Y'all saying packing cubes... This video is literally for if you don't have an alternative to anything like that and you have to hurry up... People never take a simple hack.'

Another agreed, saying: 'Exactly... People are so irritating. Not all your clothes can fit in those tiny packing cubes.'
Some say tensions between Ana and Nicole arose in 2023

An awkward photo of Ana de Armas and Nicole Kidman has raised fans' eyebrows after the James Bond actress's romance with Tom Cruise was confirmed.

Ana, 38, and the Top Gun star, 63, finally confirmed their romance this week after months of rumours when they were spotted holding hands during a picturesque getaway in Vermont.

The outing came shortly after Ana was branded 'ageist' for liking a post about Tom Cruise's ex-wife, actress Nicole Kidman, 58.

In its wake, a very awkward photo of the pair from over two years ago has begun circulating online - long before the romance between Tom and Ana came to light.

The picture shows the stars chatting with fellow actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Nicole's husband, Keith Urban, in their seats at the 95th Academy Awards back in 2023.

While Nicole was all smiles and engaged in the conversation, Knives Out actress Ana was seen averting the Australian star's gaze.

The resurfaced snap was posted by an Ana de Armas fan page that has turned on the star after the Cruise romance and social media gaffe.

'#WeStandwithNicole,' the picture was captioned on X, which ignited a heated debate among fans.

Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas (pictured together) have confirmed their romance - but it turns out she may have some history with his ex, Nicole Kidman

The Cuban actress liked a post that criticised the Moulin Rouge star's denial of cosmetic procedures (Tom and Nicole pictured together 1999)

'This is her first wrong move, right??' one user replied.

'She definitely messed up, however, I do love gossip, so I wonder if this is really a one-sided beef or if she is aware (of) something Nicole said about her and it led her to be petty and do this,' a second speculated.

'Nicole is 10 times the artist, actress and woman than she is,' another remarked.

But not everyone was convinced there was any hostility between Ana and Nicole.

'All this drama over a fact she liked one pic? Get a life,' one woman snapped.

'If she liked (a) post about a man with Botox, you would not be so p***ed, right?' someone added.

The Cuban actress sparked backlash for liking a post about Nicole Kidman's appearance, which fans branded 'ageist'.

Ana liked a post that criticised the Moulin Rouge star's denial of cosmetic procedures.

'When you keep it real #nicolekidman,' the post was captioned, showing the actress up close while tagging a dermal filler brand as the location.

A rather awkward photo of Nicole Kidman and Ana de Armas at the 2023 Oscars has now been doing the rounds on social media - long before Ana's romance with Tom came to light

Fans went wild over the photo on social media - after de Armas's social media gaffe

The Instagram post, which was originally shared on the page Celeb Mess, was reposted to Reddit to show Ana's interaction with it - and fans took to the comments section to call her out.

'Lol, let's see what she looks like at almost 60,' one person wrote about Ana.

Another person responded to the comment, saying: 'It fascinates me when people in their 20s and 30s are rude about people ageing. Like where do you think you're headed? And do you know what the alternative to aging is?'

One fan pointed out that Nicole dated Ana's alleged beau too, writing: 'Dating a senior Tom Cruise when Nicole is free... but sure Ana, you're the winner here lmao.'

'Having a one sided internet beef with your boyfriend's wife from 20 years ago this openly is just absurd lol,' another wrote.

One Reddit user took aim at Ana's acting talent, writing: 'Looks fade, talent doesn't. Nicole's had a 40 year career. Let's see where Ana's is in 10.'

'Nicole Kidman has more talent, beauty, and grace than she ever will have,' another penned.

Over the years, Nicole's age-reversing appearance has sparked rumours she's had cosmetic surgery performed on her face.

The Instagram post, which was originally posted on the page Celeb Mess, was reposted to Reddit to show Ana's interaction with it

Over the years, Nicole's age-reversing appearance has sparked rumours she's had cosmetic surgery performed on her face (pictured 2024)

But the Australian actress, who has continuously denied undergoing any surgery, credits healthy lifestyle choices as they secret behind her tight, youthful complexion.

'To be honest, I am completely natural', she told Marie Claire in 2007.

Aside from shocking fans with her smooth, wrinkle-free appearance, Nicole has pulled off many hairstyles to make her look years younger.

She recently embraced her natural self as she displayed her curly locks - following a disastrous wig fail during the Cannes Film Festival.

Just this month, Ana has been spotted multiple times with the Mission Impossible star, being snapped on a yacht in Menorca with Cruise, as well as disembarking his helicopter together along with her beloved dogs.

The couple first sparked romance rumours on Valentine's Day this year, when they were spotted for what was reportedly a professional dinner in London.

The following month, they were pictured with cheeky smiles on both of their faces after their flight landed at the London Heliport.

They have been friends ever since they co-starred in the 2019 movie Wasp Network.

In mid-May, an insider spoke about how Tom is 'super smitten' with Ana even though it is still early in their romance.

They are co-starring in Doug Liman's supernatural thriller Deeper.

On GMA in May, the actress said: 'It's so much fun. We're definitely working on a lot of things. Not just one, but a few projects with [filmmakers] Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie and, of course, Tom. And I'm so excited.'
Princess Diana's niece Lady Eliza Spencer has announced her engagement to Channing Millerd.

Eliza, 33, revealed the happy news on Instagram alongside a selection of photographs from the proposal, which took place in Santorini.

After almost a decade together, tech executive Channing popped the question to Eliza, the daughter of Charles Spencer and Victoria Aitken, in a stunning setting during sunset on the Greek island.

In the post, captioned 'Forever and ever', Eliza shared a sweet photograph of her lovingly looking at her fiancee.

The snap showcased the model's new ring, which features a lavish pear-shaped diamond.

A second photograph appeared to capture the moment Channing got down on one knee to the model during a romantic candlelit dinner overlooking the sea.

Eliza, a first cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry, put on an elegant display for the special moment in a silk red halter-neck dress and brown sandals.

Friends and family rushed to congratulate the couple in the comment section, including Eliza's twin sister, Lady Amelia Spencer, who wrote, 'The best news ever', before adding, 'I couldn't be happier for you both!

Lady Eliza Spencer has revealed her engagement to Channing Millerd in a sweet Instagram post (pictured together)

'The BEST NEWS IN THE WORLD. I love you both with all my heart! The perfect couple and dream engagement.'

The model's elder sister, Lady Kitty Spencer, 34, also congratulated the couple on Instagram, writing, 'So happy for you and love you both very much @elizavspencer @channingmillerd.'

Eliza and Channing first met at a dinner party in South Africa through the executive's brother, Greg Mallet, according to Hello.

Talking to the publication, Eliza said, 'We have such a strong, loving and supportive relationship.'

'He truly is my best friend. We understand each other so well, and no matter what life brings, we're always there for one another.'

Eliza added, 'I absolutely believe he's The One  our bond is built on so much trust, laughter and shared values.'

Eliza and Amelia live in London's Fulham, around 15 minutes away from their elder sister, though they travel a lot, including back to South Africa, from where their partners hail.

Following the union, the model will become a stepmother to Channing's son from a previous relationship, Nate, who the loving father has dubbed his 'perfect boy' on Instagram.

The happy couple appeared to capture the heartwarming moment Channing got down on one knee on camera

The tech executive popped the question to Princess Diana's niece in a stunning setting in Santorini

In an interview with Hello in March, Eliza said that she likes the idea of a destination wedding, particularly in Italy.

It comes after King Charles's cousin announced the engagement of his eldest daughter, Ella Mountbatten.

British aristocrat Lord Ivar Mountbatten, 62, who previously won America's The Traitors, took to Instagram to share the happy news of 29-year-old Ella's engagement to Fergus Allways Wright.

'I couldn't be happier to announce the engagement of my eldest and most precious daughter Ella @ellamountbatten to her fabulous boyfriend Fergus @wright.fregus,' the proud father wrote.

He continued, 'Ferg is not one to be rushed, so I am incredibly pleased that he has finally put us all out of our misery!

'I know he will look after my daughter to his dying day - they couldn't be better suited. Enjoy this special time in your life.'

The father-of-three to Ella, Alix and Luli, with his ex-wife, Penny Mounbatten, signed the post off by writing, 'Much love to you both. X #happycouple #finally #1down2togo.'

Ivar, who became the first member of the extended Royal Family to enter a same-sex union in 2018 with partner James Coyle, added a sweet photograph of the happy couple in the post.

The couple (pictured at a 2022 party in London) met at a dinner party in South Africa through Channing's brother

Eliza's twin sister Amelia took to the comment section to congratulate the couple, writing, 'The best news ever'

Pictured: Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer at The Serpentine Gallery Summer Party in London in June

Brand partnership manager Ella was all smiles as she proudly displayed her emerald and diamond-encrusted engagement ring while standing next to her fiance, who works as an insurance executive.

The happy news follows the news that Ivar's niece, Lady Tatiana Mountbatten, welcomed her second child earlier this year in April.

The 34-year-old equestrian and psychotherapist, who is the daughter of George Mountbatten, Marquess of Milford Haven, and Sarah Walker, took to Instagram to reveal she's had a baby boy - and shared his unique and meaningful name.

She posted a series of sweet photographs, including one of the newborn wrapped up in a knitted jumper, a cloud-print beanie and tiny mittens, under a cosy blanket.

The aristocrat further revealed that she'd called her newborn Auberon, or Albie for short.

Tatiana shared several photographs of her eldest child Elodie, who she and husband Alexander 'Alick' Dru welcomed in September 2023, and her family enjoying the start of spring in the countryside.

The final photo in her set was of her holding both Elodie and Albie close as they cuddled on a sofa, Tatiana smiling at the camera and appearing radiant.

In another picture, the proud parent simply showed his tiny hand holding one of her fingers.

Pictured: Lady Eliza Spencer, Louis Spencer, and Victoria Aitken at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Eliza's sisters rushed to congratulate their sister on her engagement (pictured from L to R: Lady Eliza Spencer, Lady Kitty Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer in London last year)

Pictured from L to R: Channing Millerd, Lady Eliza Spencer, Lady Amelia Spencer and Greg Mallett at Royal Ascot in 2022

The mother-of-two wrote in the caption, 'March might just have been the best month of my life.

'We've been in the country for a month, Auberon (Albie) has been really wonderful to look after.

'His big sister has adored being outside all day every day and is slowly getting used to him.

'We've played, rested, nourished, slept a little, loved a lot and enjoyed every minute of the glorious spring weather.'

However, the time had come for the family to head back to London, Tatiana revealed.

'Now it's time to head back to London, to return to normal - or discover what our new normal looks like, and slowly find our stride again. Unbelievably grateful.'

Friends and family congratulated the family on their newest arrival, including Ella Mountbatten, daughter of Lord Ivar Mountbatten.

In a comment on the post, she wished Tatiana ahead of her birthday on April 16 and wrote, 'My new little cuz Albie, he's the sweetest Tats, congratulations and happy birthday for Wednesday.'

Tatiana also appeared eager to show Albie the reins of her beloved horses and to get him a pony of his own in the near future.
Lindsay Lohan was radiant as she walked the red carpet in London for the UK premiere of Freakier Friday in an ensemble that paid tribute to her character in the film series.

Lindsay, 39, was 16 when she appeared in the Noughties hit Freaky Friday opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, with the A-listers cast as a mother-daughter pair in the Disney body-switch comedy.

In a sweet nod to her character Anne Coleman, Lindsay donned a sequinned lavender gown inspired by her final costume in the cult 2003 film.

She recreated the lavender outfit Anne wore while performing with her band Pink Slip at her mother Tess Coleman's (Jaime Lee) wedding before the credits rolled - as Lindsay's stylist Andrew Mukamal called in a custom Ludovic de Saint Sernin dress.

She accessorised with a vintage purse that looked like a red electric guitar - like the one her character plays in the movie that was released over two decades ago.

Despite the 22-year gap between the original and sequel, Lindsay appeared not to have aged a day as the actress showed off her youthful transformation that has left fans clamouring for her skincare secrets.

However, Lindsay couldn't be more different today to the troubled teen she was when she found success with Freaky Friday and 2004's blockbuster Mean Girls - as she appears to have put the challenges she faced during those years firmly behind her.

Lindsay showed off her taut complexion and sensational figure as she joined Jamie Lee, 66, at the ODEON Luxe in London's Leicester Square ahead of the film screening last evening - before X users flooded to the social media platform to celebrate her 'glow up'.

Lindsay Lohan was radiant as she walked the red carpet in London for the UK premiere of Freakier Friday in an ensemble that paid tribute to her character in the film series

Lindsay on Thursday looked worlds away from her past self as The Parent Trap star's early years in the industry were marked by reports of unprofessional behaviour, drug addiction, and multiple run-ins with the law

'Lindsay Lohan is glowing!!!' one person wrote.

'Lilo's comeback era is officially upon us, we love to see it,' another wrote, referring to Lindsay's return to acting, including the Freaky Friday sequel as well as three recent Netflxi rom-coms.

A third noted 'she looks fabulous' while another fan said: 'She looks gorgeous.'

One gushing fan comment read: 'She's so the moment, always and forever.'

Another person posted: 'I'm loving seeing her shine as a star. She's so in her element and looks better than ever. We all had rough patches, it's just that hers was public!'

'She's amazing,' one X user added. 'She did the hard work and made hard choices. It all paid off. I love seeing women of my generation like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton thriving and more beautiful and intelligent than ever,

'The 00s were so hard on women,' they continued. 'So proud how they came out of all that.'

Another said: 'She found the fountain of youth.'

The changing face of Lindsay - the actress spent years in and out of rehab and plagued by legal troubles, but she is sober and looking better than ever

As Lindsay - who was 12 when she made her acting debut with Disney's 1998 film The Parent Trap - found international fame as the star of Mean Girls, her personal life began to go off-the-rails. She is seen here sporting darker hair in 2005 - before dying her locks blonde the same year

Lindsay seen arriving at Elle Magazine's 21st birthday benefit in New York on September 7, 2005

Lindsay at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2008 as the actress rocked a darker, bronde hair colour for the event

'Does she even age?' one fan asked, noting how the 39-year-old actress's flawless complexion made her look much younger than her age.

And someone else playfully added, 'I need to drink whatever Lindsay Lohan is drinking,' adding a heart eyes emoji.

Lindsay on Thursday looked worlds away from her past self as The Parent Trap star's early years in the industry were marked by reports of unprofessional behaviour, drug addiction, and multiple run-ins with the law.

In what is being dubbed the 'Lohanaissance' - or Lindsay's second act in Hollywood - the former child star has transformed into a happy, healthy, and sober mother, with a focus on family and wellness.

Lindsay's friends told The Mail on Sunday that her transformation began in 2014 when - after years of reckless behaviour that led to her being jailed five times in the US - she travelled to the UK to star in a West End production of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow.

Away from the prying cameras of the paparazzi, Lindsay decided to go off-the-grid as she reportedly changed her numbers and 'cut herself off from all the bad influences', celebrity photographer Giles Harrison said.

'She dropped off the face of the planet, at least as far as Hollywood was concerned.'

She relocated to Dubai two years later in a bid to disconnect from Tinseltown and rediscover herself away from the cameras that had followed Lindsay around since she was 12.

One of Hollywood's hard-partying 'It Girls' from the Noughties, Lindsay's reckless behaviour led to her being jailed five times

Lindsay appeared dishevelled and bleary-eyed during a court hearing in 2012 for a progress report on her drunk driving case in 2007

Back to blonde! The former child actor at the Whitney Museum of American Art gala and studio party in 2009

In what is being dubbed the 'Lohanaissance' - or Lindsay's second act in Hollywood - the former child star has transformed into a happy, healthy, and sober mother, with a focus on family and wellness. She is picturwd here in 2012 at a fashion show in New York

Over a decade later, Lindsay looked younger than her years as she walked the red carpet at the New York premiere of her Netflix film Our Little Secret that was released in 2024

In 2020, Lindsay found love with Bader Shammas, a wealthy financier who works for Credit Suisse and hails from one of Dubai's ruling families.

By then, a friend of the actress revealed, Lindsay had done a lot of therapy and was 'ready to settle down'.

The pair said 'I do' in 2022 and went on to welcome their son Luai - which means 'protector' or 'shield' in Arabic - the following year.

Reflecting on her new life, Lindsay previously said: 'I've never been happier.

'I took time just to be with me. What I love about Dubai is there's serenity there. I can live a normal life.'

While Lindsay had vowed never to return to Hollywood, she 'dipped her toe in the water' when she agreed to star in the 2022 Netflix rom-com Falling for Christmas in 2022.

And when she reunited with her on-screen mom Jamie Lee to film Freakier Friday last summer, her co-star described Lindsay as 'a revelation'.

This was a huge compliment considering Lindsay has previously revealed how she leaned on Jamie Lee for support during some of her most challenging moments after they came together for Freaky Friday.

Lindsay dyed her hair red in 2012 as seen here when she attended a press event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in October

Lindsay's friends told The Mail on Sunday that her transformation began in 2014 when - after years of reckless behaviour that led to her being jailed five times in the US - she travelled to the UK to star in a West End production of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. She was unrecognisable when she appeared at a court hearing in Los Angeles on charges of reckless driving among others in 2013

Lindsay decided to reclaim her life when she moved to Dubai in 2016 as she escaped the prying eyes of the paparazzi that had followed her around since she was 12

'She looks amazing because she is truly happy,' her manager friend commented on her incredible physical transformation that sparked speculation she's undergone cosmetic work.

The actress has since denied having plastic surgery and, instead, attributes her youthful look to healting well, an intensive skincare routine and regular appointments with Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr Monika Kiripolsky.

In an Instagram post on July 21, the dermatologist uploaded a selfie alongside the actress following an appointment in preparation for Lohan's red carpet appearance at the El Capitan Theatre.

Kiripolsky's caption read: 'When your patient is literally the star of the show and also the glow. Always an honor to treat the radiant @lindsaylohan - proof that great skin is ALWAYS in!

'From Mean Girls to mom glow she's still got that Lohan luminosity. Can't wait to see her shine (and swap lives?) in the upcoming Freakier Friday - her skin's already ready to rock that red carpet.'

Lindsay began to appear on Kiripolsky's Instagram page last year, and the actress herself has also credited the celebrity dermatologist for her radiant skin.

During an interview with Byrdie earlier this month, the star expressed: 'I'm also big on staying consistent with my routines so I feel my best.

'That includes regular visits to my Los Angeles dermatologist, Dr. Monika Kiripolsky, whenever I'm in town for work.'

Lindsay, who is 24 in this mugshot, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation for drink driving and drug possession in 2010

She has since cleaned up her act and emerged healthier, happier, and stronger than before

Lindsay, 38, is seen here with her husband Bader Shammas at a screening of her 2024 Netflix film Our Little Secret as the actress' comeback has been widely celebrated

She modeled a plunging black gown that teased her cleavage as fans flocked to X to gush over her transformation

Lindsay Lohan, 39, at the Hollywood premiere of Freakier Friday last week

The Mean Girls actress has sought treatments from Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Monika Kiripolsky (left)

Lindsay and Jamie Lee opened up about their close bond formed while starring together in Freaky Friday, with Lindsay describing Jamie as her rock during a very difficult period

The Parent Trap actress, 39, and the Oscar-winning Curtis, 66, captured hearts as the mother-daughter duo in the 2003 Disney body-swap comedy; (seen in 2003)

Lindsay continued, 'She helps keep my skin healthy and glowing especially during breaks from heavy on-set makeup.'

While talking to Elle back in May for a cover story, the actress addressed plastic surgery rumors after photos of the star went viral last year over her youthful transformation.

The topic was brought up when Lindsay revealed that she has been in the process of potentially creating her own beauty line.

'It's taking a long time because I'm very specific, because I'm crazy about my skin and health,' she explained.

SNL star Chloe Fineman - who interviewed Lindsay - complimented Lohan on having the 'skin of dreams.'

In response, the mom-of-one stated, 'Everyone does Botox,' before Fineman encouraged the actress to share some of her beauty secrets.

'Oh, God, I don't even know how to answer that. I drink this juice every morning. It's like carrot, ginger, lemon, olive oil, apple. I also drink a lot of green tea, a lot of water. I'm a big pickled beets person, so I put them in almost everything.

'My skin care is very specific. I'm trying out some serums now that I'm doing - I'm testing them,' she continued.

Lindsay, 39, brought the sunshine with her as she stepped out in New York City early Monday morning

Wearing a pastel yellow and black boucle tweed mini-dress with long sleeves and a pair of high-heel yellow sandals, the Hollywood Film Award winner bore a great resemblance to Alicia Silverstone 's Cher in the 1995 romantic comedy Clueless

The actress, 39, dazzled in a lilac sequin gown with silver embellishments at the UK premiere of Freakier Friday on Thursday, July 31

Lindsay teamed her show-stopping dress with a quirky guitar handbag - a nod to her character in the film

'Also, I'm a big believer in ice-cold water on your face when you wake up. I drink lemon juice a lot; I also put tons of chia seeds in my water. Eye patches, I do every morning. I'm into lasers.'

Whatever Lindsay's doing is working, as the mother-of-one looked incredible at the Freakier Friday last evening.

Her light blonde locks were styled in cascading waves that fell to her waist as Lindsay styled her show-stopping dress with a pair of iridescent gold earrings

Lindsay has reprised her role as Anna Coleman in the upcoming film, alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, Chad Michael Murray, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Julia Butters and Ryan Malgarini.

The premise is: '22 years after Tess and Anna endured an identity crisis, Anna now has a daughter and a soon-to-be stepdaughter.

'As they navigate the challenges that come when two families merge, Tess and Anna discover that lightning might strike twice,' per IMDB.

The fantasy comedy film, which was directed by Nisha Ganatra, is set to hit theaters on August 8.
Queen Letizia of Spain stepped out with her daughters Princess Sofia and Crown Princess Leonor to attend a Film Festival in Majorca on Thursday evening.

The Spanish monarch, 52, looked relaxed in a stylish monochrome dress as she enjoyed the summer outing with her daughters in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The royals were spotted attending a screening of En un Lugar de la Mente during the Atlantida Film Festival at Rivoli Cinema.

Letizia looked typically chic, pairing her chic summer gown with black sandals and a leather handbag.

Meanwhile, Princess Sofia, 18, donned a flowy black midi dress which she paired with black sandals like her mother's.

Crown Princess Leonor, 19, who recently successfully completed her naval training, looked stylish in casual wide leg trousers and a white lace top.

She completed her summer look with brown sandals and a woven bag, which she wore across her body.

The royal trio were seen taking in the island sights during their annual summer holiday.

Queen Letizia of Spain stepped out with her daughters Princess Sofia and Crown Princess Leonor to attend a Film Festival in Mallorca

After the screening, the mother and daughters posed for snaps outside the venue .

The holiday comes after Princess Leonor received the Navy Merit Grand Cross and a warm hug from her proud father King Felipe at Flag Pledge Ceremony.

The future queen attended the solemn Flag Pledge (Jura de Bandera) and delivery of Dispatches of Employment ceremony at the prestigious Naval Military Academy in Marin, Pontevedra, Spain, last month.

In a poignant moment symbolising her growing role within the Spanish monarchy, Leonor received the honour from the hands of her father.

The award acknowledges her commitment and connection to Spains armed forces and marks a significant milestone in her royal journey.

The Navy Merit Grand Cross is a high-level military decoration awarded for distinguished service within the Navy.

Leonor's mother, Queen Letizia, and younger sister, Princess Sofia, beamed as they proudly watching the ceremony.

Leonor looked graceful and poised as she proudly donned the crisp white uniform, donning a shirt with epaulettes, which she tucked into a pair of belted smart trousers.

The Spanish monarch, 52, looked relaxed in a stylish monochrome dress as she enjoyed a summer holiday with her daughters in Palma de Mallorca, Spain

The royals were spotted attending En un Lugar de la Mente screening during the Atlantida Film Festival at Rivoli Cinema on Thursday evening

Sunkissed Letizia paired her chic summer gown with black sandals and a leather handbag for the outing

Meanwhile Princess Sofia, 18, donned a flowy black midi dress which she paired with matching black sandals to her mother

Leonor wore her long dark blonde tresses in a practical, sleek braided low bun, which sat elegantly below her sailor cap.

She was seen marching alongside her fellow aspiring officers keeping a stern expression and the level of professionalism one would expect from a marine.

The princess spent a year with the Spanish army before training to be a marine and will then move on to her final rotation at the General Air Academy.

As she is the heir to the throne, Leonor will one day take the title of Commander in Chief of the armed forces, alongside being the Queen of Spain.

She therefore has to spend three years in each section of defence and has already spent a year at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza.

At the start of the year, Leonor set sail from Cadiz, Spain, for her navy training cruise.

Felipe and Letizia watched proudly as she took part in a departure ceremony before setting sail from Cadiz.

The Princess is following in the footsteps of her father King Felipe as well as her grandfather Juan Carlos, who both attended military training with every of the three armed services in the country.

Navy Captain Pedro Cardona Suanzes, director-commandant of the Naval Military School in Marin, previously described the daily routine of the midshipmen to the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia.

Leonor completed her summer look with brown sandals and a woven bag which she wore across her body

Letizia looked relaxed as she enjoyed her summer holiday with her daughters

The royals greeted well wishers before the film screening at Rivoli Cinema

Princess Leonor received the Navy Merit Grand Cross and a warm hug from her proud father King Felipe at Flag Pledge Ceremony

He said that their life is 'non-stop', adding that there are constant tasks for them to do, from the minute they wake up until they go to bed in the evening.

The captain said the day starts at 6.45am. They then shower, make their beds, and have breakfast all before 7.30am - when their white uniforms are inspected to ensure they are 'spotless'.

During the week, all students must be in bed before 10.45pm to ensure they get their full eight hours of sleep.

On weekends, pupils are allowed to wake up two hours later than usual, at 8.45am and first-years are allowed to stay up until 1.30am in the morning.

Before she started her three-year training, Leonor revealed her enthusiasm for becoming a cadet at the Princesa de Girona Foundation award ceremony in Girona last year.

She said at the time: 'I have just finished high school and I am about to start a new stage with a period of military training.

'I am happy because I know how much the Spanish value our armed forces... it is an important moment in my life and I feel very excited and determined to continue learning and giving my best effort.'
Socialite Talita von Furstenberg has revealed she's engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Rocco Brignone de Brabant.

The 26-year-old is the granddaughter of celebrated Belgian fashion designer Diane - who has an estimated fortune of $300 million and is best known for her 'magic' wrap dress.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Talita wrote: 'Forever!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you so much my heart is bursting.'

She shared a stunning and intimate image of the two of them gazing at one another while standing by the ocean - with her glamorous sparkler on full view.

Wearing a chic white slip dress, Talita also shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the romantic setting, showing a table laid with flowers amid the gorgeous backdrop.

Her grandmother Diane also shared a selfie of the couple looking ecstatic and gushed: 'Talita and Rocco are ENGAGED!!!  He proposed. She accepted ! Join me in wishing them a happy joyful life together  LOVE is LIFE .'

Talita and Italian banking scion Rocco have been dating for more than six years, frequently sharing loved-up snaps on social media and going on lavish holidays together.

Princess Talita is the eldest daughter of interior designer Alexandra (nee Miller) and her ex-husband Prince Alexander von Furstenberg, son of Diane and her ex-husband Prince Egon von Furstenberg.

Socialite Talita von Furstenberg has revealed she's engaged to her long-term boyfriend (pictured)

Talita shared a stunning and intimate image of the two of them gazing at one another while standing by the ocean - with her glamorous sparkler on full view

Talita grew up in Los Angeles before moving to the East Coast in 2017 to attend Georgetown University with her cousin, fellow royal Prince Alexios of Greece.

But she later transferred to New York University to study fashion business and marketing.

Rocco meanwhile comes from an Italian banking family who own a private estate resort in Costalegre, Mexico, called Costa Careyes.

The young fashion designer was born into a very elite circle.

Her royal heritage comes from her grandfather, German aristocrat Prince Egon, who was married to Diane for 14 years.

Diane and the royal, who passed away in 2004, had two children during their marriage: Prince Alexander von Furstenberg, Talita's father, and Princess Tatiana von Furstenberg.

Talita remains particularly close to her royal cousin Princess Olympia of Greece with the pair frequently jetting off together.

And her royal relatives were among the first to share their congratulations, with Princess Olympia writing: 'LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!!!!'

Taking to Instagram on Friday, Talita wrote: 'Forever!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you so much my heart is bursting'

Wearing a chic white slip dress, Talita also shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the romantic setting, showing a table laid with flowers amid the gorgeous backdrop

Her famous grandmother Diana was also quick to share a gushing message

The happy couple looked as though their dreams had come true as they announced they would be together forever

And her royal relatives were among the first to share their congratulations

Her father, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece, wrote: 'Congratulations to you both.'

Prince Achileas-Andreas of Greece added two heart emojis.

Other celebrity comment included Poppy Delevingne, who wrote: 'Omg WOWWWWWW! Congrats babygirl, sooo happy for you lovebirds,' while influencer Olivia Jade shared a heart emoji and a crying emoji, writing: 'Guys!'

Despite her royal associations, Talita previously revealed how she avoided using her title growing up in Los Angeles because she didn't want people to 'freak out' when they met her.

Speaking in an interview with UK-based magazine Hello, Talita added that the situation might have been different if she had been raised in Europe, where there is a better 'understanding' of royalty.

'It doesn't make sense for me because I didn't grow up in Europe, it is still my title, but I think that Americans don't understand about being a princess in the same way that you guys do,' she said.

'In LA, where I grew up, if I said I was a princess people would freak out. I didn't think I could claim that title for myself.'

Nevertheless, Talita's family ties have left her well connected.

Fashion guru Diane von Furstenberg has previously called goddaughter Talita her 'muse' (pictured together, 2019)

Talita (pictured at the Met Gala in 2021) previously revealed how she avoided using her royal title growing up in LA because she didn't want people to 'freak out' when they met her

Talita (left) remains close to her royal cousin Princess Olympia of Greece (right) with the pair frequently jetting off together

Talita is the daughter of Prince Alexander von Furstenberg and his first wife, Alexandra von Furstenberg (pictured in 2019)

Lookin' good: The two royal cousins previously travelled to Japan together where they posed for photos in Kyoto

Her grandmother previously called Talita her 'muse' and the rising style star is now following in the designer's footsteps.

Having inherited her grandmother's passion for design, she is being groomed to one day take over the Diane von Furstenberg business, believed to be worth millions.

During the pandemic, despite travel restrictions, Talita appeared to join grandmother Diane and her husband Barry Diller on a trip to Spain's party island of Ibiza, facilitated by Diller's $150million 305-foot yacht Eos.

Diller, founded internet and media conglomerate IAC, is said to be worth $4.4billion, according to Forbes, and is a useful connection for the rising star to have.

And the fashion designer herself has not shied away from the limelight.

She has often been seen gracing the front rows of fashion shows and society parties including us being a frequent face at the Met Gala in New York City.

Her social movements are reminiscent of her mother Alexandra, who was a firm fixture on the Nineties New York social scene along with her sisters Pia Getty and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.

In recent years Talita has unveiled her own chic clothing ranges, admitting she doesn't discuss her design ideas with her famous grandmother Diane.

Talita has still been finding time to make a name for herself in the fashion world after inheriting her grandmother's passion (pictured together)

Diane's husband Diller (pictured together), founded internet and media conglomerate IAC, is said to be worth $4.4billion, according to Forbes

Even Talita's boyfriend Rocco (pictured together) comes from an Italian banking family who own a private estate resort in Costalegre, Mexico, called Costa Careyes

'We try to be separate when I'm designing, just because I obviously value her opinion so much, but she designs for an older client and has a different taste to me, and I would hate for her opinion to alter the shape of the collection because ultimately the collection is supposed to reflect my more youthful taste,' she previously told the Daily Mail.

'Every time she sees [my dresses] in the studio she's like, "Urgh what is this?" I'm like, "Just trust me. You'll like it at the end, people will like it".

'She always ends up liking it when I wear it, but when she sees it on the rack she's like, "Oh this is horrible".'

Talita added: 'In everything else besides the design aspect, I rely on her opinion so much  she's literally the best, most wise person to ask, so I really value her opinion on TVF branding, and on distribution now I'm going into the wholesale market.'

Talita has since been named co-chairwoman of the fashion brand as part of the company's restructuring over the past few years, while Gabby Hirata was brought on as DVF's new president and CEO.

'For me, what I hope is that [my successors] will maintain the spirit and the attitude,' Diane told The Wall Street Journal.

'Right now I'm putting all of my archive, all of my 50 years of experience, into this huge vault with the codes and the tricks and the knowhow and all of that.

Socialite Talita von Furstenberg has shared a tantalizing insight inside her latest lavish getaway with boyfriend Rocco Brignone de Brabant

'Then it's in the hands of young people  my granddaughter, Gabby, whoever else works here  to do it, respecting the values and not trying to be something that we aren't.

'DVF is about respecting the woman and giving her the tools to be the woman she wants to be.'

Speaking about the possibility of heading up the family's fashion empire, Talita previously told Daily Mail that doing so would be a real honor.

'It's a really special, strong DNA brand,' she said. 'I'm still learning and don't want to take that position until I fully think I'm confident enough to do it, and I'm learning, that's what TVF is.

'Hopefully one day I can [take over] because DVF is a pretty extraordinary brand that's one dress for so long and it's still selling, so it's a pretty crazy business model when you look into it.

'All the DNA and history of the brand is really, it's a really special brand. When I go into the archives and see all the dresses, I could pull out a dress and it could still be worn today, almost every single one of them.'

Talita previously posted a series of snaps from her holiday in Hawaii with Rocco.

The care-free couple looked to be having the time of their lives as they playfully danced on an island, rode horses along a sandy beach and clambered up mountain trails with breath-taking views.

But Talita is no stranger to giving her growing fan base an insight into her enviable lifestyle as she prepares to take the reins of her family's fashion empire.

The couple looked to be having the time of their lives on their most recent getaway together in Hawaii

Talita also shared videos of the lovebirds prancing on a small island surrounded by vibrant blue water

But it is not the first time that Talita has left her followers green with envy by flaunting her busy travel schedule.

The fashion heiress has frequently spent her summer vacations from university with lavish trips across the globe.

In 2018, she kicked off her travels with a trip to Utah with her father, Prince Alexander von Furstenberg, at the Amangiri - a remote five-star resort in Canyon Point.

But that was only the beginning, and, in just two months, Talita had also visited Spain, Austria, Israel, France and Greece, posting a trail of snapshots to document each destination.

The following year she was at it again - this time exploring Mexico, the Mediterranean and Japan alongside her family.

Although the pandemic seemingly slowed down her travelling exploits temporarily, it seems that Talita is now back galivanting, all while juggling her position in her grandmother's fashion empire.
The late Queen Elizabeth II's ex-chef has revealed her eating habits - including the 'secret' drink she refused to travel without and her favourite chocolate dessert.

According to her former chef, the monarch - who died in September 2022 - and the rest of the Royal Family were fond of a 'secret' palace drink that was bottled up so they could bring it on their travels around the world.

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, former royal chef Darren McGrady, revealed the beverage was a Lemon Refresher that palace chefs brewed every month and stored in recycled tonic water bottles in the fridge.

Darren, who spent 11 years working for the Queen Elizabeth, revealed the drink was not only 'loved' but 'needed' by members of the royal household as one ingredient was a 'natural purgative'.

H explained: 'Epsom salts are a natural purgative, they help keep you on the throne, and so when members of the royal family needed a little help they reach for this delicious homemade refreshing lemon refresher.'

The chef revealed that the drink was non-alcoholic and similar to a lemonade but 'a bit more tart.'

It included citric acid, tartaric acid, lemon juice and zest, Epsom salts, and boiling water.

After stirring all the ingredients together, the chef revealed it has to be refrigerated before being served chilled and diluted in water.

Former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed Queen Elizabeth's favourite beverage, which was a Lemon Refresher

Lemon Refresher (Makes about 1 qt - to dilute) 4 cups sugar 2 TBS Epsom salts 1 tsp citric acid 3 tsp tartaric acid 6 lemons, juice and zest 5 cups boiling water Extra water for diluting Method: Place the sugar, Epsom salts, citric acid, tartaric acid, lemon juice, and zest in a bowl and whisk them together. Bring the 5 cups water to a boil and pour it over the lemon mix, whisking until combined. Refrigerate until cold and decant into screw-top bottles. Keep refrigerated. To serve, dilute 1/4 cup of the lemon refresher with 2 cups of water over ice or to taste. www.theroyalchef.com Advertisement

Darren revealed a similar lemon beverage was first created by the Egyptians thousands of years ago, and it was made 'popular by the French street vendors in the 1600s before finding its way to the USA in the 1800s'.

He added: 'The royal family would travel all over the world and take this Lemon Refresher with them to Sandringham, Windsor, Balmoral, Holyrood Palace and even on the royal yacht Britannia too.'

In another video, the chef revealed that the late Queen loved a certain 'rich chocolate dessert' which she first tried during a trip to Australia.

During a visit to Government House in Melbourne, she was served Chocolate Marquise at a dinner party and loved it so much that she asked the chef for the recipe so she could bring it back to the Royal Britannia chefs to make for her - something Darren claimed she 'never does'.

He explained: 'She wanted the chefs in the kitchen to make this and put it on the menu so she could serve it to her guests too.

'Chocolate Marquise is really, a rich, chocolatey, fluffy, velvety, creamy mousse, then it's frozen, but it doesn't freeze solid, it freezes quite soft.

'So for us in the kitchen, when I was cooking for the Queen it was fantastic because we could make them up, put them in the freezer and if the Queen had a surprise guest and she wanted to serve a pudding then we could just go in the freezer, bring out the Chocolate Marquise and it sliced perfect.

'So with a little fruit or a little coffee creme anglaise to garnish we had the perfect dessert, ready for Her Majesty.'

Darren, who spend 11 years working for the late Queen Elizabeth, revealed the drink was not only 'loved' but 'needed' by members of the royal household

In another video the chef revealed that the late Queen loved a certain 'rich chocolate dessert' which she first tried on a trip to Australia

For the dessert, Darren used 60 per cent dark chocolate, as he claimed the Queen 'loved dark chocolate, the darker the better'.

He then added unsalted butter, sugar, cocoa powder, egg yolks, brandy, and double cream to the tasty mixture.

He said: 'Then I'm going to pour this into a one pound loaf tin and I've lined it with plastic wrap, that's cling film across the pond, so it'll just be easier when it comes out.'

It comes after the palace's fromer chef revealed Princess Diana's favourite breakfast - and it's a 'super healthy' one loved by influencers.

According to the former chef, the late mother of Prince William and Prince Harry began eating the nutritious meal of overnight oats after discovering on a trip to Switzerland in the 1990s.

In another video shared to his YouTube channel, Darren said the simple hearty breakfast was what the princess ate 'everyday' or on 'most mornings' at Kensington Palace.

He added that it was 'healthy and packed with protein and nutrients' - much of the reason why modern-day celebrities and influencers have gone crazy for it.

A-listers such as Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Victoria Beckham have all championed the meal in recent years.

Darren revealed that Diana loved overnight oats (pictured) - although some of you may have heard of it through A-listers such as Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and Victoria Beckham

Princess Diana's favourite breakfast has been revealed almost 30 years after her tragic death - and it's a 'super healthy' one loved by influencers (The royal pictured leaving the gym in London in 1995)

Chocolate Marquise Serves 8 1 1/4 cups (200g) dark chocolate (60% cocoa is best) 1/2 cup (100g) unsalted butter 1/2 cup (100g) sugar 2 TBS cocoa powder 3 egg yolks 2 TBS brandy 1 1/4 cups (300ml) heavy/double cream Method: 1 1lb loaf tin, lined with plastic wrap/cling film Cream the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg yolks, brandy and cocoa powder. Cream until combined. Melt the chocolate in a separate bowl, set aside. Whip the cream to soft peaks, set aside. Whisk the butter cocoa mix into the melted chocolate and carefully fold in the cream until combined. Spoon into prepared loaf tin (or individual lined ramekins) and freeze overnight. This dessert will keep in the freezer for three months. www.theroyalchef.com Advertisement

Overnight oats is a no-cook dish that requires preparing oatmeal by soaking it in liquids such as milk or juice, and other ingredients such as fruits, nut butters and nuts overnight in the refrigerator.

Nutritionists have labelled it one of the healthiest breakfasts to exist due to properties such as lessening the risk of diabetes, reducing cholesterol, and the risk of obesity.

In a caption accompanying the clip, Darren shared his special recipe that included blueberries and fresh walnuts.

He began by explaining that Princess Diana was 'looking the best she ever did' during the days he cooked overnight oats and other meals for her.

'She was now eating healthy - her go-to breakfast was something called overnight oats,' said Darren.

He added: 'Now, today overnight oats is popular. Everybody is eating them but they date back to 2012.

'That's when you couldn't go on social media without seeing a recipe for overnight oats. But Princess Diana was eating overnight oats almost 20 years earlier in 1993.'

The top chef revealed that Diana stumbled upon the dish in Switzerland, where she was introduced to the intriguing breakfast for the first time.

'They were actually called bircher muesli and they were invented by a Swiss nutritionist who thought they were really, really good and all the ingredients were super, super healthy' he continued.

Overnight oats was reportedly invented by Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner around the 20th century so his patients could enjoy a healthy and easy meal.

Darren joked that the late princess stole the recipe and returned to Britain where she asked the expert chef to make them for breakfast 'everyday'.

He added that while oatmeal could be enjoyed hot, eating them cold placed the dish on 'another level' and made them taste 'amazing'.

Next he talked viewers through his personal recipe, one seemingly similar to what he cooked for the late royal princess herself.

'Start off by steeping the oats - that means adding a liquid to them. I use rolled oats.

'Don't use the quick oats or anything like that' he warned. 'The rolled oats in my opinion are the best'.

Darren showed the camera a silver bowl of uncooked oats, and afterwards poured a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice inside it.

'Cover them [the oats] with plastic and then put them in the refrigerator and leave them overnight... overnight oats.'

He produced the results of nightly soaked oats which appeared to have swelled up with each grain now clinging to each other.

The expert chef stirred the contents together and then reached for his next ingredient - a pot of yoghurt.

He opted for the dairy snack due to its high protein content, and then for a sweet kick he added a drop of honey.

'With the raw honey just do that to taste,' continued Darren.

'If you like it really, really sweet then obviously put a little bit more in but not too much'.

Finally he added half a honey crisp apple, the juice of one lemon, one cup of fresh blueberries and a 1/2 cup of toasted walnuts.

'So there are many different things you can add into the dish now' he explained.

'Los of different fruits, all the berries and the strawberries... chia seeds are really popular now too.

'This is the classic traditional dish that Princess Diana had for breakfast every morning.

'I have to admit when I was making this for Princess Diana every morning at Kensington Palace it was so good, I actually used to double the recipe so that the chef got it too' he joked.

He presented the concoction in a medium-sized tumbler with a silver panel which was now overflowing with creamy oats.

A few blueberries and chopped walnuts made for the perfect garnish to his completed recipe.

'Well there you go! It's so much cheaper than buying it ready made at the store' he concluded.
China to allocate more funds in October to support trade-in program

Xinhua) 13:08, August 01, 2025

BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's top economic planner on Friday said that another 69 billion yuan (about 9.65 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long special treasury bond funds will be allocated in October to support the country's consumer goods trade-in program.

This will be the fourth and final batch of the year, according to Jiang Yi, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), who noted that the country has already issued its third batch of ultra-long special treasury bond funds in the same amount.

The Ministry of Finance, together with the NDRC, has this year earmarked 300 billion yuan in such funds to back the consumer goods trade-in program.

The economic performance in the first half of the year demonstrated strong resilience, with domestic demand contributing 68.8 percent to GDP growth and continuing to serve as a driving force for expansion, NDRC official Zhou Chen told a press conference Friday.

Moving forward, the NDRC will continue to promote the introduction and implementation of a series of measures to stabilize employment and the economy, Zhou said.

The NDRC will strengthen economic monitoring, forecasting and early warning, regularly conduct policy research and preparation, and continuously improve the policy toolkit for stabilizing employment and expanding domestic demand, Zhou added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
A woman who dated a CIA agent has laid bare the glamorous perks that came with being in a relationship with a government official - as well as the strict rules she had to follow.

Nyla Caselli, 23, based in California, said she met the man, named James, after he approached her at the airport and asked to take her to dinner.

From that night on, Nyla says she was whisked into a lifestyle of private jets, chauffeurs, designer handbags, and spontaneous bank transfers, including a $40,000 payment simply because 'he missed her.'

She was soon introduced to 'the fast life' of elite hotels and whirlwind weekends abroad... but dating a CIA agent also came with its downsides.

James had intense regulations when it came to privacy, including no social media, no photos, and no personal questions.

Nyla explained exclusively to the Daily Mail, 'From day one, James had very strict boundaries. No photos - ever. No tagging him in anything.

'I wasn't even allowed to post when or where we were if he was nearby. I had to turn off my phone sometimes.'

Nyla recalled James using 'encrypted phones,' and doing 'security checks' whenever he'd enter a public building.

Nyla Caselli, 23, dated a CIA agent - and she laid bare the glamorous perks that came with being in a relationship with a government official, as well as the strict rules she had to follow

She said said she met the man, named James, after he approached her at the airport and asked to take her to dinner

'He used a phone with no traceable apps, and sometimes would only communicate on burner numbers,' she continued.

'We'd enter restaurants through back doors. He always sat facing the exits. Even in hotels, he'd sweep the room for cameras.

'He once made me leave my bag in a separate car just to "be safe."'

But he also loved to spoil her. He whisked her away on trips to places like Morocco and Switzerland and moved her into a $10,000-a-month penthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

At first, James kept his line of work a secret from Nyla and she believed he was just a 'rich businessman.'

She explained, 'At the time, I didn't question it. But now I realize I was basically living in a spy movie.

'He said [all the rules] was for "operational security," and at the time, I just thought he was a privacy freak but it turns out, he was living a double life.

'I thought maybe he was in tech or finance, but deep down, something always felt off.'

From that night on, Nyla says she was whisked into a lifestyle of private jets, chauffeurs, designer handbags, and spontaneous bank transfers

She was soon introduced to 'the fast life' of elite hotels and whirlwind weekends abroad... but dating a CIA agent also came with its downsides (stock image)

After three months of his secretive behavior, security details, and constant travel, Nyla said she jokingly asked him, 'What are you, CIA?' and he went 'stone cold.'

That's when he dropped the bombshell that he did indeed work for the US government.

While she first thought he was joking, Nyla said that suddenly, 'everything made sense.'

And knowing the truth about his profession only added an extra 'thrill' to their relationship.

'It was like living in a fantasy. There were spontaneous first-class trips, dinners where the room got cleared out just for us, and this underlying feeling that no one could touch me. It was definitely a high,' she dished.

But with the life of luxury also came a fierce 'loneliness' as she had to tell lies to her own friends and couldn't share anything on social media.

'I was a ghost in my own life sometimes - living the dream, but unable to wake anyone else up to it,' she recalled.

'I wasn't able to post or share anything about my life with the world and I had to hide everything.

Nyla told the Daily Mail that James had intense regulations when it came to privacy, including no social media, no photos, and no personal questions

'There were nights I didn't know where he was or when he'd come back. It was glamorous, but it was also extremely isolating.'

Though things ended a year in after James was reassigned overseas, Nyla said she learned a lot from their relationship.

And in the end, she concluded that she'll always remember James with affection.

'Now I'm hyper-aware of my surroundings. He taught me to never assume I'm not being watched, and honestly, in today's world, that advice has aged very well,' she reflected.
A woman has candidly detailed how a simple mistake in the kitchen completely altered her life.

Kyndall Zachary thought nothing of it when she put a brownie on a paper plate to warm it in the microwave.

The 22-year-old accidentally pressed two minutes instead of the intended 20 seconds and, when she opened the appliance, found it filled with smoke.

'I grabbed the paper plate of brownies and ran them under water and then threw them away in the trash can,' the North Carolina student told the Daily Mail.

Kyndall had also wiped the kitchen counter off with a paper towel before placing that in the trash can too, which was located under the counter in a cupboard.

'Forty-five minutes later, after I cleared all the smoke out by opening the doors and having fans going, I go to my room and am about to go to bed,' she said.

'I thought everything was fine,' she admitted. 'I kept the fans going and I took my two small dogs with me.'

Kyndall was almost asleep when she heard a 'weird beeping' sound before getting up to investigate what it was.

Kyndall Zachary thought nothing of it when she put a brownie on a paper plate to warm it in the microwave

'I walked out of my room and turned the corner to see a bright orange glow, smoke and heard crackling of the fire coming from the kitchen,' she said. 'I sprinted back in my room called 911 grabbed my two small dogs that were with me.'

The quick-thinking young woman, who instantly knew she had to evacuate, alerted her brother who was in the basement and ran out the front door.

According to Kyndall, the fire started in the trash can almost an hour after she had thrown the brownie away.

'It got too hot in the trash can, mixed with paper towels also in the trash can it started a spark,' she explained.

'The scary part is that the beeping wasn't even the fire alarm because the fire alarm never went off,' she added.

'The fire possibly tripped the power of the microwave and that was the beeping that made me get up,' she explained. 'The fire department said had it been a few more minutes it would have been an entirely different story.'

Kyndall suffers from PSTD from the incident, admitting she has had panic attacks and nightmares about her house catching on fire again.

'I refuse to cook anything right now, I can't look at or even smell anything fire related right now,' she said.

Kyndall was almost asleep when she heard a 'weird beeping' sound, getting up to investigate what it was, shocked to find her home ablaze

'I walked out of my room and turned the corner to see a bright orange glow, smoke and hear crackling of the fire coming from the kitchen,' Kyndall said. 'I sprinted back in my room called 911 grabbed my two small dogs that were with me'

'Although the fire didn't spread past the kitchen the entire home is not livable and most of our things cannot be saved from all of the water damage, fire damage, soot and smoke damage,' Kyndall said

Kyndall, who has three siblings, said she's unsure where her family will go yet

'Although the fire didn't spread past the kitchen the entire home is not livable and most of our things cannot be saved from all of the water damage, fire damage, soot and smoke damage.'

Kyndall, who has three siblings, said she is unsure where her family will go now.

'We have looked around but it's hard when we have no furniture and just need it short term, and since we have four dogs it's just complicated,' she pointed out.

She urged everyone to have a fire safety plan so they can also act quickly in an emergency.

'It's scary to think the fire started almost an hour after I ran the brownies under water and threw them away,' she mused. 'I would have never imagined I walk out of my room to see my entire kitchen engulfed in flames.'

She thanked her local fire department for their speed.

'They informed me that this was completely unintentional and a freak accident, anytime in the future I would absolutely put it in almost a pool of water for hours before I throw anything hot away again,' she declared.

In 2023, the National Fire Protection Association reported a whopping 44 percent of all house fires started in the kitchen.

Ranges or cooktops were involved in 53 percent of the reported home cooking fires, 88 percent of cooking fire deaths, and 74 percent of cooking fire injuries. Households with electric ranges had a higher risk of cooking fires and associated losses than those with gas ranges.

Unattended cooking was the leading factor contributing to cooking fires and casualties. Clothing was the item first ignited in less than one percent of these fires, but clothing ignition led to seven percent of the home cooking fire deaths.

More than one-quarter of the people killed by cooking fires were asleep when they were fatally injured. More than half of the non-fatal injuries occurred when people tried to control the fire themselves.
Hundreds of people rushed to the opening of a Sephora in Manchester this morning - with one couple sleeping overnight to be the first to experience the new beauty store.

At the very front of the line was make-up fan Frances, 19, who was accompanied by Shiv, 20.

The pair, from Barnsley, West Yorkshire, were ecstatic to be first in.

Frances, who works as a teaching assistant said: 'I missed the Trafford Centre opening because I was working, so I was so annoyed. But I knew I wanted to make this one.'

The UK's tenth Sephora follows on from the brand's first Greater Manchester store, which opened inside the Trafford Centre last year.

Kait Turnbull brought her 10-year-old daughter Ruby who she called 'beauty obsessed'.

The mother said: 'We got in and then because it's so early and the shops aren't open yet the lifts wouldn't work and we were stuck.'

Ruby has previously visited the Trafford Centre Sephora store as well as the one in London. She said she is most looking forward to trying the new Sol de Janeiro fragrance - Sundays in Rio - and anything Tower 28.

Hundreds of people queued up for the opening of a Sephora in Manchester this morning

Kait joked: 'I'm just the chauffeur and the credit card.'

The Sephora fan said she was most looking forward to securing a Charlotte Tilbury Contour Stick, but that she wanted to browse the whole store and didn't know what she might end up with.

By 9am, there were 400 people in the queue which snaked across the ground floor of the Arndale shopping centre, and by 10am there were more than 500.

Michelle Kirkbride, from Doncaster, brought her daughter Jessica to the Sephora opening since they missed the store opening at Meadowhall - which would have been more local to them.

This will be the first Sephora store they have visited in the UK, with Jessica adding: 'I want to look at everything.'

Jessica and Michelle have visited Sephora a few times in the US, including in New York and Florida, but they are excited to have one that's more local and to be able to attend the opening day.

Throughout the morning, staff members handed out little samples and goodies to the committed beauty lovers, including makeup, skincare, Sephora-branded bucket hands, and giant fingers.

During the Trafford Centre store opening in May 2024, people waited in the queue all night to be the first through the doors to secure one of the goodie bags, which were set out for the first 800 shoppers.

Drag Queen Naya Thorn attended the UK's tenth Sephora opening, which follows on from the brand's first Greater Manchester store that opened inside the Trafford Centre last year

Michelle Kirkbride, from Doncaster, brought her daughter Jessica to the opening and it will be the first Sephora store they have visited in the UK

Queues of hundreds of people snaked around Manchester Arndale Shopping Centre for the opening

Don One, a Drag King, was also brought in to entertain the hundreds of shoppers who camped out for the opening

For the Arndale opening, Sephora changed its approach, and customers were told the traditional 'first in line' model would be replaced with a new Sephora 'Beauty Bonus Card' mechanic, which would give more shoppers the chance to win.

Throughout the opening weekend, every customer who makes a purchase will receive a Beauty Bonus Card which will give shoppers the opportunity to win one of eight incredible prizes on the spot, including a Sephora goodie bag, a mystery lucky dip, free 30-minute makeup services plus more prizes.

The new store has taken over 4,618 square feet on the lower ground of the Arndale next to other beauty giant, Superdrug.

The unit used to be home to the H&M-owned fashion retailer, Monki, which shuttered back in January after occupying the space for almost seven years.
One of the most controversial horror franchises of all time is being turned into a TV series.

Eli's Roth Hostel, which was dubbed 'torture porn' when the first film was released back in 2005, is being developed at Peacock, according to Variety.

Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti is set to star in series, while Roth will write, direct, and executive produce.

Roth wrote and directed the first two films in the franchise but was not involved in the third installment, which was released direct-to-DVD in 2011.

Little is known about the plot of the series yet, but the movies follow a secret Slovakian criminal organization that lures foreign tourists into deceptively idyllic hostels, where wealthy sadists and psychopaths then torture and kill them.

In the first film, two American college graduates travel across Europe and end up in Slovakia after being told that a local hostel in the area is filled with beautiful Eastern European women.

Once inside, they're drugged by the women and then sold to the Elite Hunting Club to be maimed and murdered.

The sequel features a female cast of American art students who are seduced by the promise of a luxurious spa experience in Slovakia.

Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti is set to star in a TV series based on Eli Roth's controversial horror franchise Hostel

Hostel, which was dubbed 'torture porn' when the first film was released back in 2005, is being developed at Peacock

Like the men in the first movie, the trio end up drugged and sold to the Elite Hunting Club.

After two of the women are killed in unbelievably horrific ways, one manages to escape after castrating her captor.

The sequel was extremely controversial upon its 2007 release and was outright banned in New Zealand.

In the UK, MP Charles Walker said that it 'depicts obscene, misogynistic acts of brutality against women.'

The first film garnered $82 million worldwide off a small budget of under $5 million, while the second made $36 million worldwide.

It's unclear exactly how gruesome the TV series will be, but it was previously described as 'modern adaptation' and 'elevated thriller' by The Hollywood Reporter.

Hostel is far from the only horror IP that Peacock is taking on.

The streamer is also deep into production on a Friday the 13th prequel series called Crystal Lake.

The 2007 sequel was banned in New Zealand and condemned for its violence against women

Peacock is also deep into production on a Friday the 13th prequel series called Crystal Lake

Instead of focusing on Jason Voorhees, the 'expanded prequel' is centered on his mother Pamela, who was the killer in the original 1980 film.

Meanwhile, It: Welcome to Derry, based on Stephen King's original killer clown novel, is coming to HBO in October.

It comes after the success of the 2017 remake and its 2019 sequel.

Ridley Scott's Alien also has its own prequel series premiering soon called Alien: Earth.

The original Alien film famously starred Sigourney Weaver as the iconic character Ripley.

This time around, Sydney Chandler is leading the prequel series as Wendy, an android who has the body of a robot but the consciousness of a human.

Her deep space research vessel crash lands on earth in the year 2120, where Wendy and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers must face 'mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.'
A group of eight 'monsters' banded together in a sick plot which saw a 13-year-old girl kidnapped, gangraped, and then killed - with her remains left floating in a river for nine months.

Maryann Measles was last seen on October 19, 1997, when she was abducted from a supermarket parking lot by five men and three women, who she had considered to be her friends.

The seventh grader had been waiting in the car while her mother carried out errands at the time.

Measles endured a campaign of torture in the moments before her death, which is laid bare in the latest episode of Investigation Discovery's documentary series A Killer Among Friends.

And, after her kidnapping, it would be years before her loved ones got answers over what happened to her - and who was responsible for her murder. Here, FEMAIL unpacks the senseless violence.

After being snatched from her mother's car, Measles was taken to River Road in New Milford, Connecticut where her known attackers - Keith Foster, Dorothy Hallas, Maggie Mae Bennett, Alan Walter, Jeffrey Boyette, Ronald Rajcok, Deaneric Dupas, and June Segar - began beating her.

The three women who participated in the murder were said to be angry that the teenager had sex with their boyfriends. Measles, however, had been a victim of statutory rape.

Although she broke away and ran for help, she was chased down by one of the perpetrators, Segar, and dragged back to her death.

Maryann Measles was last seen on October 19, 1997, when she was abducted from a supermarket parking lot by five men and three women

It was years before her friends and family members found out the truth about what happened

Recounting hearing how his late friend Measles died, a man named Scott said in the documentary: 'Them beating on her and raping her and holding her under the water until the bubbles stopped, that's probably the comment that haunts me the most.

'Until the bubbles stopped.'

Another friend, Donna, added: 'They wrapped her in blankets and chains and they threw her into the river. It breaks my heart that I wasn't there to help her.'

Months before her life was taken, Measles began hanging out with the group of older friends who would later attack and kill her.

One evening, she confessed to her mother that she had been raped by some of the older men in the group, including Walter and Foster.

Measles's mother took her to the police station to file statutory rape charges against the men, however only filed a report regarding Walter.

Although they planned to file a report against Foster, the group of friends hatched a plan to silence Measles, who had opened up about her ordeal and confined in her plan to June.

Nine months after her death, Measles's body was found in Lake Lillinonah in Connecticut, but it was still years before police made any progress.

Measles was in the seventh grade when her friends kidnapped her and killed her

In the summer of 2001, four years later, cops offered a $50,000 reward for people to come forward with evidence to help solve the case.

Segar, one of the killers, was keen to get her hands on the money and in 2005, she reached out to police and led them to a crucial piece of evidence: an abandoned washing machine in the middle of the woods containing Measles's clothes.

After linking herself to the crime, Segel admitted that there was eight people involved in the murder and that Walter orchestrated it.

Speaking in the documentary, Measles's friend Ashleigh said: 'I was just so sick to think that Mariann thought she was hanging out with friends, but they were planning on murdering her.'

'It was mind-blowing seeing their pictures in cuffs in the news and all over the newspapers,' Scott added.

'It was like wow, I spent every day with those people. I was hanging out with a group of murderers and I didn't even know it.

'I will always harbour some guilt and blame because I literally introduced one of my best friends to her killers and that will never go away.'

Walter had sex with the teen's corpse before they wrapped her in blanket, tied it with a chain and padlock and then pushed her into the lake.

Foster was the only perpetrator whose case went to trial where he was sentenced to 110 years in prison.

Keith Foster was sentenced to 110 years in prison for his role in Measles's murder

Alan Walter plead guilty to felony murder, first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault, and tampering with physical evidence

He was guilty on charges that included felony murder, first-degree sexual assault, three counts of first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping, tampering with a witness, and tampering with physical evidence.

Additionally, Walter was handed a 60-year sentence for his involvement and was charged with felony murder.

For their part in the murder, Boyette was sentenced to 50 years, Dupas was sentenced to 47 years , Rajcok was sentenced to 36 years, Segar was sentenced to 30 years, and Hallas was sentenced to 25 years.

Bennett was sentenced to 19 years after she was charged with first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, risk of injury to a minor, tampering with a witness, and tampering with evidence.

At the time of writing, only one out of the eight perpetrators has been released.

Bennett, who received the lightest sentence due to her plea deal, was freed in 2019 after 19 years.

She testified that at least three of the boys took turns raping Measles before dragging her to the water to drown her.

Reflecting on the murder, Measles's younger sister commented in the documentary: 'Two of the guys would have got 18 months for statutory rape, so instead they ended her life and ruined all of ours forever.

'I've never raised my kids to believe there are not monsters I've lived my life with eight monsters.'
A little bakery just 45 minutes from the Sydney CBD has made a serious name for itself in food circles - much to the disappointment of locals.

Kearns Village Bakery, near Campbelltown, has wowed foodies with its tasty treats since it opened - but it's the $45 banh mi that has the spotlight right now.

It's important to note that while some ravenous customers have been able to finish the 80cm creations on their own, they are designed to be shared between three to five people.

Annie, of Annie's Bucket List, visited the bakery to try one of the 80cm Vietnamese rolls for herself and she was not disappointed.

'This is an 80cm banh mi thit,' she said while showing off the baguette in a TikTok review.

'They sell these at Kearns Village Bakery - it's a humble little family-run bakery in Campbelltown and people usually come here for the regular-sized ones.

'[They have] crispy pork at the front and traditional banh mi thit at the bottom. [The traditional side] has the pickled carrots and daikon and it has the cold cut meats and my favourite, which is the Vietnamese pate and bo.

Bo, she explained, is a 'special Viet mayo'.

Kearns Village Bakery, near Campbelltown, has wowed foodies with its tasty treats since it opened - but it's the $45 banh mi that has the spotlight right now

It's important to note that while some ravenous customers have been able to finish the 80cm creations on their own, they are designed to be shared between three to five people

'The pate and bo is really good, it's a very solid banh mi - love it,' she gushed, before tasting the other side.

'This is the side with the crispy skin pork. Aunty says when people order this they also ask if they can buy the sauce that comes with it so she gave me some extra to put in there,' she said.

'Usually I like the traditional banh mi thit with the cold cuts better but their crispy pork here is really, really good. It's so crispy and there is so much pate... the pate is amazing.'

And she wasn't alone, with many fans sharing her enthusiasm.

'Girl that looks AMAZING,' one wrote.

'It's the size of five regular banh mi so they're essentially $9 each,' another added.

'They make the best banh mi EVER,' one more agreed.

Others argued the $45 price was too steep to justify, even when split between multiple people.

'The pate and bo is really good, it's a very solid banh mi - love it,' Annie gushed, before tasting the other side

'$45 for THAT! That's a steal because they are stealing your money,' one wrote.

'Too expensive,' another wrote.

Annie disagreed, saying the price was 'fair' given the 'crazy amount you get'.

'I even told them to keep the change because I felt bad,' she said.

Annie said the custard tarts, pies and meatball rolls the bakery sells are great, too, with many enthusiastic locals agreeing.

Unfortunately, judging by the virality of this little bakery, these regulars will have some serious queues to contend with very soon.
A leading neurologist has issued an urgent warning over using a massage gun to relieve neck tension as this could trigger a potentially life-threatening stroke.

Dr Baibing Chen, from the University of Michigan shared the warning with his 163,000 Instagram followers, stating that this is one of three common activities he would never do to protect his brain health.

In the video, which has been viewed over 8million times, he also urged his followers to stop blasting loud music through headphones and warned against holding in a sneeze.

'I would never use a massage gun on my neck,' the neurologist said.

'This is because the vertebral and carotid arteries in the neck are vulnerable to damage from the repetitive shear forces from a massage gun.'

These arteries make up a vital part of the circulatory system and supply the brain with blood and life-giving oxygen.

Dr Chen added that this repetitive damage can increase the risk of an artery tearing, encouraging the formation of blood clots, restricting blood flow and triggering a stroke.

A stroke is a serious medical event that can cause permanent brain damage or even death.

Dr Chen warned his followers against using massage guns to relieve neck tension, blasting loud music through their headphones and holding in a sneeze

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Dr Chen added that using a muscle gun with direct pressure can also dislodge hidden plaques that line the artery wall.

'This can cause a clot to travel to the brain and lead to an ischemic stroke.'

This happens when a blockage cuts off blood supply to part of the brain.

According to the NHS, around a quarter of strokes in the UK are caused by a narrowing or blockage of the carotid arteries.

The main symptoms of a stroke can happen suddenly and include facial weakness where one side of the face may fall making it hard to smile; arm weakness which impacts a person's ability to lift both arms; and speech problems.

Anyone who thinks they are having a stroke are urged to call 999 immediately.

Other symptoms include weakness or numbness down one side of the body, blurred vision, confusion and memory loss, headaches and nausea or vomiting.

Stroke is a leading global cause of death and disability.

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There are more than 100,000 strokes in the UK each year, about one every five minutes.

For this reason, Dr Chen also warned against holding in a sneeze.

He said: 'This is because sneezing generates high internal pressure that's higher than car tire pressure.

'Holding [a sneeze] in forces this pressure into delicate areas and may lead to ruptured ear drums, torn throat tissues and even air leaking into the chest.

'In rare cases the sudden spike in pressure can rupture blood vessels in the brain leading to subarachnoid hemorrhage or intracerebral bleedingespecially in individuals with aneurysms or weakened arteries.'

This type of hemorrhage is an uncommon type of stroke caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain which can be fatal.

In this instance, there are usually no warning signs but according to the NHS this type of stroke can happen during physical effort or straining, such as coughing, holding in a sneeze or lifting something heavy.

Common symptoms include a sudden excruciating headache, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, typical stroke-like symptoms and loss of consciousness.

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A subarachnoid haemorrhage is considered a medical emergency.

Finally, Dr Chen advised turning down the volume before plugging in headphones.

'Loud music isn't just bad for your ears it's actually bad for your brain as well,' he said.

Tackling hearing loss early could delay the development of dementia for a number of years, promising new research suggested this year.

Studies have long suggested that around four in 10 cases of the memory-robbing condition could be preventable.

Now experts believe that up to a third of cases could be attributed to hearing loss.

'This is because when the brain struggles to process sound it reallocates resources away from memory and thinking, increasing cognitive decline,' Dr Chen explained.

Dementia affects around 982,000 people in the UK and studies show that those with untreated hearing problems may be up to give times more likely to develop the condition.

'Sounds over 85 decibels, similar to city traffic, can cause damage over time whereas exposure to 100 plus decibels, like a concert or many earbuds at max volume can cause permanent hearing loss in as little as 15 minutes,' he added.
A Harvard doctor has revealed three toxic items which might be lurking in your bedroomand need to be disposed of as soon as possible.

According to Dr Saurabh Sethi, 42, a California-based gastroenterologist, these are old pillows, synthetic air fresheners and, if it's old, your mattress.

In a recent video posted on his Instagram page @doctor.sethiwhich has been watched 2.1million views and has over 34,000 likeshe explained the dangers.

Old pillows, he explained, can 'accumulate dust mites, sweat and allergens over time'.

A study found the tiny mites often thrive in pillows, and even though the six-legged critters are no bigger than a grain of salt, they're a significant trigger for asthma.

'If your [pillow] is over one to two years old, it is probably time to replace it,' he said.

Next, he explained why canisters of air fresheners shouldn't be used in sleeping areas, saying that they release phthalates and VOCs which are 'linked to respiratory issues and hormonal disruption'.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are tiny chemicals the canisters expel into the air, which can then seep into your lungs.

A Harvard graduate doctor has urged people to remove three 'toxic' items from their bedrooms

In a video posted to his Instagram page where he has 1.2 million followers he explained why

In the short-term, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns they can travel to the brain causing dizziness, headaches, concentration lapses and visual disorders.

Meanwhile long-term exposure has been linked to heart and lung problems, fertility issues, hormonal imbalances and even cancer.

Dr Sethi also highlighted a study, where 86 per cent of air fresheners contained phthalateswhich are chemicals linked to asthma and reproductive harm.

So, instead he urged people to try a more natural option, such as essential oils that are extracted from plants.

Finally, he urged people to throw out mattresses that are more than seven to 10 years old.

This is because, he explained, they 'can lower sleep quality and cause chronic back pain.'

In 2023, researchers found mattresses that are no longer firm, often due to years of use, is linked to lower back pain.

So, he warned, if your mattress is older, you should throw it out 'as soon as possible'.

He warned that sleeping on a mattress that is too old can lead to uncomfortable back pain

After posting the video, he received lots of comments from shocked social media users who shared their bedroom pillows are much older.

In one comment a user said: 'One or two years old? Mine are 10 yrs old pillows.'

Another wrote: 'One to two years for pillows? Get out of here, Man you'd be shocked how old mine are.'

Meanwhile a third commented: 'Old pillow = 2 years? If we threw those away and bought new ones that'd had a massive negative impact on the environment.'

However, other social media users thanked him for warning them about the potential hidden dangers.

One user commented: 'Thanks for sharing this important information.'

Previously Martin Seely, CEO and sleep expert at Mattress Next Day told the Daily Mail, there is a simple test to know when you need to replace a pillow.

He said: 'It's recommended that you change your pillows everyone to two years, but it really depends on a number of factors, such as the type of pillow and your sleeping position.

'There is, however, a test you can do to see if it needs [to be] replaced. Simply fold your pillow in half and squeeze out the air.'

Then, he continued: 'Let the pillow go and if it unfolds back to its original shape, then it has enough filling to support your neck and head.

'If it doesn't spring back, then it's lost its support and needs to be replaced.'

However, the sleep experts simple test is to check for neck support and not for bacteria or dust mites.
Parents have been urged to vaccinate their children during the summer holidays amid a resurgence in potentially deadly measles cases.

British health chiefs already sounded the alarm over a spike in cases earlier this year; last year saw the highest number of infections recorded annually since 2012.

But experts are now concerned that travel during the summer holidays could lead to another surge in England when the new school term begins.

A rise in measles infections, dubbed 'the world's most infectious disease', in recent weeks has already forced some nurseries to instate Covid-era infection control policies.

One child in Liverpool also died last monthit is understood they were they were severely ill with measles as well as other serious health problems.

Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine offers up to 99 per cent protection against the illnesses, which can lead to hearing loss and problems during pregnancy.

Without it, just one measles infection can spread the virus to 9 out of 10 unvaccinated people nearby.

Yet, as few as just over half of children have had both MMR jabs in parts of London. Similarly low levels are also seen in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.

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

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According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there have been 145 cases since the last report on 3 July, bringing the total since 1 January to 674 cases.

London and the North West are driving the current increase, with the majority of infections in children aged under 10.

Almost half (48 per cent) of the 674 cases for the year so far have been in London, with 16 per cent in the North West and 10 per cent in the east of England.

The borough of Hackney in east London, has recorded the highest number of cases in the country at 79, the UKHSA said, accounting for more than one in ten infections.

Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, Assistant Professor of Global Health & Development at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said: 'It is no surprise that Hackney has seen the highest number of measles cases over the past four weeks.

In 2023-2024, MMR coverage in Hackney was lowest by local authority in England and just 60.8 per cent had received both MMR doses by the age of five, compared with 83.9 per cent of children on average across England.

'Without this vital vaccine coverage, children have been left as sitting ducks for a measles outbreak.

'Hackneys population is unique and a "one-size fits all" approach will not solve the problem.

British health chiefs already sounded the alarm over a spike in cases earlier this year. But experts are now concerned that travel during the summer holidays could lead to another surge

Health experts have begged parents to check their child's immunisation status, warning that the public had 'forgotten about measles' and that it was still a 'catastrophic' illness

'The boroughs population is diverse and younger, with almost one in three residents aged under 24.

'Local clinics and teams are working incredibly hard to protect children and prevent another child death from measles in the UK.

'But it is extremely difficult to sustain positive results when funding to commission vaccination projects and new professionals roles are short-term and unpredictable.'

Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA Consultant Epidemiologist, also said: 'The summer months offer parents an important opportunity to ensure their children's vaccinations are up to date, giving them the best possible protection when the new school term begins.

'It is never too late to catch up. Dont put it off and regret it later.

'Two doses of the MMR vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your family from measles.

'Babies under the age of 1 and some people who have weakened immune systems cant have the vaccine and are at risk of more serious complications if they get measles.

'They rely on the rest of us getting the vaccine to protect them.'

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Measles, which mostly produces flu-like symptoms and the tell-tale rash, can cause very serious and even fatal health complications if it spreads to the lungs or the brain.

One in five children who get infected will be hospitalised, according to estimates, with one in 15 developing serious complications like meningitis or sepsis.

The MMR jab has been offered to children in Britain since the late 80s.

But uptake collapsed in the late 1990s and early 2000s in the wake of a 1998 discredited study by Andrew Wakefield, which falsely linked the vaccine with autism.

Tens of thousands of parents refused to let medics jab their children due to the bogus paper, published in medical journal The Lancet.

Donald Trump's Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr earlier this year vowed to 'look at vaccines', to determine what was behind spiralling autism rates.

But in April RFK Jr pulled a major aboutface, following a surge in measles cases in the US, when he said the MMR vaccine was the 'most effective way' to stave off the potentially dangerous virus.
Another four people have died after being infected with a flesh-eating bacteria that thrives in coastal waters, officials have said.

Vibrio vulnificus lives in warm water and can enter the body through open wounds, causing pain, redness and swelling before the skin turns black as flesh dies.

In severe cases, it can spread to the blood and cause the fatal complication sepsis.

The fatalities were reported in Louisiana, the second state to reveal deaths from the disease this year, with officials raising the alarm, saying the number was well above the state's average of about one death from Vibrio every year.

Louisiana also reported 17 hospitalizations from the disease.

The latest figures bring the national tally to eight deaths from Vibrio this year, after four deaths were recorded in Florida earlier this month. A total of 32 infections have also been recorded nationwide across the two states.

Officials warned of an 'overall increase' in infections as surface waters in the Gulf have reached 85 Fahrenheit (29 Celsius), an ideal temperature for the bacteria.

Four people have died from a flesh-eating bacteria in Louisiana. Pictured above is a beach in Florida this year

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Theresa Sokol, an epidemiologist at the Louisiana Department of Health, warned local media channel Fox 8: 'Vibrio vulnificus can cause particularly severe and even highly fatal infections.

'We feel like there is an overall increased risk right now. All of those individuals had severe illnesses, and they all required hospitalization.'

No further details were revealed on the latest patients, including their names, ages and where in Louisiana they were infected.

It also wasn't revealed whether they had any underlying conditions. People who are older or have a weakened immune system are at higher risk from the disease.

The Louisiana Department of Health said 75 percent of the patients were infected via open wounds.

Many cases involve people swimming in warm water with open wounds, but the disease can also be caught from eating contaminated shellfish.

Patients can suffer from diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. It can also be fatal if the disease spreads to the blood.

It wasn't clear how the patients who died in Louisiana contracted the bacteria, whether it was via open wounds or also via consuming seafood.

Dr David Janz, an associate chief medical officer at a hospital in the state, added to the local station: 'I personally will take care of sometimes two or three patients a year that have this infection.

'We certainly see it, but it is not a common infection.

Debbie King, 72, contracted Vibrio vulnificus after scraping her leg when climbing into her friend's boat in waters off the coast of Florida. She later needed it amputated

'Twenty-five percent, or about one in four of those patients, will end up dying from this infection, which is a pretty high number.'

About 150 to 200 people suffer a Vibrio vulnificus infection in the US every year, the CDC says, and one in five patients do not survive the infection.

Cases are typically recorded along the southern US coast, where seas have experienced a rise in temperatures in recent years.

But amid rising temperatures nationwide, infections have also been detected further north.

Last year, cases were detected in New York, Connecticut and North Carolina.

Patients who suffer from the infection may require an amputation to remove the limb that has been infected by the bacteria.

In a previous case, Debbie King, from Florida, was left needing her leg amputated in order to save her life after suffering an infection.

The 72-year-old suffered a cut while climbing onto her friend's boat in the Gulf in August 2023, but thought nothing of it.

But over the next three days, the cut turned red, blistered, and swelled, leading her to seek help from her doctor.

She was immediately transferred to the hospital where doctors amputated her leg, saying that if they didn't, she could die.
A scan that takes merely 10 minutes may be able to tell you whether you are at risk of having a heart attack and suffering from coronary artery disease.

Lynda Hollander, 64, a social worker and runner in West Orange, New Jersey, noticed her cholesterol levels had begun to rise after she hit menopause.

She decided to visit a cardiologist, noting that she 'did not want to take a chance' with her health.

After reviewing her family's long history of undergoing major surgeries due to heart disease, along with her age, sex, cholesterol and blood pressure levels, Hollander was told she was at the risk of having a heart attack within the next decade.

As a result, she began to focus on eating healthier and attempted to lose weight to reduce her cholesterol levels, but her numbers did not improve.

Ultimately, her doctor recommended getting a coronary artery calcium scan to find out her risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD) and having a heart attack.

A coronary calcium scan, also known as a heart scan, is a CT scan that provides x-ray images of the blood vessels of the heart.

These images can help measure the buildup of hardened deposits of calcium as plaque in the arteries of the heart and help predict the likelihood of developing CAD before any symptoms appear.

According to the CDC, over 800,000 Americans either experience a heart attack or stroke each year while about 375,000 people die from CAD annually.

About 138,000 Americans died from stroke in 2020 while one American dies of some form of heart disease every 33 seconds and the numbers are rising, especially among young people.

A coronary artery calcium scancan tell you whether you are at the risk of having a heart attack and suffering from coronary artery disease

CAD is a common heart condition that occurs due to a buildup of calcium, fats and other substances in arteries.

This buildup is called plaque, which collects slowly over time in the arteries, causing them to narrow and prevent proper blood flow to and from the heart.

Without proper blood flow, the heart becomes more susceptible to an attack and may even experience total failure, which can cause death.

However, a coronary calcium scan can help doctors identify the amount of plaque buildup in the arteries and prescribe appropriate treatment to reduce the chances of having an heart attack.

Unlike other tests, this scan does not show the rate at which blood is flowing through the arteries. Instead, it only focuses on the amount of plaque in the body.

The scan is meant for those who have a family history of early coronary artery disease and have an intermediate risk for a heart attack.

It also advised to those who have a history of tobacco use, high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure and those who are obese.

A coronary calcium scan is not recommended as a general screening test for those at a high risk for heart attacks.

It is also not recommended to those who have already had an attack, have a heart stent or had coronary artery bypass graft surgery before.

Based on the amount of plaque in the arteries, experts assign a calcium test score that can range from zero to over 1,000 (stock image)

Based on the amount of plaque in the arteries, experts assign a calcium test score that can range from zero to over 1,000.

Those with a score of 100 or less have mild evidence of CAD, those ranking between 100 to 400 have moderate amount of evidence of the disease and those above 400 have strong evidence of CAD in their bodies, according to Cleveland Clinic.

Dr Robert Segal, a board-certified cardiologist

Dr Robert Segal, a board-certified cardiologist said: 'I've seen too many patients suffer heart attacks that could have been prevented by knowing their Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) Score.

'The CAC Score is one of the most powerful tools we have to detect heart disease early, before symptoms appear. I strongly recommend getting a CAC scan. It can truly save lives.'

This non-invasive scan is usually not covered by insurance companies and can cost anywhere between $100 to $400.

After getting tested, Hollander was told she had a calcium test score ranging in the 50s

'It was the first indication of what was going on inside my arteries,' she told KAFF Health News.

Based on this, she was prescribed Crestor (a brand-name prescription drug for statins that help manage cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attacks) three days a week and she self-injects Repatha (a prescription medication used to lower levels of bad cholesterol) twice-a-month.
Ruth is available now from the Mail Bookshop

RUTH by Kate Riley (Doubleday 16.99, 256pp)

This unusual debut was apparently based on the authors experience of growing up in a religious community, and follows the titular Ruth from childhood to motherhood and beyond.

Born into an Anabaptist community in Michigan in 1963, her life story unfolds episodically. There are, however, certain constants, including the communal Stores, which dishes out everything from birthday treats to regulation underwear.

Private property and television are forbidden, and contrary Ruth, whose heroine is Simone Weil, is far from meek and mild. Yet she sees no reason to break free even as others do.

Her crippling postnatal depression is all the more poignant for being dealt with elliptically; likewise her mischievous and capricious joy, which casts an afterglow on this novel like sunlight through cloud.

I Want Everything is available now from the Mail Bookshop

I WANT EVERYTHING by Dominic Amerena (Scribner 14.99, 288pp)

In the wake of The Salt Path controversy, this twisty, layered Australian debut feels particularly timely, satirically probing themes of deceit, appropriation and naked writerly ambition.

Our unnamed narrator is a self-despising Melbourne scribbler who, following a case of mistaken identity, finds an irresistible scoop falling into his lap.

Decades ago, Brenda Shales  the celebrated, controversial author of two sensational novels  disappeared, having been found guilty of stealing material. But when our narrator discovers Brenda living nearby, and when Brenda mistakes him for her long-lost grandson, he realises that perpetuating the lie could make his career.

Brenda is an extraordinary creation, while a no-holds-barred piece by the narrator's girlfriend about her mother (daughter boarding, according to gleeful commentators) raises further questions about art, ethics and the stories we all tell ourselves.

Dusk is available now from the Mail Bookshop

DUSK by Robbie Arnott (Chatto & Windus 16.99, 272pp)

Acclaimed Australian novelist Arnotts fourth novel is a red-in-tooth-and-claw saga that follows thirtysomething twins Floyd and Iris.

The offspring of criminal parents who were deported to the New World, their tainted family name has rendered them outcasts on horseback, condemned to a hand-to-mouth existence. So when they hear of Dusk, a man-eating puma with a bounty on her head, the lure is irresistible.

While time and place are left vague, everything else is drawn vividly, not least the stunning, monumental landscape: a character in itself, it seems to nod to past crimes and extinctions, eerily strewn as it is with bones.

Themes such as colonialism are dealt with somewhat in shorthand, and there are moments when it all feels overly neat, but its an absorbing adventure nonetheless.
On Writing by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton 22, 416pp)

On Writing is available now from the Mail Bookshop

Together with Grisham, Clancy and Crichton, Stephen King is one of the worlds most successful authors, earning hundreds of millions of dollars from his stories, which are full of his trademark dread and wonder.

Even if youve never read one of his actual books, everyone has seen a film adaptation: Carrie, The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, or Misery, in which an Academy Award-winning Kathy Bates smashes James Caans ankles  Caan plays an author, Bates an over-besotted fan.

In On Writing, and at the risk of sounding like a literary gasbag, King promises to divulge the secrets of his craft. Thats to say, how ambition, desire, luck and a little talent blend with ones personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex to create, if not works of literature for the ages, then bestsellers.

Kings lessons, originally published in 2000 and reprinted in this new edition, will hold few surprises to those of us taught English Language O-Level, back in the last century, when high standards pertained. Thus, delete extraneous verbiage, especially adverbs and clumsy exposition. Your main job is to take out all the things that are not the story.

Secondly, be plain and direct. A fancy vocabulary is pretentious. Dont ever say at this point in time or at the end of the day, or assume my angry lesbian breasts is clever. Obscurity belongs solely with student poetry groups.

King is correct to say writers must be compulsive readers. I take a book with me everywhere I go, he asserts.

If you want to pull the reader in and get them to keep turning the pages, focus is essential. Once I start work on a project, I dont stop and I dont slow down unless I absolutely have to. There must be no distractions in the study, such as a television set, video games, or intrusive music.

Which is all well and good  highly sensible. But in the end, King cant explain how he became Stephen King. Inspiration, to him, remains a complete mystery. It came from nowhere . . . It arrived whole and complete, in a single bright flash, he says of a typical novels gestation.

The Shawshank Redemption is based on King's 1982 novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

Its what he lives for, its what gives him joy, that sudden flash of insight when you see how everything connects, and the next thing we know, King is pouring out his fables about vampires invading New England, people being trapped in cars by rabid dogs, policemen going berserk and viruses wiping out 99 per cent of the human race.

King was born in Portland, Maine, in 1947 and brought up in poverty by a hardworking single mother, Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King, a sharecropper living a largely cashless existence. He never knew his father (who had walked out when he was a toddler) or had a father-figure, only horrible nannies, whod just all of a sudden wind up and clout the kids.

Most of his childhood recollections involve acute pain: wasp stings, dropping a brick on his foot, mashing all five toes. Taken short outside, King wiped his bottom with poison ivy. Gigantic blisters appeared, leaving deep divots of raw pink flesh.

There are terrifying descriptions of having an infected eardrum repeatedly lanced. The pain was beyond anything I have ever felt since . . . I screamed so long and so loud I can still hear it.

King was brought up by a single mother in Portland, Maine

His mother Nellies main memory was seeing a body fall from a building. He splattered. The stuff that came out of him was green. Children dont forget being told things like that  King certainly didnt.

For a year, King was bedbound with complications from tonsillitis. He read loads of comics, watched lots of television and began imagining his own macabre scenarios about robot monsters, teenage grave-robbers and radioactive corpses that came out of the ocean and ate surfers.

He also had a penchant for anything involving girls in black bras who looked like trailer trash and for watching Vincent Prices screen victim Hazel Court wandering around in a lacy low-cut nightgown.

King became expert in fantasy-horror and science fiction. His own works would be notable for a hallucinatory eeriness, and, while at school  where he edited a magazine called The Village Vomit, which got him into trouble with his teachers  King was cranking out short stories for pulp magazines. He received heaps of rejection slips before getting his first acceptance in 1967, aged 20.

There were plenty of dead-end jobs: in factories overrun by rats as big as dogs; in laundries, where tablecloths and motel bedsheets stank to high heaven and were often boiling with maggots.

King did his writing after work, in a cubicle in a caravan, where he couldnt afford a telephone.

As a janitor in a high school, he noticed the tampon machine in the girls showers. This, coupled with his awareness of bullying (teasing became taunting), and something hed read in a newspaper about poltergeist activity and telekinetic phenomena, gave him the idea for Carrie  his thriller about a misfit traumatised by her first period.

The book was published by Doubleday in 1974. Paperback rights were instantly sold for $400,000. There was a classic film in 1976, starring a blood-drenched Sissy Spacek.

So, farewell cubicles in caravans.

The original: King's first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974 and revolves around a teenage girl with telekinetic powers

Do you do it for the money, honey? King was asked by an interviewer. I absolutely disbelieve him when he answered, no, the work is always its own reward. None but a blockhead writes for anything other than money, and King is no blockhead.

What he was, for a spell, was an alcoholic. By 1985, I had added drug addiction to my alcohol problem, he recalls. He shoved cotton wool up his nose to stem the flow of cocaine-induced bleeding.

Managing still to produce novels whilst stoned, King saw himself as belonging to that proud tradition of literary inebriates  Dylan Thomas, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway. Eventually, King saw sense: We all look pretty much the same when were puking in the gutter.

Its a paradox that King came nearest to death when sober and clean. In 1999, he was knocked down by a minivan, which threw him 14 ft into the air.

Before losing consciousness, he just about remembers wiping palmfuls of blood out of my eyes from the lacerations in his scalp. Kings lung collapsed. His leg was broken in nine places, the bones turned into Scrabble tiles. His right knee was split apart, his hip smashed, his spine chipped and four ribs cracked.

There were to be many operations, much rehabilitation, but King (no stranger to agony) pulled through to write many more books, win many more Lifetime Achievement awards and earn lots more money.

Such vivid slices of autobiography are what make this book vastly more than worthwhile.
What Book...

Thriller writer Steve Cavanagh

... what book are you reading now?

Im in the privileged position to be sent early copies of novels and I have two crackers on the go.

The first is The Good Liar by Denise Mina, which examines the problem of bad science in forensic witness testimony. The book follows a blood spatter expert who has to face up to their mistakes.

The second is The Drowning Place by Sarah Hilary, which follows a detective with survivors guilt as he investigates a puzzling murder in a small town.

Both novels get at the heart of human experience and how our past traumas can come back to haunt us. Look out for both in the coming months.

... what book would you take to a desert island?

It has to be The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, which is my favourite book.

What I love about it is that it examines so many aspects of human behaviour, good and evil, and the real heroes are the most unlikely people  Hobbits.

Its not great sword-wielding, swashbuckling wizards and warriors who are the heroes, but small, quiet creatures who enjoy two breakfasts and worry about the state of their handkerchiefs.

Ultimately, its a book about kindness and sacrifice, and how friendship can conquer all evils.

Early starter: Young Steve found The Silence of the Lambs light relief compared to the Troubles

And Tolkien was an absolute master of language. Some of his sentences sing.

... what book first gave you the reading bug?

My mother gave me The Silence Of The Lambs when I was about 12 and I loved it.

This was my first crime novel, and it set me on a course of devouring everything I could in that genre. I began to develop a love for thrillers, particularly those set in America.

Some people think I may have been a bit young to read about Hannibal the Cannibal, but I grew up in Belfast in the 1980s during the Troubles  a story about hunting serial killers was light relief.

... what book left you cold?

This is a beloved book, and it is fabulously written, but The Secret History by Donna Tartt bored me to tears. I couldnt get on with any of the characters so it didnt matter to me whether they lived or died. I struggle with books that have unlikeable characters, so it is definitely a case of its not the book, its me.
Longtime Washington Post opinion writer and current MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart has detailed his decision to leave the paper after nearly two decades.

Subbing in for Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC's 'The Last Word' Thursday, Capehart said it was the editorial board's increasingly conservative tone as of late that led him to make the call.

'American democracy is in peril', he claimed, after taking a buyout from the Jeff Bezos-run paper nearly two weeks ago.

He will still have his own show on MSNBC to go back to - 'The Weekend' - where Eugene Daniels, a self-professed 'Kamala Harris expert', and the Post's current congressional correspondent, Jackie Alemany, are his co-hosts.

Also a frequent PBS NewsHour contributor, Capehart told O'Donnell's usual audience that it was Bezos's increasingly hand-on approach to the newspaper that set him off - as well as Americans' 'optimism' under Donald Trump.

He explained: 'In February, the owner of the Post decided that the section would focus on the twin pillars of personal liberties and free markets.'

'We in the section received an email from our new editor, which reiterated that and added, its also important that we communicate with optimism about this country in particular and the future in general.

'How can we communicate with optimism about the future in general when were living in the here and now, where American democracy is in peril?'

Jonathan Capehart detailed his decision to leave his job as an opinion columnist at the Washington Post, doing so while subbing in for Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, where he also has his own show

The spiel saw him take aim at Post owner Jeff Bezos, who announced the Post's opinion section would only focus on 'free markets and personal liberties' back in February

Capehart, 58, had been referring to Bezos' recent interference with the Post's editorial process since Trump's reelection, which was followed by a wave of exits from the Post's largely progressive opinion section.

Back in February, Bezos announced the Post's opinion section would only focus on 'free markets and personal liberties' - sparking the negative response.

Months before, Bezos ruled to not endorse a presidential candidate shortly before the election, after years of propping up Democrats.

Around that time, the Post's then-new publisher and CEO, Will Lewis, a former editor of the British Daily Telegraph, flat out told Post journalists: 'People are not reading your stuff'.

A round of layoffs ensued, in late February, after which The Post announced it was implementing a buyout program targeting veteran staffers.

Capehart, on-air, said he accepting the offer because the editorial board he belonged to since 2017 was now being expected to "constantly extoll the beauty of a homes doors, crown moldings, and windows when the rest of the house is engulfed in flames and its foundation is flooding."

He further claimed 'patriotism is incomplete' if the ideology does not allow for a "mirror to be held up" to the US and its citizens.

'The administration is playing chicken with federal courts,' Capehart said.

Several other journalists have since left in protest, while others were let go in a series of layoffs in February. The following month, a round of buyouts was announced, as the paper seeks to shed staffers

'The administration is using masked federal agents to snatch people off the streets and send them to hellish prisons abroad,' Capehart claimed, as he rattled off other reasons for leaving. Seen here, anti-ICE protests still occurring in Los Angeles on July 26

'The administration is using masked federal agents to snatch people off the streets and send them to hellish prisons abroad.

'The administration deployed the military on the streets of an American city,' he continued. 'The president is using his office to enrich himself and his family.

'The president has turned Congress, a co-equal branch of government, into the staff wing of the executive branch,' he claimed.

'And were supposed to ignore it, leave it to others to wrestle with on their news pages and websites? No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

'The Constitution gives us the inherent, unapologetically patriotic right to rail against such affronts to democracy and the rule of law, and the First Amendment demands it,' he added.

Capehart famously cried while reflecting on the memory of the January 6 riots live on MSNBC, during the insurrection's third anniversary.

He specifically cited the January 6 Capitol siege as a turning point in where MAGA supporters of former president Donald Trump violently invaded the Capitol Building in Washington DC in an effort to disrupt a joint session of Congress that was busy counting electoral votes in Joe Biden's favor.

Back in 2021, on the eve of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the same MSNBC host announced that he believed that Trump supporters are more of a threat than the Taliban or ISIS.

Capehart famously cried while reflecting on the memory of the January 6 riots live on MSNBC, during the insurrection's third anniversary in 2024. He currently hosts The Weekend with Eugene Daniels and former fellow Post staffer Jackie Alemany

At the time, Capehart called out 'MAGA and the domestic threat', which he said was far 'more worrisome than any foreign threat', during an appearance at PBS NewsHour, where he is a regular presence.

The Pulitzer Prize winner has continued the decry Trump for straying from the country's founding principles since. Such a stance was effectively barred with Bezos's edict back in February.

The move saw the Post's longtime editorial page editor, David Shipley, resign immediately, before dozens of others followed suit.

The terms of Capehart's buyout, meanwhile, remain unknown.
British investors will soon be able to buy funds holding bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, under changes announced by the financial regulator.

In a move that opens the door to UK investors being able to hold the bitcoin ETFs that their American counterparts can buy, the watchdog today said it would relax its rules.

The Financial Conduct Authority will lift the ban on cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs) from October, as part of the latest move to allow investors to buy and trade crypto.

ETNs are similar to exchange traded funds (ETFs), which many investors will be familiar with. ETFs pool investors' cash in a fund that is listed on the stock market, and generally track the price of a certain index of assets, like the FTSE 100.

FCA lifts crypto ban: The watchdog will allow retail investors to trade Bitcoin and other crypto

ETNs also try to track an index, but they are debt instruments that promise to replicate the index's performance.

Currently, investors can hold crypto direct with platforms rather than funds, but it is unregulated.

The latest move marks a significant loosening of rules from the FCA, which banned the sale of bitcoin and other crypto ETNs to retail investors alongside crypto derivatives in 2019.

At the time, the watchdog said bitcoin and other crypto assets had 'no reliable basis for valuation', were vulnerable to market abuse, and showed 'extreme volatility'.

David Geale, executive director of payments and digital finance at the FCA, said: 'Since we restricted retail access to cETNs, the market has evolved, and products have become more mainstream and better understood. In light of this, we're providing consumers with more choice, while ensuring there are protections in place.

This should mean people get the information they need to assess whether the level of risk is right for them.'

The FCA overturned the ban on crypto ETN sales to professional investors last year, but opened a consultation for retail investors, noting similar products are already available in other products.

While investors will be able to trade ETNs, they won't be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so they will need to be aware of the risks.

John Dobson, Head of Investment Solutions at interactive investor said: 'Digital assets continue to grow in popularity and are increasingly seen as a part of the financial lives of consumers.

'In light of the FCA proposing to lift the ban on crypto ETNs (exchange traded notes) for retail investors, we welcome clear regulation in the sector  which will ultimately offer more protection to consumers.

'However, it's imperative that retail investors do their research and understand the risks before allocating any part of their portfolio to digital assets.'

David Belle, CEO of Fink Money said it was a 'great start' from the regulator.

'While not as advanced as US regulators, opening the door to permitting the best risk adjusted return asset of the last 15 years to retail investors is a good thing.

'We have a very engaged crypto population and while on one hand regulators seem quite punitive towards the asset, perhaps this is laying some good ground work to understanding Bitcoin better and what investors are demanding.'
A cloud can have a sizeable silver lining. The failure by Wall Street hotshot Boaz Weinstein to acquire seven investment trusts cheaply this year is sparking a rebound of the sector.

Multi-millionaire Weinstein, who is chief investment officer of the activist Saba Capital hedge fund, may have thought shareholders would, unquestioningly, back his campaign.

But they rejected his approaches, recognising the true value of their stakes in these trusts. Their resistance is bringing about an upheaval.

It's time to think again if you thought trusts  some set up in Victorian days  were an anachronism.

Darius McDermott, boss at funds ratings agency Fundcalibre, says: 'The sector was on its knees  no buyers, only sellers, and discounts and yields at record highs.' A trust is at a discount if its share price is below its net asset value (NAV).

McDermott says: 'Sentiment has started to recover, and we think the best opportunities lie ahead. Professionals have spotted the value. It's time private investors took notice too.'

New dawn: It's time to think again if you thought trusts  some set up in Victorian days  were an anachronism

Boards are taking tough decisions to shrink discounts. They are also exploring mergers or ordering reviews of their trusts' futures. The continued existence of more trusts is in question. New activist investors are emerging  and pressing for change.

The main players are management groups Harwood Capital, which operates investment trust Achilles, and Asset Value Investors.

The Asset Value Investors stable includes the Migo Opportunities trust, whose co-manager Charlotte Cuthbertson says: 'Activist agitation is the primary catalyst for returns now and can deliver a wealth of opportunities from once-in-a-generation discount levels.'

She argues it is necessary: 'Sentiment alone won't close the gap between prices and NAVs.' Emma Bird, head of investment trust research at trader Winterflood Securities, says mergers will produce 'larger and more liquid trusts', presenting a more compelling long-term proposition.

One illustration is last month's get-together of Henderson European and Fidelity European.

But there is bid activity too. In May the FTSE 100 real estate investment trust (Reit) LondonMetric, which owns pubs, shops and Warwick Castle, paid 699m for the FTSE 350 'mega-shed' specialist Reit Urban Logistics.

The bid price was an 11 per cent premium on Urban Logistics' price back in April, valuing the trust at a 5 per cent discount to its NAV.

The deal was triggered by the Achilles trust, an investor in Urban Logistics.

If you have been dismayed by the performance of trusts you hold, it makes sense to sit tight and hope that the shake-up gives a lift.

But if you want to take advantage of disruption by activists, follow this guide.

MIND THE GAP

At the beginning of 2025, the average investment trust discount was 16pc largely due to the superior returns paid by less risky deposit account and bonds. This has narrowed to 13 per cent  although brokers Stifel say the gap between price and NAV at 50 trusts is now 5 per cent or less.

Biotech trust Syncona may be at a 50 per cent discount, but Seraphim Space has shrunk from 53 per cent to 15 per cent thanks to the recognition that its military application satellite investments will be boosted by increased defence spending.

Bird says that share buybacks are one strategy being deployed by boards to reduce discounts.

If you acquire a trust at a discount, you're buying assets for less. But there is an element of jeopardy, as no mechanism is guaranteed to minimise the gap between share price and the NAV.

Error of judgment: Multi-millionaire Boaz Weinstein may have thought shareholders would, unquestioningly, back his campaign

HOW TO BACK BRITAIN

Winterflood's Emma Bird comments: 'There are arguably too many UK equity income trusts, which is why the board of Murray Income last month commissioned a review.'

Murray is at a discount of 7 per cent. Directors may seek a merger or replace its managers Aberdeen.

People with money in this trust, like me, will be happy for some resolution of the problem.

It is also worth taking a closer look at the UK Equity Income sector. The best-buy City of London trust is at a premium of 1 per cent, but Diverse Income, another recommended trust, is at a discount of 4 per cent.

Temple Bar, whose discount is just 0.41 per cent, is one of my backing-Britain investments; its portfolio encompasses Aviva, Marks & Spencer and NatWest.

GET AN ENERGY BOOST

In the infrastructure and renewable energy sector, yawning discounts indicate that bargains are to be found for those with patience. The typical discount on an infrastructure trust that invests in bridges, hospitals, roads etc, is about 14 per cent.

This rises to about 25 per cent for trusts that back renewable energy projects, which has put them in the sights of the Migo Opportunities trust.

Cuthbertson comments: 'This is where the next wave of activism is focused, and so are we.'

Downing Renewables & Infrastructure has succumbed to a bid, at a 24 per cent premium to the price on June 19, but still below its NAV. As an investor I could have hoped for more but the dividend yield has been some compensation.

The Law Debenture trust has just taken stakes in Greencoat UK Wind, where the discount is 19 per cent, and HICL Infrastructure which is at a discount of 20 per cent. HICL's holdings include hospitals and the Home Office building.

Law Debenture managers consider the discounts on these two trusts to be 'unjustifiably high'.

Both offer generous dividends which makes it worth waiting for developments.

The SDCL Energy Efficiency trust has an attractive 11 per cent yield, as McDermott highlights  but is at a 38 per cent discount, so strong nerves are needed.

Ben Yearsley of Fairview Investing is a fan of two other renewables trusts: Foresight Solar (discount 18 per cent) and Greencoat Renewables (24 per cent).

BRICKS AND MORTAR

Reits are an area where activists are hoping to exploit falling borrowing costs and rising rents.

McDermott picks TR Property, which is at a 7 per cent discount. Cuthbertson cites Aberdeen European Logistics Income which has been selling chunks of its portfolio to address its discount of 18 per cent. She argues that further improvements should be in the offing.

If you are up for an adventure, McDermott points to Chrysalis (discount 27 per cent) where holdings include the Swedish buy now, pay later group Klarna.

Yearsley's pick is Artemis UK Future Leaders (15 per cent), a smaller companies trust.

Or you could take a gamble on the activists producing a much better return. Achilles is at a tiny 0.19 per cent discount. Migo Opportunities, which has stakes in Chrysalis and SDCL Energy Efficiency, is at a discount of 4 per cent.

This attention to the level of their own discounts bodes well for their ability to impress on other trusts the vital importance of this feature.
Ann Summers has become the latest retailer to give its UK staff body cameras as workers grapple with sexual harassment and shoplifting.

The lingerie chain said it was conducting trials of the technology across a few shops.

It follows other household names Tesco, the Co-op and Lidl, which are providing staff with bodycams to protect them from abuse and assaults.

And it comes after Ann Summers boss said the retailer is often seen as fair game to target because it sells sex toys and underwear.

There were more than 2,000 violent or abusive incidents every day last year, according to the British Retail Consortiums crime survey.

This was despite the industry investing 1.8billion into bolstering security, including the rollout of body cameras, panic buttons and CCTV.

Cameras: Ann Summers has become the latest retailer to give its UK staff body cameras

Retail workers have also reported being sworn at, being subjected to racial and sexual insults, physically threatened, spat on and being victims of physical violence.

And at Ann Summers, boss Maria Hollins last year said her shops have been targeted by pervy phone calls to the point where it has taken phone numbers off its website.

Shoplifting has gone up significantly through the cost of living crisis, but its not just shoplifting, its actually abuse of our store colleagues.

Because of the nature of what we sell, some people see us as fair game, so we have to be really vigilant, Ms Hollins told The Telegraph.

New strategy: The lingerie chain said it was conducting trials of the technology across a few shops

She also urged the police to take these instances more seriously amid criticism from retailers that authorities often do not respond to reports of crimes from shops.

In a LinkedIn post, Ann Summers yesterday said: It's no secret that over the past few years the rising incidents of antisocial behaviour and theft in stores has become increasingly challenging for retail teams.

The personal safety and wellbeing of our colleagues is absolutely essential, so creating safe spaces for both them and our customers is a priority.

Our intention is for this solution to reinforce a culture of respect, and significantly reduce the issues faced in store, ultimately ensuring our teams feel safe and supported.

It said it was trialling body-worn cameras across a number of locations. It has around 80 shops.

The cameras are clipped onto a worker's clothes and can record distressing situations to help provide evidence to the police.

Companies are turning to a wide range of security measures as they face unprecedented levels of theft and violence against staff.

Chains including Tesco, Morrisons, Boots, Primark and Greggs said last month they would start submitting CCTV and photos of prolific shoplifters into a new database to be shared with police.

The hope is that the database, known as Auror and pioneered in New Zealand, will provide security guards with watchlists so they can bar entry to repeat offenders.

The Daily Mail has sounded the alarm on the issue with its End The Shoplifting Epidemic campaign.
Shares in Watches of Switzerland plunged after Donald Trump whacked a 39 per cent tariff on Swiss imports  hitting it with the toughest tariffs in Europe from August 7.

The stock fell 6.8 per cent, or 23.8p, to 326.8p, deepening the gloom around the luxury industry.

Shares in the group, which sells brands Rolex, Cartier and Audemars Piguet, and is advertised by actress Dakota Johnson, have plunged 23 per cent since Trump first announced tariffs on April 2.

Trumped: Watches of Switzerland, which sells brands Rolex, Cartier and Audemars Piguet, is advertised by actress Dakota Johnson (pictured)

Analysts at Barclays said this could be a 'significant headwind' for the London-listed company as brands will be likely to raise prices.

It had been opening US showrooms after being bitten by waning demand for watches and jewels, especially in the UK and Europe.

Swiss luxury group Richemont also fell by 2.6 per cent.
More than a fifth of people don't know where their pension pots are held, data shows - meaning they risk missing out on their own money in retirement.

As many as 21 per cent say they don't know where all of their pensions are, according to figures from Hargreaves Lansdown, while a further 14 per cent said they were unsure.

Just 65 per cent said they did know, rising to 72 per cent of people over the age of 55.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: 'Over time even the smallest pension will grow, so not tracking it down risks you missing out on thousands of pounds.'

The average person has quite a number of pension pots too, with Charles Stanley estimating that people will have between 10 and 12 employers across their whole working life, all with separate pension schemes.

> Could I give 250 gifts to 400 people who then pay them to my daughters to beat inheritance tax on 100,000?

While older generations do appear to be better at tracking their pensions, almost a third still can't say for certain that they know where all of their pots are

Dean Butler, managing director for Retail Direct at Standard Life, says: 'For many, a job change marks the start of an exciting new chapter, bringing new opportunities, fresh challenges, and often an increased pay packet.

'Amid all this change, some considerations like your old pension can get forgotten about, particularly as new employers will likely be automatically enrolling you into a new pension plan.'

'While this may seem like a stress-free process, switching jobs several times throughout your working life could leave you with quite a few pension pots to keep track of.'

According to Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association figures, some 3.3million pension pots, worth an average of 9,470 and a total of more than 31.1billion, have been 'lost' in the UK.

How can you find lost pots?

Luckily, it isn't too difficult to find a lost pension in most cases. This is especially the case if you have retained old paperwork from these pension pots.

Morrissey says: 'Tracking them down is a relatively straightforward process that you will thank yourself for. Make a list of everywhere you've worked where you think you may have had a pension, and then check to see if you have paperwork for them.

'If you don't, then give the Government's pension tracing service a call. If you can't remember the name of the provider, then you can still give the name of the company you worked for, and the service can give you contact details so you can track down the pension.'

The Government's pension tracing service can also be accessed online.

If you can't find your scheme, it might be because your employer has been taken over. You can find out if they were by searching on Companies House or the Government's Charity Register if you worked for a charity.

However easy it may be to find a lost pension, it is of course better to keep track of your pots in the first place.

Butler says: 'With multiple job moves over a career, it's not uncommon to accumulate several pension pots, and managing them can become increasingly complex if they're scattered across different providers.

'When you leave a job, your pension doesn't disappear - it stays invested. However, your own and your employer's contributions stop, and although your savings may still grow through investment performance, ongoing charges can gradually eat into your pot. That's why it's important not to neglect these pensions.'

Butler recommends ensuring that you have up-to-date contact information for your pension provider.

Should you combine your pension pots?

Over the course of a 40-year career, it would be easy to rack up an extensive list of past employers, and as many pension pots to go with them.

Even if you are keeping a track of all of your pots, it can be a tough task to properly manage more than a handful.

Morrissey said: 'You may decide that the best thing to do is consolidate them all in one place. This can save you a lot of time, admin and even cost.

You can do this manually, by requesting pension transfer forms form your providers, but there are also a number of pension consolidation firms that can help you to do so.

'You also get to see how your pension is growing more easily, so you can see if you are meeting your goals. However, before you do so, you need to make sure you aren't potentially falling foul of things like expensive exit fees that you might get with older products,' Morrissey added.

Butler said: 'Keep in mind that consolidation isn't right for everyone. Some older pensions may include valuable benefits that could be lost if you transfer them, so it's essential to do your research and weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.'

These benefits could include guaranteed annuity rates, that you would lose out on by moving your pension.

There are potential drawbacks though. The most important of these is likely to be fees.

Some pension schemes will have exit fees, switching costs or adviser fees, which could eat into the value of your pension, so it is important to consider the potential costs of consolidation and weigh them up with the savings it could offer.

Speaking to a financial adviser could help you to work out what the best option is for you, though this also comes with its own costs.
A mother who was paralysed in a freak fundraising accident was left to fester in her own faeces for days after hospital staff refused to clean her.

Cheryll Rich, 38, broke her back after tumbling into a canal lock last summer and was unable to move anything from the waist down.

She was sent to St Mary's Hospital in London for emergency spinal surgery before moving into Basildon University Hospital's 'notorious' Linford Ward to recover.

But while here, Ms Rich said medics 'dehumanised' her, refusing to wash her, change her heavily soiled hospital gowns, replace her water for five days or answer her desperate cries for help.

Her horrified partner, Jack Barnes, 51, was forced to clean the mess off his stricken lover himself after hospital staff 'handed him a bowl of water and told him to go do it'.

The hospital's director of nursing has since issued an apology to Ms Rich for the 'distress' and 'unacceptable' treatment she received during her nightmare five-day stay on the ward, last September.

Speaking out for the first time about her ordeal, wheelchair-bound Ms Rich told the Daily Mail: 'I felt like I wasn't a human. I felt dehumanised and demoralised. I felt the lowest point I possibly could have been.

Cheryll Rich, 38, broke her back after tumbling into a canal lock last summer. She is pictured at St Mary's Hospital, London, with her partner, Jack Barnes, and daughter Misty Barnes, 12, before she moved to Basildon University Hospital where her ill-treatment took place

Ms Rich has been left wheelchair-bound following her accident but was forced to endure days of 'unacceptable' treatment while recovering at Basildon hospital

'I was on my monthly cycle and my other half had to clean me when I was not only covered in faeces but in blood too. From the bottom of my back and up to my bum  all over my stitches and everything  it was covered in faeces.

'My catheter hadnt been changed for days; they didnt change my water jug for five days - I wasnt even worthy of water. Youve gone from being physically able to absolutely helpless.

'You look at the NHS and its staff as someone there to help you. But I felt I had done something really wrong, like I was in the way, like I was a burden.... It's like I had done a really horrific crime. They treated me like a criminal.

'I felt like I was stuck in hell.'

Cheryll's nightmare started on August 8, last year. She had been helping her partner as he kayaked from Liverpool to London to raise money for Little Havens children's hospice, in Essex.

She was in a support kayak with her daughter, Misty, 12, and was opening the lock when a platform gave way and she tumbled 7ft to the ground, breaking her spine.

She was rushed to A&E in Watford before she was transferred to St Mary's for an emergency spinal operation, and after six days - which included three in intensive care - she was moved to Basildon to recover.

But here she says staff on the Linford Ward treated her with disdain, 'rolling their eyes' when she asked for help, while vaping, playing loud music, and eating takeaways in the ward at night.

She needed to be turned every two hours to prevent bedsores but she was unable to do this herself due to her injury.

Cheryll was supporting her partner, Jack, during a fundraising kayak trip when she broke her back. She is pictured with Jack and daughter Misty before the accident

Ms Rich claims she was left in soiled hospital clothes for days as staff had not cleaned her (she is pictured with her family on Wednesday)

However, she claimed hospital staff treated her 'roughly' when they needed to do the procedure before then leaving her to try and do it herself.

On one occasion, Ms Rich says she used a buzzer to call for help before being greeted by a male medical assistant who 'burst into the room with such an angry look'.

'I was petrified. He walked in and threw the buzzer over the back of the bed. Then he stormed off,' she said.

When Ms Rich used her phone to call the ward, she said staff laughed at her and told her they 'couldn't believe you had to ring us'.

'I felt completely humiliated and helpless,' she added.

Ms Rich claims her room had no curtain and that when she was eventually changed, it was in 'full view' of the public outside.

Speaking of how staff allegedly refused to wash her, she said: 'I was left feeling scared, unclean and desperately in need of washing. Despite expressing my concerns about body odour and the state of my hygiene, my requests were ignored.'

In a letter to the hospital - seen by the Mail - she wrote: 'My partner offered to come and help wash me. When he arrived, it became evident I had soiled myself due to the lack of care. A staff member handed him a bowl and cleaning sachet without providing proper assistance and said to him help yourself.'

Ms Rich's partner Jack said he was appalled by what Cheryll had to endure, adding it left him in 'floods of tears'.

'Her dignity means something, and she lost of all that. She was covered in faeces and crying her eyes out. It was so embarrassing,' he told the Mail.

'To see her like this and not being able to do something, it was heartbreaking.'

Ms Rich said her nightmare ordeal took place as Basildon University Hospital last summer (file image)

He added: 'I had to stay strong and shield my emotions and feelings. But the emotions I felt were indescribable. I was sick, disgusted, and shocked.

'When I got home, I was in floods of tears in the living room and thought my whole life was breaking down.'

Ms Rich was later moved to the Horndon Ward, where she said staff were 'appalled' at her treatment in Linford Ward.

Jen Craft, Labour MP for Thurrock has been assisting Ms Rich and was horrified by her treatment.

'The standard of care Cheryll received is completely unacceptable. It is deeply concerning that while in pain and discomfort, her needs were ignored,' the MP told the Mail.

'Im glad the trust has listened to her terrible experience at the hospital and rightly apologised. Its vital that there are now clear steps taken to prevent this happening again, as part of broader improvement work at Basildon Hospital.'

In a letter to Ms Rich, Emma Sweeney, director of nursing at the hospital, apologised for the 38-year-old's treatment and insisted the centre would 'learn from it'.

Ms Sweeney wrote: 'I am sorry that your requests for assistance with personal hygiene were not responded to appropriately, and that your husband had to step in to help you wash.

'It was unacceptable that staff failed to provide the necessary support and instead handed you a bowl without offering further help.

'This matter has been addressed with the team, and all staff have been reminded of the importance of delivering personal care with dignity, respect, and compassion at all times.'

Ms Rich still faces a lengthy recovery process and may never fully regain the use of her legs following her accident last summer

However, despite her treatment, Ms Rich says no staff members have been formally punished for their actions, which she described as 'shocking'.

'Someone should be held responsible. But no-one has... I could have got sepsis. One day someone will die there,' she added.

James McMurdock, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, said he would be writing to the hospital's chief executive 'personally' to demand answers.

He told the Mail: 'I know Basildon Hospital well. My children were born there. If my family or myself fell ill it is Basildon Hospital I would put my trust in to make us well, but this is a terribly sad account of the standards on the ward.

'Given the gravity of some of the complaints raised I am not satisfied with the statement that no staff member could be identified. That indicates a lack of control. A lack of control indicates low standards. Low standards in a hospital are unacceptable.

'It is also concerning that it took a complaint from a badly injured patient to prompt the replacement of a window blind. Not to mention accusations of vaping, mockery, and abuse.'

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust refused to say whether any staff had been reprimanded over the 'unacceptable' level of care Ms Rich received, when approached by the Mail.

In a statement, Diane Sarkar, chief nursing and quality officer at the trust, said: 'Ms Rich's care did not meet the standard we would expect and we have sincerely apologised for her experience.

'After looking into the concerns raised we have reassured her that weve spoken to the ward involved to make sure learning and actions are taken from this and addressed.'
Young Australians are less interested in having a long, stressful career as houses become increasingly unaffordable for average-income earners.

Australia's median capital city house price is now above $1million, meaning only dual-income couples or individuals on high salaries can buy a home with a backyard.

But rather than work harder in a career role to afford a house, Australia's younger workers are less inclined to do stressful corporate jobs, long-term, if there isn't a meaningful reward or a work-life balance, despite there being a cost-of-living crisis.

Jin, 23, is graduating at the end of this year from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science majoring in data science and accounting.

He will start a full-time graduate role in January next year and is bracing for the occasional weekend shifts as he helps prepare financial reports for big firms during the twice-yearly earnings seasons.

But he is aspiring for some work-life balance in his twenties, including some travel.

'I do think a balance is necessary - if we don't have the correct amount of sleep or just the correct amount of breaks to take our minds off things, it's just very hard for us to stay focused,' he told Daily Mail.

'I do want to explore the world outside of Australia. I want to see and experience different cultures.'

Young Australians are less interested in having a long, stressful career as houses become increasingly unaffordable for average-income earners (pictured, workers in Sydney's CBD)

Jin, 23, is graduating at the end of this year from the University of Sydney with a double degree in accounting and data science. He still wants a work-life balance despite starting full-time job

He is also hoping to work reasonable hours so he has time for family and a social life.

'I think I have a nice balance right now, where I spend my time with my family and my partner,' he said.

'Once or twice a year, I strive to take a one-week holiday or go on a break with my family or my partner.'

Jin will continue to live with his parents in Sydney as he saves up to eventually buy a place of his own, instead of spending an exorbitant amount on rent.

'The average salary of an auditor or any graduate role is not enough to have a balance - I would say 40 per cent of your salary will go to rent,' he said.

'How are people supposed to afford houses or go on holidays or have mortgages?'

Jamie MacLennan, the Asia-Pacific managing director of TELUS Health, said younger workers were less inclined to take on stressful roles, despite needing higher pay to cope with the cost of living crisis.

'People are trying to rebalance and balance the work-life component in a world where we're essentially on 24/7,' he said.

Jin (pictured) is going into full-time work next year, and is bracing for the occasional weekend work as he helps prepare financial reports for big firms

'Somewhere along the line, people have got to earn a living, but then the question is - "What's the cost of making that living?" - that's where people are rebalancing.

'You can't quit completely or at scale - there's always going to be an element of people who do that.

'Whether they take the traditional career paths, whether they aspire to those, creates a bigger dislocation.'

Mr MacLennan said the mental health effects of Covid on younger people would create succession planning issues for companies in coming years, as fewer of them aspired to be in senior roles.

'We haven't recovered from Covid - our brains have been rewired. There continues to be a mental health crisis - crisis is not an overstated term in Australian society and it's most acute in that younger generation coming through,' he said.

'People have that sense of missing out - they're in a situation where they can't afford to get what they want or they can't afford to live in the environment that they want.'

Stress is now a deal breaker for staff, with recruitment agency Randstad revealing 60 per cent of workers would rather have less stress than more pay. Unbearable demands had seen 40 per cent of workers switch to a lower-paid role.

Amelia O'Carrigan, Randstad's director of public sector and business support, said employers couldn't ask staff to work five days in the office without incentives.

'It's not a complete pull back on flexibility and expect that workers will agree to that. In fact, to completely say - "You need to be back into the office five days" I would say would be a risky strategy,' she said.

'As job confidence starts to return, you'd be at risk of employees looking elsewhere.'

While many young people are reconsidering taking on stressful roles, Jin (pictured) said he would be willing to make sacrifices to one day establish a data-oriented start-up for small businesses, that could use AI to audit their finances in real time

The Randstad survey of 5,250 workers in Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, the UK and the United States found stress to be a major issue.

Financial concerns are the biggest driver of personal stress in Australia, with 44 per cent nominating it as a problem, a survey of 1,000 people by TELUS Health found.

Unaffordable housing was also cited as a driver, with 18 per cent nominating their housing or living situation as a source of personal stress.

While many young people are reconsidering taking on stressful roles, Jin said he would be willing to make sacrifices to one day establish a data-oriented start-up for small businesses, that could use AI to audit their finances in real time.

'If I were to want to live comfortably, or think about having a better life, I would try to branch off into a different industry,' he said.

'If the corporate ladder doesn't work, I'll try my hand with something I like within data science, because I sacrificed it away for stability - I'll try to think about doing a start-up project on the side.

'Earning more money comes with more responsibilities so naturally you come with more stress - probably personally, I think I have pretty good stress management.'

'My goal, before I hit 30, I'll try to get a car that I like, I like sportscars, I want to work towards that. We need goals in life or what are we working for? If we're just working for a living - it's not hard, it would just be very boring.'
Under-siege TV celebrity Matt Wright has turned his back on his late Netflix co-host after the dead man's wife sued him for millions.

In bombshell documents obtained by the Daily Mail, Wright claimed he had no duty of care to mate and Wild Croc Territory co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson, who died after the helicopter he was dangled 30m from crashed on February 28, 2022.

Mr Wilson had been suspended on a 100ft sling picking eggs from crocodile nests when the Robinson R44 helicopter owned by Wright crashed in West Arnhem Land, into a paperbark swamp near the King River.

He died after falling from his sling at a height of more than five metres, court documents state.

According to air safety stipulations, the risky operation can only be performed from a height no higher than five metres and the helicopter must travel at a 'walking distance speed'.

Wilson's wife Dani launched legal action against wild-animal catcher Wright, whom she blames for her husband's death.

Dani, who also sued Wright's recently liquidated company Helibrook, alleged the croc wrangler had an 'obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure activity was conducted in appropriate circumstances and safely and legally'.

The widow's claim highlighted 'especially dangerous' considerations, including a likely 'inability' to 'perform an automation landing when slinging'.

Outback Wrangler Matt Wright arrives at an NT court this week with his wife Kaia Wright

Chris 'Willow' Wilson (left) was killed in the helicopter crash piloted by Seb Robinson (right)

Chris Wilson's widow Dani Wilson has sued Wright

It's also alleged Wright, the former Outback Wrangler host, and Helibrook had an 'inability to train for such a landing'.

Dani also alleged Wright should have had regard for the pilot Seb Robinson's attention which was diverted away from the cockpit dashboard while 'slinging'.

And in a bombshell accusation, Dani alleged Helibrook should've had regard to the 'strains put on pilots and participants that may cause them to operate less safely'.

Dani claims Helibrook and Wright should have known the croc egg stunt - 'if conducted at all' - could cause 'death or serious injury'.

'There was a risk of harm if Helibrook failed to take reasonable care that a person in a position of Mr Wilson would be injured or killed,' Dani stated in her claim to the NSW Supreme Court.

It's also alleged the risk of harm was foreseeable, not insignificant, and ' one that, in the circumstances, a reasonable person in the position of Helibrook would have taken precautions against'.

Dani alleged Wright should have taken several steps to avoid the tragic death of her husband, including ensuring the helicopter was adequately fuelled and not flown 'outside its operating limits'.

It's also alleged Wright should have ensured the helicopter was adequately maintained and his company had in place an 'appropriate safety culture'.

Mr Wilson died while hunting for crocodile eggs

Wright denied Mr Wilson was an employee and he did not owe the deceased man a duty of care

Mr Wilson's wife Dani suffered 'psychiatric harm' after her husband's death

In her claim, Dani Wilson also points the finger squarely at pilot Mr Robinson, whom she suggests was an employee of Helibrook.

Mr Robinson survived the crash but suffered serious injuries and is now wheelchair-bound.

Dani accused Mr Robinson of failing to undertake a slinging operation risk assessment on the day of the crash.

Mr Robinson is also accused of failing to brief the crew on the safety procedures in accordance with Helibrook policy.

The widow alleged Mr Robinson flew the helicopter in a manner that compromised his ability to ensure there was adequate fuel for a given operation and flew the chopper 'outside its operating limits'.

Dani claimed Wright is 'vicariously responsible for the acts and omissions of Mr Robinson'.

Dani said in her claim that she married Willow in 2016 and the pair had two children.

She is seeking a vast sum believed to be in the millions to cover the loss of her husband's earnings, costs, interest, and interest on costs.

Wright and his team during a television production

Dani said she suffered 'nervous shock' and 'psychiatric harm' after her husband's death.

Wright, who lodged his defence to Dani's claims on July 28, stated Helibrook went into liquidation on June 25 this year.

Wright appeared alongside Wilson in the Netflix series Wild Croc Territory, after gaining fame in National Geographic's Outback Wrangler from 2011 to 2019.

The former Netflix star, who is facing a criminal trial in the Northern Territory, denies most of Dani's claims against him and Helibrook.

Wright denied Helibrook was negligent and he did not owe his deceased friend Mr Wilson a 'non-delegable duty of care'.

Wright also denied Mr Wilson and Mr Robinson were employees of Helibrook but were just independent contractors.

He also claimed his collapsed croc-egg-hunting company was not 'vicariously liable' for the acts of the pilot.

Dani Wilson said in her claim that she married Willow in 2016 and the pair had two children

Mr Wright, who does not admit Dani's loss and damage, also denied he owed a duty of care to Mr Wilson and denied he 'failed to take any precautions as alleged or at all'.

Dani also sued the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) which, she alleged, when taking reasonable precautions to the risk of harm, was obliged to not approve slinging operations.

According to court documents, the helicopter crashed when it 'inadvertently' hit a tree, but it's also alleged that possible engine failure, fuel exhaustion or 'unknown pilot error' contributed to the accident.

The widow alleged CASA had a duty to not approve Helibrook's performance of slinging operations.

CASA is also accused of not taking the proper steps to assure itself Helibrook had conducted an adequate risk assessment before conducting slinging operations.

Dani also accused CASA of failing to conduct ongoing monitoring and assessment of Helibrook's safety culture and safety performance.

She alleged CASA breached its duty which caused her 'pure mental harm' and loss of maintenance and income during the course of Mr Wilson's life to support his wife and children.

Pilot Seb Robinson (left) suffered serious injuries and is now in a wheelchair

The Supreme Court matter is getting messy with Wright and CASA both lodging counterclaims.

In the meantime, Wright, a former Tourism Australia ambassador, will focus his attention on his criminal trial after he was charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The charges pertain to Wright's alleged actions following the fatal accident in February 2022.

Witnesses in the looming trial will include the pilots, as well as fellow TV crew members, major Top End business figures, and crocodile egg collectors.

Following multiple delays, jury selection was due to begin on Wednesday in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin before Acting Justice Alan Blow.

However, ongoing legal arguments caused another delay, and the jury will now not be empanelled until next Tuesday.

Justice Blow announced on Wednesday he is now unwilling to start the jury process until after the long weekend, as Monday is a local public holiday in Darwin.

Wright and wife Kaia attended court on Monday, when he entered pleas of not guilty to all charges and has since returned to court on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wright warmly embraced Kaia as they exited the Supreme Court building at lunchtime on Wednesday after hearing about the further trial delays.

The charges concern Wright's alleged actions during the seven months following the catastrophic accident.

Wright's Robinson R44 helicopter (above) crashed into a paperbark swamp near King River in West Arnhem Land, killing Mr Wilson and rendering pilot Sebastian Robinson a paraplegic

Mr Robinson is expected to testify over several days, along with his mother, Noelene Chillingham, and Darwin crocodile farm owner Mick Burns, who had contracted the chopper at the time of the crash.

It is alleged Wright was not properly following the maintenance rules for his helicopters, and attempted to cover this up in the wake of the crash.

It will be alleged the offences occurred between March 3 and September 25, 2022, in Darwin and elsewhere.

Wright is defended by leading Adelaide silk David Edwardson KC and barrister Luke Officer.

Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC will call up to 25 witnesses during the trial, which is expected to take four weeks.
Britain's 'worst landlord' has been left with a 60,000 bill after drug dealers turned three of his properties into cannabis factories.

Fergus Wilson, 76, once Britain's biggest buytolet landlord with almost 1,000 properties in Kent, caused outrage in 2017 when he tried to ban 'coloured' tenants from living in his houses, stating they left carpets 'smelling of curry'.

More controversy followed when a further 'ban list' emerged, telling letting agents to block tenants with kids, those who were on benefits and even 'battered wives' and 'plumbers'.

In a more recent scandal, Mr Wilson was handed a suspended prison sentence last year for breaching an injunction preventing him from harassing council staff at Ashford Borough Council.

Now the property tycoon and police have uncovered three illegal cultivations at houses owned by him in Ashford, Aylesford and Boughton Monchelsea, during routine checks at the homes.

Mr Wilson rumbled the first one at a property in Lodge Wood Drive, Ashford, on April 11, before alerting police.

Officers then discovered cannabis plants growing at two more houses, which had previously been emptied in preparation to sell them.

Mr Wilson told KentOnline: 'The first thing I noticed that surprised me was that all the windows had been boarded up.

Britain's 'worst landlord' Fergus Wilson (pictured) has been left with a 60,000 bill after three of his properties were turned into cannabis factories

Mr Wilson uncovered the first cannabis plants at a property in Lodge Wood Drive, Ashford, on April 11, before alerting police

Officers then discovered cannabis plants growing at two more houses, which had previously been emptied in preparation to sell them

'It was clear to me it was what we call a cannabis factory  I wasn't too impressed at all.'

A man was reportedly inside the first house, but scurried off before police officers arrived.

Chief Inspector Omid Changizi, of Kent Police, said in a statement: 'Kent Police regards tackling the cultivation of cannabis as a priority as it is often managed by organised crime groups.

'The offenders regularly use rental properties and can produce a considerable amount of the drug using sophisticated hydroponic equipment.

'Where we receive reports of cannabis cultivation at an address, officers will be promptly deployed to arrest any suspects at the scene. All plants and equipment are seized and a forensic examination completed to identify those responsible.

'Between 12 April and 27 April 2025, we received reports that three separate rental properties had been used for the cultivation of cannabis. Officers attended the premises in Larkfield, Maidstone and Ashford, and hydroponic equipment and some cannabis plants were seized.

'Nobody was arrested at that stage and forensic examinations were completed. Investigations are continuing with officers pursuing a number of lines of enquiry to identify those responsible.'

Mr Wilson (pictured with Judith) caused outrage in 2017 when he tried to ban 'coloured' tenants from living in his houses, stating they left carpets 'smelling of curry'

The property tycoon and police have now uncovered three illegal cultivations at houses owned by him in Ashford, Aylesford and Boughton Monchelsea, found during routine checks at the homes

Mr Wilson with his wife Judith Wilson outside one of their properties in Ashford

Last year, Mr Wilson was accused of harassing councillors despite a previous court injunction which cost him 125,000.

He was handed a suspended prison sentence after being found in contempt of court for breaching the injunction preventing him from harassing staff and councillors at Ashford Borough Council.

The High Court hearing followed a previous case when the authority obtained an injunction restraining the millionaire and ordering that he only had contact with one senior council officer.

But the court heard he had continued to harass staff and councillors on multiple occasions.

In May 2022, he was ordered to pay 125,000 to the authority as a part payment 'on account' while the full costs were assessed.

Mr Wilson built an impressive property empire by leveraging his background as a maths teacher.

He and his wife Judith Wilson started by purchasing a house near their home in the early 1990s, rented it out, and used the equity to finance more purchases.
A dangerous driver suffered instant karma after trying to ram a fleeing pedestrian during a a road rage incident.

Shocking footage showed a driver trying to mow down a passer-by in a small blue car as he ran along the road in fear.

The squeal of tires and brakes could be heard as the car raced down the busy street lined with parked cars and moving traffic towards a man dressed in pink shorts.

The man was only saved by a lamp post which stopped the car from running in to the back of him.

The clip showed the car mounting the pavement in pursuit of the pedestrian who quickly nipped behind the lamppost, leaving the car wedged in to a wall.

The vehicle, which only narrowly missed the scared man then reversed off the pavement with its bumper hanging off before chasing the man down once again who had tried to flee.

The car drove up and down the street while a man on the video could be heard shouting: 'F***ing hell that was crazy'.

The chaos was caught on camera by David Lloyd Jones in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, in August 2024.

Shocking footage showed a driver trying to mow down a passer-by in a small blue car as he ran along the road in fear and was only saved by a lamp post

The squeal of tires and brakes could be heard as the car raced down the busy street lined with parked cars and moving traffic towards a man dressed in pink shorts

It's not clear if the two men knew each other.

David said: 'I filmed a bunch of people flipping out. I didn't know them.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Greater Manchester Police.

It comes after a suspected shoplifter received instant karma when he was taken down by two police officers on bicycles manufactured by a toy store.

The footage, shared by the Havering branch of the Metropolitan Police, shows the man leaving the Marks & Spencer store in The Liberty Shopping Centre, Romford, east London, with a basket full of seemingly stolen goods.

Wearing a checked blue shirt with denim shorts and white trainers, the suspected thief then appears to notice he is being tailed by one officer and begins running away from them while holding the basket.

Looking to cross the road, the man then runs straight into the path of the other officer, whose oncoming bike he collides with.

Shouts of 'Alright, mate, stop where you are,' and 'Police. Stop where you are now,' can be heard before he is apprehended, his basket whittling away as he is brought down.

The footage shows the man leaving the Marks & Spencer store with a basket full of seemingly stolen goods

Wearing a checked blue shirt with denim shorts and white trainers, he then appears to notice he is being tailed by one officer and begins running away

Looking to cross the road, the suspected thief then runs straight into the path of the other officer, whose oncoming bike he collides with before being apprehended

Prior to being caught, CCTV footage in the store, captured at around 1pm on June 10, shows the man packing items such as bacon into his basket.

It is unknown what else he appears to have stolen or the total value of the basket, but alternate angles of him leaving the shop show the basket to be much fuller than just one packet of meat.

Posting the video to X, Havering MPS hailed the apprehension of the man as 'community policing in action' which helps 'keep local people and businesses safe'.

The Daily Mail has approached the Metropolitan Police for more information.
On a small dot of land just a mile from the coast sits a creepy off-limits federal research facility established in 1954.

Operated by the Department of Homeland Security, Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York studies highly transmissible animal diseases that the government says are not a threat to human health.

But fringe theorists, mainstream podcasters and even members of Congress have raised suspicions that the Plum Island facility is also ground zero for one of America's most pernicious illnesses: Lyme disease.

First diagnosed in the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut in the 1970s, Lyme disease is a tick-borne bacterial infection contracted by an estimated 30,000 people per year in the US alone. And, left untreated, the disease can cause potentially fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

Now, as summer-time tick populations skyrocket in the northeast and popstar Justin Timberlake reveals this 'relentlessly debilitating' Lyme disease diagnosis, the Daily Mail examines the true origins and conspiracies surrounding this dangerous bacterial infection.

'Turns out there's a lot of real evidence that Lyme disease was weaponized... It came out of a lab called Plum Island, which was close to Lyme, Connecticut,' claimed podcaster Joe Rogan during a March 14 interview with comedian Michael Kosta.

'What they were going to do is develop these fleas and ticks with a disease that spreads rapidly, wipes out the medical system of a community,' he alleged.

'So, you could dump them from a plane, everybody gets infected, overwhelms their medical system, and then they're more vulnerable if you want to attack them.'

On a small dot of land, just a mile from the northeast coast of Long Island, New York, sits the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, an off-limits federal research facility established in 1954.

Operated by the Department of Homeland Security, the laboratory studies highly transmissible animal diseases that the government says are not a threat to human health.

Rogan's remarks appear to be a mash-up of two common, unproven and seemingly debunked claims about Lyme disease.

The theory that the illness originated from Plum Island is most often attributed to Michael Carroll, author of the 2004 book 'Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory,' who spoke to the Daily Mail.

'I spent seven years digging through dusty boxes of documents and spent hundreds of hours interviewing past and present Plum Island employees,' he claimed. 'I found that in the mid-1970s, Plum Island was breeding hundreds of thousands of hard and soft ticks in a 'tick insectary' for its germ experiments.'

Carroll alleges that Lyme-infected ticks  which he claims were being used to test the effects of foreign disease on animals  escaped the Plum Island lab through small holes in the roof filters, latched on to migratory birds and spread.

'Plum Island is like a birding paradise,' he said. 'And then after that, the next stop on the flyway is the mouth of the Connecticut River, where Old Lyme is.'

The Department of Homeland Security has disputed claims that Lyme disease was ever researched at the Plum Island facility  but that has hardly kept conspiracists at bay.

Other claims have been made by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy, who interviewed Kris Newby, author of 'Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons,' on his podcast last year before he joined the Trump administration.

In the episode, Kennedy claimed that Lyme disease was 'highly likely to have been a military weapon.'

'We also know they were experimenting with diseases of the kind, like Lyme disease, at that [Plum Island] lab, and putting them in ticks and then infecting people, testing them with bird vectors, et cetera,' he said.

During Kennedy's 2025 Senate confirmation hearings, he was asked about this claim and after initially conceding that he 'probably did say' that the spread of Lyme disease was a result of a government attempt to turn ticks and fleas into bioweapons, he later distanced himself from the belief, saying he 'never believed' the conspiracy.

Popstar Justin Timberlake has been diagnosed with the 'relentlessly debilitating' Lyme disease

While 'Lab 257' author Michael Carroll does not believe the disease was created by humans nor engineered as a bioweapon, he told the Daily Mail that Kennedy's comments on Lyme disease 'cannot and must not be dismissed.'

For years, New Jersey Republican Congressman Chris Smith has led a seeming one-man crusade to get the US Government to investigate these unsupported claims.

'Whether or not the DOD's bioweapons research on ticks from 1950 to 1977 was in any way responsible for Lyme disease and other pervasive tick-borne illnesses in the US, Americans need to know and absolutely deserve answers,' Smith told the Daily Mail. 'Investigations into the origins of Lyme will only strengthen our understanding of this debilitating disease and our search for a cure.'

Smith attached a 2019 amendment to a defense spending bill that would have triggered an inquiry into 'whether the Pentagon ever experimented with ticks and insects regarding use as a biological weapon' between 1950 and 1975 and 'whether any ticks or insects used in such an experiment were released outside of any laboratory by accident or experiment design.'

The amendment was eventually removed by the Senate months later. Smith put forward a similar amendment in 2021 and it too never became law.

In fact, while more research into Lyme disease is justified, much is known about the illness.

Swiss researcher Wilhelm Burgdorfer first identified the bacteria that cause Lyme disease  and it was named after him: borrelia burgdorferi.

Plum Island Animal Disease Center, an off-limits federal research facility established in 1954.

The disease is known for its hallmark bullseye rash. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, and muscle aches, but untreated cases can also lead to complications, such as joint pain or swelling, facial paralysis, heart palpitations, nerve pain, brain fog, or potentially fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

Most patients  treated with antibiotics  can fully recover within two to four weeks, though some have reported prolonged symptoms that may take months to resolve. And, despite the possibility of severe illness, experts say the disease would make an ineffective bioweapon.

Sam Telford, a professor of Infectious Disease and Global Health at Tufts University, has said that Lyme disease is 'rarely lethal' and its 'week-long incubation period' is too slow to be effectively used in warfare.

Rather, Telford noted, biowarfare research has focused on agents such as the plague, hemorrhagic fevers and encephalitis  diseases that are 'very debilitating' with a high fatality rate.

Burgdorfer was quoted in Newby's book, seemingly alluding to Lyme disease's use in biological warfare, but colleagues have said that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease at the time.

'Willy was not in his best mental health at that time, and there's absolutely no truth to the accusations that he was involved in any kind of biowarfare activity,' said his former colleague Durland Fish, a professor emeritus of epidemiology at Yale University, who worked at Plum Island in the 1990s.

Finally, a 2017 study from the Yale School of Public Health has established that the bacteria causing Lyme disease was likely present on the East Coast of the United States long before the Plum Island facility was built.

Researchers sequenced the DNA of 148 samples of the bacteria and produced their entire genomes to 'piece together a more detailed history.'

In doing so, they found evidence of the bacteria borrelia burgdorferi in the carcasses of long-dead animals, dating back to 1870, which had been preserved in museum collections.

That suggests, the study says, that 'the ongoing Lyme disease epidemic was not sparked by a recent introduction of the bacterium or an evolutionary change.'

New York Department of Health's Bureau of Communicable Disease Control has also said there were reports of Native Americans, hundreds of years ago, contracting a disease with symptoms resembling those of Lyme disease. The native populations called the illness 'Montauk knee.'

Nevertheless, Carroll maintains that he has uncovered 'inescapable facts' that are 'too clear to ignore,' insisting that Plum Island's proximity to Old Lyme is too much of a coincidence.

'We need actual scientific investigators to take a look at this and actually say, hey, this may have happened this way, and that has been completely and entirely ignored for decades,' he said.

For now, Carroll may benefit from consulting the existing evidence.
Former Labour anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq is to face trial in Bangladesh this month over allegations that she illegally received land from her aunt, the nation's ex-leader.

The MP for Hampstead and Highgate is accused of having obtained plots from Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as prime minister last year, through 'abuse of power and influence'.

Bangladesh's new government has been investigating claims that her family embezzled up to 3.9billion from infrastructure spending.

The nation's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accuses Ms Siddiq of obtaining a 7,200 sq ft plot of land in the Purbachal diplomatic zone of the capital, Dhaka.

Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam claimed she 'influenced her aunt to get land properties for family members'.

On Thursday, two Bangladeshi courts indicted her and 26 others, including her aunt  who fled to India after being deposed  family members and officials.

Mr Salam said that if Ms Siddiq was found guilty, Bangladesh authorities were likely to submit an Interpol Red Notice for her arrest, which would prove embarrassing for Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms Siddiq insists she is the victim of an orchestrated campaign against her, and accused interim leader Muhammad Yunus of 'interfering with UK politics'.

Former Labour anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq is to face trial in Bangladesh this month over allegations that she illegally received land from her aunt, the nation's ex-leader

Tulip Siddiq pictured with her aunt, Sheikh Hasina (right), former Prime Minister of Bangladesh

If Ms Siddiq was found guilty, Bangladesh authorities were likely to submit an Interpol Red Notice for her arrest which would prove embarrassing for Sir Keir Starmer, prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam has claimed

Her spokesman did not respond to questions about whether she would travel to Bangladesh to stand trial on August 11.

Ms Siddiq, whom the ACC also accuses of money laundering and benefiting from a nuclear power deal with Russia, quit as a minister in January after an official investigation found her family's links with the ousted Bangladeshi regime exposed the Government to 'reputational risks'.

She had referred herself to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards after it emerged that she had lived in London homes linked to her aunt.

Her lawyer, Paul Thwaite, said: 'Ms Siddiq has not received any official communication from the court and has never owned any plot of land in Purbachal.'
The merits of a contentious bronze statue immortalising Daniel Andrews will be debated in state parliament amid claims of 'unresolved allegations' against the former Victorian Premier.

Plans to make Andrews the fifth premier to be given a permanent statue have been contested by 12,644 Australians in a petition tabled in the state parliament, with many Victorians still angry at his government's heavy-handed imposition of the world's longest Covid lockdowns.

'We respectfully urge the government to cancel this proposal as it is inappropriate to erect statues of living politicians,' the petition said.

'Public monuments should be reserved for individuals whose legacies have been tested over time and are broadly regarded as unifying.

'There remains unresolved allegations regarding Daniel Andrews' management and handling of human rights during the state's pandemic response, lockdowns, and use of enforcement powers.

'These issues should be fully resolved before any public honour is considered.'

Liberal MP Moira Deeming presented the petition, which noted Andrews' highly-debated involvement in a car crash with a teenage cyclist in 2013.

'Questions persist regarding Daniel Andrews' actions, including delays in reporting the incident and concerns about a possible political coverup, raising serious doubts about accountability in public office,' the petition continued.

A petition to stop the creation of a bronze statue immortalizing former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured in 2023) will be debated in state parliament

Andrews is set to join four existing statues of Victorian premiers who served more than 3,000 days in office (pictured, the statue of former premier John Cain in Melbourne)

'Spending taxpayer money on a political monument, particularly for a figure whose legacy remains contested, is inappropriate during a time of economic hardship and community division.

'Doing so risks deepening distrust and undermining public confidence in government priorities.

'The petitioners therefore request that the Legislative Council call on the government to cancel any plans to commission or install a statue of former Premier the Hon. Daniel Andrews.'

Andrews is set to be the fifth Victorian premier to receive recognition with a statue, alongside John Cain Jr, Rupert Hamer, Henry Bolte and Albert Dunstan who all stand on Treasury Place in the city's CBD.

However, details of the cost of his statue and its planned location remain under wraps. When pressed, Andrews said those decisions were up to his successor.

Victorian Premier Jacina Allan told reporters this week that the process of installing the Dan Andrews statue is underway.

'Former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett introduced a policy to install statues of former Victorian premiers who serve 3,000 days or more in office, in recognition of their long service to Victoria,' she said.

'The existing statues are located outside 1 Treasury Place and include former premiers Rupert Hamer, Henry Bolte, Albert Dunstan and John Cain Jr.

Andrews (pictured with his wife, Catherine) has become a divisive figure in Victoria for his handling of the Covid pandemic and involvement in a 2013 crash with a teenage cyclist

Parliamentary standing orders permit the debate of petitions which receive more than 10,000 signatures, with a minister to provide a response within 30 days.

Andrews was premier for almost nine years before he resigned in late 2023.

He has since taken on a new role at Orygen, a mental health organisation.

His handling of the Covid pandemic and use of enforcement powers were called into question after Melbourne remained in lockdown for 245 days, the longest in Australia and large parts of the world.

A bungled hotel quarantine scheme by the Andrews Government has been blamed for the deaths of 768 people.

The families of those victims publicly condemned Andrews last year when he was awarded the nation's highest honour  the Companion of the Order of Australia.
The UK will recognise Palestine as a state next month even if Hamas fails to release its remaining Israeli hostages, Sir Keir Starmer suggested yesterday.

Amid a growing backlash over the Prime Ministers pledge  plus warnings that he could be breaking international law  he refused to back calls to make a hostage deal a main condition of recognition.

Earlier this week Sir Keir announced the UK will recognise a Palestinian state before the UN general assembly in New York next month unless Israel meets a raft of conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

The decision was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said it rewarded Hamass monstrous terrorism  the group is still believed to be holding up to 50 hostages, many of whom were abducted during the attack on October 7, 2023, although only 20 are believed to still be alive.

Sir Keir was asked yesterday whether he would still recognise a Palestinian state in September  a hugely diplomatic and symbolic move  even if Hamas refuses to release more hostages.

Instead of a simple yes or no, he replied: Those hostages need to be released immediately  they have been held for a very long time in intolerable conditions.

So that absolutely needs to happen. And the situation on the ground in Gaza needs to change  there is a humanitarian catastrophe. And thats why I have said unless that changes materially  and obviously we will assess that as we get to September  then we will recognise Palestine.

The PM insisted he particularly listens to freed hostages, after he was accused of moral failure over his move by Emily Damari, a British-Israeli woman who had been held captive by Hamas .

The UK will recognise Palestine as a state next month even if Hamas fails to release its remaining Israeli hostages, Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) suggested yesterday

Earlier this week Sir Keir announced the UK will recognise a Palestinian state before the UN general assembly in New York next month unless Israel meets a raft of conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza. Pictured: Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel on Wednesday

The decision was condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured), who said it rewarded Hamass monstrous terrorism  the group is still believed to be holding up to 50 hostages, many of whom were abducted during the attack on October 7, 2023

The PM told ITV he was absolutely clear that we must have the remaining hostages released  thats been our position throughout and I absolutely understand the unimaginable horror that Emily went through.

It came as some of the UKs most eminent lawyers wrote to the Attorney General, Lord Hermer, to warn that Sir Keirs pledge of recognition could undermine his commitment to upholding the law.

Some 38 members of the House of Lords  among them seven KCs  said recognising Palestine may not meet the criteria for statehood under the Montevideo Convention, a treaty signed in 1933.

In their letter, the peers said Palestine does not meet the international law criteria for recognition of a state, namely, defined territory, a permanent population, an effective government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.

There is no certainty over the borders of Palestine, they said, and no single government.

It came as some of the UKs most eminent lawyers wrote to the Attorney General, Lord Hermer (pictured), to warn that Sir Keirs pledge of recognition could undermine his commitment to upholding the law

The peers added: You have said that a selective, pick and mix approach to international law will lead to its disintegration, and that the criteria set out in international law should not be manipulated for reasons of political expedience.

'Accordingly, we expect you to demonstrate this commitment by explaining to the public and to the Government that recognition of Palestine would be contrary to the principles governing recognition of states in international law.

Business minister Gareth Thomas described the decision on Palestine as a political judgment and that ministers believe it is compliant with international law.
A 'despicable' terrorist who confessed to his role in 9/11 and the July 7 bombings is set to be freed from prison within days despite officials declaring him a 'risk to national security'.

Haroon Aswat, 50, could be released from a secure hospital unit in the UK without a full risk assessment due to his mental health treatment.

He was jailed in 2015 in the US for 20 years having admitted trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon.

Aswat was visited by a British psychiatrist in America before he was deported back to Britain in 2022 where he declared: 'I'm a terrorist.'

Now newly surfaced US court documents show Aswat also confessed to being a 'mastermind behind the [9/11] attacks and a 2005 attack in the UK', The Sun has reported.

In addition to his connection to the 7/7 London terror bombings, which killed 52 people, Aswat has also threatened to kill Jews, Christians and certain groups of Muslims.

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said he feared Aswat's return to the streets of Britain and said: 'He should never experience freedom again.'

Despite officials admitting their concern and the High Court's Mr Justice Robert Jay previously saying there was 'evidence of an ongoing risk', Aswat will only be subject to a notification order upon his release.

Haroon Aswat (pictured in 2015) is set to be freed from prison within days despite officials declaring him a 'risk to national security'

Hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri (left) riding in a car with Haroon Rashid Aswat in 1999

Aswat pictured in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2022. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon and was jailed in the US

It means Aswat must continually notify the police about certain information and keep them up-to-date.

These details include his address, foreign travel details and vehicle registration.

Earlier this year Mr Justice Jay concluded: 'These were very serious offences and there is evidence of ongoing risk.

'A risk assessment in relation to terrorist offending is always inherently uncertain and in the present case is compounded by the mental instability of the defendant.

'Overall, I am satisfied for the reasons that I have given that a notification order should be made in all the circumstances of this case.

'A psychiatrist has deemed his treatment as being effective and his release from detention is expected in the relatively near future, with the understanding being that he will return to his family in Yorkshire.'

He added: 'No formal terrorist risk assessment has been carried out since the defendant's return here. The circumstances of his detention have precluded that.

'However, on the basis of the material which is available the defendant has been assessed by various police officers  including the senior officer dealing with this case  that he remains a risk to national security.'

Newly-revealed documents show Aswat confessed to being a 'mastermind' behind the 7/7 London bombings which killed 52 people in July 2005

Aswat is also credited with having confessed to being behind the 9/11 attacks, which claimed more than 3,000 lives

A document from the US District Court, which has been released for the first time, described Aswat as a terrorist and foot soldier of al-Qaeda, and revealed he openly admitted to his involvement in terrorist activities.

'In March 2017 the defendant stated, 'if you think I am a terrorist, I don't shy away from my responsibility' and also stated he was a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and a 2005 terrorist attack in the UK.'

The papers show that Aswat revealed his associations with Osama bin Laden and that he had spent time training in al-Queda camps in Afghanistan just months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which claimed more than 3,000 lives.

His name was also found on a ledger discovered in a house in Pakistan where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 'architect' of 9/11, had been staying.

Other activities included helping hate preacher Abu Hamza establish a US terror camp in 1999, staying at a house in Pakistan in 2002 - where he met two of the 7/7 bombers - and possessing a terror manual and alleged bomb materials.

Police also traced 20 calls made by the 7/7 bombers to a phone connected to Aswat.

Det Chief Supt Gareth Rees, head of operations for the Met's SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, said of Aswat in a witness statement: 'Based on my experience, this is conduct which gives me grave concerns about the risk which the defendant poses to the UK's national security and to the public.'

A report compiled by Dr Richard Taylor, who travelled to America in the summer of 2022, found Aswat still posed a risk to the public.

The papers show that Aswat revealed his associations with Osama bin Laden and that he had spent time training in al-Queda camps in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks

The report states that in 2017 Aswat made remarks to prison staff in support of Al Qaeda and threatened violence towards them.

In 2022 he sent letters which made demands and death threats, seemingly motivated by a terrorist ideology.

Dr Taylor concluded that he openly endorsed an extremist ideology, but there was no evidence that Aswat was mentally ill.

However he had had limited opportunity to address the extremist mindset and showed traits of glibness, superficial charm, charisma, intelligence and elements of manipulativeness and narcissism.

Even when mentally stable he continued to express violent, extremist Islamic ideology, Dr Taylor found.

The diagnosis showed a schizoaffective disorder with symptoms showing unpredictable and aggressive behaviour.

Dr Taylor did not complete a full terrorist risk assessment, but identified 15 of the 22 relevant factors in the government's extreme risk guidance.

He concluded: 'There remains the risk of Islamic violent extremism motivated targeted terrorist offending behaviour given his threats to kill Jews, Christians and certain groups of Muslims.

'There is also a risk of him influencing other vulnerable individuals, as when he is in an abnormal mental state his religious extremist rhetoric is amplified by mental illness.'

A senior police officer, Detective Inspector Karen Bradley, who was involved in the case, concluded that Aswat remains a risk to national security.

Aswat was born and grew up in Yorkshire but moved to Wood Green in north London where he fell under the spell of hate preacher Abu Hamza - and together they planned a terror training camp in Oregon with Aswat moving to Seattle to organise it.

He also spent time in Afghanistan and in Pakistan - where he met and associated with fellow Yorkshire terror sympathiser Mohammed Sidique Khan and his accomplice Shehzad Tanweer.

They would go on to carry out the deadly 7/7 bombings in London which killed 52 people on underground trains and a bus in July 2005.

Aswat served most of his sentence in America and was deported back to the UK in December 2022.

He is currently detained at Bethlem Royal Hospital in Bromley, south east London.

A Government spokesman said: 'Protecting our national security is the very first priority of this government and if any individual poses a threat to that security, the police and intelligence services have a range of powers they can apply to deal with that threat.

'We will always do whatever is necessary inside the law to protect the public from any risk posed by former terrorist offenders or people of terrorist concern.'

Daily Mail has contacted the Ministry of Justice for comment.
A city trader who blamed 'gender prejudice' after being handed 325,000 of his ex-wife's 60million family fortune has won a bitter appeal case to have his settlement looked at again.

Simon Entwistle's three-year marriage to Jenny Helliwell ended in 2022 but he was awarded just 0.5 per cent of her fortune.

He blamed 'gender prejudice' for the decision and has won his case at the Court of Appeal in London, meaning his settlement will now be considered again at the High Court.

Appeal judges ruled Jenny had engaged in 'fraudulent' behaviour by not declaring almost 48million of her 66million personal fortune whilst making a prenuptial agreement.

The couple had married at a lavish 500,000 wedding in Paris in August 2019 and Mr Entwistle 'enjoyed the trappings of being married into a family of exceptional wealth,' it was said.

They were living in a 4.5million villa in Dubai gifted to Ms Helliwell by her father, wealthy Dubai-based British businessman Neil Helliwell. But they split after three years with Ms Helliwell getting lawyers to order her then husband out of the family home with just 48 hours' notice in August 2022.

The pair, both 42, then went to court over money with Mr Entwistle, originally from Bolton, asking for 2.5million from his interior designer ex-wife's personal fortune.

Mr Entwistle claimed he required 36,000 a year for flights and 26,000 a year 'on a meal plan just for himself' because he admitted: 'I can't even cook an omelette', the court heard.

The judge told him: 'Being married to a rich person for three years does not suddenly catapult you into a right to live like that after the relationship has ended.'

Wealthy heiress Jenny Helliwell engaged in 'fraudulent' behaviour by not declaring almost 48m of her 66m personal fortune whilst making a prenuptial agreement, appeal judges ruled

Simon Entwistle's 'painful' divorce from Ms Helliwell culminated with an award in his favour of just 325,000 instead of the 2.5million he had originally claimed

The 'painful' divorce from Ms Helliwell culminated with an award in his favour of 400,000. That sum was reduced to 325,000 after a deduction for Ms Helliwell's costs when a divorce judge said the three-year marriage did not entitle him to maintain a lavish lifestyle once the relationship ended.

But he was left with a 0.5 per cent share of the pot after the judge upheld a pre-nuptial agreement the pair had signed promising they would each keep their own assets in the event of a split.

Appealing that ruling, Mr Entwistle said he was a victim of 'gender prejudice' and that the prenup had been invalidated by Ms Helliwell having failed to disclose assets worth almost 48million - amounting to 73 per cent of her wealth - on documents when he signed it.

Now, Lady Justice King has ruled that the nondisclosure by the heiress amounted to 'fraudulent' behaviour which had invalidated the pre-nup.

She allowed Mr Entwistle's appeal and sent the case back to the divorce courts, ordering it to be recalculated as if the pre-nuptial agreement did not exist.

'Wilful or fraudulent breach of that agreement such that the disclosure made bears no resemblance to the true wealth of a party...is capable of being material non-disclosure, as it deprives the other party of the information that they have agreed is necessary in order for them to decide whether to agree to a pre-nuptial agreement,' she said.

'Since the husband in the instant case was deliberately deprived of information which it had been agreed that he should have, in my judgment, the agreement cannot stand.'

After the original hearing, High Court judge Mr Justice Francis found that the husband's personal assets were worth around 850,000, including a flat in Salford where he had lived with his first wife before moving to Dubai.

Ms Helliwell, by contrast, was worth around 66million, with her wealthy father having gifted her valuable assets and put some of his business interests in her name.

Helliwell had offered him first 500,000, then 800,000, to avoid a court battle, but he had refused, holding out for 2.5million.

Helliwell had offered him first 500,000, then 800,000, to avoid a court battle, but he had refused, holding out for 2.5m

'The parties went through this painful litigation and the husband is actually worse off now than he would have been if he never brought a claim in the first place, which is tragic for everybody,' the judge commented.

But he declined to hand the husband any more money, calling his budget of needs 'aspirational,' including an 'astonishing' claim for 36,000 a year for flights and 26,000 a year 'on a meal plan just for himself'.

'He said to me, "I can't even cook an omelette". Well, my answer to that is, "Learn". It is not difficult,' said the judge.

'You do not have to be a master chef to learn how to eat reasonably well.'

He added: 'Being married to a rich person for three years does not suddenly catapult you into a right to live like that after the relationship has ended.'

Given that his own costs were 450,000, the award left Mr Entwistle 125,000 out of pocket - a scenario his barrister argued would not have materialised were their roles reversed.

Challenging the judge's ruling at the Court of Appeal, Deborah Bangay KC, for Mr Entwistle, said: 'The judge was warned against gender prejudice, but failed to heed that warning.

'Had the positions been reversed, it is very unlikely that he would have so ungenerously assessed the needs of a wife after a six-year relationship.'

She also argued that the pre-nuptial agreement, which had been key to the husband's low award, was invalidated by Ms Helliwell's failure to disclose her full wealth, stating that she was worth about 18m rather than her full 66m fortune.

Lady Justice King, giving her ruling, made no finding on the gender prejudice argument but said that in the pre-nup, the wife disclosed 18,206,735 of assets, including multi-million pound property portfolios in Dubai and France.

'The wife, however, failed to include 47,878,800 of assets owned by her,' she added.

This included almost 40million worth of business assets, 8million worth of beachfront land in Dubai and a 1,649,000 house in Wimbledon, lived in by her mother.

'The husband and wife entered into the agreement on the day they married, July 12, 2019,' she said.

'Upon divorce, each party would retain their own separate property and split any jointly owned property as to 50 per cent each.

'At the heart of the dispute is whether the wife's undoubted failure to disclose the majority of her substantial wealth should have the consequence that the agreement should not be upheld by the court.

'In the present case, the non-disclosure of the majority of her assets by the wife was undoubtedly deliberate.'
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that would have new tariffs on dozens of U.S. trading partners to go into effect in seven days.

Trump is set to impose a 35 percent tariff on all Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement if he and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney cannot make a deal by his August 1 deadline.

But Trump warned in a late night Truth Social post it would be 'very hard' to make a deal with Canada if Carney proceeds with his intention to recognize Palestine.

'Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them,' Trump wrote.

Trump's 35 percent tariff was announced amidst a string of surprise modifications to his reciprocal tariffs on Thursday.

His executive order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. It came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in recent days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of Trumps self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline.

Trump had already secured about a dozen deals, with a mix between formal signed agreements and announced frameworks.

But it was still far short of the '90 deals in 90 days' touted by Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro back in April.

President Donald Trump has ramped up his trade war with Canada a day early in response to Canada's vow to support Palestinian statehood

He has been using changing deadlines  and the threats of high U.S. tariffs he has announced publicly  to try to leverage the opening of foreign markets while bringing down the tariffs paid on imports.

To sell the push to Americans, he has been touting new tariff revenues, with $150 billion collected in July, while floating new rebate checks.

As per the new levies, Switzerland has been hit with a 39 percent tariff, Syria was lobbed a 41 percent tariff, Laos and Myanmar each received a 40 percent tariff and Iraq and Serbia joined Canada with a 35 percent tariff.

Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya and South Africa all were handed 30 percent tariffs.

Ontario's Premier Doug Ford on Thursday night slammed Trump's higher tariff for Canada, describing it as 'concerning.'

'Canada shouldnt settle for anything less than the right deal. Now is not the time to roll over. We need to stand our ground,' he said.

'We need to do everything in our power to protect workers, businesses and communities from the impact of tariffs.'

Ford has urged Carney to 'hit back with a 50 per cent tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum.

'Canada has what the United States needs: oil and gas, critical minerals, steel and aluminum, electricity, potash and uranium,' he said.

'Were Americas number one customer and keep millions of Americans working. The federal government needs to maximize our leverage and stand strong in the face of President Trumps tariffs.'

Trump has repeatedly warned nations against increasing their own tariffs and said doing so will force him to raise his own tariffs accordingly.

Several countries have come out on top with Trump's revised tariffs, with Angola's tariff dropping from 32 percent to 15 percent, and Cambodia's plummeting from 49 percent to 19 percent.

The Falkland Islands, Lesotho, Madagascar and Mauritious have also enjoyed heavily reduced tariffs.

Carney followed France and Britain on Wednesday when he said his country was planning to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September

Carney previously said tariff negotiations with Washington had been constructive, but that talks may not conclude by the deadline.

Talks between the two countries were at an intense phase, he added, but a deal that would remove all US tariffs was unlikely.

Canada is the second-largest US trading partner after Mexico, and the largest buyer of US exports.

It bought $349.4 billion of US goods last year and exported $412.7 billion to the US, according to US Census Bureau data.

Canada is also the top supplier of steel and aluminum to the United States, and faces tariffs on both metals as well as on vehicle exports.

Last month, Carney's government scrapped a planned digital services tax targeting US technology firms after Trump abruptly called off trade talks saying the tax was a 'blatant attack.'

Carney followed France and Britain on Wednesday when he said his country was planning to recognize the State of Palestine at a meeting of the United Nations in September.

In announcing the decision, Carney spoke of the reality on the ground, including starvation in Gaza.

Scenes of hunger and starvation have trickled out of Gaza amid a longstanding Israeli blockade which is preventing supplies from entering the territory en masse

'Canada condemns the fact that the Israeli government has allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza,' he said.

Israel and the United States, Israel's closest ally, both rejected Carney's comments.

He convened a Cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in the battered Palestinian territory.

Carney was inspired to make a change after discussing the crisis with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who announced a similar move on Tuesday.

Scenes of hunger and starvation have trickled out of Gaza amid a longstanding Israeli blockade which is preventing supplies from entering the territory en masse.

And it hasn't gone unnoticed by Trump himself.

He is sending his top lieutenants in the Middle East - special envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee - to Gaza on Friday to inspect food deliveries.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared the updates on Thursday, detailing that Witkoff and Huckabee had a 'very productive meeting' with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day.

On Tuesday, as the president traveled back from Scotland after spending time at his two golf resorts and meeting several world leaders, Trump hinted that Melania Trump may have played a role in his evolution on Gaza.

'She thinks it's terrible,' Trump told reporters. 'She sees the same pictures that you see. And that we all see. And I think everybody - unless they're pretty cold-hearted or, worse than that, nuts.'

'There's nothing you can say other than it's terrible,' the president continued. 'When you see the kids. And those are kids - whether they talk [about] starvation or not - those are kids that are starving. They are starving.'

'The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable,' Carney said.

'Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025.'

Carney said the intention is predicated on the Palestinian Authority 'holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.'

Several countries have come out on top with Trump's revised tariffs, with Angola's tariff dropping from 32 percent to 15 percent, and Cambodia's plummeting from 49 percent to 19 percent

Pressure to formally recognize Palestinian statehood has mounted since French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country will become the first major Western power to do so in September.

As with France and the U.K., Canadian recognition would be largely symbolic, but it's part of a broader global shift against Israel and could increase diplomatic pressure for an end to the conflict.

More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state, including a dozen in Europe.

Macron's announcement last week made France the first Group of Seven country - and the largest in Europe - to take that step.

Canada has long supported the idea of an independent Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, but has said recognition should come as part of a negotiated twostate solution to the conflict.
A magazine cover featuring Erin Molan has sparked a ferocious backlash over the TV presenter's strong stance supporting Israel in its conflict with Gaza.

This weekend's edition of Stellar, which is published in News Corp's Sunday newspapers, is being promoted on Instagram and some readers are furious that Molan appears on the front.

The former Sky News Australia host has publicly condemned Hamas since its raids on the Jewish state on October 7, 2023, and in recent months has been reporting from Israel on the Middle East war.

While some fans - including model and influencer Bec Judd - were quick to congratulate Molan on taking out the cover position, others could not see past her pro-Israel views.

'No thanks Stella... No one I would support,' wrote one. 'So tone deaf,' said another.

A third posted: 'Free Palestine ps never reading this publication again.'

Several other users threatened to boycott Stellar. Some of the comments are too inflammatory to publish.

The Times of Israel ran a profile piece on Molan in May under the headline 'Erin Molan vs. the world: From Australian news anchor to pro-Israel firebrand.'

The latest cover of Stella magazine featuring Erin Molan has sparked a brutal backlash over the broadcaster's strong stance supporting Israel in the conflict over Gaza

While some fans including model and influencer Bec Judd were quick to congratulate Molan on taking out the cover position, others could not see past her pro-Israel views

'Molan has found herself increasingly recognized in Israel, where people on the street often flock to her, eager to thank her for her support,' it reported.

The story quoted Molan, who is Catholic, describing her reaction to the October 7 outrages.

'It was never complex to me or grey or fuzzy,' she said. 'It was black and white as to who evil was in this scenario.'

Molan has maintained that stance amid Israel's retaliation and the ongoing human crisis in Gaza.

Former Sky News Australia colleague Sharri Markson moved quickly last year to quash a conspiracy theory that Molan had been sacked from the network for her pro-Israel views.

In December, Markson wished Molan her well in her future pursuits and wrote on X that it was 'categorically untrue' the 41-year-old had been booted off Sky 'because of her Zionism'.

Israeli news outlets had highlighted Molan's repeated condemnation of Hamas in their reporting of the onetime Footy Show presenter's removal by Sky.

Daily newspaper Israel Hayom referred to Molan's response to the October 7 massacre in which more than 1,200 Israelis - mostly citizens - were killed and 254 taken hostage.

Molan (above) has publicly condemned Hamas since its raids on the Jewish state on October 7, 2023, and has recently been reporting from Israel on the Middle East war

'Molan has been a vocal supporter of Israel on her Sky News Australia program,' the newspaper stated.

'Strongly condemning both Hamas' actions against Israeli civilians and the pro-Hamas demonstrations that have erupted worldwide, repeatedly using her platform to address the ongoing war.'

Israel National News covered the presenter's axing under the headline: 'Sky News Australia fires pro-Israel host Erin Molan.'

'Australian news anchor Erin Molan, who repeatedly defended Israel in the year since the October 7 massacre, has been fired by Sky News Australia,' its story began.

Molan posted an impassioned nine-minute video to X in December, repeatedly mentioning the Middle East conflict and thanking everyone who had supported her.

'So that's done now,' she said of her Sky job. 'But I am not. In fact, I'm just getting started.

'So I'm sorry to those who had hoped otherwise. I'm somewhat surprisingly much harder to kill off than you'd think.

'You see the problem is - and it's always been this way with me - I just care too much.

Molan has recently been reporting from Israel where she wrote on Instagram 'brave soldiers are fighting to take on of the greatest threats to western civilisation' (above)

'About you, about the world, about a peaceful existence for every single child.'

Molan has called Hamas terrorists 'blood-thirsty killers' and said she would continue 'fighting for every single hostage still captive in Gaza'.

Markson's post on X came shortly after Molan's video went live. 'I have to clear up this notion that her departure from Sky is because of her Zionism - this is categorically untrue,' she said.

'No media outlet globally has shown more leadership or clarity on Israel's fight against terrorism and our own battle against antisemitism than us at Sky News Australia and News Corp.'

Although network insiders suggested Molan was caught off-guard by the decision to cancel her show, Sky insisted they had ended their partnership with the host on amicable terms.

Molan presented her weekly news program, Erin, for the final time on November 29.

Molan presented her weekly news program, Erin, for the final time on November 29 last year

The decision to cancel Molan's show comes just months after the breakfast radio program she co-hosted alongside comedians Dave Hughes and Ed Kavalee was scrapped by Southern Cross Austereo's struggling 2DayFM station in August.

The cancellation of Molan's two key hosting roles is understood to have come at a significant financial cost to the journalist.

Sources said she had been pulling in about $200,000 a year for her 2DayFM radio gig and a further $150,000 a year from her job with Sky.

Molan joined Sky News Australia in July 2022 after parting ways with Nine after 11 years at the network.

This year Molan has been hosting 69Minutes, 'an exciting new weekly news show on X' created by crypto-entrepreneur Mario Nawfal.
A fiery screaming match erupted between councillors at a Cumberland Council meeting in Sydney's west after one local politician told another to 'shut up' - leaving a resident in tears.

The heated clash broke out on Wednesday night as independent councillor Ahmed Ouf was speaking in support of a motion regarding next year's Easter celebrations.

Following apparent interjections from the other side of the chamber by Labor councillor Diane Colman, Mr Ouf snapped.

'Shut up when I'm talking, OK,' he fumed.

'I beg your pardon, Councillor,' Mayor Ola Hamed interjected, as tensions escalated.

'When I'm talking, this is my time, not your time,' Cr Ouf told Cr Colman.

'When I talk, you shut up, OK?'

Cr Colman interrupted: 'Oh, point of order, Mayor, point of order!'

Cumberland councillor Diane Colman (pictured standing far right) rose to her feet after being repeatedly told to 'shut up' by a councillor during a fiery meeting on Wednesday night

Independent councillor Ahmed Ouf became frustrated at apparent interjections on the other side of the chamber. He later apologised

Cr Ouf stood his ground.

'Why is she talking while I'm talking? Why is she taking from my time?' he said.

Cr Colman fired back: 'How dare you!'

Cr Ouf replied: 'You just keep your mouth shut while I'm talking. I never, ever spoke when you were talking or having time.'

The comment sparked an explosive outburst from Cr Colman, who rose from her seat.

'You cannot speak to me like that,' she screamed from across the room.

'You show respect, you show respect,' Cr Ouf yelled back.

Cr Colman snapped back: 'You show me some respect.

'How dare you speak to me like that. How dare you.'

Labor councillor Diane Colman (pictured with federal minister Chris Bowen) had no regrets about her actions

The screaming match during Wednesday night's council meeting has since gone viral online

The blazing row continued for seven minutes until the mayor called a brief adjournment.

The fiery scenes unfolded in front of a packed public gallery, where a distraught woman had to be consoled afterwards, according to Libertarian Councillor Steve Christou.

'It put everyone who was there in an unhealthy and unsafe environment,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'I felt sorry for the council staff, who shouldn't have to work under these conditions or put up with this...

'I also felt for the crowd, as we had a full public gallery there that night.

'One woman was crying because she felt unsafe.'

He added that Cr Ouf apologised afterwards and claimed that Cr Colman often interrupted while other councillors had the floor.

'I've previously raised concerns about this behaviour,' he said.

Cumberland councillor Steve Christou (pictured) feels sorry for the council staff and ratepayers who witnessed Wednesday night's fiery scenes

Cr Colman stood by her actions, claiming she is also frequently interrupted and bullied by other councillors in the chamber.

'He (Cr Ouf) told me to shut up four times,' she said.

'Enough is enough. It's time that councils stop the bullying and misogyny that goes on.'

She confirmed Cr Ouf later apologised.

'The matter is closed,' Cr Colman said.

Councillor Ouf told the Daily Mail that his comments had nothing to do with gender and reiterated calls for councillors not to be interrupted.

'I wished it hadn't happened,' he said.

'This is my first term and I have never interrupted or harassed another councillor.

'I was speaking about an important matter and I was interrupted, which shouldn't have been allowed.'

Labor councillor Glenn Elmore chose not to weigh in on the stoush but confirmed it wasn't an isolated incident.

'This type of behavior occurs during every council meeting and the authorities do nothing to prevent it happening again,' he told the Daily Mail.

'I have spoken to the deputy general manager and was told council staff have taken all action to prevent this behaviour occurring but it continues.

'The system is broken.'
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has declared a state of emergency as wildfires tear through thousands of acres, marking the state's most severe fire season in years.

So far in 2025, Utah has recorded 693 wildfires, burning over 114,000 acres and devastating communities statewide, according to officials.

The four largest active fires alone account for more than 100,000 acres burned, and suppression costs have surpassed $103 million across local, state and federal agencies.

Cox, who has served in the position since 2021, signed Executive Order 2025-08 on Thursday, putting the emergency declaration into immediate effect for 30 days.

The order mobilizes all available state resources to protect lives, homes, livestock, and drinking-water supplies. It also activates Utah's emergency operations plan and authorizes the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed.

'Heroic efforts are underway as firefighters and emergency personnel work around the clock to save homes and neighborhoods,' Cox said in a statement. 'We are mobilizing every tool at our disposal to support them and keep Utahns safe.'

The largest of the devastating blazes is the Monroe Canyon Fire in Sevier County, which has scorched over 37,000 acres and is only 11 percent contained, according to the Utah Department of Natural Resources.

As wildfires tear through thousands of acres across Utah, marking the state's most severe fire season in years, Governor Spencer Cox has declared a state of emergency. Pictured: Firefighters work to subdue the Monroe Canyon Fire near Monroe, Utah on July 24

Utah Governor Spencer Cox (pictured) has declared a state of emergency on Thursday, mobilizing all available state resources to protect lives, homes, livestock, and drinking-water supplies

The Monroe Canyon Fire has destroyed at least seven homes, as well as 12 power poles, causing widespread power outages across the state's south-central region.

Cox is scheduled to travel to Richfield on Friday for a briefing on the fire and to meet with local officials and emergency responders.

Continued critical fire conditions, including high temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds have complicated statewide firefighting operations, according to the governor's statement.

The Beehive State has experienced 22 Red Flag Warning days this year - conditions marked by high winds, dry fuels, and low moisture levels. The extreme conditions follow record-low snowpack and precipitation, which extended an already dry period across the state.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 60 percent of the state is currently in severe or extreme drought, with the remainder in moderate drought.

This year marks Utah's busiest wildfire season since 2020.

Fires like the Forsyth Fire in Washington County and the Deer Creek Fire in San Juan County have already destroyed dozens of structures.

The declaration also activates Utah 's emergency operations plan and authorizes the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed. Pictured: Monroe Canyon Fire blazes near Monroe, Utah on July 16

The governor stressed that public and firefighter safety remains the top priority as the state faces longer-term risks from burn scars, debris flows, and post-fire flooding that can persist long after flames are extinguished. Pictured: Firefighters fill self-supporting tanks while working to subdue the Monroe Canyon Fire near Monroe, Utah on July 25

The emergency order will remain in effect for 30 days unless extended by the Utah Legislature

In his statement, Cox also emphasized the human role in the wildfire crisis. His office reports that approximately 72 percent of Utah's wildfires in 2025 have been human-caused.

'Fire sense saves lives and property by reducing sparks from everyday activities and helping firefighters focus on blazes ignited by lightning,' Cox reminded the public.

However, the governor stressed that public and firefighter safety remains the top priority - especially as the state faces longer-term risks from burn scars, debris flows, and post-fire flooding.

Cox's emergency order will remain in effect for 30 days unless extended by the Utah Legislature.

In addition to the blazes in Utah, over 90,000 acres are on fire in Arizona as part of the ongoing Dragon Bravo Fire. The Arizona Emergency Information Network reported only 4 percent containment as of Thursday evening.

Now, wildfire smoke from Utah, as well as Arizona, has spread to Denver and much of Colorado, severely impacting air quality.

The smoke is noticeable as hazy skies and reduced visibility, particularly affecting the Front Range area, including Denver, Aurora, and Boulder, according to CBS News Colorado.
Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre's family broke down in tears as they railed against a possible pardon for convicted heiress Ghislaine Maxwell and demanded the release of FBI files related to the pedophile financier's crimes.

The family sat down with CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Thursday night to discuss what their sister would have thought of recent developments in the case against Epstein, who died inside a New York prison while awaiting sex crime charges in 2019.

'She wanted the world to know what they've done to her and other survivors,' said Amanda Roberts, Giuffre's sister-in-law, as she asked why documents pertaining to his case remain sealed while trying to choke back tears.

Roberts went on to say Giuffre wanted 'those monsters to be exposed for who they are and what they've done,' referring to both Epstein and Maxwell, who is serving 20 years behind bars for her involvement in Epstein's sex crimes.

She made similar remarks earlier in the day in an interview with NBC News, saying she had spoken to her sister-in-law about the case before she took her own life at the age of 41.

'She had a little bit of hope in her because it was said that the files were going to be released,' Roberts said of President Donald Trump's previous remarks that he would release documents related to the case.

'She was fighting for that to happen right up until the very end,' she continued adamantly. 'She wanted the public to know the crimes that they had committed.'

But the Trump administration stunned even members of its base when it denied reports that Epstein kept a list of the rich and powerful people for whom he trafficked young girls.

Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre would have wanted all of the files related to the case against the financier released, her family asserted on Thursday

They were seen visibly breaking down in tears as they discussed what she would have thought about the recent developments in the case with CNN's Caitlan Collins

Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting charges related to sex crimes

Many have since accused the Trump administration of engaging in a cover-up of Epstein's crimes - and members of Congress have even suggested having Maxwell testify publicly about what he had done.

But Giuffre's family argues that Maxwell should not be let out of her sentence or given any leniency in order to testify.

'We were very shocked and very surprised that they're giving her a platform,' Roberts told Collins on The Source Thursday night, saying Maxwell 'deserves to rot in prison because of what she did to my sister and so many other women.'

She then described the heiress as a 'puppet master' and a 'monster of a nightmare' who 'viciously participated' in Epstein's sex trafficking scheme by recruiting young women.

'It's really important that we create a culture... for victims and survivors to come forward, to protect them, to trust them and believe them,' she explained in remarks to NBC News.

'Survivors deserve the space to be heard always, and that if you were to let [Maxwell] free, it would be silencing them all over again - and that is not a culture that any of us want.'

Lanette Wilson, Giuffre's other sister-in-law, also argued that Maxwell was not 'a minor player' and instead helped organize Epstein's sex trafficking operations.

A senior administration official has since told the Daily Mail that 'no leniency is being given or discussed.

'The president himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time,' the official said, despite Trump previously saying he would be 'allowed to' pardon her.

Epstein's right-hand woman and former lover Ghislaine Maxwell (pictured) is serving 20 years behind bars for her involvement in Epstein's crimes

Giuffre's family called Maxwell a 'puppet master' and a 'monster of a nightmare' who 'viciously participated' in Epstein's sex trafficking scheme by recruiting young women

The president had once been good friends with Epstein and Maxwell, who were photographed partying at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, including with Trump's then-girlfriend Melania.

But he claimed on Tuesday that their friendship ended when he realized Epstein was taking his young employees like Giuffre - who was just 16 years old and working as a locker room attendant at the spa at his Florida estate at the time.

'Everyone knows the people that were taken,' Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. 'People were taken out of the spa hired by him.'

'I didn't know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said, "Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa. I don't want you taking people," the president continued.

'And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, "Out of here."'

Trump then officially banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in 2004.

Giuffre was just 16 years old when she was taken from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and sex trafficked. She is pictured here in an undated photo with Prince Andrew, whom she had accused of assaulting her

Donald Trump with then-girlfriend and future wife Melania Knauss, financier Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club in February 2000

Trump's remarks, though, led to renewed questions about how much he knew about Epstein's crimes.

'It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey "likes women on the younger side... no doubt about it,' Giuffre's family said in a statement on Wednesday.

'We and the public are asking for answers; survivors demand this.'

On Thursday, Giuffre's brother Sky also hit back on Trump's terminology.

'She wasn't stolen; she was preyed upon at his property - at President Trump's property,' he said as tears rolled down his face, adding that a 'predator... came and took her.'

Responding to the backlash on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that the president made his remarks in response 'to a question posed by a reporter about Ms. Giuffre - he did not bring her up.

'The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,' she added.
A shocking case of alleged animal cruelty has reignited calls for urgent reform to Australia's pet ownership laws.

NSW Animal Justice Party MLC Emma Hurst is demanding tighter regulations to stop companion animals from ending up in the wrong hands.

The push comes after Cooper Anthony Owen was charged with violently attacking a nine-week-old Staffy cross Bull Arab puppy and dumping its body in bushland.

Police allege the 21-year-old removed the puppy from a vehicle in a car park on Maitland Road, in Sandgate in Newcastle, on the afternoon of July 20.

Witnesses told police he slammed the puppy against the car multiple times before throwing it to the ground and continuing the assault.

He reportedly then returned the injured animal to the car and drove away. The puppy's body was later discovered on Porowei Way at Kooragang.

Owen was arrested at his home later that night where police seized several items including a car seat cover, clothing, and a mobile phone.

A veterinary examination is underway to determine the puppy's exact cause of death.

Cooper Anthony Owen (pictured) has been charged with violently attacking a puppy near Newcastle. The dog's body was later found on the side of the road

NSW Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst (pictured) is demanding tighter regulations to stop companion animals from ending up in the wrong hands

The allegations have sparked public outrage and led to renewed scrutiny of how easily animals can be obtained from breeders, pet shops and online platforms.

'This is a deeply heartbreaking case of animal cruelty,' Ms Hurst told Daily Mail.

'There is an ongoing issue that it is far too easy to obtain animals, whether through breeders, pet shops or even 'free to good home' ads online. We've heard too many horrific stories of what has happened to animals in these situations.'

Hurst has called for a licensing system to ensure only responsible individuals are allowed to own companion animals.

She argues this will prevent animals from being placed in environments where they are neglected, mistreated or abused.

'We absolutely want families to be able to experience the joy and companionship that comes with having an animal. But the sad truth is not all animals are ending up in safe and loving homes,' Hurst said.

'Most rescue organisations assess people and their homes before adopting out an animal. And that's for good reason.

'It ensures the animal is suited to the person and that the person is capable of providing the right care. Platforms that allow animals to be sold with no checks or due diligence must be addressed.'

The push comes after Cooper Anthony Owen was charged with violently attacking a nine-week-old Staffy cross Bull Arab puppy and dumping its body in bushland (stock image)

Cooper Owen's (pictured) lawyer has sought an application under the Mental Health Act

In NSW parliamentary inquiries, animal welfare groups have previously proposed a licensing system for companion animals.

Hurst argues that such a system could flag individuals with a history of harming animals or those deemed incapable of providing adequate care.

Owen, is yet to enter a plea with his lawyer requesting an adjournment to prepare an application under the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act.

If successful, the 21-year-old could avoid traditional criminal prosecution and instead enter a treatment or support plan.

Magistrate Ronald Maiden has made an interim order disqualifying Owen from owning or possessing any animals while the matter remains before the court.

He is on bail and will reappear in Raymond Terrace Local Court in September.
A dejected Kamala Harris has blamed a 'broken system' for her decision not to run for Governor of California - and appeared to shy away from running for President in 2028.

Harris was asked by Stephen Colbert - whose liberal talk show was recently canceled - if she was eyeing 'another office' after bowing out of contention to be governor.

'No. I don't want to go back in the system. I think it's broken,' she said in her first interview since losing to Donald Trump in the 2024 race.

Her comments appeared to shock Colbert, who pointed out 'in early polling, you beat every other candidate by double digits.

'Obviously people project onto you their hopes and dreams,' he added.

But Harris appeared downcast as she questioned the state of democracy in the United States, telling Colbert: 'I always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles.

'I think right now that they're not as strong as they need to be. I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people.

Harris appeared downcast as she questioned the state of democracy in the United States, telling Colbert: 'I always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles'

'I don't want it to be transactional where I'm asking for their vote.'

Speaking to Harris, Colbert said: 'As someone who is very qualified for the presidency, a senator, an attorney general, a vice president of the United States and then a very hopeful and dynamic presidential candidate for the 107 days that you had to run, to hear you say that it's broken, to hear you say that our systems aren't strong enough, is harrowing.

'There is almost no curse word bad enough,' Colbert said, before Harris interjected to remind him: 'It doesn't mean we give up.'

He said: 'That's what I'm hearing - like you don't wanna be part of the fight anymore.'

But Harris doubled down, insisting: 'Absolutely not. I'm always gonna be part of the fight.'

She noted she had spent her entire career 'in service of the people' and would continue to do so, but was ready to take a break from fighting from 'within the system.'

'I thought a lot about running for Governor of California. I love my state, I love my people,' she said.

Harris was asked by Stephen Colbert - whose liberal talk show was recently canceled - if she was eyeing 'another office' after bowing out of contention to be governor

Harris was promoting her upcoming memoir, '107 Days', chronicling her short presidential campaign run after then-President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her following an embarrassing debate with Trump.

Her decision to appear on Colbert's The Late Show comes weeks after CBS cancelled the long running talk show - to the delight of Trump.

Colbert's decade-long stint as the host of The Late Show will come to an end in May after CBS canceled the program following a $16million settlement with Trump.

Trump publicly celebrated the axing, sparking theories that he was involved in the decision. He clarified on Sunday that he was not 'solely responsible.'

'Everybody is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night. That is not true,' he argued.

'The reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million Dollars a year in losses  And it was only going to get WORSE!'

Colbert has made no secret of his dislike of Trump. On the show which followed the cancelation announcement, he said: 'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.'

She has kept a relatively low profile since her resounding loss to Trump in the November election, when he secured both the popular vote and the electoral college

Meanwhile, Harris has kept a relatively low profile since her resounding loss in the November election, when Trump secured the popular vote and the electoral college.

Many Democrats quietly suspected she would run for Governor in her home state, given current Governor Gavin Newsom will be term limited out this year.

But following months of speculation, she finally confirmed this week it would not be happening.

'In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their governor,' she wrote in a statement.

'I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home. But after deep reflection, I've decided that I will not run for governor in this election.

'For now, my leadership  and public service  will not be in elected office.

'I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.'
The devastated fiancee of a young man shot dead in a 'targeted' daylight shooting has broken her silence.

Athan Boursinos, 21, is suspected of being linked to the execution of underworld figure Sam 'The Punisher' Abdulrahim on January 28.

Boursinos was shot dead near a kindergarten in Melbourne's outer north on Thursday.

His fiancee, Sanaria Rofael, was pictured sobbing at the scene as detectives began their investigation, wearing a maroon tracksuit and holding a Fendi handbag.

'I miss you,' she posted on Instagram just hours after his death, alongside a carousel of images of the pair.

'I would do anything in this world to feel this with you again. I will never stop loving you, you showed me what love was. I love you so much. I will see you soon.

'You're the best person I have ever met with the best soul.

'I can't wait to see you and hold you again.'

Sanaria Rofael, Boursinos' fiancee, is pictured at the scene of his shooting on Thursday

The pair had been engaged for over a year before Boursinos' shock death on Thursday

Ms Rofael shared a heartbreaking message to her fiance in the hours after his death

She shared a video of the pair holding hands to the Lana Del Rey song Young And Beautiful and captioned it: 'This was our wedding song.'

Boursinos had his fiancee's name tattooed in large red letters down one arm and the words 'the souls I have taken will never haunt me... only the ones I haven't' in large letters on the side of his neck.

The pair had been engaged for over a year before Boursinos' sudden death.

Ms Rofael shared a series of photos of her engagement ring, bouquets of roses and Louis Vuitton handbags on a highlight reel titled 'I love you' on her Instagram.

'Nobody's promised tomorrow,' she wrote.

Detectives admitted Boursinos' murder appeared to be 'very deliberate and obviously targeted' and that he had been 'known' to police before his death.

The 21-year-old was due to appear in court on Thursday and is believed to have been on his way there when his assassins struck.

Daily Mail previously revealed Boursinos had been facing drug and weapon possession offences, theft of a vehicle and other driving offences.

The words 'the souls I have taken will never haunt me... only the ones I haven't' in large letters on the side of Boursinos' neck

The couple were commonly pictured during late-night gym sessions

Boursinos had his fiancee's name tattooed in large red letters down his left arm

Ms Rofael is pictured speaking to a detective at the scene in Melbourne's outer north

Boursinos' body was found lying beside a grey BMW with the driver door open and the engine apparently still running.

A neighbour said her brother heard eight shots ring out and ran to see the man's last breaths before he died.

'My brother did hear the shots and he went and saw him still moving until he lost his life,' the neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said.

'Straight away he went out [toward the deceased man], I think the neighbour next door also talked to him. We were able to see the body from our backyard, I have shown [footage] to the police.'

She added: '[The dead man] has been living around here. Sometimes there's issues where police get involved, cars sometimes come, young people always around.

'We don't know him personally - we just know him as neighbours.'

Homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said police believed there was a confrontation between two men in Game Lane just before 9am.

The gunman shot and killed the man in the laneway before fleeing in a vehicle. Neighbours say Boursinos lived just 20m from where he was gunned down.

Ms Rofael wrote her fiance was her 'biggest flex' before he was gunned down on Thursday

People are seen gathering at the scene of the daylight shooting on Thursday

'We also have reports of a vehicle being found burnt out in Amery Street in Reservoir,' Det Insp Thomas told reporters.

'We dont know if that is linked to this particular incident this morning. We will work now to piece together what has gone on to identify those responsible.'

Underworld sources have suggested the dead man was the getaway driver in the hit on Abdulrahim in January.

Abdulrahim was gunned down by a team of assassins in January in an underground car park at Preston's Quest Hotel in Melbourne's north.

The champion kickboxer had been a key player in Melbourne's ongoing 'tobacco wars', which has seen shops around the state torched in a deadly turf war.

Independent journalist Ryan Naumenko's website Outlaw Media - which charts Melbourne's underworld crime news - labelled Thursday's murder a gangland hit.

'If the information I have is right... this will be bigger than World War 3,' he wrote.
Youth Off The Streets founder Father Chris Riley has died, aged 70.

He passed away at home on Thursday night following a long period of ill health, according to the charity.

Father Riley spent much of his life working with disadvantaged youth in various roles, including teacher, youth worker, probation officer, residential carer, and principal.

He was famous for saying there was no such thing as a 'child born bad,' but acknowledged that there are bad environments, circumstances, and families that negatively impact youth.

'We must have the courage to demand greatness from our youth,' he said.

Youth Off The Streets was established in 1991 with a single food van in Kings Cross.

The charity expanded into a lifesaving network of crisis accommodation, counselling, and support services, now run by 180 staff and 250 volunteers.

Father Riley implemented innovative behaviour modification strategies to help troubled youth deal with trauma, abuse, and neglect, many of which were adopted by schools and government agencies across Australia.

Youth Off The Streets founder Chris Riley died on Thursday night, aged 70

The Youth Off The Streets founder (pictured with then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2013) spent much of his life working with disadvantaged youth and transforming their lives

'He was a tireless advocate for homeless and disadvantaged youth, and he inspired and changed thousands of young lives,' charity chairwoman Anne Fitzgerald said.

'Father Riley will be remembered for his compassion, tenacity and unwavering belief that every young person deserves the chance to reach their full potential.'

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led the outpouring of tributes.

'Father Chris Riley had a heart as big as the country he served,' he said.

'He gave hope to young people doing it tough and never gave up on anyone. He was a good friend and his legacy will live on in the lives he changed.'

NSW Premier Chris Minns hailed the visionary work that changed the lives of tens of thousands of young people.

'Father Riley believed there is no child born bad, only circumstances to overcome, and he spent over three decades proving that with compassion and opportunity young lives can be transformed,' he said.

'On behalf of the people of NSW, I extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, the Youth Off The Streets community, and the countless young people whose futures he helped build.'

Father Chris Riley (pictured with actor Eric Bana) famously declared that there was no such thing as a 'child born bad'

Commentator Prue MacSween added: 'A father and saviour to so many lost souls who he believed in, guided and nurtured. This man is a true hero and legend to so many. He deserves a front row seat in heaven.'

Born in Echuca, Victoria, Father Riley grew up on a dairy farm and was inspired by the movie *Boys Town* to become a teacher.

He later became the principal of the charity Boys Town and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1982 before moving to Sydney.

He spent almost three decades at the helm of Youth Off The Streets but stepped down as chief executive in 2022 due to illness, three years after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

He received multiple accolades for his achievements, including the Order of Australia, the Human Rights Medal, and was a NSW Australian of the Year nominee in 2012.
A 17-year-old hiker suffered serious burns to his foot and ankle after breaking through the fragile surface of a geyser area while hiking near Lone Star Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, officials said.

The teen, whose identity has not been released, was 'off-trail' exploring a thermal area southeast of Old Faithful when his foot broke through the thin surface crust, plunging into scalding water below.

He sustained 'significant thermal burns' to his lower extremity, according to the National Park Service.

Emergency medical staff treated him on site before transporting him to a hospital for further care, a Facebook post by Yellowstone National Park reads.

The incident is under investigation, and no further details have been made public.

The Monday incident marks the first reported thermal injury at Yellowstone in 2025.

The last occurred in September 2024, when a 60-year-old woman suffered second- and third-degree burns after stepping off a trail near the Mallard Lake trailhead and breaking through the crust.

A 17-year-old hiker suffered serious burns to his foot and ankle after breaking through the fragile surface of a geyser area while hiking near Lone Star Geyser (pictured) in Yellowstone National Park, officials said

Though a marked trail leads to the piping hot geyser, thermal areas like it are deceptively dangerous - beneath what appears to be solid ground often lies boiling or acidic water, weakened soil, and volatile geothermal conditions

The Lone Star Geyser area, located about five miles from Old Faithful, features a 12-foot cone geyser that shoots steam up to 45 feet into the air, according to Live Science.

Though a marked trail leads to the piping hot geyser, thermal areas like it are deceptively dangerous. Beneath what appears to be solid ground often lies boiling or acidic water, weakened soil, and volatile geothermal conditions.

'Boardwalks and trails protect visitors and delicate thermal formations,' Yellowstone officials wrote following the incident.

'Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs.'

More than 20 people have died in Yellowstone's history after entering or falling into hot springs, and dozens more have suffered serious injuries.

The Lone Star Geyser area, located about five miles from Old Faithful, features a 12-foot cone geyser that shoots steam up to 45 feet into the air

Park officials continue to emphasize the importance of staying on marked trails and boardwalks, keeping children close, and never touching or entering hydrothermal features. Pictured: Visitors record the Fountain Geyser in the Yellowstone Lower Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming on July 6

In 2016, a man died after stepping off a boardwalk and falling into a spring while attempting to check its temperature. Earlier this year, park visitors watched in horror as a bison fell into a hot spring and died near the Grand Prismatic Spring, according to Live Science.

The danger of the piping hot springs comes not just from the heat - often exceeding 200F - but also from the chemistry. According to the American Chemical Society, underground water in Yellowstone often carries dissolved volcanic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, which can be transformed by microbes into substances like sulfuric acid, making the water both boiling hot and highly corrosive.

'It's crucial to heed warnings and stay on trails at Yellowstone, because you can't tell which pools are deadly hot just by looking at them,' the ACS warns.

This year's incident comes amid increased concern about visitor behavior in thermal areas.

Underground water in Yellowstone often carries dissolved volcanic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide, which can be transformed by microbes into substances like sulfuric acid, making the water both boiling hot and highly corrosive. Pictured: Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

More than 20 people have died in Yellowstone's history after entering or falling into hot springs, and dozens more have suffered serious injuries. Pictured: Tourists watching the Old Faithful erupting in Yellowstone National Park

Park officials continue to emphasize the importance of staying on marked trails and boardwalks, keeping children close, and never touching or entering hydrothermal features.

Even when geysers and pools look calm or walkable, Mike Poland of the U.S. Geological Survey reminded visitors that appearances can be deceiving.

'The delicate crust can easily give way and send you into scalding waters just below the surface,' he told USA TODAY.

Park officials say the teen's injuries are a sobering reminder of the extreme dangers in Yellowstone's thermal areas and the critical importance of following all safety regulations.
Former President Joe Biden railed against his successor in a fiery speech, in which he accused Trump of trying to 'dismantle the Constitution.'

The ex president had been invited to speak at the National Bar Association's 100th annual gala at the Hyatt in Chicago on Thursday, when he was awarded the historically black organization's highest award.

He never mentioned President Trump by name, but made obvious swipes at his successor as he warned that the United States is facing 'dark days' and claimed that the Trump administration is engaged in 'an existential fight with minority communities' amid ongoing ICE raids.

'He seems to be doing his best to dismantle the constitution,' Biden told the room of black judges, lawyers and law students - arguing that Trump is 'doing it all too often with the help of a Congress thats just sitting in the sidelines and enabled by the highest court in the nation.'

Biden then went on to claim that the United States is at a turning point, as he argued the Trump administration is trying to 'ease all the gains we've made in my administration.

'To erase history, rather than make it. To erase fairness, equality, to erase justice itself,' he said. 'And that's not hyperbole. That's a fact.'

'Folks, in all our lives, the life of our nation, there are moments so stark that they divide all that came before from everything that followed - moments that forced us to confront hard truths about ourselves, our institutions and democracy itself,' he continued.

Former President Joe Biden railed against his successor in a fiery speech, in which he accused Trump of trying to 'dismantle the Constitution'

He claimed that the Trump administration is engaged in 'an existential fight with minority communities' and is is trying to 'ease all the gains we've made in my administration'

'We are in my view, at such a moment in American history, reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of longstanding established precedent.'

The former president then seemed to call on those in the room to stand against the Trump administration as he emphasized the importance of the court system.

'Judges matter, courts matter, the law matters and the Constitution matters,' Biden proclaimed.

'I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize that under the pressure [we're] under now with this guy we have as president.'

He also called out 'law firms bowing to pressure, bending to bullies, instead of staying rooted in justice and the law' as big name firms agree to settlements with the president..

'Folks, we can't sugarcoat this. These are dark days, but you're all here for the same reason I left that prestigious law firm to go to the public defender's office years ago. It's because our future is literally on the line and we must be unapologetic of fighting for the future.'

Wrapping up his speech, Biden encouraged the audience to 'summon the courage' to stand up for what is right.

'It means take the client who can't write a big check, but needs protecting their basic fundamental rights. It means signing onto that brief that may draw the ire of people in power, but you know it's the right thing to do,' he said.

'It means standing firm against unconstitutional actions designed to intimidate you. It means write the article, give the speech, lead the protest, defend the ideas your country is founded on, to protect your institutions, to fight for the soul of the nation.'

The former president never mentioned his successor by name in his speech to the National Bar Association on Thursday night

The National Bar Association - which was formed when the American Bar Association barred black attorneys from joining its ranks - said Biden's appearance 'underscores his ongoing efforts to strengthen the rule of law, defend voting rights and support historically marginalized communities.'

Daily Mail has reached out to the Trump administration for comment.
The man accused of carrying out an horrific double murder on a couple while they were hiking with their daughters in rural Arkansas was busted at a hair salon while getting a trim.

Andrew James McGann, 28, allegedly murdered Clinton and Cristen Brink, 43 and 41, at Devil's Den State Park on Saturday.

Now, extraordinary CCTV has emerged showing the moment he was arrested four days later at a beauty salon in the middle of his haircut.

McGann was seen on camera arriving in his black car and walking wordlessly into the salon.

Hairdresser Adriana Ruiz Avalos, who cut his hair, told NewsNation he 'looked soulless' when he came to the salon.

'He didn't look right. As I was examining him, his hair, his scalp looked very dry and matted.

'I had an eerie feeling about him.'

Extraordinary CCTV has emerged showing the moment he was arrested four days later at a beauty salon where he had just received a hair cut

Cristen Brink (left), 41, and Clinton Brink (right), 43, were found dead at around 2.40pm on Saturday on a 'remote and rural' trail at Devil's Den State Park

McGann repeatedly insisted he didn't want his hair shortened at the front, noting he wanted it to continue to cover his eyes.

The pair went back and forth over a specific style before ultimately agreeing on one he would like.

Avalos said her aunt, who also works at the salon, at one stage asked McGann to register his name, but that instead of doing so, he stared wordlessly ahead.

The shocking video cuts to the moment McGann is then confronted by plain clothes officers, who place him in handcuffs.

Once his wrists are both secure, they take off the cape that was placed around his neck at the time of the cut.

McGann made little to no effort to conceal himself or flee the area, authorities said after his arrest.

He was charged with two counts of capital murder and is being held without bail in the Washington County jail.

A chilling new mugshot was released of James Andrew McGann (pictured), the 28-year-old elementary school teacher accused of brutally executing a husband and wife

McGann repeatedly insisted he didn't want his hair shortened at the front, noting he wanted it to continue to cover his eyes.

Police believe Clinton and Cristen were murdered in a random, senseless attack.

The couple's daughters, aged seven and nine, gave police a description of the man who attacked their parents with a knife, officials said on Thursday.

'The initial information that came from the kids gave us our first starting point, which was a description of a suspect,' said Arkansas State Police Major Stacey Rhodes.

Police said McGann, who was recently hired as a teacher in the Springdale Public Schools district, attacked Clinton first, giving Cristen time to get their daughters away from the scene.

'The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids, we believe the mother took them to safety then returned to help her husband,' said Col. Mike Hagar.

The little girls eventually flagged someone in the park down and led them and police to their parents' bodies.

A witness at the scene also reportedly shared images of the suspect's car - a Kia Stinger - with authorities.

The couple's two daughters - ages seven and nine - were hiking with them at the time, but came away uninjured. Pictured: The scene of the crime

A composite sketch released by Arkansas State Police prior to Gunn's arrest

DNA recovered at the crime scene matched McGann, officials added.

The arrest marked the end of a frantic manhunt; police said they received as many as 500 tips as they searched for the suspect.

State Police Maj. Stacie Rhoads said the public's help and video footage they received was instrumental in capturing McGann. Tips came in from as far away as Washington state, she said.

Arkansas prosecutor Brandon Carter said he will seek the death penalty against McGann.

Col. Mike Hagar said that authorities are trying to determine a motive for the attack and have no reason to believe McGann knew the couple or their children.

He also said they will look into whether McGann committed other crimes across the country.

The Brinks had recently moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas. Their water was connected less than two weeks ago, Mayor David Faulk said.

Clinton Brink had been scheduled to start working as a milk delivery driver on Monday in the Fayetteville area, according to Hiland Dairy, his employer. Cristen Brink had been licensed as a nurse in Montana and South Dakota before moving to Arkansas.

They had another daughter was not on the hike with them. The three sisters are now in the care of family.

The Brink family said the couple died as 'heroes protecting their little girls.'

McGann is scheduled to appear in court on August 1.

Investigators revealed that McGann had no connection to the couple he's accused of brutally stabbing to death. They previously released this image of a person of interest in the case

The Brinks had recently moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas

McGann has active teaching licenses in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, according to each respective government certification website.

He was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 while he was employed at Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, 'following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism,' according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District.

McGann resigned from the Lewisville posting in May 2023, the district said in a statement.
READ MORE: Bali tourism hotspot is set to be bulldozed as part of crackdown

A Queensland man is in a critical condition in a Bali hospital after a scooter accident left him with multiple fractures and internal injuries.

Bundaberg local Keanu Neilson was under sedation in an ICU ward in the holiday hotspot with doctors battling to save his life.

The father-of-one suffered a broken nose and pelvis, fractured cheekbone and temple, a snapped upper arm, and internal bleeding on the brain in the crash.

He underwent emergency surgery on Thursday, but remains in a serious condition, with fears he may not survive without urgent, ongoing care.

Mr Neilson's family and friends have launched a desperate plea for help to fund the life-saving treatment he needs. In Indonesia, all medical care must be paid up front as there is no public healthcare system.

Mitch Lamb has started a GoFundMe to help cover the rising hospital bills that could otherwise stand in the way of his friend's recovery.

'Waiting back home is his beautiful three-year-old daughter, Ellie, who keeps asking when her daddy is coming home. We're doing everything we can to make sure the answer to that question is: soon,' Mr Lamb wrote.

Keanu Neilson (pictured) is in hospital in Bali, after a serious motorcycle accident

His friends and family have a organised a GoFundMe to raise money to pay medical bills

The father-of-one suffered a broken nose and pelvis, fractured cheekbone and temple, a snapped upper arm (pictured) and internal bleeding on the brain in the crash

The crash has turned life upside down for Mr Neilson's family.

His partner, brother and sister-in-law have remained by his side at every moment.

Describing the dad as one of the 'kindest, most vibrant souls' he's ever known, Mr Lamb said seeing him unconscious and broken was nothing short of heartbreaking.

'But we believe in miracles, and we believe in the power of community,' he wrote.

'Let's rally around Keanu. So Ellie can hug her daddy again, and their little family can begin the long journey of healing, together.'

'Whether it's $5 or $500, every single dollar gets us closer to saving his life.

'And if you can't donate right now, please share the page far and wide. The more people who see it, the faster we can act.'

The fundraiser, launched earlier this week, has already started gaining traction, with supporters expressing their hope for a full recovery.
A 13-year-old Missouri boy missing for more than four days has been found alive in a ravine near his home, but he remains in critical condition after suffering serious injuries, officials confirmed.

Dakota 'Cody' Trenkle Jr. was reported missing on Sunday morning after he left home on his skateboard, headed to a friend's house near the 6400 block of Eagle Lane in the Goose Creek Lake community of St. Francois County.

When Cody failed to arrive, his family frantically turned to social media in hopes of finding clues about their loved one's mysterious disappearance. With no leads, they contacted local law enforcement, who quickly began circulating flyers for the missing teen.

A large-scale search effort ensued, including members of the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and community volunteers.

After days of searching with no success, officials requested assistance from the Farmington Correctional Center K-9 Unit.

On Wednesday, with the help of a trained bloodhound named Daryl, search teams tracked Cody's scent through dense, rugged terrain.

Dakota 'Cody' Trenkle Jr. (pictured), 13, was reported missing on Sunday morning after he left home on his skateboard, headed to a friend's house near the 6400 block of Eagle Lane in the Goose Creek Lake community of St. Francois County

A large-scale search effort ensued, including members of the St. Francois County Sheriff's Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and community volunteers. Pictured: Goose Creek Lake area where Dakota Trenkle went missing

He was located alive around noon that day - 540 yards from where his skateboard had been found earlier and about half a mile from his home.

He was discovered lying in approximately one foot of water at the bottom of a steep ravine, which featured a 240-foot elevation drop, according to FirstAlert4.

Officials said Cody suffered a traumatic leg injury, a brain bleed, severe dehydration, and other symptoms of extreme exposure.

He had been without food or clean water for nearly 96 hours.

After his discovery, Cody was airlifted by ARCH helicopter to a hospital in St. Louis, where he remained in critical condition as of Thursday evening.

'This was an incredibly difficult search, both physically and emotionally,' St. Francois County Sheriff Jeff Crites told KSDK5.

'Finding Dakota alive after so many days is nothing short of a miracle. We are thankful to everyone who contributed their time and energy to bring him home.'

However, when Cody failed to arrive, his family frantically turned to social media in hopes of finding clues about their loved one's mysterious disappearance. Pictured: Dakota 'Cody' Trenkle

After days of searching with no success, officials requested assistance from the Farmington Correctional Center K-9 Unit (pictured) who, with the help of a trained bloodhound named Daryl, tracked Cody's scent through dense, rugged terrain

He was discovered lying in approximately one foot of water at the bottom of a steep ravine, which featured a 240-foot elevation drop

Cody's aunt, Brittney Van Volkenburg - a volunteer firefighter with the Goose Creek Lake Fire Department - helped coordinate the search effort.

'I posted the flyer in our department group chat and said, "This is my nephew. We need to get a search team together," she said, adding that 'everyone was immediately on board.'

After Cody's skateboard was located on Wednesday, Van Volkenburg contacted the correctional facility where she works to expedite the K-9 response. Within minutes, bloodhound Daryl and his handlers began tracking.

Lieutenant Virginia Stafford, one of the K-9 handlers, told KSDK5 that Daryl quickly picked up Cody's scent and led them through overgrown terrain.

'[Daryl] did lead us down to him,' Stafford said.

She recalled that when they reached Cody, 'he was looking at us whenever we got up to him,' though he was too dehydrated to speak.

Despite his battered condition, Van Volkenburg believes her nephew was 'excited to see us for sure.'

Authorities believe that overnight rain may have helped cool Cody's body and prevent further complications.

Cody's aunt, Brittney Van Volkenburg (pictured) - a volunteer firefighter with the Goose Creek Lake Fire Department - helped coordinate the search effort

Miraculously, and despite his injuries, doctors found no broken bones - and according to his family, he is currently being kept in a medically induced coma to help stabilize brain activity.

'He was born a preemie. He's been a fighter since the day he was born,' Van Volkenburg said. 'We're hoping he pulls through. It's still rocky, but we're praying.'

The St. Francois County Sheriff's Department said the incident appears to be accidental, with no evidence of foul play, however, the investigation remains ongoing.

Emergency crews involved in the rescue effort - including the Goose Creek Fire Department, Farmington Correctional Center K-9 Unit, St. Francois County Ambulance District, and ARCH Medical - were praised for their collaboration.

'This response showcases the power of community collaboration and multi-agency coordination,' the sheriff's office said. 'We are incredibly grateful to every individual who played a role in bringing Dakota home.'

Cody's family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his medical expenses.
Donald Trump has resisted pressure to increase tariffs on Australian goods in a 'vindication' of the federal government's diplomatic efforts, the trade minister says.

While many new tariffs unveiled by the US president increase levies on products from America's trading partners, most Australian exports have been spared but will continue to incur a 10 per cent baseline tariff.

Some in America had pushed Mr Trump to lift tariffs on Australian goods, but Trade Minister Don Farrell said the president resisted the calls.

'There had been some pressure in the American system for an increase, but President Trump had decided to maintain that 10 per cent,' he told reporters in Adelaide on Friday.

'This is a vindication for the Albanese government and particularly the prime minister, in the cool and calm way that we have conducted diplomacy with the United States.

'This decision by the United States government is a very positive one for our relationship.'

There had been speculation that Australian goods would be hit with a higher levy, given Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has so far failed to secure a face-to-face meeting with the president and after Mr Trump on Tuesday said he was planning a new tariff 'for the world' in the 15-20 per cent range.

Trade Minister Don Farrell described the prime minister's diplomacy with the United States as 'cool and calm'

Australia will keep pushing for a full exemption from the US tariffs, with Senator Farrell inviting US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to continue discussions.

But it's unclear if the government will be successful.

No US trading partner has managed to totally dodge the tariffs, and the 10 per cent rate is the lowest most can hope for.

'I'm hopeful that this is the end of the matter now, and that the American government maintains that 10 per cent, and that our producers, our winemakers, can get back to a normal relationship with the United States where we don't have to worry about changes in tariff rates,' Senator Farrell said.

The Trump administration has released details of country-specific tariff rates for dozens of nations, hours before the passing of its self-imposed August 1 deadline.

New Zealand goods will be subject to a greater 15 per cent tariff, as will exports from Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

More punitive rates have been imposed on products from several major US trading partners including Canada and India, with the new tariffs due to come into effect on August 7.

In a statement, the White House said tariffs were increased on countries that failed to engage in negotiations with the US or take adequate steps to 'align sufficiently on economic and national security matters'.

The White House kept tariffs on Australia at 10 per cent - while hiking them on New Zealand and Canada

The Albanese government recently wound back biosecurity restrictions on US beef imports, although ministers insist the move was a coincidence and not in response to the tariffs.

The US has complained to Australia about non-tariff trade barriers including longstanding restrictions on beef following a prior outbreak of mad cow disease, and the federal government's decision to lift restrictions on US beef imports was hailed as a victory by Mr Trump.

The US president has struck trade agreements with major partners such as Japan and the European Union after threatening them with punitive tariffs.

Australia has yet to sign a formal trade deal with the US following the introduction of the tariffs.
An 'armed and dangerous' felon was on the run in Tennessee after police said he killed four people and left their baby girl on a random front lawn.

Austin Robert Drummond, 28, was being sought by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in connection with the quadruple homicide of Adrianna Williams, 20; Matthew Wilson, 21; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15.

Drummond had dated a relative of Williams, according to the District Attorney of Dyer and Lake County Danny Goodman.

Goodman reassured locals there was no further threat to the public while explaining that the victims were not 'randomly chosen,' WMC reports.

However, Drummond remains on the loose and police warn he should be considered armed and dangerous.

He is now wanted on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and unlawful firearm possession, and the US Marshals Service is even offering up to $7,500 for any information leading to his arrest.

The suspect was last seen driving his white Audi A3 sedan with visible damage to the drivers' side and the Tennessee license plate RI 01896.

Drummond is also described as being around five-foot-10-inches, about 190 pounds with blue eyes, brown hair and a goatee - though authorities note he may have altered his appearance in recent days.

Police in Tennessee are searching for Austin Robert Drummond, 28, in connection with a quadruple homicide on Tuesdy

Adrianna Williams, 20 and Matthew Wilson, 21, were found dead in a dense, wooded area

Cortney Rose, 38, Braydon Williams, 15, were also both found dead

Police say they were first alerted about the quadruple homicide on Tuesday when a good Samaritan in a quiet, rural town in northwest Tennessee spotted an infant in a car set alone on the front lawn.

The resident reported that a dark-colored minivan or white SUV had pulled into the yard, dropped off the child and sped away.

As law enforcement then tried to locate the infant's family, a second, far more chilling discovery was made only hours later in nearby Lake County.

Chilling dispatch audio reveals that police received a call at around 10.26pm reporting Rose and her daughter missing.

The caller could be heard saying they were actively searching the family's home with a flashlight.

Eventually, investigators found the four bodies in a dense, wooded area.

On Wednesday, the foursome were all confirmed to be the immediate family of the abandoned child.

Adrianna and Matthew were the baby's parents, and Cortney was the maternal grandmother. Braydon was also Adrianna's younger brother.

Authorities now believe that Drummond left the infant on the lawn just minutes before carrying out a coordinated killing of the family in a neighboring county.

The victims were all family members of an infant who was abandoned on a random front lawn

Drummond had a previous criminal conviction for aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 13 years behind bars

He was last seen driving his white Audi A3 sedan with visible damage to the drivers' side and the Tennessee license plate RI 01896

The cause of the family's deaths remains unclear as is the condition in which they were found, but sources close to the investigation have described it as a 'gruesome, execution-style' killing.

Drummond had a previous criminal conviction for aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 13 years behind bars, WREG reports. He was finally released in September.

The suspect is now also facing additional charges stemming from his time in prison, including attempted first degree murder and drug charges.

'He's not a stranger to violent offenses, so he is a dangerous individual and people just need to take precautions,' District Attorney Goodman said of Drummond, who is now on the state's 'most wanted' list.
A British tourist has drowned in Turkey, according to local reports.

The 47-year-old man was on a boat tour in Marmaris, on the Mediterranean coast, when the tragic incident occurred.

He is said to have entered the sea and was later found motionless.

The man was discovered by sailors nearby who pulled him from the water and took him to shore.

The Coast Guard team was on hand to offer assistance. However, despite medics' best attempts, he was pronounced dead.

His body was then taken to the Mugla Forensic Medicine Institute to determine his cause of death.

According to local media, authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances of his death.
Davidson's lawyer says the statement was not sinister

A former Australian Army major accused of murdering his wife during a kayaking trip allegedly joked he would 'kill her and move to Thailand' if she ever left him.

Graeme Davidson, 56, was charged earlier this year over the 2020 death of his wife, Jacqueline Davidson, after returning to Australia from Thailand.

The 54-year-old drowned while the pair were kayaking on Lake Samsonvale, near Forgan Cove in Queensland's Moreton Bay region.

Her death was initially ruled an accident but it was later deemed suspicious. Davidson began a relationship with his second wife, Thai woman Pick Pattraporn, after he moved to the Thai beachside town of Hua Hin in April 2021.

Appearing in the Brisbane Supreme Court for a bail hearing, Davidson's barrister Craig Eberhardt KC argued the prosecution's case was 'fundamentally weak' and relied almost entirely on a comment made during a conversation in 2017.

According to Mr Eberhardt, the remark was made while Davidson and a friend were discussing another man whose wife had left him on the day of his retirement, taken half of his pension, and then moved to Thailand.

In response, Davidson allegedly said, 'Oh s*** yeah, I'd kill her and move to Thailand too.' Mr Eberhardt dismissed the comment as nothing more than 'a quip' and insisted it was 'not nearly as sinister as it sounds' with the context.

Justice Tom Sullivan noted the prosecution's case did not include 'direct evidence of murder,' and Mr Eberhardt said there was no evidence Jacqueline had been 'violently assaulted' by Davidson.

Graeme Davidson (right) allegedly joked about killing his wife Jacqueline (left)

Mr Davidson began a relationship with his second wife, Thai woman Pick Pattraporn, after he moved to the Thai beachside town of Hua Hin, 200km south of Bangkok, in April 2021

The court heard her body showed only minor bruising, which Davidson's defence argued was consistent with his efforts to rescue her and perform CPR.

Mr Eberhardt said the couple had been about 10metres apart on the water when Davidson attempted to 'show off' by standing up on his kayak.

'Jacqueline became distressed about that and used the 'safe word' designed to let him know that she was concerned about what he was doing,' he told the court.

Davidson claimed he then saw his wife fall into the water and dived in to rescue her. But he struggled to locate her in the 'murky' and weed-filled lake.

He eventually dragged her to shore where he performed CPR and called for help.

Neither were wearing life jackets, with Davidson allegedly telling police the vests had been destroyed by rats while the couple were still living in Bondi, in Sydney's east.

Mr Eberhardt said a witness had confirmed hearing this explanation prior to Jacqueline's death.

Davidson also faces charges of fraud and attempted fraud after allegedly trying to claim more than $1million from his wife's life insurance.

Davidson (pictured) also faces charges of fraud and attempted fraud after allegedly trying to claim more than $1million from his wife's life insurance

Jacqueline's (left) death had previously been ruled as an accident during a kayaking trip

While the defence claims Jacqueline had no intention of leaving the marriage, the court heard she had discussed separation with friends following an affair Davidson had while posted in Papua New Guinea

However, she had also expressed a desire to stay and repair the relationship.

Davidson remains in custody as the matter continues.
The mother of a boy killed by a ninja sword has revealed his attacker had 25 blades which he got 'as easily as buying a loaf of bread' - as a new ban comes into force.

Ronan Kanda was brutally murdered yards away from his Wolverhamption home in 2022 when two 17-year-old boys mistook him for someone else.

A ban on the weapon - the ninja sword - has now come into effect today following a campaign by Ronan's family.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain this morning, his mother Pooja said: 'The murderer had 25 of these weapons - it wasn't just one, two or three.

'When I saw the ninja sword for the first time in the courtroom I fainted because I didn't know at that point how the large the weapon was.

'It was horrifying knowing Ronan had to bear that in his last moment.'

Ronan's sister Nikita added: 'The murderer literally brought it as easily as buying a loaf of bread. He literally brought it and collected it without ID.'

It is now illegal to have, sell, make or import ninja swords under new legislation that has been called Ronan's Law.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain this morning, Ronan's mother Pooja said: 'The murderer had 25 of these weapons - it wasn't just one, two or three'

Ronan's sister Nikita added: 'The murderer literally brought it as easily as buying a loaf of bread. He literally brought it and collected it without ID'

Ronan Kanda, pictured, was a victim of mistaken identity. As of today, ninja swords will be banned in the UK

As of today, sentences for selling weapons to under 18s will be increased from six months to up to two years and can be applied across the board from the individual selling the knife to the boss of the company.

Anyone caught with a ninja sword in private could face six months in prison, set to increase to two years under plans in the Crime and Policing Bill.

Under Ronan's Law, the Home Office also announced a raft of measures including making retailers report bulk or suspicious sales to police, and increasing the jail sentence for selling weapons to children, or illegal blades such as zombie knives, to two years.

In September a ban on 'zombie-style' knives and machetes came into place - but the knife which was used to kill Ronan was not in the list, which his mother labelled as 'bizarre'.

Ronan was fatally stabbed by Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, both 17, as he walked back home from a friend's house where he had gone to buy a PlayStation controller in Wolverhampton.

In what judge Mr Justice Choudhury called a 'tragic coincidence', Veadhesa and Shergill had seen Ronan leaving the house where their intended victim lived and assumed he was the boy they were looking for.

In 2023, the two were jailed for life, with Mr Justice Choudhury branding it a 'cowardly attack' while jailing Veadhesa for a minimum of 18 years and Shergill for a minimum of 16 years.

Prabjeet Veadhesa and Sukhman Shergill, both 17, were involved in a brutal attack on Ronan Kanda from behind as he walked to a friend's house to buy a PlayStation controller in Wolverhampton

A judge lifted reporting restrictions which prevented the media from naming the killers, Prabjeet Veadhesa, left, and Sukhman Shergill, right

The judge, Mr Justice Choudhary said it was 'disturbing' that the killers were able to buy the murder weapons with 'such ease' from the internet

Pooja Kanda concluded: 'It's a very bittersweet moment - a moment no mother wants to have but I am here and I believe that it shouldn't have happened to Ronan. Ronan should have come home to me.

'He was on his way back from his friend's house when the murderer took him for someone else. It was cruel.'

Nikita Kanda added: 'The past three years have been the worst few years of my life.

'The size of that sword - it's so obvious a ninja sword should not be available to buy.

'The murderer literally bought the weapon and collected it from the post office without ID.'
An academic has been arrested after images of child abuse were flashed on a screen during a university lecture.

Victorian Police allege the 70-year-old lecturer 'inadvertently displayed' the images to his entire class at a university in Melbourne's CBD on February 5.

The man was arrested and charged after detectives raided his home in Middle Park, in inner-south Melbourne, a week after the incident.

He has been charged with one count of possessing child abuse material as a Commonwealth offence and two counts of possessing child abuse material.

During the raid, detectives from the sexual offence and child abuse investigation team seized a number of his electronic devices.

Detectives also travelled to Sydney and, along with NSW Police, searched another property in the city's eastern suburbs on February 13.

More devices were seized at the second property and police said they are not searching for anyone else in relation to the investigation.

The 70-year-old Melbourne man is set to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on August 7.
One of Donald Trump's most senior allies has suggested Sir Keir Starmer's 'clumsy' pledge to recognise a Palestinian state has reduced the chances of a ceasefire.

Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, warned that Hamas could refuse to allow a peace deal with Israel in the wake of the Prime Minister's announcement.

Sir Keir this week sparked a furious backlash by saying Britain could recognise Palestinian statehood in September, ahead of the UN General Assembly.

The UK will only refrain from doing so if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire, and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months.

Hamas must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and 'accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza', Sir Keir also said - although ministers have insisted they 'won't negotiate' with the terror group.

The PM's foreign policy shift came as both France and Canada also announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state within weeks.

Sir Keir had been under intense pressure from within his party to move towards recognising Palestine.

Yet it has been revealed how pro-Palestinian groups are planning to further besiege Labour MPs, councillors and staff in a bid to force the party into an even tougher stance against Israel.

The Palestinian Youth Movement has sent an eight-page booklet of instructions to 'solidarity groups' across the UK to take part in a national day of action against Labour for its 'partnership in Israel's genocide on Gaza', according to The Times.

The document, titled 'Siege on Labour', reportedly sets out tactics for how supporters should target the offices of their local MPs, regional Labour headquarters and Labour councillors.

It is said to call on supporters to use an 'opportune moment', following Sir Keir's action on Palestinian statehood, to 'exacerbate the political crisis in the party'.

Marco Rubio , the US Secretary of State, warned that Hamas could refuse to allow a peace deal with Israel in the wake of the Prime Minister's announcement

Sir Keir Starmer this week sparked a furious backlash by saying Britain could recognise Palestinian statehood in September, ahead of the UN General Assembly

Seham Taafish is pictured with her 20-day-old baby in the Tel al-Hawa area of Gaza City. She is facing serious difficulties due to a lack of basic food supplies and baby formula

In an interview with Fox News, Mr Rubio branded Sir Keir's announcement on recognising Palestine as 'irrelevant'.

'It doesn't mean anything. First of all, none of these countries have the ability to create a Palestinian state,' he said. 'There can be no Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to it.

'Number two, they can't even tell you where this Palestinian state is. They can't tell you who will govern it. And I think number three, it's counterproductive.'

Mr Rubio also warned that recognising a Palestinian state represented a 'reward' for Hamas, who carried out brutal attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.

'At the end of the day, the Hamas side is the Palestinian statehood side. So you are creating this reward,' he added.

'The problem with the UK statement. The UK is like, 'well, if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognise a Palestinian state'.

'So if I'm Hamas, I say, 'you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire'.

'If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognised by all these countries in September.

'So they're not going to agree to a ceasefire. I mean, it's so clumsy.'

Mr Rubio claimed that 'domestic politics' had pressured the UK, France and Canada into moving towards recognition of Palestine.

'They're actually hurting the cause, they're not helping,' he continued.

'Because their statement isn't going to change anything other than it encourages and rewards Hamas, who now have every reason in the world not to agree to ceasefire and not to release these hostages.'

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday that the US President had 'expressed his displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the UK and Canada'.

She added that Mr Trump 'feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages'.

Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson this morning insisted that 'neither side has a veto on' on what Sir Keir will decide to do in the coming weeks.

Asked if the UK will still recognise a Palestinian state if Hamas hasn't released all the hostages it holds by September, the Labour MP told Times Radio: 'I think neither side has a veto on what the British Government chooses to do in September.

'And that will be an assessment that will be taking place in September. I mean, the PM has set out what he expects from Israel.

'Obviously, that's a democratically-elected government, very different to Hamas, which is a terrorist organisation.

'But he's been very clear about the need for a ceasefire, for the humanitarian aid to get into Gaza now, and also for Israel to set out clearly that they will not be annexing the West Bank, and also that they are committed to a future peace process.

'And this is what the PM setting out our objective around a Palestinian state is about, it's about recognising that these horrific circumstances that Israel and Gaza and the Palestinian Authority are in at the moment, we need to deal with this.

'We need to actually have the ceasefire, and then move on to trying to re-establish that peace process and the establishment of what my party and I think generally is accepted, a two-state solution.'
Her orange blossom honey sold out within minutes despite the $28 (20.68) price tag.

But staff who will be selling the Duchess of Sussexs wares at the new Netflix store wont be able to afford it on their hourly wage, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Employees at Netflix House, which is due to open later this year in two US locations, will be earning as little as $20 (14.77) an hour.

That means some of Meghan's As Ever range will be more than they earn for an hours work.

As Ever wine lovers must purchase a minimum of three bottles for $90 or six bottles for $159 and 12 bottles for $300 - plus $20 for shipping and taxes.

Meghans crepe mix costs $14 (10.34) and her herbal teas would be expensive for 'Crew Members' at $12 (8.86)

Even her infamous flower sprinkles would be steep at $15 (11.08) a pack.

The As Ever range could be featured in the Philadelphia and Dallas branches of Netflix House, the streaming giants first physical stores.

A Netflix source told the Mail that no final decisions had yet been made on any of the products that will be on the shelves later this year.

Meghan's range of lifestyle products have been backed by Netflix and the streamer has said they will be sold in physical stores, but staff will be on $20 an hour

Two Netflix stores, pictured in Hollywood, will be the destination for the launch of Meghan Markle's As Ever brand

Her orange blossom honey sold out within minutes despite the $28 (20.68) price tag

Meghan collecting honey on her show

They will give fans a chance to buy merchandise from their favourite shows, enjoy immersive experiences related to hit programmes and eat at restaurants.

Despite the expiration of Netflixs $100million (73.8million) deal with Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, in September, the streamers chief executive Ted Sarandos has said he believes As Ever products will sell.

Mr Sarandos has said Meghan has an underestimated cultural influence which is why the company partnered with her to launch As Ever.

This week Netflix revealed the job descriptions of staff it is looking for for the outlets in the King of Prussia shopping mall in Philadelphia and the Galleria mall in Dallas.

Among the jobs for the Philadelphia location is Crew Member whose duties include delivering best-in-class customer service and creating an exceptional guest experience.

The description states: The Crew Member will provide general information, sell and scan tickets, manage guest flow and queuing, sell merchandise, and more.

Applicants must be at least 18 and have knowledge of the Netflix platform and shows, as well as be willing to work weekends and holidays.

Under compensation, the listing states: $20 an hour.

For that kind of payment, Meghans gilded life in California will seem a long way away.

Meghans rose wine sells for $30 (22.16) a bottle but must be bought in packs of three, costing $90 (66.47)

A Netflix House employee working an eight hour day would struggle to afford the price of half a case at $159 (117.43) once they had paid taxes on their earnings.

The Daily Mail asked Netflix and a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to comment.

Netflix has said it will set aside space in two of their brand-new stores.

The first of the As Ever stands will open in two of America's biggest retail centres, the King of Prussia Mall in Philadelphia and the giant Dallas Galleria.

The first store will be opened in the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania, a gigantic 2.8million-square-foot shopping wonderland northwest of Philadelphia

The second store is in the Galleria Dallas, an upscale shopping mall located in the north of the city

The stores are not completed but this is what Netflix's Stranger Things store in Dallas looked like last year

But while details of products such as jam and pancake mix have emerged, the full range in store still has not.

When Netflix did have a pop-up for its hit show Stranger Things in Dallas last year that some critics unkindly compared to a cheap store in an airport terminal.

One Google review said of the now closed pop-up: 'This staff and service are awful. Its too crowded and everything is overpriced. Would not waste your time'. However, others were more glowing. One five-star review said: 'This store has done justice to the amazing Stranger Things Netflix series'.

Meghan Markle has been dubbed the 'new Martha Stewart' after reinventing herself as a homemaker and influencer after leaving royal life.

But Martha herself appears less convinced that the Duchess of Sussex could be her successor as the next Queen of Entertaining.

'I hope she knows what she's talking about', America's most trusted lifestyle expert has said.

Ms Stewart, 83, has been accused of taking a thinly-veiled swipe question Meghan's authenticity in a new interview about celebrities following in her footsteps.

Meghan, 43, has launched her Netflix show With Love, Meghan and her As Ever brand this year, to mixed reviews.

Ms Stewart said bluntly: 'Meghan, I don't really know very well. I hope she knows what she's talking about'.

She added of the Duchess: 'Authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important'.

Martha Stewart has appeared to take a swipe at Meghan's reinvention from royal to lifestyle guru

Gwyneth Paltrow and Meghan Markle shocked fans in March as they joined forces to shutdown ongoing speculation of 'feud' between them in a special Q&A where Meghan appeared in Paltrow's kitchen

Netflix series With Love, Meghan dropped on the streaming site and received negative criticism despite being renewed for a second season

But Martha then lavished praise on Meghan and Harry's neighbour Gwyneth Paltrow, praising her 'very successful' career as an actress turned entrepreneur.

Royal watchers claimed this was more shade thrown on the Duchess, with several claiming Ms Stewart was 'calling out' Meghan.

Martha gushed in an interview with Yahoo Australia: 'Gwyneth has been very successful; she created quite an interesting body of businesses. She's admired. She won an Oscar for heaven's sake as an actress. She's pretty powerful.'
A British family jetting home from a Mediterranean holiday were left petrified after a wheel on their plane exploded during takeoff.

Kris Sadler was petrified when the blow out happened just as the plane was about to lift off.

He videoed the shocking explosion and the scary vibrations it caused to the wing.

Kris was returning from Corfu to Birmingham, with wife Katie and sons, Olly, 13, and Zach, nine.

They were on a TUI jet when the nerve shredding blast happened.

'It was scary,' Kris, from Telford, Shropshire, told, Luxury Travel Daily.

'There were bits of tyre flying everywhere. The whole wing was rippling.

'I knew something was wrong but the crew took two hours to tell us. I don't blame them - the crew were brilliant.

A Brit family jetting home from a Mediterranean holiday were left petrified after a wheel on their plane exploded during takeoff

Kris was returning from Corfu to Birmingham , with wife Katie and sons, Olly, 13, and Zach, nine

The photographer added that emergency crews were prepared when they landed at Birmingham

'The pilot was good - thank goodness we had a pilot who trains other pilots. He told us he was handing over to his co pilot to fly us home.

'But later he told us he would be landing because we'd lost a tyre. He said the plane was a hundred per cent safe but passengers had to take precautions and go into the brace position.

'And as we came into touch down the crew were saying, 'heads down, heads down, heads down' repeatedly which kind of makes you panic more.

'It was pretty crazy. It's a one-in-10,000 chance of a plane tyre blowing - so that's mine ticked off.

'It's probably never going to happen again.'

The photographer added that emergency crews were prepared when they landed at Birmingham.

'They hosed down the broken wheel,' he said.

'It looked like there were sparks when we landed but the landing was very good. It was a bit bumpy because it was running on a flat tyre.

'But it has other tyres so I suppose we knew we'd be OK. I was just trying to hold it together for the kids - and my wife was trying to hold it together.

'And she did until we landed and then it all came out. I was saying to them, "it's all okay" but I was thinking, "bloody hell if this goes wrong...".

'It looked like there were sparks when we landed but the landing was very good. It was a bit bumpy because it was running on a flat tyre', the photographer said

He and his family (all pictured) were in Greece for a holiday

'We may never have been in danger - or it might have been very dangerous and the pilot just pulled it off', he said

'I didn't know if there was more damage to the landing gear - and nor did the crew.

'But the pilot lowered the landing gear 15 minutes before we were due to land and I know they never do it that early. Then a black military jet appeared next to us and flew all the way in to landing with us.

'It had come to scout out the landing gear and tyre to see if it was OK. All the passengers cheered and clapped when we landed.

'The pilot came out and bowed. I don't know how dangerous it really was.

'We may never have been in danger - or it might have been very dangerous and the pilot just pulled it off.

'There were some tears - but it was great to get back on solid ground and all safe.'

TUI has been approached for comment.
Vladimir Putin's Pacific nuclear submarine base was damaged this week by a tsunami caused by a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake, according to analysts.

A pier at the high-security Rybachiy base in Russia's far east appears buckled out of shape, apparently torn from its moorings after the huge waves struck on Wednesday.

The secretive base, located in Kamchatka's Avacha Bay, stores the bulk of Russia's Pacific Fleet ballistic missile submarines.

Images taken by SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites operated by Umbra Space and seen by experts show the dramatic impact of the tsunami, which reached the coast within 15 minutes of the seabed quake.

One pier, clearly visible in pre-quake imagery dated July 17, now lies twisted at a sharp angle, a structural shift that experts say is consistent with tsunami damage.

A surface vessel appears to have been moored at the time of impact, but there was no submarine alongside.

In spite of that, maritime analysts say the development raises troubling questions about the base's vulnerability.

Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, told The Telegraph that the pier is at a 'terrible angle'. He questioned: 'If the base assumption is that a wave got in there and bent that jetty then yes, what else did it do?'

Satellite imagery courtesy of Umbra shows apparent damage to Russia's Pacific nuclear submarine base after the tsunami caused by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake earlier this week

Satellite image shows the pier before it was damaged by the tsunami

Tsunami waves caused significant damage to ports in Russia after the huge earthquake struck

Two Russian Yasen-class cruise missile submarines docked at the Rybachiy submarine base

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Satellite imagery shows a tugboat alongside the damaged section, possibly involved in emergency repairs.

Experts say if a sub had been docked there, it could have slammed against the pier, or water could have entered through open compartments.

The base is nestled around 75 miles west of the epicentre of the earthquake.

While no direct damage to submarines has been confirmed, the extent of structural harm is still unclear.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the region's alert system and earthquake-proof infrastructure prevented casualties, but made no mention of the naval base, falling in line with the government's silence on the matter.

Despite being shielded somewhat by the geography of the bay, the base was within the tsunami's strike zone.

Footage from elsewhere along the coastline shows waves up to five metres high inundating towns and ports.

Severo-Kurilsk, located twice as far from the epicentre as Rybachiy, suffered severe port damage, heightening fears about what might have occurred within Russia's nuclear bastion.

Pictures show the devastation caused by the huge earthquake Kamchatka, Russia

The Kremlin has not confirmed the damage, although a spokesperson has claimed the region's alert system and earthquake-proof infrastructure prevented casualties

In the hours after the tsunami, fresh Umbra images showed two submarines still moored at nearby piers.

Submarines undergoing maintenance are especially vulnerable during tsunamis, unable to dive or escape.
A peer who is advising ministers on their definition of Islamophobia compared the police response to the Manchester Airport attack to the murder of George Floyd.

Baroness Shaista Gohir, CEO of the Muslim Women's Network UK, was quick to accuse officers of 'police brutality' and rashly claimed the incident had 'remnants of the George Floyd murder'.

The women's rights campaigner was only one of a series of high-profile Left-wing figures to seemingly jump to conclusions.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, was found guilty on Wednesday of attacking PCs Lydia Ward, breaking her nose, and Ellie Cook, who suffered facial bruising. He was also found guilty of an attack on a plane passenger in a Starbucks cafe.

The assault happened on July 23 last year, when Amaaz and his brother, 26-year-old Muhammed Amaad, went to the airport to collect their mother. Violence broke out when three officers approached Amaaz to arrest him over the Starbucks incident.

The brothers face a retrial over charges of assault on another officer, PC Zachary Marsden, after the jury failed to reach verdicts.

Shortly after the fight, footage emerged of PC Zachary Marsden kicking Amaaz in the head - prompting anti-police protests with a number of Labour politicians voicing concern about police conduct.

Leaked CCTV footage later showed the violent incident in full.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (left) and Muhammad Amaad are pictured arriving at court. Amaaz was found guilty of assaulting two female police officers and a male passenger

Baroness Shaista Gohir, CEO of the Muslim Women's Network UK, was quick to accuse officers of 'police brutality' and rashly claimed the incident had 'remnants of the George Floyd murder'

But before the footage provided a clearer picture of what transpired, Labour MP for Rochdale Paul Waugh told the Commons: 'The video footage of a Greater Manchester Police officer stamping on and kicking a man... is truly shocking and disturbing.

'Our police face a very difficult job every day in keeping us all safe, but they themselves know that they have to expect the highest standards of conduct in their duties.'

Ms Powell, Labour MP for Manchester Central, said she would pass his comments on to the Home Secretary and added: 'Clearly, the footage is incredibly disturbing and there's understandably a lot of concern, particularly in his constituency because it was his constituent affected.'

And Ms Cooper said she understood 'the widespread distress' the footage had caused, and said she had spoken to police about the 'urgent steps' they were taking.

Following the verdict, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said Ms Cooper's comments showed she had been more interested in criticising the police than standing up for brave officers.

'A female officer had her nose broken by this vile thug, and the Home Secretary had nothing to say about that when it happened,' he said.

'It is shameful Yvette Cooper's statement did not include any mention of the officers who were attacked even though it has been reported she was aware they had been injured when she made it. Yvette Cooper has questions to answer.'

And Mr Jenrick said Labour politicians who were too quick to 'judge' the police 'should be ashamed'.

The court was provided with CCTV footage showing the moment PC Lydia Ward was punched

PC Ward had her nose broken by Amaaz, who also attacked another female officer and a tourist

Baroness Gohir's statement where she rashly compared the incident to the murder of George Floyd

Ms Cooper hit back on Wednesday telling Times Radio: 'I have always and continually offered strong support to police officers, who face appalling situations every day of the week.

'I have spoken with Greater Manchester Police about this incident to ensure the officers get the support they need because it is important that they do.'

The Home Secretary was far from the only Left-winger to raise concerns about the brothers' welfare before knowing the full picture.

Two days after the attack, Lady Gohir issued a statement saying: 'This incident has remnants of the George Floyd murder, and is a stark reminder that minority communities are more likely to face police brutality.

'What is further concerning is that on social media many have praised the police response, including Richard Tice MP of the Reform Party, who described it as 'reassuring'. When police brutality is applauded by influential public figures, it is likely to fuel further racism and Islamophobia.'

Mr Floyd was murdered in 2020, when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than five minutes. The incident sparked international anti-racism protests and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Lady Gohir is part of a working group that will provide the Government with a definition of Islamophobia.

Critics have repeatedly raised fears that the current proposals could have a 'chilling effect' on free speech by stifling criticism of Islam as a religion.

Yvette Cooper has also faced questions over her response in the immediate aftermath of the attack

Amaaz assaulted two female police officers, leaving one with a broken nose

Ms Cooper said she understood 'the widespread distress' the footage had caused, and said she had spoken to police about the 'urgent steps' they were taking

Claire Coutinho, the shadow equalities minister, has claimed those involved with drawing up the definition include 'activists with extreme views on how to define Islamophobia'.

Communities secretary Angela Rayner, has insisted the group will provide 'evidence-based advice' to ministers.

Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Rusholme, seemingly sided with the brothers' in a post on X.

'I'm aware of an incident at Manchester Airport where officers appear to use excessive force against an unarmed civilian,' he wrote on July 24 last year.

Following yesterday's verdicts, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Stephen said: 'While disappointed that the prosecution case was not fully endorsed, I welcome the findings of the jury in respect of the convicted offender, whose appalling conduct has now been exposed to legitimate public scrutiny.

'Our officers first approached the man now convicted in order to make an arrest following the unprovoked assault on an innocent man in the presence of his wife and children.

'They were responding quickly to precisely the sort of outrageous criminal behaviour that rightly offends the public.

'Whilst assaults on police officers are sadly not uncommon - 44 of my officers are assaulted every week across Greater Manchester - such attacks can never be justified.

Mr Floyd was murdered in 2020, when Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than five minutes

Afzal Khan, Labour MP for Rusholme, seemingly sided with the brothers' in a post on X

'Our officers are decent people who routinely place themselves in harm's way to protect the public. They deserve our respect and support.'

Mike Peake, chair of Greater Manchester Police Federation, which has been supporting the officers involved, said the public needed to get behind the police.

'Police officers in Manchester work in a difficult, dangerous, and dynamic world where there is no such thing as a routine incident,' he said.

'They deserve support in that work from the public and politicians.

'The distressing scenes we have seen during this trial show some of the worst side of police work that our officers are faced with.

'We are bloodied and we are bruised.'

Video of the airport incident sparked two nights of protests across Greater Manchester.

Crowds descended on St Peter's Square as they marched towards the Town Hall in the city centre, with people demanding the officers involved were sacked and cries of 'no justice, no peace'.

The video of the incident prompted a public outcry with two nights of demonstrations in Manchester and Rochdale. Pictured: Crowds in Manchester

Demonstrators hold Union Flags reading 'no justice no peace' and 'racist police'

The march has caused chaos in Manchester city centre, with roads blocked meaning traffic was unable to move and protesters staging a sit-in demonstration on tram tracks leaving trams stuck.

The protesters headed towards the office of Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who had said the incident was 'not clear cut' but 'disturbing'.

Meanwhile, protesters in Rochdale were seen throwing eggs at the town's police station.

Others built a makeshift barricade out of traffic cones and street furniture outside the doors to stop people going inside.

Among the protesters in Manchester was was Sammy Azam, 58, who had travelled with his wife from Nottingham, who described the actions of the officer seen kicking in the video as 'deplorable' and 'unacceptable'.

His wife, who didn't wish to be named, said: 'He's a professional officer. But he acted outside the realm of a professional.

'It's almost like this was a personal attack on a young man that had been tasered.

'I personally believe he [the officer who delivered the kick] should be sacked and the other officers suspended because they failed to intervene.

'They just stood by and watched him kick the lad.'
The brother of Ghislaine Maxwell has insisted Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre is a 'consummate liar' who 'destroyed countless lives' - including that of Prince Andrew.

In an interview this morning Mr Maxwell said he 'sheds no tear' for Ms Giuffre, who killed herself in April at the age of 41.

Epstein died in a New York prison while awaiting sex crime charges in 2019 but Ghislaine Maxwell, 63, is behind bars - serving 20 years on child sex trafficking charges.

Epstein allegedly controlled a web of underage girls, with victims claiming they were passed around as sex toys to his wealthy friends and billionaire business associates who regularly visited his homes including his private island, Little Saint James.

Maxwell was convicted in 2022 over her role in the scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Epstein over the course of a decade.

But speaking to Nick Ferrari on LBC this morning Ghislaine's brother Ian Maxwell - a businessman and son of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell - insisted Virginia Giuffre was a 'consummate liar from start to finish'.

He explained: 'This is most conspicuously revealed when she had alleged that she had slept with Professor Alan Dershowitz, maintained it for many years, and then had to withdraw and desist.

'That's the first major point, and perhaps the second crucial point is that the law enforcement elected not to call Virginia Giuffre to the trial of my sister, the most voluble, perhaps best known of her accusers.

'And why was that? Because she would have been eviscerated by the defence. So that's my take on her.'

In an interview this morning Mr Maxwell (pictured) said he 'sheds no tear' for Ms Giuffre who killed herself in April at the age of 41 (file image)

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell on his private jet. The photo was released during the trial of Maxwell as she faces six federal charges

Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts, aged 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell at Ghislaine Maxwell's townhouse in London, Britain on March 13, 2001

Mr Maxwell had been responding to comments made last night by the family of the late Ms Giuffre who said they wanted 'those monsters to be exposed for who they are and what they've done,' referring to both Epstein and his sister.

He said: 'Well, I think I know who the monster is here. It certainly isn't my sister.'

Supporters of Ms Giuffre have railed against a possible pardon for the convicted heiress Maxwell and demanded the release of FBI files related to Epstein's crimes.

But Mr Maxwell said: 'My sister's been banged up for five years. It is very, very largely due to the actions, lies of this woman who has destroyed my sister's life and other lives with her lives, including that of Prince Andrew and other young women whom she recruited for Epstein. I shed no tear for Virginia Giuffre.'

The Trump administration stunned even members of its base after denying reports Epstein kept a list of the rich and powerful people for whom he trafficked young girls.

Mr Maxwell agreed, when questioned by Nick Ferrari, that the so-called files should be released adding 'transparency is generally the right way to go and I believe transparency is the friend of my sister'.

The brother was then asked about the condition of his sister in prison, having claimed a couple of weeks ago she is at 'great risk' and 'fearing for her life'.

He said: 'She's now completed five years of prison, two years of that pre-trial in absolutely torturous circumstances.

'MDC Brooklyn, one of the toughest jails in, in the world, really, not just in the U.S. she's now at Tallahassee, which is a pretty violent place, awash with drugs, desperately overcrowded and, you know, it's a, it's a dangerous place.

Maxwell, 63, is the only person behind bars - serving 20 years on child sex trafficking charges - despite the fact Epstein allegedly controlled a web of underage girls.

'For sure she remains at great, if not greater, risk and has expressed her real concerns about this to me,' Ian Maxwell previously said of his sister (pictured in 1991)

Ian Maxwell (pictured right) communicates regularly with her sister in jail on the phone and has said he fears for her safety

'Despite the rumours, Ghislaine was never offered any kind of plea deal. She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story', a source previously said

'Prisons are dangerous places. So, I am fearful for my sister, but her spirit is strong, her belief in her innocence. My belief in that too is resolute.'

Asked if he was aware of whether President Trump had ever visited Epstein island, Mr Maxwell said: 'I don't know. I do not know that he ever did.'

He confirmed he had met Epstein previously, making him out as a 'highly intelligent man' with a 'dark charisma about him' - but 'not the sort of person I would have wanted to go for a drink with, if you see what I mean'.

In the 1990s, rr Maxwell was acquitted of charges of criminal financial malpractice relating to the business practices of his father, Robert.

Since 2021, he has expressed concern about the welfare of his sister with regard to her convictions in relation to the Epstein case.

Many people have accused the Trump administration of engaging in a cover-up of Epstein's crimes - and members of Congress have even suggested having Maxwell testify publicly about what he had done.

But Ms Giuffre's family argues Maxwell should not be let out of her sentence or given any leniency in order to testify.

Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre would have wanted all of the files related to the case against the financier released, her family asserted on Thursday

They were seen visibly breaking down in tears as they discussed what she would have thought about the recent developments in the case with CNN's Caitlan Collins

Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting charges related to sex crimes

'We were very shocked and very surprised that they're giving her a platform,' Roberts told Collins on The Source Thursday night, saying Maxwell 'deserves to rot in prison because of what she did to my sister and so many other women.'

She then described the heiress as a 'puppet master' and a 'monster of a nightmare' who 'viciously participated' in Epstein's sex trafficking scheme by recruiting young women.

'It's really important that we create a culture... for victims and survivors to come forward, to protect them, to trust them and believe them,' she explained in remarks to NBC News.

'Survivors deserve the space to be heard always, and that if you were to let [Maxwell] free, it would be silencing them all over again - and that is not a culture that any of us want.'

Lanette Wilson, Giuffre's other sister-in-law, also argued Maxwell was not 'a minor player' and instead helped organise Epstein's sex trafficking operations.

A senior administration official has since told the Daily Mail that 'no leniency is being given or discussed'.

'The president himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time,' the official said, despite Trump previously saying he would be 'allowed to' pardon her.

The president had once been good friends with Epstein and Maxwell, who were photographed partying at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, including with Trump's then-girlfriend Melania.

Donald Trump with then-girlfriend and future wife Melania Knauss, financier Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club in February 2000

But he claimed on Tuesday that their friendship ended when he realized Epstein was taking his young employees like Giuffre - who was just 16 years old and working as a locker room attendant at the spa at his Florida estate at the time.

'Everyone knows the people that were taken,' Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One. 'People were taken out of the spa hired by him.'

'I didn't know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said, "Listen, we don't want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa. I don't want you taking people," the president continued.

'And he was fine. And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, "Out of here."'

Trump then officially banned Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club in 2004.
Court heard up to 100,000 could attend

NSW Police have challenged plans for a pro-Palestine march across Sydney Harbour Bridge, arguing in court the rally could cause crowd crush if it goes ahead.

Up to 100,000 protesters could descend on the bridge on Sunday as part of the 'March for Humanity', the court heard.

NSW Police lodged a prohibition order in the Supreme Court against the planned rally organised by Palestine Action Group.

Authorities argued the event posed a risk to public safety due to crowd crush and could even lead to clashes and hostility from competing protests.

A previously planned counter-protest in the harbour tunnel has already been cancelled.

Pro-Israel group Never Again is Now applied for permission to hold its protest at the same time as the Palestine Action Group's rally but has since withdrawn its application.

The group wanted permission to block the harbour tunnel in recognition of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

NSW Police's barrister Lachlan Gyles, SC, said violent clashes and crowd crush were highly likely if both protests were to have gone ahead.

The NSW Supreme Court is weighing up its options concerning this weekend's pro-Palestine march

Police want to prohibit protesters from engaging in their planned march across Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday

Mr Gyles argued police could not ensure the safety of up to 100,000 protesters crossing the bridge in such a short time frame.

'This is really unprecedented  in terms of scale, level of risk, lack of time to prepare, and of course location, which is one of the main arteries in one of the largest cities in the world,' Mr Gyles told the court.

Mr Gyles told Justice Belinda Rigg the court needed to be 'concerned about being seen to condone' the rally if there were violent scenes or if ambulances were blocked from reaching patients.

He added the prohibition order was 'necessary' otherwise police would not have the powers that they would normally have to control such a massive crowd.

Court proceedings were further stalled on Friday after 100 pro-Palestine supporters packed into the courtroom and sat on the floor.

Justice Rigg said she would reserve her decision until 10am on Saturday - just one day before the rally is set to take place.

The planned march would lead protesters across the Harbour Bridge from Lang Park near Wynyard towards the US consulate in North Sydney.

It has been scheduled to begin at 1pm.

If police succeed in barring this from happening, the protest would simply be rescheduled, activists have said.

Organiser Josh Lees said the protest was 'unstoppable'

Participants will march from near Wynyard towards the US Consulate in North Sydney

Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Adam Johnson said his concerns would not rest even if the courts allowed the march to continue.

'Fifty thousand people at Lang Park, whether authorised or unauthorised, has significant public safety risk, crowd crush,' he said under cross-examination.

'I'm personally concerned about that.'

Palestine Action Group and protest organiser Joshua Lees told the court the march was 'unstoppable'.

Mr Lees argued the group did not seek 'confrontation with police' but rather, wanted to work with authorities to ensure the success of the protest.

'We want to work with them to make this a successful event,' Mr Lees told the court.

'What we don't want to see but is a real, real possibility, which is that if we lose in the case here today.'

'If [the protest] is unauthorised, that opens up the ability for the police to use extra powers to make arrests against peaceful protesters  an outcome we absolutely do not want to see.'

Mr Lees said he does not want a confrontation with police on the day

Several MPs have already pledged their attendance in support of Mr Lees and the Palestine Action Group

Mr Lees added the rushed planning of the event was necessary to produce a maximum effect while the Israel-Gaza war was still making global headlines.

Palestine Action Group had offered to postpone the protest until August 24 - an offer Mr Lees said was still on the table and which police have yet to accept.

Any prohibition order would not prevent the protest from going forward but would make it illegal for protesters to block roads.

Barrister Felicity Graham represented the group and told the court that people turning up to protest was a foregone conclusion

Instead of trying to frivolously prevent the march, police should instead focus on trying to make it safe, she said.

'It would create a very fluid, dangerous and unstable situation if the court grants this application,' Ms Graham said.

'It's unclear exactly what would unfold, but it's clear police wish to have powers to arrest people simply for being on a road.'

Five Labor MPs have already vowed to attend the rally despite Premier Chris Minns urging them not to.

During court deliberations 100 activists tried to pack into the courtroom, which delayed the proceedings

Stephen Lawrence, Anthony D'Adam, Linda Voltz, Cameron Murphy and Sarah Kaine have said they will all march across the bridge.

Other politicians including Greens and independent crossbenchers have also confirmed their attendance.

Despite gaining momentum, Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna previously told 2GB the protest was still 'stoppable'.

He also accused its organisers of sending out mixed messages to the public which has created confusion about what exactly is happening.

Justice Belinda Rigg will reveal her judgment at 10am on Saturday.
Jeremy Clarkson today announced he could have to lock down his farm for two months after an outbreak of TB - and also revealed how one of his pet dog's puppies has died.

Yesterday the TV presenter told fans he faced culling his beloved herd of cows after learning a cow pregnant with two calves on his Oxfordshire farm was infected with bovine tuberculosis.

But he confirmed today that his farm shop would be 'unaffected' by the closure and remain open for business as usual. The star's popular pub, the Farmer's Dog in Burford - 10 miles away from his Chipping Norton farm - also remains open.

Earlier this week his partner Lisa Hogan had shared an Instagram video of their dog Arya after she gave birth to a litter of puppies - but just days later has shared a sad update with fans, writing: 'Sad news this morning. Mr Grey has gone to fur and feather land.'

Clarkson, 65, had taken to X on Thursday to say: 'Bad news from Diddly Squat. We've gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.'

Amid concern that the outbreak may be affecting members of staff, Mr Clarkson later clarified: 'I should clear this up really. It's Bovine TB that we have. It doesn't affect people, just our poor cows.'

He has now provided an update, telling Times Radio today: 'It's awful, it is awful.

'You have a test every six months on the cows and then you sort of become blase, it's a hypothetical threat.

Jeremy Clarkson (pictured) is facing culling his beloved herd of cows after the 'devastated' TV star revealed that Diddly Squat Farm had been hit by a TB outbreak

Jeremy Clarkson's partner Lisa Hogan earlier this week shared this photo of a litter of puppies

She has now written: 'Sad news this morning. Mr Grey has gone to fur and feather land'

Amid concern that the outbreak may be affecting members of staff, Clarkson later said: 'It's Bovine TB that we have. It doesn't affect people, just our poor cows'

'And then the vet looks up as he did yesterday lunchtime and said, "I'm really sorry this one's failed". So that means we're now locked down and it's just dreadful, absolutely dreadful.

'It's only been not even 24 hours since I found out and it occupies my mind. Well it was occupying my mind but I got up this morning and found one of my puppies has died. And we've got a very sickly calf. Honestly, farming? I'm not enjoying it this week.'

When asked, 'How long is your farm going to be shut down for, Jeremy?', Clarkson replied: 'Well, certainly two months, because that's how long we have to wait before we do another test.

'I was talking to the vet yesterday, he was on another farm earlier this week that's been shut down for 11 years - 11 years they haven't been able to do anything because of TB.

'We've certainly got two months - we've got until the end of September.'

He added: 'The farm shop's unaffected. It's only cows that get affected by it - badgers and deer, but the farm animals, it's just the cows.

'It doesn't affect people - I suppose you can catch it if you licked an infected cow's nose, but that seems unlikely.'

He has also today posted on X: 'The farm is NOT shut. We just cant buy or sell any cows.'

Jeremy Clarkson and partner Lisa Hogan are seen at London's Tate Modern in September 2017

In cases of bovine tuberculosis in cattle, infected animals are often destroyed to prevent the spread of the infectious disease.

More than 21,000 animals were slaughtered due to a TB incident in England between April 2024 and March 2025, with animals that fail a TB test or have inconclusive results for two consecutive tests killed.

One supporter said they hoped his cow and its unborn calves would recover, to which Clarkson replied: 'They have to be culled. It's the law.'

Bovine TB can be infectious to all mammals, including humans, and is mainly transmitted through nose to nose contract or through contact with other infected droplets, such as milk.

Oxfordshire, where the popular Diddly Squat farm is located, is currently graded as an 'edge area' for TB. Given it is set between both high and low-risk area, most herds will be subject to TB tests on a six-month basis.

Last year the former Top Gear presenter was visited by Thames Valley Police officers after activists reported blocked setts on his land near Chadlington, Oxfordshire.

Under UK wildlife law it is illegal to damage, destroy, block or disturb badger setts.

Clarkson said he told the police who came out to visit him that he had no reason to fill in the setts - because he shot all the badgers instead, seemingly under licence.

Last year the former Top Gear presenter (pictured) was visited by Thames Valley Police officers after activists reported blocked setts on his land near Chadlington, Oxfordshire

The TV host wrote: 'Mercifully, however, I had the perfect excuse: 'I've shot all the badgers on the farm so why would I want to fill in their setts?' And yes, before you ask, it was all legal.'

On previous series of Clarkson's Farm, its star has discussed the threat of TB for his cattle - and went on a rant about 'b*****d' badgers.

Clarkson said it was one of the most difficult areas to protect from.

'We thought, "What do we do?", because if you want to make a popular show you have to say, "Oh, look at the little cuddly-wuddly badgers".

'But I thought, no, it's a farming show, and you'd lose your core audience - the farmers, if you went around, saying, "Look at these sweet little animals".

'So, I actually called them b*****ds and showed people what they actually do. It's truthful.'

Clarkson said in 2023: 'These are not nice animals. Do not be fooled by Brian May. This is what badgers do.

'This is how much heartache they're causing to people who've worked for generations to build up a farm that's been wiped out by badgers.'

One supporter said they hoped his cow and its unborn calves at Diddly Squat Farm (pictured) would recover. Clarkson replied: 'They have to be culled. It's the law'

Badgers had made an unwanted appearance in the second series of Clarkson's Farm, which aired on Amazon Prime.

One scene saw him told his cows were at risk of contracting TB due to the presence of badgers on the farm, one of which tested positive for the bacteria that causes the disease.

In 2023 Clarkson's Farm star Kaleb Cooper held back tears as he discussed the 21 dairy cows he co-owns with a friend on Instagram, after three contracted Bovine Tuberculosis.

Kaleb said in a video: 'Now today's a bit stressful. Today I've just found out the place where I have my dairy cows  the 21 cows that I bought  has got three reactors to TB.'

'I don't really know how to describe the emotion. I know I mean it's not all my cows and I don't know how he [the other owner] feels  but it's hard.'

He continued: 'It's not good. Three reactors, so, therefore, we've got to test again in two months' time. That's three cows we've lost that are milking.'

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the Telegraph: 'Bovine TB is a devastating disease that destroys farmers' livelihoods.

'Our hearts go out to all farms suffering from positive cases.

'The Government and its agencies are working hard to introduce measures to reduce the spread and paying compensation to farmers who lose animals to this disease.'

'We are determined to eradicate bovine TB, rapidly rolling out badger vaccinations to help protect farmers' livestock.'
Gangs of knife-wielding robbers have ransacked two innocent shopkeepers during a series a terrifying attacks caught on camera.

The two raids are believed to have taken place across Surrey and West Yorkshire, and are another damning display of 'Lawless Britain' in action.

Harrowing footage shared on X on Thursday evening appeared to show the heart-stopping moment four thugs held up a small corner shop in Staines, northwest Surrey.

Two men, wearing masks and carrying a large bag, ransacked the cigarette counter while a third man, in a black hoodie, pinned the shopkeeper against a wall at knife point.

A fourth member of the gang, wearing a red bandana and mask, watched from the other side of the counter as the yobs chucked their stolen goods into a large sack.

The robbers - some of whom were speaking Punjabi - then piled out of the store, as the terrified shop worker broke down and wailed in terror.

A second clip, this time filmed in Bradford, showed the terrifying moment an armed thug robbed a shopkeeper at knifepoint to steal four iPhones during a daylight raid.

Muhammed Naveed Bhatti, 52, was showing two customers the different models when the masked robber stormed in wielding a gigantic blade.

One horrifying clip shows the moment a shopkeeper (bottom right) is held at knife point while a gang of four robbers ransack his store

A second clip, this time filmed in Bradford, showed an armed thug as he robbed a shopkeeper at knifepoint to steal four iPhones

Muhammed Naveed Bhatti, 52 (seen far right), was showing two customers the different phone models when the masked robber stormed in wielding a gigantic blade

Shocking video shows the intruder smashing the knife down on the counter, narrowly missing Mr Bhatti's hand, before swiping all of the phones.

The two customers, one just a young girl, can be seen fleeing for the exit as the robbery, which lasted just 30 seconds, unfolded at 4pm on Tuesday.

The shopkeeper, who has owned Technology Sales & Repairs in Bradford, West Yorkshire, for around 10 years, said he was left terrified and unable to sleep for two days.

Muhammed said: 'I put four phones on the display and I was showing them, and suddenly this guy came in with a folding knife, about one foot big, and he opened it on me.

'I was shocked. This has never happened before. I'm really frightened after it.

'I couldn't sleep for the last two nights - I'm still in shock.

'In one day, we hardly sell one phone - it's very hard to live at the moment.

'We try to do our best for the business, but it's very hard at the moment - for everybody it's really bad.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Shopkeeper Mr Bhatti (pictured) was left tramatised by the robbery at his store in Bradford

During the raid, the knife-wielding robber can be seen raising the blade high above his head

Mr Bhatti has has owned Technology Sales & Repairs in Bradford for more than 10 years

'There's about 45 mobile shops in Bradford town centre and it's never happened before, this is the first time.'

The thug, wearing a black puffer jacket, got away with an iPhone 14 Pro Max, an iPhone 13 Pro Max, and two iPhone 15s - with a value of around 2,000.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: 'Police are investigating a report of a robbery which occurred at business premises in James Street, Bradford at about 3.45pm Tuesday.

'The suspect is described as an Asian male wearing a black puffa jacket with a hood and a face covering. He is said to have run off towards Ivegate.

'Bradford District CID is investigating the incident and anyone with information or footage which may assist is asked to contact them on 101, or by using the live chat facility on the West Yorkshire Police website.

'The crime reference is 13250431787.'

Surrey Police has been approached for comment by the Mail over the alleged robbery in Staines.
A British family say they were forced to take refuge in their cabin after their 'family-friendly' cruise was ruined by drunken louts who turned the ship into a 'club'.

Iain and Sally Wright, from Sunderland, paid 8,000 for the voyage which 'looked great for kids' and embarked on a two-week trip around the Spanish coast on the MSC Cruises Virtuosa on July 12 alongside their two children, Jack, 11, Molly, eight, and Mrs Wright's mother.

But they said they endured a holiday from hell after they were surrounded by 'an insane level of drunkenness' from rowdy youths, while Molly suffered an allergic reaction after swimming in a pool covered in black soot.

Mr Wright, 41, an author, said they tried to leave the cruise halfway through when in Majorca after they were sheltering in their rooms to avoid the 'horrible' atmosphere of 'constant swearing' and drunkenness on board.

One inebriated guest even threw up next to the family's table while they were playing Scrabble. Mr Wright claims it took an hour for staff to clean up the 'smelly mess'.

The holiday was further ruined after Jack and Molly returned from the pool the following day 'covered in black soot', which left the eight-year-old needing medical treatment after suffering an allergic reaction.

The family complained to customer services about the fumes but were told it 'happens sometimes when we pull away from a port' by staff.

They then spent the remainder of the trip, which included stops in Galicia, Seville, Granada, Alicante, Barcelona and Valencia inside their cabin to avoid the 'awful' atmosphere, which resembled an '18 to 30s club'.

MSC Cruises said they 'regretted' that the family's experience did not meet their expectations and said they will be reaching out to ensure their 'concerns are properly reviewed and addressed'.

One inebriated guest even threw up next to the family's table while they were playing Scrabble

Iain and Sally Wright took their children Jack, 11, and Molly, 8, on an 8,000 cruise but it ended up being a holiday from hell

The family sheltered in their rooms to avoid the 'horrible' atmosphere of 'constant swearing' and drunkenness which was 'worse than a Wetherspoons'

Mr Wright said: 'We wanted to book this cruise because we thought it was a family ship. We thought it looked great for kids.

'We were really looking forward to it. My mother-in-law loves cruises and she said she might have one more left in her so for her, this was going to be her last cruise.

'But the level of drunkenness was insane. It was worse than a Wetherspoons. It would take you half an hour to get a drink. It was just horrendous.

'It felt like an 18 to 30s club at times. If you were by the pool, you'd just hear constant swearing and people getting louder through the day.

'We just thought "what have we spent our money on?" It became like Fawlty Towers.

'We were playing Scrabble on the main pool deck when a drunk passenger just walks by and vomits on the floor right next to our table.

'It smelled. It was left there for over an hour. They couldn't get a cleaner. And when you think about the bugs that go around on cruises, this is basic hygiene.'

The Wrights' misery was compounded when Molly was 'covered' in black soot, believed to be 'raining' from the ship's funnels, which left her 'suffering with itching for 24 hours'.

Mr Wright, 41, an author described an 'awful' atmosphere, which he claimed resembled an '18 to 30s club'

Molly, 8, was left covered in soot after it 'rained' from the ship's funnels. Mr Wright claims other guests also said they were covered in it

We went down to guest services and told them our kids have been covered in the black soot from the engine I think and she said "yeah that happens sometimes when we pull away from a port", Mr Wright said

'We were leaving the port and the kids went up to the top deck to see if the water slides were open,' Mr Wright said.

'While they were on that deck, it just rained down black stuff all over them. They came down to tell us and Jack's skin was covered in black stuff, Molly's swimming costume was stained all over her and it was on her arms.

'We went down to guest services and told them our kids have been covered in the black soot from the engine I think and she said "yeah that happens sometimes when we pull away from a port".

'She said we can make a claim about the damaged costume. While we were there, there were other people complaining to say they'd been covered in the black soot too.

'Two days later she started itching and broke out in hives so we went to customer services to see the doctor.

'He said it was an allergic reaction to an external substance. They said it was from the fumes because it was in the area where the fumes had touched her skin.

'They gave her hydrocortisone cream. She suffered with itching for 24 hours but it was a result of her being covered in this soot. It's not acceptable.

'We get accidents happen but customer services just didn't care. They acted like we were the problem for wasting their time. Their only intention was to disprove your complaint.'

The family were later offered a 9 ticket for a premium show on-board the cruise after raising their complaints.

But Mr Wright wants the cruise line to apologise for the 'disappointing' trip.

'We spent most of the holidays just going out to eat and staying in our cabins because the atmosphere was just awful.

The family stumped up thousands for the voyage which 'looked great for kids' and embarked on a two-week trip across Spain

The family from Sunderland spent two-weeks on the cruise travelling across Spain on the MSC Cruises Virtuosa (pictured)

Molly suffered with itching for 24 hours but it was a result of her being covered in this soot, according to Mr Wright

'There were no quiet areas. Everywhere was packed.

'We were looking to disembark halfway through the cruise in Majorca. We felt like we were left with no choice.

'There's a level of basic customer service that we didn't get, whether it's a budget cruise or not.

'We wouldn't step foot on one of their cruises ever again. We got back feeling quite disheartened. It was a lot of money. The kids were disappointed.

'We probably had 12 hours of fun on a two-week cruise. We would love a partial refund because that could go towards booking the holiday that we wanted in the first place.

'They should apologise.'

A MSC Cruises spokesperson said they 'take all guest feedback seriously and regret that the Wright family's experience did not meet their expectations.

'As we have not received any additional communication from them since then, our Customer Service team will now reach out to the Wright family directly to ensure their concerns are properly reviewed and addressed.'
A former Labour minister has piled further pressure on Rachel Reeves to bring in a 'wealth tax' in Britain.

Anneliese Dodds, the ex-international development minister, suggested the Chancellor should target those with the 'broadest shoulders' as she looks to balance the books.

The Government's U-turns over welfare reform and winter fuel payments have left Ms Reeves with a multibillion-pound black hole to fill in the nation's finances.

This has fuelled speculation she might target the assets of the wealthy in her next Budget this autumn, when further tax rises are widely expected.

The Chancellor has not ruled out the possibility of a new wealth tax but has insisted she will stick to her commitment not to hike tax for 'working people'.

Ms Dodds suggested spending cuts would not 'deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary' as she became the latest Labour figure to support a levy on the richest.

Others in the Labour Party, including former leader Lord Neil Kinnock and Wales's First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan, have also called for a wealth tax.

Trade union leaders, including Sharon Graham of Unite, are also pressuring ministers to consider the move.

Responding to Ms Dodds' suggestion of a wealth tax, Ms Reeves said while on a visit to Scotland on Friday that the Government has 'got to get the balance right on taxation'.

Anneliese Dodds, the ex-international development minister, suggested the Chancellor should target those with the 'broadest shoulders' as she looks to balance the books

The Government's U-turns over welfare reform and winter fuel payments have left Rachel Reeves with a multibillion-pound black hole to fill in the nation's finances

The Chancellor said: 'Decisions around tax are decisions that are made at a Budget and we'll make those decisions in the appropriate way.

'But the number-one priority of this Government is to grow the economy. And that means bringing more investment into Britain, creating more good jobs paying decent wages here in Britain.

'We've got to get the balance right on taxation because we want that investment, we want those jobs to come here.

'That's why we're reforming the planning system, secured three trade deals in the first year of this Labour Government, cutting back on unnecessary regulation, and reforming our pension system to unlock money for businesses to be able to invest here in the UK.'

Ms Dodds quit her Cabinet role in February in protest at the Prime Minister's decision to slash the international aid budget in order to pay for increased defence spending.

She is a former shadow chancellor and was also previously the Labour Party's chair.

The MP for Oxford East argued it is 'important' for the Government to consider evidence set out by the Wealth Tax Commission, which looked at whether such a tax would be desirable and deliverable in the UK.

In its final report, released in 2020, the Commission said a one-off wealth tax on millionaire couples paid at 1 per cent a year for five years would raise 260 billion.

Speaking to Sky News' Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Dodds said the work undertaken by the Commission 'has changed the debate'.

'They looked at the operation of lots of different wealth tax,' she added.

'They looked at all of that evidence and set out how it would be possible to deliver something like that in a UK context.

'I would hope that the Treasury is considering that kind of evidence as well as other changes that have been put forward.'

Ms Dodds also said that tax proposals outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to Ms Reeves should be 'considered'.

In a memo that was leaked to The Telegraph in May, Ms Rayner suggested to the Chancellor that she increase taxes.

This included reinstating the pensions lifetime allowance and a higher corporation tax level for banks.

'We've seen the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, for example, put forward suggestions,' Ms Dodds said. 'I think it's important for all of those to be considered now.'

On Ms Reeves' approach to welfare, Ms Dodds said: 'An attempt was made to deal with a quite immediate problem, but I don't think you can, particularly via cuts, actually deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary.'

'It may make sense tactically, but strategically a longer-term approach is needed and that's the the big issue that the Government has to face up to,' she added.

A tax on the wealthy has not been formally ruled out by ministers, but Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds branded the idea as 'daft' in June this year.

'This Labour Government has increased taxes on wealth as opposed to income  the taxes on private jets, private schools, changes through inheritance tax, capital gains tax,' he told GB News.

'But the idea there's a magic wealth tax, some sort of levy that doesn't exist anywhere in the world.

'Switzerland has a levy but they don't have capital gains or inheritance tax. There's no kind of magic (tax). We're not going to do anything daft like that.

'And I say to people: 'Be serious about this.' The idea you can just levy everyone What if your wealth was not in your bank account, (what if it was) in fine wine or art?

'How would we tax that? This is why this doesn't exist.'
Sir Keir Starmer has been sent a warning shot after the Green Party's leadership hopefuls opened the door to a pact with Jeremy Corbyn's new left-wing outfit.

Zack Polanski, dubbed an 'eco-populist', said it would be 'madness to not at least be curious' about whether Mr Corbyn's party would offer a coalition or alliance.

Ellie Chowns, who is rivalling Mr Polanski for the Green leadership on a joint ticket with Adrian Ramsay, also did not rule out joining forces with Mr Corbyn.

She told Channel 4 that 'cooperation is in the DNA of the Greens' as she spoke about possible links with the former Labour leader's new movement.

Mr Corbyn has teamed up with fellow ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana to launch an outfit currently known as 'Your Party'.

They today formally confirmed they are working with Mr Corbyn's colleagues in the 'Independent Alliance' of pro-Gaza MPs, giving them more MPs than Reform UK.

Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan and Iqbal Mohamed will play a part in the 'founding process' of the movement ahead of an autumn conference, Your Party said.

Mr Corbyn's outfit also boasted that they had seen more than 600,000 people sign up to their new party in just one week.

Sir Keir will be fearful that any cooperation between the Greens and Mr Corbyn's outfit would harm Labour's chances of retaining power at the next general election.

Polls have shown that a new party led by Mr Corbyn would attract 10 per cent of voters, while the Greens have already been challenging Labour in some areas.

Sir Keir Starmer has been sent a warning shot after the Green Party 's leadership hopefuls opened the door to a pact with Jeremy Corbyn's new left-wing outfit

Zack Polanski, dubbed an 'eco-populist', said it would be 'madness to not at least be curious' about whether Mr Corbyn's party would offer a coalition or alliance

Ellie Chowns, who is rivalling Mr Polanski for the Green leadership on a joint ticket with Adrian Ramsay, also did not rule out joining forces with Mr Corbyn

Mr Corbyn's movement has the website yourparty.uk, with a welcome message saying 'This Is Your Party'.

But Ms Sultana sowed confusion immediately after its launch by insisting a name had not yet been chosen. She posted on social media: 'It's not called Your Party.'

The Coventry South MP has since said she wants the party merely to be known as 'The Left', with the name to be decided on by members at a later date.

Despite the comments by the Green leadership hopefuls, Mr Corbyn has ruled out an alliance between the parties.

The Islington North MP told the commentator Owen Jones in an interview posted on YouTube that 'we're not forming an alliance' with the Greens.

He said: 'Would we work with them? Yes, on issues. Generally we would agree on environmental issues, we would agree on social justice issues.

'They are not a socialist organisation and they seem to me into an eternal, riven debate between trying to appeal to a sort of semi-conservative voting suburban electorate as opposed to a committed, environmentally conscious electorate.

'So yes, we work with them in Parliament and yes, we would co-operate, but we're not forming an alliance with them. They don't want to form an alliance with us.

'But we do recognise each other's positions and I think we will come to some good positions and good agreements in the future.'

Sir Keir will be fearful that any cooperation between the Greens and Mr Corbyn's outfit would harm Labour's chances of retaining power at the next general election

Mr Ramsay, the Greens' current co-leader who is standing for re-election alongside Ms Chowns, has warned that 'becoming a Jeremy Corbyn support act is not the right direction for our party'.

The Greens' occasionally fractious leadership contest has entered its final stages as members begin voting on Friday.

In an email to supporters, Mr Corbyn's outfit said - in just one week - that 'more than 600,000 people have signed up to build a democratic party that can take on the billionaires - and win'.

'This is just the beginning. Over the coming weeks, you will hear more about the blueprint for a founding process, culminating with an inaugural conference before the end of the year,' the email added.

'This conference will be the moment where, together, we will decide the direction, structure and platform of this party.

'To make it as accessible and democratic as possible, the conference will be hybrid - both in-person and online - so that everyone can take part in the decisions that will shape its future.

'Make no mistake: whatever the name, it is always going to be your party.'
A 'disrespectful' tourist has sparked outrage in Greece after he was pictured lifting up an ancient stone to pose for a photo at a famed island temple.

The man is seen proudly holding a sizable fragment of white marble, seemingly removed from the historic grounds surrounding the Portara on Naxos, above his head.

The Portara - a massive marble gate - is the only remaining part of a temple built in 530 BC for the worship of Apollo but never completed.

It is part of the archaeological site of the sanctuary of Apollo Delius, which is free to enter and lacks formal security or ticketing.

While this makes the site more accessible, it also leaves its protection up to individual visitors.

Recently, images of tourists behaving disrespectfully at the site have circulated online.

In addition to the man holding the marble fragment, one photo shows a family setting up a makeshift bar at the temple, complete with skewers and soft drinks.

A 'disrespectful' tourist has sparked outrage in Greece after he was pictured lifting up an ancient stone to pose for a photo at a famed island temple

n addition to the man holding the marble fragment, one photo shows, there is also a family setting up a makeshift bar at the temple, complete with skewers and soft drinks

The Portara (pictured) - a massive marble gate - is the only remaining part of a temple built in 530 BC for the worship of Apollo but never completed

Furious locals have responded with anger, expressing their their disapproval online.

One person wrote: 'This photo captures a sad and dangerous reality: visitors climbing ancient marbles, picking them up, and mistreating them for a photo.

'This behavior is not only offensive to our historic heritage but also dangerous to our very preservation.'

A second said: 'Tourism in Greece must end here and now.'

A third wrote: 'Antiquities are not a popular market. They need care, they need maintenance and they need guarding.'

A third added: 'Impunity. Throw him a hefty fine. He'll do it again.'

Someone else emphasised the importance of the marble saying, 'They are not stones! They are our history.

'What people could create with the available materials, thousands of years ago. And the following generations tried to preserve them.

'They are not lifeless stones, but the soul and history of Greece.'

The marble incident follows a string of other recent tourist blunders. In June, a careless holidaymaker sparked fury in Italy after he damaged a priceless 18th century painting while trying to take a selfie

The unnamed culprit had been visiting the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, when his day out took a turn for the worse

According to the Mayor of Naxos, Dimitris Lianos, the Ministry of Culture was immediately informed of the incidents and a guard has now been posted at the site to supervise. It is not yet clear how long the guard will be there.

Lianos told protothema.gr: "What the Municipality and the residents of the island want, and we have submitted it to the Ministry of Culture, is for an on-site restoration and promotion of this particular archaeological site.

'That is, for it to be maintained and operated in an organized manner, with a ticket and security, so as to ensure its protection and generate revenue that will be attributed to Culture.'

The marble incident follows a string of other recent tourist blunders.

In June, a careless holidaymaker sparked fury in Italy after he damaged a priceless 18th century painting while trying to take a selfie.

The unnamed culprit had been enjoying a visit to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence when his day out took a turn for the worse.

The man decided to try and capture a picture of himself mimicking the pose of Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, in a portrait by Anton Domenico Gabbiani.

The man stumbled backwards, falling against the portrait, and leaving a hole at the level of the prince's right boot

But the visitor's bright idea soon became an embarrassing blunder when he lost his balance.

The man stumbled backward, falling against the portrait and leaving a hole at the level of the prince's right boot.

Museum staff were quick to identify the man and reported him to the police for causing the damage.

The painting was removed for repair, with experts concluding that the damage was relatively minor.

It came after just weeks earlier a tourist was caught on CCTV sitting on a crystal-studded 'Van Gogh' chair exhibit in an Italian art gallery - before it buckles under him.

The chair, which is named after the famous Dutch painter, is housed in the Maffei Palace, Verona, and is covered with hundreds of Swarovski crystals.

It was designed by Italian artist Nicola Bolla and is described by local media as being 'extremely fragile and delicate'.

However, it appears that while admiring the art, a tourist spotted their opportunity for a photo with no security around - without regard for the chair's condition.

In the shocking footage, a man and woman can be seen posing with the eye-catching chair in the otherwise empty room.

In June a tourist was caught on CCTV sitting on a crystal-studded 'Van Gogh' chair exhibit in an Italian art gallery - before it buckles under him

The chair, which is named after the famous Dutch painter, is housed in the Maffei Palace, Verona, and is covered with hundreds of Swarovski crystals

As the man takes the woman's photo, she leans in front of the the chair in order to create the illusion in the photograph that she is sitting on it.

But the man took this one step further and can be seen hovering above the exhibit, before placing himself down on it.

The chair immediately bends back into the wall and is left in a crooked state as the pair scurry out of the room.

In the aftermath of the incident, the museum's social media accounts released a statement describing the 'nightmare' situation.

They said: 'Every museum's nightmare has become reality, even in Palazzo Maffei.

'Waiting for the surveillance officers to come out, some visitors took an "in effect" photo.

'The result? An irresponsible gesture caused serious damage to Nicola Bolla's "Van Gogh" chair, a very delicate work, covered entirely with hundreds of Swarovski crystals.'

The museum was in crisis for days as it was unsure whether they could repair it, given the severity of the damage.

But thanks to 'restorers who did a fantastic job' and Italian law enforcement who assisted in their efforts, the museum has said 'the piece is shining once again'.
The missing head of a man whose body was discovered on a street in central Lisbon has been handed in to cops.

The victim is reportedly a 34-year-old foreign citizen.

The body was found without its head behind the Lisbon Coliseum (Coliseu dos Recreios), in the heart of the capital city on Wednesday.

A 29-year-old man was reportedly arrested after he handed over the head - which he was carrying wrapped in foil in a backpack - to the Sao Jose Hospital on Thursday.

The student reportedly confessed to the murder, admitting to meeting the victim just hours before the violent act.

The engineering student was said to describe the decapitation in detail to the authorities, as well as the details of his mutilations of the victim's body after he was dead, according to CNN Portugal.

The suspect allegedly used a medium-sized kitchen knife from his house.

The crime occurred in the early hours of the morning on July 30, after the two met and had a disagreement.

A 29-year-old man was arrested after he handed over the head - which he was carrying wrapped in silver in a backpack - to the Sao Jose Hospital on Thursday

The body was found without its head behind the Lisbon Coliseum (Coliseu dos Recreios), in the heart of the capital city

The decapitation was said to occur in the middle of the street without witnesses.

'On the afternoon of July 31, the suspect voluntarily presented himself at a hospital in Lisbon, carrying a human head that he claimed to wish to hand over,' the Judicial Police said.

'After the Public Security Police reported this fact, the PJ subjected the suspect to a series of evidentiary procedures, the conclusions of which indicated that he was the perpetrator of the acts.

'Several objects of evidentiary interest were also seized, including the knife presumed to have been used in the commission of the crime. Evidence was also collected that points to the human head belonging to the victim.'

No evidence was found linking the crime to drug trafficking or consumption. Instead, the underlying motive at this stage appears to be personal.

The student, also a foreign citizen, is suspected of aggravated murder, desecration of a corpse, and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The decapitated corpse was found by police at around 6.45am on Wednesday in Patio Salema with no head present.

When the suspect arrived at Sao Jose Hospital on Thursday with the severed head, he reportedly told staff that the head 'was related to this situation,' a source from the PSP's Lisbon Metropolitan Command told Observador.

More to follow.
A married consultant described as the 'boyfriend' of baby killer nurse Lucy Letby is being investigated over details shared with her about a child she tried to kill.

The pair exchanged more than 1,300 flirtatious messages in three months while they worked together at Countess of Chester Hospital - also going on walks, meals and taking day trips to London.

Convicted serial killer Letby, 35, is serving life behind bars for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016.

Although they denied having an affair, the prosecution at her trial described the unnamed medical professional as the serial killer's 'boyfriend'.

A note with the doctor's name was also found by police in Letby's home, with love heart sketches scrawled across it.

The document read: 'I loved you and I think you knew that  I wanted you to stand by me but you didn't.'

The consultant, who cannot be named after being granted anonymity during Letby's trial, was also on duty in June 2016 when she killed two triplets and allegedly tried to hurt a third child over the course of three nights.

Now it has been revealed a mother of one of the children she tried to murder has alleged the unnamed doctor breached patient confidentiality by sharing information about her child with Letby.

Former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby continues to insist she is innocent of the crimes

Letby is currently serving life behind bars after she was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016

Last year, during a public inquiry into Letby's case, the doctor acknowledged he continued to support the killer nurse in her administrative role, amid concerns about death rates of babies on the hospital's neonatal ward.

He messaged Letby in September 2016, telling her she was 'still the best neonatal nurse' he had 'ever worked with'.

He has since said he was not aware of suspicions his colleagues had about Letby.

Around three months later, he requested his hospital bosses allow the killer nurse to visit his workplace while supervised by him - which included observing babies' operations and being at outpatient clinics.

He claimed to have been 'misled' and perhaps 'manipulated' by the nurse who convinced him share confidential emails concerning babies he later discovered she had harmed.

The hospital started an inquiry after a complaint from the mother of 'Baby N' - a child Letby was convicted of attempting to murder in June 2016.

The inquiry was parked after the mother of 'Baby N', who Letby was found guilty of attempting to murder in June 2016, lodged a complaint about the doctor, alleging he breached patient privacy several times.

This included discussing the child with Letby via email, Facebook and other platforms, as well as after the nurse had attacked the child.

The Countess of Chester Hospital where Lucy Letby worked as a neonatal nurse

The mother has now told the Times: 'There was no legal basis for him for breaching confidentiality.

'He also shared confidential emails which were meant to be between consultants only, with her.'

The inquiry into the Letby case previously heard how the nurse contacted the consultant, querying if anything was awry with the child involved.

The consultant replied: 'Oh Lucy, poor little thing. I am sure he has had the best care possible and you will have done everything you could for him.'

Hospital chiefs last year informed the doctor there would be a probe into his actions, decision making and facts around the incident at the time.

It would also detail Letby's participation in Baby N's care, as well as her access to the child's records and communications shared with the killer after the child was transferred from the Countess of Chester hospital.

The investigation was disclosed last Thursday during a High Court ruling in which the consultant argued the hospital had breached his employment contract due to how inquiries were being carried out.

Mr Justice Sheldon concluded the probe should be led by the hospitals chief medical officer, rather than a more junior member of staff. The hospital trust has been given time to weigh up a possible appeal.

Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more following a trial at Manchester Crown Court

Letby spent 14 days giving evidence in the witness box at Manchester Crown Court

Letby last year lost two appeal attempts to challenge her convictions, and now they are being assessed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission - a body which probes potential miscarriages of justice.

The former neonatal nurse continues to insist she is innocent.

Last month, It was announced that three former bosses at the hospital where Letby murdered babies have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

The senior executives, who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the neo-natal nurse's killing spree, were quizzed by detectives after being invited to attend separate police stations across Cheshire.

They have since been bailed pending further enquiries.

Their arrests form part of Cheshire Constabulary's ongoing inquiry into corporate manslaughter at the NHS Trust, where Letby murdered seven premature infants and harmed seven more between June 2015 and June 2016.
A secretive Whitehall unit complained to US tech giants about social media posts criticising asylum hotels, immigration and 'two-tier' policing, it has emerged.

Officials working for Technology Secretary Peter Kyle warned TikTok about videos with 'concerning narratives' and claimed they were 'exacerbating tensions' on the streets.

Emails sent by the Government's National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) during last year's Southport riots have been obtained by a US congressional committee.

Campaign group Big Brother Watch has called for an investigation into the unit, claiming the emails show it is 'spying on speech that is critical of the police and Government policies'.

The messages emerged as ministers continue to fight claims from US politicians - including allies of Donald Trump - that the UK's Online Safety Act is censoring social media.

They will also reignite claims Labour is seeking to 'silence' critics of its continued use of asylum hotels at an estimated cost of 3billion a year.

Ministers have vowed to move all asylum seekers out of hotels by the next election, but many doubt this can be achieved.

NSOIT was previously known as the Counter Disinformation Unit and was set up during the Covid pandemic to monitor anti-lockdown campaigners.

Protesters gather outside The Bell Hotel in Epping on Sunday in one of a series of demonstrations against asylum hotels

The phrase 'two-tier Keir' - referring to claims that white protesters were treated more harshly than ethnic minorities - circulated on social media

One post flagged by a civil servant working for the unit included a photograph of a rejected Freedom of Information request about the location of asylum hotels and a reference to asylum seekers as 'undocumented fighting-age males'.

They added: 'Just to flag the context: hotels for asylum seekers have already seen targeted protests and there are significant risks of these becoming violent.

'Home Office colleagues have been in touch with us about concerns surrounding this type of content. Please could this be assessed by the Trust and Safety team? There is a definite sense of urgency from here.'

The emails, obtained by The Telegraph, were sent on August 3 and 4 last year - the worst weekend of the riots that saw crowds attacking asylum hotels around the UK.

Violence erupted after false claims circulated on social media that the perpetrator of the Southport stabbings was a Muslim asylum seeker.

In another email over the same weekend, an official told TikTok that users were posting about 'two-tier' policing - a reference to the claim that white protesters were treated more harshly than ethnic minorities.

The email said: 'I am sure you will not be surprised at the significant volumes of anti-immigrant content directed at Muslim and Jewish communities as well as concerning narratives about the police and a ''two-tier'' system we are seeing across the online environment.'

Officials asked TikTok to explain 'any measures you have taken in responseas soon as you are able to'.

Riots broke out last year after false claims circulated on social media that the perpetrator of the Southport stabbings was an asylum seeker

The National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) is overseen by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle

The private exchange came days before Elon Musk criticised 'two-tier Keir' - a phrase repeated by Nigel Farage and Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick.

A third email raised concerns about a video posted on August 5 of Pakistani men celebrating on a street with the caption: 'Looks like Islamabad but it's Manchester.'

A civil servant suggested it had been shared 'in order to incite fear of the Muslim community'.

None of its emails asked for the posts to be deleted but requested TikTok to explain how it was dealing with similar content.

They were obtained by Jim Jordan, chair of the US House of Representatives' judiciary committee, which issued a subpoena to TikTok to share messages 'regarding the company's compliance with foreign censorship laws'.

He said: 'In recent years, UK citizens have become increasingly fed up with the double standard in the UK. Mean tweets get you a longer prison sentence than many violent offences.'

Labour was recently criticised for continuing a 'cover-up' of a secret resettlement programme for Afghans put at risk by a data leak in 2022.

Civil servants warned that sharing the information could create 'a risk of disorder'.

The emails were obtained by Jim Jordan, chair of the US House of Representatives' judiciary committee (pictured speaking)

A Government spokesman said: 'Free speech is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Online Safety Act protects it.

'Platforms have a duty to uphold freedom of expression, and the Act places no curbs whatsoever on what adults can say and see on the internet - unless it is something that would already be illegal, offline.

'The Government has no role in deciding what actions platforms take on legal content for adults  that is a matter for them, according to their own rules.

'However we make no apologies for flagging to platforms content which is contrary to their own terms of service and which can result in violent disorder on our streets, as we saw in the wake of the horrific Southport attack.'
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Nature has reclaimed a derelict castle once home to the head of Tennent's brewery - as stunning pictures reveal how trees, nettles and bracken now engulf the estate.

Dunalastair House in the Perthshire town of Pitlochry, Scotland, was built in 1859 by a local architect - but nearly 100 years later the once-majestic building fell into disuse.

Following a bout of vandalism in the 1960s opportunists stole the lead from the roof and the castle began to quickly fall into a state of decay.

It was a markedly different sight to the home as it was sold to Hugh Tennent in 1881 - the great-great grandson of the Wellpark Brewery founder - now known as Tennent's Brewery, which produces the best-selling beer in Scotland.

Come the mid-20th century, deer fences were being erected around the property to keep out trespassers. Today, however, the imposing structure has been protected from view by something else entirely: mother nature.

Aerial images taken this summer show how trees of many shades of green and shrubbery have infiltrated nearly every empty room in the castle.

Parts of the structure lie broken while bits of grass can even be seen poking out of the windows.

The view of the front of the castle shows how it has even been obscured in parts by the overgrown bracken which hides it from outsiders.

The view of the front of the castle shows how it has even been obscured in parts by the overgrown bracken which hides the castle from outsiders

The abandoned Dunalastair House in Perthshire is now surrounded by nettles and bracken. It is around 18 miles from the town of Pitlochry

Trees - in various shades of green - have infiltrated the building as are beginning to fill up every single room in the castle

An aerial view also shows bits of broken castle as the once-majestic abode has now succumbed to nature

The castle was once a target for vandals and trespassers but nature seems to have now done a good job of keeping people out naturally

Shrubs can even be seen poking through the windows in a sign that no part of the building has been spared by mother nature

Plants are growing on the top of the castle ever since opportunists stole the lead roof from its top - kickstarting its process of decay

A sign reads: 'Danger: Strictly no climbing into the ruins.' It comes as the castle was previously a target for vandals in the 1960s

A birds eye view shows the full extent of the damage as trees of many different shades of green have taken over the structure entirely

The facade of the castle is still standing even though the building now appears to be more tree than it is brick and mortar

Dunalastair House lies in picturesque surroundings in the southern Highlands and was constructed by local architect Andrew Heiton. It was originally the home of General Sir John Macdonald, who commanded land forces in Scotland.

In 1881, Sir Johns son Alastair sold the property to Hugh Tennent and he owned the mansion for just nine years, until he passed away aged just 27.

During the Second World War, the home served as a school for the children of Polish refugees - but suffered a devastating fire which destroyed a valuable painting by John Everett Millais.

It fell into disuse by 1952, and its contents were sold at auction two years later.

The abandoned mansion became a popular target for vandals in the 1960s.

Many proposals to restore the mansion have been made, but none have succeeded due to the cost and the extent of the repairs needed.
The parents of a 15-year-old accused of murdering them and three of his siblings were religious extremists who isolated the family, according to court documents.

The accused teen killer, whose identity remains withheld due to a court order, was charged with the murders of his parents Mark and Sarah Humiston, 43 and 42, and siblings Katheryn, 7, Joshua, 9, and Benjamin, 13.

Police say he massacred his family at their $1.5million lakefront home in Fall City, Washington, on October 2024. Only his 11-year-old sister survived the attack after she played dead and ran away to a neighbor's home.

But the teen's lawyers said in court that his parents were abusive and tightly controlled their children's lives, isolating them from the outside world over their paranoia about the government and medical professionals.

The Humistons were extremely religious and particularly suspicious about the Covid-19 vaccine, according to court documents seen by KOMO News.

They homeschooled their children and raised them under a 'rigid, militant survivalist ideology,' giving them access to firearms, according to the teen's lawyer.

Electrical engineer Mark Humiston, 43, and his registered nurse wife Sarah, 42, were found dead at the home along with three of their 5 children in October, 2024

Lawyers for the 15-year-old boy (pictured) accused of killing his parents and three siblings in Fall City, Washington, claim the parents were abusive and isolated the children

The teens three siblings, Benjamin, 13, Joshua, 9 and Katheryn, 7, were killed in the shooting. His 11-year-old sister survived

Sarah Humiston's mother allegedly told authorities that her daughter was 'abusive and demeaning' to the children. The grandmother told police she threatened to report her daughter if the abuse did not stop, per court filings.

'A common theme that has been expressed amongst extended family, neighbors, and those who knew the Humistons is that the children were isolated from the outside world and did not engage socially with many peers  only a select few families that went to their church and were friends of their family,' the teen's lawyers said in court documents.

The teen's attorneys revealed the information as they asked the court for more time to build a defense for him.

They said 'everyone we have spoken with describe [the 15-year-old] as kind, respectful, and deeply devoted to his family.'

The attorneys said the family's isolation has made it difficult to build a picture of that their life was like before the killings.

Prosecutors, however, want the teen tried as an adult.

They said the teen tried framing his younger brother Benjamin for the killings before his surviving sister revealed what had really occurred.

Police say the teen massacred his family at their $1.5million lakefront home in Fall City, Washington, on October 2024

The couple were extremely religious - imposing a highly-controlled existence on their five kids which included dictating who they could be friends with and homeschooling them

The teen called 911 saying his brother had shot the family dead before killing himself after being caught watching porn the previous evening, according to police. He was also accused of staging the crime scene to implicate his 13-year-old brother.

According to investigators, the 11-year-old survivor told detectives she witnessed her brother shooting family members and then checking their pulses to ensure they were dead.

Her older brother then re-entered her bedroom, where she closed her eyes and held her breath as he stood next to her bed.

She played dead before she escaping the bloodbath through a 'fire window' in her room and ran about a quarter of a mile away to a neighbor's house.

In a disturbing detail, she remembered her brother leaning over the three family members he gunned down in the hallway before touching their bloodied bodies to make sure they were actually dead.
A Las Vegas man who fears that his younger brother is actually his son has been left distraught after a DNA test came back inconclusive.

Logan Gifford made headlines a decade ago after he came forward with horrific allegations that his mother Doreene Gifford raped him since he was 10 years old.

Just 16 at the time he came forward, Logan came to believe that his younger brother may actually be his biological son conceived around the end period of his years of abuse.

Gifford, now 26, said he is proud to be the carer for his sibling, who is disabled, but told 8NewsNow that he is 'still directly involved in the mess that has been left for me.'

Earlier this year, Logan filed a paternity case asking a judge to order an advanced DNA test to determine who is his brother's biological father.

But this week, the results came back inconclusive as the tests showed Logan and his father both shared a 99.9% match to his sibling.

The results showed the complexities of such testing involving parents and siblings as they both share the same DNA, and could not provide a conclusive answer to Logan's years-long anguish.

A judge has since offered Logan the opportunity to pursue more advanced testing that may provide a more precise result.

Logan Gifford, a Las Vegas man who fears that his younger brother is actually his son conceived through abuse perpetrated by his mother, has been left frustrated after a DNA test came back inconclusive

Logan made headlines a decade ago after he came forward with horrific allegations that his mother Doreene Gifford raped him since he was 10, which he fears may mean his brother is actually his biological son (pictured together)

When Logan came forward with his shocking allegations against his mother in 2015, he testified against her in court that she began sexually assaulting him when he was 10.

Doreene Gifford was charged with sexual assault of a minor and incest, but she maintained her innocence.

She eventually took an Alford plea on lesser charges of attempted sexual assault, which means she did not admit guilt but conceded that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her in court.

She was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison in 2015, and was paroled last year as she was forced to register as a sex offender.

Doreene was briefly arrested again for a parole violation soon after but was released, and now lives in Massachusetts, per 8NewsNow.

Logan's mother Doreene Gifford was charged with sexual assault of a minor and incest, but she maintained her innocence, and was sentenced to 8-20 years in prison after takin an Alford plea

'Sending her to prison was halfway vindicating, because I thought that the largest problem of my life was originally dealt with,' Logan said.

But Logan said that his mother's incarceration left it up to him to care for his brother, who suffers from cognitive disabilities.

'He deserves to have a quiet, peaceful life,' Logan said. 'And he and I didn't ask for any of this.'

Logan said that even if the further tests prove he is not the father, he is 'still filing for custody, because that doesn't change the obligation that I have to him now.'

'I really wound up having to make a lot of critical decisions at a very early age, because I was looking at the impact that it would have had on my siblings.'

'It is ugly and visceral, but it doesn't change the fact that it needed to be done.'

Logan (pictured aged 10) said he struggled in his childhood because of the abuse, as he 'wound up having to make a lot of critical decisions at a very early age, because I was looking at the impact that it would have had on my siblings'

When reported his mother's alleged abuse 10 years ago, Gifford then told a court that he had been exposed to drug use in his youth and detailed how his mother's abuse first started.

He said that his mom brought him into a bedroom she shared with his father, Theodore, in which a pornographic video was playing, when she sexually assaulted him.

After years of believing he was only the victim of abuse, Gifford said that it was a therapist who raised the idea with him that he could be the father of his brother.

He recalled: 'I was 17 at the time. That threw me for a loop.'

If it turns out that Gifford is the father, the ongoing court case will become a custody matter. If he is not the father it will still remain as a guardianship case.

'To sit here and say that my brother may be the product of my sexual assault is a very visceral thing to think about as a male survivor,' Gifford said.

'But he's here now. There's no going back and undoing anything. And he deserves to have a quality of life where he's comfortable, where he can be a kid.'

Gifford has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of the test and court action.

'I've filed a paternity petition to get answers, not just for me, but for him - he deserves the truth,' the fundraiser states.

'The court process is tough, and with his cognitive struggles and our complicated family history, I need help to secure his future and give him the life he deserves.'
A billionaire family is at war with the late matriarch's girlfriend, claiming she overmedicated the heiress before trying to send her body for composting immediately after her death.

Wallis Annenberg's three children accused her girlfriend Kris Levine, 63, of keeping the heiress locked away in a drug-induced vegetative state during her final days.

Gregory, Lauren and Charles claimed Levine and her sister Vikki wrongfully confined Annenberg to her bed, isolated her from her family and 'overmedicated to the point of stupor,' as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Annenberg, the daughter of publishing magnate Walter Annenberg, died on Monday in her Los Angeles home at the age of 86 from lung cancer.

Before her death, her children claimed in court that, as Annenberg's personal assistant, Vikki expedited her decline by giving her too many narcotics.

They also said the sisters had plans to remove Annenberg's body from her home within hours of her death and send it for composting before her family got to say their goodbyes.

The Levines denied the claims in court, stating that the siblings' 'vicious and false accusations' were due to the fact that Annenberg did not inform them that her cancer had returned and they weren't in charge of her care.

'Wallis determined not to seek treatment, but to enjoy as much as possible, the time she had left,' the Levines' court filing stated.

The children of publishing heiress Wallis Annenberg, who died on Monday at the age of 86, claimed in court that her girlfriend Kris Levine, right, had been rushing her death with drugs

The heiress' children claimed Kris Levine's sister Vikki, pictured left in April, was abusing their mother in her last days. Vikki Levine was designated as the heiress decision-maker when it came to her health

Annenberg, one of the nation's most prominent philanthropists, is pictured with actresses Rita Wilson, Demi Moore and fellow heiress Jamie Tisch in April, 2024

'The Children have misdirected their pain, grief and anger at the wrong person, which is so much easier than confronting reality,' Vikki Levine said, adding the siblings created a 'toxic environment' when they visited their mother.

The Levine sisters added of the children: 'They crowd around Wallis bed while the nurses are caring for her, tell Wallis that she doesnt need the medication, refuse to get out of their way, ask numerous questions about the medication and procedures being employed, and generally make the situation untenable for a care-provider to work.'

Annenberg went into hospice in early May and began taking medications to ease her pain and anxiety, per court documents.

Her children claim that by June, Vikki Levine had replaced Annenberg's staff and instructed the new team to 'administer excessive amounts of powerful narcotics and opioids, such as Fentanyl, Morphine, Ativan and other similar drugs.'

'When Wallis is able to emerge from this near-comatose state, she is adamant that this is not what she wants and that she believes, in her own words, that Vikki is kidnapping her,"' the siblings said in court.

Annenberg's housekeeper supported the siblings' claims, saying, 'I witnessed Vikki forcing pills in Ms. Annenbergs mouth when she clearly did not want to take them. I told Vikki that Ms. Annenberg seemed calm and did not need more medication.

Charles Annenberg is pictured second from the left, with his heiress mother and her partner Kris Levine in 2015. Charles and two of his siblings filed the lawsuit against the Levine sisters

Gregory Annenberg also accused the Levine sisters of abusing his heiress mother. He is pictured in 2022

Annenberg (C) stands next to California Governor Gavin Newsom (2nd L), wildlife advocate Beth Pratt (L), and others for the groundbreaking ceremony of an $87 million wildlife crossing over the 101 freeway to mark Earth Day in Agoura Hills, California on April 22, 2022

'Vikki told me the pills were for her upset stomach, but I told her that I knew they were Ativan because I saw the bottle.'

Annenberg's children said that before going to court, they asked a doctor to visit their mother, and that he 'determined that she was, indeed, being overmedicated.'

However the Levine sisters claimed, on their part, that the doctor actually 'confirmed to Vikki that there has been "no mismanagement of symptoms."'

Kris Levine started dating Annenberg in 2009 and they lived together since 2012.

She claimed in court Annenberg's children were engaged in a campaign of lies that included telling her that her girlfriend was trying to kill her.

Kris added in court documents that Annenberg had wanted to go into hospice care for the last weeks of her life.

Annenberg allegedly signed a document in July, 2023, declaring Vikki Levine as the primary authority over her medical care. Annenberg's son Gregory was designated as an alternate.

But Annenberg's three children claim the document is fraudulent.

Kris Levine started dating Annenberg in 2009 and they lived together since 2012. They are pictured in 2014

Annenberg, who died on Monday from lung cancer, donated more than a billion dollars throughout her lifetime

It's unclear why Annenberg would designate Vikki Levine as her primary care taker, but the two had worked together for over 20 years.

On July 22, a judge ruled there was 'good cause' to suspend Vikki Levine from serving as the heiress' healthcare agent and appointed a professional fiduciary.

The heiress died days later.

She donated more than a billion dollars throughout her lifetime through her foundation, establishing herself as one of the country's main philanthropists.
A California woman was threatened with a $500-per-day fine from her homeowners' association after daring to fix a door inside her home.

Jinah Kim, 53, of Oak Park in Ventura County, was stunned when she was hit with a violation for repairing a doorway in her condo in the Shadow Ridge complex, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The complex's snooping manager discovered the work after peering through her open garage door.

The homeowners' association accused Kim of rerouting shared plumbing lines during her effort to clear a blockage in the doorway between her office and dining room.

She was immediately fined $100 and ordered to return the door to its original condition. She was warned that failure to do so would trigger a daily fine of $500 until the issue was resolved.

'It's a door within my home that no one else sees and no one else is affected by,' Kim told the Times.

'It felt like accidently tapping someone in the hallway and getting the death penalty,' she added.

However, a new rule limiting HOA fines to $100 per violation unless there are health or safety concerns took effect in the state on July 1, sparing her from having to pay up to $3,500 per week for refusing to undo the renovation.

Jinah Kim (pictured), 53, of Oak Park in Ventura County, California, was threatened with a $500-per-day fine from her homeowners' association after daring to fix a door inside her home

The homeowners' association accused Kim of rerouting shared plumbing lines during her effort to clear a blockage in the doorway between her office and dining room in her condo in the Shadow Ridge complex (pictured)

'It was a big relief,' Kim said. 'Having a daily $500 fine hanging over my head was a huge source of anxiety.'

In an effort to conceal exposed plumbing pipes, the previous owners of the two-bedroom, three-bathroom townhouse filled the top of the doorway with drywall, ultimately creating a barrier.

Frustrated by having to duck under the blockage every time she moved between the two rooms, Kim decided to formally request the HOAs approval to have it fixed.

Her request was denied, with the association raising concerns that the work would require temporarily shutting off shared water and tampering with pipes.

She decided to move forward with the hourlong fix, hiring a contractor to get the job done.

Shadow Ridge's general manager caught sight of the renovation just a few months later.

The next day, she was hit with a barrage of violations - one for the door, one for installing an EV charger in her garage, one for having her dog off-leash and one for having an unapproved rug on her balcony.

While she resolved the other violations without issue, she stood her ground on the door - refusing to restore it to what she viewed as an impractical and inefficient design.

The complex's snooping manager discovered the unauthorized renovation after peering through her open garage door (pictured: Kim's neighborhood)

In an effort to conceal exposed plumbing pipes, the home's previous owners filled the top of the doorway with drywall, ultimately creating a barrier (left). Frustrated by having to duck under the blockage every time she moved between the two rooms, Kim decided to move forward with the fix (right)

A new rule limiting HOA fines to $100 per violation unless there are health or safety concerns took effect in the state on July 1, sparing Kim from having to pay up to $3,500 per week for refusing to undo the renovation (pictured: the complex)

A letter arrived on June 27, repeating the accusation that she had messed with shared plumbing lines. In it, she was warned that the HOA was ready to start hitting her with $500 fines every single day.

But her nightmare ended on July 1, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 130 (AB 130) into law - a hotly debated reform hailed as a win for homeowners and a major blow to the power of HOAs.

While the main goal of the new law is to speed up housing projects by relaxing some environmental rules, it also makes changes to the Davis-Stirling Act - the set of laws that govern how HOAs operate in California.

The most significant change is the $100 cap on HOA fines. The bill also stops HOAs from charging interest or late fees on violations, and, as long as homeowners fix problems before a hearing, they can't be punished.

Dyanne Peters, an attorney who practices HOA law, admitted that no one likes paying fines, but explained that HOAs don't use them to make money.

She said that fines are meant to discourage behavior that disrupts the community.

'It's frustrating because these new rules are handcuffing homeowners associations,' Peters told the Times.

'It takes away the ability for HOAs to govern their own communities. Clients are calling us asking, "What's the point?"'

Luke Carlson, an attorney who helps homeowners with HOA disputes, called the new law 'long overdue.'

'AB 130 is more than a law - it's a signal that Sacramento is finally starting to hear the voices of homeowners who've suffered in silence for too long,' Carlson told the Times.

'Everyone agrees bad HOAs are a bad thing, and it takes legislative reform to stop them.'
An octopus wrapped itself around a young boy at an aquarium in Texas and wouldn't let go, leaving the terrified child with bruises along his arm and frighteningly staring at him.

Britney Taryn said her son Leo, 6, was ambushed by the creature on July 14 at the San Antonio Aquarium, where visitors are allowed to interact with various animals.

The mother told KSAT that employees would encourage guests to play with the octopus in its tank, but that none were present when the incident occurred.

Taryn and a friend who was there at the time panicked when the octopus suddenly gripped onto Leo.

'It was suctioned onto him and so I tried to help him get down and away from the glass,' the mom told KSAT.

The women began to yell for help while Taryn tried to the animal to free her son.

When an employee eventually arrived, he said 'oh - she's super playful today' before struggling to get the octopus off the boy, Taryn recalled.

The worker called for back-up and more staffers showed up to try to pry the creature away.

Britney Taryn said her son Leo, 6, was ambushed by an octopus on July 14 at the San Antonio Aquarium, where visitors are allowed to interact with various animals

Taryn told her story on TikTok and earned millions of views

Taryn said the octopus wrapped around other employees before releasing its grip, but refused to let go of her son, who is an animal lover and regular visitor of the aquarium.

When the animal finally let go, Leo had bruises from his wrist up to his armpit.

Taryn said her son remained calm during the entire ordeal.

'He was very relaxed about the whole thing, so I was relaxed... because he knows so much about animals, so much about octopuses,' she told KSAT.

When they returned to the tank two hours later, Taryn said the octopus made eye contact with her son, swam over to him and turned white.

Taryn said she contacted the aquarium several times to see if they had closed the tank or removed the octopus, but 'we were not contacted back.'

When she returned to the aquarium days later - after telling her story on TikTok and earning millions of views - she was shocked to find the octopus still on display.

'I'm just really worried that something worse is going to happen,' the mother said.

Trayn told KSAT that employees would encourage guests to play with the octopus in its tank, but that none were present when the incident occurred

When the animal finally let go, the boy had bruises from his wrist up to his armpit

Taryn has since filed a complaint with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). She also said she filed a report with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, contacted her local congressman and reached out to other aquariums.

She told KSAT that she learned the aquarium is not accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the aquarium for comment.

The aquarium posted its own TikTok showing a staff member playing with an octopus and letting it grip onto her arm.

The octopus incident is just the latest in a series of controversies at the San Antonio Aquarium.

Surveillance video from July 2018 captured three people stealing a horn shark  a species of bullhead shark that grows up to four feet and 20 lbs  from an open pool where visitors could touch the animals, KSAT reported.

The suspects disguised the female shark as a baby and placed it in a stroller. It was not returned to the aquarium until two days later.

In the days following the theft, the aquarium said it would not shut down touch pools.
Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff inspected a food distribution centre in war-torn Gaza today amid an escalating war of words over 'starvation' claims.

The UN has warned that widespread famine is a looming threat in the besieged strip and claims hundreds of Palestinians have been shot while trying to collect aid near distribution sites.

But Israel insists that Gaza is not facing starvation and says Hamas is responsible for the looting of aid.

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, posted on X that he and Witkoff had gone to Gaza 'to learn the truth' about the private aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States.

'We received briefings from IDF (the Israeli military) and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!' Huckabee said.

'Hamas hates GHF because it gets food to people without it being looted by Hamas.'

The foundation, on its own X account, posted that it had been a 'privilege and honor' to host Witkoff and Huckabee as the group delivered its 100-millionth meal in Gaza, fulfilling Trump's 'call to lead with strength, compassion and action'.

Witkoff's visit comes as Germany, France, Spain, Jordan, and UAE have joined forces to airdrop supplies into the Palestinian territory.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (centre) and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visit Gaza on Friday, August 1, 2025

Steve Witkoff inspected a food distribution centre in Gaza today amid an escalating war of words over 'starvation' claims. His visit came as Germany, France, Spain, Jordan and UAE have joined forces to airdrop supplies into the besieged strip

The European airlift enabled the organisation of more than 60 flights carrying over 3,350 tons of humanitarian cargo, with most of the donations in-kind transiting through Egypt and Jordan, according to Macron's office

The UN has warned that widespread famine is a looming threat in Gaza, and claims hundreds of Palestinians have been shot while trying to collect aid near distribution sites

The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, posted on X that he and Witkoff (pictured) had gone to Gaza 'to learn the truth' about the private aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States

France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it urged Israel to allow full access to the area which it said was slipping into famine

France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it urged Israel to allow full access to the area which it said was slipping into famine.

'Faced with the absolute urgency, we have just conducted a food airdrop operation in Gaza.

'Thank you to our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, and to our military personnel for their commitment,' President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media platform X.

'Airdrops are not enough. Israel must open full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine,' he added.

A global hunger monitor said on Tuesday that a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with malnutrition soaring, children under five dying of hunger-related causes and humanitarian access severely restricted.

Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot earlier in the day had told broadcaster franceinfo that France was sending four flights carrying 10 tonnes of humanitarian aid each to Gaza from Jordan.

This image shows a crew member gesturing after the successful release of humanitarian aid from a Spanish Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas airplane over Gaza

Pictured: Palestinians carry bags of flour that they obtained from aid trucks which entered Gaza through the Zikim crossing point, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on August first

A global hunger monitor said on Tuesday that a famine scenario was unfolding in the Gaza Strip. Pictured: Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5

France participated six times in the European humanitarian airlift set up in mid-October 2023 by the European Union to Jordan and Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, Macron's office said.

The European airlift enabled the organisation of more than 60 flights carrying over 3,350 tons of humanitarian cargo, with most of the donations in-kind transiting through Egypt and Jordan, according to Macron's office.

Part of this aid has still not entered Gaza due to a lack of agreement from the Israeli authorities, the president's office said.

The UN's rights office in the Palestinian territories said at least 1,373 people had been killed seeking aid in Gaza since May 27 - 105 of them in the last two days of July.

'Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military,' the UN office said, breaking down the death toll into 859 killed near the US-backed food sites and 514 along routes used by UN and aid agency convoys.

In its report on the GHF centres on Friday, Human Rights Watch accused the Israeli military of illegally using starvation as a weapon of war.

'Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families,' said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch.

The release of humanitarian aid from a Spanish Air Force Airbus over Gaza

AA still from a video showing aid being from a plane into Gaza

A Palestinian woman in northern Gaza's Jabalia gestures at a plane conducting an airdrop of aid in the Israel-besieged Palestinian territory on August 1, 2025

'US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.'

Responding to the report, the military said GHF worked independently, but that Israeli soldiers operated 'in proximity to the new distribution areas in order to enable the orderly delivery of food'.

It accused Hamas of trying to prevent food distribution and said that it was conducting a review of the reported deaths, adding it worked to 'minimise, as much as possible, any friction between the civilian population' and its forces.

After arriving in Israel on Thursday, Witkoff held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to resolve the almost 22-month-old war, feed desperate civilians and free the remaining hostages held by Palestinian militants.

Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas and free the captives, but is under international pressure to end the bloodshed that has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians and threatened many more with famine, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Palestinians in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip rush towards a plane conducting an airdrop of aid above the Israel-besieged Palestinian territory on August 1

A picture taken in northern Gaza's Jabalia shows aid parcels prachuted down following an airdrop above the Israel-besieged Palestinian territory on August 1

Part of the aid has still not entered Gaza due to a lack of agreement from the Israeli authorities, the French president's office said

Following his discussions with Witkoff, Netanyahu met Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul of Germany, another staunch Israeli ally, who nonetheless delivered a blunt message.

'The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination,' Wadephul told reporters after the meeting, urging the government 'to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality'.

'I have the impression that this has been understood today,' he added.

Meanwhile, Slovenia has become the first country in the European Union to ban all weapons trade with Israel over its war on Gaza.

It said it was moving ahead 'independently' because the EU was 'unable to adopt concrete measures  due to internal disagreements and disunity'.

Amid the devastating war in Gaza, where 'people  are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them', it was the 'duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others'.

It added that the government had not issued any permits for the export of military weapons and equipment to Israel since October 2023 because of the conflict.
Iranian authorities have amputated the hands of three convicted 'thieves' in a rare use of the brutal Sharia law punishment.

The savage punishment, usually reserved for repeat offenders, was given to three men at Urmia Prison in the West Azerbaijan province, in northwest Iran, on Thursday at around 1am.

The men, described by Iran's judiciary website as 'professional thieves', were arrested between August 2017 and November 2019 and convicted in a 'grossly unfair' trial in which the court sentenced them to have four fingers on their right hands completely cut off.

They had 'more than 40 private plaintiffs across four provinces', the judiciary's Mizan website said.

'The sentence of hand amputation for three professional thieves with a history of multiple thefts was carried out in West Azerbaijan province', it added.

Mizan said the amputations had been carried out after Iran's top court upheld the sentences against the trio, and after they had not cooperated with 'many' attempts to negotiate the return of the stolen items.

The claimed that returning the stolen goods, mostly gold jewelry, would have allowed them 'to benefit from legal leniency and repentance'.

Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Sarah Hashas said the amputations were 'based on 'confessions' obtained under torture and following grossly unfair trials'.

Iranian authorities have amputated the hands of three convicted 'thieves' in a rare use of the brutal Sharia law punishment. (File image)

The savage punishment, usually reserved for repeat offenders, was given to three men at Urmia Prison in the West Azerbaijan province on Thursday. (File image)

The Sharia-based penal code was introduced in Iran after the Islamic revolution of 1979 and allows for amputation as a punishment. (File image)

'They are a chilling reminder of the Iranian authorities' readiness to inflict irreversible suffering and that Iran's judicial system is a vital cog in the machinery of torture', she added.

The three men were sentenced to 'amputation of four fingers from the right hand from the base, so that the thumb remains' despite testimony that their confessions were extracted under torture, according to documents obtained by Iran Human Rights organisation (IHRNGO).

Since getting the gruesome sentence, all three had gone on multiple hunger strikes in prison to protest the inhumane conditions they have been subjected to, as well as their conviction.

IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: 'The international community must not tolerate the implementation of medieval and degrading sentences like finger amputations in the 21st century.'

The Sharia-based penal code was introduced in Iran after the Islamic revolution of 1979.

It provides for amputation as a punishment for certain offences, although human rights groups have condemned its use as 'cruel' and 'inhumane'.

Last month Iranian authorities amputated the hands of two men who had been repeatedly convicted of theft.

According to the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Centre, Iranian authorities have amputated the fingers of at least 131 men since January 2000.
A dead young woman's family saw her alleged murderer for the first time as they attended court this morning.

Grieving relatives of Courtney Angus, 21, were accompanied by a police family liaison officer for the first appearance in crown court of suspected murderer Michael Doherty, 37.

The barmaid, who worked at the Fox and Hounds Pub, in Batley, was discovered dead at the end terrace property on Norfolk Street after odd-job man Doherty had been arrested by police for allegedly shoplifting electrical items from Asda and threatening staff with a knife.

Doherty is also alleged to have threatened two police officers with the bladed weapon.

Doherty - AKA Moore - is charged with the murder of Courtney at his home in Norfolk Street, Batley, West Yorkshire, on 26 July.

Appearing via video link from HMP Leeds, Doherty, 37, wearing a prison issue yellow and green jump suit answered no when asked by the court clerk are you Michael Moore?

Judge Tom Bayliss KC, after being informed by defence barrister Richard Wright KC that he uses another surname, asked him Are you Michael Doherty? - to which he replied yes.

No plea or indication of plea was taken and the case was listed for trial at Leeds Crown Court on 26 January 2026. No bail application was made and Doherty was remanded in custody.

Grieving relatives of Courtney Angus, 21, (pictured) were accompanied by a police family liaison officer for the first appearance in crown court of suspected killer Michael Doherty, 37

The barmaid, who worked at the Fox and Hounds Pub, in Batley, was discovered dead at the end terrace property on Norfolk Street after odd-job man Doherty had been arrested by police for allegedly shoplifting electrical items from Asda and threatening staff with a knife

It was the first time her family have been to court as they weren't at his first magistrates court hearing.

District Judge Charlotte Holland told him at the previous hearing on Wednesday that the murder offences and knife matters are too serious to be heard at magistrates' court.

Turning to Courtney's family sitting in the public gallery, Judge Bayliss told them today: 'Thank you very much for your attendance today. It must be a very difficult time for you, indeed.

'I'm sorry that it is so very formal here, but you would expect that, I'm sure.'

No cause of death for Courtney has yet been released.

Earlier this week, Courtney's family paid tribute to her, stating: 'Our lives have been shattered and turned upside down with the news that no parent wants to hear - that our gorgeous daughter and sister is no longer with us.

'Courtney had a beautiful soul. She was a lover of music, socialising and having fun. Her whole family is heartbroken over the loss of such an amazing woman.

'Courtney had many friends and family who loved her. She will be missed so dearly.

'We would like to thank the community and the media for their support, and ask for privacy at this difficult time.'

Staff at the Fox and Hounds also paid tribute, writing: 'We are heartbroken to hear the devastating news about Courtney.

Pictured: Police at the scene of the death on Norfolk Street, Batley

'Though she was only with us at The Fox for a short while, she left a lasting impression - sweet, kind, and always with a warm smile.'

Father-of-three Doherty, who has worked as a labourer and recently started a window cleaning round, is charged with the murder of Courtney Angus on 26 July.

He is also charged with possession of a bladed article, two charges of threatening police officers with a bladed article, affray, shop theft from Asda of electrical items to value unknown, and threatening a member of Asda staff with a bladed article. All charges relate to 26 July.

Police said these charges relate to incidents in Dewsbury on the same day.

Doherty will next appear at Leeds Crown Court on 5 September for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
A Maryland boy died after getting swept into a storm drain while playing outside during deadly flash flooding.

The unnamed 13-year-old was with a group of friends outside their Mount Airy apartment complex, approximately 40 miles west of Baltimore, when a severe storm hit Thursday.

The teen became trapped amid the height of the storm at around 5.20pm, according to the Mount Airy Police Department.

Desperate neighbors frantically tried to pull him from the rapidly rising waters but were unsuccessful.

'I flew out of the car, jumped into the water and started yanking on him. We just couldn't get him out,' neighbor Maggie McBain told WBAL.

First responders arrived at the scene and found the boy 'waist deep' in water rising 'very quickly', Doug Alexander, the public information officer for the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company, told WJZ.

'The pipe is so small, and this is a child's body that fits in there, was pushed in there by the current,' Alexander said.

'The current was extremely strong, according to the guys who were on the scene here.

A 13-year-old boy was killed after getting swept into a storm drain while playing with friends outside their Mount Airy apartment complex (pictured) during flash flooding

'I've been in this with the Mt. Airy Fire Department for 58 years, and this is, this is one of the worst situations I've seen.'

The operation tragically shifted from rescue to recovery.

'The individual was ultimately recovered from the storm drain but, unfortunately, succumbed to injuries sustained during the event,' Police Chief Michael Ginevra added.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

'We ask the community to keep them in their hearts and to recognize the dedication of the first responders who answered the call without hesitation.'

Most of the state was under a flash flood watch Thursday evening and experienced severe storms, reported Fox45.

Mount Airy was pelted with five inches of rain in a matter of hours.

One neighbor, Chadwick Colson, told the local news outlets he saw some kids playing outside the Mount Airy apartment complex when the rain started.

'Playing around, jumping across the water, because when it rains it really kind of comes through here like a river,' Colson said.

Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company public information officer Doug Alexander (pictured) said the water rose 'very quickly' and the boy was 'waist deep' by the time first responders arrived

Despite first responders best efforts, operation tragically shifted from rescue to recovery

A rose was placed on the storm drain a 13-year-old boy died in after being swept away by flash flooding

He explained that his apartment was flooded with water up to his ankles and that he was worried about having to move.

'I don't know if we can stay here tonight,' Colson said late Thursday.

'One, the apartments flooded, and two, that's 40 feet from my door. You would think it would be some type of metal bars, metal grate, something blocking the hole.'

Senator Justin Ready also paid tribute to the rescue workers and expressed condolences to the victim's family.

'Absolutely horrific news in Mt. Airy this evening due to this storm,' he said.

'Our whole communitys deepest condolences to the family of this young person. Thank you to first responders for their efforts. This is just awful'
The elementary school teacher who confessed to stabbing a couple to death while hiking with their daughters along an Arkansas trail stood eerily silent as he appeared in court for the first time.

Andrew James McGann, 28, is charged with the grisly murders of Clinton and Cristen Brink, 43 and 41, after their bodies were found at Devil's Den State Park in the Ozark Mountains Saturday.

Both victims suffered multiple stab wounds, with their family saying they died 'heroes' after they rushed their young daughters, aged 7 and 9, to safety.

McGann - who was due to start teaching at Springdale Public Schools in the upcoming school year - was arrested Wednesday while getting a haircut at a beauty salon in Springdale.

McGann has no known connection to the victims and the motive remains a mystery. He has no prior criminal record and is believed to have acted alone.

Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar described the horrific attack as a 'completely random event.'

Dressed in striped prison garb, the teacher appeared in Washington County Detention Center Friday morning where he was charged with two counts of capital murder.

He stood silently next to his public defender, simply nodding his head when asked to confirm his name.

Andrew James McGann, 28, appears in court for the first time since he was charged with the murders of Cristen and Clinton Brink

District Judge Terra Stephenson ordered his bond to be revoked at the minutes-long hearing

During the brief, minutes-long hearing, District Judge Terra Stephenson revoked his bond for the chilling murders.

McGann was ordered to return to court for his arraignment on August 25.

Prosecutors also asked that he be banned from making any contact with the victims' family.

If convicted, McGann faces the death penalty.

The Brinks had only recently moved to Prairie Grove, Arkansas, from North Dakota with their three daughters.

On Saturday July 26, they had taken two of their daughters hiking in Devil's Den State Park when McGann allegedly attacked. The third child wasnt with them on the trails.

Maj. Stacie Rhoads with the Arizona State Police Criminal Investigation Division said in a press conference Thursday that Clinton Brink was attacked first.

Cristen rushed their two children to safety before going back to try to help her husband, Rhoads said.

The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids, Rhoads said.

We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help her husband.

Cristen Brink, 41, and Clinton Brink, 43, were stabbed to death Saturday afternoon along a trail at Devil's Den State Park, Arkansas

Elementary school teacher Andrew McGann seen in mugshot following his arrest for murder

During the brief court hearing Friday, a judge ordered him to return to court August 25

When she returned, she was also stabbed to death.

The children were unharmed and were found around half a mile into the park, police said.

They were able to describe the killer to investigators, who compiled a sketch.

The Brinks children are now in the care of family members.

Following a five-day manhunt, police zeroed in on McGann as the suspect in the slayings.

Hagar said that the killer had sustained injuries in the deadly attack, leaving blood behind at the scene.

Investigators were able to build a DNA profile from the blood - leading them to the 28-year-old teacher.

Investigators also honed in on McGanns vehicle, a black KIA Stinger, which was captured on security footage from businesses close to the trail.

Rhoads said that the suspect had used tape to hide the license plate and other identifying features of the vehicle - a ploy that initially led police to believe it was four-door Mazda.

Once identified as a suspect, police were able to track McGann down to Lupitas Beauty Salon and Barber Shop in Springdale.

Andrew McGann was arrested while getting his haircut at a salon in Springdale Wednesday

A hairstylist at Lupita's Beauty Salon and Barber Shop said McGann appeared 'soulless'

Stunning surveillance footage captured the moment police swooped on McGann while he was getting a haircut at around 5pm Wednesday.

Hairdresser Adriana Ruiz Avalos told NewsNation he 'looked soulless' and that she had 'an eerie feeling' about McGann as soon as he came into the barbershop.

He repeatedly refused to let her shorten his hair at the front so that it would continue to cover his eyes, she said.

Avalos said the suspect also refused to give his name to her aunt - who also works there - simply staring straight ahead when she asked.

'She felt like something kind of didnt feel right, but she didnt think anything of it,' she said.

It was during the haircut when police entered the salon and asked for the person who owned the black KIA Stinger outside and took McGann into custody.

Following his arrest, police said he confessed to the murders after being presented with the DNA evidence tying him to the crime scene.

A search of his home uncovered knives as well as items seen in a photo of a suspect by the trails that day, Rhoads said.

It is not yet clear if the murder weapon has been found.

McGann has worked at multiple schools across Oklahoma and Texas before recently moving to Arkansas.

Police tape cordons off the crime scene where the couple was murdered last weekend

A photo and composite sketch released by police prior to the suspect's identification and arrest

He was due to take up a position with Springdale Public Schools in the upcoming school year, Superintendent Jared Cleveland said in a statement following his arrest.

Cleveland said that McGann had not yet begun working for the district and had not had any contact with students or families.

Following his arrest, new details are emerging about his past teaching roles, including some potentially disturbing reports about his behavior.

McGann is licensed to teach elementary and middle school grades in at least three states - Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas - according to state records.

While his past employers insist he passed background checks, the 28-year-old had bounced around multiple districts and states - only staying at each school for one school year.

He left at least one position following allegations of 'inappropriate behavior'.

Prior to his move to Arkansas, McGann worked as a fifth-grade teacher for Sand Springs Public Schools in Oklahoma.

He was hired there from summer 2024 through to May 2025 when he resigned to move out of state, the district confirmed in a statement.

Investigators have found no connection between Clinton and Cristen Brink and their alleged killer

The school year prior - from 2023 to 2024 - he taught fifth grade at Spring Creek Elementary with Broken Arrow Public Schools, Oklahoma.

The district said he left of his own accord.

McGann had been hired at Broken Arrow following his move from Texas, where he began his teaching career in 2022 at Donald Elementary within the Lewisville Independent School District.

His first teaching position was also short-lived following reports of troubling behavior.

He was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 due to allegations of inappropriate behavior, such as favoritism and uneven treatment of students.

While the district said an internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students, McGanns classroom management and professional judgment was found to be below expectation.

McGann resigned from the role in May 2023, paving the way for his move to Oklahoma.

McGann is next due in court on August 25.
His neck tattoo had near prophetic meaning

A man who was gunned down in a daylight shooting near his family home taunted his killer in his final moments.

Athan Boursinos, 21, was shot dead in a 'targeted' shooting near a kindergarten as he left his family home in Wollert, in Melbourne's outer north, at 9am on Thursday.

Several neighbours claimed to have heard Mr Boursinos engaged in a verbal argument with his killer in the moments before he was peppered with bullets.

It's understood Mr Boursinos taunted his killer, urging him to 'do it' before he was shot dead, witnesses told The Herald Sun.

It comes as new photos emerged of Mr Boursinos showing the eerily prophetic tattoo he had etched on his neck.

'The souls I have taken will never haunt me. Only the ones I haven't,' the tattoo on the left side of his neck read.

The quote was also tattooed on the chest of murdered Sydney gangster Hamad 'the Executioner' Assaad.

His body was also covered in symbols and slogans associated with criminal organisations from around the world.

A tattoo on Athan Boursinos' neck had a near prophetic meaning after he was gunned down near his home on Thursday

Wedged between a large cross on his chest and a blade on his torso, Mr Boursinos had the word 'Omerta' tattooed.

Omerta is a word used to describe the code of silence, particularly associated with the Mafia in Southern Italy.

In another photograph, a tattoo of an outlined teardrop can be seen underneath one of Mr Boursinos' eyes.

The teardrop symbol is common among American gang and prison culture and can represent several things, including acts of violence, loss of life, the taking of a life or even time served in jail.

Mr Boursinos also had the name of his fiancee, Sanaria Rofael, tattooed on his upper right arm in red capital letters.

Ms Rofael was seen sobbing at the scene, wearing a maroon tracksuit and holding a Fendi handbag while detectives began their investigation into the shooting.

In a heartbreaking tribute to her fiance, Ms Rofael shared a carousel of images to Instagram just hours after his death.

'I miss you,' she captioned the post.

Boursinos, 21, was shot dead in a 'targeted' shooting near a kindergarten outside his Wollert home in Melbourne's outer north

'I would do anything in this world to feel this with you again. I will never stop loving you, you showed me what love was. I love you so much. I will see you soon.

'You're the best person I have ever met with the best soul. I can't wait to see you and hold you again.'

Mr Boursinos was due to face court later that day regarding several lingering drug, weapon, theft and driving charges he had been facing.

The 21-year-old is also believed to have been an associate of underworld kingpin and exiled crime boss Kazem 'Kaz' Hamad.

It's understood Mr Boursinos was leaving his home to appear in court when he was ambushed near his BMW.

His body was found lying beside a grey BMW with the driver door open and the engine apparently still running.

A neighbour said her brother heard eight shots ring out and ran to see the man's last breaths before he died.

Prior to his execution, his killers reportedly planted a getaway car near his home at 4am on Thursday - just five hours before he was shot dead.

Mr Boursinos' fiancee, Sanaria Rofael, was seen sobbing where her partner was shot

Police believed there was a confrontation between Mr Boursinos and his killer, with neighbours claiming to have heard the 21-year-old taunt the gunman

Homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said police believed the gunman shot and killed Mr Boursinos in Game Lane before fleeing the scene in another vehicle.

'We also have reports of a vehicle being found burnt out in Amery Street in Reservoir,' Det Insp Thomas told reporters.

The getaway vehicle had been parked just in front of where the Nissan, which had been driven to Mr Boursinos' house, was torched.

Two hooded figures in black clothing were seen fleeing the scene immediately after setting the vehicle alight.

Homicide squad detectives have remained in the area and several crime scenes have been established.

Another vehicle was found with extensive fire damage three kilometres away but detectives have no reason to believe it is linked to the killing.

Any trace of evidence or fingerprints was unrecoverable from either car.

Mr Boursinos is suspected of being linked to the execution of underworld figure Sam 'The Punisher' Abdulrahim on January 28.

Neighbours said they heard eight shots fired by Mr Boursinos' killer at the time of his death

Mr Boursinos' killers remain on the run

Detectives admitted Mr Boursinos' murder appeared to be 'very deliberate and obviously targeted' and that he had been 'known' to police before his death.

Independent journalist Ryan Naumenko's website Outlaw Media - which charts Melbourne's underworld crime news - labelled Thursday's murder a gangland hit.

'If the information I have is right... this will be bigger than World War 3,' he wrote.

Mr Boursinos' killers remain on the run.
A 41-year-old man tragically died after being struck by a projectile from a mini-cannon during a private fireworks display in Maine, police said.

Joseph Hennessey, of South Paris, had attended a fireworks display at a home in Roxbury on Saturday when he was hit with the projectile shortly before 9:30pm, according to Maine State Police.

'I heard a pretty big bang, which I thought was probably a cannon because I've heard them and I've seen them at different places that I've been at,' neighbor Kevin Boutin told KOAT.

Boutin said the fireworks show stopped after the cannon went off and that an ambulance arrived at the home shortly after.

Hennessey was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed by the medical examiner confirmed that Hennessey died after being struck by the projectile.

His death remains under investigation.

Police did not provide additional information when contacted by the Daily Mail.

Joseph Hennessey, of South Paris, had attended a fireworks display at a home in Roxbury on Saturday when he was hit with the projectile shortly before 9:30pm

'I heard a pretty big bang, which I thought was probably a cannon because I've heard them and I've seen them at different places that I've been at,' neighbor Kevin Boutin said

Hennessey was taken to the hospital and later pronounced dead. An autopsy performed by the medical examiner confirmed that Hennessey died after being struck by the projectile

One of Hennessey's relatives declined to speak with the Daily Mail when contacted.

Certain fireworks are legal in the Pine Tree State, though items like M-80s, cherry bombs and bottle rockets are prohibited.

'Missile-type rockets' are also banned.

It's unclear what type of projectile killed Hennessey.

Last year, 17 people ranging in age from 13 to 93 were injured by fireworks in Maine, according to state data.

In July, a 13-year-old Missouri girl was tragically killed after a freak fireworks incident set her home ablaze.

That same month, an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in California left seven people dead.
The desperate mother of a missing California woman who vanished with her eight-month-old baby more than two weeks ago has accused cops of 'profiling my family' and refusing to put much effort into the search.

Whisper Owen, 36, was last seen with her infant daughter Sandra on July 15 when she was caught on camera in Atwater, California, while making the three-hour drive home to Sacramento after seeing family in Fresno.

The blonde mom-of-four was seen making a pitstop at a smoke shop in the rural city at around 8pm but never made it home.

Now, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Whisper's distraught mother Vickie Torres, 58, has said the official search has been pinged between several different police and sheriff's departments  with none too keen to pick up the slack.

Speaking from her home in Fresno, Torres noted that Whisper  along with the rest of the family  has criminal priors and said, as a result, she thinks the police aren't taking the disappearance seriously.

She said: 'I feel like the cops are profiling my family. We all have records, so they think we are all ex-cons and druggies.

'But what about Sandra? She is a baby and the definition of innocence but they're being so casual about it.'

Torres, who admitted a prior alcohol addiction and has been sober for four years, added: 'I just don't understand how they can take it so lightly like this.

Vickie Torres, 58, is desperate to cuddle her granddaughter Sandra McCarty again after she vanished two weeks ago with her mother, Torres's daughter, Whisper Owen

Whisper gave birth to baby Sandra eight months ago. Like others in her family, she has a criminal record, which her mother believes is causing police to dismiss the disappearance, stereotyping the family as 'ex-cons and druggies' rather than focusing on the urgent fact that a baby is missing

Torres says the disappearance has consumed her, and shes been kissing butt with police just to get them to take action. Still, she emphasized that the case has been passed between multiple police and sheriffs departments

'It's got me consumed and I'm trying not to be bitter or hateful. I'm really trying. It's hard, but I'm not going to get anywhere being angry at these people or talking to them with a bad demeanor. It's not going to help.

'So, I'm basically kissing butt, trying to get some help. It's not easy.'

According to Torres, the Fresno Sheriff's Department was the first to pick up the case after she reported Whisper missing to them on July 19.

They were the first to dig into the disappearance before handing it over to counterparts in Sacramento where Whisper lives.

But, said a furious Torres, the Sacramento Sheriff's Department worked on the case for a day before deciding that Whisper had gone on the lam due to an outstanding warrant issued six months ago.

That theory cut no ice with the 58-year-old who told the Daily Mail that Whisper was aware of the warrant  which arose over a neglect conviction after one of her children got Covid-19 in 2021  and had tried to hand herself in to the Sacramento County Jail, only to be sent home due to high blood pressure.

She told the Daily Mail: 'Because the active warrant is there, they're saying she doesn't want to be found. She's running.

'That's not the case. She's not going to run from her other children, from her family. She lives for her children. She never would have left her children. She didn't run.'

Whisper Owenposes with her brothers Richard and Edwin. She had a warrant issued six months ago, tied to a 2021 neglect conviction after one of her children contracted COVID-19, her mother said

The case is now being handled by the Fresno Police Departments Missing Persons Unit, with Lieutenant Larry Bowlan telling the Daily Mail they do not believe Whisper or baby Sandra are still in the Fresno area

Whisper's boyfriend Robert McCarty has joined the family's efforts to comb through the backroads between Fresno and Sacramento

Photos exclusively obtained by the Daily Mail show the mom-of-four beaming with baby Sandra, as well as her three older children Jaden, 16, Faith, nine and Jacob, three, and her boyfriend Robert McCarty.

McCarty, 52, has been helping to search for his girlfriend and daughter, as has Whisper's brother Richard and his wife  all of whom have combed the country back roads between Fresno and Sacramento.

The police response is now being handled by the Fresno Police Department Missing Persons Unit, with Lieutenant Larry Bowlan telling the Daily Mail that they do not believe Whisper or Sandra are still in the Fresno area.

He added: 'There is nothing in the current missing persons investigation which leads us to believe any foul play is involved with Whisper and her child not being located yet.'

Bowlan told the Daily Mail that investigators had been scouring family shelters in Sacramento County and further north in Redding in case the mom-of-four had asked for help with temporary housing.

He also said photos of the mom and baby had been shared on social media accounts belonging to police departments across central and northern California.

But Torres slammed the response as half-hearted and said her daughter has no reason to go to a homeless shelter.

'The police department got a tip that said somebody had seen her in Redding at a food bank,' said Torres.

Lieutenant Larry Bowlan told Daily Mail that investigators have checked family shelters in Sacramento and Redding and shared photos of the missing mom and daughter across police social media accounts

Torres said that Whisper was allegedly spotted at a food bank but that it made no sense that she would need food when she has a $600 food stamp card

Whisper's family, including nine-year-old Faith and Jacob, three, have been hit especially hard by their mothers absence

'My daughter would never go to a food bank, and right now she's got a food stamp card with $600 on it. She wouldn't need to do that anyway.'

On the day she disappeared, Whisper had left her home in Sacramento at 4am to make a doctor's appointment in Fresno at 8.30am.

Afterwards, she spent time with her brother Richard before dropping in on Torres with baby Sandra in tow.

Recently returned from a vacation in Wyoming with boyfriend Richard and her four children, Torres said she had been in an upbeat mood.

'She seemed completely well, she was wonderful,' Torres told the Daily Mail. 'She was telling me how their vacation went and said it was wonderful.

'There was nothing to suggest anything was wrong.'

According to Torres, Whisper left at around 5pm and was spotted on security store footage at a grocery store two blocks away an hour later where she purchased baby formula.

Next, came the sighting in Atwater, 60 miles north of Fresno, around 8pm. But since then, there has been no sign of Whisper, Sandra or her 2006 silver Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV.

Whisper's second sighting came after she grabbed baby formula from a grocery store and then went through Atwater, 60 miles north of Fresno. After that, there has no confirmed sightings of the two or her 2006 silver Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV

The World of Smoke shop in Atwater, California, where the last confirmed sighting of Whisper was before she vanished two weeks ago

Lieutenant Bowlan said: 'Our Missing Persons Detectives are doing a thorough investigation in this case and are following up on all possible leads to locate Whisper and her child.

'Unfortunately, no new developments have occurred with the case, through our investigative efforts in the last few days on locations to check for them.'

The Fresno Sheriff's Department told the Daily Mail they are no longer involved in the case while the the Sacramento Sheriff and Police Departments did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.

Meanwhile, Torres said the family are struggling with teenager Jaden and nine-year-old Faith hit hard by their mother's absence.

Three-year-old Jacob, meanwhile, doesn't truly understand what is going on but has been desperately searching the family home in Sacramento and is constantly calling out for mommy.

Despite police denials, Torres believes there could be foul play involved and has agonized over scenarios ranging from a car wreck to abduction by sex traffickers.

Distraught, Torres said: 'As her mother, I have to find her  whatever has happened. I have to know, I need closure. I need to know if something bad has happened.

'I need to know if she's dead.'

She added: 'I need people to stay aware, to look for her, to understand that this family is going through the most horrible experience you can imagine.

'I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. I just wouldn't.'
A female con artist who helped crooks fleece disabled pensioners out of 186,000 by keeping them on the phone for hours in bank scam call plot has been jailed.

Shameless Lydia Cunningham wept in the dock as she was sentenced to almost four years behind bars for being the ringleader of the criminal racket.

The 28-year-old, operating with fellow cheat Youssef Hassan, 20, was part of a gang that deliberately targeted 26 vulnerable victims - including an 84-year-old who was caring for her son with stage four lung cancer.

The trickster, who lives in leafy street in Hampton, Richmond upon Thames, would call pensioners claiming to be from their bank before arranging to steal their savings.

Cunningham kept some of her victims on the phone for up to 12 hours while her fake 'couriers' - which included John Burgess, 27, and Hassan - turned up to collect their bank cards before draining them of cash.

The gang was busted after Hassan was arrested in Twickenham, west London on February 1, 2024, having led police on a 90mph chase while high on cannabis.

Cunningham and Hassan admitted conspiracy to acquire or use criminal property, namely a mobile and cash, between June 2023 and June 2024. Hassan also admitted dangerous driving.

Burgess, was also charged with conspiracy to acquire or use criminal property, but hanged himself in prison earlier this year, Isleworth Crown Court heard.

Cunningham, of sobbed as prosecutor Jonathan Loades described how she 'played the lead role and was involved in all almost all the communications with the victims in the crime'.

Shameless Lydia Cunningham (pictured) wept in the dock as she was sentenced to almost four years behind bars for being the ringleader of the criminal racket

'She was described as keeping victims on the phone for hours and hours,' Mr Loades told the court. 'One victim said she kept them in the phone for 12 hours.

'This was partly to prevent the victim from making calls to the bank, and was part of the relatively sophisticated enterprise.

'Hassan's principal role was to act as a courier to go to people's houses and take from them the phones and the bank card they were willing to provide.

'Hassan was sent many miles away to collect the items as directed by Cunningham.

'Simply put, the victim was telephoned often by Cunningham, claiming to be representative of a bank.

'Cunningham had access to a number of phones and sim cards were regularly swapped between handsets.

'She claimed their bank details were comprised, and told them to place items in an envelope to wait collection by a courier.'

Mr Loades said the callous cohort of crooks had clearly picked their targets, targeting some of the most vulnerable in society.

Cunningham kept some of her victims on the phone for hours as she attempted to take their savings, a court heard

'I don't think there was anybody who was not targeted in this case who was not elderly,' the prosecutor added.

Mr Loades told the court how the fraudsters targeted a 70-year-old disabled man.

'Cunningham pretended she was calling from NatWest and tried to convince the disabled man to go to Canary Wharf that evening to hand in his card.' he said.

'She told the man she could arrange for a private courier service to hand over the cards if he could not make the journey.'

Mr Loades said on another occasion a 'white male' turned up at an elderly's woman's home after Cunningham called up posing as a bank worker.

'The victim said Cunningham kept her on the phone all day, and directed her to transfer the money.

'She thought she had about 12,000 on one card, which was completely wiped.'

The victim told police: 'At the time, I was caring for my daughter, who has cerebral palsy. I was very stressed... I now find it hard to trust people.'

Fellow con artist Youssef Hassan, 20 (pictured) would act as a 'courier' to pick up bank cards from victims, a court heard

Cunningham also conned a 73-year-old man after telling her she was 'Josie Hannah from NatWest,' said Mr Loades.

'Cunningham explained that her bank cards had been used fraudulently, and needed to be replaced.

'She convinced the victim. Hassan then turned up, and 46,000 was taken from the victim's account.

Mr Loades told the court an 84-year-old woman was targeted while caring for her son who had stage four lung cancer at the time.

She said: 'This has made me extremely anxious, even in my own home.'

Another victim was conned into giving 'tens of thousands of pounds worth' of jewellery, the court heard.

She said in a victim impact statement: 'I feel violated. I felt like my body did not belong to me.

'I've struggled to sleep. I feel like a wreck because of this.'

Tom Edwards, defending Cunningham, said: 'There are clearly people providing the information on how to contact the victims, who must have prior nature of the victim's circumstances.

'Although she was seen on shops using the victim's bank cards, she was not a primary recipient of all the money.

'She is still a young woman, and does not have a significant criminal history.'

Cunningham has since been jailed for 46 months, and ordered her to pay back 1950.70

Mark Stevens, defending Hassan, said: 'There are others alleged to have been involved, but it is not the case that Hassan was involved in each and every occasion.'

Before sentencing remarks, Hassan shouted at the press box: 'Get out. I don't want my name everywhere' and gestured to the door.

Passing sentence, the judge Recorder Annabel Darlow KC said: 'This was a courier fraud deliberately targeting elderly, vulnerable victims, some of whom were disabled.

'The victims were giving the choice of accepting the courier or taking the items to Canary Wharf, a location deliberately selected knowing it was a difficult place for an elderly person to get to.

Recorder Darlow KC told Cunningham: 'I am satisfied you played a leading role. You kept your victims on the phone for hours, sometimes even for 12 hours, and that was pure cunning on your part.'

She told Hassan: 'You were lower down the hierarchy, but you still played a significant role.

'You were cruelly fooling vulnerable elderly individuals.

'The offending was sophisticated over a prolonged period of time.

'You knew the personal details of the victim, which inspired confidence in them trusting you.

'That information could only have come from secure sources.

'These were ruthless crime plundered by you and your conspirators, emptying bank accounts, and frittering away huge sums of money.

'Your victims have been left feeling vulnerable in the one place they should feel safe, in their own homes.

'Savings accumulated over years of hard work were simply wiped out.

The judge jailed Cunningham for 46 months, and ordered her to pay back 1950.70.

Hassan was jailed for 30 months, and was disqualified from driving for 21 months.

Hassan of Westminster, London, has previous convictions for seven offences of robbery, driving offences and assault by beating of an emergency worker.

Cunningham, formerly of Littlehampton, West Sussex, has two previous convictions for seven offences, relating to a driving offence and a breach of a criminal behavioural order.
An Italian man has allegedly been murdered and chopped into pieces by his own mother and girlfriend.

Alessandro Venier's remains were found in a rubbish bin at his home in Gemona del Friuli, near the north-eastern city of Udine.

The 35-year-old's remains were found buried in quicklime to disguise the smell. He was reportedly cut up into three parts.

A special vehicle was called in by local authorities to remove the bin, and for Venier's remains to be handed over for a post-mortem.

Venier, who worked in a local hospital, was allegedly killed by his mother Lorna Venier, a nurse, and his 30-year-old Colombian girlfriend.

They are alleged to have drugged him, before hacking him to pieces.

His remains were discovered after police began investigating, seemingly after receiving a call from one of the women.

Both have been arrested and taken to the local police station for questioning.

Alessandro Venier's (pictured) remains were found in a rubbish bin at his home in Gemona del Friuli

The town has reportedly been left shocked by the horror death

Venier was brought up by his mother after his father abandoned the family following his birthVenier was brought up by his mother after his father abandoned the family following his birth

Lorena reportedly told a local prosecutor: 'It was me and I know that what I did was monstrous.'

Her lawyer, Giovanni De Nardo, told local media: 'My client made a full confession before the deputy prosecutor who questioned her.

'As you can imagine, she was visibly shocked by the cruelty of her action and the violation of any natural law.'

So far, no motive have been revealed for the alleged murder. The dead man had a six-month-old baby girl with his girlfriend, and all four members of the family lived together.

Venier was brought up by his mother after his father abandoned the family following his birth.

The town has reportedly been left shocked by the horror death.

Roberto Revelant, the mayor of the town, said: 'Nothing like this has ever happened here before. Its a terrible thing, its heart-wrenching.'

A post-mortem examination is currently being carried out, and the women are expected to be officially charged in the coming days.

The six-month-old child has been taken into care, with the mayor adding: 'The whole community is rallying around the baby. We are working with social services to make sure she is safe.'
Former Vice President Kamala Harris wouldn't give a name when asked who the current leader is of the Democratic Party.

Harris appeared Thursday night on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert following last month's shock announcement that CBS was cancelling the program next spring.

The previous Democratic presidential nominee announced this week that she had penned a book about her failed 2024 campaign experience entitled 107 Days, which will be released next month.

Harris also revealed that she won't be running for California governor in 2026, teeing up speculation she's planning to mount another presidential bid in 2028 instead.

Colbert was quick to press her on who the real leader of the Democrats is now, as other potential 2028 hopefuls - including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - wait in the wings.

'Who's leading the Democratic Party? I'm just curious,' Colbert prodded.

Harris briefly paused. 'There are lots of leaders,' she responded.

Colbert didn't buy it.

'There's generally a leader of the Democratic Party,' the liberal comedian continued, cuing laughs. 'Who comes to mind?'

Harris, again, didn't name names.

'I think there are a lot of - I'm not going to go through names because I'm going to leave somebody out and then I'm going to hear about it,' the former VP answered.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris (left) appeared Thursday on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert (right) on the heels of the announcement that she had written a book about her 2024 campaign experience. She also declined this week to run for the California governorship

Party leaders tend to be former presidents and former presidential nominees. But former Vice President Kamala Harris (left) didn't volunteer her name or that of former President Joe Biden (right) when Stephen Colbert asked who is the leader of the Democratic Party

'But let me say this,' she continued. 'I think it is a mistake for us who want to figure out how to get out and through this, and get out of it, to put it on the shoulders of any one person. It's really on all of our shoulders. It really is,' Harris added.

Typically a former president or the party's most recent presidential nominee would be considered the party leader - but Harris didn't volunteer herself nor former President Joe Biden.

She also announced this week that she would not seek the job of California governor.

After leaving Washington in January for Los Angeles, Harris was reportedly mulling a run.

She had previously served as a U.S. senator from California and the state's attorney general, before being sworn-in as vice president in 2021.

Colbert asked Harris why she had decided to sit this one out - and if she planned to run for a different office, alluding to another presidential run in 2028.

'No, no, no,' she answered.

'It's more, perhaps, basic then that,' Harris continued. 'I am a devout public servant. I have spent my entire career in service of the people and I thought a lot about running for governor. I love my state, I love California.'

Former Vice President Kamala Harris (left) denied that her decision not to run for California governor had to do with wanting to pursue another White House bid. She appeared on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert (right) on Thursday

Vice President Kamala Harris is photographed campaigning for the White House in Pittsburgh in November, 2024, one day before the election, which she lost to Republican former President Donald Trump. Trump said Thursday she lost because 'she can't speak'

She then told Colbert she wanted to be 'very candid with you.'

'For now, I don't want to go back in the system, I think it's broken,' Harris said. 'I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk to people and I don't want it to be transactional where I'm asking for their vote.'

President Donald Trump, who beat Harris in November's election, was asked Thursday about his former rival's decision not to run for California governor.

'Well, she can't speak,' Trump replied. 'She can't talk. She can't do an interview.'

'I thought it was a very strange campaign that we had,' the president added.
Reform UK's Zia Yusuf has claimed that some of those 'most exercised' about the Channel migrant crisis are legal migrants.

The multi-millionaire businessman, one of the leading figures in Nigel Farage's party, said anger about people entering the UK illegally via small boats is due to a sense of 'fairness'.

'It's not about good or bad [migrants] per se, it's about the sort of people who come here, and it's about numbers,' Mr Yusuf, the son of Sri Lankan parents, told the Financial Times.

'Some of the people who are most exercised about what is going on with illegal migration are legal migrants.'

He added: 'It's about fairness... they had to go through a process, they had to wait.'

A year on from an outbreak of rioting across Britain, in the wake of the Southport murders, Mr Yusuf issued a dire warning about the current state of the UK.

'Britain is trending to a dystopian place of social unrest and sectarian violence... foreigners are basically invading the country,' he said.

'Nigel used the word "invasion" for a long time and got a huge amount of stick but... north of 160,000 men arriving on our beaches, the majority of them fighting-age men, I don't know what else you call that.'

Reform UK's Zia Yusuf has claimed that some of those 'most exercised' about the Channel migrant crisis are legal migrants

A group of people thought to be migrants scramble to board a small boat near Wimereux in France

Last summer's violence followed false rumours spread online that the Southport suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat.

Hotels housing asylum seekers were among the targets which saw protests and disorder.

There have also been demonstrations outside hotels housing asylum seekers this summer, including multiple protests in Epping.

But Mr Yusuf denied that Reform is provoking violent disorder by stoking public anger about migration, following fierce criticism of Mr Farage's comments after the Southport murders.

'The argument that flagging the problems is responsible for people reacting negatively to the problem is bogus,' he added.

'All that Reform has done is emphasise the problems that actually exist.'

Mr Yusuf is currently leading Reform's efforts to cut public spending across councils, following the party's local elections success in May.

His work is based on the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) set up by Tesla boss Elon Musk in the US.

Mr Yusuf is not among Reform's five MPs in the House of Commons, but is open to standing in a parliamentary by-election for the party.

He is also eyeing a future role as Chancellor, should Reform win the next general election.

'I've started a business from scratch, I know what it takes to create value, I've worked in financial markets at top-tier investment banks,' he said.

'Chancellor is something I think would be of value.'

Mr Yusuf remains one of the party's key figures despite his dramatic resignation as Reform's chairman in June.

The 38-year-old quit the role - and briefly the party - following a row over banning the burqa.

He described a question to the Prime Minister concerning a ban on burkas - which are worn by some Muslim women - from his party's newest MP as 'dumb'.

But Mr Yusuf, who is Muslim himself, later backtracked on leaving the party and said his decision to stand down had been the result of 'exhaustion'.

He claimed to have been working for 11 months as Reform chairman 'without a day off'.

David Bull has since succeeded Mr Yusuf as party chairman.
A five-month-old baby boy was tragically mauled to death on his mother's birthday after the family's Great Dane mix broke into his bedroom.

The horror unfolded on Wednesday in the coastline community of Ormond Beach in Florida, after the boy's mother Kyleigh Wagner went out to celebrate her birthday.

The infant, named only as Carter, was left in the care of his great-grandmother and great-aunt, who put him in a bedroom when he went down for a nap.

After closing the door behind them, they let their three dogs out of a kennel, a tragic mistake that led their largest dog - a 130lb Great Dane-Husky mix - to storm into the home.

The boy's great-grandmother and great-aunt did not realize the horror unfolding for some time, the Volusia Sheriff's Office said, until they found him with severe injuries in the room.

The pair rushed Carter to hospital, but the baby was sadly pronounced dead soon after.

Volusia County Animal Services seized the dog soon after as the family surrendered the animal, admitting it was too dangerous and aggressive, per News4. Authorities 'humanely euthanized' the dog on Thursday.

In a heart-wrenching Facebook post after the tragedy, Kyleigh wrote that 'what we thought would be an enjoyable night turned into the worst night of our lives.'

Florida mother Kyleigh Wagner wrote of her anguish after her five-month-old baby boy Carter was tragically killed by her family's pet Great Dane-Husky mix when she went out to celebrate her birthday on Wednesday

The infant, Carter, was left in the care of his great-grandmother and great-aunt, who put him in a bedroom when he went down for a nap before the family dog broke in and mauled him

In a harrowing recording of the 911 call Carter's relatives made after finding him, they were heard panicking as they tried to explain the harrowing situation.

'He appears to be bleeding and he's lifeless,' one of the women was heard telling the dispatcher.

The dispatcher responded: 'Is there any puncture? Is the child bleeding?'

'Yes, yes, he's bleeding,' they responded.

They were told to 'take a dry cloth and apply pressure over it', and the women could be heard speaking among themselves as they tried to find anything to help.

'Yes, we can... a cloth. On the head. She wants a cloth. Put on the head,' they said.

In a heart-wrenching Facebook post after the tragedy, Kyleigh wrote that 'what we thought would be an enjoyable night turned into the worst night of our lives' after the horror unfolded while she was out celebrating her birthday

Volusia County Animal Services seized the dog soon after as the family admitted it was too dangerous and aggressive. Authorities 'humanely euthanized' the animal the next day

The horror came after the boy's relatives let out the family's 130lb Great Dane-Husky mix (a stock image of the breed is pictured)

Kyleigh wrote in anguished social media posts that Carter was her 'whole world', and said she has been left bereft after the horror episode.

'I am at a loss for words,' she wrote. 'He made me a better person every day, and he was so loved and always will be through and through, and I am so grateful I was able to be his mommy.

'As a mother it makes my heart saddened even more that he was so young and we will never be able to experience life to the fullest as a family... May you rest in peace you sweet sweet boy.'

She added in another post: 'Our hearts are still in shambles and will be for the rest of our lives.

'My sweet sweet boy is so loved and missed and this is such a traumatic experience for us all.'

A memorial for the infant is seen outside the family's home in Ormond Beach, Florida

Sheriff Mike Chitwood grew emotional as he said at a press conference that the incident was 'tragic all the way around'

Officials said that they believe the death was a horrific accident, and the Volusia Sheriff's Office told Daily Mail they do not anticipate bringing any negligence charges.

'There here are no charges pending or anticipated at this time, but the Sheriffs Office is conducting a thorough investigation to determine all the facts and circumstances of this case,'

Sheriff Mike Chitwood grew emotional as he said at a press conference that the incident was 'tragic all the way around.'

'I can't imagine. I can't imagine how anybody in this family feels,' he said.

'You have a young mother who will remember on her birthday that her child is dead. And the grandparents I mean, I just don't know how anybody feels about this.

'It is so, so, so tragic. On what started to be a great night ends up, when you return home, your child is dead.'
Birds of a feather flock together. And sometimes they fly right into the engine of a Boeing 747.

Electoral loser Kamala Harris plopped her pant suit down next to Late Show loser Stephen Colbert on Thursday for a squeaky swan song duet.

Colbert was cancelled by CBS after his lifeless lefty program hemorrhaged $40 million a year.

Kamala was cancelled by the American people after hemorrhaging Democratic voters in the 2024 election.

So, it makes sense that Self-important Stephen  who is performing a professional coda that makes the Hindenburg disaster look like a perfect landing  is ending his run with the one of the most unwatchable guests in America.

And the Mad Cackler didn't disappoint, appearing to even bore Colbert to tears. The only knee-slapper she told was about how Doughy Dougie forgot her birthday last year.

'It was a big one,' she sputtered between chortles, 'He knew it was coming, and he still dropped the ball.'

Hardy Har Har! I see she'll be following the Michelle Obama template of publicly trashing her spouse.

Electoral loser Kamala Harris plopped her pant suit down next to Late Show loser Stephen Colbert on Thursday for a squeaky swan song duet.

Oh, poor Doug. She'll never forgive him for boinking his daughter's nanny.

What else did Kamala 'Joy Campaign' Harris have to say for herself?

For one, she's decided to slink out of the running for governor of her home state of California because  she says  'the system is broken.'

'Listen, I am a devout public servant,' Kamala said, spoken like someone who has never had a real job.

'I thought a lot about running for governor. I love my state, I love California. Recently I made the decision that I just, for now, I don't wanna go back in the system. I think it's broken.' Because you know what they say: when you love something, abandon it in its most dire hour of need.

So, instead of pursuing high office, Harris plans to crisscross America in an ox-drawn gypsy caravan, selling elixirs and conversing with the regular townsfolk.

'I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people, and I don't want it to be transactional, where I'm asking for their vote,' she told Colbert.

Right unfortunately, the DEI money is drying up, Kamala. So good luck, squeezing a six-figure speaking fee out of the YMCA.

Indeed, how in the world will the Harris-Emhoffs, make money?

Doug, she says, is returning to his legal practice that once represented dodgy arms dealers and OxyContin providers. And Kamala is releasing a book!

Oh, poor Doug. She'll never forgive him for boinking his daughter's nanny.

'I hope, by writing this book, one of the things that I do is help people see from the inside what it is in a way that they can see something about themselves that tells them, 'Hey, I could do that.'

The Word Salad Queen reigns supreme!

No doubt, Team Kamala hopes this scintillating page-turner will be the tome of the year, but more likely, much like the failed presidential candidate herself, it will be an empty and forgettable retread of a race everyone would soon forget.

In fact, I imagine it reads something like this:

Chapter 1: Unburdened by Biden

July 21, 2024, started like every other Sunday. I was nursing a ferocious margarita hangover and woke up in the dog's bed with a jockstrap on my head.

Why are those Secret Service clowns always hazing Mamala when she's trying to get her beauty rest?

I danced into the kitchen to find Dougie searching online for Swedish au pairs. Just then my phone lit up with a text from President Potato-head.

'Hey kid, it's Joey. Guess what? I'm dropping out of the race. And, by the way, tag you're it. No Malarkey.'

Suddenly, I got tunnel vision. Is this what it feels like when all your dreams are about to come true?

Nope. That's last night's chicken salad coming up.

'Thank you, sir! I won't disappoint you. Love Kamala,' I replied.

'Who's this?' the president wrote back.

Just then my phone lit up with a text from President Potato-head. 'Hey kid, it's Joey. Guess what? I'm dropping out of the race. And, by the way, tag you're it. No Malarkey.'

Chapter 2: How to lose campaign

'Not my problem, anymore,' I thought, as I slammed the phone down on Ole' Joey Worm Brains.

'I don't need to cover for him anymore. Time to assemble a team of bootlickers, sycophants and nutjobs to tell me how amazing I am for the next three and a half months, so I can do just enough to barely win.'

I contemplated my strategy:

Should I stop drinking? Nah, no one likes a quitter.

Should we celebrate with a few Jager bombs? Yup.

The next few weeks were filled with carefully crafted appearances at state fairs, super-softball interviews with extra-friendly liberal news outlets and a sit-down with Stephen Colbert.

I'll bet my political career that he is on the air for the next 20 years. I've been on his show half-a-dozen times, if that's not a receipt for success, then I don't what want is. [Section to be updated in paperback edition]

'Not my problem, anymore,' I thought, as I slammed the phone down on Ole' Joey Worm Brains.

Chapter 10: Hair of the Dog

November 6, 2024, started like every other Wednesday, except I was inexplicably burping up Rumplemintz.

And I still didn't know where the Secret Service got all those jockstraps from?

I was shocked by how thoroughly my campaign was shellacked. We lost every swing state and minority voters abandoned the Harris-Walz campaign in droves. Even Beyonce refused to perform at my campaign events.

Iowa pollster Ann Selzer had suggested that there was a 'Hidden Kamala voter' in the Midwest that was going to come out in force like a revolt in the Handmaiden's Tale. That didn't happen either.

And what was it about blubbering, lying, empty-headed Tim Walz that white men didn't find appealing? After all, he reminded me of my husband.

Just then, I got a call, it was Dr Jill Biden. 'You failed, Kamala. And I couldn't be happier. Now, tell Doug to stop DM'ing me' she said and hung up.

'Well,' I thought, 'I may never be president or governor or dog catcher, but I will never be late for happy hour.'

I was shocked by how thoroughly my campaign was shellacked. We lost every swing state and minority voters abandoned the Harris-Walz campaign in droves. Even Beyonce refused to perform at my campaign events.

Epilogue: Recipe for word salad

Add two decades in elected office with a generous scoop of cheesy family history (Sift out any embarrassing history about estranged fathers).

Check every identity politics box and indulge all inane platitudes and ridiculous obsessions about outer space and Venn diagrams.

Shake it all up in an empty head  and then spit it out into a microphone in between incomprehensible giggle fits.

Repeat until no one votes for you for anymore.
An enraged Tube passenger kicked the window out of a train in central London after a station worker refused to let him leave.

Footage shows the shirtless man cause three large thuds to ring out at Euston before the pane of glass finally gives way.

Effortlessly, the out-of-control commuter then climbs out of the carriage before swearing at staff and strolling away.

The video has elicited a number of comments on social media, with many condemning the incident, saying 'this is not good'.

One person said: 'Now you've taken a train out of service for that.'

Another added: 'Why'd he have to do that, come on.'

But others joked that they understood why the passenger had taken the drastic action as 'panic sets in: heat and enclosed spaces can send you nuts'.

Someone said: 'UK are so behind, when it comes to TfL. No adequate ventilation or nothing but billions on war?? Make it make sense!'

Footage shows the shirtless man cause three large thuds to ring out at Euston Station before the pane of glass finally gives way.

Effortlessly the out-of-control commuter then climbs out of the carriage before swearing at staff and strolling away

One social media user observed: 'London is so weird. This guy literally kicked the door window down and people really juss (sic) standing there instead of walking/running away.'

British Transport Police have said they are aware of the video and are investigating.

A spokesman added: 'We request anyone with information to contact us by texting 61016 and referencing 805-310-725.'

The shocking incident is just one of many to have taken place on London's transport network in recent months.

The Daily Mail approached British Transport Police, the Met and TFL for comment.

A couple of weeks ago a brawl broke out on the steps of Highbury and Islington Station at rush hour.

Screaming members of the public attempted to intervene as a group appeared to hurl a man down the stairs and threw punches and kicks at him.

Footage captured the chaos as a smartly-dressed individual kicked the head of another in a grey tracksuit - and someone else threw a rucksack into the packed crowd.

Commuters attempted to break up the fight and help a mother and her baby in a pushchair get out of the way.

In another incident, on one side of the staircase a baby in a pushchair was crying as their terrified mother screamed

A toddler was seen sitting on the floor on their own while the men threw punches just feet away

Striking footage in a separate event showed a London Underground operative hard at work on a lion-themed garment as he pulled slowly out of Hendon Central Station

Horrified bystanders then rushed to pick up a toddler left crying on the floor as the chaos unfolded.

Another video of a different nature was circulated earlier this year - as it showed an easy-going tube driver knitting and watching videos on his phone at Hendon Central Station.

A witness who filmed the spectacle - which took place on the Northern Line train - commented disapprovingly, 'look at him... watching TV, pressing a couple of buttons'.

He went on to reference the money the driver earns each year and claimed he can go on strike 'whenever he wants'.
An influencer has allegedly been murdered by her ex-boyfriend after sharing an online warning about his abuse.

Irene Gu, a 23-year-old content creator from Taiwan, was ambushed as she tried to leave a cinema car park on Tuesday night.

The suspect, identified only by his surname Liu, reportedly blocked her vehicle and began arguing with her before dragging her into a stairwell and slitting her throat.

He is said to have fled across the island to his grandfather's home, where he was arrested by a police task force early on Wednesday morning.

The suspect, identified only by his surname Liu, reportedly blocked her vehicle and began arguing with her before dragging her into a stairwell and slitting her throat.

He is said to have fled across the island to his grandfather's home, where he was arrested by a police task force early on Thursday morning.

During interrogation, Liu allegedly confessed to killing the influencer in a furious row over money, claiming she owed him 440,000 Taiwanese dollars, around 10,530, from their failed relationship.

In the days before her death, Gu posted a screenshot of her domestic violence report and issued a chilling warning to her ex: 'If you hit me, I'll go to the police, right?'

In another post, she revealed: 'Someone asked me why don't I just block him?'

'Because he'll find me, he even asked my colleagues if I was at work, disturbing my co-workers. Most importantly, I don't owe him money!'

Irene Gu, a 23-year-old content creator from Taiwan, was ambushed as she tried to leave a cinema car park

In the days before her death, Gu posted a screenshot of her domestic violence report and issued a chilling warning to her ex

Earlier in July, she uploaded a striking photo of herself in a black dress with the caption: 'Occasionally, you should thank yourself for walking such a long way alone.'

Gu had amassed more than 30,000 followers on Instagram and Threads, posting glamorous lifestyle content alongside her work as a nightclub PR officer in Taipei.

Liu also worked at the venue as a security guard.

The pair are believed to have met there after Gu was encouraged to try the nightclub scene by her mother, who reportedly wanted her to go out and 'see the world'.

She quit her banking job to take up the PR role to match his work schedule and be closer to him, but the relationship allegedly took a turn for the worse.

In May, Gu filed a complaint against Liu for alleged assault and applied for a restraining order, according to local media outlet What's The Jam.

Despite being summoned, Liu reportedly failed to show up in court.

The police investigation into her suspected murder remains ongoing.

Gu had amassed more than 30,000 followers on Instagram and Threads
Two best friends have been left flabbergasted after an Airbnb host rejected their booking - because they were Welsh.

Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, had been trying to book an 83 double room for one night at the property in Manchester.

The pair were travelling to the city from Cwmbran, South Wales, to see the Australian music producer Sonny Fodera at the city's Co-op Live Arena.

In the reason for their visit, they wrote they were coming 'from Wales to see the gig' - but just over an hour after requesting the booking, they got an email saying it had been rejected.

When asked why their booking had been cancelled, the host - Katie Jones, a University of Cambridge music graduate - responded with the message: 'Because you're from WALES.'

The shocked pals have now accused the owner of 'xenophobia and horrendous discrimination'. Ms Jones has declined to comment about the incident.

Mother-of-two Jemma, who works as a school support officer, said: 'We had an email that our booking had been declined and we were getting a refund.

'We wrote "Hi, can I ask why it's been declined", with a kiss, very politely. She wrote "because you're from Wales", in capital letters. My mouth hit the floor - nothing else other than "because you're from Wales".

Jamie Lee Watkins (left), 37,and Jemma Louise Gough, 38 (right), had been trying to book an 83 double room for one night at the property in Manchester

When asked why their booking had been cancelled, the host - Katie Jones, a University of Cambridge music graduate (pictured)- responded, saying: 'Because you're from WALES.'

Ms Jones has since been accused of 'xenophobia' for the message (which is pictured)

'It was nothing about us going to the concert or whatever, it was just discrimination of the country.

'We're amazing people, the Welsh are lush. I don't know what me and my friend, or the whole of Wales, did that's so horrible.

'It's xenophobia. It's absolutely horrendous. I'm white, so I don't think it's racism, but to a certain degree it's racism to the country, isn't it?

'It's definitely discrimination, it's horrendous.'

Jamie asked the host for further explanation as to why they'd had their booking rejected - saying that it was 'discrimination under the Equality Act 2010'.

She said her message was read, but received no response.

Registered nurse Jamie, who attempted to make the booking through her account, said: 'I just thought, "oh my gosh, how can you say no just because I'm from Wales?".

'It was really blunt... I was just a bit shocked really that people still say things like that.

Friends Ms Watkins (left) and Ms Gough were left flabbergasted by the reason for the cancellation

'If she had said "I don't want people going to concerts and coming back if they'd had a drink or something", I'd be like "yeah, OK, that's fine".

'That's an explanation. But she gave no explanation apart form "because you are from Wales".'

Afterwards, Jemma decided to make an Instagram and Facebook reel complaining about the discrimination she and her friend had received.

The video has already gained thousands of views with commenters sharing her anger online.

Richard McQuillan wrote on Facebook: 'That is race discrimination, you should report it to Airbnb.'

While commenter Natalie Baldwin wrote: 'WTF that's shocking, us Welsh are the best.'

On Airbnb, the 'superhost' who rejected the pair, Katie Jones, describes herself as 'friendly and easygoing' foodie, and says she is a 'part-time piano teacher' who plays the French horn.

According to the platform, she was born in the 1980s and has spent eight years hosting, receiving 340 reviews in the process with an average 4.96 star rating.

Pictured is the booking cancellation received by Ms Gough and Ms Watkins with the offending message followed by texts to each other in which they expressed their shock

Ms Jones plays with the Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra.

According to her biography on the orchestra's website, she read music at Cambridge and has played at the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace.

Ms Jones declined to comment when contacted today.

The en suite double room, which has an average 4.97 star rating with 300 reviews, has since been suspended by Airbnb from its platform.

An Airbnb spokesperson said: 'Discrimination, including on the basis of nationality, has no place on Airbnb.

'As soon as this report was brought to our attention, we reached out to the guest to provide our support and suspended the host while we investigate this matter.'
An Afghan hero who risked enemy fire carrying the body of a British special forces soldier down a mountain alongside the now-Veterans Minister Al Carns has been attacked and tortured while fleeing from the Taliban.

It comes amid further horrific executions this week of Afghans who worked with British forces, as the revenge of the Taliban steps up pace since it was revealed the Government had lost a database and put 100,000 people at risk of death.

Ministers obtained a super-injunction to hush-up the blunder for two years.

Ahmad was an Afghan soldier who worked with the SAS and SBS. He is in hiding in Iran where he and his family fled from Taliban revenge squads. He faces deportation back to Afghanistan where, he says, certain punishment, likely execution awaits.

Yet in the past few days, while waiting to hear if he can relocate to safety in the UK as a reward for his loyalty fighting with British forces, he has been tortured by thugs linked to the Taliban who broke and cut the fingers on his right hand. The Daily Mail has seen gruesome photos, which are too shocking to publish, of Ahmad's injuries.

The 34-year-old married father served with Afghan commandos the Triples  who were trained and paid by UK forces - for nearly a decade.

He was part of a brave detachment of British and Afghan special forces who stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul and helped free Western hostages in 2018.

And in 2013, Ahmad was on an operation with UK Special Forces in which two members of the elite British commandos the SBS were shot. He helped carry the body of one of them down a mountain, determined to ensure he was returned to his family. Alongside him was Al Carns, their commanding officer at the time, one of Britains most distinguished special forces soldiers - and who is now an MP and the Veterans Minister.

Ahmad, who fought alongside the SAS in Afghanistan and served under special forces commander Al Carns - now the Veterans Minister - has been attacked and tortured while on the run from the Taliban with his young family as they wait and hope for rescue by the UK

A blunder by the British government put '100,000 people at risk of death' at the hands of Taliban revenge squads

Ahmad, a hero who carried the body of a British Special Boat Service commando down a mountainside, has had his fingers chopped and broken by thugs with links to the Taliban

The commanding officer that night was Al Carns, one of Britains most distinguished special forces soldiers and who is now an MP and the Veterans Minister.

Ahmad, which is not his real name, said: My life and that of my family are in great danger. I would appeal to the minister to help me, he knows what happened, and of our bravery beside the British  because of that work, I will never be safe.

My work for Britain and for Afghanistan makes me a top target for the Taliban, they have been looking for me. Nowhere is safe. The leak of data makes it more dangerous.

Meanwhile there have been at least two murders.

The families of both men killed  one an officer with the Afghan special forces, the other an intelligence officer  have been ordered by the warlords in charge of the country not to discuss their assassinations.

But friends said they had been waiting to hear if they could move to the UK, under the ARAP scheme which was set up to reward those who had worked alongside British forces.

Al Carns, the Veterans Minister, was one of Britains most distinguished special forces commanders before becoming an MP. He fought in Afghanistan with Ahmad

British hero Al Carns - now the Veterans Minister - when he was a highly distinguished special forces commander in Afghanistan

Ahmad during his time serving in Afghanistan where he fought alongside British special forces including the SAS and SBS

Bashir, a former Afghan special forces commando who fought alongside British soldiers, was assassinated this week aged 38 in front of his wife and two young children

The first victim, Bashir, was a 38-year-old officer with the Triples. As he walked near his home, he was followed by three gunmen in a car. One gunman climbed from the car and shot him several times at point blank range, witnessed, friends said, by his terrified wife and two young children.

The second victim, Abdul, was a former intelligence officer with the National Directorate of Security (NDS) which worked closely with MI6, diplomats and UK forces. Earlier this week, he was shot dead and his body handed over to his family. It showed fresh signs of torture, friends said.

It is not confirmed whether the details of the men and their families were among the 100,000 at risk of death impacted by the data breach that was discovered by the Daily Mail in August 2023. The newspaper was prevented from revealing the data disaster by the Governments unprecedented super-injunction which was lifted in mid-July after the Mail fought a two-year battle for justice in secret courts.

Today the MOD said: '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.'

Taliban assassins are said to have carried out dozens of killings, including the executions of at least four former members of the Afghan military deported from Iran in one brutal operation. One Afghan, who worked for Britain and is still in hiding, suggested between 50-60 had been killed in July.

Meanwhile Aftab, who worked for six years for the UK, said a colleague had been arrested at an internet cafe  where Afghan go to check the UK governments website about their cases.

Abdul, a former intelligence officer with the National Directorate of Security, was shot dead this week and his body handed to his family. It showed fresh signs of torture, friends said

Aftab: 'At best I will be beaten and tortured by the Talibanthey are monsters. At worst I will be killed

Aftab, 28, said: It is a disgrace that we were not told of the data leak when the government of the UK found out two years ago. It has left us terrified, and watching the number of killings rise while wondering if we will be next. I have moved home twice in a week. Aftab said he believed it was only a matter of time until he was found by the Taliban. He said: At best I will be beaten and tortured by the Talibanthey are monsters. At worst I will be killed.

Amid the fallout from the data leak and the Governments super-injunction scandal, the Ministry of Defences top civil servant will stand down later this year. The Permanent Secretary David Williams (who is no relation to the author of this article) told staff at the department that he will quit in autumn. Tan Dhesi, chairman of the House of Commons' Defence Committee, said: 'David Williams many years of dedicated public service deserve respect. Its not yet clear whether his decision to step down is linked to the recently revealed Afghan data breach. However, what is clear is that this grave failure of data protection demands proper scrutiny, which the Defence Committee certainly intends to provide.

'The fact that this breach has put at risk our courageous British service personnel and the Afghans who bravely supported them, makes the situation even more shocking. I am sure the committee will want to investigate and understand how this could have been allowed to happen.'

When he announced the data breach to Parliament, Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs his first concern has been to notify as many people as possible who are affected by the data incident and to provide them with further advice. He said the MOD had a new dedicated gov.uk website offering security advice.

The MoD said: 'Permanent secretary David Williams will step down this autumn and the recruitment process for his successor is under way.

'Since 2021, David has led the department through a period of significant activity, and we thank him for his contribution.'

The covert airlift of thousands of Afghans  codenamed Operation Rubific  was launched after the UK military catastrophically lost a database of details of those who had applied for sanctuary in the UK to flee the murderous Taliban.It put 100,000 at risk of death, in the Governments own words.

It also exposed British officials, special forces and MI6 spies whose details were on the list.

The Ministry of Defence's top civil servant, permanent secretary David Williams (no relation to the author of this article), is to step down from his post in the autumn

One of the unmarked planes landing at Stansted Airport carrying Afghans whose data was breached by the UK Government

The confidential database that the British government lost, putting '100,000 people at risk of death' and triggering the evacuations mission Operation Rubific

How ministers signed up to a 7billion scheme to relocate Afghans to the UK, without asking or telling taxpayers or MPs. The MOD says the figure has since been revised to around 6billion

After the Mail was the first newspaper in the world to discover the data breach, in August 2023, the Ministry of Defence mounted a cover-up and successfully hushed up our exclusive.

They obtained a super-injunction and, cloaked by the unprecedented news blackout, ministers have been clandestinely running one of the biggest peacetime evacuation missions in modern British history to rescue people the UK had imperilled  smuggling thousands out of Afghanistan and flying them to Britain at vast cost, with taxpayers being neither asked nor informed.

The Daily Mail revealed how the projected 7billion cost was signed off while taxpayers and MPs were kept in the dark.

No fewer than four Parliamentary probes have since been launched.
A Florida woman died after developing a crippling, $400-per-day addiction to nitrous oxide that once left her temporarily paralyzed.

Meg Caldwell, 29, of Clermont in the Orlando area, was found dead outside a smoke shop in late 2024 years after becoming hooked on whippets, a slang term for canisters that contain nitrous oxide.

She began doing whippets recreationally in college before it spiraled into a fullfledged addiction, her sister said.

'She would spend $300, $400 at a smoke shop in a day,' Leigh Caldwell told Boston 25.

On one occasion, after overdosing on the drug, Meg temporarily lost use of her legs.

'A doctor in the hospital said, "This is going to kill you. You're going to die,"' Leigh said.

Even after the terrifying experience, she continued to use nitrous oxide.

'Her whole life had become derailed due to her addiction to this drug,' Leigh added.

Meg Caldwell, 29, was found dead outside a Florida smoke shop late last year after becoming hooked on nitrous oxide

whippets a slang term for canisters that contain nitrous oxide,

Meg would buy nitrous oxide from local smoke shops, inhale it in the parking lot and then head back inside for more.

'She didn't think that it would hurt her because she was buying it in the smoke shop, so she thought she was using this substance legally,' another sister, Kathleen Dial, told the BBC.

The youngest of four sisters, she was 'the light of our lives,' Dial added.

Nitrous oxide - also known as laughing gas - is sold legally in the US, though some states regulate the product's sale.

Meg's family has filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers of nitrous oxide and seven Florida smoke shops to stop retail sales of the drug.

'This is not a wrongful death case. The Caldwells made a decision that their focus would be for the public good,' said John Allen Yanchunis, an attorney who represents the Caldwells.

Meg isn't the only one who has suffered from the dangerous addiction.

From 2019 to 2023, the number of deaths attributed to nitrous oxide poisoning rose by more than 100 percent, according to the CDC.

Meg began doing whippets recreationally in college before it spiraled into a fullfledged addiction, her sister said

Georgia Poison Center Executive Director Dr. Gaylord Lopez (pictured) said 'a lot of these patients are adults who are being seen in the emergency room after having experienced blackouts, unconsciousness'

Dr. Gaylord Lopez, executive director of the Georgia Poison Centertold Boston 25 that 'a lot of these patients are adults who are being seen in the emergency room after having experienced blackouts, unconsciousness.'

She described how chronic use of nitrous oxide robs the brain and heart of oxygen. This can lead to blood conditions, blood clots and temporary paralysis.

Nitrous oxide can cause death through a lack of oxygen, or by the substance's effect on the cardiovascular system  as it can lead to dangerous changes in heart rate and blood pressure.

Drug addiction counselor Kim Castro told Boston 25 that she's had four clients who have died from nitrous oxide poisoning.

'You really don't know when you'll stop breathing, when you'll lose consciousness, when your body will stop functioning. It's pretty scary,' she said.

Galaxy Gas, a company that produces flavored whipped-cream chargers and dispensers containing nitrous oxide, is named in the lawsuit.

Its dispensers became famous after going viral last year, as people filmed themselves using the products. TikTok has since blocked 'Galaxy Gas' as a search result.

In March, the FDA released a statement advising consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide products, including Galaxy Gas and many other brands.

Lawyers for the brand said it was sold to a Chinese company last year.
President Donald Trump continues to vent at top Democrats he claims carried out the Russia 'hoax,' calling it it a 'crime' after his FBI Director Kash Patel said he uncovered a trove of classified material in agency 'burn bags.'

'They must pay for the crime of the Century!' Trump wrote Thursday night, reposting a clip by conservative commentator Victor Davis Hanson.

The clip has Hanson saying the nation's intel agencies 'knew' that there was no Trump campaign collusion with Russia and calling out a conspiracy of the 'top people' in U.S. intelligence 'conspiring with a sitting president of the United States to destroy Donald J. Trump'  and pictures grainy video clips of Barack Obama.

Members of Trump's national security team are overseeing declassification of material from the Russia probe dating to Trump's 2016 campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

A series of explosive headlines have followed. The effort to put new and sensational information into the public sphere comes as Trump continues to beat back questions about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, fueled by his own recent comments that the sex offender 'took' staff from his spa at Mar-a-Lago.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, 91, released a bombshell 29-page classified file related to the Russia probe.

The annex from former Special Counsel John Durham's report contains emails and other documents purporting to show a Clinton plan to link the Trump campaign to Russia.

One such email, purporting to come from Leonard Benardo of the George Soros-backed Open Society Foundations states: 'Julie [Clinton Campaign Advisor] says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump,' one of his emails disclosed in the Durham annex states. 'Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire.'

However Benardo told investigators he hadn't seen seen the July 25, 2016 email, didn't know who Julie was, and wouldn't have used that concluding phrase.

President Donald Trump raged about the 'crime of the century' after a Republican ally released explosive information about the 'Russia hoax'

The partly-redacted documents says some analysts noted that Benardo's emails appeared authentic and he had been hacked by the Russians, but others noted it was possible they were 'fabricated or altered,' undermining the central claim that there was a coordinated plot to destroy Trump's presidency.

Investigators couldn't find the specific emails in question, but they did uncover messages that used the exact same language.

Special Counsel John Durham later wrote that Clinton campaign advisor Julianne Smith 'was, at minimum, playing a role in the campaign's efforts to link Trump to Russia.'

Durham said the emails gave 'at least some credence' to the idea that such a plan existed. He was appointed during Trump's first term to investigate the origins of the Russia probe.

Durham also noted that regardless of whether the so-called 'Clinton Plan' was true or based on unreliable intelligence, investigators should have been more skeptical about politically charged information. Notably, the Clinton campaign helped fund the now-debunked Steele dossier, classifying the expense as legal services.

Clinton herself told investigators is 'looked like Russian disinformation to [her].'

Trump dove into the 'burn bag' story despite a day earlier not initially catching the drift of a question about it.

Trump called it the 'crime of the century'

Hillary Clinton herself told investigators is 'looked like Russian disinformation to [her],' according to an explosive annex from the Durham report

Trump, who has accused former President Barack Obama of 'treason' over recent disclosures by his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, kept up the drum beat on Truth Social.

'The Russia, Russia, Russia hoax is now totally undisputed! The facts are all there, in black and white,' he wrote, sprinkling in all-caps. 'It is the biggest scandal in American History. The perpetrators of this crime must pay a big price. This can never be allowed to happen in our Country again!'

Trump also posted a video clip by Devin Nunes, the former California GOP lawmakers who oversaw a report released by Gabbard.

Trump quotes Nunes, who now runs his media company in his TV appearance, writing: 'What we now know for sure is not only was this a plan by Hillary Clinton, but this is also a plan of the Soros Societythe same people doing the same nonsensefrom 2016 all the way up until the raid at Mar-a-Lago
A top Cincinnati firm is packing its bags and leaving the crime-ridden city after a footage of savage street brawl shocked viewers for its brutality.

Victor Louis, CEO of One Logistics Network, is relocating his business to new headquarters just outside of the city after describing a 'decline in the livability and professionalism of the downtown area' in an open letter to city officials.

'A consistent decline in the conditions for doing business in the city over the past several years has made our continued presence untenable,' he wrote. 'My employees have concerns about their safety and do not feel valued for their contributions to the city.'

Louis said he witnessed 'violence, open drug use and disorderly conduct' near his office and downtown condo. He also said gun violence was 'alarmingly common in areas once considered safe and family-friendly.'

The CEO signed a lease on the new office space in suburban Blue Ash last week, and he is hoping to expedite the move.

He and his team of 35 will be use their current downtown offices for a few more months as they prepare for the move.

'I understand there are complex issues at play,' Louis told The Cincinnati Enquirer.

'Nothing is going to change until businesses start drawing a line and saying: "No more. This ain't happening."'

Victor Louis, CEO of One Logistics Network, is relocating his business to new headquarters just outside of the city after describing a 'decline in the livability and professionalism of the downtown area'

The CEO signed a lease on the new office space in suburban Blue Ash last week, and he is hoping to expedite the move

The businessman blamed the city's issues on 'a failure in leadership and a lack of effective city management.'

Louis cited the June 26 brawl as one of his main reasons for deciding to ditch the city.

He had been thinking about a move for months, but the brawl that left one woman with horrific injuries was the final straw.

Cincinnati cops have arrested five people in connection with the brawl that targeted a couple.

Jermaine Matthews, 39, Montianez Merriweather, 34, and Dekyra Vernon, 24, were taken into custody this week after the couple were violently set upon in the downtown area.

Two others were also arrested.

Footage of the altercation swept social media as the couple were seen being beaten on the street near a nightclub as a crowd gathered.

Cincinnati Chief of Police Teresa Theetge said during a press conference on Monday that around 100 people descended on the brawl, but only one called 911.

Louis cited the June 26 brawl as one of his main reasons for deciding to ditch the city

During the brawl, a woman who rushed to the initial victim's aid was attacked by the crowd, suffering two blows to the face. The impact caused her to fall, with her head slamming onto the pavement and blood spilling from her mouth

'That is unacceptable to not call the police,' she said. 'Traffic was horrendous. People saw this. They were fighting in front of traffic. Why didn't people call us?'

Matthews was charged with aggravated riot and assault. Charges against the other individuals were not immediately clear.

Shocking footage of the fight showed man in a white t-shirt get shoved to the ground and beaten by two men as other members of the crowd jeered and joined in.

The gang beat the man for nearly a minute as he lay in the middle of the street, with the attackers appearing to step on his head multiple times.

When the barrage temporarily stopped, the man was seen attempting to stand - but immediately fell over in apparent disorientation. One attacker yelled out 'my man's drunk.'

A woman in a black dress who rushed to his aid was also attacked by the crowd, suffering two blows to the face.

The impact caused her to fall, with her head slamming onto the pavement and blood spilling from her mouth.

'The behavior is nothing short of cruel and absolutely unacceptable,' Chief Theetge said.

Jermaine Matthews is facing charges of aggravated riot and assault in connection with the brawl

Dekyra Vernon, 24, (left) and Montianez Merriweather, 34, (right) were also taken into custody in connection with thefight

Cincinnati City Councilman Mark Jeffreys described the video as 'incredibly disturbing and horrific' as well as 'downright inhumane.'

'This behavior cannot stand and will not represent our city,' Jeffreys said. 'Those responsible must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.'

Cincinnati police data released on July 21 shows that the central business district and riverfront area where the assault took place has seen a 25 percent increase in violence compared to last year.

There were 12 aggravated assaults in the city between January 1 through July 21, compared to 16 during the same time period last year.
Convicted killer Bryan Kohberger collected creepy mementos from women in his past life before he moved across the country to Idaho and slaughtered four students in the dead of the night.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson told the Idaho Statesman that, at the time of his arrest, the 30-year-old criminology PhD student was in possession of 'ID-type cards' belonging to two women he knew years before the murders.

At least one of the women was the killer's former colleague at the Pleasant Valley School District in Pennsylvania.

Thompson revealed the chilling new details about the case one week after Kohberger was sentenced to a lifetime behind bars for the 2022 murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

The prosecutor - whose decision to strike a plea deal with the mass killer divided the victims' families - did not reveal the identities of the women whose IDs were taken.

It is also not clear how Kohberger obtained the IDs - or what he planned to do with them.

But he said the discovery Kohberger had collected their IDs came as a surprise to both women. Neither of the women had been 'harmed or threatened,' he added.

Kohberger attended Pleasant Valley School District schools growing up, graduating from the high school in 2013.

Bryan Kohberger seen in a new mugshot after he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders

Left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee's shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke

He then worked part time as a security officer for the district from 2016 through 2021, while pursuing his studies in psychology and criminology.

Kohberger's parents also worked for the district, Michael as a maintenance worker and MaryAnn a special needs paraprofessional.

The IDs were found hidden inside a glove inside a box during a search executed at Kohberger's family home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, following his December 30, 2022, arrest.

The revelation shines further light on Kohberger's disturbing interactions with women and potential history of thefts in the years leading up to the murders.

In the early hours of November 13, 2022 - just months after moving from Pennsylvania to Washington that summer - Kohberger broke into the off-campus student home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, and stabbed the four victims to death.

After spending more than two years fighting the charges, Kohberger finally confessed to his crimes and pleaded guilty in Ada County Courthouse on July 2 in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table.

During an emotional sentencing hearing on July 23, Judge Steven Hippler handed Kohberger four life sentences with no possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder and an additional 10 years for burglary.

Under the terms of the deal, Kohberger has waived his right to ever appeal.

Thompson spoke out following the sentencing and after a gag order that muzzled officials since the start of the case was finally lifted.

Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson revealed Kohberger was in possession of 'ID-type cards' belonging to two women he knew years before the murders

As well as sharing new information about evidence in the case, Thompson revealed for the first time which of Kohberger's family members would have testified against him at trial.

Prosecutors previously revealed plans to call some of Kohberger's immediate family members - his parents and two older sisters Amanda and Melissa - as witnesses for the state.

Kohberger's defense had pushed back, claiming his family 'loves him and supports him' and had no desire to help the prosecution's case.

Which family members and why remained a mystery, with the details kept under seal.

Thompson told the Idaho Statesman the plan had been to call Kohberger's sister Amanda and either his mother or father if the case went to trial.

He did not divulge the exact reasoning for this.

But, as the trial date loomed, the state decided against calling any of the Kohberger family because they weren't the 'best witnesses' and they had not shared anything 'substantively incriminating' during police interviews.

'As we continued to review them as potential witnesses, we decided that they just simply weren't the best witness to show what was going on,' he said.

Bryan Kohberger in yearbook photos in his sophomore year (left) and senior year (right) at Pleasant Valley High School

'The parents were understandably protective of their son, and the sister really didn't seem to have anything specific that she could contribute.'

Kohberger's family have said very little publicly since his arrest for the murders that shocked the nation.

MaryAnn is believed to have kept in close contact with her son throughout his time behind bars, according to records released by Moscow Police.

Both parents Michael and MaryAnn attended their son's change of plea hearing, looking stricken and emotional as he confessed to the murders.

MaryAnn and Amanda were then present at his sentencing, without Michael.

The two women sobbed as the victims' families delivered gut-wrenching impact statements, confronting the man who slaughtered their loved ones and sharing their harrowing grief. Kohberger callously watched with no flicker of emotion or remorse.

Kohberger's other sister Melissa, meanwhile, has not attended any of his court hearings since his extradition hearing from Pennsylvania in January 2023.

Despite his guilty plea, many unanswered questions remain, including Kohbergers motive, who his intended target was and why he chose his victims.

Kohberger refused to shed any light on the murders or provide any answers at his sentencing.

Maryann and Amanda Kohberger outside Ada County Courthouse ahead of the sentencing of Bryan Kohberger

Surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen inside the courtroom after delivering an emotional victim impact statement

When it was his chance to speak, he said: I respectfully decline.

However, new information is starting to be made public since Moscow Police released a trove of 314 records from the investigation that ultimately led to Kohbergers arrest.

Among the revelations are reports from the victims friends and surviving roommates that there had been a string of disturbing incidents at 1122 King Road in the lead-up to the murders.

Goncalves had told friends she had seen a man watching her in the trees around the home and the roommates had come home to find the front door open one day.

It is not clear if these incidents are related to Kohberger but cell phone evidence does indicate he was surveilling the home months before the murders.

Kohberger is now being held in solitary confinement inside the Idaho Maximum Security Institution where he will see out his dying days.
A remote stretch of Northern California highway is hiding something truly extraordinary - not just a scenic drive, but a rare window into Earth's deep past.

Highway 199, which branches off from Highway 101 near Crescent City and winds inland along the crystal-clear Smith River, cuts through one of the only places on Earth where you can drive through exposed mantle rock - the layer that normally lies 22 miles beneath our feet.

This surreal stretch, known as the Josephine Ophiolite, is a 350-square-mile patch of upper mantle and oceanic crust that was somehow forced to the surface millions of years ago.

It now sprawls across the Klamath Mountains, creating an eerie, jagged landscape that scientists say looks more like the ocean floor than California backcountry.

Geology professor Brandon Brown of Cal Poly Humboldt has spent years studying the area - and bringing students to see it firsthand.

'You're sort of basically driving from the mantle to the ocean floor of the Jurassic as you drive from Hiouchi to the Oregon border,' he told SF Gate.

For his students, the experience is mind-blowing. 'It's just so many light bulbs' going off, Brown said. Instead of just reading about tectonic plates in a textbook, students are 'now standing in the mantle,' or standing on what was the ocean floor from 200 million years ago.

Scientists flock to the area for the same reason. Researchers come from 'literally around the world' to study the Josephine, said Brown - not just for its age, but for how visibly it confirms plate tectonics in action.

Jagged mantle rock juts from the landscape along the Smith River in Northern California, where Earths ancient ocean crust rises above ground

The Smith River stays unusually clean and clear because the surrounding rocks dont break down into clay, geologists say

What looks like a quiet mountain road is actually a geological wonder - slicing through ancient ocean crust and exposed Earth mantle

Pillow basalt formed on the ocean floor - now exposed in Californias Josephine Ophiolite - offers rare proof of ancient undersea volcanic activity pushed onto land

Before the theory gained widespread acceptance in the mid-20th century, scientists struggled to explain how continents moved, why mountains formed, or how fossils ended up on distant shores.

The Josephine Ophiolite, with oceanic rock clearly thrust onto land, became a smoking gun.

And it's not just what's underground that's remarkable - it's how it transforms everything you see.

'We see so many landslides and rock falls,' Brown said. That's because the exposed rock - mainly greenish serpentine and dense ultramafic material - is fragile and unstable. It doesn't behave like typical mountain rock.

The same material also affects the water. '[The] river is so clear and clean because these rocks don't pulverize into tiny pieces of clay,' Brown explained. And the surrounding peaks? '[The] mountains are so jagged and sharp.'

He calls it a rare opportunity 'to appreciate what the ocean lithosphere is made of.'

The landscape changes in more subtle - but no less striking - ways as well. Because the mantle rock is high in magnesium and low in calcium, the soil is nutrient-poor and difficult for plants to grow in.

'When I'm taking students out there to look at this, we're almost for certain going to run into a botany class,' Brown said, 'because the types of plants that grow on them is very unique due to their obscure and strange magnesium and calcium ratios.'

The strange mineral balance in the soil means only specialized flora can survive here - a hotspot for botanists too

Geologists call it a 'portal in time' - where ancient oceanic crust is laid bare across a California mountain highway.

Few places in the world expose both mantle and seafloor rock - and none do it so accessibly as Highway 199

The contrast is dramatic - stunted trees cling to life in mineral-poor mantle soil, just steps from towering redwoods

In some areas, you can see the transition happen right underfoot.

'You pass from redwood to giant redwood trees, and you cross the fault... Now you're looking at 100-year-old trees that are like the diameter of my arm,' he said.

'They're just sort of struggling, persisting along, using whatever nutrients they can find.'

The site even holds economic interest. The rocks are rich in metals like nickel and chromium, which are key components in stainless steel and battery production.

But for Brown, it's less about industry and more about awe - a place where the forces that shaped our planet are not just hidden below the surface, but written into the very land beneath your tires.
A prison custody officer who was sacked for saying he would not address male-born transgender inmates as she or her has launched legal action against one of the UKs largest security firms.

Army veteran David Toshack, 50, was dismissed by GEOAmey during a training course only days before taking up a role as a prison custody officer (PCO) at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

The father of three told a safeguarding workshop that he would not be comfortable using a transgender inmates preferred gender pronouns and expressed his belief that a man could not become a woman.

It sparked a horrified reaction from bosses at the firm, which employs thousands of justice workers across the UK, who said his views were against the law and company policy.

In an interview with The Mail, Mr Toshack told of his shock at being dismissed before he even started the job.

He said: Im just a normal, working class person whos never been in trouble with the law before, not got a criminal record, lived a good life. Ive been prepared to go and fight and die for my country, and then I have come back here and been told that theres certain things you cant think or cant say.

He was sacked the same day and forced to return his uniform and equipment with immediate effect.

He is now taking GEOAmey to an employment tribunal for unlawful discrimination and harassment for his beliefs.

David Toshack said he would not address male-born transgender inmates as she or her

Mr Toshack on deployment during his career with the British Armys medical reserves

Mr Toshack is being represented by employment lawyer Margaret Gribbon who is also the solicitor for veteran nurse Sandie Peggie, above, during her ongoing employment tribunal

The case, which is expected to take place later this year, could open the door to a flurry of further complaints from prison custody officers who have been asked to use trans inmates preferred pronouns.

And it will likely heap yet more pressure on the Scottish Prison Service to review its transgender policies in light of Aprils Supreme Court ruling.

Mr Toshack said he has never been sacked before and is determined to speak out despite not having the financial reserves of other high-profile critics of gender ideology, such as JK Rowling.

He said: There must be loads of folk like me who dont have any of that, who are on their own, so I want to show folk you can stand up against this stuff.

He is being represented by employment lawyer Margaret Gribbon who is NHS Fife nurse Sandie Peggies solicitor.

Mr Toshack, who spent more than a decade with the armys medical reserves, felt the role of PCO would have been a good fit for him.

Before starting, he was sent on a mandatory weeks-long residential training course in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, in November last year.

Despite saying he received good feedback from instructors at his weekly reviews, his prospects came to a crashing halt on January 7 when he shared his stance during the discussion around transgender prisoners.

Mr Toshack said he wants people to know they can stand up for their beliefs - even if they don't have the same finances to draw upon as high-profile gender critics such as JK Rowling

For Mr Toshack, a regular church-goer, it was not an inflammatory opinion to express, merely one grounded in his own religious beliefs as well as scientific reality.

He said: Im not some kind of pious, religious zealot, Im just a normal person who goes to church. But calling a man a woman is just a lie; its not based in science. Its not based on biology. Its not based in reality.

However, to his great humiliation and embarrassment, the course instructor asked him to leave the room and wait outside in the corridor.

He was later told he had to use a trans-prisoners preferred pronouns because this is the law and the policy of GeoAmey.

When he refused to give in, he was told he was unsuitable for the role and dismissed.

A week later, GEOAmey wrote to him, stating its employees are expected to comply with obligations under equality legislation, associated Codes of Practice, and GeoAmey standard procedures

It said he had provided responses that were not satisfactory to the information presented, had failed to meet the expectations of the organisation and had been dismissed on the grounds of a failed probationary period.

Mr Toshack tried to appeal the decision but was not successful. With the help of the Free Speech Union (FSU), he has launched an employment claim against the company.

Dr Kath Murray, from policy analysts Murray Blackburn Mackenzie said: Requiring prison officers to refer to male offenders as women shows how far an organisation whose core business is managing risk related to sex has lost sight of material reality. It is also an egregious example of compelled speech.

Failing to understand that employees are protected on the basis of both gender critical and religious belief means that more and more employers are ending up in employment tribunals. GeoAmey is not the first and will not the last.

Fraser Hudghton Director of FSU Scotland said: This case is a symptom of the gender mania which is so ingrained some cant even tell you whether they are a man or a woman when asked directly.

A GEOAmey spokesperson said, As this matter will be subject to tribunal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment at this time.
A flight attendant on board a Delta plane that crash-landed in Canada and flipped upside down claims an inexperienced pilot is to blame for the incident in a bombshell new lawsuit.

Vanessa Miles, 67, who worked for Delta's regional subsidiary Endeavor Air as a flight attendant, was traveling as a passenger on the regional aircraft to her next assignment when it crashed on February 17.

Endeavor Flight 4819 a crash-landed in Toronto from Minneapolis and burst into flames after flipping over and skidding on the tarmac.

Dozens were hospitalized but miraculously all 76 passengers and four crew members survived the horrific crash.

Now a lawsuit filed against both Delta Air Lines and Endeavor in federal court in Michigan on Monday claims the fiery crash was caused by, 'an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot'.

Miles is seeking $75 million in damages for the injuries she allegedly suffered from the crash while 'deadheading,' meaning she was traveling as a passenger and not allowed to perform any work duties.

The flight attendant was left unconscious and dangling upside down by her seatbelt following the crash, the filing states.

Miles accused the airlines of a 'reckless disregard for passenger safety', in the lawsuit, asserting that the, 'accident was caused, at least in part, by [the airlines] knowingly assigning an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot to operate the flight'.

A flight attendant on board a Delta plane that crash-landed in Toronto (pictured) on February 17 claimed inexperienced pilots are to blame for the incident

Vanessa Miles (pictured), 67, who worked for Endeavor Air as a flight attendant but was flying as a passenger on the flight, said she suffered severe injuries from the crash

The airlines, 'cut corners on safety by rushing pilots through training programs and knowingly putting passengers at risk with inexperienced flight crew', the lawsuit states.

Delta declined to comment on the pending litigation, but directed the Daily Mail to their previous statements on the Endeavor Air 4819 flight crew, insisting they are qualified and adequately trained.

The unidentified captain of the plane had worked for Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta, for 18 years. He has flown a total of 3,570 hours across his career and is also a training instructor.

On the day of the crash, he was coming onto his first shift of the week. It was also the first flight of the day.

His co-pilot, who has also not been identified, had worked with Endeavor for just over a year and had flown an estimated 1,422 hours across the span of her career.

The co-pilot was on her final shift of the week. Both the captain and first officer are 'qualified and FAA certified for their positions'.

Miles claimed she suffered a fractured left shoulder/scapula, traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness, post-concussion syndrome with headaches, dizziness, and other cognitive difficulties, bilateral knee injuries, back injuries, exposure to jet fuel and toxic fumes, and psychological trauma including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The court document claims to provide detail on her terrifying experience during the crash.

'[Miles] was rendered temporarily unconscious while hanging upside down from her seatbelt in the inverted aircraft,' the filing said.

Dozens were hospitalized, but miraculously, all 76 passengers and four crew members survived the horrific crash

'Upon regaining consciousness, she found herself soaked in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke, putting her at grave risk for chemical burns, asphyxiation, and death.'

Miles fell approximately six to seven feet to the ground during the evacuation because the emergency slides had not deployed, further aggravating her injuries, the complaint states.

She said the plane exploded two minutes after she exited the aircraft, but claims she was forced to stand outside in the frigid weather for one hour before she was taken to the hospital, per the filing.

'Our complaint alleges that Delta Air Lines and Endeavor Air failed basic safeguards, training, and evacuation procedures on Flight 4819s crash-landing in Toronto, putting cost and schedule ahead of safety and leaving Ms. Miles with significant injuries,' her lawyers told the Daily Mail.

'Proceeding under the Montreal Convention, we are seeking full accountability and compensation for our client.

In March, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada released a preliminary report detailing the current 'focus areas' of the investigation, but the information that has been garnered so far.

Landing techniques offered in pilot training, as well as training for flight attendants are being probed, along with the landing gear and wing structure.

Authorities are also examining cabin obstructions and impediments once inverted, as well as 'coordination in emergencies' and 'organizational and management factors.'

The report determined that the plane suffered a right-side landing gear collapse as it made contact with the runway, as challenging wind gusts hampered efforts to land.

When contacted on Friday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada did not have an update on the ongoing investigation.
Improved Sino-US biz ties welcomed

13:11, August 01, 2025 By ZHONG NAN ( China Daily

Closer engagement between Chinese and US business communities is likely to mitigate the risk of economic decoupling and reinforce the enduring appeal of the Chinese market to global investors, said government officials and business leaders on Thursday.

They made the remarks following the latest round of China-US economic and trade talks held in Stockholm earlier this week. The two sides engaged in candid, in-depth and constructive discussions on key issues of mutual concern.

Building on the consensus reached at the meeting, both sides will continue pushing for a continued extension by 90 days of the pause on 24 percent tariffs from the United States, as well as countermeasures by China, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Speaking at a news conference in Beijing, Wang Linjie, a spokeswoman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that at the invitation of the CCPIT, a delegation of the US-China Business Council board of directors visited China from Monday to Wednesday.

The delegation included senior executives from leading US enterprises such as Apple, Goldman Sachs and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

During their visit to Beijing, the delegation held meetings with several Chinese government officials and reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a strong presence in China and deepening their local engagement, vowing to promote the development of China-US economic and trade relations through tangible actions, said Wang.

"Over the years, the business communities of both countries have formed a mutually beneficial community of shared interests and have been strong advocates for the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US business ties," she added.

Echoing these sentiments, Wang Wen, dean of Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said that the talks in Sweden sent a clear signal that the world's two largest economies remain committed to dialogue, managing differences and promoting global stability.

According to a report released by the US-China Business Council in mid-July, about 82 percent of surveyed companies reported profitable operations in China in 2024, an improvement compared to the past two years.

Also on Thursday, He Yadong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said that in the wake of the latest round of economic and trade talks between China and the US in Stockholm, China looks forward to working with the US to fully leverage the role of the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism, and strive for more win-win outcomes.

He also said the ministry will collaborate with the European Union to ensure the effective implementation of follow-up measures stemming from the 25th China-EU Summit held in Beijing last week.

Stressing that the foundation of Sino-EU economic and trade ties lies in complementarity and mutual benefit, the spokesman urged the EU to keep its market open and address the concerns of Chinese businesses.

He also called on the bloc to exercise caution in deploying restrictive trade and economic measures to ensure a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese companies operating in the EU market.

China welcomes more European companies to invest, deepen their footprint and seize the vast opportunities presented by the country's growth, he added.

Hu Xiaofeng, president of Ningbo Jidian Health Technology Co Ltd, a candy maker in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, said his company hopes for greater stability and predictability in China-US and China-EU trade relations to ensure long-term business stability and growth.

"Stable economic and trade ties not only help reduce trade barriers and boost cooperation, but also facilitate smoother market access and improve the well-being of the people," he said.

The company, with major export markets including the US and Europe, exported 419 metric tons of candy with a total value of 33.67 million yuan ($4.68 million) in the first half, representing year-on-year increases of 51.36 percent and 21.06 percent, respectively, said Ningbo Customs.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Four men who threw cocaine worth more than 18 million into the sea were jailed yesterday for a total of more than 80 years.

Three of the seven gang members had tried to outrun Border Force officers for around 28 miles at sea after their drug laden inflatable boat was spotted.

The trio were seen throwing off the bales of cocaine into the sea before they stopped at Gwynver beach near Sennen, Cornwall, last September.

Scott Johnston, 39, Peter Williams, 43, and Spanish speaking Edwin Tabora Baca, 33, had been spotted off the coast by a Border Force vessel and were arrested on the beach after the high speed chase around the coast of Cornwall as they tried to run from the scene.

Truro Crown Court heard that the conspirators had been due to collect 20 bales of cocaine from the sea after they had been dropped there by a cargo ship.

The prosecution said the drugs were brought from South America on a cargo vessel across the Atlantic and were dumped in water tight bales into the sea in the English Channel.

The bales were fitted with GPS tracking devices attached to Apple air tags so that they could be recovered from the sea by the smaller vessel and transported to mainland Cornwall to be off loaded and transported elsewhere in the country.

But despite the technology the three men on the boat only managed to find eleven bales but dumped them during the chase.

Border Force Officers spotted the Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) on the horizon while carrying out an operation off the coast of Newquay, Cornwall, last September

Truro Crown Court heard that seven conspirators had been due to collect 20 bales of cocaine from the sea after they had been dropped there by a cargo ship (pictured, clockwise from top left: Alex Fowlie, Terry Willis, Scott Johnston, Michael May, Bobbie Pearce and Peter Williams)

Pictured: Spanish-speaking Edwin Yahir Tabora Baca, who joined Johnsto and Williams in trying to outrun Border Force officers

Six large containers containing around 230kg of 'high-purity cocaine' were later recovered from the ocean by Border Force officers and the men were arrested.

The other conspirators were arrested at later times after National Crime Agency investigators trawled through CCTV footage, phone call data and phone messages.

Alex Fowlie, 35, of Chichester; Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood, Essex; Michael May, 47, also of Kelveden Hatch, Essex; and Terry Willis, 44, of Chelmsford, Essex, helped plan and organise the cocaine smuggling operation and pick up.

May and Jonhston, of Havant, Hants, had denied the charge but were convicted after a trial at Truro Crown Court in June. The other men admitted conspiracy to import Class A drugs. Willis also admitted money laundering and possessing a revolver and live ammo which were found in a rucksack in his bedroom cupboard.

Tabora Baca - who claimed to be a tourist who had accepted a boat invitation from two strangers to go fishing - was the Spanish speaking link between the higher figures in the operation and had flown into the country on several occasions.

But messages on his phone discussed the group's plans and shared a photo of the cocaine on the vessel.

Johnston played a significant role as he piloted the RHIB and helped dump the cocaine during the pursuit.

The other three men involved in the conspiracy - Pearce, Fowlie and Williams - will be sentenced later.

Six large containers containing around 230kg of 'high-purity cocaine' were recovered from the ocean (pictured)

The three men onboard the boat were caught by Border Force officers who chased them on foot

The boat filled with 18million worth of cocaine crashed into a beach after three men were chased for 28 miles at sea

Sentencing four of the men, Judge Jame Adkin said: 'This was an international conspiracy to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine into the UK via a smuggling operation into the South West.'

The judge said two organised crime groups were involved - one in the South West involving the boat and retrieval of the drugs from the sea - and the other in Essex where the cocaine would have been taken to be cut, divided and sold on to street dealers.

Tabora Baca was jailed for 17 years and seven months and will be deported, Johnston was jailed for 24 years, Willis for 21 years and 8 months which included five years for the firearm offence, and May was jailed for 19 years.
Former top Biden political aide Mike Donilon told lawmakers that he was paid $4 million to reelect the former Democratic president and would have received an additional $4 million if President Joe Biden had been successful.

Axios reported late Thursday on the eye-popping sums, with the bonus $4 million never before disclosed.

Donilon was the latest Biden adviser to appear behind closed doors before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee.

The panel is investigating the former president's fitness for office amid President Donald Trump's claims that Biden's aides were running the country using an 'autopen,' a device that scrawls the president's signature.

Biden left office in January at age 82 - a record for an American president - and a number of books have suggested his cognitive decline was worse than what the White House was telling the American people.

Donilon - who had worked alongside the Democratic president since the 1980s - left the White House in early 2024 to help run Biden's reelection campaign.

His salary, which was much higher than the $300,000 being paid to campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon, led to resentment among other aides and Democrats, according to Axios' Alex Thompson and CNN's Jake Tappers book, Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.

It also gave Donilon a reason for wanting Biden to stay in the 2024 presidential race.

President Joe Biden's top political aide, Mike Donilon (pictured), was paid $4 million to work on the Democrat's 2024 presidential campaign and would have received a $4 million bonus had Biden won the race. Biden dropped out in July 2024

President Joe Biden is photographed at a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan for his 2024 campaign last July. He dropped out of the race nine days later

Axios reported that Donilon told lawmakers that he believed Democrats made too big of a deal about Biden's disastrous June 2024 debate performance against now-President Donald Trump.

That debate appalled Democrats and started the wave of calls for then 81-year-old Biden to bow out.

He did so less than a month later, handing the Democratic nomination over to Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost the November election to Trump.

In his testimony to the House Oversight Committee, Donilon admitted Biden experienced some wear and tear, but pushed that he was up to the job.

In his opening statement Donilon said, 'every president ages over the four years of a presidency and President Biden did as well, but he also continued to grow stronger and wiser as a leader as a result of being tested by some of the most difficult challenges any president has ever faced,' according to Axios.

'I thought that experience was enormously valuable for the nation,' the top political aide added.

President Joe Biden's (right) disastrous debate against now President Donald Trump (left) left Democrats rattled, with party members starting to publicly push for the then 81-year-old to end his reelection campaign

A spokesperson for Biden declined to comment to the Daily Mail.

Former Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti also spoke to lawmakers this week.

Last week, Biden's first Chief of Staff Ron Klain appeared.

Additional aides are expected to appear on Capitol Hill in the coming weeks.

That includes his second Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, communications adviser Anita Dunn, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates and Ian Sam's a former spokesperson for the White House Counsels Office.
The official X account of the Republican Party is getting roasted for making a basic marketing mistake.

Republicans are getting trolled after trying to celebrate the American automotive industry with a poster featuring a Soviet car.

'The One Big Beautiful bill will drive the return of the great American car,' the official GOP account wrote, attaching a poster of President Trump in a MAGA hat with a yellow car in the background.

However, critics were quick to notice that the vehicle wasn't American-made.

Sleuths, utilizing X's built in AI features, soon identified the old car in the poster's background as a Lada 2105 - a vehicle produced by the Soviet/Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ.

The vehicle was produced from 1980 to 2010 and was never made in America.

'This is a Soviet car  so close!' Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota chided the Republican account.

California Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell wrote: 'Dont point out its a Russian-made car.'

'The One Big Beautiful bill will drive the return of the great American car,' the official GOP account wrote in a poster with a Russian car

Leningrad, USSR, a family poses with their vintage Lada

A Russian Lada car shown in 2002

Even right-wingers slammed the account for the blunder.

'Dear GOP, When talking about the great American car, please picture an American car. Sincerely, Everyone,' wrote conservative Carolyn Tackett.

Many in the comments led the charge calling for the page's manager to be fired.

'Whoever runs the account, should be fired immediately,' one wrote.

The original post from the GOP's account went up on Thursday evening and as of Friday had more comments expressing concern than likes.

Social media users also piled on the Republican account for Trump's sweeping tariffs hitting U.S. automotive producers.

Famous American manufacturer Ford announced Thursday it expects a 'net tariff-related headwind of about $2 billion,' due to tariffs.

The company shared it had paid $800 million in tariff expenses in just the second quarter from April to June.

'We'll see what happens,' President Donald Trump said of a trade deal with India, as South Korean negotiators met with top trade and economy officials here in Washington. The country is facing steep tariffs on their automotive industry

South Korea was in 11th hour talks with Washington to try to reach a deal, after Japan reached one

Trump's global tariff regiment kicked into effect for many U.S. trading partners on Friday.

On Thursday, Trump said he had extended an existing deal with Mexico for 25 percent tariffs on cars and a 50 percent levy on steel, aluminum and copper for 90 days.

The Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
The 'dangerous' loner who tried to kidnap Princess Anne is back on the streets  unrepentant and still obsessed.

Mentally ill Ian Ball, then 26, stalked the Princess Royal one evening in March 1974, before ambushing her chauffeur-driven limousine and shooting four men who came to her aid.

Appearing at the Old Bailey, he was detained 'without limit of time' under the Mental Health Act after admitting attempted kidnap and two attempted murders  but the Daily Mail can reveal he is out of Broadmoor and is now campaigning to clear his name.

He has been released on probation and can roam freely  despite remaining fixated on that night on The Mall.

After being released quietly in 2019, Ball self-published a disturbing book about the events of 1974 and visits old haunts in a bid to prove his innocence, despite having pleaded guilty in court.

In an extraordinary interview with the Daily Mail, Ball, now 77, said: 'I'm an innocent, sane man because I had good reason to believe the gunpowder had been taken out of the bullets and another girl had been substituted for Princess Anne.'

He claims he was wrongfully jailed by the 'upper classes'  speculating that the late Queen was the 'ring-leader', and saying they had kept 'an innocent, sane man in a criminal lunatic asylum because he is a 'very dangerous working-class dissenter and a grave threat to their luxurious way of living'.

Ball insisted it would be a 'waste of time' to apologise to the men he shot, and said of Anne, who had two guns waved in her face: 'She wasn't bothered on the night... I didn't scare her. I was more scared than she was.'

Ian Ball, who was jailed for attempting to kidnap Princess Anne and two attempted murders in 1974, pictured on a park bench in west London after being released from prison in 2019

Princess Anne and her then husband Captain Mark Phillips, who was present during the attempted kidnapping

Ball's white Ford Escort blocking the Princess's limousine as shattered glass can be seen on the ground

The Daily Mail understands that Princess Anne and royal security chiefs were told of his release. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

But a relative of Ball's wept on learning he was back to obsessing over the case. The relation, who asked not to be named, said: 'It would seem he really is not very well and the obsession with all this has overtaken him again. I knew he was out of Broadmoor, but some members of the family didn't, and it will come as a shock to them.

'He has written to me a couple of times and seemed much better. There was nothing to indicate he still had serious mental health problems. He had been doing normal things. He had been abroad on holiday, he was going to the theatre, everyday activities.

'I understood he was living in some sort of hostel, and you would assume he is still receiving some sort of treatment.'

When he appeared at the Old Bailey in May 1974, two months after the incident, Ball made no attempt to deny attempted kidnap, attempting to murder two policemen, and wounding a chauffeur and a journalist.

He admitted skidding his Ford Escort to a halt in front of Princess Anne's car, then holding her up at gunpoint, grabbing her arm and threatening to shoot her.

At one stage, a tug-of-war developed over the princess, with Ball pulling her right arm, and her husband, Captain Mark Phillips, her left, ripping her velvet dress.

In front of multiple witnesses Ball used two guns to shoot her police bodyguard, her chauffeur, a police constable and a journalist who rushed to help, until a passing boxer helped police to subdue him. It was only by chance that no one died.

Ball also attempted to murder two policemen and shot a chauffeur, while trying to drag Princess Anne from her limousine (Pictured: Police searching for bullets after the incident)

Police searching the Mall for bullets near Buckingham Palace in London, after the attempt to kidnap Princess Anne

Yet since being freed, Ball has waged an extraordinary campaign to prove his innocence.

His claims were laid out in a self-published 'autobiographical novel', To Kidnap A Princess, he has been selling openly, yet unnoticed, on Amazon since 2022.

The 'dramatic and exciting' 150-page book displays a stark failure to comprehend the gravity of his crimes, with a blurb that says: 'It will make you laugh, make you cry, but ultimately leave you in wonder at the indomitability of the human spirit.'

To further his aim of proving his bloody kidnap attempt was a 'hoax gone wrong', in recent months he has progressed to paying casual workers 15 an hour to deliver thousands of leaflets to his home town in west London.

The leaflets invite anyone with memories of him half a century ago to meet him at a central location at a set time every month.

Ball also uses his Facebook and X account, on which he describes himself as 'a complete fruit cake', to post messages seeking help in appealing against his conviction and claiming compensation. He maintains a PO Box for deliveries away from his hostel.

He has continued to use the pseudonym 'Anthony Stewart', which he adopted before his kidnap attempt, and he maintains the convoluted excuse, which he first made six months after pleading guilty, that his kidnap attempt was a hoax staged with the help of a policeman 'friend' he knew only as 'Frank'.

Ball long waged his campaign from Rampton and Broadmoor secure mental hospitals, but is now doing so from his hostel room on a council estate near Notting Hill, west London.

Ian Ball, then 26, stalked the Princess Royal one evening in March 1974, before ambushing her chauffeur-driven limousine and shooting four men who came to her aid - he is now walking free

After being released quietly in 2019, Ball self-published a disturbing book about the events of 1974 and visits old haunts in a bid to prove his innocence, despite having pleaded guilty in court (pictured earlier this month near his West London home)

The Daily Mail understands that Princess Anne and royal security chiefs were told of his release. Buckingham Palace declined to comment (Princess Anne pictured July 16, in the Household Division Musical Spectacular 2025 at Horse Guards Parade)

He has also been spending the tens of thousands of pounds he claims he saved up in benefit payments on trips to Barbados and Japan.

Tellingly, he complains he never left Tokyo airport, because he admitted to his criminal record on arrival and was deported.

Last night, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: 'Restricted patients can be recalled back to hospital if their mental health deteriorates such that the risk they pose becomes unmanageable in the community.'

The Daily Mail understands thorough risk assessments are meant to be made on 'restricted patients' such as Ball before they are freed into the community, and doctors have the power to 'manage the risk to the public'.

Fantasy world of sick loner and his extraordinary bid to kidnap a young Princess Anne from her limo on The Mall that ended when she told him: 'Not bloody likely!'

The last time a journalist approached Ian Ball  the man who tried to kidnap a princess  he shot him in the chest.

Back on a bloody night in 1974, Ball also attempted to murder two policemen and shot a chauffeur, while trying to drag Princess Anne from her limousine, shackle her in his hideout, and demand 3million ransom from the Queen.

The Princess, who turned 75 last month, was later revealed to have rejected his instructions to join him by replying: 'Not bloody likely.'

Small wonder that amid admitting his crimes, and being detained in secure mental hospitals as a schizophrenic, Ball said at the time: 'I suppose I'll be locked up for the rest of my life.'

Yet half a century on, now aged 77 himself, he was last week sitting on a canal-side bench not three miles from Buckingham Palace. So I approached this once trigger-happy kidnapper with apprehension, despite his aged stoop.

For he has been waging an intensifying campaign to prove the kidnap plan was a 'hoax', worrying residents of his old home town.

His campaign involves a disturbing 'autobiographical novel', a website, Facebook and Twitter postings, offers of rewards anywhere from 50 to 1million, mass leafleting and visits to old west London haunts.

For decades  firstly from within Broadmoor, from where he was quietly freed in 2019, and now in the outside world  he has been claiming his kidnap 'hoax' was cooked up with the knowledge of an officer from a local police station he knew only as 'Frank'.

Mugshot of Ball in 1974. For decades he has described himself as a 'very dangerous working-class dissenter' wrongly incarcerated as a 'political prisoner' because Britain's 'upper-class dictatorship' fears his 'dissenting philosophies'

Bell being escorted by police to the Old Bailey. After entering guilty pleas, Bell's barrister John Hazan QC said he was 'mad'

Princess Anne visiting PC Michael Hills in hospital. Hills was shot in the stomach by Bell and survived only because the bullet hit the police notebook in his pocket

Ball claims the untraceable  and almost certainly non-existent  'Frank' was meant to have removed the gunpowder from his bullets and substituted another woman for Princess Anne.

And within minutes of sitting beside him on the canal-side bench near Notting Hill last week, Ball told me: 'The whole idea of performing the hoax was to get the publicity so I could write my autobiography, and I expected to get 10,000 in royalties.

'To prove my innocence I need to prove the existence of Frank. That will prove I had reason to believe it was all a hoax.'

He denied Princess Anne had uttered her infamous line 'Not bloody likely', laughing as he evidently doubted it was her in the car that night. 'She said, 'You just go away and nobody will think any more about it', which fuelled the belief that I thought it was a hoax,' Ball insisted.

'At the time I thought it wasn't Princess Anne in the car. She looked nothing like Princess Anne. The personality was nothing like Princess Anne.'

Despite having only a fleeting moment in the presence of the Princess in the most extreme of circumstances 51 years ago, he claimed: 'If it had been the Princess there, she would have told me to 'F*** off', wouldn't she. That's her personality.'

What actually happened on The Mall near Buckingham Palace on March 20, 1974  along with the three years' planning Ball put into it  was laid out in the Old Bailey two months later.

Attorney General Samuel Silkin QC, prosecuting, said the facts were 'stranger than fiction', adding: 'There can be no doubt Ball conceived over many years a horrifying plan, with almost obsessive care and detail, to kidnap single-handed in the heart of London a member of the Royal Family.'

Daily Mail reporter Neil Sears speaking to Ball in west London. Ball has been trying to clear his name since the botched kidnapping and claims it was all a hoax

In Ball's 'autobiographical novel', To Kidnap A Princess, self-published in 2022 and for sale on Amazon, he tells how he 'revealed' his hoax excuse in 1974 after six months inside

Former policeman Jim Beaton, who was shot three times by Ball during the kidnapping attempt

Ball, then 26, was brought up on a council estate in Cowley, near Uxbridge, west London, largely by his mother Violet, after his father, George, died when he was five. On leaving his secondary modern school with six O-levels, he raced through seven jobs, including at a funeral directors, never interacting with colleagues, and by his own barrister's account with 'no girlfriends, no friends at all'.

He had left home in his early twenties, a relative said later, after spending three years living with his mother but not speaking a word to her, communicating only in written notes.

Diagnosed as mentally ill during that time, he declined in-patient treatment. Then, living a lonely life in a bedsit in Bayswater, west London  a short walk from his hostel now  Ball plotted 'the perfect crime' to raise money for fast cars and luxury.

He wrote a list of potential victims, telling police he settled on Princess Anne as 'the only girl in the Royal Family and she would have been the easiest. I have seen her and her husband out riding'.

He flew to Spain in 1973 and legally bought two pistols, a .38 calibre and a .22, bringing them back through Heathrow's 'Nothing to declare' lane.

He had already paid for private flying lessons, while refusing his mother's demands for rent, and gained his private pilot's licence at Biggin Hill airport in Kent.

Ball also got a driving licence in the name of 'John Williams', one of several false identities he used having been inspired by Frederick Forsyth's 1971 thriller The Day Of The Jackal.

After renting a house near Sandhurst, Berkshire, home of newlywed Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, he stocked it with bedding, food, nightwear and a toothbrush, and for several days stalked her movements.

After renting a house near Sandhurst, Berkshire, (pictured) Ball stocked it with bedding, food, nightwear and a toothbrush, and for several days stalked her movements

Two months after later Princess Anne bravely passed the spot in the Mall where the kidnap attempt took place (pictured)

He planned to hold her there before piloting a private plane to Zurich  with the 3million ransom and the princess in handcuffs  then send her back on arrival.

Ball's ludicrous ransom note  addressed to the Queen and beginning, 'Your daughter has been kidnapped'  demanded 3million in used 5 notes 'in 30 unlocked suitcases' to be brought to his waiting plane at London Airport (now Heathrow).

He said the Queen herself would have to come to see him  proving her identity by giving a sample signature, rather than just holding her picture on one of the 600,000 used fivers by her face.

The Queen was also expected to bring 'a free pardon to cover the kidnapping and anything connected with it, from parking offences to the murder of any police officers'.

On March 20, Ball phoned the Buckingham Palace press office and asked where the princess would be that night. Astonishingly, they told him.

So he was lurking in his Ford Escort, handcuffs and Valium in the boot, when Anne's Austin Vanden Plas Princess limousine was driven away from a City of London charity film screening.

Chauffeur Alex Callender was at the wheel and armed royal protection officer Inspector James Beaton was in the passenger seat.

Anne, then 23, was in the back, along with Captain Phillips and lady-in-waiting Rowena Brassey.

Chauffeur Alex Callender (pictured) was at the wheel and armed royal protection officer Inspector James Beaton was in the passenger seat during the terrifying incident

The Queen, watched by Princess Anne (right), thanked the seven heroes who went to the assistance of Princess Anne during the Ian Ball's attempt to kidnap her in Pall Mall

Ball tailed them down Fleet Street and The Strand, around Trafalgar Square, then down The Mall. In his trashy, thriller-style book, To Kidnap A Princess, Ball says his engine 'screamed in protest' as he hit 70mph before skidding to a halt in front of the royal limousine, forcing it to stop.

Bearded and wearing a raincoat, he ran to Princess Anne's door, brandishing both his guns, and ordered her to get out.

Inspector Beaton emerged and drew his gun, so Ball shot him in the shoulder. The bodyguard's gun then jammed.

Ball shouted, 'Put down your gun or I'll shoot her', and, wounded, Inspector Beaton complied.

Ball then attempted to encourage and pull the Princess out  Captain Phillips pulling back on her other arm  as she uttered her 'Not bloody likely' line.

Inspector Beaton crawled back, put his hand in front of Ball's guns and was shot in the palm, before taking a third bullet in the chest. A fragment of the bullet remains in his hand to this day.

Ball shot chauffeur Mr Callender in the chest before blasting PC Michael Hills, 22  who was rushing to the scene  in the stomach. He was injured but survived only because the bullet hit the police notebook in his pocket. Daily Mirror journalist Brian McConnell, who happened to be passing, leapt from his taxi to reason with Ball before he, too, was shot in the chest.

Only the chance arrival of 6ft 2in, 17-stone former heavyweight boxer Ronnie 'The Geezer' Russell in a cleaning firm van turned the tide.

Princess Anne visiting her wounded bodyguard, James Beaton, in hospital after the attack

Thinking, he said later, 'that's a liberty  he needs sorting', Russell subdued Ball with several massive punches as police arrived and bundled him to the floor.

Ball then  as now  displayed no remorse, saying: 'They were getting in my way so I had to shoot them. Well, the police, that's their job. They expect to be shot. I took a chance of getting shot  so why shouldn't they?'

After his guilty plea, John Hazan QC, defending, said he was 'mad', and had been 'led by a voice either of his late father or God'.

In mitigation, Mr Hazan said the ransom was intended to be a donation to the NHS to improve the mental-health provision that had failed Ball. It was only last week, when I asked whether the NHS would have been likely to accept 3million in used fivers that Ball admitted: 'That was rubbish. I couldn't think of anything else to say. I was quite happy with my treatment in the NHS.'

During his appearance at the Old Bailey, no one in court doubted that Ball was both guilty and mentally ill.

Some 45 years in Rampton and Broadmoor secure mental hospitals ensued. Then  unknown till now  his freedom came in 2019.

In an extraordinary 'autobiographical novel', To Kidnap A Princess, self-published in 2022 and for sale on Amazon, he tells how he 'revealed' his hoax excuse in 1974 after six months inside.

He remains amazed he was not released immediately.

While the nature of the book is masked flimsily with the statement, 'This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author's imagination', it is in his name, begins with the attempt to kidnap Princess Anne, and proceeds through Rampton and Broadmoor.

Many incidents recounted in its pages are verifiable elsewhere, such as a 2006 letter he had published in the radical newspaper Class War, and a website he briefly created from behind bars in 2005.

The book, which he compares to prison classics such as The Shawshank Redemption and Papillon, details frightening delusions  chiefly that the kidnap involved only a fake Princess Anne, no working bullets, and no injury.

The plan, he claims, was just to generate publicity so he could write a 'best-selling' autobiography about his 'prank'.

The mysterious 'Frank', whom he claims knew all about the 'hoax', has always been the key, elusive figure.

Ball claims in the book that he has 'extra sensory powers', psychic abilities to reverse his age and that of the beautiful women he 'makes love' to. He can also, he writes, become immortal, teleport himself and cure all the world's illnesses. For decades he has described himself as a 'very dangerous working-class dissenter' wrongly incarcerated as a 'political prisoner' because Britain's 'upper-class dictatorship' fears his 'dissenting philosophies'.

He claims his letters to various prime ministers, sent from Broadmoor, 'have resulted in the total transformation of society', from Tony Blair's mantra of 'education, education, education', to the creation of the Crown Prosecution Service and the minimum wage.

The late Queen is a focus, too  with Ball suspecting she was 'hoodwinked by Frank's associates' and was the 'ring leader' behind his incarceration.

If she refused to sign a document confirming his psychic powers, he threatened to 'inflame public opinion and make sure she was sentenced to spend the rest of her natural life in prison'.

The book's afterword is clear: 'Are you a budding Hercule Poirot? You can earn 1,000.'

He explains he is seeking to prove the 'hoax' kidnap actually took place on March 20, 1975, not 1974, and would pay for evidence.

'It's a knotty problem' he writes, warning 'Frank' could 'nobble' foreign newspaper publishers to mock up fake, re-dated papers to obscure the truth. Those who can help are told to write to a PO Box near his hostel.

Approached last week, Ball tried to row back on the most extreme claims, insisting that some parts of the book were fiction.

He said he did not believe he had psychic powers, the key to immortality, or to have effected 'the total transformation of society'.

'That's just rubbish,' he told me.

Ball claims even now, unconvincingly, that he belatedly accepts the kidnap 'hoax' happened, but says he is innocent because he thought the bullets would not fire and 'Anne' was an imposter, something he still suspects.

He told me by text, too, that he remains a 'very dangerous working-class dissenter'.

His endless quest continues for the elusive 'Frank' and apparent evidence in the Middlesex Advertiser of their 'pranks' together.

Hence the leaflets he recruits strangers to deliver and monthly visits to a point by a London Tube station to meet anyone with evidence. None have shown up yet.

Hence, too, his Facebook and X accounts, and online appeals to find someone who recalls the days when he was a prankster known as 'The Local Wag' and can confirm the existence of Frank.

Do the Broadmoor doctors whom he says monitor him know of his campaign?

Ball said: 'I have to tell them everything about it.' He said Princess Anne was 'presumably' informed of his release, but he had 'no reason' to contact her.

And his campaign continues. Will he ever give up trying to prove he was an 'innocent, sane man'?

Not bloody likely.
A gang of five robbers have been found guilty of fatally stabbing a Greek tourist after following him from the same multimillion-pound party mansion where Bonnie Blue slept with 1,000 men.

Antonis Antoniadis, 26, was targeted after getting out of an Uber outside a friend's house, while on the way home from 32 Portland Place nightclub, in Marylebone, west London.

The five killers had parked outside the club, owned by Edward 'Fast Eddie' Davenport, in a stolen Kia Sportage, looking for victims to rob.

Convicted fraudster Davenport hosted his infamous debauched gatherings at the mansion, which came to public attention when it hosted OnlyFans personality Bonnie Blue in her attempt to sleep with more than 1,000 men in 12 hours in January.

Mr Antoniadis was followed home and stabbed to death after he tried to defend himself with a brandy bottle.

Following an Old Bailey trial, Shian Johnson, 26, Sofian Alliche, 20, his brother Amin Alliche, 18, Joshua McCorquodale, 20, and Alfie Hipple, 18, all from Camden, north London, were found guilty of murder and conspiracy to rob.

The defendants were taken down from the dock after one of them reacted with an angry outburst, accusing the jury of 'ruining' his life.

Johnson shouted at the jury: F*****g racist people, why you finding me guilty, ruined my f*****g life bruv. I didnt do nothing, how you finding me guilty are you dumb?

Greek tourist Antonis Antoniadis, 26, (pictured) was targeted after he left 32 Portland Place nightclub in Marylebone, west London

Following an Old Bailey trial, Shian Johnson, 26, was one of five defendants charged Mr Antoniadis' murder

The other four defendants charged with Mr Antoniadis' murder: (l-r) Joshua McCorquodale, 20, Amin Alliche, 18, Alfie Hipple, 18, Sofian Alliche, 20, all from Camden in north London

I didnt f*****g do nothing, what is it cause Im black, youre all white, how did I get an all white f*****g jury.

The jury, which was not all white, had deliberated for more than 14 hours to reach its unanimous verdicts, with one of them leaving court in tears.

Judge Rebecca Trowler KC adjourned sentencing until October 3.

The court heard how Greek printing firm office worker Mr Antoniadis had come on holiday to London for a week with two friends called Maria and Tia.

They ended up at the 32 Portland Place nightclub in Marylebone in the early hours of July 7, jurors were told.

On the evening before the murder, the robbers followed a yellow Lamborghini and a Mercedes car before fixing on the victim, who was carrying a Lacoste man bag and wearing a designer black and gold Versace watch, worth 1300.

Mr Antoniadis and his two female friends did not leave Portland Place until after 8am and had booked an Uber to get back to a friend's address in New Cross, south-east London, where they were staying.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said the tourists had no idea that the young men hanging around outside the nightclub in a stolen car were on the lookout for someone to rob.

He said: 'It seems that when that group of five saw Antonis come out of the club, those robbers thought they had found a suitable target.

'So when they saw him come out and get into his Uber, they, in their stolen car, followed him.'

The defendants trailed the Uber car for more than half an hour to its destination on the opposite side of London, the court heard.

They ended up at the 32 Portland Place nightclub (pictured) in Marylebone in the early hours of July 7, jurors were told.

As one of Mr Antoniadis's friends struggled to find the door key upon arriving at the address, he was approached by four figures in hoods and balaclavas.

The fifth member of the gang acted as the getaway driver, jurors were told.

Mr Antoniadis managed to hit one of the robbers with a brandy bottle as the group tried to grab his man bag.

Mr Emlyn Jones said: 'Tragically, whether it was brave or whether it was just an instinctive response, that reaction was to cost him his life.'

The victim was punched and kicked and then stabbed in the chest and thigh, severing his femoral artery.

The attackers, at least two of whom were carrying large knives, then fled the scene in the getaway car, leaving the victim bleeding heavily.

Together, as a team, they waited for a victim to rob, they chose one, they followed him, and then when they got their chance, when he got home and got out of his cab, they pursued him to his front door and attacked him,' Mr Emlyn Jones added.

They were clearly prepared to use violence to try and pull off the robbery, and given that they had at least two large knives between them, they were clearly prepared to use really serious violence if the need arose.'

Mr Antoniadis was treated at the scene and taken to hospital where attempts were made to save his life, but he died from his injuries on July 21 last year.

The car used by the robbers - a stolen Kia Sportage with false number plates - was captured on CCTV and the defendants were also linked through cell site data.

Jurors heard McCorquodale had convictions in 2022 for conspiracy to rob and robbery relating to mobile phone snatching and trying to take an electric bicycle with an accomplice.

When police searched his home they found a machete, a Zombie knife and two balaclavas.

Both McCorquodale and Johnson denied being present at the time of the murder, saying they left earlier that evening.

The venue, owned by Edward 'Fast Eddie' Davenport, came to public attention when it hosted OnlyFans personality Bonnie Blue (pictured) in her attempt to sleep with more than 1,000 men in 12 hours

Within days of the murder, Johnson and his girlfriend had taken a flight to Cancun in Mexico and booked into an all-inclusive hotel resort and spa. They failed to return on their scheduled flight back to Gatwick on July 24.

Four days later, police were waiting at Gatwick airport and they boarded a flight that arrived from Madrid to arrest Johnson on suspicion of murder.

Johnson had a conviction for possessing a knife in Camden High Street in 2015, and a machete and balaclava were found at his home.

The court heard Sofian Alliche had a previous conviction for robbing a man on Regent's Canal towpath in 2019.

McCorquodale had convictions for robbery and conspiracy to rob after threatening a series of men for their phone and bike.

Hipple had two convictions for possession of weapons.

In a search of the Alliche brothers' home, officers seized two balaclavas, a Louis Vuitton man bag, a large sword and drug paraphernalia.

Amin Alliche admitted being the driver but claimed he did not leave the car at the scene of the murder, as did his sibling Sofian.

Hipple admitted leaving the car in New Cross but claimed to be unaware of the robbery and had only taken a mobile phone in an opportunistic theft.

Jurors heard he had a conviction in 2022 for possessing an offensive weapon in public relating to a police stop in which he was found with a knife in a sheath tucked into his waistband.

Davenports neighbours have complained for several years about all-night sex parties at the mansion.

Convicted fraudster 'Fast Eddie' Davenport (pictured) was jailed for nearly eight years for a 4.5m advance fee fraud in 2011 and sold a property across the road for 27m in 2015 to settle a court order and pay the Serious Fraud Office 14m

He was jailed for nearly eight years for a 4.5m advance fee fraud in 2011 and sold a property across the road for 27m in 2015 to settle a court order and pay the Serious Fraud Office 14m.

He flew back from Thailand to successfully challenge a Met Police closure order at No 32 last December.

They claim they have suffered years of extremely loud music, guests taking drugs and vomiting in the street.

Police had been called 63 times to incidents involving his property following parties.

At the hearing, a police officer claimed at least two rapes had taken place at the mansion.

In 2020, three men were jailed for killing Romanian bouncer Tudor Simionov, 33, outside the mansion after being denied entry to a 2,000-a-table champagne party on New Years Day 2019.

Dublin-born Davenport has insisted that nothing illegal ever took place at his property.

I dont take drugs, I dont let anybody in my house take drugs. I have seen people smoking marijuana, they are not from my house, he said.

Davenport has been throwing huge events for years after founding the raucous Gatecrashers Ball when he was 20.
President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered the deployment of a pair of U.S. nuclear submarines amid escalating threats and rhetoric with a top Russian official over his deadline to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

The new move of the nuclear submarines to 'appropriate regions' appears mostly symbolic  the U.S. already has a fleet of dozens of nuclear-powered subs that are constantly ready to strike in the event of a conflict.

Nevertheless, it notches up the tensions once again after Trump announced he was moving up his ultimatum for Russia to agree to end the war.

'We had to do that. We just have to be careful. And a threat was made and we didnt think it was appropriate. So I have to be very careful,' Trump told reporters as he left the White House Friday for a weekend at his New Jersey golf club.

'A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and were going to protect our people,' he added.

If Russia fails to strike a peace deal by the end of next week, Trump said he will impose punishing 'secondary sanctions' on nations who trade with Russia.

Trump made the decision to deploy the submarines after 'highly provocative statements' of Russia's ex-President Dmitry Medvedev - who now serves as deputy of Russia's Security Council.

He had called Trump's sanctions threat a clear 'step toward war,' clearly incensing the president.

'I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,' Trump said, in his latest jab at a top Russian official

The Ohio-class guided missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN 729)

'I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday afternoon.

'Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!'

Medvedev, the former president of Russia who stepped aside when Vladimir Putin took a break from the top post, drew Trump's ire with his own post this week.

'Trump's playing the ultimatum game with RussiaEach new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Dont go down the Sleepy Joe road!' he wrote.

Trump then tore into the Russian with angry posts around midnight Thursday.

'Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory,' Trump wrote.

Trump's jabs at Medvedev, who is often a caustic critic of U.S. policy, allows him to steer clear of Putin  with whom Trump has shown obvious frustration in recent weeks, despite Trump often referring him to him as someone he can 'get along with.'

Trump has lamented apparently positive phone conversations with Putin followed within hours by Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns.

Trump was not specific about where the subs were being deployed but it is expected to be near Russia

Medvedev, who has served as both the President and Prime Minister of Russia , earlier this week warned Trump that any ultimatums he delivers are considered 'a threat and a step toward war'

Cars damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes burn, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 31, 2025

Trump has referenced comments from first lady Melania Trump about the impact of the war on children

'All disappointments come from inflated expectations,' said Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday in response to Trump's expedited deadline issued Monday

Trump's threats come after Russia launched yet another devastating attack on Kyiv overnight, which killed dozens of people and a six-year-old boy.

Russia has routinely been sending swarms of hundreds of drones to attack Ukraine, with houses and apartment buildings suffering regular blasts.

An estimated 31 people were killed and 150 injured during Thursday's attacks.

Wrote Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in response while posting a video: 'Kyiv. Missile strike. Directly into a residential building. People under the rubble. All services are on site. Russian terrorists.'

In his own first public comments since Trump threw down his abbreviated ultimatum, Putin criticized 'inflated' expectations about ending a war he ordered in 2022 by launching a cross-border attack on Russia's neighbor.

'All disappointments come from inflated expectations,' Putin said. 'In order to solve the issue in a peaceful way, we need deep conversations, not in public, but in the silence of a negotiating process.'

Trump's reference to nuclear subs suggests both their stealth and massive firepower.

Each of the 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile subs carries up to 20 Trident II missiles, with a range of up to 7,500 miles and up to eight nuclear warheads, with 160 warheads in total.

The warheads are capable of causing a 475-kiloton explosion, vastly more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

Trump said last month at the White House while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that first lady Melania Trump had taken to raising the issue of the toll on civilians.

'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,"' Trump told reporters.

Captain Eric Hunter, Commanding Officer of the USS Ohio

The control station is seen aboard the USS Ohio, the first Ohio-class submarine

Those comments coincided with an increasingly tough verbal posture on Putin from the president, who has now threatened to slap new sanctions on Russia as well as its trading partners.

Just weeks ago, the Pentagon had imposed a temporary freeze on arms transfers to Ukraine, reflecting a move in Trump's administration away from the pro-Ukraine position of President Biden's, which shoveled billions of military aid to Kyiv after Moscow's invasion.

Trump and his team, meanwhile, have been fighting a rhetorical battle over a 2017 intelligence assessment that Russia preferred Trump in the 2016 elections.
Two illegal migrants who have been arrested for gang-raping a seven-year-old girl should not be spared from the death penalty if convicted, Florida's Attorney General has declared.

Josue David Mendez-Sales, 26, and Pablo Neftaly Cobon-Mendez, 23, were arrested in West Palm Beach and charged with sexual battery on the seven-year-old child.

Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that he expects the State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit to seek the death penalty for the two suspects, both from Guatemala.

In a post on X, Uthmeier said: 'These allegations are beyond horrific. Anyone who can commit such heinous crimes must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.'

The harrowing details first emerged on July 30 when the young girl bravely confided in her babysitter, reporting that she had been inappropriately touched by Mendez-Sales and Cobon-Mendez, both individuals she knew, while in the Sunset Apartment Complex.

The Department of Children and Families was immediately alerted, launching an initial investigation before bringing in law enforcement.

In a follow-up interview, the child provided a chilling account, revealing that Cobon-Mendez molested her 'every day.'

Evidence of physical abuse was also present, with visible bruising on the child's body, which she attributed to Mendez-Sales hitting her with a belt.

Two men in West Palm Beach, Josue David Mendez-Sales, 26, and Pablo Neftaly Cobon-Mendez, 23, have been arrested and charged with sexual battery on a seven-year-old child.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier stated that he expects the State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit to seek the death penalty for the suspects

The alleged repeated sexual abuse took place at the Sunset Place Apartments

In interviews with investigators, Cobon-Mendez admitted to molesting the young girl about two weeks prior while under the influence of alcohol.

He now faces two counts of sexual battery on a child.

Mendez-Sales now faces five counts of sexual battery on a child and one count of child abuse.

According to police, Mendez-Sales admitted to sexually abusing the girl around five times over the past three months, claiming he was intoxicated during each incident and couldn't recall the details.

He also told investigators he had recently struck the child with a belt.

He and a second suspect are both being held without bond at the Palm Beach County jail.

If convicted, Mendez-Sales faces five mandatory life sentences and up to five additional years for child abuse, while Cobon-Mendez faces two mandatory life sentences - with the death penalty possible for both under Florida law.

West Palm Beach Police Chief Tony Araujo called the case 'heinous.'

The investigation is ongoing.
Asylum seekers have been handed almost one million NHS free passes in the last five years, official new data reveals.

The HC2 certificates give Britons on low incomes the right to free health services that most people would have to pay for.

This includes prescriptions, dental care, eye tests, wigs, and discounts for glasses, contact lenses, and travelling to and from appointments.

But figures released under freedom of information laws show most of the 1.56 million issued across the UK since 2020 were awarded to asylum seekers.

They accounted for 920,199, or 59 per cent, of the certificates awarded over this period the NHS Business Services Authority told the Telegraph.

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the figures are another illustration of the costs of illegal immigration.

Those crossing the Channel invariably claim asylum, and then receive housing, bills paid, free money and full healthcare  despite never having paid a penny in tax and having entered the country illegally, he said.

A group of people thought to be migrants on a dinghy near the beach at Gravelines, France

No wonder illegal immigrants from across Europe are flocking to the UK.

Anyone who can demonstrate they have a low or no income can apply for an HC2 certificate regardless of their immigration status.

Asylum seekers are automatically given one if they are eligible for section 95 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which means they are entitled to claim financial and housing assistance.

Other migrants claiming asylum are able to apply for it, depending on the levels of support they are receiving.

Conservative MP Steve Barclay, a former health secretary, said it was an abuse of taxpayer funds and completely wrong that asylum seekers are receiving beneficial access to health treatment compared to the taxpayers who fund it.

The certificate provides full help with health costs, such as unlimited dental care and prescriptions, vouchers worth up to 233 to spend on glasses, as well as refunds on any travel costs to hospital appointments.

The cost of a prescription for a British resident is 9.90 if they have no other exemption, while the most basic NHS dentist check-up is 27.40.

Dental treatments cost hundreds of pounds more.

Migrants arrive in Dover

A simple NHS eye test costs 23.55, while wigs and fabric supports, which can be given to patients with hair loss because of alopecia or cancer treatment, can cost in excess of 300.

Asylum seekers must renew their certificates every six months, rather than the 12 months that applies to other UK residents.

But holders are able to continue using their certificate to get all costs covered until it expires, even if their circumstances change.

Anyone with an HC2 form can also get free care for their partner and children or dependents up to the age of 18.

There have been 317,000 claims for asylum from migrants within the UK over the same period, which is double the number in the previous five years, between 2015 and 2019.

New data released on Thursday revealed that 25,000 migrants had crossed the English Channel on small boats in 2025, hitting the milestone earlier in the year than ever before.

An NHS spokesperson said: The NHS is legally required to provide healthcare services to asylum seekers, including access to help with health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme.

A government spokesperson said: We are fixing the chaotic asylum system we inherited and have returned over 35,000 people, including failed asylum seekers, immigrants and foreign national offenders to ultimately relieve pressures on nationwide services.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp

These certificates do not give access to NHS services ahead of people who dont have one.

The highest number of certificates issued in the last five years were under the previous administration.
The heartbroken mother of a 19-year-old woman who was murdered on a first date told her daughter's killer during his sentencing that she will haunt him for eternity.

'You and your family will be held fully responsible for the rest of your lives,' Sheena Scarborough told Maxwell Anderson on Friday as he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Sade Robinson.

'You will be eternally haunted by myself, my ancestors... I know you can't sleep at night, they have already been at you.'

Anderson, 34, was convicted in June of killing and dismembering college student Robinson during their first date last year in Milwaukee.

Prosecutors said he cut up Robinson's body and dumped one of her legs near a playground. Parts of her body, including her head, were never found.

'Judge, I'm asking this demon be respectfully returned back to hell as soon as possible,' Scarborough added.

Robinson's father, Carlos Robinson, suggested to the judge that someone dismember Anderson.

'Everything that he did should be done to him,' he said. 'No man should be able to live after what he did. That's just how I feel. I can't get past this. I can't.'

Sheena Scarborough told her daughter's killer Maxwell Anderson that she and her ancestors will haunt him for eternity

Sade Robinson (pictured), 19, was killed and dismembered by Maxwell Anderson after the pair went on a first date in April last year

Anderson (pictured) was found guilty on all four counts after being charged with first-degree intentional homicide, dismembering a corpse, arson and hiding a corpse

Anderson maintained his innocence throughout the trial and the sentencing.

'I took this to trial without ever once trying to make a plea deal of any kind because I did not commit these crimes,' Anderson said on Friday.

'And so I plan to appeal my convictions, while I hope and pray that further investigations not only prove my innocence but find and deliver true justice.'

Anderson and Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, first met at a bar in March 2024 a week before her death.

Police said they then spent the late afternoon and early evening of April 1 drinking at two bars before heading back to Anderson's apartment.

Photos on Anderson's phone showed Anderson groping Robinson as she lay face down on his couch. Prosecutors have argued she was incapacitated and couldn't resist.

Surveillance video showed her car leaving his apartment early on the morning of April 2 and arriving at a park along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Prosecutors claimed that's where he cut her body into pieces. He later burned her car behind an abandoned building and took a bus home.

Searchers discovered one of Robinson's legs in the park and her other leg and a foot near a playground close to where he burned the car.

'I took this to trial without ever once trying to make a plea deal of any kind because I did not commit these crimes,' Anderson said on Friday. A judge denied him the possibility of parole

Anderson and Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, met at a bar in March 2024 a week before her death

Maxwell Anderson, left, seated at the bar with Sade Robinson, right, at Twisted Fisherman on April 1, 2024, before he murdered her and dismembered her body

Within the car, despite 'extreme fire damage,' investigators identified the outfit Robinson had been wearing on the night of the date as well as part of an iPhone consistent with hers.

A human torso and an arm believed to be Robinson's remains washed up on a beach in suburban South Milwaukee. Her head is still missing.

First-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin carries a mandatory life sentence.

The only question for Anderson on Friday was whether the judge would allow him to seek parole.

Anderson's attorney, Tony Cotton, asked the judge to make Anderson eligible for parole after 25 years.

He argued that Anderson served in the US Navy and suffers from obvious mental health issues.

Cotton acknowledged that Anderson has been convicted of multiple misdemeanor disorderly conduct counts in connection with domestic violence but they're not significant offenses compared to most homicide defendants.

He added that he has concerns about Anderson's safety in prison.

Video surveillance admitted into evidence shows Maxwell Anderson holding the door for Sade Robinson as they leave Twisted Fisherman on April 1, 2024

But judge Laura Crivello refused to offer Anderson a chance at parole. She dismissed Anderson's claims of innocence, saying his view of reality 'differs from the rest of the world.'

Trailing off at times and shaking her head, she said he's irredeemable, called his crimes 'unconscionable' and likened the case to something out of a horror novel.

As previously reported, before the gruesome murder, Anderson and Robinson watched the Netflix series Love, Death & Robots.

The animated show's Season 2 finale, 'The Drowned Giant,' depicts the gruesome dismantling of a gigantic human body on a beach.
A Scot accused of murdering his wife while kayaking in Australia previously made a quip about how he would kill her and move to Thailand if she left him and took half his pension, a court heard.

Former Army major Graeme Davidson, who is originally from Glasgow, was charged over the 2020 death of wife Jacqueline in May.

Her death at Lake Samsonvale in Queensland was initially put down to accidental drowning but a homicide investigation was launched 18 months later after detectives deemed it to be suspicious.

The 56-year-olds lawyers have now applied for his bail in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, claiming the prosecutions case is fundamentally weak.

And yesterday the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported how his lawyer Craig Ederhardt told the court the only piece of evidence the prosecution could refer to in its case was the statement of one of Davidsons friends, relating to an alleged conversation in July 2017.

It is reported that Mr Eberhardt said they were talking about another friend, whose wife had left him on the day of his retirement, took half of his pension and one of them had moved to Thailand.

Graeme Davidson, 54, has been charged with the murder of his wife Jacqueline

Davidson is alleged to have replied, saying, oh s*** yeah, Id kill her and move to Thailand too.

But his lawyer told the court it was just a quip and when put in context is not nearly as sinister as it sounds.

He is reported as saying: That [statement is] not recorded until eight years after the event.

One wonders firstly whether its reliable, secondly whether its even admissible.

Mr Eberhardt also argued there was no evidence to suggest Mrs Davidson had told her husband she intended to leave him or take half his pension.

Australian media reported that his wife had raised the idea of divorce, after she learned her husband had an affair with a local woman during an army posting in Papua New Guinea, which caused significant matrimonial upset.

But Mr Eberhardt said this was different to her indicating that she was intending on leaving the marriage.

He told the court that Mrs Davidson later told friends that she intended to stay to try and make the marriage work.

Police allege Davidson, who moved to Thailand several months after his wifes death and married a local resident, was involved in her drowning while they were kayaking.

The court heard how bystanders at the scene allegedly asked Davidson if his wife had any diseases, to which he is said to have replied: Unless death is contagious.

Davidson married Pick Pattraporn, in a traditional Thai ceremony surrounded by her family and friends in December 2022

His lawyer said his client immediately realised this statement was in bad taste and he should not have said it, telling the court it was a distressing incident involving the death of his wife of 35 years.

In an affidavit filed as part of his bail application, Davidson is reported to have described how he began to show off by standing up on his kayak when he and his wife were about 10 metres apart on the water.

Mrs Davidson allegedly became distressed and used the safe word  designed to let him know that she was concerned about what he was doing.

The court was told Davidson saw his wife fall off the kayak and he went into the water to find her but could not see because of the murky water and grass weeds.

Mr Eberhardt said: He managed to find her after some period of time, and he dragged her out.

Efforts were made to revive her, but she could not be saved.

Davidson is also charged with fraud and attempted fraud relating to allegations he tried to claim almost 500,00 [$1million] in life insurance payouts following his wifes death.

The defence is set to continue its submissions next week, when prosecutors are expected to refuse Davidsons application for bail.
Voice notes are dividing the nation - Gen Z love them while their parents' and grandparents' generation loathe them, a new study suggests.

Research from mobile network operator Talkmobile  who believe conversation is the best communication  reveals a growing trend towards sending audio clips over WhatsApp.

The feature was introduced in 2013, and the Meta-owned platform estimates some seven billion voice notes are sent worldwide every day.

The Talkmobile study reveals Gen Z - the UK's youngest generation of adults aged 18 to 27  are the most prolific voice note senders, with nearly eight in 10 (79%) saying they are regular users.

Gen Z send an average of 23 voice notes a week, more than three a day. Their main reason for recording audio clips  according to half (48%) of youngsters polled, is they 'save time'.

Four in 10 Gen Z Brits prefer voice notes because they are 'easier than typing out a message' (40%) while a third (37%) say they simply 'can't be bothered' to text.

Meanwhile, Britain's post-war 'Baby Boom' generation  aged 60 to 78  are the least likely to send an audio clip of themselves, with fewer than two in 10 (18%) using the feature.

A quarter (25%) of Boomers believe voice notes are 'a waste of their time' while two in 10 (19%) 'can't stand them', adding 'if you can't be bothered to text, don't send a voice note'.

Voice notes are dividing the nation - Gen Z love them while their parents' and grandparents' generation loathe them, a new study suggests (file image)

Research from mobile network operator Talkmobile reveals a growing trend towards sending audio clips over WhatsApp. The feature was introduced in 2013, and the Meta-owned platform estimates some seven billion voice notes are sent worldwide every day (file image)

Gen Z - the UK's youngest generation of adults aged 18 to 27  are the most prolific voice note senders, with nearly eight in 10 (79%) saying they are regular users. Meanwhile, of Britain's post-war 'Baby Boom' generation  aged 60 to 78  fewer than two in 10 (18%) use the feature

Poll Do you prefer sending voice notes or texts? Voice notes Texts Do you prefer sending voice notes or texts? Voice notes 67 votes

Texts 436 votes Now share your opinion





One in 10 Boomers also fumed they can 'read a text in seconds, but instead I have to listen to you waffling on in a voice note'.

The older the mobile user, the less likely they are to send a voice note, according to the survey of 2,000 Brits.

On average, Boomers send just one voice note per week, Gen X send around one a day and Millennials fire off around 17 every week, or just over two per day.

Over half of Brits (57%) are regular voice note senders, with women (65%)  who send an average of 16 per week - being the bigger users than men (48%), who fire-off 13 per week.

The biggest reason for sending voice notes is that they 'save time', according to four in 10 (42%) Brits, while three in 10 (32%) say it's 'easier than typing out a message'.

Gen Z send the longest voice notes, averaging 12 minutes. The length of clip decreases as users get older, with Boomers recording the shortest audio, at around two minutes.

And, four in 10 (41%) Boomers admit they 'never listen to the end' of a voice note, compared to around four in 10 (39%) Gen Z who 'always' listen to the full clip.

Talkmobile who offer among the best SIM-only deals and have an industry-leading customer-rated Trustpilot score of 4.7 are committed to giving UK customers a straightforward mobile service with great prices and great coverage.

Over half of Brits (57%) are regular voice note senders, with women (65%)  who send an average of 16 per week - being the bigger users than men (48%), who fire-off 13 per week

The biggest reason for sending voice notes is that they 'save time', according to four in 10 (42%) Brits, while three in 10 (32%) say it's 'easier than typing out a message'

Gen Z send the longest voice notes, averaging 12 minutes. The length of clip decreases as users get older, with Boomers recording the shortest audio, at around two minutes

The mobile network operator prides itself in answering customer service calls in 20 seconds and solving any issues promptly.

A Talkmobile spokesman said: 'To voice note or not to voice note, that is the question.

'At Talkmobile, we believe conversation is the best form of communication because it connects people in real-time.

'No need to text or send a voice note then await a reply  our advisors jump straight onto solving any issue, meaning customers can soon get back on with their day.'
The parents of a 12-year-old Ohio girl who went missing slammed police for failing to recognize her during a traffic stop days after she was reported missing.

Khloe Dunbar went missing on July 16 near Columbus, leaving her mother Megan Dunn terrified for her safety and desperately launching an effort to find her.

But in the week before Khloe was found safely, a bystander filmed a suspicious traffic stop in which police found the child but allowed her to stay with a group of adults.

Dunn said that discovering the cops had come face-to-face with her missing daughter but let her go left her 'disgusted.'

'I'm sick to my stomach,' she told 11Alive. 'I have video footage of these officers, and they let that little 12-year-old that was reported missing go. Its not OK. None of this is OK.'

Police admitted that not only did they allow Khloe to leave the traffic stop as a missing person, but they were not even aware she was in the footage until it was sent to them by the outlet.

'It wasn't until you sent us that cell phone video that we even knew about the traffic stop,' conceded Sgt. Joe Albert with Columbus police.

'We wish we had handled the traffic stop differently. We wish she had been returned to her parents.'

The parents of 12-year-old Ohio girl Khloe Dunbar, who went missing for a week last month, slammed police for failing to recognize her during a traffic stop days after she was reported missing

Khloe Dunbar went missing on July 16 near Columbus, and in the six days before she was found safe police encountered her during a traffic stop but let her leave with an adult woman

In bodycam footage of the traffic stop, police were seen pulling three people from a Chevy Malibu, sitting a male driver and two women by the side of the road.

They then asked Khloe her name and she gave a fake alias and claimed she was 15, but the cops instantly questioned this and she eventually gave her real name.

But they did not recognize the name despite a missing persons alert being issued days before, and allowed her to leave with one of the adult women after arresting the male driver.

Khloe was eventually found the next day thanks to the cell phone footage, which was circulated online after witness Daeja Rutland said she realized the girl was in the clip.

Rutland said she filmed the traffic stop after police pulled over two women and a man from a black SUV.

When she got home and went on social media, she said she saw a missing poster of Dunbar and her heart sank.

'I looked at that video one time and I knew it was her... I got on Facebook and the first thing I saw was that little girls face. My heart stopped,' she said.

Khloe's mother Megan Dunn (pictured) said she was left 'disgusted' by the cops' handling of the case, and said: 'Its not OK. None of this is OK'

Khloe was eventually found thanks to the cell phone footage, which was circulated online after witness Daeja Rutland (pictured) said she realized the missing girl was in her video

Police said that Khloe initially gave her wrong name and claimed she was 15 in the traffic stop, but after she admitted her real name cops still didn't realize she was a missing person

Dunn said her daughter's safe return was not satisfying given the way the police handled the case, saying that she wants an apology from officials

Dunn said she was infuriated by how close police were to her daughter, who she claimed had been 'close to a fentanyl overdose' at the time.

'(She was) this close to being trafficked,' she said. 'And the police had her, no regard for any of it. It's negligence.'

Khloe was eventually found the next day, six days after the initial missing person report was made.

But Dunn said her daughter's safe return was not satisfying given the way the police handled the case, saying that she wants an apology from officials.

'I want to hear, "We failed you and your family,"' Dunn said.

'There was only a 24-hour window before she was found again but that doesn't matter. What matters is that it happened.'

Columbus Police told 11Alive that they have launched an internal investigation into the incident.

It is unclear if any arrests were made after Khloe was found, and Daily Mail has contacted Columbus Police for more information.
Harvey Weinstein's victims have spoken of their fury after another of his accusers got a $5.7 million payout, by far the largest for anyone.

Zoe Brock said she was happy for British actress Julia Ormond but the deal 'pisses me off' because she was one of dozens of women who had to split $17 million in 2021.

Ms Brock said that others may take aim at Disney, who Ms Ormond sued, because 'the buck stops' with the studio as it owned Weinstein's movie company Miramax until 2010.

Kaja Sokola, who testified at Weinstein's retrial in New York earlier this year, warned the settlement could be a 'blueprint' for others to follow.

This week DailyMail.com exclusively revealed the stunning payout to Ms Ormond, 60, who rose to fame starring opposite Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall.

The out of court settlement came after she sued Miramax, Disney and her former agents Creative Artists Agency (CAA) claiming negligence for not protecting her from Weinstein even though they knew he could be dangerous.

Ms Ormond claimed that Weinstein stripped naked in front of her at her Manhattan apartment in 1995 and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

The settlement from Disney and Miramax does not include any admission of wrongdoing but it could open the door to dozens of similar cases.

Harvey Weinstein's victims have spoken of their fury after another of his accusers got a $5.7 million payout. Pictured: Former Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court during his rape and sexual assault re-trial in New York on May 21, 2025

Zoe Brock (pictured) said she was happy for British actress Julia Ormond but the deal 'pisses me off' because she was one of dozens of women who had to split $17 million in 2021

Ms Ormond (pictured) claimed that Weinstein stripped naked in front of her at her Manhattan apartment in 1995 and forced her to perform oral sex on him

And it is a striking contrast to the $17 million settlement from 2021 for more than 40 women with Weinstein's bankrupt film company, The Weinstein Co.

Speaking from her home in New Zealand, Ms Brock praised Ms Ormond as a 'queen' for getting such a deal for herself.

Ms Brock, 51, a former model, has claimed that Weinstein took off his clothes and demanded a massage in a hotel room when she was 23, forcing her to hide in the bathroom.

She said that Ms Ormond has 'done what I wanted to do'.

Ms Brock said: 'My whole idea I went to the lawyers with was to go after Disney

'Everything was covered up, everything was'.

Ms Brock said that the class action lawsuit, which led to the 2021 settlement, was the thing that 'undid us'.

She said: 'The class action lawsuit was the worst thing that any of the Weinstein survivors could have gotten involved in. We were conned into it. It bit us on the a**.

Kaja Sokola (pictured) said she was 'really happy' for Ms Ormond, but suggested that the settlement was not fair to other women

Harvey Weinstein reacts as a partial verdict on two of the three charges is announced in Manhattan criminal court, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in New York

Jessica Mann (C), witness in the Harvey Weinstein criminal trial, arrives at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, New York, USA, 21 May 2025

Harvey Weinstein appears in a Manhattan criminal court for his re-trial, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in New York

'I was the last person who tried to hold out and not take that settlement and appeal

'The problem was.that I was broke, a single mom, totally trying to get my life back together. The amount it would cost was astronomical. I couldn't afford it'.

The day Ms Brock took the deal, which she said was in the 'low, low six figures', she 'puked and cried'.

She said: 'It was awful. I put that small amount in a trust for my kid and tried to move on. It pisses me off.

'I am so happy for Julia. Smart girl. Clever girl. What a woman. Go for it. F*** them where it hurts'.

Ms Brock said that others may follow suit because 'Miramax was part of Disney, it was a clear step. Miramax did not exist without Disney.

'The buck stops at Disney'.

Ms Sokola, 45, a former model, testified at Weinstein's retrial about two instances of sexual assault, one in 2002 when she was just 16 and a second one in 2006.

Ms Sokola (pictured on June 11) testified at Weinstein's retrial about two instances of sexual assault, one in 2002 when she was just 16 and a second one in 2006

Weinstein was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in April 2024 and Weinstein is now being retried on the charges

The jury acquitted Weinstein on the counts related to her testimony, however they found him guilty of sexual assault related to another accuser. A mistrial was declared over a rape allegation.

Ms Sokola said she was 'really happy' for Ms Ormond.

She said: 'What they did, especially the companies, the settlement she received should be a blueprint for all other races that involved other big companies that should be responsible for the people that work for them'.

'Do I think it's fair for the other women? Of course I don't. I wish all the other women got money to at least conceive they couldn't work.

'At the same time if I could give advice to anyone thinking about proceeding in that step, just reach out to the best lawyer you can'.

Ms Sokola said that during early discussions with Weinstein's companies figures in excess of $100 million were touted for his victims, which are thought to run into the hundreds.

Instead some women ended up with tens of thousands of dollars.

Ms Sokola saidL 'I would say if someone feels they have a unique individual case, I'd suggest they go for it.

'This is such a gamble. You never know what will be the outcome'.

Ms Brock's lawyer was Doug Wigdor, dubbed the 'no.1 MeToo lawyer in America': his other clients include Cassandra Ventura, who testified earlier this year at the trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

During the case it emerged that Ms Ventura had gotten a $20 million payout from Combs after suing him in 2023. She is also set to get another $10 million from a Los Angeles hotel where he subjected her to a brutal beating.

Mr Wigdor has another client, former model Sara Ziff, who has also sued Disney for its failure to protect her from Weinstein: her case is ongoing.

One hitch for potential litigants is that Ms Ormond's case was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, a 2022 law in New York that allowed a one year window to file civil cases that were normally past the statute of limitations.

However other laws may provide a way for cases to be filed and similar legislation could be passed in the future again.

Meredith Firetog, a partner at Mr Wigdor's law firm who worked on Ms Ormond's case, said she was 'happy the matter was resolved as to Disney and Miramax' but declined to comment further on the settlement.

A spokesman for Weinstein said: 'Harvey Weinstein has categorically denied the salacious allegations made by Julia Ormond, and is confident that the evidence will refute her claims of misconduct.

'It is unfortunate that Disney settled the case before Ms. Ormond's claims were put to the test at trial.

'While it is a litigant's own decision to settle with an opposing party, such large settlements will only incentivize others to make claims that may lack merit and credibility, with the hope they receive a large payday without scrutiny.'

Elizabeth Fagan, the lawyer who brokered the 2021 settlement for Weinstein's victims, did not respond to requests for comment.

David Korn, the lawyer who represented Disney in the Ormond case, was contacted for comment.
Donald Trump reignited the furor over Jeffrey Epstein this week when he said the late pedophile had 'stolen' Virginia Giuffre from the Mar-a-Lago spa.

Such a specific reference to Giuffre, Epstein's best-known sex trafficking accuser, led to a furious response from her family and a renewed maelstrom of conspiracy theories about the case.

It also raised a key question - how well did the president know her, if at all?

Giuffre died by suicide in April, but she herself did provide the answer to that question nine years ago in a sworn deposition.

Her account was given on oath and offered intriguing glimpses into how many times she met Trump, who with, and how he behaved.

She made no allegations of wrongdoing against the future commander in chief.

The deposition was part of a libel case, launched in 2015, in which Giuffre sued Ghislaine Maxwell for defamation.

Maxwell had called Giuffre's public claims about sex trafficking 'lies.'

In November 2016 Giuffre was questioned under oath by Maxwell's lawyer, Laura Menninger, and the subject of Trump arose.

Giuffre said: 'I worked for Donald Trump and I've met him probably a few times.'

Virginia Giuffre, with a photograph of herself as a teenager

She added: 'At Mar-a-Lago. My Dad and him, I wouldn't say they were friends, but my Dad knew him and they would talk all the time - well, not all the time but when they saw each other.'

Her father, Sky Roberts, was a maintenance man at Mar-a-Lago and, during the summer of 2000 Virginia, who was 16 at the time, worked as a spa locker room attendant.

In her deposition, she said she had never been in the presence of Trump and Epstein together.

Her basis for once having said the two men were 'good friends' was because Epstein told her that was the case, she said.

According to the deposition, which involved discussion of Epstein's high-profile friends, Giuffre said: 'Donald Trump never flirted with me.'

She added it was 'true that he (Trump) didn't partake in any sex with us.'

Asked who she meant by 'us' she said other girls.

She went on: 'I didn't physically see him have sex with any of the girls, so I can't say who he had sex with in his whole life or not, but I just know it wasn't with me when I was with other girls.'

Giuffre also denied a suggestion that she had heard Trump tell Epstein 'You've got the life.'

President Trump said Virginia Giuffre was among workers 'stolen' from his Mar-a-Lago spa by Epstein

On Tuesday, Trump revealed that, two decades ago, he got upset with Epstein over his poaching of workers, including Giuffre, from the Mar-a-Lago spa.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later noted the president was responding to a reporter's question, and did not bring up Giuffre himself.

"The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees,' she added.

During his back-and-forth with reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump indicated that 'people were taken out of the spa, hired by him (Epstein), in other words gone.'

He was asked: 'Did one of the stolen persons, did that include Virginia Giuffre?'

The president responded: 'I don't know. I think she worked at the spa, I think so, I think that was one of the people, he stole her, and by the way she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.'

Virginia Giuffre speaks during a news conference outside a Manhattan court in New York, August 27, 2019

An undated photograph of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell provided by the Justice Department

There was an angry response from Giuffre's family, who are usually reticent to speak publicly.

In a statement they said: 'It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been "stolen" from Mar-a-Lago,"

'We and the public are asking for answers; survivors demand this.'

Epstein took his own life in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges.

Trump has denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and said he cut off their relationship around 2004.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Giuffre's brother Sky Roberts said: 'She wasn't stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trump's property.

'Stolen seems very impersonal. It feels very much like an object, and the survivors are not objects, women are not objects.'

President Donald Trump at the White House on July 30

Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 1997

Donald Trump and future wife Melania Knauss with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000

Virginia Giuffre previously said she was approached by Maxwell in 2000 and eventually was hired by her as a masseuse for Epstein.

But the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, she said, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates.

Giuffre said she was flown around the world for appointments with men including Prince Andrew while she was 17 and 18 years old.

The men, including Andrew, denied that and questioned Giuffre's credibility.

The prince settled with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a 'substantial donation' to her survivors' organization.
Rating:

In days gone by there were designated areas in Scotlands capital for public floggings  the Grassmarket for example, or Mercat Cross.

These ritual spankings were administered on behalf of the good people who, in their outrage at transgressions beyond the pale, demanded brutal satisfaction. Few of us may have the stomach for them today.

But a 21st century spanking is taking place nightly in Edinburgh a short walk from the spots where the old ones used to happen. The new location is the Festival Theatre. Theres scarcely a spare seat to be had.

Granted, the villain of the piece  a Mr Fred Goodwin  takes his beating in absentia, although he would be welcome to buy a ticket if penitence were his thing, which we know it isnt.

But a spanking is what it indubitably is  two hours and 40 minutes of metaphorical thwacks to the bare bottom of Britains most odious banker.

And who does the flogging? Scottish actor Brian Cox, for one  appearing as the ghost of economist Adam Smith and tearing a strip off Fred the Shred.

Did we onlookers have the stomach for it? Hell yes. Was there amusement to be had in an early retirees humiliation before an audience of his hometown peers? We laughed like drains.

When it was over, there was a standing ovation. People left the auditorium smiling, brutal satisfaction delivered. That Goodwin fellow? He had it coming.

Brian Cox as Adam Smith in the play 'Make it Happen'

Make it Happen  the title of this fictionalised satire by James Graham  is what the former Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive used to say when he was delegating.

It might be responsibility for redecorating the lobby outside his office with 1,000 a roll wallpaper or having fresh fruit flown in daily from Paris.

What he memorably made happen under his own steam was the implosion of a centuries-old bank, the loss of 26,000 employees jobs and the saddling of the taxpayer with a multi-billion-pound bill.

Then he made his exit stage left happen  along with his six-figure pension pot.

I caught the plays Edinburgh Festival premiere this week, joining almost 2000 others for a delicious form of revenge therapy.

True, not all the charges libelled here are strictly accurate.

There is no record of Goodwin actually leaning on Edinburghs Lord Provost to persuade John Lewis to give up their flagship Scottish to facilitate the expansion of his city centre empire.

It may be a stretch to suppose Goodwin sacked an underling simply because she had neither Prime Minister Gordon Brown nor Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling on speed dial.

Did Goodwin really tell his mistress talk dirty during stolen moments in flagrante in an office cupboard  and would such dirty talk really have been a stream of banking buzz words? Speculation at best.

But, of course, this is fiction  apart from all the stuff that is horrifying fact.

Indeed, much of the fun here derives from identifying the line between the two. You may assume it fanciful that, at the crazed height of the Goodwin expansionist era, the banks assets included a graveyard in the American deep south. It really happened.

Is a spot of artistic licence employed in nicknaming the morning meetings with the bullying CEO the morning beatings? Nope. That is how they were known.

It all begins inauspiciously enough when a diffident Goodwin arrives for an interview in Edinburgh with RBS CEO George Mathewson who is looking for his heir apparent.

Awkward and with west coast, working class vowels, he seems a poor fit. To Edinburghs preening banking establishment he is a coarse outsider from  horror of horrors  a council estate in Paisleys Ferguslie Park.

But Goodwin impresses with his masterplan to stave off takeovers and maintain the banks proud name: To stay independent, he declares, you have to grow 

And so the madness begins. You may wonder how a financial institutions growth era can possibly be reproduced on a bare stage  even why anyone would attempt it.

Well, having your cast burst into song seems to help. If it sounds bonkers, you soon remind yourself it is no more bonkers than the events being depicted here.

Mr Cox stars alongside actor Sandy Grierson, whoplays disgraced banker Fred Goodwin

There are ensemble renditions of Adeles Chasing Pavements, of Keanes Somewhere Only We Know and Franz Ferdinands Take Me Out  all contemporaneous with Goodwins decade of banking megalomania.

And if the song Especially for You  a hit for Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan in 1989  doesnt quite fit the timeline, you delight in hearing Fred the Shred duet on it with the ghost of Adam Smith anyway.

Can either Brian Cox or Goodwin actor Sandy Grierson even sing? Barely a note. In a play about hare-brained recklessness that seemed somehow the point.

Its the interplay between the pioneering Enlightenment economist and his wrongheaded 21st century devotee that proves the dramas real stroke of genius.

Goodwin orders a flunky to source a first edition copy of Smiths seminal work The Wealth of Nations to take pride of place in the RBS HQ and, after it arrives, so does the author in spirit form.

Where the f*** am I? wonders Cox, playing Smith, while Goodwin wonders whether the stress of acquisitions has brought on apparitions.

On discovering hes in the future, standing in the bank where his 18th century savings are lodged, the great man inquires how they are doing.

Whats your account number? asks Goodwin.

Four, comes the answer.

The serious point behind their encounters, of course, is Smiths commentary on the economic vandalism perpetrated in his name by his number one fan.

Oops. It turns out Goodwin has misinterpreted virtually every page of the economic bible and, bewilderingly for the author, embarked on a programme of aggressive capitalism.

Youve got me all wrong, he says, scandalised at Goodwins insistence that he is the father of modern capitalism. Im not a capitalist. Im a moral philosopher.

Its a devastating take-down, not just of the banker, but of the fanaticism which can grow from the selective reading of seminal texts. The moral? Pay closer attention.

And Cox is superb  a cross between a bumbling great uncle transported to confusing, unfamiliar times and a raging Logan Roy (his character in TV drama succession) driven to distraction by the incompetence of his proteges.

You f***** idiot, he snarls at Goodwin as the banking bubble bursts, sounding exactly like his TV media mogul carpeting one of his disaster-prone offspring.

Sensibly, Adam Smith sees the writing on the wall and demands to withdraw his savings.

Gordon Brown delivers his verdict on the banker too. He calls him an utter b******.

Even the mild-mannered Alistair Darling is only marginally less withering.

And, bringing the hubristic tale to grass-roots level, we hear from shareholders. One inquires of Goodwin why his salary is 50 times that of typical staff members when the industry standard is six.

She reappears later to remind him that figure has risen to 120.

It all climaxes, as we knew it surely would, with Goodwin as the demented captain of a vast sinking ship casting around for the billions required to forestall the certain doom which lay only hours away.

Former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin at a clay pigeon shoot

We know the rest. The knighthood being wrested from him and  after a struggle  a portion of his pension too. The pariah status that followed and the mea culpa which never truly did.

And the Festival Theatre audiences surely know the rest better than most. This is a play about their home towns recent history. Edinburgh is a compact city.

Goodwins Pleasure Dome  the flagship branch in St Andrews Square where he did his showing off to the great and the good  is less than a mile away.

Gogarburn, the mini-kingdom he had built a stones throw from the airport, has passed into city legend: the opulence, the private jet, the ocean going self-indulgence

Most in Edinburgh are well aware, too, that Goodwin lives among them still  not too long a walk, in fact, from where we sat hooting and cringing at his outrageous excesses.

What about due diligence? a subordinate asks him at one point in the drama.

F*** due diligence, comes the uproarious response which we must assume falls on the fiction side of the fence.

Except, of course, it now looks broadly true.

An uncomfortable week in prospect, then, for the target of this theatrical spanking. Make It Happen runs in Fred Goodwins home city until August 9.

If the 66-year-old is currently in residence then his ears must be burning. Im fine with that. I didnt see anyone who wasnt.
Presenter Naga Munchetty could face an investigation from BBC bosses after she was accused of bullying a junior colleague.

The BBC Breakfast host, 50, has been placed 'under review' while bosses consider escalating complaints to a formal investigation, The Sun reports.

A source said higher-ups had heard from several colleagues and logged concerns over her 'hard' and 'bullying' behaviour on the breakfast show, as well as her Radio 5 Live show.

'Following the amount of people who have come forward to share their experiences with Naga, the BBC has officially moved to place the complaints under review.

'The review is to ascertain whether a full-on investigation is required and that could come in weeks', the source told The Sun.

A BBC spokesperson told Daily Mail: 'While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously and will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values.

'We have robust processes in place and would encourage any staff with concerns to raise them directly with us so they can be addressed.'

It comes after Munchetty was spoken to by execs after a junior staffer accused the journalist of bullying them.

Presenter Naga Munchetty could face an investigation from BBC bosses after she was accused of bullying a junior colleague

The BBC Breakfast host has been placed 'under review' while bosses consider escalating complaints to a formal investigation, The Sun reports

Munchetty's own conduct was thrown into doubt when BBC Breakfast's editor Richard Frediani reportedly took an extended period of leave, after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the show

She was also reportedly hauled into a meeting after she made a sex jibe during an ad break while hosting her radio show.

She is believed to have used a crude slang term for a sec act and reportedly asled a colleague if they had ever done it.

It was also reported last month that Munchetty was planning on quitting BBC Breakfast after she was accused of bullying.

Her own conduct was thrown into doubt when BBC Breakfast's editor Richard Frediani reportedly took an extended period of leave, after an internal review of bullying and misconduct allegations was opened into the show.

Amid the fallout, Munchetty's agents have reportedly 'held talks with rival station LBC' to explore opportunities for the highly-respected journalist.

A source told The Sun: 'The fallout of Richard Frediani's investigation created a stark 'him or her' narrative on Breakfast with Naga flung to the front line.

'The fact is she loves the BBC and her job but there's 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 there's far less of the fluffy nonsense involved in working at the BBC.

'Her team last week renewed historic talks with the Global radio station to see if there could be any work for her there.'

New figures released by the BBC last month revealed the presenter was awarded a 10,000 increase in her annual salary.

Munchetty was also reportedly hauled into a meeting after she made a sex jibe during an ad break while hosting her radio show

BBC Breakfast was today branded a 'clown show' after an interview with Lynda La Plante left viewers cringing

It now takes her pay packet to an eye-watering 355,000 - almost double that of her co-host Charlie Stayt.

Stayt, 63, has remained in the 190,000 bracket as tensions between the pair are said to be 'rife'.

Munchetty hosts BBC Breakfast on Thursdays to Saturdays with Charlie, while Jon Kay and Sally Nugent anchor the programme from the start of the week.

Today, BBC Breakfast was branded a 'clown show' by fans after a 'car crash' interview left viewers cringing.

Munchetty and Stayt presented Friday's instalment of the daytime news show.

Crime novelist Lynda La Plante was discussing her latest book release The Scene Of The Crime.

Having researched forensics for her novels, Lynda explained animatedly: 'If you have blood spattering, you could get an expert that deals only with that, and they could walk in and see pooling, splattering-'

But she was interrupted by Munchetty, who quickly warned her: 'Careful! It's breakfast.'

Good-natured Lynda seemed unfazed, and laughed: 'Sorry!' but it wasn't long before Munchetty delivered another blunder, forgetting the name of the hit crime series inspired by Lynda's most famous book.

'In the book, when you have the forensic expert come in who runs the team and has this history, there is a little bit of discomfort in terms of how the team responds,' Naga begins.

'When you were writing for, erm Oh my goodness, how have I just'

Co-host Charlie then chimes in with the correct name: 'Prime Suspect,' and Naga says, relieved: 'Prime Suspect - thank you.'

Still undeterred, Lynda continues with the inspiration behind her book, saying: 'What I loved in The Scene Of The Crime is he's not dead - he's alive! The victim is alive!'

But Munchetty scrambles to prevent Lynda from revealing the central surprise, speaking over her to say: 'Don't spoil it! Don't spoil it, don't spoil it because there are, as usual, many twists.'

Frantically segueing into another line of enquiry, Munchetty asks awkwardly: 'Do you ever - I avoid, often, crime and murder novels because I get squeamish.'

'But this isn't too much for me. I can only speak for myself. Do you ever think there's a limit? You wouldn't go too far in terms of description and squeamishness?'

'A limit of the horror?' clarified Lynda, before answering: 'I think there is my own limit.

'We can give a name to virtually every reason for a crime, you can say they had a horrible background, an abused child, or psychological problems, but there is no-one that can ever say 'This is what made evil'. We haven't got it.

Charlie then asked Lynda: 'We're almost out of time. Do you think you would have made a good detective yourself?'

But Lynda insisted she would be 'dreadful', adding: 'I talk too much and I think I'd get awfully upset.'

Fans of the show weren't impressed, and rushed to social media to express their disapproval.

One wrote: 'Never, ever let Charlie ad-lib. F***ing disaster every single time.'

Another said: 'Who needs to go to the Edinburgh Festival when you get a clown show every day in Salford on BBC Breakfast?'
One of California's smallest towns is also its most isolated, as it quite literally gets snowed in every single winter.

Markleeville has just 191 people, according to the 2020 Census. And the closest major city is Sacramento, which is still roughly 120 miles away by car.

It is also in California's least populated county, Alpine County, which has about 1,200 residents that are scattered around 700 square miles filled with dozens of lakes, a handful of rivers and three national forests.

In the winter, Markleeville is cut off from the rest of the state when enough snow clogs both the Ebbetts Pass and Monitor Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

That leaves the town with one route in and out that leads only to nearby Nevada and South Lake Tahoe.

But some enjoy the cozy feel of Markleeville, a place that essentially hibernates for months at a time before welcoming throngs of travelers in RVs looking to go camping.

That's certainly true of Avery Hellman, who moved to the town in search somewhere that was affordable, friendly, outdoorsy and offered plenty of opportunities to be creative.

Hellman, who had been working alongside her husband on her family's ranch in Petaluma, made the move in 2018 and never looked back.

Markleeville has just 191 people and is in California's least populated county, Alpine County

Alpine County is full of natural beauty, especially in the winter months when snow coats the Sierra Nevadas (Pictured: Cattle graze amid the snow in a field near Markleeville

'I've been to a lot of small towns,' Hellman told SFGate. 'I travel around California all the time, and I thought a lot about where I wanted to live.'

Just like she hoped, the community was welcoming, with a committee actually delivering her a packet of helpful information about her new home to her mailbox.

A few years after moving, Hellman and her husband bought the Markleeville General Store, which has been around since the 1800s.

In the summer, it is abuzz with activity as locals and visitors alike come to get ice cream after scenic bike rides.

For Hellman, keeping the store alive is an important part of keeping residents' nostalgia going strong.

'That's a huge part of what we do. It's almost like this symbolic experience for people that brings back their childhood memories because the store's been around for so long,' she said.

Hellman prefers running the store to ranching, a career that keeps you up all night, she said. Now, she feels like she's a part of the community.

'I never imagined that would be what we would do. But we just felt like it might as well be us. And we had a vision for it, and we were able to do it,' she said.

The Markleeville General Store is one of the most important parts of the tight-knit community

Another staple of Markleeville is its library, which is just one branch of Alpine County's surprisingly robust library system

Another staple of Markleeville is its library, which is just one branch of Alpine County's surprisingly robust library system.

Rita Lovell, the director of the Alpine County Library system, lives in Markleeville and told SFGate that the library has become a community hub.

It doesn't just offer books but also free concerts in the summer, music jams every Friday and state park passes available for checkout.

'I'm surprised how many musicians there are in the area,' Lovell said. 'They've come out of the woodwork, and this has been the same core group for almost 10 years now.'

Lovell added that many new families are moving to the area based on how many more children seem to be showing up to story time sessions.

Lovell herself chose to raise her family in Markleeville, moving there in 1988 from Wisconsin alongside her husband.

'We found a nice little place that we were able to fix up, and thats how we landed here,' she said.

'Its just ideal, I think. Its a little mix of everything. Were close to Kirkwood. Were close to Carson City, Reno for shopping and Tahoe for the lake. Just hiking and biking and all the fun stuff we like to do, youre right in the heart of it,' she added.

Despite how remote and rural Markleeville is for the most part, it is reasonably close to South Lake Tahoe and the Nevada cities of Reno and Carson City

Pictured: The typical home in Markleeville, where there's about one person per 20 square miles

There are certainly some drawbacks to living in a place so desolate.

Meghan Wolff, the executive director of the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce, explained that there's no newspaper in the county and that there's one person per 20 square miles.

Wolff told SFGate that tourists often find themselves unprepared as they realize that Google Maps won't load on their phone because of spotty service.

This sometimes leads to them getting into dangerous situations that put a strain on local emergency services.

However, Wolff said, when you do come prepared, the remoteness of the county is a great experience.

'Even though were a vortex, I do think were a pearl,' she said.
Anti-migrant demonstrators faced off against anti-racism counter-protesters this evening outside a hotel on the south coast used to house asylum seekers.

Protesters gathered outside the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, Hampshire, on August 1, waving flags and calling for the hotel's closure.

Anti-migrant demonstrations have taken place across the South of England today, in locations including Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth.

All the protests are taking place at locations where the government are housing migrants while their asylum applications are processed.

In Southsea, counter-protesters from Stand Up to Racism Portsmouth staged an event at the same location, holding signs reading 'Refugees welcome'.

The day of protests on the south coast follows similar recent unrest in Epping, where a series of demonstrations have taken place calling for the closure of The Bell Inn, a hotel used on and off for the last five years as accommodation for asylum seekers.

A ring of steel was also erected around The Britannia International Hotel, a luxury four-star lodging in London's Canary Wharf that has been converted to house migrants, following sweeping protests.

An Epping-style protest to stop migrants being housed above a town's shops took to the streets on Wednesday in Waterlooville, Hampshire - as thousands of locals warned of 'mayhem' if the plans go ahead.

SOUTHSEA: Protesters wave flags as they call for the Royal Beach Hotel to be closed to asylum seekers

SOUTHSEA: Protesters gather outside the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, which is currently undergoing building work to turn it into housing

SOUTHSEA: Anti-migrant demonstrators face off against protesters from Stand Up to Racism outside the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, Hants, this evening, Friday 1st August 2025.

SOUTHSEA: Counter-protesters from Stand Up to Racism Portsmouth staged an event at the same location 'to show friendship and solidarity with refugees'

The Southsea protests follow on from two previous similar demonstrations last month.

The event on July 26 was peaceful, with officers able to remain between the two sets of protesters and no incidents reported to police.

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: 'The protest was peaceful and passed without any incidents reported to police during the event.

'Our priority with protests is always public safety.

'Policing these events requires us to balance the rights of those lawfully protesting, and the rights of others to go about their lives without being subject to unacceptable disruption, whilst keeping the public safe.'

However, an earlier event saw a 64-year-old man arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and another man, 40, arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order, Portsmouth News reported.

Hampshire Police were also forced to put a dispersal order in place to stop the protest spiralling into violence.

Opened 1866 and billed as a 'visitor paradise', the Royal Beach Hotel is a historic Victorian lodging with views across the Solent.

An exterior shot of the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea

SOUTHSEA: Anti-migrant demonstrators face off against protesters from Stand Up to Racism outside the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea on August 1

SOUTHSEA: An anti-migrant protester speaks to the crowd through a megaphone

SOUTHSEA: Protesters line up across the street from the Royal Beach Hotel

A member of 'Portsmouth Patriots' waves a Union Jack across the street from the Royal Beach Hotel

In April 2022 Portsmouth News reported that the hotel would be exclusively used to house migrants until at least August of that year.

Now three years on tensions are spilling over as local residents protest its continued use as asylum accommodation.

The hotel was targeted by far-right Britain First activists in 2022.

Members of the group, which was founded by a former British National Party politician, filmed at the hotel as part of what they dubbed an 'expose'.

Speaking at the time, Lib Dem councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson called on Southsea's residents to welcome those who in need of the hotel's services.

However, plans are already in place to curtial the venue's use as a hotel for asylum seekers.

The exterior of the hotel is covered in scaffolding as construction continues to turn the property into housing, with planning permission already granted by Portsmouth City Council.
Ghislaine Maxwell's testimony before Congress has been postponed pending her Supreme Court case, a top Republican has announced.

Maxwell, the longtime friend of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is currently serving a 20-year-sentence for sex trafficking and has been in talks with the Trump administration and Congress about dishing on the disgraced financier and his relationships.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced last week that Maxwell was set to testify before the panel on August 11 at the Tallahassee facility where she is serving her prison sentence.

But now he says that planned sit-down interview is no longer happening.

Comer said in a letter he would agree to delay their meeting so that Maxwell's pending Supreme Court petition regarding her case could move forward unswayed by her testimony to the oversight panel.

'On July 30, the U.S. Supreme Court noticed that your petition for writ of certiorari will be considered at its conference on September 29. In light of this notice, the Committee is willing to delay your deposition until a date following the Courts certiorari determination,' he wrote.

The Supreme Court's new term begins in October.

'Your testimony is vital to the Committees efforts regarding Mr. Jeffrey Epstein, including the 2007 non-prosecution agreement and the circumstances surrounding Mr. Epsteins death,' the chairman wrote to Maxwell.

Inmate photo of Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. The House Oversight Committee denied her conditions for congressional immunity in exchange for her testimony. The panel subpoenaed her testimony last week and her lawyer, David Markus, came back with conditions

Donald and Melania Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

Maxwell, shown above with sex offender and accused child trafficker Jefferey Epstein, was a longtime partner of the disgraced financier. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking

Just days before, Comer denied the imprisoned woman's request for immunity should she speak to Congress.

'The Oversight Committee will respond to Ms. Maxwells attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony,' a spokesperson for the panel told the Daily Mail this week.

The letter from Maxwell attorney David Markus to the committee - which was obtained by the Daily Mail - contains a list of conditions for her to testify, including immunity.

'Public reportsincluding your own statementsindicate that the committee intends to question Ms. Maxwell in prison and without a grant of immunity. Those are non-starters,' the letter states.

'Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity. Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony. The potential for leaks from such a setting creates real security risks and undermines the integrity of the process.'

Markus further requested that the committee provide Maxwell with their questions in advance of their sit-down.

He also asked to push their meeting until after Maxwell's pending case before the Supreme Court in which she's alleging wrongful legal treatment and until after a subsequent secondary challenge so that her testimony does not sway those cases.

Maxwell may want to talk, according to a source who told the Daily Mail last week 'she would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story.'

But there were always going to be strings attached to testimony from such a notorious target.

The rush to hear from Epstein's protege comes as some lawmakers have raised concern about her protection.

'I requested that she be placed immediately into protective custody and monitored - by guards as well as working surveillance equipment - around the clock, so that our justice system does not again fail the survivors of this Epstein nightmare,' Republican Rep. Scott Perry posted on X.

Trump's closest allies and rank-and-file members - including House Oversight Chairman James Comer, Anna Paulina Luna, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene - backed the subpoena for Maxwell.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has met multiple times with Maxwell at the behest of Trump to discuss what she knows about the Epstein files.

David Markus, attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, center, speaks during a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Fla., Thursday, July 24, 2025

Blanche offered Maxwell a limited form of immunity during her two days of questioning over former lover and billionaire pedophile Epstein last week.

She apparently requested what's known as 'proffer immunity' so that anything she revealed couldn't be used against her at a later date.

This form of immunity is specifically provided to people under investigation or facing charges to determine the value of a possible witness. Maxwell has already been tried and convicted.

However, Maxwell's lawyer David Oscar Markus said after her questioning: 'There have been no asks and no promises.'
A mother-of-four stalked by her Army colonel ex-boyfriend has hit out at his 'slap on the wrists' punishment after he avoided jail.

Sarah Crossley-Weir claims the reason Terry Southwood was let off lightly by a judge was because of his distinguished military career and glowing references.

The 57-year-old retired Royal Army Medical Corps officer spent six months harassing and stalking Ms Crossley-Weir after she ended their five-year relationship.

The couple had got together in 2017 before he moved in with her and her children at their home near Milton Abbas, Dorset, in July 2021.

But about a year later she told Southwood to move out, which he did 'reluctantly'. Soon after he hid a tracking device in the passenger seat of her car, and turned up at her home several times. He also bombarded her with messages and flowers.

She also received four anonymous typed poison-pen letters that contained details only he knew. Southwood was issued with a five-year restraining order after he pleaded guilty to an offence of stalking at Bournemouth Crown Court last week.

Southwood, who had no previous convictions, had a 37-year career in the Army with 'exemplary conduct'. After retiring he got a job with technology and logistics specialists Leidos.

Judge Susan Evans gave him a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation days. She also ordered him to pay 500 costs.

Sarah Crossley-Weir (pictured), a mother-of-four stalked by her Army colonel ex-boyfriend. has hit out at his 'slap on the wrists' punishment after he avoided jail

Ms Crossley-Weir claims the reason Terry Southwood (pictured) was let off lightly by a judge was because of his distinguished military career and glowing references

The 57-year-old retired Royal Army Medical Corps officer (pictured arriving at Bournemouth Crown Court) spent six months harassing and stalking Ms Crossley-Weir after she ended their five-year relationship.

She told him: 'You had 37 years in the Army, leaving at the rank of colonel. You did active service ... and suffered PTSD.

'Following the breakdown of the relationship it is quite clear your mental health declined and you became depressed. It is very much to your credit you're now working full time and clearly valued by your employers.'

Ms Crossley-Weir, 51, said: 'The police were amazing, when his behaviour was unrelenting... they did everything they could.

'The domestic abuse support worker was amazing. The support I had in terms of organisations coming out to advise on security and giving me things to fit to the window was amazing.

'However, I feel like the court system has let me down. It doesn't send a great message to other people because really [his punishment] is a slap on the wrists  'Don't be a naughty boy, you have got a fabulous track record in the Army'.

'It's rubbish and he should have received a custodial sentence.'
Princess Ingrid Alexandra proved she is just like every other university student when she was spotted carrying a box of alcoholic beverages with a friend.

The future queen of Norway, 21, touched down in Australia last Friday to begin a three-year undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney.

The Norwegian royal wasted no time trying to fit in with the campus culture on Thursday when she visited a bottle shop to pick up some local booze, before returning to her accommodation with a mate.

The princess kept her outfit casual for the drink run, slipping into a pair of loose-fit white jeans and a black cardigan over a matching crew-neck shirt.

She wore a name tag on her clothes, which simply read Ingrid, and left her brunette locks loose.

From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra proved she is just like every other university student when she was spotted carrying a box of alcoholic beverages with a friend. Pictured

The future queen of Norway touched down in Australia last Friday to begin a three-year undergraduate degree at the University of Sydney

The Norwegian royal wasted no time trying to fit in with the campus culture on Thursday when she visited a bottle shop to pick up some local booze, before returning to her accommodation with a mate

Ingrid completed her look with a pair of sensible blue sneakers as she carted her purchases, which included a $21 bottle of Cat Amongst The Pigeons chardonnay.

The chic royal, who is second in line to the throne after her father, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, looked to be settling into Sydney life.

She arrived Down Under last week and posed on campus for a series of photos she uploaded to Instagram.

The Royal Household's full statement from Ingrid read: 'I'm looking forward to starting my studies at the University of Sydney.

'It will be exciting to become a student, and I'm looking forward to gaining new perspectives on both European and international politics.

'I'm sure that I will learn a lot.'

Ingrid appeared ecstatic as she posed up a storm.

The princess donned a casual fit, which included a pair of faded blue jeans, a navy blue jumper and white sneakers.

The princess kept her outfit casual for the drink run, slipping into a pair of loose-fit white jeans and a black cardigan over a matching crew-neck shirt

She wore a name tag on her clothes, which simply read Ingrid, and left her brunette locks loose

Ingrid finished her look with a pair of sensible blue sneakers as she carted her purchases, which included a $21 bottle of Cat Amongst The Pigeons chardonnay

The chic royal, who is second in line to the throne after her father, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, looked every inch the average uni student

She marked the joyous occasion with a series of images taken around what appeared to be the University of Sydney campus.

One picture showed the royal standing in front of the establishment's tall brown brick building, while another showed her seated in front of the reception steps.

She also held a collection of white folders and envelopes, perhaps documentation linked to her studies.

Her decision to move to Australia to continue her studies comes after she embarked on military training at the Engineer Battalion in Brigade Nord last year.
Queen Mary of Denmark put on a radiant display on Friday as she stepped out with her husband King Frederik X and their children to attend the traditional Changing of the Guard ceremony at Grasten Palace.

The Australian-born royal, 53, looked effortlessly chic in a stylish black midi dress adorned with delicate white polka dots.

She completed her elegant summer look with tan heels, minimal gold jewellery including a necklace and bracelet, and wore her glossy dark locks loose over her shoulders.

Beaming as she waved to the cheering crowd, Mary appeared in good spirits  a welcome sight just days after she was stung by a wasp during an earlier appearance in the same town.

She was accompanied by her husband, King Frederik, 57, who cut a dashing figure in a crisp blue button-up shirt paired with tan trousers and casual sneakers.

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.

Queen Mary of Denmark put on a radiant display on Friday as she stepped out with her husband King Frederik X and their children to attend the traditional Changing of the Guard ceremony at Grasten Palace

The Australian-born royal looked effortlessly chic in a stylish black midi dress adorned with delicate white polka dots

The royal couple were seen holding hands as they greeted the gathered well-wishers, sharing warm smiles and soaking up the festive atmosphere.

Their children, Princess Isabella, 17, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 14, joined them for the outing, all smiling brightly as they stood beside their parents on the grounds of the southern Jutland castle.

The appearance marked a return to public life for Mary, following a minor health scare earlier in the week.

On Monday, during a separate event in Grasten, the Queen was rushed indoors after being stung by a wasp while meeting royal admirers.

Witnesses described seeing Mary visibly wince in pain and clutch her thigh as she began to limp and rub at the affected area.

While greeting her admirers, Mary, who was carrying a bouquet of flowers given to her by one of her fans, suddenly winced and grabbed at her leg.

She began limping and rubbing her thigh, seemingly in pain, and appeared distressed as her husband and children rushed to check on her.

Mary attempted to carry on, but was soon whisked away to a nearby hotel, cutting short the outing.

Mary completed her elegant summer look with tan heels, minimal gold jewellery including a necklace and bracelet, and wore her glossy dark locks loose over her shoulders

She was accompanied by her husband, King Frederik, who cut a dashing figure in a crisp blue button-up shirt paired with tan trousers

Their children, Princess Isabella, 17, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine, 14, joined them for the outing, all smiling brightly as they stood beside their parents on the grounds of the southern Jutland castle

The queen was stung by a wasp, reports later claimed, and while she was unable to proceed, she insisted her family stay behind to finish the engagement.

'The queen certainly did not seem to be badly affected by the encounter with the stinging wasp, and she, together with the king, Isabella and Vincent, made sure to greet the many citizens who had gathered in the square,' Danish publication Billed-Bladet reported.

Once she recovered from the sting, Queen Mary joined her family at Grasten Palace, where the family will spend their summer holidays over the next few weeks.

Mary and her husband recently embarked on a European summer getaway.

The Danish royal couple have spent much of this past month enjoying some R&R at the royal-owned Chateau de Cayx in Cahors, France.

Danish publications reported that in early July they jetted to Cahors, located in the Midi-Pyrenees region, an area famous for its Malbec wine - and it appears they were having such a fantastic time there that they decided to extend their stay  twice.

The pair first planned to return to their duties in Denmark by July 13, but updated their plans, announcing they would stay a few extra days - this date was then extended further, with the royal family's official return to Grasten slated for July 28.

In the King and Queen's absence, the role as regent would fall to the next in line to the throne - their teenage son Crown Prince Christian - but he was initially unavailable.

The lack of royal family members to pick up the baton meant there was no other option but to bring Queen Margrethe out of retirement.

As Mary and Fred extended their vacation for a second time, the former monarch - who abdicated the throne following a 52-year reign in 2024 - was left to run the show from July 9 to July 15.

When he was available, Crown Prince Christian then stepped up, with the 19-year-old holding down the fort until July 20.
The summer housing market is flooded with homes for sale, and that could work in the favor of buyers in some key cities.

In hopes of offloading their properties, more sellers are slashing prices  and there are 10 markets in particular where potential homeowners should look.

Economists at Realtor.com analyzed June 2025 housing data from the largest US metros and named the areas with the highest shares of for-sale homes that had price reductions.

This means buyers can get a home at below the original asking price.

All the areas are located either in the South or the West  areas that have this year seen a surplus of homes for sale but little buyer demand.

'Sellers in these markets are often listing their homes at prices higher than the market can bear, and being forced to adjust when they don't sell as quickly as hoped for,' said Relator.com senior economist Joel Berner.

Denver landed on top of the list. Roughly one out of three homes listed for sale in June in the Colorado city were forced to slash their price.

The median home price in Denver in June was $555,304, down 3.6 percent or $20,879 from June 2024.

Homes for sale across the US are declining, and in Denver have declined on average $20,879

Denver had the highest share of price cuts with one in three homes seeing numbers slashed

Housing supply in the city has surged more than 88 percent from the pre-pandemic era, but buyer demand is so low that houses are just sitting on the market.

And the gap between sellers and buyers in Denver is only getting larger.

Earlier this year, one local broker told the Daily Mail that buyers are in no rush.

'They don't feel like they have to make a snap decision,' Corcoran managing broker, John Keene, said.

He added that buyers may be hesitating slightly as there was an expectation that rates would come down several times this year, but that has yet to happen.

'The reality has set in,' he said.

The second highest share of house price cuts was in Phoenix, AZ, where nearly a third of all listings had price reductions in June.

The median home price there dropped 3 percent to $520,000, down $16,000.

Phoenix is one US city where home prices are being lowered on average by $16,082

Homes in Dallas, Texas, are seeing that sale prices have dropped on average $10,153

There are five times more active listings in Dallas today than there were in 2021

Many sellers refuse to slash prices, instead choosing to remove their listing from the market altogether.

In May, Phoenix had the nation's highest number of delistings in the US, as many local sellers decided to wait until the economy is better.

For others though, slashing a home's price is their only option right now.

'Supply is outpacing demand in these markets, and sellers who don't have the choice to delist because they have to move for life reasons are being forced to take less for their home than they anticipated,' Berner, from Realtor.com, said.

Austin, TX, was third on the list for home price cuts.

In June, the share of listings with price cuts was 32.3 percent. The average home listing price is $524,950, down 4.5 percent or $24,256 from June 2024.

Tampa, FL, was fourth for price cuts, with 31.2 percent of homes on the market having lowered their price. The average home there is currently $419,000, down 1.4 percent from June 2024.

Many other parts of the Sunshine State are in trouble too.

Housing economist Amy Nixon has warned of an impending crash in Dallas

Tampa, FL, was fourth for price cuts, with 31.2 percent of homes on the market lowered

Austin was also recently named ground zero for a housing crash in the US

Dallas ranked fifth for home price cuts, with 30 percent of homes for sale there lowering their price in June by an average of 2.3 percent year-over-year.

The typical home there is now worth $440,000., down $10,153.

Housing economist Amy Nixon told the Daily Mail last month that the Dallas market is going to see even more price cuts.

As the surplus of current listing grows, Nixon says stubbornly high mortgage rates, a slowdown in domestic migration, and widespread tech layoffs will only cause prices to be slashed even more.

There are five times more active listings in Dallas today than there were in 2021, according to Nixon.

Meanwhile, Berner said it is great news for buyers who can get a deal now, especially if they pay all cash and can avoid a mortgage.

'If mortgage rates fall, we expect buyer activity to pick back up and for price reductions to slow down,' he said.
British patients are set to receive Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chips as part of the first UK clinical trial.

Neuralink is partnering with University College London Hospitals Trust and Newcastle Hospitals for the project, the company said in an announcement.

Seven participants who cannot walk will be fitted with an implant about the size of a 10p coin, allowing them to control a smartphone with their mind.

Those living with paralysis due to conditions such as spinal cord injuries and a nervous system disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis qualify for the study, the company revealed in a post on X.

This comes after a paralysed woman in the US revealed the shocking effect the brain implant has already had on her life.

Audrey Crews, who has been paralysed since she was 16, became one of five people in the US who have already been implanted with the brain chip.

Speaking on X, Ms Crews revealed how she was now able to write her signature for the first time since losing the use of her legs and arms in a car accident.

Ms Crews said: 'I tried writing my name for the first time in 20 years. I'm working on it.'

Seven British patients are set to receive Elon Musk's Neuralink brain chip as part of the first UK trial in partnership with University College London Hospitals Trust and Newcastle Hospitals

Patients who cannot walk will be fitted with the N1 Chip, a coin-sized implant containing 128 threads thinner than a human hair, containing 1,000 tiny electrodes. This could give patients the ability to control computers with their minds

This comes after Audrey Crews (pictured), who has been paralysed since she was 16, revealed the shocking effects of receiving the neural implant

Neuralink's N1 Chip, known as a brain-computer-interface (BCI), is a small implant which links the human brain to a computer through 128 threads thinner than a human hair.

Each thread contains eight electrodes, which are inserted into the surface of the brain to read spikes in electrical activity.

Those signals are recorded and sent to a computer, which converts them into commands for common devices such as moving a cursor or clicking.

According to Neuralink, the chip can 'restore digital autonomy to individuals with severe paralysis by enabling them to control devices with their thoughts'.

Participants in the UK trial will have their implants implanted by a surgeon while a robot implants the tiny threads.

Professor Harith Akram, a consultant neurosurgeon at University College London and chief investigator for the study, said the trial 'represents a major milestone in the development of brain-computer interface technology, with the potential to transform the lives of people living with severe neurological disorders worldwide.'

After resolving safety concerns flagged by the US Food and Drug Administration, Neuralink began US clinical trials in 2023.

Noland Arbaugh, 30, a quadriplegic from Arizona, became the first person to receive the Neuralink brain chip.

Ms Crews received the Neuralink N1 Chip in July after surgeons drilled a hole in her head and used a robot to insert thousands of electrodes into her brain

Elon Musk founded the company in 2016 with a group of neuroscience and robotics experts. He says the goal is to merge humanity with technology

The implant allowed Mr Arbaugh to write, play chess, and even enjoy complicated video games.

Although many of the electrodes became disconnected from Mr Arbaugh's brain, Neuralink enabled him to maintain control by improving the software that reads brain signals.

Similarly, Ms Crews has shared how receiving the brain implant has restored a level of autonomy she had long considered lost.

At the age of 16, Ms Crews was severely injured in a car accident, which damaged the C4 and C5 vertebrae in her neck, leaving her a quadriplegic with no feeling in her arms and legs.

However, after being implanted with the N1 chip in July, Ms Crews has shared her renewed ability to use a computer.

In her posts on X following the surgery, Crews revealed how she has been able to draw pictures, write words, scroll with a mouse, and use a keyboard all through the power of her mind.

Responding to the positive feedback she's received on social media, Crews said she felt liberated, and she's even started taking requests on what to draw next as the pictures act as practice for her while using the implant.

'Imagine your pointer finger is left click and the cursor [movement] is with your wrist, without physically doing it. Just a normal day using telepathy,' she explained while showing off her latest drawings.

Using a purple-colored pen on the computer screen, Audrey Crews wrote her name for the first time since 2005. She says she is the first woman to receive this experimental treatment

Using Neuralink's brain implant, Crews can now write her name and draw pictures using a specialised computer interface

Mr Musk also replied to a post about Crews' story, saying: 'She is controlling her computer just by thinking. Most people don't realize this is possible.'

The first female Neuralink patient noted that the BCI won't give her the ability to walk again or regain any movement in her limbs, but she is hoping this breakthrough will allow her to write a book about her journey.

'I've been a quadriplegic since the age of 16, so I have lots to tell,' Crews explained.

Mr Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, co-founded Neuralink in 2016 with a group of neuroscience, engineering, and robotics experts.

Their goal was to merge human intelligence with artificial intelligence, treat brain disorders and potentially enhance human capabilities.

The billionaire said in June that the chip technology had made 'an incredible amount of progress'.

But he emphasised the company's cautious approach, adding: 'The reason we're not moving faster than we are is because we're taking great care with each individual to make sure we never miss - and, so far, we haven't.'
For centuries, devout Christians have flocked to the Italian city of Turin to pay their respects to one of the most famous relics in the world.

The Shroud of Turin is a piece of linen, measuring 14ft 5in by 3ft 7in, that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man.

Many believe that this image was created when Jesus was wrapped in the venerated shroud shortly after his death on the cross 2,000 years ago.

However, according to a new study, the Shroud of Turin was never laid on Jesus' body.

Brazilian 3D designer and researcher Cicero Moraes, an expert in reconstructing historical faces, says that the shroud is nothing more than a 'masterpiece of Christian art'.

Mr Moraes used digital modelling software to examine how cloth drapes over the human body compared to a low, flat sculpture of a body.

These results, published this week in the journal Archaeometry, show that the shroud's distinctive pattern could only have been produced by a sculpture.

In his paper, Mr Moraes wrote: 'The Shroud's image is more consistent with an artistic low-relief representation than with the direct imprint of a real human body.'

New analysis shows that the images on the Shroud of Turin (centre) could only have been produced by laying the cloth over a flat sculpture (right) rather than over a human body (left)

To understand how the image on the Shroud of Turin might have been created, Mr Moraes created two digital 3D sculptures.

The first was of a complete human body, while the second was of a type of flat sculpture known as relief.

Using various 3D simulation tools, Mr Moraes digitally draped fabric over these two sculptures and measured where the fabric touched the material.

Mr Moraes then compared the images left on the virtual fabric to pictures taken of the Shroud of Turin in 1931.

This revealed that the fabric draped over the relief sculpture was a near-perfect match for the Shroud.

Meanwhile, the image created by draping fabric over a real human appeared to be wide and distorted.

Mr Moraes says this is due to something called the 'Agamemnon Mask effect' - named for the unusually wide death mask found in a tomb in Mycenae in Greece.

When you try to project a 3D surface like the human face onto a flat plane like a piece of fabric, the result is extremely distorted.

The Shroud of Turin is a piece of linen, measuring 14ft 5in by 3ft 7in, that bears a faint image of the front and back of a man. But a study now says that the human body would not have produced these marks

This is due to something called the 'Agamemnon Mask effect' - named for the unusually wide death mask found in a tomb in Mycenae in Greece (pictured). This effect means that a flat image taken from a 3D body will look unnaturally distorted, unlike the images on the Shroud of Turin

Imagine covering your own face with paint and pressing it into a paper napkin.

The image left on the napkin would not resemble a portrait of you, but rather appear stretched and warped.

For this reason, Mr Moraes believes that the images on the Shroud of Turin could not have been produced by laying it over the body of Jesus.

Mr Moraes told Live Science: 'The image on the Shroud of Turin is more consistent with a low-relief matrix.

'Such a matrix could have been made of wood, stone or metal and pigmented - or even heated - only in the areas of contact, producing the observed pattern.'

The first recorded mention of the Shroud of Turin dates back to the 14th century, and the relic was almost immediately accused of being a fake.

Modern carbon dating, a way of measuring the age of natural materials using radioactive isotopes of carbon, carried out in 1989, placed the Shroud's creation between 1260 and 1390 AD.

That would mean the linen in the Shroud was still growing over 1,000 years after Jesus' death, making it impossible that the Shroud is a genuine relic.

Brazilian 3D designer and researcher Cicero Moraes compared how fabric would drape over a human body and a flat sculpture known as a low relief. He found that a low relief would produce images that are an exact match for those found on the Shroud

This means that the Shroud of Turin was really a piece of medieval art, rather than a relic capturing the face of Jesus shortly after his death. Pictured: An AI reconstruction of the face depicted by the Shroud of Turin

During this part of the Medieval period, low-relief depictions of religious figures were extremely popular decorations for structures such as tombstones.

According to Mr Moraes, this makes it much more likely that the shroud was created as a piece of art during medieval funerary practices and later came to be considered a genuine relic.

Despite claims that the ancient relic may be a hoax, many still maintain that the Shroud of Turin really is the burial shroud of Jesus.

Last year, Professor Liberato De Caro, a committed Catholic and a deacon in his local church, claimed to have an 'enormous quantity of evidence' to prove the Shroud's legitimacy.

Professor De Caro's most recent analysis, carried out in 2022, claimed to have shown that the Shroud could actually be dated back to the time of Jesus' death using a novel X-ray method.

However, the method used by the researchers was entirely unreliable and had been created by Professor De Caro for the specific purpose of proving the Shroud was a genuine artefact.

Although their results were widely publicised, even the Center for Sindonology in Turin, an organisation dedicated to proving the shroud's authenticity, urged people to be cautious of these conclusions.

Similarly, an analysis published last year examined samples of the Shroud taken using adhesive tape in 1978 with modern microscopy methods.

The shroud first appeared in 1354 in France. After initially denouncing it as a fake, the Catholic church has now embraced the shroud as genuine. Pictured, Pope Francis visits the Shroud of Turin in 2015

The scientists obtained small samples of the shroud of Turin (left) and exposed it to Wide-Angle X-ray radiation to create an image of the linen sample (right) which was used for dating. Although these methods dated the Shroud back to 0 AD, the results have been strongly criticised

A previous study analysed blood samples taken from the shroud in 1978, which were collected using adhesive tape. This blood, according to the study, showed signs of disease, trauma and radiation

This research, conducted by an engineer from the University of Padua in Italy, found tiny blood particles showing signs of organ failure, trauma, disease and radiation.

Traces of creatine were also identified in the shroud sample, which is released into the bloodstream when a person undergoes muscle breakdown or some type of trauma.

However, forensic analysis has shown that the 'blood stains' on the shroud are inconsistent with someone lying down and could only have been made by a standing figure.

This doesn't match the Biblical account in which Jesus was wrapped in the Shroud after being removed from the cross.

Likewise, scientists have questioned whether the blood was part of the original Shroud.

Dr Lawrence Kobilinsky, a forensic scientist who is a professor emeritus at John Jay College, previously told the Daily Mail that the 'blood' was likely a 'secondary thought.'

Indeed, American chemist Dr Walter McCrone, who analysed the tape strips in 1978, found the image consisted of red ochre and a gelatin solution.

'The simplest explanation is that this shroud was placed over a statue covered with pigment in certain areas, which transferred to the cloth, and gave it this three-dimensional configuration when you do the right kind of photography,' Dr Kobilinsky said.
A Harvard scientist has issued a chilling warning about a mysterious interstellar object hurtling through our solar system, and says it could spell disaster for Earth.

Professor Avi Loeb, who is well-known for pushing bold and often polarizing theories about extraterrestrial life, has been tracking the object, named 3I/ATLAS, since it was first spotted on July 1.

If the object is an alien craft, Loeb warned it could be carrying a probe or even a weapon. He predicted that such an intercept vehicle would reach Earth between November 21 and December 5, 2025.

The timeline is based on calculations that 3I/ATLAS will pass behind the sun from Earth's perspective this October, a time he ominously suggested could be used to prepare the attack.

Referring to the object as a 'mothership,' he explained that its position would be an efficient way to seed habitable planets with probes.

This strategy would allow the devices to 'intercept the planets while the mothership continues on its journey to the next star.'

'It may come to save us or destroy us. We'd better be ready for both options and check whether all interstellar objects are rocks,' said Loeb.

Chris Lintott, an astronomer at the University of Oxford, has dismissed Loeb's claims as 'nonsense on stilts,' telling Live Science that the alien probe theory is an 'insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object.'

Telescopes have been tracking the course of 3I/ATLAS as it travels through our solar system. Harvard scientist Avi Loeb has speculated that it could be an alien probe and not a comet as many researchers have found

Loeb has remained adamant that something about 3I/ATLAS does not add up.

He said its retrograde orbit, meaning it's moving against the flow of the solar system, is oddly aligned with Earth's path.

'3I/ATLAS might be an alien probe,' he said, citing its 'unusually rare trajectory,' which just so happens to align closely with the orbital plane of the inner planets, including Earth.

He puts the odds of that happening naturally at just 0.2 percent.

'At its closest point to the sun on October 29, fears of an alien invasion could send stock markets crashing,' Loeb said. 'In that scenario, citizens would lose their trust in governments to protect them.'

He went so far as to compare the potential chaos to a military ambush, saying: 'Facing a high-tech alien visitor could feel like Iran's air defenses when US B-2 bombers appeared, silent, unstoppable, and overwhelmingly powerful.'

The object, believed to be about 12 miles wide, is unusually large for something hurtling in from outside the solar system.

According to Loeb, if it were natural, we would have already spotted millions of similar objects. 'But we haven't,' he said.

Loeb has warned humanity is dangerously unprepared if hat if 3I/ATLAS is alien technology

Loeb has remained adamant that something about 3I/ATLAS does not add up. He said its retrograde orbit, meaning it's moving against the flow of the solar system, is oddly aligned with Earth's path

He has published three pre-print papers laying out the case and has even suggested that NASA attempt an interception using its Juno spacecraft when the object passes near Jupiter.

'In my view, we need a risk scale for interstellar objects,' Loeb said. 'A zero would be a natural comet.

'A 10 would be a verified technological object, possibly powered by an engine or emitting artificial light.'

He also believes governments should already be forming task forces, including scientists, policymakers and even psychologists, to determine how to respond and how to break the news to the public without triggering panic.

Loeb's warnings have grown increasingly urgent, culminating in one dramatic statement: 'It may come to save us or destroy us. We'd better be ready for both options.'

Even if 3I/ATLAS turns out to be artificial, Loeb said humanity lacks the technological means to intercept it

If 3I/ATLAS is more than just a rock, he said Earth is woefully unprepared.

'The visitor,' he warned, 'is already in our backyard.'

Even if the object turns out to be artificial, Loeb admitted there's little humanity could do.

At nearly 60 miles per second relative to Earth, it's moving far too fast for any of our current rockets to reach.

'If the hypothesis that 3I/ATLAS is a technological artifact proves correct, there are two possible implications: either its intentions are entirely benign, or they are malign, said Loeb.

'In the first case, humanity need only wait and welcome this interstellar messenger with open arms. It is the second scenario that causes serious concern.'

He added that because the second possibility has serious consequences, we can use the idea behind Pascals wager.

'Blaise Pascal argued that its smarter to believe in God because the possible benefits of believing are much greater than the losses if youre wrong,' Loeb explained.

'Similarly, in our case, it makes sense to warn humanity about the risk from 3I/ATLAS, even if it turns out to be just a theory.

'The cost of not warning could be much worse than the cost of being wrong.'
Archaeologists have uncovered ruins in Israel they believe once housed the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred, gold-covered chest described in the Bible.

According to scripture, Moses placed the Ten Commandments inside the Ark, which was kept in the Tabernacle, a sanctuary built shortly after the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt, traditionally dated by some scholars to around 1445 BC.

While the fate of the Ark remains a mystery, it vanishes from the biblical record before the Babylonian sack of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Now, a team working at the ancient biblical site of Shiloh has unearthed a stone structure that appears to match the dimensions and orientation of the Tabernacle described in the Bible.

Dr Scott Stripling, director of the Tel Shiloh dig, said: 'We've uncovered a monumental building from the Iron I period that matches the biblical dimensions of the Tabernacle. The structure is oriented east-west and divided in a 2:1 ratio, just as described in scripture.'

Adding to the discovery, excavators have found over 100,000 animal bones, mostly from sheep, goats, and cattle, and predominantly from the right side of the animals, aligning with Leviticus 7, which states that the right side was reserved for priestly offerings.

'This isn't a coincidence,' Dr Stripling told The Christian Broadcasting Network. 'The evidence of sacrificial rituals here is overwhelming, and it matches the biblical account to a degree that's hard to ignore.'

Pottery found among the bones dates back to the same period, reinforcing the site's connection to the Tabernacle era, which the Bible says lasted nearly 400 years before the Temple was built in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists have uncovered ruins in Israel they believe were the Tabernacle, which the Bible says was the original home of the Ark of the Covenant

Shiloh, located in the hill country of Ephraim, is described in the Bible as Israel's first major religious center.

It was here, according to the Bible, that Eli the high priest presided over the Tabernacle during a critical moment in Israel's history.

In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites, locked in war with the Philistines, bring the Ark to the battlefield in hopes of securing divine favor.

The plan disastrously backfires when the Philistines capture the Ark, and Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are killed.

When a messenger brings word of the defeat back to Shiloh, he finds Eli, 98 years old and nearly blind, anxiously waiting by the city gate.

Upon hearing the Ark has been taken, Eli falls backward from his seat, breaks his neck and dies.

Scripture emphasizes the significance of the moment, noting, 'He had judged Israel for forty years.'

Dr Stripling now believes his team may have uncovered the very gate where Eli died, CBN reported.

According to scripture, Moses placed the Ten Commandments inside the Ark , which was kept in the Tabernacle, a portable sanctuary built shortly after the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt , traditionally dated by some scholars to around 1445 BC

The newly uncovered building at the site also features a massive interior wall, dividing the space into two areas.

According to Exodus 26, the Tabernacle's inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies, was separated from the outer room by a veil.

This inner room housed the Ark of the Covenant, and was believed to be the earthly dwelling place of God's presence.

Leviticus 16:2 warns of the sanctity of the space, stating:'The Lord said to Moses, 'Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die.'

This aligns with later references in 2 Samuel 6, which describe the Ark as so holy that touching it, or even looking inside, could result in death. Mishandling the Ark was seen as a direct offense to God's presence.
British holidaymakers heading to Spain over the summer could risk hefty fines if they are caught violating strict new sunbed rules.

Tourists who lay out their towels for extended periods of time face potential fines of up to 250 (210), as a number of popular holiday hotspots begin implementing the so-called 'sunbed tax.'

These rules, aimed at preventing sunbed reserving and overcrowding, vary by location but generally prohibit placing personal belongings on sunbeds before a certain time or leaving them unattended for prolonged periods.

It comes as 'sunbed wars' at European resorts and hotels continue to hot up over the summer, with guests arriving hours before the pool opens to claim multiple loungers by placing towels, bags and other items on them and returning hours later.

The rush to claim limited loungers has resulted in 'stampedes', heated arguments and even physical fights between frustrated guests.

Hotels have since had to implement measures such as time limits for unattended towels or a parking ticket-style system to help manage numbers.

Some guests have even taken legal action against hotels for failing to enforce sunbed policies, such as a German family who won a 280 payout after losing a sunbed battle at a Greek hotel in January.

Popular holidays hotspots such as Costa Blanca and Barcelona are now fighting back by enforcing a sunbed tax, which can result in fines if a sunbed is reserved before a designated time, such as 9.30am.

Tourists who lay out their towels for extended periods of time in parts of Spain, such as Costa Blanca (pictured) face potential fines of up to 250 (210), as a number of popular holiday hotspots begin implementing the so-called 'sunbed tax'

These rules, aimed at preventing sunbed reserving and overcrowding, vary by location but generally prohibit placing personal belongings on sunbeds before a certain time or leaving them unattended for prolonged periods

Brits heading to these areas have also been urged by travel insurance comparison site, Tiger, to think twice before laying out towels on beaches as it can incur some hefty charges.

As reported by the Mirror, they said: 'In popular areas of Spain like Barcelona and Costa Blanca, tourists can now be fined 250 for reserving sunbeds, meaning waking up early to bag a spot for you and the family is no longer allowed.

'This rule was introduced following numerous complaints about sunbeds being reserved for hours with no one in sight.'

In addition, council leaders in Calpe, Costa Blanca, have warned visitors that local police have been given authority to remove unattended sunbeds or towels left on beaches before 9.30am.

Those caught flouting the rules will be forced to retrieve their belongings at a municipal depot - and collect a 210 fine while doing so.

Holidaymakers who fail to return to a sunbed for over three hours could also face the same fate.

It comes after a holidaying British couple were left furious by their hotel's alleged unfair sunlounger 'policing'.

Jo and Martin travelled to the resort town of Salou, near Barcelona, Spain, hoping to spend a week relaxing in the sun.

The rush to claim limited loungers has resulted in 'stampedes,' heated arguments and even physical fights between frustrated guests - now hotels are fighting back

But, while staying at the four-star, 140-per-night H10 Salauris Palace, the couple ran into a spot of bother.

After leaving their sunbeds for 30 minutes, they came back to find a stern warning card left on their towels.

The holidaymakers were outraged as they claimed other hotel guests had left their spots unattended for several hours with no consequence.

Expressing her frustration in a video clip posted on social media, Jo wrote: 'When you leave your sunbed for 30 minutes, yet others leave theirs for two plus hours and nothing gets done to them.'
Holidays are supposed to be relaxing, fun and an opportunity to make amazing memories.

But they can often be very overwhelming too.

New research has revealed which destinations are the most stressful to visit, after analysing the 51 most-frequented cities in the world.

The study looked at a variety of factors to determine the rankings, including weather discomfort, reviews, crime data and tourist density.

And it was Paris that proved to be the most stressful city to visit, cramming more than 47.5million tourists a year into just 105km - making it ten times busier than New York.

Though the popular destination scored averagely in regards to weather discomfort and crime, the amount of people filling the streets earned it the crown.

It was followed by Hanoi, in Vietnam, which ranked second.

The Vietnamese capital scored the highest in humidity, meaning it was the most physically uncomfortable destination.

Paris proved to be the most stressful city to visit, cramming more than 47.5million tourists a year into just 105km - making it ten times busier than New York

It was followed by Hanoi, in Vietnam, which ranked second. The Vietnamese capital scored the highest in humidity, meaning it was the most physically uncomfortable destination

In third place was Shanghai, in China. With 300million tourists each year, it crams in 47,318 visitors per km

To top things off, it placed fourth highest for reviews mentioning stress and it left tourists feeling both overwhelmed and too hot.

In third place in the study, conducted by Ibiza Summer Villas, was Shanghai, in China. With 300million tourists each year, it crams in 47,318 visitors per km.

The city also placed in the top 20 for reviews describing it as stressful, and crime.

For those hoping to avoid the crowds and holiday somewhere with a more comfortable climate, Dubai ranked as the most relaxing city to visit.

With an expansive layout, the 17.1million tourists it attracts each year are more spread out and it has the second lowest crime rate out of the destinations analysed.

Interest in the luxurious location has fallen recently, meaning there's even fewer people to crowd the top attractions.

Munich, Germany, followed in second place with low crime, comfortable weather and not too many tourists.

It's a much calmer destination compared to other European cities.

For those hoping to avoid the crowds and holiday somewhere with a more comfortable climate, Dubai ranked as the most relaxing city to visit

Munich, Germany, followed in second place with low crime, comfortable weather and not too many tourists.

While Melbourne, Australia, ranked third with the second-lowest tourist density of just 1,265 visitors per km

While Melbourne, Australia, ranked third with the second-lowest tourist density of just 1,265 visitors per km.

It attracted few reviews describing it as a stressful place, too.

To top things off, Melbourne had a comfortable humidity level, meaning those visiting won't have to worry too much about the weather.

For a major city, there's plenty of space for tourists to relax while also enjoying the views.
There's been plenty of altercations involving passengers at airports who might have had one too many to drink - leading to them getting chucked off planes, and even, in some cases, arrested.

Back in May, a British woman was filmed being dragged off a Ryanair flight and thrown to the floor by security staff after she allegedly assaulted passengers and forced the plane to divert to Portugal.

A holidaymaker who witnessed the incident recalled to the Daily Mail how the woman had allegedly been 'assaulting passengers whilst being drunk and vaping up and down the aisle'.

In January, a video was released of Lewis Howarth, from Bolton, being hurled off a Jet2 flight from Manchester to Turkey by armed police, after a pre-takeoff drunken outburst, during which he called an air hostess a 'd***head' for asking him to fasten his seatbelt.

He was sentenced to 14 weeks behind bars at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to entering an aircraft when drunk, assault on an emergency worker and common assault of an emergency worker.

In another incident, an unruly unnamed woman forced a packed Wizz Air flight on the way to Hurghada, Egypt to be diverted mid-air and return to Gatwick, after she reportedly began swearing at flight crew during the journey.

Elsewhere, in April, a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Rhodes descended into chaos when staff were forced to strap an 'unruly' passenger to his seat using spare belts after he refused to sit down during landing.

The passenger onboard the flight was reportedly shouting at cabin crew who onlookers said had confiscated two bottles of booze from him and refused to serve him alcohol.

A British woman was filmed being dragged off a Ryanair flight and thrown to the floor by security staff after she allegedly assaulted passengers and forced the plane to divert to Portugal

Foul-mouthed Lewis Howarth, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was hurled off a plane after verbally abusing staff who asked him to fasten his seat-belt

A Ryanair flight from Manchester to Rhodes on April 3 was forced to return to the air after attempting to land after a passenger refused to sit down

In response to such incidents, travellers have been warned their holidays 'could be ruined' before they even jet off from the airport - in One Too Many flyers and posters seen at more than 20 UK airports, including London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester, Liverpool, and Bristol.

First launched in 2018, the One Too Many campaign aims to raise awareness of the legal and personal consequences of getting too drunk on flights and at airports.

With one in every 640,000 passengers disruptive, and millions set to head off on their holidays this summer, the scheme urges travellers to behave sensibly.

It outlines the consequences passengers causing issues could face, from having no holiday, to facing up to two years in prison.

The website reads: 'Fly responsibly or you could pay the price.

'If you are deemed unfit to fly you may be denied boarding.'

The campaign warns that those being disruptive on flights may face up to two years in prison and if their behaviour delays a flight from taking off, they could be slapped with a fine of up to 5,000.

It adds that messy behaviour mid-air that leads to an incident could land the passenger with a diversion fee of up to 80,000.

In response to such incidents, travellers have been warned their holidays 'could be ruined' before they even jet off from the airport

First launched in 2018, the One Too Many campaign aims to raise awareness of the legal and personal consequences of getting too drunk on flights and at airports (stock)

In an even more severe scenario, travellers that cause a flight to be cancelled could be banned from flying in the future.

The campaign states: 'The industry is committed to tackling disruptive behaviour through a voluntary Code of Practice.

'Signatories to the Code work together to prevent and minimise the number of disruptive passenger incidents, and promote:

'A zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour, the identification, pre-emption, management and reporting of disruptive incidents, the responsible sale and consumption of alcohol; and education and communication with passengers.'

The campaign has gathered support from the Government over the years.

According to the Mirror, Karen Dee, the chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: 'UK airports are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable travel experience for all passengers.

'We urge travellers to enjoy their journeys responsibly and not ruin their holidays or the holidays of others.

'Airports will continue to monitor and act against any disruptive behaviour to ensure everyone's safety.'

In an even more severe scenario, travellers that cause a flight to be cancelled could be banned from flying in the future (stock)

According to the UK Travel Retail Forum, which led the campaign, One Too Many has made an impact since it started in 2018.

Glasgow Airport has reported a 52 per cent drop in outbound alcohol-related offenders.

Meanwhile, Manchester Airport has seen a 23 per cent decrease.

In 2021, the Home Office praised the scheme and said it is 'invaluable in promoting awareness to passengers before getting to the airport and to the concessions where alcohol is served'.
British holidaymakers travelling to Turkey this summer have been issued a crucial update by the Foreign Office.

Tourists have been warned to stay away from some areas due to mounting concerns about the possibility of terror attacks.

Updating their advice on July 31, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) urged visitors to steer clear of travelling along the Turkey-Syria border.

The warning on the government website reads: 'FCDO advises against all travel to within 10km of the border with Syria due to fighting and a heightened risk of terrorism.'

According to officials, there is a high threat of terrorist attack in areas such as south-east Turkey, Ankara and Istanbul, including from individuals and groups who see UK nationals as targets.

Extremist groups based in Syria, such as Daesh and Al-Qaeda linked groups, have the capacity to carry out attacks in Turkey.

On the Syrian side of the border, Daesh has previously targeted border crossings and nearby areas.

In recent years, there have been a number of attacks involving knives, firearms and explosives.

There is a high threat of terrorist attack in areas such as South East Turkey, Ankara and Istanbul, pictured, including from individuals and groups who see UK nationals as targets

A map from the Foreign Office advising Turkey visitors against all travel to within 10km of the border with Syria due to fighting and a heightened risk of terrorism

In October 2024, suspected Kurdish militants set off explosives and opened fire at the aerospace and defense company TUSAS, killing five people and wounded 22 others.

In January of that year, two masked gunmen opened fire at a church in the Sariyer district of Istanbul during Sunday Mass in a suspected terror attack claimed by Daesh.

The Foreign Office added: 'Attacks could be indiscriminate including in places visited by foreign nationals, such as public buildings, places of worship, airports, large public gatherings including major events, public holidays, religious occasions.'

Visitors are urged to remain vigilant of their surroundings and stay up to date with local media while following advice issued by local authorities.
This is the moment a determined passenger avoided a 180 fine for over-sized baggage on her flight to London by hammering her luggage into a bag size checker.

The woman, named Arina, was flying from Paris on budget Spanish airline Vueling and faced a hefty charge for her apparently oversized bag, before she fit it into the baggage measurer.

She at first struggles with sliding in her bright yellow suitcase but eventually manages to shove it into the measurer, aptly labelled 'does your cabin luggage fit in here'.

The frustrated looking passenger then takes two attempts to pull it out, before marching back to the check in desk.

The video, which has gone viral on TikTok, was posted on 23 July and captioned 'Never give up, at least not for 200 [180]'.

Arina later claimed her bag had been flagged for size verification and that Vueling employees were 'genuinely shocked' when she fit it in.

'It seemed that they were just suspicious of the size of my bag since it didn't seem like carry-on luggage,' she told Newsweek.

'I was 100 percent sure that it would fit [in the bag checker] as before I bought the luggage, it had the measurements required to do so written in its description, plus I measured it before buying and it fit the standards of the company.'

A determined passenger avoided a 180 fine for oversized baggage on her flight to London by hammering her luggage into a bag size checker

The woman, named Arina, was flying from Paris on budget Spanish airline Vueling and faced a hefty charge for her apparently oversized bag

The frustrated looking passenger then takes two attempts to pull it out, before marching back to the check in desk

'She [the airline employee] seemed quite surprised that the suitcase actually fit, and I got the impression she was disappointed there was no reason to charge us extra,' she added.

'She said, with genuine shock, that I must be very strong to have managed to put it in and pull it outshe clearly didn't expect it to fit at all.'

Vueling are the largest airline in Spain and offer a range of cheap short haul flights across Europe.

They allow passenger to take an underseat cabin bag with a maximum size of 40x30x20cm. Those exceeding the limit could be fined 75 (65).

A number of airlines pay their staff bonuses for catching out passengers who try to sneak on oversized bags.

Last month it was revealed that Ryanair staff can make u to 80 (75) a month in comission from enforcing the strict rules.

A leaked payslip shows how one former employee earned a 'gate bag bonus' for flagging up bags that broke the airline's famously tight size restrictions.

The ex-worker claimed they pocketed around 1.50 (1.30) for every oversized bag.

EasyJet staff are believed to receive 1 after tax for 'every gate bag taken', while Wizz Air have admitted boarding staff receive incentives to ensure luggage rules are correctly enforced.
Arriving in Cape Wrath in 2022, the culmination of my 1,000-mile walk from the bottom to the top of Britain, I expected to feel elated.

Instead, I sat eating a damp cheese and pickle sandwich, wrestling with a strange sense of grief.

I had walked all the way from Lymington, on the south coast, right through to the tip of Scotland, and throughout those eight weeks had focused very much on the days  not my final destination. I hadnt imagined I would feel so low when the my trip finally came to an end.

The depressing thought of my journey being over was relieved only by one thought: there had to be another walk on my horizon.

Luckily, my desire for more adventure was bolstered by something else that had occurred to me over the course of my expedition. Despite ours being an island nation, I had thought and seen little of our coast. And so my next challenge was born. I decided I would travel the length of Britains varied, marvellous and ever-inspiring coastline.

With that journey now under my belt  and written about in my new book, The Restless Coast: A Journey Around The Edge Of Britain  here are some of my favourite spots I visited along the way, as well as the shores worth steering well away from.

Roger Morgan-Grenville has walked Britain's coastline  and written a book about his experience

Northumberland Coast

The whole stretch of coastline is punctuated by spectacular castles, such as Bamburgh, pictured, and Dunstanburgh, with great tomes of British history to sink your teeth into

It might be a little harder to get to  and its certainly less fashionable than, say, Cornwall  but I was very taken with the Northumberland coast during the northern portions of my expedition.

The whole stretch of coastline is punctuated by spectacular castles, such as Bamburgh and Dunstanburgh, with great tomes of British history to sink your teeth into.

Its also worth crossing over to the tiny, but mighty, Holy Island of Lindisfarne, which remains a site of pilgrimage today.

Something of a hopeless bird watcher, I also spent countless hours along my journey distracted by the skies and Northumberland is particularly good for spotting seabirds such as puffins and curlews  the latter of which are a particular favourite. Along with waves breaking on the shore, seabirds became the soundtrack of my journey.

Hayle Beach, Cornwall

Theres a thriving subculture of beachgoers who head out every day to find the three missing Lego pieces on Hayle Beach, north Cornwall

Ive found that talking to locals is almost always the best way to uncover more about wherever youve wandered. Ive got better at identifying who might know something interesting or unusual, or simply be up for a chat.

On Hayle Beach on the north coast of Cornwall, for example, I spotted a woman who seemed to be on the hunt for something  which turned out to be Lego. She explained why: in 1997, a terrible storm struck a cargo ship called the Tokio Express, knocking 60 containers into the ocean including one carrying nearly five million pieces of the plastic bricks, all headed for the USA and, ironically, all sea-themed.

Today, theres a thriving subculture of beachgoers who head out every day to find the three pieces still missing. Theres a black shark, a dragon and a green octopus still buried in the sand somewhere.

When youve finished Lego-mining for the day, the Cove Cafe is a great spot for a coastal coffee and cake.

Holkham, North Norfolk

Holkham is one of the prime locations to watch the migration of geese and while walking through the latter, I was lucky to see 90,000 of the pink-footed variety, says Roger

One of the more awe-inspiring moments of my travels was during the winter, walking along the north coast of Norfolk.

The reserves around Salthouse, Titchwell and Holkham are all prime locations to watch the migration of geese and while walking through the latter, I was lucky to see 90,000 of the pink-footed variety flying over my head at seven in the morning from their tidal roost.

While we continue to face a severe nature loss crisis in Britain, witnessing moments like these is testament to the abundance and diversity of wildlife still here. Holkham has done so much to encourage the abundance of wildlife and it just goes to show what can be achieved.

You really dont need to fly to far-flung places to immerse yourself in the wonders of the natural world  theres so much already on our doorstep.

Bardsey Island, Wales

Islands such as Bardsey are often referred to as thin places, where the gaps between the physical and spiritual worlds are smallest

There are more than 6,000 isles off the British coast and I found myself increasingly drawn to these islands  particularly those on the west coast, such as Bardsey.

Despite being non-religious, one of the things that fascinated me was the idea of these islands being banks of religious history; 1,500-odd years ago, it was here that the early Christian monks came to set up life as hermits.

Theyre often referred to as thin places, where the gaps between the physical and spiritual worlds are smallest. It might sound far-fetched, but visiting places like St Marys Abbey ruins, a sixth-century pilgrimage site, I really felt the historic significant of islands like Bardsey.

Crosby Beach

Liverpools Crosby Beach has fantastic views of the Wirral and North Wales but is probably best known for the Another Place sculpture by Antony Gormley

With wide, sandy stretches, Liverpools Crosby Beach has fantastic views of the Wirral and North Wales, and its already a popular spot for walkers as the starting point of the 21-mile Sefton Coastal Path.

Its probably best known, though, for Another Place, an installation by British sculptor Antony Gormley made up of 100 cast iron figures looking out into the sea, modelled on the artists own body.

Theyre fantastic to look at and walk alongside  be wary of the tidal movement, though.

Isle of Mull, Scotland

Roger credits his time staying with his grandmother on the Isle of Mull with his passion for nature and the outdoors

This Scottish island has long had a place in my heart. I spent weeks on end here during my childhood staying with my grandmother, who would always encourage me to spend my days outside. I credit her with the passion I have for nature today.

Mull has seen a great deal of really positive change since I was a boy. Back then, everyone seemed to leave as soon as they turned 18 to find jobs outside of farming on the mainland.

Then came along the white-tailed eagle and the Eurasian otters  both of which have seen a population resurgence in the past few decades.

This has not only provided wildlife-related jobs, but also put Mull on the map. Today, theres a whole host of activities for visitors to do, including spotting otters on dedicated trails or watching the seabirds and whales from the shores.

Whitby, North Yorkshire

Whitby remains a discreet, beautiful harbour town in the shadow of its famous ruined abbey, writes Roger

I had little idea of what to expect from Whitby and was fascinated by the long history of Jet, the semi-precious black stone that originally made the town famous.

Each time the fashion faded, something else came along to save it: the national grief over Queen Victorias widowhood or the adoption of the town by goths in celebration of Bram Stokers Dracula having been written there.

Apart from anything, Whitby remains a discreet, beautiful harbour town in the shadow of its famous ruined abbey.

Dunnet Head, Caithness

While John o'Groats might be the popular endpoint for many walkers, Dunnet Head is actually mainland Britain's most northly point

I've never been able to understand why end-to-end walkers finish at John oGroats, which isnt even the northernmost mainland point. That honour belongs to Dunnet Head, a few miles to its west, and crucially, to its north. More beautiful and less visited than its more famous neighbour, it is a far better place to finish a long journey.

... You can give these a miss

St Ives, Cornwall

There's so much of our coast thats relatively unexplored, it seems a shame that places such as St Ives in Cornwall and Salcombe in Devon tend to get all of the limelight  particularly during the summer months when the infrastructure for tourism really comes under strain.

So overcrowded is St Ives, that when my wife and I were there, the nearest I could park to our dinner spot was a mile and a half away.

Langstone Harbour, Hampshire

It may be unfair to single it out, because it is a wonderful and attractive natural resource for nearby Portsmouth. But its waters have been badly damaged by the discharge of sewage to the point that some of the shellfish are starting to change sex under the chemical pressure. We need to get a grip of these discharges  and fast.

Lands End and John o Groats

The traditional start and finish points for a cycle ride or walk through Britain are tourist traps with little to offer beyond iconic sign posts for photo ops. If going south to north, my advice would be start at Lizard Point instead (the southernmost point of mainland Britain) and finish at Dunnet Head. Lizard Point is wild and full of geological interest. There are many other options, as well.

As told to Genie Harrison.

The Restless Coast: A Journey around the Edge of Britain by Roger Morgan-Grenville is published by Icon Books (22.99).
Brits have revealed 30 of their favourite things about Europe - as three in four UK nationals admit they still feel European at heart despite Brexit.

In a new study conducted by TUI, seasoned travellers were asked to share the bits of Europe they love most - from local food to key landmarks to hidden gems.

The UK withdrew from the European Union (EU) in 2020, but that hasn't stopped a whopping 74 per cent of Brits continuing to feel a strong connection to Europe.

And, seemingly, we're an indisputable nation of food lovers, as exploring food markets emerged as Brits' top European pastime, with 30 per cent of respondents agreeing that checking out our neighbours' local delights fulfills their trips.

Coming in at a close second, as listed by 29 per cent of respondents, is watching the world go by while enjoying a warming cup of coffee.

In addition, a quarter of Brits say they enjoy exploring foreign supermarkets, while over a fifth noted nothing beats a fresh pastry during a morning trip to the boulangerie.

Other favourite food-related aspects of Europe include trying an assortment of foreign crisps (16 per cent), tucking into Greek salads (17 per cent) and sipping on Aperol sundowners (11 per cent).

In terms of activities and sightseeing, a fifth of Brits say they enjoy exploring Roman ruins, while 18 per cent shared an appreciation for Greek island sunsets.

Exploring food markets emerged as Brits' top European pastime, with 30 per cent of respondents agreeing that checking out our neighbours' local delights fulfills their trips

Over a tenth of respondents say they most enjoy sipping on Aperol sundowners in Europe

Swimming in hidden coves (19 per cent) also made the list, as did evening shopping (16 per cent), visiting vineyards (13 per cent) and admiring Renaissance art (12 per cent).

Though 73 per cent of Brits say the Mediterranean is their top holiday destination, four in five hope to explore off the beaten track in 2026.

Croatia's Korcula island emerged as Europe's most desired hidden most desired hidden gem, capturing 60 per cent of votes, followed by Sibiu, Romania (39 per cent), Tallinn, Estonia (37 per cent) and Kotor, Montenegro (32 per cent).

Riga, Latvia, and Reykjavik, Iceland, were also named as some of the leading European spots British holidaymakers would like to visit.

TUI UK&I's Commercial Director, Chris Logan, said: 'The amazing thing about Europe is that we have so much to explore right on our doorstep.

'Beautiful beaches, delicious cuisines, rich history and culture or simply the chance to get away from it all and relax.

'But what's really clear from this research is that its often the small moments and what you discover along the way that stays in peoples minds, plus theres a real appetite for exploring more of Europe.

It comes as Europe's best holiday city has been revealed, with voters praising the idyllic location for its incredible views, budget-friendly pizza and affordable flights from the UK.

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Evening shopping (16 per cent) also made the list (Pictured: Milan, Italy)

Brits also love visiting vineyards (13 per cent) in Europe and admiring Renaissance art (12 per cent) (stock)

In terms of activities and sightseeing, a fifth of Brits say they enjoy exploring Roman ruins, while 18 per cent shared an appreciation for Greek island sunsets

In a survey conducted by luxury magazine Travel + Leisure, readers cast votes for their favourite city worldwide, with the Italian hotspot of Florence taking the crown as Europe's most loved.

Frequented by between 10 and 16million holidaymakers each year, sunseekers eagerly flock to the Tuscan city due to its rich Renaissance art and architecture, walkable city center and delicious food.

Described by Travel + Leisure as a 'must-see' thanks to its 'artistic treasures', 'superlative shopping' and 'wide selection of hotels', Florence, often known simply as 'The Beautiful', gained an overall reader score of 90.08.

Taking the top spot in Europe and 11th in the world, Florence even beat the popular European cities of Seville, Spain, Instanbul, Turkey and fellow Italian city of Rome.
The long-awaited reboot of The Naked Gun franchise has landed with a bang, receiving a flood of glowing reviews ahead of its official release today with many critics calling it the 'funniest film of the year'.

Starring Liam Neeson as the hapless detective and Pamela Anderson as the sultry blonde with a suspiciously criminal past, the spoof comedy has drawn praise for its ludicrous tone, gags and over-the-top set pieces.

Daily Mail reviewer Brian Viner gave the slapstick flick a contented four-star review, and sung the praises of leading man Neeson.

'Some of the physical comedy has echoes of peak Inspector Clouseau, and it's a lovely surprise to find that Neeson has it in him,' he wrote.

Other reviewers have labelled the film 'silly', 'ridiculous', 'outrageous' and 'stupid' but in a tone of admiration rather than disdain. The absurdity, it seems, is what lends the flick its charm.

The punchy sequel is being hailed as a much-needed revival of a style of comedy that has all but disappeared from modern cinema - a broad, self-aware genre that doesn't take itself too seriously.

The long-awaited reboot of The Naked Gun franchise has landed with a bang, receiving a flood of glowing reviews ahead of its official release tomorrow

The punchy sequel is being hailed as a much-needed revival of a style of comedy that has all but disappeared from modern cinema

While some have quibbled over a slump in pacing towards the end, or questioned whether Neeson lives up to the late Leslie Nielsen, most have emerged from early screenings delighted.

Director Akiva Schaffer, best known for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, faced the daunting task of rebooting a beloved franchise with a fresh twist.

And while not every critic was wholly convinced, the consensus is he has largely pulled it off.

Robbie Collin, chief film critic at The Telegraph, was particularly effusive. 'The Naked Gun is the stupidest film I've ever seen,' he wrote. 'I loved it.'

He added that the film made him 'physically crumple in my seat on multiple occasions', calling it so funny that it rendered much of the rest of his review needless.

Writing in The Times, Ed Potton found Neeson and Anderson 'irresistible', noting that Neeson 'has comic timing, presence, even spoof cops need to look and sound like cops, and chemistry with his femme fatale, Beth (a game Pamela Anderson).

'Most importantly he has the ability to keep a straight face through an absolute cavalcade of sight gags, groan-worthy puns and weapons-grade buffoonery.'

Peter Bradshaw, reviewing for The Guardian, did acknowledge that Neeson may lack 'Nielsen's eerie innocence', but insisted this did little to dampen the film's appeal.

Reviewers have labelled the film 'silly', 'ridiculous', 'outrageous' and 'stupid' but in a tone of admiration rather than disdain

The spoof comedy stars Liam Neeson as the hapless detective and Pamela Anderson as the sultry blonde with a suspiciously criminal past

He described it as 'amiably ridiculous, refreshingly shallow, entirely pointless and guilelessly crass.'

At Variety, Owen Gleiberman struck a more measured tone. While he found 'a handful of jokes that are delirious', he felt the reboot didn't quite live up to the comic heights of the original.

'The new Naked Gun, by contrast, is amusing,' he wrote. 'What it won't do the way these movies once used to is shock you into laughter.'

He was also less convinced by Neeson in the lead role, writing: 'Neeson, game as he is to be used as a glowering found object, is not a natural comedian, and you can feel that. His Drebin doesn't flow the way Nielsen's did.'

But others were far more generous with their praise. Rachel Leishman at The Mary Sue called it 'one of the funniest movies in recent history', adding: 'It is just what I have been missing with comedies. The Naked Gun is one of my favourite movies of 2025.'

David Gonzalez of The Cinematic Reel described it as 'one of the most audacious comedies in years, one that evoked the biggest laughs of any press screening I've ever attended.'

Joey Magidson, writing for Awards Radar, agreed, saying: 'It's the funniest film of the year. The flick achieves what few comedies these days even attempt.'

Other critics were more cautious, but nonetheless appreciated the film's presence in a barren comedic landscape.

While some have quibbled over a slump in pacing towards the end, or questioned whether Neeson lives up to the late Leslie Nielsen, most have emerged from early screenings delighted

Director Akiva Schaffer, best known for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, faced the daunting task of rebooting a beloved franchise with a fresh twist

Some critics were cautious, but nonetheless appreciated the film's presence in a barren comedic landscape

'The big-screen comedy has grown almost nonexistent lately,' said Jake Coyle at the Associated Press.

'So it would be easy to hail The Naked Gun as something better than it is, since it simply existing is cause for celebration.'

Attention was focused on whether director Akiva Schaffer had succeeded in staying true to the franchise's roots.

'Akiva Schaffer's The Naked Gun really is The Naked Gun, not some halfhearted rehash or itemized nostalgia checklist,' wrote William Bibbiani at TheWrap.

He also praised Pamela Anderson's comic performance, adding: 'Matching Neeson joke for joke is Pamela Anderson reminding us that she is, and always was, a skilled comedian.'

Aidan Kelley at Collider declared it 'arguably just as funny as the first three', and 'one of the most consistently funny films of 2025.'

But David Rooney, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, did express concerns over pacing, noting that 'the movie kind of stalls midway as Schaffer struggles to balance the gags with the action of an overly elaborate crime plot.'

Nevertheless, he concluded that 'there are enough laugh-out-loud moments to keep nostalgic fans of the earlier films happy and maybe make some new converts.'

Attention was focused on whether director Akiva Schaffer had succeeded in staying true to the franchise's roots

Robbie Collin, chief film critic at The Telegraph, wrote: 'The Naked Gun is the stupidest film I've ever seen - I loved it'

Siddhant Adlakha at Inverse found the film's attention to visual and background gags impressive.

'The frame is filled with stealth jokes at every turn, extending far into the background, even out of focus,' he wrote.

'There's barely a shot or line of dialogue that isn't a joke, and the film has a stunning (and eye-watering) success rate.'

As for the film's handling of heavier themes, he remarked: 'The film's approach to heavy political themes is as serious as a whoopee cushion.'

David Ehrlich at IndieWire said: 'While I wish the whole thing could have been even denser with throwaway sight gags and liminal ADR soundbites every comic set piece is a total home run.

'The Naked Gun is almost objectively the funniest movie of the year.'

Michael Balderston of What to Watch noted that 'not every joke is going to land for everyone', but praised the film's consistency.

'You won't go more than a minute or two without some kind of joke or Easter egg, and a good majority of them will break through to at least earn a chuckle, while a solid number earned true laugh-out-loud moments for me.'

While star Neeson was the subject of most reviews, leading lady Pamela Anderson caught the eye of critics

Even with its imperfections, the overall consensus suggests that The Naked Gun reboot may well be the comedy antidote cinema-goers didn't know they needed

He was also among several reviewers to comment on the whopping task of replacing Leslie Nielsen.

'It's a near-impossible task for anyone to take the mantle from Nielsen, whose deadpan delivery and pseudo-seriousness were perfect for these movies,' he acknowledged.

'Neeson does about as good as anyone could, though.'

On the film's final act, he added: 'The jokes in the final act of the movie aren't as consistently strong as it puts a little more focus on action and making sure the thin plot gets wrapped up.'

While star Neeson was the subject of most reviews, leading lady Pamela Anderson caught the eye of critics.

Pete Hammond of Deadline praised Anderson's performance in particular, saying she 'matches [Neeson] line for line in reeling off the noirish dialogue.'

Allison Rose at FlickDirect, though, was less charmed, remarking: 'There were times when the movie turned boring, even though it was only 85 minutes long.'

Even with its imperfections, the overall consensus suggests that The Naked Gun reboot may well be the comedy antidote cinema-goers didn't know they needed.
The Gone (BBC2)

Rating:

The spirit of The Sweeney lives on Down Under, where it isnt wise to get cocky with the detectives. Even a sarcastic No comment could earn you a thumping.

Richard Flood plays a modern-day Jack Regan as crime thriller The Gone returns, using his fists to interview suspects when his journalist girl- friend goes missing in the New Zealand mountains.

Hes a shaven-headed Irish copper called Theo Richter, at the tail end of an investigation after two backpackers from Eire were kidnapped.

Thankfully, his sidekick isnt a Dennis Waterman lookalike: that would be taking 1970s police brutality too far.

Instead, hes teamed with a Maori police officer, Diana Huia (Acushla-Tara Kupe), who relishes beating up criminals as much as he does. When they sit down with a local thug called Frank Pastors (Owen Black), who is in jail for punching another policemans teeth out, theres no tape recorder, no lawyer and no formalities.

Before Diana can say, Were the Sweeney, son, and we havent had our dinner, Richter has tipped the yob out of his chair and is kneeling on his chest with both hands round his throat. Steady on, guv.

Richard Flood plays a modern-day Jack Regan as crime thriller The Gone returns, using his fists to interview suspects when his journalist girl- friend goes missing in the New Zealand mountains

Richard Flood (pictured in September 2018) is a shaven-headed Irish copper called Theo Richter, at the tail end of an investigation after two backpackers from Eire were kidnapped

If The Gone stuck to this straightforward format of summary justice, it might be entertaining. But its a disjointed mess of horror movie, teen drama, noir crime and anti-British preaching about colonialism.

In a rural town where the police chief urges residents to trust their neighbours and leave their doors unlocked at night, a demonic serial killer is on the prowl. Hes been around so long, hes acquired a mythological nickname  the Goat-man.

Theo and Diana track him to a shack in the woods, where the walls are riddled with bullet holes and a charred goat skeleton is sprawled on the sofa. My first thought was that the Goat-man must have fallen asleep with a cigarette smouldering, but this was only the first of six episodes . . . and mass murderers dont usually suffer accidental deaths so early on.

If you didnt watch the first series, youll have trouble making much sense of the plot. Although the hunt for the missing journalist is a new storyline, most of the characters were more interested in tying up loose ends from the previous series  details that few viewers will care about, because they no longer matter.

If The Gone stuck to this straightforward format of summary justice, it might be entertaining. But its a disjointed mess of horror movie, teen drama, noir crime and anti-British preaching about colonialism

If you didnt watch the first series, youll have trouble making much sense of the plot. Although the hunt for the missing journalist is a new storyline, most of the characters were more interested in tying up loose ends from the previous series

The younger ones are all suffering from post-traumatic stress after the kidnapping, in which a drug dealer died. His girlfriend is mooching around, recording videos for social media, which is how Gen Z process their traumas.

Maori elders Wiki (Vanessa Rare) and Buster Huia (Wayne Hapi) are more upset about invasive species: Deer and pigs, they root up the ground, eat all the native trees. Gifts from Queen Victoria . . . along with influenza and attempted genocide.

With a bit of luck, the Goat-man will turn his attention to pigs and deer. Historic trauma fixed.
Game of Thrones star Alfie Allen looks worlds away from Westeros in the first look at a new blockbuster crime thriller, where he is dressed down and rugged

The must-see Sky drama Atomic follows the unlikely friendship between free-spirited drug smuggler Max, played by Allen, and an enigmatic outsider JJ, played by Shazad Latif of Star Trek: Discovery.

When the pair become caught up in a cartel's plot to transport uranium across North Africa, they are swept into a chaotic high-stakes mission and forced to get along.

All the while, they are hotly pursued by the authorities, namely Handmaid's Tale star Samira Wiley, who plays a determined CIA lead.

The gripping five-part series is based on the non-fiction book The Atomic Bazaar, which explores the world of nuclear trafficking.

In the first images from the upcoming thriller, Allen is transformed from cocky Theon Greyjoy to modern day delinquent, dressed in grubby rags and blue jeans.

Game of Thrones star Alfie Allen looks worlds away from Westeros in the first look at a new blockbuster crime thriller, where he is dressed down and rough around the edges

In the first images from the upcoming thriller, Allen is transformed from cocky Theon Greyjoy to modern day delinquent, dressed in grubby rags and blue jeans

In a glimpse of what's to come, he is pictured on his knees at gunpoint, a pained look on his face.

The synopsis reads: 'Leading the charge for the CIA is highly skilled scientist and a Non-Official Cover officer Cassie Elliott, played by Wiley.

'Convinced Max and JJ are in league with violent extremists, her relentless pursuit puts them all on a collision course revealing that nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an ulterior motive.'

Sky's trailer promises a mix of powerful plot lines and punchy action as viewers watch the leading characters develop an unusual bond.

In the short clip, Allen looks drastically different from his Game Of Thrones role, swapping Theon's armour and tousled hair for a more contemporary look.

'The pair find themselves on a wild road trip, confronting covert operatives, an internationally funded cartel and ultimately their own pasts,' the synopsis continues.

'What starts as a bid for survival slowly becomes something more - a reluctant partnership, a shot at redemption and one hell of a ride.'

Further plot details have not yet been revealed, though Sky viewers keenly await a captivating thriller as Max and JJ navigate North Africa and the Middle East with the CIA on their tails.

Allen looks drastically different from his Game Of Thrones role (pictured), swapping Theon's armour and tousled hair for a more contemporary look

Atomic follows the unlikely friendship between free-spirited drug smuggler Max, played by Allen, and an enigmatic outsider JJ, played by Shazad Latif (pictured) of Star Trek: Discovery

It comes as 38-year-old Allen has reportedly signed up to celebrity dating app Raya in his search for a girlfriend.

The actor has been spotted on the app as the star shared he was in London and looking for a girl to go out with.

The Sun has revealed that his profile shows Alfie posing in a fun selfie with a meerkat, while another snap sees him pictured as a child and another one is of his dog, Ata.

According to his profile his favourite place to grab a bite to eat is In-N-Out Burger in Hollywood.

Daily Mail have contacted Alfie's representatives for comment.

The actor keeps his personal life very private, however he was last linked to artist girlfriend Nicole Della Costa after the pair were spotted packing on the PDA back in 2022.

Meanwhile Alfie has also previously dated actress Jaime Winstone after the pair had an on/off relationship for over seven years, and were last photographed together in the summer of 2015.

The pair got engaged in 2008, before calling it off in 2010. Three years later they were back together though, ahead of another split in July 2014, which was blamed on busy work schedules.

When the pair become caught up in a cartel's plot to transport uranium across North Africa, they are swept into a chaotic high-stakes mission and forced to get along

All the while, they are hotly pursued by the authorities, namely Handmaid's Tale star Samira Wiley, who plays a determined CIA lead

Alfie then went on to date DJ Allie Teilz, with whom he shares daughter Arrow, five.

The pair were first seen together in June 2017 during a romantic getaway in Formentera, Spain.

The couple experienced several incredible experiences and holidays together, including Glastonbury Festival, Thailand and a safari experience in Kenya, Africa.

They welcomed Arrow in October 2018, with Alfie confirming the birth with a heartwarming post on Instagram.

He wrote: 'With full hearts and overwhelming joy @allieteilz and I introduce you to the newest member of our family. She is perfect.'

The couple split up not long after, with Allie spotted out with artist Antonia Showering seven months later.

Atomic premieres Thursday August 28 on Sky and NOW .
A Spellbinding crime thriller based on a harrowing true story is finally free to stream on ITV.

Canadian true crime drama Under The Bridge, based on Rebecca Godfrey's book of the same name, premiered on Hulu in April 2024.

The eight-part series follows the true story and murder of a 14-year-old girl called Reena Virk.

ITVX's synopsis reads: 'Riley Keough and Lily Gladstone star in this haunting drama inspired by a tragic true story. A writer and a cop investigate a brutal murder tied to a group of troubled teens.'

It stars Lily Gladstone, Vritika Gupta, Chloe Guidry, Javon "Wanna" Walton, Izzy G, Aiyana Goodfellow, Ezra Faroque Khan, Archie Panjabi and Riley Keough.

Those who have watched the programme have hailed it '10/10 and binged it all at once.

A Spellbinding crime thriller based on a harrowing true story is finally free to stream on ITV - Under The Bridge

Canadian true crime drama Under The Bridge, based on Rebecca Godfrey's book of the same name, premiered on Hulu in April 2024

Now fans will be happy to know that it has landed on ITV, so they can watch all the episodes online.

The series has received 86% on review site Rotten Tomatoes, and others have taken to IMDb to share their positive thoughts.

'Great performances but depressing and heartbreaking content.'

'Just two episodes in and I'm completely hooked. The acting is very good so far.'

'A compelling tale of "mob" murder by teenagers.'

'A compelling thriller. Lily Gladstone is a force. Vritika Gupta shines!'

'A terrible story that needed to be told - RIP Reena.'

'Anyone who thinks this is a bad series I'd really like to know what you're watching that's so good. This show is riveting and utterly sad (because it happened).'

Many have rushed to IMDb

The eight-part series follows the true story and murder of a 14-year-old girl called Reena Vir

Under The Bridge unravels the heart-wrenching tale of Reena Virk who was attacked by eight teenagers - seven girls and one boy - at a gathering in Saanich in British Columbia, Canada, in 1997.

The series is based on the 2005 book of the same name by Rebecca Godfrey, which chronicled the heinous bullying and murder of 14-year-old Reena.

After the initial attack, she was allowed to stumble home but was followed by two of the original offenders - Warren Glowatski, 16, and Kelly Ellard, 15 - who continued the brutal beating before rolling Reena's unconscious body into a waterway.

Reena was found dead by authorities eight days later with the killers tried as adults over the severity of their crime.

Reena's family later started a campaign to bring awareness to bullying in schools and violence among teenagers.

They were awarded the Anthony J. Hulme Award of Distinction for their work in 2009.
French-Canadian spy thriller about enemies within

Year: 2022

Certificate: 12

Watch now on Channel 4

Set in Montreal, this slick and well-paced French-Canadian spy thriller follows married intelligence officers Rachel and Emile, who work hard on their work/life balance despite the pressure of their jobs. A shooting outside the US consulate turns their world upside down and Emile is pressured into spying on his wife, who is suspected of being a mole for the CIA.

Parallels are drawn between Rachel and Emile and a family exiled from the Arabian emirate of Shammar: Yasser, his wife and children, who run a bookshop in the city. Targeted by unknown shadowy forces, Yasser, like Emile, worries that he can't trust his wife. (Ten episodes)
Rebel Wilson's latest film has been savaged by critics, with one branding it the 'worst film of the year'.

The film, Bride Hard, hit Australian cinemas on Thursday, and the reaction from Australian critics has been less than stellar.

Rebel stars alongside Anna Camp, Stephen Dorff and Anna Chlumsky in the action-comedy.

Billed as Die Hard-meets-Bridesmaids (the clue is in the title), the film follows a mercenary group who get more than they bargained for when they take a wedding party hostage.

Little do they know that the maid of honour, played by Rebel, is actually a secret agent.

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.

Rebel Wilson 's latest film has been savaged by critics, with one branding it the 'worst film of the year'

Writing for PerthNow, critic Ben O'Shea did not pull any punches in his scathing assessment of the action-comedy.

'Things this critic would rather do instead of ever watching Bride Hard again include, but are not limited to, giving Donald Trump a back wax and personally removing the next fatberg from Perths sewerage system,' he wrote.

He didn't stop there, arguing it could be the worst film he's ever seen.

'Rebel Wilsons latest comedy is so bad, it is the front runner to claim worst film of the year and might just be the worst film yours truly has ever seen,' Ben added.

It was a similar sentiment expressed by News Corp critic Leigh Paatsch, who also derided the film.

'While there have been worse reasons for a movie to be wished into existence, there is much to this uneven production that will have you wishing it never existed at all,' he wrote.

'Inept joke construction and lifeless line delivery tease an eerie emptiness from scene after scene, cold-bloodedly killing each and every chance of a laugh.'

While giving few points for comedy, Leigh did find favour with some of the film's action sequences, claiming the 'mindless mayhem offers some welcome respite from all those thudding punchlines.'

The film follows a mercenary group who get more than they bargained for when they take a wedding party hostage. Little do they know that the maid of honour, played by Rebel, is actually a secret agent. Also pictured: Anna Camp

The film, Bride Hard, hit Australian cinemas on Thursday, and the reaction from Down Under scribes has been less than stellar

The film was released in the US on June 20, and has received a very similar lukewarm reception.

It currently boasts a depressing 18 per cent critic score and a slightly better 57 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Similarly, IMDb rates the comedy at a lacklustre 4.3 out of 10.

Writing for The Guardian ahead of the US premiere, Benjamin Lee lambasted Bride Hard as 'awful' and a 'rubbishy attempt' to marry comedy and action.

'The awfulness of Bride Hard just isnt worth pointing and laughing at, its the kind of joyless slog that pushes you to check out early and never gives you reason to check back in,' he wrote.

'It wasn't all naysaying, though with RogerEbert.com critic Carla Renata labelling the film 'fluffy fun'.

'Bride Hard makes it easy to grab your girls, some snacks (or drinks), and enjoy a little fluffy fun at the cinema,' she wrote.

Viewers were less kind, taking to social media platform X to also slam the film.

Viewers were less kind, taking to X to also slam the film

'Bride Hard with Rebel Wilson may be the worst film ever made, and I only saw 90 seconds of it,' one disgruntled moviegoer wrote.

Another seemed confused by the whole affair, offering: 'Just came back from watching bride Hard. Bruh wtf did I just watch?'

A third said they could only stomach the film for ten minutes before walking away.

'After 10 minutes of watching Bride Hard with the GF, we shut it off in disgust. Even she hated it,' they commented.

'It's neither funny, nor exciting. Not even a chick flick guilty pleasure, like Pitch Perfect. It's awful.

'Don't bother. I'd put it on my Worst of '25, but I need to finish it.'

It didn't end there either, with another slamming the acting while praising the cast and story.

'Bride Hard's acting is just awful,' the cranky cinephile wrote. ' They had a good story, not a new concept, but it could have been interesting.

The film was released in the US on June 20, and has received a very similar lukewarm reception. It currently boasts a depressing 18 per cent critic score and a slightly better 57 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

'The cast is good, the acting is just bad. They took and easy pay check if you ask me.'

The less-than-rave reviews have come at a bad time for Rebel, who is facing a second lawsuit from the producers of her film The Deb over claims she made false and derogatory statements about them.

Those statements include accusations of engaging in 'inappropriate conduct' towards actress Charlotte MacInnes, who stars in the film.

They also claim Wilson falsely accused them of embezzling the film's funds, The Australian reported on Thursday.

Producers Vince Holden, Gregor Cameron and Amanda Ghost on Thursday filed proceedings against Wilson in the NSW Supreme Court.

Wilson is also being sued for defamation in the US courts by the three producers, who have accused her of injurious falsehood, misleading and deceptive conduct and breaches of contract and director's duties.

They also allege that Wilson threatened the Australian distributor of the film, Kismet, by seeking an injunction to block its release.
Her quest for financial independence has taken her on a dizzying journey during which she's sold everything from fountain pens to food blenders, been an ambassador for Weight Watchers, published numerous books  both for children and, more recently, Mills & Boon romances  and co-hosted a podcast which promised that 'no topic is off the table'.

Now I can disclose that Sarah, Duchess of York, 65, is embracing a new commercial adventure with enthusiasm and her trademark spirit.

Fergie, who had two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, during her marriage to the Duke of York, suggests that her age is entirely to her advantage as she immerses herself in a whole new world  as a producer of nappies.

Not any old nappy, I should stress. 'I've created an eco-friendly nappy,' Sarah tells me. 'I think it's very exciting, being a grandmother, because the more grandchildren I have, the more urgency there is for compostable diapers.'

Sarah, Duchess of York, has created a compostable nappy alongside Dr Jason Graham-Nye and his wife Kim

The duchess has sold everything from fountain pens to food blenders, been an ambassador for Weight Watchers, and published numerous books

The duchess is a grandmother to two girls  Beatrice's daughters Sienna, three, and Athena, six months  and two boys  Eugenie's sons, August, four, and Ernest, two.

'It's called the Greater Good,' Fergie says of the project, before explaining that the nappy is not exclusively her creation but one which has emerged from a collaboration with Dr Jason Graham-Nye and his wife Kim  once named among Fortune magazine's Ten Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs.

'We have invented the first compostable diaper,' adds Fergie, explaining that it's produced in Samoa.

Its capacity to decompose in 'compostable' fashion means that unlike most disposable nappies, often laden with microplastics, it needn't be dumped in landfill.

'There are 380,000 nappies changed a minute, so it's a really good solution,' says the duchess.

Sounds more promising than media investment company Gate Ventures, of which she was a director. It lost an estimated 19million before being forced into administration in 2020.

When he captured Prince William and Catherine's wedding, Hugo Burnand secured obedience from page boys by doling out sweets. But the society snapper quells nerves in adults in a very different manner. 'I ask them to say 's***',' he reveals on his podcast, Double Exposure, noting that it takes them 'by surprise'.

Jameela Jamil has issued a stark warning to women to be 'vigilant' after a group of men targeted her this week

Jamil's warning after being followed on walk

The Duchess of Sussex's friend Jameela Jamil has issued a stark warning to women to be 'vigilant' after a group of men targeted her as she attempted to walk her dog in London this week.

'Some bloke followed me on his bike up and down the street, then when he realised I had clocked him, he got on the phone and called his mates who then came after me,' says the actress, pictured left.

'It was 8pm, in a crowded area, and I was wearing a black tracksuit and no makeup.' The privately-educated Londoner, 39, who previously lived in Los Angeles with her musician boyfriend James Blake, says she has been left with a growing resentment towards men.

'Many of my walks have turned into a nightmare. In a split second, a stranger decided it would be okay to destroy my life.'

She warns women and girls 'not to be on your phone and keep one headphone out. Get number plates and registrations. Mistrust everyone and suspect every man'.

One might think pending fatherhood would cure Levison Wood's itchy feet, but it appears not. The TV explorer, 43, who is expecting his first child with girlfriend Ana Protasio any day now, has set his sights on his next adventure. 'I'm hoping to head to South America this autumn,' he tells the Country Life podcast. Levison wants to explore the continent by motorbike, making it far from a family-friendly trip. Let's hope Ana understands.

Diana's niece to wed after 10-year romance

Eliza Spencer's boyfriend Channing Millerd got down on one knee during a romantic break in Santorini

At long last, Princess Diana's niece Eliza Spencer is engaged to her tech executive boyfriend, Channing Millerd.

After almost a decade of courtship, the model, 33, revealed Millerd, 31, who has a son from a previous relationship, went down on bended knee during a romantic trip to Santorini, Greece.

Earl Spencer's daughter can be seen wearing the sparkler Miller proposed with in this picture she posted online.

'Forever and ever,' she wrote alongside the snap. A destination wedding could be on the cards for the pair, as Eliza previously said: 'We feel drawn to Italy, especially somewhere by the ocean  that feels so romantic to us.'

Who says that an association with Pippa Middleton, the Princess of Wales's younger sister, doesn't come with benefits?

Certainly not members of her local council who, I can disclose, have given Pippa and her husband, hedge-fund manager James Matthews, the green light to establish a nursery at Bucklebury Farm.

The couple snapped up the West Berkshire property for 1.5million in 2020. The nursery  for children aged between nine months and five years  will deliver 'strong social benefits', concludes the council, noting that there is a local shortage of 'early years places'.

The prospect of a smile from Pippa, 41, is likely to perk up fathers doing the school run, so it seems only fair to warn them that she and James, 49, live a few miles away at the Georgian manor house they bought for 15million in 2022.

Strictly pro is fan favourite

Nadiya Bychkova won the Best Female Personality Award at the National Reality TV Awards

She has yet to win the glitterball trophy on Strictly Come Dancing, but Nadiya Bychkova is enjoying success elsewhere.

The Ukrainian dancer, 35, won the Best Female Personality Award at this year's National Reality TV Awards, which took place at Porchester Hall in London.

She tells me: 'It was a complete surprise to win the award. There were some big names on the list, so there was a combination of laughter, thankfulness and disbelief when my name was read out.'

Bychkova, pictured, adds: 'I do feel very humbled that people have voted for me. It's really special to know that they have taken the time to do that, and it means a lot.

'Hopefully, I get the chance to add a glitterball to this trophy by the end of the year.'
Musician Mickey Madden, a one-time bassist for the Adam Levine-fronted band Maroon 5, is accused of physically attacking his wife after she confronted him about sending inappropriate text messages to teenagers.

'He physically abused me,' Maddens spouse Kate Bowman said in court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, in regard to a series of events which unfolded on July 21. 'I'm now terrified of him.'

Bowman said the bass player went 'insane' after she asked him about the alleged messages with the teenage girls - which allegedly centered around a rape fantasy.

Madden went 'insane' when Bowman asked him about the situation, Bowman told the court, grabbing her arms and slamming her body against a kitchen counter.

'He pulled me to the ground and was out of his mind,' Bowman told the court in her filing.

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for the band, and an Instagram account Mickey Madden appears to run, for further comment on the story.

Musician Mickey Madden (left), a one-time bassist for the popular band Maroon 5 opposite Adam Levine, is accused of physically attacking his wife after she confronted him about sending inappropriate text messages to teenagers. Pictured in LA in 2018

Bowman included screengrabs in her filing from ring camera footage to support her claims

Bowman described her efforts to flee the dangerous situation in her court filing.

'I managed to move around and escape him, got up, and ran out of the house to escape him,' she said.

She continued: 'He ran after me in his underwear and barefoot, caught up to me, shoved me against the gate, and then tried to grab me back to the house.'

Bowman said that she 'managed to escape and ran to the street' but Madden 'found [her] twice in different locations, physically abusing me each time.'

Bowman included screengrabs in her filing from ring camera footage to support her claims.

Bowman tried to retrieve Madden's phone, and says she wound up leaving the home afraid for her life.

Bowman was able to rummage through the contents of the phone after she ran down the street and hid between cars after escaping the enraged musician's clutches, she said in court documents.

Bowman told the court that Madden had never shown that level of outrage prior to their marriage.

Madden pictured in concert on August 26, 2014 in Burbank, California

Bowman, pictured in 2023 in London, told the court she wa 'now terrified of' the bassist

Bowman was pointed out to the text-related allegations against Madden by a stranger, she said in the court filing.

Bowman told the court that she subsequently moved out of the home and has been residing with a friend in the wake of the conflict, she said in the court filing.

Bowman told the court that Madden told her he was sorry via text message, and that he was planning on seeking help for sex addiction.

She said she was concerned about Maddens potential mercurial reaction when he sees that she used a credit card of theirs to hire a lawyer in the wake of the July 21 incident.

Bowman has asked for a restraining order preventing Madden from approaching within 100 yards of her person, place of business, residence or vehicle.

Bowman said that Madden has exerted monetary control over her for the duration of their four-year-plus marriage.

Bowman said said she has since started working a job, and is concerned that Madden will try to track her down at her work. She added that she's put a deposit down for an apartment where she will reside.

Bowman is asking for expenses, in addition to custody of a pair of Siberian Husky dogs they own named Jam and Toast.

The bassist was seen onstage in Brazil on March 1, 2020, weeks before COVID-19 shut down live shows in the country for months and four months before he left the group

Madden, seen in Philadelphia in 2018, played on hits such Makes Me Wonder, Moves Like Jagger and She Will Be Loved

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted Bowman a temporary restraining order in connection with the domestic violence allegations, but a request for Madden to vacate their home was not granted, pending a future hearing on the matter.

Madden was the bass player for Maroon 5 - whose hits include moves like Makes Me Wonder, Moves Like Jagger and She Will Be Loved - for nearly 26 years, but departed the band in 2020.

He stepped away from Maroon 5 in July of 2020 after he was arrested in connection with domestic violence

'I have some things that I need to deal with and address right now and so I have decided to take a leave of absence,' Madden said in a statement at the time. 'During this time, I do not want to be a distraction to my bandmates. I wish them the absolute best.'
Richard Grieco was a '90s hunk who starred on the show 21 Jump Street.

The 60-year-old actor from Watertown, New York played Detective Dennis Booker alongside Johnny Depp on the hit series. He was also in the spin-off Booker.

Grieco reprised his role as Booker in the 2014 film 22 Jump Street, starring alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.

In 1991 he was in the big ensemble mafia movie called Mobsters with Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey.

Grieco also had an interesting love life as he dated Christina Applegate, Kimber Sissons, Katie Wagner, Terry Farrell, Yasmine Bleeth or Stephanie Niznik.

Since 2009, he worked as a painter who specializes in 'abstract emotionalism.'

Earlier this week, Grieco attended the premiere of Sketch in Los Angeles. He wore a black cap over his dark hair with a black shirt and slacks for a rocker style.

Richard Grieco was a '90s hunk who worked in both movies and TV; seen in 1987

He had a bad boy look; pictured in 1989 in West Hollywood

The star shared a photo from the event on Instagram with the caption, 'Thank you @angelstudios_inc for the invite for @thesketchmovie @terrycrews great seeing you and what a #wonderful #family and uplifting #film its a movie to bring the whole family to .'

Grieco worked as a model for Armani, Calvin Klein and Chanel before he landed the role of Rick Gardner on One Life to Live in the '80s.

In 1988, Grieco began appearing as Detective Dennis Booker on the shows 21 Jump Street and its spinoff Booker.

Grieco's feature film debut was as Michael Corben in If Looks Could Kill (1991) and played the young mobster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel in the film Mobsters.

He also appeared in the TV series Marker in 1995.

He played himself in the 1998 film A Night at the Roxbury as well as in an episode of the FX comedy It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

His guest stint on 21 Jump Street ultimately led to his promotion to a regular cast member in 1988, coinciding with Johnny Depp's decision to reduce his involvement in the series

From left: Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, Costas Mandylor, Grieco in Mobsters in 1991

The star wearing black eyeliner, with a phone receiver to his ear in a scene from the film If Looks Could Kill in 1991

With Christina Applegate in 1989, left, and Terry Farrell in 1994, right

He also dated Baywatch beauty Yasmine Bleeth. Seen in 1998

The star with actress Stephanie Niznik from the TV series Everwood

Grieco began a singing career in 1994 with the Dunmire Band. He signed to a German label and released a CD, Waiting for the Sky to Fall, in 1995.

In 2009, after being encouraged to do so by Dennis Hopper, Grieco publicly revealed that he had been painting since 1991.

According to Grieco's website, he has dedicated himself fully to his art.

His style, which he calls 'Abstract Emotionalism,' blends elements of abstract art with hints of expressionism, surrealism, and cubism, drawing fans from around the world.

'And over the years he has kept a very low profile to aggressively concentrate on his art work,' the site notes.

Grieco leaving the nightclub Roxbury in West Hollywood in 1990

The star stepped out on July 28 in Los Angeles

He was at the premiere of Angel Studios' Sketch at Cinemark Playa Vista and XD

In 2019 Grieco was taken into custody for public intoxication after allegedly yelling at airline employees and exhibiting slurred speech.

Grieco was brought to the attention of police officers by an agent who denied the actor boarding at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, according to TMZ.

The actor allegedly smelled of alcohol as he hunched over the counter, shouted at employees, and displayed slurred speech, law enforcement sources told the site.

The actor reportedly admitted to police officers he drank two cranberry vodkas before his flight.
Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie Chrisley's emotional reunion following their release from prison has been captured in a trailer for their new docuseries, The Chrisleys: Back to Reality.

A first look at the Lifetime show, which was released on Thursday, captures how the couple's imprisonment impacted their family - along with their eventual return to society following a pardon by President Trump.

The trailer begins with their eldest daughter Savannah Chrisley, 27, talking to her parents on separate phone calls as flashbacks from their past reality show appear on the screen.

She opens up about how she and the rest of the family have been dealing with their mom and dad being away as her parents lament about their desire to return home and reunite their family again.

'With my parents gone, our household is completely divided,' Savannah admitted. 'I told my parents, I don't know if it can ever be repaired, honestly.'

Chase Chrisley, Grayson Chrisley as well as Todd's mother Faye Chrisley and Julie's parents Harvey and Pam Hughes all make appearances in the show.

This comes shortly after Todd quipped that he wanted to go back to prison after seeing his wife's post-jail hairdo as the married couple talked about their respective prison stints on their podcast.

Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie Chrisley reunited in an emotional moment after their prison release in the trailer of the family's new show, The Chrisleys: Back to Reality

Todd and Julie were convicted of tax evasion as well as bank and wire fraud in 2022.

Her husband Todd was originally sentenced to 12 years in prison for his federal fraud charges but only served a portion of his sentence.

Todd and Julie served more than two years in prison for tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy before receiving a full presidential pardon in May 2025.

In late May, President Trump personally called their daughter Savannah to inform her of his decision to grant the couple clemency.

'We will get through this,' Todd said in the trailer. 'I don't know how it's going to end, but at some point, the truth is going to come out.'

Later, Julie is also heard talking through the phone about her desire to see her family again.

'I live every day with the hopes that I will be reunited with my husband and my kids and my parents and my mother-in-law.'

In a separate phone call, Todd jokes: 'Do you think there's a possibility that I can get outta here before I need a face lift?'

Todd and Julie were convicted of tax evasion as well as bank and wire fraud in 2022

Todd and Julie served more than two years in prison for tax evasion, fraud and conspiracy before receiving a full presidential pardon in May 2025

Then, there was text shown on the screen mixed in with clips of the family on their reality show, Chrisley Know Best, which ran for 10 seasons from 2014 to 2023.

'The Chrisleys were a picture perfect family,' one slide read as the narrator recalled how the reality stars were once 'the most beloved family.'

Then, their eldest son Chase Chrisley, 29, started explaining how the family was pretending to be 'happy' on camera, when in reality, they were facing legal troubles behind the scenes.

'We were filming one thing that was this happy life. Cameras go down, and we're also fighting a fed case,' he said.

Savannah then started talking about their half-sister Lindsie Chrisley Campbell from Todd's first marriage with his ex-wife Teresa Terry and said they were now estranged from her.

'We've had our own family members betray us,' Grayson Chrisley, 19, added.

The trailer begins with their eldest daughter Savannah Chrisley , 27, talking to her parents on separate phone calls as flashbacks from their past reality show flash across the screen

She opens up about how she and the rest of the family have been dealing with their mom and dad being away as her parents lament about their desire to return home and reunite their family again

Then, their eldest son Chase Chrisley, 29, started explaining how the family was pretending to be 'happy' on camera, when in reality, they were facing legal troubles behind the scenes. 'We were filming one thing that was this happy life. Cameras go down, and we're also fighting a fed case,' he said

Savannah then started talking about their half-sister Lindsie Chrisley Campbell from Todd's first marriage with his ex-wife Teresa Terry and said they were now estranged from her. 'We've had our own family members betray us,' Grayson Chrisley, 19, added

'This family has been torn apart,' Todd's mom Nanny Faye added as Savannah recounted how a rift began growing in their family after their mom and dad went away to prison

The Chrisleys: Back to Reality's two-night premiere will air on Lifetime on Monday, September 1, and Tuesday, September 2; pictured June 2018 in Universal City, California

'When one family member is in prison, the whole family is in prison,' Julie's father said at one point.

'This family has been torn apart,' Todd's mom Nanny Faye added as Savannah recounted how a rift began growing in their family after their parents went away to prison.

The family were seen having disagreements while worrying about their eldest brother's well-being while they were dealing with their parents being away.

The clip then showed the moment the family learned that President Trump had pardoned their parents and their emotional reunion with Todd and Julie.

The trailer showed their children running into their arms as well as the moment Todd and Julie hugged for the first time after three years apart.

'I have nothing to hide,' Todd said at the end of the trailer. 'I look at this as me exposing the truth, and depending on how long this interview goes, you might see more than what you bargained for.'

The Chrisleys: Back to Reality's two-night premiere will air on Lifetime on Monday, September 1, and Tuesday, September 2.
Amanda Keller and Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones have addressed reports they are being booted from their Sydney breakfast slot to make way for a Melbourne star.

Jonesy & Amanda will be moved to the Gold 101.7 drive slot after 20 years of waking up with their listeners, while Christian O'Connell expands to take their morning slot.

The radio hosts addressed the news on their FM show on Friday morning, saying they would drag their listeners 'kicking and screaming' to the drive slot with them.

'You and I have some big news. We have re-signed here at Gold. I don't want to say "but", but it's "and"there are going to be some changes,' Amanda, 63, said.

'Brendan and I are going to go to the drive shift... We could have stayed doing breakfast for years. We've never fought the hours.'

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Amanda Keller and Brendan 'Jonesy' Jones have addressed reports they are being booted from their Sydney breakfast slot to make way for a Melbourne star

'We've spent 20 years with you guys. And this is the thing. We're going to drag you kicking and screaming with us to drive,' she continued.

'We've spent every morning with you guys for 20 years, and now we're going to spend time with you later in the day. We're really excited about that.'

Amanda went on to say: 'As long as you guys comes with us and listen to us in drive, all is right with the world.'

Listeners were divided by the news, with some saying it was a 'terrible' move, while others were excited to listen to Jonesy & Amanda on the drive home from work.

'Oohhh breakfast won't be the same. I love listening to you guys in the morning,' one person wrote on Instagram.

'This is terrible. Why do we need change? It's working well now,' another added.

'This sounds more like a demotion,' suggested a third.

But someone else commented: 'I will listen to you guys no matter what time of the day or night you're on.'

Jonesy & Amanda will be moved to the Gold 101.7 drive slot, after 20 years of waking up with their listeners , while Christian O'Connell expands to take their morning slot

Listeners were divided by the news, with some saying it was a 'terrible' move, while others were excited to listen to Jonesy & Amanda on the drive home from work

'I will be following you pair wherever you go,' another agreed.

'Definitely will miss you in the morning! But so glad we will still get to listen to you in the afternoon!' yet another fan wrote.

Daily Mail's Inside Mail exclusively broke the news of a change on Wednesday when a source revealed there were big moves being made at ARN  you can read the details here.

Our source said Christian, 52, the popular Brit who hosts breakfast on Melbourne's Gold 104.3, will be networked to Sydney's Gold 101.7, formerly WSFM.

A similar thing occurred when The Kyle & Jackie O Show expanded from Sydney into Melbourne breakfast, booting KIIS FM show Jase & Lauren off their airwaves.

However, insiders say this time, it will 'actually work'.
Jenna Ortega channeled her inner Wednesday Addams in a distressed gothic dress as attended the Paris premiere for the Netflix's hit's second season in the French capital on Thursday.

In the show, she plays the wily yet reserved protagonist who always manages to keep her cool under pressure.

And Jenna channelled her starring character as she stepped out in a brown floor-length gown which featured a daringly high slit.

Her gown featured a ruffled lining around the plunging neckline as she showcased her petite frame with a matching belt.

She added inched to her statuesque frame as the actress slipped into a pair of towering brown platform heels.

To accessorise, she kept in theme with her gothic ensemble as she wore an oversized cross necklace.

Jenna Ortega channeled her inner Wednesday Addams in a distressed gothic dress as attended the Paris premiere for the Netflix 's hit's second season on Thursday

In the show, she plays the wily yet reserved protagonist who always manages to keep her cool under pressure

The gothic comedy, which follows the antics of Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna), debuted on the streaming service in November 2022.

It was quickly renewed for a second series in January 2023.

It is one in a series of takes over the years on The Addams Family, the eccentric fictional old-money clan, famously macabre and gothic in manner and look.

The second series of the Emmy-winning programme, executive produced and often directed by horror icon Tim Burton, 66, is set for release on 6 August 2025.

And now, it has been announced that not only will Wednesday be back for a third series, but a spin-off programme is currently under discussion, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Fans were delighted to hear the fate of the beloved show has been secured, taking to social media to express their excitement.

Catherine Zeta-Jones posted on Instagram confirming the news: 'When Wednesday comes a better day.

'Wednesday season three. It's official... we shall return.'

And Jenna channelled her starring character as she stepped out in a brown floor-length gown which featured a daringly high slit

Her gown featured a ruffled lining around the plunging neckline as she showcased her petite frame with a matching belt

She added inched to her statuesque frame as the actress slipped into a pair of towering brown platform heels

To accessorise, she kept in theme with her gothic ensemble as she wore an oversized cross necklace

One fan wrote in the comments section: 'And for many more seasons.'; 'I love this because then they can start filming soon and it won't be such a long pause between seasons! Or that's the hope!'

The second series was announced in January 2023, but by the time it comes out later this year, it will have been more than two years in the making.

The first series of Wednesday follows the titular troublemaker character after she is expelled and transferred to Nevermore Academy, a school for monstrous outcasts.

Her cool, creepy manner and rebellious streak often see her in trouble and struggling to fit in.

But after she discovers she is a psychic like her mother and applies her skills to solving a local murder case, she soon finds her stride.

The programme boasts an impressive regular cast, with Game of Thrones' Gwendoline Christie and Narcos' Luis Guzman also starring.

They feature as Nevermore headteacher Larissa Weems and Wednesday's father, Gomez Addams, respectively.

The upcoming second series looks to be even more star-studded, with Lady Gaga, Joanna Lumley, Steve Buscemi, and Thandiwe Newton also joining the cast.

Earlier this week, Netflix unveiled Billie as Isadora Capri - a captivating new character at Nevermore Academy, where she serves as the school's head of music (pictured with Emma Myers)

Star Jenna and director Tim also worked together on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the 2024 sequel to the original 1988 horror film starring Winona Ryder.

And they have now told all about what fans can expect from the upcoming second series and the newly announced third instalment.

Scream queen Jenna, who rose to fame in slashers Scream, X and Scream VI, was embroiled in controversy in recent months for comments she made during a podcast interview.

She said she spent her time on the show 'changing lines' and 'had to put my foot down' because 'everything I had to play did not make sense for the character'.

Jenna said she felt terrible about this and never meant it that way, simply meaning to say she improvised a lot and was permitted to.

Tim sympathised with her, feeling the comments had been interpreted in a way she had not meant.

But the pair revealed that after these events, Jenna is now a producer on the show.

Co-creator Alfred Gough, who made the show with Miles Millar, said this made sense, as she is already so involved in every part of the show, as well as giving notes on the script, in a way he praised.

Wednesday's first series pulled in a whopping 252million viewers globally, making it Netflix's biggest English-language series of all time.

The new images come after Netflix revealed the future of Wednesday beyond the upcoming series two, and fans of the chart-topping show are all saying the same thing (L-R Steve Buscemi, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jenna, Isaac Ordonez, and Joonas Suotamo)

Catherine Zeta-Jones posted on Instagram confirming the news

Alfred has now teased a spin-off: 'It's something we're definitely noodling; there are other characters we can look at.'

Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria, meanwhile, added: 'There's a lot to explore in the Addams Family.'

New cast member Joanna Lumley previously told Netflix news site Tudum: 'There's always something thrilling about working for Tim Burton.

'His whole mind takes him to a different world, and the world that they've created here for Wednesday and Nevermore and the family is just intoxicating.

'It's wonderful. I get to wear many, many huge wigs, one on top of the other  and lots of quite constraining clothes, so I love it.'
An EastEnders star is reportedly set to make surprise return to the soap three years after leaving Albert Square.

The character, who first set foot in Albert Square back in 2018 had a spell of intense storylines over the years.

Stuart Highway will make an appearance in Walford for a 'limited period,' but is set to cause some drama, according to The Sun.

Played by Ricky Champ, 45, he left the soap in 2022 alongside his on-screen wife Rainie Cross (played by Tanya Franks).

Stuarts major stories included confessing to accidentally killing DI Steve Thompson (Philip Wright) - who later turned out be alive.

He also admitted to being a vigilante paedophile hunter which stemmed from being sexually abused as a child.

EastEnders character Stuart Highway is reportedly set to make surprise return to the soap three years after leaving Albert Square

The character, who first set foot in Albert Square back in 2018 had a spell of intense storylines over the years

Stuart was at the centre of a father's post-natal depression storyline, with the character struggling to bond with his baby Roland.

He had struggled with his mental health after his diagnosis with breast cancer and had trouble adjusting to parenthood after he and wife Rainie (Tanya Franks) tried for a child for a long time.

'In EastEnders I went from villain to hero to dad,' he told Digital Spy at the time of his exit.

'It was amazing, doing that for five years with a character's arc. It felt weird leaving him,' he admitted.

At the time Ricky didn't rule out a return to the soap someday, as he claimed that anything was possible.

'He didn't die. He rode off into the sunset. I think he's somewhere in the North Circular living with Rainie,' he said of his character.

Outside of EastEnders, Ricky's additional ventures include his role as Paul Parker in the BBC Three sitcom Him & Her and a Games Of Thrones appearance as Gatins.

Daily Mail has contacted the BBC for comment.

Stuart was at the centre of a father's post-natal depression storyline and battled male breast cancer

'In EastEnders I went from villain to hero to dad,' he told Digital Spy at the time of his exit in 2022 but he will be back for a 'limited period'

Elsewhere, an EastEnders legend is facing the sack after a whopping 40 years in job - and fans of the BBC soap aren't happy about it.

Beloved character Tracey, who is played by actress Jane Slaughter, has been on the show since 1985.

Over the years the barmaid, who rarely has any speaking lines, has become a huge fan favourite while serving many punters at the Queen Vic.

But a recent episode of EastEnders raised a few alarm bells with viewers after Kat Slater's (Jessie Wallace) nephew Freddie (Bobby Brazier) put forward the idea of working for her and take over from Tracey.

Kat and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) became the new owners of the pub earlier this month, after taking over from Linda Carter (Kellie Bright).

During Tuesday's instalment of the BBC show, Freddie asked for a job, but was told that they didn't have enough money for him to join the team behind the bar.

Elsewhere, beloved character Tracey, who is played by actress Jane Slaughter, could be facing the sack - and fans aren't happy

A recent episode of EastEnders raised a few alarm bells with viewers after Kat Slater's (Jessie Wallace) nephew Freddie (Bobby Brazier) put forward the idea of him taking over from Tracey

Freddie went on to tell Alfie and Kat that he would be able to work for half of what Tracey is currently paid.

It's no wonder that the bartender is such a popular character on the show, having been on EastEnders since the very beginning.

Tracey appeared on the very first episode back in 1985. She is the longest-serving character to ever take part in the popular programme having no breaks or exits.

Although the character rarely says a word on the show, back in 2022 she made a shocking revelation about Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).

She confessed that Phil was the 'best sex she's ever had' moments before Kat was due to marry Phil.
Stephen Fry has weighed in on the ongoing debate around artificial intelligence and revealed why he doesn't think human beings are 'evolved' to work.

There has been much debate around how AI technology will reshape the job market, with many actors in particular protesting its use in Hollywood.

Now, Blackadder star Stephen has weighed in and argued that human beings were never 'evolved' to work steady 9-5 jobs in the first place.

Speaking to Alan Carr on his Life's A Beach podcast, he explained: 'We're going to have to re-examine what work means over the next decade as we know because of AI and so on.

'And this idea that jobs will be taken and there will be a large percentage now of the population where the mixture of robots and AI will be taking over the manual and indeed the white collar work.'

'We weren't evolved to work, work isn't a natural condition of humanity in the sense of nine to five,' he continued.

Stephen Fry (pictured in February) has weighed in on the ongoing debate around artificial intelligence and revealed why he doesn't think human beings are 'evolved' to work

'Yes there are hunter-gatherers, you feed yourself and you find a way to feed yourself, and there are few hunter-gather tribes left, but the big mistake we made was to stop and settle.'

Stephen explained that the modern day work culture was born when aristocracy emerged, which forced other people to work for them.

'You have to remember, whatever you see from AI now, it's never going to be this primitive again... AI now is the equivalent of a gigantic mobile phone,' he added.

Stephen has been very vocal about both the pros and cons of AI in recent years and has actively got involved in the debate about the purpose and ethics of the tech.

An AI version of Stephen's voice was used at Hay Festival this year in an art installation, called Vocalize, to 'confront the future of AI, identity, and truth'.

Led by an AI-powered version of Stephen, visitors were given the chance to get their very own voiceover training session to learn the tricks of the trade.

However, just as visitors were finding their voice, things took an unexpected turn, according to an online description of the event.

The installation came two years after Stephen shared his concerns after discovering that an AI recording of his voice had been created without his knowledge.

Stephen explained that the modern day work culture was born when aristocracy emerged, which forced other people to work for them, as he discussed how AI might change things

Back in 2023, Stephen told of his shock upon learning that his recordings of the seven Harry Potter audiobooks had been used to recreate his voice with AI.

'I said not one word of that  it was a machine. Yes, it shocked me,' he said at the time during an appearance at the CogX Festival.

'What you heard was not the result of a mash-up. This is from a flexible artificial voice, where the words are modulated to fit the meaning of each sentence.

It could therefore have me read anything from a call to storm Parliament to hard p**n, all without my knowledge and without my permission.'

The actor revealed his agents went 'ballistic' when they learnt of the recreation, but he warned them: 'You ain't seen nothing yet.'

'When it comes to AI models, what we have now will advance at a faster rate than any technology we have ever seen. One thing we can all agree on: It's a f***ing weird time to be alive,' he added.
Channel Nine officially announced the identity of Australia's first Golden Bachelor on Friday.

The new matchmaking series began production in February, with glamorous senior ladies flying into Sydney from across the country to win the heart of Barry Myrden.

After Daily Mail exclusively covered the filming stage earlier this year, the network has now made the official reveal on Instagram.

'Australia, meet your first ever Golden Bachelor, Bear!' the network wrote alongside a dashing photo of the hunk.

The caption went on to add the hashtag #GoldenBachelorAU, before revealing the series would be coming soon to Channel Nine and 9Now.

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Channel Nine officially announced the identity of Australia's first Golden Bachelor on Friday. His name is Barry 'Bear' Myrden (pictured)

In the image, Bear wore a black and white tuxedo as he flashed a charming smile for the camera while holding a rose.

Bear will be the inaugural Golden Bachelor of Australia, with TV star Samantha Armytage set to host the series.

The 50-something silver fox was spotted filming scenes for the show in March, and was seen piloting a retro Italian speedboat across Sydney Harbour.

His leading ladies arrived on set soon after, pulling out every trick in the book to woo the infrastructure engineer.

Among the gaggle of gals was a famous face many viewers may recognise from TV and radioaward-winning star Bianca Dye.

Bianca, 51, shot to fame in the 1990s when she hosted the 92.5 Gold FM radio show The Nitemix Across Australia with Bianca Dye.

After decades of working across the industry in Sydney and Brisbane, with several stints in television, Bianca now hosts a breakfast program on Sea FM 90.9.

Another woman wearing rollers and heavy makeup was believed to be Queenslander Lauren George.

The new Samantha Armytage-hosted matchmaking series began production in February, with glamorous senior ladies flying into Sydney from across the country to win the heart of Bear

The 50-something silver fox was spotted filming scenes for the show in March, and was seen piloting a retro Italian speedboat across Sydney Harbour

The Golden Bachelor Australia season one will see the women compete for the heart of Bear, a father-of-three and respected professional in the tech industry.

Bear currently works in Data Centre Management for Woolworths Group.

With decades of experience in his field, he has held senior roles at major companies like Macquarie Bank and the NSW Port Authority.

But while his career has flourished, sources close to Daily Mail Australia have revealed his personal journey has been marked by tragedy, as Bear is widowed.

'Bear is always complaining that his boys are saying that he is bringing around the wrong kind of girls that are just too young and hot for him,' one friend revealed.

'We were always saying that he needs to be put on a show like MAFS, so seeing him up for the Bachelor role is no surprise.'

Unlike The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, which feature young men and women, The Golden Bachelor is targeted at a more mature audience.

'Bear is not your usual reality TV type,' an insider told Daily Mail Australia.

'He's charming, intelligent and has really lived a full life. He's been through love, loss and now he's ready to open his heart again. Women are going to adore him.'

Fans of The Golden Bachelor have been calling for an Australian version since the US rendition premiered last year to critical acclaim.
Video of Anthony Hopkins mocking the new SKIMS head wrap as his iconic Hannibal Lector character has sparked a dramatic reaction from Kim Kardashian

The reality star, who co-founded the shapewear company in 2019, re-posted the video to her Instagram Stories on Thursday with an all-caps response.

'I'M SCREAMING!!!!! @anthonyhopkins @skims,' Kim, 44, wrote of the actor, 87, wearing her brand's 'Ultimate Face' product in character as the chilling cannibal.

Whether or not she was shrieking out of fear or shock remains to be known.

The video also came to the attention of several other Kardashian family members, who seemed just as shocked as Kim.

'I am screaming!' Kim's sister Khloe Kardashian, 41, posted to her Instagram Stories with multiple exclamation points. 'Let's gooooooooooo @skims @kimkardashian,' she added.

Video of Anthony Hopkins mocking the new SKIMS head wrap as his iconic Hannibal Lector character has sparked a dramatic response from Kim Kardashian; pictured March 2025

Hopkins resurrected his iconic Hannibal Lecter alter-ego to mock Kim's bizarre SKIMS headwrap on Thursday

Kris Jenner, 69, reacted with two laughing crying emojis and 'omg @anthonyhopkins @kimkardashian @skims'.

Kim's new 'Ultimate Face' product from her shapewear line left fans in hysterics as they likened the garment to the Silence of the Lambs' villain Lecter's bite restraint mask sported by Hopkins in the 1991 film.

On Thursday, Anthony resurrected the Silence of the Lambs character to mock Kim's bizarre SKIMS headwrap in a silly video.

The actor, who picked up an Oscar for his portrayal of the witty cannibal, donned a nude post-surgical mask and quipped: 'Hello Kim, I'm already feeling 10 years younger. Goodbye.'

Recreating the film's legendary 'fava beans and Chianti' scene, he chillingly slurped at the end of the clip - which was captioned: 'Thank you, Kim. Dont be afraid to come over for dinner.'

Fans erupted online with one writing: 'Are you having Kim for dinner???

'The hannibal reboot didnt think we needed.

'Anthony Hopkins dissing Kim wasnt on my bingo list

'Anthony Hopkins on Instagram is the best gift of my entire life on social media.

'This is probably the most important cultural event to happen this decade.'

'Tag me when she responds to this!'

Kim wrote 'I'M SCREAMING!' at the bottom of the clip

Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner were also shocked by Anthony's video; pictured last month

Like Kim, Khloe was 'screaming' in response to Anthony's mockery

Kris chortled with two laughing-crying emojis

Kardashian's new 'Ultimate Face' product from her shapewear line left fans in hysterics as they likened the garment to the Silence of the Lambs' villain Lecter's bite restraint mask sported by Hopkins in the 1991 film; pictured February

Others declared it was 'the best publicity' Kim could hope for.

Social media users had been incredulous over the face wrap when SKIMS announced the product this week, leaping into the comments with reactions like: 'Is it April Fools?' and: 'What in the Hannibal is this.'

'State of the world in shambles, people dying ,' wrote one commenter. 'Kim: New Hannibal Lector Nylon face wrap just dropped!!!'

'Cant tell if trolling,' 'Peak f***ery,' 'Can we agree to disagree,' and: 'What am I looking at here?' were among the other flabbergasted replies.

The item is billed on the brand's Instagram as 'our first-ever face innovation, made with signature sculpting fabric and infused with collagen yarns for ultra-soft jaw support'

Hopkins, who picked up an Oscar for his portrayal of the witty cannibal, donned a nude post-surgical mask and quipped: 'Hello Kim, I'm already feeling 10 years younger. Goodbye'

Fans were left in hysterics over Hopkins' video

'Theres a 16 year old girl out there thinking she needs to buy this crap :),' wrote one as another said: 'SKIMS : Making women feel bad about themselves since 2018.'

'How has it come to this?' wrote a third commenter while a fourth sniggered that the 'most insane morning sheds are about to begin.'

'Kim please people are dying!!!' joked one, in reference to a viral remark Kim's sister Kourtney Kardashian made to her while she panicked over a lost earring.

Although some observers were aghast at the product, many others were seized with excitement, to the point it sold out on the SKIMS website the day of its release.

One waggish Instagram commenter wrote, however: 'If this works so well, why didnt Kris Jenner use this instead of spending thousands of dollars on a face lift?'

Kris confirmed through a representative earlier this year that her newly smoothed-out complexion was the work of Dr. Steven M. Levine, known as the 'facelift maestro.'

Internet rumor-mongers claim his patients have included Lindsay Lohan, Demi Moore and Brad Pitt, none of whom has publicly commented on the speculation.

'State of the world in shambles, people dying ,' wrote one commenter: 'Kim: New Hannibal Lector Nylon face wrap just dropped!!!'

Kim's new product launch comes after she was roundly mocked for her awkward runway walk, with fans sniggering that she looked 'drunk' or 'like a tired toddler.'

Kris proudly posted a video of Kim on the catwalk for Balenciaga at Paris Fashion Week - the brand's final show under designer Demna Gvasalia.

But although her supermodel sister Kendall Jenner is an expert at working the runway, Kim's performance left viewers falling over themselves with laughter.

One fan leapt into the comments and tagged Kendall, asking: 'can you help your sister' as another giggled: 'Go kim give us nothing.'

'This is how I walk after having 2 margaritas and Im trying to be inconspicuous when Im actually intoxicated,' cracked one Instagram user of Kim.

'Walking discreetly to the bathroom after eating Taco Bell,' quipped another, as another compared her to 'Me sleepwalking from the potty back to my bed at 4am.'
Dr Chris Brown has confirmed his relationship with former Channel 10 publicist Lorraine Monforte - first revealed by the Daily Mail.

The pair had kept their dating life so private it was considered an 'open secret' in the industry.

But the celebrity vet, 46, confirmed their relationship on Friday when he appeared on Nova FM's Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie.

'You have a girlfriend Dr Chris Brown... Is her name Lorraine?' host Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli asked.

'Yes, her name is Lorraine,' the Channel Seven star responded.

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Dr Chris Brown, 46, has confirmed his relationship with former Channel 10 publicist Lorraine Monforte, 41

Wippa continued to push for details about their relationship, but Dr Chris made sure he shared very little about his 41-year-old love.

'How long has it been?' Wippa asked, to which Dr Chris vaguely responded: 'You know, time is irrelevant in love. It just drifts.'

'Are you happy?' co-host Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald asked.

'I'm very happy. Thank you,' Dr Chris said.

Wippa then joked: 'I don't want to go into details, but where was the first kiss? On the lips? In a park?'

'Wherever it was, I try to look half as good as you do right now,' Dr Chris hit back, sending the studio into fits of laughter.

While the media personality kept mum on some of the more intimate details about his romance with Lorraine, he did reveal she has met his family.

He also said Lorraine, who he met on the set of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! when he worked for Channel Ten, has the 'thumbs up' from his father Graham.

Reports emerged of their romance earlier this year, with the pair keeping their dating life so private it was considered an 'open secret' in the industry

Daily Mail understands the couple divide their time between Brisbane and Bondi, where Chris lives and made a name for himself as a vet.

'They are very happy together,' a source previously said.

Lorraine, who was recently let go by Channel Ten amid a wave of redundancies, revealed this week she would soon be making a trip to Sydney.

It's unclear when Dr Chris and Lorraine became a couple, but the veterinarian has always kept his romantic life under wraps, wary that publicity might jinx things.

What we do know is that Lorraine is a mother to a 10-year-old son and at least one other child, though she keeps her family out of the public eye.

She once used the double-barrelled Monforte-Guy, which suggests she was married at one point but has since divorced.

There are whispers Dr Chris and Lorraine will walk the red carpet together at the Logie Awards in Sydney on Sunday.
An iconic Channel Nine star will make a shock return to the Logies red carpet at The Star in Sydney on Sunday, 16 years after boycotting the awards show.

Tracy Grimshaw, 65, has spent years sneaking into TV's night-of-nights through the kitchen after she was voted worst dressed in 2009.

But now, her A Current Affair replacement Allison Langdon confirmed on The Kyle & Jackie O Show on Friday morning that Tracy will step out on the red carpet this year.

Apart from making a brief appearance on the carpet in 2018, the journalist has stayed true to her guns and kept out of the limelight of the Logies.

Tracy was burned by the impromptu fashion show in 2009 when she stepped out in a purple, diamante encrusted dress which was promptly critiqued in the media.

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An iconic Channel Nine star will make a shock return to the Logies red carpet at The Star in Sydney on Sunday, 16 years after boycotting the awards show. Pictured: Tracy Grimshaw, 65

She revealed in 2018 she had 'loved' her outfit, which was pulled together by a Melbourne stylist, and 'felt so bad' seeing it land in a worst dressed list at the time.

'I don't pretend to be the best dressed anywhere and I just decided if this is what the red carpet is, I'm not doing it anymore,' she told Mamamia.

Tracy did make a brief return to the red carpet in 2018 when she was nominated for the Gold Logie, but ultimately lost it to Grant Denyer.

Now it seems Tracy will take another shot at walking the red carpet this year, though her 2009 debacle was not the only Logies mishap she has suffered.

The media personality had a drunken mishap at the 1998 Logie Awards when she ended up naked and locked out of her Crowns Casino hotel room.

With just a newspaper to protect her modesty, Tracy said she had stripped off to take a shower after a boozy night and confused her bathroom door with the front door.

During a segment on The Today Show in 2018, the TV personality said it was 'all James Packer's fault' after the pair shared 'ten tequilas' at an after party.

'We had drunk Tequila... We had about ten and it was three in the morning,' she told hosts Karl Stefanovic, Georgie Gardner and Silvia Jeffreys.

Tracy Grimshaw has spent years sneaking into TV's night-of-nights through the kitchen after she was voted worst dressed in 2009

Tracy said because she'd covered her naked body with a copy of The Australian newspaper, the publication sent her a special commemorative plaque.

'The Australian sent me the framed front cover of The Australian with a little plaque saying, "To Tracy, from The Australian, the newspaper that covers all your needs."'

'I've got it on the wall in my office, it's been with me since,' she said.

The TV Week Logie Awards, which are determined by public vote, will take place on Sunday, August 3 at The Star in Sydney and are broadcast live on Seven.
Bridgett Roccisano has broken her silence following her high-profile split from husband Joshua Cavallaro.

The Booby Tape founder, 34, took to social media on Monday to confirm earlier news reports that she had separated from her partner after two years of marriage.

On Thursday, Bridgett shared a heartfelt thank-you on her Stories, to her followers who had shown support for the entrepreneur following the announcement.

'I just wanted to take a moment as I wish I could respond to every message that has come through. To say thank you to everyone who has reached out to me during this incredibly difficult time,' she began.

She continued, 'Your kind words, messages and support have meant more than I can put into words. It's truly been so incredibly overwhelming.

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Bridgett Roccisano has broken her silence following her high-profile split from husband Joshua Cavallaro. Pictured: Bridgett and her three-month-old baby Elle

The Booby Tape founder took to social media on Monday to confirm earlier news reports that she had separated from her partner after two years of marriage. Pictured: Bridget and her ex on their wedding day in April 2023

'Even in the hardest moments, knowing I'm not alone at a time where it's very easily felt has made all the difference.

'I'm so grateful to have such thoughtful, genuine and most importantly loving people around me.

She signed off with a love heart emoji and the message, 'Thank you from the bottom of my heart.'

The shocking split comes after Bridgett welcomed a baby girl, Elle, in April.

In a surprising public statement, Bridgett confessed her marriage was over to her followers just hours after speculation on the fragile state of her marriage made headlines.

'I've always chosen to be open and honest with you all and with recent articles and speculation surrounding my marriage, I felt it was important to address this with you all,' she wrote on social media.

'I am saddened to confirm I am going through a separation,' she continued.

'This year has brought more change than I could have ever imagined. Becoming a mother has been the most profound and beautiful gift of my life.

On Thursday, Bridgett shared a heartfelt thank-you to her followers who have shown support for the entrepreneur following the break-up. Pictured

'While I am devastated and disappointed the journey hasn't unfolded the way I envisioned, as family is everything to me, I've discovered a strength within myself that I never knew existed for both my daughter and I.

'Elle and I may be walking a different path now, but it's one filled with support and most importantly, stability and love.'

She concluded: 'While I wish I could share more about this extremely difficult time, I need to protect Elle, especially knowing my daughter may read this one day. I hope you can understand and respect our privacy during this incredibly challenging time.

The admission came just hours after Bridget sent tongues wagging after appearing in a new photo without her wedding ring.

Bridgett, who wed Joshua in 2023 in a lavish Melbourne ceremony, posted to Instagram on Sunday to share a slew of mirror selfies.

However, eagle-eyed fans noticed the entrepreneur did not have her wedding or engagement rings on in the images, prompting speculation she and her husband of two years had split.

She was often known to show off her massive six-carat sparkler in her posts, which made the ring's absence all the more peculiar.

The businesswoman only further fuelled split rumours by removing all photos of her husband from her Instagram page, including their wedding portraits.

Joshua has also removed all images of Bridget from his own page.

Bridgett, who wed Joshua in 2023 in a lavish Melbourne ceremony, posted to Instagram on Sunday with a slew of selfies. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the entrepreneur did not have her wedding or engagement rings on in the images

However, the two still follow each other on Instagram.

Daily Mail has reached out to Bridgett Roccisano for comment.

The entrepreneur married Joshua in a fairytale wedding at St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne in April 2023, a year and a half after he proposed in London.

The Roccisano sisters are co-founders of the eponymous clothing label Bianca and Bridgett and beauty brand Booby Tape, which has been described as a 'breast lift in a box'.

Worn by the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Booby Tape products are sold in more than 50 countries.
Molly-Mae Hague's breakdown over her parenting struggles has reportedly caused tension with her partner Tommy Fury's family.

The multi-millionaire, 26, is completely unfiltered when it comes to opening up about her struggles of being a mother to their two-year-old daughter, Bambi.

Earlier this week, Bambi's temper tantrum led Molly-Mae to film herself breaking down in tears.

Crying in her car, the star admitted: 'I'm trying so so hard to stay positive but, I feel like I need to keep my camera running all day so you can see like every single thing, [Bambi] is a huge problem, [She] screams [I] can't even get like socks and shoes on.'

'I'm sorry, I'm so embarrassed,' Molly-Mae added as she opened up about the 'huge problems' she faces as a first-time mum.

And now reports are claiming that the outburst has 'ruffled feathers' with her Irish Traveller in-laws.

Molly-Mae Hague's breakdown over her parenting struggles has reportedly caused tension with her partner Tommy Fury's family

The multi-millionaire, 26, is completely unfiltered when it comes to opening up about her struggles of being a mother to their two-year-old daughter, Bambi

They are said to be used to the no-nonsense attitude of Paris Fury - the wife of Tommy's brother Tyson - who has seven children, according to The Sun.

A source told the publication: 'Within the Travelling community, having a big family with lots of children is the norm.

'They care about her so much and are concerned, but also worried about how publicly she's venting about motherhood.

'The family are used to Paris's attitude of being able to work, run the house and bring up her seven kids with Tyson without complaint.'

The source added that while the family have been reaching out to her to support her, Molly-Mae voicing her struggles has 'surprised' them.

The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Molly-Mae and Tommy comment.

Last week, fans blasted the TV personality for 'always moaning' after she said she'd 'not done one fun thing all summer' despite jetting off to multiple destinations.

She said in her vlog: 'I said to a friend the other day, that I'm going to make it to the end of summer having not done one fun thing.'

Now reports are claiming that the outburst has 'ruffled feathers' with her Irish Traveller in-laws

The couple are said to be used to the no-nonsense attitude of Molly-Mae's sister in law Paris Fury, pictured with husband Tyson, who has seven children

She then spoke to her sister and said: 'Zoe, I haven't socialised once. I'm going to get to the end of this summer having not done one social fun thing.

'I haven't a life. That's not good is it. Summer will end and I've not done one fun social thing.'

It left some fans open-mouthed as they called out how she failed to acknowledge the three holidays she's already been on this year.

Some comments read: 'She's a millionaire, she can literally wake up tomorrow and do whatever the hell she wants',

'Wimbledon, lunches, Spain, Dubai, France, Centre Parcs... let's normalise that',

'This was so jarring because she can casually spend 6k in Dior on an outfit to log to Wimbledon then complains she has no time for herself',

'Why does she always want us to feel sorry for her?'

The mum-of-one - in this year alone - has been on no-expense-spared trips to Dubai, Budapest and even Disneyland in 2025.

Back in March, she and Tommy Fury took baby Bambi on a family holiday to the United Arab Emirates, marking a reunion holiday for the clan.

Just a month later, Tommy had treated Molly to a European trip as the pair enjoyed downtime in Budapest.

During their break, they stayed at The Pullman, a five-star hotel where prices start from at least 500 per night.

Meanwhile, in May, the doting parents took Bambi to Disneyland Paris where they enjoyed a lavish stay at the park's resort.

It came after her candid complaints about a recent 86,000 motorhome holiday her family went on - after Tommy said their daughter Bambi shouldn't be spoilt with five star trips.

The family were travelling on a swanky Elddis Avalon 255 motorhome.

Yet Molly-Mae revealed the trip had been struck with delays, leaving Bambi 'overtired and overstimulated'.

She explained: 'Tommy has bought a motorhome and we spent our first weekend in the motorhome this weekend. Obviously, being us, we went in feet first and decided to go to the Isle of Man.

Last week, fans blasted the TV personality for 'always moaning' after she said she'd 'not done one fun thing all summer' despite jetting off to multiple destinations

'Tommy's family were spending the weekend in the Isle of Man. I was feeling spontaneous so we literally booked the ferry to the Isle of Man an hour before we needed to leave.

'We'd never used the motorhome before, we needed to pack it up, sort Bambi, I just had this wave of 'you only live once, have a bit of fun.

'Bambi doesn't need to be so perfectly routine every day, she's not a newborn anymore.

'I've got so stuck in my ways with the fact that her routine is her routine and I don't really steer away from it.

'I'm not gonna feel bad for that because that is what works for me and that is what works for Bambi and Tommy, so that's fine.'

She then added of when things started to go wrong: 'So anyway, booked the ferry, packed the motorhome up and nearly didn't make the ferry but that's another story and then there was a two hour delay.

'This ferry, which was already gonna get us in at 11:30pm, which was already severely triggering me because Bambi goes to bed at 7pm, was not fine. It was giving me a prime example as to why the routine works for us.

It left some fans open-mouthed as they called out how she failed to acknowledge the three holidays she's already been on this year

'It was one of those moments where strangers come up to you and are like 'can I help? Is there anything I can do?'

'She was screaming that much for four hours straight. The boat basically had a malfunction and it wouldn't move for like two hours so we had a huge delay.

'She was so, so, so overtired and overstimulated - Bambi is so routine, she is the opposite of flexible.'

And when they arrived things continued to go downhill, as she said: 'We managed to get to the Isle of Man at 1:30am in the morning.

'We didn't know where we were, what we were doing, we were going to a different campsite to Tommy's family. It was just a lot.

'We had to make our bed out of this sofa, I was like 'I'm really out of my depth, I'm struggling. The next day, Bambi was so tired, she was just screaming, literally screaming, so, so unhappy.
Channel Ten star Angela Bishop has paid a heartfelt tribute to late Australian actor David Argue, following his shock passing earlier this week.

In her heartfelt tribute, Angela, 57, reminisced about her unique encounter with Argue, revealing an unexpected connection forged on the set of his 1983 movie BMX Bandits.

'Sad to hear of the passing of David,' Angela began, before acknowledging his memorable performances across a celebrated career.

'Many will remember him from The Restless Years, Razorback, or for his great portrayal of Snowy in the 1981 movie Gallipoli.'

She then revealed her surprising connection to the iconic actor.

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Channel Ten star Angela Bishop has paid a heartfelt tribute to late Australian actor David Argue, following his shock passing earlier this week

'I'll always remember getting to watch him work when I was an extra on the set of BMX Bandits,' she wrote.

'You'll see a blurry shot of us outside the old Waterworks at Manly where we filmed. He was playing a classic baddie, and didnt mind having a bit of fun with it. Whatever role he played, he made sure it was memorable. Vale.'

Accompanying her tribute, she shared a sweet throwback photo from the early '80s, capturing a teenage Angela gazing in awe at David during the filming of BMX Bandits, starring a young Nicole Kidman.

The photo showcased David in character, embodying his trademark charisma even off-screen.

It follows the news that the legendary actor, best known for his roles in Gallipoli, BMX Bandits and Razorback, died at 65.

The Melbourne-born star passed away following a battle with cancer.

One of Australia's most recognisable character actors, David played the hapless criminal Whitey in the 1983 film BMX Bandits alongside Nicole Kidman.

Along with Moustache and The Boss, Whitey launches a plot to nab $1.5million in a payroll heist, kicking off the action in the Aussie blockbuster.

In her heartfelt tribute, Angela reminisced about her unique encounter with Argue, revealing an unexpected connection forged on the set of his 1983 movie BMX Bandits. Pictured

Angela told fans about her very surprising connection to the iconic actor, revealing she was an extra in BMX Bandits, the 1983 movie David starred in with Nicole Kidman

Following his studies at NIDA, David made his on-screen debut in 1977 as Sunny Martin in the Australian soap opera, The Restless Years.

He also had a career-defining role in the classic Australian WWI film Gallipoli, playing the laconic Snowy alongside stars Mel Gibson and Mark Lee.

Following his stint playing Nicole's antagonist, David took on many big screen roles including 1985's The Coca Cola Kid and the 1993 spoof Hercules Returns.

His other credits include Cop Shop, The Sullivans, Special Squad, Winners, Cluedo, Stark, Newlyweds, Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left, Correlli, and Water Rats.

Last year, he announced through a GoFundMe campaign that due to his health issues, including cancer, walking had become increasingly difficult for him.

He requested assistance to purchase a mobility scooter, describing himself as an, 'Icon, Legend Enemy to himself and Burden to his friends!'

The Victorian Actors Benevolent Trust was among those to pay tribute.

'David was a remarkably talented and much-loved actor,' their statement read.

'He had the rare gift of making any character he played utterly unique and totally believable. In recent years, as David's health declined, the VABT was able to provide much needed assistance and emotional support.

'In return, David had no hesitation in championing our work, most recently with a deeply personal and humorous reflection at our Trivia Fundraiser.

'We have lost a formidable talent and a dear friend. Vale.'
Cruz Beckham's girlfriend, Jackie Apostel, looked sensational in a blue bandeau bikini as she shared snaps from their luxury yacht holiday in the south of France.

The influencer, 30, took to her Instagram on Friday to give followers an insight into her life lately with the Beckhams.

And in one sizzling snap, she flaunted her jaw-dropping figure in the stylish bikini top, further accessorising the look with Victoria Beckham's perfume bottle necklace and an oversized hat.

Meanwhile, in another sweet holiday snap, Cruz could be seen cosying up to his love on a sun lounger as they both soaked up the sun.

Next, Jackie slipped into a stylish white ensemble as she posed up a storm in a lavish bathroom.

Flashing a glimpse of her toned midriff, Jackie looked incredible in a white crop top and matching trousers, featuring flared legs.

Cruz Beckham's girlfriend, Jackie Apostel, looked sensational in a blue bandeau bikini top as she shared a slew of holiday snaps

The influencer, 30, took to her Instagram on Friday to give followers an insight into her life lately and shared a loved-up snap of herself and Cruz lounging in the sun

The songwriter also shared with her followers a screenshot of her busy to-do list as well as several picturesque snaps of her latest holiday destinations.

The Instagram photo dump comes after Cruz took a hilarious swipe at his father, David Beckham, as he mimicked him once again in a pair of tight white pants, mirroring his dad's underwear campaign.

The youngest Beckham son stripped down to $550 (410) Prada Speedos during the family yacht trip around St Tropez on Wednesday, which seemed to be borrowed from his dad's wardrobe after he was spotted wearing them last year.

Poking fun at his father, Cruz playfully posed on the boat in a stance reminiscent of David's iconic BOSS underwear campaign, where he wore white briefs and slouched in a chair to show off his muscular frame.

Cruz captioned the shot: 'Spreadin em' [sic]

However, Cruz wasn't the only joker in the family, as his older brother Romeo, 22, savaged him with a cheeky response in his comments, writing 'Jesus', which sparked a wave of replies from fans who appeared to all think the same thing.

The family are holidaying together on their 16million yacht, Seven, off the coast of the French Riviera. The only child not present is their eldest, Brooklyn, 26.

The family were spotted having a whale of a time together on the boat on Wednesday, as Cruz kept his tight pants on for a spin around the bay on a wakeboard, showing off his skills before flaunting his musical talent on his guitar.

In one sizzling snap, she flaunted her jaw-dropping figure in the stylish bikini top, further accessorising the look with Victoria Beckham's perfume bottle necklace and an oversized hat

Next, Jackie slipped into a stylish white ensemble as she posed up a storm in a lavish bathroom

The songwriter also shared with her followers a screenshot of her busy to-do list as well as several picturesque snaps of her latest holiday destinations

He frolicked on the sun deck with his bikini-clad girlfriend Jackie before diving into the water.

Following his dip in the sea, he could be seen chatting with Romeo, who was also on the annual family holiday this week.

David and Victoria's estranged son, Brooklyn, is the only Beckham child not on the getaway, having spent the week before in the same location with his wife, Nicola Peltz, 30, and his in-laws.

The eldest Beckham son looked to be missing out on a fun-filled trip, as the other offspring made the most of their trip together.

Brooklyn has left the south of France to return to the U.S, where he was spotted looking glum on an outing in New York with his wife and mother-in-law, Claudia, on Tuesday.

He narrowly avoided a run-in with his family in France amid their ongoing feud, after both families were pictured in the same port just days apart.

The Instagram photo dump comes after Cruz took a hilarious swipe at his father, David Beckham, as he mimicked him once again in a pair of tight white pants, mirroring his dad's underwear campaign
Gary Busey has pleaded guilty to groping a woman at a 2022 horror movie convention in New Jersey.

Busey was accused of inappropriately touching two women's buttocks during a photo shoot at Monster Mania at the Doubletree Hotel in Camden on August 13, 2022 - and trying to unhook another victim's bra, allegedly asking that woman 'where she got them.'

Despite previously denying any wrongdoing, the Lethal Weapon actor, 81, admitted one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, saying the assault was 'not an accidental touching' during a virtual court appearance on Thursday, per Court TV. .

The court hearing saw Busey scolded by Judge Gwendolyn Blue for drinking a canned beverage on camera - before he appeared visibly confused over his plea.

When he was asked by Judge Blue: 'It is my understanding that you wish to plead guilty to a fourth degree criminal sexual contact today, is that correct?', Busey looked off camera and asked: 'Am I pleading guilty? No.'

He was instantly corrected by his legal team who called out 'yes!' with Busey saying: 'I am? Ok I am.'

Gary Busey has pleaded guilty to groping a woman at a 2022 horror movie convention in New Jersey - pictured 2018

Despite previously denying any wrongdoing , the Lethal Weapon actor, 81, admitted one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, saying the assault was 'not an accidental touching' during a virtual court appearance on Thursday, per Court TV

Oscar nominee Busey is pictured in Point Break with Keanu Reeves in 1991

Judge Blue responded: 'No, no, no that's not how it works' before clarifying Busey had spoken with his attorneys about the charge.

When asked again if he wanted to plead guilty, Busey said: 'Yeah.'

Asked whether he could hear Judge Blue, he said: 'I have hearing aids and they are working but they only go so high', later adding he could 'hear fine.'

He again said he wished to plead guilty after further confirmation from Judge Blue.

Busey's defense attorney Blair Zwillman had argued the indictment should be dismissed due to an alleged 'faulty investigation' and claiming the police failed to question certain witnesses.

Judge Blue denied the motion to dismiss.

Under a plea agreement, remaining charges against Busey - which included three additional counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact and one count of attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual contact - will be dismissed

Busey's sentencing will take place on September 18 via Zoom.

Busey was accused of inappropriately touching two women's buttocks during a photo shoot at Monster Mania at the Doubletree Hotel in Camden on August 13, 2022 - and trying to unhook another victim's bra - pictured being questioned by police at the event

Busey is pictured in a recent Instagram post

The court hearing saw Busey scolded by Judge Gwendolyn Blue for drinking a canned beverage on camera - before he appeared visibly confused over his plea

Oscar nominee Busey now faces one to five years of probation and must pay fines, he will also have a criminal record and be required to submit a DNA sample.

Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Gary Busey and has not heard back.

Days after he was charged in 2022, Busey accused the women of 'making up' claims he had groped them and said their encounter lasted 'less than ten seconds.'

'None of that happened,' Busey told paparazzi. 'There was my partner, a camera lady and me and two girls.

'It took less than ten seconds and then they left. Then they made up a story that I assaulted them sexually when I did not.'

'So the story's not true?' the photographer asked while Busey was pumping gas in Malibu. 'Nothing happened. It was all false. I was not inappropriate at all. I have eyewitnesses,' Busey maintained.

A police affidavit from 2022 says Busey asked detectives to apologize to two of his victims and talk them out of pressing charges.

It states that those two victims were taking pictures with Busey in a photoshoot area of the event when the actor 'placed his face near one of the victim's breasts and asked her where she got them, before attempting to unlatch her bra strap.'

The other woman claimed Busey grabbed her buttocks, along with a third victim who claimed the same thing, and who made her allegations later on.

Detectives said after they contacted Busey, he claimed 'that sometimes it is possible to accidentally touch someone in a specific body part.'

At the convention, Busey was said to be appearing alongside other actors including Ralph Macchio, Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright.

A lawyer for the convention, Nikitas Moustakas, said the convention company was 'assisting authorities in their investigation into an alleged incident involving attendees and a celebrity guest at its convention.'

'Immediately upon receiving a complaint from the attendees, the celebrity guest was removed from the convention and instructed not to return,' he said.

Busey was advertised as a featured guest at the Monster Mania Convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey

The New Jersey convention posted on Facebook that it was assisting authorities in their investigation into the claims of attendees

Just a few days after the convention in 2022, Busey was pictured with his pants around his ankles and his hands buried in his crotch

'Monster-Mania also encouraged the attendees to contact the police to file a report. The safety and well-being of all our attendees is of the utmost importance to Monster-Mania, and the company will not tolerate any behavior that could compromise those values.'

Just a few days later, Busey was later caught with his pants down as he sat on a Malibu bench with his hand between his legs.

The actor's spokesman has claimed that the actor maybe needed to relieve himself, which was why he was caught on camera with his pants around his ankles, his hands buried in his crotch.

'Gary often sits on the bench in front of his home to meditate and look at the ocean,' said a spokesperson for Busey on Tuesday.

They told Page Six: 'Our only guess is that perhaps at his age, he realized he couldn't get to the bathroom in time which explains what happened in the video of him on the bench.'

His representative also said Busey was on private property, but he was in full view of the public, wearing a shirt that referenced the 1991 Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves film Point Break, in which he had a supporting role.

The actor was filmed making his way to a bench at the lookout point, where he sat down, pulled out his phone, and then pulled down his pants.

He then stuck one hand down the front of his pants, appeared to clench his jaw, and then looked around to make sure no bystanders had caught him in the lewd act.

Busey is widely known as a character actor, largely in supporting roles, though he came to attention and was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for playing the title role in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story.

His various acting credits include Point Break, Under Siege, Rookie of the Year, Lethal Weapon, and Predator 2.

Busey is married to Steffanie Sampson. The couple has been together since 2006 and got hitched in 2008. They share one son.

Busey also has two children from previous relationships.

His son said that a 1988 motorbike crash significantly altered his father.

He suffered severe damage to the frontal lobe of his brain as a result of the crash, which made him 'more impulsive and prone to anger and delusions of grandeur,' according to a 2019 Hollywood Reporter profile.

'He was a vegetable in a wheelchair staring at the wall,' said Jake.

'At 17, I had to teach him with my mom to talk, to eat, to feed himself. To walk again. To write. That was very difficult for me at that age.'

He added: 'The post-accident version of him turned his personality up to 11.

'I feel like I lost my dad on December 4, 1988.'

The Hollywood Reporter profile detailed his lack of filter, following the accident.

They reported that while being photographed for the magazine, he asked a slim male photo assistant: 'Did you used to be a woman? You came out great.'

He then told a female hairstylist: 'If you're not having fun, I have something for you to have fun: I'll tickle you till you pee.'

Busey previously faced drug charges in 1995 when authorities found cocaine during a search of his Malibu home.

He was charged with one count of cocaine possession and three counts of possession of marijuana, possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms, and being under the influence of cocaine.

In the past, he has also been arrested on charges of spousal abuse.

In 2011, during a season of Celebrity Apprentice, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female employee of the show.

The actor is perhaps best known for his role in the 1978 film The Buddy Holly Story

Busey is pictured raising a weapon in a scene from the film Hider in the House in 1989

'We were smoking cigarettes outside, and Busey was standing next to me,' an employee told the Daily Beast in 2016.

'And then at one point, he grabbed me firmly between my legs, and ran his hand up my stomach, and grabbed my breasts.

'I didn't know what to do.

'So I made this joke that, 'Oh, I've never been sexually harassed by a celebrity before!'

'Then he grabbed my hand and put it [over] his penis, and said, like, 'I'm just getting started, baby.'
Julianne Moore enjoyed a dip in the ocean during a family vacation in Grosseto, Italy on Friday.

The Oscar winner, 64, showcased her shapely legs while protecting her fair skin from the sun in a black long sleeve one-piece bathing suit.

The Echo Valley star hid her bobbed auburn hair beneath a straw bucket hat and appeared to be makeup-free behind her dark sunglasses.

Moore was joined by her husband, Bart Freundlich, 55, who looked fit in a pair of black swimming trunks, and their daughter Liv, 23.

The young talent agency assistant showcased her curves in a gold bikini with a bandeau top and a string bottom.

Her long reddish-brown hair was pushed away from her face by her sunglasses.

Julianne Moore, 64, showcased her shapely legs while while enjoying a family outing in Grosseto, Italy on Friday

Moore was seen enjoying a float in the sapphire blue waters.

She was soon joined by Freundlich, who lay behind her on the flotation device.

The couple first met on the set of 1997's The Myth of Fingerprints and quickly fell in love.

They welcomed their son Caleb, now 27, in December 1997. Moore and Freundlich married in 2003.

Caleb, a musician who teaches composition, was not seen with his family on the outing.

A while later, mom, dad and daughter were seen splashing together in the warm ocean.

Liv used a bright green noodle to float while chatting with her parents.

Freundlich appeared to be the family photographer, using his skills as a cameraman and director to take some snaps of their outing.

The actress enjoyed a dip in the ocean while protecting her fair skin with a long sleeve black one piece bathing suit. She protected her face and auburn locks with a bucket hat

The Oscar winner was joined by her husband Bart Freundlich, 55, and their daughter Liv, 23

Freundlich, 55, looked fit in a pair of black swimming trunks

Liv, who works as a talent agency assistant, showcased her curves in a gold bikini with a bandeau top and a string bottom. Her long reddish-brown hair was pushed away from her makeup-free face

The Far From Heaven star posed for a photo before heading down to the water, wearing her bathing suit with a pair of black palazzo pants.

Liv covered up in a pair of white overalls and her own straw hat.

The director later took a few snaps on his phone by the water as his wife looked at the waves.

Moore recently completed work on the thriller Control with James McAvoy and Jenna Coleman.

According to Deadline, she stars as a 'pivotal character' in the drama about a doctor who questions his reality after waking up one morning to the sound of a mysterious voice in his head.

Moore was seen enjoying a float in the sapphire blue waters with Freundlich lounging behind her

Moore and her husband of will celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary in August. They first met on 1997's The Myth of Fingerprints and have been going strong since

A while later, all three were seen splashing in the warm ocean Liv used a bright green noodle to float in the ocean

The movie is expected to be released later this year.

She has also signed on to star in an as-yet unnamed musical comedy directed by Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg.

Not much is known about the plot, but Moore will play a 'shy woman who is unexpectedly cast in a community theater musical production, going to extremes as she loses herself in the role,' according to the log line.

Paul Giamatti and Bernadette Peters will co-star.

Freundlich used his skills as a cameraman and director to take some snaps of his wife and daughter before heading out on their outing.

He later took a few snaps on his phone by the water as Moore looked at the waves

Earlier this year, Moore's children's book Freckle Face Strawberry was banned from schools serving the children of US military personnel and civilian defense employees.

The actress, who grew up as the daughter of an military attorney who later became a military judge, said in an Instagram post in February, the move came as 'quite a shock.'

'I cant help but wonder what is so controversial about this picture book that cause it to be banned by the US Government,' the 'proud' Frankfurt American High School graduate wrote.

'I am truly saddened and never thought I would see this in a country where freedom of speech and expression is a constitutional right.'
Padma Lakshmi was seen in a skimpy hot pink bikini in an Instagram post shared on Thursday.

The fashion model turned master chef was enjoying a sun-drenched day by the beach when she let her hair down.

The TV star noted she was enjoying a summer break in The Hamptons, which is not far from New York City.

She is best known for hosting Bravo's Top Chef from 2006 until 2023. Lakshmi has also hosted the Italian program Dominica In.

And the Indian goddess is a New York Times best-selling author who's written cookbooks like Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet and The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs.

Padma Lakshmi was seen in a skimpy hot pink bikini in an Instagram post shared on Thursday

This comes after she talked about her changing body when launching her Padma X Bare Necessities line last year.

'I know that womens bodies change and have different needs,' said the former Vogue cover girl.

'I hope this collection makes you not only look good but feel good,' she noted. 'I hope that my selection is versatile and makes women feel not only like they have something pretty and special on, but that its functional.'

Her body has changed in recent years as she has gone from a 34C bra size to a 36DD. And she has also said her hips got wider.

Now she wants to serve 'a variety of customers' of all body types.

'Ive always wanted to do a lingerie line,' the TV star - who talked about her 'sexual peak' recently - shared.

And she wants voluptuous women to feel safe. 'I hope that everybody enjoys the lingerie, but I designed it for women who might be a little more well-endowed,' she noted.

The ex of author Salman Rushdie has embraced the changes to her body since she crossed 50.

The fashion model turned master chef was enjoying a sun-drenched day by the beach when she let her hair down. The TV star noted she was enjoying a summer break in The Hamptons

Her only note in her caption was a sun emoji as she worked on her tan

'As I have aged, Ive found that my breasts have gotten bigger, and if you have a bigger bust, often you dont get enough coverage,' the Taste The Nation star added.

The star noted that she recently went from a 34C bra size to 36DD, which she said she 'wasn't prepared for.'

'So, I wanted something that would look pretty, but give the support that a woman with a larger bust needs, without looking matronly. We also have things like a beautiful bikini that look great on women with smaller busts.'

Turns out there is more of Padma to love.

'As Ive aged, Ive needed more support; my breasts have gotten bigger, and my hips have gotten curvier,' said the siren.

'And I prize comfort more than I used to. When I was young, I didnt mind wearing uncomfortable things to look good, but now Im not willing to do that as easily. '

The lingerie has 'rich textures, intricate prints and mix of influences shes gathered across the globe,' said a press release.

The star also posed with her little Chihuahua. She's best known for hosting Bravo's Top Chef from 2006 until 2023

Lakshmi has also hosted the Italian program Dominica In. She's a New York Times best-selling author who's written cookbooks like Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet and The Encyclopedia of Spices & Herbs

There are supportive bras and swimsuits as well as loungewear and coverups.

'I think putting on a nice piece of lingerie can be a mood-lifter,' she also said.

'Even if youre in jeans and a T-shirt, it can make you feel dressed up on the inside.

'Wearing lingerie is a way of caring for yourself thats very private, and thats also what I love about it. Its just for you, and those you wish to share it with, of course.'

The line is more than bras, however.

'I wanted to try my hand at a few different garments, and these items seemed like a good place to start. Its a humble capsule offering of the things that I think every woman needs: a couple of bathing suits, a bodysuit, a corset, bras, some pants to lounge in, a coverup to throw on over said bra and a stretchy, long dress to hang out in thats cozy but shapely.

'Pretty, delicate sky blue lace makes for a heavenly matched bra and panty set.

Last year Lakshmi was seen in a pink lingerie set from her Padma X Bare Necessities line

And then she turned to her side, making her butt the focus of the frame. The Top Chef veteran also spoke with Daily Mail about her body

One of Padmas personal favorite pieces is this zip-up rashguard.

'One of my favorite pieces is the zip-up rashguard with the mesh panels. When youre going to the beach, you have to put on sunblock, but its such a pain, especially if youre a mom or you have a lot to do. This bathing suit is one-piece, with long sleeves for more coverage.

'Its a very utilitarian suit that also looks sporty, sexy and chic in a Bond Girl way, but without being too revealing. If you wanted to be more modest, it would be a good thing to wear.

And she kept the American woman in mind when designing.

'I dont pretend that my tastes are always mainstream, so it was important for me not only to design for myself but for other women, too,' said Padma.
Blake Lively arrived for her deposition in New York yesterday with the full 'Team Blake'  her sister and best friend Robyn, husband Ryan Reynolds and EIGHT lawyers.

The actress, who is 37, gave evidence under oath as she prepares for a legal showdown with one-time co-star Justin Baldoni, who she says sexually harassed her while they were making the film This Ends With Us. She also claims that his PR team then smeared her online.

There was no sign of one-time bestie Taylor Swift and it's thought that the two women have not spoken in months, with Swift appalled at being dragged into the legal mess and angry over being asked to surrender text messages with Blake.

They were very close with the pop star confirmed as godmother to three of her four children, and Swift was referred to in a message to Baldoni as one of her 'dragons'. In the message she said that Swift and her husband Reynolds could help her to steer the creative direction of the movie.

A source close to the deposition says that her older half sister Robyn, and actress, and Deadpool husband Ryan Reynolds were with her when she came into the building.

They were not with her in the room when she gave evidence over the course of a long day.

She wore black jeans, a black waistcoat and a pale blue fluffy cardigan for the examination, by Baldoni's feared lawyer Bryan Freedman.

Witnesses in the building say Blake 'cut a confident figure' as she entered the offices of her lawyers, Wilkie Farr Gallagher in the AXA building on 7th Avenue.

Blake Lively arrived for her deposition in New York yesterday with the full 'Team Blake'  her sister and best friend Robyn, husband Ryan Reynolds and eight lawyers (Blake pictured with her husband Ryan Reynolds in May this year)

There was no sign of one-time bestie Taylor Swift (pictured with Lively in Las Vegas last year) and it's thought that the two women have not spoken in months

Justin Baldoni (pictured) and his business partner Jamie Heath were shut away with Blake and her legal team as she gave an account of events which led to her filing a lawsuit in December last year

Baldoni, his business partner Jamie Heath and others were shut away with Blake and her legal team all day as she gave her own account of events which led up to her filing a lawsuit against Baldoni in December last year.

The mother-of-four had claimed Baldoni, 41, was able to nuzzle her neck and comment on the way she smelled without anyone else on set hearing because their microphones were switched off.

But footage which later emerged seemed to prove the opposite: not only were the microphones on, but the pair had spent most of the scene happily chatting about their respective spouses.

Lively's claims Baldoni orchestrated a negative media campaign against her have also been called into question thanks to her reliance on what his team have described as 'doctored' texts.

The mother-of-four had claimed Baldoni, 41, was able to nuzzle her neck and comment on the way she smelled without anyone else on set hearing because their microphones were switched off 9(pictured)

Documents filed by Baldoni claim that the texts between his publicists Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, had been edited to remove context and were incomplete.

Earlier this year a New York judge tossed the actress's emotional distress claim after she refused to release her medical records to Baldoni's team.

However last month Lively claimed total 'vindication' after the judge sensationally tossed almost all of Justin Baldoni's $400m countersuit against the actress and her husband Ryan Reynolds.

There will be further depositions before the case comes to trial in March next year.

Lively's lawyers have subpoenaed 107 content creators who have circulated negative stories about her in what they say was a co-ordinated campaign. The creators say that the content arose organically due to Lively's behaviour on the press tour for the film, and behaviour on previous publicity tours which had given her a reputation for 'mean girl' behaviour.
Good Morning Britain's Adil Ray has recalled he once went to dinner with a very unlikely Hollywood A-lister whose 12 years his junior.

The TV presenter, 51, was joined by Melvin Odoom, 45, and Kate Garraway, 58, on show as they discussed the upcoming movie Freakier Friday, slated for release on August 8.

But as they chatted about the new flick, which stars Jamie Lee Curtis, 66, and actress Lindsay Lohan, 39, Melvin smirked when the Parent Trap star's name was mentioned.

Alluding to a conversation had off-air, Melvin prompted Adil to reveal his connection to leading actress Lindsay after Adil admitted to going for dinner with her.

'Adil, you know Lindsay, right? Are you best mates?,' Melvin said.

'When I say things off air, you're not supposed to repeat them,' quipped Adil. 'I had dinner with Lindsay, me and Lindsay had dinner together. She's lovely.'

Good Morning Britain's Adil Ray reveals he went to dinner with a very unlikely Hollywood A-lister whose 12 years younger

The TV presenter, 51, was joined by Melvin Odoom, 45, and Kate Garraway, 58, on show as they discussed the upcoming movie Freakier Friday - which is set to be released next week

To which Kate said: 'WHAT?! Stop, how did this happen, where were you?'

'Did you slide in the DM's?,' Melvin joked but Adil quickly clarified: 'It wasn't a date before, you know, it wasn't a date.'

'We had mutual friends and we all went out for dinner,' Adil explained. 'She came along, we sat next to each other and we had a lovely evening. She's absolutely adorable, she's a fantastic human.

'Really smart, really intelligent and really well lived. Just great, great to hang out with. Me and Lindz.'

Melvin then changed the topic back to the highly-anticipated release Freakier Friday, though the presenters had far from let the Lindsay news go.

'Will you be watching that, Freakier Friday,' Melvin said to his co-stars.

'I loved the original so yeah, I'll definitely be watching it,' Kate responded. 'And I'll be thinking of the dinner and what might have been.'

Adil ended the segment by saying: 'Lindsay, if you're watching, do get in touch.'

Alluding to a conversation had off air, Melvin prompted Adil to reveal his connection to leading actress Lindsay after Adil admitted to going for dinner with her

Freakier Friday - a sequel to the 2003 film - sees Lindsay and Jamie embroiled in quadruple chaos as they swap bodies again - 22 years after they first traded places.

Lindsay was just 15 years old when she first portrayed Anna Coleman in Freaky Friday alongside Jamie Lee, who played her on-screen mother Tess Coleman.

It follows the bickering mother and daughter after a Chinese restaurant fortune cookie mishap causes them to switch bodies, forcing them to live the other's life.

Despite barely having been able to see eye-to-eye, the magical switch eventually allows them to see things from the other's point of view.

The sequel will see the iconic pairing switch places once again, though this time there is quadruple chaos in store.

Anna (Lindsay) is preparing to tie the knot with to Eric Davies (Manny Jacinto), but things are proving difficult as her teenage daughter Harper (Julia Butters) despises Eric's teenager Lily (Sophia Hammons).

Harper highlights her disgust as she's heard reciting mock wedding vows, in which she brands her soon-to-be step-sister 'a little demon thing with an obnoxious accent'.

A flash forward to Anna's bachelorette party sees her and mother Tess Coleman sit down with a fortune teller (Vanessa Bayer), who warns them they may learn another lesson by 'walking in each others paths'.

Fans had an agonising wait for a sequel as Freakier Friday is only now hitting cinemas 22 years later

Anna and Tess then find themselves caught up in yet another 'freaky' body swap incident - only this time, it's not just between the two of them.

The next morning, Anna discovers she's swapped bodies with daughter Harper, while Tess, aka 'Grandma', is now in the body of Anna's step-daughter Lily.

Quadruple chaos then ensues as the foursome try to navigate their new roles with just days to go until the wedding.

Chad Michael Murray is also returning to his role as Jake as the two teenage girls also hatch a plot to try and get Anna to reunite with her first love amid the wedding chaos.
Kylie Jenner modeled a pink workout suit in her home in Hidden Hills, California on Thursday.

The next day, her older supermodel sister Kendall Jenner had on a black-and-white workout suit only she was seen getting out of her Porsche convertible.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians veterans were both modeling for the Los Angeles based workout attire brand Alo.

Fans noticed the similarities and made comments. 'Kylie did Alo now Kendall, that is total sibling rivalry,' said one fan who left a heart emoji.

Another shared: 'U and Kendall both [heart emoji]!!! @alo all summer long.'

Then there was this: 'I think Kylie did it better because she showed more ta-tas!'

While Kylie liked Kendall's post, Kendall has yet to like Kylie's post. Kylie's post received 1.9M likes while Kendall's got 1.7M likes.

Kylie Jenner modeled a pink workout suit in her home in Hidden Hills, California on Thursday. The next day, her older supermodel sister Kendall Jenner had on a black-and-white workout suit only she was seen getting out of her Porsche convertible

This comes after Kylie shared details of her breast enlargement surgery.

The 27-year-old beauty has revealed specific details about her surgery, after being asked a series of questions by a TikTok follower.

Rachel Leary, the follower, said to Kylie on the video-sharing app: 'You have got what I am looking for to have done, in terms of like, a boob job.

'It's like the most perfect natural looking boob job ever. They're still big, but whatever way you had the implants  if they are implants or if you had fat transfer  to me, it is perfection.

'That is what I aspire mine to look like  I don't expect you to share who did the work  but in terms of what you actually had done, I feel like you've been quite open about having your boobs done ... '

In her caption, Rachel said: 'Help a girl out @Kylie Jenner [crying emoji] i just want to know how to get them to sit like that, respectfully [prayer and crying emojis] #fyp #foryou #kyliejenner #surgery. (sic)'

In response, Kylie shared: '445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle!!!!! Silicone!!! (sic)'

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians veterans were both modeling for the Los Angeles based workout attire brand Alo

Fans noticed the similarities and made comments. 'Kylie did Alo now Kendall, that is total sibling rivalry,' said one fan who left a heart emoji

Another shared: 'U and Kendall both [heart emoji]!!! @alo all summer long'

Then there was this: 'I think Kylie did it better because she showed more ta-tas!'

Kylie even named Garth Fisher as her surgeon.

The brunette beauty - who is dating actor Timothee Chalamet - added: 'Hope this helps lol (sic)'

Rachel subsequently thanked Kylie for being so honest with her on TikTok.

She said: 'KYLIEEEEE!!! you are the best THANK YOU [crying emoji] !!!! (sic)'

Kylie previously confessed that she got her 'breasts done' before giving birth to Stormi, her seven-year-old daughter.

Speaking on an episode of 'The Kardashians' in 2023, Kylie shared: 'I got my breasts done before Stormi, not thinking I would have a child when I was 20. Like, they were still healing.'

However, the make-up mogul later suggested that she regretted the decision.

Kylie - who also has Aire, three, with her ex-boyfriend Travis Scott - said: 'I had beautiful breasts, like natural t***. Just gorgeous. Perfect size, perfect everything.

While Kylie liked Kendall's post, Kendall has yet to like Kylie's post

Breaking down the numbers: Kylie's post received 1.9M likes while Kendall's got 1.7M likes

Jenner had on a black bra top with a white one underneath as she added matching micro shorts

'I just wish obviously I never got them done to begin with. I would recommend anyone who is thinking about it to wait until after children.'

Kylie also said she taught her daughter Stormi Webster she is the 'most beautiful' without makeup.

The star was filming a makeup video with her daughter during their vacation in Greece, in which they were using Kylie Cosmetics products.

In the TikTok clip, Kylie reveals the important lesson she taught Stormi about her natural beauty.

During the video, Kylie said to Stormi: 'Mommy always tells you, though, you're the most beautiful without ', as Stormi completed the sentence with: 'makeup'.

Kylie gleefully replied: 'Yes!'

The Kardashians star captioned the video: 'Our first GRWM together we always make vids together for fun and i never post them but this was just tooooo cute (sic).'

Kylie - who also has son Aire, three, with Travis - opened the clip showing off her natural features while wearing a plush cream robe.

Kylie playfully said: 'It's Stormi!', jokingly switching out their names, after her daughter introduced herself as Kylie.

Kylie continued: 'We're gonna do our first-ever makeup tutorial together', and revealed that they were going to start with the Kylie Cosmetics Lip Butter.

After smacking her lips, Stormi remarked: 'Really glossy!'

As Kylie applied her foundation, Stormi moved on to the blush. The proud mum explained how much her daughter enjoys playing with beauty products.

Her nails were a pale pink and she had on mini hoop 'huggie' earrings

It is not known if the Porsche is one of Kendall's very own cars or a prop

A maroon clip was in Jenner's hair as she looked down at her brown purse

Kendall, Timothee Chalamet, and Kylie at a game between the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in May 12 in New York City

She said: 'Stormi likes to play with my makeup sometimes, but obviously, she doesn't wear makeup yet.'

The pair then applied mascara and added concealer.

Stormi also reflected on their luxurious getaway, and shared: 'We are in Greece. I love the boat that we were on. I love the food. I love the water. The water's so warm.'

Kylie asked if she liked 'having sleepovers with Mommy every night,' and Stormi replied: 'yes.'

Stormi went on to demonstrate how she applies 'mommy's dewy balm', to which Kylie laughed and responded: 'You're so cute.'

They both applied blush next, Kylie chose a mix of Summer Sorbet and Ladybug, while Stormi picked Cheeky Mood.

The video wrapped with Kylie applying her lip liner, as Stormi quipped: 'Now, we're just waiting for Mommy to finish!'
Steven Knight has been signed up to write the latest James Bond movie, Amazon MGM Studios have confirmed.

The British screenwriter, 65, is perhaps best known as the creator of the hugely popular BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy.

And now he's set to lend his talents to the long-running spy franchise by penning the script for the newest 007 film, with Steven revealing that it has always been on his 'bucket list'.

The latest Bond film is currently in development and is to be directed by Dune's Denis Villeneuve, with Amazon MGM Studios overseeing the project after longtime producer Barbara Broccoli gave up creative control.

Meanwhile, Amy Pascal and David Heyman are on board to produce the movie via Pascal Pictures and Heyday Films respectively, while Tanya Lapointe will serve as executive producer.

Speaking about his involvement in the film, Steven told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: 'It has always been on my bucket list and it's fantastic to be invited to do it - I can't wait to get started.

Steven Knight [pictured in February] is set to write the latest James Bond movie, Amazon MGM Studios have confirmed

He's set to lend his talents to the long-running spy franchise by penning the script for the newest 007 film, with Steven revealing that it has always been on his 'bucket list'

The latest Bond film is currently in development and is to be directed by Dune's Denis Villeneuve, with Amazon MGM Studios overseeing the project after longtime producer Barbara Broccoli gave up creative control

'I'm hoping that, being a Bond fan for so many years, it will be imbued into me and I will be able to produce something that's the same but different, and better, stronger and bolder.'

However, Steven failed to give any inclination about who will replace Daniel Craig in the titular role.

The actor, 57, stepped down from the iconic spy role after 2021's No Time To Die, having starred in five of the films over a 15 year period.

A number of actors have been tipped to step into his shoes, with stars including Taron Egerton, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Paul Mescal and Theo James thrown into the mix.

When pressed on who could be the new Bond, he responded: 'That is a very, very good question, and one I can't give you the answer to'.

The last outing for James Bond was 2021's No Time to Die, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Cary Joji Fukunaga on the writing team.

Speaking of the selection process for the latest film, Steven shared: 'I was invited to a meeting with [producer] Amy Pascal, didn't know what it was about, and very quickly discovered what it was about and became very, very excited and hopeful.

'And then a process is followed where you do some meetings, you discuss some ideas, and then you find out you've got it.

The British screenwriter, 65, is perhaps best known as the creator of the hugely popular BBC crime drama Peaky Blinders starring Cillian Murphy [pictured]

Speaking about his involvement in the film, Steven told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast : 'It has always been on my bucket list and it's fantastic to be invited to do it - I can't wait to get started'

However, Steven failed to give any inclination about who will replace Daniel Craig [pictured] in the titular role

'So I found out a while ago but it was announced last night, which is great.'

He added that it was a 'high pressure' job, before noting: 'you've just got to do what you do, do it as well as you can'.

It comes after Taron Egerton responded to speculation that he could be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig's exit.

Many A-list names have been thrown into the ring during the months of speculation about who will play 007 next following Amazon's takeover of the franchise.

Rocketman star Taron, 35, has been rumoured to be in the running to be Bond as far back as 2019, with Sir Roger Moore's son Geoffrey even backing him for the role.

However, Taron has now dashed fans' hopes as he poured cold water on the idea, insisting he is too 'messy' to play the suave secret agent.

It comes after Taron Egerton (pictured in Kingsman) responded to speculation that he could be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig 's exit - insisting he thinks he is too 'messy' for the role'

'I don't think I'm a good choice for it, I think I'm too messy for that,' he told Collider.

'I really love James Bond and particularly Daniel Craig's tenure, but I think I wouldn't be good at it.

'I think there's so many cool, younger actors who would be great for it, I think it would be wasted on me, probably.'

Taron also acknowledged that taking on the Bond mantel is quite an undertaking and insisted nobody has actually approached him about the role.

But he didn't rule out taking on another major commercial project as he revealed he wouldn't turn down a different opportunity, though remained coy about what that might be.
Rebecca Loos and Michaella McCollum were both thrust into the public eye through their notoriety. But have they been underestimated?

They got the chance to find out in the brutal, muddy, no-make-up, no-privacy battleground of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, when they confronted the ghosts of their pasts to prove just how formidable they really are.

The toughest series of the year so far was filmed in Wales last summer and sees them, along with 12 other contestants including dancer Louie Spence, boxer Connor Benn and Love Islanders Chloe Burrows and Tasha Ghouri, diving into icy waters, running with 15kg packs and having orders barked at them by ex-Special Forces officers.

For Rebecca, once famous for her alleged affair with David Beckham, the show proved a turning point.

For Michaella, who made headlines as one of the Peru Two drug smugglers, its a tale of reinvention. For both it was a lesson in managing anxiety and pushing beyond their self-doubt.

Rebecca, who was branded the sleazy senorita and accused of destroying a golden marriage, found herself in the eye of a media storm following her alleged affair with Beckham when she worked with him in Madrid in the early 2000s.

Rebecca Loos and Michaella McCollum were both thrust into the public eye through their notoriety. But have they been underestimated?

For Rebecca, once famous for her alleged affair with David Beckham the show proved a turning point

Now more than two decades later shes back on British screens  older and wiser. I wouldnt say the media have been kind in how theyve portrayed me, she says. Ive been accused of being a liar and a slut.

Now 48, Rebecca lives in Norway with her husband and their two sons, but taking part in Celebrity SAS plunged her right back into the spotlight, as well as into the deep end of physical endurance.

Youre stripped down. No make-up. No distractions. Just yourself and your thoughts, she says.

Rebecca leaned on the breathing techniques shes learned as a yoga teacher to cope, especially with the sleep deprivation that she describes as her greatest trial.

I hardly slept. And going through perimenopause was emotionally, mentally and hormonally very hard.

But perhaps the most poignant aspect of her SAS journey is that it came on the heels of Beckhams glossy Netflix documentary.

That took me completely by surprise, she says. Lets call it what it was: him trying to portray an image of perfection that was nothing like reality.

'I look back at my 20s and it felt unjust that my life was hell and his career and his life just kept blossoming. That didnt feel right. It still doesnt.

found herself in the eye of a media storm following her alleged affair with Beckham when she worked with him in Madrid in the early 2000s (David and Victoria pictured in June)

For Michaella, who made headlines as one of the Peru Two drug smugglers, its a tale of reinvention. For both it was a lesson in managing anxiety and pushing beyond their self-doubt

Michaella, 32, was the poster girl for bad decisions when, in 2013, she was sentenced to six years for agreeing to be a drugs mule and trying to smuggle 1.5 million of cocaine out of Lima

She doesnt deny her part in the scandal. I think Ive definitely taken most of the blame  rightly so. It was part of my life. He was older than me, he was my boss.'

'But Im not someone to be silenced when Ive been wronged, and that documentary took absolutely no responsibility. When he said, It was so horrible to see my wife suffer, I thought, Mate, think twice about the things you do.

Does she harbour any bitterness? I just roll my sleeves up and get on with it because everything Ive experienced has brought me to where I am today. And its made me a little bit stronger. Celebrity SAS showed me what Im still capable of.

Michaella, 32, was the ultimate poster girl for bad decisions when, in 2013, she was sentenced to six years for agreeing to be a drugs mule and trying to smuggle 1.5 million of cocaine out of Lima with another girl, Melissa Reid.

Today shes a mother and author working in luxury real estate in the UK. But more than that  shes a survivor.

At 19, I was naive, groomed, manipulated. But I know who I am now, she says. I needed a shift in my life. I kept saying no to work, to relationships. I was stuck. And I thought, If I say yes to this, maybe I can break the cycle.

When she was chosen she couldnt swim and had just four weeks to learn. Then on day one on the show, she was thrown in the sea. I started sinking. The boots dragged me down, it was terrifying.

From there it only got tougher: running 2km up hills with 15kg on her back, sleeping two hours a night, physical exhaustion layered over trauma. There were moments when I thought my legs wouldnt work. But somehow you push through. You realise mental strength is everything.

Michaellas no stranger to adversity after her time in Peruvian prison Ancon 2. But it gave her the grit to cope with SAS.

The living conditions on the show were difficult but for me it was fine. Both regimes are hostile, both strip you bare, but this time I knew when it would end and that made all the difference.

Celebrity SAS helped me see what Im made of. It taught me I can bond with other people. It made me change where I live, change my job and the people Im surrounded by. It had such a massive effect on my life.

Now 48, Rebecca lives in Norway with her husband and their two sons, but taking part in the show plunged her back into the spotlight, as well as into the deep end of physical endurance

I just roll my sleeves up and get on with it because everything Ive experienced has brought me to where I am today. And its made me a little bit stronger,' she said

Both women have shown that strength isnt about push-ups. Its about showing up  again and again  for yourself. Thats a good metaphor for life  youre going to get knocked down so many times but youve got to keep getting up, says Michaella.

Michaella spent almost three years in the notorious Ancon 2 jail. One woman hung herself in front of me, she recalls.

Thats something that never leaves you. There were rats running around our room, maggots in the rice and cockroaches in the showers.

You had to use buckets to wash yourself, the toilets didnt flush and there were no toilet seats. You had to learn to adapt. Then there was the constant screaming day and night.

'You could be attacked at any moment. Ive seen women set on fire. Ive seen women stabbed. Ive seen women overdose and die. Youre in a cell with 40 women, some of them have mental health issues, some are dangerous  you dont sleep properly, ever.

Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will be available to stream or watch live every Sunday and Monday at 9pm on Channel 4, from August 3
Mickey Madden's wife, Catherine 'Kate' Blair Bowman, has been spotted for the first time since she filed a restraining order against the former bassist for Maroon 5.

Bowman accused Madden of attacking her when she accused him of sexting teenagers.

She had a somber expression on her face as she stepped out of the Los Angeles home she once shared with the bassist on Thursday.

The 37-year-old wore a fitted, white polo shirt paired with gray shorts, black leather ballet flats and a Chateau Marmont x Gucci bag on her shoulder as she walked to her car.

This sighting comes just as Madden's former bandmate Adam Levine performed on the Today show in NYC.

Mickey Madden's wife, Catherine 'Kate' Blair Bowman, was spotted for the first time since she filed a restraining order against the former bassist for Maroon 5

On Friday, Levine was in New York City, performing in Rockefeller Plaza alongside the rest of his bandmates.

He looked effortlessly stylish in a denim jacket, which he wore open to showcase his bare, tattooed chest.

He paired the outerwear with blue slacks and a brown, leather belt to complete his look as he and his band members performed some of their most popular hits.

Currently, Maroon 5 consists of Levine as vocalist and frontman alongside rhythm guitarist-keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton as well as bassist Sam Farrar.

Late last month, Bowman filed a restraining order against Madden, accusing him of domestic violence. In legal documents, she claimed that she had confronted him about him texting teenage girls before he started getting physically violent.

'He physically abused me,' Bowman said in court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, in regard to a series of events which unfolded on July 21. 'I'm now terrified of him.'

Bowman said the bass player went 'insane' after she asked him about the alleged messages with the teenage girls, which allegedly centered around a rape fantasy.

Madden's now-estranged wife seemed to have a somber expression on her face as she stepped out of the home she once shared with the bassist

He previously took a leave from the band following an arrest for alleged domestic violence. At the time, he was not married and the identity of the alleged victim was not revealed. He has been married to Bowman for over four years; pictured November 2022 in West Hollywood

She put on a casual-chic display in a fitted, white polo shirt paired with gray shorts. She kept a low profile as she presumably walked to her car for a solo outing

He was a bassist and a part of Maroon 5 until his departure in July 2000; pictured from left to right: Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, Adam Levine, PJ Morton, James Valentine, Carson Daly and Willie Geist in September 2014 in New York City

Madden went 'insane' when Bowman asked him about the situation, Bowman told the court, grabbing her arms and slamming her body against a kitchen counter.

'He pulled me to the ground and was out of his mind,' Bowman told the court in her filing.

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for the band, and an Instagram account Mickey Madden appears to run, for further comment on the story.

Bowman described her efforts to flee the dangerous situation in her court filing.

'I managed to move around and escape him, got up, and ran out of the house to escape him,' she said.

She continued: 'He ran after me in his underwear and barefoot, caught up to me, shoved me against the gate, and then tried to grab me back to the house.'

Bowman said that she 'managed to escape and ran to the street' but Madden 'found [her] twice in different locations, physically abusing me each time.'

She included screengrabs in her filing from ring camera footage to support her claims.

The following day, Adam Levine was spotted performing with the pop-rock band Maroon 5 on TODAY after his ex-bandmate was accused of sexting teenagers and attacking his wife when she confronted him about it

Levine was in New York City, performing in Rockefeller Plaza alongside the rest of his bandmates. He looked effortlessly stylish in a denim jacket, which he wore open to showcase his bare, tattooed chest

Bowman tried to retrieve Madden's phone, and says she wound up leaving the home afraid for her life.

Bowman was able to rummage through the contents of the phone after she ran down the street and hid between cars after escaping the enraged musician's clutches, she said in court documents.

She told the court that Madden had never shown that level of outrage prior to their marriage.

Bowman was pointed out to the text-related allegations against Madden by a stranger, she said in the court filing.

Bowman told the court that she subsequently moved out of the home and has been residing with a friend in the wake of the conflict, she said in the court filing.

Bowman told the court that Madden told her he was sorry via text message, and that he was planning on seeking help for sex addiction.

He paired the outerwear with blue slacks and a brown, leather belt to complete his look as he and his band members performed some of their most popular hits

She said she was concerned about Maddens potential mercurial reaction when he sees that she used a credit card of theirs to hire a lawyer in the wake of the July 21 incident.

Bowman has asked for a restraining order preventing Madden from approaching within 100 yards of her person, place of business, residence or vehicle.

Bowman said that Madden has exerted monetary control over her for the duration of their four-year-plus marriage.

Bowman said said she has since started working a job, and is concerned that Madden will try to track her down at her work. She added that she's put a deposit down for an apartment where she will reside.

Bowman is asking for expenses, in addition to custody of a pair of Siberian Husky dogs they own named Jam and Toast.
Denise Van Outen put on a busty display in a gold playsuit at Wilderness Festival 2025 at Cornbury Park on Friday.

The Big Breakfast star, 51, delighted fans at the glitzy event as she was seen behind the DJ decks partying away with crowds of fans.

For her set, Denise made sure to turn heads in the glittery garment, which featured a plunging neckline.

She paired her short garment with some trendy silver cowboy boots and silver fingerless gloves.

To accessorise, Denise went all out with a pair of green sparkly sunglasses and necklace that read 'disco'.

Denise was accompanied by her pal Jemma Bolt, who also wore a similarly striking outfit as she stepped out in sparkly gold shorts and a crop top.

Denise Van Outen put on a very busty display in a gold playsuit at Wilderness Festival 2025 at Cornbury Park on Friday

The Big Breakfast star, 51, delighted fans at the festival as she was seen behind the DJ decks partying away with crowds of fans

Jemma was seen also partying behind the decks as she wore matching accessories to Denise.

Elsewhere at the festival, Ferne McCann, 34, put on a leggy display in a white mini dress featuring cut-out detailing around the hemline.

Opting for practicality, she paired her stylish garment with a some black leather boots which featured a silver buckle as she embraced the boho festival dress code.

Hannah Cooper and Joel Dommett looked chic as they stepped out in coordinated brown and white ensembles.

Caspar Lee cut a relaxed display as he attended the event in white trousers, which he paired with a white T-shirt.

Kara Marni left little to the imagination as she wore a skimpy love heart strappy top which she paired with a mini skirt and heels.

Tess Montgomery stunned in a floaty white skirt which she paired with a silver crop top and matching silver cow boy boots.

Meanwhile, Warren Melia looked classically handsome in a crisp navy shirt, white trainers and ivory shorts.

For her set, she was seen wearing the glittery garment which featured a plunging neckline and three-quarter sleeves (pictured with Jemma Bolt)

She paired her short garment with some trendy silver cowboy boots and silver fingerless gloves

To accessorise, Denise went all out with a pair of green sparkly sunglasses and necklace that read 'disco'

Denise was accompanied by Jemma Bolt who also wore a similarly striking outfit as she stepped out in sparkly gold shorts and a crop top

Elsewhere in the festival, F erne McCann , 34, put on a leggy display in a white mini dress featuring cut-out detailing around the hemline

Hannah Cooper and Joel Dommett looked chic as they stepped out in coordinated brown and white ensembles

Caspar Lee cut a relaxed display as he attended the event in white trousers which he paired with a white T-shirt

Kara Marni left little to the imagination as she wore a skimpy love heart strappy top which she paired with a mini skirt and heels

Tess Montgomery stunned in a floaty white skirt which she paired with a silver crop top and matching silver cow boy boots

Rohit Ghai arrived in uniform as he was seen wearing his chefs whites and blue trousers.

Friday's line-up for Wilderness Festival includes Air, Orbital, Berlioz, Bear's Den, Georgia, Craig Charles, Rosie Lowe, and Nubiyan Twist.

The festival takes place from July 31st to August 3rd and it presented by luxury car brand, Audi.

The event combines music, arts, wellbeing sessions, artisanship, late-night parties, outdoor activities and culinary experiences in the Oxfordshire countryside.

Since its inception in 2011, Wilderness has become a popular music festival and has been attended by stars including Sophie Turner and Florence Pugh.

It has been described as Britain's poshest festival as it has featured lavish amenities including yurts, mindfulness classes and champagne picnics over the years.
Mick Jagger almost skipped down the street to his 82nd birthday party. He had certainly never looked happier than at the bash last Friday, where most of his offspring and exes had gathered.

Jerry Hall, his partner for 22 years, was there along with three of their four children, Lizzie, 41, Georgia, 33 and Gabriel, 27.

Also present at the Rex Rooms in Londons Notting Hill was Luciana Morad, the Brazilian model whose fling with the Rolling Stone frontman in 1998 produced a son, Lucas, now 26 and also represented the final straw for Jerry  all of which seems to be long forgotten now.

And who organised this diplomatic feat? Micks former ballerina girlfriend Melanie Hamrick, 38, who was there in high spirits and even higher heels.

She and Mick have been together for 11 years and engaged for three.

Although friends dont expect a marriage any time soon  he is said to be completely marriage-phobic  they couldnt be happier, Im told, and have even talked about the possibility of having another baby together if fate allows.

Former ballerina Melanie Hamrick , 38, and Mick Jagger have been together for 11 years and engaged for three. Pictured: Mick and Melanie

The couple are pictured at Mick's 82nd birthday party last Friday

Mick and Melania leave the birthday party held at Kensington Roof Gardens in London

Their son Deveraux, known as Devi, is eight and Mick is a late convert to the joys of settled, monogamous domesticity.

A source said: With people of Micks age, the ability to go off and cheat is disappearing rapidly, so all of these old rockers like Rod Stewart and Mick and Ronnie Wood are now settling down.

The thing about her  Melanies secret  is that she bends like a ballerina to his every wish. I would say that of all of his girlfriends she has been the smartest of the lot. As the song goes, she gives him what he needs.

But Melanie  who danced with the American Ballet Theatre for 15 years before retiring in 2019  is certainly no pushover. In the early days of her romance with Mick she deftly saw off the threat of a younger rival in the form of socialite Noor Alfallah, 31, who was also rumoured to be seeing him for a while  and later went on to have a baby with Godfather actor Al Pacino, 85.

Melanie then set about building bridges with all of his exes in ways that suggest some impressive diplomatic skills.

A friend of Melanies says: I think the ballet world, which is kind of weird and friendless, was probably the perfect preparation for life as a Rolling Stones consort. Its a very male world, very sexist, you need to be tough. Yes, she gets on great with Jerry and with all of the exes. She has taken trouble to get to know all the kids as well and they all like her too, so that helps.

Unknown to most, the Jagger family spend most of their life in France, dividing their time between Micks home in Paris and his vast, 17th century chateau, La Fourchette, in the Loire valley. She and the kid are with him all the time, and he likes the company, Melanies friend says. They have a real family life.

But their Parisian home does have a bitter-sweet history.

Their son Deveraux (pictured), known as Devi, is eight and Mick is a late convert to the joys of settled, monogamous domesticity

Jerry Hall (pictured), Mick's partner for 22 years, was at the party along with three of their four children, Lizzie, 41, Georgia, 33 and Gabriel, 27

The Left Bank apartment was where Mick lived with his former lover LWren Scott, the fashion designer who died by suicide in 2014. LWren had business troubles and there was talk of trouble in their relationship, too, although sources denied they had broken up before her death.

Mick has never forgotten LWren and this April, he wished her a Happy Birthday on his Instagram. LWren, who was highly driven and creative, created the Paris house in her image, and picked out much of the furniture.

And now Melanie is sitting at her dining room table, with her blonde mini-Mick Devi at her side.

Melanie has written two bonkbuster novels set in the ballet world, but because they spend so much time in France, a source tells me: Melanie is currently learning French because Mick speaks French well, and the kid now speaks French too.

At this point there isnt a focus on having her own career which is unlike his other serious romances, such as with LWren, and they are very compatible and share a lot of interests. Fitness is the number one among them. And she hardly eats, like him.

The source adds: She is not a demander, she just likes being Micks girlfriend. She does not put him under pressure about getting married, that seems not to be a priority for her.

The pair met in February 2014 when he was in Tokyo with the Stones and she was touring with the American Ballet Theatre. At the time she was engaged to a classical dancer.

They were first spotted together on the balcony of the Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich, 11 weeks after LWrens death.

The pair (pictured in July) met in February 2014 when he was in Tokyo with the Stones and she was touring with the American Ballet Theatre

Melanie attends the 82nd birthday party of her partner and rock legend Mick Jagger

Melanie pictured with Mick at a State Banquet at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025

A year later it seemed Noor had come onto the scene. One report suggests that in May 2016, when Mick was in LA recording, he and Noor spent nights at the five-star Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. But seven months after this reported sighting, Melanie gave birth to Deveraux, his eighth child, in December 2016, and Noor faded into the background.

Melanie told You magazine in 2018: Hes the most incredible, wonderful, loving father, and, to me, hes the most wonderful man in the world.

As for his notorious wandering eye, she said: I feel very secure in my relationship. There will always be rumours, but I know what Mick and I have so I dont pay any attention.

Melanies dont-ask-dont-tell policy seems to have served her well. Jerry Hall, now 69, was tortured by jealousy during their years together, particularly over Micks affair in the early 1990s with supermodel Carla Bruni, who went on to marry former French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Mick has actually been married only once  to Nicaraguan social activist Bianca in 1971. They had a daughter Jade, now 53, and divorced in 1978, with Micks affair with Jerry cited as the reason.

Mick and Melanie attend an event at Fondation Louis Vuitton on July 25, 2024

Mick has actually been married only once  to Nicaraguan social activist Bianca in 1971. Pictured: Mick and Bianca at their wedding in May 1971

His 1990 Hindu marriage in Bali to Jerry was later declared null and void after they split in 1999.

LWren Scott got a giant ring for her ring finger, but they were never officially engaged.

But things are different with Melanie. This engagement was celebrated with family and friends and Jerry was one of the first people she told. In April this year, Melanie confirmed she had been engaged for two or three years.

Her work as an author is very much part-time, and she delights in her principal role as Micks consort and the mother to his child. She and Devi came along for much of his tour last year and they are in London this summer while he works on a new Stones album.

Melanie also accompanied him to Windsor Castle for the state visit of Emmanuel Macron.

Another line Melanie has learned not to cross is the matter of Micks advancing years. If there was a cake at his birthday celebration this week, you can safely bet there werent 82 candles ablaze on it.

One thing which she never does is talk about his age or about the age gap. That does not exist as a topic, a source said.

And so it seems Mel has cracked the code to a happy ever after with Mick Jagger.
Sydney Sweeney has been defended by American Eagle after she was slammed for appearing in their controversial ad campaign.

The A-list actress, 27, is the face of the label's autumn advertising rollout, which has the tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.'

On Friday American Eagle said the Euphoria actress did nothing wrong with their ads after they were branded 'Nazi propaganda' by woke critics.

Some saw her 'great jeans' campaign to be a remark on her genetic background which is mixed European ancestry; she grew up in rural Idaho. The phrase 'great genes' is 'historically used to celebrate whiteness, thinness and attractiveness,' which it said made 'this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move,' a Salon report on the backlash read.

Others found the link 'ridiculous' and thought the ads were just fine.

'"Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" is and always was about the jeans,' the company said on Instagram.

'Her jeans. her story,' it was added. 'We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.'

Sydney Sweeney has been defended by American Eagle after she was slammed for appearing in their controversial ad campaign. The A-list actress, 27, is the face of the label's autumn advertising rollout, which has the tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans'

On Friday American Eagle said the Euphoria actress did nothing wrong with their ads after they were branded 'Nazi propaganda' by woke critics. '"Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" is and always was about the jeans,' the company said on Instagram

In a series of images, the Spokane, Washington-born beauty - who is set to play boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic - is seen modeling a variety of denim-based ensembles.

In an accompanying video, Sydney is seen buttoning up her jeans as she muses: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour... my genes are blue'.

A second advert sees the camera pan down Sydney's chest as she models a plunging denim jumpsuit.

She muses: 'My body's composition is determined by my genes...' before exclaiming: 'Hey, eyes up here' as the camera cuts back to her face.

The advert has divided fans, however, with one critic calling the clip 'one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we've seen and heard in a while.'

Taking to social media, many expressed their shock at messaging, which they aligned to Nazi propaganda.

Outraged fans penned: 'So Sydney (& American Eagle) somehow expect audiences to not interpret this visual as a euphemism for eugenics and white supremacy?'

Some saw her 'great jeans' campaign to be a remark on her genetic background which is mixed European ancestry; she grew up in rural Idaho

The phrase 'great genes' is 'historically used to celebrate whiteness, thinness and attractiveness,' which it said made 'this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move,' a Salon report on the backlash read

'The Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign is just modern day Nazi propaganda. Like its wild how blatant it is. Things are weird right now, man.';

'the most nazi part of the Sydney sweeney add for me was the use of the word offspring'; 'Jeans (Genes) are past down from parent to offspring My jeans (genes) are blue Sydney Sweeney has great jeans (genes) Nothing is ever a coincidence, this is eugenics';

TikTok named Angie under the handle @vital_media_marketing then reviewed the ad and pointed out what she felt were problematic elements with the underlying message.

Angie said: 'As it's panning up her body and on her face and her features, she's literally talking about her family tree and the genetics that have been handed down to her, her blonde hair and her blue eyes, and how great they are.'

Many people panned the tone of the ad campaign on American Eagle's Instagram page, as one user quipped, Its giving "Subtle 1930s Germany."'

Yet many were quick to defend Sydney, branding the backlash 'unhinged'.

In a series of images, the Spokane, Washington-born beauty - who is set to play boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic - is seen modeling a variety of denim-based ensembles

They shared on X/Twitter: 'I'm not sure how to say this nicely but if you think a jeans ad with a pun about Sydney Sweeney being pretty is a nazi dogwhistle you genuinely need to put the phone down for a while.'; 'everyone is seriously reading too much into this and yall need to go take a hike or something because sydney sweeney is literally just promoting jeans, not nazi propaganda';

'The claim that Sydney Sweeneys American Eagle ad is pro-eugenics because of a good genes/jeans pun is genuinely unhinged. Its a denim campaign, not a manifesto. Not every blonde with blue eyes is a Nazi. Some of you need a history book  and a nap';

'You guys dont have to like Sydney Sweeney or the ways she promotes herself but dont you think comparing those Jean commercials to nazi propaganda is a tad extreme?'

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Sweeney and American Eagle for further comment on the story.

Sweeney said in a July 23 news release about the fall campaign: 'There is something so effortless about American Eagle.'

She said of the clothier: 'Its the perfect balance of being put-together but still feeling like yourself.'

In an accompanying video, Sydney is seen buttoning up her jeans as she muses: 'Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair colour, personality and even eye colour... my genes are blue'

The Euphoria star continued: 'Their commitment to creating pieces that make you feel confident and comfortable in your own skin is something that resonates with me.

'Its rare to find a brand that grows with you, the way American Eagle has for generations.'

The Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood actress wrapped up in saying, 'They have literally been there with me through every version of myself.'

American Eagle Outfitters president Jennifer Foyle opened up about the ad campaign, which is slated to raise money for domestic violence charities, in the news release. 'This fall season, American Eagle is celebrating what makes our brand iconic  trendsetting denim that leads, never follows,' Foyle said. 'Innovative fits and endless versatility reflect how our community wears their denim: mixed, matched, layered and lived in.'

The fashion executive explained why Sweeney made for the perfect focal point of the promotion. 'With Sydney Sweeney front and center, she brings the allure, and we add the flawless wardrobe for the winning combo of ease, attitude and a little mischief,' Foyle said.

In terms of the charitable aspect of the ad campaign, American Eagle Outfitters is working with Crisis Text Line in an effort to provide grants for mental health support and crisis intervention. Proceeds from a special edition of The Sydney Jean will be donated to the organization. Among the related grants include a $100,000 Signature Grant posted this past February 2025 in an effort to expand programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Nicolas Cage was spotted getting into the party spirit as he went shopping balloons in Malibu on Friday.

Kicking off the weekend, the 61-year-old actor was spotted in an eye-catching, colorful Versace outfit as he prepared to celebrate a special occasion with his family.

During his outing, he had his hands full with Disney-themed decorations for a themed party.

The Longlegs star  who enjoyed a rare outing with his wife Riko Shibata, 30, in mid-July after admitting Sarah Jessica Parker broke his heart in the past  shares his youngest child, his only daughter August Francesca Coppola Cage with his wife.

He is also father to two adult children from separate, past relationships.

He shares son Weston Coppola Cage, 34, with his ex-girlfriend Christina Fulton and son Kal-El Coppola Cage, 19, with his third wife Alice Kim.

Nicolas Cage was spotted getting into the party spirit as he went shopping balloons in Malibu on Friday

For the festivities, he wore an unusually colorful and patterned look paired with oversize sunglasses and coral pink sandals.

The Oscar-winning actor accessorized with a flashy, gold watch as he seemed to be rushing home for a family gathering.

His first wife was Patricia Arquette. They tied the knot in 1995 before separating nine months later and finalizing their divorce in 2001.

He went on to marry Lisa Marie Presley from 2002 until 2004.

After their separation, he married Alice Kim from 2004 and was with her until 2016.

He later married Erika Koike in 2019, however, that was annulled four days later.

He tied the knot with his fifth and current wife Riko Shibata in February 2021 in a private Las Vegas ceremony after they met during his trip to Japan.

They exchanged rings with an intimate gathering with Cage's ex-wife Alice Kim in attendance.

Cage and Kim, with whom he shares his son Kal-El, have remained good friends since their divorce a decade ago.

Earlier this year, he and his wife, the mother of his youngest child, attended the Golden Globes and walked the red carpet together in January.

They previously met through friends and he proposed to the Kyoto native, who is four years younger than his first son Weston, on Facetime when she was in Japan and he was in Las Vegas.

Kicking off the weekend, the 61-year-old actor was spotted in an eye-catching, colorful outfit as he prepared to celebrate a special occasion with his family

During his outing, he had his hands full with Disney-themed decorations for a themed party

Earlier this year, he and his wife, the mother of his youngest child, attended the Golden Globes and walked the red carpet together in January

They previously met through friends and he proposed to the Kyoto native, who is four years younger than his first son Weston, on Facetime when she was in Japan and he was in Las Vegas; pictured October 2024 at the 25th Newport Beach Film Festival Honors Brunch

Cage married Riko in an 'intimate' wedding at the Wynn Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas in 2021  with the date chosen to honor the birthday of the groom's late father; pictured April 2022 in New York City

Cage married Riko in an 'intimate' wedding at the Wynn Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas in 2021  with the date chosen to honor the birthday of the groom's late father.

'It's true, and we are very happy,' he told DailyMail.com in a statement about their marriage at the time.

A state of Nevada marriage certificate obtained by DailyMail.com showed Riko has taken Cage's name.

Official documents showed that Cage and Riko applied for their wedding license on January 10  the day of Riko's 26th birthday  and that it is her first marriage.

Cage announced their engagement in an interview with his brother Marc Coppola's radio show in August of 2021.

He said at the time: 'She left New York and went back to Kyoto, Japan, and I went back to Nevada and I haven't seen her for 6 months.

'We're really happy together and we're really excited to spend that time together so I finally just said "Look, I wanna marry you," and we got engaged on FaceTime,' he recalled.

He also explained how he picked out a special black diamond engagement ring for his bride and shipped it to her in Japan as they were apart at the time.

'Her favorite color is black, so she wanted the black gold and the black diamond.'

He added: 'I customized and personalized it and I actually sent it to her FedEx.'
The rumours that Sean 'Diddy' Combs' vast fortune has been wiped out on his legal defence are unfounded and civil lawsuits against him will be 'pursued aggressively', an attorney representing victims has claimed.

Speaking to the Mail's The Trial of Diddy podcast, Arick Fudali of The Bloom Firm, New York, said it was his 'understanding' that the rap mogul still had 'plenty of cash and assets' to pay for damages.

Combs, 55, was convicted of two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution but acquitted of the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.

He will be sentenced on October 3 and faces up to 20 years in prison, though legal analysts predict he will receive much less. Prosecutors are seeking a 45-year sentence for Combs.

'It's my assumption that Combs still has plenty of cash and assets', Fudali told the podcast.

'He can afford to pay his lawyers and to pay out for any judgement that will be brought.

The rumours that Sean 'Diddy' Combs' vast fortune has been wiped out on his legal defence are unfounded, an attorney representing victims has claimed

Arick Fudali of The Bloom Firm, New York, said it was his 'understanding' that the rap mogul still had 'plenty of cash and assets' to pay for damages

'We have certainly had circumstances where we have won judgements against millionaires, billionaires and they refuse to cooperate with the collection process.

'We have to pursue those judgments we're certainly equipped to do that. I am not an expert on assets or what sort of funds he actually has, but to pay for whole rows of defence attorneys certainly isn't cheap.

'We are moving forward under the assumption that if there is a judgement against Mr Combs, we will be able to collect on it.'

Combs's legal team have repeatedly tried to have the rap mogul released on bail since the controversial trial verdict.

However, Judge Subramanian has repeatedly blocked these attempts, citing Combs's history of domestic violence and describing him as an 'extremely violent man with an extraordinarily dangerous temper.'

Host Brantley asked Fudali whether the Bad Boy Records founder's current imprisonment would hurt efforts to pursue civil cases against him.

Civil cases have a lower threshold of guilt than criminal ones  whilst Combs was found not guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering during the trial, this means victims could still succeed in pursuing compensation through civil court.

'Prison is not a deterrent to us', Fudali said.

'I am happy to go to any prison he's housed in and take his deposition there there's no real need to wait to get this started.

Fudali said he anticipates Combs will receive a prison sentence for his convictions, despite the work of his legal team

The attorney said he believes the judge would have released Combs if he wasn't planning to impose prison time

'Sometimes civil cases will wait till the end of a criminal case to get moving, have like a stay while the case is pending. We've chosen not to do that.

'There will be no waiting, and we will pursue him as quickly as possible.'

Fudali said he anticipates Combs will receive a prison sentence for his convictions, despite the work of his legal team.

Drawing from his experience as a prosecutor, the attorney said he believes the judge would have released Combs if he wasn't planning to impose prison time.

Fudali said: 'I am not an expert on prison sentences, although I was a prosecutor a long time ago.

'What I can say though is that the judge has opined on the fact he is holding Mr Combs pending sentencing and what he's considered.

'My understanding is that the judge is considering not just the convictions of prostitution, but everything else he saw the enormous amounts of violence, the allegations of witness tampering, intimidation.

'The allegation he blew up a car with a Molotov cocktail. These are very serious, violent, intimidating and aggressive allegations. All that can be considered by a judge.

'My assumption therefore is that the judge is holding Mr Combs in jail pending a sentence.'

To listen to the full interview with Arick Fudali about the civil suits being pursued against Combs, search for The Trial of Diddy now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $117.00 to $131.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the financial services providers stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JMP Securities increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cowen reiterated a buy rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on Charles Schwab and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $99.35.

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Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $97.80 on Tuesday. Charles Schwab has a one year low of $61.15 and a one year high of $99.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $177.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Charles Schwab will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 173,876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.84, for a total value of $17,185,903.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 590,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,388,148.56. The trade was a 22.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 304,726 shares of company stock valued at $29,025,396. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Charles Schwab

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $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 acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.9% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 386 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Charles Schwab

(Get 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.

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TransAlta (TSE:TA  Free Report) (NYSE:TAC) had its target price lifted by TD Securities from C$17.00 to C$19.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

TA has been the topic of several other research reports. National Bankshares dropped their price target on TransAlta from C$20.00 to C$16.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on TransAlta from C$23.00 to C$20.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. ATB Capital dropped their target price on TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Desjardins dropped their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$14.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on TransAlta from C$18.50 to C$20.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of C$18.78.

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TransAlta Stock Performance

TransAlta Company Profile

Shares of TA stock opened at C$16.67 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a 52-week low of C$10.12 and a 52-week high of C$21.22. The stocks 50-day moving average price is C$15.06 and its 200 day moving average price is C$14.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 229.66.

(Get Free Report)

TransAlta is an independent power producer based in Alberta, Canada. The company operates a diverse and growing fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States, and Australia consisting of hydro, wind, solar, battery storage, gas and energy transition facilities. The majority of the companys revenues are derived from the sale of generation capacity, electricity, thermal energy, environmental attributes, and byproducts of power generation.

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EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 75.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,648 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABT. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 22.0% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 243,548 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $32,307,000 after purchasing an additional 43,939 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 38.1% in the 1st quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 42,147 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $5,591,000 after buying an additional 11,636 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,160 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $4,377,000 after buying an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter worth $310,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the first quarter valued at $205,000. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of ABT stock opened at $126.16 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 12-month low of $103.55 and a 12-month high of $141.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $131.86 and a 200-day moving average of $130.26. The company has a market capitalization of $219.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.26. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.01 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 18.83% and a net margin of 32.43%. The companys revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Abbott Laboratories from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $143.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Leerink Partners initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a market perform rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $144.47.

View Our Latest Analysis on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(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.

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Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR  Free Report) by 10.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,341 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 27,714 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.06% of Ingersoll Rand worth $18,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Ingersoll Rand by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 36,673,865 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $3,317,537,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,363 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ingersoll Rand by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,472,317 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,580,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,223 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ingersoll Rand by 7,137.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,307,370 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,046,290,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,305 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Ingersoll Rand by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,042,854 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $365,717,000 after acquiring an additional 622,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,004,000. 95.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ingersoll Rand Price Performance

Shares of IR stock opened at $84.62 on Friday. Ingersoll Rand Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.61 and a twelve month high of $106.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Ingersoll Rand Announces Dividend

Ingersoll Rand ( NYSE:IR Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.80. Ingersoll Rand had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 11.30%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ingersoll Rand Inc. will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. Ingersoll Rands dividend payout ratio is currently 3.96%.

Ingersoll Rand announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 3.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Melius downgraded Ingersoll Rand from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Citigroup reissued a buy rating and set a $104.00 target price (up previously from $91.00) on shares of Ingersoll Rand in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $100.92.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on IR

Insider Buying and Selling at Ingersoll Rand

In related news, insider Elizabeth Meloy Hepding sold 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $293,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,986 shares in the company, valued at $920,407.08. This represents a 24.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Vicente Reynal sold 38,657 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total value of $3,209,690.71. Following the sale, the insider owned 193,186 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,040,233.58. This trade represents a 16.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ingersoll Rand

(Free Report)

Ingersoll Rand Inc provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc.

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Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM  Get Free Report) and China Resources Cement (OTCMKTS:CARCY  Get Free Report) are both construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Martin Marietta Materials and China Resources Cement, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Martin Marietta Materials 0 3 12 2 2.94 China Resources Cement 0 0 0 0 0.00

Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus target price of $605.93, suggesting a potential upside of 5.40%. Given Martin Marietta Materials stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than China Resources Cement.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Martin Marietta Materials 16.07% 12.01% 6.39% China Resources Cement 1.48% 0.73% 0.46%

Dividends

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and China Resources Cements net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. China Resources Cement pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 18.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. China Resources Cement pays out 31.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Martin Marietta Materials has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China Resources Cement has a beta of 0.07, meaning that its share price is 93% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and China Resources Cements top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Martin Marietta Materials $6.64 billion 5.22 $2.00 billion $17.36 33.12 China Resources Cement $3.20 billion 0.54 $29.33 million $0.19 38.95

Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than China Resources Cement. Martin Marietta Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than China Resources Cement, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats China Resources Cement on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Martin Marietta Materials

(Get Free Report)

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. The company also produces magnesia-based chemicals products; dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization; and cement treated materials. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other environmental applications. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About China Resources Cement

(Get Free Report)

China Resources Building Materials Technology Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, manufactures and sells cement, concrete, aggregates, and related products and services in Mainland China. It operates through Cement, Concrete, and Aggregates and Others segments. The company engages in the excavation of limestone; and production, sale, and distribution of cement, clinker, and concrete. The company's products are used in the construction of infrastructure projects, such as railways, highways, subways, bridges, airports, ports, dams, and hydroelectric and nuclear power stations, as well as high-rise buildings, and suburban and rural area development. It also engages in the manufacture and sale of engineered and natural stones, and other products; prefabricated construction materials; mining of aggregates; marine transportation activities; provides environmental protection engineering, and warehouse management and fuel supply services; and offers building materials testing and consultancy services. In addition, the company trades in steel pipes, aggregates, and construction materials; and holds properties. The company was formerly known as China Resources Cement Holdings Limited and changed its name to China Resources Building Materials Technology Holdings Limited in November 2023. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. China Resources Building Materials Technology Holdings Limited is a subsidiary of CRH (Cement) Limited.

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Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF (NYSEARCA:GGME  Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,125 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $355,000. Private Advisor Group LLC owned about 0.29% of Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $415,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $628,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,196,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $442,000. Finally, MinichMacGregor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $334,000.

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Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA GGME opened at $61.71 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.57. Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF has a 52-week low of $41.17 and a 52-week high of $62.42. The stock has a market cap of $150.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42 and a beta of 1.23.

Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF Company Profile

The Invesco Next Gen Media and Gaming ETF (GGME) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the STOXX World AC NexGen Media index. The fund tracks an index of securities that derive a majority of their revenue to the future media industry. These components may be from any market-cap, and from any geography.

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In what was once the domain of tolerance, pluralism, and intellectual curiosity, something strange has taken root. The liberalism of past decades has curdled into a new form of authoritarianism, one cloaked in the language of social justice, but executed with the tools of coercion, censorship, and fear. Once proud to defend the marketplace of ideas, this new breed of leftist enforcer now polices that marketplace like a sovietized commissar.

At the heart of this shift is a psychological transformation  one that researchers are now beginning to document.

Where liberalism once prized individual liberty and dissent, it has morphed in many circles into a culture of control: policing speech, punishing dissent, and gaslighting anyone who dares question the dominant far-left orthodoxy.

The tyrannical implementation of authoritarian controls on the internet by the far-left Labour government and nefarious censorship is a good example of this.

You dont need to search far for examples. Professors fired for expressing mildly conservative views. Ordinary citizens ostracised for challenging progressive dogma. Mothers arrested over social media posts that were deleted and apologised for. The rules are clear: If you cross the new cultural line, you are not just wrong. You are a bigot, a fascist, or worse.

But this authoritarian drift isnt driven by traditional power structures. Instead, it emerges from within, among those who perceive themselves as morally enlightened and socially virtuous. And that, psychologists suggest, is precisely the danger.

The Paradox of the Authoritarian Liberal

Researchers studying authoritarianism have found something striking: conservatives who express authoritarian attitudes tend to recognize themselves as such. Liberals, on the other hand, who express the same attitudes, support for silencing enemies, centralising control, and punishing dissent, often deny that they are authoritarian at all.

Why? Because their group identity is built around the belief that they cant be authoritarian. After all, arent they the good guys? The tolerant ones? The side of progress and inclusion?

This denial leads to what psychologists call a motivational blind spot. Even as left-wing individuals endorse authoritarian attitudes, they psychologically screen out the contradiction. They cling to a fantasy of moral superiority even as their behaviour mirrors the very tyranny they claim to oppose.

The Soviet Blueprint: Ideological Subversion and Information Control

This isnt the first time weve seen this pattern. The Soviet Union mastered a system of authoritarianism that relied not on brute force alone, but on subtle and total control over information and culture. KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov once described a four-step strategy of ideological subversion:

1. Demoralisation  Undermine a nations values and cultural confidence.

2. Destabilisation  Attack its institutions, traditions, and cohesion.

3. Crisis  Trigger a moment of systemic collapse or confusion.

4. Normalisation  Install a new ideological order under the guise of restoring stability.

Bezmenov emphasised that the most effective subversion comes from within. Universities. Media. Art. Education. All slowly co-opted. All reprogramming the public to believe that the traditional order is oppressive, and that only ideological purity can deliver justice.

This same blueprint is evident in the modern West. Universities in the U.S. and UK have become ideological monocultures, where conservative thought is not just unpopular  its unwelcome. Students are indoctrinated with a one-sided worldview that categorises dissent as bigotry and complexity as heresy.

The current far-left authoritarian Labour government has just brought into effect a policy of only allowing low-income, working class people as interns for the civil service, so that the Big State, which is already far-left, always stays that way. The reason for this action is to keep the far-left socialist civil service solely within this soviet Marxist ideological framework, so that no other political ideology can function over it.

Cancel Culture and the Erosion of the Agora

What we call cancel culture is not merely social media drama. It is the visible symptom of a deeper authoritarian tendency, the urge to control not just actions, but thoughts. Not just what is said, but what is allowed to be said.

In decades past, political debate was part of a liberal education. One could support Thatcher or oppose her, defend Reagan or mock him, and still be part of civil society. Today, disagreement has become grounds for exile. Many young conservatives report feeling unsafe expressing their views in schools or universities. Not because of physical danger, but because of reputational annihilation.

How Did We Get Here?

The transformation is the result of a long march through the institutions. From the 1960s onward, left-wing ideologues increasingly gained ground in academia, then the media, and now the tech sector. Over time, conservative viewpoints were excluded. The result is a generation educated in a closed-loop, sovietized echo chamber, moral universe.

But theres another driver: fear. Research shows that authoritarianism is often a response to fear, a desire for strong authority to resolve threats. If you believe climate change will destroy the earth, racism is everywhere, and fascism is always just one election away, its easier to justify censorship, deplatforming, and speech control as moral necessities. These far-left authoritarians are freaking out when they are out of their safe space socialist echo chambers like the social media site, Bluesky.

Authoritarian Personality or Political Convenience?

Is it personality or politics that drives this behaviour? Likely both. Some individuals, regardless of ideology, have authoritarian leanings. But modern liberal culture provides them a cover: an environment where they can exert control in the name of virtue. The result is a personality-politics convergence: people drawn to power under the guise of progress.

The Danger of Denial

It is easy to see authoritarianism on the right when it wears jackboots and waves flags. It is much harder to spot when it wears a rainbow pin and preaches tolerance.

But the core danger is the same: the suppression of dissent, the centralisation of cultural power, and the silencing of opponents.

The liberal tyrant does not punch down. He punches anyone who stands outside his echo chamber.

Most people are not authoritarian. But when a minority with ideological zeal controls the gatekeepers of culture, media, academia, and tech, they dont need to be the majority. They just need to hold the microphone.

To push back, we must reclaim liberalism from those who have weaponised it. Tolerance must include the right to dissent. Justice must not come at the cost of free expression. And liberal values must no longer be used as camouflage for illiberal aims.

The liberal tyranny thrives in silence. So speak up. While you still can.
Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ  Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,616 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $522,000.

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Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 195.2% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 372 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Finally, BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.60% of the companys stock.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of EWJ stock opened at $73.62 on Friday. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a twelve month low of $59.84 and a twelve month high of $76.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.63.

About iShares MSCI Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index).

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Mackenzie Financial Corp lowered its holdings in Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE:LNG  Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,977 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 4,722 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corps holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $11,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNG. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Cheniere Energy by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 125 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in Cheniere Energy by 2,022.2% during the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the energy companys stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Cheniere Energy during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.26% of the companys stock.

Cheniere Energy Price Performance

NYSE LNG opened at $235.98 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26 and a beta of 0.42. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $167.66 and a 52 week high of $257.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $235.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.37.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

Cheniere Energy ( NYSE:LNG Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.81 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $5.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.73 billion. Cheniere Energy had a net margin of 18.37% and a return on equity of 32.62%. Cheniere Energys revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cheniere Energys dividend payout ratio is 14.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Cheniere Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $252.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Cheniere Energy from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Cheniere Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $260.36.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Cheniere Energy

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cheniere Energy news, Director Neal A. Shear sold 4,300 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.93, for a total transaction of $1,057,499.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 29,733 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,312,236.69. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Cheniere Energy

(Free Report)

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.

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TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of SPDR S&P Bank ETF (NYSEARCA:KBE  Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 143,300 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $7,589,000. TD Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.48% of SPDR S&P Bank ETF as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of SPDR S&P Bank ETF by 21.3% during the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,365 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in SPDR S&P Bank ETF by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,545 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in SPDR S&P Bank ETF by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 600 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in SPDR S&P Bank ETF by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,483 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. lifted its position in SPDR S&P Bank ETF by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. now owns 8,637 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period.

SPDR S&P Bank ETF Stock Performance

Shares of SPDR S&P Bank ETF stock opened at $56.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 1.14. SPDR S&P Bank ETF has a 52-week low of $44.34 and a 52-week high of $63.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.53.

SPDR S&P Bank ETF Company Profile

SPDR KBW Bank ETF, formerly The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (the Fund), seeks to closely match the returns and characteristics of the S&P Banks Select Industry Index. The S&P Banks Select Industry Index is a float adjusted modified-market, capitalization-weighted index that seeks to reflect the performance of publicly traded companies that do business as banks or thrifts.

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Leading renewable energy company RES has welcomed the decision to consent Magheramore Wind Farm, following a successful appeal. The Planning Appeal Commission held a hearing in April 2025, and took the decision to approve the 6-turbine wind farm, located near Dungiven, three months later.

Jennifer McCorry, Project Manager for RES said: Magheramore has been carefully designed to fit sensitively into the existing landscape and we warmly welcome the decision today, which unlocks much needed investment in the local economy.

RES has a strong track record of working with the supply chain around its projects to maximise inward investment, and Magheramore Wind Farm has the potential to deliver a 1.6 - 2 million boost into the local economy during construction alone.

RES has been playing a pivotal role in developing, constructing and operating renewable energy projects from its office in Larne, Northern Ireland since the early 1990s. With a wealth of experience across a wide range of disciplines, RES continues to play an active part in Northern Irelands clean energy transition.

Sinn Fein Councillor Kathleen McGurk has voiced her shock and disappointment following the Planning Appeals Commissions (PAC) decision to overturn Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Councils refusal of a wind farm application near Banagher Glen.

The proposal, which seeks to construct six turbines at Magheramore Road near Banagher Glen, was initially rejected by the council due to its potential impact on the surrounding landscape, historical sites, and the area's rich archaeological heritage.

Banagher Glen, is a local beauty spot popular with locals and visitors for walking. The area is expected to be designated as an Area of Special Archaeological Interest (ASAI), and Banagher Old Church  a scheduled historic monument, is situated nearby. Visual and environmental concerns, including proximity to the Banagher Dam and intrusion on scenic views across the Roe Valley, were also cited in opposition.

I am shocked and disappointed by this decision, said Cllr McGurk. The Council listened to the concerns of local people and made the right call in refusing this application. I spoke directly at the planning committee to actively object and highlight the serious harm this development would cause to our historical and environmental assets  especially Banagher Glen and Banagher Old Church.

Cllr McGurk also made a written submission to the PAC during the appeal process. I believed it was important to make clear, again, how completely inappropriate this site is for wind turbines. This isnt about opposing renewable energy  its about protecting the unique cultural and natural heritage of a unique location. I have always maintained that each renewable energy application needs to be assessed on its own merit. Banagher Glen is one of the oldest and most unspoiled ancient woodlands in Ireland, rich in biodiversity and steeped in cultural and archaeological heritage. It is very disappointing that the PAC did not give sufficient weight to these concerns and disregarded both Council's and Historic Environment Division's views 

Cllr McGurk confirmed she has already spoken with the Councils Head of Planning and intends to raise the issue formally at the August Planning Committee meeting. Ill be seeking further legal advice to explore all options open to the council.

Further project updates will be available on the dedicated website at magheramore-windfarm.co.uk.
The Derry - Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (DIPSC) has welcomed the High Courts decision to allow Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori take a judicial review of the decision to proscribe Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act.

A spokesperson for the group said: "It is now more important than ever to stay on the streets to defend the right to protest. That is why we will be gathering in the Guildhall Square at 3.00pm again this Saturday to show our opposition to genocide and support for the right to take part in non-violent direct action.

"Over the last week, we have seen even Trump admit that children (and adults) are starving to death in Gaza. Yet hundreds of people are being killed as they try to access food. When a genocide is in progress, it is our legal as well as moral right to protest and to do everything we can to end the genocide.

"People in Derry know better than anyone else in these islands what it is to have civil liberties suspended, that is why we will be back this Saturday afternoon  in Guildhall Square at 3.00pm  to continue this campaign."
A judge at Derry Magistrates' Court told a 14-year-old girl that she was not going into custody simply because of her age.

The girl, who cannot be named due to her age, was charged with assaulting a member of staff at a children's home on July 30.

A police officer connected the accused to the charges and objected to bail.

The officer told the court that this was the second breach as the defendant had been in court on Monday of this week for breaching bail.

The court heard that police went to the children's home after a report of an assault on a staff member.

The defendant had arrived at the home accompanied by her parents and started verbally abusing the staff member.

The staff member moved away and the girl ran after her shouting and then threw a soft drink container at her striking her on the back.

The defendant then left the children's home and was later arrested at her father's address.

District Judge Ted Magill said that the court had to be 'satisfied ' the defendant presented a 'serious risk of serious harm to the public'.

The judge said this was 'an overwhelming necessity' that the court had to take into account.

He released the girl on bail but told her if she continued with her behaviour she would end up in custody.

The girl will appear again on August 5.
A protest march will take place in Derry on Sunday, August 10, at 2pm.

Organisers urge people across the community, whether seasoned activists or those attending for the first time, to show solidarity and make their voices heard.

Rise for Palestine's Bronach Mooney McGonagle said: We are witnessing genocide in real time. Every hour, more lives are lost. This is a moment to stand up and say: not in our name.

"The date of the march also holds additional significance, as August 9 marks the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. This is a time to honour those who have protected their lands, cultures, and identities in the face of colonisation.

"It is a fitting and powerful context for a march in support of the indigenous people of Palestine, who are enduring displacement, violence, and humanitarian catastrophe."

The march will begin at Bishops Gate, and all are welcome. Organisers encourage attendees to bring placards, keffiyehs, and, most importantly, their voices.

"We ask that everyone answer the call from Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda and bring pots and pans, or anything you can bang on to make noise. Together we can turn the streets of Derry into a roar of resistance that can't be ignored.

"Everyone has a part to play. Your presence matters."
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BYD surpasses 1M BEV sales in 1H25, extends lead over Tesla in global and European markets

BYD has taken a commanding lead over Tesla in the global battery electric vehicle (BEV) market, reporting over 1.02 million units sold in the first half of 2025  more than 30% ahead of Tesla's 721,000. The figures confirm BYD's position as the world's top EV maker by volume, signaling a larger shift in global automotive leadership.

BYD's BEV sales jumped 41% year-over-year, while Tesla saw a 13% decline. This widening gap, now at 1.4 times in BYD's favor, reflects BYD's strength in both domestic growth and international expansion, as Tesla faces stagnating demand and eroding appeal in major markets.

Global expansion and Europe's pivotal shift

BYD's total new energy vehicle (NEV) sales, including BEVs and plug-in hybrids, hit nearly 2.146 million units in the first half of 2025, making it the only Chinese carmaker to cross the 2 million threshold during the period. BEVs made up 47.7% of that total.

BYD's overseas sales climbed past 470,000 units in the first half, more than doubling year-over-year and surpassing its full-year 2024 international tally. In China, BYD's sales were 5.4 times greater than Tesla's during the same period.

BYD is now outselling Tesla in several of its historically strong markets, including Italy, Spain, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, underscoring the Chinese brand's rapid global expansion.

In April 2025, BYD surpassed Tesla in monthly BEV sales across Europe for the first time, registering 7,231 units, a 169% year-over-year increase, according to Jato Dynamics. Tesla's registrations fell 49% to 7,165. The milestone placed BYD among Europe's top 10 EV brands, despite only expanding beyond Norway and the Netherlands in late 2022.

"This is a watershed moment for Europe's EV market," said Felipe Munoz, Global Analyst at Jato Dynamics, "Tesla dominated for years, but BYD surpassed it in under three years. Remarkable."

Tesla's slide and BYD's resilient strategy

Tesla's slowdown comes as Europe's EV market accelerates. BEV registrations rose 28% in April, with Volkswagen, Skoda, Renault, Stellantis, Audi, and BMW all outpacing Tesla. Despite refreshing its Model Y, Tesla's momentum remains weak, with first-quarter 2025 deliveries down 13% globally. Analysts also point to Elon Musk's polarizing behavior as a drag on brand appeal in Europe.

BYD's strategy in Europe is gaining traction. April 2025 registrations, including plug-in hybrids, surged 359% year-over-year. Chinese-brand EVs grew 59%, outpacing the 26% growth from brands in Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the US, despite new EU tariffs targeting Chinese imports.

Speaking at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit, a BYD Europe executive cited the brand's "full-scope lineup" and ability to meet Europe's diverse customer needs as central to its success. Backed by a broad portfolio, competitive pricing, and rapid market entries, BYD is gaining ground globallyeven in the face of rising trade barriers.

BYD's lead over Tesla  both in scale and strategy  signals more than a short-term advantage. It reflects a structural shift in the global EV race.

Article edited by Jack Wu
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SEATTLE  When a vacant, rubble-strewn Fremont lot sold this spring to an experienced local investor, the scent of new construction was in the air.

This week came a midrise apartment plan filed for 3615 Woodland Park Ave. N., and it also includes two parcels to the south, extending to the corner of North 36th Street.





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SEATTLE  SIFF Cinema Uptown will host CatVideoFest 2025, Aug. 8-10, offering a unique opportunity for cat lovers to enjoy viral cat content on the big screen  all while supporting local animal welfare efforts.

The event features a 75-minute compilation of fun cat videos, including internet favorites, original submissions, animations, and music videos.





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Rendering by Jackson Main Architecture [enlarge] The buildings two wings will wrap around its little neighbor.





On a University District corner directly east of the Interstate 5 express lane ramp at Northeast 42nd Street, local investors have a slightly awkward L-shaped assemblage that wraps around the familiar little red-shingled townhouse building. Jackson Main is the architect.





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Tanaiste Simon Harris is set to meet with the mother of murdered Irish peacekeeper Sean Rooney.

It comes after Natasha Rooney expressed her disappointment at a lack of justice for her son.

Pte Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was killed when a convoy of Irish troops serving with a UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon was ambushed and fired upon on December 14, 2022.

The shooting happened near the town of Al-Aqbiya in a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Pte Rooney was from the 121 Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces.

On Monday, Mr Harris said he had been informed of the completion of a military tribunal in Beirut for those indicted for the murder of Pte Rooney.

One man was sentenced to death, but he remains at large. A number of other men were also convicted in relation to other offences over the shooting.

Ms Rooney expressed disappointment and contended it was not justice.

In a statement released through Phoenix Law, she said the perpetrator of her sons murder has been untraceable and untraced for many years.

She added: The verdict in reality is nothing more than a headline to the Lebanese authorities who masquerade this sham trial process as a semblance of justice for my son.

Ms Rooney also urged Mr Harris to speak to her before seeking to speak for me, in his public statements.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Mr Harris said he is meeting Ms Rooney next week.

Im going to preserve any further comment til I meet her, he said.

Natasha is a grieving mother fighting for justice for her son who died while serving with absolute distinction wearing the uniform of Oglaigh Na hEireann. He has my absolute and total respect, as does his family.

I look forward to meeting with Natasha and engaging with her directly next week.
DRAWDA Urban Art Trail completes its magical and mystical tour of ancient Ireland with the final mural of Balor on Scotch Hall on Marsh Road, by acclaimed Spanish artist Moxaico.

Produced by Love Drogheda BID and Droichead Arts Centre, the mural will complete the series of murals that have enlivened the city and brought colour, life and magic to unexpected spaces in the town.

An ancient deity of the sun, Balor was a leader of the Fomorians, a group of supernatural beings often depicted as antagonists in Irish myths.

He is known for his evil eye, which could cause death or destruction when opened and is known for the battle between the Fomorians and the Tuatha De Danann who have been explored in some of our earlier murals including the The Dagda, The Morrigan and Amergin.

Balor was linked to the Boyne via the Standing Stones at Baltray, at the mouth of the River Boyne.

Towering in scale and rich in detail, this striking piece will be one of the largest murals in Ireland, fusing vibrant urban art with ancient storytelling.

Moxaicos dynamic interpretation of the epic battle between the one-eyed giant Balor and his grandson, the warrior Lugh, brings a powerful new dimension to the trail, cementing Droghedas place as a hub of Irish Mythology and storytelling.

Nestled in Irelands Ancient East, the Boyne Valley, follows the path of the river Boyne which has been known from before the 2nd Century, and has historical, archaeological, and mythical significance.

The Medieval City of Drogheda with its ancient gates and walls, sacred sites and battlegrounds provides the perfect backdrop for the free, citywide, celebration of Irelands mythological heritage.

The DRAWDA Urban Art Trail is comprised of eight outdoor murals throughout the town by local, national and international artists, these stories capture the imagination of young and old.

To immerse yourself further in the storytelling, a self-guided audio trail, accessible through QR codes next to each mural, will take you on a journey through these legends of Irelands Ancient East.

The trail is based on Anthony Murphy's retelling of the ancient stories, adapted by Grainne Rafferty and performed by Niall O'Brien and Grainne Rafferty, with an original soundscape by Niall Gregory, and edited by Sean McCluskey at Basement Sounds.

The magic of the Boyne Valley, part of Ireland's Ancient East, comes alive as the art trail embraces the historical, archaeological, and mythical significance of the Boyne River. Drogheda's Medieval town, with its ancient gates, sacred sites, and battlegrounds, serves as a perfect backdrop for celebrating Ireland's mythological heritage freely.

Produced by Droichead Arts Centre in partnership with Love Drogheda BID. Funded by Louth County Council, Failte Ireland Urban Animation Fund, the Arts Council in the Open, Faoin Speir Initiative, and Town & Village Accelerated Measures funding.

Supported by the Marcy Hotel, Murtagh's of Drogheda and Drogheda Height for Hire.
Louth County Council says it was delighted to welcome the Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) to Market Square, Dundalk, last week as part of its nationwide awareness campaign.

The GLT campaign, which has been running successfully across Ireland, aims to educate the public on the environmental impact of gum litter and promote positive behaviour change through interactive events and community engagement.

On Tuesday last, the Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) joined with staff members from the Louth County Council community support team, members of Dundalk Tidy Towns and service users from the Irish Wheelchair Association to deliver a fun, educational, interactive event at The Square to highlight the environmental impact of gum litter and raise awareness of the 150 fine for improper disposal.

Welcoming the campaign back to Louth, Cllr Sean Kelly, Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, said: Hosting the Gum Litter Taskforce in Dundalks Market Square is a wonderful opportunity to highlight the importance of responsible litter disposal. This is a fantastic initiative that raises awareness about the negative impacts of gum litter in a fun and engaging way.

"Louth County Council is proud to support campaigns like GLT that encourage responsible litter disposal and help create cleaner, more welcoming communities.

Louth County Council says it remains committed to supporting initiatives that foster environmental responsibility and enhance the quality of life in our towns and villages.

Above: Cllr Sean Kelly, Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, with members of Dundalk Tidy Towns and Louth County Council staff from the community support team

Launching its sixth cycle, the Gum Litter Taskforce reports that: 92% of people now report properly disposing of their chewing gum, a record high; 85% of 1634-year-olds now view littering as socially unacceptable, and men remain more likely than women to improperly dispose of chewed gum.

A collaboration between industry, government and local authorities, and funded by Mars Wrigley, this year marks the launch of the campaigns sixth cycle.

GLT has seen gum litter reduce by almost 70% since 2007, via a sustained public engagement and education campaign. According to the latest National Litter Pollution Monitoring System data, gum now accounts for just 8.6% of all litter, continuing a downward trend in gum as a component of litter from 26.4% in 2006, and 9.1% in 2021, the end of the previous three-year cycle.

However, according to the latest research, one in 12 admits that they still drop their gum on the ground, with men more than twice as likely to do so as women. This highlights the continued importance of the campaign.

Above: Cllr Sean Kelly, Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council getting involved with the interactive games to highlight the environmental impact of gum litter

Launching the campaign in Mayo last month, Minister of State with responsibility for Circular Economy, Alan Dillon TD, praised the continued success of the initiative: Im delighted to kick off another year of the Gum Litter Taskforces Summer Roadshow.

"Since 2007, we have seen clear, measurable change on our streets thanks to the work of the Gum Litter Taskforce. The consistent fall in gum litter shows that education and collaboration are driving real results. This is exactly the kind of behavioural change we need to build a cleaner, greener Ireland.

Avril Donlon, Gum Litter Campaign Manager at Food Drink Ireland, added: We are delighted to be kicking off another summer of interactive roadshows. Each year, we continue to see the positive impact this campaign is having on communities across the country. Its encouraging to know that our efforts are helping more people make the right choice when it comes to gum disposal.

Anne Sheeran, Corporate Affairs Manager at Mars Wrigley, said: The Gum Litter Taskforce continues to prove whats possible through strong partnerships and community-focused messaging. By connecting with younger audiences and reinforcing positive behaviour, were not just cleaning up streets  were helping to create a culture of personal responsibility. Mars Wrigley is proud to sponsor a campaign that plays such an important role in educating people about proper gum and litter disposal.

This years Summer Roadshow will make 20 stops across 17 counties this Summer. The GLT campaign also includes a school roadshow (Bin It!) which will travel to primary and secondary schools across the country from October, and run an advertising campaign and website, where educational material at www.gumlittertaskforce.ie.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) Business School recently hosted a dynamic two-week Chinese summer camp, offering 18 students from local secondary schools an unforgettable immersion into Chinese language and culture. Filled with hands-on learning, creativity, and community spirit, the programme provided a unique opportunity for students to explore the richness of Chinese traditions.

Held on the DKIT campus, the Chinese Summer Camp introduced participants to basic Chinese Mandarin while engaging them in a variety of cultural activities. Students practiced the elegant art of Chinese calligraphy, crafted delicate fans and kites, and discovered the flavours of authentic Chinese cuisine through interactive food workshops. The camp also included educational excursions to the local library and museum.

The camp culminated in a vibrant showcase, where students demonstrated their newfound skills through performances of Chinese songs, skits, calligraphy displays, and a traditional tea ceremony. The event was attended by proud parents, teachers, and representatives from the programmes funder.

In the special closing ceremony, Mr. Shane Hill, Department of Management and Financial Studies in Business School, presented certificates to the participants, celebrating their achievements and dedication. Speaking at the presentation, Shane said: "The creativity and cultural appreciation these students have shown is truly inspiring.

Read also: The Long Grazing Acre National Tour coming to Louth

"This successful programme reflects organiser Ping Caos dedication to creating meaningful cross-cultural experiences for our youth. Ms. Tattersall, Project Officer from Language Connect also praised the students for their excellent participation saying, Its been incredible to witness the students enthusiasm and growth over these two weeks.

Fully funded by the Department of Education through Language Connect, DkIT Chinese Summer Camp aligns with its mission to promote language education and cross-cultural understanding among youth. With its success, DKIT Business School looks forward to continuing its role in fostering cross-cultural awareness and appreciation in future programmes.
Barkeeper Leah:

I finished off the three Murphys, and dropped them in front of the middle-aged couple and young woman, then cleared the judgement from my mind. I didnt want to know. Even if the woman looked a good bit young for them. The Monastery saw weirder crowds, and it wasnt even the weirdest bar I had worked at on Gillabbey Street. Id be fine.

Thank-you kindly, the young one smiled, before turning to the couple, sliding an elbow across the bar to prop her chin. Is she, uh, going to be alright?

Eric turned to his wife just as she raised a hand to her mouth and choked on a hiccup. Same old Ariana. I reached underneath the bar for the pack of Alka-Seltzers I kept just for them. The tablets fizzled into nothingness before Ariana even picked up the glass of water.

She nodded a thanks in my direction. Im fine, she stammered, rising to her feet. Just damn indigestion. Ill just grab some air, give me a moment and Ill be right as rain.

Yeah, yeah. Shell be alright, Alexis, this happens often, Eric trailed, eyes tracing his wife. And thanks for the beers. He watched as Ariana stepped around the corner, out the door and rested beside the window of the smoking area outside. So, Eric turned back. Love?

Yes, love, the young woman insisted. I noticed your rings - congratulations - so Im imagining the two of you are in love. Thats what this interview is about: What do you think of love? Where do you think its from? What do you think it is?

Eric took a sip of his Murphys in pause, flicking his gaze to me, before back. I didnt want to know, but I couldnt help but listen. Well, Ill skip that second one for a bit. But, what do I think? Its great, of course! He laughed awkwardly. Weve been together a decade now, married for the last seven. I couldnt ask for anything more.

Eric turned to watch Ariana through the window once more and a pause fell. That woman was something else, but he had always been sweet. And not the middle-aged-married-man-creep kind of sweet. Just a genuinely kind person. But Alexis remained silent, only taking a slow sip. Waiting.

I think, Eric finally continued, his eyes still looking out the window. I think love is the medicine of life. Another laugh escaped him. Even if it isnt exactly helping her at the moment. But you know what I mean? You know that feeling when youre listening to music and a perfect song comes on for what youre doing. For what your mood is? And it just hits and the instruments, and the singing and everything is in harmony and reverberating through your - everything!? It feels like all your hairs are raising, and like you might be weightless for a moment and float a bit.

Thats what being with her feels like. Like harmony. When were together - most of the time - were in consonance with each other. And it makes everything else easier. It makes all my other problems, not fall away, but become more manageable. Its like being with her makes me stronger. I dont think Im co-dependent like, you know? But I cant deny that Im better for it. For her.

Eric turned back to Alexis. Does that answer your question?

She was smiling now. Partially. Although Im trying to figure out how to bring you back to the second question. The two shared a laugh this time before Alexis continued. But I guess the more relevant follow up is: You talk about your love how it is now - ten years later - but what, then, do you think of the beginning of love? How do young people like me, she gestured to her face, despite the wrinkles, experience love like that?

Well... that is the relevant problem. Eric took a long sip. The ice was broken now. I see kids all the time that are just... angry. Secluded and bothered, like. Expecting things to fall in their lap. But thats another story. Whats relevant is that they expect love to just happen. For the first person they fancy to be the one and who theyre destined to be with. And then theyre a dick about it and dont know how to handle their emotions because theyve never loved before.

So, I cant speak for you, he continued, but Id say thats the solution. People need to love more. Now, Im not a hippy or anything like that, but you know what I mean. People need to grow up loving, loving the earth, loving the birds as if they were your own pets. Some kids these days dont love their own bedroom enough to clean it.

They live without harmony? Alexis reached.

Exactly! They live without harmony in anything. And then life feels like chaos, because theres no love.

The door outside clattered from being closed and a moment later Ariana re-entered. The corners of her eyes were wrinkled in a wide smile and she had both hands raised in a double thumbs-up around her glass.

Alright, Eric, love, hop-skip over, she pushed, leaning against her husbands seat. Its my turn to talk with the pretty young lady. She flipped a smile toward Alexis and tapped a slap-slap into Erics back.

Eric stood with a sigh. And this is my harmony that I desired so bad. He slid his Murphys from the table, tapped his wifes glass, and stepped toward the corner that led outside. Im going to do myself a favour and embrace a little chaos for a moment. He gave a small wave, cigarette already in hand. Keeps the sanity in check, really makes the consonance feel better when its there.

Before her husband was even out the door, Ariana clung to Alexiss arm. Alright then, have a crack at me. She smiled.

Alexis inched back in her seat but Ariana remained, clawed over her forearm. Love. What do you think of it? she managed to ask

I inched closer to the two. This was going to be good. Ariana was the best to gossip with.

Ugh. Ariana pouted. Well, its all very depressing, no?
Cork Chamber is calling on the Government to prioritise competitive taxation in Budget 2026.

The chambers pre-budget submission urges the Government to implement a competitive taxation policy to reduce administrative burdens for businesses and enable innovation and entrepreneurship.

Rob Horgan, Cork Chamber president, said that implementing this policy is a must to protect businesses that will be unduly impacted by regulatory changes.

Corks business community is acutely aware of the economic imperative of investing in our competitiveness, now more than ever, said Mr Horgan.

Businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to large domestic and multinational firms, know that enhancing our competitiveness demands a whole-of-government approach to address challenges across all areas of the economy.

The proposals in our Budget 2026 submission are designed to be complementary, driving forward Irelands overall competitiveness in a meaningful and achievable way, through targeted measures to encourage innovation, to support scaling domestic firms, and to ensure that SMEs are not unduly impacted by regulatory changes.

Other issues highlighted in the pre-budget submission are investment in housing, infrastructure, education, renewable energy, urban evolution, and tourism.

Stephen Keohane, Cork Chambers budget committee chair and a tax partner at KPMG, said that enhancing Irelands competitive offering for investment and talent attraction is vital. Government must make brave policy choices now to lay the groundwork for sustainable economic growth.

Cork Chambers Budget 2026 submission underlines the importance of reducing administrative and cost burdens on business, particularly SMEs, Mr Keohane said.

Simplifying elements of the tax regime, alongside the corresponding reporting requirements, could help to unlock key incentives like the R&D tax credit for scaling start-ups and SMEs. Measures such as these help to transform the States fiscal infrastructure, championing innovation and entrepreneurship.

Conor Healy, Cork Chamber CEO, said that businesses across Cork want to see a clear commitment from government in to the next financial year.

Our asks for Budget 2026 address the critical areas of housing; infrastructure; education, talent and skills; renewable energy and sustainability; and urban evolution and tourism, said Mr Healy.

Each proposal in Cork Chambers budget submission is grounded in the priorities, challenges, and needs of our members.
The number of drug searches in Cork city has fallen 34% in two years, government figures show, but a Cork TD says the amount of available drugs is not decreasing, which suggests reduced Garda resources.

Data provided by Jim OCallaghan, the justice minister, shows that Irelands southern region saw a 30% decrease in the amount of drug searches under Drugs Acts 1977/1984, the biggest reduction of any region in the country, with drops of 20% in the eastern region, 8% in the Dublin region, and 4% in the north-western region.

Nationally, there were 47,780 drug searches in 2022, 43,682 in 2023, and 40,642 last year, with only five Garda divisions seeing an increase in the amount of drug searches.

The figures, which include searches for both possession of drugs and possession for sale or supply, show that the decrease was 32% in County Cork, with drug searches falling from 5,479 to 3,672 between 2022 and 2024.

In Cork city, there were 3,279 searches in 2022, 2,072 in 2023, and 2,157 in 2024, a 34% decrease, while Cork county saw a 29% decrease, with 2,128 searches in 2022, 1,627 in 2023, and 1,515 last year.

Cork city saw the fourth-highest number of drug searches by region in 2022, but fell to sixth in 2023, when two Dublin regions overtook it.

Sinn Fein TD for Cork South Central, Donnchadh O Laoghaire, told The Echo that Cork needs more Garda resources, but Dublin has been getting priority, despite significant issues with drugs in Cork, too. Mr O Laoghaire said: The fall in drug searches is a huge concern.

Its very clear that this is due to a lack of resources and not that there are any less drugs. In recent days, weve seen reports on a significant increase in the number of people seeking treatment for cocaine, and the number of cocaine debts in the last 20 years has skyrocketed.

Its clearly a huge challenge, even a growing challenge, on the streets, so the fact that searches have gone down is due to Garda resources, and weve been flagging this issue for some time, Mr O Laoghaire said.

The fact that the issue is greater in the Cork city division reflects the huge pressure on resources in this area, and highlights the need for a significant change in approach to the allocation of Garda resources to Cork.

Mr O Laoghaire, who recently wrote to new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly, requesting a meeting on Cork Garda resourcing, said: Cork has not been getting its fair share of gardai; weve seen units being merged  it all comes back to the same issue.

We have fantastic gardai in Cork, who are stretched to their absolute limit, and that leads to more drugs being available, which leads to health implications, antisocial behaviour, lots of issues which are a massive concern to communities right across Cork city.

Mr OCallaghan said: Tackling drug dealing and organised criminal activity remains a top priority for the Government and my department. An Garda Siochana continues to implement Operation Tara across the country, which focuses on disrupting and dismantling drug-trafficking networks at all levels.

Significant resources have been committed to this effort, including an unprecedented allocation of over 2.48bn to An Garda Siochana in Budget 2025.
Three Coast Guard operations took place in Cork this afternoon, as a spokesperson for the agency described today as being a very busy day for volunteers.

The first incident, involving a man and a woman, who were reported to be struggling in the water, took place at Scilly View in Kinsale Harbour.

The couple was seen attempting to board their vessel, which was moored in the harbour, after falling into the water from a small transfer boat, but were unable to do so.

A call was made by a member of the public to the Irish Coast Guard regarding the couple, as a man was seen hanging on to the back of his punt.

The Kinsale RNLI lifeboat was launched at 12pm, and once the crew reached the couple, they were safely transferred to their yacht, with the lifeboat returning to base by 12.40pm.

There were no injuries reported in relation to this incident, as the couple was described as being cold but fine.

Following this, a second incident was reported at the entrance of Kinsale Harbour at 12.55pm, regarding a broken down motor boat, which had seven persons on board.

The Kinsale RNLI crew re-launched and towed the boat back to the harbour, completing the callout by 1.55pm.

There were no injuries reported in relation to this incident.

A third call was made to the Irish Coast Guard at 2.30pm, regarding a broken down rib just outside Schull Harbour, which had four persons on board.

The Schull Coast Guard was launched, and towed the vessel back to shore, completing the callout by 3.30pm.

There were also no injuries reported in relation to this incident.

It was a very busy day today in the Coast Guard, the spokesperson said.
Fear has been expressed that Corks English Market is not getting enough investment following ,the announcement that Dublins Victorian Market is to get a renovation from a 44m fund.

Former lord mayor Mick Finn has suggested that a recent announcement indicating that Dublin City Council was investing 30m out of a total 44m investment in that citys Victorian Market should act as a spur to show the English Market some tender loving care.

Dublin City Council has been allowed to borrow millions as part of the upgrading of its Victorian fruit and vegetable market. Cork should now follow suit and pump money into much-needed improvements and restorations to the English Market which is badly in need of some TLC, said Mr Finn.

Pat OConnell, of OConnells Fishmongers, one of the markets longest established businesses, said discussions have previously taken place with Cork City Council about different options to restore the building.

Mr OConnell told The Echo that the four years spent on a project up to 2018 yielded a report but no refurbishment.

The simple answer is they dont see any value in it,

he said.

Mr OConnell said there had been three plans  one envisaged the replacement of the roof, as currently the building lets in no light on the Grand Parade side; while the second was a midway project; and a third option was the one with the bells and whistles which would have seen the installation of a mezzanine floor on the Grand Parade side.

Other bells and whistles would have included solar panels to power the refrigerators and rainwater collectors, which would have been used for washing the floors and in the toilet block.

That was the one that would have made the English Market a stand out market in Europe and ensured its survival, said Mr OConnell.

You only have to look at what happened to the Coal Quay. Its all well and good to think that something is working really well, but its very difficult standing in that market in December with winds blowing and youre standing there selling fish and handling ice and whatever.

It doesnt have a lot of home comforts, but its an incredible market in the sense that the people that are in there are incredible characters with a sense of fun.

Mr OConnell said the English Market had become a key attraction in Cork as markets were dying out in Europe and were non-existent in the US.

He added that the city council had no problem spending money on the building in advance of the famous trip by the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Fishmonger Pat O'Connell said that the city council had no problem spending money on the building in advance of the famous trip by the late British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

We had the departments that we had never met in our lives floating around us, telling us how to lay out our counters and the like.

When she was gone, everything was gone, he said.

When Mr OConnells comments were put to Cork City Council, the authority responded with a statement referring to its establishment of a directorate with responsibility for the city centre last December.

The city centre development and operations directorate is tasked with preparing and implementing a city centre-specific strategy which will provide a blueprint for the future and revitalisation of Cork city centre, which will include supporting city centre businesses and include the traders currently operating within the English Market, a spokesperson said in the statement.

There continues to be active engagement between Cork City Council Planning and Integrated Development Directorate and the current traders within the English Market.

The strategy will inform, in part, the extent of works to improve and enhance the existing facility and positive contribution by traders to the vibrancy of the city centre.

Mr Finn said the variety of the market and expansion for the market should also be on the cards.

Apart from a structural upgrade, a better offering for customers and more capacity for traders is needed  particularly in the provision of on-site food options for visitors  as well as being a place where people buy fresh food, it should also be a place where more food offerings can be made available, maximising its potential.

Cork Business Association president Dave OBrien described the English Market as the beating heart of Corks food culture, a deep part of our citys heritage, and a powerful driver of local business and tourism.

Pat OConnell, of OConnells Fishmongers, one of the markets longest established businesses, said discussions have previously taken place with Cork City Council about different options to restore the building.

Continued and strategic investment is essential to safeguard this gem, while enhancing the experience for businesses, locals, and visitors.

With the right support, the market can thrive for generations to come.

Frank OConnor and Jude Sherry, both prominent campaigners for the restoration of buildings across Cork city, told The Echo that while Cork thought highly of itself, it was failing to deliver on many fronts when it came to valuing its build, architectural, and cultural heritage.

If the [English Market] is at risk then what else will also disappear in the coming years? the campaigners asked.
Organisers of this years Cork on a Fork Fest are urging people to secure tickets to their desired events as soon as possible.

The festival, taking place across Cork city from August 13 to 17, is led by Cork City Council and includes a wide range of events for everyone to enjoy.

Now in its fourth year, Cork on a Fork Fest spotlights local farmers, producers, chefs, and culinary innovators that shape the regions vibrant food scene.

This years programme will feature almost 100 events across the city, including pop-up dining experiences, street feasts, food trails, cooking demos, and foraging walks.

Highlights

Highlights include three special events at Glenbrook Farm in Whites Cross, such as a three-course 0-mile lunch, or a five-course Farm-to-Fork chef collaboration dinner, both of which will take place on August 17 at the farms converted calf shed.

The lunch and dinner menus will be curated by Pamela Kelly of Farmgate Cafe and Chris Braganza of The Spice Genie, with every ingredient sourced from the farm.

Organisers of the events have said that these 0-mile menus are not only packed with flavour, but also rooted in sustainability.

Each ticket includes a complimentary local drinks reception featuring Rebel City Distillery and Blarney Brewing Co, with additional wine vouchers also available at the event.

Another Glenbrook Farm event, taking place on August 13, will see guests enjoy a rustic spit-roasted supper hosted by Jane Gormley of Craicly  The Irish Story Project.

Attendees can expect an evening of warm hospitality and storytelling, with a drinks reception hosted by the Blarney Brewing Co.

Cork on a Fork Fest is organised and supported by Cork City Council in partnership with local hospitality businesses.

For the full event lineup and booking information, visit: www.corkonaforkfest.ie.
The trade deal struck between the EU and US must not include anything which compromises on safety, Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, who represents Cork, has said.

Ms Ni Mhurchu, a member of the EU Transport committee, has raised concerns over the trade deal struck between Japan and the United States which reportedly removes domestic Japanese safety testing requirements for American-made vehicles exported to Japan.

She echoed calls by European safety experts that the EU should not follow suit and allow US vehicles to enter EU markets without being subject to EU specific crash testing or safety compliance requirements.

We cannot water down our safety standards to placate a Trump administration that only cares about the bottom line.

We have applied world class automotive safety regulation standards in the EU and that has saved countless lives.

"If we allow vehicles to bypass established national safety standards for the sake of trade expediency with the US, we risk turning back the clock on decades of progress in reducing road deaths.

Ms Ni Mhurchu noted previous assurances from the European Commission that EU safety standards are not on the table in ongoing trade discussions with the United States but cautioned negotiators not to be swayed by the whims of the Trump administration.

European consumers should be confident that all products sold on the EU market should meet our rigorous existing European regulatory standards in full, she added.
Two Cork TDs have been told that Cork County Council has insufficient maintenance funding to take requests to repair issues in social housing, but the council insists that this is not the case.

On Tuesday, Labour TD Eoghan Kenny called on housing minister James Browne to introduce emergency funding to local authorities including Cork County Council, after he was told while pursuing a maintenance request for a constituent that the budget had run out for requests other than emergencies.

He said: It is totally unacceptable that in the midst of a decade-long housing emergency that a local authority would not have a sufficient budget to maintain the properties they are responsible for, with so many people living in council housing in such need for maintenance works in their homes.

Health

This will have an adverse effect on residents in terms of their health, particularly where residents are experiencing damp and mould.

It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure the housing they provide is of an acceptable standard.

Independent Ireland TD Ken OFlynn said he was also told by a council staff member that the council has exhausted its annual housing repair budget.

This is nothing short of a scandal, he said.

We are halfway through the year, and Cork County Council has no money left to repair local authority homes.

That means broken windows, leaking roofs, damp walls, unsafe electrics, and vulnerable tenants left without help.

Mr OFlynn also called for a full review of how housing maintenance budgets are calculated and distributed, pointing to Corks growing population, ageing housing stock, and increased maintenance demand.

However, a council spokesperson told The Echo: Cork County Council has not run out of funding for housing maintenance.

The council continues to respond to repairs requests and its planned maintenance programme for 2025 is ongoing.

Repairs and maintenance continue to be prioritised having regard to the needs of the tenant and the nature of the works required.

Mr Kenny told The Echo: If county council is informing people that there is enough funding, why have I been contacted about 30 issues that theyre saying cant be solved because funding isnt available?
Researchers at University College Cork (UCC) have developed a new sensor that significantly advances the detection of ammonia pollution in real-time.

The sensor comes as a result of the UCC-led and EU-funded RADICAL project, with the findings published in the ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces journal.

The new technology looks at transforming environmental monitoring, removing the cost barriers to farmers and supporting the enhancement of sustainable farming practices.

Efficient detection of ammonia (NH) is essential for reducing air and water pollution, safeguarding human health, promoting sustainable agriculture, and shaping climate and environmental policies.

Current technologies for NH measurement include spectroscopic techniques and sensors that are expensive, bulky, and impractical for widespread or field applications.

SENSOR

The nanowire sensor, developed by researchers at UCC, is sensitive and precise, consumes minimal power, and operates at room temperature, allowing for real-time air quality monitoring.

The sensor design is compatible with existing technology, and can quickly and reliably detect ammonia, even in small amounts, and provide a portable solution for use in diverse environments.

Ammonia pollution primarily originates from agricultural activities and poses significant environmental and health risks. In Ireland, where agriculture plays a major role, ammonia emissions are a critical concern.

ATMOSPHERE

Once in the atmosphere, ammonia reacts with acidic gases to form particulate matter (PM2.5), which is harmful to human health and can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Direct exposure can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs.

Environmentally, excess ammonia causes water pollution, leading to algal blooms and eutrophication, which harm aquatic life. It also impacts air quality and climate.

Dr Vaishali Vardhan, lead author of the paper, said that this new sensor is a powerful tool for both air quality monitoring and research.

It is low in cost, small, and suitable for large-scale deployment, said Dr Vardhan.

What distinguishes our technology is the use of bare silicon nanowires, avoiding complex hybridisation techniques, which makes the sensor more affordable and scalable. The integration of UV light further boosts its sensitivity, enabling efficient detection of ammonia at low concentrations.

Professor Justin Holmes, RADICAL project coordinator, said that this pioneering technology is set to revolutionise environmental monitoring in the agricultural sector.

It will allow farmers to make more informed decisions, benefiting both their businesses and the environment as a whole, said Mr Holmes.
A large solar farm at Corks Lee Valley has been refused permission by Cork County Council. Developer Aglish Solar Farm Limited sought 10-year permission for a solar farm with a total area of circa 161 hectares and an operational lifespan of 40 years.

The 100MW solar farm would have generated enough electricity to power almost 49,000 homes.

The plans included solar panels on ground mounted frames, 23 single storey electrical inverter/transformer stations, as well as spare parts containers, security fencing, CCTV, weather stations, and underground electrical ducting and cabling within the site.

A range of assessments and screening was undertaken by the developers including a landscape and visual impact assessment which stated:

Landscape impacts are not considered to exceed moderate-slight significance, even in the immediate context of the site and residual visual impacts are not considered to exceed slight significance.

There were more than 140 objections lodged against the development by local residents, farmers and community groups, who raised concerns about visual impact and the affect on local roads.

Citing the reasons for refusal, the councils planning department said:

On the basis of information submitted, the applicant has not demonstrated that sufficient archaeological investigations have been undertaken to guide the proposed development towards preserving in-situ potential archaeological features and thereby safeguarding archaeological heritage.

The proposed development would therefore contravene County Development Plan Objectives HE 16-9 and HE 16-13, would seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity, and would set an undesirable precedent if granted permission.
A couple who came to Cork on the promise of employment ended up begging on the streets and collecting plastic bottles to raise money to buy food.

That was the scenario described by defence solicitor Eddie Burke when he represented 33-year-old Gabriela Iftimia, of no fixed address, at Cork District Court.

Ms Iftimia pleaded guilty to three counts of obstructing the free passage of pedestrians by begging in Cork city at Paul St, Oliver Plunkett St, and Patrick St, on dates from April 30 last year to Tuesday, July 29, this year.

She had four previous convictions from Drogheda District Court for the same offence committed on dates between October 2022 and April 2023.

She was fined for those offences.

Mr Burke said she and her husband have children back in Romania, and had come to Ireland for employment which had not materialised.

They have been collecting plastic bottles to raise money to try and feed themselves, Mr Burke said.

The defence solicitor said the defendant planned to return to her children in Romania on August 20.

Judge Mary Dorgan said that she would adjourn the matter of sentencing until September 16 for evidence of a flight ticket, indicating that the defendant had left the jurisdiction and had returned to Romania.
A woman who parked her motorbike in Cork city was punched in the face by another woman who knocked it over, and she also bit a security man on the hand when he tried to intervene to protect the injured party.

Teegan Lonergan, 25, of Cork Simon Community, was described as a menace when she is drinking on the streets, but against that she has been doing very well in prison in rehabilitating and availing of services.

Solicitor Eddie Burke said she was looking much better as a result of a number of days in prison. Judge Philip OLeary agreed and said it was sad to hear of her getting into such difficulties on the streets as a young woman. He imposed an overall sentence of five months on Ms Lonergan.

Mr Burke said:

She has a very bad alcohol problem. She does not seem to have an issue with drugs. She had the good grace at least to apologise for her actions at Daunt Square.

Judge OLeary said: She is a menace on the street when she has drink taken. She is a danger to other people and to herself.

Mr Burke agreed, but said: She has the whole of her life ahead of her if only she could engage with services.

Imposing the five-month sentence for the assault on the motorbike owner and the security guard at Daunt Square, Cork, Judge OLeary said: These are innocent bystanders.

Inspector Ray Dunne said that on March 16 at Daunt Square, she took a womans parked motorcycle and threw it on the ground, causing damage to a brake cable and petrol tank.

When the owner confronted Teegan Lonergan, the defendant threw two punches at her, hitting her on the side of the head. A security officer from a nearby premises came to the assistance of the injured party and tried to restrain Teegan Lonergan, who bit him on the hand. This bite did not draw blood.

She was highly intoxicated and a danger to herself and others. Subsequently, she was interviewed and stated that she couldnt remember anything but did apologise.

Less than a month later, she was involved in another disturbance at MacCurtain St on April 5, where she knocked over a large street plant decoration causing 200 damage.

She was shouting at someone and using abusive language. She was approached by gardai and attempted to flee, but was apprehended.

On June 4 at Paul St, she was verbally abusive to gardai and told them, fuck off, ye handicap bastards. Finally, on June 24 at Shalom Park on Albert Rd, she was again drunk and a danger, and was also threatening towards gardai who woke her when she was lying on the ground with bags scattered around her and with a pillow under her head.

Judge OLeary wished Ms Lonergan well in maintaining sobriety after her release from prison.
Latest:

John O'Donoghue (15) who was missing from Bandon, Co. Cork since the night of Monday, July 28, has been found safe and well.

A garda spokesperson said: "An Garda Siochana would like to thank the media and the public for their assistance."

Earlier:

Gardai are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 15-year-old John ODonoghue who is reported missing from Bandon, County Cork. John was last seen in Bandon at approximately 10:30pm on Monday, 28th July 2025.

John is described as being approximately 5 foot 5 inches in height with a slim build. He has fair hair and blue eyes with a tattoo on his lower right forearm.

When last seen, he was wearing a grey tracksuit and runners.

John is described as being approximately 5 foot 5 inches in height with a slim build.

Anyone with information on Johns whereabouts is asked to contact Bandon Garda Station on 023 8852200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
David Raleigh

The parents of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died last Tuesday after waiting years for scoliosis surgery, said they will continue to campaign for healthcare for children with serious life-threatening conditions.

We are devastated, Harvey was our rock star, said Stephen Morrison, Harvey's father.

We have to continue to campaign for other kids, because if we didnt we would be doing Harvey a disservice.

After a while we will go strong again in our campaign. There are so many other children like Harvey and families like ours who need help and support, Mr Morrison said.

Harvey was our little rock star, he would burst into a room, he wanted to let everyone know he was in the room.

Anyone who met him said he had these big wide beautiful eyes that would draw you into him, a lot of people said to us that they felt like Harvey was here before, that he was an old soul.

Harvey was battling for so long, we are absolutely devastated.

Harvey, from Clondalkin in Dublin, was waiting three years for scoliosis surgery as the curvature on his spine continued to extend to a life-threatening 130 degrees.

The spinal curve grew so serious that it was crushing Harveys ribcage and lungs and putting severe pressure on his heart.

His condition was highlighted in February 2024 when his parents shared a video of their son struggling to breathe due to the curve on his spine.

His story as well as growing waiting lists for childrens surgery nationally were all later highlighted in the Dail.

Despite long demanding action over their sons surgery, his mother Gillian Sherratt discovered during a routine enquiry last August that, in fact, Harvey had been removed from Childrens Health Irelands active scoliosis surgical waiting list without their knowledge and despite Harvey requiring the life-saving operation.

While not directly involved in their sons care, orthopaedic surgeon David Moore, director of a recently formed government appointed spinal surgery to deal with the inadequate surgical services, emailed Ms Sherratt in response and told her: "I apologise for any misunderstanding that appears to have occurred in respect of Harvey's case."

Mr Moore also explained in the email that Harvey was not a candidate for surgery abroad, but that he was "happy to facilitate Harvey being reviewed by two Irish-based surgeons.

Harvey eventually had his surgery last December. However, his curve had grown to such a significant size it was impossible to completely correct it.

Professor Damian McCormack, lead consultant surgeon in paediatric orthopaedic surgery at Temple Street Childrens Hospital, performed the surgery reducing some of the pressure on the boys lungs and heart.

Ms Sherratt said at the time that she and Mr Morrison had huge respect for Prof McCormack, and that they were so thankful to Professor Damian McCormack for being the only person that was actually willing to operate on Harvey.

Professor McCormack and consultant surgeon Connor Green had previously addressed an Oireachtas Health Committee calling on CHI and the State for more resources to help tackle the scoliosis surgery waiting list scandal, and regularly advocated for better training for Irish surgeons to tackle the most complex scoliosis cases at home.

Harvey was one of those complex cases, his parents explained on a number of occasions, as they campaigned for more timely treatment for children with scoliosis and other serious health issues.

Harveys remains will repose at Massey Bros Funeral Home, Clondalkin, Dublin, from 3pm-5pm, Friday, August 1st.

He will be remembered at a public cremation service at Newland's Crematorium Chapel, Newlands Cross, Dublin, at 1pm on Saturday.

His parents have invited friends and the wider public to join us to celebrate Harveys life, and dress in colour at his cremation service, and they asked that mourners make a donation, if desired, to Child Vision In Memory of Harvey, in lieu of flowers at eventmaster.ie/fundraising/pages/HM05004227/donate.html

Harvey is survived by his parents Gillian and Stephen, his sister Lyla and brother Remy, grandparents Ann, Gordon, Christina and Thomas, and his aunts, uncles and cousins.
Olivia Kelleher

A file will be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions after a man and woman were held for questioning in connection with the death of a woman who was attacked at a soup kitchen in Cork city centre last year.

Vanessa OCallaghan (36) had just been given some food and a sleeping bag by a member of a volunteer group when she was set upon in Patrick Street on December 1st, 2024. She was assaulted by up to three people.

One of the volunteers rushed to her assistance and commenced CPR prior to the arrival of paramedics. However, Ms OCallaghan died at Cork University Hospital three days later.

On Wednesday a man and a woman in their 30s were arrested in connection with the death of Ms OCallaghan. They were held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in Cork. They having since been released without charge.

Investigations are ongoing, gardai said.
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.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is home to many species of rare and endangered wildlife, such as mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and bonobos. But the country has plans to open more than half its land  including 306 million acres of intact tropical forest and vital gorilla habitat  to oil and gas drilling.

DRCs government began an auctioning round for 52 oil blocks  in addition to three that had been previously awarded  threatening 64 percent of the countrys pristine forest, according to a new report by Earth Insight: Forests to Frontlines: Oil Expansion Threats in the DRC.

Towering rainforest canopies, winding river systems, and vast carbon-rich peatlands make the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) one of the most ecologically significant places on Earth. Home to the second-largest tropical rainforest on the planet, the DRC harbors an astonishing wealth of biodiversity including elephants, great apes, endemic birds, and thousands of plant species that thrive in its intact ecosystems, a press release from Earth Insight said. Its Cuvette Centrale peatlands store massive amounts of carbon, critical to fighting climate change. The landscapes that form this rich mosaic of life are also a lifeline for millions of people, supporting local livelihoods, cultural identity, and climate resilience.

It is estimated that the area being auctioned off is home to about 39 million people, including many forest-based and Indigenous communities who depend on the tropical forests and rivers for their survival.

Imagine: 39 million Congolese people and 64% of our forests could be directly affected by the awarding of these oil blocks, said Pascal Mirindi, Notre Terre Sans Petroles campaign coordinator, as The Guardian reported. And all this while the government is promoting the Kivu-Kinshasa ecological corridor. Where is the logic? Where is the coherence? We are reminding our leaders that the Congolese people are the primary sovereign. We will not remain silent while certain people organise themselves to sell off our future.

Gorilla habitats and pristine forest at risk as DRC opens half of country to oil and gas drilling bids



[image or embed]  Guardian Environment (@environment.theguardian.com) July 29, 2025 at 12:04 AM

Oil blocks overlap with 20.5 million acres of protected areas, 21.3 million acres of Key Biodiversity Acres and 165.1 million acres of intact tropical forests. Meanwhile, 72 percent of the recently established Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor intersects with oil blocks. This jeopardizes its ecological integrity and undermines its sustainable development credibility as a climate solution.

The majority of Cuvette Centrale  the largest tropical peatland complex in the world and a critical carbon sink that stores roughly 30 gigatons of carbon  is also part of the newly designated oil blocks and at extreme risk of degradation.

The ecological health of the DRC is deeply intertwined with the health of the planet, playing an outsized role in regulating the global climate and preserving biodiversity. Yet despite strong national and international opposition, the DRC has continued to pursue fossil fuel development across ecologically sensitive areas. In 2022, the government launched a controversial auction for 30 oil and gas blocks, many of which overlapped with protected areas, peatlands, and Indigenous and local lands, Earth Insight said.

The latest round of auctions is a drastic expansion of the controversial 2022 auction and is a direct threat to the DRCs conservation goals, undermining its global commitments to the protection of biodiversity and climate action.

The DRCs new oil licensing round calls into question the countrys stated commitment to environmental protection and social progress. Rather than steering away from fossil fuel expansion, the government has dramatically widened the reach of oil concessions, putting at risk the ecological integrity of the Congo Basin, Earth Insight said. More than half of the country (53%) is now covered by oil blocks, threatening vast areas of ecological importance, disrupting local livelihoods, and threatening lands of cultural and spiritual significance, undermining the countrys potential for sustainable development.

The report proposes that [i]n line with the demands of Congolese Civil Society, the DRC government and its international partners cancel the 2025 licensing round and stop all future hydrocarbon expansion.

It also asks that the rights of local communities and Indigenous Peoples be respected and upheld, and that donor support and international financing be aligned with the countrys commitments to biodiversity, rights and climate. It highlights the need for communities and civil society to be involved in environmental governance, decision-making and monitoring, with a guarantee of meaningful participation and transparency.

Oil and gas development in these fragile ecosystems would have devastating impacts on biodiversity, communities, land rights and the global fight against climate change, said Anna Bebbington, an Earth Insight research manager, as reported by The Guardian.

The Earth Insight report is a partnership with DRC-based Coalition des Organisations de la Societe Civile pour le Suivi des Reformes et de Action Publique (CORAP) and Our Land Without Oil, along with Rainforest Foundation UK.
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.

A monarch butterfly in the butterfly pavilion at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in Los Angeles, California on June 1, 2022. David Crane / MediaNews Group / Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images

A new peer-reviewed study has linked pesticides as a likely cause to a mass die-off of Western monarch butterflies that occurred in 2024.

In January 2024, researchers found hundreds of dead or dying monarch butterflies near the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary in California, where Western monarch butterflies typically overwinter.

As The Guardian reported, researchers found the butterflies showing signs of neurotoxic pesticide poisoning, leading to further testing and analysis that has now been published in the journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

The researchers tested the dead butterflies using liquid and gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, which led the team to find a mix of 15 insecticides, herbicides and fungicides present on the butterflies.

We found an average of seven different pesticides per butterfly, including multiple insecticides that are highly toxic to insects, Staci Cibotti, lead author of the study and pesticide risk prevention specialist at Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, said in a statement. Although a review by Monterey County could not determine the source of the chemicals, the high levels detected suggest that insecticides were likely responsible for the monarch deaths.

According to the study, three human-made pyrethroid insecticides, including bifenthrin, cypermethrin and permethrin, were found at or near their lethal doses. Further, every sample included bifenthrin and cypermethrin, and all but two samples contained permethrin.

Western monarch butterflies overwinter along the Pacific coast, but they are vulnerable to pesticide residue and drift from nearby farms and urban areas, Cibotti explained.

According to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservations annual Western Monarch Count, monarch populations dropped to the second-lowest number ever recorded in 2024, and by 2025, overwintering Western monarchs totaled just 9,119 individuals.

There were already reasons to suspect pesticides for the death of hundreds of monarchs at an overwintering site in 2024, but our new research provides clear evidence of what happened. Each monarch had, on average, 7 different pesticides, many at lethal doses.  xerces.org/press/study-



[image or embed]  The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (@xercessociety.bsky.social) July 23, 2025 at 3:31 PM

The Western monarch butterfly population has declined by almost 95% since the 1980s, Xerces Society reported. Migratory monarch butterflies are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that Western monarch butterflies have a 99% chance of becoming extinct by 2080, the Los Angeles Times reported.

As such, preventing the deadly effects of pesticides is a priority for monarch butterfly conservation. Following the study results, Xerces Society has recommended several actions, including increased education about pesticide risks and safer alternatives, establishment of pesticide-free zones around overwintering sites, greater pesticide exposure protections in conservation and recovery plans for butterflies, and stronger coordination and tracking for pesticide risks by public officials.

Protecting monarchs from pesticides will require both public education and policy change, Emily May, co-author of the study and agricultural conservation lead at Xerces Society, said in a statement. We are committed to working with communities and decision-makers to ensure that overwintering sites are healthy refuges for these butterflies.

Update: On Aug. 4 EcoWatch received the following statement from Staci Cibotti, lead author of the study and pesticide risk prevention specialist at Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation:

Although this incident occurred in California, pesticide exposure is a widespread threat to monarchs across their range. These chemicals are commonly used not only in agriculture, but also across developed landscapes for structural pest control, home gardening, landscaping, turf management, mosquito abatement and more. Pesticides are even applied in some natural areas to manage things like forest pests and disease vectors. All of these uses can pose risks to monarchs and other pollinators.

Another key takeaway from this incident is just how vulnerable monarchs are to these types of incidents during migration and overwintering. These are times when butterflies gather in large numbers, meaning even a single pesticide application has the potential to kill hundreds of individuals at once. This was seen not only in Pacific Grove in 2024, but also in a similar event in North Dakota in September 2020, when hundreds of monarchs were found dead following a mosquito control spray that occurred during their annual migration. Because migration and overwintering are particularly sensitive phases of the monarchs migratory cycle, reducing pesticide exposure during these windows is critical. Not only to prevent immediate losses, but also to support the populations ability to rebound in the spring and recover over the long term.
(Photo: REUTERS / Kyodo)People wait in queue to offer prayers for the victims of the 1945 atomic bombing, in the rain at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, in this photo taken by Kyodo August 6, 2014, on the 69th anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing.

The World Council of Churches' general secretary, Rev. Jerry Pillay, has called for unity in the church community in opposition to nuclear issues as the world approaches commemorating the first atomic bombing carried out by the United States in Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, the only wartime acts of nuclear bombing.

The statement for the WCC from Pillay on July 23 in a call for a Peaceful Pacific, reminding that churches have a duty to speak for those without a voice.

The WCC statement said that in September 2025, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders meeting will formally adopt the "Ocean of Peace Declaration," a bold regional pledge to move beyond militarized security toward holistic, relational peace.

"Yet this vision unfolds amid intensifying great-power rivalry," sionshe WCC. Too often, Pacific voices are relegated to the margins of these power contests.

"By centring Pacific island prioritiescommunity resilience, ecological stewardship, cultural integrityrather than serving as chess pieces in geopolitical competition, the Ocean of Peace Declaration can reassert the agency of Pacific peoples."

In partnership with the Pacific Conference of Churches, the WCC is calling on all in the global ecumenical movement, PIF leaders, and external partners to uphold the principle of "neighborhood not hegemony," ensuring that every policy respects free, prior, and informed consent and advances the "wellbeing of fenua(land), moana (ocean), and people."

The WCC said it reaffirms support for a nuclear-free Pacific, standing in solidarity with affected communities in Ma'ohi Nui, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati.

"We call for: Independent assessments of nuclear test impacts, transparent data access, reparations, environmental remediation, and universal ratification of the Treaty of Rarotonga and of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)," said the WCC that represents around half a billion Christians from mainly Anglican, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions.

The WCC reaffirms its position that true peace requires "the dismantling of colonial systems of control and oppression."

Therefore, the world church grouping calls for the continued listing of Ma'ohi Nui and Kanaky on the UN decolonisation agenda until full self-determination is achieved.

It also seeks a transparent plan from France to decolonise by 2030 and an international review of Hawai'i's political status.

Further, it calls for the Full implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly in Aotearoa and Australia.

The WCC said it believes that military exercises like RIMPAC and Marara, often involving AI and autonomous weapons, undermine peace.

So, it is urging transparency and consent for all military activity and a UN moratorium on autonomous weapons systems, as well as island-led efforts to establish demilitarised maritime zones.

It also noted that the Pacific Ocean is central to the future of life on the Living Planet.

"Therefore, we call for: A global ban on deep-sea mining, and affirmation of the leadership of Pacific churches in climate advocacy," and the inclusion of frontline Pacific voices in UN climate forums.

The WCC seeks the promotion of eco-communal theology that unites Scripture, Indigenous wisdom, and science, and continued church divestment from fossil fuels and action for climate justice.
We're getting super close to finding out when the annual Apple iPhone event will take place, giving us a first look at the new iPhone 17 lineup. We should also find out the official date for downloading the latest software update, iOS 26. If you can't wait any longer, you can download and install the newly released public beta 4 (or iOS 26 developer beta 8 for developers). I've been playing around with it for the past couple of weeks, and have found that taking screenshots is way better in the new operating system  Google and ChatGPT search options are now in the screenshots editor, for instance. You can see a more complete view of the new features in our preview of the iOS 26 public beta release, which shows off the fresh home and lock screen redesign. Called Liquid Glass, the translucent look will extend across all of Apple's upcoming operating systems. The overhaul is one of several big changes coming to iOS, macOS, iPadOS and the rest of Apple's software suite, all of which were showcased during the company's WWDC keynote on June 9.

After overpromising on AI plans last year, Apple kept its iOS roadmap focused more on basic quality of life improvements this year. There are multiple useful additions coming to the Phone and Messages apps on your iPhone, for instance: Apple execs outlined the ability to weed out spam texts or other unknown senders and an option to hold your spot on a phone call when you've been waiting for a representative to pick up. Plus, a treasured feature that we took for granted is coming back (hint: it's in the Photos app).

Siri, meanwhile, is in a holding pattern. Apple has previously specified that its smarter voice assistant  first promised at WWDC 2024  is delayed until some point "in the coming year," so you shouldn't expect any major changes in the current betas. But there are reports that Apple is aiming to give Siri a bigger brain transplant by basing it on third-party artificial intelligence models like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude, which could make 2026 a pivotal year. The company is also reportedly working on a 'stripped-down' AI chatbot to rival ChatGPT.

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With each beta, it seems like additional new improvements are popping up, like this new AirPods gesture we're all curious about, and this FaceTime feature that'll freeze your video if it detects nudity. With the release of the iOS 26 developer beta 5, we saw more added features, like a new bouncy animation on the passcode screen and in the Control Center, MacRumors reports. Some or all of those changes will likely soon migrate into the separate public beta (see below). Most newer iPhone models are eligible to download iOS 26 (both the betas and final version). Want to see the full list of new features coming this fall? Read on.

What is iOS 26?

The current iPhone operating system is iOS 18, and Apple is still actively updating it  version 18.6.1 was released to restore Apple Watch blood oxygen monitoring functionality for certain users in the US. More recently, Apple released 18.6.2 to address a vulnerability related to image processing. Apple has officially stopped signing iOS 18.6, MacRumors reports, which means it can no longer be installed on your iPhone due to a "server-side software verification check." That's pretty normal when newer versions are available to download.

But don't expect to see iOS 19 soon  or ever. Instead, Apple is skipping the numbering ahead to iOS 26 later this year. The company has decided to line up its iOS version numbers with a year-based system, similar to car model years. So while iOS and its sibling operating systems will be released in late 2025, they're all designated "26" to reflect the year ahead.

It's official, we're moving to iOS 26. (Apple)

What is Liquid Glass design?

Let's be honest. Out of everything announced at WWDC this year, the new Liquid Glass design was the star of the show. The iPhone's home and lock screens have looked pretty much the same year after year  the last exciting thing (in my opinion) was the option to add your own aesthetic to your home screen by customizing your apps and widgets. So seeing the home and lock screens' new facelift is refreshing.

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So what exactly is Liquid Glass? Apple calls it a "new translucent material" since, well, the apps and widgets are clear. However, the screen can still adapt to dark and light modes, depending on surroundings. You'll also notice buttons with a new floating design in several apps, like Phone and Maps. They're designed to be less distracting than the current buttons, but are still easy to see. While the design overhaul has proven to be controversial since its announcement, some  including Engadget's own Devindra Hardawar  like the new direction, even if it's somewhat reminiscent of Microsoft's translucent Windows Vista Aero designs from nearly twenty years ago.

That said, as of the release of the iOS 26 beta 2, Apple has already incorporated some user feedback into the design, dialing back the transparency in at least some places. And while it will continue to evolve, Apple users won't be able to escape it: Liquid Glass was designed to make all of Apple's OSes more cohesive. Here's a look at how the translucent aesthetic will look with the new macOS Tahoe 26 on your desktop.

What are the new and notable features of iOS 26?

iOS 26 has a laundry list of new features. Among the most worthwhile:

Phone app redesign: You'll finally be able to scroll through contacts, recent calls and voicemail messages all on one screen. It also comes with a new feature called Hold Assist that'll notify you when an agent comes to the phone so you can avoid the elevator music and continue on with other tasks.

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Live Translation in Phone, FaceTime and Messages: iOS 26 is bringing the ability to have a conversation via phone call or text message with someone who speaks another language. Live Translation will translate your conversation in real time, which results in some stop-and-go interactions in the examples Apple shared during its presentation.

Polls in group chats: Tired of sorting through what seems like hundreds of messages in your group chat? You and your friends will soon be able to create polls in group messages for deciding things like which brunch spot you're eating at or whose car you're taking on a road trip.

Filtering unknown senders in Messages: If you haven't received spam texts about unpaid tolls or other citations, you're lucky. For those of us who have, those annoying messages will soon be filtered away in a separate folder.

Visual Intelligence: Similar to a reverse Google image search, this new feature will allow you to search for anything that's on your iPhone screen. For instance, if you spot a pair of shoes someone is wearing in an Instagram photo, you can screenshot it and use Visual Intelligence to find those shoes (or similar ones) online.

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Photos tabs are back: For anyone who's still frustrated with the Photos changes made last year, you'll be happy to know that your tabs are coming back. Library and Collections will have their own separate spaces so you don't have to scroll to infinity to find what you're looking for.

FaceTime "Communication Safety" feature: A newer addition to iOS 26 appears to be the FaceTime "Communication Safety" feature that pauses communications if and when nudity is detected. The feature appears to be a child safety feature that uses on-device detection, thus obviating any cloud-based privacy issues.

New lock screen options: The iPhone lock screen gets more customizable in iOS 26, with a cooler clock, 3D wallpaper effects, more widgets and better focus mode options.

Apple's Hold Assist will be nifty for those pesky services that put you on hold for 10 or more minutes. (Apple)

New changes coming to iPadOS 26

Your iPad isn't getting left behind when it comes to big updates. Here's what's coming this fall.

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Multitasking and real windowing: When you download the newest update, you'll be able to have multiple apps running on your screen at the same time. Once you open an app, it'll appear on your screen as normal but you'll be able to resize and move it across your screen to make room for other apps. This feature is optional so you can turn it off if you don't like it.

Visual update: Along with the other new OSes, iPadOS 26 is coming with the Liquid Glass aesthetic. This new look will appear on the lock and home screens, as well as the drop-down menus.

New menu bar: When you swipe down on your screen, the new menu bar will appear with options like File, Edit, Windows and more. There's also a search option if you're looking for something specific.

Check out our first impressions of iPadOS 26.

What about AirPods?

AirPods are also getting updated with iOS 26. Here are some of the more notable functions.

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Enhanced audio recording: Apple calls this "studio-quality" audio recording, and with it, you'll notice more clarity while in noisy environments.

Camera remote control: Using this, you can take a photo or start and stop video recording with just one press on your AirPods. When taking photos, you'll get a three-second countdown before your iPhone or iPad snaps the picture.

Live translation feature: While not officially announced or confirmed, it appears that the long-rumored live translation for AirPods could be coming with iOS 26. The evidence comes from a system asset spotted in the in iOS 26 beta showing a gesture that's triggered by pressing both earbud stems at the same time. The photo also shows words in several different languages.

Heart rate monitoring (rumored for now): Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes Apple will introduce new AirPods Pro earbuds this year, which could have heart rate monitoring. It would work with Apple's Health app and other fitness apps that track heart rates.

Which iPhones will be able to upgrade to iOS 26?

A few iPhone models that run the current version of iOS  iPhone XR, XS and XS Max  won't be compatible with the latest upgrade. But any iPhones released in 2019 or later will be eligible for the iOS 26 update.

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iPhone SE (second generation or later)

iPhone 11

iPhone 11 Pro

iPhone 11 Pro Max

iPhone 12

iPhone 12 mini

iPhone 12 Pro

iPhone 12 Pro Max

iPhone 13

iPhone 13 mini

iPhone 13 Pro

iPhone 13 Pro Max

iPhone 14

iPhone 14 Plus

iPhone 14 Pro

iPhone 14 Pro Max

iPhone 15

iPhone 15 Plus

iPhone 15 Pro

iPhone 15 Pro Max

iPhone 16

iPhone 16 Plus

iPhone 16 Pro

iPhone 16 Pro Max

iPhone 16e

Not listed here are the presumed new iPhone 17 models (or maybe iPhone 26?) that are all but certain to be announced and released in September.

How to install iOS 26 beta

The iOS 26 public beta is now available to download via the Apple Beta Software Program. If you're not already a member, you'll need to sign up to try out all the latest features. Just visit beta.apple.com and sign up with your phone number or email address. It's free.

Once you're in, you can install it by going to Settings > General > Software Update and selecting iOS 26 public beta.

A word of caution: Don't sign up with your main iPhone unless you're OK with any risks that occur with using an OS that isn't finalized.

When will the final version of iOS 26 be released?

iOS 26 will be released to the public this fall. It usually comes in September, within a week of the Apple iPhone event. Last year, it rolled out to iPhone users on September 16  exactly one week after the iPhone 16 lineup was announced.

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If you're more interested in the Apple Intelligence features coming, here's everything Apple revealed for iOS, macOS and more during WWDC. Also, check out how iOS 26 screenshots could be an intriguing preview of Apple's delayed Siri rework.

Update, August 25: Added a rumor about new AirPods Pro having heart rate monitoring.

Update, August 22: Noted that Apple has officially stopped signing iOS 18.6.

Update, August 20: Noted that iOS 26 public beta 4 and iOS 18.6.2 are now available to download.

Update, August 18: Added details about a potential iOS 18.6 update.

Update, August 15: Added to link to what to expect at the Apple iPhone event and details about what's available in the iOS 26 screenshots editor.

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Update, August 13: Added new AirPods detail spotted in the iOS 26 beta.

Update, August 11: Noted that iOS 26 developer beta has hit beta 6.

Update, August 8: Added new features coming with iPadOS 26 and AirPods.

Update, August 6: Noted the release of iOS 26 beta 5 and the new bouncy feature on passcode screen and Control Center.

Update, August 4: Noted that Apple is reportedly working on a ChatGPT rival.

Update, August 1: Added quote from Tim Cook about iOS 26.

Update, July 31: Noted that iOS 18.6 is now available.

Update, July 24: Noted the iOS 26 public beta is now available.

Update, July 3: Noted new FaceTime feature found in the developer beta.

Update, June 30: Noted ongoing iOS 18 releases, and reports that Apple is considering additional external LLMs for Siri.

Update, June 25: Noted changes added in iOS 26 beta 2.
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UPDATE:

The missing endangered person advisory for Lyza Gersitz-McClain has been cancelled after she was located safe.

MISSOULA, Mont.  Missoula Police issued a Missing Endangered Person Advisory for a 16-year-old girl driving to Rathdrum Idaho to meet up with a stranger. Police say that she is in danger.

She is travelling in a 1997 Tan GMC Sierra, with a Montana personalized plate, TH3DUCK.

Her name is Lyza Rose Gersitz-McClain.

She is travelling with a young male. Law enforcement say that she is in danger.

If you have any information regarding Gersitz-McClain, or if you see their car, call the Missoula Police Department at 406-552-6300 or dial 911.
Farmers and growers could soon have a new weapon against weedswheat varieties bred to outgrow them, thanks to new research.

A major research project is being launched by AHDB to better understand how certain winter wheat traits can naturally suppress weeds  particularly in organic and low-input farming systems.

The initiative aims to support cereal and oilseed growers in moving away from heavy reliance on herbicides, instead focusing on more sustainable, environmentally friendly weed management practices.

The project stems from insights gathered during the 2022/23 review of AHDBs Recommended Lists (RL), where levy payers highlighted the need for cereal varieties that are more competitive against grass weeds.

Research increasingly shows that choosing competitive crop varieties can help suppress weed growth, reducing both chemical input and long-term weed pressure.

This new three-year study  running from June 2025 to December 2027  will work to identify the specific traits that make certain winter wheat varieties more effective at outcompeting weeds.

These findings will help guide both farmers and plant breeders in variety selection and development.

Delivered in partnership with RSK ADAS Ltd, Cope Seeds (UK) Limited, the Organic Research Centre (ORC), and UK Grain Lab, the project will carry out a series of on-farm trials across the UK.

These trials will focus on both organic and low-input systems, generating robust, real-world data on how different traits affect weed competitiveness.

The results will feed into AHDBs wider crop physiology dataset, helping to enhance the guidance available through the RL and strengthen long-term integrated weed management strategies.

Henny Lowth, senior knowledge transfer manager at AHDB, said: We know that managing weeds without chemicals is a key challenge for growers in low-input and organic systems.

"This project represents a major step toward providing clear, evidence-based guidance on how variety choice can support integrated weed management.

"Were excited to be working with our partners and the farming community to deliver meaningful, field-tested results.
Food businesses are being urged not to play roulette with customer safety, as the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) warns of a surge in risky imported eggs flooding the UK market.

Since the beginning of the year, the volume of imported eggs has risen significantly, prompting fears that eggs produced to lower food safety standards than the British Lion scheme could trigger foodborne illness outbreaks similar to those seen in parts of Europe.

Particular concern has been raised about large quantities of eggs arriving from Poland and Ukraine. The industry is still reeling from a major salmonella outbreak in the UK, which was directly linked to imported Polish eggs.

The BEIC is urging all food businessesespecially those catering to vulnerable groups such as babies, young children, pregnant women and the elderlyto carefully examine the source of their eggs and ensure they meet British Lion standards.

Only British Lion eggs are approved by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to be consumed runny by all age groups; imported eggs do not hold this endorsement.

Nick Allen, chief executive of the British Egg Industry Council, expressed serious concern over the increasing presence of imported eggs in the UK, particularly from countries with a history of food safety breaches.

Were seeing a worrying rise in imported eggs entering the UK, many from countries where food safety issues have arisen, he said. These eggs dont get close to matching the safety standards of British Lion eggs.

He highlighted that eggs from Poland were directly linked to Salmonella cases here in the UK last year, and warned that there are ongoing serious issues in Europe involving eggs from Ukraine and elsewhere.

Mr Allen stressed the heightened risk to vulnerable groups, adding: If you're serving vulnerable customers  from care home residents to pregnant women and young children  it is never a good time to take risks with food safety, but the risks are even higher at present.

"The advice from the Food Standards Agency is very clear, British Lion eggs are approved to be served runny to these groups. Imported eggs are not.

He concluded with a strong appeal to the food industry: We are urging food businesses to check their egg sourcing very carefully. Their reputation, and more importantly, their customers health, could depend on it.

The British Lion mark assures consumers and businesses that eggs have been produced under a rigorous Code of Practice covering food safety, traceability, and animal welfare.

The warning from the BEIC comes as consumer pressure continues to mount. Supermarket shoppers are cracking down on imported eggs  with over 50,000 Brits demanding homegrown eggs in British-made foods.

The petition, launched in response to growing public concern over the use of imported eggs in ready-to-eat products such as sandwiches, has gained widespread support.

It reflects a strong national sentiment that British eggsproduced to higher food safety and animal welfare standardsshould be the default choice for both consumers and manufacturers alike.
Turkiyes apparel exports declined by 6.91 per cent year-on-year (YoY) during JanuaryJune 2025, totalling $7.940 billion compared to $8.530 billion in the same period of 2024, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute and the Ministry of Trade. Exports also recorded a drop in June 2025.

Exports of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories (HS Chapter 61) dipped by 4.5 per cent to $4,545.422 million, down from $4,758.205 million in JanuaryJune 2024. Non-knitted apparel and accessories (HS Chapter 62) experienced a 10 per cent decline, falling to $3,395.433 million from $3,772.213 million during the same period last year, as per the trade report on the top twenty chapters.

Turkiye's apparel exports fell 6.91 per cent YoY to $7.94 bn in JanJun 2025, with June alone down 8.94 per cent. Knitted and non-knitted apparel declined 4.5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Imports of cotton textiles (HS 52) rose 2.6 per cent in H1 2025. Full-year 2024 apparel exports slipped 4.47 per cent, continuing the downtrend from 2023 and 2022.

In June 2025, Turkiyes garment exports eased by 8.94 per cent to $1,161.414 million. Exports of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories decreased by 5.9 per cent to $698.110 million, compared to $742.151 million in June 2024. However, non-knitted apparel and accessories saw a 13.1 per cent decline, falling from $533.440 million in June 2024 to $463.304 million in June 2025.

Among the top twenty chapters in Turkiyes imports, cotton, cotton yarn, and cotton textiles (HS Chapter 52) featured prominently in the June 2025 report. The countrys imports under this chapter rose by 2.6 per cent to $1,387.374 million in the first six months of the current year, up from $1,351.762 million in the same period last year. During June 2025, imports edged up to $253.517 million, compared to $240.330 million in June 2024.

In 2024, Turkiyes apparel exports fell by 4.47 per cent to $17.494 billion, compared to $18.314 billion in 2023. Shipments of knitted and crocheted clothing and accessories (HS Chapter 61) declined by 1.6 per cent to $10,109.110 million, down from $10,277.566 million in 2023. Non-knitted apparel and accessories (HS Chapter 62) experienced an 8.1 per cent decline, falling to $7,385.592 million from $8,037.378 million in 2023.

In 2023, Turkiyes apparel exports had declined by 5.86 per cent to $18.321 billion, compared to $19.463 billion in 2022, following $18.294 billion in 2021.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
US President Donald Trump has signed a new Executive Order raising tariffs on Canadian imports from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, effective August 1, 2025.

The decision comes under emergency powers invoked through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), originally declared to address what the White House called an unusual and extraordinary threat posed by the influx of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids from Canada.

President Donald Trump has raised tariffs on Canadian imports from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, effective August 1, 2025, citing Canada's failure to curb fentanyl trafficking and retaliatory trade actions. The order, issued under IEEPA, exempts USMCA-eligible goods. Transhipped goods will face a 40 per cent duty as the US intensifies efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

The order accuses Canada of failing to take meaningful steps to dismantle cross-border drug networks, including super labs allegedly operating in western Canada capable of producing up to 66 pounds of fentanyl per week. US officials say fentanyl seizures at the northern border this fiscal have already exceeded the combined total of the past three years, with the quantity seized reportedly potent enough to kill over 16 million Americans.

President Trump also cited Canadian retaliation against earlier US trade actions, framing the tariff hike as both a national security response and a proportional countermeasure.

Canadas refusal to cooperate in dismantling these trafficking operations and their retaliatory stance on trade measures leave the United States no choice, the Executive Order states.

The higher tariffs will not apply to goods qualifying under the USMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA), which remain exempt. However, any Canadian goods found to be transhipped through third countries to avoid the new tariff will be subjected to a punitive 40 per cent duty rate.

The latest move follows Trumps November 2024 pledge to impose tariffs on both Mexico and Canada for what he called ridiculous Open Borders. Canada received a 25 per cent tariff in February under EO 14193, followed by further presidential determinations in March citing Canadas inadequate progress on narcotics control.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)
Aamir Khan is heading back to the village near Bhuj where he shot the much-loved Lagaan over twenty years ago. This time, though, it is not for a film shoot but for something even more special. He is returning with his latest release Sitaare Zameen Par for a heartfelt screening in the very place that played such an important role in his journey. The visit is filled with emotion and nostalgia as the locals get ready to welcome him once again, celebrating both the past and a new chapter in storytelling.





The screening is part of Aamirs personal effort to make cinema more accessible to people who may not have theatres nearby. Sitaare Zameen Par has already received a lot of love across India and is now available on YouTube through a pay per view model. But for Aamir, this is not just about digital access. This is what I call Janta Ka Theatre, he said, explaining his idea of creating a space where people from every corner of the country can enjoy films without needing to travel far or spend too much.



The film brings together ten fresh faces introduced by Aamir Khan Productions along with Aamir and Genelia Deshmukh in the lead. Directed by R S Prasanna, known for his work on Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, the film mixes warmth, humour and heart. With music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and a screenplay by Divy Nidhi Sharma, Sitaare Zameen Par was released in theatres on June 20 and has already connected with a wide audience.

Aamir also shared the thought behind launching his own YouTube channel Aamir Khan Talkies a few months ago. He always wanted a direct platform to release his films after their theatre run. That is why I did not sell the rights of Sitaare Zameen Par. I had this plan in mind from the beginning, he said. The channel now has more than three lakh subscribers and all future films from his production house will be released there for just Rs 100, making it easier for everyone to watch stories.



Also Read: Aamir Khan, Junaid Khan arrive at Salman Khans home ahead of Ira Khan, Nupur Shikhares wedding


Tara Sutaria and Veer Pahariya are currently the subject of discussion and speculations. The netizens seem quite interested in the possibility of a romantic connection between the two. Their public appearances, mutual support, and wholesome interactions on social media have certainly captured the attention of many. While the both of them have not yet commented on the matter, Tara's recent response to a question about her personal life during an interview is said to have given some hints.



In a recent podcast conversation, Tara Sutaria appeared quite pleased when questioned about her relationship status. Although she did not directly mention Veer Pahariya, her smile and honest answers certainly resonated with the netizens. She said, Im very happy right now! Yes! Im elated, over the moon. Tara's excitement was evident. Upon being asked if she and her partner ever enjoyed moon-gazing, she responded with a smile and shared, Yeah, its actually a fun experience. Chaudhvin Ka Chand vibes.





In the same podcast, Tara discussed her belief in love, saying, Im lucky in that department. Because if I didnt love love as much as I do, and did, and always will, I mean, anyone who loves it as much as I do will be a good partner because you prioritize that above all. Its the important thing for me, undoubtedly.





On the search for a suitable partner, Tara gave her perspective, saying, Dont chase love. What is yours will come. And it does come theres a very irritating thing that people say to you when youre alone, which is, When its the right time, it will come to you. And you get very irritated with it Now, I think about it in retrospect. Its actually true. Tara added, The universe believes that Im deserving of that love.





Also Read: Photos: Tara Sutarias Airport Looks Spells Chic








Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2025) - Vertiqal Studios Corp. (TSX: VRTS) (FSE: 9PY0) (the "Company" or "Vertiqal Studios") - Vertiqal Studios, North America's largest owner of gaming and lifestyle social media channels, is pleased to announce the rollout of new AI-powered capabilities across its core business units - Sales, Creative, Production, and Content Operations - developed in collaboration with data intelligence partner Revmo. These advancements, part of Vertiqal's previously announced AI strategy, culminate in a proprietary, data-first toolkit designed to help brands and agencies thrive in the fast-evolving landscape of social commerce and livestream-driven marketing.

Through a multi-pronged integration of Revmo's algorithmic platform into its infrastructure, Vertiqal has enabled adaptive rate carding, AI-assisted creative testing, predictive revenue modeling, and enhanced inventory forecasting across platforms like Snapchat. These capabilities improve operating efficiency while giving partners the ability to act on performance data in near real time, effectively closing the loop between attention, strategy, and conversion.

As social commerce reshapes how consumers engage with brands, Vertiqal is doubling down on its mission to fuse creativity with data, speed, and strategic clarity. This collaboration with Revmo marks a critical step forward in how performance is measured, content is optimized, and audience connection is deepened, helping brand partners convert attention into results with greater precision and impact.

"We are witnessing the evolution of the sales cycle," said Jon Dwyer, Chairman and CEO at Vertiqal Studios. "There are tectonic shifts underway in how brands engage with consumers: social media + live streaming + ecommerce; brands are not just advertising, they seek to live in consumer culture and convert viewers to consumers by adopting the same characteristics that inform consumer interests, lifestyles, hobbies and pursuits. To remain relevant, we must observe, understand and measure how our clients are interacting with their customers, and be rigorous, if not ruthless, with how we tailor our content and strategy. The right tech at the right time allows us to do this in today's environment."

Further Information Regarding Vertiqal Studios' Partnership with Revmo

May 20, 2025: Vertiqal Studios Announces AI-Enabled Model That Fuses Creativity with Cutting-Edge Tech - Offering a Human Centered Alternative to Zuckerberg's Vision for AI-Only Content Creation

Oct 16, 2023: Integration of Revmo Platform Algorithm Enhances Vertiqal Studios' Business Development Strategy

(Watch Vertiqal CEO Jon Dwyer's full interview on the Revmo partnership here: Proactive Interview)

Key Businesses enhanced by Technology and AI

Sales: Pursuing the right business at the right time with adaptive rate cards, AI and predictive technology that allows agency and brand partners access to Vertiqal data tools, providing performance insight on social and streaming platforms.

Creative: Rigorous, closed-loop feedback systems to measure, instrument and be bolder in our content strategy with lower risk and at lower cost through shorter experiments.

Production: Investment in an in-house production facility enabled us to plan, produce and create content that has reached 500 million viewers in the last 3 months. Utilizing AI to reduce labour required in pre and post-production, as well as in-feature.

Content Operations (Snapchat): Shortening our feedback cycle and improving revenue forecasting to account for uncertainty. Vertiqal utilized statistical methods to model and simulate potential strategic shifts; adapting our strategy to ensure we have a balanced and continually refreshed inventory, operated by the right partners, increasing our current yield on channels.

Key Areas of Technological Innovation

We are investing across five pillars of technology strategy over the next 12 months:

SNAP: We are continuing to invest as above in shortening feedback loops and strategic readiness to adapt to a changing market dynamic. For Vertiqal Studios, this means more and better data, faster, synthesized into a comprehensive view of our business as well as point recommendations for incremental improvements in our yield strategy.

OBSERVE: We want to ensure we understand all dimensions of our assets across existing and potential platforms. For us, the first step is ensuring we have the right data in the right shape at the right time - the best decisions are powered by the right information.

EXPAND: We see significant disruption and displacement in assets and properties in the broader marketplace. We are using a deeper picture of our business and potential strategic whitespace to evaluate acquisition opportunities rapidly and with minimal disruption to our existing business.

THINK: We continue to see risks and opportunities in embracing AI - the positives (improving our operating margin and expanding our content capabilities) continue to be balanced by the risks of increased capital and operating expenditures and brand dilution from AI-Generated Content (AIGC). We will continue to explore subscribing, integrating, fine-tuning, and developing AI models, but cautiously.

COUNT: Our inventory is one of our most valuable assets, and ensuring that we have an opinionated, data-driven view on its value and potential growth opportunities requires a rigorous enumeration and application of our data, blended with industry-standard and industry-leading third-party data vendors.

Financial Disclosure

Vertiqal announces that it has granted an aggregate of 1,500,000 stock options to purchase common shares (the "Shares") in the capital of the company, exercisable at a price of $0.025 per Share for a period of three (3) years from the date of issuance to consultants of the Company. The options and Shares issuable upon exercise of the options are subject to a four-month hold period from the original date of grant.

About Vertiqal Studios

Vertiqal Studios, owners of North America's largest gaming and lifestyle network on social media, is a leading digital-channel network and video-production studio. The company specializes in the creation and distribution of viral videos for brands and advertisers to create always-on digital strategies that live authentically in Gen Z and Millennial culture. Vertiqal Studios partners with leading brands to develop strategic solutions, creative ideation, and content production, while also providing distribution and amplification through its Owned & Operated channels - all delivered with boutique, white-glove service. Its expertise lies with managing over 130 channels across TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat, while producing over 100+ pieces of content a day for a growing audience of 52 million-plus followers.

For more information and to join our email subscriber list for direct press releases and newsletters, visit https://vertiqalstudios.com/.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information 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. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260911

SOURCE: Vertiqal Studios
SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / July 31, 2025 / As Sharp Business Brokers celebrates its two-year anniversary this August, the firm has evolved from a solo operation into a thriving, multi-agent brokerage serving clients across California. Founded by award-winning broker Steve Sharp, the agency has quickly become one of the state's most respected resources for small to mid-sized business sales.

Now home to a dynamic team of seven licensed agents, each with their own area of specialization, plus a dedicated executive assistant, Sharp Business Brokers is expanding its reach while staying true to its original mission: delivering smart, streamlined, and confidential business sale services with a personal touch.

"I realized I could either keep doing everything myself or start investing in a team," says founder Steve Sharp. "But that shift isn't easy. Moving from dealmaker to team leader means learning to extract what's in your head, that is, the instincts, the processes, the decision-making, and translate it into systems others can follow. That's why I'm constantly exploring new ideas and technologies to make our training program more scalable, consistent, and effective."

Industry Recognition And Real-World Expertise

In recognition of his outstanding performance, Sharp was recently honored by the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) with the prestigious Chairman's Circle Award, given to top brokers who close transactions totaling $3 million or more in a calendar year. The award was presented at the 2024 IBBA Conference and places him among the top-performing business brokers nationwide.

With over 15 years of experience and certifications as both a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) and Certified Business Broker (CBB), Sharp brings deep insight into what makes a deal successful, from pricing and positioning to buyer psychology and due diligence. His personal background includes the sale of hundreds of businesses spanning a broad range of industries, from restaurants and salons to construction companies, manufacturing firms, ecommerce brands, and service businesses, making him one of the most adaptable brokers in the region.

From Entrepreneur To Agency Founder

Before launching Sharp Business Brokers in August 2023, Sharp honed his skills at three different brokerage firms, earning multiple accolades along the way. Steve Sharp has consistently ranked among the top-performing business brokers in the industry, earning multiple sales awards over the course of his career, including recognition for most businesses sold and top overall production.

His track record of excellence extends far beyond brokerage, rooted in a successful entrepreneurial career that began with founding and expanding San Diego's first tanning salon chain, California Tan. He went on to create West Coast Tanning Supplies, a company that helped launch over 90% of San Diego's tanning salons through equipment sales and business consulting. After selling his company to JK Products, a leading tanning bed manufacturer based in Germany, he became their top national sales agent, earning three awards: most equipment sold, most spray tan units sold, and most financing deals closed.

"When I joined Business Opportunities Unlimited in 2007, I was the youngest in the office, but I had more business experience than most of the agents," Sharp recalls. "My business background allows me to connect with my clients. I've lived through what they're going through with their business."

Now, as an agency owner, Sharp focuses on training new agents using the same proven strategies that brought him success. His emphasis is on creating a professional, responsive, and execution-focused culture with systems that blend efficiency with care.

Tech-Forward Sales With Confidential Agency

Sharp Business Brokers has carved out a clear identity specializing in the sale of small to middle market businesses, typically valued under $5 million. The agency combines the structure and professionalism of a larger M&A firm with the agility and attention of a small firm, leveraging AI-enhanced tools to streamline tasks like NDA management and profile distribution while preserving the vital human touch.

Clients frequently praise the firm's blend of aggressive buyer outreach, strict confidentiality, and step-by-step guidance. Each listing is strategically positioned, marketed, and managed, never just "posted and forgotten."

The Team Behind The Name

In addition to Sharp, the firm's growing team includes:

Michael Price, MBA - Broker Associate with strong business sales insight

Shawn Ko - Business Broker with 35+ years in hospitality and retail

Manuel Aleu, MBA - Marketing-savvy agent with a business background

Emil Tuniyants - Experienced agent and entrepreneur in the salon industry

Maggie Pound - Accomplished real estate broker with deep San Diego roots

Alexey Chasin - Business sales agent with SaaS and entrepreneurial expertise

Katherine France - Executive Assistant with 20+ years of operations expertise

Each team member brings a unique background, allowing the firm to serve a wide range of industries and client needs with professionalism and adaptability.

Looking Ahead

With more entrepreneurs reaching retirement age and a growing referral base, Sharp Business Brokers continues to position itself as a leading resource for small business owners looking to sell with confidence.

As the company enters its third year, founder Steve Sharp's original mission remains the same: to deliver smart, confidential, and streamlined business sale services while guiding clients through one of the most important transactions of their lives with strategy, clarity, results, and understanding.

The firm serves clients throughout California, including San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Counties. By representing both buyers and sellers, Sharp Business Brokers offers a balanced perspective that helps create a smooth and rewarding experience for everyone involved.

Thanks to its proven track record, personalized service, and commitment to excellence, Sharp Business Brokers has earned a reputation as a trusted leader in the business brokerage industry.

Ready to Buy or Sell?

Visit sharpbizbrokers.com or call (619) 454-1786 to connect with an agent.

Sharp Business Brokers

Let Us Guide You - From Start To Finish

9619 Chesapeake Dr #200

San Diego, CA 92123

(619) 454-1786

DRE Lic# 02221795



About ITN123

ITN123 is a media group and content agency that focuses on spotlighting leading professionals across industries, helping readers discover new voices and perspectives.

For press inquiries, contact Camille Sharon Kleinman at press@123itn.com

SOURCE: ITN123

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/sharp-business-brokers-marks-two-year-anniversary-with-team-growth-and-industr-1055344
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2025) - Kovo+ Holdings Inc. (TSXV: KOVO) ("Kovo" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its press release of June 30, 2025, it has entered into a third extension agreement (the "Extension Agreement") with Avonlea Ventures #2 Inc. ("AVI"), Kovo's largest shareholder and secured creditor, whereby AVI has agreed: (i) to extend the terms of the 2nd Amended & Restated Senior Loan and Security Agreement (the "Senior Loan Agreement") and secured promissory grid note (the "Secured Prom Note") for a period of one (1) month, respectively, and now maturing on August 29, 2025 ("Maturity Date"); and (ii) to increase the principal amount available for borrowing under the Secured Prom Note from USD$850,000 to USD$1,250,000. The other terms, as set out in the Senior Loan Agreement and Secured Prom Note, remain unchanged.

In connection with the Extension Agreement, Kovo granted AVI a fee of two percent (2%), representing the aggregate indebtedness owing by Kovo to AVI under the Senior Loan Agreement and Secured Prom Note, which fee is payable in cash at the Maturity Date, or such later date as mutually agreed between the parties.

Related Party Transactions

AVI is an Ontario corporation controlled by Mr. Michael Steele, a current director and controlling indirect shareholder of the Company. Mr. Steele is also a director, officer and the sole indirect beneficial shareholder of AVI, which is also considered a "Non-Arm's Length Party" pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

As AVI is a "related party" of the Company, entering into the Extension Agreement and matters relating thereto (the "Transactions") are considered to be "related party transactions" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") requiring Kovo, in the absence of exemptions, to obtain a formal valuation and minority shareholder approval of the related party transactions.

Pursuant to Sections 5.5(b), 5.5(g), 5.7(1)(e) and 5.7(1)(f) of MI 61-101, the Company relied on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder requirements, respectively, as, in addition to no securities of the Company being listed or quoted on certain specified exchanges: (i) Kovo was (and continues to be) in serious financial difficulty; (ii) the Transactions are each designed to improve the financial position of the Company; (iii) paragraph 5.5(f) (Bankruptcy, Insolvency, Court Order) of MI 61-101 was not applicable; and (iv) Kovo's board of directors (the "Board"), acting in good faith, and at least two-thirds of Kovo's independent directors, acting in good faith, determined that: (A) the Company was (and continues to be) in serious financial difficulty and the Transactions are each designed to improve the financial position of Kovo, and (B) the terms of the Transactions were reasonable in the circumstances. Additionally, the Secured Prom Note (including the amendments made thereto) is a non-convertible loan obtained on reasonable commercial terms that is not less advantageous to the Company than if the Secured Prom Note were obtained from a person dealing at arm's length and not repayable, directly or indirectly, in equity or voting securities of the Company or a subsidiary.

The Transactions were unanimously approved by the Board members who were independent for the purposes thereof, being all directors other than Messrs. Michael Steele, Robert Galarza and Harp Gahunia. Neither the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company after reasonable inquiry, AVI, had knowledge of any material information concerning the Company or its securities that has not been generally disclosed. No special committee of the Board was established in connection with the Transactions, as the entire Board was engaged in respect thereof, and, other than Messrs. Steele, Galarza and Gahunia, who abstained from voting thereon, no materially contrary view or abstention was expressed or made by any director of the Company in relation thereto.

Neither the Company nor any director or senior officer of the Company has knowledge, after reasonable inquiry, of any prior valuation in respect of the Company that relates to the subject matter of or is otherwise relevant to the Transactions, which has been made in the 24 months prior to the date of this news release. The Company did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing as the details of the Transactions were not finalized until immediately prior to its issuance, and the Company wished to close the Transactions as soon as practicable for sound business reasons.

Management Resignation

In addition, the Company wishes to advise that Bosco Chan resigned as Kovo's Chief Financial Officer, and the Company accepted his resignation effective as of July 28, 2025. Mr. Chan has agreed to assist in a smooth transition of duties and will remain as a consultant to the Company.

"On behalf Kovo, we would like to thank Bosco for his contributions to the Company and for making this transition as smooth as possible," said Justin Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of Kovo. "We wish him continued success in his future endeavors."

Kovo is conducting a search process to identify a new Chief Financial Officer.

About Kovo+ Holdings Inc.

Kovo is a versatile technology company leading the charge in AI initiatives to drive impact and innovation across diverse industries. Kovo remains committed to its core business-model of strategic growth opportunities within mid-market Medical Billing firms, where exploitative business optimization synergies exist. Moving forward, Kovo will integrate accretive broader healthcare sector additions to its portfolio and opportunities beyond in multiple new markets. Dedicated to revolutionizing business process optimization through technological advancements and evolving AI-applied methods, Kovo embodies a commitment to ensured and enduring profitability. To learn more about Kovo and to keep up to date on Kovo news, visit www.kovoplus.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided to inform the Company's shareholders and potential investors about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and include, but are not limited to, (i) expectations regarding the characteristics, value drivers, and anticipated benefits of the Transactions; (ii) expectations regarding the Company's use of proceeds in connection with the Secured Prom Note; and (iii) expectations concerning the Company's business plans and operations. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "anticipate", "proposed", "estimates", "would", "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "will", and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions that have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. By its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties, include, but are not limited to, the Company being unable to use the proceeds of the Secured Prom Note as described, legal or regulatory impediments regarding the Secured Prom Note, the Company defaulting on the Secured Prom Note or Senior Loan Agreement and leading to enforcement under the security, the proceeds being insufficient for the Company's purposes, the Company's inability to repay the Secured Prom Note and Senior Loan Agreement at the end of the terms thereof and the Company being unable to raise additional funds on terms acceptable to the Company or at all. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260925

SOURCE: Kovo+ Holdings Inc.
Kunstliche Intelligenz, Magnificent Seven, Tech-Euphorie  seit Monaten scheint an der Borse nur eine Richtung zu existieren: nach oben. Doch hinter den Rekordkursen lauert eine gefahrliche Wahrheit. Die Bewertungen vieler Tech-Schwergewichte haben historische Extremniveaus erreicht. Shiller-KGV bei 39, Buffett-Indikator auf Allzeithoch  schon in der Dotcom-Ara war der Markt kaum teurer.



Hinzu kommen euphorische Anlegerstimmung, IPO-Hypes ohne Substanz, kreditfinanzierte Wertpapierkaufe in Rekordhohe und charttechnische Warnsignale, die Erinnerungen an 2000 und 2021 wecken. Gleichzeitig drucken geopolitische Risiken, Trumps aggressive Zollpolitik und saisonale Borsenschwache auf die Perspektiven.



Die Gefahr: Aus der schleichenden Korrektur konnte ein rasanter Crash werden  und der konnte vor allem uberbewertete KI- und Chipwerte hart treffen.



In unserem kostenlosen Spezial-Report zeigen wir Ihnen, welche Tech-Aktien am starksten gefahrdet sind und wie Sie Ihr Depot vor dem Platzen der Blase schutzen konnten.



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EQS Newswire / 01/08/2025 / 09:48 UTC+8



Hong Kong - August 01, 2025 - ( SeaPRwire ) - SeaPRwire , a leading Public Relations Communication Platform, has announced the launch of its new News Content Moderation System, developed in collaboration with its partner Asia Presswire ( https:/asiapresswire.com ). This advanced system uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automatically detect and filter inappropriate or false content in news, ensuring the quality and authenticity of the information being disseminated.

In today's fast-paced digital world, the challenge of managing the sheer volume of content being produced and consumed has grown exponentially. With misinformation and inappropriate content becoming increasingly prevalent across various platforms, maintaining the integrity of news has never been more crucial. SeaPRwire's News Content Moderation System aims to address these concerns by providing a robust solution that helps news platforms, PR professionals, and businesses ensure that only accurate, reliable, and relevant information reaches their audiences.

"The launch of our News Content Moderation System is a significant step towards improving the credibility of news and maintaining trust in digital content," said Jane Woo, Product Director at SeaPRwire. "This system is designed to identify and filter out harmful or misleading content, allowing organizations to focus on delivering high-quality, truthful news to their audiences."

The AI-powered system analyzes news articles, press releases, and other forms of digital content, automatically flagging potentially inappropriate or false information. It can identify content such as misleading headlines, biased language, and inaccurate data, ensuring that the news remains both relevant and reliable. This process helps businesses and media outlets avoid the risks associated with the spread of misinformation while safeguarding their reputations and credibility.

In addition to its content-filtering capabilities, the News Content Moderation System offers advanced reporting tools that allow users to track and monitor the effectiveness of their content moderation efforts. This provides valuable insights into the types of content being flagged, enabling organizations to refine their content strategies and improve the quality of the news they distribute.

"We understand the increasing importance of maintaining news integrity in the digital age, and our News Content Moderation System provides our clients with the tools they need to ensure their news is credible and trustworthy," Woo added. "By utilizing AI technology, we are able to offer a solution that works at scale, helping organizations streamline their content management processes while ensuring their audience receives only the most reliable news."

SeaPRwire's collaboration with Asia Presswire ensures that the system leverages the latest in AI-driven technology, making it an invaluable tool for any organization that relies on news distribution. With this new offering, SeaPRwire continues to strengthen its position as a leader in earned media communications, providing clients with the tools they need to manage their media outreach effectively and responsibly.

As the News Content Moderation System continues to evolve, SeaPRwire is committed to improving its capabilities and ensuring that the news industry remains a trustworthy source of information in an increasingly complex digital landscape. The system is now available for clients across the region, offering a powerful solution for maintaining the quality and authenticity of their news content.

About Asia Presswire

Asia Presswire ( https:/asiapresswire.com ) is a press release distribution service that provides tailored solutions for public relations firms, agencies, organizations, and corporations worldwide. They specialize in delivering customized press release distribution, including direct-to-editor email delivery to targeted media editors at newspapers, magazines, and broadcast outlets. Their extensive network spans 172 countries, connecting with over 230,000 media outlets and 3.6 million self-media platforms. Supporting over 46 languages, including English, Chinese, French, German, and Japanese, Asia Presswire ensures effective communication across diverse linguistic regions. Their services are designed to enhance brands' online visibility and reputation, enabling effective connection with target audiences.

About SeaPRwire

SeaPRwire is a leading earned media communications management platform in Asia, designed to empower PR and communications professionals. Its Branding-Insight Program streamlines communication management by connecting clients with a network of over 80,000 journalists, editors, magazines, and online media outlets, along with 300 million followers of key opinion leaders (KOLs). Leveraging AI-driven technology, SeaPRwire enables users to identify relevant media and KOLs, personalize pitches, and measure the impact of their communications efforts. Operating across regions including Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, SeaPRwire enhances brand awareness and educates audiences effectively.

Media Contact

Brand: SeaPRwire

Contact: Media team

Email: cs@seaprwire.com

Website: https://seaprwire.com

01/08/2025 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Media archive at www.todayir.com


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.



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KAWASAKI, Japan, Aug 1, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced that it has started research and development towards a superconducting quantum computer with a capacity exceeding 10,000 qubits. Construction is slated for completion in fiscal 2030.The new superconducting quantum computer will operate with 250 logical qubits and will utilize Fujitsu's innovative "STAR architecture," an early-stage fault-tolerant quantum computing (early-FTQC) architecture also developed by the company. Fujitsu aims to make practical quantum computing possible, particularly in areas like materials science where complex simulations can unlock ground breaking discoveries, and to this end will focus on advancing key scaling technologies across various technical domains.As part of this effort, Fujitsu has been selected as an implementing party for the "Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems" [1], publicly solicited by the NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization). Fujitsu will be contributing to the thematic area of advancing the development of quantum computers towards industrialization. The project will be promoted through joint research with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and RIKEN, and will run until fiscal year 2027.Fujitsu is committed to driving forward the development of practical and industrialized quantum computing solutions. After this 10,000-qubit machine is built, Fujitsu will further pursue advanced research initiatives targeting the integration of superconducting and diamond spin-based qubits from fiscal 2030 and aims to realize a 1,000 logical qubit machine in fiscal 2035 while considering the possibility of multiple interconnected quantum bit-chips.Vivek Mahajan, Corporate Executive Officer, Corporate Vice President, CTO, in charge of System Platform, Fujitsu Limited, comments:"Fujitsu is already recognized as a world leader in quantum computing across a broad spectrum, from software to hardware. This project, led by NEDO, will contribute significantly to Fujitsu's goal of further developing a Made-in-Japan fault tolerant superconducting quantum computer. We would also be aiming to combine superconducting quantum computing with diamond spin technology as part of our roadmap. By realizing 250 logical qubits in fiscal 2030 and 1,000 logical qubits in fiscal 2035, Fujitsu is committed to leading the path forward globally in the field of quantum computing. Additionally, Fujitsu will be developing the next generation of its HPC platform, using its FUJITSU-MONAKA processor line, which will also power FugakuNEXT. Fujitsu will further integrate its platforms for high-performance and quantum computing to offer a comprehensive computing platform to our customers."Technology development focus areasFujitsu's research efforts will focus on developing the following scaling technologies.1. High-throughput, high-precision qubit manufacturing technology:Improvement of the manufacturing precision of Josephson Junctions, critical components of superconducting qubits which minimize frequency variations.2. Chip-to-chip interconnect technology:Development of wiring and packaging technologies to enable the interconnection of multiple qubit chips, facilitating the creation of larger quantum processors.3. High-density packaging and low-cost qubit control:Addressing the challenges associated with cryogenic cooling and control systems, including the development of techniques to reduce component count and heat dissipation.4. Decoding technology for quantum error correction: Development of algorithms and system designs for decoding measurement data and correcting errors in quantum computations.BackgroundThe world faces increasingly complex challenges that demand computational power beyond the reach of traditional computers. Quantum computers offer the promise of tackling these previously intractable problems, driving significant advancements across numerous fields. While a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer with 1 million qubits of processing power is considered the ultimate goal, Fujitsu is focused on delivering practical solutions in the near term.Fujitsu's commitment to quantum computing is underscored by its ongoing R&D efforts. In August 2024, in collaboration with the University of Osaka, Fujitsu unveiled its STAR architecture, a highly efficient quantum computing architecture based on phase rotation gates. This architecture paves the way for early-FTQC systems capable of outperforming conventional computers with only 60,000 qubits [2]. On the hardware front, the RIKEN RQC-Fujitsu Collaboration Center, established in 2021 with RIKEN, has already yielded a 64-qubit superconducting quantum computer in October 2023, followed by a world-leading 256-qubit system in April 2025 [3].Scaling to even larger systems requires overcoming challenges such as maintaining high fidelity across multiple interconnected qubit chips and achieving greater integration of components and wiring within dilution refrigerators. In addition to its superconducting approach, Fujitsu is also exploring the potential of diamond spin-based qubits, which use light for qubit connectivity. Fujitsu is conducting research in this area in collaboration with Delft University of Technology and QuTech, a leading quantum technology research institute, which has resulted in the successful creation of highly accurate and controllable qubits.[1] Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems[2] In simulations using 60,000 qubits, the STAR architecture can execute material energy estimation calculations which would take 5 years on conventional computers in about 10 hours.[3] One of the world's largest superconducting quantum computers available to external users (as of April 2025, according to Fujitsu).About FujitsuFujitsu's purpose is to make the world more sustainable by building trust in society through innovation. As the digital transformation partner of choice for customers around the globe, our 113,000 employees work to resolve some of the greatest challenges facing humanity. Our range of services and solutions draw on five key technologies: AI, Computing, Networks, Data & Security, and Converging Technologies, which we bring together to deliver sustainability transformation. Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 3.6 trillion yen (US$23 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025 and remains the top digital services company in Japan by market share. Find out more: global.fujitsuPress ContactsFujitsu LimitedPublic and Investor Relations DivisionInquiriesSource: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2025 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
LUOYANG, China, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From July 23 to 27, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit was held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. On July 26, over 100 guests embarked on a field visit to Luoyang, immersing themselves in the vitality and pulse of this millennium-old ancient capital.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.

As a pivotal cradle of Chinese civilization, an ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, one of the Eastern starting points of the Silk Road, and a central city along the Grand Canal of Sui and Tang Dynasties, Luoyang boasts over 5,000 years of civilization, nearly 4,000 years of urban history, and more than 1,500 years as a capital. Additionally, it serves as an important traditional industrial base prioritized by the People's Republic of China. During the first Five-Year Plan (1953-1957), seven of 156 key national projects were launched here. In the new era, Luoyang is forging deep integration into the Belt and Road Initiative, as China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains operate around the clock.

The Silk Road's ancient portal endures, while the radiance of the Tang Dynasty's heyday blooms anew.

Dingding Gate stands majestic, having witnessed the distant years when camel bells echoed along the Silk Road and greeted the flourishing glory of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Stepping into the Site Museum of Dingding Gate, a magnificent reenactment of the "city entrance ceremony" instantly transported them through history. As performers bowed deeply, their Hanfu robes swirling, the guests marveled at the millennia-old elegance of the cross-handed salute, remarking they had never witnessed such graceful etiquette.

Moving to the dazzling "Wuhuang Shengyan (a Tang-style Cultural Restaurant)", guests embarked on a multisensory journey through the Tang Dynasty's golden age. Amid carved railings and jade-inlaid structures, they savored exquisite delicacies amid resounding music and dance, overwhelmed by the grandeur of Tang majesty. In joyous spirit, guests spontaneously joined performers onstage. Long after the feast, its melodies lingered as the guests remained in awe, exclaiming, "Stunning! Magnificent! Breathtaking!" They vowed to tell friends and family that they must come and experience it.

Dongfanghong composes new stories, while the Buddha's light of Longmen shines upon the world.

Entering the Dongfanghong Innovation Hub of YTO Group Corporation, guests felt the surging pulse of Luoyang's equipment manufacturing and industrial development. Interested foreign guests boarded the vehicles to experience the new tractors on display. The accessible advanced manufacturing deeply touched them. "Luoyang is not only beautiful, but also possesses the crafting might of modern farm machinery, which is truly remarkable!" Many foreign guests noted that China's generous support in professional technologies and equipment had boosted agricultural development in their countries, bolstering the foundations of sustainable growth and safeguarding precious food security. They expressed hope for deeper cooperation ahead.

At Longmen Grottoes, guests explored China's treasury of stone carving art. Foreign guests paused before the Giant Vairocana Buddha, remarking that Luoyang is an extraordinarily unique place, rich in culture and civilization. They expressed hope for linking their countries with China through tourism to foster deeper exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.

Millennium-old Luoyang retains its timeless charm. Through this in-depth visit, guests of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit not only heard the echoes of history but also felt the city's powerful pulse of the times. They etched deeply in their hearts a "stunning, magnificent, and breathtaking" magical Luoyang, a city they would share far and wide across the world.

Source: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit

Contact person: Mr. Li, Tel: 86-10-63074558
Providing Pen Needles Especially Designed for Comfort at a Lower Cost

Trividia Health UK Limited, announced today that the TRUEplus 5-Bevel Pen Needles are now available in the United Kingdom. This new 5-bevel insulin pen needle line gives healthcare providers the ability to provide a variety of different needle gauges and sizes at a low cost to their patients with diabetes.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250801611981/en/

TRUEplus 5-Bevel Pen Needle

The TRUEplus 5-Bevel Pen Needles are designed for maximum comfort, delivering high quality, safety and ease-of-use and are available in multiple different needle sizes to meet the needs of people with diabetes (31 Gauge 5mm, 6mm, 8mm, and 32 Gauge 4mm). TRUEplus 5-Bevel pen needles feature a unique needle design to help improve comfort of painful insulin injections and increases patient acceptance.*

As of now Trividia's TRUEplus 5-bevel pen needles are the lowest priced 5-bevel pen needles to be offered on prescription. Currently many patients are prescribed older, less comfortable, 3-bevel product designs at the same price or higher than the TRUEplus 5-bevel pen needles.

"Providing accessibility to a range of products for patients to confidently manage their diabetes is a priority for us at Trividia Health. Having the TRUEplus 5-Bevel Pen Needles as registered products in the UK allows healthcare providers the option to provide patients with high-quality, low-cost pen needles to manage their diabetes," said Jonathan Chapman, President and CEO of Trividia Health.

The TRUEplus 5-Bevel Pen Needles are widely available throughout the United States and are sold under the TRUEplus brand name as well as the brand names of the nation's premier retail pharmacies. Expansion of availability into the UK market represents the first time TRUEplus 5-Bevel Pen Needles have been available outside of the United States.

About Trividia Health UK Limited

Trividia Health UK Limited is a subsidiary of Trividia Health, Inc. Trividia Health, Inc. is a global consumer health and wellness company based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida U.S.A and a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced performance products for people with diabetes, including a broad portfolio of blood glucose monitoring supplies and technologies. With products sold under TRUE and store brand labels, the company is the partner and supplier of affordable, high-quality blood glucose monitoring and health and wellness solutions for the world's leading retail pharmacies, distributors and mail service providers. For more information, please visit: https://www.trividiahealth.co.uk/

*Reference on file.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250801611981/en/

Contacts:

Annmarie Ramos

001-954-677-9201, ext. 3190
LONDON and ABU DHABI, UAE, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE's global bank and one of the world's largest and safest financial institutions, today marked a major milestone with an official opening of its new London branch. The new relocation celebrates FAB's nearly five-decade presence in the UK and affirms the bank's commitment to London as a key global financial hub.

The new office was officially opened by Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer of FAB in the presence of HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Saif Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of FAB, HE Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, FAB Board member, HE Mansoor Abulhoul, the UAE Ambassador to the UK, The Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, UK Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, alongside FAB Board members, HE Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Sultan S. Aldhaheri, HE Mohammed Thani Murshed Ghannam Alrumaithi, and other dignitaries from the UAE and the UK.

FAB first established a presence in London in 1977, through its predecessor, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), becoming the first Gulf-based bank to operate in the UK. What began as a branch has since evolved into a key pillar within FAB's global banking network, now spanning over 20 international markets. Today, London remains central to the bank's international strategy, serving institutional, and private clients, and enabling cross-border capital flows and innovation. The new London branch, located at 20 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, a destination long associated with heritage, and diplomacy, reflects the bank's continued emphasis on client experience and trust.

The new branch offers bespoke spaces designed to support private banking, corporate advisory, and tailored client services. It represents FAB's ambition to integrate finance, innovation, and service within a single hub. Clients benefit from solutions that connect them to FAB's global network, with particular strength across the MENA region. The private banking offering delivers comprehensive solutions for high-net-worth individuals, including wealth planning, portfolio management, and family office services, all enhanced by seamless digital experiences.

Hana Al Rostamani, Group Chief Executive Officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank, said: "In 1977, we became the first Gulf bank to open in the UK. Over the past 48 years, the ties between the UK and UAE have deepened, with bilateral trade growing significantly to 24.3 billion today. The opening of our new London office is more than a relocation; it marks a strategic hub for the future of finance, a place where global insight meets regional expertise, and where innovation fosters lasting relationships. The UK will remain a key market for FAB as we strengthen our international presence and deepen client engagement. Looking ahead, we are committed to delivering exceptional service, supporting global growth, and contributing to the success of one of the world's foremost financial centres."

The UK and UAE share a unique, long-standing relationship built on trade, trust, and shared aspirations. The UAE remains the UK's top Middle Eastern trading partner, with over 5,000 British firms active in the Emirates and growing collaboration across finance, green energy and innovation. FAB's growing role in this bilateral relationship is reflected in recent milestones such as the bank's $1.1 billion bond and sukuk listings on the London Stock Exchange in 2023, and its expanding global revenue base, with international operations now accounting for 17% of Group income.

Coinciding with the opening, FAB has also launched a cultural activation exploring the creative and cultural ties between the UK and the UAE. The campaign featuring cinematic artist films and immersive storytelling showcases themes of identity, innovation and legacy, reinforcing the shared values between the UK and UAE and the role of art in building bridges between people and places.

About First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a global footprint across 20 markets, FAB is the finance and trade gateway to the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). With total assets of AED 1.34 trillion (USD 366 billion) as of June-end 2025, FAB is among the world's largest banking groups. The bank provides financial expertise to its wholesale and retail client franchise across three business units: 1) Investment Banking & Markets, 2) Wholesale Banking, and 3) Personal, Business, Wealth and Privileged Client Banking Group. FAB is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and rated Aa3/AA-/AA- by Moody's, S&P, and Fitch, respectively, with a stable outlook. On sustainability, FAB holds an MSCI ESG rating of 'AA', and is also ranked among the top 6% of banks globally by Refinitiv's ESG Scores and ranked the Best diversified bank in MENA by Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating.

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Wilmington, Delaware--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - DecisionRules.io, a leader in next-generation Business Rules Management Systems (BRMS), today announced a significant expansion of its US operations, including the hiring of local employees and a planned increase in its presence at major American industry events. This move is fueled by the rapid adoption of its AI-driven decision automation platform by US companies seeking to move beyond the limitations of legacy rules engines.

DecisionRules.io Deepens US Commitment with Local Team Expansion and Increased Industry Engagement

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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As a proven enterprise solution with an established foothold in the North American market, DecisionRules.io's next phase of growth focuses on building a robust, on-the-ground team to provide direct partnership and expert support to its clients.

"The response from the US market has been phenomenal. It has confirmed that businesses are not just ready for, but are actively seeking, a more intelligent and agile way to manage their core logic," said Petr Lev, Co-Founder and CTO of DecisionRules.io. "Expanding our local team is the natural next step. Hiring US-based experts is crucial for providing the hands-on, strategic partnership our clients value as they integrate AI into their decision-making processes." This success is underscored by the company's continuous recognition as a High Performer in 2024 and 2025 in the G2 Grid Report for Decision Management Platforms, cementing its position as a rising industry leader.

This powerful combination of accessibility and speed is paired with a core focus on explainable AI (XAI). In regulated industries, the ability to understand why a decision was made is paramount. The DecisionRules.io platform provides a transparent, human-readable audit trail, solving the "black box" problem that has plagued earlier AI systems.

"The traction we're seeing proves that companies are tired of trying to fly a modern jet with just a compass and the naked eye," added Lev. "Our platform is the advanced 'glass cockpit' for their business. The reason it's resonating so deeply is that it delivers both the intelligence of modern AI to navigate any conditions and the transparent instrumentation that business requires. Our growing investment in the US is a direct reflection of our commitment to helping even more American companies upgrade their controls."

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259902

SOURCE: Plentisoft
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BLUETTI , a global leader in clean energy solutions, today announced the retail availability of its flagship Apex 300 Portable Power Station . Following its highest-funded Indiegogo campaign of 2025, raising over $5.4 million from 2,564 backers by July 20-the Apex 300 is now available for a broader audience, bringing industry-leading innovation to homes and outdoor adventures.

Since its debut, the Apex 300 has earned widespread acclaim and received several prestigious industry honors-including the 2025 Sustainability Awards from the Business Intelligence Group, the Home of the Future Award from Popular Science, and the Picks Award at CES 2025 from Residential Systems. These accolades highlight its innovation and focus on real-world energy needs.

The Apex 300 is a high-performance standalone power station with a 2,764.8Wh capacity and 3,840W output, making it ideal for emergency home backup, RVs, and off-grid cabins. It also supports an expandable ecosystem, enabling fully automated whole-home backup.

Key Innovations:

Ultra-low 20W AC idle draw for extended standby operation-perfect for fridges, medical devices, and other essentials

Next-gen automotive-grade LiFePO4 battery, designed for up to 17 years of daily use

Apex 300 Hits Retail Shelves August 1

Starting August 1, the Apex 300 will be available through the BLUETTI Official Store and Amazon, starting at 1,799. Customers who order during the launch period can enjoy an additional 8% discount with a special promotional offer.

About BLUETTI

As a pioneer in clean energy technology, BLUETTI is committed to delivering reliable and innovative portable power solutions for home backup and outdoor living. Trusted by over 3.5 million users across more than 110 countries and regions, BLUETTI continues to advance energy independence with a focus on long-term sustainability and responsible innovation. Through initiatives like LAAF (Light An African Family), the company supports broader access to clean, reliable energy in underserved regions-underscoring its ongoing commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values.

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Applications Open for National University of Singapore - Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech for Odisha-based Students.

BHUBANESWAR, India, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of Odisha, in partnership with the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), announced the upcoming official launch of the Integrated Global Financial Technology Capability Hub (I-GFTCH) in Bhubaneswar, scheduled for 21 August 2025.

This marks the first time Odisha is launching a FinTech capability initiative of this scale and global integration. The I-GFTCH launch positions Bhubaneswar at the forefront of India's evolving financial technology ecosystem and aligns with its national development objectives.

The Government of Odisha is undertaking a comprehensive, globally integrated four-pronged strategy to establish the state as a leader in Financial Technology innovation and capability.

Global Learning: Odisha has partnered with NUS-AIDF and GFTN to launch a future-proof FinTech and InsurTech professional certification programme. This five-month hybrid course - combining online modules, two weeks of on-campus sessions in Bhubaneswar, hands-on projects, and internship placements - is designed to be inclusive and employment-oriented. The initiative aims to empower over 7,000 students from all districts across Odisha with pragmatic expertise spanning technology, regulatory frameworks, and business operations in Financial Technology and InsurTech sectors. The initiative will be supported by the Skill Development Institute and the Union Education Ministry.



Global Mindshare: In the first quarter of 2026, Bhubaneswar will host the Black Swan Summit (BSS) India, a forward-looking global forum accelerating the adoption of frontier technologies. BSS convenes leading technologists, policymakers, investors, and innovators to explore paradigm shifts in tokenisation, AI, quantum computing, semiconductor breakthroughs, and digital infrastructure. Launched this year in Perth, Western Australia, the Summit now anchors the Black Swan Network, GFTN's flagship multi-location, global platform for collective foresight and international collaboration. Beyond the Black Swan Network, GFTN also convenes a suite of high-impact forums, including Point Zero Forum (Zurich), GFTN Forum Japan (Tokyo), the Inclusion FinTech Forum (Rwanda) and the world's largest FinTech gathering - the Singapore FinTech Festival. These forums span Asia, Europe, and Africa offering Odisha's students, professionals and startups a direct gateway into global job pipelines, cross-border venture opportunities, and future-ready digital economy networks.



Global Innovation: Odisha will establish a Centre of Excellence to drive digital transformation and advance pioneering solutions. The Hub will accelerate innovation through a full stack of support for startups - offering incubation, mentorship, masterclasses, bootcamps, market readiness programs, and venture development - drawing on GFTN's international expertise to nurture a robust, future-ready Financial Technology ecosystem.



Financial Technology Global Capability Hub: Odisha is also developing a strategic offshore or nearshore hub for global and national GFTN's partner financial institutions, leveraging the I-GFTCH Global Learning talent pool. These centres will transcend traditional cost-efficient models to serve as dynamic nodes for business growth and agility, enabling collaboration among startups, corporates and innovators via shared workspaces and integrated resources.

This multi-pronged approach underscores Odisha's commitment to building an internationally competitive, innovation-led and inclusive Financial Technology landscape.

The I-GFTCH initiative, under the leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister Mr. Mohan Charan Majhi and supported by the Department of Electronics & IT and the Department of Higher Education, will begin with the roll-out of its first pillar - Global Learning - in September 2025.

The NUS-AIDF Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech (CFI) programme under the Global Learning pillar is supported by the Skill Development Institute, Bhubaneswar as a designated Centre of Excellence with a view toward future national accreditation, in consultation with the Indian Union Ministry of Education.

"By combining local potential with world-class institutions like NUS-AIDF, we are investing in the youth of Odisha to thrive in the $1.8 trillion global digital economy," said Shri Dr Mukesh Mahaling, Hon'ble Minister for Electronics & IT, Government of Odisha.

"This partnership places Odisha on the global map of digital skilling," said Shri Suryabanshi Suraj, Hon'ble Minister of Higher Education, Government of Odisha. "We are committed to building a talent pipeline that can power India's innovation economy, and this certification is a powerful step forward."

"It's remarkable to see how swiftly the leadership of Odisha has executed the Financial Technology partnership with Singapore - from an MoU signed during the 17 - 18 January 2025 State Visit of His Excellency Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore - into tangible, forward-looking action," said Sopnendu Mohanty, Group CEO of GFTN and former Chief FinTech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

"Odisha's bold vision to become a global FinTech innovation hub is coming to life through world-class certification programmes and a cutting-edge Capability Hub - unlocking global opportunities for local talent and building a future-ready digital economy," said Mr. Mohanty.

About GFTN

The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) is a Singapore-headquartered organisation that leverages technology and innovation to create more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial systems through global collaboration. GFTN hosts a worldwide network of forums (including its flagship event, the Singapore FinTech Festival); advises governments and companies on policies and the development of digital ecosystems and innovation within the financial sector; offers digital infrastructure solutions; and plans to invest in financial technology startups through its upcoming venture fund, with a focus on inclusion and sustainability. GFTN is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2024.

About NUS-AIDF

NUS-AIDF is jointly founded by the MAS, Singapore's central bank, and the National Research Foundation (NRF), Singapore. AIDF aspires to be a thought leader, a FinTech knowledge hub, and an experimental site for developing digital financial technologies as well as for nurturing current and future FinTech researchers and practitioners in Asia. AIDF conducts the Master of Science in Digital Financial Technology and the PhD in Digital Financial Technology programmes, aimed at training the next generation of FinTech professionals. National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked #8 globally and #1 in Asia (QS Rankings 2025).

About the Black Swan Summit

The Black Swan Summit is a global, forward-looking forum that accelerates the discovery of frontier technologies, fostering disruption, adoption, and capability development at the crossroads of global innovation hubs. It seeks to build global minds for a disruptive and inclusive future. Launched this year in Perth, Western Australia, the Black Swan Network is GFTN's flagship multi-location global platform for collective foresight and international collaboration.

Annex: Details of Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech

Certificate from the National University of Singapore- Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) - Sponsored by the Government of Odisha in partnership with GFTN.

Certificate in FinTech and InsurTech covers topics on:

Fundamentals of FinTech and Insurtech

Al & Blockchain application

InsurTech innovations

Real-world case studies

Who Can Apply:

Final year undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking to build a career in the financial sector

Course Format:

Virtual selection test - English comprehension

Hybrid (55% online + 45% in-person) over 5 months

Live project with industry partners and potential employers

2 weeks in person classes in Bhubaneswar*

*Accommodation & food will be provided

Course Benefits:

Priority job opportunities Access to placement fairs Referrals to banking and insurance companies for internship placements.

Global Visibility - GFTN Knowledge Circle Exclusive, free access to hundreds of articles and reports from GFTN Complimentary access to GFTN Forums worldwide**



**Terms & conditions apply

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San'an Optoelectronics and Inari Amertron Berhad today announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lumileds Holding B.V. and its European and Asian subsidiaries ("Lumileds International").

"This transaction is the next step of our ongoing transformation. As the LED industry evolves and continues to mature, I am confident that Lumileds International will continue to be successful and accelerate its growth under the new ownership," said Steve Barlow, CEO of Lumileds International. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

About Lumileds International

Lumileds International is a global leader in LED technology, innovation, and solutions for the automotive, display, illumination, mobile, and other markets where light sources are essential. Our approximately 3,300 employees operate in over 15 countries to partner with our customers to deliver solutions for lighting, safety, and well-being.

About San'an Optoelectronics

San'an Optoelectronics, is a renowned high end light-emitting diode ("LED") chip manufacturer in China. It is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (600703.SH) with annual revenue of RMB16.1 billion (approximately USD2.2 billion) for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 and a market capitalization of approximately RMB60 billion (or about USD8.4 billion) as at the date of this announcement.

About Inari Amertron Berhad

Inari Amertron Berhad is a renowned technology company in Malaysia, providing Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test ("OSAT") services to the semiconductor industry. Inari is listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange (0166.KLSE) with annual revenue of RM1.5 billion (approximately USD350 million) for the financial year ended 30 June 2024 and a market capitalization of approximately RM7.8 billion (or about USD1.8 billion) as at the date of this announcement.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250801114360/en/

Contacts:

Willem Sillevis-Smitt

Lumileds Holding B.V.

(408) 204-9258
Shenzhen, China--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - As the DJI OSMO 360 panoramic camera makes waves in the creative community, vloggers and immersive content creators are now exploring how to unlock its full potential. In response, TELESIN has rolled out a full suite of accessories tailored to enhance the shooting experience-offering better stability, comfort, and creative flexibility for DJI OSMO 360 users.

Ergonomic Neck Mount: Field-Tested for Stability and Comfort

One standout is the ergonomic neck mount, engineered with a lightweight ABS+PC shell, a reinforced aluminum alloy frame, and soft silicone padding. Designed for extended use, this neck mount ensures a secure and comfortable fit-making it ideal for walk-and-shoot vlogs, action scenes, and travel content.

Real-world tests show that this neck mount significantly reduces camera shake compared to traditional handheld shooting methods. With a quick-swap magnetic interface that's fully compatible with the OSMO 360, users can seamlessly switch between first-person and follow-cam perspectives. Early testers praised how naturally the 360 shooting experience flows with this mount-making it a popular pick among seasoned creators.

A Complete Panoramic Filmmaking Kit for Creators

Beyond individual accessories, TELESIN offers a complete modular solution aimed at streamlining 360 content production. Key components include:

Magnetic Quick-Release System : Designed for high-speed transitions between vertical and horizontal modes, this system allows creators to adapt quickly to different shooting scenarios-boosting production efficiency.

: Designed for high-speed transitions between vertical and horizontal modes, this system allows creators to adapt quickly to different shooting scenarios-boosting production efficiency. Multi-Angle Expansion Kit: Combining an extendable pole and a mini tripod, this kit meets the needs of low-angle, stationary, or creative wide shots-giving users more freedom to experiment with their visuals.

Each accessory is custom-engineered and extensively tested to deliver seamless compatibility with the DJI OSMO 360, ensuring secure attachment and reliable stability in varied conditions. The line has also earned favorable reviews from third-party testers, with some tech reviewers naming TELESIN's solutions as editor picks for their performance and affordability.

Now Available Worldwide

The TELESIN DJI OSMO 360 accessory line is now available via the brand's official website and major global e-commerce platforms. As demand for immersive content continues to grow, creators are looking for tools that balance flexibility, usability, and reliability. TELESIN's latest offering is designed to support that evolution-whether users are filming on the move, capturing scenic landscapes, or diving into experimental storytelling.

To learn more, visit: www.telesinstore.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260945

SOURCE: 41Caijing
BANGKOK, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the issuance by U.S. President Donald Trump of an executive order that adjusted tariffs on Thailand and other countries, Mr. Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary General of the Board of Investment (BOI), emphasized Thailand's continued strength as a regional investment hub and said the 19% tariff on Thai imports helps to reaffirm the country's competitiveness and readiness to welcome global investors amid rapidly evolving global economic dynamics.

"The lowering of the U.S. tariff on imports from Thailand to 19%, from 36%, is very good news for Thailand," Mr. Narit said today. "This rate, combined with Thailand's previously outlined strengths and pro-business policies, reinforces our already strong competitiveness in the ASEAN region. Our commitment to facilitate quality investments and welcome investors from around the world remains unchanged."

Thailand's strong investment momentum and investors' confidence continue to be reflected in record numbers. In the first half of 2025, applications for investment promotion filed with the BOI increased by 139% year-on-year, reaching an unprecedented 1.06 trillion baht (ca. USD 32.5 billion). Notably, foreign direct investment (FDI) applications accounted for 70% of the total value.

Thailand's pro-business policies, robust industrial ecosystem, skilled workforce, and world-class infrastructure, combined with targeted incentives and its strategic location at the heart of Southeast Asia, continue to strengthen the country's appeal to global investors.

"The revised U.S. tariff rate reflects the recognition of Thailand's strengths as a reliable and high-quality partner in the global supply chain," said Mr. Narit. "With our trade deal in place, Thailand is well positioned to attract new investment, create jobs, and deepen economic cooperation with international partners. We are committed to ensuring that investors benefit from Thailand's strategic advantages and supportive investment environment, so that we can move forward together towards long-term, sustainable growth."

For more information, please contact:

Thailand Board of Investment

Tel. +66 (0) 2553 8111

Website: www.boi.go.th

YouTube: Think Asia, Invest Thailand

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DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Chromatography Resin Market by Type (Natural, Synthetic, Inorganic Media), Technique ((Ion Exchange (Cation and Anion), Affinity (Hydrophobic Interaction, Mixed Mode)), Application (Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology), and Region - Global Forecast to 2030", chromatography resin market size was USD 3.02 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 4.94 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 8.6%, between 2025 and 2030.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Chromatography Resin Market"

150 - Tables

63 - Figures

200 - Pages

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The use of chromatography resins is becoming popular due to their critical importance in the separation and purification of different industries, with biopharmaceuticals being the key industry. There is a growing need for high-purity biologics and stringent regulatory measures, and with this, manufacturers are turning towards sophisticated chromatography methods to produce products of good quality and safety. Since the pharmaceutical industry continues to grow and also aims at monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and biosimilars, dependence on high-performance resins has escalated. The purification is performed accurately using these resins, and the process becomes efficient, and production time is minimized, which is significant in large-scale production. Rising investment in R&D and urging change toward continuous processing are also contributing to the demand for specialized and customized chromatography resins. Food testing, environmental monitoring, and academic research are also on the increase in the global market, enhancing the market. To satisfy changing requirements, companies are innovating products that offer resins with a greater degree of selectivity, binding capacities, and reusability. As bioprocessing and personalized medicine continue to grow, the market for chromatography resins is projected to strengthen and grow steadily in the forecast period.

The synthetic resin type accounted for the second-largest share in terms of value, of the global chromatography resin market, in 2024.

Synthetic resins accounted for the second-highest share of the chromatography resin market in 2024, due to its high mechanical strength, chemical stability, and capability to work in harsh conditions. These resins are employed at an industrial scale, particularly in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and their stability and extended service life have ensured uniform performance in the field as opposed to the natural resins. They have specific binding properties on their surface, which can be selected, enabling better separation of complex purification products like monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins. Also, synthetic resins have a wide solvent compatibility (and pH) profile, a factor that makes them useful in most chromatography methods. As there is an increasing need for effective and scalable purification technology, the usage of synthetic resins is likely to continue at a steady pace throughout the forecast period.

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Food & beverage was the second-largest segment of the chromatography resin market, in terms of value, in 2024.

The food & beverage application accounted for the second-largest share of the chromatography resin market due to the increasing product quality, safety, and regulatory independence. Chromatography resins are used in the determination and quantification of contaminants, pesticide product residues, preservatives, toxins, and other trace-level impurities that may influence the health of the consumer. As world food trade has grown and more focus on food safety has been offered by food safety regulatory bodies such as the FDA and EFSA, food manufacturers are increasingly taking the help of sophisticated chromatographic methods to comply with international food safety regulations. The use of these resins is also important in the study of nutritional value, flavoring compounds, coloring, and sweeteners, so the consistency of the products and their authenticity can be examined. Moreover, the growth in the processed food & beverages packaged industry and the nutraceutical industry has raised the demand for effective and efficient quality control instruments. Demand in the food & beverage industry is expected to continue increasing in the future as consumer awareness of food safety keeps increasing.

Europe was the third-largest region in the global chromatography resin market in terms of value, in 2024.

Europe holds the third largest share in the chromatography resin market because it has advanced pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and food industries, along with a well-established research infrastructure. The region features many leading biopharma companies and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) that heavily rely on chromatography as a key process for purifying biologics, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines. Additionally, strict regulations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regional authorities require the use of advanced analytical methods, which drives the increasing demand for chromatography resins. Europe also emphasizes food safety, environmental monitoring, and uses chromatography primarily to detect contaminants and ensure quality. The development of chromatographic technologies is supported by funding from academic research centers and government-sponsored projects. Although North America and Asia-Pacific hold larger shares of the chromatography resin market in terms of volume and growth, Europe is a mature market focused on quality and regulatory compliance, solidifying its position in the global chromatography resin market.

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Key Players

The key players profiled in the report include Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (US), Merck KgaA (Germany), Danaher Corporation (US), Tosoh Corporation (Japan), Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. (France), Bio-Works Technologies AB (Sweden), Avantor, Inc. (US), Purolite (US), Repligen Corporation (US), Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation (Japan), and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (US), among others.

Get access to the latest updates on Chromatography Resin Companies and Chromatography Resin Market Size

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE) (NYSE: NXE) (ASX: NXG) ("NexGen" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company will host its 2025 second quarter conference call on Wednesday, August 7, 2025, at 8:30 am Eastern Standard Time.

During the call, NexGen's Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leigh Curyer, Chief Commercial Officer, Travis McPherson, and Chief Financial Officer, Benjamin Salter, will provide a comprehensive update on the Company's 100%-owned Rook I Project (the "Project"). This includes insights on project development including progress on the 2025 site infrastructure program, an update on the latest insight on the market as experienced by the Company, and preparations for the final Commission Hearing - alongside exciting exploration updates from the developing world-class PCE.

Call-in Details:

Date: Wednesday, August 7, 2025

Time: 8:30 am Eastern Standard Time

Participants should advise the operator that they are joining the "NexGen Energy Ltd. Conference Call" to ensure proper admission to the event:

North America Toll Free Number: 1-833-752-3734

Australia Local Toll Number: +61-3-8592-6289

Participants accessing the call via either of the provided links will be automatically connected to the NexGen Energy Ltd. conference without the need to speak with an operator:

International HD Web Phone Access: Access Link

Call me: Click Here

Prior to the call, the Company will file its 2025 second quarter Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis on Tuesday, August 5th, post-market. These fillings will be available for review on the NexGen website under Reports and Filings and on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.com. In addition, a replay will be available on the NexGen website under Events & Presentations.

Further Information is available at www.nexgenenergy.ca.

About NexGen

NexGen Energy is a Canadian company focused on delivering clean energy fuel for the future. The Company's flagship Rook I Project is being optimally developed into the largest low cost producing uranium mine globally, incorporating the most elite standards in environmental and social governance. The Rook I Project is supported by a NI 43-101 compliant Feasibility Study which outlines the elite environmental performance and industry leading economics. NexGen is led by a team of experienced uranium and mining industry professionals with expertise across the entire mining life cycle, including exploration, financing, project engineering and construction, operations and closure. NexGen is leveraging its proven experience to deliver a Project that leads the entire mining industry socially, technically and environmentally. The Project and prospective portfolio in northern Saskatchewan will provide generational long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits for Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world.

NexGen is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "NXE" and on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol "NXG" providing access to global investors to participate in NexGen's mission of solving three major global challenges in decarbonization, energy security and access to power. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with its primary operations office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Forward-Looking Information

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable United States securities laws and regulations and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, the 2021 Arrow Deposit, Rook I Project and estimates of uranium production, grade and long-term average uranium prices, anticipated effects of completed drill results on the Rook I Project, planned work programs, completion of further site investigations and engineering work to support basic engineering of the project and expected outcomes. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Statements relating to "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment that, based on certain estimates and assumptions, the mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future.

Forward-looking information and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about NexGen's business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions, including among others, that the mineral reserve and resources estimates and the key assumptions and parameters on which such estimates are based are as set out in this news release and the technical report for the property, the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price and market supply of uranium, the cost of planned exploration activities, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment, supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct NexGen's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate in the future.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of NexGen to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of NexGen expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others, the existence of negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of the availability of additional financing, the risk that pending assay results will not confirm previously announced preliminary results, conclusions of economic valuations, the risk that actual results of exploration activities will be different than anticipated, the cost of labour, equipment or materials will increase more than expected, that the future price of uranium will decline or otherwise not rise to an economic level, the appeal of alternate sources of energy to uranium-produced energy, that the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the U.S. dollar, that mineral resources and reserves are not as estimated, that actual costs or actual results of reclamation activities are greater than expected, that changes in project parameters and plans continue to be refined and may result in increased costs, of unexpected variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates or other risks generally associated with mining, unanticipated delays in obtaining governmental, regulatory or First Nations approvals, risks related to First Nations title and consultation, reliance upon key management and other personnel, deficiencies in the Company's title to its properties, uninsurable risks, failure to manage conflicts of interest, failure to obtain or maintain required permits and licences, risks related to changes in laws, regulations, policy and public perception, as well as those factors or other risks as more fully described in NexGen's Annual Information Form dated March 3, 2025 filed with the securities commissions of all of the provinces of Canada except Quebec and in NexGen's 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and Edgar at www.sec.gov.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or statements or implied by forward-looking information or statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260948

SOURCE: NexGen Energy Ltd.
Nashville, Tennessee--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Thorum, a U.S.-based heritage jewelry company, announces the launch of its signature collection of men's wedding bands, introducing handcrafted designs made from rare and reclaimed materials such as meteorite, fossilized dinosaur bone, whiskey barrel oak, WWII rifle stock, and ironwood timber.

Thorum Launches Signature Line of Men's Wedding Bands Featuring Meteorite, Dinosaur Bone, and Reclaimed American Materials

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The announcement marks a significant expansion of Thorum's offerings, aimed at modern grooms and collectors seeking unique, story-rich wedding jewelry. Founded in 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, Thorum has earned a reputation for crafting one-of-a-kind pieces that prioritize durability, originality, and American craftsmanship.

At the core of its mission is a simple belief: A ring should be more than metal. It should be a story.

American-Made. Family-Owned. Uncompromisingly Unique.

Each piece in Thorum's catalog is designed, polished, and assembled in the United States by a tight-knit, family-oriented team. This commitment to craftsmanship and quality is reflected in the company's growing popularity among modern grooms seeking authenticity and originality.

All orders ship within one business day and come backed by a lifetime guarantee - a promise rooted in over a decade of customer trust and craftsmanship. Whether it's a ring crafted from 4-billion-year-old celestial rock or a timeworn whiskey barrel stave, Thorum ensures every product carries its own legacy.

Forged from the Extraordinary

Since its launch, Thorum has become known for pushing the boundaries of what men's jewelry can be. Its expanded line of watches continues this philosophy, delivering rugged, masculine timepieces that match the spirit of its iconic bands.

For those searching for wedding jewelry that stands apart, men's wedding bands from Thorum offer wearable artifacts of Earth's history, designed for life's most important moments.

About Thorum

Founded in 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee, Thorum is an independent, family-owned brand specializing in men's wedding bands and timepieces made from rare, historic, and reclaimed materials. The brand has shipped tens of thousands of orders globally, offering unique, American-crafted jewelry for those who want to tell a story with what they wear.

Explore the full collection and the story behind Thorum at https://www.thorum.com/.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260793

SOURCE: Plentisoft


EQS Newswire / 01/08/2025 / 13:00 CET/CEST

LUOYANG, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 August 2025 - From July 23 to 27, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit was held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. On July 26, over 100 guests embarked on a field visit to Luoyang, immersing themselves in the vitality and pulse of this millennium-old ancient capital.



Site Museum of Dingding Gate

As a pivotal cradle of Chinese civilization, an ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, one of the Eastern starting points of the Silk Road, and a central city along the the Grand Canal of Sui and Tang Dynasties, Luoyang boasts over 5,000 years of civilization, nearly 4,000 years of urban history, and more than 1,500 years as a capital. Additionally, it serves as an important traditional industrial base prioritized by the People's Republic of China. During the first Five-Year Plan (1953-1957), seven of 156 key national projects were launched here. In the new era, Luoyang is forging deep integration into the Belt and Road Initiative, as China-Europe and China-Central Asia freight trains operate around the clock.



Guests of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit Visit Luoyang

The Silk Road's ancient portal endures, while the radiance of the Tang Dynasty's heyday blooms anew.



Dingding Gate stands majestic, having witnessed the distant years when camel bells echoed along the Silk Road and greeted the flourishing glory of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Stepping into the Site Museum of Dingding Gate, a magnificent reenactment of the "city entrance ceremony" instantly transported them through history. As performers bowed deeply, their Hanfu robes swirling, the guests marveled at the millennia-old elegance of the cross-handed salute, remarking they had never witnessed such graceful etiquette.



Moving to the dazzling "Wuhuang Shengyan (a Tang-style Cultural Restaurant)", guests embarked on a multisensory journey through the Tang Dynasty's golden age. Amid carved railings and jade-inlaid structures, they savored exquisite delicacies amid resounding music and dance, overwhelmed by the grandeur of Tang majesty. In joyous spirit, guests spontaneously joined performers onstage. Long after the feast, its melodies lingered as the guests remained in awe, exclaiming, "Stunning! Magnificent! Breathtaking!" They vowed to tell friends and family that they must come and experience it.



Dongfanghong composes new stories, while the Buddha's light of Longmen shines upon the world.



Entering the Dongfanghong Innovation Hub of YTO Group Corporation, guests felt the surging pulse of Luoyang's equipment manufacturing and industrial development. Interested foreign guests boarded the vehicles to experience the new tractors on display. The accessible advanced manufacturing deeply touched them. "Luoyang is not only beautiful, but also possesses the crafting might of modern farm machinery, which is truly remarkable!" Many foreign guests noted that China's generous support in professional technologies and equipment had boosted agricultural development in their countries, bolstering the foundations of sustainable growth and safeguarding precious food security. They expressed hope for deeper cooperation ahead.



At Longmen Grottoes, guests explored China's treasury of stone carving art. Foreign guests paused before the Giant Vairocana Buddha, remarking that Luoyang is an extraordinarily unique place, rich in culture and civilization. They expressed hope for linking their countries with China through tourism to foster deeper exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations.



Millennium-old Luoyang retains its timeless charm. Through this in-depth visit, guests of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit not only heard the echoes of history but also felt the city's powerful pulse of the times. They etched deeply in their hearts a "stunning, magnificent, and breathtaking" magical Luoyang, a city they would share far and wide across the world.





Hashtag: Luoyang

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

News Source: Luoyang Information Office

01/08/2025 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS News.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Media archive at www.todayir.com


MONACO, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First participation and first historic victory: Yacht Club de Monaco wins the 2025 Admiral's Cup with a nail-biting finale. Led by the YCM's vice-president, Pierre Casiraghi (Jolt 6), and Peter Harrison (Jolt 3), the two Monegasque teams dominated the Rolex Fastnet Race, the final and decisive event (coefficient 3) of the trophy, surpassing the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

In its very first appearance, YCM claimed victory in a revived edition of the Admiral's Cup after more than twenty years, which saw 15 nations compete across three stages: the Channel Race (160 miles, coeff. 2), six inshore races in the Solent, and finally the Rolex Fastnet Race. It was over the final 695 miles that the overall standings were decided.

Pierre Casiraghi, at the helm of Jolt 6, won his class on corrected time. "Honestly, I still can't believe what we've achieved. Winning the Admiral's Cup in its revival and on Monaco's debut, is indescribable. I'm not a professional helm, and this was the most exhausting race I've ever done." He went on to praise the entire team: "We knew the Fastnet would be decisive and our team executed it flawlessly. Will Harris, our navigator, was phenomenal, he didn't miss a beat. From the moment we exited the Solent, everything went to plan. We held the lead, fought off relentless pressure from Callisto (RNZYS) and Beau Ideal (RHKYC), and made every move count. It was truly a collective effort, from the sailors to the shore crew. I hope this inspires the new generation of young sailors at YCM - they followed our every move. Right now, I'm exhausted and can't imagine doing another offshore on a 42-footer anytime soon, but it's been a magical journey."

Jolt 3 also delivered a strong performance with Peter Harrison, finishing third in real time in the AC Class 1: "This is without a doubt the biggest result I've ever had in sailing and I doubt it will ever be topped. Helping bring Yacht Club de Monaco its first Admiral's Cup victory at the first attempt is simply extraordinary." He added: "From the start, Pierre Casiraghi and I believed in this campaign. The Club was fully behind us, and with Matt Adams coordinating and a world-class team around us we built something truly special. It's a huge moment for Monaco and I believe it firmly establishes YCM as a force in offshore sailing. The event was impeccably run and every race completed. Full credit to the RORC team."

With Jolt 3 placing first in AC Class 1 and Jolt 6 second in AC Class 2, Monaco secured the team trophy with a 16-point lead over the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The award ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, July 31 at 6:00 p.m. at the Rolex Fastnet Race Event Village.

Other YCM crews also posted strong results: Black Jack 100, skippered by Remon Vos (with Tristan Le Brun), won the Monohull Line Honours ahead of Leopard 3; Rayon Vert, helmed by Oren Nataf, finished 19th among multihulls. Young sailor Didier Schouten completed his first major Channel crossing aboard Ocean Breeze.

Focus now shifts to The Ocean Race Europe (August 10 - September 21): Will Harris and Cole Brauer will return to sea aboard Malizia-Seaexplorer, with stops in Kiel, Portsmouth, Porto, Cartagena, Nice, Genoa, and a final arrival in Montenegro.

For more information:

Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

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Empowering Sonke Krey in Germany to Pioneer Electrification Starting from 2023

Supporting Ruhle GmbH 's to Sustain Quality Jobs in Northern Germany

Strategic Partnership with HAKAN Machinery: Deepening Roots in Turkey's Market

Collaborating with Octo to Advance Intelligent Construction Solutions in the UK

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- XCMG Machinery (SHE:000425), a global leader in construction machinery, is reinforcing its "In Europe, For Europe" strategy through a series of targeted, localized initiatives with key partners across the continent. Recent weeks have seen significant expansions in Turkey, Germany, and the UK, demonstrating XCMG's commitment to strengthening its European ecosystem, enhancing customer service, and driving sustainable, intelligent construction solutions.

The cornerstone of this push is the inauguration of a major new operational hub by long-term Turkish partner HAKAN Makina in Dilovasi, Kocaeli Province. Strategically positioned at the heart of Turkey's industrial corridor near Istanbul, this facility is a critical piece in XCMG's nationwide service network. Its prime location along key highways connecting Istanbul's European and Anatolian sides enables HAKAN to cover 80% of the Marmara Region's heavy industry customers within a one-hour economic radius. The integrated hub combines sales, parts warehousing, and technical support, drastically reducing equipment delivery times and service response for local infrastructure businesses. The immediate success of the launch, marked by multiple equipment sales, underscores the power of XCMG's "resource synergy" model with its partners.

This expansion in Turkey synergizes with parallel advancements across key European markets.

In Northern Germany: Earthmoving equipment specialist Sonke Krey celebrated its 25th anniversary in Gluckstadt by unveiling the first XCMG XE215EV electric excavator in the German-speaking market. The XE215EV launch in Germany exemplifies XCMG's drive to offer zero-emission solutions meeting the highest EU standards (Stage V), enabling sustainable urban and infrastructure development.

Emphasizing an exclusive partnership, Sonke Krey's founder declared, "We exclusively represent XCMG for earthmoving equipment," highlighting a procurement history exceeding 2.13 million. The Stage V compliant XE215EV positions XCMG and Sonke Krey at the forefront of meeting stringent EU environmental regulations.

In Southern Germany: Celebrating its own remarkable 30th anniversary of founding, also marking 3 years of partnership with XCMG, Ruhle GmbH showcased its comprehensive service coverage across the vital Stuttgart-Nuremberg economic corridor using the full XCMG product range. Ruhle's deep community integration and contribution to local employment were also acknowledged by regional authorities.

In Southern England: Dealer Octo hosted a highly successful open day for smart construction experience, where customers experienced the precision and efficiency gains of the XE80E excavator equipped with the TX73 3D intelligent guidance system. The system demonstrated in the UK significantly boosts precision, reduces waste, and optimizes fuel consumption, directly enhancing customer productivity and project economics. The live demonstrations validated significant reductions in errors and resource waste. Octo further committed its technical teams to providing rapid support among its network in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, and Hampshire.

These network upgrades are intrinsically linked to XCMG's commitment to providing Europe with cutting-edge, compliant technology. The Company remains dedicated to European regulations and sustainability goals, ensuring full CE certification across its product line and actively developing comprehensive carbon management frameworks.

These developments are a coordinated execution of its core strategy: deep localization for the European market, with European partners. By empowering its local partners with the right resources and technology tailored to specific regional demands - whether it's HAKAN's strategic logistics in Turkey, Sonke Krey's focus on electric in Germany, or Octo's smart solutions in the UK - the Company remains firmly committed to growing its capacity and presence across the continent, together with its European partners and customers.

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Second Quarter Highlights*

Diluted EPS for the Quarter of $2.23, Up 68 percent, primarily due to the non-recurring 2024 impairment of intangible assets recognized in the Digital reporting unit

Adjusted Diluted EPS for the Quarter of $2.46, Up 14 percent

Record Net Revenue for the Quarter of $587.3 million, Up 14 percent

Increases 2025 Organic Total Net Revenue Growth Target 2 to high single digits, from mid to high single digits; Reaffirms Cboe Data Vantage 3 Organic Net Revenue Growth Target 2 of mid to high single digits

Decreases 2025 Adjusted Operating Expense Guidance2 to $832 to $847 million, from $837 to $852 million

CHICAGO, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2025.

"In the second quarter, Cboe reported record quarterly net revenue of $587 million, diluted EPS of $2.23, and adjusted diluted EPS1 of $2.46. Strong double-digit net revenue growth across Derivatives, Data Vantage, and Cash and Spot Markets drove our outstanding results," said Craig Donohue, Cboe Global Markets Chief Executive Officer. "Net revenue grew 14 percent and adjusted diluted EPS1 increased 14 percent year-over-year, bringing year-to-date growth to 13 percent and 15 percent, respectively, as compared to the first half of 2024. Since taking over as CEO in early May, I have been impressed by our team's ability to thrive in a constantly evolving environment. I am excited to build on the exceptional first half results as we work towards delivering long-term value for shareholders."

"Cboe achieved another quarter of record net revenue and strong adjusted earnings growth, highlighting the durability across our exchange ecosystem," said Jill Griebenow, Cboe Global Markets Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. "Derivatives net revenue grew 17 percent, driven by robust volumes across our options business. Data Vantage produced 11 percent net revenue growth, and Cash and Spot Markets net revenue increased 11 percent on a year-over-year basis. Moving forward, we are increasing our organic total net revenue growth2 guidance range to high single digits from mid to high single digits, and we are reaffirming our Data Vantage organic net revenue growth2 range of mid to high single digits for 2025. In addition, we are lowering our full year adjusted operating expense guidance2 range to $832 million to $847 million from $837 to $852 million. Following our strong first half performance, we remain well-positioned to advance our financial priorities and deliver meaningful impact across our global markets."

*All comparisons are second quarter 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. (1) A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP ("Generally Accepted Accounting Principles") results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. (2) Specific quantifications of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses guidance are not available. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above. (3) Cboe Data Vantage refers to the company's Cboe Data Vantage business (formerly known as Data and Access Solutions). Cboe Data Vantage is subsequently referred to as Data Vantage throughout this press release.

Consolidated Second Quarter Results -Table 1

Table 1 below presents summary selected unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the company as reported and on an adjusted basis for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024.

Table 1











Consolidated Second Quarter Results

($ in millions except per share and

percentages) 2Q25 2Q24 Change 2Q25 Adjusted 2Q24 Adjusted Change Total Revenues Less Cost of Revenues $ 587.3 $ 513.8 14 % $ 587.3 $ 512.8 15 % Total Operating Expenses $ 248.2 $ 303.7 (18) % $ 213.3 $ 197.1 8 % Operating Income $ 339.1 $ 210.1 61 % $ 374.0 $ 315.7 18 % Operating Margin % 57.7 % 40.9 % 16.8 pp 63.7 % 61.4 % 2.3 pp Net Income Allocated to Common

Stockholders $ 233.9 $ 139.7 67 % $ 257.8 $ 226.2 14 % Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 2.23 $ 1.33 68 % $ 2.46 $ 2.15 14 % Operating EBITDA $ 369.0 $ 241.9 53 % $ 386.7 $ 326.3 19 % Operating EBITDA Margin % 62.8 % 47.1 % 15.7 pp 65.8 % 63.5 % 2.3 pp EBITDA $ 364.9 $ 242.3 51 % $ 382.3 $ 340.7 12 % EBITDA Margin % 62.1 % 47.2 % 14.9 pp 65.1 % 66.3 % (1.2) pp

Total revenues less cost of revenues (referred to as "net revenue" 2 ) of $587.3 million increased 14 percent, compared to $513.8 million in the prior-year period, a result of increases in derivatives markets, Data Vantage, and cash and spot markets net revenue 2 .

) of $587.3 million increased 14 percent, compared to $513.8 million in the prior-year period, a result of increases in derivatives markets, Data Vantage, and cash and spot markets net revenue . Total operating expenses were $248.2 million versus $303.7 million in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease of $55.5 million. This decrease was primarily related to the impairment of intangible assets recognized in the former Digital reporting segment in the second quarter of 2024. Adjusted operating expenses 1 of $213.3 million were up compared to $197.1 million in the second quarter of 2024. The increase was primarily due to higher compensation and benefits, depreciation and amortization, and technology support services, partially offset by lower travel and promotional expenses and professional fees and outside services.

of $213.3 million were up compared to $197.1 million in the second quarter of 2024. The increase was primarily due to higher compensation and benefits, depreciation and amortization, and technology support services, partially offset by lower travel and promotional expenses and professional fees and outside services. The effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2025 was 29.7 percent as compared with 30.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024. The lower effective tax rate in 2025 is primarily due to the valuation allowance associated with the impairment of the Globacap investment, which drove the higher effective tax rate in the second quarter of 2024. The effective tax rate on adjusted earnings 1 was 29.8 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points when compared with 29.5 percent in last year's second quarter.

was 29.8 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points when compared with 29.5 percent in last year's second quarter. Diluted EPS for the second quarter of 2025 increased 68 percent to $2.23 compared to the second quarter of 2024. Adjusted diluted EPS1 of $2.46 increased 14 percent compared to 2024 second quarter results.

Business Segment Information:

Table 2





Total Revenues Less Cost of Revenues by Business Segment (in millions) 2Q25 2Q24 Change Options $ 364.8 $ 306.7 19 % North American Equities 98.4 98.3 0 % Europe and Asia Pacific 70.4 54.3 30 % Futures 30.1 34.8 (14) % Global FX 23.6 19.8 19 % Digital - (0.1) * % Total $ 587.3 $ 513.8 14 %



(1)A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. (2)See the attached tables on page 10 for "Net Revenue by Revenue Caption." (3)The Digital segment results are prospectively included in the Futures segment beginning in the first quarter of 2025. Digital results from 2024 have been retained in the former Digital segment for comparative purposes. *Not meaningful

Discussion of Results by Business Segment1:

Options:

Record Options net revenue of $364.8 million was up $58.1 million, or 19 percent, from the second quarter of 2024. Net transaction and clearing fees 2 increased primarily as a result of a 20 percent increase in total options average daily volume ("ADV") versus the second quarter of 2024. Market data fees were 15 percent higher and access and capacity fees were 9 percent higher as compared to the second quarter of 2024.

increased primarily as a result of a 20 percent increase in total options average daily volume ("ADV") versus the second quarter of 2024. Market data fees were 15 percent higher and access and capacity fees were 9 percent higher as compared to the second quarter of 2024. Net transaction and clearing fees 2 increased $53.9 million, or 20 percent, reflecting a 22 percent increase in multi-listed options ADV and a 17 percent increase in index options ADV. Total options revenue per contract ("RPC") increased 1 percent compared to the second quarter of 2024. The increase in total options RPC was due to an increase in both multi-listed options and index options RPC.

increased $53.9 million, or 20 percent, reflecting a 22 percent increase in multi-listed options ADV and a 17 percent increase in index options ADV. Total options revenue per contract ("RPC") increased 1 percent compared to the second quarter of 2024. The increase in total options RPC was due to an increase in both multi-listed options and index options RPC. Cboe's Options exchanges had total market share of 30.2 percent for the second quarter of 2025, down compared to 31.2 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

North American (N.A.) Equities:

Record N.A. Equities net revenue of $98.4 million increased $0.1 million from the second quarter of 2024, reflecting higher access and capacity fees and industry market data fees, offset by lower net transaction and clearing fees 2 .

. Net transaction and clearing fees 2 decreased $7.8 million, or 22 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2024. The decrease was driven by lower market share and lower net capture for U.S. Equities exchanges versus the second quarter of 2024.

decreased $7.8 million, or 22 percent, compared to the second quarter of 2024. The decrease was driven by lower market share and lower net capture for U.S. Equities exchanges versus the second quarter of 2024. Cboe's U.S. Equities exchanges had market share of 10.5 percent for the second quarter of 2025 compared to 11.4 percent in the second quarter of 2024 as a result of higher industry off-exchange market share. Cboe's U.S. Equities off-exchange market share was 15.2 percent, down from 17.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024. Canadian Equities market share declined to 12.7 percent as compared to 15.0 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

Europe and Asia Pacific (APAC):

Record Europe and APAC net revenue of $70.4 million increased by 30 percent compared to the second quarter of 2024, reflecting growth in net transaction and clearing fees 2 and non-transaction revenues. On a constant currency basis 3 , net revenues were $67.1 million, up 24 percent on a year-over-year basis. European Equities average daily notional value ("ADNV") traded on Cboe European Equities was $13.7 billion, up 43 percent compared to the second quarter of 2024 given a 28 percent increase in industry market volumes. Japanese Equities ADNV was 32 percent lower and Australian Equities ADNV was 25 percent higher than the second quarter of 2024.

and non-transaction revenues. On a constant currency basis , net revenues were $67.1 million, up 24 percent on a year-over-year basis. European Equities average daily notional value ("ADNV") traded on Cboe European Equities was $13.7 billion, up 43 percent compared to the second quarter of 2024 given a 28 percent increase in industry market volumes. Japanese Equities ADNV was 32 percent lower and Australian Equities ADNV was 25 percent higher than the second quarter of 2024. For the second quarter of 2025, Cboe European Equities had 25.1 percent market share, up from 22.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024. Cboe Australia had 20.0 percent market share for the second quarter of 2025, down from 20.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024. Cboe Japan had 3.6 percent market share in the second quarter of 2025, down from 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024.

Announced decision to wind down Cboe's Japanese equities business, including the operations of its Cboe Japan proprietary trading system and Cboe BIDS Japan block trading platform. Cboe expects to suspend operations for these businesses on August 29, 2025 and formally close the businesses subject to consultation with regulators. The company anticipates that the wind down of the Cboe Japan equities operations will have an immaterial impact on Cboe's organic total net revenue growth4 and adjusted operating expense4 guidance in 2025. Adjusted operating expense4 savings are estimated to be in the range of $2 million to $4 million in 2025, with savings expected to be in the $10 million to $12 million range on a normalized annual basis.4

Futures:

Futures net revenue of $30.1 million decreased $4.7 million, or 14 percent, from the second quarter of 2024 driven by a 19 percent decrease in net transaction and clearing fees 2 .

. Net transaction and clearing fees2 decreased $5.2 million, reflecting a 13 percent decrease in ADV during the quarter.

Global FX:

Record Global FX net revenue of $23.6 million increased 19 percent as compared to the second quarter of 2024. The increase was due to higher net transaction and clearing fees2. ADNV traded on the Cboe FX platform was $55.9 billion for the quarter, up 17 percent compared to last year's second quarter, and net capture rate per one million dollars traded was $2.81 for the second quarter of 2025, up 5 percent compared to $2.69 in the second quarter of 2024.

(1) The Digital segment results are prospectively included in the Futures segment beginning in the first quarter of 2025. Digital results from 2024 have been retained in the former Digital segment for comparative purposes. (2) See the attached tables on page 10 for "Net Transaction and Clearing Fees by Business Segment." (3) A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables. (4) Specific quantifications of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses guidance are not available. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic net revenue growth guidance and adjusted operating expenses would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above.

2025 Fiscal Year Financial Guidance

Cboe provided guidance for the 2025 fiscal year as noted below.

Organic total net revenue growth 1 is expected to be in the high single digit range in 2025, up from previous guidance calling for mid to high single digits.

is expected to be in the high single digit range in 2025, up from previous guidance calling for mid to high single digits. Reaffirms Data Vantage organic net revenue growth 1 range of mid to high single digits in 2025.

range of mid to high single digits in 2025. Adjusted operating expenses 1 are expected to be in the range of $832 to $847 million in 2025, down from previous guidance of $837 to $852 million. The guidance excludes the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets of $70 million; the company reflects the exclusion of this amount in its non-GAAP reconciliation.

are expected to be in the range of $832 to $847 million in 2025, down from previous guidance of $837 to $852 million. The guidance excludes the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets of $70 million; the company reflects the exclusion of this amount in its non-GAAP reconciliation. Depreciation and amortization expense is expected to be in the range of $53 to $57 million in 2025, down from previous guidance of $55 to $59 million, excluding the expected amortization of acquired intangible assets.

Reaffirms the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings 1 for the full year 2025 is expected to be in the range of 28.5 to 30.5 percent. Significant changes in trading volume, expenses, tax laws or rates, and other items could materially impact this expectation.

for the full year 2025 is expected to be in the range of 28.5 to 30.5 percent. Significant changes in trading volume, expenses, tax laws or rates, and other items could materially impact this expectation. Reaffirms capital expenditures in 2025 are expected to be in the range of $75 to $85 million.

(1) Specific quantifications of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the company's organic and inorganic growth guidance, adjusted operating expenses guidance, annualized adjusted operating expenses guidance, and the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings guidance are not available. Acquisitions are considered organic after 12 months of closing. The company believes that there is uncertainty and unpredictability with respect to certain of its GAAP measures, primarily related to acquisition-related revenues and costs that would be required to reconcile to GAAP revenues less cost of revenues, GAAP operating expenses and GAAP effective tax rate, which preclude the company from providing accurate guidance on certain forward-looking GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations. The company believes that providing estimates of the amounts that would be required to reconcile the range of the company's organic growth, adjusted operating expenses, annualized adjusted operating expenses, and the effective tax rate on adjusted earnings would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors for the reasons identified above.

Capital Management

At June 30, 2025, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $1,256.3 million and adjusted cash2 of $1,238.2 million. Total debt as of June 30, 2025 was $1,442.0 million.

The company paid cash dividends of $66.4 million, or $0.63 per share, during the second quarter of 2025 and utilized $35.3 million, excluding commissions and excise taxes, to repurchase approximately 161 thousand shares of its common stock under its share repurchase program at an average price of $219.77 per share. As of June 30, 2025, the company had approximately $614.5 million of availability remaining under its existing share repurchase authorizations.

Earnings Conference Call

Executives of Cboe Global Markets will host a conference call to review its second-quarter financial results today, August 1, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. ET/7:30 a.m. CT. The conference call and any accompanying slides will be publicly available via live webcast from the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.cboe.com under Events & Presentations. Participants may also listen via telephone by dialing (800) 715-9871 (toll-free) or (646) 307-1963 (toll) and using the Conference ID 6775785. Telephone participants should place calls 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The webcast will be archived on the company's website for replay.

(2) A full reconciliation of our non-GAAP results to our GAAP results is included in the attached tables. See "Non-GAAP Information" in the accompanying financial tables.

About Cboe Global Markets

Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), the world's leading derivatives and securities exchange network, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to people around the world. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives, and FX, across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Above all, Cboe is committed to building a trusted, inclusive global marketplace that enables people to pursue a sustainable financial future. To learn more about the Exchange for the World Stage, visit www.cboe.com.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," or "continue," and the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All statements that reflect our expectations, assumptions or projections about the future other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

We operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.

Some factors that could cause actual results to differ include: the loss of our right to exclusively list and trade certain index options and futures products; economic, political and market conditions; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations; price competition and consolidation in our industry; decreases in trading or clearing volumes, market data fees or a shift in the mix of products traded on our exchanges; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in tax regimes; our ability to protect our systems and communication networks from security vulnerabilities and breaches; our ability to attract and retain skilled management and other personnel, increasing competition by foreign and domestic entities; our dependence on and exposure to risk from third parties; factors that impact the quality and integrity of our and other applicable indices; our ability to manage our global operations, growth, and strategic acquisitions or alliances effectively; increases in the cost of the products and services we use; our ability to operate our business without violating the intellectual property rights of others and the costs associated with protecting our intellectual property rights; our ability to minimize the risks, including our credit, counterparty investment, and default risks, associated with operating our clearinghouses; our ability to accommodate trading and clearing volume and transaction traffic, including significant increases, without failure or degradation of performance of our systems; misconduct by those who use our markets or our products or for whom we clear transactions; challenges to our use of open source software code; our ability to meet our compliance obligations, including managing our business interests and our regulatory responsibilities; the loss of key customers or a significant reduction in trading or clearing volumes by key customers; our ability to maintain BIDS Trading as an independently managed and operated trading venue, separate from and not integrated with our registered national securities exchanges; damage to our reputation; the ability of our compliance and risk management methods to effectively monitor and manage our risks; restrictions imposed by our debt obligations and our ability to make payments on or refinance our debt obligations; our ability to maintain an investment grade credit rating; impairment of our goodwill, long-lived assets, investments or intangible assets; the accuracy of our estimates and expectations; and litigation risks and other liabilities. More detailed information about factors that may affect our actual results to differ may be found in our filings with the SEC, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and other filings made from time to time with the SEC.

We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any duty to update any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

The condensed consolidated statements of income and balance sheets are unaudited and subject to revision.

Cboe Media Contacts:





Analyst Contact: Angela Tu

Tim Cave

Kenneth Hill, CFA (646) 856-8734

+44 (0) 7593 506 719

(312) 786-7559 atu@cboe.com

tcave@cboe.com

khill@cboe.com

CBOE-F

Trademarks:

Cboe, Cboe Global Markets, CFE, Cboe Volatility Index, Cboe Clear, Cboe Datashop, BIDS Trading, BZX, BYX, EDGX, EDGA, The Exchange for the World Stage, and VIX are registered trademarks and Cboe Data VantageSM is a service mark of Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Key Performance Statistics by Business Segment





2Q 2025 1Q 2025 4Q 2024 3Q 2024 2Q 2024 Options

















Total industry ADV (in thousands) 57,203

58,444

51,635

48,733

46,129 Total Company Options ADV (in thousands): 17,301

18,183

15,673

14,882

14,384 Multi-listed options 12,615

13,412

11,633

10,655

10,367 Index options 4,686

4,771

4,040

4,227

4,017 Total Options market share 30.2 %

31.1 %

30.4 %

30.5 %

31.2 % Multi-listed options 24.0 %

25.0 %

24.5 %

24.0 %

24.6 % Total Options RPC: $ 0.300

$ 0.287

$ 0.281

$ 0.298

$ 0.295 Multi-listed options $ 0.068

$ 0.066

$ 0.064

$ 0.063

$ 0.062 Index options $ 0.923

$ 0.908

$ 0.905

$ 0.892

$ 0.898



















North American Equities

















U.S. Equities - Exchange:

















Total industry ADV (shares in billions) 18.4

15.7

13.6

11.5

11.8 Market share % 10.5 %

10.5 %

10.8 %

10.9 %

11.4 % Net capture (per 100 touched shares) $ 0.012

$ 0.014

$ 0.018

$ 0.024

$ 0.027 U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange:

















ADV (touched shares, in millions) 125.5

90.6

80.0

79.3

74.7 Off-Exchange ATS Block Market Share % (reported on a one-month lag) 15.2 %

17.1 %

16.5 %

17.6 %

17.8 % Net capture (per 100 touched shares) $ 0.082

$ 0.117

$ 0.126

$ 0.135

$ 0.136 Canadian Equities:

















ADV (matched shares, in millions) 150.6

159.6

157.4

135.9

150.6 Total market share % 12.7 %

13.8 %

14.3 %

14.6 %

15.0 % Net capture (per 10,000 shares, in Canadian Dollars) $ 4.222

$ 4.250

$ 4.008

$ 4.240

$ 4.046



















Europe and Asia Pacific

















European Equities:

















Total industry ADNV (Euros - in billions)  54.5

 55.8

 42.3

 38.9

 42.6 Market share % 25.1 %

24.8 %

24.6 %

23.8 %

22.5 % Net capture (per matched notional value (bps), in Euros)  0.261

 0.252

 0.261

 0.257

 0.251 Cboe Clear Europe:

















Trades cleared (in thousands) 400,935.8

412,072.2

328,976.1

306,882.5

299,019.3 Fee per trade cleared (in Euros)  0.008

 0.008

 0.008

 0.008

 0.008 Net settlement volume (shares in thousands) 3,289.3

3,200.7

2,962.6

2,947.6

2,764.0 Net fee per settlement (in Euros)  0.956

 0.951

 1.002

 1.026

 1.038 Australian Equities:

















ADNV (AUD - in billions) $ 1.0

$ 0.8

$ 0.8

$ 0.8

$ 0.8 Market share - Continuous 20.0 %

19.4 %

20.8 %

20.8 %

20.8 % Net capture (per matched notional value (bps), in Australian Dollars) $ 0.160

$ 0.156

$ 0.154

$ 0.156

$ 0.155 Japanese Equities:

















ADNV (JPY - in billions)  213.7

 323.8

 263.8

 323.3

 315.2 Market share - Lit Continuous 3.6 %

5.4 %

4.9 %

5.4 %

5.5 % Net capture (per matched notional value (bps), in Yen)  0.215

 0.242

 0.233

 0.221

 0.229



















Futures

















ADV (in thousands) 220.8

249.4

206.4

273.7

253.6 RPC $ 1.673

$ 1.740

$ 1.765

$ 1.767

$ 1.757



















Global FX

















ADNV ($ - in billions) $ 55.9

$ 51.9

$ 45.6

$ 48.3

$ 47.7 Net capture (per one million dollars traded) $ 2.81

$ 2.77

$ 2.72

$ 2.66

$ 2.69



*In the second quarter of 2025, Digital futures products were transitioned to Cboe Futures Exchange. Futures metrics prior to the second quarter of 2025 exclude Digital futures products.

ADV = average daily volume; ADNV = average daily notional value.

RPC, average revenue per contract, for options and futures represents total net transaction fees recognized for the period divided by total contracts traded during the period.

Touched volume represents the total number of shares of equity securities and ETFs internally matched on our exchanges or routed to and executed on an external market center.

Matched volume represents the total number of shares of equity securities and ETFs executed on our exchanges.

U.S. Equities - Exchange, "net capture per 100 touched shares" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments and routing and clearing costs divided by the product of one-hundredth ADV of touched shares on BZX, BYX, EDGX and EDGA and the number of trading days. U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange data reflects BIDS Trading. For U.S. Equities - Off-Exchange, "net capture per 100 touched shares" refers to transaction fees less order and execution management system (OMS/EMS) fees and clearing costs divided by the product of one-hundredth ADV of touched shares on BIDS Trading and the number of trading days for the period.

Canadian Equities, "net capture per 10,000 shares" refers to transaction fees divided by the product of one-ten thousandth ADV of shares for Cboe Canada and the number of trading days. Total market share represents Cboe Canada volume divided by the total volume of the Canadian Equities market.

European Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Euros divided by the product of ADNV in Euros of shares matched on Cboe Europe Equities and the number of trading days. "Trades cleared" refers to the total number of non-interoperable trades cleared, "Fee per trade cleared" refers to clearing fees divided by number of non-interoperable trades cleared, "Net settlement volume" refers to the total number of settlements executed after netting, and "Net fee per settlement" refers to settlement fees less direct costs incurred to settle divided by the number of settlements executed after netting.

Asia Pacific data reflects data from Cboe Australia and Cboe Japan. Australian Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Australian dollars divided by the product of ADNV in Australian dollars of shares matched on Cboe Australia and the number of Australian Equities trading days. Japanese Equities, "net capture per matched notional value" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments in Japanese Yen divided by the product of ADNV in Japanese Yen of shares matched on Cboe Japan and the number of Japanese Equities trading days.

Global FX, "net capture per one million dollars traded" refers to transaction fees less liquidity payments, if any, divided by the Spot and SEF products of one-thousandth of ADNV traded on the Cboe FX Markets and the number of trading days, divided by two, which represents the buyer and seller that are both charged on the transaction.

Average transaction fees per contract can be affected by various factors, including exchange fee rates, volume-based discounts, and transaction mix by contract type and product type.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)

Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 and 2024





Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30, (in millions, except per share amounts) 2025

2024

2025

2024 Revenues:













Cash and spot markets $ 487.6

$ 386.4

$ 988.5

$ 767.3 Data Vantage 158.3

142.1

310.8

282.3 Derivatives markets 527.6

445.5

1,069.2

881.6 Total Revenues 1,173.5

974.0

2,368.5

1,931.2 Cost of Revenues:













Liquidity payments 418.0

307.0

812.8

645.8 Routing and clearing 20.7

16.6

40.3

32.6 Section 31 fees 85.3

77.7

238.4

119.8 Royalty fees and other cost of revenues 62.2

58.9

124.5

117.1 Total Cost of Revenues 586.2

460.2

1,216.0

915.3 Revenues Less Cost of Revenues 587.3

513.8

1,152.5

1,015.9 Operating Expenses:













Compensation and benefits 127.9

116.1

244.1

231.4 Depreciation and amortization 29.9

31.8

60.2

69.1 Technology support services 26.7

24.6

52.3

48.8 Professional fees and outside services 24.8

25.8

45.6

47.3 Travel and promotional expenses 8.2

9.3

14.6

16.8 Facilities costs 7.0

6.1

13.2

12.6 Acquisition-related costs -

0.6

0.2

1.2 Impairment of intangible assets 17.1

81.0

17.1

81.0 Other expenses 6.6

8.4

12.2

15.2 Total Operating Expenses 248.2

303.7

459.5

523.4 Operating Income 339.1

210.1

693.0

492.5 Non-operating (Expenses) Income:













Interest expense (12.9)

(12.8)

(25.7)

(25.8) Interest income 11.3

4.6

19.7

8.7 (Loss) earnings on investments, net (1.1)

14.2

(4.4)

28.2 Other (expense) income, net (1.8)

(13.1)

2.2

(8.5) Total Non-operating (Expenses) Income (4.5)

(7.1)

(8.2)

2.6 Income Before Income Tax Provision 334.6

203.0

684.8

495.1 Income tax provision 99.5

62.6

199.1

145.2 Net Income 235.1

140.4

485.7

349.9 Net income allocated to participating securities (1.2)

(0.7)

(2.4)

(1.9) Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders $ 233.9

$ 139.7

$ 483.3

$ 348.0 Net Income Per Share Allocated to Common Stockholders:













Basic earnings per share $ 2.23

$ 1.33

$ 4.62

$ 3.30 Diluted earnings per share 2.23

1.33

4.60

3.29 Weighted average shares used in computing income per share:













Basic 104.7

105.1

104.7

105.4 Diluted 105.0

105.4

105.0

105.8

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)

June 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024



(in millions) June 30,

2025

December 31,

2024 Assets





Current Assets:





Cash and cash equivalents $ 1,256.3

$ 920.3 Financial investments 207.6

110.3 Accounts receivable, net 444.3

444.6 Margin deposits, clearing funds, and interoperability funds 1,670.4

845.5 Income taxes receivable 40.6

73.8 Other current assets (includes restricted cash of $30.2 at June 30, 2025 and $- at December 31, 2024) 123.7

84.6 Total Current Assets 3,742.9

2,479.1







Investments 379.6

383.7 Property and equipment, net 127.9

118.0 Operating lease right of use assets 122.2

124.5 Goodwill 3,155.9

3,124.2 Intangible assets, net 1,356.2

1,376.9 Other assets, net 163.6

182.7 Total Assets $ 9,048.3

$ 7,789.1







Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity





Current Liabilities:





Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 467.3

$ 359.7 Section 31 fees payable 238.4

182.0 Deferred revenue 10.5

6.4 Margin deposits, clearing funds, and interoperability funds 1,670.4

845.5 Income taxes payable -

1.6 Total Current Liabilities 2,386.6

1,395.2







Long-term debt 1,442.0

1,441.0 Non-current unrecognized tax benefits 212.6

305.0 Deferred income taxes 175.1

186.8 Non-current operating lease liabilities 133.8

138.4 Other non-current liabilities 33.1

43.1 Total Liabilities 4,383.2

3,509.5







Stockholders' Equity:





Preferred stock -

- Common stock 1.0

1.0 Treasury stock, at cost (90.5)

(1.4) Additional paid-in capital 1,543.3

1,512.5 Retained earnings 3,168.9

2,815.9 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net 42.4

(48.4) Total Stockholders' Equity 4,665.1

4,279.6







Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity $ 9,048.3

$ 7,789.1

Table 3 Net Transaction and Clearing

Fees by Business Segment

Three Months Ended

June 30, 2025 and 2024

(in millions) Consolidated

June 30, Options

June 30, N.A. Equities

June 30, Europe and

APAC

June 30, Futures

June 30, Global FX

June 30, Digital1

June 30, 2025

2024 2025

2024 2025

2024 2025

2024 2025

2024 2025

2024 2025

2024 Transaction and clearing fees $ 867.7

$ 697.6 $ 468.3

$ 385.9 $ 300.2

$ 227.2 $ 54.0

$ 38.9 $ 24.3

$ 28.1 $ 20.9

$ 17.1 $ -

$ 0.4 Liquidity payments (418.0)

(307.0) (142.7)

(114.2) (262.3)

(184.4) (11.6)

(7.9) (1.4)

- -

- -

(0.5) Routing and clearing (20.7)

(16.6) (4.0)

(4.0) (10.4)

(7.5) (5.8)

(4.6) -

- (0.5)

(0.5) -

- Net transaction and clearing fees $ 429.0

$ 374.0 $ 321.6

$ 267.7 $ 27.5

$ 35.3 $ 36.6

$ 26.4 $ 22.9

$ 28.1 $ 20.4

$ 16.6 $ -

$ (0.1)

Table 4 Net Revenue by Revenue Caption Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 and 2024 (in millions) Cash and Spot Markets

June 30, Data Vantage

June 30, Derivatives Markets

June 30, Total

June 30, 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024 Transaction and clearing fees $ 375.1 $ 283.6 $ - $ - $ 492.6 $ 414.0 $ 867.7 $ 697.6 Access and capacity fees - - 101.2 90.5 - - 101.2 90.5 Market data fees 17.0 14.6 56.4 50.9 9.0 8.2 82.4 73.7 Regulatory fees 71.3 63.2 - - 25.5 22.7 96.8 85.9 Other revenue 24.2 25.0 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.6 25.4 26.3 Total revenues $ 487.6 $ 386.4 $ 158.3 $ 142.1 $ 527.6 $ 445.5 $ 1,173.5 $ 974.0

















Liquidity payments $ 273.1 $ 192.0 $ - $ - $ 144.9 $ 115.0 $ 418.0 $ 307.0 Routing and clearing fees 16.7 12.6 - - 4.0 4.0 20.7 16.6 Section 31 fees 70.7 63.1 - - 14.6 14.6 85.3 77.7 Royalty fees and other cost of revenues 11.5 15.0 3.2 2.5 47.5 41.4 62.2 58.9 Total cost of revenues $ 372.0 $ 282.7 $ 3.2 $ 2.5 $ 211.0 $ 175.0 $ 586.2 $ 460.2

















Revenues less cost of revenues (net

revenue) $ 115.6 $ 103.7 $ 155.1 $ 139.6 $ 316.6 $ 270.5 $ 587.3 $ 513.8





(1) The Digital segment results are prospectively included in the Futures segment beginning in the first quarter of 2025. Digital results from 2024 have been retained in the former Digital segment for comparative purposes.

Non-GAAP Information

In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with GAAP, Cboe Global Markets has disclosed certain non-GAAP measures of operating performance. These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, GAAP, and may be different from or inconsistent with non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The non-GAAP measures provided in this press release include adjusted revenue less cost of revenue, adjusted operating expenses, adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, adjusted net income allocated to common stockholders, adjusted diluted earnings per share, effective tax rate on adjusted earnings, operating EBITDA, operating EBITDA margin, adjusted operating EBITDA, adjusted operating EBITDA margin, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted cash, and net revenues in constant currency.

Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures presented in this press release provide additional and comparative information to assess trends in our core operations and a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by management are provided as additional information to investors in order to provide them with an alternative method for assessing our financial condition and operating results.

Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets: We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with various acquisitions. Amortization of intangible assets is inconsistent in amount and frequency, and is significantly affected by the timing and size of our acquisitions. As such, if intangible asset amortization is included in performance measures, it is more difficult to assess the day-to-day operating performance of the businesses, the relative operating performance of the businesses between periods and the earnings power of the company. Therefore, we believe performance measures excluding intangible asset amortization expense provide investors with an additional basis for comparison across accounting periods.

Acquisition-related costs: From time to time, we have pursued acquisitions, which have resulted in expenses which would not otherwise have been incurred in the normal course of the company's business operations. These expenses include compensation and benefits, integration costs, as well as legal, due diligence, impairment charges, and other third-party transaction costs. The frequency and the amount of such expenses vary significantly based on the size, timing, and complexity of the transaction. Accordingly, we exclude these costs for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures which provide an additional analysis of Cboe's ongoing operating performance or comparisons in Cboe's performance between periods.

The tables below show the reconciliation of each financial measure from GAAP to non-GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures exclude the impact of those items detailed below and are referred to as adjusted financial measures.

Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Information



Table 5

Three Months Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30, (in millions, except percentages and per share amounts)

2025

2024

2025

2024 Reconciliation of Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders to

Non-GAAP (As shown on Table 1)















Net income allocated to common stockholders

$ 233.9

$ 139.7

$ 483.3

$ 348.0 Non-GAAP adjustments















Acquisition-related costs (1)

-

0.6

0.2

1.2 Amortization of acquired intangible assets (2)

17.2

21.2

35.6

47.4 Gain on Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants wind down (3)

-

(1.0)

-

(1.4) Cboe Digital syndication wind down (4)

-

(1.0)

-

(1.0) Change in contingent consideration (5)

-

3.0

-

3.0 Impairment of intangible assets (6)

17.1

81.0

17.1

81.0 Impairment of investment (7)

-

16.0

-

16.0 Executive compensation adjustment (8)

0.4

-

0.4

- Gain on sale of property held for sale (9)

-

(1.0)

-

(1.0) Costs related to Cboe Digital wind down (10)

0.2

0.8

0.5

0.8 Earnings on investments adjustments (11)

(0.3)

-

(0.7)

- Total Non-GAAP adjustments

34.6

119.6

53.1

146.0 Income tax expense related to the items above

(9.5)

(32.7)

(14.2)

(39.6) Tax reserves (12)

-

(4.0)

-

(4.0) Deferred tax re-measurements (13)

(1.0)

-

(1.0)

- Valuation allowances (14)

-

4.1

-

4.1 Net income allocated to participating securities - effect on reconciling

items

(0.2)

(0.5)

(0.3)

(0.6) Adjusted earnings

$ 257.8

$ 226.2

$ 520.9

$ 453.9

















Reconciliation of Diluted EPS to Non-GAAP















Diluted earnings per common share

$ 2.23

$ 1.33

$ 4.60

$ 3.29 Per share impact of non-GAAP adjustments noted above

0.23

0.82

0.36

1.01 Adjusted diluted earnings per common share

$ 2.46

$ 2.15

$ 4.96

$ 4.30

















Reconciliation of Operating Margin to Non-GAAP















Revenue less cost of revenue

$ 587.3

$ 513.8

$ 1,152.5

$ 1,015.9 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above

-

(1.0)

-

(1.0) Adjusted revenue less cost of revenue

$ 587.3

$ 512.8

$ 1,152.5

$ 1,014.9 Operating expenses (15)

$ 248.2

$ 303.7

$ 459.5

$ 523.4 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above

34.9

106.6

53.8

133.4 Adjusted operating expenses

$ 213.3

$ 197.1

$ 405.7

$ 390.0 Operating income

$ 339.1

$ 210.1

$ 693.0

$ 492.5 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above

34.9

105.6

53.8

132.4 Adjusted operating income

$ 374.0

$ 315.7

$ 746.8

$ 624.9 Adjusted operating margin (16)

63.7 %

61.4 %

64.8 %

61.5 %

















Reconciliation of Income Tax Rate to Non-GAAP















Income before income taxes

$ 334.6

$ 203.0

$ 684.8

$ 495.1 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above

34.6

119.6

53.1

146.0 Adjusted income before income taxes

$ 369.2

$ 322.6

$ 737.9

$ 641.1

















Income tax expense

$ 99.5

$ 62.6

$ 199.1

$ 145.2 Non-GAAP adjustments noted above

10.5

32.6

15.2

39.5 Adjusted income tax expense

$ 110.0

$ 95.2

$ 214.3

$ 184.7 Adjusted income tax rate

29.8 %

29.5 %

29.0 %

28.8 %





(1) This amount includes acquisition-related costs primarily from the Company's Cboe Digital, Cboe Canada, and Cboe Asia Pacific acquisitions, which is included in acquisition-related costs on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (2) This amount represents the amortization of acquired intangible assets related to the Company's acquisitions, which is included in depreciation and amortization on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (3) This amount represents the revaluation and gain associated with the wind down of the Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants, which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (4) This amount represents the contra-revenue that was reversed as a result of the Cboe Digital syndication wind down, which is included in transaction and clearing fees on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (5) This amount represents the loss related to contingent consideration liabilities achieved related to the acquisition of Cboe Asia Pacific, which is included in other expenses on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (6) This amount represents the impairment of customer relationships intangible assets related to Cboe Japan in 2025, as well as the impairment of intangible assets related to the Cboe Digital wind down in 2024, which are included in impairment of intangible assets on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (7) This amount represents the impairment related to the Company's minority investment in Globacap Technology Limited, which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (8) This amount represents the CEO sign-on long-term equity awards with a grant date value of $6.0 million (comprised of a mixture of time- and performance-based awards) and subject to a 3-year cliff vesting requirement associated with the hiring of Craig Donohue as Chief Executive Officer, which is included in compensation and benefits on the condensed consolidated statements of income. This amount does not include the CEO's annual long-term equity incentive awards that were prorated for 2025. (9) This amount represents the gain on the sale of the Company's former headquarters, which is included in other (expense) income, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (10) This amount represents certain wind down costs related to Cboe Digital, which are included in compensation and benefits on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (11) This amount represents the gains associated with the partial sale of PYTH token intangible assets and from the Company's minority investment in American Financial Exchange, LLC, which are included in (loss) earnings on investments, net on the condensed consolidated statements of income. (12) This amount represents the tax reserves related to Section 199 matters. (13) This amount represents remeasurements of deferred tax assets and liabilities at prevailing effective tax rates. (14) This amount represents the valuation allowance related to the impairment of the Company's minority investment in Globacap Technology Limited. (15) The company sponsors deferred compensation plans held in a trust. The expenses or income related to the deferred compensation plans are included in "Compensation and benefits" ($3.1 million and $1.4 million in expense for the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and $9.3 million and $0.1 million in expense for the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively), and are directly offset by deferred compensation income, expenses, and dividends included within "Other (expense) income, net" ($3.1 million and $1.4 million in income, expense, and dividends in the three months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and $9.3 million and $0.1 million in income, expense, and dividends in the six months ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, respectively), on the condensed consolidated statements of income. The deferred compensation plans' expenses are not excluded from "adjusted operating expenses" and do not have an impact on "Income before income taxes." (16) Adjusted operating margin represents adjusted operating income divided by revenues less cost of revenues.

EBITDA Reconciliations

EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) and Adjusted EBITDA are widely used non-GAAP financial measures of operating performance. These metrics are presented as supplemental information that the company believes are useful to investors to evaluate the company's results because they exclude certain items that are not directly related to the company's core operating performance. Operating EBITDA is calculated by adding back to operating income depreciation and amortization. Adjusted Operating EBITDA is calculated by adding back to Operating EBITDA acquisition-related costs, change in contingent consideration, impairment of intangible assets, executive compensation adjustment, Cboe Digital syndication wind down, and costs related to the Cboe Digital wind down. Operating EBITDA margin represents Operating EBITDA divided by revenues less cost of revenues. Adjusted Operating EBITDA margin represents Adjusted Operating EBITDA divided by revenues less cost of revenues. EBITDA is calculated by adding back to net income interest expense, net, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA margin represents EBITDA divided by revenues less cost of revenues. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by adding back to EBITDA acquisition-related costs, change in contingent consideration, impairment of intangible assets, impairment of investment, executive compensation adjustment, costs related to Cboe Digital wind down, gain on sale of property held for sale, earnings on investments adjustments, gain on Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants wind down, and Cboe Digital syndication wind down. Adjusted EBITDA margin represents Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenues less cost of revenues. Operating EBITDA, Adjusted Operating EBITDA, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as substitutes either for net income, as an indicator of the company's operating performance, or for cash flow, as a measure of the company's liquidity. In addition, because Operating EBITDA, Adjusted Operating EBITDA, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA may not be calculated identically by all companies, the presentation here may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

Table 6 (in millions, except percentages)

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30, Reconciliation of Operating Income to Operating EBITDA and Adjusted

Operating EBITDA (Per Table 1)

2025

2024

2025

2024 Operating income

$ 339.1

$ 210.1

$ 693.0

$ 492.5 Depreciation and amortization

29.9

31.8

60.2

69.1 Operating EBITDA

$ 369.0

$ 241.9

$ 753.2

$ 561.6 Operating EBITDA Margin

62.8 %

47.1 %

65.4 %

55.3 %

















Non-GAAP adjustments not included in above line items















Acquisition-related costs

$ -

$ 0.6

$ 0.2

$ 1.2 Change in contingent consideration

-

3.0

-

3.0 Impairment of intangible assets

17.1

81.0

17.1

81.0 Executive compensation adjustment

0.4

-

0.4

- Cboe Digital syndication wind down

-

(1.0)

-

(1.0) Costs related to Cboe Digital wind down

0.2

0.8

0.5

0.8 Adjusted Operating EBITDA

$ 386.7

$ 326.3

$ 771.4

$ 646.6 Adjusted Operating EBITDA Margin

65.8 %

63.5 %

66.9 %

63.6 %









Reconciliation of Net Income Allocated to Common Stockholders to

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Per Table 1)

2025

2024

2025

2024 Net income allocated to common stockholders

$ 233.9

$ 139.7

$ 483.3

$ 348.0 Interest expense, net

1.6

8.2

6.0

17.1 Income tax provision

99.5

62.6

199.1

145.2 Depreciation and amortization

29.9

31.8

60.2

69.1 EBITDA

$ 364.9

$ 242.3

$ 748.6

$ 579.4 EBITDA Margin

62.1 %

47.2 %

65.0 %

57.0 %

















Non-GAAP adjustments not included in above line items















Acquisition-related costs

$ -

$ 0.6

$ 0.2

$ 1.2 Change in contingent consideration

-

3.0

-

3.0 Impairment of intangible assets

17.1

81.0

17.1

81.0 Impairment of investment

-

16.0

-

16.0 Executive compensation adjustment

0.4

-

0.4

- Costs related to Cboe Digital wind down

0.2

0.8

0.5

0.8 Gain on sale of property held for sale

-

(1.0)

-

(1.0) Earnings on investments adjustments

(0.3)

-

(0.7)

- Gain on Cboe Digital non-recourse notes and warrants wind down

-

(1.0)

-

(1.4) Cboe Digital syndication wind down

-

(1.0)

-

(1.0) Adjusted EBITDA

$ 382.3

$ 340.7

$ 766.1

$ 678.0 Adjusted EBITDA Margin

65.1 %

66.3 %

66.5 %

66.7 %

Table 7 (in millions)

June 30,

December 31, Reconciliation of Cash and Cash Equivalents to Adjusted Cash

2025

2024 Cash and cash equivalents

$ 1,256.3

$ 920.3 Financial investments

207.6

110.3 Less deferred compensation plan assets

(31.0)

(40.3) Less cash collected for Section 31 Fees

(194.7)

(110.8) Adjusted Cash

$ 1,238.2

$ 879.5

Table 8 (in millions)















Reconciliation of GAAP Net Revenues to Net Revenues in Constant

Currency - Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 and 2024





































Three Months Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30,



2025

2024

2025

2024 Europe and Asia Pacific net revenues

$ 70.4

$ 54.3

$ 134.5

$ 108.4 Constant currency adjustment

(3.3)

-

(1.5)

- Europe and Asia Pacific net revenues in constant currency1

$ 67.1

$ 54.3

$ 133.0

$ 108.4





(1) Net revenues in constant currency is calculated by converting the current period GAAP net revenues in local currency using the foreign currency exchange rates that were in effect during the previous comparable period.

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XUZHOU, China, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- XCMG Machinery (SHE:000425), a global leader in construction machinery, has successfully concluded its first-ever XCMG World Skills Competition, marking a strategic leap in enhancing worldwide aftermarket service capabilities. The event underscores XCMG's commitment to empowering customers through elite technical talent development and service excellence.

Held under XCMG's globalization strategy, the competition brought together over 90 technicians from 24 countries for high-stakes skill challenges. After rigorous contests, 24 elite service engineers emerged as winners, showcasing world-class expertise in maintaining and repairing XCMG equipment.

The competition was designed to meet world skills international standards, focusing on practical, real-world scenarios in heavy-duty equipment maintenance, component servicing, and system diagnostics.

"The competition integrates skill validation, hands-on assessment, and professional certification. This approach strengthens XCMG's global talent ecosystem, directly translating to faster, more reliable customer support worldwide," emphasized Liu Haifeng, Chief Judge of the event and expert member of China's National Training Team for World Skills Heavy Vehicle Maintenance.

During the 15-day intensive training, XCMG deployed cutting-edge technologies to maximize learning efficiency:

AI-Powered Feedback: Smart mining equipment simulators provided instant operational diagnostics.

AR/VR Solutions: Immersive modules accelerated skill mastery in complex repairs.

Precision Curriculum: Customized training aligned with XCMG's end-to-end service protocols.

"The true victory was the knowledge we gained," Amilton da Silva Sousa, XCMG South America Service Engineer and champion in the mining excavator category, captured the spirit of the event. "I came not just to compete, but to learn and share these insights with my team in Brazil. Every participant here is a winner-this experience elevates us all."

The XCMG World Skills Competition exemplifies the company's "Skills Empowerment" global strategy and its proactive role in the Belt and Road "Skills for Dreams" initiative. As XCMG continues expanding its international footprint, this competition establishes a benchmark for aftermarket service excellence. The company will integrate competition insights into its global training systems, ensuring customers receive unparalleled support through a skilled, connected, and technologically advanced service workforce.

About XCMG Machinery

XCMG Machinery (SHE:000425) is a multinational heavy machinery manufacturer headquartered in Xuzhou, China. With a product portfolio serving over 190 countries, XCMG ranks among the world's top three construction machinery brands. The company drives innovation through intelligent manufacturing and sustainable solutions.

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ZHUHAI, China, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From July 23 to 25, the Chinese-language version of the UFI-VMS education programme was held for the first time in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Co-operation Zone in Hengqin (the "Co-operation Zone"), co-organised by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) and the Venue Management Association (VMA), jointly hosted by the Macao Convention & Exhibition Association, and supported by the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) of the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Economic Development Bureau of the Co-operation Zone. As a key initiative under UFI's education collaboration programme in the GBA, the course attracted industry professionals, such as enterprise managers and venue operators from Guangdong, Hong Kong SAR, and Macao SAR.

Innovative Courses Tackle Talent Bottleneck

This programme marks a significant step forward in advancing MICE industry (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) integration between Macao and Hengqin. More than 20 professionals from the GBA were awarded the UFI-VMS certificate, cultivating and building a pool of specialized talent for the sustainable development of the Macao-Hengqin MICE industry.

"Previously, courses were held in Macao with participants from Macao and Hengqin, but this programme breaks from the former model and it was hosted directly in Hengqin. Meanwhile, it addresses the growing demand among practitioners for multilingual training, facilitating resource sharing and complementary strengths between the two places," said the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

In response to the demand for Chinese-language courses in the Mainland market, a representative of the Macao Convention & Exhibition Association added, "Hengqin was selected as the primary site for the Chinese-language edition programme to better serve the GBA and reach professionals who are more comfortable with Chinese. While the content mirrors the English version, it places greater emphasis on venue management practices within the Chinese Mainland context."

Regional Synergy Enhances Macao-Hengqin Integration

Tailored to the talent needs of the GBA, this programme focused on knowledge systems including risk management methodologies, human resource allocation principles, and event operations planning standards, effectively enhancing participants' overall capabilities in coordination, resource allocation and marketing.

Participants showed particular interest in the application of technologies within venue construction. Furthermore, the innovative Chinese-language courses gave participants greater confidence in strengthening client engagement skills. These professionals will form the backbone of future Macao-Hengqin branded MICE, providing essential talent support for the joint development of "Multi-venue Events" pattern said an Association representative. It is worth noting that this programme is part of a broader effort of the 22 MICE training programmes delivered this year, including seven professional certified programmes conducted in co-operation with international exhibition institutions, helping expand practitioners' global perspectives and meet the GBA's evolving MICE industry needs.

Strategic Collaboration Establishes International Benchmark

By leveraging UFI's global network and Macao's extensive MICE resources, this programme has reinforced the strategic position of the Macao-Hengqin MICE sector. It has also laid the groundwork for introducing more international courses and establishing a training mechanism of "international standards + local demand" in the future. The construction of this cultivation system, which blends international certification with local needs, will effectively remove barriers to bilingual certification and create a sustainable talent pipeline.

As the programme continues, deeper collaboration between Macao and Hengqin is expected in areas such as joint standard-setting of MICE management and mutual recognition of professional qualifications, which will further unlock the potential of the "Multi-venue Event" pattern.

Source: The Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin

Contact person: Ms. Luo, Tel: 86-10-63074558
Strategic deal enhances LevelBlue's cybersecurity offerings, solidifying its position as the world's largest leading independent, pure-play MSSP

LevelBlue, a global leader in cloud-based, AI-driven managed security services, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Aon's (NYSE: AON) Cybersecurity and Intellectual Property (IP) Litigation consulting groups, including the renowned cybersecurity firm, Stroz Friedberg, and Elysium Digital. With this completion the consulting group will operate as Stroz Friedberg, a LevelBlue company.

This strategic acquisition adds elite cyber and high-tech IP litigation consulting expertise to the LevelBlue portfolio, which includes a globally recognized platform of approximately 300 technology professionals with deep relationships across Fortune 500 companies, 80 percent of the Am Law 100, and most of the UK's top 20 law firms. As a result, LevelBlue will significantly fortify its incident response and advisory capabilities, while expanding its footprint within the legal sector.

LevelBlue is also redefining cybersecurity by integrating Stroz Friedberg's expert consulting with its 24/7 managed detection and response (MDR) services. LevelBlue's MDR offerings will benefit from real-time threat data coming from incident response team engagements, using machine learning to continuously feed new threat indicators, while helping auto-detect and auto-respond to threats. This unified, AI-driven approach enhances the company's ability to protect against digital threats and quickly manage incidents. These integrated capabilities position LevelBlue as the largest global independent pure-play Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP).

"The close of this acquisition enables LevelBlue to deliver an unmatched breadth of cybersecurity services and expertise to customers on a global scale," said Robert McCullen, Chairman and CEO of LevelBlue. "Capitalizing on the Stroz Friedberg consulting expertise along with our AI-driven managed security services, we are empowering organizations to proactively manage digital risk and respond to incidents with greater speed and precision. Our combined strengths will set a new standard for cyber resilience in the industry."

With the close of this transaction, Aon and LevelBlue will work collaboratively to deliver comprehensive cybersecurity solutions to clients.

"Cybersecurity challenges are becoming increasingly complex and urgent for our clients, demanding more integrated and adaptive solutions," said Christian Hoffman, Global Specialty Financial Products Leader at Aon. "Aon will continue to deliver leading cyber brokerage capabilities through our Cyber Solutions group, CyQu platform and Cyber Risk Analyzer, while deepening our collaboration with providers like LevelBlue to enhance our clients' protection and resilience in an evolving threat landscape."

Santander served as financial advisor and Kirkland Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to LevelBlue. Lazard served as financial advisor and Latham Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Aon.

In addition to this deal, LevelBlue recently announced an agreement to acquire Trustwave, a global provider of cybersecurity and MDR services from the MC2 Security Fund (MC2). Together, these acquisitions further solidify LevelBlue's position as the largest, independent pure-play MSSP in the industry.

For more information on LevelBlue and its managed security, consulting, and threat intelligence services, please visit www.levelblue.com.

About LevelBlue

We simplify cybersecurity through award-winning managed services, experienced strategic consulting, threat intelligence, and renowned research. Our team is a seamless extension of yours, providing transparency and visibility into security posture and continuously working to strengthen it.

We harness security data from numerous sources and enrich it with artificial intelligence to deliver real-time threat intelligence; this enables more accurate and precise decision making. With a large, always-on global presence, LevelBlue sets the standard for cybersecurity today and tomorrow. We easily and effectively manage risk, so you can focus on your business.

About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Through actionable analytic insight, globally integrated Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise, and locally relevant solutions, our colleagues provide clients in over 120 countries with the clarity and confidence to make better risk and people decisions that protect and grow their businesses.

Follow Aon on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. Stay up-to-date by visiting Aon's newsroom and sign up for news alerts here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250801890991/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

LevelBlue Media Contact

Jessica Bettencourt

Inkhouse for LevelBlue

levelblue@inkhouse.com

(774) 451-5142

Aon Media Contact

Will Dunn

mediainquiries@aon.com

(312) 381-3024
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

WINNIPEG, MB / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Bird River Resources Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:BDR) announces that it has closed a second tranche of a non-brokered best efforts private placement financing (the "Offering") of common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares") for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $762,168.

All currency references in the news release are in Canadian currency unless otherwise noted.

Private Placement Financing

The Offering consisted of the issuance of 9,527,106 Common Shares at a price of $0.08 per Common Share. No finders fees or commissions were paid in connection with the Offering. The gross proceeds of the Offering will be used for satisfying the obligations under the ROU Agreement (as defined herein) and for general corporate and working capital requirements of the Company.

The Common Shares were issued by way of a private placement pursuant to exemptions from prospectus requirements under applicable securities laws. The securities issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to resale restrictions, including a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

The Offering will result in the issuance of Common Shares to Melvyn Reznick indirectly, a director of the Company, and will constitute a related party transaction, but is exempt from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") as the Company's securities are not listed on any stock exchange identified in Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 and the fair market value of the Common Shares issued does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

This news release is being issued under the early warning provisions of Canadian securities legislation. An early warning report will be electronically filed with the applicable securities commission in each jurisdiction where the Company is reporting and will be available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Right of Use Option

The Company also announces that pursuant to a right of use agreement (the "ROU Agreement") entered into by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Cotton Mining & Processing, S.A. DE C.V. ("Cotton"), Cotton has exercised its option for an exclusive right of use of a mill processing plant located near its recently purchased mineral property in Mexico (the "Processing Plant"), including a right to all the surface rights associated with such processing plant (the "ROU"). Cotton shall continue preparatory work for operations at the Processing Plant with the goal of being able to begin processing ore in Q4 of 2025.

The term of the ROU is for a period of thirty-six (36) months, whereby Cotton will pay the stated rental in the accordance with ROU Agreement. Cotton may terminate the ROU at anytime by giving thirty (30) days advanced written notice.

For furth details regarding the ROU Agreement, refer to the press release of the Company dated March 10, 2025, available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

The securities of the Company referred to in this news release 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. Accordingly, the securities of the Company may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

About Bird River

Bird River is a Winnipeg, Manitoba based resource company focussed on advancing quality mineral exploration and development properties. The Company currently holds a net royalty smelter interest in a platinum palladium property in the Bird River Sill area of northeastern Manitoba near the Ontario border. Additional information regarding the Company is available at www.sedarplus.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Jon Bridgman, CEO & Director

Bird River Resources Inc.

Tel: 1-877-587-0777

Email: jonbirdriver@gmail.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating 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 considered forward-looking statements.

Examples of forward-looking statements in this news release include, amongst others, the anticipated use of the proceeds from the Offering and statements regarding the ROU and operations of the Processing Plant. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to materially differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: adverse changes in regulations; economic and market stability; commodity prices; reliance on key personnel; foreign exchange risks; availability of capital; and risks inherent with conducting mining and processing-related operations in Mexico. 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.

Neither the CSE nor its market regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE: Bird River Resources Inc.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/oil-gas-and-energy/bird-river-announces-closing-of-2nd-tranche-of-common-share-financing-for-gross-1055454


MOU Signing Ceremony at the Australia Pavilion, Osaka Expo. From left: Junichi Sakaki, Director of the Joint Research Center for Electrification Architecture, Akita U., Hon. Ros Bates, Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training, Queensland, Australia, and Bob Criner, Co-founder and CEO of Stralis Aircraft. [July 17, 2025]

Queensland, AU, Aug 1, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - In a landmark step for international clean aviation collaboration, Queensland aerospace innovator Stralis Aircraft has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Joint Research Center for Electric Architecture at Akita University and Akita Prefectural University at EXPO 2025 Osaka.The MoU was signed in the presence of Queensland Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training, The Hon. Ros Bates MP, as part of the Queensland Government's flagship international trade mission to Japan."Stralis is a great example of how Queensland businesses can lead the world in clean aviation technology. We're backing them to scale, export and grow jobs," Minister Batessaid. "It's not just an MoU - it's a runway for clean technology, innovation, and workforce development between Queensland and Japan."Under the agreement, Stralis will test its hydrogen-electric propulsion components at one of Japan's most advanced electric aircraft testbeds, operated by the Join Research Centre for Electric Architecture in Akita's state-of-the-art all-electric aircraft testbed, one of the most sophisticated of its kind in Japan.The deal will also support new training and skills pathways for future aviation engineers and technicians, backed by industry and academic partnerships.Stralis' proprietary hydrogen-electric system is six times lighter than existing fuel cell solutions, enabling hydrogen aircraft to fly ten times further than battery-electric alternatives, at half the cost of fossil fuel-powered planes.The signing took place during a dedicated International Education, Research and Innovation (ERI) Showcase hosted by Minister Bates at the Australia Pavilion, where Queensland is a Gold Partner at EXPO 2025.Stralis' proprietary hydrogen-electric system is six times lighter than existing fuel cell solutions, enabling hydrogen aircraft to fly ten times further than battery-electric alternatives, at half the cost of fossil fuel-powered planes."I'm extremely excited to begin our collaboration with this world class team and facility in Akita," said Bob Criner, Co-Founder and CEO of Stralis. "Japan has been a global leader in aerospace and hydrogen innovation for decades. This partnership will accelerate our hydrogen aircraft technology development and facilitate skills and knowledge exchange between our organisations.""It will also allow Stralis to create cutting edge research and innovation jobs in Queensland, where our workforce is prepared to manufacture and export advanced aircraft technology in the future.""We are pleased to sign this MoU with Stralis," said Junichi Sakaki, Director, Joint Research Center for Electric Architecture, Akita University / Akita Prefectural University. "This collaboration in aircraft system electrification, using our testing facilities in Akita, represents a meaningful step in international technological cooperation. We look forward to contributing to both talent development and a more sustainable future."Supported by Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ) Japan, Stralis has been in high-level discussions with Japanese aerospace firms, aligned with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and its 2035 target to commercialise decarbonised passenger aircraft.Stralis is also planning to fly its Bonanza A36 hydrogen-electric demonstration aircraft in Japan in late 2026, showcasing the commercial and environmental viability of its technology.This agreement adds momentum to Queensland's broader trade mission in Japan, which is focused on expanding partnerships in International Education, Research and Innovation, and advanced manufacturing, in line with Australia's international Trade and Investment Strategy 2025-2028, announced earlier this month, which places innovation-led collaboration at the core of the Queensland-Japan relationship.Contact:Minister Bates' Media Contact: Illka Gobius, Pinpont PR, illka@pinpointpr.skStralis Media Contact: https://stralis.aeroDr Emma Whittlesea, Stralis, Head of Partnerships, ew@stralis.aeroBob Criner, Co-Founder & CEO, Stralis Aircraft, bc@stralis.aeroSource: Trade+Investment QueenslandCopyright 2025 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Silver47 Exploration Corp. (TSXV: AGA) (OTCQB: AAGAF) ("Silver47") and Summa Silver Corp. (TSXV: SSVR) (OTCQX: SSVRF) ("Summa") (together, the "Companies") are pleased to announce the completion of their previously announced at-market merger (the "Transaction") by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"). The combined company (the "Combined Company") will continue under the name "Silver47 Exploration Corp.".

Gary R. Thompson, Executive Chairman of Silver47, stated: "We are excited to have reached this transformative milestone which begins our rapid growth phase to become a large high-grade USA-focused silver company. I'm looking forward to unlocking the value of these assets."

Galen McNamara, Chief Executive Officer of Silver47, stated: "Silver47 now emerges as a premier United States-focused high-grade silver explorer and developer. Uniting projects in Alaska, Nevada, and New Mexico cumulatively hosting well over 200 million silver equivalent ounces with clear upside potential, we're poised to benefit from a renewed interest in United States mineral development at a time when the importance of domestic production has returned to the national spotlight. With a talented team, strong cash position, and support from our shareholders, we plan to aggressively drive exploration, growth, and development. This combination enhances our scale and visibility in an emerging silver and critical metals market, positioning us to advance our vision and deliver ongoing value to shareholders."

Following the Transaction, the Combined Company is a premier high-grade silver focused explorer and developer with a portfolio of silver-rich mineral resource staged projects in the United States (Alaska, Nevada and New Mexico). Collectively, the Companies' mineral resources equal approximately 10 Moz AgEq at 333 g/t AgEq of indicated mineral resources and 236 Moz AgEq at 334 g/t AgEq inferred mineral resources (see mineral resource table below for full details) with substantial upside and a shared vision for significant additional silver discovery and consolidation.

Under the terms of the Transaction, Summa shareholders received 0.452 common shares of Silver47 (each whole share, a "Silver47 Share") in exchange for each Summa common share (each a "Summa Share) held (the "Exchange Ratio").

As a result of the Transaction, Summa has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silver47 and the Summa Shares are anticipated to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange at market close on or about August 5, 2025. Following the delisting, Summa intends to apply to cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws.

Strategic Rationale for Transaction

Creation of a Leading High-Grade US-Focused Silver Explorer and Developer: The combination of Silver47's Red Mountain project in Alaska with Summa's Hughes project in Nevada and Mogollon project in New Mexico establishes a premier portfolio of high-grade silver-focused assets in the United States enhancing the Combined Company's scale, leverage to silver and appeal to investors.

Expanded Resource Base for Accelerated Growth: The Transaction consolidates significant mineral resources of approximately 10 Moz AgEq at 333 g/t AgEq of indicated mineral resources and 236 Moz AgEq at 334 g/t AgEq inferred mineral resources (see mineral resource table below for full details) with significant growth potential between the three United States-based projects positioning the combined company to accelerate exploration and development towards production.

Significant Re-Rate Potential Based on Valuation of Peers: The Combined Company is currently undervalued on an EV/oz metric of US$0.33/oz AgEq for their pro forma current total MI&I resource endowment. The Combined Company has significant growth potential through re-rating relative to peers, through systematic exploration, resource growth, and strategic acquisitions.

Enhanced Capital Markets Profile and Liquidity: By consolidating projects and increasing market capitalization, the Combined Company can be expected to benefit from improved visibility and access to capital, appealing to institutional investors seeking exposure to high grade U.S.-based silver projects, supported by a tight share structure with strong backing from investors including Eric Sprott.

Continued Growth and Value Creation: The Combined Company will pursue organic and acquisitive growth to consolidate and create a high-quality silver portfolio in the U.S. The Combined Company will plan to (i) advance the current portfolio, creating strong silver development projects by expanding on resources and grade; and (ii) continue to consolidate the silver market, acquiring high-quality silver projects in tier 1 jurisdictions at accretive valuations.

Exceptional Technical & Capital Markets Team, and Commitment to Shareholder Value Creation: The board of directors and management team of the Combined Company includes members with deep experience in the capital markets as well as proven mine finding and mine development histories.

Benefits to Silver47 and Summa Shareholders

Shareholders of the Combined Company will have exposure to a diversified portfolio of high-grade United States silver projects, reducing risk while positioning for upside in a rising silver market.

The Combined Company's enhanced scale will strengthen its ability to attract strategic partnerships, unlocking capital for exploration and development to drive share price appreciation.

Shareholders of the Combined Company will benefit from a unified management team with complementary expertise, optimizing project execution at Red Mountain, Hughes, and Mogollon for efficient resource growth and development.

The Transaction's all-share structure aligns long-term shareholder interests, ensuring shared commitment to advancing projects and pursuing value-accretive opportunities.

An expected increase in market exposure from high-profile United States assets should enhance the Combined Company's appeal to global investors, supporting potential inclusion in silver-focused indices and ETFs.

Shareholders of the Combined Company are expected to benefit from reduced G&A, cost savings, and prioritized work programs and asset catalysts to drive a potential re-rating for the Combined Company.

Combined Silver Mineral Resource Summary

Classification Company Project Tonnes Ag Au Zn Pb Cu AgEq Ag Au Zn Pb Cu AgEq





(Mt) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%) (g/t) (Moz) (koz) (kt) (kt) (kt) (Moz) Inferred Silver47 Red Mountain 15.6 71 0.4 3.4 1.4 0.2 336 36.0 214 532 216 26 168.6 Indicated Summa Hughes 1.0 188 1.6 - - - 333 5.8 49 - - - 10.3 Inferred Summa Hughes (In Situ) 2.4 204 2.4 - - - 421 15.9 188 - - - 32.9 Inferred Summa Hughes (Tailings) 1.3 44 0.3 - - - 68 1.8 11 - - - 2.7 Inferred Summa Mogollon 2.7 139 2.7 - - - 367 12.1 238 - - - 32.1 Total Indicated Mineral Resources 1.0 188 1.6 - - - 333 5.8 49 - - - 10.3 Total Inferred Mineral Resources 22.0 92 0.9 2.4 1.0 0.1 334 65.8 651 532 216 26 236.3

Notes to Silver47 Mineral Resources:

1. The 2024 Red Mountain mineral resource estimate ("MRE") was estimated and classified in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines" dated November 29, 2019, and the CIM "Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" dated May 10, 2014.

2. Mr. Warren Black, M.Sc., P.Geo. of APEX Geoscience Ltd., a "qualified person" ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), is responsible for completing the MRE, effective January 12, 2024.

3. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have no demonstrated economic viability. No mineral reserves have been calculated for Red Mountain. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources discussed herein will be converted to a mineral reserve in the future.

4. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, market, or other relevant factors.

5. The quantity and grade of reported inferred mineral resources is uncertain, and there has not been sufficient work to define the inferred mineral resource as an indicated or measured mineral resource.

6. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Reported grades are undiluted.

7. A standard density of 2.94 g/cm is assumed for mineralized material and waste rock. Overburden density is set at 1.8 g/cm. For mineralized material blocks with iron assays close enough to estimate an iron value for the block, density is calculated using the formula: density (g/cm) = 0.0553 * Fe (%) + 2.5426.

8. Metal prices are US$2,750/tonne Zn, US$2,100/tonne Pb, US$8,880/tonne Cu, US$1,850/oz Au, and US$23/oz Ag.

9. Recoveries are 90% Zn, 75% Pb, 70% Cu, 70% Ag, and 80% Au.

10. ZnEQ (%) = [Zn (%) x 1] + [Pb (%) x 0.6364] + [Cu (%) x 2.4889] + [Ag (ppm) x 0.0209] + [Au (ppm) x 1.923]

11. AgEQ (ppm) = [Zn (%) x 47.81] + [Pb (%) x 30.43] + [Cu (%) x 119] + [Ag (ppm) x 1] + [Au (ppm) x 91.93]

12. Open-pit resource economic assumptions are US$3/tonne for mining mineralized and waste material, US$19/tonne for processing, and 48 pit slopes.

13. Underground resource economic assumptions are US$50/tonne for mining mineralized and waste material and US$19/tonne for processing.

14. Open-pit resources comprise blocks constrained by the pit shell resulting from the pseudoflow optimization using the open-pit economic assumptions.

15. Underground resources comprise blocks below the open-pit shell that form minable shapes. They must be contained in domains of a minimum width of 1.5 m at Dry Creek or 3 m height at West Tundra Flats. Resources not meeting these size criteria are included if, once diluted to the required size, maintain a grade above the cutoff.

Notes to Summa Mineral Resources:

1. Silver Equivalent (AgEq) cut-off grade for the Hughes Project in situ Mineral Resources is based on a silver price of $25/oz, recovery of 90% Ag, and cost assumptions including: USD$88.2/t average mining cost for approximately 70% longhole stoping and 30% cut and fill mining, USD$36.3/t processing cost, USD$9.7/t G&A cost, USD$0.20/oz Ag refining cost for a total mining, processing and G&A cost of USD$134.2/tonne. A 3% royalty has also been applied to the cut-off grade determination.

2. Silver Equivalent (AgEq) cut-off grade for the Hughes Project tailings Mineral Resources is contained within an optimized pit and based on a silver price of $25/oz, recovery of 90% Ag, and cost assumptions including: USD$2.25/t mining cost, USD$21.0/t processing cost, USD$9/t G&A cost, USD$0.50/oz Ag refining cost for a total mining, processing and G&A cost of USD$33.34/tonne. A 3% royalty has also been applied to the cut-off grade determination.

3. Silver Equivalent (AgEq) cut-off grade for the Mogollon Project Mineral Resources is based on a silver price of $25/oz, recovery of 97% Ag, and cost assumptions including: USD$83/t mining cost for longhole stoping, USD$36.3/t processing cost, USD$9.7/t G&A cost, USD$0.20/oz Ag refining cost for a total mining, processing and G&A cost of USD$129/tonne A 3% royalty has also been applied to the cut-off grade determination.

4. AgEq is based on silver and gold prices of $25/oz and $2100/oz respectively, and recoveries for silver and gold of 90% and 97%, respectively for the Hughes Project, and 97% and 97%, respectively, for the Mogollon Project. AgEq Factor= (Ag Price / Au Price) x (Ag Rec / Au Rec); g AgEq/t = g Ag/t + (g Au/t / AgEq Factor).

5. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content.

6. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred mineral resources as Indicated mineral resources. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to the Indicated mineral resources category.

7. The Mineral Resources were estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council.

8. There are no known environmental, permitting, legal, or other factors which could materially affect the MREs.

Management Team and Board of Directors

Silver47 will be led by Gary R. Thompson as Executive Chairman, Galen McNamara as Chief Executive Officer and Martin Bajic as Chief Financial Officer. Galen McNamara and Thomas O'Neill have been appointed to Silver47's board of directors, joining Gary R. Thompson and Ryan Goodman.

Subscription Receipt Financing

Prior to the completion of the Transaction, the 27,600,000 Subscription Receipts issued by Summa pursuant to its previously announced subscription receipt financing (the "Subscription Receipt Financing") automatically converted into units of Summa, which units have been exchanged, adjusted, or converted into securities of Silver47 at the Exchange Ratio, resulting in the issuance of an aggregate of 12,475,400 Silver47 Shares, and warrants entitling the holders to acquire an additional 6,237,600 Silver47 Shares at an exercise price of $0.796 per Silver47 Share.

The Subscription Receipt Financing was led by Research Capital Corporation, as co-lead agent and sole bookrunner, and together with Haywood Securities Inc., as co-lead agent, on behalf of a syndicate of agents, including Eventus Capital Corp.

Additional Issuances

Upon the closing of the Transaction, Haywood Securities Inc. and Eventus Capital Corp. were each issued 723,325 units of Silver47 (the "Advisory Units") in consideration of financial advisory services provided to Silver47 and Summa, respectively, in connection with the Transaction. The Advisory Units were issued at a deemed price of $0.553 per unit.

Each Advisory Unit is comprised of one Silver47 Share and one-half of one Silver47 share purchase warrant with each whole warrant exercisable to acquire one Silver47 Share at an exercise price of $0.796 for a period of 24 months from issuance.

Information for Registered Summa Shareholders

In order to receive Silver47 Shares in exchange for Summa Shares, registered shareholders of Summa must complete, sign, date and return the letter of transmittal that was mailed to each Summa shareholder prior to closing. The letter of transmittal is also available under Summa's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. For those shareholders of Summa whose Summa Shares are registered in the name of a broker, investment dealer, bank, trust company, trust or other intermediary or nominee, they should contact such nominee for assistance in depositing their Summa Shares and should follow the instructions of such intermediary or nominee.

Convertible Securities

Summa Options

Pursuant to the Arrangement, each Summa option (a "Summa Option"), whether vested or unvested, has been transferred to Silver47, with the holder thereof receiving as consideration an option to purchase from Silver47 such number of Silver47 Shares equal to the Exchange Ratio multiplied by the number of Summa Shares subject to the Summa Option, at an exercise price per Silver47 Share equal to the current Summa Option exercise price divided by the Exchange Ratio, exercisable until the original expiry date of such Summa Option and otherwise governed by the terms of the Summa stock option plan.

Summa Warrants

Pursuant to the Arrangement, each Summa warrant to purchase common shares (a "Summa Warrant") will, upon the exercise of such rights, entitle the holder thereof to be issued and receive for the same aggregate consideration, upon such exercise, in lieu of the number of Summa Shares to which such holder was theretofore entitled upon exercise of such Summa Warrants, the kind and aggregate number of Silver47 Shares that such holder would have been entitled to be issued and receive if, immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement, such holder had been the registered holder of the number of Summa Shares to which such holder was theretofore entitled upon exercise of such Summa Warrants. All other terms governing the warrants, including, but not limited to, the expiry date, exercise price and the conditions to and the manner of exercise, will be the same as the terms that were in effect immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement, and shall be governed by the terms of the applicable warrant instruments.

Further information about the Transaction is set forth in the materials prepared by Summa in respect of the special meeting of the shareholders of Summa which were mailed to Summa shareholders and filed under Summa's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Early Warning Disclosure

Prior to the Transaction, Silver47 held nil Summa Shares. Following the completion of the Transaction, Silver47 holds all of the issued and outstanding Summa Shares. An early warning report will be filed by Silver47 under Summa's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca in accordance with applicable securities laws. To obtain a copy of the early warning report, please contact Martin Bajic at mbajic@silver47.ca.

Advisors and Counsel

Haywood Securities Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Silver47. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP acted as Canadian legal advisor to Silver47.

Eventus Capital Corp. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Summa. Forooghian + Company Law Corporation acted as Canadian legal advisor to Summa.

Technical Disclosure and Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Galen McNamara, P. Geo., Chief Executive Officer of Silver47, a QP as defined by NI 43-101.

About Silver47

Silver47 Exploration Corp. is a Canadian-based exploration company that wholly-owns six silver and critical metals (polymetallic) exploration projects in Canada and the US. These projects include the Red Mountain Project in southcentral Alaska, a silver-gold-zinc-copper-lead-antimony-gallium VMS-SEDEX project. The Red Mountain Project hosts an inferred mineral resource estimate of 15.6 million tonnes at 7% ZnEq or 335.7 g/t AgEq, totaling 168.6 million ounces of silver equivalent, as reported in the NI 43-101 Technical Report dated January 12, 2024. Silver47 also owns a 100% interest in the Hughes Project located in central Nevada and the Mogollon Project located in southwestern New Mexico. The high-grade past-producing Belmont Mine, one of the most prolific silver producers in the United States between 1903 and 1929, is located on the Hughes Project. The Mogollon Project is the largest historic silver producer in New Mexico. Both projects have remained inactive since commercial production ceased and neither have seen modern exploration prior to Summa's involvement.

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 and other cautionary statements

Certain information set forth in this news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and applicable United States securities laws (referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements which includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: the potential benefits to be derived from the Transaction; the future financial or operating performance of Silver47 and Silver47's mineral properties and project portfolios; Silver47's intended use of the net proceeds from the sale of Subscription Receipts; the results from work performed to date; the estimation of mineral resources and reserves; the realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates; the development, operational and economic results of technical reports on mineral properties referenced herein; magnitude or quality of mineral deposits; the anticipated advancement of Silver47's mineral properties and project portfolios; exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits; underground exploration potential; costs and timing of future exploration; the completion and timing of future development studies; estimates of metallurgical recovery rates; exploration prospects of mineral properties; requirements for additional capital; the future price of metals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; the timing and possible outcome of pending regulatory matters; the realization of the expected economics of mineral properties; future growth potential of mineral properties; and future development plans.

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 information is provided. Assumptions and factors include: the integration of the Companies, and realization of benefits therefrom; Silver47's ability to complete its planned exploration programs; the absence of adverse conditions at mineral properties; no unforeseen operational delays; no material delays in obtaining necessary permits; the price of gold remaining at levels that render mineral properties economic; Silver47's ability to continue raising necessary capital to finance operations; and the ability to realize on the mineral resource and reserve estimates. Forward-looking 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 forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks related to the Transaction, including, but not limited to, integration risks; general business, economic and competitive uncertainties; the actual results of current and future exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; meeting various expected cost estimates; benefits of certain technology usage; changes in project parameters and/or economic assessments as plans continue to be refined; future prices of metals; possible variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; the risk that actual costs may exceed estimated costs; geological, mining and exploration technical problems; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); title to properties and management's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. Although Silver47 has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are advised to study and consider risk factors disclosed in Silver47's management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended April 30, 2025 and 2024, and Summa's annual information form dated December 20, 2024 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024.

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. Silver47 undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are presented for the purposes of assisting investors in understanding Silver47's plans, objectives and goals and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. This news release also contains or references certain market, industry and peer group data, which is based upon information from independent industry publications, market research, analyst reports, surveys, continuous disclosure filings and other publicly available sources. Although Silver47 believes these sources to be generally reliable, such information is subject to interpretation and cannot be verified with complete certainty due to limits on the availability and reliability of raw data, the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other inherent limitations and uncertainties. Silver47 has not independently verified any of the data from third party sources referred to in this news release and accordingly, the accuracy and completeness of such data is not guaranteed.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED 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/260955

SOURCE: Silver47 Exploration Corp.
Accomplished Finance Leader Brings 25-Plus Years of Finance, Accounting and Audit Experience to AsiaFIN

KUALA LUMPUR, MY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / AsiaFIN Holdings Corp . (OTCQB:ASFH), a leading fintech financial ecosystem enabler, today announced that Ghi Geok, Khoo also known as Chanti, an accomplished finance leader with significant experience in accounting, audit, and financial planning, has been named Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective August 1, 2025.

Chanti joins AsiaFIN as Chief Financial Officer as well as CFO of the Insite MY Holdings Group (previously StarFIN Holding) subsidiaries. She is responsible for group-wide financial planning, staff recruiting and overseeing all fiscal activity, including budgeting, accounting, human resource and reporting. Chanti was previously involved in the listing of a Malaysian company in the United States, including the preparation of the quarterly and annual consolidation of accounts and all accounting related matters, including SEC submission. She maintains a CPA in Australia and she earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from Curtin University, Australia.

"Chanti is a proven and accomplished finance executive with relevant experience in preparing our group to list in the United States," commented KC Wong, AsiaFIN's CEO. "As we move toward an uplist event in the U.S., and pursue opportunities with North American customers, her international expertise will prove invaluable."

"AsiaFIN is at an exciting inflection point, having proven its capabilities in Asia and now expanding into new markets," commented Khoo. "I am excited to join the company at this point in their evolution, and look forward to contributing to the firm's growth."

About AsiaFIN Holdings Corp

AsiaFIN Holdings Corp. (OTCQB:ASFH), a US listed, Nevada, USA Corporation, operates through its wholly owned Malaysia, Hong Kong and StarFIN Holdings Ltd subsidiaries. AsiaFIN's mission is to become the "financial ecosystem enabler" through its solutions in Fintech; Regulatory Technology (REGTECH); ESG Consultancy & Reporting and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) services. AsiaFIN provides services to over 90+ financial institutions and over 100 corporate clients in the Asia and Middle east region including Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. AsiaFIN's clients are central banks, financial institutions and large corporation. For further information regarding the company, please visit https://asiafingroup.com

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined within Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the near future. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of AsiaFIN and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors 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 contemplated by such forward-looking statements.

AsiaFIN undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed conditions. Statements in this presentation that are not descriptions of historical facts are forward-looking statements relating to future events, and as such all forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements may contain certain forward-looking statements pertaining to future anticipated or projected plans, performance and developments, as well as other statements relating to future operations and results. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "intends," "goal," "objective," "seek," "attempt," "aim to," or variations of these or similar words, identify forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with AsiaFIN's operating history, recent history of losses and profits, ability to adequately protect its software innovations, dependence on key executives, ability to obtain required regulatory approvals, other factors described in AsiaFIN's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other factors as may periodically be described in AsiaFIN's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investors & Media Contact:

Tom Baumann

FNK IR

646.349.6641asfh@fnkir.com

- ENDS -

SOURCE: ASIAFIN HOLDINGS CORP

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/industrial-and-manufacturing/asiafin-names-ghi-geok-khoo-as-chief-financial-officer-1055550
Multiple U.S. Judges Dismiss Actions Against EESystem, Affirming Company's Right to Protect Its Reputation

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Energy Enhancement System ("EESystem") today announced a series of decisive legal victories across Nevada, Florida, and New York, reinforcing the company's nationwide defense against what it describes as a coordinated campaign of extortion and misinformation.

Legal Milestones

 Florida - March 31 2025 (S.D. Fla. Case No. 1:25-cv-00218) - The court granted EESystem's motion to remand, calling Jason Shurka's removal "objectively baseless" and awarding attorneys' fees.

 Nevada - April 17 2025 (D. Nev. Case No. 2:25-cv-00471) - A second improper removal was remanded; the judge ruled "defendants yet again improperly removed this action."

 Nevada TRO Clarification - May 2025 (Clark Cty. Dist. Ct. A-25-910216-B) - The court preserved key provisions of a Temporary Restraining Order that protect EESystem center owners and customers.

 New York - June 25 2025 (E.D.N.Y. Case No. 2:25-cv-01234) - The court denied a preliminary injunction sought by Robert Religa and Light System Inc., citing plaintiffs' failure to show irreparable harm or likelihood of success.

These rulings follow public disclosures of threats demanding a ten-million-dollar "donation" from EESystem - evidence provided to law enforcement and the courts.

ABOUT ENERGY ENHANCEMENT SYSTEM

Energy Enhancement System ("EESystem") is a pioneer in scalar-energy wellness technology with more than 3,000 installations worldwide and hundreds of public centers offering hourly access to EESystem sessions. Founded by Dr. Sandra Rose Michael, EESystem's proprietary multi-unit installations generate bio-active energy fields designed to support cellular regeneration and holistic health.

MEDIA CONTACT

Public Relations - EESystem

Support@eesystem.com | +1 702-213-7435

SOURCE: Energy Enhancement System

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/energy-enhancement-system-prevails-in-courts-nationwide-defeating-shu-1055543
Nonprofit Calls On UNESCO, European Union, United States To Protect Site

NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF), the nonprofit dedicated to harnessing the lessons learned from the Holocaust to combat hatred and bigotry through educational programs, strongly condemns the Lithuanian government's decision to proceed with construction on the historic Snipiskes (Piramont) Jewish Cemetery in Vilnius.

The sacred burial ground, which dates back to the 15th century, was once the final resting place of thousands of Lithuanian Jews, including revered rabbis, scholars, and community leaders. The Lithuanian government's reversal of its prior commitment to protect the cemetery is a violation of international trust, an affront to Jewish memory, and a desecration of one of the most significant Jewish cemeteries in Europe.

"The decision by Lithuania to desecrate what is among the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Europe is a grave insult to the memory of the dead and to the conscience of the living," said AJCF Chairman Simon Bergson. "Cemeteries are eternal places of rest, and this betrayal reverberates far beyond Lithuania. It undermines the universal promise to preserve Jewish memory and respect for the sanctity of the dead."

Vilnius, long known as the "Jerusalem of the North," was once a thriving center of Jewish intellectual, spiritual, and cultural life before its destruction during the Holocaust. The Snipiskes Cemetery is one of the last tangible links to that world. Its destruction would be an irreversible act of historical erasure.

"Lithuania once vowed to protect the Vilnius cemetery and honor it as a place of remembrance," said AJCF Director General Jack Simony. "To renege on that promise now is a profound breach of trust-not only with the Jewish community but with all who believe in the integrity of Holocaust memory. This is not about stones and soil; it is about the eternal dignity of human beings whose remains lie there."

The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation calls on UNESCO to designate the Snipiskes Cemetery as a protected heritage site under international law. The Foundation urges the European Union to hold Lithuania accountable to its previous pledges and its responsibility to preserve cultural and historical memory. It also calls on the United States government, which has a statutory obligation to safeguard Jewish cemeteries abroad, to engage diplomatically and ensure the protection of the site.

AJCF encourages global civil society, including Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, educators, religious leaders, and human rights advocates, to raise their voices and demand that the Lithuanian government halt all construction plans immediately and preserve this sacred ground.

"Vilnius must decide whether it will be remembered as a guardian of memory or as a force of its destruction," added Simony. "We cannot allow silence to pave over sacred ground. This is not only a Jewish issue. It is a human issue. History is watching."

The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing the lessons learned from the Holocaust to combat hatred and bigotry through educational programs and by providing direct humanitarian aid to victims of mass atrocities. It supports survivors of genocides and other tragedies, including Ukrainian refugees and those impacted by Hamas's October 7 attacks. The Foundation maintains the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the last remaining synagogue in Oswiecim (Auschwitz) and serves as the primary institution dedicated to preserving the memory of the town's Jewish community while addressing hate. To date, over a million people have visited the center, more than 300,000 students participated in its educational programs and tens of thousands of diplomats, military and law enforcement personnel and educators, have taken part in its educational initiatives on tolerance and the Holocaust. For more information, visit: https://ajcfus.org/ .

Contact:

Joshua Steinreich

Steinreich Communications

(212) 491-1600

jsteinreich@scompr.com

SOURCE: Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/auschwitz-jewish-center-foundation-condemns-lithuanias-desecrati-1055560
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Parvis Invest Inc. (TSXV: PVIS) ("Parvis" or "the Company"), a technology-driven real estate company dedicated to broadening access to institutional-quality investment opportunities, in compliance with securities laws, yesterday announced the filing of its audited consolidated financial statements and management discussion and analysis (MD&A) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. All financial information is reported in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated and is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

"2025 was a defining year as we delivered revenue growth, and locked in key partners to strengthen our strategic positioning," said David Michaud, Parvis CEO and Director. "We delivered exceptional top-line growth and broadened our verticals, from technology and deal distribution to in-house marketing and advisory services, all while expanding our licensed Dealing Representative network across the country. Together, these growth levers have significantly increased issuer traction and investor engagement. Looking ahead, we are focused on scaling efficiently, navigating shifting market dynamics, and positioning Parvis as Canada's leading end-to-end digital private placement platform."

FY2025 Financial and Strategic Highlights:

Revenue of $954,810 , a 425% increase year-over-year, driven by platform fee expansion and issuer onboarding.

, a year-over-year, driven by platform fee expansion and issuer onboarding. Issuer network doubled to 44, with 50+ active offerings , including new verticals in hospitality and alternatives.

to 44, with , including new verticals in hospitality and alternatives. Diluted loss per share of $(0.06) , reflecting continued strategic investment in platform development and growth initiatives.

of , reflecting continued strategic investment in platform development and growth initiatives. Transaction volume increased to 2,352 trades (vs. 88 in FY2024), reflecting rapid platform adoption and operational scaling.

Operating Highlights and Recent Developments:

Strategic Expansion & Revenue Diversification

Parvis maintained a clear focus on scaling toward profitability by broadening its network of licensed Dealing Representatives to over 40 professionals across Canada. This expanded sales infrastructure, paired with the rollout of marketing and lead generation services, enhanced the Company's ability to support issuer partners with integrated capital-raising tools. The introduction of new issuer verticals, including hospitality and private credit, deepened the diversity of opportunities available to investors and contributed to the robust revenue growth in FY2025.

A new partnership with Bluestar Equity expanded Parvis' alternative investment offerings, while new partnerships with Basecamp Resorts and Taso Holdings marked Parvis' entry into the hospitality sector. A new fund from KV Capital helped expand the Company's footprint in the private credit space. These additions bring increased sector diversity, broaden investor choice, and reinforce the strength of Parvis' platform as a marketplace for institutional-grade opportunities.

Platform Growth Metrics

Total transaction volume rose dramatically to 2,352 trades in FY2025, up from 88 the previous year, illustrating the growing engagement from both issuers and investors. This activity reflects the platform's maturing capacity to handle larger and more frequent transactions, critical for scaling revenue and marketplace liquidity.

These metrics confirm that Parvis' onboarding initiatives and DR expansion strategy are yielding strong results. A more diversified portfolio of real estate funds, MICs, and alternatives is bolstering recurring platform activity and establishing a strong base for future monetization.

Technology Development

Core development efforts in FY2025 centered on improving usability and compliance-readiness. Parvis introduced new workflows for registered funds, enhanced referral systems, streamlined investor onboarding, and expanded internal reporting capabilities. The Company also formalized its internal AI usage policy and implemented recommendations from its recent compliance audit. Future enhancements will include CRM integration, an upgraded DR dashboard, and support for cross-border transactions.

Market Conditions & Strategic Adaptability

Capital formation for real estate projects remained challenging due to tightened credit, cautious investor sentiment, and broader economic uncertainty. In response, Parvis diversified its issuer base beyond traditional developers to include REITs, mortgage investment corporations, and alternative funds. This pivot has not only mitigated concentration risk but also enhanced the attractiveness and resilience of the platform's offering in a turbulent macroeconomic environment.

Parvis continues to operate with financial discipline while pursuing strategic growth, maintaining a long-term view and prioritizing high-impact verticals. With its infrastructure in place, including a national DR team, in-house marketing services, and a rapidly scaling platform, Parvis is well-positioned to deliver sustained growth.

Preliminary Q1 FY2026 Highlights (Unaudited):

Our preliminary key figures are based on unaudited financial results for the first quarter of the year ending March 31, 2026 and have not yet been finalized and are subject to change.

Revenue expected between $475,000 and $500,000 , compared to $149,681 for the same period in FY2025.

, compared to $149,681 for the same period in FY2025. Transaction volume of $20.8 million (vs. $7.7 million in Q1 FY2025), on pace to exceed $100 million annualized.

(vs. $7.7 million in Q1 FY2025), on pace to exceed annualized. Growth fueled by new issuers, ongoing lead generation efforts, and the accelerating traction of the Parvis Direct Access Fund.

Outlook

Parvis enters FY2026 with strong momentum and a focused growth strategy. As the private investment landscape continues to evolve, the Company remains committed to expanding investor access, delivering value to issuer clients, and accelerating adoption through innovation and disciplined execution. With a diversified issuer base, national DR network, and expanded service offering, Parvis is well-equipped to navigate the current environment and deliver long-term shareholder value.

About the Company

Parvis is a technology-driven investment platform dedicated to democratizing access to institutional-quality opportunities. Utilizing AI and blockchain technology, Parvis streamlines the investment process, making it more accessible and efficient. Headquartered in Vancouver, Parvis operates with experts in Toronto, Vancouver, Kelowna, and Montreal. For more information, visit www.parvisinvest.com and SEDAR+.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuer's business, capital, or operations that is prospective in nature, and includes future-oriented financial information about the issuer's prospective financial performance or financial position. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to, information regarding: execution and integration of the investment offerings; the Company's potential growth and profitability; financial outlook; business and expansion plans; and role in the investment industry. To develop the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company made certain material assumptions, including but not limited to: prevailing market conditions; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the ability of the Company to execute and achieve its business objectives. 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. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. These risk factors include, but are not limited to: adverse market conditions; changes in general economic, business and political conditions; changes in applicable laws and regulations; compliance with extensive government regulation; reliance on key and qualified personnel; risks associated with the real estate, investment, and technology industries in general. The foregoing list of material risk factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information in this news release, unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities legislation.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

Follow us on social media:

Instagram: @ParvisInvest

Facebook: ParvisInvest

LinkedIn: Parvis

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260968

SOURCE: Parvis Invest Inc.
TOKYO, Aug 1, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, "Hitachi") and, its subsidiary, Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Inc. ("Hitachi GLS"), announced that they have completed the capital reorganization of their air conditioning joint venture, based on the agreement signed on July 23, 2024*1. Under this reorganization, Hitachi GLS transferred all of its shares in Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Holding (UK) Ltd. ("JCH"), a joint venture with Johnson Controls International plc("JCI"), to Robert Bosch GmbH ("Bosch")*2, and has completed the acquisition of the Shimizu Factory, which had been owned by JCH and served as its development and production base for commercial air conditioning equipment in Japan*3Going forward, Hitachi GLS will accelerate a global expansion of Hitachi-branded air conditioning products through Bosch Home Comfort Group ("Bosch HC"), Bosch's HVAC*4 business unit. Meanwhile, Hitachi will utilize its domain knowledge acquired through the Shimizu Factory to further strengthen its "Lumada 3.0" green cooling solutions through "One Hitachi" by combining the large installed base of HVAC units, AI, and digital capabilities to accelerate the expansion into growing markets such as green buildings and data centers. This will contribute to the realization of a harmonized society where environment, well being, and economic growth are in balance, as envisioned in Inspire 2027, Hitachi Group's new management plan.Aim of the Hitachi Group1. Strengthening the Global Expansion of Hitachi-branded Air Conditioning Products, and an Expansion of the Partnership with BoschUnder a brand license agreement with Bosch HC, Hitachi GLS will accelerate global expansion by utilizing Bosch's global footprint centered in Europe and promoting sales of highly competitive, Hitachi-branded residential air conditioning products in the residential and light commercial HVAC markets in the US and Asia. Also, further expansion of the partnership with Bosch will be achieved by incorporating Lumada solutions in products.2. Collaborating as One Hitachi to Accelerate the Deployment of Green Cooling Solutions in Growth MarketsWith the acquisition of the Shimizu Factory, with its high technological capabilities, Hitachi GLS will integrate the development, manufacturing, sales, and maintenance services for the commercial air conditioning business in Japan to develop competitive products tailored to market needs. Also, Hitachi GLS will further enhance its Lumada solutions, such as "exiida*5", which leverages data from the large installed-base of HVAC units and AI to support the stable operation of air-conditioning units.Hitachi will expand green cooling solutions that combine its extensive installed base of mission critical products with AI-enabled digital services as use cases of "HMAX for Industry" in growing industrial markets such as green buildings, biopharma, food, and semiconductor manufacturing facilities. In addition, Hitachi will accelerate the "One Hitachi" total solutions including air conditioning and cooling technologies in data centers, designated by the Strategic SIB*6 Business Unit as a strategic business area.To ensure continued distribution of "Shirokumakun*7" series residential air conditioning products for the Japanese market, the Tochigi Factory*8 of JCH which was acquired by Bosch HC in the transaction, will retain development and manufacturing operations, while Hitachi GLS will remain responsible for sales and aftermarket services.The purchase price of the 40% stake in JCH held by Hitachi GLS is approximately USD 1.46 billion (approximately JPY 211 billion*9). As a result, Hitachi plans to record business reorganization income, etc. of approximately JPY 154 billion as other income, etc. in its consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ending March 2026. Please note that the final purchase price will be determined separately after accounting for all necessary adjustments. Hitachi will utilize the proceeds from this share transfer for its growth investments and shareholder returns, aiming to enhance its capital efficiency and further increase corporate value.Comments from Brice Koch - Executive Vice President and Executive Officer, Head of Connective Industries Business of Hitachi, Ltd.We are very pleased to have completed this capital reorganization which will further accelerate the growth of our HVAC business. Under Inspire 2027, Hitachi's new Management Plan, we are committed to realize a harmonized society, where environment, well being and economic growth are in balance. We aim to drive global expansion of business, as we promote "Lumada 3.0" digital services as "HMAX for Industry" with "One Hitachi", leveraging our AI capabilities, as well as large installed base of mission-critical products including industrial HVAC units.Comments from Noriharu Amiya - Senior Vice President and Executive Officer, COO of Connective Industries, CEO of Urban Systems Business Unit of Hitachi, Ltd. / Chairman of Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd.We will strengthen collaboration between our building systems and air conditioning businesses to expand the value of green cooling solutions into mission-critical areas such as green data centers, biopharmaceutical facilities requiring extremely high air quality, and manufacturing facilities for food and semiconductors, there by achieving further growth. Leveraging Hitachi's strengths in IT, OT (operational technology), and products, we will expand value through the building IoT solutions including the air conditioning IoT solution "exiida" and the building IoT solution "BuilMirai*10," accelerating the deployment of green cooling solutions with "One Hitachi". Through these initiatives, we will provide new value to "people, buildings, and society" and contribute to the realization of a harmonized society.Comments from Hideki Osumi - President of Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Inc.We are filled with excitement about taking on new challenges together with our new colleagues from the Shimizu Factory and striving for sustainable growth as the new Hitachi GLS. Hitachi GLS and Bosch will strengthen their partnership and promote the global expansion of Hitachi-branded air conditioning products. In the commercial air conditioning business in Japan, where a new business structure has been established, we will provide high value-added solutions tailored to market needs and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society by reducing environmental impact and improving energy efficiency. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those involved in the completion of this reorganization.*1 Please see the news release "Hitachi to Announce Capital Reorganization of Air Conditioning Joint Venture" issued on July 23, 2024.(https://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2024/07/240723.html)*2 Hitachi GLS and JCI, which held 40% and 60% of JCH shares respectively, sold their entire stake to Bosch, which now owns 100% of JCH.*3 On April 1, 2025, through a company split, the business of the Shimizu Factory was transferred from Hitachi Johnson Controls Air Conditioning, Inc. (the Japanese subsidiary of JCH) to a newly established company, Hitachi Air Conditioning Shimizu, Inc., which will be merged with Hitachi GLS later this year.*4 HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning.*5 "exiida" is a registered trademark of Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Inc. in Japan.*6 Social Innovation Business*7 "Shirokumakun" is a registered trademark of Hitachi-Johnson Controls Air Conditioning Inc. in Japan.*8 Hitachi-Johnson Controls Air Conditioning, Inc Tochigi Factory, a Japanese subsidiary of JCH. The company's name is scheduled to change in the future.*9 Exchange rate used is USD 1.00 = JPY 144.*10 "BuilMirai" is a registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd.About Hitachi, Ltd.Through its Social Innovation Business (SIB) that brings together IT, OT(Operational Technology) and products, Hitachi contributes to a harmonized society where the environment, wellbeing, and economic growth are in balance. Hitachi operates globally in four sectors - Digital Systems & Services, Energy, Mobility, and Connective Industries - and the Strategic SIB Business Unit for new growth businesses. With Lumada at its core, Hitachi generates value from integrating data, technology and domain knowledge to solve customer and social challenges. Revenues for FY2024(ended March 31, 2025) totaled 9,783.3 billion yen, with 618 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 280,000 employees worldwide. Visit us at www.hitachi.comAbout Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Inc.Hitachi Global Life Solutions, Inc. operates under the purpose:"To bring a smile to the life of each individual. To create a future that is kind to people and society. We will bring happiness to the world through innovations that open up the future."Hitachi GLS provides home appliances, air conditioning equipment, facility systems, as well as engineering and maintenance services. Hitachi GLS is focused on the Lumada business, which creates value from data generated by its footprint and products. Through "One Hitachi", Hitachi GLS contributes to realizing both Work Transformation and Green Transformation. Visit us at corp.hitachi-gls.co.jpSource: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2025 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Suppositories Market, valued at US$1.56 billion in 2024 stood at US$1.63 billion in 2025 and is projected to advance at a resilient CAGR of 4.7% from 2025 to 2030, culminating in a forecasted valuation of US$2.05 billion by the end of the period. The growth in the suppositories market can be attributed to several critical factors. The rising prevalence of chronic conditions, particularly inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), gastrointestinal diseases, and constipation, is a significant driver for the market. Additionally, growing demand for localized and targeted drug delivery for the treatment of hemorrhoids, and vaginal infections further support their market growth. Suppositories are mainly preferred for geriatrics and pediatrics who struggle with swallowing medicines. This demographic factor maintains continuous demand for suppositories, thereby driving their market growth. However, the availability of alternative therapies such as oral sustained-release tablets, long-acting injectables, and transdermal patches hinders market growth.

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By type, the suppositories market is categorized into rectal, vaginal, and urethral, with the rectal segment commanding the largest market share. This predominance is attributed to the broad therapeutic coverage and high patient acceptance by geriatric and pediatric populations. Rectal suppositories are commonly prescribed for pain and fever, constipation, and inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis. Due to this diverse range of indications, rectal suppositories are mainly used for acute and chronic care, fueling market growth demand.

By application, the suppositories market is segmented into analgesics and antipyretics, laxatives, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, anti-emetics, hemorrhoid treatments, and others (including anti-malarial, nasal decongestants, and others). The anti-bacterial and anti-fungal segment held the second largest market share primarily due to their significant role in treating vaginal and rectal infections. The increasing prevalence of vaginal candidiasis, and bacterial vaginosis increasingly demand vaginal suppositories containing clotrimazole or metronidazole. Moreover, increasing awareness about women's health and growing demand for targeted drug delivery further support the growth of this segment.

By geography, On the basis of region, the suppositories market is segmented into North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The North American market has successfully secured a substantial share, driven by several key factors. One major contributor is the growth in the geriatric population, which is leading to an increased demand for healthcare services and targeted drug delivery solutions. Alongside this demographic shift, there has been a notable rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases that require regular monitoring and management. Furthermore, supportive government initiatives aimed at improving healthcare accessibility also have a positive impact on the market. The strategic expansion of key players in the North American market, which includes both established companies and emerging startups, is anticipated to further bolster market growth. The active presence of these industry leaders enhances competition and drives innovation in product development, ultimately benefiting patients and healthcare providers alike. Overall, these factors collectively signify a robust growth trajectory for the suppositories market in North America.

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As of 2024, suppositories market was dominated by Bayer AG (Germany), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Sanofi (France), Zydus Group (India), Bliss GVS Pharma Limited (India), Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (US), Bausch Health Companies Inc. (Canada), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (India), Adcock Ingram (South Africa), Aspen Holdings (South Africa), Julphar (UAE), Cipla (India), Haleon Group of Companies (UK), and Prestige Consumer Healthcare (US), among others.

Bayer AG (Germany):

Bayer is a global life sciences company that operates through three business segments: Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Health, and Crop Science. Through its consumer health segment, the company offers over-the-counter (OTC) medicines with a broad portfolio of products that support self-medication and self-care, which includes suppositories for the treatment of internal hemorrhoids (piles) and local anesthetics.

Bayer operates in over 80 countries and has a robust presence across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. In May 2023, the company launched a new business unit in the US that focused on developing precision health consumer products. This initiative aimed to leverage data science, genetics, and digital technologies to create personalized, science-based solutions in areas such as pain management, digestive health, and dermatology, reinforcing Bayer's leadership in the self-care market. Its subsidiaries include Bayer Material Science (Germany), Bayer Schering Pharma AG (Germany), Bayer Crop Science (India), Bayer HealthCare (Germany), Bayer Technology Services (Germany), Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals (Germany), and Bayer Chemicals (Germany).

Novartis AG (Switzerland)

Novartis is one of the leading market players specializing in innovative prescription medicines, followed by the spin-off of its generics and biosimilars business (Sandoz) in 2023. The company operates as a single global segment that conducts R&D, manufactures, distributes, commercializes, and sells innovative medicines. This business segment operates globally through core therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, renal, metabolic, immunology, neuroscience, oncology, and established brands. The company provides suppositories through its established brands segment.

The company researches various disease areas through the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) and operates through a network of subsidiaries and offices in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.

Sanofi (France)

Sanofi is one of the global healthcare leaders engaged in the manufacture, R&D, and commercialization of therapeutic solutions. The company operates mainly through two business segments: Biopharma and Consumer Healthcare.

The Consumer Healthcare segment was previously integrated within Sanofi but was reconstructed into an independently operated company named Opella Healthcare Group. In April 2025, Sanofi sold a 50% stake in Opella to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), a global investment firm, while retaining a 48.2% equity interest. Opella now functions as one of the standalone global leaders in over the counter (OTC) consumer health products, with a portfolio including trusted brands in digestive health, pain relief, allergy, and personal care. Through Opella, Sanofi continues to offer suppositories as part of its digestive health segment.

Sanofi operates nearly 100 manufacturing sites across 41 countries and delivers healthcare solutions in over 170 countries. Key subsidiaries include Sanofi Pasteur (France), Sanofi Genzyme (US), Shantha Biotechnics (India), Chattem Healthcare (US), Ablynx (Belgium), Sanofi Mexico, Sanofi Medley Farmaceutica (Brazil), and others across Vietnam, Australia, and India.

For more information, Inquire Now!

Related Reports:

Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market

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Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market

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SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Elegoo, a rapidly developing brand in global smart manufacturing, proudly announces the wrap-up of the first phase of its "ELEGOO With Her" initiative, a program supporting women creators worldwide through 3D printing. From over 110 sign-ups, 30 final participants from 17 countries stood out to join this phase. After three months of workshops and mentorship, the program now enters its showcase stage, with over 70% of participants new to 3D printing, underscoring its role in making the technology more accessible.

Launched at Formnext 2024, "ELEGOO With Her" was led by eight accomplished female designers and makers: Anouk Wipprecht, Batoul al-Rashdan, Brigitte Kock, Denise Bertacchi, Emily Boe (pseud.), Linette Manuel, Shehzeen Rehman, and Willow Creative (alias). Among the participants' creations were STEM kits empowering girls in Africa and intricately 3D-printed lamps inspired by early 20th-century design, showcasing 3D printing's creative potential in home decor, fashion, cosplay, and education.

"I remember how excited I was when I printed my first benchy. I also remember the failures. The hands-on workshops, mentorship, and community gave me more than just skills. They gave me the confidence to build and to lead," said Janet Zagah, a renewable energy entrepreneur and program participant.

"Having an inclusive program run by a company as big as Elegoo is powerful," said Kinnera Putti, a mobile developer who also participated in the program. "I hope others see what we've made and feel inspired to try something too."

"We've always believed 3D printing should be accessible to everyone, and these projects show just how powerful it can be when women challenge themselves and use the technology to create and improve lives beyond their own," said Coco Lee, Brand Director of Elegoo. "With proven reliability and ease of use, we're proud that our products enable people from all backgrounds to unleash their creativity and bring their ideas to life."

While this chapter wraps, the journey continues. Elegoo has made its workshops public on YouTube, and the next showcase will be at IFA Berlin this September, where their work will inspire more women to create.

For more information, please visit the ELEGOO With Her blog or follow Elegoo's social media platforms.

About Elegoo

Founded in 2015, Elegoo is a rapidly developing brand in the global smart manufacturing industry, specializing in R&D, manufacturing, and sales of consumer-grade 3D printers, laser engravers, STEM kits, and other smart technology products. Located in Shenzhen, the Silicon Valley of China, the company has sold millions of products across more than 100 countries and regions. In 2024, the company's total sales revenue surpassed 220 million USD, with more than 1000 employees and nearly 30,000 square meters of office and manufacturing area. With a focus on programming and 3D printing technology, Elegoo provides unique and smart creation spaces for diverse consumers to enhance personalized experiences.

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LONDON, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading international schools group Nord Anglia Education announced today the H-FARM International Schools have officially joined its global network following receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.

This marks Nord Anglia's entry into Italy, expanding its presence to 35 countries across its family of more than 80 international and bilingual schools.

The H-FARM International Schools in Venice, Vicenza, and Rosa are widely recognised for their forward-thinking approach to education, combining digital innovation, entrepreneurship, and global citizenship to equip their more than 1,150 students with the skills they need for the future.

Andrew Fitzmaurice, Chief Executive Officer of Nord Anglia Education, said: "We're proud to officially welcome H-FARM International Schools into the Nord Anglia family. Their commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship, and real-world learning is truly inspiring and aligns perfectly with our educational philosophy. We look forward to working with our H-FARM students and colleagues to help them achieve more than they ever imagined possible."

Media enquiries

David Bates

Senior Communications Manager

M +44 (0) 7787 135223

david.bates@nordanglia.com

About Nord Anglia Education

As a leading international schools organisation, we're shaping a generation of creative and resilient global citizens who graduate from our schools with everything they need for success, whatever they choose to be or do in life.

Our strong academic foundations combine world-class teaching and curricula with cutting-edge technology and facilities, creating learning experiences like no other. Inside and outside of the classroom, we inspire our students to achieve more than they ever thought possible.

No two children learn the same way, which is why our schools around the world personalise learning to what works best for every student. Inspired by our high-quality teachers, our students achieve outstanding academic results and go on to study at the world's top universities.

Our Nord Anglia global family includes 80+ day and boarding schools in 35 countries, teaching over 90,000 students from ages 3 to 18.

To learn more or apply for a place for your child at one of our schools, go to nordangliaeducation.com.

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Galloper Gold Corp. (CSE: BOOM) (OTC Pink: GGDCF) (the "Company" or "Galloper") is issuing this clarification is at the request of CIRO concerning the announcement previously disclosed concerning the Exempt Mineral Lands (EML) Mineral Licence containing the historic Lunch Pond South Extension ("LPSE") Resource on Glover Island to Galloper Gold Corp.

The company has been awarded the EML through the RFP process that began in November 2024. The property covers an area of 1,926 hectares and contains the ~178,800oz. Au indicated and inferred LPSE resource delineated by Mountain Lake Minerals in 2012. Grade and tonnage for this deposit are stated as:

A 0.5g/t Au cut-off open-pit mine design with a 1.72g/t Au average within 993,000t indicated resource, and with a 1.59g/t average within a 1,703,000t inferred resource. A 2.0g/t Au cut-off underground mine design with a 2.99g/t Au average with 36,000t indicated resource, and with a 2.78g/t Au average within a 373,000t inferred resource.

See Table 1.1 below from: Puritch, E. and Barry, J., 2017. Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Glover Island Property, Grand Lake Area, West-Central Newfoundland, Canada for Mountain Lake Minerals Ltd. NI-43-101& NI-43-101F1 Technical Report.

The aforementioned technical report is considered relevant as no exploration work has been performed on the LPSE deposit since the report's production and release. The reliability of the historical estimate is considered valid per study and consideration of the report's findings.

The LPSE deposit is located at the south-western portion of an 11 km mineralized corridor known as the Glover Island Trend (GIT). This prospective GIT is host to 17 gold, base metal, nickel, and polymetallic minerals prospects. In addition, numerous gold anomalies cross several rock types adjacent to a major tectono-structural break known as the Cabot Fault. Adding to the prospectivity of the GIT, The Ming Mine, Tilt Cove Mines, Nugget Pond Mine and Pine Cove Mine are situated strike-north on this fault on the Baie Verte peninsula showing the prolific mineralized nature of this major structure on which the Glover Island property sits.

Galloper Gold's CEO, Mr. Hratch Jabrayan Commented: "The acquisition of the historic LPSE deposit and the highly prospective geology connecting with Galloper's current Lucky Smoke prospect positions Galloper Gold's Glover Island property as the next major frontier of gold deposits, development, and mining in Canada. We are thrilled with the awarding of the EML which immediately adds a known 43-101 resource to our already promising portfolio. We have an exciting period ahead of us, and I am looking forward to continuing to bring value to our shareholders through the strategic implementation of our business and operational plans."

The historic LPSE resource table below highlights the mineral resource estimate from 2017:





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Disclaimer: Parameters and assumptions for the values listed above can be sourced from the Puritch and Barry, 2017 Technical Report referenced above. The work necessary to upgrade/verify the resource estimate has not been performed to date. The work required to effect the upgrading and verification of the resource involves drill-core and assay analysis, modelling of lithological intersections and assay data, and confirmation of select historical drill-holes via drill-hole twinning to compare twinned results with historical results, and a statistical analysis of the results to determine accuracy and reliability of historical data.

A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The issuer of this press release is not treating the estimate as current.





Figure 1 - Gold Trends, Mining Region of Western Newfoundland



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Investors are cautioned that mineralization on adjacent properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization at Glover Island or the potential for a resource.

The company now has control of the mineralized portion of the Island which contains over 40 mineral occurrences including the Copper anomaly and the Lucky Smoke showing which the company successfully drilled in 2024.

The company is excited to announce that an exploration program will begin this fall expanding on the 2024 intercepts at Lucky Smoke, drilling expansion and definition of the LPSE deposit, and drilling other prospects within the newly minted Mineral Licence, formerly the EML.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Peter Lauder, P.Geo., Director for Galloper Gold. Mr. Lauder is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards

Acknowledgment - Newfoundland & Labrador Junior Exploration Assistance Program

Galloper Gold acknowledges the financial support of the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, Department of Natural Resources, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

About Galloper Gold Corp.

Galloper is focused on mineral exploration in the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt with its flagship Glover Island Property, 24 km southeast of Corner Brook, and its Mint Pond prospect in the Gander area. Galloper recently completed the first diamond drilling program at Glover Island since 2012, completing six holes with results pending.

For more information please visit www.GalloperGold.com and the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Mr. Hratch Jabrayan

CEO and Director

Galloper Gold Corp.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news 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. 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 mineral exploration generally, risks related to capital markets, risks related to the state of financial markets or future metals prices and the other risks described in the Company's publicly filed disclosure.

Management has provided the above summary of risks and assumptions related to forward-looking statements in this news 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 news 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.

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/260972

SOURCE: Galloper Gold Corp.
"The report offers a comprehensive analysis of global cloud computing trends, highlighting regional dynamics across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. It explores the impact of emerging technologies and macroeconomic factors shaping the industry's future."

BOSTON, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest study from BCC Research, "Cloud Computing Technologies: A Global Outlook" is expected to grow from $738.2 billion in 2025 to $1.6 trillion by the end of 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2% during the forecast period of 2025 to 2030.

This report presents a detailed analysis of the global cloud computing market, offering insights into key segments such as service models, deployment models, enterprise sizes, and end users. It includes qualitative and quantitative data, along with a thorough regional breakdown covering the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The study highlights the emerging technologies, market developments, and macroeconomic factors influencing growth. Additionally, it identifies leading companies in the industry, outlining their market share and technological advances.

This report is particularly relevant today because cloud computing is driving the adoption of transformative technologies like AI, IoT, blockchain, and quantum computing. By removing the need for significant investments in IT infrastructure, it allows businesses to experiment flexibly and explore new innovations. Cloud-based services also make AI and machine learning (ML) more accessible to organizations of all sizes, enabling them to extract insights from vast amounts of data. This timely analysis helps stakeholders understand the evolving landscape and take advantage of emerging opportunities.

The factors driving the market's growth include:

Increase in the Number of Data Centers: The global rise in data centers is fueling cloud computing by enhancing service availability, scalability, and performance. With more facilities distributed worldwide, users benefit from reduced latency and improved access to cloud resources, while businesses gain resilience and redundancy.

Advances in Cloud Networking: Innovations in cloud networking, such as 5G, SD-WAN, and edge computing, are enabling faster and more reliable data transmission. These technologies support real-time applications and expand cloud access to remote areas, making cloud services more efficient and inclusive.

Potential of Cloud Computing with AI: Cloud platforms integrated with AI are transforming industries by offering scalable access to powerful tools like ML and analytics. This combination allows organizations to automate processes, gain insights, and innovate without large investments in local IT infrastructure.

Growth in Multi-Cloud Environments: The shift toward multi-cloud strategies allows businesses to leverage services from multiple providers, enhancing flexibility and avoiding vendor lock-in. This approach improves performance, cost-efficiency, and resilience, while driving demand for better cloud management and security solutions.

Request a sample copy of the global cloud computing market report.

Report Synopsis

Report Metric Details Base year considered 2024 Forecast period considered 2025-2030 Base year market size $623.2 billion Market size forecast $1.6 trillion Growth rate CAGR of 17.2% for the forecast period of 2025-2030 Segments covered Service Model, Deployment Model, Enterprise Size, End User, and Region Regions covered Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East and Africa Countries covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, India, and South Korea Market drivers  Increase in the number of data centers.  Advances in cloud networking.  Potential of cloud computing with AI.  Growth in multi-cloud environments.

Interesting facts:

Cloud providers are teaming up with AI startups to launch new AI-powered services. These partnerships include companies that build AI apps, software, and hardware. For example, Microsoft Azure and OpenAI are working together to create advanced AI services. Now, cloud customers can use tools like image recognition, natural language processing, and ML.

The global cloud computing market is divided into three service types: SaaS (Software as a Service), IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), and PaaS (Platform as a Service). In 2024, SaaS accounted for 53.7% of the market, due to more people working from home and better digital connectivity. The use of AI and ML in SaaS is also helping the market grow.





The Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow the fastest, with a 21.1% annual growth rate. While China currently owns the largest share of the Asia-Pacific in market India, Japan, and South Korea are also growing their AI and cloud technology sectors. Major cloud companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and Google are making sizable investments in this region to build up AI and cloud infrastructure.

Emerging startups:

Cyera: Founded in 2021 and headquartered in the New York, N.Y., the company offers a data security platform that works across environments including SaaS, cloud, and on-premises.





Founded in 2021 and headquartered in the New York, N.Y., the company offers a data security platform that works across environments including SaaS, cloud, and on-premises. DevRev: The company offers AI-native platform to unify customer support and product development. It is developing Product CRM which brings together Product 360, product planning, software work management, and developer productivity tools.





The company offers AI-native platform to unify customer support and product development. It is developing Product CRM which brings together Product 360, product planning, software work management, and developer productivity tools. Spotnana Technology, Inc.: The company serves the travel industry by providing a travel-as-a-service platform that simplifies travel and makes it more affordable for corporations. It is targeting travel management companies to expand their ecosystem.

The report addresses the following questions:

What is the projected size and growth rate of the market?

- The market is projected to reach $1.6 trillion by the end 2030, growing at a CAGR of 17.2%.



Which factors are driving the growth of the market?

- The key factors driving the market are the:

- Increase in the number of data centers.

- Potential of cloud computing with AI and growth of multi-cloud.



Which market segments are covered in the report?

- Service Model.

- Deployment Model.

- Enterprise Size.

- End User.

- Region.



Which service model segment will be dominant through 2030?

- SaaS is expected to be the dominant service model through the end of the forecast period.



Which region has the largest market share?

- The Americas region holds the largest share of the market.

Market leaders include:

ALPHABET INC. (GOOGLE)

AMAZON WEB SERVICES INC.

CISCO SYSTEMS INC.

CLOUDFLARE INC.

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO. LTD.

IBM

INFOR INC.

MICROSOFT

ORACLE

OVH SAS

RACKSPACE TECHNOLOGY

SALESFORCE INC.

SAP

VMWARE (BROADCOM)

ZOHO CORP. PVT. LTD.

Related reports:

Cybersecurity: Technologies and Global Markets: This report analyzes the global cybersecurity market, detailing revenue distribution across key segments and geographic regions. It examines prevailing trends, industry challenges, and technological advances, with attention to ESG initiatives, IP developments, and startup investment activity. Additionally, the report evaluates the competitive environment, offering insights into the leading enterprises and innovative startups contributing to the sector's growth.

Purchase a copy of the report direct from BCC Research.

For further information on any of these reports or to make a purchase, contact info@bccresearch.com.

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

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Any data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher.

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Continuing to expand the iconic Oleg Cassini brand, David's is partnering with the wholesale eyewear giant to diversify its accessories assortment into eyewear

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / David's Bridal, Inc. ("David's"), the nation's leading bridal, wedding planning, and special occasion authority, today announces a new partnership for the iconic bridal brand Oleg Cassini with Allure Eyewear, the leading designer and manufacturer of high-quality, technologically advanced, ophthalmic frames and sunglasses. This announcement is another chapter to a new era of David's Bridal as the retailer continues to expand its fashion and accessories footprint across more than just bridal. Signaling another commitment to bringing its signature styles and innovations to a broader audience, with this Allure Eyewear partnership David's and the Oleg Cassini brand are solidifying its presence as leaders in modern fashion and design. The eyewear line will offer customers stylish and modern frames at an attractive price point, $88.00- $110.00 for optical and $42.00- $60.00 for sun.

Oleg Cassini is known for its timeless glamour and elegant designs and continues to be the best-selling bridal brand at David's. More gowns from Oleg Cassini are consistently purchased than any other label. This new partnership supports Oleg Cassini's continued expansion into accessories, which currently include garment bags, handbags, jewelry, shoes and veils. The introduction of eyewear will also allow fans of the brand to adopt the new elevated frames into their everyday wardrobe.

"Elegance is a state of mind,' is one of my favorite Oleg Cassini quotes. We're taking this directly into our partnership with Allure Eyewear. The Oleg Cassini brand continues to define what timeless elegance means for today's shoppers across more than just bridal," says Kelly Cook, Chief Executive Officer of David's Bridal. "Our partnership with Allure Eyewear allows us to further expand our category of offerings, enhancing how our customers see the world through a lens of elegance and style. Together, we're focused on delivering quality eyewear that showcases the sophistication and timelessness of Oleg Cassini."

Allure Eyewear continues to be a leader within the eyewear space and prioritizes Authenticity, Adaptability, and Advancement. In recent years, the company has produced collections for BCBGMAXAZRIA, Hurley, Roxy, Adrienne Vittadini, Flower By Drew Barrymore and more. This partnership with David's propels the Oleg Cassini brand into the fashion eyewear space.

"We're excited to collaborate with David's Bridal in bringing a new vision to life with the expansion of the Oleg Cassini brand within the eyewear space," says Tim Swartz, Allure Eyewear. "Through this partnership, Allure will create a Collection that reflects the timelessness and elegance that only Oleg Cassini could be known for."

To stay updated on all launch details, and to be among the first to purchase, be sure to visit davidsbridal.com

###

About Allure

Allure Eyewear, a division of Marchon Eyewear, is a leading manufacturer and distributor of high value moderate to aspirational sunglasses, reading glasses, and optical frames. Allure Eyewear's goal is to deliver eyewear with style, diversity, and craftsmanship of the highest standard. Some brands included in the portfolio are Quiksilver, Roxy, Flower by Drew Barrymore, Reverb, Hurley, and BCBGeneration.

About David's Bridal

With over 70 years of experience dressing people for all of life's special occasions, David's Bridal exists for magical moments. Since its "Aisle to Algorithm" strategic pivot, David's has evolved from iconic bridal retailer to wedding technology company, media powerhouse, and marketplace platform transforming how people plan, shop, and celebrate life's biggest moments.

At the center of David's technological and retail evolution is Pearl by David's, Pearl Planner and Pearl Media Network - the all-in-one digital wedding destination connecting consumers with everything from AI-powered planning tools, inspiration and vendor directories, expanded retail categories and leading content, while enabling brands tap into David's unmatched market reach to authentically connect with consumers through media across the web, social, podcast, streaming, video, in-store and more.

Under the Pearl Media umbrella is Love Stories by David's, the top wedding media brand taking a digital-first approach to wedding content and inspiration with over 20M viewers per month across content platforms, including the wedding industry's sole podcast network, streaming TV and Snap Discover channels, and largest YouTube and TikTok channels, and a library of over 30,000 real wedding videos. Each video comes equipped with wedding data and details, contributing to a marketplace of over 60,000 wedding professionals to help couples better dream about, research and plan their big day.

With more than 190 stores across the US, Canada, and franchise locations in Mexico, David's Bridal offers the convenience of one-stop shopping for every magical event in her life, including weddings, Quinceanera, graduations, proms, communions, or simply making the world her runway and beyond. To learn more about David's , sign up for Pearl Planner , and connect on social media through Instagram , YouTube , Pinterest , Facebook , X , TikTok , and LinkedIn .

Contact Information

David's Bridal

mediarequests@dbi.com





SOURCE: DAVID'S BRIDAL CORPORATE

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/consumer-and-retail-products/davids-bridal-strikes-new-wholesale-partnership-with-allure-eyewear-to-1055570
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Avanza Capital Holdings is proud to announce that its outside general counsel, Anthony C. Varbero, was prominently quoted in Bloomberg Law's midyear report on securities class actions, published in partnership with Cornerstone Research and Stanford Law School's Securities Class Action Clearinghouse.

AI, Big-Dollar Suits Dominate Data on New Investor Class Actions

The report highlighted the rapid rise of investor lawsuits tied to artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and cryptocurrency, noting that "mega cases" involving billions in market capitalization losses are reshaping the securities landscape in 2025. In response to these trends, Mr. Varbero stressed the importance of regulatory discipline for investors navigating uncertain markets:

"Trends noted in the report underscore the importance of compliance on regulation, especially technology, biotechnology, AI-related technology, and I think you're going to see big price movements," said Anthony C. Varbero, partner at Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. and outside general counsel for Avanza Capital Holdings.

What makes this recognition significant is that Mr. Varbero's commentary was featured alongside insights from global firms such as Simpson Thacher, Davis Polk, and Skadden, placing Avanza Capital's general counsel among the most prominent voices in securities litigation today.

Investor Confidence Through Legal and Financial Expertise

Mr. Varbero is Managing Partner of the Securities Litigation and Regulatory Group at Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, where he represents broker-dealers, private equity firms, financial institutions, and investors nationwide before the SEC, FINRA, federal courts, and arbitration forums. His legal experience is uniquely strengthened by his Wall Street background-he has held nearly every major FINRA license (including Series 7, 24, 27, 55, and 65), giving him unmatched insight into the intersection of compliance, trading practices, and regulatory oversight.

In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Varbero is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Finance at Pace University, further reinforcing his financial expertise and expanding his ability to anticipate market trends and risks.

"Anthony's presence ensures that Avanza operates with the highest level of legal and regulatory discipline," said Frank Scarso, CEO of Avanza Capital Holdings. "Lending Partners take comfort knowing that our platform is guided by counsel who not only understands securities law at the highest levels but also has the Wall Street background to anticipate risks before they impact performance."

Protecting Investor Returns in Complex Markets

Mr. Varbero has also been a key legal figure in the merchant cash advance (MCA) sector, where Avanza Capital is a recognized leader. He has successfully litigated cases involving the FTC, SEC, U.S. Attorney's Office, and multiple State Attorneys General, while also advising on MCA agreement structures and compliance processes designed to safeguard Avanza's Lending Partners.

"Having outside general counsel of Anthony's caliber is a tremendous asset for Avanza Capital," added Scarso. "To see him recognized alongside some of the world's most prominent law firms speaks volumes about the level of legal and regulatory expertise guiding our firm."

By aligning with top-tier counsel like Mr. Varbero, Avanza Capital strengthens its commitment to delivering stable, risk-adjusted fixed income returns-providing accredited Lenders with consistency and protection in a time of market volatility and heightened regulatory scrutiny.

About Avanza Capital Holdings

Avanza Capital Holdings is a private fixed income platform specializing in alternative lending solutions for small businesses across the U.S. With a proven track record spanning nearly a decade, Avanza delivers 20% annual returns with monthly liquidity, secured through diversified portfolios and collateralized structures. By combining Wall Street expertise with disciplined risk management, Avanza provides accredited lenders with a dependable, growth-focused private credit platform.

Media Contact:

40 Wall Street, New York, NY 28th Fl 10005

Avanza Capital Holdings

Frank Scarso

CEO

frank@avanza.nyc

212-320-0532

Anthony DeBenedictis

Managing Partner/Chief Strategic Officer

anthony@avanza.nyc

914-536-7565

https://avanza.nyc/in-the-news/

Disclaimer

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, financial instruments, or investment advisory services. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and no guarantees of returns are made. Avanza Capital Holdings is not a registered investment advisor, Hedge fund or SEC filing and nothing in this release should be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Prospective lenders should conduct their own due diligence and consult with independent legal and financial professionals before participating as an accredited lending partner. The outside general counsel for Avanza Capital Holdings provides legal oversight and regulatory guidance and is not responsible for the overall activity, actions, or financial outcomes in connection with the business relationships between Avanza Capital and its respective lending partners. General counsel conducts legal services as an outside entity to and for Avanza Capital Holdings and is not directly employed by Avanza Capital and acts solely as "Outside General Counsel."

SOURCE: Avanza Capital Holdings

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/avanza-capitals-outside-general-counsel-anthony-c.-varbero-featu-1055557
Clichy, 1 August 2025 - L'Oreal announces that it has made available to the public and filed with the Autorite des marches financiers its half-year financial report as of June 30, 2025.

The 2025 Half-Year Financial Report can be found on www.loreal-finance.com website in the Regulated information section.

This Report includes:

The 2025 half-year activity report;

The summary consolidated financial statements at 30 June 2025;

Statutory Auditors' review report on the half-year financial information;

The declaration by the person responsible for the Half-Year Financial Report.

"This press release does not constitute an offer of sale or solicitation of an offer to purchase L'Oreal shares. If you wish to obtain more comprehensive information about L'Oreal, please refer to the public documents registered in France with the Autorite des Marches Financiers, also available in English on our website www.loreal-finance.com.

This press release may contain forecast information. While the Company believes that these statements are based on reasonable assumptions as of the date of publication of this press release, they are by nature subject to risks and uncertainties which may lead to a discrepancy between the actual figures and those indicated or suggested in these statements."

About L'Oreal

For 115 years, L'Oreal, the world's leading beauty player, has devoted itself to one thing only: fulfilling the beauty aspirations of consumers around the world. Our purpose, to create the beauty that moves the world, defines our approach to beauty as essential, inclusive, ethical, generous and committed to social and environmental sustainability. With our broad portfolio of 37 international brands and ambitious sustainability commitments in our L'Oreal for the Future programme, we offer each and every person around the world the best in terms of quality, efficacy, safety, sincerity and responsibility, while celebrating beauty in its infinite plurality.

With more than 90,000 committed employees, a balanced geographical footprint and sales across all distribution networks

CONTACTS



L'OREAL



Switchboard



+33 (0)1 47 56 70 00 Individual Shareholders



Pascale Guerin



+33 (0)1 49 64 18 89



pascale.guerin@loreal.com (mailto:pascale.guerin@loreal.com) Investor relations



Eva Quiroga



+33 (0)7 88 14 22 65



eva.quiroga@loreal.com (mailto:eva.quiroga@loreal.com) Journalists



Brune Diricq

+33 (0)6 63 85 29 87

brune.diricq@loreal.com (mailto:brune.diricq@loreal.com)



Arnaud Fraboul

+33 (0)6 40 13 62 14

arnaud.fraboul@loreal.com (mailto:arnaud.fraboul@loreal.com)

For further information, please contact your bank, stockbroker of financial institution, the L'Oreal Finance app or call the toll-free number from France: 0 800 66 66 66. 0 800 66 66 66

Attachment
EBA stress test confirms ING's resilient capital position

Today, the European Banking Authority (EBA), in cooperation with the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), published the results of the 2025 EU-wide stress test for European banks, including ING. ING notes the announcements made today by the EBA on the stress test and acknowledges the outcomes of this exercise.

The 2025 EU-wide stress test does not contain a pass/fail threshold and instead is designed to be used as an important source of information for the purposes of the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP). The results will assist competent authorities in assessing ING's ability to meet applicable prudential requirements under stressed scenarios.

The stress test scenario was set by the ECB/ESRB and covers a three-year time horizon (2025- 2027). The test has been carried out applying a static balance sheet assumption as of 31 December 2024, and therefore does not take into account future business strategies and management actions. It is not a forecast of ING Group's profit and capital.

The main outcomes of the stress test for ING are summarised below:



Baseline scenario

YE 2027 Adverse scenario

YE2027 CET1 ratio transitional 12.90% 10.63% CET1 ratio fully-loaded 11.85% 10.41%



We regularly run our own ING specific stress test and based thereon remain comfortable with the strength and resilience of our business model and the level of capital. ING 's actual CET1 ratio per 30 June 2025 was 13.3%.

For more information see the results on the EBA website: https://www.eba.europa.eu/risk-and-data-analysis/risk-analysis/eu-wide-stress-testing



Note for editors

For more on ING, please visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the Newsroomor via X @ING_newsfeed. Photos of ING operations, buildings and its executives are available for download at Flickr.

Press enquiries Investor enquiries Daan Wentholt ING Group Investor Relations +31 20 576 6386 +31 20 576 6396 Daan.Wentholt@ing.com (mailto:Daan.Wentholt@ing.com) Investor.Relations@ing.com (mailto:Investor.Relations@ing.com)

ING PROFILE

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is: empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank's more than 60,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 100 countries.

ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

ING aims to put sustainability at the heart of what we do. Our policies and actions are assessed by independent research and ratings providers, which give updates on them annually. ING's ESG rating by MSCI was reconfirmed by MSCI as 'AA' in August 2024 for the fifth year. As of June 2025, in Sustainalytics' view, ING's management of ESG material risk is 'Strong' with an ESG risk rating of 18.0 (low risk). ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers. Here are some examples: Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell. Society is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. So are our clients, and so is ING. We finance a lot of sustainable activities, but we still finance more that's not. Follow our progress on ing.com/climate.

IMPORTANT LEGAL INFORMATION

Elements of this press release contain or may contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/2014 ('Market Abuse Regulation').

ING Group's annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union ('IFRS- EU'). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2024 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to rounding.

Certain of the statements contained herein are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to di?er materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may di?er materially from those in such statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation:

This document may contain ESG-related material that has been prepared by ING on the basis of publicly available information, internally developed data and other third-party sources believed to be reliable. ING has not sought to independently verify information obtained from public and third-party sources and makes no representations or warranties as to accuracy, completeness, reasonableness or reliability of such information.

Materiality, as used in the context of ESG, is distinct from, and should not be confused with, such term as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation or as defined for Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') reporting purposes. Any issues identified as material for purposes of ESG in this document are therefore not necessarily material as defined in the Market Abuse Regulation or for SEC reporting purposes. In addition, there is currently no single, globally recognized set of accepted definitions in assessing whether activities are "green" or "sustainable." Without limiting any of the statements contained herein, we make no representation or warranty as to whether any of our securities constitutes a green or sustainable security or conforms to present or future investor expectations or objectives for green or sustainable investing. For information on characteristics of a security, use of proceeds, a description of applicable project(s) and/or any other relevant information, please reference the offering documents for such security.

This document may contain inactive textual addresses to internet websites operated by us and third parties. Reference to such websites is made for information purposes only, and information found at such websites is not incorporated by reference into this document. ING does not make any representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy or completeness of, or take any responsibility for, any information found at any websites operated by third parties. ING specifically disclaims any liability with respect to any information found at websites operated by third parties. ING cannot guarantee that websites operated by third parties remain available following the publication of this document, or that any information found at such websites will not change following the filing of this document. Many of those factors are beyond ING's control.

Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of ING speak only as of the date they are made, and ING assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or for any other reason.

This document does not constitute an o?er to sell, or a solicitation of an o?er to purchase, any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction.

Attachment
Regulatory News:

Gecina (Paris:GFC) has finalized the bond tender offer launched on July 24, 2025, and covering two of its outstanding series of notes, redeeming a nominal total of 527.6 million euros with the following breakdown:

247.4 million euros on a bond issue due June 30, 2027, with a coupon of 1.375% and 700 million euros outstanding before this tender offer (452.6 million euros following this tender offer); and

280.2 million euros on a bond issue due January 26, 2028, with a coupon of 1.375% and 800 million euros outstanding before this tender offer (519.8 million euros following this tender offer).

This operation, combined with the bond placement on July 24 (500 million euros with a 10-year maturity), has enabled the Group to optimize its debt maturity profile (extending the average maturity to 7.0 years now, an increase of +0.6 years) and enhance long-term financial visibility, while further strengthening its funding strategy

About Gecina

Gecina is a leading operator, that fully integrates all real estate expertise, owning, managing, and developing a unique prime portfolio valued at 17.0bn as at June 30, 2025. Strategically located in the most central areas of Paris and the Paris Region, Gecina's portfolio includes 1.2 million sq.m of office space and nearly 5,300 residential units. By combining long-term value creation with operational excellence, Gecina offers high-quality, sustainable living and working environments tailored to the evolving needs of urban users.

As a committed operator, Gecina enhances its assets with high-value services and dynamic property and asset management, fostering vibrant communities. Through its YouFirst brand, Gecina places user experience at the heart of its strategy. In line with its social responsibility commitments, the Fondation Gecina supports initiatives across four core pillars: disability inclusion, environmental protection, cultural heritage, and housing access. Gecina is a French real estate investment trust (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris, and is part of the SBF 120, CAC Next 20 and CAC Large 60 indices.

Gecina is also recognized as one of the top-performing companies in its industry by leading sustainability rankings (GRESB, Sustainalytics, MSCI, ISS-ESG, and CDP) and is committed to radically reducing its carbon emissions by 2030.

www.gecina.fr

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250801990628/en/

Contacts:

Gecina Contacts



Financial communications



Nicolas BROBAND

Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 40 18 46

nicolasbroband@gecina.fr

Virginie STERLING

Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 48

virginiesterling@gecina.fr

Press relations



Glenn DOMINGUES

Tel.: 33 (0)1 40 40 63 86

glenndomingues@gecina.fr

Armelle MICLO

Tel.: 33 (0)1 40 40 51 98

armellemiclo@gecina.fr
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Reem Capital Corp. (TSXV: REEM.P) ("Reem" or the "Corporation"), a "capital pool company" pursuant to the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and Kalron Holdings Ltd. ("Kalron") (parent company of Seegnal eHealth Ltd. ("Seegnal")) wish to provide an update with respect to the proposed transaction between the Corporation and Kalron, pursuant to the amended and restated definitive securities exchange agreement dated January 27, 2025 (the "Definitive Agreement") between the Corporation, Kalron, Seegnal and certain securityholders of Kalron, in furtherance of the Corporation's proposed Qualifying Transaction (as defined in Policy 2.4 - Capital Pool Companies of the Exchange) (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Corporation following the completion of the Proposed Transaction is herein referred to as the "Resulting Issuer".

CONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE AND FINAL PROSPECTUS

The Corporation is pleased to announce that it received conditional acceptance from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") relating to Proposed Transaction and has filed its final long form non-offering prospectus in connection therewith with the applicable Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ and is available at www.sedarplus.ca.

The completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions including, but not limited to, final Exchange acceptance, completion of the Financings (as discussed below) and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPT FINANCINGS

Further to the previously announced non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts of Kalron (the "Kalron Financing") and non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts of Reem (the "Reem Financing" and collectively with the Kalron Financing, the "Financings"), the parties intended to complete the Financings for aggregate minimum gross proceeds of $3,400,000 (the "Minimum Gross Proceeds") up to aggregate maximum gross proceeds of $4,000,000 (the "Maximum Gross Proceeds") at $0.80 per subscription receipt. (the "Subscription Receipts").

Each Subscription Receipt will, following the satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions, entitle the holder to receive post-Proposed Transaction, without the payment of additional consideration or taking of further action, one common share in the capital of the Resulting Issuer ("Resulting Share"), and one Resulting Share purchase warrant of the Resulting Issuer (a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to acquire one Resulting Issuer Share at a price of $1.20 until 24 months following the completion of the Proposed Transaction.

Proceeds of the Financings will be held in escrow pending satisfaction of customary escrow release conditions, including the completion, satisfaction or waiver of all conditions precedent to the Proposed Transaction and the receipt of all required shareholder and regulatory approvals, as applicable (including the conditional approval of the Exchange) in connection with the Proposed Transaction, all of which shall be set forth in a subscription receipt agreement to be entered into. The Resulting Issuer Shares and Warrants issuable on conversion of the Subscription Receipts shall be issued on a post-consolidation basis which shall be completed by Reem as an escrow release condition. The consolidation ratio shall be one new common share of Reem for 3.16 existing common shares of Reem, as previously announced.

In connection with the Financings, the Resulting Issuer will pay Quarck Investments Ltd. ("Quarck") and Capital Canada Limited ("Capital Canada") a finder's fee of cash equal to 8% of the gross proceeds brought in by Quarck or Capital Canada, as applicable, to the Financings and common share purchase warrants of the Resulting Issuer on the same terms as the Warrants, equal to 8% of the amount of Subscription Receipts brought in by Quarck under the Financings. All of the cash payable to Quarck and Capital Canada shall be payable upon release of the Financings' proceeds from escrow.

The terms of the Financings remain subject to acceptance of the Exchange.

UPDATES TO THE USE OF PROCEEDS

The following table sets out the updated proposed principal uses of funds by the Resulting Issuer, after giving effect to the Proposed Transaction and assuming completion of the Financings:

Principal Uses Assuming Completion of the Financings for Minimum

Gross Proceeds

(US$) Assuming Completion of the Financings for Maximum Gross Proceeds

(US$) Gross profit(1) $(214,000) $(214,000) Sales and marketing $350,000 $628,000 Research and development $550,000 $669,000 General and Administration $665,000 $665,000 Public Company and Listing Expenses $150,000 $150,000 Unallocated working capital $132,937 $133,377 Total $1,633,937 $2,031,377

Note:

(1) Revenue less cost of sales.

Following the completion of the Proposed Transaction, including the Financings, there will be approximately 44,295,626 Resulting Issuer Shares outstanding, and approximately 29,204,330 Resulting Issuer Shares will be reserved for issuance pursuant to convertible securities of the Resulting Issuer.

ABOUT KALRON

Kalron is a privately-held holding corporation that was established under the laws of Israel in 2017. Kalron is the sole shareholder (parent company) of Seegnal, an Israeli based corporation which had operated under Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. ("Teva") until its purchase by Kalron in December 2017.

Seegnal was founded in 2015 as a fully owned subsidiary of Teva to develop a clinical decision support system software for clinicians at the point of care, aimed at improving patient care and outcomes, improving clinician experience and substantially lower healthcare expenditures. Seegnal provides patient-tailored SAAS system for one-glance managing and mitigating drug related problems while providing decision support to healthcare professionals at the point of care. Seegnal has developed, owns and is marketing a SAAS based software platform of addressing the need of detecting and solving drug-related problems, which has been determined as the fourth leading cause of mortality in developed countries.[1] Seegnal's SAAS based software platform is a patient-tailored, clinicians'-friendly drug-related problem solution. Seegnal exclusively integrates at the point-of-care, unique patient specific data like genetics, food, results of lab tests, ECG, smoking and the effects of many concomitant medications, while delivering accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The software was developed for clinicians to manage and resolve Drug Related Problems, relevant specifically per patient, quickly and effectively. In 2017, Seegnal was purchased from Teva by Kalron. As part of the acquisition, Kalron committed to continue to employ Seegnal's employees and to pay Teva certain royalties on sales. Seegnal is marketing its SAAS-based platform in the State of Israel, the UAE, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Poland. The platform is currently a "standard of care" system for over 10,000 clinicians in Israel on a daily basis when prescribing medications to their patients. Two of Israel's four HMO's are using the system as their primary solution.

Kalron, through its subsidiary Seegnal, has developed a vast intellectual property portfolio. The SAAS based technology contains over 1500 specific algorithms as well as United States of America, Israeli and Chinese granted patents in the areas of Graphical User Interface ("GUI") and workflow. The Seegnal system's functional disruptive GUI approach, on the one hand, and the technical capability to introduce the individual patient at the center when providing clinical recommendations, on the other hand, provides over 98% alert accuracy and automating alternative therapy resolution suggestions, saving physicians time from researching for alternatives manually.2

ABOUT REEM

Reem was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) and is a Capital Pool Company governed by the policies of the Exchange. Reem's principal business is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction. Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a Capital Pool Company should be considered highly speculative.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Reem will provide further details in respect of the Proposed Transaction and Financings in due course by way of a subsequent news release, however, Reem will make available to the Exchange all information, including financial information, as may be requested or required by the Exchange.

All information contained in this news release with respect to Reem and Kalron was supplied by the respective party, for inclusion herein, without independent review by the other party, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to the Exchange Requirements. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the non-offering prospectus prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the polices of the Exchange) has in any way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and associated transactions and neither of the foregoing entities has in any way approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" ("forward-looking information") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information 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 "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "projected" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information.

More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Proposed Transaction (including the terms and timing thereof), the Financings including the amounts anticipated to be raised, the shareholders intending to participate in such Financings, receipt of requisite approvals, including acceptance of the Exchange for the Proposed Transaction and Financings, completion of the Proposed Transaction and the Financings, including meeting the requisite escrow release conditions and the use of proceeds therefrom, the details of any securities issuances, conversions, exchanges or cancellations (completed or anticipated), the continued business of the Resulting Issuer, the trading of the Resulting Issuer Shares on the Exchange, the anticipated insiders of the Resulting Issuer and the successful implementation of Kalron and Seegnal's business plans, including the successful implementation of Seegnal's SAAS products. In disclosing the forward-looking information contained in this press release, Reem has made certain assumptions, including that: all applicable shareholder and regulatory approvals for the Proposed Transaction will be received; that the Proposed Transaction will be completed on mutually acceptable terms and within a customary timeframe for transactions of this nature and the acceptance of the Seegnal products by customers in the United States and Europe. Although Reem believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking information will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: war in Israel and the Middle East; availability of financing; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. There can be no certainty that the Proposed Transaction will be completed on the terms set out in the Definitive Agreement or at all. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Reem disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking information or otherwise.

1 Miles Hacker, Pharmacology, 2009 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/adverse-drug-reaction); Ernst FR, Grizzle AJ: Drug-related morbidity and mortality: updating the cost-of-illness model. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2001, 41 (2): 192-9; and Jason L et al., Journal of American Medical Association 1998; 279: 1200-1205.

2 Sonam N Shah et al, "Comparison of Medication Alerts from Two Commercial Applications in the USA", June 2021, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33616888/.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260987

SOURCE: Reem Capital Corp.
As entrepreneurs look to exit their businesses, the need for a reliable guide on business brokers has increased considerably. IRAEmpire.com has released its "best business brokers list" to solve this very problem.

SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / IRAEmpire.com has published its annual list of the Best Business Brokers in the U.S., providing entrepreneurs and business owners with a trusted resource for navigating the complex process of buying or selling a business.

The rankings spotlight firms that excel in deal execution, valuation accuracy, industry expertise, and client service. This guide is designed to help sellers maximize exit value and help buyers identify experienced intermediaries who understand their goals and markets.

See the full list of the best business brokers.

Top Business Brokerage Firms of 2025

After reviewing dozens of business brokerage firms across the country, IRAEmpire's editorial team identified this year's standouts based on performance metrics, client reviews, and specialization. The list includes both national brokerages and niche firms that deliver outsized value in specific sectors.

"With so much at stake in a business sale or acquisition, choosing the right broker is critical," said IRAEmpire.com spokesperson Ryan Paulson. "This list is about trust, transparency, and proven results."

What Sets a Top Business Broker Apart?

The best firms on the 2025 list offer:

Accurate, data-driven valuations backed by industry knowledge

Strong deal pipelines with qualified buyers or sellers

Clear, upfront fee structures with no hidden costs

Personalized guidance from seasoned dealmakers

The guide also includes tips on how to evaluate brokers, avoid common red flags, and understand the full sale process from listing to closing.

Growing Demand for Professional Business Brokers

As baby boomers continue to retire and sell their companies, and as acquisition interest grows from both private equity and individual buyers, the demand for trustworthy brokerage firms is higher than ever. IRAEmpire's rankings are intended to give business owners and investors a credible starting point for one of the most important decisions they'll make.

Read about the best business brokers in the US on IRAEmpire.

About IRAEmpire.com

IRAEmpire.com is an independent resource for investors, entrepreneurs, and retirement savers. While best known for its content on Gold IRAs and alternative assets, the site has expanded to cover other wealth-building strategies, including small business ownership and succession planning. IRAEmpire aims to help readers make smarter financial decisions through honest reviews and actionable insights.

Media Contact:

Ryan Paulson

ryan@iraempire.com

SOURCE: IRAEmpire LLC

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/best-business-brokers-in-the-u.s.-list-released-by-iraempire-1055221
Recognized as Best Plumber, HVAC, and Outdoor Lighting Company Across DFW

SOUTHLAKE, TX / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Berkeys Plumbing, A/C & Electrical has once again earned top honors in the annual Living Magazine Best of Readers' Choice Awards, winning in multiple categories across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The respected home services company was named:

Best Plumber and Plumbing Company in Southlake and Colleyville

Best Heating and Air Conditioning Company in Southlake and Colleyville

Best Outdoor Lighting Company in Keller

These honors reflect the trust and satisfaction of local homeowners who rely on Berkeys for dependable service, innovative solutions, and 24/7 support. These prestigious honors coincide with a landmark year for the Texas-based company, which marks five decades of delivering expert, reliable home services throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

"Since 1975, Berkeys has remained committed to providing top-tier plumbing, HVAC, and electrical services. We are extremely honored to be recognized by the readers of Living Magazine" said Jeff Cox, President of Berkeys. "Our team works tirelessly to deliver exceptional service across plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical solutions. These awards are a testament to their dedication and our commitment to earning the trust of families throughout Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, and the entire DFW area."

Berkeys' 50-year legacy and success is built on the company's founding principles:

Exceptional Customer Service - Providing prompt, professional, and courteous service that exceeds expectations

Quality Craftsmanship - Offering reliable, efficient, and long-lasting solutions

Community Involvement - Actively supporting local organizations and giving back to the communities it serves

Berkeys has long served the Dallas-Fort Worth region - including Arlington, Plano, Frisco, and surrounding communities - with licensed technicians, transparent pricing, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The company continues to expand its offerings while maintaining its strong reputation for reliability, professionalism, and community involvement.

The Living Magazine honors expand beyond only three communities, Berkey's is the Best of Reader's Choice for best plumber and plumbing company in Southlake and Colleyville, TX; the best heating and air conditioning company in Southlake and Colleyville, TX, the best outdoor lighting company in Keller, TX, serving Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco and all other major cities in the DFW metroplex.

In addition to its latest Living Magazine honors, Berkeys has earned a long list of awards and accolades over the years, including Southlake Journal Best of the Best Angie's List Super Service Award and an A+ Rating and Accreditation from the Better Business Bureau since 1997.

About Berkeys Plumbing, A/C, & Electrical

Texas-based Berkeys has been providing quality plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, and heating services to homeowners in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex since 1975. The company sells America's top-rated brands of plumbing, AC repair, electrical, and heating equipment known for high efficiency, reliability, and serviceability; and it services all brands and makes of plumbing and air conditioning equipment. All Berkeys plumbers have passed rigorous state plumbing examinations and are licensed by the State of Texas; they understand the complexity of state plumbing codes all the way down to local requirements. Berkeys maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has led the field in area newspapers' readers' favorite polls. Berkeys is part of the Wrench Group, a national leader operating in 25 markets across 14 states to provide home repair, replacement and maintenance services specializing in heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

TACLB133168E | Stephen M Harris M-37968 | TECL30739

Media Contact:

Mike Myers

Director of Marketing

berkeysmarketing@berkeys.com

SOURCE: Berkeys

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/utilities/berkeys-plumbing-a%2fc-and-electrical-celebrates-50-years-of-service-with-major-wins-in-liv-1055698
Alongside its SSI platform launch, THG is open-sourcing its Digital Identity SDK via the Linux Foundation's Project Hiero, advancing privacy, interoperability, and open innovation

ZURICH, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hashgraph Group (THG), a Swiss-based international business, venture capital, and technology company operating within the Hedera ecosystem, today launched its pioneering Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) platform, "IDTrust". Decentralized by design with the core principles of providing users full control over their personal data, including seamless portability and interoperability, IDTrust enables individuals and institutions to securely issue and verify credentials. This product launch signifies THG's commitment to enabling a truly open and vendor-agnostic digital identity ecosystem that supports alignment with national and international identity initiatives.

Traditional identity systems are fragmented and rely on centralized authorities and intermediaries for credential issuance and verification. These outdated models introduce significant challenges: siloed data, user tracking, high costs, security risks, and weak privacy guarantees. Self-sovereign identity transforms this model using decentralized identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials (VCs), and secure digital ID wallets, enabling individuals and organizations to exchange trusted identity claims on a peer-to-peer basis without relying on centralized infrastructure. This approach defines interoperable agents for issuing, verifying, and revoking credentials. Hedera is the ideal trust layer for decentralized identity registries in the digital economy due to its enterprise-grade performance, highest security standards, low predictable fees, carbon-negative footprint, and technical maturity.

IDTrust redefines digital identity by enabling individuals, enterprises, and governments to issue and verify digital credentials, providing greater trust, authenticity, and security in the digital world. Built by THG on Hedera's secure and energy-efficient distributed ledger technology (DLT) network, and enhanced with Agentic AI, the IDTrust platform offers a privacy-first digital identity solution with user control, credential portability, and cross-platform interoperability at its core. It enables users to maintain control over personal data while enabling seamless movement of credentials between service providers and across platforms, including access to e-government services and systems.

For individuals, this means reclaiming ownership and privacy over personal data; for enterprises, simplified onboarding procedures, trusted consumer engagement, and reduced operational costs; and for governments, a compliant standards-based and fully interoperable solution that seamlessly integrates with national digital identity frameworks. Designed to support the alignment with digital identity initiatives such as the eIDAS 2.0 in the EU, the UK Digital Identity Trust Framework, and the upcoming Swiss e-ID system, IDTrust allows participants across a multitude of sectors to engage in trusted, verifiable digital interactions without the risk of vendor lock-in or ecosystem isolation.

Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder & CEO of THG, said, "With the prevailing concerns about digital identity fraud and misuse of user data, we believe this is a critical moment to launch a truly self-sovereign, privacy-first digital identity solution for the global market. By launching our Hedera-powered and Agentic AI-enabled IDTrust platform on Swiss National Day, we align with Switzerland's leadership in digital trust, data protection, and innovation, while supporting the furtherance of national and international initiatives to advance secure digital ID technology, infrastructure, and compliance."

The timing of THG's IDTrust product launch coincides with the recent announcement by the Swiss Federal Council to open a consultation process on an ordinance regulating the details of electronic identification (e-ID) in Switzerland. As Switzerland prepares to roll out its national identity system that will enable citizens to engage with authorities and companies in a secure and efficient digital environment, IDTrust offers a robust, secure, and modular identity architecture that supports public sector integrations, while accelerating private sector innovation. This reflects THG's broader vision of developing enterprise-grade infrastructure that bridges national identity with global digital trust.

In close strategic alignment with The Hashgraph Association (THA), THG is open-sourcing a suite of SDKs via Linux Foundation Decentralized Trust (LFDT) under "Project Hiero" - the open-source distributed ledger technology project that includes all the core software to deploy and interact with Hedera. THG will open-source its DID SDK, Issuer SDK, Verifier SDK, and the Identity Client SDK, enabling developers with essential modular building blocks for identity issuance, verification, and digital wallet integration. By abstracting the technical complexity and adhering to global standards, IDTrust ensures digital identity systems are interoperable and ready for real-world use at scale.

Kamal Youssefi, President of THA, said, "The launch of this self-sovereign identity product developed by THG is a pivotal milestone towards empowering the Hedera community, further accelerating its global ecosystem growth and driving the utilization of the Hedera network, while contributing to open-sourcing under the project Hiero for furtherance of national and international efforts to advance secure digital ID technology and infrastructure. THA continues to foster innovation and champion Hedera community empowerment to establish a digital future for all, leveraging Hedera as the trust layer of the digital economy."

The IDTrust platform can be deployed to support issuance of a wide range of verifiable credentials, including speeding up KYC checks, opening bank accounts, sharing medical records, streamlining employee authentication, enhancing client onboarding, complying with EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulations for transparency and traceability in supply chains, enhancing consumer loyalty and engagement, proving professional and academic certifications, residence certificates, driver's licenses, and accessing e-government services.

IDTrust has been integrated into one of the Big Four consultancy firms for employee digital identity and tested in one of the largest banks in Africa for digital identity management, including a Ministry of Education for verifiable education credentials. The Symera WeSuite solution for AdTech applies IDTrust in an innovative way, allowing brands and advertisers to engage their target audiences with precision by prioritizing consumer privacy and transforming the way consumers are engaged and rewarded for interactions and gamification with global brands. Another real-world application of the IDTrust platform is through Tulupay Identity, which is bridging Web2 and Web3 identity to enhance the digital identity management systems for various Ministries of Education across Africa.

Micha Roon, Head of Engineering at THG, added, "This launch is not only a pivotal technological milestone for THG but confirmation of our ambition to build a decentralised identity infrastructure that is open, secure, and widely available for everyone around the world to use. By providing the IDTrust platform with our open-source SDKs, we are empowering both individuals and institutions to establish verifiable digital credentials without compromising privacy and security."

IDTrust is built on open standards such as Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), OpenID4VCI, and OpenID4VP, and leverages the Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) for tamper-proof record integrity and IPFS for decentralized storage. These foundations enable user credentials to move seamlessly across platforms, industry sectors, and national borders, thereby simplifying identity verification and providing greater trust, authenticity, and security in the digital world. Technically robust, the IDTrust platform abstracts complexity to prioritize usability and real-world adoption at scale.

For more information about IDTrust, interested parties can visit www.hashgraph-group.com.

Media interviews with Stefan Deiss, Kamal Youssefi, and Micha Roon can be arranged upon request.

About The Hashgraph Group

The Hashgraph Group (THG) is a Swiss-headquartered international business, venture capital, and technology company operating exclusively within the Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem. Specialised in design, development, and deployment of enterprise-grade solutions on Hedera, THG unlocks new opportunities in the digital economy through technological adoption and innovation. Operating globally with an experienced team of certified Web3 practitioners and engineers, THG is focused on building businesses without barriers, while venture building and making strategic investments. For more information about The Hashgraph Group, visit www.hashgraph-group.com.

About The Hashgraph Association

The Hashgraph Association (THA) supports training, certification, and innovation programs around the world, fostering ecosystem development and broad adoption of Hedera. At the forefront is the digital enablement of startups, enterprises, and governments to build enterprise-grade solutions and decentralized applications. As a non-profit, THA funds innovation, research, and development for the benefit of economic inclusion with a positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impact. For information about The Hashgraph Association, visit www.hashgraph.swiss.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2742696/The_Hashgraph_Group_IDTrust.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-hashgraph-group-launches-its-self-sovereign-identity-platform-idtrust-to-power-digital-identity-at-scale-302519745.html
Susvimo is the only continuous delivery treatment to provide reliable, long-term vision outcomes in nAMD, the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 60

With two refills per year, Susvimo maintained vision and stabilised the retina for five years, with durability maintained in approximately 95% of patients

Susvimo was well tolerated over five years and has a well-characterised safety profile



Basel, 01 August 2025 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today new, five-year efficacy, safety and durability data from the Phase III Portal study, a long-term extension of the Phase III Archway study, of Susvimo (ranibizumab injection) for the treatment of people with nAMD.1 Results show that Susvimo's immediate and predictable durability was sustained over five years, with approximately 95% of people receiving treatment every six months requiring no supplemental treatment before each refill. The data were presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2025 Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, United States.

"These long-term results reinforce Susvimo's ability to maintain vision and retinal drying over a long period of time for people with nAMD, the leading cause of vision loss in people over age 60," said Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, Roche's chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. "These robust data reinforce our confidence in Susvimo's unique therapeutic approach, providing an effective alternative to regular eye injections while preserving vision in a sustained manner."

"People with nAMD often experience suboptimal outcomes with real-world anti-VEGF treatment, largely due to the frequency of injections," said study investigator John Kitchens, M.D., Retina Associates of Kentucky, who presented the data at ASRS. "Continuous delivery of treatment with Susvimo may preserve vision in patients with nAMD for longer in real-world clinical use than IVT injections."

In the Portal study (n = 352), people originally treated with Susvimo in Archway continued to receive Susvimo refills every six months (Susvimo cohort; n = 220), while those originally treated with monthly intravitreal (IVT) ranibizumab injections in Archway received Susvimo and then refills every six months (IVT-Susvimo cohort; n = 132).

Five-year results showed consistent and sustained disease control and retinal drying in a population who entered Archway with vision at or near peak levels after receiving an average of five intravitreal injections per standard of care. In the Susvimo cohort, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 74.4 letters at baseline and 67.6 letters at 5 years. In the IVT-Susvimo cohort, BCVA was 76.3 letters at baseline and 68.6 at 5 years. Half of all patients had better than 20/40 vision at five years (Snellen visual acuity test). Average central subfield thickness (CST) remained stable, with a 1.0 (95% CI: -13.1, 11.1) m reduction from baseline in the Susvimo cohort, and a 10.3 (95% CI: -25.7, 5.0) m reduction in the IVT-Susvimo cohort.

The cohort of people who entered the Portal study from Archway is the largest cohort of people with nAMD to be followed prospectively and continuously for five years in a clinical study.1

Susvimo provides continuous delivery of a customised formulation of ranibizumab via the Port Delivery Platform, while other currently approved treatments may require eye injections as often as once per month. The Port Delivery Platform is a refillable eye implant surgically inserted into the eye during a one-time, outpatient procedure, which introduces medicine directly into the eye, addressing certain retinal conditions that can cause vision loss.

About the Archway study and its open-label extension study (Portal)1,2

Archway (NCT03677934) was a randomised, multicentre, open-label phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Susvimo refilled every six months at fixed intervals, compared to monthly IVT ranibizumab 0.5 mg in 415 people living with nAMD. Patients were randomized 3:2 to Susvimo (n = 248) or IVT ranibizumab injections (n = 167). Patients enrolled in Archway were responders to prior treatment with anti-VEGF therapy. In both study arms, patients were treated with at least three anti-VEGF injections within the six months prior to their Archway screening visit, with an average of five anti-VEGF injections before randomization. The primary endpoint of the study was the change in BCVA score from baseline at the average of Week 36 and Week 40. Secondary endpoints include safety, overall change in vision (BCVA) from baseline and change from baseline in centre point thickness over time. Patients who completed the study at week 96 were eligible to enter the Portal open-label extension study. In Portal, people originally treated with Susvimo in Archway continued to receive Susvimo refills every six months (Susvimo cohort), while those originally treated with monthly intravitreal (IVT) ranibizumab injections in Archway received the Susvimo implant and then refills every six months (IVT-Susvimo cohort). Portal is ongoing.

About neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition that affects the part of the eye that provides sharp, central vision needed for activities like reading.3 Neovascular or 'wet' AMD (nAMD) is an advanced form of the disease that can cause rapid and severe vision loss if left untreated.4,5 It develops when new and abnormal blood vessels grow uncontrolled under the macula, causing swelling, bleeding and/or fibrosis.5 Worldwide, around 20 million people are living with nAMD - the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 60 - and the condition will affect even more people around the world as the global population ages.3,6,7

About Susvimo (Port Delivery System with ranibizumab)

Approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nAMD, diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), Susvimo is a refillable eye implant surgically inserted into the eye during a one-time, outpatient procedure.8,9 Susvimo continuously delivers a customised formulation of ranibizumab over time.8,9 Ranibizumab is a VEGF inhibitor designed to bind to and inhibit VEGF-A, a protein that has been shown to play a critical role in the formation of new blood vessels and the leakiness of the vessels.8-10



The customised formulation of ranibizumab delivered by Susvimo is different from the ranibizumab IVT injection, a medicine marketed as Lucentis (ranibizumab injection)*, which is approved to treat nAMD and other retinal diseases.11

About Roche

Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the world's largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.

For over 125 years, sustainability has been an integral part of Roche's business. As a science-driven company, our greatest contribution to society is developing innovative medicines and diagnostics that help people live healthier lives. Roche is committed to the Science Based Targets initiative and the Sustainable Markets Initiative to achieve net zero by 2045.

Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

For more information, please visit www.roche.com.

All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.

*Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) was developed by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. Genentech retains commercial rights in the United States and Novartis has exclusive commercial rights for the rest of the world.



References

[1] Kitchens J, et al. Five Year Outcomes in nAMD Patients Enrolled in the Archway Study and Treated With the PDS. Presented at: The American Society of Retina Specialists

[4] Pennington KL, et al. Epidemiology of AMD: associations with cardiovascular disease phenotypes and lipid factors. Eye and Vision. 2016;3:34.

[5] Little K, et al. Myofibroblasts in macular fibrosis secondary to nAMD - the potential sources and molecular cues for their recruitment and activation. EBioMedicine. 2018;38:283-91.

[6] Connolly E, et al. Prevalence of AMD associated genetic risk factors and four-year progression data in the Irish population. British Journal of Ophthalmology. 2018 Feb;102:1691-95.

[7] Wong WL, et al. Global prevalence of AMD and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Global Health. 2014 Feb;2:106-16.

[8] US Food and Drug Administration

[9] Holekamp N, et al. Archway randomised phase III trial of the PDS with ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration

[12] US FDA. Highlights of prescribing information, Vabysmo. 2024. [Internet; cited April 2025]. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/761235s005lbl.pdf

[13] European Medicines Agency. Summary of product characteristics, Vabysmo. [Internet; cited April 2025]. Available from: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/vabysmo-epar-product-information_en.pdf



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Investor Relations North America

Loren Kalm

Phone: +1 650 225 3217

e-mail: kalm.loren@gene.com





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LAKE STEVENS, WA / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / When Guardian Roofing, Gutters & Insulation named Fred and Rebecca Moore of Lake Stevens as the 2025 recipients of their annual HALO Project, it sparked more than just community pride-it ignited a company-wide movement of compassion, collaboration, and purpose.

Every single Washington State-based Guardian team member, from field crews to office staff, played a part in the planning and execution of the complete roof replacement for the Moore's, making the initiative a true labor of love and a cornerstone of the company's culture. This annual project, now in its seventh year, isn't just about replacing roofs-it's about lifting spirits both inside and outside the company.

"At Guardian, the HALO Project has become something we all look forward to," said Lori Swanson, owner of Guardian Roofing, Gutters & Insulation. "It brings out the very best in our team. We don't just give back-we grow stronger together. This project unites us around a common mission and reminds us why we do what we do."

Fred Moore, a Vietnam veteran, retired pastor, and active member of a local motorcycle ministry, and his wife Rebecca, a school bus driver and youth mentor, have spent their lives serving others. Though they never had biological children, they lovingly raised two daughters from their church community under a roof that is now dangerously deteriorated.

Despite Fred's severe respiratory issues and Rebecca's mobility challenges, they've tried to keep up with repairs-until the roof's condition and their health made that impossible. When the Guardian team learned their story through a heartfelt nomination, there was no hesitation.

"Fred and Rebecca have spent their lives giving," said Swanson. "They've cared for their community and built a family with faith, love, and resilience. It's our honor to come together as a company and make sure their home is safe and secure for the years ahead."

Guardian's HALO Project reflects the company's deep commitment to creating real change. It also serves as a powerful internal morale booster, reminding employees that their work has purposes far beyond the job site.

"This isn't just a one-day install," said English Bryant, Office & Dealer Finance Manager at Guardian. "Every department is involved. From the first phone call to the final shingle, we're all in. It's truly one of the most inspiring, community-driven, impactful, and uplifting things we do as a company."

Support from valued industry partners-including Owens Corning, Sound Building Supply, Beacon Building Supply, Velux Skylights, Miles Resources, and Service Partners-helped bring this project to life, allowing Guardian to continue its mission of restoring hope one roof at a time.

This year's HALO Project was completed during National Roofing Week, reinforcing Guardian's belief that roofing is more than just a trade-it's a way to build stronger communities from the top down.

"We are hopeful that as our company grows, we be able to continue helping even more families for many, many years to come," concluded Swanson.

MORE ABOUT GUARDIAN HOME'S HALO PROJECT AND PAST WINNERS:

https://www.guardianhome.com/lp_pg/guardian-roofing-halo-project

About Guardian Roofing, LLC

Guardian Roofing, LLC is an award-winning professional roofing contractor in the Seattle market, serving homeowners since 2005 in the counties of King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap and Thurston. Founders Lori and Matt Swanson have more than 60 years of combined roofing experience and employ a team of more than 100 skilled and professionally certified craftsmen who assist customers with their roof, gutter, attic, masonry, and skylight needs. Recognized in 2022 as one of the fastest-growing private companies by the Puget Sound Business Journal, Guardian is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and has been named a top 100 Roofing Contractor in the U.S. by Roofing Contractors Magazine. For more information, visit www.guardianroofing.com.

Licenses: WA UBI 604-059-205 | FEIN #81-4469822

Media Contact:

Dana Cobb

The Barber Shop Marketing

dana@thebarbershopmarketing.com

972.955.9747

SOURCE: Guardian Roofing

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/industrial-and-manufacturing/building-with-heart-guardian-roofing-halo-project-unites-entire-team-t-1055699


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices fell on Friday, as demand concerns due to potentially reduced consumption in oil and energy increased amid a new tariff regime kickstarted by the US government.



Today, WTI Crude Oil for September delivery was last seen trading down by $1.92 (or 2.77%) at $67.34 per barrel.



In an historic move, US President Donald Trump reordered the global economy by signing an executive order to impose new tariffs on 69 countries trading with the US, with levies ranging anywhere from 15% to 41%. The tariffs are set to take effect from August 7 to give room for officials to prepare for the tax collections.



Nations that are yet to sign a trade deal with the US are scrambling to find a middle path in the negotiations to solve this prolonging problem.



Unable to gauge the future impact of a high-tariff global trade regime, global stock markets reverberated.



In the US today, data on jobs released by the Labor Department revealed that job growth was weaker than it was believed to be previously.



Data on consumer prices released yesterday also revealed that prices for home furnishings and durable households galloped 1.3% in June indicating prices in the US are shooting upwards in the evolving tariff ecosystem.



Baker Hughes Company data released today revealed that crude oil rigs in the US decreased to 410 from 415 in the previous week and total rigs in the US decreased to 540 in the week ended August 1 from 542.



On the geopolitical front, the Red Sea has become a new flashpoint for oil and trade disruption.



Yemen's Houthi rebel group have threatened that all ships of companies having tie-ups with Israel will be attacked if they cruise via Red Sea.



Global shipping routes, supply chains, and insurance markets are feeling the pressure due to this threat as ships have to detour which results in significant time delay and cost addition.



Trump had earlier warned Russia to find ways to end the war with Ukraine in the next 10-12 days or face high tariff imposition. His threat also included 'secondary sanctions' to countries buying oil from Russia. So far, Russia has not demonstrated any willingness for a ceasefire.



A 'penalty' threat by US has forced state oil refineries of India to halt their purchases from Russia. Notably, India is the world's third largest crude oil importer.



The Trump administration has granted sanctions waiver to Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela. When the global oil major begins pumping, significant addition could be seen on the supply side.



OPEC+ member-nations are meeting on August 3 to decide on the unwinding of the production cuts further. The earlier 548,000 barrels per day September target remains in place.



OPEC+ has 1.66 million bpd of sidelined supply, scheduled to stay offline until next year. Questions remain on whether the alliance would revisit the idle 1.66 million bpd now or in the future.



Traders are worried that an exorbitant tariff regime would act against consumption and thereby lower the demand for oil and energy, consequently weighing on oil prices.



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 2025 AFX News
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - BeWhere (TSXV: BEW) (OTCQB: BEWFF) ("BeWhere" or the "Company"), a leading Mobile Internet of Things (M-IoT) company, announces that it has granted to certain directors options to purchase in the aggregate 550,000 Common Shares at an exercise price of $0.76 per share, which options will expire on July 16, 2030, and vest quarterly over two years.

About BeWhere

BeWhere (TSXV: BEW) (OTCQB: BEWFF) specializes in low-power 5G IoT wide-area tracking technology, creating remote monitoring solutions that address cost, power, and environmental challenges. In just 6 years, the company has experienced rapid growth, collaborating with Fortune 500 companies, top resellers and installers to deploy hundreds of thousands of trackers across numerous sectors, including transportation, construction, logistics, utilities, health, and government.

BeWhere's tracking solutions are designed to be both cost-effective and simple to implement, significantly expanding the scope of assets that can be connected. These connected devices generate data that powers intelligent AI management platforms. By increasing the number of connected devices, BeWhere enhances the capabilities and growth potential of AI solutions.

Follow BeWhere on LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations, or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements."

We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including technology development, anticipated revenues, projected size of market, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.

BeWhere Holdings Inc. (the "Company") does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, technology development and marketing activities, the Company's historical experience with technology development, uninsured risks. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The Company's audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the period ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, together with its corresponding Management's discussion and analysis can be found under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.bewhere.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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/261031

SOURCE: BeWhere Holdings Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Banxa Holdings Inc. (TSXV: BNXA) (OTC Pink: BNXAF) (FSE: AC00) ("Banxa" or the "Company"), a leading infrastructure provider for enabling embedded crypto within payment platforms, is pleased to announce the mailing of its notice of meeting, management information circular (the "Circular"), forms of proxy, letter of transmittal and related meeting materials (collectively, the "Meeting Materials") to the holders of common shares ("Shares"), share purchase warrants and stock options of the Company (collectively, the "Securityholders") in connection with the annual general and special meeting of Securityholders (the "Meeting") scheduled to be held at 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on August 28, 2025.

The Meeting Materials were mailed on August 1, 2025 to Securityholders of record as of the close of business on July 24, 2025. The Meeting is being held to consider and vote on: (i) certain outstanding annual and general business in respect of the annual and general meetings of shareholders of the Company for each of the financial years of the Company ended June 30, 2024 and 2023; and (ii) a special resolution (the "Arrangement Resolution") to approve the previously-announced plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement") among the Company, OSL Group Limited and OSL BNXA Acquisition Inc. (the "Purchaser"), whereby the Purchaser will acquire all of the issued and outstanding Shares for cash consideration of C$1.55 per Share, as more particularly described in the Circular.

Copies of the Circular and the Meeting Materials can be found on the Company's website at https://investor.banxa.com/ and under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Receipt of Interim Order

The Company is also pleased to announce that the British Columbia Supreme Court (the "Court") granted an interim order dated July 25, 2025, providing for the calling and holding of the Meeting and other procedural matters relating to the Arrangement.

Completion of the Arrangement remains subject to, among other things: (i) the approval of the Arrangement Resolution at the Meeting; (ii) the receipt of the final order of the Court in connection with the Arrangement; (iii) the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange; (iv) the receipt of certain required regulatory approvals and required consents; and (v) the satisfaction or waiver, where permitted, of certain additional conditions described in the Circular.

** YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT - PLEASE VOTE TODAY **

The board of directors of the Company (the "Board") has unanimously determined that the Arrangement is in the best interests of the Company and that the Arrangement is fair and reasonable to the Shareholders, for the reasons described in the news release of the Company dated June 27, 2025 and the Circular. Accordingly, the Board unanimously recommends that Securityholders vote FOR the Arrangement Resolution. The Company also recommends that Shareholders vote FOR each of the annual and general items of business described in the Circular.

Securityholders are encouraged to vote well in advance of the proxy cut-off time of 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on August 26, 2025. In light of a potential Canada Post labour strike, the Company is encouraging Securityholders to access the Meeting Materials electronically. The Company will deliver, by email, a copy of the Meeting Materials to any Securityholder who requests a copy thereof without charge. Please direct such requests to investors@banxa.com.

If you have any questions or need assistance in your consideration of the items of business described in the Circular or with the completion and delivery of your form of proxy or voting instruction form, please contact the Company at investors@banxa.com. If you have any questions or need assistance with the delivery of your Shares and letter of transmittal, please contact TSX Company Trust by telephone at +1-416-342-1091 or +1-866-600-5869 (North American Toll Free), by e-mail at tsxtis@tmx.com, or by mail at the address specified in your letter of transmittal.

About Banxa Holdings Inc.

Banxa is the leading infrastructure provider for enabling embedded crypto - empowering businesses to embed crypto seamlessly into their existing platforms and unlocking new opportunities in the rapidly evolving crypto economy. Through an extensive and growing network of global and local payment solutions and regulatory licenses, Banxa helps businesses provide seamless integration of crypto and fiat for global audiences with lower fees and higher conversion rates. Headquartered in the USA, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the Banxa team is building for a world where global commerce is run on digital assets. For further information visit www.banxa.com.

For further information, please contact:

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information may be identified by statements including words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "budget," "believe," "project," "estimate," "expect," "scheduled," "forecast," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "to be," "could,", "would," "should," "will" and similar references to future periods or the negative or comparable terminology, as well as terms usually used in the future and the conditional. Statements including forward-looking information may include, without limitation, statements regarding the Arrangement and the conditions to the completion thereof, the details of the Meeting, and other statements that are not material facts. Forward-looking information is based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including but not limited to, that the Company will receive, in a timely manner and on satisfactory terms, the necessary court, shareholder and regulatory approvals, and otherwise be able to satisfy, in a timely manner, all other conditions to the completion of the Arrangement. The Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable in the circumstances. However, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. By its nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of the Company's control which may cause actual results to differ materially from any future or potential results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking information include, among others: (i) the possibility of adverse reactions or changes in business resulting from the announcement of the Arrangement; (ii) risks relating to the Company's ability to retain and attract key personnel during the interim period leading up to the completion of the Arrangement; (iii) risks related to diverting management's attention from the Company's ongoing business operations; and (iv) other risks inherent to the business carried out by the Company and factors beyond its control which could have a material adverse effect on the Company or its ability to conduct the Meeting as contemplated and/or complete the Arrangement. The Company has assumed that the risk factors referred to above will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260999

SOURCE: Banxa Holdings Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Sanatana Resources Inc. (TSXV: STA) ("Sanatana" or the "Company") has entered into a market making services agreement (the "Agreement") with Independent Trading Group (ITG), Inc. ("ITG"), effective August 1, 2025. Under the Agreement, ITG will provide market-making services to the Company (the "Services") in accordance with the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). The Services will include trading shares of the Company on the TSXV with the objective of maintaining a reasonable market and improving the liquidity of the Company's shares.

The Agreement is for an initial term of one month (the "Initial Term") and will automatically renew for subsequent periods of one month after the Initial Term (each subsequent renewal being an "Additional Term"). The Agreement may be terminated if either party provides written notice of termination to the other party at least 30 days prior to the end of the Initial Term or Additional Term. As consideration for the Services, the Company will pay ITG a cash fee of $5,000 (plus all applicable taxes), payable on the first business day of every month for the duration of the Agreement.

There are no performance obligations contained in the Agreement, and ITG will not receive common shares, stock options, or any other form of equity in the Company as compensation. ITG and the Company are arm's length, unrelated and unaffiliated entities and at the time of the Agreement, neither ITG nor its principals have an interest, directly or indirectly, in the securities of the Company.

About Independent Trading Group (ITG), Inc.

Independent Trading Group (ITG), Inc. is a Toronto based CIRO dealer-member that specializes in market making, liquidity provision, agency execution, ultra-low latency connectivity, and bespoke algorithmic trading solutions. Established in 1992, with a focus on market structure, execution and trading, ITG has leveraged its own proprietary technology to deliver high quality liquidity provision and execution services to a broad array of public issuers and institutional investors. ITG's head office is located at 33 Yonge Street, Suite 420, Toronto, Ontario, M5E 1G4.

About Sanatana Resources Inc.

Sanatana Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on high-impact properties in Canada. With an award-winning technical team and experienced management and board of directors, Sanatana is based in Vancouver and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: STA).

SANATANA RESOURCES INC.

(signed) "Peter Miles"

Peter Miles

Chief Executive Officer

To be added to the email distribution list, please email ir@sanatanaresources.com with "Sanatana" in the subject line.

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This news 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. Such forward-looking information may involve but is not limited to, statements with respect to the engagement of ITG, including the duration of such engagement.

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 mineral exploration generally and results from anticipated and proposed exploration programs, 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 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.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in 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/261067

SOURCE: Sanatana Resources Inc.
Lam Capital Joins Funding Round Alongside Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron

TAIPEI, Aug. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zettabyte, a fast-growing innovator in AI data center infrastructure software, today jointly announced a new strategic investment by Lam Capital, the corporate venture arm of Lam Research Corp., a global supplier of innovative wafer fabrication equipment and services for the semiconductor industry. The funding round also included participation from Wistron, Foxconn and Pegatron.

Zettabyte is transforming the AI compute landscape with its turnkey GPU cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) to enable next-generation AI data centers. The company's proprietary Zware platform unifies the entire AI infrastructure software stack-from networking to full cluster management. Zware advanced liquid cooling enables a sovereign systems architecture with a focus on cybersecurity, efficiency, and scalability.

Lam Capital's participation in the round alongside other prominent investors underscores the increasing importance of AI infrastructure as demand for GPU computing continues to outpace supply in the generative AI era. Zettabyte's vertically integrated software-hardware model is purpose built to address this supply-demand gap, optimizing every layer of AI compute environments.

"Zettabyte operates at the intersection of two megatrends: AI and infrastructure," said Kevin Chen, managing director at Lam Capital. "This investment highlights the importance of supporting the advancement of next-generation AI data center infrastructure solutions to enable the next wave of innovation across the semiconductor ecosystem."

The funding round will support Zettabyte in its global expansion efforts and help accelerate the development of Zsuite. Built for end-to-end optimizations and IaaS, Zsuite is designed to significantly reduce total cost of ownership for enterprise and public-sector customers.

"We are honored to welcome Lam Capital as a strategic investor," said Kenneth Tai, Chairman of Zettabyte. "Their support validates our mission to reimagine AI infrastructure from the ground up-merging performance, efficiency, and sovereignty in a unified platform."

About Zettabyte

Zettabyte is a global leader in AI data center infrastructure and full-stack GPU software. Its flagship product, Zware, delivers optimized AI computing through custom hardware, advanced cooling, and software-defined orchestration.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2493156/Zettabyte_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/global-ai-data-center-infrastructure-leader-zettabyte-receives-strategic-investment-from-lam-capital-302520005.html
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Linear Minerals Corp. ("Linear" or the "Company") (CSE:LINE)(OTCQB:LINMF)(WKN:A2J C89)) (the "Company") announces the Plan of Arrangement Agreement dated for reference August 1, 2025 (the "Arrangement") to spin out its Pontax West Lithium Property located in the Province of Quebec to the Company's subsidiary Westlinear Minerals Corp. ("Spinco").

Under the terms of the Arrangement, the Company's shareholders will be issued one share of Spinco with respect to every 10 shares of the Company owned on the share distribution record date (the "Share Distribution Record Date"), which will be determined by the Company's Board of Directors and announced by a news release in advance.

Holders of the Company options and warrants, who exercise their options and/or warrants before the Share Distribution Record Date, will also be entitled to receive one share of Spinco with respect to every 10 shares of the Company. The Pontax West Lithium Property will be transferred to Spinco.

Upon completion of the Arrangement, the Company shareholders will ultimately own shares in two public companies: the Company, which will be focused on other properties and Spinco, which will focus on the Pontax West Lithium Property.

Completion of the Arrangement is subject to a number of conditions, including the following:

the approval by the shareholders of the Company by a special resolution at a special meeting (the "Meeting" );

the approval of the Supreme Court of British Columbia; and

the acceptance of the Arrangement by the Canadian Securities Exchange.

The Arrangement cannot be completed until all the above conditions are met. A copy of the Arrangement will be posted on www.sedarplus.ca under the profile of the Company.

Additional details regarding the Arrangement will be included in the information circular of the Company, which will be mailed to the shareholders of the Company prior to the Meeting.

On behalf of the board of directors.

"Gurminder Sangha"

CEO, Director

For further information, please contact the Company at: info@linearminerals.com

Forward Looking Statements

When used in this news release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Although the Company believes, in light of the experience of their respective officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the parties can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements and information in this news release include, amongst others, the Company's plans regarding the Arrangement and exploration plans. Such statements and information reflect the current view of the Company. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others: currency fluctuations; limited business history of the parties; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operation activities and development of projects; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs; shareholder, court and regulatory approvals; and general development, market and industry conditions.

The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of its securities or its financial or operating results (as applicable). The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. The Company does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

SOURCE: Linear Minerals Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/oil-gas-and-energy/linear-minerals-corp.-announces-spin-out-of-the-pontax-west-lithium-property-to-1055776
LaPrairie, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - August 1, 2025) - Margaux Real Estate Investment Trust (TSXV: ALFA.UN) ("Margaux" or the "Trust") is pleased to announce the successful closing of a key acquisition involving a fully operational self-storage facility located on Boulevard Laurier West in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

The transaction, originally disclosed in a press release dated June 6, 2025, was finalized this week with a purchase price of $4,675,000 CAD, paid entirely in cash at closing. The seller, Placements San Inc., is an unrelated third party.

The property comprises a 120,000 sq. ft. parcel of land improved with two purpose-built commercial buildings totaling approximately 30,000 sq. ft., which house 163 climate-controlled self-storage units. Based on vendor disclosures, the facility generates approximately $420,000 in annualized revenues, with an estimated net operating income exceeding $300,000, representing an attractive going-in capitalization rate of approximately 6.4%.

"This acquisition aligns perfectly with our strategic mandate to assemble a high-yielding portfolio of self storage real estate assets across Quebec," said Michel Lassonde, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Margaux. "We believe this property will contribute meaningful cash flow to the Trust starting immediately, while reinforcing our presence in the self-storage sector."

Luc Poirier, President and Chief Operating Officer of Margaux, added: "The Saint-Hyacinthe acquisition showcases our disciplined underwriting approach and our ability to act decisively on opportunities in strong regional markets. This is an operational asset with proven performance and upside potential, and we are excited to bring it under the Margaux banner."

The acquisition was brokered by KW Urbain, which acted as real estate intermediary on behalf of the Trust. The lead broker was Mr. Wassim Labateya, a licensed real estate broker and also an officer of Margaux. Mr. Labateya will receive a standard brokerage commission of 1% of the purchase price paid by the seller. He holds a non-controlling, minority interest in KW Urbain.

This transaction marks Margaux's entry into the Saint-Hyacinthe market and represents a key milestone in its expansion strategy within the Monteregie region as the Trust owns self storage facilities in Drummondville, Roxton Pond (near Granby) and Cowansville (near Bromont).

About Margaux REIT

Margaux Real Estate Investment Trust (TSXV: ALFA.UN) is a Quebec-based REIT focused on acquiring and operating self storage real estate across the province. It is the only Canadian listed REIT in the self-storage space and it is a pure-play. The Trust pursues assets offering stable cash flow, long-term growth potential, and operational resilience.

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in the Company's periodic reports including the annual report or in the filing made by Margaux from time to time with securities regulatory authorities.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR OVER U.S. NEWSWIRES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/261072

SOURCE: Margaux Real Estate Investment Trust
Son of Sardaar 2 is back with its ensemble cast including Ajay Devgn, Ravi Kishan, Sanjay Mishra, Mrunal Thakur, Neeru Bajwa, Chunky Panday, Kubbra Sait, Deepak Dobriyal, Vindu Dara Singh, Roshni Walia, Sharat Saxena, Sahil Mehta, and a posthumous appearance by the late Mukul Dev. But is the film worth watching? Read the review below:

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Mrunal Thakur, Ravi Kishan, Neeru Bajwa, Deepak Dobriyal, Kubbra Sait, Chunky Panday, Sharat Saxena, Mukul Dev, Vindu Dara Singh and Sanjay Mishra

Director: Vijay Kumar Arora

Sometimes, I wonder why Bollywood makes such movies. We dont need star-studded films like Son of Sardaar 2. We need good stories and good craftsmen. Filmmakers need to understand that audiences have evolved; they know what is good cinema and what is bad cinema. They are literate enough to differentiate between the two. So, do not underestimate or take your audiences for granted, dear Bollywood. And let me tell you, nobody, literally nobody, is star-struck.

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A still from Son of Sardaar 2

You think you will give us some good-looking faces, foreign destinations, and some overage stars who dont even know what age-appropriate acting is, and we will be happy? Is that what you think? Just forget it. Audiences today are way more intelligent than what you think them to be. They have got exposure to good cinema, and they definitely know what you are feeding us is sheer garbage. And those Indo-Pakistan jokes didnt make any sense or add any value to the film.

Directed by Vijay Kumar Arora, the film is a sequel to Ajay Devgn and Sonakshi Sinha starrer Son of Sardaar, which was supposedly a 2012 hit. But _Son of Sardaar 2_ is cringe; its not even a comedy. It just shows a low sense of humour. While watching the film, I asked a well-known trade expert who was sitting right behind me as to why does Bollywood make movies like this? To which he said, To make us laugh. Honestly, our sense of humour is way superior, and this kind of distasteful movie can never make us laugh. This film is just snore worthy, and those tacky scenes are just disgusting.

Ajay Devgn is in the titular role and this time he is paired with Mrunal Thakur. It looks like in Bollywood male actors refuse to age or even attempt to do age-appropriate movies. Wonder why Mrunal Thakur even agreed to sign in for this?

The story in a nutshell is about Jassi ( Ajay Devgn) and his life. From falling for jootha pyaar, getting tangled with four crazy women, and getting caught in the crossfire of the mafia to being stuck with Bebe da vaada  Jassis life is a ticking time bomb of chaos and comedy, which hardly makes any sense.

Ravi Kishan in Son of Sardaar 2

The only actors performance which was worth watching is Ravi Kishan. This actor truly knows his craft and makes even a badly written mindlessly scripted film watchable. But again, a man who has done such brilliant performances in the past like Kiran Raos directorial film Laapataa Ladies and Netflixs _Maamla Legal Hai_, why did he even agree to be part of this project which has such a bogus storyline. Deepak Dobriyal does a brilliant job too as a trans woman from Pakistan settled in England. But, alas everything falls flat because of bad script and execution.

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I totally hated the cringe-worthy pairing of Ajay Devgn (56) and Mrunal Thakur (33). Too many good actors were not utilised or even given a decent screen time in this film. Son of Sardaar 2 is unnecessarily noisy and boring to the power of infinity_._ The movie is all about the hero (Ajay Devgn). And Chunky Pandey, what were you even doing in this film? This movie is nothing but an insult to the audiences intellect. My dear Bollywood filmmakers, what worked in 2012 is not going to work in 2025! So, think sharp, think hard, and come up with something better next time.

Rating: 1 and half out of 5

WATCH the trailer of Son of Sardaar 2 here:
The United States has taken aim at Indias relationship with Russia yet again in the backdrop of trade talks stalling. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed India had not been a great global actor and that the entire trade team and President Donald Trump were frustrated. But what about Washington and the EUs trade relationship with Moscow?

US President Donald Trump is said to be frustrated with India over the trade deal. Reuters

The United States has fired fresh shots at India over its relationship with Russia.

On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed India had not been a great global actor. Bessent said the entire trade team including US President Donald Trump were frustrated with India.

This comes in the backdrop of Trump announcing a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods plus a penalty for India buying crude oil from Russia. Some see this as a pressure tactic from the US president after trade talks which have seemingly stalled.

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But what happened? What did Bessent and others say? And how much trade do the US and Europe do with Russia?

What happened?

The United States on Thursday, evidently frustrated with the status of the trade talks, took aim at India once again.

Well, I dont know whats going to happen. It will be up to India. India came to the table early. Theyve been slow rolling things. So I think that the President, the whole trade team, has been frustrated with them, Bessent said.

He pointed out that India had been purchasing large quantities of crude oil from Russia, which has been under sanction from the West.

Russia over the years has been selling crude oil to India at a discount  which has resulted in New Delhi saving billions.

Bessent wasnt alone.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also slammed India, Saying that New Delhi buying oil from Moscow was funding its Ukraine war.

Rubio said this was a point of irritation for the United States.

Look, global trade  India is an ally. Its a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, youre not going to align 100 per cent of the time on everything, Rubio told Fox Radio.

Rubio said it was unfortunate that Indias oil purchases continue to fund Russias Ukraine operations.

Bessent and Rubios remarks came after Trump earlier took to social media to slam India and Russia, saying they can take their dead economies down together.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Reuters

I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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Trump added that India has always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia.

They are Russias largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, he added.

Trumps remarks have not gone down well in India.

Which makes sense considering that both the United States and Europe continue to trade with Russia.

How much trade does US do with Russia?

First lets look at the United States trade relationship with Russia.

Though the trade relationship has been in steady decline ever since Moscows invasion of Kyiv in 2022, it hasnt stopped completely.

In 2022, the US imported goods worth $15 billion from Russia.

As of May 2025, the US imports from Russia were at $2.1 billion.

This included imports of $196 million in January, $339 million in February, $523 million in March, $492 million in April, and $539 million in May.

The US imported fertilisers, precious metals, inorganic chemicals, wood products, and some machinery from Russia.

Meanwhile, the US exports to Russia were valued at around $230 million through May 2025.

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Photo of President Vladimir Putin released by the Kremlin

In 2024, Washington imported goods worth around $3 billion from Moscow  a decrease of 34 per cent from 2023.

Still, its monthly imports from Russia hit a high of $438.5 million in May 2024.

The US exports to Russia in 2024 were $526.1 million, down 12.3 percent from around $600 million 2023.

The US mainly sent Russia transportation and telecommunication equipment.

The two countries trade deficit was at $2.5 billion in 2024, a decrease of 37.5 per cent from 2023 when the deficit was at $4 billion.

While many products are under sanctions, the US continues to import fertilisers, non-ferrous metals and inorganic chemicals from Russia.

Fertilisers, at $1.30 billion, made up the major chunk of imports from Russia in 2024.

The US also imported non-ferrous materials worth $876.5 million and inorganic chemicals worth $683 million in 2024.

The US also imported wood products ($89.44 million), and some machinery ($80 million) and precious metals and stones from Russia in 2024.

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What about the EU and Russia?

At the start of 2022, Russia was a major trading partner of the EU.

However, trade between Russia and EU has also been on a decline ever since the Ukraine war.

Trade has fallen from $283.3 billion in 2022 to $74.3 billion in 2024.

The EUs imports from Russia have shrunk from $105.6 billion in 2022 to $39.5 billion in 2024.

The EUs exports to Russia decreased from $177.7 billion in 2022 to $34.7 billion in 2024.

The trade deficit, which was at $72.1 billion in 2022, has fallen to $4.8 billion in 2024.

The decline has mainly been in fossil fuelsespecially crude oil, pipeline gas, and refined petroleum  after the US-led West imposed sanctions on Russian oil and gas in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion.

While the European Union has announced it will stop importing Russian gas by 2027, the bloc is by no means united on the matter.

The EU and Russia continue to trade in fertilisers, LNG and metals and raw materials.

It is also important to note that despite the decline, many European nations remain hooked on Russian gas and LNG.

Slovakia and Hungary, who are openly pro-Moscow, still import Russian crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline.

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Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria continue to import Russian pipeline gas via TurkStream and Balkans.

While the European Union has announced it will stop importing Russian gas by 2027, the bloc is by no means united.

Experts say that for many nations in the EU, getting completely off Russian gas will not be easy  or cheap. They express scepticism that it can be done within a few years.

India and China hit back

India initially responded to Trumps tariffs by saying it has taken note and is studying its implications.

India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective. The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.

The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK, the government said.

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However, after Trumps social media post, India has hit back at the US, telling Washington that it is no longer interested in buying the F-35s.

India has consistently said it will put its national interest above all else and pointed to the Wests double standards when it comes to dealing with Russia.

Chinas deputy permanent representative to the UN Geng Shuang slammed Washington on Thursday saying that the US itself continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day.

Why should it be acceptable for the US to do so, but not for others? Isnt this only allowing oneself to set fires while forbidding others from lighting lamps? Geng said at a UN Security Council meeting.

With inputs from agencies
A war of words erupted on Thursday between US President Donald Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, after Trump called on Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine and later said that India and Russia could take their dead economies down together. Notably, Medvedev, who has previously served as both president and prime minister of Russia, is currently the deputy head of the countrys security council

Medvedev is a former President and Prime Minister of Russia. Reuters/File Photo

A war of words broke out on Thursday between Donald Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after the US President said that India and Russia could take their dead economies down together.

Earlier that day, Trump posted that he was not concerned about India, one of Moscows biggest oil buyers along with China, did with Russia.

ALSO READ | The countries worst hit by Trump tariffs: Is India on the list?

He also announced a 25 per cent tariff on India, along with an additional but unspecified penalty over its defence and energy deals with Russia.

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What followed was a major showdown between Trump and Medvedev.

But who is Dmitry Medvedev? And what happened during his clash with Donald Trump?

Lets take a look:

Who is Dmitry Medvedev?

Medvedev is a former President and Prime Minister of Russia, and currently serves as the deputy head of the countrys security council.

He was once Vladimir Putins prime minister before stepping into the role of president from 2008 to 2012, acting as a placeholder while Putin was barred from a third consecutive term under Russian law.

Medvedev has since become a strong supporter of Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine, often taking to social media to express his views.

This is not the first time Medvedev and Donald Trump have clashed online.

Medvedevs political career has seen many shifts over the years.

In 2008, when he took over as president, he spoke of modernising Russia, encouraged more openness, and often shared his interest in blogging and technology. He once visited Silicon Valley and was handed a new iPhone 4 by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Medvedev hit out at Trump after the US President demanded that Russia agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Reuters/File Photo

His shift in image at the time was seen as an effort to remain politically relevant in a country that had become more closed and rigid over the years.

When Putin stepped aside in 2008 due to constitutional limits on his term, he became prime minister and selected Medvedev, an ally since 2000, to succeed him.

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Gleb Pavlovsky, a former Kremlin adviser, told The Guardian, Someone with ideas would probably have got rid of Putin pretty quickly, and Putin didnt want to risk that. Medvedev fit the bill as a dependent person. He tried to fit in with the consensus, just as he is trying to fit in now.

Though he held the top job, Medvedev was seen as junior to Putin. However, his style was different. He openly talked about his love for rock music and new technology, often tweeting and blogging.

He also found some support within the Kremlin, with parts of the elite backing the idea of him serving a second term.

According to people close to him, Medvedev became increasingly focused on winning another term. He even had a few public disagreements with Putin, including one over Russias decision to abstain from a UN vote on Libya, according to The Guardian.

At one point, there was talk of Medvedev starting a new political party, and influential figures like Kremlin strategist Vladislav Surkov encouraged him to run for a second term.

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But during a fishing trip in 2011, Putin reportedly told Medvedev he would be returning as president. Medvedev agreed and requested to remain prime minister, possibly still hoping for a return to the presidency after another four years.

In later years, rumours about Medvedevs growing alcohol use began to circulate in Moscow, the report said.

In 2020, Putin asked him to step down as prime minister. He was then given a symbolic post as deputy chair of the security council.

ALSO READ | Trumps tariffs and Russia penalty: How much does India depend on Moscow?

Medvedev vs Trump explained

The former Russian president hit out at Donald Trump after the US President demanded that Russia agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump referred to Russia and India as dead economies and said his warning to raise tariffs on New Delhi would go ahead.

Trump said, I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.

He added, We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way.

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On Tuesday, Trump had warned that the United States would bring in more sanctions against Russia in 10 days if it did not take steps to end the ongoing war, now in its third year.

Medvedev mocked the warning, calling it a theatrical ultimatum and saying each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.

In a post just after midnight on Wednesday, Trump hit back at Medvedev, calling him the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words.

Hes entering very dangerous territory! Trump wrote.

Medvedev responded by saying Trumps reaction showed that Russia was on the right path and should continue with its current policies.

If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path, Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

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He also warned Trump to remember how dangerous the fabled Dead Hand can be, referring to a secretive Russian system that could launch nuclear missiles if the countrys leaders were wiped out in an enemy strike.

With inputs from agencies
US President Donald Trump now seems to be fed up with Vladimir Putin, whom he had praised incessantly in the past, over the Ukraine war. He is also struggling to get a handle on Gaza, which many people around the world have for months claimed is a genocide, amid visuals and reports about people facing mass starvation. Yet, he has succeeded in negotiating some ceasefires. So, what explains his failures in Ukraine and Gaza?

US President Donald Trump has taken a harsher line on Vladimir Putin recently. Reuters File

Donald Trump surprised many by giving Vladimir Putin just 10 days to reach a peace deal with Ukraine.

Trumps original 50-day deadline was panned by many including leaders of Nato nations and Republicans.

However, Trump now seems to be fed up with Putin, whom he had praised incessantly in the past, over the Ukraine war.

Trump is also struggling to get a handle on Gaza, which many people around the world have for months claimed is a genocide, amid visuals and reports about people facing mass starvation.

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However, Trump has had some successes. For example, the Trump government in June managed to broker a ceasefire between Rwanda and Congo.

Trump also announced he had urged the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand to come to a ceasefire in July.

What explains this?

So, whats the reason behind his failures to bring peace to Ukraine and Gaza?

Trump has been successful in cases where he has leverage. For example, Trump Clearly told Thailand in Cambodia that there would be no trade negotiations until the ceasefire was reached,

However, when it comes to Ukraine, Trump does not have any leverage over Putin . Russia has already brushed aside the threat of sanctions. Besides, Trump has done little to follow through on his threats.

The intricacies involved in the Ukraine and Gaza situations may also be a factor. Trump, for example, seems to still be entertaining the notion of striking a deal with China and Russia to limit each of their spheres of influence.

In West Asia, Trump needs to tread carefully given Americas current alliance with Israel. He also needs to take into account his Maga base and their motivations.

(File) US President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, April 7, 2025. Reuters

Conversely, the Rwanda-Congo deal was a simpler matter. Trump brokered the peace in exchange for US investors getting access to the DRCs minerals.

The third and final factor is that simpler solutions are easier to achieve. Thailand and Cambodia can simply revert to type.

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It is ultimately also in the interests of the conflict parties. They have had a chance to make their violent statements and reinforce what they will and wont tolerate from the other side. The required investment by an external mediator to end battles that have achieved what the warring sides want anyway  to avoid further escalation  is consequently quite limited.

Attention to detail

Bringing peace to Ukraine and West Asia also requires prolonged engagement and attention to detail. These conflicts are at a stage in which a return to how things were before is not in the interests of the parties or their external backers.

Nudging warring parties along on the path to agreement under such conditions requires a well-designed process, which is absent in Ukraine and failing in Gaza.

Thanks to funding and personnel cuts, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, is now required to perform multiple roles. Trump relies on personal envoys with at best limited foreign policy expertise, while insisting he makes all the decisions.

This ultimately suggests that the White House simply may not have the bandwidth for the level of engagement that would be necessary to get to a deal in Ukraine and the Middle East.

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This is a self-inflicted opportunity lost, not only for the United States but also for the long-suffering people of Ukraine and West Asia.

Stefan Wolff is a professor of International Security, University of Birmingham

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Pakistan, it seems, has sold a dream to Donald Trump. Earlier, the US president said he had signed a deal with Islamabad to develop massive oil reserves. But what does the data reveal about its oil reserves and its potential?

A labourer pulls his cart laden with empty oil drums in Rawalpindi. According to Worldometer data, Pakistan had 353.5 million barrels of proven oil reserves as of 2016. File image/AFP

I think they may have some illusions about finding oil in Pakistan. And I wish them luck, said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday (July 31) hours after Donald Trump said that the United States had struck a deal with Pakistan and together they would be developing the countrys massive oil reserves, in what he described as a major energy partnership.

The Congress leaders remarks have led to many feeling sceptical about Pakistans oil reserves. They point to the countrys petrol prices; Pakistanis have to shell out a whopping Rs 264.61 per litre.

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So, the question that everyone is asking is  is Islamabad selling Trump an oil deal after a Nobel deal? Can this dream actually turn into reality?

Trump announces Pakistan oil deal

On Wednesday (July 30), Trump on Truth Social announced that his administration had just finalised a big deal with Pakistan. We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves.

The US president then added, We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership. Who knows, maybe theyll be selling oil to India some day! Trump said.

It is not immediately clear what massive oil reserves in Pakistan Trump was referring to. Interestingly, the move came just after the US president announced a 25 per cent tariff and a Russian penalty on friend India.

Following Trumps declaration, Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the agreement between Islamabad and Washington, terming it as historic. In a social media post, Prime Minister Sharif said, I wish to convey my profound thanks to President Trump @realDonaldTrump for his leadership role in finalisation of the historic US-Pakistan trade agreement, successfully concluded by our two sides in Washington, last night.

This landmark deal will enhance our growing cooperation so as to expand the frontiers of our enduring partnership in days to come, he said.

Pakistans oil reserves  fact vs fiction

This deal has shifted the focus on Pakistans oil reserves. So, how much oil does Pakistan actually have?

As per the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and Worldometer data, Pakistans conventional crude oil reserves stands at 353.5 million barrels as of 2016. This puts the country on the 52nd position on the list of countries with petroleum in the world.

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To put Pakistans numbers in perspective, it is just 0.021 per cent of the global oil reserves. In fact, Venezuela, with the worlds largest crude oil reserves, has 3,03,221 million barrels, as per OPEC data.

Even Indias crude oil reserves are much more than Pakistan; it has around 4.9 billion barrels of oil reserves, ranking among the top 25 globally.

Pakistan is on the 52nd position on the list of countries with petroleum in the world. Representational image/Reuters

Experts state that based on current consumption in Pakistan  it consumes about 556,000 barrels per day  these reserves would cover less than two years of domestic demand if the country does not import oil.

However, it seems that Pakistan has sold Trump on new discoveries of oil reserves. But theres no way to confirm the veracity of these claims, which date back to 2019. Then Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a possible massive find only for the Petroleum Division to deny it, saying the drill did not yield the desired results.

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But since then other claims of reserves have emerged. Earlier in June, Pakistans state-owned Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) announced that it discovered a new reserve in Kharo at its Faakir-1 wildcat well in the Sindh province. According to officials, this reserve has a potential to yield 6.4 million cubic feet of gas and 55 barrels per day of condensate.

Last year too, a similar discovery had been made in Lakki Marwat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Officials said that it found gas and condensate reserves with initial production of 2.114 million cubic feet of gas and 74 barrels of crude oil per day. There was also another field in Attock, Punjab to have similar reserves.

Moreover, last September, Pakistans Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) said a major three-year survey, conducted with the help of a friendly country, confirmed the presence of large oil and gas reserves in the countrys territorial waters.

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However, these claims arent substantiated. No commercial drilling has confirmed the presence of these resources. In fact, experts in an Economic Times report noted that these are not reserves in the technical sense, as they lack development plans, proven recoverability, or commercial viability.

Challenges galore

But even if these reserves are real, there are some serious challenges in tapping them.

Some experts note that it would take $5 billion and around four to five years just to confirm and begin development of these sites. Pakistans former energy minister Mohammad Ali Arif, according to a report in The Print, said Pakistan has an estimated 235 trillion cubic feet of gas, yet extracting just 10 per cent over the next decade could require up to $30 billion. Arif cautioned that it is wishful thinking until the prospects for the reserves are analysed and the drilling process begins.

Moreover, Pakistans ongoing economic crisis makes development of these sites even more difficult. Theres also the security and political situation to consider in the matter. International companies may be hesitant to invest owing to the instability in the country  as of now, only China and Turkey have shown any interest at all.

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In recent years, four major oil and gas companies have announced their departure from Pakistan. Italys ENI exited in 2021 after two decades, while Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company sold its assets in multiple blocks to Pakistan Exploration Limited (PEL) in late 2024. Shell sold its majority stake in Shell Pakistan in 2023 and TotalEnergies announced its Pakistan exit in late 2024.

An employee fills the tank of a motorbike at a fuel station in Islamabad. Trumps deal has put a spotlight on Pakistans oil reserves. File image/AFP

Experts Speak

While it remains unknown where and how Trump and Pakistan will further this deal, it prompted many a reactions in India.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor led the pack, mocking Trump and the US for their decision. We were one country at one time, and I have not seen any reports that there was any oil to be found in Pakistan. But if the Americans want to look, let them look, Tharoor said.

Indias former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal also questioned Trump on the deal, posting on X, Already the US is the biggest oil producer and has production interests in major oil producing countries, so what is his interest in exploring oil in Pakistan?

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Even China, entrenched in Pakistan, and a huge oil importer, has not announced any plans for oil production in Pakistan.

Other geopolitical analysts also raised questions about the US-Pakistan oil deal. It doesnt impress anyone for there are no proven offshore or onshore oil reserves in Pakistan, Sharat Sabharwal, former Indian Foreign Service officer and former diplomat to Pakistan, told the New Indian Express.

Swathi Kalyani, geospatial researcher at Bengaluru-based think tank, The Takshashila Institution, also told the New Indian Express, that the deal remains unclear. While there are claims about surveys done regarding offshore oil reserves in India, there is no publicly available data currently to validate the same for Pakistan If we compare the proven oil reserves, Indias global position is 23rd, much ahead of Pakistans 52.

With inputs from agencies
On August 1, US tariffs kick off across the world including India. Air India will restore over 525 weekly flights after the Ahmedabad crash in June. Heres what else to expect

US President Donald Trump holds a chart next to US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick as Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 2, 2025. File Image/Reuters

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August kicks off with major developments across India and the world.

The United States deadline to avoid substantial tariffs will reach its deadline today.

Air India cautiously resumes international flights after Junes fatal crash, and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will brief on his Axiom Mission 4 return.

Indias UPI rules tighten today, and Punjab launches the nations first antidrug school curriculum.

Meanwhile, American consumers kick off boycotts of Walmart and McDonalds.

US tariff deadline passes, 25% duty on India

Starting today, the United States will implement a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports, as confirmed by US President Donald Trump.

The move comes after months of stalled trade negotiations, particularly over issues such as market access for US agricultural products like corn, wheat, rice, and GM soybeans  sectors India has previously resisted opening due to domestic farmer concerns.

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US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick underlined that August 1 is a firm deadline with no extensions, dismissing any lastminute reprieve for India.

Trump also flagged an additional unspecified penalty linked to Indias ongoing Russian energy and defence purchases, citing them as ALL THINGS NOT GOOD.

Indias exports to the US stand around $87 billion in 2024, covering labour-intensive sectors such as apparel, pharmaceuticals, gemstones and petrochemicals. These sectors now face heightened exposure to reduced competitiveness.

The US trade deficit with India was approximately $45.7 billion, and the imposition threatens earlier bilateral targets to expand trade to $500 billion by 2030.

Air India to partially resume international flights

Following the June 12 crash of AI171 in Ahmedabad, in which 260 lives were lost, Air India initiated a voluntary safety pause to inspect its Boeing 787 and 777 fleets.

Investigations revealed fuel-switch malfunctions immediately posttakeoff.

Starting today, the airline will partially restore its international services with over 525 weekly flights across 63 routes, gradually scaling to full precrash levels by October 1.

Some routes, including AmritsarLondon and BengaluruSingapore, will continue reduced frequencies through September.

A new AhmedabadLondon route will debut as part of the phased recovery.

Affected passengers are being offered rebookings and refunds under the airlines recovery plan.

Axiom mission 4 postmission briefing with astronaut Shukla

Axiom Space has scheduled a press briefing today, featuring the returning Axiom Mission 4 (Ax4) crew: Commander Peggy Whitson, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla (representing India), and Mission Specialists Sawosz UznanskiWisniewski and Tibor Kapu.

Shukla, now designated as Astronaut No. 634 by NASA, flew aboard the SpaceX Dragon Grace and docked with the ISS on June 26, following multiple launch delays.

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The crew spent 2 weeks conducting over 60 experiments, including microgravity and human health research.

The mission marks Indias reentry into human spaceflight nearly 40 years after Rakesh Sharma.

The briefing is expected to cover key scientific outcomes, insights from Shuklas experience, and the broader significance of privatesector space cooperation.

NPCIs UPI reforms take effect

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will enact a new rulebook for UPI payments from today, aimed at reducing system failures, tampering risk, and peak hour overload.

The reforms come amid record usage: UPI volume reached Rs. 24.04 trillion in June alone. Key changes include:

Maximum 50 daily balance checks per user per UPI app.

Definition of peak hours: 10 am-1 pm and 5 pm-9:30 pm; during these times, balance enquiries and autopay transactions are restricted.

Autopay executive slots limited to nonpeak windows only.

Mandatory balance notifications after each transaction to reduce user queries.

Annual security audits and NPCI certification required for fintech service providers.

There is no change to payment amount caps per transaction; the changes are procedural safeguards rather than monetary limits.

An additional measure being explored: the introduction of optional biometric authentication (fingerprint or face scan) to replace PIN entry, aimed at reducing fraud and improving accessibility  though rollout timelines remain unspecified.

Punjab rolls out Indias first evidencebased antidrug school curriculum

Beginning today, Punjab will introduce the countrys first evidence-based drug prevention curriculum in all government schools across Classes IX to XII.

Developed through collaboration with JPAL South Asia, led by Nobel Laureate Prof. Abhijit Banerjee, the initiative aims to reach around 800,000 students across 3,658 schools.

The 27-week curriculum utilises biweekly 35-minute sessions, leveraging documentaries, quizzes, role-plays, and group activities to address peer pressure and dispel drug-related myths.

A pilot in Amritsar and Tarn Taran involving 9,600 students reportedly showed significant improvements in awareness and risk perception.

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Over 6,500 teachers have been trained to deliver the programme under the states Yudh Nashian De Virudh scheme.

US boycotts Walmart & McDonalds

Starting today, the US-based consumer advocacy group Peoples Union USA, led by John Schwarz, will initiate coordinated boycott campaigns targeting Walmart and McDonalds.

The campaigns protest corporate tax avoidance, stagnant wages, labour policies and rollbacks in DEI commitments.

These actions follow previous boycott efforts against Target earlier this year.

Organisers are urging the public to avoid purchases from these brands  especially on designated blackout days  and to prefer local businesses instead.

The boycott is timed to coincide with peak consumer activity, including back-to-school and holiday shopping periods.

Also Watch:

With inputs from agencies
Music Television (MTV) was launched on August 1, 1981, in New York and changed the history of music forever. MTV offered 24/7 music videos, introduced by a new breed of television personalities known as Video Jockeys (VJs)

The history of music changed forever on August 1, 1981, with the launch of a new television channel called Music Television (MTV) in New York City. The launch took place at 12:01 am with the airing of the first music video - Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.

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.

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On this day in 1944, Anne Frank, the most famous diarist of the World War era, wrote her final diary entry. Just three days later, the Secret Annexe in Amsterdam was discovered and raided by Nazi authorities.

Here is all that happened on this day.

MTV was launched in New York City

Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll, were the words with which John Lack, one of the creators of MTV, launched the music channel on August 1, 1981. This was followed by the airing of The Buggles Video Killed the Radio Star at 12:01 am.

Prior to its arrival, music videos were largely promotional tools without a dedicated platform for widespread viewing. MTV changed this by offering 24/7 programming of music videos, introduced by a new breed of television personalities known as Video Jockeys (VJs). The original five VJs were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, JJ Jackson, and Martha Quinn. They became instant celebrities, helping to shape the channels early identity.

MTV offered 24/7 programming of music videos. Representational image

It transformed unknown artists into household names, heavily influencing fashion, language, and youth culture in the 1980s and beyond. Artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and Duran Duran saw their careers explode thanks to high-rotation airplay on the network.

However, MTV also faced early criticism for lacking diversity in its music programming, which eventually shifted after public pressure and the breakthrough success of Michael Jacksons Billie Jean. Over the years, MTV expanded into reality television, pop culture shows, and award events, including the iconic MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) launched in 1984.

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Anne Frank writes her last diary entry

Anne Frank wrote for the last time in her beloved diary on this day in 1944, just three days before she and the rest of the people hiding in the Secret Annexe were discovered and sent to concentration camps.

Annes last entry in the diary, which she fondly called Kitty, doesnt speak of fear or doom but instead offers a deep reflection on her inner conflict. In it, she wrote about the contrast between her outward cheerful self and her more serious, anxious inner voice. She confessed to feeling torn between these two versions of herself, namely the playful girl others see and the thoughtful writer she longs to be. I know exactly how Id like to be, she wrote, how I am on the inside. But unfortunately, Im only like that for myself.

Otto Frank discovered Annes diary after her death and published it. File image/Reuters

This entry captures Annes profound self-awareness and emotional maturity. Despite the terrifying conditions she endured, she remained introspective, hopeful, and eager to understand herself and the world around her.

After the arrest, Anne was eventually transported to Auschwitz and later to Bergen-Belsen, where she died of typhus in early 1945, just weeks before the camp was liberated. Otto Frank, Annes father and the sole survivor of the eight people who hid in the annexe, later discovered her diary and published it with the title The Diary of a Young Girl in 1945.

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This Day, That Year

On this day in 1996, American author George RR Martin published his hugely famous book A Game of Thrones.

American boxer Mike Tyson was unanimously recognised as heavyweight champion after defeating Tony Tucker in 1987.

John F Kennedys bestseller Why England Slept was published in 1940.
Tokyos host clubs, where women pay big bucks for male companionship, is facing increased scrutiny. Authorities in Japan say some of these establishments are exploiting vulnerable women, luring them into heavy debts, emotional manipulation, and even coercing them into sex work

Passersby walk past in front of an illuminated advertising board of a gigolo club called "host club" in Kabukicho, Tokyo's biggest amusement district. File image/reuters

In the heart of Tokyos nightlife district, host clubs have long been a curious part of Japanese culture. Places where women pay big bucks to sip champagne and share flirtatious banter with sharply dressed young men who know exactly how to make them feel special.

But behind the glitz and fun, a darker side is coming to light.

Authorities in Japan are now cracking down on these clubs, saying some of them are exploiting vulnerable women, luring them into heavy debts, emotional manipulation, and even prostitution. With growing concern from victims groups, media, and police, the government is finally stepping in to regulate an industry many say has gone too far.

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Heres a look at what host clubs really are, why theyre under the scanner, and how the crackdown is affecting lives on both sides of the bar.

Inside the host club culture in Japan

Host clubs are nightlife venues where women pay to spend time with attractive, sharply dressed men, known as hosts, who shower them with attention, conversation, and drinks, often bought at highly inflated prices.

But these drinks dont come cheap. A simple bottle of sparkling water can cost as much as 6,000 yen (around Rs 3,500), and over-the-top champagne towers can run up tabs in the millions.

A male host waiting for customers at a host club in the Kabukicho area of Tokyo. File image/AFP

The hosts cultivate a sense of intimacy or romantic affection, often encouraging repeat visits and lavish spending via flattery, playful banter, and even messages that suggest affection.

John Reno, a popular host and owner of Club J in Tokyos red-light district Kabukicho, told _AFP, _Hosts used to employ intimacy primarily to entertain women. But according to him, things have changed.

Their mindset today is basically, If you love me, then dont complain, he said, suggesting that emotional manipulation has become more common. It silences women and exploits their emotional dependence.

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For some women, the connection with a host becomes a central part of their emotional world. In return, they may return night after night, spending tens of thousands of yen, sometimes going into debt to maintain the attention of their favourite host.

According to Arata Sakamoto, who runs the non-profit Rescue Hub in Kabukicho, many of these clients are not wealthy professionals, but vulnerable women seeking comfort and belonging.

Host clubs can face fines of up to 1.5m and the law now forbids tactics like pressuring clients with threats to deny access to their favourite host. File image/ AFP

To them, host clubs have become a place where they feel accepted, he told AFP. It reassures them that they can be who they are, albeit in exchange for money.

Why are authorities cracking down?

The Japanese government has begun cracking down on host clubs, following a growing number of complaints and police reports alleging emotional exploitation, financial manipulation, and in some cases, sex trafficking.

Under a new law that came into effect in June 2025, hosts are now prohibited from manipulating women into buying overpriced drinks by playing on their romantic feelings.

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The legislation specifically targets behaviour that threatens to end a relationship if a client refuses to spend more, something victims groups say has become common in recent years.

Its exactly the same as a religious cult, the way the clubs manipulate and brainwash the women. They use a manual to target women and give them their first visits free to rein them in, Founder Hidemori Gen said at Foreign Correspondents Club for Japan press conference in December 2024.

While high-flying businesswomen used to be the main clientele, girls with no place to be are increasingly seeking refuge, according to non-profit Rescue Hub. AFP

According to official data cited by AFP, host club-related police cases jumped from 2,100 in 2022 to 2,800 in 2024. These cases range from hosts ordering drinks without consent to more serious claims of coercion into prostitution.

Taiwans last comfort woman dies: The history of World War II sex slaves

Police say some hosts, facing pressure to meet sales targets, go as far as introducing cash-strapped clients to scouts. They are brokers who recruit women into the sex industry as a way to clear their debts.

One unnamed woman told The Japan Times she racked up 1.6 million yen in two months and later turned to sex work, earning up to 500,000 yen a month while sleeping in internet cafes. All that money went to the host, she said.

Authorities are also tightening regulations on host club marketing. Neon-lit billboards boasting No.1 host titles and flashy slogans like King or god are now banned. Police argue these rankings promote aggressive sales behaviour and unhealthy competition, encouraging hosts to push clients harder for money.

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Platina, one of Kabukichos most prominent host clubs, had to tape over promotional slogans on its signage in response.

Its been the aspiration of many hosts to be called No.1, earn a title, and become famous in this town, said Platinas owner, Ran Sena. Now, they dont even know what they should strive for.

Authorities are also tightening regulations on host club marketing. Neon-lit billboards boasting No.1 host titles and flashy slogans like King or god are now banned. AFP

For women, too, the rankings were a way to reassure themselves that the money they spent on their oshi (favourite) hosts was not in vain  proof they were helping them ascend in the cut-throat hosts industry.

I think the industry is heading towards decline, Sena said.

With input from agencies
China is increasing efforts to counter Elon Musks Starlink, the worlds largest satellite internet network. From attack satellites and lasers to building its own mega-constellation, Beijing sees Starlinks dominance and US military links as a major security risk. But with 8,000 satellites already in orbit, can China contain Starlink?

In this long exposure photo, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a payload of Starlink V2 Mini internet satellites lifts off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, late Sunday, July 23, 2023. File Image/AP

Chinas space strategists are increasingly focused on one name: Starlink.

The satellite internet network created by Elon Musks SpaceX has rapidly transformed from an ambitious tech project into an essential piece of global infrastructure, and Beijing now sees it as a major security challenge.

Starlinks impact has been swift and sweeping. Since the first launches in 2019, it has built the worlds largest low-Earth orbit satellite network.

Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell notes that Starlink now operates over 8,000 active satellites, amounting to nearly two-thirds of everything orbiting Earth, reported AP.

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SpaceX ultimately aims to deploy tens of thousands more  an unprecedented scale that no competitor has come close to matching.

That scale has translated into near-global coverage. Starlink beams internet to more than 140 countries, providing affordable, high-speed connections even in remote or hard-to-reach areas.

Recent expansions into Vietnam, Pakistan, Niger, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo underscore its reach.

In June, Starlink finally won approval to operate in India, overcoming years of regulatory hurdles and political resistance to open a market of 1.5 billion people.

There are only a handful of blind spots left on Starlinks map: North Korea, Iran and China.

For Beijing, the implications go far beyond commercial internet access.

Starlinks tight integration with US military operations has led Chinese researchers and government officials to see it as both a strategic threat and a symbol of American technological dominance.

In this long exposure photo, Starlink satellites are visible in the sky near Salgotarjan, Hungary, early Monday, November 25, 2019. File Image/MTI via AP

As the United States integrates Starlink technology into military space assets to gain a strategic advantage over its adversaries, other countries increasingly perceive Starlink as a security threat in nuclear, space, and cyber domains, wrote professors from Chinas National University of Defense Technology in a 2023 paper.

The Ukraine turning point

Concerns about Starlink escalated dramatically after Russias 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Starlink terminals became a critical tool for Ukraines military, allowing secure battlefield communications and controlling surveillance and attack drones.

The war revealed not only how effective Starlink could be in wartime, but also how much power rested in the hands of Musk himself.

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Because Starlink coverage could be extended  or withheld  by Musk, Ukrainian officials saw him as both an enabler and a gatekeeper.

He reportedly refused to extend Starlink service to support a Ukrainian counteroffensive into Crimea. For Chinese military planners, Ukraine was a clear warning.

If Starlink could tip the balance on one battlefield, it could also be used against them in any future conflict.

In this image from video provided by SpaceX, a Falcon 9 deploys Starlink satellites after it lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Space Force Station, November 13, 2021. File Image SpaceX via AP

Nearly all of the 64 academic papers on Starlink reviewed by the Associated Press in Chinese journals were published after the Ukraine war began, suggesting the conflict fundamentally shifted Chinas strategic approach to the technology.

Nitin Pai, co-founder of the Indian think tank Takshashila Institution, summed up the shift in thinking beyond Chinas borders, Ukraine was a warning shot for the rest of us. For the last 20 years, we were quite aware of the fact that giving important government contracts to Chinese companies is risky because Chinese companies operate as appendages of the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, its a risk because the Chinese Communist Party can use technology as a lever against you. Now its no different with the Americans.

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How Beijing is planning to counter Starlink

The studies coming out of China reveal just how seriously the country is taking the Starlink challenge  and how far its scientists are willing to go to neutralise it.

Some of the proposals seem straight out of science fiction: stealth submarines armed with lasers to blind satellites, attack satellites equipped with ion thrusters, and the use of corrosive materials to damage Starlinks solar panels or batteries.

Other suggestions are more grounded but no less aggressive. Engineers from the Peoples Liberation Army have explored ideas such as launching fleets of chaser satellites to shadow Starlink units and potentially interfere with them.

In this long exposure photo, a string of SpaceX StarLink satellites passes over an old stone house near Florence, Kansas, US, on May 6, 2021. File Image/AP

Researchers have also discussed using commercial optical telescopes to track the constellation and even deploying powerful ground-based lasers to burn out sensitive components.

Beyond direct attacks, some papers suggest indirect tactics  like sabotaging Starlinks supply chain.

A 2023 study by the government-backed China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team highlighted potential vulnerabilities in Starlinks production network.

The company has more than 140 first-tier suppliers and a large number of second-tier and third-tier suppliers downstream, the authors noted. The supervision for cybersecurity is limited.

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Other academics have pushed for using diplomacy and international regulations as tools to hem in Starlinks reach, while still keeping active countermeasures on the table.

One paper published in China carried a blunt title: Watch out for that Starlink.

Why the world is wary  not just China

China isnt alone in worrying about Starlinks growing clout. Some of Washingtons own allies have raised concerns about a global communications infrastructure dominated by a single private company and an unpredictable owner.

Musks personal and political entanglements have amplified those concerns. He poured tens of millions into United States President Donald Trumps reelection bid and briefly served as a government adviser before publicly breaking with Trump in May.

Musks influence has spilled into European politics as well, where he has used his platform to promote populist and hard-right voices.

US President-elect Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk explains the operations ahead of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, November 19, 2024, in Boca Chica, Texas. File Image/AP

Meanwhile, SpaceX continues to be intertwined with core US government functions. It launches military satellites, recovers stranded astronauts, and holds multi-billion-dollar contracts with Nasa and the National Reconnaissance Office.

That web of connections leaves many foreign governments uneasy about relying on Starlink for critical services.

Christophe Grudler, a French member of the European Parliament who spearheaded work on the EUs IRIS2 satellite project, voiced Europes strategic unease, We are allies with the United States of America, but we need to have our strategic autonomy. The risk is not having our destiny in our own hands.

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Competitors struggle to catch up

For all the anxiety Starlink has generated, no other player is close to matching its scale.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is building Project Kuiper, which launched its first internet satellites in April 2025. But Kuiper has only 78 satellites in orbit so far  a fraction of its planned 3,232.

OneWeb, based in London, has around 650 satellites, far below its initial ambitions.

The European Union is investing billions into its own IRIS2 constellation, but progress has been slow, forcing Brussels to ask member states to hold off on signing Starlink contracts until the EU system is ready.

Even Chinas own efforts are still in their early phases.

China builds its own mega-constellations

Recognising that it cannot simply block Starlink forever, Beijing is also racing to create a homegrown equivalent  one that would serve both national security needs and commercial ambitions abroad.

In 2021, the government created the state-owned China SatNet company to oversee the launch of a new constellation called Guowang.

The goal: 13,000 satellites. So far, 60 are operational.

The private sector is pitching in too. Shanghai-backed Qianfan has launched 90 satellites and plans a fleet of 15,000.

The company is already forging international partnerships, signing a deal with Brazil in November 2024 after Musk clashed publicly with a Brazilian judge who froze SpaceXs accounts in the country.

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Qianfan is also targeting customers in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, with ambitions to expand into Africa.

But despite these efforts, China remains far behind Musks constellation  and catching up will take years.

A new space race?

Starlinks dominance has effectively turned low-Earth orbit into a new arena for geopolitical competition.

Starlinks near-monopoly status gives SpaceX  and by extension, Musk  leverage that few private companies have ever wielded. With service spanning 140 countries, SpaceX can dictate the terms of connectivity for entire regions.

And because the same satellites that fly over China also pass over Europe, Ukraine, and the US, any attempt by Beijing to disrupt the constellation could have global consequences.

For Beijing, the challenge is twofold: neutralsze Starlinks potential as a tool of US military power and ensure China is not left dependent on foreign networks in the future.

That has triggered what amounts to a new space race  one not defined by who reaches the Moon first, but by who controls the flow of data across Earth.

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SpaceX, meanwhile, shows no sign of slowing down.

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With inputs from agencies
Turkey in May and June witnessed a huge drop when it comes to Indian tourists. This came after many had in India called for a boycott campaign after it backed Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. But what happened exactly? What do we know?

Turkey didnt offer Pakistan just verbal support  it also reportedly sent its ally unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which were used against India as well as drone operators.

Turkey during Indias Operation Sindoor expressed support for Pakistan. Now, Ankara is bearing the brunt of the fallout of its decision.

Turkey in June witnessed a huge drop when it comes to Indian tourists. This came after many had in India called for a boycott campaign after T urkey backed Pakistan during New Delhis response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

But what happened exactly? What do we know?

Lets take a closer look

What happened?

The number of Indian visitors to Turkey in May and June 2025 dropped precipitously.

The month witnessed a 37 per cent decrease in tourists year over year.

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Just 24,250 Indian tourists visited the country this June compared to 38,307 travellers in the same month in June 2024.

Even worse for Ankara, June is the month that traditionally witnesses Indians heading to Turkey in droves.

May was down too with just 31,659 Indian tourists entering Turkey compared to 41,554 travellers who visited in May 2024.

From January to June 2025, just 139,215 Indians visited Turkey  a 15 per cent decline from 164,373 over the same period last year.

Around 3.3 lakh Indian travellers headed to Turkey in 2024.

That number was up 20 per cent from 2023, when around 2.74 lakh Indian travellers headed to Ankara.

In 2022, that figure was at 2.21 lakh Indian visitors.

That was a 20 per cent increase from 2023 when around 2.28 lakh Indians travelled to Turkey.

Wave of cancellations

A number of portals including MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip had announced that they would no longer promote their Turkey packages.

Indian companies and experts have said that travellers have been cancelled their trips to Turkey in droves.

Experts say at least 2,000 such cancellations were witnessed between May and June alone.

We have received around 2,000 cancellations and rescheduling requests in the last week for travel to Istanbul and Baku over the next three months, a senior airline official told Moneycontrol.

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May and June are the peak vacation months for Indian tourists.

India through tourism filled Turkeys coffers to the tune of almost Rs 3,000 crore last year. Reuters

Indian tourists usually book their vacations much in advance, so the real impact of the drop in tourism is being seen in June," a senior government official told News18.

MakeMyTrip in May said bookings dropped 60 per cent and cancellations increased 250 per cent.

The firm in a statement had said it stands in solidarity with our nation and out of deep respect for our armed forces, we strongly support this sentiment and advise all against all non-essential travel to Azerbaijan and Turkey. We have already discontinued all promotions and offers on our platform to discourage tourism to these two destinations".

EaseMyTrip said it had witnessed at least 22 per cent of trips being cancelled.

Ixigo too stopped taking bookings to Turkey.

Experts say Indians are now preferring destinations such as Kazakhstan, Egypt, Jordan, Georgia, and Armenia for their vacations.

Other popular destinations include Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

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Indias contribution to tourism in Turkey

For Turkey, tourism is no small thing.

It comprises around 12 per cent of the countrys GDP and employs millions of people.

Though Indians comprised less than 1 per cent of Turkeys total tourists in 2024, they were the fastest-growing tourist market.

India visitors last year filled Turkeys coffers to the tune of between $350 million (Rs 3,000 crore) and $550 million (Rs 4,000 crore).

Which isnt surprising given that Indians can spend between Rs 2.9 lakh and Rs 3.35 lakh per trip in Turkey.

Experts say Indians flock to Turkey for weddings, luxury holidays, and corporate gatherings.

Rikant Pittie, CEO and Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip,told Moneycontrol, With average spending ranging between $1,200 and $2,000 per traveller in the two destinations [Turkey and Azerbaijan], the financial impact of Indian tourism is considerable. This steady inflow not only supports hotels and airlines but also fuels local businesses, event planners, and transport services. A decline in travel from India is likely to have a considerable effect across various parts of the tourism ecosystem in both countries.

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The impact on Turkey and Azerbaijan tourism industry from the Indian market is likely to be significant in the short term. Some customers have explicitly stated that they are uncomfortable travelling to destinations perceived as unsupportive of India. Such sentiment- based decisions are gaining momentum, particularly among family travellers and group tours. If this trend continues, both countries could witness a steep drop in inbound traffic from India, a market that has consistently contributed to their tourism revenue, Pittie added.

Turkeys backing of Pakistan

Pakistan had used Turkish-made drones to attack India during the conflict. Turkey also sent over UAV operators to help Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

India suspects that Turkey had provided Pakistan the drones a week after the Pahalgam terror attack.

An April visit from a a high-ranking Turkish military and intelligence delegation led by Lt Gen Yasar Kadioglu to Pakistan had further aroused Indias ire.

Pakistani Field Marshal Munir meets Turkish President Erdogan, along with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif. Image: X

Kadioglu visited the Pakistan Air Force headquarters in Islamabad and met the chief of staff.

Erdogan during Operation Sindoor had vowed to support the brotherly people of Pakistan.

Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir have both visited Turkey to thank Erdogan for his stance.

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Turkey was only one of three countries alongside China and Azerbaijan in the United Nations to back Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to these countries during his speech in Parliament, though he did not mention them by name.

Modi recently visited Cyprus en route to Canada for the G7 Summit in what was seen as a major signal to Turkey.

Cyprus and Turkey have been engaged in a long-standing border spat.

With inputs from agencies
After nearly two years of tensions, Canada has appointed Jeff David as Consul General in Mumbai  the first major diplomatic move since the 2023 freeze. Under Prime Minister Mark Carney, talks on restoring high commissioners, easing visas and reviving trade have accelerated. But lingering disputes over Sikh separatism mean the reset remains cautious

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands before posing for a photo during the G7 Leaders' Summit in Kananaskis, in Alberta, Canada, June 17, 2025. File Image/Reuters

Canada has announced a slew of diplomatic postings to India including one of Jeff David who will assume the role of Consul General in Mumbai.

David is set to replace Diedrah Kelly, who left India in 2023 and was stationed in Manila since December that year.

This instalment is particularly significant because it breaks the de facto diplomatic freeze that began in October 2023, when Canada withdrew 41 diplomats at Indias insistence on parity in consular staffing.

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Davids arrival to Mumbai marks Canadas first official personnel placement in India since ties between the two nations deteriorated. The move signals a tangible diplomatic reset under Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

How India-Canada ties froze

The relationship between the two nations deteriorated sharply after then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian diplomatic officials of supporting acts of violence and intimidation against Sikh separatists living in Canada.

That assertion was centred on the alleged involvement of Indian agents in the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen designated a terrorist by India.

The allegation, delivered in September 2023, sparked Indias strong retaliation. The Indian government labelled the accusation absurd and motivated, rejected any responsibility, and responded by expelling a significant number of Canadian diplomatic staff.

After the initial diplomatic withdrawals by Canada, a second wave of expulsions followed in October 2024. This involved both countries removing six diplomats each, including their respective high commissioners.

Canadian authorities alleged a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens involving Indian operatives, which only increased the bilateral rupture. Visa services from India to Canada were suspended, and diplomatic relations hit unprecedented lows.

Through that period, the consular network in India remained largely inactive. Kellys departure from Mumbai and the broader withdrawal of diplomats reflected a diplomatic standoff lasting nearly two years.

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How the India-Canada dynamic shifted under new PM Carney

There seems to have been a thaw in relations starting March this year when Mark Carney assumed office as Canadas prime minister.

Carneys foreign policy contrasts sharply with Trudeaus approach; it highlights economic engagement, strategic autonomy and diversification away from reliance on the US.

The invitation extended to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the G7 summit in Alberta in midJune was a significant gesture.

Carney described it as his great honour to host Modi. During their meeting, both leaders discussed common areas of interest including energy transition, artificial intelligence and the fight against terrorism and transnational repression.

Modi, in turn, stated the importance of winwin cooperation across various sectors. Their dialogue facilitated a clear shift in diplomatic tone  moving from confrontation to a shared focus on mutual priorities.

Following that summit, leaders agreed to restore high commissioners to their respective capitals.

Sources also confirmed to The Wire that Canada had already exchanged names with India in preparation for new high commissioner-designates. India nominated Dinesh Patnaik, currently serving as its envoy in Spain, for the position in Ottawa.

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While the high commissioner exchange remains pending, India and Canada have formally submitted names for their designated officials. Ottawa has reviewed Indias nominee, and officials in New Delhi have received Canadas selection.

The process of securing agrement (formal consent for diplomatic appointments) typically spans several months. However, sources indicated to The Wire that this timeline is currently being expedited, with announcements anticipated by midAugust.

The appointment of David is the first verifiable outcome of renewed diplomatic coordination, but exciting developments are also in motion at the ambassadorial level.

Why an India-Canada reset is crucial

Restoring full diplomatic staffing and speeding up visa processes are expected to deliver swift returns in key areas. The impact on both countries relationship could be substantial in facilitating education, tourism and economics.

India has grown to supply over one-third of international student enrolments in Canada as of 2024. Canada similarly ranks among the top five countries for foreign visitors to India, supported by steady tourism flows.

Resuming normal operations in visa processing should stimulate both student mobility and leisure travel.

On the trade front, bilateral commerce stood at $12.4 billion last year. While this number remains modest compared to Indias trade with the US (nearly $130 billion) or the CanadaUS trade volume (over $700 billion), it carries strategic significance as both nations look to weather increasing US trade tariffs.

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India primarily exports pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, textiles, and machinery to Canada.

In parallel, Canada supplies potash, timber, paper, and mining extractives to India.

Notably, Canadian pension and sovereign wealth funds have injected approximately USD 55 billion into Indian sectors such as infrastructure, renewable energy and financial services.

Where concerns remain between India-Canada

Despite the warming diplomatic climate, Indias concerns around Sikh separatist activity in Canada persist. New Delhi remains frustrated over unresolved extradition and provisional arrest requests for individuals accused of promoting a Khalistan agenda.

Officials report that more than two dozen requests have been pending over the past decade, in addition to multiple provisional arrest requests tied to terror-related charges.

The Indian government continues to urge Canada to take firmer action against separatist activists. While those groups have lost much of their momentum since the violence of the 1980s and early 1990s, India remains vigilant, especially given several historical flashpoints  including the Golden Temple assault in 1984, the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and hijackings and bombings by Sikh terrorists.

At the same time, Canada is home to one of the largest Sikh populations outside India.

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With inputs from agencies
Donald Trumps trade war has just intensified. The US president has announced new tariffs  ranging from 10 per cent to 41 per cent for several countries. Among those who have been slapped with the steepest of taxes are Syria, followed by Laos, Myanmar and Switzerland. In separate announcements, he also increased Canadas tariff to 35 per cent. Where does India stand?

US President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on dozens of trading partners, his latest bid to reshape global trade in favour of US businesses. AP

In the ongoing trade war that Trump has initiated since coming to power, the US president has ordered the re-imposition of tariffs on dozens of trading partners on Thursday (July 31) through an executive order. However, hes provided a small reprieve; these new tariff rates will come into effect in a week (August 7), not this Friday (August 1) as previously expected.

Notably, Trumps order came just a few hours ahead of the United States August 1 trade deadline  the day that Trumps so called Liberation Day tariffs kicked in.

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Read the full list of countries hit by tariffs here

His new tariffs ranging from as low as 10 per cent and going up as high as 41 per cent apply to 69 trading partners (68 nations + European Union). According to the order, any country not listed in an annexe would face a default US import tariff of 10 per cent.

More from Explainers Is India facing the highest tariffs? How do other countries fare?

But which countries have been the hardest hit by Trumps new executive order?

Syria

Syria leads the list of worst-hit nations with a new rate of 41 per cent. This is quite high for any nation, but especially one like Syria, which is struggling to recover from its recently-ended 14-year civil war.

What is notable, however, is that the two countries have little direct trade; US imports from Syria were a meagre $11 million last year, according to United Nations data cited by Trading Economics. That figure includes agricultural products and antiques.

Laos, Myanmar

The next hardest hit by Trumps new tariffs are Laos and Myanmar; they have both been slapped with a 40 per cent tax.

Trump singled out these two nations for higher tariffs citing their unfair trade practices and regulatory barriers. Earlier, in a letter to the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Trump wrote that their tariff and non-tariff barriers were hurting American jobs and industry, further declaring that the new rate is non-negotiable.

In a similar letter to Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmars military ruler, Trump emphasised that even the 40 per cent rate is far less than what is needed to close the US trade gap with the country.

US President Donald Trump has levied a 39 per cent tariff on Switzerland. It is the only country that does brisk trade with the US to receive such steep tariffs. File image/AFP

Switzerland

The Alpine nation is another one badly hit by Trumps new tariff order. The US president has levied a 39 per cent tariff on Switzerland.

This high tax comes as the country was among those that had not yet finalised trade frameworks with the US before the August 1 deadline. The rate on Swiss exports to the US is markedly higher than other trading partners who were able to negotiate frameworks with the US, such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea receiving 15 per cent levies.

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Iraq, Serbia

Both the countries have been given a 35 per cent tariff.

Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, South Africa

According to Trumps new executive order, these four countries have been levied with a 30 per cent tariff.

US President Donald Trump has levied a 25 per cent tariff on India in addition to a Russian penalty. File image/Reuters

India

India, who Trump describes as a  friend is also among the hardest hit by the new executive order. The US president has levied a 25 per cent tax on all Indian goods and stated that an added penalty would be imposed for its Russian trade.

The 25 per cent tax is slightly lower than the 26 per cent that Trump had stated earlier.

Among the Indian subcontinent, India is the highest taxed nation; its rivals, Pakistan, has been given a 19 per cent tariff, considerably lower from the earlier 29 per cent. In fact, fears in Islamabad that India was trying to isolate Pakistan financially have been somewhat tempered by the 25 per cent tariff rate that the Trump administration hit New Delhi with, CNN reports.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the American trade team is frustrated over negotiations with India, describing it as slow-rolling things. He said that while the negotiations started with New Delhi early, it has become an annoyance to American counterparts.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said that Indias purchase of Russian oil is a point of irritation in New Delhis relationship with Washington, DC. While speaking to Fox Radio on Thursday, Rubio argued that the Indian purchases of Russian oil are helping Moscows war efforts in Ukraine. Look, global trade  India is an ally. Its a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, youre not going to align 100 per cent of the time on everything, Rubio said in the interview.

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Canada

Separate from Trumps executive order, the US president announced that tariffs on Canadian goods would be increased to 35 per cent and this would take effect on August 1.

The White House said that the new tariff rate for its neighbour was a result of Ottawas inaction in the illicit drug crisis and its retaliation against the United States for its actions to address the threat.

The country has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs and Trump has increased the countrys tariff to effectively address the existing emergency, it added.

However, many point to the fact that the high tariff is owing to Prime Minister Mark Carneys decision to recognise statehood for Palestine, prompting Trump to write on Truth Social, Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them.

Shortly after the announcement, the president and CEO of Canadas Chamber of Commerce slammed Trump and his tariff order. The White House fact sheet should be called a fact-less sheet when it comes to basing trade decisions about Canada on the fentanyl emergency, Candace Laing said in a statement. More fact-less tariff turbulence does not advance North American economic security. Businesses  in Canada and the US  urgently need certainty.

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford also said the higher 35 per cent tariff rate from the US on Canadian goods is concerning, especially with other tariffs still in place. In a social media post, Ford called on Canadas federal government to hit back with a 50 per cent tariff on US steel and aluminium.

Canada shouldnt settle for anything less than the right deal. Now is not the time to roll over. We need to stand our ground, he posted on X. The federal government needs to maximise our leverage and stand strong in the face of President Trumps tariffs.

Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) has hit out against US President Donald Trump after the latter slapped an additional 40 per cent tariff on Brazil, taking the total to 50 per cent. File image/AFP

Brazil

Trump had earlier signed an executive order imposing an additional 40 per cent tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff rate for the country to 50 per cent. Products like orange juice and civil aircraft have been exempted from the tariffs.

Most experts note that Trumps high tariff on the Latin American country is political. In his explanation, Trump cited the witch hunt against his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president on trial for allegedly plotting a coup.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has denounced the tariffs as an attack on the sovereignty of South Americas largest economy.

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With inputs from agencies
How AI, adaptive therapy, and precision tools are transforming lung cancer radiotherapy, making treatments faster, safer and more effective than ever. Read here

Lung cancer, long associated with late-stage diagnosis and limited treatment success, is now witnessing a transformative shift in care. Driven by advances in high-precision radiotherapy and personalised medicine, this evolution is offering new hope for patients.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the disease accounts for nearly 2.5 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths globally each year. But with smarter, faster, and safer radiation technologies, clinicians are now better equipped to improve survival rates and enhance the quality of life for those affected.

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Over the past 1015 years, the treatment of lung cancer has changed substantially, particularly in radiation oncology, said Dr. Daniel Gomez, Radiation Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, USA. We now deliver higher doses of radiation over shorter periods, with greater precision and fewer side effects. This has enabled us to better integrate radiation with systemic therapies like immunotherapy and targeted drugs.

From palliative to potentially curative

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide and remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, accounting for 1.8 million deaths globally in 2020, according to WHO. In India alone, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimated nearly 72,510 new lung cancer cases in 2023, a number projected to grow as smoking and pollution continue to rise.

Historically, radiation therapy played a limited role in metastatic lung cancer which comprises around 50% of new diagnoses, offering mainly palliative relief. But that is changing.

With advances like stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), we are now delivering ablative doses of radiation to selected metastatic lesions, explained Dr. Gomez. This technique has shown promising results in improving disease progression and even survival in some patients.

SBRT, often completed in just a few sessions, targets tumours with millimetric accuracy, sparing healthy tissues  an approach particularly valuable when integrated with immunotherapy which boosts the bodys immune system to attack cancer cells.

Recent clinical trials, such as those reported in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet Oncology, confirm that SBRT in which high-dose radiation is delivered precisely to tumours in a small number of sessions can enhance both survival rates and quality of life, especially when paired with systemic treatments.

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Dr Vijay Karan Reddy Palkonda, HOD & Director of Oncology at Arete Hospitals said Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) provides high-dose radiation over just 35 sessions with exceptional precision, making it perfect for early-stage, inoperable tumours. AI-driven contouring and adaptive planning let us adapt to tumour shifts during treatment, so plans can be tweaked mid-course, boosting results and cutting toxicity.

AI and imaging: the engine of transformation

In India too, radiation oncology is rapidly modernising. Lung cancer radiotherapy is undergoing rapid innovation driven by automation, advanced imaging, and enhanced dose delivery, said Dr. Kanika Sood Sharma, Director of Radiation Oncology at Dharamshila Narayana Hospital, Delhi.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is central to this shift. AI-powered treatment planning can automate tumour contouring, image registration, and dose calculations, reducing planning times by up to 50% while improving precision, Dr. Sharma said.

AI also enables techniques such as respiratory gating, where radiation is fired only when the tumour is in the exact location, improving safety, added Dr. Palkonda.

New-generation linear accelerators equipped with real-time imaging and automated positioning further accelerate treatment delivery. We are now delivering high-dose-rate radiotherapy in fractions of a second rather than several minutes, reducing the impact of tumour movement and potentially decreasing side effects, Dr. Sharma added.

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Dr Gagan Saini, Vice Chairman and Head of Radiation Oncology at Yashoda Medicity, highlighted another leap: MRI-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) uses real-time imaging to track tumour movement, especially due to breathing, and adjust the radiation beam accordingly. This minimises damage to healthy lung tissue and improves treatment accuracy.

Towards adaptive and personalised care

According to the ICMR, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death among Indian men, with incidence on the rise due to air pollution and persistent tobacco use. Yet survival rates are improving with the rollout of smarter radiotherapy.

Data from clinical trials show that, for select patients, five-year survival rates can now exceed 40% when smart radiotherapy and immunotherapy are combined, compared to 1015% a decade ago.

Daily adaptive radiotherapy where the treatment plan is updated each day based on changes in the patients anatomy represents the next frontier. This allows us to adjust for tumour shrinkage or shifts due to breathing, ensuring continued precision and protecting healthy tissues, said Dr. Sharma.

Recent innovations like image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT), stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, and AI-driven planning have transformed lung cancer care, said Dr Ashu Yadav, Consultant  Radiation Oncology at CK Birla Hospital, Delhi. With tools like 4D imaging, respiratory gating, and motion management, we can now synchronise radiation delivery with the patients breathing cycle, improving conformity and reducing collateral damage.

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Dr Yadav also pointed to proton therapy as a significant advancement: It allows for highly targeted treatment, especially useful for tumours near critical organs like the heart.

Dr Mathangi J, Sr Consultant and In-charge Radiation Oncologist at Gleneagles BGS Hospital, Bengaluru, agreed: With 4D-CT planning, we track tumour movement as the patient breathes, ensuring every dose hits its mark. Cone-beam CT and precision techniques like IMRT and VMAT sculpt radiation around the tumour, sparing healthy organs. The result is fewer side effects, shorter treatment courses, and truly image-guided, personalised care.

Dr Saini added that adaptive radiotherapy, enabled by daily MRI scans, lets clinicians tailor treatment as the tumour shrinks or shifts. Early evidence shows MRgRT is safe, effective, and well-tolerated, with most sessions completed in under 90 minutes, he said.

A smarter, leaner future for lung cancer care

Experts say the cumulative effect of these advances is a leaner, smarter and more individualised cancer treatment approach.

Radiation is no longer just a supportive therapy, said Dr. Gomez. Its a critical component of multimodal treatment, one that is being actively explored to improve outcomes even in metastatic disease.

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As technology evolves, Indias challenge will be ensuring broader access to these innovations, especially in public and rural hospitals where older equipment and limited trained staff can hinder implementation.

Still, the redesign of radiotherapy marks a powerful shift in cancer care. For lung cancer patients, once considered terminal upon diagnosis faster and safer radiation may offer not just more time but a significantly better quality of life.
India on Friday rejected a British parliamentary committee report accusing India of involvement in transnational repression (TNR) activities in the UK, calling the allegations baseless

India on Friday rejected a British parliamentary committee report accusing India of involvement in transnational repression (TNR) activities in the UK, calling the allegations baseless.

We have seen the references to India in the report and categorically reject these baseless allegations. These claims stem from unverified and dubious sources, predominantly linked to proscribed entities and individuals with a clear, documented history of anti-India hostility. The deliberate reliance on discredited sources calls into question the credibility of the report itself, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

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In a report published on July 30, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said that it has received evidence alleging that Bahrain, China, Egypt, Eritrea, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of having conducted acts of transnational repression on the UK soil.

The report alleged that some foreign governments are employing threats, surveillance, or coercion to intimidate critics, activists, or dissidents in the UK. In Indias case, it specifically cited the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).

During his recent visit to the UK, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked his British counterpart Keir Starmer for condemning the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and stressed that extremist ideologies must not be allowed to exploit democratic freedoms.

At a joint press briefing on July 24, PM Modi said, We are united in the belief that there is no place for double standards in the fight against terrorism Those who misuse democratic freedoms to undermine democracy itself must be held to account.

His remarks came amid rising concern over the activities of Khalistani extremists in the UK, who have previously targeted the Indian High Commission in London.

Earlier this year, a protester breached security during an event attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at Chatham House in London.

In March 2023, New Delhi lodged a strong protest after Khalistani elements vandalised the Indian mission, prompting questions over the lack of British security presence.

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With inputs from agencies
Independent Palestine today would be a failed state and a toehold on the eastern Mediterranean for Turkey, Iran, or other terror sponsors

On July 24, 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would recognise Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer subsequently said the United Kingdom would also unilaterally recognise Palestine unless Israel accepted a ceasefire with Hamas, never mind that even Qatar and Egypt today acknowledge Hamas blocks a ceasefire and that the original October 7, 2023, attack occurred during a ceasefire.

Macron and Starmer virtue signal. They know that an independent Palestine today would be a failed state and a toehold on the eastern Mediterranean for Turkey, Iran, or other terror sponsors. The French and British move would also empower radicals at a time of political transition: Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is 92 years old and in the 20th year of his elected four-year term; he has selected no successor, and so Palestinian factions manoeuvre for position.

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By handing Hamas a victory and allowing it to claim that its actions enabled independence, both Paris and London show Hamas tactics work and allow it to claim victory.

If Palestine wins independence due to Hamas terrorism, but the peaceful movements in Somaliland, South Yemen, and the Syrian Kurds languish, every potential separatist grouplegitimate or notwill learn the lesson that terrorism works.

India will pay the price. Today, Hamas greatest financial benefactorsTurkey and Qatarare also increasingly invested in promoting and legitimising Kashmiri terror. The same groups Qatar funds to promote anti-Israel polemics on campus also stigmatise Hindu student associations or berate Indian academics into silence. Nor is Kashmiri separatism the only terrorist cause Indians will face. On the streets of Europe and on Western college campuses, Khalistan is an increasingly popular cause. Students are too naive to realise the prominence of Sikh extremists is not organic but rather greased by Pakistani and perhaps Turkish and Qatari money.

Not only Pakistan, but also Turkey and Qatar now believe that by either increasing terrorismagainst international targetsor by promoting false narratives of victimhood and human rights violations, they can sway G7 members to legitimise terrorism and embrace terrorists goals. Hamas fooled the world with a narrative of famine.

The New York Times tweeted out a story featuring a photograph of a skeletal child to its 55 million followers; it tweeted the correctionthat the child had cerebral palsy and a congenital malady that caused malnutritionon an account with only 80,000 followers. Get ready for the bankers for Hamas terrorism to start promoting equally dishonest anti-India propaganda. The Manipal calumny about anti-Christian religious persecution was just a dry run.

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Paris and London have opened a Pandoras Box of terrorism. Western progressives are useful idiots for terror sponsors; academics, Western journalists, and human rights activists despise strength and embrace any movement that claims victimhood.

Terror sponsors, meanwhile, are experts at determining which tactics and narratives are most effective. Paris and London have ended any debate for terror sponsors; Hamas is a model. Terrorism works. The Wests moral equivalence can transform narratives and interpretations over even the most horrific terrorist attacks. India should beware. Macron and Starmer may not yet realise it, but they have now transformed India into the worlds biggest target for terrorists.

Michael Rubin is director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Firstpost.
Lord Palmerston, a 19th-century British statesman and former prime minister, had said, We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow. His words are often paraphrased as There are no permanent friends or enemies in diplomacy, only permanent interests, a statement that reflects a key aspect of the realist school of thought in International Relations, which emphasises the role of the state, national interest, and power in world politics.

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This concept is important in diplomacy for several reasons. Countries prioritise actions that benefit their own security, prosperity, and influence in the world; alliances and rivalries can shift as national interests change in response to evolving geopolitical landscapes, technological advancements, or domestic priorities; and diplomatic decisions are often guided by practical considerations and a calculated assessment of costs and benefits rather than abstract moral principles or rigid ideologies.

US President Donald Trumps foreign policy is demonstrably centred on what he perceives as national interests, particularly prioritising a transactional approach. Trumps policies, encapsulated in his America First slogan, favour bilateral agreements and actions over multilateral engagement and alliances. The evolution of his policy towards Pakistan is a good example of his transactional approach.

It may be recalled that in his first term, Trumps first tweet on January 1, 2018, was about Pakistan. Trump had said, The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more! Not surprisingly, the Pakistani establishment was livid about his remarks. The Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua had summoned the US Ambassador and lodged a formal complaint.

In his first term, Trumps South Asia strategy was heavily influenced by the war in Afghanistan, focusing on counterterrorism and a conditions-based withdrawal of US troops. Trump relied on tools like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to pressure Pakistan on counterterrorism. While relations with Pakistan were initially strained, they improved after 2019 due to Pakistans role in the Afghan peace process.

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How is Trumps policy towards Pakistan playing out in his second term? Recent developments suggest an unprecedented warming of relations between the United States and Pakistan. On June 19 this year, Donald Trump hosted Pakistans army chief, Asim Munir, for lunch in an unprecedented White House meeting. He even told reporters afterwards that he was honoured to meet Field Marshal General Asim Munir"!

This was the first time in many years that a Pakistani army chief was hosted by a sitting US president at the White House, highlighting Trumps interest in building close ties with Pakistan, which has also taken all possible steps to win over US support. Earlier this week, Pakistan conferred its big military honour, Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military), upon US Central Command chief General Michael Kurilla.

Against this background of the warming of bilateral relations, Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Pakistan. We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves, Trump wrote on social media, adding, We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership. In his characteristic style he said that maybe Islamabad will sell oil to New Delhi some day.

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It is ironic that Trump has said that Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves. While there are potential hydrocarbon reserves, particularly offshore, the countrys current proven reserves are modest. Pakistan relies heavily on oil imports to meet its domestic demand.

While President Trump has spoken about massive oil reserves in Pakistan, experts suggest his claims are overstated. Recent seismic surveys and geological studies have no doubt indicated potentially sizable oil and gas reserves, particularly in the Indus Basin and offshore areas. Perhaps, these findings have generated optimism about future exploration and extraction.

However, the recent discovery of potential reserves is not equivalent to confirmed, massive reserves. Moreover, despite the potential, there are significant challenges to realising these reserves, including security concerns, high costs of exploration and development, and the need for substantial investment.

It has not been specified where the exploration would take place, but most of Pakistans reserves are believed to be in the southwestern province of Balochistan, where an insurgency is going on. The Baloch separatists say that their provinces natural resources are being exploited by the Punjabi-dominated army and central government in Islamabad. Balochistan has long been the centre of violence, mostly blamed on groups including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, which the US designated a terrorist organisation in 2019.

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Separatists in Balochistan have opposed the extraction of resources by Pakistani and foreign firms and have targeted Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals working on multi-billion-dollar projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

In response to President Donald Trumps recent announcement of a deal to help Pakistan develop its massive oil reserves, Baloch human rights activists issue a stern warning that the oil and mineral resources belong to Balochistana historically sovereign nation currently under illegal occupation by Pakistan. Activists articulate that the Pakistani governments claim over them is false and a deliberate attempt to misappropriate Balochistans wealth for political and financial gain. A prominent Twitter handle declared, Balochistan is not for sale. We will not permit Pakistan, China, or any other foreign power to exploit our land or its resources without the explicit consent of the Baloch people. Our sovereignty is non-negotiable.

Oil reserves are also thought to exist in the southern part of Sindh and the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. However, an insurgency is also underway in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the Sindhis are also opposed to the exploitation of the resources of their province for the benefit of the Punjabis.

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There have been several attacks targeting Chinese nationals in Pakistan. These attacks, often involving bombings or armed assaults, have led to casualties and injuries among Chinese citizens working on various projects, particularly those related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Militant groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), have claimed responsibility for some of these attacks.

Thus, despite the potential reserves, there are also significant challenges to realising these reserves, including security concerns, high costs of exploration and development, and the need for substantial investment. Trump will exert pressure on US companies to do this work, but working in the oil and gas sector in Pakistan, especially in regions with ongoing conflicts, like Balochistan, will pose significant security risks for US nationals and other foreign workers. US nationals working in the conflict-prone areas like Balochistan will face heightened security risks due to the activities of separatist militant groups.

The Pakistanis have said that this deal will enhance the growing cooperation with the US and expand the frontiers of their partnership in days to come. US total goods trade with Pakistan was a measly $7.3 billion in 2024, up from about $6.9 billion in 2023. The trade agreement aims at boosting bilateral trade, expanding market access, attracting investment, and fostering cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The agreement will result in a reduction of reciprocal tariffs, especially on Pakistani exports to the United States.

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The question arises: What does the US-Pakistan deal mean for India? By concluding this deal with Pakistan, Trump wants to send a message to India. Surely, an increased closeness between Pakistan and the US will not be in Indias interests. The announcement of the deal with Pakistan came hours after Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India, plus an additional unspecified penalty for purchases of Russian military equipment and energy. Its not unlikely that Trumps announcement is a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US, which has, in recent days, gotten favourable trade deals with major partners like Japan, the UK, and the European Union.

Trump posted on Truth Social, Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country.

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Trump has spoken multiple times about the tariffs that India imposes and referred to Indias membership of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) grouping, which he described as anti-US. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said that President Trump is frustrated with the progress weve made with India and that a 25 per cent tariff will address and remedy the situation in a way thats good for the American people.

Despite initial announcements during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the United States about pursuing a bilateral trade agreement, India and the US have yet to finalise even an interim deal, although five rounds of negotiations have been held between officials from both sides. A sixth round of talks on the trade deal is scheduled to be held towards the end of August when a US delegation is expected to visit India. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who had earlier said that a deal with India might be imminent, has now said that it needed to be understood that Delhis trade policy has been protectionist for a very long time and has been premised on strongly protecting their domestic market.

In a statement, the Indian government said that it has taken note of Trumps statement and is studying its implications. The statement adds: India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective.

India has reasons to be concerned about the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by Trump. The US is Indias largest trading partner. The US imports significantly more from India than it exports. In 2024, the total value of goods traded between the two countries reached an estimated $129.2 billion. Imports from India amounted to $87.4 billion, while exports were $41.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $45.7 billion for India.

India is one of the significant sources of imports for American consumers and companies. The United States imports a variety of goods from India, including pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, chemicals, textiles and apparel, leather goods, metals, machinery and parts, plastics, and agricultural products like spices, tea, and rice.

The United States largest exports to India are crude oil and machinery, including agricultural and construction equipment. According to data reported by Bloomberg, India recently became the top source of smartphone imports after Apple shifted production away from China to avoid high tariffs and geopolitical conflicts. Apple CEO Tim Cook said that he expected the majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin starting this quarter.

The trade relationship between the US and India is substantial and growing, with both imports and exports seeing increases in recent years. However, the 25 per cent tariff, along with the potential penalty, could negatively impact Indias export prospects. While the 25 per cent tariff rate would be slightly lower than the 26 per cent that Trump threatened on April 2, it is still a sharp increase from 2.4 per cent, which is the average tariff rate applied to Indian imports in recent years. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, textiles, and automobiles are expected to be particularly affected.

Indian government officials reportedly believe any US tariffs imposed are likely to be temporary, as negotiations to reach a comprehensive trade pact are still ongoing and could be concluded by the fall. However, finalising the deal could still face hurdles, as has been the case till now. Key sticking points remain, particularly about access to Indias agriculture and dairy sectors. Indian officials have maintained a firm stance, refusing to open these sectors to US exports. On the other side, the Trump Administration will continue to press India to fully open up its markets to American goods.

In conclusion, it may be pertinent to recall that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump have expressed a commitment to more than doubling the bilateral trade between the two countries to $500 billion by 2030. However, this ambitious target now faces serious challenges. Trumps recent decision to impose tariffs and penalties on India indicates a significant strain on the bilateral trade relationship.

The future of India-US trade relations and the viability of achieving the $500 billion target will largely depend on the outcome of these ongoing trade negotiations, as well as on how both nations navigate the complex interplay of economic and geopolitical interests.

Despite widespread optimism about the future of the US-India partnership as Trumps second term started, relations are considerably more fragile than they might appear. The bottom line is that the impact of Trump 2.0 on the US-India relationship remains simply unpredictable.

The writer is a retired Indian diplomat and had previously served as Consul General in New York. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
The aim of trading with other nations, for India, is to lift millions from poverty, not to cater to the vanities of an egotistical American president who suffers from God complex

Trump has taken an extraordinary bet on the importance of American market in global economy and believes that he has a leverage so unique that he can do almost anything. Image: AFP

Theres a huge amount of anger and disappointment in India over Donald Trumps latest comments. I think we have got this wrong though. Look beyond the provocation, and youll see instead a vexed US president, frustrated and angry at not getting his way and resorting to intemperate language and juvenile insults to put pressure on New Delhi and tilt the scale in his favour.

Trump is threatening to slap massive tariffs on India. The final figure is anybodys guess, but it could be more than even 35%. He is needling India on Pakistan and has taken aim at New Delhi for buying Russian oil and prioritizing energy security for its people, a reality that he seems to have suddenly woken up to.

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Since Wednesday, the US president has sent a volley of abuses and warnings Indias way. It is a bit of a surprise after we were told multiple times that both sides are very close to clinching an interim deal, and US trade representative Jamieson Greer said as recently as Tuesday that we continue to speak with our Indian counterparts, weve always had very constructive discussions with them.

Which tells us that Trumps invectives are largely a negotiating tactic. This is an American president who revels in breaking rules and shattering norms of diplomacy and weaponizes access to American market through predatory tactics. Trump did mention that negotiations with India are still on, and American negotiators have admitted that more talks are needed to crack the deal. A team of US trade officials are due to visit India on August 25 for the next round of talks.

So, at one level, Trump is poking, probing and hammering away at Indias red lines, hoping to put Narendra Modi government on the backfoot. This ought to tell us that Trump, who has tapped into the wellspring of victimhood that defines the MAGA movement, sees trade deals as economic warfare, trade deficits as rank exploitation and anything less than total capitulation, unacceptable.

Trump has taken an extraordinary bet on the importance of American market in global economy and believes that he has a leverage so unique that he can do almost anything. His trade policy is incumbent on the rules of hard power and economic interests. The US president wagers that no country on earth can afford to ignore the lure of American market.

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Therefore, for Trump, any trade deal that does not yield disproportionate benefit for America is intolerable, even bordering on hostility. He revels in the self-claimed role of a tough negotiator and is not averse to taking a disruptive approach  using anything and everything as leverage to get what he wants.

Trumps outburst at India, therefore, may be interpreted as a public display of irritation at Indias continued defiance and unwillingness to make significant concessions. For example, despite Trumps relentless sound and fury, India has responded with a polite but firm statement, pointing out that both sides have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months and remains committed to that objective. The fact that India refused to take the bait likely aggravated Trumps annoyance.

At another level, some of Trumps tirades against India  obnoxious, dead economy, very little business  are easily disproven and suggests a sense of personal injury rather than public negotiation. Evidently Trump, whos been behaving more like the emperor of the world than an elected politician in his second stint, has taken grave offence at India not validating the lie and repeatedly defying his claim that he engineered the ceasefire during Operation Sindoor.

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India committed the original sin by not publicly thanking Trump, unlike Pakistan, for brokering the ceasefire  that to him is an important step towards getting that coveted Nobel peace prize  and compounded the problem by insisting during Parliamentary debates that the US president had nothing to do with defusing the crisis. Trump possibly didnt enjoy his good friend Modi reiterating in Lok Sabha that not a single world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor.

But what really got Trump going against India was New Delhis keenness to drive a hard bargain and not kowtowing to Trumps unique style of parley. If youve been watching Trumps trade negotiations closely with other countries since he announced unilateral tariffs on all American trade partners on April 2, youd have noticed a definite pattern.

The US president has little patience for due process or well laid out procedures. He lets minions strike up a rudimentary deal with the opponents and then barges into the negotiation with a maximalist position to get the best possible outcome and lay his stamp on the deal. If we perceive this as an economic warfare, then Trump tries to dominate the escalation spiral and answers retaliatory tariffs with a much higher levy, persuading the rivals that they really cant win this game.

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Trumps opening gambit is usually such a high figure that any lower revision eventually arrived at appears as a win for rivals, while Trump walks away with an extractive deal where his opponents have agreed to significant discounts without an equivalent concession from the US. But the deal still isnt through until Trump gets a headline commitment that he may use to juice up his announcement.

For example, Trump slapped a 25% tariff on South Korea and then gave them a chance to buy down the tariffs and make him extremely happy. As Korean negotiators rushed to Washington, a deal was eventually hammered out where, according to Trumps post in Truth Social, South Korea will give to the US $350 Billion for Investments owned and controlled by the United States, and selected by myself, as President. Additionally, South Korea will purchase $100 Billion of LNG, or other Energy products and, further, South Korea has agreed to invest a large sum of money for their Investment purposes.

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South Korea will be completely OPEN TO TRADE with the United States, and that they will accept American product including Cars and Trucks, Agriculture, etc. We have agreed to a Tariff for South Korea of 15%. America will not be charged a Tariff.

Korean industry minister, who led the team in striking the deal where the Korean side settled for a 15% tariff, told Reuters that they role played as the US president to prepare for negotiations, and the secret to melt Trumps heart was to call him a great person and speak as simply as possible.

Or take the case of Japan, who made such major concessions that Japanese negotiators are facing questions back home. Faced with a 25% levy, Japan eventually arrived at 15% tariff on its exports but only after promising an investment of $550 billion upfront to rebuild and expand core American industries in areas including energy, semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, as well as commercial and defense shipbuilding.

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Trump called it a signing bonus, and told reporters that what Japan did is they brought down their tariffs They gave us $550 billion upfront, 100 per cent. We get 90 per cent, they get 10 per cent. Though Japan is contradicting Trumps version of the negotiation the bottomline is trading partners are not only coughing up a steep price for getting access to the American market, they are also making notable commitments for Trump to flag as unilateral achievements.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen ran to Scotland to strike a deal with Trump and got bulldozed with such an agreement  15% tariff on most European exports  that furious EU members are calling it a dark day, capitulation, while Trump labelled it the biggest deal ever. French prime minister Francois Bayrou condemned the agreement as a submission, Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said: Trump ate von der Leyen for breakfast while Germany called it a painful compromise.

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Worth noting that while South Korea, Japan and even China are export-driven economies and rely heavily on the American market, the EU is a vassalage under the American security umbrella and America is its largest trade destination.

Its a little different with India. New Delhi is a strategic partner, not a treaty ally, and caters primarily to a strong domestic market. While the US is Indias largest foreign export market with bilateral trade amounting to $190 billion, America is Indias 10th largest goods partner. India does enjoy a trade surplus, but it is by no means massive, as claimed by Trump.

Compared to Chinas trade surplus of $270.4 billion, Mexicos $157 billion, Vietnams $113 billion or even Irelands $80.5 billion, India is placed on the 11th spot with a surplus of around $41.5 billion according to latest figures for 2024-25.

Indias exports to the US for fiscal 2024-25 were about $86.5 billion. With a nearly $4 trillion GDP, Indias exports to the US stand at roughly 2% of its GDP, that places it on the 10th spot relative to other US trade partners. For instance, Mexicos exports to the US stands at 16.1% of its GDP, Canadas 13.4%, while Chinese exports to the US forms 10.2% of its GDP.

It basically means that while India will suffer a deep setback if it fails to drive down the threatened tariff of 35% or more, it wont be an existential crisis. Moreover, roughly about 89% of Indias exports go to non-US markets, including the EU, West Asia, ASEAN, China, and other destinations.

Therefore, while the rupture with the US may deliver a telling blow to the Indian economy, tamper with its ambition to form an important cog in global supply chain, and may even shave half a percentage point off its GDP, it equally provides India with an opportunity for trade diversification with various economies and regions such as Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the EU (with whom we are thrashing out an agreement) or the UK, with whom we have just stitched one.

In effect, these realities offer Indian negotiators precious breathing space and the freedom to walk away from an agreement if the terms for it are onerous. Additionally, what seems to have particularly irked Trump is that while India has been negotiating hard, it refused to play by the US presidents rules.

Media reports indicate that while India and the US held four rounds of talks (apart from virtual meetings) and New Delhi indicated that it was prepared to give access to US in areas that were previously inaccessible, including agriculture, Trump took a maximalist position to prise open the Indian economy like a can of tuna.

Trump has no regard for Indias redlines on agriculture or dairy sectors, cannot care less for the developmental imperatives that form the fulcrum of Indias economic policies, and seeks New Delhi to commit to zero tariffs for American goods in exchange for high double-digit levy on Indian exports to the US. It is none of Trumps concern, for instance, that India has zero appetite for genetically modified American agricultural crops, and zero tolerance for American dairy products fed on blood meal because a vast majority of Hindu Indians are vegetarians.

It seems Trump was also unable to get Modi on the other end of the phone line. He had been frustrated with the slow pace of negotiations and wanted to reach out to the Indian prime minister for a headline deal. An agreement, according to sources, was ready by the first week of July where it gained dust as Trump started moving around the goalposts to fish for a better outcome, seeking to tear open Indias most politically sensitive segments.

The phone call didnt work out, and a frustrated Trump started ramping up provocations. This isnt a surprise. What Trump wanted was a tete-a-tete with the Indian head of state who would make a signature commitment that Trump would immediately sell to his MAGA base as yet another massive win. Trump didnt quite figure out that Modi, the worlds most popular leader in democracies even in his third term, has no intention to whet Trumps shenanigans.

Trump may have his reasons, but India has none to deviate from established procedures and expose the prime minister to the tantrums of a bully who wields tariffs as tools of blunt coercion.

The situation is grim, but Indias early responses indicate that New Delhi is not going to buckle under pressure. It never did even when it was poorer and weaker, and it wont now. What India will do is keep calm and negotiate. Trump might be spoiling for a fight but triggering him isnt in Indias interest.

India understands that it lacks Chinas leverage that Beijing built through decades anticipating exactly such a scenario. However, a country as large and diverse such as India, boasting a market next only to Chinas in terms of scale, has its own leverage.

New Delhi will resolutely protect its interests and sovereignty and refrain from aggressive or retaliatory moves or statements. The message is clear. India does not seek a trade war, but it wont be bullied into submission. It seeks a mutually beneficial trade deal that protects and promotes the welfare of its farmers, entrepreneurs and MSMEs, not a trade capitulation. The aim of trading with other nations, for India, is to lift millions from poverty, not to cater to the vanities of an egotistical American president who suffers from God complex.

The writer is Deputy Executive Editor, Firstpost. He tweets as @sreemoytalukdar. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the American trade team is frustrated over negotiations with India as he defended Trumps move to impose 25% tariffs on Indian goods

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the American trade team is frustrated over negotiations with India, describing it as slow-rolling things. While speaking to CNBC, Bessent argued that while the negotiations started with New Delhi early, it has become an annoyance to American counterparts.

Bessent expressed his frustration with India, just days after US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, describing it as penalties for buying oil and military equipment from Russia. In the CNBC interview, Bessent argued that Trump and the whole trade negotiation team have been frustrated with India.

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India has also been a big buyer of Russian oil, which they then resell as refined products. In that context, they have not been a great global actor, he remarked. When asked if there is any potential for further negotiations with India ahead of the August 1 deadline, Bessent said that it will be up to India, hinting at the fact that it will be New Delhi, which will have to make the first move for things to roll again.

India awaits more clarity

Meanwhile, sources close to the matter told CNBC-TV18 that India is unlikely to jump the gun before more clarity emerges on the matter. New Delhi is also waiting for confirmation on the exact penalties or associated duties which Trump has warned about its ties with Russia.

Amidst this chaos, the sixth round of negotiations for the first tranche of a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between India and the US remains scheduled for August 25. Meanwhile, discussions on bilateral trade are expected to continue in virtual mode.

Soon after the Trump announcement, Union Minister Piyush Goyal briefed the Parliament today on the US tariffs, explaining that the commerce ministry is assessing the impact of the tariffs. Goyal assured that the government will take all necessary steps to safeguard our national interests.

The Trump administration is miffed with New Delhi

Bessent is not the only top Trump official who expressed frustration over Trump-India ties. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trumps move to impose 25 per cent tariffs on India, arguing that Indias purchase of Russian oil is a  point of irritation in New Delhis relationship with Washington, DC.

While speaking to Fox Radio on Thursday, Rubio said that the Indian purchases of Russian oil are helping Moscows war efforts in Ukraine. Look, global trade  India is an ally. Its a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, youre not going to align 100 per cent of the time on everything, Rubio said in the interview.

The secretary of state claimed that the Trump administration is disappointed with India as it continues to buy Russian military equipment and energy. Rubio acknowledged India has huge energy needs and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy like every country does, and it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap and  meaning they have to  in many cases, theyre selling it under the global price because of the sanctions.

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However, he noted that it is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India, not the only point of irritation. We also have many other points of cooperation with them." But I think what youre seeing the President express is the evident frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia, which in essence is helping to fund the war effort, and allowing this war to continue in Ukraine.

Trump tariffs against India are now being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US, which has, in recent days, got favourable trade deals with major partners like Japan, the UK and the European Union.
Bangladeshs Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus hailed the reduction in reciprocal tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. However, duties on Dhaka continue to remain as high as 20 per cent.

Bangladeshs Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus hailed tariff negotiations with the US, even though the US President Donald Trumps administration announced a 20 per cent tariff on Dhaka in the modified reciprocal tariff list.

While the tariff on Bangladesh has been reduced by 17 points, it still stands at 20 per cent, which is more than other nations that have signed trade deals with Washington, DC. In the lengthy statment, Yunus went on to describe the reduction as a diplomatic victory.

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We proudly congratulate the Bangladesh tariff negotiators on securing a landmark trade deal with the United States, a decisive diplomatic victory. By reducing the tariff to 20 per cent, 15 points lower than anticipated, our negotiators have demonstrated remarkable strategic skill and unwavering commitment to safeguarding and advancing Bangladeshs economic interests, the Bangladeshi interim chief adviser said in a statement.

Chief Adviser's message after successful tarriff negotiations with US



Dhaka, August 1, 2025: We proudly congratulate the Bangladesh tariff negotiators on securing a landmark trade deal with the United States, a decisive diplomatic victory.

By reducing the tariff to 20%, 17  Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh (@ChiefAdviserGoB) August 1, 2025

They have been working relentlessly since February and navigated successfully through a complex negotiating process involving tariff, non-tariff and national security matters. The agreement they negotiated preserves our comparative advantage, enhances our access to the worlds largest consumer market and safeguards our core national interests, he added.

Bangladeshs garment sector breathes a sigh of relief

It is pertinent to note that in the April 2 announcement, Bangladesh was facing a 35 per cent retaliatory tariff. While speaking on the reduction, Khalilur Rahman, the national security adviser of Bangladesh, said that the new tariffs are good news for the countrys garment sector and the millions who depend on it.

Today, we successfully avoided a potential 35% retaliatory tariff. This is encouraging news for our garment sector and the millions of people whose livelihoods depend on it, Khalilur said in a statment quoted by The Dhaka Tribune. Soon after the April 2 announcement, the Bangladeshi delegation was led by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, with National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman engaged in trade talks with Washington, DC.

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Basking in the glory, Yunus said that the reduction of duties reflects Bangladeshs rising strength in the global arena. This achievement not only underscores Bangladeshs rising strength on the global stage but also opens the door to greater opportunities, accelerated growth, and lasting prosperity. The future of Bangladesh is undeniably bright. Todays success stands as a powerful testament to the nations resilience and its bold vision for a stronger economy tomorrow, the Bangladeshi chief advisor concluded.
Moraes, who is overseeing a criminal case against Trump ally Bolsonaro, told a court session on Friday that he will continue to do his job and ignore the sanctions imposed by the US that effectively block him from the countrys wide-reaching financial system

Brazil's Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes talks during Brazil's Supreme Court trial over an alleged coup attempt, in Brasilia, Brazil on June 9, 2025. Reuters File

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing a criminal case against an ally of President Donald Trump, told a court session on Friday that he will continue to do his job and ignore the sanctions imposed by the United States that effectively block him from the countrys wide-reaching financial system.

On Wednesday, the US imposed sanctions on Moraes for overseeing the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing the judge of authorising arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression.

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Justice Moraes has presided over the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who has been charged with plotting a coup to overturn Brazils 2022 presidential election after his supporters violently stormed government buildings following the election victory of leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The US sanctions were accompanied by an executive order imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, which was also tied to the case Moraes is overseeing against Bolsonaro, an unwavering supporter of the US president.

Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, and several of his closest allies were charged with plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral loss, in a case that was in many ways similar to accusations against Trump.

Moraes said the court would not submit itself to foreign coercion or what he likened to new coup attempts by Bolsonaros allies.

Moraes said the Federal Supreme Court will continue to exercise its role as guardian of the Constitution.

It will continue to exercise its role in criminal proceedings so that it can provide a final answer to all Brazilian society regarding who was truly responsible for the attempted coup, he said, adding that there will be due process of law with no internal or external interference.

Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of the former president who moved to the U.S. to persuade the White House to intervene in his fathers favor, has claimed credit for Trumps policies on Brazil.

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This criminal organizations insistence on implementing measures harmful to Brazil, by encouraging the imposition of these tariffs and making spurious and illegal attacks against Brazilian public officials, is aimed at creating a severe economic crisis in the country, he said. But to the dismay of these traitorous Brazilians, that crisis will not happen.

Moraes added that the court would conclude the trial of those accused of attempting a coup detat before the end of the year.
While Trumps 25 per cent tariffs on India might impact the countrys manufacturing sector, heres a look at the areas where Indian exporters might breathe a sigh of relief

US President Donald Trump has levied a 25 per cent tariff on India in addition to a Russian penalty. File image/Reuters

The United States decision to impose a whopping 25 per cent tariff on India might have soured relations between the two nations, but there are still sectors that are exempted from tariffs, bringing relief for the Indian manufacturers.

Following the Thursday announcement, the US reaffirmed that Indian exports in key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, auto components, copper, and metals will remain exempt from its newly expanded tariff regime under Executive Order 14257. In a notification issued on August 1, the White House confirmed that all earlier product-level exemptions announced on April 2 continue to stand.

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The exemption provides major relief for India, especially given its high trade surplus with the US and recent friction over tariffs. Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on India, plus a penalty, over trade barriers and New Delhis continuous import of Russian oil and arms.

So what are the exemptions?

Following the modified reciprocal tariff order, the Trump administration released another statement clarifying that all previous exemptions remain intact. Apart from this, the White House maintained that the revised tariff schedule will take effect seven days from issuance, with goods already in transit before the deadline and entered before October 5 remaining exempt.

Heres a look at some of the sectors still protected by the tariffs:

Pharmaceuticals - The exemptions ensure protection of nearly $9 billion worth of pharmaceutical products to the US in 2024, according to Reuters. This preserves Indias dominance in the American generics market.

Auto Components - India exported $7.35 billion in FY25, as per the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India. However, a 25 per cent duty under earlier Section 232 tariffs will affect the sector.

Copper - In 2024, India exported around 13,000 tonnes of copper to the US. While the Trump administration has a whopping 50 per cent tariff on copper imports from other nations, Indian copper shipments remain exempt.

Metals - Shipments of metals such as Iron and Aluminium continue to remain protected under Executive Order 14257s exemption list. However, like auto parts, they are still subject to existing Section 232 tariffs.

Not all is hunky dory.

These exemptions are crucial for India because they represent some of the highest-value and most strategic export sectors. However, the White House made it clear that sectoral tariffs are still on the table. This means that even if these Indian sectors are exempted from tariffs today, they can still face targeted tariffs later if the US finds a trade or security reason to justify them.

Apart from this, a bulk of Indias other exports, from garments and gems to engineering goods and electronics, will now face a 25 per cent tariff. Initially, it was only 10 per cent.

The executive order also imposes a 40 per cent penalty on , products routed through third countries to avoid duties. While China have been notoriously using the loophole, its 40 per cent tariff causes hindrance to India.
US President Donald Trump announced that his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will be heading to Russia as he threatened new sanctions against Moscow

US President Donald Trump said his foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, will travel to Russia in the coming days as he threatened new sanctions against Moscow. Trump revealed his ambition while speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon. While lambasting Russia, Trump described the countrys continued assault on Ukraine as disgusting.

However, he expressed scepticism over whether these sanctions would bother Russian President Vladimir Putin. Were gonna put sanctions, I dont know that sanctions bother him [Putin], Trump told reporters at the White House.

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Trump went on to reveal that Witkoffs previously unknown travel to Israel will be followed by his trip to Russia. Hes going to Russia, believe it or not, Trump said when questioned about Witkoffs current trip to the Middle East, where he is meeting with officials to discuss Israels war in Gaza.

Trump calls Russian assault on Ukraine disgusting

It is pertinent to note that Witkoffs last known visit to Russia was in April this year, when he met Putin in the Kremlin. However, the talks between the two did not yield an immediate breakthrough in bringing the Ukraine war to an end.

Since then, Trump's frustration towards Putin has been increasing to a great extent, with prospects for peace growing dim. On Thursday, Trump showed his anger when asked about Russias continued missile strikes towards Ukraine. I think its disgusting what theyre doing. I think its disgusting, he said.

I dont know that sanctions bother him. You know, they know about sanctions. I know better than anybody about sanctions and tariffs and everything else. I dont know if that has any effect, but were going to do it," he concluded.

It is pertinent to note that the US has introduced 25 per cent sanctions on Indian goods because of New Delhis continued purchase of oil from Russia. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has warned the same thing to China as well, to which Beijing pointed out how the US continues to trade with Russia.
India has firmly asserted that its energy security, economic resilience and strategic autonomy cannot be compromised in response to escalating Western pressure

In a sweeping escalation of trade tensions, US President Donald Trump on July 30 announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports, effective August 1, explicitly citing Indias continued energy and defence ties with Russia as part of the rationale. Alongside the tariff, Trump threatened an unspecified additional penalty linked to New Delhis persistent purchases of Russian oil and military equipment.

AI generated picture of an angry US President Donald Trump with India for buying Russian crude oil

Complementing this, US Senator Lindsey Graham is championing the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 (S.1241). If passed, it would allow the US to impose 500 per cent secondary tariffs on countriesincluding Indiathat buy Russian energy exports.

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However, as global pressure mounts on India over its continued oil trade with Russia amid the Ukraine conflict, New Delhi has consistently and firmly defended its decisions. At various levels and platforms, the government has made it clear that the countrys energy security, economic resilience and strategic autonomy cannot be compromised in favour of selective Western outrage.

From the corridors of Vienna to press briefings in Washington and panels in Doha, here are seven moments when India stood its ground:

1. Switch off our economy?

In response to criticism from a British journalist, Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami projected New Delhis frustration: What would you want us to do? Switch off our economy? He reminded that India is the third-largest energy consumer and imports over 80 per cent of its energy. Doraiswami called out Western hypocrisy, noting that European countries continued to source energyrelated materials from Russia even as they chastised India.

On July 28, while speaking to Times Radio, the Indian High Commissioner highlighted the irony in the fact that several European countries continued purchasing rare earth and other energy productsnot necessarily oilfrom the same countries they were urging India to avoid.

When questioned about Indias close ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, he explained that the relationship was built on several factors, including a longstanding security partnership that originated during a time when Western nations refused to sell weapons to India but supplied them to neighbouring countries hostile to it.

He also pointed out that Indias current energy relationship with Russia emerged because traditional energy sources had become inaccessible due to others purchasing them. Furthermore, he remarked on the selective nature of international relationships, noting that many countries maintained ties with nations problematic for India, yet no one asked them to prove their loyalty through such choices.

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India is the fourth-largest energy refiner globally and many European nations still purchased refined oil from it.

2. Well cross that bridge

Addressing the US proposal for punitive tariffsincluding the looming 500 per cent secondary penaltiesExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Indias energy and security concerns had been made conversant to US lawmakers. We will then have to cross that bridge when we come to it, if we come to it, he cautioned.

The external affairs minister said that the Indian embassy and ambassador have been in touch with US Senator Graham regarding the bill on Russia and India will have to cross that bridge if it comes to it.

While addressing a press conference on July 4, 2028, Jaishankar stated that Indias concerns and interests on energy, security have been made conversant to Graham. Graham is proposing a carveout for his Russian sanctions bill to exclude nations that help Ukraines defence, protecting them from a 500 per cent tariff for trading with Russia.

3. Do you have a better deal?

At the Doha Forum December 8, 2024, Jaishankar addressed critics dismissing Indias imports of Russian oil as opportunism: I get oil, yes. It is not necessarily cheap. Do you have a better deal? He insisted Indias purchases were guided by pragmatism, not opportunism. Simultaneously, he detailed Indias diplomatic engagement with both Russian and Ukrainian leadership, advocating peace through dialogue, not force.

Jaishankar said that the focus appeared to be shifting more towards the realities of negotiation rather than the continuation of the war. Efforts were being made by engaging with both President Putin in Moscow and President Zelenskyy in Kyiv, as well as through meetings in other locations, to identify potential common ground that could be developed when the time was right.

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It was clarified that these efforts did not amount to a formal peace plan or mediation, but rather involved multiple, transparent conversations with both parties each being informed about what would be conveyed to the other.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had previously defended Indias decision to purchase Russian oil during a period when many countries were avoiding it. He argued that India had actually helped stabilise global oil prices, which might have otherwise surged to $200 per barrel.

4. Why didnt Europe cut off energy on February 25?

In an interview with Austrias ORF on January 3, 2023, Jaishankar challenged Europes moral position. With a per capita income of 60,000, Europe could comfortably wean off Russian energy, while Indiawith per capita income of $2,000could not afford high-priced oil. He questioned why Europe, if acting on principle, didnt sever Russian energy ties on February 25, 2022 when the Russian attacks on Ukraine began.

Jaishankar also said that Europes actions were affecting global oil markets by shifting into West Asia, diverting production and consequently driving up prices.

Regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he reaffirmed Indias stance, stating that the country supported peace and had consistently advocated for a return to dialogue and diplomacy, emphasising that conflicts could not be resolved through violence.

5. India did the world a favour

In December 2024, Union Minister Puri also explained Indias decision to buy Russian oil at a time when the major countries were boycotting it.

India did the entire world a favour by buying Russian oil because if we had not done so, the global oil prices would have skyrocketed to $200/barrel. Russian oil was never under any sanctions and there was only a price cap, which Indian entities also followed, he had said.

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Puri argued that Indias continued purchase of Russian oil played a key role in preventing global oil prices from soaring to $200 per barrel. He asserted that India adhered to the Western-imposed price cap of $60 per barrel, thereby not violating any sanctions. According to him, Indias approach contributed to stabilising global energy markets.

He also drew a comparison between Indias oil imports and the EUs gas consumption, remarking that European nations often purchased more in a single afternoon than India did over an entire quarter. Puri warned that avoiding Russian oil would put significant pressure on global supply, potentially driving prices up to $130$140 per barrel. He maintained that Indias diversified sourcing strategy had helped maintain market resilience and stability.

While they remain fixated on Indias oil purchases from Russia, what many around the world dont seem to realise is that the global oil prices would have hit the roof if India had not bought oil from Russia.

Leaves one with a feeling that they are not able to wrap their heads pic.twitter.com/mT1GBoFo5d  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) November 8, 2024

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6. Well buy oil from wherever we have to

While commenting on President Trumps secondary sanctions threat against India, 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.

Well buy oil from wherever we have to, Puri asserted while discussing Indias approach to sourcing energy, emphasising that the Prime Ministers top priority was the Indian consumer.

He highlighted Indias growing role in the global energy scenario, noting that 16 per cednt of international energy market growth in the past decade had come from India, and the International Energy Agency projected that India would account for 25 per cent of global energy growth over the next two decades.

Puri pointed out to Russias contribution of 10 per cent to daily global oil consumption and warned that excluding it from the market would have severe consequences, such as energy shortages and rising prices.

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7. We look at what is available in the market

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that India determines its oil purchases based on market availability and global conditions, aiming to meet the countrys energy needs effectively.

You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation, Jaiswal said during a press briefing on August 1.

On July 17, responding to US tariffs threat and criticisms about Indias Russian oil imports, the MEA spokesperson said that Indias energy strategy prioritises securing domestic needs and draws from a diversified supply base now covering around 40 countries, up from 27. He dismissed the threat of secondary sanctions and strongly cautioned against what he described as double standards in international expectations.

This came after Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that countries like India, China and Brazil could face harsh sanctions if they continued energy trade with Russia. In response, the MEA reiterated that Indias overriding concern remained ensuring affordable and reliable energy access for its population.
FBI Director Kash Patel provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the capital aims to counter Chinas influence, drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and ire from Beijing.

FBI Director Kash Patel's remarks on the opening of the US agency's new office in New Zealand has drawn ire from China. (Photo: AP)

FBI Director Kash Patel has provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand and a sense of unease in China, which is looking to dominate waters in South Pacific, including the Tasman Sea, with the suggestion that the new missions aim was to counter Chinese influence in the region.

Patels suggestion drew polite dismissals from New Zealand and ire from China. Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBIs first standalone office in New Zealand and to meet senior officials.

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The arrangement aligns New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

What FBI will do in New Zealand?

Speaking about the new office, the FBI chief, in remarks made in a video released on Thursday by the US Embassy, said the New Zealand branch would help counter Chinese Communist Partys influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean.

The Wellington office will provide a local mission for FBI staff, who have operated with oversight from Australia since 2017.

Interestingly, New Zealand ministers who met Patel, the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit New Zealand, looked quite uncomfortable with the FBI directors suggestion, and quietly dismissed his claims.

What New Zealand said on FBIs new office, and China?

The New Zealand government issued a statement on Thursday, emphasising joint efforts against crimes such as online child exploitation and drug smuggling. It did not mention anything about China, whose naval drills in recent times have raised security concerns in New Zealand.

When we were talking, we never raised that issue, Foreign Minister Winston said Thursday.

Judith Collins, minister for the security services, said the focus would be on transnational crime.

I dont respond to other peoples press releases, she said when reporters noted Patel had mentioned China, Radio New Zealand reported.

Trade Minister Todd McClay rejected a reporters suggestion on Friday that Wellington had celebrated the office opening.

Well, I dont think it was celebrated yesterday, he said. I think there was an announcement and it was discussed.

A sharp response from China to Patel

At a briefing Friday, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denounced Patels remarks. China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party, he said.

Seeking so-called absolute security through forming small groupings under the banner of countering China does not help keep the Asia Pacific and the world at large peaceful and stable.

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New Zealand, the smallest Five Eyes partner, has faced ongoing pressure to align with U.S. stances on China, its largest trading partner, while carefully balancing relations with Beijing. Analysts said the FBI chiefs comments could vex those efforts, although New Zealand has faced such challenges before.

Its in New Zealands interest to have more law enforcement activities to deal with our shared problems, said Jason Young, associate professor of international relations at Victoria University of Wellington.

Its perhaps not in New Zealands interest to say were doing this to compete with China.

US-China tussle in Trumps second presidency

Patels visit came as the Trump administration has sought to raise global alarm about Beijings designs. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in June said China posed an imminent threat and urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase military spending to five per cent of GDP.

New Zealand has traditionally avoided singling out individual countries when discussing regional tensions, Young said.

Im sure the US would like New Zealand to speak more forthrightly and characterize the China challenge in a similar way to the United States, Young said.

New Zealand, a country of 5 million people, was once assumed by larger powers to be of little strategic importance. But its location and influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean, where Beijing has sought to woo smaller island nations over the past decade, has increased its appeal to countries like the US.

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Peters, the foreign minister, told The Associated Press in 2024 that U.S. neglect of the region until recent years had in part been responsible for Chinas burgeoning influence there. He urged US officials to please get engaged and try to turn up.

Not everyone welcomed the expanded FBI presence

Online, the new office drew rancor from New Zealanders who posted thousands of overwhelmingly negative comments about the announcement on social media sites. A weekend protest against the opening was planned.

Young said it was unlikely people posting in anger took issue with cross-border law enforcement efforts in general.

I think it would be more a reflection of some of the deep unease that many people in New Zealand see with some of the political choices that are being made in America at the moment, he said.

(With agency inputs)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that India buying oil from Russia is a point of irritation in bilateral ties with the United States as he defends President Donald Trumps move to impose 25% tariffs on Indian goods.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump's move to impose 25 per cent tariffs on India, arguing that Indias purchase of Russian oil is a point of irritation in New Delhis relationship with Washington, DC. Rubios remarks on the matter came just days after the Trump administration announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods, describing it as penalties for purchasing oil from Moscow.

While speaking to Fox Radio on Thursday, Rubio argued that the Indian purchases of Russian oil are helping Moscows war efforts in Ukraine. Look, global trade  India is an ally. Its a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, youre not going to align 100 per cent of the time on everything, Rubio said in the interview.

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The secretary of state claimed that the Trump administration is disappointed with India as it continues to buy Russian military equipment and energy. Rubio acknowledged India has huge energy needs and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy like every country does, and it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap and  meaning they have to  in many cases, theyre selling it under the global price because of the sanctions.

However, he argued that it is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India, not the only point of irritation. We also have many other points of cooperation with them. But I think what youre seeing the President express is the evident frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia, which in essence is helping to fund the war effort, and allowing this war to continue in Ukraine.

Issues with India wont be solved overnight: White House

Amid the chaos, a senior White House official told CNN that the issues with India wont be resolved overnight. Despite calling India an ally, the Trump administration has been critical of India recently due to its reliance on Russian oil and military equipment and its membership in BRICS, an organisation that includes Russia, Iran, China, Brazil and other countries.

These are complex relationships and complex issues, the senior administration official said on a press call. I dont think things can be resolved overnight with India.

Trump tariffs against India are now being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US, which has, in recent days, got favourable trade deals with major partners like Japan, the UK and the European Union. Meanwhile, India has said that it will take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest and that the implications of the tariffs are being examined.

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Even as India is looking at ways to address some of the concerns of US President Donald Trump, such as reducing the trade deficit, India has made it clear that any major purchase of defence equipment, such as F-25 fighter planes, is not on the cards, according to a report.

(File) A flight deck crew signal to F-35 jet on USS George Washington during Freedom Edge trilateral exercise among United States, Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea, south of the Korean peninsula and west of Japan's main islands November 14, 2024. Reuters

Even as India is looking at ways to placate US President Donald Trump, no major purchase of American defence equipment, such as the F-35 fighter plane, is on the cards, according to a report.

In recent days, Trump has been on a constant offensive against India, firing off one angry social media post after another. In addition to slapping India with 25 per cent tariff, he has threatened additional penalties for any trade with Russia.

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Trumps announcement of 25 per cent tariff on India even as the two countries were engaged in trade talks came as a shock and disappointment to the Indian government, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

They said that India was looking at ways to address some of Trumps concerns, such as reducing the trade deficit, but no major defence purchase, such as F-35 fighter plane that the US president has wanted to sell to India, is on the cards.

The United States is the largest Indian trading partner. The US runs its 11th-largest trade deficit with India.

Whats on the table in India-US table  and whats not

Even though India and the United States have close defence and security ties, and India uses US defence equipment such as military transport aeroplanes, no new purchases of any equipment like F-35s is on the cards to decrease the trade deficit, according to Bloomberg.

To reduce the trade deficit in a bid to placate Trump, India is considering increasing the purchase of natural gas, communication equipment, and gold from the United States, the report said.

Even as the India reserves the right to impose retaliatory measures, no immediate retaliation is expected as India hopes to resolve the crisis with ongoing negotiations and concessions described above.

However, it is not known if Trump would be convinced as he has made the purchase of US defence equipment a key demand in his dealings with India, the report said.

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Sirens blared near the Gaza border amid a false alarm missile launch by Israel, while US envoy Steve Witkoff visited a Gaza aid site criticised as a death trap by Human Rights Watch.

Sirens sounded in Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip on Friday, leading the military to deploy an interceptor missile against a potential threat, the Israeli military said.

The military later stated that the launch was caused by a false alarm and that no danger was identified.

On Friday, Israeli media claimed that US Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff was visiting a food distribution site in Gaza.

Witkoff had previously met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as global outrage grew over the circumstances of hunger in Gaza, which occurred over months of Israeli-imposed humanitarian restrictions.

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Human Rights Watch described the aid sites run by the Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Friday as death traps that had become the scene of regular bloodbaths. According to the UN, Israeli soldiers have killed almost 900 Palestinians while attempting to approach the sites.
Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that, Trump posted on Truth Social

A day after former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned US President Donald Trump about Moscows Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities following Trumps remark telling him to watch his words, the US President on Friday said he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to what he called highly provocative comments by the Russian leader.

Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

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Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances, he added.

Trump did not clarify the exact location or naturenuclear-powered or nuclear-armedof the submarines he said were deployed in response to remarks by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

The escalating exchange between the two leaders began after Trump labelled Medvedev the failed former President of Russia.

Trump, after announcing a new tariff on India and a penalty for its trade relations with Russia, said, I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World.

He added, Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory!

Medvedev responded on Thursday via Telegram, writing, If a few words from the former president of Russia can provoke such a jittery reaction from the mighty president of the United States, then Russia must be completely in the right.

Well keep moving forward on our own path, Reuters quoted him as saying.

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Mocking Trumps dead economies remark, Medvedev referenced Russias Cold War-era nuclear deterrent system: As for dead economies and dangerous territory, maybe he should rewatch his favorite zombie movies and remember just how dangerous the so-called Dead Hand, which doesnt even exist, can be.

While Trump did not specify what exactly triggered his nuclear warning, Medvedev had earlier in the week criticised Trumps push for more sanctions, accusing him of escalating tensions.

Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country, Medvedev wrote on X.

With inputs from agencies
Lebanon is determined to disarm Hezbollah as it cannot have a parallel structure running the country, that too a terror organisation.

According to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat, people at different levels in the Lebanese government have called for arrest of those brandishing automatic weapons with an aim fuel distrust and violence. Many made it abundantly clear that the arms and ammunition should be under the exclusive control of arms by the State only.

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Hezbollahs disarmament and government pressure: The Lebanese government is currently seeking to disarm non-state actors, a move that places pressure on Hezbollah, especially after the groups top leadership was killed and a significant portion of its arsenal was destroyed during a war with Israel that concluded with a ceasefire agreement in November 2024. The US-brokered truce stipulates that all armed groups in Lebanon must disarm.

Arrests ordered after armed display: Prime Minister Nawaf Salam ordered the arrest of armed men who participated in a Shiite religious gathering in Beirut. Videos circulating online showed individuals carrying automatic weapons and chanting the name of Imam Hussein bin Ali, the Prophet Mohammeds grandson. These men are suspected to be Hezbollah supporters. Salam stated that armed demonstrations in Beirut are unacceptable under any circumstances.

Parliamentary concerns: Member of Parliament Ghassan Hasbani, a former deputy prime minister, emphasised the need for the government to take a firm stance against displays of weapons in the capital, urging security officials to enforce laws, confiscate weapons, and arrest those carrying them. Another MP, Ibrahim Mneimneh, echoed these concerns, calling on the judiciary and security authorities to act immediately and arrest those who appeared in the online videos.

US concerns over Hezbollahs influence: The United States has expressed concerns over Hezbollahs role in Lebanese politics. A US official stated that the US has set a red line against Hezbollah joining the Lebanese government. Additionally, there are reports of increased searches at Beirut airport for passengers arriving from Iraq, aimed at preventing funds transfers to Hezbollah.

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International efforts for Palestinian Statehood: Amid regional tensions, international efforts are underway to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. France will formally recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, a move praised by Palestinian officials but criticized by Israel and the United States.
US President Donald Trumps latest executive order on modified reciprocal tariffs gives a brief grace period, which can technically stretch to even October. Heres how

The executive order signed by US President Donald Trump, introducing modified reciprocal tariffs on nations around the world, has managed to give countries a brief grace period, which can technically stretch to even October.

With the latest announcement, the Trump tariffs appear to go into effect at 12:01 am (local time) on August 7, instead of the initial August 1 deadline. Things can change if any country signs a trade deal with Washington, DC within that brief period.

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Another factor that has gained attention following the announcement is that within the White House statement, it is mentioned that goods that are loaded onto ships before August 7 and that enter the American territory before October 5 will only face the pre-existing tariff rates, not the modified ones.

So technically, exporters who have sent their vessels to the US before Trump made the announcement would not face the wrath of the recent Trump tariffs.

The hidden details in the Trump tariffs announcement

It is pertinent to note that most tariffs are now set to take effect in seven days. The only exception in this case is Canada, which will face a 35 per cent tariff on exported goods from 12:01 am on Friday. However, tariffs on Canada do not exempt all goods that trade under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump renegotiated in his first term.

Technically, those goods make up 94 per cent of US imports from Canada. Another key detail in Trumps order is that it establishes a 40 per cent tariff on anything that US Customs and Border Protection determines has been  transshipped to avoid higher duties elsewhere.

This happens in cases when goods made in China are shipped to another country and repackaged or otherwise superficially changed. Interestingly, the trade deal with Vietnam, which Trump announced four weeks ago, contained these provisions. However, it had been absent from subsequent agreements, and it is not clear whether other countries that came to terms with Trump knew this was coming.

Back in those days, it was the World Trade Organisation that agreed to set up the same tariff rate. However, Trump changed the system to something of his own devising, where tariffs for different countries vary widely. This marks a break in historical norms where the United States worked with other countries to lower tariffs globally and set low levies for decades.

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A senior official who briefed reporters after the announcement acknowledged the same. The president has essentially reordered global trade. He added that Trump is in the process of accomplishing the type of outcomes that the WTO and the multilateral trading system have failed to accomplish at scale over the last 25 years".
Cooking utensils sit on a side in a kitchen of a house built of mud and stone with roofed with wicker and thatch, in Oued al-Berber, Tunisia. Reuters

Africa is a continent of extremesof breathtaking beauty and brutal hardship. Its savannahs teem with lions, elephants and zebras, while beneath its soil lie vast fossil fuel reserves. Yet, it is also a region that has repeatedly been wracked by war, famine and economic devastation.

Hopes for renewal have dimmed under the weight of punitive trade measures imposed by US President Donald Trump. Nowhere is this more evident than in Lesotho, where aggressive tariffs and aid withdrawals are collapsing entire industries, fraying social safety nets and deepening humanitarian distress.

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Trade, not aid: A broken promise

When President Trump entered office, he pledged to pivot US engagement with Africa from dependency on aid to self-reliance through trade. However, his administration soon undercut both promises. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trumps decision to dismantle foreign aid programmes was followed by tariff hikes that disproportionately targeted poor African nations like Lesotho. These actions have caused widespread economic damage, rather than fostering the prosperity the president initially promised.

Lesotho, a landlocked country of 2.3 million, once thrived under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which allowed duty-free access to the US for its textile products. For decades, this policy enabled thousands of Basotho workersmany of them womento find stable jobs manufacturing clothes for American retailers like Levis and Walmart. But with the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs, Lesothos highest-ever rate under Trumps reciprocal trade regime, that progress has been all but erased.

More from World How tariffs have hit the African factory where Trump golf shirts are made

Collapsing industry, crumbling livelihoods

Lesothos textile sector, the backbone of its economy, is in freefall. Before the tariffs, the Ever Successful Textile factory in Maseru employed 650 workers, 8090 per cent of whom produced goods for the US market. As orders dried up, the factorys workforce plummeted to just 90 employees finishing one final batch of black workout pants for export. Many workers, already living paycheck to paycheck, are now jobless with no safety net.

Despite modest increases in Lesothos minimum wageequivalent to just $168 a monthmost workers had no savings to cushion the blow of sudden unemployment.

Government in crisis

Facing economic freefall, Lesothos government declared a state of disaster in July 2025. Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile voiced frustration at being penalised for effectively using the AGOA framework to grow the national economy. He also disclosed that lobbyists claiming ties to Trumps inner circle demanded $1.5 million for tariff relief lobbyinga sum the country could not and would not pay, especially without guaranteed results.

In an attempt to mitigate the crisis, the government redirected limited public funds toward economic stimulus programmes. These included waiving business registration fees and creating startup funds. But these measures are unlikely to compensate for the loss of thousands of textile jobs, which account for nearly 20 per cent of Lesothos GDP and a similar share of its formal employment, The Wall Street Journal report said.

Infrastructure left half-built

The damage is not confined to the urban factories. In rural regions, US-funded infrastructure projects have also come to a halt. The Khama-Khamane Primary School in Qabane, which lost its roof to a storm, had been slated for reconstruction with $9,000 in US funding. But after the disbursement of just half that amount, the Trump administration ended aid support.

Across the country, similar projectsfrom schoolhouses to clinicshave been frozen mid-construction. These delays affect not just education but also access to healthcare and clean water. In places where children already studied under trees or in churches, the withdrawal of American aid is more than an inconvenience. Its a reversal of years of slow but meaningful progress.

Africa-wide economic strain

Lesotho is not alone. According to BusinessDay NG and The Star, numerous African nations have been hit with steep tariffs under Trumps reciprocal trade order. Madagascar faces a 47 per cent tariff, while Mauritius, Botswana, Angola, Libya and South Africa face rates ranging from 30 per cent to 40 per cent. Even resource-rich Nigeria now faces a 14 per cent tariff. These measures have come at a critical time, with the African Growth and Opportunity Act set to expire in September 2025 and little appetite in the US Congress for renewal.

In South Africa, Trumps 30 per cent tariff has jeopardised citrus and agricultural exports, endangering up to 100,000 jobs. In Madagascar, a similar share of the economycentred on textile exportsis now at risk. With AGOA in limbo, countries are racing to seek new trade alliances, including closer ties with China, Brics, or through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

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A bleak horizon

The most pressing concern now is whether AGOA will be renewed. Set to expire in September 2025, the acts lapse could permanently close off African duty-free access to the US market. The potential loss looms large over trade-dependent economies, many of which lack the negotiating power or industrial base to absorb such a blow.

African governments have begun to engage the World Trade Organisation and explore alternative trade partners, but such transitions take time. Meanwhile, thousands of workers, like those in Lesotho, are left in economic limbostruggling to feed families, pay school fees and afford medication.

Human cost of tariff diplomacy

The situation unfolding in Lesotho and across Africa is a stark reminder that economic policy is never just about numbersit has human consequences. While reciprocal trade may seem fair in theory, applying it to nations with vastly unequal economic power results in devastating imbalances.

Trumps tariff-first approach, coupled with slashed aid, has not incentivised reform or self-reliance in Africa. Instead, it has intensified poverty, unemployment and vulnerability in some of the worlds most fragile states.

Trade is a powerful tool. But when wielded without consideration for context or consequence, it can destroy more than it builds.
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol refused questioning once again on Friday by stripping off his prison uniform and lying on the floor of his detention cell.

South Koreas jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol again refused to attend questioning by investigators Friday, using a new method to resist: He took off his prison uniform and lay down on the floor at his detention room.

Yoon, removed from office in April over his ill-fated imposition of martial law, was sent back to prison last month as he stands a high-stakes trial over rebellion and other charges. Yoon, a conservative, faces investigations into other criminal allegations that are not related to his Dec. 3 martial law decree but target him, his wife and others.

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On Friday, Min Joong-ki, a special counsel named by his liberal rival and new President Lee Jae Myung, sent investigators to retrieve Yoon from a detention center near Seoul after the former president twice defied requests to attend questioning. Mins team is tasked with delving into allegations surrounding Yoons wife Kim Keon Hee, including that she and her husband exerted inappropriate influence on the then-ruling partys election nomination process in 2022.

Mins team had a court-issued detention warrant that authorized them to bring Yoon out of his detention facility by force, but said they were hoping for his voluntary cooperation.

Without wearing his prison uniform, the suspect lay down on the floor and strongly resisted his detention, assistant special counsel Oh Jeong-hee told a televised briefing.

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho separately told lawmakers that Yoon took off his shorts and short-sleeved shirt and put them back on after investigators left.

Oh said her team members refrained from using physical means out of safety concerns, but notified Yoon that they would execute the warrant next time. She urged Yoon to cooperate as the Korean people are closely watching whether the enforcement of law is applied to everyone equally.

Yu Jeong-hwa, a lawyer for Yoon, accused the special counsel team of trampling on Yoons dignity and honor by discussing his dress in prison, according to local media reports.

Yoons defense team earlier said Yoon was unable to attend his trial and undergo questioning by investigators because of heath problems. They said in a statement Thursday that Yoon has cardiovascular, autonomic nervous system and eye issues. They cited an unidentified hospital as saying that Yoon faces the risk of blindness because he failed to receive medical treatment for the past three months.

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Yoons imposition of martial law, which brought armed troops into Seoul streets, lasted only several hours before lawmakers voted down his decree unanimously.

Yoon has argued his decree was a desperate attempt to draw public support of his fight against the wickedness of Lees Democratic Party, then the main opposition party which had obstructed his agenda, impeached top officials and slashed the governments proposed budget.
The panel comes amid ongoing efforts by the post-Assad government to stabilise the country and address sectarian tensions that have plagued it since the 2011 uprising.

A drone view shows the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces, in Syria. File image/ Reuters

Syria has promised to look into clashes that killed hundreds of people in the southern province of Sweida last month. This was the second significant instance of sectarian violence since Bashar al-Assad, the long-time leader of Syria, was overthrown.

In a July 31 decree, Justice Minister Muzher al-Wais stated that a seven-member commission of judges, attorneys, and a military official would investigate the circumstances surrounding the events in Sweida and provide a report in three months.

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The committee would look into allegations of assaults and other mistreatment of civilians and report anyone found to have taken part in such actions to the legal system.

The conflict in Sweida began on July 13 between tribal warriors and Druze factions. The conflict escalated despite the deployment of government forces to stop it, and Israel launched attacks on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.

A minority branch of Islam, the Druze have followers in Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Although Sunni tribes and Druze make up the majority of the population in Sweida province, there have long been conflicts between the groups over land and other resources.

The violence, which had raged in Sweida city and adjacent towns for almost a week, came to an end with a truce mediated by the United States.

In March, hundreds of Alawite civilians were killed after government-aligned forces deployed to Syrias coastal areas following a deadly attack on new government forces by militias still aligned with Assad, who hails from the Alawite minority.

Assads brutal crackdown on protests against him in 2011 from within Syrias Sunni majority spiralled into a nearly 14-year war. Western leaders are keen to ensure the new government, led by a former Sunni Islamist group that has its roots in global jihad, conducts an orderly democratic transition.

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The fact-finding committee established after the March killings last month referred 298 people suspected of carrying out abuses against Alawites to the judiciary.

The committee said it found no evidence of commanders ordering troops to commit violations and that 265 people had been involved in the initial attack on government forces.
As outrage against the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israels policies is rising worldwide, an Israeli official has said that no real negotiations are taking place with Hamas at the moment and escalation is likely unavoidable in the strip.

Even as outrage over the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip is rising worldwide by the day, an Israeli official has said that escalation is likely unavoidable.

As a result of Israel restricting the flow of aid into Gaza, the Palestinian enclave is in the grips of severe hunger crisis. Palestinians have not just been starving to deaths, but hundreds of them have also been killed while awaiting food at distribution sites.

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While Palestinians have blamed these deaths on Israeli gunfire and airstrikes, Israel has blamed Hamas. Evidence of Israeli firing at Palestinians awaiting food supplies has, however, emerged. The United Nations (UN) on Thursday published a video that showed Israeli bullets landing merely inches away from Palestinians sitting on the ground and awaiting a UN convoy carrying food.

Amid such conditions, an Israeli official has told The Jerusalem Post that no real negotiations are taking place with Hamas at the moment and escalation is likely unavoidable in the strip.

The statement comes days after Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held discussions for completely blocking the flow of aid into Gaza and occupying or even annexing the entirety of Gaza.

Israeli official suggests talks with Hamas have almost collapsed

The feeling in the Israeli government is that talks with Hamas are nearing collapse, the official told The Post.

It now seems that an expanded military operation in Gaza is inevitable, the official told the newspaper.

The official further said that Hamas has cut off contact with Israel and there are no real negotiations with the group at the moment.

Hamas has also partially severed ties with Qatar and Egypt, a second official told the newspaper.

At the moment, Hamas is primarily engaged in talks with Turkey, this official said.

What this means for US-facilitated talks between Israel and Hamas is not immediately known. Traditionally, Egypt and Qatar have mediated indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.

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Currently, Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for Middle East, is in Israel. He held talks with Netanyahu on Thursday. Parts of the meeting was one-on-one and no details have come out of it. After the meeting, an official told The Post that the Trump administration and Israel were aligned on their next steps.

Even as Trump acknowledged Gaza's hunger crisis and dismissed Netanyahu's dismissal of the crisis in recent days, he appeared to change the tone on Thursday and put the blame on Hamas.

The fastest way to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages! said Trump on social media.

The UN has said that at least 74 Palestinians have died from hunger and malnutrition in Gaza, with 63 of these deaths in July alone. Palestinians have further said that more than 1,000 people have been killed while trying to get killed in Israeli gunfire and airstrikes.

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On Friday, around 4,000 to 5,000 people were waiting at the Chaman border to return to Afghanistan, according to Habib Bingalzai, a senior government official in Chaman

In total, more than one million Afghans have left Pakistan since 2023, including more than 200,000 since April. AFP File

Pakistan on Friday issued a fresh call for Afghans living in the countrys southwest to leave, prompting thousands to flock to the border, according to an AFP report, citing officials.

Over the past several decades, millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan, escaping waves of conflict, including hundreds of thousands who fled after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

The latest push follows a deportation campaign that began in 2023 and was reactivated in April, when the Pakistani government cancelled hundreds of thousands of residence permits for Afghan nationals.

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Authorities have warned of arrests for those who fail to leave voluntarily.

We have received directives from the home department to launch a fresh drive to repatriate all Afghans in a respectful and orderly manner, AFP quoted Mehar Ullah, a senior government official in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, as saying.

The province shares a border with Afghanistan and maintains deep social and cultural ties with the region.

On Friday, around 4,000 to 5,000 people were waiting at the Chaman border to return to Afghanistan, according to Habib Bingalzai, a senior government official in Chaman.

Abdul Latif Hakimi, head of Refugee Registration in Afghanistans Kandahar province across the border, confirmed that Afghan authorities had observed a rise in returnees on the same day.

While Islamabad has labeled Afghan migrants as terrorists and criminals, analysts say the mass expulsions are intended to pressure the Taliban government in Kabul to crack down on militancy in the border regions.

Since 2023, more than one million Afghans have left Pakistan, including over 200,000 since April this year.

The current campaign, re-launched in April, has targeted over 800,000 Afghans holding temporary residence permitsmany of whom were either born in Pakistan or have lived there for decades.

Amid rising economic and security challenges, segments of the Pakistani public have become increasingly resentful of hosting a large Afghan population, and the deportation drive enjoys broad domestic support.

Pakistans security forces are under significant strain along the Afghan border, contending with a growing insurgency by ethnic Baloch nationalists in the southwest and intensifying violence from the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates in the northwest.

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In 2024, Pakistan recorded its highest number of fatalities from militant attacks in over a decade. The government frequently accuses Afghan nationals of involvement in these incidents.

Iran, too, has carried out a large-scale deportation effort, sending back over 1.5 million Afghans in recent months.

Afghanistan remains in a prolonged humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule, which enforces a strict interpretation of Islamic lawincluding bans on most forms of education and employment for women.

With inputs from agencies
The Trump administration is in advanced talks with Azerbaijan and preliminary discussions with Central Asian nations to expand the Abraham Accords, according to sources. The initiative aims to solidify symbolic ties with Israel, despite regional tensions and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is in discussions with Azerbaijan about the possibility of the country, along with some Central Asian partners, joining the Abraham Accords, with the aim of strengthening their current relationships with Israel, according to five sources familiar with the matter.

As part of the Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 and 2021 during Trumps first term, four Muslim-majority nations agreed to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel following US mediation.

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Azerbaijan and all Central Asian countries, on the other hand, already have longstanding relations with Israel, so any expansion of the accords to include them would be largely symbolic, focussing on strengthening ties in areas such as trade and military cooperation, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss private conversations.

Such an expansion would demonstrate Trumps willingness to consider less ambitious agreements than his administrations objective of persuading regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia to re-establish ties with Israel while conflict rages in Gaza.

The kingdom has repeatedly said that it will not recognise Israel until Israel recognises a Palestinian state. A rising death toll in Gaza and malnutrition caused by Israels blockade of supplies and military operations have fuelled Arab outrage, hindering efforts to expand the Abraham Accords to include additional Muslim-majority nations.

The war in Gaza, where over 60,000 people including tens of thousands of women and children have died according to local health authorities, has provoked global anger. Canada, France and the United Kingdom have announced plans in recent days to recognize an independent Palestine.

Another key sticking point is Azerbaijans conflict with its neighbor Armenia, since the Trump administration considers a peace deal between the two Caucasus nations as a precondition to join the Abraham Accords, three sources said.

While Trump officials have publicly floated several potential entrants into the accords, the talks centered on Azerbaijan are among the most structured and serious, the sources said. Two of the sources argued a deal could be reached within months or even weeks.

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Trumps special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Azerbaijans capital, Baku, in March to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aryeh Lightstone, a key Witkoff aide, met Aliyev later in the spring in part to discuss the Abraham Accords, three of the sources said.

As part of the discussions, Azerbaijani officials have contacted officials in Central Asian nations, including in nearby Kazakhstan, to gauge their interest in a broader Abraham Accords expansion, those sources said. It was not clear which other countries in Central Asia - which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan - were contacted.

The State Department, asked for comment, did not discuss specific countries, but said expanding the accords has been one of the key objectives of Trump. We are working to get more countries to join, said a US official.

The Azerbaijani government declined to comment.

The White House, the Israeli foreign ministry and the Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

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Any new accords would not modify the previous Abraham Accords deals signed by Israel.

Obstacles remain

The original Abraham Accords - inked between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan - were centered on restoration of ties. The second round of expansion appears to be morphing into a broader mechanism designed to expand US and Israeli soft power.

Wedged between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan occupies a critical link in trade flows between Central Asia and the West. The Caucasus and Central Asia are also rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, prompting various major powers to compete for influence in the region.

Expanding the accords to nations that already have diplomatic relations with Israel may also be a means of delivering symbolic wins to a president who is known to talk up even relatively small victories.

Two sources described the discussions involving Central Asia as embryonic - but the discussions with Azerbaijan as relatively advanced.

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But challenges remain and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached, particularly with slow progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The two countries, which both won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh - an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.

In 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh, prompting about 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both sides have since said they want to sign a treaty on a formal end to the conflict.

Primarily Christian Armenia and the US have close ties, and the Trump administration is wary of taking action that could upset authorities in Yerevan.

Still, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump himself, have argued that a peace deal between those two nations is near.

Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there, Trump told reporters earlier in July. And its pretty close.

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Envoys visit to Gaza aid site comes amid soaring death toll, mounting scrutiny of US-backed distribution efforts, and fierce criticism from Palestinian officials

US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to members of the news media with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt outside of the West Wing at the White House in Washington, US, on March 6, 2025. Reuters File

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff on Friday visited a contentious American-supported aid distribution site in Gaza on Friday, according to a CNN report, citing an Israeli source.

Witkoff arrived at the aid site in the southern city of Rafah - one of three locations where in recent weeks hundreds of Palestinians have died while attempting to access desperately needed food - which is run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), added the report.

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GHF was established to take over the United Nations aid responsibilities in Gaza but has faced widespread criticism for failing to alleviate the worsening hunger crisis.

According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while attempting to obtain food, with hundreds of those deaths occurring near GHF distribution sites.

The GHF disputes these claims.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee would visit Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.

Leavitt added that Witkoff and Huckabee would brief the president immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region, noting the White House would release further details once that plan is approved and agreed on by the president of the United States.

Fridays visit marks Witkoffs second trip to Gaza. He previously travelled to the territory shortly after President Donald Trump took office in January, becoming the first US official to visit the enclave in over a decade.

A senior Hamas official criticized Witkoffs latest visit, dismissing it as little more than a photo opportunity.

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Mr. Witkoff, Gaza is not an animal farm that requires a staged personal visit to take some personal photos in front of the death traps overseen by your American companies, CNN quoted Basem Naim, a former Palestinian health minister in Gaza, as saying in a statement.

The people of Gaza are not a group of beggars, but a free, proud, and noble people who seek only their freedom, independence, and return to their homeland, Naim added.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was created in May following Israeli allegations that United Nations aid was being diverted to Hamas. However, an internal US government review found no evidence of widespread theft of US-funded humanitarian aid by the group.

The analysis, conducted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), examined 156 reports of waste, fraud, and abuse submitted by partner organixations between October 2023 and May 2025.

According to a presentation reviewed by CNN, the investigation found no affiliations between those incidents and any sanctioned entities or foreign terrorist organisations.

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With inputs from agencies
Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the disarray that followed, the country split into rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, left, and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, pose for photos before their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey. AP

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a conference in Istanbul with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah to discuss migration, collaboration, and Libyas political stability.

According to a statement published by Melonis office after the closed-door meeting, the three leaders addressed boosting collaboration in the Mediterranean region, beginning with migration management.

Meloni applauded the excellent results achieved through partnership with Turkey on migration control, stating that the lessons learnt should be applied to strengthen the Libyan Government of National Unitys migration efforts, according to a statement released by her office.

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According to a statement released by Erdogans office, long-term and sustainable solutions were required to eliminate the root cause of migration.

Libya is a major transit hub for migrants escaping war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Drownings along the countrys shore have been prevalent. In December, at least 61 migrants, including women and children, drowned off Zuwara on Libyas western coast.

The Italian prime minister also underlined Italys commitment to Libyas stability, unity, and independence, as well as its support for a political process led by Libya and assisted by the United Nations that would lead to elections.

According to the Turkish presidential statement, the three leaders will meet again to assess their conclusions after lower-level technical meetings.

Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the disarray that followed, the country split into rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

Turkey has been allied with the Tripoli-based government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well.

In 2019, Turkey reached an agreement with the Tripoli-based government which delineated maritime boundaries between Libya and Turkey, angering Greece and Cyprus which say the agreement infringes on their rights.

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The US State Department on Friday said that it has temporarily limited visits by government personnel to high-end hotels in Pakistans Karachi after receiving a report of a threat

A general view of commercial banks amid haze during evening hours in Karachi, Pakistan, on January 3, 2022. Reuters File

The US State Department on Friday said that it has temporarily limited visits by government personnel to high-end hotels in Pakistans Karachi after receiving a report of a threat.

The US Consulate General Karachi received a report of a threat directed at high-end hotels in Karachi, Reuters quoted the department as saying in a security alert.

The US Consulate General in Karachi has temporarily limited visits by official US government personnel to these hotels, it added.

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The State Department noted that in response to security threats, it may restrict official US personnel from visiting certain locations abroad, including tourist sites, hotels, markets, malls, and restaurants.

Its latest security alert advises individuals to steer clear of crowded areas, maintain a low profile, and remain vigilant in places popular with tourists and Western nationals.

A travel advisory remains in effect for Pakistan, urging US citizens to reconsider travel due to terrorism risks and the potential for armed conflict.

With inputs from agencies
August 2, 2025, 04:30:11 (IST) Whatsapp Facebook Twitter

Egypt signs offshore oil and gas deals with Eni and BP to enhance energy security

Egypt has signed new offshore oil and gas exploration agreements with international energy firms Eni and BP, a strategic move to enhance its energy security amidst declining domestic production and rising demand, as per a report in Al-Monitor. The deals are of significant economic importance, expected to attract crucial foreign direct investment to an economy grappling with foreign currency shortages and high debt, thereby supporting its IMF-backed reform programme. From a market perspective, these agreements are designed to reduce Egypts reliance on costly energy imports and reinforce its position as a key energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly within the framework of the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF). For Eni and BP, the agreements secure access to new reserves in a strategic region, though the move has drawn scrutiny from environmental analysts who note it deepens the countrys reliance on fossil fuels, potentially conflicting with global climate transition goals.
Chinas deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, slammed the United States for imposing tariffs on Beijing due to its trade with Russia, but pointed out how Washington continues to trade with Moscow despite sanctions and the Ukraine war.

China slammed the United States and called out the hypocrisy of the West regarding trading with Russia. While speaking at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting, Chinas deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, refuted the claims made by the US representative.

US President Donald Trumps administration has been accusing both India and China of helping Russia in the war with Ukraine by continuing to trade with Moscow, especially by buying oil. During the UNSC meeting, the Chinese representative pointed out how the US and the West continue to engage in trading with Russia despite the war and the sanctions.

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The US itself continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day. Why should it be acceptable for the US to do so, but not for others? Isnt this only allowing oneself to set fires while forbidding others from lighting lamps? Chinas deputy permanent representative to the UN said at the meeting.

In fact, the US itself continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day. Why should it be acceptable for the US to do so, but not for others? Isnt this only allowing oneself to set fires while forbidding others from lighting lamps? Chinas deputy permanent representative pic.twitter.com/Gaa8f9FMIR  Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 1, 2025

China accuses the US of playing the blame game

While speaking to the reporters after the meeting, Shuang once again reiterated the matter and said that it was not China that created the crisis in Ukraine. I responded to such accusations on multiple occasions in past meetings. Since the US insists on repeating the same rhetoric, I find it necessary to set the record straight once again," Shuang said.

First, China is not the creator of the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the conflict. China has never provided lethal weapons to any party involved in the conflict."

We have always strictly controlled the export of dual-use items, including drones. Second, the UN Security Council has not imposed sanctions on any party to the conflict," he added. The Chinese UN representative made it clear that Beijing maintains trade ties with both Russia and Ukraine, in compliance with the trade law.

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China maintains normal trade relations with both Russia and Ukraine, in full compliance with international law and without breaching any international obligations. Chinas legitimate and lawful rights and interests must not be infringed upon," he said.

Third, the Ukraine crisis is currently at a critical juncture, with a genuine prospect for a political resolution. The US cannot, on the one hand, ask China to play a constructive role in ending the war, while on the other hand, continuously smear and pressure China," he added. The Chinese representative concluded his argument by saying that the US should not be playing the blame game in this regard.

The remarks from China came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Chinese officials that continued purchases of sanctioned Russian oil would lead to big tariffs due to legislation in Congress, but was told that Beijing would protect its energy sovereignty. Indias oil purchase from Russia has been facing similar scrutiny.

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Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
Contracts

Contracts For July 31, 2025

AIR FORCE

Vertex Aerospace LLC, Madison Mississippi, was awarded a maximum $4,322,844,989 value, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the contractor operated and maintained supply service contract for the T-6 aircraft. This contract provides support for safe flyable aircraft to meet users' daily flight schedule and depot requirements consistent with Department of Defense and commercial sector best practices in procuring, producing, and delivering products and services to customers. Work will be performed at a variety of military bases across the continental U.S., and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2034. This contract was a competitive source selection with three offers received. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,324,080 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8106-25-D-B002).

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Orlando, Florida, has been awarded a $4,288,108,296 firm-fixed-price definitization modification (PZ0007) to a previously awarded contract (FA8682-24-C-B001) for the Joint Air-To-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and Long-Range, Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) large lot procurement for JASSM Lots 22-26 and LRASM Lots 9-12. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $9,485,190,471. Work will be performed at Orlando, Florida; and Troy, Alabama, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2033. This contract action involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Poland, Netherlands, Japan, and Finland. Fiscal 2023 (Air Force) missiles procurement funds in the amount $3,015,000; Fiscal 2024 (Air Force) missiles procurement funds in the amount of $634,523,930; fiscal 2025 (Air Force) missiles procurement funds in the amount of $418,007,325; fiscal 2025 (Air Force) research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7,944,999; fiscal 2024 (Navy) weapons procurement funds in the amount of $60,524,996; fiscal 2025 (Navy) weapons procurement funds in the amount of $44,349,985; and FMS funds in the amount of $238,899,984, are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon, Division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a not-to-exceed $3,500,000,000 firm-fixed-price incentive, undefinitized contract action for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) Production Lots 39 and 40. This contract provides for the production of AMRAAM missiles, AMRAAM Telemetry System, initial and field spares, and other production engineering support activities. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to: Denmark, Belgium, Japan, Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Isreal, and Kuwait. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of fiscal 2031. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 Navy weapons procurement funds in the amount of $113,000,000; fiscal 2025 Navy weapons procurement funds in the amount of $190,000,000; fiscal 2023 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $1,300,000; fiscal 2024 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $116,000,000; fiscal 2025 Air Force missile procurement funds in the amount of $472,000,000; fiscal 2025 Air Force research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $507,000; fiscal 2024 Air Force operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $253,936; and FMS funds in the amount of $621,000,000, are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Air Dominance Division Contracting Office, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. (FA8659-25-C-B003)

The University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio, was awarded a $98,500,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for counter-targeting enhancement research. This contract provides for the advancement and maturation of promising technologies for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and counter-targeting/counter-ISR. Work will be performed at Dayton, Ohio, and is expected to be completed July 31, 2030. This contract was a competitive acquisition and one offer was received. An initial task order totaling $22,700,000 will be awarded concurrently. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of are being obligated to the task order at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory Wright Research Site, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has been awarded a $79,349,247 option modification (P00009) to a previously awarded contract (FA8105-23-D-0002) for KC-135 engineering sustainment support. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $154,538,133. Work will be performed at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; San Antonio, Texas; Huntsville, Alabama; Houston, Texas; Pleasanton, California; Long Beach, California; Mesa, Arizona; Tukwila, Washington; St. Louis, Missouri; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; and Vancouver, Canada, and is expected to be complete by June 30, 2033. This modification involves unclassified Foreign Military Sales to Chile, France, and Turkey. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance appropriation funds in the estimated amount of $21,200,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity.

Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, was awarded a $31,518,010 cost-type contract for Expand Q-CORE. This contract provides for expanding the capabilities of applied quantum capacity, operational resilience, and regional equity test-bed facility to include heterogeneous entanglement capabilities, to further foster a collaborative industry-facing workforce development program, including a hands-on training facility, exploring fidelity definitions and processes, benchmarking in partnership with the Quantum Economic Development Consortium, and establishing an accelerator to facilitate regional economic development with industrial partners. Work will be performed in Bozeman, Montana, and is expected to be completed by July 30, 2028. This contract was a competitive acquisition and two offers were received. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $15,752,203 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, New York, is the contracting activity (FA8750-25-C-B027).

L3Harris Technologies Integrated Systems L.P., Greenville, Texas, has been awarded a $9,306,234 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-reimbursement-no fee definitizing modification (PZ00001) to a previously awarded contract (FA8555-25-C-0001) for the Integrated Broadcast Service - Common Interactive Broadcast - Uplink Site Sustainment Program. Work will be performed in multiple locations in the contiguous U.S. and outside the contiguous U.S. and is expected to be completed Feb. 28, 2026, if all options are exercised. This contract was a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $336,757 will be obligated at time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.

NAVY

General Dynamics, Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, is awarded a fixed-price incentive (firm-target) modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-23-C-2305) to exercise the fiscal 2025 option for construction of an Arleigh Burke-class ship (DDG 148). This modification also includes options for engineering change proposals, design budgeting requirements, and post-delivery availabilities. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine (69%); Cincinnati, Ohio (4%); Walpole, Massachusetts (4%); York, Pennsylvania (2%); South Portland, Maine (1%); Falls Church, Virginia (1%); and other locations (< 1% (totaling 19%), and is expected to be completed by August 2032. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded an undefinitized contract action with a not-to-exceed value of $578,729,839, firm-fixed-price order (N0001925F0090) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001924G0010). This order procures fiscal 2025 F-35 air vehicle initial spares. The subject contract procures basic spares pool and global spares pool spares shared between the customers involved, customer specific afloat spares pool and deployable spares pool, and support labor. These initial spares are necessary to meet immediate maintenance needs and ensure the U.S. services, Collaborative Program Partner nations, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers have mission capable aircraft. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (100%), and is expected to be completed in June 2030. Fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $148,743,106; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $58,473,883; fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $21,551,619; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $8,519,727; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $3,495,556; fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $1,876,609; fiscal 2023 aircraft procurement (Air Force) funds in the amount of $4,306,095; fiscal 2023 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,061,999; international partner funding in the amount of $43,292,470; and FMS funds in the amount of $241,095,906, will be obligated at the time of award, $11,360,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is being awarded a not-to-exceed delivery of $65,060,600, (N00383-25-F-YY2E) under a previously awarded basic ordering agreement (N00383-22-G-YY01) for the manufacture of 54 spares; 27 of each on the left and right hand, outer wing panel used on the EA-18G aircraft. The delivery order does not include an option provision. Work will be performed in Hazelwood, Missouri (97%); and St. Louis, Missouri (3%), and is expected to be completed by December 2029. Working capital funds (Navy) funds in the amount of $31,879, 694 will be obligated at the time of the award as an undefinitized contract action, and funds will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. One company was solicited for this sole-source requirement pursuant to the authority set forth in 10 U.S. Code 3204 (a)(1), with one offer received. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Syracuse, New York, is awarded a $57,258,872 cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for engineering and technical support and production of submarine multifunction modular masts on new construction and in-service submarines. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $202,772,544. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York, and is expected to be completed by July 2030. Fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $38,683,770 (71%); fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,490,815 (28%); and fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $100,000 (1%), will be obligated and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-25-C-6202).

EA Engineering, Science, and Technology Inc. PBC, Hunt Valley, Maryland, is awarded a $45,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for environmental services. Work will be performed at various locations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Northwest area of operations and is expected to be completed by January 2031. Fiscal 2025 Environmental Restoration, Navy (ERN) funds in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by operation and maintenance, Navy, and ERN funds. This contract was competitively procured via SAM.gov with two proposals received. NAVFAC Northwest, Silverdale, Washington, is the contracting activity (N44255-25-D-0004).

Framaco-Bozdemir JV LLC, Rye Brook, New York, is awarded a $38,186,062 firm-fixed-price contract for renovations and upgrades to three existing facilities at Keflavik Air Station, Iceland. Work will be performed in Keflavik, Iceland, and is expected to be completed by February 2027. Fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $38,186,062 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Solicitation Module in the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment, with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Europe Africa Central, Naples, Italy, is the contracting activity (N33191-25-C-6007).



Fighter Jet Metals Inc.,* Lake Worth Beach, Florida (N6893625D0017); Rache Corp.,* Camarillo, California (N6893625D0018); Rickard Metals Inc.,* Santa Fe Springs, California (N6893625D0019); and T & T Materials Inc.,* Rochester, New York (N6893625D0020), are awarded combined $19,300,000 firm-fixed-price, multiple-award, indefinitedelivery/indefinitequantity contracts for the procurement of commercially available types of materials such as metals, alloys, acrylic, delrin, fiberglass, plastic, polyvinyl chloride, rubber, and fluoropolymer. Work will be performed at the listed contractor's locations and is expected to be completed by July 2030. These contracts were a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Funding will be obligated as individual orders are placed. No funding is being obligated at the time of award. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity.

L3Harris Corp., Millersville, Maryland, is awarded a $15,363,176 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-16-C-6239). This modification is to procure spares parts and components. Work will be performed in Ashaway, Rhode Island (85%); and Syracuse, New York (15%), and is expected to be completed by January 2029. Fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) spares funds in the amount of $7,725,875 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

StraCon Services Group LLC,* Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $12,185,713 cost-plus-fixed-fee order (N6134025F0094) against a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N6134020D0024). This order provides engineering, logistics, and program management support to the Navy and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed in March 2026. Fiscal 2025 aircraft procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $2,913,642; fiscal 2025 working capital (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,481,149; fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $936,716; fiscal 2025 operations and maintenance (Air Force) funds in the amount of $137,602; fiscal 2025 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $233,964; fiscal 2025 Royal Australian Air Force (unique) funds in the amount of $246,277; fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $598,668; and FMS customer funds in the amount of $1,650,810, will be obligated at award, $3,555,467 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity.

Countrywide Quality Services,* Pasadena, Texas, is awarded an $11,706,592 firm-fixed-price contract (N3904025C2937) for rental of single-occupancy efficiency lodging to accommodate members of a Portsmouth Naval Shipyard project team assigned to temporary duty to support the Docking Selected Restricted Availability of a Los Angeles-class submarine. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed by July 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $11,706,592 will be obligated at the time of award. This contract was competitively procured via the SAM.gov website, with 17 offers received. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine, is the contracting activity.



DRS Laurel Technologies Inc., Johnstown, Pennsylvania, is awarded a not-to-exceed $11,526,652 firm-fixed-price contract modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-4109) for the procurement of AN/USQ-82(V) Gigabit Ethernet Data Multiplex System hardware and spare parts in support of Arleigh Burke-class destroyer new construction and modernization. Work will be performed in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and is expected to be completed by March 2027. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $121,489 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., McLean Virginia, is awarded a $7,558,892 cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-23-C-6110) to exercise year two options for operation of the progressive depot level repair facility and torpedo maintenance and support at the Navy Submarine Torpedo Facility in support of the MK48 Heavyweight Torpedo efforts. Work will be performed in Yorktown, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by July 2026. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,745,750 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

ARMY

Conco Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, was awarded a $329,435,528 modification (P00015) to contract W15QKN-20-D-0003 to manufacture, inspect, test, and deliver metal containers and covers for the M231 and M232 series for the Modular Artillery Charge Systems. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $628,655,767. 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 Dec. 12, 2026. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.

ACC Construction Co. Inc., Augusta, Georgia, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to construct a new standard design Automation-Aided Instructional area. The amount of this action is $165,948,726. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed on Fort Gordon, Georgia with an estimated completion date of March 24, 2029. Fiscal 2024 military construction, Army funds in the amount of $165,948,726 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-25-C-4002).

A&H-Ambica JV LLC,* Livonia, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A018); Angels General Construction,* Detroit, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A019); B&B Industries,* Frasier, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A023) CAVU Construction,* Virginia Beach, Virginia (W912CH-25-D-A024); DCR Services & Construction,* Detroit, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A025); DMC Consultants,* Detroit, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A026); Enfield Enterprises LLC,* Springfield, Massachusetts (W912CH-25-D-A027); Erie Affiliates,* Cleveland, Ohio (W912CH-25-D-A028); Nisou Enterprises,* Farmington Hills, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A029); Pontiac Drywall Systems Inc.,* Pontiac, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A031); RB Construction Co.,* Mt. Clemens, Michigan (W912CH-25-D-A032); and Sanalil Construction,* Fort Lauderdale, Florida (W912CH-25-D-A033), will compete for each order of the $96,200,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction. The total combined face value of the contract is $96,200,000. Bids were solicited via the internet with 13 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug 2, 2030. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity.

Loc Performance Products LLC, Plymouth, Michigan, was awarded a $69,805,302 modification (P00033) to contract W15QKN-18-C-0073 for Improved Armored Cab production kits and IAC Integration Spares kits for the M270A2 Multiple Launcher Rocket System. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $334,927,813. Work will be performed in Plymouth, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2029. Fiscal 2024 M270 Cooperative Partner (Italy, United Kingdom); 2025 missile procurement, Army funds; and 2025 Foreign Military Sales (Finland) funds, in the amount of $69,805,302 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

Conti Federal Services LLC, Orlando, Florida, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for construction. The amount of this action is $64,998,730. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will be performed in Israel with an estimated completion date of July 17, 2028. Fiscal 2025 Foreign Military Sales (Israel) funds in the amount of $64,998,730 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District, is the contracting activity (W912ER-25-C-0007).

Donjon Marine Co. Inc., Hillside, New Jersey, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to perform maintenance dredging of portions of the Newark Bay, New Jersey, Federal Navigation Project. The amount of this action is $53,624,500. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Newark Bay, New Jersey with an estimated completion date of Jan. 25, 2026. Fiscal 2025 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $53,624,500 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York, New York, is the contracting activity (W912DS-25-C-A003).

Emerson Construction Co. Inc., Temple, Texas, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for construction. The amount of this action is $ $26,704,000. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Abilene, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 1, 2027. Fiscal 2025 military construction, defense-wide funds in the amount of $26,704,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-25-C-0010).

Precision Build Solutions, Gibsonton, Florida, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to fabricate and supply a Miter Gate to Greenup Lock and Dam. The amount of this action is $19,112,957. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Greenup, Kentucky, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2028. Fiscal 2025 civil operation and maintenance funds in the amount of $19,112,957 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington, West Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91237-25-F-A074).

Direct Viz Solutions, Chantilly, Virginia, was awarded a $13,643,328 modification (P00054) to contract W91RUS-19-C-0014 for enterprise-level Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Management common-user services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $242,465,411. Work will be performed on Fort Huachuca, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 31, 2025. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $13,643,328 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics Land Systems, Sterling Heights, Michigan, was awarded a $11,501,017 modification (P00108) to contract W56HZV-22-C-0012 to add labor hours and funding. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $1,024,379,235. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 27, 2027. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Kuwait) funds; 2024 and 2025 other procurement, Army funds; and 2025 research, development, test, and evaluation Army funds, in the amount of $11,501,017 were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity.

Southwest Shipyard Lip, Channelview, Texas, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for welded steel revetment barges. The amount of this action is $7,800,000. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Galveston, Texas with an estimated completion date of March 3, 2027. Fiscal 2025 revolving funds in the amount of $7,800,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (W912BU-25-C-A012).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

ASRC Federal Facilities Logistics LLC,** as successor-in-interest to Science Applications International Corp., Beltsville, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $90,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for facilities maintenance, repair and operations supplies. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 3204 (a)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 336-day bridge contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas, with a July 2, 2026, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 through 2026 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE8E3-25-D-0022).

Amsted Graphite Materials LLC, Anmoore, West Virginia, has been awarded a maximum $9,996,800 firm-fixed-price contract for Iso-statically Molded Synthetic Graphite. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a three-year contract with no option years. The performance completion date is July 31, 2028. Using military services are Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Space Command. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 transaction funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Contracting Services Office, Columbus Division #3, Columbus, Ohio (SP8000-25-C-0007)

Pomp's Tire Service Inc., New Berlin, Wisconsin, has been awarded an estimated $8,448,334 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for wheel and tire assemblies. A delivery order (SPRDL1-25-F-0204) was also executed at the time of award. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. The ordering period end date is July 31, 2030. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2025 through 2030 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-25-D-0064).

UPDATE: Combat Medical Systems LLC,** Huntersville, North Carolina (SPE2DH-25-D-0023, $20,000,000) has been added as an awardee to the multiple award contract for medical equipment and accessories for the Defense Logistics Agency Electronic Catalog, issued against solicitation SPE2DH-21-R-0002 and awarded Feb. 10, 2022. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

Jadin Tech LLC,*** Anchorage, Alaska, is being awarded a single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Tactical Local Area Network family of systems accessory cases and ancillary items with a five-year ordering period beginning July 31, 2025, and ending July 30, 2030. This contract, with a ceiling value of $45,250,000, is in support of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Tactical Information Systems' Program Executive Office. Fiscal 2025 procurement funds are being obligated on the first delivery order at time of award. USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (H9241525DE001).

DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY

Enterprise Resource Planning International Inc., Laurel, Maryland, was awarded a non-competitive contract modification (P00016) to a single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity vehicle for a ceiling increase. The face value of this action is $20,000,000 and will be funded via orders made to the vehicle. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $85,000,000. Places of performance for this contract vary and are specified within each task order. Performance under this contract is expected to be completed Sept. 23, 2026. Proposals were not solicited, and a Notice of Intent to Sole Source was posted to SAM.gov on June 27, 2025. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Fort Meade, Maryland, is the contracting activity (HC104720D2045).

*Small business

**Small-disadvantaged business

***Alaska Native Corporation

https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4261297/

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Germany and Jordan - working together for stability

Germany - Federal Government

Press conference of the Chancellor with the Jordanian King

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with Jordan's King Abdullah II about the situation in Gaza and the West Bank - and about the special partnership that has linked Germany and Jordan for more than seven decades.

Transcript of press conference

Tuesday, 29 July 2025

Jordan is an essential partner in view of the catastrophic situation in Gaza. Germany and Jordan are working together to airdrop humanitarian supplies. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz thanked Jordan's King Abdullah II for this at a meeting in the Federal Chancellery. "This work may only make a small humanitarian contribution. But it is an important signal. We are here. We are in the region. We are helping", said the Chancellor at a joint press conference with King Abdullah II.

The Chancellor spoke about issues including:

The situation in Gaza: according to the Chancellor, the focus is on achieving overdue first steps in response to the most urgent issues. He mentioned four points: a ceasefire in Gaza, improvement of the catastrophic humanitarian situation by Israel, a viable political perspective - and there must be no expulsions and no further steps towards annexation of the West Bank.

according to the Chancellor, the focus is on achieving overdue first steps in response to the most urgent issues. He mentioned four points: a ceasefire in Gaza, improvement of the catastrophic humanitarian situation by Israel, a viable political perspective - and there must be no expulsions and no further steps towards annexation of the West Bank. Jordan's role in the Middle East: Chancellor Friedrich Merz recognised the role of the country. "Jordan is an anchor in a region of the world that is not at peace."

Chancellor Friedrich Merz recognised the role of the country. "Jordan is an anchor in a region of the world that is not at peace." The German-Jordanian partnership: Jordan is a reliable partner in the fight against Islamist extremist threats, said the Chancellor. The country, he said, is also a proven base for the Federal Armed Forces in the Middle East.

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Lithuania will strengthen joint resilience with Israel, Vice Minister of National Defence T. Godliauskas says in Israel

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2025-07-30

International cooperation | Security and defense policy

Vice Minister of National Defence Tomas Godliauskas paid a visit to Israel this week were he had meetings with senior representatives of the country's security and defence institutions. The topics discussed concerned opportunity for bilateral Lithuanian-Israeli cooperation on strengthening de fence, total preparedness for crises, civil defence and cyber security.

"Lithuania places great value on the dialogue with Israel across all security and defence levels: we are united by the same understanding of threats. We find Israel's experience in crisis response, civil defence, cyber security and defence industry strategically relevant to Lithuania. Lithuania and Israel have agreed to strengthen our joint national resilience by developing an enduring partnership, developing joint projects and defence capabilities, conducting joint exercises and evaluating resilience and readiness of separate sectors," said Vice Minister T. Godliauskas.

Vice Minister met with Joseph Shapiro, Deputy Head of the National Emergency Management Authority, Amir Baram, Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Dror Shalom, Head of the Political-Military Bureau, Yair Kulas, Head of SIBAT (Directorate for International Defense Cooperation), and Colonel Elad Adri, Chief of Staff of the Home Front Command, as well as the Lithuanian Community in Israel. He also had meetings with representatives of the Israeli Directorate for the Security of the Defence Establishment and the National Cyber Directorate, as well as cyber security representatives of Israel's private sector. Vice Minister also met with Brigade General Benny Ben-Ari when visiting the 98th Paratrooper Division, 55th Brigade.

They discussed key security aspects : implementation of the civil defence model, public readiness for crises, rapid response and early warning systems, air defence, protection of civilian infrastructure, cooperation on defence industry, and management of cyber threats.

Vice Minister was interested in Israel's experience of integrating civil and military defence, mutual interaction and coordination, and cooperation among the state, local governance institutions and the military during crises. The discussion was particularly centered on crisis preparedness systems, shelter infrastructure, public early warning systems, protection of critical infrastructure and the capacity to ensure operation of the state and local governance agencies in case of a crisis or war.

In the meetings with cyber security experts, Vice Minister T. Godliauskas presented Lithuania's progress of the recent years, including the International Cyber Threat Analysis Hub (ICTAH), an international platform under the National Cyber Security Centre, and the newly established Cyber Defence Command within the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Other topics discussed where the opportunity for sharing experience between Lithuania and Israel, particularly in such areas as cyber threat hunting, development of cyber defence capabilities and attracting experts.

When discussing defence industry, Vice Minister T. Godliauskas underscored Lithuania's intent to develop a strategic partnership with Israeli companies, not just through joint procurement but also through joint investment, scientific research, production in Lithuania and integration of Lithuanian companies in international supply chains.

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Hungarian Gripen's arrive in Lithuania to take on NATO's Air Policing mission

NATO Allied Air Command

Jul 30 2025

RAMSTEIN, Germany -- Hungarian Air Force has deployed JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets to Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania, as they take on NATO's Air Policing mission relieving, alongside with the Spanish Air and Space Force, the Polish and Romanian detachments.

The Hungarian' will deploy with four JAS 9 Gripens along with pilots, technicians and support staff for the next four months. This deployment marks the fourth time Hungary has taken on Air Policing from Lithuania.

"Collective defence means uninterrupted vigilance," said Lt. Col. Peter Toser, Detachement Commander. "This rotation demonstrates our readiness to protect every inch of Alliance airspace alongside our Spanish counterparts", he added.

Operating as part of NATO's integrated Air Policing framework, the Hungarian Gripens will be on Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) alongside the detachment of eight Spanish Force Eurofighter Typhoon jets.

During their four month deployment, the Hungarian Gripens will engage in joint training and live flying exercises with the Spanish colleagues and the hosting nation, reinforcing shared procedures, tactics, and interoperability at the tactical level. The deployment of two detachments at Siauliai allows for more flexible operational planning of NATO Air Policing in the region.

Since 2004, NATO has maintained a continuous air policing mission in the Baltic states, using rotating fighter detachments from member countries to safeguard regional security and demonstrate solidarity. The deployment of Hungary's JAS 39 Gripens and Spain's Eurofighters underscores this enduring commitment.

Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office

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Deputy Secretary Landau's Meeting with Honduran Foreign Minister Bu

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

July 30, 2025

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Today, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau met with Honduran Foreign Minister Javier Bu and Presidential Advisor Hector Zelaya to reaffirm our shared strategic interests. The Deputy and Foreign Minister Bu emphasized the need to continue working jointly on economic, counternarcotics, and migration issues, among others.

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"It is time now to end this war" - Foreign Minister Wadephul travels to Israel and the Palestinian territories

Germany Federal Foreign Office

31.07.2025 - Article

Hamas is still holding hostages captive. At the same time, the situation in Gaza is disastrous. Foreign Minister Wadephul will discuss the dramatically worsened situation with his interlocutors.

On behalf of the Chancellor and the security cabinet, Foreign Minister Wadephul is travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories today. Despite the ongoing negotiation efforts, Hamas is still not prepared to capitulate and end this war.

Foreign Minister Wadephul commented as follows today prior to his departure:

At Israel's side, Germany will continue to advocate that Hamas finally sets free the hostages, which include German nationals, is disarmed and no longer exerts political influence in the Palestinian territories. It must never again pose a threat to Israel.

At the same time, the situation in Gaza has dramatically worsened. At a UN conference in New York this week, the international community stated its commitment to a two-state solution. In view of open threats to annex the Palestinian territories and the disastrous situation in Gaza, Israel increasingly finds itself in a minority position.

Germany stands by its special responsibility for Israel. Yet Germany can and must not be indifferent to the dramatically worsened situation in Gaza.

Prior to his departure, Foreign Minister Wadephul said:

At the same time, Israel must take immediate, comprehensive and durable measures to remedy the disastrous situation in the Gaza Strip. Germany remains prepared to do everything in its power to help alleviate the suffering.

Germany is already doing everything in its power to help people in Gaza. The fact that there have been humanitarian ceasefires and that more relief goods have been getting into Gaza in the last few days is partly the result of countless talks held by the German Government. What is more, in future Bundeswehr transport aircraft will take relief goods from Jordan to the Gaza Strip. Dropping relief supplies from the air is an additional means of quickly providing those in need with urgently needed food and other goods. But that is not nearly enough. That is why the German Government is working flat out to ensure that it is possible once more to deliver supplies by road.

Foreign Minister Wadephul stated prior to his departure:

Relief goods can only reach people in sufficient volumes by road. I therefore urge the Israeli Government to allow the UN and international relief organisations safe access, and above all, to ensure safe and effective distribution.

In addition to talks with the Israeli Government, Foreign Minister Wadephul will meet relatives of the hostages held by Hamas. Hamas started the current conflict more than 600 days ago with its brutal attack and holds dozens of individuals captive to this very day. The unconditional release of all hostages by Hamas is one of the prerequisites for the implementation of the two-state solution.

Foreign Minister Wadephul stated:

Germany is convinced that in order to resolve the conflict permanently, a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to enable people on both sides to live in peace, security and dignity. Germany regards recognition of a Palestinian state as a step more at the end of the process. However, such a process must now begin. Germany will not deviate from this goal. And Germany will be forced to react to any unilateral steps.

As well as visiting Israel, Foreign Minister Wadephul will travel to the Palestinian territories for talks in order to gain a first-hand impression of the situation of the Palestinians as well as the work of the relief organisations and the UN.

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FM Sa'ar meets with German FM Johann Wadephul at the MFA in Jerusalem

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The two discussed relations between the countries, the situation in Gaza, and calls worldwide for recognition of a Palestinian state. FM Sa'ar also explained Israel's efforts in the humanitarian field, and a discussion was held in this context.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy

Publish Date: 31.07.2025

Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar met today (Thursday, 31 July 2025) with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. They first held a personal meeting and then an expanded meeting with the participation of the teams.

During their meeting, the two discussed relations between the countries, the situation in Gaza, and calls worldwide for recognition of a Palestinian state. FM Sa'ar also explained Israel's efforts in the humanitarian field, and a discussion was held in this context.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar addressed the negotiations for the release of the hostages and said that Hamas is not interested in reaching a deal. The Minister explained that the main reason for this is that Hamas is receiving international support through the attacks against Israel. Hamas is holding the hostages and is not laying down its arms; it is entrenching itself in its refusal to accept the framework for the release of the hostages because it sees that the international community is giving it rewards and gifts.

Foreign Minister Sa'ar also addressed the voices in the world that are working to recognize a Palestinian state, and said:

"We do not call these areas the "West Bank". We call them "Judea and Samaria." In Europe today, they think that Jews can live in Berlin, London and Brussels, but that Jews cannot live a kilometer and a half from here.

We believe that Jews have the right to live in the heart of their historical homeland. Even in Judea and Samaria."

Minister Sa'ar also said that historically, there has never been a Palestinian state. Foreign Minister Sa'ar also addressed the illegal Palestinian construction in Area C, saying that it can not be ignored. The Minister said that ignoring it is hypocrisy.

The Minister referred to the Palestinian Authority, saying that it pays terrorists and terrorism and poisons the minds of the next generation, through wild incitement against the State of Israel in its education system, in mosques and in the media.

Minister Sa'ar said that if the PA will have control over its borders and airspace, we will find ourselves with a flow of Iranian weapons into the land of Israel. This will not happen.

Minister Sa'ar concluded by saying that a Palestinian state will not be established for the simple reason that Israel will not be able to forfeit its own security.

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Israel rejects the statement by the Prime Minister of Canada

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy, Terrorism

Publish Date: 31.07.2025

Foreign Ministry Statement:

Israel rejects the statement by the Prime Minister of Canada.

The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages.

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Participation to The High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution

Ministry of Foregn Affairs of Japan

July 31, 2025

From July 28 to 30 (local time), the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution was held in New York, co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia. Japan was represented by Ambassador Tsukasa Uemura, Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for the Middle East Peace. The following is an overview of the conference.

The conference saw participation from numerous ministers and high-level officials from Arab and European countries, as well as representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations. Participants expressed strong support for the two-state solution and underscored the importance of providing assistance to Palestinians facing challenging circumstances. During the conference, Japan together with Norway, co-chaired a thematic roundtable session of economic viability. The discussions focused on concrete measures to enhance Palestine's economic viability as part of efforts toward realizing the two-state solution. In his statement at the conference, Special Envoy Uemura expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. He emphasized Japan's clear opposition to any action that undermines the realization of a two-state solution and called on all parties to earnestly work towards the resumption of the ceasefire in Gaza and the broader peace process without resorting to military solutions. Furthermore, he reiterated Japan's consistent support for a two-state solution and stated that, taking into account the outcomes of this high-level conference and with a view toward fostering peace, Japan would continue a comprehensive assessment of the issue of recognizing Palestinian statehood, including the appropriate timing. On the sidelines of the conference, Special Envoy Uemura held talks with H.E. Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, Prime Minister of Palestine. They exchanged views on the situation surrounding Palestine and discussed Japan-Palestine cooperation.

(Reference)

Statement by Ambassador UEMURA (English (PDF))

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Qatar: UN experts gravely concerned about discrimination against the Baha'i religious minority

Press releases

Special Procedures

31 July 2025

GENEVA -- The abrupt suspension of United States of America's foreign aid has fuelled a global humanitarian catastrophe - made worse by the administration's failure to publish a review it committed to undertake of USAID contracts and disbursements, UN human rights experts* said today.

In a letter to the US government, the experts called for an urgent response following reports that close to 100 people are dying every hour since President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14169 on 20 January 2025 suspending foreign aid, pending a review. More than 350,000 deaths stemming from the aid cuts have already been estimated - including more than 200,000 children.

"The deplorable decision by the US government to suspend foreign aid is a humanitarian emergency, not a policy adjustment," the experts said. "The poorest people in the world are dying by the minute as a result of opaque decision-making by some of the richest people to have ever walked our planet."

New figures presented to the experts reveal the devastating impact of the US aid freeze, and additional cuts to UN budgets, on UN agencies. UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, estimates at least 32 million people will lose access to its services. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, estimates 12.8 million displaced people could lose access to life-saving health interventions, while the International Organization for Migration reports 10 million people may miss out on emergency assistance.

Executive Order 14169 mandated a 90-day review of US foreign aid to assess alignment with domestic policy priorities. Six months later, critical health, food, and humanitarian programmes remain suspended or cancelled  and no findings from the review have been released.

"There is no transparency, no accountability, and no clear justification for a decision that will ultimately cost millions of lives," the experts said.

They expressed alarm at a recent directive instructing all US embassies to implement the State Department's plan to abolish all USAID overseas positions by 30 September 2025, further dismantling the infrastructure needed to deliver essential services in poverty-stricken regions.

"Issuing such a sweeping directive without having publicly disclosed the review's findings - particularly the impact of cuts on poverty and human rights - is deeply problematic," the experts said.

They also raised concerns that no meaningful consultation has taken place with affected UN agencies, civil society groups, or implementing partners.

"The US has long been a cornerstone of global development. Instead, right now, it is derailing decades of progress in poverty eradication and leaving the world's poorest people to die," the experts said.

"We urge the US to recommit to the international human rights system it played such a central role in creating and restore funding immediately."

*The experts: Nazila Ghanea, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

Ms. Ganna Yudkivska (Chair-Rapporteur), Mr. Matthew Gillett (Vice-Chair on Communications), Ms. Miriam Estrada Castillo (Vice-Chair on Follow-Up), and Mr. Mumba Malila, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Alexandra Xanthaki, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights

Irene Khan, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression

Gina Romero, the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR. Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

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Gaza: UN expert denounces serious threats by Israeli army against Al Jazeera correspondent

Press releases

Special Procedures

31 July 2025

GENEVA - Online attacks and unfounded accusations by the Israeli army against Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif are a blatant attempt to endanger his life and silence his reporting on the genocide in Gaza, a UN expert said today.

"I am deeply alarmed by repeated threats and accusations of the Israeli army against Anas Al-Sharif, the last surviving journalist of Al Jazeera in northern Gaza," said Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression.

"Fears for Al-Sharif's safety are well-founded as there is growing evidence that journalists in Gaza have been targeted and killed by the Israeli army on the basis of unsubstantiated claims that they were Hamas terrorists," Khan said.

She expressed deep concern that, without any evidence to back its claims, the Israeli army has repeatedly accused Al Sharif and other Palestinian journalists of being terrorists or supporters of Hamas.

"On the one hand, Israel refuses to allow any international journalists to enter Gaza, and on the other, it ruthlessly smears, threatens, obstructs, targets and kills the few local journalists remaining as the only eyes of the outside world on the ongoing genocide," the expert said.

"Killings, attacks, arbitrary detention and harassment of Palestinian journalists and the destruction of press facilities and equipment in Gaza and the West Bank are part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth, obstruct the documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability," the Special Rapporteur said.

She stressed that, as famine unfolds in Gaza and starving women and children are killed for seeking humanitarian aid, it is more important than ever to protect courageous journalists like Al-Sharif, whose reports on the grim realities of genocide can shame the world into action.

"I call on all States, especially those who pride themselves on being champions of media freedom and safety for journalists, not to remain silent in the face of this blatant assault on journalists," Khan said. "I urge them to use their diplomatic channels to stop Israel from targeting Anas Al-Sharif and other journalists in Gaza who are only doing their job of telling the truth to the world."

The expert is in contact with the Israeli Government on this matter.

*Ms. Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR. Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/.

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Gov't laments MILF delay in final decommissioning phase

Philippine News Agency

By Darryl John Esguerra

July 31, 2025, 6:27 pm

MANILA -- The government on Thursday expressed disappointment over the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) decision to again postpone the final phase of decommissioning its combatants and firearms, calling it a setback for the Bangsamoro peace process.

In a statement Thursday, Presidential Assistant David Diciano of the Office for Bangsamoro Transformation under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), said the deferral of the decommissioning of 14,000 MILF combatants and 2,450 weapons "undermines a core commitment" under the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

"This batch of combatants would have constituted the fourth and final group scheduled for the decommissioning process," Diciano said.

He also disagreed with the MILF Central Committee's claim that the government has fallen short of its socioeconomic commitments.

He cited the PHP100,000 transitional cash assistance per decommissioned combatant and more than PHP4 billion worth of socioeconomic programs since 2019, including health coverage, skills training, and education assistance benefiting thousands.

"For this year, a total of 2,500 (combatants or their dependents) are benefiting from the (educational) program. For 2026, the OPAPRU has allocated funds for an additional 3,500 beneficiaries," he added.

Diciano lamented that government funds amounting to more than PHP788 million earmarked for Phase 4 of the decommissioning had to be returned to the Treasury due to repeated deferments.

"It is unfair and unjust for those who are willing to undergo the decommissioning process, depriving them of their opportunity and right to be transformed into productive, peaceful citizens... The decision of the few should not deny the aspirations of the many," he said.

The government noted that since 2015, about 26,000 MILF combatants have been decommissioned and six MILF camps have received about PHP8.5 billion in development projects.

The political track of the CAB also led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which has received more than PHP420 billion in block grants and an annual PHP5 billion in normalization funds since 2020.

Diciano urged the MILF to uphold its side of the peace agreement.

"We respectfully remind the MILF, our partner in peace, to utilize the appropriate channels... to address issues concerning the implementation of the peace agreement," he said.

"As the BARMM gears up for its first parliamentary elections this October, we invite the MILF to reaffirm our shared vision: a BARMM that is free of armed groups and illegal firearms, where peace reigns." (PNA)

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New PH Army chief to focus on 'human capital development'

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

July 31, 2025, 1:18 pm

MANILA -- Newly appointed Philippine Army (PA) commander Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete said Thursday his leadership would focus on "human capital development," noting that the strength of any military lies in its personnel.

"Our true strength does not only lie in the weapons we wield, the equipment we acquire, nor the technologies we adopt. It lies in you, our personnel," Nafarette told the 110,000-strong PA during the turnover ceremony at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

He said his focus is on recognizing the sacrifices and steadfastness of all Filipino soldiers serving the country.

"Under my command, our focus will be centered on human capital development. A mission within our vision, to invest not just in what we fight, but in who fights," Nafarrete said, noting that "a high-morale Army is a resilient Army."

Aside from building a culture of respect and pride, Nafarrete also pledged to recognize service and reward excellence.

"We will ensure that career paths are clear, skills are recognized, and opportunities for growth are accessible to all, from the newest private to the most seasoned NCO (non-commissioned officer). We will foster an environment where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered," he said.

He also said the health of all troops will be given focus.

"A fighting force is only as effective as it is healthy," he said. "Physical and mental well-being will be a priority. Regular medical checkups, access to health services, and mental health support will be strengthened. Soldiers will be encouraged to take care of themselves and each other. We fight as one and we heal as one."

Aside from health, troops will also be exposed to more education and knowledge, and given more access to financial literacy programs, Nafarrete said.

"Our strength is our personnel, and as your commander, I pledge to build a command that puts you, your growth, your welfare, your future at the center of everything we do," he said.

As for PA commanders and leaders, Nafarrete said they would be held responsible not only for performance but also for how they uplift and care for their troops.

"Let us be an army that leads not only by strategy, but by example. One that shows that readiness is not just having the right tools, but having educated, healthy, motivated, and supported soldiers behind every rifle and every console," he said.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1990, Nafarrete replaced his classmate, Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, who retired from service on Thursday.

Before he was appointed 67th PA chief, Nafarrete served as chief of the AFP Western Mindanao Command, where he led joint operations against insurgency and terrorism.

He also previously commanded the 1st Infantry Division, Joint Task Force Zampelan, and held key posts in the 1101st Infantry Brigade, 11th Infantry Division, and the AFP's J-3 operations staff.

PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said the entire Army welcomes Nafarrete's appointment as their new commander.

He added that Nafarrete is a seasoned leader with decades of service, bringing integrity, experience, and a strong commitment to the Army's mission of peace and national development.

"We extend our full support as he assumes command. Under his leadership, the Army will continue to enhance operational readiness, pursue modernization, and uphold its core values of honor, patriotism, and duty in service to the Filipino people," Dema-ala said. (PNA)

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PH, US aircraft hold disaster response ops in Batanes

Philippine News Agency

By Priam Nepomuceno

July 31, 2025, 10:10 am

MANILA -- Philippine and US military aircraft are now hard at work airlifting relief supplies to communities in Basco, Batanes, which have been severely affected by recent weather disturbances.

Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo, in a statement late Wednesday, said these missions are part of the ongoing humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) missions in Northern Luzon.

She added that the United States Air Force (USAF) deployed a CV-22 "Osprey" tilt-rotor aircraft to the PAF for the HADR mission on Wednesday.

"A total of 300 boxes of family food packs were airlifted aboard the USAF CV-22 'Osprey' from Clark Air Base, Pampanga to Basco, Batanes. PAF personnel from the Tactical Operations Wing Northern Luzon (TOWNOL) provided essential ground support during the joint Philippine-US mission, assisting in the unloading, handling, and coordination of aid distribution in Basco, Batanes," she added.

Last July 29, the PAF deployed its C-130 cargo aircraft and S-70i "Black Hawk" helicopters to transport batches of relief goods to Batanes and Abra, respectively.

The C-130 aircraft also facilitated the transport of "locally stranded individuals" from Basco to Manila on its return flight.

The mission was carried out in coordination with the Office of Civil Defense and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, reflecting an inter-agency collaboration for disaster relief operations.

"These collaborative HADR missions not only expedited the delivery of vital supplies to affected areas but also reaffirmed the strong alliance between the Philippines and the United States, centered on mutual support, readiness, and shared humanitarian values in responding to crises," Castillo said. (PNA)

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Trump warns Canada of trade retaliation over Palestine recognition

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 7:41 PM

US President Donald Trump has indicated that Canada's recognition of Palestinian statehood is complicating efforts to secure a trade deal with the country, using the decision as leverage in ongoing negotiations with its northern neighbor.

He made the announcement on Thursday through social media, revealing his desire to use the trade war to coerce countries on issues outside the context of trade -- essentially to flatter his Zionist partners.

"Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine," Trump wrote, adding it "will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh' Canada!!!"

The US president has threatened to impose a 35% tariff on Canada if no deal is reached by Friday, adding that he will levy tariffs against goods from dozens of countries if they don't reach an agreement with the US.

He also dismissed a similar policy announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, saying, "What he says doesn't matter. It's not going to change anything."

In contrast, Trump expressed support for the UK's similar stance, stating he had no issue with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's position that the United Kingdom would recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Trump has maintained an ambiguous position with regard to the recognition of Palestinian statehood amid a broader global shift against Israel's policies in Gaza, saying such a move would be rewarding Hamas.

The US president has harassed Canada since he came to power in January, suggesting it should become the 51st US state.

The White House announced on Wednesday that "Donald Trump has officially imposed a new 40% tariff in addition to the 10% tariff previously applied against Brazil in an attempt to address the recent policies, practices, and actions of the Brazilian government, which pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."

Trump has been threatening the ruling establishment in Brazil in an effort to save his ally Jair Bolsonaro, who, like the US president, has faced criminal charges for attempting to overturn the results of his election loss.

Some imports from Canada are still protected by the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which is up for renegotiation next year.

Early this year, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that US President Donald Trump is serious about annexing Canada, warning that the American president's fixation on absorbing Canada is "a real thing."

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Qalibaf: Knesset speaker 'disgrace to humanity' for denying Gaza starvation

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 7:28 PM

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has blasted the Israeli Knesset speaker as a "disgrace to humanity" for denying the starvation of Gaza's children.

"Criminal Knesset speaker claims the starvation of Gaza's children is "fake news". Shame on you!" Qalibaf wrote on his X account on Thursday.

Qalibaf noted that the world is "witnessing the greatest #Genocide in history" at the hands of the Israeli regime.

Citing four UN reports confirming the genocide and famine in Gaza, Qalibaf exposed the Israeli official's lies, saying "Are UN experts, UNICEF and aid organizations lying, while only you tell the truth? You are a disgrace to humanity."

On Tuesday, addressing the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Geneva, Qalibaf called the Israeli regime the "Nazis of the 21st century," displaying images of starving Palestinian children.

In response, the Knesset speaker furiously rejected child starvation in Gaza, ignoring UN evidence while lashing out at The New York Times publishing one of the harrowing images.

The overall death count resulting from starvation and malnutrition in Gaza has currently reached 155, including 89 children, and it is projected to escalate rapidly as the siege and the closure of crossings persist.

On Tuesday, the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and the Food and Agriculture Organization warned that "time was running out" and Gaza stood "on the brink of a full-scale famine."

More than 60,200 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 146,000 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

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Houthi: 100,000 Gaza children face imminent death amid Israeli siege

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 7:10 PM

The leader of Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement says more than 100,000 children in the Gaza Strip are at risk of imminent death amid a months-long total Israeli blockade.

Delivering a televised speech broadcast from the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Thursday afternoon, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi shed light on the oppression and suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, especially children, describing it as a disgrace to the international community and the Muslim world.

"One hundred thousand children in Gaza face the risk of starvation, among them 40,000 infants who suffer from the complete lack of baby formula. The Israeli enemy targets infants, and this is part of its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza," he said.

The Ansarullah leader further noted that a large number of Gazans die of hunger every day, and the reality is beyond statistics.

"The criminal Zionist brutality has reached the point of targeting women during childbirth. The oppression of Palestinian people includes starvation, targeted killings, forced displacement, and confining them to restricted and densely populated areas.

"The Israeli enemy has confined hundreds of thousands of people to 12 percent of Gaza. The Zionist entity targets the so-called safe areas by means of starvation and attacks," Houthi said.

He pointed to the suffering of Gaza women, saying Zionism is the invention of barbarity, aggression, and very horrific crimes.

The Ansarullah chief stated that the Israeli military had targeted thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children this week despite declared humanitarian pauses.

"Many of those who were targeted were looking for food to relieve their hunger, and that of their wives and children. The Israeli enemy is massacring Palestinians on a daily basis through engineered death traps and brutal methods."

Houthi stated that Israel is deceiving the international public opinion following a global outcry against hunger and horrific oppression in Gaza.

"The scenes of emaciated children are very dreadful, and constitute a disgrace to the humankind. These scenes mark a shame for Western societies, which boast about humanity, civilization, and liberal values," he said.

The Ansarullah leader described Israeli aid airdrops as a new trick, stating that most of the pallets fall in no-go zones, where Palestinians will get killed once they reach them.

"The aid airdrop has no justification. It is meant to deceive public opinion on one hand, and to destroy the dignity of the people of Gaza on the other. Aid must be distributed by land and through UN staff. The sole obstacle to the entry of land aid to the residents of Gaza is the Israeli enemy.

"Israel is preventing the distribution of aid within Gaza. The enemy seeks chaos in Gaza. No one should be deceived by Israel's announcement of humanitarian pauses and aid airdrops. The airdrop is nothing more than a trick and is futile. It does not relieve the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people," Houthi said.

The Ansarullah leader stated that the Israeli enemy has destroyed all infrastructure in Gaza. "Agriculture in Gaza has been destroyed by the Israeli enemy so that the people of Gaza do not have food. The enemy seeks to raze entire Gaza, and level its neighborhoods, cities and buildings to the ground."

Houthi also condemned the repression of activists in Western countries, including Germany and some other European countries just like the United States, stressing the need not to remain silent in the face of Zionist crimes.

He emphasized that words of outrage and condemnation are no longer adequate, calling for practical action.

"The Israeli enemy is emboldened by American support and does not care about global opposition. The Muslim world must adopt a strong position."

Houthi took a swipe at Arab and Muslim countries over the failure to impose diplomatic, political and economic sanctions on the Israeli enemy.

"Continued cooperation of Arab and Muslim states with the Zionist entity increases the scope of its crimes. The Palestinian Authority not only does not support the Palestinian people, but also cooperates with the Israeli enemy against Palestinian fighters. Westerners report about intelligence cooperation between the Israeli enemy and Arab regimes."

The Ansarullah leader noted that Arab and Muslim countries are increasing their commercial relation with Israel at the same that the Zionist regime is expanding its oppression and aggression.

"Arab regimes are sending the enemy what it lacks due to the naval siege being enforced against it in the Red Sea, and Bab el-Mandab Strait. Arab regimes consider the fighters in Gaza to be terrorists, while they are in fact defending their dignity, their people, and their sanctities," Houthi said.

The Ansarullah chief labeled the Zionist regime as a threat to the entire world and emphasized the need to confront the danger. He stated that regional stability could not be established in light of Israeli atrocities which are being committed with the support of the United States and its Western allies.

He denounced Israeli offensives in southern Syria, which have resulted in killings, abductions, and destruction of farms as well as residential buildings. "The Israeli enemy is a criminal regime."

Turning to the martyrdom anniversary of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, and top-ranking Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr, Houthi hailed the role of resistance fighters in Palestine and Lebanon.

"Fighters in Palestine and Lebanon play an effective role against the Israeli enemy, and are safeguarding Muslims and the Arab world. If it were not for their sacrifices, the situation in the Muslim world, especially in Arab countries, would be different. If it were not because of their struggle, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria would have now been under Israeli control, and the regime would be seeking to reach out to Iraq," the Ansarullah leader said.

Houthi finally pointed to indirect ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, holding the Tel Aviv regime responsible for the failure of the talks.

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US-run aid sites become massacre grounds for starving Gazans

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 5:41 PM

Israeli bombardment has killed at least 111 Palestinians, including 91 aid seekers, and injured 820 others across Gaza in the past 24 hours.

Updating the overall toll posted on Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said Israel's war had killed 60,249 Palestinians and injured 147,089 since October 7, 2023.

Over the past few hours, Israel has killed more Palestinians, who are also dying of starvation or being shot at while collecting food aid.

Media reports, citing medical sources, said at least 41 Palestinians have been killed since dawn on Thursday, including 19 aid seekers.

About 70 people were killed as crowds of starving people had gathered at the Zikim crossing, waiting for trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to enter the besieged strip when they were shot.

Al-Saraya field hospital said it had received more than 100 dead and wounded after the shooting, while the death toll was expected to rise.

About 20 people seeking aid were also killed by Israeli soldiers while outside a US-run aid distribution points in the central Gaza Strip and in Rafah in south Gaza.

Sources at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis said a young man from Rafah has died from starvation.

The report also said seven people, including two children, died from starvation and malnutrition in the last 24 hours.

At least 155 Palestinians have died due to starvation as Israel continues to block aid to Gaza.

Since May, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,330 Palestinian aid seekers, and over 8,818 others have been wounded in Israeli attacks, mainly at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites run by the United States.

France, a close ally of Israel, on Thursday said the US and Israel-backed aid distribution system in Gaza had generated a "bloodbath" and had to cease activity.

"I want to call for the cessation of the activities of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the militarized distribution of humanitarian aid that has generated a bloodbath in distribution lines in Gaza, which is a scandal, which is shameful, and has to stop," French Foreign and European Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.

A number of studies conducted in recent months indicate the Palestinian death toll from the war in Gaza could be substantially higher than official figures reported by the health ministry

A study by researchers from a leading health research university in the UK earlier this year found that the number of people killed in Gaza was significantly higher than the figure reported by authorities in the besieged strip.

According to findings announced by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and published in The Lancet journal, there were an estimated 64,260 "traumatic injury deaths" in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

In general, the ministry reaches its figures by counting the corpses of those killed.

The discrepancy with the ministry's figures reflects the destruction of Gaza's healthcare infrastructure and therefore its inability to accurately count the dead amid Israel's ongoing bombardment of the besieged region, the LSHTM said.

Thousands of people are still missing under the rubble of buildings, and it is difficult to reach and recover their bodies.

Israeli forces have destroyed much of Gaza's vital infrastructure-from its health services to water and sanitation systems.

The International Criminal Court (ICC).has already issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former war minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity on November 21, 2024.

Netanyahu is accused of using starvation as a method of warfare, intentionally attacking civilians and committing other inhumane acts during his genocidal military campaign in the besieged strip.

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Israel's 'cowardly' assassination of Haniyeh reinforced resistance: Hamas

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 10:50 AM

Hamas says Israel's "treacherous and cowardly" assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of the resistance group's political bureau, strengthened the resilience of the Palestinian people against the occupation.

Hamas released a statement on Thursday, marking the first anniversary of Israel's killing of Haniyeh in the Iranian capital of Tehran after he attended the inauguration ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) announced in a statement on July 31, 2024, that Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were killed when their residence was hit in Tehran. Israel acknowledged that it killed Haniyeh while he was in Tehran last July.

In its statement, Hamas said time has proven that the policy of assassinating Hamas leaders only reinforced commitment to national rights and principles, and increased struggle and resistance until the occupiers are expelled from Palestinian land and its sacred sites.

The martyrdom was not a passing incident, but rather a turning point that demonstrated how resistance leaders stand at the very heart of the struggle and offer their loved ones in the path of resistance, just as a number of Haniyeh's children and grandchildren were also killed, it added.

Hamas further stressed its commitment to Haniyeh's call to designate August 3 as a national and international day to support Palestine.

"It is a matter of loyalty to the martyr leader Ismail Haniyeh that we continue to affirm his call to our people, our nation, and free people around the world, to make the third of August of each year a global national day to support Gaza ... al-Quds, al-Aqsa [Mosque], and the prisoners, and to continue the movement until the war of extermination and starvation against our people in the Gaza Strip stops, until the occupation is expelled from all our land, and until our people achieve their freedom," it said.

Haniyeh's assassination came amid an Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, following a historic Hamas operation against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime's intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

In its brutal Gaza onslaught, Israel has so far killed 60,138 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 146,269 others.

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Israel kills nearly 90 Palestinians, including 71 seeking aid, in Gaza amid worsening starvation

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 7:18 AM

At least 86 people, including 71 seeking humanitarian aid, have lost their lives in fresh Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip as the regime pushes ahead with its genocidal war on the Palestinian territory despite international condemnations.

Citing medical sources, the Gaza Government Media Office said on Wednesday that 51 people were killed and more than 648 others wounded by Israeli forces as they were heading towards the Zikim crossing point for aid trucks entering northern Gaza.

Another 20 aid seekers were killed in Israeli attacks near the Morag corridor, the Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis reported.

Meanwhile, 15 more people were killed in separate Israeli aerial assaults across Gaza. Palestinian photojournalist Ibrahim Mahmoud Hajjaj, 35, was among the victims in the occupying regime's strikes on Gaza City.

The fresh Israeli attacks come as aid agencies and health officials have warned of a sharp rise in Gaza starvation, particularly among children and the elderly.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med) said approximately 1,200 elderly Palestinians have died in the Gaza Strip over the past two months due to Israel's starvation policy, malnutrition, and lack of medical care.

"The actual death toll may be significantly higher," it added, noting that hundreds of elderly people have been arriving each day at hospitals and primary care centers in states of extreme exhaustion, seeking nutritional fluids.

According to the UN, Gaza needs at least 500 to 600 aid trucks per day to cover its basic humanitarian needs. Yet, only 269 trucks have entered the besieged territory over the past four days.

The trickle of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza "does not reach the majority of the population," said Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees.

Israel unleashed its Gaza genocide on October 7, 2023, after the Hamas resistance group carried out its historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime's intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has so far failed to achieve its declared objectives of eliminating Hamas and freeing all captives in Gaza, despite killing 60,138 Palestinians, mostly women, and children, and injuring 146,269 others.

A mass starvation is also gripping Gaza due to Israel's blockade of the territory.

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Canada to recognize Palestinian state at UN General Assembly in September: Carney

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 5:39 AM

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced Ottawa's intention to recognize the State of Palestine at the United Nations in September.

Carney said on Wednesday that his country plans to join others in formally recognizing Palestinian statehood during the annual United Nations General Assembly in September.

Canada is the third major US ally to say it is prepared to recognize a Palestinian state, as outrage has grown over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

He said he condemned the extremist right-wing Israeli leaders in Tel Aviv who have "allowed a catastrophe to unfold in Gaza."

"The deepening suffering of civilians leaves no room for delaying coordinated international action to support peace, security and the dignity of human life," he said following discussions in a cabinet meeting about Israel's genocidal war and deliberate use of starvation as a weapon aimed at ethnically cleansing the Palestinian territory.

However, Carney said the recognition of statehood was "predicated on the Palestinian Authority's commitment to much-needed reforms", including holding elections and anti-corruption measures.

Canada's prime minister added that he was "not in any way or shape minimizing that scale of that task." He said Ottawa is joining the efforts of other states to "preserve the possibility of a [so-called] two-state solution." "Clearly, that's not a possibility in the near term."

Carney's announcement came after the Canadian leader spoke to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about Gaza on Tuesday, during which the two discussed "the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster in Gaza, as well as the United Kingdom's statement on the recognition of a Palestinian state," according to a readout from Carney's office.

Starmer's office released a statement this week, saying Britain would formally recognize a Palestinian state at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025 if the Israeli regime fails to take "substantive steps" to end the crisis in Gaza.

France, too, will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly this September. French President Emmanuel Macron announced in a statement on the X social media platform that he hoped the official recognition of a Palestinian state would contribute to peace in the region.

Israel irked by Canada's announcement

Israel's foreign ministry quickly "rejected" Canada's decision in a post on X, calling it a "reward to Hamas."

"The change in the position of the Canadian government at this time is a reward for Hamas and harms the efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and a framework for the release of the hostages," the ministry stated.

Last month, Canada joined the UK, Norway, New Zealand, and Australia in sanctioning two far-right ministers of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.

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Top Senate Democrats Sound Alarm on Treasury Misusing Sanctions Program Meant to Address Serious Human Rights Abuse to Instead Help Trump's Political Allies

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

July 31, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, released the following statement:

"It's absurd that the Trump Administration just sanctioned a sitting Brazilian Supreme Court Justice using the U.S. financial sanctions program meant to address 'serious human rights abuse' around the world.

"This is not just abusing a critical U.S. foreign policy tool: it is targeting a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice currently overseeing the trial of a former president accused of plotting a coup to undermine the results of a democratic election in Brazil. And this move comes on top of President Trump's hitting Brazil with a 50% tariff for the same purported cause, meaning Americans will have to pay more for beef, coffee and other essentials at a time when prices are already too high. How does going after an independent judicial system in the fourth largest democracy in the world make America safer, stronger or more prosperous? This is yet another example of President Trump's prioritizing his and his political allies' interests over the interests of the American people."

###

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Saudi Arabia Welcomes Canada and Malta's Intention to Recognize State of Palestine in September

Saudi Press Agency

Thursday 06/02/1447

Riyadh, July 31, 2025, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomed the announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela of their intention to recognize the State of Palestine in September.

In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today, the Kingdom commended these decisions as pivotal for the two-state solution, reiterating the international community's consensus on the need to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. The Kingdom also called on other nations to take similar steps in support of peace.

-- SPA

13:24 Local Time 10:24 GMT

0039

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Albares confirms departure this Thursday of Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation's emergency aid to Gaza to feed 11,000 people

Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PRESS RELEASE 091

 The Air Force's A400 aircraft will undertake the distribution in a joint operation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defence

 The Minister condemns "the Israeli-induced famine in Gaza" and calls for a massive and neutral entry through land crossings

31 Jul 2025

This Thursday, a shipment of humanitarian aid from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), consisting of 12 tonnes of food to alleviate the "induced famine" in Gaza due to the humanitarian blockade imposed by Israel, will leave from the Zaragoza Air Base, with its final destination being the Gaza Strip.

Some 5,500 rations of food, which can feed around 11,000 people, are in addition to the trucks with Spanish humanitarian aid waiting at the border.

The Air Force A400 military aircraft is scheduled to take off from Jordan this Friday, 1 August, to deliver food aid to the people of Gaza using 24 parachutes.

This emergency aid shipment, coordinated between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the AECID, and the Ministry of Defence, is part of Spain's efforts to respond urgently and effectively to the humanitarian catastrophe in the Strip. As Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares highlighted, this shipment is "a drop in the ocean" that will serve "to alleviate the Israeli-induced famine in Gaza".

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strengthened the AECID's capacity to provide an emergency response in Palestine. This new shipment of emergency aid comes in addition to efforts already undertaken both directly by the Agency and through humanitarian partners on the ground.

"What is happening in Gaza must end now and cannot be repeated," reiterated Albares, who insists that humanitarian aid must enter regularly, sufficiently and safely in accordance with international standards, and that the only way to avoid humanitarian collapse is to end the war and implement a lasting political solution based on the existence of two States.

"Induced famine"

For Minister Albares, "the induced famine that Gazans are suffering is a disgrace to humanity. We are talking about daily deaths from hunger, with 100,000 children and 40,000 babies at risk of death. Israel must allow permanent, uninterrupted and free passage of all possible humanitarian aid now".

Along these lines, Albares added that in this "difficult moment, we must mobilise, not tomorrow or next week, but now", assuring that "Spain is the country in the international community that has done the most for Palestine. We are doing this for justice and for humanity".

The Minister also called for a ceasefire that would allow the distribution of aid in Gaza in accordance with humanitarian and neutrality principles.

"This is what I reiterated this week at the UN Conference for the two-State solution in New York, where I further encouraged the countries that have not yet recognised Palestine to follow in Spain's footsteps, as we did in May 2024, to protect the two-State solution", the Minister emphasised. According to Albares, "this is not about sides, it's about lives. It is time to turn words into action".

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Canada to Recognize Palestine in September - PM Carney

Sputnik News

20250731

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Canada is going to recognize the State of Palestine during the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

"Canada intends to recognize the State of Palestine at the 80th General Assembly of the United Nations, which will take place in September 2025," Carney said at a press conference.

According to Carney, the decision is based on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' pledge to reform the governance system, including holding the general election in 2026, in which Hamas will not participate, as well as to demilitarize the Palestinian state.

The Canadian prime minister also demanded the release of all the remaining hostages by Hamas, as well as criticized Israel for the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this month, France and the United Kingdom also voiced their intention to recognize the independence of Palestine. The announcements were criticized by Israel.

 Sputnik

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Joint Statement on the Inaugural Joint Oversight Committee Meeting for the Peace Agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

July 31, 2025

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Rwanda, the State of Qatar, and the African Union on the occasion of the first Joint Oversight Committee held this week in Washington, D.C.

Begin Text.

On July 31, 2025, representatives from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Rwanda (Rwanda), along with observers from the United States, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Togo (as the African Union facilitator), and the African Union Commission held the first meeting of the Joint Oversight Committee for the Peace Agreement Between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of Rwanda that was signed in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 2025.

The Joint Oversight Committee is charged with serving as a forum for implementation and dispute resolution of the peace agreement. The Committee is responsible for receiving complaints about violations of the agreement, taking appropriate measures to address violations, and amicably settling disputes. During the first meeting, the parties selected their Chairpersons for the Committee, adopted terms of reference to govern future meetings of the Committee, discussed progress on implementing the Agreement, and prepared for the first meeting of the Joint Security Coordination Mechanism.

The African Union, State of Qatar, and the United States participated in these discussions to ensure complementarity and alignment between implementation efforts and on-going initiatives aimed at dialogue and durable peace in the region. Both the DRC and Rwanda expressed their appreciation for the invaluable contributions and joint efforts of the African Union, United States, and Qatar as partners in advancing a peaceful resolution.

End Text.

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Secretary Rubio's Call with Romanian Foreign Minister Toiu

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

July 31, 2025

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu today. The leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation on defense, energy, and countering illegal migration. Secretary Rubio reiterated to Minister Toiu our desire for fair and balanced trade and welcomed Romania's participation in the Electronic Nationality Verification program.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Brian Kilmeade of Fox Radio

US Department of State

Interview

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State

Via Telephone

July 31, 2025

QUESTION: Welcome back, everybody. It's my privilege to bring in the National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Mr. Secretary, welcome.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Good morning. How are you?

QUESTION: I'm doing great so far. You have a lot on your plate. I can't imagine what it's like, your things-to-do list. I know the President of the United States talked about one of his top priorities now, within 10 days he's going to make a decision on what's going to happen with Russia, which he does not believe that they want a ceasefire. Here's what he said:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I'm not so interested in talking anymore. He's - he talks. We have such nice conversations, such respectful and nice conversations, and then people die the following night in a - with a missile going into a town and hitting - I mean, recently, I guess - a nursing home, but they hit other things. Whatever they hit, people die.

So he's obviously changed dramatically since he first took office. What do you think is going to happen after 10 days, Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, the - first of all, let me say the President has waited over six months now and given the best efforts possible. We continue to engage with the Russian side, as early as this week - earlier this week, on Monday or Tuesday. We had a whole conversation with them as well - not with Putin but with some of Putin's top people - in hopes of arriving at some understanding on a path forward that would lead to peace, and we've not seen any progress on that.

And I think what bothers the President the most is he has these great phone calls where everyone sort of claims yeah, we'd like to see this end, if we could find a way forward, and then he turns on the news and another city has been bombed, including those far from the frontlines. So at some point, he's got to make a decision here about what - how much to continue to engage in an effort to do ceasefires if one of the two sides is not interested in one.

So the President has a lot of options. I mean, he has options, as everyone knows, to sanction secondary sales of oil, secondary sanctions on oil sales of Russia oil, which is a huge part of their revenue. There's banking, sectoral banking sanctions that would also be very powerful. Again, I think our hope is to avoid that and to sort of figure out a way that we can get the fighting to stop. We think that's the best path forward, but we're open to some different paths. But the best path forward is to have the shooting stop and the talking start. But so far, there's not been, what we feel at least, a sincere interest on the Russian side of achieving that objective.

So we'll continue to be available and willing to participate in something like that, if it becomes available. But obviously the President's not going to wait forever.

QUESTION: So Medvedev, the former president, threatened you guys, threated our country, and said basically your ultimatums, that it's going to lead to confrontation - if I could just paraphrase - and he says with your country. And Donald Trump last night said to - went back at Medvedev and said, "[T]ell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory!" Do you take him seriously, Medvedev?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, you can't ignore anything someone's saying, and you always is that approved as - but he basically is not a relevant player in Russian politics. He's not a decision maker. He's not in any of the meetings or conversations we've ever had. As you recall, he was the president there for about four years, during the time when Putin didn't run again, and then he obviously came back, so he was a placeholder. So I wouldn't call him a relevant decision maker.

But by the same token, obviously he's someone who once held office there and is still in a role in government, and his words are going to have impact in sort of being the provocateur and things of that nature. But - so I think the - I'm not sure he's speaking for the official Russian position, but he's certainly someone in an official position in Russia who's saying things that are inflammatory. But that's okay. I don't think that's going to be a factor one way or the other.

QUESTION: Do you think Russia's in a position to confront America militarily?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, that's not even a fathomable thing. I mean, understand a war between the United States and Russia is not something we can ever see. These are the two largest nuclear weapons militaries in the world, and the danger would just be too great. I don't think there's any doubt that from a conventional military capability the Russians could not take on the United States or frankly many of the countries in Europe, for that matter. I think they would struggle. They've struggled with Ukraine, who now is the largest army in Europe, but at the time of being invaded was not. I think they would struggle on a conventional front greatly.

So that's not a - I think what you worry more about is not an all-out war with Russia. I think what you worry more about is a skirmish or a miscalculation that leads up to the start of conflict, because that - since the Russians are not very good at conventional weaponry, they would almost invariably have to rely on some other means like a tactical nuclear weapon on the battlefield to sort of escalate in an effort to de-escalate a fight. So you would worry about that. But we shouldn't even think about it, because that not something that is plausible or frankly feasible for either side.

QUESTION: So as you know, the trade deals are coming down. That's not really your purview. You have enough on your plate. But one thing the President said last night on Truth Social - he goes Russia continue to be the top oil supplier to India during their first six months, making up 35 percent of the overall supplies. Quote: "INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST." He's upset; maybe you're upset. But India continues to get, instead of small portion, a great portion of their discounted oil from Russia, which is fueling their war machine. How disappointed are you in this so-called ally?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Look, global trade - India is an ally. It's a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, you're not going to align a hundred percent of the time on everything. India has huge energy needs and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy like every country does, and it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap and - meaning they have to - in many cases, they're selling it under the global price because of the sanctions.

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY RUBIO: And that - unfortunately that is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India - not the only point of irritation. We also have many other points of cooperation with them. But I think what you're seeing the President express is the very clear frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia, which in essence is helping to fund the war effort 

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY RUBIO:  and allowing this war to continue in Ukraine.

QUESTION: So Mr. Secretary, I have to tell you that they're doing an investigation - you have John Ratcliffe of the CIA, the FBI director, the assistant director, deputy director doing a heavy investigation into what went on in 2016, when you were in the Senate, about leading up to Russian meddling in the election. And Matt Taibbi and others have led the investigation on the way, and they're finding out new revelations. But every time a Democrat's asked about the investigation into 2016 and the role of John Brennan and James Comey and others, they point to an investigation you did as senator.

I want you to hear Democratic Congressman Jason Crow:

CONGRESSMAN CROW: There have been four - four - investigations, including a bipartisan Senate investigation led under the first Trump Administration, and led in part by Marco Rubio, that was very, very clear 

QUESTION: Okay.

CONGRESSMAN CROW:  on these findings. These have been investigated and reinvestigated and reinvestigated 

QUESTION: Okay.

CONGRESSMAN CROW:  and nothing has changed up until this past month.

QUESTION: So do you think anything has changed since you did that thorough investigation - Russian meddled in our election, period?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah, but that's not what the question was. I don't think that the issue is whether Russia did things to try to influence American public opinion and/or drive wedges. I think - here's the thing that they leave out when they talk about this, and they're so dishonest about it. What they leave out is the issue here was not that. The issue here was they claimed that they did it not just to help Trump but that Trump was in on it. For a year and a half - almost two and a half years - they put this country through this notion - this fake fraud, scheme, lie - that Trump was somehow in cahoots collaborating with Russian and Russian intelligence officials to help his campaign.

And what my investigation that I - I was the acting chairman of the intelligence committee - what that investigation showed is that there was zero, zilch proof whatsoever - any evidence of any kind - that the Trump campaign in any way colluded with the Russians. That's number one. That's clear. So I think what they should be saying is that there was a bipartisan study done by the Senate committee that found that the narrative that all these people were putting out there was a lie.

Here's the other thing that report found: that the way they handled the dossier - understand this dossier. This dossier was a piece of campaign disinformation. It was paid for by political campaigns. They hired the equivalent of a private investigator, and then they laundered it. Usually they take that and leak it to the media. In this case, they laundered it through our intelligence agencies. So you had some of the highest-level officials in our intelligence agencies in the country taking that fake, ridiculous dossier and using it to influence and inform an official intelligence assessment of what happened in this campaign.

The report that we put out pointed to this. My statement at the time pointed to this. And I think we've learned even more about how hard - what we've learned over the last - with these new revelations is how hard the FBI and some people - not all, but some people at the CIA worked to make that dossier a part of their intelligence assessment. It is a huge outrage because it was fake. It was a lie, and they used it to mislead the American public. It cost millions of dollars in investigations - all chasing a hoax.

So that's the part they leave out because they're trying to play cute with words, and the media is either uninterested or too lazy to understand those nuances and that reality.

QUESTION: I think both. They were too busy getting their awards for running that story. Literally, all these New York Times, Washington Post - these reporters are getting rewards for being a stenographer for John Brennan and others who are clearly leaking even when out of office.

Another big thing on your plate is what Steve Witkoff's doing today. He's heading over to Israel. Then he wants to possibly go to Gaza. We have allies - UK, Canada, and France - all either threatening to or have already done recognizing a Palestinian state. That's over 140 in the UN. How does the U.S. view this move?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Irrelevant. It's irrelevant. I mean, it's annoying to some, but it's irrelevant. It doesn't mean anything. First of all, none of these countries have the ability to create a Palestinian state. There can be no Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to it. Number two, they can't even tell you where this Palestinian state is. They can't tell you who will govern it. And I think number three, it's counterproductive.

So think about it now if you're Hamas. You're Hamas. You're holding - you're still holding 20 innocent people as hostages. You're holding the bodies of over 50 of the people you massacred, raped, and killed during this - on October 7th of 2023. You're sitting there hiding in some tunnel somewhere as cowards, and then you're reading or hearing in the press that all of these countries are rallying to your side - because this is the Hamas side. At the end of the day, the Hamas side is the Palestinian statehood side. So you are creating this reward.

And by the way, they are hurting ceasefire talks, because Hamas is sitting there saying - that's the problem with the UK statement. The UK is like, well, if Israel doesn't agree to a ceasefire by September, we're going to recognize a Palestinian state. So if I'm Hamas, I say, you know what, let's not allow there to be a ceasefire. If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September. So they're not going to agree to a ceasefire. I mean, it's so clumsy.

But what this really is, in many of these countries' case, is their domestic politics. Some of these countries have huge constituencies now that are pressuring them domestically to line up on this side, irrespective of its geopolitical ramifications. That's what they're doing here. But they're hurting - they're actually hurting the cause, they're not helping, because a) their statement isn't going to change anything other than it encourages and rewards Hamas, who now have every reason in the world not to agree to ceasefire and not to release these hostages. I wish all these countries would get together for once and maybe in one clear voice say you must release these 20 living hostages who are - that's what they are; they're hostages - you must release them immediately. I wish there was as much attention paid to that as some of the other factors here.

QUESTION: Great point. The Arab League came out - Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are demanding Hamas lay down its arms and agree to a two-state solution. Now, the two-state solution you just - it's folly. I got it. But for Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, they have the sway, don't they? Especially Qatar.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah. I mean, over - they host the Hamas external people in their country. And look, I want to be fair, okay? I know that Qatar is not always - is a source of controversy among some. When it comes to this negotiation, they've been very helpful. They've been very forceful; they've put a lot of time and energy into this, and frankly they've expressed their own frustrations with Hamas. I think the moment of truth has to arrive, however, where there has to be consequences if Hamas continues to disagree.

Understand there was a ceasefire agreement in principle in place. Israel actually made a bunch of concessions that Hamas had asked for, hard concessions for Israel to make, and then Hamas came back and just rejected the deal - and by the way, rejected it on the same day that Macron from France made his announcement. Because at the end of the day Hamas is sitting there saying: we're winning the PR war. We've got all these countries lining up on our side of this argument. We've got leverage now. We shouldn't agree to anything. We should keep this thing going. That's how - they don't care about how many people die in Gaza, and they - they've got hostages that they think is their shield, and now they've got all these countries sort of lining up on their side.

And so as they view this anti-Israel narrative building internationally, it's emboldening Hamas. And I do think, however, it's interesting how forceful these Arab countries are about demilitarizing Gaza. I think that's a very important thing, because if Gaza is not demilitarized, if Hamas is not demilitarized, there will never - there - a lasting peace is impossible in Gaza or anywhere.

QUESTION: No, I hear you. The other thing is you're talking about the huge Muslim population in France and the UK, where people find those cities almost unrecognizable because of what they have allowed to happen with immigration into their country. I assume that's what you were saying, right? You don't mean liberal 

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, I think might - I mean, look, I'm not an - their internal politics may be influenced by a combination of things. We have seen this - see the unity of these pro-Islamist, anti-Western, anti-capitalism left sort of merger, and they sort of join forces on everything from attacking ICE officers to 

QUESTION: Yeah.

SECRETARY RUBIO: I mean, you've seen in some of these immigration riots, immigration enforcement riots that you've seen with these protesters in California and other places. In many of these things, it's the same people. They're wearing the same - waving the same flags, wearing the same headscarf, and it's the same people that shut down our universities. That's what we've experienced domestically, and this has become a factor in many these countries as well. They're under tremendous domestic pressure.

And you watch the programming of things like the BBC - 95 percent of their coverage is about how evil, in their narrative, Israel is. Very little coverage paid to the hostages, the families. It's totally been forgotten, because you know why? There - the United States is not insensitive, and we have done a lot. We've done more than, frankly, anybody else in terms of providing funding -

QUESTION: In terms of aid.

SECRETARY RUBIO: - necessary for humanitarian relief in Gaza. And the cameras capture the images of the human suffering there. You know what the cameras don't capture? The suffering of 20 people living in tunnels right now taken hostage by Hamas for almost - for a long time. No one's covering that. Where's the - and no one's talking about that.

QUESTION: Listen, Mr. Secretary, people have talked about a change in tone with China. The Taiwan president came here. We said don't trend - don't walk across the country; it's going to aggravate China. We seem to be going more towards Pakistan than India as of late. Do you think we're more in deal mode with China? How would you describe our approach as we push forward on trade with China and also ask them to help us with Ukraine?

SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, we have plenty of issues that we disagree with China on, and they happen every day. I mean, in terms of - those things continue. We remain as committed as ever to freedom of navigation in the region. We remain as committed as ever to our partners in the Philippines and in places like Taiwan and other things of this nature.

We are also entering a period of some sort of strategic stability. In the end, we have two big - the two largest economies in the world. An all-out trade conflict between the U.S. and China, I think the U.S. would benefit from it in some ways, but the world would be hurt by it. It would have a huge impact on the world, and then on our economy, and especially on the Chinese economy.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY RUBIO: So I think as much as anything else, a mature foreign policy requires strategic balancing of equities as we move forward. There - we don't have a trade deal with China. What we have is an agreement in the short term that was just recently extended after a very hard negotiation that occurred with our trade negotiators just a few days ago.

So I think it's - at the end of the day, two things are true. We have a lot of irritants long term with China that we need to confront. There are vulnerabilities that we need to close, and I think it's time we have a responsible 

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I guess I have to stop you there, against a hard break. Thanks so much for your time.

SECRETARY RUBIO: Yeah. Okay, thank you.

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Secretary Rubio's Meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

July 31, 2025

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty yesterday. The Secretary and Foreign Minister discussed their shared goals of promoting peace and security in the Middle East. The Secretary thanked Foreign Minister Abdelatty for Egypt's steadfast support in securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Abdelatty also discussed the necessity of a transition to civilian governance in Sudan.

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"We are obliged to do whatever it takes to stop the oppression in Gaza"

Presidency Of The Republic Of Turkey

31.07.2025

Holding a joint press conference with Gabonese President Oligui Nguema, President Erdogan said: "Our priority is to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to our Gazan brothers and sisters. As the front of humanity, we are obliged to do whatever it takes to stop the oppression in Gaza."

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon held a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Complex.

"WE ARE READY TO SHARE OUR EXPERIENCE WITH GABON"

Describing Gabon as a friendly country with which Turkiye has been in cooperation for long years, President Erdogan said: "As you know, Gabon successfully held elections following a transitional period which it entered in 2023. I hope that the parliamentary elections that are scheduled to take place in the upcoming months will contribute to the country's stability and peace. In your presence, I would like to once again congratulate President Oligui Nguema, who enjoys strong popular support."

President Erdogan stated: "During our bilateral meeting as well as the meeting between the delegations, we reviewed in a comprehensive manner our countries' potential for cooperation. With the agreements we just signed, we reaffirmed our will to further our relations. Our companies have recently taken on critical projects in the fields of construction and energy in Gabon. The projects undertaken by our companies have surpassed 2.5 billion dollars in combined value. I told Mr. President that our private sector stands ready to play roles particularly in the fields of housing, energy, digital transformation and mining as part of the country's development strategy under the leadership of President Oligui Nguema. We are also ready to share our experience with Gabon in areas such as agriculture, fishing, science and technology."

"WE ARE DETERMINED TO ADVANCE OUR RELATIONS WITH THE FRIENDLY AND BROTHERLY COUNTRIES IN AFRICA"

President Erdogan said: "The services the Turkiye Maarif Foundation has been providing in Gabon since 2018, where the Turkish Airlines operates direct flights, are of significant value. We are preparing to expand the capacity of the school, where nearly 700 students study at the present, as well as to inaugurate new educational facilities. Gabon is one of the swiftest countries in the African continent to support of our fight against FETO. I hereby would like to thank them once again."

President Erdogan went on: "We are determined to advance our relations with the friendly and brotherly countries in Africa in a holistic, institutional and systematic framework. We continue to support stability and development on an equal partnership and win-win basis in line with the principle of finding African solutions to Africa's problems. Our network of diplomatic missions embracing the entire continent is the clearest sign of this strong determination we harbor. While we had only 12 embassies in Africa in 2012, today we have 44 embassies operating across the continent. Accordingly, our embassy in Libreville was inaugurated in 2012. With the number of African embassies in Turkiye reaching 38 at the present, our capital city has become a diplomatic hub in this regard."

"WE WELCOME ANY STEPS TAKEN TOWARDS THE RECOGNITION OF THE STATE OF PALESTINE"

Drawing attention to Africa's strong solidarity with the Palestinian people, President Erdogan stated: "The African continent has been one of the top regions to stand most strongly against the policy of massacre Israel has been pursuing in Gaza for 22 months. No one can remain silent in the face of such brutality, where innocent children are dying of hunger and civilians gathering to receive food aid are deliberately shot. This cruelty is testing the limits of patience for anyone who possesses even the slightest sense of conscience, mercy, or human dignity. Our priority is to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to our Gazan brothers and sisters. As the front of humanity, we are obliged to do whatever it takes to stop the oppression in Gaza."

President Erdogan continued: "We find the humane reactions rising from Europe in recent days, particularly from France and the UK, to be very valuable. We welcome any steps taken towards the recognition of the State of Palestine. Supporting the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders would be one of the most effective responses to Israel's policy of genocide. I called French President Macron a couple of days ago to congratulate him on his brave decision. I have seen that President Oligui Nguema shares our feelings on stopping the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. We will work to step up pressure on the Israeli government in the coming days. We will make our Gazan brothers and sisters feel even more strongly that they are not alone. We will strive for the establishment of a ceasefire in the region and the achievement of lasting peace."

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PM call with President El-Sisi of Egypt: 31 July 2025

The Prime Minister spoke to President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi this evening.

From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer KCB KC MP

Published 31 July 2025

The Prime Minister spoke to President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi this evening to discuss the situation in Gaza.

The leaders agreed the situation on the ground was a humanitarian catastrophe, and all possible efforts needed to be made to get more aid into Gaza at a greater pace and scale.

The Prime Minister outlined his peace plan and pathway to recognition and thanked the President for his leadership in the region to secure a lasting and durable two state solution.

It was vital there was an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages, the Prime Minister added.

The leaders also discussed the relationship between the UK and Egypt, including how both countries could work closer together to support regional security.

The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.

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Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

Department of Public Information . News and Media Division . New York

31 July 2025

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

** Myanmar

Happy end of July, everybody, and we will start off with a note on Myanmar.

We remain concerned by ongoing violence in Myanmar, including aerial bombardment hitting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Civilians and humanitarian workers must be protected. Any pathway out of the deteriorating situation in Myanmar requires an end to the violence and unimpeded access of relief workers and supplies to meet the enormous humanitarian needs exacerbated since the 28 March earthquakes.

The Secretary-General reiterates his concern over the military's plan to hold elections amid ongoing conflict and human rights violations and without conditions, including safety and security, that would permit the people of Myanmar to freely and peacefully exercise their political rights.

Security Council resolution 2669 (2022) calls for immediately releasing all arbitrarily detained prisoners, including President Win Myint and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi; upholding democratic institutions and processes; and pursuing constructive dialogue and reconciliation in accordance with the will and interests of the people of Myanmar.

The United Nations is committed to staying and delivering in Myanmar and to working with all stakeholders, including ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) and other regional actors, to attain sustainable peace.

** Helsinki Final Act

Today, the Secretary-General addressed via a video message the High-level Conference commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. He noted that we are witnessing a dangerous drift away from commitments that have safeguarded peace for generations. Yet, he said, in this moment of peril, the values enshrined in the UN Charter and echoed in the Helsinki Final Act  sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful coexistence  remain our moral and strategic compass.

The Secretary-General called on all to recommit to the spirit of Helsinki by strengthening regional partnerships to renew multilateralism, by principled leadership to uphold international law, and by forging unity of purpose to build a future of mutual respect, resilience and shared prosperity.

** Occupied Palestinian Territory

Turning to the Gaza Strip, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that hostilities continue, including multiple air strikes on residential buildings that have reportedly killed entire families. A high number of additional fatalities and injuries has been reported among those trying to secure food and other essential supplies for their families. That's over the past few days.

Meanwhile, amid deepening starvation, the UN and our partners continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings and replenish those platforms with new supplies from outside. This is something our teams are doing every single day through multiple missions.

Our colleagues say that, despite Israeli announcements regarding the designation of convoy routes as secure, trucks continue to face long delays that expose drivers, aid workers and crowds to danger. The long waits are because a single route has been made available for our teams exiting Kerem Shalom inside Gaza, and Israeli ground forces have set up an ad hoc checkpoint on that route.

In recent days, our teams have managed to collect wheat flour, ready-to-eat rations, high-energy biscuits, nutrition items, hygiene kits and other critical supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings. But OCHA warns that, under the current conditions, much of the food is taken by people on the way, rather than reaching community-based distribution points where those at highest risk of death due to malnutrition can be prioritized, alongside older persons, women, those with illnesses or disabilities and other groups.

OCHA urges the Israeli authorities to allow the consistent and simultaneous entry of large volumes of diverse humanitarian and commercial supplies through all crossing points and multiple routes. To ensure that no one is left behind, aid must be distributed at the community level.

You'll recall that one of the challenges we face is having to coordinate humanitarian movements across most of the Gaza Strip with the Israeli authorities. Yesterday, OCHA published cumulative figures covering the week between last Wednesday and this Tuesday. Out of 92 attempts to coordinate aid movements, nearly 16 per cent were outright denied. An additional 26 per cent were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground; and in many cases, this resulted in missions being aborted or partially accomplished.

Another 47 per cent were fully facilitated, and the remaining 11 per cent had to be withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational or security reasons.

OCHA stresses again that unimpeded humanitarian access within Gaza is essential. Without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (World Health Organization) reported it supported the medical evacuation of 47 patients and 129 companions from Gaza, despite the ongoing challenges to humanitarian operations and access constraints.

** Syria

On Syria, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tells us that a first UN inter-agency mission went to Sweida Governorate today.

The team went to Sweida City, as well as the districts of Shahba and Salkhad, where they met with local community representatives and partners and visited displacement sites and reception centres. The team also conducted assessments in the three districts of the Governorate.

A fifth humanitarian aid convoy organized by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent arrived there today as well. The convoy, which included UN assistance, delivered medical supplies, flour, fuel, canned goods, hygiene kits and shelter materials, among other assistance. This was the largest convoy so far with 40 trucks.

Yesterday, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent also delivered four tankers carrying more than 120,000 litres of fuel to Sweida Governorate.

** Lebanon

This morning, peacekeepers of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) observed illumination fire originating from south of the Blue Line and impacting a forested area one kilometre from the mission's headquarters in Naqoura. It caused a bushfire, which was extinguished by UNIFIL peacekeepers.

UNIFIL continues to report Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military activities, including air violations and small arms fire, in the area of operations.

Also, yesterday, a UNIFIL patrol with the Lebanese Army found two unexploded ordnances in Sector West. On Tuesday, another UNIFIL patrol found an unguarded weapons cache with nine rockets in Sector West. As per usual practice, all of these were referred to the Lebanese Army.

Meanwhile, the UN flag was raised once again at a UNIFIL observation post along the Blue Line in Labbuneh, which was damaged during the last round of hostilities. The post became operational after restoration efforts by UNIFIL peacekeepers, in coordination with both the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the Israel Defense Forces. Over a 15-day period, specialized engineering units of UNIFIL worked to restore the post, including by clearing 1,358 square metres of surrounding land of mines and unexploded ordnance. This post being operational again means enhanced UNIFIL capacity to monitor potential violations of Security Council resolution 1701.

** Ukraine

Turning to Ukraine, our colleagues from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that overnight attacks that continued this morning in the capital, Kyiv, killed several civilians and injured many, including children. The drone and missile strikes also damaged dozens of apartment buildings, as well as health and education facilities.

Nationwide, between today and yesterday, over a dozen civilians were killed and more than 160 injured in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia, according to authorities. Aid workers, complementing the efforts of first responders and local services, have mobilized emergency support in Kyiv and other impacted areas, providing shelter materials, psychological support and other essential services.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the attack and said that no community should have to treat missile strikes and casualties as routine. He added that last night's attack is a stark reminder that this is the reality millions face daily across the country.

** Haiti

Turning to Haiti, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that a rapidly escalating crisis in the Artibonite region, where gangs are expanding their presence and activities, is triggering new waves of displacement.

On 22 July, violence linked to gangs flared in the town of Liancourt, in the Artibonite department. A vehicle and several homes were set ablaze. This incident followed a week of violent clashes in this area.

As of 19 July, the International Organization for Migration reported that nearly 15,000 people have been displaced across four communes in the Artibonite department. All are staying with host families, many of whom were already struggling to meet basic needs.

Response efforts are under way, led by our local humanitarian partners. Over the past week, our partners distributed hundreds of hot meals, and more than 500 displaced households and host communities received hygiene kits.

Humanitarian workers have also set up child-friendly spaces to provide mental health and psychosocial support.

** Briefings Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 11:30 a.m., Ted Chaiban, the Deputy Executive Director for UNICEF, will join us here in the room to brief on his recent travel to the Middle East.

Then, at 12:45 p.m., there will be a briefing by Ambassador Eloy Alfaro de Alba, Permanent Representative of Panama to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of August. He will, of course, brief on the Council's programme for the month of August.

That's it for me; are there any questions? Yes, Edie.

** Questions and Answers

Question : Thank you, Farhan. Were any of the 47 people evacuated from Gaza, did they include malnourished children, to try and get them out to places where they might survive?

Deputy Spokesman : I'm not aware. As far as I know, normally, these evacuees are for people who need particular forms of outside medical care. So, it's more than simply malnourishment, but I can check.

Correspondent : Well, one would assume that at this point, malnourished children are not getting the nutrition they need to survive in Gaza.

Deputy Spokesman : Yeah. That's certainly the case. Although for us, what we're trying to do is make sure that they get the nutrition they need inside Gaza. So, we haven't, as a general rule, been evacuating them from Gaza. But I'll check it to see who the evacuees contained.

Question : And is it still the case that only the two crossings are open?

Deputy Spokesman : Yes. Right now, the crossings being used continue to be Kerem Shalom and Zikim East, and we need to have more crossings operational than that. Dezhi?

Question : On the Two-State Solution International Conference, there's obviously a declaration, New York Declaration. Is there any participation of the United Nations in that?

Deputy Spokesman : No. I mean, obviously, we provided the venue for these talks, but this was a conference co-sponsored, as you know, by France and Saudi Arabia. So, they were the ones organizing this event.

Question : So, I think they are opening up that declaration for Member States to support until, I think, early September. What role would the UN play for this process, and what's the position from the Secretary-General on this declaration?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, as I mentioned over the last few days, we welcome all efforts to reenergize the process for a two-State solution. The Secretary-General has been warning for some time now that two-State solution is on the brink of collapse. And so, the sort of show of support we've been seeing from Member States in recent days towards advancing this cause is indeed very welcome. Yes. Edie?

Question : Just to follow-up to that, we've now seen France, the UK, Canada and Malta, in the past few days, announced their support for recognizing the State of Palestine. Does the Secretary-General believe that these recognitions put further pressure on the need for a two-State solution?

Deputy Spokesman : We certainly believe that anything that can bolster the idea that there needs to be a two-State solution will be helpful. And it's very clear that a number of States who have been taking these actions have announced it in the context of wanting to support the two-State solution; so, we see it in that light. And with that, I wish you all a good afternoon.

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Gaza Strip: Humanitarians warn of worsening famine conditions, attacks on civilians

31 July 2025 - Famine conditions are tightening their grip on the Gaza Strip, as the latest UN humanitarian update warns of soaring malnutrition-related deaths, relentless civilian attacks, and mounting obstacles to aid access amid deepening crisis.

Of the 154 malnutrition-related deaths since October 2023 (including 89 children) reported by Gazan health authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO) said 63 occurred in July alone.

These deaths follow a steep drop in food consumption: 81 per cent of households reported poor food consumption in July (up from 33 per cent in April), and 24 per cent experienced severe hunger (up from 4 per cent), crossing the famine threshold, according to the humanitarian update issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Wednesday.

Acute malnutrition rates also surpassed famine thresholds in Khan Younis, Deir al Balah and Gaza City.

Given these recent figures, IPC food security experts warned that the worst-case famine scenario is unfolding. However, they added that while the third famine threshold of starvation-related deaths is rising, collecting data remains a challenge.

UN agencies caution that time is running out for a full-scale humanitarian response. 22 per cent of the analyzed population is facing "catastrophic" level of food insecurity, and a further 54 per cent is at "emergency" level.

At the same time, less than 15 per cent of essential nutrition services remain functional.

Attacks on civilians

Of the over 60,000 Palestinians reported killed since October 2023, nearly 9,000 died after hostilities reignited in March, and 640 between 23 and 30 July.

Civilian casualties while seeking food are also rising, with 1,239 killed and over 8,152 injured since 27 May.

OCHA further noted that displacement figures since 18 March have surpassed 767,800, though no new evacuation orders were issued by Israeli authorities since 20 July. The 20 July order affecting a humanitarian hub in Deir al Balah has since been rescinded.

Amid ongoing displacement, overcrowding in shelters, lack of privacy and worsening hunger has elevated the risk of gender-based violence (GBV) for women and girls.

The conditions are especially dire in southern Gaza, where there are no longer any safe shelters for GBV survivors.

Humanitarian measures

Between 23 and 29 July, only 47 per cent of 92 coordinated aid movements were fully facilitated by Israeli authorities. About 16 per cent were denied, 26 per cent impeded after initial approval and 11 per cent withdrawn by organizers.

The Israeli military announced a daily 10-hour pause in military activity, beginning 27 July, in Al Mawasi, Deir al Balah and Gaza City "to increase the scale of humanitarian aid entering Gaza."

They also announced measures including airdrops of flour, sugar and canned food; the reconnection of the power line from Israel to the southern Gaza desalination plant; the removal of customs barriers on food, medicine, and fuel from Egypt; and the designation of secure routes for UN humanitarian convoys.

However, humanitarian partners warned that airdrops could endanger civilians, lead to unequal distribution and fall short of needs.

Working with limited funding

In addition, lack of sufficient funding is also hampering response efforts.

As of 30 July, only about 21 per cent of the $4 billion requested for the 2025 urgent humanitarian appeal for the region has been secured, leaving critical gaps.

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Today's top news: Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ukraine, Haiti, Syria

UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

Occupied Palestinian Territory

Convoys continue to face hurdles to deliver aid to people in need

OCHA warns that hostilities continue, including multiple airstrikes on residential buildings in Gaza that have reportedly killed entire families. A high number of additional fatalities and injuries have been reported among those trying to secure food and other essential supplies for their families. That is over the past few days.

Meanwhile, amid deepening starvation, the UN and its humanitarian partners continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings and replenish those platforms with new supplies from outside. UN teams are doing this every single day through multiple missions.

OCHA says that, despite Israeli announcements regarding the designation of convoy routes as secure, trucks continue to face long delays that expose drivers, aid workers, and crowds to danger. The long waits are because a single route has been made available for UN teams exiting Kerem Shalom inside Gaza, and Israeli ground forces have set up an ad hoc checkpoint on that route.

In recent days, the teams have managed to collect wheat flour, ready-to-eat rations, high-energy biscuits, nutrition items, hygiene kits and other critical supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings. But OCHA warns that, under the current conditions, much of the food is taken by people en route, rather than reaching community-based distribution points where those at highest risk of death due to malnutrition can be prioritized, alongside older persons, women, those with illnesses or disabilities and other groups.

OCHA urges the Israeli authorities to allow the consistent and simultaneous entry of large volumes of diverse humanitarian and commercial supplies through all crossing points and multiple routes. To ensure no one is left behind, aid must be distributed at the community level.

OCHA continues to coordinate humanitarian movements across most of the Gaza Strip with the Israeli authorities. Yesterday, OCHA published cumulative figures covering the week between last Wednesday and this Tuesday. Out of 92 attempts to coordinate aid movements, nearly 16 per cent were outright denied. An additional 26 per cent were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground; and in many cases this resulted in missions being aborted or partially accomplished. Another 47 per cent were fully facilitated, and the remaining 11 per cent had to be withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational or security reasons.

OCHA stresses again that unimpeded humanitarian access within Gaza is essential. Without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs.

Yesterday, the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the medical evacuation of 47 patients and 129 companions from Gaza, despite the ongoing challenges to humanitarian operations and access constraints. Patients travelled to Spain, Turkiye, France, Norway and Jordan. In a social media post, WHO's Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus noted that over 14,000 patients in Gaza still need urgent care.

Ukraine

Overnight attack on the capital Kyiv kill, injure civilians

OCHA reports that overnight attacks that continued this morning in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, killed several civilians and injured many, including children.

According to preliminary information from local authorities, at least 11 people were killed, including a child, and more than 135 injured, among them 12 children, in drone and missile strikes on the city. The attacks also damaged dozens of apartment buildings as well as health and education facilities.

Nationwide, between 30 and 31 July, over a dozen civilians were killed and more than 160 injured in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia, according to authorities.

Aid workers, complementing the efforts of first responders and local services, have mobilized emergency support in Kyiv and other affected areas, providing shelter materials, psychological support, and other essential services.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, condemned the attack and said that no community should have to treat missile strikes and casualties as routine He added that last night's attack is a stark reminder that this is the reality millions face daily across the country.

Haiti

Armed groups expand presence in Artibonite, causing new waves of displacement

OCHA warns that a rapidly escalating crisis in the Artibonite region, Haiti, where armed group are expanding their presence and activities, is triggering new waves of displacement.

On 22 July, violence linked to armed groups flared in the town of Liancourt, in the Artibonite department. A vehicle and several homes were set ablaze. This incident followed a week of violent clashes between 14 and 19 July.

As of 19 July, the International Organization for Migration reported that nearly 15,000 people have been displaced across four communes in the Artibonite department. All are staying with host families, many of whom were already struggling to meet basic needs.

Response efforts are underway, led by local humanitarian partners. Over the past week, more than 500 displaced households and host communities received hygiene kits. Partners also distributed hundreds of hot meals.

Humanitarian workers have set up child-friendly spaces to provide mental health and psychosocial support in the communes of Liancourt, Petite Riviere de l'Artibonite and Verettes.

Syria

First UN mission reaches As-Sweida

OCHA says that a first UN interagency mission went to As-Sweida Governorate, Syria, today.

The team went to As-Sweida City, as well as the districts of Shahba and Salkhad, where they met with local community representatives and partners and visited displacement sites and reception centers. The team also conducted assessments in the three districts of the Governorate.

A fifth humanitarian aid convoy organized by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent also arrived in As-Sweida Governorate today. The convoy, which included UN assistance, delivered medical supplies, flour, fuel, canned goods, hygiene kits and shelter materials, among other assistance. This was the largest convoy so far with 40 trucks. Yesterday, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent also delivered four tankers carrying more than 120,000 liters of fuel.

Posted on 31 July 2025

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East and Southeast Asia Strengthen Political, Financial, and Diplomatic Support to UNRWA and Palestine Refugees

UNRWA

31 Jul 2025

Kuala Lumpur,

At a time of immense humanitarian need in the Gaza Strip and across the region, countries of East and Southeast Asia reaffirmed their strong political, financial, and moral support to UNRWA and millions of Palestine Refugees.

The regional backing was on full display at the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD IV)[1] co-hosted by Japan, Malaysia, and Palestine in Kuala Lumpur on 11 July, where the Deputy Commissioner-General (DCG) for Programmes and Partnerships, Natalie Boucly, represented UNRWA.

The event was held on the margins of the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting. CEAPAD members recognised UNRWA's irreplaceable role in delivering education, healthcare, and other essential services to communities in crisis.

ASEAN Foreign Ministers across the region also reaffirmed their support for UNRWA, and called for the resumption of full, rapid, safe humanitarian access in Gaza. They also called on all parties to the war in Gaza to protect civilian lives and to abide by international humanitarian and human rights law.

In their joint statement, the CEAPAD co-chairs reiterated the members' collective commitment and stressed the need to continue their "...partnership with humanitarian agencies, including UNRWA, and to utilize existing humanitarian coordination mechanisms..."

New and renewed financial pledges demonstrated the region's commitment to Palestine Refugees. Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam announced new contributions to UNRWA, while Brunei, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, and the Republic of Korea reaffirmed their ongoing financial support to the Agency. In meetings and discussions, CEAPAD countries individually expressed deep appreciation for UNRWA's development and humanitarian work and pledged to continue supporting urgent humanitarian efforts in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

"The strong show of solidarity from East and Southeast Asia, through financial and diplomatic support, sends a powerful message to Palestine Refugees that they are not alone. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the region for helping to keep hope alive," said DCG Boucly.

She underscored that "by safeguarding UNRWA, the international community will retain an immense asset to support a political transition, empower local institutions, and ensure the future of development in Palestine."

The Conference concluded with the adoption of the Kuala Lumpur Action Plan 2025, positioning CEAPAD as a key mechanism to strengthen national efforts and coordinate regional support for Palestine Refugees. The plan focuses on critical areas including getting humanitarian aid to those in desperate need, helping families recover and rebuild, and supporting long-term economic development across the oPt.

[1] The Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) is a Japan-led multilateral initiative launched in 2013 to support Palestinian state-building and development. It brings together East Asian countries, the Palestinian Authority, and key international organisations to share development experiences and mobilise technical and financial assistance.

Background Information:

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency's area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.

UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on.

UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

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Secretary-General's video message to the High-level Conference commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act

United Nations Secretary-General

Helsinki, Finland

31 July 2025

Excellencies, Dear Friends,

I am pleased to send my warm greetings as you gather to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act.

I commend OSCE Chair, Finland, for its leadership in convening this anniversary event.

Half a century ago, the Helsinki Final Act charted a bold and visionary course for peace - rooted in dialogue, grounded in international law, and anchored in the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter. The principles of our Charter and the OSCE are a shared foundation for peace and cooperation.

But today those principles are under grave strain.

War continues to rage in the European continent.

Trust between states is fraying.

Human rights are under assault.

Democratic space is shrinking.

And disinformation is fueling division and fear.

We are witnessing a dangerous drift away from commitments that have safeguarded peace for generations.

Yet, in this moment of peril, the values enshrined in the UN Charter and echoed in the Helsinki Final Act - sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful coexistence - remain our moral and strategic compass.

The role of the OSCE as a platform for dialogue and a guardian of these principles is more vital than ever.

The United Nations stands firmly with the OSCE in defending shared values: dialogue over division, cooperation over confrontation, and dignity for all.

Let us recommit to the spirit of Helsinki.

By strengthening regional partnerships to renew multilateralism.

By principled leadership to uphold international law.

And by forging unity of purpose to build a future of mutual respect, resilience, and shared prosperity.

Let us honour this milestone by renewing our commitment to a world anchored in peace, justice, and human rights.

Thank you -- and my very best wishes for a successful meeting.

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U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton returns home following 134-day Western Pacific patrol

United States Coast Guard

Press Release | July 31, 2025

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) and crew returned to their Base Alameda home port, Wednesday, following a 134-day patrol in the Indo-Pacific.

Stratton's crew engaged in professional exchanges, cultural events, and joint exercises with Japan, Republic of Korea, and the Philippines, including at-sea search-and-rescue and interdiction exercises.

Expanded U.S. Coast Guard presence in the Indo-Pacific facilitates professional exchanges that strengthen our mutual capacity and interoperability with allies and partners, creating opportunities to expand maritime domain awareness in support of a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific through unrestricted access to the maritime commons.

In Puerta Princesa, Philippines, Stratton conducted joint operations with the U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team West and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Special Operations Forces and hosted the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, MaryKay Carlson, and PCG Commandant, Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan.

In Busan, Republic of Korea, Stratton participated in a search and rescue (SAR) tabletop exercise with ten countries for international mission collaboration. Stratton also conducted a trilateral partner nation engagement with the PCG and Japan Coast Guard in Kagoshima, Japan, during which the crew led ship's tours, tabletop discussions, and an at-sea SAR exercise, marking the first time the PCG operated with the USCG outside their Exclusive Economic Zone.

While anchored in Koror, Palau, Stratton hosted the President of Palau and U.S. Ambassador to Palau, Joel Ehrendreich. The event highlighted the importance of the U.S partnership as Stratton was the first in its class to visit Palau.

Supporting a White House initiative for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Stratton hosted six observers from India Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, and Australian Border Force, for the first-ever Quad at-sea ship observer mission to improve interoperability in the Indo-Pacific.

The U.S. Coast Guard navigates with our Quad partners to leverage and network respective maritime security capabilities toward cooperation on key maritime issues of mutual concern and significant value to Indo-Pacific stability.

Additionally, Stratton's crew embarked three law enforcement officers from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Sea Patrol, who provided a combined presence and conducted two successful maritime law enforcement boardings of commercial fishing vessels operating in the RMI EEZ. While no violations were initially reported from the boarding, potential issues with the catch emerged later and constituted further inspection from RMI.

Stratton's deployment contributed to regional cooperation and enhanced global maritime governance through integrated deterrence and strengthened partnerships.

"The crew is excited to return home after a long but incredibly important deployment," says Capt. Dorothy Hernaez, Stratton's commanding officer. "Stratton and her crew showcased that the U.S. Coast Guard is a global Coast Guard. Through presence and partner engagement in the Indo-Pacific, Stratton advanced regional stability that in turn provides for homeland security, peace, and prosperity."

Hernaez assumed command of the Stratton during a change of command ceremony held in Honolulu on July 22, as the cutter transited toward its home port.

Commissioned in 2012, Stratton is one of ten Legend-class national security cutters and one of four homeported in Alameda. National security cutters are 418-feet long, 54-feet wide, and have a 4,600 long-ton displacement. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 nautical miles, and can hold a crew of up to 170. National security cutters routinely conduct operations throughout the Pacific, where their unmatched combination of range, speed, and ability to operate in extreme weather provides the mission flexibility necessary to conduct vital strategic missions.

The namesake of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton is Capt. Dorothy Stratton, who led the service's all-female reserve force during World War II. Dorothy Stratton was the first female commissioned officer in the Coast Guard and commanded more than 10,000 personnel. The ship's motto is "We Can't Afford Not To."

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Russo-Ukraine War - 31 July 2025 - Day 1254

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 UK Ministry of Defence reported that in June 2025, the Russian Ministry of Defence's (MOD) Africa Corps fully replaced the Wagner Group's deployment to Mali. Africa Corps likely has around 2,000 personnel currently deployed to Mali, compared to Wagner's prior deployment of around 2,500 personnel.

Africa Corps has deployed with over 100 pieces of major combat equipment to Mali, including main battle tanks, multiple launch rocket systems and tactical bomber aircraft, greatly increasing the firepower available to Russian forces in the country.

The Wagner organisation had previously operated along a significant portion of Russia's frontline against Ukraine using almost 50,000 prisoners from Russia's jails. Over the course of 2023, Wagner rapidly transformed from the Russian MOD's trusted auxiliary to one of the primary threats to the security of the regime, with the group driving on Moscow during their June 2023 mutiny attempt.

Since then, the Russian MOD has sought to centralise control over Russian security deployments overseas, reducing the potential threat independent Private Military Companies pose to the Russian state, whilst increasingly formalising Russia's security relationships with its partners.

Despite the Russian MOD replacing Wagner in Syria in late 2023, Libya in early 2024, and now Mali, the Wagner Group nevertheless continues to operate independently in both the Central African Republic and Belarus, where around 2,000 and 300 Wagner personnel are likely deployed respectively.



The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that since the beginning of this day, there have been 124 combat clashes.

Today the Russian occupiers made 36 aviation strikes, used 66 controlled bombs.

In addition, the Russians involved 1,449 kamikaze drones and carried out 3,410 shelling at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

Ukrainian defenders repelled twelve Russian attacks in the North-Slobozhansky and Kursky directions, three more clashes are ongoing.

Since the beginning of the day, the Russian opponent made six aviation strikes, in total dropped 16 controlled aviation bombs and carried out 304 artillery shelling, including three - from the jet systems of salpovogo fire.

In the South Slobozhansky direction, Ukrainian troops stopped seven Russian attacks in the area of the settlement of Vovchansk and in the direction of Dvorichansky, Kolodiaznogo.

In the Kupiansk direction, Russian forces carried out three offensive actions in the areas of populated areas of Kupiansk, Petropavlivka.

In the Lyman direction during the day, Russian zagarbniks twenty-eight times attacked the positions of Ukrainians near the settlements of Karpivka, Ridkodub, Mirne and towards the settlements of Shandrigolove, Yampil, Grigorivka.

Four clashes are ongoing so far.

In the Sivers komu direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled four Russian attacks in the direction of Grigorivka and Stupocok.

One battle is going on.

In the Kramators komu direction, there are currently two collisions.

Russian Zagarbnik tried to move towards the settlement of the White Mountain.

In the Toretsky direction, Russians eight times unsuccessfully attacked the positions of Defense Forces.

The main efforts of the invasion of the Russian occupiers were concentrated in the areas of populated areas:

Diliyivka, Toretsk, Scherbynivka and in the direction of Stepanivka, Rusynogo Yar.

In the Pokrovsky direction, the Russian zagarbnic ki units thirty-seven times tried to break through Ukrainian defense in the areas of settlements:

Poltavka, Razine, Novoekonomicne, Peace-loving, Fox, Zvirove, Kotline, Udaachne, Muravka, Novoukraina, and towards settlements Volodymyrivka, Rodinske, Mirnograd, Novopidgorne.

Today in this direction Ukrainian soldiers zneskodili eighty-eight Russian occupiers, fifty-two of them - irrevocably.

Two motorcycles, a BPLA control point, two unmanned aircraft and the occupiers' cannon were also destroyed.

In the Novopavliv direction, Russian forces attacked seventeen times in the areas of settlements:

Zaporizhia , Yalta, Star, Piddubne, Tolstoy, Mirne, Shevchenko, Novosilka, Novopil, and towards the settlement of Temirivka.

The three Russian attacks are ongoing.

No combat clashes were recorded in the Gulyaipil direction.

Twice the Russian aggressor attacked in the Orihiv direction - the Russian occupiers tried to advance in the areas of settlements Kamianske and Mali Scherbaky.

In the pridniprovsk direction, Russian forces carried out one unsuccessful attack.

In other directions, the situation has not changed significantly.





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Nearly all National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles are demobilizing, Governor Newsom demands those remaining be released

California Governor - Gavin Newsom

Jul 31, 2025

What you need to know: With nearly all National Guard soldiers demobilizing, Governor Gavin Newsom is calling on the President to allow the 300 remaining National Guard soldiers to go home now.

Los Angeles, California - Nearly two months after the unlawful federalization of units of the California National Guard, and deployment of almost 5,000 soldiers in the Los Angeles area, all but 300 National Guard members are expected to go home soon. So far, 4,700 soldiers have demobilized or begun demobilizing. The President should allow the remaining soldiers to go back to their families, communities, and civilian professions as doctors, law enforcement and teachers.

President Trump is realizing that his political theater backfired. This militarization was always unnecessary and deeply unpopular. The President must do the right thing to end this illegal militarization now because the economic and societal impacts are dire. The women and men of our military deserve more than to be used as props in the federal government's propaganda machine.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Although it is unclear whether the National Guard has received formalized orders to begin additional demobilizations, an estimated 300 guardsmembers will continue to be stationed at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos 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.

Earlier this month, 2,000 federalized National Guard members and 700 Marines were called off their mission in Los Angeles. However, nearly 2,000 soldiers remained at Los Alamitos.

Economic impact of this political theater

After the federal government deployed the military unlawfully and began ramping up immigration raids statewide, the number of people reporting to work in the private sector in California decreased by 3.1%  a downturn only recently matched by the period when people stayed home from work during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Governor Newsom recently met with local restaurant owners in the City of Bell and faith leaders in Downey to discuss the economic impact these indiscriminate immigration actions have had on their small business.

Trump's actions have a ripple 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 arrests, detentions and deportations in California could slash $275 billion from the state's economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue. The loss of immigrant workers, undocumented and those losing lawful status under the Trump administration, 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.

Drugs arriving at the border, fewer soldiers to stop them

Typically, under the Governor's command, nearly 450 servicemembers are deployed statewide, including at ports of entry, to combat transnational criminal organizations and seize illegal narcotics. CalGuard's servicemembers dedicated to the state's Counterdrug Task Force have been reassigned by President Trump to militarize Los Angeles. The consequences are dire - CalGuard's efforts help ensure the public safety of communities statewide.

Police off the streets, teachers out of classrooms

Of the 4,000 National Guard members sent to Los Angeles under Trump's order, their servicemembers have been pulled from essential civilian duties such as medical and first responders, service workers, building trades contractors, law enforcement personnel, corrections officers, civil service and government workers, technology specialists, educators and teachers, and agriculture workers.

End the power grab now

Community leaders, public officials, veterans and others agree - the federal government's actions in California not only have a chilling effect on the state's society and economy, but also continue to undermine the valuable contributions from members of the military while in and out of uniform.

Republican and Democratic former governors agreeTrump's federalization violates the critical balance between state and federal government. Recently, a bipartisan group of 25 former governors filed a brief in support of Newsom v. Trump, urging the court to enforce state sovereignty and block the unprecedented federalization of the National Guard.

Retired four-star admirals and generals and former secretaries of the Army and Navy filed another amicus brief outlining the grave risks of Trump's illegal takeover of the CalGuard. Several veterans and veteran rights' groups came together to decry Trump's militarization of California.

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Trump's unlawful CalGuard power grab results in 57% decrease in fentanyl pounds seized

California Governor - Gavin Newsom

Jul 31, 2025

What you need to know: While National Guard soldiers were unlawfully federalized by the President to await mission orders in the Los Angeles area, between May and June, there was a 57% drop in fentanyl pounds seized from those same soldiers who were pulled from their vital public safety assignments.

Los Angeles, California - While President Trump comes to the realization that his unlawful deployment of the military in Los Angeles has been unnecessary and deeply unpopular, there has been a significant drop in the reported fentanyl seizures by California National Guard members.

Between May and June, there was a 57% decrease in reported pounds of fentanyl seized at ports of entry along the border by CalGuard's Counterdrug Task Force. In June, only 260 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized.

Donald Trump and Stephen Miller took the National Guard off of essential public safety assignments to fulfill a sick power grab within California communities. The federal government has created chaos in our economy and society with its twisted authoritarian tactics. The time for each and every single soldier to come home  and go back to work  now.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Typically, under the Governor's command, nearly 450 servicemembers are deployed statewide, including at ports of entry, to combat transnational criminal organizations and seize illegal narcotics. CalGuard's servicemembers dedicated to the state's Counterdrug Task Force have been reassigned by President Trump to militarize Los Angeles - leaving their highly specialized positions unfilled. The consequences are dire - CalGuard's efforts help ensure the public safety of communities statewide.

Guardsmembers are demobilizing

Nearly two months after the unlawful federalization of units of the California National Guard, and deployment of almost 5,000 soldiers in the Los Angeles area, all but 300 National Guard members are expected to go home soon. So far, 4,700 soldiers have demobilized or begun demobilizing. The President should allow the remaining soldiers to go back to their families, communities, and civilian professions as doctors, law enforcement and teachers. Earlier this month, 2,000 federalized National Guard members and 700 Marines were called off their mission in Los Angeles.

Police off the streets, teachers out of classrooms

Of the 4,000 National Guard members sent to Los Angeles under Trump's order, their servicemembers have been pulled from essential civilian duties such as medical and first responders, service workers, building trades contractors, law enforcement personnel, corrections officers, civil service and government workers, technology specialists, educators and teachers, and agriculture workers.

Economic impact of this political theater

After the federal government deployed the military unlawfully and began ramping up immigration raids statewide, the number of people reporting to work in the private sector in California decreased by 3.1%  a downturn only recently matched by the period when people stayed home from work during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Governor Newsom recently met with local restaurant owners in the City of Bell and faith leaders in Downey to discuss the economic impact these indiscriminate immigration actions have had on their small business.

Trump's actions have a ripple 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 arrests, detentions and deportations in California could slash $275 billion from the state's economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue. The loss of immigrant workers, undocumented and those losing lawful status under the Trump administration, 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.

End the power grab now

Community leaders, public officials, veterans and others agree - the federal government's actions in California not only have a chilling effect on the state's society and economy, but also continue to undermine the valuable contributions from members of the military while in and out of uniform.

Republican and Democratic former governors agreeTrump's federalization violates the critical balance between state and federal government. Recently, a bipartisan group of 25 former governors filed a brief in support of Newsom v. Trump, urging the court to enforce state sovereignty and block the unprecedented federalization of the National Guard.

Retired four-star admirals and generals and former secretaries of the Army and Navy filed another amicus brief outlining the grave risks of Trump's illegal takeover of the CalGuard. Several veterans and veteran rights' groups came together to decry Trump's militarization of California.

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California Defense Contractor and Private Equity Firm Agree to Pay $1.75M to Resolve False Claims Act Liability Relating to Voluntary Self-Disclosure of Cybersecurity Violations

Thursday, July 31, 2025

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

Defense contractor Aero Turbine Inc., of Stockton, California, and private equity company Gallant Capital Partners LLC, of Los Angeles, have agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve their liability under the False Claims Act for knowingly failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements in an Aero Turbine contract with the Department of the Air Force. In connection with the settlement, the United States acknowledged that Aero Turbine and Gallant took significant steps entitling them to credit for cooperating with the government.

"Government contractors must follow required cybersecurity standards to protect sensitive defense information," said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "When defense contractors fail to comply with cybersecurity requirements, they can mitigate the consequences by making timely self-disclosures, cooperating with investigations, and taking prompt remedial measures."

"Every defense contractor must provide adequate security to safeguard covered defense information," said Acting U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Sanchez for the Eastern District of California. "We commend Aero Turbine and Gallant for disclosing the issue and promptly cooperating to address it. We encourage others to follow their example of self-reporting to resolve violations."

"Protecting the integrity of the Department of Defense (DoD) procurement processes is a top priority for the DoD Office of Inspector General's Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS)," said Director Kelly Mayo of DCIS. "Failing to comply with DoD contract specifications and cybersecurity requirements puts DoD information and programs at risk of exploitation. DCIS will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice to investigate allegations of false claims on DoD contracts."

"This case serves as a reminder that cybersecurity transcends mission sets. Ensuring companies adhere to robust cybersecurity safeguards is integral to maintaining the Air Force's operational edge against adversaries," said Special Agent in Charge Caroline Galinis of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Procurement Fraud Detachment 1. "AFOSI's Procurement Fraud team, alongside investigative partner agencies and the Department of Justice, played a critical role in protecting U.S. national security interests."

The settlement resolves the liability of Aero Turbine and Gallant under the False Claims Act for knowingly submitting or causing others to submit false or fraudulent claims for payment on a Department of the Air Force contract, which were allegedly false or fraudulent because they had not complied with the contract's cybersecurity requirements. From January 2018 to February 2020, Aero Turbine allegedly failed to implement certain cybersecurity controls in National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171 that, if not implemented, could lead to significant exploitation of the system or exfiltration of sensitive defense information.

In addition, from June to July 2019, Aero Turbine and Gallant allegedly failed to control the flow of, and limit unauthorized access to, sensitive defense information by providing a software company based in Egypt with files containing such information, even though the software company and its foreign citizen personnel were not authorized to receive sensitive defense information under the Air Force contract. After learning of the issues, Aero Turbine and Gallant provided the government with multiple written self-disclosures, cooperated with the government's investigation of the issues, and took prompt remedial action.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department's Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, DCIS, AFOSI, and the Air Force Materiel Command Law Office Procurement Fraud Division. The matter was handled by Fraud Section attorneys Robin Overby and Christopher Terranova and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Thiess.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Note: Read the Settlement here.

Topic: False Claims Act

Components: Civil Division

USAO - California, Eastern

Press Release Number: 25-805

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Life imprisonment for terrorist crimes

Swedish Security Service

Published 31 July 2025

An individual has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Stockholm District Court for terrorist crimes and gross war crimes. The individual has been convicted for murdering a Jordanian fighter pilot together and in collusion with other perpetrators belonging to the Islamic State.

The Court writes in their judgement that the suspect, armed and masked, together with others, locked the pilot into a metal cage. The cage was then set on fire by one of the co-perpetrators and the pilot was burned to death. The court also assesses that the act could have seriously damaged the state of Jordan and other states that were mentioned in the execution video.

The individual is imprisoned in France for his involvement in the terrorist attack in Paris in 2015 and is serving a 30-year sentence. The individual is also serving a life imprisonment sentence in Belgium for his part in the terrorist attack in Brussels in 2016.

The Swedish Security Service has led the criminal investigation on terrorist crimes and assisted the Swedish Police Authority with their investigation on gross war crimes. The prosecutor at the National Security Unit, and the National Public Prosecution Department Unit against Organised Crime have led the respective criminal investigations.

Press release at the Swedish Prosecution Authority

Press release at the Stockholm District Court

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Pakistan Successfully Launches Remote Sensing Satellite

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In a major milestone for space exploration and technological progress, Pakistan today successfully launched its Remote Sensing Satellite from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre (XSLC) in China.

The satellite will provide high-resolution, round-the-clock imaging, significantly strengthening Pakistan's capabilities in urban planning, infrastructure development, disaster management and mitigation, agricultural monitoring, food security, environmental protection, deforestation tracking, climate change analysis, and water resource management.

Launched by Pakistan's national space agency, SUPARCO, in collaboration with the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) and MICROSAT China, the satellite represents a cornerstone of an integrated Earth observation system. It is set to support sustainable socio-economic development and improve the quality of life across the country.

With this latest success, Pakistan reaffirms its position among the community of space-faring nations, leveraging innovation to pursue a more secure, sustainable, and prosperous future.

Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister,Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, commended the dedication of the engineers, scientists, and technical teams from SUPARCO Pakistan and CETC & MICROSAT China for their exemplary cooperation and unwavering commitment to the mission.

Islamabad

31 July 2025

222/2025



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Milestone sensor upgrade enhances Space Force identifying, tracking capability

United States Space Force

Published July 31, 2025

By Space Operations Command Public Affairs

PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) -- U.S. Space Force Space Operations Command, in partnership with U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command, approved the operational acceptance of a milestone upgrade to the Ground-Based Optical Sensor System at the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance site in White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. SpOC is now in the integrated testing phase of an upgrade to its Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance site in Maui, which will upgrade to GBOSS upon operational acceptance.

The Space Force continues to invest in capabilities like GBOSS to advance Space Domain Awareness capabilities that offer timely, relevant, and actionable understanding of the operational environment that allows military forces to plan, integrate, execute and assess space operations. GBOSS improves on the U.S. Space Force's ability to map the space operating environment for Guardians to conduct defensive and offensive operations in response to threats and close protect and defend kill chains.

"The GBOSS upgrade represents a leap forward in capability for the joint warfighter," said U.S. Space Force Colonel Barry Croker, Commander of SpOC Mission Delta 2 - Space Domain Awareness. "This upgrade further enhances the SDA data Mission Delta 2 Guardians provide to inform decision making, orient fires and enable maneuvers across all military service domains."

Weapon system modernization is a top priority for SpOC and SSC. These changes were necessary to upgrade critical capabilities that have existed on site since the 1980's. To continue to meet the U.S. Space Force's Space Surveillance Network mission needs, GBOSS was built to increase SDA by more accurately identifying and tracking objects in space. The upgrade not only improves search and revisit rates, capacity and sensitivity, but it also furthers integration with commercial data to more rapidly address SDA requirements while lowering sustainment costs.

"Space Systems Command is excited to deliver the first system upgrade under the GBOSS program," said Ms. Shannon Pallone, SSC Program Executive Officer for Battle Management, Command, Control, Communication, and Space Intelligence. "The small team, comprised of acquirers, operators and contractors, demonstrated a strong technical understanding of requirements, skillful program management, and seamless execution of this major system upgrade. We look forward to another seamless installation in Maui."

Ground-based optical sensors play a vital role in detecting and tracking objects at altitudes above 10,000 kilometers above Earth.

The Space Force continues to invest in capabilities like GBOSS to advance space domain awareness capabilities that offer timely, relevant, and actionable understanding of the operational environment that allows military forces to plan, integrate, execute and assess space operations.

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Remote weapons technology tested on Talisman Sabre

By Major Diana Jennings

31 July 2025

The 1st Armoured Regiment (1AR) has transformed this year to provide the Australian Army with a Combat Experimentation Group, designed to test and trial emerging technology to gain battlefield advantage.

During Exercise Talisman Sabre, B Squadron from 1AR travelled from Adelaide to Townsville to test the Modular Robotic Vehicle (MRV) with remote weapon stations, and first-person view drones (FPVD), for the first time in a combat field environment.

The MRV currently uses an M113 Armoured Personnel Carrier as a 'test bed', with 50-calibre machine guns or M23D minigun remote weapon stations attached. This technology allows soldiers to control the vehicle and weapon station using a remote control from up to 1000 metres away.

Similarly, FPVD are operated using a headset and hand controller.

Officer Commanding Major Tom Fisher said these drones could travel up to 20 kilometres from the operator, reaching speeds of up to 70km/h with the ability to provide a strike function when weaponised with a payload.

"It allows the warfighter to strike targets at range without placing themselves at risk," Major Fisher said.

Embedding within the 3rd Brigade's Battlegroup Kapyong, the 1AR team and their new equipment were tested in a range of tactical scenarios, providing commanders with new opportunities on the battlefield.

"Being able to implement the MRV and FPVD into a battlegroup, conducting tactical actions and seeing how other people would utilise the equipment is really exciting," Major Fisher said.

"The capability is quite early on, but looking to the future, this kind of capability can bring a heavy amount of firepower to bear without putting soldiers in harm's way, which is really promising."

Commanding Officer of the 3rd Battalion and Battlegroup Kapyong, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Ellis, said testing the new technology was an opportunity to employ new tactics and enhance his soldiers' survivability.

"Here we've been able to test how we fight with that technology which essentially reduces the risk to people," Lieutenant Colonel Ellis said.

"We don't have to put our soldiers in harm's way and it can also be employed to soak up the attention of the enemy while our people move forward."

When new technology is delivered by Army Headquarters through the Army accelerated capability pipeline, 1AR conducts initial training and testing in Cultana Training Area, South Australia.

Major Fisher said the humid and undulating terrain of Townsville Field Training Area was in stark contrast to the dry plains of Cultana, which allowed his team to challenge the technology and push it to its limits.

"Because of the way the vehicles communicate to each other, performance is very terrain dependent, so we are experiencing some difficulties with terrain in Townsville that is quite vegetated," he said.

"However, as with all experimentation, even if you have a failure, it's still a win, because you know the limitations of the equipment."

Members of the regiment also deployed to Shoalwater Bay Training Area during Exercise Talisman Sabre to test uncrewed ground vehicles and hyper teaming drones.

On return to Adelaide, 1AR will evaluate how the equipment performed and whether it will progress to implementation across wider Army.

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Overnight success bridges gap for Battle Group

By Corporal Luke Bellman

31 July 2025

Under the over of darkness, using specialist equipment, soldiers from 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment constructed a 46-metre Dry Support Bridge, proving the Battle Group with a vital armoured assault corridor.

The sky was overcast, plunging the area into complete darkness, leaving soldiers to rely solely on Soldier Personal Radios for communication.

The operation took place during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 at the Townsville Field Training Area, where bridging was essential to enable armoured units to manoeuvre across key terrain and maintain momentum during the simulated advance.

Acting Officer Commanding of 25 Support Squadron Captain Tom Butson said the task was a critical step in opening ground lines of communication.

"It was an important stepping stone - we had tanks and combat vehicles crossing to push further north-east," Captain Butson said.

The eight-person team began construction early in the night, guiding the 35-tonne launch vehicle - equipped with a vehicle-mounted crane - into position at the home bank.

Each of the eight bridge modules, which spanned six metres in width, was carried on flat racks.

Once in place, the crew deployed an A-frame gantry from the vehicle, extending it across the 46-metre gap. This acted as a launch rail, allowing modules to slide across the span without the vehicle entering the water.

Engineers began with the ramp module, using the crane to boom out and interlock each aluminium section. Hydraulic systems and locking pins secured the modules as they built outwards, one by one.

Despite the noise and zero visibility, Corporal Benjamin Hunt, section commander for the Dry Support Bridge, said the team stayed focused and adapted quickly.

"The darkness slows the process down, but we're trained to build it blind if we have to," Corporal Hunt said.

"With the truck noise and no moonlight, clear communications were critical to keep the build moving."

After eight hours of precise work, the military load classification 90-rated bridge - capable of supporting tanks and HX81 trucks - was ready by first light.

The successful build marked the first of two bridging operations for the squadron during the exercise.

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Shaheen, Kaine, Schumer, Wyden Announce Intent to Challenge Trump's Tariffs on Brazil

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

July 31, 2025

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Tim Kaine (D-VA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), announced their intent to file privileged legislation to challenge President Donald Trump's tariffs on goods from Brazil in response to steps Brazil is taking to hold friend of Trump and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accountable for attempting a coup. The additional tariffs announced by Trump will put the total Trump tariffs on Brazilian exports at 50 percent, raising costs for Americans on basic household goods.

In an executive order issued yesterday, Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the tariffs. Any one senator can challenge the use of IEEPA with a privileged resolution, such as the one the lawmakers will file. That means the Senate will be required to vote on the legislation.

"President Trump has no interest in lowering costs for the American people. If he did, he would not be imposing tariffs and starting senseless trade wars," said the senators. "We're particularly concerned about these tariffs on Brazilwhich are being put into place to get the Brazilian Supreme Court to stop its prosecution of Trump's longtime friend Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president who is facing criminal charges for inciting a violent coup. This is certainly not what tariffs are intended to be used for, and they will raise prices for Americans. That's why we'll be introducing legislation to challenge these reckless tariffs against Brazil."

Americans import more than $40 billion annually from Brazil, including nearly $2 billion's worth of coffee. Trade between the U.S. and Brazil supports nearly 130,000 jobs in the U.S., and the U.S. actually has a trade surplus with Brazil. A trade war with Brazil would make life more expensive for Americans, harm both the American and Brazilian economies and drive Brazil closer to China.

###

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Lula Slams US Sanctions Against Brazilian Judge as 'Unacceptable Interference'

Sputnik News

20250731

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has lashed out at US sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as interference in the country's justice system.

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department included de Moraes in the sanctions list, accusing him of "an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions - including against former President Jair Bolsonaro."

"The interference of the American government in the Brazilian justice system is unacceptable," Lula da Silva said on X on Wednesday.

Lula added that the Brazilian government "stands in solidarity with Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes."

"One of the foundations of democracy and respect for human rights in Brazil is the independence of the judiciary, and any attempt to weaken it is a threat to the democratic system itself," the president noted.

Bolsonaro served as the President of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. He was defeated by Lula in the 2022 presidential election. Just one week after Lula's inauguration, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters violently overran Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace on January 8, 2023. On that day, police arrested approximately 2,000 individuals involved in the unrest.

In November 2024, Brazil's Federal Police charged Bolsonaro and several former government officials with attempting to overthrow democracy by organizing a coup and establishing a criminal organization. The case has now been forwarded to the Supreme Court. Bolsonaro faces the possibility of imprisonment for his alleged role in the attempted coup.

 Sputnik

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Hong Kong: Statement by the Spokesperson on extraterritorial arrest warrants

European External Action Service (EEAS)

31.07.2025

EEAS Press Team

The European Union strongly condemns the extraterritorial arrest warrants issued by the Hong Kong National Security Police on 25 July 2025 targeting 15 pro-democracy activists, including, for the first time, an EU citizen.

This attempt at intimidating an EU citizen and curtailing freedom of expression within the European Union is unacceptable. Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are an integral part of EU core values and key pillars of our democracy.

The EU is deeply concerned about the continued extraterritorial application of the National Security Law and the ongoing transnational repression of opposition voices.

The EU strongly urges the Hong Kong authorities to uphold fundamental freedoms as enshrined in Hong Kong's Basic Law, withdraw all warrants and bounties issued under the National Security Law, and refrain from attempts to conduct transnational repression within the European Union or elsewhere.

The EU calls on China to respect its international commitments, the 'one country, two systems' principle, and Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy as enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.



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Chinese official media releases footage of ICBM launch, submarine far seas mission ahead of PLA's 98th founding anniversary

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Jul 31, 2025 11:07 PM

Ahead of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's (PLA) 98th founding anniversary on Friday, Chinese official media on Thursday intensively published a series of national defense achievements, including release of rare video footage of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch of last year and, for the first time, footage of a far seas mission by a new type of submarine.

The video footage of the ICBM launch shows the missile ascending after being launched, according to a report by China Bugle, an official media account affiliated with the PLA News Media Center.

As part of a routine arrangement in China's annual training plan, the PLA Rocket Force launched an ICBM carrying a dummy warhead into the high seas in the Pacific Ocean at 8:44 am on September 25, 2024, and the missile fell into designated sea areas, the Chinese Defense Ministry announced in a press release at the time.

Another clip showed, for the first time, video footage of a far seas mission by a new type of submarine, according to a report by the military channel of China Central Television (CCTV).

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that the video clips are not only meant for celebrating the PLA's founding anniversary, but also to showcase China's nuclear second-strike capabilities and its strong deterrence power.

China follows a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, but it must have the capability to conduct counterattacks if attacked first. Displaying strategic missiles and nuclear submarines is a move to demonstrate that China possesses multiple reliable second-strike options, which is a key pillar for maintaining a peaceful environment for development, Song said.

The new releases are part of an official documentary scheduled to air in full on Friday. It is also expected to feature details of carrier-aircraft integration tests between China's electromagnetic catapult-equipped aircraft carrier Fujian and the J-15T shipborne fighter jet.

Tremendous achievements

With only two years remaining until its centenary, the PLA has made tremendous progress over the past year in terms of weapons and equipment development, combat readiness, and the capability to safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests, experts said.

Many of the new weapons and equipment were displayed for the first time at Airshow China 2024, where the PLA Air Force unveiled the J-35A stealth fighter jet, making China the second country in the world to operate two types of stealth fighter jets after the US. The PLA Navy, meanwhile, debuted the J-15T carrier-borne fighter jet and the J-15D carrier-borne electronic warfare aircraft.

Another notable event occurred in December 2024. At the time, videos and photos emerged on social media allegedly showing two newly designed aircraft conducting test flights in China. Despite no official announcements, many dubbed them China's "sixth-generation fighter jets." Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that the so-called sixth-generation fighter jet has become a key vantage point major powers have been contesting to reach. Three months later, the US announced the F-47, its own sixth-generation fighter jet in March, but only via artist renderings, with many technical details questioned by experts.

At sea, on December 27, 2024, China launched its first Type 076 amphibious assault ship, a type of large vessel equipped with electromagnetic catapult and arresting technology, allowing it to launch manned and unmanned combat aircraft in addition to helicopters, effectively making it a light aircraft carrier, experts told the Global Times.

Less than a month later, the PLA Navy commissioned its first Type 054B frigate on January 22. This 5,000-ton-class warship features advancements in stealth, combat command systems, and integrated firepower control. A second Type 054B was confirmed to be in service by official media in May.

The PLA has not only been developing advanced weapons and equipment but also putting them to good use, highlighted by several impressive and memorable moments in training and exercises.

In October 2024, the PLA Navy announced that the formations of Chinese aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong had carried out a dual aircraft carrier formation exercise for the first time in the South China Sea. In another deployment in June this year, the Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carrier formations completed far-seas combat training in the Western Pacific. Experts noted that a dual-carrier group's combat capability extends beyond the mere addition of two carriers, allowing for more diversified and more complex missions.

During the PLA Eastern Theater Command's joint exercise around the island of Taiwan on April 1, an H-6K bomber was seen in an official video footage carrying the YJ-21 air-launched ballistic missile. Military affairs expert Zhang Junshe told the Global Times that the YJ-21's appearance in the drills demonstrates a high degree of combat realism. The missile plays a crucial role in seizing comprehensive control, and the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces have no effective countermeasure against it, the expert said.

Top PLA weapons and equipment also travelled abroad, highlighted by the China-Egypt "Eagles of Civilization 2025" joint air force training in Egypt, in which the KJ-500 early warning aircraft, the J-10C fighter jet, the Z-20 helicopter and the YU-20 tanker aircraft took part.

New excitement

China will hold a military parade in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Xinhua News Agency reported on June 24.

According to a press conference by China's State Council Information Office, the military parade will feature marching formations, armored columns, and aerial echelons. In addition to showcasing the new generation of traditional weapons and equipment, some new combat forces such as unmanned intelligence, underwater warfare, cyber and electronic attack and defense, and hypersonic warfare equipment will also be featured in the parade, reflecting the Chinese military's strong ability to evolve according to science and technology advancements and prepare for future warfare, Xinhua reported.

Regarding the upcoming military parade, Song said he hopes to see not only the already-debuted J-35A, but also new weapons such as hypersonic missiles and unmanned systems. They are expected to demonstrate China's national defense developments, deter hostile forces, and safeguard China's sovereignty, security, and development interests.

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China's mysterious J-9 fighter jet project unveiled for first time

Global Times

By GT staff reporters Published: Jul 31, 2025 05:05 PM

In the history of Chinese aviation, the Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), codenamed 611 Institute, is undoubtedly a prestigious name. It is here that China's iconic fighter jets such as the J-10 and J-20, which safeguard the nation's skies, were born. Following the remarkable performance of the J-10CE in foreign military air combat, renewed public interest has been sparked in the development of the Chengdu Institute and the stories behind its cutting-edge fighter aircraft. Recently, the Global Times conducted exclusive interviews with researchers at the institute who have participated in the development of advanced fighter jets.

Among Chinese military aviation enthusiasts, there has long been talk of a mysterious aircraft known as the J-9. This previously unseen fighter jet once carried great expectations and is believed to have paved the way for the birth of the J-10. During the interviews, the Global Times learned that not only did the J-9 genuinely exist, but it also marked the starting point of the Chengdu Institute's journey of self-reliant innovation.

In May 1970, a mysterious train carrying more than 300 people quietly departed from Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province, and headed south toward Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. The passengers on this secretive train formed the J-9 Team, dispatched to advance the development of the J-9 aircraft. After arriving in Chengdu, the team settled at the former site of an Air Force flight school, which later became the Chengdu Institute.

Although the J-9 project ultimately never took to the skies due to various practical constraints of the time, its development nonetheless left a valuable legacy for both the Chengdu Institute and China's aviation industry.

The first key feature of the legacy of the J-9 is the canard configuration - a layout that has become a hallmark of Chinese fighter design, a researcher at the institute told the Global Times.

As performance requirements for the J-9 evolved, researchers at the Chengdu Institute engaged in repeated discussions over the aircraft's technical layout. In response to the demands at the time, they proposed a novel idea: adding a small forewing ahead of the tailless main wing to improve the aircraft's lift characteristics. This marked the inception of the canard configuration.

"This layout had no precedent either in China or among technologically advanced nations like the US and the Soviet Union," Xie Pin, a veteran researcher at the Chengdu Institute, recalled with a smile. "At the time, the only vaguely similar design internationally was Sweden's Saab 37, but its canards were fixed. Ours was an original innovation."

Xie further explained that although the J-9 program was eventually terminated, the canard configuration was carried forward into later aircraft models such as the J-10 and J-20, where it was further developed and its advantages fully realized.

The second legacy brought by the J-9 aircraft was the interception weapon system. Researchers at the institute explained that, at the time, aviation technology leaders like the US and the Soviet Union had already begun transitioning to beyond-visual-range air combat. However, in China, the J-8, which was developed around the same era as the J-9, was still designed with a gun as its primary weapon, while missiles were treated only as secondary armaments. In contrast, the Chengdu Institute team developed a dedicated interception weapon system for the J-9 during its development, making it the aircraft's main operational weapon system.

"As a latecomer, this was a crucial step in our later exploration of beyond-visual-range air combat," Xie said. He also noted that these significant research achievements led Song Wencong, the chief designer of the J-10, to say that without the J-9 as a foundation, there would have been no J-7  or J-10.

In the first half of this year, China's made-for-export J-10CE achieved a remarkable combat record in an air combat by foreign military, shooting down multiple enemy aircraft without suffering a single loss. This outstanding performance has once again made the J-10's development history a hot topic among military enthusiasts. In fact, the development of the J-10 is a legendary tale, vividly embodying the spirit of self-reliance and perseverance in China's aviation industry.

Xie said that during the development of the J-9, the Chengdu Institute successfully developed the interception weapon system. However, at the time, it was unclear how this system should be employed in actual combat. "So, I submitted a proposal to the institute," he said, "recommending the establishment of a specialized tactical performance and future development research group dedicated to studying air combat tactics and the evolution of future aircraft."

The core mission of such teams was pre-research and development. Today, most military enthusiasts are familiar with China's aircraft development principle of "upgrading one generation, developing another, and conducting advanced research on the next." But even back then, the Chengdu Institute had already institutionalized this approach in its practices of research and development.

Xie recalled that after the J-9 project was terminated, Song instructed the tactical performance and future development research group to brainstorm new concepts with an open mind, encouraging all innovative ideas. Song mandated the team to produce several new fighter design proposals annually for potential selection. These early conceptual studies ultimately laid crucial groundwork for the subsequent development of both the J-10 and J-20 projects.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun's Regular Press Conference on July 31, 2025

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

Updated: July 31, 2025 18:32

CCTV: It has been a year since China took over the SCO rotating chairmanship, and China will host the SCO Summit in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. Can you introduce the work China has done as the SCO chair and the preparations that have been made for the Summit in Tianjin?

Guo Jiakun: Since China took over the SCO rotating chairmanship in July last year, China has acted on the slogan "Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move", made solid progress as the SCO chair, and achieved positive progress and outcomes.

First, cooperation in all sectors has been deepened. China has hosted over 100 events as the SCO chair, and nearly half are institutional events, covering multiple areas such as politics, security, military, economy and trade, investment, energy, education, connectivity, technological innovation, green industry, digital economy and people-to-people exchanges. These events help SCO countries increase solidarity and mutual trust, enhanced mutual learning and achieved mutually beneficial and win-win results.

Second, the mechanisms of the organization have been improved. China has worked with all member states to advance reform and innovation in various aspects such as the deliberation mechanism, cooperation pattern and permanent bodies, so as to ensure smoother and more efficient operation of the organization. Parties are accelerating the consultations regarding the establishment of a comprehensive center for dealing with security threats and challenges, a information security center, a center for fighting transnational organized crime and a counternarcotics center, to strengthen cooperation on law enforcement and security and to build a new paradigm for regional security cooperation.

Third, stronger commitment was made to the "Shanghai Spirit." The SCO has spoken up to uphold justice on major international and regional issues, firmly upheld the multilateral trading system and strongly condemned the abuse of armed force, sending a strong message of the SCO for safeguarding peace and justice. China, together with member states, has actively carried out exchanges and dialogues among political parties, media and think tanks, giving people a better understanding of the "Shanghai Spirit" and bringing the big family of the SCO closer.

One month later, the SCO Summit will be held in Tianjin. Leaders of over 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will gather together for the summit. This will be the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO, and the culmination of China's work as the SCO chair. The SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting held not long ago has made full political preparations for this Summit. China will work with all member states to complete the preparations in the final phase, accumulate positive outcomes in areas such as security, development, livelihood and mechanisms, so as to hold a friendly and united summit with fruitful results. The Summit will guide the SCO to enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring more solidarity, coordination, vitality and contribution, and build a closer SCO community with a shared future.

The Paper: China's stellar economic growth in the first half of this year recently received positive reactions. The International Monetary Fund, Morgan Stanley and other international organizations and institutions revised upward their forecasts for China's growth. Many multinational companies continued to expand investment in China. Foreign-funded financial institutions like Baillie Gifford commented that China is undergoing economic transformation "at unprecedented scale" and the world factory is pivoting from "made in China" to "invented in China" and will provide more development opportunities for foreign investors. What's your comment?

Guo Jiakun: China enjoys an increasing momentum of robust economic growth with the dynamism of innovation being unleashed at a faster pace, thus contributing the most precious certainty to global development.

The certainty comes from the efficacy of economic governance. China is committed to the new development philosophy with a focus on achieving innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all, and putting in place new systems for a higher-standard open economy. The vivid practice in the Chinese modernization drive has provided a new development path for countries around the world. The certainty comes from the economic strength fostered through reform and innovation. With the potential of domestic demand originating from its mega-size market, China has upgraded the industrial structure, enhanced the capacity of independent innovation and competitiveness, and addressed high risks of external shock with high-quality development. The certainty comes from a stable and predictable policy environment. China has been rolling out proactive and effective macro policies, and fostering a pro-business environment that is market-oriented, law-based and world-class. The certainty comes from our sense of responsibility as a major country. China upholds the approach to global economic governance featuring equality, opening up, cooperation and shared benefits, supports the multilateral trading system and defends international fairness and justice.

Facts fully prove that the Chinese market is always the optimal destination for international investment. We welcome foreign companies to further weave themselves into the fabric of China's "development chain" and jointly forge the global supply chain for win-win results.

Dragon TV: It's reported that at 9 am local time on July 31, two Chinese men suffered severe injuries after they were attacked by four men in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo of Japan. Could you offer more details and your comment?

Guo Jiakun: We have noted relevant reports. The Chinese Embassy in Japan has expressed concerns to Japan immediately after the incident, and is now further verifying the situation. We urge Japan to take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens.

AFP: China today said it summoned U.S.-based Nvidia over severe security issues related to its H20 chips. Could the Ministry offer more details and its comment?

Guo Jiakun: I'd refer you to competent authorities for anything specific.

Bloomberg: The U.S. CDC has said that it's planning to issue a travel advisory for China because of the outbreak of Chikungunya infections in Guangdong. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comment?

Guo Jiakun: China's National Health Commission held a press conference and shared information on the imported Chikungunya fever in a handful of cities in Southern China and its spread there. The commission said the disease is treatable, preventable, and under control. Chikungunya fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease, and there were already reported cases overseas in the 1950s. The virus is found to spread in 119 countries and regions. We've learned that China has maintained communication with the WHO on that.

The Chinese government takes seriously the health of its own people and foreign nationals in China. We will continue to make sure it is comfortable, safe and convenient for both Chinese and foreigners to travel in China.

AFP: Myanmar's military government announced today the lift of a state of emergency. What's China's comment?

Guo Jiakun: As Myanmar's friend and neighbor, China closely follows the developments in Myanmar. We support the country in maintaining stability and realizing peaceful reconciliation, in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, and in steadily advancing its domestic political agenda. We welcome the parties and factions in Myanmar to properly handle differences through political means within the framework of the constitution and laws.

China upholds the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs. We stand ready to continue promoting talks for peace in light of the need of parties in Myanmar, and playing a constructive role for restoring stability in Myanmar.

AFP: President Trump said today that the U.S. reached a trade deal with the ROK with 15 percent tariffs on imports from the ROK. What's China's comment?

Guo Jiakun: China, as always, believes all parties need to solve economic and trade disputes through equal-footed dialogue and consultation, uphold a sound environment in international economic and trade cooperation and abide by the WTO rules.

AFP: It is said that a U.S. congressional delegation will visit Taiwan in August. What is China's take on this?

Guo Jiakun: China firmly opposes official interactions in any form between the U.S. and the Taiwan region. There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. China calls on the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, stop interfering in China's internal affairs with any excuse, stop conniving at or supporting "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, stop its official interactions with Taiwan, and stop stirring up tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

AFP: The U.S. announced today to suspend the tariff exemption on low-value packages, which will affect many parcels exported from China. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comment on this?

Guo Jiakun: China has noted relevant information. We hope the U.S. will follow the market principle of fair competition and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for companies from all countries including China.

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PLA celebrates 98 years, vows strength and readiness

Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China

Source China Daily

EditorLi Weichao

2025-08-01 00:11:56

China's military is willing to work with armed forces from other nations to jointly tackle global risks and challenges, and to help build a world of lasting peace, universal security and shared prosperity, Defense Minister Dong Jun said on Thursday.

He made the remarks at a reception hosted by the Ministry of National Defense at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to mark the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, which falls on Friday.

Dong said the PLA is ready to work with foreign militaries to implement the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity, as well as the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

He extended greetings to PLA officers and personnel, members of the armed police and paramilitary forces, and paid tribute to veterans, military heroes and model service members for their contributions to the country's defense.

Dong noted 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. It also marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japanese occupation and the founding of the United Nations.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the PLA has made "immortal achievements" in saving the nation from peril and achieving national liberation, Dong said, while contributing significantly to the global fight against fascism.

"In just over a month, the PLA will present itself as a force of peace, justice and might, ready to be reviewed by the Party and the people," he said, referring to the upcoming military parade scheduled for Sept 3 in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of victory over Japanese aggression and fascism.

Dong reiterated that the PLA "will never allow any attempts at 'Taiwan independence' to succeed" and said the military is prepared to counter any external military interference. The PLA, he said, remains fully ready to realize the complete reunification of the motherland.

He added that the Chinese military will step up training and enhance combat readiness to fulfill its missions and responsibilities in the new era.

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Interview with Federal Foreign Minister Wadephul in the Zeit newspaper

Germany Federal Foreign Office

31.07.2025 - Interview

Published on 23.07.2025.



Question:

Commenting on his time as Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer said the Ministry changes people faster than people change the Ministry. Does that hold true for you?

Johann Wadephul:

That's not something I really focus on. I try to remain true to myself.

Question:

Reading your interviews before you took office, you can't help but notice that you sound different.

Johann Wadephul:

Even before I took office, I wasn't one for beating my own drum in Berlin. That's why I wasn't a frequent guest on the talk show circuit. My team sometimes got a bit annoyed about this. I never did.

Question:

You once accused your predecessor Annalena Baerbock of sinning against Israel by causing potential delays to weapons supplies. Then you were appointed Minister and took a clear stance on Israel's methods of warfare. You have since changed your tune. Is this down to the job or your fellow party members?

Johann Wadephul:

It is down to the changing circumstances that we need to react to. Just before I took office, Israel launched a new policy in Gaza.

Question:

You mean the humanitarian blockade in Gaza.

Johann Wadephul:

That was a paradigm shift. We have now seen a reaction from Israel, one that I welcomed, even though it did not go far enough. However, I continue to call for humanitarian standards to be respected without restriction and deplore that this has not yet happened in full.

Question:

You had announced a review of arms supplies. There's no word of that now.

Johann Wadephul:

These decisions are taken by the Federal Security Council which meets behind closed doors.

Question:

Supplying weapons is a political decision.

Johann Wadephul:

You don't know what decisions have been taken.

Question:

You could go public with it now.

Johann Wadephul:

I have always said that we do in principle supply weapons to Israel. The previous Government did in fact reduce supplies, a step I considered to be wrong at the time. All governments since Konrad Adenauer have supplied weapons to Israel and this we are of course continuing. This German support is clearly rooted in our commitment to Israel's right to exist. There can, nevertheless, be restrictions. As I said, these decisions are taken behind closed doors.

Question:

You're not revealing any secrets if you indicate whether a review has taken place.

Johann Wadephul:

Each and every decision by the Federal Security Council is in essence a review.

Question:

But there is also a political level to this.

Johann Wadephul:

I'm not going to tell you anything more.

Question:

Has there been an image or an event in the course of recent months that ended up being some kind of tipping point for you personally?

Johann Wadephul:

It was a continuous development, unfortunately for the worse. That is why I have made plain from the outset that the situation of the people in Gaza has to improve. The Israeli Government has a duty to facilitate humanitarian assistance - not just in theory but in a way that effectively alleviates suffering. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, set up around the time of my first visit as Minister, falls short of the mark.

Question:

That is a private foundation run by the Americans and the Israelis to distribute aid in Gaza, a task it took over from international organisations. It has been criticised because of repeated cases of civilians being injured or killed at aid distribution points.

Johann Wadephul:

I told the Israeli Government that I expect the Foundation to be effective. When it became clear that it wasn't, I voiced very strong criticism. Now Israel has changed its policy at least in part and is cooperating again with international organisations such as the World Food Programme. That is why the situation has improved somewhat in the Gaza Strip. However, we are clearly a long way from where we need to be, namely in a situation where all people in the Gaza Strip have got what they need to live.

Question:

So you see an improvement in the humanitarian situation in Gaza?

Johann Wadephul:

I see a certain development, however, it's by far not enough. We are working to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This needs to pave the way for a return to full access to humanitarian supplies. After all, what triggered the restriction was the Israeli Government's belief that Hamas was using aid to legitimise its own ends.

Question:

You are in frequent contact with your Israeli colleague Gideon Sa'ar. Do you manage to get your concerns across?

Johann Wadephul:

I do have the impression that I get through to him. It's the outcome I'm not yet happy with. But what we have now achieved between the EU and the Israeli Government is a start.

Question:

You mean the agreement on opening bakeries, public kitchens and a water treatment plant?

Johann Wadephul:

Here I feel I was able to make an important contribution. And of course I am also talking to others in the region. To the Arab foreign ministers, above all to the Qatari Foreign Minister, who has close contacts to Hamas and can help ensure the ceasefire negotiations are successful this time.

Question:

Referring to your predecessor, you once said that there wasn't much of a chance of Germany serving as mediator. Does that still hold true?

Johann Wadephul:

The role of neutral mediator does not work for the simple reason that we are not without bias. We stand by Israel's side.

Question:

Does Germany even have clout in the Middle East?

Johann Wadephul:

Yes, of course. Many see us as the European power that can influence Israel. That is part of the reason why many Arab colleagues are in touch with me. At the same time, I also communicate certain pieces of information between the two sides. Our position is, however, always clear.

Question:

Do Arab partners understand Germany's position? That Germany supplies weapons to Israel?

Johann Wadephul:

Not a single interlocutor has criticised that. However, there are calls for us to exert even more political pressure on Israel.

Question:

In an open letter, former German diplomats called upon the Federal Government to exert more influence on Israel.

Johann Wadephul:

I'm sure there are also diplomats in my Ministry now who agree. Then again, some prominent German media maintain that I am too critical of Israel. And among my European colleagues, I am in turn considered too pro-Israel. So all in all, I seem to be largely getting the balance right.

Question:

Some countries accuse Germany of double standards. Is Germany becoming increasingly isolated on the international stage?

Johann Wadephul:

On the contrary, the whole world wants to talk to us and have us as partners. It is, however, right that clear words in all directions are sometimes necessary to maintain the credibility of German foreign policy. That holds true, for example, when it comes to the situation in the Gaza Strip and that is why I'm saying what I'm saying.

Question:

We've just seen the foreign ministers of 28 countries, including Britain and France, call for an end to the war in Gaza. Berlin didn't sign. The Netherlands has changed its policy towards Israel, Germany is standing its ground. Is there a political price to pay?

Johann Wadephul:

I don't believe in such categories. Germany has a never-ending responsibility towards the Jewish state. No other nation killed millions in industrial fashion. No one can expect us to abandon Israel, threatened as it is by Iran, by Houthis, by Hezbollah, by Hamas! Above all else, however, Hamas must not be allowed to succeed in its perfidious game of using both the hostages and the Palestinian population in Gaza as bargaining chips. Israel has accepted the mediators' most recent proposal. I urge Hamas and all those who have contact with this organisation and can bring their influence to bear to finally clear the way for a ceasefire.

Question:

Does this responsibility not also entail preventing the Israeli Government from making mistakes?

Johann Wadephul:

Yes, of course, and that is what I do. The day the declaration you mentioned was published, I spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister myself straightaway. That is the form of communication I consider appropriate between colleagues, especially between our two countries. At the same time, my admonitions regarding the situation in Gaza mean I am in part the target of very harsh criticism. You can end up in the crossfire in a liberal country and that's where I am. That sometimes keeps me awake at night.

Question:

Your fellow party members certainly haven't minced their words: "foreign policy hara-kiri", "ticking time bomb" is what they said about you, anonymously of course, when you criticised Israel.

Johann Wadephul:

Many, also in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, voice staunch support. Many people are reaching out. In my constituency, I get a lot of backing from neighbours, friends and acquaintances.

Question:

What is important for the people in your constituency? Israel or Ukraine?

Johann Wadephul:

Often it doesn't come down to specific issues. What they want is a calm, down-to-earth foreign minister. They say they don't understand much about the individual topics, but that I'm doing a good job. That I should stay true to myself. And that's what I'm going to do.

Question:

Do you sense that the war in the Middle East is pushing Ukraine out of the spotlight?

Johann Wadephul:

The risk is definitely there. Putin is using this for particularly fierce attacks and for a whole spectrum of attempts to divide society in Germany.

Question:

What are you doing about it?

Johann Wadephul:

By visiting Kyiv and Odesa, I tried to keep the focus on Ukraine. After all, this war in Europe, this war against our European values, remains the greatest foreign policy challenge we face. However, it is not easy to keep this at the forefront of public attention.

Question:

Two days after you left, the port in Odesa that you visited was attacked. That was surely no coincidence.

Johann Wadephul:

I have stopped trying to understand the logic behind Putin's attacks. He will not stop until he realises that he has miscalculated.

Question:

And how long is that going to take?

Johann Wadephul:

We are currently in a critical phase once more in which Putin is again testing us to see if he can use continuous heavy attacks to get his way. If we as Europeans and Germans stand our ground, he will realise that his strategy doesn't add up.

Question:

One problem is the financing. Russian foreign assets are valued at some 300 billion euro. How about seizing those?

Johann Wadephul:

That is very difficult as legal and financial policy aspects are at play.

Question:

Time is running out for Ukraine.

Johann Wadephul:

The problem with equipping Ukraine with new weapons systems is currently not a financial one but a problem of availability and production. That is the bottleneck and that is what we are working on.

Question:

In days gone by, you attacked the Scholz Government for failing to supply Taurus cruise missiles. Now the Christian Democrats are in power and the weapons system still isn't being delivered.

Johann Wadephul:

For a long time, I've been somewhat reticent here.

Question:

Why?

Johann Wadephul:

It is not a technically straightforward weapons system that Ukraine can use straightaway. This is nevertheless something we need to keep revisiting.

Question:

So you can understand the position of former Chancellor Scholz after all?

Johann Wadephul:

What is clear is that Ukraine has the right to defend itself from attack. Ukraine will also have the means to impact Russian territory. But we aren't going to reveal to Putin in this interview what weapons systems we are making available to Ukraine.

Question:

Your predecessor Annalena Baerbock brought climate policy to the Federal Foreign Office, along with feminist foreign policy, the China Strategy, the National Security Strategy. Are these projects you also support?

Johann Wadephul:

My three main priorities are security, freedom, ensuring prosperity. These are principles that make plain what we need to focus on. I simply have different priorities. However, that doesn't mean we have to do everything differently. When it comes to policy on China, there is considerable continuity. The same holds true for the National Security Strategy. Climate policy has in part moved back to the Environment Ministry but some aspects I am pursuing at international level.

Question:

What do you want to do differently?

Johann Wadephul:

One example: foreign policy should safeguard economic prosperity in Germany and Europe. Unlike Annalena Baerbock, I take business delegations with me on my trips to establish and enhance economic relations. I want to ensure that we can source raw materials and rare earths that we urgently need from countries with which we cooperate.

Question:

That sounds like "change through trade" reloaded.

Johann Wadephul:

I am not so idealistic as to think that the minute I trade with a country I can change it. Sometimes trade is just trade. But for Germany, one of the world's leading export nations, even that can be useful.

Interview: Alice Bota

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Foreign Minister Wadephul prior to his departure for Israel and the Palestinian territories

Germany Federal Foreign Office

31.07.2025 - Press release

Foreign Minister Wadephul issued the following statement today (31 July)

"By joint decision of the security cabinet, I am travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories today to discuss the dramatically worsened situation with my interlocutors.

The terrorist organisation Hamas is still holding hostages captive and, despite all the negotiation efforts, is not prepared to enter into a ceasefire. At the same time, the dying and suffering in the Gaza Strip has reached unfathomable dimensions. What is more, the most recent UN conference in New York showed that Israel is increasingly finding itself in a minority position. In view of the open annexation threats from sections of the Israeli Government, a sharply rising number of countries, including European countries, are prepared to recognise a Palestinian state even without a prior negotiation process. The region and the Middle East peace process thus stand at a crossroads. Germany, with our special responsibility for Israel, can and must not be indifferent to this.

In my talks I will therefore focus on three messages:

At Israel's side, Germany will continue to advocate that Hamas finally sets free the hostages, which include German nationals, is disarmed and no longer exerts political influence in the Palestinian territories. It must never again pose a threat to Israel. At the same time, Israel must take immediate, comprehensive and durable measures to remedy the disastrous situation in the Gaza Strip. Germany remains prepared to do everything in its power to help alleviate the suffering. Given the extremely dramatic situation, the dropping of relief supplies from the air, an operation in which Germany will take part in the coming days, is one way of ensuring that the urgently needed supplies reach those in need quickly. Moreover, we continue to work flat out to restore the established humanitarian land routes, which airdrops cannot replace. Relief goods can only reach people in sufficient volumes by road. I therefore urge the Israeli Government to allow the UN and international relief organisations safe access, and above all, to ensure safe and effective distribution. Germany is convinced that in order to resolve the conflict permanently, a negotiated two-state solution is the only way to enable people on both sides to live in peace, security and dignity. Germany regards recognition of a Palestinian state as a step more at the end of the process. However, such a process must now begin. Germany will not deviate from this goal. And Germany will be forced to react to any unilateral steps."

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Pezeshkian: No power can bring a united Iran to its knees

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 10:54 AM

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian says no power will be able to bring the Iranian people to their knees, and no obstacle can hinder their progress as long as they maintain their unity and coherence.

Speaking in a ceremony in the city of Zanjan on Thursday, Pezeshkian hailed the "honorable" and strong defense of the Iranian people, police, and security forces, as well as missile scientists, during 12 days of Israeli-US acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic in June.

He appreciated the great efforts made by the Iranian Armed Forces, including the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), during the imposed war.

"Despite all the enemies' threats and pressure, these forces ...defeated both the Zionist regime [which was equipped] with Iron Dome as well as the United States, which enjoyed all its advanced military equipment, and targeted them with their missiles," the president said.

Pezeshkian emphasized that the Iranian nation and Armed Forces defended national sovereignty despite facing harsh sanctions.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that the recent 12-day war revealed the strength and determination of the Iranian nation, and showed the world the unmatched firmness of the Islamic Republic's foundation.

He said the war served as an occasion for the Islamic Republic to display its willpower and capabilities, stressing that the root cause of enmity toward Iran lies in the nation's "faith, knowledge, and unity."

On June 13, the Israeli regime launched its aggression targeting senior Iranian officials and nuclear scientists in an act of terrorism that killed scores of civilians as well. Days later, the United States escalated the war by bombing three civilian nuclear facilities in Iran.

In a powerful response, the Iranian Armed Forces launched retaliatory strikes on strategic Israeli targets across the occupied territories and also hit the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military outpost 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 as Tel Aviv, overwhelmed by the counterstrikes, was compelled to seek a ceasefire.

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Compensation for war prerequisite for resumption of nuclear talks with US: Iran FM

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 8:22 AM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the United States must compensate Tehran for losses incurred during the 12-day US-Israeli aggression on the Islamic Republic before resumption of nuclear talks.

Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times in Tehran published on Thursday, Araghchi said Iran would not agree to "business as usual" in the wake of Israel's acts of aggression last month, which the US later joined despite having been in talks with Iran.

"They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of . . . negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that [during future talks]," he added.

"And they have to compensate [Iran for] the damage that they have done."

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).

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 as Tel Aviv, overwhelmed by the counterstrikes, was compelled to seek a ceasefire.

Road to talks narrow but not blocked

Araghchi further pointed to his exchange of messages with US envoy Steve Witkoff during and since the war, saying that he had stressed the need to find a "win-win solution" to resolve the years-long stand-off over the country's nuclear program.

"The road to negotiation is narrow but it's not impossible. I need to convince my hierarchy that if we go for negotiation, the other side is coming with real determination for a win-win deal," the top Iranian diplomat added.

Araghchi explained that Witkoff has tried to convince him and has proposed resuming talks, but emphasized, "We need real confidence-building measures from their side."

The veteran Iranian diplomat, without giving details, added that any resumption of talks should include financial compensation and assurances that no more attacks would take place against Tehran during negotiations.

The top Iranian diplomat noted that the war had only deepened distrust of US President Donald Trump, who during his first term abandoned a 2015 deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

"Anti-negotiation feelings are very high," Araghchi said.

"People are telling me, 'Don't waste your time anymore, don't be cheated by them . . . if they come to negotiations it's only a cover-up for their other intentions.'"

Iran and the United States had held five rounds of indirect talks on Tehran's peaceful nuclear program before the beginning of Israel's acts of aggression.

Mediated by Oman, the 6th round of talks was planned to be held in the Omani capital of Muscat on June 15, but was called off due to the anti-Iran attacks.

On June 22, the United States officially joined the war against Iran by launching attacks on three nuclear facilities in the country in violation of the United Nations Charter and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

No deal with US if Trump insists on zero enrichment

Araghchi once again reiterated Iran's resolve to continue its enrichment activities, saying there could be no deal as long as Trump demanded that Iran agree to zero enrichment.

He, however, added that Washington should address its concerns through negotiations.

"We can negotiate, they can present their argument and we will present our own argument," the Iranian minister said. "But with zero enrichment, we don't have a thing."

Iran will end talks with E3 if snapback mechanism invoked

Araghchi also hit out at the European troika - Britain, France and Germany- who have warned they would trigger a so-called snapback mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions at the end of August if Tehran does not resume negotiations with Washington and its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He noted that the three European signatories to the JCPOA have failed to fulfill their obligations as per the nuclear deal, emphasizing that Tehran would end talks with the trio if they trigger the snapback mechanism.

"With the Europeans, there is no reason right now to negotiate because they cannot lift sanctions, they cannot do anything," he said. "If they do snapback, that means that this is the end of the road for them."

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Iran strongly condemns US sanctions against energy, oil industries

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 31 July 2025 3:20 AM

Iran's Foreign Ministry has vehemently denounced the United States latest round of sanctions as a blatant assault on the Iranian people and their national dignity.

In a statement on Thursday, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei issued a strong rebuke after the US imposed new sanctions targeting individuals, organizations, and vessels connected to Iran's energy and oil sectors.

Earlier, the US State Department announced sanctioning more than 115 of such individuals, institutions, and ships.

Baghaei called the move a clear reflection of "the hostility of American policymakers towards the Iranian people."

According to the official, the true aim behind the sanctions is to cripple Iran's development, sow internal discord, and erode the rights and livelihoods of ordinary citizens.

Such is the case when it comes to all of Washington's adversarial measures against the Iranian people over the past seven decades, he noted.

Baghaei pointed to the US's throwing unprecedented support behind the Israeli regime's unprovoked war on the Islamic Republic last month.

"The Iranian people, fully aware of the malicious intent of the aggressive sanctioning party..., will stand firm with all their might to safeguard their dignity and interests," he declared.

The spokesman criticized Washington's chronic "addiction" to unilateralism, and its wielding unlawful pressure tactics in pursuit of such illegitimate goals.

In doing so, he said, the US has repeatedly violated the international law, human rights, and freedom of sovereign trade.

Such actions, the official added, had to be met with international accountability.

Baghaei finally underlined the nation's "unshakeable resolve" to "pursue its lofty goals to protect national sovereignty and build the homeland" in the face of Washington's provocations.

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US Must Guarantee Not to Repeat Attack on Iran in Order to Resume Talks - Araghchi

Sputnik News

20250731

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States must guarantee that it will not repeat the attack on Iran as part of the conditions for resuming talks with Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

"They should explain why they attacked us in the middle of . . . negotiations, and they have to ensure that they are not going to repeat that [during future talks]," Araghchi said in an interview with Financial Times, adding that Tehran will not agree to "business as usual."

The US should also compensate Tehran for the damage it caused by the recent attack on the country, the minister said.

 Sputnik

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Imposing Sanctions on an International Procurement Network for Iran's UAV Program

US Department of State

Press Statement

Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson

July 31, 2025

The United States today sanctioned five entities and one individual based in Iran, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong SAR that have been involved in the procurement of technology and equipment in support of Iran's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program.

Today's action supports President Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum-2 to counter Iran's aggressive development of missiles and other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities.

The United States will use all available means, including sanctions on entities based in third countries, to expose and disrupt Iran's schemes to procure equipment and items supporting its UAV program, which destabilizes the Middle East and beyond.

The Department of Treasury's action was taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters.

For more information, see Treasury's press release.

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Chinese FM spokesperson responds to Myanmar government lifting nationwide state of emergency

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Jul 31, 2025 04:14 PM

In response to a media inquiry regarding the Myanmar government's announcement on Thursday to lift the nationwide state of emergency, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated that, as a friendly neighbor, China is closely following the developments of situation in Myanmar and has consistently supported the country's efforts to maintain stability, achieve peaceful reconciliation, pursue a development path suited to its national conditions, and advance its domestic political agenda in an orderly manner.

Guo added that China welcomes all parties and factions in Myanmar to resolve differences through political means within the framework of the constitution and laws. China upholds the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and stands ready to continue playing a constructive role in helping de-escalate the situation and promote dialogue and peace talks in line with the needs of all parties in Myanmar, said Guo.

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July 31, 2025

Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's Call With Republic of Korea Minister of Defense Ahn Gyu-back

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell provided the following readout:

On July 30, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth spoke by phone with the new Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of Defense Ahn Gyu-back. The Secretary expressed his desire to work together to ensure that the U.S.-ROK Alliance is strategically sustainable and that our combined posture on the Peninsula credibly contributes to deterrence against shared threats. The Secretary stressed the need for continuing close consultations and looks forward to meeting Minister Ahn in person during the upcoming Security Consultative Meeting.



https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4260497/

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Secretary Rubio's Meeting with ROK Foreign Minister Cho

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

July 31, 2025

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Tammy Bruce:

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Minister Cho Hyun today in Washington. The Secretary and Foreign Minister underscored the unwavering strength of the U.S.-ROK Alliance, which has served as the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years. They expressed continued support for their mutual goal of strengthening the U.S.-ROK Alliance, including through our robust combined defense posture and the continued provision of extended deterrence to the ROK.

Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho discussed efforts to advance the shared prosperity of the United States and the ROK, including by strengthening supply chains and collaborating on critical and emerging technologies, among other efforts. They both welcomed the announcement of a full and complete trade deal and the forthcoming visit of ROK President Lee Jae Myung to Washington. Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho also reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK, the full implementation of international sanctions, and expressed serious concerns about North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia. Both emphasized that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait was an indispensable element of security and prosperity for the international community. Furthermore, they discussed the importance of continuing to advance U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation, which plays a vital role in deterrence and resilience against regional security threats.

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Russian-Laotian talks

July 31, 2025

17:25

The Kremlin, Moscow

Vladimir Putin held talks with President Thongloun Sisoulith of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, who visited Russia on an official visit.

Following the talks, the leaders made media statements. Before that, a ceremony was held to exchange documents signed during the Laotian President's official visit to Russia.

The following instruments have been signed: a Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Lao People's Democratic Republic on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters; memoranda of understanding between corresponding agencies on cooperation in water resources management and protection, and in general, vocational, and professional training, as well as other fields; memoranda on cooperation in ensuring sanitary and epidemiological well-being and a 2025-2026 Roadmap for cooperation between Rosatom State Corporation and the LPDR's Ministry of Industry and Trade on the peaceful use of atomic energy. Two more documents concern cooperation between the Foreign Ministry's MGIMO University and the National University of Laos and the Laotian Foreign Ministry's Institute of International Relations.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's article 'The Helsinki Act's 50th anniversary: Expectations, reality, and future,' Rossiyskaya Gazeta, August 1, 2025

1 August 2025 00:05

1286-01-08-2025

Marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and World War II in 2025 serves as an occasion for us to recall and reaffirm the importance of peace which came at such a high cost for our forefathers. We must also be mindful of how fragile this peace architecture is. In fact, its integrity hinges upon the ability of countries and their people to engage in coordinated collective action. Back in 1945, the year of Victory, major powers realised the need to overcome their differences for the sake of the humankind as a whole. This paved the way for establishing the United Nations as one of the key derivatives of this vision. In fact, the purposes and principles set out in the UN Charter remain relevant to this day and are in step with the reality of an emerging multipolar world order.

But there is another international event which happened precisely 50 years ago and is worth commemorating. This is when the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was signed. It became a landmark event in consolidating the post-war architecture based on the framework resulting from the Yalta and Potsdam conferences. Those camping on unfriendly positions towards Russia seek to diminish and sweep under the carpet the fact that our country, which was the USSR at that time, played a leading role in the Helsinki process, while also distorting the objectives the Soviet leaders were pursuing. We are facing groundless and unappealing accusations of undermining the European security framework, and politicians in the EU and NATO have made no secret of their intention to re-write the outcomes of World War II and do not shy away from concocting barbaric fakes for that purpose.

But the historical truth is that the Soviet leadership had a clear understanding from the very beginning that the Soviet people who survived the dark years of war needed to enjoy peace and calm in the new environment with two opposing blocs. Diplomacy textbooks and memoires offer an exhaustive account of how the Helsinki agreements came to be. Nevertheless, I believe that I must mention that it was Moscow which came forward with a proposal to create a collective security framework in Europe back in 1954, but our former allies from the anti-Hitler coalition rejected this initiative. Later, in the second half of the 1960s, it was once again the Soviet leadership which spoke out in favour of convening the CSCE for devising a single European security architecture. This time, Western countries supported this idea, at least in principle. The world had to experience several shocks, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, before NATO realised the need to improve the legal framework by signing new treaties.

Adopted on August 1, 1975, the Helsinki Final Act resulted from many years of hard work. Efforts to overcome confrontation focused on ensuring inclusive and comprehensive security on equal terms for all. This security concept included the military and political, economic and humanitarian dimensions. The Helsinki Final Act sets out ten principles based on this vision and operates as a unique instrument since it was adopted by consensus. After the CSCE evolved into the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in 1995, it developed this architecture in its documents. Today, this organisation brings together 57 member states. Strictly abiding by the Helsinki Principles could have guaranteed peace and security for all the signatory states.

But it is now clear that the West was not serious about fulfilling the commitments it assumed at that time.

Looking back, we can conclude that our country and the West pursued diverging objectives when launching the Helsinki process. The USSR believed that its main goal consisted of achieving security guarantees and facilitating peaceful development. This is where the principle of mutually recognising the inviolability of frontiers based on the outcomes of World War II stems from. "Sealing European borders and ensuring their inviolability is the main outcome of my efforts... If European countries refuse to abide by the Helsinki agreements, and start violating them, ... war will make its comeback in Europe." Andrey Gromyko's words can be viewed as a prophecy. The principle of inviolable frontiers was violated when Slovenia and Croatia unilaterally separated from Yugoslavia in 1991 and when Germany became first to recognise their independence by breaking the ranks within the European Union and NATO, only to be followed by the West in general.

Our Western neighbours invariably turned the other OSCE consensus principles inside out to suit their purpose or completely disregarded them. They acted implicitly to gain information about the Soviet Union's military and economic potential and to erode domestic law and order in our country, using various methods, including the enforcement of intrusive obligations on human rights issues. NATO and EU countries did not consider it necessary to respect the Helsinki principles, while forcing others to implement them selectively, inasmuch as this suited the West's interests. It is for this reason that they also sacrificed the rule of consensus.

Irreparable damage has been done to the first basket, the military-political dimension of the Organisation. You may remember that over time the member states have unanimously approved a number of fundamental documents that declared the indivisibility of security, meaning that no country has a right to strengthen its security at the expense of others' security, and no country or organisation should strive for dominance in Europe. This principle has been formalised, in particular, in the decisions of the heads of state and government adopted at the summits in Paris (1990), Istanbul (1999) and Astana (2010).

However, while adopting these and other high-flown declarations, the West was doing exactly the opposite, increasing NATO's eastward expansion to the detriment of the interests of Russia and many other countries. They refused to hold serious discussions at the OSCE and the Russia-NATO Council (established in 1998) on measures that could at least offset the negative consequences of the bloc's expansion for Russia's security. As a result, all the above-mentioned consensus OSCE documents on indivisible security remained on paper. The West signed them but broke its promise, continuing the policy of advancing NATO's military infrastructure directly towards our borders. At the same time, it promoted the image of Russia as a threat to peace.

Western countries have breached all the OSCE agreements on arms control and confidence-building measures. Russia has appealed to the conscience of Western elites more than once, inviting them to coordinate reliable security guarantees based on the fundamental commitment adopted within the OSCE.

The last such appeal was issued in December 2021, when Russia submitted the drafts of legally binding documents. Washington and Brussels arrogantly rejected them, saying that nobody has a right to restrict NATO's expansion, including by drawing Ukraine into the alliance. That has dispelled the few remaining doubts, if there were any: NATO was preparing to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia by the proxy of the Kiev regime, which they brought to power in 2014 in a bloody coup carried out contrary to the guarantees issued by Berlin, Warsaw and Paris. That conclusion was later confirmed by Merkel, Hollande and Poroshenko, who have publicly admitted that their signatures under the Minsk agreements in February 2015, which were done to put an end to the conflict in Donbass launched by Kiev, were a lie and that they only signed them to supply Ukrainian Nazis with weapons for a war against Russia.

This has left us with no other choice than to start the special military operation to ensure reliable safety for Russia and protect the Russian and Russian-speaking citizens and their rights whom the Kiev regime was openly destroying.

Europe is deeply immersed in Russophobia, and its militarisation is essentially becoming uncontrollable. There are more than enough facts of this, for example, the statement by the European commission president to mobilise 800 billion for defence needs. The majority of statements on this issue have recently been made by the German chancellor, who has called for arming Germany, considering the return of compulsory military conscription, and transforming the Bundeswehr into the strongest conventional army in Europe, probably like they did before the First and Second World Wars. He is echoed by the defence minister, who has declared readiness to kill Russian soldiers. This brings historical events to mind: with their current leaders, modern Germany and the rest of Europe are transforming into a Fourth Reich. The situation is extremely alarming, and the OSCE is unlikely to be of any help.

It is not surprising that amid the rabid anti-Russia campaign launched in the West the OSCE has also failed its role in international efforts to combat terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking and other kinds of transborder organised crime, or to ensure international information security. These problems have not gone away but have been sacrificed to the task of "isolating" Moscow.

The 'second basket,' or the OSCE's economic and environmental dimension has also seen regrettable developments. It was intended to serve as a mechanism for harmonising the interests of all member states. However, cooperation in this sector has lost its practical relevance as the European Union devoured more countries and pursued a policy of enforcing neocolonial-style association agreements and other forms of collaboration on its external partners, including the OSCE countries from among the former Soviet republics. The Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council, seemingly established with noble intentions, has effectively become a facade for advancing the unilateral agenda of Brussels bureaucrats who seek to dominate relations between Moscow and the national governments of all EU members.

In recent years, the West has openly shown absolute contempt for the OSCE's principles and embarked on the path of suppressing rivals through economic pressure, including unlawful unilateral measures against Russia, Belarus and any other country that strives to defend its legitimate national interests. The OSCE marked a decisive end to practical cooperation between the East and the West.

As of late, or since the launch of the special military operation, the West's only concern with respect to the OSCE's 'second basket' has been raising unsubstantiated claims and accusing Russia of causing 'environmental damage' to Ukraine - all while never mentioning the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and the nature of the Kiev regime whose acts targeting civilian industrial facilities, including nuclear energy, are creating unacceptable risks for the environment. Yet, the West seeks to impose the costs on Russia while absolving its clients that the West brought to power through an unconstitutional coup.

As for the 'third basket,' since day one, the West has exploited the OSCE's human rights agenda for mentoring and lecturing, to promote neo-liberal values and create a loyal fifth column in the countries 'to the east of Vienna' by organising and financing a network of 'independent' NGOs and media outlets. The fundamental tasks, such as facilitating the intercultural dialogue, access to information, protecting the rights of ethnic minorities and believers, have been eroded from the agenda. The OSCE's much-touted human rights mechanisms were, in reality, used (evidently, as intended from the beginning) as instruments of blunt interference in the domestic affairs of Russia and other member states.

The Western nations, the Secretary-General and all OSCE institutions maintain a deathly silence concerning the actions by the Kiev regime, which has enacted a series of laws since 2017 exterminating the Russian language and culture. People are prohibited from learning, reading, obtaining information and simply communicating in their mother tongue. The regime has further encroached upon the highly sensitive domain of religion by launching a campaign against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church, revoking its primate's citizenship in its most recent act. The neo-Nazis have stooped so low as to fight against those who perished in the war for liberating Ukraine from Hitler. The mind-boggling level of cultural degradation, bordering on savagery, was demonstrated in Lvov, where the remains of Soviet soldiers interred at the Hill of Glory were exhumed and offered by the mayor to be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The OSCE's executive bodies have been ignoring discrimination against the Russian-speaking population of Moldova and the Baltic states for years, as well as Riga's and Tallinn's cynical disregard for the problem of mass statelessness, numerous incidents of Islamophobia and Christianophobia, including public burnings of the Quran in Denmark and Sweden, and the persecution of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church. They persistently ignore the systemic oppression of the descendants of Canada's First Nations, as more unmarked mass graves of indigenous children are discovered. Equally disregarded is the deployment of 'special impact means' - truncheons, tear gas and water cannons - to violently disperse protests in cities across the United States and Europe.

The media landscape in Ukraine, Moldova and many EU countries is undergoing comprehensive purges. Russian correspondents working in these countries face repressive measures, including denial of access to events, freezing of bank accounts, penalties, harassment, intimidation by security agencies, deliberate non-renewal of accreditation, and inclusion in restrictive lists.

In particular, in France, representatives of RT and Sputnik have been denied accreditations since 2018 - long before the special military operation - dismissed as "Russian state propaganda outlets, not proper media." This occurred despite France's own initiative to enshrine in the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe a solemn pledge by all OSCE participants to ensure the free flow of and unimpeded access to information, both from their own territories and those of other OSCE member states.

Apparently, that pledge was a lie and is no longer valid - it too has fallen victim to the "cancel culture" targeting all things Russian in Europe. A recent example was the last-minute cancellation of a concert by Mariinsky Theatre soloists, conducted by Valery Gergiev, in Italy. Yet the OSCE remained silent: from the Secretary General to the Representative on Freedom of the Media and the High Commissioner on National Minorities, no one spoke up.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has become an openly biased instrument of political pressure. Its election observation mission reports are dictated solely by geopolitical considerations - if a non-pro-Western candidate wins, the assessments grow harsh, even demanding the annulment of results. Yet this practice, with its pre-drafted conclusions, is touted in Brussels as the "gold standard" of electoral monitoring.

The OSCE's special monitoring missions deserve particular scrutiny. Take, for example, the disgraceful role one such mission played in Kosovo's Racak incident in 1999. A team of inspectors arrived at the site where Kosovar bodies were discovered, and the mission's head - a US citizen - immediately declared, without investigation, that the Yugoslav army had committed genocide, despite having no authority to issue such judgments. It was later conclusively proven that the dead were Kosovo Liberation Army militants deliberately dressed in civilian clothing. Yet this staged spectacle, orchestrated by the OSCE mission, became the pretext for the illegal use of force against Yugoslavia - an OSCE participating state - ultimately leading to its destruction. The episode paved the way for Kosovo's violent separation from Serbia in 2008, carried out without a referendum, in blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the Helsinki Final Act's principle of border inviolability.

The OSCE mission in Ukraine (2014-2022) similarly failed to provide impartial monitoring. Its inspectors systematically overlooked human rights violations and media suppression in Kiev-controlled territories, ignored rampant aggressive nationalism and discrimination against the Russian-speaking population, and turned a blind eye to deliberate killings of civilians in Donbass. In effect, the mission whitewashed the Kiev regime's crimes. After its mandate expired, evidence emerged that OSCE observers had assisted in adjusting artillery fire against positions of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics while also gathering intelligence for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

One derailed attempt to resolve Europe's pressing problems through OSCE principles was the Dmitry Kozak Memorandum - a plan that could have sustainably resolved the Moldova crisis in 2003. Despite being agreed upon by both Chisinau and Tiraspol, NATO and Brussels crudely torpedoed the initiative. Now they are systematically dismantling the 5+2 format, the last remaining inclusive mechanism for Transnistrian settlement.

The OSCE similarly failed in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minsk Group proved incapable of creating conditions for meaningful dialogue between the conflicting parties, and when its Western members ceased cooperation with Russia, the group became entirely irrelevant.

Nor can we overlook the OSCE's disastrous mission in Chechnya during the late 1990s. The inspectors' biased reporting exacerbated the conflict, effectively encouraging separatists and terrorists in their confrontation with federal authorities. This left us no choice but to expel the mission.

Russia's assessments of the OSCE's lamentable state of affairs have consistently been accompanied by concrete proposals for its rectification, seeking common ground among participating states. Since 2004, together with like-minded nations, we have advocated for the Organisation's reform. A specially established Group of Wise Men prepared a report, and a roadmap for transformations was adopted. Yet, the West deliberately stalled this process. Work on the draft OSCE Charter prepared in 2007 was blocked by the United States and the European Union. They themselves failed to put forward any realistic initiatives, and as a result, reform efforts reached a dead end, preventing the OSCE from attaining the status of a fully-fledged international organisation.

Moreover, the West has never respected the principle of consensus and began undermining it decades ago. Initially, "as an exception," this concerned the ODIHR under the slogan of granting its work elements of autonomy (or, more plainly - unaccountability), contrary to the position of Russia and several other countries. Later, specialised mechanisms established in the late 1980s to early 1990s were exploited by the Organisation's Secretariat at the West's first demand to fuel political propaganda campaigns under the pretext of human rights violations in territories "east of Vienna."

Another strategy to break consensus has been the refusal to agree on rules for financing extra-budgetary projects. Western countries, without consulting other states, simply allocate funds for events that solely serve their interests - primarily in former Soviet republics. Meanwhile, the compliant Organisation's Secretariat slaps an OSCE label on them.

This year, under its OSCE Chairmanship, Finland intends to launch the Helsinki+50 Fund. Analysis reveals that this initiative amounts to pushing the concept of voluntary funding while unrestrictedly expanding the executive structures' powers. Its implementation will plunge the OSCE even deeper into a grey zone.

The scale of accumulated OSCE problems is immense. Burdened by them, the Organisation has been side-lined in international affairs. The Vienna platform no longer offers space for cooperation or security. The architects of the Helsinki Final Act did not envisage such a future for the pan-European process. It is high time to consider whether such an Organisation has any reason to persist.

Today, the ideas of sovereign equality of states and their mutually respectful dialogue - strangled in the OSCE - are being realised through multilateral cooperation projects within the CSTO, the CIS, the SCO, and other regional frameworks across Eurasia. These platforms leave no room for imposing the interests of one group of nations at the expense of others, instead fostering a commitment to equitable collaboration and genuine consensus.

As a strategic objective, Russia envisions forming a flexible and resilient architecture of equal and indivisible security and cooperation in Eurasia, capable of addressing contemporary challenges. The goal of ensuring indivisible security proved unattainable in the OSCE, yet it can be fully realised within a pan-Eurasian framework open to all continental nations - embodying a new, polycentric world order. This is the aim of the Russian-Belarusian initiative to draft a Eurasian Charter of Diversity and Multipolarity in the 21st Century. Within such an architecture, there will be space for countries in Europe's continental expanse - but they will certainly not call the tunes. If they wish to be part of this process, they must learn good manners, abandon diktat and colonial instincts, adapt to equality, and work as a team.

It could well be that the OSCE still has a chance to re-emerge from its ashes, but only if it is able to adapt to the new geopolitical reality. In today's world, the Euro-Atlantic concepts for security and cooperation have discredited themselves and run their course.

In fact, ensuring peace and stability calls for a pan-continental, Eurasian approach which must take into account the legitimate aspirations of all Eurasian nations and promote an honest balance between these aspirations. The OSCE must serve as a platform for engaging in meaningful discussions on matters of war and peace without artificially subjecting them to the economic, climate and humanitarian agendas. Another key condition deals with introducing the principle whereby regional countries assume primary responsibility for addressing security matters without outside interference. Half a century ago, Western Europeans demanded that overseas countries, i.e., the United States and Canada, contribute to drafting the Helsinki Final Act. This was the only reason why these two countries joined this process. The Soviet leadership agreed because it viewed maintaining peace in Europe as its primary objective. But today the situation is different with more and more US officials talking about Europeans assuming their responsibility for guaranteeing European security. It is time for them to take ownership of their own actions.

There will be no future for the OSCE if NATO and EU countries do away with the consensus rule and continue using this platform with its headquarters in Vienna as their private mouthpiece for spreading shameless propaganda campaigns to demonise Russia and other parties who break the ranks, while backing their underlings in Kiev.

At the same time, the West has made no secret of its efforts to act without Russia and Belarus in military and political affairs, and even against them. Just look at Emmanuel Macron's idea to establish the European Political Community. They made a point by using the 'OSCE minus Minsk and Moscow' formula when creating this structure. If the West opts for burying the OSCE, it is their choice. In this case, the Helsinki Final Act's main provisions as agreed 50 years ago by our forefathers, will become a thing of the past. And those who buried the principles of equality, consensus and collective creativity will go down in history as those who intentionally failed to use the opportunity to ensure the peaceful coexistence of all countries in this part of the Eurasian space.

There is a growing possibility of conflict in Eurasia and across the world. Some researchers and experts have argued that we are heading towards a decade of war, or even maybe a whole new era of wars. I am convinced that all the responsible and reasonable forces must prevent this scenario. At the very least, we need to engage in an honest dialogue in order to find ways for bringing the situation back to normal across our continent by relying on the UN Charter as a solid foundation, with a primary focus on the principle of sovereign equality of all states and with the view to reaching the consensus which underpinned the OSCE's creation.

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Humanitarian aid to Druze in Sweida successfully delivered

Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This is the second aid package delivered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Druze in Syria, following a previous aid package sent in March.

Type: Press Releases

Topic: Foreign Policy

Publish Date: 31.07.2025

In light of the recent attacks against the Druze community in Sweida and the severe humanitarian situation in the area, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the directive of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, is delivering urgent humanitarian aid to the Druze in the Sweida region today.

The current aid package, valued at 2 million shekels, includes food, medical equipment, first aid kits, and medicine, and is intended for areas directly impacted by the violent attacks.

This is the second aid package delivered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Druze in Syria, following a previous aid package sent in March.

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Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's talks with Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad al-Shaibani

31 July 2025 15:18

1284-31-07-2025

On July 31, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic Asaad al-Shaibani, who is in Moscow on a working visit. The meeting was also attended by Secretary-General to the SAR Presidency Maher al-Sharaa.

During the meeting, development of bilateral relations was discussed, including the maintaining of a regular political dialogue and the establishment of practical cooperation in various fields.

When discussing the situation in and around Syria, the Russian side reaffirmed its principled stance in support of sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria. The importance of addressing all domestic issues by the Syrians themselves, through inclusive dialogue, was emphasised. This dialogue should aim to strengthen civil peace and national reconciliation, ensure the protection of the rights of all citizens, and consider the interests of all religious and ethnic communities within Syria's multi-confessional society. Favourable political and socioeconomic conditions for the long-term normalisation in Syria must be created.

During the talks, positions on key global and regional issues were aligned, with a shared view expressed on the need to step up collective efforts to promote sustainable stabilisation across the Middle East and North Africa.

It was agreed to continue engagement at various levels on issues on the bilateral and international agenda, including at multilateral venues.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's opening remarks during talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic Asaad al-Shaibani, Moscow, July 31, 2025

31 July 2025 11:47

1282-31-07-2025

Mr Minister,

Colleagues,

We are delighted to welcome you once again in Moscow for yet another meeting.

We believe that this is a timely visit. It follows up on a series of contacts we had since the beginning of the year, including President Vladimir Putin's telephone conversation with interim President of the Syrian Arab Republic Ahmed al-Sharaa and the visit by a Russian inter-agency delegation to Damascus in January 2025.

We have been keeping a close eye on the way the transitional period has been unfolding in Syria. It is our sincere desire that the people of Syria, with whom we share many years of friendship, overcome the challenges they face and bring the situation in the country back to normal.

I remember our meeting in Turkiye, where we discussed prospects for our cooperation. I hope that this conversation will continue during today's meeting.

Russia expects interim President of the Syrian Arab Republic Ahmed al-Sharaa to take part in the first Russia - League of Arab States Summit which is scheduled for October 15.

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Think tank highlights shifts in Taiwan's defense posture

ROC Central News Agency

07/31/2025 08:58 PM

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) The key takeaways from the recently concluded Han Kuang military exercises include the military's evolving response to gray zone threats, efforts to secure critical maritime and air routes, and the possibility of stationing the Marine Corps' 99th Brigade in northern Taiwan, according to a Taiwan-based think tank.

The Secure Taiwan Associate (STA) on Tuesday released a Chinese-language report about its observations of the drills from July 9-18, titled "Observations on adjustments in Taiwan's military force deployments."

The report is authored by National Defense University professor Ma Chen-kun () and Yang Tai-yuan (), deputy director of the STA's Research Project on China's Defense Affairs, among others.

The report notes that this year's drills signaled a shift in Taiwan's defense posture by treating China's gray zone operations as a precursor to aggression. Reservist mobilizations were initiated as early as July 5, ahead of the simulations of China's gray zone operations, which began on July 9, the report noted.

According to the exercise scenario, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) begins mobilizing for an attack while simultaneously using gray zone tactics -- provocative or coercive actions that fall short of open conflict -- to harass Taiwan.

However, Taiwan, vigilant over the possibility of the PLA pivoting exercises to an attack, responds with wartime deployments.

Another focus of the drills was sustaining operational endurance under combat conditions. The Air Force conducted nighttime runway repair exercises at multiple bases -- simulating realistic wartime conditions when daytime repairs would be too easily targeted by enemy forces, the report said.

Securing maritime supply lines was also a central theme. The exercises included a simulation in which naval and air force units escorted cargo ships delivering strategic supplies into Hualien Port.

The report emphasized that in any prolonged conflict, maintaining access to foreign materials and weapons is critical, and such logistics drills are essential to ensure Taiwan's capacity for sustained resistance.

During the drills, the Marine Corps' 99th Brigade was redeployed from its home base in southern Taiwan to the north, practicing cross-regional reinforcement maneuvers in the Guandu Plain.

This area was previously defended by the 66th Marine Brigade, which is now undergoing a structural transition into a lighter, more mobile unit, with some forces relocated to Taipei's Songshan Airport.

The report argued that the reinforcement drill not only validated cross-regional combat readiness but also explored the possibility of a permanent redeployment of the 99th Brigade, allowing the 66th Brigade to focus entirely on the defense of Taipei's urban core.

(By Wu Su-wei and Sean Lin)

Enditem/AW



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Taiwan, U.S. complete 'technical consultations' on trade: Cabinet

ROC Central News Agency

07/31/2025 02:02 PM

Taipei, July 31 (CNA) Taiwan has completed "technical consultations" on tariffs and other trade issues with the United States, Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee () told a news briefing in Taipei on Thursday.

Lee said both sides "have reached a certain level of consensus" on tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, investment and procurement, supply chain resilience, and economic security, among other issues.

Declining to provide further details about the negotiations, the spokesperson suggested there would be a joint statement, which awaits a nod from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Lee said the government's position during the talks was to "protect national and industrial interests, and ensure food security and public health."

"We will firmly uphold our position," she added.

With Trump's self-imposed Aug. 1 deadline approaching, Taipei -- which entered negotiations with the U.S. shortly after the U.S. president announced sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs on foreign countries in early April -- is under mounting pressure to strike a deal with Washington.

Japan, South Korea, the European Union, and several Southeast Asian countries have reached trade agreements with the Trump administration, agreeing to open their markets to more U.S. goods and committing to significant investment in and procurement from America in exchange for tariffs ranging from 15 to 20 percent.

The U.S. initially imposed a blanket tariff of 32 percent on most Taiwanese goods, with semiconductor products exempted for separate negotiations.

Shortly after Trump's announcement, which simultaneously targeted more than 100 countries and regions with different tariff rates, President Lai Ching-te () indicated his administration's willingness to discuss "bilateral zero tariffs" with the U.S.

Some industries, particularly those in agriculture, expressed concerns over this idea, noting that opening up the Taiwanese market to American agricultural products would hurt domestic producers.

Taipei has also publicly expressed its intention to increase purchases of American goods, raise defense spending, and address concerns flagged by Washington over transshipment and trade imbalances.

(By Lai Yu-chen and Teng Pei-ju)

Enditem/ASG





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PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

ROC Ministry of National Defense

2025/07/31

PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan

 Date

6 a.m. Jul. 30 (Wed.) to 6 a.m. Jul. 31 (Thu.) (UTC+8)

 PLA activities

37 sorties of PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN ships operating around Taiwan were detected as of 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 26 out of 37 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan's northern, central and southwestern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and employed CAP aircraft, Navy ships, and coastal missile systems in response to detected activities.

1140731_PLA air activities in the vicinity of Taiwan [Open a new window]

1140731_PLA activities in the waters and airspace around Taiwan [Open a new window]

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Risch, Wicker Introduce Bill to Ensure Europe Pays for Ukraine Military Sales

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

July 30, 2025

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today announced the introduction of new legislation to support President Trump's efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine, push back on Russian aggression, and ensure America's allies are paying their fair share to end this conflict.

This new legislation, the PEACE Act, builds on the successful NATO summit this summer, which produced a historic agreement to increase NATO defense spending and revitalize alliance burden sharing. The PEACE Act creates a fund at the U.S. Treasury that would allow allies to deposit money to replenish U.S. military equipment donated to Ukraine.

"Peace is only possible through strength. President Trump's work with our NATO allies ensures they cover the cost of weapons for Ukraine, and this bill will give him the tool he needs to do so. Together, we will send a clear message to Putin that there are consequences for his refusal to negotiate in good faith," said Chairman Risch.

Chairman Wicker said, "President Trump has made clear that he will not tolerate Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin's continued targeting of civilians in Ukraine. The death and destruction must end, but Putin will not stop unless it is made clear to him that there is no path to success and that continued war will lead to massive costs for him and Russia.

"Today, we are introducing the PEACE Act, which gives President Trump and our NATO allies an additional option to deliver military aid to Ukraine. The PEACE Act enables our European partners to finance replenishment the U.S. military so that the U.S. military can continue drawdown packages of weapons to Ukraine. This is the fastest way to arm Ukraine as well as to minimize the strategic and military threat posed by Russia to the U.S. and NATO.

"The PEACE Act, in conjunction with the purchase of new military equipment and the prospect of imposing a crippling sanctions regime, shows Putin that neither escalation nor attrition will allow him to achieve his war aims."

Background

 The historic agreement by NATO allies to spend 5% of their GDP on defense is the culmination of President Trump's years long effort to revitalize the alliance and ensure our allies are paying their fair share.

 The PEACE Act will transfer American weapons to Ukraine, and use NATO allies' funds to buy more modern equipment, in alignment with President Trump's plan.

 The PEACE Act complements existing tools that the President and our NATO allies are already using, such as the JUMPSTART initiative, which allows Europeans to pay to produce new U.S. equipment, that will be delivered to Ukraine upon completion. The PEACE Act will serve as a bridge to deliver arms in the near-term while new equipment is being built over the long-term.

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Shell supplies and defense industry cooperation: Denys Shmyhal meets with Advisor to the Prime Minister of Czechia

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

30 July, 2025, 5:30 PM EEST

Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, met with Tomas Pojar, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Czechia.

The Ukrainian Defence Minister expressed gratitude for the effective and comprehensive support that Czechia provides to Ukrainian warriors.

The Ukrainian side was represented at the meeting by First Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, Deputy Ministers Sergiy Boyev and Anna Gvozdiar, and the Director of UkrOboronProm Herman Smetanin.

The delegations focused on addressing the most urgent needs of the Ukrainian military.

"Particular emphasis was placed on the supply of ammunition. The 'Czech Initiative' has become a crucial instrument for the supply of key-caliber shells. Detailed discussions were held regarding future deliveries, covering specific schedules and plans for this year and 2026. "Together with Czechia, we will develop the mechanisms of the 'Czech Initiative' to ensure our warriors are supplied with the necessary ammunition," emphasized Denys Shmyhal.

The parties also explored another promising areacooperation in the defense industry. Ukraine and Czechia are already establishing joint ventures and carrying out several important projects, including the production of Bren 2 rifles and ammunition in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian and Czech delegations explored opportunities to launch new projects in Czechia involving leading Ukrainian companies to support the Defence Forces of Ukraine.

"The Czech side briefed on the preparation of new military aid packages. This will markedly bolster air defense, electronic warfare, and long-range capabilities. "I sincerely thank the government and people of Czechia for their leadership and steadfast support of Ukraine on its path toward a just peace," stated Denys Shmyhal.

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Following SSU investigation, nurse - FSB agent, who leaked personal data of Ukrainian servicemen, sentenced to life in prison

Security Service of Ukraine

17:30, 30 July 2025

Based on the SSU evidence, another FSB agent was sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property. A 40-year-old nurse from Kherson was passing personal data of her patients, members of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, to the occupiers.

According to the investigation, the suspect came to the attention of the FSB for her anti-Ukrainian comments in Telegram posts.

The agent collected personal information about Ukrainian servicemen while filling out their medical records and then "leaked" it to a handler.

In addition, during medical procedures, she tried to elicit from patients the locations of military facilities in the Kherson sector.

The SSU has documented how the traitor passed information to the handler and deleted all correspondence after communication.

During the searches, the SSU found a mobile phone with evidence of her communication with the handler.

Following SSU investigation, the court found her guilty under Article 111.2 of the CCU (high treason committed under martial law).

The SSU Office in Kherson region carried out the operation under the procedural supervision of the regional Prosecutor's Office.

To note: In Kirovohrad region and in Cherkasy region two other FSB agents were sentenced to life imprisonment based on SSU evidence.



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The success in wetland conservation has not only benefited China's biodiversity, but also contributed to the health of cross-border ecosystems by integrating wetland protection with other environmental goals, such as migratory bird conservation. by Xinhua writers Xu Zheng, Tafara Mugwara VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Amid growing global attention to wetland conservation, China's efforts and achievements in this field are particularly eye-catching at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15), due to conclude here on Thursday. From building the world's largest number of international wetland cities to achieving legislative breakthroughs and forging capacity-building partnerships with other countries, China has embraced a comprehensive approach to wetland protection, deeply rooted in ecological civilization and its unwavering support for global efforts. SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS At the height of summer, deep within the East Dongting Lake National Nature Reserve in central China's Yueyang city, Hunan province, schools of fish swim freely in the lake, deer bound through the forests, and birds sing joyfully among the trees. "We are proud to say that the wetlands are now the ecological calling cards of Yueyang," said Yu Ge, a representative of the city who attended COP15 in the resort city of Victoria Falls in the Matabeleland North Province of Zimbabwe. The COP15, themed "Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future," brought together government representatives to strengthen international commitments to wetland conservation and to highlight the vital role of wetlands in sustaining ecological health, biodiversity and climate resilience. Yu actively promoted Yueyang at every event during his short stay in Zimbabwe, warmly inviting participants from different countries to explore the city. With approximately 285,200 hectares of wetlands, Yueyang has stepped up its conservation efforts in recent years and was officially recognized as an international wetland city at this year's COP15. A total of nine Chinese cities won the prestigious title during the meeting, bringing the total number of such cities in China to 22, the highest in the world, showcasing the country's significant achievements in wetland conservation. According to China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, China currently boasts 56.35 million hectares of wetlands, ranking fourth in the world. It is also home to 82 Wetlands of International Importance and five national parks. Yan Zhen, deputy head of China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration, said during the meeting that in recent years, China has continuously improved its legal and institutional framework for wetland conservation, comprehensively protected wetland ecosystems, and actively engaged in international cooperation, continuously contributing to global wetland protection efforts. "Over the last 20 years, China has made significant progress in wetland conservation, marking a turning point that has led to a more balanced and sustainable relationship between humans and nature," Yan said. SHINING EXAMPLE China became a party to the Ramsar Convention in 1992 and hosted COP14 in 2022, during which it was elected as chair of the standing committee to lead the convention process for the following three years. In an exclusive interview with Xinhua during COP15, Musonda Mumba, secretary general of the Convention on Wetlands, said she assumed the role six weeks before the opening of COP14 and felt "very fortunate" to start the journey with China. "China has provided leadership in making sure that all the draft resolutions made at COP14 were dealt with and delivered in a timely manner." China's Wetland Protection Law, effective since June 2022, is the country's first dedicated legislation on wetlands, providing a comprehensive legal framework for wetland conservation, restoration, management and sustainable use. Hailing the law as a "shining example" to the world, Mumba said, "China is one of the very few countries that actually have a wetland law. And that for me is also incredibly impressive, because not only does the law talk about having inventory, having the right data, managing these wetland systems, it also talks about the role of cities and why these cities matter." The success in wetland conservation has not only benefited China's biodiversity, but also contributed to the health of cross-border ecosystems by integrating wetland protection with other environmental goals, such as migratory bird conservation, she noted. Moreover, China's efforts to raise awareness have sparked a significant increase in global interest in wetland conservation over the past years, she added. "Indeed, if you look across the world, China has taken a leadership position in doing the right thing for wetlands," Coenraad Krijger, CEO of Wetlands International, a global not-for-profit organisation, told Xinhua on the sidelines of COP15. He applauded China for its leading role in the global wetland preservation agenda, noting that China's status as a major investment partner in the world makes it a key player in safeguarding the health of wetland ecosystems. "Through the trade relations that China has, and the investments that China has all over the world, (China) is also connected to (other) very important wetlands worldwide," Krijger said. While development is welcome, there is a need to maintain a balance between development and the health of wetlands, he said, adding that he is eager to visit Chinese wetland cities in the future to learn how they achieve urban development while reaping the benefits of preserving the wetlands. UNWAVERING COMMITMENT In many rapidly developing regions of Africa, urban expansion has taken a toll on wetlands, a growing issue that communities and policymakers are striving to address. According to Wetlands International's Director for East Africa Julie Mulonga, many African countries have policies in place to protect wetlands, but there is a lack of investment in implementation measures. Local communities and indigenous knowledge play a crucial role in effectively driving wetland conservation efforts, she said, adding that China's wetland management experience could provide a valuable reference and its advanced technology could go a long way in helping the continent achieve green development. Over the years, China has been actively supporting many African countries in wetland governance through legislative exchanges, technical training and talent development, helping enhance their ability to restore and preserve wetlands. Wetlands are crucial for ecological resilience, and their future hinges on unwavering international cooperation, said Xia Jun, director general of the International Cooperation Department at China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration. "This profound understanding underpins China's unwavering commitment to its conservation." In 2024, China launched the International Mangrove Center (IMC) in the southern city of Shenzhen to promote global mangrove conservation, sustainable use and international cooperation. Xia described the IMC as a landmark initiative that reflects the spirit of global cooperation. With the support of the IMC, the Mangrove Conservation Foundation, a private foundation based in China, has been carrying out programs in African countries such as Madagascar and Kenya to help preserve mangroves, which are vital coastal ecosystems along the continent's shorelines, Sun Lili, co-founder and executive board chair of the foundation, told Xinhua. Christine Colvin, Freshwater Policy Lead, WWF International, said: "This COP is really important in terms of setting goals for the next period, for the next decade, and the strategic plan for the contracting parties to Ramsar, and it prioritises international cooperation." Colvin said that China is demonstrating to municipalities and local governments around the world how to bring nature back into cities and design new urban areas that are more permeable, allowing the natural water cycle to function. Commending China for leading the way in this field, the WWF official said they are looking forward to continuing cooperation with China to boost global efforts to preserve wetlands and build more permeable sponge cities. (Video reporter: Xu Zheng; Video editors: Wu You, Zhao Xiaoqing.)
SSU and National Police detain 5 more organizers of draft evasion schemes

Security Service of Ukraine

14:00, 30 July 2025

The SSU and National Police have dismantled new mobilization evasion schemes in various regions of Ukraine. Five organizers have been detained.

For sums ranging from USD 6,000 to 15,000, they prepared fake documents for conscripts to avoid military service.

In Kyiv, the SSU Military Counterintelligence has detained a commander of a military unit in northern Ukraine, who was making money on draft dodgers.

For money, the offender hired draft evaders to work and study at one of Kyiv's universities, who did not actually show up there.

To do this, the suspect used personal contacts among officials of the educational institution.

In addition, he forged disability certificates of and sold fake diplomatic IDs. For this, he used fake forms and stamps of government institutions.

In Dnipro, the SSU Military Counterintelligence has exposed three officials of the Territorial Recruitment Center who were receiving bribes from conscripts for 'unfitness for service'.

The scam involved the head of the military registration and enlistment office and two of his subordinates. According to the investigation, 37 conscripts used their "services."

Following the SSU operations, all illegal decisions made by military medical commissions have been annulled.

In Zakarpattia, a head of the neurology department, a member of the Military Medical Commission, was notified of suspicion of diagnosing draft dodgers with "serious" illnesses and issuing them fake disability certificates.

All those detained have been notified of suspicion, according to actions each of them committed, under several Articles of the CCU:

28.2, 114-1.1 (obstruction of the AFU's lawful activities during a special period committed by a group of persons acting in collusion);

368.1 (acceptance of a proposal, promise or receipt of unlawful benefits by an official);

27.3, 362.3 (unauthorized actions with information processed in electronic computers, automated systems, computer networks).

The suspects face up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operations were carried out under the procedural supervision of Kyiv City Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Central region, Dnipro Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Eastern region and Zakarpattia Region Prosecutor's Office.

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Kharkiv region: SSU detains FSB mole in Defence Forces, who was adjusting enemy fire and preparing penetration of ruscists

Security Service of Ukraine

10:00, 30 July 2025

The SSU Military Counterintelligence has detained an FSB agent in the Defence Forces unit in Kharkiv region.

The traitor is a 26-year-old mobilized soldier who was recruited by the occupiers while looking for 'easy money' on Telegram.

According to findings, the agent agreed to cooperate with the enemy because he needed funds to cover his gambling debts.

The investigation has established that the suspect was guiding russian air bombs and heavy artillery at the positions of his unit, which was deterring the ruscist offensive near the village of Velykyi Burluk.

After adjusting the enemy's attacks, the traitor left the combat zone under false pretences.

When the agent went outside the perimeter, he additionally collected data for the FSB on the location of nearby military units of the Defence Forces.

According to the investigation, the ruscists planned to use the intelligence to penetrate deep into the territory of Ukraine.

The SSU Military Counterintelligence detained the offender red-handed when he was using his phone to record the location of Ukrainian defenders near the frontline.

During the searches, the mole was seized of a phone with evidence of collaboration with the enemy.

In addition, the SSU has identified the russian handler of this agent. He is a native of Sevastopol, an FSB officer, Suprunenko Oleksii Leonidovych, born on August 20, 1978. Previously, he worked in the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, but betrayed his oath and joined the enemy.

The SSU also took comprehensive measures to secure the locations and routes of movement of Ukrainian troops in the relevant area of the frontline.

SSU investigators in Kharkiv region have notified the agent of suspicion under Article 111.2 of the CCU (high treason committed under martial law). The agent's handler has been also served with a notice of suspicion of treason.

The detainee is in custody without the right to be released on bail and faces life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried under the procedural supervision of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for the Eastern Region.

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Lithuania protests to Russia over the mass shelling of Ukraine

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Updated 2025-07-31

On 31 July, the charge d'affaires ad interim of the Embassy of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Lithuania was handed a note of protest over the mass shelling of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson and other regions of Ukraine by Russian military forces this week, which resulted in dozens of civilian casualties and hundreds injured, including passengers on an evacuation bus and several imprisoned persons.

The note of protest also stresses that the military attacks by the Russian Federation against civilians in Ukraine and the systematic ill-treatment of prisoners of war are unacceptable and unlawful and gravely violate the Geneva Conventions on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of Torture and other fundamental norms of international humanitarian law.

The Republic of Lithuania will continue to make every effort to ensure that those responsible for these and other war crimes, including the bombing of the Olenivka prisoner of war camp by Russian forces three years ago, which killed at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war, are brought to justice.

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At Least 16 Dead, Dozens Injured In Russian Strikes On Kyiv Residential Area

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 31, 2025

At least 16 people were killed -- including a six-year-old boy -- and nearly a hundred injured in Kyiv following an overnight Russian attack with missiles and drones, according to the head of the city's military administration.

"There are more than a hundred affected sites," Tymur Tkachenko said, adding that damage or casualties were reported at more than 27 locations, with the Solomyanskiy district, one of Kyiv's busiest, being heavily targeted.

"Residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, and a university. These are the places the Russians are attacking," he added.

"Unfortunately, the number of victims of Russia's attack on residential buildings continues to grow," the Ukrainian interior ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that more than a thousand police officers and rescue workers were deployed in response to the aftermath of the attack on July 31.

Ten children, including a five-month-old girl, are reported to be among the casualties, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that people were trapped under the rubble.

"Kyiv. Missile strike. Direct hit on a residential building. People are under the rubble. All emergency services are on site. Russian terrorists," he said on Telegram.

"I saw it with my own eyes -- people being pulled from under the rubble at the rescue site. It's heartbreaking to see parents searching for their children and relatives looking for loved ones," said Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko after visiting the scene of the attack in Kyiv.

"Today, the world once again saw Russia's response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe. New, showcase killings," Zelenskyy wrote in his post on X.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called it "a horrible morning in Kyiv," saying Russian strikes destroyed residential buildings, damaged schools and hospitals, and left civilians dead, wounded, and trapped under rubble. He urged that it is "time to make [Russian President Vladimir Putin] feel the consequences" and to apply maximum pressure on Moscow.

Later on July 31, Russian forces struck another residential building in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. The attack killed at least one person and injured 11 others, the region's military head, Vadym Filashkin, said.

"My eyes went dark," the local resident told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service at the scene, recalling the moments after the attack.

Her elderly neighbor, Nina, had suffered a severe leg injury. "I bent it as hard as I could to stop the bleeding," she said moments after other residents helped carry Nina out of the building to take her to the hospital.

Ukraine's Donetsk region remains one of the fiercest frontline areas.

Following overnight strikes on Ukrainian cities, Russia claimed on July 31 to have captured one of Ukraine's key strongholds in the region, the town of Chasiv Yar, calling it "liberated."

However, Ukraine denied the claim, with a military spokesperson accusing the Russian Defense Ministry of routinely spreading false information.

"I always advise not to consider the Russian Ministry of Defense as a source of information. They simply lie systematically, and the very approach of having us comment on their latest lies every time is wrong," Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for Khortytsia, a Ukrainian unit which is fighting in the area, said to the AFP news agency on July 31.

The Russian strike came amid a statement by US President Donald Trump, who said he was "very disappointed" with Putin for refusing to end the war and that he would shorten his previously announced 50-day deadline for the Russian leader to reach a cease-fire deal.

Trump said the new deadline for Russia begins on July 29 and will now be just 10 days or he will impose tariffs and other measures on Moscow.

A day earlier, Trump said he was shortening the deadline for Russia to agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine from 50 days to "10-12 days."

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, gave a terse response to the 10-12 day deadline on July 29, saying the Kremlin had "taken note" of Trump's comments without elaborating.

Trump has shown signs of growing frustration with Putin's refusal to agree to a cease-fire while at the same time Russia is pummeling Ukraine on an almost nightly basis with drone and missile strikes.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's outgunned and outmanned army is also facing pressure on the ground as Russian forces are making new efforts to drive back Ukrainian defenders along a 1,000-kilometer front line in the east of the embattled country.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-deadly-attack- ukraine-kyiv/33490627.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ukrainians Cheer As Zelenskyy Signs Law Ensuring Anti-Corruption Agency Independence

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 31, 2025

Crowds of demonstrators cheered in jubilation in Kyiv on July 31 as they celebrated a vote in Ukraine's parliament which approved new legislation to restore the independence of anti-corruption agencies.

The measure was supported by 331 deputies in the 450-seat parliament and opposed by none. It came after a law -- which many feared would curb corruption investigations -- passed last week, igniting the largest public protests since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago.

The new law restores the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post that he had now signed the bill into law.

"This guarantees the normal, independent work of anti-corruption bodies and all law enforcement agencies in our country," he wrote.

Zelenskyy, who signed the original legislation on July 22, said the intention of the law was to rid the agencies of Russian influence that had long made them susceptible to corruption.

But the limits on their independence enraged many Ukrainians -- especially younger people -- who immediately turned out for public protests even though Russian missiles and drones had rained down on Kyiv and other cities just hours earlier.

"People didn't expect that it would be the youth who would come out in such numbers," said Anastasia Bezpalko, one of hundreds of people who took to the streets over the past week to protest the legislation.

"The youth simply realized that someone was trying to deceive them, and this very sharp sense of injustice emerged..." the 23-year-old told RFE/RL.

A day later, Zelenskyy did an about-face and proposed the new legislation to be introduced on July 31, saying he had heard the voice of the people and that the new bill will still address Russian-influence concerns, but not jeopardize the independence of anti-corruption bodies.

"NABU and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office in Ukraine remain the last institutions capable of telling, let's say, some very unpleasant truths about Zelenskyy's team," Ukrainian investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov told RFE/RL's Current Time.

"For the first time in many years, NABU has refocused on its original mission: investigating corruption at the highest levels of government. This year, charges were brought against Oleksiy Chernyshov, the deputy prime minister, who is also a close family friend of the president -- the first lady, [Olena] Zelenska, is the godmother of his child," he added.

"It is very important that the state listens to public opinion. Ukraine is a democracy - there is no doubt about that," Zelenskyy wrote on July 31, following the vote in parliament.

Earlier, key Zelenskyy aide Andriy Yermak welcomed the vote in comments posted on social media.

"We have a wonderful civil society, wonderful youth, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hears. There is a rapid dialogue between the authorities and society," he wrote.

Newly appointed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote "this is a direct and responsible response to the expectations of Ukrainian society and our European partners. "

Deep-seated corruption in Ukraine has held back support for Kyiv in some Western quarters.

The protests came as Ukraine looks to the United States and other Western allies to pressure Russia into peace talks to end more than three years of war that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bill- anticorruption-law-zelenskyy-parliament-protests/33490791.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Ranking Member Shaheen and Senator Murkowski Introduce Bipartisan Ukraine Security Assistance Package Ahead of the President's New Deadline for Putin

Senate Foreign Relations Committee

July 31, 2025

Legislation would ramp up pressure on Putin to end war while supporting America's defense industrial base and Ukraine's battlefield innovations.

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and member of the Appropriations Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), member of the Appropriations Committee, introduced the Supporting Ukraine Act of 2025. This bipartisan legislation gives President Trump an additional tool to force Putin to the negotiating table and put an end to his brutal attacks on the Ukrainian people. Designed to complement bipartisan sanctions efforts, including the Graham-Blumenthal Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, this legislation provides critical new pathways to continue military assistance for Ukraine and authorizes new revenue streams to help fund these measures.

The Supporting Ukraine Act of 2025 bolsters the U.S. defense industrial base by increasing domestic production to equip Ukraine and enhancing U.S. readiness. The majority of the funding will be spent in the United Statesreplenishing key U.S. stockpiles, creating jobs across the country, supporting U.S. manufacturing and laying the groundwork for industry to deliver on an expected surge in defense orders following NATO's recent commitment to significantly increase defense spending. The bill also ensures that U.S. formalizes a mechanism to incorporate lessons learned from battlefields in Ukraine to improve American defense technologies and save American lives.

Importantly, the total cost of appropriations in this legislation will be balanced by the inclusion of alternative and innovative sources of revenue, including the utilization of Russian assets currently blocked in the United States and encouraging more European purchases of U.S. military assistance. To date, the European Union alone has already allocated $180 billion dollars in support for Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, and this bill offers incentives and pathways for the EU to identify more funds for Ukraine. The legislation also authorizes the Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, established by the Trump Administration earlier this year. Under this bill, U.S. military contributions to Ukraine will count toward the fund and yield dividends for U.S. taxpayers over the long term. The bill also supports President Trump's recent announcement with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that the U.S. will sell arms to Allies for use in Ukraine.

"This bipartisan bill will strengthen President Trump's negotiating hand with Vladimir Putin and finally put an end to this senseless war," said Ranking Member Shaheen. "There is continued bipartisan resolve to sustain Ukraine's valiant fight for freedom by helping Ukraine obtain the air defense needed to protect its civilian population centers, including schools and hospitals, from Russia's relentless drone and missile attacks. It also makes clear that Russian assets held in the United States should be used to cover the costs to provide weapons to Ukraine. This bipartisan bill is a win for Americait supports our defense industrial base, American manufacturers and workersall while ensuring the U.S. military learns from Ukraine's battlefield innovations. Make no mistake: unprovoked violence against U.S. partners by would-be aggressors in the Kremlin and Beijing will be met by unshakable resolve from the U.S. and our allies."

"I'm pleased to work with Senator Shaheen in introducing the Supporting Ukraine Act of 2025, which reaffirms our commitment to both Ukraine's sovereignty and America's national interests," said Senator Murkowski. "By providing critical funding for military and humanitarian assistance, this legislation ensures Ukraine can continue to resist Russia's illegal and brutal war. We are also incorporating the use of seized Russian assets to hold aggressors accountable, while strengthening America's military preparedness by applying valuable battlefield insights from Ukraine's fight and sharing these lessons with critical partners like Taiwan. It's time to reaffirm our leadership on the world stage and show that our support for our allies is unwavering."





Full text of the bill can be found HERE.

A fact sheet can be found HERE and a section-by-section breakdown can be found HERE.





The "Supporting Ukraine Act of 2025" would:

Appropriate additional U.S. funds in support of Ukraine's defense, the overwhelming majority of which will be spent on equipment produced in the United States.

Authorize and support new non-U.S. sources of revenue to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.

Direct the Administration to seize or creatively leverage Russia sovereign assets located in the U.S.

Ensure that the United States benefits from Ukraine's battlefield experience and cutting-edge military technology, including through a joint drone initiative with Ukraine and Taiwan and the facilitation of U.S-Ukraine co-production opportunities.

###

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Russian MoD Unveils Footage of Chasov Yar's Triumphant Liberation

Sputnik News

20250731

The Russian Ministry of Defense has released a video clip displaying the liberation of Chasov Yar, featuring Russian servicemen waving Russian flags in the emancipated town.

During the liberation of Chasov Yar, more than 4,200 buildings were cleared.

65 civilians were evacuated from the city during the operation.

Russian troops captured around 50 Ukrainian militants during the battle for Chasov Yar.

As they advanced to liberate the town, Russian paratroopers traversed more than 20 kilometers amid relentless artillery and drone attacks from Ukrainian forces.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov praised the paratroopers for their professionalism and courage during the Chasov Yar operation.

 Sputnik

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Russian Forces Take Control of Chasov Yar in Donetsk People's Republic

Sputnik News

20250731

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces have taken control of the town of Chasov Yar in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"As a result of offensive actions by the Yug group of troops ... the city of Chasov Yar of the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated," the ministry said in a statement.

Geography

Chasov Yar sits on a hill about 15 kilometers west of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) which was liberated by Russia in May 2023.

Chasov Yar's geographical position makes it important from a strategic standpoint, as it overlooks the surrounding area for many kilometers.

Its boundaries are quite complex. From north to south, it is crossed by the Seversky Donets -Donbass Canal, and the O-0506 highway. There is also a railway line with a bridge over the canal.

Chasov Yar has several industrial zones and large enterprises, such as the Chasov Yar refractory plant. Such areas could potentially be used to equip shelters or fortifications.

On the other side of Chasov Yar are Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, and Konstantinovka. The latter is an important railway hub.

Fortifications

The city has been turned by Ukrainian forces into a powerful fortified area reminiscent of those in the liberated city of Artemovsk.

Construction of fortifications in the area of Chasov Yar reportedly began in July-August 2022. During the battle for Artemovsk, the city was used as a transport hub crucial for the entire logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in the Artemovsk-Soledar area.

Strategic Importance

Liberating Chasov Yar provides control of a logistics center that has been key for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2014.

By taking control of the highway and railway hub, Russia could disrupt delivery of reinforcements and munitions to Ukrainian forces.

Liberation of Chasov Yar is crucial for liberating the Donetsk People's Republic from the forces of the neo-Nazi Kiev regime.

The capture of Chasov Yar marks the beginning of the battle for Ukraine's most fortified strongholds in Donbass: Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.

 Sputnik

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This current state of war remains a choice that President Putin is making: UK statement at the UN Security Council

Statement by Fergus Eckersley, Minister Counsellor, at the Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Fergus Eckersley, UK Minister Counsellor

Published 31 July 2025

Location: United Nations, New York

Delivered on: 31 July 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

How is it that Russia can sit here and claim any sort of commitment to diplomacy, while at the same time ramping up missile and drone strikes on Kyiv?

A six-year-old boy was amongst those killed last night by Russian missiles in Kyiv.

The problem is that for all its words, the Russian state has geared itself for war.

A war of aggression, a war of Russia's own making.

The government bolsters its legitimacy and suppresses opposition by stoking fears about external enemies.

Russia's economy is now highly dependent on military industrial production, with almost 40% of government spending on defence, more than 8% of GDP.

And the President has defined himself politically as the man who can conquer so-called neo-Nazism in Ukraine, and the threat that he claims NATO poses to Russia.

In reality, these are challenges of his own creation.

Ukraine is not ruled by neo-Nazis, and NATO does not pose a threat to Russia.

NATO merely stands with Ukraine in the face of Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion.

The consequences of a militarised Russian state are not limited to the appalling tragedies felt every day by Ukraine's brave people.

Russia itself has suffered over a million casualties as a result of its own war.

The wider region is also directly dealing with the effects of Russia's aggression.

And ultimately, we all are. Russia's actions are an affront to the UN Charter principles and international law.

The very foundations of all of our peace and security.

The consequences for the wider international system are also clear.

While members of this Council discuss how to bring peace to Sudan, Russia tries to leverage access to a naval base.

While we discuss peace in Mali, Russia has pushed out the UN to secure advantage for its private military contractors.

While we discuss sanctions to prevent nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula, Russia tries to undermine those sanctions to access military supplies for its war machine.

There is another pathway.

President Putin could accept the truth that there is no threat to Russia, not from Neo-Nazis and not from NATO.

He could choose to engage in good faith in a ceasefire and in peace talks based on the UN Charter.

Until then, this state of war remains a choice that President Putin is making.

We need to continue to show that there is no good outcome for Russia from its aggression, that we will remain staunch in our support for the defence of Ukraine, including through the provision of weapons systems in the face of relentless Russian attacks on critical national infrastructure and civilians.

We must be vigilant in clamping down on any military industrial support for Russia, including by preventing the export of dual-use items.

And we need to continue to demonstrate to Russia the economic costs of the choice it is making, and not give its militarised state a lifeline that it can feed on.

Ultimately, we must not let up in affirming the principles of the UN Charter.

Every Member State at the UN has a responsibility in this, to support a peace process that only Russia, only Russia is currently rejecting.

As President Trump has made clear, there is no reason for delay.

Russia must make progress towards a meaningful peace immediately.

But the world has seen Russia's response.

That is why, as President Zelenskyy said, peace without strength is impossible.

So it is now that we need to meet our responsibility to stand together and to demand that Russia immediately ceases its aggression and adheres to the call for a just and a lasting peace.

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Ukraine and Poland discussed prospects for joint projects in the defense industry

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

31 July, 2025, 9:16 AM EEST

Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine Sergiy Boyev met with Pawe Kowal, Chair of the Polish Council for Cooperation with Ukraine. The talks focused on potential joint defense production projects and continued military assistance.

The visit of the Polish delegation to Kyiv marked a continuation of the dialogue between Ukraine and Poland following the signing of the Memorandum on Defence Cooperation and participation in the 2025 Ukraine Recovery International Conference. Pawe Kowal had previously been appointed as the Polish Government's Commissioner for the Reconstruction of Ukraine.

"Industrial and innovation competition is not only a part of modern warfare but also a safeguard against future aggression. Europe is scaling up its defense industry, and Poland is a leading driver in many areas. That is why we are also keen to advance our defense cooperation," said Sergiy Boyev.

The Polish delegation brought up the implementation of projects within the framework of the Memorandum on Defence Cooperation signed by UkrOboronProm and the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ).

The parties also discussed establishing joint production of Ukrainian weapons in Poland within the framework of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "Build with Ukraine" initiative.

Sergiy Boyev emphasized Ukraine's appreciation for Poland's support in enhancing Ukraine's defense capabilities. According to him, both countries face several common challenges, including countering hostile strike UAVs.

He also emphasized that securing funding for drone production remains a priority. Sergiy Boyev summarized that Ukraine expresses a strong interest in using the SAFE mechanism to facilitate the implementation of joint projects.

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Ukrainian Units Are Holding Their Positions, and Every Russian Attempt to Advance in the Donetsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv Regions Is Ultimately Being Repelled - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

31 July 2025 - 20:19

Dear Ukrainians!

There have already been several reports today from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine regarding rescue operations and the clearing of rubble after the Russian strike. The State Emergency Service of Ukraine and all relevant services will continue working for as long as necessary. People are being searched for under the rubble. Over a hundred people have already received various forms of assistance. Many have been wounded or injured, including 14 children. Dozens are currently in hospitals. I am grateful to the rescuers, our police officers, every doctor, every nurse, and everyone involved in providing assistance. To all municipal services. It is very important that Ukrainians so swiftly and so humanely help one another do their job and restore life after Russian strikes.

Tragically, there are fatalities. As of now, 14 people have been confirmed dead in Kyiv, including a six-year-old child. My condolences to all their families and loved ones.

During the day, there were also Russian strikes on the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions - our Kramatorsk and other cities and communities of ours. And wherever possible, our rescuers are working, all emergency services are responding, and the military is helping a lot. I want to thank you for this!

Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi delivered a report today. The front line - especially the Pokrovsk sector - our units are holding all their positions. Pokrovsk and Dobropillia are currently seeing the heaviest fighting. And it is important that our warriors are eliminating Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups - small units constantly attempting to break into the city and establish footholds. This is the Russian tactic, and our response to it is the destruction of the occupier. There were Russian fake reports today - you saw them - about Chasiv Yar. This is Russian disinformation. Ukrainian units are holding our positions, and every Russian attempt to advance in the Donetsk, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions is ultimately being repelled by us. It is not easy, but it is the defense of Ukrainians' very right to life. Every such direction is extremely important.

Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is taking part in a major meeting of European foreign ministers in Finland - on the OSCE platform. I addressed the participants of this meeting. These days, Europe is marking 50 years of the OSCE - and that means principles, the Helsinki principles, which at the time affirmed a peaceful path for Europe. And today, we clearly know what is needed to bring peace back to Europe, to force Russia into peace, to end this war. There will be new sanctions against Russia and new strong steps in support of Ukraine. I thank everyone around the world who is helping.

I also thank Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa - the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council - as well as the European leaders. All of them firmly support the adoption of the law guaranteeing the independence of anti-corruption institutions and the proper functioning of all law enforcement bodies. European leaders, many ministers - we are receiving all these necessary positive signals - signals that Ukraine is moving in the right direction.

Today, a briefing was held at the Presidential Office for EU ambassadors on Ukraine's sanctions policy and our priorities. The Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy presented very detailed recommendations on what measures could have the greatest impact on Russia. The ambassadors were also shown fragments of Russian missiles and 'shaheds' - the very ones that struck residential buildings in Kyiv. Not a single one of these missiles or 'shaheds' would be possible without components from other countries, delivered to Russia through various supply schemes. Every such supply scheme must be blocked - and that depends on our partners. I also discussed with the Government the swift implementation of the laws adopted today. Some draft laws for August have already been agreed upon - including the law on the Military Ombudsman. The text of this document has been thoroughly worked on. I expect that the Military Ombudsman institution will soon be able to operate in full. Thank you to everyone who is helping us!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Presidential Office Hosts Briefing for EU Diplomats on Sanctions Policy Against Russia

President of Ukraine

31 July 2025 - 17:40

Advisor - Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk held a briefing on tightening sanctions against Russia for heads and representatives of the diplomatic missions of European Union countries to Ukraine. Deputy Heads of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva and Ihor Brusyl also addressed the audience.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk emphasized that the Russian economy is feeling the impact of sanctions.

"News of economic difficulties in Russia emerges regularly. At least part of these problems is directly caused by sanctions pressure. There is no easy way for them to overcome these difficulties. Even the official Russian GDP forecast is now significantly worse than it was at the start of the year. There's a decline across all industrial sectors except the military-industrial complex. These are the consequences of sanctions," he stated.

During the briefing, specific proposals were presented for the next rounds of sanctions. These include measures targeting petrodollars, Russia's financial and military-industrial sectors. It is necessary to introduce new restrictions against the infrastructure of the shadow fleet, impose sanctions on banking institutions and alternative payment systems, and expand the list of critical materials used by Russia's military-industrial complex.

Ihor Zhovkva informed participants about the consequences of the latest Russian air attack. He stressed that certain components for Russian missiles and drones are produced not only in Iran but also in European countries.

The Deputy Head of the Presidential Office thanked the EU for adopting the 18th package of sanctions and called for preparations to begin on the next one.

Ihor Brusyl also urged EU countries to strengthen cooperation between export control bodies to prevent components for 'shaheds' from reaching Russia.

According to him, the exchange of information on companies that exported drone parts to Russia would help prevent such cases in the future.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk showed diplomats components of Russian missiles and drones manufactured in EU countries in 2024-2025, as well as remnants of an Iskander-K missile used by Russian occupiers to strike a residential building in Kyiv on Thursday night.

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I Want to Thank All the Members of Parliament for Passing My Bill - Now Officially a Law; I Have Just Signed the Document - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

31 July 2025 - 15:13

Dear Ukrainians!

I want to thank all the Members of Parliament right now for passing my bill - now officially a law. I have just signed the document, and its text will be published immediately. This is a guarantee of the proper independent functioning of our state's anti-corruption bodies and all law enforcement agencies. The law ensures the absence of any external influence or interference, including through polygraph checks - regular checks for all law enforcement personnel who have access to state secrets or have relatives in Russia. This is the right decision. 331 deputies supported it. It passed exactly as needed - both in the first reading and as a whole. It is very important that the state listens to public opinion. That it hears its citizens. Ukraine is a democracy - without any doubt. Government officials will also promptly inform Ukraine's international partners about this law.

And today, there are other very important decisions as well. One is a law that ensures proper budget funding for the Defense Forces for weapons, for drones, and for payments to our warriors and the families of our warriors. This is extremely important. I have just signed it as well, and this guarantees that our warriors on the frontline will receive their payments, and that all proper payments will be made to the families of our fallen heroes. I also instructed, and we agreed with the military command, on the decision to grant an additional 15 days of leave for our military personnel. This is to be implemented in August. Additionally, a law has been adopted that grants more opportunities for veteran-run businesses. These laws are now in place and will already start working. So this day is really productive and tangible for our people. I thank everyone who defends Ukraine, Ukrainians, and Ukrainian national interests.

Glory to Ukraine!

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President of Ukraine Holds First Conversation with the President-Elect of Poland, Karol Nawrocki

President of Ukraine

31 July 2025 - 13:50

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held his first phone conversation with the President-elect of Poland, Karol Nawrocki.

The Head of State congratulated Karol Nawrocki on his victory in the election held on June 1. Ukraine counts on Poland to remain a reliable partner and ally.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Poland for its military, political, and humanitarian support since the very beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The President of Ukraine also informed his counterpart about the consequences of the massive Russian attack carried out overnight on Thursday, as well as the situation on the frontline. He noted that continued Polish support is vital for the security of both Ukraine and the entire European continent.

The interlocutors also focused on key events that will take place in the coming months.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Karol Nawrocki agreed to exchange visits to discuss all pressing issues of bilateral cooperation. The leaders share a vision of the need to work on finding engagement formats that will yield tangible results for both countries and peoples, as well as strengthen Europe.

The Polish President-elect expressed his support for the people of Ukraine and reaffirmed Poland's continued assistance.

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We Need to Fully Block Russia's War Machine and Confiscate Frozen Assets - President at the Conference Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act

President of Ukraine

31 July 2025 - 13:37

Russia can be pushed to stop the war: it started it, and it can be made to end it. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy made this statement during his online speech at the conference marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act - the founding document of the OSCE.

The Head of State informed participants about the consequences of another massive attack on Ukraine carried out by Russia on Thursday night, as well as a recent strike on a prison facility in the Zaporizhzhia region two days prior. The President emphasized that Russia continues these strikes despite calls from the world to end the war.

"But if the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries. It will keep spending huge amounts of money, resources, and maybe even lives to do so. One of Putin's main ideas, and now it's mainstream in Russia, is that Russia has no real borders," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The Head of State noted that while Europe will have to protect itself from the Russian regime for a long time, Russia's actual potential is far smaller than that of Europe.

"Russia's technologies are worse. And most importantly, unlike Europe, Russia offers no way of life that people want to follow. That's why it will lose," the President stated.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the main task now is to stop Russia and to do everything possible to enhance shared strength in security, economy, technology, and social development.

The Head of State thanked President of Finland Alexander Stubb, all European leaders, and every country that supports Ukraine - its defense, its air shield, and its resilience. Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed particular appreciation for the sanctions imposed against Russia. He urged that everything be done to ensure that the United States and Europe act together for the sake of security.

"We need to fully block Russia's war machine - cut off its arms industry, limit its energy profits, and finally put every frozen Russian asset, including the stolen wealth of corruption, to work defending against Russian aggression. It's time to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them - confiscate them, and use them to serve peace, not war," the President stressed.

This year's conference was hosted by Finland, which currently chairs the OSCE. Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the only Head of State invited to take part in the event.

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Speech by the President of Ukraine at the Conference Marking the 50th Anniversary of the OSCE Helsinki Final Act

President of Ukraine

31 July 2025 - 13:15

Alexander, Mr. President!

Thank you for your kind words and thank you for the invitation and your help, support of Ukraine.

Dear Elina!

Distinguished European representatives!

Last night, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukraine, this time on Kyiv. Hundreds of "shahed" drones and, also, missiles. Our air defense shot down many, many of them, but not all, unfortunately.

Once again, a Russian missile hit a residential building. A whole section of the building was turned into rubble and dust - just like the lives of the people who lived there. Across Kyiv, dozens of people were injured in today's attack. There are fatalities, and sadly, the number of dead is still rising.

Two days ago, Russia launched another cynical strike, this time on a prison in the Zaporizhzhia region. They used air-dropped bombs. They knew exactly it was a civilian facility. They knew the bombs would hit it. Sixteen people were killed. Forty-three were injured.

Russia keeps launching such attacks even when the whole world is calling on it to stop the war. A war that Russia started, a war that Russia keeps dragging on, a war that only the Russian leadership wants - a leadership stuck in another era. They are mentally stuck in another century - a time of brutal violence, deportations, and total disregard for human rights and equality. We all know - such ideas and such times must never return to Europe. And we all know how to protect ourselves from that, how to protect Europe from what today's Russia is bringing.

And I believe Russia can be pushed to stop this war. It started it - and it can be made to end it.

But if the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries. It will keep spending huge amounts of money, resources, and maybe even lives to do so.

One of Putin's main ideas, and now it's mainstream in Russia, is that Russia has no real borders, that its borders are wherever it wants them to be. This is a total rejection of the post-WW2 world, and this is the foundation of the current regime in Russia. And we in Europe will have to protect ourselves from this in the long term. And we will protect ourselves.

And yes, Russia has seized a vast amount of land - not just recently, but over centuries of imperial expansion and aggression. But its real potential is far smaller than Europe's. Russia's technologies are worse. And most importantly, unlike Europe, Russia offers no way of life that people want to follow. That's why it will lose.

Our main task is to stop Russia now, and to do everything we can to grow our shared strength - in security, in economy, in technology, in social development.

I'm grateful to everyone applying sanctions against Russia - and preparing new ones. And we need to fully block Russia's war machine - cut off its arms industry, limit its energy profits, and finally put every frozen Russian asset, including the stolen wealth of corruption, to work defending against Russian aggression. It's time to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them - confiscate them, and use them to serve peace, not war.

I want to thank President Stubb for standing with Ukraine, for supporting our people, and for helping build a connection with President Trump. President Trump is truly interested in ending the war. And we have to do everything we can to make sure the United States and Europe act together for security. I thank all European leaders, every country that helps our defense, our air shield, our resilience.

Ukrainians have been through a lot - because we stand together with everyone who values life. And I'm sure the day will come when Ukraine will live in real peace - a time when we will not wake up every night to air-raid sirens, a time when we restore safety and constitutional order in the territories that are currently occupied, a time when Russia will be forced to recognize its real borders.

That time will come because Europe stays united. Ukraine is not alone. America is helping. And the world chooses life, not war. If we look back at the choice made in Helsinki 50 years ago - it was also a choice for life, not war.

Thank you for your support.

Please, keep putting pressure on Russia - for the sake of peace. And invest in your own security.

Glory to Ukraine!

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SSU and ESBU expose chief of financial unit of AFU brigade who embezzled funds for purchase of drones

Security Service of Ukraine

12:00, 31 July 2025

The SSU Military Counterintelligence and the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Land Forces Command have disrupted another scheme of embezzlement of defense funds.

As a result of a special operation, in Kyiv region, a chief of the financial and economic unit of the AFU brigade, who embezzled money for the purchase of combat drones, was exposed.

Those include UAVs used for aerial reconnaissance and adjustment of artillery fire on the occupiers' assault groups in the Kramatorsk sector.

To scam, the officer signed several contracts at inflated prices with his friend's company.

The suspects embezzled almost UAH 2 million (USD 47,885) for the purchase of UAVs in one of the documented cases.

These funds could have been used to buy several more wholesale batches of reconnaissance UAVs, which are needed 24/7 by the military to destroy the ruscists on the front line.

The forensic economic examination confirmed the facts of embezzlement of public funds.

During the searches of the suspects' offices and homes, law enforcement officers have found documents with the evidence of the fraud.

Based on the collected evidence, the offender and his accomplice have been served notices of suspicion under Article 191.5 of the CCU (misappropriation, embezzlement or seizure of property through abuse of office).

The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. The suspects face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The operation was carried out under the procedural supervision of the Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Central Region.

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Russian attack on Ukrainian capital kills at least 11 civilians

31 July 2025 - At least 11 civilians were killed and over 130 injured in Russian strikes overnight in Ukraine's capital Kyiv, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, reported on Thursday.

Among the confirmed dead is a six-year-old boy. At least 10 of the injured were children, the mission said, and news reports indicate that figure is rising.

City-wide damage

Russia reportedly launched 309 drones and eight cruise missiles during the night, and despite air defences managing to destroy many of them, the damage across the capital was severe.

At least 27 locations across Kyiv were hit by the attack, with the heaviest damage seen in the Solomianskyi and Sviatoshynskyi districts, where UN rescue efforts are ongoing.

In the Sviatoshynskyi district, a missile destroyed a section of a nine-story apartment building.

In the Solomianskyi district, a five-story apartment building was severely damaged, and at least two people were killed.

UN Ukraine reported that witnesses described shock at the strike, which happened so quickly that they did not have time to seek shelter.

"Homes, businesses and public buildings are being destroyed, and it may take years to rebuild them. And each new attack compounds the psychological toll on people who have to spend night after night in shelters," said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU.

More than 100 buildings were reportedly damaged in the capital, including homes, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities and universities, according to news reports.

Unprecedented civilian toll

This attack follows a wave of violence close and far from the frontline, including weekend assaults that killed at least 20 civilians and injured over 120, a prison attack on Monday that killed 16 inmates, a hospital strike that killed three and the death of five civilians in the east on Tuesday.

This violent pattern continues from June, when HRMMU reported that Russia launched 10 times more missile and loitering munitions attacks against Ukraine compared with June 2024, killing 232 and injuring 1,343.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, stressed on social media that "international humanitarian law must be respected. All efforts must be taken to protect civilians. They are not a target."

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With Many Criticizing Moscow's Request for Meeting, Speakers in Security Council Urge Renewed Diplomacy, Immediate Ceasefire in Wake of Deadly Air Strikes in Ukraine

Meetings Coverage

Security Council

9970th Meeting (AM)

SC/16133

31 July 2025

Amid intensified aerial strikes on Ukrainian cities, delegates in the Security Council emphasized the urgent need for renewed diplomatic efforts and an immediate ceasefire.

Called by the Russian Federation to discuss "the prospects of a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian conflict", today's meeting was met with scrutiny by numerous Council members, who stressed that it does not represent a genuine step towards renewed diplomacy, but rather serves as a distraction from Moscow's continued violations of international law.

Among them was Denmark's representative, who said that the meeting was convened "not to seek resolution, but rewrite reality; not to protect human lives, but promote a false narrative"  one that accuses the West of prolonging the war in Ukraine by supplying arms to Kyiv for its self-defence against the Russian illegal armed aggression.

Picking up that thread, Greece's representative said that the wording of the request for today's meeting is misleading. "What is described as 'Ukrainian conflict' is in fact a war of aggression against Ukraine, going on for the last three and a half years," he said. This meeting takes place in the aftermath of another wave of severe drone and missile strikes against Kyiv and other residential areas.

Describing today's meeting as both "cynical and morally repugnant",Ukraine's representative said it was requested by the very State that launched the largest war of aggression in Europe since the Second World War to portray itself as a victim of so-called "Western interference".

Death Toll Rising Due to Russian Federation Air Strikes Unleashed Last Night

There are no two parties attacking civilians, she underscored, recalling that, last night, the Russian Federation unleashed yet another ruthless assault on Ukraine with 309 uncrewed aerial vehicles and 8 cruise missiles. As of now, nine people have been killed in Kyiv, with the death toll rising.

In this century alone, she said, the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine twice  in 2014 and 2022  adding: "At this very moment, Russia is still trying to illegally occupy more Ukrainian territory." Its war machine is now being sustained by Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and receives dual-use goods and equipment from Chinese companies. "This enables Moscow to prolong its war and escalate the suffering of the Ukrainian people," she warned.

Thanking Kyiv's partners and allies, she said: "Your military support is not only a lifeline for Ukraine, [but also] a defence of international law and the rules-based order, where aggression is not rewarded." Denying the idea that "no one will win" in this war, she said that international law and the UN Charter must win. "Let us make sure that a year from now, we are not gathered here to count more victims, but to mark the restoration of peace, justice and security  not only for Ukraine, but for the entire international system," she said.

Western Actions Prolonging the Conflict

While many in the West  who have been arming Kyiv to the teeth  are putting on "the sheep's clothing of diplomacy," said the Russian Federation's representative, they do not seem to want to close this "very dangerous chapter" of international peace and security. Moscow has never denied the potential of diplomacy, he asserted, recalling the coup in Kyiv in 2014 and its aftermath. Yet, its appeals to find mutually acceptable ways of resolving the European crisis were ignored, leaving no choice but to initiate the special military operation in February 2022.

The conflict has morphed into a full-scale proxy war of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against the Russian Federation, within which Ukraine is just taking the role of "a private military company", defending Western interests with Western weapons. This "fatal strategic mistake" by Kyiv has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers; besides Crimea, that country has lost four additional regions, whose people spoke in favour of joining the Russian Federation.

"What remains of Ukraine today has become a corrupt dictatorship of one person in which the Ukrainians have no rights," he stated, adding that people are being captured on the streets and sent to the front lines "against their will". "Ukrainians have completely lost their voice"  otherwise, they would have spoken against the continuation of the war. Ukrainians no longer want to fight; and those who fight find the nearest opportunity to surrender or flee. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has no intention of conducting elections, he noted.

For its part, Moscow will continue exchanging hors de combat soldiers, he continued, also citing its proposal for humanitarian pauses on the front lines. However, Moscow will not agree to an unconditional and lasting ceasefire, as any pause in fighting will be used to rearm the Ukrainian units, rotate the personnel and prepare their army to resume hostilities against his country. "We intend to continue the negotiations in Istanbul," he pledged, stating: "Our national interests, our right to live in peace and not be threatened by our nearest neighbours, is not something we will ever give up."

Condemnation of Attacks on Civilians, Military Escalation

Sounding the alarm over "the mounting civilian casualties in this war", Guyana's delegate said equally alarming is the fact that civilian infrastructure  schools, hospitals and critical energy systems  continues to be targeted in violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution.

On "the many reports" about weapons transfers to Ukraine and the Russian Federation, she expressed particular concern about the use of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions. "Landmines are inherently indiscriminate, while cluster munitions, when used in or near populated areas, are prone to indiscriminate effects," she stressed, noting their devastating impacts on the lives of civilians long after the war ends. "Especially reprehensible" is the reported use of drones to intentionally target civilians, she continued, calling for an independent investigation into all such allegations.

"The situation is unbearable," concurred France's delegate, condemning Moscow's large-scale aerial strikes against Ukrainian cities last night. The primary obstacle to peace is that country's determination to strike Ukrainian cities with growing intensity, she added.

"How is it that Russia can sit here and claim its commitment to diplomacy while simultaneously ramping up missile and drone strikes on Ukraine," asked the United Kingdom's delegate, adding that a six-year-old boy was among those killed last night.

He then highlighted the consequences of Moscow's war for the international system: "While Council [members] discuss how to bring peace to Sudan, Russia tries to leverage access to a naval base. While we discuss peace in Mali, Russia has pushed out the UN to secure an advantage for its private military contractors. While we discuss sanctions to prevent nuclear proliferation on the Korean peninsula, Russia tries to undermine those sanctions to access military supplies for its war machine."

Calls for a Ceasefire

The representative of the United States recalled the 14 July announcement by President [Donald J.] Trump that his country will sell its defensive weapons to NATO allies, "who can then send them on". "Our support for Ukraine's defence cannot be compared to the supply of arms and materials to Russia," which enables the aggressor to continue its full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory, he said, citing the support given by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran and China. The Russian Federation and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and a durable peace. "It is time to make a deal," he urged, declaring that "this must be done by 8 August". Washington, D.C., is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace.

However, countered China's delegate, "the Security Council has not imposed sanctions on parties to the conflict". China maintains normal trade with Ukraine and the Russian Federation and is not in violation of international law. "The United States is also conducting trade with Ukraine, so why can't China do that," he asked, adding that it is not Beijing but Washington, D.C., that should feel uncomfortable and "out of tune with the rest of the members here to resolve the Ukraine crisis". Urging that country to "stop attacking [others], and instead, work towards a ceasefire," he stated: "We need unity and cooperation rather than division and confrontation".

"For months, we have heard nothing but excuses and ultimatums from one country, while its drones are destroying Ukrainian cities," said Slovenia's delegate, pointing to the latest aerial attack on Kyiv. It targeted multiple urban areas with over 100 drones, causing civilian casualties. "The unabated death and destruction must stop," she stated, adding: "We need a ceasefire and we need it now."

Citing the ongoing military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, the speaker for the Republic of Korea said that "this illegal partnership" not only prolongs the war in Ukraine, but threatens the security of the Korean Peninsula and beyond. "Every day that passes without a ceasefire means more civilian lives lost and further destruction," he warned.

Istanbul Talks, Renewed Diplomatic Engagement

Numerous delegates called for renewed engagement at the highest political and diplomatic levels to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities, with Sierra Leone's representative welcoming the three rounds of talks held in Istanbul. "Dialogue and diplomacy must be the primary tools for resolving this conflict, he stated, adding that the international community  including this Council  must remain committed to supporting efforts towards a just and sustainable peace, in line with resolution 2774 (2025).

Also taking note of the meetings in Istanbul regarding prisoner exchanges between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, Somalia's delegate observed that these talks, however challenging, are an essential step forward on humanitarian grounds. Accordingly, he called for a revival of comprehensive peace negotiations aimed at ending the war. He urged all parties to return to the negotiating table in good faith, and the international community to "support every effort at diplomacy and the pursuit of a just and lasting peace".

In the same vein, Panama's representative expressed hope that the ongoing talks in Istanbul will continue in "a more genuine spirit" and will not be torpedoed by counterproductive machinations. He called on Member States to refrain from fanning the flames of conflict by sending weapons to the front lines, where "dialogue is emerging as the only plausible solution to the crisis".

Warning that the current situation may drag the region into "a spiral of conflicts and crises", Algeria's delegate stressed that developing countries continue to be most affected by disruptions in food and energy markets. Accordingly, he underscored the need to "choose the path of dialogue over confrontation, understanding over escalation" and "create the right conditions to facilitate direct negotiations".

Echoing that sentiment, the representative of Pakistan, Council President for July, spoke in his national capacity to underscore that "the only viable path towards sustainable peace is that of dialogue and diplomacy".

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China hits back at US smears on arms supplies to Ukraine at UN Security Council

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Aug 01, 2025 09:12 AM

China's deputy permanent representative to the UN Geng Shuang spoke at a UN Security Council meeting on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine on Thursday local time, refuting accusations made by the US representative against China.

Recently, Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of direct negotiations and reached a number of agreements on humanitarian issues such as prisoner exchanges, making positive progress. At the same time, however, the crisis continues, with no signs of the war coming to an end. A large volume of weapons and ammunition continues to flow into the battlefield, causing new casualties and damage to infrastructure, Geng noted.

What is particularly concerning is that the types and scope of weapons entering the battlefield are expanding, with their lethality and destructiveness constantly increasing, Geng said. Recent reports indicate that both sides have deployed combat robots, further highlighting that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is increasingly becoming a testing ground for new types of weaponry. This suggests that the nature of warfare could undergo dangerous changes, he added.

"I would like to reiterate that while weapons may win wars, they cannot bring lasting peace. The reckless transfer of arms to the battlefield will only intensify the conflict, prolong the fighting, increase the risk of proliferation, and inflict more casualties and suffering on people in both the conflict zone and the broader region," Geng said.

The Chinese diplomat pointed out that the urgent priority now is for both parties to work together to de-escalate the battlefield situation as soon as possible, maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiation, continue building consensus, and ultimately reach a comprehensive, durable, and binding peace agreement.

In response to US representative's false narratives and malicious smearing of China on the issue, Geng said "this is completely unacceptable," saying that he responded to such accusations on multiple occasions in past meetings. "Since the US insists on repeating the same rhetoric, I find it necessary to set the record straight once again," Geng said.

First, China is not the creator of the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the conflict. China has never provided lethal weapons to any party involved in the conflict. We have always strictly controlled the export of dual-use items, including drones, the Chinese diplomat said.

Second, the UN Security Council has not imposed sanctions on any party to the conflict. China maintains normal trade relations with both Russia and Ukraine, in full compliance with international law and without breaching any international obligations, he said.

China's legitimate and lawful rights and interests must not be infringed upon. "In fact, the US itself continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day. Why should it be acceptable for the US to do so, but not for others? Isn't this 'only allowing oneself to set fires while forbidding others from lighting lamps?'" Geng asked.

Third, the Ukraine crisis is currently at a critical juncture, with a genuine prospect for a political resolution. The US cannot on the one hand ask China to play a constructive role in ending the war, while on the other hand continuously smear and pressure China, he said, urging the US to stop playing the blame game and scapegoating others, and instead contribute positively to efforts for a ceasefire, de-escalation, and the promotion of dialogue and negotiation.

The Chinese diplomat emphasized that China maintains normal economic and trade relations with both Russia and Ukraine - this does not violate international law, nor does it breach any international obligations. "The US itself continues to conduct trade with Russia, so why should China be prohibited from doing the same?" he said.

"It is the US that repeatedly engages in smearing, slandering, and attacking other countries in the UN Security Council chamber. Does the US not recognize how different its behavior is from that of other Council members?" Geng asked.

What the resolution of the Ukraine crisis requires is unity and cooperation, not division and confrontation. Once again, we urge the US to stop its baseless accusations and scapegoating, to invest more in diplomatic efforts, and to contribute genuinely to promoting a ceasefire, de-escalating the conflict, and advancing peace talks, the Geng said.

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Trump Calls Russia's Action 'Disgusting,' Vows New Sanctions After Latest Deadly Assault On Kyiv

By RFE/RL August 01, 2025

US President Donald Trump again displayed anger with Russia following its latest deadly attack on Kyiv -- a strike that killed 16 people and injured dozens -- calling the action "disgusting" and vowing to slap new sanctions on Moscow.

"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing," Trump told reporters at the White House on July 31.

"I think what Russia's doing is very sad. A lot of Russians are dying."

He said the United States plans to impose new sanctions on Moscow, without being specific. But he added that "I don't know that sanctions bother him," referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Western nations have imposed a long series of financial measures against Russia, causing the economy to crater as they seek to deny the funding needed to finance the Kremlin's war.

The US president said his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Moscow following a trip to Israel, where he is discussing the situation in Gaza with Israeli officials. He did not provide an itinerary for Witkoff's Moscow stop.

"He's going to Russia. Believe it or not," Trump told reporters.

The remarks come hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for "regime change" in the Kremlin, saying it was the only way to prevent Russia from attempting to "destabilize" the region in the future.

Speaking remotely to an event marking 50 years since the signing of the Cold War-era Helsinki Final Act, Zelenskyy on July 31 said he believed it was still possible for Western allies to "push" Russia to stop its war on Ukraine.

"But if the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries," Zelenskyy said.

"Today, we clearly know what is needed to bring peace back to Europe, to force Russia into peace, to end this war," he said later during his nightly video address.

"There will be new sanctions against Russia and new strong steps in support of Ukraine. I thank everyone around the world who is helping," he added.

Meanwhile, at the United Nations, senior US diplomat John Kelly told the Security Council on July 31 that Trump is adamant about an announced August 8 deadline for a cease-fire deal to be reached in Ukraine.

"Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a cease-fire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8," he said.

Separately, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that, after waiting through six months of diplomacy, Trump will soon be forced to decide how actively to continue his efforts toward a cease-fire if one side refuses to accept a truce.

Rubio said US and Russian officials had conducted private negotiations on the Kremlin's war in Ukraine but that Washington saw "no progress" in the talks.

Trump, who has said he was "very disappointed" with Putin for refusing to end the war, announced on July 29 that he would shorten his previously announced 50-day deadline for the Russian leader to reach a cease-fire deal to "10-12 days."

Trump had said the United States would slap new tariffs on Russia should it refuse to accept a cease-fire. Zelenskyy has said he is ready to accept such a truce and has suggested a direct meeting with Putin -- which the Kremlin has rejected.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, gave a terse response to the 10-12-day deadline on July 29, saying the Kremlin had "taken note" of Trump's comments without elaborating.

As progress toward a cease-fire appeared stalled, the violence and killing continued among the civilian population in Ukraine.

Overnight on July 30-31, at least 16 people were killed -- including a 6-year-old boy -- and some 150 injured in Kyiv following an overnight Russian attack with missiles and drones, according to the head of the city's military administration.

"There are more than a hundred affected sites," Tymur Tkachenko said, adding that damage or casualties were reported at more than 27 locations, with the Solomyanskiy district, one of Kyiv's busiest, being heavily targeted.

"Residential buildings, schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, and a university. These are the places the Russians are attacking," he added.

"Unfortunately, the number of victims of Russia's attack on residential buildings continues to grow," the Ukrainian interior ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that more than a thousand police officers and rescue workers were deployed in response to the aftermath of the attack on July 31.

"This is Putin's response to Trump's deadlines," Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. "The world must respond with a tribunal and maximum pressure."

"I saw it with my own eyes -- people being pulled from under the rubble at the rescue site. It's heartbreaking to see parents searching for their children and relatives looking for loved ones," Svyrydenko said after visiting the scene of the attack in Kyiv.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called it "a horrible morning in Kyiv," saying Russian strikes destroyed residential buildings, damaged schools and hospitals, and left civilians dead, wounded, and trapped under rubble.

He said that Ukraine has initiated an urgent UN Security Council meeting in response to "Russia's latest escalation of terror." He said the meeting was scheduled to take place on August 1.

Meanwhile, Russian forces claimed to have captured the strategic Eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar following a bloody 16-month struggle.

Ukrainian authorities rejected the claim. The report could not immediately be verified.

With reporting by AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-disgusting-putin- russia-ukraine-kyiv-ceasefire/33491320.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Perth, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- perseus mining MANAGING DIRECTOR announces retirement; new MD & CEO appointed

SUMMARY

Jeff Quartermaine will retire as Perseuss Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on September 30, 2025

Mr. Quartermaine has served in the role for 12 years, having joined Perseus in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer

He has transformed the company from a struggling single mine operation to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional gold producer, developer and explorer with three operating assets and a fourth under construction

Under Mr. Quartermaines leadership, Perseus has become a leading gold company operating in Africa which joined the ASX100 index in June 2025

Former Newcrest global Chief Operating Officer Craig Jones will replace Mr Quartermaine, commencing with Perseus on August 18, 2025 before assuming the MD and CEO role on October 1, 2025.





Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX:PRU) announces its long-serving Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO) Jeff Quartermaine has advised he will retire from the role of Perseuss MD and CEO after serving for 12 years. His retirement will take effect from September 30, 2025, after which he has agreed to continue to support the Company through a Consultancy Agreement on market terms.

Mr. Quartermaine joined Perseus in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer, before being appointed CEO in 2013. Since assuming this role, he has transformed Perseus from a struggling single-mine, single-country company to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional gold producer, developer and explorer that has consistently delivered on its promises and is now one of the leading gold companies operating on the African continent.

Perseus now has three operating gold mines, Edikan in Ghana and Yaoure and Sissingue in Cote dIvoire, and is building a fourth mine, Nyanzaga, in Tanzania, which is on track to commence gold production in Q1 CY2027.

Perseuss Chairman Rick Menell praised Mr Quartermaines outstanding contribution in leading and shaping Perseus into the company it is today, saying:

On behalf of the Board, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and guidance over the years. Jeff has transformed Perseus and has been pivotal in turning it into one of the most profitable gold producers in the world. He has built extremely solid foundations for the Company to keep growing and we cannot thank him enough for such a positive legacy.

Outgoing MD and CEO, Mr. Quartermaine said: It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve at the helm of Perseus Mining over the past 12 years. Not only has the Company been transformed into a credible ASX 100 organisation, but during this time we have generated significant benefits for all of our stakeholders, including many in our host communities in Africa whose lives have been significantly improved through Perseuss endeavours.

I am deeply indebted to all our staff, both past and present, who along with their families have given their friendship, hard work, and commitment in helping transform Perseus. Along the way we have faced a myriad of challenges including events such as the global COVID pandemic, but we have emerged stronger than ever, and the company is now well positioned to continue our success into the future.

In reflecting on the last 15 years at Perseus, I must acknowledge the enormous contribution made to my career and indirectly to the success of Perseus, by my own family whose unwavering support has made the journey so much easier.

Mr. Quartermaine will be replaced as MD and CEO by Craig Jones, who will commence work with Perseus on August 18, 2025 and will assume the positions of MD and CEO with effect from October 1, 2025.

Mr Jones joins Perseus with more than 25 years of global experience, having worked across Australia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Indonesia and Canada. He was a member of Newcrests executive team from 2012, having originally joined in 2008, and ultimately serving as Newcrests global COO, with broad responsibility for five operating assets spread across multiple jurisdictions. In that capacity, he played a critical role in the development of organisational strategies, due diligence and investor relations. Mr Jones also led high-level engagement with governments, communities and First Nations groups across PNG, Canada and Australia.

Beyond his executive roles, Mr. Jones was a Newcrest nominee director on the Boards of SolGold and Lundin Gold and was Newcrests representative on Joint Venture Committees including the Morobe Mining Joint Venture in PNG and the Red Chris Joint Venture in British Columbia, reflecting extensive global resource-sector connectivity and governance experience.

A values-driven leader recognised for enhancing safety and fostering a strong organisational culture, Mr Jones is known for his consistent, empathetic and principled leadership style, which has earned the respect of peers, governments and communities alike.

Mr Menell said: We are delighted to welcome Craig to the Perseus team as Managing Director and CEO. Perseus is going through a significant phase of growth, in an environment that is getting increasingly complex, so we need a leader of Craigs calibre to build on Jeffs incredible legacy and confirm  and further grow  our position as one of the worlds better performing mid-tier gold producers. Craig brings a wealth of strategic, operational and technical expertise, a deep understanding of complex operating jurisdictions and stakeholder management and a clear commitment to sustainable practices. We look forward to working with Craig and the rest of the Perseus team to bring the Company even further.

Mr. Jones will be based in Perseuss head office in Perth, Western Australia.

A summary of the material terms of the employment agreement between Perseus and Mr. Jones is provided in Appendix A of this announcement.

Appendix A: CEO Summary of Key Terms of employment

Commencement Date August 18, 2025 Total Fixed Remuneration A Total Fixed Remuneration (TFR) (inclusive of Superannuation) of AU$1,060,000 per annum. Incentives Short-Term incentive: target opportunity 75% of TFR



Long-Term incentive: participation, subject to shareholder approval, in Perseuss performance rights plan at 150% of TFR Other Benefits Annual Leave and Long Service Leave in line with statutory requirements

Relocation from Brisbane to Perth Probation Period 6 months Notice Period 6 months (either party may give notice)

This market announcement was authorised for release by the Chairman of the Board of Perseus Mining Limited, Rick Menell.
London, UK , July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fintradix, a leading crypto trading platform, has unveiled a significant upgrade to its trading infrastructure in response to the rapidly increasing volume of cryptocurrency transactions across European markets. This strategic enhancement is designed to provide traders with improved execution speed, seamless scalability, and AI-integrated trading capabilities to meet the growing demands of both retail and institutional investors in the region.





The European digital asset market has seen exponential growth over the past year, with traders seeking platforms that can deliver high performance under intense market activity. Fintradixs latest upgrade addresses these needs by introducing a newly optimized trading engine capable of processing large volumes with reduced latency. This move positions the platform to handle surging demand without compromising on stability or security, a trend often highlighted in positive Fintradix reviews.

At the core of the upgrade is a focus on delivering a more intelligent trading environment. Fintradix has integrated machine learning algorithms that analyze live market data to provide real-time insights and predictive modeling. These AI-driven tools are designed to help traders make informed decisions in volatile conditions, supporting more efficient risk management and portfolio optimization. Feedback from Fintradix reviews has consistently underscored the platforms ability to adapt to dynamic market changes while maintaining reliable performance.

Enhancing European Trader Experience

The platforms development team prioritized the European market when designing the upgrade. With the diversity of regulatory environments across the EU and the need to support multiple asset classes, the update introduces improved compliance frameworks and expanded liquidity coverage. Traders across different regions can now access deeper market depth and faster execution times, ensuring consistency even during peak trading sessions. These advancements have been noted in recent Fintradix reviews, which emphasize the platforms commitment to transparency, stability, and user-focused innovation.

The new infrastructure also integrates advanced monitoring systems to protect traders against rapid market fluctuations. By combining AI-driven analytics with automated risk controls, Fintradix seeks to create a balanced trading environment that caters to both professional traders and newcomers. The platforms ability to deliver this combination of performance and security is frequently mentioned in Fintradix reviews, further establishing its reputation as a reliable resource for European crypto investors.

The upgrade really shows Fintradix is listening to its users. Execution is now instant, even in high-volume markets. Its a significant improvement.  Thomas Muller, Germany I trade daily, and the difference in latency after the update is clear. Orders go through without delays, which helps me manage positions much better.  Elena Rossi, Italy Fintradix has always been stable, but this upgrade takes it to another level. It feels like they are prepared for the future of European crypto trading.  Pierre Dubois, France During market volatility, the platform stays smooth and responsive. The AI insights also help me adjust strategies quickly.  Katarina Novak, Croatia

A Strategic Step Forward

This upgrade underscores Fintradixs commitment to long-term innovation and scalability. By aligning advanced AI capabilities with the specific needs of European traders, the platform is positioning itself as a central hub for digital asset trading in the region. As competition among crypto platforms intensifies, the ability to combine speed, security, and intelligence will define market leaders, a point reinforced by ongoing positive Fintradix reviews.

With cryptocurrency adoption in Europe accelerating, the ability to handle rising transaction volumes while delivering advanced trading tools is critical. Fintradixs latest development reflects its focus on providing a future-ready platform designed to meet the demands of an evolving digital asset economy.



Disclaimer: trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. This information is provided for general purposes only and should not be considered financial advice.




London UK, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goldnx reviews are generating attention across the financial sector as the company announced a major expansion of its AI-powered trading infrastructure to meet the growing demand for secure, advanced multi-asset solutions in Canada. This timely initiative marks a significant milestone for Goldnx, which has served traders and financial advisors for more than a decade with consistent performance and institutional-grade tools.





The new infrastructure upgrade includes CAD-based trading pairs, enhanced AI analytics for real-time decision-making, and a refined risk management framework designed specifically for Canadian investors. The expansion also strengthens liquidity networks to support both high-frequency trading and long-term portfolio strategies. According to numerous Goldnx reviews, the companys blend of advanced technology and proven reliability has made it a trusted platform during volatile market cycles.

Responding to Canadas Changing Financial Landscape

The announcement comes as Canadian traders and advisors face increasing market complexity and heightened demand for diversified asset access. Platforms that can integrate cryptocurrency, FX, and traditional markets in a secure and user-friendly environment are in high demand. This expansion is a direct response to our Canadian clients, said a Goldnx spokesperson. By enhancing our AI engine and adding localized features, we are delivering the tools needed to manage diverse portfolios in an evolving market.

Professional advisors have long highlighted the need for infrastructure that balances innovation with risk control. Many Goldnx reviews cite the platforms ability to provide accurate trade execution, institutional-grade analytics, and seamless integration for both retail and institutional clients as key reasons for adoption.

AI-Driven Precision Meets Localized Support

Goldnxs latest upgrade brings a significant leap forward in real-time analytics and execution speed. The AI-powered engine is capable of processing market data in milliseconds, optimizing trades for both retail and professional portfolios. Canadian advisors, particularly those in Toronto and Vancouver, have praised the introduction of CAD-based trading pairs and localized risk management tools, with Goldnx reviews consistently emphasizing the impact of these features on client performance.

To complement the technical advancements, the company has expanded its Canadian support infrastructure, ensuring personalized assistance for traders and advisory firms. This combination of technology and tailored service reflects Goldnxs commitment to building long-term partnerships with Canadian investors.

Toronto, Canada  The expansion brings real value. The speed and stability of execution combined with CAD-based pairs make Goldnx a critical part of our portfolio strategy.

 The expansion brings real value. The speed and stability of execution combined with CAD-based pairs make Goldnx a critical part of our portfolio strategy. Vancouver, Canada  AI-driven insights and reliable infrastructure are what Canadian traders need. Goldnx reviews are right  this platform delivers.

 AI-driven insights and reliable infrastructure are what Canadian traders need. Goldnx reviews are right  this platform delivers. Montreal, Canada  Integrating crypto and FX in one environment with enhanced automation is a major advantage. Goldnx is positioning itself ahead of the curve.

 Integrating crypto and FX in one environment with enhanced automation is a major advantage. Goldnx is positioning itself ahead of the curve. Calgary, Canada  The platforms consistency over the last decade, combined with these upgrades, shows why so many advisors rely on it.

10+ Years of Proven Performance

For over a decade, Goldnx has maintained a track record of delivering stable performance through multiple market cycles. Numerous Goldnx reviews highlight the platforms ability to combine institutional-grade infrastructure with user-friendly tools, making it accessible for both experienced and novice traders. This balance between technology and practical usability has been a defining factor in its success within Canadas competitive trading landscape.

Looking Ahead

With the current expansion, Goldnx is preparing for the next stage of its growth in Canada. The company plans to integrate further portfolio automation, expand its liquidity networks, and continue refining its AI-driven tools to meet the increasing demands of professional traders and advisors. This forward-looking approach, combined with a decade of proven results, positions Goldnx as a cornerstone platform for Canadas financial future.

About Goldnx

Goldnx reviews consistently highlight the companys reputation as a leading global trading platform specializing in cryptocurrency, FX, and multi-asset solutions. With over 10 years of operational excellence, Goldnx provides advanced AI-driven trading infrastructure, secure execution environments, and personalized support for retail and institutional clients worldwide. The latest Canadian expansion underscores its commitment to delivering localized, high-performance solutions to meet the unique needs of the countrys traders.

Disclaimer: Trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment or legal advice.




Paris, August 1st, 2025

Implementation of a New Liquidity Contract

Air France-KLM announces the implementation of a liquidity contract for its ordinary shares (ISIN Code: FR001400J770) with Rothschild Martin Maurel, within the framework of the regulations in force, and in particular AMF Decision no. 2021-01 of 22 June 2021.

The purpose of this agreement is for Rothschild Martin Maurel to act as a market maker for Air France-KLM shares on the regulated market of Euronext Paris to promote the liquidity of transactions and the regularity of the listing of Air France-KLM shares.

To implement this contract, 10 million euros have been allocated to the liquidity account.

This contract will take effect on 1 August 2025 and will have an initial term of 12 months, renewable automatically for successive 12-month periods.

This agreement may be suspended in the cases provided for in article 5 of chapter II of AMF decision no. 2021-01 of 22 June 2021. It may also be suspended at Air France-KLM's request for technical reasons, such as the counting of shares carrying voting rights prior to a general meeting or the counting of shares carrying dividend rights prior to detachment of the coupon, for a period defined by Air France-KLM.

Investor Relations

Michiel Klinkers Marouane Mami

michiel.klinkers@airfranceklm.com marouane.mami@airfranceklm.com

Website : www.airfranceklm.com

Attachment
Media relations:

Sam Connatty

Tel.: +44 370 904 3601

sam.connatty@capgemini.com

Investor relations:

Vincent Biraud

Tel.: +33 1 47 54 50 87

vincent.biraud@capgemini.com

Capgemini announces the departure of William Roze from the Group

Paris, August 1, 2025  Capgemini announced today that William Roze, CEO of Capgemini Engineering and Group Executive Board member, has decided to leave the Group to pursue other projects.

Capgemini and William Roze have agreed on Williams departure, effective from July 31. William has relinquished his responsibilities within the Group and his successor will be announced in the coming weeks.

Aiman Ezzat, Chief Executive Officer of Capgemini commented: "I would like to thank William for his contribution to the Group in building Capgemini Engineering into the market leader that it is today. Notably, William helped to enable the integration of Altran and support the Groups ambition to become the global leader in Intelligent Industry."

William joined Capgemini in 2020, as a result of Capgeminis acquisition of Altran. He was appointed CEO of Capgemini Engineering in 2021.

About Capgemini

Capgemini is a global business and technology transformation partner, helping organizations to accelerate their dual transition to a digital and sustainable world, while creating tangible impact for enterprises and society. It is a responsible and diverse group of 350,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong over 55-year heritage, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to unlock the value of technology to address the entire breadth of their business needs. It delivers end-to-end services and solutions leveraging strengths from strategy and design to engineering, all fueled by its market leading capabilities in AI, generative AI, cloud and data, combined with its deep industry expertise and partner ecosystem. The Group reported 2024 global revenues of 22.1 billion.

Get the Future You Want | www.capgemini.com

Attachment
COMPANY ANNOUNCEMENT

Odense, August 1st, 2025

Company Announcement no. 62  01.08.2025

Danish Aerospace Company to support development of a new area: 3D Bone Quality Imaging system for space

Danish Aerospace Company A/S

CVR no.: 12424248

Danish Aerospace Company A/S (DAC), Odense, has signed a subcontract with Adaptix Ltd. of UK to support the development of a ground prototype of a new 3D Bone Quality Imaging System for future use in space. The contract  which Adaptix Ltd. has commenced with the European Space Agency  has potential for a later substantial development contract of a flight system for use in space including on the International Space Station ISS.

The 24-month contract entails the development of a prototype of a 3D Bone Quality Imaging system for space based on the Adaptix core technology.

The prototype will allow astronauts to take high quality imaging and determine bone mineral density in space.

This is a key measurement to evaluate the performance of existing and new in-space exercise systems such as those DAC has developed and is continuing to develop.

The subcontract runs for approximately 24 months and has a total value for DAC of approximately EUR 100,000. (DKK 0,75 million).

It holds the potential for a later subsequent development contract/sub-contract for a full 3D Bone Quality Imaging system for flight testing in space.

The contract does not change the companys previously announced expectations for 2025.

The contract focuses on the development, testing and validation of a 3D Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) system for bone density measurements using digital tomosynthesis in space. The system will also allow for bone mineral density (BMD) measurements.

Maintaining bone strength in space is critical for astronauts. This is because without sufficient exercise during missions lasting four to six months astronauts risk losing more than 10% of areal bone mineral density at critical sites such as the hip and spine. This will not only increase the risk of hip fractures, but also increase the risk of kidney stones.

The mechanisms underlying bone and muscle deterioration in space are similar to those on Earth, both resulting from the off-loading of bone. Thus, the technology Adaptix and DAC are developing also has potential application on Earth where bone loss occurs with elderly and with patients hospitalized for prolonged periods.

During the contract, Adaptix Ltd. and DAC, will build upon the Adaptix Ortho350 small and versatile system, enhance its performance and modify a ground unit that eventually (in a later contract) can be developed for use on ISS and on subsequent commercial space stations.

This is the first time DAC is involved in developing bone imaging and analysis equipment for space-based applications.

"We are extremely proud to have teamed up with Adaptix Ltd. and won this contract with them, to develop a ground prototype of a new 3D Bone Quality Imaging System for future use in space. This is a new and challenging field we enter. Our extensive experience -- that includes more than 3,2 tons of DAC-developed hardware launched into space over the past 30+ years --provides an excellent starting point which will help us enhance and adapt this technology for use in space. We are eager to enter this new area", says Thomas A. E. Andersen, CEO, DAC.

For further information, please contact:

Danish Aerospace Company A/S:

CEO Thomas A.E. Andersen

Cell: +45 40 29 41 62

Certified Adviser:

Baker Tilly Corporate Finance P/S

Poul Bundgaards Vej 1, 1.

DK-2500 Valby

Tel.: +45 33 45 10 00

www.bakertilly.dk

About Danish Aerospace Company A/S:

Danish Aerospace Company (DAC) is a high-tech company operating in the area of advanced medical instrumentation and other engineering fields primarily within space applications.

Our products are based on many years of specialized research and development. These consist of developing, integrating, and applying new as well as established medical technologies to the challenges of functioning and remaining reliable in space. These products and services bring the potential of space research and experience from space operations down to Earth for the benefit of all mankind.

Danish Aerospace Company employs engineers and technicians who deliver full engineering, production and technical services for our customers. We specialize in customer specific design, development, manufacturing, certification, maintenance, testing, and operations.

The company has developed five generations of respiratory equipment for spaceflight, ergometers for astronauts, countermeasures, adapted several commercial medical equipment for spaceflight and has participated in the development of the minus eighty-degree Celsius freezers.

The Companys quality system is certified in obligation to BS EN ISO 9001:2015, BS EN 9100:2018 technical equivalent to AS9100D that is the acknowledged standard in the area.

Note: This is a translation of the corresponding Company Announcement in Danish. In case of discrepancies between the Danish wording and the English translation, the Danish wording prevails.

www.DanishAerospace.com
(Montreal, Canada/Oslo, Norway)  Statkraft has signed an agreement to sell Enerfin Canada, its renewables portfolio in Canada, to Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure Ltd. The transaction includes the team, operating wind farms and a development portfolio.

I am happy to announce that we have agreed to sell our renewables portfolio in Canada to Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure, who will be able to grow this business further. The deal confirms that Enerfin built a skilled team and attractive portfolio in Canada. We are looking forward to watching the business grow under new ownership, says Barbara Flesche, Executive Vice President at Statkraft.

Enerfin Canada is based in Montreal, Quebec, with offices in Calgary, Alberta; Montreal and Saint-Ferdinand, Quebec. The transaction includes the experienced staff, two operating wind farms totalling 236 MW installed capacity, and a 0.8 GW portfolio of six wind and solar projects under development.

Closing is expected before the end of 2025. The parties have agreed not to disclose further details about the transactions.

The final Enerfin portfolio sale

Statkraft acquired its Canadian renewables portfolio as part of the Enerfin transaction that was signed in November 2023 and completed in May 2024. The deal significantly strengthened Statkrafts position in Spain and Brazil, placing Statkraft among the top 10 wind power producers in both countries. The acquisition added a portfolio of 1.5 GW of wind and solar power projects in operation and under construction, as well as a pipeline of projects under development.

I am pleased that we by signing this deal have successfully agreed to sell the last of the planned divestments of our Enerfin portfolio in countries outside Statkrafts core markets. We have worked on the sales processes since the completion of the Enerfin acquisition, and they have been delayed by increased global uncertainty, says Barbara Flesche.

For further information, please contact:

Media:

Head of Norway Media Relations, Andreas Olsen Tinglum, tel: +47 93 00 17 73, e-mail: andreas.tinglum@statkraft.com

VP External Communications Torbjrn Steen, tel: +47 911 66 888, e-mail: ts@statkraft.com



or www.statkraft.com

About Statkraft

Statkraft is a leading company in hydropower internationally and Europe's largest generator of renewable energy. The Group produces hydropower, wind power, solar power, gas-fired power and supplies district heating. Statkraft is a global company in energy market operations. Statkraft has around 7,000 employees in more than 20 countries.








Dublin, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Medical Tubing - Company Evaluation Report, 2025" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Medical Tubing Companies Quadrant is a comprehensive industry analysis that provides valuable insights into the global market for Medical Tubing. This quadrant offers a detailed evaluation of key market players, technological advancements, product innovations, and emerging trends shaping the industry. The 360 Quadrants evaluated over 100 companies, of which the Top 12 Medical Tubing Companies were categorized and recognized as quadrant leaders.



Growth in the medical tubing market is fueled by the increasing incidence of chronic illnesses, a rise in surgical interventions, and the expanding use of minimally invasive technologies. Regulatory standards from bodies such as the FDA and ISO are central to guiding product development and approval. Innovations like antimicrobial coating and multi-lumen tubing are further enhancing safety and performance. The market is categorized based on materials, applications, and structural design.



The 360 Quadrant maps the Medical Tubing companies based on criteria such as revenue, geographic presence, growth strategies, investments, and sales strategies for the market presence of the Medical Tubing quadrant. The top criteria for product footprint evaluation included By APPLICATION (Bulk Disposable Tubing, Catheters & Cannulas, Drug Delivery Systems, Other Applications), By MATERIAL (Plastics, Rubbers, Specialty Polymers, Other Materials), and By STRUCTURE (Single-Lumen, Co-Extruded, Multi-Lumen, Tapered or Bump Tubing, Braided Tubing).



Key Players



Key players in the Medical Tubing market include major global corporations and specialized innovators such as Saint-Gobain, Freudenberg Medical, The Lubrizol Corporation, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Nordson Corporation, Te Connectivity, Elkem Asa, Trelleborg Ab, Raumedic Ag, Teknor Apex, Spectrum Plastics Group, and Zeus Company Llc. These companies are actively investing in research and development, forming strategic partnerships, and engaging in collaborative initiatives to drive innovation, expand their global footprint, and maintain a competitive edge in this rapidly evolving market.



Top 3 Companies

Saint-Gobain

Saint-Gobain, a leading manufacturer in the medical tubing market, operates globally through its Life Sciences division. The company offers a diversified product portfolio including high-performance thermoplastic, silicone, and ultra-engineered polymer tubing. Known for their strong R&D capabilities, Saint-Gobain continually invests in innovation, with significant funds allocated towards developing durable and biocompatible materials. In recent strategic moves, they acquired MS Techniques and Transluminal, enhancing their capabilities in minimally invasive procedures.

Freudenberg Medical

Freudenberg Medical, a division of the Freudenberg Group, specializes in high-quality silicone and thermoplastic tubing used in applications such as fluid management and surgical instruments. They maintain strong market positioning through precision manufacturing and commitment to advanced medical technologies. With manufacturing sites across key regions, Freudenberg consistently expands production and invests in R&D to meet global demands.

TE Connectivity

TE Connectivity excels in delivering high-performance micro-diameter tubing and catheter components. The company's strengths lie in precision engineering and advanced extrusion technologies, which cater to minimally invasive medical devices. Their market strategy includes leveraging global partnerships with medical device manufacturers to offer customized solutions, supported by robust R&D investments. This strategy has solidified TE Connectivity's position as a pivotal player in the medical tubing market.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Executive Summary



3 Market Overview

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Market Dynamics

3.2.1 Drivers

3.2.1.1 Growing Geriatric Population

3.2.1.2 Increasing Demand for Minimally Invasive Medical Procedures

3.2.1.3 Advancements in Extrusion Technology

3.2.1.4 Stringent Quality Standards and Regulations

3.2.2 Restraints

3.2.2.1 Limited Material Compatibility

3.2.2.2 Environmental and Disposal Concerns

3.2.3 Opportunities

3.2.3.1 Advancements in Biocompatible and Smart Materials

3.2.3.2 Increasing Government Expenditure to Upgrade and Develop Healthcare Infrastructure

3.2.4 Challenges

3.2.4.1 High Production Costs and Marketing Complexities

3.3 Porter's Five Forces Analysis



4 Industry Trends

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Value Chain Analysis

4.3 Ecosystem Analysis

4.4 Technology Analysis

4.4.1 Key Technologies

4.4.1.1 Extrusion Technology

4.4.1.2 Advanced Material Technologies

4.4.2 Complementary Technologies

4.4.2.1 Smart Technologies and Connectivity

4.4.2.2 Surface Treatment and Modification

4.5 Key Conferences and Events, 2025

4.6 Patent Analysis

4.6.1 Methodology

4.6.2 Document Types

4.6.3 Publication Trends in Last 11 Years

4.6.4 Insights

4.6.5 Legal Status of Patents

4.6.6 Jurisdiction Analysis

4.6.7 Top Applicants

4.7 Impact of Ai/Gen Ai on Medical Tubing Market



5 Competitive Landscape

5.1 Overview

5.2 Key Player Strategies/Right to Win, 2020-2025

5.3 Revenue Analysis, 2024

5.4 Market Share Analysis, 2024

Saint-Gobain

Freudenberg Medical

The Lubrizol Corporation

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

TE Connectivity

5.5 Company Valuation and Financial Metrics

5.6 Brand Comparison

Medical Tubing Market: Brand Comparison

Bio-Sil Tubing

Helixflex

Isoplast Etpu Medical Tubing

Gore Sta-Pure Pump Tubing Series Pfl

5.7 Company Evaluation Matrix: Key Players, 2024

5.8 Company Evaluation Matrix: Startups/Smes, 2023

5.9 Competitive Scenario



Company Profiles

Key Players

Saint-Gobain

Freudenberg Medical

The Lubrizol Corporation

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

Nordson Corporation

TE Connectivity

Elkem ASA

Trelleborg AB

Raumedic AG

Teknor Apex

Spectrum Plastics Group

Zeus Company LLC

Other Players

ATAG Spa

Davis Standard

FBK Medical Tubing

Proterial Cable America, Inc.

ICO Rally

ICU Medical, Inc.

Kraton Corporation

Microlumen Inc.

MDC Industries

Newage Industries

Optinova

Parker Hannifin Corp.

Teel Plastics

Vesta Inc.

Smooth-Bor Plastics

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cawpdb

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, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Tenosynovitis Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Country and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2025-2035" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global Tenosynovitis market is highly competitive, with several key players actively driving innovation, advancing research, and expanding treatment options. Companies such as Pfizer Inc., AbbVie Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Roche Holding AG, Merck & Co., Inc., Amgen Inc., and UCB Pharma S.A. are leading the charge in developing therapies for inflammatory conditions that often lead to tenosynovitis.

These companies focus on biologics, anti-inflammatory treatments, TNF inhibitors, IL-6 inhibitors, and innovative therapies aimed at providing effective management of tenosynovitis and related musculoskeletal disorders. Their research into new treatments and advanced care protocols continues to shape the market landscape, offering hope for improved outcomes in patients suffering from tenosynovitis. Additionally, the ongoing focus on personalized medicine and targeted therapies is expected to drive future growth in this market.



One of the key drivers of the tenosynovitis market is the increasing prevalence of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and gout. These conditions often lead to chronic inflammation in the tendons and their sheaths, making individuals more susceptible to developing tenosynovitis. As the global incidence of these diseases rises, particularly in aging populations, there is a growing demand for effective treatments that can alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, and improve joint mobility.



Additionally, advancements in biologic therapies and targeted treatments, including TNF inhibitors and IL-6 inhibitors, have made a significant impact on managing inflammation-related tenosynovitis, driving the market growth. The development of non-invasive treatments like PRP therapy and physical therapy further boosts the market by offering patients more options for managing symptoms and improving their quality of life.

The global Tenosynovitis market is experiencing several key emerging trends. One significant trend is the shift towards biologic and targeted therapies for treating inflammation and pain associated with Tenosynovitis. With a growing understanding of the underlying mechanisms of inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic diseases that lead to Tenosynovitis, biologic agents like TNF inhibitors (e.g., Humira and Enbrel) and IL-6 inhibitors (e.g., Actemra) are gaining traction. These therapies offer a more targeted approach to modulating the immune system and reducing inflammation, which can provide better outcomes with fewer side effects compared to traditional treatments like corticosteroids.



Another significant trend is the increased focus on personalized treatment. With advancements in genomic research and biomarker identification, treatments are becoming more tailored to individual patients based on their specific genetic profiles, which can improve efficacy and reduce adverse effects. Personalized medicine is rapidly becoming a key driver in the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases, offering more effective and patient-centric care.



Despite the growth of the Tenosynovitis market, several challenges continue to hinder progress. One of the major challenges is the lack of early and accurate diagnosis. Tenosynovitis can often be mistaken for other musculoskeletal conditions, making it difficult to identify in its early stages. As the symptoms of tenosynovitis, such as pain and swelling, are common to many joint-related issues, patients may not seek treatment until the condition has progressed, leading to more severe inflammation and joint damage. This diagnostic delay can lead to longer recovery times, reduced treatment efficacy, and more complex management.

Additionally, the high cost of advanced treatments like biologics, PRP therapy, and surgical procedures can limit patient access to optimal care, especially in low- and middle-income regions. Furthermore, the limited availability of specialized care and the lack of awareness about tenosynovitis in certain populations also contribute to slower market penetration and growth.



Lastly, non-invasive treatment options like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy and physical therapy are gaining popularity as they are seen as less risky alternatives to surgery. These treatments help in managing pain and inflammation, promoting tissue repair, and improving overall function for patients with Tenosynovitis.



Key Topics Covered:



Executive Summary



Scope and Definition



Market/Product Definition



Inclusion and Exclusion



Key Questions Answered



Analysis and Forecast Note



1. Global Tenosynovitis Markets: Industry Outlook

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Market Trends

1.3 Regulatory Framework

1.4 Epidemiology Analysis

1.5 Clinical Trial Analysis

1.6 Market Dynamics

1.6.1 Impact Analysis

1.6.2 Market Drivers

1.6.3 Market Challenges

1.6.4 Market Opportunities



2. Global Tenosynovitis Market (Region), ($Million), 2023-2035

2.1 North America

2.1.1 Key Findings

2.1.2 Market Dynamics

2.1.3 Market Sizing and Forecast

2.1.3.1 North America Tenosynovitis Market, by Country

2.1.3.1.1 U.S.

2.2 Europe

2.2.1 Key Findings

2.2.2 Market Dynamics

2.2.3 Market Sizing and Forecast

2.2.3.1 Europe Tenosynovitis Market, by Country

2.2.3.1.1 Germany

2.2.3.1.2 U.K.

2.2.3.1.3 France

2.2.3.1.4 Italy

2.3 Asia Pacific

2.3.1 Key Findings

2.3.2 Market Dynamics

2.3.3 Market Sizing and Forecast

2.3.3.1 Asia Pacific Tenosynovitis Market, by Country

2.3.3.1.1 China

2.3.3.1.2 Japan



3. Global Tenosynovitis Market: Competitive Landscape and Company Profiles

3.1 Key Strategies and Development

3.1.1 Mergers and Acquisitions

3.1.2 Synergistic Activities

3.1.3 Business Expansions and Funding

3.1.4 Product Launches and Approvals

3.1.5 Other Activities

3.2 Company Profiles

3.2.1 Overview

3.2.2 Top Products / Product Portfolio

3.2.3 Top Competitors

3.2.4 Target Customers/End-Users

3.2.5 Key Personnel

3.2.6 Analyst View

Pfizer Inc.

AbbVie Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Novartis AG

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG

Merck & Co., Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7vn3lm

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.
Today, on 01 August 2025, AS Tallinna Vesi held an investor conference webinar where Chairman of the Management Board, Chief Executive Officer Aleksandr Timofejev, and Member of the Management Board, Chief Financial Officer Taavi Groon, introduced the performance of the 2nd quarter of 2025.

We thank all the participants! Webinar recording is available here and the presentation is available here.

AS Tallinna Vesis financial and operational results for the 2nd quarter of 2025 are available here.





Additional information:

Taavi Groon

Chief Financial Officer

AS Tallinna Vesi

(+372) 626 2200

taavi.groon@tvesi.ee
The Home Comfort division almost doubles to more than eight billion euros in sales and over 25,000 associates.

Increasing demand for cooling ensures a surge in demand.

Stefan Hartung: Bosch is moving up to the Champions League in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions business.

Christian Fischer: The current acquisition complements our portfolio perfectly.

Frank Meyer: We want to help shape this market with energy-efficient solutions.

Stuttgart, Germany, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

The Bosch Group reaches the next milestone in its corporate strategy 2030 and is consistently focusing on growth. The company has successfully completed the largest acquisition in its history. The acquisition of the residential and light commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) business from Johnson Controls and the acquisition of the Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning joint venture were completed as scheduled on July 31. The contracts were signed roughly one year ago. The purchase price is 8 billion U.S. dollars (7.4 billion euros) and is subject to customary adjustments.

With the largest acquisition in our company history, we are accelerating our growth, expanding our global footprint, and balancing our business by strengthening our energy and building technology  this makes Bosch more powerful and robust, in line with our corporate strategy 2030, says Stefan Hartung, chairman of the Bosch board of management.

With the acquisition, the Bosch Home Comfort division almost doubles in size to over 25,000 associates and more than $8.6 billion USD (eight billion euros) in sales. Bosch is thus significantly expanding its presence, especially in America and Asia, and becoming one of the largest suppliers in the market for heating, ventilation, and cooling of residential and small commercial buildings worldwide. In the U.S., Bosch will add approximately 3,400 associates and two new manufacturing sites located in Norman, Oklahoma and Wichita, Kansas.

The entire HVAC industry is in a state of upheaval, and the market and technologies are changing. Bosch is systematically taking advantage of its opportunities and is now moving up to the Champions League in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions business, says Hartung.

Ambitious goals, strong brands

With the new lineup, Home Comfort wants to grow significantly faster than the global HVAC market. According to Bosch estimates, this will increase by up to five percent every year until 2030.

Bosch wants to be one of the leading companies in each of its industries by 2030 and is expanding its business with strategic investments in growth areas, among other things. Acquisitions are also part of the strategy, says Christian Fischer, deputy chairman of the board of management and responsible for strategic growth initiatives and portfolio management. The current acquisition perfectly complements our portfolio. We can now offer our customers the entire range of HVAC technologies  from a single source and worldwide.

The acquisition also includes strategically important company investments and joint venture interests, among other things, in component manufacturers and sales partners. These investments are expected to make a significant contribution to the financial result of Home Comfort in the future. With its expanded product and brand portfolio, Home Comfort wants to better leverage the potential of its strong and established sales channels and boost sales. Integrated purchasing and the joint development of product platforms should also ensure cost savings. It is hoped that initial successes will be seen as early as 2026. The company can rely on strong brands for this: in addition to Bosch and Buderus, these now also include YORK in the USA and Hitachi in Asia, as well as other strong local brands. The company is acquiring long-term licenses to use the brand names for YORK and Hitachi. The global production network of Home Comfort will grow from 17 to 33 plants as a result of the acquisition, while the number of development sites is increasing from 14 to 26. The completion of the transaction marks the beginning of the integration of the new units into the Home Comfort division at Bosch. This should be completed by the end of 2027.

The market for air conditioning solutions is growing worldwide

The current acquisition means that Bosch is positioning itself much more broadly  especially for air conditioning solutions. With its large product portfolio, international presence, and the sales channels of the purchased units, the company is tapping into attractive growth prospects. According to Bosch analyses, the global market for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems amounted to more than $160 billion USD (150 billion euros) in 2024. Air conditioning systems alone accounted for two-thirds of this. Demand will continue to increase significantly in the coming years. According to Boschs forecast, sales of air conditioning units worldwide are expected to increase to more than 200 million units per year by 2030, almost a fifth more than in 2024.

We want to help shape this market  and use energy-efficient solutions to ensure that people can make their everyday lives comfortable and healthy, even on increasingly hotter days, whether at home, at work, or while shopping, says Frank Meyer, who is responsible for energy and building technology and thus also for the Home Comfort division at Bosch.

Business has a regional basis

Depending on the region of the world, different technologies are in demand. In the USA, the focus is on ducted systems, in which the air is routed through ducts from a central location in order to either heat or cool all rooms at the same time. In Asia, ductless solutions are in particular demand, in which indoor units can heat or cool individually in each room, as well as modern air conditioning systems with so-called variable refrigerant flow systems (VRF). The commercial applications of VRF technology range from smaller commercial premises such as retail stores to large-scale projects such as hotels or hospitals.

The Europe / Middle East / Africa region is characterized by large regional differences. In northern and western Europe, electrification by heat pumps and other technologies is already established or is being promoted. In the Middle East and Africa, air conditioning solutions and water heaters are in demand. In many countries of the region, the whole spectrum is offered from heat pumps via oil and gas heaters to hybrid heaters.

We have ambitious growth targets in all regions of the world. We are consistently focusing our new organization on this, says Jan Brockmann, executive management president of Home Comfort. By strengthening regional responsibility, we can meet customer needs even better. In the future, Home Comforts business will be managed directly in the three world regions of America, Asia, and Europe / Middle East / Africa. This orientation is also reflected in the new global executive board of the division as of August 1, 2025. Jan Brockmann will become president of the future organization and at the same time will take on the role of regional president for the Europe / Middle East / Africa region.

David Budzinski, previously president of residential and light commercial at Johnson Controls International and CEO of the Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning joint venture, will be appointed to the global executive board of the division. He assumes responsibility for the Americas region and becomes deputy to Jan Brockmann. Ulrich Lissmann, who is also joining the global executive board, will be responsible for Asia-Pacific. Nora Klug, previously General Counsel of the Bosch Group, will assume the role of chief people and governance officer. As chief transformation officer, Oliver Koukal will take care of the integration of the acquired business, which he has already been responsible for as project manager. The current members of the executive management Thomas Volz and Birte Luebbert will continue to be members of the global executive board. Thomas Volz will be chief financial officer, Birte Luebbert will serve as chief operating officer.

Press photographs are available on the Bosch Media Service at us.bosch-press.com.

About Bosch

Having established a presence in North America in 1906, today the Bosch Group employs more than 41,000 associates in more than 100 locations in the North American region (as of Dec. 31, 2024). In 2024, Bosch generated consolidated sales of $17.3 billion in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. For more information visit www.bosch.us, www.bosch.mx and www.bosch.ca.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 418,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2024). The company generated sales of 90.3 billion euros in 2024. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Boschs broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is Invented for life, Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 490 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Boschs global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Boschs innovative strength is key to the companys further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 87,000 associates in research and development.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (18611942) as Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering. The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant upfront investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-four percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a limited liability company with a charitable purpose. The remaining shares are held by Robert Bosch GmbH and by a company owned by the Bosch family. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG. It is entrusted with the task of safeguarding the companys long-term existence and in particular its financial independence  in line with the mission handed down in the will of the companys founder, Robert Bosch.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

Exchange rate: 1 EUR = 1.0823

Attachments
NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced Apex Critical Metals Corp. (CSE: APXC; OTCQX: APXCF), a Canadian exploration company, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Apex Critical Metals Corp. upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

Apex Critical Metals Corp. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol APXCF. U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

Graduating to the OTCQX Market marks another important step forward in our mission to build a leading North American explorer focused on critical metals, stated Sean Charland, CEO of Apex Critical Metals. This upgrade reflects the financial strength of our company, our commitment to transparent disclosure, and our intention to engage a broader base of U.S. investors as we continue to advance our rare earth and niobium-focused projects.

About Apex Critical Metals Corp.

Apex Critical Metals Corp. is a Canadian exploration company specializing in the acquisition and development of properties prospective for carbonatites and alkaline rocks with potential to host economic concentrations of rare earth elements (REE's), niobium, gold and copper mineralization. Apex's Cap property located 85 kilometres northeast of Prince George, B.C., spans 25 square kilometres and hosts a recently identified promising 1.8-kilometre niobium trend. The Company's Bianco carbonatite project encompasses 3,735 hectares covering a large carbonatite complex within an area known for significant niobium mineralization in northwestern Ontario. The company's Lac Le Moyne project covers 4,025 hectares located in Northeastern Quebec, and hosts underexplored carbonatite outcrops originally mapped by government geologists in the 1970's. By acquiring a multitude of carbonatite projects, Apex Critical Metals intends to investigate potential high-value opportunities to meet the growing global demand of specialty metals across various industries. Apex Critical is publicly listed in Canada on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol APXC, in the United States on the OTCQX market under the symbol APXCF, and in Germany on the Borse Frankfurt under the symbol KL9 and/or WKN: A40CCQ. Find out more at www.apexcriticalmetals.com where you can subscribe for News Alerts, watch our Video, or follow us on Facebook, X.com or LinkedIn.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our public markets: OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market, OTCID Basic Market and Pink Limited Market. Our OTC Link Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading. Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.

OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, OTC Link NQB, and MOON ATS are each SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc., +1 (212) 896-4428, media@otcmarkets.com
NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a lawsuit has been filed against Reddit, Inc. (NYSE: RDDT) and certain of the Companys senior executives for potential violations of the federal securities laws.

If you invested in Reddit, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/reddit-inc-securities-fraud-class-action.

Investors have until August 18, 2025, to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors who purchased Reddit securities. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is captioned Tamraz, Jr. v. Reddit, Inc., at al., No. 25-cv-05144.

Why was Reddit Sued for Securities Fraud?

Reddit owns and operates the eponymous social news aggregation, forum, and social media platform. Reddit receives a significant portion of its user traffic from individuals seeking answers to questions using Google Search. The complaint alleges that Reddit misrepresented and downplayed the impact that Googles use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in Google's search results had on Reddits user growth.

In truth, Googles use of AI dented Reddits user growth by eliminating the need for individuals to visit and click through to Reddit to get answers to their questions. Rather, the answers appeared through Googles AI search results.

The Stock Declines as the Truth is Revealed

On May 1, 2025, Reddit reported a significant slowdown in daily active user growth. On this news, the price of Reddit stock declined $4.96 per share, or more than 4%, from $118.79 per share on May 1, 2025, to $113.83 per share on May 2, 2025.

Then, on May 21, 2025, Wall Street analyst Baird cut its Reddit stock price target over concerns that Googles AI capabilities are stifling Reddits user growth. On this news, the price of Reddit stock fell $9.79 per share, or over 9%, from $105.64 per share on May 20, 2025, to $95.85 per share on May 21, 2025.

Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/reddit-inc-securities-fraud-class-action.

What Can You Do?

If you invested in Reddit you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.

Submit your information by visiting:

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/reddit-inc-securities-fraud-class-action

Or contact:

Ross Shikowitz

ross@bfalaw.com

212.789.3619

Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?

BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named Elite Trial Lawyers by the National Law Journal, among the top 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers by Lawdragon, Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thomson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.

For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/reddit-inc-securities-fraud-class-action

Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces an investigation into BellRing Brands, Inc. (NYSE: BRBR) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.

If you invested in BellRing, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/bellring-brands-inc-class-action-lawsuit.

Why is BellRing being Investigated?

BellRing operates in the convenient nutrition category. The Companys primary brands include Premier Protein and Dymatize, which offer ready-to-drink protein shakes and powders. During the relevant period, the Company stated that Premier Protein hit an all-time high in household penetration and that demand remains strong. The Company also stated that its growth was strong in all channels, driven by distribution expansion, accelerating velocities and incremental promotional activity.

In truth, the Companys sales growth during the relevant period may have been driven by temporary trade inventory loading at several key retailers, not sustainable end-consumer demand.

The Stock Declines as the Truth is Revealed

On May 5, 2025, after market hours, BellRing revealed that starting in Q2 2023, several key retailers lowered their weeks of supply on hand, which would create a headwind to Q3 2025 growth. The Company also announced it was expanding promotions to boost sales and offset [] third quarter reductions in retailer trade inventory levels. On this news, the price of BellRing stock fell $13.96 per share, or more than 18%, from $77.34 per share on May 5, 2025, to $63.38 per share on May 6, 2025.

Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/bellring-brands-inc-class-action-lawsuit.

What Can You Do?

If you invested in BellRing you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.

Submit your information by visiting:

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/bellring-brands-inc-class-action-lawsuit

Or contact:

Ross Shikowitz

ross@bfalaw.com

212.789.3619

Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?

BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named Elite Trial Lawyers by the National Law Journal, among the top 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers by Lawdragon, Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thomson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.

For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/bellring-brands-inc-class-action-lawsuit

Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

ROBERT G. MEYER and THOMAS W.

MIARS, IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR

BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND Plaintiffs,

Case No.: 24-C-23-003628 v.



MICHAEL WEIL, LISA KABNICK,

LESLIE MICHELSON, STANLEY PERLA,

EDWARD RENDELL, and AR GLOBAL

INVESTMENTS, LLC, Defendants.





SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF STOCKHOLDER CLASS ACTION AND

PROPOSED SETTLEMENT, SETTLEMENT HEARING, AND RIGHT TO APPEAR

TO: All record and beneficial owners of The Necessity Retail Reit, Inc. (RTL or the Company) common stock, as of September 12, 2023 together with their respective successors and assigns.1

PLEASE READ THIS SUMMARY NOTICE CAREFULLY. YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to an Order of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, Maryland (the Court), that the above-captioned stockholder class action (the Action) is pending in the Court.

YOU ARE ALSO NOTIFIED that Plaintiffs Robert G. Meyer and Thomas W. Miars (Plaintiffs), on behalf of themselves and the putative Class have reached a proposed settlement with defendants Michael Weil, Lisa Kabnick, Leslie Michelson, Stanley Perla, Edward Rendell (the Individual Defendants), and AR Global Investments, LLC (AR Global) (collectively, Defendants and together with Plaintiffs the Parties), for $3,250,000.00 USD in cash (the Settlement). The terms of the Settlement are stated in the Stipulation and Agreement of Compromise and Settlement between Plaintiffs and Defendants, dated April 25, 2025 (the Stipulation), a copy of which is available at www.NecessityRetailSettlement.com. The proposed Settlement, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Action as against the Defendants.

A hearing (the Settlement Hearing) will be held on September 16, 2025 at 9:30 a.m., before the Honorable Audrey J.S. Carrion, in person at the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, 111 N Calvert St, Baltimore, MD 21202, to, among other things:

a. determine whether the Action may be finally maintained as a non-opt-out class action and whether the Class should be finally certified, for purposes of the Settlement, pursuant to Maryland Rule 2-231;

b. determine whether Plaintiffs may be finally appointed as the representatives for the Class and Plaintiffs Counsel finally appointed as counsel for the Class, and whether Plaintiffs, and Plaintiffs Counsel, have adequately represented the interests of the Class in the Action;

c. determine whether the proposed Settlement on the terms and conditions provided for in the Stipulation is fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Class, and should be approved by the Court;

d. determine whether a Judgment, substantially in the form attached as Exhibit D to the Stipulation, should be entered dismissing the Action;

e. determine whether the proposed Plan of Allocation of the Net Settlement Fund is fair and reasonable, and should therefore be approved;

f. determine whether the application by Plaintiffs Counsel for a Fee and Expense Award should be approved;

g. hear and rule on any objections to the Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, and/or to the application by Plaintiffs Counsel for an award of attorneys fees and expenses; and

h. consider any other matters that may properly be brought before the Court in connection with the Settlement.

Any updates regarding the Settlement Hearing, including any changes to the date or time of the hearing or updates regarding in-person or remote appearances at the hearing, will be posted to the Settlement website, www.NecessityRetailSettlement.com.

If you are a member of the Class, your rights will be affected by the pending Action and the Settlement, and you may be entitled to share in the Net Settlement Fund. You may obtain a copy of the Notice by contacting the Settlement Administrator toll free at 1-888-851-7128. A copy of the Notice can also be downloaded from the Settlement website, www.NecessityRetailSettlement.com.

If the Settlement is approved by the Court and the Effective Date occurs, the Net Settlement Fund will be distributed on a pro rata basis to Eligible Class Members in accordance with the proposed Plan of Allocation stated in the Notice or such other plan of allocation as is approved by the Court. As explained in further detail in the Notice, payments from the Net Settlement Fund to Eligible Class Members will be made in the same manner in which Eligible Class Members received the Merger Consideration. Eligible Class Members do not have to submit a claim form to receive a payment from the Settlement.

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or Plaintiffs Counsels application for an award of attorneys fees and expenses in connection with the Settlement must be filed with the Court and delivered to Plaintiffs Counsel and Defendants Counsel such that they are received no later than September 2, 2025, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Notice.

Please do not contact the Court regarding this Summary Notice. All questions about this notice, the proposed Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement should be directed to the Settlement Administrator or Plaintiffs Counsel.

Requests for the Notice should be made to the Settlement Administrator:

Toll Free: 1-888-851-7128

Email: info@NecessityRetailSettlement.com

Website: www.NecessityRetailSettlement.com

Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice, should be made to Plaintiffs Counsel:

OF COUNSEL:

LEVI & KORSINSKY, LLP

Donald J. Enright

Elizabeth K. Tripodi

Jordan A. Cafritz

1101 Vermont Ave., N.W., Suite 800

Washington, DC 20005

(202) 524-4290

Attorneys for Plaintiffs

BY ORDER OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR BALTIMORE CITY, MARYLAND

1 Any capitalized terms used in this Summary Notice that are not otherwise defined in this Summary Notice shall have the meanings given to them in the Notice.

URL: www.NecessityRetailSettlement.com

SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP
BINGHAMTON, N.Y., Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tyfast Energy, a battery materials company focused on lithium-ion innovation, has been awarded a $100,000 SuperBoost grant from the National Science Foundations Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York. The funding will support Tyfasts continued development of its proprietary lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) anode technology, enabling the fabrication of next-generation pouch cells with ultra-fast charging, extended cycle life, and enhanced thermal performance.

Tyfasts LVO anode platform allows lithium-ion batteries to charge in under 10 minutes, operate reliably between -40C and +70C, and exceed 10,000 charge cycles: performance metrics well suited for defense, heavy-duty transportation, construction and other industrial applications. As part of the SuperBoost project, Tyfast will partner with Binghamton Universitys NorthEast Center for Chemical Energy Storage (NECCES) to scale roll-to-roll electrode manufacturing and assemble 15Ah multi-layer pouch cells. These prototypes will be delivered to customers for evaluation and field testing.

The companys focus is on powering rugged, electrified platforms where battery safety, power density and durability are critical. A major U.S. defense contractor is testing Tyfasts technology and exploring integration opportunities for programs that demand fast-charging, long-life battery cells. The companys domestically sourced LVO-based chemistry also supports national efforts to build secure and resilient supply chains for energy storage.

The SuperBoost program is a signature initiative of the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York. It aims to shorten the commercialization timeline for promising battery technologies from over five years to fewer than two by providing startups with non-dilutive funding, access to regional prototyping infrastructure, and connections to a statewide innovation network.

Tyfasts high-performance anode technology shows strong potential to meet the demanding requirements of defense and industrial electrification, said Fernando Gomez-Baquero, director of the translation pillar at the Engine. With SuperBoost support, theyre moving rapidly from lab-scale validation to real-world deployment, leveraging regional assets like NECCES to accelerate their path to market.

This award exemplifies how the Engine is helping companies turn breakthrough technologies into manufacturing-ready solutions, said Meera Sampath, CEO of the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York. By investing in innovations like Tyfasts, we are strengthening domestic supply chains, advancing national security goals, and positioning upstate New York as a leader in clean energy manufacturing.

The SuperBoost program provides critical support for scaling our LVO-based technology, said GJ la O, CEO of Tyfast. Our goal is to establish a viable, domestic pathway for next-generation battery production  one that supports U.S. defense and industrial customers while anchoring manufacturing growth in upstate New York that supports U.S. defense and industrial supply chains.

About Tyfast Energy

Tyfast Energy develops lithium-ion batteries for high-power, fast-charging, and durable applications in heavy-duty vehicles, defense, and industrial equipment. Its proprietary lithium vanadium oxide (LVO) anode technology is engineered for long cycle life, ultra-fast charging, and extreme temperature tolerance. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California.

For more information, visit www.tyfast.energy

Contact:

GJ la O, Ph.D.

Chief Executive Officer

Email: contact@tyfast.energy

About the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York

The NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York, led by Binghamton University, is a National Science Foundation-funded, place-based innovation program. The coalition of 40+ academic, industry, nonprofit, state, and community organizations includes Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Griffiss Institute, Launch-NY and NY-BEST as core partners. The Engine advances next-gen battery technology development and manufacturing to drive economic growth and bolster national security. Its vision is to transform upstate New York into Americas battery tech capital.

For more information on the NSF Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York, visit https://upstatenyengine.org/ .
Dublin, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Netherlands Cement Industry Market Size & Forecast by Value and Volume Across 80+ Market Segments by Cement Products, Distribution Channel, Market Share, Import - Export, End Markets - Databook Q2 2025 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The cement market in Netherlands is expected to grow by 6.3% annually to reach US$331.9 million in 2025.



The cement market in the country recorded strong growth during 2020-2024, achieving a CAGR of 6.8%. Growth momentum is expected to remain positive, with the market projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2025-2029. By the end of 2029, the cement market is projected to expand from its 2024 value of US$312.2 million to approximately US$417.9 million.



This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the cement industry in Netherlands, covering market opportunities and analysis across a range of the cement domains. With over 80+ KPIs at the country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of the cement market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view of emerging business and investment market opportunities.



Scope



This report provides a data-rich, forward-looking analysis of cement industry, covering market size, pricing trends, production, consumption, and segment-level performance from 2020 to 2029. It examines cement demand across key residential, non-residential, and infrastructure sectors alongside granular segmentation by cement type, distribution channel, end-user profile, and city tier.



Netherlands Cement Industry Overview

Cement Production KPIs: Volume and Value

Cement Consumption KPIs: Volume and Value

Average Cement Price Trends: Tracked at overall and cement-type level

Netherlands Cement Market by Type of Cement

Portland Cement

Blended Cement

Specialty Cement

Green Cement

Blended Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Type IS(X) - Portland-Slag Cement

Type IP(X) - Portland-Pozzolan Cement

IL(X) - Portland-Limestone Cement

Type IT - Ternary Blended Cement

Specialty Cement Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Rapid Hardening Cement

High Alumina Cement

White Cement

Sulfate-Resistant Cement

Other Niche Specialty Cements

Netherlands Cement Market by Key Sector

Residential Construction

Multi-Family Housing

Single-Family Housing

Non-Residential Construction

Commercial Buildings:

Office Buildings

Retail Spaces

Hospitality Facilities

Restaurants

Sports Complexes

Other Commercial Properties

Industrial Buildings:

Manufacturing Units

Chemical & Pharmaceutical Facilities

Metal and Material Processing Plants

Institutional Buildings:

Healthcare Facilities

Educational Institutions

Other Institutional Structures

Infrastructure & Other Construction

Netherlands Cement Market by Distribution Channel

Direct Distribution (B2B Sales)

Indirect Distribution (Retailers, Dealers)

Netherlands Cement Market by End-User

Ready-Mix Concrete Producers

Concrete Product Manufacturers

Individual Consumers (Self-use)

Other Industrial/Commercial Users

Netherlands Cement Market by Location Tier

Tier-I Cities

Tier-II Cities

Tier-III Cities

Netherlands Cement Trade Dynamics

Key Export Destinations

Key Import Sources

Competitive Landscape: Netherlands Cement Market

Market Share Analysis of Key Players

Reasons to buy

Access Comprehensive, Segment-Level Market Data: Leverage granular datasets covering cement demand, production, trade flows, and pricing, segmented by product type, end-use sector, and distribution channel.

Track Growth Across Residential, Commercial, and Infrastructure Segments: Understand how cement consumption varies by construction type and quantify demand shifts driven by policy, urbanization, and investment trends.

Benchmark Market Performance and Forecasts: Utilize historical data and forward-looking projections to compare performance across countries, regions, and cement categories.

Identify Market-Specific Risks and Opportunities: Analyze localized demand drivers, cost structures, and trade dependencies to inform investment, sourcing, and pricing strategies.

Support Strategic Planning with Structured, Reliable Insights: Use standardized data frameworks and comparable KPIs to support executive-level decision-making across commercial, operational, and financial functions.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dwpfw

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, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Italy Cement Industry Market Size & Forecast by Value and Volume Across 80+ Market Segments by Cement Products, Distribution Channel, Market Share, Import - Export, End Markets - Databook Q2 2025 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The cement market in Italy is expected to grow by 5.9% annually to reach US$2.56 billion in 2025.



The cement market in the country recorded strong growth during 2020-2024, achieving a CAGR of 6.2%. Growth momentum is expected to remain positive, with the market projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.5% during 2025-2029. By the end of 2029, the cement market is projected to expand from its 2024 value of US$2.42 billion to approximately US$3.17 billion.



This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the cement industry in Italy, covering market opportunities and analysis across a range of the cement domains. With over 80+ KPIs at the country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of the cement market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view of emerging business and investment market opportunities.



Scope



This report provides a data-rich, forward-looking analysis of cement industry, covering market size, pricing trends, production, consumption, and segment-level performance from 2020 to 2029. It examines cement demand across key residential, non-residential, and infrastructure sectors alongside granular segmentation by cement type, distribution channel, end-user profile, and city tier.



Italy Cement Industry Overview

Cement Production KPIs: Volume and Value

Cement Consumption KPIs: Volume and Value

Average Cement Price Trends: Tracked at overall and cement-type level

Italy Cement Market by Type of Cement

Portland Cement

Blended Cement

Specialty Cement

Green Cement

Blended Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Type IS(X) - Portland-Slag Cement

Type IP(X) - Portland-Pozzolan Cement

IL(X) - Portland-Limestone Cement

Type IT - Ternary Blended Cement

Specialty Cement Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Rapid Hardening Cement

High Alumina Cement

White Cement

Sulfate-Resistant Cement

Other Niche Specialty Cements

Italy Cement Market by Key Sector

Residential Construction

Multi-Family Housing

Single-Family Housing

Non-Residential Construction

Commercial Buildings:

Office Buildings

Retail Spaces

Hospitality Facilities

Restaurants

Sports Complexes

Other Commercial Properties

Industrial Buildings:

Manufacturing Units

Chemical & Pharmaceutical Facilities

Metal and Material Processing Plants

Institutional Buildings:

Healthcare Facilities

Educational Institutions

Other Institutional Structures

Infrastructure & Other Construction

Italy Cement Market by Distribution Channel

Direct Distribution (B2B Sales)

Indirect Distribution (Retailers, Dealers)

Italy Cement Market by End-User

Ready-Mix Concrete Producers

Concrete Product Manufacturers

Individual Consumers (Self-use)

Other Industrial/Commercial Users

Italy Cement Market by Location Tier

Tier-I Cities

Tier-II Cities

Tier-III Cities

Italy Cement Trade Dynamics

Key Export Destinations

Key Import Sources

Competitive Landscape: Italy Cement Market

Market Share Analysis of Key Players

Reasons to buy

Access Comprehensive, Segment-Level Market Data: Leverage granular datasets covering cement demand, production, trade flows, and pricing, segmented by product type, end-use sector, and distribution channel.

Track Growth Across Residential, Commercial, and Infrastructure Segments: Understand how cement consumption varies by construction type and quantify demand shifts driven by policy, urbanization, and investment trends.

Benchmark Market Performance and Forecasts: Utilize historical data and forward-looking projections to compare performance across countries, regions, and cement categories.

Identify Market-Specific Risks and Opportunities: Analyze localized demand drivers, cost structures, and trade dependencies to inform investment, sourcing, and pricing strategies.

Support Strategic Planning with Structured, Reliable Insights: Use standardized data frameworks and comparable KPIs to support executive-level decision-making across commercial, operational, and financial functions.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ixuwvr

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, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Iran Cement Industry Market Size & Forecast by Value and Volume Across 80+ Market Segments by Cement Products, Distribution Channel, Market Share, Import - Export, End Markets - Databook Q2 2025 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The cement market in Iran is expected to grow by 4.2% annually to reach US$4.74 billion in 2025.



The cement market in the country recorded strong growth during 2020-2024, achieving a CAGR of 4.4%. Growth momentum is expected to remain positive, with the market projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.0% during 2025-2029. By the end of 2029, the cement market is projected to expand from its 2024 value of US$4.55 billion to approximately US$5.54 billion.



This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the cement industry in Iran, covering market opportunities and analysis across a range of the cement domains. With over 80+ KPIs at the country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of the cement market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view of emerging business and investment market opportunities.



Scope



This report provides a data-rich, forward-looking analysis of cement industry, covering market size, pricing trends, production, consumption, and segment-level performance from 2020 to 2029. It examines cement demand across key residential, non-residential, and infrastructure sectors alongside granular segmentation by cement type, distribution channel, end-user profile, and city tier.



Iran Cement Industry Overview

Cement Production KPIs: Volume and Value

Cement Consumption KPIs: Volume and Value

Average Cement Price Trends: Tracked at overall and cement-type level

Iran Cement Market by Type of Cement

Portland Cement

Blended Cement

Specialty Cement

Green Cement

Blended Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Type IS(X) - Portland-Slag Cement

Type IP(X) - Portland-Pozzolan Cement

IL(X) - Portland-Limestone Cement

Type IT - Ternary Blended Cement

Specialty Cement Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Rapid Hardening Cement

High Alumina Cement

White Cement

Sulfate-Resistant Cement

Other Niche Specialty Cements

Iran Cement Market by Key Sector

Residential Construction

Multi-Family Housing

Single-Family Housing

Non-Residential Construction

Commercial Buildings:

Office Buildings

Retail Spaces

Hospitality Facilities

Restaurants

Sports Complexes

Other Commercial Properties

Industrial Buildings:

Manufacturing Units

Chemical & Pharmaceutical Facilities

Metal and Material Processing Plants

Institutional Buildings:

Healthcare Facilities

Educational Institutions

Other Institutional Structures

Infrastructure & Other Construction

Iran Cement Market by Distribution Channel

Direct Distribution (B2B Sales)

Indirect Distribution (Retailers, Dealers)

Iran Cement Market by End-User

Ready-Mix Concrete Producers

Concrete Product Manufacturers

Individual Consumers (Self-use)

Other Industrial/Commercial Users

Iran Cement Market by Location Tier

Tier-I Cities

Tier-II Cities

Tier-III Cities

Iran Cement Trade Dynamics

Key Export Destinations

Key Import Sources

Competitive Landscape: Iran Cement Market

Market Share Analysis of Key Players

Reasons to buy

Access Comprehensive, Segment-Level Market Data: Leverage granular datasets covering cement demand, production, trade flows, and pricing, segmented by product type, end-use sector, and distribution channel.

Track Growth Across Residential, Commercial, and Infrastructure Segments: Understand how cement consumption varies by construction type and quantify demand shifts driven by policy, urbanization, and investment trends.

Benchmark Market Performance and Forecasts: Utilize historical data and forward-looking projections to compare performance across countries, regions, and cement categories.

Identify Market-Specific Risks and Opportunities: Analyze localized demand drivers, cost structures, and trade dependencies to inform investment, sourcing, and pricing strategies.

Support Strategic Planning with Structured, Reliable Insights: Use standardized data frameworks and comparable KPIs to support executive-level decision-making across commercial, operational, and financial functions.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1z93c3

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, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Denmark Cement Industry Market Size & Forecast by Value and Volume Across 80+ Market Segments by Cement Products, Distribution Channel, Market Share, Import - Export, End Markets - Databook Q2 2025 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The cement market in Denmark is expected to grow by 7.6% annually to reach US$362.1 million in 2025.



The cement market in the country recorded strong growth during 2020-2024, achieving a CAGR of 8.7%. Growth momentum is expected to remain positive, with the market projected to expand at a CAGR of 7.1% during 2025-2029. By the end of 2029, the cement market is projected to expand from its 2024 value of US$336.7 million to approximately US$476.6 million.



This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the cement industry in Denmark, covering market opportunities and analysis across a range of the cement domains. With over 80+ KPIs at the country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of the cement market dynamics, market size and forecast, and market share statistics.



The research methodology is based on industry best practices. Its unbiased analysis leverages a proprietary analytics platform to offer a detailed view of emerging business and investment market opportunities.



Scope



This report provides a data-rich, forward-looking analysis of cement industry, covering market size, pricing trends, production, consumption, and segment-level performance from 2020 to 2029. It examines cement demand across key residential, non-residential, and infrastructure sectors alongside granular segmentation by cement type, distribution channel, end-user profile, and city tier.



Denmark Cement Industry Overview

Cement Production KPIs: Volume and Value

Cement Consumption KPIs: Volume and Value

Average Cement Price Trends: Tracked at overall and cement-type level

Denmark Cement Market by Type of Cement

Portland Cement

Blended Cement

Specialty Cement

Green Cement

Blended Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Type IS(X) - Portland-Slag Cement

Type IP(X) - Portland-Pozzolan Cement

IL(X) - Portland-Limestone Cement

Type IT - Ternary Blended Cement

Specialty Cement Cement Market by Subtypes of Cement

Rapid Hardening Cement

High Alumina Cement

White Cement

Sulfate-Resistant Cement

Other Niche Specialty Cements

Denmark Cement Market by Key Sector

Residential Construction

Multi-Family Housing

Single-Family Housing

Non-Residential Construction

Commercial Buildings:

Office Buildings

Retail Spaces

Hospitality Facilities

Restaurants

Sports Complexes

Other Commercial Properties

Industrial Buildings:

Manufacturing Units

Chemical & Pharmaceutical Facilities

Metal and Material Processing Plants

Institutional Buildings:

Healthcare Facilities

Educational Institutions

Other Institutional Structures

Infrastructure & Other Construction

Denmark Cement Market by Distribution Channel

Direct Distribution (B2B Sales)

Indirect Distribution (Retailers, Dealers)

Denmark Cement Market by End-User

Ready-Mix Concrete Producers

Concrete Product Manufacturers

Individual Consumers (Self-use)

Other Industrial/Commercial Users

Denmark Cement Market by Location Tier

Tier-I Cities

Tier-II Cities

Tier-III Cities

Denmark Cement Trade Dynamics

Key Export Destinations

Key Import Sources

Competitive Landscape: Denmark Cement Market

Market Share Analysis of Key Players

Reasons to buy

Access Comprehensive, Segment-Level Market Data: Leverage granular datasets covering cement demand, production, trade flows, and pricing, segmented by product type, end-use sector, and distribution channel.

Track Growth Across Residential, Commercial, and Infrastructure Segments: Understand how cement consumption varies by construction type and quantify demand shifts driven by policy, urbanization, and investment trends.

Benchmark Market Performance and Forecasts: Utilize historical data and forward-looking projections to compare performance across countries, regions, and cement categories.

Identify Market-Specific Risks and Opportunities: Analyze localized demand drivers, cost structures, and trade dependencies to inform investment, sourcing, and pricing strategies.

Support Strategic Planning with Structured, Reliable Insights: Use standardized data frameworks and comparable KPIs to support executive-level decision-making across commercial, operational, and financial functions.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hciizk

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.
NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the Western Asset US Core Bond Fund mutual fund classes  Class I (ticker: WATFX), Class A (ticker: WABAX), Class C (ticker: WABCX), Class FI (ticker: WAPIX), Class IS (ticker: WACSX), and Class R (ticker: WABRX)  and the Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund mutual fund classes  Class A (ticker: WAPAX), Class C (ticker: WAPCX), Class C1 (ticker: LWCPX), Class FI (ticker: WACIX), Class R (ticker: WAPRX), Class I (ticker: WACPX), Class IS (ticker: WAPSX) between January 1, 2021 and October 31, 2023, inclusive (the Class Period), of the important September 5, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased WAMCO mutual funds 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 WAMCO class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=31956 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com 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 September 5, 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 firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants failed to warn investors that: (1) defendants favored certain WAMCO strategies, like Macro Opps, over other WAMCO strategies, like Core and Core Plus; (2) defendants disfavored certain WAMCO strategies, like Core and Core Plus; (3) any compliance policies and procedures that WAMCO maintained to result in fair allocations of investment opportunities to clients were either insufficient to ensure that Leech and his WAMCO Team fairly allocated trades among the strategies they managed or were expressly disregarded by defendants in order to allow the favoring of certain WAMCO strategies at the expense of other WAMCO strategies; (3) any oversight mechanisms that WAMCO maintained were either insufficient to monitor Leech and his WAMCO Team or were expressly disregarded by defendants in order to allow the favoring of certain WAMCO strategies at the expense of other WAMCO strategies. As a result, defendants actions operated as a fraud or deceit on the Class, artificially reducing the price of the Western Asset US Core strategy mutual fund classes during the Class Period, damaging Class members.

To join the WAMCO class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=31956 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com 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 investors 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

case@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
Fort Walton Beach, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TalkingParents was recently named one of Florida's Best Small Companies To Work For, landing a top 5 accolade for a second consecutive year. The annual Best Companies To Work For In Florida list featured in the August issue of Florida Trend Magazine ranks 100 companies in small, medium, and large employer categories.

Co-parenting application TalkingParents strives to increase family harmony through better communication and transparency so parents can focus on providing their children with the future they deserve. CEO Vince Mayfield recognizes that building a valued workplace rooted in team cohesion and clear expectations is a vital component of providing families with high-quality service.

You dont build a mission-critical company with plug-in transactional remote talent. You build a culture with intention and a highly functional, in-person team, working shoulder to shoulder, with discipline, purpose, and esprit de corps.

TalkingParents wasnt built for hype. It was built to solve a real problem for real families, with the kind of leadership, culture, and operational discipline that turns vision into enduring value. Being named one of Floridas Best Places to Work for the second year in a row validates our belief that culture is a strategic weapon, and execution is everything.

Were operating in a high-friction, underserved market with millions of co-parents who need structure, trust, and accountability. Our team is delivering real outcomes for families and driving consistent, capital-efficient growth with strong retention and unit economics.

To participate, companies or government entities were required to have at least 15 workers in Florida and to be in operation for at least one year. Companies that chose to participate underwent an evaluation of their workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The process also included a survey to measure employee satisfaction. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking.

Weve assembled a proven management team that knows how to build, scale, and win. Were positioned for national growth and actively laying the foundation for international expansion. TalkingParents is more than a product. It is a mission. And weve built the team to carry it forward.

Our annual Best Companies To Work For In Florida program once again shows what sets the states best employers apart from others  and its not paychecks or profit margins, says Florida Trend Executive Editor Amy Keller. While those help, of course, the best companies invest in people and find creative ways to motivate and reward employees and help them grow. Theyre also purposeful about creating a great culture. These employers find ways to encourage connection and camaraderie  and they also prioritize giving back to their communities, understanding that it can have a profound impact on morale. Their examples offer an excellent roadmap for companies seeking to differentiate themselves from the competition.

Always a step ahead this years group of Best Companies To Work For In Florida stand out among their competition, says Florida Trend Publisher David Denor. Dynamic thinkers, creative and inspiring in their actions, and enterprising in their industries  these companies recruit, retain and deliver distinctive workplace environments and employee benefits plans to keep their staff engaged, involved and constantly collaborating. These organizations deliver a glimpse into future workforce and workplace environments.

The Best Companies To Work For In Florida program is managed by Florida Trend and Workforce Research Group and is endorsed by the HR Florida State Council. Workforce Research Group managed the registration, survey and analysis and determined the final rankings. For a list of the Best Companies To Work For In Florida, go to www.floridatrend.com.



###

About TalkingParents

TalkingParents is a communications and coordination platform that offers co-parents secure and accountable tools for the responsibility that matters mostraising children. Founded in 2011 on the idea of mutual accountability with an Unalterable Record of all communications and activities, TalkingParents has helped over half a million families find support and peace of mind with tools like Accountable Calling, Accountable Payments, Secure Messaging, and Shared Calendar. With the ability to request unalterable, court-certified Records, TalkingParents is trusted by parents and legal professionals nationwide. TalkingParents strives to increase family harmony through better communications and transparency. For more information, visit TalkingParents.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.





About Florida Trend

Florida Trend business magazine is read by 292,000 influential business executives, civic leaders and government officials each month. Its award-winning reporting covers regional and statewide business news, industry executives and the business sectors they represent, as well as information on Florida's lifestyle, arts and culture scene. FloridaTrend.com offers eNews alerts, covering daily morning and afternoon breaking news; Business Beat, a weekly video newscast highlighting Floridas top business news stories; and weekly eNewsletters providing information, insight and details on Florida's growing industry sectors including health care, education, real estate, small business and movers and influencers. FloridaTrend.com attracts nearly a million pageviews and over 140,000 unique visitors each month.





About Workforce Research Group

Workforce Research Group (WRG) works with partners worldwide to establish and manage Best Places to Work, Best Companies and Best Employers programs. Through its thorough workplace assessment, utilizing employer questionnaires and employee-satisfaction surveys, WRG identifies and recognizes companies that have been successful in creating and maintaining workplace excellence. For more information, visit www.WorkforceRG.com.

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SINGAPORE, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BexBack, a rapidly growing crypto derivatives exchange, has announced a limited-time promotional campaign offering new users a $50 welcome bonus and a 100% deposit match when they join the platform. Amid renewed volatility in the crypto market, the campaign aims to help retail traders take advantage of 100x leveraged futures trading with zero KYC requirements. The offer is available now for a short window, providing users with an accessible, high-reward opportunity to capitalize on market momentum.

What Is 100x Leverage and How Does It Work?

Simply put, 100x leverage allows you to open larger trading positions with less capital. For example:

Suppose the Bitcoin price is $100,000 that day, and you open a long contract with 1 BTC. After using 100x leverage, the transaction amount is equivalent to 100 BTC.

One day later, if the price rises to $105,000, your profit will be (105,000 - 100,000) * 100 BTC / 100,000 = 5 BTC, a yield of up to 500%.

With BexBack's deposit bonus





BexBack offers a 100% deposit bonus. If the initial investment is 2 BTC, the profit will increase to 10 BTC, and the return on investment will double to 1000%.

Note: Although leveraged trading can magnify profits, you also need to be wary of liquidation risks.

How Does the 100% Deposit Bonus Work?

The deposit bonus from BexBack cannot be directly withdrawn but can be used to open larger positions and increase potential profits. Additionally, during significant market fluctuations, the bonus can serve as extra margin, effectively reducing the risk of liquidation.

About BexBack?

BexBack is a top-tier cryptocurrency derivatives platform offering up to 100x leverage on BTC, ETH, ADA, SOL, XRP, and over 50 other futures contracts. Headquartered in Singapore, with additional offices in Hong Kong, Japan, the United States, the UK, and Argentina, BexBack is licensed as a US MSB (Money Services Business). Trusted by more than 500,000 traders globally, the platform welcomes users from the US, Canada, and Europe. BexBack offers zero deposit fees and provides comprehensive customer service available 24/7 to ensure an exceptional trading experience.

Why recommend BexBack?





No KYC Required: Start trading immediately without complex identity verification.

100% Deposit Bonus: Double your funds, double your profits.

High-Leverage Trading: Offers up to 100x leverage, maximizing investors' capital efficiency.

Demo Account: Comes with 10 BTC and 1M USDT in virtual funds, ideal for beginners to practice risk-free trading.

Comprehensive Trading Options: Feature-rich trading available via Web and mobile applications.

Convenient Operation: No slippage, no spread, and fast, precise trade execution.

Global User Support: Enjoy 24/7 customer service, no matter where you are.

Lucrative Affiliate Rewards: Earn up to 50% commission, perfect for promoters.

Take Action NowDont Miss Another Opportunity!





If you missed the previous crypto bull run, this could be your chance. With BexBack's 100x leverage and 100% deposit bonus and $50 bonus for new users (Deposit greater than 0.001BTC or 100 USDT, complete one trade within one week of registration), you can be a winner in the new bull run.

Sign up on BexBack now, claim your exclusive bonus and start accumulating more BTC today!

Website: www.bexback.com

Contact: business@bexback.com

Contact:

Amanda

business@bexback.com

Disclaimer: This content is provided by Bexback. 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.

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Amundi: Half-Year Financial Report as of 30 June 2025 available

Paris, 1st August 2025 - Amundi announces the public release and the filing of its first-half 2025 Financial Report with the Autorites des Marches Financiers (AMF).

This 2025 Half-Year Financial Report is available on the website of Amundi (https://about.amundi.com/financial-information).

About Amundi

Amundi, the leading European asset manager, ranking among the top 10 global players1, offers its 100 million clients - retail, institutional and corporate - a complete range of savings and investment solutions in active and passive management, in traditional or real assets. This offering is enhanced with IT tools and services to cover the entire savings value chain. A subsidiary of the Credit Agricole group and listed on the stock exchange, Amundi currently manages close to 2.3 trillion of assets2.

With its six international investment hubs3, financial and extra-financial research capabilities and long-standing commitment to responsible investment, Amundi is a key player in the asset management landscape.

Amundi clients benefit from the expertise and advice of 5,500 employees in 35 countries.

Amundi, a trusted partner, working every day in the interest of its clients and society

www.amundi.com

Press contacts:

Natacha Andermahr

Tel. +33 1 76 37 86 05

natacha.andermahr@amundi.com

Corentin Henry

Tel. +33 1 76 36 26 96

corentin.henry@amundi.com

Investor contacts:

Cyril Meilland, CFA

Tel. +33 1 76 32 62 67

cyril.meilland@amundi.com

Thomas Lapeyre

Tel. +33 1 76 33 70 54

thomas.lapeyre@amundi.com

Annabelle Wiriath

Tel. + 33 1 76 32 43 92

annabelle.wiriath@amundi.com

1 Source: IPE Top 500 Asset Managers published in June 2025, based on assets under management as at 31/12/2024

2 Amundi data as at 30/06/2025

3 Paris, London, Dublin, Milan, Tokyo and San Antonio (via our strategic partnership with Victory Capital)

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THE EUROPEAN BANKING AUTHORITY PUBLISHES THE RESULTS OF THE 2025 EUROPEAN STRESS TESTING EXERCISE

Paris, 1 August 2025

The European Banking Authority published today the results of the 2025 Europe-wide stress-testing exercise covering 64 banks in the European Union.

The complete results and information regarding the methodology used for the set of European banks reviewed are available on the European Banking Authority website at www.eba.europa.eu

Press contacts:

Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com

Fanny Rouby_+33 1 57 29 11 12_ fanny.rouby@socgen.com

Societe Generale



Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with around 119,000 employees serving more than 26 million clients in 62 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value-added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting-edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective - to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.



The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients:

French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance, with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank.

with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank. Global Banking and Investor Solutions, a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG.

a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG. Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities.





Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe).

In case of doubt regarding the authenticity of this press release, please go to the end of the Group News page on societegenerale.com website where official Press Releases sent by Societe Generale can be certified using blockchain technology. A link will allow you to check the documents legitimacy directly on the web page.

For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com .

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QUINCY, Mass., Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stop & Shop today announced the brands third annual register campaign for its flagship charitable giving program, the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program. The program works directly with schools to establish and support in-school food pantries to ensure kids don't have to go to school hungry, and to help them perform their best. Beginning tomorrow, August 1 through September 7, shoppers can donate or round up at checkout to help even more students fight hunger.

According to the USDA, 1 in 5 children in the U.S. face hunger. In-school pantries offer safe, familiar, and judgment-free spaces where students and their families can get support without stigma. Placing pantries where students already feel comfortable helps break down barriers to access brain-fueling, nutritious foods.

Stop & Shop has invested more than $7 million to date to help fight food insecurity among students and their families through this program. The Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program currently partners with more than 260 schools and provides access to nutritious foods for over 440,000 students and their families. The program supports pre-K through college-age students and their families across the brands five-state footprint of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

A growing number of economic challenges has made the need for school food pantries greater than ever, said Roger Wheeler, President of Stop & Shop. As a neighborhood grocer, we feel a deep responsibility to support the communities we serve, and that starts with ensuring students have access to the food they need to thrive. Hunger affects a childs ability to focus, learn, and succeed. No student should have to sit in a classroom distracted by an empty stomach or uncertain about their next meal. With this campaign, were inviting our customers to help us fill our school pantries, helping us to fuel brighter futures.

The Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program register campaign will run in all stores from August 1 through September 7. Shoppers will have the option of donating $1, $3, or $5, or rounding up their total at checkout and self-checkout, with 100% of proceeds benefiting local students and their families through in-school pantries.

The impact of this program is best seen in the communities Stop & Shop serves  like at the Angelo Patri Middle School, where its become a lifeline for hundreds of families. At M.S. 391, The Angelo Patri Middle School community is at the heart of everything we do. Thanks to the generous support of Stop & Shop, we are able to keep Our Happy Place Pantry stocked and thriving. This partnership helps us provide essential support to 352 families, including the over 30% of our students who are in temporary housing and depend on our pantry as a vital resource, said Danny Rivera, Community School Director at M.S. 391 Angelo Patri Middle School in Bronx, New York. Together, we are not just sharing food, we are sharing hope, stability, and a reminder that no one in our school community stands alone. We are deeply grateful to Stop & Shop for standing with us and making a meaningful difference in the lives of our families and community.

The program is made possible in part thanks to the support of Stop & Shops vendor partners, who help ensure our school pantries are stocked with nutritious options for students. Premier program partners include The Campbells Company, who provides a variety of soup offerings; Flowers Foods, who provides Daves Killer Bread; General Mills, who supports with their family of brands, including Cheerios; and The Coca-Cola Company, who contributes smartwater. Each of these partners shares Stop & Shops commitment to helping students learn, grow, and thrive.

For more information on the Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program visit: https://stopandshop.com/pages/school-food-pantry-program.

About Stop & Shop:

A neighborhood grocer for more than 100 years, Stop & Shop is focused on delivering a wide assortment of fresh, healthy options at a great value through strong weekly sales and everyday low prices. Its new GO Rewards loyalty program delivers personalized offers and allows customers to earn points that can be redeemed for gas or groceries every time they shop. Stop & Shop customers can choose however they want to shop - whether it's in-store or online, which offers both delivery and same day pickup. The company is committed to making an impact in its communities by fighting hunger and working to ensure no students has to go to school hungry through its Stop & Shop School Food Pantry Program. The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC is an Ahold Delhaize USA Company and employs over 50,000 associates and operates more than 350 stores throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. To learn more about Stop & Shop, visit www.stopandshop.com.

Contact:

media@stopandshop.com




2025 EBA STRESS TEST RESULTS CONFIRM

BNP PARIBAS STRONG SHOCK ABSORPTION CAPACITY

AND STRUCTURAL RESILIENCE

PRESS RELEASE

Paris, 1 August 2025,

The European Banking Authority (EBA) published the results of the 2025 EU-wide stress test results, carried out in coordination with the European Central Bank (ECB), the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).

The 2025 EU-wide stress test is designed to be used as an important source of information for the purposes of the SREP (Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process). The results assist the supervisory authorities in assessing BNP Paribass ability to meet applicable prudential requirements under stressed scenarios.

The adverse stress test scenario was set by the ECB/ESRB and covers a three-year time horizon (2025-2027). The stress test has been carried out, applying a static balance sheet assumption as of December 2024, therefore not taking any future business strategies and management actions into account. It is not to be viewed as a forecast of BNP Paribass profits.

Strong shock absorption capacity: structural improvements in the Groups profile, strength of capital structure and prudent balance sheet management

BNP Paribas demonstrated a high level of resilience in the 2025 stress test, with a fully loaded CET1 peak-to-trough depletion of -235 basis points (bps), significantly improved from -398 bps in the 2023 exercise.

On the leverage ratio, depletion is also lower than in the 2023 exercise with Groups leverage ratio remaining above the requirement throughout the stress period with a low point of 3.9% (compared to 3.4% in 2023 exercise).

Accordingly, these stress tests will provide input into the 2025 Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) conducted by the supervisory authorities and therefore reclassify BNP Paribas in the first bucket of the ECBs Pillar 2 Guidance (P2G) framework, with a depletion range of 0300 bps for its CET1, corresponding to a P2G range between 0 and 100 bps, lower than the previous range of 50 to 200 bps.

This improvement complements the Groups already low-level Pillar 2 Requirement (P2R), one of the lowest among major European banks, reflecting its strong resilience capabilities through all stages of the cycle.

Supporting clients and the economy in all environments

BNP Paribas remains committed to maintaining a solid capital position and supporting its clients and the economy across all market conditions.

The Groups performance in the 2025 stress test reinforces its ability to navigate uncertainty and deliver sustainable value to all stakeholders.

About BNP Paribas

Leader in banking and financial services in Europe, BNP Paribas operates in 64 countries and has nearly 178,000 employees, including more than 144,000 in Europe. The Group has key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services for the Groups commercial & personal banking and several specialised businesses including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Arval; Investment & Protection Services for savings, investment and protection solutions; and Corporate & Institutional Banking, focused on corporate and institutional clients. Based on its strong diversified and integrated model, the Group helps all its clients (individuals, community associations, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates and institutional clients) to realise their projects through solutions spanning financing, investment, savings and protection insurance. In Europe, BNP Paribas has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. The Group is rolling out its integrated commercial & personal banking model across several Mediterranean countries, Turkiye, and Eastern Europe. As a key player in international banking, the Group has leading platforms and business lines in Europe, a strong presence in the Americas as well as a solid and fast-growing business in Asia-Pacific. BNP Paribas has implemented a Corporate Social Responsibility approach in all its activities, enabling it to contribute to the construction of a sustainable future, while ensuring the Group's performance and stability.

Press contact

Giorgia Rowe  giorgia.rowe@bnpparibas.com  +33 6 64 27 57 96

Hacina Habchi  hacina.habchi@bnpparibas.com - +33 7 61 97 65 20

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TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, Aug. 01, 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:

its subsidiary, Pan African Energy Corporation (Mauritius) ( PAEM ), submitted a Request for Arbitration to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ( ICSID ), an arm of the World Bank, against the United Republic of Tanzania ( Tanzania ) for various breaches by Tanzania of the investment protections provisions of the Agreement on Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investment between the Government of the Republic of Mauritius and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (the  BIT ); and

), submitted a Request for Arbitration to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ( ), an arm of the World Bank, against the United Republic of Tanzania ( ) for various breaches by Tanzania of the investment protections provisions of the Agreement on Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investment between the Government of the Republic of Mauritius and the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania (the  ); and its subsidiary, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited (Jersey) ( PAET ), submitted two separate Requests for Arbitration to ICSID against Tanzania and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ( TPDC ), a petroleum corporation owned and controlled by Tanzania, for breaches of: the Production Sharing Agreement between the Government of Tanzania (the  GoT ), TPDC, and PAET dated October 11, 2001 (the " PSA "); and the Gas Agreement between the GoT, TPDC, Songas Limited (" Songas ") and PAET dated October 11, 2001 (the " GA ").





), submitted two separate Requests for Arbitration to ICSID against Tanzania and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation ( ), a petroleum corporation owned and controlled by Tanzania, for breaches of:

The three claims (the Claims) arise out of a series of actions and omissions by Tanzania and TPDC that threaten the viability of the Songo Songo Gas-to-Electricity Project (the Project) and breach multiple obligations under the BIT, the PSA and the GA. These breaches include:

Failing to extend the Songo Songo Development Licence (the Licence): In April 2023, PAET formally requested that TPDC apply for an extension of the Licence, which is set to expire on 10 October 2026. TPDC is contractually required to make such application upon a request from the Company. TPDC failed to submit the application in a timely manner. When it eventually did so in late November 2024, it acted unilaterally  without consulting PAEM or PAET  and proposed terms that would render the Project commercially unviable. Since then, Tanzania has refused to engage in any substantive dialogue on the status or terms of the application. These actions are a coordinated effort to pressure the Company to exit the Project.



In April 2023, PAET formally requested that TPDC apply for an extension of the Licence, which is set to expire on 10 October 2026. TPDC is contractually required to make such application upon a request from the Company. TPDC failed to submit the application in a timely manner. When it eventually did so in late November 2024, it acted unilaterally  without consulting PAEM or PAET  and proposed terms that would render the Project commercially unviable. Since then, Tanzania has refused to engage in any substantive dialogue on the status or terms of the application. These actions are a coordinated effort to pressure the Company to exit the Project. Forcing continuation of the Protected Gas regime: Protected Gas, as defined in the PSA, was owned by TPDC and sold to Songas and Tanzania Portland Cement PLC until July 31, 2024. Following July 31, 2024 Protected Gas ceased and all production from the Songo Songo Gas Field constituted Additional Gas (as defined in the PSA), which PAET and TPDC are entitled to sell on commercial terms until the expiry of the PSA in October 2026. Contrary to the express terms of the PSA and the GA, TPDC  under the direction of the GoT  imposed the continued application of the Protected Gas regime on the Project, undermining the commercial balance agreed in the Project agreements.



Protected Gas, as defined in the PSA, was owned by TPDC and sold to Songas and Tanzania Portland Cement PLC until July 31, 2024. Following July 31, 2024 Protected Gas ceased and all production from the Songo Songo Gas Field constituted Additional Gas (as defined in the PSA), which PAET and TPDC are entitled to sell on commercial terms until the expiry of the PSA in October 2026. Contrary to the express terms of the PSA and the GA, TPDC  under the direction of the GoT  imposed the continued application of the Protected Gas regime on the Project, undermining the commercial balance agreed in the Project agreements. Failing to pay royalties: TPDC has failed to pay royalties owing under the Projects contractual framework, which it was required to do, and has instead attempted to compel PAET to cover these unpaid obligations, in direct violation of the PSA and the GA.



TPDC has failed to pay royalties owing under the Projects contractual framework, which it was required to do, and has instead attempted to compel PAET to cover these unpaid obligations, in direct violation of the PSA and the GA. Broader pattern of harassment: On an ongoing basis, various Tanzanian state agencies have subjected PAET to regulatory and administrative pressures and harassment, further eroding the stability and security of the investment environment for the Project, PAEM and PAET.





Prior to pursuing the Claims through arbitration proceedings, on 7 August 2024, PAEM and PAET jointly issued a Notice of Dispute under the BIT, PSA, and GA to Tanzania and TPDC. Over the subsequent year, PAEM and PAET made extensive efforts to resolve these issues amicably. However, the lack of meaningful engagement from Tanzania and TPDC has left PAEM and PAET with no alternative but to pursue formal arbitration proceedings.

While the precise amount of damages for the Claims will be determined in the course of the arbitration proceedings, the Company currently values the Project at approximately US$1.2 billion. As the arbitration proceeds, PAEM and PAET expect to appoint a quantum expert to prepare a professional damages assessment for the arbitration tribunal. The Company will update shareholders as this evolves.

In all three proceedings, PAEM and PAET are represented by Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, an international law firm with a strong track record in international arbitration, including successful claims against Tanzania.

Jay Lyons, Chief Executive Officer of Orca, comments on this announcement: Following a mutually successful partnership over the past twenty years, we were disappointed to have to have been compelled to initiate international arbitration proceedings against the United Republic of Tanzania and Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation. Since formally submitting our application for extension of the Licence in April 2023, the Company has made every reasonable effort to engage in a constructive dialogue with all parties, with the aim of continuing and expanding operations under the Licence. Our goal remains clear: to unlock the full value of this vital project for all stakeholders  including the Government of Tanzania, its citizens, and local communities. Despite our continued willingness to reach an amicable resolution, the lack of meaningful progress has left us with no viable alternative but to take decisive legal action to protect the rights of PAET and PAEM, and the interests of our shareholders. We will provide further updates in due course.

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, PAET. 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

This press release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this press release, which address activities, events or developments that Orca expects or anticipates to occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements often contain terms such as may, will, should, anticipate, expect, continue, estimate, believe, project, forecast, plan, intend, target, outlook, focus, could and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.

More particularly, this press release contains, without limitation, forward-looking statements pertaining to the following: the Company's estimates in respect of the amount of damages. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, access to resources, results of negotiation, results from arbitration, amount of damages or costs incurred by the Company relating to negotiations and/or arbitration, since such expectations are inherently subject to significant business, economic, operational, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies.

These forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control, and many factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by the Company, including, but not limited to: risk that the Company may incur losses and legal expenses as a result of the Claims; Tanzanias response to the Claims; the ability to finance the arbitration process; impact of local content regulations and variances in the interpretation and enforcement of such regulations; uncertainty regarding the amount of damages that could be payable to the Company; uncertainty regarding results through arbitration; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation, controls, or regulations and/or changes in the administration of laws, policies, and practices, expropriation or nationalization of property and political or economic developments in Tanzania; lack of certainty with respect to foreign legal systems, corruption, and other factors that are inconsistent with the rule of law; risk of loss due to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbances; timing of receipt of, or failure to comply with, necessary permits and approvals; and potential damage to the Companys reputation due to the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, including negative publicity with respect to the Companys dealings with the Tanzania and TPDC, whether true or not. Therefore, 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 assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by these forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive therefrom. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

Such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions made by the Company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors the Company believes are appropriate in the circumstances, including, but not limited to: the Company's relationship with TPDC and Tanzania; accurate assessment by the Company of the merits of its Claims; that the amount of damages recoverable by the Company will be in line with expectations; and other matters.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On July 25, 2025, investors in Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS) saw the price of their shares significantly fall during intraday trading on reports that U.S. lawmakers urged the FDA to act against copycat versions of weight loss drugs, citing safety concerns.

This latest development follows an announcement by Novo Nordisk on June 23, 2025, the Danish maker of the FDA-approved weight-loss medication Wegovy (a GLP-1 treatment for obesity), that it terminated its collaboration with Hims & Hers due to concerns about its sales and deceptive marketing of Wegovy.

Novo Nordisks announcement triggered securities class action lawsuits against Hims & Hers Health, Inc. and certain of the companys executives, seeking to represent investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Hims & Hers securities between April 29, 2025 and June 23, 2025.

National shareholders rights firm Hagens Berman continues to investigate the legal claims and urges Hims & Hers investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now. The firm also encourages persons with knowledge who may be able to assist in the investigation to contact its attorneys.

Class Period: Apr. 29, 2025  June 23, 2025

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Aug. 25, 2025

Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/hims

Contact the Firm Now: HIMS@hbsslaw.com | 844-916-0895

Lawmakers Urge Crack Down On Booming Market For Knockoff Weight Loss Drugs

On July 25, 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported that a group of over 80 bipartisan lawmakers asked the FDA to stop counterfeit and copycat versions of GLP-1 drugs. The report said the lawmakers expressed concern about a surge in illegal and counterfeit anti-obesity medications, which pose an increased risk to patient safety with sometimes fatal consequences.

Novo Nordisk Ends Collaboration With Hims & Hers After Less Than Two Months, Citing Deceptive Marketing And Illegal Compounding

The lawmakers response follows the collapse in the relationship between Hims & Hers GLP-1 drug maker Novo Nordisk.

On April 29, 2025, Hims & Hers announced a collaboration agreement with Novo starting with the immediate sale of a bundled offering of Novo Nordisks FDA-approved Wegovy on the Hims & Hers platform.

Less than two months later, the collaboration came to an abrupt halt. On June 23, 2025, Novo Nordisk announced it was ending the arrangement. In a strongly worded statement, Novo accused its former partner of flouting U.S. regulations that prohibit the mass sale of compounded versions of branded drugs, instead selling such drugs under the guise of personalization. The pharmaceutical company asserted, when companies engage in illegal sham compounding that jeopardizes the health of Americans, we will continue to take action.

Novos accusations seemingly contradict Hims & Hers assurances during its February 24, 2025, Q4 2024 earnings call that [w]e will continue to monitor and comply with regulatory requirements related to the GLP-1 shortages[.]

Securities Class Actions Zero in on Companys Assurances and GLP-1 Strategy

Legal actions filed in federal court allege that Hims & Hers issued repeated assurances to investors about its regulatory compliance, the robustness of revenue from its GLP-1 drug offerings, and the tailwinds presented by its collaboration with Novo Nordisk. Plaintiffs claim these assurances were misleading, contending that the company failed to disclose critical information about its business practices.

According to the complaints, Hims & Hers was engaged in what plaintiffs describe as the deceptive promotion and sale of unauthorized and knockoff versions of Wegovy. Unknown to investors, the companys conduct exposed patients to unknown risks and threatened the very foundation of the companys relationship with Novo Nordisk.

Were investigating whether Hims & Hers may have misled investors about whether it marketed knockoff versions of Wegovy that could have put patients and the collaboration with Novo Nordisk at risk, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you invested in Hims & Hers and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, submit your losses now.

If youd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Hims & Hers case and our investigation, read more.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Hims & Hers should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email HIMS@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Bermans team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
Kelowna, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Local Marketing Plus SEO, a digital marketing agency specializing in boosting the online presence of diverse businesses, is excited to announce the expansion of its services for trades and service industries. This move underscores the company's dedication to offering customized solutions for businesses such as plumbers, electricians, renovation companies, and auto repair shops across the USA and Canada.

With this expansion, the agency brings a full range of digital marketing services tailored to elevate the visibility of trades and service companies online. At the heart of these services is a refined SEO strategy that uses industry-specific insights to improve search engine rankings and increase organic website traffic. By using strategic keywords and optimizing digital positioning, Local Marketing Plus SEO helps its clients maintain a robust digital presence.

Website design plays a significant role in the company's offerings, with packages ranging from bronze to platinum to fit various budgets. Each package ensures essential features like responsiveness and optimization, helping client websites look professional and work seamlessly on all devices. This approach not only enhances the user experience but also helps retain visitors. To learn more about their website design services, visit the Local Marketing Plus SEO website.

"We understand the particular challenges trades and service industries face in establishing a powerful online presence," says Jo Ann McLellan, CEO of Local Marketing Plus SEO. "Our objective is to empower these businesses with tools and strategies to stand out in a crowded digital market."

The agency is also expanding its AI virtual assistant offerings. Recognizing the need for automation in customer interactions, this service enhances scheduling, customer support, and lead conversion. As a result, businesses can manage daily operations more efficiently while boosting customer service standards. Information about the AI virtual assistant services is available on their site.

In addition, Local Marketing Plus SEO provides Google Services, including the setup and optimization of Google My Business pages. This service is vital for ensuring businesses are prominently displayed in local searches, helping attract more nearby customers. Reputation management is another key service, assisting businesses in managing customer reviews and maintaining a positive online image.

Jo Ann McLellan adds, "Trades and service businesses have been a priority for us for years, and this expansion reaffirms our commitment to that sector. We've witnessed the positive impact of our strategies on our clients' ability to grow and sustain their operations, and we're thrilled to offer even more value with this initiative."

Local Marketing Plus SEO maintains an active social media presence, sharing insights and updates on its official LinkedIn page. Those interested can visit their website to learn more about the services available to improve their digital marketing strategies and online presence. For updates and more engagement, businesses can also follow Local Marketing Plus SEO's official LinkedIn page.

By customizing its services to fit the unique needs of each client, Local Marketing Plus SEO remains a trusted partner for businesses looking to enhance their digital marketing efforts. The company's focus on staying ahead of industry trends while delivering effective strategies has cemented its reputation in the digital marketing field.

https://youtu.be/-q7xPWCL1T0?si=IRttyWKbK5hdxWg4

Businesses hoping to boost their online engagement and expand their customer reach are encouraged to explore what Local Marketing Plus SEO offers. Visit https://localmarketingplus.ca/ or connect with their knowledgeable team for more details.

###

For more information about Local Marketing Plus SEO, contact the company here:



Local Marketing Plus SEO

Jo Ann McLellan

1-800-330-5883

info@localmarketingplus.ca

Address: 347 Leon Ave #210, Kelowna, BC V1Y 8C7
Susvimo is the only continuous delivery treatment to provide reliable, long-term vision outcomes in nAMD, the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 60

With two refills per year, Susvimo maintained vision and stabilised the retina for five years, with durability maintained in approximately 95% of patients

Susvimo was well tolerated over five years and has a well-characterised safety profile



Basel, 01 August 2025 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today new, five-year efficacy, safety and durability data from the Phase III Portal study, a long-term extension of the Phase III Archway study, of Susvimo (ranibizumab injection) for the treatment of people with nAMD.1 Results show that Susvimos immediate and predictable durability was sustained over five years, with approximately 95% of people receiving treatment every six months requiring no supplemental treatment before each refill. The data were presented at the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2025 Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, United States.

These long-term results reinforce Susvimos ability to maintain vision and retinal drying over a long period of time for people with nAMD, the leading cause of vision loss in people over age 60, said Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, Roches chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. These robust data reinforce our confidence in Susvimo's unique therapeutic approach, providing an effective alternative to regular eye injections while preserving vision in a sustained manner.

People with nAMD often experience suboptimal outcomes with real-world anti-VEGF treatment, largely due to the frequency of injections, said study investigator John Kitchens, M.D., Retina Associates of Kentucky, who presented the data at ASRS. Continuous delivery of treatment with Susvimo may preserve vision in patients with nAMD for longer in real-world clinical use than IVT injections.

In the Portal study (n = 352), people originally treated with Susvimo in Archway continued to receive Susvimo refills every six months (Susvimo cohort; n = 220), while those originally treated with monthly intravitreal (IVT) ranibizumab injections in Archway received Susvimo and then refills every six months (IVT-Susvimo cohort; n = 132).

Five-year results showed consistent and sustained disease control and retinal drying in a population who entered Archway with vision at or near peak levels after receiving an average of five intravitreal injections per standard of care. In the Susvimo cohort, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 74.4 letters at baseline and 67.6 letters at 5 years. In the IVT-Susvimo cohort, BCVA was 76.3 letters at baseline and 68.6 at 5 years. Half of all patients had better than 20/40 vision at five years (Snellen visual acuity test). Average central subfield thickness (CST) remained stable, with a 1.0 (95% CI: -13.1, 11.1) m reduction from baseline in the Susvimo cohort, and a 10.3 (95% CI: -25.7, 5.0) m reduction in the IVT-Susvimo cohort.

The cohort of people who entered the Portal study from Archway is the largest cohort of people with nAMD to be followed prospectively and continuously for five years in a clinical study.1

Susvimo provides continuous delivery of a customised formulation of ranibizumab via the Port Delivery Platform, while other currently approved treatments may require eye injections as often as once per month. The Port Delivery Platform is a refillable eye implant surgically inserted into the eye during a one-time, outpatient procedure, which introduces medicine directly into the eye, addressing certain retinal conditions that can cause vision loss.

About the Archway study and its open-label extension study (Portal)1,2

Archway (NCT03677934) was a randomised, multicentre, open-label phase III study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Susvimo refilled every six months at fixed intervals, compared to monthly IVT ranibizumab 0.5 mg in 415 people living with nAMD. Patients were randomized 3:2 to Susvimo (n = 248) or IVT ranibizumab injections (n = 167). Patients enrolled in Archway were responders to prior treatment with anti-VEGF therapy. In both study arms, patients were treated with at least three anti-VEGF injections within the six months prior to their Archway screening visit, with an average of five anti-VEGF injections before randomization. The primary endpoint of the study was the change in BCVA score from baseline at the average of Week 36 and Week 40. Secondary endpoints include safety, overall change in vision (BCVA) from baseline and change from baseline in centre point thickness over time. Patients who completed the study at week 96 were eligible to enter the Portal open-label extension study. In Portal, people originally treated with Susvimo in Archway continued to receive Susvimo refills every six months (Susvimo cohort), while those originally treated with monthly intravitreal (IVT) ranibizumab injections in Archway received the Susvimo implant and then refills every six months (IVT-Susvimo cohort). Portal is ongoing.

About neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition that affects the part of the eye that provides sharp, central vision needed for activities like reading.3 Neovascular or wet AMD (nAMD) is an advanced form of the disease that can cause rapid and severe vision loss if left untreated.4,5 It develops when new and abnormal blood vessels grow uncontrolled under the macula, causing swelling, bleeding and/or fibrosis.5 Worldwide, around 20 million people are living with nAMD  the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 60  and the condition will affect even more people around the world as the global population ages.3,6,7

About Susvimo (Port Delivery System with ranibizumab)

Approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nAMD, diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), Susvimo is a refillable eye implant surgically inserted into the eye during a one-time, outpatient procedure.8,9 Susvimo continuously delivers a customised formulation of ranibizumab over time.8,9 Ranibizumab is a VEGF inhibitor designed to bind to and inhibit VEGF-A, a protein that has been shown to play a critical role in the formation of new blood vessels and the leakiness of the vessels.8-10



The customised formulation of ranibizumab delivered by Susvimo is different from the ranibizumab IVT injection, a medicine marketed as Lucentis (ranibizumab injection)*, which is approved to treat nAMD and other retinal diseases.11

About Roche

Founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland, as one of the first industrial manufacturers of branded medicines, Roche has grown into the worlds largest biotechnology company and the global leader in in-vitro diagnostics. The company pursues scientific excellence to discover and develop medicines and diagnostics for improving and saving the lives of people around the world. We are a pioneer in personalised healthcare and want to further transform how healthcare is delivered to have an even greater impact. To provide the best care for each person we partner with many stakeholders and combine our strengths in Diagnostics and Pharma with data insights from the clinical practice.

For over 125 years, sustainability has been an integral part of Roches business. As a science-driven company, our greatest contribution to society is developing innovative medicines and diagnostics that help people live healthier lives. Roche is committed to the Science Based Targets initiative and the Sustainable Markets Initiative to achieve net zero by 2045.

Genentech, in the United States, is a wholly owned member of the Roche Group. Roche is the majority shareholder in Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan.

For more information, please visit www.roche.com.

All trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law.

*Lucentis (ranibizumab injection) was developed by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. Genentech retains commercial rights in the United States and Novartis has exclusive commercial rights for the rest of the world.



References

[1] Kitchens J, et al. Five Year Outcomes in nAMD Patients Enrolled in the Archway Study and Treated With the PDS. Presented at: The American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) 2025 Annual Meeting; 2025 August 01; Long Beach, California, United States.

[2] Regillo C, et al. Archway Phase 3 Trial of the Port Delivery System with Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration 2-Year Results. Ophthalmology. 2023;130(7):735-747.

[3] Bright Focus Foundation. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): facts & figures. [Internet; cited July 2025]. Available from: https://www.brightfocus.org/macular/article/age-related-macular-facts-figures

[4] Pennington KL, et al. Epidemiology of AMD: associations with cardiovascular disease phenotypes and lipid factors. Eye and Vision. 2016;3:34.

[5] Little K, et al. Myofibroblasts in macular fibrosis secondary to nAMD - the potential sources and molecular cues for their recruitment and activation. EBioMedicine. 2018;38:283-91.

[6] Connolly E, et al. Prevalence of AMD associated genetic risk factors and four-year progression data in the Irish population. British Journal of Ophthalmology. 2018 Feb;102:1691-95.

[7] Wong WL, et al. Global prevalence of AMD and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet Global Health. 2014 Feb;2:106-16.

[8] US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Highlights of prescribing information, Susvimo. 2021. [Internet; cited July 2025]. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2021/761197s000lbl.pdf

[9] Holekamp N, et al. Archway randomised phase III trial of the PDS with ranibizumab for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Ophthalmology. 2021.

[10] Heier JS, et al. The angiopoietin/tie pathway in retinal vascular diseases: A review. The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases. 2021;41:1-19.

[11] US FDA. Highlights of prescribing information, Lucentis. 2012. [Internet; cited April 2025]. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2012/125156s0069s0076lbl.pdf

[12] US FDA. Highlights of prescribing information, Vabysmo. 2024. [Internet; cited April 2025]. Available from: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2024/761235s005lbl.pdf

[13] European Medicines Agency. Summary of product characteristics, Vabysmo. [Internet; cited April 2025]. Available from: https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/product-information/vabysmo-epar-product-information_en.pdf



Roche Global Media Relations

Phone: +41 61 688 8888 / e-mail: media.relations@roche.com

Hans Trees, PhD

Phone: +41 79 407 72 58 Sileia Urech

Phone: +41 79 935 81 48



Nathalie Altermatt

Phone: +41 79 771 05 25 Lorena Corfas

Phone: +41 79 568 24 95



Simon Goldsborough

Phone: +44 797 32 72 915 Karsten Kleine

Phone: +41 79 461 86 83



Kirti Pandey

Phone: +49 172 6367262 Yvette Petillon

Phone: +41 79 961 92 50



Dr Rebekka Schnell

Phone: +41 79 205 27 03

Roche Investor Relations

Dr Bruno Eschli

Phone: +41 61 68-75284

e-mail: bruno.eschli@roche.com Dr Sabine Borngraber

Phone: +41 61 68-88027

e-mail: sabine.borngraeber@roche.com



Dr Birgit Masjost

Phone: +41 61 68-84814

e-mail: birgit.masjost@roche.com

Investor Relations North America

Loren Kalm

Phone: +1 650 225 3217

e-mail: kalm.loren@gene.com





Attachment
Baltimore, MD, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A released prediction featuring technology entrepreneur James Altucher explores how Elon Musks Starlink network could usher in what he calls a radical new internet, and why an upcoming date  August 13, 2025  may serve as the turning point.

Starlink is reinventing the old internet as we know it, Altucher explains in the presentation. It involves the technology Elon revealed at this private meeting  where I had a man on the inside.

Eliminating the Old Infrastructure

The presentation emphasizes that Starlinks model bypasses the need for traditional ground-based networks.

What if Elon could eliminate the need for any kind of cell tower at all and instead beam internet from space, straight through the air, directly to any device in the world no matter where it is? the presentation asks.

Altucher highlights that without expensive construction or cabling, the technology could be deployed globally, changing the economics of internet access.

Starlink as an Emergency Lifeline

Beyond consumer access, the presentation points to Starlinks use as a critical communications link during crises.

Its being used in the Ukraine conflict, where all other access to internet service has been cut off, Altucher notes, citing it as proof of the networks resilience in disaster and wartime scenarios.

A Catalyst for Global Commerce

Altucher underscores the economic potential of connecting the billions of people currently offline, particularly in emerging markets.

There are 2.9 billion people globally who do NOT have any access to the internet, whatsoever by connecting these people it could help unlock an incredible amount of additional economic value, the presentation explains.

August 13 as a Possible Inflection Point

Altucher links these technological breakthroughs to a key date, pointing to a major industry gathering in August.

This elite meeting makes it the perfect place for Elon to take the stage and announce to the world that hes spinning off Starlink from SpaceX, he predicts of the August 13 event.

About James Altucher

James Altucher is a venture capitalist, tech entrepreneur, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author recognized for identifying transformative technology trends years before they reach mass adoption. Hes been referred to as one of the best venture capitalists, angel investors, and tech entrepreneurs in the world.

He has been an early supporter of groundbreaking companies and trends in streaming, social media, and cryptocurrency. Altucher is the founder of Altuchers Investment Network and hosts The James Altucher Show, which has been downloaded over 40 million times.
TORONTO, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mandalay Resources Corporation (Mandalay or the Company) (TSX: MND, OTCQB: MNDJF) is pleased to announce that the Supreme Court of British Columbia has issued a final order approving the previously announced plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the Arrangement), pursuant to which Alkane Resources Limited (Alkane) will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Mandalay (Mandalay Shares). Under the Arrangement, shareholders of Mandalay will be entitled to receive, for each Mandalay Share held, 7.875 fully paid ordinary shares in the capital of Alkane.

The receipt of the Final Order was the final substantive condition to closing the Arrangement. The Arrangement is expected to close on August 5, 2025.

For Further Information

Mandalay investor contact:

Edison Nguyen, Director, Business Valuations and IR

+1 (647) 258-9722

About Mandalay Resources Corporation

Mandalay Resources is a Canadian-based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia (Costerfield gold-antimony mine) and Sweden (Bjorkdal gold mine). The Company is focused on growing its production and reducing costs to generate significant positive cashflow. Mandalay is committed to operating safely and in an environmentally responsible manner, while developing a high level of community and employee engagement.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation and may include future-oriented financial information or financial outlook information (collectively "Forward-looking Information"). Forward-looking Information may relate to future outlook and anticipated events, such as the consummation and timing of the Arrangement.

Forward-looking Information is generally identified by the use of words like "will", "create", "enhance", "improve", "potential", "expect", "upside", "growth" and similar expressions and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", or "should", or the negative connotation of such terms, are intended to identify Forward-looking Information. Although Mandalay believes that the expectations reflected in the Forward-looking Information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on Forward-looking Information since no assurance can be provided that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking Information is based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or good faith belief of the officers and directors of Mandalay as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the Forward-looking Information. Forward-looking Information involves numerous risks and uncertainties. Such factors include, without limitation: risks related to the closing of the Arrangement; risks relating to changes in the gold and antimony price and the factors identified in the section titled "Risk Factors" in Mandalays most recently filed Annual Information Form which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking Information is designed to help readers understand Mandalay's views as of that time with respect to future events and speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, Mandalay assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the Forward-looking Information. If Mandalay updates any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that either company will make additional updates with respect to those or other Forward-looking Information. All Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.
NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces an investigation into Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.

If you invested in Fluor, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/fluor-corporation-class-action-lawsuit.

Why Is Fluor being Investigated?

Fluor is a global professional services firm that provides engineering, procurement and construction, fabrication and modularization, and project management services. The Company has three principal segments: Urban Solutions, Energy Solutions and Mission Solutions. Its Urban Solutions segment includes infrastructure teams that provide a broad range of services, including consulting, design, planning, financial structuring, engineering, construction and operation and maintenance services.



During the relevant period, the Company touted the strong productivity across its infrastructure portfolio. In truth, several of Fluors infrastructure projects experienced undisclosed design errors, delays, and price escalation that significantly impacted its business.

The Stock Declines as the Truth Is Revealed

On August 1, 2025, before market hours, Fluor reported its fiscal Q2 2025 financial results and held an earnings call. The Company announced disappointing earnings and revealed a $54 million net impact of cost growth and expected recoveries on three infrastructure projects, due to subcontractor design errors, the related schedule impacts, and price escalation. The Company also announced, a shift in expected capital spending from some clients. On this news, the price of Fluor stock fell more than 30% during trading on August 1, 2025.

Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/fluor-corporation-class-action-lawsuit.

What Can You Do?

If you invested in Fluor you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.

All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.

Submit your information by visiting:

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/fluor-corporation-class-action-lawsuit

Or contact:

Ross Shikowitz

ross@bfalaw.com

212.789.3619

Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?

BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named Elite Trial Lawyers by the National Law Journal, among the top 500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers by Lawdragon, Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thomson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.

For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com.

https://www.bfalaw.com/cases/fluor-corporation-class-action-lawsuit

Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of National Grid plc (NYSE: NGG) resulting from allegations that National Grid plc may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased National Grid securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=41344 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On July 2, 2025, Reuters published an article entitled Preventable National Grid failures led to Heathrow fire, findings say. The article stated that a fire that shut Londons Heathrow airport in March, stranding thousands of people, was caused by the UK power grids failure to maintain an electricity substation, an official report said on Wednesday, prompting the energy watchdog to open a probe. Further, the article stated that the United Kingdoms Energy minister, Ed Miliband, had called the report deeply concerning, after it concluded that the issue which caused the fire was identified seven years ago but went unaddressed by power grid operator National Grid[.]

On this news, National Grids American Depositary Shares (ADSs) fell 5%, on July 2, 2024.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. At the time Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

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

case@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
Boston, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) today announced a leadership change effective August 15, 2025. Michael Spillane has decided to step down as CEO to focus on important personal matters. He will remain on the companys board of directors, on which he has served since 2014, now in the capacity of a non-executive director.

Jim Koch, Boston Beer founder, brewer and chairman of the board, will assume the role of CEO. Koch was previously CEO of Boston Beer from its founding in 1984 until January 2001 and has remained chairman since 1984.

Michael has been with Boston Beer for nearly 10 years, first as a board member and most recently as CEO for the past year and a half, said Koch. Hes given us a steady leadership hand during a dynamic time for our industry, and under his guidance, we delivered one of our most profitable quarters in many years in the second quarter. I appreciate everything Michael has done for us, and we're thrilled hes going to continue to help shape our strategy as a member of our board of directors. I am confident in the strength of our management team and Boston Beers strategic direction and remain committed to delivering long-term value for shareholders.

After careful reflection, Ive decided to take a step back to focus on some important personal matters, said Spillane. Since joining Boston Beer, Ive seen the company revolutionize the craft beer and flavored malt beverage categories. Its an amazing company with a great future and I look forward to contributing to its success from my seat on the board. Id like to thank Jim, the board, the executive team, and all of Boston Beers coworkers for their friendship and support.

About the Company

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE: SAM) began in 1984 brewing Samuel Adams beer and has since grown to become one of the largest and most respected craft brewers in the United States. We consistently offer the highest-quality products to our drinkers, and we apply what weve learned from making great-tasting craft beer to making great-tasting and innovative beyond beer products. Boston Beer Company has pioneered not only craft beer but also hard cider, hard seltzer, and hard tea. Our core brands include household names like Angry Orchard Hard Cider, Dogfish Head, Samuel Adams, Sun Cruiser, Truly Hard Seltzer and Twisted Tea Hard Iced Tea. We have taprooms and hospitality locations in California, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. For more information, please visit our website at www.bostonbeer.com, which includes links to our respective brand websites.

Attachments
BOGOTA, Colombia, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- More than 180 leaders from the business and tech ecosystem gathered at the Bogota: Hub for Technology and Innovation event, organized by Invest in Bogota and Michael Page, to explore the findings of a sector report that reaffirms the Colombian capital as the driving force behind the countrys digital economy.

The event featured the launch of the report IT Talent 2025: Investment, Innovation, and Productivity, proving that Bogota has attracted 60% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in software and IT that have entered Colombia over the past six years. During this period, the city has generated more than 42,000 jobs in these sectors.

Carlos Suarez, Executive Director of Invest in Bogota, stated:

Foreign investment in the tech sector is currently, and will remain over the next three years, one of the most relevant and dynamic areas for Bogotas economic development.

Daniel Camacho, IT Director at Michael Page, emphasized that Bogota is home to 39% of the countrys bachelors in software and systems-related fields and holds the largest pool of bilingual talent in Colombia.

Key Findings from the Report

Bogota ranks among the top 3 cities in Latin America for FDI projects in software and services.

for FDI projects in software and services. It is the Latin American city with the highest number of jobs created from investment projects.

from investment projects. National leader in business sophistication, innovation, and competitiveness (CPC 2024).

(CPC 2024). The 5th largest source of talent in Latin America , contributing: 43% of Colombias higher education graduates. 39% of graduates in systems engineering and related fields (20192023). 3 of Latin Americas top 15 universities are located in Bogota (QS Ranking 2025).

, contributing: In the ICT sector, 78% of national exports originate in Bogota.



About Invest in Bogota

Invest in Bogota is a public-private partnership between the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and the Capital District. Its mission is to promote international investment and attract world-class events by connecting the high-impact entrepreneurship ecosystem, contributing to the socio-economic development, competitiveness, and quality of life in BogotaRegion, and positioning it as the leading business destination in Latin America.

About Michael Page

Michael Page is a global recruitment firm with over 45 years of experience specializing in professional, executive, and senior-level talent.

Lucero Aguilera

juan.castillo-galvan@notified.com
Riyadh, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- flynas, the leading low-cost airline in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, celebrated launching three direct weekly flights between Riyadh and Moscow as of the first of August, starting a new chapter in air connectivity, and becoming the first carrier to operate scheduled direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Russia, in collaboration with the Saudi Tourism Authority, and within flynas growth and expansion plan and parallel with the national objectives in the tourism and aviation sectors in the Kingdom.





Inauguration ceremonies were held at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow on Friday, August 1. The ceremonies were attended by Abdulrahman Al-Ahmad, the Ambassador of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to Russia, and representatives from flynas, Riyadh Airports Company, the Saudi Tourism Authority, and media members. Travelling guests were welcomed with gifts and giveaways.





Adding Moscow to flynas ever-expanding network of destinations and routes is in line with flynas growth and expansion plan, launched under the title We Connect the World to the Kingdom, in parallel with the objectives of the National Civil Aviation Strategy to enable national air carriers to contribute to connecting KSA with 250 International destinations and to accommodate 330 million passengers and to attract 150 million tourists yearly by 2030, and with the objectives of the Pilgrims Experience Program (PEP) to facilitate access to the Two Holy Mosques.

flynas, the leading low-cost airline in the world and the best LCC in the Middle East, and the first airline listed on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) operates 139 routes to more than 70 domestic and international destinations in 30 countries with more than 2000 weekly flights and has flown more than 80 million passengers since its launch in 2007, with the aim to reach 165 domestic and international destinations within its growth and expansion plan, and in line with the objectives of Vision 2030.

Passengers traveling with flynas can book their flights through all flynas booking channels: www.flynas.com, the flynas app, the call centre (920001234), or travel agents.
Phoenix, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Newborn Care Solutions Agency is excited to share that it is expanding its services with a team of highly qualified professionals dedicated to supporting families with newborns. The agency is a trusted resource, offering services aimed at giving comprehensive help tailored to each family's needs, helping parents feel more at ease. For more information about the agency's services, visit Newborn Care Solutions Agency's official website.

Parents in Phoenix, AZ, and nearby areas now have access to a variety of services. This includes specialized care from a newborn care specialist who is specifically trained to meet the unique needs of infants and their families. These specialists work closely with families to make sure newborns receive quality attention and care, allowing parents to focus on other tasks with confidence.

"Expanding our services in Phoenix allows us to better support families during the often challenging early stages of parenthood," said Tonya Sakowicz of The Newborn Care Solutions Agency. "Our specialists not only have a deep understanding of infant care, but they also offer emotional and practical support to help families through this important phase."

The demand for a newborn care specialist in Phoenix, AZ, has been rising because more parents are looking for personal infant care solutions. With more parents seeking expert guidance, the agency is eager to meet this demand by making its services easier for families to access. Those needing a newborn care specialist Phoenix AZ will find a valuable resource in this agency.

Providing peace of mind to new parents is a top goal for the agency. With experienced specialists available, families are better equipped to manage the many challenges of life with a newborn, creating an environment where infants can thrive. The agency focuses on both the physical needs of the baby and the emotional well-being of the family, offering a complete care experience.

"The services provided by The Newborn Care Solutions Agency give parents the tools and support they need to transition smoothly into parenthood," stated Tonya Sakowicz. "We aim to build strong relationships with our clients by offering reliable and caring support for the whole family."

By focusing on accessibility, the agency hopes to reach a larger audience. The specialists bring extensive knowledge and experience, ensuring that every family's needs are met with high standards of care. The agency is devoted to creating a supportive environment for families during one of the most important stages of life by offering a range of expert services that can be explored on their website.

The Newborn Care Solutions Agency is thrilled to offer these expanded services to the Phoenix community. New parents can benefit from the expertise and guidance of a newborn care specialist, confident in knowing their newborn is receiving excellent care. The agency's professionals support parents as they adapt to the changes that come with welcoming a new baby into their homes.

Backed by a team of dedicated professionals, the agency is focused on creating positive experiences for families and nurturing infants in a kind and informed way. As the demand for their services grows, the agency remains committed to maintaining excellence in service and care for all families it serves. The Newborn Care Solutions Agency is eager to further extend its reach, continuing to support and empower new parents through its wide-ranging newborn care services and can provide more information about tailored care solutions on its website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d14UQgvIDbg

For families looking for a reliable partner in their parenting journey, the agency offers assurance and professional expertise, ensuring the transition into parenthood is as smooth and supportive as possible. Visit their website for more detailed information on how The Newborn Care Solutions Agency can assist with all newborn care needs.

###

For more information about The Newborn Care Solutions Agency, contact the company here:



The Newborn Care Solutions Agency

Tonya Sakowicz

602-695-6775

agency@newborncaresolutions.com

Phoenix, Arizona, 85028
Saint Petersburg, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zambuki has opened a new office in St. Petersburg as part of its growth plan to bring specialized SEO services to the area. This move highlights the company's aim to boost local businesses by improving their online visibility through expert search engine optimization techniques.

The decision to expand to St. Petersburg comes from the rising demand for SEO services in the region. Zambuki's new office will put a strong focus on Zambuki SEO St Pete strategies, helping local businesses enhance their online presence. By doing this, the company plans to assist local enterprises in reaching their preferred audiences and strengthening their digital presence. The goal is to support the business community in St. Pete, allowing them to thrive and succeed on digital platforms.

"Opening a new office in St. Petersburg is an exciting step for Zambuki," said Alex, a representative of the company. "We are eager to bring our specialized knowledge of SEO to local businesses here. It's about more than just improving rankings; it's about helping businesses connect with their customers in meaningful ways."

The new St. Pete location is set to provide customized SEO solutions that cater to the unique needs of the local market. Services offered will include everything from optimizing keywords to providing detailed analytics and reports. This comprehensive approach aims to enhance search engine rankings and grow organic traffic for the businesses involved.

Zambuki is dedicated to keeping up with the latest trends and algorithms in search engine rankings. This ongoing learning reflects the company's commitment to providing leading-edge SEO services to its clients. By maintaining high standards, Zambuki aims to establish itself as a front-runner in the digital marketing scene in St. Petersburg.

Besides serving local businesses, Zambuki is also planning to connect with the St. Petersburg community through various initiatives. The company intends to host workshops and seminars that cover best practices in digital marketing, offering business owners valuable educational resources. These efforts aim to build a community of skilled business professionals who can confidently navigate the challenges of digital marketing.

Alex further commented, "We see tremendous potential in the St. Pete market and are committed to making a positive impact. Our ultimate goal is to help our clients achieve success through strategic and well-executed SEO practices."

The new Zambuki office is not only about expanding geographically; it represents a chance for the company to forge new bonds and enhance existing relationships within the St. Petersburg business community. The company looks forward to contributing to the local economy while providing outstanding SEO services that deliver measurable results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PzJRn6GgYs

As Zambuki grows, the company remains focused on empowering businesses with effective digital marketing solutions. Opening the St. Petersburg office marks an exciting new phase for Zambuki, and the company is eager to explore the opportunities that this lively market has to offer.

###

For more information about Zambuki, contact the company here:



Zambuki

Alex

7273302080

support@zambuki.com

Zambuki

225 1st Ave N #1613

St. Petersburg, FL 33701
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

NEW YORK and CHICAGO, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP (Wolf Haldenstein), a preeminent national consumer rights law firm, is investigating claims on behalf of people who have been impacted by the Barrett-Jackson Holdings, LLC (Barrett-Jackson) data breach.

Barrett-Jackson, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, announced that the personal information of customers and employees may have been stolen as part of a data breach which occurred in November 2024.

Barrett-Jackson is notifying affected people that their personal information, including at least names, Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers, financial account information, payment card information, and health insurance information may have been stolen.

If you have received a recent notice of the data breach and have experienced recent concerning activity, it is possible that your personal information was compromised and is being offered for sale on the dark web.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

If you wish to discuss this data breach incident, or if you have any questions regarding your rights and interests in this matter, please immediately contact Wolf Haldenstein by telephone at (800) 575-0735, via e-mail at gstone@whafh.com, or visit our website.

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP has experience in the prosecution of consumer rights litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has attorneys in various practice areas and offices in New York, Chicago, Nashville, and San Diego. Courts have repeatedly recognized the reputation and expertise of this firm and have appointed it to major positions in complex consolidated litigation.

Contact:

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP

Gregory Stone, Director of Case and Financial Analysis

Carl Malmstrom, Esq., Of Counsel

Email: gstone@whafh.com or malmstrom@whafh.com

Tel: (800) 575-0735 or (212) 545-4774

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
Perth, Aug. 01, 2025 - perseus mining MANAGING DIRECTOR announces retirement; new MD & CEO appointed

SUMMARY

Jeff Quartermaine will retire as Perseus's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on September 30, 2025

Mr. Quartermaine has served in the role for 12 years, having joined Perseus in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer

He has transformed the company from a struggling single mine operation to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional gold producer, developer and explorer with three operating assets and a fourth under construction

Under Mr. Quartermaine's leadership, Perseus has become a leading gold company operating in Africa which joined the ASX100 index in June 2025

Former Newcrest global Chief Operating Officer Craig Jones will replace Mr Quartermaine, commencing with Perseus on August 18, 2025 before assuming the MD and CEO role on October 1, 2025.





Perseus Mining Ltd. (ASX/TSX:PRU) announces its long-serving Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO) Jeff Quartermaine has advised he will retire from the role of Perseus's MD and CEO after serving for 12 years. His retirement will take effect from September 30, 2025, after which he has agreed to continue to support the Company through a Consultancy Agreement on market terms.

Mr. Quartermaine joined Perseus in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer, before being appointed CEO in 2013. Since assuming this role, he has transformed Perseus from a struggling single-mine, single-country company to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional gold producer, developer and explorer that has consistently delivered on its promises and is now one of the leading gold companies operating on the African continent.

Perseus now has three operating gold mines, Edikan in Ghana and Yaoure and Sissingue in Cote d'Ivoire, and is building a fourth mine, Nyanzaga, in Tanzania, which is on track to commence gold production in Q1 CY2027.

Perseus's Chairman Rick Menell praised Mr Quartermaine's outstanding contribution in leading and shaping Perseus into the company it is today, saying:

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and guidance over the years. Jeff has transformed Perseus and has been pivotal in turning it into one of the most profitable gold producers in the world. He has built extremely solid foundations for the Company to keep growing and we cannot thank him enough for such a positive legacy."

Outgoing MD and CEO, Mr. Quartermaine said: "It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve at the helm of Perseus Mining over the past 12 years. Not only has the Company been transformed into a credible ASX 100 organisation, but during this time we have generated significant benefits for all of our stakeholders, including many in our host communities in Africa whose lives have been significantly improved through Perseus's endeavours.

I am deeply indebted to all our staff, both past and present, who along with their families have given their friendship, hard work, and commitment in helping transform Perseus. Along the way we have faced a myriad of challenges including events such as the global COVID pandemic, but we have emerged stronger than ever, and the company is now well positioned to continue our success into the future.

In reflecting on the last 15 years at Perseus, I must acknowledge the enormous contribution made to my career and indirectly to the success of Perseus, by my own family whose unwavering support has made the journey so much easier."

Mr. Quartermaine will be replaced as MD and CEO by Craig Jones, who will commence work with Perseus on August 18, 2025 and will assume the positions of MD and CEO with effect from October 1, 2025.

Mr Jones joins Perseus with more than 25 years of global experience, having worked across Australia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Indonesia and Canada. He was a member of Newcrest's executive team from 2012, having originally joined in 2008, and ultimately serving as Newcrest's global COO, with broad responsibility for five operating assets spread across multiple jurisdictions. In that capacity, he played a critical role in the development of organisational strategies, due diligence and investor relations. Mr Jones also led high-level engagement with governments, communities and First Nations groups across PNG, Canada and Australia.

Beyond his executive roles, Mr. Jones was a Newcrest nominee director on the Boards of SolGold and Lundin Gold and was Newcrest's representative on Joint Venture Committees including the Morobe Mining Joint Venture in PNG and the Red Chris Joint Venture in British Columbia, reflecting extensive global resource-sector connectivity and governance experience.

A values-driven leader recognised for enhancing safety and fostering a strong organisational culture, Mr Jones is known for his consistent, empathetic and principled leadership style, which has earned the respect of peers, governments and communities alike.

Mr Menell said: "We are delighted to welcome Craig to the Perseus team as Managing Director and CEO. Perseus is going through a significant phase of growth, in an environment that is getting increasingly complex, so we need a leader of Craig's calibre to build on Jeff's incredible legacy and confirm - and further grow - our position as one of the world's better performing mid-tier gold producers. Craig brings a wealth of strategic, operational and technical expertise, a deep understanding of complex operating jurisdictions and stakeholder management and a clear commitment to sustainable practices. We look forward to working with Craig and the rest of the Perseus team to bring the Company even further."

Mr. Jones will be based in Perseus's head office in Perth, Western Australia.

A summary of the material terms of the employment agreement between Perseus and Mr. Jones is provided in Appendix A of this announcement.

Appendix A: CEO Summary of Key Terms of employment

Commencement Date August 18, 2025 Total Fixed Remuneration A Total Fixed Remuneration (TFR) (inclusive of Superannuation) of AU$1,060,000 per annum. Incentives Short-Term incentive: target opportunity 75% of TFR



Long-Term incentive: participation, subject to shareholder approval, in Perseus's performance rights plan at 150% of TFR Other Benefits Annual Leave and Long Service Leave in line with statutory requirements

Relocation from Brisbane to Perth Probation Period 6 months Notice Period 6 months (either party may give notice)

This market announcement was authorised for release by the Chairman of the Board of Perseus Mining Limited, Rick Menell.
Newmont Corp. (NYSE: NEM, TSX: NGT, ASX: NEM, PNGX: NEM) ("Newmont") announced today the sale of common shares ("Common Shares") of Orosur Mining Inc. (the "Issuer").

On July 31, 2025, Newmont disposed of 29,213,186 Common Shares in a private transaction, at a price of C$0.19 per Common Share, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$5,550,505.34 (the "Disposition"). Immediately prior to the Disposition, Newmont held 29,213,186 Common Shares. As a result of dilution following certain distributions of Common Shares by the Issuer, Newmont's holdings immediately prior to the Disposition represented approximately 9.4% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis. As a result of this Disposition, Newmont no longer holds any Common Shares of the Issuer.

The Common Shares disposed of were sold for investment purposes. Newmont may, depending on price, market conditions or other conditions or factors it considers relevant from time to time, increase its beneficial ownership, control or direction over Common Shares or other securities of the Issuer through market transactions, private agreements or otherwise.

The address of Newmont is located at 6900 E Layton Avenue, Suite 700, Denver, Colorado 80237.

About Newmont

Newmont is the world's leading gold company and a producer of copper, zinc, lead, and silver. The Company's world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in Africa, Australia, Latin America & Caribbean, North America, and Papua New Guinea. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social, and governance practices. Newmont is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution, and technical expertise. Founded in 1921, the Company has been publicly traded since 1925.

At Newmont, our purpose is to create value and improve lives through sustainable and responsible mining. To learn more about Newmont's sustainability strategy and initiatives, go to www.newmont.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and other securities legislation, including statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "potential" or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding future investments in Orosur. Forward-looking statements are subject to other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. A number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. For a discussion of such risks relating to Newmont's business and other factors, see its most recent Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the headings "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements." Newmont does not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on forward-looking statements is at investors' own risk.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250731985460/en/

Contact

Media Contact - Global

Shannon Brushe

globalcommunications@newmont.com

Investor Contact - Global

Neil Backhouse

investor.relations@newmont.com

Investor Contact - Asia Pacific

Natalie Worley

apac.investor.relations@newmont.com
VANCOUVER, July 31, 2025 - Stallion Uranium Corp. (the "Company" or "Stallion") (TSX-V: STUD; OTCQB: STLNF; FSE: FE0) further to its news release of July 8th, 2025, the Company provides certain updates in respect of its technology licensing agreement dated July 7th, 2025 (the "Technology Licensing Agreement"), amongst the Company and Matthew J. Mason (the "Lessor"). The Lessor holds the exclusive license to certain proprietary technology and know-how that can be used to assist in area prioritization selection for the purposes of exploration for minerals (the "Technology"), which was developed by an arm's length Ph.D. geologist (the "Licensor").

In particular, the Lessor obtained its license in the Technology pursuant to the terms of a binding term sheet dated February 6th, 2025, amongst the Lessor and the Licensor (the "Underlying Agreement"). Pursuant to the terms of the Underlying Agreement, the Lessor's license in the Technology shall be for a period of 2 years. In connection with the grant of the license to the Lessor from the Licensor, the Lessor and the Licensor shall form an unincorporated joint-venture whereby the Licensor shall contribute the Technology, and the Lessor shall contribute funding and marking expertise to collaboratively advance the development of the Technology. As of the date hereof, the Licensor has advanced funds of GBP280,000 pursuant to the Underlying Agreement.

Furthermore, the 3,750,000 common shares of the Company payable to the Lessor pursuant to the Technology Licensing Agreement shall be subject to a tier 2 value escrow agreement, with 10% of the escrowed securities being releasable at the time of the Final TSX-V Bulletin, and 15% of the escrowed securities being releasable every six months thereafter until released in full.

For more information regarding the Technology Licensing Agreement and the Technology, please refer to the Company's news release of July 8th, 2025.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. None of the securities issued pursuant to the Technology License Agreement have been, or will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, or any state securities laws.

About Stallion Uranium Corp.:

Stallion Uranium is working to 'Fuel the Future with Uranium' through the exploration of roughly 1,700 sq/km in the Athabasca Basin, home to the largest high-grade uranium deposits in the world. The company, with JV partner Atha Energy holds the largest contiguous project in the Western Athabasca Basin adjacent to multiple high-grade discovery zones.

Our leadership and advisory teams are comprised of uranium and precious metals exploration experts with the capital markets experience and the technical talent for acquiring and exploring early-stage properties. For more information visit stallionuranium.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Stallion Uranium Corp.:

Matthew Schwab

CEO and Director

Corporate Office:

700 - 838 West Hastings Street,

Vancouver, British Columbia,

V6C 0A6

T: 604-551-2360

info@stallionuranium.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.

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements") that relate to the Company's current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "expects", "will continue", "is anticipated", "anticipates", "believes", "estimated", "intends", "plans", "forecast", "projection", "strategy", "objective" and "outlook") are not historical facts and may be forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this material change report should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date they are made.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Vancouver, August 1, 2025 - NexGen Energy Ltd. (TSX: NXE) (NYSE: NXE) (ASX: NXG) ("NexGen" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company will host its 2025 second quarter conference call on Wednesday, August 7, 2025, at 8:30 am Eastern Standard Time.

During the call, NexGen's Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Leigh Curyer, Chief Commercial Officer, Travis McPherson, and Chief Financial Officer, Benjamin Salter, will provide a comprehensive update on the Company's 100%-owned Rook I Project (the "Project"). This includes insights on project development including progress on the 2025 site infrastructure program, an update on the latest insight on the market as experienced by the Company, and preparations for the final Commission Hearing - alongside exciting exploration updates from the developing world-class PCE.

Call-in Details:

Date: Wednesday, August 7, 2025

Time: 8:30 am Eastern Standard Time

Participants should advise the operator that they are joining the "NexGen Energy Ltd. Conference Call" to ensure proper admission to the event:

North America Toll Free Number: 1-833-752-3734

Australia Local Toll Number: +61-3-8592-6289

Participants accessing the call via either of the provided links will be automatically connected to the NexGen Energy Ltd. conference without the need to speak with an operator:

International HD Web Phone Access: Access Link

Call me: Click Here

Prior to the call, the Company will file its 2025 second quarter Financial Statements and Management Discussion & Analysis on Tuesday, August 5th, post-market. These fillings will be available for review on the NexGen website under Reports and Filings and on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.com. In addition, a replay will be available on the NexGen website under Events & Presentations.

Further Information is available at www.nexgenenergy.ca.

About NexGen

NexGen Energy is a Canadian company focused on delivering clean energy fuel for the future. The Company's flagship Rook I Project is being optimally developed into the largest low cost producing uranium mine globally, incorporating the most elite standards in environmental and social governance. The Rook I Project is supported by a NI 43-101 compliant Feasibility Study which outlines the elite environmental performance and industry leading economics. NexGen is led by a team of experienced uranium and mining industry professionals with expertise across the entire mining life cycle, including exploration, financing, project engineering and construction, operations and closure. NexGen is leveraging its proven experience to deliver a Project that leads the entire mining industry socially, technically and environmentally. The Project and prospective portfolio in northern Saskatchewan will provide generational long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits for Saskatchewan, Canada, and the world.

NexGen is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "NXE" and on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker symbol "NXG" providing access to global investors to participate in NexGen's mission of solving three major global challenges in decarbonization, energy security and access to power. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with its primary operations office in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Forward-Looking Information

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable United States securities laws and regulations and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. "Forward-looking information" includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, the 2021 Arrow Deposit, Rook I Project and estimates of uranium production, grade and long-term average uranium prices, anticipated effects of completed drill results on the Rook I Project, planned work programs, completion of further site investigations and engineering work to support basic engineering of the project and expected outcomes. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Statements relating to "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment that, based on certain estimates and assumptions, the mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future.

Forward-looking information and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about NexGen's business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions, including among others, that the mineral reserve and resources estimates and the key assumptions and parameters on which such estimates are based are as set out in this news release and the technical report for the property, the results of planned exploration activities are as anticipated, the price and market supply of uranium, the cost of planned exploration activities, that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms, that third party contractors, equipment, supplies and governmental and other approvals required to conduct NexGen's planned exploration activities will be available on reasonable terms and in a timely manner and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the assumptions made by the Company in providing forward-looking information or making forward-looking statements are considered reasonable by management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate in the future.

Forward-looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performances and achievements of NexGen to differ materially from any projections of results, performances and achievements of NexGen expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements, including, among others, the existence of negative operating cash flow and dependence on third party financing, uncertainty of the availability of additional financing, the risk that pending assay results will not confirm previously announced preliminary results, conclusions of economic valuations, the risk that actual results of exploration activities will be different than anticipated, the cost of labour, equipment or materials will increase more than expected, that the future price of uranium will decline or otherwise not rise to an economic level, the appeal of alternate sources of energy to uranium-produced energy, that the Canadian dollar will strengthen against the U.S. dollar, that mineral resources and reserves are not as estimated, that actual costs or actual results of reclamation activities are greater than expected, that changes in project parameters and plans continue to be refined and may result in increased costs, of unexpected variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates or other risks generally associated with mining, unanticipated delays in obtaining governmental, regulatory or First Nations approvals, risks related to First Nations title and consultation, reliance upon key management and other personnel, deficiencies in the Company's title to its properties, uninsurable risks, failure to manage conflicts of interest, failure to obtain or maintain required permits and licences, risks related to changes in laws, regulations, policy and public perception, as well as those factors or other risks as more fully described in NexGen's Annual Information Form dated March 3, 2025 filed with the securities commissions of all of the provinces of Canada except Quebec and in NexGen's 40-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and Edgar at www.sec.gov.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information or statements or implied by forward-looking information or statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

There can be no assurance that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or reissue forward-looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/260948
Vancouver - August 1, 2025 ? Harvest Gold Corp. (TSXV: HVG) ("Harvest Gold" or the "Company") announces that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") and further to its news release of July 3, 2025, it has closed its non-brokered private placement raising gross proceeds of $2,295,549.86 (the "Offering").

The Offering consisted of 11,660,199 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.075 per Unit for proceeds of $874,514.93 and 13,533,666 charity flow-through units (the "CFT Units") at a price of $0.105 per CFT Unit for proceeds of $1,421,034.93.

Crescat Capital LLC ("Crescat"), as the lead investor in the Offering, purchased 5,866,666 Units, bringing its non-diluted ownership of Harvest Gold common shares to approximately 19.73%. Crescat's participation constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Such participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 based on the exemptions provided in Section 5.5(c) Distribution of Securities for Cash and Section 5.7(b) Fair Market Value Not More than $2,500,000, respectively.

Quinton Hennigh, Geologic and Technical Advisor at Crescat Capital LLC states: "Harvest Gold has, in my view, a very attractive land position over a highly prospective greenstone belt that hosts the nearby Windfall deposit. Although in the early stage, Harvest Gold's team collected solid geophysical and geochemical data that define some compelling green field targets. They are now set to conduct their first drill program to test these targets. I find it refreshing to see a company tackle something bold and new like this and look forward to seeing what they encounter."

Rick Mark, President and CEO of Harvest Gold states: "We are grateful to Crescat and the outstanding group of investors who have supported us in this round and over the past two year as we established ourselves in Quebec. I am very pleased to say that the drilling at Mosseau will begin shortly and that, concurrently, we will be exploring Urban Barry and Labelle for the first time."

Each CFT Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each, a "Warrant"), each of which qualifies as a "flow-through share" (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada)). Each Unit consists of one Common Share and one Warrant. Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at a price of $0.12 per Warrant Share for a period of two years following the closing date of the Offering (the "Expiry Date").

The Company anticipates using the proceeds from the issue and sale of the Units for the 2025 drilling campaign, various other exploration expenses and general working capital.

The gross proceeds raised from the CFT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" (as both terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's projects in Quebec. The Company will renounce Qualifying Expenditures with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2025, in an amount of not less than the total amount of the gross proceeds raised from the issuance of the CFT Units, and incur such expenses by December 31, 2026.

All securities issued will be subject to a four-month hold period pursuant to securities laws in Canada, expiring on December 1, 2025.

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid finder's fees consisting of $19,790 cash and 263,867 non-transferable finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to arm's length finders. Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable at $0.12 until the Expiry Date.

About Harvest Gold Corporation

Harvest Gold has three active gold projects focused in the Urban Barry area, totalling 329 claims covering 17,539.25 ha, located approximately 45-70 km east of the Gold Fields Windfall Deposit.

The Company's board of directors, management team and technical advisors have collective geological and financing experience exceeding 400 years.

Harvest Gold acknowledges that the Mosseau Gold Project straddles the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay and Abitibi territories. Harvest Gold is committed to developing positive and mutually beneficial relationships based on respect and transparency with local Indigenous communities.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Rick Mark

President and CEO

Harvest Gold Corporation

For more information please contact:

Rick Mark or Jan Urata

@ 604.737.2303 or info@harvestgoldcorp.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.

Forward Looking Information

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Harvest Gold 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 include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the final approval of the Offering by the Exchange; the anticipated commencement of drilling at Mosseau and initial exploration at Urban Barry and Labelle; the Company's exploration plans and strategy; the expected use of proceeds from the Offering; and the Company's intention to incur and renounce Qualifying Expenditures under the Income Tax Act (Canada) within the prescribed timelines.

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, exploitation and exploration successes, and 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 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.

The securities referred to in this news release 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 applicable securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or persons in the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws of the United States or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities within any jurisdiction, including the United States. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Vancouver, August 1, 2025 - Silver47 Exploration Corp. (TSXV: AGA) (OTCQB: AAGAF) ("Silver47") and Summa Silver Corp. (TSXV: SSVR) (OTCQX: SSVRF) ("Summa") (together, the "Companies") are pleased to announce the completion of their previously announced at-market merger (the "Transaction") by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement (the "Arrangement"). The combined company (the "Combined Company") will continue under the name "Silver47 Exploration Corp.".

Gary R. Thompson, Executive Chairman of Silver47, stated: "We are excited to have reached this transformative milestone which begins our rapid growth phase to become a large high-grade USA-focused silver company. I'm looking forward to unlocking the value of these assets."

Galen McNamara, Chief Executive Officer of Silver47, stated: "Silver47 now emerges as a premier United States-focused high-grade silver explorer and developer. Uniting projects in Alaska, Nevada, and New Mexico cumulatively hosting well over 200 million silver equivalent ounces with clear upside potential, we're poised to benefit from a renewed interest in United States mineral development at a time when the importance of domestic production has returned to the national spotlight. With a talented team, strong cash position, and support from our shareholders, we plan to aggressively drive exploration, growth, and development. This combination enhances our scale and visibility in an emerging silver and critical metals market, positioning us to advance our vision and deliver ongoing value to shareholders."

Following the Transaction, the Combined Company is a premier high-grade silver focused explorer and developer with a portfolio of silver-rich mineral resource staged projects in the United States (Alaska, Nevada and New Mexico). Collectively, the Companies' mineral resources equal approximately 10 Moz AgEq at 333 g/t AgEq of indicated mineral resources and 236 Moz AgEq at 334 g/t AgEq inferred mineral resources (see mineral resource table below for full details) with substantial upside and a shared vision for significant additional silver discovery and consolidation.

Under the terms of the Transaction, Summa shareholders received 0.452 common shares of Silver47 (each whole share, a "Silver47 Share") in exchange for each Summa common share (each a "Summa Share) held (the "Exchange Ratio").

As a result of the Transaction, Summa has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Silver47 and the Summa Shares are anticipated to be delisted from the TSX Venture Exchange at market close on or about August 5, 2025. Following the delisting, Summa intends to apply to cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws.

Strategic Rationale for Transaction

Creation of a Leading High-Grade US-Focused Silver Explorer and Developer: The combination of Silver47's Red Mountain project in Alaska with Summa's Hughes project in Nevada and Mogollon project in New Mexico establishes a premier portfolio of high-grade silver-focused assets in the United States enhancing the Combined Company's scale, leverage to silver and appeal to investors.

Expanded Resource Base for Accelerated Growth: The Transaction consolidates significant mineral resources of approximately 10 Moz AgEq at 333 g/t AgEq of indicated mineral resources and 236 Moz AgEq at 334 g/t AgEq inferred mineral resources (see mineral resource table below for full details) with significant growth potential between the three United States-based projects positioning the combined company to accelerate exploration and development towards production.

Significant Re-Rate Potential Based on Valuation of Peers: The Combined Company is currently undervalued on an EV/oz metric of US$0.33/oz AgEq for their pro forma current total MI&I resource endowment. The Combined Company has significant growth potential through re-rating relative to peers, through systematic exploration, resource growth, and strategic acquisitions.

Enhanced Capital Markets Profile and Liquidity: By consolidating projects and increasing market capitalization, the Combined Company can be expected to benefit from improved visibility and access to capital, appealing to institutional investors seeking exposure to high grade U.S.-based silver projects, supported by a tight share structure with strong backing from investors including Eric Sprott.

Continued Growth and Value Creation: The Combined Company will pursue organic and acquisitive growth to consolidate and create a high-quality silver portfolio in the U.S. The Combined Company will plan to (i) advance the current portfolio, creating strong silver development projects by expanding on resources and grade; and (ii) continue to consolidate the silver market, acquiring high-quality silver projects in tier 1 jurisdictions at accretive valuations.

Exceptional Technical & Capital Markets Team, and Commitment to Shareholder Value Creation: The board of directors and management team of the Combined Company includes members with deep experience in the capital markets as well as proven mine finding and mine development histories.

Benefits to Silver47 and Summa Shareholders

Shareholders of the Combined Company will have exposure to a diversified portfolio of high-grade United States silver projects, reducing risk while positioning for upside in a rising silver market.

The Combined Company's enhanced scale will strengthen its ability to attract strategic partnerships, unlocking capital for exploration and development to drive share price appreciation.

Shareholders of the Combined Company will benefit from a unified management team with complementary expertise, optimizing project execution at Red Mountain, Hughes, and Mogollon for efficient resource growth and development.

The Transaction's all-share structure aligns long-term shareholder interests, ensuring shared commitment to advancing projects and pursuing value-accretive opportunities.

An expected increase in market exposure from high-profile United States assets should enhance the Combined Company's appeal to global investors, supporting potential inclusion in silver-focused indices and ETFs.

Shareholders of the Combined Company are expected to benefit from reduced G&A, cost savings, and prioritized work programs and asset catalysts to drive a potential re-rating for the Combined Company.

Combined Silver Mineral Resource Summary

Classification Company Project Tonnes Ag Au Zn Pb Cu AgEq Ag Au Zn Pb Cu AgEq





(Mt) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (%) (g/t) (Moz) (koz) (kt) (kt) (kt) (Moz) Inferred Silver47 Red Mountain 15.6 71 0.4 3.4 1.4 0.2 336 36.0 214 532 216 26 168.6 Indicated Summa Hughes 1.0 188 1.6 - - - 333 5.8 49 - - - 10.3 Inferred Summa Hughes (In Situ) 2.4 204 2.4 - - - 421 15.9 188 - - - 32.9 Inferred Summa Hughes (Tailings) 1.3 44 0.3 - - - 68 1.8 11 - - - 2.7 Inferred Summa Mogollon 2.7 139 2.7 - - - 367 12.1 238 - - - 32.1 Total Indicated Mineral Resources 1.0 188 1.6 - - - 333 5.8 49 - - - 10.3 Total Inferred Mineral Resources 22.0 92 0.9 2.4 1.0 0.1 334 65.8 651 532 216 26 236.3

Notes to Silver47 Mineral Resources:

1. The 2024 Red Mountain mineral resource estimate ("MRE") was estimated and classified in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") "Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines" dated November 29, 2019, and the CIM "Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves" dated May 10, 2014.

2. Mr. Warren Black, M.Sc., P.Geo. of APEX Geoscience Ltd., a "qualified person" ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), is responsible for completing the MRE, effective January 12, 2024.

3. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have no demonstrated economic viability. No mineral reserves have been calculated for Red Mountain. There is no guarantee that any part of the mineral resources discussed herein will be converted to a mineral reserve in the future.

4. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, market, or other relevant factors.

5. The quantity and grade of reported inferred mineral resources is uncertain, and there has not been sufficient work to define the inferred mineral resource as an indicated or measured mineral resource.

6. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Reported grades are undiluted.

7. A standard density of 2.94 g/cm is assumed for mineralized material and waste rock. Overburden density is set at 1.8 g/cm. For mineralized material blocks with iron assays close enough to estimate an iron value for the block, density is calculated using the formula: density (g/cm) = 0.0553 * Fe (%) + 2.5426.

8. Metal prices are US$2,750/tonne Zn, US$2,100/tonne Pb, US$8,880/tonne Cu, US$1,850/oz Au, and US$23/oz Ag.

9. Recoveries are 90% Zn, 75% Pb, 70% Cu, 70% Ag, and 80% Au.

10. ZnEQ (%) = [Zn (%) x 1] + [Pb (%) x 0.6364] + [Cu (%) x 2.4889] + [Ag (ppm) x 0.0209] + [Au (ppm) x 1.923]

11. AgEQ (ppm) = [Zn (%) x 47.81] + [Pb (%) x 30.43] + [Cu (%) x 119] + [Ag (ppm) x 1] + [Au (ppm) x 91.93]

12. Open-pit resource economic assumptions are US$3/tonne for mining mineralized and waste material, US$19/tonne for processing, and 48 pit slopes.

13. Underground resource economic assumptions are US$50/tonne for mining mineralized and waste material and US$19/tonne for processing.

14. Open-pit resources comprise blocks constrained by the pit shell resulting from the pseudoflow optimization using the open-pit economic assumptions.

15. Underground resources comprise blocks below the open-pit shell that form minable shapes. They must be contained in domains of a minimum width of 1.5 m at Dry Creek or 3 m height at West Tundra Flats. Resources not meeting these size criteria are included if, once diluted to the required size, maintain a grade above the cutoff.

Notes to Summa Mineral Resources:

1. Silver Equivalent (AgEq) cut-off grade for the Hughes Project in situ Mineral Resources is based on a silver price of $25/oz, recovery of 90% Ag, and cost assumptions including: USD$88.2/t average mining cost for approximately 70% longhole stoping and 30% cut and fill mining, USD$36.3/t processing cost, USD$9.7/t G&A cost, USD$0.20/oz Ag refining cost for a total mining, processing and G&A cost of USD$134.2/tonne. A 3% royalty has also been applied to the cut-off grade determination.

2. Silver Equivalent (AgEq) cut-off grade for the Hughes Project tailings Mineral Resources is contained within an optimized pit and based on a silver price of $25/oz, recovery of 90% Ag, and cost assumptions including: USD$2.25/t mining cost, USD$21.0/t processing cost, USD$9/t G&A cost, USD$0.50/oz Ag refining cost for a total mining, processing and G&A cost of USD$33.34/tonne. A 3% royalty has also been applied to the cut-off grade determination.

3. Silver Equivalent (AgEq) cut-off grade for the Mogollon Project Mineral Resources is based on a silver price of $25/oz, recovery of 97% Ag, and cost assumptions including: USD$83/t mining cost for longhole stoping, USD$36.3/t processing cost, USD$9.7/t G&A cost, USD$0.20/oz Ag refining cost for a total mining, processing and G&A cost of USD$129/tonne A 3% royalty has also been applied to the cut-off grade determination.

4. AgEq is based on silver and gold prices of $25/oz and $2100/oz respectively, and recoveries for silver and gold of 90% and 97%, respectively for the Hughes Project, and 97% and 97%, respectively, for the Mogollon Project. AgEq Factor= (Ag Price / Au Price) x (Ag Rec / Au Rec); g AgEq/t = g Ag/t + (g Au/t / AgEq Factor).

5. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent discrepancies between tonnes, grade, and contained metal content.

6. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these Inferred mineral resources as Indicated mineral resources. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to the Indicated mineral resources category.

7. The Mineral Resources were estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council.

8. There are no known environmental, permitting, legal, or other factors which could materially affect the MREs.

Management Team and Board of Directors

Silver47 will be led by Gary R. Thompson as Executive Chairman, Galen McNamara as Chief Executive Officer and Martin Bajic as Chief Financial Officer. Galen McNamara and Thomas O'Neill have been appointed to Silver47's board of directors, joining Gary R. Thompson and Ryan Goodman.

Subscription Receipt Financing

Prior to the completion of the Transaction, the 27,600,000 Subscription Receipts issued by Summa pursuant to its previously announced subscription receipt financing (the "Subscription Receipt Financing") automatically converted into units of Summa, which units have been exchanged, adjusted, or converted into securities of Silver47 at the Exchange Ratio, resulting in the issuance of an aggregate of 12,475,400 Silver47 Shares, and warrants entitling the holders to acquire an additional 6,237,600 Silver47 Shares at an exercise price of $0.796 per Silver47 Share.

The Subscription Receipt Financing was led by Research Capital Corporation, as co-lead agent and sole bookrunner, and together with Haywood Securities Inc., as co-lead agent, on behalf of a syndicate of agents, including Eventus Capital Corp.

Additional Issuances

Upon the closing of the Transaction, Haywood Securities Inc. and Eventus Capital Corp. were each issued 723,325 units of Silver47 (the "Advisory Units") in consideration of financial advisory services provided to Silver47 and Summa, respectively, in connection with the Transaction. The Advisory Units were issued at a deemed price of $0.553 per unit.

Each Advisory Unit is comprised of one Silver47 Share and one-half of one Silver47 share purchase warrant with each whole warrant exercisable to acquire one Silver47 Share at an exercise price of $0.796 for a period of 24 months from issuance.

Information for Registered Summa Shareholders

In order to receive Silver47 Shares in exchange for Summa Shares, registered shareholders of Summa must complete, sign, date and return the letter of transmittal that was mailed to each Summa shareholder prior to closing. The letter of transmittal is also available under Summa's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. For those shareholders of Summa whose Summa Shares are registered in the name of a broker, investment dealer, bank, trust company, trust or other intermediary or nominee, they should contact such nominee for assistance in depositing their Summa Shares and should follow the instructions of such intermediary or nominee.

Convertible Securities

Summa Options

Pursuant to the Arrangement, each Summa option (a "Summa Option"), whether vested or unvested, has been transferred to Silver47, with the holder thereof receiving as consideration an option to purchase from Silver47 such number of Silver47 Shares equal to the Exchange Ratio multiplied by the number of Summa Shares subject to the Summa Option, at an exercise price per Silver47 Share equal to the current Summa Option exercise price divided by the Exchange Ratio, exercisable until the original expiry date of such Summa Option and otherwise governed by the terms of the Summa stock option plan.

Summa Warrants

Pursuant to the Arrangement, each Summa warrant to purchase common shares (a "Summa Warrant") will, upon the exercise of such rights, entitle the holder thereof to be issued and receive for the same aggregate consideration, upon such exercise, in lieu of the number of Summa Shares to which such holder was theretofore entitled upon exercise of such Summa Warrants, the kind and aggregate number of Silver47 Shares that such holder would have been entitled to be issued and receive if, immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement, such holder had been the registered holder of the number of Summa Shares to which such holder was theretofore entitled upon exercise of such Summa Warrants. All other terms governing the warrants, including, but not limited to, the expiry date, exercise price and the conditions to and the manner of exercise, will be the same as the terms that were in effect immediately prior to the effective time of the Arrangement, and shall be governed by the terms of the applicable warrant instruments.

Further information about the Transaction is set forth in the materials prepared by Summa in respect of the special meeting of the shareholders of Summa which were mailed to Summa shareholders and filed under Summa's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Early Warning Disclosure

Prior to the Transaction, Silver47 held nil Summa Shares. Following the completion of the Transaction, Silver47 holds all of the issued and outstanding Summa Shares. An early warning report will be filed by Silver47 under Summa's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca in accordance with applicable securities laws. To obtain a copy of the early warning report, please contact Martin Bajic at mbajic@silver47.ca.

Advisors and Counsel

Haywood Securities Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Silver47. Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP acted as Canadian legal advisor to Silver47.

Eventus Capital Corp. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Summa. Forooghian + Company Law Corporation acted as Canadian legal advisor to Summa.

Technical Disclosure and Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Galen McNamara, P. Geo., Chief Executive Officer of Silver47, a QP as defined by NI 43-101.

About Silver47

Silver47 Exploration Corp. is a Canadian-based exploration company that wholly-owns six silver and critical metals (polymetallic) exploration projects in Canada and the US. These projects include the Red Mountain Project in southcentral Alaska, a silver-gold-zinc-copper-lead-antimony-gallium VMS-SEDEX project. The Red Mountain Project hosts an inferred mineral resource estimate of 15.6 million tonnes at 7% ZnEq or 335.7 g/t AgEq, totaling 168.6 million ounces of silver equivalent, as reported in the NI 43-101 Technical Report dated January 12, 2024. Silver47 also owns a 100% interest in the Hughes Project located in central Nevada and the Mogollon Project located in southwestern New Mexico. The high-grade past-producing Belmont Mine, one of the most prolific silver producers in the United States between 1903 and 1929, is located on the Hughes Project. The Mogollon Project is the largest historic silver producer in New Mexico. Both projects have remained inactive since commercial production ceased and neither have seen modern exploration prior to Summa's involvement.

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 and other cautionary statements

Certain information set forth in this news release contains "forwardlooking statements" and "forwardlooking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and applicable United States securities laws (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: the potential benefits to be derived from the Transaction; the future financial or operating performance of Silver47 and Silver47's mineral properties and project portfolios; Silver47's intended use of the net proceeds from the sale of Subscription Receipts; the results from work performed to date; the estimation of mineral resources and reserves; the realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates; the development, operational and economic results of technical reports on mineral properties referenced herein; magnitude or quality of mineral deposits; the anticipated advancement of Silver47's mineral properties and project portfolios; exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits; underground exploration potential; costs and timing of future exploration; the completion and timing of future development studies; estimates of metallurgical recovery rates; exploration prospects of mineral properties; requirements for additional capital; the future price of metals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; the timing and possible outcome of pending regulatory matters; the realization of the expected economics of mineral properties; future growth potential of mineral properties; and future development plans.

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 information is provided. Assumptions and factors include: the integration of the Companies, and realization of benefits therefrom; Silver47's ability to complete its planned exploration programs; the absence of adverse conditions at mineral properties; no unforeseen operational delays; no material delays in obtaining necessary permits; the price of gold remaining at levels that render mineral properties economic; Silver47's ability to continue raising necessary capital to finance operations; and the ability to realize on the mineral resource and reserve estimates. 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. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks related to the Transaction, including, but not limited to, integration risks; general business, economic and competitive uncertainties; the actual results of current and future exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; meeting various expected cost estimates; benefits of certain technology usage; changes in project parameters and/or economic assessments as plans continue to be refined; future prices of metals; possible variations of mineral grade or recovery rates; the risk that actual costs may exceed estimated costs; geological, mining and exploration technical problems; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); title to properties and management's ability to anticipate and manage the foregoing factors and risks. Although Silver47 has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are advised to study and consider risk factors disclosed in Silver47's management's discussion and analysis for the three and six months ended April 30, 2025 and 2024, and Summa's annual information form dated December 20, 2024 for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024.

There can be no assurance that forwardlooking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Silver47 undertakes no obligation to update forwardlooking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are presented for the purposes of assisting investors in understanding Silver47's plans, objectives and goals and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements. This news release also contains or references certain market, industry and peer group data, which is based upon information from independent industry publications, market research, analyst reports, surveys, continuous disclosure filings and other publicly available sources. Although Silver47 believes these sources to be generally reliable, such information is subject to interpretation and cannot be verified with complete certainty due to limits on the availability and reliability of raw data, the voluntary nature of the data gathering process and other inherent limitations and uncertainties. Silver47 has not independently verified any of the data from third party sources referred to in this news release and accordingly, the accuracy and completeness of such data is not guaranteed.

THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED 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/260955
Vancouver, August 1, 2025 - Element79 Gold Corp. (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS0) ("Element79 Gold", the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a definitive Asset Purchase Agreement (the "Agreement") dated July 31, 2025, with Donald James McDowell (the "Vendor") for the acquisition of a 100% interest in the Gold Mountain Project located in Lander County, Nevada.

The Gold Mountain Project consists of 34 unpatented mining claims covering highly prospective ground in the heart of Nevada's Battle Mountain trend. Under the terms of the Agreement, Element79 Gold, through its wholly owned subsidiary ELEM Battle Mountain LLC, has agreed to acquire all rights, title, and interest in the Gold Mountain assets in exchange for the issuance of 100,000,000 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of C$0.02 per share, as well as a cash payment of US$137,485.85 payable following the closing of the Company's next equity financing.

As part of the transaction, the Vendor will retain a 3% Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty on all future mineral production from the project. This arm's length transaction is not considered a fundamental change for the Company. No finder's fees will be paid in conjunction with the transaction. The Company Will ensere that all required regulatory Filings are made in regards to this transaction.

Full details of the acquisition are available in the Asset Purchase Agreement filed on SEDAR+.

James Tworek, CEO of Element79 Gold, commented:

"This acquisition marks a significant step in advancing our strategic focus in Nevada. The Gold Mountain Project provides a drill-ready opportunity with strong geological fundamentals in one of the most prolific gold regions in the world. Our technical team is preparing an exploration program for later this year to begin unlocking the value of this asset."

About Element79 Gold Corp

Element79 Gold Corp is a mining company focused on gold and silver exploration, with a portfolio of assets in Nevada and Peru. The Company is actively advancing its Elephant project in the Battle Mountain trend of Nevada, as well as the drill-ready Gold Mountain project in Battle Mountain, Nevada. The Company also holds an option to purchase the high-grade Lucero mine in southern Peru. Element79 Gold has completed the transfer of its Dale Property in Ontario to its wholly owned subsidiary, Synergy Metals Corp., and is progressing through the Plan of Arrangement spin-out process. Element79 Gold is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE: ELEM), the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE: 7YS0), and the OTC Markets (OTC: ELMGF).

Investor Relations Contact:

Investor Relations Department

\Email: investors@element79.gold

Phone: +1.604.319.6953

Corporate Contact:

James C. Tworek, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Email: jt@element79.gold

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

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, development plans and the Force Majeure Event. 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 these statements because the Company cannot provide assurance that they will prove correct. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include conditions in the duration of the Force Majeure Event, and receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
State and local governments are hiring again, but they're having difficulty finding -- and retaining -- the right people. Do governments have a people problem?In the Center for State and Local Government Excellence's latest annual workforce survey , government human-resources managers cite staff development, succession planning, employee morale and retaining staff for core services as their top issues. Those issues were rated as greater concerns than compensation and health-care and retirement-plan costs. What's going on?Some of the problem is the mismatch between the skills of people looking for work and the jobs that need filling. Whether governments are looking for finance experts, managers, engineers or public-health professionals, they face stiff competition from the private sector.Add to that the fact that more local and state workers are heading for the exits as they become eligible for retirement. While many stayed in their jobs as the economy slowly recovered from the recession, they are now retiring in large numbers. The center's survey finds that 22 percent of retirement-eligible employees accelerated their retirement date in 2013.Recruitment challenges have been a shock to communities that see themselves as highly desirable places to live and work. As one North Carolina local-government manager told me, "It takes a lot of time to fill senior positions -- sometimes we have to go through the recruitment process three times." She speculated that the housing market and two-career family dynamics were making it more difficult for people to move.A legacy of the recession is that more governments are hiring contract or temporary employees to fill positions (one third reported doing so in 2013, according to the center's report). The rise of this independent workforce is significant for both the private and public sectors. Will these workers be able to accumulate adequate retirement savings? If not, they may have to turn to government for social services when they do retire.One reason that governments may be relying more on temporary or contract workers is to manage their overall compensation costs. Although employees in many state and local governments saw no pay increases for three or more years in the wake of the recession, the costs of health insurance and defined-benefit pensions have continued to grow. In 2004, those benefits made up 16 percent of employer costs for public workers' compensation; by 2013, they made up 20 percent of employer costs.These trends create new management challenges. In many places, new government hires have less-generous benefits than the longer-term employees with whom they work. Generational differences may create workplace tensions or lead newer workers to press for more significant wage increases in the future.But while workforce challenges are a hot topic in human-resources and other management circles, they are not on the radar screen for most elected officials. Cost containment for health insurance and pension benefits continues to dominate the agenda for many elected leaders.Yet demographics are destiny, and the local and state government workforce should be getting more attention. The average age of a state or local worker is 44, compared with 39 for a private-sector worker. Many governments have reduced or eliminated internships and entry-level positions in the last five years, so the pipeline of younger workers is small.On top of all that, there is evidence that government has become a less-attractive career option for college students. In its State of the Internship Report last month, InternMatch found that most college students would rather work for the private sector than for government.Government has many advantages over the private sector, but must sell itself effectively and adapt to current worker preferences. Many young people want to work for an organization where they can make a difference in the world. If governments can make a better case for the rewards of a public-service career -- and write better job ads -- they should be able to attract more of these millennials.Where to begin? A good place to start is by assessing who is working for the organization today. A workforce assessment not only should examine the age of workers and their retirement eligibility but also document skill sets and talent gaps.Investing in employees by helping them develop new skills not only benefits governments but also shows workers that they are valued. Offering cross-cutting assignments appeals to younger workers who are eager to gain experience and a bigger picture of organizational challenges. Providing flexible work practices appeals to workers at all ages and is another excellent retention strategy.Governments often undertake huge, important projects and are in a position to offer major growth opportunities. They should use these as selling points for hard-to-fill jobs, whether in information technology, engineering, health care or management. The message to the workers that government needs should be: "Wanted: Smart people with a passion to fix things so our society is a great place to live."
Often when we consider topics like big data and predictive analytics, we envision numbers in a spreadsheet or hidden behind the antiseptic geometries of charts and graphs. Data often has a lot to say about trends but very little about authentic human experience.As a result of this dehumanizing property, techniques for gathering data on crime have been called into question. We bristle at the idea of anyone referring to a criminal or a victim as "a statistic," but even before current discussions around the biases of algorithms and the unintended consequences of predictive law enforcement citizens often felt that they were understood not as individuals but rather as indistinguishable parts of major trends in need of redress.The proposition of human-centered design (HCD) flips this notion on its head. HCD principles use what data reveals as merely the first guideposts on the pathway to understanding the distinct profiles of individuals within a system -- whether criminal justice, health care, transportation or any other area of governmental interest.I spoke about this with Alma Castro, the program manager for Long Beach, Calif.'s Justice Lab, which was launched a little over a year ago specifically to reduce the number of residents caught up in the criminal justice system. In 2017, the team analyzed more than 100,000 records from a five-year period to identify areas for improvement. They uncovered that there were about 875 people, the top 5 percent of repeat offenders, who were booked or cited 11 times or more. The research clearly showed that many of the same people cycle repeatedly throughout public-safety services and that 85 percent of the time these individuals were cited for misdemeanors. Castro's assignment has been to reduce the time, effort and bad outcomes associated with taking care of the city's high-frequency minor offenders.Perhaps the most crucial component of their work came at the beginning of the Justice Lab project, when Castro and her colleagues compiled and researched the cases of each of the city's high-frequency offenders and conducted 21 subject-matter expert interviews. They developed a centralized data warehouse with information from the health, fire, police and development departments, as well as the prosecutor's office. The mayor used his convening power to create a working group that could move quickly beyond sprawling facts and figures and into the specific needs of individuals.Castro and her colleagues used "personas," based on a compilation of qualitative and quantitative research, to represent target users. The team would ask, "Would this help Isaac?" "We never let our client, our user, move away from the center of our attention," said Castro.As Castro and her team narrowed in on the specific natures of the frequent offenders they were trying to help, they found that at the core of the issue was the need for the city to learn how to better utilize its existing services to help people being arrested for misdemeanors. Accordingly, the Justice Lab placed a mental health clinician within the city jail. In another example of taking an HCD approach to problem-solving, Castro and her team structured the clinician's schedule to align with the typical timing of those coming into the facility. On weekdays, the clinician would often stay at the jail as late as 9 p.m.At the point of arraignment, the clinician advises the city prosecutor on alternative treatments for high-frequency offenders. Throughout the Justice Lab pilot, which was formed as part of $3 million grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies with additional support from the Arnold Foundation, the clinician has been able to analyze more than 400 interactions of individuals with the justice system. Thirty-three percent of high-frequency offenders were referred to mental health treatment. The next tier of referrals, about 32 percent, was to homeless services.Due to the success of the pilot, the Long Beach Police Department has decided to pick up the tab for funding a full-time clinician for an additional year, and the city has recently received additional funding from the MacArthur Foundation for its leading work in the field of criminal justice.Despite all that she has helped accomplish with the Justice Lab, Castro has a much grander vision for the wave of innovation that the project may inspire. "Even though the Justice Lab may sound like this really huge project, it's actually a small example of where we're heading related to data governance in the city," she said.Indeed, if the work of the Justice Lab is any indication, we should expect many more promising projects on the horizon. Data insights remain critical to good government, but in the end, solving problems one person at a time produces the true value.
Gasly calls for FIA talks after Spa rain delay

Pierre Gasly says drivers will open talks with the FIA to improve decision-making around wet-weather racing, after the governing body delayed the Spa sprint amid criticism and confusion.

Pierre Gasly, Belgian GP 2025

 Alpine

The FIA justified its conservative approach by citing past tragedies at Spa and poor visibility with the current generation of ground-effect cars. But Gasly believes clearer protocols and more collaborative discussion are needed going forward.

We'll work on that, said the Alpine driver. I'm sure we're going to talk about it in the Drivers' Briefing and next race they'll do even better and we'll find the right adjustment. It's a fine line. We want to race in the wet - it's always exciting - but not when you can't see and you crash on the Kemmel straight and have to explain that to another family.

Gasly said the current situation is unsustainable. We want to see overtaking and skill in the rain - not a race decided on whether you can see two metres ahead. At Silverstone, a driver hit another car purely from lack of visibility. That's not racing.

Alex Albon echoed the frustration, particularly over how drivers are being perceived. We look weak, he said.

It's not that the tyres are bad - it's that we can't see anything. At 250 kilometres per hour, you can't see more than 20 metres. Only we know what's happening in the car, but it makes us look like we're complaining instead of racing.

Some believe the root of the problem lies in the cars and tyres themselves. Gasly agreed: We know the spray is definitely not great with these cars. They've done testing with things like wheel covers, but we still need to find a way to reduce the spray so we can actually use wet tyres again.

Fernando Alonso, drawing on decades of experience, believes circuit design also plays a role. Some tracks produce a lot of spray, others have zero. If we implement that type of asphalt everywhere, we'll have zero spray.

Carlos Sainz, co-director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said Spa was always going to be handled cautiously. A lot has happened at this track, he noted. The FIA announced on Thursday they would take a conservative approach. Perhaps that should have been communicated better to the fans.

(GMM)
Mercedes resets suspension after Spa

Mercedes has made a major technical reset ahead of the Hungarian GP, reverting to its previous rear suspension layout following a string of underwhelming results and rising pressure on teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli.

Kimi Antonelli, Belgian GP 2025

 Mercedes

The 18-year-old Italian, who replaced Lewis Hamilton this season, broke down emotionally amid a woeful weekend at Spa. In the days since, the team has moved to shield Antonelli by admitting its recent suspension direction was a misstep.

Since we went on the new suspension, the car was a bit trickier to drive, Antonelli explained in Budapest. Especially on high-speed corners. Also, because of my driving style, I was making the car even more unpredictable, and that killed a bit my confidence.

I struggled to adapt. George (Russell), with his experience, adapted much quicker. But hopefully, going back to the old suspension will bring back that feeling I had before the European season.

Auto Motor und Sport reported that Mercedes had followed a pitlane trend by modifying the car's anti-lift behaviour at the rear - similar to Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari. However, the FIA clampdown on flexi wings may have added further complications.

Mercedes engineering boss Andrew Shovlin explained: We retrofitted and had to live with what we had. The gearbox housing is a carryover from 2024 - there aren't unlimited points to attach suspension elements.

Russell, clearly the quicker of the Mercedes duo in 2025, said: We've taken a step back. When you look at our performance collectively, we've both gone backwards.

Still, Antonelli is also trying to reset mentally amid skyrocketing pressure and attention. I did fun activities like driving my remote control car, he said, describing his few days rest since Spa.

Now I feel happy. I'm ready to give my best before the summer break.

(GMM)
Verstappen admits 2026 stay, Russell eyes short deal

Max Verstappen has finally confirmed he will stay with Red Bull in 2026, shutting down months of speculation linking him to a Mercedes switch.

Max Verstappen, Belgian GP 2025

 Red Bull

I didn't make a soap opera. I don't like opera at all. I like to go on holiday, have a good time, come here, race in Formula 1 cars and go home, Verstappen told Sky Italia on Thursday in Budapest.

The thing is, people are waffling so much throughout the whole season while the only one that actually can or should speak is not speaking. That's me, and I do that on purpose. Some people just like to stir the pot, but for me it's always been quite clear.

Verstappen added, We're always in conversations about what we could do with the car. When you're not interested in staying, then you also stop talking about these kinds of things, and I never did.

His decision affects George Russell, who is now expected to remain at Mercedes but possibly on a short contract that leaves 2027 open.

I still trust Toto and have faith in the team. But for neither Kimi nor myself have these been reassuring months, Russell said.

If a shorter contract gives me the best chance to win, then that's possible.

Verstappen also praised new team boss Laurent Mekies: He's very friendly, very open, very motivated, very driven. I'm very excited for the future, what we can do together.

As for this year's title race, Verstappen admitted: McLaren will be very strong here as well, normally out of reach. Their tyre management is unparalleled. The rotation they have on the front axle without losing the rear is impressive. We have to achieve that.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, asked who he favours for the title, said: At the moment, Piastri seems to have the edge, but I wouldn't rule out Norris. Oscar has been impressive so far.

Verstappen also reiterated his long-term plans beyond F1: I want to learn the basics now, what it takes to run a successful racing team.

His race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase returns this weekend after missing Spa.

(GMM)
What's next for Horner as Ferrari door shuts?

With Fred Vasseur now confirmed to stay on at Ferrari beyond 2025, speculation about Christian Horner's next move has reignited.

Christian Horner, British GP 2025

 Red Bull

According to Auto Motor und Sport, Horner had reportedly held informal talks with Ferrari executives before his exit from Red Bull. However, no agreement was reached, and Vasseur's renewal now closes that door for good. It will be interesting to see in what position Horner will return to the paddock, the German outlet noted.

On Dutch TV program De Stamtafel, Ziggo Sport's Jack Plooij cast doubt on any return. He's had enough of it now. I think he's done. He's going to do something else, spend his money. Maybe we'll see him in a different racing series again.

Olav Mol was more open to the idea of a comeback. He's certainly ambitious. I think after being dismissed from a successful organisation, you still think: 'I want to show someone else what they're missing.' I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up somewhere else. He could see if he could do something at Cadillac.

However, a move to Cadillac appears unlikely. That team is based in the United States, while Horner is deeply embedded in the UK with his family. Reports also suggest the female employee at the centre of the misconduct investigation has since taken a role at Cadillac.

IMSA driver Nick Catsburg sided with Plooij: I also think he's done with it. I think I would be. I can't imagine a role at the FIA either. It's a kind of charity - you don't get paid.

Mol responded with a laugh: He's way too young to retire. How old is he? Fifty? 51? We'll retire first.

(GMM)
Featured

I want Mahama to fail - Enimil Ashon writes

Enimil Ashon Opinion Aug - 01 - 2025 , 07:57 4 minutes read

On July 2, 2025, former Subin MP Eugene Boakye Antwi made a wish: I want Mahama to fail so that my party can come to power in 2028.

He was speaking in a radio interview. A journalist who did a story from the interview wrote a biting intro: (The former MP) has sparked controversy with a blunt declaration of political loyalty.

His back to the wall in the face of critical commentary from listeners, the MP wished he could eat his words, but listeners noted that he had only affirmed the truism, confirmed by the Christian Bible, that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

The reporters intro sums up what I have always suspected, that many of our politicians (especially those who rent macho men to beat and maim opponents) are in the political contest not to offer the nation the best minds in the grand contestation of ideas for setting Ghana on a path to prosperity, but an opportunity to fulfil their pet wish, which is, to feel important in society, enjoy the title Honourable and bask in celebrity status while receiving salutes from MTTD policemen who wave them on because of the MP stickers on their cars.

Worth

For the nth time since 1992, I have asked myself: are we getting our moneys worth for all the investment we make to elect so many MPs and one President every four years when the truth is that in many constituencies in Ghana, even a goat will win the seat if it is decorated in the appropriate NPP/NDC colours?

With a mindset like this, how can we be sure that we are electing the best minds for the task of nation-building?

No wonder this nation has not significantly progressed beyond the early 1960s when, under visionary leadership, Ghana had more than 100 factories manufacturing nails, matches, corned beef, glass, etc, with Sanyo and Akasanoma assembling TV and radio sets (purely as an R&D bait to transfer technology).

Ghana had politicians who went to sleep dreaming of a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, an Atomic Energy Commission, a medical school managed by Ghanaians, Ghana Airways piloted by Ghanaians and Black Star Line ships sailed and captained by Ghanaians.

With a 1992 Constitution that promotes sychophancy over meritorious performance and conduct, brute macho muscle development over mental acuity, all we have been doing since 1992 has been over-borrowing to build infrastructure but I dare repeat that even SHS graduates, if elected President, will build toilets and bridges and roads; all it takes is to go cup in hand to IMF.

Adversarial

Meanwhile, the 1992 Constitution is too adversarial for any truly independent political and economic development because the winner-takes-all system has built violence into it.

Yet, it cannot be changed because no matter how many Constitutional Review Committees we set up, there will be resistance from a certain entrenched political class waiting for board, CEO or ministerial appointments by the President.

And now, as if the disappointing performance of our political class is not enough, we are also about to enter an era where political parties will organise all-night prayer meetings with one prayer: that the economy will crumble to discredit a party in office.

For the mass of the people, this means fetching drinking water from streams rendered colourful by cattle that pooh and pee into it; GH10 balls of kenkey and impossibly priced roast/boiled plantain.

In the thinking of former MP Eugene Boakye Antwi, all of the above will affect only NDC Ghanaians! What a mind for a man who seeks to be a leader!

I have a second piece this week. Its about a certain mans area, which the NPP National Youth Organiser, Salam Mustapha, has harboured in his heart about the upcoming Akwatia by-election.

This man threatens that if we (NPP) do not get any assurances from the Ghana Police Service, we will carry pistols, cutlasses to the polling station.

No Ghanaian who witnessed the scene of shame at the recent Ablekuma North re-run would wish this on Ghana again. It will be Armageddon, rivers of blood.

What have the masses of this country done to deserve such thoughtless cruelty at the hands of our so-called political class?

Should this National Organiser get hurt at Akwatia, he will be guaranteed a flight out of the country to the best hospitals overseas.

His compensation, on his return after recovery, can build him another house, another 4x4, leaving his classmates with whom he started school to borrow GH10 for the next days kenkey-fried fish-kpakpo shito, and stretch themselves on raffia mats for the night.

No system of governance in the world is fault-free, but the democracy Ghana is practising under the 1992 Constitution is not democracy at all: it not only worsens our poverty levels but also places daggers in the hands of people waiting for their appointment letters from the next President.

And we call this democracy!
Featured

Global youths gather in Beijing to champion peace, dialogue

Daily Graphic International News Aug - 01 - 2025 , 12:27 1 minute read

Over 3,000 young leaders and students from around the world gathered in Beijing last Tuesday for the World Youth Conference for Peace, a global call for unity, cooperation and dialogue amid rising global tensions.

Held on the theme "Together for Peace," the event marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Participants from all continents took part in discussions, cultural exchanges and panels aimed at encouraging youth-led responses to todays global challenges from conflict resolution and climate change to innovation for the social good.

We must be fully aware that peace is hard-won, said Li Hanchen, a student from the Peking University. It is most valuable for peace-loving young people from around the world to come together to enhance and deepen understanding, exchange ideas, and form friendships.

The conference emphasized international cooperation as a cornerstone of peacebuilding.The President of the Global Youth Leadership Forum,Jacobo Garcia, stressed the need for meaningful interaction across cultures: Its very important that young people understand the importance of global cooperation not only to understand each other but to gain from the opportunities international exchange brings.

The event concluded with the launch of the World Youth Peace Initiative, encouraging youth to serve as guardians of peace, champions of cross-cultural understanding and advocates for sustainable progress.

In a world facing persistent instability, the youth of today are making a united call: peace must be protected, nurtured and built together.
Ghana, Japan sign educational agreement in Japan

Severious Kale-Dery Education Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read

Ghana and Japan have signed a bilateral cooperation agreement to deepen educational collaboration between the two nations.

The agreement aims to advance inclusive and quality education, with a strong emphasis on fostering sustainable development and equipping Ghanaian youth with essential digital skills.

Ghana's Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, and Japan's Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) A.B.E. Toshiko initialled the agreement, which seeks to significantly deepen educational collaboration between the two nations.

Key objectives

The key objectives of the agreement include building institutional capacity through teacher training and joint curriculum development; supporting green skills development in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to prepare the youth for emerging sustainable industries, and expanding Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and digital innovation initiatives to foster problem-solving and environmental consciousness.

Additionally, the agreement seeks to promote student exchange and joint tertiary education research collaboration to deepen the understanding of global sustainability challenges and also the embedding of education for Sustainable Development (ESD) principles in schools and communities to nurture active, responsible, and globally minded citizens.

A notable addition to the agreement is the provision of comprehensive coding courses designed to develop essential digital skills for Ghanaian students and further promote problem-solving capabilities.

Steadfast friendship

Speaking at the signing, Mr Iddrisu expressed profound gratitude to the Government of Japan and MEXT for their steadfast friendship, technical support, and shared vision.

He emphasised that the partnership transcended mere bilateral cooperation, embodying a shared belief that education is the most powerful tool for building peaceful, resilient and sustainable societies.

The minister said Ghana drew inspiration from Japans emphasis on community-based learning, environmental stewardship and holistic student development principles, eager to integrate those into its evolving educational reforms.

Mr Iddrisu further stated that the collaboration was strategic, timely and transformative as Ghana implemented its Education Strategic Plan (ESP 2018-2030) and worked towards a knowledge-based economy.

He reaffirmed Ghana's strong commitment to the successful implementation of the collaboration, expressing confidence that the shared vision, mutual learning, and structured cooperation would yield tangible results that benefited both nations and contributed meaningfully to global educational progress.

The minister said Ghana fully embraced ESD as central to its education transformation agenda, viewing education as a catalyst for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4, which aimed to "ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Japans leadership

The partnership with Japan strongly aligns with this critical agenda, Mr Iddrisu told his counterpart in Japan.

Japan's leadership in ESD was prominently highlighted, recognising its pivotal role as the headquarters of the global ESD initiative and its consistent efforts in integrating sustainability values into education.

The UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Centre in Okayama and Japan's consistent hosting of world conferences on ESD were cited as testaments to their commitment to fostering knowledge, values and behaviours essential for a just and sustainable society.
Multipurpose sanitary facility for Bueman SHS inaugurated

Emmanuel Modey Education Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 2 minutes read

Plan International Ghana has handed over a multipurpose sanitary facility for the girls dormitory at Bueman Senior High School (BUSEC) in Jasikan in the Oti Region last Friday.

The sanitary facility is to provide the female students the opportunity to escape from the discomfort they go through during their menstrual period.

Apart from the eight cubicle water closet, it has two changing rooms for the girls during their menstrual time and incinerators to burn their waste materials.

A mechanised borehole with an overhead water tank has been provided to ensure an all-round water sustainability for the school.

The project, funded by Plan International Ghana, was through the Integrated Package for Sustainability Community Development (IPADEV) at the value of Gh191,970.00.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Head of Programmes and Influencing, Eric Ayaba, noted that the facility should also be seen as a symbol of dignity, empowerment and an unwavering commitment to gender equality.

This new facility will encourage the female students to remain more attentive to school programmes, offer them confidence and reduce absenteeism in school, he said.

This, Mr Ayaba said, was part of their focus on advancing students rights and equality and expressed the hope that care would be taken of the facility to benefit more generations to come.

Need for sanitary facility

The Headmaster of BUSEC, Frank Boamah said the need for the sanitary facility was expressed by the management of the school to Plan International Ghana when they hosted the Menstrual Health and Hygiene Day last year on the campus.

The facility

He said they were exposed to the unhygienic ways the girls went about their sanitation issues, especially during their menstrual time.

Mr Boamah said he was overwhelmed with joy when the female students constituting 56 per cent of the entire student body were provided with the facility.

The Headmaster expressed gratitude for the project that would go a long way to transform the lives of the female students.

Transforming lives

The Head of Administration and Finance of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Joseph Gyebi-Anim, commended Plan International Ghana for their support all over the years to transform the lives of the children, especially girls.

That, he said, had extended beyond the provision of physical structures to that of empowering the students, especially girls, through the removal of obstacles that confronted them.
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Ghana donates 40 metric tonnes of cocoa products to Palestine in solidarity gesture

Kester Aburam Korankye Aug - 01 - 2025 , 14:31 3 minutes read

The government of Ghana has donated 40 metric tonnes of premium cocoa products to the people of Palestine as a gesture of solidarity and humanitarian support amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

The donation, comprising Golden Tree-branded chocolates and other cocoa-based products, was presented to the Palestinian Ambassador to Ghana, Abdul Fattah Ahmed Khalil al-Sattari, at a ceremony held at the Jubilee House on Friday, August 1, 2025.

President John Dramani Mahama, who handed over the items, described the donation as both symbolic and practical, reflecting Ghanas longstanding friendship with Palestine.

Cocoa is one of Ghanas most treasured natural commodities, representing our national values of resilience, warmth, and generosity, President Mahama said.

He added, It is also a powerful superfood, rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and essential minerals, which we hope will provide nourishment and comfort to families facing unimaginable hardship in Gaza.

The President highlighted the deep historical ties between Ghana and Palestine, recalling the establishment of the Palestinian Liberation Organizations office in Accra in 1986.

He also acknowledged recent diplomatic engagements, including the visit of the Chief Justice and Advisor on Religious Affairs to the Palestinian President, Dr Mahmoud Siddiqui al-Habash.

President Mahama reiterated Ghanas support for a two-state solution, urging all parties to embrace dialogue.

We remain firm in our support for a negotiated two-state solution in line with international law and UN resolutionsone that guarantees the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis to coexist peacefully, he said.

He further called on Israeli authorities to open the borders for humanitarian aid.

We urge the international community to continue supporting efforts for peace and stability in the region. It is in our collective interest to preserve lives, protect dignity, and uphold justice.

President Mahama also commended the Palestinian community in Ghana for their contributions to national development, including the construction of school blocks in underserved communities.

The donation was facilitated by the Ghana Cocoa Board and the Cocoa Processing Company, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

Gratitude

Receiving the items, Ambassador Al-Sattari expressed his deep gratitude, stating that the gesture reaffirmed the strong bond between the two nations.

He said one could not imagine the joy that would be brought to children in Gaza when they see the chocolate products, let alone how they will feel when they taste them.

If this chocolate arrives in Gaza, and it will arrive, and our people only see the chocolate, you cannot imagine how happy they will be, and you can't imagine how much more than happy they will be when they eat, he said.

He noted that for the past two years, people in Gaza had been starving due to the blockade of aid amid the escalating conflict with Israel.

I know my people in Gaza and the West Bank, and I know the suffering and pain they are going through for a long time, he said.

The Ambassador thanked nations that had supported the people of Gaza, including Egypt and France, for insisting on a two-state solution to end the ongoing conflict.

The ceremony was attended by senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives of humanitarian organisations.

President Mahama concluded with a message of hope: To our brothers and sisters in Palestine, know that you do not walk alone. Ghana stands with you. May peace prevail.
China Peoples Liberation Army commemorates 98th anniversary

Augustina Tawiah Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read

The Chinese Embassy in Accra has commemorated the 98th anniversary celebration of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) of China.

The occasion was also used to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese peoples war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

The PLA is the armed forces of China. It is one of the largest military forces in the world, encompassing land, sea and air forces, as well as strategic and conventional missile forces.

The PLA traces its roots to the 1927 Nanchang Uprising of the communists against the Nationalists.

Initially called the Red Army, it grew under Chairman Mao Zedong and Zhu De.

Support

The Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, commended the people and government of China for the anniversary celebration.

He said Ghana had consistently supported China's position on various issues at the UN, particularly China's representation, and its "One China" policy, adding that mutual understanding and respect between the two countries had fostered a strong foundation for their bilateral relations.

Dr Boamah also said that it was imperative for Ghana and China to continue to nurture and strengthen their partnership, adding that the security landscape in West Africa was complex and multidimensional, with threats from fundamentalists, violent extremists, terrorists and pirates.

Appreciation

Dr Boamah further expressed appreciation to the Chinese government for the continuous support to Ghana over the years.

He mentioned Chinas "Military Aid Gratis" for the construction of facilities at the National College of Defence Studies.

Other military projects being funded by China include the Army Recruit Training School at Shai Hills, the Naval Training Command at Nutekpor, the Air Force Training School in Takoradi and the Battle Training Camp at Bundase.

He said the projects would significantly enhance the capabilities of our armed forces and ensure we are better equipped to address regional security challenges.

Dr Boamah also said that the Chinese governments earlier grant of $50 million stood as a symbol of the enduring partnership between the two countries.

Collaboration

The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Tong Defa, said China-Ghana relationship was nurtured about 65 years ago.

He said the Chinese people had suffered from aggression and wars, and had, therefore, learned the value of peace and the pressing need for development, adding China has never inflicted such sufferings on any country, and will never do it in the future.

In today's world, deficits in peace, development, security and governance continue to grow.

China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, pursue an independent foreign policy of peace and a national defence policy that is defensive in nature, oppose power politics in all forms, and will never seek hegemony or expansion.

The Chinese Military will remain a staunch force in maintaining world peace, the ambassador said.

He said China appreciated Ghana's firm commitment to the One-China principle, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, including its firm opposition to "Taiwan independence".

Mr Defa expressed confidence that under the strong leadership of President Xi Jinping of China and President John Dramani Mahama, the two countries would keep to the aspirations of the founding spirit of their diplomatic ties, uphold mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and also work hand in hand to build an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a shared future for a new era.

For his part, the Defence attache at the Chinese Embassy in Ghana, Colonel Dou Yan, said Chinese military had, among other interventions, participated in UN peacekeeping operations, vessel protection operations and international efforts in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

It had also strengthened international cooperation in arms control and non-proliferation, and played a constructive role in the political settlement of hotspot issues.
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Court throws out Torkornoo, Ofori-Atta cases

Justice Agbenorsi Aug - 01 - 2025 , 10:32 5 minutes read

The High Court in Accra has dismissed two applications filed by the suspended Chief Justice (CJ), Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, and a former Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, seeking to quash proceedings against them.

In a determination yesterday, the court presided over by Justice Kwame Amoako was of the opinion that the portions of the reliefs being sought by Justice Torkornoo against the Justice Pwamang Committee of Inquiry had already been determined by the Supreme Court, while the substantive case on the matter was still pending at the apex court.

It was also the courts opinion that it was not clothed with the authority to interpret the Constitution in respect of the allegations the Chief Justice had made about how she had been handled by the inquiry committee since, according to the 1992 Constitution, the entire process should to be held in camera.

Relying on the case of CENCES versus Attorney-General (A-G), Dery versus Tiger Eye and AG, the court held that the High Court did not have jurisdiction to hear and determine issues for the said reliefs, and as such could not inquire into the in camera proceedings.

Justice Amoako added that the court was bound by the decision of the Supreme Court on Article 146(8) of the 1992 Constitution, and thus the evidence of proceedings of the Justice Pwamang Committee could not be entertained by the court even in chambers as urged on it by the lawyer for the suspended CJ.

The reliefs that the court said were before the Supreme Court are the ones bordering on the registry of the committee failing to give her the authenticated copies of the petitions, prohibition of the committee from undertaking any proceedings, and the one seeking a deflation that the committee was not lawfully constituted.

Application

Justice Torkornoo, on June 9, 2025 filed an application at the High Court seeking a review of some of the decisions of the Justice Gabriel Pwamang-led Committee probing the three petitions calling for her removal.

She was of the opinion that the committee was arbitrary and unconstitutional.

The suspended CJ was of the view that since the registry of the committee failed to give the parties in the probe the authenticated copies of the three petitions and proceeding to hear the matter the entire process was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable, and hence violated Articles 23 and 296 of the Constitution.

She was, therefore, asking the court to prohibit the committee from undertaking any proceedings, without its registry providing the parties with the authenticated copies of the petitions and responses forwarded by the President to the committee.

Justice Torkornoo also asked the court to declare the committees proceedings of May 15, 22, 23, 26 and 30, 2025 null and void for being in breach of Articles 23, 146, 280, 295 of the Constitution, as well as Order 2 Rule 2, Order 2 Rule 7, Order 7 Rule 3(1), Order 32 and Order 34 Rule 2(2) of the High Court (Civil Procedure) rules.

However, the Attorney General filed an application asking the court to strike out the application for judicial review on grounds that all the matters raised in it had either been dealt with or currently pending before the Supreme Court.

Ofori-Atta

The High Court also dismissed Ofori-Attas application which sought to quash an arrest warrant issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

In a ruling yesterday, the court, presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, held that the OSP acted lawfully in securing the warrant, dismissing the application for lack of merit.

Mr Ofori-Atta is a subject of investigation in five major issues during his tenure in office under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

They are the contractual arrangements between Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA); the termination of a contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology (BXC) and the procurement procedures and financial transactions related to the National Cathedral.

The rest are a Ministry of Health contract with Service Ghana Auto Group Limited for purchasing and maintaining 307 ambulances and the handling and disbursement of funds from the Tax P-Fund Account of GRA.

Investigation

On February 12, this year, the Special Prosecutor (SP) declared the former finance minister wanted after describing him as a fugitive from justice who had no intention of willingly returning to the jurisdiction.

That was after the OSP had mentioned him as a suspect in some corruption and corruption-related cases, including the National Cathedral, being investigated by the OSP.

The SP accused Mr Ofori-Atta of allegedly employing tactics in order not to avail himself for an invitation dated January 24, 2025.

On February 18, 2025, Mr Ofori-Atta appealed to the OSP to remove his name from the Wanted List and provided a definite return date in May 2025.

The SP explained that the former finance minister had, through his lawyers, stated a definite date of his voluntary return to the jurisdiction. As a result, the OSP had acceded to Mr Ofori-Atta's request.

Subsequently, the OSP accepted his assurance and subsequently took his name off the list.

However, on Monday, June 2, 2025, Mr Ofori-Atta failed to show up, and his name has since been placed on Interpol Red Notice.

Application

Through his lawyers, Mr Ofori-Atta filed an application praying the court to declare the warrant as unlawfully acquired.

He further prayed the court to set aside all related proceedings, including the Interpol Red Notice that was issued against him.

However, the SP maintained that the warrant was properly obtained and executed within the remit of the law, urging the court to dismiss the application.
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GJA issues 7-day ultimatum to police over journalist attacks

Joshua Bediako Koomson Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has raised grave concerns over the increasing spate of attacks on journalists and has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Ghana Police Service to provide updates on all reported incidents, prosecute perpetrators and implement measures to protect media personnel or face a nationwide media blackout of police activities.

The GJA President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfuor, addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, said the association could no longer remain silent while journalists were assaulted, intimidated, or arrested in the line of duty.

This is not a threat, it is a necessary action to defend the dignity and safety of every Ghanaian journalist, he said.

Mr Dwumfour described the situation as a direct attack on democracy and called the inaction of law enforcement a breach of the Constitution.

Over the past seven months, the GJA has recorded more than a dozen attacks on journalists, including the recent assault on Emmanuel Banahene of EIB Network and Salomey Nartey of JoyNews during the Ablekuma North parliamentary by-election.

Despite video evidence implicating a senior police officer, we are yet to see concrete action. Charging alone is not justice, justice must be seen to be done, Mr Dwumfour stressed.

Among other things, the GJA President demanded a public update on all investigations, transparent prosecution of offending officers, disciplinary action against violent operatives, and preventive measures such as training security personnel on media rights.

He also condemned the detention of a JoyNews journalist and his cameraman during the demolition of a MacDan warehouse, calling it censorship through force.

He said although the GJA welcomed President John Dramani Mahamas recent statement on the matter, it insists that symbolic gestures were not enough and, therefore, there was a need for a swift government action.

Mr Dwumfour further announced a five-point response plan by the association should the security institutions fail to act.

This includes initiating civil suits against the perpetrators, working with both local and international human rights organisations to document and pursue justice, and lobbying embassies of countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and the European Union to impose travel bans on abusive security officials.

The GJA will also petition the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS and UNESCO to impose international sanctions on offending officers, including blacklisting them from peacekeeping deployments and overseas postings.

Domestically, the association plans to urge security agencies to bar such officers from promotion and enforce internal disciplinary procedures.

These steps, the GJA is convinced, are critical to defending press freedom and safeguarding the role of journalists in Ghanas democratic space.

He said the association would also begin publishing names and photos of identified attackers in a monthly Press Freedom Watchlist.

Professional, responsible reporting

Touching on rising insecurity in parts of the country such as Bawku, Ashaiman, and Nkwanta, the GJA President urged journalists to be professional and responsible in reporting from conflict-prone areas.

Media freedom does not mean irresponsibility.

Let us report to heal, to unite, and to build, Mr Dwumfour noted, adding that journalists who incite violence or peddle falsehoods would not be shielded from legal consequences.

The GJA reaffirms its commitment to press freedom.

We will not be silent.

We will not be intimidated and we will not allow the enemies of press freedom to win, he said.
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GTEC crackdown on unaccredited institutions: 2 Officials arrested at Nyarkotey College

Severious Kale-Dery Aug - 01 - 2025 , 07:32 4 minutes read

Personnel from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service in the company of officials of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) last Wednesday picked up two officials from the Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine Study Centre in Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region for running unaccredited programmes and operating an unaccredited centre.

After waiting in vain for the arrival of one of the directors, Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, who does the day to day running of the Institute, and the inability of the authorities present to provide proof of accreditation of both programmes and institution, the CID officials had to pick up the two.

Those picked up were one of the directors of the Institute, Ademan Tetteh, and the Registrar of the institute, Christiana Akpaloo. The other director, Daniel Tetteh Boafo, who is said to be a farmer, was not also available.

The two were arrested to assist the police in a nationwide ongoing investigation on individuals who run unaccredited tertiary institutions and programmes as well as those who continue to use honorary professor as a title.

Programmes offered

The Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine Study Centre runs programmes in certificates, diploma and degree programmes such as four-year BTech programmes, Mini MBA programme, three-year HND programmes, professional diploma programmes, national proficiency one and two among others.

A search by the CID personnel found and award shield, which was presented to Mr Obu as an honorary professor by Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University in Ukraine, based on which he had since used the title Professor.

Mr Tetteh, who was picked up at the institute, also said he had an honorary doctorate conferred on him by a Nigerian institution, the name of which he could not immediately remember.

Last week, GTEC hinted its intention to begin arresting individuals who continued to use honorary professor as a title.

Unaccredited programmes

Addressing journalists after the arrest, the Director for Corporate Affairs at GTEC, Jerry Sarfo, said the exercise was something were undertaking because there have been persistent calls for people to desist from running unaccredited programmes, and yet they keep doing it.

So there was the need for us to actually enforce compliance.

He stressed that the Commission frowned on institutions running unaccredited programmes, and that was what the Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine Study Centre was doing.

Mr Sarfo explained that the team visited the institution to have a firsthand information of what was going on, and we have actually had interactions with the director who happens to be one of the three directors here.

He added that the registrar was also picked up because she was a management member, and we are going to actually have further interactions with them at the police station.

Touching on the professorship of Mr Obu, he said that needed to be interrogated further because it was evident that it was an honorary one.

Information available to the Daily Graphic indicates that Mr Obu is expected to meet the management of GTEC tomorrow over the continuous use of his professor title as well as his role in the running of the institution.

Honorary professorship

In a related development, GTEC has issued a warning to Richard Kofi Asiedu, the Central Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), over the unauthorised use of his honorary professor title.

In a letter dated July 28, 2025, which was sighted by the Daily Graphic, GTEC accused Mr Asiedu of defying its earlier directives to cease the practice, describing it as unethical and a violation of national law.

The Commission revealed that it had earlier written to Mr Asiedu on June 2, 2025, demanding proof of the removal of the title from all official records, including institutional profiles, websites and letterheads.

He was also instructed to submit his highest academic qualification for verification.

However, GTEC noted with deep concern that Mr Asiedu had persisted in using the title as evidenced in a recent EELL 2025 Conference promotional poster, where he was billed as Prof. Richard Kofi Asiedu.

Citing Section 8(4)(d) of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1023), the GTEC emphasised its mandate to regulate use of academic titles, including Professor, and warned that failure to comply could lead to legal action.

The letter, signed by Prof. Ahmed Jinapor Abdulai, Director-General of GTEC, urged the NDCs National Chairman to intervene, stating: The Commission respectfully appeals to you to ensure that Mr Asiedu complies fully with the directives issued. Should he persist, the Commission may be compelled to initiate legal proceedings.

The GTEC clarified that its action was not politically motivated but aimed at upholding the integrity of academic titles.

The letter was copied to the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, the NDCs General Secretary and Mr Asiedu himself.
Julius Debrah headlines mining, minerals convention

Daily Graphic Aug - 01 - 2025 , 05:57 2 minutes read

Minerals and mining industry stakeholders will gather in Accra this month for the maiden edition of the Mining and Minerals Convention, a forum intended to shape discussions around the local minerals and mining industry.

The two-day convention is Ghanas flagship gathering for the gold and minerals sector, and is expected to bring together top government leaders, regulators, industry captains, investors and innovators to align policy, finance and sustainability in Ghanas gold value chain.

The Mining and Minerals Convention is Ghanas leading gold and minerals platform connecting policymakers, investors, miners, refiners, technologists and sustainability experts to shape policy direction and unlock long-term sector value.

Keynote speaker

The Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, will deliver the keynote address at the Mining and Minerals Convention 2025, scheduled for August 2627, 2025, as he leads top government officials to the event.

As special guest of honour, the Chief of Staff will set the tone for the convention, which will be held on the theme: Shaping the Future of Ghanas Gold Industry.

He is expected to reaffirm the governments commitment to responsible mining, sustainability, local value retention and positioning Ghana as Africas trusted gold hub.

Other distinguished speakers confirmed for the convention include the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who will deliver ministerial remarks and the closing address.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Minerals Commission, Martin Kwaku Ayisi, will share regulatory updates and sector governance direction; the CEO of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi, will highlight strategies for responsible sourcing and digital gold transformation; while the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, will present industry insights and private sector collaboration priorities.

The Mining and Minerals Convention will also feature presidential and ministerial addresses, keynote presentations, policy sessions, technical panels, exhibitions and curated networking designed to drive investment, innovation and sustainable growth in Ghanas gold and minerals industry.

Organisers have worked out a registration system for delegates attending the event via miningandmineralsconvention.com.
Next article: OSP detains Paul Adom-Otchere and 2 others over GACL contract probe

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GJA to publish names, photos of security personnel who attack media personnel and label them 'Enemies of Democracy and Press Freedom'

Mohammed Ali Aug - 01 - 2025 , 04:30 2 minutes read

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has announced plans to publish the names and photos of security personnel who attack media personnel and label them "Enemies of Democracy and Press Freedom."

These individuals would be labelled as Enemies of Democracy and Press Freedom on the front pages of major newspapers and on key digital platforms for a year.

In addition to this, the GJA has said it will also seek diplomatic sanctions against the identified perpetrators.

According to the GJA it will submit the names of security personnel and individuals implicated in attacks on journalists to foreign embassies and international organisations for possible sanctions and visa restrictions.

At a press conference held in Accra on Thursday, July 31, 2025, GJA President, Albert Dwumfour said the association would formally write to diplomatic missions, including those of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and the European Union delegation in Ghana.

The letters will request that such individuals be denied visas or have existing ones revoked.

Mr Dwumfour also indicated that the association would petition the United Nations, African Union, ECOWAS and UNESCO to bar the named individuals from participating in peacekeeping operations and other international assignments.

These individuals will be considered a threat to press freedom and treated accordingly, he said. We will not allow them to represent Ghana abroad while attacking journalists at home.

The GJA cited recent incidents, including the assault on journalists during the Ablekuma North parliamentary election re-run and the arrest and alleged assault of JoyNews reporter Carlos Calony and his cameraman by National Security operatives during the demolition of a warehouse in Accra.

The association said there had been no credible prosecutions or transparent accountability in these cases.

In addition to seeking diplomatic sanctions, the GJA said it would publish the names, ranks and photographs of identified perpetrators on the front pages of major newspapers and on key digital platforms for a year.

These individuals would be labelled as Enemies of Democracy and Press Freedom.

Mr Dwumfour said the GJA would also petition the Ghana Armed Forces Council and the Police Council to prevent the promotion of officers involved in the abuse of journalists and to push for internal disciplinary action.

He warned that if the Ghana Police Service fails to provide detailed updates on all reported attacks within seven days, the Association will instruct media houses across the country to withhold coverage of police activities and declare them hostile to press freedom.

We are no longer accepting symbolic condemnations without consequences, Mr Dwumfour said. This time, there will be names, there will be consequences, and the world will know.

The GJA added that it would work with local and international human rights bodies to pursue civil lawsuits and human rights petitions on behalf of journalists who have been assaulted in the line of duty.
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Parliament approves one-year non-renewable mining lease for Abosso Goldfields

Graphic.com.gh Aug - 01 - 2025 , 14:14 2 minutes read

Parliament has approved a one-year transitional mining lease agreement between the Government of Ghana and Abosso Goldfields Limited for continued gold mining operations at Damang, located in the Wassa West District of the Western Region.

The lease follows the expiration of the previous agreement on April 18, 2025, and is scheduled to run until April 2026. It is explicitly non-renewable and prohibits any extension, transfer, mortgage, or related transactions beyond the stated expiry date.

Initially, the government had planned to take over operations after the expiration of the original lease.

However, following further consultations, it agreed to extend the arrangement by one additional year under strict non-renewable terms.

Background

Gold Fields Limited is the seventh biggest producer of gold in the world, and has two operational mines in Ghana, namely the Tarkwa Mine, which is operated by Gold Fields Ghana, and the Damang Mine, which is run by Abosso Goldfields Limited.

In 2011, Gold Fields bought out IAMGolds remaining interest in Damang, and the company now owns a 90 per cent stake, with the Government of Ghana holding the remaining 10 per cent.

According to the 2024 annual report of Gold Fields, no mineral reserves were declared at Damang, which meant there were no defined gold reserves to be mined there.

Actual mining at the mine is said to have stopped in 2023 as the company resorted to processing stockpiles.

In fact, it is stated in the Mineral Resources and Reserves Supplement to the Integrated Annual Report of 2023 that no exploration was proposed for the Damang Mine in 2024.

No reserves

The lack of reserves and the lack of funds for exploration spending for the Damang Mine appeared to suggest that the company was not interested in expanding mine life for the mine at Damang.

Additionally, the company, this year, intended to continue the processing of stockpiles in line with the life of the mine for at least one year.
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Plain stealing: Minister gives DSTV ultimatum to cut prices by August 7

Mohammed Ali Aug - 01 - 2025 , 12:00 2 minutes read

The Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation has warned that MultiChoice Ghana could have its broadcasting licence suspended if it fails to reduce DStv subscription fees by 30 per cent.

The Communications Minister Mr Samuel Nartey George issued the warning at a press conference in Accra on Friday, August 1, 2025, as part of the Government Accountability Series.

He stated that the directive, which has been communicated to the National Communications Authority (NCA), would take effect on August 7 if MultiChoice fails to revise its prices downwards.

Mr George explained that the move follows the companys rejection of a formal request by the ministry for a price reduction, despite what he described as macroeconomic improvements, including the recent strengthening of the Ghana cedi.

He said MultiChoice had responded in a nine-page letter dated July 21, dismissing the request and describing the cedis recovery as a fluke.

Describing the companys response as unacceptable, Mr George accused MultiChoice of unfair pricing practices.

The same content in the premium bouquet that is offered to Ghanaians for the equivalent of US$83 is offered to Nigerians for US$29. How can anyone explain this price disparity? he asked.

Mr George said the company had blamed its pricing in Ghana on the long-term depreciation of the cedi, but this, in his view, did not hold up when compared with Nigerias situation.

The Nigerian naira has depreciated by 409 per cent over the same period, yet Nigerians are paying far less for the same content, he noted.

He added that the ministry could not stand by while what he described as the exploitation of Ghanaian consumers continued unchecked.

I cannot continue to watch what can best be described as plain stealing happening to the Ghanaian people, he said.

The minister indicated that the governments position was aimed at protecting consumers and promoting fairness in pricing, particularly in the digital and broadcasting sectors.

He added that the directive is in line with the ministrys broader efforts to improve affordability, ensure transparency, and promote value for money in the delivery of digital services across the country.
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UDS student gets life sentence over campus love triangle murder

myjoyonline.com Aug - 01 - 2025 , 07:14 1 minute read

A Computer Science student at the University for Development Studies (UDS), Nyankpala campus, Salifu Nurudeen, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his fellow student, Wumpini Mohammed Zakiu.

The incident, which occurred in September 2024, stemmed from a dispute over a romantic relationship.

Nurudeens girlfriend, also a UDS student, had ended her relationship with him and begun dating the victim.

On September 25, Wumpinis body was discovered with multiple stab wounds, and his mobile phone was missing.

Subsequent investigations by the police cybercrime unit led to the phone being traced to Nurudeens location, where it was found hidden under his bed.

Evidence presented in court revealed that Nurudeen had sent messages from Wumpinis phoneone to the girlfriend, pretending to break up with her, and another to Wumpinis friend.

He was later arrested after being lured to Jubilee Park.

Though Nurudeen admitted to sending the text messages, he denied murdering the victim.

The Tamale High Court found him guilty of murder, and he was subsequently sentenced.
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Zanetor, Dafeamekpor, Annoh-Dompreh sworn in as Ghanas reps to Pan-African Parliament

Graphic.com.gh Aug - 01 - 2025 , 12:44 2 minutes read

Ghanas newly constituted delegation to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has officially been sworn in, reaffirming the countrys commitment to continental legislative dialogue and integration.

The delegation comprises Rockson-Nelson Etse Kwami Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dayi; Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP for Klottey-Korle; and Frank Annoh-Dompreh, MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri.

The three lawmakers took the oath of office during the Fifth Ordinary Session of the Sixth Parliament of the Pan-African Parliament, held in Midrand, South Africa, from July 16 to August 1, 2025.

They now join their counterparts from other African Union (AU) member states to deliberate on key continental issues such as peace and security, youth empowerment, climate action, and trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Ghanas delegation brings a rich mix of legal expertise, public health advocacy, and legislative experience to the Pan-African body.

Mr Dafeamekpor, a legal practitioner, is expected to contribute significantly to constitutional and legal discourse within PAP. Dr. Agyeman-Rawlings, with her background in health and environmental advocacy, is well positioned to support PAPs growing focus on sustainable development. Mr. Annoh-Dompreh, a seasoned legislator and Minority Chief Whip in Ghanas Parliament, is anticipated to play a pivotal role in strengthening institutional processes.

Their appointment has been widely welcomed by stakeholders as a meaningful step toward reinforcing Ghanas role in Africas democratic and development agenda.

Headquartered in South Africa, the Pan-African Parliament is one of the key organs of the African Union.

It provides a platform for African parliamentarians to engage in dialogue on matters of common interest and to offer advisory input on AU policies and programs.

Ghana has been an active member of PAP since its establishment in 2004, with its representatives consistently contributing to the advancement of AUs Agenda 2063 through committee work and policy advocacy.
Czech Ambassador hands over medical equipment to Greater Accra Regional Hospital

Justice Agbenorsi Health Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read

The government of the Czech Republic has handed over advanced sterilisation equipment worth GH 3million to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARH) to augment healthcare delivery.

The Plasmatico sterilisation devices and accompanying materials use an innovative technology that avoids the use of hydrogen peroxide to offer enhanced efficacy and greater energy efficiency compared to traditional sterilisation methods, leading to lower utility costs.

The donation was made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Chief Executive Officer of the Bone Marrow Transplant and Stem Cell Centre at the Level Two Day Surgical Unit of GARH, Dr John Yao Logah, and the CEO of a Czech company with a branch in Ghana, S.E.D.A Group Ghana, Martin Habart.

It was delivered by the Czech government through the CzechAID, the governments official development assistance.

As part of the donation, the Czech Ambassador to Ghana, Pavel Bilek, who handed over the equipment to the hospital, was also taken on a guided tour of the Bone Marrow Transplant and Stem Cell Centre, the first of its kind in the country where he was introduced to the advanced services being offered as he commended the initiative as a major step in specialised healthcare in the country.

Donation

Mr Bilek explained that the donation formed part of an ongoing collaboration between the Czech Republic and local healthcare stakeholders aimed at strengthening Ghanas medical infrastructure and infection control systems.

He added that Czechia had been involved in Ghanas development since its independence.

Outlining some interventions in the health sector, the Ambassador said the Czech branch of the Austrian company, VAMED, handed over 22 fully equipped hospitals to Ghana.

He stated that 12 of these facilities began operations earlier this year, funded by Czech and Austrian banks.

Mr Bilek further acknowledged the vital contributions of Czech doctors, who have provided free surgical services to thousands of Ghanaian patients as part of the MEDEVAC programme, a Czech Republic government-led initiative focused on providing medical assistance to vulnerable populations.

He expressed gratitude to SEDA Africa Group for its role in assisting the hospital.

The Ambassador reiterated his commitment to improving healthcare in the country through such gestures.



Gratitude

The Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Leslie Issa Adam-Zakaria, expressed gratitude to the Czech Republic for the support.

He said the hospital usually provided services to people who could not afford the services offered by the hospital.

As a result, he said the hospital did not receive the true value of the services offered, making it difficult to run the facility.

The partnership, he said, would go a long way to not only sterilise delicate equipment and increase their lifespan but to improve service delivery at the hospital.

Dr Adam-Zakaria stressed the hospitals commitment to improving healthcare quality for all.
Sanitary pad banks for 5 schools in Wa

Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor Health Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read

As part of efforts to promote menstrual hygiene and reduce absenteeism in school among young girls, Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD-Ghana), with funding from Plan International Ghana, has launched an initiative to provide free sanitary pads to girls in junior high schools in Wa.

The initiative is under the She Leads Project and is being implemented by Plan International Ghana.

Known as Sanitary Pad Banks for Junior High School girls, the initiative is being implemented in five JHS in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region.

The initiative aims to provide free pads to over 500 girls in the participating schools to improve menstrual hygiene, empower them to take on leadership roles in their schools and communities and conduct awareness workshops on menstrual health and leadership.

The participating schools are the Chegli Islamic JHS, the Sagu R/C JHS, the Kperisi M/A JHS, the Nyagli M/A JHS and the Nakori/ Chansa M/A JHS, all in the Wa Municipality.

Pilot

Speaking at the launch, the Executive Director of CARD Ghana, Ernestina Biney, said that since December 2023, CARD Ghana has successfully piloted the pad bank at two institutions: the Wa Methodist School for the Blind and the Simeon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies through the Womens Commissioner of the university.

She said that following the pilot's success, CARD Ghana decided to expand the initiative to five additional schools, ensuring more girls can manage their menstruation with dignity and stay in school.

She said the initiative was expected to increase school attendance among girls, improve menstrual health awareness in schools and communities and reduce stigma around menstruation.

When girls have access to sanitary products, they stay in school, gain confidence and become leaders.

This Pad Bank initiative is a step towards breaking barriers in girls education, she said.

Appeal

She appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to find ways of adopting the Pad Bank Initiative, especially in the JHS, to enable girls to access the pads when they experience periods in school.

She said this project could be adopted under the governments free sanitary pad initiative.

She further appealed to community stakeholders to find ways to stock the banks in the future.

This, Ms Biney explained, was to ensure the initiative's sustainability when the project ends.

This is a community project, not for CARD Ghana, so we want the community also to adopt it and support the smooth operation of the sanitary pad bank, she said.

Support your daughters

The Wa Municipal Girl Child Coordinator, Pognaa Amamata Mumuni, appealed to parents, especially fathers, to be interested in the welfare of their adolescent girls and buy sanitary pads.

She urged them not to leave the burden solely on the mothers, but also to support them in purchasing sanitary pads for their daughters.

This, she said, would ensure that the girls would not fall prey to any man and would not cut short their education through teenage pregnancy.
Featured

Lets not politicise Bawku conflict  Mahama Ayariga

Daily Graphic Politics Aug - 01 - 2025 , 09:57 2 minutes read

The Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has urged legislators and social commentators to refrain from politicising the Bawku conflict, given the volatile situation in the area.

He noted that the Bawku conflict could be traced back to 1957; therefore, it would be disingenuous for any political party to use the Bawku conflict to score a "cheap" political point.

Nitiwul

Mr Ayariga was responding to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul who criticised the incumbent government for failing to release funds and logistical resources to the Military to deal swiftly with the Bawku crisis.

Mr Nitiwul was commenting on the Mid-Year Budget Review during a debate in Parliament.

Mr Nitiwul, who is also a former Minister of Defence, refuted claims made by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, during the mid-year budget review that the government had supplied 3,500 motobikes to the security agencies.

Dont politicise

Mr Ayariga, while clarifying issues on the floor of Parliament, remarked: "I have restrained myself from commenting on Bawku...I beg you, don't politicise Bawku...let's be sensitive to the volatile security situation in Bawku."

The Bawku Central legislator gave the assurance that the government was working tirelessly to bring lasting peace to the area.

The Bawku conflict has escalated in recent weeks with the killing of a Kusasi Chief in Asawase in Kumasi and the subsequent killing of two students at the Nalerigu Senior High School by unknown gunmen.

Those killings have been linked to the Bawku ethnic conflict, thus sparking public outcry and demand for the government to act decisively to end the conflict.  GNA
Featured

Mid-Year Budget debate: Were resetting economy  Majority: Growth stems from NPP-era  Minority

Dickson Worlanyo Dotse Politics Aug - 01 - 2025 , 07:57 3 minutes read

The Majority in Parliament has stated that the government was resetting the countrys economy using homegrown policies, productive spending, and gold-backed reserves instead of debt-fuelled bailouts.

During the debate on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review yesterday, the Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Cape Coast South, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, said for the first time in 70 years, the nation had full control of its gold  a shift he described as transformational.

Something has happened in this country under President Mahama and the Minister of Finance, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson. We now own our gold. Weve added $2.2 billion from gold alone to our reserves, he said.

Mr Ricketts-Hagan explained that the strategic move had boosted gross reserves to over $11 billion and helped stabilise the Ghana Cedi, which had appreciated by 42 per cent against the US dollar, 32 per cent against the British Pound, and 24 per cent against the Euro.

He further argued that, unlike the previous administration, which relied heavily on Eurobond borrowing, cocoa syndicated loans, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) drawdowns to shore up the economy, the current National Democratic Congress (NDC)-led government was using domestic resources to rebuild.

The Cape Coast South MP slammed the previous governments Gold-for-Oil programme, calling it a reckless barter trade that caused a $2.4 billion financial loss to the state.

We dont know who supplied the oil, at what price, or where the rest of the money went, he added, calling for accountability.

Reforms, spending

Touching on institutional reforms, Mr Ricketts-Hagan said the government had injected over GH2 billion into the National Investment Bank (NIB) to restructure it.

He accused the former administration of mismanaging NIBs assets, including the sale of its Nestle shares, and of failing to resolve its capital shortfalls despite parliamentary approvals.

The Deputy Majority Leader added that the current administrations spending was targeted and productive.

Your kind of spending will never happen again. We will put the money in the productive sector of the economy. We will spend on growth, not waste it. We will not dig a hole and abandon it. We won't choose to fly on an aeroplane to bath in, he said.

Minority rebuttal

The Minority MP for Takoradi, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, challenged the governments claim of driving economic growth through homegrown policies, crediting the previous NPP administration for the gains in agriculture and fisheries that boosted GDP.

He argued that the current growth stemmed from initiatives such as Planting for Food and Jobs Phase II and reforms in the fisheries sector.

On the NIB, he questioned the governments narrative, citing past support for distressed banks under the New Patriotic Party (NPP), justifying similar interventions for NIB.

He also defended the Gold-for-Oil programme and said the foundation for the countrys gold reserves was laid under the NPP, not the NDC.

Mr Darko-Mensah raised concerns about the structure of the new GoldBod and called for reforms to decentralise licensing and ensure traceability to curb illegal mining.
China seeks to deepen dialogue, consultations with U.S.

Xinhua) 08:11, August 01, 2025

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China looks forward to deepening dialogue and consultations with the United States to seek more mutually beneficial outcomes, Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong said on Thursday.

The spokesperson made the remarks while responding to a media question about the recent China-U.S. trade talks held in Stockholm, Sweden.

The two sides held candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges on China-U.S. economic and trade relations, macroeconomic policies, and other topics of mutual concern. Both sides reviewed and acknowledged the consensus reached in Geneva and implementation of the framework established in London, the spokesperson said.

Based on the consensus reached during the Stockholm talks, both sides will continue to push for extending the suspension of 24 percent of the U.S. reciprocal tariffs, along with China's corresponding countermeasures, for an additional 90 days, he said.

The consensus is expected to help further stabilize China-U.S. economic and trade relations and inject more certainty into global economic development and stability, he said.

China looks forward to working with the United States in accordance with the important consensus reached by the two heads of state to maximize the effectiveness of the bilateral economic and trade consultation mechanism, the spokesperson added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
The China Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka has now welcomed over 1 million visitors, proving itself one of the fair's biggest draws.

With its blend of Chinese cultural heritage, green tech, and innovation in immersive design, the pavilion continues to attract global audiences.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Samsung confirms Exynos 2600 will be the first 2nm chipset on the market

Samsung published its quarterly financial report today, which saw total operating profits down by over 50% as its semiconductor business took a massive hit. Despite the unfavorable financial results, the earnings call did reveal a bright spot for the companys upcoming Exynos 2600 chip  it will be fabbed on Samsung Foundrys 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process and will be the first 2nm chipset on the market once it launches alongside the Galaxy S26 series.

Exynos 2600 will be the first flagship chipset fabricated on the latest 2nm GAA process [via Samsung Foundry]... 2600 offers a significant improvement in NPU performance versus the prior version with enhanced support for on-device AI functionality.

Samsung also confirmed that its upcoming Exynos 2600 chipset will be fabbed on the 2nm Gate-All-Around (GAA) process.

According to a leaked Geekbench listing, Exynos 2600 will feature a ten-core CPU just like the Exynos 2500 but with an altered core arrangement.

As per the listing, Exynos 2600 will offer a 1+3+6 configuration, where the single prime core is clocked at 3.55 GHz, 3x performance cores running at 2.96 GHz and 6x efficiency units at 2.46 GHz. The CPU will be joined by an Xclipse 960 GPU, which is expected to offer up to 15% better performance than the Adreno 830 inside Qualcomms Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Exynos 2600 is expected to debut on the Galaxy S26 Pro and S26 Edge, while the S26 Ultra should stick with Qualcomms flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.

Via 1 | Via 2
In ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus was the Titan who defied the gods to bring fire to humanity. This wasnt just about warmth or light. Fire was about enabling civilization.

Fire symbolized knowledge, power, and transformation. For this divine rebellion, Prometheus paid a steep price. He was condemned to eternal torment by Zeus. But his gift became the spark that launched human progress.

Fast forward to today, and the name Prometheus is once again igniting transformation. But this time, the flame isnt mythological. Its real, tangible, and urgently needed. Its a 21st-century fire and its sparks are flying toward Guam.

Let me introduce you to the Prometheus Center of Excellence, a bold initiative currently headquartered in Virginia with plans to expand. The mission? To solve the critical maritime workforce and component shortages plaguing our naval maintenance and sustainment capability.

The solution? A dual-purpose workforce training and advanced manufacturing facility laser-focused on rebuilding the U.S. industrial base that underpins naval power projection.

Prometheus is actively seeking to establish a forward satellite training and manufacturing hub in the Indo-Pacific. Thats where Guam comes in.

Why Guam? Why Now?

Guams strategic location has always made it the linchpin of Americas posture in the Western Pacific. But lets be honest. For far too long, Guam has been treated like a forward operating base, not a forward innovation base. Thats got to change.

With the rise of great power competition in the Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon is urgently shifting toward distributed operations, forward maintenance, and resilient supply chains. The days of flying parts from San Diego or Pearl Harbor are numbered. The future belongs to prepositioned capability. That means we need skilled people and smart, innovative facilities right here, right now.

The Prometheus Center of Excellence Guam Initiative could be the spark that reignites Guams dormant ship repair capability. Historically, Guam hosted a ship repair facility that played a key role in maintaining naval assets until it closed in 2013. Today, we have an opportunity not just to revive that legacy but to modernize it.

Guam is already seeing signs of this innovation, industrial renaissance. The establishment of the Guam Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Accelerator, under ASTRO America, is laying the foundation. With 3D printing pioneer Alex Benham leading GAMMA, Guam is positioned to support submarine and aviation maintenance using next-generation additive manufacturing.

But heres the innovation kicker: this wouldnt be your grandfathers shipyard.

Smart micro factories

Imagine walking into a ship repair facility in Apra Harbor or the Tiyan industrial zone. Theyre not filled with rusty tools and aging infrastructure, but alive with the hum of autonomous robots, AI-driven diagnostics, IoT-connected sensors, and 3D printers building aircraft parts or valve replacements on demand.

Imagine smart maintenance, repair, and overhaul hubs that use predictive analytics to tell you whats going to break before it does and then print the replacement using additive manufacturing.

Now imagine that these advanced industrial capabilities, built to meet U.S. Navy needs, also start pulling in commercial contracts. They would service merchant fleets, inter-island shipping, offshore wind components, marine tourism vessels, and even superyachts. Imagine that Guam isnt just a pitstop for the U.S. military.

Guam is also ideally positioned to support emerging naval capabilities like unmanned underwater vehicles and autonomous surface vessels, critical assets in the Navys hybrid fleet strategy for 2027 and beyond. These systems require specialized skills and sustainment infrastructure. These are skills that Prometheus can train, and Guam can deliver.

This is the vision that Prometheus unlocks.

But we need to act.

Lets build the future

To our elected officials, business owners, educators, and industry champions: this is our Promethean moment.

Just as the mythical Prometheus lit the way for humanity, the Prometheus Center of Excellence can help us light the way to Guams rebirth as a strategic, resilient, and innovative economic powerhouse.

Now is the time for:

 GovGuam and our congressional delegate to support the establishment of a Prometheus Indo-Pacific Command Satellite Center on Guam;

 Guam Community College, University of Guam, GCA Trades Academy, Guam Department of Education and DoDEA to build pipeline partnerships with the Prometheus curriculum and training systems;

 Guams construction and ship repair trades to align apprenticeship and journeyman certification programs with future maintenance, repair and overhaul needs;

 Defense contractors and logistics firms to preposition contracts, jobs, and tech on Guam, leveraging the Prometheus initiative; and

 The local tech community and makerspaces to embrace smart factory and additive manufacturing skills as core competencies.

Were not just talking about bringing jobs back. Were talking about bringing purpose, capability, innovation and pride back to our island.

From fire to future

Prometheus brought fire to humanity. We can bring industrial firepower back to Guam and train the next generation of builders, welders, engineers, and tech innovators to build their future right here and not chase opportunity elsewhere.

And when we do, the whole Pacific will see the glow.
Some 75 new U.S. citizens took their oath of allegiance at the Guam Congress Building on Friday morning, as the island celebrated 75 years since the Organic Act of Guam conferred U.S. citizenship to local residents and their descendants.

They raised their right hands in unison, and swore to defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America.

The 75 newly minted citizens came from seven different countries, according to District Court of Guam Chief Judge France Tydingco Gatewood, who presided over the naturalization ceremony.

One came from China, one from Georgia, two from India, two from the Federated States of Micronesia, three from Palau, four from South Korea, and a whopping 62 from the Philippines.

Carl Daniel Ragojos, 18, was the youngest person naturalized Friday, along with mom Joane Ragojos, 44, and dad Nino Jess Ragojos.

The young man said he, his mother, and grandmother Niel Marzan, 63, have lived in Dededo for nine years, and were joined by his dad five years ago.

It was nice, it was like a relief. The burden lifted from my shoulders, from our shoulders, said Carl Daniel Ragojos, who added hes been studying for his citizenship test by watching YouTube videos.

Originally from the Philippines, the Ragojoses were one of six families naturalized together on Friday.

Also naturalized were three U.S. service members, like Airman Joshua Fathal, 29, who said he began his path to citizenship in November 2024, in basic training for the U.S. Air Force.

Fathal said his family was from Yap in the FSM, but he grew up in Sinajana and now resides in Yona.

Its great, he said of his new citizenship. Im proud of where Im from but I also was raised here. Im proud to be here. Proud to serve my island, proud to serve my country.

Special day

Judge Tydingco-Gatewood told the new citizens and their family members that Friday was a special day.

On this day, 75 years ago, the Organic Act of Guam specifically created a territorial court. The District Court of Guam, Tydingco-Gatewood told the 75 new citizens and their families.

That territorial court and its judges were vested with all the powers typical of a federal court, to include the power to preside over naturalization of new U.S. citizens.

And before the Guam Congress Building was the meeting place for local lawmakers, it was the original District Court of Guam, the judge said.

It was for that reason that the venue for Fridays ceremony was changes to the legislative session hall, instead of the typical location at the District Court in Anigua,

The first judge appointed under the Organic Act was Judge Paul Shriver, Tyingco-Gatewood said. This was his courtroom, in this particular building.

It was also the same room that has welcomed countless of applicants for citizenship who, just like you today, stood here to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, she told those present.

Tydingco-Gatewood said that Guams new fellow citizens followed in the footsteps of pioneers before them.

It is you who may best appreciate the true meaning of becoming an American citizen, she said.

Also appearing to distribute certificates of citizenship Friday was Del. James Moylan.

Moylan said it was a privilege to join the new citizens, as Guam celebrated the law that gave island residents their own citizenship.

Guams story is one of resilience, service and sacrifice, and today, your stories become part of that legacy, Moylan said.

Whether you came in search of opportunity, safety or simply a better life for your family, this moment marks a powerful new beginning as new citizens. You now carry both the right and the responsibility to shape the future of our nation, we proudly call home, he said.

We are grateful to share this milestone with you. Welcome. Congratulations and God bless America, Moylan told them.
A key witness in the attempted murder trial of Jathan John Pangelinan Tedtaotao on Thursday admitted under oath that she lied on the stand and fabricated parts of her account surrounding the April 2 shooting and kidnapping of Michael Blas in Chalan Gasga, Yigo.

I was just scared, Mariann Topasna said after confirming she had given false information and intended to mislead the court and investigators.

She replied false when asked by both prosecuting attorney Grant Olan and defense attorney Joseph Razzano whether her earlier testimony had been truthful.

Topasna was the subject of a court-issued warrant early Tuesday morning when prosecutors said they were unable to locate her. She was eventually brought in and testified Thursday that she did not witness the incident.

However, under pressure from audio recordings and her written statement to police, which Olan presented in court, Topasna reversed course.

Did you hear where you said that you had already met with the Attorney Generals Office and told them false information? Olan asked.

Yes, she admitted.

When you heard the telephone call you said that you were going to give false information to the attorney general. You recall that? Razzano asked.

Yes, she replied.

Did you ever do that?

No, I did not. I was just scared, she said.

Topasna was also heard on the recording talking about keeping Blas in line and suggesting others involved in the case were coordinating their statements.

Did you hear where Jathan again said, make sure Michael is in line?

Yes, she said.

Did you hear where you said that Michael Blas was going to say he was drunk?

Yes, she said.

She also acknowledged in the phone call that she believed the case would not proceed to trial.

Did you hear where you said that you didnt think Jathan or Jeremy would go to trial because Michael Blas was going to drop the charges? Olan asked.

Yes, she said.

The incident occurred on the property in Yigo that Blas identified during his testimony as Paintball Road, not Chalan Gasga.

Tedtaotao, one of three siblings charged, is accused of participating in the shooting and kidnapping. His co-defendants, Shaenita and Jeromy Moe Pangelinan, will be tried separately.

He faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping, possession of a deadly weapon and destruction of evidence.

Topasna gave conflicting accounts about why she was at the property that night. Initially, she claimed she went to borrow a welder.

In your statement, you said that you had gone there to borrow a welder. Is that correct? Rozzano asked.

Yes, she said.

What were you going to do with the welder? Rozzano said.

Where I was living, we were welding our foundation, the pipes to the ground, Topasna responded.

She described arriving and seeing about six people around Blas.

There was some whole commotion going on, she said. We saw a little bit of him before I left.

Topasna testified she saw what she described as the siblings jumping Blas and left to get help.

You saw that there was a fight, saw that he had gotten, I guess you described it as jumping, correct? Olan asked.

Yes, she replied.

She said she was not present during the shooting.

You told us that you did not see the shooting, correct? You were not there when the shooting occurred, Razzano asked.

I wasnt there, Topasna replied.

Razzano questioned her about her relationship with Tedtaotao.

You describe Jathan as an acquaintance. What did you mean by that? he asked.

He was just someone who always came around, she replied.

So youre not good friends with him or close? Razzano said.

Topasna shook her head and replied, No.

Topasna admitted Paintball Road was known for drug use, particularly methamphetamine. She confirmed Blas was her neighbor and that she knew he used meth but said he was not an addict.

Do you know if Michael Blas was using methamphetamine on April 2, 2025? Razzano asked.

I dont know, she said.

Judge Maria Cenzon ruled Topasna subject to recall and ordered her not to speak to anyone about her testimony.

The trial is scheduled to resume Friday.




Haiti - FLASH : Reduced budget, PNH limited in its actions





The Haitian National Police (PNH) Directorate reports that it has received only 65% of the budget allocated for field operations. This funding is insufficient to achieve the expected results, according to the PNH Directorate.



"The Haitian National Police (PNH) hereby provides certain clarifications regarding the misinterpretations made on social media by malicious individuals regarding the funds requested by the Police Institution from the State to cover the cost of ongoing police operations on several fronts, particularly in the West, Center, and Artibonite departments.



Following a budget estimate of 272,323,800 Gourdes forwarded by the PNH Administration to the relevant authorities, only 177,130,000 Gourdes, representing 65% of this budget estimate, was allocated by the Ministry of Economy and Finance as of July 18, 2025, for the benefit of the Police Institution.



This budget estimate is broken down as follows :



1 - For operations in the commune of Kenscoff, an amount of 62,680,000 Gourdes was requested for the period from June 26 to July 25. An amount of 45,000,000 Gourdes was allocated, representing a difference of 17,680,000 Gourdes.



2 - For the series of operations and interventions in the Torcel and Pernier areas, for the period from June 24 to July 25, a total of 20,610,000 Gourdes was requested. A total of 15,000,000 Gourdes was granted, representing a difference of 5,610,000 Gourdes.



3 - For the commune of Gressier, a total of 59,180,000 Gourdes was requested to continue operations against criminal gangs during the period from June 25 to July 26. A total of 40,000,000 Gourdes was granted, representing a difference of 19,180,000 Gourdes.



4 - A sum of 49,105,000 Gourdes was requested for police operations in the Artibonite department, for the period from June 11 to July 10. A sum of 35,000,000 Gourdes was granted.



5 - For the municipality of Mirebalais, a sum of 43,268,500 Gourdes was requested for the continuation of police operations on June 25 (one month, renewable). A sum of 29,500,000 Gourdes was granted, representing a difference of 13,768,500 Gourdes.



6 - Regarding the ongoing operations in the Coasts and Bay of Port-au-Prince, a sum of 37,480,300 Gourdes was requested for the period from July 9 (one month, renewable). While a sum of 12,630,000 Gourdes has been granted, representing a difference of 24,850,300 Gourdes.



Furthermore, due to the funds not being disbursed to the PNH for approximately four months, the institution has already accumulated debts that it has not yet been able to repay.



It is important to emphasize to the general public, and the press in particular, that, contrary to rumors suggesting that the granted amount has already been used, no check has yet been issued to the Police Institution, as of this writing.



Once received, this sum, representing only 65% of the projected budget, will be used to enable the PNH to conduct police operations, care for officers deployed in the field, and cover other expenses, such as :



- Fuel;

- Per diem;

- Catering;

- Beverages;

- Repair of vehicles and heavy machinery;

- Unforeseen events.



It is important to emphasize that this malicious disinformation campaign, which is being orchestrated by dishonest individuals, is aimed solely at destabilizing the PNH."



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Peace and Stability : Preliminary Draft Roadmap of more than US$1.3 Billion





Albert Ramdin, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Washington, D.C., participated in the first meeting of the Group of Friends of Haiti, an informal platform for sharing information on the situation and ongoing cooperation activities in Haiti as they evolve.



Secretary General Ramdin provided an update on the preparation of a Roadmap for Haiti, resulting from an OAS General Assembly resolution 3039, which calls for the development, in consultation with the government of Haiti, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), and the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, of a consolidated Action Plan addressing the security, humanitarian, political and development challenges. "The Roadmap is grounded in the belief that restoring Haitis stability requires a clear and unified strategy, one that promotes Haitian ownership, delivers real results for the population, and ensures that every partner knows where and how to contribute," said Secretary General Ramdin.



A preliminary draft of this Haiti-led roadmap, developed by the OAS, includes five strategic pillars: : security stabilization, humanitarian response, political consensus, electoral legitimacy, and sustainable development.



$908.2 million : humanitarian response;

$96 million : security stabilization and peacebuilding;

$5.1 million : political consensus and governance support;

$104.1 million : electoral process and institutional legitimacy;

$186.6 million : sustainable development.



The provisional draft specifies : "[...] This budget estimate does not represent the total amount of financial resources required to implement each pillar. It reflects current projections based on preliminary activities and available information. Several elements still require more precise quantification in coordination with national authorities, international partners, and relevant stakeholders. [...]"



Participants discussed the urgent need for comprehensive support to Haiti, highlighting security, humanitarian, and development priorities. Key points included the call for increased funding and operational planning for the Multinational Security Support mission (MSS), improving healthcare access amid widespread system collapse, addressing food insecurity through agricultural development, and expanding economic opportunities. The OAS Secretary General proposed convening a donor conference under IDB leadership to coordinate efforts.



The meeting brought together key stakeholders, representatives of international organizations, as well as OAS member and observer states. Haitis Permanent Representative to the OAS, Myrtha Desulme, shared information on the grave security and humanitarian situation in Haiti and called for solidarity and urgent action for the Haitian people.



Other participants included the Permanent Representative of Jamaica, Antony Anderson, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Haiti and Head of the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), Carlos Ruiz Massieu; David Kerich, Permanent Observer of Kenya to the OAS; the Executive Director of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), Mara Tekach; the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn; the Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Mary Lou Valdez; the Deputy Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Lloyd Day; the Manager of the Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group at the World Bank, Nabila Assaf; and Sowmya Krishnamoorty of the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF).



At the conclusion of the meeting, Secretary General Ramdin reiterated his call on the international community to provide immediate international attention, support and resources commensurate with the urgency of the security and humanitarian situation. In addition, he reaffirmed that all efforts would remain strictly within the mandate provided by the OAS Charter.



SL/ HaitiLibre
























Haiti - Dominican Rep. : The Haitian Embassy welcomes the improvement in living conditions for Haitians at the Haina Detention Center





During a tour of the facilities of the Detention Center for Foreigners in an Irregular Migration Situation (CPM-Haina), Joseph Pierre Lamothe, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Haiti in the Dominican Republic, accompanied by the head of the Directorate General of Migration (DGM), Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, ARD praised the ongoing work at CPM-Haina and expressed optimism about the efforts made by the Directorate General of Migration (DGM) to improve the living conditions of Haitians detained due to their irregular migration status.



The purpose of the visit was to learn about the facilities and the progress of the renovation and adaptation project, as well as the conditions and treatment of illegal aliens transiting through the predominantly Haitian site.



Joseph Pierre Lamothe was accompanied by Jean-Francois Patrick Pierre, First Secretary; Magdala Guelce, First Secretary, and Hipolito Dolis, attorney in the Embassy's Legal Department. On the Dominican side, Lee Ballester was accompanied by General Juan Vicente Perez, Colonel Manuel Carrasco, Captain Nancy de la Cruz, and Laura Marinez, directors of Intelligence, Immigration Control, Finance, and Immigration Affairs, respectively.



After touring all the CPM-Haina facilities and the work plan implemented to optimize space utilization and improve the living conditions of foreigners, the Haitian delegation spoke freely with Haitian immigrants.



They were also shown the multipurpose spaces intended to accommodate pregnant women admitted to the center. They and their children benefit from 24/7 medical assistance, which treats and assesses them, and provides them with packages containing clothing, hygiene items, food, infant formula, etc...



They were also informed that upon arrival, undocumented foreigners are classified by gender and then undergo an individual identification procedure, during which their biometric data and fingerprints are collected in accordance with Dominican law and international standards to which the country is a signatory.



"I am optimistic; if mistakes were made before, the important thing is to know what is being done now to correct them. I see that many things are being corrected, and if this continues, during the negotiations that Haiti will have to conduct with the Dominicans on the migration issue, it will be much easier to reach an agreement on this point," said Lamothe.



S/ HaitiLibre


















Speaking at the Etyk+50 conference in Helsinki on Thursday, Stubb criticised unnamed European states whose nationalist leaderships, he said, are drifting toward Russias sphere of influence and eroding the shared principles that have underpinned Europes post-war order.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb has urged European nations to make a decisive choice between authoritarianism and democracy, warning that continued cooperation with Russia weakens continental unity and undermines support for Ukraine.

In Europe, we are faced with an important decision, Stubb said. Between spheres of interest and the use of force, or the sovereignty of states and common rules and principles.

Although he did not name specific countries, Stubbs remarks appeared directed at Hungary and Slovakia. Both Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico have pursued open dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin and taken positions at odds with broader EU and NATO strategies.

Stubb warned that accepting a world shaped by spheres of influence would strip sovereign nations of their autonomy.

Returning to a world order in which spheres of influence dominate leads to a situation in which the citizens of independent, democratic states would not decide on their own affairs, he said. Instead, the undemocratic leaderships of another country would make those decisions.

He said any prospect of normalising relations with Russia depends on the establishment of a just and durable peace in Ukraine. He predicted that Russia would remain on a path of militarisation for at least the next five to ten years.

Russia will not become a peaceful democracy in that time, Stubb said.

He also characterised Putin as a strategic fool and a military failure and said he doubted the Russian leader would challenge NATOs Article 5, the clause guaranteeing collective defence.

The comments came amid growing concern within the EU and NATO over the weakening of unified support for Ukraine, now in the third year of resisting Russias full-scale invasion.

In June, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that if countries like the UK did not increase defence spending, they might as well start learning Russian.

The Etyk+50 summit in Helsinki marked fifty years since the signing of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, a Cold War-era agreement that laid the foundations for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). While the event commemorated past diplomatic milestones, it was overshadowed by current divisions in Europe over security and sovereignty.

HT
The change allows students with insufficient skills in Finnish or Swedish to complete their matriculation exams in English, the first time Finlands national school-leaving exams will be available in a language other than the countrys two official languages.

Finland will begin offering upper secondary education in English from August 2026 following the implementation of a new law aimed at attracting foreign professionals and supporting returning Finnish families.

The law, which takes effect on Friday, restricts the new English-language path to students already living in Finland. It does not apply to non-EU citizens moving to Finland solely for study purposes.

Schools wishing to offer English-language instruction must submit applications to the Ministry of Education and prepare full curriculums in line with national guidelines. The first students will begin studies in 2026, with English-language matriculation exams available from 2028.

The reform was approved by Parliament in December 2024. Officials say it responds to labour market challenges and supports social integration.

The aim is to make Finland more attractive for international experts with families, and also to encourage Finnish returnees to come back, said Petri Lehikoinen, head of education at the Finnish National Agency for Education.

Currently, Finlands matriculation exams are only conducted in Finnish and Swedish. Under the new law, students will only be admitted to the English-language path if their Finnish and Swedish skills are deemed insufficient. The assessment will be based on criteria defined in the law.

The new offering will primarily be available in urban centres. According to Lehikoinen, schools in larger cities are best placed to pilot the English-language programme due to their existing international student populations and infrastructure.

In addition to introducing English-language instruction, the reform also mandates updates to special education and tutorial support services across the secondary school system.

The law change is part of broader education reforms being rolled out by the Ministry of Education and Culture.

HT
A reform to Finlands student financial aid system came into effect on Friday. It increases reliance on state-backed loans by reducing grant-based support. But for Muslim students, loans with interest are not a viable option.

Muslim students at Finnish universities are working extra hours or relying on family to cover their study costs, avoiding interest-bearing student loans that conflict with Islamic principles.

Mohamed Abdi, a board member of the Muslim Students' Association at the University of Helsinki, said many students are adjusting by working multiple shifts each week.

Islam encourages avoiding debt wherever possible, Abdi said. We work part-time during the academic year and more during holidays. It helps us stay debt-free and meet our study expenses.

Islamic finance prohibits interest. The Quran and prophetic tradition outline three key requirements for permissible borrowing: the intention to repay, the presence of witnesses during the agreement, and interest-free terms.

Abdi said he has taken summer courses to extend his student aid through the break, allowing him to save summer earnings for the school year. He lives with his family and contributes to rent, electricity, and water bills.

Working during studies can delay graduation, cause fatigue, and reduce academic performance, he said.

Some Muslim-majority countries offer interest-free student loans or scholarships. In Britain, for example, students can apply for special grants tailored to Islamic finance principles. No equivalent system exists in Finland.

Abdihakim Mohamed, also a student in Helsinki, said no one in his circle has taken a student loan.

We work, and we live within our means, he said.

Mohamed supports himself mainly through substitute teaching and receives occasional financial support from his parents and older siblings.

It's not always work in my field, but it covers the basics, he said.

Though he is aware of Muslim students who have taken loans, Mohamed said most still avoid them. He has followed national debate about student debt and sees his own choice positively.

After graduation, I wont have to deal with debt or financial anxiety, he said.

Under the new system, students can still receive basic grants and housing aid, but the portion of support coming from loans has increased. This is intended to encourage faster completion of studies, but it poses barriers for students who avoid loans for religious or financial reasons.

Muslim student representatives say the system does not account for their circumstances. Without access to faith-compatible financing options, they face longer study times and heavier work burdens.

Finland currently offers no state-recognised Islamic finance instruments, and there is no pathway for interest-free student loans.

HT
The deployment, announced on Trumps Truth Social account on Friday, follows a public exchange between the two men after Trump demanded that Russia agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine by 8 August. Trump warned that if Moscow refuses, the United States would impose unprecedented sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia and countries buying its oil.

Donald Trump has ordered two US Navy nuclear submarines to waters near Russia in response to threats made by Dmitry Medvedev , former Russian president and current deputy chair of Russias Security Council.

Trump described Medvedevs recent statements as foolish and incendiary and said the deployment was a precaution in case the threats escalate beyond rhetoric.

Words carry weight and often have unintended consequences. I hope this is not one of those times, Trump wrote.

Medvedev, reacting to Trumps deadline, warned that any ultimatum from the United States would be considered a step toward direct conflict, not between Russia and Ukraine, but with the US itself. In a post on X, Medvedev accused Trump of gambling with war and invoked Russias nuclear deterrent system, the so-called Dead Hand, which is designed to automatically launch a retaliatory strike if national leadership is destroyed.

Trump responded by warning Medvedev to choose his language carefully. Tell Medvedev, the failed former president who still thinks he holds power, to watch his words. Hes approaching dangerous ground, Trump wrote.

The Pentagon has not disclosed the precise location of the submarines, but defence analysts believe they may be operating in international waters in the Arctic or North Atlantic region. The vessels are part of the US Navys strategic fleet and are capable of launching ballistic missiles.

The diplomatic standoff has emerged amid intensifying Russian strikes on Ukraine. July saw a record number of drone attacks launched by Russia, according to UN and AFP data. Civilian casualties have risen in recent weeks, with the latest drone and missile attack on Kyiv killing 31 people, including three children.

Trump has repeatedly criticised Russias actions in Ukraine, calling them repugnant in remarks to reporters on Thursday. He has stated that sanctions alone may not be enough to deter Moscow and indicated readiness to escalate measures if no ceasefire is reached by the August deadline.

The US presidents ultimatum includes the threat of 100 percent tariffs on Russian oil, extending to any country continuing to import it. As a result, Indian state-owned refiners reportedly halted purchases of Russian crude last week, according to Reuters. Several shipments have been rerouted to alternative destinations.

Medvedevs remarks have drawn attention for their tone and explicit reference to nuclear deterrence. His suggestion that Trumps pressure signals Russian success in Ukraine reflects Moscows claim of progress on the battlefield, despite continued Western support for Kyiv.

Trumps stance has divided opinion in Washington. Some officials support his direct approach, citing stalled negotiations and the humanitarian toll in Ukraine. Others have warned against public ultimatums that risk inflaming tensions with Moscow.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed renewed negotiations through working groups, with meetings held in private and without media access. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi responded that Ukraine remains open to direct talks between leaders, but only if Russia shows genuine willingness to end the war.

Trumps move to deploy submarines marks one of the most visible shows of force in his second term. His administration has framed it as both a deterrent and a message to Russias leadership.

HT
Absher remains jailed under $300k bond after first appearance

Michael Absher

A former Henderson County School Board member who faces two felony counts of statutory sexual offense with a child under 16 remained in jail on a $300,000 bond on Friday after a first appearance in District Court.

Wearing a gray and white striped jail jumpsuit, Michael Lee Absher appeared before Judge Gene Johnson via video link from the detention center for the brief first appearance. He got a court-appointed attorney, no reduction in bond and, based on a request from the District Attorney's office, a new condition added should he be released from jail.

Absher "runs a home for troubled and homeless youth and that seems to be part of the issue alleged by law enforcement," Assistant District Attorney Michael Van Buren told Johnson. The judge granted the prosecutor's request to bar Absher, 35, from having contact with anyone under 18 years old upon his release from jail.

Detectives with the sheriff's Criminal Investigations Division Special Investigations Unit arrested Absher Thursday on the felony counts after a disclosure of sexual assaults of juveniles, the sheriff's office said in a news release said. Deputies also executed a search warrant at the Only Hope WNC residence where Absher lives. Arrest warrants showed that the alleged offenses occurred last Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 against a victim identified only by two initials. Both the arrest warrant and voter records show Absher's home address as 416 Allen Road, which is the location of Only Hope's house for homeless youth.

Following his arrest, Absher appeared before a magistrate who issued a secured bond set at $300,000.

The alleged assault is part of an on-going investigation, and no other information will be released at this time, the sheriffs office said Thursday. We encourage anyone with additional information regarding Michael Absher to contact the Special Investigations Unit at 828-694-5714 or use the 'submit a tip' feature available on our mobile app," the news release said.

Since he founded Only Hope WNC, Absher has been successful in persuading local government and other grantors to appropriate money to support its operations. In the budget it adopted in June, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners appropriated $35,000 to Only Hope WNC.

"Only Hope WNC Inc. is a local non-profit whose mission is to promote the value of education, honor individuality and diversity, nurture respect for self and others, and provide hope for young people in need in community. ... seeking assistance," the nonprofit says in a mission statement. "Only Hope Dream Home: Imagine having a place where homeless teens can come and feel safe. A place where they can come when they have nowhere else to go. A place to offer training for a bright future. A home where we are able to find stable housing for students, transition them into independent living, and offer support services for them."

According to Guidestar, a website that reports the business and finances of nonprofit organizations, Only Hope had revenue of $189,000 and listed assets of $42,111.

A 990 tax form filed in 2023  the most recent one on the IRS website reported contribution and gifts totaling $158,200, program service revenue including government contracts of $31,000, total expenses of $193,710 and a fund balance of $42,111. The tax return showed Absher working 40 hours a week but drawing no pay. Board members reported working 1, 5, 10 or 20 hours a week, also with no pay.

A graduate of East Henderson High School, Absher won local, regional and even national recognition when he was first starting Only Hope. He received the Wells Fargo Co.'s annual Volunteer Service Award in 2014 when he was working as a teller at the bank's South Main Street location. Wells Fargo contributed $10,000 to Only Hope WNC in honor of Absher and his contributions to the organization.
Kinneret Living, Orlando, FL  At 92, Ethel (Ester) Goodmark still radiates warmth, wit, and wisdom from her apartment at Kinneret, where shes lived for the past five years. Raised in Jacksonville, Florida, Ethels life has been deeply shaped by her Jewish upbringing, a 70-year marriage, a fulfilling career, and a devotion to family.

I was raised conservative, Ethel recalled, because my mother came from an Orthodox family and my father from a Reform one. Middle of the road was the best place to go. Her childhood revolved around the Jacksonville Jewish Center, and although she attended Heb...
Rabbi Neil Danzig, a longtime professor of rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and an authority on the post-Talmudic Babylonian scholars known as the Geonim, died July 4. He was 74.

A longtime resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, he was buried in Israel.

As a scholar of medieval rabbinic literature, Danzig explored the halachic, or Jewish legal, writings of the Geonim, the Jewish leaders and scholars during the late sixth to mid-11th centuries in what is now Iraq. The Geonim secured the Babylonian Talmud as the central canonical work of rabbinic literature.

Danzig was able to...
Part 1 of a series

In recognition of 20 years since the Gaza pullout, JNS is featuring a five-part series of articles reflecting Israel's disengagement, speaking with an array of former Gush Katif residents to find out how they perceive the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Trump plan for the Gaza Strip and the prospect of returning.

About two months into the Israel Defense Forces' invasion into the Gaza Strip as part of "Operation Swords of Iron" in retaliation of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Aviel Tucker, a former resid...
(JNS)  An Israeli musician says he and two colleagues were kicked out of a restaurant in Vienna for speaking Hebrew, while elsewhere in Austria, a couple from Israel reported being denied service at a trailer park because of their nationality.

The musicians  Hagai Shaham, Julia Gurvitch and Amit Peled  were waiting for the server at an eatery called Pizzeria Ristorante Ramazzotti on Meiselstrasse, a quiet street in Viennas 2nd district, or Leopoldstadt, which is the citys most heavily Jewish quarter.

The server heard them speaking Hebrew and asked what language it was. Upon being told b...
(JNS)  French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Thursday that consistent with its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, Paris intends to recognize a Palestinian state.

I will make this solemn announcement before the United Nations General Assembly this coming September, Macron stated. The urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned Macrons decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre.

Such...
(JNS)  Gal Gadot, the most prominent Israeli in Hollywood, met on Tuesday with five survivors of Hamas captivity in Gaza: Doron Steinbrecher, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Moran Stella Yanai and Ilana Gritzewsky.

The women recounted their harrowing experiences in the hands of the terrorist group, and called on Gadot to keep advocating for the release of the 50 people still believed to be in captivity 655 days after the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre.

Steinbrecher urged Gadot: Dont stop. We must keep talking about the hostages and keep them in the publics consciousness.

Gadot responded: You went through...
Israel says its army is pausing military operations in some parts of Gaza for 10 hours a day to facilitate the distribution of aid to civilians.

The announcement Sunday comes amid a global outcry about the hunger crisis in the Palestinian enclave where the IDF has been battling Hamas for more than 21 months. Israel also dropped supplies by air for the first time in the war on Sunday, while Egypt allowed aid to enter through its border with Gaza in a first for a period when hostilities are ongoing.

In the first humanitarian pause, Israel said 120 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Monday and were...
(JNS)  House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) voiced support for extending Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria during a meeting with Samaria Regional Council leader Yossi Dagan in Washington.

Sovereignty is so important to the world. Its so important to all of us, Scalise said.

The congressman spoke alongside Dagan after taking part in a summit on the issue organized by the council on Capitol Hill.

We always pray for Israel and especially the people of Samaria, Scalise said. We know how difficult the times are but keep morale high. Know that the whole world roots for Israel....
(JNS)  The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it is investigating Harvard Universitys participation in the exchange visitor visa program.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that Harvards continued use of the program might undermine U.S. national security.

To maintain their privilege to sponsor exchange visitors, sponsors must comply with all regulations, including conducting their programs in a manner that does not undermine the foreign policy objectives or compromise the national security interests of the United States, Rubio stated.

The American people have th...
Governor Ron DeSantis has signed the 202526 state budget, which includes over $500,000 in funding for the Jack & Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center in Southwest Orlando. This generous appropriation will help expand senior programs and enhance security measures across the campus.

In addition to the state funding, a dollar-for-dollar match from the Harris Rosen Foundation brought the total investment to over $1 million. These funds will support vital capital improvements  from infrastructure upgrades to increased accessibility  ensuring that the Rosen JCC remains a safe, inclusive, and welcomi...
(JNS)  U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Friday mocked Pariss decision to recognize a Palestinian state, suggesting that this new entity be located in southern France and named after a fictional monster.

[French President Emmanuel] Macrons unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state didnt say WHERE it would be. I can now exclusively disclose that France will offer the French Riviera and the new nation will be called Franc-en-Stine, tweeted Huckabee, in an apparent reference to Mary Shelleys classic novel Frankenstein.

In another X post, the American envoy quipped: How...
(JNS)  The United States will examine alternative options to bring home the 50 captives held by Hamas as the terrorist group does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith, U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday.

We have decided to bring our team home from Doha for consultations after the latest response from Hamas, which clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, U.S. President Donald Trumps point man in the talks wrote in an X post on Thursday afternoon.

While mediators Qatar and Egypt have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coor...
Anti-Israel vandals deface AOCs office

Anti-Israel vandals defaced the Bronx, N.Y., office of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Sunday after the far-left member of The Squad in the U.S. House of Representatives voted against cutting aid to the Jewish state, the New York Post reported.

The vandals wrote in red paint that the congresswoman funds genocide in Gaza.

The Boogie Down Liberation Front, which claimed responsibility, stated that the Bronx is sick and tired of people like AOC and Ritchie Torres using us as a stepping-stone for their own political careers.

The group added t...
Gabe Friedman in his Heritage article July 11, 2025, What Zohran Mamdani has actually said about Jews and Israel, quotes New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani as having no problem with Israels right to exist. But readers deserve more than assurances. They need to know what Mamdani actually said  and what he deliberately left out.

Similarly, Mamdani gives rhetorical cover to the slogan From the River to the Sea. While Mamdani says he doesnt personally use the phrase, he has refused to condemn it, defending it instead as a desperate desire for equality and equal rights. Just as I he...
(JNS)  More than 300 people recently crowded into the Whitestone Republican Club in Queens, N.Y., to hear Republican politicians endorse Curtis Sliwa to be the next mayor of New York City. I was one of them, curious to learn more about the Republican candidate in the most consequential election in the citys history.

On its website, the first stated mission of the Whitestone Club affirms America to be the greatest country in the history of the world. It is followed by a pledge to the three pillars of our system: individual rights, free markets and the rule of law.

The threat to these valu...
(JNS)  While humanitarian aid drops from the sky, hundreds of trucks carrying the same supplies sit idle at the Gaza border. The failure is not logistical  it is political and moral. Efforts to divide the Gaza Strip into humanitarian zones have collapsed.

The so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is nonfunctional. The United Nations is absent. UNRWA, rather than assist, has reportedly blocked aid entry for fear of upsetting Hamas.

Why? Because Hamas insists on controlling all food distribution. Aid must go through its hands, not for the benefit of civilians, but as a tool of coercion and po...
(JNS)  The war in Gaza has been going on for more than 650 days, and for all this time, Israeli hostages have been held by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in tunnels spanning the coastal enclave. The objectives that the Israeli government laid out for victory at the beginning of the war have not been fully met. Fifty hostages, 20 of whom are believed to be alive and the rest murdered by Hamas, remain in captivity. Hamas is still on its feet, despite 15,000 dead and many more wounded. And despite losing its top commanders and political leaders in the Gaza Strip, Hamas continues to resi...
HANGZHOU, July 31 (Xinhua) -- An air route linking the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was launched on Wednesday, marking the official introduction of Emirates, one of the world's leading airlines, to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport.

The first flight on the route arrived at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at around 3:24 p.m. on Wednesday. The route, operated by Emirates, is served by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with daily flights starting from Thursday, said the airport.

The outbound flight EK311 will depart from Hangzhou at 12:10 a.m. Beijing Time and arrive in Dubai at 4:55 a.m. local time. The return flight, EK310, will take off from Dubai at 9:40 a.m. local time and arrive in Hangzhou at 10:00 p.m. Beijing time.

Hangzhou's vibrant cross-border e-commerce ecosystem and abundant sci-tech industry resources are highly compatible with Dubai's positioning as a free trade port, said Li Xun, general manager of Emirates in China.

The launch of the new route will create more opportunities for cooperation between the two cities in the fields of digital economy, international trade and passenger travel, according to Li.

After the new route's launch, the total number of flights between Hangzhou and Dubai will increase from three to 10 per week, according to the Hangzhou airport.
From July 28 to 30, the Global Talents Tour of Hefei Cambridge University Young Talents Special Event was held in Hefei. Seven PhD holders from Cambridge University engaged in a three-day visit, during which they closely connected with key research institutions, emerging tech enterprises, and talent service platforms, personally experiencing the scientific innovation vitality and development potential of this innovative city. At the talent exchange seminar held in the Silicon Valley Tower, representatives from the Municipal Talent Work Bureau, the Communist Youth League Municipal Committee, and the Grand Union of Innovation held face-to-face discussions with the PhD delegation. Topics included talent policy interpretation, entrepreneurship funding, and achievement transformation platforms. During the exchange, several young PhDs expressed their willingness to cooperate: Zhang Ruohan, Chair of the Cambridge University Chinese Students and Scholars Association, hopes to establish deep collaboration with Hefei in the field of spectroscopy and looks forward to visiting this innovative city together with her laboratory team in the future. PhD candidate Dong Haofan showed strong interest in the deep space exploration laboratory and looks forward to cooperating on exploring more application scenarios of wireless communication technologies. This is my first time in Hefei. I didnt expect the city to develop so rapidly and have such a strong innovation atmosphere, said Hu Xuyi, a PhD from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. He noted that with numerous innovative enterprises and booming industries, he is eager to engage in deeper exchanges and cooperation with Hefei in the future. To gain an in-depth understanding of Hefeis industrial ecosystem, during the visit the delegation toured companies including Geovis Technology, Dendrite Precision, Ovctek, the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, and NIO. They conducted on-site research on Hefeis industrial chain layout in fields such as artificial intelligence, new energy, and biomedicine. During the visit, the delegation reached a preliminary testing agreement with Sungrow Power on the application of terahertz technology in photovoltaic inspection. At Ovctek, they had detailed discussions with the technical head about practical implementation scenarios of metasurface lens medical imaging technology. The night view by Swan Lake is stunning, but what attracted me more is Hefeis innovative capabilities in cutting-edge fields, said Zhang Ruohan. She added that the team was deeply impressed by Hefeis achievements and potential in science and technology development. The full-chain support from laboratory research to industrialization made the team members experience the Hefei speed of achievement realization. It is reported that this Cambridge University special session is one stop of the Global Talents Tour of Hefei series of events. In the future, Hefei will continue to link up with top global universities, adopting a industry demand + talent appeal dual approach to build a talent hub with stronger international competitiveness.

Source: Hefei Evening News
On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that two nuclear submarines have been placed in "appropriate regions" after former Russian President Dimitry Medvedev warned that Trump's escalating threats over a ceasefire would push America closer to war with Moscow.

"Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

It is unclear where specifically the submarines have been placed.

Medvedev had recently issued a chilling response on social media to Trump's shortened 10-day deadline for Russia to come to a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine or face severe sanctions.

"Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10... He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!" Medvedev posted on X earlier this week.

America's nuclear submarine arsenal currently consists of 4 classes of submarines; Ohio, Virginia, Los Angeles, and Seawolf, according to Nuclear Threat Initiative.



Ohio-Class Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs)

The backbone of America's nuclear deterrent, the 14 active Ohio-class SSBNs carry Trident II D5 ballistic missiles. Each can launch multiple warheads and remain hidden for months, ensuring a second-strike capability if the unthinkable happens. These subs are critical in sending a clear message to adversaries: a nuclear attack on the U.S. would not go unanswered.

Virginia-Class Attack Submarines (SSNs)

The latest in U.S. fast-attack technology, 22 Virginia-class subs (and counting) are built to hunt enemy vessels, gather intelligence, and strike targets ashore. The new Block V versions, ordered in a $24 billion contract, come with the Virginia Payload Modulequadrupling their Tomahawk missile capacity and making them even more versatile in potential conflicts.

Los Angeles-Class Attack Submarines

Though aging, 28 Los Angeles-class boats remain active. They've seen action across the globe, from intelligence missions to launching cruise missiles in combat. Many are now being phased out as newer Virginia-class subs enter service, but they still form a critical part of the fleet.

Seawolf-Class Attack Submarines

Ths U.S. Navy possess three Seawolf-class submarines, which are all based at Bangor Trident Base in Washington state. The Seawolf submarine was originally designed to hunt down Soviet-era subs. The Seawolf runs faster than the LA-class. While the U.S. originally planned to make dozens more, the program was terminated by Congress in 1995,

Originally published on Latin Times
Grand Mercure Bengaluru at Gopalan Mall is excited to share that Suresh Reddy has joined the team as Revenue Manager. With more than 14 years of experience in top domestic and international hospitality brands, Suresh brings a keen, data-driven mindset to revenue strategy, pricing intelligence, and optimizing business performance.

A results-focused and analytical professional, Suresh has held significant revenue management positions at prestigious properties like Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, Radisson Blu Paschim Vihar in New Delhi, and Radisson Blu Atria in Bengaluru. In his latest role at Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, he effectively utilized advanced forecasting tools and market analytics to enhance rate strategies and boost revenue.

An alumnus of IIT Roorkee, Suresh blends his solid background in data science and machine learning with extensive industry experience. His skills in tools like IDeaS G3, OTA Insight, Power BI, and Tableau empower him to make quick, market-responsive decisions that foster long-term growth and profitability.

In his new role, Suresh will manage revenue strategy, pricing, forecasting, and distribution, collaborating closely with the sales and marketing teams to unlock the hotel's full business potential.
The second UN Tourism and ICAO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa concluded with a unified call to enhance partnerships and collaboration to unlock the regions growth.

Jointly organized by UN Tourism, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the Government of Angola, the high-level event drew more than 300 international delegates around the theme Accelerating Synergies for Resilient and Sustainable Growth. The three-day conference, focused on strengthening the alignment between two of Africas fastest-growing sectors: tourism and air transport. Both are critical enablers for job creation, innovation, and greater regional mobility.

Tourism and air transport are not just engines of growth, they are pathways to empowerment, opportunity, and transformation, through strategic leadership and innovation, Africas potential can become its reality. UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili

He urged decisive policy action to remove the barriers holding African tourism back.

H.E Daniel Marcio, Angolas Minister of Tourism said: Angola is proud to host such a landmark event, which positions Angola as a regional hub for dialogue and action. Tourism is a key pillar of our national strategy for inclusive development, job creation, and cultural promotion .

In his intervention, H.E Mr. Ricardo de Abreu, Angolas Minister of Transport, emphasized the importance of infrastructure and regulatory reform: We must build air transport systems that are not only modern and efficient but also accessible and responsive to the needs of our people. Connectivity within Africa is essential to realizing the continents economic potential .

ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano commended the initiatives collaborative spirit: Tourism and aviation must grow hand in hand. Through shared vision and policy coherence, we can drive sustainable development, enhance safety and security, and ensure no country is left behind.

Connectivity, Policy Reform, Investment

The Luanda Conference placed a strong emphasis on advancing Africas tourism and air transport sectors through enhanced connectivity, regulatory reform, and cross-sector collaboration. Delegates agreed that aligning aviation and tourism policies is vital to unlocking the continents potential, particularly through open skies agreements, cohesive infrastructure planning, and public-private investment. A central focus was also placed on simplifying visa processes, promoting joint destination marketing, and removing travel barriers to stimulate intra-African tourism.

The Conference began with an expert-led workshop featuring technical sessions on innovation, connectivity, investment, and regional integration. Participants explored how technologies like AI and digital platforms can improve service delivery, while also identifying new funding models to expand infrastructure. In-depth discussions addressed how frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) can support harmonized policies and boost regional mobility.

Ministerial Discussions and Commitments

Over two days of ministerial sessions, high-level officials focused on aligning policy frameworks, driving innovation for inclusive growth, ensuring equitable access to travel, and building resilient transport and tourism systems. The Conference concluded with the formal adoption of the Luanda Ministerial Statementan affirmation of Africas collective commitment to developing a seamless, sustainable, and integrated travel ecosystem.

Luanda Ministerial Statement

Ministers, leaders of delegations and delegates present pledged to:

Modernize tourism and aviation infrastructure with support from both public and private investment.

Deepen partnerships with key institutions including ICAO, UN Tourism, IATA, AFRAA, AFCAC, and others.

Advance mobility reforms through simplified and more affordable visa regimes, fast-track procedures, and longer-validity multi-entry visas.

Promote intra-African tourism, including joint destination marketing and greater collaboration with the private sector.

Empower youth and women through skills training, entrepreneurship support, and educational initiatives focused on the tourism and aviation sectors.

This 2nd conference came at a time of record momentum for African tourism. The continent welcomed 74 million international arrivals in 2024, a 7% increase over 2019 and 12% more than in 2023, signalling strong recovery and renewed global interest in African destinations.

About UN Tourism

The World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), a United Nations specialised agency, is the leading international organisation with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. Its membership includes 166 countries, 6 territories, 2 permanent observers and over 500 Affiliate Members from the private sector.

Media enquires: [email protected]

UN Tourism Communications Department

+34 91 567 8100

UN Tourism

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Paris  TRIBE Hotels, the modern hotel brand known for delivering smart design and high-end style at a fair price, continues its growth trajectory across Europe. Following the recent openings of the first property in Poland as well as new locations in Hungary and France, new destinations are set to launch in France, Slovenia, Portugal and other major cities across the continent. With its design-led approach, TRIBE invites travellers who seek stylish, functional spaces without unnecessary frills.

Since its debut in Australia in 2017, TRIBE has made its mark on the hospitality landscape by concentrating on what truly matters: intelligent, functional, and design-driven spaces that focus on the essentials. Now present in over 10 countries with 20 hotels and more than 35 properties in the pipeline, TRIBE continues to reshape the midscale travel segment, bringing its fresh energy to destinations around the globe, from Paris to Perth.

At TRIBE, we don't just create hotel rooms, we create social living spaces, centered around our social hub, our original food and drink concept, and a bold, distinctive design. By truly understanding what today's travellers want, TRIBE has become a game-changer in the hospitality market, sought after by both guests and partners alike. Pauline Oster, Vice President TRIBE Europe & North Africa

A STRONG GROWTH TRAJECTORY

TRIBE is swiftly expanding into new territories, with the brand launching its first hotel in Poland earlier this month. The design of the new TRIBE Krakow Old Town draws inspiration from the cult TV series Twin Peaks and the cinematic style of David Lynch, featuring unique touches, such as locally created movie posters. Alongside 168 guest rooms, the property offers two meeting spaces, a wellness area, a coffee and a cocktail bar and a pan-Asian restaurant based on the signature TRIBE Table concept.

Other recent TRIBE additions in Europe include:

TRIBE Budapest Airport (Hungary): Opened in May 2025 right in front of Liszt Ferenc International Airport, the hotel marks the brand's second location in Hungary after the TRIBE Budapest Stadium. With 167 guest rooms, five meeting rooms, the Californian-inspired TRIBE Table Restaurant and lounge with a relaxed terrace, a rooftop bar and a fully equipped fitness centre, the hotel combines comfort, design and functionality. It also aspires to become one of the first BREEAM-certified properties in Hungary, reflecting TRIBE's commitment to sustainability. For travellers on the go, the 24/7 Grab & Go offers a curated selection of fresh food and drinks to take away, perfect for busy schedules and early flights.

TRIBE Paris Pantin (France): Opened in June 2025, this new hotel offers a range of design-led spaces that are both functional and inspiring. At the heart of the property is the Social Hub, a vibrant space designed for networking, co-working or relaxing. Guests of the 131-key hotel can also enjoy a naturally lit meeting room and a modern gym. A variety of dining options are available, including a punchy breakfast with homemade dishes, a bar and a delightful Italian restaurant. The hotel is within walking distance of La Villette's cultural center, park, Philharmonic Concert Hall, and Zenith concert venue.

TRIBE Montpellier Gare Sud de France (France): Opening in September, this hotel will welcome guests just steps away from Montpellier Sud de France train station. Conveniently connected to both the city centre and the airport, the property will feature 120 beautifully designed rooms, TRIBE's signature multifunctional Social Hub, including a bar, coworking spaces, and lounge areas, as well as a TRIBE Table restaurant, an outdoor pool, and a stylish rooftop bar.

TRIBE Reims Centre (France): Towards the end of the year, TRIBE will further grow its presence in France with the opening of a new hotel in the heart of the Champagne capital, Reims. Following a comprehensive renovation of an existing property, TRIBE Reims Centre will feature 92 guest rooms, a restaurant, versatile meeting and coworking spaces, as well as a rooftop terrace offering stunning views over Reims and its iconic cathedral.

TRIBE Den Haag Centraal (Netherlands): Expected to open in late 2025, the hotel will become the brand's second property in The Netherlands. The city centre destination will feature 159 expertly designed rooms, including nine meeting rooms as well as carefully curated spaces designed to offer the freedom to rest, stay, play or work. The hotel will also feature a brand-new restaurant and bar with views of The Spui Square.

In addition, the brand has recently announced several new projects that will further expand its European pipeline in the coming years. Set to open in 2027, TRIBE Ljubljana and TRIBE Porto Gaia will mark the brand's debut in Slovenia and Portugal. Both properties will feature unique design concepts and prime locations in two of Europe's most vibrant cities. Looking ahead to 2028, TRIBE Rostock will bring bold energy to Germany's Baltic coast. Located in the emerging Kesselborn district, the hotel will offer 157 rooms, a restaurant, a rooftop bar, expansive MICE facilities including a 115 m auditorium, and a fitness room with a sauna, and an outdoor terrace.

Guests staying at TRIBE hotels in Europe and around the world can enjoy a wide variety of rewards, services and experiences as part of ALL Accor, the booking platform and loyalty programme that enhances the experience during and beyond each hotel stay.

ABOUT ENNISMORE

Ennismore is a creative hospitality company with a global collective of entrepreneurial and founder-built brands with purpose at their heart. It curates and manages unique properties and experiences in some of the most exciting destinations worldwide.

Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Sharan Pasricha, Ennismore and Accor entered a joint venture in 2021 to create a new autonomous entity, with Accor holding a majority shareholding. Creating the world's fastest-growing lifestyle hospitality company, it brings together Ennismore's know-how in building brands with creative storytelling, design, and authentic experiences, with Accor's wealth of knowledge in delivering scale, network growth and distribution.

Under Sharan Pasricha, Founder & Co-CEO, and Gaurav Bhushan, Co-CEO, Ennismore comprises 14 brands - with over 100 operating properties and a further 140+ in the pipeline - and a collection of over 190 culturally relevant and diverse restaurants and nightlife destinations.

Ennismore puts innovation at the center of everything it does, with four dedicated in-house specialist studios, which obsess every guest touchpoint, including Carte Blanched  a fully integrated F&B concept platform; a creative studio of interior and graphic designers; a digital product and tech innovation lab, and a partnerships and collaborations division.

Ennismore has been included in Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies lists in 2020 and 2021; ranked#29 in FT1000: Europe's Fastest-Growing Companies; and is part of FT Future 100 - the UK's fastest-growing businesses that are shaping the future of their sector.

The Ennismore brands: 21c Museum Hotel, 25hours Hotels, Delano, Gleneagles, Hyde, JO&JOE, Mama Shelter, Mondrian, Morgans Originals, SLS, SO/, The Hoxton, TRIBE and Working From.

Tamara Schwarz-Speckbacher

Accor Media Relations & PR

+49(0)162 4118113

Ennismore
In hospitality, global expertise often gets the spotlight, scale, systems, and brand recognition. But in practice, none of that matters if youre not tuned in to whats happening on the ground.

At Radisson Hotel Group, we dont see global and local as opposing forces. There are two parts of the same engine. Our global reach gives us structure, consistency, and the ability to move at pace. But its local knowledge and real, on-the-ground insight that makes any of it meaningful.

Nowhere is that truer than in Asia Pacific. This isnt one market. Its a patchwork of cultures, economies, guest expectations, and ownership models. What moves the needle in Jakarta might not land at all in Adelaide; understanding that and building for it is where the work begins.

Thats why we dont take a copy-paste approach to development. Sure, we bring global standards and systems. But we apply them with nuance. In Vietnam, our recent growth has been shaped by domestic travel trends and innovative local partnerships. In Australia, were responding to a more mature market thats shifting toward lifestyle brands and sustainable operations. And in Thailand, where tourism is both a cultural and economic cornerstone, were deepening our footprint by working closely with owners who understand the rhythm of the local market, whether in urban centers or emerging leisure destinations.

But you dont figure this out in a boardroom.

You learn by showing up. By listening to local teams, meeting owners, and sitting with stakeholders, you can pick up on things that data cant show you. Thats the part of my job that matters most: understanding what makes a partnership sustainable.

This approach is shaping how we grow. Over the past year, weve signed hotels in destinations that barely registered five years ago. Why? Because we took the time to listen and adapt. We worked with people who knew their market better than anyone, and we built around their insight, not over it.

When we say were partner first, we mean it. Our success across APAC is directly tied to the success of the owners, investors, and communities we work with. Were not in the business of dropping in a blueprint and walking away. Were here to co-create something that lasts.

A global vision gives you reach. But if its not rooted in local understanding, it wont land. Thats not just strategy. Its common sense. And its precisely how we plan to keep growing, market by market, partner by partner.
Cheshire to Hold Special Election Monday

CHESHIRE, Mass.  A special town election will take place on Monday to vote on two ballot questions.

The special election will take place Aug. 4 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Community House.

Voters will decide whether to allow the town to be exempt from Proposition 2 1/2 to pay for a three-year borrowing of $67,150 for a police cruiser.

During the June town meeting, voters authorized the purchase of the cruiser. However, it also requires a ballot vote to exclude it from Proposition 2 1/2.

The item was voted on by ballot last year but failed after passing at the annual town meeting.

According to the minutes for the June 10, 2024, annual town meeting, Police Chief Michael Alibozek explained that the school resource officer would need a vehicle stationed at the school for storage and transportation.

Voters will also decide whether to approve uncombining the treasurer and collector position, separating them into two part-time positions.

The proposal was approved after discussion during this year's annual town meeting in June. However, it also has to be adopted by a town ballot vote.

The office has one full-time employee and a part-time employee; the approval authorizes it to be changed to two part-time employees.

Treasurer/Collector Ben Gelb, who started in the position part time in March, explained that he will be working 19 1/2 hours and will be in the office on Tuesdays and Fridays, as needed. His salary will be $40,000 and any balance leftover will go into free cash.

Gelb said he is confident he will be able to complete his responsibilities within the allotted time because he is doing "half the job." He said in the six other towns he works for, he has been able to offset his salary by increasing revenue and cutting costs.

Town Administrator Jennifer Morse said town meeting in 2021 voted to make the collector position appointed and at the same time combine the appointed treasurer and collector position into one. One person had been filling both roles but retired in March.

"In fiscal year 2025, the cost to employee one full-time treasurer/collector and one part-time assistant treasurer/collector with benefits was $168,000," Morse explained. "In fiscal year 2026, the cost to employee one part-time treasurer and one part-time town collector is $75,000, this is a cost savings of $93,000."

More information here.
GCash continues to bring future-forward innovations to the Philippines with the official launch of GCash Tap to Pay, a contactless payment system that lets users of the app pay merchants with just one tap of their smartphone. Now available to Android users, GCash becomes the first e-wallet in the country to enable NFC-powered payments, allowing users to log in to the GCash app, tap and pay at any Mastercard accepting POS terminal nationwide.

While Tap to Pay technology has long been the norm in major cities around the world, offering speed and convenience, this marks the first time such a seamless, NFC-based payment experience is being made widely accessible in the Philippines through a local e-wallet. With this innovation, GCash not only brings global payment standards to Filipinos but also reinforces its position as the country's top fintech platform, continuously innovating to allow its users to level up their lives.

Tap into quicker - and safer - payments, accepted at millions of local and international stores through GCash and its partner, Mastercard.

From navigating morning grocery runs, commuting around the metro, to late-night dinner runs, errands, and schedules can already be difficult enough to manage, the last thing you need is the added burden of figuring out if you have enough cash to last you through the day.

GCash Tap to Pay is designed for ultimate convenience with quicker payments powered by Near Field Communications (NFC) technology. This allows devices in close proximity to exchange data securely. Each payment uses authentication protocols to verify user identity, while all transmitted data is encrypted, making transactions resistant to tampering and fraud. With this, GCash ensures that users enjoy a frictionless and protected payment experience every time.

Tap to Pay works at any terminal that accepts Mastercard payments, both locally and abroad. This partnership allows users to enjoy the same seamless tap-and-go experience wherever they go, even when traveling internationally, where it can be a huge hassle to be weighed down by a wallet filled with foreign coins, bills, and multiple cards.

Through this innovation, GCash eliminates the various everyday hassles by simplifying the payment process; just tap your phone, and youre good to go. Theres no need to scan a QR code or fumble through your spare change, because all you need to pay for your morning cup of coffee or your unexpected grocery run is your smartphone  and no additional fees!

Experience payments in a tap today

Ready to experience effortless and secure payments? Activate GCash Tap to Pay and enjoy transactions in just one tap. Heres how you can activate and use GCash with your phone:

One-Time Setup: How to Activate GCash Tap to Pay

Under Settings, open Connections. Enable NFC and contactless payments. Log in to your GCash app. Tap Tap To Pay. Agree to the stated terms and conditions. Your Tap To Pay feature should now be activated!

How to use GCash Tap To Pay

Log in to your GCash app Tap your phone on the store's POS terminal. Done!

Experience it for yourself today and download the GCash app on the App Store or Google Play Store.
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A threeyearold boy in China survived a fall from the 18th floor of his apartment block.

The incident took place in Zhejiang provinces Hangzhou at around 3pm on 15 July when the toddler was left in the care of his grandparents.

Believing he was asleep, the grandparents stepped out to buy groceries, bolting the door behind them to ensure he stayed inside, according to a report in Jimu News.

However, the child woke up and went to the bathroom where he climbed onto the toilet and out of an unlocked window that had no safety bars, plunging down.

A resident from the same community discovered the boy lying on the ground, filmed the scene and posted the footage in the property management group. It was only after seeing the message that the childs father, identified only as Zhu, learned that his son had fallen.

At first, I could not believe he had fallen from the 18th floor until surveillance footage from the property management group confirmed it, he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

The surveillance footage showed the child brushing past an open window on the 17th floor, shifting his trajectory and landing in the branches of a tree before plunging face first into a bush on the ground, rather than directly on concrete.

According to Beijing News, property management staff immediately called police and an ambulance to take the child to a local hospital. Doctors who treated him at the Childrens Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine described his survival as a miracle.

The toddler sustained a fractured left arm, spinal strain, and damage to internal organs, but his head remained uninjured and he was fully conscious throughout. Astonishingly, he even asked the medical team to ask daddy to buy me a Bumblebee toy shortly after admission.

Reports from Chinese media stated that the child was gradually recovering.

In a traditional gesture of gratitude, the family tied a large red flower around the tree that cushioned his fall, a symbol of honour and thanksgiving in Chinese culture.
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China is bolstering its presence in the South China Sea with a 3,200 hectare network of military bases, including some capable of launching nuclear bombers, according to new satellite images.

The latest satellite images of Mischief Reef by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), which tracks maritime security issues in Asia, show sprawling runways, missile shelters, large aircraft hangars amid several high-level military infrastructure resembling a well-defined city.

They include harbours, large runways, more than 72 fighter jet hangars across the three big island bases, surface-to-air missile and anti-ship cruise missile emplacements, and a lot of radar, sensing and communications infrastructure, Gregory Poling, director of the AMTI, told ABC.

China is now in control of 20 outposts in the Paracel Islands and seven in the Spratly Islands, according to the AMTI. Out of these, four have been turned into fully operational naval and air bases.

China also controls Scarborough Shoal, which it seized in 2012, via a constant coast guard presence but it has not built any facilities on the disputed feature.

open image in gallery A satellite overview of Mischief Reef in the east of the Spratly Islands as seen in 2023 ( Maxar Technologies )

open image in gallery A satellite overview of Mischief Reef in the east of the Spratly Islands as seen on 1 April 2022 ( Maxar Technologies )

open image in gallery A satellite overview shows the Mischief Reef without a sign of Chinese infrastructure development or presence of Chinese facilities in October 2004 ( Maxar Technologies )

China claims sovereignty over nearly all the South China Sea, including areas claimed by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. A 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal found Beijing's sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision that was rejected by Beijing.

Beijing maintains its military expansion in the region is defensive, arranged to protect what it says are its sovereign rights amid opposition from Asian countries that have their own claims.

Mr Polling said these bases are the result of the quickest example of mass dredging and landfill in human history.

open image in gallery A satellite overview of Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea as seen on 1 April 2022 ( Maxar Technologies )

open image in gallery A satellite overview showing the rapid development of facilities on Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea as seen on 3 February 2025 ( Maxar Technologies )

In May this year, China landed two of its most advanced bombers in the disputed Paracel islands in the South China Sea, as seen in satellite imagery.

The images reportedly showed long-range H-6 bombers on Woody Island in the Paracel islands, marking the first time Chinas most advanced bombers were seen since 2020 and a signal of Beijings growing military capabilities.

open image in gallery Two H6 Bomber aircraft seen on Woody Island in the Paracels in May this year ( Maxar Technologies )

"China's long-range bombers don't need to be on the Paracels so it does appear to be omni-directional signalling by Beijing against the Philippines and against the US and other things that are going on," said Collin Koh, a defence scholar at Singapore's S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

The H-6 bombers are seen as a potential threat to US bases in the region and were also seen deployed in the war games around Taiwan last October. They flew close to the US mainland in July last year for the first time.

China's Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, maintains two regiments of the bombers, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.

The bombers are generally kept at heavily fortified bases on the Chinese mainland, where they would have more protection in a conflict from US attacks in conflict scenarios.
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Sothebys has cancelled a proposed sale of ancient gems linked to the Buddha and returned them to India following weeks of diplomatic and legal pressure.

The set of 334 relics, collectively known as the Piprahwa Gems, were originally buried in a stupa, a sacred Buddhist funerary mound, in Piprahwa in present day Uttar Pradesh state in northern India.

They are said to include offerings made during the reinterment of the Buddhas remains more than 200 years after his death around 480BC.

open image in gallery Set of ancient gems reportedly includes offerings made during reinterment of Buddhas remains over 200 years after his death around 480BC ( Sotheby's )

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi described the return of the gems as a joyous day for our cultural heritage. It would make every Indian proud that the sacred Piprahwa relics of Bhagwan Buddha have come home after 127 long years. These sacred relics highlight Indias close association with Bhagwan Buddha and his noble teachings, he said in a post on X. It also illustrates our commitment to preserving and protecting different aspects of our glorious culture.

The gems were acquired via a public-private partnership between the Indian government and the Godrej Industries Group.

Indian culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said a large portion of the collection would be loaned to the National Museum in Delhi for five years and Godrej Industries would display the entire collection for three months after its arrival, according to The Indian Express.

We are deeply honoured to contribute to this historic moment. The Piprahwa gems are not just artefacts, they are timeless symbols of peace, compassion, and the shared heritage of humanity. Our partnership with the Government of India reflects our deep commitment to preserving cultural legacies for future generations, Pirojsha Godrej, executive vice chairperson of Godrej Industries Group, said in a statement.

The collection was originally discovered by William Claxton Peppe, a British colonial official and amateur archaeologist, at a site in Piprahwa.

The British crown took custody of the Peppe familys findings under the 1878 Indian Treasure Trove Act, but the family was allowed to retain a fifth of the 1,800 gems.

While the crowns gems went to the colonial museum in Kolkata, the family ended up consigning their artefacts to Sothebys, where they were scheduled to go on auction in Hong Kong in early May.

Bones and ashes in the collection were gifted to King Chulalongkorn, the Buddhist monarch of Siam, now Thailand.

The sale was called off after the Indian government demanded the gems be repatriated and threatened legal action saying the relics should be treated as the sacred body of the Buddha and the auction would be participating in continued colonial exploitation.

The gems were to go under the hammer with a starting bid of HK$100m (9.7m) and included bone fragments, crystal and soapstone reliquaries, gold ornaments and precious stones such as garnets, pearls, coral, and amethysts.

open image in gallery Photo released by Sotheby's shows the Pirprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha ( Sotheby's via AP )

After the gems were announced to go on auction, Indias culture ministry accused Sothebys of participating in continued colonial exploitation and said the relics must be treated not as archaeological specimens but rather as the sacred body of the Buddha, deserving of religious veneration.

"These relics  referred to as 'duplicate jewels'  constitute inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community, the ministrys legal notice read.

Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions.

Chris Peppe, a descendant of William Claxton Peppe, defended the auction, arguing it was the fairest and most transparent way to transfer the relics to Buddhists.

He maintained that the gems were not corporeal remains but offerings from a later period and asserted that their ownership was legally unchallenged.

In a post on Sothebys website, Mr Peppe said he and two cousins inherited the relics in 2013 and began research into their historical context.
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Donald Trumps latest tariff hikes have hit Asian countries the hardest, signalling a deepening rift with key economies in his drive to reshape global commerce.

The hardened position of the US towards longstanding partners such as India and Japan could reshape strategic alignments in Asia, casting doubt on the reliability of Washington as an ally.

Three months after unveiling sweeping tariffs for nearly all major countries in the world, Mr Trump on Friday enforced new and revised levies for over 90 nations, with rates soaring as high as 49 per cent.

Among the hardest hit were Americas allies in Asia  many heavily reliant on exports to the US markets for clothing, electronics, chips and cars  even as they scrambled to strike deals with Mr Trumps negotiators before his 1 August deadline. Myanmar, India and Laos in particular were slapped with almost prohibitive rates.

Steep penalties and divisions in South Asia

Mr Trump seemed to single out India among major economies, imposing a steep 25 per cent tariff on the South Asian nation while blasting it for its burgeoning energy and weapons trade with Russia.

Mr Trumps aggressive rhetoric in recent days had already undermined hopes of New Delhi getting preferential treatment in trade negotiations compared to other Asian economies given the presidents bonhomie with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. His announcement of a steep tariff put paid to any such hope.

The US president went after India even after calling it a good friend and despite the country being regarded as a partner in counterbalancing China in the Indo-Pacific.

open image in gallery File. US president Donald Trump with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC on 13 February 2025 ( AFP via Getty )

New Delhi and Washington had been working to finalise a trade deal for months and Indian officials expected an agreement by September or October.

In recent weeks, though, the talks had reportedly reached a deadlock over agriculture and dairy. While Washington sought greater access to the Indian market for its farm exports like wheat, corn, cotton, and genetically modified crops, New Delhi insisted that agriculture and dairy sectors, which employ over 80 million people, were off-limits.

Although the 25 per cent levy on Indian exports announced on Thursday was slightly less than the 27 per cent proposed in April, it came with an unspecified penalty for New Delhis purchases of Russian oil and weapons.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Indias close relations with Moscow remained a point of irritation in relations with Washington.

Indias neighbours Sri Lanka and Bangladesh each face a 20 per cent levy, targeting export-reliant economies that send large volumes of textiles and garments to the US.

The tariff on Bangladesh is significantly lower than the original 37 per cent rate, a big relief to the world's second-largest garment supplier.

Pakistan received a 19 per cent tariff after Mr Trump announced a last-minute trade deal with the country.

Pakistan, an ally of China as well as the US, had been wooing Mr Trump ever since he first announced the tariffs in April. It credited American diplomatic intervention for ending a brief military conflict with India in May, while New Delhi denied it, and even nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Winners and losers in Southeast Asia

While Myanmar and Laos were slapped with a 40 per cent tariff rate each, fellow Southeast Asian nations like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines faced a mid-range tariff of 19 per cent.

Myanmar and Laos were among the worst hit globally, with rates that could effectively price their exports out of the US market. These countries were especially vulnerable given their dependence on low-cost textile and agricultural exports.

Japan and South Korea managed to strike deals with the Trump administration in time and ended up with a baseline tariff rate of 15 per cent, lower than the 25 per cent floated in April.

open image in gallery A man looks at an electronic board showing the numbers of the Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in Japan ( AFP via Getty )

However, a key area of concern remains unresolved: automobile exports from both East Asian nations continue to face a separate 25 per cent tariff unrelated to Thursdays announcement.

Given that Japanese and South Korean cars and semiconductors are their key exports to the US, the continuation of such sector-specific duties casts a shadow over trade relations in the long run.

Key US ally, Taiwan, the world's largest major semiconductor manufacturer, saw a tariff reprieve from the previous 32 per cent to 20 per cent. The levy on Taipei, though, is temporary as negotiators are trying to hammer out a deal in Washington.

The US side informed Taiwans negotiating team in Washington that a provisional tariff rate of 20 per cent would be applied to Taiwan, the islands president Lai Ching Te said on Friday.

The reason for the provisional tariff was that they had yet to hold a concluding meeting due to procedural arrangements, he added. If a final agreement is reached later, the rate may be lowered.

open image in gallery Lyndon Lin, owner CK Color Stone and Beads, walks behind beads from China and other Asian countries displayed at his shop in San Franciscos Chinatown on 18 April 2025 ( AP )

In West Asia, Syria was hit with a 41 per cent tariff  the highest on the list  despite limited direct trade due to existing US sanctions. Iraq was put on a 35 per cent rate, raising concerns about its oil and mineral exports.

In Central Asia, Kazakhstan was hit with a 25 per cent tariff rate, suggesting that even neutral nations werent exempt from Washingtons pressure tactics.

Lower levies for Australia and New Zealand

Australia was placed on a 10 per cent tariff rate in April and it appeared to have escaped an increase, at least for now. Trade minister Don Farrell said on Friday the White House had confirmed that no country was on a lower tariff rate than Australia.

"While we remain in the best possible position under the United States' new tariff regime," a government spokesperson said, we will continue to advocate for the removal of all tariffs in line with our free trade agreement.

Neighbouring New Zealand saw its rate climb from 10 per cent to 15. Trade minister Todd McClay called the move unfair, saying Wellington had requested a call with US trade negotiator Jamieson Greer to start making a case for a reduction.

Trade with China in limbo

China was absent from Mr Trumps latest tariffed nations list, putting one of the worlds most critical trade relationships in limbo.

The two sides previously agreed a 90-day extension of their trade truce until 12 August.

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday a trade deal with China was in the works, but it was "not 100% done".

US negotiators "pushed back quite a bit" over two days of trade talks with the Chinese in Stockholm this week, Mr Bessent said in an interview with CNBC. "I believe that we have the makings of a deal," he added.

How would the tariffs impact Asian countries?

The new tariff for India was expected to impact about $40bn worth of exports to America, an Indian government source with knowledge of the trade discussions told Reuters on Friday.

The official said the trade talks were still ongoing and a delegation from the US was expected to visit New Delhi later this month.

These significant tariffs, coupled with penalties linked to India's dealings with Russian energy and military supplies, pose serious challenges for key export sectors including electronics, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and textiles, said Ramnivas Mundada, director of Economic Research at Global Data.

Exporters in India said the high tariff would hurt the country's textile exports as its competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia got lower levies.

"We are hoping that the tariffs will be rationalised. We will have to recalibrate our strategies depending on the final tariff imposed, Chintan Thakker, chairman of industry body ASSOCHAM in the state of Gujarat, a major apparel exporter, said.

Bangladesh called the new tariff rate a "decisive diplomatic victory".

We proudly congratulate the Bangladesh tariff negotiators on securing a landmark trade deal with the United States, a decisive diplomatic victory, interim leader Muhammad Yunus told the press.
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Zambias Lower Zambezi National Park has faced more than its fair share of problems since it first opened in 1983. Lying next to porous borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the park  which spans more than 1,000 square miles  became a hub for illegal activities such as trophy poaching, bushmeat poaching, illegal mining of gold, and unregulated fishing along the Zambezi River.

With cases of human-wildlife conflict rising, and gunshots heard across the park most nights, in 1994, groups including safari operators and local communities around the park established the charity Conservation Lower Zambezi (CLZ) to help government authorities protect the Lower Zambezi National Park, which is home to an abundance of wildlife including lions, leopards, more than 400 different kinds of bird species, and numerous other endangered species.

open image in gallery Conservation Lower Zambezi has reduced the number of canine unit patrols that it carries out since the start of the year as a result of cuts to US foreign assistance ( Oliver Fly/CLZ )

open image in gallery A CLZ aerial patrol spies an elephant on the Zambezi. The charity has also reduced the number of aerial unit patrols that it carries out due to USFWS cuts ( CLZ )

Today, CLZ has a team of 100 who work 365 days a year to protect the park. More than half of those employees are scouts from the local communities that work alongside government rangers on patrols of up to two weeks at a time, following tracks or tip-offs as part of regular, canine, aerial, or marine units. Whether its by sniffing out bushmeat from the villages that surround the park, removing poachers snares, or scouting out signs of illegal mining, CLZs work ensures the park is both a safe haven for wildlife and a key economic asset for Zambia.

But decades of hard-won progress are now under direct threat from cuts to US overseas aid. Specifically, frozen financing from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has left a $900,000 (680,000) hole in CLZs finances over the next four years. The past few months have left the charity scrambling to fill gaps where they can, says fundraising manager Frances Hannah, including by cutting the number of patrols it carries out and reducing activities in other programme areas.

Since the freeze came in January, weve been playing chess with our funding to cover gaps where we can, says Hannah. The walls are closing in, and I dont think anyone wants to discuss what kind of cuts we may have to make next, because it is not going to be good.

The Lower Zambezi National Park is only a haven for wildlife because of the support to the government and the constant surveillance that CLZ and rangers are able to carry out, Hannah continues. But the threats to the park remain fundamentally the same as when it opened: If you suddenly cant be putting out 10 patrol teams a week, and youre only putting out six, then there are going to be areas that are going to suffer, she says.

CLZs story is far from unique. Leaked USAID files analysed by The Independent show that biodiversity-supporting, multi-year grants in Africa worth more than $300m were cancelled after contract terminations were confirmed in March  and thats not even taking into account other conservation grants from agencies like USFWS and the State Department, which have also been ravaged.

Numerous organisations spoken to by The Independent, many of whom are continuing to do so anonymously over fear of possible reprisals from the US government, have described the devastating impacts that these cuts have had over the past six months. Their stories reveal the tenacity of aid workers in their drive to keep programmes going ever since the first stop work order on all foreign assistance was issued by the Trump administration on 24 January  and also reveal the impacts that aid cuts have had on global efforts to protect and restore the worlds wild places.

One conservation worker at a National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, described how the park lost a grant worth north of $5m functionally overnight. Meanwhile, Charlie Mayhew, founder and CEO of British conservation charity Tusk, told The Independent that a total of 40 Tusk project partners lost a total of $29.5m in funding.

Theyre all having to make immediate savings and quite drastic cost-cutting exercises, says Mayhew. Rural communities are being devastated by job redundancies, with one employed individual likely to be supporting up to 10 family members.

open image in gallery A pride of lions is collar-tracked as part of a Tusk conservation programme in Botswana ( Tusk )

Christof Schenck, executive director of the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS), is similarly reeling from major cuts to his own organisations finances. The FZS is one of the worlds most active conservation organisations, with an annual budget of around $50m and operations in 18 countries. Termination of FZSs USAID grant creates a $4.5m budget hole between now and 2027, while the withdrawal of its USFWS grant leaves another $4m gap between now and 2029.

We have worked very well with US aid agencies for many years, and we were always impressed by how effective their conservation programmes have been, says Schenck. We understand that aid could be more efficient, and more impact-orientated, but the current approach is hurting many successful projects, and we are very worried about the cuts.

The FZS carries out crucial conservation efforts in a number of countries, including law enforcement, surveillance of highly endangered species, and managing human-wildlife conflict. While the charity has so far made some employees redundant and cut some programmes, it is largely sustaining itself by tapping into reserves that the charity has amassed over many years. It knows that it will not be able to keep doing this indefinitely, but simply terminating conservation work is not really an option: We cant just stop now and leave, for example, black rhino populations or elephants without any protection, says Schenck.

US government funding represented a particularly vital lifeline for conservation programmes in Africa because it is both a sector and region of the world that struggles to attract required levels of investment.

The UN estimates that $200bn per year is needed globally to halt and reverse biodiversity loss  but only $154bn is currently mobilised. Africa, in particular, only receives around three per cent of global biodiversity finance, despite hosting nearly 30 per cent of the worlds biodiversity and nearly 20 per cent of global forest cover.

But while US money might have been crucial for African conservation programmes, for the aid agencies themselves, the money was a drop in the ocean. The $375.4m that USAID provided to biodiversity projects in 2023, according to information submitted to Congress last December, represented just 0.6 per cent of the agencys $60bn overall budget. Meanwhile, the roughly $50m that was directed to USFWSs key international programme streams represented around one per cent of that agencys overall budget.

Conservationists spoken to by The Independent are at pains to stress that the impact of cuts reaches far beyond just the animals. Firstly, theres the loss of vital jobs and investment, and the programmes enabling rural people to have a better quality of life. When you factor in the impact of aid cuts to non-wildlife-focused programmes in rural areas, which will leave people more likely to exploit the natural environment to survive, the crisis is clear.

William Peshut, from the Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association (MMWCA) in Kenya, is a man who understands that first point very well. In Kenya, only around 10 per cent of the countrys landmass is technically legally protected  but a further 16 per cent of the country is categorised as wildlife conservancies, which are areas managed by rural herders and farmers, where they have learnt to coexist with wild animals including elephants, giraffes and buffalo.

MMWCA plays a vital role in overseeing 25 conservancies spread around the Maasai Mara National Park, which together cover some 700 square miles of land. Key to this is supporting communities so that they feel willing to live alongside wildlife, whether through educational programmes to deter human-wildlife conflict or by encouraging gender parity in conservation work. Added to that is the employment of rangers in the conservancies, and the lobbying of the Kenyan government for greater legislative support.

Its all about helping communities coexist with the natural landscape, and also helping them generate as much income as possible from conservation work, says Peshut, who adds that the work has been so successful that wildlife numbers are actually higher in the conservancies than in many parts of the park.

MMWCA is now facing a major funding gap, with Peshut revealing that a USAID grant running between 2024 and 2028, which was worth $6.5m dollars, has been cancelled; that total represented 72 per cent of MMWCAs budget. The charity has been making do on reserves from previously allocated grants, but programmes are being reorganised and plans are being put on hold, including one to establish a major new wildlife corridor to the east of the park, which has now been cancelled.

open image in gallery Maasai villagers, who receive financial and education support from MMWCA ( The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association )

open image in gallery Maasai herdsmen are pictured in the Maasai Mara conservancies ( The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association )

Kaddu Sebunya, CEO at the African Wildlife Foundation, a Nairobi-based international conservation charity working across 17 African countries, details how he believes that aid cuts to non-wildlife-focused programmes are also having a major impact on wildlife conservation efforts.

Aid cuts to health programmes, agricultural programmes, or generally any rural development programmes are going to lead people to depend more on natural resources in the area, which will lead to deforestation, and greater competition between agriculture and habitats, he says.

Already, more than 70 per cent of Africans depend on agriculture as a main source of income, and over 70 per cent depend on wood for their energy, Sebunya continues. Those percentages are both going to increase as aid cuts push people out of stable work and healthcare programmes, and that is a major worry for us.

Cuts to healthcare programmes are having real impacts on conservation programmes in other ways too. One conservation charity told The Independent that in southern Africa, several conservation programmes had reported concerns that quite a lot of staff were on antiretroviral medication for HIV that has now been cut, creating new challenges around staffing ranger programmes.

open image in gallery A herd of wildebeest in the Maasai Mara conservancies ( The Maasai Mara Wildlife Conservancies Association )

Sebunya  whose own organisation lost the equivalent of 15 per cent of its annual budget to US overseas aid cuts  sees the problem facing conservation programmes right now as not just stemming from the decisions of the Trump administration, but also from a long-term failure of the African governments to develop sustainable business models around conservation.

We have not tied our conservation work to the economic aspirations of Africans, but instead only tied it to cultural aspects of Africans, he says. This means that our sector has always been funded by foreign NGOs and foreign governments. It leads to a situation such as has happened in Kenya, Sebunya continues, where the government has increased budgets for health and education, but not the conservation budget.

Its a failure on our part that we have not been able to prove that if conservation does not succeed, it is a sustainability issue, it is a health issue, and it is a rural economy issue, he says. And if it is a rural economy issue, it becomes an urban economy issue, because rural people will then come to the cities.

The good news, believes Sebunya, is that whenever there is a crisis such as now, there is an opportunity to change the narrative  and already there are striking stories of organisations looking to adapt to the new status quo.

In Kenya, Peshut says that MMWCA is currently in negotiations with the local government for 10 per cent of entrance fees charged at the national park gate to be placed in a wildlife conservancies fund to support the activities of the charity. MMWCA is also negotiating with landowners in the conservancies for greater financial contribution to MMWCAs activities, while negotiations are also ongoing for the local government to offer direct financial support to MMWCA.

The future is not going to be easy, but we are doing all we can to boost our own fundraising efforts before our grant financing runs out, Peshut says. What we do know is we absolutely cannot stop our activities in the conservancies, as that would be a total disaster.

But while organisations will naturally look to remain optimistic and seek alternative routes forward where they can, there is no denying the gravity of what has befallen conservation groups this year.

In my more than 40 years in conservation, I have never known anything like this... one contract party cutting off millions of dollars of funding practically overnight, says FZSs Schenck. Now, a time window is closing for us and other organisations, and the crisis gets deeper by day.

He adds: While our politicians might be increasingly reluctant to do so, we continue to see a responsibility from the global North to support conservation. We have much more money, with economies built on fossil fuels, and therefore owe it to them to help.

This article is part of The Independents Rethinking Global Aid project
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After North Macedonias deadliest tragedy in recent memory, with dozens dying in a nightclub inferno, the tiny Balkan nation is struggling to grapple with so many young lives lost while trying to hold those responsible to account and prevent another calamity.

The massive fire tore through the overcrowded nightclub early Sunday in the eastern town of Kocani leaving 59 people dead and 155 injured from burns, smoke inhalation and being trampled in the panicked escape toward the buildings single exit.

People as young as 16 were among the casualties, and the nation declared seven days of mourning.

We are all in shock, and I am shocked myself: as a mother, as a person, as a president, North Macedonias President Gordana Davkova Siljanovska said in an address to the nation Sunday night.

I still cannot believe that the terrible tragedy in Kocani is a reality. I do not know with what words to express my condolences to the parents and loved ones of the deceased, she said. No one responsible should escape the law, justice and punishment! Let us not allow anyone to endanger the lives of innocent people anymore.

The fire that shook the nation of 2 million  where close-knit extended family bonds made the disaster personal to many  was the latest in a slew of deadly nightclub fires around the world.

Allegation of bribery surrounding nightclub

Authorities say they are investigating allegations of bribery surrounding the nightclub that was crammed with young revelers and at double capacity. And North Macedonias government ordered a sweeping three-day inspection to be carried out at all nightclubs and cabarets across the country, starting Monday.

The country was in mourning as people watched harrowing scenes in the town of 25,000 people, where rescuers for hours carried out their grim task of removing the charred bodies of clubgoers. The fire caused the roof of the single-story building to partially collapse, revealing the charred remains of wooden beams and debris.

Anxious parents gathered outside hospitals in Kocani and capital Skopje, some 115 kilometers (72 miles) west, eager for updates about the injured. Many of the most seriously injured were receiving treatment in Greece and other neighboring countries.

Waiting outside the hospital in Kocani, Dragi Stojanov was among those who received the dreaded news that his 21-year-old son Tomce had perished.

He was my only child. I dont need my life anymore. ... 150 families have been devastated, he told reporters. Children burnt beyond recognition. There are corpses, just corpses inside (the club). ... And the bosses (of organized crime), just putting money into their pockets.

The death toll may rise further

Flags around the country have been lowered to half-staff, and the death toll may rise further, with 20 of the injured in critical condition, Health Minister Arben Taravari said Sunday.

Although the investigation into the fire's cause is ongoing, videos showed sparkling pyrotechnics on the stage hitting Club Pulse's ceiling and igniting the blaze as a band played.

We even tried to get out through the bathroom, only to find bars (on the windows), 19-year-old Marija Taseva told The Associated Press. I somehow managed to get out. I fell down the stairs and they ran over me, trampled me. ... I barely stayed alive and could hardly breathe. She suffered an injury to her face.

Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski said 15 people had been detained for questioning after a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper license. He said the number of people inside the club was at least double its official capacity of 250.

We have grounds for suspicion that there is bribery and corruption in this case, he told reporters without elaborating.

Condolences poured in from leaders around Europe as well as from the office of Pope Francis, who has been hospitalized for a month for double pneumonia.

I have had many difficult moments and challenges in my life but today is by far the most difficult day of my life, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said in a televised address. My heart is breaking, and I have no strength to speak today. I am broken and my spirit is broken."

Late Sunday, Kocani's residents held a candlelight vigil in support for mourning families, waiting in long lines to light church candles.

Beti Delovska, an economist from Skopje, said North Macedonia has never experienced a tragedy like this, with dozens of young people vanishing in minutes. And she noted that many young people with bright futures had already left the nation, in search of opportunities elsewhere.

(North) Macedonia is on its death bed, Delovska, 64, said. We have no more credible institutions, the health system is completely dismantled, education is poor, judiciary is partisan and corrupted to the bone  I do believe now that only God can save (North) Macedonia.

___

Testorides reported from Skopje, Macedonia
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Robberies involving a knife, or the threat of one, have reduced in most of the UKs high-risk areas.

According to Home Office data, knife-related robberies are down 6 per cent.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said this is a direct result of targeted police action.

A dedicated police taskforce was set up in October last year focused on seven forces  Metropolitan Police Service, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Avon and Sommerset and British Transport Police.

These areas had seen a steep rise in incidents between July 2023 and June 2024, accounting for 70 per cent of knife-enabled robbery at the time.

Drones, knife arches and detection dogs are among the tactics being used in an attempt to bring down the number of incidents, with the forces also increasing visible patrols and the number of plain clothes officers on the streets.

open image in gallery Knife-related robberies are down 6 per cent ( Andrew Matthews/PA )

The West Midlands saw the largest drop, with a 25 per cent reduction in incidents in the past year. Meanwhile, Greater Manchester saw a 4 per cent increase in incidents in comparison to last year.

Ms Cooper said: Since day one, we have acted with urgency to turn the tide on knife crime, which destroys lives and devastates communities.

When we came to office, knife-enabled robbery was increasing at a concerning rate, but we have now started to drive numbers of those offences down through the work of our dedicated taskforces, and as a result, we have also seen the first small reduction in overall knife crime for four years.

The drop in knife-enabled robbery in key problem areas shows the impact that our strong new action on knife crime is having, but we now need to supercharge these efforts through more smart and targeted interventions.

Anyone can be a victim of knife crime, but new hex mapping technology shows that the vast majority of knife crime is concentrated in a relatively small, hyper-concentrated number of areas.

As part of the plan for change, we will use that new technology to support our mission to halve knife crime over the next decade. In the 2020s, the way to be tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime is also to be smart on crime, using the latest technology to target criminals and problem areas, and keep the country safe.

A ban on ninja swords also comes into force on Friday, as part of the governments commitment to halve knife crime in the next decade.

At least a thousand of the weapons have been handed in as part of a surrender scheme.

open image in gallery Home Secretary Yvette Cooper ( Jacob King/PA )

The government has also pledged to tackle the sale of weapons online, as part of Ronans Law, which was introduced following the death of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was murdered with a ninja sword bought online.

This would require retailers to report bulk or suspicious knife orders to the police, put in place more stringent age-verification checks and impose significant fines on tech executives whose platforms fail to prevent illegal sales.

Mother of Ronan, Pooja Kanda, said: Ronan was just 16 years old when his life was stolen by a 22-inch ninja sword that should never have been so easy to buy. Ronans Law is not only a step towards justice for my son, but for every parent who wants to see their child come home safely.

This law is about saving lives, closing dangerous loopholes, and holding those responsible to account.

The governments knife surrender scheme has been a sign of commitment to tackling the scourge of knife crime. While there is still much more to do, these are significant steps in the right direction.

The Home Office has also said a surrender van will be deployed at this years Notting Hill Carnival.

Conservative shadow home secretary Chris Philp said knife crime was spiralling out of control and accused Labour of not wanting to talk about London and the utter failure of Sadiq Khan to tackle crime.

He said: Under Labours Mayor, the capital has become Britains knife crime capital, accounting for over 32 per cent of all knife crime and over 45 per cent of knife-point robberies in England. Stop and search has collapsed, yet Sadiq Khan spends more time pontificating than trying to make London safe.

Labour are weak on crime, soft on criminals, and too scared to confront the reality on our streets. Its time for the Labour government and Labour Mayor to wake up and get a grip, or get out of the way.
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A deeply loved British brother and sister who drowned off a beach while on a family holiday in Spain have been named and pictured.

Ameiya and Ricardo Junior Del-Brocco, aged 13 and 11 respectively, died in the tragic incident on the northeastern coast of the country on Tuesday evening, according to a GoFundMe page.

Their aunt revealed the pair, known to their family and friends as Maya and Jubs, had gone for a swim with their father before the nightmare in Salou unfolded as the trio got into trouble in the water.

Emergency services were called to Llarga beach, near Tarragona, shortly after 8.45pm local time, Catalonias Civil Protection agency said.

open image in gallery Ameiya, 13, and Ricardo Junior, 11, drowned on a Spanish beach on Tuesday evening ( GoFundMe )

The children, from the Birmingham suburb of Erdington, had been swept away from the beach by powerful currents and died at the scene despite immediate treatment, according to local media. Their father survived.

According to BirminghamLive, their aunt Kayla Jasvinder Del-Brocco said: They went out to swim together with their dad as they loved the beach.

Mum said, Dont be long, and took her little one to the bathroom. She came back out and couldnt see anyone. Thats when the nightmare commenced.

Local police, medical and fire services all attended the incident, while a team of psychologists were also at the scene to assist the victims family.

The fundraiser, set up to raise money for the parents, Shanice and Ricardo, so they can bring their children home, said: Nothing could ever prepare a parent for the pain of losing a child, let alone losing two.

During what was meant to be a joyful family holiday in Salou, Spain, Ameiya, 13, and Ricardo Junior, 11, lovingly known to their family and friends as Maya and Jubs, heartbreakingly lost their lives in a tragic incident at sea.

Two beautiful, bright, and deeply loved children, taken far too soon. The pain their family is feeling is unimaginable.

open image in gallery Emergency services were called to Llarga beach, near Tarragona, shortly after 8.45pm local time ( Alamy/PA )

Ameiya was described as intelligent, thoughtful, and growing into a strong young woman, while Ricardo Junior was playful, kind, and always smiling.

They brought so much love, laughter, and energy into the lives of everyone around them, said Holly Marquis-Johnson, who organised the GoFundMe in their honour, which has so far raised more than 33,000. Their absence has left an unbearable silence not just for their parents, but for their whole family, who were incredibly close and shared an unbreakable bond.

Catalonias Civil Protection agency initially said two brothers died, but Jose Luis Gargallo, the head of the local police force in Salou, later said it was a brother and sister.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Mr Gargallo told reporters: There were three people who were having serious difficulty getting out of the sea. There was a father with his son and daughter, of British nationality.

When they got out, both of them, the boy and girl, aged 11 and 13, showed no signs of life. Attempts were made to resuscitate them with CPR, but they were unsuccessful.

Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton said the incident left her shocked and saddened. She appealed to the family to get in touch with her if they needed any assistance.

Ms Hamilton said: I was shocked and saddened to hear the awful news about Ricardo and Ameiya. My deepest thoughts and prayers are with their family and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time.

If the family needs anything, please reach out to me and Ill do as much as I can as the local MP.

As Erdington residents, we all feel this tragic loss.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: We are supporting the family of two British children who have died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.

The deaths come after several other British people died while abroad in southern Europe this month. Scots Gary Kelly, 19, and Evan Thomson, 26, died at the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio, Ibiza, while King Edonmi, 29, and Mo Liasu, 27, both from Ipswich, died after drowning in a hotel swimming pool in Albufeira, Portugal.
For some time, the US has been abusing the concept of "national security," frequently harassing and interrogating, and even arresting and prosecuting Chinese students and researchers in the US on baseless charges, leading to increasingly severe misconduct. Recently, another Chinese scholar conducting research in the US was unreasonably detained by US law-enforcement agencies. During a routine press conference of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, spokesperson Guo Jiakun confirmed the news and urged the US to stop presumption of guilt and political manipulation, stop its politically driven and discriminatory law enforcement targeting Chinese students and scholars in the US, and deliver on the US leadership's commitment to welcome Chinese students to study in the US.

In recent years, the US' wanton targeting of Chinese research personnel has become common. These Chinese scholars are either detained by the US authorities at the airport during entry and exit or held for long periods of questioning in a "black room" by US customs. Not long ago, the US Department of Justice accused Chinese scholars studying at US universities of smuggling "plant pathogens" into the US.

Anyone with basic knowledge of biology and research experience can clearly recognize that accidentally carrying common samples does not involve any actual transfer of cutting-edge technologies or sensitive materials between the two countries; at most, it is merely a case of non-standardized research management procedures. However, the US side deliberately dramatizes this ordinary laboratory management issue as a "national security incident" to attract public attention, severely disrupting normal academic exchanges between China and the US, and intentionally creating a tense atmosphere between the two countries.

Such arbitrary tactics expose that certain US law-enforcement agencies are openly trampling on international law and the basic norms of international relations. Under the guise of "national security," they are engaging in blatant acts of bullying against citizens of other countries, laying bare the true nature of the US as a surveillance and police state.

The frequent overstretching of the concept of "national security" in academic circles and the malicious law enforcement reflect the anxiety and pathological mind-set of certain groups within the US facing China's rapid rise in the field of technological research and development. They vent their frustrations through a tough stance toward China, completely disregarding the overall stability of China-US relations and the world. From another perspective, similar incidents also highlight a serious disconnect between decision-making and execution within the US government. A country's international credibility is built on the effective functioning of its governance system. The current actions of the US have increasingly distanced it from being seen as a "responsible actor," forcing countries, including China, to carefully weigh their dealings with the US.

Educational cooperation and academic exchange are key links in China-US relations, carrying the important mission of enhancing understanding and mutual trust between the people of the two countries. As a global academic center, the US has long benefited from cultural exchanges, attracting top talent from around the world, including China. However, even with its rich academic resources, the US cannot afford to squander them through political manipulation and discriminatory law enforcement. Such behavior will inevitably weaken the US global academic and educational appeal, damage its reputation for the rule of law, and provide no benefit to its own development. Ultimately, it is a losing business that harms both itself and others. China-US relations need to return to the correct path of exchange and cooperation, abandon political interference, and rebuild trust to promote mutual progress in an open academic environment, benefiting both countries and the world.
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One of three drivers involved in a legal row over motor finance compensation has said he is dumbfounded after the Supreme Court ruled that lenders are not liable for hidden commission payments.

Marcus Johnson, then a factory supervisor, was buying his first car in 2017 and paid 1,650.95 in commission as part of his finance agreement with FirstRand for the Suzuki he purchased.

In October last year, the Court of Appeal ruled that the 35-year-old and two other drivers who had also paid commission as part of car finance agreements before 2021 were entitled to compensation.

The court ruled that the motorists were not told either clearly enough or at all that the car dealers, acting as credit brokers, would receive a commission from the lenders for introducing business to them.

The Supreme Court overturned the decision on Friday, but said Mr Johnson should retain his compensation and interest as he was in an unfair relationship with the lender.

When asked by the PA news agency how he felt about the outcome of the case, Mr Johnson, from Cwmbran in Wales, said: It was surprise and sadness, because I was quite confident, just based on how I felt about it, the unfairness of what happened to me.

I thought people looking at all the information would come to the same conclusion, and Im just dumbfounded.

I feel terrible that people wont be able to claim anything like I have.

Mr Johnson said he did not disagree with commission as he understood that that is how the market works.

But he said that the ruling sounds like its fine to secretly overcharge customers for commission.

The case was heard at the Supreme Court in London ( PA )

Mr Johnson said that he managed to sell his Suzuki after winning a Honda Civic in a raffle on Facebook, which he entered for 1.

He said he could not afford the insurance on the Honda, so he sold it and used the money to pay off the remaining balance on the Suzuki.

He then sold it privately at a loss thanks to the amount he still owed after three years of having the Suzuki on finance.

While Mr Johnson acknowledged that he would steer clear of hire-purchase agreements in future, there was little in his contract for the Suzuki which alerted him to the commission.

He said: The problem with that, the reading of the small print, in my case, would not have told you any of the information anyway.

There was a single sentence in my entire contract that said you may or may not be charged commission.

There was no information besides that single sentence about commission.

Going forward, I dont know how I would purchase a car besides that way, but I would really steer clear of doing a similar transaction in the future.

Mr Johnson continued that the ruling does not sit right with me at all.

He said: I am obviously happy that my case was successful, but for so many other people that were also overcharged, I just dont like the message it sends to the UK consumer.

In a 110-page ruling, Lords Reed, Hodge, Lloyd-Jones, Briggs and Hamblen said that car dealers did not have a relationship with their customers that would require them to act only in the customers interest.

They said: An offer to find the best deal is not the same as an offer to act altruistically.

They continued: No reasonable onlooker would think that, by offering to find a suitable finance package to enable the customer to obtain the car, the dealer was thereby giving up, rather than continuing to pursue, its own commercial objective of securing a profitable sale of the car.
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Britons have been urged to take extra care against tick bites this summer, after figures revealed more than 1,500 confirmed cases of Lyme disease last year.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said there were 1,581 laboratory-confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2024, but warned the true number could be much higher.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by infected ticks, which are typically found in grassy and wooded areas, the UKHSA said.

According to the UKHSA, not every tick carries the bacteria, and not everyone bitten by an infected tick will become unwell.

A tick usually needs to be attached for many hours to pass on the infection. People are unlikely to become ill if they spot a tick crawling on them before it bites.

The most common early sign of Lyme disease is a spreading circular bullseye rash appearing between three and 30 days after a bite, the UKHSA said.

open image in gallery Tick-borne encephalitis is likely to be present in the UK, health officials have said, after the first domestically acquired case of the virus was confirmed in Yorkshire (gre jak/Alamy/PA) ( Alamy/PA )

Other symptoms can include fever, headache, fatigue, nerve pain, numbness and, in some cases, facial drooping.

It's really important that people continue to be tick aware this summer to protect themselves against Lyme disease, Christina Petridou, Consultant Microbiologist at UKHSA, said.

Ms Petridou advised checking for ticks after time outdoors, as bites are often painless and ticks can be as small as a poppy seed.

The majority of confirmed cases last year were reported in the South West, South East and London, with numbers typically peaking in spring and summer when more people spend time in parks, woods and fields, according to the UKHSA.

open image in gallery Adult Female And Nymph Ticks ( Getty Images )

To reduce the risk, the UKHSA recommends sticking to clearly marked paths, avoiding brushing against long grass, wearing clothing that covers the skin and using insect repellent containing DEET.

It advises people to check themselves, their clothes and pets for ticks after being outdoors.

The UKHSA says any attached tick should be removed quickly using a tick removal tool or fine-tipped tweezers, rather than regular tweezers, which can squash the tick.

Lyme disease can usually be treated successfully with antibiotics if caught early, it added.
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Civil service hopefuls will have their fates decided by their parents jobs under a shakeup aimed at recruiting more staff from working class backgrounds.

The government will tighten eligibility criteria for Whitehall internships as part of a broader push to make the civil service more representative of the working class.

The main Whitehall internship scheme will be limited to students from "lower socio-economic backgrounds" and based on which occupations their parents held when they were 14.

open image in gallery Pat McFadden said the civil service needs to be more representative of the country as a whole ( PA Wire )

Currently around a quarter of students in higher education come from a lower socio-economic background, but they make up just 11.6 per cent of successful applicants to the civil services fast stream scheme.

And Pat McFadden, the minister responsible for civil service reform, said Whitehall needed to reflect the country as a whole.

"We need to get more working-class young people into the Civil Service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country," he told the BBC.

"The government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve."

The changes will take effect from summer 2026 and will give young people experience writing briefings, planning events, conducting policy research and shadowing civil servants, according to the broadcaster.

The existing work summer placement programme, which lasts up to eight weeks and is paid, is open to undergraduates in the final two years of their degree.

open image in gallery The plans come amid a wider shakeup of the civil service ( PA Wire )

But the announcement raised eyebrows with some, given Labours own top ranks are riddled with senior players who are related to one another.

Sir Keirs top cabinet fixer Pat McFadden is married to Marianna, Labours assistant general secretary. And the PMs chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is married to MP Imogen Walker, parliamentary private secretary to Rachel Reeves.

Other couples include business secretary Jonathan Reynolds, whose wife Claire is Sir Keirs political director, and Wes Streeting, whose partner Joe Dancey is Labours executive director of policy and communications.

The move comes after the government announced plans to move thousands more civil servants out of London as part of plans to "radically reform the state".

In May, the government confirmed it would cut the number of civil servants working in London by 12,000 and shift jobs to a series of new regional "campuses" across the country.

Mr McFadden said at the time that the government would be relocating a "substantial number of roles".

"The aim is to reduce the London count by about 12,000. That will save us 94m in lease costs because the properties in London are very expensive.

"And we will move thousands - it's difficult to put a precise number - thousands of those jobs to new themed campuses around the country," he told Times Radio.

The changes will also see 11 government office buildings in London close, including one of its largest Westminster sites, in a move expected to save 94m a year by 2032.

The move will see two new major "campuses" created, one in Manchester focused on digital innovation and AI and another in Aberdeen on energy.

Manchester is already home to major offices of the science and culture departments, while Aberdeen houses the new Great British Energy headquarters.

Other roles will be created in Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow, Darlington, Newcastle and Tyneside, Sheffield, Bristol, Edinburgh, Belfast and York, with the changes expected to bring 729 million to the local economy by 2030.
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The Ministry of Defences top civil servant David Williams will be stepping down in the autumn.

Mr Williams, who is the permanent secretary at the MoD, announced his departure just weeks after it was revealed the government had put up to 100,000 lives at risk though a catastrophic data loss.

His departure is part of a bid to bring fresh leadership to senior defence roles, The Independent understands.

David Williams, the MoDs top civil servant, will step down in autumn ( DoD/U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Alexander Kubitza )

An MoD spokesperson said: Permanent Secretary David Williams will step down this autumn and the recruitment process for his successor is under way. Since 2021, David has led the department through a period of significant activity, and we thank him for his contribution.

Mr Williams has been in the position for four and a half years and it is understood his departure is not related to the Afghan data leak, which resulted in an unprecedented MoD superinjunction.

A new chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, will also take up his appointment in September this year.

Last year defence secretary John Healey pledged to fix the broken defence procurement system through new reforms.

A root and branch defence review also reported in June this year, looking at everything from equipment to future threats.

In response prime minister Sir Keir Starmer ordered up to a dozen new attack submarines, 15bn worth of investment in the nuclear warheads programme and thousands of new long-range weapons after the report concluded that the country should prepare for war.

The strategic defence review also called for a small rise in the size of the regular army as a priority, although the defence secretary said this would not happen before 2029 at the earliest.

It also recommended that the UK should have a minimum of 100,000 soldiers, ministers should hike the number of active reservists by 20 per cent, and that government should slash the civil service defence workforce by 10 per cent.

The Home Offices chief civil servant Sir Matthew Rycroft also stepped down earlier this year, and a new cabinet secretary Sir Chris Wormald - the effective head of the civil service - was appointed at the end of December last year.
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Marco Rubio has lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer, describing the prime minister as clumsy over his plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September.

In the strongest condemnation yet from the Trump administration, the US secretary of state said the prime minister was clumsy for vowing to recognise Palestine before Hamas releases the remaining hostages taken during the October 7 attacks.

Speaking to Fox News Radio, Mr Rubio said: The UK is like, well, if Israel doesnt agree to a ceasefire by September, were going to recognise a Palestinian state.

So if Im Hamas, I say, you know what, lets not allow there to be a ceasefire. If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognised by all these countries in September.

open image in gallery Marco Rubio (far right) pictured with Trump and Starmer in the Oval Office during the prime ministers visit to the White House in February ( AFP/Getty )

So theyre not going to agree to a ceasefire. I mean, its so clumsy.

Mr Rubio went on to suggest Sir Keir had made the move due to pressure from the Labour Party and pro-Gaza critics of the government. He said: What this really is, in many of these countries case, is their domestic politics. Some of these countries have huge constituencies now that are pressuring them domestically to line up on this side, irrespective of its geopolitical ramifications.

It came after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday: The president expressed his displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada.

He feels as though thats rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages.

Donald Trump said during a visit to the UK that he did not mind Sir Keir taking a position on Palestinian statehood. But the US president accused the prime minister of rewarding Hamas after he announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

open image in gallery Keir Starmer said the UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September before the UN General Assembly ( PA )

Mr Rubios comments go further than the president and are the strongest rebuke for Sir Keir since he promised the move if Israel fails to take steps to end the war in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the prime minister recalled the Cabinet from their summer holidays to discuss steps to end what he called the appalling situation in Gaza, where a UN assessment has warned the population is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis.

Sir Keir said the UK would only refrain from recognising Palestine if Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process over the next two months.

Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, must immediately release all remaining Israeli hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza, Sir Keir added.

The PM has also faced backlash from freed hostages of Hamas, including British-Israeli Emily Damari, who was held by the terror group for 15 months.

open image in gallery British Israeli citizen Emily Damari was kidnapped and held for 471 days by Hamas ( Pomi Ofir Tal )

She accused him of a moral failure and said his promise to recognise Palestine risks rewarding terror.

She said: Had he been in power during World War II, would he have advocated recognition for Nazi control of occupied countries like Holland, France or Poland?

This is not diplomacy, it is a moral failure. Shame on you, prime minister, she said.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a furious response, saying the decision rewards Hamass monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims.

Sir Keirs statement has been shrouded by confusion over whether recognising Palestinian statehood is contingent on Hamas releasing all the remaining hostages in Gaza, with ministers unable to say whether the move hinges on them being freed.
The number of people crossing the English Channel to claim asylum in small boats has reached a record high. More than ever  some 25,000  have made the journey since the beginning of the year, and, if this continues, we will see the highest annual total since records began in 2018.

A year ago, Labour pledged to smash the gangs and to turn the page and restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly. There has been some progress, but its fair to say that many feel impatient.

Is it really that many?

Yes and no. The 25,000 or so whove arrived on the south coast so far this year mean that the number is up by 51 per cent on this point in 2024 (16,842) and 73 per cent higher than at the same point in 2023 (14,732). So the country is well on course to exceed the figure of 37,000 who arrived by these irregular means last year, and the 46,000 in 2021, the prior record.

On the other hand, it is far lower than the number of migrants arriving on a visa, entirely lawfully  some 431,000 net (938,000 gross, both figures including students)  and has to be set in the context of the UKs total population of 69 million. The number of irregular migrants last year was equal to the population of Guildford.

On balance, it is still the case that migration of all kinds into the UK has been running at historically high levels for some years.

Why so high?

In terms of the big picture, on total migration, it is simply that the UK suffers from chronic labour and skills shortages  there arent sufficient young people to replace retirees, so that means there are not enough workers. In addition, there are not enough with the right skills and in locations where demand is high, while those who do have the skills required are not always willing to do the jobs that are available at current wage rates.

In the case of asylum seekers, the recent run of calm weather has certainly pushed the flows higher, and there is no shortage of civil wars and collapsing societies that are pushing them towards the UK. The stories about the Afghan refugees that made headlines in July are an extreme example of a wider phenomenon. There are lots of perfectly genuine refugees, in other words, as well as those who just want a better life.

Has the government smashed the gangs?

Evidently not, and certainly not to the extent required to stop the boats, but the authorities have been given the counterterrorism-style powers and resources that Keir Starmer promised them. At best, it will take time.

What about the returns policy?

The one-in, one-out deal with France would reduce irregular migration, but it would have no net impact on the overall numbers. Its also relatively small  initially 50 a week, as opposed to the 898 who arrived last Wednesday alone.

What happened to safe and secure routes?

This idea was quietly dropped by Labour in the months before the election because it wouldnt actually get the numbers down, which is what its all supposed to be about.

Clearing the backlog?

Again, it will take time. There were a large number of unprocessed asylum seekers who were due to be deported to Rwanda and were being kept in limbo in hotels, and the number still arriving is such that its like trying to empty a bath while the taps are running. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, says she has taken on more people to process claims, and some have been returned, either by force (8,590 in the year to March) or voluntarily (26,388 in the same period).

International obligations and domestic law, as well as humanitarian considerations, require that all claims be assessed, and again, it will necessarily take time if so many have been left unchecked for so long. Even summary deportation is problematic, and this can also take time if the country of origin refuses entry and there are no third countries available to accept someone.

Why dont we use the Royal Navy to tow them back to France?

Its not what the navy is for, but also the risk to life is great, and the number of small boats would make the task impossible. British warships or Border Force vessels cannot enter French sovereign waters without permission, and the French government would retaliate. The Royal Australian Navy did take migrants into international waters, but this isnt applicable in the narrow English Channel, so thats not practical either.

Why use hotels?

Simply because theres nowhere else to put them, and accommodating them in tents in fields, as suggested by the Reform mayor of Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns, would cause even more problems. Hotels are unpopular for understandable reasons, but so is paying to rent private houses, especially as homes of multiple occupation, or using much-needed social housing.

Cooper has also promised to end the use of hotels, with the one in Epping thats been the subject of protests now an urgent priority.

What do the public think?

Concern about immigration of all kinds has been growing, and when the small-boat figures go up, or when there are high-profile incidents involving migrant hotels, as now, the salience of the issue trends to increase in the opinion polls. The most obvious sign of dissatisfaction is the rise in support for Reform UK, even though its solutions  leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, sending them back to France, turning them back or sending them to some unnamed third country  havent necessarily been fully thought through.

Indeed, they could make matters worse by encouraging the small boats to make undetected landings rather than surrendering to Border Force and making a claim. This increases the likelihood that these refugees would then end up in the hands of gang masters in the illegal economy, and living in slums, adding to crime. And if the boats were ever stopped, there are other routes, such as overstaying a visa.

After all, the small boats only became the preferred method after the Channel authorities made the ports and lorries secure, and then the pandemic  plus Brexit  also made smuggling in vehicles, previously a popular tactic, almost impossible.

What no party fully admits is that irregular migration is such an intractable problem that if it were as easy to solve it as is so often claimed, it would by now be a thing of the past. The solution would probably involve using every possible policy lever tried so far, and also introducing identity cards to prevent illegal working  a far bigger pull factor than the welfare system.

Another idea would be to allow the immigrants to relieve Britains labour shortage, which includes unskilled work, thus boosting economic growth and tax revenues. Why not?
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Labour has been urged to launch a massive expansion of family centres under the Sure Start brand to fend off Nigel Farages Reform UK.

A commission backed by Labour peer Hilary Armstrong has said a reintroduction of Sure Start family centres could rebuild faith in neighbourhoods blighted by Tory austerity.

Her Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods found the reinstatement of Sure Start would be backed across the political spectrum, with two-thirds of potential Reform voters supporting the move.

Bridget Phillipson has been urged to revive the Sure Start brand to fend off Reform ( PA Wire )

Sure Start was launched under Mr Brown and Sir Tony Blair in 1998 to help provide children in poorer neighbourhoods with health, education and childcare services. The centres provided early years health and education services.

More than 1,400 Sure Start centres have been closed since 2010 amid the Conservatives austerity drive. At its peak under Gordon Brown, the programme had more than 3,600 centres, with Labour ministers repeatedly describing Sure Start as one of the partys biggest achievements in government.

It has since been rebranded as Best Start, with the scheme relaunching when Labour came back into power last year. Education secretary Bridget Phillipson has ploughed 500m into the family hubs, offering parenting support and youth services across every council in England. She said the scheme will target disadvantaged communities and give a lifeline to families.

Officials anticipate the network will grow to include up to 1,000 hubs by the end of 2028.

Government sources told The Guardian the Best Start brand was tested and came out as a clear winner among voters, with parents viewing it as aimed at parents ambitions.

But Baroness Armstrongs commission found that 62 per cent of people recognise the Sure Start brand, while 72 per cent of voters want to see it revived.

Jo White, a Labour MP who chairs the red wall grouping in parliament, told The Guardian: Labours reconnection with left-behind communities, including in the red wall constituencies, has to be tangible. People need to see and experience change, and the reopening of Sure Start centres is a very good start.

Baroness Armstrong added: On our visits across the country we have heard time and again how Sure Start made a positive difference to the lives of people in ways that few other policy initiatives have done.

Our work has shown that bringing back Sure Start centres through upgrading existing services in the most disadvantaged places would not only be good value for money but would also start to rebuild trust in neighbourhoods which saw services taken away due to austerity.

Labour is hoping to see off the rise of Reform, which has consistently topped the polls after Sir Keir Starmers shaky start in Downing Street.

Mr Farages party is currently backed by 30 per cent of voters, with Labour on 22 per cent and the Conservatives in third on 17 per cent.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: Giving children growing up in our country the best start in life is central to our mission to break the unfair link between background and success.

This government is revitalising family services, rolling out up to 1,000 Best Start family hubs in every local area, relieving pressure on parents and building on the successful legacy of Sure Start.

Through our Plan for Change, our Best Start services will deliver 30 hours of government-funded childcare, expand school-based nurseries, and roll out free breakfast clubs in every primary school to support working parents.
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A government minister has reopened the door to a wealth tax, just days after the business secretary dismissed the idea as daft.

Asked about a wealth tax, policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said it is important that all these issues are looked at and discussed and we look at the evidence about what will work and what wont work.

But last week, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds slapped down the concept, urging his colleagues to stop calling for a magic wealth tax that does not exist and dismissing it as daft.

It comes amid mounting questions over how the government will raise the money to fill the black hole in the public finances left by a series of major U-turns and spending commitments.

open image in gallery Dame Diana Johnson left the door open to a wealth tax ( PA Archive )

Ministers have already squeezed significant savings out of their departments in cuts that were unveiled at last months spending review, meaning there is now a mounting expectation that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will be forced to raise taxes instead.

But Labours manifesto pledge not to raise taxes on working people leaves the chancellor with a limited number of workable options.

Dame Dianas remarks came after former Labour minister and ex-shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds urged the government to consider a wealth tax.

Asked about Ms Dodds remarks, the policing minister told Sky News: I think the Labour Party and the Labour government welcome contributions from everybody. Ultimately it is down to the chancellor to make decisions about what she is going to announce in the budget later this year.

She added: I think whatever decision that the chancellor makes it will be based on our values as a Labour government and we have made very clear commitments around tax.

I think it is important though that all these issues are looked at and discussed and we look at the evidence about what will work and what wont work.

Speaking to GB News just days before, Mr Reynolds had said: This Labour government has increased taxes on wealth as opposed to income  the taxes on private jets, private schools, changes through inheritance tax, capital gains tax.

But the idea theres a magic wealth tax, some sort of levy ... that doesnt exist anywhere in the world.

open image in gallery Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has previously dismissed the idea of a wealth tax as daft ( PA Wire )

Switzerland has a levy, but they dont have capital gains or inheritance tax. Theres no kind of magic ... Were not going to do anything daft like that.

And I say to people: Be serious about this. The idea you can just levy everyone ... What if your wealth was not in your bank account, what if it was in fine wine or art? How would we tax that? This is why this doesnt exist.

Amid growing calls for the government to introduce a wealth tax from Labour backbenchers, Ms Dodds warned that spending cuts alone would not deliver the kind of fiscal room that is necessary.

Speaking to Sky Newss Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Dodds pointed to work undertaken by the Commission on Wealth Tax.

They looked at the operation of lots of different wealth tax. They looked at all of that evidence and set out how it would be possible to deliver something like that in a UK context, she said.

I would hope that the Treasury is considering that kind of evidence as well as other changes that have been put forward.

Weve seen the deputy leader of the Labour Party, for example, put forward suggestions. I think it's important for all of those to be considered now.

It comes after a memo leaked earlier this year showed Angela Rayner suggesting eight wealth taxes on the super-rich and corporations in a move supporters described as the progressive alternative.

Ms Dodds also urged the government to take a longer-term approach to the public finances, after the prime minister was bounced into a 5bn U-turn on welfare cuts by his own MPs.

Downing Street has so far failed to rule out a wealth tax, but the prime minister has previously said that we cant just tax our way to growth when pressed on the subject at PMQs last month.

Rachael Maskell, the leader of the rebel Labour MPs who forced Sir Keir to abandon his welfare reforms, called for a wealth tax to meet the cost of the U-turn, suggesting that as much as 24bn a year could be raised by increases in capital gains tax and other measures.
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Wildlife groups have condemned the killing of a collared lion, part of a research project in Zimbabwe, by a trophy hunter. The incident echoes the infamous case of Cecil the lion, whose death at the hands of an American tourist in the same country a decade ago sparked international outrage.

The latest lion, known as Blondie, was involved in an Oxford University study and wore a research collar sponsored by Africa Geographic, a safari company.

Africa Geographic stated that Blondie was killed by a hunter in June close to the country's flagship Hwange National Park. The lion was reportedly lured out of a protected area and into a nearby hunting zone with the use of bait.

After Blondie's killing became a new rallying cry for those opposed to hunting, a spokesperson for Zimbabwe's National Parks told The Associated Press on Thursday that the hunt was legal and the hunter had the necessary permits. Zimbabwe allows up to 100 lions to be hunted a year. Trophy hunters, who are usually foreign tourists, pay tens of thousands of dollars to kill a lion and take the head or skin as a trophy.

open image in gallery People hold candles and pamphlets shows an image of Cecil the lion at a vigil in central London on July 30, 2016 ( AFP via Getty Images )

Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley said Blondie's killing made a mockery of the ethics trophy hunters claim to prescribe to because he wore a clearly visible research collar and was a breeding male in his prime. Hunters say they only target ageing, non-breeding lions.

"That Blondies prominent collar did not prevent him from being offered to a hunting client confirms the stark reality that no lion is safe from trophy hunting guns, Espley said.

Hunting lions is fiercely divisive, even among conservationists. Some say if it is well managed it raises money that can be put back into conservation. Others want killing wildlife for sport to be banned outright.

Some countries in Africa like Kenya have commercial hunting bans, others like Zimbabwe and South Africa allow it. Botswana lifted a ban on hunting six years ago.

Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe parks agency, said money from hunting is crucial to support the southern African nation's underfunded conservation efforts. He defended the hunt and said they often happen at night, meaning the collar on Blondie may not have been visible.

open image in gallery Demonstrators gather outside the dental practice of Walter Palmer, Sept. 8, 2015, in Bloomington, Minn. AP Photo/Jim Mone, File) ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

He said he had no information on Blondie being lured out of the park with bait  which is usually a dead animal  but there is nothing unethical or illegal about that for anyone who knows how lions are hunted. This is how people hunt.

Our rangers were present. All paperwork was in order. Collars are for research purposes, but they dont make the animal immune to hunting," Farawo said. He declined to name the hunter.

Cecil's killing in 2015 unleashed furious anger against Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter who lured the lion out of the same national park in Zimbabwe and shot him with a bow before tracking him for hours and finally killing him. Cecil, whose head and skin were cut off and taken for trophies, was also involved in a research project by Oxford University.

Zimbabwe authorities initially said they would seek to extradite Palmer over the hunt, although that didn't happen, while a hunting guide who helped him was arrested, only for charges to be dropped.

Zimbabwe's national parks agency says the country makes about $20 million a year from trophy hunting, with a single hunter spending an average of $100,000 per hunt  which includes accommodation and hiring vehicles and local trackers.

Zimbabwe is home to approximately 1,500 wild lions, with around one-third of them living in the vast Hwange National Park. Across Africa, the wild lion population is estimated at around 20,000. However, their numbers are decreasing due to habitat loss and human conflict. Lions, one of Africa's most iconic species, are currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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A 25-year-old Army reservist, former correctional officer and failed school board candidate is accused of robbing the same South Florida bank twice in less than a month  and it was his own military uniform, in large part, that gave him away.

Christopher A. Borchardt targeted a USF Credit Union branch just 1,500 feet from the Sarasota apartment where he was living with a pair of unsuspecting strangers who had recently rented him a room via Facebook Marketplace, according to an FBI affidavit unsealed Thursday.

Borchardt had no car, no credit or debit cards, and didnt appear to have a regular job, but he was known to neighbors as a flashy guy who likes to brag about owning luxury items like a Rolex watch, the affidavit states.

One tenant of the Sierra Park complex told FBI investigators that Borchardt had asked him to recommend a good tattoo artist, as he wanted to get a new tattoo on either his neck or throat and was unconcerned with the cost of the tattoo, it says.

And while Borchardt complained to roommates Rebekah Harwell and Desmond Johnson that finances were tight, he arrived home one day with a large stack of $100 bills that he proudly fanned out on the kitchen counter, according to the affidavit.

Johnson, who described Borchardts stash to the FBI as rapper money, thought it was unusual that Borchardt refused to leave the apartment for an entire week in July  which he didnt know at the time was the period immediately following the second alleged bank robbery. On July 25, when law enforcement descended on the Sienna Park apartment complex, agents connected the dots for Johnson, he said Friday.

It was insane, Im still trying to process all of it because it just happened last week, Johnson, 22, told The Independent. I noticed there was something weird when there was a damn helicopter roaming around, like, hovering right there above us. When I went downstairs to get my car, the FBI comes at me. They asked me about my roommate Chris, and they showed me the photos. Im like, Dog, what was you thinking?

open image in gallery Christopher Borchardt wore his own Army uniform to one of the bank robberies he is accused of committing, giving investigators a juicy lead that quickly brought them to his front door ( US District Court for the Middle District of Florida; Sarasota County Sheriff's Offic e )

The apartment is right next to the bank, its less than a minute walk away, Johnson said, adding, Did you really think you were gonna get away with that? Have a plan, come on.

Borchardt, who is presently in the Sarasota County Jail awaiting an August 21 court appearance, does not yet have an attorney listed in court records and was unable to be reached.

The first heist went down at around noon on June 20, when a tall man in blue jeans, black T-shirt, black sunglasses, black shoes and a black beanie walked into the USF Credit Union on Sarasotas Clark Road, according to the FBI affidavit.

After entering the branch, the man handed a teller a note demanding $7,000, the affidavit continues. It says that when the teller attempted to stall and alert her coworkers to what was happening, the man became very anxious and aggravated, and said he would shoot her if she didnt hurry up. Once the teller handed over the cash, the man ran away, the affidavit states.

Deputies from the Sarasota County Sheriffs Office canvassed the area, and heard from a witness who said they saw someone matching the suspect's description walk into the Sienna Park apartments shortly after the robbery.

open image in gallery A booking photo of 25-year-old Army reservist, former correctional officer, and failed school board candidate, Borchardt, who is facing decades in federal prison over accusations he twice robbed a bank mere steps from his apartment ( Sarasota County Sheriff's Office )

On July 18, the same USF Credit Union branch was robbed again. This time, a bank employee recognized the suspect as the same person from the June 20 robbery, according to the affidavit. Although it was a 91-degree day in Sarasota, the man wore a full Army camo uniform with long sleeves, a hat and tan combat boots, the affidavit states.

He approached a teller and demanded $8,000, the affidavit alleges, noting that the suspect then reached behind his back as if he were going to draw a concealed weapon. But before the teller could hand over any loot, the man reached over the counter and grabbed $2,500 before again running away toward the Sierra Park apartments, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses told sheriffs deputies that they had seen a man in an Army uniform shortly after the bank robbery, hiding in the bushes behind a private home adjacent to the Sierra Park complex, the affidavit contends. Surveillance footage from a building in the vicinity showed the man walking into Sierra Park at roughly 2:40 p.m., which was immediately after police were notified of the robbery, according to the affidavit.

It says officers showed pictures of the suspect to Sierra Park residents, one of whom said they had previously seen the man at the complexs pool with Desmond Johnson, who lived in an apartment on the second floor. The resident identified him as Chris, and said they had also seen him wearing an Army uniform in the past, the affidavit states. Investigators perused Johnsons Facebook friends and soon homed in on Borchardt as the Chris they were looking for, according to the affidavit.

open image in gallery Borchardt was quickly identified by the FBI, thanks largely to the Army uniform he wore during the pair of alleged robberies, bolstered by eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage ( US District Court for the Middle District of Florida )

Official government records revealed that Borchardt is a current U.S. Army reserve member, the affidavit says. Borchardt held the rank of Specialist in the E-4 paygrade. In the July 18, 2025, robbery, surveillance footage from USFCU captured the suspect wearing a Specialist/E-4 rank insignia on his Army uniform.

A further review of open-source records showed that Borchardt  who in April ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the District 307 School Board in Bradley, Illinois  had previously served as a corrections officer in the state, according to the affidavit.

The FBI searched the apartment where Borchardt had been living for the past six weeks. There, they found credit cards and a law enforcement training certificate bearing his name, a U.S. Army patch, a pair of tan combat boots and a camo Army uniform and hat, all of which the suspect wore to the second bank robbery. Agents also located a pair of black shoes identical to the ones worn by the suspect during the first bank robbery, the affidavit states.

Harwell, Borchardts other roommate, told the FBI that she and Johnson needed a third roommate after their previous roommate moved out, and that they posted an ad on Facebook Marketplace to find one, according to the affidavit. Following an introductory video call with Borchardt, he moved in on June 8, paying $900 a month for the main bedroom, it says.

Things immediately seemed odd, as Borchardt refused to send the rent money through Zelle or another online service, but would instead give cash to Johnson, who would deposit the money into his bank account, then transfer the money electronically to Harwell, who would pay the landlord, the affidavit states. Johnson, for his part, told FBI agents that the arrangement frustrated and annoyed him, and that Borchardts behavior over the past several days had struck him as exceptionally strange.

open image in gallery The FBI found the Army boots and camo uniform they say Borchardt wore during one alleged bank robbery, and the black shoes he allegedly wore during another ( US District Court for the Middle District of Florida )

Johnson thought it was unusual that Borchardt had not left the apartment for the entire week after the July 18, 2025, USFCU robbery, the affidavit asserts. During this same timeframe Borchardt asked Johnson to leave and go buy him beer, which Johnson believed was odd because the store is within walking distance of the apartment.

On July 25, amid heavy police activity outside the apartment complex, Johnson became curious and stepped outside to see what was going on, according to the affidavit.

It says this made Borchardt extremely nervous and told a confused Johnson not to leave, which he ignored. After Johnson returned, Borchardt was tense and quiet for a long time afterwards, the affidavit states.

Borchardt was arrested the same day, and is now facing two federal counts of bank robbery, each of which carry a potential 20-year prison term.

I asked him, Whyd you do it? Johnson told The Independent. It didnt make sense to me at all.

He never got an answer.

Johnson was willing to talk about Borchardt and his thoughts on the case, saying on Friday, Im not afraid to share. Im not going to be seeing that guy ever again.
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An heir to the now-defunct luxury department store Barneys is accusing his late mother and siblings of orchestrating a tax fraud scheme to evade paying $20 million to New York state, according to a lawsuit.

Bob Pressman, the 71-year-old grandson of the retail giant founder Barney Pressman, alleged his family conspired to avoid paying New York state income and estate taxes by falsely claiming that his mother lived in Florida, a lawsuit obtained by the New York Post alleges.

In reality, Phyllis Pressman, the plaintiffs mother, lived in Southampton, New York, for the last six years of her life, according to the complaint. She died in Palm Beach, Florida, in April 2024 at the age of 95.

She freely told the people around her that she did not like Florida and did not intend to make it her permanent home, the complaint states.

Phyllis was the widow of Fred Pressman, the founders son. Barneys, founded in 1923, got its start selling suits; 30 years later, Fred took over and transformed it into a luxury business.

An heir to the now-defunct luxury department store Barneys is accusing his mom and siblings of a tax fraud scheme. ( Getty Images )

Fred died in 1996 and four years later, she moved to West Palm Beach. She wed Joseph Gurwin, a textile manufacturer and philanthropist, the following year, the suit states. Nine years after Gurwin died, she moved back to New York in 2018.

The lawsuit alleges Phyllis was renowned for her exacting and highly developed taste and sophistication.

Her Southampton home  a sprawling 2.3-acre beachfront property  is now up for sale for more than $34 million, property and real estate records show. She also had a 2,500-square-foot Upper East Side apartment, which is now under contract for just under $4 million, the Post reported.

Bob Pressman was cut out of his mothers will after years of bickering with his relatives, including his unwillingness to participate in the alleged scheme, a source close to the case told the outlet.

Bob doesnt get anything for reasons he well knows, a trust agreement allegedly states.

The suit lists Bob as a whistleblower under the New York False Claims Act, meaning he could be entitled to anywhere between 25 and 30 percent of the proceeds recovered. The filing alleges his relatives who were involved in the tax fraud scheme could be liable for more than $50 million worth of taxes and penalties, the Post reported.

Phyllis successfully recruited her children  Gene Pressman, Elizabeth Pressman-Neubardt and Nancy Pressman-Dressler  to lie about where she lived after Bob refused to do so, the complaint alleges.

The trio in late 2023 helped move their mother into hospice care in Palm Beach when she was ill and should not have been traveling and transferred the Southampton home to a limited liability company, the filing says.

Thats when they all increased the size of their inheritance from Phyllis Pressman because they helped the Estate avoid the New York estate taxes that it was obligated to pay, the suit alleges.

To support allegations that his mother lived in New York residency from 2018 through 2024, the lawsuit claims that Phyllis had her prescriptions filled at a local Southampton pharmacy, regularly called from the landline at the mansion, and had two aides working at the property.

Reached by phone on Thursday at her home in Westchester County, Nancy Pressman told The Independent that she had no comment. Elizabeth Pressman, whose phone on Thursday was not accepting messages, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. A listed number for Gene Pressman went straight to voicemail; various email addresses for him bounced back as undeliverable.

Family feuds over company money have erupted ever since the department store filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1996.

In 1999, Bobs sisters, Elizabeth and Nancy, took to court, accusing him of taking $30 million that belonged to them. A judge found that Bob, then the trustee of the business, committed fraud and ordered him to pay his sisters $11.3 million. He denied the allegations and launched an appeal.

Barneys declared bankruptcy for a second time in 2019, which led to the shuttering of all its stores. Authentic Brands Group then acquired the retail icons name and began a partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue.

Reporter Justin Rohrlich contributed to this report.
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Amid a rise in wolf attacks, Americas cattle farmers are taking an unorthodox approach to protecting their herds  with the help of some notorious rock legends.

Since gray wolves were reintroduced to the U.S. in 1995 following near-elimination, their populations have rebounded across their historical range in the Intermountain West and along the West Coast.

While the species return has led to multiple beneficial ecological changes, it has also recently resulted in the deaths of dozens of cattle and other livestock across multiple states.

Along with new strategies in collecting predator DNA to limit attacks, details of which the Department of Agriculture published this week, for the past three years, federal predator specialists have been hazing the gray wolves, using drones with speakers attached to blast AC/DC hits, including Thunderstruck and Blue on Black.

And thats not all  a clip of an intense argument between Adam Driver and Scarlett Johanssons characters in the 2019 movie Marriage Story also served to startle the wolves away from livestock.

open image in gallery Researchers are using drones blasting AC/DCs classic hits to stop wolves from attacking livestock on farms in western states. For now, its working ( AFP/Getty )

The operations are quick and methodical. The drones have heat-seeking cameras that can show operators where the wolves are at night. A loudspeaker attached to the drone then plays a clip of human sound, and the wolves disperse nearly instantaneously.

After deploying the speaker-outfitted drones to the Klamath Basin area in southwestern Oregon, wolf attacks fell from around one every other night to less than one a month.

We were able to effectively haze wolves away from cattle  and in one case  even stop an attack in progress, said Dr. Dustin Ranglack, Predator Project Leader and Utah Field Station Leader for USDAs National Wildlife Research Center, told Jefferson Public Radio last December.

Hopefully theyre gonna be successful, Jim Rickert, the 77-year-old owner of Californias Prather Ranch, told The Wall Street Journal on Friday, but Im kinda betting on the wolves, truth be known.

open image in gallery Dozens of cattle have been killed by gray wolves in states across the western U.S. this year. In California, there were 27 calf deaths in May and April alone ( AFP/Getty )

It was a vast improvement on previous strategies for preventing wolf attacks  which involved Ranglack and his colleagues at Wildlife Services  chasing the predators on foot, he explained to The Wildlife Society this past February. Hardly an easy task when a gray wolf can reach speeds of up to 37 mph.

But while this strategy has had success, the attacks keep coming.

So far this year, dozens of cattle have been killed in western states.

California saw 27 calves killed in March and April alone, costing the state millions to reimburse agricultural losses and help to pay for fencing and other nonlethal deterrents, according to The Sacramento Bee. Earlier this week, Washington State wildlife officials killed an adult male wolf from a pack blamed for two cattle deaths in Ferry County, The Spokesman-Review said. In Colorado, state officials said theyre working to kill at least one wolf in Pitkin County after determining wolves killed one calf near Aspen last month, according to CPR News.

open image in gallery An adult gray wolf and five pups are seen in Oregon. While gray wolf populations have rebounded since they were nearly eliminated by habitat loss and hunting, conservation groups are worried about the impact of removing protections in the future ( Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife )

And the hunter appears likely to become the hunted once again.

Earlier this year, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would remove the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife, and ensure that the decision could not be challenged. The move comes following similar legislation from Republicans that leaves it up to the states to determine whether the wolves can be hunted.

Although proponents have argued that the species has recovered over the last couple of decades, conservation groups say the gray wolves future remains precarious even without stripping their protections.

Melissa Smith, executive director of the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, said when federal protection was lifted in early 2021, Wisconsin state-licensed hunters killed 218 wolves in less than three days, surpassing a quota of 200, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

Certainly weve seen what wolf delisting does and did do in 2021 to wolves, she said. I have serious doubts in the accountability, transparency and democracy of the agency, especially when whats going on federally, that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not be able to monitor the situation of a freshly delisted species.
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A 5-month-old boy was killed by a 130-pound dog after being left with relatives who were watching the baby as his mom celebrated her birthday, police said.

The Volusia Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a home near Ormond Beach around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday , where the infants great-grandmother and great aunt were watching him as his parents were out at his mothers 21st birthday dinner.

Officials said the family members put the infant, Carter, in a bedroom after becoming fussy and shut the door. While the great-aunt made tea and toast, she let her three dogs out of their kennels. Investigators said a Great Dane/Husky mix opened the bedroom door, and the great-aunt later found Carter bleeding and unresponsive with the 130-pound dog beside him.

Carters parents returned home and rushed him to the hospital, but he died from his injuries.

"This young mother will remember on her birthday that her child is dead," he said. "It is so, so, so tragic. This was supposed to be a great night, and now I just can't imagine how anyone in this family feels, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a press conference.

open image in gallery A 5-month-old baby died in Florida after being attack by a dog inside a home, police say. ( PA Wire )

Volusia County Animal Services took custody of the dog, which usually holds animals in quarantine for 10 days. After that, the family can appeal before the dog is euthanized.

In this case, the dog was classified as "dangerous," giving officials the authority to euthanize it. The family chose not to appeal the decision and surrendered the dog, which was euthanized Thursday.

Randa Matusiak, Volusia County's director of public protection, said that there had been no prior calls related to the home, adding that dog attacks are rare occurrences in the area.

"It is a tragic accident," Matusiak said. "It's difficult because any dog has the potential of doing some harm. It's important to be aware of the dog when it's in your house, to understand dog behavior, to make sure you're properly socializing that dog and monitoring it."

In a chilling twist, photos taken by Fox 35 Orlando captured a Halloween-like yard decor, including a large human skeleton and a dog skeleton in the front yard of the home dressed in Hawaiian shirts and surrounded by beach gear.

A yard sign also read, Crazy dogs live here. Do not knock. They will bark. I will yell. Things will get ugly.

Chitwood asked community members to be compassionate in this situation as the incident remains under investigation.
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An American man was injured during a shark attack in the Bahamas, according to local police.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the attack occurred near Manjack Cay in the Abacos Islands in the northern Bahamas.

The region is known locally as Nunjack Cay, according to USA TODAY.

The man was reportedly boating with his friends "with his leg hanging in the water" when the shark bit him, a police report states. The attack occurred just after 2pm on Monday.

The victim was transported to a local clinic where he was treated for his injuries and was later released.

A shark attacked a man who was dangling his feet off a boat in the Bahamas on July 28, 2025. The man was treated at a nearby clinic and released ( Getty/iStock )

Police did not release the man's name or age in their report. It was also not specific as to what kind of shark attacked the man.

Another man trying to enjoy the beach had his own shark encounter over the Fourth of July weekend.

A 21-year-old man was fishing off a Nantucket beach when he caught a shark on his line, according to the Nantucket Current.

He reeled the animal onto shore and tried to return it to the ocean, but the shark thrashed and bit him on his leg, causing him a serious injury.

The victim's friends drove him to a local hospital, where he was later flown by helicopter to a hospital on the mainland to further treatment.

On the same day, a 40-year-old surfer in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, received a 10-inch bite from a shark that left him seriously injured. He ultimately survived the attack, Fox News reports. New Smyrna Beach is known as the "shark bite capital" of the U.S. due to the high number of shark encounters in the area.

Shark attacks, while frightening, are still very rare events. According to the International Shark Attack File, 47 people were bitten in unprovoked shark attacks last year, and four people were killed, including one American.

According to the ISAF, there are, on average, approximately 65 reported shark attacks every year. On average, there are six fatal attacks every year.
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Donald Trump is President of the United States.

Republicans control all three branches of government.

Yet even as Democrats are trying to regroup and claw their way back in next years midterm congressional elections, the two people whom many of them blame for that state of affairs.

Former president and vice president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, continue to dominate the Democratic spotlight  allowing Republicans to highlight their failures instead of letting their party move on and find a way to regain the support that was lost during their time in office.

Harris, who lost all seven of the contested swing states in 2024, recently announced an upcoming book that will focus on the 107-day campaign she waged against Trump after Biden withdrew from the race following his disastrous debate performance that June.

President Biden criticized his successor during a speech to the National Bar Association this week ( Getty Images )

She also revealed that she wont enter the upcoming race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who must leave office in 2027 when his second four-year term ends, leaving open the possibility that shell enter what is expected to be a crowded primary race for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

Biden, whose 11th-hour pardons of his family members and other political allies emboldened Trump to grant reprieves for the violent rioters who tried to prevent his 2020 loss from being certified, is still giving speeches in which he is attacking his predecessor-turned-successor, a stark contrast from how most former presidents have behaved after leaving office.

At one such appearance, an address to the National Bar Association in Chicago on Thursday, Biden accused the Trump administration of doing its best to dismantle the Constitution, giving right-wing media outlets plenty of fodder to use at a time when his party is trying to focus on the future and the current governments policy problems.

And the presidents son, Hunter Biden, is doing his best to stay in the headlines with a series of podcast appearances in which he casts blame for his fathers exit from the race on a broad range of people  but not his father.

The former Democratic tickets refusal to fade away after a devastating electoral performance is ruffling feathers among party figures who are tasked with moving forward and figuring out how to escape from the wilderness in next years midterms.

A number of popular governors, including Illinois JB Prizker and Kentuckys Andy Beshear, have been making the trek to early primary states with an eye towards 2028, and voters are increasingly eager to elect new faces rather than older establishment figures.

Donna Bojarsky, a Democratic consultant, told The Washington Post that nobody in the party is looking to go back to 2024 as they look for a way forward against the Republicans.

The shadow of 2024 is long, and I think all perspectives in the mix believe we need something fresh, she said.

Another strategist Cooper Teboe, said the partys current predicament stems from a sclerosis that has taken hold on account of incumbents refusing to relinquish power to the next generation.

The core reason the Democratic Party is in the position it is in today is because no new figures, no new ideas, have been allowed to rise up and take hold, he said.

But there is a group eager for Biden and Harris to remain part of the national conversation  Republicans.

One GOP consultant who spoke to The Independent said Hunter Bidens recent profanity-laced podcast appearances and the former presidents speeches are just what they need to keep his failures in the public eye as his party tries to regain the trust of voters.

Hunter Biden is just what Democrats need more of going into the midterms, he said, more than a bit sarcastically.
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Jeffrey Epsteins long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly been moved from her prison in Florida to another institution in Texas, The New York Sun reports.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse young girls. She was being held at a federal prison in Tallahassee. Now, shes at the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in southeast Texas, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told the Sun.

The Florida prison was classified as a minimum security prison with a detention center that housed nearly 1,200 men and women. She was being housed in an honor dorm for the best-behaved inmates, and activities included yoga and pilates.

Her new prison is an all-female prison camp that houses 600 inmates. It has limited perimeter fencing and is home to fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and reality star Jen Shah.

Maxwell was temporarily placed at a federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana, before she was moved to Texas, the Sun reports.

Maxwell was thrust back in the spotlight during the fallout over the release of the Epstein files. Trumps administration said no more information would be released despite promises during the campaign. That angered his base and created weeks of tension with his supporters as Democrats attacked the White House over the nondisclosure. In recent weeks, DOJ officials met with Maxwell to discuss the files and Epstein, and that has fueled speculation of a pardon for the British socialite.

Well, Im allowed to give her a pardon, but nobodys approached me with it, Trump said Monday. Nobodys asked me about it.

open image in gallery Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Jeffrey Epstein recruit, groom and abuse young girls. She has now moved prisons, according to a report. ( US District Court for the Southern District of New York )

Maxwells attorney, David Oscar Markus, told The Independent he could confirm that she is being moved but declined to comment further.

Maxwell asked Congress Tuesday to push for a pardon so she could testify openly and honestly before lawmakers, ABC News reports. Her request is on the heels of the House Oversight Committee subpoenaing Maxwell last week, setting her deposition date for August 11.

Markus said Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to testify if certain conditions arent met. These include granting Maxwell immunity and interviewing her outside of the prison where shes carrying out her sentence.

"Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity. Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony," Markus wrote to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.

"Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing  and eager  to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C., Markus said. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.

Maxwell has also petitioned the Supreme Court to consider an appeal of her conviction. The Justice Department urged the court to reject her request last month, The Washington Post reports. Markus also asked the House Oversight Committee to postpone Maxwells deposition until the Supreme Court has decided whether to take her case.

open image in gallery Maxwell has been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to testify about the Epstein case. ( Federal Bureau of Prisons )

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also interviewed Maxwell last week. Maxwell never invoked a privilege and never refused to answer a question, Markus said Friday.

Lawmakers subpoenaed Maxwell as the Trump administration faces blowback for its handling of the Epstein files. Democrats and Trumps MAGA supporters alike have called for the administration to release more information on the disgraced financier.

The criticism comes after Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo last month indicating there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein investigation. The memo claimed Epstein never kept a client list containing the names of his alleged associates. Attorney General Pam Bondi had suggested the client list was on her desk in February.

The agencies also confirmed Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell, following years of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. Epstein died in August 2019, a month after he was arrested for federal sex trafficking charges.

That announcement angered Trumps base, who had long latched onto conspiracies about his death or the people he was connected to, including politicians and the wealthy.

As tensions rose around Epstein last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Bondi notified Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein files. The report came days after a reporter asked the president if Bondi told him his name appeared in the files.

Appearing in the files also does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing.

The Journal also reported Trump wrote an alleged 50th birthday card to Epstein in 2003, which included a drawing of a naked woman. The card ended with the wish, may every day be another wonderful secret. Trump denied the claims, telling the outlet, I never wrote a picture in my life. The president has sued the newspaper and its publishers for $10 billion.
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Former Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed the one reason why she is not running for governor in California, in her first major interview since rival President Donald Trump took office.

Harris spoke with Stephen Colbert on his Late Show Thursday night to discuss all things election, Trump, the possibility of running for California governor, and her new memoir, 107 Days.

Are you saving yourself for a different office? Colbert asked, as cheers erupted from the studio audience.

No, no, Harris replied with a smirk.

Its more, perhaps, basic than that. I am a devout public servant. I have spent my entire career in service of the people. And I thought a lot about running for governor. I love my state, I love California, she continued.

In May, it was widely reported that Harris was considering a run at the gubernatorial bid in her home state but was also weighing all of her future political options.

But to be very candid with you, she said Thursday. Recently, I made the decision that I just, for now, I dont want to go back into the system. I think its broken, she said.

Harris went on to praise teachers, firefighters, scientists, and other public servants, bemoaning that elections are not about them.

I always believed that, as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think, right now, that theyre not as strong as they need to be.

open image in gallery Harris told Stephen Colbert why she decided not to enter the 2026 gubernatorial race for California ( CBS News/YouTube )

You can never let anybody take your power from you? she said, while drilling down on her points.

This book is basically what I would offer as a behind the scenes. It was an intense experience, she said, speaking on the lead-up to election day in November.

Harris explained that she wanted the book to instill people with self-belief in the face of adversity.

Colbert probed Harris on the abuses and the abhorrent corruption happening in politics, highlighting that things were completely different just 12 months ago.

I think its really important that we never let a circumstance, situation, or person defeat our spirit  you cant let that happen, she continued, referencing her defeat to Trump.

You cant give up your belief in what can be and what can be better, she said.

Harris described the day Trump was inaugurated a rough bleeping day for me.

open image in gallery Joe Biden and Kamala Harris attending Trumps inauguration on January 20 ( AFP/Getty )

Harris warned her followers to be clear-eyed about the political turbulence but also to be involved. Lets not be defeated, she urged. The former VP then praised her team, likening them to her vital organs during her campaign against Trump.

Speaking of former President Joe Biden, she said, I have an incredible amount of respect for him. We had a President who believed in the rule of law, who believed in the importance of aspiring to have integrity, and to do the work on behalf of the people.

Colbert then lauded Harriss efforts in the pre-election debate with Trump, saying, You smoked him like a ham!

However, Harris forlornly said that while she was able to predict many of Trumps next moves, she could not anticipate the capitulation.

I think there are a lot of people who are riding out the storm in an excuse to be feckless, she continued.

The half-hour-long interview then ended with a punchy line from Colbert, who cheekily asked, Whos leading the Democratic party?

There are a lot of leaders. Im not gonna go through names because Im going to leave somebody out  and then Im going to hear about it, Harris said.

Its really on all of our shoulders, she added.

Since her defeat in November, sources close to the former senator said that he had been ramping up her private outreach, holding meetings and phone calls with Democratic officials, strategists, and allies, according to CBS News. Her focus reportedly shifted away from the possibility of her next campaign and became more rooted in the future of the Democratic Party.
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A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked Donald Trumps administration from revoking deportation protections for tens of thousands of immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

A searing 37-page ruling argued that a decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to cancel those temporary humanitarian protections appeared partially rooted in racial and discriminatory animus.

Color is neither a poison nor a crime, stated the ruling from District Judge Trina Thompson, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden.

Her decision is a reprieve for more than 60,000 immigrants who were allowed to legally live and work in the United States under the Temporary Protected Status program. Immigrants from Nepal who are enrolled in the program were set to lose their status August 5, and TPS was set to expire for Honduras and Nicaragua in September.

Thursdays decision postpones those deadlines until at least November 18 as the legal challenge continues.

open image in gallery At least two federal judges have argued that a decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to cancel Temporary Protected Status designations is at least partially motivated by racism ( Reuters )

In her decision, Thompson listed a series of statements from Noem and the president amplifying the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population.

By stereotyping the TPS program and immigrants as invaders that are criminal, and by highlighting the need for migration management, Secretary Noems statements perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population, Thompson wrote.

In several lawsuits, immigrants advocacy groups and TPS holders have argued that the Trump administration explicitly relied on false and discriminatory stereotypes  including the presidents claims that foreign prisons were emptying out jails to send criminals to the U.S., and that immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country  to justify the end of the program.

The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek, Thompson wrote in her ruling. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.

Homeland Security accused the judges ruling of reading like a New York Times opinion piece.

Restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. That is all we  and the American people who elected President Trump in a landslide election  seek, assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades. This is yet another example of how out of control judges are race-baiting to distract from the facts and presidents constitutionally vested powers.

Homeland Security intends to appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us, McLaughlin said.

open image in gallery The Trump administration wants to cancel temporary humanitarian protections that have allowed tens of thousands of immigrants to legally live and work in the U.S. after fleeing disasters and violence in their home countries ( AP )

Congress created the program in 1990 to provide temporary immigration protections for people fleeing war, natural disasters and extraordinary and temporary conditions in their home countries. Beneficiaries are allowed to apply for renewable work permits and protections against deportation.

To carry out its plans for mass deportations, the administration has pushed to de-legalize tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted humanitarian protections to legally live and work in the U.S.

In February, Noem announced the administration was ending TPS designations for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

In May, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to cancel TPS for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans while legal challenges continue. In a separate ruling, the nations highest court paved the way for the administration to revoke TPS for another 532,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Taken together, the rulings gave Trump permission to begin stripping legal status for nearly 900,000 people who are now vulnerable to deportation.

Noems past statements reflect her animus against immigrants and the TPS program even though individuals with TPS hold lawful status  a protected status that was expressly conferred by Congress with the purpose of providing humanitarian relief, Judge Thompson wrote.

Their presence is not a crime, the judge added. Rather, TPS holders already live in the United States and have contributed billions to the economy by legally working in jobs, paying taxes, and paying contributions into Medicare and Social Security.

Thompson is at least the second judge to directly suggest that Noems decision-making was rooted in racism.

In March, California District Judge Edward Chen said the Trump administration's generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes.

Arguments from the Trump administration defending the move, including claims that TPS holders are members of the gang Tren de Aragua, are entirely lacking in evidentiary support, Chen wrote.

Instead, the move to cancel those protections appears predicated on negative stereotypes casting class-wide aspersions on their character, including insinuating they were released from Venezuelan prisons and mental health facilities and imposed huge financial burdens on local communities, according to the judge.
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Laura Loomer is rolling in the deep state these days.

While the MAGA provocateur has no official position in Donald Trumps administration, Loomer has played a fairly outsize role in the abrupt firings of more than a dozen top officials across the federal government. And she says shes gearing up for more.

The self-described strategist and journalist  who first rose to attention during Trumps first term by staging viral stunts in which she filmed herself screaming at prominent Democrats and posting the videos to social media  told Politico on Friday that she expects to be involved in hundreds more firings of administration appointees and career government workers.

Loomer said shes enthusiastically acting as a sounding board for political appointees within the Trump administration who are eager to snitch on one another for perceived disloyalty to the president using her tipline.

Im happy to take peoples tips about disloyal appointees, disloyal staffers and Biden holdovers, Loomer said. And I guess you could say that my tipline has come to serve as a form of therapy for Trump administration officials who want to expose their colleagues who should not be in the positions that theyre in.

Laura Loomer, shown disembarking from Donald Trumps jet during the 2024 election, has played a key role in the firings of dozens of administration officials ( AP )

The former Florida congressional candidate has long been a favorite of Trump, who repeatedly brought her on his private plane during last years presidential election.

He  or someone in the administration, though Loomer will not say who  has granted her multiple appointment passes to visit the West Wing and meet with administration officials.

One infamous trip to the Oval Office early on in Trumps term ended with the ouster of multiple National Security Council officials after Loomer presented Trump with what she called vetting materials on appointees brought in by his then-National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz.

Loomer frequently posts to social media the results of what she calls vetting, which often includes digging through her targets family connections for anything that she can use to indicate disloyalty or other suspect qualities.

In the case of other targets, such as one of Waltzs then-deputies, Harvard-educated lawyer and North Korea expert Alex Wong, their race or ethnicity is enough to trigger Loomer into action.

In April, she began posting incessantly about Wong to highlight his Chinese heritage (his parents are immigrants from Hong Kong) and that of his wife, who is also of Chinese descent. Loomer also attacked Wongs wife for having worked as a federal prosecutor in Washington during the Biden administration even though his wife is a nonpartisan civil servant.

Wong was fired the next month.

Loomer has also targeted top defense and intelligence officials on similarly spurious grounds. In May, she posted a series of attacks on Dr. Terry Adirim, then director of the CIAs Center for Global Health, highlighting the physicians role in Biden administration vaccine policy. Adirim was fired shortly thereafter.

And just this week, the administration sacked National Security Agency General Counsel April Doss, a career government lawyer, after Loomer posted to X about her.

For her part, Loomer described the Trump administration as being in the midst of a vetting crisis and said shes in frequent contact with top-level officials who use her as a sounding board.

I have people in the West Wing ... I have people in pretty much every single agency within the federal government like me, every main agency coming to me with concerns, she said.
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Donald Trumps border czar is adamant that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil will still be deported from the country despite several court rulings that have kept the Palestinian activist out of detention.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a request from the Trump administration to re-arrest Khalil and keep him in immigration detention center while he continues to challenge the governments attempts to remove him from the United States. Homan says the administration will continue to appeal.

We got radical judges just trying to stop the Trump administration from doing our job and enforcing the law, he told Newsmax on Thursday.

He claimed there is only one ending to Khalils case: We detain him and deport him, but regardless, he will be deported.

That same day, the immigration court judge overseeing his case voided her earlier ruling that allowed the government to deport him.

open image in gallery Trumps border czar Tom Homan claims Mahmoud Khalil did a lot of bad things despite federal court rulings finding the administration retaliated against him for his activism against Israels war in Gaza ( Getty Images )

Khalil, a prominent student activist against Israels war in Gaza, was stripped of his green card and arrested in front of his then-pregnant wife in their New York City apartment building on March 8. He was then sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he was held for more than 100 days and forced to miss the birth of his child.

Trump administration officials have accused Khalil of antisemitic activities, allegations Khalil and his legal team have flatly denied. Officials concede that Khalil did not commit any crime, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sought to justify Khalils arrest by claiming that Khalils presence in the country undermines foreign policy interests to prevent antisemitism.

Khalil and his legal team argue his arrest and detention  and attempted removal from the country, which is currently blocked by court order  are retaliatory violations of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and his Fifth Amendment right to due process of law, among other claims.

Look, First Amendment rights have a limitation, too, Homan told Newsmax. He did a lot of bad things. Were going to hold him accountable. He will be deported.

open image in gallery Khalil was freed from immigration detention in June after more than 100 days in a Louisiana ICE facility. He will remain out on bail while his legal challenges continue ( REUTERS )

On June 11, a federal judge granted Khalils release from ICE detention on bail while legal challenges against his arrest and threat of removal from the country continue in both federal and immigration courts.

New Jersey District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that the administration had unconstitutionally wielded the law against Khalil, whose career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled, the judge wrote.

The government has little or no interest in applying the relevant underlying statutes in what is likely an unconstitutional way, Farbiarz added.

Mahmoud spent 104 days in detention as punishment for speaking out for Palestinian rights, ACLU senior staff attorney Noor Zafar said in a statement after this weeks appeals court ruling.

That is time with his family that he will never get back, but this decision affirms that he will remain free and that the government cannot pursue his removal based on the likely unconstitutional foreign policy charge as his case moves through appeal, she added. We will not stand by and allow the government to weaponize immigration law to suppress lawful political speech.

Khalils attorneys have also argued that the administrations secondary basis for his arrest and removal  allegations that he lied in immigration paperwork  are similarly retaliatory and violate his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment due process rights.

The White House continues to insist that Khalil can still be deported on those grounds.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Independent on Friday that Khalil was given the privilege of coming to America to study on a student visa he obtained by fraud and misrepresentation.

Despite the lower court judges wishes to the contrary, the executive branch has the lawful authority to take actions that will protect Americas foreign policy interests and promote the overall welfare of the public, she added. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.
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Even as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk escalated their bitter feud, the Tesla billionaire funneled $15 million to Republican-affiliated political action committees, according to a new report from Politico.

Federal Election Commission reports show that Musk donated $5 million to the MAGA Inc., a Trump-affiliated super PAC, a type of PAC wherein donors can give unlimited amounts of money as long as it does not officially coordinate with a campaign.

Musk also contributed $5 million apiece to the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, super PACs affiliated by Senate and House Republican leadership, respectively.

The SpaceX CEO, who also purchased Twitter and renamed it X, made the contributions on June 27, 2025, which came after Musk left the White House, where he led the Department of Government Efficiency.

Initially, the two seemed to part on amicable terms. Musk spent hundreds of millions of dollars through multiple super PACs to elect Trump in the 2024 presidential election. He billed himself as the first buddy.

Despite Donald Trump and Elon Musks feud, Musk still sent money to Republican groups. ( AP )

But upon his exit Musk would later go nuclear, and called Trumps One Big, Beautiful Bill an outrageous, pork-filled bill. Musk would then drop an even bigger bomb, when he said is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!

Musk would apologize, saying he went too far. Two weeks later, Musk would cut his checks to the three PACs.

That did not stop Musk from continuing his attacks on the GOP. On June 30, a few days after Musk cut his checks, he threatened that any Republican who voted for the bill will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.

Every campaign committee, super PAC and political action commission has to file reports with the FEC to disclose how much money they raised. The three super PACs released their mid-year reports last month. It is not clear if Musk made any other contributions to other Republican PACs.

Musk proposed creating a third political party in the United States with his America Party, saying the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.

But so far, the America Party has failed to get off the ground and Musk has not yet filed paperwork to create it.

Trumps election was not the only election Musk inserted himself into. He poured millions into Wisconsins supreme court race earlier this year, wherein he cut $1 million checks to voters the weekend before the election. In the end, liberal candidate Susan Crawford would win the race overwhelmingly.
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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it will wind down its operations after the Trump administration and Congress slashed its funding.

The organization funds PBS and NPR, as well as more than 1,500 local TV and radio stations. The majority of staff positions will end on September 30, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said in a statement. A small transition team will remain through January 2026 to help close out operations.

NPR and PBS receive about half a billion dollars in public funds through the organization, CBS News reports.

Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations, Corporation for Public Broadcasting President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement.

The organization cited a recent Senate Appropriations Committee bill for the upcoming fiscal year, which excluded Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding for the first time in more than five decades.

The organization also cited a federal rescissions package, which canceled $1.1 billion that had been approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. President Donald Trump signed the bill last week after threatening to withhold endorsements from Republican Senators who didnt vote to approve it.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides about half a billion dollars in funding for PBS and NPR ( Getty )

Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country, Harrison said. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

Trump also issued an executive order in May instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other agencies "to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS. The White House went on to post a statement accusing the outlets of bias and spreading radical, woke propaganda.

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher called the executive order an affront to the First Amendment rights of NPR and locally owned and operated stations throughout America to produce and air programming that meets the needs of their communities.

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger called the order unlawful and said it threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.

Kerger and Maher also defended their organizations against accusations of bias at a Congressional hearing in March.
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The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has erased all references to President Trump from an impeachment exhibit display.

Orders to remove an impeachment reference to the commander-in-chief in the exhibit, A Glorious Burden, came as part of a recent content review, triggered by mounting pressure from the White House to make changes to the arts institution, according to a source familiar withThe Washington Post.

The president was impeached twice during his first term in office, the first due to being accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on the Biden family.

The second impeachment came after he was charged with "incitement of insurrection" regarding the deadly storming of Congress on January 6, 2021.

In each case, he was acquitted on all counts by the Senate. In both votes, the Republican party held the majority.

The Smithsonian Institution is the worlds largest museum complex, consisting of 21 museums, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

open image in gallery Trumps name has been removed from an impeachment exhibit, according to a source familiar to The Washington Post ( Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved )

In May, Trump called for the firing of Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., labelling her a supporter of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and claiming she was unsuitable for the role.

She resigned from her post just two weeks later, following the presidents criticism on Truth Social.

Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Trump wrote.

Sajet had led the gallery with passion and creativity for 12 years, according to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch, who wrote the resignation memo.

Trumps crackdown on the arts came in tandem with his March executive order that called for the removal of improper, divisive or anti-American ideology from the network of Smithsonian museums, The Wall Street Journal reported.

However, even prior to the order, the Smithsonian canceled its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to comply with Trumps anti-DEI vision in January.

open image in gallery President Trump pictured touring the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture in DC in 2017 ( Getty Images )

The latest change sees the removal of a temporary label that described Trumps impeachment, notices that had been on display since September 2021.

The museum has now placed a 2008 label on the exhibit, stating that only three presidents have seriously faced removal, referring to Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Richard Nixon, according to The Post. Nixon would have faced impeachment had he not resigned.

The Smithsonian released a statement after the report that said, a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.

In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the Limits of Presidential Power section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed, the spokesperson told The Post.

They explained that the section of the exhibition covered Congress, the Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion, noting that the change was necessary because other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008.

The institution said it was appropriate to restore the impeachment case to its 2008 appearance.

Trumps intervention in the arts space follows a string of incidents where he has sought to alter cultural institutions to align with MAGA values.

In February, he usurped the position of chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  a hub lauded for its bipartisan approach.

NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA, he wrote on Truth Social at the time.

MAGA has long been particularly critical of the center, and Republicans have now proposed a bill to rename the center after Trump.

White House spokesman Davis Ingle said, Unfortunately for far too long the Smithsonian museums have highlighted divisive, DEI exhibits which are out of touch with mainstream America. We are fully supportive of updating displays to highlight American greatness.

The Trump administration will continue working to ensure that the Smithsonian removes all improper ideology and once again unites and instills pride in all Americans regarding our great history.
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Roughly 200 Federal Air Marshals have reportedly been reassigned from their usual duties protecting the U.S. transit system to assist with Trump administration deportation flights alongside Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Marshals, the main law enforcement arm of the Transportation Security Administration, better known for missions like protecting U.S. commercial flights, are instead carrying out tasks on deportation flights like providing security, handing out sandwiches to detainees, checking them for lice, and cleaning plans, CNN reports.

The reported deployment has proved controversial within the Marshals community, with the Air Marshals union praising the mission, while a lobbying group for Air Marshals argues it distracts from the agents core function and sees the Marshals acting as glorified security guards for government contractors that manage some flights.

The group, the Air Marshal National Council, has filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security inspector generals office, and has warned the new mission could undermine aviation and national security and expose federal officers to unsafe and improper working conditions.

The ICE deployment has has not impacted Federal Air Marshals deployment on domestic and international flights to assess, address, and mitigate varying potential risks and threats to transportation and travelers, according to government documents obtained by CNN.

Some 200 Air Marshals have been deployed to assist in ICE flights, though TSA insists new mission doesnt undermine U.S. air safety for travelers ( US Department of Defense/AFP via )

The Independent has contacted ICE and the TSA for comment.

The latter agency confirmed the deployment of Marshals last month in a statement to GovExec.

TSAs Federal Air Marshals are proud to support our ICE colleagues by providing in-flight security functions for select [Enforcement and Removal Operations] flights, an agency spokesperson said. This new initiative is part of the interagency effort to support the Presidents declared national emergency at the southern border.

In its push to rapidly arrest and deport thousands, the Trump administration has tapped government workers from across a variety of agencies to bolster ICE, including IRS agents, U.S. Postal Inspectors, Defense Department troops, as well as agents from the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.

ICE deportation flights have been a lightning rod for controversy.

The White House came in for criticism online for using a frequently memed soundbite advertising a British airline to mock a group of migrants being escorted onto an ICE flights.

Airlines that contract with ICE have also faced criticism and boycotts.

Immigration operations are expected to continue massively expanding over the next three-and-a-half years after the passage of the presidents One Big, Beautiful Bill spending package, which contains about $170 billion in immigration and border enforcement funding.
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A group of federal judges has pleaded with U.S. leaders to cool off with attacks on members of the judicial system, following a rise in the number and severity of intimidation and death threats.

In a judicial forum hosted by the group Speak Up for Justice, several judges spoke about their personal experiences of receiving hatred and harassment and urged those at the top to stop using irresponsible rhetoric.

It comes after President Donald Trumps consistent attacks on the legal system, which have intensified since returning to office. The president has claimed the justice system has been weaponized against him and blamed the Democrats for using what he calls lawfare.

Recently Trump and his allies have lashed out against judges including James Boasberg who had blocked the administrations efforts to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that her office had filed a misconduct complaint against Boasberg.

open image in gallery In a judicial forum hosted by the group Speak Up for Justice Thursday several judges spoke about their personal experiences of receiving hatred and harassment and urged those at the top to stop using irresponsible rhetoric ( Speak Up For Justice )

Though Trump was not mentioned specifically by name, attacks were being led from the top down by White House spokespeople, according to Esther Salas, a District Court judge in New Jersey.

Salas noted that state-level judges, as well as federal judges, were now being targeted.

The fix check is so easy in some ways, right, because what we need is our political leaders from the top down to stop fanning these flames, to stop using irresponsible rhetoric, to stop referring to judges as corrupt and biased and monsters that hate America. We need our leaders to lead responsibly, Salas said at the virtual forum on Thursday.

Stop demonizing us, stop villainizing us, because what they're doing when they do that irresponsible rhetoric is they are inviting people to do us harm because our leaders are calling us idiots and deranged, and monsters.

open image in gallery It comes after consistent attacks on the legal system by Trump and his administration, including AG Pam Bondi (pictured right), which have intensified since the presidents return to office ( Getty Images )

Salas gave an emotional address to the forum, noting that this month had marked the fifth anniversary of her son Daniels death. The 20-year-old was killed while celebrating his birthday in 2020 shooting by a gunman who had intended to kill his mother.

open image in gallery Judge Esther Salas gave an emotional address to Thursdays forum, noting that this month had marked the fifth anniversary of her son Daniels death. The 20-year-old was killed while celebrating his birthday in 2020 shooting by a gunman who had intended to kill his mother ( Speak Up For Justice )

So we just need civility, Salas said. If you're a leader in this country. Lead responsibly. That's all we're asking. She also thanked the other judges, on behalf of her son and family, for speaking out about their experiences.

I know it wasn't something you wanted to do, she said.

Paul R. Kiesel, who moderated Thursdays forum, added that such attacks from higher-ups was unprecedented.

This has never happened before this isnt just another cycle of criticism, he said. This is unprecedented. We're coming out here today because this has never happened in this country before.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

In a statement shared with Politico a White House spokesperson said: Attacks against public officials, including judges, have no place in our society and President Trump knows all too well the impact of callous attacks having faced two assassination attempts.
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Sen. Josh Hawley is explaining why President Donald Trump went nuclear and attacked him for his bill that would ban elected officials from trading stocks.

On Wednesday, Trump attacked Hawley, a Republican ally from Missouri, calling him a second-tier senator after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed his legislation to ban members of Congress and other federal elected officials as well as their spouses from trading stocks.

Hawley spoke to Business Insiders Bryan Metzger and The New York Suns Matt Rice and said that other Republican senators told Trump that the president would need to sell his Mar-a-Lago property under the legislation.

What he said is that he had a number of people call him and say that the bill had been changed at the last minute to force him to sell Mar-a-Lago and his assets, which is, of course, totally false, Hawley said, adding: It exempts them.

The legislation would only require members to sell their stocks when their next term began, which Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized during deliberation of the bill, since he said it should also apply to Trump.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) explained his dust-up with President Donald Trump this week. ( Getty )

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also criticized the legislation and tried to include a stipulation to investigate former House speaker Nancy Pelosis stock trading.

That meant that the legislation passed through committee with Hawley being the only Republican who supported the legislation.

When we walked through the text of the bill, he was like oh, okay, Hawley said. And I said your assets are all protected. I mean, it doesnt apply. It applies to the next president. So, yeah. He finished by saying youre exonerated Josh, we love you.

Members of both parties ardently support legislation banning members from trading stocks. Sens. Elisabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) all support some version of it. In the House of Representatives, Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) support similar legislation.

But it has failed to get off the ground for many years. Hawley had sought to entice Republicans to support his bill by calling it the PELOSI Act. It was later renamed the HONEST Act and Pelosi, who still serves in the House of Representatives, later came out in favor of it.

The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the President and Vice President as well, she said. I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the Floor of the House.

Despite the fact the bill made it out of committee, it will likely not make it to the floor of the Senate any time soon. The Senate will break for recess after this week. And when Congress returns, it will have to pass spending bills to avoid a shutdown. In addition, the Senate is going into overtime to move through Trumps nominations.
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Donald Trump issued a stern warning to failed former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and urged him to watch his words after he ridiculed the U.S. president on social media.

Russia and the USA do almost no business together, Trump said in a midnight Truth Social tirade, after attacking Indias close ties with Russia and setting his sights on Medvedev.

Lets keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory!, he added

Medvedev, who was handpicked by Vladimir Putin to serve as president in 2008 due to term limits, ridiculed Trumps recent ultimatum demanding Russia agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

open image in gallery Trump has escalated his attack against former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during an early morning Truth Social tirade ( AFP/Getty )

During his trip to Turnberry, Scotland, on Monday, the president said that Putin must agree to make progress toward ending the war in Ukraine within 10 or 12 days from today, shortening it from a 50-day negotiating window.

Hours later, Medvedev issued an equally scathing response on X to Trump, who repeatedly promised on the 2024 presidential campaign trail to end Russias offensive in Ukraine on his first day in office.

Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 He should remember 2 things, he tweeted. 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.

Plucking a nickname from Trumps dictionary, Medvedev warned the president not to go down the Sleepy Joe road, referring to former President Joe Biden, which he said could lead to direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.

open image in gallery Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also took a shot at Republican Senator Lindsay Graham ( Sputnik )

Hours later, Medvedev, who is currently the deputy chair of Russias security council, took a jab at South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham after the Republican demanded that the Russian politician get to the peace table.

It's not for you or Trump to dictate when to 'get at the peace table'. Negotiations will end when all the objectives of our military operation have been achieved, he said. Work on America first, gramps!

Earlier Wednesday, Trump announced plans to penalize India for buying Russian arms and oil as part of a revived Liberation Day tariff package that is due to kick in on Friday, along with doubling down on his threat to impose sweeping 25 percent levies on Indian imports.

While he previously called India a friend, Trump escalated his criticism against the country during his rebuke of Medvedev on Thursday.

I dont care what India does with Russia, he wrote. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.

We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World, he added.
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President Donald Trump on Friday said he was redeploying a pair of American nuclear submarines in response to belligerent statements made on X by former Russian president Dimitri Medvedev earlier this week.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he was ordering the American warships to the appropriate regions due to what he called the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia and noted Medvedevs status as a deputy chair of the Russian national security council.

Trump said the move was a precautionary measure just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances, he added.

The USS Nevada, an Ohio-class nuclear-powered submarine, can carry up to 20 nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles ( US Navy )

The presidents announcement comes just days after Medvedev took to X to respond to Trumps threat of secondary sanctions if Russia does not end its three-year-old war against Ukraine within a matter of days.

The former Russian president said Trump should remember that Russia isnt Israel or even Iran and characterized Trumps ultimatum as a threat and a step towards war between Russia and the United States.

It was not immediately clear whether Trumps use of the term nuclear submarines was referring to deploying Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines that form one third of Americas nuclear deterrence triad or the Los Angeles and Virginia-class fast-attack submarines that are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy ships and submarines.

The White House did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking to clarify which type of submarine Trump was referencing.

Both the ballistic missile and fast-attack boats are nuclear powered, but only the Ohio-class missile submarines are known to carry nuclear weapons.

The presidents claim to be ordering American submarines to a particular region is highly unusual because the vessels locations are never publicized.

The U.S. Navy currently operates 14 Ohio-class subs that each carry 20 Trident D5 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles which can be equipped with multiple thermonuclear warheads.

Four additional Ohio-class boats have been converted to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles with conventional warheads.
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The Trump administration has announced a wave of new tariffs on dozens of countries, with Canada one of the hardest hit by the presidents escalating trade war.

Trump has raised the tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 percent, where it was previously 25 percent, and Brazil to 50 percent. The White House blamed Canadas supposed continued inaction and retaliation toward the Trump administrations trade policies as the reason for the sharp increase.

Some of the nations facing the most severe increases include Syria, which will face a 41 percent tariff; Laos and Myanmar at 40 percent; Switzerland at 39 percent; Iraq and Serbia at 35 percent; and Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya and South Africa, which will all be tariffed at 30 percent.

Click here for the latest on the trade war

open image in gallery President Donald Trump has announced a new wave of tariffs on dozens of countries ( AP )

Taiwan will have tariffs set at 20 percent, Pakistan at 19 percent and Israel, Iceland, Norway, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana and Ecuador among the countries with imported goods taxed at 15 percent.

The new trade policy and tariff plan was announced just hours before the August 1 deadline.

However, the new measures will not go into effect on Friday. Trump has delayed the tariffs for another week, until August 7, reportedly to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection time to make changes in how it polices incoming goods and to collect the new duties from imports.

On Thursday night, the White House announced a "universal" tariff for goods coming into U.S. will remain at 10 percent. That is the same level set during his "Liberation Day" event in early April when he first announced the levies.

That 10 percent rate will only apply to countries with a trade surplus  in other words, countries to which the U.S. exports more than it imports. A senior administration official told the Associated Press that most countries have trade surpluses with the U.S.

Countries with a trade deficit with the U.S. -of which there are around 40 - will be subject a tariff of at least 15 percent under the new policy.

open image in gallery The IMF said there had been a rush of imports into the US in recent months ( PA Wire )

For many of the countries subjected to Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs levied in April, that rate will be lower than what they were previously paying, though it will be higher for a small group of nations.

President Trump is using tariffs as a necessary and powerful tool to put America First after many years of unsustainable trade deficits that threaten our economy and national security, the White House said in a statement.

The CEO of Canadas Chamber of Commerce, Candace Laing, condemned the Trump administration for the 35 percent increase her country faces.

The White House fact sheet should be called a fact-less sheet when it comes to basing trade decisions about Canada on the fentanyl emergency, Laing said in a statement. More fact-less tariff turbulence does not advance North American economic security. Businesses  in Canada and the U.S.  urgently need certainty.

The order capped off a hectic Thursday as nations sought to continue negotiating with Trump.

open image in gallery Canadas prime minister Mark Carney, whose country was hit hard by the tariffs ( AP )

On Thursday morning, before the announcement, Trump took a phone call with Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum on trade. As a result, the U.S. president said he would enter into a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico, one of the nation's largest trading partners.

The current 25 percent tariff rates are staying in place, down from the 30 percent he had threatened earlier.

"We avoided the tariff increase announced for tomorrow and we got 90 days to build a long-term agreement through dialogue," Sheinbaum wrote on X after the call..

The president of Taiwan issued a statement clarifying that the 20 percent tariff it is currently facing is only provisional pending the closure of a deal with the U.S. that could potentially see the rate lowered.

Earlier, the U.S. side informed Taiwans negotiating team in Washington that a provisional tariff rate of 20 percent would be applied to Taiwan, Taiwans President Lai Ching-te said in a statement on Facebook.

According to Ching-te, the parties have not concluded their negotiations.

If a final agreement is reached later, the rate may be lowered, he wrote.
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The family of Virginia Giuffre, who was among Jeffrey Epsteins most well-known sex trafficking accusers, said that it was shocking to hear President Donald Trump say the disgraced financier stole Giuffre from him.

Giuffre, who had accused influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, has been a central figure in conspiracy theories tied to the case. She died by suicide this year.

Her family's statement is the latest development involving Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, facing federal sex trafficking charges. Donald Trump, a one-time friend, denied prior knowledge of Epstein's crimes and claimed he severed ties years ago, with questions persisting.

Responding to a reporter's question on Tuesday, Trump said he was upset with Epstein for poaching workers and stealing Ms Giuffre from his Palm Beach, Florida, club.

It was shocking to hear President Trump invoke our sister and say that he was aware that Virginia had been stolen from Mar-a-Lago, the family's statement said.

We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this, it continued.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted the president was responding to a reporter's question and didn't bring up Giuffre himself.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump said that he got upset with Epstein over his poaching of workers and that Epstein had stolen Giuffre from his Palm Beach, Florida, club. ( Reuters )

The fact remains that President Trump kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club for being a creep to his female employees, she said.

The family's statement comes shortly after the Justice Department interviewed Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges and is serving a 20-year sentence in Tallahassee, Florida. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in a Florida courthouse, though details about what she said haven't become public.

Maxwell's lawyers have said she testified truthfully and answered questions about 100 different people." They have said shes willing to answer more questions from Congress if she is granted immunity from future prosecution for her testimony and if lawmakers agree to satisfy other conditions.

A message seeking comment about the Giuffre family's statement was sent to Maxwell's attorney on Thursday.

In a CNN interview Thursday evening, Giuffre's family also spoke out.

She wasnt stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trumps property  stolen seems very impersonal. It feels very much like an object, and the survivors are not objects, women are not objects, said Sky Roberts, Giuffre's brother. She was preyed upon, and it certainly makes you kind of ask the question, you know, how much he knew during that time?

open image in gallery Virginia Giuffres family said it was shocking to hear President Trumps comments about Ms Giuffre on Tuesday ( AP )

A Trump administration official said the president is not currently considering clemency action for Maxwell.

Giuffre said she was approached by Maxwell in 2000 and eventually was hired by her as a masseuse for Epstein. But the couple effectively made her a sexual servant, she said, pressuring her into gratifying not only Epstein but his friends and associates.

Giuffre said she was flown around the world for appointments with men including Prince Andrew while she was 17 and 18 years old.

The men, including Andrew, denied it and assailed Giuffres credibility. She acknowledged changing some key details of her account.

The prince settled with Giuffre in 2022 for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a substantial donation to her survivors organization.

The American-born Giuffre lived in Australia for years and became an advocate for sex trafficking survivors after emerging as a central figure in Epsteins prolonged downfall.

Her family's statement said she endured death threats and financial ruin over her cooperation with authorities against Epstein and Maxwell.
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A boy born in Ohio from an embryo that was frozen for over three decades has reportedly set a new world record as the world's "oldest baby".

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born to parents Lindsey and Tim Pierce on 26 July, about 31 years after his embryo was frozen.

After trying for seven years to conceive a baby, the couple from London, Ohio, chose to adopt an embryo created through IVF in 1994 by Linda Archerd, now 62 years old, and her then-husband.

"We had a rough birth, but we are both doing well now, Lindsey Pierce told MIT Technology Review. "He is so chill. We are in awe that we have this precious baby!"

Ms Pierce said they didn't "go into it thinking we would break any records. We just wanted a baby".

The newborn is believed to have broken the record for the oldest baby, which was previously held by twins born in 2022 from embryos frozen in 1992.

She said her family and church family think its like something from a sci-fi movie.

Ms Archerd created four embryos, out of which one became her daughter, now aged 30, and three others were left in storage.

Despite her separation from her husband, Ms Archerd was adamant about not discarding the embryos, donating them for research, or anonymously giving them to another family. She said it was essential for her to remain involved in the process, as the child would be a biological sibling to her adult daughter.

Its my DNA; it came from me  and [its] my daughters sibling, she told the MIT Technological Review.

She reportedly spent thousands of dollars annually on storage until she discovered Nightlight Christian Adoptions  a faith-based agency that runs the Snowflakes program. The initiative allows embryo donors to select the adoptive couple after taking into account preferences such as religion, race, and nationality.

Ms Archerd said she requested a married, Caucasian, Christian couple based in the US. "I didnt want to go out of the country," she added.

It's been pretty surreal. Its hard to even believe," said Ms Archerd, who is yet to meet the baby.
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An injured Ukrainian soldier stuck behind enemy lines for days was rescued after being delivered an e-bike by a drone.

A video of the dramatic rescue showed a UAV drone airdropping the 40kg bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces, before he cycled away.

The soldiers Rubizh brigade said three men were killed by enemy fire during a skirmish in Siversk, northern Ukraine, leaving the soldier on his own for five days.

open image in gallery Footage showed a UAV drone airdropping the bike down to the wounded man, who was surrounded by Russian forces ( Rubizh Brigade )

In a video the soldier, call sign Tanker, said: Our drones covered us from above as best as they could. Then they threw two gas cylinders straight into our hole and a lighter. We caught fire.

Every day, I was surrounded, from all sides. I fought back as best I could.

Brigade commander Mykola Hrytsenko explained the challenges they faced in trying to rescue their stranded comrade.

The enemy was in front, behind, and on both flanks, completely surrounded, the commander said. It was impossible to drive up with equipment because the enemy was everywhere. He couldnt get out on his own either, because he had to walk 1.5km to the nearest position.

In his condition, with his injuries, he simply wouldnt have made it.

open image in gallery The bike was lowered to the wounded soldier so he could make his escape ( Rubizh Brigade )

The brigade then came up with the bold plan to deliver a vehicle to him by drone.

The first two attempts to fly the bike in failed, with Russian forces shooting the first out of the sky and the second crashing.

They managed to get the bike to the soldier on the third attempt  but his ordeal was not over yet.

After fleeing 400m, he hit a remote mine. Tank limped a further 200m with a leg injury before he was rescued. A second e-bike was then delivered, which he rode for 15 minutes to an evacuation point.

To carry out this operation, they had to calculate the right time of day, the right weather conditions that would allow him to do it, Cdr Hrytsenko added.

open image in gallery The soldier fled around 400m on an e-bike delivered by drone, before hitting a mine and limping the rest of the way ( YouTube/Rubizh Brigade )

Reports of the rescue effort emerged after Vladimir Putins forces launched a wave of missile attacks on the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday, killing 16 people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky urged his allies to bring about regime change in Russia following the attack.

If the world doesnt aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries, he said.

Today the world has once again seen Russias response to our desire for peace ... Therefore, peace without strength is impossible, the Ukrainian president added.
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Australia will recognise a Palestinian state at next months United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced.

It comes after the UK, France and Canada recently announced their plans to recognise Palestine, with Britain saying it would only refrain from doing so if Israel takes urgent steps to end the war.

Israel and the US have been critical of the decisions, similarly saying they are a reward for Hamas.

Canada, France and Britain were the first major Western powers to put forward plans to recognise a Palestinian state  a move that could heap pressure on other allies to do the same.

So far, recognition of Palestinian sovereignty has largely been limited to countries in Africa, South America and Asia that have historically been critical of Israel.

The history of Palestinian recognition

In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), the official representative of the Palestinian people, formally declared the establishment of the State of Palestine.

In practice, the Palestinians have limited self-government through the Palestinian Authority (PA) in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The PA lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas in 2007. The UN considers both territories as occupied by Israel and comprising a single political entity. Palestinians also want East Jerusalem to be part of a future state.

Currently, 147 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise the state of Palestine.

Palestine has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since November 2012.

Last year, the United Nations General Assembly granted Palestine additional rights, including being seated with member states, the right to introduce proposals and participate in committees. It still does not have the right to vote.

Which European countries recognise Palestine?

open image in gallery Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen in Gaza ( REUTERS )

In the EU, Sweden, Slovenia, Ireland and Spain are the only members of the bloc so far to have recognised Palestine. Seven EU countries had already taken the step before joining the Union:

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Hungary

Romania

Poland

Slovakia

Several other EU members, including Malta and Belgium, have indicated their intention to recognise the state of Palestine.

Italys prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that recognising the State of Palestine before it is established could be counterproductive.

"If something that doesn't exist is recognised on paper, the problem could appear to be solved when it isn't," Ms Meloni told Italian daily La Repubblica.

A German government spokesperson said on Friday that Berlin was not planning to recognise a Palestinian state in the short term and said its priority now is to make "long-overdue progress" towards a two-state solution.

G20 recognition

open image in gallery Displaced Palestinian mother Samah Matar holds her malnourished son Youssef in Gaza City ( REUTERS )

Among the G20, a group of the worlds major economies, ten countries recognise the state of Palestine. These are:

Argentina

Brazil

China

India

Indonesia

Mexico

Russia

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Turkey

Nine countries in the G20, including the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea do not, though Britain, France, Canada and Australia plan to recognise Palestinian sovereignty in September.

The EU, which is counted as an entity of the G20, does not recognise Palestine.

Why have G7 countries been reluctant to recognise Palestine?

open image in gallery Sir Keir said the UK governments primary aim was getting aid into Gaza and getting hostages released when asked why UK recognition of the state of Palestine was conditional ( PA Wire )

None of the G7 countries  the UK, USA, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan  currently recognise a Palestinian state.

US state department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce suggested a UN conference called to discuss recognising a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution was a publicity stunt and called it a slap in the face to the victims of the October 7 attacks. She also suggested that the UK announcement could risk rewarding Hamas.

US President Donald Trump has himself expressed doubts about a two-state solution, proposing a US takeover of Gaza in February. This was condemned by Arab states, Palestinians and the UN as "ethnic cleansing, a claim Israel has rejected.

Sir Keir said the UK governments primary aim was getting aid into Gaza and getting hostages released when asked why UK recognition of the state of Palestine was conditional.

He added he was particularly concerned that the very idea of a two-state solution is reducing and feels further away today than it has for many, many years.

While Sir Keir signalled the UK could back away from recognising a Palestinian state if his conditions are met, No 10 is understood to believe that such a two-state solution would also proceed from negotiations towards a sustained peace.
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Two Australian activists have claimed they were brutalised psychologically by the Israeli military, strip-searched and shackled, after their Freedom Flotilla boat was intercepted.

Journalist Tania Safi and activist Robert Martin were detained while onboard the Handala, which was seeking to deliver aid to Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

After their arrest alongside 19 other activists on Sunday, the pair were transported to Israel and spent days in Israeli custody, where they allege they were manhandled and treated like criminals.

open image in gallery Journalist Tania Safi and activist Robert Martin allege they were manhandled by Israeli troops ( Freedom Flotilla )

The Handala was carrying 21 civilians representing 12 countries - including the UK - with parliamentarians, lawyers, journalists, environmentalists, and other human rights defenders among them.

It was carrying aid including baby formula, nappies, food, and medicine for the Gaza strip, where a starvation crisis has prompted international outcry after dozens of Palestinians died from hunger-related causes in recent weeks. Experts, the UN, and other countries say Israeli blockades caused the crisis.

The Israeli government says Hamas is at fault and has accused the Palestinian militants of stealing food from aid trucks.

open image in gallery The Israeli army intercepted the Gaza-bound aid ship Handala ( Reuters )

The two Australian activists landed back in Sydney on Friday morning, where they spoke to reporters about their ordeal.

Ms Safi said at least 30 IDF members boarded Handala when it was intercepted, and claimed all were armed, some with four guns.

They knocked me in the leg with one of their machine guns, Ms Safi said of the moment around 30 IDF soldiers boarded the Handala after it was intercepted, speaking to The Guardian.

After being taken to the port of Ashdod south of Tel Aviv, the group was taken to interrogation rooms.

Ms Safi supported earlier allegations by the group that Chris Smalls, the former president of the Amazon Labour Union who was onboard the Handala, was physically assaulted by IDF troops.

open image in gallery The Handala was headed to Gaza to provide aid to the Palestinians (file photo) ( TT )

Chris was pinned down by seven or eight men, she told the outlet. When I asked about him they came into the room and dragged me out by my arms, Im still bruised from it.

They pulled me out and threw me down on the floor, they made me take off all my clothes, they strip-searched me right there, made me squat up and down  they treated us like we were criminals.

Ms Safi, who said she witnessed the soullessness and the cruelty and brutality of Israeli detention, added that soldiers would handcuff me and grab the handcuffs and just throw me against the wall.

She said the military tried to get the Handala activists to sign documents which said they had entered Israel illegally, which Ms Safi says is not true we were taken completely against our will and brutalised psychologically in every way.

open image in gallery The bought aimed to bring food and aid to Gaza, where a crisis of hunger is tearing through the strip ( Reuters )

Mr Martin alleged he was not allowed any of the medication that he required, nor was he allowed to make any phone calls to loved ones and anybody else - despite the Australian government demanding to Israel that they were allowed to do so.

They were eventually transported to Jordan, where they were assisted by the Australian embassy and taken to hospital, he added.

The Handala incident came nearly two months after the Madleen, a Freedom Flotilla with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on board, was intercepted by the Israeli army on 9 June.

The IDF has been contacted for comment. In a statement on X after the boat was seized, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the military had prevented the boat from illegally entering the maritime zone of the coast of Gaza.

It added: The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. All passengers are safe. Unauthorized attempts to breach the blockade are dangerous, unlawful, and undermine ongoing humanitarian efforts.

Regarding the alleged assault on Mr Smalls, the Israeli foreign ministry told The Guardian on Thursday: Contrary to the claims made, the passenger violently resisted. This was a planned provocation intended to create media attention.
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Two top US officials visited aid distribution sites in Gaza on Friday, hailing the work of a controversial agency delivering food, after the UN said hundreds of Palestinians have died while seeking help.

Ambassador Mike Huckabee joined Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff for a visit to an aid site in Rafah run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which took control of aid distribution in May.

The pair are the first high-profile US officials to visit the enclave, which has been in the grip of a hunger crisis in recent weeks, since the war began. Mr Witkoff said the visit was part of a bid to put together a new US-backed aid plan for the war-shattered territory.

open image in gallery White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, right, and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, left, visit a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation ( US Embassy Jerusalem )

Mr Witkoff said the purpose of the visit was to give Mr Trump a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.

We received briefings from @IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) and spoke to folks on the ground, Mr Huckabee said on X following the visit. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat! he added, echoing claims by the agency.

But experts say that controversial distribution methods have contributed to hundreds of Palestinian deaths since the GHF took control of aid in May.

At least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, including 859 near GHF sites, mostly by the Israeli military, the UN Human Rights Office said on Thursday. Gazas health ministry said 91 had died in the past day alone.

open image in gallery Palestinians carry bags of flour that they obtained from aid trucks which entered Gaza through the Zikim crossing point, in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip ( AFP/Getty )

The UN says GHF aid distribution methods are inherently dangerous and violate humanitarian neutrality principles. In a report issued Friday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said the GHF was at the heart of a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths.

The GHF contends that nobody has been killed at its distribution points and says it does a better job of protecting aid deliveries from looting than the UN.

It has yet to respond to the Human Rights Watch report directly but in a statement on Friday marking the 100 million meals the GHF says it has delivered since May, it said: GHF remains the only reliable food aid system in Gaza, delivering millions of meals each day to aid seekers.

Meanwhile, new data shows nearly 90 per cent of aid trucks for the UN and other humanitarian groups are being looted by military age men, with many civilians being injured and trampled.

The Israeli military says it has only fired warning shots at people who approach its forces, and GHF says its armed contractors have only used pepper spray or fired warning shots to prevent deadly crowding.

open image in gallery Witkoffs visit to Gaza was the first by a top White House official since the war began ( US Embassy Jerusalem )

Hours after the visit by Mr Witkoff and Mr Huckabee, Palestinian medics reported Israeli forces had shot dead three Gazans near a GHF site on the enclaves southern edge. It is unclear whether these deaths were at the same location visited by US officials.

The Israeli military said it was still looking into the incident, in which it claimed soldiers had fired warning shots at what it described as a gathering of suspects approaching its troops, hundreds of yards from the aid site.

GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay said: President Trump understands the stakes in Gaza and that feeding civilians, not Hamas, must be the priority.

During a visit to Scotland earlier this week, Mr Trump announced a new aid plan which would involve the US setting up food centres in Gaza, but he is yet to reveal any details about the plan.

Starvation in Gaza remains significant, and the chief of Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Friday the UN has 6,000 trucks loaded with aid stuck outside Gaza waiting for the green light to enter, two days after he described the crisis as an entirely man-made famine.

open image in gallery An aircraft airdrops humanitarian aid to Palestinians over Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip ( AP )

On Friday, the Israeli military said that 200 trucks of aid were distributed by the UN and other organisations on Thursday, with hundreds more waiting to be picked up from the border crossings inside Gaza.

Israel says Hamas and the UN are to blame for the failure of food to get to desperate Palestinians in Gaza.

Germany made its first airdrops into Gaza on Friday, following in the footsteps of Jordan, the UAE and France. Mr Lazzarini said the airdrops are highly costly, insufficient and inefficient, adding that the only way to respond to the famine is to flood Gaza with assistance.

In addition to the three Gazans shot near a GHF site, medics said at least 12 other Palestinians were killed in air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the deaths.

The war, which began after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in an attack on southern Israel in October 2023, has now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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Plans to expand Heathrow Airport with a 21bn third runway are back on the table  and the divide, between those in support and those against, is already a chasm.

The project, aimed at boosting economic growth and creating jobs, has won support from the Labour government.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves insists the expansion will go ahead, despite mounting opposition from within her own party.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has threatened legal action, warning that a third runway would worsen air pollution, increase noise for residents and put Britains climate targets at risk. He joins other senior Labour figures, including Andy Burnham and Ed Miliband, in questioning the governments priorities.

Heathrow says it can get planning consent by 2029 and open the runway within a decade. But critics argue that the project will have a huge knock-on effect on Londons infrastructure  and risk deepening regional inequalities by focusing growth in the capital.

So, do you back the plan to expand Heathrow  or believe its the wrong direction for the UK?

Vote in our poll and tell us what you think in the comments below.
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With no passengers and no planes, Pakistans newest and most expensive airport is a bit of a mystery.

New Gwadar International Airport was entirely financed by China to the tune of $240 million.

Located in the coastal city of Gwadar and completed in October 2024, the airport is a stark contrast to the impoverished, restive southwestern Balochistan province around it.

For the past decade, China has poured money into Balochistan and Gwadar as part of a multibillion dollar project that connects its western Xinjiang province with the Arabian Sea, called the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or CPEC.

Authorities have hailed it as transformational but theres scant evidence of change in Gwadar. The city isnt connected to the national grid  electricity comes from neighboring Iran or solar panels  and there isn't enough clean water.

An airport with a 400,000 passenger capacity isn't a priority for the city's 90,000 people.

This airport is not for Pakistan or Gwadar, said Azeem Khalid, an international relations expert who specializes in Pakistan-China ties. It is for China, so they can have secure access for their citizens to Gwadar and Balochistan.

open image in gallery People walk through a market in the coastal city of Gwadar, in the southwest Pakistani province of Balochistan ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

CPEC has catalyzed a decadeslong insurgency in resource-rich and strategically located Balochistan. Separatists, aggrieved by what they say is state exploitation at the expense of locals, are fighting for independence  targeting both Pakistani troops and Chinese workers in the province and elsewhere.

Members of Pakistans ethnic Baloch minority say they face discrimination by the government and are denied opportunities available elsewhere in the country, charges the government denies.

Pakistan, keen to protect China's investments, has stepped up its military footprint in Gwadar to combat dissent. The city is a jumble of checkpoints, barbed wire, troops, barricades, and watchtowers. Roads close at any given time, several days a week, to permit the safe passage of Chinese workers and Pakistani VIPs.

Intelligence officers monitor journalists visiting Gwadar. The city's fish market is deemed too sensitive for coverage.

Many local residents are frazzled.

Nobody used to ask where we are going, what we are doing, and what is your name, said 76-year-old Gwadar native Khuda Bakhsh Hashim. We used to enjoy all-night picnics in the mountains or rural areas."

We are asked to prove our identity, who we are, where we have come from, he added. "We are residents. Those who ask should identify themselves as to who they are.

open image in gallery A view of newly developing area, bottom, and downtown area seen from a hilltop in the coastal city of Gwadar, in the southwest Pakistani province of Balochistan, Jan. 14, 2025 ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Hashim recalled memories, warm like the winter sunshine, of when Gwadar was part of Oman, not Pakistan, and was a stop for passenger ships heading to Mumbai. People didnt go to bed hungry and men found work easily, he said. There was always something to eat and no shortage of drinking water.

But Gwadar's water has dried up because of drought and unchecked exploitation. So has the work.

The government says CPEC has created some 2,000 local jobs but its not clear whom they mean by local  Baloch residents or Pakistanis from elsewhere in the country. Authorities did not elaborate.

open image in gallery Fishermen weight fish on a scale in the coastal city of Gwadar, in southwest Pakistani province of Balochistan ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Gwadar is humble but charming, the food excellent and the locals chatty and welcoming with strangers. It gets busy during public holidays, especially the beaches.

Still, there is a perception that it's dangerous or difficult to visit  only one commercial route operates out of Gwadar's domestic airport, three times a week to Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, located at the other end of Pakistan's Arabian Sea coastline.

There are no direct flights to Balochistan's provincial capital of Quetta, hundreds of miles inland, or the national capital of Islamabad, even further north. A scenic coastal highway has few facilities.

Since the Baloch insurgency first erupted five decades ago, thousands have gone missing in the province  anyone who speaks up against exploitation or oppression can be detained, suspected of connections with armed groups, the locals say.

People are on edge; activists claim there are forced disappearances and torture, which the government denies.

Hashim wants CPEC to succeed so that locals, especially young people, find jobs, hope and purpose. But that hasn't happened.

When someone has something to eat, then why would he choose to go on the wrong path," he said. It is not a good thing to upset people.

Militant violence declined in Balochistan after a 2014 government counterinsurgency and plateaued toward the end of that decade, according to Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

Attacks picked up after 2021 and have climbed steadily since. Militant groups, especially the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, were emboldened by the Pakistani Taliban ending a ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

open image in gallery This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the New Gwadar International Airport near Gwadar

Security concerns delayed the inauguration of the international airport. There were fears the areas mountains  and their proximity to the airport  could be the ideal launchpad for an attack.

Instead, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang hosted a virtual ceremony. The inaugural flight was off limits to the media and public.

Abdul Ghafoor Hoth, district president of the Balochistan Awami Party, said not a single resident of Gwadar was hired to work at the airport, "not even as a watchman.

Forget the other jobs, how many Baloch people are at this port that was built for CPEC, he asked.

In December, Hoth organized daily protests over living conditions in Gwadar. The protests stopped 47 days later, once authorities pledged to meet the locals demands, including better access to electricity and water.

No progress has been made on implementing those demands since then.

Without local labor, goods or services, there can be no trickle-down benefit from CPEC, said international relations expert Khalid. As Chinese money came to Gwadar, so did a heavy-handed security apparatus that created barriers and deepened mistrust.

The Pakistani government is not willing to give anything to the Baloch people, and the Baloch are not willing to take anything from the government, said Khalid.
Nvidia said its products have no "backdoors" that would allow remote access or control after China raised concerns over potential security risks in the firm's H20 artificial intelligence chip.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country's internet regulator, said it was concerned by a US proposal for advanced chips sold abroad to be equipped with tracking and positioning functions. The CAC's move cast uncertainty over the US company's sales prospects in China weeks after a US export ban was reversed.
For Leonard Smith, founder and CEO of the Billings-based Native American Development Corporation (NADC) and member of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation, the federal funding cuts enacted under President Donald Trumps administration did not come as a surprise.

We knew that this was coming on, so we started preparing for it, Smith said. Ive recognized for a lot of years in my work that our Native communities are so controlled by grants, (which) makes it very difficult to become sustainable.

Back in 2020, at the tail end of Trumps first term, the NADC developed a strategic plan to work toward the goal of complete self-sufficiency. Previously, Smith said, 90% of the NADCs funding came from the federal government. While he and NADCs board were not yet anticipating the funding cuts enacted under Trumps second term, Smith said they had long understood the risks of relying heavily on federal support  regardless of whos in the White House.

Now, after implementing the strategic plan in 2020, Smith said about 40% of the NADCs funding comes from grants and the other 60% from the organizations income generating projects.

It's taken us a while to get that all in place, Smith said. I think it fits now, with what's happening with all the cutbacks, I think we're probably a little bit more prepared for it than maybe other organizations.

However, the NADC has still felt the impact of the widespread cuts to federal funding for nonprofits. Smith said that the NADC had previously secured a multi-million dollar grant through the Economic Development Administration, which was later abruptly canceled.

We had several people in that program that all of a sudden didn't have jobs, but we were able to absorb it, Smith said.

Although the organization has managed to withstand cuts to federal funding so far, Smith said looming reductions to Medicaid present a new challenge. Since 2018, when the NADC partnered with Indian Health Services to launch the Urban Indian Health and Wellness Center in Billings, it has also been able to access third-party funding  a crucial support that may now be at risk.

Medicaid pays you to provide these services. But that's also under threat now, Smith said. So we're looking at at ways to address that, too. Maybe in partnership with the tribes, because it's their people that are in our urban areas.

Earlier this month, Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping budget reconciliation measure projected to cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid (and SNAP) over the next decade. Among the states, Montana stands to lose the highest percapita share of Medicaid funding  with upwards of 20,000 Montana Medicaid enrollees at risk of losing coverage, according to the Montana Healthcare Foundation.

That's going to severely impact not only us, but the tribes and even non-Native health centers, Smith said.

While Smith said the organization does not yet have a plan in place for mitigating the Medicaid cuts, he hopes the NADCs 16th annual conference, held August 57 at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Billings, will inspire some ideas.

Its always been economic development related and pretty well attended, Smith said. We decided this year were going to focus on the cutbacks and how theyre impacting all of us and what were doing about it. Also, bringing in speakers that are doing something about it  that have created ways to address it either through business or public organizations.

Smith also hopes the conference will be an opportunity and a model for inter-tribal cooperation and partnership.

Weve got to do something about this, Smith said of the current funding challenges. We need to start working together, for one thing. Us tribes, we dont always do a good job of doing that. So were trying to encourage that and provide examples of how that could be done.

This cooperation, Smith said, is essential for tribes to capitalize on economic opportunities aligned with the stated goals of the current administration. For example, he said, tribal nations not only have manufacturing capacity, but also the sovereign authority to offer tax incentives that can attract businesses.

When the current administration talks about bringing manufacturing back, (reservations) have a large workforce (but) don't have jobs, Smith said. It seems like a good fit our government to think about. Maybe they can do some of the same things they do in other other countries right here in Montana.

Since it opened in 1996, the NADC has explored a wide range of business and economic development efforts across multiple sectors and expanded its work into North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. That versatility, Smith said, is what sets the organization apart  and makes it uniquely equipped to meet the challenges and opportunities of the current moment.

We opened a lot of doors. I think we've always done that as an organization, Smith said. Were probably more what I call risk-takers.
Jeremy Clarkson may face culling his beloved cows after his farm was hit with an outbreak of TB.

The former Top Gear host, 65, revealed the latest blow to his Oxfordshire Diddly Squat farm on Thursday, saying he is absolutely devastated.

Announcing the news on X, Clarkson said: Bad news from Diddly Squat. Weve gone down with TB. Everyone here is absolutely devastated.

Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease of cattle and badgers which often results in the culling of every animal that tests positive.

Culling an entire herd has been described as one of the most distressing things that farmers will go through by Therese Coffey, the former environment secretary.

Clarkson later clarified on X: I should clear this up really. Its Bovine TB that we have. It doesnt affect people, just our poor cows.

Responding to someone who said they hoped his herd recovered soon, he simply said: They have to be culled. Its the law.

It marks the latest blow to the running of Clarksons 1,000-acre farm, which he has been documenting through the hit Amazon series Clarksons Farm as he tries to make the business profitable.

Responding to a well-wisher who said he hoped Clarksons new prize-winning Aberdeen Angus bull, Endgame, will be spared, the broadcaster said: His test was inconclusive. I couldnt bear it if we lost him.

The TV presenter introduced Endgame to his herd of seven cows at Diddly Squat with high hopes of producing new calves, but things did not go to plan for him in the latest series.

He grows increasingly confused as the prized bull shows little interest in the female cows, prompting Clarkson to quip: Hes gone the wrong way.

Seven ladies and hes not even bothered. Now theyre chasing him. Why are they chasing him? Why did the cow just mount the bull? Do you get gay cows?

He also revealed that the offending animal which caused the spread of TB on the farm, believed to be a cow, is pregnant with twins.

Some 40,000 cattle are culled every year as a result of bovine TB infection, causing devastation to farmers. More than 21,000 animals were killed due to a TB incident in England between April 2024 and March this year.

Last year, the presenter turned farmer was visited by police after activists reported blocked badger setts on his land, which is illegal under UK wildlife law.

He insisted that his defence was that he had shot all the badgers, which spread TB on farms, under licence.

He wrote at the time: Mercifully, however, I had the perfect excuse: Ive shot all the badgers on the farm so why would I want to fill in their setts? And yes, before you ask, it was all legal.

Clarkson has previously ranted on the show about the threat of TB for his cattle from the b------d badgers.

These are not nice animals. Do not be fooled by Brian May. This is what badgers do. This is how much heartache theyre causing to people whove worked for generations to build up a farm thats been wiped out by badgers, he said in 2023.

Sir Brian May, the Queen guitarist, has previously argued that badgers are not responsible for the spread of TB among cattle.

He has launched a high-profile campaign to stop a badger cull for more than a decade, which has turned him into a villain in some farming communities.

Clarkson has discussed their role in spreading TB to cattle on the show, with one scene in the second series showing him explain that cows are at risk of contracting the disease due to the presence of badgers on the farm.

If you want to make a popular show you have to say, Oh, look at the little cuddly-wuddly badgers, Clarkson previously wrote.

However, he added: But I thought: no, its a farming show, and youd lose your core audience, the farmers, if you went around, saying, Look at these sweet little animals. So, I actually called them b-------ds and showed people what they actually do. Its truthful.

Clarkson bought the Diddly Squat Farm in 2008, but it was run by a villager until his retirement in 2019, after which the veteran broadcaster decided to see if he could run it himself.

Over the years he has faced numerous challenges including bad weather damaging crops, piglets being accidentally squashed to death by their mothers and planning battles with his council over the building of a restaurant.
Ann Connors was charged in relation to fraudulently receiving Pandemic Unemployment Payments

The widow of burglary gang boss Fat Andy Connors has been given just over three months to pay the 5,000 she owes the State after pleading guilty to a sample count of deception against the Department of Social Protection.
Patrick McElwees neighbour called gardai over group sitting on little green in Dublin estate

An elderly man who gathered with friends on a green area that is a designated public space has had a trespassing case against him dismissed.

Patrick McElwee (84) was accused of trespassing on a plot of land known as the little green in the Monastery Crescent estate in Clondalkin, Dublin, in a manner that was likely to cause fear in another person.
A telephonist who was marched out of a call centre after being sacked for using abusive and foul language over an open phone line in the mistaken belief she had put the customer on hold has lost a claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.
Galway Races: Simple and classical Dior-inspired dress helps local woman claim five-figure Ladies Day prize

Megan Cunniss was named Best Dressed on day of fun and fashion at Ballybrit

Winner of the best dressed Lady at the Galway Races

Erika Sassone and Jessica Mercer Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 06:30

Glamour was the order of the day as Ballybrit welcomed thousands of stylish attendees to Ladies Day at the Galway Races yesterday.
The scene of the incident on Gardiner Street last week

Gardai are appealing for witnesses following an assault that left a man with serious injuries in Dublin city centre last week.
Government could generate up to 118m in tax revenue by setting targets for remote job creation, advocate says

100,000 remote jobs are made available every month across the European Union

(Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Keith Kelly Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 14:52

The Government could raise up to 118m in tax revenue if it competed to bring remote EU jobs to Ireland, a work-from-home advocate has said.
LATEST | Grieving fathers disgust as report finds some gardai openly hostile to roads policing duties

Chair of Policing and Community Safety Authority said report found some members were openly hostile to doing jobGardai Commissioner Drew Harris describes report as soberingMinister with responsibility for road safety, Sean Canney, said he was surprised by the findings

Leo Lieghio, whose daughter Marsia (16) was killed crossing the road in 2005. Pic: Gerry Mooney

Grainne Ni Aodha, Darragh Nolan and Keith Kelly Press Association Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 11:53

The father of a girl killed in a hit-and-run incident has hit out after a report found some road policing gardai displayed a blatant disregard and were openly hostile to carrying out their duties.
Irish delegation call for public support of third flotilla to Gaza bringing aid and baby formula

The Irish delegation who previously participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations in Cairo and Brussels are asking members of the public to join them on a flotilla set to leave Ireland for Gaza in the coming weeks bringing essential medical and food supplies to Palestinians

A national demonstration for Palestine in Dublin

Edana Flynn Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 17:54

As Israels military attack on Palestinians in Gaza continues, activists from around the world are preparing for a third movement to Gaza by sea on board what they are hoping will amount to thousands of ships from across 80 countries.
Irish exports rise, but 15pc US tariffs on spirits and whiskey in effect from today

Drinks industry boss Eoin O Cathain calls for zero-for-zero rate to be reinstated

Irish whiskey and spirits exported to the US will face 15pc tariffs from today. Photo: Getty

John Burns Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 06:30

Irish exports rose last month for the first time since March, with some evidence that efforts to find new overseas markets are proving successful.
A mother insists that nothing has changed for disabled air passengers in the last 20 years after her sons postural support chair was not loaded onto a Ryanair flight to Poland  then delivered broken three days later.
Frank Coughlan: The last survivors of Hiroshima have lessons for us 80 years on  we should listen to them

Passage of time allows people to draw facile conclusions, but horrors of history can teach us so many things

A man surveys the scene after an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in August 1945. Photo: Getty

Frank Coughlan Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 06:30

We take it as read that survivors are the lucky ones. They witness, they live and so get the better half of a raw deal. Perhaps the hibakusha  those who saw their cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki burn in the furnace of an American atomic bomb  did not count themselves as charmed.
Martina Devlin: At 81, why is it left to Mary Robinson to stand up for Palestinians when the EU wont?

There are deep divisions emerging in the bloc over Israel  with Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic more supportive and Ireland, Spain and now France, more critical

Members of The Elders, Mary Robinson, continues to advocate for Gaza and human rights. Photo: Getty Images

Martina Devlin Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 06:30

Mary Robinson is a headline act. In a landmark address at the United Nations delivered with passion and precision, she spoke truth to power  her call to action over Gaza flagged the need to suspend trade co-operation and impose a robust set of targeted sanctions against Israel.
"When you do the majority of your travelling with several children in tow, any kind of travel without these beloved, head-wrecking, adorable impediments is like a relaxing day at the spa." Photo: Getty

I recently flew back from a literary festival in Spain. The journey required that I take two flights with a lengthy layover in the middle. A fellow author offered his condolences at this inconvenience. It was then that I realised that, to many people, having to kill nine hours in Frankfurt Airport would be a deeply irritating activity. And indeed, to the me of 12 years ago, Im sure it would have been too. So what has changed in this time? One word: children.

When you do the majority of your travelling with several children in tow, any kind of travel without these beloved, head-wrecking, adorable impediments is like a relaxing day at the spa. I could be told that not only did I have to kill nine hours in Frankfurt Airport, I had to spend all of those nine hours inside a bin and I would still be absolutely fine with it because, say it with me, at least I am not travelling with children.
I was saddened to learn of the passing of RTE radio presenter and producer Sean Rocks (64).

Although he had been a teacher and a successful actor in his own right, he was best known for his work on RTE radios Arena since 2009. He had such a comprehensive knowledge of all the arts and was such a joy to listen to.

This knowledgeable, erudite, well-read and cultured man will be truly missed.

John OBrien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary

Pressure must remain on Israel so it engages with neighbours diplomatically

Now that prominent Jewish people, along with some Western nations, are admitting the fact of genocide in Palestine, it is imperative that the pressure is kept on the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and, by default, US president Donald Trump.

One obstacle tacitly ignored is that a number of Israels neighbours may not desire a democratic Palestine or even a democratic Syria.

Israel is facing the prospects of a forever war  or a peaceful existence with all of its neighbours.

For a Palestinian state to come to fruition and prosper as a democracy, all discussion should include the immediate neighbouring nations.

Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia

Hamas opposes two-state solution as jihadism still holds sway in Palestine

Paul Johnston, the UKs ambassador to Ireland, claims Israel is wrong to oppose an independent Palestinian state alongside the existing Jewish one (Israeli opposition to a two-state solution is morally wrong, Irish Independent, July 31).

However, Hamas itself is opposed to such a two-state solution, and since 1937 every Palestinian leader has opposed five major peace plans proposed by the likes of the Peel Commission, the UN and Bill Clinton. Israel accepted each one.

This illustrates that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is more about religion than land.

Egypt ruled Gaza and Jordan ruled the West Bank until 1967, when Israel defeated both in the Six-Day War.

When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Palestinian Authority took charge. However, Hamas then won the 2006 election and turned Gaza into a jihadist fortress dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the eradication of Jews.

All the evidence points to a future Palestinian state becoming, in due course, an Islamist failed state.

Karl Martin, Dublin 13

Ireland can use its soft power again by setting the standard through bill

Francesca Albanese, the UN rapporteur for the Occupied Territories, has warned that the European Union is consciously supporting Israels genocide of the Palestinians.

As perhaps never before, social media has helped expose the terms Western values and Western democracy as no more than hollow slogans used to cover the grossest violations of international law, including illegal occupation, apartheid and now genocide against defenceless civilians.

By enacting the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) now, in full and without further delay, the Irish Government would strike a blow for international law and Irish democracy, and in the process help bring an end to the most shocking example of international criminality since the start of World War II.

In 1987, the Charles Haughey-led government defied the then EEC and unilaterally banned all trade with apartheid South Africa.

A number of European countries followed Irelands lead, apartheid fell within a few years and Irelands soft power and standing internationally was further enhanced.

Billy Fitzpatrick, Terenure, Dublin 6

Starmer appears flaky on statehood for Palestinians after nudge from his party

The UK governments signal that it will recognise the state of Palestine unless Israel acts to stop the famine in Gaza is symptomatic of British prime minister Keir Starmers wishy-washy approach.

He is a middle-of-the-road prime minister who seems afraid of his own shadow. It is his Labour colleagues who have taken the lead and embarrassed him into doing something.

But his lack of conviction does not serve the Palestine cause one bit, and looks more like an attempt to punish Israel than any genuine belief in the statehood of Palestine.

Starmer needs to show honest leadership and conviction.

Aidan Roddy, Cabinteely, Co Dublin

Labour camps suggestion is appalling when you look back at Shannon deaths

I was appalled at the suggestion by Harry Crosbie that we return to the use of labour camps (Worker compounds that move around could be a huge help in housing crisis, Letters, July 31).

We need not look to Roosevelts America, but to the Shannon Scheme here in 1925. Thirty-three workers died on the Shannon Scheme and should be remembered. That era has ended, thank God. We have trade unions and workers rights.

In regard to the return of tax to eastern European construction workers, I believe our expat Irish construction workforce would return home for the same consideration.

Paddy Murray, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath

Perhaps its time that we renationalise our energy sector, given current crisis

It wasnt surprising to see another crisis emerging, with many households now struggling to maintain access to energy (Record numbers in arrears on energy bills as families forced to prioritise buying groceries, Irish Independent, July 31).

But what is surprising is the fact that our politicians fail to recognise these problems were created by the wholesale outsourcing of provision of such social goods to the market under the governments of Bertie Ahern and Mary Harney. The pursuit of profit replaced the priority to ensure access to these vital services for society.

The 301,379 households reported to be in arrears on energy bills do not include the many thousands suffering frequent electricity-supply disconnections when pre-pay meters cannot be topped up.

Astonishingly, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) does not require suppliers to keep records of all such pre-pay meter disconnections. Is it time to renationalise the energy sector? Can CRU tell us how much of the energy spend in Ireland is going to profits?

Jim OSullivan, Rathedmond, Sligo
Cork County Council has refused planning permission for a 161-hectare, 100 MW solar farm extending across fourteen townlands in the Lee Valley, citing archaeological concerns.

Aglish Solar Farm Limited had applied for a 10-year permission to put solar panels on six parcels of land around the southern bank of the river Lee, about 25 km west of Cork city. The solar farm did not include battery storage and was to connect to the grid using a new substation on the site.

The application said that the solar farm would have an operational lifespan of 40 years and would generate enough electricity to power almost 49,000 homes.

Cork County Council refused the application, stating that the applicant has not demonstrated that sufficient archaeological investigations have been undertaken to guide the proposed development towards preserving in-situ potential archaeological features and thereby safeguarding archaeological heritage.

The area in which the solar farm was to be built features a number of standing stones, fulacht fiadh (Bronze Age cooking pits) and other objects of archaeological interest.

In its decision document the council said that the proposed development would contravene the County Development Plan, seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity, and set an undesirable precedent. The proposed development is therefore contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, it concluded.

The application received over 200 objections expressing concerns about the environmental and health implications, the scale of the development and a lack of community consultation.

Aglish Solar Farm Limited has four weeks to lodge an appeal with An Coimisiun Pleanala. A company spokesperson told the Irish Independent that the company is currently reviewing the councils decision and the probability is that we will appeal it.

Cork has become a hotspot for solar farm projects. In July alone Cork County Council granted permission for a 47-hectare solar farm between Rathcormac and Castlelyons and a battery storage facility in Curraduff, Newmarket.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
Cork County Council has denied reports that they have run out of funding for housing maintenance in this years budget.

In recent days two Cork TDs (Ken OFlynn and Eoghan Kenny) wrote to the Minister for Housing James Browne seeking emergency funding for local authorities following reports that Cork County Council had exhausted its entire annual housing repair budget.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council however refuted suggestions the local authority had run out of funding for housing maintenance and told The Corkman that repairs and maintenance continue to be prioritised. Cork County Council has not run out of funding for housing maintenance. The Council continues to respond to repairs requests and its planned maintenance programme for 2025 is ongoing.

Repairs and maintenance continue to be prioritised having regard to the needs of the tenant and the nature of the works required, the spokesman said.

Responding to the statement from Cork County Council, Labour Party TD for Cork North Central Eoghan Kenny requested more clarity on a number of issues. I have asked for clarity from the head of housing on what budget is still available and if Cork County Council will commit to the works he has highlighted to the County Council if there still is a budget available.

Read more Cork County Council reach the end of this years budget for fixing house repairs in social housing

The Cork TD continued: I am looking for clarity on what budget is still available if they are saying there is one available for the maintenance of social houses in the county. I was officially told that the maintenance budget had run out for 2025.

It is a huge issue for constituents, said Deputy Kenny. It is disappointing that when the local authority is the landlord that people are waiting up to four years for repairs to be completed. I could have 40 repairs for the Council in the morning if I needed to.

Some of them arent essentially real emergencies. Water is not leaking into the house, but at same time, I have a woman in her 70s and the frame has come off a door in her house. If I was living in a private house the first person you would ring is the landlord and you would expect the landlord to fix it, he added.
A meeting with the new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has been requested by a Cork TD seeking to discuss better policing and sourcing more adequate garda numbers in Cork.

Sinn Fein TD for Cork South Central Donnchadh O Laoghaire said he has written to the new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly requesting a meeting with all the Oireachtas members for Cork city. I have written to the new Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly requesting a meeting with him and the Oireachtas members for Cork city to discuss how we can deliver better policing in Cork.

"Cork deserves its fair share of gardai and in recent years it has not been getting it. That must change, he added.

We need to see adequate garda numbers in Cork, said Deputy O Laoghaire. We need to see a visible garda presence on the ground, preventing and tackling crime. That must be a priority for the new Garda Commissioner, added the Cork TD.

The Government recently appointed Justin Kelly to the post of Garda Commissioner, replacing Drew Harris, who will retire later this year.

Mr Kelly will begin his five-year term at the helm from September 1.

The new commissioner who hails from Dublin has been appointed to a five-year term or until the retirement age of 62.

The role has a salary of at least 314,000.

Mr Kelly will lead a total workforce of nearly 18,000 people, comprising sworn gardai, garda staff and reserve gardai.

Mr Kelly has 31 years service in An Garda Siochana.

He was employed as a police officer in 1992 before rising through the ranks to detective, detective superintendent, detective chief superintendent and assistant commissioner.

Previously, as assistant commissioner of serious and organised crime, he was responsible for leading the national policing response in areas of drugs and organised crime, cyber crime, economic crime, immigration and crimes against vulnerable persons.
Dublin News

Swimmers warned over Lions Mane jellyfish at Dublin beaches as council advises how to treat stings

Bathers have been urged to take extra care when swimming at beaches in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown after an increase in sightings of Lions Mane jellyfish in recent weeks.
A 29-year-old man who drove a BMW car into a minibus several times on the M1 has been spared jail and instead ordered to complete community service following an appeal.

Kabir Alli, Claddagh Park, Tom Bellew Avenue, Dundalk, was sentenced in the district court to three months imprisonment and disqualified for two years for dangerous driving at Dromad, Co. Louth.

He was also fined 200 and disqualified for six years for refusing to provide a sample at Dundalk Garda Station.

Judge Dara Hayes said that what occurred on February 5, 2022, was an appalling incident of driving.

While Mr Alli had mental health difficulties that didnt entitle him to place others in significant harm.

Barrister Ronan OCarroll, instructed by solicitor Fiona DArcy, said it was a traumatic experience for the woman who was behind the wheel of the minibus.

A probation report stated that the appellant had not much insight into his wrongdoing.

This happened during a period of psychosis. Mr Alli, a carer, was maintaining his medication now.

He accepted that his behaviour on the night was indefensible and can never be repeated.

Judge Hayes remarked that although the appellant was assessed as suitable for community service, his lack of insight in the probation officers opinion was of some concern.

This was an appalling incident of driving at Junction 20 of the M1 at the Carrickdale Hotel exit.

Mr Alli was in a UK-registered car. There was no explanation for this as he has been living in Ireland since childhood, the judge said.

He crashed a number of times into a mini bus, causing significant damage to this vehicle including the drivers seat such was the force of the collision.

He was arrested 1km away having walked southbound on the hard shoulder.

Judge Hayes said that the female driver of the minibus was placed in fear. She was travelling southbound minding her own business when struck with considerable force.

She had driven to the Ballymascanlon roundabout and onto the Carlingford Road where she sought assistance.

She no longer drove at night as a result of what happened.

It was appalling driving by the other man who has previous convictions including for drink driving. He had not come to garda attention since.

Judge Hayes varied the district court order, increasing the three-month sentence to six months, 150 hours community service in lieu to be completed within 12 months.

The two-year disqualification for dangerous driving was increased to six years.

The six-year disqualification on the refusal charge remains and the judge also imposed a six-month sentence, suspended in its entirety for 12 months.

A stay was put on the start of the disqualifications to August 29 next.

Legal aid was granted.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Basin Electric Power Cooperative has received a federal loan that will likely make it legally exempt from being ordered to return hundreds of millions of dollars to its members.

The Bismarck-based utility said that the relatively small loan is needed to fund some of its operations, but when cooperative utilities have debt with the federal program that Basin is borrowing money from, they are also exempt from electric rate oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Basin has made a motion to dismiss the FERC rate case in which it faces the potential for a huge refund order, citing the loan as the reason the case should be dismissed.

In June regulatory filings, one of Basin's member cooperatives called the loan a "sham transaction" taken out with the purpose of avoiding the potential refund order and asked FERC to bar Basin from receiving it.

A decision from FERC was requested by the beginning of August, though Basin already received the loan in mid-July before FERC issued any decision.

Basin's energy production and transmission infrastructure provides power to 3 million customers across 139 member co-ops in nine states which distribute the electricity locally.

This FERC case would have been the agency's first regulatory decision regarding Basin's rates. For decades, the cooperative's rates were mostly governed by its members and lacked similar levels of regulatory oversight. None of Basin's member cooperatives sold enough electricity for the utility to be governed by FERC until 2019 and most states in Basin's service territory -- including North Dakota -- only regulate for-profit utilities and not co-ops.

A $471 million charge related to chemicals plant

In response to Tribune questions, Basin said the loan was not taken out with the purpose of avoiding FERC regulation, despite that being the likely outcome.

Without FERC regulation, Basin would avoid the potential enforcement of an initial decision last year by Administrative Law Judge Scott Hempling that found the utility should be required to refund $471 million that it charged its customers in 2020 and 2021.

The money was related to the operations of the co-op's Great Plains Synfuels Plant which converts coal to synthetic natural gas, fertilizer and other chemicals. The plant is operated by Dakota Gasification Co., a for-profit business owned by Basin -- which is a nonprofit utility.

A federally backed group of natural gas companies built the plant in the early 1980s in response to fuel shortages the decade prior. But natural gas prices soon fell, prompting large losses. The group sold the plant to the Energy Department, which planned to sell it as well. Basin was the plant's electricity provider at the time, and the potential closure of a big customer was a threat to the cooperative. In 1988, Basin's board formed DGC and purchased the plant.

But the plant faced a questionable future when fracking took off in the 2000s which made underground deposits of natural gas much easier to access, driving down the price of the plant's main product: synthetic natural gas.

In the early 2010s, DGC responded to the fracking boom by deciding to add urea fertilizer production to the Great Plains Synfuels Plant on top of natural gas. That project was completed in 2018. While building it out, commodity prices continued to fall, leading to broader losses for the plant.

Some of these losses were recovered through the rates that Basin charges its members. Hempling said those charges should not have gotten onto utility bills because they largely did not impact Basin's ability to provide utility services.

In a response filing to the initial decision, Basin disputed Hempling's description of the synfuels plant and argued that it benefited members by lowering the overall cost it pays to a mining company to produce coal from a local mine that feeds both the synfuels plant and nearby electric power plants -- according to the filing the synfuels plant "absorbs as much of 46% of the total fixed cost of coal." Basin added that some materials produced at the synfuels plant were used in electric production.

In a statement to the Tribune, Basin did not rule out putting costs related to the Great Plains Synfuels Plant into future electric rates.

"Basin Electrics budgeted margin is set to achieve a consolidated margin that supports maintaining the cooperatives 'A' rating with the credit rating agencies," an email from the utility said.

In the same rate case, a few of Basin's member cooperatives challenged the structure of how expenses related to infrastructure depreciation were calculated. Hempling ruled that Basin was overcharging member cooperatives with contracts that expire earlier than others and ordered a reversal of the policy.

The Sierra Club was involved in the case, too. The environmental group challenged Basin's decisions to make expensive upgrades to some of the utility's coal plants without considering the potential to shut them down. Some plants were losing money in the late 2010s and the Sierra Club argued that investing into a mix of natural gas and wind energy would have been cheaper than making the coal plant upgrades. The group requested Hempling order a refund for those costs, too.

While Hempling found Basin "imprudent" for not looking into the possibility of retiring the coal plants, he decided to not order refunds because the Sierra Club did not provide enough evidence that a different mix of electric production would have saved customers money. He left the door open for similar challenges in future, however.

The order was not final. Basin and other parties challenged various parts of it, and it awaited the approval of FERC's board.

FERC, however, will likely not make a ruling on the issue now.

USDA loan creates exemption -- and member gripes

Basin received a $928,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) on July 16. The next day, it filed to have this FERC rate case, along with any future FERC regulation, dismissed.

The RUS is an outgrowth of the Rural Electrification Administration, a New Deal-era program that helped finance utility services in rural areas that for-profit companies tended to not serve. The government program essentially spurred the development of electric cooperatives that are around today.

RUS does not regulate utility rates, though it does take them into account and issues certain financial requirements when the agency provides loans, a spokesman said.

The last time Basin was financed by RUS was in 2015 before it bought out its over $1 billion of debt with the agency.

Basin, in a statement to the Tribune, said the $928,000 loan was taken out to reimburse the utility "for a variety of recent capital projects" and that it is anticipating about $12 billion in investments that it will rely on a variety of funding sources for.

According to USAspending.gov, the $928,000 loan Basin was authorized for would "assure that people in eligible rural areas have access to electric services comparable in reliability and quality to the rest of the Nation and to assist borrowers in implementation of demand-side management, energy efficiency and conservation programs and on-grid and off-grid renewable energy systems."

About a month before Basin made the motion to dismiss its FERC rate case, McKenzie Electric Cooperative filed a complaint with FERC seeking to bar Basin from receiving the loan.

McKenzie Electric provides service to the oil-rich -- and electricity-hungry -- Bakken area in northwest North Dakota and is a Basin member cooperative that has been active in the rate case seeking to secure the refund for the costs from the Great Plains Synfuels Plant.

McKenzie Electric argued that because the loan was so small relative to the anticipated billions of dollars of debt that Basin anticipates over the next decade, its existence would lead "one to conclude that the RUS loan is not about assuring that 'people in eligible rural areas have access to electric services,' but simply escaping FERC regulation."

In its filings, Basin argued that its decision to seek a loan from the RUS did not violate any law, regulation or FERC order. The utility also said that FERC generally allows utilities to decide how they finance themselves and that the agency has no power to block loans from the USDA.

Basin has since filed to dismiss McKenzie Electric's complaint, citing the federal loan as well.

McKenzie Electric declined to comment.
The ATU is asking homeowners to consider taking in a student this coming academic year

ATU Sligo has made an urgent plea for accommodation as the new academic year beckons.

Atlantic Technological University (ATU) is appealing to homeowners across Sligo, Galway, Donegal and Mayo to consider offering a spare room in their home to a student for the upcoming academic year, under the national Rent-a-Room scheme.

The university, which spans nine campuses across the West and North West of Ireland, says the lack of available accommodation is placing significant pressure on studentsparticularly first-years and those relocating to study.

ATU is encouraging individuals, couples, and families with an available bedroom to register for the tax-free rent-a-room scheme and help support students while also benefiting from a potential income of up to 14,000 per year, tax-free.

Speaking about the importance of the initiative, ATU President Dr Orla Flynn said:

We know how much the cost and availability of accommodation can impact a students ability to access higher education. By offering a spare room, homeowners are playing a direct role in a students futureand in strengthening their own community.

"Its more than just a roof over someones headits a chance to mentor, to share knowledge between generations, and to welcome young energy into our towns and villages.

While participants are not expected to provide meals or transport, a welcoming environment and some basic amenities are encouraged.

University officials point out that students not only contribute economically to the region through part-time jobs and local spending, but also bring fresh ideas, energy and community engagement. Many students volunteer, take part in clubs, or are involved in work placements with local businesses and public services.

Living with a student can be a mutually enriching experience, said Dr Flynn. Many of our students go on to contribute to their host communities long after graduation. This is one way to keep our region thriving, diverse and connected.

ATU is encouraging interested homeowners to register their interest via the university website or through local student accommodation offices in Sligo, Galway, Letterkenny and Mayo. The Students Unions will provide information and advice to help potential hosts understand their responsibilities and rights under the scheme.

With student numbers continuing to rise and purpose-built accommodation limited in many rural and regional towns, ATU says it hopes the wider community will respond positively.

For more information on how to take part in the Rent-a-Room scheme with ATU, visit: www.atu.ie/accommodation or contact your local Student Union office.
Work on the design phase of the proposed upgrading of the N17 from Collooney to Ireland West Airport Knock is progressing according to Sligo County Council

In an update the council said it was currently advancing through Phase 3: Design and Environmental Evaluation in accordance with Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) project management guidelines.

The objective of Phase 3 is to develop the design of the preferred option to a stage where sufficient levels of detail exist to establish land requirements, identify and mitigate project impacts, and to progress the project through the statutory processes.

In 2024, a Ministerial condition attached to grant funding limited Phase 3 activities to the Tobercurry and Charlestown Bypass elements of the scheme. During that period, works included topographic and hydrographic surveys, as well as LiDAR assessments for those sections.

The 2025 TII grant allocations, issued on 25 March 2025, contained no such conditions. As a result, Sligo County Council is now progressing Phase 3 for the entire preferred corridor, extending from Ireland West Airport Knock to Collooney. The project corridor can be viewed at: https://n17knockcollooney.ie/mapping-eptc/

In 2025, the Council will undertake topographic and hydrographic surveys, along with LiDAR assessments, for the remaining sections of the routespecifically from Ireland West Airport Knock to Charlestown, and from north of Tobercurry to Collooney. These works are expected to commence in Q4 2025.

To support the delivery of Phases 3 (Design and Environmental Evaluation) and Phase 4 (Statutory Consent), Sligo County Council intends to engage a multi-disciplinary consultancy firm. This process is expected to be ongoing throughout Q3/Q4 2025 with the intention to award the contract in Q1 2026 subject to TII approvals and funding.

Sligo County Council remains committed to keeping the public informed as the project progresses. We would like to thank the community for their ongoing cooperation and patience and look forward to working together to deliver this vital infrastructure for the north west region, said the council in a statement.
In order to ensure that people make the most of the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann festivities taking place in Wexford, Bus Eireann have added an extra late night run.

Expressways Route 2 (Wexford to Dublin) service operates 15 services a day in each direction from Monday to Saturday, with 11 services a day on Sundays and Bank Holidays, ideal for people travelling to this years Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

Due to accommodation shortages from the 3 to 10 August, an additional late-night service at 11 p.m. has been added to the Expressway Route 2 timetable for customers who are unable to stay in Wexford overnight and who wish to travel to Dublin, Arklow, Gorey, Enniscorthy, Ferns and Oylegate.

Andrew Yates, Head of Expressway, Bus Eireann said: Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann is a wonderful celebration of our rich culture, heritage, music and community spirit and we are delighted that visitors to the event are being encouraged to use public transport."

"Expressway operates frequent services from Dublin, Wicklow and Waterford to and from this years event, but we would advise intending customers to plan their journeys ahead and book a seat in advance at expressway.ie to avoid disappointment, he added.

The Expressway Route 2 departs from Wexford OHanrahan Station at 2 a.m., 4 a.m., 5.50 a.m., 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 6.30 p.m., 8.30 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Customers travelling from Waterford to the event should note that the Expressway Route 40 also operates six services per day in each direction to/from Waterford. For more information check out the official Expressway website.
Wexford County Council are getting another boost of support from the Government after being awarded 150,000 to support the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann preparations and running.

The Fleadh, which is widely regarded as the worlds largest annual celebration of traditional Irish music, language, song and dance, will return to Wexford again on Sunday, August 3 to Sunday, August 10 this year.

Speaking on the allocation of funds, Wexford native and The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage James Browne TD said that he has great local pride for the festival.

"I cant wait myself for the Fleadh. Its a class event in terms of the focus on community and voluntary led events, showcasing our local pride with a burst of colour and sound, he said.

The Fleadh in Wexford is celebrating the living tradition, and has really focused on making performances and spaces accessible to a wide group of people of all ages and backgrounds. Even just getting to sit in on some of the competitions of every type of instrument is deadly. Thats what the festival is best at. I want to acknowledge the trojan work of all the teams across Wexford County Council in hosting the Fleadh Cheoil.

He highlighted the major impact the Fleadh has on Irish and local tourism as well.

"The Fleadh is a welcome boost for our local tourism, and will attract thousands visitors from home and abroad to the county. This funding I am an announcing today aims to assist the Council in ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to facilitate another successful Fleadh, which sees such a serious effort from all parts of the county, he added.

Similar funding of 150,000 was provided to Wexford County Council for the Fleadh Cheoil in 2024 last year, which saw great success with an estimated 650,000 joining in on the festivities.
John Rossiter and Michael O'Toole at the Pop-Up Village Pantry at O'Toole's Memorial Hall in Rathdangan. Photo: Joe Byrne

Mary Byrne with Eileen and Sean Fallon at the Pop-Up Village Pantry at O'Toole's Memorial Hall in Rathdangan. Photo: Joe Byrne

Rosemarie Jackson and Angela Keogh at the Pop-Up Village Pantry at O'Toole's Memorial Hall in Rathdangan. Photo: Joe Byrne

Aoife and Grainne Mc Gough (Gra Aran) at the Pop-Up Village Pantry at O'Toole's Memorial Hall in Rathdangan. Photo: Joe Byrne

Gerorda Stamps with Lorainne and Anne Aspell at the Pop-Up Village Pantry at O'Toole's Memorial Hall in Rathdangan. Photo: Joe Byrne

Blanch Cummins, Paul Browne, Ethnie Ni Connell, Peter Healy and Teresa Byrne at the Pop-Up Village Pantry at O'Toole's Memorial Hall in Rathdangan. Photo: Joe Byrne

OToole Hall in Rathdangan was a hive of activity when the local community held a pop-up village pantry packed with local produce, live music and the popular community cafe.

One of several pop-up village pantries held in Rathdangan each summer, the community event saw crowds of people from across west Wicklow and beyond gather to enjoy a tea or coffee and peruse goods from a variety of producers, with local performers playing music in the marquee outside.

We had a great turnout even though it was clashing with All-Ireland Sunday, with a good steady crowd throughout the day, an organiser said.

There were people from Baltinglass, Hacketstown, and, of course, Rathdangan, so it was a real community event. Some people come for the cafe. Some people come for the food market.

Before Covid, we had a community cafe called The Village Pantry, but we changed to this model of the pop-up village pantry. We do it a few times during the summer, and we still run the cafe on those dates. We do a Christmas market in November as well.

All funds raised go to the maintenance and planned redevelopment of the hall.
The consultant engineering firm who are currently working on redeveloping the former Veha site in Wicklow town, has been awarded Engineers Irelands Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Accredited Employer Standard, which will enhance individual engineers' competence.

Established in 2023, MFA Consulting Engineers provides expert services across large-scale residential, commercial, and industrial developments, as well as infrastructure projects in the energy, roads, and water/wastewater domains.

They are currently working on a mixed-use development at the old Veha site in Wicklow town, which includes 107 new homes, a 116-bedroom hotel, a creche, and extensive public realm spaces overlooking the Irish Sea. Wicklow town has been without a hotel since the Grand Hotel shut its doors to business in 2018. The new five-storey hotel will have a business centre, bar and restaurant.

The CPD Accredited Employer Standard is designed to help organisations improve the competence of their engineers, developing employees who are agile and adaptable, creating a workforce that is encouraged to create and innovate, and develop new solutions.

Speaking about the award, director of MFA Consulting Engineers Mark Forbes said: Achieving CPD Accredited Employer status from Engineers Ireland is a proud milestone for us, especially as a company established in 2023.

"Its a testament to the quality, dedication, and professionalism of our team, who continue to deliver practical, high-quality engineering solutions across the country. This accreditation not only recognises the standards weve already set but also highlights our commitment to continuously developing our team. It rubberstamps our plans to support the growth of both our current engineers and the next generation of talent who will shape the future of MFA.

Director general of Engineers Ireland Damien Owens added: MFA Consulting Engineers has demonstrated its ongoing investment in the continuing professional development of its people as a strategic enabler to grow its business. The company now joins over 170 engineering organisations that have now been awarded the Engineers Ireland CPD Accredited Employer Standard.
Michaella McCollum, one of the contestants on the latest series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins (Pete Dadds/Channel 4/PA)

Reformed drugs mule Michaella McCollum has said she signed onto Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins to push herself, and not to try and change public perceptions of her.

McCollum, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, in Northern Ireland, was caught trying to smuggle 24lb (11kg) of cocaine worth 1.5 million out of Peru with accomplice Melissa Reid in 2013.

The pair, known as the Peru Two, were jailed for six years and eight months after admitting the crime but were freed in 2016 after striking a deal with Peruvian authorities.

McCollum told ITVs This Morning: Reality type TV series, Ive never really been interested in doing anything like that, but I think SAS, theres no other show like that.

So I thought it would be a really good way to test myself and try and push myself and do something completely different.

So it was the one show I was like, you know what? I feel like Ive been pushed to my limit through other experiences. Why not try this? Never in my life am I gonna face these type of challenges.

The Channel 4 reality spin-off series follows 14 famous faces as they endure special forces training in an attempt to make it through SAS selection.

McCollum said: I did that show for me. I wanted to improve myself and push myself. It wasnt, Im doing this because I want people to like me.'

Asked if she was worried about being subject to scrutiny, she said: Not really, because I know thats always going to exist.

And any kind of decisions and things I make, theres always that kind of scrutiny. So I thought, whether I do the show, therell always be some kind of talk about that.

Speaking about what it was like to stay in prison, she said: Its obviously extreme, but I feel like I was incredibly adaptable, like I just kind of got along with it.

And I think for the first part, I felt so guilty and bad. I kind of just thought: OK, I deserve it. Ill just suck it up. Ill just get along with it.

But I feel like it made me an amazing person. I came back when I was 23.

Among the other famous faces taking part in the programme are professional boxer Conor Benn, S Club star Hannah Spearritt and the first celebrity deaf recruit, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri.

Airing across eight one-hour episodes, the seventh series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins will be available to watch on Channel 4 every Sunday and Monday from 9pm starting on August 3.
LATEST | Ireland to be hit by Storm Floris as Met Eireann issues August Bank Holiday weather advisory

The long weekend will remain warm but Monday has some unsettled spells in store.

Walkers in the sunshine on the Bull Wall, Clontarf. Photo: Frank McGrath

Keith Kelly Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 14:12

Ireland will be hit by Storm Floris over the Bank Holiday weekend, Met Eireann has warned as it issued a weather advisory.
North America

Trump says he is firing Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook - but she says I will not resign
In a makeshift tent on a Gazan beach, three-month-old Muntahas grandmother grinds up chickpeas into the tiniest granules she can to form a paste to feed the infant, knowing it will cause her to cry in pain, in a desperate race to keep the baby from starving.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff lands in Israel to discuss Gaza aid chaos as deaths continue to soar

Over 90 killed and hundreds injured in Palestine amid scramble for airdropped food and supplies

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped into Zawaida in central Gaza Strip. Photo: AP

Wafaa Shurafa and Melanie Lidman Associated Press Fri 1 Aug 2025 at 06:30

US president Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel yesterday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb.
Her body just shut down  Gazan man reunited with wife in Ireland tells how she was hospitalised the next day due to starvation
North America

US worker deported in error to El Salvador may now face his second deportation  this time to Uganda
GST Compliance for SaaS and Cloud Computing in India: Rates, Registration & Cross-Border Rules

Indias GST framework is evolving to keep pace with the rapid growth of digital services. As SaaS and cloud platforms become essential to modern business operations, understanding their tax treatment has become critical.

India Briefing explores how GST applies to SaaS and cloud-based services, covering classification, tax rates, place of supply, compliance obligations, and cross-border considerations for both Indian and foreign providers.

Indias digital economy is rapidly expanding, and with this, the application of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on technology-driven services has become increasingly important. This is particularly crucial in the context of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing.

SaaS and cloud services are integral to modern business operations, offering scalable, cost-efficient solutions for everything from data storage to enterprise software. Their growing adoption across sectors has brought them under closer scrutiny from tax authorities, both for revenue protection and regulatory consistency.

Understanding the GST implications of these digital services is crucial for both Indian and foreign service providers. From rate applicability and place of supply rules to reverse charge obligations, businesses must navigate a complex framework to remain compliant and optimize their tax positions.

Classification and GST rates for SaaS and cloud computing

Under Indias GST regime, SaaS and broader cloud-based services are classified as services rather than goods. These services are typically delivered over the internet on a subscription basis without any physical medium, aligning them with Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) services under GST.

Common SaaS examples include customer relationship management (CRM) tools, cloud-based accounting software, and project management applications. The standard GST rate for SaaS and cloud services is 18 percent, applicable to most IT-enabled services delivered via digital platforms. Certain software services, particularly government-issued or specific physical media formats, may attract a nil GST rate or exemptions, depending on usage and classification.

Key SAC codes for SaaS and cloud services

For classification and compliance purposes, businesses must refer to the relevant Service Accounting Codes (SAC) under the HSN (Harmonized System of Nomenclature) structure. Key SAC codes for SaaS and cloud-related services include:

99831: Management consulting and IT services

998313: IT infrastructure and support services

998314: Designing and formulating IT solutions

998315: Hosting and infrastructure setup for IT systems

998316: Management of IT systems and networking

998319: Other IT-related services not elsewhere classified

These SAC codes help determine the correct tax rate and support proper GST invoicing and return filing. Businesses offering cloud-based or SaaS solutions must ensure accurate classification to avoid compliance risks and penalties during audits or assessments.

Domestic and cross-border supply: Place of supply rules

As per Indias GST framework, determining the place of supply is critical for identifying the correct tax structure:

Central GST (CGST) State GST (SGST) for intra-state transactions and Integrated GST (IGST) for interstate or cross-border supplies.

This determination is especially crucial for digital services such as SaaS and cloud platforms, where providers deliver services online without a physical point of transfer.

In business-to-business (B2B) transactions, businesses generally treat the recipients location as the place of supply, allowing eligible recipients to claim input tax credit (ITC). In business-to-customer (B2C) transactions, the recipients location also governs the place of supply, although complications can arise if the recipient is unregistered or their location is unclear.

For cross-border services, SaaS or cloud providers may treat their offering as a zero-rated export under Section 2(6) of the IGST Actif they meet all export conditions. However, if authorities classify the provider as an intermediary under Section 2(13), they deem the place of supply to be India, making the transaction taxable domestically.

To retain export status, providers must clearly establish that they deliver the service on their own account and avoid contract language that implies facilitation. Accurate classification and place of supply determination help businesses minimize compliance risks and safeguard tax benefits.

GST compliance obligations for SaaS service providers

SaaS and cloud service providers operating in India must navigate a defined set of GST compliance requirements.

Registration thresholds: Under Section 22 of the CGST Act, providers must register for GST if annual turnover exceeds INR 2 million/US$22,843 (INR 1 million/US$11,421.7 in special category states). Foreign providers offering OIDAR services to Indian consumers may also need to register in India.

Invoicing and returns: Registered providers must issue GST-compliant invoicesincluding GSTIN, SAC codes, and tax detailsand file regular returns such as GSTR-1 (outward supplies) and GSTR-3B (summary returns).

E-invoicing for larger providers: Businesses with turnover above INR 50 million (US$571,085) are required to adopt e-invoicing for B2B transactions, generating invoices through the central governments Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).

Record-keeping: Providers must maintain invoices, contracts, payment proofs, and ITC documentation for at least six years, as required under Section 35 of the CGST Act. Proper records are critical, especially for cross-border transactions and audits.

Reverse charge mechanism (RCM) and foreign service providers

Foreign SaaS and cloud service providers supplying to Indian customers may fall under the RCM. As per Section 5(3) of the IGST Act, 2017, when a registered Indian business receives digital services from a foreign provider, the tax liability shifts to the recipient, who must self-assess and pay IGST under the RCM. This amount is typically creditable as input tax, provided the service is used for business purposes and proper documentation is maintained.

In B2C transactions, where the recipient is an unregistered individual consumer, the foreign service provider is required to register for GST in India, collect the applicable tax from the customer, and file regular GST returns. This applies particularly to providers of OIDAR services.

These provisions are designed to ensure tax parity between domestic and foreign digital service providers. Non-compliance may result in penalties or restrictions, making it essential for international SaaS and cloud vendors to assess their obligations carefully when serving the Indian market.

ITC and tax planning

One of the key advantages of the GST regime for SaaS and cloud service users is the ability to claim ITC on services used for business purposes. Businesses that subscribe to cloud-based softwaresuch as project management tools, enterprise platforms, or CRM systemscan offset the GST paid on these services against their output tax liability, thereby reducing overall tax costs and improving cash flow.

However, ITC is not available for personal use or for services used in making exempt supplies. For example, individuals using a SaaS product for non-business purposes or businesses providing exempt services cannot claim ITC on related subscriptions.

Key challenges and strategic takeaways

SaaS and cloud service providers continue to face several compliance challenges under Indias GST regime. A key issue is place of supply determination, especially in digital transactions where the recipients location can be difficult to establish. This affects the correct application of IGST and the eligibility for export benefits. Cross-border compliance adds another layer of complexity, as foreign providers must register under GST, file returns, and manage tax obligations without having a physical presence in India. Additionally, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and freelancers often lack clarity on their GST obligations, leading to missed registrations or incorrect tax treatment.

To mitigate risks, businesses should focus on contractual clarity, accurate classification, and robust documentation. Periodic reviews and proactive compliance help ensure alignment with evolving tax rules. As GST regulations continue to develop in response to Indias expanding digital economy, staying informed is critical for both domestic and foreign service providers to operate efficiently and avoid penalties.

(US$1 = INR 87.55)
Kingdom OTT release:

Kingdom

Kingdom

Kingdom plot explored

Kingdom

Kingdom: Meet the cast and crew

Kingdom

World Famous Lover

Liger

, starring Vijay Deverakonda, hit the screens on July 31 and opened to a good response at the Indian box office. According to Sacnilk, a trade website, the film earned Rs 15 crore on the first day. It also received mixed reviews, with critics lauding the performances but panning the execution of certain sequences.Amid this, trade analyst Ramesh Bala has told Indiatimes thatmay premiere on Netflix (its official streaming partner) four weeks from now, as is the case with most Telugu films. This essentially means that the spy thriller is likely to premiere on the platform around September 1., starring Vijay Deverakonda, focuses on a sincere police constable who is asked to take part in a dangerous mission. He soon receives a setback when his brother gets drawn into a volatile political conflict in Sri Lanka. Following this. He takes it upon himself to rescue his kin. As he digs deeper, he learns that the situation is graver and murkier than he had imagined.The film has an emotional storyline with political undertones.features Vijay Deverakonda in the lead. He plays the role of Suri, a constable. The star is best known for his work in Geetha Govindam and Arjun Reddy. Deverakonda is joined by Satyadev, who plays his elder brother. The actor rose to fame with his work in films such as Ram Setu and Zebra. Kingdom features Bhagyashri Borse as the leading lady. She made her Telugu debut with Mr Bachchan (2024) and is also known for essaying a supporting role in Kartik Aaryan's Chandu Champion. The cast includes Ayyappa P. Sharma, Goparaju Ramana, Manish Chaudhari, and Baburaj.Anirudh Ravichander serves as the music director of the Gowtham Tinnauri-helmed flick.Kingdom marks the beginning of a two-part franchise. It comes at a time when Vijay needs a hit as most of the recent films, such asand, have failed at the box office. Kingdom is the 12th film of his career. It was initially called VD 12 . The formal title was revealed this February .
Mujhse Kuchh Kehti...Yeh Khamoshiyaan

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Mrunal Thakur birthday buzz: She nearly quit Telugu films after Sita Ramamwhat Dulquer Salmaan did next changed everything ( Image credit : Credit: Instagram )

Sita Ramam changed everything

Did you know Mrunal Thakur decided Sita Ramam would be her first and last Telugu film?

Mrunal Thakur birthday buzz: She nearly quit Telugu films after Sita Ramamwhat Dulquer Salmaan did next changed everything ( Image credit : Credit: Instagram )

Mrunal Thakur birthday buzz: She nearly quit Telugu films after Sita Ramamwhat Dulquer Salmaan did next changed everything ( Image credit : Credit: Instagram )

Busy filmography ahead

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.

Mrunal Thakur, who celebrates her 33rd birthday today, has had a career filled with growth and courage. She began her acting career in television in 2012 and made her mark on television with popular shows likeandAfter building her name on the small screen, she took a bold step and entered films. She made her big screen debut with a Marathi film Vitti Dandu in 2014 and later transitioned into Hindi within 2018. The film opened the doors to Bollywood for her, and there has been no looking back.In 2019, Mrunal Thakur gave back-to-back hits withopposite Hrithik Roshan andwith John Abraham. She also featured in anthology Ghost Stories, followed byand, where she starred alongside Kartik Aaryan and Shahid Kapoor. These films helped her become a familiar face in Bollywood and showed her growing range as an actor.But Sita Ramam in 2022 gave Mrunal Thakur a level of fame she had never experienced before. Starring opposite Dulquer Salmaan, she became the face of timeless romance. Their chemistry was not just loved, it became the heart of the films success. Audiences across languages embraced her performance, and the film turned into a turning point in her career.But behind the praise was a hidden struggle. In an interview with Galatta Plus, Mrunal shared a surprising moment from the shoot. Sita Ramam is my first and last film in Telugu. I will not do any Telugu film, she told Dulquer while filming in Kashmir.Why would she say that, especially during the making of the film that would later define her? The answer lies in the emotional toll it took. I didn't want to be in a space where I felt handicapped because when you don't know the language, you feel restless I have literally cried, but every drop of tear has brought praise for me.It was Dulquer who kept her going. He just looked at me and said, We'll see. I think one of the reasons why I am today considering a Tamil film or a Kannada film is probably because of him.Her doubt was real, but so was her courage. She also shared how she coped with the demands of multilingual filmmaking. Earlier I felt like what was more important was what mattered was the story, and language was manageable, but I think if you don't know the language, it gets a bit tough, and since childhood, I wanted to be a princess. So, this was the best opportunity, and my preparation started from childhood.Now, her latest film, Son of Sardaar 2, with Ajay Devgn is all set to hit the screens, and fans are eager to see her explore comedy.Mrunals journey is far from slowing down. She has a strong line-up of films coming up, including Dacoit: A Love Story, Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, Tum Ho Toh, and Pooja Meri Jaan. Each film promises to bring out a new side of her acting skills.
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Mandala Murders

Mandala Murders

I love surveen chawla since her tv days she is truly underrated and immensely talented deserves more due and acknowledgement to be very honest #SurveenChawla@CinemaRareIN  https://t.co/mBZwf8W481  NMOL K MAHTANI (@aKm07) July 29, 2025

#MandelaMurders was ehh.



Surveen Chawla carried the show with her acting. In spite of Vaani being top billed, she barely acted sh*t - her wooden acting & weak fighting scenes completely take you out of the series. The series tried to act complex but it isn't. pic.twitter.com/qwyUiBRLWz  SM  (@beingshubho) July 30, 2025





When bold roles became a trap

When the casting couch nearly drove her out of Bollywood

Another disturbing experience that stayed with her

Her off-screen life

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.

Birthday girl Surveen Chawla began her journey from reality shows and daily soaps likeand, quickly becoming a household name as a beloved TV bahu. She seamlessly transitioned into films, winning hearts across Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, and Hindi cinema. Fromto, she carved a path on her own terms, versatile, and unforgettable. As she turns 41 today, fans are lauding her latest appearance inon Netflix.However, there was a time the industry all but wrote her off. Known for bold roles like Hate Story 2, she was unfairly boxed into a glamorous stereotype. But behind the screen was a woman making tough calls, turning down typecast roles, standing her ground against the casting couch, and silently walking away when things got murky. After Hate Story 2, I was bombarded with bold and sexy roles. It got tiring, and thats why I didnt sign any Hindi movies. I dont want to do films for the sake of it. Id rather wait, she said in an earlier interview with Hindustan Times in 2016.She said, People label you, and they dont see what more you are capable of. Film-makers should see if actors fit their characters. Post Hate Story 2, everyone felt that since I have done a sensual role, they can give me similar ones. But, when people offer me a bold role, it flabbergasts me. Why dont the makers look beyond, and see what the actor is capable of doing?Surveen also opened up about the darker side of the industry in a chat with Siddharth Kannan. She revealed how the casting couch culture nearly made her quit Bollywood altogether. There was a time when it was all about the casting couch. It just felt dirty to even step out, and I was like, I dont want to do this. There was that phase. It was almost like it was trending, she said, explaining how these compromises were not occasional but frequent.She admitted that saying no came with a price. Every time I would lose a part because I had the audacity to say no or the audacity to just keep my ground in some way, shape, or form. But it was crazy. I felt like I had hit the end of the road, she added.In another conversation with Hauterfly, Surveen shared an incident that took place on Mumbais Veera Desai Road. We had just spoken about my marriage inside his cabin, he even asked how my husband was doing So, when I came to the door to say bye, he leaned towards me trying to kiss me, and I had to push him back. I was startled and asked him what he was doing, and I just walked off, she recalled. That single moment left a deep mark. I had to push him back. I was startled and I just walked off."Off-screen, Surveen Chawla has kept her personal life private. She tied the knot with Akshay Thakker in a quiet ceremony in Italy back in 2015, only revealing the news two years later through a heartfelt tweet in 2017.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's not what's on the outside, but what's on the inside that counts. Real beauty emanates from within. Cliches? Of course. Truisms? Absolutely.

Sadly, during Hollywood's Golden Age such ideas were practically anathema. The 1930s, '40s, and '50s was the era of glorifying the American girl and the age of blonde bombshells, oomph girls, and love goddesses. One movie, though, had the courage to completely embrace those oft-quoted lines in the most tender, sincere, and relatable manner. The Enchanted Cottage often winds up on lists of the most romantic films of all time and yet it focuses on the neuroses of two damaged souls who are tortured from within and without by their physical appearance.

Located on a slip of New England coastline, the titular cottage is the only surviving remnant of an estate that was destroyed by fire many years ago. The tiny abode is now rented by honeymooning newlyweds who enjoy its seclusion, quaintness, and idyllic setting. Feeling ostracized by society due to her plain appearance and difficulty interacting with others, the painfully shy yet very sweet Laura Pennington (Dorothy McGuire) comes to the cottage to work for its caretaker Abigail Minnett (Mildred Natwick), whose husband was killed in World War I. Laura feels protected and safe in her new environment and reveres the cottage's rich romantic history.

When Army pilot Oliver Bradford (Robert Young) and his fiancee Beatrice (Hillary Brooke) come to inspect the cottage prior to booking it, Laura is dazzled by Oliver's good looks and dashing demeanor. America's entrance into World War II forces the couple to cancel their reservation and postpone their wedding, but a year later Oliver returns to the cottage alone. A horrible war injury has disfigured his face and rendered his right arm useless. Bitter, depressed, and ashamed, Oliver hopes the cottage will provide a sanctuary for him as he hides from Hillary, his flighty mother (Spring Byington) and stiff stepfather (Richard Gaines), and the world at large.

Laura, who still pines for him, lends a sympathetic ear, and after he rejects his parents and fiancee, Oliver asks her to marry him...but more for companionship and convenience than love. Laura reluctantly accepts, but once the two are married, something amazing happens. Their love blooms and magically alters their appearances. Oliver's scars evaporate and his lame arm regains its strength. Laura is beautiful, poised, and confident. The cottage magically transforms them, but are the changes real or an illusion? And are they temporary or permanent?

The Enchanted Cottage tenderly and gracefuly explores the transformative power of love, and like the best romantic films, it's both uplifting and heartbreaking. We ache for the pain Laura and Oliver must endure, but their connection gives us hope that maybe - just maybe - love can conquer all, or at least sufficiently salve our wounds so we can live life as fully, contentedly, and peacefully as possible. The lyrical script by DeWitt Bodeen (Cat People, I Remember Mama) and Herman J. Mankiewicz (Citizen Kane) and sensitive direction by John Cromwell (Since You Went Away) combine to create an emotional motion picture that's not syrupy or sentimental. The feelings depicted are honest and relatable, and as a result, they cut all the deeper.

Watching The Enchanted Cottage today, cynical viewers might opine that the wealthy Oliver could have had plastic surgery and all the plain and dowdy Laura really needed was a good makeover. Problems solved. But that's not the point of the movie. All too often our frailties, fears, and insecurities cripple us and our warped perspectives prevent us from getting the things in life we really want. The Enchanted Cottage hammers those points home. So much emphasis is placed on physical attractiveness, but Laura's beautiful soul brightens every frame of the film, making it impossible not to fall in love with her.



In just her second film, McGuire embodies Laura, crafting a luminous, layered performance that never strikes a sour note. (She reportedly had to fight for Laura's no-make-up, bushy-eyebrowed, straight-hair look.) Her mellifluous voice, bright yet sad eyes, and thoughtful insights delivered with a disarming earnestness that never sounds phony make Laura both a magnetic character and true heroine. Young, who co-starred with her in her film debut, the enormously successful Claudia, rekindles that chemistry, but also turns in a very fine performance of his own. Evolving from a devil-may-care, brave, handsome soldier to a devastated, ashamed, and angry hermit is no easy task, but Young rises to the challenge and tugs our heartstrings, too.

A World War I injury cost Herbert Marshall one of his legs, and here he touchingly plays a composer who lost his sight in the same war. Marshall is excellent, as always, but his personal connection to this particular character adds more poignancy and authenticity to his performance. The marvelous Natwick brings just the right amount of mystery, mysticism, and surrogate maternity to the empathetic Mrs. Minnett, while Byington plays slightly against type as Oliver's giddy, frivolous, yet blunt and judgmental mother. One of the lines she delivers with off-hand, reprehensible insensitivity lands like an earthquake at the end of the film.

Mystical romances can be tough to pull off, but The Enchanted Cottage effortlessly sucks you into its conceit. McGuire's Laura may not look like Jean Harlow, Betty Grable, Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, or Elizabeth Taylor, but you'll soon fall in love with her just like Oliver. Eight decades after its premiere, it's still hard to resist falling under the spell of The Enchanted Cottage.



Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray

The Enchanted Cottage arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu without music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.
Kerala lottery result today, August 1, 2025: The Kerala lottery result for today, August 1, 2025, is here with the Suvarna Keralam SK-14 Friday bumper lucky draw. The official draw will be conducted at 3 PM at Gorky Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, under strict supervision to ensure transparency. This edition features exciting cash prizes, including a grand 1st prize of 1 crore, a 2nd prize of 30 lakh, and a 3rd prize of 5 lakh awarded to multiple winners.

Alongside, there are several other prizes and consolation amounts to be won. Stay tuned for live updates and the full list of winning numbers from 3 PM onwards to see if you are among the lucky winners of this bumper draw.

Kerala lottery winning numbers, August 1, 2025: Suvarna Keralam SK-14

Below is the Kerala Suvarna Keralam SK-14 lottery winning numbers, August 1, 2025 listed:

First Prize (1 Crore): RV 514226

Consolation Prize (5,000): RN 514226 RO 514226 RP 514226 RR 514226 RS 514226 RT 514226 RU 514226 RW 514226 RX 514226 RY 514226 RZ 514226

Second Prize (30 Lakhs): RX 949034

Third Prize (5 Lakhs): RO 288477

Fourth Prize: 0269 0494 0803 1503 1954 2992 3288 3562 3904 4075 4511 4523 4785 4889 5355 6265 6278 6504 8301 9064

Fifth Prize (2,000): 0271 1697 3549 3761 7297 8650

Sixth Prize (1,000): 0537 0704 0724 0925 1042 2308 2741 3929 4044 4152 4264 4460 4818 4864 5046 6086 6098 6124 6328 6615 6755 6810 7020 7196 7520 7821 7951 8320 9062 9376

Seventh Prize (500): 0020 0180 0236 0299 0366 0610 1069 1223 1333 1610 1966 2228 2403 2563 2742 2781 2886 2946 2966 3169 3229 3516 3573 3638 3658 3660 3710 3779 3889 4094 4134 4157 4524 4604 4657 4710 4779 4826 4887 4920 4935 5122 5293 5321 5451 5567 5921 6249 6250 6266 6428 6510 6577 6668 7025 7242 7642 7834 7930 8039 8187 8310 8344 8479 8495 8538 8556 8768 9050 9091 9132 9222 9307 9489 9570 9893

Eighth Prize (200): 0093 0163 0188 0261 0283 0361 0561 0861 0921 0985 1073 1165 1198 1273 1683 1749 1807 1885 2187 2270 2305 2377 2433 2578 2719 2855 3000 3016 3115 3370 3413 3610 3736 3765 4256 4280 4336 4495 4566 4585 4623 4763 4810 5006 5118 5171 5231 5291 5300 5337 5379 5490 5526 5850 5998 6129 6248 6260 6585 7132 7252 7280 7375 7389 7451 7572 7574 7675 7936 7964 8109 8259 8309 8435 8465 8622 8683 8701 8851 9020 9066 9179 9235 9244 9354 9355 9423 9519 9622 9669 9713 9808

Ninth Prize (100): 0108 0169 0329 0442 0470 0477 0592 0684 0690 1030 1148 1214 1238 1357 1366 1373 1390 1456 1494 1543 1571 1612 1625 1641 1764 1771 1796 1868 1891 2011 2041 2047 2117 2193 2218 2230 2280 2292 2412 2481 2540 2544 2579 2641 2699 2804 3026 3033 3104 3259 3340 3437 3498 3510 3524 3531 3539 3558 3629 3685 3920 4031 4092 4145 4225 4242 4261 4266 4309 4476 4518 4521 4571 4618 4671 4686 4908 5265 5444 5470 5575 5577 5617 5713 5838 5991 6085 6162 6480 6488 6508 6540 6625 6695 6889 6929 6979 7005 7070 7071 7121 7222 7232 7395 7411 7419 7446 7448 7468 7526 7569 7640 7901 7914 7918 7987 8013 8042 8151 8170 8171 8520 8559 8688 8760 9167 9250 9257 9263 9271 9311 9448 9507 9569 9590 9595 9668 9676 9680 9696 9832 9847 9969 9970

How to check Kerala lottery result today online?

To check the Kerala lottery result today, August 1, 2025, online for the Suvarna Keralam SK-14 Friday bumper lucky draw, you can follow these steps:

Visit the official Kerala State Lotteries website at www.keralalotteries.net. The live updates start at 2:55 PM, and the official result is published around 4:30 PM IST on draw days.

Alternatively, you can check on other authorised result websites such as www.keralalotteriesresults.in or keralalotteryresult.net, which also publish the results live and officially on the lottery draw day.

Look for the section or link named "Kerala Lottery Result Today" or "Suvarna Keralam SK-14 Friday bumper" and click to view the winning numbers and prize details.

You may also find PDF files with the full winning list available on these official or affiliated sites for download and reference.

For convenience, some mobile apps and lottery result aggregator sites also provide Kerala lottery results checking services, but official websites remain the most reliable source.

Remember the official draw is conducted at 3 PM IST at Gorky Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, and results are posted shortly after that time.

Kerala lottery prize details 2025: Suvarna Keralam SK-14

Below is the required Kerala lottery prize details 2025 for Suvarna Keralam SK-14 listed:

Prize Level Number of Winners Prize Amount () 1st Prize 1 10,00,00,000 2nd Prize 5 10,00,000 3rd Prize 5 5,00,000 4th Prize 5 3,00,000 5th Prize Multiple (by digits) 5,000 6th Prize Multiple (by digits) 1,000 7th Prize Multiple (by digits) 500 8th Prize Multiple (by digits) 250 Consolation Prize 4 1,00,000

Kerala lottery result today, August 1, 2025: How to claim your prize?

To claim your Kerala lottery prize for today's Suvarna Keralam SK-14 Friday bumper lucky draw (August 1, 2025), follow these steps:

1. Verify Your Ticket: Check your ticket number against the official Kerala lottery results published on the Kerala State Lotteries website or the Kerala Government Gazette.

2. Sign and Write Details: On the back of your original winning ticket, write your full name, address, and signature to prevent misuse.

3. Prepare Required Documents:

The original signed winning ticket (in good condition).

A filled prize claim application form (available on official lottery websites or offices).

Two passport-sized photos attested by a Gazetted Officer or Notary.

A self-attested copy of your PAN card.

Proof of identity and address (such as Aadhaar card, voter ID, ration card, or driving license).

A revenue stamp of 1 affixed on the claim receipt.

Bank passbook copy with IFSC code and account number (for prize amount transfer).

For minors, a guardianship certificate is required.

For joint claims, a joint declaration on stamp paper may be necessary.

4. Where to Submit Your Claim:

Prizes up to 5,000: Claim from any authorised lottery agent across Kerala.

Prizes up to 1 lakh: Submit your claim at the District Lottery Office within Kerala.

Prizes above 1 lakh: Claim at the Office of the Director of State Lotteries, Thiruvananthapuram.

Prizes above 10 lakh: Claims are processed through the Finance Department after Directors approval.

Prize claims can also be submitted through Nationalised, Scheduled, or State/District Co-operative Banks by surrendering your ticket with the necessary documents.

5. Claim Deadline: You must claim your prize within 30 days from the date of the draw (by August 31, 2025).

6. Tax Deduction: Income tax at 30% will be deducted at source for prize amounts exceeding 10,000.

7. Verification: The lottery authorities will verify the genuineness of the ticket before releasing the prize money.

The Kerala Lottery Office for prize submission is at Gorky Bhavan, near Bakery Junction, Thiruvananthapuram.

Kerala lottery result live: What time are Suvarna Keralam SK-14 results published?

The Suvarna Keralam SK-14 lottery results for today, August 1, 2025, will have live updates starting at 2:55 PM IST. The official draw is scheduled at 3 PM at Gorky Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, with the final official result published by around 4:30 PM. You can check the live numbers and full prize details on official Kerala lottery websites and authorised platforms from 3 PM onwards.

Next Suvarna Keralam SK-14 lottery date and time

The next Suvarna Keralam SK-14 lottery draw after today's August 1, 2025 edition is Suvarna Keralam SK-15. It is scheduled to be held on Friday, August 8, 2025, at 3 PM at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction, Thiruvananthapuram. This follows the weekly Friday draw pattern for the Suvarna Keralam lottery series.

FAQs

1. When will the Kerala lottery result for Suvarna Keralam SK-14 be announced today?

Answer: The Kerala lottery result for Suvarna Keralam SK-14 on August 1, 2025, will have live updates starting at 2:55 PM IST, with the official draw at 3 PM. The final result is published by around 4:30 PM on official Kerala lottery websites.

2. How can I check Kerala lottery result today online for Suvarna Keralam SK-14?

Answer: You can check the Kerala lottery result today for Suvarna Keralam SK-14 online at the official Kerala State Lotteries website or authorised result portals from 3 PM onwards. Live updates and the full winning number list will be available for verification.

3. What is the first prize amount for Suvarna Keralam SK-14 Kerala lottery today?

Answer: The first prize for the Kerala lottery Suvarna Keralam SK-14 held on August 1, 2025, is 1 crore. Other major prizes include 30 lakh for the second prize and 5 lakh for the third prize.

4. Where and how to claim the Kerala lottery prize for Suvarna Keralam SK-14?

Answer: Winners of the Suvarna Keralam SK-14 lottery can claim prizes by submitting their signed original tickets and required documents at designated lottery offices or authorised agents in Kerala within 30 days of the draw date.

5. When is the next Suvarna Keralam SK-15 lottery draw after August 1, 2025?

Answer: The next Suvarna Keralam SK-15 lottery draw is scheduled for Friday, August 8, 2025, at 3 PM IST. It follows the weekly Friday bumper draw pattern for Kerala lottery Suvarna Keralam series.

Disclaimer: The above mentioned data is based on information available from official online sources. We do not endorse or promote any lottery or Teer games. Please play responsibly and verify results through official channels.

For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events.
A disturbing controversy has shaken Japan's idol industry, as 19-year-old rookie idol Shuna Amamiya of the group Pretty Chuu has accused Taichi Saito - the longtime boyfriend and business partner of the group's producer, Yurinya - of serious misconduct. According to Japanese media reports on August 1, Shuna was secretly photographed while sleeping at Yurinya's house and was later sexually assaulted. The situation allegedly resulted in a pregnancy. Although Saito initially apologized, he reportedly assaulted her again.

Shuna Amamiya (L) allegedly sexually assaulted by Yurinya's partner Taichi Saito (R). Credit: Instagram|shuna_amamiya and yurinya_1128

Following the incident, Shuna stepped away from group activities, with the agency citing health concerns. However, it has since come to light that she was allegedly threatened by Saito, who warned her to stay silent or risk having Pretty Chuu destroyed. He also reportedly attempted to buy her silence.

How did the controversy come to light?

Feeling trapped and unsure of what to do, Shuna reached out to a YouTuber for help and eventually reported the incident to the police. A recorded conversation between her and Taichi Saito later leaked online, sparking massive public outrage and drawing widespread backlash from fans and the general public.

A brief history of Yurinya's boyfriend (Taichi)'s sexual assault.



Amamiya Shuna, a member of the idol group "Pretty Chuu" produced by Yurinya and Taichi, was stripped and secretly photographed by Taichi while sleeping at Yurinya's home.



Taichi apologized over the phone (proof https://t.co/N9KjqwGFQg  FunPage Donald J. Trump (@DonaldTrump_FP_) August 1, 2025

How did Yurinya, Taichi Saito's partner and Pretty Chuu's producer, respond?

Yurinya confirmed the reports and publicly expressed her support for Shuna. She urged people to give the young idol space and time to recover, emphasizing that Shuna should not feel pressured to be active online while dealing with the aftermath.

Yurinya took to Instagram and made it clear that she has cut all personal and business ties with Saito. "Recently, information has been circulated on social media that my partner in both public and private life, Saito Taichi, has impregnated Amamiya Shuna, a member of the idol group "Pretty Chuu" that I produce. I myself first learned of this matter through this message, and after confirming with the people involved, I found that the content was generally true," she wrote in Japanese which is roughly translated to English.

"Currently, my top priority is her physical and mental care, and as a producer, I am doing my best to respond to her needs. Furthermore, as a producer and as Mr. Saito's partner, I would like to offer my deepest and sincere apologies to Shuna Amamiya, who is a dear colleague of mine, for causing her such distress. We would also like to offer our deepest apologies to the other members of Pretty Chuu, the fans who support the group on a daily basis, and all the people involved who have looked after us, for causing so much concern and inconvenience, she added.

"Pretty Chuu is something I have grown and cherished my whole life. We feel strong indignation and deep disappointment in Mr. Saito for committing such an irrational act against such a valued colleague. We believe that Mr. Saito's actions were extremely irresponsible and despicable, both as a person and as a member of society. His words and actions, which lacked trust and respect, deeply hurt Ms. Shuna Amamiya's feelings and threatened the credibility and safety of the group, which cannot be overlooked.

"Not only as a producer, but as a human being, I strongly condemn the actions of Saito Taichi and hereby clearly declare that I will have no further ties with him. It was an extremely difficult and painful decision to make, as we had spent a long time together over five and a half years and had become partners we trusted, but from now on I would like to look forward little by little and live life as myself.

"Going forward, we will do our utmost to prevent recurrence, including reviewing our group and management structures, so that all members of Pretty Chuu can work safely and positively. Once again, we would like to offer our deepest and sincere apologies to all our fans and all those involved for the great inconvenience and concern caused. As a producer, I intend to continue to devote my life to my work, as I have done until now, so that Pretty Chuu can continue to be loved by everyone," she concluded.

More about Shuna Amamiya

Shuna Amamiya had only just debuted with Pretty Chuu in May 2025, making the news even more shocking for fans. The scandal has sparked wider discussions online about how well idols are protected, the power dynamics behind the scenes, and the toll such situations take on their mental health. Many fans have rallied around Shuna, calling for justice and urging the industry to put stronger protections in place for young idols.



To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.
While many families faced the courtroom during the trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted in the University of Idaho student murders, Ethan Chapins family chose a different path. Stacy Chapin, Ethans mother, was not present at the July 23 sentencing. Her absence was not out of detachment, but of deeply considered emotional preservation. Two years ago, Stacy had publicly stated that attending the trial would be draining and that her family had decided to preserve their energy rather than relive the trauma in court.

Ethan Chapins mum breaks her silence after Idaho murder trial ends | Credit: Instagram/stacychapin

A mothers grief in silence

Now that the case has concluded and Kohberger has been sentenced to life in prison, Stacy is finally speaking out. In a raw and emotional Instagram post shared on July 31, she opened up about the heavy emotional toll the case had taken on her and the rest of the Chapin family. She described the entire ordeal as a tough pill to swallow but ultimately stated that the family believed the legal outcome was fair.

Bryan Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary (Credits: X/@RollingStone)

In a moving tribute addressed directly to Ethan, Stacy remembered her son as the one who held their family together. She said he was pure joy from infancy to the moment he left for college. His presence, his laughter, and his ability to uplift every situation were highlighted as irreplaceable.

A painful milestone without Ethan

Stacy also shared how Ethans triplet siblings, Maizie and Hunter, graduated from university earlier this year without their brother by their side, an emotional milestone that underscored their familys profound loss. Despite their heartbreak, the Chapins are determined to honour Ethans legacy with love and resilience.

There would never have been enough time with you, she expressed, assuring her son that he remains deeply loved and missed.

Gratitude amid tragedy

Beyond her personal tribute, Stacy extended her heartfelt thanks to the Moscow Police Department, the FBI, and every investigator who worked on the case. She also praised the University of Idaho and the prosecutors for their transparent communication and unwavering support throughout the legal process.





This tragedy, while immeasurable in pain, is being met with quiet strength and enduring love by a family forever changed.
Law and the City Episode 9 online: Fans of the Korean drama Law and the City can stream Episode 9 online today, August 2, 2025, at approximately 12:20 PM (GMT) / 8:20 AM (ET) / 5:50 PM IST, according to the official release schedule.

Five lawyers at a newly merged firm juggle complex cases while forging unexpected friendships. Among them are An Ju-hyeong, a skilled yet emotionally distant senior attorney, and Kang Hee-ji, an idealistic junior associate determined to make a real difference. For fans who enjoy intelligent romance, compelling characters, and emotional depth, this is a series worth watching.

Law and the City Episode 9 online. Credit: tvn.asia

Law and the City : Release date and time for Episode 9

Episode 9 airs on Saturday, August 2, 2025, at 12:20 PM (GMT) / 8:20 AM (ET) / 5:50 PM IST on tvN in South Korea. It will also be available to international viewers via simultaneous streaming on Disney+, JioHotstar, and Viki, all of which offer English subtitles to make the series accessible to a global audience.

Where to Watch Law and the City Episode 9 Online?

Episodes 9 is available to stream on Disney+, JioHotstar, and Viki - the main legal platforms offering high-quality video and English subtitles. In South Korea, the series airs on tvN. For viewers in the U.S., Canada, India, Indonesia, and the UK, Disney+ remains the top choice for watching the series.

Law and the City: Episode 9 Plot?

As pressure mounts, the Associates begin to crack - Mun-jeong hides her pregnancy, Sang-gi lashes out over his mothers illness, and Hyeong-min drowns in doubt. Ju-hyeong urges honesty as their latest case reveals deeper wounds: bullying that never ended, only shifted, leaving a trail of violence they must stop before it's too late.

its so nice to see that this ep showed more of heeji and sanggis friendship i love how he took over her case so she can focus on the case of her dad #LawAndTheCity #LawAndTheCityEp8 pic.twitter.com/FErZUr0Pv8   (@9697film) July 27, 2025

Law and the City episode 9: Spoilers

Here are the spoilers for Episode 9 of the Korean series Law and the City based on the YouTube preview:

In the upcoming episode, silence begins to suffocate whats left unspoken, and the Associates - once steady and sure - start to fracture. Mun-jeong, carrying the secret of her pregnancy like a shield, keeps everyone at arms length, unwilling to lean on anyone.

Sang-gi, blindsided by the news of his mothers illness, reacts with frustration - his anger masking fear, his words sharp as he begs her to seek help, not just for her, but for the time hes terrified they'll lose.

Hyeong-min, caught between fear and uncertainty, finds herself drowning in doubt. Ju-hyeong sees it allthe exhaustion, the cracks forming -and urges the team to drop the act. "If it's hard, say its hard. Don't just say its fine."

At the heart of their newest case, Chang-won confronts a student who refuses to flinch. "Where did the knife come from?" he asks. The response is chilling: "Why havent I been arrested yet?"

And as more of the truth surfaces, Ju-hyeong and Hui-ji uncover the devastating reality: the bullying didn't end - it just moved. The violence simply followed its victim, leaving behind a path the team must now trace before it spirals further out of control.

Law and the City: Cast and Characters

The series is penned by Lee Seung-hyun and helmed by director Park Seung-woo, with a stellar lead cast featuring Lee Jong-suk, Moon Ga-young, Kang You-seok, Ryu Hye-young, and Im Seong-jae.

FAQs

1. When will Episode 9 of Law and the City be released?

Law and the City Episode 9 will be released on August 2, 2025, at 12:20 PM (GMT) / 8:20 AM (ET) / 5:50 PM IST on tvN.

2. Where can I watch Episode 9 of Law and the City online?

You can stream Episode 9 on Disney+, JioHotstar, and Viki. All three platforms offer English subtitles.

3. Does Law and the City have English subtitles?

Yes, the series is fully subtitled in English on Disney+, JioHotstar, and Viki, including Episodes 9.

4. Is Law and the City available on Netflix?

No, Law and the City is not available on Netflix. It officially streams on Disney+, JioHotstar, and Viki.

For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here.
The skies opened up with a vengeance on Thursday, soaking New York City in torrential rain and triggering one of the most chaotic evening rush hours in recent memory. In Queens, the Clearview Expressway transformed into a full-blown waterway, swallowing cars, submerging an 18-wheeler, and trapping drivers in a scene straight out of a disaster movie.

NYC floods turn Queens highway into river as commuters are trapped | Credit: X/nypmetro

NYC Queens highway turns into a river as vehicles vanish beneath floodwaters

Wild footage captured SUVs nearly underwater, a stranded pick-up truck hauling another car like a lifeboat, and panicked commuters watching helplessly as floodwater rose around them. Emergency crews from the FDNY and NYPD rushed to Northern Boulevard to rescue people reportedly trapped inside their waterlogged vehicles.

NYC floods turn Queens highway into river as commuters are trapped | Credit: X/nypmetro

Fortunately, authorities confirmed that all occupants made it out safely, though it remains unclear if they escaped or were rescued.

Life threatening flooding occuring in northern Queens near Bayside. Multiple cars fully submerged. STAY OFF THE ROADS. pic.twitter.com/0YyyzJsJ22  Empire Weather | Andrew Sirota (@Empire_Weather) July 31, 2025

Train nightmare as floods slam LIRR and subways

The chaos was not confined to the roads. A Long Island Rail Road train near Bayside Station got stuck for hours with passengers on board, prompting a dramatic ladder-assisted evacuation by firefighters. One commuter, Jessica Grant from Stony Brook, described a terrifying moment when the trains lights cut out, revealing the track ahead completely submerged.

Another passenger recalled how the crew repeatedly promised a rescue engine that never materialised. Meanwhile, a woman on board began to panic due to the heat and her double vision, adding to the already tense atmosphere.

 BREAKING: MASSIVE FLASH FLOODING HITTING QUEENS, NYC RIGHT NOW! PROOF OF WEATHER MODIFICATION?



People, STAY AWAY from Bell Blvd and surrounding areas in Queens! Torrential rains have turned streets into raging rivers  cars are stranded, drivers being rescued from submerged pic.twitter.com/Cg2u8MXuFU  Project Constitution (@ProjectConstitu) July 31, 2025

Subways drenched and platforms transformed into waterfalls

Underground, the MTA dealt with its own storm-fuelled nightmare. Iconic Grand Central Station had floodwater pouring onto its platforms, while dramatic indoor waterfalls surged through Jay Street-MetroTech in Brooklyn. The Seventh Avenue station in Park Slope was no better, with water bursting from walls like a horror film scene.

BREAKING: State of emergency declared by Gov Hochul.



Truck and cars are trapped flooded in flood on Clearview Expy in Queens pic.twitter.com/gbD4YX65kQ  Oliya Scootercaster  (@ScooterCasterNY) July 31, 2025

Even an MTA bus in Brooklyn was not spared, passengers were seen lifting their feet off the floor as stormwater pooled in the centre aisle.

Hochul and Adams declare state of emergency

As the situation worsened, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency, pleading with New Yorkers to stay home and avoid flooded streets and transit chaos.

NYC floods turn Queens highway into river as commuters are trapped | Credit: X/MarioNawfal

The Long Island Expressway, Cross Island Parkway, and Staten Island Expressway were all forced to shut down. Meanwhile, New Jersey also went on high alert, with tornado warnings issued in three southern counties.
Starting August 1, 2025, a new set of UPI rules issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have come into effect. These rules will impact how users interact with UPI apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and others. From limits on balance checks to revised autopay timings, these changes are designed to reduce system load, increase efficiency, and improve fraud protectionwithout affecting users who follow the guidelines.

Balance checks, bank views now have limits

As per the new rules, users can now check their bank balance only 50 times a day through their UPI apps. The move is aimed at easing traffic on UPI servers during busy hours. However, to make things smoother, the balance will now be shown automatically after each transaction.

Users can also view the list of banks linked to their mobile number, but that access too is limitednow capped at 25 times per day. These requests must be initiated after selecting the bank within the UPI app.

From August 1, ICICI Bank will charge payment aggregators (PAs) a small fee for handling UPI transactions on merchant platforms.



Charges vary based on whether the PA has an escrow account with the bank. Banks are doing this to recover tech costs since UPI transactions dont pic.twitter.com/Z5WGKKh1L2  Taxology India (@taxologyin) August 1, 2025





New rules for autopay and transaction timing

To ease pressure on the UPI infrastructure during peak hours, auto payments such as OTT subscriptions or scheduled bill payments will now be processed only during non-peak windows before 10 am, between 1 pm to 5 pm, or after 9:30 pm.

If an autopay is scheduled during a peak time, it will either go through earlier or later. Multiple retries will be allowed in case of failure, after which the auto payment will be cancelled.

5 New UPI rules kick in today



The National Payments Corporation of India is set to implement the following changes to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) from Friday, August 1.#upi #npci #gpay #PhonePe #Paytm

More. pic.twitter.com/SNoIjNcoSN  Vivek kumar (@vivekk_kr_) August 1, 2025

Pending transactions and status checks

One of the most common UPI issues, transactions stuck in pending statusis also being addressed. Starting August 1, such transactions will be updated quickly instead of showing as pending for long durations.

The move is aimed at easing traffic on UPI servers during busy hours | Credit: X

However, users can now check the status of a pending transaction only three times, with a gap of 90 seconds between each attempt. This is expected to reduce server congestion and improve transaction efficiency.

Names before transactions, and NPCI penalty clauses

To curb accidental transfers and fraud, UPI apps will now show the recipients registered name and transaction ID before any money is sent. This allows users to confirm theyre transferring to the correct person.

From limits on balance checks to revised autopay timings, these changes are designed to reduce system load | Credit: X

The NPCI has also warned that failure to follow the new rules could result in penalties, including restrictions on API access, suspension of new user onboarding, or other action as required.

The new rules aim to streamline UPI usage, improve reliability, and offer more clarity to users without disrupting genuine transactions.

To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending.
This week, the Trump administration announced a new round of tariffs on Brazilian imports, this time 50% duties on a wide range of goods. These are among the steepest levies applied to any country by the president in 2025. Although the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, the action appears largely driven by politics, not economics.

Trump's decision comes amid his public defense of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under legal scrutiny for his alleged role in a coup plot. Trump has referred to the case as a "witch hunt" and has openly criticized a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, claiming censorship of conservative voices. Despite these tensions, the tariffs include hundreds of exemptions, reducing their direct blow on Brazils economy.

Key goods exempted, but impact still significant

While the 50% tariff rate sounds severe, several major Brazilian exports to the U.S. have been spared. Products such as orange juice and commercial aircraft are excluded, easing concerns for some key sectors. Goods like steel were already subject to earlier tariffs imposed by Trump, and the newly announced ones will add to the pressure on select industries.

Donald Trump placed major tariffs on Brazil. Now he's sanctioning a judge.



But  why?



Answer: It has nothing to do with trade, unless you consider insurrection to be a new American export. pic.twitter.com/OUrckPqumE  Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) July 31, 2025





It actually wasnt as bad as we feared, said Paulo Feldmann, an economics professor at the University of Sao Paulo. According to Abrao Neto from the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil, nearly 700 products will be excluded  meaning roughly 45% of Brazilian exports will avoid the tariff.

Brazils reaction and economic resilience

Despite being the second-largest trade partner of the U.S. after China, Brazil seems to be responding with caution. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has stated that Trump has no right to influence Brazils internal affairs, but he also emphasized openness to trade discussions. At this point, Brazil has not confirmed any retaliatory tariffs.

Brazil is in a stronger position than some of Trumps past targets, like Mexico or Canada, whose economies are more U.S.-dependent. Only 12% of Brazilian exports go to the U.S., while 28% are sent to China. Much of Brazils economy is fueled by local consumption and agricultural exports like soybeans, oil, and beef  a mix that gives it flexibility.

Lula summed it up simply: If the United States doesnt want to buy something of ours, we are going to look for someone who will.

President Trump slapped a 50% tariff on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a witch hunt against former President Jair Bolsonaro, but softened the blow by excluding sectors such as aircraft, energy and orange juice from heavier levies. Read: https://t.co/03z3hQpDNR pic.twitter.com/vSiRI48qHx  Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) July 31, 2025





Coffee and beef sectors brace for change

Brazil supplies around 30% of Americas imported coffee, making it a crucial part of the U.S. market. However, this product remains untouched by the new tariff list. That said, replacing Brazilian coffee would be difficult due to weather-related production issues worldwide. Brazil, on the other hand, can likely redirect its coffee to other markets without much trouble.

Beef exporters, however, face a tougher road. The U.S. is a top destination for Brazilian beef, and recent demand has been strong. The United States market is a highly profitable market, said Roberto Peroso of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries. Losing access could result in excess supply domestically, which Brazil may struggle to redirect fully elsewhere.

Before these tariffs, Brazil had seen a sharp rise in beef and coffee exports to the U.S. earlier this year, gaining from reduced competition due to U.S. tensions with other exporters like China and Vietnam. Now, the scenario has flipped.

Although the U.S. might shift beef imports to other countries like Argentina or Australia, prices for some meat products, such as ground beef, could rise.

Trumps tariffs may strain trade ties, but Brazils diversified economy may cushion the blow and redirect its export strategy.

To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending.
YouTuber Lauren Neidigh, better known as LethalLauren904, is not holding back. After narrowly escaping a subpoena from Blake Lively in her ongoing lawsuit against Justin Baldoni, the content creator fired off a scorching letter to the judge, demanding legal protection from the Gossip Girl actress.

Inside Blake Lively's net worth | Credit: Instagram | @blakelively

YouTuber calls out Blake's legal moves as intimidation tactic

Neidigh argued that Lively's subpoena campaign unfairly targeted creators who had expressed critical views about the actress online. She claimed the move was more about silencing unfavourable opinions than fact-finding, branding it a blatant attempt to "intimidate and harass."

Subpoena dropped, but threat still looms

While Lively later dropped the subpoena against Neidigh, the creator said the damage was done. She pointed out that the possibility of the subpoena being reissued still hangs over her head like a legal guillotine, describing it as an "ongoing threat."

Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in It Ends with Us | Credit: Netflix

Neidigh called the actress's actions an undue burden, claiming Lively's legal tactics were designed to chill free speech and make critics afraid to speak out. She asked the judge to grant her a protective order that would bar Lively from issuing any more subpoenas related to her.

Banking info and backlash

What sparked Neidigh's outrage? The subpoena requested personal details, including banking information. Neidigh said she tried to speak with Lively's lawyers but was met with silence and no real explanation for why such intrusive data was relevant.

Neidigh was not alone. Other creators, including Kassidy O'Connell, also pushed back. They argued that Lively had no grounds to access their private data just because they discussed her legal mess online.

'Plays into every sexist trope': Blake Lively slams The Hollywood Report's cover story about her Justin Baldoni drama | Credit: X/popcrave

Livelys side sticks to the script

A rep for Lively maintained that the subpoenas were standard legal tools, not accusations or gag orders. They insisted that the aim was to uncover whether Baldoni orchestrated an online smear campaign against her, especially after she reportedly complained about his behaviour on set.

Marvel wants out of Blake Lively and Justin Baldonis battle | Credit: Netflix

Despite the dropped subpoenas, Lively's legal team is still digging into other creators, trying to piece together what they believe is a covert retaliation plot. With Livelys deposition looming and the trial set for March 2026, this courtroom drama is just heating up.
The pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext has agreed to acquire the Athens Stock Exchange, a landmark deal that Greece's finance minister hailed as a major boost for the economy and a sign

of renewed international investor confidence.

Speaking at a parliamentary committee meeting, Minister of National Economy and Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, called the agreement a "groundbreaking development."

This signals and demonstrates that the Greek economy now inspires confidence among markets and international investors, Mr. Pierrakakis said.

He stated the acquisition, which he described as "one of the largest foreign investments in recent years," will provide Greek businesses with greater opportunities to raise capital and give them direct access to international investors.

The move is expected to deepen the integration of Greece's capital markets with Europe's leading financial ecosystems.

   iefimerida.gr
Greece's annualized minimum wage has surpassed the 1,000-euro-per-month threshold for the first time, placing the country in the mid-tier of European Union member states, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

Following an increase in April, the fifth since 2022, the monthly minimum wage, when calculated over 12 months to include annual bonuses, now stands at 1,027 euros.

This moves Greece into the group of EU countries with minimum wages between 1,000 and 1,500 euros, alongside nations like Spain and Poland.

According to the data, Greece has recently surpassed Portugal, Cyprus, and Croatia.

The new figure marks a 35.5% increase from 2019, when the annualized minimum wage was 758 euros per month.

   iefimerida.gr
A high-stakes ecclesiastical and geopolitical power struggle is brewing around the ancient Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, threatening to derail a pending agreement between Greece and Egypt over the legal status of the revered institution.

What began as a seemingly internal dispute over monastic leadership has now evolved into a complex crisis marked by foreign influence, intelligence links, and strategic maneuvering

by church and state actors.

At the center of the controversy is Archbishop Damianos, abbot of the Monastery and a respected religious figure with deep ties to both Greek and Egyptian authorities. In recent days, a faction of monks within the Monastery has launched an organized attempt to remove him from his postan effort described by insiders as a coup-like operation exploiting procedural loopholes and personal ambition.

The timing of this internal revolt has raised eyebrows in Athens, where officials are finalizing a bilateral agreement with Cairo to resolve long-standing legal issues surrounding the Monasterys representation in Greece. Greek authorities believe the crisis is not coincidental. They are increasingly convinced that outside actors, including individuals linked to intelligence services and the Patriarchate of Jerusaleman institution currently seen as heavily influenced by Moscoware seeking to undermine the agreement and bring the Monastery under their own sphere of influence.

The latest confrontation began on July 25, when Archbishop Damianos traveled to Mount Sinai to inform the monks about an upcoming vote in the Greek Parliament that would grant legal recognition to the Monasterys dependency in Athens. There, he was unexpectedly confronted by three monks who demanded his resignation. One of the monks is believed to be aspiring to succeed Damianos. The group claimed to have secured the backing of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, a claim that has only heightened suspicions of foreign involvement.

Immediately following the confrontation, a general assembly was hastily convened. A key figure in that assembly was another monkformerly Muslim and previously dismissed from his dutieswho has also been linked to intelligence contacts. According to sources close to the Archbishop, the assembly violated Monastery regulations. Not all monks were informed or invited, and the communication was sent not through official channels, but from an unofficial email bearing the cryptic name Tameio einai meion. Complicating matters further, the vote to oust the Archbishop reportedly included the participation of a monk who had officially left the Monastery years earlier and now resides on Mount Athos.

Adding to the tension was the circulation of a written message among the monks. Its authors claimed direct contact with the Patriarch of Jerusalem and asserted that he fully supported their actions, even promising protection against any consequences. "He supports us completely and told us not to fear any threat," the message read.

In response, Archbishop Damianos has formally appealed to the Patriarchate, urging it to denounce what he called an illegitimate and destabilizing attempt to seize control of the Monastery. Should the Patriarch fail to respond, Damianos indicated he would exercise his authority as an autonomous abbot and take appropriate actions to safeguard the institution. In a public statement issued yesterday, the Archbishop condemned the effort to unseat him as irregular and divisive, accusing its organizers of dragging the Monastery into a Babylonian captivity and serving the interests of those who would prefer the Monasterys crisis remain unresolved.

He also signaled his intent to initiate disciplinary procedures under church law against those monks involved, though he added that his goal is to give them a chance to recognize their actions and repent. Sources close to Damianos describe him as determined to restore order, even as he seeks to preserve spiritual unity among the brotherhood.

The Greek government has expressed growing frustration with the developments. Officials in Athens view the timing of the crisis as an overt attempt to sabotage progress on a sensitive and long-negotiated agreement with Egypt. According to sources with direct knowledge of the talks, the agreement is on track to be finalized during the August 6 visit of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who is scheduled to meet with his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis. Any image of chaos or instability at the Monastery, officials warn, could serve as a pretext to delay or even abandon the deal.

#ENGLISH_EDITION
A Federal Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, Ondo State, has affirmed the election victory of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

Recall that Governor Aiyedatiwa was elected on the platform of ruling All Progressives Congress in November 16, 2024, governorship election.

INFORMATION NIGERIA had reported that the Ondo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had earlier affirmed Aiyedatiwas victory.

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The tribunal dismissed petitions filed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, and its governorship candidate, Agboola Ajayi, challenging the outcome of the poll.

Meanwhile, on March 11, 2025, the Supreme Court also dismissed a separate appeal filed by Ajayi challenging Aiyedatiwas candidacy.

The apex court ruled that the case was filed out of time and that Ajayi, not being a member of the APC, lacked the legal standing to contest the internal affairs of the party, including the qualifications of Aiyedatiwas running mate.

On Thursday, Appeal Court judges, Justice Nimpar Yargata, Justice K.I. Amadi and Justice I.M. Sani, unanimously struck out the appeals, for not substantiating the claims of non compliance with the Electoral Act.

READ MORE: Ondo Election Tribunal Upholds Governor Aiyedatiwas Victory

They, held that the appellants failed to prove their allegations against the election as they did not show how their claims affected the election in the various polling units, wards and local government areas where the election took place.

The appellate court also ruled that the parties abandoned their cases as there were no credible witnesses called at the tribunal to back up their claims of widespread irregularities in the various polling units.

It therefore affirmed the judgments of the tribunal on all the cases and declared Dr. Aiyedatiwa and Dr. Adelami as the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Ondo State.

The judges awarded cost of N1.5m against the appellants.
Former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye has resigned from the PDP, citing its failure to address Nigerias worsening political and economic crisis.

In a July 30 letter to the PDP Ward 1 Chairman in Aiyetoro Gbede, Kogi, Melaye said he could no longer stay in a party lacking vision and capacity.

I hereby tender my resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party at all levels of involvement, Melaye wrote.

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Explaining the reasons for his decision, the outspoken politician expressed his disappointment with the PDPs direction.

This decision has become imperative due to the lack of potency and capacity by the party to deliver the Nigerian people from the prevailing political cankerworms that have eaten deeply into the fabric of our dear nation.

READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/07/peter-obi-part-of-coalition-but-not-officially-our-member-adc.html

He further stated that his conscience would not allow him to continue supporting a party that has lost its connection with the people.

Having carefully reflected on the state of the party, I can no longer in good conscience participate in the activities of the party or lend my support to her agenda.

Emphasising the finality of his move, he concluded: In view of the above, please consider this as my formal withdrawal from the party and all its activities at all levels with immediate effect.
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Joe Igbokwe, has lamented over the security challenge facing South-East region.

Mr. Igbokwe insisted that some criminal elements within the region are behind the killing of innocent igbos, but falsely puting the blame on Fulani herdsmen.

The APCs chieftain made the remarks in a Facebook post on Thursday, where he alleged that the spate of killings and destruction in the South-East was not committed by outsiders.

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Igbokwe warned residents and politicians from the region against hiding behind ethnic scapegoating

He said: The blatant and pathological lies about the killings and destruction in the South East can no longer stand.

READ MORE: 2027: South East Group Gives Reasons For Donating N200m To Tinubu To Purchase APC Form For Re-election, Others

It is Igbo killing Igbo, it is Igbo destroying Igboland and put the blame on Hausa/Fulani herdsmen. This is not our culture. This is sad.

Since 2015 politicians in the SE have been using these gunmen to win elections, they use them to fight their opponents, they use them settle family disputes, they use to grab other peoples lands, they use them as security personnel. They pay them.

The five South-East Governors know what to do to stop the criminals in the zone and restore sanity.

Go and meet PBAT and ask for the use of the Federal might to clear the Augean Stable. PBAT will tell SA, Nuhu Ribadu what to do. Simple.
Justice Hannah Olushola Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin, has sentenced one Islamic cleric, identified as Abdulrahman Bello to death by hanging, for killing Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, his Facebook lover.

Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA had reported that Yetunde, a 24-year-old final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, was murdered by the suspect, following a visit to his residence in Offa Garage area of the state.

It was gathered that Bello, a self-acclaimed cleric was suspected to have used his Facebook lover for money ritual.

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Delivering judgment on Thursday after four months of trial, Justice Hannah found Bello guilty of killing the victim.

The court, however, discharged and acquitted four co-defendants: Ahmed Abdulwasiu (41), Suleiman Muyideen (28), Jamiu Uthman (29), and Abdulrahmon Jamiu (31), who were initially arraigned alongside Bello.

READ MORE: Police Dismiss Three Officers Indicted In Kwara Poly Students Murder

Bello had confessed at the beginning of the trial to killing Lawal for money rituals, claiming he needed human hands for the purpose.

According to testimonies, the incident occurred on February 13, 2025.

During the trial, Bello gave conflicting accounts of the events, initially saying he choked her to death after multiple rounds of sex before dismembering her body.

At another point, he claimed she died of an asthma attack and that he dismembered the body out of fear.
Former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, Jacob Mark, has said that PDP is ready to receive all angry members that left the party.

Mr. Mark insisted that the major opposition party is bigger enough to be begging any politicians who is willing to pick its presidential ticket.

Speaking on Thursday during an interview with Arise TV, the PDPs chieftain noted that former presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi and others, returning to the party would be a welcome development.

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He said: First of all, I am not sure anyone, in my opinion, denied Peter Obi when he showed interest to run for the presidency under the party in 2023.

He left before the primaries of the PDP to join the Labour Party. And so he was not denied. He had a right of choice, and he elected to go to the Labor Party.

READ MORE: 2027: Peter Obi Will Defeat Any Northern Candidate If He Runs Under PDP  Jerry Gana

Now, currently, while so many people may be of the opinion that he can come back to the PDP, I think the decision is entirely his, and Im also not sure that the PDP as a party has sat down to say that he should come back and take the ticket of the party.

These are generally personal opinions that are built sometimes on very cogent reasons. There is no doubt that Peter Obi, following his showing in 2023 is a brand that every political party would like to have. The same way, there is no doubt that the PDP has been a brand. So if two likable brands come together, it is easy to predict the result.

But I dont think we have gotten there yet where the party, I mean, the PDP has taken a decision to say it has to be Peter OBI, or it must be Peter Obi. Hes a very fine brand. Many people believe in him and are following him. So its not difficult to say yes, if he comes to PDP, it could be a good sell to the electorate.

So its not a party that should be cajoling or begging someone to come, No, it is the candidate that wants to win the election that should look at what is available in the PDP and desire to take it.

Probably those who say Peter Obi should come forward and join the PDP, rejoin the PDP are seeing him as taking advantage of a machine that could give him what hes looking for.

See Video Here: https://x.com/ARISEtv/status/1950934180201742749?t=QyfR5q8JwIW1Jv__2u27Ug&s=19
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has arrested one Mr. Elijah Etim Nyah, a resident of Okonna Street in Ikot Ekpene, for allegedly receiving stolen and vandalised property.

The arrest was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by the State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, who confirmed that valuable items believed to have been stolen were recovered from the suspect.

According to the PPRO, the arrest followed credible intelligence and a confession obtained from a previously apprehended suspect. The police had conducted a raid based on the information and traced the items to Mr. Nyahs location.

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READ MORE: Passenger Killed In Midnight Head-On Collision On LagosAbeokuta Expressway

Items recovered include assorted cut-to-size PHED electric cables, various sizes of burnt and peeled electric copper wires, and cut-to-size aluminum roofing sheets.

Investigations are currently ongoing, and the police say the suspect will be charged to court as soon as the process is completed.

The statement read in part: On July 28, 2025, the Akwa Ibom State Police Command successfully recovered stolen items and arrested a suspected receiver following an operation based on credible information and a confession from a previously apprehended suspect.

At approximately 3:45 PM of July 28, 2025, the Police raided a black spot located at No. 56 Aba Road, Ikot Ekpene. The operation led to the recovery of several items, including electric wires and an iron protector, all suspected to be stolen. These items are believed to be part of property vandalized and stolen from an abandoned Chambers of Commerce building located on Etokebe Street, Ikot Ekpene.

Further investigation extended to a shop and premises also on Aba Road, Ikot Ekpene. There, Mr. Elijah Etim Nyah, a male resident of Okonna Street, Ikot Ekpene, was arrested as a suspected receiver of the vandalized and stolen goods. Recovered from his possession were assorted cut-to-size PHED electric cables, different sizes of burnt and peeled electric copper wires, and cut-to-size aluminum roofing sheets.
Ex-Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, has joined the African Democratic Congress (ADC) after quitting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Melaye made the announcement on Thursday, via a video shared on his verified X handle.

In the video, leaders of the Kogi State chapter of ADC visited Melaye in his office, where they presented him with the partys membership card.

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Leading the delegation was Kingsley Temitope, ADCs state leader, accompanied by the party secretary, local government executives, and ward officials.

Temitope, while presenting the card, said: I present to Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye the membership card of the African Democratic Congress.

READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/07/alia-dissolves-benue-executive-council-appoints-new-chief-of-staff.html

He is a full member and has started contributing to the party even before we presented him with the membership card.

Melaye, donning an outfit branded with ADCs logo, responded in writing: SDM fully ADC.

Speaking further on his decision, Temitope emphasised the value Melaye brings to the party, saying, His commitment to nation-building and democratic values makes him a valuable asset.

We believe his experience and voice will strengthen ADCs mission to offer real alternatives to Nigerians.

https://x.com/_dinomelaye/status/1950918173768688086
The Nigerian Navy Forward Operating Base (FOB) Escravos has taken down 10 illegal refining sites in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.

This was made known in a statement issued on Thursday in Warri by the Commanding Officer of the base, Navy Captain Ikenna Okoloagu.

According to Okoloagu, the illicit sites were destroyed in a series of operations throughout July 2025 in Obodo Omadino community. The operations, he said, were guided by credible intelligence and carried out as part of the ongoing Operation DELTA SANITY II.

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READ MORE: Passenger Killed In Midnight Head-On Collision On LagosAbeokuta Expressway

He stated that the action was in line with the Strategic Directives of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, which call for relentless pressure on economic saboteurs and protection of the countrys oil infrastructure.

Specifically, on July 1, operatives acting on actionable intelligence dismantled three illegal refining sites at Obodo Omadino, he said.

The sites contained 7,200 litres of stolen crude oil and 1,575 litres of illegally refined Automotive Gasoline Oil (AGO) stored across one oven, 30 dugout pits and 21 polythene sacks.

He further disclosed that on July 12, another site was discovered and deactivated at Oteghele within the same community, yielding 2,300 litres of stolen crude oil found in five dugout pits.

Okoloagu continued: In a follow-up operation, on July 19, another illegal refining site with one pumping machine was uncovered and dismantled at Oteghele.

Maintaining the momentum, on July 23, the Base deactivated two active illegal refining sites laden with 2,300 litres of stolen crude oil and 2,675 litres of illegally refined AGO.

The naval commander also revealed that two more sites were uncovered and deactivated on Sunday, July 28, at Obodo Omadino, along with another active site found and destroyed within the same axis.

In total, the Base deactivated 10 illegal refining sites and seized approximately 20,950 litres of stolen crude oil and 6,395 litres of illegally refined AGO, he said.

He noted that the products were found concealed in two makeshift ovens, 92 dugout pits, and 60 polythene sacks.

Reaffirming the Navys resolve, Okoloagu said the Forward Operating Base Escravos remains committed to identifying and dismantling illegal refining operations while securing Nigerias oil and gas assets.

He warned those behind these illegal activities to desist or be ready to face the full weight of the law.

NAN
African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Salihu Lukman, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of backing governors who misuse public funds for selfish gains

Speaking on Channels TVs Sunrise Daily on Friday, Lukman criticised Tinubu for approving large funds to states without demanding transparency or reforms.

Yes, the president has said the right thing, but what is he doing to ensure that governors do what they need to do? Lukman queried.

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What I see him doing is to reward them for doing the wrong things.

Lukman reacted to Tinubus call on governors to fight poverty, arguing its meaningless without holding them accountable.

Once we have a system where the party structure is subordinated to the governors, they will continue with this arrogance converting public resources as if theyre personal property, he said.

READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/08/dino-melaye-officially-joins-adc-gets-membership-card-after-pdp-resignation.html

He further alleged that Tinubus administration prioritises political defections over service delivery.

Many of them, their objective is just to be where they are, not to serve, Lukman added.

The former APC vice chairman explained that the ADC, now his new political platform, is focused on correcting these mistakes.

Our objective of forming the coalition is to ensure that if we produce the president or governors, they will be accountable to the party and the people, he stated.

Lukman dismissed doubts about the ADC, calling them doomsday analysis, and said the party is building towards 2027.
Most guitar bands dont last multiple decades  but if they do, they have to survive myriad transitions along the way.

Just ask Robby Takac.

Thirty years ago, the West Seneca native was the raspy-voiced, hirsute bassist of the Goo Goo Dolls, one of multiple Buffalo-area bands and musicians that had nosed their way into national radio play and MTV broadcasts.

Ingrained in the local scene from their wild shows at The Continental and elsewhere, Takac and bandmate Johnny Rzeznik had strummed and sweat their way into the national alt-rock conversation; evolved past their earliest punk-rock recordings; and with their March 1995 release, A Boy Named Goo, were ready to build on the power-pop they had unleashed on their 1993 Warner Bros. release, Superstar Car Wash.

Then, in September of 95, the single Name hit the airwaves  and everything changed.

With (Superstar Car Wash), we made that record, and it felt like we had made a jump, said Takac, reached recently before the Goos Summer Anthem Tour stop in Boston. We had kind of started working with some new people, but we really didnt have any interest (in the album or us) that was over the top. But once you have a song like, Name, everybodys got an opinion.

Thankfully, these opinions have led to a multiplatinum-selling career, Grammy nominations, and recognition as one of the most accomplished acts to emerge from a decade still in vogue. But as the band prepares to arrive home for an Aug. 9 show at KeyBank Center (with opener Dashboard Confessional), Takac has ingrained appreciation for the bands journey from gritty garage band to an act big enough to play anywhere.

That band from Buffalo

To be a music fan in 1990s Buffalo was to be blessed with an embarrassment of local riches.

Audiophiles could descend on stores like Home of the Hits and Record Theatre to thumb through CDs, cassettes and Canadian imports. Clubs like The Continental, Showplace Theatre and Blind Mellons provided a potent blend of local heroes and touring talent. Working musicians could look to a handful of acts  like 10,000 Maniacs, Ani DiFranco and Mercury Rev  that made it out of town to find bigger audiences. There was even a drummer (Patrick Wilson) who left Clarence to find a group of Pixies disciples named Weezer.

The Goo Goo Dolls were central in this conversation. With Hold Me Up (1990) and 1993s Superstar Car Wash (1993), the band landed singles on radio, worked with The Replacements Paul Westerberg (on We Are the Normal), and had videos aired on MTVs indie-rock-focused 120 Minutes. They were the most Buffalo-centric act to find the national spotlight, and they were happy to represent the city  and its wealth of artistic talent both recognized and undiscovered.

We were always that band from Buffalo, said Takac, who still lives locally when not touring. There was always something about our silly name and the fact that we came from kind of an unlikely place, (albeit) with an incredible breadth of talented (musicians) that just werent, for some reason, exploding onto the scene.

From normal to Name

But despite video play, industry recognition and CD compilation inclusion alongside era vanguard like Beastie Boys and Smashing Pumpkins, the Goos were still the local three-piece that launched Superstar Car Wash with a wild live show at Elmwoods New World Record. They were freewheeling and independent, still figuring things out.

I felt like we were really on our own back then. We were really controlling every aspect of this whole thing, said Takac. Town Ballroom co-owner Artie Kwitchoff was our manager, but he was a kid, just like we were. We were all just trying to find our way through this whole thing.

On March 14, 1995, these kids released A Boy Named Goo, a tongue-in-cheek play on a famous Johnny Cash song, and an album full of blistering singles like Long Way Down that built off the vibe of their previous release. But in the acoustic thread of Name, the band kicked open a door not previously accessed by them  or any other Buffalo band. The song went on to top both the U.S. Modern Rock and Album Tracks charts, and peaked at No. 5 on Billboards Hot 100.

Thats when you kind of felt everything shift a little, Takac said. And it didnt feel like it was just kind of like a few of us against the world anymore. There was a team of us.

Eventually, the album was certified double-platinum, spawned the five-time platinum-selling Dizzy Up the Girl (1998), and fueled the bands nearly four-decade comet ride from beer-soaked rock clubs to the biggest of stages  including those in their own hometown.

Bringing it all back home

Now weeks into the Summer Anthem Tour, Takac and Rzeznik will return home with a catalog packed with radio hits across 13 studio albums, along with seven new songs  including their newest single, Nothing Lasts Forever  theyre releasing amid show dates.

For a band thats interspersed gigs at Sheas and Darien Lake with one epic, rain-soaked performance in the shadows of Buffalo City Hall, one-upping their past performances may prove difficult. But according to Takac, this appearance may provide some unexpected nuggets for those longtime fans who once crammed record stores or spilled onto Franklin Street.

Were trying to go deep and play some older, lesser-known tracks that we know (play well) live, he said. Were still working on that math right now while were out here, but by the time we hit Buffalo, we should have it all dialed in and have the perfect show for everybody.

But regardless of what individual songs echo across KeyBank Center, the Goos odyssey from Buffalos underdog horse in the alt-rock race to the biggest act to ever call this city home will forever be memorable for those there at the start  and those still enjoying the ride, like Takac.

When it boils right down to it, I dont think this group would be the group we are if we werent from that city. Growing up there really formed like a lot of things for us  some awesome, some things maybe not so awesome, laughed Takac. But thats what you got from growing up through the 70s and 80s in a place like Buffalo, and we love it.

PREVIEW

Goo Goo Dolls

With Dashboard Confessional

7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at KeyBank Center (ticketmaster.com, keybankcenter.com)
A 37-year-old woman has been charged with aggravated assault on two infants at a childcare center in Oaks where she worked, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said.

Catalina Baldwin, 37, of Phoenixville, was being held Friday at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $99,000 bail. If she posts bail, Baldwin will be subject to electronic monitoring.

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Her attorney, Brian McMonagle, did not return a request for comment.

On July 9, Upper Providence police and firefighters responded to a report of an unresponsive 7-month-old girl at the Oaks Early Learning Center. The baby, who appeared to be having seizures, was transported to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia, where she was diagnosed with multiple injuries consistent with nonaccidental trauma, Steele said.

The infant was flown to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, where she underwent emergency surgery. Part of her skull had to be removed and she remains hospitalized, Steele said.

In a statement Friday, a representative for Oaks Early Learning Center said Baldwin is no longer working at the facility. Baldwin, the representative said, had worked in the childcare industry for 12 years and had a spotless record before her arrest.

Staff at the center are conducting an internal investigation, according to the statement, and installing security cameras in all of its rooms.

We want to arrive at and embrace the truth, the representative said. The child and the family are in our prayers.

On the day of the incident, Baldwin, who worked in the infant room, texted the childcare centers director asking her to respond to the infant room, Steele said. The director said the infant was listless and unable to hold up her head and the director then sought emergency help.

Detectives downloaded data from Baldwins cell phone and found she had texted another employee that the baby is a nightmare eight minutes before she texted the director for help, Steele said. The message was deleted shortly before Baldwin spoke with detectives, according to Steele.

Investigators also found that Baldwin searched on Google for Shaken Syndrome on July 11, he said.

Upper Providence police had been investigating an incident in late May in which a 5-month-old girl was injured while in the infant room at Oaks Early Learning Center.

Baldwin sent a message to the girls mother saying the infant had experienced bleeding from the mouth, Steele said. The mother took the girl to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia to be evaluated.

According to the police affidavit of probable cause for Baldwins arrest, on May 30 Baldwin allegedly sought advice from ChatGPT, the popular AI chatbot.

A mom of one of my infants in my classroom wants a meeting because she thinks the babys safety is compromised in the classroom because she has had incidents often. How can I handle this situation? She wants a meeting. And what to say? Baldwin asked, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit does not say what ChatGPTs answer was, but the affidavit said Baldwin and the centers director told the mother the girl caused the injury herself by placing a broken wicker basket in her mouth.

The baby was later admitted to the hospital and was given a feeding tube, police said.

The CHOP Child Protection Team reported that the injury was highly concerning for non-accidental trauma/child physical abuse, Steele said. The girl was in the sole care of Baldwin at the time of the injury, he said.

Besides two counts of aggravated assault, Baldwin was charged with two counts each of simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and recklessly endangering another person.

A preliminary hearing for Baldwin is scheduled for Aug. 12.
Police investigate a scene in the 1500 block of Etting Street around 1 a.m. on July 7. Read more

Philadelphia police say they now believe a mass shooting at a party in Grays Ferry last month was not a targeted attack, and that the 12 people shot were struck by bullets fired by partygoers who, after hearing what they thought was the sound of gunfire, pulled out their weapons and aimlessly started shooting.

Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore said detectives, based on witness interviews and evidence at the scene, believe that people heard a shot fired  though its not clear who fired it, where, or at what they were shooting. Investigators, he said, have not recovered video showing the first shot fired.

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The detectives theory, he said, is that someone at the gathering shot once into the air or toward a car or person passing by. The sound then triggered a half a dozen men, believing they were under fire, to pull out their weapons and spray more than 110 shots indiscriminately down the block.

Someone fired a gun, and then, contagiously, multiple people started firing guns, Vanore said. I dont even know they were 100% positive what they were shooting at.

Police believe that all of the people wounded and killed were struck by shots fired by partygoers, he said.

Its not like theres a shoot-out here, he said. Though maybe some of them thought there was.

It was, instead, young people firing aimlessly into the night.

Three people were killed. Zahir Wylie, 23, of Overbrook, was struck in the chest, and Jason Reese, 19, of West Philadelphia, was shot in the head. Azir Harris, 27, who used a wheelchair after being paralyzed in a prior shooting, was struck in the back.

The wounded ranged in age from 15 to 24. Among them was the mother of Harris 1-year-old son, shot multiple times as the couple was trapped between two parked cars as bullets were fired from behind them.

Vanore said all of the fired cartridge casings recovered at the scene were found in the middle of the block, where Ring camera footage shows the partygoers were shooting from. No casings were found at the end of the block they were shooting toward, he said.

That suggests that no one shot into the gathering, he said, though its always possible someone used a revolver, which does not automatically eject casings like some other guns, or that people picked up the evidence before fleeing.

Police are still awaiting the test results of ballistic evidence recovered from the scene and from victims bodies to know how many guns were fired, the types of weapons used, and which shots killed each victim. A preliminary report on the shell casings initially collected at the scene included those fired from a 9mm, 10mm, and .40- and .45-caliber guns.

Ring footage from the block showed that, as terrified partygoers dove to the ground and took cover behind cars and on porches, at least six young men stood up, pulled out their guns, and fired down the block. The video appeared to show at least one shooter with a switch on his gun, a device that allows a firearm to shoot at a faster rate. The gun was firing so quickly he appeared to struggle to maintain control of it.

No one has been arrested for the crime, but Vanore said investigators have strong leads. Police on Friday released another set of images of people they believed to be involved, including one man who police said may go by the name Doo.
A pharmacy company in Philadelphia has been criminally charged in an alleged $2 million scheme to defraud Medicaid and Medicare through reimbursements for unregulated HIV medications.

Surnil Pharmacy Inc., which primarily operated as Haussemanns Pharmacy, is accused of obtaining the reimbursements by fraudulently claiming the HIV medications were from legitimate distributors, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced Wednesday.

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Haussemanns Pharmacy, which was located at Sixth Street and Girard Avenue, has since closed.

Surnil Pharmacy Inc., which is owned by Subhash Patel, is charged with three counts of Medicaid fraud, one count of theft by deception, and one count of violating the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device, and Cosmetics Act.

In response to an Inquirer question about why Patel was not charged personally, Brett Hambright, communications director for the attorney general, said in an email that the evidence uncovered led to the decision that the charges were most appropriately brought against the pharmacy as opposed to any individual.

Matthew Taylor Wilkov, the attorney representing Surnil Pharmacy and Patel, declined to comment on the case.

Sunday said that other pharmacies owned by Patel  West Girard Health Pharmacy, East Lehigh Health Pharmacy, Frankford Health Pharmacy, and 11th and Walnut Pharmacy  have also since closed.

Haussemanns Pharmacy had been described as Philadelphias oldest surviving pharmacy, the Philadelphia Gay News reported in 2013 as part of an obituary for Marc Garber, who had been the owner.

(Frederick W. Haussmann, a German immigrant, became the owner of an existing pharmacy at Sixth and Girard that later bore his name, including with an alternate spelling, in 1918, according to documents maintained by the German Society of Pennsylvania.)

Garber was big on giving out medication to HIV/AIDS patients if they couldnt afford it, Garbers sister, Randee Solomon, told PGN. He would just give it to them for free. He would pay the cost.

It is unclear when Surnil Pharmacy and Subhash Patel took over Haussemanns Pharmacy.

The attorney generals criminal case was filed Tuesday in Philadelphia Municipal Court.

This pharmacy cut corners to maximize profits while putting patients at risk and defrauding taxpayers who fund the Medicaid program, Sunday said in the statement Wednesday.

Our thorough investigation revealed that patients who depended on these life-saving medications were, in reality, receiving diverted, or unregulated, drugs that the pharmacy obtained from unknown, unapproved sources, Sunday said.

Sunday noted that the investigation found no evidence of individuals who experienced physical harm or illness due to these dispensed medications.

According to Sunday, agents interviewed Haussemanns employees who said that the owner, Patel, was acquiring expensive HIV medications from a source other than one of Haussemanns legitimate wholesale drug suppliers.

The investigation found that nearly 100,000 tablets of HIV medications dispensed at the pharmacy were not obtained through documented purchases from authorized distributors, Sunday said.

The case is being prosecuted by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Section, Sunday said.
Mike and Debbie Davis at the Scribe Video Center, where their 16-minute short, "A New Voice," was edited. The film will premiere Friday, Aug. 1, as part of the BlackStar Film Festival. Read more

In 2018, after spending 40 years incarcerated, Mike and Debbie Davis were ready to start living productive lives.

They moved in with their son, Mike Africa Jr., who hadnt yet been born when the couple  then 22-year-old MOVE members Mike and Debbie Africa  were sentenced for the 1978 murder of a Philadelphia police officer.

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Debbie found a job as a cashier at ShopRite while Mike started working in maintenance at the Chester Housing Department. Within the year, the Davises married and moved into an apartment of their own. They spent a year caring for Debbies brother, Charles, another former MOVE member. He died of cancer in 2020.

That year, Mike taught his wife how to drive, and when she was 64, she got her drivers license.

I can go most places that I need to on my own, said Debbie, who at 68, has nary a wrinkle on her caramel-hued face. I can go to work, both of my sisters homes, my kids house, and the grocery store.

They spent months getting to know their children, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

The couple were watching the news one day when they saw a story painting formerly incarcerated as unworthy of a second chance. It insinuated that they were responsible for Philadelphias rising crime.

That just wasnt true, said Mike. There are 600,000 returning citizens who come home each year. Most are trying to restart their lives and make positive differences in their communities.

So, we decided to make a film, Debbie chimed in. To spotlight returning citizens who are doing good things.

A New Voice, the 16-minute short film directed by the Davises, will premiere on Friday, Aug. 1 at this years BlackStar Film Festival.

BlackStar is very much rooted in social justice, said Nehad Khader, BlackStar Film Festivals director We are interested in stories about incarceration told through the lens of the incarcerated. Mike and Debbies perspective fits into our mission.

The powerful film features prominent returning citizens, including former juvenile lifer Kempis Ghani Songster, a Philly-based activist whose Youth Art Self-empowerment Project is working toward a world with no youth incarceration. Dana Lomax-Ayler, who helps women adjust to life outside prison walls and feeds the unhoused, also makes an appearance.

 READ MORE: How to have a Perfect Philly Day, according to BlackStar founder Maori Karmael Holmes

Clawing their way out

On Aug. 8, 1978, Mayor Frank Rizzo ordered the Philadelphia police to ambush MOVEs Powelton Village compound. MOVE, a group of Black anti-racist activists led by Debbies uncle, John Africa, eschewed modern technology. The groups back-to-nature ethos infringed on their neighbors quality of life.

Officer James Ramp was shot and killed in the melee. Nine MOVE members  including Debbie and Mike  were convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 30 to 100 years in prison. The MOVE Nine maintain their innocence. The shooting was an ugly precursor to the citys 1985 Osage Avenue bombing that killed 11.

Mike and Debbie were placed in solitary confinement for years. We had to fight to get into the general population, said Debbie, who said she went on a 45-day hunger strike.

The Davises had to fight for decent food and the privilege to go outside. They barely received mail and when they did, it was tampered with. Still, the couple had hope that one day they would be freed and wrote letters to each other, dreaming of a life together after their release.

For all the abuse and trauma prisoners go through, its amazing so many of us are able to live productive lives, Mike said.

Telling their own story

In 2019, the Davises attended a community speaking event in Trainer, and found themselves in conversation with filmmaker Jennifer Bennett. Bennett suggested the couple write a book but then quickly corrected herself: a film would be better.

Bennett introduced the Davises to Louis Massiah, founder of West Phillys Scribe Video Center. The couple enrolled in the centers 14-week filmmaking class.

We had 40 years of knowing nothing about digital technology, said Debbie. When we left, there were rotary phones and Yellow Pages.

By the end of the class, the Davises completed a 15-minute short, By Your Side.

For nearly 50 years, people had been telling our story, Mike said. Now we had a chance to tell our story ourselves. It was cathartic.

Making A New Voice

The Davises filmed A New Voice in 2021. Life under incarceration, they said, doesnt preclude people from living a well-rounded, upstanding life.

Celebrating the achievements of friends and acquaintances was their new form of activism.

In addition to Songster and Lomax-Ayler, the filmmakers interviewed Mikes friend Tom Banks, owner of a gas company in Pittsburgh with more than 100 employees and who was also formerly incarcerated.

Hes an example of someone who succeeded despite not having anything, Mike said. When he was first released, he made only $10 an hour.

Debbies friend Regina Pearson,, now runs a home health agency in Pittsburgh. She is in A New Voice as is Avis Lee, who worked in construction after her release and recently bought a home.

Its about humanization and inspiration, said Debbie, who said shed like to see the film screened in prisons, schools, and rehabilitation centers. We wanted people who were in prison to see this, help them feel hopeful.

Filmmakers at Philadelphia-based MING Media and Scribe edited Mike and Debbies raw footage, shot additional B-roll, and interviewed with Mike and Debbie. They submitted A New Voice to BlackStar and were chosen from more than 2,000 applicants.

Fridays premiere, the team hopes, will appeal to donors willing to fund a full-length documentary. That wouldnt just validate the Davises experience, but also the hundreds of returning citizens embarking on a new life.

The process was therapeutic, Debbie said. Our film family saw us, recognized us, and acknowledged us in a way we knew we were worthy of their praise.

A New Voice plays Aug. 1, 3 p.m., at Perelman Theater as part of the BlackStar Film Festival. It will also stream virtually.
A sign on the door of the Collingswood Diner on Friday announces that it will be closing its doors permanently as of August 11, 2025. Read more

It is officially last call at the Collingswood Diner, which will close after a final day of service on Aug. 10.

Dont feel sad for owner Jimmy Papandreou, though. The man who has operated the diner since its 1974 opening said he is excited to retire and get out of the diner business.

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Im happy, Papandreou, 72, said about the decision. I want to enjoy what I have left.

The diner will be replaced by a marijuana dispensary, he said. Other restaurants nearby in Collingswood have been replaced by similar shops in the years since New Jersey legalized cannabis use in 2021. And just a quarter mile from the diner, Mr. Chens Chinese, Qs Ultra Lounge, and Cafe II have all gone out of business.

The only remaining restaurants in the immediate neighborhood are a Dunkin, a sushi restaurant named Dragon House, and Sagami, a feature of The Inquirers The 76.

Papandreou said that the diner business has gotten too expensive to operate in recent years, even in the diner capital of the world. Casual sit-down dining has struggled across the country, and Papandreou said employees have been hard to find since the COVID pandemic. Most of his competition of late has come from fast food franchises.

Not many people buy diners anymore, he said.

Papandreou said that some of his remaining employees are planning to retire with him, though others will be looking for work. He thanked his customers from over the decades, and said he was glad they understand what closing the diner means for him.

Theyre happy for me to see me going, he said.
John Parker, 43, holds Cody, his 7-month old dachshund mix, in 1993. Read more

During the dog days of summer in 1993, Terri N. Gelberg considered buying a bicycle.

She was test-riding a few models on the Manayunk towpath when Cody, an unleashed 7-month-old dachshund mix, jumped up and bit her thigh.

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After the attack, she said, the dog lay down, shaking and drooling. A veterinarian friend warned her about the potential for rabies, a deadly viral disease that attacks a persons nervous system.

Gelberg said the wound was deep, and still bleeding through bandages a week after the bite. After rabies shots, Gelberg wanted the dog tested, sparing her from two more needles, she told authorities.

At the time, a rabies assessment required the dog be killed, so its brain could be autopsied and tested.

John Parker, the dogs owner, balked.

So they took the grievance to a Philadelphia Common Pleas courtroom, where Judge Pro Tem Thomas Rutter would decide whether to approve the doggy death penalty.

Taking the stand

The two-hour hearing was held on July 28, 1993, and treated by some as a joke. Barking noises rose from a throng of media and gawkers before the proceeding began. Others got angry, calling the courts and the SPCA shelter where Cody was being held.

All the people would say was, Free Cody, and hang up on you, a court secretary said.

Inquirer reporter Craig R. McCoy covered the event, describing a proceeding that was by turns zany and melancholy.

On one side of the courtroom: the 40ish Gelberg, a Temple University law school graduate who was conservatively dressed in a green blouse and jacket.

On the other: the 43-year-old Parker, comfortably dressed in jeans and a red sleeveless T-shirt.

Gelberg testified. Parker did not.

When Gelberg described her rabies fears on the stand, she burst into tears.

She said Parker was with Cody around the time Cody struck, but denied owning the puppy, only to resurface later.

Parker had apparently never taken Cody to a veterinarian, or had him vaccinated against rabies.

But an SPCA vet examined the pup and found the dog free of signs of the disease. And his shaking and drooling could have been caused by the high summer temperatures.

Codys fate

Rutter said Gelberg had not persuaded him that the dogs behavior suggested it had rabies.

I think any court, including this one, can take notice of the fact that dogs chase cars, that sometimes they chase bicycles, sometimes they chase people, Rutter said.

Rutter didnt let Parker off the hook, troubled by allegations that the man had denied owning the dog.

But in the end, the dogs fate was sealed.

Let the public out there thats been calling know, Rutters court crier announced, Cody lives.
Sign for the Wiggle House, the Montgomery County goat rescuer raised thousands to rebuild her sanctuary. Now she's being charged with animal torture. Read more

When flames tore through a Montgomery County goat sanctuary in the spring, Sharon Mathers rushed to the scene, prepared to put her lengthy experience in animal rescue to good use.

Little could prepare her for what she found in the ashy remnants of the House of Wiggle farm.

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What I saw were animals eating animals, said Mathers, a volunteer from Rose Bridge, a nearby farm, who was one of the first to arrive at the Lansdale property. The pigs were eating goats and pigs.

In the remnants of the sanctuarys barn were piles of animal bones, Mathers observed, similar to the decayed remains scattered throughout the property. Elsewhere, chicken carcasses that had been dead for a couple days before the fire rotted in the open, while goats  those not among the 40 animals to perish in the blaze, according to Erin Wiggle, the sanctuarys owner  were found riddled with bacterial infection.

Ive never seen emaciated farm animals like this, ever, Mathers said. Theres no reason for it. It had nothing to do with the fire.

Mathers expected Wiggle would face swift charges of animal cruelty and become a pariah among animal lovers and the community.

Instead, Wiggle raised tens of thousands of dollars online.

In the weeks since the May 28 blaze, Wiggles efforts to rebuild the sanctuary alongside her husband, Michael, were documented by a friend on GoFundMe, where dozens of surviving animals like Swiss the cow, Jackie Chan the goat, and Otto the pig became characters in a feel-good story that would ultimately raise more than $68,000.

But after Montgomery County prosecutors filed charges against both Wiggles last week, details around the harrowing conditions in which their animals lived before the fire broke out are coming to light.

In all, Erin and Michael Wiggle face more than a dozen felony and misdemeanor charges that include felony animal torture, animal cruelty, neglecting to provide water and food, and neglecting veterinary care.

Reached by phone last week, Michael Wiggle said the couple were not making any statements at this time.

As of Thursday, the couple had yet to be scheduled for a preliminary hearing.

A GoFundMe spokesperson said the fundraiser was under review in light of new information.

We have reached out for additional information, and a hold has been placed on funds during our review, the spokesperson said.

The family friend organizing the fundraiser, Shaina Columbia, said Sunday on GoFundMe that she could not speak to the upcoming legal battle but that House of Wiggle had been submitting all veterinary bills, which have amounted to $50,000 so far, to GoFundMe.

We prove that what we say the funds are being used for is exactly what its used for, Columbia wrote. That is also why the GoFundMe has not been taken down.

She added that none of the animals had been sickly, underweight, abused or tortured.

Still, details in the criminal complaints mirror the accounts of three volunteers from separate organizations who told The Inquirer they were among those who responded to assist Wiggles distressed animals after the fire, which local fire officials ruled accidental.

According to the filings, a Humane Society police officer visited House of Wiggle two days after the fire because of reports that numerous animals that had not died in the blaze looked skinny and were eating deceased animal remains.

Investigators noted five senior goats and two pigs that appeared underweight, cross-referencing the claims the couple made to the animals veterinarians.

Concerned that veterinary care had been needed for the animals prior to the fire, investigators seized three goats and the two pigs. The goats were found to have a generalized decrease in muscling and high parasitic loads, and required nutritional plans and medication.

The pigs, meanwhile, had thinning or missing hair and mild hypothermia, were also underweight, and needed nutritional plans and medication, according to the complaint.

The most serious charges say Erin Wiggle did intentionally or knowingly torture two of the goats  Gandalf and Bilbo  and two pigs by allowing severe and prolonged pain through prolonged deprivation of food or sustenance, the Humane Society police officer reported.

Investigators said the Wiggles had failed to provide necessary sustenance and veterinary care to all five of the seized animals.

Volunteers with Eastern Snouts Adoption and Rehoming did not need the charges to understand the scope of the abuse.

When members of the adoption agency lent Wiggle a female potbellied pig, Peppa, in October for temporary rehoming, they believed they were leaving the husky animal in good hands.

Erin Wiggle shared images of a radiant-looking Peppa with Eastern Snouts in the days after taking her in, according to one volunteer, who asked not to be identified over fear of retaliation.

Six months later, when Eastern Snouts volunteers visited House of Wiggle to help in the fire rescue operation, the starving, skeletal animal was unrecognizable, the volunteer said.

It was absolutely devastating, the volunteer said. Peppa went to Erin semi-overweight, and she left Erin completely emaciated.

An initial veterinary report for Peppa, viewed by The Inquirer, said the animal had a uterine infection, chronic abscesses, pneumonia, and a poor body condition.

After what looked like the beginnings of a recovery, Peppa died naturally on July 13, the veterinary report says.

A passion project grows

The Wiggles deleted their Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok pages amid the fallout of the investigation and charges.

A blurb about the operation on an animal adoption website says that House of Wiggle Goats started as a small hobby farm in 2016 but that the operation grew post-pandemic, with people turning in all kinds of farm animals to the couple as they started going back to work. House of Wiggle began the process of becoming a registered rescue and nonprofit in 2023, and acquired nonprofit status in January 2024.

At the time of the fire, Fox 29 reported House of Wiggle Goats had about 120 animals, including goats, pigs, chickens, and rabbits.

Like Mathers, Susan Magidson went to House of Wiggle after the fire, removing 14 struggling animals from the property.

I took all the babies I could find, Magidson said. One nursing mother  a burn victim  as well as the skinny ones, the ones that were really needing to be fed.

Magidson, with Ross Mill Farm in Jamison, said she saw a sheep in a field that she believed was sleeping. Finding it hadnt moved four hours later, she realized it was dead.

Magidson and Mathers suggested Erin Wiggle was a hoarder of animals who was unable to care for her continually increasing numbers of livestock. That theory was affirmed for Mathers when rescuing one of Wiggles goats that, due to a suspected leg injury, was only able to hobble on three hooves.

Wondering how the abuse went unreported, Mathers believes the lot, set back from surrounding suburban homes, was largely concealed from outside eyes.

When you get back there its a disgusting eyesore, but you cant see it from the road, she said. All the houses around there are absolutely beautiful.

For animal rights advocates, the charges are a form of vindication after having urged people to refrain from donating to the farms GoFundMe.

Animal rescue is a game of Tetris where neuterings, shots, and animal transport to permanent homes require constant coordination with other organizations and volunteers, they say. Groups offer to teach new animal rescues the ropes, and word spreads if a place is not adopting best practices.

Revolution Philadelphia, a woman-led animal rights organization, and Eastern Snouts took to Instagram and Facebook shortly after the fire to highlight red flags and share gruesome images of rotting animal corpses that volunteers captured on the property.

The day investigators visited the property, the House of Wiggle Facebook page made a long post pushing back on the social media posts and complaints that led to the visit.

I wish every animal that came into Rescue was a perfectly plump animal with no issues, but unfortunately, that is not the world that we live in, said the later-deleted post, which did not deny claims that animals had been dead on the property before the fire.

Yes, we use the composting method because we cannot individually dig graves, and have tombstones for every animal that ever dies on our property, said the post, which included screenshots of individuals who had spoken ill of the shelter online.

Release the hounds, ride at dawn! Whatever you have to do brings these people down, the post said of those critics.

Meg Barlow, president of Bunny Brigade Inc., an animal shelter operating in Wilkes-Barre, Philly, and Harrisburg, was featured in the screenshots.

About two years ago, Barlow said, she asked the farm if it planned to spay and neuter a large crop of recently acquired rabbits, only to be told off. It was odd and the large acquisition raised a red flag because rabbits require a lot of space, Barlow said, but she watched from afar until the fire. She balked as she read Erin Wiggle defend the use of carcass composting.

Im in the Poconos, were surrounded by farms, and let me tell you, nobody has ever heard of that, Barlow said. Thats not something that you do.

The House of Wiggle charges are a reminder that the animal rescue system is totally broken, she said.

In addition to criminal prosecution, Mathers, the Rose Bridge Farms volunteer, hopes the ordeal will lead to the sanctuary losing its status as a nonprofit.

The amount of suffering on that farm, from being hungry, emaciated, injured, and not being helped  its not a sanctuary, she said.
Federal transportation safety investigators at the scene of the Jan. 31 plane crash on Cottman Avenue near Roosevelt Mall in images from NTSB video released on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. Read more

Insurance claims for the Jan. 31 plane crash that killed eight and left a swath of destruction in Northeast Philadelphia will likely far exceed $10 million, according to a new federal court filing.

An insurance provider for Mexican medical airline Med Jets, S.A. De C.V.  which operates under the trade name Jet Rescue Air Ambulance  filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania last month indicating that claims will far exceed the remaining liability limits of the companys policy, valued at $10 million per aircraft.

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The action comes in the wake of dozens of claims already filed on behalf of property owners, people injured or killed in the crash, or their next of kin. The suit says the company anticipates potentially hundreds more are likely to be filed.

The complaint seeks to consolidate the claims under a single court case and compel a federal judge to divvy up the remaining funds, which are unlikely to be sufficient to resolve all claims against the company.

Attorney Konrad Krebs, who is representing El Aguila Compania de Seguros, which is Med Jets Mexico-based insurance company, said the complaint was meant to streamline claims for compensation.

A spokesperson for Med Jets did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Learjet 55 departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport on Jan. 31, carrying six occupants, including Valentina Guzman Murillo, 11, and her mother, Lizeth Murillo Osuna, who were on their way home to Mexico following Valentinas treatment at Shriners Childrens Philadelphia.

Shortly after takeoff, around 6 p.m., the aircraft dived sharply, crashing at a severe angle near the Roosevelt Mall along Cottman Avenue, leaving an eight-foot impact crater. All those aboard the plane, including two pilots and two medical staffers for Med Jets, were killed, as was Steven Dreuitt Jr., 37, a motorist. Dreuitts fiancee, Dominique Goods Burke, who had been in the car with him, died three months later.

Others on the ground suffered burns from ignited jet fuel, and numerous nearby homes and businesses caught fire or were struck by debris.

The cause of the crash is still not known.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating. A preliminary report, issued in March, was largely inconclusive but found that the aircrafts voice recorder had been inoperable for years.

Many of those affected by the crash say they have suffered emotional trauma or financial hardship.

The July complaint indicates that attorneys for the estates of the young patient and her mother, as well as onboard medic Raul Meza Arredondo, are already seeking damages.

So is the City of Philadelphia, which engaged in a lengthy emergency management process, as are a string of businesses near the Roosevelt Mall, including a Raising Canes franchise.

Arthur Wolk, a Philadelphia-based aviation attorney and pilot, said that the complaint was a reasonable step, given the extraordinary nature of the crash.

The insurance company is saying, This is all we have and were offering it to court. We have more claimants than coverage, and we want the court to equitably distribute in anyway you see fit, he said. Ten million dollars is a lot. But they dont anticipate the airplane crashing into a city street.
Actor Gary Busey has pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact. Read more

About three years after Gary Busey was initially accused of groping five women at a Cherry Hill movie convention  and five months after entering a not guilty plea  the actor has pleaded guilty to one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.

It was not an accidental touching, Busey, 81, told a judge on Thursday during a Zoom hearing.

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The news marks the end of a yearslong legal saga for Busey, an Oscar-nominated actor.

Heres what we know.

Who is Gary Busey? What roles is he best known for?

Busey is a career actor who has appeared in more than 100 films, including Barbarosa and Point Break.

His career took off in the mid-1970s for his role as Bobby Ritchie in the 1976 Barbra Streisand remake of A Star is Born. In 1979 he was nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Buddy Holly in The Buddy Holly Story.

In more recent years, Busey appeared in Vitamin Water ads and competed on reality shows including Celebrity Apprentice, Celebrity Big Brother, and Dancing with the Stars.

He currently lives in Malibu, Calif., according to court records. He is known for his often bizarre behavior that some have linked to a serious motorcycle accident in 1988 in which he suffered head injuries. Busey was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

What did Busey do in New Jersey in 2022?

When Busey appeared at the Monster-Mania convention at a DoubleTree Hilton hotel in Cherry Hill almost three years ago, multiple women claimed he inappropriately touched them.

Court documents say five women accused Busey of groping them while taking pictures together, grabbing two womens buttocks, and putting his face near a third womans breasts while trying to unlatch her bra.

In a grand jury indictment filed last month, Busey was accused of groping two additional women: one who said he touched her buttocks and another who said he touched her genitals.

Busey initially denied that he groped anyone, but later asked detectives to convey his apologies to the women and to try to persuade them not to pursue criminal charges, according to the affidavits of probable cause for his arrest. He also told detectives it was possible to touch someone by accident, the affidavit said.

How did Monster-Mania respond?

Monster-Mania officials said in a statement at the time that Busey had been removed from the convention and told not to return after management received complaints about his behavior. The company said it had encouraged the people who complained to file a police report.

What happened in court up until now?

In March of this year, Buseys attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during an arraignment held virtually.

Busey faced two counts of charges of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact, and one count of harassment.

He totally denies anything illegal, his attorney said at the time, attempting to get the indictment dismissed. Buseys attorney said police failed to question certain witnesses. But a judge denied that motion and confirmed that witness testimony was collected and presented to the grand jury.

What is Busey charged with?

On Thursday, in exchange for Buseys guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss three counts of criminal sexual contact and one count of attempted criminal sexual contact.

This left Busey with one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.

What has Busey said?

It was not an accidental touching, Busey told the judge during a Zoom hearing published by CourtTV.

Has Busey gotten in legal trouble before?

Yes. In 1995, Busey was arrested on drug charges after he took a near-fatal overdose of cocaine at his Malibu home. He has also been arrested twice on charges of spousal abuse.

During the 2011 season of Celebrity Apprentice, he was accused of sexually assaulting a female show employee.

In 2012, he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, with reported liabilities of $500,000 to $1 million.

What will happen to Busey now?

As part of the plea agreement, Busey faces between one and five years of probation and fines. He will have a criminal record and will be required to submit a DNA sample.

His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18.

Staff writer Rodrigo Torrejon contributed to this article.
ATLANTIC CITY  Rachel Neufeld Del Rossi had just turned 15 in 1979 when she says she was sexually assaulted by two Margate lifeguards during a summer she was working as a mothers helper on the Argyle Avenue beach.

The contact with one of them, Steven Chasens, then 24 and now an acupuncturist in Coral Gables, Fla., continued for years, she alleged in a lawsuit filed in Atlantic County.

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Del Rossi, now 61, alleged that she was groomed by Chasens, coerced to cross state lines to Florida, and given drugs and plane tickets, all of which Chasens denied. Del Rossi said she suffered extreme emotional and physical distress.

This week, the civil lawsuit she filed in 2021 came to a jury trial in an Atlantic City courtroom about five miles from the beach in Margate where the two met, before Judge Ralph Paolone.

On Friday, the jury returned a verdict against Chasens, finding him liable for his actions toward an underage Del Rossi, and awarded her $3 million in compensatory and punitive damages, according to her attorney, Jeff Fritz.

They found liability on assault and battery, human trafficking, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, Fritz said.

Chasens attorney, Robert Agre, declined to comment.

The City of Margate, initially named as a defendant in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to properly train and supervise its lifeguards, settled in February and agreed to pay Del Rossi $485,000, according to Fritz. The city did not admit culpability, he said.

The other lifeguard, Brendan Bradley, whom Del Rossi accused of sexually assaulting her inside the Argyle Avenue lifeguard shack was also named in the lawsuit. He denied the accusations in court documents and settled in February for an undisclosed amount, according to court documents.

Del Rossi never reported the assaults to police and testified that she only considered the impropriety of the contact, and its effect on her, beginning in her 30s.

Del Rossi was able to bring a civil case under the 2019 New Jersey Child Victims Act, which permitted a person who alleged injuries due to a childhood sexual assault to file a lawsuit within a two-year time period defined under the law.

The trial was the first time Del Rossi, now a part-time worker at Talbots in Cherry Hill, had seen Chasens, 70, since 1983. It was an emotional moment for the woman, who said her teenage contact with the lifeguard affected her for the rest of her life.

The first time I saw him, of course, I lost it, she said during a break before the trials opening statements Monday. But, you know, its interesting because in my mind, he was that young man. And now this man.

She has been resolute in this near-lifelong quest.

I feel this is an opportunity for me to finally get justice, like this is a long time coming, she said.

Chasens denied any inappropriate contact and said in court documents he does not even remember if he was a lifeguard after the summer of 1979. Agre, his attorney, said Chasens acknowledged having sex with Del Rossi when she was 17. Bradley, the other lifeguard, denied assaulting her and testified that he doesnt remember Del Rossi.

No matter what, its a win for her, because of the courage it has taken, said her friend Alyson Bunker.

 READ MORE: Theyre seeking justice under a new N.J. law. Meet the Philly-area lawyers who are representing hundreds of child sex abuse cases.

The lawsuit also accuses Chasens of violating New Jerseys human-trafficking statue, which he denies.

Fritz, Del Rossis attorney, told the jury the case involved an adult sexual predator who attempted to prey on her, and the lawsuit was her attempt to hold him accountable after all this time.

Del Rossi testified that Chasens kissed her on the beach the day she met him and Bradley, and that she first had sexual intercourse with him in the home of the people she was working for and three to five other times that summer.

Fritz showed the jury letters Chasens sent to Del Rossi expressing his love. He attended her senior prom, when she was 17 and he was 27. It was not until she was in her 30s, Del Rossi said, that she began reassessing those years.

Agre told the jury in opening statements that Chasens acknowledged having a consensual sexual relationship with Del Rossi when she was 17. But he denied any inappropriate contact with her when she was 15 or 16.

Agre noted that Del Rossis family was aware of the relationship, and argued that classic grooming involved concealment. Chasens visited Del Rossi at her mothers home, and even sent the family flowers, according to testimony.

Del Rossi said in the interview that the experience has affected her in incredible ways: relationships, trust issues, PTSD, anxiety, just, you know, just the things that he did to me that just haunt me continuously.

Ive been through so much therapy  three treatment centers, just many 12-step meetings, she said. Just to deal with the aftermath of his grooming and his abuse just has been a lifelong battle for me.

In court documents, Chasens denied assaulting Del Rossi and purchasing plane tickets and said he did not remember how he met her. He denied having any inappropriate contact with her while employed as a Margate lifeguard. Fritz showed a photo of the two of them in the Cayman Islands, and another at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla., when Del Rossi was 17.

On the witness stand, Del Rossi sobbed as she spoke of the continual triggers and the impact on her life, of her ability to be intimate with her husband, of her continued therapy and medication for anxiety and depression, of the insanity of the way that it affected me in so many ways.

She said she returned to the Argyle beach in 2011.

I wanted to see, she said. I drove there. I dropped and I sobbed. And I sobbed and I sobbed. What would my life have been like if he chose somebody else?
File: Beachgoers walk along the North Wildwood seawall, which the towns plans to extended to 7th Street. Read more

North Wildwoods concrete-capped seawall was built to combat erosion but has become a popular destination in its own right, serving as a promenade for pedestrians, anglers, and dog walkers.

Now, the town is seeking approval to extend the seawall by approximately one-quarter mile, stretching from Third to Seventh Avenues along JFK Boulevard.

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The existing seawall, erected in 2009, originates at Hereford Inlet in North Wildwoods northern Anglesea section and stretches to Second Avenue and the boulevard. Though pedestrians are allowed along the top, cyclists are not.

North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said the seawall extension would take about 18 months to build and impact at least one summer season if the state approves it. He said the formal application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is the result of a near decade-long goal by the Shore town to extend the seawall after winter storm Jonas battered the town in 2016.

This is a very, very significant project, Rosenello said.

$19 million project

The roughly $19 million project would be funded through a $10.5 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $6.5 million from New Jersey, and $2 million from North Wildwood.

The DEP would manage the project and is a co-applicant, which should help smooth the process through state approvals. A representative for the DEP could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Primarily, its a Shore protection measure, Rosenello said. Having a hard structure like that around the northeast corner of a barrier island at the New Jersey shore is worth its weight in gold. That is the absolute best protection you can have against a serious, serious storm.

But the ancillary benefit of having it serve as a trail, he noted, is an incredible way to get very close to nature without having to stand on sand.

The seawall needs approval under New Jerseys Coastal Area Facility Review Act. A 30-day public comment period begins Aug. 6. Rosenello said he hopes that the application can be approved by the end of the year and that bids for construction go out by next summer.

The goal is to have the seawall protect the vulnerable northeast corner of North Wildwood that juts unprotected into the Atlantic Ocean.

The extension would also serve a recreational purpose by allowing people to take a largely uninterrupted walk starting at Anglesea, connect with the extension, and follow it south. From there, they could continue on the ground-level boardwalk at Seventh Avenue through to North Wildwoods raised boardwalk at 15th Avenue. The boardwalk flows into Wildwood, and through to the Wildwood Crest border.

Rosenello estimates that would be about five miles of an off-street path for pedestrians.

Animosity put to rest

The seawall extension quells animosity that grew between North Wildwood and the DEP when the town erected a temporary zigzagging seawall and graded beaches and dunes in 2023 without state permits in an effort to stop erosion. The DEP said the measures would worsen erosion.

The resulting disputes led to fines and lawsuits that continued into 2024.

Rosenello said the extension application this year puts that largely to rest, given that the two sides are now working together as part of an agreement reached in December. The state agreed to rescind $12 million in fines levied against North Wildwood, and the city agreed to drop its lawsuit against the state. The agreement also called for a full beach replenishment covering the entire island.

 READ MORE: North Wildwood makes deal with New Jersey for beach replenishment and seawall

Rosenello said that as mayor he has seen major Shore projects, such as beach replenishment, dredging, and the installation of bulkheads and docks.

But a seawall is a whole other animal, he said. They bring in these massive, multiton boulders that are so big you can only get up to three on an 18-wheeler. And when l say massive, I mean they are like the size of a small car.

Federal funding for the grant, in light of recent cuts, is not expected to be an issue because the money had been approved in a prior budget year, Rosenello said. The money will come from FEMAs Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program that provides funds for projects designed to reduce the risk from natural hazards.

Funding has become a sensitive topic in the wake of Congress failure to include any funding for U.S. coastal beach replenishment projects this year, the first time it has done so since 1996.

Congress typically allocates between $100 million and $200 million each year for beach replenishment initiatives  projects that dredge sand from the ocean floor or other places and deposit it onto U.S. coastal beaches to combat erosion.

This year, however, the federal budget earmarked zero dollars.

 READ MORE: Shore towns get no federal dollars for beach replenishments for the first time in almost 30 years

In related news, a massive federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project that involves the entire barrier island, known as Five Mile Beach, has yet to start. The project spans North Wildwood, Wildwood, West Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, and Diamond Beach (which is part of Lower Township).

There is an urgency to get the project complete, Rosenello said, because of an approaching Army Corps-imposed September deadline.

Both Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, which had agreed to the plan, later balked at how much of their beaches they would have to give up and expressed concern over the impact to their towns, throwing the project into uncertainty.

The Army Corps recently sent a letter telling the DEP to get all sides to agree by the deadline or risk losing the funding.

Representatives from the towns met Thursday with the DEP to discuss the issue.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker speaks at a press conference about a mass shooting at Fairmount Park on Memorial Day, leaving two dead and nine injured. Read more

A Philadelphia judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed against the city for banning rapid-fire gun devices known as bump stocks and switches, and lawyers for the plaintiffs quickly filed an appeal.

Common Pleas Court Judge Caroline Turners one-sentence order, which provided no explanation, dismissed the complaint filed in July 2024 by city residents Vern Lei and Ross Gilson arguing that the ordinance signed by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker a month earlier was a violation of their right to bear arms under the Pennsylvania Constitution.

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The ordinance, which passed through City Council unanimously, prohibits anyone in Philadelphia from manufacturing or buying devices that are designed to accelerate how fast a semiautomatic gun can fire. That includes bump stocks, which are meant for rifles, and switches, which can be attached to handguns.

Police believe gun switches were used in a shooting on July 7 that killed three men and wounded nine others in Grays Ferry and a Memorial Day shooting in Lemon Hill that left two dead and nine others wounded.

Parker cheered the ruling in a statement issued on Thursday.

Philadelphia deserves safe streets and safe summers, free from the threat of gun violence. Switch devices have caused mass destruction in our communities and we will continue the fight to get them off of our streets, Parker said.

Andrew B. Austin and Daniel J. Auerbach, the lawyers for Lei and Gilson, on Thursday appealed the ruling to Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

The Courts in Pennsylvania have clearly held that the City is not permitted to regulate in any manner, so we were obviously surprised by the result, and we are confident it will be overturned by the Commonwealth Court, Austin said in an emailed statement.

Lei and Gilson had first filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city, but then withdrew that complaint to instead challenge the ordinance in a state court.

Philadelphia has repeatedly tried to pass its own gun legislation and overturn state law that prohibits the city from doing so. But multiple court decisions have struck down those regulations, including a ban on assault weapons and a prohibition on guns in parks and recreation centers.

The Pennsylvania Constitution protects the right to bear arms, and state preemption prohibits any county and municipality from passing laws that restrict gun ownership that is allowed under state law.

Just days before Parker signed the city ordinance, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on bump stocks implemented under President Donald Trump in 2018.

That bump-stock ban was in response to an Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 60 people and left hundreds of others wounded. The shooter used multiple bump stocks for rapid firing.
Beneath the super-arid surface of Mars, there are abundant supplies of water ice that could someday be accessible to human explorers and settlers, as pictured in this photo illustration from NASA. Read more

While the Poconos experienced another week of 88-degree temperatures this summer  comfortable by todays global standards  the Environmental Protection Agency quietly drafted plans to eliminate the scientific finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten human life through dangerous planetary warming.

The timing felt surreal, like watching an arsonist standing safely outside a burning building, methodically destroying the blueprints that could guide firefighters. It crystallized a troubling paradox: Scientists often speak about the possibility of terraforming distant planets, or changing their atmospheres and other conditions to make them more like Earth, while tolerating a world where basic habitability is a privilege for billions already here.

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When scientists discuss making Mars livable, they describe creating conditions many humans have never experienced on Earth: stable temperatures, clean air, reliable water access, fertile soil for food. The technical specifications for terraforming read like a wish list that vast populations could only dream of accessing.

Meanwhile, billionaires burn massive quantities of fossil fuel launching rockets toward cosmic escape routes. Jeff Bezos thanked Amazon customers for funding his space tourism, the same customers whose warehouse colleagues endure dangerous heat without adequate cooling.

This isnt a critique of space exploration; its an observation about priorities when we engineer exit strategies for the wealthy while the majority lack entry into basic habitability.

This isnt accidental geography, its engineered inequality.

To be sure, were a long way from having the technological capacity to terraform other planets, but the topic is no longer considered something that should be confined to the realm of science fiction. (Longtime sci-fi fans may remember that colonists in the 1986 James Cameron film Aliens were part of mission to terraform a faraway planet.)

That said, it is a bitter irony that an ad hoc version of terraforming has already happened here. Weve engineered pockets of perfect climate control in affluent neighborhoods, office buildings, and shopping centers  carefully controlled ecosystems where temperature and air quality are precisely managed. Yet step outside these climate-controlled enclaves, and survival during extreme weather becomes an economic lottery.

Urban heat islands push temperatures 10-15 degrees higher in low-income neighborhoods with fewer trees and more concrete. Farmworkers labor in fields where heat stress kills dozens annually. Elderly residents in poorly insulated apartments become casualties of heat waves.

As a masters of public health student studying environmental health, Ive learned that climate isnt just about global averages, its about who bears the burden of atmospheric change and who benefits from atmospheric control. Heat mortality data reveal how extreme temperatures disproportionately affect communities with the least access to cooling and most exposure to heat-trapping infrastructure. This isnt accidental geography, its engineered inequality.

The EPAs proposed elimination of guidelines about greenhouse gases would banish foundational climate science while communities across the Global South face temperatures that regularly exceed human thermal tolerance.

Removing the EPA guidelines is like forcing firefighters to burn down their own stations while the city burns around them.

The same species that hopes to one day be capable of engineering entire planetary atmospheres already possesses sophisticated climate modeling that can project atmospheric conditions centuries into the future  detailed enough to guide theoretical planetary engineering. Yet this scientific capacity becomes politically inconvenient when applied to our current planetary emergency.

Here in Monroe County, we dont typically experience heat waves like those in regions that are regularly facing deadly temperatures. But our comfort doesnt insulate us from the moral implications of our terraforming priorities.

When we fund rockets to Mars while defunding climate science on Earth, when we perfect life support systems for space travel while communities lack basic cooling centers, were demonstrating remarkable capacity to engineer livable worlds  were just choosing to do it selectively.

The ambition exists. The knowledge exists. The engineering capacity that could one day terraform Mars could certainly air-condition schools in Phoenix, create cooling corridors in urban heat islands, and transition energy systems away from the greenhouse gases driving this crisis.

Whats missing isnt just technical capability  its moral imagination and policy priorities that center human health equity.

Perhaps the most honest conversation isnt about terraforming distant planets, but about completing the terraforming of this one  making it genuinely habitable for all of its current residents rather than engineering escape routes for the few who can afford to leave.

As Pennsylvania residents, we have both the privilege and responsibility to demand better. Our congressional representatives must reject efforts to undermine climate science and instead support policies that extend terraformed protection to everyone, not just those who can afford it.

The rockets keep launching. The planet keeps warming. And somewhere, in a region experiencing temperatures we can barely imagine, someone is asking not about making Mars livable, but about making Earth survivable for one more day.

Pragya Thakur is a national board-certified health & wellness coach and MPH candidate at Boston University, focused on environmental health and policy. She lives in Arlington Heights, Pa.
Faculty and staff in the AAUP, AFT, and UAW at universities in Philadelphia gather in front of Sen. Dave McCormick's office to protest cuts in funding for the NIH. Read more

Philadelphia-area advocates are encouraged by the Senate Appropriations Committees Thursday vote to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health by $400 million  instead of cutting it by 40%, as President Donald Trump had proposed.

Scientists and advocacy groups in the region have spent the last several months decrying slashed grants and delayed funding at the NIH  including nearly $47 million in reported cuts to grants at Philadelphia institutions.

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[The senators] recognize that the entire medical research community is coalescing, getting patients and citizens to call members of Congress. Theyre hearing from their constituents that this should not be tolerated, said Jon Retzlaff, the chief policy officer for the Philadelphia-based American Association of Cancer Research.

The bill appropriates funding to the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education for fiscal year 2026. Thursdays 26-3 vote to send the bill to the full Senate is just the beginning of the budget process.

The pushback on Trumps spending priorities follows an abrupt freeze on research funding at NIH earlier this week and a group of Republicans calling for an end to delays on grant payments at the agency.

On Tuesday, the Office of Management and Budget abruptly paused all research funding at the NIH  then quickly reversed the decision after lawmakers and advocacy groups balked. That followed a letter sent by Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick and 13 other Republican senators last week, calling on OMB to stop delaying the release of NIH research funds appropriated by Congress in March.

Suspension of these appropriated funds  whether formally withheld or functionally delayed  could threaten Americans ability to access better treatments and limit our nations leadership in biomedical science, the letter said. It also risks inadvertently severing ongoing NIH-funded research prior to actionable results.

This isnt a new issue for McCormick. At a telephone town hall in March, he fielded questions from a cancer researcher from Havertown who had lost his job following Trumps cuts to the NIH in February. On that call, the senator said he was concerned about research funding cuts as well.

Area researchers say theyve been struck to see support for medical research from both sides of the aisle.

Were particularly encouraged by the bipartisan nature of the recent actions. It does tell us we have support, that our advocacy efforts are working, said Amanda Therrien, a neuroscientist who serves as the colead and organizer of Philadelphia Science Action, a group of area scientists who organized this springs Philly Stand Up for Science rally.

Youre talking about life and death here

The Philadelphia region has been hit hard by the administrations controversial cuts to NIH grants, which have faced legal challenges around the country. The Department of Health and Human Services has reported that it has terminated funding totaling $47 million for 96 grants covering a wide range of research topics at city institutions.

The Trump administration has offered few explanations for the criteria it used to make the cuts. An Inquirer analysis found that the administration had particularly targeted funding for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; LGBTQ+ health; and health disparities  research into the ways social factors like race and income affect a persons health.

Some of that funding has since been returned to researchers after a federal judge ruled in June that the cuts were discriminatory.

Delayed grants are more difficult to track, but are part of a pattern of disruption and uncertainty engendered by the Trump administrations attacks on research, the AACR said in a statement Thursday. Researchers have seen grant reviews delayed, funding stalled, and clinical trials disrupted, they said.

Therrien, who works at Thomas Jefferson University, said shes been lucky so far  none of her grants has been terminated or delayed by the administration. (She stressed that she was speaking on behalf of Philadelphia Science Action, not the university.)

But she said she has colleagues whose research has been affected by delays in funding, and who are worried about their and their staffs livelihoods  as well as the future of their work.

Its an atmosphere of high uncertainty. People outside the academic community dont realize how tight our timelines and budgets are, Therrien said. Any interruption in the research schedule can invalidate a whole clinical trial  and, effectively, now youve also wasted money.

Retzlaff said the AACR is also tracking the effect of delayed funding and NIH budget cuts on patients participating in research. Some patients enrolled in clinical trials have seen their care delayed because of staff cuts at the NIH. Others, waiting for delayed trials to start, are now ineligible to participate, said Retzlaff.

Youre talking about life and death here, he said.

The organization sees the Trump administrations actions as an attempt to dismantle the entire medical research system thats been so productive for decades, and is resulting in lifesaving treatments, he added. Its extremely concerning.

Retzlaff said hes hopeful that AACR and other advocacy organizations are building momentum against cuts and delays to research funding.

Were so pleased with todays Senate Appropriations action to reject the chaos [Trump has] been implementing, he said.

At Philadelphia Science Action, Therrien hopes that the committees signal of support for the NIH is a sign that other major federal research funders, like the National Science Foundation and NASA, will receive similar attention from the Senate.

Were really encouraging people to take this as a sign of encouragement that what were doing is getting through to people. I think its a really empowering message: Its working, keep going, dont give up, she said.
President Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff, left, arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon as the U.S. imposed new sanctions on officials from the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. Read more

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  U.S. President Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, as the death toll of Palestinians waiting for food and other aid continued to climb.

Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee will inspect food distribution in Gaza on Friday, the White House said.

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 READ MORE: Worst-case scenario of famine is happening in Gaza, food crisis experts say

At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday. The victims included 54 people killed while awaiting food in northern Gaza near the Zikim crossing on Wednesday, the ministry said. The toll is expected to rise further as many of those killed or wounded were brought to isolated, undersupplied hospitals in northern Gaza and have not yet been counted.

Israels military said Palestinians surrounded aid trucks and the Israeli military fired warning shots into the crowd, but reported no awareness of injuries resulting from Israeli fire.

A security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military regulations, said the gunfire came from within the crowd and resulted from altercations between Palestinians attempting to access aid.

Scramble for airdropped food

Scenes of desperation and chaos played out again on Thursday as scores of Palestinians ran toward food aid dropped from the air in Zawaida, a city in central Gaza. Aid providers have turned to the skies as border crossings remain closed amid severe food insecurity across the Gaza Strip.

The drops have set off stampedes and skirmishes as hungry crowds scream, fight and jostle for the parcels.

Eslam al-Telbany, a displaced woman from Jabaliya, said she was carrying a bottle of cooking oil and a sack of flour when she was attacked and bitten, ultimately dropping the items and returning home without aid.

I went and my children prayed that Id return with food. They havent eaten or drank anything for two days, she said as she wept.

Ahmed al-Khatib said someone stole a bag of flour from him, and he broke a tooth in the struggle.

Rana Attia, another displaced woman, said people felt more dignified receiving text messages telling them where to collect aid rather than randomly chasing falling parcels under the scorching heat. We dont want them to help us that way, she said.

Worst-case scenario

Despite the airdrops, the amount of aid getting into Gaza remains far lower than the 500 to 600 trucks per day that aid organizations say are needed.

The Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating humanitarian aid in Gaza said 270 trucks of aid entered Gaza on Wednesday, and 32 pallets of aid were airdropped into the Strip.

Under heavy international pressure, Israel announced a series of measures over the weekend to facilitate the entry of more international aid to Gaza. The international community has heaped criticism on Israel over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

International organizations said that Gaza has been on the brink of famine for the past two years, but that recent developments, including a complete blockade on aid for 2 1/2 months, mean that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza.

Israel criticised by allies

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul arrived in Israel on Thursday on a two-day trip that will also take him to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Germany, traditionally a staunch ally of Israel, has been increasingly critical recently of Israels actions in Gaza. It has insisted that Israel must do more to increase aid supplies and pushed for a ceasefire.

Berlin hasnt joined major allies France, Britain, and Canada in saying it will recognize a Palestinian state in September. But in a statement ahead of his departure Thursday, Wadephul underlined Germanys position that a two-state solution is the only way to ensure a future in peace and security for people on both sides.

For Germany, the recognition of a Palestinian state stands rather at the end of the process. But such a process must begin now. Germany will not move from this aim, Wadephul said.

A diplomatic push

Witkoff, Trumps special envoy, arrived in Israel on Thursday afternoon and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the humanitarian situation and a possible ceasefire, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

It was the first meeting between Witkoff and Netanyahu since both Israel and the U.S. called their negotiation teams home from Qatar one week ago. Witkoff said at the time that Hamas shows a lack of desire to reach a truce.

The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!! Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Thursday morning.

Trump sent Witkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, calling the president a humanitarian with a big heart.

The war started when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and abducting 251 others. They still hold 50 hostages, including around 20 believed to be alive. Most of the others have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry. Its count doesnt distinguish between militants and civilians. The ministry operates under the Hamas government. The U.N. and other international organizations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.
Gov. Josh Shapiro attends a Beyond the Bars event at the Community Education Center in Philadelphia. The program uses music to prevent violence. Read more

During a Friday visit to a West Philly community center, Gov. Josh Shapiro said state lawmakers are making progress in budget talks, although he refused to comment further on the content of the negotiations.

State legislators have already missed the budget deadline by more than a month and the pressure is on for Pennsylvanias divided legislature to reach a compromise before SEPTA implements deep service cuts on Aug. 24.

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This is not easy work, finding common ground. But were working on it, Shapiro said.

Shapiro was at the Community Education Center in University City to tout his investments in community safety programs and to meet with students and teachers from community-based music education initiative Beyond the Bars, which received grant funding from the states Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) program earlier this year.

He was joined by Democratic State Reps. Amen Brown, Danilo Burgos, Morgan Cephas, and Joseph Hohenstein, along with Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.

Although Shapiro called law enforcement a critical piece of his gun violence prevention strategy, he said it wasnt the only answer and stressed the need for a well-funded, multipronged approach.

This year, Shapiros administration invested $85 million in VIP grants to more than 130 projects across Pennsylvania, including 64 in Philadelphia. Beyond the Bars received $285,000 to expand its operation to 56 music labs, located in schools, youth shelters, trauma clinics, and community centers around the city.

The governors proposed state budget included a $10 million increase for VIP, along with another $10 million for an after-school learning program.

But when asked about the budgets progress in Harrisburg, Shapiro refused to go into detail.

Im not gonna negotiate the budget here in this setting, he said. I think we all have enough respect for one another to keep our conversations in that room.

The one thing I can tell you weve all agreed on, with absolute certainty, is that we all have to compromise, and thats what were doing, he added.

In response to questions about the status of SEPTA funding, Shapiro said mass transit is vital for the economy of this entire commonwealth.

He urged any attendees concerned about SEPTAs future to call the office of GOP State Sen. Joe Picozzi, who represents Northeast Philadelphia. Picozzi recently co-introduced a bill package that would put SEPTA under increased oversight, but with no additional funding attached.

Because of the states divided legislature, Shapiro said, finding common ground is critically important.

Its taken longer than I would like, but I think were gonna get there, he said.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting said it will close following Congresss decision to strip its current funding and foreclose on future appropriations.

CPB, established by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, is a nonprofit set up to dole out congressionally appropriated funds to NPR, PBS, and public radio and TV stations around the United States. President Donald Trump launched a successful campaign to claw back the $1.1 billion allocated for the organization for the next two years, a measure he signed into law last month.

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At the heart of the campaign was a critique that public media produce news that is biased and too liberal and should not be funded by taxpayer dollars. That argument, long held among many conservatives, finally prevailed thanks to unified Republican government during Trumps second term in office.

Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations, CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.

CPB not only served as a funding middleman between Congress and public media stations but also negotiated music rights and procured technical infrastructure on behalf of the stations. That leaves an open question as to what entity, if any, will fill that gap.

The closure was announced one day after the Senate Appropriations Committee released a bill that would zero out funding for CPB.

In a press release, CPB said it told its employees that most positions would be cut on Sept. 30, the final day of the fiscal year, and a small team will stay on to shut down the agency through January 2026, in part because the music licenses they have negotiated expire at the end of December 2025.
2. CPD points can protect consumers

Ongoing education can help protect the ordinary consumer by ensuring that insurance professionals are aware of the latest products, regulations, and ethical standards. By requiring insurance professionals to know all these, they are better able to work within the bounds of the law and inform clients about new products and trends.
If we dont get our economy moving again, todays children could be the first generation to not be better off than their parents. We need to spark growth through investment and competition  the best way to do that is to fix our company tax system, he said.
Many Aussies believe they dont need insurance when travelling domestically as they would be covered for medical situations under Medicare. However, many travellers dont take into account the amount of money they may lose having to cancel a trip due an unexpected medical situation, she said.
While the size of data centers is increasing, so too is their risk exposure and insurance demand. Hodge said FM can provide up to $2 billion in capacity for such sprawling multi-campus facilities. But broadly speaking, he said, there is a capacity gap in the insurance industry that must be addressed as these projects scale.
We are confident in our long-term strategy and focused on the execution of our current plan. I would like to thank all our colleagues, agents, and partners for their commitment and support, as well as our customers for their continued trust, Buberl said.
The insurer reported an undiscounted combined ratio of 95.2%, against 80.8% a year earlier, while the discounted combined ratio stood at 87.4%, compared with 70.8% in the first half of 2024. Return on invested assets reached a non-annualised 4.7%, more than double the 2.0% recorded last year. The capital ratio increased to 191.7% as of June 30, 2025, from 157.2% at the end of December 2024.
An inspector generals report released Thursday found that a patients death last year was linked to deficiencies in care at a Batavia community living center run by the VA Western New York Healthcare System.

The investigation surrounded treatment of a resident who had a history of dementia, anxiety and diabetes. The resident died after elevated results from a fingerstick blood sugar test were not immediately reported to a physician for treatment.

The report, issued by the VAs Office of Inspector General, includes 10 recommendations to the VA Western New York Healthcare System regarding its dementia and diabetes care, quality assurance and its evaluation of the physician care provided to the resident who died.

The entire VA Western New York Healthcare System team grieves for the loss of this Veteran, the local VA system said in a statement Friday. The employee overseeing this Veterans care is no longer with VA. We are working closely with the Batavia Community Living Center to implement the recommendations provided by the Office of Inspector General, ensuring that all Veterans receive the highest quality of care that they deserve.

This is the second inspector general report focused on the local VA system in the last year. In September, a separate report examined 42 cases in which patient care was delayed at the Buffalo VA Medical Center on Bailey Avenue. Investigators found that in nine of those cases, the delays in referring patients to doctors outside the Buffalo VA Medical Center affected the patients clinical status or condition.

Since that investigation, the VA Western New York Healthcare System has overhauled its leadership team. Most recently, in mid-May, Harold Pharis became the interim medical center director of the health system, which employs 2,250 people and serves about 2,000 patients a day at its Buffalo VA Medical Center, the Batavia VA Medical Center and clinics throughout Western New York.

Buffalo VA gets new interim medical center director Effective Monday, Harold Pharis will become the interim medical center director of the health system.

The Batavia VA Medical Center includes three community living center units that serve as residential care facilities for veterans requiring nursing home-level care and assistance with activities of daily living.

U.S. Rep. Tim Kennedy, a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, on Friday demanded a full review of the issues that led to the devastating failures in care at the Batavia VA.

The reports findings, including preventable failures in dementia and diabetes care, poor documentation and a lack of accountability from leadership, indicate a systemic breakdown that puts our veterans at risk, Kennedy said.

The inspector generals report focuses heavily on one of those units residents, identified as Resident A.

Resident A was admitted to the Buffalo VA in early 2024 for increasing combativeness, agitation and confusion. The resident, in their 70s, had inpatient medications that included periodic single doses of haloperidol for severe agitation, but those doses were no longer required once the resident started on risperidone, an antipsychotic medication.

A nurse administered the residents last haloperidol dose nine days before they were released from the hospital. Three days before their discharge, Resident As lab studies showed normal blood sugar, kidney function and electrolyte levels.

After the residents behavior was controlled, the resident was discharged from the Buffalo VA to one of the community living center units at the Batavia VA in Genesee County. On the first day, the chief geriatric physician ordered continuation of Resident As hospital medications and added haloperidol by injection every eight hours as needed for extreme agitation.

In the residents first evening in Batavia, the resident sustained a fall without injury, and a nurse documented normal vital signs with a slightly elevated fingerstick blood sugar level of 137 milligrams per deciliter. (A normal fingerstick blood sugar is 70 to 115 milligrams per deciliter, the report notes.)

On day 16 in Batavia, the chief geriatric physician ordered blood work to monitor the residents diabetes and electrolyte levels. Four days later, a nurse noted Resident A was confused and unable to respond or grasp concepts. Later that day, the resident had a blood sugar level of 349 milligrams per deciliter.

After that blood sugar test on day 20, the inspector general found that the results were not reported to a supervising nurse and a clinical follow-up did not happen.

From the first day in Batavia through day 23, Resident A received 21 doses of haloperidol. On day 23, a nurse observed Resident A was losing weight due to difficulty with self-feeding. That night, the resident was lethargic and had a finger stick blood sugar level of more than 600 milligrams per deciliter.

Once a nurse notified the physician, Resident A was transferred to a community hospitals emergency department.

Inspector general finds Buffalo VA leaders failed to address patient care delays for veterans Over 54 pages, the report paints a picture of a VA Western New York Healthcare System where local system administrators failed to address lengthy scheduling delays for patients with serious health conditions, even when staff repeatedly tried to alert leadership of how the lapses were affecting veterans.

There, the resident was admitted to the intensive care unit for elevated sodium level, elevated blood sugar requiring an insulin infusion and a diagnosis of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, which is when blood sugar levels are so high that the body cannot use glucose or fat for energy. The residents blood sugar result at the community hospital was 909 milligrams per deciliter.

According to the report, Resident A improved in responsiveness but not in cognition at the hospital. On day 36, the residents family chose comfort care, and the resident was transferred back to the Buffalo VA for hospice care.

The resident died two days later.

Through the inspection, the inspector general found deficiencies surrounding completing full medical assessments; dementia care, including the administration of antipsychotic medications; and diabetes care and monitoring, including the Batavia centers staff response to Resident As elevated blood sugar on day 20.

Through its investigation, the inspector general also reviewed and found similar deficiencies in care for a second resident, identified in the report as Resident B.

Resident B, in their 80s, lived at the Batavia community living center unit since late fall 2023. That resident had minimal solid food intake over five days and had to be transferred to the Buffalo VA Emergency Department on two separate occasions to treat dehydration and other issues.

After concerns were raised about Resident As care, the inspector general said local VA system leaders temporarily removed the chief geriatric physician from the Batavia community living center unit to prevent further harm and also initiated clinical and administrative investigations.
The defendants appealed, but the appellate court affirmed the lower courts decision. The judges pointed to New York law, which says a surety is entitled to indemnification upon proof of paymentunless the payment was made in bad faith or was unreasonable in amount. In this case, Liberty Mutual submitted the indemnity agreement, documents showing the bonds were issued, records of payments to claimants, and an affidavit from a regional vice president with an itemized list of payments. The court found this evidence sufficient. The defendants, meanwhile, failed to raise any factual dispute.
But there was a catch. The general exclusions in the policys Part A said the insurer didnt cover losses caused directly or indirectly by certain events. However, the supplemental exclusions in Part C - where the disputed clauses appeared - didnt use the same causation language. This left it unclear whether the vacancy or increased hazard had to actually cause the loss, or if it just had to exist at the time of the loss.
A Massachusetts assisted-living facility where a fire killed 10 people earlier this month temporarily lost its certification nearly a decade ago due to resident mistreatment, according to state regulators.

The documents obtained by The Associated Press show the staff failed to treat residents with consideration, respect, personal dignity and privacy. Other specific details of what prompted the monthlong suspension were redacted in documents the state Executive Office of Aging & Independence provided Tuesday. The facility in Fall River was barred from accepting new residents until it took corrective action.

The report adds to a list of issues raised with the Gabriel House facility over the years. A resident filed a lawsuit recently alleging the facility was not properly managed, staffed or maintained and that emergency response procedures were not put in place. The son of another resident said an elevator had been out for as long as nine months at one point.

The states deadliest blaze in more than four decades has highlighted the lack of regulations governing assisted-living facilities that often care for low-income or disabled residents. Gov. Maura Healey declined last week to weigh in on the efficacy of state and local inspections. Instead, Healey has touted that a state commission is currently working on recommendations to improve assisted-living facilities.

State records released Tuesday include about two dozen complaints about the facility during the last decade, including several related to abuse, neglect or financial exploitation but details are redacted. Other complaints involved a resident getting stuck for hours in an elevator that was then out of service for months, and staff members who threatened residents and withheld medication.

There also were complaints about a nurse withholding medication, environmental safety and a cook: The cook is obsessive, controlling and abusive.

The most detailed complaint is from 2015 and appears to have been written or dictated by a resident. It lists more than a dozen issues, including bed bugs, roaches over-medicated residents and fist fights in common areas.

It is a place where you cant feel safe due to other patients and corrupt staff, the complaint states. The staff treat the people there very cruel and show no respect for them or their needs.

Dennis Etzkorn, the owner of Gabriel House, has said he will not speak to journalists and is focused on helping families of the victims and cooperating with the investigation into the fire.

Most recently, documents show that state officials were alarmed about the ongoing elevator issues as of spring 2025. A field supervisor with Massachusettss long-term care ombudsman made a plea in February to the state to investigate Gabriel Houses faulty elevator, saying that every time he made a call about the problem he was met with excuses.

Please call this place and see if this is true  if so we need a remedy /plan asap, an unnamed official wrote to the offices assisted living certification specialist.

Etzkorn later wrote to the office detailing the timeline of the elevator problems that said work would begin in March after it was first alerted in September 2024.

Before the July 13 fire, the most recent compliance review found numerous repeat violations, many related to record keeping. After the facility submitted a corrective plan, the state renewed its certification in December 2023.

Investigators said last week that the fire started unintentionally by either someone smoking or an electrical issue with an oxygen machine. The blaze left some residents of the three-story building hanging out of windows and screaming for help.

Associated Press Writer Kimberlee Kruesi 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.
The Catholic Diocese of Rochester, its insurers, and survivors of clergy sexual abuse have agreed on a $246 million fund to pay abuse claims as part of the dioceses Chapter 11 plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

The plan came together last week when the last holdout among the insurers, Continental Insurance Co. (CNA), agreed to contribute $120 million.

The western New York diocese and its parishes are contributing $55 million to the claims fund. The rest will come from insurers. In addition to the $120 million from CNA, the fund will include $19.5 million from London Market Insurers (LMI), $1.1 million from LMI Underwriters, $50 million from Interstate and $750,000 from First State.

Payments to the fund will go to resolve an estimated 470 sex abuse claims filed against the diocese.

The 300,000-member diocese declared bankruptcy in 2019 when hundreds of lawsuits were filed against it after the state enacted the Child Victims Act, which exposed the church to claims of abuse that occurred many years ago, some decades ago.

After turning to insurers for coverage and getting hundreds of denials from Continental and letters of reservation from other carriers, the diocese sued the insurers in late 2019 seeking a declaration of the rights, duties, and liabilities of the parties. Years of court-ordered mediation followed, with the result being more than $190 million from the insurers.

Rochester Diocese Claims Fund Reaches $126M as 2 More Insurers Settle, 1 Holds Out

The committee for survivors supported the final plan after the Continental contribution. Citing the unprecedented vote of support for the plan by survivors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Warren indicated he will formally approve the agreement at a hearing on September 5.

According to court documents, the diocese and survivors had rejected earlier CNA offers of $63 million and $75 million and CNA had rejected a diocese proposal of $171 million. The diocese and survivors were prepared to proceed with a plan allocating funds to claims settlements without CNAs involvement and accept the risk of pursuing later recovery from CNA. But on July 22, the parties agreed to the $120 million figure.

On July 26, Bishop Salvatore R. Matano in his account of negotiations with survivors and mediation with insurers noted that the objectives have been to resolve abuse claims in a fair and equitable manner and position the diocese, the parishes and affiliates to continue their religious and charitable missions. The Diocese acknowledges its moral obligation to compensate all survivors of Abuse by Church personnel fairly and equitably, he wrote. Given its limited resources. including limited insurance coverage. I understood that a race to the courthouse would not allow for fair and equitable compensation of all survivors of Abuse.

The Rochester diocese serves the counties of Monroe, Wayne, Yates, Ontario, Cayuga, Seneca, Tompkins, Tioga, Chemung. Schuyler. Livingston. and Steuben.

The Rochester diocese is not alone in seeking protection from sexual abuse claims following enactment of the Child Victims Act. Catholic dioceses in Buffalo, Syracuse Albany, and Rockville Centre have also resorted to bankruptcy.

Topics Claims
Thunderstorms disrupted New York City transit and inundated roads just as workers started their the home-bound commute Thursday, but conditions were improving into the night and Friday morning commuters can likely expect smoother journeys.

All flash flood warnings in New York have been lifted, and remaining warnings for a stretch of the Jersey shore are set to end later Thursday evening. Skies in New York City are predicted to clear through Friday as high pressure builds in from the northwest, with temperatures topping out around 75C (24C), the National Weather Service said.

Weather conditions were expected to stabilize through the night, with the National Weather Services New York and Philadelphia/Mount Holly offices both noting in evening bulletins that the frontal boundary responsible for the rains and thunderstorms was shifting farther south.

Amtrak restored rail traffic between Philadelphia and Wilmington, having earlier suspended service due to high water over tracks, and the Clearview Expressway reopened after rush hour flooding blocked all lanes through northern Queens. However, service on the Long Island Railroad remains suspended between Penn Station in Manhattan and Port Washington, with delays reported on another line. More than 800 flights were canceled to and from JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports as of Thursday evening, according to FlightAware.

Earlier on Thursday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for the city and surrounding counties, while New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised residents to avoid unnecessary travel and evacuate basement and ground-floor apartments prone to flooding. All 21 counties in New Jersey are also under a state of emergency. This is the second time this month that torrential downpours in New York City and the surrounding region have snarled transit and air travel.

The National Weather Service received scattered reports of flooding from Greenwich Village in Manhattan to the Staten Island Expressway, according to meteorologist Joe Pollina. As the storm pushed east Thursday evening, rain was expected to continue in Brooklyn and Queens into Long Island.

It is ramping down a little across certain areas, but the damage has already been done, Pollina said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority also halted service on multiple lines beginning Thursday morning as crews investigated a loss of electricity to signals near West 4th Street-Washington Square in Manhattan. Other lines were delayed as trains rerouted or skipped stops to avoid the outage.

Life threatening flooding occuring in northern Queens near Bayside. Multiple cars fully submerged. STAY OFF THE ROADS. pic.twitter.com/0YyyzJsJ22

 Empire Weather | Andrew Sirota (@Empire_Weather) July 31, 2025

Thursdays rain threatens to flood subways, streets and low-level apartments and storefronts, while high winds from the storm could trigger power outages. Downpours were expected to fall at rates of 2 inches (5 centimeters) per hour and total as much as 5 inches in some areas, the National Weather Service said. Washington was also expecting downpours, with flood watches in effect from Connecticut to Virginia.

More than 43 million people were at risk of flash flood impacts in the Northeast, according to commercial forecaster AccuWeather.

Photo: Pedestrians during a rainstorm in New York, US, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. New York City commuters are bracing for potential flooding from heavy rain Thursday, just hours after an unrelated power outage that continued to snarl subways late into the afternoon.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Flood New York New Jersey
Espionage cost Australia $12.5 billion in 2023-24, according to a study by ASIO and the Australian Institute of Criminology.

The figure includes the direct costs of known espionage incidents, including state-sponsored theft of intellectual property, as well as the indirect costs of countering and responding.

Details of the Cost of Espionage report were released by the head of ASIO, Mike Burgess, in delivering the annual Hawke Lecture on Thursday night. Espionage is defined as the theft of Australian information by another country that is seeking an advantage over Australia.

Burgess said the Institute estimated foreign cyber spies stole nearly $2 billion from Australian companies and businesses in trade secrets and intellectual property in 2023-24.

In one instance, spies hacked into a major Australian exporters computer network, stealing commercially sensitive information.

The theft gave the foreign country a significant advantage in subsequent contract negotiations, costing Australia hundreds of millions of dollars.

Burgess pointed to another espionage incident several years ago when an overseas delegation visited a sensitive Australian horticultural facility.

A delegation member entered a restricted area and photographed a rare, valuable variety of fruit tree. A staff member intervened and deleted the image but it later turned out several of the trees branches had been stolen and smuggled out of Australia.

Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development.

In another instance, an Australian defense contractor invented and sold a world-leading innovation.

At first sales boomed but then they collapsed, and customers began flooding the companys repair centre with faulty products. While the returns looked genuine, closer examination revealed they were cheap and nasty knock offs, Burgess said.

An investigation uncovered what happened.

One year earlier, a company representative attended a defence industry event overseas and was approached by an enthusiastic local. She insisted on sharing some content via a USB, which was inserted into a company laptop. The USB infected the system with malware allowing hackers to steal the blueprints for the product, Burgess added.

Almost certainly, the enthusiastic local worked for a foreign intelligence service. The blueprints were given to a state-owned enterprise which mass-produced the knock-offs and deprived the Australian company millions of dollars in lost revenue  the tangible cost of espionage.

Burgess said many entities do not realize their secrets have been stolen by espionage.

He stressed the institute was deliberately conservative, only modeling costs it could confirm and calculate.

That means many of the most serious, significant and cascading costs of espionage are not included in the 12.5 billion dollar figure. The potential loss of strategic advantage, sovereign decision-making and warfighting capacity hold immense value, but not a quantifiable dollar value.

The Institute estimates Australia prevented tens of billions of dollars of additional costs by stopping or deterring spying, Burgess said.

He said ASIO estimated the espionage threat will only intensify. It is already more serious and sophisticated than ever before, so our response must also be more serious and sophisticated than ever before.

Russian Spies

Burgess confirmed that in 2022 a number of undeclared Russian intelligence officers were removed from Australia.

The decision followed a lengthy ASIO investigation that found the Russians recruiting proxies and agents to obtain sensitive information, and employing sophisticated tradecraft to disguise their activities.

Last year, two Russian born Australian citizens were charged with an espionage related offence.

Russian remained a persistent and aggressive espionage threat, Burgess said. But Russia is by no means the only country we have to deal with.

You would be genuinely shocked by the number and names of countries trying to steal our secrets, he said.

The obvious candidates are very active  Ive previously named China, Russia and Iran  but many other countries are also targeting anyone and anything that could give them a strategic or tactical advantage, including sensitive but unclassified information.

Burgess said increasingly foreign intelligence services were broadening their collection efforts beyond traditional categories. They were aggressively targeting science and technology, and public and private sector projects, negotiations and investments. This includes Antarctic research, green technology, critical minerals and rare earths extraction and processing.

A Very Unhealthy Interest in AUKUS

Burgess said foreign intelligence services were taking a very unhealthy interest in AUKUS and its associated capabilities. (Editors note: AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.)

Australias defense sector is a top intelligence collection priority for foreign governments seeking to blunt our operational edge, gain insights into our operational readiness and tactics, and better understand our allies capabilities, Burgess said.

Targets include maritime and aviation-related military capabilities, but also innovations with both commercial and military applications, he added.

And with AUKUS, we are not just defending our sovereign capability. We are also defending critical capability shared by and with our partners.

He said foreign intelligence services were proactive, creative and opportunistic in targeting present and former defense employees.

There was relentless cyber espionage, in-person targeting and technical collection.

In recent years, for example, defense employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices, he said.

Two Dozen Major Disruptions

Burgess said that ASIO had detected and disrupted 24 major cases of foreign interference in the last three years alone.

This was more than in the previous eight years combined. They were just the major disruptions  there were many other cases. Among the examples he gave were:

Spies recruited a security clearance holder who handed over official documents on free trade negotiations;

Foreign companies connected to intelligence services sought to buy access to personal data sets; sought to buy land near sensitive military sites, and sought to collaborate with researchers developing sensitive technologies;

Foreign intelligence services tried to get someone employed as a researcher in a media outlet, aiming to shape reporting and receive early warning of critical stories;

Spies convinced a state bureaucrat to login to a database to obtain details of people considered dissidents by a foreign regime;

Nation state hackers compromised a peak industry bodys network getting sensitive information;

A foreign intelligence service had multiple agents and their family members apply for Australian government jobs to get access to classified information.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Insurance Journal has provided some small edits to clarify attributions in the original article, which can be read here.
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at QBE and HDI Global.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

QBE Hires ERGOs Peerdeman to Launch Marine Insurance Biz in Netherlands

International business insurer QBE has hired marine insurance expert Paul Peerdeman to launch its marine products in the Netherlands.

Peerdeman has more than 35 years of insurance experience, including the launch of other marine practices. His most recent position was as head of marine at ERGO Netherlands. Peerdeman started his career as a broker for Aon, then became an underwriter at HDI Gerling and a manager at Chubb. Back at Aon as a director, he moved to Allianz for further leadership roles.

Peerdeman joins QBE Netherlands as head of marine underwriting from August 1. Based in Amsterdam, he is tasked with rolling out the marine cargo and fine art & specie products, which are already live in France (since October 2022), the Nordics (April 2023) and Germany (November 2023).

QBEs marine insurance product covers domestic and international trade for customers who want to be serviced locally. The Netherlands cargo market is one of the oldest and most relevant marine markets.

Peerdeman reports to Tania Bensoussan-Arthur, QBEs marine practice lead  Europe.

Were thrilled to have Paul on board. He is highly skilled and well known in the Dutch market, so were delighted hes going to help us launch our marine products in the Netherlands, commented Bensoussan-Arthur. As international trade is facing increasingly complex challenges, our customers want global expertise combined with local knowledge  and thats what our European team are keen on delivering.

Sebastiaan Lambalk, QBE Netherlands general manager, added: Were excited to welcome Paul. Our Dutch branch opened two years and a half ago and keeps expanding its product offering. While transport is often an international activity, many businesses prefer to be serviced in the country where they are based, and we are glad to deliver this for our customers. With the addition of marine to our product offering, we are now able to service clients and brokers in all key lines of businesses.

***

HDI Global Appoints 2 New Leaders in Long-Tail Segment

Corporate and specialty insurer HDI Global announced it has appointed Dennis Siebrasse as head of Liability Underwriting Europe, while Dr. Pascal Nef is taking over as head of Technical & Strategic Services  Long Tail.

Both will report directly to Dr. Mukadder Erdonmez, member of the Executive Board of HDI Global, responsible for liability, cyber, and motor. The appointments are effective on November 1.

Siebrasse, previously responsible for Technical & Strategic Services  Long Tail in Erdonmez division, will lead underwriting in the European core markets.

Nef will succeed Siebrasse as head of Technical & Strategic Services  Long Tail. Nef brings over 10 years of experience in analytics within corporate insurance to HDI Global. At Swiss Re, he most recently led the Risk Consulting & Analytics team for the EMEA region. His work focused on data-driven support for leading corporate and commercial insurers  particularly in enhancing profitability, developing growth strategies, and strengthening technical Underwriting Excellence.

Mark Appleton had taken over the management of all local liability units on an interim basis since March 2025, making a significant contribution to the further development of HDI Globals liability portfolio, the company said.

Topics Leadership New Markets
AXA SA fell the most in almost four months after profit missed estimates and the French insurance group agreed to buy a majority in Italian car insurer Prima Assicurazioni.

The stock fell as much as 7%, the biggest intraday decline since April 7, after first-half net income declined 2.4% to 3.92 billion. That missed the 4.68 billion estimate by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

Standing out for us is the 8% headline earnings miss and 9% equity miss, KBW analyst William Hawkins said in a note.

AXA Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl is seeking to strengthen the core business after selling the asset management arm this year. The Paris-based company on Friday announced that it will take a 51% stake in Prima for about 500 million ($572 million) to strengthen its motor business in the country and bolster its direct distribution.

Buberl said in an interview on Bloomberg TV that hell continue to look for acquisitions as the insurance industry consolidates.

There will be a flight to size in insurance, he said on Friday.

Milan-based Prima Assicurazioni is controlled by founder Teodoro dAmbrosio, while Blackstone Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Carlyle Group Inc.s global credit platform hold minority stakes. Established in 2015, Prima Assicurazioni provides car insurance primarily to the Italian market. It has expanded to the UK and Spain since 2022 and now has more than 4 million clients across Europe.

The deal is fair (but not compelling) in terms of value, Philip Kett, an analyst at Jefferies, wrote in a note.

Goldman and Blackstone are among the Italian auto insurers early backers, having invested 100 million in 2018. Carlyle invested four years later.

Put options with an exercise price tied to Primas earnings have been granted respectively to Axa and minority stakeholders for the remaining 49%, according to Fridays statement. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Photograph: AXA branding. Photo credit: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Profit Loss
An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to setting fire to an IndyGo bus and bus station, causing approximately $1.8 million in damage.

Demarcus McCloud, 46, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of Indiana announced this week.

According to court documents, on April 24, 2024, around 7 am, Indianapolis Fire Department and IMPD officers responded to a report of a fire at the IndyGo bus stop at 38th and North Meridian Streets. When first responders arrived, the inside of the bus and front half of the exterior were completely engulfed in flames.

Bus cameras captured McCloud boarding a bus at the Julia Carson Transit Center with a jug of liquid and two butane lighters. The bus was actively operating and transporting passengers along the Red Line at the time.

After boarding, he sat in the back, lit a cigarette while hiding under a blanket, discarded it on the floor, then lit and extinguished a piece of paper before relocating to another seat, according to a criminal complaint.

As the bus neared Meridian and 38th Streets, he poured liquid down the center aisle, left the jug on its side, and began to exit the bus as the liquid continued to flow out. As he approached the bus door, he lit another piece of paper and threw it on the floor. The puddle ignited immediately, and McCloud ran from the bus.

IndyGo operates their public transportation buses under the Federal Transit Administration.

This defendants reckless actions endangered innocent lives, destroyed public property, and wasted nearly $2 million in taxpayer-funded resources, said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

Source: U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of Indiana
The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI) reported Thursday that severe weather has already caused nearly $1.6 billion in damage throughout the state this year.

The insurance industry continues to respond and assist Missourians as they rebuild and repair their property, DCI Director Angela Nelson said in a press release. Almost $1.6 billion has already been paid by insurers due to catastrophic weather events in Missouri this year, with projections of what will ultimately be paid by the insurance industry currently exceeding $1.8 billion.

As part of its regulatory oversight, the department issued a formal data call to assess the insurance industrys response to this years catastrophic storms. To date, 235 insurance companies have responded, representing approximately 99% of Missouris residential property insurance market.

2025 Year-to-Date Catastrophic Weather Impact

According to the DCI, as of July 16, insurers have received more than 173,000 claims on residential property, renters and condo owners and auto insurance policies. Those insurers have paid out $1.6 billion for catastrophic weather-related claims statewide. Of that amount, $1.3 billion (approximately 81%) was paid for residential property policies.

Projections for 2025

Nearly $1.8 billion is expected to ultimately be paid by insurers for catastrophic weather-related losses. Of those projected payments, $1.5 billion (approximately 83%) is attributed to residential property insurance.

Financial Impact of the May 16 St. Louis Weather Event

As of July 16, 2025, insurers have received nearly 9,000 insurance claims resulting from this single weather event. Nearly $208 million has been paid across all lines of insurance (residential property, renters, and comprehensive personal auto). Of that total, $182 million (approximately 88%) has been paid specifically for residential property claims.

Insurers currently project that $330 million in claims will ultimately be paid for the May 16 storm. Of that number, $298 million (91.5%) is expected to be paid for residential property losses. Based on publicly available estimates of total property losses in St. Louis of nearly $1.6 billion, this data appears to support the DCIs earlier estimates of a high percentage of uninsured properties in the path of the May 16 tornado. (For both statewide and St. Louis-specific data, these projections are preliminary and may vary as additional claims data becomes available.)

Topics Profit Loss Missouri
At least two dozen people were taken to hospitals after a Delta Air Lines Inc. flight hit severe turbulence that forced it to make an emergency landing in Minneapolis.

Delta Flight 56 was less than an hour into its nine-hour flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam when the pilots encountered significant turbulence, the airline said in a statement. The Airbus SE A330-900 jet landed safely at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport shortly before 8 p.m. local time Wednesday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday its investigating the incident and Delta said it was working with the National Transportation Safety Board.

Twenty-five people, including seven crew members, were taken to local hospitals for evaluation and care, the airline said. The Delta employees and others who shared information with the carrier were checked and released by Thursday morning. There were 275 passengers and 13 crew on board.

If you didnt have your seat belt on, everyone that didnt, they hit the ceiling and then they fell to the ground, passenger LeeAnn Clement-Nash told CNN. The carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground. People were injured. It happened several times, so it was really scary.

While its unclear the exact time the turbulence was encountered, Flightradar24 data indicates the planes altitude rapidly moved from 37,000 feet to about 38,000 feet and then down to 36,225 feet. It then stabilized at 37,000 feet.

Delta declined to comment on specifics of the turbulence.

Turbulence is common, but when it happens unexpectedly it can injure passengers and crew who arent wearing seatbelts. In May 2024, a Singapore Airlines Ltd. flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence that killed one passenger and injured 104 people.

Delta said it was working with passengers to meet immediate needs and coordinate travel, including adding an extra flight Thursday night from Minneapolis to Amsterdam for passengers that want to continue to their booked destination.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
Legal groups sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on July 29, claiming it is unlawfully refusing to enforce federal workplace protections for transgender workers.

Led by Acting Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican, the federal agency charged with enforcing laws against workplace discrimination has moved swiftly to comply with President Donald Trumps executive order declaring two unchangeable sexes. Under Lucass leadership, the EEOC has dropped several lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers, stalled progress on some new cases, and subjected others to heightened scrutiny. The lawsuit also alleges the agency halted payments to state and local civil rights agencies for investigating gender identity discrimination claims.

For over 60 years, the EEOCs mandate has been to protect workers from discrimination, not to pick and choose who is deemed worthy of protection based on political interference, said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which alongside the National Womens Law Center (NWLC) brought the case on behalf of Maryland LGBTQ+ advocacy group FreeState Justice.

The Trump-Vance administrations unlawful effort to erase protections for transgender people is cruel, and a violation of the law and the Constitution, Perryman continued in an emailed statement.

The EEOC declined to comment on the lawsuit, and instead referred The Associated Press to the Department of Justice. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lucas, who is named in the lawsuit filed in Maryland U.S. District Court in Baltimore, has said that one of her priorities as Acting Chair would be defending the biological and binary reality of sex and related rights.

Related: EEOC Seeks to Drop Transgender Discrimination Cases

Last month she defended her decision to drop several lawsuits on behalf of transgender workers during her June 18 Senate committee confirmation hearing, saying her agency is not independent and must comply with the presidents orders.

It was impossible to both comply with the presidents executive order as an executive branch agency, and also zealously defend the workers we had brought the case on behalf, she said.

However, Lucas acknowledged that a 2020 Supreme Court ruling  Bostock v. Clayton County  did clearly hold that discriminating against someone on the basis of sex included firing an individual who is transgender or based on their sexual orientation.

Plaintiffs argue that although the Bostock precedent cemented protections for LGBTQ+ workers that the EEOC had already recognized for years the agency has now foreclosed transgender workers from the full set of charge investigation and other enforcement protections available to cisgender charging parties and categorically refuses to fully enforce the laws protecting against workplace sex discrimination tied to gender identity.

The lawsuit, which cites two Associated Press reports detailing EEOC actions related to LGBTQ+ workers, alleges that the EEOCs Trans Exclusion Policy violates Supreme Court precedent, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fifth Amendments Equal Protection guarantee, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Instead of serving its critical role to prevent discrimination in the workplace, the EEOC, under Andrea Lucas leadership, is actually promoting discrimination, said Gaylynn Burroughs, vice president for education and workplace justice at NWLC, in an emailed statement about the lawsuit. Transgender workers deserve to be protected against harassment, and the EEOC is obligated to do so under law. But the Trump administration seems hellbent on bullying transgender people in every possible way and ensuring that they are pushed out of all forms of public life, including their workplaces, so were taking the administration to court.

Photo: EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing in June. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits
A buyer-friendly competitive commercial insurance market is likely to be short-lived, according to a new analysis of second-quarter 2025 market conditions from global professional services firm Aon.

This is not a typical soft market cycle; its a soft market under stress, declared Joe Peiser, CEO of Commercial Risk for Aon, in a media statement about a new Aon report, Q2 2025 Global Insurance Market Insights.

While capacity is expanding and pricing softening across many lines of business, systemic threats are intensifying at the same time, he said, noting the forces of geopolitical instability, climate volatility, cyber fragility, infrastructure vulnerability, and supply chain disruption that threaten to close the unique, though perhaps temporary, window of opportunity of insurance buyers.

In spite of current softness, U.S. casualty, property and cyber lines are showing ongoing deterioration in underlying loss activity, Aon said, also noting a fairly limited influx of new capital as a pressure point that could quickly close the strategic window of opportunity for buyers.

Large or surprising loss events, in tandem with geopolitical or financial market volatility, could affect a rapid change in insurer appetite for certain risks, the report says.

That means organizations need to think and act strategically  leveraging favorable conditions to strengthen their programs, optimize capital and build resilience for what comes next, Peiser said. He also suggested that buyers should adopt a total cost of risk mindset instead of engaging in transactional buyingasserting that the shift will provide great confidence to navigate volatility over the long term.

Buying Opportunities

The report included separate sections summarizing market conditions in Asia, EMEA, Latin America, North America and the Pacific regions, providing insights on pricing, capacity, underwriting, limits, deductibles and coverages. Also provided are product trends for automobile, casualty, cyber, directors and officers liability and property insurance products.

On a graphic summarizing trends for each region/product combination, only auto in North America and EMEA appear in red indicating challenging markets for buyers. Moderate conditions are indicated in auto in the Asia and Pacific regions and in casualty lines in EMEA, Latin America and North America (shown in orange).

Across the rest of the chart, a sea of green indicates a soft market in the other lines (cyber, D&O and property) across all regions, as well as in casualty/Asia, casualty/Pacific and auto/Latin America.

Generally the report offers these insights:

Property pricing continues to improve with shared-and-layered programs showing the largest price decreases and most U.S. placements experiencing double-digit rate reductions. There is also more flexibility around coverage and terms, as well as increasing appetite for natural catastrophe risks. The California wildfires and severe convective storm events at the start of this year have not caused significant market dislocation.

pricing continues to improve with shared-and-layered programs showing the largest price decreases and most U.S. placements experiencing double-digit rate reductions. There is also more flexibility around coverage and terms, as well as increasing appetite for natural catastrophe risks. The California wildfires and severe convective storm events at the start of this year have not caused significant market dislocation. Cyber and directors and officers (D&O) markets remain soft, with rate drops in the single-digit to low double-digit range. In these lines, some clients are securing higher limits or improved terms at no additional cost.

markets remain soft, with rate drops in the single-digit to low double-digit range. In these lines, some clients are securing higher limits or improved terms at no additional cost. U.S. casualty and automobile remain challenging as a result of adverse claims trends, but capacity continues to be broadly responsive to demand, and options are available to buyers, albeit at higher rates and attachment points.

North America vs. the World

Averaging prices across all lines included in the analysis, Aon estimates price drops of 1-10% in Asia, EMEA and Latin America, and 11-20% in the Pacific, while pricing stayed flat, on average, in North America.

Aon also said coverages were stable, and limits and deductibles flat in North America where Aon brokers characterized underwriting as prudent and capacity ample.

Aon also described underwriting as prudent in the EMEA region, while other regions saw flexible underwriting, higher limits and abundant capacity.

In property lines in the U.S., softening conditions are accelerating despite the California wildfires in January, with double-digit price reductions on average.

While natural catastrophe losses remain a key concern, overall availability of capacity and competitive pressures are helping to offset loss challenges.

In U.S. auto, however, underwriting scrutiny is intense, with insurers requesting detailed information on fleet safety, risk mitigation and contract requirements, especially for larger and non-owned fleets. Here, Aon sees clients exploring alternative risk solutions, captives and increased risk retentions to mitigate price increases.

In contrast, abundant capacity in the cyber insurance market in North America is keeping market conditions soft, despite an increase in claims frequency and poor loss development on prior year claims. In the cyber world, Aon sees insureds using premium savings to buy more limit.

While the North America market remains competitive for D&O, rate reductions in both primary and excess layers have been decelerating as insurers turn their attention to the need for sustainable pricing, according to the report.

This shift is happening quickly for large public companies and financial institutions.

In addition, a small number of insurers have exited the U.S. directors and officers market recently, the report says, without identifying the insurers but noting that Aon is monitoring this development.

(Editors note: Markel Insurance exited some risk managed or large cap executive assurance D&O business in February and took a prior-year reserve charge for the runoff book in the second quarter, the company announced earlier this week.)

This article first was published in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Topics Pricing Trends Market
U.S. President Donald Trumps latest wave of tariffs on exports from dozens of trading partners sent global stock markets tumbling on Friday and countries and companies scrambling to seek ways to strike better deals.

As Trump presses ahead with plans to reorder the global economy with the highest tariff rates since the early 1930s, Switzerland, stunned by 39% tariffs, sought more talks, as did India, hit with a 25% rate.

New tariffs also include a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 20% for Taiwan, which said its rate was temporary and it expected to reach a lower figure.

The presidential order listed higher import duty rates of 10% to 41% starting in a weeks time for 69 trading partners, taking the U.S. effective tariff rate to about 18%, from 2.3% last year, according to analysts at Capital Economics.

U.S. stocks reeled. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI closed down 1.23% at 43,588.58, the S&P 500 .SPX 1.6% to 6,238.01 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC 2.24% at 20,650.13.

Read more: Trump Tariff Blitz Unleashes Delayed Shock to Global Economy

Global shares stumbled, with Europes STOXX 600.STOXX tumbling 1.89% on the day.

Markets also reacted to a disappointing jobs report. Data showed U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July while the prior months data was revised sharply lower, pointing to a slowdown in the labor market.

Trump responded by ordering the firing of the commissioner of the Labor Departments Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, and claiming, without evidence, that the job figures were rigged.

Meanwhile, Canadian negotiators said a deal with the U.S. could still be weeks away.

Trumps new tariffs have created yet more uncertainty, with many details unclear. They are set to take effect on Aug 7 at 0401 GMT, a White House official said.

Trump administration officials defended the presidents approach.

The uncertainty with respect to tariffs  was critical to getting the leverage that we needed to create the circumstance in which the president could create the trade deals weve seen over the last few weeks, which have been nothing short of monumental, Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran said on CNBC.

The European Union, which struck a framework deal with Trump on Sunday, is still awaiting more Trump orders to deliver on agreed carve-outs, including on cars and aircraft, EU officials said, saying the latest executive orders did not cover that.

Also, it is unclear how the administration intends to define and police the transshipment restrictions, which threaten 40% levies on any exporter deemed to have tried to mask goods from a higher-tariffed originator, such as China, as their own product.

Trumps tariff rollout also comes amid evidence they have begun driving up prices.

U.S. Commerce Department data released Thursday showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3% in June, the biggest gain since March 2022.

No Winners?

Some countries hit with hefty tariffs said they will seek to negotiate with the U.S. in hopes of getting a lower rate.

Switzerland said it would push for a negotiated solution with the U.S.

Its a massive shock for the export industry and for the whole country. We are really stunned, said Jean-Philippe Kohl, deputy director of Swissmem, representing Switzerlands mechanical and electrical engineering industries.

South Africas Trade Minister Parks Tau said he was seeking real, practical interventions to defend jobs and the economy against the 30% U.S. tariff it faces.

Southeast Asian countries, however, breathed a sigh of relief after the U.S. tariffs on their exports that were lower than threatened and leveled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the regions biggest economies.

Thailands finance minister said a reduction from 36% to 19% would help his countrys economy.

It helps maintain Thailands competitiveness on the global stage, boosts investor confidence and opens the door to economic growth, increased income and new opportunities, Pichai Chunhavajira said.

Australian products could become more competitive in the U.S. market, helping businesses boost exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell said, after Trump kept the minimum tariff rate of 10% for Australia.

But businesses and analysts said the impact of Trumps new trade regime would not be positive for economic growth.

No real winners in trade conflicts, said Thomas Rupf, co-head Singapore and CIO Asia at VP Bank. Despite some countries securing better terms, the overall impact is negative.

The tariffs hurt the Americans and they hurt us, winemaker Johannes Selbach said in Germanys Moselle Valley, adding jobs and profits on both sides of the Atlantic would be hit.

LOreal and a growing number of European fashion and cosmetics companies are exploring use of an obscure, decades-old U.S. customs clause known as the First Sale rule as a potential way to soften the impact of the tariffs.

The First Sale rule allows companies to pay lower duties by applying tariffs to the value of a product as it leaves the factory  much lower than the eventual retail price.

Canada, India

Trump has tapped emergency powers, pressured foreign leaders, and pressed ahead with trade policies that sparked a market sell-off when they were first announced in April.

His order said some trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters.

Trump issued a separate order for Canada that raises the rate on Canadian goods subject to fentanyl-related tariffs to 35%, from 25% previously, saying Canada had failed to cooperate in curbing illicit narcotics flows into the U.S.

The higher tariffs on Canadian goods contrasted sharply with Trumps decision to grant Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs of 30% on many goods to allow time to negotiate a broader trade pact.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was disappointed by Trumps decision, and vowed to take action to protect Canadian jobs and diversify exports.

India is in trade talks with the U.S. after Washington imposed a 25% tariff on New Delhi, a move that could impact about $40 billion worth of its exports, an Indian government source with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Friday.
An Oklahoma man is facing charges for damaging the weather radar equipment of a local TV station, the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced.

Anthony Tyler Mitchell, 39, allegedly vandalized the power supply of News 9s NextGen live radar. He is charged with malicious injury or destruction of property, and damage to equipment in a critical infrastructure facility. Both are felonies. In addition, Mitchell faces a misdemeanor of entering with the intent to commit a felony.

Drummond said in a statement that the alleged crime is much more than vandalism of property.

Weather radar is not a weather weapon. Radar technology is vitally important and saves the lives of countless Oklahomans every year, Drummond said. This individuals alleged action is not simply wrong; it imperiled public safety. My office is committed to protecting critical infrastructure and holding accountable anyone who willfully damages it.

Related: Misinformation on Cloud Seeding Swirls After Deadly Texas Floods

News 9 reported that Mitchell may have been influenced by an anti-government militia group that believes the military is using radars to alter the weather.

Michael Lewis Arthur Meyer, the founder of the militia group Veterans On Patrol, told the news station that the group claimed responsibility for the vandalism and has targeted other weather radars in the state.

Topics Oklahoma
Floridas Office of Insurance Regulation this week approved an average 31.5% increase in homeowner rates for Trusted Resource Underwriters Exchange  one of the largest Florida rate hikes in two years  despite questions about irregularities by the company and potential savings produced by legislative reforms.

The approval bucks the recent trend of minor rate cuts in the state in recent months. Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky has touted the rate decreases or non-increases filed by 45 insurers following Senate Bill 2A, the 2022 legislative reforms that have greatly reduced litigation expenses for insurers. The OIR in February went so far as to slash in half a proposed rate increase by Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Floridas state-created insurer of last resort.

Officials with Tampa-based Trusted Resource, known as TRUE, said the current Florida landscape may be less costly than it once was for property insurers, but that doesnt matter much because TRUE is playing catch-up, having failed to make adequate rate filings in past years.

At a June 17 hearing, company representatives revealed that the insurer, which had about 18,250 policies in force in Florida in the first quarter this year, does, in fact, provide a 5% discount on non-hurricane premiums, due to the 2022 law that effectively ended assignment-of-benefits agreements in the state.

Explain why the company currently offers a 5%  premium credit on AOB exclusion but the company does not recognize the savings from Senate Bill 2A? asked OIR actuary Daniel Zhong.

Because most of TRUEs loss experience has come after Senate Bill 2A, its earlier experience was not significantly impacted by pre-reform litigation costs, said Yanfei Atwell, director of actuarial services for TRUE.

We have very little experience before 2023, she said at the hearing. The impact is very immaterial.

She and other TRUE officials explained that while the carrier was operating as early as 2021, it did not add significant numbers of policies until after the legislative reforms were enacted. TRUE obtained its certificate of authority in late 2020. It was once part of American Family Family Insurance, but a majority stake in the reciprocal was purchased by Gallatin Point Capital in late 2024.

TRUEs general counsel, Susan Anderson, acknowledged that changes at the top may have led the company to neglect its required paperwork.

There were a number of years in which we did not take an annual rate filing, Anderson said at the hearing. In 2023 and in 2024, there was a change in control in the company, and there were changes in management associated with those changes in control. As a result, the annual rate filings were not made for the company in those years.

So the company was not in compliance in the prior years? Zhong asked.

That is correct, Anderson noted.

The higher rate is now needed to make up for the missed filings as well as hurricane losses last year and 2023 and 2024 reinsurance costs, company officials said. Zhong did not press Anderson on the lack of filings.

The 31.5% rate filing was considered a use-and-file procedure, in which the insurer imposes the higher rate before seeking approval, as allowed b Florida law. The increase took effect in April of this year and will raise TRUEs average HO-3 premium from $4,309 to $5,665. The average residential premium in 2025 for the top 30 insurers in Florida was about $3,023, and premiums rose by about 34% from late 2022 to the first quarter of this year, OIR quarterly data show. Reinsurance prices have dropped this year, producing savings for some insurers.

TRUE is likely to file for further rate increases this year or next. Company officials said at the hearing that the indicated rate hike for HO-3 policies this year was almost 60% but TRUE was requesting approval for only half of that at this time.

A July 28 filing shows the company also is planning new endorsements, new surcharges and higher premiums for some Florida homeowners. For screen enclosures and carports, TRUE is asking for approval for surcharges ranging from 10% to 75% of the policy limit on those structures. Additional premium may apply for fungi, rot and bacterial coverage.

TRUE had previously been approved for an 11% HO rate increase in January 2024 and a 15% rise in August 2023, but no changes from 2020 through 2022.

So, why did OIR approve the latest rate change, after repeatedly heralding improved cost factors for insurers and insureds? OIR sent a statement Thursday that echoed Atwell and suggested that TRUEs 31.5% rate hike was ratified because TRUE had few policies during the worst of the Florida property insurance crisis, so its not feasible to show a savings from the end to one-way attorney fees and other statutory changes.

The older years receive little weight in the indication since they are low in volume and therefore rendering law change adjustment factor immaterial in the determination of the indicated rate need, OIR spokesperson Shiloh Elliott said in an email.

The approved TRUE filing shows that OIR actuaries asked for additional information and clarity from the company, but the filing did not provide a narrative from OIR on why the increase was approved.

Company officials could not be reached for comment by Insurance Journal. At the hearing, TRUE CEO Anthony Scavongelli explained that the company had been through some upheaval. TRUE was formed in 2020 as a Florida-only partnership between Orchid Underwriters and American Familys Homesite Insurance. After Gallatin Point bought a majority stake in 2024, raising more than $1 billion in capital, Scavongelli was asked to take the helm. He is an attorney who previously was with the Massachusetts Department of Insurance and then spent 25 years at Homesite, as vice president, general counsel and chief partnership officer.

The entry into the Florida market came at a tough time, with rising claims costs and soaring reinsurance rates. But we saw an opportunity to stand out, Scavongelli said. After the acquisition, we saw an entirely new management team.

Last year was eventful, with multiple hurricanes in Florida. TRUE acquitted itself very well after the storms, he said. (Florida OIR quarterly data show that TRUE had 470 claims opened in the last quarter of 2024, 459 of which were closed in that quarter.)

We also, unfortunately, found ourselves significantly behind in rate adequacy, the CEO said at the hearing.

Topics Trends Florida Pricing Trends
A formerly licensed insurance agent was arraigned this week on multiple felony charges involving fraud for duping people to invest in a non-existent marijuana business.

Matthew Evans, 36, of Palmdale, pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges involving fraud, after a California Department of Insurance investigation revealed he allegedly deceived several clients and acquaintances into investing more than $1.8 million in a non-existent marijuana business named House of Green.

Evanss insurance agent license was reportedly revoked earlier this year after he pleaded no contest in a separate case.

The CDI initiated an investigation after receiving a complaint from two victims who claimed they had invested a total of $1.3 million in House of Green, without a return on their investment. According to the victims, Evans refused to update them on their investments and did not provide records for the business. There were no indications that House of Green was operational, according to the CDI.

The investigation also identified 12 additional victims who reportedly experienced similar issues with Evans. Investigators say they discovered that Evans stole a total of $1.8 million from 15 separate victims, all of whom believed they were investing in House of Green. Evans allegedly embezzled the money to finance a lavish lifestyle and promote his public image, as well as his business, Evans Family Consulting Inc.

In an unrelated case also investigated by the CDI in 2024, Evans and his wife both pleaded no contest to seven misdemeanor counts. In that case, they reportedly stole the identities of licensed insurance agents and used them on fraudulent insurance applications to collect commissions. Both had their licenses revoked, and they both received probation and were ordered to pay restitution.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 15. The case is being prosecuted by the White Collar Crime Division of the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office.

Topics Agencies Cannabis
The California Department of Insurance completed a review of the KCC US Wildfire Reference Model Version 3.0, making it the states second wildfire catastrophe model.

The new model for use by insurers in assessing wildfire risk in property insurance ratemaking was created under the states new regulatory framework to address a growing homeowners insurance crisis in California.

The KCC model was reviewed under the newly established Pre-Application Required Information Determination Procedure, which paves the way for insurers to use the catastrophe models for ratemaking.

The Verisk Wildfire Model for the United States was reviewed through the PRID. The CDI and Verisk announced the review of that model was completed in late July.

Rising rates and lack of availability have driven the state into a homeowners insurance crisis, pushing people in the insurer of last resort, the California FAIR Plan, and into surplus lines. Surplus lines homeowners insurance transactions were up 119% in the first half of the year from the same period last year, when transactions were already on the rise, according to new data from the Surplus Line Association of California.

The pain inflicted on Californias property market has grown steadily in the last few years after a series of devastating wildfire seasonsCalFire data show that seven of the states 10 most destructive wildfires have occurred in the last 10 years. That trend has been followed by numerous carriers pulling back from writing new policies in the state and seeking large rate hikes.

The L.A. wildfires made things worse. The blazed destroyed more than 16,000 structures and killed 30 people. Estimated insured losses from the L.A. wildfires range between $30 and $35 billion.

Several big carriers, including State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, and Mercury, reported paying more than $1 billion in claims from the wildfires. One of those companies is State Farm, which as of mid-June reported receiving 12,855 total claims related to the fires and paid out more than $3.96 billion.

State Farm, which insures roughly one-in-five California homeowners, has asked for a large rate hike, based partly on the carriers massive losses from the fires.

The carrier upped its rate request in May, a week after getting the OK for a large rate hike to what the company had originally wanted before being rejected and agreeing to an interim deal for an increase. The wildfire-bitten insurer got approval for a 17% rate increase following billions of dollars in losses from the Los Angeles wildfires and pullback on writing new policies in the state.

A report from a climate activist group says State Farms rate increases would cost the average California homeowner more than $1,000. An analysis from the Center for Climate Integrity says that if the additional increase is approved, the average California policyholder will be paying $1,015 more for homeowners insurance in 2026 than they did in 2023.

Catastrophe models are accepted as a part of ratemaking in all states. The Verisk Wildfire Model is already approved by the Nevada Division of Insurance.

The KCC wildfire model has already been accepted for rate filings in 24 other states, according to the Boston-based firm. The firm said the KCC model incorporates the impacts of climate change and accounts for mitigation efforts at property and community levels to encourage the reduction of wildfire risk.

In exchange for being able to use modeling in rate making, insurance companies will be required to write more policies in wildfire-distressed areas.

The CDI is reviewing models submitted by Karen Clark and Company and Moodys.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters California Wildfire
Fiona Buckley, a 44-year-old executive coach from Dublin, wishes she hadnt worried so much about being likeable.

When I worked in the corporate sector, thinking about whether or not people liked me, and trying to please them so that they did, was a huge issue for me, Buckley says.

It had a negative impact on her, personally and professionally. Id focus on other peoples needs, instead of my own, which meant I often felt resentful and taken advantage of, says Buckley.

I was emotionally burned out, because I wasnt expressing myself authentically. And I dont think people took me seriously. I was so nice that they doubted Id be able to make the tough decisions required of a leader.

Buckley is not the only one who feels pressure to be liked. Strong connections with peers were once essential to our survival.

So essential that a 2021 Duke University study found that we are still hardwired to subordinate our own preferences to those of the majority, such that by their third birthday children are going along with what others say or do for the sake of following the crowd.

That finding is true of both boys and girls, but some people argue that the pressure to be liked weighs more heavily on women.

Those people include Amy Kean, a sociologist and CEO of Good Shout, a learning-and-development company in Britain.

Good Shout provides training in how to use your voice with impact, and, when working with women, we noticed something getting in the way of that impact, says Kean.

Women made frequent apologies for having an opinion, softened their speech in a variety of ways, and constantly smiled.

Amy Kean: "Women made frequent apologies for having an opinion, softened their speech in a variety of ways and constantly smiled.

Kean wondered why and she commissioned a survey of 1,000 people to find out.

The result is a recently published report, called Shapeshifters: What We Do at work to Be Liked.

In this report, 56% of women said that they felt pressure to be likeable, compared with 36% of men. Women also modified their behaviour accordingly: 50% of them held back their true opinions, 43% downplayed their achievements, and 35% said they smiled more to be liked.

Melrona Kirrane is an associate professor of organisational psychology at Dublin City University and the academic lead of Lets Lead!  a leadership development programme for women.

Kirrane says that there may be a psychological explanation for these findings.

Psychologists use the Big Five framework to describe personality and its based on five broad traits: Conscientiousness, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and emotional stability, Kirrane says.

Studies have consistently shown there are strong sex differences when it comes to two of these traits. There is a stronger predisposition for women to be agreeable and more men than women are at the higher end of the emotional stability scale.

What does this mean for human behaviour?

Melrona Kirrane says womens predisposition to agreeableness makes them more likely to think of others and prioritise caring, sharing, compassion and support: It makes sense from an evolutionary viewpoint  women have babies and the survival of those babies spends on women looking after others.

Kirrane outlines how womens predisposition to agreeableness makes them more likely to think of others and to prioritise caring, sharing, compassion, and support.

It makes sense from an evolutionary viewpoint, Kirrane says. Women have babies and the survival of those babies depends on women looking after others.

Being more prone to emotional instability pushes women to pay more attention to their likeability.

In short, they are more likely to get upset if they are not liked, which means they have an extra incentive to behave in more likeable ways, says Kirrane.

This doesnt apply to all women, and Kirrane says that its simply a general tendency that is reinforced by how we socialise girls and boys and it carries through in to later life and in the workplace.

Further pressure is put on women when they dont conform to the stereotype and are assertive and strong, instead of likeable and warm. This was demonstrated in a 2003 study that asked two groups of

students at Harvard Business School to evaluate the performance of an entrepreneur.

One group was told that the entrepreneur was called Heidi and the other that he was called Harold.

Both groups judged the entrepreneur to be competent, but there was a stark difference in their assessment of likeability: Heidi was seen as selfish and difficult in a way Harold was not.

Fiona Buckley: I was emotionally burned out because I wasnt expressing myself authentically. And I dont think people took me seriously. I was so nice that they doubted Id be able to make the tough decisions required of a leader.

This rings true for Buckley. If women try to assert themselves, they get negative feedback in a way that men dont, she says.

As a woman in the workplace for the past 25 years, Ive seen how women are expected to do emotional labour by smoothing over conflicts and managing peoples feelings and the repercussions there are if we dont: Were called cold and bitchy.

Kean isnt surprised that women buckle to this pressure, but she does worry that its holding them back professionally.

This constant pressure to smile and bite their tongue, to downplay achievements and regulate how they express their confidence, affects how women are seen at work and the opportunities they are given, Kean says.

If we are not our own cheerleaders because were scared of the repercussions of cheerleading too loudly, theres no doubt we miss out.

If efforts to seem likeable at work are counterproductive some of us might start to reconsider our behaviour.

Erica Boothby: "Were so aware of our own anxieties and perceived mistakes during conversations and assume these are visible to others and damaging their impression of us. But our conversation partners are usually focused on entirely different things: their own internal struggles for example. They simply dont notice the minor slip-ups we obsess over.

Erica Boothby, a social psychologist and researcher at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, adds another reason: We underestimate how much others like us.

As a young PhD student, she used to ruminate on conversations and replay moments when she felt she had made a bad impression. But when she discussed these interactions with others, she noticed they didnt see things the way she saw them.

They would insist the interactions had gone better than I imagined, she says.

That made me curious: How could two people perceive the same interaction so differently?

She set up a study to answer this question, asking strangers to talk to one another and then rate how much they liked each other and how much they thought the other person liked them.

Published in 2018, this study found that people significantly underestimated how much other people liked them.

Were so aware of our own anxieties and perceived mistakes during conversations and assume these are visible to others and damaging their impression of us, says Boothby.

But our conversation partners are usually focused on entirely different things: Their own internal struggles, for example. They simply dont notice the minor slip-ups we obsess over.

This realisation helped Boothby. When I catch myself ruminating after a conversation, I remind myself that, statistically, the other person probably isnt judging me as harshly as Im judging myself, she says. It makes social interactions much less stressful.

Buckley has tried to come to a similar level of understanding about her desire to be liked.

I used to chase the feeling of being liked and if I could have a do-over, Id focus more on being respected, she says. But Im an extrovert and friendly by nature.

My values are all about connection and my inclination is to make sure everyone is OK. Social conditioning and gender stereotypes were layered on top of this to make me someone who worked hard to be liked.

There were advantages to being this way: Buckley built strong relationships as a result.

I had a lot of social capital in the workplace and could ask anyone for a favour, she says.

Even today, a lot of the contacts I made 20 years ago are still in my network, because I invested so heavily in those relationships.

But it came at a cost: There were times when I wasnt true to myself.

Whats the solution to this dilemma? Kirrane would like to see attempts being made to address unconscious bias as regards gender stereotypes.

Leaders have a role to play in this, she says.

They set the tone and are role models in the workplace. If they are trained to become aware of the underlying drivers of behaviour that are making men and women feel boxed in in the workplace, they can then try to do something about them.

Having a strong support network can help women break out of the likeability trap.

Mentors and trusted peers can give them guidance on how to do this.

There is also a need for women to take a stand on what they are willing to put up with, says Kirrane.

If more women were assertive and spoke up, that would eventually become the cultural norm in organisations.

It would also make the workplace much more dynamic, according to Kean.

Amazing things happen when good people can express themselves fully and even better things happen when we feel empowered to disagree and speak with honesty, she says.

If women were able to do this, the ideas and solutions that would be shared as a result could change the world.

Buckley believes her life would have been different had she been able to do this when she was younger.

Ive worked on my assertiveness and boundaries over the years and now I know its OK for someone not to like me, that its not possible to be everyones cup of tea, she says.

Whats more important is that they respect you and your position. I wish Id given myself permission not to be liked when I was younger. It would have made me feel free to be myself.

"Workplace leaders set the tone and are role models in the workplace. If they are trained to become aware of the underlying drivers of behaviour that are making men and women feel boxed in in the workplace, they can then try to do something about them" Melrona Kirrane, associate professor of organisational psychology at DCU.

LIKEABILITY LABOUR

Smile, it might never happen. If youre a woman, youve probably had these words directed at you by acquaintances, colleagues or even random strangers at some point in your life. So it shouldnt surprise you to learn that women are expected to do more likeability labour in the workplace.

Likeability labour is what sociologist Amy Kean calls the work people do to be liked. Her organisation, Good Shout, recently published a report delving deeper into this issue.

The main takeaway of Shapeshifters: What We Do at Work to Be Liked is that women do far more likeability labour.

Being an opinionated, vocal woman isnt always celebrated in the workplace, says Kean. It can result in women being labelled bossy and difficult. Thats why so many women choreograph their every move trying to be perceived as likeable.

They do this by playing office mum: taking notes in meetings, smoothing over conflicts and baking cakes for birthdays. Some 40% also do it by apologising before saying something in order to shield themselves from accusations of arrogance and a third make a conscious effort to smile more.

Would it help if men were held to these same standards? Kean doesnt think so. Not everyone is capable of it, she says. Neurodiverse women often communicate in a more direct way as do working class women like me. Expecting everyone to shapeshift is not a solution.

Associate professor of organisational psychology, Melrona Kirrane, would prefer for everyone to be freed from gender expectations. For women to be empowered to shake off the burden of likeability labour.

Its frustrating if youre the one who always buys the birthday cards and bakes the cakes, she says. Its not even rewarded as part of your performance evaluation.

She would also like to see it become acceptable for men to take on these tasks. Theres pleasure to be gained from spreading the love in the office, she says. Why should it only be women who get to experience that when many men would enjoy it too?
Art is a weapon in the hand of the artist, and we must fight against oppression, sculptor John Behan told those gathered in a field in Cuil Aodha, Co Cork, for Feile na Laoch on Thursday night.

Onto the stage during the all-night Aeraiocht came a string of artists from every discipline, armed with their words, songs, dance, and music; ready and willing to use them in battle against injustice.

They railed against the wrongs perpetrated against the Irish people, their language, against colonised nations, Travelling people, but most of all they used their art to protest against the slaughter in Palestine.

From fire dancer Eimear Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh to Nine Wassies From Bainne experimental musician Giordai Ua Laoghaire, who invoked the spirits of Cuil Aodhas War of Independence heroes Eamonn Mac Suibhne and Jamie Moynihan, artist after artist at this once-in-seven years festival of heroes used spoken word, movement, and soundscapes to express their opposition to Israels actions in Gaza.

Peadar O Riada speaking at at Feile na Laoch, an event he founded to coincide with the birthday of his father, Sean O Riada. Picture: David Creedon

Seven heroes in each discipline - poetry, visual arts, storytelling, dance, singing, acting, music, and sport - kept the audience on the banks of the River Sullane mesmerised from sunset until the sun rose to the sounds of a volunteer orchestra playing Mise Eire, the iconic arrangement by Sean O Riada, who inspired Feile na Laoch, on what would have been the composers 94th birthday.

Breakdancer Tobi Omoteso and writer Conal Creedon explored concepts of identity and displacement, from Nigerian and Inchigeela perspectives respectively, while Natasha Bourkes aerial dance lifted the sights of the audience as she dangled, twisting and turning, to emerge from a jellyfish-like cocoon suspended high from a cherry-picker.

Celine Byrne hit a high too with her operatic rendition of Danny Boy, while Magaidh Nic Aonghais delivered a haunting Scottish lament and Ailean Domhnullachs piping stirred the emotions.

Among the fire dancers and breakdancing came Irish traditional arts; a Baile Mhuirne set danced by John The Lepper O Loingsigh and friends, a brush dance from Gearoid O Droighneain, and harp and fiddle playing sublime by Laoise Kelly, Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, and Martin Hayes.

A ceremony involving the filling of a bath with waters of the seven wells.

Pianist David Syme sent the notes of Sean O Riadas Mna na hEireann soaring into the cold night sky as O Riadas son Peadar, who dreamt up this eclectic artistic gathering in his home village, ushered the heroes onto a stage that rotated by degrees throughout the night to face the rising sun.

What Maire Ni Cheileachair and Liam O Maonlaoi began in terms of audience participation with Sean S a Bhriste Leathair and Dont Go, Sean O Se, singer with O Riadas Ceoltoiri Chualann, brought to a rousing crescendo with An Poc ar Buile and a blast of The Banks.

Though it reflected these dark days across the world, Feile na Laoch shone a light too, at a time when heroes are needed more than ever.

 Feile na Laoch continues this weekend. See feilenalaoch.com

Out and about at Feile na Laoch

Jim and Joseph Walsh with Martin Hayes at Feile na Laoch. Pictures: David Creedon

Joleen Cronin and Thomas 'Rusty' Weeise.

Aifric Cussen with Tiffen, Caoimhe Mulhern and Aoibhinn Ni Donnchu.

Sile Ui Chroinin with Liam O Maonlai at Feile na Laoch.

The parade going to the Field of Dreams at Feile na Laoch 2025.

Gobnait, Cait and Judy Ni Mhurchu.

Eabha Ni Chruadhlaoich, Elizabeth Ni Shuilleabhain, Emma Duerr and Medb Ni Chionnfhaolaidh.

Conal Creedon, Fiona O'Toole, Asha Kearney O'Toole holding Mary Murphy and Roisin McAvinney.

John Spillane singing at Feile na Laoch.

Colette Faul and Jana Cussen.
Irish households will have 24 added on to their electricity bills over the next year to help fund renewable energy projects and meet climate goals, the energy regulator has said.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) set out the final decision for the public service obligation (PSO) levy for 2025/26, which is shared across all electricity customers to help support projects such as wind and solar across the country.

For the PSO year starting on 1 October 2025, the CRU has calculated that the monthly PSO levy will be 2.01 and 7.77 for domestic and small commercial customers, respectively, it said.

This compares to the current (2024/25) PSO levy, which is set to 3.23 and 12.91, and will result in a 38% and 39% decrease respectively.

While it is a decrease on the previous year, it comes as households continue to face strain on their finances, particularly when it comes to essentials like groceries and energy bills.

A flash estimate on inflation for July from the CSO earlier this week suggested the cost of food is rising at nearly three times the rate of general inflation.

When it comes to energy bills, a recent price hike announced by Flogas has raised fears other energy companies will follow suit heading into the winter.

It also comes ahead of this Governments first budget, which has ruled out the kind of cost-of-living supports that marked previous years.

The PSO levy charged to customers each year is based on the wholesale price of electricity. When wholesale prices are higher, the PSO levy for households is lower because renewable energy generators are earning more for electricity they produce and do not require that level of subsidy.

During the huge surge in energy bills following Russias invasion of Ukraine, the PSO levy was set to zero.

However, households have begun to be charged more on their bills through the levy again, as wholesale prices have come down.

CRU said the levy supports significant amounts of renewable energy generation in Ireland, and the country continues to make significant progress in advancing renewable energy.

The PSO levy is important in supporting clean energy and in helping Ireland meets its Climate Action Plan targets in 2030, it added.
Two people had to be rescued in the early hours of Friday morning after their yacht ran into trouble off the coast of Cork.

The Courtmacsherry all-weather lifeboat was called out to the Old Head of Kinsale at 3.40am to assist a 40-foot yacht taking on water about 21 miles south of the coast.

The vessel had lost all power and was struggling in rough sea conditions.

The lifeboat, under coxswain Ken Cashman and a crew of five, launched within 13 minutes and reached the scene by 5am.

They quickly located the disabled yacht and immediately took it in tow, ensuring that water was being pumped out to prevent sinking.

An 85-foot fishing boat nearby also assisted.

With the yacht in tow and its water intake monitored, the crew slowly towed it back to Courtmacsherry.

Both vessels arrived safely at Courtmacsherry Pier at 9:30 a.m.

The yacht, which was en route from France to Ireland, was in danger of sinking when the alert was raised.

Station voluntary operations manager Brian O'Dwyer said: "It was great to have 16 of our Lifeboat crew and officers arrive so quickly from their beds early this morning to partake in a dramatic rescue that was activated by the success of an EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon) being set off at sea which alerted the authorities.

Crew on todays callout with Station officers Philip White and Brian O'Dwyer. Left to right. Niamh Hurley, Stuart Russell, Taylor Murphy, Ken Cashman, Ian McCarthy and Donal Young. Picture: Vincent O Donovan / Courtmacsherry RNLI.

The Courtmacsherry rescue came just hours after Kinsale RNLI responded to back-to-back callouts, rescuing nine people.

Back-to-back rescues for Kinsale RNLI

The volunteer crew was first requested to launch their inshore lifeboat by the Irish Coast Guard at 12.16pm after reports of a person in the water near the popular Scilly Walkway.

The lifeboat, helmed by Nick Searls, launched and reached the scene quickly.

A person had entered the water from their rowboat, while another remained onboard.

Once on scene, the crew assessed the situation and noted the person could not get out unaided. They rescued the individual, brought them onboard, and conducted a casualty care check to ensure they were safe and well.

With the person safe and in good spirits, they were returned to their boat, where they had dry clothes to change into.

The lifeboat had just returned, been washed and refuelled, and the crew were heading back to their day jobs when another alert came in at 12.57pm.

This time, an 18-foot boat with seven people aboard had encountered difficulty at the mouth of Kinsale Harbour.

On arrival, the crew found all were safe, but the boat could not continue its journey safely, so they decided to tow it back to Castlepark Marina, the nearest safe port.

Speaking after the call outs, Kinsale RNLI crew member John Walley said: "Like all the people onboard both boats today, we would encourage anyone planning a trip to sea to always wear a lifejacket or suitable personal floatation device for your activity and make sure it is fit for purpose and correctly maintained. Also make sure you are wearing suitable clothing for the forecasted weather.

"As we approach the busy August Bank Holiday weekend, with increased visitors in the town and on the water for the Kinsale Regatta, we are urging everyone to enjoy themselves but to think safety first.

"We would ask swimmers and particularly those who may be visiting the area to learn the warning signs, read local safety notices and seek advice before entering the water. Should you get into difficulty or see someone else in trouble, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard."
Its a flying visit  in classic Swiss style.

Swiss business magnate and historic aircraft enthusiast Hugo Mathys turned heads along the south coast this week after flying in for a private holiday in his fleet of gleaming Second World War era aircraft.

After spending a few days relaxing in East Cork with close family and friends, Mr Mathys and his Classic Formation crew took off from Cork Airport in their DC-3 and two of their three Beechcraft aircraft on Thursday, before flying in formation over Cork Harbour, and then along the south-east coast towards Waterford, before returning to Cork that evening.

A Beechcraft Model 18 at Cork Airport on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

The trip included a stunning formation pass over Ballycotton, where the group had been staying in the scenic Bayview Hotel.

Hotelier Stephen Belton, the managing director of the Garryvoe and Bayview Hotels, was invited to join Mr Mathys as a guest passenger on board his DC-3.

It was the trip of a lifetime, Mr Belton said.

Mr Mathys and his party have been staying with us for the week in the Bayview Hotel, exploring East Cork and eating in some of the regions great restaurants.

The 1943-built Douglas DC-3 aircraft takes off at Cork Airport as a Beechcraft Model 18 waits beside the runway on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

They visited Cobh, Midleton, and Youghal, and then they asked if Id like to join them on this day trip to Waterford, on their DC-3, and it was just fantastic.

They flew in formation over Ballycotton Bay, over the island, and along the coast in front of the Garryvoe Hotel.

The weather was amazing. It was a perfect day to showcase the beauty of the region.

And to do it in a DC-3, with the original engines, it was just incredible and unique.

You could feel the flying. It felt like such a strong aircraft, but so smooth and stylish. It really was the perfect day.

Mr Mathys is a major shareholder and president of Mathys AG Bettlach, a Swiss med-tech company founded in 1946 and led by the Mathys/Marzo family which has a net worth in the region of 1.5bn to 2bn Swiss francs.

He owns and runs Classic Formation, a Swiss formation display team which flies the 1943-built Douglas DC-3 and three Beechcraft B-18s at airshows across Europe.

A Beechcraft Model 18 owned by Hugo Mathys takes off at Cork Airport on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

An experienced pilot, he finances the operation of the vintage aircraft, which fly about 30 to 50 hours annually.

He was at the controls of the DC-3 when it and the three Beechcraft landed at Cork Airport last weekend.

With their prop engines roaring and airframes glinting in the summer sun, it felt like the golden age of civil aviation had returned.

Aviation buffs flocked in their droves to the airfield perimeter to catch a glimpse of the aircraft that looked as if they had flown straight out of a 1940s newsreel.

The nose and cockpit of the 1943-built Douglas DC-3 aircraft, part of the Classic Formation team, owned by Hugo Mathys, at Cork Airport on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

With its metallic/vintage Swissair colour scheme, the DC-3 attracted huge attention.

The DC-3 is one of the most significant aircraft in aviation history.

First flown in 1935, it became known as the first aircraft to make money by just hauling passengers. It went on to revolutionise air travel in the 1940s.

Rugged and reliable, its military version played a key role in the Second World War, transporting cargo and troops, and dropping thousands of paratroopers over France to support the D-Day invasion.

The nose and cockpit of the 1943-built Douglas DC-3 aircraft, part of the Classic Formation team, owned by Hugo Mathys, at Cork Airport on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

More than 13,000, both civil and military versions, US and foreign-built, were produced. Its estimated that less than 170 are still flying.

Swissair ordered five DC-3s before the Second World War and used one on its non-stop Zurich to London route, one of the longest routes at the time. It also adopted a special colour scheme, symbolising neutrality.

Air traffic control tower staff watch the take-off of the Douglas DC-3 aircraft on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

Post-war, the market was flooded with cheap DC-3s, and they were snapped up by airlines around the world, becoming for many the most important airplane in their post-war fleets.

When Cork Airport opened in 1961, they were a familiar sight on the apron as Aer Lingus and Cambrian Airways both used the 32-passenger capacity aircraft to operate services from Cork to London, Bristol, and Cardiff in the early years.

But both airlines eventually phased the aircraft out, with Aer Lingus last using it in 1964.

Visual checks on the Pratt & Whitney engines ahead of departure of the 1943-built Douglas DC-3 aircraft at Cork Airport on Thursday. Picture: Larry Cummins

Mr Mathyss DC-3 was built in Long Beach, California in 1943, and delivered to the US Air Force that same year, operating as a wartime military transporter.

It had a long and varied history until 2010, when it was re-sprayed in Swissair colours, and became the flagship of his Classic Formation historic flying team.

The fleet is due to depart Cork Airport at around 9am on Sunday for a refuelling stop in France, before returning home to Switzerland.
An Afghan man was assaulted in Limerick after baseless claims were spread about him on social media.

The 64-year-old man received injuries, including a broken nose, in the attack in early July, following claims online that he had been behaving inappropriately towards children, a claim which was later debunked by gardai.

Analysis of the online discussions around the incident, conducted jointly by the Hope and Courage Collective and Doras, shows how social media, racial profiling and coordinated vigilante activity led to the attack.

The man, who is seeking international protection in Ireland, was harassed, filmed, and publicly identified before the assault following a fabricated Facebook post which accused him of inappropriate behaviour towards children.

Within hours, the claim was pushed across TikTok, Instagram and X with one video reaching over 249,000 views. On July 1, he was surrounded and assaulted in public, sustaining a broken nose and later relocated for his own safety.

Self-proclaimed community watch groups filmed the man, circulated his image and framed the assault as a citizens arrest". The report's authors say that "despite multiple reports, violent content remained online".

This was not a one-off incident. It is the result of a disinformation network that uses fear and racism to justify violence, said Edel McGinley, Director of Hope and Courage Collective, which monitors far right activity.

What were seeing is the rise of co-ordinated vigilantism in Ireland, hiding behind the language of community safety.

In the days prior to the attack, the victim was harassed in a local park, and filmed, with footage posted to social media.

A false allegation began on the afternoon of Sunday, June 29, when a woman uploaded a photo of the man alongside a fabricated story. This led to a member of the self-styled "community watch" group Sinne Na Daoine calling on the "men of Limerick" to "protect its own".

By the following day, a prominent Irish far right account on X claimed in a post that a Muslim was cat calling children in Peoples Park and said the slow Garda response was pushing society into vigilantism. The post was viewed 190,400 times before being deleted.

After the original post was circulated, a group confronted the Afghan man and called the Gardai while filming, but the man walked to the station himself for his own safety. Later, a video showing him leaving the station was misrepresented as a citizens arrest.

This man was seeking safety in Ireland and instead found himself at the centre of an online disinformation campaign that turned violent, said John Lannon, chief executive of the migrant support group, Doras.

He was treated with suspicion, fear, and hostility simply because of how he looked.

The report found that the victim was later re-identified and harassed again in a different city.

The authors of the report said that "what is evident in this case is that the Irish far right uses neutral incidents to frame a false and dangerous narrative that is used to justify profiling, harassment and violent assault".

Ms McGinley said that disinformation is amplified online and called on European Commissioner Michael McGrath to intervene.

As a matter of urgency we need to tackle the toxic recommender system that pushes hate and disinformation into people's social media feeds. People should be able to have control of what they see, not companies, driven by profit."
American tariffs on pharmaceuticals could be finalised within the next fortnight, as Tanaiste Simon Harris insisted Ireland avoided a moment of catastrophe thanks to an EU-US tariff deal.

Mr Harris, who also serves as minister for trade, convened the Government Trade Forum at Government Buildings on Friday morning to discuss the agreement reached between US president Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

Tariffs of 15% on EU goods entering the US will take effect on August 7.

The forum heard preliminary analysis from the Department of Finance on the implications of the deal.

The Tanaiste said the initial expectation is that the Irish economy and job creation will continue to grow, though he cautioned that a number of variables that just arent known yet.

These include tariff-exempt products, US trade deals with other countries, and the timeline for finalising tariffs on the pharmaceutical sector.

Pharmaceuticals are currently subject to a Section 232 inquiry in the US. Mr Harris said Brussels has advised that the process should conclude within two weeks, with pharmaceutical tariffs remaining at 0% until then.

He added: We have an assurance from the US that pharma will not get a tariff of any higher than 15%.

Mr Harris stressed that without the EU deal, 30% tariffs would have applied to goods entering the US from Friday, with EU countermeasures also expected next week.

There's absolutely no doubt that that would have been a moment of catastrophe in terms of our economic well-being as a country, Mr Harris said.

The Tanaiste said the initial expectation is that the Irish economy and job creation will continue to grow.

We are in a position which is challenged, but a position where the Department of Finance expects our economy to continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate, and expects more new jobs to be created next year, albeit at a slower rate.

He noted that while a trade deal is now in place, it is no more than a framework agreement and that many issues remain unresolved.

The agreement in principle hasn't yet been published, and one hopes that that's because there's still work going on and clarifying further sectors.

Mr Harris also disputed early commentary suggesting the UK secured a better deal than the EU.

He pointed out that although 10% tariffs will apply to UK goods, the EUs 15% cap includes any additional duties, whereas the UKs 10% rate is in addition to existing tariffs.

He argued that it may well mean that some UK tariff rates end up being higher than EU tariff rates.

As an example, he noted that Irish butter exporters were previously paying a 16% tariff, which rose to 26% when a new 10% duty was introduced in April. That rate will now fall back to 16% under the EU deal, as tariffs wont be stacked.

However, under the UK deal, where stacking is permitted, British butter exporters could still face a 26% tariff.

He added: The EU seems to have a commitment in writing to no more than 15% for pharma.

The UK language is much more vague. It doesn't have a number beside it, so we'll need to see where that brings us in the weeks ahead.

Elsewhere, Mr Harris declined to comment on the upcoming Budget 2026.

He said the Government remains committed to reducing childcare costs to 200 per month over its lifetime, but added that whether fees will decrease this year is a matter for budget day.

He also declined to comment on suggestions that VAT cuts for the hospitality sector may not be implemented until mid-2026.
We dont know what happened in Fermanagh  not exactly. We know only the basic facts: Another woman, Vanessa Whyte, and her two children, James and Sara Rutledge, have been killed in their home on this island.

The suspected killer, their husband and father Ian Rutledge, died days later  all four dying from gunshot wounds.

It is now being referred to as a suspected triple murder and suicide. Vanessa Whyte was in her 40s; James was 14 and Sara was 13.

In the hours and days after the shooting, we were all warned  with a fervour reserved for such crimes  not to speculate.

Such warnings form one small part of a wider refusal to look at domestic violence head-on, to examine it in the same way we examine violence in general

We all know that if these horrendous deaths had occurred on a city street, the word "evil" would have already made it to print. No sensitivity would have been shown to the family of the suspected perpetrator.

When it happens in a home we respond differently  with a sinister meekness, tiptoeing around the grounds of the property and the event, respectful of the privacy of the family, the loss of life inside.

This distorted restraint in public discourse allows us to pretend that events like these happen very, very rarely. In truth, they are disturbingly regular.

This month, 53-year-old Stephen Mooney, of Kilbarrack Rd, Dublin, was jailed for the murder of his wife Anna, 43, at their home on June 15, 2023.

Days ago, 34-year-old Keith Byrne was jailed for 15 years for the brutal murder of his Irish girlfriend Kirsty Ward at their Spanish holiday hotel room.

The parents of Kirsty Ward, who was found lying in a corridor by staff, have shared their pain at the sentence given to their daughters killer.

In direct contrast to the rest of us, individuals directly affected by these devastating crimes are taking immediate action and speaking out

Jason Poole, whose sister Jennifer Poole was murdered by her former partner Gavin Murphy in April 2021, hopes to have a law named after his sister introduced next year. The legislation will mean people found guilty of domestic violence offences will go on a register to protect future victims.

Jason Poole, brother of murdered Jennifer Poole, hopes to have a law named after his sister introduced next year. File Picture: Collins Courts

Another bereaved brother is fighting a different but related battle. David French, the sibling of murdered West Cork woman Valerie French Kilroy says a "loophole in child safety in Ireland" permits those who kill their partners or ex-partners to retain guardianship of their shared children.

He has been courageously vocal in his battle explaining the extent of his devastation, saying: "My sisters and I have been consumed by this since the murder and there is no end in sight. We have lost someone who was a continual source of joy and loving consideration.

"Crimes like this have a ripple effect on relationships, employment, and health. Our children have been deeply traumatised by the sudden loss of their beloved Aunt Valerie, and haunted by thoughts of the killer who we welcomed into our family and as a guest in our homes."

Similarly, Clodagh Hawes mother and sister fought relentlessly to have her body, and the bodies of her children, removed from the same grave as their killer.

Close family members want to talk openly about these crimes. Why cant the rest of us?

Courageously, they voice their pain and devastation; they confront what needs to be confronted, blasting through our bizarre reverence in response to these most horrendous crimes.

So, how can we help them and future victims in how we discuss domestic violence?

More needs to be done to manage the reporting of these crimes. Spokespeople and representatives, in particular, need a briefing in how to respond. As it is, they are permitted to say they are in "shock". Every time it is said, again, that they simply cant believe that something so horrific and out of the ordinary has taken place.

Again and again, an emphasis is placed on how "close-knit" the community was, how peaceful, how homely.

No matter how high the number of instances go, this is all part of a blanket refusal to except that domestic violence is at epidemic levels in Ireland.

No community is beyond its reach. No home, however happy it might seem, is safe from its blight

The truth is that nobody has a right to say they are shocked anymore  especially not officials interviewed after these events.

Our doubt, our disbelief, lets violence in. Domestic violence, like all violence, flourishes in ignorance and silence.

The family of Valerie French Kilroy are pushing to change the law that permits those who kill their partners or ex-partners to retain guardianship of their shared children. File Picture: Collins Courts

Former DUP leader Arlene Foster said of this latest shooting in a home in Fermanagh was just absolutely devastating and the last thing you expect to hear from a place she described as a very sleepy little village in Fermanagh.

We dont know the details yet, we cant know them, but the instant refusal to believe such awfulness can occur anywhere is simply unacceptable.

The longer we talk about how an otherwise perfect little village is stunned, the longer this famine of neighbourhood awareness, this tsunami of denial, is likely to continue.

Back in June, Womens Aid confirmed that 180 women have been killed in their own homes (63% of femicide) since 1996. Some 87% of women (where the case has been resolved) were killed by a man known to them.

In almost all murder-suicide cases (23 out of 24), the killer was the womans current or former intimate partner. Some 20 children have died during incidents where women have died violently.

Nobody should be permitted to say they are 'shocked', because to say so is to wash our hands of the truth

Domestic violence is pervasive in Ireland. Every time a woman or her children are killed in their home, we should recall the last crime and the one before that. Yes, this will a painful reminder to many, but bereaved families want the discussion. They are leading the discussion. Its the rest of us who are the problem.

Other damaging framing devices are used too  including the concentration on nature throughout any visual reporting. A camera sweeps across a forest or zooms in on a babbling brook. In print media, an article starts with the description of rolling hills and grazing animals. Presumably, such exposition is used to suggest that the violence about to be reported is against nature in some way.

The sad truth is that domestic violence is very much in the nature of people  and in the nature of men most particularly. It is not a freakishly uncommon act; it happens everywhere, all the time.

Then there is the focus on what a normal family they appeared to be. Why? It is as if to suggest that there is a defining characteristic belonging solely to people who are destined to die in their home.

And why the focus on the size of the village or the town or its geographical location? Might a certain size of town should preclude us from these events? These things only happen in the big cities, right? Those dens of iniquity that carry a faulty moral compass.

Ireland needs to wake up to itself.

In 2024, Womens Aid heard 46,765 disclosures of abuse  including 41,432 disclosures of abuse against women and 5,333 disclosures of abuse against children.

One in four women in Ireland experienced sexual violence as an adult with a partner.

An Garda Siochana responded to over 65,000 domestic abuse incidents in 2024, which translates to an average of 1,250 incidents every week.

The word "tragedy" is also used incorrectly by sources following the worst examples of domestic violence, those ending in death.

What is a tragedy? What makes something tragic? Really, it means a sad death. A far more appropriate word here is an "atrocity". It is an atrocity that has happened  a cruel and violent act.

How we respond to domestic violence matters. Killers and rapists are not afforded immediate deference and respect when they strike randomly on our streets. People who strike in their own home are no different.

The act is the same. The results are the same. Denial, deference, and shock are simply not good enough anymore  from anyone.
In the hours following the announcement that the US and EU had struck a deal last weekend on tariffs, European reaction was mixed.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the deal, which imposes 15% tariffs on most items going both ways, "creates certainty in uncertain times" and "delivers stability and predictability, for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic" as she tried to sell the deal to the 27 EU member states.

But if Ms von der Leyen expected a lap of honour to ease her troubled start to her second term, one was not coming.

"It is a dark day when an alliance of free peoples, brought together to affirm their common values and to defend their common interests, resigns itself to submission," French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou wrote on X of what he called the "von der Leyen-Trump deal".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself initially appeared satisfied, saying that the agreement "succeeded in averting a trade conflict that would have hit the export-oriented German economy hard".

But by Monday, amid cross-party criticism, Mr Merz said the deal would "substantially damage" his nation's finances, but acknowledged that the negotiating team "couldn't expect to achieve any more" as Mr Trump's willingness to enter into a 30% trade war was apparent.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an ally of Mr Trump, said the US president "ate von der Leyen for breakfast" while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would support it "without any enthusiasm".

Across the bloc, there has been criticism of Europe's perceived capitulation, with many echoing Mr Bayrou's sentiments that it poses fundamental questions about the cohesiveness of the project. German Green MP Sandra Detzer told her parliament that the EU "has agreed to a deal that abandons fundamental principles of rules-based global trade, instead of long-term stability".

Ms Detzer's alarm is representative of a particular sharp end of the deal. According to one think tank, the deal will cost the German economy around 6.5bn in terms of its GDP in the first year, while experts have slashed the country's growth forecasts in recent months.

Fabio de Masi, a German MEP, told EuroNews this week that not only was the deal bad, it was "a betrayal" for which Ms von der Leyen should resign.

The bloc is set to face 15% tariffs on most of its goods including cars, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals entering the US, and zero for zero tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals  as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 643bn over three years.

But as the tariffs were set to kick in on Friday, the two sides had not agreed on all of the details, which Ms von der Leyen's commission has stressed will be a "set of principles" and not a trade deal.

On Thursday, commission spokesperson Olof Gill said that "from there will flow the additional negotiated exemptions that we're looking to bake into our agreement with the US".

Drinks tariffs

What shape those carveouts take is still to be decided, with a 15% tariff applying until they are. That is of particular concern to the drinks industry across the continent.

From Irish whiskey to French and Spanish wines, exporters across Europe have been arguing for a carveout on their products. The US tariff on European spirits is currently 10%. Brussels is keen to reduce that to zero or, for wine at least, to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rates that are set on a fixed cost per litre basis, rather than in percentage terms.

Until recently, spirits had benefited from zero tariffs between the US and EU following an agreement in 1997 that also included other countries such as Canada and Japan.

That lasted until 2018, when the EU response to US steel and aluminium tariffs included increased duties on US bourbon and other spirits. These were suspended in 2021.

From Irish whiskey to French and Spanish wines, exporters across Europe have been arguing for a carveout on their products. File photo

US most-favoured-nation rates for wine are 19.8c per litre for sparkling and 6.3c per litre for most other wine, which equates to very low rates in most cases.

But as Mr Trump signed an executive order overnight into Friday, there was no movement on the exemption and the drinks industry will, for now at least, pay the 15% rate. With EU officials privately briefing Reuters that negotiations could run into late autumn, that will mean financial pain for those businesses in the short-term, at least.

Speaking to journalists at a press conference on Thursday, commission spokesperson Olof Gill said: The commission remains determined to achieve and secure the maximum number of carve-outs, including for traditional EU products such as wine and spirits.

It is not our expectation that wine and spirits would be included as an exemption in the first group announced by the US tomorrow, and therefore that sector, as with all other economic sectors, will be captured by the 15% ceiling.

Motor tariffs

In Germany, a number of car manufacturers revised down profit guidance on the back of the tariffs, which will face a 15% tariff as well, but for BMW, the impact of the agreement was "exaggerated".

I think this tariff discussion is way exaggerated and also its effects on the industry, chief executive Oliver Zipse told the Financial Times. Whats more important is the question, are the products attractive?

Carveouts

At Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, enterprise minister Peter Burke updated ministers on the detail of the weekend's agreement, telling journalists that there will be exemptions to the tariff regime, with aviation one for which Ireland had successfully argued alongside others.

The key thing is that there will be a number of carveouts. Obviously, aviation has been cited as zero-for-zero, but also in relation to agri-foods and potentially spirits.

Ireland, like many other countries, is banking on the carveouts agreed protecting key sectors like agri-foods and that the rate for pharmaceuticals would not exceed 15%.

Like many countries across Europe, ministers here are privately saying that the deal is far from ideal, but also query what else is to be done. By Friday, they could point to Mr Trump's executive order, which imposed tariffs on many countries with whom he had not negotiated.

But there is also acceptance that the tariff regime brings with it a new reality, one with which the EU needs to grapple.

If countries are arguing for exceptions, how does the European negotiating team balance those interests? And what will the reaction be when the final deal is reached?
Activists have hailed a historic judgment striking down colonial-era laws that criminalised gay sex in St Lucia as a step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in the Caribbean country.

This week the Eastern Caribbean supreme court found that the islands so-called buggery and gross indecency laws, which criminalised consensual anal sex, were unconstitutional.

In a joint statement to the Guardian, a group of activists who were the claimants in the case described the judgment as deeply personal but added that there was still work to be done.

We know not everyone will agree with the ruling  and thats OK. Were not asking anyone to change their beliefs. What we are asking for is fairness.

"These laws were outdated and violated the basic human rights of LGBTQ+ people. Striking them down is just the beginning of creating a safer, more inclusive Saint Lucia for all of us, the statement said.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference after the judgment, attorney Veronica Cenac, who worked on the case, said it was important to remember the origin of the laws.

Many persons believe that [they are] a part of our cultural identity and that those persons who are asking for their repeal are promoting a western, global north agenda  which is clearly not the case considering that these laws were imposed on us during colonial times, she said.

In St Lucia, the law penalised gay sex with up to 10 years in prison. While the government did not enforce the law, activists and legal experts say it remained a threat to the islands LGBTQ+ community.

The mere existence of this provision is itself a violation of human rights and underpins further acts of discrimination, according to Human Dignity Trust, a UK-based legal organisation that helped work on the case.

In 2019, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality began filing legal challenges against such laws in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, and St Lucia.

In 2022, courts in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Kitts and Nevis struck down those laws. Last year, a court in Dominica did the same.

Describing how hearing the monumental judgment left them breathless, Kenita Placide, the Alliances executive director, said: It is not often that we, as activists, get to see the results of our hard work. But, they warned that, while the outcome was a stride in the right direction, LGBTQ+ people in St Lucia needed to remain on guard. Several gay men have been brutally murdered in the country over the years, and Placide warned that the judgment did not mean that all of a sudden we can do the gay parade without thinking about safety.

Right now, theres a little bit of a tension in country. Because almost every two males that walk around are being watched with some kind of scrutiny that they may be engaging. And people are ready to put up phones like they need to be the first to capture, Placide said.

Changing the law was half the battle,Placide said, adding that the other half was changing hearts and minds where we can actually coexist in the community without being killed because of sexual orientation.

Tea Braun, the chief executive of the Human Dignity Trust, said: This is a significant victory for the Caribbeans LGBT community and now leaves just five remaining jurisdictions in the western hemisphere that continue to criminalise consensual same-sex intimacy.

The judgment, Cenac said, could have persuasive value in the remaining countries: Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Earlier this year, the Trinidad and Tobago supreme court overturned a 2018 high court judgment to remove its buggery laws. Campaigners have expressed concern about the countrys case, which will go before the privy council in London, the final court of appeal for UK overseas territories and some Commonwealth countries. One of the issues, they say, is a savings clause, a legal technicality created to protect colonial laws.

Trinidad and Tobago-based Sharon Mottley, regional programme manager for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association of North America and the Caribbean, said the ruling brought renewed hope and momentum to the region.

Here in Trinidad and Tobago, in spite of the reversal this year, the gay community came out in their numbers and we held our Pride Parade on July 20th through the streets of Port of Spain and it was really to send a powerful message that were here and were not going anywhere. We refuse to be criminalised and our visibilities, our pride, our resistance and our demand for full recognition will continue, Mottley said.

- The Guardian
Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeings Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX.

The US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from Nasas Kennedy Space Centre. They will replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for Nasas two stuck astronauts.

Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months.

Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who should have launched last year, was ditched along with another Nasa crewmate to make room for Starliners star-crossed test pilots.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon capsule lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida (John Raoux/AP)

The botched Starliner demo forced Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to switch to SpaceX to get back from the space station more than nine months after departing on what should have been a week-long trip.

Ensuring their safe return meant stepping aside, Ms Cardman said before her launch.

Every astronaut wants to be in space. None of us want to stay on the ground, but its not about me, said Ms Cardman, the flight commander.

Even after launch, things can change at the last minute, so Ill count myself very fortunate when the hatch opens (to the space station), she said.

Nasas Mike Fincke  Ms Cardmans co-pilot  was the back-up for Mr Wilmore and Ms Williams on Starliner, making those three still the only ones certified to fly it.

Mr Fincke and Japans Kimiya Yui, former military officers with previous spaceflight experience, were training for Starliners second astronaut mission. With Starliner grounded until 2026, Nasa switched the two to the latest SpaceX flight.

Rounding out the crew is Russias Oleg Platonov. The former fighter pilot was pulled a few years ago from the Russian Soyuz flight line-up because of an undisclosed health issue that he said has since been resolved.

To save money in light of tight budgets, Nasa is looking to increase its space station stays from six months to eight months, a move already adopted by Russias space agency.

SpaceX is close to certifying its Dragon capsules for longer flights, which means the newly launched crew could be up there until April.

Meanwhile, Russias space chief has visited the United States to discuss plans for continued co-operation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station and lunar research with Nasas acting chief, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than seven years.

Dmitry Bakanov, the director of the state space corporation Roscosmos, met on Thursday with Nasas new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on a visit to attend the launch of the crew to the space station.

Roscosmos said Mr Bakanov and Mr Duffy discussed further work on the International Space Station, co-operation on lunar programmes, joint exploration of deep space and continued co-operation on other space projects.
US President Donald Trump has called for the firing of the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Mr Trump in a post on his social media platform alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labour Statistics, who was appointed by former president Joe Biden, should be fired.

I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY, Mr Trump said on Truth Social.

No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they cant be manipulated for political purposes

She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.

Fridays jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated.

Ms McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the commissioner of the Bureau of Labour Statistics in January 2024.

Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired.

The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

Mr Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data.

Job gains in the US in May were revised down to just 19,000 from 125,000, and in June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000.

In July, only 73,000 positions were added.

The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%.

No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers, Mr Trump wrote.

She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they cant be manipulated for political purposes.

The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets.

The disappointing figure sent US market indexes about 1.5% lower Friday.

While the jobs numbers are often the subject of political spin, economists and Wall Street investors  with millions of dollars at stake  have always accepted US government economic data as free from political manipulation.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The government has thrown its support behind Bulawayo's Khumbul'Ekhaya Investment initiative, a programme designed to attract both local and diaspora investors to help revive the city's struggling economy.Speaking at the inaugural Diaspora Investment Conference in Harare on Wednesday, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe praised the initiative as a critical driver of national development and urged other municipalities to adopt similar approaches."The inaugural Diaspora Investment Conference, Khumbul'Ekhaya, exemplifies our commitment to harnessing the potential of our diaspora communities," Garwe said. "I urge other local authorities across the country to emulate these efforts and explore investment opportunities that can attract our diaspora and international partners alike."Garwe commended the collaboration between Bulawayo's provincial ministry and city council, describing it as essential to achieving national development goals.Bulawayo mayor David Coltart highlighted the city's untapped potential, urging investors to seize opportunities despite the industrial decline. "Some questioned why we hosted this conference in Harare," he said. "But we must start here - where decision-makers and investors are - to reignite interest in Bulawayo."Coltart acknowledged the closure of once-thriving factories but stressed the need to reimagine Bulawayo's economy through tourism, technology, and diaspora reinvestment. He also appealed to satellite internet provider Starlink to establish a base station in the city to improve connectivity and support business growth.Acting town clerk Sikhangele Zhou said the decision to host the conference in Harare was strategic, aimed at reconnecting with Bulawayo expatriates and attracting fresh investment. "This event is a catalyst for re-engagement and investment," she said.Meanwhile, a delegation from the Ministry of Information, led by Minister Jenfan Muswere, recently toured major industries in Bulawayo - including Carousel Edgars and Bakers Inn - to assess progress since President Emmerson Mnangagwa's visit to factories in the city.Companies in manufacturing, textiles, and baking welcomed the government's Targeted Finance Facility (TFF), which provides funding for retooling and boosting production. Carousel Edgars managing director Manfree Tanyanyiwa said modern machinery sourced from Italy had significantly increased production levels.Bakers Inn southern region general manager Precious Mpofu credited improved wheat production for stabilising the company's supply chain and reducing disruptions. "Thanks to government support for agriculture, we no longer experience flour shortages. This has allowed us to run our operations smoothly," she said.Muswere stressed that revitalising Bulawayo's industries was central to the government's Vision 2030 strategy. "Reviving Bulawayo is central to that vision and we are seeing real progress on the ground," he said.
( Tomdispatch.com )  Once upon a time, nothing in this world could have convinced me that I would be living through this moment in this America on this planet. As a start, once upon an increasingly distant time, Donald J. Trump as president of the United States would have been inconceivable. Literally beyond conception, even in some wildly dystopian satiric novel about an all-too(un)-American future.

I mean, forget anything else, a man who in private life bankrupted six (yes, six!) companies has now been elected president of the United States not just once but twice. You know, the fellow who thinks of those he considers his domestic enemies (and thats not too strong a word for it), whether Democrats, Republicans, or journalists as nothing short of  and this is the word he uses  evil. Once upon a time, this would have been inconceivable even in your wildest all-(un)-American dreams! Not a shot in hell of a chance! Never!

Until, of course, it happened (yes, twice).

And indeed, I have to repeat that once upon a time because the American past, however grim in all too many periods of our history, now seems something like a dark fairy tale to me. A distinctly once upon a time creation.

Having just turned 81 myself, I wonder what world Im now really living in and how, in that very same world, any of us could ever have ended up here. Sometimes I try to imagine telling my parents about  I have the urge to capitalize this word but cant quite bring myself to do it, so italics will have to do  him. My mother was a professional caricaturist for an endless string of newspapers and magazines, and she drew, among other grim figures in this country and on this planet, Senator Joe McCarthy, a distinctly Trumpian character from her moment. The difference being that he was just a senator, not the president of the United States. And he was able to do his damnedest (and thats definitely the word for it) for only a few grim years before the Senate censured him and he essentially drank himself to death. And yet, having lived through presidents from Theodore Roosevelt when she was born in 1907 to Jimmy Carter in the year of her death in 1977, I have no doubt that Donald Trump would have left her speechless (or do I mean pen or pencil-less?).

My father, at age 35, immediately joined the U.S. Air Force after the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor and served in Burma during World War II. Even though he was, like my mother a Democrat, he would have found someone who got out of the U.S. military in wartime thanks to fake bone spurs almost unimaginable as president. And that would have only been the first of an endless list of Trumpian things that my mom and dad, not to speak of more or less anyone else of their generation, would have found unbelievable in an American president. Even Ronald Reagan (and thats no small even) seemed like a reasonably sane president by comparison.

Its hard for me to imagine how I would tell either of them about President Trumps big beautiful bill thats cutting so much, including medical care, for so many Americans at the bottom of the political spectrum in order to give a $975 billion tax break to the wealthiest 1% of us. Or as he put it, I said to one guy, hes a very, very unattractive man, but hes smart and hes rich, and I said, you better hope we get this thing passed because your wife will be gone within about two minutes. He said, Youre right.

Red-Tie Decline

And yet, believe it or not, here we are as July ends in 2025, six months into Donald Trumps manic second term in office and ever deeper in the Trumpian swamp.

And prepare yourself. Theres really no way to write about this American world of ours without exclamation points! In fact, in some fashion, the exclamation point isnt faintly enough for this moment. Perhaps what we in these all-too-dis-United States of America now truly need is to invent some far wilder form of punctuation to catch the essence of this moment!!! (Three exclamation points are certainly apt, but they dont really work, do they?) Maybe, in fact, what we really need is to turn the exclamation point in any Trumpian sentence into a red tie! Or even a series of them!

And let me make one small instant correction to my first paragraph here: Honestly, it really shouldnt be Donald J. Trump anymore. It should be Donald D. Trump. And Im sure youve already guessed that such a D would stand for decline. And not, mind you, just the decline of the United States  though thats certainly significant enough  but of the planet itself.

Yes, in 1991, after the Soviet Union collapsed and the last vestiges of the Cold War ended with the U.S. becoming this planets sole superpower, there were certainly thinkers who already sensed that someday, somewhere along the line, like any great imperial power, this country was bound to enter a path of decline. After all, what great power in history hadnt done so sooner or later and, in the process, had some idiot or idiots run the show for a while?

Still, lets face it, theres decline and then theres DECLINE (followed, of course, by several red ties). And Donald DECLINE (red tie, red tie) Trump has offered us a path down that simply couldnt be more uniquely his. I doubt that anyone in the history of imperial power has ever both personalized and personified decline in quite such a well, deeply, madly personal and unbearably convincing fashion.

Planetary Decline in the Age of Trump

And give him credit, hes able to do it so much more convincingly because of his advanced age. After all, his second time around, he is indeed  offer him record-setting credit here (red tie)  the oldest president ever to take office in two and a half centuries of all-American history. In other words, in the next three years and five months, well clearly be able to watch not just this twenty-first century imperial power of an almost unimaginable sort  consider, for instance, those 750 or so U.S. military bases that still span this globe of ours  or our 79-year-old president both decline in an up close and personal fashion, but our planet do so as well. And thats something new in human history.

Never in the past has the Earth itself been on such a precipitous path downward. And before Donald Trump is done (or do I mean, like the rest of us aging creatures, done in?), given his attitude toward climate change, he may manage to take not just this country but the planet down with him. No small feat (and, believe me, I dont mean feet or even bone spurs here [red tie]) when you think about it. (As a matter of fact, thinking about Donald D. Trump is, in every sense, a declinist activity[red tie].)

I mean from those devastating floods in Texas on the fourth of July weekend, the deadliest inland flooding in this country in almost half a century, to the record-setting, never-ending mega-drought across the American Southwest, to those flooded subway stations in my hometown of New York, climate change is increasingly being felt by Americans of every sort. (Its mid-summer and Im sweating as I write this amid a striking heatwave across the Eastern U.S.) Climate change was certainly visible in the staggering temperatures that hit Europe this June, leading to an unexpectedly high death toll, and the horrifying wild fires that have recently ravaged parts of Greece and Turkey; the extensive flooding and other natural disasters in China; and the devastation of every sort its been causing in Africa. And thats just to start down a list that certainly would have to include the Arctic, which may now be heating up four times faster than the global average.

Mind you, none of that should truly be surprising, since this year the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has peaked above 430 parts per million. Thats the highest its estimated to have been in millions of years, according to data recently released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. And overall, its estimated that, in the last year alone, climate change has added an extra 30 days of extreme heat for more than four billion people globally. Think about that for a moment, take a breath, and make sure youre not overdressed.

And the Trump response to all of this? Among other things, to open Alaskas wilderness areas more fully to oil and natural gas drilling and mining. Brilliant, no?

Trump Him (Red Tie)

All of that undoubtedly only makes Donald D. Trump all that much prouder. After all, hes the man (or do I mean: The Man?). And imagine this: the country that was already the historically largest emitter of planet-heating carbon dioxide is, under him, certain to retain that title for the (un)foreseeable future.

Of course, he invariably has an urge to be the ultimate record holder in anything. After all, hes going all out to cut funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that might have been used to deal in some fashion with climate changes potential devastation in this country. As the New York Times recently reported, In an effort to shrink the federal government, President Trump and congressional Republicans have taken steps that are diluting the countrys ability to anticipate, prepare for and respond to catastrophic flooding and other extreme weather events, disaster experts say.

In his Big Beautiful Budget, hes been ready to cut so much that matters to this country. Yet the soaring trillion-dollar military budget hell preside over (whatever its other problems, including its staggering cost for American taxpayers) will only add to the planetary mayhem by making the U.S. military the 38th largest emitter [of carbon] in the world if it were its own nation. And dont forget the Trumpian-induced science brain drain from this country thats now underway.

And yet heres the strange thing (or rather one of all too many strange things): among the Trumpian  and yes, on this planet at this moment in this country, hes certainly a noun, a verb, an adjective, and undoubtedly an adverb, too  wildness and disastrous acts being covered in the media, its amazing how relatively little attention is being given to what may be by far the worst of all his visible urges, his deep-seated desire not just to take this country down with him but our whole overheating planet, too. In a sense, in fact, one thing Donald Trump has proven particularly skilled at is removing attention of any sort from climate change.

Yes, who doesnt know that, among other things, he once called it a Chinese hoax? And it seems to matter not at all to him that, at this very moment, this planet is heating up in a record-setting fashion. Of course, Ive been writing about just that reality repeatedly because it repeatedly stops me short.

Still, to this day, I cant understand how 49.8% of American voters found Donald Trump appealing enough to elect him president (again!) in 2024. And of course, were talking about the guy who is reportedly dreaming about not running for but just being president a third time around  to hell with the Constitution. His backers have already produced a Trump 2028 red cap, and hes told some of them that it would be the greatest honor of my life to serve not once, but twice or three times or four times (only later claiming that he was joking).

Dont you have the urge to call George Orwell back from the dead to write a Trumpian sequel to 1984? Perhaps 2026? And speaking of bringing back the dead, if only I could bring back my parents and let my mother do her ultimate devastating caricature of Donald D. Trump.

However it happens, he really does need to be trumped before he Trumps us all off this planet and global bankruptcy becomes us.

Trump him (red tie, red tie, red tie, red tie, red tie, red tie, red tie, red tie).

Copyright 2025 Tom Engelhardt

Via Tomdispatch.com
By Arie Perliger, UMass Lowell

Since Oct. 7, 2023, as Israels war against Hamas drags on in the Gaza Strip, a quieter but escalating war has unfolded in the West Bank between Israelis and Palestinians.

While precise figures are elusive, United Nations estimates indicate that Jewish settlers have carried out around 2,000 attacks against Palestinians since the war in Gaza began. That number represents a dramatic surge compared with any previous period during the nearly six decades Israel has controlled the West Bank.

Attacks include harassment of Palestinian villagers trying to access their crops or work outside their villages, as well as more extreme and organized violence, such as raiding villages to vandalize property. While many of the attacks are unprovoked, some are what settlers call price tag actions: retaliation for Palestinian violence against Israelis, such as car-rammings, rock-throwing and stabbings.

Settlers attacks displaced more than 1,500 Palestinians in the first year of the war in Gaza, and gun violence is increasingly common. Since October 2023, more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed. While most of these fatalities resulted from military operations, some were killed by settlers.

As a scholar who has studied Jewish religious extremism for over two decades, I contend this campaign is not merely a result of rising tension between the settlers and their Palestinian neighbors amid the Gaza conflict. Rather, it is fueled by a confluence of ideological fervor, opportunism and far-right Israelis political vision for the region.

Religious redemption

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967s Six-Day War against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, transforming this small region of around 2,000 square miles (5,200 square kilometers) to an amalgam of Jewish and Palestinian enclaves. Most countries other than Israel consider Jewish settlements illegal, but they have rapidly expanded in recent decades, becoming a major challenge for any settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The ideological roots of violence lie within religious Zionism: a worldview embraced by about 20% of Israels Jewish population, including most West Bank settlers.

The great majority of the leaders of the early Zionist movement held strong secular views. They pushed for the creation of a Jewish state over the objections of Orthodox figures, who argued that it should be a divine creation rather than a human-made polity.

Religious Zionists, on the other hand, view the creation of modern-day Israel and its military victories as steps in a divine redemption, which will culminate in a Jewish kingdom led by a heaven-sent Messiah. Adherents believe contemporary events, particularly those asserting Jewish control over the entire historical land of Israel, can accelerate this process.

In recent decades, influential religious Zionist leaders have argued that final redemption requires Israels total military triumph and the annihilation of its enemies, particularly the Palestinian national movement. From this perspective, the devastation of Oct. 7 and the subsequent war are a divine test  one the nation can only pass by achieving a complete victory.

This belief system fuels most religious Zionists opposition to ending the war, as well as their advocacy for scorched-earth policies in Gaza. Some hope to rebuild the Jewish settlements in the strip that Israel evacuated in 2005.

The violence in the West Bank reflects an extension of the same beliefs. Extreme groups within the settler population aim to solidify Jewish control by making Palestinian communities lives in the region unsustainable.

Opportunistic violence

Hamas Oct. 7 massacre, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, traumatized the nation. It also hardened many Jewish Israelis conviction that a Palestinian state would be an existential threat, and thus Palestinians cannot be partners for peace.

This shift in sentiment created a permissive environment for violence. While settler attacks previously drew criticism from across the political spectrum, extremist violence faces less public condemnation today  as does the governments lack of effort to curb it.

This increase in violence is also enabled by a climate of impunity. Israeli security forces have been stretched thin by operations in Gaza, Syria, Iran and beyond. In the West Bank, the military increasingly relies on settler militias known as Emergency Squads, which are armed by the Israeli military for self-defense, and army units composed primarily of religious Zionist settlers, such as the Netzah Yehuda Battalion. Such groups have little incentive to stop attacks on Palestinians, and at times, they have participated.

This dynamic has dangerously blurred the line between the state military and militant settlers. The Israeli police, meanwhile, under the command of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, appear focused on protecting settlers. Police leadership has been accused of ignoring intelligence about planned attacks and failing to arrest violent settlers or enforce restraining orders. Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group, asserts that just 3% of attacks have resulted in a conviction.

In June 2025, military attempts to curb settler militancy triggered a violent backlash, as extremist settlers attacked military commanders and tried to set fire to military facilities. Settlers view efforts to restrict their actions as illegitimate and a betrayal of Jewish interests in the West Bank.

Political vision

Violence by extremist settlers is not random; it is one arm of a coordinated pincer strategy to entrench Jewish control over the West Bank.

While militant settlers create a climate of fear, Israeli authorities have undermined legal efforts to stop the violence  ending administrative detention for settler suspects, for example. Meanwhile, the government has intensified policies that undermine Palestinians economic development, freedom of movement and land use. In May, finance minister and far-right leader Bezalel Smotrich approved 22 new settlements, calling it a historic decision that signaled a return to construction, Zionism, and vision.

Together, violence from below and policy from above advance a clear strategic goal: the coerced depopulation of Palestinians from rural areas to solidify Israeli sovereignty over the entire West Bank.

Levers for change

The militant elements of the settler movement constitute a fractional segment of Israeli society. When it comes to improving the situation in the West Bank, broad punitive measures against the entire country, such as economic boycotting and divestment, or blocking access to scientific, economic and cultural programs and organizations, have historically proved ineffective.

Instead, such policies seem to entrench many Israelis perception of international bias and double standards: the sense that critics are antisemitic, or that few outsiders understand the countrys challenges  particularly in light of threats from entitles like Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, which openly seek Israels elimination.



Photo of Qalqiliya Palestine by abu adel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cityscape-of-a-eastern-country-city-3805146/

More targeted policies aim specifically at the Israeli far right, including sanctions  economic, political or cultural  directed at settler communities and their infrastructure. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and the U.K. have imposed travel bans on Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, and frozen their assets in those countries. Similarly, I believe decisions to ban goods produced in the West Bank settlements, as Ireland has recently debated, would be more effective than banning all Israeli products.

This targeted approach, I would argue, would allow the international community to cultivate stronger alliances with the many Israelis concerned about the settlements and Palestinians rights in the West Bank.

Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Silver Spring, Md. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature)  Jewish law does not permit us to look away when atrocities are being committed.

It is painful beyond words to see the hollow eyes and bloated bellies of dying children and infants in Gazabut we must look.

The Torah commands: Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor (Leviticus 19:16).

Halacha is unequivocal: when human life is in danger, we are obligated to act. That obligation becomes even more urgent when the power to saveor destroythose lives rests entirely in your hands. Yet today, we see that power used not to preserve life, but to enforce a deadly siege. To weaponize starvation and block the entry of life-saving food and medicine.

And Jewish law is clear: when people are starving, you must feed themwhether or not they are Jewish: We provide for the poor of the gentiles along with the poor of Israel, for the sake of peace. (Rambam, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 7:7).

You do not bomb them.

You do not blockade them.

You do not obstruct the UN from distributing food and medicine.

You do not trap desperate, starving civilians in a death zone  then gun them down when they try to survive.

Yet, this is exactly what is happening. Over 1,000 Palestinian men, women and children have been slaughtered at so-called aid distribution centers. Deadly famine is ravaging Gaza, with the UN describing walking corpses throughout the region.

What happens when a state commits such crimesbrazenly, systematicallyviolating both Torah and international law? What do we do when that state is committing a genocide?

Our grief and shame are not enough. Only action can stop genocide.

That responsibility now falls squarely on the nations and peoples of the world. They must actswiftly and decisively.

Earlier this month in Bogota, the Hague Group  a coalition of more than 30 countriestook a historic step toward fulfilling that obligation. Their Joint Statement, issued under international law, displayed extraordinary moral clarity and resolve.

It included these essential measures:

1. A commitment to halt all transfers of weapons, fuel, and military equipment to Israel.

2. A pledge to block their ports, ships, companies, and institutions from aiding in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

3. A promise to pursue legal accountability for those responsible and to cancel contracts with those facilitating these crimes.



Spencer Collection, The New York Public Library. Xanten Bible, Vol. 1 The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1294. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/dced8950-c5f7-012f-8a98-58d385a7bc34.

The Hague Group is responding to undeniable horrors: tens of thousands of civilians killed, entire neighborhoods leveled, hospitals and aid convoys targeted, over 1,500 medical personnel killed and more than 300 abductedaccording to Physicians for Human Rights Israel who have also concluded that Israel is committing a genocide. And now, famine claiming the lives of children by the day.

What the Hague Group has done aligns not only with international law, but with the basic ethical imperatives of Jewish tradition.

The Torah commands: Do not place a stumbling block before the blind (Leviticus 19:14). The Talmud (Avodah Zarah 6b) interprets this as a prohibition against enabling others to sin.

If ever there were a textbook case of enabling sin and atrocity, it is supplying weapons or logistical support to a government committing genocide.

As the late Chief Rabbi of Great Britain Immanuel Jakobovits ruled: It is forbidden to sell or supply arms to regimes that commit atrocities.

Where many Jewish leaders have remained silent, the Hague Group has spoken with moral force. Their statement is not merely what international law requires. It is what Jewish law and ethics demand.
Vancouver, British Columbia  TheNewswire - August 1, 2025  Harvest Gold Corporation (TSXV: HVG) (Harvest Gold or the Company) announces that, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) and further to its news release of July 3, 2025, it has closed its non-brokered private placement raising gross proceeds of $2,295,549.86 (the Offering).

The Offering consisted of 11,660,199 units (the Units) at a price of $0.075 per Unit for proceeds of $874,514.93 and 13,533,666 charity flow-through units (the CFT Units) at a price of $0.105 per CFT Unit for proceeds of $1,421,034.93.

Crescat Capital LLC (Crescat), as the lead investor in the Offering, purchased 5,866,666 Units, bringing its non-diluted ownership of Harvest Gold common shares to approximately 19.73%. Crescats participation constitutes a related party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). Such participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 based on the exemptions provided in Section 5.5(c) Distribution of Securities for Cash and Section 5.7(b) Fair Market Value Not More than $2,500,000, respectively.

Quinton Hennigh, Geologic and Technical Advisor at Crescat Capital LLC states: Harvest Gold has, in my view, a very attractive land position over a highly prospective greenstone belt that hosts the nearby Windfall deposit. Although in the early stage, Harvest Golds team collected solid geophysical and geochemical data that define some compelling green field targets. They are now set to conduct their first drill program to test these targets. I find it refreshing to see a company tackle something bold and new like this and look forward to seeing what they encounter.

Rick Mark, President and CEO of Harvest Gold states: We are grateful to Crescat and the outstanding group of investors who have supported us in this round and over the past two year as we established ourselves in Quebec. I am very pleased to say that the drilling at Mosseau will begin shortly and that, concurrently, we will be exploring Urban Barry and Labelle for the first time.

Each CFT Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (each, a Common Share) and one common share purchase warrant of the Company (each, a Warrant), each of which qualifies as a "flow-through share" (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada)). Each Unit consists of one Common Share and one Warrant. Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share (each, a Warrant Share) at a price of $0.12 per Warrant Share for a period of two years following the closing date of the Offering (the Expiry Date).

The Company anticipates using the proceeds from the issue and sale of the Units for the 2025 drilling campaign, various other exploration expenses and general working capital.

The gross proceeds raised from the CFT Units will be used by the Company to incur eligible Canadian exploration expenses that qualify as flow-through mining expenditures (as both terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada)) (the Qualifying Expenditures) related to the Company's projects in Quebec. The Company will renounce Qualifying Expenditures with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2025, in an amount of not less than the total amount of the gross proceeds raised from the issuance of the CFT Units, and incur such expenses by December 31, 2026.

All securities issued will be subject to a four-month hold period pursuant to securities laws in Canada, expiring on December 1, 2025.

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid finders fees consisting of $19,790 cash and 263,867 non-transferable finders warrants (the Finders Warrants) to arms length finders. Each Finders Warrant is exercisable at $0.12 until the Expiry Date.

About Harvest Gold Corporation

Harvest Gold has three active gold projects focused in the Urban Barry area, totalling 329 claims covering 17,539.25 ha, located approximately 45-70 km east of the Gold Fields Windfall Deposit.

The Companys board of directors, management team and technical advisors have collective geological and financing experience exceeding 400 years.

Harvest Gold acknowledges that the Mosseau Gold Project straddles the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay and Abitibi territories. Harvest Gold is committed to developing positive and mutually beneficial relationships based on respect and transparency with local Indigenous communities.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Rick Mark

President and CEO

Harvest Gold Corporation

For more information please contact:

Rick Mark or Jan Urata

@ 604.737.2303 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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 statements that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that Harvest Gold 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 include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the final approval of the Offering by the Exchange; the anticipated commencement of drilling at Mosseau and initial exploration at Urban Barry and Labelle; the Companys exploration plans and strategy; the expected use of proceeds from the Offering; and the Companys intention to incur and renounce Qualifying Expenditures under the Income Tax Act (Canada) within the prescribed timelines.

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, exploitation and exploration successes, and 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 Companys management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by 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.

The securities referred to in this news release 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 applicable securities laws of any state of the United States, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) or persons in the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws of the United States or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities within any jurisdiction, including the United States. Any public offering of securities in the United States must be made by means of a prospectus containing detailed information about the company and management, as well as financial statements.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MAX Power Mining Corp. (CSE: MAXX; OTC: MAXXF; FRANKFURT: 89N) (MAX Power or the Company) announces that further to its news releases of July 15 and July 23, 2025, the Company has closed non-brokered private placements of Units (the Offerings) for total gross proceeds of C$2,450,000 with Eric Sprott as lead investor.

Pursuant to the closing of the Offerings, the Company has issued 5,681,818 Units at $0.22 comprising 5,618,818 common shares and 5,681,818 share purchase warrants exercisable at a price of C$0.29 per warrant share, and a total of 7,500,000 Units at $0.16 comprising of a total of 7,500,000 common shares and 7,500,000 share purchase warrants exercisable at a price of C$0.25 per warrant share. The warrants shall be exercisable until August 1, 2027, and are subject to an acceleration clause.

Mr. Mansoor Jan, MAX Power CEO, commented: We welcome Eric Sprott as a major new investor in MAX Power and we appreciate his support for the largest permitted Natural Hydrogen project in Canada. We have entered an exciting new phase in the young history of MAX Power.

All securities issued in connection with the Offerings will be subject to a statutory hold period until December 2, 2025, in accordance with applicable securities legislation.



Eric Sprott, through 2176423 Ontario Ltd., a corporation beneficially owned by him, acquired 5,681,818 Units at $0.22 and 4,687,500 Units at $0.16 pursuant to the Offerings for total consideration of $2,000,000. Prior to the Offerings, Mr. Sprott did not own any securities of the Company. As a result of the Offerings, Mr. Sprott now beneficially owns or controls 10,369,318 common shares and 10,369,318 common share purchase warrants of the Company representing approximately 13.3% on a non-diluted basis and 23.5% on a fully diluted basis assuming the exercise of such Warrants.

The securities are held for investment purposes. Mr. Sprott has a long-term view of the investment and may acquire additional securities including on the open market or through private acquisitions or sell the securities including on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other relevant factors.

A copy of the early warning report with respect to the foregoing will appear on MAX Powers profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and may also be obtained by calling Mr. Sprotts office at (416) 945-3294 (2176423 Ontario Ltd., 7 King Street East, Suite 1106, Toronto Ontario M5C 3C5).

Eric Sprott and other Company insiders participated in the Offerings in the amount of $2,072,000, representing an aggregate of 5,137,500 Units at $0.16 and 5,681,818 Units at $0.22. The participation by insiders in the Offering constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the common shares purchased by insiders, nor the consideration for the Units paid by such insiders, exceeded 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the Offering, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances as the details of the participation by insiders of the Company were not settled until shortly prior to closing the Offerings and the Company wished to complete the Offering in an expeditious manner.

The Company did not pay any finders fees pertaining to the Closing of the Offerings. Proceeds of the Offerings will go toward exploration of its Natural Hydrogen properties in Saskatchewan and general working capital purposes.

The Company further announces that it expects to close its previously announced LIFE Offering private placement of Units of the Company at a price of C$0.20 per unit for total gross proceeds of C$2,000,000 on or about Wednesday, August 6, 2025.

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, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration.



MAX Power Corporate Video  Natural Hydrogen

Learn more about MAX Power and its opportunity in the Natural Hydrogen space by clicking on the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYkQN-PosNg

MAX Power Natural Hydrogen Presentation

Learn more about MAX Powers advantage in North Americas Natural Hydrogen sector by clicking on the following link:

https://www.maxpowermining.com/Maxpower_Hydrogen_June18_2025.pdf

About MAX Power

MAX Power is an innovative mineral exploration company focused on North Americas shift to decarbonization. The Company is a first mover in the rapidly growing Natural Hydrogen sector where it has built a dominant district scale land position with approximately 1.3 million acres (521,000 hectares) of permits covering prime exploration ground prospective for large volume accumulations of Natural Hydrogen. High priority initial drill target areas have been outlined. MAX Power also holds a portfolio of properties in the United States and Canada focused on critical minerals. These properties are highlighted by a 2024 diamond drilling discovery at the Willcox Playa Lithium Project in southeast Arizona.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Mansoor Jan - CEO

MAX Power Mining Corp.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For further information, please contact:

Chad Levesque

Ph: 1-306-981-4753

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.



Forward-Looking Statement Cautions

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to natural hydrogen, exploration and acquisition of natural hydrogen properties; ability to locate, discover and/or extract natural hydrogen from the subsurface, commentary as it relates to the opportune timing to carry out natural hydrogen exploration, and any anticipated increasing demand for natural hydrogen; any results and updates thereto as it relates to any future drill program, and the funding of that program; and upcoming press releases by the Company. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. They are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects, "plans, "anticipates, "believes, interpreted, "intends, "estimates, "projects, "aims, suggests, often, target, future, likely, pending, "potential, "goal, "objective, "prospective, possibly, preliminary, and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will, "would, "may, "can, "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and they involve number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the CSE, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with possible accidents and other risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, risks associated with the interpretation of assay results and the drilling program, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out its exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's Managements Discussion and Analysis, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+) at www.sedarplus.ca for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SUMMARY

Jeff Quartermaine will retire as Perseuss Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer on September 30, 2025

Mr. Quartermaine has served in the role for 12 years, having joined Perseus in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer

He has transformed the company from a struggling single mine operation to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional gold producer, developer and explorer with three operating assets and a fourth under construction

Under Mr. Quartermaines leadership, Perseus has become a leading gold company operating in Africa which joined the ASX100 index in June 2025

Former Newcrest global Chief Operating Officer Craig Jones will replace Mr Quartermaine, commencing with Perseus on August 18, 2025 before assuming the MD and CEO role on October 1, 2025.

Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX:PRU) announces its long-serving Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD and CEO) Jeff Quartermaine has advised he will retire from the role of Perseuss MD and CEO after serving for 12 years. His retirement will take effect from September 30, 2025, after which he has agreed to continue to support the Company through a Consultancy Agreement on market terms.

Mr. Quartermaine joined Perseus in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer, before being appointed CEO in 2013. Since assuming this role, he has transformed Perseus from a struggling single-mine, single-country company to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdictional gold producer, developer and explorer that has consistently delivered on its promises and is now one of the leading gold companies operating on the African continent.

Perseus now has three operating gold mines, Edikan in Ghana and Yaoure and Sissingue in Cote dIvoire, and is building a fourth mine, Nyanzaga, in Tanzania, which is on track to commence gold production in Q1 CY2027.

Perseuss Chairman Rick Menell praised Mr Quartermaines outstanding contribution in leading and shaping Perseus into the company it is today, saying:

On behalf of the Board, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to Jeff for his leadership and guidance over the years. Jeff has transformed Perseus and has been pivotal in turning it into one of the most profitable gold producers in the world. He has built extremely solid foundations for the Company to keep growing and we cannot thank him enough for such a positive legacy.

Outgoing MD and CEO, Mr. Quartermaine said: It has been an honour and a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve at the helm of Perseus Mining over the past 12 years. Not only has the Company been transformed into a credible ASX 100 organisation, but during this time we have generated significant benefits for all of our stakeholders, including many in our host communities in Africa whose lives have been significantly improved through Perseuss endeavours.

I am deeply indebted to all our staff, both past and present, who along with their families have given their friendship, hard work, and commitment in helping transform Perseus. Along the way we have faced a myriad of challenges including events such as the global COVID pandemic, but we have emerged stronger than ever, and the company is now well positioned to continue our success into the future.

In reflecting on the last 15 years at Perseus, I must acknowledge the enormous contribution made to my career and indirectly to the success of Perseus, by my own family whose unwavering support has made the journey so much easier.

Mr. Quartermaine will be replaced as MD and CEO by Craig Jones, who will commence work with Perseus on August 18, 2025 and will assume the positions of MD and CEO with effect from October 1, 2025.

Mr Jones joins Perseus with more than 25 years of global experience, having worked across Australia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Indonesia and Canada. He was a member of Newcrests executive team from 2012, having originally joined in 2008, and ultimately serving as Newcrests global COO, with broad responsibility for five operating assets spread across multiple jurisdictions. In that capacity, he played a critical role in the development of organisational strategies, due diligence and investor relations. Mr Jones also led high-level engagement with governments, communities and First Nations groups across PNG, Canada and Australia.

Beyond his executive roles, Mr. Jones was a Newcrest nominee director on the Boards of SolGold and Lundin Gold and was Newcrests representative on Joint Venture Committees including the Morobe Mining Joint Venture in PNG and the Red Chris Joint Venture in British Columbia, reflecting extensive global resource-sector connectivity and governance experience.

A values-driven leader recognised for enhancing safety and fostering a strong organisational culture, Mr Jones is known for his consistent, empathetic and principled leadership style, which has earned the respect of peers, governments and communities alike.

Mr Menell said: We are delighted to welcome Craig to the Perseus team as Managing Director and CEO. Perseus is going through a significant phase of growth, in an environment that is getting increasingly complex, so we need a leader of Craigs calibre to build on Jeffs incredible legacy and confirm  and further grow  our position as one of the worlds better performing mid-tier gold producers. Craig brings a wealth of strategic, operational and technical expertise, a deep understanding of complex operating jurisdictions and stakeholder management and a clear commitment to sustainable practices. We look forward to working with Craig and the rest of the Perseus team to bring the Company even further.

Mr. Jones will be based in Perseuss head office in Perth, Western Australia.

A summary of the material terms of the employment agreement between Perseus and Mr. Jones is provided in Appendix A of this announcement.

Appendix A: CEO Summary of Key Terms of employment

Commencement Date August 18, 2025 Total Fixed Remuneration A Total Fixed Remuneration (TFR) (inclusive of Superannuation) of AU$1,060,000 per annum. Incentives Short-Term incentive: target opportunity 75% of TFR



Long-Term incentive: participation, subject to shareholder approval, in Perseuss performance rights plan at 150% of TFR Other Benefits Annual Leave and Long Service Leave in line with statutory requirements

Relocation from Brisbane to Perth Probation Period 6 months Notice Period 6 months (either party may give notice)

This market announcement was authorised for release by the Chairman of the Board of Perseus Mining Limited, Rick Menell.
Peru's president on Thursday dismissed an international court order to suspend a law granting amnesty to police, military and state perpetrators of rights violations during a bloody campaign against leftist guerrillas from 1980 to 2000.

The law, passed by Congress and awaiting the signature of President Dina Boluarte, benefits uniformed personnel accused or convicted of crimes committed during fighting between state forces and the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel groups.

Some 70,000 people were killed during the decades-long unrest, and critics say the legislation would impede access to justice and reparations for victims.

About 20,000 people remain listed as "disappeared."

Some 156 cases with final judgements and 600 ongoing trials could be affected by the amnesty, according to a report by UN experts.

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) said Peru must "immediately suspend" approval of the law.

If not, it said, the competent authorities must refrain from applying the law while the court looks into the legality of the amnesty.

Boluarte insisted Thursday that "we will not allow the intervention of the Inter-American Court aimed at suspending a bill intended to bring justice to members of the armed forces, police, and self-defense committees who risked their lives to fight against the madness of terrorism."

A report by UN experts this month urged Boluarte's government to veto the law, arguing Peru "has a duty to investigate, prosecute and punish gross human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during the conflict."

Rights NGO Amnesty International had also urged the legislature to side with victims and reject the bill.

Twenty states in the Americas recognize the jurisdiction of the IACHR to interpret the American Convention on Human Rights -- a treaty on the rights and liberties that must be respected by parties.

According to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there are more than 4,000 clandestine graves in the country as a result of two decades of political violence.
On July 28, the UN-backed Special Criminal Court (SCC) in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, handed down its verdict in the Ndele 1 case. It sentenced six defendants in absentia to prison terms ranging from 20 to 25 years for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Twenty people have been tried by the SCC to date, including one who was acquitted (in the Ndele 2 trial) and three definitively convicted. The trial court handed down a guilty verdict on 16 others, of whom ten were absent.

The SCC has issued 48 arrest warrants. Thirty-eight people are still wanted, 27 of whom are under investigation. Only one trial, the Paoua case, has been completely finished, with reparation measures carried out last year.

Having given final judgment in the Paoua case and given first instance judgment in the Ndele 1 and 2 cases, the SCC still has some 20 cases under investigation. Six of these have been completed, or are nearing completion, and the court is keen to wrap them up before its second term expires in October 2028. A fourth trial could open shortly. But this hybrid court, made up of national and international staff, is facing financial and human resources difficulties.

At the beginning of the courts existence, we had several partners supporting us, says SCC president Michel Landry. I dont understand why we cant maintain the same momentum today. Perhaps it is because of the various crises the world is going through, perhaps concerns and interests are now elsewhere. I dont know, but the enthusiasm that existed at the start is not the same today.

United States pulls out

Since its creation, the SCCs annual budgets have never been fully funded. In 2023, for example, the budget was $15 million, but donors only paid half that sum. There is the same problem this year, while three cases have just been tried (Ndele 1 and two phases of Ndele 2), resulting in the conviction of 16 defendants. The SCC is preparing to open another trial on victims civil interests, with a likely decision on reparations as in the Paoua case. Last year, to carry out the Paoua case decision, we received support from the Americans, which enabled us to proceed with reparations. Today, the coffers are empty, and we dont know how were going to manage if other convictions require compensation, worries Louanga. We are not a court that gets specific funding from the international community like the International Criminal Court (ICC), whose funding is programmed every year. The Special Criminal Court operates on the basis of voluntary contributions from States and certain international organisations. What we receive is what allows us to operate.

The SCC will meet its donors again in September to review its budget and prospects for completing its second mandate. Following the withdrawal of the United States, which is providing 1.9 million dollars for the 2025 budget, this will be a period of major negotiations. These will notably involve the UN Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), whose 2025 budget starting July 1 has apparently still not been decided in New York; the European Union, which is returning after withdrawing in 2023; and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which seems to want to leave. The UNDP does not provide money directly, but takes care of all staff contracts, equipment and supplies.

The prosecution of the Central African Republic's Special Criminal Court has secured convictions for 19 of the 20 people it has brought to trial so far. Photo:  Barbara Debout / AFP

Only one trial chamber, not enough international judges

The law that created the SCC provided for it to have three trial chambers. Ten years later, it has only one. At present, we dont have enough international judges to do the job. There have been some departures recently. We have at least three vacancies, Judge Louanga explained in June. Deputy Prosecutor Alain Ouaby-Bekai added: The law provides for hybrid investigating chambers: one international judge and one national judge. Unfortunately, the mandates of the first international investigating judges expired, and the body that provides us with these judges, MINUSCA, is struggling to recruit. Today, two investigating offices have no international judges. Thank goodness weve just recruited some. Recruitment, redeployment of judges and the willingness of countries to make them available for the Special Criminal Court is a whole process. Recruitment can take a year or two. As a result, the only current international judge before the investigating chambers is split between the three investigating sections. This makes the work difficult. On July 16, Swiss prosecutor Laurence Boillat was sworn in as a judge at the SCC and is due to join the second investigating chamber. She will be joining a judge from Burkina Faso already in post.

In this context of underfunding, some think the court should establish a second trial chamber and open trials, rather than continuing to put money into investigations, since it may not be able to try more cases.

Here are the six cases considered ready or nearly ready for trial:

GUEN CASE

This is the most advanced case to date and is likely to be the subject of the fourth SCC trial. It should finally go to trial from around September, depending on the availability of the SCCs sole trial chamber. On July 25, the trial section held a status conference behind closed doors in preparation for the trial.

This is a case of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed between February and March 2014 in the west of the Central African Republic, particularly in the towns of Gadzi, Guen and Djomo. The suspects are Mathurin Kombo, Francois Boybanda alias Balere, Philemon Kahena alias CB, Dieudonne Gomitoua, Jean Bahara (still wanted) and Edmond Beina. Beina alone is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the same crimes committed in Guen. But the SCC wants to add him to the case, which already includes five other defendants.

The charges relate to crimes against humanity and war crimes of murder, attempted murder, extermination, persecution, pillaging, forcible transfer of population, rape and sexual violence and other inhumane acts intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to physical or mental health, including forced marriages. After the resignation of President Djotodja in 2014, the Anti-Balaka [a predominantly Christian militia group] turned on the Muslim population in the streets of Guen and committed massacres against civilians, women and children, says prosecutor Ouaby-Bekai. He puts the number of victims at 26.

BOSSEMBELE CASE

In this case, three people are waiting in jail for a fourth defendant who is unlikely to be arrested: former Central African President Francois Bozize. These henchmen of his regime (2003-2013), Eugene Ngaikosset, Vianney Semndiro and Junior Firmin Danboy, were arrested in 2021 and 2022 and detained at the SCC. The case mainly concerns crimes committed between February 2009 and March 2013 by the presidential guard and other internal security forces, in the civilian prison and at the military training centre in Bossembele (north-west of Bangui).

Semndiro, an officer in the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), is charged with crimes against humanity for murder and enforced disappearance. He is alleged to have arbitrarily detained, executed and tortured prisoners while in charge of the towns prison. Ngaikosset, a former FACA and presidential guard captain nicknamed the Butcher of Paoua is also charged with crimes against humanity. He is alleged to have commanded a unit involved in numerous crimes, including the massacre of dozens of civilians and the burning of thousands of homes in the north-west and north-east of the country between 2005 and 2007. In addition, he is alleged to have committed crimes as a leader of the Anti-Balaka movement, notably in Bangui in 2015. Danboy is being prosecuted for crimes against humanity, including murder, enforced disappearance, illegal detention and torture.

As for Bozize, the SCC has requested the cooperation of States through Interpol to obtain his arrest. An arrest warrant was issued on April 30. Tried in absentia last year, Bozize, who created the Coalition des patriotes pour le changement rebellion in December 2020, was found guilty of undermining state security and murder. He has been resident in Guinea-Bissau since March 2023, in accordance with a roadmap for peace signed in 2021. The State in which the former president resides expressed its opposition in a press statement to his extradition, explains Ouaby-Bekai, but we have gone through the usual procedure to refer the matter to the country that is harbouring him. We are awaiting their official reaction, also in writing. I believe that there is no judicial cooperation agreement with [this] country. We also know that this country has not ratified the Rome Statute [founding treaty of the ICC]. So its a matter of diplomatic negotiation. It could take a year, two years, three years. In the meantime, the prosecutor explains, a separation of the case could be requested, so that the accused who are present would be tried in person and Bozize would be tried in absentia. "When the time comes, we will see, he adds.

The prosecution order in this case dates back to September 2024, but it has been appealed. The court is hoping to get the case moving in September.

FATIMA 1 CASE

Long predicted to be the second case tried by the SCC, the Fatima 1 case has only gone backwards. The reason is that more and more arrests are being made in connection with it. The most recent is that of Mohamed Ali Fadoul, who was arrested on March 20, 2025. Eight other people have already been charged in connection with the case. They are Adamou Yalo alias Adamou Jesus, Hadiatou Gary, Abdel Kader Ali alias Americain, Youssouf Amat Youssouf, Amat Kalit alias Kaleb, Mahamat Abdoulaye alias Issa Mbongue, Ahamat Tidjani and Abakar Zakaria Hamid alias SG. One defendant in the case, Al Bachir Oumar, died in prison in 2023.

They are all charged with crimes against humanity for murder, extermination, persecution, enforced disappearance, cruel treatment such as torture, attacks against the civilian population, against places of worship, against property essential to the survival of the population, and pillaging.

The case concerns the first attack on the Catholic parish of Notre-Dame-de-Fatima, in Banguis 6th arrondissement. On May 28, 2014, elements of the Seleka rebel movement attacked the church, firing at point-blank range and throwing grenades into the building where thousands of people displaced by the armed conflict of 2013-2014 had taken refuge. Seventeen people lost their lives, including Abbe Emile Nzale. We are on the point of closing the Fatima case, says Ouaby-Bekai. We are awaiting feedback from the examining magistrates in charge of the case so that we can file our final indictment. If they agree with us, we can consider bringing the case to trial, provided there is no appeal from the defence lawyers. If there is no procedural battle, well be able to move very quickly. He points out, however, that the defence teams systematically make use of their right to appeal.

The investigation could be completed between September and November, according to Justice Info sources.

Defense teams at the Special Criminal Court in Central African Republic. Photo:  Barbara Debout / AFP

FATIMA 2 CASE

Four years after the attack in May 2014, another attack targeted the same parish of Notre-Dame-de-Fatima on May 1, 2018. It all began with events involving a certain Moussa Empereur, who allegedly belonged to the self-defence group of Nimery Matar Djamous, alias Force (prosecuted but deceased). In the course of what happened, this man was allegedly wounded by the Internal Security Forces. In retaliation, a group of armed men from Km5, a predominantly Muslim district of Bangui, attacked the church of Fatima, where hundreds of Catholic worshippers had gathered for a mass in honour of Saint Joseph, patron saint of workers. The toll was high, with around a hundred people injured and 19 dead, including Abbe Albert Toungoumale-Baba. Very few people have been arrested in this case, and the SCC has not released the identity of those it did have arrested. For Fatima 2, there are still certain steps that need to be taken before we can consider closing the case, says Ouaby-Bekai.

BANGASSOU CASE

As the civil war of 2013-2014 began to ease in Bangui and certain towns, a conflict broke out in 2017 between communities in Bangassou, the capital of the Mbomou prefecture in south-eastern Central African Republic. Self-defence groups attacked Muslim civilians. Dozens were killed in the fighting, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. In July 2024, the SCC announced the arrest of three individuals, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with this. They are Yvon Nzelete alias Kpokporo, Narcisse Christian Gomani Niakari alias Shogui, and Roger Linet. These three men are accused of having played a key role in the crimes, although the exact nature of the atrocities and the period in which they took place have not yet been revealed in detail due to the ongoing investigation.

The SCC has also indicated that the case against these three defendants will be joined to that of Abdoulaye Hissene, who was arrested a year earlier. Abdoulaye Hissene, as a warlord, was everywhere at once. And we have a prosecution strategy to see where the best chance is of getting prosecution evidence. So we could have decided to prosecute him in the Ndele 1 or Ndele 2 case, but we decided to prosecute him in the Bangassou case, explains Ouaby-Bekai.

Some analysts see this decision as a way of avoiding confrontation between Abdoulaye Hissene and certain ministers still in office. Summoned to appear at the Ndele 1 trial, Hissene did not wish to comment in detail and hoped that the court would also summon all those in the government allegedly involved in the inter-community conflicts in Ndele. But Ouaby-Bekai says its just a strategy on the part of the prosecution to get evidence [against Hissene].

The Bangassou case is still under investigation, and several other suspects and witnesses are still to be heard.

ALINDAO CASE

This is also a case that has been dormant before the SCC since Hassan Bouba escaped from Camp de Roux prison in November 2021 and returned to his government post as Minister of Livestock. The Alindao affair is very big considering the scale of an attack on a site for displaced persons that left 112 people dead in November 2018. The investigation could be closed at the end of July. Officially, only one defendant has been charged in this case: Idriss Ibrahim Khalil, alias Bin Laden, who became a soldier after the crime and was arrested in July 2022.
Sexual and reproductive violence such as forced pregnancy was systematically committed during and after the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region, two human rights NGOs said in a report, constituting "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The northern region endured a brutal civil war from 2020 until 2022, pitching Ethiopian federal forces, supported by the Eritrean army and local militias, against a local political party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

Some 600,000 people died during the conflict, and all sides were accused of committing atrocities.

The 88-page report released Thursday by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Organization for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH) includes interviews with 500 healthcare and case workers revealing a picture of "widespread, systematic and deliberate" conflict-related sexual and reproductive violence.

"Such acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity of sexual violence, forced pregnancy, sexual enslavement and persecution on the intersection of ethnic, gender, age and political grounds," it said.

"Perpetrators have operated with impunity, victims have been silenced," Lindsey Green, PHR deputy director of research, told AFP.

The organisations called for further investigations to determine whether "crimes of genocide" were committed.

"On the term of genocide, we do not have the data to make that determination, but there was clear intention expressed by perpetrators to decimate the Tigrayan ethnic group and physical injuries consistent with this," said Green.

- 'Break you' -

The violence was "often perpetrated by individuals who spoke languages or wore uniforms indicating affiliation with the Eritrean military", the report said.

Other perpetrators included members of the Ethiopian army, as well as other groups supporting the government, including armed groups from the neighbouring Amhara region.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Ghebremeskel declined to comment on the report when asked by AFP.

An Ethiopian federal army spokesperson and Amhara authorities did not respond to queries.

The report emphasises that women and girls were targeted "specifically because of their ethnic identity as Tigrayan".

It found that 73 percent of healthcare workers had treated patients who said their attackers "had used language indicating intent to destroy their ability to have children", while nearly half said assaults were intended to cause unwanted pregnancies.

Almost 60 percent said they had treated women whose attackers had deliberately attempted to infect them with sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.

"The perpetrators were not motivated by sexual desire but rather by a desire to inflict pain and suffering," a reproductive health coordinator in Tigray told researchers.

Other abuse included objects being inserted into women's wombs, including nails, stones and plastic-wrapped papers scrawled with anti-Tigrayan messages, that were later discovered by healthcare workers.

"On average, women we have treated have been raped by between five and eight people, with some experiencing assaults by as many as 14 perpetrators," said one interviewee.

A Tigrayan psychologist said there were women "who were raped by the soldiers while their brother and husband are standing in front of them".

Atrocities have continued across several regions of Ethiopia due to the lack of accountability, the report said.

Victims have suffered psychological and physical impacts, including damaged reproductive organs and infections such as HIV and hepatitis.

Many suffered multiple forms of harm, said one health worker: "Foreign objects entering their reproductive areas, beatings, economic harm, psychological harm and insults that make you hate yourself and be ashamed and break you."
KILDARE is to host a world gathering of over 1,500 delegates this week when it hosts Orbit 2025  the annual jamboree of Girl Guides from every corner of the earth.

Beginning on Sunday (3 August) with an opening ceremony on the estate of host facility Clongowes College, this one-of-a-kind international camp experience will run until the following Saturday (9 August).

The campus will be set up with galaxy of subcamps, each named after a constellation, the experience encourages girls to explore their potential, celebrate diversity, and build lifelong friendships.

Orbit 2025 is an adventure for girls aged 1017, packed with skill-building, celebration, and friendship, and the camp will feature nine themed activity zones designed to spark creativity, leadership, resilience, and global awareness.

From building robots and learning first aid, to African drumming, yoga, planetarium visits, and immersive sustainability workshops, each zone offers something unique and unforgettable.

Irish Girl Guide

Orbit 2025 welcomes participants from countries including Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, India, Malta, New Zealand, Portugal, the United States, and the UK, among others, reflecting the truly global spirit of Guiding.

Entirely volunteer-led, Orbit 2025 is powered by hundreds of passionate Irish Girl Guides Leaders and staff who have created an environment of safety, joy, and empowerment. Everything has been carefully planned with one goal in mind: helping girls grow in confidence, connection, and leadership.

Some of my best memories from being a Guide were made on an international camp, Camp 101, so being part of the team creating those memories for this generation of Guides has felt really special, says Sophie Cassidy, Orbit 2025 Staff Team from Drogheda.

Orbit 2025 will also feature a series of unforgettable camp-wide events all designed to celebrate unity, creativity, and global sisterhood.
Kelsey Leonard makes her professional debut against Englands Kira Carter in Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast on this Saturday night, a fight that will be shown live on TG4 YouTube. The 26 year old Kildare boxer, who boxes under Niall Barrett in UNIT 3 Health and Fitness, Naas, turned professional only last month after a very successful amateur career in Ireland.

Before travelling up to camp in Belfast this week Kelsey spoke with The Kildare Nationalist and she admitted that there was very little difference between preparations for Saturdays fight and her amateur days. Ive been training professionally for a few years now so this isnt new, she explained. There have been some small changes though because as a pro I will be doing four by two-minute rounds instead of three-by-three so the rounds are a lot more intense. It is like doing sprints rather than a jog. Training has been tailored to replicate that, she explained.

Sparring has been good for Leonard also. Ive been getting great rounds with local Kildare boxer Ester Lambe who has been a huge help in my preparations, she told us. Ive also flown over to Liverpool to get sparring rounds with professional fighter Olivia Holmes and Jade Jones, two-time Olympic champion.

Kelsey Leonard ahead of her first professional fight.

Leonard also praised her manager, Niall Barrett.

He has so much knowledge of the pro game and has history in this area with Gary Cully, Katelynn Phelan and Paul Loonam. I have been able to put my trust in him and his guidance in and out of the ring has been invaluable.

Having The Sarto Diva Gary Cully as an advisor and training partner has been beneficial to Kelsey Leonard too. He has always been the person to push everyone in the gym and make everyone want to do better but being able to learn from his experiences as a pro has helped me settle into this scene so much easier. I am also lucky enough to have Diva Coffee Co. as a sponsor for this camp so that has helped me so much, she added.

Kelsey weigh in on Friday in Belfast.

I will be fighting late on Saturday so we will be doing late sessions this week to get my body used to training at that time. It will be short explosive sessions to keep me ready for Saturday night, she explained.

Her opponent, Kira Carter is a two-time English Amateur Champion and has gone the distance with two of the three European Champions that she has fought in her 20-fight professional career. Kelsey is very grateful for the continued support of her sponsors including UNIT 3: Health and Fitness Naas, Diva Coffee Co, Sli Beatha Floathouse Naas, The Unit Recovery Naas, Brendan Conlan Automobiles, The Curragh Racecourse, Fightstore Ireland and SDK Detailing.

I get nervous for every fight but nerves for me are excitement and it means that you care about the thing you are about to do. I get confidence when I feel those butterflies as I know that I am going to be switched on and focused in the fight, Kelsey Leonard concluded.
BILLIONAIRE John Malone has revealed that he turned down an offer for one of his Irish estates from Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.

It was reported that Mr Zuckerberg said: Ive heard it was one of the most beautiful places in Ireland, to which Mr Malone said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. And I said, Yeah, probably, but it aint for sale. The estate in question is Castlemartin which is located in Kilcullen and was purchased by Mr Malone in 2015. The estate includes a major stud farm and cattle breeding operations, a restored medieval church and an icehouse.

Mr Malone, whose Liberty Media is the ultimate owner of Virgin Media, did not disclose how much he was offered for Castlemartin by Zuckerberg.

After the death of the estates previous owner Tony O'Reilly last year, The New York Times published a correction to its obituary of the Irish businessman, saying it had mis-stated the price that Malone had paid for Castlemartin which was close to 28m, not 7.4m.
Athy will warmly welcome four winners of the Ernest Shackleton essay competition from the Falkland Islands to visit the new Shackleton Museum during their tour of the UK and Ireland.

On August 19, Ruby Marsh, Alice-May Curtis, Benjamin Goodwin and Theo Young will come to Athy after winning an article writing competition on Kilkeas own Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton and the rescue of his men from Antarctica after their ship, Endurance was crushed in the ice in 1915 during Shackleton's 1914-1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

The children will be accompanied by Falkland Islands Museum Outreach Assistant, Sandra Alazia and Falkland College Manager, Trustee of Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust, and Geologist Emma Brook.

The generous support of Polar Seafish Ltd and Argos Group Ltd, Falkland Island fishing companies, has made this incredible opportunity possible.

Organisers would like to thank the committee, board and staff of the Shackleton Museum, Jonathan Shackleton, Joe OFarrell, Eamon McNeill and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council.

The prize for the 4 winners was a sponsored trip to Bristol to see the restored S S Great Britain and then to Ireland to visit the Shackleton Museum and Shackletons birthplace in Kilkea.

They will also be able to travel to Northern Ireland and see the Crozier Memorials and homeplace in Banbridge, Co Down on August 20.

There they will be hosted by Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council.

They will finish that part of their visit with a visit to the nearby Game of Thrones Studio Tour.
Tirlan urged farmers to prioritise farm safety every day as it delivered a 5,000 donation to support the charity Embrace FARM on Farm Safety Week 2025.

Pictured above are Tirlan Vice Chairperson Tom Phelan, Embrace FARMs Norma Rohan, Tiran Chairperson John Murphy, Embrace FARMs Brian Rohan and Tirlans Director of Corporate Affairs Pat OKeeffe as the donation was presented to Embrace FARM, Irelands leading support network for farm families affected by sudden death and serious injury.

John Murphy, Tirlan Chairperson, said: On Farm Safety Week, were urging our suppliers to look at their farm with fresh eyes and ensure their workplace environment is as safe as possible every single day of the year to protect them and their families.

Our Co-op is supporting Embrace FARM on behalf of our farmers with much needed funding in 2025 just as we have in years past.

TAP HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS

Founded by Tirlan suppliers Brian and Norma Rohan, Embrace FARM has grown into a vital support system for families navigating the aftermath of farm tragedies. With the average cost of support per family totalling 2,165, consistent funding is criticalespecially in agriculture, which remains Irelands most dangerous workplace sector. This years funding will help Embrace FARM expand its expert-led services and reach even more families in need.

Lisa Tierney, Communications Support Coordinator at Embrace FARM, added: Each familys journey is as unique as the loss theyve faced. The continued support from Tirlan helps us walk beside them in that journey, on their terms and in their time. Its more than financial support, its a partnership built on compassion and shared values.
Kilkenny County Council has announced the official launch of the Kilkenny Age Friendly Strategy 20252028, a comprehensive roadmap aimed at enhancing the quality of life for older people across the county.

Community consultations were conducted to gather insights and feedback, shaping a strategy grounded in the real experiences and needs of older adults.

The strategy focuses on housing, transport, health services, social inclusion, and safety to support active, healthy aging.

This is the third Age Friendly Strategy for Kilkenny, building on previous successes since 2010.

READ NEXT: Kilkenny gardai launch major operation which is already underway!

"This strategy is a commitment to action and it is a testament to our collective effort to create a community where older people feel valued, empowered, and supported. Together, we will work to ensure Kilkenny remains a great place to grow older," Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, Cllr. Mary Hilda Cavanagh commented.

"This strategy is a commitment to action and it is a testament to our collective effort to create a community where older people feel valued, empowered, and supported. Together, we will work to ensure Kilkenny remains a great place to grow older," Cllr Cavanagh added.

Kilkenny has been recognised for several Age Friendly initiatives, including the first Age Friendly city, hospital, train station, hotel, and shopping centre in Ireland.

This new strategy builds on the success of previous initiatives and reflects Kilkennys ongoing commitment to becoming a truly age-friendly county.

Nickey Brennan, Kilkennys Age Friendly Ambassador speaking at the launch said: "I welcome the launch of the Kilkenny Age Friendly Strategy and commend all those who contributed to the development of the plan.

"The vision for our Age Friendly Programme has always been for all of us to live and grow old in the comfort and safety of our own homes. That vision remains as relevant today as it was over a decade and a half ago when Kilkenny commenced its age friendly journey," he continued.

The full strategy can be viewed HERE

More in next week's Kilkenny People...

FOR MORE KILKENNY COMMUNITY NEWS, CLICK HERE
Stuff reports:

New Zealand exports will face a 15% tariff after the latest moves from US President Donald Trump.

Trump signed the order for new tariffs to go into effect in 7 days on a wide swathe of US trading partners.

The tariff will be levied on New Zealand exports to the US. In Trumps Liberation Day event on April 2 New Zealand exports were marked down for a 10% tariff  so the new rate is an increase.
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Just some of the estimated 75 citizens who attended a public hearing on July 30 in opposition to plans for a saltwater injection well.
Louise Walsh

The chairperson of a leading Ireland India group says he is receiving reports of daily attacks on the Indian community in the greater Dublin area and has called on the government for an 'immediate and co-ordinated state response."

The Ireland India Council wrote to Tanaiste Simon Harris and Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan in the wake of an unprovoked assault on an Indian man in Tallaght and believes the same group of assailants may also be responsible for four other attacks on the Indian community in recent weeks.

Among measures it is calling for is the formal recognition of the hate crime status, a cross-departmental task force on hate crime and youth violence and legislation to hold parents responsible both 'financially and criminally' for repeated violent actions of minors in their care.

The Ireland India Council is an independent, non-aligned prominent organisation dedicated to strengthening Ireland-India relations across public, private, academic and cultural domains, and was established in 2002 by the late Irish economist Professor Louis Smith and current chairman Prashant Shukla.

Mr Shukla said he is receiving at least two calls or emails each day about racial attacks on members of the Indian community living in the greater Dublin area.

"Incidents of assault, intimidation or harassment targeting Indian residents in Dublin are happening on the street, on the buses or in residential areas," he said.

"People are now afraid to step outside during daylight hours. In one particular egregious case, a man's eyesight was affected. These cases cannot be dismissed or ignored."

He strongly condemned what he described as 'mischievous propaganda campaign' that falsely portrays Indian nationals as contributing to Ireland's housing crisis.

"This is a deeply misleading and divisive perception. Indians are purchasing homes at full market value and contributing positively to the Irish economy through lawful means.

Their property purchases have no bearing on the housing shortage and suggesting otherwise is both irresponsible and inflammatory and fuels the very resentment that leads to these attacks."

Mr Shukla also highlighted the role Indian professionals play in Ireland particularly in healthcare and multinational industries and warned that any threat to their safety would have an economic consequence.

He believes that both ultra-left and ultra-right ideologies are 'fuelling harmful narratives and polarisation that risk undermining Ireland's social cohesion and international reputation.

"Ireland has always been respected as a nation of fairness, compassion and lawful order and that image is at stake if we do not decisively address this rising tide of intolerance."

However, Mr Shukla reiterated the importance of balancing integration with the preservation of the Irish identity.

"The Ireland India Council is committed to supporting a well-managed immigration system. This system should support, not replace Irish demography and ethos. Ghettoisation must be actively prevented and integration must be genuine and inclusive - a two way street where everyone contributes to a safe and harmonious society.

In a letter to Tanaiste Simon Harris, the council expresses its 'grave concerns following a violent, racially motivated assault that took place on the evening of Saturday July 19th, 2025 In kilnamanagh, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

"The victim's life was narrowly saved due to the extraordinary courage of two Irish women who intervened at personal risk.

"We have credible reason to believe that this was not an isolated occurrence. Eyewitness accounts and reports from local residents indicate that the same group may be responsible for at least four prior assaults against members of the Indian Community in recent weeks.

"These disturbing patterns point to an organised and escalating trend of racially motivated violence "

Shakla calls on Minister O'Callaghan for a formal recognition of hate crime status, a full investigation and prosecution of offenders in the Tallaght attack and enhanced garda deployment and community policing.

It also calls for new legislation to hold parents responsible for the action of minors both 'criminally and financially'

In seeking an urgent meeting with the government, Shakla states: "This incident has sent shockwaves to our communities. Fear has replaced trust. Parents are terrified to let their children walk alone. Immigrants who contribute daily to the social and economic fabric of Ireland feel under siege.

"We must act now. Failing to respond decisively risks normalising violence, eroding public trust and irreparably damaging Ireland's international standing as a nation of fairness, compassion and lawful order."
By Rebecca Black, PA

A judge has stressed that the trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson and his wife Eleanor Donaldson should not be delayed again.

The couple both face charges relating to alleged historical sex offences.

The trial had previously been due to start in March, but was delayed because of Eleanor Donaldsons ill health.

A new trial date has been set for November 3rd.

Eleanor Donaldson attending Newry Crown Court for a no bill hearing in February. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

The case was mentioned briefly at Belfast Crown Court on Friday morning for an update on an assessment over whether Eleanor Donaldson is currently fit to stand trial.

Ian Turkington KC, who represents Eleanor Donaldson, said his client was examined by a consultant psychiatrist on July 18th.

We have been told we can expect a report, hopefully this Monday, he said.

That being so, Ive indicated that if there is an intention to serve any report, itll be done within seven days of our receipt of the report, assuming it is Monday.

The prosecution also intend to instruct a doctor to examine Eleanor Donaldson.

Judge Paul Ramsey put to Mr Turkington that this depends what is in the report, and expressed that he is keen to ensure the trial date is not interfered with.

It was agreed the case would be mentioned on September 11th at Newry Crown Court for an update.

The judge said it would not be necessary for defendants to attend on that date.

Jeffrey Donaldson (62), who did not attend the hearing in Belfast on Friday, has pleaded not guilty to 18 alleged offences.

The charges include one count of rape as well as allegations of indecent assault and gross indecency.

These alleged incidents span a time period between 1985 and 2008, and there are two alleged victims.

Eleanor Donaldson (59), of Dublinhill Road, Dromore, who also did not attend court, is facing charges of aiding and abetting, which she denies.

Jeffrey Donaldson, the long-standing MP for Lagan Valley was arrested and charged at the end of March last year.

He resigned as DUP leader and was suspended from the party after the allegations emerged.

Weeks before his arrest, he had led the DUP back into Stormont after a two-year boycott of the powersharing institutions.

Previous deputy leader Gavin Robinson was appointed his successor as DUP chief.

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.
On 31 July the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to the immediate disbursement of US$2bn after Argentina underwent the first review of its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement last week.

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Leonardo Dominguez Gomez, field researcher with the New York City Department of Health, tests a heroin sample for xylazine at St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction in New York City on May 25, 2023. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images

A Monroe County man was sentenced up to 15 years after delivering a concoction of drugs to a woman who later died from an overdose.

Joseph Robert Bleiler, 29, of Stroudsburg, was ordered to serve 7 to 15 years behind bars at a hearing Wednesday before Monroe Court of Common Pleas Judge Stephen M. Higgins. Bleiler was sentenced to the maximum penalties allowed by law on the respective charges, the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office said.

Bleiler in May pleaded guilty to felony possession with intent to deliver drugs and misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter.

State Attorney General Dave Sunday announced the sentencing this week.

Martin Emilio Souto-Diaz, the public defender representing Bleiler, told lehighvalleylive.com Friday morning he wasnt at liberty just yet to comment on the case, but would consider commenting in the future.

Those distributing deadly poisons in our communities will face the full consequences of those actions, Sunday said in a statement following the hearing. Fighting to keep these substances out of Pennsylvania neighborhoods is a core function of the Office of Attorney General. Every life lost is a tragedy that will be forever felt by that persons loved ones.

The victims sister said during the hearing the woman was so full of life no matter what her situation was, she was always happy enough to make someone else feel happiness too.

Stroud Area Regional Police in July 2023 were called to the victims Stroudsburg Borough apartment and found her unresponsive. The victim went into cardiac arrest and died en route to the hospital, authorities said.

The cause of death was determined to be from a concoction of fentanyl, heroin, and xylazine toxicity.

Sunday said xylazine is a known potent tranquilizer among law enforcement to be used as a cutting agent to increase profits for dealers. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, has no impact on a person who ingested xylazine, the AG said.

Investigators found one used plastic bag and one full plastic bag of the drug concoction at the apartment, authorities said. It was later determined Bleiler supplied the concoctions to the victim.

This case was prosecuted by Monroe County Senior Deputy Attorney General Jaime Keating. The Stroud Area Regional Police Department investigated the case and filed the charges.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached atpholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
The 40-year-old Monroe County woman allegedly deceived 19 healthcare providers across three Pennsylvania counties between 2021-2024, forging documents and stealing physician identities. AP

A Monroe County woman is accused of fraudulently obtaining thousands of oxycodone pills from more than a dozen health providers by faking terminal cancer.

Brandi Leigh Bachman, 40, of Stroudsburg, is charged with 21 counts of felony acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud, along with other counts of felony identity theft and felony criminal use of a communication facility.

Bachman was arrested Wednesday and arraigned that same afternoon before District Judge Kristina Anzini, who set bail at $25,000. In lieu of bail, Bachman was sent to the Monroe County jail.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Friday morning announced the charges against Bachman. No attorney information was immediately listed for Bachman in court records.

Fraudulently obtaining thousands of opioid prescription pills in this manner is offensive to those living with a legitimate diagnosis, Sunday said in a statement. This conduct also endangers our communities by increasing the supply of these drugs available for off-label use.

Sunday said the scheme allowed Bachman to access opioids for years, deceiving health providers who believed they were treating legitimate pain from a terminal illness. The case spans 2021 to 2024.

In total, Bachman received 8,300 oxycodone pills from 19 different providers across Lehigh, Monroe and Carbon counties, authorities said.

Bachman allegedly told the providers she had malignant melanoma, spreading to her lungs. Providers reported Bachman allegedly had difficulty gaining proof documents for various reasons. In some cases, she then forged the documents, stealing the identities of at least three physicians to further her claims, authorities said.

When providers suggested treatment options and additional testing to confirm her diagnosis, Bachman said she didnt want treatment anymore; she just wanted care to help ease the end of her life, the DAs Office said.

The case was investigated by the Office of Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics in Allentown and will be prosecuted by Monroe County Senior Deputy Attorney General Christie Bonesch.

Branchman is due back to court for a hearing tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Aug. 14 before District Judge Colleen Mancuso. A judge will then determine if theres sufficient evidence to send the case onto the Monroe County Court of Common Pleas.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
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Tributes have rushed in following the passing of a young boy (9) from Dublin named Harvey Morrison who had spina bifida.

Harvey's parents called him their "little rockstar" and said that he passed away in their arms on Tuesday July 29th 2025.

Harvey was from Clondalkin and his community, family and friends are devastated following the sad news.

A GoFundMe was created for Harvey's family which said: "Harvey became a household name due to his parents' relentless fight in the media to secure timely access to medical care for him. He waited over three years for scoliosis surgery, and by the time of the surgery at the end of 2024, his curvature had reached 130 degrees".

"After Harvey's surgery, he got a new lease on life, a life that was unexpectedly and cruelly cut short on July 29, 2025. As a community, we are devastated; however, our sorrow is nothing compared to that of his parents and family."

The GoFundMe can be found in the link below.

Harvey will be deeply missed by his Mum Gillian, Dad Stephen, sister Lyla and brother Remy. As well as his grandparents Ann, Gordon, Christina and Thomas, and his aunts, uncles and cousins.

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His RIP tribute read: "In his short life Harvey faced more challenges than most, and was the bravest, strongest and most courageous boy. To know him was to love him, and he definitely left his mark on this world."

Funeral Arrangements:

Reposing at Massey Bros. Funeral Home, Clondalkin, D22 EOCO on Friday 1st August between 3pm - 5pm. Public Cremation at Newland's Crematorium Chapel at 1pm on Saturday 2nd August.

The family encouraged people to join them to celebrate his life, and to dress in colour.

A heartfelt tribute on RIP said: My sincere condolences to Stephen, Gillian, and family. Harvey what a gorgeous young boy  a true beacon of strength and light. My heart aches for you all in the wake of his sudden and devastating passing. I know his light will continue to shine brightly through the memories you hold and the love you carry forward of Harvey. May he rest in eternal peace."

Another person said: "Deepest sympathy to Harveys parents, sister, brother, grandparents to look at the photo with the most beautiful smile I cried when I saw it and am heartbroken for ye all and thinking and praying for all."

"Sweet Harvey, Im so sorry that our government failed you. May God comfort your mammy and daddy and bring them peace knowing your suffering is over. Rest in peace champ," another person said.

Harvey's GoFundMe can be found here.
Ireland is set to be hit be strong winds and rain on Bank Holiday Monday, with confirmation that a weather system brewing in the Atlantic has now reached storm status and been named Storm Floris.

Met Eireann jointly tracks and names storm systems with the Met Office in the UK and the State weather forecaster in the Netherlands.

On this occasion, the Met Office has named the storm but Ireland may escape the biggest impact.

"The UK Met Office have named Storm Floris for the storm to hit Monday (August 4). The worst of it will stay north of Ireland based on current track but still bring us wet and unseasonably windy weather," said the Met Office on Friday morning, August 1. MORE BELOW X POST.

#StormFloris has been named



It is forecast to bring unseasonably strong winds to the UK on Monday along with heavy rain



Stay #WeatherAware  pic.twitter.com/rFkXe1AFfT  Met Office (@metoffice) August 1, 2025

It is forecast to bring unseasonably strong winds to the UK on Monday along with heavy rain.

Met Eireann said current indications suggest Monday will see a wet and windy start with strong and gusty westerly winds and widespread rain, possibly heaviest over parts of the northwest, clearing eastwards through the morning and afternoon.

It added that sunny spells and scattered showers will follow as winds gradually easy through the day. Highest temperatures will range between 16 to 21 degrees.

The Irish forecaster had not issued a weather warning for Storm Floris on Friday as its UK counterparts named the storm.

"This unseasonably disruptive system will bring strong winds and heavy rainfall across the northern half of the UK on Monday and early Tuesday," says the UK forecasting section.

A yellow wind warning covers a swathe of the northern half of the UK, including Northern Ireland.

Storm Floris is the sixth named storm of the 2024/2025 Storm Naming season. Storm Eowyn  which occurred in late January  was the last named storm to affect the UK.

Although named storms are more frequent in late autumn and winter, it is not uncommon for named storms to occur in summer.
The first-ever Athy Youth Pride Event has been announced today (August 1) by Kildare County Council (KCC).

The event, which is being held in partnership with Athy Comhairle na nOg and In Sync Youth and Family Services, will take place next weekend at the Athy Youth Cafe and Skate Park.

According to KCC, this will be a "free, fun-filled event" which centres around the celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride.

"The event is an important step forward in creating a more inclusive and supportive community for LGBTQ+ young people, their families, and their allies," KCC explained. "Athy Youth Pride will feature a programme of music, art, and information, planned by, and for, young people."

In addition, KCC claimed that the initiative was driven by the voices of Athy Comhairle na nOg group, who identified the need for a local Youth Pride event.

With the support of In Sync Youth and Family Services, KCC's Community Work Team, Shed FM, and other local stakeholders, the event aims to create a safe space where the LGBTQ+ community "is seen, valued, and celebrated".

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The event will include:

Live performances by local youth artists

A pop-up art Workshop, which will involve creating a Pride-inspired mural

An ice-cream van and pizza

Carmel Cashin, senior community worker for KCC, said that the council is "delighted to support Athy Comhairle na nOg with the first Youth Pride event".

She added: "We hope that this event will be the first of many, and we hope to connect with others who share in this commitment and vision on the day."

Newbridge-based Social Democrats councillor Chris Pender, who is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, also welcomed the news.

He told the Leinster Leader: "As someone who has spent years working with young people and advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusion, Im absolutely delighted to see the first ever Youth Pride event in Athy.

"This is a brilliant example of what happens when young people are empowered to lead and are listened to Athy Comhairle na nOg have shown real leadership here."

He continued: "Events like this are more than just celebrations; they are powerful affirmations that LGBTQ+ young people in our communities are seen, supported, and valued.

"At a time when we are seeing a rise in anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment in some quarters, creating safe, joyful, and inclusive spaces like this is more important than ever.

"Huge credit is due to all involved from the youth leaders and In Sync Youth and Family Services to the Kildare County Council Community Work Team."

Cllr Pender concluded: "I truly hope this is just the beginning of a wider movement for Pride events that are accessible and youth-led across the county."

The Cathaoirleach / Mayor of the Athy Municipal District, Fine Gael councillor Ivan Keatley, has been asked for comment in relation to this upcoming event.

Athy Youth Pride will run from 12pm until 4pm on Saturday, August 9, 2025.

READ NEXT: Kildare Library Service issues important update ahead of Bank Holiday Weekend
A woman told Naas District Court that her son had twice breached a protection order granted by the same court.

The woman told Judge Desmond Zaidan that he had effectively broken the order, which was granted on July 7.

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She said on both occasions he was arrested and she was advised by a garda to come to court to seek a barring order.

Judge Zaidan said he had given her protection in the form of a protection order until February 9 next and he criticised the gardai for passing it back to him.

Judge Zaidan said if a breach occurs the gardai should bring the man to court and they can object to bail being granted.

This should be done, he said, instead of sending her back to court for a barring order.

The judge also said that referring the victims of a breach of a protection order to court seeking a barring order is "becoming common practice" because the gardai don't want to open a file.
A billionaire businessman has revealed that Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg expressed interest in a famous County Kildare estate  one which he owns.

John C Malone, the former CEO of the now-defunct cable giant Tele-Communications Inc, recently told the Wall Street Journal that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had some positive things to say about his Castlemartin Estate, which is located near Kilcullen.

Mr Malone, who also reportedly owns 2.2 acres of land in his native US alone, explained: "He [Zuckerberg] said hed heard it was one of the most beautiful places in Ireland."

He added: "I said: 'Yeah, probably, but it aint for sale.'"

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As noted by KFM, Mr Malone previously bought the estate, which was constructed in the 18th century, from Tony OReilly in 2014.

Mr Malone purchased the land for around 28 million.

The premises was previously rented by legendary rock band The Rolling Stones and was even once visited by the late politician and activist Nelson Mandela.

In related news, the publication Datacenter Dynamics reported that another company primarily owned by John Malone, Liberty Media, last week offered voluntary redundancy to hundreds of its employees. The move was made as part of restructuring efforts.

And in the context of Kildare, Fianna Fail TD James Lawless previously met with Mr Zuckerberg in 2019 during a political delegation.

The implications of social media and fake news were reportedly raised at this meeting.

READ NEXT: Kildare County Council announces the first-ever Athy Youth Pride Event
A Kildare-based animal charity has revealed the reason it has had to rehome 60 cats so far this year.

The comments follow unsubstantiated claims on social media that cats were being dumped in two different regions of Newbridge.

When asked by the Leinster Leader about these rumours, a spokesperson for the Kildare and West-Wicklow Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (KWWSPCA) said: "I have only heard about the kittens through Facebook and could not confirm or deny it has happened.

"We do ask people to contact us for help with kittens and have over 120 kittens in our care."

The rep also alleged that there are "huge issues with landlords not allowing pets".

They elaborated: "We have had over 60 cats in for rehoming this year due to this sad ruling that has emerged among landlords," making reference to the "blanket ban" on pets in many tenancy agreements throughout Ireland.

"The last two cats came in last Saturday and they are 15 years old," they explained. "The owner was distraught and we are having to support people emotionally through this process."

They concluded: "I think it is an issue that should be highlighted and stopped."

It should be noted that the KWWSPCA carries out a "Trap / Neuter / Return" (TNR) service.

According to its official website, back in 2022, 405 feral cats in County Kildare and West Wicklow were trapped, neutered and returned by KWWSPCA volunteers.

For further information about this service, visit https://kwwspca.ie/kwwspca-tnr-trap-neuter-return/.

The KWWSPCA asks for a donation of 50 per cat for the TNR service whenever possible.

In addition, anyone who wishes to seek help regarding feral cats, pet cats and handled kittens can contact Elaine or Clare of the KWWSPCA's Cat Welfare branch on 087 343 9803.

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Like many other people in Ireland this week, I watched with horror a video circulating on social media of a garda being attacked in Dublin. The clip went viral after reports of a garda being stabbed multiple times on Capel Street in Dublin on Tuesday, July 29.

The image of two gardai, with just pepper spray and a baton at their disposal, dodging a man apparently wielding a knife or sharp implement is sickening. Their assailant has a serious weapon while they are quite literally dancing with and dodging death on the street in broad daylight, effectively unarmed.

Weve seen gardai in these situations before, not least during the Dublin riots when a clip of an isolated garda being kicked and beaten by thugs on OConnell Bridge did the rounds. That is the heart of the capital city of this country and we have gardai thrown to the wolves. Gardai, both armed and unarmed, have been killed across Ireland while just doing their jobs; Colm Horkan, Adrian Donohoe, Tony Golden. These gardai went to work one day and never made it home to their families. Tony Golden was unarmed when he was shot dead ten years ago.

Garda Horkan and Garda Donohoe were armed at the time of their killings but their deaths too show the dangers faced by every garda in the country, most of whom go about their duty unarmed. Ireland is no longer a place where we can have unarmed gardai dicing with death every day. Criminals are younger, more volatile and violent than ever before.

READ NEXT: Sickening video circulates of garda stabbing in Dublin amid major update

When Im abroad, I always notice the police, particularly in other European countries. Youre walking down a street in a continental capital and see a police officer with a gun on their hip or across their chest. Its quite intimidating, but also reassuring. Im sure it is for that police officer too, knowing they have a safeguard between them and danger if and when it arises.

In the wake of last Tuesdays incident in Dublin, I heard representatives of An Garda Siochana on radio extend well wishes to the injured garda who was hospitalised. I have family in An Garda Siochana, so its close to home, and well wishes don't cut it. They wont bring a garda killed on duty back to their family - unless it's in a coffin. We need to get real in this country.

The ideals of policing by consent are laudable but unrealistic in a modern society, especially in urban settings. A garda should never be on foot patrol in Dublin city with just a baton as protection. I would argue that more and more the same applies in rural areas where garda stations have closed or are on reduced staffing. Often a garda is manning a station on their own and that makes them very vulnerable if they come under some form of attack in the station or at a call.

Gardai in urban settings should be armed with guns. Elsewhere, every garda, not just those in specialist units, should have a taser. Even in a city, how long does it take for these armed or specialist units to respond to a scene like last Tuesdays? Now imagine a rural area when there is a call for back-up.

Give gardai the power to protect themselves first so they can adequately protect the public.
Conor McGregor has lost his appeal of a civil jurys finding in favour of Dublin woman Nikita Hand, who had accused him of rape.

The MMA fighter lost his appeal on all five grounds that the case was taken.

Ms Hand, 35, successfully sued McGregor in civil court over an incident in which he was alleged to have brutally raped and battered her in a penthouse at a south Dublin hotel in December 2018.

The jury found that McGregor, who told the court he had consensual sex with Ms Hand, was civilly liable for assault.

Ms Hand was awarded 248,603.60 in damages and McGregor was also ordered to pay about 1.3 million in legal costs following the November trial.

McGregor then launched an appeal on the basis of five grounds.

Among the grounds was fresh evidence following an affidavit from a former neighbour of Ms Hand, Samantha OReilly, who said she had witnessed a physical row between Ms Hand and her then-partner at about the same time of the incident at the Beacon hotel.

Earlier this month, McGregors legal team dramatically withdrew that ground of appeal, saying it would no longer be relying on the material.

McGregors appeal proceeded on other grounds, largely relating to the circumstances under which his no comment answers to gardai were allowed to enter the trial.

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Meanwhile, McGregors co-defendant has also lost his appeal against the trial judges decision not to award him his legal costs.

During the same trial in November, the jury did not find James Lawrence had assaulted Ms Hand at the hotel.

However, the trial judge decided that Ms Hand would not have to pay Mr Lawrences costs.

His legal team challenged whether that decision was correct and reasonable, arguing that Ms Hand should have to pay as the jury did not find he had assaulted her.

Delivering their judgment on Thursday, the three judges of the court  Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, Mr Justice Brian OMoore and Mr Justice Patrick MacGrath  agreed to dismiss both appeals in their entirety.

Reading out the judgment on behalf of the three-judge panel, Mr Justice OMoore summarised the grounds for appeal before explaining the Court of Appeals reasons for dismissing all five grounds.

I therefore dismiss the appeal in its entirety, he said.

Ms Hand was embraced by her supporters in court after the judgment was delivered.

Neither McGregor nor Mr Lawrence were present in court.
Extreme online pornography is radicalising some young men into normalising violence against women, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.

Mr Harris said in some cases gardai have had to explain to perpetrators of violent sexual assaults why what they did was wrong.

Mr Harris will step down as commissioner in September after seven years in the post.

On Thursday, he addressed his final meeting of the Policing Authority.

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Speaking to the media afterwards, he explained his concerns about the prevalence of online pornography.

He said: I think the use of the expression hard-core is no longer relevant.

The pornography which is readily accessible on the internet is extreme in the violence that it perpetrates, mostly against women.

What happens then is that young men see this and this is a major influence on them in terms of what they think a sexual relationship is.

We see this manifest in serious sexual assaults where, literally, it has to be explained to them what they did was wrong.

Because seeing this violent behaviour has become so normalised.

He added: There is a trend in the violent behaviour of the offending which you can relate back to the imagery which is in pornography, which is so prevalent on the internet.

That has been also observed by the various studies, Womens Aid recently released a report and that was their conclusion as well.

My analysis of this is probably more anecdotal.

As I look at the incidents and what is described, but also what the responses of the various assailants, perpetrators are, one can see that they have become normalised to the violence that they are seeing online.

Mr Harris said some mens view of a normal sexual relationship had become completely distorted.

He added: You can say almost that they have been radicalised.

I do think there is an education piece for this. We have heard a lot over the last few weeks about limiting the access of children to all sorts of violent imagery, I think thats a good thing.

It has to be faced up as well that there is a multibillion industry behind this that we are not going to defeat by attacking it, what we have to do is make sure people are educated and understand what a proper relationship is.

The commissioner said: What I am saying is one can see the trend, it is backed up by academic research.

We can see the trend ourselves and it is evident then when we consider some of the crimes that come through our courts in recent years.
A brazen disregard for roads policing duties needs to be addressed as quickly as possible, a minister has said.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that an unpublished report found gardai showed a blatant disregard for their job while they knew their actions were being reviewed.

It comes amid a focus on road safety in Ireland, with the government introducing new speed laws and the Garda Commissioner mandating that frontline gardai dedicate 30 minutes of road policing duties per shift.

Sean Canney, a junior minister with responsibility for road safety, said the findings were shocking and serious.

Theres no point in us bringing in laws, reducing speed limits, doing all of this kind of thing, if we dont have a functional enforcement section within the Gardai, he said on RTE Radio.

Mr Canney said his thoughts were with the families of the 95 people who had died on Irish roads so far this year.

He said he had not read the report conducted by the consultancy firm Crowe, which has carried out investigations on behalf of An Garda Siochana previously, but planned to meet the Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan and both the outgoing and incoming Garda Commissioners over the issue.

Ill be talking to the commissioners to express my deep concern with what is in this report, he said.

He said the independent Crowe report was conducted while the reviewer was sitting in the car with a garda that wasnt doing his duty and didnt seem to have a problem with that.

So I think there is definitely a serious case to be answered here as quickly as possible.

Mr Harris said he commissioned the examination after he received an anonymous report from a whistleblower.

The chairwoman of the Policing and Community Safety Authority, Elaine Byrne, said the report was shocking and found some gardai showed a blatant disregard for road policing while they knew their actions were being reviewed.

They were openly hostile to doing their job, she said, in what she described as a wake-up call for An Garda Siochana.

She also described an issue with fear among Garda managers of carrying out poor performance management, which she said Mr Harris agreed was an issue.
A groom-to-be was part of a lifeboat crew which was deployed to aid a yacht which got into difficulty off the Irish coast in the early hours of this Friday.

Two people had to be rescued after the 40ft yacht began taking on water off the Old Head of Kinsale in Cork shortly after 3.30am.

The alarm was raised at 3.40am and the Courtmacsherry RNLI all weather lifeboat was dispatched to aid the yacht which was in danger of sinking after encountering severe issues with water intake after losing power during challenging sea conditions.

The Coastguard was alerted via beacon signal after an Epirb (emergency position indicating beacon) was activated that someone was in difficulty leading to an immediate search of the area.

Upon discovering the yacht at around 5am, the volunteer lifeboat crew, led by Coxswain Ken Cashman assessed the situation.

READ MORE: ALERT: Storm Floris named by forecasters as Bank Holiday Monday disruption looms

They say a decision was made to tow the stricken yacht back to shore while pumping water out along the way to prevent any chance of sinking. Assistance was received from an 85ft fishing boat full of good samaritans nearby who helped with the radio communications.

The yacht was carefully brought back to the port of Courtmacsherry, around 50km south west of Cork City, by the lifeboat arriving around 9:30am.

No injuries were reported from the incident with everyone returning to land safely.

The Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat station crew members who were quickly on hand to deal with the emergency

The Vessel was travelling from France to Ireland before getting into major difficulty in the rough sea conditions around 21 miles south of the head of Kinsale.

A spokesperson for Courtmacsherry RNLI said it was a dramatic start for crewman Ian McCarthy who was experiencing his first full callout just a week before he's set to get married.

Ian is keeping his family tradition alive as his father Cally was part of the lifeboat crew which braved atrocious weather conditions in the famous Fastnet Race rescue which happened 46 years ago this week in 1979.

Commenting on this Friday's rescue mission, Brian O'Dwyer, station voluntary operations manager said: "It was great to have 16 of our lifeboat crew and officers arrive so quickly from their beds early this morning to partake in a dramatic rescue that was activated by the success of an Epirb being set off at sea which alerted the authorities."

It's been busy week for the Courtmacsherry station ahead of the August bank holiday weekend as crew members came to the aid of nine people on Thursday across multiple callouts.

Earlier in the week, Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat station members accepted the Courtmacsherry festival recognition of 2025 for services to the community marking the station's 200th anniversary.
A popular cafe in Carrick-on-Shannon closed its doors on Sunday, July 27, after operating for just over a year in the Courtyard on Main Street.

Fika, which was honoured with the Connacht Best Newcomer award at the Irish Restaurant Awards this April, announced its closure on Facebook, sharing the news that the much-loved cafe was shutting down.

Owner Geraldine Whalley expressed her heartbreak in a post on Fikas Facebook page, citing rising costs and financial pressures, a harsh reality faced by many businesses nationwide, as the reason behind the decision. She acknowledged that closing is never easy and is often a deeply emotional choice.

Financial pressures, the increased costs (huge increases) of doing business, tourism decreases, on top of the pressures of maintaining a new business, have made it impossible for me to carry on trading, Ms Whalley wrote.

She paid tribute to her staff, saying she could not have kept going without them and that she thinks the world of each one.

Reflecting on her experience running Fika, she said it had been amazing times, noting that lots of tears [were] shed over the past 24 hours and that none of them will ever regret their time there.

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I am so sorry to let you down, I did really try to keep going as long as I could. I loved seeing you all, each very special to me, she added in the heartfelt message.

Thank you all for accepting me just the way I am. I will miss you so much.

The post prompted a wave of support and heartfelt responses, with nearly 100 comments from locals sharing their fond memories of Fika and expressing sadness over its closure.

Incredibly sad to read and unfortunately is becoming very common in the trade, one Facebook user wrote. It was truly a fantastic place to visit. The food was absolutely gorgeous and the people always so lovely! Wishing you huge success in any future endeavour that you may consider.

The best breakfast in Carrick and we could take the dog. Very sorry to hear this. We always look forward to breakfast at Fika. Best of luck for the future, another commented.

According to Procure.ie, over 3,250 businesses have closed their doors this year based on data from the Companies Registration Office. Business closures have been steadily increasing in recent years, driven by soaring costs, higher energy bills, and declining tourism.

READ NEXT: RIP: Tributes flow in for Leitrim woman described as a 'kind, obliging, sincere lady'

A Deloitte report published in January warned that hospitality, retail, and construction sectors, already hard hit in 2024, remain among the most vulnerable industries this year.

Adding to the burden, Leitrim County Council decided last year to raise commercial rates by five percent for 2025.

The move faced opposition and disappointment from the Chamber of Commerce, though the Council argued the increase was necessary to protect essential capital projects from budget cuts.
Drug searches in the Sligo-Leitrim Garda Division increased by nearly 39 percent in 2024.

According to statistics from Jim OCallaghan TD, Minister for Justice, 545 drug searches were carried out in 2024, up from 393 in 2023, an increase of 152.

In contrast, neighbouring County Donegal saw a decline of nearly 14 percent, with 404 drug searches in 2024 compared to 468 the previous year.

Nationally, over 7,000 fewer drug searches were conducted in 2024 compared to 2022, with the most significant decreases recorded in the Garda Southern Region, which experienced a 30 percent drop.

READ NEXT: Leitrim councillor glad to be 'part of the solution' for legal high ban

Figures show that a total of 40,642 searches were carried out under the Misuse of Drugs Acts in 2024. These include searches for possession of drugs as well as possession for sale or supply. This is down from 43,682 searches in 2023 and 47,780 in 2022.

The decline has been linked to reduced Garda presence on the streets.

Drug-related issues in Leitrim have been raised at Council level, with two motions on the topic proposed during the July Council meeting.

Cllr Cormac Flynn received unanimous support for his motion calling for drug education programmes to be introduced in schools, citing the growing popularity and normalisation of recreational drug use.

READ NEXT: Award-winning Leitrim cafe closes doors after a year in business amid rising costs

He requested these programmes be developed in cooperation with agencies such as the Gardai.

Cllr James Gilmartin also proposed a motion seeking a ban on Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) products, which have been available in Ireland since 2022 and have been linked to cases of psychosis.

On Tuesday, July 29, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD announced that a ban on HHC products is being implemented due to health and regulatory concerns.
AN INFORMATION evening on a massive windfarm in South Limerick was oversubscribed with concerned locals.

The Bruff Dromin Athlacca-Ballinlee Community Action Group, who are objecting to a plan to install 17 industrial-sized wind turbines in their south Limerick locality, hosted the event in the Thomas Fitzgerald Centre last week.

READ MORE: Dismay over plan for 17 wind turbines in Limerick taller than the Spire in Dublin

Over 100 people attended with many unable to gain access as the meeting reached full capacity. A full house sign had to be placed on the door.

The group is now planning a further public meeting in August to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate and stay informed.

Ballinlee Green Energy (whose parent company is Greensource) plans to install 17 industrial-sized wind turbines, each with a tip height of up to 160 metres  three times the height of the Kilmallock Church spire. The rotor diameter alone would be 136 metres.

The group gave information on the proposed project to attendees.

Guest speaker Fred O'Sullivan from Gneevegullia, County Kerry detailed his experience on his communitys opposition to a large windfarm proposal in the Sliabh Luachra area which they successfully opposed over a five-year campaign.

Mr OSullivan said some Kerry residents living in close proximity to wind turbines are experiencing negative effects such as noise. He described it as the car that never arrives in your driveway. He also spoke of shadow flicker which can extend further than 10 times the turbine tip height, which in the case of the proposed turbines would be over a distance of 1.6km.

The meeting also heard a first-hand account from a woman living just 500m from Kilmeedy Windfarm which consists of two turbines, each 132 metres high. She described how the flicker enters every room of her home and the noise is persistent, causing sleep disturbance for the family.

The action group say under current Wind Energy Guidelines from 2006 the minimum setback is just 500m between each turbine and a residential property. The 2019 draft guidelines suggest a setback of four times the tip height should apply.

It was confirmed on the night that a recent motion had received approval by Limerick councillors to write to the minister requesting that no new onshore windfarm planning applications should be approved until the Wind Energy Development Guidelines are updated, said a spokesperson for the group.

The plan for the windfarm in Bruff, Dromin, Athlacca areas will go directly to An Coimisiun Pleanala (formerly An Bord Pleanala).

A number of councillors were in attendance including Noreen Stokes, Brigid Teefy, Greg Conway, John ODonoghue, and Trina ODea on behalf of Minister of State Niall Collins.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue said the proximity to peoples homes and the scale of the turbines were a major concern. He is calling for updated guidelines to be consistent with WHO on noise.

Residents told of their fears on turbine proximity and noise.

A number of residents raised concerns regarding the lack of a public forum, reporting that only one-on-one meetings were allowed with developers, with a maximum of two people per household, said a spokesperson for the group.

The Bruff Dromin Athlacca-Ballinlee Community Action Group encourages all residents to stay informed of the project. They say it is unknown when the application will be lodged.

Details of the next public meeting will be announced shortly.
TRIBUTES have poured in for Captain E Kevin Donnelly, a former harbour master of the Limerick/Shannon Estuary.

Captain Donnelly, of Limerick city and formerly of Bray, Co Wicklow, was a master mariner, a former president of the Irish Institute of Master Mariners, a fellow of the Nautical Institute and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport.

Captain Trevor Crowley, the current president of the Irish Institute for Master Mariners, described Captain Donnelly as a fondly remembered and well respected colleague, friend, leader and former President of the Irish Institute of Master Mariners.

Tributes flooded in for the marine master online, with one commenter writing: Our community has lost a truly remarkable person in Captain Kevin Donnelly, someone who always had time for others and had an unwavering commitment to Limerick city and Ballinacurra Road. The legacy of his service to and compassion for our neighborhood will be greatly missed and long remembered.

Captain Donnelly was also described as a delight to meet and full of great stories and a great person that left many a great legacy on the various settings he set upon.

One condolence on RIP.ie said that the captain will live on forever in his stories, describing him as one of life's true gentlemen, always so pleasant to meet and adding: Kevin's family were his life and his eyes shone every time he spoke about them.

His work was also applauded, with one person writing: His input and work was always appreciated to the RNLI Limerick fundraising group. Another added: He was a highly respected and very progressive harbour master for Limerick and the Shannon Estuary at an important time in the development of the Estuary. He was also an eminent President of the Irish Institute of Master Mariners.

READ MORE: Limerick Show launches its 2025 event to showcase 'the very best of Limerick'

Captain Donnelly was described as being an invaluable source of wisdom and knowledge on all matters shipping and port operations which he was happy to share with all who needed his advice.

One particularly poetic comment wished the captain a deserved final restful voyage in peace, with a safe passage, before the ultimate Harbour Master offers him a sheltered and eternal anchorage.

He died peacefully at the age of 95, surrounded by his loving family, in the patient and gentle care of the staff of Ennis hospital on Wednesday, July 23.

He was the devoted husband of the late Mary (nee McDonnell).

Captain Donnelly is lovingly remembered by his children Eamon, Brian, Niall, Barry, Ailbhe, Orla, and Shane and their spouses Christina, Protima, Laurence, Laura, and Frederikke.

He is missed by his grandchildren Aisling, Sorcha, Barry, Kealan, Fionn, Lulu, Frida, and Patrick, and great-grandchildren Mary and Paddy.

Fondly remembered by his nephews, sister-in-law Rhoda and brother-in-law Johnny, extended family, friends, neighbours, and carers.

His Requiem Mass took place at St Josephs Church, O Connell Avenue on Monday, July 28 with burial afterwards in Castlemungret Cemetery.
Theres a point in every technological cycle when engineers and inventors are rapidly innovating. The spoils go to those who move fast and break things," to quote 2010s-era Mark Zuckerberg.

Were now entering a phase in which the giants win because they own, and continue to build out, the physical assets that make mature technologies accessible.

Call it an age of infrastructure," in which tech/ai/tech-ai-spending-company-valuations-7b92104b">companies spend vast sums on actual stuff. Primarily thats the gigantic data centers filled with tiny chips, and everything that connects and cools them, but it also includes factories, real estate and energy.

Its reminiscent of the age of business titans and robber barons" who dominated railroads, steel and other enterprises. And as happened then, todays massive companies, with their ability to spend (and borrow), are making their moats even deeper and wider. Even formidable competitors, such as OpenAI, are hard-pressed to keep up.

A look at one key line item in company earnings reportscapital expendituresshows that the most valuable tech companies are buying and building stuff at a record pace. The Magnificent 7 tech firms have collectively spent a record $102.5 billion on capex in their most recent quarters, nearly all from Meta, Alphabet (Google), Microsoft and Amazon. (Apple, Nvidia and Tesla together contributed a mere $6.7 billion.)

Investor and tech pundit Paul Kedrosky says that, as a percentage of gross domestic product, spending on AI infrastructure has already exceeded spending on telecom and internet infrastructure from the dot-com boomand its still growing. He also argues that one explanation for the U.S. economys ongoing strength, despite tariffs, is that spending on IT infrastructure is so big that its acting as a sort of private-sector stimulus program.

Capex spending for AI contributed more to growth in the U.S. economy in the past two quarters than all of consumer spending, says Neil Dutta, head of economic research at Renaissance Macro Research, citing data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

A global accounting of this infrastructure spending would be even bigger, as it would include capex from these companies most important partners. Foxconn has recently spent big building out factories for Apple in India, which just supplanted China as the source of the majority of U.S.-destined iPhones, according to Canalys. And the worlds largest chip manufacturer, TSMC, spent about $10 billion on capex in its most recent quarter.

In the not-too-distant past, when Facebook, Microsoft and its competitors mostly produced code, salary and stock compensation was a much bigger proportion of their spending. For these companies to continue growing, they are now vertically integrating and owning more of what it takes to run their businesses.

This hasnt exactly happened overnight, says Patrick Moorhead, an industry analyst, who calls whats happening now planet-scale infrastructure."

Back in 2003, when Moorhead was an executive at AMD, his company sold Google some of its earliest systems for building out its data-center infrastructure as cheaply as possible. What had been expensive boxesbasically PCs on steroidsat the beginning of this century evolved in two decades into vast arrays of rack servers that facilitate todays internet and the explosive growth of AI supercomputers. All of this IT infrastructure and its support systems are our generations railroads and steel mills, he adds.

OpenAI, arguably the most well funded startup, still has difficulty competing with the giants. It depends on continuous and gigantic infusions of investor cash, even as the fast-following big-tech companies peel off its customers and talent. OpenAI has struggled recently to realize its dream of a gigantic AI data center called Stargate, and Meta has lured away some of its engineers with eye-watering pay packages.

Meanwhile, Apple and Nvidia spend less on capex but direct huge contracts for chips and manufacturing to partners, so theyre able to monopolize the attention and output of those partners. And Tesla is historically no slouch, known for spending big on factories, a charging network, even mining operations.

In an almost too-perfect parallel to the bygone age of John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan, some of todays power-hungry data centers are actually being put on the sites of former steel mills, because of their proximity to energy sources.

Its important not to take these comparisons too far, cautions H.W. Brands, a professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin and an authority on the late 19th century titans of industry.

One difference: While they might spend big on infrastructure, todays most valuable companies are lightly staffed. The striking thing about these companies is compared with their wealth, how few people they employ," he adds.

An area where we can draw a strong parallel, says Brands, is in antitrust enforcement: Now, as then, it only tends to happen long after companies reach their peak size and power. In terms of competition, there are hardly any signs these companies will be disrupted anytime soon, says Moorhead.

In addition to their record capex spending, many big tech companies are also engaged in an all-out war for certain kinds of talent, particularly in AIrailroads need engineers. Hundreds of millions of dollars are changing hands in acqui-hires" and talent poaching. This war for talent is becoming yet another way that advantages accrue to the biggest tech companies with the deepest pockets.

The lesson in all this: When there isnt much regulation, and competition is limited to a handful of coexisting hegemons, the biggest threats come from overseas. The U.S. and China are, of course, locked in a contest for global industrial dominance. America once had an easy leadbut its continuing success is no longer guaranteed.
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, holding a rare all-hands meeting following earnings results, rallied employees around the companys artificial intelligence prospects and an amazing pipeline of products.

The executive gathered staff at Apples on-campus auditorium Friday in Cupertino, California, telling them that the AI revolution is as big or bigger as the internet, smartphones, cloud computing and apps. Apple must do this. Apple will do this. This is sort of ours to grab, Cook told employees, according to people aware of the meeting. We will make the investment to do it.

The iPhone maker has been late to AI, debuting Apple Intelligence months after OpenAI, Alphabet Inc.s Google, Microsoft Corp. and others flooded the market with products like ChatGPT. And when Apple finally released its AI tools, they fell flat.

But Cook struck an optimistic tone, noting that Apple is typically late to promising new technologies.

Weve rarely been first, the executive told staffers. There was a PC before the Mac; there was a smartphone before the iPhone; there were many tablets before the iPad; there was an MP3 player before iPod.

But Apple invented the modern versions of those product categories, he said. This is how I feel about AI.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the gathering.

The hourlong meeting addressed a range of topics, including the retirement of operating chief Jeff Williams, increasing Apple TV viewership and advances in health care with features like the AirPods Pro hearing-aid technology. It also touched on donations and community service by Apple employees, the companys goal to become carbon neutral by 2030, and the impact of regulations.

The reality is that Big Tech is under a lot of scrutiny around the world, Cook said. We need to continue to push on the intention of the regulation and get them to offer that up, instead of these things that destroy the user experience and user privacy and security.

Cook often holds town hall-style chats when visiting Apples offices around the world, but companywide meetings from the Steve Jobs Theater at headquarters are unusual.

The remarks followed a blockbuster earnings report, with sales growing nearly 10% during the June quarter. That beat Wall Street expectations and eased concerns about iPhone demand and a slowdown in China.

Apple still faces myriad challenges, including Trump administration tariffs and a regulatory crackdown on its business practices. The company said Thursday that tariffs would bring a $1.1 billion headwind this quarter, though Apple was upbeat about sales growth. It also said that App Store revenue rose by a percentage in the double digits last quarter, despite efforts in the EU and elsewhere to further restrict that business.

Echoing comments he made during the earnings conference call, Cook told employees the company is investing in AI in a big way. He said 12,000 workers were hired in the last year, with 40% of the new hires joining in research and development roles.

Apples chip development efforts, led by executive Johny Srouji, are key to the companys AI strategy, Cook said. Apple is working on a more powerful cloud-computing chip  code-named Baltra  to power artificial intelligence features, Bloomberg News has reported. Its also setting up a new AI server manufacturing facility in Houston.

The meeting included Craig Federighi, senior vice president of software engineering, who discussed the future of Apples Siri voice assistant. The company had planned to roll out a Siri overhaul as part of Apple Intelligence earlier this year, adding the ability to tap into user data to better fulfill requests. It was delayed, spurring management changes for the companys AI work.

Federighi explained that the problem was caused by trying to roll out a version of Siri that merged two different systems: one for handling current commands  like setting timers  and another based on large language models, the software behind generative AI. We initially wanted to do a hybrid architecture, but we realized that approach wasnt going to get us to Apple quality, Federighi said.

Now, Apple is working on a version of Siri that moves to an entirely new architecture for all of its capabilities. That iteration is slated for as early as spring, Bloomberg News has reported, though Apple executives havent confirmed a timeline other than a release next year.

The work weve done on this end-to-end revamp of Siri has given us the results we needed, the engineering executive told employees. This has put us in a position to not just deliver what we announced, but to deliver a much bigger upgrade than we envisioned. There is no project people are taking more seriously.

Federighi cited leadership changes, including putting Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell and his headset software leadership team in charge of Siri, as a driving force in improving the product. He said Rockwell and his group have supercharged the companys work in the area.

In his speech, Cook also pushed employees to move more quickly to weave AI into their work and future products.

All of us are using AI in a significant way already, and we must use it as a company as well, Cook said. To not do so would be to be left behind, and we cant do that.

Employees should push to deploy AI tools faster, and urge their managers and service and support teams to do the same, he said.

Cook also addressed the companys retail strategy, stressing that the current plan is to focus on opening new stores in emerging markets and upping the investment in Apples online store. The iPhone maker is opening outlets in India, the United Arab Emirates and China this year, and is preparing to add its first location in Saudi Arabia next year.

We need to be in more countries, and youll see us go into more emerging markets in particular, Cook said. That doesnt mean Apple will ignore other places, he said, but a disproportionate amount of growth will be in new areas.

The CEO also shared his enthusiasm about upcoming products, though he didnt get specific. I have never felt so much excitement and so much energy before as right now, he said.

Bloomberg News has previously reported that Apple plans to launch its first foldable iPhone next year and is also working on a stream of smart home devices. New headset products, smart glasses, a push into robotics and a redesigned iPhone for the two-decade anniversary are also underway.

The product pipeline, which I cant talk about: Its amazing, guys. Its amazing, Cook said. Some of it youll see soon, some of it will come later, but theres a lot to see.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
NEW DELHI : Apple Inc. reported a 13th straight quarter of record revenue from India, while projecting a nearly $3 billion impact from US President Donald Trumps trade tariffs this calendar year.

The company, which follows an October-to-September fiscal year, reported $94.2 billion in global quarterly revenue for the three months ended 30 Junebeating Bloomberg estimates of $89.2 billiondriven by higher-than-expected sales in China and strong demand for its iPhone around the world.

Apple saw iPhone growth in every geographic segment and double-digit growth in emerging markets, including India," said chief executive Tim Cook while presenting the June quarter results.

Market researchers' data affirm this claim.

According to Counterpoint India, the Cupertino-headquartered firms iPhone 16 was the most-sold smartphone during the June quarter, leading Apple to top Indias smartphone market in terms of revenue.

Also Read | India's iPhone dream faces setback as Foxconn recalls Chinese tech experts

Navkendar Singh, associate vice-president of IDC India, added that Apple was on track to sell nearly 15 million iPhones in India in 2025, potentially breaking into the country's top five smartphone-selling brands.

Per Singh's estimate, Apple may have sold 2.5-3 million iPhones in India during the June quarter, generating over $2 billion in revenue from the countryroughly 4.5% of its global iPhone revenue.

This was incidentally Apples best quarter globally in four years in terms of year-on-year growth, and India is now among its top-four geographies, according to IDC, behind the US, China, and Japan.

Going forward, Apple hopes to see a further uptick in India. Cook said the MacBook maker is set to open new stores in the UAE and India later this year".

Tariffs trump gains

All of this, however, comes at a cost. The quarter under review marked the second consecutive period during which Apple noted a direct impact on its cost of operations owing to Trumps sweeping tariffs.

For the June quarter, we incurred approximately $800 million of tariff-related costs. For the September quarter, assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter, and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add about $1.1 billion to our costs," Cook said.

In the March quarter, tariffs added $900 million to Apple's costs, the CEO said.

With this, since Trump took office, Apple has projected a net addition of $2.7 billion to its overall cost of operations. This is because Apple depends on nations such as China and India to manufacture its iPhones and other devices.

Earlier this year, concerns regarding Trumps negative stance towards China saw Apple push more of its device assemblies to India. Now, even as Indias iPhone makers such as Tata Electronics and Bharat Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) invest to ramp up production capacity, Apple is under pressure from the US president to move its iPhone production to the US.

On 30 July, Trump announced that India would be subjected to 25% trade tariffs from the US, even as the two nations remain on the negotiation table for a bilateral trade agreement.

Cook, taking these factors into account, said that his estimate should not be used to make projections for future quarters, as there are many factors that could change, including tariff rates".

India, however, currently remains exempt from US tariffs in the electronics sector, thereby not threatening Apples push for its India market growth.

The China-plus-one strategy is very real, and with all factors taken in, India could ramp up to assembling up to 100 million iPhones for Apple annually by 2026," IDCs Singh added. This would be a huge opportunity for the country to become even more relevant for Apple, if it ends up making 40% of all of its iPhones."

Also Read | Apple stays on India iPhone call for now in spite of Trump's tantrum

On the consumer front, Apple was one of the biggest factors for the industrys growth in the June quarter, said Prachir Singh, senior research analyst at Counterpoint India.

Stating that sales of smartphones priced above 50,000 grew more than 35% on-year in India, he said Apple capitalized on premium phone demand through aggressive affordability initiatives such as trade-in programmes, no-cost EMIs, and limited-period summer discounts".
(Bloomberg) -- A Spanish developer is planning an $880 million workforce housing project in Miami that would include more than 4,000 apartments, childcare, and even a test kitchen  an ambitious bid to offer below-market housing in a city known for ultra-luxury property deals.

The development, called HueHub, is the largest yet proposed under Floridas Live Local Act, a 2023 law that lets developers bypass local zoning rules if they reserve a share of units for affordable housing.

While the policy has sparked a flood of interest, few projects have broken ground and none have been completed, raising questions about how many will actually get built.

Pablo Castro, who moved to Miami from Spain a few years ago, and previously co-founded Barcelona-based BeCorp, said his goal is to serve residents who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but are priced out of many market-rate rentals. Hes planning 4,032 fully furnished one- and two-bedroom units priced at $1,600 and $1,900 a month, with amenities like coworking spaces, tutoring, pools and gyms included in the seven-tower complex.

That rate is on par with rents in West Little River, where HueHub will be developed. The average rent there is $1,500 for one-bedroom apartments and $2,000 for two-bedrooms, according to Zillow data.

Much of the Miami-Dade regions recent development has been concentrated in the pricier eastern corridor, closer to downtown and the beach. By contrast, West Little River is a more suburban, working-class neighborhood west of the I-95  a dividing line long seen as a boundary between Miamis high-end and more affordable real estate markets.

Our focus is on the middle class, where we see the need is huge and people are living in very bad conditions, Castro said in an interview. Of course, the returns have to work. Well do it by having scale.

The development, Castros first in Miami, will spread over a 12-acre site that he purchased in 2023 for $29.3 million in cash. The site is currently a complex of low-rise apartment and single family homes that will be demolished by the end of the year, with groundbreaking in the first quarter of 2026.

Castro said that he and his partner, local developer Laura Tauber, are in talks with a handful of New York-based lenders for financing of up to $600 million.

HueHub comes two years after the Live Local Act became law. The policy allows developers to build as high as the tallest building within a mile, as long as 40% of the units are priced at workforce rates, or 120% of the area median income. Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers promised drastic improvements to housing stock and affordability, but the policy has suffered setbacks.

With 130 proposed developments to build 40,000 units under Live Local, only a handful of projects have started construction and none have finished, according to the Florida Housing Coalition.

Some projects have been met with local backlash and gotten tied up in courts. Other developers say that the projects dont pencil out.

I dont hear anything about how it solves affordable housing, Dan Kodsi, the CEO of RPC Holdings, said at a conference earlier this year in reference to Live Local. It doesnt reduce the cost of capital, insurance, and just go down the list.

Castro says hell profit in the difficult market of workforce housing by scaling up, decreasing his price per square foot costs. He said the bulk of their construction materials will come from within the US.

HueHub is in talks with unions and local governments to provide workforce housing to employees, aiming to commit 3,000 units to first responders, teachers and healthcare workers at a fixed rent for 10 years.

Castros plan also includes a coworking space, art galleries and a test kitchen with cooking classes  largely free for tenants. Theyll also offer discounted, hourly rates for services like dog walking and house cleaning.

Castro is largely unknown in the US. He moved to Miami around the same time he sold his firm BeCorp for 600 million euros ($680 million) to German real estate investment firm Patrizia. BeCorp was known for similar large scale rental projects heavy on amenities, mostly in Barcelona.

Along with purchasing the HueHub land, hes invested in individual rental units in the city. Since initially filing plans with Miami-Dade County, HueHub has grown by nearly 1,000 units.

The demand and needs are there, he said, noting that he hopes to expand the model in South Florida and Texas in the future. We have to take our chance to meet it.

(Updates with details in sixth paragraph.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Profit from Tata Power Co. Ltds renewable businesses outgrew quarterly earnings from coal-based power generation and distribution for the first time, helping the company report higher profits for 23 straight quarters.

Tata Power expects the renewables-led boom in its financials to continue, especially in its rooftop solar and solar cell and panel manufacturing businesses, said managing director and chief executive officer Praveer Sinha.

The (momentum in) manufacturing will sustain and improve in the coming quarters because now we are getting better yields and better efficiency. The rooftop solar business will improve a lot, Sinha said in an interview on Friday.

Tata Power is the market leader in making rooftop solar units. Its renewable energy business includes 4.6 gigawatt of solar and 1 GW of wind power-generation assets. The company also provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for solar power plants and has manufacturing units for solar cells and modules at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru. It also operates electric vehicle charging stations.

Tata Powers performance in April-June was boosted by the commissioning of 652 megawatt of solar EPC projects, which was the highest for the company in a quarter. Of this, 560 MW was for third-party contracts, and the rest for in-house consumption.

Sinha expects EPC work for in-house power plants to outpace third-party projects by the second half of this financial year, with 1,600 MW of captive solar plants targeted for commissioning.

Tata Power reported a consolidated profit of 1,060 crore for the first quarter, 8% more than in the same period last year. Revenue was 4% higher at 18,035 crore.

While profit from the renewables segment nearly doubled from a year earlier to 531 crore, profit from the thermal and hydro power generation segment fell 8% year-on-year to 502 crore.

The transmission and distribution segments profit fell 14% from a year ago to 440 crore, largely due to lower profit from the companys power distribution business in Delhi.

Losses in other businesses dragged down Tata Powers consolidated first-quarter profit to 1,189 crore, including the share of joint venture partners.

Softer on thermal, bets on pumped hydro storage Tata Power has softened its stance on thermal power assets, with the company now open to acquiring coal-fired power plants from the market or expanding the capacity of its existing units, Sinha said.

However, the company will continue to draw the line on investing in new thermal power plants, in line with its stated target of sourcing its entire power from renewable energy by 2045.

As of the June quarter, Tata Power had 9.3 GW of thermal power assets, 5.6 GW of solar and wind power, and 880 GW of hydroelectric power.

The company is also betting on pumped hydro power plants, which use water to store excess electricity generated using solar power during the day for providing steady electricity.

The industry is divided between using batteries and pumped hydro plants for the storage of excess power. While Tata Power will also invest in battery storage, directionally, it would prefer hydro storage, Sinha said.

Tata Power is investing 13,500 crore in building two pumped hydro storage plantsa 1,000 MW unit in Bhivpuri and a 1,800 MW unit in Shirwata. Both are in Maharashtra.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued a look-out circular against Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani over an alleged loan fraud case.

The ED summoned Ambani for questioning on August 5. The summons relates to an ongoing investigation into an alleged 17,000 crore loan fraud case involving his company. The agency will record his statement in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), PTI reported.

Last week, the agency carried out searches in 35 locations belonging to 50 companies and 25 people, including several executives of the Anil Ambani Group companies.

Also Read | R Infra denies ED charges after probe agency summons Anil Ambani in fraud case

The alleged loan fraud case involving Anil Ambani emerged during the ED's three-day search at premises linked to him.

The ED stated last week that its investigation into Anil Ambani is connected to allegations of illegal loan diversion of approximately 3,000 crore approved by Yes Bank to his companies between 2017 and 2019.

Meanwhile, the ED found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters "received" money in their accounts, PTI reported, citing people aware of the development.

Also Read | Anil Ambani gets ED summon in alleged 17,000 crore loan fraud case

The ED also looked into the allegations of "gross violations" regarding Yes Bank's loan approvals to these companies. This included claims of back-dated credit approval memorandums and investments suggested without proper due diligence or credit analysis, which breaches the bank's credit policy, it added.

The entities involved are accused of 'diverting' the loans to various group companies and to "shell" (bogus) companies.

Also Read | ED raids on Anil Ambani Group firms over 3,000 crore loan fraud enter Day 3

Last Thursday, Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, the companies of the Anil Ambani-owned group, acknowledged the searches and informed the stock exchanges that the action had "absolutely no impact" on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders.
(Bloomberg) -- Bruneis sovereign wealth fund pulled money from an investment in a Bridgewater Associates strategy to buy an almost 20% stake in the hedge fund managers holding company  a move that has helped spur higher gains for other institutional investors.

The Brunei Investment Agency is the latest longstanding client to buy a piece of the firm founded by Ray Dalio, which managed $92 billion as of Dec. 31.

Its unclear which Bridgewater vehicle Brunei pulled money from, although the sovereign wealth fund remains an investor in all of the firms funds, according to a person familiar with the money manager.

Bridgewaters flagship Pure Alpha II, like many macro funds, has improved its performance in the past few years, but over a longer period, returns have been uneven. That means a long-term investment in the firm itself can be more lucrative than betting on its most popular product.

Bridgewater has been selling stakes to institutions for more than a decade. The Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, Singapores sovereign wealth fund and the International Monetary Fund have all purchased a piece of the Westport, Connecticut-based firm.

The Texas teachers pension fund invested $250 million in Bridgewaters holding company in 2012 and reported making an annualized return of 8.7% through March 31.

An investor in Pure Alpha would have gained an annualized 2% from the beginning of 2012 through June 2025. Last year, the fund climbed 11.3% and its up 17% in the first half of this year.

Dalio recently completed his exit from the company, selling the final slug of his remaining shares in the money manager he started 50 years ago, and resigning from the board.

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China state media is calling for Nvidia Corp. to prove that its H20 chip is secure, saying it cant allow flawed chips into the country.

Chinas top internet watchdog summoned Nvidia representatives earlier this week to discuss what Chinese officials called significant security vulnerabilities in the H20. The Cyberspace Administration of China said that Nvidia would need to explain potential security risks and provide documents as needed, citing comments by US lawmakers about the need to install tracking capabilities on advanced chips being exported.

As soon as backdoors in chips are triggered, we can encounter a nightmare, the Peoples Daily, a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, said in a commentary on Friday. We need to maintain the security of the cyberspace and we cannot allow infected chips to be put to work.

More scrutiny of the artificial intelligence chip would throw a wrench Chinas already-contentious trade talks with the US. Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia had designed the H20 to comply with US export controls on its technology, and the company was hoping to start sales after the US granted a license.

Cybersecurity is critically important to us, Nvidia said in a statement Thursday. Nvidia does not have backdoors in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.

US and Chinese officials met in Stockholm this week to discuss trade terms in talks that Chinese state media said deepened mutual trust, though the two sides still have several disagreements over the potential new tariffs. The warning in Peoples Daily may signal that Chinese officials dont find H20s, which are less powerful than Nvidias most high-end chips, to be worthy offerings.

The Trump administration in April barred Nvidia from selling H20s to China in an escalation of the ongoing tech war between the worlds two largest economies. Trump officials then pledged to lift those restrictions in July as part of a trade deal for China to allow more sales of rare-earth magnets needed to make a range of high-tech products.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had touted the resumption of sales of the H20 as a breakthrough that came from bilateral discussions in London, framing it as a concession to China. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, said earlier this week the magnet issue has been solved. However, it is unclear whether Nvidia has received licenses to resume shipping those semiconductors.

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang himself recently concluded a high-profile visit to Beijing, where he feted national Chinese champions such as DeepSeek and celebrated the countrys rising prowess in AI. The billionaire had denied Nvidia installed backdoors in its product, saying that wouldnt make business sense.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo is currently not looking at availing of benefits under India's scheme to promote passenger electric vehicles due to existing scale of the industry and will consider bringing plug-in hybrid vehicles in the country if the tax structure is conducive, a top official of its Indian arm said on Friday.

Volvo Car India, which launched the refreshed version of its best selling model XC60 in India at an introductory price of 71.9 lakh, believes that the entry of new players like Tesla is good for popularising electric vehicles.

"We believe right now, with the current scale of our industry, CKD (completely knocked down) offers the best solution. That is what we already have, and we'll continue to do that. As more benefits are seen and we anticipate bigger scale then we can evaluate others," Volvo Car India Managing Director Jyoti Malhotra told PTI.

He was responding to a query on whether Volvo Car India is looking to avail of the benefits under the government's Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India.

Under the scheme companies are allowed to import up to 8,000 electric four-wheeler units annually at a lower import duty of 15 per cent, against 70-100 per cent currently, provided they commit an investment of 4,150 crore for setting up local manufacturing facilities.

Malhotra said there are various factors before taking "a call, and one of them is also the scale", adding "we have so many benefits available in India. There are different ways we can make cars in India or import cars in India."

When asked about the increase in competition with the entry of the likes of Tesla in India, he said,"I would say we are not looking at anybody as a competitor. They are all different car makers, they are colleagues, they are all welcome to come. I think India needs more, the more the merrier."

Asserting that Indian customers need choice, Malhotra said,"We are a huge country. One good thing I can say is that in the last 6-7 months we have seen a lot of interest in electric cars, we have seen a lot of interest in new generation cars and I think it is good... So the entry (of Tesla) is good for the customers."

On Volvo Car India's sales growth of EVs, he said,"Within our own portfolio, almost one in four cars, roughly 25 per cent that we sell are electric cars, which is really very healthy...we will be bringing another electric car, EX30 later this year."

The company currently sells two EV models -- EC40 and EX40 -- in India.

On the rare earth magnet shortage, Malhotra said,"We are doing assembly. We get our kits from other plants, so we are not directly impacted."

On the refreshed XC60, he said it is being assembled at the company's Bengaluru facility along with other models that the company sells in India, he noted.

When asked if the company would consider the plug-in hybrid version of the model, he told reporters,"We have a range of mild hybrids and plug-in hybrids... Those are the range that we have in this car (XC60) globally...Our global portfolio has it but the Indian tax structure is not really conducive as of today."

He further noted,"If things change, we can always bring it. So we are keeping a close watch." Under the current regulations hybrid passenger vehicles of length of up to 4 metre and up to 1200 cc petrol engine and up to 1500 cc diesel engine attract 28 per cent GST.

On the other hand hybrid passenger vehicles of length above 4 metre or above 1200 cc petrol engine and above 1500 cc diesel engine are taxed at 28 GST with 15 per cent additional cess.

"The mild hybrid that we have on offer today with the current (tax) structures that we have in India, I think this is best suited because we can offer the best value to our customers," Malhotra said, adding "but if things change, you can always bring it".
(Bloomberg) -- The worlds No. 1 copper producer Codelco is reeling from a fatal accident, saying an earth tremor caused a collapse at a new section of its biggest mine, with five people trapped underground.

One person was confirmed dead and nine were injured. Another five are the subject of a rescue effort thats invoking comparisons with the liberation of 33 trapped miners in Chile a decade and a half ago. Chief Executive Officer Ruben Alvarado is on site coordinating efforts and will be joined by Mining Minister Aurora Williams, the government said Friday.

The accident occurred Thursday afternoon at the El Teniente division, in a section called Andesita that had just started to produce copper and was scheduled to ramp up over the coming years. Activities in the area were halted, with hundreds evacuated. Mines in Chile are designed to withstand much stronger seismic activity than the 4.2-magnitude event registered on Thursday. An investigation is underway.

The deadly collapse is the latest setback for Codelco, which is battling to recover from a years-long slump in output. The state-controlled behemoth is trying to wrap up several late and over-budget projects to overhaul its aging operations and retain its status as the worlds largest copper supplier.

The most significant impact will be the delay in the ramp-up of the Andesita project, where the accident occurred, since production committed from that sector this year was low, although its participation is more significant in coming years, said Juan Ignacio Guzman, who heads GEM, a mineral consulting firm in Chile.

Codelco canceled a presentation of its first-half results, scheduled for Friday morning, with CEO Alvarado focused on events at El Teniente.

Alvarados predecessor at Codelco, Andre Sougarret, was the engineer who led the rescue of trapped miners at the San Jose mine in northern Chile in 2010.

Paulo Marin, an employee of contractor Salfa Montajes, died in the collapse at El Teniente. Nine other people suffered injuries, none of them life threatening. Earlier, newspaper El Mercurio reported the five trapped workers had died. That wasnt confirmed by Codelco, which is treating its efforts as a rescue.

The company hasnt had contact with the trapped workers, but knows their precise location, division head Andres Music told reporters Friday. The next 48 hours are crucial for a rescue effort comprised of 100 people, some of whom participated in freeing the 33 miners in 2010, Music said.

While Codelco has made its mines much safer in recent years as part of an industry-wide safety push, accidents continue to affect project development and operations.

Last year, Codelcos Radomiro Tomic open pit was the scene of a fatal accident that led to extended production disruptions, while a worker at its Ventanas division died in an accident while repairing a warehouse roof. In 2023, an electrical technician at El Teniente died.

(Adds government comment in second paragraph)

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The Trump administration jolted Switzerland with punitive new tariffs. Few seemed to be more taken aback than buyers and sellers of Swiss watches.

Oliver R. Muller, a luxury watch consultant based in Switzerland, was indignant at the blow that tariffs will likely inflict on the countrys watch industry, which has recently been relying on demand from the US to offset fading sales in China.

Its another burden that comes on top of many others, Muller said in an interview.

The administrations 39% tariff on all Swiss imports, if passed along from sought-after brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe and Omega to distributors in the US, would likely lead to retail-price increases of 12% to 14%, Muller estimated. That would add about $1,000 to the $9,500 price of a stainless steel Rolex Submariner.

Swiss watches are a longstanding signal of affluence, and over the years the president has been seen wearing various high-end timepieces, including a Rolex. Members of his family and his administration have also sported Swiss watches in public. For observers, that made the 39% levy all the more vexing.

On top of it all, he likes Swiss watches! Muller said.

High-end watches have been drawing a growing American fan base in recent years, with obsessive owners showing off their collections on social media. The chain retailer Watches of Switzerland, which has locations in tony shopping areas across the US, said in a statement that it would continue to work closely with our brand partners to mitigate any potential impact.

Trump administration officials didnt seem to be focused on watches when they put the tariffs in place, instead citing pharmaceuticals as a driving force in the trade imbalance between the countries. The US has no large luxury-watch making industry of its own.

Online watch enthusiasts have long clocked the make and reference numbers of the high-end watches of Trump officials. FBI Director Kash Patel has been spotted wearing a Breitling. Former DOGE czar Elon Musk has a TAG Heuer with the SpaceX logo.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio  who in a previous political life declared that Trump, had he not inherited a fortune from his father, would be selling watches in Manhattan  has worn a Rolex, too.

There were already warning signs in the Swiss watch industry before Trumps tariffs. Exports fell 5.6% in June compared with a year earlier, according to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, a trade group. That was driven by significant declines in sales in the US, as well as Japan and Hong Kong, the group said in a monthly report.

Trump lent his name and signature to a line of MAGA-coded timepieces last year, including a $100,000 Swiss-made Tourbillon.

The makers of the watch, a firm registered as TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, didnt respond to a request for comment sent through an intermediary. The site states that the watches are not political and have nothing to do with any political campaign.

With assistance from Chris Rovzar.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
US trading firm Jane Street is not co-operating with the income tax department in the ongoing investigation against the firm, a government source who has been briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.

India's income tax authorities are reviewing documents across the local offices of Jane Street and its trading partner Nuvama Wealth, two sources aware of the matter had said on Thursday.

"Their servers are located outside India and access is being blocked. The books of accounts are also maintained outside the country, despite the requirement under Indian company law to maintain them in India," the source said on condition of anonymity as the proceedings are confidential.

"They have only a skeletal staff present here, who are also not co-operating," the source added.

Also Read | HFTs drove index options activity. Then came the Jane Street jolt

Also Read | Jane Street Seeks Six Weeks for India Response, May Get Fewer

India's tax authorities did not immediately respond to queries sent on email. An e-mail sent to Jane Street's headquarters in the U.S. outside office hours also did not get an immediate response.

India's markets regulator SEBI temporarily banned Jane Street from trading in Indian markets on July 4, alleging the firm manipulated stock indexes through its derivatives positions.

According to the regulator's order, the Jane Street group made a profit of $4.23 billion from trading in India between January 2023toMay2025.

The U.S. brokerage has deposited $567 million in an escrow account, representing what the regulator said are "unlawful gains," in a bid to resume trading while reserving its legal rights.

Also Read | Jane Street to Argue That Retail Demand Drove Its India Trades
ROME  Elon Musk may have tumbled from political grace in Washington, D.C., but as he seeks to build a new political party, his power on X  where he commands the most popular account  remains unchecked.

Musk is a kingmaker on the platform he acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. He has used his influence to cultivate hard-right politicians and insurgent activists across Europe. A retweet or reply from Musk can lead to millions of views and tens of thousands of new followers, according to an Associated Press analysis of public data.

That fact has not been lost on influencers who have tagged Musk persistently, seeking a reply or a retweet. It has also fueled concerns in Europe about foreign meddling not from Russia or China, but from the United States.

Every alarm bell needs to ring, Christel Schaldemose, a vice president of the European Parliament who works on electoral interference and digital regulation, told .

The Associated Press analyzed more than 20,000 posts, which were compiled by Bright Data, over a three-year period from a sample of 11 European figures who had significant interactions with Musk and frequently promote a hard-right political or social agenda.

These case studies are not meant to be representative of a broad universe; rather they showcase the ways in which Musks engagement can have an impact on local influencers that share his views.

Since acquiring Twitter in October 2022, Elon Musks followers have more than doubled, to over 220 million. No other large account has shown such high or consistent growth.

The result: If Musks X account is his megaphone, it has gotten a lot bigger since he took over a change that has global implications.

The accounts Musk has been promoting are part of a growing global alliance of nationalistic parties and individuals united in common cause to halt migration, overturn progressive policies and promote an absolutist vision of free speech, which has rattled the foundation of a trans-Atlantic bond that guided U.S. and European relations for over eight decades.

Several of the accounts analyzed belong to people who have faced allegations of illegal behavior in their own countries. Tommy Robinson, an anti-immigrant agitator in the U.K., was sentenced in October to 18 months in prison for violating a court order blocking him from making libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee. Bjoern Hoecke, a politician from Germanys Alternative for Deutschland party, was convicted last year of knowingly using a Nazi slogan in a speech.

Italian vice premier Matteo Salvini was acquitted in December of allegations he illegally detained 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship

Among the others examined by : Alice Weidel, who helped lead Germanys Alternative for Deutschland party to its best electoral showing this year; Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch influencer known as the shieldmaiden of the far-right; Naomi Seibt, a German activist dubbed the anti-Greta Thunberg now living in what amounts to political exile in Washington DC; Ruben Pulido and Foro Madrid, both associated with Spains populist Vox party; and Fidias Panayioutou, a politician from Cyprus who has also advocated for Musks companies.

These accounts collectively gained roughly 5 million followers from the time Musk took over Twitter in October 2022 through January of this year. Most saw triple-digit percentage increases in their followers as high as 920%, or in one case of a tiny account exploding over that time, topping 6,000%. Even some accounts that grew more steadily on their own saw their follower counts sharply begin rising once Musk started interacting with them. Similarly, on days Musk interacted with a post, the number of views the account got soared  in most cases, accruing two to four times as many views, with a few seeing boosts 30 or 40 times their normal daily viewership.

More established players in Musks orbit like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose ruling Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots  benefit less when Musk interacts with them on X, found.

Musks dominance creates a strong incentive for people to get Musk to engage with their content.

Naomi Seibt, a German climate skeptic, pinged Musk nearly 600 times over the past three years. Musk finally engaged in June 2024, when he asked her to explain why the Alternative for Germany party is so controversial in Germany.

Since then, Musk has replied to, quoted or tagged Seibt more than 50 times, and her followers have grown by more than 320,000 since Musk took over the platform. On days Musk interacted with Seibt, her posts, on average, got 2.6 times as many views.

I didnt intentionally invade Elons algorithm, Seibt told . Obviously Elon has a lot of influence and can help share a message even with those who are usually glued to the legacy media, particularly in Germany.

Alice Weidel, who helps lead the Alternative for Germany party, saw her daily audience surge from 230,000 to 2.2 million on days Musk interacted with her posts on X. After Musk hosted a livestream with Weidel on X, vice president JD Vance broke protocol and met her in Munich. Weidels party, which is fighting a lawsuit to block the German governments decision to designate it as an extremist group, went on to secure its best electoral showing ever.

Musk has also used X to advocate for the leader of Italys hard-right League party, Matteo Salvini. On days Musk interacted with Salvinis account, average views were more than four times higher than usual. Now serving as vice premier, Salvini has urged his government to move ahead with controversial contracts for Starlink and pushed back against European efforts to regulate content on X.

And Musk has a friend in Brussels: Fidias Panayiotou  a 25-year-old social media influencer from Cyprus. Before winning a surprise seat in the European Parliament last year, the Cypriot spent weeks on a quest to get Elon Musk to hug him. In January 2023, his wish came true. Their embrace went viral. Since taking office, Panayiotou has praised X on the floor of the European Parliament, pushed back against regulations that impact the platform, and credited Musk with sparking his call to fire 80% of EU bureaucrats.

Musk, evidently, was pleased. Vote for Fidias, he wrote on X. He is smart, super high energy and genuinely cares about you!

The endorsement has been viewed 11.5 million times.

-

Kessler reported from Washington

-

Contact s global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/
(Bloomberg) -- Mediobanca SpA Chief Executive Officer Alberto Nagel said that national governments are an obstacle to creating bigger banks in the European Union.

I dont think its going to help the consolidation of the financial industry in the bloc, Nagel said Friday on Bloomberg TV, referring to efforts to slow or even prevent banking takeovers in Germany, Italy and Spain. That level of obstruction is a new factor, he said.

Several banks including Italys UniCredit SpA and Spains BBVA SA have launched attempts to buy rivals, only to meet with sometimes bitter opposition from Berlin, Rome and Madrid. Mediobanca itself is facing an unsolicited offer from domestic competitor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, which is supported by Monte Paschis largest shareholder, the Italian government.

Nagel has repeatedly rejected the bid. He reiterated in the interview on Friday that he sees it as totally inadequate.

Monte Paschi is offering 25.33 new shares for every 10 in Mediobanca, valuing the target at around 15.2 billion ($17.3 billion) at current prices. Thats below Mediobancas market capitalization of around 15.5 billion.

As part of its defense, Mediobanca has launched an acquisition effort for Banca Generali SpA, the wealth management unit of the countrys biggest insurer, Assicurazioni Generali SpA. Nagel said in the interview hes still waiting for a response to the offer from Generali.

Mediobanca said yesterday authorization processes for the Banca Generali acquisition are expected to be completed by Aug. 18 and that it could call a meeting three days later for shareholders to express their views. The bank said it reserves the right to take all relevant decisions by Aug. 6 in view of how discussions with Generali are going.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
(Bloomberg) -- Just six weeks ago, things seemed to be getting better for Novo Nordisk A/S. Investors were optimistic, and the Danish drugmaker was briefly Europes most valuable public company again. Now, the stock has posted its worst week on record.

The shares have plunged 32% this week after the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy cut its forecasts for the year and named a company insider as its new chief executive officer. The stock was also hit on Friday after US President Donald Trump demanded that pharmaceutical companies lower American drug prices.

Thats taken Novos market capitalization to the equivalent of $213 billion  below companies including Nestle SA and AstraZeneca Plc. The Danish firm dropped out of Europes top 10 most valuable stocks on Friday morning, before regaining the final slot in that list later in the day.

Weve long been calling Novo a show me story, Barclays Plc analyst Emily Field wrote in a note this week. But with Novo having a hard time competing with cheaper, copycat versions of its medicines, and a new drug pipeline that lags behind rivals, we struggle to see what will get investors to return to the story, Field wrote, downgrading the stock to equal-weight from overweight.

Novos warning on Tuesday followed a tumultuous year thats seen the shares plunge 70% from last summers record high. Issues have included disappointing clinical trial results for experimental drugs, mounting competition from Eli Lilly & Co. and the ouster of its former CEO. Novo named company veteran Maziar Mike Doustdar as its new leader this week, but this wont be an easy fix, warned Barclays Field. Novo is due to report second-quarter results on Wednesday.

One area that has been a particular headache for Novo is competition from cheaper copycat options for US patients. Compounding pharmacies are allowed to make and sell cheaper copies of a medicine when brand-name drugs are in short supply, and although they lost this permission this year, it remains an issue. Novo blamed its guidance cut on unrepentant compounders and broader competition.

Many investors and analysts were caught off guard by the warning, with the mood in June being mainly one of optimism that a turnaround was starting. On Monday, nearly two-thirds of analysts tracked by Bloomberg rated the stock a buy or equivalent. But caution is starting to seep in, with less than half keeping their buy recommendations as of Fridays market close.

Read: Novo Nordisk Shares Are Now Recovering from Peak Pessimism

We got our call on Novo wrong, said Rajesh Kumar, an analyst at HSBC. Our assumption that with FDAs ban on compounding, Novo might regain market share has not played out, he wrote in a note on Thursday, cutting the stock to hold from buy.

Still, one investor sees similarities between Novos current situation and another upheaval for the drugmaker in 2016 when it was better known as the worlds biggest maker of insulin. Will James, a fund manager at Guinness Global Investors, notes that back then, the company had its competitive position questioned. The guidance was cut and the CEO replaced.

The share price fell and then recovered aggressively as Novo refocused its innovation and commercial efforts, James said in an email. It is now undoubtedly a bigger job for the new CEO with a sizeable mountain to climb to regain and grow market share and rebuild trust with investors.

--With assistance from Michael Msika, Sagarika Jaisinghani and Blaise Robinson.

(Updates prices.)

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PB Fintech will re-enter the fee-based mutual fund business to gain another source of revenue under the PB Money vertical, management said during the analyst call for Q1FY26, after profits jumped in the quarter.

This is PB Fintechs second attempt at entering the mutual fund business. The first, launched in 2019, ended up breaking away into a separate company called Zfunds, led by CEO Manish Kothari, who previously worked at Paisabazaar.

That did quite well, but there was conflict between management, because of which that group left and set up a separate business. I am a small investor in the company," Yashish Dahiya, chairman and group CEO of PB Fintech, said during the Q1 analyst call on 1 August. Dahiya has a less than 3% stake in Zfunds, which had about 1,000 crore in AUM when it was part of PB Fintech.

On Thursday evening PB Fintech reported a 41% year-on-year rise in net profit to 85 crore in Q1FY26, and a 33% increase in revenue to 1,348 crore. The companys stock opened at 1,816.50 on Friday and closed the day around 1,780, down 1.76%.

Under PB Money

Dahiya said the business was nascent, and still a tiny part of PB Fintech. It would likely add to the company's personal finance advisory through PB Money. It is too early to say how the model will evolve," he added.

The new business will be a part of PB Money, the personal finance arm under Paisabazaar, a wholly owned subsidiary of PB Fintech. PB Money was launched in March and is headed by Santosh Agarwal, CEO of Paisabazaar. It already offers other asset classes such as fixed deposits and bonds.

Mutual funds are a significant part of household savings in India today, which gives us the confidence that we should be in this space. PB Money is now a much more mature business, and were in a better position to talk about savings as a real solution. Mutual funds fit naturally into that," Agarwal said during the analyst call.

While we may not have all the answers yet on what gives us the right to win, I do believe theres room for another strong player in this space. If we execute well, there will definitely be consumer interest," she added.

Red-hot industry

The Indian mutual fund industrys assets under management (AUM) jumped 23% to 65.7 trillion in FY25 from 53.4 trillion in the previous financial year, according to a joint report by the Association of Mutual Funds in India and Crisil Intelligence, Mint reported in May.

The report said while Indias mutual fund penetration (MF AUM to GDP) hit an at all-time high of 19.9% at the end of March, it was still lower than that of many developed economies. This indicates there is considerable scope for growth of the domestic MF industry," it said.

In June, Franklin Templeton India Mutual Fund said the mutual fund industry's AUM touched 72.2 trillion the previous month. The sector is projected to touch 100 trillion in AUM by 2030, according to an Axis Capital report from February 2024.

SBI Funds Management leads the market with 11.14 trillion of AUM as of December 2024, followed by ICICI Prudential, HDFC Asset Management Company (AMC), and Kotak Mahindra AMC. New-age firms in the sector include Groww AMC, Zerodha AMC, Bajaj Finserv AMC and, most recently, JioBlackRock.

Analysts' growth concerns

PB Fintech operates a digital marketplace for insurance and credit products through Policybazaar and Paisabazaar. It also houses an agent aggregator platform, PB Partners, with 350,000 advisors.

Total insurance premium grew 36% year-on-year to 6,616 crore in Q1, led by a 65% surge in online new health insurance. Core insurance revenue rose 37% year-on-year, while its credit revenue declined 22%. Analysts, however, said more than 30% growth in the term insurance market was unlikely to continue, with the overall segment expanding at around 15%.

We believe as we grow, were actually helping expand the market itself," said Dahiya. Digital insurance is becoming a more viable and sustainable business model with better cost structures compared to parts of the traditional offline segment, which may face scale issues going forward."

UAE expansion and other initiatives

PB Fintech is also looking to expand its insurance business in the UAE, its offerings for corporate clients under PB for Business, its point of sales person (PoSP) business, and its personal finance arm PB Money.

UAE has turned profitable, which adds to margins, while our UAE and corporate businesses largely offset each other. Together theyre close to breakeven. The PoSP business, meanwhile, has been scaling well with improving margins, driven by better quality of business and a shift toward smaller, more efficient partners," Dahiya said.

Also Read | The data is clear: you should stop trading and invest in mutual funds instead

He said PB Fintech expects that by next year the new initiatives could reach a point of breakeven. But we do want market share and I dont think we will hold ourselves back for any short-term profit delivery target. We will always do what we think is best for the long-term strength of the business," he added.

In May, Dahiya made headlines for launching PB Healthcare Services Pvt. Ltd., a tech-first, integrated healthcare ecosystem. The company invested $62 million from PB Fintech for a 26% stake and also raised $50 million from General Catalyst for 20.57% to set up a 1,000-bed hospital network in the National Capital Region. Though PB Fintech is involved as an incubator, PB Healthcare is a separate entity.
Reliance Group on Friday denied allegations against it for a fraud of over 17,000 crore after the ED summoned Anil Ambani, the Chairperson and Managing Director of the group.

Reliance Group sources have said that the matter related to Reliance Infra (of the 10,000 crore diversion of funds) was publicly disclosed on February 9 and was not discovered by SEBI.

Anil Ambani, 66, has been summoned by the ED on August 5 for questioning regarding a money laundering case linked to alleged bank loan fraud of his group of companies. The ED will record his statement under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once he deposes at his headquarters in New Delhi.

The ED had last week raided 35 premises of 50 companies as well as 25 people, including Ambani's business executives.

On the basis of a SEBI report, the ED found that R Infra "diverted" funds disguised as inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) to Reliance Group, without disclosing the company as a related party.

Reliance Infrastructure publicly disclosed this matter on 9 February 2025, and SEBI did not make any independent discovery, they said.

Reliance Infra had an exposure of 6,500 crore. The allegation that the diverted amount is 10,000 crore only serves to sensationalise the magnitude and is not based on facts, the sources said.

Also Read | Anil Ambani gets ED summon in alleged 17,000 crore loan fraud case

Reliance Infra diligently pursued recovery of its dues in this matter, they said.

Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge and filed before the Bombay High Court, Reliance Infra arrived at a settlement to recover its entire exposure of 6,500 crore, they said.

The Odisha distribution companies contemplated in the settlement are operational, and their recovery is pending before the courts. This amount is fully recoverable, contrary to the allegations, the company sources added.

Reliance Infrastructure Official Statement Reliance Infrastructure has also released an official statement regarding the matter. Read it here:

The company wishes to clarify regarding todays media reports pertaining to over 10 year old matter as regards alleged diversion of Rs. 10,000 crore to an undisclosed related party, when the exposure as per the disclosures in the Companys financial statements is only around Rs. 6,500 crore.

In this connection attention is invited that Reliance Infrastructure had publicly disclosed this matter on 9 February 2025, nearly 6 months ago.

Reliance Infrastructure Limited had a net exposure of ~Rs. 6,500 crore which was duly disclosed in its financial statements since 4 years. Reliance Infrastructure diligently pursued recovery of its dues in this matter. Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court Judge and the mediation award filed before the Honble Bombay

High Court, Reliance Infrastructure arrived at a settlement to recover its 100% exposure of ~Rs. 6,500 crore.

Further, Mr. Anil D. Ambani is not on the Board of Reliance Infrastructure since more than 3 years i.e. March 2022.

Also Read | Reliance Power, Reliance Infra shares slip on reports of ED summons Anil Ambani

What are ED's allegations against Anil Ambani? The Enforcement Directorate had last week said that its investigation against Anil Ambani is linked to allegations of illegal loan diversion of around 3,000 crore sanctioned by the Yes Bank to his companies between 2017 and 2019.

According to sources quoted by PTI, the ED has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters received money in their concerns.

The central investigative agency is probing this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.
Washington DC [US], August 1 (ANI): The Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group will be enacting a round of layoffs that will see job cuts across its marketing, production strategy, operational and theatre ventures divisions, reported Variety.

According to the outlet, roughly 10% of the studio's workforce will be impacted. This move comes as Warner Bros. Discovery, the studio's parent company, is preparing to split itself into two, reported Variety.

The new publicly traded companies will be Warner Bros., which will include the film division as well as the TV studios and streaming operations, while another part called Discovery Global will comprise TV networks, Discovery and other assets, reported Variety.

In a note to staff, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said the studio began an assessment of the studio's "current structure" earlier in 2025, reported Variety.

"The exploration led to important conversations and insights to better understand how we reach audiences, what fundamental shifts should be implemented as teams work together across the world to collectively engage today's moviegoers, and what the division needs to be successful," the pair wrote as quoted by Variety.

The note concluded with De Luca and Abdy writing, "We know news like this is never easy, and we are tremendously grateful to our departing team members whose contributions throughout their time at Warner Bros. Pictures have made a lasting impact on both of us, and so many of you. They each have a lot to be proud of," as quoted by Variety.

After a rough start to 2025 with the flops of Robert Pattinson starrer 'Mickey 17' and 'The Alto Knights', Warner Bros. has rebounded handsomely with the major hits such as 'Sinners' starring Michael B Jordan and 'A Minecraft Movie'.
Mumbai: Tata Steels plans to turn around its loss-making UK operations have been delayed by at least six months due to global trade disruptions and the spillover effects of US tariffs, the companys top executives said in an interview.

Despite the setback, the executives expressed confidence about the companys broader international strategy, including securing Dutch government support to decarbonize its Netherlands operations, and defended its capacity expansion plans in India amid global concerns of steel overcapacity.

Indias second-biggest steelmaker by capacity had earlier guided for an Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) breakeven in the UK by the end of the second quarter of FY26. The new target is the final quarter of this fiscal year.

In its April-June quarter results announced on Thursday, Tata Steel reported that its UK operations Ebitda loss narrowed to 41 million in the June quarter of this fiscal compared to 80 million reported in the last quarter of FY25.

The companys chief executive officer T.V. Narendran said while there was a delay in achieving Ebitda breakeven due to the direct and indirect effects of the tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, the company was moving in the right direction.

Also Read | Tata Steel Q1 profit surges 2x on higher realizations

Because of tariffs, our exports to the US (from the UK) are impacted," Narendran said. Even the companys customers like British carmakers were facing the heat from the tariffs, compounding the business impact for Tata Steel, he added.

An influx of steel from other countries also made a difference. Japanese and Korean steel, which would have otherwise gone to the US, is looking for alternate markets. It came to the UK because the UK has not been as fast as the EU in setting tighter quotas for imports," the chief executive said.

Chief financial officer Koushik Chatterjee added that the journey from Ebitda breakeven to net profit breakeven for Tata Steel UK would not take that long.

The good thing is that there is no tax implication in the UK because we have a huge amount of unabsorbed tax losses. The asset value is low, so the depreciation is low and debt is mostly working capital," said Chatterjee. So once we get to Ebitda positive with sufficient cushion, it's not a big ask (to achieve net profit)," he said.

Earlier this month, at the Tata Steel annual general meeting, Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran set a new goal of achieving net profit from the companys UK operations in the current fiscal year.

I feel that the UK should be PAT (profit after tax) positive, so the company is working towards making it profitable," said Chandrasekaran, who echoed shareholder concerns. We expect the UK this year to perform much better than last year and it will definitely be Ebitda positive."

Tata Steel shares closed 2.12% lower on Thursday on the BSE at 157.92, underperforming the benchmark Sensex, which fell 0.36% on the stock exchanges.

The Netherlands Scenario

Meanwhile, the steelmaker said its negotiations with the Dutch government were progressing well for fiscal support to overhaul its steelmaking operations in the Netherlands towards more environmentally sustainable processes. It plans to replace two blast furnaces over the coming years with electric arc furnaces (EAFs)like it did in the UKto cut emissions.

All stakeholders, including Tata Steel India, Tata Steel Netherlands, the Dutch government, and the local provincial government will soon sign a non-binding letter of intent. That will be followed by a binding agreement once the Netherlands elects a new government later this year.

Even though the current Dutch government has fallen and elections are scheduled for October, our project is part of a Parliament-endorsed initiative. That allows us to continue negotiations and proceed with the non-binding agreement," said Chatterjee.

The agreement on the blast furnaces involves two phases. During phase one, the company will install an EAF and then shut down one blast furnace. The second phase is planned for the mid-2030s when the remaining blast furnace will be shut. Blast furnaces are large units that use the heat from coke to convert iron ore into purified molten metal for further processing into steel. EAFs do this process using electricity without any coke, thus cutting emissions.

India needs more capacity

The oldest steelmaker in Asia responded to theNew York Timesclaim that there was oversupply of steel in the world and that Tata Steels operations were suffering due to this overcapacity. The two executives defended the companys strategy to expand capacity.

The larger question isn't about overcapacity,"said Narendran. It's about where that capacity exists and whether its in a competitive geography. For a country like India, which will consume 500 million tons of steel, should we really import 300 million tons from China? And what happens if China stops supplying tomorrow?"

Steel is a strategic resource for national infrastructure, automotive, defence, and capital goods sectors, making self-sufficiency critical, Narendran pointed out. Even Europe, which was unsure about keeping its steel industry alive, now wants to retain capacity," he said. Every geography wants to ensure it can meet its own demand."

The top executive questioned why high-cost steel producers like Japan and South Korea export significant volumes of steel despite lacking cost or raw material advantages. At least China offers cheap steel. But why should Japan or Korea be exporting steel when theyre not low-cost producers?" he said.

Also Read | Tata Steel eyes net profit at UK unit this fiscal: N Chandrasekaran

According to Chatterjee, overcapacity discussions, particularly by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), often ignore ground realities. Europe and the US de-industrialized by outsourcing to China," he said. Now, with changing global priorities like supply chain security and carbon taxes, countries are reassessing. For India, with its abundant raw materials, skilled labour and growing infrastructure needs, not building capacity would be foolish."

The issue of overcapacity exists in regions where its no longer needed. Rationalizing it globally is the real issue. Steel should be produced where its most competitive, said Chatterjee.
New Delhi: Indias biggest technology services companys recent decision to lay off 2% of its workforce does not warrant any intervention from the government of Karnataka since it was a business decision, said Priyank Kharge, minister for information technology in the state government.

Speaking with Mint on the sidelines of the inauguration of the 2025 Bengaluru Tech Summit in here on Friday, Kharge said: As far as Im aware, TCS (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd) overestimated their business and had a heavy bench strength, thus leading to a course correction. A very little part of it had to do with artificial intelligence (AI)," the state's minister said. "Now, be it AI or any other disruptive technology, the industry needs to ensure that their human resources remain on top of necessary skills. As the state government, we need to work with industries to ensure that the available talent becomes more employable.

AI upskilling He said a government intervention will only be required if the state assesses that AI upskilling incentives are needed to ensure its technology workforce does not lose jobs.

Kharges statement comes on the back of Karnataka labour minister Santosh Lad's statement on Wednesday that TCS layoff decision was alarming and that the state would look into the labour law to see if there have been any violations by Indias largest homegrown tech services firm.

On 27 July, TCS announced that it will release 2% of its global workforce, or 12,000 employees, through the year. Chief executive K. Krithivasan said in an email to employees that the layoffs will primarily affect mid- to senior-level employees, whose deployment may not be feasible due to the impact on business from new technologies, including the advent of AI in enterprises.

TCS, which houses over 600,000 employees around the world, counts Bengaluru as one of its largest hubs. However, the city, known colloquially as Indias Silicon Valley, has recently come under pressure due to rising rental costs and congestion.

Notwithstanding these challenges, Kharge said the state does not expect to lose out on a boom in Indias global capability centres (GCCs) from major foreign firms, such as financial services giant JPMorgan Chase, retail major Walmart, energy giant Shell, engineering group Bosch, and others. Each of these companies, to be sure, have GCCs in Karnataka.

As part of our state industry policy, we do not offer subsidies and incentives to any party setting up offices and hubs in Bengaluru. We have 850 major GCCs, and about 1,500 overall GCCs taking small capability centres into account," the minister said. "Now, we have identified clusters around the Bengaluru area as part of our state economic policy, which include Manipal-Udupi-Mangaluru, Hubbali-Belagavi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Ballari, and Mysuru-Ramanagara.

Also Read | TCS campus hiring plans intact despite layoffs

Kharge said the Karnataka government is helping companies with infrastructure in these regions and offering them incentives to set up a plug-and-play model in these cities. "For instance, a Fortune 500 company can experiment with the local talent pool in these cities by setting up a small office of 250 employees for a year, and then let us know what they additionally require, he added.

The plug-and-play policy in question is applicable to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), startups, and manufacturing firms as well, in what Kharge said was a customized incentive policy, based on demand.

There is, however, competition in the space from other states. Earlier this month, the Telangana chief ministers office said the state is close to introducing a custom GCC policy, akin to what Kharge described. Data from Telanganas government notes the presence of 355 GCCs as of June.

Industry advocacy body Nasscom had said in February that Indias GCC industry, set to generate $110 billion in annual revenue by FY30, counts Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as the top contenders to Karnatakas current leadership as India's technology hub.

Kharge said Karnataka was not perturbed by competition.
Vodafone Idea, Indias third-largest telecom operator, reported a modest rise in employee compensation for 2024-25 even as it continues to seek financial support from the government.

Median remuneration forVodafone Idea employees increased by 12.7% to 14.2 lakh in FY25, compared with a 7% rise in the year before, as per the companys latest annual report.

However, chief executive officer Akshaya Moondra, chief financial officer Murthy G.V.A.S., and company secretary Pankaj Kapdeo, received more restrained hikes of 7.2-7.7%, down from increases of 8-9.5% for Vodafones top management in FY24.

While the company did not mention the exact remuneration for its top management in FY25, based on the annual increment, Moondras remuneration is expected to have been about 13 crore.

Rival telecom operator Bharti Airtel Ltds vice chairman and managing directorGopal Vittals pay rose 9% to 20.2 crore in FY25.

Vodafone had 9,985 permanent employees on its rolls as on 31 March, up from 9,816 employees a year ago.

Also Read | Will Vi survive beyond FY26? Court petition says it may not

The average remuneration increase for Vodafone employees excluding key managerial personnel was 7.5%, slightly below the previous years 8%, reflecting moderate raises for the companys high earners amid tighter cost management.

Bharti Airtel, too, moderated its employee salary hikes in FY25, with the average salary increase dropping to 8% from 8.7% in FY24. Median remuneration fell 3.95%, after dropping 5.6% in FY24, owing to changes in the employee mix and role transitions across the group during the year, Airtel had said.

The trend in Vodafones employee remuneration assumes significance as the telecom operator currently sits on a huge pile of dues. As of March-end, the companys payment obligations to the government stood at 1.94 trillion, comprising deferred spectrumpayment obligations of 1.18 trillion and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of 75,945 crore.

The board believes that the companys ability to settle the liabilities is dependent on further support from the DoT (Department of Telecommunications) on the AGR matter, fund raise through equity and debt and generation of cashflow from operations, the company said in its annual report for FY25.

Based on the current efforts, the company believes that it would be able to get DoT support, successfully arrange funding and generate cashflow from operations, the company added.

Mounting dues In FY25, Vodafone Ideas revenue from operations rose 2.2% to 43,571 crore, while its loss narrowed to 27,383 crore from 31,238 crore in the previous year. Its subscriber base, however, dropped to 198.2 million at the end of March from 212.6 million a year ago.

The company believes that it is well positioned to exploit the growth opportunities in Indias rapidly expanding mobile telecommunications industry. The companys primary focushas been on network investments to ensure superior customer experience, Vodafone Ideas non-executive chairman, Ravinder Takkar, said in a message to shareholders in the annual report.

Takkar said the company remains focused on strengthening its position on business services, especially the new and fast-growing segment of internet-of-things andcloud services.

Our 4G subscriber base has grown in 14 out of the last 15 quarters, with the only decline observed in Q2FY25, where loss of subscribers happened post a tariff hike, Takkar said, adding that the company is confident that this positive trend will continue as it sustains its pace of capital expenditure.

Vodafone had 126.4 million 4G subscribers as of March-end.

Also Read | Vodafone lenders worried about the fate of loans

In April, the company approached the DoT seeking relief on its AGR dues. It later filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court seeking relief, but the court dismissed its plea.

In the companys view, this dismissal does not preclude it from further engaging with the government of India based on its foreseeable cashflows for arriving at an appropriate solution on the AGR matter before the next instalment date, Vodafone Idea said in the annual report.

The government owns a 49% stake in Vodafone Idea. Its four-year moratorium on payments of AGR and spectrum dues for telecom companies, including Vodafone Idea, ends in September.

Beginning 31 March 2026, Vodafone Idea must pay an annual instalment of over 18,000 crore for the next six years towards AGR and spectrum dues to the government. In 2025-26 itself, it will have to pay 16,428 crore towards AGR dues and 2,539 crore towards deferred spectrum dues.
India is weighing options to placate the White House, including boosting US imports, and has ruled out immediate retaliation to President Donald Trumps surprise 25% tariff threat, according to people familiar with the matter.

Officials in New Delhi were shocked and disappointed by Trumps announcement on Wednesday, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The government is keen to keep bilateral trade talks on track and is exploring ways to increase purchases from its largest trading partner, they said.

India is considering ramping up its natural gas purchases from the US, and increase imports of communication equipment and gold, the people said. They added that boosting these purchases could help narrow Indias trade surplus with the US over the next three to four years. No defense purchases are being planned, they said.

Officials in New Delhi are not considering any immediate retaliation to Trumps tariff threat, the people said. The government has already reserved its right at the World Trade Organization to retaliate against the higher US duties on steel and automobiles at a time of its choosing.

Indias Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal  who just days earlier voiced confidence in securing a trade deal with Washington  told Parliament on Thursday that the government is now engaging with exporters to assess the impact of Trumps tariffs. The implications of the recent developments are being examined, Goyal said, as the opposition staged loud protests. He added that his ministry is collecting feedback from exporters and industry groups, and will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest.

Also Read | Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil amid Trump tariff row: Report

It remains unclear whether New Delhis moves will soften Trumps stance. Although the US leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have shared friendly ties and until recently sounded optimistic about finalizing a trade deal, Trump on Wednesday criticized India for its high tariffs and described its trade barriers as strenuous and obnoxious. He also threatened to impose penalties on India for purchasing Russian energy and weapons.

The president later told reporters that Washington and New Delhi were still in talks and that a final decision on the tariff would be made by the end of the week. Just a few hours later, however, he posted on Truth Social, saying, I dont care what India does with Russia, and referred to both nations as dead economies.

The US had a trade deficit with India of about $43 billion last year, the 11th largest and well below countries like Vietnam, which stood at about $121 billion, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund. Trump earlier this month announced a tariff rate of 20% for Vietnam.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday blamed India for slowing trade negotiations, telling CNBC that the whole trade team has been frustrated with New Delhi. He added that the next steps are now up to India, and criticized the South Asian nation for not being a great global actor, citing its close ties with Russia.

Indias government said Wednesday it remains committed to a trade deal thats mutually beneficial and highlighted the need to protect its farmers and small businesses. Both sides had already agreed to conclude a bilateral trade deal by the fall of this year, with officials in New Delhi saying earlier this week that negotiators from the US would be visiting the country to continue the talks.

Analysts are uncertain about how seriously to take Trumps remarks. Trump being Trump, we cant be sure, said Abhijit Das, a New Delhi based international trade expert. This could be a negotiating ploy as he did something similar with the EU. The US leader pressured the European Union into a trade deal by initially threatening 30% tariffs, then scaling them back to 15%.

Indias currency and stocks slid on Thursday, although the declines were relatively muted. The rupee fell as much as 0.4% to 87.7375 per dollar before recovering slightly to trade 0.2% lower at 10:50 a.m. local time. Meanwhile, the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index was down 0.5%, after having dropped as much as 0.9% earlier in the session.

Despite considering a boost in purchases of American goods, the Modi government is unlikely to buy additional defense equipments from the US, a key demand from Trump, officials familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.

India has informed the US that its not keen to buy the F-35 stealth fighter jets, they said. During Modis visit to the White House in February, Trump had offered to sell the expensive warplanes to India. However, the Modi government is more interested in a partnership focused on jointly designing and manufacturing defense equipments domestically, the officials said.

The Ministry of Defence in India didnt respond to a request for comment.

Trumps recent remarks risk further straining already fragile US-India ties. The US president has repeatedly said that his use of trade pressure helped secure a ceasefire that ended a four-day armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May  a claim strongly denied by Modi and senior officials in New Delhi.

Back in February, when relations between the two leaders were notably warm, Modi extended an invitation to Trump to visit India. New Delhi is expected to host a leaders summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad  which comprises the US, Japan, India and Australia  later this year.
New Delhi: India should continue to focus on manufacturing for the world, but with a more diversified US-plus" export market, even as President Donald Trumps 25% tariff and an unspecified penalty for trade with Russia have bared vulnerabilities, said experts.

The latest set of tariff announcements has indeed exposed vulnerabilities in export-dependent growth models, necessitating a strategic recalibration of Indias manufacturing framework," said Rishi Shah, partner and economic advisory services leader, Grant Thornton Bharat. Our Make in India initiatives emphasis on scaling production capacity remains fundamentally sound, but the current trade environment underscores the need for a more nuanced approach centered on innovation-led industrial development."

India must now elevate industrial security to the same strategic priority weve accorded food security and energy security over the past decades", said Shah.

The US is Indias largest export market now, followed by the UAE, the Netherlands and the UK.

India has been focusing on boosting manufacturing in export-oriented sectors such as mobile phones, automobiles and components, and pharmaceuticals, especially by offering production incentives. This has been complemented by a calibrated import tariff regime that seeks to gradually increase domestic value addition from mere assembly to more complex operations. Policy makers have also been hoping to reap the benefits from a global supply chain recalibration away from China.

Fresh US tariffs, however, renew worries that one of the growth engines, net exports, will continue to face headwinds. The 25% tariff on Indian exports from 1 August would mean Indias exports would face a higher barrier in the US market than goods from South Korea (15% tariff rate), the EU (15%) and the UK (10%).

With trade policies being used as tools of influence by major economies, the goal must be of industrial self-reliance," said Shah of Grant Thornton Bharat. This isnt about import substitution, rather about building economic resilience against external shocks and policy volatility."

Sachchidanand Shukla, group chief economist at Larsen & Toubro Ltd, described the current trade uncertainty as a short-term issue and said the focus on manufacturing-centred development should stay.

It is true the world is in a flux currently and there has been a degree of de-globalization playing out in the recent past," he said. But India has to pursue negotiations with the US, partner with other like-minded economies and economic blocs and get deeply embedded in the global value chains."

India should keep eyes trained on harnessing all global opportunities, whether it is within Asia, which is the fastest growing region, the EU or Latin America, and continue to enter into trade deals, said Shukla.

According to Shukla, Indias push for scaling up domestic manufacturing capabilities has served well in building self-reliance and it should continue, especially for strategic reasons and also for meeting the demand in a growing economy, which has the potential to double its size in six-seven years. Besides, the global trade pie and the opportunity is very large at over $33 trillion and must be tapped to generate jobs and growth, Shukla added.

The current uncertainty in trade relations with the US is a short-term bump. What has been announced by the US may not be the final outcome, as we have seen in negotiations with other countries. Indias focus on manufacturing should continue, and we must make in India and make for the world," Shukla said.

The path forward requires a dual approach, said Shah of Grant Thornton Bharat. That involves maintaining Indias trajectory of scaling up manufacturing while pivoting toward innovation, said Shah.

This means deepening our focus on research and development intensity, technological capabilities and knowledge-based value addition across manufacturing, services and emerging technology sectors," said Shah. Priority areas include semiconductor design, biotechnology R&D (research and development), pharmaceutical innovation and precision electronicsdomains where our MSME ecosystem can leverage advanced technologies to create globally competitive products."
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on 2 August, alleged that the Election Commission is indulging in vote chori for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and claimed that his party has open and shut evidence for it.

The Rae Bareli Member of Parliament (MP) likened his party's evidence of alleged poll irregularities to an atom bomb and said that when it explodes, the Election Commission will have no place to hide in the country.

I have said 'vote chori' is happening and now we have open and shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in vote chori, Gandhi told reporters in the Parliament House complex here.

I am not saying this lightly. I am saying this with 100 per cent proof. As soon as we release it the whole country would know that EC is indulging in 'vote chori'. It is doing it for the BJP, he said.

'Baseless allegations': Election Commission The Election Commission of India responded to Gandhi's allegation, terming it 'baseless.'

The Election Commission ignores such baseless allegations being made on a daily basis and, despite threats being given daily, asks all election officials to ignore such irresponsible statements while working impartially and transparently, the poll panel told news agency ANI.

Gandhi said his party had suspicions of poll irregularities in the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls in 2023, then in the Lok Sabha polls, and this went further in Maharashtra.

We believe that vote theft has happened at the state level (in Maharashtra). Voter revision had happened, and a crore voters were added. Then we went into detail, seeing that the EC is not helping, and decided to dig deep into this, he said.

We got our own investigation done, it took six months, and what we have found is an atom bomb. When it explodes, the EC would have no place to hide in the country, Gandhi said.

The Congress leader's remarks came after he, along with leaders of several Opposition parties, wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to schedule a special discussion on the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar without any further delay.

In their letter to Birla, the Opposition MPs expressed deep concern over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, especially a few months before the state assembly elections.

The opposition has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging the EC's exercise was aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. They have been demanding a discussion on the issue in both Houses.

BJP's Response

I have said 'vote chori' is happening and now we have open and shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in 'vote chori'.

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said this is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has threatened Constitutional organisations.

This is a huge conspiracy to weaken democracy... This is a very dangerous behaviour and approach. The opposition is running a malicious plan to discredit constitutional organisations. It is an attack on democracy... Even the opposition party leaders have started to internally oppose Rahul Gandhi... People have started saying Rahul is playing a dirty game and wants to destroy the country's image, Rijiju said.

On 11 July, 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.
New Delhi, Aug 1 (PTI) Power consumption in the country grew marginally by 2.6 per cent year-on-year to 153.63 billion units (BU) in July, mainly due to reduced usage of cooling appliances amid heavy downpour in several parts of the country.

Power consumption was recorded at 149.65 BU in July, 2024, according to official data.

Experts believe the heavy rains across the country due to active monsoon affected the power consumption as well as demand in July.

The highest supply in a day (peak power demand met) in July dipped slightly to about 220.59 GW last month, from around 226.63 GW in July, 2024.

Peak power demand had touched an all-time high of about 250 GW in May 2024.

The previous all-time high peak power demand of 243.27 GW was recorded in September 2023.

According to government estimates, peak power demand was expected to touch 277 GW in the summer of 2025.

However, during this summer season (from April onwards), the record peak power demand was 242.77GW in June.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon hit the Kerala coast on May 24, 2025, eight days ahead of schedule.

The widespread rains across the country reduced consumption of electricity especially by cooling appliances like desert coolers and air conditioners during June, experts said.

According to the Meteorological Department, India was expected to experience hotter-than-usual temperatures from April to June, with more heat wave days in Central and Eastern India and the Northwestern plains.

Minimum temperatures will be higher than usual across most of the country, except for a few places in the Northwest and the Northeast, where temperatures may be normal or slightly below normal, the IMD had said.

The heatwave arrived much earlier in 2025 than last year.
Hundreds of thousands of veterans with PTSD have been prescribed simultaneous doses of powerful psychiatric drugs. The practice, known as polypharmacy," can tranquilize patients to the point of numbness, cause weight gain and increase suicidal thoughts when it involves pharmaceuticals that target the central nervous system, according to scientific studies and veterans accounts.

The VAs own guidelines say no data support drug combinations to treat PTSD. The Food and Drug Administration warns that combining certain medications such as opioids and benzodiazepines can cause serious side effects, including death.

Nonetheless, prescribing cocktails of such drugs is one of the VAs most common treatments for veterans with PTSD, and the number of veterans on multiple psychiatric drugs is a growing concern at the agency, according to interviews with more than 50 veterans, VA health practitioners, researchers and former officials, and a review of VA medical records and studies.

Polypharmacy has multiple definitions when it comes to central nervous system drugs. The VA defines it as taking five or more medications at the same time, while some medical researchers say its two or more and the American Geriatrics Society defines it as three or more.

There is an emerging medical consensus among VA doctors and researchers that taking multiple central nervous system drugs can wreak havoc on patients. Interactions between such drugs arent well understood, and their effects in combination can be unpredictable and extreme.

The VA maintains that the best treatment for PTSD is talk therapy. But therapists are scarce and wait times are long, so overwhelmed doctors default to pills. Because there is no single drug designed specifically to treat PTSD, veterans often end up on drug cocktails as multiple specialists try to ease a variety of symptoms and prevent harm or suicide, according to VA clinical staff, studies and veterans.

When it comes to the challenge of polypharmacy in these populations, its constantly chasing your tail," said Dr. Ryan Vega, a chief healthcare innovation official at the VA until 2023, who still treats veterans. It is where medicine is more art than science. We have medications that treat those symptoms but are we addressing the root cause?"

Nearly 60% of VA patients with PTSD were taking two or more central nervous system drugs at the same time in 2019, the latest year for which data are publicly available, according to a VA study. That works out to more than 520,000 patients, up 62% from a decade earlier, driven by a near doubling of the number of VA patients with PTSD due to more combat tours and better screening.

One silver lining highlighted by the study was that the percentage of PTSD veterans on five or more CNS medications declined to 7% from 12%, largely due to internal efforts to deprescribe opioids and benzodiazepines. (Central nervous system drugs affect the brain and spinal cord; psychiatric medications are a subset of CNS drugs).

The VA declined requests from The Wall Street Journal to provide more recent polypharmacy numbers for veterans in its care.

The VA has long been aware of the risks of overprescribing, and has internal research since at least 2016 showing the potential harms, including increased risk of suicide. The internal polypharmacy data was pretty concerning," said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, who headed the VA health system until early this year. He recalled a veteran advocate who told him about three veterans on more than five psychiatric drugs each who died by suicide, one after the other. They had been walking around like zombies" before they took their own lives, the advocate told him.

The VAs use of psychiatric drugs has come under scrutiny from members of Congress and advocacy groups as the veteran suicide rate is roughly double that of U.S. adults who didnt serve. Studies by VA researchers link the simultaneous use of multiple psychiatric drugs to suicide risk among veterans, including a 2016 paper that found Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans taking five or more central nervous system drugs faced higher risks of overdose and suicidal behaviors.

Yet the agency has been slow to mandate changes. It has failed to implement nationwide electronic systems to alert doctors when they prescribe multiple psychiatric drugs, despite evidence from its own studies that these alerts improve care. The VA doesnt uniformly require written informed consent for all psychiatric drugs with suicide risk, something that veterans groups and some members of Congress are urging. Some veterans who have resisted taking cocktails of drugs say they were warned by VA and military doctors that refusing them could jeopardize their eligibility for disability benefits, which can reach $4,500 a month.

Ive been mortified by practically every veteran Ive seen having been prescribed multiple psychiatric medications, often without a timely referral to therapy or without any referral at all," said Janie Gendron, a therapist who worked for the Defense Department and has seen hundreds of active-duty service members and veterans in the past 25 years.

Scott Griffin helps his son prepare for karate class at his home in Allison Park, Pa.

A VA spokesman said the agency is looking into the issues raised by the Journal, and that the Trump administration is seeking to address serious problems it has identified in veterans healthcare that werent solved by the Biden administration.

VA Secretary Doug Collins said at a congressional hearing in May that the agency is pursuing the potential use of alternative therapies, such as psychedelics, to offer more options and reduce the risk of suicide among veterans.

The rise of the combat cocktail for PTSD has its roots in the overreliance on a single class of drugs: benzodiazepines. By the 1970s, the military and VA relied heavily on Valium and, later, Xanax as a primary treatment for traumatized service members and veterans returning from deployment. But in the 1990s, Defense Department researchers observed that high doses often yielded poor clinical outcomes, and, along with the VA, ultimately advised against their long-term use on veterans in 2004.

Still, against the guideline, the VA has doled out benzodiazepines to more than 1.7 million patients with PTSD diagnoses since 2005, its own data show. It took nearly a decade for the use of those drugs to start to decline.

At the same time, prescriptions to veterans with PTSD rose for other powerful psychiatric drugs.

VA doctors and patients say that existing tools to limit the number of psychiatric drugs a patient takes, and guidance to avoid the use of benzodiazepines and certain antipsychotics for veterans with PTSD, are frequently ignored.

A friends suicide

After his best friends suicide in 2013, Iraq war veteran Doug Gresenz was diagnosed with PTSD and borderline personality disorder and eventually put on six psychotropic drugs. After one medications dosage was increased, he attempted suicide and was hospitalized. When he protested the volume of medications there, he said VA doctors questioned his commitment to recovery and told him he needed the pills to lead a normal life. I was guilt-tripped," he said.

In 2016 alone, VA doctors prescribed him more than a dozen drugs, including antidepressants, antipsychotics, muscle relaxants and medications for nightmares, anxiety, pain and sleep, medical records show. Over little more than a decade, he received more than two dozen central nervous system medications. He recalled complaining to VA doctors that he was so doped up" he would have accidents before getting to the bathroom.

I remember thinking: Im literally poisoning myself," he said. In 2018, he quit benzodiazepines cold turkey and began to taper off the other drugs.

Within a couple of weeks, he collapsed, unable to use his legs. He developed a stutter and extreme light sensitivity. Violent spasms led to another fall, which caused complications that resulted in a severe foot injury and, eventually, an amputation last year.

After quitting benzodiazepines cold turkey and tapering off other drugs, Doug Gresenz collapsed. Complications from falls led to a foot injury so severe that doctors ultimately had to amputate it.Gresenz walks back to his house with his two dogs in Aransas Pass, Texas.

The VA recommends any one of three antidepressants for PTSDsertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil) and venlafaxine (Effexor). But doctors are free to prescribe other additional drugs off-labeland many do.

Its super normal to see someone on five or six medications," said Mary Neal Vieten, a retired Navy psychologist who has worked with thousands of members of the military and veterans. Thats like an everyday thing." Trauma has been medicalized, she said. Theyre acting as if the problem is in the person," she said. Instead, its a normal response to an overwhelming experience, she said.

Stop-and-go pills

The culture of combat cocktails begins for some who are diagnosed with PTSD while still on active duty. In the military, too, drugs have long been given priority over psychotherapy, according to many veterans, former VA officials and therapists.

One Navy chaplain said his repeated calls to the Navy for more mental health resources went unanswered despite his documentation of more than 70 critical events, including suicide attempts, at a high-stress installation with nuclear submarines. When the chaplain himself grew suicidal, Navy doctors suggested that refusing the three-medication cocktail they prescribed could lead to discharge without benefits, instead of medical retirement with care.

Some veterans enter VA care dependent on psychiatric drugs that they were prescribed to improve combat readiness. They include Air Force veterans given stop-and-go" pillsstimulants followed by sleeping pills.

Michael Valentino, who was chief pharmacist at the VA until 2021, said he grew alarmed by the rising numbers of service members entering VA care on stimulants without a diagnosis justifying it. Then the VA has the burden of trying to undo it."

A Pentagon official said several medications at once are sometimes necessary for patients with multiple medical problems or who are treatment-resistant, adding that records are reviewed to determine if the treating provider has provided clinical justification for the use of polypharmacy." Service members and their families are offered a robust and comprehensive array" of mental health programs, the official said.

Chemical messengers

Psychiatric drugs work by affecting levels of chemical messengers in the brain called neurotransmitters, which send signals between nerve cells and other cells in the body. For instance, many antidepressants increase levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter associated with mood. Benzodiazepines enhance the activity of a neurotransmitter called GABA, while some antipsychotics block dopamine receptors. Layering on several of these central nervous system agents at once can magnify their effects.

Combining an antipsychotic drug that activates dopamine receptors with one that blocks dopamine can exacerbate psychosis, said Dr. Sanket Raut, a research fellow specializing in polypharmacy at Gallipoli Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia. By the same token, benzodiazepines and opioids taken together can increase the risk of overdose.

Polypharmacy is a big problem," said Raut. There are many side effects: cognitive impairment, dizziness and the risk of falls."

They give out these giant paper bags filled with medicine after your first psychiatrist appointment," said Erika Downey, a 35-year-old retired Army sergeant with PTSD. Women are more likely to be prescribed multiple drugs concurrently against guidelines, VA researchers have found.

Downeys bouts of suicidal ideation while taking antidepressants, benzodiazepines and stimulants were so bad she once called a friend to come take away her gun. After that, she decided talk therapy would be the best medicine. She weaned herself off the drugs on her own over two years. She had to wait three years for a VA psychotherapy appointment. At the VA, you are more quick to get into a psychiatrist"someone who can prescribe medsthan a psychologist," she said.

Erika Downeys bouts of suicidal ideation were so bad she once called a friend to come take away her gun.Downey hugs her daughter at home in North Carolina.

Only 15% of veterans diagnosed with depression, PTSD or anxiety are offered psychotherapy in lieu of medication, according to a 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office. Theyre really leveraging the prescribing to keep up with patient demand," said Derek Blumke of the Grunt Style Foundation, a nonprofit veterans care group. Many VA providers impulse is to get them in and get them out," said Chris Figura, a patient advocate at a VA in St. Louis.

Navy veteran Dick Johnson, in the VA system for three decades and diagnosed with PTSD and bipolar disorder, was prescribed more than 25 different central nervous system drugs, including antipsychotics, antidepressants and epilepsy medications, sometimes on six concurrently, his medical records show. He blames them for the collapse of his two marriages.

They pretty much destroyed my life," Johnson said.

When he worsened on one antipsychotic and experienced intense withdrawal tapering off, VA doctors tried to patch him up with a cocktail of other medicines including benzodiazepines. In 2006, he started a prolonged dose of Seroquel, a powerful antipsychotic, to get off benzodiazepines, because doctors said it was supposed to be easier to stop. His weight soared and he developed diabetes. Quitting Seroquel nearly killed" him, as he suffered intense vomiting, diarrhea and a near-inability to digest. Hes still tapering off Paxil and Tegretol today, using a jewelry scale and sandpaper.

Dr. Saraswathy Battar, a VA geriatrician, launched a passion project in 2016 to decrease the use of potentially inappropriate medications. After noticing veterans suffering from debilitating symptoms that she attributed to overprescription, she developed an electronic tool that has helped providers discontinue more than three million prescriptions. About half of VA providers are using the optional tool, she said, but theyre mostly caring for older veterans or those in palliative care, while its been hard to get mental health providers to adopt the tool. Some said they were unaware of its existence.

Suicide and homicide get attention," but theres no penalty for not prioritizing polypharmacy reduction," she said.

A path forward

After years on psychiatric drug regimens prescribed by military and VA doctors, a growing number of veterans are taking healing into their own hands, often exploring unconventional treatments. Many veterans said they are frustrated and angry that the country spends heavily training them to be lethal, but theres little support for their fragile mental health as they reintegrate back into society.

Scott Griffin, the former special operations soldier who contemplated suicide last year, reached out to a group called Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions, or VETS, after the episode. Their suggestion: ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic derived from an African plant and illegal in the U.S., but only after tapering off his current medications. When Griffin asked his VA prescriber for help tapering, he point-blank refused," Griffin said.

He embarked on a grueling self-taper. I was white knuckling. I broke my teeth from clenching," he recalled, battling intense vertigo and suicidality.

After 12 hours of altered consciousness on ibogaine in Mexico, Griffin took 5-MeO-DMT, a psychoactive compound most famously found in Colorado River toads poison, which he says was a profound spiritual experience. Since returning home in March, he has discarded his pills, prays daily and spends time with family, reconnecting after years of being consumed by panic and anxiety."

Scott Griffin, shown relaxing after work, turned to alternative medicines for relief from his PTSD symptoms.

A Stanford study of 30 special operations forces veterans published last year found that ibogaine sharply reduced PTSD and related symptoms. A bipartisan bill in the House aims to fund VA research into psychedelics, which doctors caution remain largely unproven in clinical trials.

Says Griffin, How does bark from a tree and venom off the back of a toad beat all this crap, all these pharmaceuticals they push down your throat?"

Write to Shalini Ramachandran at Shalini.Ramachandran@wsj.com and Betsy McKay at betsy.mckay@wsj.com
Anton Tymoshenko, a popular Ukrainian comedian, pressed into the protest crowd here last week holding a speaker above his head playing the voice of another humoristthe one who is now Ukraines president.

If you encounter corruption, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in the 2019 message playing on Tymoshenkos speaker, call the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine.

Zelenskys stripping of power from NABU last week set off the biggest protests in Ukraine since the start of Russias full-scale invasion in 2022, sending thousands to the streets and lifting the lid on discontent that had been simmering for months despite broad support for his role as a wartime leader.

Two days after signing a bill bringing anticorruption institutions including NABU under the control of a prosecutor appointed by the president, Zelensky reversed course, proposing a new bill restoring their independence.

Zelensky signed it into law Thursday after Parliament overwhelmingly voted to pass it. The session reflected the commotion of the moment, with two lawmakers scuffling and one holding up his middle finger during a speech.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Kyiv to support the reinstatement of anticorruption powers watched the livestream on their phones, booing some and letting out a cheer when the law passed.

It is very important that the state listens to public opinion," said Zelensky in a video address after signing the law. Ukraine is a democracyabsolutely no doubt about it."

The swift reversal shows the enduring power of street politics in Ukraine, this time led by a chorus of youthful figures holding up cardboard signs with their acerbic demands.

The main source of power in this country is people with cardboard signs," said the 31-year-old Tymoshenko, whose popular live shows often poke fun at Ukrainian politics and society while raising funds for the army.

The unrest comes at a difficult moment for Ukraine, which is slowly losing ground to Russias grinding tactics at the front, while civilians experience drone-and-missiles attacks nearly every night.

In Kyiv early Thursday, Russian air raids killed at least 14, including a 6-year-old boy, and injured more than 100, Zelensky said.

Despite the bombardments, Kyivans have continued to gather with their cardboard signs. The protests of people like Tymoshenko and other Ukrainiansincluding veterans, service members and seasoned protestershave turned the tables on Zelensky, whose election campaign presented him as an outsider crusading against corruption and authoritarianism.

At issue is what anticorruption activists, opposition lawmakers and protesters see as the consolidation of power in the presidents office. Besides the stripping of independence from anticorruption bodies by parliament, the Ukrainian government has declined to appoint a leader of the Economic Security Bureau, a law-enforcement agency investigating financial crimes. Anticorruption investigators have also faced mass searches.

Guillaume Mercier, a spokesman for the European Union commission for enlargement, welcomed the bills passage but said Ukraine still has many reforms to enact to make progress toward its aim of joining the EU. Those include appointing internationally-vetted judges to its constitutional court and appointing the head of the Economic Security Bureau.

The controversies have dented Zelenskys popularity. His trust rating stood at 37% before the war, soaring to 90% immediately after and dipping to 65% in June, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.

The crisis has animated Zelenskys opponents, including former top general Valeriy Zaluzhniy, former President Petro Poroshenko and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, all of whom opposed the law. Zaluzhniy, widely considered to be Zelenskys most viable challenger should an election take place, was recently featured in a Ukrainian Vogue photo shoot and article, in which he nodded to a need for unity in the country.

Former general Valeriy Zaluzhniy recently featured in a Ukrainian Vogue photo shoot.

Still, there is no immediate threat to Zelensky even as he walks a tightrope between the actions of his government and the demands of his electorate.

Zelensky and Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidents office and a lightning rod for criticism, have said it was important for Ukrainians to feel as if they had been heard. Speaking to reporters last week, Zelensky said there should have been a dialogue before the law was enshrined.

We all must listen to the people," he said. I believe this is the most important thing. Because the main challenge is the war. And the most important thing in this war is the unity of our state. It is critical not to lose the unity."

Skepticism remains. Zelenskys image as a wartime leader who bravely remained in his country in the face of Russias might has been marred by the issue, both at home and abroad. European partners have expressed concern and Ukrainians, too, are watching the presidents moves closely, ready to return to the streets.

Speaking at a protest last week, Dmytro Koziatynsky, a former battlefield medic who was among the first to call for Ukrainians to gather, said he asked for politicians to steer clear so that the protests remain apolitical. Those who came were shouted down and asked to leave.

Dmytro Koziatynsky, a former medic, at a protest in Ivana Franka Square.

The protesters who gathered took care to not tread on flower beds in Ivana Franka square, downhill from government quarters, even as the roughly 5,000 attendees spilled out onto adjoining streets.

Protesters spoke of their pride in Ukraine as a country of peaceful dissent despite the war, noting the two street revolutions that led to changes in power in the country since it declared independence in 1991.

The real opposition in Ukraine has always been the people," said Koziatynsky. And it is precisely the people who control the authorities and dont let them slide into either authoritarianism or something similarly inadequate."
MASERU, LesothoPresident Trump promised Africa that trade would replace aid when he dismantled Americas foreign-assistance programs soon after taking office this year. But here in one of the worlds poorest countries , his administration is slashing both.

Trump, who publicly disparaged Lesotho as a place nobody has ever heard of," has threatened the tiny southern African country with 50% tariffs, among the highest rates proposed for any single nation or territory.

Lesothos garment exporters are already closing up shop in the face of dwindling orders, while other countries with more diplomatic resources rush to secure new trade deals with the White House.

Lesothos government declared a state of disaster in July as Trumps looming tariffs devastated the countrys textile industry. The landlocked nation of 2.3 million people has prospered under a 25-year-old American trade program that granted duty-free access to the U.S. market to dozens of African countries.

We took advantage of the trade concessions, being a small country," Mokhethi Shelile, Lesothos trade minister, told The Wall Street Journal. I did not expect for that to be a reason to be punished."

The garment industry is the largest private employer in Lesotho, which has an annual gross domestic product of just $2.3 billion. The U.S. accounts for nearly 20% of Lesothos overseas sales, including clothing from brands such as Levis and Reebok, and stores such as Walmart. Although the 50% tariffs are on pause, orders have dried up, production lines have shut down and workers have been sent home.

Garment workers on the job at Afri-Expo Textiles in Maseru, Lesotho.Maseru is home to several textile companies. The recent spate of layoffs has made the local population anxious.

The White House and the U.S. Trade Representatives office didnt respond Thursday to requests for comment.

The disaster declaration has allowed the government to quickly reroute funds to programs aimed at youth unemployment and economic stimulus, including the waiving of fees to register companies and the creation of a fund to support new businesses, said Shelile.

By imposing tariffs, Trump appears to be sidestepping the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows 32 African countries to sell some 1,800 products in the U.S. duty-free. The law expires this year, and, with Trump wielding tariffs as the foundation of his international economic policies, most experts dont expect the Republican-controlled Congress to renew it.

Shelile says a lobbying group that purported to have access to prominent members of Trumps family asked in a virtual meeting for $1.5 million to campaign for tariff relief. He didnt identify the lobbyists.

They wanted the money immediately, and they didnt want to guarantee results," Shelile said. Lesotho declined the offer, he said.

Shelile said he is in talks with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, pushing for lower tariffs.

Ever Successful Textile, a Chinese-owned factory in Maseru, Lesothos capital, employed 650 people before the tariffs were announced, with 80% to 90% of its orders destined for the U.S.

By the end of July, Ever Successfuls payroll had plunged to 90 workers, who were finishing up one final orderblack exercise pants for the American market. Lesothos winter was in full swing, and the workers, most of them women, huddled in a corner of the cavernous factory in hats and coats, some wrapped in blankets.

Normally, its too hot in here," said Malefetsane Phahla, the human-resources manager. When were done with this order, it means were going home," because the company operates on a no work, no pay" basis, he said.

This week, Lieketseng Billy, 44, and a few dozen other women waited outside the Quantum Apparel factory in Maseru, hoping for work. In June, Billy was laid off from her sewing job at Ever Successful. Now, she is struggling to make ends meet.

Its been very difficult," she said. I didnt save anything when I was working; we earn just a little sum of money."

Textile factories typically pay minimum wage, which rose to the equivalent of about $168 a month earlier this year.

Billy, a single mother who has been working in Maserus textile factories since 2001, is absorbing a double-blow of tariff threats and aid cuts. Shes HIV-positive, and for years she has received six months worth of antiretroviral medication at a time from a U.S.-supported clinic. But when she went to pick up her medication in early June, she was given just a three-month supply.

They told me when I come back, I should expect to maybe get a months medication or even weeks," she said.

The situation is really bad at home," Billy said. We dont have food. Next week, my daughter is going back to school and we need to pay school fees for the third quarter. I dont know where the money is going to come from."

In Lesothos mountainous rural areas, children sometimes attend school in community churches, which are the largest indoor spaces available in many villages. Different grades sit in different corners, facing different directions, trying to listen to their respective teachers. In other communities, children attend class under the open skies, with lessons often cut short by rain or cold.

American-funded school buildings with roofs, classrooms and bathrooms were at various stages of construction when Trump gutted U.S. aid programs funding the work.

For the past two years, students ranging from age 6 to 15 at the Khama-Khamane Primary School in Qabane have taken their classes in a small stone church hall left roofless by a storm.

In September 2024, the U.S. Embassy in Maseru said it would pay for a new schoolhouse in Qabane, but had only disbursed about half of the pledged $9,000 before Trump ended the funding, said Cheletsi Lefa, the schools principal.

The schools 47 pupils continue to attend classes in the roofless church hall while Lefa searches for funding to finish the new building.

We are going to every corner we can reach to get funding," he said. We are leaving no stone unturned."

A program run through the U.S. Embassy promised to pay for a new schoolhouse for the Khama-Khamane Primary School, but it had only disbursed about half of the pledged $9,000 before Trump ended the funding.Garment workers on their lunch break outside the Chinese-owned Ever Successful factory.

Outside of textile factories in Maseru, the newly unemployed are increasingly anxious.

Mamotipi Masitha, 31, has been working in Maserus textile factories since 2015. Her job supported herself, her husbanda driver who is currently unemployedtwo young children and her sick mother. But she wasnt able to save anything on her minimum-wage pay, and in June, she was laid off along with the rest of her factorys workers due to the tariffs.

I dont know how Im going to be able to take care of my mother and kids," she said outside a still-operational textile factory, along with hundreds of other women seeking work.

I live on handouts from people to help us eat every day," she said. I would love to ask Trump, please lower the tariffs so we can get our jobs back. We have families to take care of."
There is an irony in Detroit right now: The automaker most reliant on U.S. manufacturing is among the hardest hit by tariffs.

Ford Motor, the second-largest American carmaker, prides itself on making most of its vehicles in the U.S. Some 80% of the cars Ford sells in the U.S. are built there, and it makes more vehicles in the U.S. than any other automaker.

But the Dearborn, Mich., company said the Trump administrations latest trade deals with Japan, the European Union and South Korea put it at a disadvantage with foreign rivals. Those deals now set a 15% tariff rate, which is lower than the 25% auto tariff that went into effect this spring.

Ford faces steeper tariffs on many parts as well as higher costs for imported aluminum, which is subject to 50% duties. Ford, one of the industrys biggest users of aluminum, buys the material from U.S. suppliers who pass on a chunk of their tariff costs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a CNBC interview that Fords predicament is due to idiosyncratic" factors, as the companys F-series pickups are made with aluminum, which isnt readily available in the U.S. Bessent said the administration hopes to cut a deal with Canada to address aluminum costs in particular. I admire Ford," he said.

When President Trump rolled out his tariff plan in April, he railed against the tariffs other countries had imposed on U.S.-made vehicles and said his new trade policy would help restore the U.S. to be an industrial powerhouse.

U.S. automakers have long complained that they struggle to compete with foreign rivals that enjoy lower labor costs, higher levels of government support and less-stringent regulations.

For decades now, it has not been a level playing field for U.S. automakers globally, with either tariffs or trade barriers," General Motors Chief Executive Mary Barra said earlier this year. So I think tariffs is one tool that the administration can use to level the playing field."

As the trade policy was rolled out, the U.S. automakers found themselves also vulnerable to the tariffs. Trump slapped duties on steel and aluminum, on automotive parts and on all imported foreign vehicles, even those made by American carmakers.

More reason to complain

During the era of the North American Free Trade Agreement, GM, Ford and Stellantis expanded significant portions of their manufacturing capacity to Mexico and Canada. Those products became subject to tariffs.

Around half of what GM sells in the U.S. it makes abroad; Ford builds most of its vehicles in the U.S. but relies heavily on imported parts. A trade deal that helps one might weaken the other.

Ford has more reason to complain," said Daniel Roeska, a Bernstein analyst. If youre now lowering tariffs and letting more cars and content flow into the U.S., that relatively disadvantages Ford more than others."

All three companies have reported big tariff costs. Ford said it paid $800 million in the second quarter. GM put its tab at $1.1 billion. Stellantis, which makes the U.S. brands Chrysler, Ram and Jeep, said tariffs shaved $350 million from its bottom line.

Tesla, which builds all the vehicles it sells in the U.S. domestically and gets most parts in North America, said tariffs cost its automotive unit $200 million.

When the Trump administration started striking deals with big trading partners in recent weeks, Ford executives cringed with each deal.

Ford said the pacts helped its competitors, from Japans Toyota Motor and Germanys Volkswagen to GM, which builds lower-cost Chevrolets and Buicks in South Korea.

Ford said that the new 15% rate is too low to motivate competitors to move production to the U.S. Japan and South Korea have real advantages in labor costs, materials and currency," the company said. Meanwhile, Ford is facing billions due to multiple tariffs on auto parts, steel, aluminum and more that increase our costs of building in America."

Unions response

The United Auto Workers and a trade group representing Detroits automakers have criticized Trumps move to lower tariffs. U.S. trade policy should push automakers to build in America, with skilled, union labor," the UAW said. A flat 15% tariff doesnt accomplish that."

They have said cost advantages of building cars outside the U.S., such as weaker currency and cheaper labor, far outweigh the 15% tariff. Ford said the companys Ford Escape SUV cost roughly $5,000 more to make than a Toyota RAV4 SUV built in Japan.

The new deals also could give a boost to Fords crosstown rival, GM. Analysts estimate that the new 15% tariff on imports from South Korea will lower GMs $5 billion tariff bill this year by close to $1 billion.

Ford executives said they have been in near-daily talks with administration officials, who they said have been receptive to the companys argument. Ford is a leading auto producer in the U.S. and the leading exporter with the most UAW workers," Chief Executive Jim Farley said on a call with analysts. Were very clear with the administration."

Ford and the rest of the U.S. industry are awaiting a deal with Mexico, which accounts for a big chunk of auto-parts shipments into the U.S. Trump said Thursday that tariffs on Mexican goods would remain unchanged for 90 days as the nations negotiate a trade deal.

Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@wsj.com
President Donald Trump appears to be easing up on his push to force drugmakers to cut their prices for U.S. patients, even as he ramps up the rhetoric he is deploying against the companies.

The president on Thursday afternoon posted letters to his Truth Social platform that the White House had sent to 17 large pharmaceutical and biotech companies, saying they each have until late September to cut certain U.S. prices, or else the administration will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families."

Drug stocks fell in response. The S&P 500 Pharmaceuticals industry group index was down 2.7% Thursday, while the S&P 500 was down 0.4%.

Still, the new demands Trump made on Thursday appear to require far less from the companies than had been implied by an executive order on drug pricing the president signed two months ago.

In May, the White House resurfaced a proposal from the first Trump administration that would peg prices paid for prescription medicines in the U.S. to the lowest prices paid in other wealthy countries, the so-called most-favored-nation price.

An executive order signed May 12 ordered federal agencies to determine most-favored-nation prices for drugs. It laid out penalties if the companies didnt make significant progress" toward lowering U.S. pricing to those levels.

The order suggested that the most-favored-nation prices would apply to all U.S. drugs, regardless of whether they were paid for by the federal government or private payers, and whether the drugs were new or had been on the market for years.

The new letters posted Thursday make narrower demands. Trump told drugmakers they must lower the prices of drugs already on the market to most-favored-nation rates only for Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans paid for jointly by state governments and the federal government.

Medicaid already pays a steeply discounted rate for drugs under pre-existing programs.

For all other payers, including Medicare and commercial plans, Trump says the most-favored-nation rates should only apply to newly launched medicines.

I think Trump is, in some ways, softening his tone on most favored nation," Raymond James healthcare policy analyst Chris Meekins told Barrons. Originally, he said the U.S. will get the best price that any other nation gets for all products. Now hes carving out specific categories."

Meekins said that the new approach is potentially more realistic. Attempting to try to make sure the U.S. gets better prices on future products is something companies can work with the administration to try to do going forward," he said.

Details about the plan remain scarce. The drug industry lobby group PhRMA, in a statement, criticized the effort.

Importing foreign price controls would undermine American leadership, hurting patients and workers," said PhRMA senior vice president Alex Schriver in a statement. At a time when China is threatening to overtake the U.S. in biopharmaceutical leadership, we need to ensure America continues to be the most attractive place in the world to develop innovative medicines."

Trump sent the letters to top executives at AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Gilead Sciences, Pfizer, and other companies.

In the letters to Pfizer and Regeneron, he crossed out the surnames of the companies CEOs, Albert Bourla and Leonard Schleifer, and wrote in their first names by hand.

Write to Josh Nathan-Kazis at josh.nathan-kazis@barrons.com
India has vowed to defend its national interest after the US imposed stiff tariffs on its goods, even as it works to conclude a trade deal that's in the best interests of both. On Thursday, economists counted the cost of tariffs on India's exports and growth, even as the stock market took the news in its stride.

"The government attaches utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs and all sections of industry. We will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest," commerce minister Piyush Goyal said in the parliament. The government is examining the implications of these tariffs and is engaged with all stakeholders, he said.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric, a day after he announced a 25% tariff plus a penalty on Indian goods from 1 August. India and Russia "can take their dead economies down together", Trump commented, expressing displeasure over the continued trade and defence links between the two countries.

Trade talks Trump's announcement came ahead of a US trade team visiting India from 25 August. Despite the sour remarks, India will keep its focus on discussions with the US for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with a mutually beneficial outcome, said two people who are directly involved in the process. New Delhi has chosen not to retaliate, Mint reported on Wednesday.

On Thursday, India's Nifty 50 index closed at 24,768.35, down 86.70 points or 0.35%, amid volatility triggered by US tariff concerns.

Preliminary analysis suggests India could face a loss of nearly $10 billion in export value to the US if the tariffs stay for long, the first of the two people said, requesting anonymity. The loss would be a significant setback, with labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, footwear, gems and jewellery, and electronics likely to be hit the hardest.

US trade surplus The US is not only Indias largest trading partner but also one of the few major economies with which India enjoys a significant trade surplus. Indias goods trade surplus with the US rose to $41.18 billion in fiscal year 2025 (FY25), up 16.6% from $35.33 billion a year ago. The increase was driven by an 11.6% rise in exports to $86.51 billion, while imports from the US grew 7.4% to $45.33 billion. In comparison, India's overall goods trade reported a deficit of $282.8 billion in FY25.

According to government estimates, about 75.3% of Indias merchandise exports to the US could be impacted by the proposed tariffs.

There will be no change in priorities and strategies, which will remain the same as during the last five rounds of face-to-face talks that began in March following the joint statement issued by the leadership of both nations on 13 February, said the second person mentioned above.

Analysts agree that the tariffs will negatively impact India's GDP growth, with Goldman Sachs Economic Research projecting a potential direct hit of 0.2-0.3 percentage points on its CY25 real GDP growth estimate. While acknowledging the potential for a short-term hit, analysts like V.K. Vijayakumar from Geojit Investments and Aditi Raman from Moody's Analytics said that trade talks might lead to a lower final tariff rate and that India's domestically-driven economy offers some resilience against significant long-term impact.

Making for the world Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, said the tariff would significantly raise the effective US duty on Indian goods from an average of 10.7% to about 22%, after factoring in higher duties on exempted sectors such as copper, steel and aluminium. This rate, she added, is already higher than what most Asian economies face, barring China. India exported goods worth $87 billion to the US in FY25, accounting for 2.3% of GDP, said Arora. Of this, engineering goods, electronics, drugs and pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, and textiles made up $65 billion.

Meanwhile, India should continue to focus on manufacturing for the world, but with a more diversified US-plus export market, even as the US tariff and penalty for trade with Russia have bared vulnerabilities, said experts.

Also Read | Indias trade surplus with the US under threat as new tariffs bite

The latest set of tariff announcements has indeed exposed vulnerabilities in export-dependent growth models, necessitating a strategic recalibration of Indias manufacturing framework, said Rishi Shah, partner and economic advisory services leader, Grant Thornton Bharat. Our Make in India initiatives emphasis on scaling production capacity remains fundamentally sound, but the current trade environment underscores the need for a more nuanced approach centred on innovation-led industrial development. India must now elevate industrial security to the same strategic priority weve accorded food security and energy security over the past decades, said Shah.

Trade pact On the issue of penalties for buying Russian oil, the second person said that it is not yet clear, as it remains to be seen in what form they might be imposed.

To be sure, Trump had pressed India to change its stance and allow greater access to American goods in the Indian market. Mint was the first to report on 11 June that US has changed its stance and was firm on the demand to open critical sectors like agriculture, dairy and access to USs GM seeds and agricultural products as well as digital trade.

Negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) began in March 2025 and have since progressed through five rounds of physical meetings and multiple virtual sessions. The Terms of Reference for the agreement were finalized on 29 March during the first round in New Delhi, Goyal told Parliament. The government is currently examining the implications of the steep tariffs and is actively consulting with exporters and industry stakeholders to assess the impact, he said.

Agri hit The revised tariff is expected to impact agricultural exports to the US significantly. This sudden hike could seriously dent profitability and slow down export momentum for products like basmati rice, pulses, grapes, and makhana, said Anil Kumar SG, founder of Samunnati, an agri value chain solutions provider.

However, Apparel Export Promotion Council chairman Sudhir Sekhri believes that the 25% tariff is not a major cause for concern as long as tariffs on competing countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh are not revised downward from current levels. Apparel exports are expected to slow down until the announcement of an interim BTA, which we hope will be concluded between October and December 2025. The penalty remains a grey area, and we expect the government to negotiate this with the US, Sekhri said.
Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO commenced on Thursday, July 31 and will conclude on Monday, August 4. Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO price band has been set at 123 to 130 per equity share, each with a face value of 10. Investors can place bids for a minimum of 1,000 equity shares and in multiples of 1,000 shares thereafter. The anchor segment will commence on 30th July, 2025, and the issue will conclude on 04th Aug, 2025.

Cash Ur Drive Marketing Limited specialises in outdoor advertising, emphasizing vehicle wrap advertising as mobile billboards.

The firm delivers a comprehensive marketing approach across transit media, digital wall murals, and events, striving for significant branding through vehicle-based advertising in various Indian cities.

As a player in the OOH advertising sector, the company offers a range of solutions, including Transit, Outdoor, Print, and Digital Media Services, assisting clients in reaching their desired audience.

The company provides bus branding, auto hood advertisements, billboard campaigns, and outdoor media strategies.

Additionally, the company promotes EV vehicles and charging stations to capitalise on growth opportunities in the electric vehicle market.

As per the red herring prospectus (RHP), the company's listed peers are DAPS Advertising Ltd (with a P/E of 10.48), and Bright Outdoor Media Ltd (with a P/E of 29.74).

Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO Subscription Status Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO subscription status is 1.68 times on day 2 so far, as per chittorgarh.com. The retail portion was subscribed 1.33 times, and NII portion was booked 0.06 times. The QIB quota received 3.51 times bids.

The company has received bids for 51,93,000 shares against 30,95,000 shares on offer on the first bidding day, at 15:00 IST, according to data on chittorgarh.com.

Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO details Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO consists of a fresh issue of 42,10,000 equity shares, aggregating to 54.73 crore, and the offer-for-sale (OFS) component. includes shares aggregating up to 2.69 crore.

The funds generated from the IPO will be used for technological investments, capital expenditures, supporting working capital needs, and various corporate activities.

Narnolia Financial Services Limited serves as the Book Running Lead Manager for the issue, while Bigshare Services Private Limited is acting as the Registrar.

This IPO marks a significant milestone in our growth journey. The proceeds will enable us to invest in cutting-edge technology, expand our media asset base, and strengthen our operational capabilities across new geographies. More importantly, it empowers us to scale our ESG-compliant advertising model, helping brands engage audiences in ways that are both effective and environmentally responsible, said Raghu Khanna, Managing Director of CashurDrive Marketing.

Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO GMP today Cash Ur Drive Marketing IPO GMP today or grey market premium is +21. This indicates Cash Ur Drive Marketing share price were trading at a premium of 21 in the grey market, according to investorgain.com.

Considering the upper end of the IPO price band and the current premium in the grey market, the estimated listing price of Cash Ur Drive Marketing share price was indicated at 151 apiece, which is 16.15% higher than the IPO price of 130.

'Grey market premium' indicates investors' readiness to pay more than the issue price.
Sri Lotus Developers IPO day 3 Live: Bidding for the initial public offering (IPO) of Sri Lotus Developers Ltd opened on 30 July 2025 and will remain open until 1 August 2025. This means investors have just one day to apply for the public issue, as bidding for the Sri Lotus Developers IPO will end today at 5:00 PM.

According to the Sri Lotus Developers IPO subscription status, the realty company has received a strong response from investors in the first two days of bidding. This strong response to the public issue is visible in the Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP (grey market premium). According to market observers, shares of the Company are available at a premium of 45 in the grey market today, signalling a possible gain of around 30% against the Sri Lotus Developers IPO price band of 150 apiece.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP today As mentioned, Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP today is 45, which is steady and signalling a 30% return on one's money. This could become possible because of the resilience shown by the Indian stock market despite the imposition of Trump's tariffs from 1 August 2025. Market observers said that Sri Lotus Developers' IPO GMP may appreciate if the resilience on Dalal Street against Trump's tariffs on India gets extended during the Friday session. Shares of the Company debuted in the grey market on 25 July 2025 at around 34; since then, it has remained above this level.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO subscription status By 4:00 PM on day 3 of bidding, the public issue had been booked 68.74 times, the retail portion of the public offer had been subscribed 19.55 times, the NII segment had been filled 57.58 times, while the QIB portion had been subscribed 163.90 times.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO review On whether one should apply for the Sri Lotus Developers IPO or not, Rajan Shinde, Research Analyst at Mehta Equities, said, "Based on FY 2025 earnings and fully-diluted post-IPO paid-up capital, the Company is asking for a PE 32.17x, which seems fully priced relative to its future growth prospects. With five ongoing and 11 upcoming projects across key micro-markets in Mumbaialongside strategic expansion into high-value localities such as Prabhadevi, Nepean Sea Road, and Bandrathe Company is well-positioned to capitalise on sustained urban housing demand and rising premium real estate prices. Operating in a highly competitive and fragmented market, the Company stands out as a niche ultra-luxury developer with high margins, though it comes to market at a premium valuation."

Shinde advised investors to apply for the Sri Lotus Developers IPO, saying, "The presence of notable investors and Bollywood personalities in the pre-IPO placement adds visibility and elevates expectations. Considering all factors, we recommend Sri Lotus Developers and Realty Ltd IPO to "SUBSCRIBE" for long-term investors seeking selective exposure to Mumbai's upscale real estate segment."

Assigning a 'subscribe' tag to the public issue, Gaurav Goel, Founder & Director at Fynocrat Technologies, said, "Sri Lotus Developers & Realty Limited is entering the public market with a strong financial profile, exceptional profitability margins, and a robust pipeline of luxury projects in Mumbai's most sought-after locations. The valuation, though not inexpensive, appears justified given the Company's superior operating performance compared with peers. The IPO offers a compelling opportunity to invest in a debt-light luxury real estate player with strong profitability and growth prospects. We assign a subscribe tag to this IPO."

Highlighting the fundamentals of the Company, Siddharth Tyagi, Research Analyst, INVasset PMS, said, "On an annualised basis, FY25 revenues were 549.68 cr (vs 461.58 cr in FY24), with PAT of 227.89 cr (vs 119.81 cr), yielding an EBITDA margin of ~56% and *net margin of ~41%. PreIPO private placement in December 2024 raised ~ 400 cr via 26.6 million shares at 150 each. Investors included Shah Rukh Khan Family Trust, Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, and Ashish Kacholia. The presence of Ashish Kacholia on the list of investors is a major attraction."

Ashish Kacholia-owned company Ashish Kacholia owns 3.33 million company shares worth 50 crore.
Sri Lotus Developers IPO: The initial public offer for Sri Lotus Developers saw a stellar response from investors by the end of the third day of the bidding process on Friday, August 1. The issue is backed by several prominent names, including Shah Rukh Khan Family Trust, Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, and Ashish Kacholia.

The 792 crore issue opened for subscription on July 30 in the price band of 140 to 150 per share. The issue was entirely a fresh sale of 5.28 crore shares, meaning all the proceeds from the offer would be received by the company.

The company plans to use a major chunk of the proceeds raised for investment in the subsidiaries  Richfeel Real Estate Private Limited, Dhyan Projects Private Limited and Tryksha Real Estate Private Limited  for part-funding the development and construction cost of their ongoing projects. The remaining will be utilised for general corporate purposes.

Majority of the brokerages had a 'Subscribe' rating for the Sri Lotus Developers IPO.

Now, with the closure of the public offer, investor focus will shift to Sri Lotus Developers IPO allotment, slated to take place on Monday, August 4.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO Subscription Status Sri Lotus Developers IPO was subscribed 69.14 times at the end of the bidding process on Friday. The issue received bids for 274.18 crore shares as against 3.965 crore shares on offer.

The retail portion of the IPO was booked 20.28 times, the NII segment 57.71 times and the QIB quota 163.90 times. The portion reserved for employees received 19.84 times bids.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP The grey market premium (GMP), though strong, has fizzled out over the past few sessions. On Friday, Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP was 38, down from 42 in the last session.

However, at the prevailing GMP and the issue price, Sri Lotus Developers' IPO listing price was pegged at 188 apiece, signalling a premium of 25.33%. Investors must not base their investment decision solely on GMP as it is subject to swift changes. They must consider a company's fundamentals and their own risk appetite.

About Sri Lotus Developers Sri Lotus Developers is a developer of residential and commercial premises in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with a focus on redevelopment projects in the Ultra-Luxury and Luxury segments in the western suburbs. Its operations are strategically located in Mumbai, one of the largest real estate markets in India.

The company acquired land for its operations in the western suburbs of Mumbai in 2017. The company believes its growth can be attributed to its Promoter, deep understanding of the real estate market, strong design and execution capabilities, sales expertise, and the strength of the "Lotus Developers" brand. Its asset-light model executed through development agreements with landowners and housing societiesminimises capital outlay, supports financial flexibility, and ensures robust operating cash flows.
The chief of India's markets regulator on Friday called for a stronger financial oversight across the country's booming capital markets, urging auditors, directors and governance professionals to act as gatekeepers against potential fraud.

It is your vigilance, your courage to ask difficult questions and your refusal to look away that will ensure our markets continue to command global trust," Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Tuhin Kanta Pandey said at an event.

The future, he said, will be determined by our collective ability to anticipate risks and detect anomalies early on.

Also Read | Sebi proposes to cut retail quota in large IPOs to 25%, boost listing stability

Pandey's call for a sharper focus on financial vigilance comes weeks after Sebi temporarily banned Jane Street from Indian markets, accusing the US trading firm of manipulating stock indexes through its derivatives positions.

Addressing members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) at an event of forensics auditing, Pandey did not mince words about the challenges that have accompanied unprecedented growth of the securities market.

An unprecedented growth in the securities market has been witnessed over the last five years, Pandey said, citing surging investor participation as both an opportunity and a test for the integrity of Indias financial systems.

Pandey recounted striking recent Sebi investigations, highlighting cases where the listed entity transferred assets to its subsidiary. "The loan obtained by the subsidiary against these assets were then used to repay the outstanding loan of a promoter-linked entity.

Also Read | Excelsoft Technologies gets SEBI nod to raise 700 cr via IPO

Also Read | Sebi slaps 10 lakh fine on entity for insider trading during HDFC merger

In other Sebi probes, investigations revealed that the company inflated its financials by entering into transactions with a number of name lending entities in a circular manner. "The promoters then siphoned off shareholder funds or assets to their companies under the pretext of purchases sales from them or to them, Pandey said.

Amid such complex misconduct, Pandey said that perhaps only a tick-box approach is being followed by some KMPs (key managerial personnel), statutory auditors and members of the audit committee and directors of the boards of listed entities towards compliance.

The consequences, he warned, are stark. Beyond loss to the shareholder wealth, they erode investor confidence, discourage genuine investment and directly undermine market integrity.

Pandey called for a new mindset, one that recognizes forensic accounting as an ongoing, built-in safeguard rather than a tool deployed only after crises. Forensic accounting should not be treated as a post-fraud tool only, rather it needs to evolve into a proactive discipline embedded within the structure of corporate controls, he said.

Also Read | Lenskart files draft papers with Sebi to raise 2,150 crore via IPO

As Indias exchanges race ahead, with 130 million unique investors and robust equity fund flows, Pandey cautioned regulators and auditors not to become complacent or over-reliant on systems alone.

While technology can reveal fraudulent patterns, it is the human mind that interprets context, applies practical understanding and ultimately exposes fraud, he observed, sharing a telling case in which "the font did not even exist on the date mentioned in the document, detected as a clue to tax evasion.
Breakout stocks to buy or sell: The Indian stock market endured a volatile trading session as market participants digested the implications of US President Donald Trump's imposition of a 25% tariff and punitive measures on India. The benchmark indicesNifty 50 and Sensexopened on a weak note, slipping nearly 1%, before staging a sharp intraday recovery to reclaim the 24,900 mark. However, renewed selling pressure in the final hour of trade dragged the indices back into negative territory.

The Nifty 50 ultimately settled with a cut of 86.70 points, or 0.35%, at 24,768.35. Sectoral breadth was broadly negative, with all major indices ending in the red barring the Nifty FMCG index, which bucked the trend and gained 1.3%. The outperformance in FMCG names was driven by defensive buying amid heightened volatility and upbeat commentary from sector heavyweight Hindustan Unilever.

Trump tariffs on India US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Thursday, imposing reciprocal 25% tariffs on Indian imports. The order became effective today as the Indian and US governments failed to reach a consensus on the India-US trade deal. Interestingly, India's neighbour, Pakistan, has signed a trade deal with the US, and the US government has imposed a 19% trade tariff on the Islamic state.

Stock market today Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, believes the Indian stock market sentiment is cautious as the Nifty 50 index is facing a hurdle at 24,900. As Trump's tariffs on India have become effective today, the market is expected to react, and hence, 24,500 support and 24,950 resistance for the key benchmark index would be crucial.

Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Sumeet Bagadia said, "The Indian stock market sentiment is cautious as the Nifty 50 index is facing a hurdle at 24,900. After Trump's tariffs on India were imposed, the market is expected to remain cautious. If the Nifty 50 sustains above its 24,500, we can expect some relief; otherwise, there can be panic selling if the key benchmark index slips below 24,500. Similarly, the key benchmark index is facing a hurdle at 24,950, and the index may see selling pressure around these levels."

1] Alkyl Amines Chemicals: Buy at 2348, Target 2515, Stop Loss 2265;

2] IXIGO: Buy at 233.78, Target 254, Stop Loss 223;

3] Vimta Labs: Buy at 693.45, Target 742, Stop Loss 669;

4] Belrise Industries: Buy at 138.13, Target 148, Stop Loss 133; and

5] Max India: Buy at 217.93, Target 234, Stop Loss 210.
Buy or sell stocks: The Indian stock market endured a volatile trading session as market participants digested the implications of US President Donald Trump's imposition of a 25% tariff and punitive measures on India. The benchmark indicesNifty 50 and Sensexopened on a weak note, slipping nearly 1%, before staging a sharp intraday recovery to reclaim the 24,900 mark. However, renewed selling pressure in the final hour of trade dragged the indices back into negative territory.

The Nifty 50 ultimately settled with a cut of 86.70 points, or 0.35%, at 24,768.35. Sectoral breadth was broadly negative, with all major indices ending in the red barring the Nifty FMCG index, which bucked the trend and gained 1.3%. The outperformance in FMCG names was driven by defensive buying amid heightened volatility and upbeat commentary from sector heavyweight Hindustan Unilever.

Stock market today Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher, believes the Indian stock market sentiment is cautious as the Nifty 50 index is facing a hurdle at 24,900. As Trump's tariffs on India have become effective today, the market is expected to react, and hence, 24,500 support and 24,950 resistance for the key benchmark index would be crucial. The Indian stock market is expected to trade volatily, and therefore, traders are advised to know their levels and take any decision on the break or breach of those levels.

Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Vaishali Parekh said, "The Nifty 50 index after opening on a weak note, witnessed a strong recovery to touch the 24,950 zone but resisted near the important 50-DEMA zone and fizzled out with heavy profit booking seen to close near the 24,750 level with bias and sentiment precariously placed as of now. As mentioned earlier, on the downside, the index has got the crucial support at the 24,500 level, which needs to be sustained to maintain the overall trend intact and at the same time, on the upside, it would need to breach above the 25,000 zone to improve the bias and expect further rise."

The Bank Nifty index witnessed a decent recovery from the 55,500 level to scale the 56,400 zone, but saw resistance and slipped down to end just below the 56,000 level, with bias once again maintained with a cautious approach. The index is hovering below the important 50-DEMA zone of 56,100 and would need a decisive revival to move past the barrier, with overall bias precariously placed. "Major support is now positioned near the 100-period MA at 54,500 zone," said Parekh.

Parekh said the Nifty 50 index's immediate support is at 24,600, while the resistance is at 25,000. The Bank Nifty's daily range would be 55,500 to 56,600.

Vaishali Parekh's stock recommendations today Regarding stocks to buy today, Vaishali Parekh recommended these three buy-or-sell stocks: Eternal (Zomato), Lloyds Enterprises, and Supreme Industries.

1] Eternal: Buy at 310, Target 323, Stop Loss 303;

2] Lloyds Enterprises: Buy at 84, Target 93, Stop Loss 80; and

3] Supreme Industries: Buy at 4323, Target 4600, Stop Loss 4200.

Trump's tariffs on India US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Thursday, imposing reciprocal 25% tariffs on Indian imports. The order became effective today as the Indian and US governments failed to reach a consensus on the India-US trade deal. Interestingly, India's neighbour, Pakistan, has signed a trade deal with the US, and the US government has imposed a 19% trade tariff on the Islamic state.
Two-thirds of all businesses worldwide are family-owned. In India, that number is significantly higher at 85%. These businesses are often seen not just as assets, but as the glue that binds families together. The attachment runs deeper than a regular job.

This is likely why the Edelman Trust Barometer finds trust in family-led businesses 12 percentage points higher than in their professionally managed peers. The ideal scenario is one where the business is nurtured by the family and passed down to the next generation, which then takes the legacy forward. But this is easier said than done. According to PwCs 11th India Family Business Survey, such enterprises often face a lack of trust, accountability, and governance.

Things get especially fraught when the question of "who gets what" raises ownership disputes. Here are three cases where succession battles have split apart not just families but businesses as well.

Sona Comstar  An emerging EV player derailed by rifts in the family?

Sona Comstar is the latest entrant to the growing list of family feuds.

Just over a month ago, on 23 June, Sunjay Kapur, the companys chairman and non-executive director, passed away. The automotive systems and components manufacturer, previously known as Sona BLW Precision Forgings, had been steadily shifting focus toward battery electric vehicles (BEV). Its revenue from BEVs has grown six-fold since FY21, raising their share of the overall business from 14% to 36%.

With an order book of 24,200 crore against FY25 revenue of 3,554 crore, the company boasts seven years worth of revenue visibility. Nearly 80% of this order book is tied to EVs. That explains how, despite a broader auto sector slowdown, the company rode the EV tailwinds to deliver an impressive 19% CAGR in revenue between FY22 and FY25.

In its FY25 investor presentation, the company also announced plans to enter the humanoid robot market. With overlapping components such as motors, gears, and sensors, this segment is seen as a natural diversification avenue for auto component firms.

So, when Sona announced its venture into Chinas EV market on 20 July, less than a month after Kapurs passing, it signalled business continuity and commitment to long-term strategy. But just four days later, when Kapurs wife was appointed as a non-executive director, tensions erupted.

The familys matriarch, Rani Kapur, wrote to shareholders objecting to the appointment. She alleged that while the family was still mourning Sunjays sudden demise, some individuals had taken advantage of the situation to seize control of the business.

Also Read | Unravelling the Kapur family rift: Fault lines emerge from 2017

Investors were still processing the chairmans death and the companys bold China push when the family feud came to light. The stock has since corrected over 8% in under a week. The outcome of the China venture remains uncertain, but it would be a setback if leadership uncertainty clouds the companys promising EV pivot.

Sun TV  Family feud exacerbates fundamental troubles

A politically charged family dispute dating back decades resurfaced a couple of months ago.

On 10 June, Dayanidhi Maran, a former Member of Parliament from Tamil Nadus ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), accused his brother, Kalanithi Maran, of fraudulently taking control of Sun TV back in 2003. Once again, the death of a business leader allegedly triggered a scramble for ownership. In his legal notice, Dayanidhi claimed that after their fathers death in 2003, Kalanithi exploited the family's vulnerable emotional state to gain control of the company.

He has sought to restore the business to its pre-2003 ownership structure. If successful, this would eliminate chairman Kalanithis current stake, estimated to be worth 18,000 crore, and transfer the business to Dayanidhi, their cousin M.K. Stalin (the chief minister of Tamil Nadu), and their siblings. This leadership uncertainty could prove to be the final blow to a company already struggling.

Also Read | How Kalanithi Maran spent  37 crore to take control of Sun TV

Sun TV is one of Indias largest media conglomerates, reaching 10% of the countrys population. Its brand once dominated the southern market. It also owns the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad. But the company has been steadily losing ground. As industry consolidation picks up and viewer preferences shift, competition has intensified, and Sun TV has failed to keep pace.

Northern players like Zee have made inroads into the southern market, while Suns own Hindi channel failed to gain traction. Its OTT platform, Sun NXT, has largely pushed conventional content online instead of building exclusive rights or originals, limiting audience appeal. Its DTH arm, Sun Direct, has struggled to revive performance. The result: stagnant revenues and profits for over half a decade.

Now, with a politically sensitive legal battle brewing at the top, the company faces yet another headwind. The stock has declined 10% since the dispute surfaced, continuing a long streak of underperformance relative to the broader market.

Yes Bank  When a fight for legacy opened a can of worms

A family dispute that shook an entire industry played out at Yes Bank. The rift, which began in 2009, ultimately altered the banks trajectory. When co-founder and non-executive chairman Ashok Kapur died in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, his wife, Madhu Kapur, was left to fight for his legacy.

After multiple failed requests to nominate their daughter, Shagun Gogia, to the banks board, the matter reached the courts. The long-drawn legal battle that followed opened up a can of worms. Amid court proceedings, the surviving co-founder, Rana Kapoor, could not appoint a successor, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) refused to grant him an extension on his tenure. Soon after, several board members resigned, citing governance concerns.

Kapoor, who sought to erase Ashok Kapurs contributions from the banks history, was later found to be laundering money and involved in multiple cases of bank fraud. The regulator also uncovered hidden bad loans and forced his resignation. The stock plummeted, lenders offloaded pledged shares, and the freefall intensified.

For more such analyses, read Profit Pulse.

With the leadership in limbo and the stock battered, the bank couldnt raise capital. The RBI was forced to impose a moratorium, capping withdrawals due to financial instability. Rana Kapoor was jailed. Though Madhu Kapur won the legal battle against him, she and her family ultimately lost the war for Yes Bank. They stepped down as promoters and agreed to be reclassified as public shareholders.

A consortium led by the State Bank of India eventually rescued the bank in 2020. Under new leadership appointed by the regulator, Yes Bank has since found its footing. Rana Kapoor was granted bail last year.

Also Read | Yes Bank pauses CEO search pending RBI nod to Sumitomo deal

But the entire episode still leaves one wondering: what might have been.

Ananya Roy is the founder of Credibull Capital, a Sebi-registered investment adviser. X: @ananyaroycfa

Disclosure: The author does not hold shares of the companies discussed. The views expressed are for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Dividend Stocks 2025: Maruti Suzuki, Marico, Eicher Motors, United Spirits, Bata India, Galaxy Surfactants, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Cholamandalam Financial Holdings, Balaji Amines, and Andhra Paper are 10 key companies to trade ex-dividend today, 1 August.

These companies, along with many others, have set August 1, 2025, as the record date for identifying and approving a list of eligible shareholders for dividends.

To be included on the list of eligible shareholders for dividends under the T+1 settlement method, investors should have purchased the stock of these companies at least one day prior to the record date.

Dividend payout and other details Maruti Suzuki India Ltd The Board recommends a dividend of 135 per share (nominal value 5 per share). The dividend on equity shares for the year ending March 31, 2025, if approved, at the upcoming Annual General Meeting, will be paid to Members. The dividend payout date is September 3rd, 2025.

Marico LtdThe company recommended a final equity dividend for 2024-25 of 7/- per equity share (face value of 1), subject to shareholder approval at the 37th Annual General Meeting ("AGM"). If approved by shareholders, the dividend will be paid by Sunday, September 7, 2025.

Also Read | Gold rates drop on strengthening dollar, but Trump tariffs cap losses

Galaxy SurfactantsGalaxy Surfactants had recommended a final dividend of 4.0 per equity share.

Bata India Bata India's Board recommended a final dividend of 9/- (180%) per fully paid-up equity share of 5/- for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.

Eicher MotorsA dividend of 70/- per equity share of face value of 1/- each was recommended by the Board of Directors of Eicher Motors for the financial year 2024-25.

United Spirits Ltd The company had recommended a final dividend of  8 per equity share (face value  2 each) for the financial year ending 31st March 2025.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation  The company had recommended a final dividend of 5 per share.

Cholamandalam Financial Holdings  The company had recommended a final dividend of Rs. 1.30 per equity share of face value of Rs. 1/- each for the year ended March 31, 2025

Balaji Amines  The company had recommended a final dividend of 11.00 per equity share, i.e., 550% on the face value of 2/- per share

Andhra Paper  The company had recommended a final Dividend of 1.
Netweb Technologies, a leading provider of high-end computing solutions (HCS) in India, extended its winning streak for the fourth straight session as its shares surged another 12.6% in intraday trade on Friday, August 1, to 2,286 apiece. The rally came in response to the company's strong June quarter earnings.

On Thursday, the company reported over a 100% jump in profit after tax to 30.5 crore in Q1FY26, driven by robust demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Operating income more than doubled to 301.21 crore from 149.3 crore in the June 2024 quarter. EBITDA surged 127% to 44 crore, with margins expanding by 167 basis points to 14.9% during the reporting quarter.

Also Read | PNB Housing Finance share price crashes 17% as MD and CEO resigns

AI remained a major growth driver, contributing 29% to operating revenue with 300% YoY growth. Reinforcing its progress in this space, the company launched Skylus.ai in FY25a unified, composable GPU orchestration platform designed for rapid deployment and optimization of AI infrastructure. Netweb said Skylus.ai strengthens its AI capabilities and supports Indias vision of becoming the AI factory of the world.

During the quarter, the company successfully executed a large AI order in the critical defense sector, emphasizing that a country's defense strength today is defined not only by military power but increasingly by technological superiority.

Commenting on the results, Sanjay Lodha, Chairman and Managing Director of Netweb Technologies, said the strong performance reflects the companys commitment to in-house design and manufacturing of next-generation systems. This aligns with the Make in India vision and contributes to Indias emergence as a global hub for high-tech manufacturing.

Lodha further added that Indias rapidly evolving AI ecosystemdriven by vibrant research, growing enterprise adoption, and government-led initiatives to develop indigenous large language models (LLMs)presents significant innovation opportunities. Netweb is well-positioned to capitalize on this momentum with a focused approach across its three growth pillars: High-Performance Computing (HPC), Private Cloud, and AI Systems

Stock up over 350% from IPO price After hitting an all-time high of 3,060 in November last year, shares of Netweb came under pressure in subsequent months before rebounding in May with a 42% gain. The rally extended into the following months, trimming the stocks year-to-date losses to 16%.

For long-term investors, the company has delivered stellar returns, surging 170% over the last two years. Since its IPO price of 500, the stock is currently trading 357% higher, rewarding those who have held it since its debut in July 2023.
PNB Housing Finance share price cracked 17% in the early morning trade on Friday, August 1, following the resignation of its MD and CEO Girish Kousgi before the completion of his term.

Why is PNB Housing Finance stock falling? The company, in a press release issued earlier today, Kousgi has resigned and will step down from his role effective October 28, 2025. He had joined the organisation in October 2022 for four years. The sudden leadership change has raised concerns among investors regarding the company's stability and future.

The company said its strategic priorities, business focus, and growth trajectory remain firmly intact, based on the strong foundation built by Kousgi.

The Board is confident that the Companys high-performing team, which has been instrumental in delivering its strong performance, will continue to achieve the companys goals of robust growth, asset quality and margins. As in the past, where seasoned professional candidates have been identified from the sector, the Board will immediately commence a search for a seasoned professional with proven expertise and industry experience, the company said in a filing.

During Kousgi's tenure, shares of PNB Housing Finance have surged over 200% as of the last closing price.

Also Read | Reliance Power, Reliance Infra shares slip on reports of ED summons Anil Ambani

PNB Housing share price: How to trade? Following the announcement of his resignation, PNB Housing Finance share price declined 17% to 819.25 apiece on the BSE. The stock had opened at the 10% lower price band, but soon the selling pressure strengthened.

The sell orders on both BSE and NSE were nearly four times the buy orders. On the BSE, 9.21 lakh PNB Housing Finance shares had changed hands as of 11.30 am, as against the two-week average of 0.37 lakh shares.

Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakshmishree Investment, said, PNB Housing has broken below the box support at 990 with a sharp gap-down move, accompanied by a massive surge in volumesover 1,176% of the 50-day averageindicating panic-driven exits.

This kind of high-volume breakdown reflects strong bearish sentiment and a likely shift in short-term trend. With no immediate support nearby, the stock looks vulnerable to further downside. The next major support lies at 751, which now becomes the likely target in the near term if the selling pressure continues unabated, Jain added.

PNB Housing Finance Q1 results The company recently posted a decent set of numbers, on July 21, for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.

PNB Housing Finance saw a 23% increase in its net profit to 534 crore for the first quarter of fiscal 2025-26 (FY26). The housing finance firm had earned a net profit of 433 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

The company's total income for the quarter grew to 2,082 crore from 1,832 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, PNB Housing Finance said in a regulatory filing.

Interest income for the quarter was higher at 1,980 crore compared to 1,739 crore a year ago. The net interest income also saw a 17% rise to 760 crore at the end of Q1 2025 against 651 crore in the year-ago quarter.
Why its recommended: GEPIL, involvement in infrastructure projects like roads, water management, and other related areas. The companys last Q4 performance has not been as per expectations, however, the charts after showcasing the sell-off that had indicating a revival in progress and this could be an opportunity to consider this stock as a buying opportunity.

Key metrics: P/E: 50.25 | 52-week high: 655 | Volume: 336.06K.

Technical analysis: Support at 262, resistance at 440.

Risk factors: High volatility, negative investor sentiment, and long-term bearish trends.

Buy: dips to 295.

Target price: 340-353 in 1 month.

Stop loss: 287

NACL Industries Ltd (Cmp 323.30)

Why its recommended: NACL Industries Ltd (NACLIND) is a leading agrochemical company with a presence in both domestic and international markets. The stock has absorbed the recent negative fundamentals and has been on a steady upward trajectory. Any profit booking seen is quickly being bought into, indicating that the trends are poised for continued upside. Further, the long body candle seen on Thursday indicates potential to move higher.

Key metrics: 52-week high: 331.45 | Volume: 1.06M.

Technical analysis: Support at 270, resistance at 425.

Risk factors: Overvalued with poor financial metrics, including a negative PE ratio and ROE.

Buy above: CMP and dips to 305.

Target price: 355-365 in one month.

Stop loss: 298.

Hester Biosciences Ltd (Cmp 1,949.20)

Why its recommended: HESTERBIO, Hester Biosciences is a prominent player in the animal healthcare sector, particularly in vaccine manufacturing. Being a dominant player, the sock has been consolidating and is now showing some signs of recovery above the current consolidation and a potential to move to the upside after weeks of profit booking that had emerged.

Key metrics: P/E: 52.25 | 52-week high: 3,250 | Volume: 9.32K.

Technical analysis: Support at 1,750, resistance at 2,225.

Risk factors: High inventory requirements and strict regulations regarding intellectual property rights (IPR) and rising interest expenses.

Buy above: CMP and dips to 1,905.

Target price: 2,040-2,085 in one month.

Stop loss: 1,890.

Two stock recommendations by MarketSmith India:

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (current price: 2,521.20)

Why its recommended: Rural demand recovery and volume-led sales, preimmunized brand portfolio, strategic investment, and corporate restructuring.

Key metrics: P/E: 55.69 | 52-week high:  3,035 | Volume: 1,382 crore

Technical analysis: Trending above all its key moving averages, momentum improvement.

Risk factors: Elevated input cost and its pressure on margin, sluggish urban consumption, and execution risk around demerger.

Buy: 2,450-2,500

Target price: 3,000 in two to three months

Stop loss: 2,350

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (current price: 1,259)

Why its recommended: Strong revenue and volume momentum, double-digit growth in Africa and the Middle East, and margin recovery.

Key metrics: P/E: 65.30 | 52-week high: 1,541 | Volume: 200 crore

Technical analysis: Rebound from 100-week moving average

Risk factors: Volatile commodity prices, soft urban demand.

Buy at: 1,220-1,250

Target price: 1,515 in two to three months

Stop loss: 1,170

Top three stocks recommended by Ankush Bajaj for 1 August

Buy: DR.LAL PATHLABS LTD  Current Price:  3,150

Why its recommended: The company is showing strong bullish momentum with a daily RSI at 69 and MACD at 63, both indicating a firm upward bias. On the hourly chart, the stock has broken out of a triangle pattern near  3,120, a bullish formation that reinforces the upward trend. This convergence of momentum indicators and breakout pattern suggests further upside potential in the near term.

The company is showing strong bullish momentum with a daily RSI at 69 and MACD at 63, both indicating a firm upward bias. On the hourly chart, the stock has broken out of a triangle pattern near 3,120, a bullish formation that reinforces the upward trend. This convergence of momentum indicators and breakout pattern suggests further upside potential in the near term. Key metrics: Breakout zone: Triangle breakout on hourly chart near  3,120

Breakout zone: Triangle breakout on hourly chart near 3,120 Pattern: Bullish breakout with momentum confirmation

Bullish breakout with momentum confirmation MACD: Positive at 63, reflecting trend strength

Positive at 63, reflecting trend strength RSI: Daily RSI at 69, signaling overbought yet strong bullish momentum

Daily RSI at 69, signaling overbought yet strong bullish momentum Technical analysis: A clean breakout on the lower timeframe coupled with strong momentum signals supports a bullish outlook toward  3,225.

A clean breakout on the lower timeframe coupled with strong momentum signals supports a bullish outlook toward 3,225. Risk factors: A close below  3,110 will invalidate the pattern and increase the risk of a short-term pullback. A stop-loss at  3,110 is recommended.

A close below 3,110 will invalidate the pattern and increase the risk of a short-term pullback. A stop-loss at 3,110 is recommended. Buy at :  3,150

: 3,150 Target price :  3,225

: 3,225 Stop loss:  3,110

Buy: COROMANDEL INTERNATIONAL LTD  Current Price:  2,691.40

Why its recommended: COROMANDEL INTERNATIONAL LTD is exhibiting strong bullish momentum, with the daily RSI at 71 and MACD at 66, both in overbought territory but confirming strength. The stock is trading at lifetime highs and comfortably above all major moving averages, suggesting strong institutional interest and trend continuation.

COROMANDEL INTERNATIONAL LTD is exhibiting strong bullish momentum, with the daily RSI at 71 and MACD at 66, both in overbought territory but confirming strength. The stock is trading at lifetime highs and comfortably above all major moving averages, suggesting strong institutional interest and trend continuation. Key metrics: Breakout zone: Lifetime high breakout

Breakout zone: Lifetime high breakout Pattern: Momentum-driven breakout with strong price structure

Momentum-driven breakout with strong price structure MACD: Positive at 66, reflecting robust bullish trend

Positive at 66, reflecting robust bullish trend RSI: Daily RSI at 71, indicating aggressive momentum

Daily RSI at 71, indicating aggressive momentum Technical analysis: The stock's position at record highs along with favorable momentum indicators presents a compelling case for further upside toward  2,800.

The stock's position at record highs along with favorable momentum indicators presents a compelling case for further upside toward 2,800. Risk factors: A breakdown below  2,615 may trigger a near-term correction. A disciplined stop-loss at  2,615 is advised.

A breakdown below 2,615 may trigger a near-term correction. A disciplined stop-loss at 2,615 is advised. Buy at :  2,691.40

: 2,691.40 Target price :  2,800

: 2,800 Stop loss:  2,615

Buy:NETWEBTECH INDIA LTD  Current Price:  2,031

Why its recommended: NETWEB TECH INDIA LTD is showing signs of a strong breakout setup. The daily RSI is at 62, and the MACD stands at 37, both indicating growing bullish momentum. On the hourly timeframe, the stock has delivered a triangle breakout along with a rectangle breakout, providing double confirmation of strength and signaling a potential fresh rally.

NETWEB TECH INDIA LTD is showing signs of a strong breakout setup. The daily RSI is at 62, and the MACD stands at 37, both indicating growing bullish momentum. On the hourly timeframe, the stock has delivered a triangle breakout along with a rectangle breakout, providing double confirmation of strength and signaling a potential fresh rally. Key metrics : Breakout zone: Triangle and rectangle breakout on hourly chart

: Breakout zone: Triangle and rectangle breakout on hourly chart Pattern: Dual breakout with momentum strength

Dual breakout with momentum strength MACD: Positive at 37, showing buy signal confirmation

Positive at 37, showing buy signal confirmation RSI: Daily RSI at 62, indicating bullish strength without being overbought

Daily RSI at 62, indicating bullish strength without being overbought Technical analysis: A dual breakout on the lower timeframe supported by solid momentum signals supports an upside move toward  2,215.

A dual breakout on the lower timeframe supported by solid momentum signals supports an upside move toward 2,215. Risk factors: A close below  1,960 would invalidate the bullish setup and warrant exit.

A close below 1,960 would invalidate the bullish setup and warrant exit. Buy at:  2,031

2,031 Target price:  2,215

2,215 Stop loss:  1,960

MarketSmith India is a stock research platform and advisory service focused on the Indian stock market. Trade name: William O'Neil India Pvt. Ltd. (Sebi Registered Research Analyst Registration No.: INH000015543

Raja Venkatraman is co-founder, NeoTrader. His Sebi-registered research analyst registration no. is INH000016223.

Ankush Bajaj is a Sebi-registered research analyst. His registration number is INH000010441.

Investments in securities are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing. Registration granted by Sebi and certification from NISM in no way guarantees performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Stock Market Today: The benchmark Nifty-50 index ended 0.35% lower at 24,768.35 on Thursday as Trump's tariff announcement spooked sentiments. The Bank Nifty at 55,961.95 also ended 0.34% lower, while most other sectors, led by pharma, metals, and oil & gas, ended lower. The FMCG index was the only gainer, and in the broader indices, even mid- and small caps ended around 1% lower.

Trade Setup for Friday A potential bullish reversal may play out well if the Nifty decisively moves above 25,000. On the lower side, support is placed at 24,600. A range-bound movement is expected until the Nifty breaks out of the 24,60025,000 range, as per Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities"

The key support area for Bank Nifty lies in the 55,50055,000 region

Global markets today and Q1 Results On Thursday investors gravitated toward domestically oriented, non-discretionary players, especially FMCG, which offered attractive valuations, demand outlook, and relative insulation from tariff risks. In contrast, oil & gas stocks were the worst hit due to US warnings over Indian energy imports. Overall, the market reflected a cautious yet selective approach. The market continues to hold high hopes for a more favorable tariff outcome in the near term," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

Stocks to buy today Regarding stocks to buy today, market expertsSumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking; Ganesh Dongre, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Anand Rathi; and Shiju Koothupalakkal, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladherrecommended these eight intraday stocks for today: CarTrade Tech Ltd., Acutaas Chemicals Ltd., Bank of India, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Divis Laboratories Ltd., Balaji Amines Ltd., Aditya Birla Capital Ltd., and Raymond Lifestyle Ltd.

Sumeet Bagadia's stock picks 1. CarTrade Tech Ltd: Bagadia recommends buying CARTRADE at around 2186.55, keeping stop los at 2100 for a target price of 2322

CARTRADE, currently trading at 2186.5, continued its stellar upward journey. This rally marks a decisive breakout above the previous resistance zone, with a sharp bullish candle and strong volume backing the move. Notably, the 20 EMA is sharply rising, and the distance between it and the other moving averages is increasingindicating strong momentum and price expansion.

2. Acutaas Chemicals LtdBagadia recommends buying ACUTAAS at around 1327.4, keeping the stop loss at 1275 for a target price of 1415.

ACUTAAS is currently positioned at 1327. 4 levels witnessed a robust up move in today's session. The stock registered a strong bullish candle on the daily chart, confirming a breakout from a month-long consolidation zone.

After trading in a narrow range near 1,1501,234 for several weeks, today's price action clearly signals a resumption of the prior bullish trend.

Ganesh Dongre's stocks to buy today 3. Bank of IndiaDongre recommends buying BANKINDIA at around 111 keeping Stoploss at 108 for a target price of 117

Stock has been exhibiting a strong and consistent bullish pattern, indicating sustained investor interest and positive price momentum. The stock is currently trading at  111 and has established a solid support base at  107. This level has historically acted as a cushion, and the recent price action suggests a reversal from this support, reinforcing bullish sentiment. The technical setup points to the potential for a price retracement toward the 117 level in the near term. Given the renewed strength and the favorable risk-reward ratio, entering at the current market price.

4. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals LtdDongre recommends buying GLENMARK at 21333, keeping stop los at 2100 for a target price of 2220

Stock has exhibited a strong, notable, continued bullish pattern, offering another promising opportunity for short-term traders. The stock is currently priced at  2133 and maintaining strong support at  2100. The technical setup indicates the potential for a price retracement towards the  2220 level. With the stock reversing from a support base and showing signs of renewed strength, entering at the current market price with a stop-loss at  2100 offers a prudent approach to capturing the anticipated upside.

5. Divis Laboratories LtdDongre recommends buying DIVISLAB at around 6600, keeping Stoploss at 6450 for a target price of 6850

Stock has exhibited a strong, notable, continued bullish pattern, offering another promising opportunity for short-term traders. The stock is currently priced at  6600 and maintaining strong support at  6450. The technical setup indicates the potential for a price retracement towards the  6850 level. With the stock reversing from a support base and showing signs of renewed strength, entering at the current market price with a stop-loss at  6450 offers a prudent approach to capturing the anticipated upside.

Shiju Koothupalakkal intraday stocks for today 6. Balaji Amines Ltd-Koothupalakkal recommends buying BALAJI AMINES at around 1768 for a target price of 1850. keeping the stop loss at around 1730

The stock has indicated a higher bottom formation on the daily chart, taking support near the confluence of the 200-period MA and 50 EMA at the 1650 level, and witnessing a significant pullback has improved the bias, anticipating a further rise. The RSI has corrected well from the overbought zone and is currently well positioned, indicating a buy signal with much upside potential visible from the current rate to carry on with the positive move further ahead from the oversold zone. With the chart technically looking attractive, we suggest buying the stock.

7. Aditya Birla Capital Ltd-Koothupalakkal recommends buying ADITYA BIRLA CAPITAL at around 256.65 for a target price of 270, keeping the stop loss at 249.

The stock has witnessed a short period of correction after the strong run-up to take support near the 243 zone and has indicated a significant pullback to move past the important 50EMA with improving bias, expecting further continuation of the positive move in the coming sessions. The RSI has arrived near the oversold zone, indicating a positive trend reversal to signal a buy with immense upside potential visible. With the chart technically looking good, we suggest buying the stock.

8. Raymond Lifestyle Ltd-Koothupalakkal recommends buying RAYMOND LIFESTYLE at around 1148 for a target price of 1200, keeping the stop loss at 1125

The stock has overall witnessed a gradual rising trend with series of higher bottom formation on the daily chart, currently taking support near the 100-period The moving average at the 1085 level has indicated a pullback with a positive candle to improve the bias, and we can anticipate a further rise in the coming sessions. The RSI is well positioned and has indicated a positive trend reversal to signal a buy to carry on with the positive move further ahead. With the chart technically looking good, we suggest buying the stock .
The Nifty50 fell by 86.70 points, or 0.35%, on Thursday, closing at 24,768.35. The BSE Sensex dropped 296.28 points, or 0.36%, settling at 81,185.58. The Bank Nifty also continued to slide, losing 188.75 points, or 0.34%, to close at 55,961.95, breaching key intraday support levels and reflecting continued pressure in financials.

Top three stocks recommended by Ankush Bajaj for 1 August

Buy: DR. LAL PATHLABS LTD  Current Price:  3,150

Why its recommended: The company is showing strong bullish momentum with a daily RSI at 69 and MACD at 63, both indicating a firm upward bias. On the hourly chart, the stock has broken out of a triangle pattern near  3,120, a bullish formation that reinforces the upward trend. This convergence of momentum indicators and breakout pattern suggests further upside potential in the near term.

The company is showing strong bullish momentum with a daily RSI at 69 and MACD at 63, both indicating a firm upward bias. On the hourly chart, the stock has broken out of a triangle pattern near 3,120, a bullish formation that reinforces the upward trend. This convergence of momentum indicators and breakout pattern suggests further upside potential in the near term. Key metrics: Breakout zone: Triangle breakout on hourly chart near  3,120

Breakout zone: Triangle breakout on hourly chart near 3,120 Pattern: Bullish breakout with momentum confirmation

Bullish breakout with momentum confirmation MACD: Positive at 63, reflecting trend strength

Positive at 63, reflecting trend strength RSI: Daily RSI at 69, signaling overbought yet strong bullish momentum

Daily RSI at 69, signaling overbought yet strong bullish momentum Technical analysis: A clean breakout on the lower timeframe coupled with strong momentum signals supports a bullish outlook toward  3,225.

A clean breakout on the lower timeframe coupled with strong momentum signals supports a bullish outlook toward 3,225. Risk factors: A close below  3,110 will invalidate the pattern and increase the risk of a short-term pullback. A stop-loss at  3,110 is recommended.

A close below 3,110 will invalidate the pattern and increase the risk of a short-term pullback. A stop-loss at 3,110 is recommended. Buy at :  3,150

: 3,150 Target price :  3,225

: 3,225 Stop loss:  3,110

Buy: COROMANDEL INTERNATIONAL LTD  Current Price:  2,691.40

Why its recommended: COROMANDEL INTERNATIONAL LTD is exhibiting strong bullish momentum, with the daily RSI at 71 and MACD at 66, both in overbought territory but confirming strength. The stock is trading at lifetime highs and comfortably above all major moving averages, suggesting strong institutional interest and trend continuation.

COROMANDEL INTERNATIONAL LTD is exhibiting strong bullish momentum, with the daily RSI at 71 and MACD at 66, both in overbought territory but confirming strength. The stock is trading at lifetime highs and comfortably above all major moving averages, suggesting strong institutional interest and trend continuation. Key metrics: Breakout zone: Lifetime high breakout

Breakout zone: Lifetime high breakout Pattern: Momentum-driven breakout with strong price structure

Momentum-driven breakout with strong price structure MACD: Positive at 66, reflecting robust bullish trend

Positive at 66, reflecting robust bullish trend RSI: Daily RSI at 71, indicating aggressive momentum

Daily RSI at 71, indicating aggressive momentum Technical analysis: The stock's position at record highs along with favorable momentum indicators presents a compelling case for further upside toward  2,800.

The stock's position at record highs along with favorable momentum indicators presents a compelling case for further upside toward 2,800. Risk factors: A breakdown below  2,615 may trigger a near-term correction. A disciplined stop-loss at  2,615 is advised.

A breakdown below 2,615 may trigger a near-term correction. A disciplined stop-loss at 2,615 is advised. Buy at :  2,691.40

: 2,691.40 Target price :  2,800

: 2,800 Stop loss:  2,615

Buy: NETWEB TECH INDIA LTD  Current Price:  2,031

Why its recommended: NETWEB TECH INDIA LTD is showing signs of a strong breakout setup. The daily RSI is at 62, and the MACD stands at 37, both indicating growing bullish momentum. On the hourly timeframe, the stock has delivered a triangle breakout along with a rectangle breakout, providing double confirmation of strength and signaling a potential fresh rally.

NETWEB TECH INDIA LTD is showing signs of a strong breakout setup. The daily RSI is at 62, and the MACD stands at 37, both indicating growing bullish momentum. On the hourly timeframe, the stock has delivered a triangle breakout along with a rectangle breakout, providing double confirmation of strength and signaling a potential fresh rally. Key metrics : Breakout zone: Triangle and rectangle breakout on hourly chart

: Breakout zone: Triangle and rectangle breakout on hourly chart Pattern: Dual breakout with momentum strength

Dual breakout with momentum strength MACD: Positive at 37, showing buy signal confirmation

Positive at 37, showing buy signal confirmation RSI: Daily RSI at 62, indicating bullish strength without being overbought

Daily RSI at 62, indicating bullish strength without being overbought Technical analysis: A dual breakout on the lower timeframe supported by solid momentum signals supports an upside move toward  2,215.

A dual breakout on the lower timeframe supported by solid momentum signals supports an upside move toward 2,215. Risk factors: A close below  1,960 would invalidate the bullish setup and warrant exit.

A close below 1,960 would invalidate the bullish setup and warrant exit. Buy at:  2,031

2,031 Target price:  2,215

2,215 Stop loss:  1,960

Market Wrap

On Thursday, July 31, 2025,the Nifty 50 fell by 86.70 points or 0.35%, closing at 24,768.35, while the BSE Sensex dropped 296.28 points or 0.36%, settling at 81,185.58. The Bank Nifty also continued to slide, losing 188.75 points or 0.34% to close at 55,961.95, breaching key intraday support levels and reflecting continued pressure in financials.

Sectorally, the market faced sharp losses, especially in cyclicals. The Oil & Gas sector declined 1.48%, the Pharma index fell 1.31%, and the Metal index dropped 1.22%, pulling the broader indices down. However, a few defensives offered limited relief  the FMCG sector surged 1.44%, while the Consumption index edged up by 0.33%, reflecting selective investor rotation.

Among top performers, Hindustan Unilever stood out with a strong gain of 3.44%, followed by Jio Finance at 2.79%, and Eternal, which rose 1.43%, supported by continued buying in high-quality and lower-beta names.

On the downside, heavyweights dragged the market further. Adani Enterprises plunged 4.03% amid valuation concerns, while Tata Steel dropped 2.12%, and Sun Pharma fell 1.56%, extending the pressure on broader sentiment.

Nifty Technical Analysis Daily & Hourly

On July 31, 2025, the Nifty closed at 24,768.35, down 86.70 points or 0.35%, marking a weak session after recent attempts to stabilize. While the index managed to trade above the key support zone of 24,700 during the session, it failed to sustain higher levels and remained under pressure, once again halting near the major resistance at 25,000. This continued rejection reinforces the fact that 25,000 remains a strong psychological and technical barrier, and unless it is decisively crossed, the market is likely to stay range-bound.



From a technical standpoint, the Nifty is currently trading below all its key short-term moving averages. The 20-day SMA stands at 25,119, while the 40-day EMA is placed at 24,994  both levels the index needs to reclaim to revive near-term bullishness. On the intraday chart, Nifty is also hovering below the 20-hour SMA at 24,803 and the 40-hour EMA at 24,855, which indicates a mildly bearish structure in the short term.

Momentum indicators offer little comfort. The daily RSI remains weak at 41, while the hourly RSI has edged up slightly to 44 but still remains below neutral territory. The MACD on both daily (86) and hourly (12) timeframes continues to linger in negative territory, suggesting that bearish momentum, although not accelerating, is yet to fade meaningfully.

In the derivatives segment, the data continues to show a cautious undertone. Total Call open interest stands at 6.24 crore versus 5.63 crore on the Put side, resulting in a negative difference of 60.73 lakh contracts  a bearish sign. The change in open interest during the day also remains slightly negative, with Call OI rising by 2.85 crore and Put OI increasing by 2.76 crore, resulting in a net bearish bias of 9.28 lakh contracts. The Put-Call Ratio, however, has improved to 0.90, indicating some reduction in bearish sentiment but still not enough to signal a reversal. The highest Call OI is placed at the 26,000 strike, reinforcing a distant upside cap, while 25,000 continues to act as the immediate ceiling. On the Put side, maximum OI remains at the 24,000 strike, establishing it as a strong base. Meanwhile, India VIX ticked up 3% to 11.54, indicating a slight rise in volatility and caution.

In summary, the Nifty remains stuck in a consolidation phase with limited directional clarity. The failure to break and hold above 25,000 keeps the short-term trend neutral to bearish. While the index is holding above 24,700 support for now, traders should watch this level closely. A sustained move above 25,00025,120 is essential for a meaningful bullish breakout, whereas a breakdown below 24,700 could drag the index towards 24,50024,400. Until then, range-bound and tactical trading strategies such as "buy-on-dips" near support and "sell-on-rise" near resistance are likely to dominate.

Ankush Bajaj is a Sebi-registered research analyst. His registration number is INH000010441.

Investments in securities are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.

Registration granted by Sebi and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
Flush with pride from having joined law school, Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi), the first in his Dalit family to attend college, brings home a problem from class. He opens it up for neighbourhood discussiona group of stranded people eat each other in a desperate bid for survival: what would the law say? The residents of Bhim Nagar are aghast. But one man examines it differently. Wed be fine," he says. They wouldnt eat us. A woman chimes in: They definitely wont eat adivasis.

Shazia Iqbals Dhadak 2, a Hindi remake of Pariyerum Perumal, takes a great deal from Mari Selvarajs superb 2018 Tamil film. I dont remember this scene, though. Its a throwaway joke, but a telling one. Unlike most Hindi films about caste, which either tiptoe around the issue or are boringly instructional, Dhadak 2 can imagine how people whove seen oppression their whole lives might turn it into gallows humour.

Also Read | A salute to Leslie Nielsen, the real Naked Gun

On Neeleshs first day of law school, dean Ansari (Zakir Hussain) warns him to stay away from student politics. The young man assures him he will. He's there to study, graduate, support his family, no matter how charismatic Shekhar (Priyank Tiwari), a Dalit rights activist, might seem, or how quickly he becomes close to fellow student Vidhi (Triptii Dimri). We know this wont last, even before he does. As Neelesh later says, he felt like he was flying, only to have his sky snatched from him.

What passes for a promising spell in Neeleshs life would register as traumatic for a privileged person experiencing a fraction of the same. Barely has he joined and the word quota is thrown in his face. His reluctance to say his surname (he offers Neelesh B.A.L.L.B.) is pounced upon by a professor. The same instructor cruelly exposes his lack of English, before speaking in one of the wonkiest accents imaginable. But Neelesh can shrug these off and carry on, which speaks to a lifetime of having had to do so.

Selvarajs film began with a shockingly cruel act by a group of upper-caste men. Dhadak 2 has the same scene, but later in the film. Its a smart adjustment by Iqbal and co-writer Rahul Badwelkar, sacrificing the immediate starkness of Pariyerum Perumal but functioning as a line in the sand. If viewers are in deep sleep (as Neelesh later accuses Vidhi of being), they won't be after this. Theres an even more harrowing scene to followshocking not because these kinds of incidents dont happen but because they dont happen in Hindi films.

The issue of student fellowships, a lifeline for the economically disadvantaged, is an extremely divisive issue among Neeleshs batchmates. This is a pointed reference. In 2016, Rohith Vemula, a PhD student at the University of Hyderabad and a Dalit rights activist, died by suicide, igniting protests on campuses across India. In his final letter, Vemula asked that his family be paid the seven months of fellowship he was due. Vemula looms large in Iqbals film, lending it urgency and poignance, as he did in Payal Kapadias documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021).

That Dhadak 2 gets most of its story ideas from Pariyerum Perumal is beyond dispute. I also think Iqbal, directing her first feature, is unable to paint as vivid a picture of her protagonists community as Selvaraj did in his film (Santhosh Narayanan's music was a big part of that). But Dhadak 2 is neither a dilution nor a tepid job-for-hire. As Neelesh is increasingly strung out and persecuted, the film starts to crackle. There are a series of scuffles and standoffs leading to a sustained expulsion of rage, all directed with a bristling confidence.

Chaturvedis hurt eyes and conciliatory body language make Neelesh winsome and a little sad from the start. Gone is the cockiness of his earlier roles, replaced by a shy, polite boy who needs to be explained what toxic masculinity is. He and Dimrii make a sweet pair, the hipper Vidhi nudging the relationship forward while coming to terms with her familys deep casteism. Iqbal takes from Pariyerum Perumal the assassin figure, one of the most mysterious villains in modern Indian film, operating parallel to the narrative until it's time to intersect. Here hes played by the wonderfully shifty Saurabh Sachdeva, a unique killer, unhurried, uninterested in payment, only insisting on a specific kind of target.
Its 6.30pm, and Isha Kumar, 25, a marketing professional, is standing in a packed compartment on the Delhi Metro. She slips in her earphones, opens WhatsApp, and hits play. Just like that, shes no longer on the crowded train; shes with her best friend, who describes the chill in the London air, the toppings she picked for her oatmeal, all accompanied by the sound of her footsteps, pacing her way to work. Her friend, away from Delhi for the first time, tells Kumar, Your comforting voice, laced with the muffled rumble of the Metro, is my virtual hug from home."

This kind of intimate, asynchronous exchange has become second nature for many. In 2024, WhatsApp users around the world sent nearly 150 billion messages daily, with around seven billion of them being voice notes, according to data reporting solutions provider Demandsage. Since introducing the feature on 7 August 2013, WhatsApp has seen voice messaging evolve from a convenient add-on to a deeply embedded mode of communication. They offer a way to be heard without the pressure of coordinating a call or the effort of typing a long message, capturing nuance that often gets lost in the stop-and-start rhythm of a phone conversation.

A 2023 YouGov survey across 17 markets found that 8% of Indian WhatsApp users aged 18 and above favoured voice notes over any other form of messaging, the highest in Asia. In the announcement on their blog in 2013, WhatsApp said it wanted to make staying in touch easier: We know theres no substitute for hearing the sound of a friend or family members voice."

They were right. Twelve years on, voice notes have been seamlessly woven into the fabric of our everyday lives: maintaining friendships, navigating work, managing care and documenting the everyday ephemera that makes a life. A February 2025 Time article attests to this, calling voice notes small acts of love". Their emotional resonance lies not just in the words spoken but in the incidental sounds they carryfootsteps on a pavement, clinking dishes, background laughter, all of which create a quiet, ambient intimacy.

Designing for connection

The intimacy of voice notes is shaped quietly by the technology that supports them. In response to growing usage, WhatsApp has rolled out features like playback speed controls, disappearing messages, and transcripts. These tweaks are practical but also revelatory: a sped-up voice note erases the emotional weight of a pause, while a transcript compresses tone into flat prose. Voice notes encourage slowness, even vulnerability, even as the platforms themselves push for speed. That tension plays out in our habits: we record voice notes at night, exhaling into the dark, only to listen back at 2x on the morning commute. We are constantly negotiating between time, attention and presence.

Voice notes have been seamlessly woven into the fabric of our everyday lives: maintaining friendships, navigating work, managing care and documenting the everyday ephemera that makes a life.

Itisha Nagar, psychologist and former professor at the University of Delhi, draws a striking parallel: Just as we once saved letters to reread and cherish, voice notes today carry that same emotional weight. Like handwriting, they preserve something of the person. The tone, the pace, even the background noise, all become part of the message." Over time, texting became too stripped down, hence the rise of emojis. Voice notes brought that richness back."

From a trauma-informed lens, Nagar continues, paralinguistic cues (or non-verbal cues) like inflection, silence and pauses can signal emotional safety, just as we instinctively soften our voice or lower ourselves to a childs eye level. Tone can shift the entire meaning of a message." This resonates with findings from a 2021 experimental study, Its Surprisingly Nice to Hear You: Misunderstanding the Impact of Communication Media can lead to Suboptimal Choices of how to Connect With Others, by Amit Kumar and Nicholas Epley of the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. It found that hearing someones voice, whether via calls or voice notes, led to stronger feelings of social connection and closeness than reading the same message as text. Participants consistently underestimated how much intimacy a voice could foster, even when asynchronous.

Even workplaces are adapting. For remote teams, where nuance is often lost in text/email, Slack introduced voice messages in 2021. A cheerful hi!" or a thoughtful pause can shift how a work message lands. What might sound cold in writing, Just checking in", becomes warmer and more collaborative when spoken aloud.

Also Read | How dating apps are leading to emotional burnout in the ENM community

On dating app Hinge, which introduced voice prompts in 2021, users can record short clips to add personality to their profiles. Some sing, some recite film dialogue, some just talk about their pets. Hinge claims those who use the feature are 48% more likely to get a date. Voices, after all, offer what bios and photos cant: an authentic glimpse into quirks, accents, and emotion.

Photographer Farah Ahmed, 23, spent the first lockdown in 2020 in her childhood home in Chandigarh. Id argue with my parents a lot. The news made me restless. Id go on long walks to a small park nearby and record voice notes to my best friend. Even before she replied, I felt lighter. Like someone had already heard me out."

In a world now reckoning with rising levels of loneliness, described by the World Health Organizations 2024 Commission on Social Connection as a public health epidemic", voice notes have found unexpected cultural heft. The commission reports that one in six people globally experience loneliness, with adolescents and young adults being the most affected (1721%). In India, older adults are particularly vulnerable. A national survey, the 2017-18 wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), found that among adults aged 45 and above, 20.5% reported moderate loneliness and 13.3% reported severe loneliness. In a country where loneliness is stigmatised and mental healthcare underfunded, voice messages could offer a low-barrier way to maintain high-quality social connections.

Nagar, however, offers a note of caution. They can certainly aid closeness," she says, but theyre not a substitute for it. Human beings still need attunement, presence, real-world signals of connection." Voice notes may preserve tone and texture, but they are still, in her words, a form of proximity, not the form."

A practical tool

View Full Image Notes from history

Voice notes are not just the domain of the young and digitally fluent. In many Indian homes, theyre practical tools, especially for those unfamiliar with typing or navigating language barriers. WhatsApp is available in 11 of the 22 official languages, yet typing in local scripts is often clunky or unintuitive, making audio a more accessible alternative.

My children set my keyboard to Hindi, but even then my typing is very slow," says Pushpa Devi, a domestic worker in south Delhi. Now I just record what I need to say and send voice notes to my employers. Its faster, and I can explain properly."

This sense of accessibility has led many in the older generation to reach for the microphone instead of the keypad. Meera Bhatia, 54, recalls sending her daughter voice-noted recipes after she moved abroad. She had never cooked before. I was far away and worried, but the time difference made it hard to help. So I began recording voice notestiny instructions, wrapped in encouragement. Shed replay them while cooking, pausing and rewinding as needed. I would wake up to satisfying photos of meals I somehow helped make. Thanks to technology."

Voice notes offer not just convenience but a sense of relief, especially for neurodivergent individuals navigating the burden of everyday communications. They help evade the social tightrope of real-time conversations and soften the fears of being misunderstood or misread. Delhi-based writer and filmmaker Natasha Badhwar, 54, whose online bio identifies neurodiversity as her superpower, shares, Conversation has always been a bit of a minefield for me. Text and voice notes give me the grace of time and space; I can think through the exact words I want to share, delete if required and craft my communication, so to speak."

Badhwar also uses voice notes in her professional life, often conducting extended interviews via voice notes with other neurodivergent individuals, allowing them to respond in their own time, after processing their thoughts and feelings. For many, this asynchronous format isnt just flexible; its more humane.

When tech begins by including those often excluded by default, it ends up setting a higher standard for usability, empathy, and design," says Delhi-based Nipun Malhotra, 37, founder of Nipman Foundation, a disability rights advocacy organisation, and director at The Quantum Hub, a policy consulting firm. Designing with accessibility in mind, particularly for persons with disabilities, often leads to more intuitive technology for everyone. Voice notes, for instance, have long been a popular mode of communication for many visually impaired users and those who find typing difficult due to locomotor disabilities," says Malhotra.

Beyond accessibility, voice notes offer something enduring and transcendental. Shreya Kapil, 22, a management student living away from home in Paris, reflects on the quiet urgency of preserving the voice of her spirited 88-year-old grandfather. When youve lost people, and you only have memories of them left, you start to understand the value of capturing life in any format you can. Whether it is nanajis inspiring shayaris or small voice memos like Good morning, bachho! Jai Sri Krishna, I feel reassured by this digital trunk of his everlasting presence."

Evolving etiquette

But voice notes arent for everyone. Some try to soften their arrival with disclaimers: No rush to listen" or Feel free to ignore", but the burden still lingers. I know its important," says Aman Khurana, 24, but I just dont have the energy to listen, not in the moment and not later either. I prefer chatting on Instagram with memes or just calling directly. Voice notes feel like emotional homework." A design student at NIFT Kangra, he admits hes lost touch with friends due to mismatched communication styles.

Voice notes, for all their intimacy, can sometimes feel like a demand for emotional availability that not everyone can meet. They feel like lectures," says Satyaarth Shankar, a 25-year-old doctor in Delhi. Its an indulgent one-sided conversation." Some are adapting to this new terrain. I am not a fan of voice notes, but I generally tend to mirror whatever form of communication is made with me. I respond in voice notes but never send one unprompted," says Anirudh Suresan, 28, a tax consultant in Delhi.

Voice notes, for all their intimacy, can sometimes feel like a demand for emotional availability that not everyone can meet.

Audio messages also privilege the senders over the receivers. Many criticise the format as self-serving" or even selfish," as it demands not just the listeners time and attention, but also the right conditionsearphones, privacy and often, the right emotional headspace. Jayashankar Vengathattil, 30, a strategy professional from Bengaluru, says, The only time I send voice notes is to substitute them for a work call. Im fine receiving long ones from loved ones, but theyll usually get excited texts in return. I communicate much better through the written word than the spoken one."

The gender of expression

While speaking to respondents for this piece, a pattern quickly emerged: women were far more likely to prefer voice notes. Men who used them regularly were the exception, raising a larger question: does gender shape how we express ourselves, even in private? Women are far better communicators, so they can condense their thoughts in a more precise manner in voice notes, which guys find themselves unable to do," says Suresan, who defaults to texts.

Our female respondents described voice notes as emotional scaffolding, used to vent, encourage, confess, and care, most often with close female friends in WhatsApp groups. (They sent voice notes to men too, but these were typically shorter and more direct.) Shilpa Phadke, sociologist and co-author of Why Loiter? (2011), explains that women often struggle to maintain friendships after marriage or beyond structured spaces like schools and colleges due to reduced mobility and limited access to public space. Thats perhaps why digital mediums like voice notes are easier to sustain," she says. They can be sent from home, with minimal negotiation."

This rings true across India. Hugo Ribadeau Dumas, who holds a PhD in urban geography from EHESS, Paris, has spent the past few years studying the geography of friendship in Bihar and Goa. He points out that friendship is far from free or equally distributed; it requires time, space and financial resources. You cant easily hang out with friends if you dont have the money to eat out or the privacy to invite someone home," he explains.

Mobile phones, and especially platforms like WhatsApp, have been a game changer," he says. They allow women to maintain connections that might otherwise fade. For many women, voice notes offer a rare window to sustain in-between friendships: short exchanges embedded in the daily rhythms of household work, childcare, and errands."

None of my male friends communicate this way, we are not usually socialised into being expressive," says Ayaan Khan, 26, a policy researcher from Hyderabad. Its easier to have fun rather than have deeper conversations and so, voice notes can be a nightmare. That doesnt mean were not thoughtful, were just not used to being that open."

There are exceptions. I havent noticed a gender divide. Some friends, regardless of gender, use them religiously and others not at all," says Sameer Thakur, 27, a lawyer and poet currently based in New York. My male friends and I are huge gossips, so we might even use them more."

Yet, the gendered dynamics of voice notes mirror broader patterns in digital communication, where expression and emotional labour are often coded as feminine. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are replete with memes and reels that humorously depict women sending lengthy voice messages filled with seemingly trivial details, while men are portrayed as preferring concise, solution-oriented communication. When Im venting to my husband, he often listens with the aim of problem-solving, while my girlfriends just know to listen", says Nidhi Punetha, 30, a policy adviser based in Chandigarh.

As we listened to the perspectives that shaped this piece, some of which, fittingly, arrived as voice notes, one thing became clear: these arent just features. Theyre an evolving cultural form, part therapy, part logbook, part love letter. They offer relief from (constantly looking at) screens, reintroduce tone into a nuance-deaf internet, and create new forms of intimacy were only beginning to understand. When a passerby glances at someone like Isha Kumar in a corner of the Metro speaking softly into her phone, it may seem like a strange act of self-talk. But each voice message that technology enables is a thread in the tapestry of social connection, a quiet assertion that someone, somewhere, is listening.

Sanskriti Bhatia is an engineer turned tech policy professional pursuing an M.Phil in public policy at the University of Cambridge, working at the intersection of technology, policy and society to drive impact.

Srishti Kapil is a communications and program strategist, currently working with the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute at Johns Hopkins on initiatives spanning gender equity, public health, and policy advocacy.
Its sad but true that what passes for Punjabi cuisine in many of the restaurants in the National Capital Region (NCR) is a bit of a cliche. You know what to expect even before opening the menu cardsome sort of tandoori kebab , dal makhani , garlic naan , a sweet shahi chicken gravy enriched with a paste of nuts. The list is somewhat incongruous with the image that the landscape of Punjab conjures up: lush fields, a wide variety of seasonal produce, community kitchens and slow-cooked meals. There is a disconnect between what is peddled under the monolith of Punjabi food" and what is actually cooked in homes across the state.

One wonders what led to dishes such as dal makhani, tandoori chicken and butter chicken becoming synonymous with Punjabi cuisine in Delhi. Historian-academic Pushpesh Pant offers the sociological and psychological reasons behind this. Partition impoverished people. It made them refugees who didnt have access to individual kitchens. Later, when they became a little more affluent and put roots down in Delhi, they started to enrich and embellish their food," he explains. Some became proprietors of dhabas and what they created was not a mirror image of the dishes from their hometowns but a repertoire to inform people that they were not always impoverished. And those dishes caught on.

Over time, instead of supervising the cooking themselves, they got cooks from Nepal, Garhwal and Kumaon to the kitchens. They would add large amounts of ghee and later on dalda and palm oil so that they didnt need to watch over the frying of the onions closely. To disguise the grease, they started adding a paste of badaam-pista and called it a shahi gravy," he explains. Later, those who couldnt afford the dry fruit, substituted it with peanuts. But neither were these homestyle recipes nor did they offer any nuance on the various regions of Punjab.

After the Partition, people who fled their hometowns and made their way to Delhi or Mukteshwar, where Pant is from, came to be bracketed under the umbrella term of refugees, bared of their identities and cultural markers of the regions of Multan, Sindh and Lahore that they hailed from. Where is the food from regional parts of Punjab, which people used to eat? Is it possible to retain the original recipes after 75 years? In such a scenario, it remains to be seen how culinary practices from homes make their way to the mainstream dining scene," he says.

In the past year, however, there have been renewed endeavours to showcase familial recipes backed by strong storytelling about the rich history of the region. The initial effort was made in 2018-19 when Reetika Gill started Curry Singh Kitchens as a small-covers restaurant in Gurugram. The trained chefand daughter of Manjit Gill, one of the most well-respected Indian chefsserved dishes like bharwa tinda, a thin and light homestyle chicken curry and radish greens besides the usual staples. These were dishes that she had grown up with. Her alu vadiyan are to die for. Unfortunately, the space for Curry Singh Kitchen had been taken on a lease and was no longer commercially viable after the pandemic. Now you have to visit her home to taste some of these dishes. But her restaurant offered that rare glimpse of Punjab ke gharo ka khana," says Pant.

In 2025, that conversation has been taken up once again by a niche set of restaurants such as Ikk Panjab by Rajan and Deepika Sethi of Bright Hospitality, and Kiklithe latest addition to the Capitals dining scenehelmed by chef Amninder Sandhu. Recently, chef Sherry Mehta curated a menu as part of the pop-up, Undivided Punjab", at Ishaara in Mumbai. The showcasing of memories from Punjab could be viewed within the larger trend of chefs putting familial recipes on the restaurant table. But for Sandhu, Kikli is not about following any sort of market swing but rather a personal passion project to document knowledge from across Punjabbe it through oral histories or royal records. That is the legacy that I want to leave behind," she says.

View Full Image Chef Amninder Sandhu during a research trip to Punjab

The restaurant, which opened in late July, is set within a restored heritage site in Connaught Place. The ethos of the menu is carried forth in the interiors designed by Ariane Ginwalamud work and phulkari motifs in the upholstery and a mix of wooden and brass elements run through the space. The idea had been on Sandhus mind since 2017 while doing pop-ups in Mumbai. This yearning to showcase the warmth of Punjab gained strength while she launched Bawri Goa in 2023 to serve regional heirloom recipes and embarked on other pop-ups in recent years.

Born in a Sikh family, Sandhu grew up in Jorhat, Assam. The spirit of Punjab stayed alive within her through the stories and recipes of her mother and grandmother. When they would make vadi, for instance, they would put a little blade of grass on it to ward off the evil eye. This is not common knowledge in Punjab even now," she says. In a way, Kikli is an ode to the wisdom and strength of the women of her family.

It was during a research trip to different cities of rural Punjab that she picked up on oral histories around food and complex techniques practised within homes even today. Sandhu deepened her travels by speaking to craftspersons about utensils and equipment such as the handmade sarblohdeghs (iron vessels) for slow cooking lentils and the earthen kundas (cooking pot). Some of these have made their way into the Kikli kitchen. She grinds her chutneys such as the imli and tomato one, for instance, in a danda kunda (a stone mortar with wooden pestle). She built a hara inspired by a 120-year-old one at a farmhouse in Dyalpura Bhai Ka, Punjab. Traditionally used for slow cooking lentils and saag over pathiya, or cow dung cakes, this piece of equipment also works as a smoking chamber.

The menu steers clear of stereotypical dishes to showcase recipes from different regions like alu vadiyan, pathiya sekiya kukkad, a chicken preparation from Granthgarh village, pani de hath ki roti or rotis made only with water, chibar or wild cucumber, and mungre (rat-tail radish) cooked in kundas. The dal is cooked overnight over a pathiya. This is then tempered with a dollop of white butter or gheejust the way people have it at home. We are not mad to add cream and butter to everyday dishes. Most of the people that I spoke to during my travels were happy eating just dal and roti as long as the produce was organic. The speed at which wheat is ground to make the flour for the roti is important. For Punjabis, the produce, the utensils and the techniques are paramount," she says.

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Sandhu has tied up with local farmers to curate her seasonal offeringsthe restaurant will have two menus every year, one for summer and the other for winter. The organic produce lends an authentic touch to creations such as chapparwale koftey, or bottle gourd koftas with alu bukhara. Sandhu envisions Kikli as a community space where people can share oral testimonies and heritage. The restaurant is only the beginning. I will continue travelling back to Punjab, adding to my research and documentation," she says.

View Full Image 'Matthi chole' at Ikk Panjab

Ikk Panjab too brings to the table the spirit of pre-Partition Punjab. The restaurants in Connaught Place, Gurugram and Chandigarh have personal roots in Sethi wishing to honour his father. It has been designed as an old Punjabi home with vintage photos and memorabilia to etch a portrait of a well-travelled person, rooted in the ethos of the state. The menu features a mix of well-known and oft-overlooked dishes such as atta chicken from Kotkapura in which the poultry is wrapped in dough and baked for hours. Then there is Ferozpuri macchi, which brings fresh catch from Punjabs rivers to the forefront. Instead of heavy lababdar and kadhai preparations, paneer is featured as a simple bhurji as cooked by families today.

Deepika Sethi mentions the linkages between some of the home-cooked dishes and folk culture. The masur dal, which goes into the khatti masar preparation, is an intrinsic part of folklore and songs. It is important to bring to the fore the stories of food we have grown up with. It breaks the myth created by older restaurants and dhabas," she adds. One of the signature dishes is matthi chhole, which is an heirloom winter recipe of the Sethis. Rajans grandmother would use leftover chickpeas or any thick dal to top the matthi. The making of the matthi was also significant as it heralded the change in season. Ikk Panjab has also been created as a community space, where gatherings are held on a regular basis to spotlight literature, music and craft from Punjab. At a time when popular culture doesnt truly represent the depth of Punjab, spaces such as these become important," says Sethi.
Credit cards have evolved far beyond their initial form as plastic cards. They are now integral financial tools that can significantly boost your financial management and lifestyle. Understanding and knowing these key benefits before applying will help you choose the correct credit card designed for your needs.

Below are five key benefits of using credit cards you should know about before applying:

1. Build and improve your credit score Using credit cards responsibly by making timely bill payments helps build and maintain a strong credit profile. This boosts and improves your chances of securing better personal loans and other financial products in the future.

2. Rewards, cashback, and discounts Most credit cards offer reward programs tailored to meet various distinct lifestyles. For example, travelers often seek credit cards with lounge access and travel benefits, whereas everyday shoppers prefer rewards on groceries and utility bills. These rewards can be later redeemed and used as vouchers, travel tickets, or statement credits to help in saving money.

3. Financial flexibility and interest-free credit Credit cards provide users with an interest-free grace period of around 45-50 days. Many also offer the opportunity to convert expensive purchases into manageable equated monthly instalments (EMIs). These services are sometimes provided even with no additional costs, thus easing budget efficiency and management.

4. Enhanced security and convenience Widely accepted both in the country and abroad, credit cards are tools that provide safer, more convenient payments compared to cash. They come with features such as zero liability on lost credit cards, fraud alerts, purchase protection, along other similar features that provide peace of mind. It is important to keep in mind that these are credit lines, i.e., credit products that need to be handled with caution to avoid misuse and ensure complete security.

5. Additional perks and emergency credit Credit cards often include lucrative perks such as concierge services, travel insurance, and lounge access. They may also provide users with emergency credit or instant personal loans for unforeseen financial needs.

Also Read | How to rebuild your credit score after credit card settlement

As Deep Agrawal, Head of Payments at PhonePe, succinctly puts it, Credit cards are evolving from standalone products to integrated financial instruments connected with platforms like UPI, enabling seamless transactions across millions of merchants. Choosing the right card based on your lifestyle and spending habits can unlock these versatile benefits.

That is why, before applying, you should assess your spending patterns and repayment capacity carefully. Used responsibly, credit cards can be a powerful tool to manage your finances and build long-term credit health.

For all personal finance updates, visit here.
A devastating mass shooting at the Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, claimed four lives, leaving the community in shock and under lockdown on August 1 (Friday). The suspect, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, remains at large, triggering a widespread manhunt.

What happened at the Owl Bar? At approximately 10:30 AM on August 1, gunfire erupted at the Owl Bar, located at 819 E 3rd Street in Anacondas Goosetown neighborhood. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) reported four fatalities, and the scene was quickly secured by law enforcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) confirmed the incident, with support from Anaconda Police, Butte-Silver Bow law enforcement, and the Montana Highway Patrol.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as police flooded the area. Anaconda was placed on lockdown, with residents instructed to stay indoors and avoid Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road west of the city, where the suspect was last spotted.

Law enforcement personnel respond to a reported shooting in Anaconda, Mont., Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

Official response Montana Governor Greg Gianforte expressed his condolences stating, Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy, as reported by USA Today. The DCI is leading the investigation, with federal agencies assisting. Victim identities and specific details remain undisclosed as the case develops.

Who Is Michael Mike Paul Brown? Michael Paul Brown, also known as Mike, is a 45-year-old Anaconda resident. Authorities describe him as 5 feet 10 inches tall, 170 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair. At the time of the incident, he was reportedly wearing a tie-dyed shirt, blue jeans, and an orange bandana. Brown is considered armed and extremely dangerous, with police advising the public to avoid contact and report sightings to 911.

Whats next in the manhunt? Brown was last seen driving a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup truck with Montana license plates DTY493, heading west on Stumptown Road. A SWAT team cleared his Anaconda home, as noted by the Granite County Sheriffs Office in a follow-up X post, but he remains at large. Helicopters, drones, and K9 units are aiding the search.

The search for Michael Brown continues. Residents are advised to avoid the Stumptown area and remain cautious. Law enforcement is working tirelessly to uncover the motive and bring Brown to justice. This heartbreaking event has left Anaconda mourning.
Canadian Prime Minister Mike Carney reacted on Friday, hours after US President Donald Trump imposed a 35 per cent duty on the import of its goods, saying that he was disappointed in the action by the American government.

Trump on Thursday declared US tariffs on Canada at the rate of 35 per cent on products outside the scope of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. This was a sharp hike from the earlier 25 per cent Trump tariffs.

While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the world's second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume, Carney said in a statement.

Carney said in the statement posted on X that the US application of CUSMA means that the US average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of the lowest for all of its trading partners.

However, he noted that US tariffs have heavily impacted sectors like steel, auto, and aluminium.

Other sectors of our economy-including lumber, steel, aluminum, and automobiles-are, however, heavily impacted by US duties and tariffs.

Canada will act to protect these sectors from Trump tariffs, Carney said.

For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets, he said in the statement.

US tariffs on Canada: Why did Trump hike tariffs? Donald Trump, signing an executive order on Thursday, justified the US tariff move on Canada on the basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl.

However, Carney claimed that Canada accounts for only 1% of US fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.

Canada's government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling, Carney said, adding, We will continue working with the United States to stop the scourge of fentanyl and save lives in both our countries.

The Canadian PM said he will continue to negotiate with the United States on its trading relationship, but will be laser focused on his endeavour to build the country strong.

We are developing a series of major nation-building projects with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners. Together, these initiatives have the potential to catalyse over half a trillion dollars of new investments in Canada, he said.

Canadians will be the best customers In a shift to depending on the US and its consumers to grow the economy, Mike Carney urged Canadians to be their own best customers.

Canadians will be our own best customer, creating more well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships throughout the world, Carney said.

We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away by building with Canadian workers and by using Canadian resources to benefit all Canadians, he said.
Loving what you do and having a genuine passion for the business you choose to build is everything. For us, that passion has always been rooted in our love for animals.

It started with Carlos, a stubborn bulldog who refused to cooperate with every harness on the market. What began as one frustrated dog owners quest for the perfect fit has evolved into Dog Friendly Co., a global phenomenon thats sold over 400,000 personalised harnesses and generated more than $20 million in revenue.

The story of Sandra Abade and Luka Maric reads like a masterclass in turning personal frustration into entrepreneurial gold  complete with a garage workspace, hand-written thank you notes, and a celebrity customer list that includes style icon Lewis Hamilton.

The garage days

Back in 2019, Sandra Abade faced a problem that millions of dog owners know all too well. Her bulldog Carlos was impossible to fit properly, and the market offered nothing but uncomfortable, awkward, and frankly unattractive options.

Nothing on the market felt right, most options lacked comfort, were awkward to put on and simply didnt look good, Sandra recalls. It was clear that something was missing.

Rather than accept the status quo, Sandra partnered with her brother Luka to solve the problem themselves. What followed were months of research, testing, and countless prototypes as the siblings worked to create something that delivered on every front  comfort, functionality, and style.

The early days were humble but heartfelt. Operating from their family garage, Sandra and Luka packed every order by hand and wrote personal thank you notes to each customer. It was intimate, authentic, and built the foundation for what would become a global brand powered by genuine care.

What started as a two-person operation in our family garage, packing orders by hand and writing thank you notes to each customer, has since evolved into a global brand, Sandra explains. The numbers tell the story of that evolution: Dog Friendly Co. now operates warehouses in both Australia and the United States, employs a dedicated team of 20, and serves over 350,000 customers worldwide.

Building beyond the original vision

Success brought new challenges  and new opportunities. As demand grew beyond their wildest expectations, the siblings faced the classic startup dilemma of scaling operations while maintaining quality and brand integrity.

In the early stages of our journey, inventory management was one of our biggest challenges, Sandra admits. As a self-taught team without formal training, systems, or forecasting tools in place, we were learning everything on the fly.

The learning curve was steep and sometimes painful. They underestimated demand, oversold popular products, and found themselves scrambling to meet customer expectations. But rather than viewing these setbacks as failures, the siblings transformed them into foundational lessons.

Those early setbacks became some of our most valuable lessons. They taught us the importance of planning ahead, building reliable systems, and investing in the right tools and people, Sandra reflects.

Today, inventory management sits at the heart of their operation, supported by structured processes and forecasting models that allow them to scale sustainably while avoiding stockouts and reducing waste.

The product range has expanded far beyond those original harnesses. Dog Friendly Co. now offers beds, jumpers, raincoats, toys, and everyday accessories  all designed with the same focus on comfort, function, and style that made their harnesses successful.

The secret sauce

Were committed to taking the time needed to get things right, testing, refining, and perfecting each design until it meets our standards and serves a real purpose. Even if that process takes a little longer, its worth it.

What separates Dog Friendly Co. from countless other pet accessory brands isnt just their products  its their approach to creation and growth. The siblings have built their empire on a foundation of intentional decision-making and genuine passion.

Staying true to our brand identity is at the heart of everything we do, Sandra explains. Our goal has always been simple  to make sure dogs are happier, safer, and more comfortable because their owners choose to shop with us.

This philosophy influences every aspect of their business, from product development to customer experience. They dont create products simply for the sake of having something new to sell. Instead, they take time to understand real problems dog owners face and design solutions that are genuinely useful.

We dont create products for the sake of having something new. We take the time to understand real problems dog owners face and design solutions that are genuinely useful, Sandra notes. Every item they launch undergoes careful consideration, rigorous testing, and thoughtful crafting to ensure it reflects their brand values while delivering meaningful value to both dogs and their humans.

This approach has allowed them to reimagine what was once a purely practical, often overlooked category. Theyve transformed utilitarian dog accessories into lifestyle products that owners are proud to display.

By blending function with style, weve reimagined a category that was once purely practical and often overlooked. What was once a dull, utilitarian product is now something people are proud to put on their dogs, a reflection of their lifestyle and personal taste, Sandra observes.

Innovation meets impact

The success metrics are impressive  $20 million in revenue, 400,000+ harnesses sold, celebrity customers, and global distribution. But for Sandra and Luka, the real measure of success lies in their ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of dogs and their owners.

Their partnership with Maggies Rescue, providing Adopt Me harnesses, exemplifies this commitment to social impact. The initiative has notably increased conversations around adoption and enquiries, demonstrating how business success can drive positive change in the community.

The team stays closely connected to evolving trends in design and culture, allowing them to launch limited edition ranges and seasonal collections that feel fresh, modern, and relevant. Each colourway is thoughtfully selected to capture the mood of the moment, ensuring their products perform functionally while aligning with contemporary aesthetics.

For aspiring entrepreneurs watching Dog Friendly Co.s journey, Sandra offers wisdom earned through experience: passion isnt just helpful  its essential.

Loving what you do and having a genuine passion for the business you choose to build is everything. For us, that passion has always been rooted in our love for animals. Its not just a part of our story, its the foundation of everything we create.

This deep connection shines through in their products and is reflected in customer feedback that recognises the thought and care behind every detail. It drives them to go above and beyond, taking the time needed to get things right rather than rushing products to market.

Were committed to taking the time needed to get things right, testing, refining, and perfecting each design until it meets our standards and serves a real purpose. Even if that process takes a little longer, its worth it. Because when you truly care about what you do, excellence is expected.

From a Sydney garage to global warehouses, from a stubborn bulldog named Carlos to 350,000+ satisfied customers worldwide, Dog Friendly Co.s story proves that the best businesses are born from genuine problems and nurtured by authentic passion. In a market where nearly half of Australian households own at least one dog, Sandra and Luka have built more than a business  theyve created a brand that celebrates the bond between humans and their four-legged family members.

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New Delhi: Exporters of Indias food and agricultural products are scrambling to recalibrate their global strategies after the United States unexpectedly slapped steep tariffs on a range of goods, dealing a blow to the country's $50 billion-plus farm shipments.

While industry players view it as a short-term setback, many believe the disruption may ultimately open doors to new markets and realign global trade flows.

India exports around 2-2.5 lakh tonnes of basmati rice annually to the US. The steep hike in tariffs has come as a surprise to the exporters," said Satish Goel, president, All India Rice Exporters' Association.

Goel added that exporters like him have raised the issue with the ministry of commerce and industry and are exploring alternative destinations, even as buyers in the US hit a pause.

In the meantime, the basmati exporters are scouting new markets such as Indonesia, where the exposure of non-basmati rice is more," he added,

US president Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting 7 August, citing New Delhi's high trade barriers, and an additional penalty" for the country's continued purchases of oil and weapons from Russia. The US duty on select Indian exports has particularly hit sectors such as shrimp, basmati rice, fresh fruits, vegetables and frozen foods.

Meanwhile, some exporters say their US buyers have already started deferring purchases after the latest tariff announcement by Trump.

The US-based importers told us to stop any fresh packaging and shipments other than which is already in transit," said a basmati rice exporter from Haryana, who spoke under the condition of anonymity.

They have informed us that they wish to assess the situation first before receiving any fresh consignment," the person added.

Meanwhile, the blow is even harsher for seafood exporters, now facing a cumulative tariff burden of 35%, including countervailing and anti-dumping duties.

This puts Indian exporters at a disadvantage compared to rivals like Ecuador, which faces only 19% duties.

To be sure, shrimp remains one of Indias top seafood exports, with the US being the largest market.

In FY25, India exported marine products worth over $6 billion, with frozen shrimp accounting for a major share, according to data from the Marine Products Export Development Authority.

The increase in tariff from the existing 10% to 25% with effect from 7 August comes in addition to the countervailing duty at 5.77% and anti-dumping duties, to which seafood exported from India is subjected in the US, said K.N. Raghavan, secretary general, Seafood Exporters Association of India.

While the increase in tariffs and differential rates applied to different countries have created an uneven playing field for seafood exporters from India, the lingering uncertainty due to the threat of imposition of additional duty as a penalty has added to the difficulties faced by them," he added.

Raghavan added that the absence of clarity and certainty regarding the rate of import duty creates an environment that is not conducive to a smooth conduct of trade and commerce among countries.

Meanwhile, exporters of fresh fruits and vegetables are also bracing for impact of US tariffs.

Ekram Husain, vice president of the VAFA Fresh Vegetables and Fruits Exporters Association (Maharashtra), said that while this season's mango shipments have already been dispatched, exports of pomegranates and other produce could be at risk.

It is too early to say, but if the exporters don't find viable, then they might hunt for new territories," he added.

Experts point out that Indias dependence on a handful of export markets has come under renewed scrutiny after the latest US tariff salvo, highlighting the urgent need for market diversification, value addition and trade resilience.

In response, India should engage in diplomatic negotiations with the US, explore new export markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and accelerate free trade agreements with other nations," said Preet Sandhu, founder and managing director, AVPL International, a drone technology and precision agriculture technology firm.

She added that the ongoing challenges could catalyse a transformation towards a more competitive, self-reliant and globally integrated agri-economy in the long run.

M.K. Dhanuka, chairman, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd, an agrochemical company, said that the decision to impose a 25% tariff on Indian exports, coupled with other penalties based on India's strategic alignments, brings a multi-dimensional layer of uncertainty to India's agricultural economy.

A fall in agri-export earnings due to excessive tariffs can itself weaken farmer morale, increase purchase cycles, and discourage investment in productivity-enhancing inputs," he said.

In the longer run, this can stifle innovation in agriculture, when Indian agriculture needs to modernize at the earliest to stay competitive globally, he added.
The government has onboarded the privately-run DPI Academy to train public officials in the use of digital public infrastructure. The academys coursesdelivered by former top bureaucratsaim to strengthen digital policy capacity across government, according to a press release.

The move comes through a collaboration between Karmayogi Bharata special purpose vehicle under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT)and the DPI Academy. The latter is backed by policy think tank Artha Global and the non-profit eGov Foundation.

ADPI assumes importance as the government is rapidly scaling up the usage of tools such as Aadhar, DIKSHA, and COWIN, at a time when the world is focused on digital public policy.

Former secretaries of the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) Aruna Sundararajan, RS Sharma, Ajay Sawhney, and J. Satyanarayana, along with other former bureaucrats will train bureaucrats under these courses.

Ex-bureaucrats at the helm The first course, focused on DPI fundamentals and implementation strategies, has gone live following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Delhi on 30 July 2025 between Karmayogi Bharat and DPI Academy, according to the press statement.

J. Satyanarayana, who chairs the DPI Academy, and has previously served as Secretary of the MeitY and Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), delivered the inaugural course and said:

One of our key messages is that Digital Public Infrastructure is a meansnot an endin the journey of digital transformation. Our goal is to help civil servants understand that DPI is a foundational tool that can be applied across sectors to achieve meaningful outcomes.

Also read: India to ramp up training of medical staff in frontline healthcare for mass casualty management

Viraj Tyagi, CEO of eGov Foundation, noted that the curriculum is designed to go beyond theory:

The courses go beyond conceptual frameworks, as we jointly bring expertise from having implemented DPI projects with governments across the world.

He added that real-world case studies would be used to bridge theory and practice.
India has taken note of the US sanctions on Indian companies trading in Iranian petrochemical products, a government spokesperson has said.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday commented on the US sanctions on Indian firms and stated that the government is reviewing the situation. However, he did not comment on US President Donald Trump's remark about India's future oil purchases from Pakistan.

Speaking on sanctions on Indian companies trading with Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson was quoted by ANI as saying, We have taken note of the sanctions, we are looking into it.

Sanctions on Indian firms On July 30, the Trump administration announced sanctions against entities that have traded in Iran's petroleum, affecting at least six India-based companies and seven others, as per an official release.

It stated that 13 entities involved in the trans-shipment, sale and purchase of Iranian-origin petrochemicals will be impacted. Apart from India and Iran, companies in China, Indonesia, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates are also affected.

The US government also imposed sanctions on 20 entities involved in Iran's crude oil trade. The Department of State is imposing sanctions on 20 entities engaged in Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical trade and is identifying 10 vessels as blocked property, the statement read.

Buying oil from Russia The MEA also reacted to media reports claiming that some Indian oil companies have stopped taking oil from Russia.

Randhir Jaiswal said, You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation. We are not aware of any specifics.

Also Read | Trumps tariff shock puts India in a tight spot but it has space to manoeuvre

Donald Trump's remark on Pakistan may sell oil to India Regarding Trump's comment that India might buy oil from Pakistan someday, Jaiswal stated, "I have no comments to offer in this matter."

The ministry's response comes nearly a day after President Trump announced a trade deal with Pakistan on his official TruthSocial handle.

"We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves, Trump wrote.

He highlighted a possibility of Pakistan expanding regional trade and noted, Who knows, maybe theyll be selling Oil to India some day!

On India-US partnership Jaiswal highlighted the India-US partnership, rooted in shared democratic values and interests.
ED Summons Anil Ambani: Anil Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Group, has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate on August 5 for questioning. The business mogul has got an ED summon in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged 17,000 crore loan fraud case by his company.

Anil Ambani has been asked to appear at the ED headquarters on Tuesday, August 5. The summon comes a week after the federal agency carried out raids at over 35 locations in Mumbai linked to Anil Ambani.

The premises where ED carried out searches last week belongs to 50 companies and 25 people including a number of executives of the Anil Ambani Group companies.

The alleged Anil Ambani loan fraud case came to light during the ED's three-day search at premises linked to him.

Also Read | ED raids on Anil Ambani Group firms over 3,000 crore loan fraud enter Day 3

ED Summons Anil Ambani: What's the case? The Enforcement Directorate had last week said that its investigation against Anil Ambani is linked to allegations of illegal loan diversion of around 3,000 crore sanctioned by the Yes Bank to his companies between 2017 and 2019.

Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure, two companies of the Anil Ambani-owned group, had last Thursday informed the stock exchanges saying while they acknowledge the action, the raids had "absolutely no impact" on their business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders.

According to sources quoted by PTI, the ED has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters received money in their concerns. The central investigative agency is probing this nexus of "bribe" and the loan.

Also Read | Anil Ambani group stocks hit 5% lower circuit after ED raids at his properties

Also Read | Anil Ambani's Reliance Group breaks silence on ED raids

A bank loan "fraud" of more than 1,050 crore between RCOM and Canara Bank is also under the ED scanner. The ED is also investigating undisclosed" foreign bank accounts and assets related to Reliance Group, owned by Anil Ambani, PTI reported.

Reliance Mutual fund is also stated to have invested 2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds and a quid pro quo is suspected here by the agency.
The Election Commission (EC) published the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on Friday, 1 August. The link to the SIR draft roll 2025 is now out, but the details have yet to be updated on the website of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar.

The draft was released after a month-long Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise ahead of the Bihar Assembly Election 2025.

No compiled list was made available, but voters can check their names on the EC's website.

According to the Election Commission, 7.93 crore registered voters were in the state before the SIR began in June. The number of voters in the just-published draft rolls is yet to be known.

Is your name on the voters' list? Here's how to check Step 1: Visit the website of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar OR https://ceoelection.bihar.gov.in/

Step 2: Scroll down to find the Current Updates Section, and click Draft & Final Electoral Roll w.r.t. 01.01.2025

Step 3: A New page will open  https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll?stateCode=S04

Step 4: Enter your district, Assembly constituency, Select language, 'Roll Type [SIR draft roll] and Part No and Part Name; finally, enter captcha and proceed.

Also Read | Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned amid ruckus by Oppn over Bihar SIR

The publication of the draft rolls will also kick off the process of "claims and objections", which will continue till September 1.

During this period, voters who complain of the wrongful deletion of names can approach the authorities concerned to seek a remedy.

The Bihar assembly elections would be due in the state later this year.

Also Read | Parliament Session: Both Houses adjourned as INDIA bloc protests Bihar SIR

Opposition to Bihar's electoral roll revision The Election Commission's decision to revise Bihar's electoral rolls ahead of the 2025 Bihar elections has drawn ire from the Opposition. They have mainly opposed the citizenship test included as part of the revision.

They alleged that the exercise requires people to provide citizenship proof, which is ultra vires of the Constitution. They also mentioned that the EC's move may potentially infringe upon Parliament's rights, as Article 11 empowers Parliament to regulate the right to citizenship by law.

The opposition has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging the EC's exercise was aimed at "disenfranchising voters" in Bihar ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections.

Leaders of several Opposition parties, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, on Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to schedule a special discussion on the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar without any further delay.
Muzaffarpur: Several policemen, including the station house officer (SHO) of Rajepur police station, and a number of local residents were injured in a stone-pelting incident during a religious procession in Bihars Muzaffarpur district, officials said on Friday.

The incident took place during the Mahaviri flag procession in Meenapur village under the jurisdiction of Rajepur police station on Thursday evening.

Talking to reporters, Muzaffarpur SSP Sushil Kumar said, "The incident took place when some troublemakers threw stones from rooftops at a procession, where a team of police officials was also present."

"Several policemen, including the SHO, and five to six local residents were injured. The injured were admitted to the nearest government hospital, and their condition is reported to be out of danger," he added.

Additional forces were deployed in the area, and the situation was brought under control, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to invite citizens to share their suggestions and ideas for his upcoming Independence Day 2025 speech, encouraging them to propose themes and topics.

As we approach this year's Independence Day, I look forward to hearing from my fellow Indians! What themes or ideas would you like to see reflected in this years Independence Day speech? Share your thoughts on the Open Forums on MyGov and the NaMo App...

In response to the Prime Ministers call, the Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with MyGov, has launched the Independence Day Celebrations 2025 initiative.

Independence Day 2025: How can citizens join in? Citizens across the country are encouraged to participate in a range of national-level competitions designed to strengthen patriotic spirit and promote unity, particularly among the youth.

Participants are invited to submit artworks, essays, quizzes, and design entries that honour the sacrifices of Indias freedom fighters and celebrate the nation's journey of courage and resilience.

Since its inception in 2014, the MyGov platform has evolved into a vital conduit for public participation in governance, enabling direct interaction between Indian citizens and the government. Similarly, the NaMo App, the official application of the Prime Minister, functions as a personalised interface for individuals to connect with national initiatives, policy updates, and campaigns.

As India approaches the 79th anniversary of its independence, this years commemorations are anticipated to highlight key themes such as national integration, digital advancement, and a forward-looking vision, setting the tone for the milestone 80th year of independence in 2026.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi failed to answer questions, says Opposition

This public invitation from PM Modi comes after his 100-minute address in the Lok Sabha on Indias strong, successful and decisive Operation Sindoor, in which he stated that the recent cross-border operation had thwarted an attempt to incite unrest and showcased the remarkable prowess of Indias armed forces.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday asserted that India's relations with Russia stand steady and are based on merit. Randhir Jaiswal, the MEA spokesperson, underscored that India's relations with any country should not be seen through the prism of a third country.

Jaiswal said, as quoted by ANI, Our ties with any country stand on their merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership.

On US tariffs Jaiswal was responding to United States President Donald Trump's comments on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which he criticised both India and Russia.

I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India -- their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together," Trump said.

Also Read | Trump Tariff News Live: India remains confident on growing US ties

However, the MEA spokesperson reiterated the importance of the India-US partnership. India and the US share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward, he said.

Meanwhile, the US president imposed tariffs on several nations, including 25 per cent on India, effective from 7 August.

But India has ruled out immediate retaliation to President Donald Trumps surprise 25 per cent tariff threat. The officials in New Delhi were shocked and disappointed by Trumps announcement.

On 30 July, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament that the government is now engaging with exporters to assess the impact of Trumps tariffs. The implications of the recent developments are being examined, Goyal said, as the Opposition staged loud protests. He added that his ministry is collecting feedback from exporters and industry groups, and will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest.
A special court for elected representatives found Prajwal Revanna, the expelled JD(S) leader and former Lok Sabha Hassan MP, guilty in the rape case of a domestic help. It was one of the four rape cases registered against Prajwal Revanna, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.

The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on August 2, Saturday.

Prajwal Revanna broke down and was seen weeping soon after the verdict against him was pronounced.

Also Read | Prajwal Revanna moves trial court to seek bail in rape case against him

Prajwal Revanna is the prime accused in four criminal cases filed in 2024.

In June 2024, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police, which is investigating cases of sexual assault and harassment against Prajwal Revanna, registered a fourth case against him.

While three cases registered against Prajwal Revanna invoked the Indian Penal Code (IPC)'s section for sexual assault, the fourth case was registered under sections for sexual harassment, stalking, and criminal intimidation of a victim as well as clandestinely recording and sharing images of the victim.

Also Read | Karnataka HC rejects Prajwal Revanna's bail plea in sexual assault case

What's the obscene videos case? The case pertains to several obscene video clips that were circulated in the Hassan district of Karnataka just head of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The videos reportedly depicted sexual abuse of multiple women.

Prajwal Revanna was convicted in connection with a rape case of a domestic help at a farmhouse in Holenarasipura in Hassan district of Karnataka. A case was registered against him at the Holenarasipura Rural Police Station of Hassan District.

Earlier, seeking clarification on some technical matters, Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat had postponed the verdict, which was to be announced on July 30. The verdict was announced on August 1.

Also Read | Bengaluru court denies bail to Prajwal Revanna in sexual abuse case

In November 2024, the Supreme Court had dismissed an appeal filed by Prajwal Revanna challenging the Karnataka High Court's order denying him bail in connection with the case of rape and sexual abuse.

A bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma refused to entertain the plea of Revanna."Dismissed," Justice Trivedi said.

As senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Revanna, told the bench that the offence of Section 376 IPC (rape) was not mentioned in the complaint, Justice Trivedi pointed out that there are several other complaints.

"You are so powerful," the bench told Revanna's counsel. Revanna is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.

Revanna had challenged the Karnataka High Court order dated October 21, whereby it dismissed his regular bail and anticipatory bail pleas.

On May 31 last year, he was arrested at Bengaluru airport by CID's SIT on his return from Germany, where he had remained for 35 days, after hundreds of explicit videos surfaced, allegedly featuring him with multiple women.

He lost the Lok Sabha election by over 40,000 votes.
The last five patients of Narendra Vikramaditya Yadav, a fake cardiologist posing as Dr John Camm died on the same day that he operated on them, Indian Express has reported.

Yadav posed as Dr John Camm, a top UK-based heart specialist, and has been accused of performing medical procedures without valid licence.

The accused, as per inspection records presented before the Madhya Pradesh assembly, was performing crucial angioplasty operations under a false identity. The fake cardiologist performed 12 such operations at Mission Hospital in Damoh district between January 2 and February 11.

As per sources quoted by The Indian Express, five of these patients died during the same day as the angioplasty  two during the procedure and three soon after it.

The five patients treated by Yadav, aged between 51 and 75, died one after the other in a span of just one month, the state assembly was informed.

The death of these patients has raised serious questions about how the fake cardiologist was hired and allowed to conduct operations without proper supervision.

The newspaper further stated in its report that Yadav fled after operating on his last patient and resigned from the hospital, taking a portable echo machine with him.

Patients who died after fake cardiologist's operations The five patients who died on the same day after being operated on by Yadav include:

Raheesa Begum (63)  treated on January 15

Israel Khan (75)  treated on January 17

Buddha Ahirwar (67)  treated on January 25

Mangal Singh Rajput (65)  treated on February 2

Satyendra Singh Rathore (51)  treated on February 11 Hospital failed to inform authorities Deputy chief minister Rajendra Shukla on Friday told the MP assembly that he hospital had failed to inform health authorities about Yadav's appointment, violating provisions under Madhya Pradesh Nursing Homes and Clinical Establishments (Registration and Licensing) Act.

The government, therefore, had no scope to verify Yadav's credentials and the authenticity of his medial profession claims.
Study reveals 63% of Gen Z trusts e-wallets over credit cards, with Trustly completing withdrawals in under five minutes across Nordic markets.

The plastic in your wallet is becoming obsolete, at least in the world of online gaming. New research from Minimum Deposit Casinos reveals a dramatic shift away from traditional credit cards, with Gen Z leading a payment revolution thats redefining how players interact with digital casinos worldwide.

The numbers tell a compelling story of generational change. Credit card usage among new online casino players has plummeted 31% since 2023, while digital wallet deposits have surged 118% among the 18-34 demographic. This isnt just a gradual evolution  its a fundamental reimagining of digital trust and convenience.

The rise of the digital wallet generation

Apple Pay now commands 19% of first-time deposits at top-rated mobile casinos tracked by Minimum Deposit Casinos, a remarkable achievement for a payment method that barely registered in casino analytics just a few years ago. Skrill and Google Pay have experienced similarly explosive growth, with combined year-over-year increases of 87%.

But the shift runs deeper than mere adoption statistics. For Gen Z players, this represents a fundamental change in how they conceptualize financial security and privacy. Research shows 63% of Gen Z users trust e-wallets more than traditional card entry methods, citing enhanced security as their primary concern. Even more telling, 54% prefer payment methods that dont expose their banking information directly to casino operators.

This shift is about more than just technology, explained a lead analyst at MDC. It reflects a real change in player expectations. They want payment methods that match the speed and privacy of their everyday digital lives.

This preference for privacy-first payments reflects broader generational attitudes toward data protection and financial autonomy. Gen Z has grown up in an era of data breaches and identity theft, making them naturally skeptical of traditional payment methods that require extensive personal information sharing.

Regional preferences paint a complex picture

The global payment landscape reveals fascinating regional variations that reflect local banking infrastructure, regulatory environments, and cultural attitudes toward digital finance. In Canada, Interac dominates due to its seamless integration with the countrys banking system, offering players direct bank access without intermediary services.

Nordic countries showcase perhaps the most advanced adoption of next-generation payment solutions. In Finland and Sweden, Trustly combined with BankID verification has become the gold standard, accounting for over 40% of instant withdrawals. These transactions often complete in under five minutes, setting new benchmarks for speed and efficiency that other markets are struggling to match.

The UK presents an interesting middle ground, where traditional preferences persist alongside emerging trends. Debit cards and PayPal continue to dominate, reflecting the markets conservative approach to financial innovation and strong existing infrastructure for conventional payment methods.

New Zealand demonstrates the transitional nature of many markets, where Visa and Mastercard maintain significant market share while newer solutions like POLi gradually gain traction. This pattern suggests many regions are in various stages of payment evolution rather than experiencing the dramatic shifts seen in younger demographics.

The technology behind the transformation

The appeal of modern payment solutions extends beyond user preference to fundamental technological advantages. Tools like Trustly offer bank-verified payments without requiring separate account creation, eliminating friction that has historically deterred casual players. The combination of enhanced security, faster processing times, and simplified user experiences creates compelling value propositions that traditional credit card processing struggles to match.

Digital wallets also provide superior transaction tracking and spending control, features that resonate particularly strongly with younger users who prioritize financial transparency and budgeting capabilities. Unlike credit card statements that arrive weeks after transactions, digital wallets offer real-time spending notifications and detailed transaction histories.

The security architecture of these newer payment methods also addresses specific concerns about online gaming transactions. By creating barriers between casino operators and players primary banking relationships, digital wallets reduce the risk exposure that many users associate with traditional card payments.

Industry implications and future outlook

For casino operators, these payment trends represent both opportunity and challenge. Platforms that adapt quickly to emerging payment preferences gain competitive advantages in attracting younger demographics, while those clinging to traditional processing methods risk becoming irrelevant to the next generation of players.

The data suggests this shift will accelerate rather than stabilize. As Gen Z ages into higher earning brackets and Gen Alpha begins entering the legal gambling age, operators focusing on digital-first payment strategies are likely to capture disproportionate market share.

Minimum Deposit Casinos has responded to these trends by publishing comprehensive country-by-country guides comparing optimal casino payment methods for 2025. These resources include detailed rankings, processing speed comparisons, and localized recommendations that help players navigate the increasingly complex payment landscape.

The research underscores a broader truth about digital commerce: payment preferences reflect generational values around privacy, speed, and control. As these values continue shaping consumer behavior, industries beyond gaming will likely face similar pressure to evolve their payment infrastructure or risk losing relevance with emerging demographics.

The credit cards dominance in online transactions may be ending, but whats replacing it promises to be faster, more secure, and better aligned with how digital natives actually want to manage their money.

More here.

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The Election Commission of India said on 1 August that the polls for electing the next Vice President of India will be held on 9 September.

The poll panel said that the election notification will be issued on 7 August, and the last date for filing nominations is 21 August. The nominations will be scrutinised on 22 August, and the last date for withdrawing nominations will be 25 August, as per the schedule.

Also Read | EC appoints Returning Officer, Deputies for 2025 Vice Presidential elections

The announcement comes after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned as Vice President on 21 July, opening the contest for his successor.

Dhankhar, 74, assumed office in August 2022, and his tenure was till 2027.

As per Article 66(1) of the Constitution, the Vice President of India is elected by an Electoral College comprising the elected members of the Rajya Sabha, the nominated members of the Rajya Sabha, and the elected members of the Lok Sabha.

Issue of Election Commission's notification 7 August, 2025 Last date of filing nominations 21, August, 2025 Date of Scrutiny of nominations 22, August, 2025 Last Date of Withdrawal of nominations 25, August, 2025 Date of Poll, if required 09, September, 2025 Hours of Polls 10 AM to 5 PM Date of Counting 09, September, 2025

The Election Commission said the polling, if necessary, will be held on 9 September, and the counting will be held on the same day.

How is the Vice President Elected? According to Articles 63 to 71 of the Constitution and the Vice-President (Election) Rules, 1974, a formal election must be held within 60 days of Dhankhar's resignation and before 19 September 2025.

The electorate or the electoral college comprises all members of both Houses of Parliamentelected and nominatedusing a proportional representation system via a single transferable vote. The MPs will cast a single transferable vote with a secret ballot.

The electoral college currently has 788 MPs, 588 in Lok Sabha and 245 in Rajya Sabha.
Indian tourists shunned Turkey in droves this June, the month following Operation Sindoor, during which the Indian Armed Forces carried out cross-border strikes in Pakistan, in response to the terrorist attack on civilians in Pahalgam in April, amid growing online campaigns to boycott Turkey over its support for Islamabad.

The campaign urged Indians to boycott travelling to Turkey, with some online travel agencies (OTAs) halting bookings to the country and others issuing advisories against visiting. The last such social media-led boycott was against the Maldives, which proved highly effective  Indian travel to the island nation dropped significantly after the diplomatic row and has remained low since.

Also Read | Indias trade with Turkey and Azerbaijan slumps in May amid diplomatic strain

In his speech in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister referred to three countries that did not support India during Operation Sindoor. While he did not name them, it is widely understood that the countries in question were China, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.

According to data released by Turkeys Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 24,250 Indian tourists visited the country in June 2025, a 36 per cent drop compared to June 2024, when 38,307 Indians had travelled to Turkey.

This decline has also impacted the cumulative figures for the first half of the year. Between January and June 2025, 1,39,215 Indians visited Turkey, compared to 1,64,373 during the same period in 2024, a year-on-year drop of 15 per cent.

The decline began in May 2025, in the immediate aftermath of Operation Sindoor. That month, only 31,659 Indians visited Turkey, compared to 41,544 in May 2024, a 24 per cent drop. June figures dropped further below Mays.

In all of 2024, 3,30,985 Indians visited Turkey, a 20 per cent increase over 2023.

Indians comprise a minuscule 0.6 per cent of total foreign arrivals in Turkey, a market largely driven by travellers from Europe and Russia. However, the Indian market has been steadily growing in recent years, with IndiGo playing a key role in that growth.

For years, Turkish Airlines was the only carrier connecting the two countries, although several options existed via the Middle East. That changed in 201819 when IndiGo launched direct flights, which significantly boosted traffic between India and Turkey.

Post-pandemic, IndiGo operated wide-body aircraft leased from Turkish Airlines, but it cannot extend the lease beyond 31 August. While no official reason has been given, the move appears to be linked to Turkeys vocal support for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor and its stance on Kashmir.

Turkish Airlines has been keen to expand operations in India but has struggled due to the lack of progress on revising the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

Pertinently, ground handling agency Celebi has had its licence suspended overnight. The staff has been accommodated across other agencies without impacting operations at airports where it operates. Celebi India was majority owned by Celebi, a Turkish company.

The declining traffic to Istanbul is likely a key reason why IndiGo may choose not to deploy its damp-leased aircraft from Norse Atlantic to the Turkish city. Instead, the airline is expected to prioritise its deployment on European routes, while continuing Istanbul operations using narrow-body aircraft with a technical stop.

As IndiGo deleverages its dependence on Turkish Airlines, through partnerships with KLM, Air France, and Virgin Atlantic, it may reconsider its ties with the Turkish carrier altogether, especially if traffic continues to decline due to public sentiment.

Both IndiGo and the Air India group currently have maintenance agreements with Turkish Technic, and aircraft are still sent to Turkey for servicing. As of now, the flight-tracking website Flightradar24 shows two Air India Boeing 777s and one IndiGo A321neo at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, which houses Turkish Technics base.
A 12-year-old boy from the Shantiniketan block was allegedly abducted, killed, and partially burned in a horrifying incident that took place in Karnataka's Arakere area. The kidnappers reportedly committed the crime after knowing that the boys parents had filed a complaint at Hulimavu police station.

According to SP Rural Bengaluru CK Baba, a complaint regarding kidnapping and murder has been filed, and a search for accused has started, ANI reported.

Nishchith A used to study in Class 8 student of Christ School, an NDTV repot said. His father, JC Achit teaches at a private college as an assistant professor.

What exactly happened? Police believes that the boy disappeared from Arekere 80 Feet Road after departing his residence around 5 pm on Wednesday to go to a tutoring session. Nishchith did not come back home till 7.30 pm, following which his father and his mother approached the tuition teacher, who informed the parents that their son left at the usual time.

The duo discovered their son's bicycle near Arekere family park. They later received a phone call from an unidentified number asking 5 lakh.

The culprits tied the boy's hands, beat, spilled a small amount of petrol on a stone by the roadside, put him on fire and ran away, the police said, as per ANI.

A special team has been constituted to locate the accused and the police are verifying the CCTV footage from in and around the area to recognise them, The Hindu report noted.

DCP Electronics City division M. Narayan and Bengaluru District Superintendent of Police C.K. Baba inspected the spot to oversee the investigation. A team has been sent in numerous routes to track the kidnappers who allegedly attacked and murdered the child.
Manappuram Finance Ltd, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), has announced the appointment of finance industry veteran Deepak Reddy as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

He commenced his duties on Friday, succeeding the former chief executive, VP Nandakumar.

Meanwhile, Nandakumar will continue to serve as the Managing Director of the company.

Deepak Reddy's track record Reddy has more than 30 years of experience across the finance industry.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a PGDM from TAPMI, Manipal.

Reddy began his career in finance with JVC Onida (at MIRC Electronics Ltd), where he worked for 4.5 years.

Before joining Manappuram Finance, he worked for Bajaj FinServ Ltd for 17 years, where he was also the Head of Human Resources.

He is also known to have worked with American Express Bank for 9 years and Standard Chartered Bank for 1.5 years, a company statement said.

Given Reddy's vast experience, the companys Board of Directors has expressed full confidence in his ability to lead Manappuram Finance into its next chapter of growth and excellence, the statement said.

Leadership philosophy "His leadership philosophy centres on empowering teams to envision, enable and execute, ensuring the organisation remains future ready with next generation leaders," the company said in a statement.

Also read | Arvind Fashions names Amisha Jain as MD & CEO

As CEO of the company, Reddy will be primarily responsible for steering it and its subsidiaries to drive their growth and innovation.

His role also involves strengthening the companys core businesses of gold loans, vehicle finance, microfinance, MSME loans, housing finance, and digital lending, along with enhancing organisational culture, leadership depth, governance, and customer-centricity, the statement said.
Flash Flood in New York, New Jersey: Nearly 50 million residents across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States are under flood watches today as intense storms sweep through the region. States from Washington, DC, to Boston are bracing for heavy rainfall, flash floods, and severe travel disruptions.

The National Weather Service has warned that the storm system could unleash multiple rounds of torrential rain and thunderstorms, significantly raising the risk of life-threatening flash floods, particularly in urban areas and low-lying neighbourhoods.

NY Mayor Declares Emergency New York City Mayor Eric Adams has declared a local state of emergency, effective until 8 am tomorrow, due to hazardous rainfall and urban flooding. The mayor urged residentsespecially those living in basement apartmentsto evacuate to higher floors immediately.

Dont drive. Roadways are flooding, and crews are responding, Adams posted on X.

If you live in a basement apartment, and havent yet moved to higher ground, move now, he added.

Officials are urging New Yorkers to stay put if already in a safe location and to avoid unnecessary travel through Thursday evening into Friday.

State of Emergency in New Jersey In anticipation of the severe weather, the acting New Jersey governor, Tahesha Way, had earlier declared a state of emergency for the state, effective from 2pm on Thursday. The declarations come amid concerns over flooding, strong thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and gusty winds.

Beginning this afternoon, we are expecting severe thunderstorms to bring heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts with the potential for flash flooding across the state, said Way. I urge all New Jerseyans to remain alert, follow all safety protocols, and monitor the proper channels for the duration of these storms. Residents should remain off the roads and indoors unless absolutely necessary.

Ground Stops Issued at Baltimore and DC Airports Severe thunderstorms have triggered ground stops at two of the regions major airports: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted all flight activity at both airports until at least 6 pm ET.

Prior to the ground stops:

DCA faced inbound delays averaging over four hours and outbound delays nearing two hours.

BWI departures were delayed by over an hour, with more disruptions expected as the storm moves northward.

Airports in New York, New Jersey, Washington and Philadelphia all reported significant weather-related flight delays and cancellations.

New York Subway Stations Under Threat of Flooding With rainfall rates potentially exceeding 1.75 inches per hour, New York Citys ageing sewer system may be unable to cope, posing a serious flood threat to subway stations.

Commuters are being asked to use caution and plan for delays or service suspensions.

Just two weeks ago, dramatic images circulated of water pouring into subway tunnels and platforms, highlighting how swiftly the citys infrastructure can be overwhelmed.

Flash Floods in New York The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued flood warnings for large parts of New York City, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. Rainfall between 1 and 3 inches is expected to create rapid urban flooding, particularly in areas with poor drainage.

Basement residents are again being asked to evacuate to upper floors, and motorists are urged to steer clear of submerged roads, underpasses, and highways.

Roads Closed in New York Several key roads in New York City are now closed due to flooding, and further closures are anticipated as rain continues.

The Clearview Expressway in Queens has been shut down in both directions after multiple vehicles were submerged, according to law enforcement. Additionally, the Long Island Rail Road suspended service on one of its busiest commuter lines during peak evening hours, leaving many stranded.
Pakistan's largest refiner Cnergyico will import 1 million barrels of oil from Vitol in October, its vice chairman Usama Qureshi told Reuters on Friday, marking the country's first-ever purchase of U.S. crude following a landmark trade deal.

The West Texas Intermediate light crude cargo will be loaded from Houston this month and is expected to arrive in Karachi in the second half of October, Qureshi said.

"This is a test spot cargo under our umbrella term agreement with Vitol. If it is commercially viable and available, we could import at least one cargo per month," he said, adding that the shipment was not meant for resale.

The deal follows months of multiple negotiations which first began in April, he said, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose 29% tariffs on imports from Pakistan.

Qureshi said Pakistan's finance and petroleum ministries encouraged local refineries to explore U.S. crude imports after the April tariff announcement.

Vitol did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of office hours.

Also Read | Indias vegetable oil imports flat in June despite tariff cut boost to crude oils

On Thursday, Pakistan hailed a trade deal struck with the U.S., its top export market. Pakistan said the agreement would lead to lower tariffs and increased investment, without specifying the level of duties to be levied on Pakistani shipments.

A key China ally, Pakistan has been warming up to Trump after he threatened tariffs. It has credited U.S. diplomatic intervention for ending recent hostilities with neighbouring India and nominated Trump for the Nobel peace prize.

Oil is Pakistan's biggest import item and its shipments were valued at $11.3 billion in the year ended June 30, 2025, accounting for nearly a fifth of the country's total import bill.

The import deal will help Pakistan diversify its crude sourcing and reduce reliance on Middle Eastern suppliers, who account for nearly all of its oil imports.

"Gross refining margin is on par with gulf grades, and no blending or refinery tweaks are required," Qureshi said.

Cnergyico can process 156,000 barrels of crude per day and operates the country's only single-point mooring terminal near Karachi, enabling it to handle large tankers unlike other refiners in Pakistan.

The company plans to install a second offshore terminal to allow larger or more frequent shipments, and upgrade its refinery over the next five to six years, Qureshi said.

The refiner, which has been operating at an average refinery run rate of 30-35% due to tepid local demand, is betting on growth in demand for oil products.

"We expect run rates to rise as domestic demand strengthens and local production is prioritised over imported fuels," Qureshi said.
At a time when nations are scrambling for rare earths and critical minerals following the Chinese clampdown, India is preparing to approach a United Nations agency for permission to scout for them in the Arabian Sea. In parallel, the government is also working on the technologies to extract and process these vital raw materials.

The application for exploration rights to a 10,000 sq. km area, to be submitted to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), aims to reduce dependence on global supply chains dominated by China. It would also mark an expansion of Indias deep-sea operations. The ISA is a UN body governing mineral-related activities in international waters.

Indias Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has already been allocated two areas in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea of 0.75 million sq. km and 10,000 sq. km respectively. The allocation is under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

India has done an exploratory survey and found polymetallic nodules that contains cobalt, nickel, copper, manganese in one of the allocated areas in central Indian Ocean. In the other area, south of mid-Indian ocean ridge which is below Mauritius, India has found copper, cobalt, platinum and gold. The goal is to now commercially mine these minerals and prove that the process is environmentally safe, earth sciences secretary M. Ravichandran said.

Also Read | TVS flags rare earth magnet threat even as profit surges on scooter sales

"We have submitted for the exploration for polymetallic nodules in the Indian Ocean Ridge, called Carlsberg Ridge. It is mid between, what is called the Arabian coast and the Indian coast. It roughly covers an area 10,000 sq. km," Ravichandran said in an interview.

Ravichandran explained that matters relating to metals including rare earths in seabed which is beyond Indias exclusive economic zone, are the mandate of his ministry.

It is open ocean. It is a global common. It is not our water. So, we do some exploratory survey. Then we go to UNCLOS for getting exploration rights," said Ravichandran, adding that the benefits can be shared between India and the UN.

When asked whether India is extracting metals from the two already allocated areas, Ravichandran said that it requires technology for sweeping the metals from the seabed and then pumping. " We are developing a mining technology as we have to go to 4-5 km down the sea. We are able to sweep the metal with the technology, but we have some difficulty in pumping from deep bed as it has to be continuous. We are developing all these things," he said.

The ministry is also working on developing the pumping technology at National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai.

Ravichandran said India is extracting rare earths for exploration, but not on a commercial scale. India, China, France and South Korea are all trying to confirm that the process of extracting rare earths from the sea is environmentally safe before starting commercial extraction, the secretary said.

Also Read | India steps up global push for rare earth security

Amid supply chain disruptions from China, India's automotive industry, which imported over 80% of its approximately 540 tonnes of rare earth magnets from China in the last financial year, is experiencing the effects. While operations haven't fully derailed, shortterm disruptionsespecially in EV outputare real and intensifying.

Poonam Upadhyay, director, Crisil Ratings said,  With applications across EVs and ICE vehicles, a prolonged supply squeeze could disrupt production of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, making this low-cost component a potential high-impact bottleneck for the sector."

An EY report 'Getting India future-ready: Role of rare earth elements' released on 28 May said China has a share of 68.6% in mining of REEs (Rare Earth Elements), followed by the US at 12.3%. "To realize Indias Viksit Bharat aspiration, Aatmanirbhar strategy requires that India develop and control REE extraction and processing. Since REEs serve as a critical input throughout the modern production chains, they will have a substantial role linked to forward linkages," the report said.

According to experts, discovering rare earth minerals in Indias deep ocean beds is more than just geological news; its a strategic opportunity.

"India already holds the worlds fifth largest, rare-earth reserves, about 6.9 million tonnes, but has lagged behind in refining and magnet production. This new discovery, if responsibly developed, can help reduce dependence on imports, enhance resilience in high-tech and defence supply chains, and allow India to play a role in the global critical minerals market. The key will be pairing this natural advantage with clear regulatory frameworks, technology partnerships, and environmental safeguards to translate reserves into real value," said Nikhil Dhaka vice-president, Primus Partners, a consultancy.

According to EY, India has launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025 for this purpose. Under the NCMM, Geological Survey of India (GSI) has been assigned to carry out 1,200 exploration projects from FY25 to FY31. To reduce Indias import dependency in REEs, the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research is carrying out exploration to augment resources along the coastal, inland and riverine placer sands of the country.
US President Donald Trump has announced the construction of a new $200 million ballroom, which the White House described as a "much-needed and exquisite addition," with work set to begin in September. The 90,000-square-foot ballroom  with a seating capacity of up to 650 people  will be the latest change introduced to whats known as The Peoples House since the Republican president returned to office in January

The White House did not specify how much Trump or other patriotic donors would contribute to funding what has been called a great legacy project, The Financial Times reported.

For months, Trump has touted plans to build a ballroom at the White House, arguing that the current residence lacks a space large enough to host major events. He has mocked the use of outdoor tents  a solution past administrations employed for state dinners with hundreds of guests  calling it unsuitable for receiving heads of state and other dignitaries.

Currently, the largest indoor venue in the White House, the East Room, accommodates about 200 people.

Trump said the ballroom plan has been in the works for some time.

A Great Legacy Project Theyve wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years, but theres never been a president that was good at ballrooms, Trump told reporters Thursday. Im good at building things, and were going to build quickly and on time. Itll be beautiful  top, top of the line.

He underlined that the new ballroom would not interfere with the existing mansion.

Itll be near it but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building, which Im the biggest fan of, he said. Its my favorite. Its my favorite place. I love it.

Trump added that the ballroom would serve future administrations as well.

Itll be a great legacy project, he said. I think it will be really beautiful.

According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the ballroom will be built where the East Wing currently sits. With a seated capacity of 650 people, it will temporarily displace several offices  including those of the First Lady  which will be relocated during construction. The East Wing will also undergo modernization and renovation.
US President Donald Trump called a reporter a "lunatic" when the latter questioned him about invoking a 1977 law to enact his sweeping tariffs. His reesponse has left the social media in splits.

"Why didn't you invoke this law in your first term?" the reporter asked, adding, You could have taken in billions and billions in your first term but you wanted on until you second term [to impose tariffs].

Trump shot back, "In my first term, I was fighting lunatics like you, who were trying to do things incorrectly and inappropriately to a president that was duly elected."

Trump took a final parting shot, calling out reporters for not covering "well" the "hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs" the administration took in from China during his first term.

Amused with Trump's reponse, many on social media believed it was savage.

Some of the comments read: MIC DROP ; BOOM!; Savage ; HOLY SMOKES 

Trump tariffs and 1977 law Trump has claimed broad authority to set tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets. Trump is the first president to use it to impose tariffs.

Also Read | Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil amid Trump tariff row: Report

On Wednesday, he signed an executive order to impose his threatened 50 per cent tariffs on Brazil, setting a legal rationale that Brazil's policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency under a 1977 law.

Trump has slapped dozens of US trading partners with steep tariffs ahead of August 1 trade deal deadline, including a 35% duty on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil, 25% for India, 20% for Taiwan and 39% for Switzerland.
Jeffrey Epstein died by hanging in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial for sex trafficking.

Jeffrey Epstein death: What happened then? The New York medical examiner and Justice Department confirmed suicide, citing his history of depression and recent suicide attempt weeks earlier.

Guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas admitted falsifying logs, having fallen asleep instead of checking Epstein every 30 minutes as required. They also failed to assign him a cellmate after a transfer that morning, critical lapses Barr called a perfect storm of screw-ups.

New forensic analysis of prison footage reveals troubling inconsistencies:

An orange figure climbs stairs toward Epsteins cell at 10:40 p.m., experts say it could be an inmate (not a guard carrying linens as claimed)

The FBIs "raw" video jumps forward one minute at midnight and shows cursor marks, proving editing occurred

Cameras didnt cover Epsteins cell door or stairwell, allowing unseen access despite FBI claims otherwise Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed the missing minute on "system resets," but sources confirmed unedited footage exists.

Autopsy conflicts and lost evidence Epsteins autopsy revealed three neck fractures, injuries pathologist Michael Baden called more consistent with homicide.

A 2024 review by six experts split: four upheld the suicide ruling, but two deemed it "undetermined" due to botched evidence. Prison staff moved Epsteins body, took no death-scene photos, and failed to test DNA or toxins, critical missteps that obscured key facts.

A second noose and torn sheets found in his cell suggested prior suicide attempts.

Why theories persist after FBI closure Despite the FBI closing the case in July 2025 and declaring no "client list" existed, skepticism endures . Conspiracy theories thrive because:

Epsteins powerful connections (Trump, Clinton, Prince Andrew) fueled speculation about silenced witnesses

Prison suicides are alarmingly common, the leading cause of jail deaths since 2000
The venture capital world is painting a clear picture: artificial intelligence isnt just the future: its the present, and investors are betting big. This weeks funding announcements reveal a startup ecosystem energized by AI opportunities, from marketing revolutionaries to data infrastructure pioneers.

Hall raises $2M pre-seed for AI search marketing

Former Atlassian and Dovetail designer Kai Forsyth has secured $2 million in pre-seed funding for Hall, a marketing startup thats tackling one of the internets biggest shifts. With Blackbird leading the investment, Hall is positioning itself at the intersection of AI chatbots and business discovery.

The timing couldnt be more strategic. As consumers increasingly rely on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Googles Gemini, and Anthropics Claude for information, traditional search behavior is evolving rapidly. Recent Pew Research Centre analysis reveals users are clicking less on sources cited in AI summaries, creating what industry experts call The Great Decoupling  a phenomenon threatening the $80+ billion SEO industry.

While Google Search Console remains the standard tool for businesses optimizing their online presence, Forsyths vision extends beyond conventional search rankings. Hall aims to help businesses ensure their products and services are discoverable in the AI-powered search landscape thats reshaping how customers find solutions.

LaunchVic seeds seven VC funds with $3.75M investment

LaunchVic is spreading $3.75 million across Victorias startup ecosystem in a move designed to strengthen the states position as an innovation hub. The investment strategy targets multiple touchpoints: $2.1 million flows to seven new venture capital funds, while additional funding supports pre-accelerators at four universities and a comprehensive 60-event community program run by Aussie Founders Club.

Victorian Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs, Danny Pearson, unveiled the fund allocations at Thursday nights Victorian Startup Gala. The seven beneficiary funds  Advance VC, Boson Ventures, FundBase, Scale, Tidal Ventures, Triple Bubble, and Unlock Capital  each receive $300,000 to establish operations in Victoria.

This distributed approach reflects a sophisticated understanding of startup ecosystem development, recognizing that sustainable innovation requires infrastructure at every level, from early-stage funding to community building and academic partnerships.

Bhindi AI secures $4M to combat app overload

In a counterintuitive move, Bhindi.io has raised $4 million in pre-seed funding to combat AI fatigue using artificial intelligence itself. Cyber Fund led the round for what the company describes as a killer everything app designed to transform how solopreneurs and businesses interact with technology.

The startups approach centers on moving beyond text-to-action interfaces toward intent-to-action capabilities. Rather than adding another AI tool to an already crowded market, Bhindi.io positions itself as the single agentic AI platform that businesses need, potentially reducing the cognitive load of managing multiple AI services.

Cyber Funds investment  which also backed Sowmay Jains DeFi protocol Fluid.io  signals confidence in Bhindi.ios ability to consolidate rather than complicate the AI experience. The funding will support product development, global market expansion, and operational scaling as the company works to validate its unified approach.

TACEO closes $5.5M seed round led by Archetype VC

TACEO closed a substantial $5.5 million seed round led by Archetype VC, with participation from heavyweight investors including a16z CSX, Cyber.Fund, a_capital, and Polymorphic Capital. The startups focus on Private Shared State represents a sophisticated approach to one of techs most challenging problems: enabling joint computation and verification on encrypted datasets without compromising privacy or requiring centralized trust.

This technology addresses growing concerns about data privacy while maintaining the collaborative capabilities that drive innovation. As businesses increasingly need to share insights without sharing raw data, TACEOs infrastructure could become essential for industries from healthcare to finance.

The investor lineup suggests strong conviction in both the technical approach and market opportunity. With a16z CSXs involvement signaling crypto and security relevance, and Archetype VCs leadership indicating broader enterprise applications, TACEO appears positioned to serve multiple high-value markets.

Anaconda raises $150M series C at $1.5B valuation

Anacondas massive $150 million Series C round, led by Insight Partners with participation from Abu Dhabis Mubadala Capital, values the Python-focused startup at $1.5 billion. The funding reflects Pythons dominant position in AI development and Anacondas role as a critical infrastructure provider for data science teams worldwide.

The investment thesis is straightforward: as AI development accelerates, the tools and platforms that support AI creators become increasingly valuable. Anacondas open-source Python distribution and enterprise offerings position it as essential infrastructure in the AI stack.

Beyond product development, the funding provides liquidity for employees and supports potential acquisitions  suggesting Anaconda may consolidate related tools and capabilities to strengthen its ecosystem position. International expansion plans indicate confidence in global demand for Python-based AI development tools.

AI boom drives record investment

These individual funding announcements reflect a broader venture capital surge. U.S. startup funding jumped 75.6% in the first half of 2025, putting the year on track to become the second-best ever for startup investment. The past three months alone saw $69.9 billion invested in American startups.

This funding explosion, largely driven by AI opportunities and big tech investments, validates the strategic bets being made by startups like Hall, Bhindi.io, TACEO, and Anaconda. The ChatGPT debut in late 2022 didnt just introduce a new product  it sparked a fundamental revaluation of AIs commercial potential.

For entrepreneurs and investors, the message is clear: AI isnt just a technology trend; its a platform shift creating new markets, disrupting established industries, and generating unprecedented funding opportunities. The challenge now lies in identifying which AI applications will deliver sustainable value rather than simply riding the investment wave.

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Just hours before the 1 August trade deadline, the White House announced a major new global tariff policy on 31 July. Although it was expected to start by midnight, the Trump administration pushed the start date to 7 August.

India now faces 25 per cent tariffs on its exports to the US under the new reciprocal framework. Clearly, the next seven days are crucial as negotiations between the two nations on a trade deal are underway.

The new tariffs, outlined in a sweeping order signed on Friday (IST), will take effect at 12:01 AM (EDT) on 7 August.

The executive order states that the revised tariffs are aimed at addressing the national emergency declared earlier under Executive Order 14257.

Why does it mean for India-US trade? The US is one of Indias largest export markets. Once implemented, the new tariff could potentially affect nearly $87 billion worth of annual goods sold to the US market.

Electronics, particularly smartphones and components, are at risk, more so after India recently became the top supplier of iPhones to the US.

Among other sectors, gems and jewellery, especially diamonds and gold products, are a key driver of Indias export earnings.

India-US ties India has had a strong relationship with the US, based on years of diplomatic and economic cooperation. The decision on tariffs and the subsequent statements by President Trump and some White House aides are surprising.

In 2024, India and the US conducted trade in goods and services worth $186 billion, with a surplus of $41 billion in Indias favour.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday blamed India for slowing trade negotiations, telling CNBC that the whole trade team has been frustrated with New Delhi. He added that the next steps are now up to India, and criticised the South Asian nation for not being a great global actor, citing its close ties with Russia.

Catastrophic failure of foreign policy: Congress The Opposition Congress party mounted a scathing attack on the Modi government following the announcement. The party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned for Trump  referring to a 2019 rally Modi held in the US  and hugged him like a long-lost brother.

And in return, "Trump goes on to impose such harsh tariffs on India. It is a catastrophic failure of foreign policy," the Congress party said.

On Friday, the Congress said that India has the highest stakes in institutions such as the WTO and WHO, which are being "destroyed" and "gutted" by US President Donald Trump, and cannot remain a mute spectator while being content with coining slogans and acronyms.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been dealt very heavy blows during Trump-1.

It has been destroyed during Trump-II. The rules-based, multilateral trading system put in place with the US itself playing a leadership role has been finished off, Ramesh claimed.

India was one of the first countries to start trade talks with the Trump administration, according to South Asia expert Michael Kugelman.

It made many early concessions, including tariff reductions. It's been increasing US goods imports and investing in the US for years. Trump calls India a friend. India was still hit with 25% tariffs," he said.

India is a good friend, but Trump has repeatedly called India a good friend, yet he keeps talking about the countrys high tariffs.

I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India. Their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World,the US President said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday morning.

When the US had initially imposed tariffs, we had lowered our forecast of India's GDP expansion to 6.2% for FY2026, presuming a tepid rise in exports and a delay in private capex, said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, and Head of Research & Outreach, ICRA Limited, Independent credit rating agency.

The tariff (and penalty) now proposed by the US is higher than what we had anticipated and is therefore likely to pose a headwind to India's GDP growth. The extent of the downside will depend on the size of the penalties imposed, she said.

Indias Response India has maintained that it is continuing talks with US negotiators over a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump during a meeting in Washington in February.

India is weighing options to placate the White House, including boosting US imports, and has ruled out immediate retaliation to President Donald Trumps surprise 25 per cent tariff threat, according to people familiar with the matter quoted by a Bloomberg report.

Officials in New Delhi were shocked and disappointed by Trumps announcement on Wednesday, the report said.

In the past few months, India and the US have had several rounds of negotiations for a trade deal. New Delhi decided to reduce tariffs on goods like Bourbon whiskey and motorcycles, apparently to placate the US.

But President Trump has insisted that he wants to reduce the countrys $45bn trade deficit with India by levying tariffs.

In a press statement, India's commerce ministry said it is studying the implications of Trump's announcement.

Countering President Trumps statement, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal said in the Parliament on Thursday that the government has been meeting domestic stakeholders, including exporters and industry, to assess the impact of the new tariffs.

Goyal defended Indias record on trade agreements, highlighting that in an increasingly protectionist world, India had entered into a number of mutually beneficial trade agreements with the UAE, UK, Australia and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries.

We are also committed to entering into similar trade agreements with other countries, he added.

Negotiations Continue

The negotiations between India and the US are likely to continue through August. A team from the US is expected in India later next month to negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement.

According to some reports, there are hopes that tariffs will be negotiated, and the higher reciprocal tariff rate of 25% may be temporary until a long-due trade deal with the US is signed.

Trump Breather Has India got a seven-day crucial breather?

The Trump administration just gave Mexico a 90-day reprieve from higher tariffs to negotiate a broader trade deal, but was expected to issue higher final duty rates for most other countries as the clock wound down on his Friday (August 1, 2025) deal deadline, Reuters reported.

During his previous presidency (20172021), Trump implemented a tough tariff policy as part of his America First trade agenda  but he gave selective tariff breather (waivers, delays, or exemptions) to certain countries for strategic, diplomatic, or economic reasons.

Temporary exemptions were initially granted to allies like Canada, Mexico, the EU, South Korea, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil.

These were used as leverage in trade negotiations, such as exemptions for Canada and Mexico, which were later made permanent after the USMCA deal was signed.

Policy chaos is here to stay Trump has rolled out dozens of unilateral tariff impositions ahead of the August 1st deadline, postponing implementation by 7 days to allow US Customs time to update their computers with the disarray posing as policy numbers that can change again and again, Ajay Bagga, a banking and market expert, told news agency ANI.

Markets are not happy, and from the US to Europe to Asia, the last 24 hours have seen some pinks turning reddish, he said.

"This policy chaos is here to stay, and despite the markets' fortitude and resilience, some cracks are appearing. Time to hunker down."

It is a catastrophic failure of foreign policy.

Under these circumstances, the next seven days are key, especially given the ongoing negotiations between India and the United States.
A US official said on Thursday that differences between the US and India cannot be resolved overnight to arrive at a trade deal. He cited geopolitical disagreements to support his argument.

"Our challenges with India, they've always been a pretty closed market... there are a host of other kind of geopolitical issues," the US official was quoted by Reuters as saying.

"You've seen the president express concern about, you know, membership in BRICS, purchases of Russian oil and that kind of thing," the official added.

While saying there were constructive discussions with India, the official said: "These are complex relationships and complex issues, and so I don't think things can be resolved overnight with India."

The official's comments came after Trump said on Wednesday that Washington was still negotiating with India on trade after announcing earlier that day the US would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from the country starting on Friday.

The 25% figure would single out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threaten to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a strategic partner of Washington's and a counterbalance to China.

Also Read | Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil amid Trump tariff row: Report

India buying oil from Russia Trump had on Wednesday announced 25% tariff (plus a penalty) on Indian exports, saying that the US has a massive trade deficit with India and also criticised India for buying a vast majority" of its military equipment and energy from Russia.

Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country, Trump said.

Also, they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russias largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine  All things not Good! he added.

"India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25 per cent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August 1st, Trump said.

'India's market pretty much closed' After 25% tariff threat to India, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett had reportedly indicated that Trump was upset over the way negotiations on the proposed bilateral trade deal were held.

He said India's market has been pretty much closed to American products, while the US's has been wide open to its own.

On BRICS Trump has cast the BRICS group of developing nations - of which India is a key part - as hostile to the US. Those nations have dismissed that accusation and the group said it promotes the interests of its members and of developing countries at large.

India-Pakistan ceasefire Trump has also drawn India's criticism by repeatedly taking credit for an India-Pakistan ceasefire that he announced on social media on May 10. The ceasefire halted days of hostilities between the nuclear armed Asian neighbors.

India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their issues directly without outside involvement.
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has been effectively prohibited from leaving India, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issuing a look-out circular against him on Friday, August 1.

This development comes amidst an ongoing investigation into an alleged 17,000 crore loan fraud case involving his group companies.

The ED summoned Ambani for questioning on August 5. The summons relates to an ongoing investigation into an alleged 17,000 crore loan fraud case involving his company.

The agency stated last week that its investigation into Anil Ambani is connected to allegations of illegal loan diversion of approximately 3,000 crore approved by Yes Bank to his companies between the years 2017 and 2019.

Anil Ambani has been asked to depose at the ED headquarters in Delhi and the agency is expected record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

According to the officials, the loans are alleged to have been diverted to many group companies and shell companies by the entities involved in the fraud.
Gurmuk Singh, a 30-year-old British Sikh man known as Gary, was fatally stabbed last week on Felbrigge Road in Ilford, East London. The Metropolitan Police, who formally identified him on Thursday, believe the incident involved individuals who were known to each other.

According to the police, 27-year-old Amardeep Singh was arrested on suspicion of the murder that occurred on July 23. He has since been formally charged with one count of murder and placed in custody. His trial is scheduled to take place at Old Bailey in London on January 5, 2026.

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service to reports of an altercation at a residential address. Officers attended as Gary was treated for stab wounds. Despite the best efforts of the paramedics, he sadly died at the scene," the Met Police statement stated.

Investigators additionally arrested a 29-year-old male and three females, aged 29, 30, and 54, in connection to the deadly stabbing. All four individuals have since been granted bail and are due to return in October as probe by police remains underway.

What did the Gary's family say? The victim's family said, Gary was a well-loved man who had a remarkable ability to connect with everyone he met. A true social butterfly, nothing brought him more joy than being surrounded by his family. Gary will be deeply missed, but his memory will live on in our hearts forever.

Also Read | Two men fatally stabbed to death near Tower Bridge in central London

A stab wound to the left thigh has been identified as the cause of death, according to a post-mortem examination. An inquest has been formally opened but adjourned while the police continue their probe into the incident.

At the time of the attack, Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke of the Mets Specialist Crime North unit stated that officers considered it to be an isolated incident.

She mentioned, An incident of this nature sends shockwaves throughout the local area and we understand the direct impact on the community. People can expect to see an uptick in police presence while officers conduct initial investigations. Please do not hesitate to speak to them if you have any concerns at all."
Prices for the eponymous Swiss watches, Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese could skyrocket in a week as a result of US President Donald Trump's trade war.

Switzerland, home to some the world's most recognisable luxury brands, now faces an upcoming 39 per cent tariff from the US Industry groups on Friday warned that both Swiss companies and American consumers could pay the price.

Trump signed an executive order Thursday placing tariffs on many US trade partners  the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and alliances  that's set to take effect next Thursday. The order applies to 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands.

In Switzerland, officials failed to reach a final agreement with the US after Trump initially threatened a 31 per cent tariff in April. Swiss companies will now have one of the steepest export duties  only Laos, Myanmar and Syria had higher figures, at 40-41 per cent. The 27-member EU bloc and Britain, meanwhile, negotiated 15 per cent and 10 per cent tariffs, respectively.

Figure came as a surprise The Swiss government spent Friday  the country's National Day  reeling from the news. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said that the 39 per cent figure was a surprise, because negotiators had hashed out a deal last month with the Trump administration that apparently wasn't approved by the American leader himself.

We will now analyze the situation and try to find a solution," Keller-Sutter told reporters. I can't say what the outcome will be, but it will certainly damage the economy.

The US goods trade deficit with Switzerland was USD 38.5 billion last year, a 56.9 per cent increase over 2023, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Keller-Sutter said that she believes Trump ultimately chose the 39 per cent tariff, because the figure rounded up from the USD 38.5 billion goods trade deficit.

It was clear that the president was focused on the trade deficit and only this issue, she said.

Time is ticking for watch companies For Swiss watch companies, whose products already come with price tags in the tens of thousands  if not the hundreds of thousands  of euros, a timepiece for an arm could cost a leg, too, come next week.

The 39 per cent figure was especially galling to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, because Switzerland in 2024 got rid of import tariffs on all industrial goods.

As Switzerland has eliminated all custom duties on imported industrial products, there is no problem with reciprocity between Switzerland and the US, the federation said in a statement. The tariffs constitute a severe problem for our bilateral relations.

Swiss watch exports were already facing a prolonged slowdown, with significant declines in the United States, Japan and Hong Kong, according to the federation's June figures, the most recent available.

Swatch and Rolex declined to comment Friday. Representatives for Patek Philippe, IWC and Breitling didn't respond to requests for comment.

Sour taste for Swiss chocolatiers Multinational chocolatiers Nestle and Lindt & Sprungli said they have production lines in the US for American customers. But small- and medium-sized Swiss companies are predicted to suffer under the tariffs.

Roger Wehrli, chief executive of the Association of Swiss Chocolate Manufacturers. also known as Chocosuisse, said Switzerland exports 7 per cent of its chocolate production to the US.

It's not just the 39 per cent tariff that's the issue. Once the manufacturers factor in the exchange rate between US dollars and Swiss francs (USD1 to 1.23 francs on Friday), Wehrli said, it's close to a 50 per cent increase in costs for the Swiss companies. And that's a big number to pass on to American consumers, if the already-slim margins aren't further reduced.

I expect that our industry will lose customers in the United States, and that sales volumes will decrease heavily, he told The Associated Press.

Wehrli said that he wants Swiss chocolatiers to sell to other markets around the globe to make up the difference. Still, he hopes American customers remember that Swiss quality beats cheaper quantity.

I think even if prices for Swiss chocolate increase due to the very high tariffs, I think it's worth (it) to buy Swiss chocolate," he said. It's worth (it) to really eat it consciously and to really enjoy it instead of eating a lot.

Tough pill for Swiss pharmaceuticals Swiss pharmaceuticals powerhouse Roche says that it's working to ensure its patients and customers worldwide have access to their medications and diagnostics amid the Trump tariff war.

While we believe pharmaceuticals and diagnostics should be exempt from tariffs to protect patient access, supply chains and ultimately future innovation, we are prepared for potential tariffs being implemented and confident in managing any impacts, the statement said.

The company in April announced that it plans to invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, creating 12,000 jobs. The company already employs more than 25,000 people in the US.

Meanwhile, Novartis, another major Swiss pharmaceutical firm, said in a statement that it was reviewing Trump's executive order.
US President Donald Trump has put India in a tight corner. The 25% tariff that he says hell impose on US imports from the most-populous nation isnt significantly higher than the rates he has announced for Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. But there is a catch: a penalty that will punish New Delhi for its most strenuous and obnoxious" non-tariff barriersand for buying Russian military equipment and energy.

The quantum of the retribution was not specified in the presidents Truth Social post, even though the new tariffs are scheduled to come into force from Friday. Therefore, my first reaction is that its a bluffa bargaining tactic. Trump seems to want last-minute sweeteners thrown into whatever trade deal Indias negotiators have put on the table.

Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | Trumps tariff post: What should India do?

Trouble is, any concession to dodge the blow will give ammunition to [the opposition in Indias political arena]. Trump has repeatedly said that he brokered a ceasefire in the recent India-Pakistan military standoff by offering trade deals to the nuclear-armed neighbors. Thats embarrassing for New Delhi; its long-time policy has been to reject any international interference in disputes with Islamabad. Just this week, the leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers in parliament: If he has the courage  let them say here that Donald Trump, you are a liar."

Its been four months since Trumps Liberation Day package. The deals he has announced since then have, with the exception of China, generally seen a reduction from the reciprocal rates he announced 2 April.

Vietnam got its 46% tariff slashed to 20%; Indonesia saw its 32% tax cut to 19%. The EU and Japan, too, managed to get some discounts.

In Indias case, however, even assuming a modest 5% penalty for alleged bad behaviour, the original sticker rate of 26% will go up to 30%. Taken together with the US claim on the ceasefire, it wounds national pride.

For the US leader, however, threats and inducements are a source of leverage. Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves," Trump wrote on social media on Wednesday. We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe theyll be selling oil to India some day."

Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | Trumps tactical rant: Dont let it work

So what can India offer to appease Trump without [the governments image taking a blow]? New Delhi can safely junk the elaborate certification it put up in recent years to check the quality of everything from the imported polyester in Nike gym shorts to the metallic water bottles on sale at Amazons local marketplace. Those restrictionsa replay of its old socialist-style Inspector Rajclaim to protect consumers from inferior goods. In reality, they only serve the interest of local tycoons.

Similarly, it wont hurt to allow genetically modified (GM) variants of corn and soybean, the two biggest American farm exports by volume. Indias own agriculture is ripe for reform: Its time to follow Chinas lead and start giving farmers the freedom to grow GM food.

But India has to hold the line on dairy imports and biofuels. Washington will have to accept that the milk, butter and cheese sold in India can only come from animals that have not consumed feeds containing internal organs, blood meal, or tissues of ruminant or porcine origin." No Indian government can afford to sacrifice a core cultural value of the nations vegetarian population.

Nor will local motorists welcome American biofuels. Some are already worried about the engine life of their vehicles after recent media reports suggested that the Indian government might raise its existing mandate of mixing 20% bio-ethanol in gasoline to 27%. This blending is meant to reduce Indias dependence on imported crude oil and for local farmers to get an additional revenue stream for their corn, broken rice, rotten potatoes, sugarcane and molasses. If corn grown in Indiana starts competing, the point of the programme will be lost.

Also Read: India should use Trumps playbook on Trump for a fair trade deal

As for where 1.4 billion people should source their energy, crude oil shipments coming from Russian ports averaged about 1.3 million barrels a day last week, down from 2.1 million barrels at their peak in May 2023. Ending these imports abruptly could raise pump prices and reignite inflation that has been subdued with nearly three years of high interest rates. Here, however, its possible to do a deal. Bloomberg

The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies and financial services in Asia.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)  Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeings Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX.

The U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Theyll replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for NASAs two stuck astronauts.

Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months.

Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who should have launched last year, was yanked along with another NASA crewmate to make room for Starliners star-crossed test pilots.

The botched Starliner demo forced Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to switch to SpaceX to get back from the space station more than nine months after departing on what should have been a weeklong trip. Ensuring their safe return meant stepping aside," Cardman said before her launch.

Every astronaut wants to be in space. None of us want to stay on the ground, but its not about me, said Cardman, the flight commander. Even after launch, "things can change at the last minute, so Ill count myself very fortunate when the hatch opens to the space station.

NASAs Mike Fincke  Cardmans co-pilot  was the backup for Wilmore and Williams on Starliner, making those three still the only ones certified to fly it. Fincke and Japans Kimiya Yui, former military officers with previous spaceflight experience, were training for Starliners second astronaut mission. With Starliner grounded until 2026, NASA switched the two to the latest SpaceX flight.

Rounding out the crew is Russias Oleg Platonov. The former fighter pilot was pulled a few years ago from the Russian Soyuz flight lineup because of an undisclosed health issue that he said has since been resolved.

On hand for the first launch attempt on Thursday, NASA's new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, met with Roscosmos director general Dmitry Bakanov, an invited guest. The two discussed future collaboration, then left town after thick clouds forced a last-minute delay.

What we learn on these missions is whats going to get us to the moon and then from the moon to Mars, which is I think the direction that NASA has to be, Duffy said in a NASA interview. There's critical real estate on the moon. We want to claim that real estate for ourselves and our partners.

To save money in light of tight budgets, NASA is looking to increase its space station stays from six months to eight months, a move already adopted by Russia's space agency. SpaceX is close to certifying its Dragon capsules for longer flights, which means the newly launched crew could be up there until April.

NASA is also considering smaller crews  three astronauts launching on SpaceX instead of the typical four  to cut costs.

As for Starliner, NASA is leaning toward launching the next one with cargo before flying another crew.

Engineers are still investigating the thruster failures and helium leaks that bedeviled Starliner following liftoff. Time is running out as NASA looks to abandon the aging space station by 2030. An air leak on the Russian side of the station remains unresolved after years of patching.

I am not in the least worried about the leak, which is localized, Platonov said earlier this month.

___
Oppo has confirmed that its K13 Turbo series is launching in India with an in-built cooling fan to keep the thermals in check. While the Chinese smartphone maker has not confirmed the names of devices in its K13 Turbo series, it is more or less certain that the two devices will be called K13 Turbo and K13 Turbo Pro, given that they have already been unveiled in China.

Oppo has also confirmed that the new phones will come in three colour variants: Silver Knight, Purple Phantom and Midnight Mavericks.

Oppo claims that the K13 Turbo series will be the first devices in India with a built-in cooling fan. The company employs a variable speed centrifugal fan within the phone's body that spins at 18,000rpm and activates based on the temperature and load on the device in order to keep the temperatures in check.

The company says that its in-built fan technology can lead to rapid heat dissipation and a temperature drop of 24 Celsius even in high load conditions, like playing games or having the phone directly under sunlight.

While we don't have any official word on the specs of K13 Turbo and K13 Turbo Pro, the phones have already been launched in China, which gives us a clear idea on what to expect from their Indian variants.

Oppo K13 Turbo & Oppo K13 Turbo Pro specifications:

Oppo K13 Turbo and K13 Turbo Pro feature the same 6.8-inch 1.5K flat OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 1,600 nits of peak brightness. They get an IPX8 and IPX9 water resistance rating and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

On the performance front, the K13 Turbo is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8450 processor with Mali-G720 MC7 GPU. It is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 3.1 storage.

Meanwhile, the K13 Turbo Pro is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, which was also seen in the iQOO Neo 10 (Review). It comes with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage.

The two devices feature a 50MP primary sensor and an 8MP depth sensor. On the front is a 16MP shooter for selfies and video calls.

They pack a 7,000mAh battery with support for 80W of SuperVOOC wired fast charging. They will run on FuntouchOS 15 based on Android 15 in India.
Google has lost its appeal at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals against a jury verdict and a federal court order from last year that required the company to revamp its Play Store policies. The tech giant has been in a long-running legal battle with Fortnite maker Epic Games, but the new ruling now clears the way for Epic to offer its own app store directly within the Google Play Store.

Judge Margaret McKeown, siding with the lower courts ruling, wrote: It is well established that antitrust remedies can and often must proscribe otherwise lawful conduct to unwind and further prevent violators anticompetitive activity.

The district court had within its basket of remedial powers the authority to require Google to deal with parties harmed by its anticompetitive conduct, including its competitors, she added.

A jury in December 2023 had ruled in favour of Epic's claims that Alphabet imposed restrictive Play Store policies and engaged in anti-competitive behaviour, including paying smartphone makers and popular app developers to exclusively use its app store. Following the verdict, US District Judge James Donato ordered Google in October last year to restore competition by allowing rival app stores within the Play Store, offering alternative payment options, and implementing other reforms.

Reacting to the ruling, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney wrote on X: Total victory in the Epic v Google appeal!

Thanks to the verdict, the Epic Games Store for Android will be coming to the Google Play Store! It's already available worldwide from our website, he added.

Google, meanwhile, in a statement to The Verge, said the decision will significantly harm user safety, limit choice, and undermine the innovation that has always been central to the Android ecosystem. The company added: Our top priority remains protecting our users, developers and partners, and maintaining a secure platform as we continue our appeal.

What does the verdict mean for the future of the Google Play Store?

The appeals court ruling upholds the federal courts orders from last year. While Google plans to appeal the case to the US Supreme Court, significant changes are now expected for the Play Store, including:
OpenAI has just announced that it is killing a new feature that made ChatGPT conversations available on Google Search. The feature was rolled out quietly earlier in the year but caused much uproar recently as many private conversations started showing up on Google search results, putting the privacy and safety of users at risk.

OpenAI Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Dane Stuckey, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), informed users about taking down the feature from the popular chatbot.

We just removed a feature from @ChatGPTapp that allowed users to make their conversations discoverable by search engines, such as Google. This was a short-lived experiment to help people discover useful conversations. This feature required users to opt in, first by picking a chat to share, then by clicking a checkbox for it to be shared with search engines (see below), Stuckey wrote.

Ultimately we think this feature introduced too many opportunities for folks to accidentally share things they didn't intend to, so we're removing the option, he added.

Stuckey also noted that OpenAI is working with search engines to remove the already indexed content from the web.

What is the controversy about? OpenAI had rolled out an update to ChatGPT that gave users the option to make their chats discoverable on search engines. While the company has clarified that this was an opt-in feature and not enabled by default, it seems that many users inadvertently clicked on this option while sharing their chats with friends or family.

As OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rightly pointed out in a recent podcast, people talk about the most personal shit in their lives to ChatGPT. A new report by Fast Company revealed that there were over 4,500 conversations indexed on Google. While many of them did not contain personal data, others did  including identifiable details like names, places and more  that could put users at risk.
Googles NotebookLM is an AI-powered tool with 140,000 document creations per month, and Vietnam is one of its top 10 users, the U.S. company has said.

On July 30 Google announced that the Asia-Pacific region recorded the highest level of interaction with NotebookLM, with India leading the global usage rate followed by the U.S. and Japan.

"We are also seeing strong growth in South Korea and Vietnam. They both rank among the top 10 countries worldwide for NotebookLM usage."

Unlike more popular platforms such as ChatGPT or Gemini, NotebookLM is designed to help users organize information. It supports various types of data including PDFs, web pages, YouTube videos, audio files, Google Docs, and Slides. NotebookLM also allows users to interact with the content through text, charts, images, audio, and multiple languages.

Users can directly chat with their "notebook" to receive answers with citations, and generate summaries, study guides, transcripts, and mind maps.

Users can also make their notebooks public. Google said the most popular public notebooks come from the Asia-Pacific region, featuring a wide range of topics from local government policies and tax regulations to teaching awards and detailed resources for news reporters.

A document created by a Vietnamese user has in fact become one of the most widely accessed public notebooks.

Google's AI-powered tool, NotebookLM. Photo by courtesy of Google

Google recently introduced new features to personalize information and boost engagement. One of them, Video Overviews, uses AI to generate visual representations of documents based on user-provided images, diagrams, citations, and data.

According to the company, users can determine specific focus areas and learning goals, ask broad questions such as "I have no knowledge of this topic, help me understand the diagrams," or input more advanced prompts such as "Im an expert in X and my team is working on Y; focus on Z."

Google plans to launch Featured Notebooks through collaborations with authors, researchers, publishers, and reputable nonprofit organizations worldwide. These curated collections will allow users to access in-depth information and expert advice.
Elon Musk-led Starlink has received approval to roll out satellite-based internet services in India, with the Department of Telecommunications granting the company a Unified Licence, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed on Thursday.

The announcement, made on the eve of the 30th anniversary of Indias first cellular call in 1995, signals a significant step in the country's satellite communication (satcom) plans. Scindia stated that frameworks for spectrum allocation and gateway installation are now in place to ensure a smooth rollout of services.

Starlink joins other players in the satcom space such as Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio SES, both of which are also awaiting spectrum allocation to commence operations.

Highlighting developments in Indias telecom sector over the past decade, the minister shared data outlining the expansion of connectivity and digital infrastructure. According to Scindia, internet subscriptions in the country have increased by nearly 286 per cent to reach 970 million users, while telephone connections now stand at 1.2 billion. He also noted that broadband usage has grown over 1,450 per cent since 2014, rising from 60 million to 944 million connections. The cost of mobile data has declined by over 96 per cent, now averaging 8.9 per GB.

The government also reported operational improvements at BSNL, which has returned to profitability after nearly two decades. BSNL posted net profits of 262 crore and 280 crore in consecutive financial years, with over 83,000 4G sites installed, most running on domestically developed technology.

India's 5G rollout was another focal point, with coverage extended to 99.6 per cent of districts. The country has installed approximately 4.74 lakh 5G towers and now counts over 300 million 5G users. With average monthly per capita usage at 32 GB, India reportedly leads globally in 5G data consumption.

The minister added that India is among the top six nations in terms of 6G patent filings and has launched 100 6G Use Case Labs. Under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, telecom manufacturing investments have reached 4,305 crore, generating sales of over 85,000 crore and creating more than 28,000 jobs. Foreign direct investment in the sector has nearly tripled, growing from $282 million to $710 million.

Industry leaders also commented on the 30-year milestone of mobile services in India. SP Kochhar, Director General of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), said that the country now hosts over 1.2 billion telecom subscribers, with data usage per individual exceeding 21 GB per month. He observed that while the sector began with 2G, it now offers 5G access to over 99 per cent of Indian districts.

HFCL Managing Director Mahendra Nahata reflected on the sectors evolution, stating that India's transition from basic mobile infrastructure to rapid 5G deployment has positioned the country to influence the development of 6G standards globally.

Paritosh Prajapati, CEO of telecom gear maker GX Group, said that Indias telecom sector stands at a turning point in its journey towards technological self-reliance. He emphasised that government initiatives, including the PLI scheme, are enabling domestic innovation and manufacturing in telecom.

The licensing of Starlink comes as India attempts to boost internet access in rural and remote areas through satellite technology, further integrating digital connectivity into its broader development goals.
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The United States has designated Cartel de los Soles, a Venezuela-based criminal group headed by the countrys dictator Nicolas Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in the Maduro regime that provides material support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.



"Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles, and he is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "Maduro, currently indicted by our nation, has corrupted Venezuelas institutions to assist the cartels criminal narco-trafficking scheme into the United States."



The Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control on July 25 designated the Cartel de los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. This action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regimes facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.



This cartel has provided material support to Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. Tren de Aragua is a foreign terrorist organization that originated in Venezuela and is involved in the illicit drug trade, human smuggling and trafficking, extortion, sexual exploitation of women and children, and money laundering, among other criminal activities.



The Sinaloa Cartel is a foreign terrorist organization and one of the oldest and most powerful cartels in Mexico, responsible for a significant portion of deadly drugs trafficked into the United States from Mexico. In addition to trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illicit drugs into the United States, the Sinaloa Cartel is engaged in widespread violence.



As a result of the U.S. Treasury action, all property and interests in property of the designated person described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons is blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC.



The Treasury Department, said Secretary Bessent, will continue to execute on President Trumps pledge to put America first by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles.
Study and Learn was released this week by OpenAI to act as a free and personalized tutor.
A fundraiser has been launched for a "bright, beautiful and determined" 12-year-old Clare native who is fighting an extremely rare and aggressive cancer.

Layla Kelly, from Kilfenora, was diagnosed with Adrenocortical Carcinoma in 2023.

The illness first started with back pain and fatigue when she was just nine-years old. This turned into a "devastating diagnosis," according to the youngster's GoFundMe page, set up by cousin Linda Keane.

Since then, the young girl has endured two major surgeries, where her adrenal gland, a kidney and a section of her liver were removed along with tumours.

12-year-old Layla has undergone months of "gruelling" chemotherapy and spent almost seven consecutive months in hospital.

Earlier this year, scans unfortunately revealed that another more aggressive tumour had been detected.

She began immunotherapy but her body rejected it after two rounds of treatment. Layla became "very sick" and as a result of this, her medical team determined that the primary school pupil needs a complex, lifesaving surgery. This can only be done by a select group of specialist surgeons in the Netherlands.

The family are now campaigning for funds that will go directly towards Laylas treatments, medications and future support that she may need.

"Layla has faced every challenge with courage, determination, and a smile and her parents, Teresa and Brian, are so very proud of her. Layla dreams of getting back to school, playing sport again and being the big sister to her younger siblings, Jack (9) and Alannah (5)," the fundraising page reads.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: August 01 2025

Nieves Reyes Allegedly Fired Shotgun at Police Officers When They Attempted to Execute a Search Warrant at His Home, Hitting One Officer in the Face.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Nieves Reyes, 48, of Bay Shore, was indicted for Murder in the Second Degree and three counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, for his alleged brutal killing of coworker, Eugene Allen, and for firing upon multiple Suffolk County police officers during a violent armed standoff at his residence. One officer was struck in the face during the event.

Attacks on Suffolks law enforcement officers will be met with the laws most serious consequences. The defendant allegedly committed a heinous act of violence that claimed a life, and then allegedly opened fire on the brave officers who were doing their duty to serve our community, said District Attorney Tierney. This is a stark reminder of the dangers that our men and women in law enforcement face every single day. We will vigorously pursue these charges for the victim who lost his life and for the officer who was wounded in the line of duty.

According to the investigation, on July 23, 2025, Reyes allegedly fatally attacked 66-year-old Eugene Allen, his former coworker at the Suffolk Transportation Company, during a targeted ambush on New York Avenue in Bay Shore.

Surveillance footage allegedly shows Reyes chasing the victim with a machete, approximately two hours before his body was discovered in a wooded area, hidden under brush. Reyes was nearly decapitated and had numerous defensive wounds.

During the early morning hours of July 24, 2025, members of the Suffolk County Police Department arrived at Reyes home to execute a search warrant. At about 2:20 a.m., Reyes allegedly fired five shots from a shotgun as officers tried to breach the doorway. It was at this point that a buckshot struck a patrol officer in the face, fracturing his cheekbone. Minutes later, after officers had retreated for cover, Reyes allegedly fired one shot at an emergency services officer caught in the open. At approximately 5:45 a.m., when officers tried once more to get inside the location, Reyes allegedly again opened fire, shooting seven additional rounds at them. The standoff ended only after the intervention of trained hostage negotiators.

On August 1, 2025, Reyes was arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr., for Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony, three counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, Class A felonies, and Criminal Use of a Firearm in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony.

Justice Senft ordered Reyes remanded during the pendency of the case. Reyes is due back in court on September 3, 2025, and faces 40 years to life in prison if convicted of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, and 25 years to life if convicted of Murder in the Second Degree. He is being represented by Brett Bennett, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Dena Rizopoulos of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Peter Barba of the Suffolk County Police Departments Homicide Squad.
A soldier with the IDFs 98th Division fires his rifle in northern Gaza. (IDF video)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) completed several operations in northern Gaza in July. However, one operation in Beit Hanoun, a town near the Israeli border, is estimated to take another week. On July 7, five Israeli soldiers were killed there in a bombing and ambush that was carried out by Palestinian gunmen. In three weeks of fighting, the area now appears mostly cleared of threats, according to a recent Israeli media report.

According to officers who spoke to The Times of Israel, the Hamas battalion in Beit Hanoun now only consists of a handful of operatives, and the vast majority of the terror groups tunnels in the town have been demolished. Colonel Netanel Shamaka, the commander of the Givati Infantry Brigade that has been fighting in the sector, said, I believe that within a week we can finish, and what I mean by finish is that there are no more tunnels.

The battle for Beit Hanoun occurred as several other developments were unfolding in Gaza. On July 26, the IDF began preparing air drops of humanitarian aid to the territory. In addition, the Israeli military began daylight pauses in fighting, essentially ceasefires over a large portion of Gaza. The daily ceasefires primarily affect the estimated 25 percent of Gaza that Hamas controls near the coast. At the same time, humanitarian aid is also being delivered by trucks into the territory as Israel attempts to facilitate an increase in assistance. The IDF said on July 30 that it was cooperating with the UAE, Jordan, and Egypt to improve the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip.

As the aid has increased on the ground, Israeli politicians have also been discussing the possibility of annexing part of Gaza if Hamas does not accept a new hostage deal. US Envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on July 31, as the Trump administration encouraged more aid for Gaza. The aid crisis has also unfolded as Canada joined the UK and France in discussing the recognition of a Palestinian state.

On the ground in Gaza, the humanitarian shifts and daylight ceasefires have come as IDF units concluded several neighborhood-sized operations. The IDFs 98th Division, which consists of commandos and paratroopers, completed its mission in northern Gaza, the Israeli military said on July 31. For several months, troops of the 98th Division operated deep within the terror strongholds in the Gaza Strip, conducting combat activities in the areas of Khan Yunis, Shejaiya, and Zeitoun, the IDF said. It noted that the 98th focused on dismantling terrorist infrastructure and weapons, above and below ground. Both Shejaiya and Zeitoun were the focus of IDF operations in 2024, and the 98th also fought in Shejaiya last June.

The IDF says that the 98th dismantled a total of over 1,500 terrorist infrastructure sites in northern Gaza, and it believes dozens of terrorists were killed in the fighting. The troops dealt a significant blow to Hamas Shejaiya Battalion, which had attacked the communities near the Gaza Strip on October 7, the Israeli military stated.

Hamas is believed to have two brigades controlling northern Gaza: one in Gaza City and another in other neighborhoods. In late November 2023, the IDF assessed that it had already defeated most of the Hamas battalions in northern Gaza. However, many of these battalions appear to have recruited replacements since, and the IDF had to defeat them again in 2024 and 2025.

While the 98th Division was fighting in Shejaiya, the 99th and 162nd Divisions focused on clearing Beit Hanoun of terrorists over three weeks in July. Hamas tried to fight from within the population and from tunnelstoday it has nothing there anymore, an IDF officer was quoted by Walla News. The operations goal was to completely clear the Gaza town, which is around a mile from the Israeli border town of Sderot. To remove the threat, most buildings in Beit Hanoun appear to have been demolished.

Our operation was intended to create a significant security perimeter and make it very difficult for the enemy to return to its infrastructure. To do this, we had to act very thoroughly, an IDF officer from the 99th told Walla News.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
Foreign fighters affiliated with the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria. (@Wolveri07681751 on X)

On July 29, the United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team released its latest report detailing terrorist group activities around the world. The section on Syria discussed the most recent developments related to the resurgence of the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, in addition to the difficulties of integrating various groups into the countrys military.

The UN Monitoring Team report notes that at least 9 out of 23 [Syrian government] ministers are directly or indirectly linked to Hayat Tahir al Sham (HTS), the former Islamist coalition led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa that took over Syria and overthrew former dictator Bashar al Assad. HTS succeeded Jabhat al Nusrah, Al Qaedas former branch in Syria. Among the HTS-affiliated officials are the heads of the most prominent ministries: foreign affairs, defense, interior, and justice.

The report also highlights the rising sectarian violence in Syria, most importantly, the massacres on the Syrian coast in March 2025, where HTS affiliates, Turkish-backed Syrian National Army factions, and Hurras al Din, Al Qaedas current affiliate in Syria, took part. UN Monitoring Team further states that many tactical-level individuals hold more extreme views than the HTS leader and interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the Interior Minister Anas Khattab, who are generally regarded as more pragmatic than ideological. Finally, the report claims that there are no active ties between Al-Qaeda and HTS.

The UN Monitoring Team details how, in the aftermath of the fall of the Assad regime, both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda took advantage of the chaos and seized stockpiles of heavy weaponry held by the previous government. Prisoners affiliated with both groups also managed to escape from prisons. The most recent escape was in March, when 70 detainees fled a prison in Aleppo. In total, 500 detainees linked to both terrorist organizations have been released since the fall of the Assad regime.

The UN Monitoring Team report assesses that the Islamic State exploited shifting security conditions in the Syrian Arab Republic, where some key leaders remained based, and maintained up to 3,000 fighters across Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic.

The primary location of the Islamic States cells has been the Syrian Desert, with a smaller presence near Damascus and the Aleppo countryside, Homs and southern regions.

According to the report, the Islamic State also tried to incite sectarian tensions and ran multilingual campaigns to discredit al-Sharaa, recruiting some dissatisfied fighters, foreign terrorist fighters and former regime soldiers.

While the UN Monitoring Team does not name specific groups linked to the Islamic State, Saraya Ansar al Sunnaha group that claims it splintered from Hayat Tahrir al Shamcan be linked to the Islamic State, given that it has continuously criticized Sharaa and incited against minorities in Syria. The report claims that the Islamic State carried out more than 90 attacks across the country, mostly targeting Syrian Democratic Forces in north-eastern Syrian Arab Republic, where about 400 ISIL (Daesh) fighters remain active.

Regarding Al Qaeda and its affiliates, the report claims that Hurras al Din saw its decision to dissolve as largely symbolic. The report adds that the group retained approximately 2,000 fighters. The groups leaders are Samir Hijazi and Sami al Aridi, who are present in northwest Syria and have coordinated with HTS defectors to form new factions in Idlib and the coastal countryside.

The report further claims that some members within Hurras al Din are exploring relocation to Afghanistan, Africa, or Yemen under al-Qaida leadership.

The UN Monitoring Team report also raised the issue of foreign terrorist fighters, stating that the number of them at large in the Syrian Arab Republic [is] estimated at more than 5,000. It further claimed that certain foreign terrorist fighters (in particular from Central Asia) retained external ambitions, were dissatisfied with the interim governments approach, and may operate beyond its control.

Notably, the Trump administration has greenlit the integration of foreign fighters into Syrias armed forces. Despite the integration of the Turkistan Islamic Party, an Al Qaeda-affiliated Uighur jihadist group that operates in both Afghanistan and Syria, into the Syrian army under the 84th Division, the report mentioned that the interim government had not asserted full control over all factions, including some that held extremist ideologies.

One of those independent groups is Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, a US-designated terrorist organization. Other organizations mentioned by the report are Ajnad al-Kawkaz, Ansar al-Tawhid, Ansar al-Islam, Ansar al-Din, [and] Katibad al-Ghoraba al-Faransiya. Some of these groups still have a relationship with Al Qaeda affiliates and share logistics.

Ahmad Sharawi is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian intervention in Arab affairs and the levant.
An image from the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News shows Iranian special forces during a drill.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and a dozen other European countries issued a statement on July 31, condemning Irans escalating extraterritorial intelligence operations across Western countries. The announcement, affirmed by the US, the UK, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden, condemned the Islamic Republics plots to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty.

The statement specifically highlighted the regimes efforts to outsource violence to Western organized crime networks to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America.

Tehran is increasingly seeking to obscure its role in orchestrated operations by recruiting criminal syndicates in Europe and the Americas. From Rumba and the designated Foxtrot gang in Sweden to the Hells Angels in Germany and Canada and the drug cartels in the US, the Iranian regimes footprint is emerging across a broad transnational landscape.

Exploiting a religious institution as cover for influence operations

On July 19, The Times reported that the Ark Islamic Centre in Govanhill, Glasgowdescribed as a Muslim media, charity, and enterprise hubhad been used by the Islamic Republic of Iran as an electoral outpost during its most recent presidential election. The site, which also hosts the Muslim Council of Scotland, an advisory body to the Scottish government, served twice as an official polling station last summer. Senior UK politicians have since called for a formal inquiry into what they described as Irans malevolent footprint in Scotland, following the centers direct involvement in Tehrans state-managed voting process.

This revelation follows earlier reporting by The Sunday Times that two other Islamic centers in Glasgoweach the recipient of substantial public fundinghave maintained overt ties to the Iranian regime. The Ahl al Bait Society Scotland, which received over 400,000 in government grants, held a memorial service for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The Al Mahdi Islamic Center, which has been awarded more than 370,000 in public funds, has displayed the Iranian flag alongside images of Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Khomeini.

In 2024, German authorities banned the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) after concluding that it functioned as an extension of the Iranian regime and served as a conduit for Hezbollah-linked activities. The German Interior Ministry accused the IZH of promoting Islamist extremism and advancing anti-constitutional aims, including the militant propagation of Iranian revolutionary ideology and aggressive antisemitism. The organization, which exerted influence over various mosques and associations, had long been under scrutiny, with years of local calls demanding accountability. The ban followed police raids on 53 properties across multiple federal statesincluding Bremen, Bavaria, Hesse, and Berlinthat confirmed IZHs ties to Hezbollah.

Europes mounting resistance to Tehrans ambitions

Although the European Union (EU) has yet to officially designate Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) or Ministry of Intelligence (MOI) as terrorist entities, it sanctioned the Zindashti network, which leads the MOIs transnational plots, on July 15. Designated jointly by Washington and London in 2024, this terror ring primarily targeted Iranian dissidents in Turkey, Sweden, the UK, Canada, and the US.

Citing over a dozen IRGC and MOI plots to assassinate or abduct UK citizens and residents from January 2022 to August 2023, the UK Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee identified the Islamic Republic as a major threat to national security on July 10.

In March and May 2025, Finnish and Swedish intelligence agencies reported Tehrans growing pattern of operations targeting critics of the regime and Israeli interests across Scandinavia.

The Islamic Republic is forming an intelligence database of Iranian expats

On July 30, the Iranian parliament passed the so-called Support for Iranians Abroad billa paradoxical title for legislation that mandates the creation of a state-run database on Iranian expatriates. Under Article 5 of the bill, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tasked with compiling a comprehensive information bank of citizens living outside the country. The government must submit annual reports on the databases activities to the parliamentary National Security Commission.

Although the bill cites objectives such as improving consular services, attracting talent, and strengthening diaspora ties, the text makes no mention of consent, transparency, or privacy protections. There is no indication that registration is voluntary, nor are there safeguards in place for data collection or individual rights. Despite its official language of support, the measure functions more as a surveillance mechanismone aimed at tracking, categorizing, and monitoring Iranians abroad under the guise of outreach.

Tehrans counterintelligence and terror apparatus

Irans initiatives are not carried out by a single entity, but rather by a regime apparatus characterized by both internal competition and cooperation that ultimately advance the same agenda. The two main pillars of this terror and repression machinery are the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence.

The IRGC has various branches and institutions, including its external arm, the Qods Force (IRGC-QF), its Unit 840, the IRGC Intelligence Organization, and the IRGC Counterintelligence Protection Organization. Similar to other conventional intelligence services, the MOI has numerous offices with various focuses, including the Martyr Soleimani headquarters within the US Directorate, which is tasked with avenging the US assassination of former IRGC-QF Commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

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.
From left, Mayor Michelle Wu, Josh Kraft and Domingos DaRosa speak during a mayoral candidate forum on arts and culture on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. (Screenshot/Create The Vote)

Boston mayoral candidates shared their plans for the citys arts and culture sector Wednesday night, placing focus on an area that has not gotten much attention in the run-up to Septembers preliminary election.

During a forum moderated by Jared Bowen, executive arts editor and host of The Culture Show at GBH and hosted by the Create the Vote Coalition at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester, Mayor Michelle Wu and fellow candidates Josh Kraft and Domingos DaRosa discussed how to encourage cultural and creative activities in Boston despite federal funding cuts and high costs for artists.

Wu leaned on her administrations work on arts and culture, as well as her previous efforts in that area while on the City Council. She highlighted her Boston Family Days program, which allows students and their families to visit some of the citys museums for free on select Sundays, and Un-Monument, a public art program.

Arts arent a luxury, Wu said. Its infrastructure, its workforce, its our economy, its community, its healing, its how to deliver every other issue that were working on.

Wu said the most significant concern she hears from people in the arts sector is the displacement of artists due to a lack of space or affordability. She said the city has done its best to help artists being displaced by new development projects, including negotiating with developers or even relocating artist spaces.

According to Wu, her administration has put $26 million toward arts organizations and individual artists in efforts to fight displacement. They are also prioritizing arts and culture in major development projects and exploring ways to integrate arts uses into the citys zoning to formalize this priority.

Earlier this year, the city announced plans to build affordable artist studio space and housing in Brighton, replacing the former Sound Museum music rehearsal space that is being redeveloped for research labs. The city is currently looking for a development partner for the project, according to the Boston Business Journal.

The mayor said Wednesday that making sure there are adequate opportunities for working artists was also crucial for stemming displacement.

The more that we can support artists and creatives  even from when theyre in elementary school and high school  into these pathways, the more were developing a base for talent and workforce to then attract the employers and the major arts businesses to come and locate their headquarters here," she said.

DeRosa backs sweat equity, Kraft tax incentives

DaRosa suggested similar models to the Brighton project as a solution, saying the city should allow creatives to put in sweat equity to create cooperative housing for artists.

Kraft reiterated his plans to build more housing and offer tax incentives to landlords to keep rents low, a program he has termed opt-in rent control, as ways to reduce housing costs. He said he had also considered opening up the tax incentives to commercial property owners, especially those with small businesses, artist studios or galleries as tenants.

With widespread cuts to federal funding, the candidates agreed it was even more critical to ensure that the city continues to find ways to support arts and cultural programming.

Federal funding cuts

Many programs were funded by American Rescue Plan Act money in recent years, and because that money is no longer available, Wu said her administration is looking at payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements with nonprofits and other partnerships with local institutions to bridge the gap.

Kraft said if elected, he would look to private donors to help with funding for arts and culture and support the citys cultural organizations, though he admitted he didnt have a specific plan yet on how to do that.

Its working with them, finding ways to support them financially, but also finding ways to be an ambassador for them and share what theyre doing, he said.

DeRosa would increase arts education, Kraft would focus on inclusion

DaRosa said he would shift funds toward arts education by cutting the Boston Police Departments overtime budget.

I dont need six cops sitting on Mass. and Cass, DaRosa said. I need six teachers in our schools teaching art.

Kraft emphasized inclusion as one of the most important characteristics of a successful arts sector and said he would like to create a new program that he would call All of Our Roots to celebrate the cultural diversity of the city. He said the program would host events incorporating different facets of the Boston community, giving the examples of a Latino music dance night catered with Vietnamese food or a fashion show highlighting artists from the African diaspora.

People need to feel safe expressing themselves artistically, Kraft said. But also, people need to feel safe sharing about their culture, their passion for their culture, and again, their passion for their arts.

He also said he wanted to create a 25-year strategic plan for the city, specific to arts and culture.

DaRosa distinguished himself from his fellow candidates by saying he had personally had few opportunities to experience the arts, especially growing up. Attending Boston Public Schools, he found limited arts programming, and even when given the opportunity to experience museums or other arts, they didnt reflect his own Cape Verdean culture.

I never walked in there and felt like I belonged, because nine out of 10 people didnt look like me, he said.

He said his focus would be on increasing access, especially within schools.

Im going to the art museum with the kids, he said. Im gonna make sure they understand what the importance of it is in their culture, so they can see how art is your culture. Art, food, music is culture.
This week, Boston reached a milestone of granting more than 60 new liquor licenses to local businesses, and new state legislation could mean the city is on track to see even more offerings coming from its restaurants and bars.

The new legislation, included in the $60.9 billion 2026 state budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey last month, will allow businesses holding beer and wine licenses to upgrade to an all alcohol license.

This new legislation is a game-changer for our small businesses, especially in Black and brown neighborhoods that have been historically locked out of opportunities to grow and thrive, Rep. Christopher Worrell, D-5th Suffolk, said in a statement. By expanding access to all-alcohol licenses, were giving local entrepreneurs the tools they need to compete, to build wealth and to shape the future of our communities.

Mayor Michelle Wu said Thursday she would introduce an order to the City Council next week to accept the new state legislation. The city will offer workshops and office hours for beer and wine licensees to learn more about the process this fall.

Last year, the state Legislature granted Boston the ability to introduce a total of 225 new liquor licenses. Almost all are neighborhood-restricted, meaning they can only be given to businesses within certain ZIP codes where there are fewer existing licenses.

Five new licenses will be added annually in each of the 13 ZIP codes included, which span Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury, the South End and West Roxbury. The remaining licenses include 12 that are unrestricted, three restricted to the Oak Square neighborhood in Brighton and 15 community licenses that can be used by nonprofits, small theaters and outdoor spaces.

The addition of 225 new liquor licenses was the most significant increase in the number of available licenses in Boston since the end of Prohibition nearly a century ago.

The city announced the first 37 licenses in February and another 21 in late June. On Thursday, the Boston Licensing Board approved three additional community space licenses for American Repertory Theater in Allston, Boston Center for the Arts in the South End and Sorrel & Lime in Dorchester.

Stefano Bruno, owner of Florenza in East Boston, said having a liquor license, which was awarded in February, has led to a bump in sales at the pizza and panini restaurant.

Florenza opened last year, and partly because of the menu offerings, served mainly customers who ordered takeout, Bruno said. But he has been expanding the menu in an effort to draw in more dine-in customers, and the cocktail, beer and wine offerings have helped.

Speaking by phone from the restaurant shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, Bruno said that the bar seating was completely full.

The past month or so, its definitely been increasing, he said. Were happy we have it. Were happy were one of the restaurants that got a liquor license.
Leeloo is the newest addition to the Cape May Zoo. Cape May County Zoo.

AMHERST  A researcher whose controversial use of marmoset monkeys to unlock the secrets of Alzheimers, aging and womens health drew the fury of PETA has closed her lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In a message posted to her own website, Agnes Lacreuse says caring for primates requires top-quality infrastructure and resources. She is grateful to the National Institutes of Health and others for more than $6 million in federal funding.

However, current efforts to destroy science and slash research funding undermine my ability to continue support for nonhuman primate research at UMass, she said.

A man protesting experiments conducted on marmosets at UMass ran onto Fenway Park Friday as University of MassachusettsAmherst Chancellor Javier Reyes was throwing out the first pitch. PETA

The lab is finishing up a research project concerning the topic of breast cancer.

Above all, my heart goes out to each one of the beloved monkeys who helped advance scientific knowledge and improve the lives of humans and other animals, she said.

The University of Massachusetts released a written statement:

The lab, whose work has been dedicated to studies that advance the knowledge of the aging process with a focus on Alzheimers disease and womens health (including breast cancer treatments), recently completed NIH grant-funded research using non-human primates. The funded experiments ended as planned, within the scheduled end of the grant.

Casey Affleck, the Massachusetts-born actor, joined PETA members and supporters on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to protest animal research conducted at the school. (Will Katcher/MassLive).

PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, declared victory in a news release.

We were determined to close this laboratory and end the torture of these tiny monkeys, and we did, says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. Lacreuses reign of terror is over.

PETA described how Lacreuses laboratory staff drilled holes in marmosets skulls to implant electrodes, cut into their necks and threaded wires through their bodies.
A lawsuit filed against the Trump administration Friday by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and her counterparts in 15 other states aims to preserve medical care for transgender youth that she said the federal government was trying to deter.

Through subpoenas, threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations, and requests for private patient information, the administration has attempted to dissuade providers from offering gender-affirming care to people younger than 19, Campbell said. That included doctors in states where such care remains legal, such as Massachusetts.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, asked a federal judge to block the governments coercion of medical providers, as described by the plaintiffs.

Medically necessary health care for transgender youth saves lives, and those health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and their providers  not by politicians, Campbell said in a statement.

The Trump administration began scrutinizing medical care for transgender young people on the day the president returned to office.

His first actions included an executive order declaring that the United States would recognize two sexes while calling for an end to gender ideology. A follow-up order attempted to curtail youth gender-affirming care, defined any person under 19 as a child and framed medical treatments for gender dysphoria as chemical and surgical mutilation.

The president also authorized the Justice Department to enforce the order.

The lawsuit from Campbell and other attorneys general argues the departments subpoenas, demands for patient data, and threats of prosecution are illegal.

In some states, they said, providers have already cut back on treatments, while patients report canceled appointments and confusion about whether their treatment regimens can continue.

In May, the American Academy of Pediatrics and five other leading medical organizations said they opposed attempts to infringe on patient-physician relationships.

The lawsuit was filed jointly with the attorneys general of New York, California, Illinois and Connecticut, with support from the attorneys general of Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.
A Brockton man was sentenced to life in prison for killing another man in a stabbing incident in 2021, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruzs office said on Friday.

Keith Disharoom, 44, was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, Cruzs office said in a statement. On Tuesday, a Plymouth County Superior Court jury said Disharoom was guilty of first-degree murder in killing 44-year-old Eric Cohen.

I hope that after todays sentencing, the family of Eric Cohen can find some measure of peace and comfort knowing that justice has been served, Cruz said in the statement.

On July 18, 2021, Brockton police went to 553 North Main St. about a report of an assault and battery with a knife, Cruzs office said. Officers found Cohen unresponsive at the scene with two stab wounds to his upper chest.

Cohen was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton before being transferred to Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, where he was pronounced dead, Cruzs office said. Through witness interviews and a review of security video footage, investigators discovered that Disharoom and Cohen got into a fight during which Disharoom stabbed Cohen.

Codefendant Mark Stroud, 29, is accused of hitting Cohens service dog and a nearby woman with a bat while the two other men were fighting, Cruzs office. Stroud is charged with first-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and animal cruelty in connection with the incident.
Police are asking for the public's help in locating a monitor lizard on the loose in Webster after it escaped from a home on Friday, July 18. Courtesy of Webster Animal Control.

Goose, a five-foot-long water monitor lizard that escaped his home weeks ago and was recently spotted in Connecticut, has returned to the Bay State, Massachusetts Environmental Police said after they received a call on Wednesday.

Officers went to the area where Goose was seen, but they could not find him, Environmental Police said in a statement on Thursday.

We are working closely with reptile experts, Rain Forest Reptiles, to help us locate and capture the animal, the statement added.

The illegally owned reptile escaped the home in Webster on July 18, prompting Webster Animal Control to conduct a search of the area off Upper Gore Road. Officers called off the search and asked for the publics help in finding Goose.

Webster Police Deputy Chief Gordon Wentworth told MassLive that the lizard was very elusive.

Then, on July 25, Goose was spotted walking in the area of Little Pond on Wilsonville and Thompson roads in Thompson, Connecticut, about five miles south of Webster.

Environmental Police ask the public not to approach the lizard and not to try to capture it. Children and pets are to be kept away from potential hiding places, including brush, woodpiles and water edges.

Water monitor lizards are illegal to possess in Massachusetts without a permit, Environmental Police stated. This animal was being kept without proper authorization, and the Massachusetts Environmental Police are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding its possession and escape.

If anyone sees Goose, call Environmental Police at 800-632-8075 and press one, or call Webster Animal Control at 508-943-1212 ext. 1240.
A trio of residents who lived at the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River when a fire broke out and killed 10 people last month filed suit on Thursday against the facilitys owner and the third-party company responsible for inspecting its fire systems.

The lawsuit, filed by the firm Morgan and Morgan in Bristol Superior Court, claims the facility turned into a death trap. It names the facility, its owner, Dennis Etzkorn, and the company, Fire Systems, Inc., as defendants.

The residents, Patricia Martin, Terry Young and Donna Murphey, suffered physical and emotional injuries because of the fire, and have ongoing expenses for their care and relocation.

The day after the fire, Murphey told reporters the facilitys owner didnt care about peoples lives.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claim Etzkorn was negligent in part because he knew or should have known that residents often smoked in their rooms despite many being on medical oxygen, and that some smoked while being administered oxygen therapy.

Officials have said the deadly blaze was caused by either the failure of an oxygen purifier or improper disposal of smoking materials. While the cause is undetermined, it is undisputed that the oxygen in the building contributed to the scale of the tragedy.

Theres truly no safe way to smoke, but smoking is especially dangerous when home oxygen is in use, State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine said at a press conference last week. No one should smoke around medical oxygen.

Fire officials have not disclosed the exact unit where the fire broke out, but said it erupted in a second-story room on the east side of the east wing of the U-shaped building. The resident whose room the fire broke out in was among the 10 killed.

The lawsuit claims there was a no-smoking policy at Gabriel House that was not meaningfully enforced. There were few consequences for residents caught smoking, including those who were caught smoking while being administered oxygen, according to the complaint.

Etzkorn negligently failed to provide appropriate supervision and monitoring of the residents receiving care for safe smoking practices, the suit reads.

A spokesperson for Etzkorn did not immediately return a request for comment on the claims in the lawsuit. In his last public statement, Etzkorn said, my sole concerns, and all that matters right now, are helping investigators determine all the facts and circumstances of this tragedy, and helping our residents loved ones in this unbearable time of immense grief.

The lawsuit also claims the facility lacked an emergency preparedness plan, despite one being required by law. Multiple residents and staff members have told MassLive they never participated in any fire drills at the facility.

Etzkorn has drawn considerable scrutiny since the fire broke out. But the third-party company responsible for inspecting the fire safety systems inside Gabriel House had not previously been identified.

Fire Systems, Inc., which is based in North Dartmouth, improperly installed and maintained the fire panel, fire pump and sprinkler system at Gabriel House, and those systems failed to operate reasonably at the time of the fire.

A message left for Fire Systems, Inc. on Friday was not immediately returned.

Etzkorn has said the systems were inspected and given the all-clear just five days before the fire.

But the suit claims residents at the facility didnt have access to a properly installed, mounted and/or maintained fire extinguisher or fire suppression system.

Gabriel House turned into a death trap, said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Luke Mitcheson. Our lawsuit alleges the owner and the fire safety company he contracted with knew it, and yet they failed to act in time to save the facilitys vulnerable residents from death and permanent injuries.

We will stop at nothing to achieve justice for the people and families impacted, the lawyers continued.

The lawsuit also claims that window air conditioning units at the facility were too large and made it difficult for residents to evacuate safely from their rooms.

A Fall River firefighter who responded to the scene told MassLive that he and others had great difficulty removing air conditioner units that were screwed into windows.

Each one of those took an extended period of time to get the ladder, put the ladder up, get the member to knock the window out, the air conditioner, enter the room, search the room, locate a victim, extricate the victim, said Michael OReagan, the president of the local firefighters union.

The suit filed on Thursday marks at least the second such claim to be filed against Etzkorn and Gabriel House in the weeks following the July 13 fire, the deadliest residential fire in Massachusetts in decades.

Documents released this week by the state showed Gabriel House was suspended in 2016, following an undisclosed incident that presented an immediate threat to the health, safety or welfare of its residents.

State and city records  such as compliance reports, corrective actions and submitted complaints  show concerns dating back a decade-plus and include prolonged elevator outages, cockroaches, rodents and an absence of emergency and evacuation planning.
A New Jersey man died following a possible medical emergency while he was scuba diving off Cape Cod on Tuesday, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn IIIs office said Friday.

Joseph Mazraani, 48, of New Millstone, New Jersey, was with a group of scuba divers on his ship, called Tenacious, Quinns office said in a statement. The group was about 150 miles east of the Cape to go scuba diving "and exploring shipwrecks in the area of Georges Bank," the statement read.

While diving, Mazraani had a possible medical emergency, which prompted the other people in the group to pull him out of the water and tried to save him, Quinns office said. Mazraani could not be revived.

The ship arrived at Fleet Marina in New Bedford at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Quinns office said. The group contacted the Massachusetts Coast Guard and New Bedford police about Mazraanis death.

Foul play is not suspected in connection with Mazraanis death.

The Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts Coast Guard and New Bedford police are investigating the incident.
Editors note: This article contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault.

A Texas man was charged in connection with four women who were sexually assaulted in New Bedford in 2013, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn IIIs office said Friday.

Orlando Robles, 51, was charged with kidnapping; two counts of rape, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14; nine counts of assault and battery; assault with the intent to commit an indecent assault and battery; and use of a vehicle in the commission of a crime.

He was arraigned in Fall River Superior Court on Wednesday and was ordered held without bail, Quinns office said in a statement. He is next expected to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Sept. 9.

Robles is suspected of four sexual assaults on women between June and July 2013, Quinns office said. The first assault was on a woman who was walking home and he offered to drive her in his car, indicating he was on his way to pick up his child. Once she was in the car, he drove to a secluded area, choked her, grabbed her breasts and sexually assaulted her. As she tried to pull herself away, the man hit her in the head.

The second woman was sexually assaulted after she tried to leave her car parked in her homes driveway, the statement read. A man grabbed her by the throat, forced her back in the car, hit her face and raped her as she tried to get away.

This similarly happened to a third woman before he fled, Quinns office said.

A fourth woman was sexually assaulted as she entered her car in New Bedfords downtown area, the statement read. A man punched her in the face, raped her and then left, but his truck was identified in the area of the attack.

Police spoke with the man, who said he was from Texas, Quinns office said. The next day, the man left Massachusetts for Texas.

Robles was convicted of the violent sexual assaults of four different women in Texas between August and September 2013, as well as exposing himself to a woman and her daughter, Quinns office said.

He was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison before he was rendited to Massachusetts regarding the charges he faces in Bristol County Superior Court, Quinns office said.
The Department of Health and Human Services referred its antisemitism investigation into Harvard University to the Department of Justice, calling its discussions with the institution fruitless, according to a Wednesday letter.

The letter, sent by Paula Stannard, the director of the Office for Civil Rights, comes after the office determined Harvard had violated civil rights law based on its deliberate indifference towards campus antisemitism.

The Trump administration also threatened to cut all federal funding from Harvard.

Rather than voluntarily comply with its obligations under Title VI, Harvard has chosen scorched-earth litigation against the Federal government, Stannard said.

After months of conversation and without voluntary compliance from Harvard, Stannard said the Trump administration has no choice but to refer the matter to the Department of Justice for potential legal action.

A Harvard spokesperson didnt respond to a request for comment.

The letter comes amid a potential deal between Harvard and the Trump administration.

Harvard is open to a potential $500 million settlement as a means of ending the months-long battle with the Trump administration, according to reporting from The New York Times.

The talk of a settlement comes after Trump publicly announced in June that the federal government was in talks with Harvard over a mindbogglingly HISTORIC deal that would occur over the next week or so.

Democrats in the House and Senate who are alums of Harvard are also threatening an investigation into the negotiations if the university does make a deal with the Trump administration, according to exclusive reporting from Axios.

What has happened between the Trump admin and Harvard?

The Trump administration has gone after Harvard since April, cutting billions of dollars.

Demanding an overhaul of Harvards leadership structure, admissions and hiring  the federal government warned the school could risk losing $9 billion in funding.

Harvard rejected those demands, stating they seek to invade university freedoms long recognized by the Supreme Court.

Then the fight over funding occurred.

It began with a $2.2 billion funding freeze on April 14 after the school refused to comply with the federal administrations demands.

In response, Harvard filed a lawsuit on April 21, arguing that its constitutional rights had been violated by the governments threats to pull billions of dollars in funding.

Harvard President Alan Garber also signed onto a letter with hundreds of other university presidents pushing back against government overreach and political interference by the Trump administration.

At the beginning of May, the Trump administration said it would bar Harvard University from acquiring new federal grants while the school continues to refuse to comply with the administrations demands for change on its campus.

A few days later, eight federal agencies cut $450 million in grants and then the United States Department of Health and Human Services cut $60 million in grants from the university.

Harvard went on to amend its lawsuit against the Trump administration.

On May 16, a wave of nearly one thousand federal research grant terminations began, amounting to more than $2.4 billion, according to an analysis by Nature.

In response, Harvard established a new Presidential Priorities Fund, asking for donations in the midst of federal cuts.

Some of Harvards schools, including its School of Public Health, took to social media to ask for donations after nearly every single federal grant had been terminated.

Other investigations and threats have been made against the institution, some of which have focused on threatening the universitys ability to enroll international students.

This prompted Harvard to open a second lawsuit against the Trump administration over its ability to accept international students.

Most recently, the State Department opened an investigation into Harvard Universitys use of international visas.

The Department of Homeland Security has also subpoenaed Harvard over its failure to provide documents concerning the misconduct or criminal actions of foreign students.
An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

Editor: WXY
A Worcester man pleaded guilty to creating sexually explicit videos of three underage girls in federal court on Thursday, the Massachusetts U.S. Attorneys Office announced.

Antonio Merced, 28, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography, the U.S. Attorneys office said in a press release.

In July 2024, Merced exposed two underage girls to pornography and sex toys, the U.S. Attorneys office said. An investigation into the Worcester resident led to the discovery of sexually explicit videos of three underage girls that he produced in 2023 and 2024.

Merced was arrested in September 2024 and remains in state custody, the district attorneys office said. He was later charged with three counts of dissemination of obscene material to a minor, two counts of aggravated rape of a child and one count each of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, dissemination of child sexual abuse material, intimidation of a witness and enticing a child under 16 out of Worcester District Court.

Merced was indicted on the federal charges in November 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on those charges in November 2025, the U.S. Attorneys office said. He faces a sentence of decades in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
As regards self-employed, they have contributed a total of Rs 123 million during the period January 2025 to date.

As regards self-employed, they have contributed a total of Rs 123 million during the period January 2025 to date.

Le Dr. Navin Ramgoolam en sa capacite de Ministre des Finances a repondu a la Private Question de Joe Lesjongard sur la CSG et sa supperssion a veir dans les deux prochaines annees.

To ask Dr the Honourable Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister of Finance, Minister for Rodrigues and Outer Islands 

Whether, in regard to the progressive phasing out of the social allowances schemes financed through the Contribution Sociale Generalisee (CSG) funds, he will state 

(a) the number of employers contributing thereto, indicating the amount collected therefrom since January 2025 to date and projected collections for the financial years 2025-26 2026-27; and

(b) under each respective scheme, the-

(i) number of beneficiaries concerned therewith; and

(ii) amount expected to be saved on a monthly and annual basis, respectively, until the complete phasing out thereof?

Madam Speaker,

Let me at the very outset remind the House that the former Government, in a bid to win the 2019 General Elections, announced on 1st October 2019 on the occasion of the International Day for the Elderly, that the monthly Basic Retirement Pension would be increased from Rs 9,000 to Rs 13,500 without any consideration whatsoever on the sustainability of such a decision. Cetait clairement un bribe electoral  seulement cinq semaines avant les elections de 2019.

The former Government decided to introduce the CSG to finance the additional budget deficit created by this measure. However, in so doing, they simply destroyed the pension system by abolishing contributions to the National Pension Fund established since 1976 and which served as a cornerstone of our retirement system providing financial security and stability for our citizens.

Madam Speaker,

With regard to part (a) of the question, the rates of CSG contribution in respect of an employee earning up to Rs 50,000 in a month are 1.5% and 3% of basic salary for the employee and his employer, respectively. As regards an employee earning above Rs 50,000 a month, the rates of contribution are 3% and 6% respectively.

I am informed by the Mauritius Revenue Authority that from January 2025 to date, the number of employers from the private sector who have contributed towards CSG is 33,291. In addition, there were some 10,026 self- employed who have contributed to the CSG.

Furthermore, Government has also contributed to the CSG.

The total amount of CSG collected from employers during the period January 2025 to date amounts to Rs 5.1 billion of which:

(i) Rs 4.0 billion from the private sector; and

(ii) Rs 1.1 billion from the public sector.

The total amount of CSG collected from employees in the private and public sectors amounts to Rs 2.6 billion.

As regards self-employed, they have contributed a total of Rs 123 million during the period January 2025 to date.

The projected CSG collection from employers for financial year 2025-2026 is Rs 9.6 billion and for financial year 2026-2027 is Rs 10.9 billion.

The total amount of CSG collection, that is including employers, employees and self employed, is projected to be Rs 14.7 billion in financial 2025-2026 and Rs 16.7 billion in financial year 2026-2027. Madam Speaker,

As regards part (b) of the question, the previous Government had introduced a number of schemes under the Social Contribution and Social Benefits Act instead of paying the increase in the pension.  First, the CSG Income Allowance introduced as from July 2022.

 Second, the CSG Child Allowance introduced as from July 2023;

 Third the Independence Allowance introduced as from July 2023;

 Fourth, the CSG School Allowance introduced as from July 2024;

 Fifth, the Pregnancy Care Allowance introduced as from July 2024;

 Sixth, the Maternity Allowance introduced as from July 2024;

 Seventh, the Revenu Minimum Garantie introduced in July 2024; and

 Eighth, the Equal Chance Allowance introduced in July 2024.

With regard to part (b)(i) of the question, I am informed by the MRA that the number of beneficiaries under each scheme since January 2025 to date is as follows: (a) 349,168 under the CSG Income Allowance;

(b) 38,783 under the CSG Child Allowance;

(c) 6,780 under the Independence Allowance;

(d) 84,478 under the CSG School Allowance;

(e) 3,909 under the Pregnancy Care Allowance;

(f) 11,117 under the Maternity Allowance;

(g) 58,562 under the Revenu Minimum Garantie; and

(h) 10,117 under the Equal Chance Allowance.

Madam Speaker,

All these allowances, except for the Independence Allowance, were planned to end abruptly in June 2025 by the previous Government. The Honourable Leader of the Opposition will recall that he himself voted the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 to amend the Social Contribution and Social Benefits Act to stop the payment of these allowances in June 2025.

I am also informed by the MRA that for the period January 2025 to date, a total amount disbursed is Rs 7.6 billion for all these schemes. Madam Speaker,

In addition, Government is paying the CSG Retirement Benefits, the Industrial Injury Benefit and the Disability Allowance. During the period January 2025 to date, a total of Rs 2.1 billion has been disbursed for these expenditures.

The previous Government knew that these allowances were not sustainable.

Let me quote the former Minister of Finance who, in reply to a Parliamentary Question in October 2023, confessed that 

I quote Il ne reste donc rien par rapport aux contributions de la CSG. End quote

I would also like to inform the House that for financial year 2024-2025, payments effected under the CSG far exceeded the contributions being collected by some Rs 9.3 billion. Madam Speaker,

As a compassionate Government, we are ensuring that CSG allowances, instead of ending abruptly in June 2025 as decided by the former Government, are gradually phased out over the next two years.

We are also providing that vulnerable individuals and households registered on the Social Register of Mauritius will continue to receive these allowances in full including the Independence Allowance.

Furthermore, we have also provided for:

(a) the payment of the Disability Allowance to persons over 60 years who are not eligible for the Basic Retirement Pension but qualify under the income support criteria;

(b) the increase of the Revenu Minimum Garantie Allowance from Rs 500 to Rs 890 in financial year 2025-2026, and further to Rs 1,890 in financial year 2026-2027, so as to ensure that a full-time worker earns a minimum monthly revenue of Rs 20,000; and

(c) maintaining the Equal Chance Allowance of Rs 2,000 per month for households earning less than Rs 20,000 monthly.

Madam Speaker,

The previous Government had introduced the CSG and knowingly undermined the very purpose of the National Pension Fund (NPF).

The NPF, established in 1976, operated as a contributory, funded scheme: both employees and employers made mandatory contributions, which were then invested to ensure long-term sustainability and to provide retirement benefits linked to individual contributions.

In contrast, the CSG was designed as a pay-as-you-go system, that is a tax where the funds are credited to the Consolidated Fund, whereby current contributions are immediately used to pay out benefits, with no direct link between what an individual contributes and what they ultimately receive.

The CSG rapidly revealed deep structural weaknesses that now threaten the very foundations of our pension system and the fiscal health of our nation.

With regard to part (b)(ii) of the question, there would have been significant savings if we had implemented what the previous Government planned, that is ending the payments in June 2025. We, on the contrary, are making provision for the payment of the allowances over the next 2 years despite the fiscal challenges we are facing. Madam Speaker,

In addition, we are taking steps to reform the pension system with a revamped NPF.

It is in this context that I have announced in the Budget Speech, the setting up of a Commission of Experts to look into the reform of the various pillars of the pension system, as well as the revamping of the National Pension Fund.

The Ministry of Finance is currently liaising with both the IMF and the World Bank to assist in the formulation of the Terms of Reference of the Commission.

I would not like to pre-empt the recommendations of the Commission. However, it is obvious that the bulk of the CSG contributions in its current form, would be used to finance the new NPF system. Madam Speaker,

I wish to emphasise that review of CSG allowances needs to be considered in conjunction with the overall revamping of the pension system. This reform is absolutely critical and has to be looked into, in a holistic manner.

It does not only aim at enhancing fiscal sustainability but will also ensure a parity between what each generation pays and receives, thereby promoting fairness in intergenerational burden sharing.
Castlebar woman Ciara Mangan has spoken on national radio about the supports that are available to survivors of rape and sexual assault.

In an interview on Newstalk, she said that just telling someone really does relieve a lot of the burden that youre carrying on your own. You never have to carry this on your own and even by just making a statement to the guards, thats you taking back some of your power and trying to hold this person accountable.

READ MORE: Aldi granted planning permission for another Mayo supermarket

Mangan highlighted the importance of having the support as well of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centres or other rape crisis centres in the aftermath of experiencing sexual abuse and rape.

The Newstalk segment reported on the lack of prosecutions that are made in instances of sexual assault and rape.

The investigation found that almost 18,000 sexual offence cases were referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by the gardai over the past decade  but the majority of the cases (67%) did not result in prosecutions.

The reason given for the lack of prosecution in sexual violence cases is that the burden of proof for these cases (as with all criminal cases) is very high and they are often difficult to prove in court.

Mangan commented: If the DPP does come back and say that theyre not going to prosecute, it doesnt mean that you werent believed and it doesnt mean that it didnt happen, and it doesnt mean that you cant find some peace and justice in other ways down the line as well.

READ NEXT: 'It can save lives' - Message from Mayo LGFA star about cardiac screening

In May 2013, Ciara Mangan was raped by 30-year-old Shane Noonan of Turlough Road in Castlebar at a house party in the town.

The Mayo woman has since founded an organisation to help survivors of sexual assault and rape called Beyond Surviving.

She has also spoken at the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

If youve been affected by any of the issues discussed in this article, please contact the Rape Crisis Centres national 24-hour helpline on 1800 77 88 88, or visit rapecrisishelp.ie.
ALMATY, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan plans to raise oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to 1.7 million tonnes in 2025, the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency reported Thursday, citing Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov.

Kazakhstan transported 1.4 million tonnes of oil through the BTC pipeline in 2024, and about 800,000 tonnes were shipped in the first half of 2025 alone, said the minister, adding that efforts to boost export volumes are underway.

Plans to increase oil exports via the BTC pipeline were discussed during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's recent visit to Turkiye.

Editor: Xiong Jian
A ship sails on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

ISMAILIA, Egypt, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date.

"This achievement underscores Egypt's success in maintaining sovereignty over this crucial maritime passage," Rabie told Xinhua during celebrations marking the 69th anniversary of the Suez Canal's nationalization.

He noted that the Suez Canal has experienced unprecedented development since 1956, a level of progress not seen since its inauguration in 1869.

The chairman noted that the canal's draft has been expanded from 10 meters to 22 meters. Additionally, he said, the length of dual-lane sections has increased from 27.7 km to 99 km.

In 1956, former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company, asserting Egypt's sovereignty over its own resources and strategic infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Rabie said that the canal typically saw 75 to 80 ships transiting daily before the targeting of commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea by the Yemeni Houthi group.

The number, he added, has now decreased to between 30 and 35 ships per day.

Tensions arose in the Red Sea after Yemen's Houthis group began attacking Israeli-linked ships in November 2023 to demonstrate solidarity with Gaza during the Hamas-Israel conflict, affecting transit through the man-made waterway.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in March that the Suez Canal was losing approximately 800 million dollars in revenue each month due to the situation in the region.

Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie speaks during celebrations marking the 69th anniversary of the Suez Canal's nationalization in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date.(Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A ship sails on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A ship sails on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Ships sail on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Ships sail on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date.(Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Editor: Xiong Jian
Ive lost count of the phones I have reviewed, as a new phone gets launched almost every day, especially if it's under INR 50K. There is a strange sense of scepticism these phones bring in, where they often make tall claims that get me thinking why someone would buy ultra-premium phones worth INR 1L and above. Sadly, when I test them, the reality is poles apart. However, the Google Pixel 9a with a price tag of INR 49,999 promises a flagship experience. But does it deliver? Let me give you a comprehensive review of the Google Pixel 9a, based on my long-term usage. Google Pixel 9a Review: Design and Feel

 Google The solid hand-feel of Google Pixel 9a made me appreciate the thought Google has put into its construction. I liked the composite matte back, paired with a satin metal frame, which I found quite premium. It has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, which works quite well, so I dont need to bother about rain or dusty areas that I venture into whenever I go out in Delhi. Another thing I would like to appreciate is Googles focus on sustainability. This phone incorporates 100% recycled aluminium, which is made with at least 23% recycled materials by weight, including 81% recycled plastic in the back cover, and comes in 100% plastic-free packaging. Im all for a solid device that cares about the environment too. Unlike the Google Pixel 9 Pro, the prominent camera bar (which I liked a lot) is gone. Instead, there is a more subtle, clean, understated, and frankly, a bit anonymous rear camera setup. Purely from a practical standpoint, I like it. After all, a flatter back means no more silly wobbling that comes with bulky camera structures. I still feel its a bit slippery, so I suggest you opt for a case. Google Pixel 9a Review: Display

 Google The 6.3-inch OLED display is perfect to hold, as I prefer smaller phones. Watching content provides a crisp and vibrant feel that I don't often see in phones around INR 50K. Surprisingly, there are chunky bezels that look quite unacceptable in a phone that demands INR 50K. I thought Id overcome the chunkiness, but I couldnt. While I don't carry a meter to check the claimed brightness of 2700 nits, the Google Pixel 9a is just ok under direct sunlight. There is a 120Hz refresh rate, which is quite standard in almost every phone, but here, it makes everything feel fluid. Colours are mostly accurate and not overly saturated like some rivals, so yes, Google tuned this one quite well. Google Pixel 9a Review: Performance

 Google You have the same Tensor G4 chip found in its more expensive Pixel 9 siblings. Im sure itll fail to compete with the absolute top-tier flagships in raw benchmark scores, but the Google Pixel 9a is snappy and responsive. Heavy-duty gaming is not its forte, where I have to dial down a few settings for graphically intensive titles, as Ive noticed a few hiccups; otherwise, the 8GB of RAM is generally sufficient. Google Pixel 9a Review: Camera

 Google I recently met someone who was using the Google Pixel 9a to cover an event. No fancy traditional cameras or even those ultra-premium phones with a larger-than-this-planet kind of camera setup. And I couldnt agree more, as Pixel devices are usually pretty good with their camera results. The main 48MP camera takes great shots with accurate exposure, natural colours, and impressive detail in good light. Low-light performance is also commendable, though it takes a bit longer to process. I had no complaints with the ultrawide camera either. In fact, I was surprised by the new macro mode producing some genuinely stunning close-ups. There is noticeable improvement in the video part as well. Then you have all the Pixel AI photo editing goodies to top it all. For me, Magic Editor and Best Take are genuinely useful, so the 9a is still the one to beat in the INR 50K price point. Google Pixel 9a Review: Battery Life

 Google This is always a mixed bag with all the Pixel phones, but the Google Pixel 9a changed my perception. You have a 5,100mAh battery, which is the largest battery in any A-series Pixel to date. Moderate to heavy usage gave me one full day plus, and the standby drain is also more than satisfactory. However, the charging still remains a Pixel pain point, where a 23W wired and a paltry 7.5W wireless is quite slow by today's standards. I suggest you plan your charging sessions accordingly, but once fully charged, you can enjoy your day with zero worries. Google Pixel 9a Review: Software and AI Features

 Google The Google Pixel 9a continues to offer an uncluttered stock Android experience that all Pixel users love and admire. Free of bloatware, seven years of OS, security, and feature drop updates is simply unmatched in this category. Plus, you have all the AI features you'd expect: Gemini (replacing Google Assistant), Circle to Search, and plenty of camera AI tools. I miss a few of the more intensive on-device AI features that I enjoy on the Pro, but the core AI experience is robust and genuinely useful. I did encounter some random app freezes and navigation gesture issues, but these are typically ironed out with subsequent updates. Google Pixel 9a Review: Verdict
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BRASILIA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday reaffirmed the importance of national sovereignty as a fundamental pillar of his country, stressing international cooperation and the strengthening of multilateralism amid rising tensions with the United States.

"Without sovereignty, Brazil would not exist," the president said in a post on social media, referring to his refusal to bow to increasing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who claims the current Brazilian government presents an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.

In his post, Lula da Silva attached an image of the first article of the Brazilian Constitution, which enshrines sovereignty as one of the foundations of the state.

"It is sovereignty that brought us freedom and independence ... sovereignty is the authority a people has over their own destiny. It is a country's ability to decide its course, protect its resources, look after its territory, and defend its interests," he wrote.

"For us, sovereignty is the right to build a free, just and supportive society," he added.

The Brazilian leader did not mention the United States or Trump by name, but stressed the importance of "international cooperation" and said Brazil is committed to strengthening multilateralism.

The White House on Wednesday sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Magnitsky Act, which is used to punish foreigners it accuses of corruption or serious human rights violations.

Trump also signed an executive order implementing an additional 40 percent tariff on Brazilian goods on the same day, bringing the total tariff to 50 percent.

Editor: Xiong Jian
Thousands of Army Reserve soldiers are being forced to scramble for new assignments after the service abruptly ordered the dismantling of its helicopter units, a sweeping move that has caught commanders off guard and upended aviation operations across the country.

The cuts, which are set to eliminate all of the reserve's helicopter units by the end of the summer, are part of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George's broader push to modernize the force by shedding legacy formations and redirecting resources toward emerging technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence.

But the transition has left troops questioning both the pace and planning of the changes. Military.com spoke with 16 Army Reserve aviators, including commanders and senior noncommissioned officers, who expressed frustration with what they described as a chaotic and poorly communicated rollout. All requested anonymity, citing concerns about retaliation, as they were not authorized to speak publicly.

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"There was no heads-up, no briefing," said one senior noncommissioned officer. "Just an email saying aviation's going away and we need to find somewhere else to go."

News began trickling out within the aviation community's inner circle in February when Brig. Gen. Roger Deon, the head of Army Reserve Aviation Command, began meeting with commanders to give them a warning that the Pentagon had its sights on Army Reserve aviation for cuts, multiple senior officers with direct knowledge described.

The plan to cut all of the component's aviation didn't materialize until May, and that information took longer to reach the rank and file.

"That's whirlwind-fast for government work," one aviator noted, expressing frustrations with the rapid closure of units.

Some reserve aviation units are now working to find alternative roles for their pilots and full-time personnel, including potential placements with federal agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Opportunities within the National Guard or the active-duty Army are limited and often require relocation, adding another layer of complexity for service members and their families.

For junior enlisted soldiers and part-time reservists in support roles such as mechanics, crew chiefs and administrative staff, the road ahead is even more complicated. Transferring into a new unit or occupational specialty can take months of retraining, a process that can be especially burdensome for reservists balancing military obligations with full-time civilian jobs or college coursework.

"There was no time to plan," one senior reserve aviator told Military.com. "This was all put on us to just figure out; there's been no support on this."

It's unclear how many soldiers will be affected. Maj. William Allred, an Army Reserve spokesperson, declined to say, noting operational security. However, the number of soldiers in formations is routinely publicized information.

"While the soldiers in the Army Reserve Aviation Command will be impacted by the cuts, they will have the opportunity to continue their military service in other units where their skills can be utilized," Allred said in a statement to Military.com.

Army Reserve aviation as a whole includes about 4,600 soldiers, including some fixed-wing aircraft formations, though helicopter units make up the lion's share of the force, with units in California, Washington state, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, New Jersey and Kentucky.

Changing components isn't easy. Parts of National Guard service may also be less attractive to reservists, some of those soldiers explained. The reserve often compensates troops for travel and hotels during their weekend duty obligations, a perk that is absent in the National Guard -- much to the chagrin of reservists who have been interviewed and are looking to switch components.

And Guard service often carries heavier demands. The component is routinely tapped for both overseas deployments and domestic missions, including disaster relief, border security and civil unrest response, duties that can sometimes be a greater burden on part-time soldiers compared to their reserve counterparts. Acquiring federal benefits is also more complicated.

The Army Reserve has not yet developed a comprehensive plan for soldiers to exit their contracts, but if they join the National Guard, they may also be required to repay generous enlistment bonuses of up to $20,000. The Army Reserve declined to comment on questions related to bonuses.

"We were told if we received a bonus, we'd have to pay it back," one enlisted soldier said.

Unlike their active-duty counterparts, reservists can't easily pivot to new units, particularly in large states or places with significant geographical gaps between units. Many people balance civilian jobs and family obligations, making relocation nearly impossible. Others have highly specialized skills -- such as air medical -- that are now disappearing.

Some units are scrambling to land spots in the National Guard, with upcoming weekend drills hosting recruiters, but that option comes with limited slots and often requires troops to sign new multi-year contracts.

"It's mostly been on our own accord, [to] find a new home, to figure it out," another soldier noted.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in both parties are growing increasingly frustrated with the Army's disjointed rollout of major force structure changes, criticizing what they see as a lack of transparency and strategic coherence.

While there's broad agreement on Capitol Hill that the service needs to modernize and move beyond a doctrinal framework that's remained largely unchanged for decades, many say the Army has failed to articulate its plans clearly.

Several Capitol Hill aides expressed concerns to Military.com that there is a perception reforms are being implemented in an ad hoc and overly hasty manner, leaving Congress in the dark.

One of the units on the chopping block is the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, a Texas-based formation with a record of responding to domestic emergencies, including relief efforts following Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

"You've come into my house, where I was born and raised, in this county, and you're taking something away from me, and I want to know why," Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, told George and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll during a budget hearing last month.

Related: Decades of Troubles for Air Force Maintainers Set to Get Worse with Job Consolidation
Cheryl Mason, an adviser to VA Secretary Doug Collins and 28-year employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs, was confirmed Thursday to become the department's top watchdog.

The Senate approved Mason's nomination in a 53-45 vote Thursday that fell along party lines. During Mason's confirmation hearing in June, Democrats had raised concerns over her role since January as a senior adviser to the secretary, but ultimately, they did not have the votes to block Mason's appointment as the VA's inspector general.

Addressing Democrats' concerns at her confirmation hearing, Mason, who led the Veterans Board of Appeals from 2017 to 2022, pledged to be an unbiased investigator of the department, adding that her priority would be serving veterans.

Read Next: The Army Reserve Is Gutting Aviation Units. Thousands of Soldiers Are Being Left in the Lurch.

"As chairman and veterans law judge, I acted independently issuing decisions to be followed by VA guarding the impartiality and independence of the board, and I will do the same if confirmed as [inspector general]," Mason said.

The board is responsible for reviewing disability benefits claims when veterans challenge the department's initial decisions.

Mason will lead a department that has been without a permanent inspector general since January, when President Donald Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general across the federal government, including Michael Missal, the VA's inspector general who had served since 2016.

Democrats said Mason's appointment would politicize an office that requires independence and nonpartisanship as it investigates wrongdoing at the VA.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said during the hearing that no inspector general had ever been appointed who previously has been a political appointee.

"What we need now, more than any time in our history, is a person in that position who is nonpolitical, completely nonpartisan and independent," Blumenthal said.

Of concern to lawmakers was a report in Government Executive magazine that said, as senior adviser, Mason told Veterans Benefits Administration employees that they could not have direct contact with the Office of General Counsel without her permission.

When pressed, Mason said she would recuse herself from "certain situations," just as she did when she was a veterans law judge.

Mason said it has been her lifelong mission to serve veterans and military families. She has been a staunch advocate for military spouse employment, is a motivational speaker and has written a book on leadership.

Mason is the wife of a retired Air Force officer and the daughter and sister of veterans, both of whom died by suicide.

"My commitment to those who serve this country is deep and personal," she said during her hearing.

Republicans overwhelmingly supported her nomination.

Committee Chairman Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., had been pressing the department to nominate a replacement to Missal and during hearings has repeatedly thanked the previous inspector general for his oversight.

"The IG's work is essential to identifying areas where the VA is falling short, and this committee's job would be much harder without the help of an inspector general. This is before us today as a lawyer, a military spouse, a leader who has been appointed to high-level positions within the VA by both President Biden and President Trump," Moran said during Mason's hearing.

Related: Attorney, VA Senior Adviser Nominated for Veterans Affairs Inspector General
Virginia's senators are seeking answers in the death of a Navy sailor whose body was found 10 days after her disappearance from Naval Station Norfolk in the state's Tidewater region.

Seaman Angelina Resendiz, 21, a culinary specialist assigned to the guided-missile destroyer USS James E. Williams, was last seen May 29; her body was later found in a wooded area roughly 10 miles from the installation.

Shortly after her disappearance, her mother raised concerns that the Navy was mishandling the case, saying her command failed to file a missing person's report.

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Now, Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, both Democrats representing Virginia, want answers. They wrote to Navy Secretary John Phelan on Wednesday asking for more details about the Navy's response immediately following Resendiz's disappearance and throughout the investigation.

The two said the Navy has provided "some initial information" related to the case to Congress, advocates and family members, but it needed to provide "significantly greater detail about the circumstances."

"We urge you to provide clarity around the actions taken by the Navy upon first learning of Seaman Resendiz's absence, and Navy leaders' adherence to a range of protocols and procedures, including those outlined in [Military Personnel Manual] 1600-040, which governs absent enlisted and officer personnel," they wrote.

"Furthermore, we ask for detail on what investigative steps were taken, and when, by the Navy and its Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as well as the interactions with local and Virginia State Police," they said.

According to the letter and media accounts after the disappearance, Resendiz's friends and family filed a missing person's report on May 31 after they could not reach her and she did not show up for work. Virginia State Police issued a Critically Missing Alert at the request of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on June 3.

Esmeralda Castle, Resendiz's mother, flew to Norfolk and sought meetings with the command but said on June 7 that the Navy was not forthcoming with any details regarding the case to date.

"They won't tell me if they have her phone. They won't tell who the last person is she talked to. They won't tell me where she was last," Castle told local station 13News Now.

Resendiz's body was found June 9.

The Virginia Medical Examiner has not released the cause or manner of her death. A spokesman for the office said the outcome of the investigation is still pending.

A sailor was taken into custody shortly after Resendiz was found and remains in pretrial confinement in connection with the investigation "at the command's discretion," according to a statement provided by the NCIS to Military.com.

The Navy's Office of Special Trial Counsel is reviewing the case and will make the decision on any charges, according to the NCIS.

"NCIS will issue an updated statement to announce those charges and refer any further military justice-related questions to OSTC. All sailors are presumed innocent until their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial," the statement said.

Resendiz joined the Navy in August 2023 and reported to the James E. Williams in February 2024. She made the rank of seaman in February 2025.

After her body was found, the NCIS said that agents worked "tirelessly" with Norfolk Police, Virginia State Police, Virginia Search and Rescue, and "numerous other federal and local law enforcement partners" to find the missing sailor.

The lawmakers asked for a Navy briefing on the case by Aug. 14, including details on the immediate response, the investigation and the return of the sailor's remains to her hometown of Mexia, Texas. According to the senators, Resendiz's body was returned in a condition that caused her family "grief and anger."

"We urge the swift and thorough completion of the criminal investigation, and an associated administrative investigation as the service examines the circumstances of Seaman Resendiz's death," they wrote.

Phelan's office did not respond to a request for comment.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include a statement from the NCIS.

Related: Navy Calls Off Search for Sailor Who Went Overboard During Exercise Near Australia
People visit the Silk Road E-commerce Zone during the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

HANGZHOU, July 31 (Xinhua) -- An air route linking the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and Dubai, a city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was launched on Wednesday, marking the official introduction of Emirates, one of the world's leading airlines, to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport.

The first flight on the route arrived at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at around 3:24 p.m. on Wednesday. The route, operated by Emirates, is served by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with daily flights starting from Thursday, said the airport.

The outbound flight EK311 will depart from Hangzhou at 12:10 a.m. Beijing Time and arrive in Dubai at 4:55 a.m. local time. The return flight, EK310, will take off from Dubai at 9:40 a.m. local time and arrive in Hangzhou at 10:00 p.m. Beijing time.

Hangzhou's vibrant cross-border e-commerce ecosystem and abundant sci-tech industry resources are highly compatible with Dubai's positioning as a free trade port, said Li Xun, general manager of Emirates in China.

The launch of the new route will create more opportunities for cooperation between the two cities in the fields of digital economy, international trade and passenger travel, according to Li.

After the new route's launch, the total number of flights between Hangzhou and Dubai will increase from three to 10 per week, according to the Hangzhou airport.

Editor: GSY
GRAND HAVEN, MI  A 97-year-old man who lost his balance and fell around 6 feet into the Grand River is expected to make a full recovery, thanks to the quick actions of a brand-new member of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Fredrick Unger was standing with his walker on the pier next to the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Katmai Bay on Tuesday, July 29, for the Coast Guard Festivals popular ship tours when he lost his balance and fell.

Joseph Turk, 27, a seaman on the Katmai Bay Cutter who has been with the Coast Guard for about seven months, was giving tours on the ship when he said he saw a splash and heard someone yell man overboard!

Then, according to protocol, he and others repeated the yell man overboard to alert the rest of the ships crew to what was going on.

And then I jumped in the water, Turk said.

Ten seconds (after the fall) Seaman Turk came off the bow and got into the water, in between the ship with the gentleman, said Trevor Tallman, operations petty officer with the USCGC Katmai Bay.

While Turk was holding onto Unger, treading water and trying to keep him afloat, other Coast Guard crew members rushed to the scene, throwing in life jackets and flotation rings to assist with the rescue.

The location between the ship and the pier is very dangerous, Tallman said, since theres nothing to hold on to and no easy way to get out of the water.

I saw that he was having a tough time, Tallman said, so he climbed into the water to assist Turk. We were able to get the sling around him.

Using the life rings, the crew on the shore guided Turk and Unger slowly to a ladder several yards away on the pier.

Their clothes had become waterlogged and heavy, making it difficult to lift Unger out of the water and up the ladder.

Finally, after about 15 to 20 minutes in the water, the crew was able to lift Unger with a stokes litter, a piece of equipment used to transport injured people on ships. He was transported by ambulance to North Ottawa Community Hospital in stable condition.

Turk had just recently completed boot camp and had gone through surface swimmer training just days before.

So if there ever was a good time for something like this to happen, we were ready, Turk said.

Turk said he had joined the Coast Guard to make a difference.

Especially straight away like this, you never think something like this could happen, he said.

Thanks to the quick actions of Turk and the other crew members, Ungers recovery looks promising.

We met with the neurosurgeon this morning and hes got a couple of fractured vertebrae in his neck, and hes got scrapes and bruises. He has a little bit of water in his lungs, but nothing serious, said Ungers son, Michael Unger.

Miraculously all hes going to have to do is be in the neck brace for about six to eight weeks, said Michael Unger.

Fredrick Unger lives with his son Tim and is still fiercely independent, Michael Unger said. But he doesnt know how to swim.

Hell have some time in the hospital, some rehab then eventually go back home, he said.

His extended family lives mostly in West Michigan, including seven children, 17 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

The Coast Guard takes pride in its training to get new crew members up to speed quickly and prepare them for rescue missions, said Jonathan Hickey, commander of the Coast Guards Great Lakes District.

He said whats unique about this event was that the rescue happened at a festival when nobody was expecting an accident.

It wasnt in his job description to save peoples lives that day. He wasnt in a ready boat here, Hickey said of Turk.

He could have just been a bystander, and nobody would have said, Hey Joe, why didnt you jump in the water?

Instead, his recent training kicked in, Hickey said, saving a life.

2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Astros announced a lengthy slate of post-deadline moves Friday. Houston reinstated shortstop Jeremy Pena from the injured list and designated infielder Zack Short for assignment. The Astros also activated newly reacquired Carlos Correa and fellow trade acquisitions Jesus Sanchez and Ramon Urias, adding all three to the active roster.

In corresponding roster moves, Infield prospect Brice Matthews and outfield prospect Jacob Melton were optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land. The Stros also recalled righty Nick Hernandez to take the roster spot of righty Ryan Gusto, who was traded to the Marlins in the Sanchez deal. Finally, right-hander Nick Robertson was outrighted to Triple-A after clearing waivers. Hed been designated for assignment earlier in the week.

Pena wound up missing more than a month due to a fracture in his ribcage. He was in the midst of a breakout, MVP-caliber season prior to landing on the injured list. The 27-year-old has slashed .322/.378/.489 (143 wRC+) with 11 homers, 18 doubles, a triple and 15 steals in 350 plate appearances. He was also playing Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop, generating plus marks from Defensive Runs Saved (7) and Outs Above Average (4). Hell return to his customary shortstop, while the newly reacquired Correa will slide over to third base in deference to the young shortstop who he mentored during the pairs prior overlap in the Astros organization.

As for Short, hell be placed on waivers within the next five days now that the trade deadline has passed. Hes appeared in 22 games and taken 56 plate appearances with just a .220/.291/.380 output to show in that small sample. The 30-year-old Short has appeared in parts of five big league seasons and is a .172/.271/.296 hitter in 594 trips to the plate as a major leaguer. Hes a solid defender at multiple infield positions but is out of minor league options, so hell either clear waivers or have to stick on the major league roster of another club that claims him.
Elin Betanzo, a former federal drinking water engineer and private consultant based in Detroit, was ordered to cease EPA work due to her potential signature on a petition. She is pictured at a meeting holding a lead pipe while speaking at the Gods Household of Faith campus in Benton Harbor, Mich. on Oct. 9, 2021. Garret Ellison | MLive

WASHINGTON, DC  The Trump administration has ordered a Michigan drinking water expert who played a pivotal role in exposing the Flint water crisis to cease all work on a federal advisory council because she criticized the government.

Elin Warn Betanzo, a former federal drinking water engineer and private consultant based in Detroit, said she was barred from regular participation in a Monday, July 28 meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council while the agency conducts an investigation into her potential signature on a petition.

Betanzo, who has served four years on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency council, said she was notified July 3 that she was under investigation but has received no further information about that process scope, timeline or evidence.

Betanzo was among many who signed a Stand Up For Science petition criticizing the agency, whom signers say has abandoned its mission to protect human health and the environment. The EPA put employees who signed the petition on leave this month.

She called her removal a dangerous precedent.

This action is chilling  not only because it removes my voice from the conversation but because it sends a clear message to others: speak out, and you may be silenced, she said.

Silencing a member of this council  without explanation or due process  undermines the credibility of the advisory process and betrays the values of transparency, inclusion, and public accountability that EPA claims to uphold, Betanzo said This is a dangerous precedent and I urge EPA to immediately restore my ability to participate in the work of NDWAC and publicly clarify the basis and status of this investigation.

In a statement Thursday, the EPA press office said it placed 160 employees on administrative leave because they signed a letter that contains information that misleads the public about agency business while using their officials titles and positions.

The EPA has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats using their agency position and title to unlawfully undermine, sabotage, and undercut the will of the American public that was clearly expressed at the ballot box last November, it said.

The EPA statement was a repeat of past statements made to other news outlets. The agency did not answer questions about what rule or policy justified the investigation into Betanzo. EPA does not comment on individual personnel matters, it said.

Betanzo, a private consultant who owns the Safe Water Engineering firm in Detroit, said she last drew a government salary in 2008. As a council member, she is classified as a special government employee and paid hourly on an intermittent basis for council meetings and workgroups. She said she did not sign the petition while on council time or using EPA resources.

Betanzo played a pivotal role in helping expose two drinking water crises in Michigan, both involving lead water service lines. She identified early on the risk posed by the city of Flint switching to the Flint River as drinking source water without proper corrosion control in 2015 and urged her childhood friend, Mona Hanna-Attisha, to test the blood of local children.

In Benton Harbor, Betanzo was as technical advisor to community advocates who petitioned the EPA in 2021 for federal intervention following several years of elevated lead levels, triggering a bottled water advisory and eventual city-wide lead line replacement.

She joined the NDWAC in 2021 and was reappointed last year. She called her removal is a political move and said she feels targeted as a voice for consumers. I never signed away (First Amendments) rights when I joined the council, she said.

Betanzo called it ironic that her signature on a petition criticizing the government resulted in her removal while other council members affiliated with trade associations such as the American Water Works Association that are suing the EPA to challenge the validity of drinking water rules were allowed full participation.

The 15-member council is chaired by Steven Elmore, drinking water program manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. It meets once or twice a year. Its role under the Safe Drinking Water Act is to give EPA diverse stakeholder input in the development of drinking water regulations.

Council members this week discussed the administrations proposal to partly rescind enforceable national standards finalized in 2024 which severely limit the amount of toxic PFAS chemicals that water utilities can pass along in finished drinking water.

Betanzos removal follows other recent controversy around the role of science at EPA. The agency is eliminating its Office of Research and Development as part of a workforce reduction under administrator Lee Zeldin that is cutting agency staff by more than 3,700 employees. The office has long provided scientific research and analysis which has underpinned the agencys public health and environmental regulations.

The EPA workforce reductions follow a Supreme Court ruling last week that paved the way for President Donald Trumps plans to downsize the federal workforce.
Nessie, the new Scottish Highland calf at the The Highlands at Harbor Springs. Photo courtesy of The Highlands

HARBOR SPRINGS, MI - The small herd of Scottish Highland cattle that graze near the entrance to The Highlands at Harbor Springs resort has long attracted attention. Their shaggy coats and curving horns are eye-catching enough to slow traffic. And many guests make it a point to walk over to the paddock area to see these beautiful coos who share the equestrian barn area with The Highlands group of trail-riding horses.

Now theres even more reason to stop for a look. Nessie is the newest addition to the bangs-in-your-face herd. This little female calf arrived recently and is getting used to her new family.

The Highlands staff did something akin to a birth announcement on social media, sharing photos of Nessie in her new home this week.

ITS A GIRL! Say hello to the newest little lady on the farm, Nessie! This sweet Highland lass made the journey from Highland Roots Farm today. Shes already got Harvey, Major, and Della lining up for introductions and a little cow-noodling!"

Three adult Scottish Highland cattle in the pasture at The Highlands at Harbor Springs. Photo provided by The Highlands

Nessie joins The Highlands three other adult Scottish Highland cattle, whose presence is really a horn-tip to the resorts name and design.

The long-haired herd does not have any particular job at the resort. They roam around the pasture and pretty much just look adorable.

All they are here for is to look at. Theyve just kind of become our little friends, a Highlands staff member told us during an earlier interview.

Nessie is the new Scottish Highland calf at The Highlands at Harbor Springs. Photo provided by The Highlands

True to their breed, both the male and female cattle sport impressive horns. Their shaggy coats get fuller and thicker each winter - perfect for helping them weather Michigans snowy season.

The cattle also have made phenomenal babysitters when it comes to the resorts horses. If a group of horses takes guests out on a trail ride and a couple of horses are not needed for that trip and stay back in the paddock, the cows will come over and socialize with them so they wont feel alone, staff said.

The Kircher family, who owns the property as part of the Boyne Resorts group, decided to purchase the cattle about 15 years ago, thinking theyd be the perfect addition to a place already decked out with iconic highlands Scottish flair. Since then, the cattle have become a real conversation starter.

If youre a guest at the resort or just visiting on a day trip, youre welcome to go visit Nessie and the rest of her clan.
CANTON, MI  A 13-year-old girl is dead after her older brother allegedly shot her while he was playing with two pistols, authorities said.

Jay-Veon McKinney, 23, of Detroit, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, felony firearm and careless discharge of a firearm.

This childs death was completely preventable, Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.

Around 12:24 p.m. on Tuesday, Canton Police officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 8300 block of Honey Lane for a reported shooting. The victim was found unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is alleged that the defendant had been playing with two pistols and was grossly negligent in unsafely handling a loaded firearm in the presence of his two minor sisters. One of the pistols discharged, fatally wounding his 13-year-old sister.

McKinney was arraigned Friday in 35th District Court before Judge James Plakas. He was granted a personal recognizance bond, set at $500,000, with home confinement and a GPS tether. He is not allowed to possess firearms or weapons of any kind and may not have any firearms or weapons of any kind in the residence; no one other than the lease holders are allowed to reside at or visit the residence.

Hes due back in court at 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 14 before Judge Carl Barone.
Activists hold up signs on Thursday, July 31, 2025, at the University of MIchigan Diag during a gathering to demand UM defend two Chinese scholars arrested this year for allegedly smuggling materials into the U.S. Jackie Smith | MLive

ANN ARBOR, MI  Activists are calling for the University of Michigan to defend Chinese academics who were arrested earlier this year over accusations they illegally smuggled goods into the U.S.

A small group gathered Thursday, July 31, at the UM Diag before hand-delivering a petition from local members of CODEPINK, a women-for-peace nonprofit, to university administration.
UPDATE: Armed suspect who opened fire during Otisville standoff shot dead by state police

UPDATE: Michigan State Police advised residents to avoid the area in the 100 block of Main Street in Otisville while they responded to a barricaded domestic assault suspect. M-15 remained closed nearby as of 9:30 p.m.

OTISVILLE, MI  A section of M-15 remained closed to traffic late Thursday night hours after police first attempted contact with the suspect in an alleged domestic assault who barricaded himself in his Genesee County home.

Lt. Kim Vetter, public information officer for the Michigan State Police Third District, said troopers first responded to the domestic violence call at around 3 p.m. Thursday, July 31, in the 100 block of Main Street in central Otisville.

A woman reported to be the victim involved in the incident had been able to break free from the suspect, Vetter said, when she ran to a local business to call for help.

When troopers arrived, they took the womans statement before reaching out to the suspect.

He immediately retreated into the house and barricaded within the house, Vetter said. Since then, weve had an active crime scene here, and we are actively working to get him out of the house safely and ensure that theres no threat to the public.

In the process of doing that, we have evacuated several houses in the immediate area and closed M-15 in Otisville while we look to resolve this situation as quickly and safely as possible.

In a post on social media, MSP continued to advise residents to avoid the area.

As of 6:30 p.m., the MSP Emergency Support Team had responded.

M-15 was reported to be closed as it remained an active scene.

It was not clear how long the area was expected to be closed off. However, by 9:30 p.m., Vetter told media that she did not expect issues for traffic Friday morning.

Further information was not immediately available.
Otisville man barricades himself inside home in standoff with police

OTISVILLE, MI -- An alleged domestic assault suspect who barricaded himself in his Genesee County home has been shot and killed by Michigan State Police troopers.

The man shot at troopers, striking an armored vehicle and other equipment, according to a news release from MSP. Police then returned fire and fatally struck the heavily armed suspect.

The suspect made threats of violence towards troopers and stated he had no intention of going to jail, according to the release.

The victim in the alleged domestic violence incident suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. She was treated at the scene by emergency responders.

No troopers were injured during the shooting.

Lt. Kim Vetter, public information officer for the Michigan State Police Third District, said troopers responded to the domestic violence call at around 3 p.m. Thursday, July 31, in the 100 block of Main Street in Otisville.

A woman told police she was able to break free from the suspect, Vetter said, to call police at a local business.

The victim was in a dating relationship with the suspect, Vetter said.

Troopers arrived at the scene, took the womans statement, and then attempted to speak with the suspect.

When police arrived, the suspect barricaded himself in the house. Multiple neighboring houses were evacuated for safety purposes, Vetter said.

The 100 block of East Main Street remains closed while police conduct an investigation.

The MSP Second District Special Investigation Unit and MSP Crime Lab are conducting the investigation.

The troopers involved in the shooting have been placed on leave, in accordance with MSP policy, according to the release.

When the investigation is complete, the report will be forwarded to the Michigan Attorney Generals Office for review.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  Consumers Energy workers, wearing reflective vests and hard hats, honored Consumers lineman Jeffery Streur, who died last week in a crash on the way to a jobsite

Workers from Consumers and neighboring utility companies set up bucket trucks outside North Holland Reformed Church for Streurs funeral on Thursday, July 31.

Streur, 43, of Zeeland, died Friday, July 25, in a crash in Zeeland Township while he was going to a customers house to restore power.

He was remembered as a devoted father and husband and dedicated line worker who loved the outdoors.

We at Consumers Energy were devastated to learn  that Jeff Streur, one of our coworkers, lost his life in a vehicle accident in Zeeland Township, the utility company said in a statement to workers.

Our hearts are with our coworkers family and loved ones, and we are providing resources to support our fellow coworkers who have known and worked with him.

Streur was on his way to restore a customers power when his service truck collided with another vehicle at 88th Avenue and Ransom Street. He was thrown from the truck.

The accident occurred when Streurs southbound Consumers truck on 88th Avenue collided with a westbound four-door car on Ransom Street. Ottawa County sheriffs Sgt. Joshua McCarthy said the investigation is ongoing and is expected to take some time.

Jeff was a friendly soul, his obituary said.

He had a contagious laugh, a trademark smile, and a big heart. He was proud of his career, how it served the public, and was a dedicated worker for Consumers where he had a strong relationship with his fellow union brotherhood. He was avid outdoorsman enjoying a yearly elk hunting expedition and annual Irons Open with his brother and close friends.

Survivors include his wife, Melissa Streur, son, Traeten Streur, and stepchildren, Braylon, Benjamin and Addyson.

A GoFundMe account has raised nearly $80,000 for his family.

The GoFundMe page said that we tragically lost a devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend.  His passing leaves an unimaginable hole in the hearts of everyone who knew and loved him. He was the rock of his family - their provider, protector, and source of strength.

The page said that Streur will always be in our hearts, we are grateful for all the precious memories, the laughter, the love, and the strength he brought to us each day.

Sarah Nolan, whose husband, Tom, worked with Streur for 15 years, said he and others were devastated by the loss.

Jeff was a happy-go-lucky guy who came into work with a smile on his face and always made the other guys laugh, she said.

She said that co-workers from the Hamilton office put their helmets on the ground as they entered the church. Workers and vehicles from other utility companies showed up as a sign of support.

For additional photographs from the funeral service, go to Heather Dekker Photography.
The Grand Rapids City Commission has approved a $7 million agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation to evaluate flipping the U.S. 131 interchange with Wealthy Street. (MLive file photo) Cory Morse | MLive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The city of Grand Rapids is moving forward with a plan to redesign a highway segment that is driven by about 120,000 cars per day.

Engineers are proposing to flip the current configuration of the U.S. 131 interchange at Wealthy Street by lowering the street to at-grade level and elevating the interstate over it.

The Grand Rapids City Commission approved a $7 million agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation to evaluate and design the project and conduct community engagement. The work will be funded by a $10 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation awarded in 2022.

It will be years before construction begins on the S-curve redesign  currently, theres no funding or timeline established for the project, said Grand Rapids city engineer Tim Burkman. However, because of the current condition of the interchange, built in the early 1960s, the city believes the project will happen in the next decade.

The proposal is to bring Wealthy Street at-grade and elevate U.S. 131. Currently, Wealthy Street is elevated at the interchange and passes over U.S. 131 in a configuration that results in traffic backups and crashes.

The goal of redesigning the interchange is to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion and delays, engineers said.

The three-mile stretch of U.S. 131 from 28th Street to Cherry Street has some of the highest traffic volumes in the state of Michigan outside of the Detroit Metro area, Burkman told the city commissions community development committee Tuesday.

The reconfiguration is also expected to improve connectivity to the west side of the interchange, where the bridge limits pedestrian circulation to recreation destinations like Millennium Park and John Ball Zoo.

Under the $7 million agreement with MDOT, project engineers will conduct community engagement, perform environmental evaluations and design the project.

The remaining $3 million of the $10 million MEDC grant will be allocated to cover city costs like public utility relocation, advance right-of-way acquisition, and administration, according to a memo from Burkman.

Its too early to nail down a cost for the project, but Burkman said it would be very large-scale. Just the replacement of the existing interchange would be around $200 million, and the additional work associated with flipping the interchange would drive that cost further.

Its going to take some sort of non-traditional funding  a grant, an earmark  to be able to accommodate this," he said.
The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt in Ukraine held a ceremonial diplomatic reception on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the July Revolution of 1952  the country's main national holiday.

The event was held on July 23 in Kyiv. The ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Egypt to Ukraine Barakat Elleithy delivered a welcoming speech. He emphasized that the events of July 23, 1952 became a symbol of liberation, struggle for independence and dignity not only for the Egyptians, but also for the entire Arab world and the African continent.

This is not just a national holiday  it is a moment of common memory, reflection and confirmation of the values that unite us: freedom, dignity and sovereign independence, the ambassador noted.

The event was attended by representatives of Ukrainian government bodies, diplomats accredited in Kyiv, Islamic religious figures, and representatives of the Egyptian community.

The ambassador emphasized the importance of strengthening Ukrainian-Egyptian relations, which have deep historical roots dating back to the 19th century, when Ukrainian engineers participated in the large-scale modernization of Egypt during the time of Mohamed Ali Pasha.

After the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Egypt, we have observed a steady positive dynamic in the field of trade, education, investment, and people-to-people contacts, he added.

The diplomat recalled that on July 2, 2025, Presidents Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had a telephone conversation in which they agreed to launch a new phase of strategic partnership.

Barakat Elleithy also emphasized that Egypt's foreign policy is based on the principles of peace, justice and respect for the sovereignty of states, and it is these values that determine the country's position on international security issues - in particular, regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip and in Ukraine.

On behalf of the Ukrainian side, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine for International Policy, Ihor Zhovkva (who read out the greetings of President Zelenskyy) and the Special Representative of Ukraine for the Middle East and Africa, Maksym Subkh, delivered greetings.

Diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Egypt were established on January 25, 1992. The Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt has been operating in Kyiv since 1993. The Embassy of Ukraine operates in Cairo, and the Honorary consulate in Alexandria.

Egypt is one of Ukraine's main trade, economic and tourism partners in the Middle East and Africa.
Good samaritans confront the Walmart stabbing suspect, Bradford James Gille, in the parking lot of the Traverse City store with help from a CPL carrier, taking away his knife as law enforcement arrived to the mass casualty scene, where 11 people were stabbed on July 26. (Photo provided by Chris OBrien) Photo provided by Chris OBrien

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - It seems like we arent safe anywhere anymore - shopping, at work, church, school (K-12 and college), the movies, concerts, clubs, restaurants, festivals, and other places where mass violence occurred.

This was one of a few topics that came up at a recent dinner with friends, following the stabbing of 11 people at a Walmart in Traverse City on Saturday. As we were all processing the stabbings, there was the mass shooting at a New York City office building on Monday, resulting in five deaths, including the gunman.
Peach-themed parade floats of years past make their way down Coloma's Main Street. Provided by Coloma Glad-Peach Festival

BERRIEN COUNTY, MI  The Coloma Glad-Peach Festival nearly gave up on its 58th year.

A new board came together in May to make it happen despite a lack of volunteers and sponsors, said President Jen Schreier.

So the 2025 Coloma Glad-Peach Festival will be happening, starting with its opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2. Festivities continue through 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 3.

The tiny town  just 1 square mile  will be decked out in peach-themed decor, Schreier said.

Local businesses decorate for the festival. Provided by Coloma Glad-Peach Festival

The festival is smaller this year, she said, and will last two days instead of three.

Were working on a very limited budget, Schreier said. But theres a lot of talk and a lot of people are excited.

Most events and activities at the festival are free or low-cost, she said. Its budget and family-friendly.

The new planning committee kept staples like breakfast at the fire station both days, the peach parade along Main Street Saturday afternoon and the 5K/10K walk and run Saturday at 8:30 a.m.

Theres a litany of contests on the schedule, including a peach pit spitting competition and pickleball tournament.

There will be 12 food vendors and 60 craft vendors at the event, Schreier said. Local bands will perform throughout the day Saturday, followed by a drone show and fireworks display at 10:30 p.m.

A drone and fireworks show will conclude Saturday, Aug. 2 festivities at 10:30 p.m. Provided by Coloma Glad-Peach Festival

A carnival featuring a 40-foot Ferris wheel will also return to the festival on Saturday, Aug. 2, she said. Wristbands are available for $10 at City Hall, 119 N. Paw Paw St.

The carnival was one of the most popular parts of the event in the 80s, Schreier said. She hopes to tap into that nostalgia, while connecting the community with local businesses and their neighbors.

The festival began as a celebration of gladiolus flowers in 1947, she said. Its been held annually since 1967.

Peaches eventually replaced gladiolus as the areas most popular crop, Schreier said. In 1981, the festival name changed to recognize the fruit.

Peaches are still king in the farmland surrounding Coloma  Jolly Orchards and Fruit Acres will be manning stands at the festival this weekend.

Gladiolus were first abbreviated as glad in the festival name in the 70s, she said. In 1981, the name changed to the Coloma Glad-Peach Festival.

Peach-themed parade floats of years past make their way down Coloma's Main Street. Provided by Coloma Glad-Peach Festival

There was a few years we didnt have peaches, not because we werent growing them, but because of weather, Schreier said. The frost took it all out.

Weather is just one challenge festival organizers have faced in recent years.

It used to be that small communities waited all year to celebrate their own festival, Schreier said. Now, people travel to South Haven, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph for special events throughout the summer.

The festival has struggled to capture the same audience it did before the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

A lack of volunteers and buy-in from sponsors nearly drove the previous board to disband the event.

Im a small-town person, she said. I just wanted to see the community come back together.

The 2025 Coloma Glad-Peach Festival T-shirt design by Allison Poole. Provided by Coloma Glad-Peach Festival

Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark MLives local Kalamazoo news page.
Luke Terpstra has been sentenced to three years prison for building bombs, intending to blow up a Satanic Temple in Massachusetts.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A Newaygo County man has been sentenced to three years prison for building bombs with the intention of destroying Satanic Temple in Massachusetts.

Luke Isaac Terpstra, of Grant, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on a charge of possession of an unregistered destructive device.

The sentence in this case is significant and it reinforces that individuals who build bombs with the intent to injure innocent civilians and destroy property will be held accountable, said Tim VerHey, the chief U.S. attorney in Grand, said in a prepared statement.

This conduct puts us all at risk, and my office will hold those who commit such crimes accountable, he said.

An indictment against Terpstra said that he constructed IEDs (improvised explosive devices) during the late summer or early fall of 2023 and brought explosives with him in September 2023 when he traveled to Salem.

Prosecutors said Terpstra admitted building the IEDs because he wanted to destroy the Satanic Temple by setting it on fire.

Two of the IEDs were comprised of a container with either coins or rifle ammunition secured to the sides of it and a piece of cannon fuse coming out of the lids of the containers

His visit to Salem was possibly for planning purposes, the citys mayor and police chief said in a previously issued joint statement.

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.
FRANKENMUTH, MI  The Frankenmuth Flower Festival attracts thousands of visitors to Michigans Little Bavaria each year, and its returning this weekend with a new theme.

This years festival will be held at Grandpa Tinys Farm, located near Frankenmuth landmark Bronners Christmas Wonderland, from Friday, Aug. 1, to Sunday, Aug. 3.

Here are some facts you might not know about the annual summertime festival:

Millions of sunflowers

A total of 375 million seeds were planted in Wendy Winkels 25-acre sunflower field this year, but the number of blooms decreases significantly throughout the festival as thousands of guests pick the sunflowers. Each festivalgoer is able to pick one sunflower for free.

Its crazy, event organizer Winkel said. After the festival, Ill look through and Ill be like, Whoa, it looks like were picked clean.

Winkel was able to calculate the number of seeds planted thanks to the high-tech planter she used this year.

Last year I used my vintage planter, which its about 70 years old, so I did not, in fact have an exact number, she said.

A new theme

The theme of the 2025 Frankenmuth Flower Festival is Chasing the Sun. The meaning of the theme is twofold.

Youre chasing positive things, youre looking towards positive things, Winkel said. But its actually a reference to sunflowers.

Winkel explained that as sunflowers grow, their heads face the sun, following it from sunrise to sunset.

The sun also determines which way the sunflowers are facing when they bloom, Winkel said. After the sunflowers bloom, they remain fixed.

Every day they go back and forth and then once theyre ready to pop open, boom, she said. Theyll pop open to the east because they open in the morning.

Timing

Timing is a key factor for Winkel while planning for the festival because sunflowers only bloom for 3 to 10 days.

Every year, I sweat it out, Winkel said. I was a little bit nervous this year, but everythings good. Everythings caught up and great.

The sunflowers Winkel grows take 70 days to bloom from the time they are planted. Each year, Winkel plants the sunflowers on May 12.

Some sunflowers bloom earlier or later than others. Winkel said the first sunflower to bloom each season tends to do so on her birthday, which is July 17.

Theres always a rogue flower that blooms first because its an overachiever, she said. Its the perfect birthday gift because Im like, Yes, the festivals on time this year. And then the rest of them start blooming.

Turnout

While Frankenmuth only has a population of about 5,000, the festival typically draws a total of 3,000 or more guests, Winkel said.

It varies according to the weather, she said. This year, I think its going to be a pretty decent year. Im excited.

The event attracts international tourists as well as visitors from other Michigan communities such as Midland, Bay City, and metro Detroit, which is where Winkel is originally from.

Its mostly tourists, Winkel said. Its just kind of a fun mix.

Winkel said she particularly enjoys seeing visitors from cities because visiting a farm and a sunflower field is often a new or uncommon experience for them.

You just dont get this opportunity to view crops in bulk like this or go out into the crops, she said. It really is about just getting people out onto the farm and having those experiences.

More to know before you go

The annual Frankenmuth Flower Festival offers yoga in the sunflowers, a 5K color run, a chance to make flower crowns, U-pick sunflowers and more summertime fun.

Read a complete guide to the 2025 Frankenmuth Flower Festival here.

Additional information about the festival is available online at grandpatinys.com and on the Frankenmuth Flower Festival Facebook page.
More than 200 people attend the Flint Baby Parade, a first-time event hosted by Rx Kids on Tuesday, June 11, 2024 in the Flint Cultural Center. Horseback riding, life-size checkers and other kid-friendly activities were available for families to enjoy, as well as a parade similar to the style of parades in the early 1900s. Jake May | jmay2@mlive.com

CLARE COUNTY, MI  Rx Kids, in partnership with the Central Michigan District Health Department (CMDHD), announced the launch of its transformative cash prescription program in Clare County.

As the nations first community-wide initiative to provide direct financial support to pregnant women and babies, Rx Kids will offer eligible mothers $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 per month throughout the babys first six months of life  no-strings-attached.

Originally launched in Flint in 2024, Rx Kids has expanded to Kalamazoo, Pontiac and five counties in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Clare County becomes the ninth community in the state, and the first Central Michigan community, to join this effort to improve maternal and infant health and reduce childhood poverty.

Every baby deserves a healthy start, and every parent deserves the dignity and support to provide it, said Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Rx Kids is a bold investment in our youngest residents and their familiesone that pays dividends in health, hope, and opportunity. Were thrilled to bring this life-changing program to Clare County.

Rx Kids is led by Michigan State University Pediatric Public Health Initiative, in collaboration with Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, and administered by GiveDirectly.

The Central Michigan District Health Department will lead local outreach and engagement efforts to ensure families in Clare County are aware of and connected to the program.

Families across our region work hard, but the cost of preparing for a baby can be overwhelming, said Steve Hall, CMDHD Health Officer. Rx Kids will give parents breathing roomwhether thats helping with rent, baby supplies, or simply reducing stress. This program is about giving families a fair start.

Rx Kids is making an impact across a broad range of outcomes including family financial stability and maternal and infant health.

Additionally, according to a recent survey of Rx Kids participants:

Nearly 90% of moms say the program has helped them make ends meet

86% of pregnant participants attended at least one prenatal care appointment

96% of infants attended at least one pediatric visit

From the first time I heard about Rx Kids, I knew I wanted to bring it to my district, said State Sen. Roger Hauck. Its exactly the kind of smart, family-first program that reflects our values here in Central Michigan without growing bureaucracy. Im proud to help bring it to Clare County, where it will strengthen our communities and help more families build their future right here at home."

For many families, income plunges and poverty spikes right before a child is born and remains high throughout the first year.

Built on the tremendous success of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which cut child poverty to its lowest level in recorded history, and in line with global evidence, Rx Kids reimagines how we care for each other by walking alongside families during the challenging time of pregnancy and infancy.

Current funding will support approximately 300 families in Clare County annually.

The launch in Clare County is possible through a public-private partnership supported by the State of Michigan and regional philanthropic organizations, including the Clare Community Foundation and MyMichigan Health.

Rx Kids supports families at a critical time, strengthening our local economy, and keeping more young families rooted right here in mid-Michigan, said State Rep. Tom Kunse. Im proud that the State of Michigan has stepped up to support families through Rx Kids. I want to thank my colleagues for their bipartisan commitment to making Michigan more affordable and improving health outcomes for moms and babiesespecially in rural communities. This is the most efficient way to help our communitytargeted, meaningful support without growing government. Were not expanding bureaucracy; were investing directly in families.

Rx Kids is available to pregnant mothers and babies born on or after Aug. 1, 2025.

Families in Clare County can learn more and apply by visiting RxKids.org.
The headquarters for National Public Radio (NPR) is seen in Washington. (Charles Dharapak/AP) AP

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit funding public media, announced Friday it will begin an orderly wind-down of operations following Trump administration-led funding cuts.

The CPB uses its federal funding in part to support National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), two news outlets in President Donald Trumps crosshairs.

The nonprofit also funds hundreds of local news stations through grants.

CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said that despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations.

CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.

The statement posted online by the CPB said the decision was in part a result of the passage of a $9 billion package codifying Trump administration cuts.

The package, passed by Congress and signed by Trump last month, removed $1.1 billion in advanced funding for the CPB at his request.

The wind-down of operations was also caused by the release of a Senate appropriations bill that excluded funding for CPB for the first time in more than five decades.

The corporation informed employees on Aug. 1 that the majority of staff positions would end with the close of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

A small transition team will remain through January 2026 to ensure a close of operations. The team will focus on compliance, final distributions and resolution of long-term financial obligations, including continuity for music rights and royalties, according to the CPB.

The corporations Board of Directors and management will work to address the legal, financial and operational requirements of the closure. CPB will provide regular updates and guidance to stations and producers navigating the profound challenges ahead.

For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates and serves communities across the country, the statement read. Through partnerships with local stations and producers, CPB has supported educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming and essential services for Americans in every community.

The removal of funds comes after Trump called on the CPB to stop funding NPR and PBS, both of which he called biased and partisan.

Hes said the current media landscape means publicly funded news, especially that with what he describes as a political lean, is not necessary.

Harrison said public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse and cultural connection to every corner of the country.

We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

The CPB is the largest single source of funding for public radio, television and related online/mobile services.

In Michigan, there are 43 radio and TV stations affiliated with the CPB, from the tip of the Upper Peninsula to Kalamazoo.

NPR, which provides national news and radio programming, receives around 1% of its funding from the federal government. PBS, which offers television coverage, receives around 15% of its revenue from federal funds.

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.

Fourteen local stations in Michigan received grant dollars from the CPB during the 2024 fiscal year, according to online records.

The Michigan Public radio network, with five FM signals and four news bureaus, received 6.5% (over $500,000) of its budget from the CPB last year.

The corporation also funds infrastructure that delivers public media content, like emergency alerts. Some members of Congress have pushed back on cancelling funds for the CPB, which they said could impact emergency alerts to rural areas like Alaska.

In Michigan, Delta Colleges Public Media station (WDCQ-TV) 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.

Michigan Association of Public Broadcasters Executive Director Casey Jones told media that some of the associations more rural institutions could lose more than 34% of funding overnight if public broadcasting cuts went into effect.

The Hill reported that some member stations are hopeful Congress could approve funding for local media ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government for fiscal year 2026.
Nessel and other state attorneys general say Trumps administration is overstepping its authority, using threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations to pressure health care providers. She is pictured at the 2023 Kalamazoo Pride at Arcadia Creek Festival Place. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com) Joel Bissell | MLive.com

LANSING, MI - Michigan has joined a coalition of 15 other states in filing a lawsuit against President Donald Trumps administration to restrict access to gender affirming care for individuals under age 19.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said this lawsuit targets an executive order aimed at deterring providers from offering medically appropriate care to these individuals, even in states like Michigan, where such care is legal and protected.

In the lawsuit filed Aug. 1, Nessel and other state attorneys general say Trumps administration is overstepping its authority, using threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations to pressure health care providers.

President Donald J. Trump and his administration have relentlessly, cruelly and unlawfully targeted transgender individuals, the lawsuit reads. The Trump administration has sought to deny their very existence, banish transgender residents from the public square and refuse them medically necessary healthcare through unlawful Executive Orders.

The result is an atmosphere of fear and intimidation experienced by transgender individuals, their families and caregivers and the medical professionals who seek only to provide necessary, lawful care to their patients, the lawsuit reads.

Nessel and other attorneys general are asking the court to stop the enforcement of a Trump executive order and enforcement actions, arguing that they violate the Constitution.

The Trump Administration is attempting to strip away lawful, essential healthcare from vulnerable youth, Nessel said. These orders are illegal and dangerous and have no medical or scientific basis.

Nessel referenced a first Trump executive order, signed Jan. 20, that declared the U.S. would recognize only two sexes.

The order also called for an end to federal support for gender ideology.

A second order, signed Jan. 28, refers to several types of gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary individuals. It establishes a policy that the U.S. will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called transition of a child from one sex to another.

The order also directed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue enforcement actions.

Nessel said since then, the DOJ has issued subpoenas to some medical providers. She and other attorneys general argue they have no legal basis and are intended to discourage providers from offering lifesaving health care that is lawful under state law.

Nessel said the subpoenas are already having an impact, with providers in some states beginning to reduce or eliminate services and patients reportedly canceling appointments amid confusion about whether they can continue their care.

The lawsuit seeks to prevent further harm and to ensure that transgender youth and their families can access care without being targeted by the federal government, Nessels statement said.

Dr. Patricia Wells, medical director of the Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti, said the policies undermine trust in the medical system and place affirming providers in an impossible position, forcing hospitals to close clinics and providers to stop offering the very care that helps young people survive and thrive.

Nessels most recent lawsuit, which marks the 28th suit against the federal government since Jan. 21, was part of a joint effort with attorneys general and governors in New York, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
The New York Liberty will look to snap a three-game losing streak tonight when they travel to Uncasville to take on the Connecticut Sun.

Liberty star Breanna Stewart injured her lower leg against the Los Angeles Sparks on July 26 and although she avoided serious injury, there is currently no timetable for her return.

Fans can tune in to tonights game on ION with streaming available through FuboTV, Sling Freestream and DirecTV.

Streaming Options

Streaming Options Price/Month Free Trial Deal FuboTV $84.99 N/A $20 off the first month Sling Freestream Free N/A N/A DirecTV $89.99 Yes $30 off the first month

WNBA games on ION on Friday nights are available to stream for free on Sling Freestream. To watch on your mobile device or TV, you can create an account for free and then log in through the app.

Tina Charles currently leads the Sun, averaging 16.1 points per game, followed by Marina Mabreys 14.3 points per game. The Sun have struggled to string together wins this season and are currently in last place in league standings.

The Liberty, on the other hand, are currently the second-best team in the league. Sabrina Ionescu leads the team, averaging 19.7 points per game and Breanna Stewart averages 18.3 points per game.

The two teams last met on June 1, when the Liberty earned a 100-51 victory.

WNBA

New York Liberty (17-9) vs. Connecticut Sun (4-21)

When: Friday, Aug. 1,

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Channel: ION
 Artist Benediktas Gylys went live with his installation "Portal", United Press International reported.

"Portal" is a live video stream connecting New York City with Dublin, Ireland. But it was switched off the same day because of "instances of inappropriate behavior" that have been "amplified on social media."

The naughty actions included swearing, nudity and displays of images from the 9/11 terror attacks in New York.

"I thought the people of Dublin deserved to see my two New York homegrown potatoes," said Ava Louise, who bared her breasts to "Portal."

Governments on both sides of the pond are considering actions to take to curb the bad behavior. [UPI, 5/14/2024]
Potential state IPOs must be preceded by settlements with minority shareholders of nationalized companies  Head of Univer investment group

The state, which has declared its intention to develop the capital market and carry out privatization through initial public offerings (IPOs), must first protect investors and fulfill its obligations to minority shareholders of nationalized joint-stock companies, says Taras Kozak, founder and president of Univer, one of the largest investment groups on the market.

"If you want people to invest in IPOs, you have to return what belongs to them. Then, maybe, people will be willing to invest. Sure, let the SBU or the Economic Security Bureau check to make sure that no 'Russian scum' or sanctioned individuals are among the recipientsbut the state must honor its past obligations," he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

Previously, the idea of launching IPOs for state-owned companies and banks was voiced by Ruslan Mahomedov, head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), and Yuriy Katsion, advisor to the head of the President's Office and deputy board chair at Oschadbank responsible for corporate business.

"I don't really believe in this idea until the state turns to face the investor. Right now, the state doesn't see small investors  minority shareholders are nobodies in its eyes," Kozak said.

As evidence, he pointed to the late 2022 confiscation of minority shareholders' small stakes in companies like Ukrnafta, Motor Sich, Zaporizhtransformator, and others.

"If you wanted to seize oligarchs' shares  fine, do it. But how does a 57% free float affect anything? With 9095% you can make any decision you want anyway. So why undermine trust? Some investor owns seven Motor Sich shares worth a few thousand hryvnias, and those shares are just taken away  no explanation. Maybe someday after the war, the state will return the shares, or maybe pay compensation  or maybe neither," the investment banker explained.

He believes that until the war ends, the state will not meet its obligations to minority shareholders in nationalized companies.

"That's why I don't believe in IPOs for Ukrnafta, Ukrposhta, or PrivatBank until then," the Univer chief added.

Kozak said he doesn't blame the NSSMC for either this situation or the sanctions imposed on the broker Freedom Finance Ukraine, which left more than 10,000 clients without access to assets worth about UAH 3.5 billion for nearly three years.

"The Commission wasn't informed and had no options So yes, the regulator has its flaws, but I don't see it as at fault either in the Freedom case or in the nationalizations," Kozak said.

At the same time, the investment banker said he firmly believes in building  or rebuilding  a capital market in Ukraine.

"Not only do I believe in it, I'm actively working on it. Ukraine is a large country with a large population and a sufficiently diversified economy to support dozens of companies with billion-dollar capitalizations," he said.

He sees a market where securities of state-owned banks and companies, other banks, metallurgy firms, Nova Poshta, and other new businesses could be traded.

He also emphasized that Ukrainians are naturally inclined to invest, but they need guarantees  citing the strong pre-war demand for foreign securities via legal channels created by Univer and others.

"Can you invest in Ukraine? Yes  but only if investors are protected. And I'm not talking about protection from the war  that's obvious. I mean protection from government officials  so they can't just swoop in and seize minority stakes in the name of the state, so the Economic Security Bureau doesn't freeze your accounts, so there are no 'maski-show' raids. All these little things ruin the investment climate," Kozak said.

He expressed hope that reforms of the law enforcement system, the ESB, the tax service, and customs would eventually improve the investment climate.

"If that happens, Ukrainians and the Ukrainian economy will be fully capable of building a big enough capital market that we won't need the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE)," the head of Univer said.

He recalled that Ukraine had a fairly developed market on the Ukrainian Exchange up until 2012  even with internet trading.

"There was a Ukrainian Exchange index, a futures contract based on it, even some options. There were big plans. But it all ended not because of a crisis, but because of a National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) decision to sanction the software the exchange used. Why not evaluate the potential losses of that decision before imposing sanctions? There weren't any real gains  and the market just died," Kozak said.

"So we have everything we need  except for the state's understanding that this capital market needs to be nurtured," he concluded.
Oschadbank refutes statement of Three O about transfer of Gulliver to management of state banks

The state-controlled Oschadbank (Kyiv) refutes the statement of Three O LLC about the transfer of Gulliver complex to the management of state banks, emphasizing that no relevant document has been signed.

"As of 13:00 on August 1, no document on the transfer of infrastructure elements to the management team of state banks has been signed due to the unconstructive position of the former owner of the complex," Oschadbank said on Friday.

The bank emphasizes that Oschadbank's attempt to establish a dialogue was used by Three O LLC as a tool for manipulation and blackmail. According to the bank, the actions of the former owners of the facility are more likely to harm the tenants and employees of the Gulliver commercial and office complex.

As reported, on August 1, 2025, Three O LLC announced that the procedure for transferring the Gulliver commercial and office complex to the management of a consortium of state-owned banks had been completed.

In July 2025, a consortium of state-owned Oschadbank (80%) and Ukreximbank (20%) acquired ownership of the Gulliver commercial and office complex as a recovery for the debts of its beneficiary.

The recovery procedure was initiated due to the failure of Three O LLC, the debtor who was the owner of Gulliver, to fulfill its obligations under the loan agreement.
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Rajni Pandey is a seasoned content creator with over 15 years of experience crafting compelling stories for digital news platforms. Specializing in diverse topics such as travel, education, jobs, science, wildlife, religion, politics, and astrology, she excels at transforming trending human-interest stories into engaging reads for a wide audience.

Rajni Pandey

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Photo: https://www.facebook.com/yulia.svyrydenko/

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko instructed Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko to submit to the government for consideration a decision on the formation of a selection committee for the selection of the head of customs.

"I have held a meeting with the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Serhiy Marchenko. I instructed that the decision on the formation of a selection committee for the head of customs be submitted for consideration at the next government meeting," Svyrydenko wrote on her Telegram channel.

She noted that it is important to conduct this selection transparently and professionally. "Customs must become a modern service that meets the standards of the European Union and works 100% honestly to fill the budget," the Prime Minister emphasized.
Aamir Khan addresses YouTube glitch for Sitaare Zameen Par: We are trying to resolve this issue...

Palak Vij

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Cartoon Network shows vanish from HBO Max as Warner Bros shuts website, netizens say "they are taking away our childhood"

Vaishnavi Gavankar

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Chief of War Review: A sweeping indigenous epic, led by Jason Momoa, that captures the soul of Hawaiis past

Sriva A is a seasoned film critic with a keen eye for storytelling, cinematography, and performances.

Sarika Sharma

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Mayasabha trailer out: Deva Kattas film sets the stage for a gritty political face-off on Sony LIV

Vaishnavi Gavankar

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Producer Naga Vamsi reacts to Hridayam Lopala being left out of Kingdom: Wanted to See Vijay Deverakonda Kiss?

Palak Vij

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Rani Mukerji wins her first Best Actress National Award for Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, dedicates it to all mothers

M Snehanjali

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Son of Sardaar 2 Movie Review: Ajay Devgn keeps it together, but Ravi Kishan is the only real fun in this loud, loony and logic-free comedy

Sarika Sharma

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Satwik Jaiswal

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Photo: https://t.me/dsns_telegram

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Denmark to Ukraine Ole Mikkelsen visited one of the sites of liquidation of the consequences of the Russian strike in Kyiv on Thursday, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has said.

"The Ambassador saw with his own eyes the consequences of the combined shelling of the capital and the work of the State Emergency Service units that conducted search and rescue operations at the scene of the tragedy," the service said in Telegram.

Mikkelsen expressed deep condolences in connection with the tragic events that occurred on the night of July 31 against the civilian population of Ukraine. The ambassador said the entire civilized world should know what is happening today in Kyiv, the capital of a European state, which is only a two-hour flight from Copenhagen.

Mikkelsen assured of further support for Ukraine from the Kingdom of Denmark and emphasized that his country stands and will stand by the Ukrainian people in this difficult time.

In turn, Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Andriy Danyk thanked Denmark for its long-term and consistent assistance.

Earlier, it was reported that 15 people were killed, including two children, and 145 injured, including 14 children, in Kyiv as a result of a massive air attack by the Russian army on Kyiv on Thursday night, Head of Kyiv City Military Administration Tymur Tkachenko said.

Rescuers continue to work at the site of the strikes. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Is hearing loss linked to dementia? New research says yes

Manjiri Patil

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After Kolhapuri controversy, Prada in trouble again for "copying" Indian juttis

Ishita Batra

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India Is Betting Big on Startups  and One Bank Is Proving What Real Partnership Looks Like

*Disclaimer - Brand Connect is a solution that allows brands to break the queue to gain better engagement among our audiences

Riya Gandhi

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Maruti Suzuki shares rise over 1% after Q1; should you buy, sell or hold?

Veer Sharma

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FTAs, exemptions could offer cushion for over half of Indias exports to the US

Ishaan Gera

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In top trading categories, US would struggle to replace Indian imports

Ishaan Gera

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Russia overtook US as Indias main crude supplier in FY22, now matching coal exports as well

Ishaan Gera

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India bets on speeding up FTA talks with EU, Peru, Chile to diversify exports from US

Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.

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Surabhi Pandey

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At about 06:40 on Friday morning, Russian troops shelled the Dniprovsky district of Kherson with artillery, and a woman died as a result of the attack, the head of Kherson regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, reported on the Telegram channel.

"Due to the enemy attack, the mother of three children, born in 1974, received injuries incompatible with life. My condolences to the relatives of the deceased," the head of the regional military administration wrote.
Rohit Singh

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Brajesh Kumar

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Paras Bisht A financial journalist with over 10 years of experience, specialising in tracking stock market movements and fundamental developments that impact investors and the broader economy. A keen observer of global financial markets, I regularly engage with leading market voices to write stories. At Moneycontrol, I focus on decoding market trends, policy shifts and economic changes, driven by a constant passion to learn, analyse, and share knowledge with my readers.

Paras Bisht

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Sensex, Nifty to open lower as tariff uncertainty jolts investor mood; key levels to track on August 1

Veer Sharma

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This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies

Disclaimer This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies

Disclaimer This is an AI-assisted live blog with updates sourced from multiple news outlets and agencies

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Textile stocks extend losses after Trump tariffs; Gokaldas Exports, Pearl Global, KPR Mill down up to 6%

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Sweta Goswami

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Ask Wallet-wise | I fall sick every monsoon. Is there a health cover for frequent doctor visits?

Teena Jain Kaushal

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The aviation company Ukrainian Helicopters has provided equipment and technical assets worth UAH 12.4 million to eight units of Ukraines Defense Forces. The handover ceremony took place in Kyiv, attended by the companys Executive Director Serhii Bukoros and department head Yevhenii Tymoshenko, a veteran and combat participant, according to the companys press release.

The donation included a wide range of technical resources for units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service. Among the items delivered were vehicles, ATVs, drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras, anti-drone systems, generators, satellite communication terminals, laptops, night vision binoculars, and other mission-critical equipment.

Weve always supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. And this didnt start in 2022, noted Executive Director Serhii Bukoros. We reviewed our records to calculate the total amount allocated by the company. Some accuse us of using this as a publicity stunt, but this has always been our practice. Before the full-scale invasion, our contributions totaled UAH 28.3 million. He emphasized that supporting the military has been a core part of Ukrainian Helicopters corporate culture since 2009.

Taras, a representative of the 80th Separate Air Assault Galician Brigade, reported that the unit received 16 quadcopters, which have already been distributed to trained pilots. He highlighted that drones with thermal imaging capabilities significantly enhance the brigades combat effectiveness by enabling enemy detection at night and in adverse weather conditions.

Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian Helicopters has consistently supported Ukraines Defense Forces. The companys total military aid since 2009 now exceeds UAH 234 million. In addition, it actively assists families of fallen defenders, orphaned children, and veterans. The overall volume of charitable support across all initiatives has surpassed UAH 292 million.
Tata Steel is largely expected to be immune from US tariff threats to its Indian operations

Shiladitya Pandit

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Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.

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A court verdict and measured silence: Why the Malegaon judgment has left Congress in a bind

Parimal Peeyush

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'Attempted to portray Hindus as terrorists after 2008 Malegaon blast': Fadnavis hits out at Congress

101Reporters

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Big drop in Indian tourists: Turkey pays heavy price for support to Pakistan during Op Sindoor

Armaan Bhatnagar

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Rewati Karan

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Bombay High Court gets 4th bench at Kolhapur, sittings to start from August 18

Rewati Karan

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UPI transactions hit record high of 19.47 bn in July; NPCI limits balance check to 50 per day

The number of transactions through the popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI) touched a record high of 19.47 billion in July, according to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

In terms of value, it was Rs 25.08 lakh crore, the second highest after Rs 25.14 lakh crore recorded in May.

In terms of volume, the last highest number was 18.67 billion reported in May, which declined to 18.39 billion in June with transaction amount Rs 24.03 lakh crore. -- PTI
US Senators propose bill on new aid to Ukraine for over $50 bln  media

A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill that would provide over $50 billion in aid to Ukraine over the next two years, The Hill reports.

"The bill was introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a member of the Appropriations Committee. Direct funding for military assistance for Ukraine includes $30 billion lasting until 2027 and provides $3 billion in foreign military financing for Ukraine over the next two fiscal years," The report states.

In addition, the law expands the US President's drawdown authority from $100 million to $6 billion annually for the supply of weapons to Ukraine from Pentagon warehouses. A significant part of the funds is also intended for the development of defense production in the United States.

Among other provisions are the use of profits from frozen Russian assets, the transfer of seized illegal weapons, and funding for an initiative to produce drones jointly with Ukraine and Taiwan. The document provides $600 million to support Ukrainian law enforcement and anti-corruption programs, as well as $50 million for the prosecution of war crimes.

This bipartisan bill is a win for America, Shaheen said in a statement. It supports our defense industrial base, American manufacturers and workers  all while ensuring the U.S. military learns from Ukraines battlefield innovations.

Murkowski emphasized that the document confirms commitment to both Ukraine's sovereignty and America's national interests.
Smriti Mishra

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Dont use name of living persons, former CMs or political leaders in govt schemes: Madras High Court tells Tamil Nadu govt

Rewati Karan

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Tariff exemptions under Executive Order 14257: What it means for India's pharma, auto sectors

Aishwarya Dabhade

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Aishwarya Dabhade

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'Have open and shut proof': Rahul Gandhi accuses EC of 'vote theft' amid uproar over Bihar SIR issue

Priyanjali Ghose

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India rules out F-35 fighter jet deal, may boost US imports after Trumps tariff shock: Report

Aishwarya Dabhade

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Photo: https://www.facebook.com/

President of the United States of America Donald Trump announced his intention to impose sanctions against the Russian Federation after the expiration of the established 10-day period.

"Russia, I think its disgusting what theyre doing. I think what Russias doing is very sad. Were going to put sanctions. I don't know that sanctions bother him," Trump said.

He also announced that US President's special envoy Steve Witkoff will arrive in Moscow on Friday to meet with the Russian leadership after his visit to Israel.

The United States reportedly held talks with Russian officials earlier this week to end the war in Ukraine, but no progress was made. President Donald Trump will decide on further action against Russia in the coming days, as attempts at a peaceful settlement have failed for more than six months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox Radio.
Is India buying F-35 fighter jet from US? Amid tariff turmoil, this is what Modi minister told Lok Sabha

Surabhi Pandey

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Lt Col. Prasad Purohit gets relief in Malegaon blast case: How he was accused of running 'source network' in J&K

Arishaa Izaj

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I don't know why PM is silent on tariffs: Congress MP Sukhdev Bhagat

On US imposing a 25% tariff, plus a penalty on India, Congress MP Sukhdev Bhagat says, "The US has imposed a 19% tariff on our enemy country-Pakistan. PM Modi is praising him (Trump), but he is imposing tariffs. I don't know why PM is silent on tariffs, ceasefire...he (Rahul Gandhi) is right that the economy is dead after demonetisation and Covid...
NDA leaders hit out at former CM Jagan Mohan Reddy over his vindictive politics allegations

Smriti Mishra

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Nitin Gadkari bats for plain-speaking, says politics is not about lying or flattery

101Reporters

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Parliament to elect new Vice President on September 9: Who are the likely frontrunners?

Priyanjali Ghose

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Pragya Singh Thakur acquitted in Malegaon blast case: How ATS probe projected her as 'owner of bike'

Priyanjali Ghose

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Chhabi Kala

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The US Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a bill on military spending that provides about $1 billion in support for Ukraine, despite the fact that the administration of President Donald Trump in its budget request asked that this funding be excluded.

The Republican-led Senate Appropriations Committee approved $852 billion for the Department of Defense in the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, 2026, which is $21.7 billion, or 2.6%, more than the Republican president requested earlier this year, Reuters reports.

The bill was overwhelmingly supported by the committee  26 votes in favor and three against  and will be sent to the full Senate for consideration. Both Democrats and Republicans, including Trump supporters, have expressed support for the document.

"I would say support for Ukraine is a billion dollars," Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, the defense spending subcommittee's top Democrat, told reporters at a briefing ahead of the Appropriations Committee meeting.

The bill includes $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and $225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, much of which ends up supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion.

"Shutting off engagement with Ukraine would undermine our military's efforts to prepare for the modern battlefield," said Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who chairs the panel's defense subcommittee.

The bill must pass the Senate and be reconciled with the House version, which meets the Trump administration's request for $831.5 billion in unfunded aid for Ukraine. After that, the document will go to the president for signature or veto.
Shashi Tharoor disagrees with Rahul Gandhi on Trump's 'dead economy' remark: 'Not the case'

Rewati Karan

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Trump must be blind: Former PM HD Deve Gowda slams US President for calling India dead economy

Rewati Karan

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'What did he do for Bihar': Prashant Kishor attacks Rahul Gandhi ahead of Congress leader's visit to state

Priyanjali Ghose

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You make them work for 18-19 hrs: Supreme Court orders Army Medical College to pay stipend arrears to 2022 MBBS interns

Rewati Karan

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Namrata Agarwal

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Is O Panneerselvam a spent force? Why his exit may not create ripples in Tamil Nadu politics

Swati Das is an independent journalist covering Tamil Nadu politics, and is based in Chennai.

Priyanjali Ghose

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Nixon to Trump: Tracing the ups and downs of a mercurial engagement

Sanjiv Shankaran is Editor - Opinions, Editorials, Features at Moneycontrol. (Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.)

Namrata Agarwal

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Arun Anand has authored two books on the RSS. His X handle is @ArunAnandLive. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.

Namrata Agarwal

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Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/

As a result of the strike carried out by the Russians on the night of July 31, five children died in Kyiv, the youngest child was 2 years old, said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, based on the results of the report by Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko.

"In Kyiv, emergency restoration works are ongoing at the sites affected by yesterdays attack. All search and rescue operations have already been completed. Unfortunately, as of now, 31 people have been confirmed dead, including 5 children. The youngest was just two years old. My condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram channel on Friday.

In addition, 159 people are known to have been injured, including 16 children.

Zelenskyy stressed that such a vile attack by the Russian Federation shows the need for additional pressure on Moscow and sanctions.

"No matter how much the Kremlin denies their effectiveness, sanctions do work  and they must be strengthened. They must target everything that enables such attacks to continue. It is also crucial that the world does not remain silent about them. I thank everyone who has supported our people. We value the fact that President Trump, European leaders, and other partners clearly see what is happening and condemn Russia," the president noted.

In total, in July, the Russians used more than 5,100 guided aerial bombs, more than 3,800 Shaheds, almost 260 missiles of various types, of which 128 were ballistic, against Ukraine.

"This can only be stopped through joint efforts  by America, Europe, and other global actors. Every engagement matters. Every day matters. I thank everyone who is helping Ukraine," the president concluded.
US Tariffs: India must hold the line on more concessions

Namrata Agarwal

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No deaths allowed: Why this Spanish town declared it illegal to die

Shubhi Mishra

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'Were not the same': Nithin Kamath highlights why comparing Indian markets to US is misleading

Shubhi Mishra

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NASA spots two giant asteroids on collision course with Earth on August 3

MC Science Desk Read the latest and trending science newsstay updated on NASA, ISRO, space missions, planets, asteroids, black holes, AI, quantum physics, galaxy discoveries, and more exciting breakthroughs.

Sheetal Kumari

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BSNL announces Azadi ka Plan at Re 1; comes with unlimited calling and daily data

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Shaurya Shubham

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Planning a Trip to Mussoorie? New Tourist Rules You Must Follow in 2025

Nivritti Khatri

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1/11 The snow leopard  often called the Ghost of the Mountains  is one of the most elusive big cats in the world. Here are 10 of the best places in India to spot the snow leopard: (Representative image: Canva)

2/11 1. Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand

Located in the Garhwal Himalayas, this sanctuary is a known stronghold of the Himalayan musk deer. Dense alpine forests and high-altitude meadows make it ideal for sightings. (Representative image: Canva)

3/11 2. Nanda Devi National Park, Uttarakhand

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this park supports a stable musk deer population. It offers rugged terrain and remote habitats where these shy deer can thrive. (Representative image: Canva)

4/11 3. Askot Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand

Close to the Indo-Nepal border, Askot is a protected area for musk deer conservation. It features temperate forests and steep slopes favoured by the species. (Representative image: Canva)

5/11 4. Valley of Flowers National Park, Uttarakhand

Known for its alpine flora, this park is also home to musk deer. They hide in forested patches along the higher slopes and are rarely seen during the day. (Representative image: Canva)

6/11 5. Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand

Musk deer roam the upper alpine zones of this high-altitude park. The quiet, undisturbed forests near Gaumukh are ideal for spotting them at dawn or dusk. (Representative image: Canva)

7/11 6. Govind Pashu Vihar Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand

This lesser-known sanctuary near Har-ki-Dun valley harbours musk deer in its oak and conifer forests. Its part of the Snow Leopard conservation landscape too. (Representative image: Canva)

8/11 7. Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh

Located in Chamba district, this sanctuary offers pristine terrain with thick vegetation, perfect for the elusive musk deer and other high-altitude fauna. (Representative image: Canva)

9/11 8. Great Himalayan National Park, Himachal Pradesh

This well-protected Himalayan ecosystem supports musk deer in its upper reaches. Trekkers may spot hoofprints or signs near secluded alpine ridges. (Representative image: Canva)

10/11 9. Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh

While known for tropical biodiversity, musk deer are found in its cooler, higher altitudes. Dense cover and remote terrain suit their shy nature. (Representative image: Canva)
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Some countries have true, serious problems.

Then there are countries that have national discussions over a buxom young white woman in a jeans commercial.

Obviously, America is the latter.

This week, the internet  and the media more generally  exploded over a commercial starring actress Sydney Sweeney for American Eagle. The spot features Sweeney, lying seductively on the ground as she buttons her jeans, stating, "Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue." The ad concludes with the tagline: "Sydney Sweeney has great jeans."

According to those who apparently have far too much time on their hands, this ad is reminiscent of Nazism. Washington Post fashion critic Rachel Tashjian lamented that the ad felt "regressive." A wide variety of colorfully haired and bewilderingly pierced TikTok users labeled the ad a "Nazi dog whistle," presumably based on the idea that praising the genes of a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman with an hourglass figure is somehow an ode to the Third Reich. Charlie Warzel of The Atlantic wrote, "(Sweeney's) image has been co-opted by the right, accurately or not, in part because of where she's from (the Mountain West) and some of her hobbies (fixing cars). Even her figure has become a cultural stand-in for the idea, pushed by conservative commentators, that Americans should be free to love boobs."

Yes, we have now reached the point in American life that it is controversial to suggest that men like breasts; it is now apparently "right-coded."

This is patently insane.

But perhaps the insanity isn't just a sign of a culture infected with terrible ideas, ranging from the mutability of gender to the evisceration of beauty standards to the willfully ridiculous attempt to treat the male sex drive as uniquely evil. Perhaps it's a sign of a culture that has lost touch with actual, real problems in the world. A culture that is out of touch not just with reality, but with threat.

For a while, such cultures can survive. After all, America is uniquely placed in the world: thousands of miles from any direct foreign policy threat, blessed by natural resources beyond those of any other country, heir to a robust tradition of Anglo-American law and custom that have generated an unprecedented level of economic prosperity.

But reality has a funny way of clocking such cultures back into reality. It turns out that history never stops moving, that threats never stop militating. And what's more, a self-obsessed and shallow culture that worries about whether boobs in jeans ads are a return to Hitler makes itself uniquely vulnerable to such threats. A people who imbibe the stupidity that trauma amounts to taking mild offense at a dumb pun in an advertisement is a people utterly unprepared for the return of reality.

The great German leader Otto von Bismarck once remarked, "There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America." We can only pray that Providence continues to protect us from our own idiocy as we sink ever deeper into social media reveries of borderline psychopathy.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Ben Shapiro, bestselling author and syndicated columnist, first went into syndication after appearing in JWR.


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that it had drawn attention to reports by leading world media outlets regarding a message from the leadership of the Republic of Nicaragua to the Russian President with support and recognition of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as part of the Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that if this information is confirmed, Nicaragua's actions will be regarded as a violation of international law.

"If this information is confirmed, Ukraine will consider such actions a gross violation of international law, including the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter, UN General Assembly resolutions, and Nicaragua's international obligations, and will reserve the right to respond in a manner commensurate with the unprecedented level of unfriendly actions," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry recalled that any recognition of the occupation contradicts UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) "Definition of Aggression" and Resolution ES-11/4 of October 12, 2022.

"The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions were and remain integral parts of Ukrainian territory. Any so-called referendums, consultations, or statements by the occupiers, as well as the recognition of these illegal actions by third countries, are legally null and void and have no legal consequences," the ministry noted.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalled that in 2020, Ukraine had already imposed sectoral sanctions against Nicaragua due to the opening of an honorary consulate in occupied Simferopol.

Ukraine demands an immediate and official denial of the media reports by the Nicaraguan authorities if they are not true. If there is no refutation soon, the Ukrainian side will take this as confirmation of the information's veracity, with all the consequences that come with that.
Spain Launches Digital Nomad Visa at Rs 8,000: Everything You Need to Know to Apply

Priyanka Roshan With over eight years in multimedia journalism, is passionate about storytellingboth visual and textualacross travel, jobs, business, markets, politics, and daily news. From crafting engaging articles to producing compelling videos, she blends creativity with strategy to bring stories to life. With a strong foundation in SEO, and video production she ensures content not only informs but also resonates with audiences.

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Radioactive material implanted in rhino horns to fight poaching in Africa

Scientists have started injecting radioactive material into the horns of several rhinos in Africa as part of a new anti-poaching initiative, according to a report in Al Jazeera. The method involves inserting a small, low-level radioactive isotope that is not harmful to the animal but is designed to trigger radiation detectors at international borders, making trafficking more difficult. The primary goal is to devalue the horns for end consumers, who may fear health risks from the radioactive material, thereby disrupting the illegal supply chain and reducing the incentive for poaching. This technological approach is part of broader conservation efforts using advanced methods to protect endangered species.
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China hits back at US tariff threats, says 'even Washington trades with Russia'

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Enough of their guns and lies: How PoK locals are rejecting Pakistans terror agenda

Abhinav Gupta

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Food prices in Gaza reach extreme levels as aid access remains difficult

Food prices in Gaza have reached extraordinarily high levels, making essentials unaffordable for many residents who also face significant difficulty and danger in obtaining humanitarian aid, according to a report in The New York Times. This economic crisis is a result of the ongoing Israeli siege that severely limits the entry of goods, combined with the widespread destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, agricultural land, and markets from military operations. The collapse of the local economy has led to mass unemployment, leaving most of the population without income to purchase even the limited food that is available. Challenges in distributing the aid that does enter the Strip, due to damaged roads and security risks, further worsen the scarcity and contribute to the inflated prices.
'It's disgusting': Trump blasts Russia over Ukraine, warns of sanctions if no deal by August 8

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Ukraine initiated an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in response to another escalation of terror by Russia, which led to the death of people and destruction in Kyiv, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said.

"An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council under the agenda item Maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine will take place tomorrow, on August 1st," he wrote on the social network X.

Sybiha stressed that Putin rejects efforts for peace and seeks to prolong his war.

"And the world has the necessary strength to stop himby united pressure and principled position in favor of a full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire," he said.

The UNSC meeting tomorrow evening will be a platform to make such firm positions clear, the minister noted.
Poisoned smoothies and Cyanide: How a US dentist plotted his wifes murder

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Russia lost over 112,000 soldiers in 2025, war should never have happened: Trump pins blame on Biden

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Trump's tariff stick for India, carrot for Pak: Whats real, whats rhetoric and the 'dead economy' myth

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.

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Trump orders deployment of two nuclear submarines over 'highly provocative' remarks by Russia's Medvedev

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URCS aid points work in Kyiv at sites of liquidation of consequences of Russian attack

Photo: https://www.facebook.com/RedCrossUkraine/

Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) aid points are working in Kyiv at the sites of liquidation of the consequences of the Russian combined missile and drone attack on the night of July 31.

"Ukrainian Red Cross Society aid points are working at the sites of liquidation of the consequences, where victims and rescuers can drink tea and water," the URCS reported on Facebook.

These points can also provide first aid - psychological or, if necessary, home-medical.

Volunteers from Solomiansky and Sviatoshynsky district organizations of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society in Kyiv provide victims with materials for temporary repair of damaged homes.

In addition, URCS volunteers are sheltering animals from damaged homes that were rescued by volunteers from the KARG organization (Kyiv Animal Rescue Group).

As reported, the rapid response team of the National Committee of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society provided assistance at the sites of the attack in Sviatoshynsky and Solomiansky districts of Kyiv.

Search and rescue operations have been completed.

The Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday night killed 31 people, including five children; 159 people were injured, including 16 children.
Trump puts India's Russian oil trade under scanner, but tariffs spare fuel exports to US

Abhinav Gupta

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Trump slaps 25% tariff on India, warns of more: How it compares globally | The number game explained

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What presidential gifts really say: Trumps Scottish census and the art of political gifting

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White House endorses Trump for Nobel Peace Prize: Whats the selection process and what India said

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Who was Gurmuk Singh? British Sikh man fatally stabbed in London remembered as a true social butterfly

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Why Pakistan is winner in Trump's new tariff regime? South Asian duties compared, from Delhi to Dhaka

Surabhi Pandey

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Why Trumps envoy is visiting Gaza and what it means for the deepening humanitarian crisis

Pragya Trivedi

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'Won't come under pressure': India rules out concessions on agriculture and dairy despite Trumps tariff strike, say govt sources

Abhinav Gupta

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G7 Ambassadors to Ukraine welcome restoration of independence of NABU and SAPO

G7 Ambassadors to Ukraine welcome the restoration of independence of NABU and SAPO and express respect to the people of Ukraine for their unwavering commitment to protecting the independence of anti-corruption institutions.

"We welcome the restoration of NABU and SAPO independence initiated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and swiftly passed by Ukraines parliament, a necessary and important step to preserve unity, trust in s governance and strengthen the business climate," ambassadors reported on X.

The G7 also expressed respect for the people of Ukraine for their continued commitment to protecting the independence of anti-corruption institutions and advancing important reforms.

"We stand firmly with them, supporting their aspirations for a just, rules-based, and Euro-Atlantic future," ambassadors noted.
The United States held talks with representatives of the Russian leadership earlier this week about ending the war in Ukraine, but no progress was made. President Donald Trump will make a decision on further actions against Russia in the coming days, as attempts at a peaceful settlement have been fruitless for more than six months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Fox Radio.

"The President has waited over six months now and given the best efforts possible. We continue to engage with the Russian side, as early as this week  earlier this week, on Monday or Tuesday. We had a whole conversation with them as well  not with Putin but with some of Putins top people  in hopes of arriving at some understanding on a path forward that would lead to peace, and weve not seen any progress on that," Rubio said.

According to him, the US president is concerned about the gap between the rhetoric of Russian representatives and events on the front.

"He has these great phone calls where everyone sort of claims yeah, wed like to see this end, if we could find a way forward, and then he turns on the news and another city has been bombed, including those far from the frontlines," the Secretary of State said.

He emphasized that Washington is open to different scenarios, but the main condition remains the cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations.

"So the President has a lot of options. I mean, he has options, as everyone knows, to sanction secondary sales of oil, theres banking, sectoral banking sanctions that would also be very powerful. Again, I think our hope is to avoid that and to sort of figure out a way that we can get the fighting to stop. But so far, theres not been, what we feel at least, a sincere interest on the Russian side of achieving that objective," Rubio stressed.
On Thursday night, the Russian Federation launched strikes on Kyiv using loitering munitions and cruise missiles, resulting in a large number of civilian casualties, with people killed and injured in their homes in various areas of the city, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said.

Last nights horrific strikes shattered families, with reports of at least eleven civilians killed, including a six-year-old boy, and over 130 injured, among them children, said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU.

The Mission emphasized that their team visited the sites of shelling and saw residential buildings reduced to ruins and residents desperately waiting for news about missing relatives.

In Sviatoshynsky district, a missile destroyed an entire section of a nine-story apartment building. At the site, rescue efforts were continuing, and residents whose homes had been destroyed were receiving humanitarian assistance. Human rights monitors spoke with people who were waiting as emergency workers continued to search for their relatives believed trapped under the rubble.

Witnesses described shock at the strike, which happened so fast that they did not have time to seek shelter. Windows in at least five neighboring buildings were shattered by the intense blast. In Solomiansky district, a five-story apartment building was severely damaged. At least two people were killed there, and a number of others remain missing.

With at least 27 locations affected across four districts in a single night, the scale of the destruction is alarming, Bell said. Homes, businesses and public buildings are being destroyed, and it may take years to rebuild them. And each new attack compounds the psychological toll on people who have to spend night after night in shelters.

In its monthly update on the protection of civilians, the HRMMU noted that in June 2025, the Russian Federation launched ten times more missile and loitering attacks on Ukraine than in June 2024.

June was marked by the highest number of civilian casualties in the last three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured. Preliminary data for July suggests that this dangerous trend continues. The heavy shelling is affecting not only areas close to the front line, but also settlements well away from it.
Lawyer says hes not been allowed to see 5 immigrants deported by the US to a prison in Eswatini

Lawyer says hes not been allowed to see 5 immigrants deported by the US to a prison in Eswatini View Photo

MANZINI, Eswatini (AP)  Five immigrants deported by the United States to Eswatini in a secret deal last month had served their criminal sentences before they were sent to be held in a prison in the African country, a lawyer working on their cases said Friday.

The Eswatini lawyer also said the men from Cuba, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Vietnam sent to southern Africa under President Donald Trumps third-country deportation program have been denied access to legal representation while being held in Eswatinis main maximum-security prison.

The lawyer, Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, said he hasnt been allowed to see the men and that he filed court papers Thursday against the head of Eswatinis correctional services department and the countrys attorney general, demanding access to them.

He said he is representing them on behalf of lawyers in the U.S. and was prevented from seeing them by Eswatini prison officials on July 25. Its unlawful for the men, who have been in Eswatini for around two weeks, to be denied access to a lawyer, he added.

The Eswatini government has said the men will be held in solitary confinement until they can be deported to their home countries, which could take up to a year.

They have served their sentences, Nhlabatsi told The Associated Press. If a person has committed a crime and they have served a sentence, why are you then keeping them in a prison?

Nhlabatsi said the men have not been able to communicate with their families or receive visitors since arriving in Eswatini, although prison officials said they were in the process of setting up devices to allow them to speak with their families.

He alleged their ongoing detention could have legal implications for Eswatini, a small country bordering South Africa and one of the worlds last absolute monarchies, ruled by a king accused of cracking down on dissent.

The Trump administration has come under scrutiny for its choice of African countries to strike deportation deals with. It deported eight immigrants described as violent criminals to South Sudan in early July in an operation that was halted by a legal challenge in the U.S. The eight were held for weeks in a converted shipping container at an American military base in nearby Djibouti while the case was decided. A Supreme Court ruling eventually cleared the way for them to be sent to South Sudan.

Both South Sudan, which is in danger of tipping into civil war, and Eswatini have poor rights records and governments accused of being repressive. Critics say the deportees, who the administration says were in the U.S. illegally, will likely be denied due process in those countries.

The five sent to Eswatini were also described by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as serious criminals. Their convictions included murder and child rape, the department said in social media posts, calling them uniquely barbaric.

The department, which did not say if they had completed their sentences, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

An Eswatini government spokesman also declined to comment on Nhlabatsis allegations, saying it was now a matter for the courts.

Nhlabatsi said the deportees are being held at the Matsapha Correctional Complex near the administrative capital, Mbabane, the same prison said to hold pro-democracy activists on trumped up charges. The government has declined to say where the five men are being held, citing security concerns.

Eswatinis statement about the five men ultimately being deported to their home countries appears to contradict claims by the U.S. that their home countries refused to take the men back.

Activists in Eswatini have demanded that the details of the agreement with the U.S. be made public but the government has said they are classified. South Sudan has also declined to give details of its agreement to take deportees from the U.S.

___

AP news on the Trump administration: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

By NOKUKHANYA MUSI

Associated Press
Attacks in China and Japan raise concerns about xenophobia in both countries

Attacks in China and Japan raise concerns about xenophobia in both countries View Photo

A Japanese woman living in China was attacked and injured by a man in a Suzhou subway station, Japanese media outlets said, hours after two Chinese men were seriously injured in violence in Tokyo.

The attacks on Thursday raised concern about xenophobic sentiment in both China and Japan that have been blamed for assaults in both countries. It was the third attack involving Japanese living in China since last year. In the two previous cases in China, Chinese authorities have insisted they were isolated incidents.

The Japanese broadcaster NHK did not identify the woman injured in Suzhou by name but, citing the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, said she was with her child inside a subway station when the attack took place. The child was not injured, and the mother had returned home after reportedly getting treated at a hospital, NHK reported.

A phone call to the Suzhou Police went unanswered on Friday evening, and the local police were yet to release any official statement. But the Japanese news agency Kyodo said the suspect had been detained.

In Tokyo earlier Thursday, two Chinese men were seriously injured in attacks, and four male assailants wielding unspecified weapons remained at large, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Japan. The identities of the assailants were unclear.

The Chinese Embassy urged the Japanese authorities to take action to catch the assailants in the Tokyo attack and to ensure the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Japan in response to the recent surge in xenophobic sentiment in Japanese society.

In southern China last September, a 10-year-old Japanese student died after being stabbed by a Chinese man not far from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The man was sentenced to death.

In June 2024, a Japanese woman and her child were injured in an attack by a Chinese man, also in Suzhou. A Chinese bus attendant who tried to protect them from the attack was killed. The man was sentenced to death.

On Friday, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China called for Chinese authorities to ensure Japanese citizens safety and security in China.

It is extremely regrettable that such an incident has happened again. Ensuring the safety of employees and their families is fundamental for doing business in China, the statement said.

___

AP writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

By FU TING

Associated Press
El Salvador approves indefinite presidential reelection and extends terms to 6 years View Photo

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP)  The party of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele approved constitutional changes in the countrys Legislative Assembly on Thursday that will allow indefinite presidential reelection and extend presidential terms to six years.

Lawmaker Ana Figueroa from the New Ideas party had proposed the changes to five articles of the constitution. The proposal also included eliminating the second round of the election where the two top vote-getters from the first round face off.

New Ideas and its allies in the Legislative Assembly quickly approved the proposals with the supermajority they hold. The vote passed with 57 in favor and three opposed.

Bukele overwhelmingly won reelection last year despite a constitutional ban, after Supreme Court justices selected by his party ruled in 2021 to allow reelection to a second five-year term.

Observers have worried that Bukele had a plan to consolidate power since at least 2021, when a newly elected Congress with a strong governing party majority voted to remove the magistrates of the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court. Those justices had been seen as the last check on the popular president.

Since then, Bukele has only grown more popular. The Biden administrations initial expressions of concern gave way to quiet acceptance as Bukele announced his run for reelection. With the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House in January, Bukele had a new powerful ally and quickly offered Trump help by taking more than 200 deportees from other countries into a newly built prison for gang members.

Figueroa argued Thursday that federal lawmakers and mayors can already seek reelection as many times as they want.

All of them have had the possibility of reelection through popular vote, the only exception until now has been the presidency, Figueroa said.

She also proposed that Bukeles current term, scheduled to end June 1, 2029, instead finish June 1, 2027, to put presidential and congressional elections on the same schedule. It would also allow Bukele to seek reelection to a longer term two years earlier.

Marcela Villatoro of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena), one of three votes against the proposals, told her fellow lawmakers that Democracy in El Salvador has died!

You dont realize what indefinite reelection brings: It brings an accumulation of power and weakens democracy  theres corruption and clientelism because nepotism grows and halts democracy and political participation, she said.

Suecy Callejas, the assemblys vice president, said that power has returned to the only place that it truly belongs  to the Salvadoran people.

Bukele did not immediately comment.

Bukele, who once dubbed himself the worlds coolest dictator, is highly popular, largely because of his heavy-handed fight against the countrys powerful street gangs.

Voters have been willing to overlook evidence that his administration like others before it had negotiated with the gangs, before seeking a state of emergency that suspended some constitutional rights and allowed authorities to arrest and jail tens of thousands of people.

His success with security and politically has inspired imitators in the region who seek to replicate his style.

Most recently, Bukeles government has faced international criticism for the arrests of high-profile lawyers who have been outspoken critics of his administration. One of the countrys most prominent human rights group announced in July it was moving its operations out of El Salvador for the safety of its people, accusing the government of a wave of repression.

By MARCOS ALEMAN

Associated Press
Fire rips through Pioneer home and spread to nearby vegetation -- AFPD photo View Photos

Pioneer, CA  Flames tore through an Amador County home yesterday morning before spreading to nearby vegetation, with CAL Fire Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit firefighters assisting in battling the blaze.

The Amador Fire Protection District (AFPD) was dispatched on Wednesday (7/30) around 10:30 a.m. to a reported residential structure fire on Defender Grade Road near Joyce Road in Pioneer. When fire crews arrived on the scene, the house was fully engulfed in flames, with fire extending into the surrounding vegetation.

Crews immediately initiated a fire attack, deploying hose lines and beginning suppression efforts, report AFPD officials, adding, Thanks to the rapid response and coordinated efforts of personnel from Amador Fire and Cal Fire AEU/TCU, forward progress on the vegetation fire was stopped at just under one acre.

Assisting agencies included the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Amador County Sheriffs Office, and the American Red Cross. Unfortunately, fire officials report the home was destroyed, but luckily, no residents were home when the blaze broke out. Fire officials also say there were no injuries. The cause of this fire remains under investigation.
Governor Gavin Newsom flanked by CAL Fire officials View Photo

Sacramento, CA  CAL Fire has completed the final leg of a multi-year initiative, adding the final two of 16 new specialty helicopters to its fleet.

California now has the largest civilian helicopter fighting fleet in the world, according to Governor Gavin Newsom. The final two Sikorsky S-70i Fire Hawk helicopters have arrived at McClellan Airfield in Sacramento. The first ones, after being overhauled for state firefighting needs, began arriving in 2020.

CAL Fire officials relay that it completes a multi-year transition that significantly upgrades the departments aerial firefighting capabilities. This year marks the full conversion of all ten CAL FIRE Helitack bases from the Vietnam-era Huey UH-1H helicopters to the state-of-the-art Fire Hawk.

Newsom says, Our fleet of Fire Hawk helicopters  now the largest in the world  is a proven tool in our growing firefighting arsenal. During the devastating Los Angeles fires, we saw them in action, conducting critical missions at night, which stopped the Palisades Fire from dipping into Mandeville Canyon and toward the 405 freeway. Hundreds of homes were saved because of these state-of-the-art helicopters and their heroic pilots.

CAL Fire started utilizing helicopters in the 1960s. In the 1980s, CAL FIRE upgraded its fleet with the Bell Huey, and for over four decades, the Huey has been the workhorse of the CAL FIRE Helitack program.

The completion of our S-70i Fire Hawk fleet and the transition of all Helitack bases is thanks to the dedication of the entire CAL FIRE aviation program, said CAL FIRE Chief and Director Joe Tyler. This is about equipping our firefighters with the most advanced tools available to respond to the increasing complexities of wildland fires.

Newsom noted that some of the older Huey helicopters will now go to other agencies, such as the Forest Service.
Trump orders a 35% tariff for goods from Canada, citing a lack of cooperation on illicit drugs

Trump orders a 35% tariff for goods from Canada, citing a lack of cooperation on illicit drugs View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35% from 25%, effective Friday.

The announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept  traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.

Trump has heckled Canada for months and suggested it should become its 51st U.S. state. He had threatened to impose the higher tariff on Canada if no deal was reached by Friday, his deadline for reaching trade agreements with dozens of countries.

Earlier Thursday, the president said Canadas announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state would make it very hard for the United States to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor. Trump has also expressed frustration with a trade deficit with Canada that largely reflects oil purchases by America.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had tempered expectations over tariffs, saying Ottawa would only agree to a deal if theres one on the table that is in the best interests of Canadians.

In a statement released early Friday, he said he was disappointed by Trumps actions and vowed to diversify Canadas exports.

Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes, he said, pointing to heavy investments in border security.

Carney added that some industries  including lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles  will be harder hit, but said his government will try to minimize the impact and protect Canadian jobs.

Canada was not included in Trumps updated list of tariff rates on other countries announced late Thursday. Those import duties are due to take effect on Aug. 7.

Trump sent a letter to Canada a few weeks ago warning he planned to raise duties on many goods imported from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the two North American countries that has undermined their decades-old alliance.

Some imports from Canada are still protected by the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which is up for renegotiation next year.

The White Houses statement said goods transshipped through Canada that are not covered by the USMCA would be subject to a 40% tariff rate. It did not say where the goods might originate.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that there would be a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico after a call with that countrys leader, Claudia Sheinbaum, keeping 25% tariff rates in place.
States sue Trump, saying he is intimidating hospitals over gender-affirming care for youth

States sue Trump, saying he is intimidating hospitals over gender-affirming care for youth View Photo

Seventeen Democratic officials accused President Donald Trumps administration of unlawfully intimidating health care providers into stopping gender-affirming care for transgender youth in a lawsuit filed Friday.

The complaint comes after a month in which at least eight major hospitals and hospital systems  all in states where the care is allowed under state law  announced they were stopping or restricting the care. The latest announcement came Thursday from UI Health in Chicago.

Trumps administration announced in July that it was sending subpoenas to providers and focusing on investigating them for fraud. It later boasted in a news release that hospitals are halting treatments.

The Democratic officials say Trumps policies are an attempt to impose a nationwide ban on the treatment for people under 19  and thats unlawful because theres no federal statute that bans providing the care to minors. The suit was filed by attorneys general from 15 states and the District of Columbia, plus the governor of Pennsylvania, in U.S. District Court in Boston.

The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

Trump and others who oppose the care say that it makes permanent changes that people who receive it could come to regret  and maintain that its being driven by questionable science.

Since 2021, 28 states with Republican-controlled legislatures have adopted policies to ban or restrict gender-affirming care for minors. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have a right to enforce those laws.

For families with transgender children, the state laws and medical center policy changes have sparked urgent scrambles for treatment.

The medical centers are responding to political and legal pressure

The Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, the biggest public provider of gender-affirming care for children in teens in the U.S., closed in July.

At least seven other major hospitals and health systems have made similar announcements, including Childrens National in Washington D.C., UChicago Medicine and Yale New Haven Health.

Kaiser Permanente, which operates in California and several other states, said it would pause gender-affirming surgeries for those under 19 as of the end of August, but would continue hormone therapy.

Connecticut Childrens Medical Center cited an increasingly complex and evolving landscape for winding down care.

Other hospitals, including Penn State, had already made similar decisions since Trump returned to office in January.

Alex Sheldon, executive director of GLMA, an organization that advocates for health care equity for LGBTQ+ people, said the health systems have pulled back the services for legal reasons, not medical ones.

Not once has a hospital said they are ending care because it is not medically sound, Sheldon said.

Trumps administration has targeted the care in multiple ways

Trump devoted a lot of attention to transgender people in his campaign last year as part of a growing pushback from conservatives as transgender people have gained visibility and acceptance on some fronts. Trump criticized gender-affirming care, transgender women in womens sports, and transgender womens use of womens facilities such as restrooms.

On his inauguration day in January, Trump signed an executive order defining the sexes as only male and female for government purposes, setting the tone for a cascade of actions that affect transgender people. About a week later, Trump called to stop using federal money, including from Medicaid, for gender-affirming care for those under 19.

About half of U.S. adults approve of Trumps handling of transgender issues, an AP-NORC poll found. But the American Medical Association says that gender is on a spectrum, and the group opposes policies that restrict access to gender-affirming health care.

Gender-affirming care includes a range of medical and mental health services to support a persons gender identity, including when its different from the sex they were assigned at birth. It includes counseling and treatment with medications that block puberty, and hormone therapy to produce physical changes, as well as surgery, which is rare for minors.

In March, a judge paused enforcement of the ban on government spending for care.

The court ruling didnt stop other federal government action

In April, Attorney General Pam Bondi directed government investigators to focus on providers who continue to offer gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Under my leadership, the Department of Justice will bring these practices to an end, she wrote.

In May, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a report discouraging medical interventions for transgender youth and instead focusing solely on talk therapy. The report questions adolescents capacity to consent to life-changing treatments that could result in future infertility. The administration has not said who wrote the report, which has been deeply criticized by LGBTQ+ advocates.

In June, a Justice Department memo called for prioritizing civil investigations of those who provide the treatment.

In July, Justice Department announced it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in gender-affirming care for youth, saying they were part of investigations of health care fraud, false statements and other possible wrongdoing.

And in a statement last week, the White House celebrated decisions to end gender-affirming care, which it called a barbaric, pseudoscientific practice

Families worry about accessing care

Kirsten Salvatores 15-year-old child started hormone therapy late last year at Penn State Health. Salvatore said in an interview with The Associated Press before the lawsuit was announced that it was a major factor in reduced signs of anxiety and depression. Last month, the family received official notice from the health system that it would no longer offer the hormones for patients under 19 after July 31, though talk therapy can continue.

Salvatore has been struggling to find a place thats not hours away from their Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, home that would provide the hormones and accept Medicaid coverage.

Im walking around blind with no guidance, and whatever breadcrumbs I was given are to a dead-end alleyway, she said.

The family has enough testosterone stockpiled to last until January. But if they cant find a new provider by then, Salvatores child could risk detransitioning, she said.

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Salvatores first name to Kirsten, not Kristen.

By GEOFF MULVIHILL

Associated Press
Croatia holds military parade as it marks 30 years since a key war victory View Photo

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)  Thousands watched a military parade in Croatias capital on Thursday marking 30 years since a key war victory as the country looks to further boost its forces with a possible loan from a new European Union defense fund.

A flyover in Zagreb by French-made Rafale jets was a highlight of the show that included 3,400 army personnel along with police units, emergency service teams and war veterans. Navy battle ships sailed simultaneously by the Adriatic Sea port of Split.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that we have passed a big process of transition from eastern to western technology in order to be compatible with the capabilities of those armies who are our partners and allies.

Croatia joined the EU in 2013, four years after becoming a member of NATO.

Back in August 1995, Croatia recaptured lands that had been held by minority Serbs since their rebellion in 1991 against the countrys independence from the former Communist-run Yugoslavia. The Operation Storm offensive presented a turning point in the war and also triggered a mass exodus of ethnic Serbs from Croatia.

Tensions persist in relations with Balkan rival Serbia, which backed the ethnic Serb rebellion in the 1990s. Serbia plans to hold a commemoration ceremony for the Serb victims of the offensive, and Belgrade has cautioned Serbian citizens against traveling to Croatia in early August.

A military parade in Belgrade is planned for September.

Political analyst Zarko Puhovski said he believed the military parade was designed both to garner popular support for further defense spending amid security concerns in Europe fueled by Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and as a message of strength in the region.

Its just putting on a show, to put military equipment on display, Puhovski told The Associated Press. This will be presented as Croatias effort to join the overall trend of increased militarization in Europe.

Croatia is among eighteen EU countries that have applied for billions of euros from the blocs program of cheap loans aimed at helping Europe provide for its own security. Plenkovic has said that Croatia could seek 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) from the fund.

The 150-billion-euro ($173 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program was launched after the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump signalled that Europe is no longer a U.S. security priority.

Some U.S. allies in Europe worry that President Vladimir Putin could target one of them if Russia wins its war on Ukraine.
Photo: https://www.bloomberg.com

At the first stage, Germany will provide additional Patriot launchers in a short time; then, over the next two to three months, Berlin will transfer another part of the systems to strengthen Ukraine's air defense with additional PATRIOT batteries.

According to the German Ministry of Defense, thanks to the joint efforts of partners, these systems, which will undergo repairs in the short and medium term, will be prepared for use in Ukraine and transferred in working condition.

It has been agreed with the US Department of Defense that in exchange for this, Germany will be the first to receive the latest PATRIOT systems, produced in an accelerated mode. Financing will be provided by Germany.

"High-performance air defense systems such as the PATRIOT system are in short supply, and the production of some components takes years. Germany has already supplied Ukraine with three systems that play an important role in Ukraine's air defense," the report says.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius commented on this as follows: "Germany was ready from the very beginning to provide components of the system within the framework of negotiations at NATO level in order to support Ukraine with additional PATRIOT systems. The condition was that the American manufacturer would deliver new PATRIOT systems in return as soon as possible so that we could continue to fulfill our obligations to NATO. This promise from the United States is there. Therefore, Germany can first support Ukraine with launchers and then with other components of the PATRIOT system. Once again, it becomes clear: Germany is Ukraine's strongest supporter in the field of air defense."

Thanks to the agreement reached, Germany is making upfront costs in order to quickly meet Ukraine's urgent needs. "We are moving forward again and linking this delivery with a call to our partners to provide their systems as soon as possible," Germany urged.
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP)  Slovenia has announced that it will ban the import, export and transit of all weapons to and from Israel in response to the countrys actions in Gaza.

Slovenia, which has often criticized Israel over reported atrocities in Gaza, called the ban, announced late Thursday, the first such move by a European Union member state.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has said on multiple occasions that Slovenia would act unilaterally in the absence of concerted EU action, the state STA news agency reported.

The EU is currently incapable of completing this task due to internal discord and disunity, the government press release said. The result thereof is shameful: People in Gaza are dying because they are systematically denied humanitarian aid. They are dying under rubble, without access to drinking water, food and basic health care.

Tiny Slovenia has almost no arms trade with Israel and the decision to ban weapons trade with Israel is mainly a diplomatic message meant to step up pressure as international outrage over Israels conduct and images of starvation in Gaza.

Slovenias embargo on arms to Israel is a symbolic but nevertheless important measure, said Zain Hussain, arms transfers researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The ban follows other steps by the government of Slovenia. It banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country in July, accusing them of inciting extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians with genocidal statements.

Slovenias decision to cut off arms transfers to Israel, which is using imported weapons against civilians in Gaza in a manner that clearly violates international law and basic human decency, is an important breakthrough, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which has lobbied the U.S. government to cut Israels supplies of American war material.

In June 2024, Slovenias parliament passed a decree recognizing Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway and Spain.

Last year, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmers government suspended exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law. Spain says it halted arms sales to Israel in October 2023. The Netherlands has also cracked down on weapons trade with Israel, and there are court cases in France and Belgium around weapons trade with Israel. But none of the three has announced a blanket ban on all trade and transit similar to what Slovenia announced.

Ruling Slovenian coalition parties Friday welcomed the governments decision to impose an arms embargo on Israel, while the conservative opposition was more reserved, warning about the potential fallout.

The government should have acted against Israel in collaboration with the EU rather than doing it solo, said Janez Cigler Kralj, an opposition official.

___

Associated Press writer Samuel McNeil contributed from Brussels.

By ALI ZERDIN

Associated Press
Yves here. Trump is such a chaos generator that its hard to keep up with all the damage he is trying to do. Hes in the process of completing his trade deals. Trump seems to have a crude hierarchy of punishment, with an official level of 15% being the least abusive and (so far) 50% the highestto be inflicted on Brazil, a particular focus of Trump ire, explicitly due to its prosecution of Trump bestie Jair Bolsonaro. Oh, and there arent valid trade grounds for tariffs since Brazil runs a surplus with the US.

But it turns out that 50% level for Brazil that Trump got into the headlines is a headfake. From Bloomberg in Lulas Defiance Pays Off as Trump Blinks on Brazil Tariffs:

Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas defiant response to Donald Trumps 50% tariff threat was validated Wednesday  at least in the short term  with markets and businesses breathing a collective sigh of relief at the long list of exemptions to the levies. Some of Brazils biggest exports to the US, from civilian aircrafts to orange juice, wont face increases beyond the 10% rate previously imposed, softening the blow of tariffs Trump now plans to implement next week instead of Friday.

Oh, and these deals dont even rise to the level of napkin doodles. From former ambassador Chas Freeman on Judge Napolitano, starting at 3:50

Freeman: Well, theres no diplomacy. Basically this administration is managing international relations through the equivalent of extortion, bullying threats.Weve just seen this dramatically illustrated by the unequal treaties theyre called that Japan and the European Union have succumbed to. First of all, theyre not professionally reached. There is no text, theres no agreed text on these trade deals. Theyre entirely oral. Theyre vague. Theyre subject in both cases to additional American actions as yet unspecified with regard to specific categories of goods. Both basically Japan and the EU have been forced to accept u a 15% across the board tariff as a permanent condition of their relationship with the United their relationships with the United States. [7:40] Napolitano: You said that these agreements have not been reduced to writing. How can you have an agreement of this magnitude not reduced to writing so we dont know whats in there? Freeman: Well, theyre not agreements. Thats the point. They are capitulations by foreigners to bullying. Um theres no meeting of the minds. Theres no mutual benefit. For example, Europeans are pointing out and by the way, they using the term unequal treaties to parallel the kind of impositions that were made on China in the 19th century by imperialist powers including us um which of course ended up causing a revolution in China, two revolutions in China and knocking China for a loop for almost 150 years. Europeans are saying, pointing out that they agreed that everything they sell to the United States will be subject to a 15% import tax by Americans but that and they will not they will not have any import tax on American imports imports from us. So theyve given up um a lot of trade in return for absolutely nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Now to India. Our Jerri-Lynn would have been all over the fine points of Indias efforts to deal with Trump, but this has not been a focus of mine, so I cant evaluate Korybkos thesis. Since Trump likes to stomp on pretty much everyone and everything (except Mr. Market), his hostility towards India, which has engaged in the sin of refusing to ditch Russia so as to better toady up to the US, might be reason alone for Trump to make particularly nasty noises and bruit about a 25% tariffs threat. His anger and this action might also be the result of feeling cornered by Lindsay Graham, who has insisted on his bone-crushing secondary sanctions, which would be extremely damaging to the US, and claims he has enough votes to beat a veto. Perhaps the

Korybko suggests that there might be some geostrategic logic to what Trump is attempting with India. Reader sanity checks welcomed.

By Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political analyst who specializes in the global systemic transition to multipolarity in the New Cold War. He has a PhD from MGIMO, which is under the umbrella of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Originally published at his website

If Trumps tariffs dont coerce India into becoming a US vassal, which the US would then exploit to coerce concessions from China in advance of its ultimate goal of restoring unipolarity, then he might settle for letting China subordinate India instead as part of the G2/Chimerica scenario.

Trump raged against India on Wednesday in a series of posts announcing his 25% tariff on its exports on the pretext of its trade barriers and close ties with Russia. He then announced an oil deal with Pakistan and predicted that maybe theyll be selling Oil to India some day! His final post described Indias economy as dead and claimed that We have done very little business with India despite it being the fastest-growing major economy in the world and bilateral trade amounting to nearly $130 billion in 2024.

Indias Ministry of Commerce & Industry calmly responded to Trumps tariff announcement by reaffirming its commitment to talks and declaring that the state will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, which likely infuriated him since he probably expected Modi to anxiously call him. The favorable trade deal that he clinched with Japan last week and the totally lopsided one with the EU that followed emboldened him into playing hardball with India upon thinking that itll fall into line too.

The US wants India to open its agricultural and dairy markets, stop its massive import of discounted Russian oil, and rapidly diversify away from Russian military equipment. Complying with the first demand would be disastrous for the 46% of the Indian workforce employed in these industries, however, while the second would risk decelerating its economic growth and the third would make its security dependent on the US. The end result would therefore derail Indias rise as a Great Power and turn it into a US vassal.

Trump is hellbent on doing precisely that, which is the continuation of Bidens policy, as explained below:

* 13 December 2022: Will The US Sell India Out To China To Sweeten The Deal For A Sino-American New Detente?

* 14 May 2025: There Might Be A Method To The Madness Of Trump Unexpectedly Damaging Indo-US Ties

* 16 May 2025: Trumps Desired Return To Bagram Airbase Could Reshape South Asian Geopolitics

* 7 June 2025: The US Is Once Again Trying To Subordinate India

* 13 July 2025: The US-Pakistani Rapprochement Could Have Far-Reaching Geostrategic Consequences

These analyses will now be summarized for the readers convenience and placed in the current context.

In brief, Indias Russian-assisted rise as a Great Power hastens the coming of trimultipolarity thatll in turn help midwife complex multipolarity, which would greatly reduce the likelihood of ever restoring US-led unipolarity or the short-lived period of informal Sino-US bi-multipolarity (G2/Chimerica). Russias special operation and the Wests reaction to it revolutionized International Relations and created the opportunity for India to make up for lost time in becoming a Great Power with trulyglobal influence.

The US responded to these developments by attempting to subordinate India via election meddling, infowars, and dual geopolitical pivots to Bangladesh (whose prior long-serving leader it helped depose) and Pakistan to pile on the pressure in pursuit of this goal or to contain India if it still refuses to concede. Complementary elements of this pressure campaign include political support for Delhi-designated Khalistani separatists-terrorists and spring 2023s violent ethno-religious unrest in Manipur.

If Trumps tariffs dont coerce India into becoming a US vassal, which the US would then exploit to coerce concessions from China in advance of its ultimate goal of restoring unipolarity, then he might settle for letting China subordinate India instead as part of the G2/Chimerica scenario. Either way, he doesnt expect Indias rise as a Great Power to continue due to the zero-sum dilemma in which the tariffs were meant to place it between becoming the US or Chinas vassal, but India might still surprise everyone.
In December, one of Nashvilles most beloved and influential art institutions will close its doors. Zeitgeist announced Thursday that it will be shuttering at the end of 2025.

The news comes as a surprise  the gallerys strong presence has long been a defining element of the citys visual art scene. Some of Nashvilles most celebrated artists  including Alicia Henry, who was with the gallery from 2001 until her death in 2024  have exhibited at the space since its doors opened in 1994.

In its tenure, Zeitgeist has exhibited some of the citys best artists, including Karen Seapker, Vadis Turner, Carlton Wilkinson, Caroline Allison, Alex Lockwood, Paul Collins, Brent Stewart, Kurt Wagner and Patrick DeGuira. Countless other artists' works have hung on the gallery's walls, whether in its current location in Wedgewood-Houston, the Hillsboro Village space that it occupied from 1999 until 2013, or the Cummins Station spot where it launched out of the architectural office of Manuel Zeitlin in 1994.

The gallery's current roster of artists include Jeremiah Ariaz, Alex Blau, Sai Clayton, Richard Feaster, Lanie Gannon, Brady Haston, Megan Lightell, Vesna Pavlovic, Greg Pond and Lars Strandh, as well as the gallery's longtime director Lain York.

Read the full letter from Zeitgeist's owner Janice Zeitlin below:
Ancient mine inscription may reveal first words of Moses, shaking foundations of biblical skepticism

For centuries, skeptics have dismissed the biblical account of Moses as myth , insisting there is no historical evidence of the great prophet who led the Israelites out of Egypt . But a startling discovery in an ancient turquoise mine could rewrite history and silence the doubters. A cryptic 3,800-year-old inscription, etched into the rock walls of Egypts Sinai Peninsula, may bear the earliest known words of Moses: "This is from Moses." If verified, this finding would not only validate the biblical narrative but expose the deliberate suppression of evidence that challenges mainstream historical dogma.

Key points:

Researcher Michael Bar-Ron claims a Proto-Sinaitic inscription in an Egyptian mine reads "zot m'Moshe"  Hebrew for "This is from Moses."

The markings, found near defaced references to Egyptian gods, suggest a religious conflict between Semitic laborers and their Egyptian overlords.

Mainstream scholars dismiss the interpretation, but Bar-Rons advisor confirms the reading, stating, "You're absolutely correct, I read this as well, it is not imagined!"

The inscriptions reference slavery, overseers, and a violent rejection of pagan worship, aligning with the biblical Exodus narrative.

A burned temple and references to a "Gate of the Accursed One" hint at rebellion against Pharaohs authoritypossibly linked to the plagues described in Exodus.

A linguistic bombshell buried in stone

The inscriptions at Serabit el-Khadim were first discovered in the early 1900s but remained shrouded in mystery. Written in Proto-Sinaitic, the earliest known alphabetic script, these carvings were likely the work of Semitic-speaking slaves or laborers under Egyptian rule. Bar-Ron, after eight years of painstaking analysis using high-resolution imaging and 3D scans, believes one phrase stands out: "zot m'Moshe."

Mainstream Egyptologists, like Dr. Thomas Schneider of the University of British Columbia, dismiss the claim as "completely unproven and misleading." Yet Bar-Rons academic advisor, Dr. Pieter van der Veen, supports the interpretation, adding credibility to the explosive assertion. The reluctance of establishment scholars to entertain the possibility speaks volumes  why the resistance to evidence that could affirm biblical history?

A spiritual war etched in stone

The mine walls tell more than just a name. They reveal a spiritual battleground. Inscriptions praising the Egyptian goddess Ba?alat appear deliberately scratched out, replaced with invocations to "El," the God of early Israelite worship. This defacement suggests a dramatic shift  a rejection of pagan idolatry in favor of monotheism.

Bar-Ron describes the scene as "ground zero for this conflict." The workers, possibly Hebrew slaves, were not merely laborers but spiritual insurgents, chiseling away at the symbols of their oppressors. A burned temple dedicated to Ba?alat and references to a "Gate of the Accursed One"  likely Pharaohs gate  paint a picture of defiance, echoing the biblical account of Moses confronting Egypts rulers.

The shadow of Joseph and the forgotten exodus

The inscriptions also hint at the presence of Semitic elites in Egypt, possibly linked to the biblical Joseph. A seal belonging to an Asiatic high official and the "Stele of Reniseneb" suggest that Semites held positions of power before their fall into slavery. This aligns with Genesis, where Joseph rises to prominence under Pharaoh before his descendants are later enslaved.

Could Amenemhat III, the pharaoh who commissioned the mines, be the same ruler who oppressed the Israelites? Some scholars think so. His reign was marked by massive construction projectsprecisely the kind of forced labor described in Exodus. The mines abrupt abandonment, coupled with evidence of violence, raises the question: Did the workers flee, following a prophet named Moses?

The truth will not stay buried

The establishments knee-jerk dismissal of Bar-Rons findings reveals a deeper bias. For decades, academia has treated the Bible as folklore while ignoring archaeological evidence that contradicts their secular narratives. But as more discoveries emerge  from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the ruins of Jericho  the historical reliability of Scripture becomes harder to deny.

This inscription, if confirmed, is more than an academic curiosity. It is a testament to the enduring truth of Gods Word, preserved across millennia despite the efforts of skeptics. The stones cry out  will the world listen?

Sources include:

Dailymail.co.uk

Dailymail.co.uk

Enoch, Brighteon.ai
Slovak PM Fico: Ukraine and its allies provoke Russia because they are tired and bored of peace

Slovak PM Robert Fico claims Ukraine and its allies are provoking Russia because they are "tired and bored of peace," criticizing Western policies for destabilizing global security.

Fico condemns NATO's military tensions with Russia as deliberate provocations, warning of uncontrollable escalation, and contrasts the EU's lack of ceasefire demands for Ukraine with its calls for peace in Gaza.

Fico halted Slovak arms shipments to Ukraine in 2023 and rejected EU sanctions on Russia. He opposes Ukraine's NATO membership, calling it a potential trigger for World War III.

Citing Cold War-era crises like the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fico argues NATO's expansion risks conflict. His pro-Russian views isolate him in the EU but align with Moscow's narrative that Western aid prolongs the war.

Fico suggests Slovakia adopt a neutrality stance, reflecting broader European divisions over balancing relations with Russia while avoiding outright conflict  a debate with global implications.

Ukraine and its allies are recklessly courting a catastrophic confrontation with Russia as they have grown "tired and bored of peace," according to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Fico issued this remark in an interview published by his Smer party Sunday, July 27. He mentioned how Kyiv and Brussels grown "tired and bored of 80 years of peace," culminating with their repeated provocations aimed at Moscow. The Slovak leader, a vocal critic of Western involvement in Ukraine, survived an assassination attempt in May by a pro-Kyiv assailant. (Related: Slovakia's pro-Russian, anti-WHO PM shot multiple times in attempted assassination but he luckily survived.)

Fico condemned the lack of unified calls from the European Union for a Ukraine ceasefire, contrasting it with widespread demands for peace in Gaza. The remarks come amid escalating tensions between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Moscow, with Fico asserting that Western policies threaten global stability.

Fico's criticism centers on his belief that NATO members are deliberately heightening military tensions with Russia, a strategy he warns could spiral out of control. "Artificially provoking a conflict between NATO and Russia is easy," he said, invoking Cold War-era brinkmanship. "History gives us thousands of examples."

Under Fico, Bratislava halted arms shipments to Ukraine in late 2023. "I will not send one bullet," he said at the time. Fico has also rejected EU sanctions against Russia and opposed Ukraine's potential NATO membership, calling the latter a trigger for World War III.

Fico's Slovakia tests EU unity against Kremlin

Historical parallels lend weight to Fico's concerns. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 demonstrated how rapidly nuclear-capable powers could stumble into war, a risk amplified today by NATO's eastward expansion and Russia's heightened rhetoric.

Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has labeled NATO a "hostile" alliance, accusing it of militarizing Europe. Meanwhile, NATO members including the U.S. continue to advocate increased defense spending  a move Fico dismissed as "absurd" for Slovakia, given its fiscal constraints.

The Slovak leader's stance isolates him within the EU, where support for Ukraine remains widespread. His comments, however, resonate with Moscow's narrative that Western aid prolongs the conflict. Fico's warnings also reflect growing unease among some European populations weary of economic strains from sanctions and rearmament drives.

Fico has floated Slovakia adopting neutrality, a position akin to Cold War-era non-aligned states. His rhetoric underscores deepening divides within Europe over how to manage relations with Russia  without triggering the very conflict all claim to fear. With global stability at stake, the implications of NATO's strategy will extend far beyond Ukraine's borders.

Visit Chaos.news for more similar stories.

Watch Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico revealing that governments who say "no" to Ukraine are under attack.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Slovak PM threatens sanctions against Ukraine over gas transit cutoff.

Media trying to justify assassination attempt on Slovakian PM because he's opposed to sending more aid to Ukraine.

Slovakia considering cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for Kyiv preventing Russian gas from reaching the country.

Sources include:

RT.com

MENAFN.com

UNIIndia.com

Brighteon.com
Iran ditches GPS for Chinas BeiDou after alleged targeting by Israel, U.S.

Iran plans to replace GPS with Chinas BeiDou due to suspected U.S.-Israel GPS disruptions targeting its military and leaders.

Critical sectors like transport and agriculture will transition to BeiDou, signaling a shift toward Chinese tech influence.

Recent GPS jamming in the Persian Gulf reinforced Irans fears of Western surveillance and sabotage via navigation systems.

BeiDou is part of Chinas global strategy, offering Iran digital sovereignty amid U.S. sanctions and geopolitical tensions.

The move reflects a broader tech Cold War, with nations choosing between Western systems and authoritarian-aligned alternatives.

Iran is preparing to abandon the U.S.-developed Global Positioning System (GPS) in favor of Chinas BeiDou satellite network. The decision follows alarming disruptions to GPS signals during recent conflicts, which Iranian officials believe were orchestrated by Israel and the U.S. to track and target their military and political leaders.

Deputy Communications Minister Ehsan Chitsaz confirmed the government is actively developing plans to transition critical sectorstransportation, agriculture, and internet servicesto BeiDou, marking a strategic realignment toward Beijings technological sphere.

This move isnt just about navigation; its a direct challenge to American technological hegemony. For decades, GPS, a Pentagon-born system operated by the U.S. Space Force, has been the backbone of global positioning. But as geopolitical tensions escalate, nations like Iran are racing to sever dependencies on systems they can no longer trust.

A system rigged against sovereignty?

During a 12-day conflict in June, Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf reported repeated GPS disruptions, crippling navigation and raising suspicions of deliberate sabotage. "At times, disruptions are created on this [GPS] system by internal systems, and this very issue has pushed us toward alternative options like BeiDou," Chitsaz told state media. The incident reinforced long-standing fears in Tehran that reliance on Western tech leaves them vulnerable to surveillance and covert attacks.

Whistleblower revelations, including Edward Snowdens NSA leaks, have exposed how Western intelligence agencies exploit digital infrastructure for global surveillance. Iranian officials argue that GPS, like social media platforms and telecom networks, is a tool of geopolitical controlone that can be weaponized against adversaries. The assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, allegedly facilitated by location tracking, has only deepened these concerns.

The rise of BeiDou and the new tech cold war

Chinas BeiDou system, now a rival to GPS, is more than just a navigation tool; its a pillar of Beijings Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to expand Chinas influence through infrastructure and digital dominance. By adopting BeiDou, Iran isnt just swapping satellites; its aligning with an anti-Western tech bloc that includes Russias GLONASS and regional alternatives.

The implications are staggering. As Al Jazeera noted, Irans shift "sends a clear message to other nations grappling with the delicate balance between technological convenience and strategic self-defence: The era of blind, naive dependence on U.S.-controlled infrastructure is rapidly coming to an end." For countries under U.S. sanctions or facing geopolitical pressure, BeiDou offers a tantalizing promise: digital sovereignty.

But the transition wont be seamless. GPS is deeply embedded in Irans civilian and military systems, from shipping logistics to farming equipment. Switching to BeiDou requires overhauling hardware, retraining personnel, and ensuring compatibility, which is a costly and complex endeavor. Meanwhile, China gains leverage, embedding its technology into Irans critical infrastructure.

The GPS jamming crisis has already disrupted global trade. In the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit chokepoint, vessels have faced relentless signal interference, forcing delays and heightened risks.

Irans pivot to BeiDou mirrors its broader retreat from Western platforms. After urging citizens to ditch WhatsApp over espionage fears, Tehran is accelerating its "National Information Network," a censored intranet modeled after Chinas Great Firewall. The goal? A closed, state-controlled digital ecosystem free from Western intrusion.

Irans rejection of GPS is a microcosm of a larger unraveling. As the U.S. and China vie for supremacy in AI, 5G, and satellite networks, nations are being forced to pick sides. For Iran, the choice is clear: Align with Beijing or remain tethered to systems that could be turned against them.

The stakes extend beyond Iran. From Russia to Southeast Asia, countries are hedging against Western tech dominance, opting for systems that promise autonomy, even if it means tighter ties to authoritarian regimes. The result is a fragmented digital landscape where navigation, communication, and data flow along ideological lines. As Irans BeiDou gamble shows, the new tech cold war is already here.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

AlJazeera.com

CNBC.com
Lidocaine poisoning deaths nearly triple as outpatient clinics ignore hidden dangers of safe anesthetic

Lidocaine, a widely used anesthetic, has seen poisoning deaths nearly triple in a decade, now accounting for 82% of local anesthetic fatalities.

A new study reveals a 50% surge in lidocaine poisonings since 2016, driven by reckless overuse in outpatient clinics and emergency settings.

Misperceptions of lidocaines safety lead to fatal overdoses, causing seizures, cardiac arrest, and systemic toxicity often missed by untrained providers.

Outpatient cosmetic and dental clinics are high-risk settings, with untrained staff administering dangerous doses and lacking emergency treatments like lipid emulsion therapy.

Experts demand stricter oversight and training, warning that without action, preventable deaths will continue to rise.

A supposedly harmless painkiller widely used in homes and clinics across America has been linked to a shocking surge in fatal poisoningsand the medical establishment is failing to sound the alarm.

Lidocaine, a common local anesthetic found in creams, sprays, and injections, has seen poisoning deaths nearly triple over the past decade, with fatalities increasingly occurring in outpatient settings where untrained staff administer the drug without proper oversight. A bombshell new study analyzing more than 200,000 poisoning cases reveals that lidocaine-related deaths now account for 82% of local anesthetic fatalities, up from just 67% in 2010.

The findings, published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, expose a disturbing trend: while poisonings from other anesthetics declined after 2010 safety guidelines, lidocaine cases skyrocketed by over 50%, jumping from 1,600 incidents in 2016 to 2,500 in 2021. Researchers warn that the drugs perceived safety has led to reckless overuse, with untrained providers administering dangerous doses in cosmetic clinics, dental offices, and even emergency medical settings.

The deadly illusion of safety

Lidocaine has long been marketed as a "gold standard" anesthetic, trusted for its versatility in numbing pain during minor surgeries, dental work, and even over-the-counter topical treatments. But Dr. Michael Fettiplace, lead author of the study and assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, shatters this illusion: "Lidocaine is not as safe as we think."

The study reveals systemic failures in recognizing lidocaines toxicity. Unlike potent anesthetics like bupivacaine, which medical professionals handle with caution, lidocaine is often dismissed as harmlessa fatal miscalculation. When injected or absorbed in high doses, it can trigger local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST), attacking the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Symptoms range from seizures to cardiac arrest, yet many providers miss the warning signs until its too late.

One harrowing case involved a 70-year-old man who died after an outpatient MRI scan. Instead of receiving saline to flush the imaging dye, he was accidentally given a 2% lidocaine solution in a catastrophic error that stopped his heart. Another victim, a man seeking relief from acid reflux, inhaled powdered lidocaine imported from China and lost consciousness. "Undoubtedly, there is underreporting," Fettiplace admits, suggesting the death toll could be far higher.

Outpatient clinics: A breeding ground for disaster

The surge in lidocaine deaths coincides with the rapid expansion of outpatient procedures, where cost-cutting clinics prioritize profit over patient safety. Dr. Evan Peskin, a board-certified anesthesiologist not involved in the study, warns that "many of these procedures are being performed by providers who may not have formal anesthesia training."

Cosmetic surgeries like liposuction are particularly risky, as practitioners often exceed the recommended 300-milligram dose, unaware that toxicity can build gradually. Over-the-counter lidocaine productssome containing 20 grams or moreare equally dangerous, with cases of intentional misuse and accidental overdoses climbing.

Even emergency responders are contributing to the crisis. The study found that prehospital deaths from lidocaine poisoning surged from 7% before 2010 to 31% afterward, with EMS and ER staff mistakenly administering doses as high as 2,000 milligrams, which is four times the safe limit.

A race against time

When lidocaine poisoning strikes, minutes matter. Lipid emulsion therapy, an intravenous fat solution, can reverse toxicity, but only if it is administered immediately. "The problem is that in many outpatient settings, the people giving the lidocaine may not recognize the signs of toxicity, or they may not have lipid emulsion available," Peskin explains. Delays prove fatal, as seen in cases where victims died despite receiving the treatment too late.

The studys authors demand stricter oversight, including enhanced training for outpatient providers and mandatory lipid emulsion kits in clinics. Yet with lidocaines ubiquityfrom hospitals to drugstore shelvesexperts fear the death toll will keep rising until regulators confront the truth: no drug is "safe" in the hands of an unprepared system.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Medscape.com

News-Medical.net

PhysiciansWeekly.com
The greatest moral failure of the world community of nations  ever!!!

Shame on us  SOTN  for taking so long to publish this highly understated diatribe thats actually been in progress since October 7, 2023.

(Article republished from StateOfTheNation.co)

Perhaps its delay took place because of the rapidly intensifying Gaza Genocide status reports, such as the one that follows, which only prove conclusively that the entire world community of nations is still witnessing the Palestinian Holocaust. In point of fact, this utterly horrific ongoing holocaust, unknown to many, actually began over a century ago.

Now heres another recent report about the long planned and highly organized Gaza Genocide via a deliberately executed mass starvation of the Palestinian people.

So to be very clear, Israel is stealthily carrying out this genocide in such a way that the starving Gazans are now extremely fearful of approaching the very few and difficult-to-get-to aid sites for fear of getting shot by IDF snipers who are strategically positioned around the aid trucks.

Next, what follows is a short BBC summary of the dire state of affairs throughout Gaza as we write this.

Summary

A doctor in Gaza says Palestinians are not close to famine, were living it, describing mass starvation across the region as disastrous

The UN warns the amount of aid reaching Gaza is a trickle, saying the hunger crisis in Gaza has never been so dire

The Hamas-run health ministry says another two people have died of malnutrition in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of such deaths to 113 since 7 October 2023

This week, more than 100 international aid organisations warned of mass starvation in Gaza, blaming an Israeli siege

BBC News and news agencies AFP, AP and Reuters warn that journalists in Gaza are at risk of starvation: They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering

Now for the diatribe!

Where are the righteous nations of the world?

Where is the United Nations?

Where is the Vatican?

Where are the BRICS-allied nations?

Where are the various Muslim and Arab countries throughout the Middles East (with the exception of Iran and Yemen)?

Where are all the major international NGOs such as the Red Cross, Save the Children, OXFAM, Doctors without Borders, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Care International and Amnesty International?!

Where is the EU?

Where is the African Union (except South Africa)?

Where in the world is anybody with the necessary clout and power  ANYBODY?!?!?!?!

For Gods sake, is there even one person in power, one organization with sufficient influence, one entity that

has compassion for the Palestinians who will scream from the top of the highest mountain to:

STOP THIS GENOCIDENOW ! ! !

Now for the real tirade, but first this full disclosure:

SOTN was the first Alt Media platform on the Internet to meme this phase of Israels unprovoked war of naked aggression against the Palestinian people as both the Gaza Genocide and Palestinian Holocaust. This site was also the first to expose (posted on October 7, 2023) Israels 10/7 false flag operation, which was deceitfully blamed on Hamas, as a MOSSAD-IDF joint terrorist attack and military operation designed to wage war against all Palestinians in order steal the entire Gaza Strip and eventually the West Bank. Of course, the complete extermination and/or ethnic cleansing of the people of Palestine was always their main goal so that the Zionist state of Israel can claim to be a 100% Jewish nation-state in the future.

But what really makes this exceedingly tragic mass murder of innocent women and children, elderly and infirm THE GREATEST MORAL FAILURE OF THE WORLD COMMUNITY OF NATIONSEVER!!!?

That the entire world has been watching this ruthless slaughter unfold on the front page of the Internet since October 7, 2023 and essentially doing nothing to stop itTHATS WHY!!!

In other words, 193 nations on Earth are still watching this horrendous genocide by starvation and yet doing virtually nothing about it?!?!

Why doesnt Pope Leo XIV fly into the Holy Land with the entire College of Cardinals as his retinue and demand the immediate cessation of this systematic extermination?

Why doesnt Russia, China and India form a massive naval flotilla stocked with all the required aid and dock along the entire Gaza coastline for immediate distribution?

Why doesnt the EU launch an enormous airdrop of aid throughout the Gaza Strip instead of shipping so much weaponry and sending so much money to Nazi-ruled Ukraine to fight Russia?!

Who doesnt know why wealthy nations like Saudi Arabia sit by idly and watch the daily bloodbath?

READ THESE 3 BOMBSHELL EXPOSES to correctly understand why Saudi Arabia does nothing to stop the Gaza Genocide

Similarly, folks are only now waking up to the grim reality that Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is a histrionic chest-pounding DONMEH Jew.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is a Crypto- DONMEH Jew

Thats right everyone is either too bribed or blackmailed, too bought or compromised (via the Epstein videos, audios and photos) to do anything meaningful about this hourly carnage perpetrated in the Holy Land no less. Wow! Just WOW!!!

Jeffrey Epsteins Niece Tells All

There you go, Epsteins nefarious handiwork carried out for his MOSSAD masters even controls the Gaza Genocide narrative.

To be continued

Read more at: StateOfTheNation.co
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the Russian strikes on residential areas of Kyiv, which led to the deaths of civilians.

"I condemn the Russian strikes against residential neighborhoods in Kyiv, which resulted in an immense and tragic loss of life. Condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a quick recovery to the many injured. I just spoke with the secretary of the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine, whose home was hit by the strikes," he wrote on the social network X.

The minister added that Israel calls for a strong and lasting peace that guarantees security for Ukraine.
Netanyahus Gaza land grab exposed: Annexation plan backed by far-right demands ethnic cleansing

Netanyahu plans phased Gaza annexation, starting with illegal buffer zones, to appease far-right allies threatening his government.

Extremist ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir demand full Gaza conquest and forced Palestinian displacement.

The plan includes an ultimatum to Hamas: accept a ceasefire or face immediate land seizure under "security" pretexts.

Israels bombardment has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, with forced displacement and famine used as deliberate strategies.

Annexation violates international law, with critics calling it a resource grab and genocide, enabled by global inaction.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly devised a phased plan to annex the Gaza Strip, beginning with illegal buffer zones before seizing the entire territory. The scheme, designed to appease far-right coalition partners threatening to collapse his government, includes an ultimatum to Hamas: accept a ceasefire or face immediate land theft under the pretext of "security."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, both extremist settlers, have openly demanded the full conquest of Gaza and the forced displacement of its 2.3 million Palestinian residents. With Netanyahu claiming Trump administration backing, this brazen land grab exposes Israels genocidal agenda, masked as self-defense while systematically erasing Palestinian existence.

The far-rights genocidal demands

Netanyahus fragile coalition hinges on the support of radical factions who view Gaza not as occupied land but as a biblical inheritance to be seized by force. Smotrich, who once called for the erasure of a Palestinian village, and Ben Gvir, a convicted extremist, have repeatedly pressured Netanyahu to accelerate Gazas destruction.

Their demands go beyond military operations; they seek total ethnic cleansing. "We must return to Gaza now," Ben Gvir declared, framing mass expulsion as a security necessity. Smotrich echoed this, insisting Israel must "encourage migration" of Palestinians, a euphemism for state-sanctioned displacement.

Netanyahus phased annexation plan, leaked to Israeli media, reveals a calculated strategy to avoid global backlash while advancing the far-rights agenda. The first stage involves issuing Hamas a short deadline to accept a ceasefire. If rejected  or even if acceptedIsrael would begin carving out "buffer zones," illegal under international law, before expanding northward until the entire Strip is absorbed. This incremental theft allows Netanyahu to claim tactical restraint while methodically executing a land grab.

A blueprint for genocide

The plan is not just about annexation; its about extermination. Since the October 7 attacks, Israels bombardment has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while systematically destroying hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure. Now, with forced displacement as the endgame, Netanyahus government is weaponizing starvation, blocking aid trucks, and rendering Gaza uninhabitable. The World Food Programme warns famine is "imminent," with 1.1 million people facing catastrophic hunger. This is not collateral damage; its a deliberate strategy to drive Palestinians out.

Netanyahus claim of U.S. support adds another layer of complicity. Such a green light would embolden Israel to accelerate its campaign of erasure, mirroring the Nakba of 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were violently expelled from their homes.

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, annexation of occupied territory is a war crime. The International Court of Justice has already ruled Israels actions in Gaza plausibly constitute genocide. Yet Netanyahus government operates with impunity, dismissing legal and moral boundaries. The buffer zones  purportedly for security  are a smokescreen for colonization. Historically, such zones have been used to seize farmland, isolate communities, and fragment Palestinian territory, as seen in the West Banks creeping annexation.

Critics argue this plan is less about defense and more about resource control. Gazas Mediterranean gas reserves, worth billions, have long been eyed by Israeli energy firms. Annexation would grant Israel exclusive access while condemning Palestinians to perpetual subjugation.

Global silence enables atrocity

Western governments, despite token calls for restraint, continue arming Israel. Media complicity is equally glaring; outlets framing annexation as a "security measure" ignore the decades of occupation and apartheid that provoked resistance.

Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: die under bombardment or flee into Egypts Sinai, where refugee camps could become permanent ghettos. Egypt, fearing another Nakba, has resisted opening its border, but Netanyahus allies are lobbying Washington to pressure Cairo.

Netanyahus annexation plan is not a defensive strategy; its a blueprint for genocide. By appeasing far-right fanatics, he is normalizing the ethnic cleansing of Gaza while the world just sits back and enables Israels colonial conquest.

Sources for this article include:

YourNews.com

Haaretz.com

MiddleEastEye.net
U.K. regulator pressured U.S. tech firms to enforce British speech laws, leaked emails reveal

Internal emails released by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee reveal Ofcom pressuring U.S.-based companies like Rumble and Reddit to comply with the U.K.'s Online Safety Act, despite being outside U.K. jurisdiction.

Rumble stated the U.K. is not a target market and has few U.K. users, but Ofcom warned it would "monitor" the platform and follow up if any U.K.-related incidents arise.

Ofcom seeks to establish "supervisory relationships" with foreign platforms and reserves the right to make legal information requests, implying possible enforcement action.

Critics argue the U.K. law uses vague terms like "hate" content and sets a dangerous precedent for extraterritorial censorship and political manipulation of speech standards.

Under Section 122, companies may be forced to scan for CSAM and terrorist content, steps privacy experts say would undermine end-to-end encryption and user security.

Newly released internal communications made public by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee reveal a concerted campaign by the United Kingdom's media regulator, Ofcom, to pressure U.S.-based tech companies into adopting British content moderation standards, regardless of their location or legal obligations under American free speech protections.

The documents, including emails from May this year, highlight repeated attempts by Ofcom to compel platforms like Rumble and Reddit to align with the U.K.'s Online Safety Act  a censorship regime cloaked in the language of child protection and harm prevention.

In one such email exchange, Rumble pushed back against Ofcom's outreach, stating plainly that the U.K. is not a target market for the video-sharing platform and that it has "no significant number of U.K. users." Despite this, the regulator warned that it would be "monitoring Rumble's position carefully" and might revisit the company's stance if U.K.-related incidents arose.

"We will be monitoring Rumble's position carefully and will be in touch should we become aware of anything that contradicts the above position, or any incidents on your service that cause us to believe the level of risk to Rumble's U.K. users is of concern," Ofcom wrote in an email to Rumble dated May 21. "We would strongly encourage Rumble to take the steps required by the Act to protect U.K. users of internet services from content that is illegal in the U.K. or potentially harmful to U.K. children."

Rumble, headquartered in the United States, operates under the protection of the First Amendment, which broadly safeguards freedom of expression. That context raises constitutional questions about a foreign government's attempt to influence how American companies police speech.

The emails suggest that Ofcom is not merely offering guidance but is laying the groundwork for a "supervisory relationship" with overseas tech firms. In a message dated May 8, the agency emphasized its intent to "review and assess compliance" even if platforms are not physically operating within the United Kingdom. Ofcom noted it "retains the right to legally request information," signaling a willingness to escalate to formal demands if companies fail to cooperate voluntarily.

Reddit, another U.S.-based platform, was similarly targeted. According to the communications, Ofcom expects a detailed "supervision plan" from Reddit, particularly around its handling of so-called "hate" content  a term that is alarmingly vague and susceptible to political exploitation. (Related: U.K. Reddit users now required to verify their age under new Online Safety Act.)

U.K.'s Online Safety Law sets dangerous global precedent

The revelations have alarmed free speech advocates, who argue that the U.K.'s approach could become a template for global regulatory overreach.

"This shows how regulators are leveraging ambiguous language and compliance pressure to steer speech policies on platforms that are not even based in the United Kingdom," Rick Findlay wrote in his article for Reclaim the Net. "Ofcom's behavior shows a bureaucratic intent to expand its influence far beyond Britain's borders, effectively demanding that foreign platforms enforce U.K. legal standards on content that may not be illegal elsewhere."

The Online Safety Act, which came into force in 2024, gives Ofcom wide-ranging powers to fine, restrict or even block platforms that fail to comply with its guidelines. Under Section 122 of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has the authority to require technology companies to scan user content for child sexual abuse material and terrorism-related content. Non-compliance could result in fines of up to 18 million ($24 million) or 10 percent of a company's global revenue.

However, privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts warned that fulfilling such scanning requirements would likely necessitate weakening end-to-end encryption.

Learn more about ID systems and other ways governments attempt to surveil their populations at Surveillance.news.

Watch this video to learn how the digital ID will control your life.

This video is from the Data Dumper channel on Brighteon.com.

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Trump to Iran: Restarting uranium enrichment could trigger more airstrikes

President Donald Trump threatened more airstrikes if Iran resumes uranium enrichment, following U.S.-Israeli attacks on nuclear sites (Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan) that severely damaged Iran's program.

Despite the damage, Iran refuses to abandon enrichment, calling it a national achievement. Foreign Minister Araghchi admitted setbacks but vowed to rebuild, rejecting U.S. proposals for alternative uranium sources.

Israel insists Iran is developing nuclear weapons, but the IAEA and U.S. intelligence lack proof. Critics argue Israel's warnings are politically motivated, yet the U.S. still backed the strikes, drawing global condemnation.

Iran is negotiating with world powers (Russia, China, E3) ahead of potential harsher sanctions, but talks exclude the U.S. Trump dismissed Irans stance as "stupid" and threatened more military action if enrichment resumes.

With no diplomatic progress and military threats increasing, the region faces heightened conflict risks. The world watches for a breakthrough but prepares for further violence.

President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran: If Tehran resumes uranium enrichment, it risks another round of devastating airstrikes.

The threat comes just weeks after U.S. and Israeli forces bombed multiple Iranian nuclear facilities. The attacks caused severe damage and killed dozens, including scientists and military personnel.

Despite Irans insistence that its nuclear program is peaceful, Israel has long accused Tehran of secretly developing atomic weapons. But the claim has not been substantiated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or U.S. intelligence.

Yet, the June strikes targeted key sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, setting back Iran's nuclear capabilities significantly. Now, as Tehran vows to rebuild, the world braces for further confrontation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made it clear that his country would not abandon uranium enrichment, calling it a matter of national pride. In an interview, he acknowledged the "serious" damage inflicted by the U.S.-led strikes but refused to confirm whether any enriched uranium survived the attacks.

"Our facilities have been seriously damaged," Araghchi said. "The extent of which is now under evaluation."

He admitted that Iran's enrichment capabilities have been temporarily halted but emphasized that the program would not be scrapped. Araghchi added that Iran cannot give up enrichment because it is an achievement of the country's scientists.

Israel's unverified claims

The U.S. has repeatedly pressured Iran to halt enrichment, arguing that its nuclear energy needs are minimal, making up less than one percent of the country's total energy consumption. Washington has even suggested that Iran join a consortium with neighboring nations like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to obtain enriched uranium for civilian purposes.

But Tehran has rejected the proposal outright. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has framed Iran's nuclear capabilities as a source of national prestige, boasting that few countries possess a complete nuclear fuel cycle. (Related: Israel depleting its missile defenses amid Iran barrage.)

Israel has long maintained that Iran is on the verge of building a nuclear bomb, but the claim has been repeated for decades without concrete proof. In the lead-up to last month's strikes, Israeli and some Western security experts argued that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within days if it chose to do so.

However, the IAEA and U.S. intelligence agencies have found no evidence that Iran is actively developing nuclear weapons. Critics argue that Israel's persistent warnings are more about geopolitical strategy than verifiable threat assessment.

Still, the lack of evidence did not stop the U.S. from joining Israel's bombing campaign, and the move drew widespread condemnation. The United Nations warned of severe regional consequences, while Russia labeled the strikes "unprovoked aggression" and a breach of international law.

Diplomatic deadlock and looming sanctions

With tensions at a boiling point, Iran is now scrambling to negotiate before an August deadline that could trigger even harsher international sanctions. Tehran is set to meet with both allies (Russia and China) and adversaries (France, Germany and the U.K., known as the E3).

But one key player remains absent from the table: the United States. Since the June strikes, Washington and Tehran have not engaged in direct talks.

Trump, meanwhile, has doubled down on his aggressive rhetoric. Over the weekend, he dismissed Irans stance as "stupid" and threatened further military action.

"We wiped out their nuclear possibilities. They can start again," he declared. "If they do, we'll wipe it out faster than you can wave your finger at it."

Iran, for its part, continues to deny any intention of building nuclear weapons. Araghchi reiterated last week that Tehran is willing to take "any confidence-building measures" to prove its program is peaceful. He also dismissed allegations that Iran seeks to destroy Israel or assassinate Trump.

The situation remains volatile. If Iran attempts to restart enrichment, Trump's threats suggest another round of airstrikes is likely. Meanwhile, Israel's unverified claims about Iran's nuclear ambitions continue to fuel tensions.

With diplomacy at a standstill and military posturing intensifying, the risk of further escalation looms large.

Watch President Trump claiming that Iran is ready for a new nuclear deal in this clip.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

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U.S. tariffs inflict huge blow on German automakers

Germany's automotive industry faces a projected 10 billion ($11.53 billion) cash flow loss due to U.S. tariffs, with major automakers like Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW seeing steep declines in profitability. Volkswagen alone reported over 1 billion in tariff-related losses in the first half of the year.

The sector is already struggling with high energy costs, declining sales and competition from Chinese EV manufacturers, compounding the strain caused by tariffs. Suppliers are also passing on higher costs for raw materials, further squeezing automakers' margins.

A July agreement lowered tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent for most exports, including cars, but faced criticism as insufficient. German industry groups called it an "inadequate compromise," while EU officials decried the lack of meaningful U.S. concessions.

Some automakers like Volvo and Volkswagen are relocating production to the U.S. (e.g., Volvo's XC60 SUV assembly shift to South Carolina) or investing in U.S. plants (e.g., Volkswagen's $2 billion Scout truck factory). Audi is also considering U.S. production for some models.

German automakers are lobbying Washington for lower tariffs and urging Brussels to avoid retaliatory measures. Volkswagen's CEO emphasized the need for "rule-based trade, open markets, and stable trade relations" to mitigate further economic harm.

Germany's automotive industry is bracing for a staggering 10 billion ($11.53 billion) cash flow hit due to U.S. tariffs, according to a recent study cited by the Financial Times. This financial blow comes as the industry grapples with a confluence of challenges  including soaring energy costs, plummeting sales and fierce competition from Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers.

The U.S., traditionally Germany's largest foreign market, has imposed a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made vehicle imports  a move that has sent shockwaves through the German auto sector. The impact is palpable: Mercedes-Benz's cash flow is projected to nosedive from nearly $11 billion to approximately three billion this year.

Another industry titan, Volkswagen, has seen its cash flow forecasts slashed to $3.8 billion  less than half of the $9.5 billion recorded last year. Meanwhile, BMW's cash flow is expected to dip slightly to $5 billion.

Volkswagen, in particular, has been vocal about the financial strain, revealing that tariffs had already cost it over one billion in the first half of the year. The company warned that the burden could rise further if current tariff levels persist. (Related: Trump imposes 25% tariffs on auto imports.)

This sentiment is echoed by other automakers. General Motors is anticipating a potential $5 billion annual impact from tariffs. Meanwhile, the Netherlands-based Stellantis is projecting up to 1.5 billion ($1.73 billion) in tariff-related costs by the end of the year.

The ripple effects of these tariffs extend beyond the automakers themselves. Suppliers, facing higher costs for foreign-sourced components and raw materials like aluminum and steel, have passed these expenses onto manufacturers. This has further eroded profit margins, exacerbating the financial strain on an industry already under pressure.

Lower tariffs not enough for German firms

In a bid to address these challenges, the European Union and the U.S. reached a deal on Sunday, July 27, setting a baseline 15 percent tariff on most exports, including cars. While this represents a reduction from the previous 25 percent tariff, it has sparked controversy across the EU.

Some officials have criticized the agreement as "scandalous" and "a disaster," arguing that it fails to secure meaningful concessions from the United States. The German Federation of Industries labeled it an "inadequate compromise," though it acknowledged the tariff cut as the "only positive aspect."

The decline of Germany's auto sector has fueled concerns about the health of the EU's largest manufacturing economy, which experienced a recession last year. The International Monetary Fund has forecasted zero growth for Germany's economy this year, predicting it will be the only G7 country to stagnate.

In response to these challenges, some automakers are exploring strategic shifts. Volvo Cars, for instance, announced plans to move the assembly of its best-selling XC60 SUV to its plant in Charleston, South Carolina, to mitigate the impact of tariffs. Volkswagen, which operates a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is investing $2 billion in a plant to produce an updated version of Scout trucks. The company is also considering moving the production of some Audi models to the United States.

German automakers have been actively lobbying Washington for a reduction in the 25 percent auto tariffs. They have also urged the EU to refrain from imposing retaliatory measures on U.S. goods, arguing that such measures would doubly penalize them as they produce and export autos in both regions.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume expressed his hopes for a balanced outcome on the tariff issue during a call with analysts. "We are counting on the E.U. commission and the U.S. government to reach a balanced outcome on the tariff issue," he said. Blume emphasizing the importance of "rule-based trade, open markets, and stable trade relations."

Visit SupplyChainWarning.com for more similar stories.

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Vatican cardinal escalates criticism of Israel, denounces tyrant Netanyahu

Cardinal Augusto Paolo Lojudice, a senior Vatican official, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "tyrant" pursuing a "bloody plan," comparing Israel's actions in Gaza to Nazi atrocities and emphasizing the killing of innocent civilians.

The Holy See condemned a July 17 Israeli military strike on Gaza's Holy Family Church that killed three civilians and injured others, including a priest. Pope Leo XIV demanded an immediate end to the "barbarity," with senior cardinals rejecting Israel's claim of an accidental attack.

The Vatican's unusually harsh criticism signals a breakdown in relations with Israel, departing from its historically cautious diplomatic stance on Middle East conflicts. The Gaza offensive's high civilian toll (over 300,000 dead, including 132,000 children) has challenged Vatican neutrality.

UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and others accuse Israel of genocide, citing deliberate starvation and displacement. Western nations, including the U.S., face backlash for continued military support, with figures like Jeremy Corbyn calling it "complicity in mass murder."

The war threatens Gaza's dwindling Christian population, prompting the Vatican to escalate its calls for peace and humanitarian action. Pope Leo's appeal reflects a broader moral stance against violence and silence in the face of atrocities.

A senior Vatican cardinal has escalated his criticism of Israel and its military actions against the Palestinian people in Gaza, reserving the strongest words for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a July 21 interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Cardinal Augusto Paolo Lojudice accused Netanyahu of being "a tyrant pursuing a dark and bloody plan for power." The 61-year-old cardinal who serves on the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's supreme court, compared Tel Aviv's actions to those of the Nazis.

"In Gaza we are beyond madness; the most unbridled and illogical evil is at work. The killing of children queuing for a handful of rice cries out for justice to God," Lojudice told the paper. "The slaughter of innocents cries out to heaven for vengeance. We can no longer hold back from denouncing it. If the tyrant isn't stopped, there's no escape."

The cardinal's remarks follow the Holy See's condemnation of Israeli military actions in Gaza, most notably after a strike by the Israel Defense Forces that hit the Holy Family Church in the Strip. The July 17 incident killed three civilians and injured several, including the parish priest. Following the deadly strike, Pope Leo XIV called for an "immediate halt to the barbarity." (Related: Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza struck amid conflict, raising concerns for civilians and Christian minority.)

Senior cardinals doubted Tel Aviv's explanation that the strike was merely accidental. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin openly questioned Israel's explanation during an interview with Italian TV channel Rai 2, urging transparency in its investigation.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, also expressed doubt toward Israel's claim that the attack was a "mistake." He told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that "everyone here does not believe that is the case."

The silence is broken: Vatican's harshest rebuke yet against Israel

Lojudice remarks, among the Vatican's harshest yet, signal a deepening rift between the Catholic Church and Tel Aviv. Historically, the Holy See has maintained diplomatic caution on Middle East conflicts, advocating for peace while recognizing both Israeli and Palestinian statehood.

But the ongoing Gaza genocide  with over 300,000 estimated dead, including 132,000 children  has tested that neutrality. United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide, citing deliberate starvation and mass displacement as evidence.

British lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn echoed global outrage, tweeting that nations arming Israel are "complicit in mass murder." Yet Western leaders, including the U.S., continue military support. The pontiff's plea for humanitarian law enforcement highlights the growing moral urgency as Gaza's Christian community  already dwindling before the war  faces extermination.

For the Vatican, the church attack may be a tipping point. Pope Leo's call to "leave behind all violence and hatred" now carries the weight of a church no longer willing to stay silent.

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Vaccine truth-teller Vinay Prasad FORCED OUT of FDA post as Big Pharma tightens grip on science

In a world where government health agencies and pharmaceutical giants operate in alarming lockstep, Dr. Vinay Prasad was a rare voice of scientific dissent  until now. His abrupt departure from the FDAs top vaccine post after less than three months was a loss for the health freedom movement. Prasad, a hematologist-oncologist known for challenging reckless COVID-19 booster recommendations, dared to ask hard questions about vaccine safety, efficacy conflicts of interest. Now, under murky circumstances, his tenure has been cut short . Whether pushed out by political foes, Big Pharma operatives, or bureaucratic infighting, one thing is clear: Those who threaten the vaccine-industrial complex dont last long in Washington.

Key points:

Prasad, appointed just months ago as director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), officially "resigned" late Tuesday under unclear circumstances.

Anonymous sources told The Washington Post he was "ousted" following conservative smear campaigns and likely pressure from pharmaceutical stakeholders.

His short-lived but influential FDA role was marked by opposition to blanket COVID-19 booster mandates, demands for rigorous clinical trials, and skepticism of fast-tracked drug approvalspositions that made him enemies.

Mainstream outlets painted Prasad as a "contrarian" for questioning childhood mask mandates and myocarditis risks in young men post-mRNA vaccination.

His removal signals a broader purge of independent thinkers within health agencies, leaving science vulnerable to industry capture.

The rise and fall of a rare FDA critic

Vinay Prasad wasnt just another bureaucrat nodding along to Big Pharmas demands. Unlike his predecessor, Dr. Peter Marks  who Prasad once derided as a "bobblehead doll that just stamps approval"  he refused to rubber-stamp vaccines without robust data. His May 2024 appointment sent shockwaves through the biotech sector, with stocks for Pfizer, Moderna, and gene therapy firms like Sarepta Therapeutics plunging on the news. Investors knew Prasad meant business: Actual science, not profits, would dictate approvals.

Yet his tenure was doomed from the start. With deep commitment to gold standard science (his pre-FDA research exposed how 62% of FDA-approved cancer drugs lacked proof of extending lives), Prasad was a walking threat to the status quo. His insistence on randomized trials for updated COVID shots  and his stance on limiting boosters to high-risk groupsclashed with the Biden administrations "jab everyone" approach. Worse, his blunt critiques of Emergency Use Authorizations (EUAs) and his exposing of "weak evidence" behind drugs like Sareptas Elevidys made him a target.

Why Prasads departure spells disaster for vaccine transparency

The official line? Prasad "did not want to be a distraction." The truth? His removal reeks of a coordinated take-down. Right-wing agitator Laura Loomer led a vicious smear campaign against him, branding him a "progressive saboteur" who was "dressed in MAHA drag." The Wall Street Journal piled on, falsely claiming he opposed patient autonomy in healthcarean ironic accusation for a man who spent years fighting coercion and unlawful medical mandates. Even internal FDA battles played a role: After blocking shipments of Sareptas controversial muscle drug over safety concerns, he was overruled in a stunning reversal that sent the company's stock soaring.

"Theres not a political bone in his body," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told Politico  another voice of reason sidelined by the system. Makary and Prasad co-authored a bombshell NEJM paper challenging boosters for young people, citing myocarditis risks outweighing any alleged benefits of the experimental technology.

The hidden forces pushing dissenters out of government

While Prasad's move out of Washington and back home with his family is better for his sanity, Prasads exit isnt an isolated incident. It mirrors the systematic removal of anti-establishment figures from health agencies under both parties. From Trump-era NIH critics to Kennedy-appointed reformers, those who challenge Big Pharmas monopoly on truth are purged quietly but effectively. With Prasad gone, the path is clear for another industry-friendly yes-man to helm the FDA's CBER  ensuring more rushed approvals, fewer questions, and zero accountability.

Childrens Health Defense CEO Mary Holland summed it up best: "Did Big Pharma trigger the fall? Ideological foes? Infighting at FDA? Some combination? We may never know." But one truth remains: In Americas broken medical landscape, honest scientists dont survive.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

WashingtonPost.com

SeattleTimes.com
Canada joins growing number of Western nations set to recognize Palestinian statehood

Canada plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September, aligning with France and the U.K.  marking a departure from its historical stance favoring negotiated peace talks.

Prime Minister Mark Carney cited Israel's West Bank settlements, Gaza's humanitarian crisis and the PA's pledge to exclude Hamas as reasons, warning that the two-state solution is collapsing.

Israel condemned the move as "a reward for Hamas," while the U.S. reaffirmed opposition, calling recognition a "reward for terrorism." The PA welcomed it, though skeptics doubt its enforceability.

Israel's government rejects Palestinian sovereignty outright, with rights groups accusing it of apartheid, while Palestinians view recognition as a tentative step toward justice after decades of occupation.

While Western recognition may lack immediate practical change, it signals growing global impatience with Israel's actions and shifts geopolitical dynamics toward Palestinian legitimacy.

In a striking diplomatic shift, Canada announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September, joining France and the United Kingdom.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the announcement on Wednesday, July 30. He framed the decision as a response to Israels "unfolding catastrophe" in Gaza, intensifying global pressure on Tel Aviv. Starvation and bombardment have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in the Strip  including 154 from malnutrition, 89 of them children.

The announcement signals a turning point among Western nations historically aligned with Israel. While over 140 countries already recognize Palestine, Ottawa's move marks a departure from its longstanding stance that statehood should emerge from negotiated peace talks.

Carney cited Israel's expanding West Bank settlements, Gaza's devastation and pledges by the Palestinian National Authority (PA) to exclude Hamas from future elections as justifications. "The prospect of a Palestinian state is receding before our eyes," he said, accusing Israel of eroding the possibility of a two-state solution. (Related: U.K. threatens to recognize Palestinian statehood by September unless Israel agrees to CEASEFIRE.)

Israel swiftly condemned the move, with its foreign ministry calling it "a reward for Hamas." This echoes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that Palestinian statehood would embolden threats to Israel's security.

A White House official who spoke anonymously reiterated U.S. President Donald Trump's opposition, stating recognition of Palestinian statehood would "reward terrorism." Washington remains the lone permanent UN Security Council member not to recognize Palestine, despite widespread global support since the PA gained UN observer status in 2012.

Why Palestinian recognition still isn't freedom

Historical context underscores the gravity of the moment. The 1993 Oslo Accords envisioned Palestinian self-governance as part of a peace process now deemed stagnant by many. Israel's far-right government openly rejects Palestinian sovereignty, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently declaring Gaza "an inseparable part of the Land of Israel."

Meanwhile, rights groups like BTselem and Amnesty International accuse Israel of apartheid  a claim echoed by Amos Schocken, publisher of Israel's left-leaning Haaretz. But for Palestinians, the announcements offer faint hope.

Gaza resident Saed al-Akhras called them a "shift" after decades of "occupation and silence." Yet families of Israeli hostages abducted on Oct. 7, 2023 demanded no recognition until captives are freed, framing it as a "moral failure."

The PA, which governs parts of the West Bank but lacks control over Hamas-run Gaza, welcomed the move. However, it faces skepticism over promised reforms.

With Netanyahu's coalition vowing permanent control over Palestinian territories and arms firms profiting from occupation-tested weapons, recognition by Western allies may prove symbolic. But as starvation spreads and global patience wanes, the momentum suggests a redefined geopolitical landscape  one where Israel's isolation grows and long-marginalized Palestinian voices inch toward legitimacy.

Visit BigGovernment.news for more similar stories.

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Greene calls Gaza crisis genocide, rebukes GOP colleague over starvation comments

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) publicly labeled Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide," becoming the first Republican lawmaker to do so and challenging the GOP's traditional pro-Israel stance.

Greene's remarks came in direct response to Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), who dismissed famine reports from Gaza as "Muslim terror propaganda" and posted, "Until then, starve away."

Over 60,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the conflict, with rising deaths from malnutrition. About half of the victims are women and children, and large parts of Gaza have been destroyed.

Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, along with UN experts, have stated that Israel's military actions may meet the legal definition of genocide under international law.

Greene condemned Fine's rhetoric as "disgraceful" and warned it could fuel antisemitism, adding that calling for the starvation of civilians is morally indefensible.

Firebrand Cong. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, has ignited a political firestorm after publicly accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza  a departure from the traditional pro-Israel stance within the Republican Party.

In a social media post on Tuesday, July 29, Greene condemned the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, where more than 120 people have died from starvation as a result of an "Israeli-imposed hunger crisis" as a direct response to Cong. Randy Fine (R-FL), who dismissed reports of famine in Gaza as "Muslim terror propaganda."

"Release the hostages. Until then, starve away. (This is all a lie anyway. It amazes me that the media continues to regurgitate Muslim terror propaganda)," Fine wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on July 22, along with a retweet from ABC News about 15 people, including children, who have died from famine and malnutrition in Gaza.

As a response, Greene, one of the most prominent figures in the MAGA movement, declared that the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza constitutes a "genocide." Greene condemned both Israel's ongoing siege and Fine's controversial endorsement of Palestinian starvation.

"I remember the first time I met Randy Fine when he was a candidate before he barely won Florida's deep red 6th district seat, as we were being told he might actually lose the seat because the strong Trump district couldnt relate to him and didnt like him. He was telling me that he and his wife were looking forward to moving to Washington and he hadn't even won yet.

"I said to him that Washington isnt a good place to live and he should live in the district he will represent. You know that whole 'representative' thing. But he was adamant that they did not want to live in the district. And I thought, no wonder that district doesn't want to elect him. I can only imagine how Florida's 6th district feels now that their Representative, that they were told to vote for, openly calls for starving innocent people and children.

It's the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide, humanitarian crisis and starvation happening in Gaza. But a Jewish U.S. Representative calling for the continued starvation of innocent people and children is disgraceful," Green posted on X. (Related: Gaza crisis: South Africa warns of "unquestionable genocide" in Gaza and global legal collapse.)

She then warned that such rhetoric could inflame antisemitism rather than combat it. "His awful statement will actually cause more antisemitism."

Human rights groups back Greene's "genocidal" claim against Israel with data

Greene's comments came as the reported Palestinian death toll surpassed 60,000, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Roughly half of those killed are said to be women and children. Entire neighborhoods in the enclave have been flattened and deaths from malnutrition are rising, with critics accusing Israel of deliberately starving civilians, a claim Israel denies.

Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, along with United Nations (UN) special rapporteurs, have warned that Israel's conduct in Gaza could meet the legal threshold for genocide. The term, as defined by the UN, refers to "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group," including killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, preventing births within the group and forcibly transferring children to another group.

Legal scholars and UN experts have pointed to patterns in Israel's military campaign, including the scale of destruction, the targeting of civilian infrastructure and the ongoing blockade, as potentially consistent with genocidal intent.

Visit Genocide.news for more updates on the Israel-Hamas war.

Watch this clip of British sociologist David Miller discussing how Israel's violence against Gazans is making people around the world realize how genocidal the state is.

This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

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Congress to consider CRYPTO-BACKED MORTGAGES: A revolutionary path to homeownership or a risky gamble?

For millions of young Americans struggling to break into an increasingly hostile housing market, a glimmer of hope has emerged from an unlikely place : cryptocurrency. A new Senate bill introduced by Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis could fundamentally reshape how mortgages are approved by allowing digital assets to be counted as legitimate collateral. While critics warn of volatility and regulatory uncertainty, proponents argue that embracing crypto could unlock homeownership for a generation that has largely been priced out of the dream.

Key points:

Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced the 21st Century Mortgage Act, which would require mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to consider crypto assets in loan approvals.

The bill builds on a June directive from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) urging mortgage purchasers to recognize digital assets in risk assessments.

Critics, including Senate Democrats, warn that cryptos volatility could lead to increased mortgage defaults and destabilize the housing market.

Proponents argue the move acknowledges modern wealth-building strategies and could help young Americans bridge the gap to homeownership.

Companies like Block Earner and MiloCredit are already pioneering crypto-backed mortgage models, signaling a growing market trend.

The housing crisis meets digital wealth

The dream of homeownership feels increasingly out of reach for younger generations. Census Bureau data reveals that just 36 percent of Americans under 35 own homes  a historic low since tracking began in 1982. Meanwhile, a growing number of millennials and Gen Z investors have turned to cryptocurrency as an alternative wealth-building tool. A 2025 State of Crypto Holders Report found that 67 percent of American crypto owners are under 45, suggesting that digital assets now play a critical role in financial planning for younger adults.

Under Lummis proposal, borrowers wouldnt be forced to cash out their crypto holdings, avoiding potential tax burdens and premature liquidation. Instead, mortgage lenders would assess blockchain-recorded assets much like stocks or savings accounts.

Were living in a digital age, Lummis said in a statement. Rather than punishing innovation, government agencies must evolve to meet the needs of a modern, forward-thinking generation.

Financial regulators clash over cryptos role

The proposal hasnt been met without pushback. Senate Democrats swiftly criticized the FHFAs June directive, warning that incorporating crypto could introduce unnecessary risk into an already fragile mortgage system. In a July letter, they argued that volatility and liquidity concerns could leave borrowers unable to convert crypto into cash fast enough to prevent defaults.

Yet, while Washington debates, financial markets are already experimenting with crypto-backed loans. Companies like Block Earner in Australia have launched Bitcoin-collateralized mortgages, and U.S.-based MiloCredit allows borrowers to leverage crypto to secure real estate loans  sometimes within minutes. These models cater primarily to investors, but FHFA recognition could expand access to mainstream borrowers.

Bitcoins liquidity and public ledger make it perfect collateral for home loans, said Mitchell Askew, an analyst at Blockware.

The risks and rewards of a crypto-powered housing market

The potential impacts are immense  for better or worse. If passed, the bill could inject liquidity into the mortgage market, helping younger buyers compete in a landscape dominated by institutional investors and cash-rich boomers. However, skeptics question how lenders would assess the stability of assets known for wild price swings.

One financial expert noted on social media: How do you stress-test a portfolio when your collateral includes everything from Bitcoin to random DeFi tokens?

Another major hurdle is timing. The Senate is about to adjourn for its August recess, delaying any movement on the bill until at least September. Meanwhile, the House has already introduced a similar proposal  the American Homeowner Crypto Modernization Act  though it remains uncertain whether either bill will secure enough bipartisan support to become law.

The future of money and real estate

Regardless of legislative outcomes, the conversation marks a watershed moment for crypto adoption. No longer confined to niche trading circles, digital assets are now being seriously considered as foundational financial tools  akin to stocks, bonds, or traditional savings.

For millions of Americans whove watched housing prices soar while their Bitcoin fluctuates, the prospect of leveraging crypto for homeownership isnt just theoretical  its personal. Whether this shift represents a financial revolution or a speculative gamble remains to be seen.

But one thing is clear: Cryptocurrency is no longer just an alternative investment  its knocking on the door of mainstream finance, and mortgages might be next.

Sources include:

CoinTelegraph.com

Lummis.senate.gov

CoinTelegraph.com

Lummis.senate.gov [PDF]
Israel threatens Gaza annexation as Hamas stalls on ceasefire deal

Israel threatens to annex key Gaza territories, including the Philadelphia Corridor, if Hamas rejects the latest ceasefire proposal.

The White House opposes annexation, while European powers plan to recognize Palestinian statehood in September, isolating Israel.

Hamas faces an ultimatum: accept the ceasefire, which excludes prisoner releases and Rafah reopening, or lose land permanently.

Egypt remains silent but views the Philadelphia Corridor as sovereign, risking regional tensions if Israel acts unilaterally.

Gazas humanitarian crisis worsens, with famine looming and more than 60,000 dead, as diplomatic efforts stall.

Israeli officials have reportedly warned Hamas that rejecting the latest ceasefire proposal will trigger the formal annexation of key territories, including the strategic Philadelphia Corridor and buffer zones. A senior Israeli official stated, "Israel will not be patient for much longer," signaling an end to diplomatic niceties as global pressure mounts.

With the White House expressing "no appetite" for annexation and European powers like France, the UK, and Canada poised to recognize Palestinian statehood in September, the Netanyahu government is at a critical crossroadsone that could either force Hamas to the table or ignite a new phase of territorial confrontation.

The ultimatum: Land for peace or punishment

According to reports from The Times of Israel and Channel 12, Israel delivered a threatening message to Hamas mediators this week: Accept the ceasefire terms, or lose Gazas periphery forever. The proposal includes retaining control of the Philadelphia Corridora narrow strip along Gazas border with Egyptand maintaining military buffer zones that slice deep into Palestinian territory. Israel also refuses to reopen the Rafah Crossing or meet Hamass demands for a mass prisoner release, which officials argue would leave Jerusalem with no leverage to recover remaining hostages.

The ultimatum reflects Israels hardening stance after months of stalled negotiations. Talks in Doha collapsed earlier this month when Prime Minister Netanyahu recalled his delegation, accusing Hamas of introducing "new terms" and acting in bad faith. With Hamas yet to respond, Israeli officials now suggest annexation is inevitable if diplomacy fails. "The most painful thing for our enemy is losing lands," said cabinet member Zeev Elkin, framing the move as a necessary pressure tactic.

White House resistance and European defiance

While Israel prepares for unilateral action, the Trump administration has privately signaled opposition. Channel 12 reported there is currently "no appetite" in the White House to approve annexation, although U.S. envoy Steve Witkoffs recent visit to Israel focused more on Gazas humanitarian crisis than territorial disputes. Meanwhile, European powers are moving in the opposite direction. France, the UK, and Canada have all announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly in September in a diplomatic blow to Netanyahus government and a potential precursor to broader isolation.

The annexation threat also risks inflaming tensions with Egypt, which has long viewed the Philadelphia Corridor as a sovereign buffer. Cairo has yet to comment publicly, but any Israeli move to formalize control could destabilize the already fragile regional ceasefire efforts.

The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues

Amid the geopolitical maneuvering, Gazas civilian population continues to suffer. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to Hamas-run health authorities. The UN warns of famine, with aid groups describing near-daily shootings at distribution sites and children dying of malnutrition. The Red Cross stated that temporary humanitarian pauses are "insufficient," calling for a "sustained and sustainable agreement" to prevent mass starvation.

If Hamas rejects the ceasefire, Israel appears ready to redraw Gazas borders unilaterally, gambling that territorial gains will outweigh international backlash. For Netanyahu, the gamble may also be domestic: Right-wing coalition members are already pushing for permanent settlements in Gaza, with 22 ministers signing a letter this week urging tours of "potential settlement sites." But with the U.S. hesitant and Europe defiant, Israels ultimatum could backfire, accelerating Palestinian statehood recognition while leaving Gaza fragmented.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

TimesOfIsrael.com

TheGuardian.com
On August 1, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha will visit the Republic of Poland at the invitation of his Polish colleague, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosaw Sikorski.

According to the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the ministers, accompanied by their spouses, will meet at the residence of Radosaw Sikorski.

The foreign ministers will hold talks "face-to-face" and in an expanded format. A joint press conference is planned following the meeting.

The key topic of the meeting will be the development of Ukrainian-Polish good-neighborliness as a key factor in the strength and security of Europe.

The ministers will discuss further defense cooperation and strengthening Ukraine in confronting Russian aggression, sanctions pressure on the aggressor to restore a just peace, and a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda.
Democratic lawmakers demand probe into Gaza aid group after 1,000 civilian deaths at distribution sites

A group of 92 Democratic lawmakers is calling for an investigation into the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) after reports linked it to the deaths of more than 1,000 Palestinian civilians at its aid distribution sites.

The GHF received $30 million in U.S. funding despite 58 objections from USAID experts about its lack of humanitarian experience, with contractors accused of using lethal force against civilians.

Whistleblowers and former contractors describe militarized operations, including live fire and biometric surveillance, under Israeli military supervision at GHF sites guarded by ex-CIA and military personnel.

A former U.S. Army contractor revealed the killing of a starving boy, Amir, who was shot after collecting scraps, aligning with Gaza health reports of mass civilian deaths at GHF locations.

The State Department ignored warnings about GHFs unsuitability, while critics demand transparency over alleged Israeli government backing and an immediate halt to U.S. funding for the operation.

A group of 92 Democratic lawmakers is demanding a full investigation into the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S.-funded aid group accused of facilitating the killings of more than 1,000 Palestinian civilians at its distribution sites. The foundation, which received $30 million in taxpayer money despite objections from experts, has been condemned as a militarized operation using lethal force against starving familiesall while hiding behind the facade of charity.

The lawmakers, led by Representative Sean Casten, are pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio for answers after reports surfaced that Israeli forces and U.S. security contractors, many with intelligence and special forces backgrounds, have fired live rounds, stun grenades, and pepper spray into crowds of desperate civilians. Internal documents reveal that USAID experts raised 58 separate objections to GHFs lack of humanitarian experience, yet the State Department approved funding anyway.

Aid or execution? The deadly toll of GHFs militarized distribution

The GHF, which was registered in Delaware in early 2025, operates four distribution sites guarded by private security firms Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) and UG Solutions (UGS), both staffed by former CIA and military personnel. Reports indicate that contractors, under Israeli military supervision, have used biometric surveillance on Palestinians and engaged in what whistleblowers describe as "crowd control" tactics indistinguishable from combat operations.

A former GHF contractor, U.S. Army veteran Anthony Aguilar, recounted the harrowing death of a malnourished boy named Amir, who was shot moments after collecting scraps of aid. "Amir walked 12km to get food, got nothing but scraps, thanked us for it, and died," Aguilar said in a viral interview. His testimony aligns with Gaza health officials reports of more than 1,000 civilians killed at GHF sites since May, many shot while fleeing with meager rations.

Despite GHFs claims that it provides "life-saving meals," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned the operation as a "bloodbath," calling it "shameful" and demanding its immediate shutdown.

State Department ignored red flags as millions flowed to unqualified contractors

The $30 million grant to GHF was approved by State Department official Jeremy Lewin despite an internal memo declaring the foundation unfit to meet basic humanitarian standards. Lawmakers are now demanding transparency on why expert warnings were ignored, and why GHF refuses to disclose its donors amid allegations of $280 million in Israeli government backing.

Safe Reach Solutions, led by ex-CIA officer Philip Reilly, defended its role, claiming it enables "the safe delivery of nearly 100 million meals." But critics argue the meals come at the cost of civilian lives. A UN analysis found no evidence of widespread Hamas aid theft, undermining Israels justification for GHFs militarized approach.

The GHF scandal is a grotesque example of how taxpayer dollars are weaponized under the guise of aid. With famine declared in Gaza and children dying of starvation, the U.S. must halt funding to this lethal operation and restore oversight to neutral agencies. As Aguilar warned, "This is not humanitarian aidits a trap."

Sources for this article include:

TheCradle.co

CNN.com

Reuters.com

AlJazeera.com
15 Nations push for Palestinian statehood as Israel rejects reward for Hamas

Fifteen nations, including Australia, Canada and France, demand Palestinian statehood recognition and a Gaza ceasefire, calling it vital for peace while urging Hamas to release hostages.

Israel and the U.S. strongly oppose the move, with Netanyahu labeling it a "reward for terrorism" and Trump threatening trade repercussions against Canada.

France and Britain signal plans to recognize Palestine at the UN in September unless Israel halts military operations in Gaza.

Canada conditions its recognition on Palestinian democratic reforms, sparking backlash from Israel and trade tensions with the U.S.

Gazas humanitarian crisis worsens amid ongoing violence, deepening global divisions as Western allies push for a two-state solution.

A group of 15 nations including Australia, Canada, France and Spain issued a joint statement late Tuesday demanding global recognition of Palestinian statehood and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The foreign ministers of these countries, gathered at a UN conference in New York, declared recognition of Palestine as an "essential step" toward peace, while calling for Hamas to release all hostages. The push, backed by 147 of the 193 UN member states, has drawn fierce backlash from Israel and the U.S., with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemning it as a "reward for terrorism."

France has pledged to formally recognize Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, with Britain threatening to follow suit unless Israel halts its military campaign in Gaza. Meanwhile, Canadas Prime Minister Mark Carney announced similar plans, triggering a furious response from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to derail trade talks with Ottawa. As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, the international divide over Palestinian statehood deepens, leaving Israel increasingly isolated.

A coordinated diplomatic push

The joint statement, signed by Andorra, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain, emphasized that recognizing Palestine is crucial for a two-state solution. "We have already recognized, have expressed or express the willingness or the positive consideration of our countries to recognize the State of Palestine," the ministers declared. They also urged the unification of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority in a direct challenge to Hamas control over the enclave.

France, a key player in the initiative, has taken the lead, with President Emmanuel Macron stating that recognition would advance Middle East peace. The move has been met with sharp criticism from Washington and Tel Aviv, which argue that rewarding Palestinian statehood before securing Israels security guarantees undermines negotiations.

Britains newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer added fuel to the fire, warning that the UK would recognize Palestine unless Israel takes "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza." Netanyahu swiftly rejected the ultimatum, accusing Starmer of emboldening Hamas.

Canadas controversial decision

Canadas announcement on Wednesday marked a significant shift in its Middle East policy. Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that Ottawa would recognize Palestine at the UN in September, contingent on the Palestinian Authority committing to democratic reforms, including elections in 2026 without Hamas participation. "Canada has long been committed to a two-state solution," Carney said, stressing that a stable Palestinian state must coexist peacefully with Israel.

The decision drew immediate backlash. Israels Foreign Ministry called it a "reward to Hamas," while Ambassador Iddo Moed warned that Israel "will not sacrifice our very existence by permitting the imposition of a jihadist state on our ancestral homeland."

President Trump escalated tensions, writing on Truth Social: "Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them." His comments come amid delicate U.S.-Canada trade negotiations, with a looming August 1 deadline to avoid steep tariffs.

The diplomatic push coincides with worsening conditions in Gaza, where more than 60,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since October 2023, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israels blockade has triggered a starvation crisis, with aid deliveries frequently disrupted. On Wednesday, Gaza officials accused Israeli forces of firing on civilians seeking food, leaving at least 60 dead in a claim the IDF denied, as usual.

The international outcry has intensified pressure on Israel, but Netanyahu remains defiant. "Israel will not bow to the distorted campaign of international pressure," Moed declared. Meanwhile, Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signaled support for recognition, stating, "What were looking at is the circumstances where recognition will advance the objective of the creation of two states."

As Western nations rally behind Palestinian statehood, the U.S. and Israel stand increasingly isolated. The divide underscores a broader geopolitical shift, with traditional allies like France and Canada breaking ranks over what they see as an urgent moral and strategic imperative. Yet with Israel vowing to resist "rewarding terrorism," and Hamas still holding hostages, the path to peace remains challenging. The coming months  culminating in the UN General Assembly in September  will test whether diplomatic pressure can force a breakthrough or further entrench the conflict.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

CNN.com

TheGuardian.com
Poll: Americans overwhelmingly support CRACKDOWN on Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland

A strong majority (65 percent) of American voters endorse the USDA's plan to restrict Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland, citing national security risks and concerns about foreign influence near military bases.

Over 80 percent of poll respondents are alarmed by Chinese farmland purchases, with 78 percent specifically worried about foreign-owned land near U.S. military installations.

The USDA's National Farm Security Action Plan (NFSAP) imposes stricter oversight, bans purchases by adversarial nations (e.g., China) and aims to reclaim improperly acquired plots through executive action.

Despite China owning less than 0.03 percent of U.S. agricultural land, officials warn even small holdings could threaten military readiness or supply chains  with Agriculture Secretary Rollins stating "farm security is national security."

Historical efforts to curb foreign agricultural purchases  like state-level bans in 26 states  are gaining traction, with new regulations and an expected executive order signaling a hardening U.S. stance on food sovereignty.

A strong majority of American voters support a newly unveiled plan by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to restrict Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland, according to the results of a recent opinion poll.

The results of the opinion poll conducted by the Protecting America Initiative (PAI)  an advocacy group opposing the Chinese Communist Party  were released Wednesday, July 30. It polled 1,037 likely voters across the country from July 14 to 15.

Most of the survey's respondents cited concerns over national security and foreign influence near military installations, which the poll's results reflect. Overall, 65 percent endorsed the USDA's National Farm Security Action Plan (NFSAP)  which Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last month.

Eighty-two percent of respondents expressed alarm over Chinese farmland acquisitions, while 78 percent worried about foreign-owned land near military bases. The findings highlight growing unease over foreign control of American agricultural resources, prompting bipartisan backing for policies that prioritize domestic ownership.

The NFSAP, which was announced on July 8, imposes stricter oversight and penalties for land acquisitions by citizens of adversarial nations like China. It seeks to ban Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries from purchasing farmland while reclaiming previously acquired plots through executive action. (Related: Safeguarding American soil: The U.S. bans Chinese ownership of farmland amid rising national security concerns.)

Rollins: Farm security is national security

Despite Chinese ownership accounting for less than 0.03 percent of U.S. agricultural land, officials warn even minimal holdings could jeopardize military readiness or supply chains.

Rollins framed the crackdown as a defense measure, declaring "farm security is national security" at a July 8 cabinet-level briefing. Also present were Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Hegseth emphasized heightened scrutiny of land near installations, declaring: "No longer can foreign adversaries assume we're not watching." Bondi, meanwhile, vowed aggressive enforcement. She said the Department of Justice under her leadership would prosecute agro-terrorism threats and illegal foreign activity.

Historical context underscores the unease: Chinese agricultural investments, though small-scale, have surged since the early 2000s, often in strategic locations. One example is a Chinese company purchasing a North Dakota corn mill adjacent to a U.S. Air Force base. Past attempts to curb such deals, including state-level restrictions in 26 states, have gained traction amid bipartisan calls to safeguard food systems from geopolitical rivals.

With new regulations in the works and an expected executive order, the USDA's plan signals a hardening stance on agricultural sovereignty  one that resonates deeply with voters wary of external control over Americas breadbasket. As debates over food security intensify, the PAI poll suggests most Americans are ready to put farmland protection at the forefront of national defense.

Watch Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasizing that farm security is national security in this interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

China continues to snatch up U.S. farmland, American companies at alarming rates.

GOP senator warns Biden admin to take Chinese purchases of U.S. farmland seriously.

Utah governor blocks land purchase by Chinese state-owned company near Provo Airport.

Sources include:

YourNews.com

Newsmax.com

NationalNutGrower.com

Brighteon.com
Head of Ukraines anti-corruption office blasts Zelensky over new law undermining its independence

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed legislation removing the independence of Ukraine's top anti-corruption agencies  the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)  placing them under executive control. This sparked protests and international backlash.

The EU and U.S. cautioned that undermining anti-corruption reforms could threaten Ukraine's financial aid and EU membership prospects. Brussels suspended aid in response, reflecting growing distrust.

SAPO head Oleksandr Klymenko stated that the law halted his office's work, scared off whistleblowers and led to warrantless raids on NABU investigators. High-profile probes (e.g., against Deputy PM Oleksiy Chernyshov and 31 sitting lawmakers) were compromised.

After the outcry, Zelensky proposed a bill to restore SAPO/NABU independence, but its passage is uncertain due to fears of retaliation among his own party members in parliament.

Critics see Zelensky's move as an authoritarian power grab, exacerbating fractures in his government and risking Ukraine's democratic institutions. Restoring trust in anti-corruption efforts is critical for Ukraine's wartime stability and post-war recovery.

Oleksandr Klymenko, the head of Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), has slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over a law he signed that dismantled the office's independence.

Late last month, the comedian-turned-president approved a law that put both the SAPO and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) under executive control. This legislation, which effectively ended the two agencies' autonomy, triggered immediate protests in Kyiv, Lviv and other cities.

Western governments, including the European Union and the U.S., warned that undermining anti-corruption reforms could jeopardize Ukraine's financial aid and EU accession prospects. While Zelensky reversed course following outcry, Klymenko warned that the damage may have already been done. (Related: Zelensky dismantles independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, sparking outrage and EU membership concerns.)

During an interview published in the Financial Times (FT) Wednesday, July 31, Klymenko pointed out that "lasting" damage had already been done. Because of the new law, Klymenko noted that his office's function could be severely affected.

"Our work has been effectively stopped," he told the publication, adding that whistleblowers have stopped cooperating out of fear of exposure. NABU investigators now face persecution, with some of them becoming "confused and frightened" after security services raided their homes without warrants.

Ukraine's corruption probes now in political crossfire

Zelensky later made a U-turn, introducing a new bill to restore the independence of both NABU and SAPO. However, it remains uncertain whether the proposal will pass. According to FT, at least 70 People's Deputies (PDs) from Zelensky's Servant of the People (SN) party unsure of whether they will join others in voting for the bill over fears of retaliation.

Klymenko nevertheless reiterated the impact of the initial bill, especially since his office was investigating high-ranking officials such as Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov. The SAPO had also been probing 31 sitting PDs, including some from SN, over corruption claims.

The two agencies, which were created after Ukraine's 2014 revolution to counter graft, have long relied on Western backing to resist political interference. Klymenko credited past support from Washington for their survival, but noted that waning pressure "is part of why this attack was possible." Brussels has since suspended aid to Ukraine, an unprecedented move reflecting deepening mistrust.

Zelensky claims he acted to protect the agencies from Kremlin infiltration, though Klymenko insisted there's "insufficient evidence" to support those allegations. Critics see it as an authoritarian power grab, one that threatens Ukraines fragile democratic institutions at a time when Western patience is wearing thin.

Though the Verkhovna Rada  Ukraine's parliament  may soon vote to reverse the decision, the episode has exposed severe fractures within Zelensky's government. It remains uncertain whether trust in Ukraine's anti-corruption fight can be restored. But without it, the country's wartime resilience and post-war future hang in the balance.

Watch journalist John Varoli revealing that Ukraine is one of the world's most brutal totalitarian regimes in this video.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Where did the money go? Zelensky exposes $102 billion black hole in U.S. aid to Ukraine.

EU freezes 29.7 billion in Ukraine aid after Zelensky undermines anti-corruption agencies.

The erosion of Zelensky's wartime leadership: EU aid to Ukraine cut amid corruption concerns.

Sources include:

RT.com

FT.com

Politicom.com.au

Brighteon.com
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Zelenskyy: Ukraine once again confirms its readiness to meet with Russia at leaders level at any time

Ukraine is ready to meet with Russia at the level of leaders at any time, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

We have heard the statements coming out of Russia. If these are signals of a genuine willingness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace  and not merely an attempt to buy more time for war or delay sanctions  then Ukraine once again reaffirms its readiness to meet at the level of leaders at any time, Zelenskyy said on X Friday.

Zelenskyy also thanked US President Donald Trump for his efforts to end Russia's war and stop the killings.

We see and support President Trumps efforts to end Russias war, to stop the killing, and to achieve a dignified and lasting peace. We are grateful to everyone around the world who supports peace efforts and helps us protect lives, the President stressed.

At the same time, he noted that the decision to end the war lies with the Russian side.

We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too. Ukraine calls for moving beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings to talks between leaders. The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russias readiness, the head of the Ukrainian state stressed.
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There is broad consensus that the overall body of evidence shows lowering LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol provides both statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefits in treating and preventing cardiovascular disease. Often referred to as the "bad" cholesterol, elevated levels of LDL can clog arteries and significantly increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

In an invited editorial published in the current issue of Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Schmidt College of Medicine urge practicing cardiologists to achieve lower LDL cholesterol levels beginning with the highest doses of the most potent statins, namely rosuvastatin and atorvastatin. The authors emphasize that high-potency statins should be the primary pharmacologic in the treatment of cardiovascular disease as adjuncts to therapeutic lifestyle changes.

The researchers emphasize that therapeutic lifestyle changes will be effective in the absence and presence of adjunctive therapies in treating and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle changes of proven benefit include avoidance or cessation of cigarette smoking, achieving and maintaining healthy body weight and blood pressure, regular physical activity, and restricting alcohol consumption.

Despite the proven effectiveness of therapeutic lifestyle changes, approximately 40% of adults in the United States have metabolic syndrome, a constellation of risk factors including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. These individuals have a cardiovascular risk equivalent to those with prior heart attacks or strokes, yet many are underdiagnosed and undertreated.

The authors also underscore that only about 21% of Americans meet the minimum daily requirement for physical activity, and that meaningful increases in physical activity are possible at any age, including among older adults.

Based on the robust totality of randomized trial data and their meta-analyses, the authors conclude that statins  particularly rosuvastatin and atorvastatin  have the strongest and most consistent body of evidence supporting their prescription in treatment and prevention in both men and women including older adults.

Because most patients tend to stay on their initially prescribed statin dose, the authors recommend that cardiologists consider starting therapy with the highest dose of these agents and titrating down if necessary. They also highlight that the benefits of statins and aspirin are at least additive and potentially synergistic. Most secondary prevention patients should be prescribed aspirin. In primary prevention, however, individual clinical judgments are necessary, and aspirin should be considered after statins  and if the residual risk of occlusion exceeds that of major bleeding, predominantly gastrointestinal.

"Practicing cardiologists may wish to consider that all adjunctive drug therapies to therapeutic lifestyle changes should be added only after achieving maximal doses of statins. Further, statins have the largest and most persuasive body of evidence of any pharmacological adjunctive therapy in treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease," said Charles H. Hennekens, M.D, FACC, senior and corresponding author and the first Sir Richard Doll Professor of Medicine and Preventive Medicine, and interim chair, Department of Population Health, Schmidt College of Medicine.

The researchers offer cautious views of adjunctive therapies such as ezetimibe and evolocumab, which tend to be used more widely than optimal. For example, in the IMPROVE-IT trial, the addition of ezetimibe to simvastatin showed only a minor benefit, while the FOURIER trial demonstrated evolocumab's efficacy in secondary prevention only in patients with familial hypercholesterolemia already on maximal statin doses. While FOURIER was a completed trial of secondary prevention, ILLUMINATE is an ongoing trial in high-risk primary prevention patients with familial hypercholesterolemia.

These findings suggest that such therapies may be more appropriately reserved for select high-risk patients who have not achieved LDL goals with statins alone." Charles H. Hennekens, M.D, FACC, senior and corresponding author

The authors also discuss the role of omega-3 fatty acids, noting that earlier trials were positive but later tended to show no net benefit. The authors opine that this may have been due to widespread statin use. They note that in REDUCE-IT, a large-scale randomized trial, icosapent ethyl was the only omega-3 fatty acid to demonstrate significant added benefits when added to evidence-based doses of high potency statins. Patients assigned at random to icosapent ethyl, a purified form of eicosapentanoic acid, experienced a significant 25% reduction in major cardiovascular events, with a number needed to treat of just 21.

Hennekens also reflected on the enduring relevance of Benjamin Franklin's 1736 observation that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

First author of the editorial is John Dunn, a third-year medical student in the Schmidt College of Medicine.
Aging and neurodegeneration are both known to disrupt the production of functional proteins in cells  a process called "proteostasis," or protein homeostasis. Brain cells in particular fall prey to proteostasis disruptions, which are linked to the accumulation of protein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases. In a new study published July 30 in Science, Stanford researchers have discovered the cascade of events that leads to declining proteostasis in aging brains.

The findings, based on study of the turquoise killifish, lay the foundation for developing therapies that can combat and prevent neurodegenerative diseases in people  and the gradual decline in mental abilities we will all face one day.

We know that many processes become more dysfunctional with aging, but we really don't understand the fundamental molecular principles of why we age. Our new study begins to provide a mechanistic explanation for a phenomenon widely seen during aging, which is increased aggregation and dysfunction in the processes that make proteins." Judith Frydman, study author, the Donald Kennedy Chair in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford

Locating the problem

The turquoise killifish, Nothobranchius furzeri, is a vibrantly colorful fish that adapted to thrive in the ephemeral freshwater pools of the African savanna. Killifish, the shortest-lived vertebrates bred in captivity, develop many issues as they grow old and provide a great model of accelerated aging. Studying why and how the brain ages would be harder in longer-lived animals, such as mice.

To make their new discovery, the researchers conducted a comprehensive investigation of proteostasis in the brains of aging killifish. The scientists compared young, adult, and old killifish. They looked at various players in protein production, such as amino acid concentrations, levels of transfer RNA, messenger RNA (mRNA), proteins, and more.

In cells, proteostasis balances protein synthesis and degradation and also prevents protein aggregation  harmful clumps of proteins that can result from errors in protein folding. Proteostasis dysfunction and aggregation are part of a series of molecular and cellular changes classified as aging hallmarks. Proteostasis has received attention as a likely link between brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases tied to protein aggregation, like Alzheimer's.

Frydman's lab explores how cells achieve proteostasis and has previously focused on how aging affects proteostasis in the simple models of aging provided by yeast and roundworms. The new study confirms that aging processes observed in those simple organisms reflect those in more complex vertebrates like killifish  and humans.

"With aging, problems mysteriously emerge at many levels  at the mechanistic, cellular, and organ level  but one commonality is that all those processes are mediated by proteins," Frydman said. "This study confirms that during aging, the central machinery that makes proteins starts to have quality problems."

Ultimately, the team located the disruption at a specific stage of protein synthesis called translation elongation. In this step, the ribosome enacts its role as the cellular machinery responsible for converting mRNA into proteins by moving along the mRNA and adding amino acids one by one. In the aging fish brains, the researchers documented ribosomes colliding and stalling, which both resulted in reduced levels of proteins and protein aggregation.

"Our results show that changes in the speed of ribosome movement along the mRNA can have a profound impact on protein homeostasis  and highlight the essential nature of 'regulated' translation elongation speed of different mRNAs in the context of aging," said Jae Ho Lee, co-lead author of the paper who worked on this as a postdoctoral scholar in the Frydman lab. He is now an assistant professor at Stony Brook University.

The finding helped to illuminate another aging mystery. One of the hallmarks of aging in all organisms, including humans, is called "protein-transcript decoupling." In this phenomenon, changes in levels of some mRNA no longer correlate to changes in protein levels in aged individuals. The new study shows that changes in protein synthesis during aging, including ribosomes, can explain the "protein-transcript decoupling." Since many of the affected proteins are involved in genome maintenance and integrity, these new observations rationalize why these processes decline during aging.

"Showing that the process of protein production loses fidelity with aging provides a kind of underlying rationale for why all these other processes start to malfunction with age," said Frydman. "And, of course, the key to solving a problem is to understand why it's gone wrong. Otherwise, you're just fumbling in the dark."

Future aging research

As a next step, the researchers will explore directly how ribosome dysfunction  which they identified as a key culprit of declining proteostasis  may contribute to age-related neurodegenerative disorders in people. They also want to know whether targeting translation efficiency or ribosome quality control in treatments can restore proteostasis in brain cells and even delay aging-related cognitive decline.

"This work provides new insights on protein biogenesis, function, and homeostasis in general, as well as a new potential target for intervention for aging-associated diseases," said Lee.

Additionally, the research team is probing what leads to cognitive decline as we age and how modulating such processes may shape longevity in a range of different species.
Imagine a ball bouncing down a flight of stairs. Now think about a cascade of water flowing down those same stairs. The ball and the water behave very differently, and it turns out that your brain has different regions for processing visual information about each type of physical matter.

In a new study, MIT neuroscientists have identified parts of the brain's visual cortex that respond preferentially when you look at "things" - that is, rigid or deformable objects like a bouncing ball. Other brain regions are more activated when looking at "stuff" - liquids or granular substances such as sand.

This distinction, which has never been seen in the brain before, may help the brain plan how to interact with different kinds of physical materials, the researchers say.

When you're looking at some fluid or gooey stuff, you engage with it in different way than you do with a rigid object. With a rigid object, you might pick it up or grasp it, whereas with fluid or gooey stuff, you probably are going to have to use a tool to deal with it." Nancy Kanwisher, the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience; a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT's Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines; and the senior author of the study

MIT postdoc Vivian Paulun, who is joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison this fall, is the lead author of the paper, which appears today in the journal Current Biology. RT Pramod, an MIT postdoc, and Josh Tenenbaum, an MIT professor of brain and cognitive sciences, are also authors of the study.

Stuff vs. things

Decades of brain imaging studies, including early work by Kanwisher, have revealed regions in the brain's ventral visual pathway that are involved in recognizing the shapes of 3D objects, including an area called the lateral occipital complex (LOC). A region in the brain's dorsal visual pathway, known as the frontoparietal physics network (FPN), analyzes the physical properties of materials, such as mass or stability.

Although scientists have learned a great deal about how these pathways respond to different features of objects, the vast majority of these studies have been done with solid objects, or "things."

"Nobody has asked how we perceive what we call 'stuff' - that is, liquids or sand, honey, water, all sorts of gooey things. And so we decided to study that," Paulun says.

These gooey materials behave very differently from solids. They flow rather than bounce, and interacting with them usually requires containers and tools such as spoons. The researchers wondered if these physical features might require the brain to devote specialized regions to interpreting them.

To explore how the brain processes these materials, Paulun used a software program designed for visual effects artists to create more than 100 video clips showing different types of things or stuff interacting with the physical environment. In these videos, the materials could be seen sloshing or tumbling inside a transparent box, being dropped onto another object, or bouncing or flowing down a set of stairs.

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan the visual cortex of people as they watched the videos. They found that both the LOC and the FPN respond to "things" and "stuff," but that each pathway has distinctive subregions that respond more strongly to one or the other.

"Both the ventral and the dorsal visual pathway seem to have this subdivision, with one part responding more strongly to 'things,' and the other responding more strongly to 'stuff,'" Paulun says. "We haven't seen this before because nobody has asked that before."

Physical interactions

The findings suggest that the brain may have different ways of representing these two categories of material, similar to the artificial physics engines that are used to create video game graphics. These engines usually represent a 3D object as a mesh, while fluids are represented as sets of particles that can be rearranged.

"The interesting hypothesis that we can draw from this is that maybe the brain, similar to artificial game engines, has separate computations for representing and simulating 'stuff' and 'things.' And that would be something to test in the future," Paulun says.

The researchers also hypothesize that these regions may have developed to help the brain understand important distinctions that allow it to plan how to interact with the physical world. To further explore this possibility, the researchers plan to study whether the areas involved in processing rigid objects are also active when a brain circuit involved in planning to grasp objects is active.

They also hope to look at whether any of the areas within the FPN correlate with the processing of more specific features of materials, such as the viscosity of liquids or the bounciness of objects. And in the LOC, they plan to study how the brain represents changes in the shape of fluids and deformable substances.

The research was funded by the German Research Foundation, the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and a U.S. National Science Foundation grant to the Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines.
Findings from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital demonstrate that virtual memory T cells, a specialized group of immune cells, provide nonspecific immunity for infants early in life. The work stems from a study dating to 2019, when St. Jude and collaborating institutions reported successful and safe gene therapy for multiple infants with X-linked Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (X-SCID), also called "bubble boy disease." Children with X-SCID cannot form an immune system; however, the gene therapy fixed a critical mutation and enabled the patients to develop immunity. This gave St. Jude researchers the unique opportunity to study how the immune system forms. In doing so, they confirmed the existence of a group of cells that provides early nonspecific protection to human infants to give their long-term immune memory time to mature. The findings were published today in Immunity.

The gene therapy that corrected the mutation causing X-SCID was pioneered at St. Jude by the late Brian Sorrentino, MD, and the work continued under Stephen Gottschalk, MD, St. Jude Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy. After receiving the therapy, the children's immune systems started to form for the first time in their lives. As it is currently not possible to safely test the developing human immune system in utero, the researchers had the rare chance to watch early immunity emerge. They used patient blood samples to evaluate the immune cells that make up the early immune system and study what those cells do.

We used this unique opportunity to take a snapshot of the immune system's genesis. For the first time in humans, we detected a group of jacks-of-all-trades, master-of-none immune cells, sometimes called virtual memory T cells, as a major part of the early immune system." Benjamin Youngblood, PhD, senior co-corresponding author, St. Jude Department of Immunology

Other scientists have found virtual memory T cells in model systems, but could not confirm the timeline of development in humans, leading to debate about their relevance. This is the first study to confirm the cell type's existence in the earliest phase of human immune development, providing evidence of its importance.

Forming a bridge from the early immune system to long-term immunity

Typically, human immune cells are split into two groups, innate and adaptive. Innate cells act as the body's first line of defense, reacting nonspecifically to infections and other threats. Adaptive cells provide long-term memory and immunity to specific infectious agents, but these cells take time to learn what is a threat. The virtual memory T cells did not fit into either group.

"We found that these virtual memory T cells had hallmarks of both innate and adaptive immunity," said first author Anoop Babu Vasandan, PhD, St. Jude Department of Immunology. "These cells existed somewhere in the middle between them."

The researchers discovered that these cells had epigenetic and protein markers of both innate and adaptive cells. In functional tests, they reacted nonspecifically to immune signals of infectious threats, an innate-like reaction, while delivering an adaptive molecule, interferon-gamma, to neutralize them. These T cells' existence between the two categories possibly provides a connection between fast-acting innate and long-lasting adaptive immunity before early immune memory forms.

"These virtual memory T cells are likely acting as a bridge until infants are out in the world and experiencing different infectious threats that educate their immune system," said co-corresponding author Caitlin Zebley, MD, PhD, St. Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy. "They allow the adaptive immune system time to undergo those first educational processes and develop true, rather than 'virtual' memory."

While the study is the first to characterize these cells in early human immune development, much remains a mystery about this difficult-to-study cell type.

"Now we need to find ways to continue to study these virtual memory T cells and see if we can use them to improve childhood vaccinations or adapt them for other uses, such as immunotherapy," Youngblood said. "We've only scratched the surface of understanding their potential."

Authors and funding

The study's other first and corresponding author is Hossam Abdelsamed, formerly of St. Jude. The study's other authors are Shannon Boi, Grace Ward, Shanta Alli, Tian Mi, Xin Lan, Xusheng Zhang, Albert Zhou, Ewelina Mamcarz and Stephen Gottschalk, St. Jude; Xin Lan, University of Tennessee Health Science Center; Morton Cowan and Jennifer Puck, University of California San Francisco; and

Aleksandra Petrovic and David Rawlings, University of Washington.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01AI114442, R01CA237311, K08CA279926, P01HL053749, F32CA250155, U54AI082973 and P01AI138962), the ASSISI Foundation of Memphis, an Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation Young Investigator Grant, Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the Key for a Cure Foundation, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CLIN2-10830 and CLIN2-09504) and ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization of St. Jude.
A little-known federal agency that sends more than $12 billion annually to support community health centers, addiction treatment services, and workforce initiatives for America's neediest people has been hobbled by the Trump administration's staffing purges.

The cuts are "just a little astonishing," said Carole Johnson, who previously led the Health Resources and Services Administration. She left the agency in January with the administration change and has described the sweeping staff cuts as a "big threat" to the agency's ability to distribute billions of dollars in grants to hospitals, clinics, nonprofits, and other organizations nationwide.

Since February, about a quarter of workers at HRSA  including analysts, auditors, scientists, grant managers, and nursing consultants  have left, according to a KFF Health News analysis.

The agency, headquartered in a nondescript gray-and-glass office building tucked into side streets in Rockville, Maryland, employed about 2,700 staffers in early 2025. Employees worked behind the scenes to manage and monitor thousands of projects nationwide that fund primary health providers, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, maternal and child care programs, rural hospitals, and workforce training.

On the ground, HRSA's grants have helped create telehealth initiatives for mothers in rural New Mexico, funded workforce training for Indigenous nurses in South Dakota, and supported Healthy Start programs for expectant mothers and babies in places like rural Georgia.

Ryan Alcorn, a co-founder and the chief executive of GrantExec, a company that helps organizations match and apply for funding, said every American benefits from the programs HRSA's funding supports: "When the safety net fails, hospitals become overwhelmed, unpaid costs rise, and premiums go up for everyone."

Several former HRSA leaders, who have been in touch with employees, confirmed the magnitude of the cuts estimated by KFF Health News. Johnson said she believes the actual number of workers lost is larger.

More than 700 workers were fired or chose to leave from February through the end of June. The analysis is based on data from the HHS employee directory, which may not include workers who opted out of being listed, and may not be an exact count of the worker roster, which is in flux.

Johnson, who is now a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, and several other former employees interviewed by KFF Health News said they are concerned that specific programs will be eliminated, but also that reduced staffing could affect ongoing program oversight. The agency's workforce ethos, Johnson said, is one in which "if there were two people left at HRSA, they would work around the clock to try to get the money out."

For at least one program, revealed during a tense moment on Capitol Hill in July, money to help low-income and minority students has already stopped flowing to colleges and universities. The Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students program, established through congressional legislation, helped schools pay for students to train to become dentists, physician assistants, midwives, and nurses  all of whom are in short supply in rural and some urban areas. Candice Chen, acting associate administrator of HRSA's health workforce bureau, confirmed the agency "did have competitions that were canceled."

When U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) asked whether they were canceled by the Trump administration, Chen paused before speaking again: "Well, the funding decisions were made across the administration."

Asked about the canceled funding, officials from several schools declined to comment. Patrick Gonzales, a spokesperson for the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley, said in an emailed statement that the school is "helping students navigate this transition with clarity and care."

U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) has called for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s resignation or firing, "whichever one comes first," saying there was "no defensible answer" to eliminating thousands of workers across federal agencies.

In April, nearly a dozen Democratic senators sent a letter to Kennedy demanding answers about the mass firings, noting HRSA is the "primary agency tasked with improving access to health care for vulnerable populations."

HHS did not respond to the senators' letter. Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services "has refused to answer basic questions about why the administration conducted mass firings in this office," said Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.).

President Donald Trump's proposed fiscal 2026 budget eliminates HRSA as well as some of its programs, including grants to rural hospitals, workforce training, Ryan White HIV/AIDS programs, and emergency medical services for children. HRSA spokesperson Andrea Takash said in an emailed response that HHS is undertaking organizational changes that support multiple goals while ensuring continuity of essential services.

HRSA continues to process new funding announcements and awards for the health centers, workforce programs, child and maternal health initiatives, and many more of our critical programs and services, Takash said.

HRSA's largest bureau supports thousands of community health centers that serve over 31 million people nationwide. Before the end of September, the agency's grants are still scheduled to pay out billions more to health clinics and other organizations nationwide.

Cuts to health centers could come under more scrutiny because their funding has "a lot of bipartisan" support, said Celli Horstman, a senior research associate at the Commonwealth Fund, a health research nonprofit. HRSA's funding, which includes Section 330 grants, goes to "keeping the doors open" at federally qualified health centers nationwide, Horstman said.

An additional 42% of health center funding comes from Medicaid, a federal and state insurance program that covers people with low incomes and those with disabilities, she said. Congress recently voted to reduce Medicaid funding.

Joe Stevens, spokesperson for the Virginia Community Healthcare Association, said health centers are rethinking "how they do business" because of the Medicaid cuts and the increased administrative challenges faced when processing their HRSA grants, which have been more challenging to obtain since February. Virginia's health clinics treat about 400,000 people annually, Stevens said.

"It's a system that's been in place for 50-plus years, and this is the first time they're having issues receiving their funds," he said, noting that clinics now must also provide an itemized list of how the money is to be used after grants have been approved.

"Our health centers are understaffed, so having somebody to have to enter that information every two weeks is just more time," Stevens said.

For months, HRSA staff across all departments have worked through changes to their technology systems and transitioned work to others as employees left their jobs. Workers have continued to process grants despite a February executive order that froze federal funding and a March announcement that HHS would lay off 10,000 workers and shut down entire agencies  including HRSA.

One former employee said that, at this point, "all we're doing now is keeping the lights on."

Michael Warren, who left the agency in June, ran HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Warren described the bureau's staffing cuts as "substantial." The bureau awarded more than $628 million in grants between Oct. 1, 2024, and July 22, 2025, to programs that included providing block grants to states and funding home visiting programs, through which trained staffers work with families with young children.

Warren, who is now the chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes, said America faces a crisis as one of the "most dangerous places in the world to give birth among other high-income countries, and that shouldnt be the case."

With tears brimming, Warren said his former employees "wake up every morning, they work all day, and they go to sleep every night thinking about what they can do for mothers, children, and families."

Methodology

For this article, KFF Health News calculated workforce reductions at the Health Resources and Services Administration using public information from the Department of Health and Human Services directory posted online. We compared the number and type of employees listed with HRSA in February to those in early July. Our employee totals exclude people listed as interns, fellows, student trainees, or volunteers. The directory is not an official count of HRSA employees, but it offers detailed snapshots of trends so far this year. Reporters also cross-checked the estimates with former employees.

We'd like to speak with current and former personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services or its component agencies who believe the public should understand what's happening within the federal health bureaucracy. Please message KFF Health News on Signal at (415) 519-8778 or get in touch here.
Bangladesh: Student leader arrested on extortion charge

Last Updated: August 02, 2025, 01:00 IST

Representational image (Image: News18)

Dhaka, Aug 1 (PTI) Bangladesh police on Friday arrested a student leader on extortion charges, nearly a week after taking into custody five of his comrades, including two prominent figures of Students against Discrimination, in the same case.

The Students against Discrimination (SAD) had led last years mass protest campaign that eventually toppled prime minister Sheikh Hasinas Awami League regime on August 5.

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Our detective branch arrested Jane Alam Apu from Dhakas Wari area. Apu is the sixth accused to be arrested in the same case of extortion," joint commissioner of police Mohammad Nasirul Islam said.

On July 26, police arrested five student leaders, including SAD figures Ibrahim Hossain Munna and Abdur Razzak Riyad, sparking a nationwide uproar.

Their arrest prompted the SAD to expel them immediately and dissolve all its units excepting the central committee.

Munna was SADs Dhaka city convenor while Riyad was the convenor of the platforms Private Universities Committee.

According to police, the group first went to former lawmaker of now disbanded Awami League Shammi Ahmeds residence at posh Gulshan area in the capital on July 17 and demanded Taka 50 lakh from her husband Abu Zafar since his fascist collaborator wife was not at the house.

On that day, they extorted Taka 10 lakh from him and on July 26 they went again to the house to collect the remaining Taka 40 lakh when police appeared at the scene and arrested them responding to a call from the family.

The police action came as CCTV footage showing the extortionists receiving cash in the guest room of a residence went viral on social media.

The SAD had spearheaded the violent street movement leading to Hasinas ouster. Three days after she fled to India, Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of the interim government on August 8. Two of the representatives of the SAD platform are Yunus cabinet members.

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The SAD had later turned into a political outfit, the National Citizen Party (NCP), in February this year.

Following the incident, former SAD spokesperson Umama Fatema, who recently resigned from the platform, in a video post on social media alleged that corruption had gripped the platforms leaders and that the July Uprising has been made a money-making machine." Fatema, who was one of the key coordinators of the student-led protest last year, said she was used like a tissue paper or a doormat" and claimed all key decisions came from Hare Road, where the governments advisers reside. PTI AR NPK ZH NPK NPK

First Published: August 02, 2025, 01:00 IST

News agency-feeds Bangladesh: Student leader arrested on extortion charge

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China to work with all member states to complete preparations in final phase for SCO Tianjin summit: spokesperson

Xinhua) 08:26, August 01, 2025

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China will work with all the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states to complete the preparations in the final phase for the SCO Tianjin summit, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said here on Thursday.

Guo made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to introduce the work China has done as SCO rotating chair and the preparations that have been made for the SCO Tianjin summit.

Guo said since China took over the SCO rotating chairmanship in July last year, China has acted on the slogan "Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move," and made solid progress in work as the SCO chair.

He summarized the positive progress and outcomes China achieved from three aspects.

First, cooperation in all sectors has been deepened. China has hosted over 100 events as the SCO chair, and nearly half are institutional events, covering multiple areas such as politics, security, military, economy and trade, investment, energy, education, connectivity, technological innovation, green industry, digital economy and people-to-people exchanges. These events helped SCO countries increase solidarity and mutual trust, enhanced mutual learning and achieved mutually beneficial and win-win results.

Second, the mechanisms of the organization have been improved. China has worked with all member states to advance reform and innovation in various aspects such as the deliberation mechanism, cooperation pattern and permanent bodies, to ensure smoother and more efficient operation of the organization. Parties are accelerating the consultations regarding the establishment of a comprehensive center for dealing with security threats and challenges, an information security center, a center for fighting transnational organized crime and a counternarcotics center, to strengthen cooperation on law enforcement and security and to build a new paradigm for regional security cooperation.

Third, stronger commitment was made to the "Shanghai Spirit." The SCO has spoken up to uphold justice on major international and regional issues, firmly upheld the multilateral trading system and strongly condemned the abuse of armed force, sending a strong message of the SCO for safeguarding peace and justice. China, together with SCO member states, has actively carried out exchanges and dialogues among political parties, media and think tanks, giving people a better understanding of the "Shanghai Spirit" and bringing the big family of the SCO closer.

Guo said that one month later, the SCO summit will be held in China's Tianjin, adding that leaders of over 20 countries and heads of 10 international organizations will gather together for the summit.

"This will be the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO, and the culmination of China's work as the SCO chair," the spokesperson said.

Noting that the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting held not long ago has made full political preparations for this summit, Guo said China will work with all member states to complete the preparations in the final phase, accumulate positive outcomes in areas such as security, development, livelihood and mechanisms, to hold a friendly and united summit with fruitful results.

Guo said the Tianjin summit will guide the SCO to enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring more solidarity, coordination, vitality and contribution, and build a closer SCO community with a shared future.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
You can bet every time they point to Israel as a provocateur of incursions or an enemy of peace what they are really saying is, the Jews are the problem. Again. The latest "blame the Jews" finger pointing is about the food shortages in Gaza.

Let's not forget where this thing started. Hamas attacked Israel raping, torturing, and killing 1,200 people and kidnaped more than two hundred other innocent civilians on October 7, 2023. They have subsequently rejected a cease-fire. Hamas has stolen past humanitarian aid which Israel has helped bring into Gaza. The terrorists kept all of it for themselves, not for the people of Gaza who needed it. These are the same people who Hamas uses for human shields.

Nevertheless, the world says the starvation in Gaza is Israel's fault and the pressure is on Israel to do something about it. Last March Israel halted shipments of aid into Gaza following a temporary cease-fire which expired. But it started up once again in May under what was called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in partnership with the US. This operation didn't pay off, however.

Remember, the reason Israel halted food shipments was to deny Hamas revenue, it wasn't meant to hurt the civilian population. Of course, the whole idea of sending aid into your enemy's territory is ridiculous on the face of it. No other nation has ever been required to supply food and other necessaries to an enemy while engaged in a war with that enemy. Can you imagine sending aid into Nazi Germany while we were doing battle with them? The thought is preposterous. And yet that is what is expected from the state of Israel.

Meanwhile Hamas is undoubtedly thrilled at the prospect of a major famine engulfing the Gazan people. It only serves to make Israel look like a villain in the eyes of the world. Bringing aid and supplies into Gaza that the terrorists would grab and use for their own benefit is the art of exploiting humanitarian aid. Hamas knows well how to manipulate this via taxes and theft, using the proceeds to fund its military operations. It's perfect. The Gazan population suffers and the Jews look bad.

Unlike other warring empires throughout history, these terrorists will never surrender, even under the direst conditions and realizing that they can never win. These animals are dedicated to the annihilation of the Jewish people and the complete obliteration of the state of Israel. They are religious zealots in the true sense of the word. They won't quit.

This is why they cannot be expected to give up. They just won't. And that is why the only way of stopping them is to get rid of them all. Destroy them. If not, they will ultimately destroy Israel.

The terrorists started this war, now Israel must finish it.

(COMMENT, BELOW)
Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/13559

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a conversation with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, during which, among other things, they discussed Ukraine's defense needs, sanctions against Russia, and interaction with American partners.

I spoke with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer. Keir expressed his condolences over the deaths of our people as a result of Russias attack on Kyiv. It was an absolutely vile and brutal missile and drone strike that took the lives of 31 people, including 5 children. Our conversation today focused on how to stop the killings, provide greater protection for our people, and force Russia to end this war, Zelenskyy said on X Friday.

Zelenskyy noted that the parties also discussed the relevance of increasing the production of drones, especially interceptors. There is a specific financial need, and we agreed to find a solution, he added.

We also talked about sanctions. Russia genuinely fears them, no matter how hard it pretends that it couldnt care less. Sanctions are undoubtedly working  and there will be more. We are working with everyone on coordinated restrictive measures, the President stressed.

According to Zelenskyy, he discussed with Starmer interaction with American partners, in particular coordination of steps with US President Donald Trump, and possible formats for peace talks at the leader level.

We are also preparing for active diplomatic engagement with our partners in Europe and the United States. We aligned our positions ahead of upcoming international events, he stressed.
Enough nuke submarines to control 2 deployed by Trump, says Russian lawmaker

Last Updated: August 02, 2025, 03:15 IST

Representational image (Image: News18)

Moscow, Aug 1 (PTI) There are enough Russian nuclear submarines in the high seas to tackle two American subs dispatched by US President Donald Trump to counter Russia, a member of the Russian Parliament Duma has said.

The number of Russian nuclear submarines in the worlds oceans is significantly higher than the American ones, and the subs that US President Donald Trump ordered to be redirected to the appropriate regions have long been under their control. So no response from the Russian Federation to the American leaders statement about the submarines is required," a senior Russian lawmaker, Viktor Vodolatsky, was quoted as saying by TASS.

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Earlier on Friday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social post that he had ordered the redeployment of US submarines to appropriate regions" allegedly over extremely provocative statements" by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is also the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council.

Let the two US subs sail, they have been in the crosshairs for a long time now," the Russian lawmaker said.

A fundamental agreement that must be concluded between Russia and America so that the whole world calms down and stops talking about the beginning of World War III," he added.

Meanwhile, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs magazine, Fyodor Lukyanov, said that Trumps nuclear submarine statement should not be taken seriously for now.

Trump, as we know, runs his own channel and reacts, so to speak, emotionally, humanly and spontaneously. I think that the armed forces, the naval forces of the United States read this with great surprise. If this exchange of opinions continues, and Trump continues to be drawn into it, then, one way or another, he will probably have to take some action. In my opinion, so far this is only at the level of words," Lukyanov told local private news channel RBC TV.

Following the American leaders statements, the Moscow Exchange index plummeted 2,709.26 points (0.99%) by 08:01 pm Moscow time (10:31 pm IST) on Friday.

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Earlier, responding to a media question over US State Department Secretary Marco Rubios recent interview with Fox News, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia agrees with the US administration that a direct military confrontation between Moscow and Washington must not happen.

While Europeans are hysterically pushing for Ukraines integration into NATO and preparing for potential conflict with Russia, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently reaffirmed a responsible stance, explicitly stating that a direct military confrontation between the United States and Russia must be avoided. We wholeheartedly concur with this position. Such shared understanding has been facilitated through constructive Russian-American dialogue," Lavrov said. PTI VS AMJ AMJ

First Published: August 02, 2025, 03:15 IST

News agency-feeds Enough nuke submarines to control 2 deployed by Trump, says Russian lawmaker

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Pakistans opposition alliance slams hybrid model, demands change in system

Last Updated: August 02, 2025, 00:15 IST

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Islamabad, Aug 1 (PTI) A coalition of Pakistans six opposition parties Friday slammed the current hybrid" political system and called for a national dialogue aimed at creating a new democratic charter.

Leaders of the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Aayeen-e-Pakistan or TTAP (the movement for protection of the constitution of Pakistan) made the demand during a press conference here on the second day of their multi-party conference.

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TTAP, which formed last year and formalised its organisational structure last month, pledged support for all anti-government protests and said they discussed the prevailing political conditions during their conference.

The parties participating in the TTAP and its All-Party Conference (APC) agreed that at this time there is an urgent need for a new democratic charter among all political parties and political forces," TTAP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar said while presenting the alliances resolution.

As a result of the constant attacks of the hybrid system, the Constitution of Pakistan, the human rights given in it from Articles 8 to 11, and the parliamentary democratic system have become meaningless, and today the social contract between the people and the state has been shattered.

Therefore, for the new charter, a complete consensus should be reached among all the political forces in the country after a national dialogue," it read.

The hybrid model that the group referred to was first mentioned by Defence Minister Khwaja Asif, a close aide of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. On June 20, Asif said Pakistan is being governed under a hybrid model" in which the military enjoys a major power share.

The TTAP said that political consensus was needed on the supremacy of the Constitution and parliament, the rule of law, the judiciarys independence and the appointment of a free and independent Election Commission.

The resolution also drew attention to the socio-economic condition of Pakistan and said, This has never been the case in the history of Pakistan. All the participating parties of the conference decided that a comprehensive and common strategy is needed to bring the country out of the current channels." The alliance condemned the unjust imprisonment" of former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, demanding their early release and immediate appointment of their pending cases in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and the Supreme Court for immediate hearing.

It also criticised the recent sentencing against scores of leaders and workers of Khans party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and also took a shot at the judiciary for failing to uphold the law.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, in his reaction to the groups demand, said it aimed to sabotage the economy.

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Tarar also alleged that whenever important diplomatic meetings are due, such as the upcoming visit of the Iranian president, such events take place.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian will visit Pakistan on Saturday to hold talks with the countrys top leadership on enhancing bilateral ties as well as the recent Iran-Israel conflict. PTI SH NPK ZH NPK NPK

First Published: August 02, 2025, 00:15 IST

News agency-feeds Pakistans opposition alliance slams hybrid model, demands change in system

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Tata Motors signs MoU with Green Energy Mobility to supply e-buses to Tamil Nadu

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 19:15 IST

Representational image (Image: News18)

Mumbai, Aug 1 (PTI) Tata Motors on Friday said it has signed an initial pact with Universal Bus Services (UBS) arm Green Energy Mobility for supplying 100 intercity 44-seater electric buses to Tamil Nadu.

The pact was signed in the presence of Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries T R B Rajaa at the Passenger Vehicle Expo 2.0 in Chennai, where Tata Motors is showcasing its latest commercial passenger mobility solutions, the company said.

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This MoU with UBS is a landmark moment in our journey to transform intercity transportation. The Magna EV(e-buses)is designed to redefine long-distance travel in India. We are confident it will set new standards in comfort, efficiency, and sustainability," said Anand S, Vice President and head for commercial passenger vehicle business at Tata Motors.

Rajaa said this initiative directly benefits the people of the state by offering cleaner travel options and affirms the Tamil Nadu governments commitment to building a future-ready, sustainable transport ecosystem.

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These e-buses with up to 300km range on a single charge are equipped with electronic braking system (EBS) and electronic stability control (ESC), Tata Motors said.

With reduced operating costs and zero emissions, this fleet will not only boost our efficiency but also reinforce our commitment to sustainable mobility," said Sunil Kumar Ravindran, Managing Partner, UBS and Director, Green Energy Mobility Solutions. PTI IAS ANU ANU

First Published: August 01, 2025, 19:15 IST

News agency-feeds Tata Motors signs MoU with Green Energy Mobility to supply e-buses to Tamil Nadu

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Three terrorists gunned down in NW Pakistan

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 19:15 IST

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Peshawar, Aug 1 (PTI) Security forces gunned down three terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan on Friday.

The operation was conducted early morning in Datta Khel area of North Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan, resulting in the killing of the three terrorists, official sources said.

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Two other militants sustained injuries but managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

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Security forces have since launched a large-scale search operation in the surrounding areas to apprehend them.

The operation was part of the ongoing efforts to eliminate terrorist hideouts and restore lasting peace in the region. PTI AYZ NPK NPK

First Published: August 01, 2025, 19:15 IST

News agency-feeds Three terrorists gunned down in NW Pakistan

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UP man arrested for spitting on rotis

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 22:30 IST

Representational image (Image: News18)

Baghpat (UP), Aug 1 (PTI) Police arrested a man here on Friday after a purported video showing him spitting on rotis he was making at a roadside eatery went viral on social media.

Circle Officer (CO) Khekra Rohan Chaurasia said, The video, which originated from a dhaba on Pathshala Road, shows an individual spitting on the rotis before placing them on the stove." He said the man has been arrested and further investigations are underway. PTI COR CDN SKY SKY

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First Published: August 01, 2025, 22:30 IST

News agency-feeds UP man arrested for spitting on rotis

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Vatican strikes solar farm deal to become the worlds first carbon-neutral state

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 06:15 IST

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Rome, Aug 1 (AP) Italy agreed Thursday to a Vatican plan to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome, once the source of controversy between the two, into a vast solar farm that the Holy See hopes will generate enough electricity to meet its needs and turn Vatican City into the worlds first carbon-neutral state.

The agreement stipulates that the development of the Santa Maria Galeria site will preserve the agricultural use of the land and minimise the environmental impact on the territory, according to a Vatican statement.

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Details werent released, but the Vatican will be exempt from paying Italian taxes to import the solar panels, but wont benefit from the financial incentives that Italians enjoy when they go solar. Italy, for its part, can use the field in its accounting for reaching the European Unions clean energy targets. Any excess electricity generated by the farm beyond the Vaticans needs would be given to the local community, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not public.

Vatican officials have estimated it will cost under 100 million euros ($114 million) to develop the solar farm, and that once it is approved by the Italian parliament, the contracts to do the work could be put up for bids.

Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher signed the agreement with Italys ambassador to the Holy See, Francesco Di Nitto. The Italian parliament must approve the arrangement since it has financial implications for the territory, which holds extraterritorial status in Italy.

The Santa Maria Galeria site has long been the source of controversy because of electromagnetic waves emitted by Vatican Radio towers located there since the 1950s. The once-rural site, some 35 kilometres (20 miles) north of Rome, is dominated by two dozen short- and medium-wave radio antennae that transmit news from the Catholic Church in dozens of languages around the globe.

Over the years, as the area became more developed, residents began complaining of health problems, including instances of childhood leukaemia, which they blamed on the electromagnetic waves generated by the towers. The Vatican denied there was any causal link but cut back the transmissions.

Pope Francis last year asked the Vatican to study developing the area into a vast solar farm, hoping to put into practice his preaching about the need to transition away from fossil fuels and find clean, carbon-neutral energy sources.

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Pope Leo XIV visited the site in June and affirmed that he intended to see Francis vision through. Leo has strongly taken up Francis ecological mantle, recently using a new set of prayers and readings inspired by Pope Francis environmental legacy.

In the 1990s, at the height of the controversy over the radio towers, residents sued Vatican Radio officials, claiming the emissions exceeded the Italian legal limit, but the court cleared the transmitter. In 2012, the Vatican announced it was cutting in half the hours of transmission from the site, not because of health concerns but because of cost-saving technological advances in internet broadcasting. (AP) AMJ AMJ

First Published: August 01, 2025, 06:15 IST

News agency-feeds Vatican strikes solar farm deal to become the worlds first carbon-neutral state

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Commercial LPG Cylinder Gets Cheaper By Rs 33.50 From August 1; Check City-Wise Rates

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 07:25 IST

LPG Gas Cylinder Price Today: Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders; Check city-wise latest prices

LPG Cylinder Prices

LPG Gas Cylinder Price Today: Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders. The rate of 19 kg commercial LPG gas cylinders has been reduced by Rs 33.50, effective from August 1.

In Delhi, the new price of a 19 kg cylinder is Rs 1,631.5, down by Rs 33.5 from July. In Kolkata, the price has fallen to Rs 1,734.5 after a Rs 34.5 cut. Mumbai now charges Rs 1,582.5 following a Rs 34 reduction, while Chennai prices are down by Rs 34.5 to Rs 1,789.

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Latest Rates Of 19 kg Commercial LPG Gas Cylinders

City New Price (Aug 2025) Reduction vs July 2025 Previous Price (July) Delhi Rs 1,631.5 Rs 33.5 Rs 1,665 Kolkata Rs 1,734.5 Rs 34.5 Rs 1,769 Mumbai Rs 1,582.5 Rs 34.0 Rs 1,616.5 Chennai Rs 1,789 Rs 34.5 Rs 1,823.5

Between April and July 2025, 19 kg LPG prices were cumulatively reduced by Rs 138 in Delhi, Rs 144 in Kolkata, Rs 139 in Mumbai, and Rs 141.5 in Chennai. However, the cost of the 14.2 kg domestic cylinder has remained unchanged since the Rs 50 hike on April 8, 2025, with current prices at Rs 853 in Delhi, Rs 879 in Kolkata, Rs 852.50 in Mumbai, and Rs 868.50 in Chennai.

Will Domestic Cylinders Also Get Cheaper From July 1?

Meanwhile, there has been no change in the price of the 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder. The last revision was on April 7, 2025, when the government hiked domestic LPG prices by Rs 50. Since then, the rates have remained unchanged.

Following the April hike, the price of a 14.2 kg cylinder in Delhi rose to Rs 853. Currently, it is still sold at Rs 879 in Kolkata, Rs 852.50 in Mumbai, and Rs 868.50 in Chennai.

What Are the Domestic LPG Cylinder Prices Across Major Indian Cities (Effective July 1, 2025)?

 Delhi: Rs 853.00

 Mumbai: Rs 852.50

 Kolkata: Rs 879.00

 Chennai: Rs 868.50

LPG prices in India are influenced by several factors, including international LPG prices, crude oil movements, rupee-dollar exchange rates, customs duties, bottling and marketing costs, dealer commissions, and port charges. Indane LPG is available in eight different pack sizes, with 5 kg and 14.2 kg cylinders catering to household consumers and 19 kg, 47.5 kg, and 425 kg cylinders primarily used for commercial and industrial purposes.

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The price cut comes amid expectations of a potential surge in crude oil prices. Analyst NS Ramaswamy of Ventura cited geopolitical tensions, including reports of U.S. President Donald Trump giving Russia a 1012 day deadline on the Ukraine conflict, which could trigger sanctions and secondary tariffs, tightening global supply.

As per the article, WTI Crude (September 2025) is currently at $69.65 with a short-term target of $73 and year-end projections of $76$79, while Brent Oil (October 2025) is around $72.07, with targets of $76 in the near term and $80$82 by year-end. Support levels are expected at $65 for WTI and $69 for Brent.

About the Author Aparna Deb Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a... Read More Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 07:13 IST

News business  economy Commercial LPG Cylinder Gets Cheaper By Rs 33.50 From August 1; Check City-Wise Rates

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Did Indian Oil PSUs Stop Buying Spot Russian Crude Amid Tariff Heat? MEA Responds

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 16:23 IST

Indian state-owned oil refiners have reportedly paused spot purchases of Russian crude in the past week as discounts narrow.

Crude Oil

Indian state-owned oil refiners have paused spot purchases of Russian crude in the past week as discounts narrow and geopolitical pressure intensifies, industry sources told Reuters on Thursday. In a statement, the external affairs ministry said India is guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances.

In securing our energy needs, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances," an external affairs ministry spokesperson stated.

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Earlier in the day, government sources told News18 that the move was driven primarily by economics rather than politics. When Russian oil was initially purchased, it was at a discount. That discount has ended, and oil companies are free to look for cheaper options," one official said, adding that the shift should not be seen as an attempt to please America".

India, the worlds third-largest oil importer, has been the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude in recent months. But in the past week, four of its key state-run refinersIndian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL)have not placed fresh orders for Russian oil, sources familiar with their procurement plans told Reuters.

These refiners, which typically buy Russian barrels on a delivered basis, are now seeking alternative supplies in the spot market, including Middle Eastern grades such as Abu Dhabis Murban and West African crude.

Private refiners Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy continue to import Russian oil, but state-run refiners collectively account for over 60% of Indias 5.2 million barrels per day refining capacity.

The shift comes against the backdrop of renewed threats from US President Donald Trump. On July 14, Trump warned that countries continuing to buy Russian oil would face 100% tariffs unless Moscow agreed to a major peace deal" with Ukraine.

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On Wednesday, Trump went a step further, announcing a 25% tariff on all Indian goods starting August 1, along with an additional penalty on Indias trade with Russia, including energy and defense purchases. I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," Trump said. Indias tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty, starting on August 1st."

India is currently the second-largest buyer of Russian crude after China. Russian oils share in Indias total imports has risen sharply from 0.2% before the Ukraine war to nearly 3540% today.

About the Author Aparna Deb Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a... Read More Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 09:27 IST

News business  economy Did Indian Oil PSUs Stop Buying Spot Russian Crude Amid Tariff Heat? MEA Responds

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Financial Changes From August 01: UPI, Trading Hours, Bank Credit Card Terms Among Others

Curated By :

News18.com Edited By: Aparna Deb



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 07:43 IST

From August 1, NPCI will limit UPI balance checks and set fixed autopay slots. RBI extends call money and repo market hours.

Key financial changes in UPI, SBI's air insurance, trading hours and more from August 01.

Financial Changes Effective From Aug 01: Starting August 01, several changes in the financial domain, ranging from digital payment, credit cards, to the trading market will come into effect. Some of these changes will directly impact you, making it harder for you to avoid them.

Changes In UPI From August 01

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The regulating authority of UPI, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has announced a set of regulatory changes in the predominant digital payment platform. These changes are aimed at making UPI more dependable, seamless, and less prone to disruptions, particularly during peak hours.

The new API usage rules for all banks and payment appsincluding updates to AutoPay and balance check featureswill come into effect from next month.

UPI users will only be able to check their account balance 50 times in a day, from the limitless times as of now.

NPCI has set fixed time slots for UPI autopay transactions. Instead of being processed randomly during the day, payments like subscriptions, EMIs, and utility bills will now be handled at specific times. While the change happens in the background, its expected to improve platform speed and ease congestion.

Moreover, users can check transaction status up to 3 times with a minimum gap of 90 seconds.

Changes In Trading Hours

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced an extension in trading hours for the call money, market repo, and Tri-Party Repo (TREPs) markets in a two-phase rollout starting July 1, 2025.

From July 1, the call money market will operate from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. In the second phase, effective August 1, 2025, the trading hours for market repo and TREPs will be extended, with the new timings set from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

SBI Changes Credit Card Rules

The State Bank of India has announced that it will discontinue the complimentary air accident insurance cover currently offered on several co-branded credit cards. The change will impact cardholders of both ELITE and PRIME variants across multiple partner banks.

Discontinued: Rs 1 Crore Air Accident Insurance

The following cards will no longer offer the Rs 1 Cr air accident insurance:

UCO Bank SBI Card ELITE

Central Bank of India SBI Card ELITE

PSB SBI Card ELITE

KVB SBI Card ELITE

KVB SBI Signature Card

Allahabad Bank SBI Card ELITE

Discontinued: Rs 50 Lakh Air Accident Insurance

The following cards will no longer offer the Rs 50 Lakh air accident insurance:

UCO Bank SBI Card PRIME

Central Bank of India SBI Card PRIME

PSB SBI Card PRIME

KVB SBI Card PRIME

Karur Vysya Bank SBI Platinum Credit Card

South Indian Bank SBI Card PRIME

South Indian Bank SBI Platinum Credit Card

Karnataka Bank SBI Card PRIME

Karnataka Bank SBI Platinum Credit Card

City Union Bank SBI Card PRIME

Allahabad Bank SBI Card PRIME

UBI SBI Platinum Credit Card

OBC SBI Visa Platinum Card

Federal Bank SBI Platinum Credit Card

Bank of Maharashtra SBI Platinum Credit Card (BOM SBI Platinum)

Revision In Gas Cylinder Price

Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of commercial LPG gas cylinders. The rate of 19 kg commercial LPG gas cylinders has been reduced by Rs 33.50, effective from August 1.

In Delhi, the new price of a 19 kg cylinder is Rs 1,631.5, down by Rs 33.5 from July. In Kolkata, the price has fallen to Rs 1,734.5 after a Rs 34.5 cut. Mumbai now charges Rs 1,582.5 following a Rs 34 reduction, while Chennai prices are down by Rs 34.5 to Rs 1,789.

Meanwhile, there has been no change in the price of the 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder.

SEBIs mutual funds overhaul proposal

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a significant overhaul of mutual fund scheme categorisation and rationalisation norms. The draft circular aims to enhance investor clarity, reduce portfolio overlaps, and encourage product innovation.

Under the proposed changes, asset management companies (AMCs) will be allowed to launch a second scheme in the same category if the existing scheme is over five years old and has assets under management (AUM) exceeding Rs 50,000 crore. The new scheme must share similar investment objectives and asset allocation as the original fund but will require a separate information document. Additionally, the existing scheme will stop accepting new subscriptions once the second scheme is introduced. SEBI has invited public feedback on the draft until August 8, 2025.

Changes to NeuCoins expiry rules on HDFC Tata Neu Infinity Credit Card

From August 1, 2025, NeuCoins earned on the HDFC Tata Neu Infinity Credit Card will follow a new expiry policy. Coins earned each month will now expire one year from the month they are credited, with every months earnings carrying a separate expiry date. For instance, NeuCoins earned on August 5, 2025, will expire on August 31, 2026.

All NeuCoins earned before August 1, 2025, will expire on July 31, 2026, regardless of when they were originally earned. This marks a change from the earlier system, where NeuCoins did not expire as long as the card was in regular use.

Spend smartly this festive season

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Indias festive season is just around the corner, starting in August with Raksha Bandhan, followed by Independence Day, Krishna Janmashtami, and Ganesh Chaturthi. During this time, e-commerce platforms, retail chains, and local stores are expected to launch a wave of festive offers and discounts.

To shop smart and avoid debt traps, it is advisable to set a budget, track expenses, and plan purchases with a gift list to prevent impulse buys. Redeeming reward points and using partner bank cards can help you maximise cashbacks and discounts. However, buyers should exercise caution with zero-cost EMIs and bulk purchases, which can lead to unnecessary debt.

About the Author Varun Yadav Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst... Read More Varun Yadav is a Sub Editor at News18 Business Digital. He writes articles on markets, personal finance, technology, and more. He completed his post-graduation diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Inst... Read More

First Published: July 31, 2025, 11:57 IST

News business Financial Changes From August 01: UPI, Trading Hours, Bank Credit Card Terms Among Others

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Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP: Issue Receives 74.10x Subscription On Final Day Of Bidding

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:21 IST

Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP Today: Its grey market premium currently stands at 28%, indicating strong listing gains for investors.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP Today: The initial public offering of Sri Lotus Developers has been closed today, Friday, August 1. The price of the mainboard issue, which aims to raise Rs 792 crore, has been fixed at Rs 150 per share. On the final day of bidding on Friday, the issue received a 74.10 times subscription, garnering bids for 2,74,25,55,800 shares as against the 3,70,13,726 shares on offer.

The retail and NII participation stood at 21.77x and 61.82x, respectively. The QIB category has received a 175.61x subscription.

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The IPOs grey market premium currently stands at 28%, indicating strong listing gains for investors.

Mumbai-based Sri Lotus Developers, founded in 2015, focuses on luxury and ultra-luxury residential and commercial redevelopment projects, with a developable area of 0.93 million sqft as of June 30, 2025.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO Allotment And Listing Date

The IPO will remain open for public subscription between July 30 and August 1. Its basis of allotment will be finalised on August 4, while its listing is scheduled to take place on August 6, 2025.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO Price & Lot Size

The price band of the mainboard IPO, which plans to raise Rs 792 crore, has been fixed at Rs 150 apiece.

For investors, the minimum lot size for the IPO is 100. It means investors will have to apply for a minimum of 100 shares or in multiple thereof. So, retail investors require a minimum capital of Rs 14,000 to apply for the IPO.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP Today

According to market observers, unlisted shares of Sri Lotus Developers Ltd are currently trading at Rs 192 against the upper IPO price of Rs 150. It means a grey market premium or GMP of Rs 42, which is 28% over its issue price.

The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. Grey market premium indicates investors readiness to pay more than the issue price.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO Quota

Sri Lotus Developers said half of the IPO (49.86%) has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 34.9% for retail investors and the remaining 14.96% for non-institutional.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO: Should You Apply?

The IPO of Sri Lotus Developers and Realty Ltd, a Mumbai-based real estate developer focused on luxury and ultra-luxury redevelopment projects in the citys western suburbs, has received positive feedback across brokerage houses. Analysts cite the companys asset-light business model, strong financials, and premium positioning in high-barrier micro-markets as key strengths.

SBI Securities

Rating: Subscribe

SBI Securities underscored the companys asset-light model and net debt-free status, with industry-best EBITDA and PAT margins in FY25.

We recommend investors to subscribe to the IPO at the cut-off price," the brokerage said.

Reliance Securities

Rating: Subscribe

Reliance Securities noted the companys significant financial growth, stating that revenue grew 3.4 times and PAT expanded nearly 7.5 times over FY23FY25." The brokerage highlighted improvements in EPS and fixed asset turnover as signs of efficient capital deployment.

Strong pricing power, a premium brand image, and robust project visibility position it well for sustained growth. Overall, Lotus presents a high-margin, capital-efficient play on Mumbais luxury housing boom. Owing to such developments, we recommend to subscribe," it added.

Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers

Rating: Subscribe for long-term

Anand Rathi emphasised the companys presence in premium micro-markets like Mumbais western suburbs and its customer-centric approach.

Their asset-light model executed through development agreements with landowners and housing societies minimises capital outlay, supports financial flexibility, and ensures robust operating cash flows," the brokerage said.

Angel One

Rating: Subscribe (for long-term)

Angel One found the post-issue P/E of around 32.2 times to be reasonable, given the companys focus on Mumbais high-entry-barrier luxury redevelopment space.

We recommend a subscribe rating for long-term investors," it stated, while also flagging risks such as geographic concentration, regulatory dependence, and execution challenges.

Canara Bank Securities

Rating: Subscribe (for long-term)

Canara Bank Securities highlighted the companys in-house execution model and unique Blue & Green strategy combining prime locations with serene surroundings.

The brand commands a 2022 per cent pricing premium, backed by high customer satisfaction and a celebrity client base we recommend subscribing to the issue for the long term," it said.

KR Choksey Finserv

Rating: Subscribe

KR Choksey acknowledged that the IPO is priced higher than peers (at 24.5x FY25 EBITDA vs. peer average of 20.7x), but believes it is justified.

Given its strong growth, asset-light business model, and superior return profile we assign a subscribe rating to its initial issue," it said.

Mehta Equities

Rating: Subscribe for long-term

Mehta Equities cited expansion into high-value micro-markets like Prabhadevi and Nepean Sea Road, along with strong demand fundamentals.

We recommend subscribe to the issue for long-term," it said, while noting the premium valuation and high expectations set by notable pre-IPO investors, including Bollywood personalities.

Sri Lotus Developers IPO: More Info

The IPO is entirely a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 792 crore with no Offer For Sale (OFS) component.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used for investment in its subsidiaries, Richfeel Real Estate Pvt Ltd, Dhyan Projects Pvt Ltd and Tryksha Real Estate Pvt Ltd for part-funding the development and construction cost of its ongoing projects, Amalfi, The Arcadian and Varun, respectively; besides, a portion will be used for general corporate purposes.

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The Anand Kamalnayan Pandit-promoted company is a real estate developer engaged in the construction of residential and commercial premises in Mumbai, Maharashtra, with a focus on redevelopment projects in the ultra luxury and luxury segments in the western suburbs.

Monarch Networth Capital and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors are the book-running lead managers of the public issue.

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

First Published: August 01, 2025, 10:39 IST

News business  ipo Sri Lotus Developers IPO GMP: Issue Receives 74.10x Subscription On Final Day Of Bidding

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Photo: https://eurosolidarity.org/

The European Solidarity faction in the Verkhovna Rada regards the requirement for the winner of the competition for the position of head of the Bureau of Economic Security (BES), Oleksandr Tsyvynsky, to undergo a polygraph test as legal nihilism and demands that he be immediately appointed to the position in order to avoid accusations from the EU of disrupting reforms and failing to fulfill its obligations.

"The latest statements by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko regarding the government's requirement for the winner of the competition for the position of head of the BES, Oleksandr Tsyvynsky, to undergo a polygraph test are legal nihilism and attempts to talk and delay the process, an attempt to discredit the candidate and the selection committee. There is no such provision in the law on the competition and appointment, and the head of the Government, like all other ministers, must strictly adhere to the law, and not interpret it in a free manner," says the statement published on the website of the political force.

The faction emphasizes that the reform of the BES, as well as the immediate reform and reboot of the ARMA and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), are "key beacons for continued assistance from the IMF and the Ukraine Facility." "The European Commission, which welcomed the restoration of the independence of NABU and SAPO, reminded the Ukrainian authorities that this is not enough. Kyiv is expected to immediately appoint the head of the BES, reboot the State Bureau of Investigation, and abolish the shameful practice of extrajudicial sanctions against the opposition ... We would really not like Ukraine to receive another black mark from Brussels in September for disrupting reforms and failing to fulfill obligations," the statement says.

The European Solidarity recalls that they have registered draft resolution No. 13470 in parliament demanding that the government appoint the head of the BES.

As reported, the commission for the competition for the position of director of the BES first recommended Tsyvynsky to the government on June 25. Three foreign members of the commission voted for him, while Ukrainian representatives cast their votes for two other candidates - Mykhailo Burtovyi and Oleh Borysenko.

The Cabinet of Ministers, which has 10 days to approve the candidate, reviewed the submission on July 7 and, in connection with the SBU letter, asked the commission to resubmit no more than two candidates who would meet all established requirements, including security criteria. Newly appointed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko supported this decision and called it legal.

On July 23, the commission for selecting the director of the BES re-submitted Tsyvynsky's candidacy to the government. At the meeting on July 30, the day before the end of the structural beacon of the program with the IMF, the Cabinet of Ministers did not appoint the director of the BES.

On July 31, Tsyvynsky stated that he had made a request to the Security Service of Ukraine regarding his verification for connections with the Russian Federation during the competition and that the special service had officially confirmed that there were no grounds for not appointing him to the position of Director of the Bureau. Regarding the general situation, the winner of the competition emphasized that the commission had conducted all stages properly and had repeatedly confirmed his candidacy as the only winner.

On August 1, Svyrydenko reported that she had agreed with Tsyvynsky to undergo a polygraph test before the appointment. "This will definitely deprive the situation of any manipulation and allow us to move forward. I expect that next week we will be able to make a corresponding decision that will allow us to update the work of the BES and will be a significant contribution to a positive reboot of relations between the state and business," she said.
Why Did Stock Market Fall Today? Key Factors Behind Sensex, Nifty Decline On August 1; What's Next?

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 16:33 IST

The BSE Sensex tumbles 585.67 points to settle at 80,599.91, while the NSE Nifty declines 203 points to 24,565.35.

Stock Market Today.

Why Did Markets Fall Today? The BSE Sensex tumbled 585.67 points to settle at 80,599.91, while the NSE Nifty declined 203 points to 24,565.35. This is the second day of decline in the domestic market in a row. Experts say the markets are pressured by renewed US tariff threats and punitive duties that could undermine Indias global trade competitiveness.

The Nifty Pharma index led the losses with a 3.3% drop, followed by the Nifty Metal index (down 1.97%) and the IT Index (lower by 1.85%).

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Why Were Markets Down Today?

Here are some of the key factors why markets were down today for the second consecutive day:

Pressure on Pharma Stocks: The Nifty Pharma index slipped 3.3%, posting its third straight day of declines. Sun Pharma led the downturn with a 4.5% slide, followed by losses in Aurobindo Pharma, Gland Pharma, Cipla, Granules India, and Lupin. The slump followed US President Donald Trumps letters to 17 global drugmakers, urging them to slash drug prices in the US to match international benchmarks. The communication also recommended implementing a Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing framework within 60 days, raising regulatory concerns for the sector.

Persistent FII Outflows: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) remained heavy sellers in Indian equities, offloading shares worth Rs 5,588.91 crore on Thursday. The sustained exodus of foreign capital continues to exert downward pressure on domestic indices.

US Tariffs on Indian Exports: Market sentiment took a hit after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Further Modifying The Reciprocal Tariff Rates, which imposes a 25% Reciprocal Tariff, Adjusted" on Indian goods. While nearly 70 countries were impacted by the revised tariff structure, the order notably left out any new sanctions tied to Indias procurement of Russian energy or defence equipment, previously hinted at.

Weak Global Cues: Asian markets traded lower across the board, with benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong slipping into the red. The downbeat mood followed overnight losses on Wall Street, while tepid US futures further dampened risk appetite across the region.

Rise in Market Volatility: The India VIX, often dubbed the fear gauge, rose 2% to 11.77, indicating a spike in investor anxiety. Elevated volatility typically prompts traders to adopt a more cautious approach, limiting aggressive positions and participation.

Whats Next?

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Technical experts said a further decline is likely if the Nifty slips below 24,400. Otherwise, a recovery can be expected.

Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities, said, The Nifty witnessed another sharp decline as it failed to reclaim the 200-DMA on the hourly chart, despite a strong recovery on Thursday. Throughout the day, the index remained below the 50-EMA on the hourly timeframe. On the daily chart, it has broken below the recent consolidation support at 24,600. Sentiment remains weak, with the potential for the correction to extend towards 24,400-24,450. A further decline is likely if it slips below 24,400; otherwise, a recovery can be expected. On the higher side, resistance is seen at 24,60024,650 and 24,850."

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

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:28 IST

News business  markets Why Did Stock Market Fall Today? Key Factors Behind Sensex, Nifty Decline On August 1; What's Next?

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Salary Rs 15,000, Assets Worth Rs 30 Crore: Karnatakas Ex-Clerk Owns 24 Houses, 40-Acre Farm Land

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News18.com Edited By: Manjiri Joshi



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:36 IST

Kalakappa Nidagundi and former KRIDL Engineer Z.M. Chincholkar are accused of misappropriating more than Rs 72 crore by creating fake documents and bills for 96 projects

The discovery was made during a raid by Lokayukta officials. (News18)

A former clerk at the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL) in Koppal, Kalakappa Nidagundi, has been found to have amassed assets worth over Rs 30 crore, despite a modest monthly salary of Rs 15,000. The discovery was made during a raid by Lokayukta officials.

The investigation revealed that Nidagundi, a former daily wage employee, possessed an astonishing amount of wealth, including 24 houses, 4 plots of land, and 40 acres of agricultural land. The assets were registered under his name, as well as the names of his wife and her brother.

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Authorities also seized 350 grams of gold, 1.5 kg of silver ornaments, and four vehicles, including two cars and two two-wheelers.

Nidagundi and former KRIDL Engineer Z.M. Chincholkar are accused of misappropriating more than Rs 72 crore by creating fake documents and bills for 96 projects that were never completed.

Following a complaint to the Lokayukta, officials conducted an inspection with a court order, leading to the shocking discovery of the extensive assets.

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Koppal MLA K Raghavendra Hitnal confirmed that the government is taking the matter seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation to take appropriate action.

The authorities are trying to ascertain if he amassed this wealth out of corrupt practices during his service or through the fake bill scam he was involved in along with Chincholkar after his serviced ended.

About the Author Harish Upadhya Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India's space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi... Read More Harish Upadhya, an Assistant Editor at CNN-News18, reports from Bengaluru. Political reporting is his forte. He also tracks India's space journey, and is passionate about environmental reporting and RTI investi... Read More

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First Published: August 01, 2025, 12:33 IST

News cities  bengaluru-news Salary Rs 15,000, Assets Worth Rs 30 Crore: Karnatakas Ex-Clerk Owns 24 Houses, 40-Acre Farm Land

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Mumbai Metro-7: How Dahisar Beat WEH Traffic, Got Linked To Andheri & Beyond With Ease

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Last Updated: August 06, 2025, 18:18 IST

Mumbai Metro Red Line: What route does the Mumbai Metro-7 from Dahisar East to Gundavali (Andheri E) take? Is it linked to other Metros? How can you reach BKC or Worli from there?

The interlinking of Mumbai Metro lines will make smooth commute across the city possible. (PTI File)

Mumbai Metro Line 7: For some Mumbaiites from the western suburbs, the stress of changing multiple trains to getting stuck in traffic snarls for hours, have become a thing of the past, thanks to Mumbai Metro-7.

With the upcoming 7A (extension to airport) and Line 9 (to Mira-Bhayander) extensions, its importance is only set to growlinking it to suburbs, airport corridors, and key business zones efficiently.

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Mumbai Metro-7: All about the red line

Line 7 (Red Line) connects Dahisar East to Gundavali (Andheri East), covering approximately 16.5 km with 13 elevated stations along the Western Express Highway corridor. Its cost is Rs 6,208 crore. It connects the Mumbai International Airport (CSMIA), SEEPZ, National Park and other commercial and geographical landmarks.

It was launched in two phases:

Phase 1: Dahisar East to Aarey (9 stations; 10.7 km) from April 2, 2022

Phase 2: Extended to Gundavali (remaining 4 stations; 5.8 km) inaugurated on January 19, 2023.

What is the Mumbai Metro-7 route? What are the stations?

Line 7 has 13 stations (all elevated)  Dahisar East, Ovaripada, Rashtriya Udyan, Devipada, Magathane, Poisar, Akurli, Kurar, Dindoshi, Aarey, Goregaon East, Jogeshwari East, Gundavali (Andheri East).

End-to-end travel takes roughly 35 minutes, while the combined journey from Dahisar East to Andheri West via Line 2A/7 is around 75 minutes.

How many trains does Mumbai Metro-7 operate?

Initially deployed 22 rakes, with around 810 in operation for phase-wise service. As of July 2025, three additional rakes have been added, bringing the total to 24, enabling more frequent service.

On July 8, Mumbai Metro 2A and 7 achieved its highest single-day ridership with 3.01 lakh commuters.

What are Mumbai Metro-7 timings?

First train departs Gundavali at 5:55 AM, first from Andheri West at 6:00 AM.

Last train services conclude by around 9:24 PM for both directions.

What is the frequency of Mumbai Metro-7?

Peak hours: Trains every 5 minutes 50 seconds

Off-peak: Around 910 minutes 30 seconds between trains.

How has Mumbai Metro-7 helped Mumbai?

Combined with Line 2A, ridership has hit new highs: daily use around 2.94 lakh commuters as of June 2025.

An IIT-B study found that 81% of riders save 26 minutes per trip, and 63.5% rated service very good." Improvements in travel time, satisfaction, and air quality noted.

#MMRDA#MumbaiMetro#ReshapingMumbaiMumbai Metro crosses yet another milestone of 2 Crore ridership across #Metroline7 & 2A. First phase was commissioned in April 2022 & 2nd on Jan 19th 2023 dedicated in public service by Hon PM Shri @narendramodi ji. pic.twitter.com/aGoLih1QV8 MMRDA (@MMRDAOfficial) April 7, 2023

Is Mumbai Metro-7 connected to other Metro lines?

Line 1 at Gundavali/Andheri East via foot-over bridge to Andheri WEH station

Line 2A at Dahisar East (shared terminal)

Line 6 at JVLR junction (Jogeshwari East)

Line 7A extension (to airport) under construction from Gundavali

Line 9 planned extension towards Mira-Bhayandar via Dahisar

Future interchanges expected with Line 3 (Aqua) and Line 8 (Gold) near the airport zone.

Explained: Mumbai Now Maximum Metro City: How Many Lines Are Running On Which Routes? How Many More To Go?

Is it easy to switch lines from Mumbai Metro-7?

Interchanges at Dahisar East, Gundavali, and JVLR have footbridges or level connectors, making transfers generally straightforward and elevated.

How does Mumbai Metro-7 save time?

The Western Express Highway is one of the most congested roads in Mumbai. What used to take 60-90 minutes by road during peak hours is now reduced to 2530 minutes by Metro. Example: Dahisar East to Andheri East via WEH could take up to 1.5 hours in traffic  Metro Line 7 does it in less than 30 minutes.

Trains run every six-seven minutes during peak hours and every 1012 minutes in off-peak hours. This means no waiting for buses, autos, or delayed trains, especially in rush hours.

Quick switch to Metro Line 1 at Gundavali (Andheri East)/Western Express Highway station enables faster east-west commutes. Cuts down multi-leg travel involving autos or walking between unconnected rail/road points.

Serves key residential and office zones: Dahisar, Kandarpada, Borivali, Goregaon East, Jogeshwari East, and Andheri East.

Office-goers now avoid the slow-moving WEH and save 30-60 minutes daily on round trips.

How has Metro-7 helped Mumbai?

Line 7 serves western suburbs and Andheri East business districts (SEEPZ, Aarey, JVLR), reducing travel time for office commuters along Western Express Highway corridor.

Improved frequency and digital ticketing make it a viable option for working professionals during peak times.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis took a ride on Mumbai Metro today. Earlier this evening, the PM inaugurated two lines of the Mumbai metro.(Video Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/aqjOp20RiP  ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2023

How can Metro-7 connect travellers from Dahisar East to Worli?

Those coming from Dahisar East, check for your nearest station from the list above. You can get off at Gundavli. Change over to Metro-1s (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar) Western Express Highway station. It is a five-minute walk between Metro 7 and Metro-1 through a 58-metre foot overbridge, so plan accordingly. Using Metro-1, travel towards Ghatkopar and get off at Marol Naka. Change over to the underground Metro-3 which will take you to BKC or further to Worli.

How can you get Mumbai Metro-7 tickets?

Ticket options include single-journey tokens, Mumbai 1 NCMC smart card, mobile app, and WhatsApp tickets by messaging Hi" to the official number  91 86526 35500.

Points to remember while buying tickets

Lines 2A and 7 are distinct; you may need separate entry taps if changing lines at Dahisar or Gundavali.

Shared tickets or cross-line token usability is not fully standardized yet.

Last-mile connectivity remains inconsistentsome stations lack covered walkways or feeder access.

What are Mumbai Metro-7 fares?

Fare slabs for Lines 2A and 7 range from Rs 10 (minimum) to Rs 60 (maximum) for combined distance.

These fare slabs apply to Line 7 journeys similarly.

Is Mumbai Metro-7 connected to other public transport?

BEST buses and auto-rickshaws operate near stations at major hubs like Dindoshi, Magathane, and Andheri

Railway:

Western Railway at Andheri East via short pedestrian access

No direct suburban rail interchange at Dahisar yet

Will Mumbai Metro-7 be connected to upcoming/planned lines?

Line 7A (airport link) under construction (3.4 km, 2 stations) will connect Gundavali to CSMIA Terminal 2 by late 2026.

Line 9 extension from Dahisar East to Mira Bhayandar (~13.6 km).

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Connections projected with Lines 3, 8, 2A, 6, and suburban rail across the corridor.

With Agency Inputs

About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 17:24 IST

News cities  mumbai-news Mumbai Metro-7: How Dahisar Beat WEH Traffic, Got Linked To Andheri & Beyond With Ease

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Ninth Time's The Charm: Woman Marries 8 Men For Money, Caught While Seeking New Partner

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:44 IST

Sameera Fatima, a teacher, was arrested in Nagpur for marrying multiple men under false pretenses and extorting money.

Sameera Fatima is said to be a teacher by profession. (Image Credit: X)

A woman accused of marrying multiple men under false pretences and extorting large sums of money from them was arrested in Nagpur. Authorities said that the accused, identified as Sameera Fatima, was apprehended on July 29 while allegedly attempting to entrap a prospective ninth victim.

Sameera Fatima, who is said to be a teacher by profession, married at least eight men over the past 15 years and operated in coordination with a wider group that uses marriage as a means to blackmail and extort money- primarily from affluent, married Muslim men- the police said.

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She would identify and reach out to potential victims through matrimonial websites and social media platforms such as Facebook," an official told NDTV, adding, Often, she introduced herself as a divorcee with a child, using fabricated stories to gain sympathy and trust."

Once trust was established, police alleged, Sameera Fatima would enter into a nikah (marriage contract), only to subsequently demand large sums of money under the threat of legal action, public embarrassment or false claims. In some cases, the money was transferred through bank channels while in others it was paid in cash.

One complainant told police that Sameera Fatima had extorted Rs 50 lakh from one individual and Rs 15 lakh from another, including individuals linked to senior positions in the Reserve Bank of India. Officials suspect the total amount defrauded could be significantly higher.

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Though she had previously evaded arrest- at one point, by claiming to be pregnant- Sameera Fatima was eventually located and taken into custody at a tea shop in Nagpur, where she was reportedly meeting a new potential target.

Investigations are ongoing to determine the full extent of the network and to identify any accomplices, the police said.

Location : Nagpur, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 17:44 IST

News cities  mumbai-news Ninth Time's The Charm: Woman Marries 8 Men For Money, Caught While Seeking New Partner

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104 Of 125 Students Fail In AIIMS Gorakhpur Internal Exam, 83 Failed In At Least Two Subjects

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:55 IST

AIIMS Gorakhpur: 94 students failed in Physiology, 78 in Biochemistry, and 13 in Anatomy exam. Some students scored less than 25 out of 100 in Physiology.

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This is reported to be the worst performance at AIIMS Gorakhpur in six years. (Representative/File Photo)

A shocking result has emerged from the internal examination of the second semester of the MBBS 2024 batch at AIIMS Gorakhpur. Out of 125 students, 104 have failed, causing a stir within the institute. This exam aims to test students preparations before the final exam, but this time, the results were very disappointing, leaving the administration in shock.

Reports indicate that most students failed in basic subjects like Physiology and Biochemistry. Specifically, 94 students failed in Physiology, 78 in Biochemistry, and 13 in Anatomy. Additionally, 83 students failed in at least two subjects, raising concerns about their future studies. Some students scored less than 25 out of 100 in Physiology.

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This is reported to be the worst performance at AIIMS Gorakhpur in six years. The college administration, recognising the seriousness of the situation, has summoned the heads of the relevant departments to provide a report on the matter. It is believed that there could be a deficiency in the teaching methods, or a significant lapse in student preparation. Questions are arising about whether the students received adequate guidance and support or if they are struggling to understand the syllabus. The college administration is taking this issue seriously and is preparing to implement corrective measures.

ALSO READ | Mother-Daughter Duo From Tamil Nadu Cracks NEET UG

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The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has extended the NEET UG 2025 Round 1 counselling registration till August 3. Those eligible and interested can apply by visiting the official website at mcc.nic.in.

As per the revised schedule for Round 1 NEET Counselling 2025, the payment for Round 1 must be completed by August 4, up to 3 pm. The deadline for choice filling is August 3, and choice locking is available on August 3 from 6 pm until 11:59 pm. Seat processing will take place on August 4 and 5, with the seat allotment results being declared on August 6. Finally, the reporting period for Round 1 will be held from August 7 to 11.

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

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First Published: August 01, 2025, 17:50 IST

News education-career 104 Of 125 Students Fail In AIIMS Gorakhpur Internal Exam, 83 Failed In At Least Two Subjects

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IIT Kanpur Faculty, IIT Roorkee Ex-Director Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi Appointed IIT BHU VC

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 13:53 IST

Prof. Chaturvedi has a longstanding connection with BHU. From 1994 to 1996, he served as a professor in the Department of Electronics Engineering at IIT BHU.

Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi's tenure is for three years. (Image: News18 Hindi)

President Draupadi Murmu has approved the appointment of Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi as the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, and he will assume the role as the 29th Vice Chancellor of BHU starting August 1, 2025. Prof. Chaturvedis tenure is for three years, and he can hold this position until he reaches the age of 70.

Prof. Chaturvedi has a longstanding connection with BHU. From 1994 to 1996, he served as a professor in the Department of Electronics Engineering at IIT BHU. Thus, his new role signifies a homecoming for him. He is the grandson of Acharya Parshuram Chaturvedi, a renowned scholar of saint literature, which deeply connects him with culture and education. His familiarity with the environment at BHU will be an asset.

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Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi has impressive academic credentials. He completed his education at IIT Kanpur, earning a BTech, MTech, and PhD.

After leaving IIT BHU in 1996, he became a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at IIT Roorkee. He returned to IIT Kanpur in 1999, where he held significant positions such as Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Dean (R&D), and Deputy Director. He was appointed as a professor in August 2012 and has held the Sanjay and Rachna Pradhan Chair Professorship since March 2015.

In 2017, he became Director of IIT Roorkee, a position he held for an extended period. Recently, he was also given the additional role of Director (Acting) of IIT Mandi.

Prof. Chaturvedi is renowned in the field of technology, particularly for his work in waveform shaping, sequence design, and MIMO systems, which have gained international recognition. He remained active in this field until January 2022.

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Prof. Chaturvedi has received numerous awards for his contributions. In 2008, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore awarded him the Tan Chin Tuan Fellowship. He received the INSA Teacher Award in 2017 and the IIT Kanpur Distinguished Teacher Award in 2007. He was recognised as the Best Supervisor of BTech Project (BTP) in 2002, 2006, and 2012. He spoke at the 15th National Conference on Communication in 2009 and mentored the team that won the Microsoft Innovation Award in the 2002 IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition.

Prof. Chaturvedis extensive experience with BHU and his background at IIT make him uniquely qualified for this role. His expertise will be invaluable to the university in advancing technology and research.

About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, latest in ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 13:44 IST

News education-career IIT Kanpur Faculty, IIT Roorkee Ex-Director Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi Appointed IIT BHU VC

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Success Story: Uttarakhand Girl Writes Exam Using Her Feet, Secures All-India 2nd Rank

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 13:37 IST

Born without hands, Ankita Topal wrote her own destiny with her feet. Securing AIR 2 in JRF, she proved courage shapes success more than circumstance

In February 2025, after two years of rigorous preparation, Ankita Topal secured All India Rank 2 in the JRF examination conducted by the National Testing Agency. (Local18)

Success Story: When determination is strong, even the toughest challenges retreat. In moments when we feel stuck or incapable, whom do we blame, fate, our circumstances, or our own physical limitations? Consider the inspiring tale of a young woman who was born without hands, yet never let that define her. Ankita Topal, from Chamoli in Uttarakhand, chose to write not only with her feet but also her future, with resilience, self-belief, and a refusal to give up.

Today, her name echoes across India as the second-highest scorer in one of the countrys most competitive exams, the JRF (Junior Research Fellowship).

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Turning Adversity Into Strength

Ankita was born without both hands in Didoli village, Karnaprayag block of Chamoli district. What many might have seen as a limitation, she turned into her greatest strength.

From holding pens to writing and studying, everything was done using her feet. Her journey through education was never easy, especially without access to special facilities. Yet, she completed her 10th Standard from Dewal Vikaskhand, her 12th Standard from Rishikesh, and went on to do a postgraduate degree in History from Dehradun.

Cracking One Of Indias Toughest Exams

In February 2025, after two years of rigorous preparation, Ankita secured All India Rank 2 in the JRF examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

This exam, aimed at students wishing to pursue research and lectureship in higher education, is fiercely competitive. Her outstanding result has earned her not only a place in a PhD programme but also financial support from the Indian government to pursue her research.

A Familys Pride And A Nations Inspiration

Ankitas father, Prem Singh Topal, recalls never imagining his daughter would achieve such heights. But Ankita never once saw herself as weak. Her determination in the face of adversity has now become an inspiration, not just for girls in Chamoli or Uttarakhand, but for countless young people across India.

Her message is simple yet powerful: If I can do it, so can you.

What Is The JRF Exam?

The Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) is a national-level exam that qualifies candidates for research roles in central universities and provides them with government-funded scholarships.

Conducted twice a year (typically in June and December/January), it is one of the most competitive academic exams in India.

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More Than Just A Rank

Ankitas story goes beyond her rank. It is a reminder that strength lies not in physical ability, but in the will to persevere. She has redefined what it means to be resilient, and has sent a clear message to anyone who feels powerless: you are the author of your own fate. Her journey is not just a success story, it is a legacy of unyielding spirit and belief in oneself.

Location : Chamoli, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 13:37 IST

News education-career Success Story: Uttarakhand Girl Writes Exam Using Her Feet, Secures All-India 2nd Rank

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UP Govt To Hire District Coordinators For Basic Schools, Salary Rs 40,000 Per Month

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 09:18 IST

UP government to appoint District Coordinators in basic schools under NIPUN Bharat Mission on contract to boost education quality across primary and upper primary levels

The appointed District Coordinators will be responsible for overseeing and improving teaching standards in council schools. (News18 Hindi)

To enhance the quality of education in council-run schools, the UP government has taken a significant step under the NIPUN Bharat Mission. To accelerate progress, the state will appoint one District Coordinator in each district on a contractual basis.

This move is seen as a major push towards achieving foundational learning goals and ensuring improved academic standards in Uttar Pradeshs primary and upper primary schools.

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Role And Responsibilities

The appointed District Coordinators will be responsible for overseeing and improving teaching standards in council schools, in line with the objectives of the NIPUN Bharat Mission. Their role will involve monitoring classroom practices, supporting and training teachers, and coordinating mission-related activities at the grassroots level.

They will act as a bridge between the schools and the Education Department, contributing towards the overall advancement of basic education in the district.

Age Limit And Qualifications

Applicants must be aged between 21 and 45 years. A graduate degree or its equivalent from a recognised university is required. Preference will be given to candidates with prior experience in the education sector.

Strong leadership skills, effective communication, and a commitment to educational development are also key attributes sought for this role.

Salary And Selection Process

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Selected coordinators will receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 40,000. The appointment will be made on a contractual basis. Candidates will be assessed through a written examination, interview, and experience evaluation. The government has issued clear instructions to ensure a transparent and merit-based selection process.

This initiative is part of the states broader efforts to uplift government schools and deliver quality foundational learning to children, laying a stronger educational base for future generations.

Location : Uttar Pradesh, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 09:18 IST

News education-career UP Govt To Hire District Coordinators For Basic Schools, Salary Rs 40,000 Per Month

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Amid Donald Trumps Penalty For Business With Russia, US-Moscow Trade Ties Explained

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 19:32 IST

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between January and May 2025, U.S. exports to Russia totalled approximately $231.7 million, while imports from Russia reached $2.091 billion

Despite sanctions, the U.S. continues to import some strategic materials from Russia. (AP File)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday imposed a 25% tariff on India as part of a sweeping trade action targeting nearly 70 countries, according to an executive order released by the White House. On social media platform Truth Social, Trump criticised India over its trade policies and close ties with Russia. Declaring that the US had a massive trade deficit" with India, Trump said: India is our friend, but we have done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any country."

He also attacked India for buying Russian military equipment and energy, saying: They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia and are Russias largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine  all things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25% plus a penalty for the above, starting on August 1MAGA!"

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Even as Trump imposes the penalty" for business with Russia, how much trade does the US do with Moscow?

What did the US say about India-Russia trade ties?

Russia over the years has been selling crude oil to India at a discount  which has resulted in New Delhi saving billions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed India, saying that New Delhi buying oil from Moscow was funding its Ukraine war.

Rubios remarks came after Trump earlier took to social media to slam India and Russia, saying they can take their dead economies down together". I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Trump added that India has always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia". They are Russias largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine", he added.

How much trade does US do with Russia?

On the decline

In 2024, the total value of U.S.Russia goods trade was estimated at $3.5 billion, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). This marked a significant decline from 2023, largely due to heightened sanctions and ongoing geopolitical tensions. U.S. goods exports to Russia fell by 12.3%, totaling $526.1 million, a decrease of approximately $73.5 million compared to the previous year. U.S. imports from Russia dropped even more sharplydown 34.2% to $3.0 billion, a fall of around $1.6 billion. As a result, the U.S. trade deficit with Russia decreased by 37.5%, amounting to $2.5 billion, which was $1.5 billion less than the deficit in 2023.

The decline in U.S.Russia trade has been consistent since Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, the U.S. exported around $599 million worth of goods to Russia and imported $4.57 billion, resulting in a $3.97 billion trade deficit. In 2024, this deficit narrowed significantly due to falling imports. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau also shows that by the first five months of 2025, total U.S. imports from Russia were down to $2.1 billion, while exports stood at $232 million.

On a sectoral level, U.S. exports to Russia in 2024 were minimal and highly fragmented. The top categories included printed books, live animals, fruits and nuts, aircraft parts, ceramic goods, and dairy products. Most of these were valued under $200,000 per category, reflecting the impact of sanctions and export restrictions. U.S. companies are largely unable to engage in significant trade with Russia in areas such as high-tech, energy, defense-related goods, and dual-use technologies.

But not fully shut

However, despite sanctions, the U.S. continues to import some strategic materials from Russia. These include enriched uranium (valued at about $596 million in early 2025) and palladium (around $502 million), both of which are essential for nuclear power and catalytic converters, respectively. These items are exempt from full sanctions due to a lack of alternative global suppliers and national security considerations.

US-Russia numbers at a glance

According to the United States Trade Representative, U.S. total goods trade with Russia were an estimated $3.5 billion in 2024.

U.S. goods exports to Russia in 2024 were $526.1 million, down 12.3 percent ($73.5 million) from 2023.

U.S. goods imports from Russia totalled $3.0 billion in 2024, down 34.2 percent ($1.6 billion) from 2023.

The U.S. goods trade deficit with Russia was $2.5 billion in 2024, a 37.5 percent decrease ($1.5 billion) over 2023.

In 2022, the US imported goods worth $15 billion from Russia. As of May 2025, the US imports from Russia were at $2.1 billion. This included imports of $196 million in January, $339 million in February, $523 million in March, $492 million in April, and $539 million in May. The US imported fertilisers, precious metals, inorganic chemicals, wood products, and some machinery from Russia.

US-Russia trade in 2025

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between January and May 2025, U.S. exports to Russia totalled approximately $231.7 million, while imports from Russia reached $2.091 billion, resulting in a goods trade deficit of $1.859 billion during the period. These figures represent monthly trade such as Januarys $34.9 million exports against $196.2 million imports, and Mays roughly $51.4 million exports versus $539.6 million imports.

#WATCH | Delhi | MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, Our ties with any country stand on their merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership." pic.twitter.com/FBN67Lnk46 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

What India said

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India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial bilateral trade agreement over the last few months. We remain committed to that objective. The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs," the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest, as has been the case with other trade agreements including the latest Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the UK," the government said.

With inputs from agencies

About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 19:10 IST

News explainers Amid Donald Trumps Penalty For Business With Russia, US-Moscow Trade Ties Explained

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Trump Deserves Nobel Peace Prize, Says White House: How Is A Winner Selected? Explained

Curated By :

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 14:40 IST

Trump & Nobel Peace Prize: Who can nominate? How many nominations have been received? How many US Presidents got the award? What is the 50-year secrecy clause? Explained

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has ended six conflicts. (AI generated/News18)

Saying that the US President has brokered one peace deal per month during his six months in office, a White House official on Thursday called for a Nobel Peace Prize for Donald Trump.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has ended six conflicts, including those between Israel and Iran and India and Pakistan, adding that it is well past time that Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize".

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President Trump has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia," Leavitt said.

What is the Nobel Peace Prize?

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the original prizes established by Alfred Nobels will in 1895. It is awarded to individuals, organizations, or movements that:

shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Who awards the Nobel Peace Prize?

Unlike the other Nobel Prizes (which are awarded in Sweden), the Peace Prize is awarded in Norway by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee

A five-member committee appointed by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting).

Members are usually retired politicians, academics, or public figures with experience in diplomacy, international law, or human rights.

Who can nominate?

A nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is only considered valid if submitted by a person who meets certain criteria. According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is considered valid if it is submitted by a person who falls within one of the following categories, a personal application for an award will not be considered:

Members of national assemblies and national governments (cabinet members/ministers) of sovereign states as well as current heads of state

Members of The International Court of Justice in The Hague and The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague

Members of lInstitut de Droit International

Members of the International Board of the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom

University professors, professors emeriti and associate professors of history, social sciences, law, philosophy, theology, and religion; university rectors and university directors (or their equivalents); directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes

Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Members of the main board of directors or its equivalent of organizations that have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

Current and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee (proposals by current members of the Committee to be submitted no later than at the first meeting of the Committee after 1 February)

Former advisers to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Nominations for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

According to the Nobel prize website, there are 338 candidates nominated for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, of which 244 are individuals and 94 are organisations. This is a significant increase from last year when there were 286 nominees. The highest number of nominees was in 2016, with 376 candidates. The nomination deadline for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 was on 31 January.

What is the deadline?

Nominations must be submitted by January 31 each year.

The confidentiality clause

Nominations are kept secret for 50 years.

Neither the nominees nor the nominators are told whether their submissions were accepted.

How are the winners selected?

Review: The committee reviews all nominations received.

Expert Input: Independent reports and assessments are commissioned from outside experts in international relations, human rights, etc.

Shortlist: A shortlist of candidates is created.

Deliberation: The committee meets several times between February and October.

Decision: The committee votes. A majority vote is required.

Announcement: The Peace Prize winner is announced in early October.

Award Ceremony: Held in Oslo, Norway on December 10.

What does the laureate receive?

A gold Nobel medal

A diploma

A cash prize (varies each year, often around 10 million SEK  ~$900,000 USD)

How many US Presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize?

A total of four US Presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize:

1. Theodore Roosevelt in 1906

For: Mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Also recognized for efforts in international arbitration and the Hague Peace Conference.

2. Woodrow Wilson in 1919

For: For founding the League of Nations, the forerunner to the United Nations, after World War I. Recognized for his vision of international cooperation and peace.

3. Jimmy Carter (awarded after presidency) in 2002

For: Decades of peaceful conflict resolution, human rights advocacy, and mediation work through the Carter Center. Although he was awarded after leaving office, his efforts spanned both during and after his presidency.

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4. Barack Obama in 2009

For: Extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples", especially regarding nuclear disarmament. Award was controversial, as it came early in his first term.

About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing special copies ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 13:50 IST

News explainers Trump Deserves Nobel Peace Prize, Says White House: How Is A Winner Selected? Explained

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Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and Japanese Ambassador to Kyiv Masashi Nakagome discussed the upcoming Ukrainian-Japanese Business Forum scheduled for the autumn, as well as preparations for the arrival of two Japanese business missions.

"Today I met with Ambassador of Japan Masashi Nakagome. On August 5, Ukraine will celebrate its National Day at EXPO-2025 in Osaka. This special event will serve as an expression of our sincere gratitude to the international community for their continued support," she said on the X social network on Friday, noting that she thanked the ambassador for the invitation, but she would remain in Kyiv, "where we are finalizing our government's action plan with the team."

According to Svyrydenko, at the meeting with the ambassador, "we also discussed the upcoming Ukraine-Japan business forum planned for the fall, as well as preparations for the arrival of two Japanese business missions." The prime minister said that work on the investment agreement "is progressing well  our goal is to sign it this autumn." Svyrydenko also said that another important topic was Japan's potential participation in the Cultural Resilience Alliance, an international initiative launched by Ukraine to support cultural recovery and resilience in wartime.

"We deeply value Japan's partnership and look forward to strengthening our cooperation across investment, culture, and postwar recovery," she said.

The 2025 World Expo, Expo 2025, will be held in Osaka, Japan. It will last six months in 2025: from April 13 to October 13. The exhibition is titled "Designing Future Society for Our Lives" with subthemes "Saving Lives," "Empowering Lives" and "Connecting Lives."
What Is Digital Arrest And Why Do Indians Keep Falling For It?

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 16:14 IST

A Gujarati doctor was duped into transacting Rs 19 crore after she was digitally arrested by fraudsters who accused the woman of having objectionable content on her phone.

Digital arrests have been on the rise in India. (Representative image)

Tinder date scams, credit card scams, home loan scams, Microsoft scams, anti-virus scams  Indians cant seem to catch a break. And now, theres a new scam in town and it has left the victims scarred for life. Recently, a Gujarat-based doctor ended up transferring Rs 19 crore after she received a call by the authorities" who told her that she had objectionable content on phone. Then the blackmailing began. The doctor, fearing became the victim of a digital arrest". The callers disguised themselves as sub-inspector, public prosecutor, among others. These scammers instilled fear in the doctor who began sending out her lifesavings to safeguard herself from a money laundering" case.

What Is Digital Arrest?

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Digital arrest is a cyber scam where a victim receives calls or emails from fraudsters posing as law enforcement. These callers arrest" the unsuspecting victims and blackmail them by extorting money or sharing personal information for the crimes they have not committed. With nowhere to go and cornered by the fear tactics, the victims end up losing money or data to these scammers.

Scammers Go After Big Fish

The aforementioned sensational case of Gujarat doctor losing Rs 19 crore to digital arrest was only the tip of the iceberg. According to reports, the fraudsters, riding high on their catch, even secured a loan against the doctors gold jewellery. They transferred those funds as well.

Ankush Bahuguna

Earlier in January, popular social media personality Ankush Bahuguna had revealed that he had become a victim of digital arrest. Recounting the 40 hours of being held hostage" by the fraudsters, Bahuguna shared that he was coerced into making financial transactions after they accused him of false accusations.

How could a social media influencer fall for digital arrest asked fans and trolls.

Also Read: Ankush Bahuguna REACTS To Those Asking How He Could Fall For Digital Arrest Scam: Its Easy To Say But

To everyone saying how could you fall for it its a scam  Its easy to say but not everybody reacts the same way to panic, not everybody is aware of this scam, so many people have lost lakhs & crores to this scam. These people do research on you & tell you things they know will affect you & thats exactly what happened. I dont wish this on anyone. Stay safe and instead of calling this stupid, make ppl around you aware of it," wrote Bahuguna on Instagram.

Bahuguna revealed that he received an automated call from an international number claiming a cancelled package delivery, prompting him to press zero and connect to a scammer who alleged a package with illegal substances linked to his Aadhar details was sent to China. The scammer warned of a serious crime and an arrest warrant, pressuring a panicked Ankush by claiming there was no time to visit a police station. The representative then offered to connect him directly to the police, exploiting his fear in a digital arrest scam.

Bengaluru Women Forced To Strip

Two women were made to strip on a video call for a medical examination" to identify birthmarks and tattoos. The fraudsters, posing as Mumbai cops, recorded their video and started blackmailing them. The two women endured a 9-hour call in what became the digital arrest from hell.

Also Read: Bengaluru Women Forced To Strip On Call During Digital Arrest By Fake Cops

First Conviction

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Earlier in July, nine were convicted in a digital arrest by West Bengal court. The convicts were found guilty of duping a retired agricultural scientist of nearly Rs 1 crore.

The accused persons were found guilty under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:13 IST

News explainers What Is Digital Arrest And Why Do Indians Keep Falling For It?

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BSF Jawan Goes Missing From HQs In Srinagar, Untraceable Despite Extensive Search

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 11:05 IST

The missing jawan was identified as Sugam Choudhary. Extensive search operation was launched to trace him.

BSF jawan goes missing from Srinagar (PTI Image, used for representational purposes)

A Border Security Force jawan went missing from the battalion headquarters in Jammu and Kashmirs Srinagar in the late hours of Thursday, after which an extensive search operation was launched to trace him, according to a report.

The missing jawan was identified as Sugam Choudhary, who is a part of the 60th Battalion stationed at Panthachowk. He remains untraceable despite efforts to look for him in nearby areas, India Today reported.

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A missing report has been filed, and efforts are being made to search for him.

The turn of events comes as the security forces have ramped up anti-terror operations across Jammu and Kashmir since the Pahalgam terror attack.

Earlier this week, the mastermind of the Pahalgam terror attack  Suleman Shah  and two other terrorists were gunned down by the forces under Operation Mahadev in the Dachigam area of Srinagar.

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Two more terrorists were neutralised after they attempted to infiltrate through the Line of Control in the Poonch sector under Operation Shiv Shakti a day later.

Several terrorists and their supporters have also been arrested during the months-long crackdown in the area.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

Location : Srinagar, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 11:03 IST

News india BSF Jawan Goes Missing From HQs In Srinagar, Untraceable Despite Extensive Search

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Delhi High Court Disposes Of Plea Against Udaipur Files Movie Release

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 15:43 IST

The Govt is withdrawing its order to cut scenes from "Udaipur Files" after the Delhi HC questioned its authority. The film faces criticism for spreading hatred against Muslims.

'Udaipur Files' in legal trouble | Image: X

The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) has announced that the Government is withdrawing its July 21 order, which recommended six cuts in the movie Udaipur Files". This decision comes after the Delhi High Court questioned the Centres authority to direct cuts in the film while exercising revisional powers.

The Delhi High Court on Friday disposed of two petitions seeking a stay of the release of the movie after noting the statement.

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The High Court has directed the parties to appear before the revisional authority on Monday. The HC has directed the authority to take an appropriate decision by Wednesday.

The movie is based on the murder of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor from Udaipur who was killed in June 2022. Islamic scholar Arshad Madani and Mohammed Javed, one of the accused in the murder case, moved the apex court against the release of the movie, saying it spreads hatred against Muslims and was deeply communal.

A petition seeking the release of the movie was filed by movie producers against the Delhi High Court order that stayed the release of the movie and asked the Central government to review it first. The Supreme Court allowed the government to review the film, and a panel appointed by the government asked producers to make certain changes before release.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Madani, argued that the film spreads hatred against Muslims and that hate speech should not be protected as free speech. He said, The whole movie is that. Everything about this movie spews venom against a community that is targeted."

The movie revolves around the accused in the case, Mohammad Riyaz and Mohammad Ghous, who allegedly murdered and beheaded Lal over a social media post he shared supporting a former BJP leader.

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The daylight killing triggered widespread national outrage. However, Madani contended that the film unjustly generalises the crime, portraying an entire community as either complicit in or supportive of terrorism.

The trial continues in the Special NIA Court, with hearings set to resume after the courts summer break.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 15:43 IST

News india Delhi High Court Disposes Of Plea Against Udaipur Files Movie Release

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'Previous Govt Set Hindu Terrorism Narrative': Fadnavis Says Malegaon Verdict 'Exposed Conspiracy'

Curated By :

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 13:25 IST

Devendra Fadnavis accused the UPA government of fabricating the saffron terror narrative for vote-bank politics after the Malegaon blast acquittals.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (Photo: PTI)

A day after all seven accused in the Malegaon blast case were acquitted, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the Congress-led UPA government of trying to set the saffron terrorism narrative and alleged that officers from that time tried to frame Hindu religious leaders and organisations.

His remark came as former Anti-Terrorism Squad officer, Mehboob Mujawar, while speaking on the 2008 Malegaon blast case, had said that his statements on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat or the probe in the case were under the orders of former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

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Whatever I said about Mohan Bhagwat or about my investigation was all under the orders of Param Bir Singh and even higher authorities," Mujawar admitted.

According to their instructions, I was provided with 10 personnel from Maharashtra to assist me. I was given funds from the Service Secret Fund, and the ATS officially issued me a revolver," he added.

Commenting on the same, Fadanavis said, The conspiracy of 2008 has been exposed before everyone. The government at that time, for the sake of vote-bank politics, coined terms like Hindu terror and saffron terrorism."

At that time, large-scale terrorist incidents were happening across the world, and Islamic terrorism was a topic of discussion worldwide. To avoid angering their vote bank and to make it seem like they were maintaining balance, they created the notion of Hindu terrorism and arrested people," he said.

But, despite much effort, no solid evidence was found. Layer by layer, this conspiracy is coming to light," the Maharashtra Chief Minister said.

#WATCH | Nagpur: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says, The conspiracy of 2008 has been exposed before everyone. The government at that time, for the sake of vote-bank politics, coined terms like Hindu terror and saffron terrorism. At that time, large-scale pic.twitter.com/DVZ5lxO36E ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

On Thursday too, Fadnavis had claimed that police acted under the UPA governments pressure while probing the 2008 Malegaon blast, and Congress should apologise to the Hindus for the fake narrative of saffron terror."

Fadnavis claimed that the probe was a conspiracy to defame the Hindus. The future course of action will be decided after studying the judgment, he had said, speaking to reporters in Mumbai.

Congress should apologise to the acquitted accused and Hindu society," he demanded.

Also commenting on former Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavans Sanatani remark, Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said, Whether its saffron, Sanatani, or Hindu, there is no difference. All of these are inspired by nationalist ideologies."

Layer by layer, this conspiracy is being exposed. At that time, there was Islamic terrorism, and it still exists. But no one ever said that all Muslims are terrorists. Now, many serious things will come to light," he added.

Nagpur, Maharashtra: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis says, Prithviraj Chavan, tell your allies too, because the government they were part of Manmohan Singhs government, in which they held charge of the Prime Ministers Office, that very government labeled it as Bhagwa pic.twitter.com/OM8XYZmAGJ IANS (@ians_india) August 1, 2025

Chavan stirred a controversy on Thursday with a sharp reaction to the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

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While speaking to reporters, Chavan alleged that the case was deliberately weakened and raised serious questions about the investigation under the BJP-led government.

ALSO READ | Who Is Mehiboob Mujawar? Witness In Malegaon Case & Ex-ATS Cop Asked To Arrest Mohan Bhagwat

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 12:22 IST

News india 'Previous Govt Set Hindu Terrorism Narrative': Fadnavis Says Malegaon Verdict 'Exposed Conspiracy'

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Encounter Breaks Out Between Terrorists, Security Forces In J&Ks Kulgam

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 21:12 IST

An encounter erupted between terrorists and security forces in Akhal Devsar, Kulgam district, Jammu and Kashmir.

The search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists opened fire at the forces, who retaliated, he said. (X)

An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces in the Akhal Devsar area of Jammu and Kashmirs Kulgam district on Friday.

According to officials, two to three terrorists, believed to be foreigners, are likely engaged in a gunfight with the security forces.

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A joint operation was launched by the Indian Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police.

The Kashmir Zone Police confirmed on its X handle that an encounter has started at Akhal area of Kulgam.

#Encounter has started at Akhal area of district #Kulgam. SOG, J&K Police, Army and CRPF on job. Further details shall follow.@JmuKmrPolice Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) August 1, 2025

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the forest area Akhal after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists there, a police official said, as reported by news agency PTI.

The search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists opened fire at the forces, who retaliated, he said.

The official said the cordon is being strengthened, and additional reinforcements have been rushed to the area.

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Earlier this week, the Indian Army, the CRPF, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police neutralised three terrorists involved in the Pahalgam terror attack  Suleiman alias Faizal Jat, Jibran, and Hamza Afghani  in Srinagar as part of Operation Mahadev.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated in the Parliament that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report of the cartridges found in Pahalgam matched the M9 and two AK-47 rifles recovered in Dachigam. The rifles underwent forensic testing in Chandigarh to corroborate the Pahalgam evidence.

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

Location : Kulgam, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 21:12 IST

News india Encounter Breaks Out Between Terrorists, Security Forces In J&Ks Kulgam

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I Was Asked to Arrest Mohan Bhagwat: Ex-ATS Officer Claims Malegaon Probe Was Fabricated

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Abhro Banerjee



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 12:18 IST

The officer further alleged that the investigation was led by a fake officer and called the entire probe a sham.

Forensic experts search for clues at the blast site in Malegaon in 2008. File pic

A retired police inspector, who was part of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) team that initially investigated the 2008 Malegaon blast, has made explosive claims, alleging that he was instructed to apprehend Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as part of a purported attempt to establish the narrative of saffron terror."

Speaking in Solapur on Thursday, retired inspector Mehiboob Mujawar claimed the orders were issued with the objective of creating a false narrative. Reacting to the trial courts verdict acquitting all seven accused, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, Mujawar said the judgment had undone the fake things" carried out by the ATS during its investigation.

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Mujawar further alleged that the investigation was led by a fake officer" and called the entire probe a sham. The verdict exposed the fake investigation done by a fake officer," he said, naming a senior official. He claimed that he was given confidential instructions to target several individuals, including Ram Kalsangra, Sandip Dange, Dilip Patidar, and Bhagwat. I was asked to go and catch Mohan Bhagwat," he said.

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He clarified that he did not carry out the orders, calling them horrific" and beyond reason. It was beyond my capacity to apprehend a towering personality like Mohan Bhagwat. As I did not follow the orders, a false case was registered against me and it destroyed my career of 40 years," Mujawar said, alleging that he has documentary evidence to support his claims.

I cannot say what investigation the ATS did then and why but these orders were not such that one could follow them," he added. Emphatically denying the existence of saffron terror," he concluded, There was no saffron terrorism. Everything was fake." The Malegaon blast case, initially investigated by the ATS, was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

About the Author Yesha Kotak Yesha Kotak, Special Correspondent, CNN-News18, specialises in crime, court and investigative reporting. She describes herself as a print reporter in TV. With six years of experience in journalism, she has been... Read More Yesha Kotak, Special Correspondent, CNN-News18, specialises in crime, court and investigative reporting. She describes herself as a print reporter in TV. With six years of experience in journalism, she has been... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 09:09 IST

News india I Was Asked to Arrest Mohan Bhagwat: Ex-ATS Officer Claims Malegaon Probe Was Fabricated

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India Has Seen 157 Consequential Train Accidents Since 2021-22: Railways

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 20:52 IST

The ministry said that in 2025-26, up to June, three consequential train accidents have been reported on the Indian Railways networkabout one per month on average

Charred wagons lie on the tracks after a goods train carrying diesel caught fire, in Thiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (Image: PTI)

Indian Railways has reported an average of three consequential" train accidents per month since 2021-22, as the country reported 157 such mishaps in the last 51 months, data analysed by News18 shows.

Train accidents can be broadly divided into two categories: consequential and non-consequential. Consequential are those with serious repercussions in terms of loss of human life or injury, damage to railway property, or interruption to rail traffic of laid-down threshold levels and values. These include collisions, fire, derailment, and accidents at the level crossings.

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A total of 35 consequential train accidentsabout three per monthwere reported in 2021-22, the railway ministry told Rajya Sabha on Friday.

In 2022-23, it increased to 48, about four per month on average. The next year, 2023-24, India saw 40 consequential train accidents, more than three per month on average.

In the last financial year, 2024-25, there were 31 consequential train accidents, about three (2.6) accidents per month.

Responding to a series of questions from MP Ramji Lal Suman, the ministry said that in 2025-26, up to June, three consequential train accidents have been reported on the Indian Railways networkabout one per month on average.

During the last three years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25, inquiries in all the cases, except one under investigation by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), have been completed.

The inquiry committees, after due deliberations, submit their findings and recommendations on various accidents. Appropriate action is taken by the respective railway administration for the implementation of the recommendations suggested by the agencies in their report.

Safety is accorded the highest priority on Indian Railways. As a consequence of various safety measures taken over the years, there has been a steep decline in the number of accidents," the ministry said.

Listing the efforts made by the ministry to ensure safety, the reply said that Kavach is a highly technology-intensive system, which requires safety certification of the highest order.

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Kavach was adopted as a National ATP system in July 2020. Kavach is provided progressively in a phased mannerKavach has been successfully commissioned over the Kota-Mathura section (Delhi-Mumbai route) covering 324 Route Kilometres on July 30," the ministry said.

It added that Kavach has already been deployed on 1,548 RKm on South Central Railway and North Central Railway. Presently, work is in progress on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors (approximately 3,000 RKm).

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

First Published: August 01, 2025, 20:52 IST

News india India Has Seen 157 Consequential Train Accidents Since 2021-22: Railways

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Keralas Green Moves: Glass Bottles For Liquor Priced Above Rs 800, Rs 20 Return Refund

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 12:46 IST

In collaboration with the Clean Kerala Company, a pilot project will take place in September in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur

The minister said a similar system has been successfully implemented in Tamil Nadu and the department has studied the method closely. (Local18 File)

In a move to address environmental concerns posed by plastic waste, the excise department has announced two decisions. It has been decided to sell liquor priced above Rs 800 only in glass bottles, instead of plastic ones. Another decision is to charge an additional Rs 20 as a deposit when liquor is bought in plastic and glass bottles from the Bevco (Kerala State Beverages Corporation) outlets in Kerala.

If you return the bottle to the outlet, the amount will also be refunded, said Excise Minister MB Rajesh. A QR code will be placed on the bottle.

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In collaboration with the Clean Kerala Company, a pilot project will take place in September in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur.

The minister said a similar system has been successfully implemented in Tamil Nadu and the department has studied the method closely.

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Of the 70 crore bottles sold annually in the state, 80 per cent are plastic. The minister said this will solve the problem of throwing so many bottles on the streets.

Additionally, Bevcos first super-premium outlet will be inaugurated in Thrissur on August 5. These outlets will sell foreign liquor priced above Rs 900. One super-premium outlet will be started in every district.

About the Author Neethu Reghukumar Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, health in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods ... Read More Neethu Reghukumar, Principal Correspondent at CNN-News18, has 12 years of experience in both print and broadcast journalism. She covers politics, crime, health in Kerala, and has extensively reported on floods ... Read More

Location : Kerala, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 12:46 IST

News india Keralas Green Moves: Glass Bottles For Liquor Priced Above Rs 800, Rs 20 Return Refund

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Madras High Court Restrains Tamil Nadu Govt From Naming Schemes After Living Persons

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 14:16 IST

The court has issued notices to the Tamil Nadu government and the DMK party, seeking their responses to the PIL.

File photo of Tamil Nadu CM MK, Stalin (Representative Image/PTI)

The Madras High Court has issued an interim order restraining the Tamil Nadu government from naming any future public welfare schemesnew or rebrandedafter living individuals. It also barred the use of portraits of former Chief Ministers, ideological leaders, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) partys insignia, emblem, or flag in promotional materials for such schemes.

According to a report by The Hindu, the order was passed by the First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Sunder Mohan while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by AIADMK Member of Parliament C. Ve. Shanmugam. The petition challenged the use of Chief Minister MK Stalins name in the state governments outreach initiative titled Ungaludan Stalin (With You, Stalin).

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The bench clarified that the order does not impede the launch or execution of any welfare schemes. It specifically applies to the naming conventions and promotional content associated with such programmes. The judges noted that the interim decision was based on prima facie observations.

The court has issued notices to the Tamil Nadu government and the DMK party, seeking their responses to the PIL. It also clubbed the petition with a similar case filed by another individual. Both matters are scheduled for further hearing on August 13, after the filing of counter-affidavits and rejoinders.

About the Author Abhro Banerjee Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ... Read More Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 14:16 IST

News india Madras High Court Restrains Tamil Nadu Govt From Naming Schemes After Living Persons

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Multiple SpiceJet Flight Delays Spark Protest At Delhi Airport; Airline Cites Operational Issues

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 07:47 IST

The airline attributed the delay to operational issues and safety concerns, stating that passengers were kept informed with regular updates.

The flight was scheduled to depart for Ahmedabad

Protests sparked at Delhi airport after a SpiceJet flight got delayed several times. Passengers sat on the floor of the boarding gate as they protested.

The SG 9213 flight was scheduled to depart for Ahmedabad from Delhi at 1:10 p.m. on Thursday. However, it got delayed multiple times, according to passengers cited by NDTV.

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Passenger Vaibhavi Chauhan stated that the flights departure time was repeatedly changed  first to 3:40 p.m., then to 6:40 p.m., followed by delays pushing it to 7:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., and finally 9:30 p.m. It ultimately departed later that night.

Responding to the delay, the airlines cited operational issues as the reason and said that it was keeping the passengers in the loop by giving them updates about the rescheduled timings.

The airline stated that the delay was also due to prioritising passenger safety. Meanwhile, frustrated travellers voiced their discontent and raised slogans in protest.

Chauhan, who was travelling to Ahmedabad for his final semester undergraduate exam, claimed that the airline staff behaved rudely.

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After a lot of pressure from passengers, we were provided some refreshments, but still they were not sure which flight will go to Ahmedabad. I have an exam presentation tomorrow and have to be present in Gandhinagar by morning anyhow," he was quoted as saying.

The next flight option they are giving is at 12.30 p.m. tomorrow, which wont work for me and many others," he added.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 07:30 IST

News india Multiple SpiceJet Flight Delays Spark Protest At Delhi Airport; Airline Cites Operational Issues

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Russian strikes on Kyiv demonstrate that Russia is not interested in peace, said Czech President Petr Pavel.

"The night terror against Kyiv has once again confirmed that Russian President Putin is not interested in peace, but in the conquest of Ukraine. The targeted shelling of residential buildings, schools and hospitals is a deliberate war crime. The only way forward is strong international pressure on Russia and effective support for Ukraine," he wrote on the social network X.
NIA Attaches Properties Of D-Company Gang Operatives In Gujarat Double Murder Case

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 16:28 IST

The NIA has attached two properties of Mohammad Yunus, alias Manjro, linked to the 2015 Bharuch double murder case, targeting the Pakistan-based D-Company gang's terror network.

NIA Attaches Properties Of D-Company Gang Operatives In Gujarat Double Murder Case. (News18)

In a significant move against organised crime, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken action against the Pakistan-based D-Company gang, attaching two immovable properties of accused Mohammad Yunus, alias Manjro, linked to the 2015 Bharuch double murder case.

The properties of the arrested accused have been attached under Section 33 (1) of the UA (P) Act on the orders of the NIA Special Court, Ahmedabad, in the case RC-13/2015/NIA/DLI. The attached properties include his residential house in Ward No. 3, City Survey No. 3614, Bharuch City (Total area: 143.96 sq. mt.) and Ward No. 3, City Survey No. 3615, Bharuch City (Total area: 29.59 sq. mt.), a press statement of the NIA said.

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Mohammad Yunus alias Manjro was arrested for his role in the criminal conspiracy and murder of BJP workers, Shirish Bengali and Pragnesh Mistry, in November 2015.

In December 2024, the NIA filed an application in the special court seeking permission to attach Manjros properties under the provisions of Section 33(1) of the UAPA.

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Manjros share lies in two ancestral houses in Bharuch town. The NIA had submitted that these properties were liable for seizure in the case of forfeiture proceedings. Manjros lawyer had objected to the application, questioning the agencys move nearly a decade after the case began.

These attachments by NIA are a very important step toward dismantling the terror ecosystem of the D-Company gang operating from Pakistan.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:28 IST

News india NIA Attaches Properties Of D-Company Gang Operatives In Gujarat Double Murder Case

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No Question Of Concessions To US In Agriculture & Dairy Sector: Top Indian Government Sources

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Manjiri Joshi



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:37 IST

Farmers interest is paramount. We wont come under any pressure, the government is clear, said top government sources

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that a 25% tariff will be imposed on Indian imports starting August 1. (AFP File)

Even as the United States (US) has imposed 25% tariff on Indian exports, there is no question of concessions to the US on agriculture and dairy sector, said top government sources.

Farmers interest is paramount. We wont come under any pressure, the government is clear," said sources.

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The impact of 25 per cent tariff is marginal and will not be alarming for Indian markets. There is no chance of compromising on farmers, dairy and MSMEs. There is also no chance of allowing import of genetically modified crops," said sources.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that a 25% tariff will be imposed on Indian imports starting August 1, along with an additional unspecified penalty. In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump cited Indias high tariffs, stringent non-monetary trade barriers and continued military and energy ties with Russia as the basis for the move.

India is our friend, but we have done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non monetary trade barriers of any country," Donald Trump wrote.

He further criticised Indias defense and energy relationship with Russia, saying, They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russias largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE- ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!"

Trump concluded, INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST."

In April, Trump had proposed levies of up to 27% on Indian goods though that plan was later paused pending ongoing negotiations. Since then, bilateral discussions resumed, with alternating tones of optimism and caution. Earlier, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said, We continue to speak with our Indian counterparts. Weve always had very constructive discussions with them." Jamieson Greer acknowledged the challenges posed by Indias protectionist trade policies and said that Donald Trumps trade agenda remains focused on market access for US exports, especially in sensitive sectors.

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In 2024-25, the bilateral trade between India and the US stood at USD 131.8 billion (USD 86.5 billion exports and USD 45.3 billion imports). Both Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have publicly stated their ambition to more than double that to $500 billion in the years ahead.

India has already cut tariffs on select US products, such as Bourbon whiskey and motorcycles.

About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office.... Read More Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office.... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:02 IST

News india No Question Of Concessions To US In Agriculture & Dairy Sector: Top Indian Government Sources

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Prajwal Revanna Convicted In Rape Case: How Over 2,000 Obscene Video Clips Led To His Arrest

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 14:21 IST

Suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna was convicted on Friday in a rape case linked to leaked obscene videos. A Special Court in Bengaluru will announce his sentence on Saturday.

A file photo of Suspended JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna (Photo: PTI)

Suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna was on Friday convicted in connection with one of the rape cases registered against him. The verdict was pronounced by a Special Court for Peoples Representatives in Bengaluru, while the quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Saturday.

On Friday, Judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat had dismissed a second bail application filed by Revanna, as he sought relief, citing delays in the trial proceedings.

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This was his second attempt at securing bail from the lower court, following an earlier denial.

Earlier, Revanna had approached the Karnataka High Court seeking bail on the grounds of changed circumstances due to the trials prolonged timeline.

THE CASE AGAINST PRAJWAL REVANNA

Revanna is the prime accused in four criminal cases filed last year, after over 2,000 obscene video clips, allegedly depicting the sexual abuse of multiple women, surfaced on social media.

The first complaint against him was lodged in April 2024 by a 48-year-old woman who had worked as a domestic help at his familys farmhouse in Hassan.

She accused Revanna of repeatedly raping her since 2021, at the farmhouse and then at his house at Basavanagudi in Bengaluru.

She also alleged that Revanna filmed his actions and had threatened to release videos of the abuse if she revealed the incidents to anyone.

As the case came to light, the court framed charges against him under various sections, including rape, voyeurism, criminal intimidation, and unlawful circulation of intimate images.

Later, it was known that the survivor was allegedly abducted at the behest of Prajwals parents, former Minister HD Revanna and Bhavani Revanna, to prevent her from testifying against their son after the scandal broke out in April 2024.

Later, she was rescued from a farmhouse as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) swung into action to probe the case.

Amid public uproar, Revanna fled to Germany soon after the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the State.

He was arrested upon his return to India on May 31, 2024 and has been in jail since.

As the SIT filed a chargesheet against him in August 2024, in response, Revanna filed an application to discharge him from the case, contending that there was not enough evidence to implicate him.

Revannas counsel argued that the grave allegations made against him were far from the truth and were part of attempts to tarnish his reputation.

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Revanna also questioned the delay in reporting the alleged rape incident, given that the first such assault was alleged to have taken place in 2021.

ALSO READ | How the Revanna Family is Embroiled in Controversy, Who is Suraj Revanna? All Charges Against Him 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.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 14:16 IST

News india Prajwal Revanna Convicted In Rape Case: How Over 2,000 Obscene Video Clips Led To His Arrest

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Bangladesh Outfit Backed By Turkish NGO Was Behind Anti-India Map: Jaishankar In Parliament

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 09:55 IST

Jaishankar's written statement came in response to a question in Rajya Sabha by Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Jaishankar responds to 'Greater Bangladesh map' question in Rajya Sabha (Image: Sansad TV)

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar has told the Parliament that the Centre has taken note of an Islamic group in Dhaka  Saltanat-e-Bangla  which published a map of Greater Bangladesh" and included parts of India.

The Minister said that the group is backed by a Turkish NGO, identified as the Turkish Youth Federation".

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Jaishankars written answer came in response to a starred question by Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala in the Rajya Sabha. He said that the map in question was displayed at Dhaka University.

The Government has taken note of reports that an Islamist group in Dhaka called the Saltanat-e-Bangla, backed by a Turkish NGO called the Turkish Youth Federation, has put out a map of the so-called Greater Bangladesh that includes parts of India. The map was displayed in the Dhaka University," a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs quoted the Minister as saying.

Jaishankar said that the government is closely monitoring the developments having implications for national security and is taking necessary steps to safeguard it.

The Government of Bangladesh fact-checker platform, BanglaFact, claimed that there is no evidence of Saltanat-e-Bangla operating in Bangladesh. It further clarified that the map was displayed at a historical exhibition in reference to the so-called earlier Bengal Sultanate," the statement said.

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The MEA statement that the map was put on display at an exhibition held at Dhaka University on April 14 this year, on the occasion of Pohela Boisakh. It said that the organisers of the exhibition denied having any links to any foreign political outfit.

Congress leader Surjewala had asked the government for details about a radical group in Bangladesh, backed by Turkey, that is promoting a Greater Bangladesh map including parts of Indian territory. He also questioned whether the Indian government has taken up the matter diplomatically with Bangladesh and whether it has evaluated the security risks of growing Turkish and Pakistani involvement in the country.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 09:42 IST

News india Bangladesh Outfit Backed By Turkish NGO Was Behind Anti-India Map: Jaishankar In Parliament

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Sensitive Matter: MEA Refutes Reports In Nimisha Priya's Execution Case

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:02 IST

The Ministry of External Affairs urged restraint and rejected speculation on Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse facing the death penalty in Yemen. India is working to bring her home.

Nimisha Priya is lodged in a jail in Sana'a in Yemen.

The Ministry of External Affairs urged restraint and rejected speculative reporting around the case of Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse facing the death penalty in Yemen, reaffirming that India is working through all possible channels" to bring her home.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, This is a sensitive matter. The Government of India has been giving all possible assistance in this case. As a result of our efforts, you all have seen that the sentencing was deferred As I said last time, we are also in touch with some friendly government in this matter I would urge to refrain from believing any media report. Please wait for an update from us."

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The statement from MEA came days after 13-year-old Mishel, the daughter of Nimisha Priya, went to Yemen to plead for her mothers life. Mishel, who had not seen her mother in over a decade, was accompanied by her father Tomy Thomas and Global Peace Initiative founder Dr KA Paul.

In an emotional video message delivered in both Malayalam and English, Mishel said, I love you, mummy. Please help bring my mother back home. I so badly want to see her. I miss you, mummy."

Tomy, also speaking from Yemen, appealed directly to the authorities, saying, Please save my wife Nimisha Priya and help her reach her hometown."

Nimisha Priya, a trained nurse from Kerala, moved to Yemen in 2008 and later opened her own clinic. In 2017, she was arrested for the alleged murder of her former business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi. Authorities claim she attempted to sedate him to retrieve her passport- reportedly held by him without consent- but the sedative proved fatal. She was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to death in 2020.

Her execution, initially scheduled for July 16, was suspended after sustained diplomatic outreach from India. The MEA confirmed it is providing full legal assistance to Nimisha Priyas family, including visa support and consular access, and has deputed a team of legal and Sharia experts to Yemen.

The case remains complex as under Yemeni Sharia law, the victims family holds the right to pardon in exchange for diyyah (blood money). However, the brother of the deceased, Abdelfattah Mehdi, has publicly refused any clemency, saying, There can be no pardon for the crime."

Dr KA Paul praised Yemeni authorities for engaging with the humanitarian appeal, saying, Nimishas only daughter did not see her for 10 years. Mishel is here. I want to thank the Talal family. As soon as you release Nimisha, hopefully tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, we shall be very grateful. God will bless you."

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Calling Nimisha Priya a symbol of peace," he added, The nation of Yemen will bring investments and prosperity when you address the world because Nimisha has become the daughter of India. What you are doing is an amazing gesture."

The Indian government has maintained a cautious stance, urging the media to avoid conjecture as sensitive negotiations continue. The MEA reiterated, Please wait for an update from us."

First Published: August 01, 2025, 17:02 IST

News india Sensitive Matter: MEA Refutes Reports In Nimisha Priya's Execution Case

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'Not The Case': Tharoor Pushes Back On Trump's 'Dead Economy' Jibe As Rahul Gandhi Embraces It

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 13:18 IST

Shashi Tharoor dismissed Donald Trump's comment calling India a "dead economy," stating, "That is not the case."

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor during the Monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi (Photo: PTI)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday dismissed Donald Trumps India a dead economy remark, and said that was not the case, a day after Rahul Gandhi said the US President is right in saying that the Indian economy is dead".

Tharoors remark came as he spoke to reporters on the arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh, and was asked if what Trump said on Indias economy was correct.

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The Thiruvananthapuram MP was asked about Trumps remark as he had led one of the all-party delegations to relevant world capitals, to put forth Indias stance against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and Indias Operation Sindoor against terror infrastructures in Pakistan.

No, not at all. That is not the case, and we all know it," Shashi Tharoor said of Trumps remark.

A day before, Rahul Gandhis criticism of the government backfired as his party colleagues and allies took an opposite stand, soon after he lashed out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government and claimed that the BJP has ruined the economy to benefit some people.

Yes, he is right," Rahul Gandhi had said, referring to Trumps India is a dead economy remark.

Everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. Everybody knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact. The entire world knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy. BJP has finished the economy to help Adani," he had alleged.

The same day, Tharoor had slammed the United States imposition of a 25 per cent tariff and penalties on India as a bargaining tactic" and asserted that we must give strong support to our negotiators" to find the best possible deal.

Tharoor, however, added that if a good deal is not possible, we may have to walk away".

Tharoor also took a swipe at the US, stating that it works with Pakistan to develop oil reserves", and they may have some illusions" on finding oil in Pakistan, for which he wishes them luck.

We were all one country at one time. I have not seen any reports that there was a great deal of oil to be found in what is today Pakistan," Tharoor told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

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But the Americans want to look, so let them look. We found some oil in Bombay High, and we found some oil in Assam. But we are importing 86 per cent of the gas needs. So we dont know how much they are going to find," he said.

ALSO READ | After Trumps Tariffs, Tharoor Says India Must Negotiate Hard

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 12:53 IST

News india 'Not The Case': Tharoor Pushes Back On Trump's 'Dead Economy' Jibe As Rahul Gandhi Embraces It

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Supari To Kill MeTime To Bring Out Sudarshan Chakra: UP Energy Minister AK Sharmas Power Tussle

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 18:06 IST

In his headlong clash with power sector employees, AK Sharma has alluded to a supari being taken out to finish him and invoking the Sudarshan chakra

AK Sharma's anger against top officers and engineers burst out on July 24. (X)

Once a powerful bureaucrat of the nation, Energy and Urban Development Minister AK Sharma seems powerless in his political avatar.

In his headlong clash with power sector employees first over controlling line losses, corruption and then proposed privatisation of discoms, Sharma has in recent days alluded to a supari" being taken out to finish him and invoking the Sudarshan chakra" to deal with his alleged conspirators.

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His anger against top officers and engineers burst out on July 24, when at the end of a high-level meeting in Lucknow he said that officials had lost touch with the problems people face on the ground and he was not there to listen to their false data and bakwaas".

He said that officials were neck-deep in corruption and sending inflated bills to customers and then reducing them after taking bribes, malfunctioning transformers were not being replaced for weeks on end, vigilance raids were being carried out on small defaulters sparing the bigger ones and manpower deployment had become a source to extort money.

You all dont realise the kind of resentment on the ground that I have to face. People are constantly complaining to me and other politicians but there is no effort to deal with their problems. It seems some people have taken a supari to tarnish my image. I know where you are being instigated from" Sharma had lashed out.

                                                      AK Sharma Office (@AKSharmaOffice) July 28, 2025

Who is AK Sharma?

A Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1988 batch, Sharma enjoys the reputation of a doer and ensuring fast delivery. He worked closely with Narendra Modi when he was the CM of Gujarat and was credited with orations the Vibrant Gujarat" summit and later moved into the PMO when Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014.

He served in the PMO till suddenly taking a VRS at the start of 2021 and was shortly afterwards made the Vice President in the state BJP and an MLC.

When the BJP rode back to power in 2022, he was made a cabinet minister and given the two big departments of Power and Urban Development.

His troubles seem to have started when the UP government proposed Privatisation of power distribution companies (discoms).

This had thousands of engineers and linemen up in arms who protested the move and struck work.

In a social media post put out by Sharmas official account on Monday, it is stated that the move to privatise Discoms has been taken collectively by the government at the highest level. When officials are aware that AK Sharma cannot transfer a Junior Engineer, how can he take such a big decision as to privatize discoms all alone. Frequent protests and strikes are being carried out and inappropriate language has been used against me and my family at one such protest outside my residence. There is a planned effort to tarnish the image of the power minister and it seems all those who are jealous of me have come together".

Sharmas outbursts have come after weeks of being pilloried on social media where he is seen by heckled by people for power cuts while on visits to to districts and reports of power outages while he has been holding meetings.

Sharmas social media account has blamed some anti-social power department employee union leaders are conspiring to show the minister in bad light. This is because the minister refuses to bow to their wishes. Their union leaders did not resort to such protests when the Agra discom was privatized during the Mayawati government. They were silent as they were obliged and sent on foreign tours".

Sharma has been vocal against union leaders for the last few weeks.

In a public meeting held in Mau recently, he said, I have been trying to reason and motivate the power employees to improve their functioning for the last three years but to no avail. Now the time has come to weild the Sudarshan Chakra like Lord Krishna did against the Kauravas. But I am showing restraint. Those who think that the minister holds no power and cannot discipline them let me tell them that if like Lord Ram release the arrow nobody will be able to save them from here to the Rashtrapati Bhawan (Presidents House).

Sharma has been in the offensive over the past few days and his office social media account recently released an audio clip of a former MLA and an Executive Engineer, where the later refused to heed to the former legislators complaint over a 12 hour power outage in the city and repeatedly telling him to seek redressal from the helpline number.

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Sharma was quick to reprimand officials taking out a press release to state helpline numbers are only a secondary form of receiving complaints. Engineers will have to take complaints directly and solve them. This has been clarified earlier also but some officials deliberately hide behind official procedures to avoid work and are sabotaging the department".

With Sharma being in the offensive, senior officials have pulled their socks up but clearly it seems that it is not the end of the chapter yet.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 18:06 IST

News india Supari To Kill MeTime To Bring Out Sudarshan Chakra: UP Energy Minister AK Sharmas Power Tussle

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Tensions Grip Pune Village After 2 Groups Clash Over Social Media Post, Fadnavis Assures Action

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 23:11 IST

Tension erupted in Yavat village, Pune, after two groups clashed over an alleged objectionable social media post.

People gather after two groups clashed over a social media post, in Yavat in Pune's Daund tehsil, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. A youth from a particular community allegedly uploaded an objectionable post on social media (PTI)

Tensions gripped Yavat village in Pune districts Daund tahsil on Friday after two groups clashed over an alleged objectionable social media post, prompting police to fire teargas shells to disperse an angry mob and restore law and order.

Police said a young man from a particular community allegedly uploaded an objectionable post on social media, which angered some persons from another group, news agency PTI reported.

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Violence broke out soon after with an irate mob vandalising structures and properties belonging to the opposite community, pelting stones, and also setting a motorcycle ablaze.

Pune SP Sandeep Singh Gill said, Today, an incident occurred in Yavat town, where a youngster had posted a status on social media that was objected to by some members of the village and their associates The boy was brought to the police station, where the police intervened. Representatives from all communities in the village also gathered at the station and engaged in a dialogue with the police inspector in charge Meanwhile, as this discussion was underway, several youngsters in the village gathered on the streets in groups and attempted some acts of vandalism at a few locations. However, due to previous incidents in the past week, our team was already present in the area. They immediately intervened and stopped the situation from escalating."

VIDEO | Maharashtra: Pune SP Sandeep Singh Gill says, Today, an incident occurred in Yavat town, where a youngster had posted a status on social media that was objected to by some members of the village and their associates The boy was brought to the police station, where the pic.twitter.com/Q2nGHpCzz3 Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2025

Heavy Police Deployment

After the violence, police presence has been intensified in the area to maintain law and order. Senior officers from Pune Rural police are stationed in the area, ANI reported.

In view of the unrest, Section 144 has been imposed in Yavat village for 48 hours to prevent gatherings and maintain peace.

Authorities have appealed for calm and warned against spreading misinformation or provocative content on social media.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Heavy deployment of Police personnel made in Yavat village at Daund Taluka of Pune District.Tense situation in Yavat village following an alleged objectionable social media post posted by a youth here. Police say that an incident had occurred in the pic.twitter.com/eQYX8bvkIw  ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

Maharashtra CM Assures Action

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis responded to the tense situation in the region, saying that he is gathering information about the matter.

He said that, as per the information gathered, a person from outside had posted an objectionable status on social media, which led to tensions.

I have just gathered information about the matter. According to it, a person from outside had posted an objectionable status, which led to tensions. People came out onto the streets, and in order to control the crowd, some lathi-charge had to be carried out," he said as quoted by news agency ANI.

On the Pune tension, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says, I have just gathered information about the matter. According to it, a person from outside had posted an objectionable status, which led to tensions. People came out onto the streets, and in order to control the crowd, pic.twitter.com/uQQX3s8NsW ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

The Chief Minister further said that the situation is now under control and the region is peaceful.

The situation is now under control. People from both communities are sitting together, talking, and trying to resolve the tension. At present, the area is entirely peaceful," he added.

Fadnavis further assured that strict action will be taken against the accused.

Some people deliberately post such statuses to create tension, but strict action will definitely be taken against them. Just because a gathering or event took place, does that give anyone the freedom to post such provocative statuses? No one has the right to make offensive remarks against any religion in this manner. So, to say that the tension arose because of a public gathering is completely incorrect," he added.

He also urged people to maintain peace and not to take the law into their own hands.

We have only one appeal: everyone should maintain peace, and no one should take the law into their own hands. If anyone does so, the police will take strict action against them," he added.

Deputy CM Reaches Violence-Hit Region

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar arrived at the violence-hit region to meet the affected people.

After assessing the situation, Pawar said that the entire police machinery is monitoring the situation and working to maintain peace.

Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar says, After todays incident, Section 144 has been imposed in the area for 48 hours. The situation is under control, and there is no need to panic. I appeal to all citizens, irrespective of caste or religion, to maintain social harmony and not https://t.co/DPR9Nh3D3x pic.twitter.com/XubOxDtvU5 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

BJP MLA Rahul Kul, who represents Daund constituency, also reached Yavat police station following the clash.

Victim Shares Ordeal

A bakery owner, whose shop was vandalised during the clashes, recounted his ordeal. He said that the people of one community pelted stones, took away the tin sheets, and hurled something inflammable inside the bakery.

Some of my workers are Muslims and they have come from UP. A social media post surfaced in the morning, it was said that Muslims had posted an objectionable social media post. There is a mosque 150-200 metres from here. They were heading to the mosque. Someone said that this bakery belongs to Muslims. But the bakery belongs to us, and they (workers) are here on rent. Our bakery is completely burned," Swapnil Adinath Kadam, the bakery owner told news agency ANI.

#WATCH | Pune tension | Pune, Maharashtra: Swapnil Adinath Kadam, a bakery owner whose shop was vandalised and burned, says, Some of my workers are Muslims and they have come from UP. A social media post surfaced in the morning, it was said that Muslims had posted an pic.twitter.com/QXvCUSX5S0 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

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The incident came days after tensions erupted over the desecration of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Neelkantheshwar temple in Yavat on July 26.

(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

First Published: August 01, 2025, 18:00 IST

News india Tensions Grip Pune Village After 2 Groups Clash Over Social Media Post, Fadnavis Assures Action

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'They Brainwash Our Children': How PoK Is Pushing Back Against Pakistan's Terror Network

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 13:44 IST

As villagers chase out Lashkar commanders, teachers shame jihadists, and public funerals turn hostile, Pakistans long-held terror monopoly in PoK is beginning to crack

Pakistan has controlled PoKs narrative through fear and a manufactured culture of martyrdom.(Representational image)

When Habib Tahir, alias Chotoo, was killed by Indian forces in Harwan, Srinagar, during Operation Mahadev, the focus initially was on the tactical win  the neutralisation of a Lashkar-trained infiltrator. But what followed in Kuiyaan village in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), where the 23-year-old hailed from, may have deeper implications than any cross-LoC airstrike.

Instead of allowing militant groups to co-opt the funeral into a recruitment spectacle, Chotoos family barred Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its affiliated JKUM group from attending. When local LET commander Rizwan Hanif arrived with armed guards to defy that decision, a confrontation broke out. His nephew allegedly drew a gun on mourners. The crowd pushed back. The commander fled with his entourage.

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In a region where fear has long dictated silence, this was an extraordinary reversal. What might have once been an act of silent submission turned into public revolt, and in PoK, thats a line crossed.

The Jigra That Could Break A Pattern

The backlash didnt end with the funeral. Across villages in PoK, anger has begun to surface, not through militancy, but through rejection.

Villagers in Kuiyaan and Khayala are now planning to hold what they call a public Jigra, a traditional council to collectively denounce terror recruitment and resist militant activities in their communities. For a region where even mild criticism of jihadist groups invites retaliation, the symbolism of a public forum is hard to overstate.

This isnt orchestrated resistance. Its grassroots fatigue. For decades, families have watched young boys cross over into Kashmir, never to return. Chotoos death, and the armed intrusion at his funeral, became a breaking point.

The Viral Rebuke Heard Across The Valley

Soon after the funeral, a video began circulating online. It featured Liyaqat Ali, also known as Sardar Bilal, a teacher who said he had taught Chotoo.

In the eight-minute video, Ali asked: Who are these people sending our children to Kashmir? They brainwash our children and throw them against a military superpower like India."

He called out groups like Jamaat-ud-Dawa directly: You have been declared a terror group. Dont abuse me. The jihad you are running  dont let others children die. Your kids study in the US and UK. If you want jihad, go do it against the rich."

The video struck a nerve. It travelled across PoK through encrypted chat groups and private shares  a message not of rebellion, but of exhausted clarity.

Administrative Acknowledgement And Quiet Policy Shifts

The rising civilian resistance in PoK is not only finding voice in villages and on social media, it is also beginning to register in the local administrative machinery, which has long functioned as an extension of Pakistans deep state.

One such moment came in District Bagh, where a resident named Nauman Shehzad sought permission to hold a conference in Khurahat, one that, locals said, included voices sympathetic to radical causes. In previous years, such gatherings, often couched in the language of community outreach" or religious education", would rarely be questioned, let alone obstructed.

But this time, the administration denied permission, citing public safety" and prevailing circumstances." This quiet decision, from a state that has historically enabled such platforms, suggests a recalibration.

Its not a policy shift yet. But its the first visible administrative hesitation to support the old order. And it may reflect broader international pressure as well, to clamp down on open terror celebration under public scrutiny.

Delhi Responds With Hard Power And Harder Words

The Modi government, meanwhile, has treated the developments in PoK not as an isolated emotional wave, but as vindication of its strategic posture.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a combative Rajya Sabha speech, declared: PoK was given away by the Congress. Only the BJP will bring it back."

He described Operation Sindoor and Mahadev as decisive and disruptive operations, calibrated to expose Pakistans terror infrastructure and apply lasting pressure. He went further, arguing that the resistance seen in PoK is the result of a broken terror narrative, a break enabled by Indias military retaliation and Pakistans growing isolation.

Rajnath Singhs Declaration: They Will Come Back

If Shah gave the political framework, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave it historical and moral heft.

Initiating the Rajya Sabha debate, he called Pakistan the father of global terrorism", criticised the UN for appointing it to a counter-terror committee, and warned: The day is not far when the people of PoK themselves will want to rejoin India."

PM Modis Doctrine: No Talks Without PoK On The Table

In his national address post-ceasefire, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said, If we ever talk to Pakistan, it will be on terror and PoK. Nothing else."

The Prime Minister had also cited Pakistans record of denial, from Osama bin Ladens hiding in Abbottabad to its repeated sheltering of Lashkar and Jaish leaders, as evidence that diplomacy must follow decapitation, not precede it.

A Shifting Terrain, But No Peace Yet

Even as resistance brews in PoK, and India intensifies its military and diplomatic pressure, Pakistans deep state has reportedly begun rebuilding.

A June report from the Deccan Herald revealed that the ISI is constructing new, smaller terror training camps across PoK, including areas like Athmuqam, Lipa, Kotli, Kahuta, and Chamankot. These camps, each hosting 2030 recruits, use thermal masking, radar camouflage, and satellite evasion to avoid detection.

In short: the ecosystem isnt dismantled. Its mutating.

Why This Revolt Matters

Pakistan has controlled PoKs narrative through fear and a manufactured culture of martyrdom. But with villagers blocking militant funerals, local commanders being chased out by crowds, teachers publicly rejecting jihad, and police denying permission for suspect gatherings, something fundamental has shifted.

This isnt a formal rebellion. Its not yet a movement. But it is something Pakistan fears most: a public loss of legitimacy.

What Comes Next

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The ISI will rebuild. India will strike again if provoked. But in between those two certainties lies a fragile new variable: PoKs people, long silent, now beginning to speak.

And if they keep speaking, not with slogans, but with rejections, refusals, and refusals to bury lies, Pakistans real war wont be with India. Itll be with the very territory it claimed to liberate.

About the Author Siddhant Mishra Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively on crime, ... Read More Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively on crime, ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 13:44 IST

News india 'They Brainwash Our Children': How PoK Is Pushing Back Against Pakistan's Terror Network

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India-Russia Ties Not To Be Seen Through Third-Party Lens, MEA Says After Trump's Remarks

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:11 IST

India emphasised its steady partnership with Russia, dismissing US President Trump's criticism.

PM Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (PTI)

India on Friday said that New Delhi and Moscow have a steady and time-tested partnership, and it shouldnt be seen through the prism of a third country.

While responding to US President Donald Trumps warning of facing a penalty" in addition to the 25% tariff because of its imports of Russian energy items and defence equipment, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Indias relations with any country stand on their merit.

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Our ties with any country stand on their merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership," the MEA spokesperson said while addressing the weekly press briefing.

#WATCH | Delhi | MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, Our ties with any country stand on their merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership." pic.twitter.com/FBN67Lnk46 ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

Jaiswal further responded to Trumps remark regarding Indias Defence procurement from Russia, saying that such requirements are determined solely by national security imperatives and strategic assessments.

The sourcing of Defence requirements is determined solely by our national security imperatives and strategic assessments. Similarly, for sourcing of our energy needs, we are guided by what is available in the market and by prevailing global circumstances" he added.

VIDEO | Delhi: Responding to a media query on US President Donald Trumps remark regarding India-Russia relations, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) says, Ties with any country, and all the ties that we have with various countries, stand on their own merit and pic.twitter.com/oYYihjRMwa Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 1, 2025

Trumps Remarks On India-Russia Ties

A day earlier, the US President slammed Indias trade ties with Russia, saying that he does not care what New Delhi does with Moscow and accused both nations of having dead economies".

I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding, We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World."

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Trump also aimed at Russia, saying, Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory!"

In June this year, US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said that past Indian policies, including defence purchases from Russia and participation in BRICS, rubbed the United States the wrong way".

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

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:59 IST

News india India-Russia Ties Not To Be Seen Through Third-Party Lens, MEA Says After Trump's Remarks

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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed Germany's decision to provide Kyiv with two additional Patriot systems, saying it would help Ukraine protect its skies.

I welcome Germanys decision to provide two additional PATRIOT systems to Ukraine. This is great news and I welcome Germanys leadership! This will help ensure Ukraine is able to defend its skies, protect its people, and deter Russian aggression, he said on X Friday.

As reported earlier in the day, Germany will initially provide additional Patriot launchers; Berlin will then transfer more systems over the next two to three months to bolster Ukraine's air defenses with additional Patriot batteries.

According to the German Ministry of Defense, thanks to the joint efforts of the partners, these systems, which will undergo repairs in the short and medium term, will be prepared for use in Ukraine and handed over in working condition. It was agreed with the US Department of Defense that in exchange Germany will be the first to receive the latest Patriot systems, produced in an accelerated manner. Financing will be provided by Germany.
Turkeys Pro-Pakistan Gamble Backfires: Economy Hit, Indian Tourism Plummets 37% | Exclusive

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 09:47 IST

Official data shows only 24,250 Indian tourists visited Turkey in June, a 37% drop from last year. The dip comes in the wake of Turkeys role in aiding Pakistan during Op Sindoor

Turkeys stance prompted boycott calls in India, and travel portals like MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip said they would not promote Turkey tour packages. (PTI)

Turkey has been hit hard for supporting Pakistan. Indian tourists visiting Turkey dropped by 37 per cent in June, a month that traditionally sees the highest flow of Indian tourists to Turkey. This follows Indians avoiding the country since its open support for Pakistan came to the fore during Operation Sindoor.

As per official tourism figures from Turkey, only 24,250 Indian tourists visited the country in June, down nearly 37 per cent from the same month last year, when 38,307 Indian tourists had visited. In May, 31,659 Indian tourists went to Turkey, also down from 41,554 Indians who visited in May 2024.

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This comes in the backdrop of Turkeys role in aiding Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which came to light on May 9, when India revealed that Turkish-made drones were used by its neighbour for an attack.

The debris recovered by India showed that these were SONGAR ASISGUARD drones of Turkish origin. This is the first nationally developed armed drone used by the Turkish armed forces.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this week, told Parliament that only three of the 193 United Nations member countries favoured Pakistan, while the remaining nations supported India during Operation Sindoor. Modi was referring to Turkey, China, and Azerbaijannations that have often stood by Islamabad on the international stage, including at the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). These three countries had issued statements in favour of Pakistan when Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes in Pakistan.

Turkeys stance prompted boycott calls in India, and travel portals like MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip and Cleartrip said they would not promote Turkey tour packages. The impact is slowly but surely beginning to show.

May and June are peak tourism months for Indians going on vacation. The 2025 figures are the worst for June, as the full boycott impact has become visible.

Indian tourists usually book their vacations much in advance, so the real impact of the drop in tourism is being seen in June," a senior government official told News18.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently visited Cyprus en route to Canada for the G7 Summit. This was seen as a major message to Turkey, given that Cyprus has had a long-standing border dispute with it.

PM Modi and the President of Cyprus visited the historic centre of Nicosia, where they were given a guided tour along the United Nations ceasefire linea symbol of the islands long-standing division. The President also showed Modi the mountainous region in northern Cyprus, which has remained under Turkish occupation since 1974.

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India strongly suspects that Turkey supplied drones to Pakistan when a C-130E Hercules Turkish aircraft landed in Karachi on April 28, less than a week after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. On April 30, a high-ranking Turkish military and intelligence delegation, headed by Lt Gen Yasar Kadioglu, visited the Pakistan Air Force headquarters in Islamabad and met the chief of staff.

Even in its stance and statements after the Pahalgam terror strike, the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken a fully pro-Pakistan line. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistans Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir, also visited Turkey to thank Erdogan for his support during tensions with India over Operation Sindoor.

About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office.... Read More Aman Sharma, Executive Editor - National Affairs at CNN-News18, and Bureau Chief at News18 in Delhi, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office.... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 09:47 IST

News india Turkeys Pro-Pakistan Gamble Backfires: Economy Hit, Indian Tourism Plummets 37% | Exclusive

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'Weathered Many Transitions, Challenges': MEA On India-US Ties Amid Trump's Tariff Tirade

Curated By :

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:20 IST

India and Washington share a strategic partnership based on shared interests and democratic values, said MEA

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. (MEA)

Amid US President Donald Trumps announcement of a 25% tariff on Indian imports, India on Friday reaffirmed the strength of its strategic partnership with the United States.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi and Washington share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties."

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This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges," Jaiswal said during the MEAs weekly press briefing. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward."

#WATCH | Delhi | MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and pic.twitter.com/M42PC9sJzf ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

Jaiswal also pointed to the growing defence cooperation between the two countries. We have a strong defence partnership with the U.S. which has been strengthening over the last several years. There is potential for this partnership to grow further under the India-U.S. COMPACT for the 21st century," he said.

President Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Thursday, announced that the United States will impose a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting 1 August. He cited Indias high tariffs," non-monetary trade barriers," and ongoing military and energy ties with Russia as reasons for the decision. Trump also mentioned that an additional, unspecified penalty may follow.

Despite the announcement, top Indian government sources have made it clear that there is no question of offering concessions to the US on sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy.

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Farmers interest is paramount. We wont come under any pressure, the government is clear," said one senior official.

Sources added that the impact of the 25% tariff is expected to be marginal and is not alarming for Indian markets. There is no chance of compromising on farmers, dairy and MSMEs. There is also no chance of allowing import of genetically modified crops," they said.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:33 IST

News india 'Weathered Many Transitions, Challenges': MEA On India-US Ties Amid Trump's Tariff Tirade

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'Why Get So Touchy?' SC Urges BJP Leader To Close Defamation Case Against Shashi Tharoor

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 14:06 IST

BJP's Rajiv Babbar had sued Tharoor after he allegedly compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a scorpion

The Supreme Court on Friday urged a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to close a defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. (PTI file)

The Supreme Court on Friday urged a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader to close a defamation case against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh was hearing a plea by Tharoor against a Delhi High Courts order refusing to quash the case against him.

BJPs Rajiv Babbar had sued Tharoor after he allegedly compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a scorpion.

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Let us close all these things. Why to get so touchy about all this? This way, administrators and judges come in the same group and have thick skin," the bench remarked, as reported by Bar & Bench.

After Babbars defamation case, Tharoor got a summon from a trial court in Delhi.

In 2018, the senior Congress leader allegedly said that PM Modi is a scorpion sitting on a Shivling" during the Bangalore Literature Festival.

However, Tharoor said it was not his original statement and that he was merely quoting another person, Gordhan Zadaphia, and that statement has been in public domain for the last several years.

While refusing to quash the case, the Delhi High Court said that the imputations against a sitting Prime Minister are despicable and deplorable." The High Court also noted that Tharoors remarks amounted to defaming PM Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Tharoor then approached the Supreme Court for relief.

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Last year, the Supreme Court stayed the trial court proceedings against Tharoor and said it was unclear as to why someone had taken objection to Tharoors remark since it seemed more like a metaphor and seemed to allude to the invincibility of PM Modi, Bar & Bench reported.

The apex court noted that Tharoors remark was not his original statement and it was said by someone in an online article. It also observed that it seemed more like a metaphor and seemed to allude to PM Modis invincibility.

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

First Published: August 01, 2025, 13:52 IST

News india 'Why Get So Touchy?' SC Urges BJP Leader To Close Defamation Case Against Shashi Tharoor

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When Is Raksha Bandhan 2025: Is Rakhi On August 8 Or 9th? Check Date, Shubh Muhurat, Rituals, Significance And Celebrations

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 08:10 IST

Raksha Bandhan 2025 Date And Shubh Muhurat: Celebrate the sacred sibling bond on August 9 with joy, traditions, and blessings. This year, there's no Bhadra Kaal.

Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on Saturday, August 9. (AI generated image)

Raksha Bandhan Date And Shubh Muhurat 2025: Raksha Bandhan is one of the most beloved and meaningful festivals in the Hindu calendar, dedicated to celebrating the sacred bond between brothers and sisters. Traditionally observed across India with immense love and joy, the day symbolises mutual respect, protection and affection among siblings.

When Is Raksha Bandhan In 2025

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In 2025, Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on Saturday, August 9, aligning with the Purnima (full moon day) of the Shravana month in the Hindu lunar calendar.

On this special occasion, sisters tie a decorative thread known as a rakhi on their brothers wrists, praying for their happiness and long life. In return, brothers offer gifts and pledge to safeguard their sisters against all odds.

Raksha Bandhan Shubh Muhurat And Bhadra Kaal

Festival Date: Saturday, August 9 Raksha Bandhan Thread Ceremony Time: 05:47 AM to 01:24 PM Purnima Tithi Begins: 02:12 PM on August 8 Purnima Tithi Ends: 01:24 PM on August 9 Bhadra Kaal: No

According to Hindu tradition, the ideal time to perform the Raksha Bandhan rituals is during the Aparahna period (late afternoon), as this is considered most auspicious. If the Aparahna timing is not available, the Pradosh period (early evening) is also acceptable for the rakhi-tying ceremony.

It is important to avoid performing Raksha Bandhan rituals during the Bhadra period, as Bhadra is believed to bring bad luck and should be avoided for all significant or sacred activities. As there is no Bhadra on this day, the festival can be celebrated throughout the day.

Raksha Bandhan Rituals

The celebrations typically begin with sisters preparing a special puja thali, beautifully arranged with all the essentialsrakhi threads, roli (vermilion), akshat (rice grains), sweets and a lit diya (lamp). The sister ties the rakhi on her brothers wrist, applies a tilak on his forehead, and performs an aarti, praying for his prosperity and long life.

In return, the brother blesses his sister, offers her gifts, and vows to protect her under all circumstances. The tradition strengthens familial bonds and often concludes with a festive meal and shared laughter among family members.

Rakhi Significance

While Raksha Bandhan has its roots in religious customs, it has evolved into a broader celebration of human relationships and emotional bonds. Beyond just brothers and sisters, the festival is now embraced as a symbol of unity, trust, and mutual respect, and can be observed between cousins, close friends, or even neighbours who share a bond of care and loyalty.

It serves as a reminder of the values that hold families and communities togetherlove, protection, gratitude, and shared responsibility.

Rakhi Celebrations 2025: The Legends Behind Celebrations

Several fascinating legends from Indian mythology are linked to the origins of Raksha Bandhan. One of the most well-known stories comes from the Mahabharata.

According to the epic, after Lord Krishna killed the wicked King Shishupala to uphold dharma, he injured his finger and began to bleed. Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, quickly tore a piece of her saree and wrapped it around Krishnas wound. Touched by her spontaneous act of kindness, Lord Krishna promised to protect her from any harm.

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Years later, when the Kauravas attempted to publicly disrobe Draupadi after the Pandavas lost her in a game of dice, Lord Krishna honoured his promise. Through his divine intervention, he miraculously provided an endless stream of cloth, preserving her dignity and fulfilling the vow he had made that day.

This tale beautifully illustrates the spirit of Raksha Bandhana vow of eternal protection born out of love and selflessness.

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

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First Published: August 01, 2025, 08:10 IST

News lifestyle When Is Raksha Bandhan 2025: Is Rakhi On August 8 Or 9th? Check Date, Shubh Muhurat, Rituals, Significance And Celebrations
Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 21:32 IST

71st National Film Awards Highlights: The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, finally giving Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji their due. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey have won the Best Actor National Award for their performances in Jawan and 12th Fail, respectively.

Vikrants film, 12th Fail, has also won the Best Feature Film Award. Rani Mukerji has won the Best Actress National Award for her exceptional acting in Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway. Vicky Kaushals Sam Bahadur has also won big with three awards.

The 71st National Film Awards ceremony was live-streamed on DD News channel and also on its YouTube channel at 6 PM IST. The awards ceremony will be held later in New Delhi, where the winners will walk the red carpet and be honoured.

Check out this space for all updates related to the 71st National Film Awards.
Salman Khans Bodyguard Shera Owns Rs 100 Crore. Know His Real Name And Source of Income

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 19:05 IST

Shera earns Rs 15 lakh per month from Salman Khan, but his main income comes from his firm, Tiger Security, which provides protection to Bollywood stars and major events

Sheras wealth and success are attributed to his dedicated service to Salman Khan and the thriving business of Tiger Security. (News18 Hindi)

For over three decades, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been accompanied by his trusted bodyguard, Shera. A constant presence at Salmans side through film shoots, public events, and personal moments, Shera has become almost as recognisable as the star himself.

While many know him for his fierce loyalty and towering presence, few are aware that Shera has quietly built an empire of his own. With an estimated net worth of around Rs 100 crore, he now ranks among the wealthiest celebrity bodyguards in the country.

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Last year, in 2024, Shera attracted media attention when he purchased a Range Rover worth Rs 1.40 crore. This sparked curiosity about how a bodyguard could afford such luxury, leading to inquiries about Sheras income sources.

Who Is Shera And What Does He Do?

Sheras real name is Gurmeet Singh Jolly, though he is more commonly known by his nickname. Sheras journey with Salman Khan began in 1995 when he was hired by Salmans brother, Sohail Khan, to protect the actor during a visit to Indore. Sohail had noticed Sheras exemplary work while he was safeguarding Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves during his trip to India.

How Jolly Came To Be Known As Shera

In an interview, Shera shared that he had started a security company called Tiger Security, and people began calling him Shera because of it. Being a Punjabi, he initially wore a turban, but later switched to a cap as the turban became difficult to manage in public. In 1995, Sohail Khan entrusted him with Salman Khans security. Sohail reportedly said to him, Hey friend, youll stay with Bhai, right?"

What Is Sheras Main Source Of Income?

Sheras primary source of income is the salary he receives from Salman Khan, Rs 15 lakh per month, adding up to nearly Rs 2 crore annually. In addition to this, Salman provides him with various other perks. However, the biggest contributor to Sheras wealth is his private security firm, Tiger Security, which offers services to top Bollywood celebrities and major events. Shera continues to own and run the company, which generates several crores in revenue each year.

Salman Once Turned Down Rs 7 Crore Offer For Shera

Salmans loyalty to Shera is well-documented. In 2011, during the shooting of the film Bodyguard, Salman turned down a Rs 7 crore offer from a security company to wear their uniform, choosing instead to don the uniform of Sheras company. This gesture reflects the deep trust and bond between Salman and Shera.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 19:05 IST

News movies Salman Khans Bodyguard Shera Owns Rs 100 Crore. Know His Real Name And Source of Income
Opinion | Illegal Immigration Crackdown & Electoral Revision: Why Is the Opposition So Nervous?

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 16:24 IST

Amid all this, what stands out is not just the impact of these actions, but the intensity of the oppositions reaction

The Modi governments drive may have its flaws, but the underlying impulse  accountability and transparency about citizenship  is necessary. (ECI)

The Modi governments recent crackdown on illegal immigration has set off a dramatic political storm. From vanishing workforces in cities like Gurugram to uproar over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Opposition claims the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is working to disenfranchise millions of Indians.

Amid all this, what stands out is not just the impact of these actions, but the intensity of the oppositions reaction. After all, this may just be a struggle for the very foundation of some parties political strength.

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Lets start with Gurugram. The millennium citys economy, humming with construction and service industries, has endured visible disruption as hundreds of migrant labourers  primarily Bengali-speaking  have disappeared from work sites in recent weeks. While the governments drives have detained a few hundred individuals for verification, the overwhelming response has been one of anticipatory flight: families hurriedly packing up, liquidating meagre assets and moving out with little warning.

Why would so many people flee if they are not at risk? Police reports reveal that out of the detained group, only a handful were found to be without valid documentation, the rest cleared and left untouched. The pre-emptive departure suggests that even among those who may be on the right side of the law, theres an atmosphere of uncertainty  a sense that their documentation may not withstand a deeper scrutiny, or perhaps, that networks of false papers are more prevalent than previously thought.

This aggressive enforcement isnt limited to one city. After Operation Sindoor, India has launched a nationwide campaign to systematically track, verify and deport thousands of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. The operation stands out for its logistical sophistication: using IAF aircraft to move suspects, setting up holding camps and undertaking coordinated pushback operations at the border. Gujarat leads the count, but Delhi and Haryana are not far behind. Illegal immigrants are also being tracked and deported from states like Meghalaya and Assam.

What distinguishes the ongoing campaign is not merely its scale, but its urgency. States have been handed strict deadlines by the Ministry of Home Affairs, while central agencies and state police operate with rare synergy. No doubt, illegal immigration is a decades-old problem, but not until now has it received this degree of concentrated administrative will.

Bihars Special Intensive Revision: Cleaning Up or Attacking Constituencies?

Perhaps nothing has roused the oppositions ire more than the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) underway in Bihar. This drive involves a thorough review of the states electoral rolls for the first time since 2003. The numbers are eye-opening: 65 lakh names dropped from the preliminary draft22 lakh deceased, 36 lakh untraceable, and 7 lakh double-registered. In a democracy as large and diverse as India, voter roll errors are rarely shocking  but the size of this cleanup points to deep-rooted irregularities built up over decades.

Opposition parties are resisting the revision with all their might, claiming that the SIRs documentary requirements amount to a citizenship test by stealth  an unofficial NRC of sorts  and unfairly target marginalised voters. Petitions have hit the Supreme Court. Yet, much of their outrage appears rooted not in the process but in its possible electoral implications. As TMC parliamentarians candidly admit, Bihar is just a precursor; the real battlefield is West Bengal, where the illegal immigration crisis is the most severe.

West Bengal: The Real Prize

The oppositions fears crystallise when it comes to West Bengal. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has attacked the revision exercise as an NRC-through-backdoor," warning that millions risk disenfranchisement. To the BJP, however, purification of voter rolls has always been a core electoral promise  a way to undo what they allege is years of vote-bank engineering via illegal immigration.

Both parties know whats at stake. The TMCs stellar electoral performances in border districts have, for years, prompted accusations that its rise is tied to illegal votes. The oppositions determination to block the SIR is driven less by due process and more by established electoral arithmetic. Lost votes could, after all, alter their hold in vital constituencies.

Resistance or Self-Interest?

Charges of arbitrary action, threats to civil liberties, claims of disenfranchisement are all part of an all-too-familiar script. Yet scratch beneath the surface, and an uncomfortable contradiction emerges. When processes clearly target only non-citizens, why the all-consuming anxiety? Where is the support for the legitimate voter  the Indian citizen whose ballot is otherwise diluted?

Consider recent history: the Congresss dogged opposition to the NRC in Assam, the AAPs generous issuance of official documents to undocumented residents in Delhi, and the TMCs fierce resistance to any enumeration in border districts  all point to a deeper strategy of vote bank politics. When TMC leaders publicly defend the electoral rights of Bengali-speaking" populations without distinguishing between legal and illegal residents, the pattern is plain to see.

The Stakes for Democracy

The campaign against illegal immigration is, at its heart, an assertion about Indian democracy: about who gets counted and whose voice matters. If electoral rolls are riddled with ineligible names, then the principle of one-person-one-vote is compromised. Bihars experience, where lakhs of voters have been found ineligible after revision, is an alarm bell for the rest of the nation.

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The government claims that genuine voters will have ample time and assistance to update or present documentation, with door-to-door verifications in sensitive areas. Yet, opposition parties continue to frame it as a conspiracy to suppress legitimate votes. Their real fear seems not to be bureaucratic error, but the unravelling of political calculations built over decades.

The truth is that, as India advances economically and globally, it cannot afford electoral rolls clouded in illegitimacy. The Modi governments drive may have its flaws, but the underlying impulse  accountability and transparency about citizenship  is necessary. The oppositions panic speaks volumes: cleaning up the rolls doesnt just threaten a few votes, but entire models of political survival. If the exercise uproots illegal entries, it strengthens democracy; if it is derailed, it perpetuates the status quo. For voters and policymakers alike, that is the real debate. The issue is such, that a political war of words is impossible to avoid.

About the Author Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra is a producer and video journalist at Network18. He is enthusiastic about and writes on both national affairs as well as geopolitics. Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra is a producer and video journalist at Network18. He is enthusiastic about and writes on both national affairs as well as geopolitics.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:24 IST

News opinion Opinion | Illegal Immigration Crackdown & Electoral Revision: Why Is the Opposition So Nervous?

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Opinion | With Donald Trump Turning On Allies, Is The Quad At Risk?

Written By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 11:22 IST

The US President needs to understand that while the MAGA economy may help push domestic manufacturing in the US, it comes at the cost of Americas allies

India's EAM S Jaishankar, Australias FM Penny Wong, Japanese FM Takeshi Iwaya and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stand together at the start of their meeting of the Indo-Pacific Quad. (File/REUTERS)

On 30 July 2025, US President Donald Trump delivered a devastating blow to one of Americas most critical strategic partnerships. In a Truth Social post that sent shockwaves through New Delhi, Trump announced a punitive 25 per cent tariff on all Indian imports, coupled with unspecified penalties targeting Indias energy and defence trade with Russia.

The move marks the highest tariff rate imposed on any Asian nation, significantly exceeding the levies on Vietnam (20 per cent) and Indonesia (19 per cent). However, tariffs on India also point to a deepening distrust among American allies in Asia and, as a result, undermine strategic multilateral partnerships  prime among them, the Quad. The imposition of tariffs constitutes a fundamental betrayal of the strategic trust that underpins the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

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The timing of the announcement could hardly be more damaging. India had been among the first nations to engage Washington in trade negotiations when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House earlier this year. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had expressed optimism just days earlier about concluding a consequential partnership".

But Trumps decision to impose the harshest Asian tariff regime on India  despite months of active negotiations and Indias role as a cornerstone of Americas Indo-Pacific strategy  reveals the transactional brutality that now characterises US alliance management.

Indias Measured Defiance

Indias response to Trumps ultimatum reflects both diplomatic restraint and steel. The Government will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest," the statement declared, whilst reaffirming Indias commitment to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs".

By explicitly prioritising national interests, as the government should, over American pressure, India has shown its unwillingness to open up core economic sectors, particularly agriculture and dairy. Piyush Goyal underlined in his response today that even when negotiations resume, even in the face of 25 per cent tariffs, when faced with American bullying  even if it comes in the form of Trump  India will negotiate from a position of strength and will not compromise the security of its farmers at any cost.

The measured tone stands in stark contrast to how the American President announced the tariffs: ranting. It must have irritated Trump to his core, hence his follow-up rant on dead economies".

Whilst tariffs were anticipated, the severity of the 25 per cent levy, combined with additional penalties, represented an unfavourable deal that exceeded worst-case scenarios. This betrayal of expectations, particularly given Indias early engagement in trade talks, fundamentally alters the trust equation between the two nations.

Trumps assault also accelerates Indias pursuit of alternative partnerships and markets. The governments statement explicitly referenced its comprehensive trade agreement with the UK, signalling confidence in diversifying beyond American-dominated frameworks. Indias participation in BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and bilateral partnerships, along with advanced FTA talks with the EU and ASEAN nations, reduces dependence on any single power.

Quad Under Siege

Trumps tariff offensive extends far beyond India, systematically undermining every Quad partner. Japan faces a 15 per cent tariff deal that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has characterised as disappointing, whilst Australia confronts baseline steel and aluminium levies despite its AUKUS commitments.

Trumps coordinated economic assault on Americas closest Indo-Pacific allies reveals a fundamental contradiction in his approach: demanding strategic cooperation whilst inflicting economic punishment, and at the same time withering under pressure when China bit back. Perhaps that is the only way to deal with this belligerent US President, who seems bent on dragging American diplomacy back to the early 1900s.

The economic impact on India could prove devastating, with economists projecting GDP growth reductions of 2050 basis points if the tariffs remain in place  a prospect that may well define this era of Trumps so-called Taco policy.

The threat extends across Indias most competitive export sectors, including pharmaceuticals, textiles, gems and jewellery, and electronics  industries that collectively employ millions and represent Indias manufacturing ambitions. Trumps additional penalties targeting Indias Russian energy imports could further compound these costs, potentially forcing refiners to abandon discounted crude that has supported profitability.

However, industry leaders have spoken out, and the pharmaceutical sector has particularly refuted the notion that tariffs will hurt it, noting that exports to the US account for only 0.3 per cent.

For Japan, the frustration centres on steel exports and automotive components, sectors where Japanese companies have invested heavily in US-oriented production. Australias concerns focus on steel and aluminium tariffs that could undermine industrial partnerships developed through decades of alliance cooperation. The cumulative effect creates a crisis of confidence in American economic partnerships across the Indo-Pacific.

While polls conducted by the Lowy Institute last month suggest continued public support for alliance relationships, with 80 per cent of Australians backing the US alliance and nearly 90 per cent of Japanese supporting the partnership, trust in American reliability has plummeted dramatically. Only 36 per cent of Australians now trust the United States, representing the lowest figure ever recorded, whilst Japanese confidence in American defence commitments has collapsed from over 40 per cent to just 15 per cent.

Trumps ultimatum places India in an impossible strategic position. The timing of economic coercion coincides with tentative improvements in IndiaChina relations following recent border agreements. While China cannot be trusted in the long run, it could be the piece of wood that helps us float through this phase of the self-acclaimed era of American renaissance.

The Military Dimension

Trumps administration seeks to militarise the Quad relationship in ways that contradict Indias strategic culture and practical constraints. Secretary of State Marco Rubios emphasis on China as the defining challenge of this century" implies expectations of military alignment that India cannot fulfil without compromising core interests.

Indias resistance to military alliance structures reflects both historical experience and contemporary strategic requirements. The nations doctrine of strategic autonomy emerged from Non-Aligned Movement principles that prioritised independence of action over alliance dependence. Contemporary applications of this doctrine enable India to engage simultaneously with American, Russian, and Chinese partners, whilst avoiding the constraints of formal military commitments.

The geographic reality of Indias position reinforces these preferences. Unlike maritime allies who can project power at safe distances from Chinese territory, India confronts China across disputed land borders  measuring 3,488 kilometres  where miscalculation could trigger immediate military escalation.

The Quads Survival Paradox

The United States seeks strategic cooperation against China, but it inflicts economic punishment on the very partners essential for this competition. It undermines the trust and mutual benefit that effective alliances require. The result: partners drift towards the adversaries America seeks to contain.

The Quads survival depends on recognising these contradictions, and the US President needs to understand that while the MAGA economy may help push domestic manufacturing in the US, it comes at the cost of Americas allies in the East and leaves Asia in a weaker position than ever before.

Indias measured response demonstrates a continued commitment to strategic cooperation, whilst defending core national interests. However, sustained American economic coercion could force India to prioritise alternative partnerships that offer genuine reciprocity rather than subordination.

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The ultimate irony of Trumps strategy lies in its potential to achieve Chinas objectives through American actions. By fragmenting alliances, undermining partner confidence, and forcing strategic realignments, Trumps approach risks creating the very strategic isolation that Chinese leaders have long sought to achieve. The Quads survival requires American recognition that effective alliance management demands partnership, not dominance  a lesson that Trumps transactional worldview seems incapable of accommodating.

Whether the Quad can survive Trumps assault on this fundamental principle will determine not only the alliances future but the broader trajectory of Indo-Pacific strategic competition.

About the Author Sohil Sinha Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects. Sohil Sinha is a Sub Editor at News18. He writes on foreign affairs, geopolitics along with domestic policy and infrastructure projects.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 11:22 IST

News opinion Opinion | With Donald Trump Turning On Allies, Is The Quad At Risk?

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Andhra Minister's Brother Slaps Cop On Cam After Being Denied Immediate Entry To Temple

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 08:36 IST

Andhra Pradesh Minister Janardhan Reddy's brother allegedly slapped a constable on camera after being denied immediate entry to the temple.

Andhra Pradesh Minister's brother slaps cop in temple (Photo: X/ @YSRCParty)

Madan Bhupal Reddy, brother of Andhra Pradesh Minister BC Janardhan Reddy, allegedly slapped a constable in public at the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Kolimigundla, Kurnool district.

The incident was caught on camera, drawing criticism from the Opposition  YSRCP, which accused the TDP leaders and their family members of displaying arrogance", alleging that the police force has been reduced to a tool under political pressure".

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The assault incident took place on Wednesday during the temples inauguration, where a large number of people were present.

The TDP leaders brother allegedly demanded immediate entry into the temple and entered into a heated argument with Constable, identified as Jashwanth, who was on duty to manage the crowd.

When the cop denied his request, Madan allegedly abused him verbally and attacked him physically, who was seen retaliating in the video.

In a shocking incident, the brother of TDP Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy slapped a police constable on duty, openly displaying the arrogance and lawlessness associated with TDP leaders and their families. The assault happened in public view, yet no immediate action was taken, pic.twitter.com/CqgMDVeAVk YSR Congress Party (@YSRCParty) July 31, 2025

The situation was brought under control after other police personnel intervened. The video of the incident went viral on social media, prompting the TDP minister to condemn the attack. He called for strict legal action against his brother.

YSRCP shared the video on X and attacked the government, alleging the incident reflects the growing impunity enjoyed by those close to power".

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In a shocking incident, the brother of TDP Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy slapped a police constable on duty, openly displaying the arrogance and lawlessness associated with TDP leaders and their families. The assault happened in public view, yet no immediate action was taken, exposing how the police force has been reduced to a tool under political pressure in the current coalition government," YSRCP tweeted.

This shameful act reflects the growing impunity enjoyed by those close to power, where even law enforcement officers are not spared. The silence of the government on this incident raises serious concerns about rule of law in Andhra Pradesh," the party 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

Location : Andhra Pradesh, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 08:36 IST

News politics Andhra Minister's Brother Slaps Cop On Cam After Being Denied Immediate Entry To Temple

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Assam CM Himanta Alleges Malegaon Probe Was Congress' Conspiracy To Frame RSS Chief

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 15:20 IST

CM Himanta said that then home minister P. Chidambaram should be asked why he 'tried to frame the Hindu society with terror'.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.

A day after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused in the Malegaon blast case, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday alleged that the investigation into the case was a conspiracy by the Congress to frame RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

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While addressing a press conference, Sarma called it a political witch hunt" by the then home minister P. Chidambaram. He also alleged that the entire plan was to defame the RSS and the Hindu religion.

It is a known conspiracy that the Congress wanted to bring Bhagwat into the matter, but yesterdays court verdict, acquitting all seven accused, has exposed the party," he claimed.

He should be asked why he tried to frame the Hindu society with terror. People should also ask this question to him," added the Assam CM.

#WATCH | Guwahati, Assam: On the NIA court acquitting all the accused in the Malegaon Blast case, Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, says, We all know that the entire reality of the case was to arrest the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. Congress has conspired to bring Mohan Bhagwat into pic.twitter.com/SWWVlDe8mm ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

The Malegaon blast case dates back to September 2008, when a blast claimed six lives and injured 101 people after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon, Maharashtra.

The verdict in the case came on Thursday, 17 years after the incident took place. The court acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Prasad Purohit, noting that there was no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.

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Special Judge AK Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), said that no religion teaches violence and that terrorism has no religion, but the court cannot convict on mere perception.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 15:20 IST

News politics Assam CM Himanta Alleges Malegaon Probe Was Congress' Conspiracy To Frame RSS Chief

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The production of drones in Ukraine in 2024 reached 1.7 million units against 1,200 units in 2022, electronic warfare and radiological protection equipment reached 34,700 units against 53 units, the StateWatch analytical center said, citing consolidated data from defense agencies and Ukrainian enterprises.

"Drone production in Ukraine in 2024 reached 1.7 million units. According to the consolidated data of defense departments and Ukrainian enterprises, this is more than 1,400 times more than in 2022 (1,200 units). Also, electronic warfare (EW) and electronic reconnaissance (ER) equipment were produced last year in the amount of 34,700 units compared to 53 units in 2022," the StateWatch report, received by Interfax-Ukraine on Friday, reads.

However, as noted, these data do not take into account equipment manufactured in Ukraine on orders from charitable organizations, military units, city councils, etc. It is expected that in 2025 the Ukrainian defense sector has the capacity to produce more than 8 million units of UAVs and 385,800 EW and ER equipment.

StateWatch reports this with reference to the report of the Ministry of Strategic Industries (now liquidated) on the results of the implementation of a pilot project on defense procurement of unmanned systems, electronic warfare and active means of countering technical intelligence of domestic production. The report indicates a significant increase in the production of codified, approved for operation and adopted for service UAV, electronic warfare and electronic warfare products in Ukraine. In particular, in 2022, 1,200 units of the following nomenclature were manufactured: reconnaissance copters of class I (mini, small and medium range), deep-attack kamikaze aircraft, kamikaze attack copters/FPV. The following year, production increased to 415,030 units, and the model range was replenished with kamikaze attack aircraft with a range of up to 40 kilometers and reusable aircraft with a range of over 500 kilometers. During 2024, production increased threefold in volume  to 1.7 million, while this year they can potentially produce up to 8 million drones.

Among the manufacturers of ground robotic complexes (GRCs), five enterprises operated on the market in 2022, of which only three had ready-made prototypes of products. In particular, only one type of GRC was presented  logistics, of which only two units were manufactured during the year. In 2023, ten more companies were already operating among the manufacturers, and the number of devices reached 200 units. At the same time, the types of GRCs expanded: combat, miner/kamikaze and remotely controlled combat module were added. In 2024, the number of enterprises already numbered 30, which together produced 3,000 GRCs. Currently, there are more than 120 different products from 70 manufacturers, including more than 80 models certified and approved for purchase by state customers.

In addition, in 2022, manufacturers presented only tactical portable electronic warfare and electronic reconnaissance vehicles, and the production volume was only 53 units. However, in 2023, the number almost doubled to 98 units, and in 2024, to 34,400. The types of EW and ER have expanded from two to seven types from 2022. Currently, they produce: tactical and stationary systems, means for covering equipment and trenches, backpacks, portable, rifles and jamming units. For 2025, 385,800 units are forecast, plus two new types  a module and a strategic complex.

The now-liquidated Ministry of Strategic Industry noted that such production dynamics became possible thanks to a pilot project on the procurement of drones, electronic warfare and active means of countering technical intelligence. The project has been in operation since March 2023 under Cabinet Resolution No. 256 with the aim of improving the procedure for conducting defense procurement for defense needs, increasing the level of transparency and competitiveness of procedures, and supporting Ukrainian manufacturers. Financing was provided from the state budget, United24 funds, and other sources.

As StateWatch noted, the pilot project identified the following structural problems that need to be resolved: uncertainty regarding quality control standards; insufficient integration of simplified procedures into nationwide IT accounting systems; difficulty in transitioning from experimental operation to serial supply without additional regulatory support.

It is noted that in December 2024, the government officially enshrined the results of the experiment in permanent legislation. Now the simplified procedure for purchasing drones and electronic warfare equipment will be in effect permanently, not temporarily.
'Insulted Noble Tradition': Vijayan Slams National Awards Jury Over 'The Kerala Story' Win

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 22:45 IST

In a statement, Chief Minister Vijayan said the film was made with lies to defame Kerala and spread communalism

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (File photo)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday condemned the decision to award The Kerala Story at the 71st National Film Awards, calling it an insult to the noble tradition of Indian cinema".

The film, directed by Sudipto Sen, won Best Director and Best Cinematography (for Prasantanu Mohapatra), prompting backlash from the Kerala government. The controversial 2023 release had faced widespread criticism for allegedly misrepresenting facts and portraying Kerala in a communal light.

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In a statement, Chief Minister Vijayan said the film was made with lies to defame Kerala and spread communalism". He added that by honouring such a film, the awards jury had insulted the noble tradition of Indian cinema that stood for religious brotherhood and national integration."

By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Keralas image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the #NationalFilmAwards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Kerala, a Pinarayi Vijayan (@pinarayivijayan) August 1, 2025

The Chief Minister further alleged that the move reflected the ideological agenda of the Sangh Parivar. They implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda of turning cinema into a weapon to implement the communal agenda," he said.

Vijayan urged all democratic-minded citizens and Malayalis to speak out against what he described as a grave injustice.

Every Malayali and all democratic believers in the country should raise their voice against this injustice. We must rally against politics that turns art into a weapon to foster communalism," he stated.

Additionally, Keralas Education Minister V Sivankutty also voiced his disapproval. In a post on X, he congratulated the Kerala winnersUrvashi, Vijayaraghavan, and Christo Tomybut criticised the decision to award The Kerala Story.

Congrats to all the National Film Awards 2025 winners from Kerala, especially @christotomy for Ullozhukku, Urvashi and Vijayaraghavan for supporting roles. However, recognising The Kerala Story, a film that spreads hate and baseless allegations, devalues all other awards. V. Sivankutty (@VSivankuttyCPIM) August 1, 2025

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Recognising The Kerala Story, a film that spreads hate and baseless allegations, devalues all other awards," he wrote.

The Kerala Story has remained one of the most polarising films in recent years. The film depicts the alleged radicalisation and trafficking of women from Kerala, a narrative many have dismissed as exaggerated and misleading. Despite this, the film was a commercial hit, grossing over Rs 300 crore globally.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More

Location : Kerala, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 22:00 IST

News politics 'Insulted Noble Tradition': Vijayan Slams National Awards Jury Over 'The Kerala Story' Win

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'Dangerous Game': Rijiju Responds To Rahul Gandhis 'Atom Bomb' Attack On ECI

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 15:18 IST

Taking a hardline position, Gandhi warned those within the Commission allegedly complicit in the exercise, stating that their actions amount to treason.

File photo of Rahul Gandhi.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday launched a scathing attack on Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of using anti-India language" and undermining democratic institutions. Rijiju said even members of the Opposition were critical of Gandhis remarks, particularly his description of India as a dead economy."

Rahul Gandhis anti-India language is being opposed by many prominent people in the Opposition too. They also say you cannot describe India as a dead economy," Rijiju stated. He urged Gandhi to act with responsibility befitting his role: Rahul Gandhi should know he is not a small child. He should act like the Leader of the Opposition."

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Rijiju also accused the Opposition of deliberately stalling parliamentary proceedings, arguing that the ultimate losers were Opposition MPs themselves. The Opposition is not allowing the House to function. The maximum loss is to the Opposition MPs, who cant raise peoples issues," he said. He added that both the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman had made it clear that discussions must remain within the purview of parliamentary rules.

The minister went on to allege that Gandhi was repeatedly threatening constitutional authorities" and speaking against the nation," adding, Many are saying Rahul Gandhi is playing a dangerous game to harm the nation."

The sharp remarks came just days after Rahul Gandhi escalated his attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of facilitating voter fraud to benefit the BJP. Addressing the media, Gandhi said the Congress had conducted a six-month-long investigation into the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, uncovering what he called open-and-shut proof" of the ECIs complicity.

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Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft The things we found are an atom bomb. And when this atom bomb explodes, you wont see the Election Commission in the country," Gandhi declared.

He went further, calling the alleged actions of ECI officials no less than treason." Whoever in the Election Commission is involved, top to bottom, we will not spare you. Even if you are retired, we will find you," he warned.

About the Author Abhro Banerjee Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ... Read More Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small events, includ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 14:55 IST

News politics 'Dangerous Game': Rijiju Responds To Rahul Gandhis 'Atom Bomb' Attack On ECI

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Nun Arrests Threaten BJPs Kerala Christian Project: How The Party May Undo The Damage

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 14:18 IST

The state unit of the BJP has already sent its General Secretary, Anoop Antonythe partys Christian face in Kerala BJPto Raipur to engage with Chhattisgarh leaders

Members of Christian community take part in a protest rally against the arrest of two Kerala nuns on allegations of forcible conversion and trafficking in Chhattisgarh, in Hyderabad, on Thursday. (PTI)

Two Catholic nuns from Kerala  Sister Preethi Mary and Sister Vandana Francis of the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate (ASMI)  were arrested by the Railway Police in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion of tribal girls from Maoist-affected Narayanpur.

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Although their bail pleas were rejected on July 30 by a Durg court, which referred the nuns to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Bilaspur, the political fallout has already begun and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  the new kid on the bloc in Kerala politics, which saw a 3.7% jump in vote share with its first ever Lok Sabha seat from the state in 2024 election backed by the Christian community in the statestands to lose much of its hard-earned political space among the community that so far aligned with either the Congress-led UDF or the Left-led LDF.

Sources indicate that while the intervention in the BJP came from the highest quarters to douse it before it turns into a wildfire, the Kerala BJP is in a precarious situation.

Undoing Christian outreach in Kerala?

The Kerala BJP has invested heavily in building goodwill with church leadersorganising Sneha Yatras, nurturing Christian leadership within the party, and portraying a moderate, inclusive face to Keralas sizable Christian electorate. According to 2011 census, Keralas Christian population makes up roughly 18-19% of the states total population.

But the arrest has thrown all that into disarray. BJP insiders admit it is a severe headache" that has the potential to seriously undo the ground gained among Christians, a vote bank the BJP hoped to cultivate ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

Daily street protests in solidarity with the two nuns have become a common sight in different parts of Kerala, including ThrissurBJPs first-ever Kerala seat that was won backed by the overriding support of the Christian community. What should trouble the BJP is the active role played by the Church, where powerful bodies such as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church threw their weight behind the agitation.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Father Eugene Pereira, Vicar General of the Latin Catholic Archdiocese, who has been the face of many protests from the Vizhinjam Port Protest in 2022 to Muthalapozhi protests too, lent his voice for the two arrested nuns, calling it a violation of the constitutional rights of minorities".

The Church of South India (CSI) Synod Secretariatone of the largest Protestant denominations in India, which covers four southern statesKerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana and the union territory of Puducherry  has now come out with a condemnation, making it politically hard for the BJP.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, CSI Synod general secretary C. Fernandas Rathina Raja said, Such acts not only violate the fundamental rights but also infringe upon the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom and the right to practice and propagate ones faith."

BJPs damage control

The BJP, whose state unit understands the precarious situation they are in, have found an ally in its top leadership, which has stepped in for a timely stitch to save nine. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is believed to have asked the BJP-led Chhattisgarh government not to oppose the bail plea of the two nuns who are expected to walk out on Friday itself.

CPIM MP from Kerala John Brittas told the media in Delhi, The left delegation MPs met the Home Minister He promised to facilitate the nuns release. They will be released on bail tomorrow. That is the expectation. He also said that appropriate instructions have been given to the Chhattisgarh government. They will not oppose the bail of the nuns"

Meanwhile, the state unit of the BJP has already sent its General Secretary, Anoop Antonythe partys Christian face in Kerala BJPto Raipur to engage with Chhattisgarh leaders, promising resolution and justice for the nuns. While he met the two nuns who are in judicial custody, Antony also had a closed-door meeting with Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy CM Vijay Sharma, who also holds the Home portfolio, over the issue and how the release of the two nuns can be secured legally.

Interestingly, Kerala BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar was swift in distancing himself from the Chhattisgarh CMs rhetoric, calling the incident a misunderstanding" due to procedural lapsesnot trafficking or conversionand pledged party support to the nuns, calling both of them innocent.

Interestingly, as Shah promised Brittas about the release of the two nuns on Friday, Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs and another Christian face of the BJP from Kerala is in the state while the Parliament is in session. It is seen that George Kurian is being sent as the Centres representative during the nuns homecoming.

Does that mean all is well? No. There lingers a problem within the saffron fold where senior functionaries of Hindu Aikya Vedi, an umbrella organisation of pro-Sangh groups, are taking to social media and lashing out at the Christian missionaries" for their alleged massive conversion"something both the state BJP and central BJP are not very comfortable with.

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Moreover, this momentary glitch between the Church and the BJP in Kerala has given a space to the left and the Congress to exploit further.

But every time such glitch happens, I am reminded of a Sangh ideologue who once said, Kerala is like a test match. You have to be patient."

About the Author Anindya Banerjee Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ... Read More Anindya Banerjee, Associate Editor brings over fifteen years of journalistic courage to the forefront. With a keen focus on politics and policy, Anindya has garnered a wealth of experience, with deep throat in ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 14:00 IST

News politics Nun Arrests Threaten BJPs Kerala Christian Project: How The Party May Undo The Damage

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PDF Uploads, School Plans And More: Google AI Mode In Search Gets New Features For Students

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 11:51 IST

Google AI mode on desktop and mobile is getting new student-friendly features just in time for the back to school season.

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Google AI mode is getting new desktop-centric tools

Google AI Mode in Search is now getting more power which helps you understand text given in images, craft a plan for school or work and others. The companys new push is part of the back to school season in the US and many other regions. Most of the new tools in AI Mode have been available on the Google app for Android and iOS users but now they will work on the desktop version through the Google Search website as well.

More importantly, AI mode on the web is also offering support for Live feature so that you can ask AI to see whats on the screen and explain it briefly.

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New AI Mode Search Tools Coming Your Way

Google says the new AI Mode features not only help students but also parents and educators with different use cases. AI Mode will soon let you upload PDF files on desktop so that the AI can help you with complex problems and questions through search. These could be documents around your summer project or a very important test coming up, Googles AI mode is there to assist and even teach you to some extent.

AI Mode is also now getting a new Canvas mode where you can build plans for a project/homework or even a test. It even organises the structure for the plan in a side panel with immediate updates available for viewing. There is a Create Canvas button in the AI mode that gets you started.

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Search Live is another big element of Googles AI journey and its availability on the desktop makes it even more appealing for users. This is the Project Astra version taking full shape and now available to the public within the Google app. Google says you just have to open the main app and then tap on the Live icon to let AI see near you through the phones camera.

And finally, Lens will also work on the desktop, primarily on Chrome. The company is adding a new Ask Google about this page option when you click on the website/address bar. Google will let the AI handle the heavy work, solve the problem in the background and present it on the screen.

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

Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google, Get latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated!

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 11:51 IST

News tech PDF Uploads, School Plans And More: Google AI Mode In Search Gets New Features For Students

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Vodafone Idea 5G Continues Its Expansion, Now Available In 9 More Cities: Prepaid Plans And Data Speed

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 08:17 IST

Vi 5G network is gradually coming to more cities in India with promise of unlimited 5G data plans that work across devices.

Vodafone Idea 5G is now coming to more cities in India

Vodafone Idea (Vi) 5G network is gradually coming to more cities in India and nine more have been added to its service list this week. Vi 5G services have started in Delhi, Bengaluru, Patna and Mumbai among others so far, and the operator has announced that the 5G network will be coming to 23 more cities in 2025 which includes the latest additions. Vi 5G is the only network offering unlimited 5G data across all its plans and the company is hoping that consumers consider its 5G services as a solid option.

Vi 5G Now Coming To These 9 Cities

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Vi 5G has announced the list of new cities where its high-speed data network will be available in the next few days:

Meerut

Malappuram

Kozhikode

Chhatrapati

Sambhajinagar

Nashik

Ahmedabad

Rajkot

Surat

Vadodara

Going by this list, Vi is gradually making its way beyond the tier 1 and 2 cities and you have cities across different parts of the country in focus with this phased 5G rollout. The company also claims over 70 percent of eligible Vi 5G users have already experienced the benefits of its high-speed network.

Vodafone Idea 5G Launch Plans, Speed And More

The Vodafone Idea 5G prepaid plans start at Rs 299, offering 1GB of data per day for a 28-day validity. The company also provides plans at Rs 349 and Rs 365 that include 1.5GB and 2GB of daily data, respectively, for the same duration.

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Vi has introduced a dedicated website detailing its 5G connectivity features and new prepaid and postpaid plans. Currently, Vi is the only telecom provider in India offering unlimited 5G broadband on plans with less than 2GB of daily data.

Vodafone Idea 5G services will work on all smartphones launched in the country after Jan 1, 2020 that come with VoLTE compatibility. In the last few weeks, Vi 5G services have been launched in cities like Jaipur, Mysuru, Nagpur, and other regions in the country as it looks to battle it out with other telcos in the sector.

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

Get latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated.

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: August 01, 2025, 08:17 IST

News tech Vodafone Idea 5G Continues Its Expansion, Now Available In 9 More Cities: Prepaid Plans And Data Speed

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Royal Wedding Soon: Peter Phillips, Queen Elizabeth's 'Favourite', Engaged To UK Nurse

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 22:52 IST

Peter Phillips, Queen Elizabeth II's eldest grandchild, is engaged to pediatric nurse Harriet Sperling.

Harriet Sperling and Peter Phillips are seen. (Image Credit: X)

Peter Phillips, the eldest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the only son of Princess Anne, announced his engagement to Harriet Sperling, a pediatric nurse with the UKs National Health Service. The couple confirmed the news in a statement following a year of dating.

Mr. Peter Phillips, the son of HRH The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips, and Ms. Harriet Sperling, daughter of the late Mr. Rupert Sanders and Mrs. Mary Sanders of Gloucestershire, have today confirmed their official engagement," a statement issued by the couples spokesperson said.

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Both families were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement. Their Majesties The King and Queen, The Prince and Princess of Wales have been informed," it added.

No date has yet been set for the wedding. The couple made their public debut in May 2024 at the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire. Since then, Harriet Sperling has been seen at royal events including Royal Ascot, often alongside Princess Anne and Queen Camilla.

Harriet Sperling, who also works as a freelance writer, has one daughter named Georgia. In past writings, she has spoken about her experience living with a chronic neurological condition and balancing that with motherhood and faith.

Peter Phillips Previous Marriage

Peter Phillips, 47, was previously married to Canadian-born Autumn Kelly. The two wed at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor in 2008 and share two daughters- Savannah (14) and Isla (13). They announced their separation in 2020 and finalized their divorce in 2021, calling it an amicable" decision focused on their childrens wellbeing. Following his divorce, Peter Phillips was in a three-year relationship with Lindsay Wallace, appearing with her at several royal functions including the Platinum Jubilee and the Coronation Concert for King Charles.

Who Is Peter Phillips?

Peter Phillips is the eldest child of Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. Born in 1977, he holds no royal title at the request of his parents, who wanted their children to lead more private lives. Despite that, Peter Phillips has remained active in public life and royal events. He is currently 18th in line to the British throne and is known for his close relationship with his cousins, including Prince William and Prince Harry.

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How Many Grandchildren Did Queen Elizabeth II Have?

Queen Elizabeth II had eight grandchildren: Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, the children of Princess Anne; Prince William and Prince Harry, the sons of King Charles III; Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, the daughters of Prince Andrew; and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, the children of Prince Edward. Peter Phillips is the eldest among them and was the first of his generation to publicly separate from a spouse.

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Location : United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: August 01, 2025, 22:52 IST

News viral Royal Wedding Soon: Peter Phillips, Queen Elizabeth's 'Favourite', Engaged To UK Nurse

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Pakistan Hit With 19% Trump Tariffs Even After Oil, Trade Deals With US

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 11:26 IST

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order revising tariffs, reducing the duty on Pakistani goods from 29 per cent to 19 per cent.

File photos of Donald Trump/Shehbaz Sharif (AP)

As US President Donald Trump signed an executive order revising tariffs for multiple countries, he slapped a 19 per cent tariff on Pakistani goods on Friday.

Earlier, Pakistan had been subjected to a steep 29 per cent duty. However, the final list released showed the countrys tariff rate lowered to 19 per cent.

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This came even as Trump had announced that the United States and Pakistan reached a trade agreement.

On Friday, the White House released an expansive list of duties that Washington will impose on exports from countries around the world, including a 25 per cent tariff on India.

The new rates will come into effect beginning August 7.

Meanwhile, the trade deal between the US and Pakistan was expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistans oil reserves and lower tariffs for the country.

We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership," Trump added.

Who knows, maybe theyll be selling oil to India someday!" he mentioned in his post.

WHITE HOUSEs REVISED TARIFF LIST

In the new executive order, Trump said that some trading partners have agreed to, or are on the verge of agreeing to, meaningful trade and security commitments with the United States, thus signalling their sincere intentions to permanently remedy trade barriers and to align with the United States on economic and national security matters.

Other trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters," he said.

Trump further said in the order that there are also some trading partners that have failed to engage in negotiations with the United States or to take adequate steps to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters.

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The tariff modifications shall be effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12.01 am Eastern Daylight Time, seven days after the date of this order."

ALSO READ | India Drops US F-35 Jet Deal After Donald Trumps Tariff Blow: Report

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 11:07 IST

News world Pakistan Hit With 19% Trump Tariffs Even After Oil, Trade Deals With US

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At PLAs Event In Rawalpindi, Pakistan Signals Strategic Embrace Of China | Exclusive

Reported By :

CNN-News18

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 18:18 IST

Pakistans Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir used the occasion to praise the PLAs role in Chinas national development and defence structure

General Munir described the PLA and the Pakistan Army as true brothers-in-arms with unshakable trust. (Image via X)

Pakistan openly showcased its deepening military alignment with China by hosting the 98th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) at General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi on Friday.

Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong was the Chief Guest, underlining the strength of the PLA-Pakistan Army partnership. Pakistans Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir used the occasion to praise the PLAs role in Chinas national development and defence structure.

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The symbolic choice of GHQ as the venue sent a strong message, this was more than a diplomatic gesture  it projected institutional and military integration between the two nations.

General Munir described the PLA and the Pakistan Army as true brothers-in-arms" with unshakable trust."

The event was attended by top officers from all three branches of Pakistans armed forces. The Chinese envoy, in turn, applauded Pakistans counterterrorism efforts and reaffirmed the growing strategic partnership.

Tactical Balancing Act

According to intelligence sources speaking to CNN-News18, Pakistan continues to walk a fine line between China and the United States, securing financial and military support from both the countries and by playing the role of an important ally in different theatres."

The sources further added that, while Islamabad presents itself to Beijing as the protector of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) interests, it simultaneously positions itself as a key partner to Washington in matters related to Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Balochistan".

Sources say Pakistan has used controlled crackdowns on Baloch groups to appease China, while using selective counterterror operations to satisfy the US, including rebranding militant outfits like Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Milli Muslim League as charity or political groups.

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At the same time, Pakistan is said to covertly maintain and manage proxy networks in Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Balochistan  allowing it to play both sides.

Military assistance, including drones, surveillance systems, and defence hardware, continues to come from both China and the US, helping Pakistan maintain this dual strategy," the source adde,

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Location : Pakistan

First Published: August 01, 2025, 18:16 IST

News world At PLAs Event In Rawalpindi, Pakistan Signals Strategic Embrace Of China | Exclusive

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'US Itself Continues To Engage In Trade With Russia': China On Trump's Tariff Threats

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 09:27 IST

China has strongly rejected US accusations of aiding Russia and condemned new US tariffs on countries buying sanctioned Russian oil.

A file photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP)

China has hit back at the United States over its tariffs, after the Donald Trump administration said it would levy tariffs of up to 500 per cent on countries that purchase sanctioned Russian oil.

The United States had also expressed displeasure at Chinas continued purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil and its sales of over USD 15 billion worth of dual-use technology goods to Russia.

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Addressing the media over the same, Chinas deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, refuted accusations made by the US representative against China at a UN Security Council meeting on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine.

I responded to such accusations on multiple occasions in past meetings. Since the US insists on repeating the same rhetoric, I find it necessary to set the record straight once again," Shuang said.

First, China is not the creator of the Ukraine crisis, nor is it a party to the conflict. China has never provided lethal weapons to any party involved in the conflict," he added.

We have always strictly controlled the export of dual-use items, including drones. Second, the UN Security Council has not imposed sanctions on any party of the conflict," he said.

China maintains normal trade relations with both Russia and Ukraine, in full compliance with international law and without breaching any international obligations. Chinas legitimate and lawful rights and interests must not be infringed upon," he said.

In fact, the US itself continues to engage in trade with Russia to this day. Why should it be acceptable for the US to do so, but not for others?"

Third, the Ukraine crisis is currently at a critical juncture, with a genuine prospect for a political resolution. The US cannot, on the one hand, ask China to play a constructive role in ending the war, while on the other hand, continuously smear and pressure China," he added.

We once again urge the US to stop playing the blame game and scapegoating others, and instead contribute positively to efforts for a ceasefire, de-escalation, and the promotion of a dialogue and negotiation," he said.

US and Chinese officials met in Stockholm on Monday for more than five hours of talks aimed at resolving economic disputes with a goal of extending their truce on a trade war by three months.

China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach a durable tariff agreement with Trumps administration, after Beijing and Washington reached preliminary deals in May and June to end escalating tit-for-tat tariffs and a cut-off of rare earth minerals.

TRUMPs 25 PER CENT TARIFF IMPOSITION ON INDIA

Chinas remarks came as Donald Trump also announced 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India, plus a penalty for New Delhis purchases from Russia.

Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers of any Country," Trump said, adding that the US has a massive" trade deficit with India.

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Disapproving of New Delhis defence deals with Moscow, the US President said India has always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia".

They are Russias largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine," he had said.

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 09:22 IST

News world 'US Itself Continues To Engage In Trade With Russia': China On Trump's Tariff Threats

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Desperation, Fight For Survival: Satellite Image Shows Starving Gazans Swarming Aid Trucks

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 14:04 IST

A satellite image shows thousands of Palestinians around aid trucks in Gaza, highlighting the severe humanitarian crisis. Conditions are catastrophic, with malnutrition rampant.

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen, in Gaza City, on July 26, 2025. (Image: AP/ file photo)

As human suffering continues in Gaza amid conflict with Israel, a recent satellite image captured by US geospatial firm Planet Labs shows a harrowing scene in the war-torn strip. The image shows thousands of Gazans surrounding aid trucks, desperate for basic food supplies like flour, according to a report in India Today.

At first glance, the mass of people resembles a colony of ants  but in reality, it reflects one of the gravest humanitarian crises that the millennial and Gen Z generations have experienced so far.

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Shot near the Morag corridor, an Israeli military partition dividing the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, the image was geolocated by open-source analyst Jaks Godin. The pic reveals a line of aid seekers stretching nearly 2 km north toward Khan Younis, underlining the overwhelming desperation at food distribution points.

25% Kids, Pregnant Women Malnourished In Gaza

Conditions in the besieged strip have reached catastrophic levels. Charity Doctors Without Borders reports that 25 per cent of young children and pregnant women are malnourished. The organization has accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon and condemned the deadly violence at aid sites.

UNICEF has voiced similar concerns. With severe food shortages, children are resorting to searching for food from garbage piles.

Children are dead, pale, turning to skeletons, only bones. They forgot what eggs, meat and fruits are. The men are all without jobs. There is nothing to live by. Life here is completely lost," Reuters quoted a Gazan woman, mother of three, as saying. She also lamented the lack of fuel to cook food.

As the crisis continues to hit people hardest, adults return from food queues humiliated and injured.

Access to aid remains severely limited. Israel has heavily restricted food truck entries, prompting several nations to airdrop supplies  a method Gazans say is chaotic and inefficient.

In one such instance, a package landed on a rooftop, inciting a mob, said a Gazan man.

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Tragically, aid distribution has also turned deadly. The Gaza Health Ministry claims over 600 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food at sites managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the US and Israel. A Sky News analysis linked spikes in civilian deaths to GHF aid distributions, often announced with less than 30 minutes notice.

As famine tightens its grip on the war-torn strip, the images and testimonies reveal a horrifying truth about the Gazan population pushed to the edge  battling not just hunger, but violence and despair.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18... Read More Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18... Read More

Location : Palestine

First Published: August 01, 2025, 14:04 IST

News world Desperation, Fight For Survival: Satellite Image Shows Starving Gazans Swarming Aid Trucks

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US President Donald Trump said that, according to US data, about 112,500 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine since the beginning of the year.

I have just been informed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine. Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year. That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH! Trump said on the Truth Social.

He noted that Ukraine had also suffered greatly.

They have lost approximately 8,000 soldiers since January 1, 2025, and that number does not include their missing. Ukraine has also lost civilians, but in smaller numbers, as Russian rockets crash into Kyiv, and other Ukrainian locales, Trump said.

This is a War that should have never happened  This is Bidens War, not TRUMPs. Im just here to see if I can stop it! the US President summed up.
'Disappointed': Canada PM Mark Carney After Trump Raises Tariff From 25% To 35%

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 12:10 IST

Taking to X, Carney said that Canada remains committed to CUSMA, which is the worlds second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume.

Canadian PM has expressed his dissatisfaction on Trump's tariff announcement

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed his disappointment with US President Donald Trumps imposition of tariff in a post on X.

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While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the worlds second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume," Carney wrote as the US raised the tariffs on Canadian goods to 35 per cent from 25 per cent.

He further also said that the government will take action to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, and diversify export markets.

For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets," he said.

Trump has threatened Canada for months, even suggesting it should become the 51st US state. He had warned of imposing higher tariffs if a trade agreement wasnt finalised by Fridayhis self-imposed deadline for deals with multiple countries.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House announced that Canada had failed to do more to arrest, seize, traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs."

He raised new tensions on Thursday, saying Canadas decision to recognise a Palestinian state would make it very hard" for the United States to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney had already set cautious expectations, stating that Ottawa would only accept a deal if theres one on the table that is in the best interests of Canadians."

In a statement issued early Friday, Carney expressed disappointment over Trumps actions.

Canada accounts for only 1 per cent of US fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes," he said.

Carney also acknowledged that certain sectorssuch as lumber, steel, aluminum, and automobileswould face greater pressure, but assured that the government would work to cushion the impact and protect Canadian jobs.

However, Canada was notably absent from the updated list of countries facing revised tariff rates released the same evening. The newly announced import duties are scheduled to take effect on August 7.

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Location : Canada

First Published: August 01, 2025, 11:55 IST

News world 'Disappointed': Canada PM Mark Carney After Trump Raises Tariff From 25% To 35%

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India Is Market Of Future: German Envoy Contradicts Trump's Dead Economy Pitch

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 13:28 IST

Donald Trump launched an anti-India tirade, calling its economy "dead" for New Delhi's strong ties with Moscow. Germany has taken a different view, contradicting the US President.

Germany differs from Trump's "dead economy" view on India (Reuters Image)

Differing from US President Donald Trumps dead economy" view on New Delhi, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann has said that India is a market of now and the future", and a growing number of companies are investing in the country.

He also said that such erratic behaviour" is a sign for several countries that there is a need for stability and predictability", in an apparent reference to Donald Trumps tariffs on various nations.

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Notably, Trump has imposed 15% tariffs on the European Union and 25% tariffs on India, which take effect starting August 7.

Trump had earlier expressed his dissatisfaction over Indias strong energy and defence ties with Russia, calling the economies of both countries dead".

I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," Trump posted on Truth Social earlier, as he continued his anti-India tirade.

German Ambassador Ackermann said that his government would not use the same words for India as its economy is extremely interesting".

It is not a secret that the German government would not use the same words. We find the Indian economy extremely interesting. We have a growing number of companies coming to India. India is a place to be. India is a market of now and the future. I would say this erratic behaviour we see in many countries, including India, must lead to the clear insight of the Indian, European, and German governments that we need stability and predictability. Thats what markets and businesses need," he told news agency PTI.

He also affirmed that Germany was a staunch supporter of the Free Trade Agreement.

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The EU and India are negotiating an FTA and Im very confident that by the end of this year, we will have a fresh draft on the table," he said.

About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 13:28 IST

News world India Is Market Of Future: German Envoy Contradicts Trump's Dead Economy Pitch

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'It's Disgusting': Donald Trump Slams Russia Over Ukraine, Threatens Fresh Sanctions

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 07:37 IST

Donald Trump has condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine as "disgusting" and warned of new sanctions if a deal isn't reached.

File photos of Donald Trump/Vladimir Putin (AP)

Donald Trump has threatened fresh sanctions against Russia, as he slammed the countrys military actions in Ukraine as disgusting", and said the sanctions would be imposed if no agreement can be reached.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he was not sure whether sanctions would deter Russia. He has given Russian President Vladimir Putin until August 8 to make a deal or else he will respond with economic pressure.

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Russia, I think its disgusting what theyre doing. I think its disgusting," Trump told reporters.

This is [Joe] Bidens war, not my war, but if I said I get in, Ill try and get the thing stopped. But I think what Russia is doing is very sad. A lot of Russians are dying, Ukrainians are dying, you know the United States isnt really involved in that war," the US President said.

We are gonna put sanctions, I dont know if these sanctions bother him, I know better than anybody about sanctions, tariffs, and everything else. I dont know if that has any effect, but were gonna do it," Trump said.

This is a war that shouldnt have happened if I were the President, and this is Bidens war, this is a stupid war to get into, should have never got into this war," he added.

Trump also said he would send his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, currently in Israel, to visit Russia next.

On a question over the same, Trump said, Ya, hes going to Israel, and then hes going to Russia, believe it or not."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already met Witkoff multiple times in Moscow, before Trumps efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt.

Earlier, Washington gave Moscow the time until the end of next week to cease hostilities in Ukraine, under threat of severe economic sanctions. Trump reiterated the deadline as he spoke to reporters.

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Earlier too, Trump had threatened that new measures could mean secondary tariffs" targeting Russias remaining trade partners. This would further stifle Russia, but would risk significant international disruption, CNN said.

ALSO READ | Donald Trump Revises Tariffs For Dozens Of Countries, New Rates To Come Into Effect On Aug 7

About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks. Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

First Published: August 01, 2025, 07:26 IST

News world 'It's Disgusting': Donald Trump Slams Russia Over Ukraine, Threatens Fresh Sanctions

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Embassy Warns Indians In Ireland After Spike In Attacks: Avoid Deserted Areas, Stay Alert

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 17:19 IST

The Indian Embassy in Dublin advised caution for Indian citizens in Ireland after a brutal attack on Santosh Yadav by teenagers, amid rising assaults on the Indian community.

All Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas. (Representative image)

The Embassy of India in Dublin issued a public advisory urging Indian citizens in Ireland to exercise increased caution amid a surge in physical assaults targeting members of the Indian community.

There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently," the advisory said, adding, The Embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned of Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours."

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The advisory follows a disturbing incident involving Santosh Yadav, an Indian-origin entrepreneur and senior data scientist based in Letterkenny, who was brutally assaulted by a group of teenagers in Dublin last week.

In a detailed LinkedIn post, Santosh Yadav recounted that he was attacked without provocation near his apartment by six teenagers. He wrote, They snatched my glasses, breaking them and then beat me relentlessly across my head, face, neck, chest, hands and legs- leaving me bleeding on the pavement."

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Santosh Yadav said he was rushed to Blanchardstown Hospital where doctors confirmed a fractured cheekbone and referred him for specialist care. Calling the attack part of a growing pattern, Santosh Yadav alleged that racially motivated violence was surging across Dublin. He said, This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin- on buses, in housing estates and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators."

Earlier, another Indian man was assaulted by a mob in Dublin following false allegations of inappropriate behaviour with children. The Indian Embassys advisory included emergency contact information for citizens in distress and emphasized coordination with Irish authorities to address the safety concerns of Indian nationals.

Location : Dublin, Ireland

First Published: August 01, 2025, 17:19 IST

News world Embassy Warns Indians In Ireland After Spike In Attacks: Avoid Deserted Areas, Stay Alert

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Ghislaine Maxwell Relocated To Texas Prison After Meeting US Officials: Report

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 22:28 IST

Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, was moved to a lower-security Texas facility.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein (Image Credit: AFP)

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein, was reportedly transferred from a Florida prison to a lower-security federal facility in Texas, according to US Bureau of Prisons records. An official said as per CNN, We can confirm Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas."

Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in grooming and sexually abusing underage girls with Jeffrey Epstein over a period spanning several years, was sentenced in 2022 following a high-profile trial. She has continued to appeal her conviction, including filing with the US Supreme Court.

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The move comes shortly after Ghislaine Maxwell reportedly met in private with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche at the US Attorneys Office in Tallahassee. The nature of the two-day meeting has not been made public. However, Ghislaine Maxwells attorney said that she honestly answered every question that Mr. Blanche asked."

Ghislaine Maxwells prosecution has remained a lightning rod for speculation around elite networks and the alleged protection of powerful individuals. The scrutiny has reignited in recent weeks after the Justice Department opted not to release additional investigative records related to Jeffrey Epsteins case.

Ghislaine Maxwell has sought to leverage that public attention, offering to cooperate with US authorities under certain conditions. She has reportedly indicated willingness to testify before US Congress in exchange for immunity and advance access to the questions.

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Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?

Ghislaine Maxwell is the daughter of late British media mogul Robert Maxwell. Once a fixture in elite transatlantic social circles, she became closely associated with Jeffrey Epstein in the 1990s. Prosecutors said she played a central role in recruiting and grooming underage girls for Jeffrey Epsteins sexual abuse. She was convicted in 2021 on five federal charges, including sex trafficking of a minor and began serving her sentence in 2022.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: August 01, 2025, 22:28 IST

News world Ghislaine Maxwell Relocated To Texas Prison After Meeting US Officials: Report

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India Buying Russian Oil A Point Of Irritation In Ties: Rubio Backs Trump's 25% Tariffs

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Ashesh Mallick



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 09:54 IST

Donald Trump earlier attacked the India-Russia ties, dubbing the economies of both countries "dead". Marco Rubio backed the remarks of the US President.

US irked by India-Russia energy and defence ties (Reuters Image)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday (local time) expressed his dissatisfaction with the India-Russia ties and said that New Delhi buying cheap oil from Moscow is a point of irritation" in the US relationship with the Asian country.

With this, he became the second senior Trump administration official, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in 24 hours to comment on India buying Russian oil for its energy needs. Earlier, Bessent said that the US trade team was frustrated" over trade negotiations with India, while pointing to India-Russia energy ties.

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It all started after President Donald Trump took to social media to attack the Delhi-Moscow energy and defence ties, while also dubbing the economies of both countries as dead", as he announced 25% tariffs on India and additional penalties" for its relationship with the Vladimir Putin-led country, starting August 1. I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together," Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday.

Marco Rubio Comments On India-Russia Ties

Backing Trumps remarks against India, Rubio said that New Delhis relationship with Moscow is a point of irritation" in the US ties with India.

India is an ally and a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, you are not gonna align 100% of the time on everything. India has huge energy needs, which include the ability to buy oil and coal, and gas and things they need to power its economy like every country does. And it buys it from Russia because Russian oil is cheap. That is helping them sustain the Russian war efforts. So it is a point of irritation in our relationship with India," Marco Rubio told Fox News.

President Trump expressed his very clear frustration that so many other oil vendors are available, India continues to buy so much from Russia," he added.

Earlier, in an interview with CNBC, Bessent remarked that Trump and the entire trade negotiation team have been frustrated with India.

He also said that India has also been a big buyer of Russian oil, which they then resell as refined products", adding that they have not been a great global actor".

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However, New Delhi has maintained that the negotiations with the US are underway and will be finalised keeping Indias national interest in mind.

Trumps announcement of 25% tariffs, plus penalties" on India came shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi clarified in the Lok Sabha in no uncertain terms that no world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor", therefore  without taking his name  busting Donald Trumps repeated claims that he mediated a ceasefire" between India and Pakistan.

About the Author Siddhant Mishra Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively on crime, ... Read More Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively on crime, ... Read More

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: August 01, 2025, 07:00 IST

News world India Buying Russian Oil A Point Of Irritation In Ties: Rubio Backs Trump's 25% Tariffs

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Schengen Visa to Go Digital? Heres All You Need To Know For Next Trip To Europe

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 23:47 IST

Under the new EES framework, the biometric data of non-EU nationals be collected and stored for three years.

The EES will also benefit frequent travellers, including cross-border commuters

The European Union has announced a significant update to its border control procedures, with the introduction of a new digital Entry/Exit System (EES) set to launch on October 12. The system will gradually replace the traditional practice of passport stamping across the Schengen Area with modern biometric checks, including fingerprinting and facial recognition.

Under the new EES framework, the biometric data of the UK, US and non-EU nationals, such as fingerprints, facial images, and key travel details, will be collected and stored to streamline border crossings and enhance security. The system is designed to simplify travel between the 29 countries that currently make up the Schengen Zone, which includes 25 EU nations along with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

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According to a press release from the European Commission, member states will begin rolling out the system from mid-October, with full implementation expected within next six months. Once in place, travellers entering or exiting the EUs external borders will be required to use self-service kiosks to scan their passports or travel documents. Unlike the current system, where border officials manually stamp passports, EES aims to automate and expedite the process. Registration will be free of charge.

The new digital entry system will register each travellers name, type of travel document, biometric data, and the date and location of entry and exit. This information will be stored in a central database for three years and used to monitor compliance with short-stay limits and detect overstays.

The EES will also benefit frequent travellers, including cross-border commuters, by reducing paperwork and wait times at borders. The move forms part of the EUs wider strategy to strengthen security while embracing technological innovation in border management.

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By working closely with Member States and the transport sector, we are creating a secure, efficient, and travel-friendly framework that reflects Europes commitment to both security and technological innovation," said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.

As reported by Euronews, the UK government has allocated nearly 3.5 million (4.1 million) each to Eurostar, Eurotunnel, and the Port of Dover to assist with setting up the new registration kiosks ahead of the systems rollout.

Location : Brussels, Belgium

First Published: August 01, 2025, 23:47 IST

News world Schengen Visa to Go Digital? Heres All You Need To Know For Next Trip To Europe

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Trapped Behind Enemy Lines, Ukrainian Soldier Rides To Freedom On E-Bike Dropped By Drone | Watch

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 16:18 IST

Footage released by Ukraines Rubizh Brigade shows a heavy-lift drone lowering the e-bike directly to Tanker's position

The soldier, identified by the call sign Tanker, had been holding the line for five days at position 360 near the front line in Siversk.

An injured Ukrainian soldier who was stranded behind Russian lines made a dramatic escape after a 40kg electric bicycle was delivered to him by drone.

The soldier, identified by the call sign Tanker," had been holding the line for five days at position 360 near the front line in Siversk, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region. Wounded and unable to evacuate on foot, he was completely surrounded by Russian forces.

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Footage released by Ukraines Rubizh Brigade shows a heavy-lift drone lowering the e-bike directly to Tankers position.

A soldier who had been holding the line for 5 days at position 360, unable to evacuate on his own, was delivered a 40 kg electric bike directly to his position. pic.twitter.com/WM9fpT91MU WarTranslated (@wartranslated) July 31, 2025

According to the brigade, traditional rescue attempts were too risky, as enemy troops were positioned on all sides.

Our drones covered us from above as best as they could," Tanker said. Then they threw two gas cylinders straight into our hole and a lighter. We caught fire."

Mykola Hrytsenko, the brigades chief of staff, said the terrain and active fighting in the area made ground rescue impossible. His team then devised an alternative: airlifting a 40kg e-bike to the soldier using a combat drone.

Hrytsenko said the first two delivery attempts failed, one drone was shot down, and another overheated due to the weight. On the third attempt, the drone successfully delivered the bike, allowing the soldier to escape at speed.

The enemy was in front, behind, and on both flanks. Completely surrounded," Hrytsenko said.

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He added that soldiers in the region often have to walk 6 to 7 kilometres on foot due to lack of proper logistics, making unconventional tactics necessary.

The escape came as Russia launched deadly missile attacks on Kyiv, killing at least 16 people, including a six-year-old boy and his mother, in the early hours of Thursday.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d... Read More

Location : Ukraine

First Published: August 01, 2025, 16:06 IST

News world Trapped Behind Enemy Lines, Ukrainian Soldier Rides To Freedom On E-Bike Dropped By Drone | Watch

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Trump Deploys Nuclear Subs Near Russia After Putin Aide Medvedev's Dead Hand Warning

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 23:26 IST

Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines deployed after former Russian President Medvedev's provocative remarks, warning they could provoke action.

US President Donald Trump and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

US President Donald Trump ordered two nuclear submarines to be deployed to appropriate regions" in response to highly provocative" remarks made by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now the Deputy Chairman of Russias Security Council and a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Read more: Trump Calls Ukraine War Ridiculous, Blames Biden: Should Never Have Happened

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In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump warned that words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences," cautioning that Dmitry Medvedevs incendiary statements could incite action.

I hope this will not be one of those instances," Donald Trump said, adding, Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions. Just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that."

Read more: World War III: Ex-Russian Presidents Warning To Trump Over His Social Media Post On Putin

The post marks a dramatic escalation in the war of words between Donald Trump and Dmitry Medvedev that began this week when the US President described India and Russia as having dead economies" and threatened steep new tariffs on Indian imports over its continued purchase of Russian energy.

Dead Economies To Dead Hand

Dmitry Medvedev retaliated by invoking the Dead Hand"- a Cold War-era Soviet automatic nuclear retaliation system designed to launch missiles if Russias leadership were incapacitated in a strike.

As for the talk about the dead economies of India and Russia maybe [Trump] should recall his favourite movies about the walking dead, and also remember how dangerous the so-called Dead Hand, which doesnt even exist, could be," Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

The feud boiled over after Donald Trump gave Ukraine a drastically shortened ceasefire deadline, slashing the window from 50 days to just under two weeks. Dmitry Medvedev warned that such ultimatums were drawing the US closer to full-scale war. Donald Trump doubled down, ridiculing Dmitry Medvedev as a failed former President of Russia" and warning him to watch his words."

Read more: Its Disgusting: Donald Trump Slams Russia Over Ukraine, Threatens Fresh Sanctions

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Tariffs And BRICS Tensions

The standoff comes amid Donald Trumps increasingly hardline stance toward BRICS nations- including India- for continuing oil trade with Russia. In a separate post, Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on Indian imports, arguing that the BRICS alliance represents a threat to the US dollar and global stability.

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: August 01, 2025, 23:07 IST

News world Trump Deploys Nuclear Subs Near Russia After Putin Aide Medvedev's Dead Hand Warning

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Trump Hikes Canadian Tariffs To 35%, Links Move To Ottawas Stance On Palestine

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CNN-News18 Edited By: Abhro Banerjee



Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 07:54 IST

The announcement came despite Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneys reported outreach ahead of the August 1 deadline

US increases tariff to take on Canada.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order raising tariffs on Canadian goods not covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) from 25% to 35%, escalating a months-long tariff standoff with Americas northern neighbour. According to a White House fact sheet, goods rerouted through other countries to bypass the new tariffs will face a transhipment levy of 40%.

The White House linked the latest tariff hike in part to what it called Canadas continued inaction and retaliation," particularly its alleged failure to curb fentanyl smuggling into the United States and also recognising Palestine as a separate state. While Canadian officials maintain that only a small fraction of fentanyl entering the US originates in Canada, and that border enforcement has already been strengthened, Trump has continued to press for more aggressive action.

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The announcement came despite Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneys reported outreach ahead of the August 1 deadline, with Trump claiming no conversation had taken place. Carney, who previously stated that talks were constructive but unlikely to meet the deadline, must now weigh options as provincial leaders are divided on strategy. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called for a 50% counter-tariff on U.S. steel and aluminium, stating, Canada shouldnt settle for anything less than the right deal We need to stand our ground."

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Trump, while noting he loves Canada," accused the country of treating the U.S. very badly for years." U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick added that the tariffs could be reconsidered if Carney starts turning on the charm and if he takes off his retaliation."

Meanwhile, Trump has offered Mexico a 90-day reprieve to reach a trade deal, but non-USMCA-compliant exports will still be hit with a 25% duty. With 75% of Canadian exports heading to the U.S., the tariff hike, impacting sectors like steel, aluminium, and auto manufacturing, adds significant pressure on Ottawa. Still, Canadian officials noted that USMCA compliance has risen sharply, and export diversification efforts have helped mitigate the damage. Government data shows the U.S. share of Canadian exports fell from 78% to 68% between May 2024 and May 2025.

About the Author Siddhant Mishra Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively on crime, ... Read More Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively on crime, ... Read More

First Published: August 01, 2025, 06:59 IST

News world Trump Hikes Canadian Tariffs To 35%, Links Move To Ottawas Stance On Palestine

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Head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a video conference with the Secretary General of the Secretariat for National Security Affairs of Japan, Chief Advisor to the Cabinet of Ministers of Japan Masataka Okano. Ukraine and Japan agreed to launch a regular mechanism for defense consultations.

"We see how the Russian Federation is transferring kamikaze drone technology like the Shahed-136 to Pyongyang, helping to launch their production, and exchanging missile developments. And the participation of the North Korean military in military operations against Ukraine no longer looks like fantasy - it is already reality. In this context, Ukraine and Japan have agreed to launch a regular mechanism for defense consultations. This means rapid exchange of information, coordination of positions, work on joint initiatives in the field of defense technologies," Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel.

According to him, Ukraine has something to offer in consultations, since it has experience in modern warfare, effective defense solutions and a modernized army, which is now fighting for the future of the world.

The parties also discussed the importance of increasing sanction pressure on countries sponsoring the war.

Yermak called on Japan to synchronize its sanctions policy with the latest EU and US restriction packages.
US Restricts Official Visits To Karachi Hotels Over Security Threat

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News18.com

Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 23:59 IST

The US restricted its government personnel from visiting upscale hotels in Karachi due to a potential security threat, urging caution and outlining precautionary measures.

A general view of commercial banks amid haze during evening hours in Karachi, Pakistan. (Image Credit: Reuters)

The United States temporarily restricted visits by its government personnel to high-end hotels in Karachi following a threat report received by the US Consulate General. The US State Department said in a security alert, The US Consulate General Karachi received a report of a threat directed at high-end hotels in Karachi. As a precaution, the US Consulate General in Karachi has temporarily limited visits by official US government personnel to these hotels."

The nature or credibility of the threat has not been disclosed but the advisory comes amid a broader pattern of security concerns across Pakistan. The US State Department currently advises American citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan, citing threats of terrorism and the possibility of armed conflict.

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Earlier in June, the US had issued a security warning for Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, urging American citizens to avoid travel there entirely. The advisory warned, Do not travel to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which includes the former FATA, for any reason. Active terrorist and insurgent groups routinely conduct attacks against civilians, non-governmental organizations, government offices and security services personnel (police and military). These groups historically have targeted both government officials and civilians. Assassination and kidnapping attempts are common, including the targeting of polio eradication teams."

The latest alert for Karachi reinforces the US State Departments ongoing concern about the volatile security environment in various parts of Pakistan.

Location : Pakistan

First Published: August 01, 2025, 23:43 IST

News world US Restricts Official Visits To Karachi Hotels Over Security Threat

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Zelenskyy Hails Trumps Role In Ukraine Peace Talks, Says Putin Alone Can End War

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Last Updated: August 01, 2025, 18:35 IST

Russia-Ukraine War: Zelenskyy supported Donald Trump's efforts to end the war with Russia, calling for urgent high-level negotiations.

Russia-Ukraine War: US President Donald Trump with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his support for US President Donald Trumps efforts to broker an end to the war with Russia, calling for urgent high-level negotiations and reiterating Ukraines readiness to meet directly with Russian leadership at any time."

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Zelenskyy wrote, We see and support President Trumps @POTUS efforts to end Russias war, to stop the killing and to achieve a dignified and lasting peace. We are grateful to everyone around the world who supports peace efforts and helps us protect lives."

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The statement comes amid an accelerated timetable set by the United States to end the war in Ukraine as senior American diplomat Sarah Kelley told the UN Security Council that Donald Trump expects a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine to be reached by August 8.

Sarah Kelley told UN, Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace."

Donald Trump earlier said, Theres no reason in waiting. I want to be generous but we just dont see any progress being made."

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In his post, Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged recent signals from Moscow suggesting possible openness to negotiations but warned against misreading delay tactics as genuine intent. He wrote, If these are signals of a genuine willingness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace- and not merely an attempt to buy more time for war or delay sanctions- then Ukraine once again reaffirms its readiness to meet at the level of leaders at any time."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear that the time for preliminary discussions had passed as he asserted, We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too. Ukraine calls for moving beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings to talks between leaders. The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russias readiness."

Location : Ukraine

First Published: August 01, 2025, 18:33 IST

News world Zelenskyy Hails Trumps Role In Ukraine Peace Talks, Says Putin Alone Can End War

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Law enforcement officers documented the aftermath of the shelling of the village of Lisna Stinka in Kupyansk district of Kharkiv region, which the Russian Armed Forces carried out at about 1:15 p.m. on Friday.

"A 75-year-old woman died," the press service of Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office reported.

A pretrial investigation has been launched into the facts of war crimes (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
A man convicted of the 1994 machete killings of his wife and their two children was put to death Thursday, becoming the ninth person executed in Florida this year and setting a state record for a single-year total since the Supreme Court restored the death penalty decades ago. Officials said Edward Zakrzewski was pronounced dead at 6:12pm following an injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, the AP reports. Zakrzewski was sentenced to death for the June 9, 1994, killings of his 34-year-old wife, Sylvia, and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5, in the Florida Panhandle.

"I want to thank the good people of the Sunshine State for killing me in the most cold, calculated, clean, humane, efficient way possible. I have no complaint," Zakrzewski said just after 6pm. Trial testimony showed that he committed the killings at their Okaloosa County home after his wife sought a divorce, and that he had told others he would kill his family rather than allow that. His wife was attacked first with a crowbar and strangled with a rope, court testimony showed. Both children were killed with the machete, and Sylvia Zakrzewski was also struck with the blade when the killer thought she had survived the previous assault, according to court records. Zakrzewski's lawyers filed numerous appeals, but all were rejected, including a final request for a stay of execution denied Wednesday by the Supreme Court.

Opponents of Thursday's execution plan pointed to Zakrzewski's military service as an Air Force veteran and the fact that a jury voted 7-5 to recommend his execution, barely a majority. They noted he could not have received the death penalty with a split jury vote under current state law. Florida this year has carried out more executions than any other state, while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second with four apiece. A 10th execution is scheduled in Florida on Aug. 19 and an 11th on Aug. 28 under death warrants signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. After the death penalty's restoration in 1976, Florida carried out a one-year high of eight executions in 2014, a total matched this year with a mid-July execution and now exceeded.
Hours before the midnight deadline he imposed on himself, President Trump signed a new executive order Thursday evening imposing tariffs on dozens of US trading partners. The plan confirms some previously announced provisions while changing other parts, including the deadline: The tariffs apparently take effect at 12:01am Aug. 7, the New York Times reports, instead of Aug. 1. The rates seem to go as high as 50% on imports from nations Trump wants to punish or did not make enough concessions to the US.

Among the highest adjusted reciprocal tariffs, per CNN, are: Syria, 41%; Laos and Myanmar, 40%; Switzerland, 39%; Iraq and Serbia, 35%; Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, and South Africa, 30%. Canada goes from 25% to 35% in theory; goods trading under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempt, per the Times. That covers most Canadian exports at the moment, economist said. A senior administration official told CNN that talks with Canada over fentanyl and tariffs haven't been as constructive as the negotiations with Mexico, which was granted a 90-day reprieve on higher tariffs on Thursday. The increase on Canadian imports still goes into effect on Friday, per CNBC.

The order applies to 68 countries and the 27-member European Union, per the AP. Countries not named in the new order will face a baseline 10% tariff. Many countries that Trump listed in his Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs have settled in at 15% or 20%. Some of the tariff levels reflect frameworks already reached with trading partners, such as the UK and European Union. "The president has essentially reordered global trade," an administration official told reporters.
A three-judge appeals court in Ireland on Thursday rejected Conor McGregor's appeal of a civil jury verdict that awarded $260,000 to a woman who accused the mixed martial arts fighter of raping her in 2018. "This appeal has retraumatized me over and over again, I've been forced to relive it," his accuser said outside the Dublin court after the unanimous ruling was announced. "Today I can finally move on and try to heal," she said. McGregor was not present to hear the judges dismiss all grounds of his appeal of the lawsuit, the Irish Times reports.
For the first time, all 22 Arab League nations have united to call on Hamas to disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, which the New York Times describes as an unprecedented move that could reshape the path toward a Palestinian state. The move, announced at a United Nations conference in New York focused on a two-state solution, marks a sharp shift from previous Arab positions. The declaration, which also condemned Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, also received support from all 27 European Union nations and 17 other countries. Neither the US nor Israel were among them. The declaration read in part:

The conference, co-sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, drew participation from 125 UN member states, many of which expressed support for a Palestinian state and urged Israel to accept a two-state framework, per CNN. Israeli officials countered that the push for statehood rewards Hamas and complicates achieving a cease-fire and getting more hostages released.

Hamas, which has previously rejected calls to disarm, seemed to initially stick with that stance. In response to the Arab League move, the group said it would not lay down its arms "until the 'the occupation' ends and an independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital is established," per Reuters. The move comes as nations including France, Britain, and Canada voiced support for the idea of a Palestinian state.
Harvey Weinstein has no shortage of legal quagmire or controversy to contend with, but the 73-year-old said in an interview from prison that "my family is No. 1, because they're the important thing," adding that if he ever gets out from behind bars, "I'd move as close to my kids as humanly possible," per E! Online. More from the disgraced Hollywood producer's chat with with right-wing pundit Candace Owens, via E! and Vanity Fair:

Fatherhood: "I was a good father throughout," Weinstein said of his progenythree with first wife Eve Chilton, and two younger children with second wife Georgina Chapman, who's currently in a relationship with actor Adrien Brody. "But I would be a better fathera lot better father."
The killing of a collared lion involved in a research project in Zimbabwe by a trophy hunter has been condemned by wildlife groups, echoing the infamous case of a lion called Cecil whose death at the hands of an American tourist in the same country a decade ago was met with international outrage. The latest lion, known as Blondie, was part of an Oxford University study and wore a research collar sponsored by Africa Geographic, a safari company. Africa Geographic said Blondie was killed by a hunter in June close to the country's flagship Hwange National Park after being lured out of a protected area and into a nearby hunting zone with the use of bait.

After Blondie's killing became a new rallying cry for those opposed to hunting, a spokesperson for Zimbabwe's National Parks told the AP on Thursday that the hunt was legal and the hunter had the necessary permits. Zimbabwe allows up to 100 lions to be hunted a year. Trophy hunters, who are usually foreign tourists, pay tens of thousands of dollars to kill a lion and take the head or skin as a trophy. Zimbabwe's national parks agency says the country makes about $20 million a year from trophy hunting, with a single hunter spending an average of $100,000 per huntwhich includes accommodation and hiring vehicles and local trackers.

Africa Geographic CEO Simon Espley said Blondie's killing made "a mockery of the ethics" trophy hunters claim to prescribe to because he wore a clearly visible research collar and was a breeding male in his prime. Hunters say they only target aging, non-breeding lions. But Tinashe Farawo, the spokesperson for the Zimbabwe parks agency, defended the hunt and said they often happen at night, meaning the collar on Blondie may not have been visible. He said he had no information on Blondie being lured out of the park with baitwhich is usually a dead animalbut there "is nothing unethical or illegal about that for anyone who knows how lions are hunted. This is how people hunt."

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"Our rangers were present. All paperwork was in order. Collars are for research purposes, but they don't make the animal immune to hunting," Farawo said. He declined to name the hunter. Hunting lions is fiercely divisive, even among conservationists. Some say if it is well managed it raises money that can be put back into conservation. Others want killing wildlife for sport to be banned outright. Cecil's killing in 2015 unleashed furious anger against Walter Palmer, a Minnesota dentist and trophy hunter who lured the lion out of the same national park in Zimbabwe and shot him with a bow before tracking him for hours and finally killing him. Cecil, whose head and skin were cut off and taken for trophies, was also involved in a research project by Oxford University.
The Pentagon has reversed course and will continue to provide satellite weather data that hurricane forecasters deem essential, at least through September 2026. Previously, the Navy had planned to cut off this data as part of a broader Defense Department modernization initiative, raising alarm among scientists as hurricane season picked up in the Atlantic, per NPR .

The data in questioncollected by Defense Department satelliteshas been shared with meteorologists and researchers for more than four decades. It's particularly valuable for those tracking hurricanes, enabling them to monitor storms in real time and to issue timely warnings. Brian Tang, a hurricane researcher at the State University of New York at Albany, described the continued access as "vital" for forecasting during peak hurricane activity.

The Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center, which handles the data, initially cited the need to update systems as the reason for discontinuing the service. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also mentioned "a significant cybersecurity risk" was behind the efforts to shutter the program, per the AP. However, following feedback from various government partners, officials found a work-around that allowed them to maintain the critical data stream while still pursuing modernization goals, at least until the satellite sensor fails or the current program wraps up in 2026.

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The data isn't just about hurricanesit's also crucial for monitoring sea ice in polar regions, information that affects global weather patterns, shipping, and climate change research. While the Navy had previously postponed the data-sharing cutoff after public outcry, the longer-term fate of the program remains uncertain beyond 2026. Scientists, meanwhile, are breathing a sigh of relief at the temporary reprieve, per the Washington Post. "Crisis averted," hurricane expert Michael Lowry wrote on Bluesky of the decision to postpone the shutdown.
Canada is "disappointed" by President Trump's decision to slap a 35% tariff on imports from the country, one of America's largest trading partners, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement early Friday. Trump cited Canada's "lack of cooperation in stemming the flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across our northern border" in an executive order Friday. Carney said Canada accounts for only 1% of fentanyl imports to the US and "has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes." The government, he said "is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling."
Poland is working on the 48th and 49th aid packages for Ukraine and plans to provide significant support for its defense capabilities this year, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said.

"We have discussed the 47th package of military aid and are working on the next two. Within the framework of packages 48 and 49, we plan to provide significant support to Ukraine's defense capabilities this year. I cannot discuss the details yet," Sikorski said during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiha in Poland.

According to Sikorski, experts from the two countries met to discuss the possibilities of joint use of funds from the SAFE program.

"We agreed to strengthen cooperation between our defense industries. In this regard, we have a lot to offer each other," the minister said.

He specifically emphasized that it is necessary to realize that the Russian shadow fleet threatens the entire ecosystem of the Baltic Sea.

As reported, on August 1, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha is visiting the Republic of Poland at the invitation of his Polish counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
Hundreds of monarch butterflies mysteriously died in southern California last year, and new research points to a likely culprit lurking in the landscape: common pesticides. Scientists say these peer-reviewed findings published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry offer rare, direct evidence linking chemical exposure to the monarchs' dramatic decline, reports the Guardian.

Scientists examining hundreds of monarchs found dead or dying near the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary in January 2024 say the symptomstwitching and clustered fatalitiespointed to neurotoxic poisoning. Lab analysis of 10 specimens confirmed each had traces of seven different pesticides at levels believed to be lethal to the insects.
Former Food Network star Paula Deen announced Friday the abrupt closure of the Savannah restaurant that launched her to fame with its menu of fried chicken, banana pudding, and other indulgent Southern dishes. Deen ran The Lady & Sons restaurant with her two sons, Jamie and Bobby Deen, for nearly three decades, reports the AP . Loyal fans visiting Savannah continued to line up for Deen's buffet long after the Food Network canceled her show, Paula's Home Cooking, in 2013. But 78-year-old Deen said Friday that The Lady & Sons closed for good along with her second Savannah eatery, The Chicken Box. A statement posted on Deen's website and social media accounts didn't say why the restaurants had shut down.

"Hey, y'all, my sons and I made the heartfelt decision that Thursday, July 31st, was the last day of service for The Lady & Sons and The Chicken Box," Deen's statement said. "Thank you for all the great memories and for your loyalty over the past 36 years," she said. "We have endless love and gratitude for every customer who has walked through our doors." Deen said her four restaurants in Nashville and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; and Branson, Missouri; will remain open.

Deen was divorced and nearly broke when she moved to Savannah with her boys in 1989 and started a catering business called The Bag Lady. She opened her first restaurant a few years later at a local Best Western, then started The Lady & Sons in downtown Savannah in 1996. The restaurant soon had lines out the door and served roughly 1,100 diners per day at the height of Deen's popularity. Deen moved her Savannah restaurant to a larger building nearby the year after the Food Network debuted Paula's Home Cooking in 2002. Filmed mostly in her home kitchen, Deen taped more than 200 episodes over the next decade.

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The Food Network canceled Deen's show in 2013 amid fallout from a lawsuit by a former employee. A transcript of Deen answering questions under oath in a legal deposition became public that included Deen's awkward responses to questions about race. Asked if she had ever used the N-word, Deen said, "Yes, of course," though she added: "It's been a very long time." Deen returned to television on Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef: Legends, and on Fox Nation, which began streaming At Home With Paula Deen in 2020. She also posts cooking videos to a YouTube channel that has more than 520,000 subscribers.
A resident of Naxos took a photo of a tourist appearing to desecrate the grounds of an ancient temple on the Greek island, then posted it with a call to protect the nation's cultural treasures. The photo shows a man holding a piece of white marble over his head at the Portara, an iconic, 20-foot-high doorway made of Naxian marble, per the Greek Reporter. "Immediate guarding and protection. Not today, yesterday," Kiriakos Jr. Boulamatsis wrote on Facebook. "They crossed the limits. Wake up before it's too late and in the end only the hill with the steps is left."
Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing's Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX. The US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They'll replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for NASA's two stuck astronauts, reports the AP . Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months. Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who should have launched last year, was yanked along with another NASA crewmate to make room for Starliner's star-crossed test pilots.

The botched Starliner demo forced Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to switch to SpaceX to get back from the space station more than nine months after departing. Ensuring their safe return "meant stepping aside," Cardman said before her launch. "Every astronaut wants to be in space. None of us want to stay on the ground, but it's not about me," said Cardman, the flight commander. Even after launch, "things can change at the last minute, so I'll count myself very fortunate when the hatch opens" to the space station.

NASA's Mike FinckeCardman's co-pilotwas the backup for Wilmore and Williams on Starliner, making those three still the only ones certified to fly it. Fincke and Japan's Kimiya Yui, former military officers with previous spaceflight experience, were training for Starliner's second astronaut mission. With Starliner grounded until 2026, NASA switched the two to the latest SpaceX flight. Rounding out the crew is Russia's Oleg Platonov.

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On hand for the first launch attempt on Thursday, NASA's new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, met with Roscosmos director general Dmitry Bakanov. "What we learn on these missions is what's going to get us to the moon and then from the moon to Mars," Duffy said in a NASA interview. "There's critical real estate on the moon. We want to claim that real estate for ourselves and our partners." To save money in light of tight budgets, NASA is looking to increase its space station stays from six months to eight months, a move already adopted by Russia's space agency.
Four Alaska Airlines flight attendants have filed lawsuits against Boeing, seeking damages related to a January 2024 incident in which a 737 MAX 9 suffered a mid-air cabin panel blowout . The Flight 1282 crew members are claiming physical and mental harm, Reuters reports, as well as ongoing economic losses. "Each of the four flight attendants acted courageously, following their training and putting their passengers' safety first while fearing for their lives," Tracy Brammeier, the lawyer representing each of the plaintiffs, said.

The filing, lodged in King County Superior Court in Seattle, accuses Boeing of negligence and failing to adequately ensure the safety of the 737 MAX aircraft. The plaintiffs argue that Boeing either knew or should have known about persistent quality control problems in the MAX line's production, maintenance, and parts. Boeing did not comment on the lawsuits, and Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment. "This event is something that never should have happened," flight attendant Christine Vasconcellos said in a statement, per the Seattle Times.

The panel failure triggered a wider crisis for Boeing, leading to a criminal investigation by the US Justice Department. Federal authorities later determined that Boeing had failed to comply with a prior deferred prosecution agreement from 2021, per Reuters. The National Transportation Safety Board subsequently faulted Boeing for poor oversight and safety practices, specifically citing the company's failure to install four critical bolts in the affected panel. The NTSB also criticized both Boeing's training procedures and the Federal Aviation Administration's ability to monitor the manufacturer effectively.
Four people were killed in a shooting at a Montana bar on Friday, authorities said after launching a manhunt for the suspect. The shooting happened around 10:30am at the Owl Bar in Anaconda, according to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, which is leading the investigation. The suspect, who was identified by authorities as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, lives next door to the bar, the AP reports. Authorities said that his home was cleared by a SWAT team and that he was last seen in the Stump Town area, which is just west of Anaconda. Brown was believed to be armed, the Montana Highway Patrol said in a statement.

More than a dozen local and state police officers converged on that area, where they appeared to be searching for the suspect in the woods. A co-owner of the Firefly Cafe in Anaconda said she locked up her business at about 11am Friday after being alerted to the shooting by a friend. Two hours later, she was still waiting for an all-clear before reopening. "We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybody's pretty rattled," Barbie Nelson said. "It's a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there" at the bar, she added. Anaconda is about 75 miles southeast of Missoula.
The News in Brief Friday, August 1, 2025

Vice Speaker of the Georgian Dream Parliament Gia Volski criticized the MEGOBARI Act, recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, calling it unfair and harmful to both Georgia and broader international relations. Speaking to journalists, Volski said the bill was based on misrepresentations of Georgia's internal and foreign policies."We are a small country, we act in our own interests, and we do not deserve any punishment, including the one that is reflected in this MEGOBARI Act," Volski said. "We do not expect this act to be finally approved."The MEGOBARI Act, introduced by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson, seeks to deepen U.S.-Georgia ties but also authorizes sanctions on individuals deemed responsible for undermining democratic processes in Georgia. It passed the U.S. House with bipartisan support on May 5, 2025, and awaits consideration in the Senate.Volski argued there is no justification for the legislation, insisting that Georgia has not engaged in any actions that would warrant such measures. "This degree of injustice, which is expressed in this act, is harmful not only to Georgian society but to society in general," he said. "It damages global processes by fostering uncertainty and blocking the development of positive relations, especially between countries."He also pushed back on criticism of Georgia's foreign relations, particularly with China and Iran. "Developing relations with China is considered a crime, while America and the European Union conduct much larger negotiations and trade with China," he said.Volski claimed the government's decision not to involve Georgia in past military conflicts had also been unfairly politicized. "The fact that we did not engage in war at the request of the previous administration should not be a reason to cast a shadow on Georgia's interests," he said.He went on to accuse domestic critics of supporting the act for political reasons. "The trouble is that people who call themselves Georgians, including through their disinformation outlets, will be happy if Georgia has any problems, including in its relations with America," he said.Volski expressed confidence that the MEGOBARI Act would not advance further, especially under the current U.S. administration.Tbilisi City Court Judge Nino Galustashvili has denied all motions filed by defense attorneys to revoke or modify the pre-trial detention of 11 individuals arrested during recent protests near the Georgian Parliament. All defendants will remain in custody pending trial.At the court session held on July 31, defense lawyers submitted individual motions requesting that their clients be released or that detention be replaced with bail. Only one lawyer, representing actor Andro Chichinadze, asked the court to release his client without bail, stating that Chichinadze should not be required to remain in the defendant's seat at all.The defense argued that there was no direct evidence linking the accused to group violence. They said the main piece of evidence, the testimony of chief investigator Arsen Khunashvili , fails to establish any direct connection between the defendants and the organizers of the protest. According to the lawyers, Khunashvili himself confirmed that the defendants had no clear ties to each other or to the alleged planning of violent acts.After hearing the motions, Judge Galustashvili announced a short recess. Upon returning, she delivered her decision, stating that all motions were denied and all 11 individuals would remain in pre-trial detention.The defendants Andro Chichinadze, Onise Tskhadadze, Jano Archaia, Ruslan Sivakov, Luka Jabua, Guram Mirtskhulava, Valeri Tetrashvili, Giorgi Terishvili, Irakli Kerashvili, Revaz Kiknadze, and Sergey Kukharchuk were arrested on charges of participating in group violence during protests outside Parliament.They have been charged under Part 2 of Article 225 of Georgia's Criminal Code, which covers participation in group violence. If convicted, they face between four and six years in prison.
Mathernova: Return of institutional independence of NABU, SAPO is important not only for Ukraine, but also for EU

Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova welcomed the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of a bill that returns institutional independence to anti-corruption structures.

"This week something important happened  not only for Ukraine, but also for the trust between Ukraine and its closest partner, the European Union. The Verkhovna Rada - Ukrainian Parliament - approved with an overwhelming majority President Zelenskyy's proposal that returns institutional independence to the anti-corruption institutions NABU and SAPO that was disrupted just a week earlier. This law came about thanks to the synergy among three key factors: the civic voice of mostly Gen Z from the squares, intense and challenging behind-the-scenes negotiations far from the cameras, and the ability of leaders to show self-reflection in the interest of their country," Mathernova said on Facebook.

She recalled that when these two institutions were attacked early last week, it was not only civil society that opposed it.

"Ukraine's partners did as well. Diplomacy in such moments is quiet but persistent. I was there. And I will never stop being grateful for that opportunity. Because here, friends, European history is being written. It took a great deal of effort, persuasion, and creative solutions. And it was worth it," she said.

The ambassador said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team in the Verkhovna Rada deserve recognition for stepping back, listening to criticism, proposing a new law and ensuring its unhindered adoption, and all political forces for the unanimous vote in favor - 331:0.

"Ukraine today needs institutions its people can trust. The European Union needs a partner it can trust and rely on. This week, we moved closer to both goals. But the journey is far from over. One day, I might reflect more about these moments. Perhaps in a book that will, however, not be just about politics and diplomacy, but about people, emotions, strengths and vulnerabilities of societies. About the individuals and nations who defend our shared values every single day," Mathernova said.
Aug 01 (News On Japan) - Following the massive earthquake off Russias Kamchatka Peninsula, tsunami warnings and advisories were issued across wide areas of Japan, including reports of waves over one meter high in places such as Kuji Port in Iwate Prefecture.

The tremors disrupted transportation systems, with train lines like the JR Tokaido Line suspended and Sendai Airport temporarily closed. In Yokosuka, a man was forced to rely on a ride from his boss after trains stopped running, arriving home one to two hours late. At a local gym, classes were canceled as instructors were unable to commute.

Amid the chaos, social media was flooded with questionable content, including videos and claims that experts say are likely false or AI-generated.

One viral video, posted with the caption "A 4-meter tsunami was recorded in parts of Kamchatka," shows an enormous wave rushing onto a beach lined with palm trees. Another clip depicts waves engulfing skyscrapers in an urban area. However, Isao Echizen, a professor at the National Institute of Informatics, noted inconsistencies suggesting AI fabrication. "There are two red human figures at the bottom that suddenly become one. The waves don't lose energy despite obstacles. The time axis is unnatural," Echizen explained.

These videos, he says, are likely created using generative AI.

Other misinformation includes widely shared posts predicting future earthquakes, such as one highlighting the Kanto region with a red border and warning of an impending magnitude 34 quake. The Japan Meteorological Agency has reiterated that earthquakes cannot be predicted.

Echizen added that not all misleading content is AI-generated. In one widely shared video showing people screaming and fleeing as a large tsunami hits a beachcaptioned as footage of waves reaching Hawaii after the Kamchatka quakehe identified reused clips from past disasters. Its real footage, but from a different event, he said.

Another recycled clip, originally posted two years ago, shows dolphins or whales stranded onshore, with fishermen attempting to rescue them. The recent post links the footage to the current tsunami, falsely implying a connection.

These kinds of misleading posts continue to surface online, often blending past events with current ones to grab attention.

On the street, opinions are divided. "If someone says it's real, it looks real. But if they say it's AI-generated, that makes sense too. It's hard to tell unless you see it yourself," one person said. Another remarked, "This one is definitely fakeno way it was that bad. But maybe this other one could be real. People only watching the internet might believe everything they see, which is a bit scary."

So how can people avoid falling for such fakes?

"Distinguishing real from fake footage is extremely difficult, especially during disasters when people are panicked," said Echizen. "Social media is the fastest source, but content creators often prioritize views over truth. The key is not to take everything at face value. Rely on official sources like government agencies, municipalities, and reputable media."

Disasters tend to create fertile ground for misinformation. Comparing multiple sources and maintaining a calm, critical mindset is essential to avoid being misled.

Source: FNN
OSAKA, Aug 01 (News On Japan) - As of July, high school students across Japan have effectively begun their job hunt, entering a job market where demand far exceeds supply. With a record-high job-offer-to-applicant ratio of 4.1, companies are fiercely competing to secure these golden eggsyoung workers straight out of high schoolwho are seen as a valuable alternative to university graduates.

One example is Erina Ota, a 24-year-old employee at the major conveyor belt sushi chain Sushiro. Based at the bustling Sushiro outlet inside the Osaka Expo grounds, Ota is already managing the store just six years after joining the company directly out of high school.

"I started part-time in my first year of high school and realized how much I enjoyed working," said Ota. "I began questioning whether going to university without a clear goal would really benefit my future."

Her leadership is so trusted that older colleagues speak of her with admiration. "She's reliable beyond her years, someone I genuinely respect," said one coworker.

This growing interest in high school graduates was evident in a job experience fair held in May in Osaka, where 77 companies and organizations gathered to court students. Many offered benefits on par with those available to university graduates.

A logistics firm, for instance, highlighted full financial support for certification training. "You get a salary and qualificationswhat more could you want?" a representative said. "High school grads are golden eggs. We cant get enough of them."

Even a security company promoted its employee perk of unlimited streaming video access to appeal to younger recruits.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the job-offer ratio for high school graduates expected to finish in March 2025 stands at 4.1 times nationwide, far surpassing the 1.75 times for university graduates. While Japans chronic labor shortage plays a role, many firms express a clear preference for hiring high school graduates.

"Many students want to enter the workforce early and gain skills quickly," said a representative from an auto-related company. "Their attitude toward work is often more grounded."

"High schoolers come to us with the drive to earn money and succeed," added a system engineering firm.

Some companies are also starting to recruit high school graduates for the first time. One Tokyo-based IT firm with around 40 employees hired 18-year-old Momoka Kunikane this April. She was the only student in her public high school class to choose employment over further study.

"Because I jumped straight into real-world experience, I feel like Ive gained more than my peers in university," said Kunikane. "I want to get married in my early twenties, so saving money now seems smart."

Although she had no programming experience, Kunikane joined as a systems engineer and began her first training session on the day of the interview. Shes already leaving a strong impression.

"I was starting to feel jaded in my fourth year on the job," said one colleague. "But Kunikane keeps asking why until she understands, which reminded me not to give up on truly learning."

Masahiro Ito, CEO of MAP Management, which hired Kunikane, said: "If someone has clear goals and strong motivation, there are real advantages to hiring them out of high school rather than after university. We get four more years to develop them."

Still, the growing trend of hiring high school graduates also raises questions.

Broadcaster Shohei Fujimori noted that the motivation and positive energy of high school recruits can energize teams. Commentator Takuji Izawa, known for his work on the quiz show "Quiz! The University of Tokyo," added: "It may sound strange coming from me, but I think its time we reexamine the value of academic credentials."

He cited the concept of signaling in microeconomics, where educational background serves as a proxy for productivity. However, this only holds if studying is easier for high-productivity individuals and more difficult for low-productivity ones. Without that condition, academic qualifications lose their reliability as indicators of ability.

The surge in hiring high school graduates may be prompting a broader rethink about what really signals value in the workplace.

Source: TBS
The largest Cogito v2 671B MoE model is amongst the strongest open models in the world. It matches/exceeds the performance of the latest DeepSeek v3 and DeepSeek R1 models both, and approaches closed frontier models like o3 and Claude 4 Opus.

Deep Cogito extend their work on building superintelligence using Iterated Distillation and Amplification (IDA) by scaling the models intelligence prior. This is done by the model internalizing the reasoning process using iterative policy improvement, rather than simply searching longer at inference time.

This is a novel scaling paradigm where the models develop more intuition, and serves as a strong proof of concept for self-improvement (AI systems improving themselves).

Since the Cogito models develop a better intuition of the trajectory to take while searching, they have 60% shorter reasoning chains than Deepseek R1.

Contrary to the accepted belief that such technical innovations require capital intensive infrastructure, this approach is also significantly more efficient (the Cogito models have been trained for a combined cost of <$3.5M). They plan to extend the gains of iterative self-improvement to build superintelligence. All models they create will be open sourced. The Cogito v2 series from Deep Cogito has four open-source models: a 70B dense model, a 109B mixture-of-experts (MoE) model, a 405B dense model, and a 671B MoE model. They focused on enhancing intuition in both reasoning and non-reasoning modes. Specific details on the training compute in terms of floating-point operations (FLOPs) or GPU hours have not been publicly disclosed. The combined training cost for eight models across the Cogito lineup (spanning 3B to 671B parameters, including v2 and prior variants) was less than $3.5 million, encompassing synthetic and human data generation as well as over 1,000 training experiments. This was a low-cost improvement of the base AI models. How Deep Cognito Did It?

Building superintelligence is fundamentally a tractable machine learning problem.

Their approach to build superintelligence is the following:

Step 1  Develop a scalable training recipe for unbounded iterative intelligence improvements

Step 2  Use more compute to scale their efforts and iteratively improve intelligence to go beyond human performance

They are working on techniques that can reliably supervise AI systems much smarter than humans.

Earlier this year, they released Cogito v1 models, where they talked about using Iterated Distillation & Amplification (IDA) as a promising research direction for general superintelligence. Their main focus was to provide a training signal which is not upper bounded by overseer intelligence.

They focused on self-improvement via distillation.

Continuous Improvement Towards Superintelligence

Super-human performance has been achieved in multiple narrow domains (chess, Go and poker), via the same two-step loop:

Inference-time reasoning  which spends compute to search for a solution

Iterative policy improvement  which distills the discoveries of that search back into the models parameters. As a result, the next search starts closer to the goal

AlphaGo exemplifies the pattern: Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) generates an improved policy from each game, and the policy-and-value network is retrained on those visit counts.

LLMs can be thought of as a similar system but less structured.

They think they can complete the improvement loop and drive iterative intelligence improvements with a second important step: iterative policy improvement.

They distill the reasoning process back to the model parameters so that the model has a stronger prior.

They use inference time reasoning in a way which can make the model better.

The model should be able to directly guess the results of running reasoning (without actually doing the reasoning) and anticipate the outcome of its own reasoning process.

Although recent LLMs have made progress on reasoning, most improvements have been driven by scaling reasoning length without upgrading the models intelligence prior.

Instead of using more compute to search more, they want more accurate intuition of how to look for the right answer.

Cognito 2 is or may be a step toward technical breakthroughs in iterative policy improvement.

They believe that hillclimbing on iterative policy improvement will pave the way for significantly improved model capabilities beyond what added search (via reasoning tokens) alone can unlock.
It took 10 years to build 744 B-52s from 1952-1962 but now it will take 15 years from contract being awarded to give 76 remaining B-52 engine upgrades.

The Rolls-Royce F130 engine upgrade for the B-52 Stratofortress is replacing about 600 aging Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines with more efficient, reliable F130 engines. This will enhance fuel efficiency by up to 30%, extend range, reduce maintenance needs, and support the bombers service life into the 2050s. The plan was to completely switch engines by 2030. Initial operational capability (IOC) is now projected for fiscal year 2033, about three years behind the original schedule. Rolls-Royce will produce over 600 F130 engines in its Indianapolis facility, with full re-engining of the 76 B-52s expected by 2036. There delay and cost overruns. They had to redesign the inlets on the engines and there have been other problems and delays.

In September 2021, the Air Force awarded Rolls-Royce a CERP contract worth potentially $2.6 billion through fiscal 2038 to outfit the B-52 with the F130 engine, based on Rolls-Royces commercial BR725 carried on Gulfstream G650 business jets.

Originally, each B-52 in 1962 was about $9.28 million, making the total outlay at the time $6.9 billion. Adjusted for inflation, this is about $94 million per aircraft and $69.9 billion for all 744 bombers today.

Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Engine: Successfully completed in December 2024, on schedule for the engine component, following detailed design work and collaboration with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and Boeing.

Altitude testing of the engines started in February 2025 at the USAFs Arnold Engineering Development Complex in Tennessee.

The early testing phases in Indianapolis were completed by July 2025, as noted in Rolls-Royces half-year results announcement on July 31, 2025.

In June 2025, wind tunnel testing confirmed the redesigned engine inlet, addressing earlier integration issues and allowing CERP to proceed into the engineering and manufacturing development phase during the summer of 2025.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed work with partners, in particular financial issues, with members of the government.

"Today there were reports from our officials: Yulia Svyrydenko, the ministers of defense, economy, and finance. We discussed work with our partners - the decisions we make, financial issues. We are ensuring all aspects of sustainability for our country as needed," Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Friday.

In addition, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko reported on the elimination of the consequences of Russian strikes.
China's top legislator calls for high-level development of innovative strategic partnership with Switzerland

Xinhua) 09:16, August 01, 2025

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, poses for a photo after his meeting with President of the National Council of Switzerland Maja Riniker (R) and President of the Council of States of Switzerland Andrea Caroni in Switzerland, July 30, 2025. At the invitation of President of the National Council of Switzerland Maja Riniker and President of the Council of States of Switzerland Andrea Caroni, Zhao paid an official goodwill visit to Switzerland from Monday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

GENEVA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Zhao Leji has called for jointly advancing the high-level development of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership during an official goodwill visit to the country from Monday to Thursday.

Switzerland was one of the first Western countries that established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, said Zhao, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, during his meeting with President of the National Council of Switzerland Maja Riniker and President of the Council of States of Switzerland Andrea Caroni.

Over the 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have jointly cultivated a spirit of cooperation featuring "equality, innovation and win-win," setting a model for cooperation between countries with different social systems, at different stages of development and of varying sizes, he said.

China stands ready to work with Switzerland to implement the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries and promote the high-level development of the China-Switzerland innovative strategic partnership, Zhao said.

He noted that mutual respect and mutual trust are important foundations for the long-term stable development of bilateral relations, and that China is willing to maintain the positive momentum of high-level exchanges with Switzerland and welcomes more Swiss leaders and parliamentarians to visit China to understand a real, multidimensional and comprehensive China.

Respecting each other's core interests and major concerns is a valuable experience and the right approach to China-Switzerland relations, he said, adding that China appreciates Switzerland's commitment to expanding cooperation with China and hopes to strengthen exchanges and interactions to pool more positive energy for the development of bilateral relations.

Switzerland is the first continental European country that signed free trade agreement with China, and bilateral economic and trade cooperation has grown rapidly since the deal came into effect, said Zhao, who also expects to jointly push forward negotiations on upgrading the free trade agreement and high-quality financial cooperation, as well as welcomes the expansion of investment in China by Swiss capitals.

He also called for enhancing cooperation in arts, sports, education and between local governments to consolidate the social and public support for bilateral friendship.

He expressed the hope that China and Switzerland, both important forces loving peace and advocating multilateralism, will continue to enhance multilateral coordination, jointly combat unilateralism and protectionism, and safeguard international trade rules and world economic order, so as to promote a more just and equitable global governance.

The NPC of China and the Swiss Federal Parliament have maintained long-standing friendly relations and made positive contributions to the development of bilateral ties and practical cooperation, he said.

The two sides should further intensify friendly exchanges among legislatures, share and learn from each other's experience in legislation, supervision and other areas, timely formulate, revise and approve legal documents conducive to bilateral cooperation, and strengthen communication and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, he noted.

For her part, Riniker said that this year marks the 75th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, while relations between the two countries have developed steadily and achieved fruitful results based on mutual respect, openness and goodwill.

The National Council of Switzerland stands ready to strengthen cooperation with the NPC of China to play an active role in pushing for an upgrade of the free trade deal between the two countries, as well as promoting sustainable development, she said.

Caroni, for his part, said that both countries adhere to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and firmly uphold multilateralism.

Strengthening cooperation with China is of strategic significance to Switzerland, he said, adding that the Council of States of Switzerland looks forward to further strengthening exchanges and dialogues with the Chinese side to enhance mutual understanding and common development.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, visits the DSM-firmenich company in Switzerland, July 28, 2025. At the invitation of President of the National Council of Switzerland Maja Riniker and President of the Council of States of Switzerland Andrea Caroni, Zhao paid an official goodwill visit to Switzerland from Monday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Silvia Pozzi: The time is ripe for Chinese literature to flourish

14:24, August 01, 2025 By Claire Ding, Yu Ying ( People's Daily Online

Milan is a city renowned for its dynamism and vibrant cultural life. At the University of Milano-Bicocca, we meet Silvia Pozzi, a translator and professor of Chinese Language and Literature. Since 1999, Pozzi has been deeply engaged in translating Chinese literature into Italian, including the works of celebrated authors like Yu Hua, Han Han, and Wu Mingyi. In recognition of her contributions, she received the 17th Special Book Award of China in 2024. "Chinese literary works are breath-taking," Pozzi affirmed, "and not having access to them would impoverish us all."

Silvia Pozzi (Photo/Patrick Shead-Simmonds)

"For me, literature is a treasure that profoundly enriches life. When you read, it feels as if you've lived 10,000 lives," Pozzi reflected. "Through literature, you can smell the alleys of Beijing under the moonlight, watch the sun set over the Gobi Desert, or taste spicy hot pot in Sichuan."

Over the past 25 years, Pozzi has translated numerous Chinese authors, yet Yu Hua holds a special place in her work. She has translated some of his most influential books including "Brothers," "The Seventh Day," and "China in Ten Words" and admires his exceptional storytelling. "Once Yu Hua starts telling a story, you can't stop listening," she said. "Even though he deliberately uses simple language, his words strike you straight in the heart. His stories not only reflect Chinese lives, but also express universal human emotions."

Yu Hua has become widely known and celebrated in Italy. He has visited the country several times and received numerous awards. Pozzi recalled a literary event in Milan where more than 2,500 people queued to have their books signed by him. She found it particularly moving that hundreds of Chinese students brought Italian editions of Yu Hua's books. When Yu Hua asked why, since they could read the originals in Chinese, they replied that they wanted to gift the Italian versions to their local friends. For Pozzi, this speaks volumes about the power of literature to build personal connections and foster cross-cultural understanding.

To Pozzi, translation is "a wild marriage between literary creativity and scientific precision." Each page demands ongoing negotiation, line by line, expression by expression, and word by word. She illustrated this using the example of the Chinese idiom "lin zi da le shen me niao dou you," which literally means when the forest is big, all kinds of birds appear. "There's no direct equivalent in Italian," she explained, "but the meaning is clear. I chose to translate it literally, to enrich the Italian language and preserve the author's style."

Pozzi is also a co-director at Officina, the Permanent Translation Lab at the University of Milano-Bicocca. "'Officina' in Italian means a workshop, a place for handwork," she said. The lab is a collaborative space for both experienced and emerging sinologists, dedicated to training and exchange in the field of translation. The lab also includes translators working in other languages such as Arabic, Japanese, and of course Italian, making the environment even richer through diverse perspectives.

In addition to her translation work, Pozzi is deeply committed to teaching Chinese language and literature. "I always tell my students: become word hunters," she said. "They need to read widelynot only in Chinese, but also translated works from and into Chinese. I also encourage them to build a strong foundation in classical Chinese to develop a true 'yu gan,' or sense of the language."

"Chinese literature is gaining increasing visibility in Italy," Pozzi noted. "Over the past decade, we've seen a growing number of publishers and dedicated series focused on Asian literature and especially Chinese. The time is ripe for Chinese literature to flourish."

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez was sentenced on Friday to 12 years of house arrest, a sentence that the judge wants enforced immediately. The decision was made by Judge Sandra Heredia, who on Monday convicted the former president in the most significant court case in Colombias recent history. The sentence, which was leaked shortly before the public reading convened by the judge, may be appealed by Uribes defense team.

The lower-court judge has had the enormous responsibility this week of handing down a ruling against the former conservative president, who was in power from 2002 to 2010 and helped propel two more presidents into office in 2010 and 2018. The case has had the country glued to their screens, following lengthy public hearings for over a year, as if it were the best series on Netflix.

On Monday, Heredia delivered a verdict finding Uribe guilty of two counts of procedural fraud and three counts of bribery of witnesses in criminal proceedings. Simply put, Uribe attempted to evade justice in various ways, in 2017 and 2018, when his emissaries offered benefits to former paramilitaries to testify in his favor in court.

This is not the final word. Because this is a lower-court ruling, the former presidents defense team has already announced it will appeal, and the case now moves to the Bogota Superior Court, which must rule before mid-October to avoid the statute of limitations. Legal experts consulted by EL PAIS believe that, although time is short, they have no doubt the court will give this case priority, given that this is one of the most sensitive cases in Colombian politics.

If the Bogota Superior Court upholds Heredias ruling, the defense team still has the possibility of going all the way to the Supreme Court of Justice, where, curiously, this story began. The former president had filed a complaint there against left-wing congressman Ivan Cepeda, accusing him of having ties to paramilitary groups and of bribing witnesses to sway them against himself. In 2018, the Supreme Court closed the case against Cepeda and opened one against Uribe, alleging that he was the one who sought to bribe witnesses.

Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia, Senator Ivan Cepeda and former president Alvaro Uribe on Monday, when the verdict was handed down.

The false witness case could have been investigated there, avoiding several years of judicial entanglements, but Uribe, anticipating that he would fare better in the ordinary courts, resigned his immunity as a senator, and the investigation was handed over to a Prosecutors Office headed by an ally of his, Francisco Barbosa. A tortuous path began, with the Prosecutors Office requesting that the investigation be closed, but judges on two occasions requested that it proceed to trial. Prosecutor Barbosa completed his term, the new Prosecutor Luz Adriana Camargo, nominated by the leftist president Gustavo Petro, appointed a new prosecutor, and the trial ultimately fell into the hands of Heredia.

Some of the senators closest to former President Uribe have been denouncing lawfare (the weaponization of justice for political ends). Vicky Davila, an independent right-wing candidate, asserted that it is the materialization of criminal revenge against those who confronted terrorism, alluding to Uribes aggressive campaign against leftist armed groups during his tenure.

These claims are not just an isolated strategy of Uribes supporters. The U.S. government, which has already imposed tariffs on Brazil for its trial against former President Jair Bolsonaro, has echoed the lawfare argument. Besides Secretary Rubio, several Republican congressmembers have lashed out at the South American country. Senator Bernie Moreno asserted that Colombia gets one step closer to illegitimacy. Weve seen this movie before in Venezuela.

Uribes star has faded as Colombia has changed course. When he was in power he was an enormously popular president who connected with people thanks to a tough security policy against armed groups like FARC. Some saw him (and still see him) as a war hero. His influence allowed him to handpick the next two presidents: Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) and Ivan Duque (2018-2022). However, he felt betrayed by Santos his former minister of defense  who signed a peace agreement with the FARC. And, when it came to Duque, Uribe ultimately distanced himself from his former political ally when he came to the conclusion that he didnt have the necessary strength of character to govern effectively.

With additional reporting by Lucas Reynoso and Juan Diego Quesada.
A former South Jersey man wanted for his role in the 2020 shooting death of a man during a robbery in Egg Harbor Township has been extradited to New Jersey after being arrested in South Carolina, authorities confirmed Friday.

Steven Huff, 32, was ordered held during a detention hearing in New Jersey on Friday, according to authorities. He is facing murder charges.

Huff was sought for his involvement in the death of Arturo Barrera III, 24, who was shot to death inside his home during the attempted robbery. Two other men involved in the fatal robbery were previously sentenced.

Neco J. Pitts, 31, is serving 15 years in state prison for his role in the shooting. He pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, corrections records show.

Leonard B. Ludwigsen Jr., 30, of Egg Harbor Township, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery and weapons charges in a deal that called for a murder charge to be dropped, according to court records.

Huff was arrested in early June in Spartanburg, South Carolina, by U.S. Marshals, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office confirmed Friday. A criminal complaint shows lists his address as being Spartanburg.

Huff is being represented by the Atlantic County Public Defenders Office, which did not immediately return a request for comment.

Witnesses said two masked gunmen entered Barreras Vermont Avenue home on Jan. 2, 2020, it was previously reported.

Witnesses identified Pitts and Huff as the gunmen, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Pitts recruited Huff to help in the robbery attempt. A witness said Pitts asked them to drive Huff to where Pitts and Ludwigsen were preparing for the robbery.

A pre-indictment hearing in Huffs case is scheduled for late September, according to court records.

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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
EL PAIS launched an investigation into pedophilia within the Catholic Church in 2018 and maintains an updated database with all known cases. If you know of any case that hasnt received attention, you can write to us at: abusos@elpais.es. If its a case in Latin America, the address is: abusamerica@elpais.es.



A judicial investigation in Bolivia against two senior officials of the Catholic congregation Society of Jesus (also known as Jesuits) who are accused of covering up for the Spanish pedophile priest Alfonso Pedrajas  has uncovered up to a dozen cases, eight of which have never been reported before. These deal with the sexual abuse of minors committed by religious leaders, which the Jesuit hierarchy has concealed since the 1980s.

The documentation, seized in April of 2023 by Bolivian police officers who searched the Societys headquarters in La Paz and Cochabamba, contains dozens of letters and internal reports from the Order. These prove how the religious organizations hierarchy  among whom there are the two provincial superiors currently in the dock, Spanish citizens Ramon Alaix and Marcos Recolons  received internal complaints and decided to cover up the crimes, transfer the accused to another parish, or buy the victims silence.

The file seized by the agents  which EL PAIS has had access to  contains more than 4,000 pages of documentation showing how, for decades, the Society of Jesus was aware of some of the cases of pedophilia uncovered by this newspaper. Additionally, there are documents that reveal how matters affecting the Catholic Churchs image and reputation were handled internally, such as the sexual relationships that several Jesuits maintained with adult women, along with unwanted pregnancies and the alcoholism troubles plaguing some members. Regarding some of these episodes, there are letters in which the high-ranking members of the Jesuit Order in Bolivia describe their actions to Peter Hans Kolvenbach, superior general of the Society of Jesus from 1983 to 2008, and ask for his advice.

Access to this type of information is restricted, as Church archives are closed to the public and, in some cases, even to the authorities. In Spain, for example, this documentation is protected by the Vatican Agreement between Spain and the Holy See, making it impossible for law enforcement agents to enter the archives to seize material. In Bolivia, where this agreement doesnt exist, the files are in the hands of the Cochabamba Criminal Court for Anti-Corruption and Violence against Women No. 4. The documents are being presented as evidence in the trial against Alaix and Recolons, which resumed this past Friday with the testimony of several witnesses, after the court had heard from the defendants.

This is the only remaining proceeding from the clerical pedophilia scandal that broke out in Bolivia two years ago. It all began after EL PAIS published an article about the diary of Spanish priest Alfonso Pedrajas, who died in 2009. In his diary, he admitted to abusing at least 85 children at the Juan XXIII school in Cochabamba, while describing how his superiors, especially the two now in the dock, protected him.

The two defendants held the position of provincial superior (the highest position in the Society of Jesus within a country, whose mandate can often be extended for several years) during the periods when the most complaints against Pedrajas reached the Order. Recolons held the position from 1993 to 1999, while Alaix was provincial superior between 1999 and 2007. The former also served as the Orders number two in Rome, in the General Curia of the Vatican, between 2004 and 2012.

In his memoirs, the pedophile Jesuit describes the plan he followed to reveal this abuse to Recolons in the late 1990s. The diary contains key phrases used to describe sexual assaults: F. without consent. I didnt see the consequences from all that. Isolated incidents. In the case of Alaix, Pedrajas cites him several times in the 2000s, describing how he covered up at least two complaints. He asked Alaix to transfer him to Valencia, in Spain, to get away from it all. Years later, in 2008, the Spanish pedophile wrote that his superior canceled an event meant to honor him, due to the abuse allegations.

The EL PAIS report prompted the Prosecutors Office, the attorney general, the Ministry of Education and even Bolivian President Luis Arce to announce the opening of an investigation. Since then, around 20 victims have reported that Pedrajas sexually assaulted them. The dates range from 1972 to the early 2000s. After several months of investigating, the Prosecutors Office in Cochabamba charged Recolons and Alaix with concealment of information.

However, their testimony before the judge didnt take place until two weeks ago, after being postponed several times due to the defendants ages (Alaix is 83 and Recolons, 81). In front of the judge, both claimed they only learned about the case through EL PAIS. However, their statements contradict whats written in the documentation seized by the police.

One of the emails sent by a former student of pedophile Alfonso Pedrajas, alleging that he abused minors. EL PAIS

Agents found emails from 2009, in which a former student of Pedrajas reported to a superior of the Order that the priest had abused minors. The student urged that an investigation be opened. I hope you can do something to remedy this stain on the Society [of Jesus] and [offer] a public apology, the email states. But nothing happened. At the time, Recolons was a senior official in Rome, while Alaix was finishing his tenure as provincial superior.

Later, in 2019, during a canonical investigation against another priest led by Recolons, a Jesuit priest testified that, in the 1980s, he informed the then-provincial superior of Pedrajas abuse. He noted that the provincial superior only temporarily removed Pedrajas from his duties. In other words, both Recolons and Alaix learned of Pedrajass sexual assaults on several occasions and via different channels.

Evidence against a dozen Jesuits

Of the eight unpublished cases that appear in the documents seized by the police, the most notable one involves the Jesuit Pancho Flores, a priest of Bolivian origin, who was accused of sexually assaulting a young boy. Alaix then wrote a letter to the superior general of the Jesuits in Rome to inform him about what had happened: A young man came to the [provincial superior] of the community and told him that the priest who lived in the [main] room had invited him to his room and had abused him. He also told him that Father Flores went out some nights in his van and invited young people to accompany him. The young man needed money (...) and the [provincial superior] gave him a small amount, which he later regretted and told me about. Alaix asked Kolvenbach for advice, suggesting that it would be advisable to give [Flores] a new assignment and a sabbatical year, accompanied by psychological therapy.

The leader of the Jesuits in Rome sent him a long letter discussing chastity. Flores was never removed; in fact, he even held the position of assistant secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Bolivia in 2004. Another notable case is that of the Jesuit with the initials R. B. In the early 2000s, a community superior wrote a letter to Alaix, denouncing that R.B. was having [sexual relations] with a 14-year-old girl. He also informed Alaix that he had intercepted several of the letters that the pedophile priest was sending to his victim.

The letter that Provincial Superior Ramon Alaix wrote to Superior General Peter Hans Kolvenbach, suggesting that a pedophile priest be relocated and given treatment. EL PAIS

The other initials that appear are F. Q., accused of abusing an altar boy in Potosi; J. V., accused of raping a woman for 32 years (since she was a minor); and the Jesuits V. T., M. G., H. A. and E. V., all accused of abusing novices (young men who had been admitted into the Order.)

In addition to these unprecedented cases, other stories uncovered by EL PAIS have come to light in recent years, in which other Jesuits of Spanish origin, also accused of pedophilia, were protected by the Bolivian and Spanish Catholic Church hierarchy. Some were even protected by the Vatican. There are also references to them in documents found by the Bolivian authorities. Among them, the case of Luis To stands out. Recolons arranged for his transfer out of Catalonia to cover up the scandal that arose after a Barcelona court sentenced him to two years in prison for abusing a child.

Translated by Avik Jain Chatlani.

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The Burlington County Farmers Market will hold its annual Peach Party on Aug. 2 at the Burlington County Agricultural Center in Moorestown. Burlington County

The Burlington County Farmers Market will hold its annual Peach Party on Saturday Aug. 2 at the Burlington County Agricultural Center located at 500 Centerton Road in Moorestown.

The event is held during the markets regular hours between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The special peach-themed day will feature additional farms and vendors selling varieties of peaches, along with other peach products, including cobblers, crisps, pies, scones, sticky buns, cheeses, chutney, margarita mixes, galettes and more!

In addition to the peach goods for sale, the market will also have a peach-themed cooking demonstration, kids activity, basket giveaways and samples of peach ice cream and peach crumble while supplies last.

The Classic Rock Band will also be performing live throughout the day.

New Jersey is famous for its delicious peaches, and there is no better place to shop for fruit, veggies and other great items than the Burlington County Farmers Market, Burlington County Commissioner Director Felicia Hopson said in a statement. Our County market was crowned the best in New Jersey last year and events like this Saturdays Peach Party is one of the reasons why.

The County Farmers Market was voted the No. 1 market in New Jersey and No. 3 in the Northeast Region during the 2024 Americas Farmers Market Celebration, an online poll conducted by the American Farmland Trust.

Voting in this years poll kicks off on Friday, Aug. 1, and will continue until Sept. 30. To vote in this years poll, visit https://markets.farmland.org/.

The Peach Party is one of several theme days planned at the farmers market this year, including Tomato and Pepper Day on Aug. 30, Apple Appreciation Day on Oct. 18 and the two holiday markets on Nov. 22 and Dec. 6.

Now in its 19th season, the Burlington County Farmers Market is held rain or shine each Saturday from May through late November. The market also holds several preseason market days in March and April.

* * *

Submit Burlington County community news to burlington@njadvancemedia.com.

Questions about this post may be directed to Linda OBrien at lobrien@njadvancemedia.com.



Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.
Gary Busey, pictured here in 2016, was a featured guest at Monster-Mania Con in Cherry Hill Aug. 12 to 14. Astrid Stawiarz | Getty Images

Actor Gary Busey has pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact at the Monster Mania Con in New Jersey in 2022, admitting he grabbed a womans buttocks intentionally.

Busey, 81, of Malibu, California, entered his guilty plea during a virtual hearing Thursday before Judge Gwendolyn Blue in Camdens Superior Court.

Two women accused Busey of inappropriately touching them during a meet-and-greet at the convention at the Doubletree Hotel in Cherry Hill in August 2022.

Busey said during the virtual hearing that he inappropriately touched the buttocks of an adult female over clothing.

He said the incident was not a case of accidental touching.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Busey faces one-to-five years of probation and must pay fines.

Busey also will have a criminal record as a result of his guilty plea.

The plea deal calls for prosecutors to drop three more counts of criminal sexual contact and one attempted count.

Busey is famous for his title role in the 1978 movie The Buddy Holly Story, for which he was nominated for an Oscar.

His credits also include the 2005 horror movie Gingerdead Men, along with Point Break and Lethal Weapon.

Monster-Mania Con is a horror film and memorabilia convention known for bringing together fans and actors from horror films.

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Stephanie Loder may be reached at SLoder@njadvancemedia.com.
The search of an Ocean City apartment this week involving a child sexual abuse materials investigation led to an unrelated immigration detention by federal authorities.

An individual who resided in the residence that was not the target of the search warrant was detained by ICE on an unrelated federal warrant, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland said in an email Friday to NJ Advance Media.

The name of the person detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not disclosed.

No charges have been filed related to the child sexual abuse materials investigation, Sutherland said.

The targeted individual is represented by legal counsel and he was not detained or charged, pending evidence that may be retrieved from the seized electronic devices, Sutherland said.

At the time of the search, multiple cellular devices, to include cellular telephones, laptop computers, and camcorders were seized from the residence, the prosecutors office said in statement Tuesday.

Immigrants rights group El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City hosted a 50-minute Facebook live in Spanish on Wednesday to detail the familys treatment during the search.

A husband and wife living at the apartment said their nephew, a native of Mexico, was the person detained by ICE. They detailed what they described as intimidation and threats during the search.

The husband and wife described confusion about the identity of the investigating agency as the search unfolded. Each person in the apartment was questioned about immigration status, they said.

Agents took photos of each person and threatened deportation for anyone who didnt cooperate, the family said.

Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, who heads El Pueblo Unido, called the search a raid and not a targeted operation.

What happened to us, I dont wish that on anyone. But sadly, its happening to Latinos all across the country, the husband said.

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Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com.
The 8th Annual Wildwood Navy SEAL Challenge will be held on Sunday, Aug. 3. Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority

The 8th Annual Navy SEAL Challenge will push competitors to their limits on Wildwoods beaches this weekend, offering a test of physical and mental endurance inspired by elite military training.

Set for Sunday, Aug. 3, at 6 p.m., the challenge will take place on the beach at Lincoln Avenue.
The cast and creators of Maybe Happy Ending have had a lot to celebrate.

In June, the show took home one of the most coveted awards on Broadway  the 2025 Tony Award for best musical.

Basking Ridges Helen J. Shen made her Broadway debut in the production, starring alongside Darren Criss, who won his first Tony for best actor in a musical.

Maybe Happy Ending won a total of six Tonys, including the awards for best book and best score for co-creators Hue Park and Will Aronson; best direction of a musical for Michael Arden; and best scenic design for Dane Laffrey and George Reeve.

But that was not its happy ending, because the show is going on.

And as the cast changes, the happy has turned to pain.

When Criss, a producer of the musical, departs the show after his Aug. 31 performance, Andrew Barth Feldman is set to take over his role.

The casting of Feldman, Shens boyfriend, has drawn controversy since his announcement as Criss replacement.

Asian American theater professionals have raised concerns about Feldmans casting and what it means for representation on Broadway.

Maybe Happy Ending, which is set in a future South Korea, premiered in Seoul in 2016 before opening on Broadway in November at the Belasco Theatre.

Helen J. Shen and Darren Criss after "Maybe Happy Ending" won the Tony for best musical. John Nacion | Variety via Getty Images

Criss, 38, and Shen, 25, play humanoid helperbots Oliver and Claire in the show.

Both roles have traditionally been played by Asian actors.

When Emmy winner Criss (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Glee), who is of Filipino and Chinese descent, won the Tony, he became the first Asian actor to win the award for lead actor in a musical.

Shens parents came to the United States from Shanghai.

Feldman is white.

The 23-year-old actor is set to play the role of Oliver Sept. 2 through Nov. 1.

READ MORE: The 2025 Tony winners for best musical and plays have N.J. connections

He made his Broadway debut as the lead of Dear Evan Hansen in 2019, when he was 16. Feldman is also known for his starring role opposite Jennifer Lawrence in the raunchy comedy No Hard Feelings" (2023). He voiced the dwarf Dopey, who narrates Disneys 2025 reimagining of Snow White," led by Cliftons Rachel Zegler.

I am going to be back on Broadway for the first time since I was 17 in a show that has reminded me (thirteen times now!) how to love a person playing opposite the person I love, Feldman said in an Instagram post when his casting was announced July 24.

I am stunned by @michaelarden, @hue_park, & Will Aronsons faith in me. I am so heartened by the warmth that this company of wonderful people has already included me in. I am so happy. Shel (Helen), this moment is once in a lifetime. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Andrew Barth Feldman in November at the opening night gala celebration for "Maybe Happy Ending." Bruce Glikas | WireImage

Park, Aronson and Shen responded to the controversy over Feldmans casting in separate statements.

While Shen said Feldman is perfect for the role, she also acknowledged the hurt that his casting has caused.

Ive been struggling to hold multiple truths within me that seem to contradict, Shen said in an Instagram post Thursday (see post below). I think that is an objectively hard thing to do, but I do think were called to do that in this moment.

READ MORE: Devil Wears Prada 2 cast includes N.J. star from Tony-winning musical (and Meryls hometown)

Shen, who is making her film debut alongside Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in the upcoming movie The Devil Wears Prada 2, talked about the vacuum of A/PI stories that dont center around pain or tropes and how for many, Maybe Happy Ending has helped to fill that void.

Criss and Shen performed part of the musical at the Tony Awards in June.

I have and continue to be extremely proud to look the way I do and to co lead this Broadway show, Shen continued. I know the hurt that people feel because growing up, I would have found a beacon of hope in seeing our show on TV on the Tony Awards. A part of me is mourning that along with the community.

Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen performing in June at the Tonys, where "Maybe Happy Ending" won six awards. Theo Wargo | Getty Images

Shen, an alum of Ridge High School, said that the conversation around Feldmans casting will live much longer than the show.

This has been an immensely challenging moment within my home with Andrew, and in this building filled with A/P folks to say the least. I dont know whats forward, but to have this opportunity to play opposite my favorite actor in the world for 9 weeks, who happens to be PERFECT for the role is a huge moment of joy for me.

Every perspective on this situation contains truth, Shen said, adding that subject of representation in casting is a conversation that must be had.

The actor, who has been dividing her time between the musical and filming The Devil Wears Prada 2 in New York, invited those who know her to continue to have that conversation and reach out to her as the show goes on.

Lets chat, Shen said (see the actors full statement below).

Creators respond

Park and Aronson, the creators of the show, addressed the reaction to Feldmans casting in their own statement.

We have spent days trying to find words that perfectly encompass all of our feelings, but as we watch the pain escalate, have decided it is better to simply share our incomplete thoughts and hope they are taken in the spirit of heartfelt conversation, they said in comments that preceded Shens message (see post below).

They recounted seeing how Maybe Happy Ending has moved people who previously knew nothing about Korea to plan trips to the country, learn Korean and explore the culture.

This is incredibly meaningful to a Korean/American writing team who met and write in NYC, but are deeply immersed in Korean culture, said Park, a Seoul native, and Aronson, who was born in New Haven.

Hue Park and Will Aronson with their Tonys for "Maybe Happy Ending." Arturo Holmes | WireImage

They said their dream was to have the Korea-set Maybe Happy Ending performed by anyone, anywhere, noting that the robot characters Oliver and Claire  who they called avatars for the universal human questions of love and loss  are the products of a global company that does not use Korean names for the helperbots, even in the Korean version of the show.

At the same time, we understand that for many in the AAPI community, the makeup of our opening night cast became a meaningful and rare point of visibility, they said.

Six of seven principal actors in the shows cast are of Asian descent.

Weve heard how strongly people connected to that representation, even if it wasnt our original intent, and how this casting decision has re-opened old wounds, they said.

While Park and Aronson once cast roles in the musical as explicitly Asian, they said that by the time the show came to Broadway, the robot roles were ethnically undefined.

Leading roles for Asian performers have long been painfully scarce, they said, noting how various recent Broadway shows have seen that circumstance start to change.

With Maybe Happy Ending, we wanted to write a show in which every role could be played by an Asian performer, but without the intention that the robot roles always would be.

Park and Aronson said they are extremely saddened that the musical could ever become a source of confusion, anger or pain.

Like Shen, they said that talk about the show and representation on Broadway would be a continuing conversation.

Asian American actors on watching history repeat itself

Broadway actor Telly Leung said he was hurt and deeply disappointed by Park and Aronsons response.

He said it failed to consider the real-world impact of this decision.

Leung (Flower Drum Song, Godspell, Rent, Glee) is among the Asian American theater professionals who criticized the decision to cast Feldman.

In a Facebook post Thursday, he said that while he loves Maybe Happy Ending and its cast, putting a white actor in one of the lead roles is a harmful move, especially after Criss historic Tony win.

By replacing the first Asian American actor ever to win a Tony for Best Actor in a Musical with a white actor, theyve undermined the very community that helped champion their show and contributed to its historic success, said Leung, 45, who is Chinese American. This sets a dangerous precedent  one that risks undoing hard-won progress in Asian representation on Broadway."

Telly Leung at the "Maybe Happy Ending" opening gala celebration at the Belasco Theatre in November. He has criticized the decision to cast a white actor in the role that won Darren Criss his history-making Tony. John Lamparski | Getty Images

Conrad Ricamora plays Abraham Lincoln in Cole Escolas Tony-winning play Oh, Mary!

He received a Tony nomination for best featured actor in a play for his performance. His long run as the shows original Lincoln ends Aug. 2.

Ricamora, who is of Filipino descent, responded to the Maybe Happy Ending controversy by starting a The Right To Be There scholarship fund for Asian American male actors. His efforts have raised more than $45,000 for the scholarship.

Theres a lot of pain right now, Ricamora, 46, said in an Instagram post. Pain from being toldsubtly and explicitlythat we dont belong. Pain from watching history repeat itself, even as we fight for representation. Pain that I know so many other Asian American men in this industry have felt before me. But grief can rot, or it can plant. So Im planting."

The Asian American Performers Action Coalition released a statement to Playbill about Maybe Happy Ending casting a white actor in the role of Oliver.

Tony nominee Conrad Ricamora has started a scholarship for Asian American actors in response to the "Maybe Happy Ending" casting. Conrad Ricamora | Getty Images

If the intent has been to show the storys universality, we are reminded that though we have long been expected to view white stories populated by only white actors as universal, stories about people who look like us that are populated by people who look like us are rarely considered universal enough," the group said.

Tony-winning actor BD Wong (M. Butterfly, Mr. Robot, Jurassic Park, Father of the Bride), who is Chinese American, has also spoken out about the Maybe Happy Ending casting.

He wrote an essay he said he would be submitting to The New York Times, posted it on Facebook and asked those who supported his message to sign by adding their name in the comments. Hundreds replied.

The Asian community has had a passionate reaction to this, he said in the essay. Its screaming to be heard.

Tony-winning actor BD Wong says the latest "Maybe Happy Ending" casting is a painful move that stands to significantly set back representation for Asian actors. Stephanie Augello | Variety via Getty Images

Wong, 64, called the musical a rare feat of representation that deserves survival.

MHE brought the American audience to Korea rather than American-izing itself, he said. This felt revolutionary and subversive; bold and modern, and also felt like a gift.

Advocating for ones own representation is stultifyingly self-debasing, Wong continued. No, we dont want to get somebody fired. We must express, though, how painful it is to be passed over, yet how used to it weve become. How rare Asian Shows are.

The long-standing history of exclusion is real, he said. Were incapable of rising above a producers business decision because our life is steeped in exclusion. We cant receive this news blithely.

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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.
The former police chief in Englishtown who admitted to illegally using a law enforcement database has been admitted to the states pretrial intervention program, PTI.

Peter S. Cooke, 59, is also permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office confirmed.

Cooke pleaded guilty to third-degree computer criminal activity on May 19. He resigned as police chief the same day.

His PTI sentencing was on Tuesday, July 29.

If Cooke successfully completes the one-year program, the charges will be dismissed.

Between February 2019 and August 2023, Cooke used a law enforcement database to look up information about two people outside the scope of police investigative purposes, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said last November.

And while on administrative leave for an undisclosed purpose, Cooke helped an unidentified co-conspirator in several instances of shoplifting from a local grocery store, officials previously said.

He was charged in November with third-degree computer theft and third-degree conspiracy to commit shoplifting.

Cooke was hired as a police officer in 2000. He became chief in 2019 after serving as officer-in-charge from 2011 to 2019.

About 2,300 people live in Englishtown, a borough of slightly more than a half-square mile.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
The motorcyclist killed in a crash on Interstate 80 in Parsippany last week has been identified a 20-year-old South Plainfield man.

Karol Wojewodka was riding west near milepost 41.6 at 1:10 p.m. on July 22 when he struck a pickup towing a large SUV on a trailer, State Police said.

The impact caused all three vehicles to catch fire, and the blaze spread to a nearby wooded area.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported that the brush fire involved about 4 to 5 acres along the westbound side of I-80.

Wojewodka was entering his junior at Rutgers University majoring in criminal justice, according to an online obituary. He aspired to be a state trooper.

Although he would say it was for the badge and uniform, those closest to him know it was for the opportunity to protect, serve, and make a difference in the lives of others, the obituary said. He was driven, determined, and deeply committed to doing well in the world.

Wojewodka is survived by his parents, older brother, grandparents, and many cousins, aunts, uncles and friends along with his beloved dog.
Four men have been charged with robbing a group of people, including two juveniles, in a parking lot in Edgewater last year, authorities said Friday.

Justin Acosta, 21, Charles Town, West Virginia, Julio Perez, 24, of North Bergen, and Kenny Vega, 23, of West New York, are all currently in the Bergen County jail on first-degree robbery and related weapons charges.

Jaden Vazquez, 21, of Guttenberg, is still being sought by police on first-degree robbery and other charges, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said.

Five people were in a parked vehicle in a commercial lot on River Road in Edgewater when two masked men approached with guns around on June 13, 2024.

The robbers demanded the keys to the vehicle and searched the group while threatening to shoot them, authorities said.

One of the robbers tried to break a window of the vehicle with the grip of a gun, authorities said.

The robbers fled before police were called at around 7:50 p.m..

Acosta, previously of Guttenberg, was arrested Feb. 12 outside his former residence. A search of his vehicle and current home led to the seizure of two gun magazines and ammunition.

Perez turned himself in to police on Feb. 18. Vega was arrested July 28.

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The U.S. State Department is warning tourists not to travel to certain parts of Thailand, and "exercise increased caution" when traveling to the country. Canva

If youre thinking of traveling to Thailand anytime soon, there are certain parts of the country where you should avoid traveling to for the foreseeable future.

The U.S. State Department upgraded its travel advisory to Thailand from its lowest level to its second-highest level, warning Americans to exercise increased caution due to unrest, and updated the advisory to do not travel to the Cambodian-Thai border due to armed conflict.

Here is what you need to know about the travel advisory and what do if you plan on traveling to Thailand.

What does the latest travel advisory to Thailand mean to you?

Item Detail Start Date July 25, 2025 Whats changing? Upgraded travel advisory warning from Level 1: Exercise normal precautions to Level 2: Exercise increased caution due to unrest. Also warns travelers not to travel to certain parts of Thailand, including the Thai-Cambodian border due to armed conflict. What will happen? Travelers are strongly advised to have travel insurance and have evacuation plans that do not rely on U.S. government assistance. Who will it affect? Travelers to Thailand.

The agency gave a Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution travel advisory to Thailand due to civil unrest in the Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat provinces.

The advisory also states that people should not travel to the Cambodian-Thai border due to ongoing fighting between the Thai and Cambodian military forces.

According to the State Department, there was a ceasefire announced between the two countries, but the travel advisory has not been downgraded to date.

What is the highest travel advisory?

There are four levels of travel advisory, Level 1 through Level 4.

When planning a vacation, you should check the current travel advisory for that destination. So, which level is the most concerning?

Level 1 : Exercise Normal Precautions  This is the lowest level of advisory; it is advised that there is some risk in that area, and travelers should take precautions while on their visit.

Level 2 : Exercise Increased Caution  There is a heightened risk for safety and security in that area, and travelers need to take extra caution.

Level 3 : Reconsider Travel  There are serious risks to safety, and travelers are advised to reconsider their travel plans to this destination.

Level 4: Do Not Travel  This is the highest level of advisory, and it is strongly recommended not to travel to any destinations with a Level 4 advisory, due to many factors, one of which is that the U.S. government might not be able to provide travelers any assistance in the event of an emergency.

What should travelers to Thailand do in light of this travel advisory?

Travelers who do decide to go to Thailand should heed the following instructions for their safety:

Buy travel insurance

Make plans to evacuate without the assistance of U.S. government officials

You can find more details about the travel advisory and how to remain safe while traveling here.

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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
Union members rally at the Statehouse annex in Trenton, NJ on Monday, April 21, 2025. The unions that represent some 75,000 public sector workers in N.J. demand action, call for legislation to ensure affordable healthcare and improved governance and transparency of New Jersey's public sector workforce. Dave Hernandez | For NJ Advance

Limiting who may take expensive weight loss drugs like Mounjaro and Wegovy. Charging much higher premiums and co-pays for just about everything. Regularly reviewing and renegotiating drug prices.

These were among the ideas union leaders and senior officials from Gov. Phil Murphys administration offered Thursday to help reduce soaring premiums in the State Health Benefits Program, which serves about 294,000 state employees, retirees and their families in New Jersey.
On the afternoon of July 31, while El Salvador commemorated Journalists Day amid a climate of systematic harassment and exile for reporters critical of Nayib Bukele, its Legislative Assembly approved a waiver of the procedure for expressly reforming the Constitution to grant the popular president his greatest political ambition: indefinite reelection in a shift  expected, but nonetheless momentous  that consolidates an increasingly autocratic model of power.

Furthermore, the express reforms to articles 75, 80, 133, 152 and 154 of the Salvadoran Constitution, proposed by the deputies of the ruling Nuevas Ideas party, establish an extension of the presidential term to six years (from its current five), and annul the second round in the elections, so that the presidency would be won by majority and the 50% plus one rule would not be necessary, as is currently laid out in the Constitution, in force since 1983.

Historically, reelection has been permitted in El Salvador for almost all elected offices, without restrictions or specific conditions, and the only exception so far has been the presidency, argued ruling party representative Ana Figueroa. Salvadorans will have the power to decide how long they wish to support the work of any public official, including their president, she added.

The reform to establish a presidential term lasting six years instead of five will be effective from the next elections. Figueroa also said that the express reform seeks greater stability in electoral cycles. In this way, we are also allowing the country to achieve greater legal security at this time, she stated.

The decree stipulates that the current presidential term  which began on June 1, 2024  will end early on June 1, 2027, with the goal of unifying the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections that year.

In El Salvador, elections are held on average every two years due to a staggered electoral calendar that includes different types of votes at different times. Not all public offices are elected at the same time, which responds to a logic of democratic alternation and institutional control. However, this design generates a nearly constant electoral cycle. Bukele has been critical of this system and has proposed reforming it toward a midterm election model, which would concentrate elections every three to six years. His legislators are doing something that leaves open the door to indefinite reelection, a vice shared by Latin American autocrats.

Plenary session in the Legislative Assembly in San Salvador Thursday. Rodrigo Sura (EFE)

The initiative, included on Thursdays plenary session agenda  with exemption from formalities and without legislative debate  states that it must be ratified by the current legislature. This is permitted by a constitutional reform endorsed by the current parliamentary group, which has 57 of the 60 votes. Bukele began his second term on June 1  which his critics called illegal, as several articles of the Constitution prohibited it  following a change of opinion by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, which the first legislature dominated by Nuevas Ideas in 2021 appointed in an irregular process.

Opposition representative Marcela Villatoro said the current ruling party representatives have taken off their masks. They have publicly confessed to killing democracy under the guise of legality. This is the chronicle of a death foretold that has been brewing for several years in this Legislative Assembly, she stated.

An old temptation of Bukele

During his first term, Bukele repeatedly denied that he would seek immediate reelection, citing the constitutional prohibition. No, there will be no reelection, he said in 2021. But his position changed after September 3 of that year, when the Constitutional Chamber, composed of judges appointed by his party, reversed the historical criterion and allowed him to run for a second consecutive term.

Based on the Chambers ruling, Bukele announced on September 15, 2022, that he would seek reelection in 2024. On October 26, 2023, Bukele officially registered his candidacy with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which approved it on November 3 despite challenges from the opposition and constitutional lawyers. Then, on November 30, the Legislative Assembly granted him a leave of absence from office for the last six months of his term, as required by the constitutional article reinterpreted in 2021.

The express constitutional reform concludes a long-anticipated process marked by the legalization of indefinite reelection, a goal Bukele pursued from the beginning of his term. Although he tasked his vice president, Felix Ulloa, with drafting a constitutional reform bill for that purpose, he never needed to resort to it because the institutions complied with his wishes. The reforms were expected to be approved Thursday night by parliament, where Nuevas Ideas holds an absolute majority.

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Deadliest Catch is returning for the premiere of its 21st season on the Discovery Channel, and its set to debut on Friday, Aug. 1 at 8 p.m. You can watch live as it airs three ways: Sling TV (50% off your first month), Philo (FREE trial) or DIRECTV (FREE trial).

Deadliest Catch has, over its long run, become an iconic staple of the Discovery Channel roster. The series depicts the seemingly insurmountable struggles of fishing for Alaskan king crab in the Bering Sea, a commercial fishing trade which is sometimes lethal.

Philo (free trial) Philo offers a 7-day free trial Buy Now

In the premiere episode of season 21, Sig and John will take the Time Bandit off to the west in search of some potential new sources of crab. Meanwhile, aboard the Titan Explorer, Jake and his crew will encounter circumstances which force them to abandon ship.

Heres a look at some of the most intense and dramatic moments from across the entire history of Deadliest Catch, courtesy of the shows official YouTube channel:

How to watch Deadliest Catch for free

Philo is the cheapest, easiest and most straightforward way to watch Deadliest Catch for free. However, cord cutters might also be drawn to the larger breadth of options provided by DIRECTV, or the customization of Sling TV. You can get 50% off your first month of Sling TV right now.

Streaming Service Cost Free Trial? Philo $28 Yes DIRECTV $74.99 Yes Sling TV $45-$60 No

New episodes of Deadliest Catch air on Fridays at 8 p.m. And if you missed last weeks episode, each Friday, the previous episode will air before the new one at 6 p.m.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Joseph Rejent covers TV, writing about live television, streaming services and cord-cutting. He can be reached at jrejent@njadvancemedia.com.
Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost.

If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below.
Outside the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the execution of Jessie Hoffman, 46. Hoffman was convicted in the 1996 abduction, rape, and murder of Molly Elliott. The state plans to put him to death using nitrogen gas, the first such execution in Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Ahmed al-Arini had to walk for a long time with his camera on his shoulder to reach the tent where little Mohamed and his family are eking out a living. Its just another tent amid an ocean of tarps crowding the displaced persons camp located east of Gaza City. Mohamed Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq is 18 months old and weighs barely six kilos (13.2 pounds). The image of his skeletal body, in his mothers arms, has gone around the world as a symbol of the humanitarian catastrophe ravaging the Strip after more than four months of the Israeli blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid, and more than 60,200 Palestinian deaths during the nearly two years of the Israeli military offensive.

He wears a black plastic bag instead of a diaper, a scarce item that has become an unattainable luxury for most Gazans, as a single one can cost 10 shekels (around $3). Families are forced to make do with old rags or plastic bags.

Al-Arini photographed little Mohamed to show the rest of the world the extreme hunger affecting Gazan children. Between shots, he had to stop and take deep breaths. I photographed him inside a tent for displaced families, amid hunger, pain, and a severe shortage of formula and diapers, recalls the 25-year-old photographer. I decided to document his story  and those of other children  because the signs of hunger were clearly visible on him. I had seen previous photos of him, when he was healthy and full of life, and then I saw the heartbreaking state he is in now, he adds, speaking to this newspaper via instant messaging. Mohamed had gone from nine kilos to six kilos, about half the average weight of a child his age. I was overcome with grief at how emaciated he was. I took these photos while I was starving myself, he explains.

Gazan photographer Ahmed al-Arini, July 25. Abdalhkem Abu Riash (Anadolu/Getty Images)

Mohameds story is not an isolated case. The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) estimates that more than 320,000 children under the age of five in Gaza face the risk of acute malnutrition. Around 90 children have died from this cause since October 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health.

Gaza is currently experiencing the worst possible famine scenario. This was highlighted last Tuesday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), the leading international system for monitoring hunger. The latest data, collected by the organization through telephone interviews in July, show that 81% of households were experiencing days without any food to eat. Furthermore, 96% of the households surveyed reported having gone hungry several times a day in the past month. Nine out of 10 households even took risks to obtain food or searched for it in garbage. Peoples access to food across Gaza is now alarmingly erratic and extremely perilous, the IPC says in an alert document posted on its website. According to its figures, between April and mid-July, more than 20,000 children have been admitted for treatment for malnutrition. The only solution, warns the IPC, is a cessation of hostilities that allows for sustained and secure access to humanitarian aid.

The Israeli military announced some measures on Sunday to ensure a minimal easing of the blockade and allow more aid to enter through safe routes. The United Nations, however, continues to insist that this is insufficient to prevent famine and a catastrophic health crisis and denounces bureaucratic and security obstacles to the entry of supplies from Israel.

People are living in desperate conditions, in makeshift tents set up on the streets and among the rubble of their destroyed homes. They are facing a dire crisis. Prices are skyrocketing, all basic food and supplies are in short supply, and there is no cooking gas, the photographer explains.

Working as a photojournalist in this context fills me with pain and exhausts me Ahmed al-Arini

Gazan journalists are the only reporters on the ground in the Strip, as Benjamin Netanyahus government has barred the international press from entering the enclave since the beginning of the offensive. Since then, more than 230 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

Al-Arini, who currently collaborates with several international news agencies, had to flee Jabalia, in the north of the enclave, after his familys home was destroyed in an Israeli attack. Since then, he has lived in the capital, Gaza City. Working as a photojournalist in this context fills me with pain and exhausts me. You cover the war and the blockade while you are hungry, exhausted, and unable to provide food for your own family and children. Perhaps the world has grown accustomed to these scenes. We have been living with death, destruction, and the blockade for almost two years. No one seems to care about what the civilians and innocent people of Gaza are enduring, he laments. However, he continues to hope that these images can help stop the genocide and end this painful war.

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Violence against cab drivers in Veracruz has intensified in recent days, amid extortion, threats, and murders. The most recent case occurred in Tuxpan, where a driver was shot on Monday. He survived, but the next day a hitman pretended to be a relative and accessed the hospitals emergency room to finish him off. His father, a fellow driver who had been with him at the public hospital, intervened and was killed. The targeted driver was wounded, but again survived. All this occurred just over 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Alamo Temapache, the municipality where Irma Hernandez, also a cab driver and a retired teacher, was kidnapped for refusing to pay the protection fee demanded by the Mafia Veracruzana. Her body was found last week, and her story shed light on the terror experienced by transport workers in the region.

German Cruz, a retired police lieutenant, was caring for his son at the Emilio Alcazar Hospital in downtown Tuxpan when he was murdered. The State Attorney Generals Office reported the arrest of Eber Abraham N for the homicide. The first attack against the driver, whose name has not yet been released, occurred Monday afternoon in the Luis Donaldo Colosio neighborhood. Over the weekend, another driver was murdered in the same region. He was traveling along the Tuxpan-Cazones highway when armed men on motorcycles opened fire on his vehicle. One passenger was injured, and the driver died in the vehicle.

Arrest sheet for Eber Abraham 'N,' alleged perpetrator of the murder. Fiscalia de Veracruz

All eyes turned to Veracruz after the case of 62-year-old Hernandez, who was kidnapped on July 18 after refusing to pay the extortion fee required to drive her cab. Six days later, her body was found on a ranch in the municipality of Cerro Azul. During her captivity, she was forced to record a chilling video in which, surrounded by 10 armed men, she warned her colleagues about the consequences of not submitting to the Mafia Veracruzana. So far, four people have been arrested in connection with that case. A month earlier, Jorge Nestor was also kidnapped by a convoy while driving a cab near an elementary school. He remains missing.

The state governor, Rocio Nahle, a member of the ruling Morena party, said that Hernandezs cause of death was a heart attack, and when criticized for that statement, she described those who, according to her, had turned the taxi drivers story into a scandal wretched. Later, President Claudia Sheinbaum described the case as a homicide.

Exortion in Veracruz

Amid all the violence, Veracruz cab drivers are also demanding action. Since Monday, they have marched in various municipalities demanding better wages, security, and justice for their murdered colleagues. We fear for our safety; we are single mothers, and We no longer live, we survive, some female drivers chanted during the first demonstration in Xalapa.

The Mafia Veracruzana, a splinter group of the Gulf Cartel, operates in municipalities such as Tuxpan, Poza Rica, Tantoyuca, Naranjos, and Panuco, where they extort drivers and merchants demanding protection money. Since 2024, the group has claimed responsibility for attacks and threats on social media. Its dispute over territorial control includes clashes with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. The border between Veracruz and Tamaulipas, a route for drug and migrant trafficking, is one of the hottest zones in Mexico. For the past decade, it was dominated by the bloodthirsty Los Zetas.

On July 6, Sheinbaum and Secretary of Security Omar Garcia Harfuch launched the national strategy against extortion. This plan seeks to reduce crime throughout the country, but with special emphasis on the eight states that account for 66% of reported cases of exortion, including Veracruz. However, cab drivers continue to be targeted by organized crime, and authorities have yet to stop the attacks.

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If his promised immigration policy was one of the reasons that led Donald Trump to victory in the November 2024 presidential election, it is also one of the reasons that has now led to his decline in popularity. The latest published polls show that the way in which immigration raids, arrests, and deportations are being carried out have weighed on the Republicans support.

The public has become disillusioned with Trumps mass deportation plan. Americans are seeing how he attacks immigrants in an indiscriminate and overly aggressive manner, says Nick Gourevitch, president of research and insights at Global Strategy Group and responsible for one of the latest polls on the presidents popularity. According to the survey, conducted for Navigator, 50% of citizens disapprove of Trumps handling of immigration, compared to 47% who approve.

Gourevitch made the remarks at a press conference on Thursday, during which several migrant advocacy organizations cited recent polls to show public rejection of Trumps immigration policy.

In several polls published in July, the Republicans performance is even worse. The Gallup poll shows that 62% of the population disapproves of the current administrations immigration policies; the CNN poll shows a disapproval of 58%, and the CBS network, 56%.

Trump promised to expel the most dangerous criminals from the country, but detention centers have filled with migrants with no criminal record. The excessive violence used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during arrests, which have seen the use of force against defenseless workers or against parents attending immigration court with their children, have led to dramatic scenes that have taken their toll on the president.

Among Latinos, as one of the communities most affected by detentions, the impact has been greater. Nearly one in five Latinos (19%) knows someone who has been detained by ICE, double the 9% rate across the entire electorate. According to the Navigator survey, 56% of Hispanics reject Trumps policies.

Concern about ICE raids is high, especially among Americans of color: 40% of all respondents say they are very concerned about Trumps immigration raids, but this concern is closely tied to racial identity. While 46% of Black and Hispanic Americans are very concerned, only 37% of whites feel the same.

Fair, firm, and without cruelty: that is the message from Hispanic voters on immigration. For too long, some have tried to portray aid and enforcement as conflicting goals, and the result has been a further deterioration of our immigration system. Latino voters understand that these are intertwined threads necessary for order at the border and beyond. But what they are experiencing is abuse of power, chaos, and intimidation, with grave human and economic consequences, said Clarissa Martinez De Castro, vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS.

Public perceptions of deportations have shifted since Trump returned to the White House. His rhetoric about expelling criminals resonated deeply with voters, but the reality of how it is being implemented, such as the expulsions of Venezuelans to El Salvador accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua criminal gang without evidence, has shifted the balance. Before his inauguration, support for the proposed deportation plan was 51%, and opposition was 41%. Now, only 45% support it, while 49% oppose it.

The decline in support for Trump, however, does not imply greater confidence in the Democrats. A majority of respondents (49%) believe the president and the Republicans handle immigration policy better than the Democratic Party, which only has 41% support.

The United States is unhappy with Trumps handling of immigration, but Democrats cannot seize this opportunity until they restore voters trust that they can be counted on to handle the issue responsibly. To do so, they must stand firmly on behalf of public safety while highlighting how Trumps chaos is making our communities less safe, said Anae Erickson, vice president of social policy, education, and politics at the national Third Way think tank.

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200,000 tons 5,000 500 Feb. 2024 May-July 2025 0 Deaths in aid incidents Amount of aid entering Gaza Children in malnutrition programs 500 200,000 tons 5,000 Feb. 2024 May-July 2025 Children in malnutrition programs Deaths in aid incidents Amount of aid entering Gaza Sources: COGAT, SoP Nutrition Cluster, ACLED Note: All July data is incomplete. Malnutrition data has about a two-week delay.

How Did Hunger Get So Much Worse in Gaza?

Over the past several weeks, obtaining food in Gaza has been more than difficult  it has been deadly.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while heading toward aid sites, many of them by Israeli forces. Many others have serious malnutrition, which Gazan health officials say has caused scores of deaths.

According to Israels own data, less food is going into Gaza now than during most other times in the war, when deliveries were generally far below what aid agencies said was necessary and people often went hungry.

How did it get so much worse?

Videos by Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

After a total aid blockade, an Israeli plan created fewer and farther aid sites

In March, Israel imposed an aid blockade on Gaza in an effort to squeeze concessions from Hamas; it also said, without providing evidence, that the militant group was systematically stealing the supplies. That didnt force the group to accept Israels terms, but it did cause widespread hunger among Gazans.

Amid growing international pressure, Israel established a new aid system in May in southern and central Gaza that would allow it greater control over aid deliveries.

Much of the aid used to go in through a system coordinated by the United Nations, which distributed it at hundreds of sites across the Gaza Strip.

Israels new system, run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (G.H.F.), had just four sites. At times, only one would be open per day. And none were in northern Gaza.

The result: Gazans would often have to walk for hours through a war zone to get food from the sites.

Length of walk to start of aid site route: 4 hrs 3 hrs Jabaliya Gaza City 2 hrs Mediterranean Sea Aid site 1 hr Mandated routes to aid sites GAZA STRIP ISRAEL 1 hr Israeli militarized zone Aid sites 5 miles 4 hrs Length of walk to start of aid site route: 3 hrs Jabaliya Gaza City Sderot 2 hrs 1 hr ISRAEL Aid site Mediterranean Sea Netivot GAZA STRIP Mandated routes to aid sites 1 hr Israeli militarized zone Aid sites Ofakim EGYPT 5 miles Sources: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (aid sites); U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Israeli militarized zone) Note: Distances are based on a 4 km/h walking speed. There are additional areas outside the Israeli militarized zone that have been under evacuation orders since March. The New York Times

When Israel resumed allowing food into Gaza in late May, it also permitted the United Nations to bring in some aid, as well  albeit in a diminished role. Israel has blamed the U.N. for not bringing in more food, while the U.N. argues that Israel frequently denies or delays its requests to bring in convoys, among other challenges.

People are being asked to cross military lines

Israel wanted the new G.H.F. aid sites to be in zones controlled by the Israeli military. Israeli officials said that was the only way to ensure the food wouldnt get into the hands of Hamas.

But that meant thousands of Palestinians would have to cross Israeli military lines to get a box of food from the distribution points.

1,000 ft Israeli military positions and roads Wadi Gaza aid site Mandated route to aid site GAZA STRIP Map area ISRAELI MILITARIZED ZONE 1,000 ft ISRAELI MILITARIZED ZONE Tal al-Sultan aid site Saudi District aid site Map area GAZA STRIP EGYPT 1,000 ft Khan Younis aid site ISRAELI MILITARIZED ZONE Map area Sources: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (aid sites); U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Israeli militarized zone); New York Times analysis of satellite imagery; Satellite imagery from Planet Labs. The New York Times

The result has been deadly. More than 600 people have been killed while trying to reach the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, according to the Gazan health ministry. The G.H.F. has disputed reports of shootings at or around its sites, although they acknowledge the areas beyond their perimeter are still an active war zone.

Photos and videos near the sites have shown crowds of people in close proximity to Israeli tanks.

Israeli tanks ISRAELI MILITARIZED ZONE Mandated route to aid site Start of Israeli militarized zone Israeli tanks ISRAELI MILITARIZED ZONE Mandated route to aid site Start of Israeli militarized zone Source: Photo by Abdel Kareem Hana/Associated Press The New York Times

The military has used live ammunition

Palestinian witnesses say Israeli soldiers have used live fire near aid hubs as Gazans headed toward the sites. The Israeli military says its forces have opened fire to disperse crowds or as warning shots when people approached in what it says was a threatening manner.

An Israeli military official who briefed reporters later conceded that Israeli forces had killed at least some people, including with artillery shells, as huge crowds tried to reach the sites.

The official said they were isolated episodes and argued that the overall death toll was exaggerated. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to comply with military protocol.

Deaths in incidents involving violence over aid 200 weekly fatalities 150 100 Deaths near new aid system 50 Other 0 2023 2024 2025 Deaths in incidents involving violence over aid 250 weekly fatalities 200 150 100 Deaths near new aid system 50 Other 0 2023 2024 2025 Deaths in incidents involving violence over aid 250 weekly fatalities 200 150 100 New aid system 50 Other 0 2023 2024 2025 Source: Armed Conflict Location and Event Data The New York Times

Sites are open for very short, unpredictable amounts of time

Gazans have frequently found it hard to know when and how to get aid from the Israeli-backed sites, creating further chaos and confusion.

The new distribution points have opened with little warning and have closed almost immediately as food runs out. Hoping to secure a box of food, Palestinians began arriving hours in advance, waiting in the middle of the night for the sites to open.

People gathered waiting for aid Designated waiting point Mandated route 17-minute walk Saudi District aid site 500 ft People gathered waiting for aid Designated waiting point Mandated route 17-minute walk Saudi District aid site 500 ft Source: Satellite imagery taken on July 13 by Planet Labs. Note: Walking time estimate is based on a 4 km/h walking speed. The New York Times

In mid-June, the G.H.F. announced via Facebook only about a half-hour or less in advance that sites would open. The sites then closed less than 15 minutes later, with the G.H.F. saying the food had run out.

Opening and closing announcement times at the Saudi District G.H.F. site Post announcing site opening Opening time Post announcing site closure

The walk from some parts of Al Mawasi to the designated waiting area for aid could take about an hour. From there, the 0.7 miles to the aid site takes an estimated 17 minutes to walk. 60 mins. before 30 mins. after Opening time 30 mins. Announcement posted only 15 minutes before the opening June 24 Site declared closed after nine minutes June 25 June 26 June 27 June 28 June 29 June 30 The walk from some parts of Al Mawasi to the designated waiting area for aid could take about an hour. From there, the 0.7 miles to the aid site takes an estimated 17 minutes to walk. 60 mins. before 15 mins. after Opening time 30 mins. Announcement posted only 15 minutes before the opening June 24 Site declared closed after nine minutes June 25 June 26 June 27 June 28 June 29 June 30 Source: Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Facebook page (announcements of opening and closing times) Note: Walking time estimates are based on a 4 km/h walking speed. The New York Times

People have tried to cut ahead in line, sometimes leaving the routes mandated by the G.H.F. At times, Israeli soldiers have opened fire when crowds of Palestinians approached them when the sites werent open, according to the Israeli military.

The safe routes to the sites have not always been clear. The Israeli military says it has since added signs in an effort to make sure Palestinians know where to go.

The foundation defends its record, saying that it has delivered more than one million boxes of aid at its sites to Gazans under challenging circumstances.

Sites dont have the basic protections that aid organizations say should be standard

When the new Israeli-backed sites open generally for very short periods of time, Palestinians have often found themselves in a desperate race for food. Instead of forming an orderly line to receive aid, the strongest and fastest run as fast as they can to grab whatevers lying on the ground. Many others have left empty-handed.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites dont appear to have well-organized infrastructure or even shade. Footage from the scene suggests a flattened area with some fences surrounded by dirt barriers. In a rush to obtain food, people hurdle down the sites steep barriers and climb over what appears to be barbed wire at the top of the fences.

via Alon-Lee Green on X

Sometimes, the American security contractors at the sites have thrown tear gas grenades at people crowded into narrow, fenced-in lines with seemingly nowhere to go, footage shows. About 20 people were killed in a stampede at one of the sites in mid-July; the foundation claimed Hamas-linked instigators had started it.

The danger created more desperation

Doctors in Gaza are reporting spiraling rates of malnutrition. The World Food Program says more than one in three people arent eating for multiple days. Gaza health officials say severely malnourished children have died.

In addition to the new distribution system, the United Nations has been delivering aid in areas of Gaza where Israel allows it to operate. As global outrage grew over the past week, Israel paused its operations in parts of Gaza for several hours per day and designated secure routes for U.N. convoys.

But Palestinians say finding food remains incredibly difficult and dangerous. In recent days, hundreds of people have converged on U.N. convoys, desperate for food.

GAZA STRIP July 26 Location of image 800 ft. Dense crowd surrounds aid trucks July 26 800 ft. Dense crowd surrounds aid trucks GAZA STRIP Location of image July 26 Dense crowd surrounds aid trucks 800 ft. GAZA STRIP Location of image Source: Satellite image from Planet Labs. The New York Times

Videos from near aid trucks show crowds of men jostling for food.

Aid seekers in northern Gaza rush to grab sacks of flour off an aid truck on July 22. AFP

Many Gazans are too old, too weak or too terrified to risk going to the aid sites. Instead, they pay astronomical prices for whatever food  much of it resold aid  reaches the enclaves markets.

The cost is onerous for people already impoverished by 22 months of war and devastation. A kilogram of tomatoes can cost around $30, while a kilogram of sugar can cost more than $100, according to the Gaza Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Airdrops of aid are unlikely to solve the problem

After growing international fury over the humanitarian crisis, the Israeli military announced on Saturday that it would revive airdrops of aid into Gazas.

Some countries, including Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, have begun dropping boxes of aid.

An aircraft drops aid in Gaza on July 27. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

Aid experts warn that airdrops are dangerous, expensive and insufficient to tackle the widening hunger crisis there. It costs many times as much as sending in an equivalent amount of aid through land crossings, which Israel controls.

The airdrops have at times included roughly 10 tons of supplies per drop. A single truck crossing the Gaza border can carry double that far more cheaply.

Last year, other countries stopped parachuting aid into Gaza after several people were killed by the airdrops. In other attempts, the aid has landed in Israel or out at sea.

Airdrops alone are not the answer, Britains foreign ministry wrote on social media on Wednesday. Only trucks can deliver at the scale needed.
A JUDGE indicated he may strike out public order charges if 1,000 is donated to the Little Blue Heroes garda charity.

Judge Andrew Cody was commenting after pleas of guilty were entered on behalf of Adam Austin (20), Newtown, Clareen, Birr to a breach of the peace and public drunkenness on December 26 last year.

Tullamore District Court was told Mr Austin had been arguing with pub security staff at Townsend Street in Birr. The man had a previous conviction for drink-driving.

Patrick Martin, defending solicitor said the 21-year-old apologised to the gardai and handed in a letter from an employer.

Mr Martin said his client, who worked as a machine operator and played a lot of hurling, hoped to travel abroad.

He had not drunk since the incident, which occurred at Christmas time and he had also brought money to court.

Judge Cody said that if Mr Austin wanted to have the prosecution struck out 1,000 would have to be donated to Little Blue Heroes. He adjourned the matter to September 24 next.

The Little Blue Heroes Foundation is run voluntarily by gardai and assists children with serious illnesses and their families.

READ NEXT: Offaly man caught drink-driving after uncle's funeral
A WOMAN who came to Tullamore from England to seek out long lost relations has said an online article published on the Offaly Live website by the Tullamore Tribune helped her locate many cousins.

Patricia Gregory, who celebrates her 73rd birthday this week (Tuesday, July 29), is a resident of Southampton who grew up in Manchester where she was raised by her father, the late John Gregory, and her paternal grandmother, the late Christina (Dinah) Pyke, a native of Tullamore who emigrated to England.

Ms Gregory arrived in Tullamore last Monday week after travelling up from the south having embarked at Rosslare port in her motorhome.

Ms Gregory, an only child who believes she has no remaining relations of Irish origin in England, learned from Offaly History and Tullamore parish records that her grandmother was born and baptised in 1888, the daughter of James Pyke and Margaret Dowling.

According to the baptismal certificate the sponsors were James Glennon and Lizzie Molloy.

James Pyke is listed in the 1901 census as the 55-year-old head of the family at 13 Henry Street, Tullamore, a mail car driver with five children, Joseph, James, Christina (aged 12 at the time) and John.

The 1911 census contains the names of two of those sons, James Pyke, who lived at 13 Henry Street, Tullamore and Joseph Pyke, a resident of 29 Tea Lane in the town.

Patricia said she was very grateful to Offaly History for the information provided, which also revealed that a William Pyke lived in 8 Market Square.

Other addresses for members of the Pyke family in the late 19th century were Convent View, White Hall and Chapel Street, Tullamore.

Patricia's grandmother Christina got married in England in January 1921 to Alfred Gregory. Both were living in Manchester and Christina's occupation was cotton weaver. Christina died in 1980.

Though she had no details about her relations in Tullamore she had photographs taken in the town on a family holiday in about 1953 when she was about a year old.

One of the pictures features her grandmother standing in the grounds of Charleville Castle. I'm in a trolley in the background, Patricia said.

A further picture taken the same day outside a house either on Henry Street or Tea Lane depicts Joe Pyke's wife with sons Jim, Paul and Arty.

Patricia has been touring Ireland on her own. She said her father died at the age of 61, 30 years ago. I've got no family, I've got no siblings. A family member on her father's side has been trying to link the Irish connection back to the family.

She said he had been doing quite well with the Gregorys over in England but kept coming up against a brick wall [on the Irish Pyke side].

That all changed when the article appeared on Offaly Live last week with an email address for Patricia resulted in Joe Cuskelly, Lahinch, Clara, making contact.

It was Joe Cuskelly who emailed me and said Arty, Jim and Paul were his uncles. I think his daughter saw it [online] and said, 'These are your uncles', Patricia explained.

Patricia has found that a Mary Pyke married a Cuskelly and had 10 children.

She has also learned that Arty (Arthur or Artie) Pyke moved to Athlone and became well known in GAA circles, especially in hurling. He died in 2015 and Patricia is hoping to make contact with his children.

Other relations she has found in Tullamore are Mary Westman, Rose O'Toole and Anne Brazil.

Patricia said she has enjoyed her time researching her family tree and meeting her cousins. It's been really, really good. It's been a whole new experience and they've been so accommodating, they really have.

She will be in Ireland for a few more weeks and plans to tour the west. She has had no difficulty as a solo traveller in her motor home. I've been all over Europe in it on my own.

Anyone who can give Patricia any further insight into her roots can email her at patgregory50@gmail.com

READ NEXT: September sale for new Tullamore houses
A Limerick father-of-four beat a man to death with four blows of a shovel and told gardai who arrived at the scene: "I hit him with a shovel and I hope the c*** is dead," the Central Criminal Court heard on Thursday, July 31.

A sentencing hearing for Joseph Cahill, aged 46, who pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of 43-year-old Gerard 'Ger' Curtin, heard that Cahill had previously threatened to kill the deceased after Mr Curtin came to his house, threw stones at his windows, threatened to burn the house down and demanded money.

Mr Curtin (pictured below) left after Cahill's partner gave him 300.

Inspector James Ruddle, of Roxboro Road Garda Station, told the court that Mr Curtin returned to Cahill's house in the early hours about two weeks later, again demanding money. CCTV footage showed the deceased smashing a window of the Cahill home with a rock. The lock on Cahill's front door was broken so he had propped a shovel against it to keep out intruders.

READ MORE: All Together Now festival weather update amid talk of Ireland storm risk

Cahill took the shovel, opened the door and struck the victim on the head, causing him to immediately fall to the ground, the inspector said. Cahill then struck Mr Curtin three more times as he lay "defenceless and immobile" on the ground.

Before delivering the blows, Cahill called emergency services and asked for the police. After delivering the fatal blows, with Mr Curtin lying motionless on the ground, Cahill told the call-taker that a man was trying to get into his house.

He waited a further eight minutes and 30 seconds before telling the call taker to send an ambulance. When asked why he needed an ambulance, Cahill said: "I think he's dead... I had to protect my kids. I don't give a f*** about going to jail. I beat a shovel off his head and I kept beating, to tell you the truth."

The first garda at the scene made a note of Cahill saying: "I hit him with a shovel, I hope the c*** is dead."

Garret Baker SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Ms Justice Eileen Creedon that Cahill was originally charged with murder. He said the DPP accepted the manslaughter plea on the basis that Cahill honestly believed that he was protecting himself, his property and his children but that the force he used in striking Mr Curtin four times with the shovel was excessive.

On May 30 this year, Cahill, of Sarsfield Avenue, Garryowen, Limerick pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of Mr Curtin on November 4, 2023 outside his home.

Mr Baker said the offence warrants a headline sentence of ten to 15 years.

In an impact statement, Bianca Hickey told the court that the deceased was a brother, father, partner and friend. She said the family has always been "close-knit" but the killing tore them apart.

She said they have watched their parents become "completely different people". Their mother "traded nights at bingo for sleepless nights and endless nightmares" while their father lost interest in his hobbies and no longer loves chatting and laughing with his family.

They never got to say goodbye or kiss him one last time because his injuries were so catastrophic that his coffin had to be closed.

Insp Ruddle agreed with Michael O'Higgins SC, for Cahill, that gardai were aware of allegations over many years that Mr Curtin had smashed windows of houses and threatened the occupants.

The court heard that eight days after the killing, Cahill's home was petrol bombed and the family was forced to move out of the area. Cahill's sister's home was also petrol bombed at 5am while all people living there were in bed, the court was told.

When Mr O'Higgins began to read a letter of apology from his client, the deceased's family stood up and walked out of court.

In the letter, Cahill said he wanted to "express how deeply sorry I am" to the victim's partner and children. He said he carries the "massive burden" of what he did every day and has turned the lives of his own family upside down.

"I never set out or imagined that night going to bed that anything like this would happen," he said.

Mr O'Higgins said his client has a long history of mental illness, polysubstance abuse and a gambling addiction. He pointed to a psychiatric report which states that due to childhood trauma, Cahill is predisposed to act irrationally and to overreact to threats against himself and his family.

He has no relevant previous convictions and, Mr O'Higgins said, is not likely to come before the courts again.

Counsel asked the court to take into account that Cahill was woken on the night by a volatile man smashing his windows and trying to cross the threshold into his home.

The four blows took just four seconds, he said, and although the force used was excessive, counsel asked the court to consider how quickly his brain could process what was happening.

While Mr O'Higgins said the court would have to impose a custodial sentence, he asked Ms Justice Creedon to offer the "maximum leniency" possible.

Ms Justice Creedon adjourned sentencing to November 24.
Met Eireann is urging members of the public to monitor the latest weather forecasts over the bank holiday weekend due to risk of stormy conditions on Monday.

While a low pressure weather system is making its way towards Ireland, its exact path remains unclear and meteorologists are closely monitoring the situation.

According to Met Eireann, it will be unsettled in most places with wet and breezy weather, possibly turning "unseasonably windy.

Meteorologist Linda Hughes, says Monday will be unsettled with a risk of stormy condition. A few weak weather fronts will move in at time over the next few days, but overall, there will be a good amount of dry weather, including most of Saturday and Sunday. Were keeping an eye on bank holiday Monday though," she told Newstalk Breakfast.

READ NEXT: How to spot a rip current 'faster than an Olympic swimmer' ahead of Bank Holiday Weekend

Of particular concern is the timing as tens of thousands of people will be on the move over the bank holiday weekend with many events taking place across the country.

Ms Hughes says the presence of temporary structures such as tents, marquees and bouncy castles could create a difficulty if there are stormy conditions.

Theres lots of temporary structures up for festivals and other outdoor events and greater numbers of people travelling on Bank Holiday Monday. So, its something to keep in mind if making plans," she said there is a greater change of significant damage being caused compared to a storm during the winter months.

Meanwhile, according to the latest Met Eireann forecast, Friday will be mostly cloudy with isolated light showers at first. Later in the day, it will become drier and brighter for the afternoon and evening with sunny spells developing, with highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees.

Saturday will start dry with cloud spreading from the west through the morning and the afternoon, bringing patches of light rain and drizzle by evening. Highest temperatures of 17 to 20 degrees.

Sunday morning will see cloud and rain clear from the southeast and for the remainder of the day there will be dry and bright weather with a few showers in the northwest. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees.

Explaining the uncertainty about Monday's forecast, Linda Hughes said Met Eireanns High Resolution model can only forecast up to 60 hours in advance and that the current forecasts are based on other models such as the European, US and UK models.

While these models are not all quite in agreement on the forecast, Hughes warned that Ireland may experience stormy weather conditions.

Given the uncertaintity Ms Hughes advised people keep informed. Stay up to date with Met Eireann as the forecast becomes more certain," she said.
In the first five months of Donald Trumps second term, specifically between January 20 and June 27, there have been 109,000 immigrant arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, with the states bordering Mexico (California and Texas), along with Florida, recording the highest number nationwide, according to official figures published by the Deportation Data Project.

Texas leads the way, with nearly a quarter of the arrests, or 23.2% of the total. Florida follows with 11% and California with 7%. Georgia (4%) and Arizona (3%) are in fourth and fifth place. In contrast, the states with the fewest arrests are northern states: Vermont, Alaska, and Montana. The three states combined account for approximately 100 arrests.

ICEs concentrated action in the southern states is not necessarily new and can largely be attributed to the millions of immigrants living in this part of the U.S. This explains what is currently happening on the streets of California, a territory with state and local policies that limit police cooperation with the government, yet which is home to large communities of undocumented immigrants.

In the case of Texas and Florida, the level of cooperation between local police and ICE explains the high number of arrests in both states. Both territories are currently among those most at risk for the undocumented migrant population.

On the other hand, arrests of foreigners have increased significantly since last year across the country. During the same period in 2024, under the Joe Biden administration, ICE made about 49,000 arrests, but since Trumps return to the White House, detentions have increased by 120%.

Where do detained immigrants come from?

Official figures indicate that people arrested by ICE between late January and June came from nearly 180 countries, but the majority were from Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to a report by the Migration Policy Institute, Latin American and Caribbean immigrants accounted for 84% of all undocumented foreigners in the United States in 2023. Mexico is the country with the highest number of detained citizens, with nearly 40,000 immigrants in ICE custody. Guatemala and Honduras follow with approximately 15,000 and 12,000, respectively. Venezuelan citizens are in fourth place, with 8,000 arrested; and El Salvador, with 5,000.

The goal: one million deportees by 2025

These numbers also show that ICE has almost entirely reversed the limitations on arrests inside the country imposed during the Biden presidency and has managed to have its agents apprehend a greater number of people, mostly undocumented immigrants with no criminal record or who have not committed any serious offenses. While the White House maintains its narrative of continuing to prioritize the arrest of violent criminals within the United States, it is already warning that anyone found in the country violating federal immigration law will be detained. This was confirmed by Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, in an interview with CBS News.

Regarding the number of deportations, ICE claims the number has already reached 150,000, putting the agency on track to achieve the highest number of expulsions since the Obama administration more than a decade ago, but the numbers are still far below the one million goal set by Trump officials. At this rate, deportations by 2025 will only reach just over 300,000.

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Parts of Ireland will endure stormy conditions over the Bank Holiday weekend with forecasters predicting wind gusts up to 100km/h.

After a relatively mild and dry few days, the weather will turn unsettled on Monday. Met Eireann say in their latest forecast for Bank Holiday Monday: "There is some uncertainty in the forecast but current indications suggest Monday will see a wet and windy start with strong and gusty westerly winds and widespread rain, possibly heaviest over parts of the northwest, clearing eastwards through the morning and afternoon.

"Sunny spells and scattered showers will follow as winds gradually easy through the day. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees."

Cathal Nolan from Ireland's Weather Channel is also predicting stormy conditions on Monday with one part of the country at most risk.

He said: "Much still depends upon the exact track and how the low pressure system interacts with an active jet stream in the vicinity of Ireland.

READ NEXT: Met Eireann issues warning over 'temporary structures' amid bank holiday storm risk

"However, theres growing confidence the low will deepen upon its approach, passing between the Outer Hebrides and Malin Head on Monday.

"Its too early to speculate of the exact strength of the winds the low pressure could generate, but they would be sufficient to cause disruption in the north."

In the meantime, Met Eireann's forecast for the weekend reads: "Mostly cloudy this morning [Friday] with some limited sunny spells and isolated light showers feeding into the north. Better sunny spells will develop through the afternoon and evening as the showers die away. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees, warmest in the south, in a light northwesterly breeze.

"Dry with clear spells at first tonight [Friday] but cloud will build in the west later. Lowest temperatures of 8 to 13 degrees in a light and variable breeze.

"Saturday morning will start dry with sunny spells in the east. Cloud will spread from the west through the morning and afternoon, bringing patches of light rain, drizzle and mist eastwards through the day. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees in a light southwesterly breeze.

"Cloudy with outbreaks of light rain and drizzle at first [on Saturday night]. More persistent rain developing in the west and spreading across the country through the night. Some clear spells and scattered showers will follow in the north and west by morning. Lowest temperatures of 13 to 17 degrees with a moderate southwest to west wind.

"Cloud and rain will clear from the southeast on Sunday morning and for the rest of the day there'll be a good amount of dry and bright weather, with just a few showers in the northwest. Cloud will slowly build from the southwest through the evening. Highest temperatures of 16 to 20 degrees with a moderate to fresh westerly wind, easing later.

"Turning wet and windy Sunday night as rain spreads from the west accompanied by fresh and gusty winds. Lowest temperatures of 12 to 15 degrees."
Its just been a few days since Onmanorama reported how Malappuram native Mustafa Pambodan, who travelled to Saudi Arabia last year for umrah, was jailed after banned medicines were found in his luggage. The medicines were part of a packet Mustafa was carrying for a friend, like many Malayalis travelling to the Middle East do as a favour. Kannur native Midhilaj could have landed up in a similar or worse fate, if his family hadnt been careful. Here's what happened:

The suspicious phone calls

Midhilaj's neighbour, Jisin, gave a package to him on Wednesday (July 30) night to be handed to Vaheem, the formers colleague in Saudi Arabia. Jisin had said that the package contained chips, masala peanuts and pickles. When Vaheem constantly gave Midhilaj phone calls, reminding him of the package, Midhilajs father, T Ahmed, grew suspicious. The family also noticed that the pickle jar wasnt sealed properly. Ahmed urged Midhilaj to open the packets and check them. Midhilaj transferred the pickle to another jar to inspect it. Thats when the family discovered drugs sealed in tiny plastic covers, immersed in the pickle.

What the parcel contained

Midhilajs family immediately alerted the police, and they found that the packet contained 3.40 grams of hashish oil and 0.260 grams of MDMA. Three youngsters have been arrested in this case - Chakkarakkal Kulam Bazar natives KP Arshad (31), KK Sreelal (24) and Midhilaj's neighbour P Jisin (26). The Kannur Judicial First Class Magistrate Court granted the accused bail. Ahmed says that his son would have landed in serious trouble had the drugs been discovered in his baggage in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabias punishment for smuggling

The most severe form of punishment given to those smuggling narcotics to Saudi Arabia is death, according to the Saudi Governments website. At the same time, the law differentiates between people who deal in drugs for the first time and repeat offenders. However, first-time offenders can also be punished with a financial fine, lashing and imprisonment.

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What not to pack for Saudi Arabia

Here are the items that should not be included in your luggage while travelling to Saudi Arabia. Make sure that you check the latest regulations on the same with the Saudi embassy or consulate before travelling to the country. You can also find more details here.
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BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's top economic planner on Friday said that another 69 billion yuan (about 9.65 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long special treasury bond funds will be allocated in October to support the country's consumer goods trade-in program.

This will be the fourth and final batch of the year, according to Jiang Yi, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), who noted that the country has already issued its third batch of ultra-long special treasury bond funds in the same amount.

The Ministry of Finance, together with the NDRC, has this year earmarked 300 billion yuan in such funds to back the consumer goods trade-in program.

The economic performance in the first half of the year demonstrated strong resilience, with domestic demand contributing 68.8 percent to GDP growth and continuing to serve as a driving force for expansion, NDRC official Zhou Chen told a press conference Friday.

Moving forward, the NDRC will continue to promote the introduction and implementation of a series of measures to stabilize employment and the economy, Zhou said.

The NDRC will strengthen economic monitoring, forecasting and early warning, regularly conduct policy research and preparation, and continuously improve the policy toolkit for stabilizing employment and expanding domestic demand, Zhou added.

The NDRC will formulate a list of preventive measures against acts that obstruct the unified market and fair competition.

It will implement stronger and more effective measures to advance the building of the unified national market as planned.

The ratio of social logistics cost to GDP, a key indicator reflecting cost efficiency of the sector, was 14 percent in the first half of 2025, down 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year and hitting a record low, according to the NDRC.

According to a plan unveiled last year, China aims to cut the ratio of social logistics costs to GDP to around 13.5 percent by 2027. 
An Aloha man stands accused of robbing a Happy Valleys Dennys on Monday, making off with a bag of cash from the restaurants lottery machines after threatening employees with a gun.

Douglas Wayne Kelsey, 33, is charged with second- and third-degree robbery, first-degree theft and menacing, the Clackamas County District Attorneys Office said in a statement.

In court records, prosecutors allege that Kelsey was playing video lottery machines in the Dennys at 12101 SE 82nd Avenue when he spotted an employee emptying cash out of the machines  and then snatched the bag that the employee was putting the cash into.

Kelsey and the employee struggled over the bag, court records say, and Kelsey managed to wrestle the bag away from the employee and head for the door.

When another employee tried to stop him, Kelsey allegedly pushed past her, drew a semi-automatic pistol and threatened to shoot at the employees as he made his way to a car, court records say.

On Thursday, detectives tracked Kelsey down at a home in the 7700 block of Southeast Lamphier Street in unincorporated Clackamas County, where a SWAT team arrested him on a warrant, officials say.

Medical responders took Kelsey to a nearby hospital for minor injuries that he sustained during the arrest, officials say. Hours later, deputies booked him into jail.

Kelsey was previously convicted of fleeing a police officer in 2023, and second-degree assault in 2013.

Sheriffs officials ask anyone with additional information about the robbery to contact the Sheriffs Office Tip Line -- by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online email form at http://www.clackamas.us/sheriff/tip.

 Tatum Todd is a breaking news reporter who covers public safety, crime and community news. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com or 503-221-4313.
One of the birds released, an American kestrel, was killed, likely by a predator, the organization said. Photo courtesy of Bird Alliance of Oregon

The Bird Alliance of Oregons Wildlife Care Center was vandalized just after midnight on Thursday, the conservation organization said. The vandal broke into two outdoor enclosures at the Northwest Portland facility, leading to a birds death.

Nine birds were released during the vandalism, the organization said. They were receiving care for various reasons, such as spinal trauma from a window collision, and were not ready to be released.

Two outdoor enclosures that held nine birds were broken into, releasing the birds. Photo courtesy of Bird Alliance of Oregon

One of the birds  an American kestrel, a small falcon  was killed, likely by a predator, the organization said.

The Bird Alliance detailed the alleged vandalism in a social-media post Friday morning, including surveillance-video footage of the possible suspect, who is seen in the video walking around with a backpack and using a whip-like object.

Travis Koons, the organizations Wildlife Care Center director, said the other birds that were released  an American crow, three northern flickers and four American kestrels  have not returned to the center. Their likelihood of survival is low, Koons said.

Its really heartbreaking for the staff and the volunteers, Koons said. We have 170 volunteers just for the Wildlife Care Center.

He added that it does feel violating. It is difficult: We need people to feel safe, and we certainly need our animals to be safe throughout the rehabilitation process.

The Bird Alliance is working with police and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to investigate the incident. The organization is asking anyone who might have information about the break-in  or the possible sale of birds that match the description of those released  to contact police.

Koons said the Bird Alliance will have to consider new expenditures to increase security. The Wildlife Care Center, he added, relies heavily on donations for its operations and the care it provides to injured and sick animals.

Since January, Koons said, the center has cared for almost 4,000 animals, and right now it is actively treating 205.

Kimberly Cortez covers breaking news, public safety and more for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She can be reached at kcortez@oregonian.com
Hector Carranza, 36, speaks briefly with his court-appointed attorney at the Multnomah County Justice on Friday, August 1, 2025. Zaeem Shaikh/The Oregonian

A Gresham police officer was arraigned Friday morning on charges that include rape and sexual abuse of an underage girl.

Hector Carranza, 36, made his first appearance at the Multnomah County Justice Center. He did not say anything publicly, only speaking briefly with his court-appointed attorney. The defense attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

A grand jury charged Carranza with rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, luring a minor and encouraging child sexual abuse in the 56-count indictment.

Carranza is also charged with using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, a Measure 11 crime that carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence.

Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Robin Skarstad said the district attorneys office seeks to keep Carranza in custody pending a trial. Carranza is scheduled back in court on Monday for a preventative-detention hearing, where a judge decides if there is clear evidence that a person poses an ongoing risk to public safety.

Carranza is currently being held in Clackamas County Jail.

Skarstad also asked Multnomah Circuit Judge Adele Ridenour to execute a protective order to ensure that Carranza does not contact the girl in the case.

The indictment alleges Carranza engaged in sexual acts with the girl between 2014 and 2017. According to the indictment, the alleged abuse began when the girl was under 16.

State records show Carranza was hired by Gresham police in 2014. The department said it received a criminal complaint against him in November. Carranza was placed on paid administrative leave, and the department asked Oregon State Police to investigate.

His current annual salary is $103,814, according to Gresham city records.

The district attorneys office has said the allegations are not related to on-duty contact and are not tied to anyone Carranza met through a criminal investigation. The office has declined to share more information.

Zaeem Shaikh covers the Portland Police Bureau and criminal justice issues for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-221-4323, zshaikh@oregonian.com or on X@zaeemshake.
Maribel Brigido Aguirre, 49, of Eugene was seated in her 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, when she saw a man dart into the car wash tunnel, chased by multiple police officers, some in plainclothes and others in uniform. Screenshot from Maribel Brigido Aguirre's video

Mort Kahn worried that one day he would get a call from police to tell him that the youngest of his three children had died.

That notice came at 10:15 pm. Thursday when a local officer arrived at his Houston home to tell him that his 38-year-old son Daniel Aron Kahn had been shot and killed thousands of miles away in Springfield.

Daniel Kahn, born and raised in Houston, was homeless and struggling with a variety of mental illnesses, his father said, including anosognosia, a neurological condition that causes a person to reject their illness and symptoms.

He said he believes his son left Texas for Oregon with the idea that he may have easier access to social services and mental health help.

Daniel Kahn had been in Springfield only for a short time before a city police officer shot and killed him Wednesday.

Mort Kahn apologized for the injuries his son caused to two Springfield police officers and shared his familys wish that they recover fully.

He also apologized to a third Springfield officer who shot his son at Happys Drive-Thru Car Wash.

Police had been called to Gateway Street at 2:37 p.m. on a report of a disorderly man inside a business.

Mort Kahn said his son had entered a bank, where he had been reportedly harassing staff and patrons. The bank wanted him to leave and had called police, his father was told.

One officer arrived and called for backup after finding Daniel Kahn armed with two knives, police said.

Daniel Kahn stabbed two officers who responded and then ran north on Gateway with other officers in pursuit before he dashed into the car wash, witnesses and police said.

Another Springfield officer followed Daniel Kahn inside the car wash tunnel and shot him, police said.

I am truly sorry you were put in the position to end my sons life, Mort Kahn wrote in a message he shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive.

My sincere hope is that you mend and get the appropriate counseling you need to move on and return to work safeguarding the citizens in Springfield Oregon, he wrote. You likely saved an innocent life sometime into the future. I send you a warm forgiving embrace with tears in my eyes and ask that you please heal quickly.

The two injured officers are at home recovering and the officer who fired the deadly shots is on leave pending the outcome of an investigation. Police havent identified any of the officers or publicly named the victim, saying they were waiting to notify his family.

Mort Kahn confirmed his sons death and described Daniel Kahn as an energetic and fun child, calling him the apple of my eye.

But he said his son began to show signs of mental illness as a teenager.

3 1 / 3 Daniel Aron Kahn

Countless times over the last 25 years, members of our family guided and assisted Daniel to check himself into various mental hospitals where he could be assessed and appropriately medicated and guided by trained mental health experts, his father wrote.

But Daniel Kahn didnt receive long-term help, his father said.

Despite the familys efforts, Mort Kahn said once his son was getting treatment, taking his medication and obtaining help, hed feel invincible and would take off, only to spiral downwards once again, ending up jobless and homeless.

All of these facilities that actually helped Daniel were on a completely voluntary basis, he said. There appeared to be no mechanism in place that allowed the state government here in Texas or anywhere else that Daniel visited to forcibly hold him for the help he needed.

Mort Kahn said he learned that his son had traveled to Oregon because he thought he could get better support there. His son also needed medical attention because he had a colostomy bag that needed to be changed regularly.

His family worried that Daniel Kahn could pose a danger to himself or others if he wasnt taking psychiatric medication, his father said.

Daniel Kahn had a criminal record in Texas, records show, including convictions for aggravated assault, theft and fraud in 2018, possessing a prohibited weapon in 2016, theft in 2013 and credit card abuse in 2011.

Even though he had been in custody in Texas for seriously assaulting someone about six years ago, his father said he believed his son was released early because they could not handle Daniels mental health or medical needs.

What happened on July 30, 2025 was in my mind inevitable, Mort Kahn wrote. States and the federal government need to find a way to diagnose people with serious mental health conditions, and involuntarily hold them in order to give them the assistance that is required for their illnesses AND to protect the public.

Daniel Kahns family had stayed in touch with him by phone, his father said.

His last contact with his father and a sibling was Wednesday, less than eight hours before he was killed, according to his father.

He had messaged that he had arrived in Springfield. One of his siblings responded by sharing a detailed list of facilities and contact numbers for Daniel Kahn to get help, his father said.

Daniel Kahn wrote back on Wednesday to his father that he wanted to visit Jerusalem, that he had become a pretty good chess player online and asked his father if he could play him in chess online someday.

Mort Kahn shared photos of his son when he was young to show how he was before his illness took hold. Daniels mother Teresa Aguilar had died when Daniel Kahn was a teenager after struggling with her own mental health challenges, Mort Kahn said.

Rest now my son as your tormented life has past, and you are with God and your mother Teresa, his father wrote. I cant imagine how horrible of a life you had to live daily.

-- 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 Hallmark Channel is airing the three-part miniseries "Providence Falls," which debuts Saturday, Aug. 2. Courtesy of Hallmark Channel

Now that its Christmas in July event is over, the Hallmark Channel is airing Providence Falls, a three-part miniseries based on the book series by Jude Deveraux and Tara Sheets.

The plot of the special event series involves two distinct time periods. The story begins in 1844 Ireland, with an unlikely romance between Liam, a roguish thief and Cora, an aristocratic young woman. The pairs love story ends tragically, according to TV Guide.

But then the story shifts to contemporary Oregon, and the fictional town of Providence Falls. The reincarnated Cora is now a police detective, and Liam must arrange for Cora to fall for another man, her true fated soulmate and the man she was supposed to marry in 1844, as the TV Guide synopsis says.

While Oregon is supposedly the state where Providence Falls exists, the miniseries was actually filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and Ireland, according to the Internet Movie Database.

Providence Falls debuts with Episode 1, Chance of a Lifetime, airing at 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 2, on the Hallmark Channel. The program will also stream on Hallmark Plus, which is available on Philo.
The Bird Alliance of Oregon is offering free beginner-friendly events for all ages, abilities and interests during its 5th Bird Days of Summer program through August.

No binoculars, no problem. The nonprofit organization has a pair for you. Like to move slowly? Perfect. Some hourslong walks are less than a mile with plenty of stopping time. Interested in identifying backyard birds, knowing the native plants they need to survive or helping threatened shorebirds?

Just bring your curiosity, said Tara Lemezis of the Bird Alliance of Oregons education and engagement team. All of the outings are meant to be a mindful way to be in nature without pressure.

Register in advance and check availability at birdallianceoregon.org. Many of the events are full.

Friday, Aug. 1, offers a less-than-a-mile walk spotting birds and bugs 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. along the Jackson Bottom Wetlands in Hillsboro.

Saturday, Aug. 2, join a birding and nature walk led by Bird Alliance guide Chris Williams and organized by the social group Outdoor Afro Portland 10 a.m. to noon at the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in Southeast Portlands Sellwood. The wetlands and woodlands have more than 200 bird species as well as deer, beaver, otters and raccoons.

Sunday, Aug. 3, offers an introduction to dragonflies 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (full) at Koll Center Wetlands Park in Beaverton. More than 90 species of odonates (dragonflies and damselflies), which are mosquito-eaters, have been found in Oregon, many of them in the Portland Metro area.

Tuesday, Aug. 5, has a snowy plover interpretive walk 2 to 4 p.m. at Seasides Necanicum Inlet, a historic nesting site for the threatened shorebird.

Saturday, Aug. 9, offers a session on drawing native plants 10 a.m. to noon (full) at Mount Tabors Southeast Park Drive. No drawing or plant identifying experience is needed.

Saturday, Aug. 16, has a poetry workshop and birding 9 to 11 a.m. at Kelley Point Park in North Portland.

Monday, Aug. 18 and Tuesday, Aug. 19, will have a nighttime session to demystify bats, which are pollinators, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (full both days) at Whitaker Ponds in Northeast Portland. There are 14 species of bats in Oregon.

Wednesday, Aug. 20, will have a free nature trivia competition with a chance to win a privately guided birding field trip and other prizes 6-8:30 p.m. at Steeplejack Brewing Company in Northeast Portlands Sullivans Gulch neighborhood.

Thursday, Aug. 21, has a night-time tour of the Bird Alliance of Oregon Sanctuary to learn the life history and evolution of moths while searching for a variety of the insects 8:30-10:30 p.m. (full).

Friday, Aug. 22, is a celebration of dark skies and nocturnal creatures at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregons high desert 6-10:30 p.m. (full).

 Janet Eastman covers design and trends. Reach her at 503-294-4072, jeastman@oregonian.com and follow her on X @janeteastman.
The University of Oregons McKenzie Hall was designed in 1968 by DeNorval Unthank Jr., the first Black graduate of the universitys architecture school. Brian Davies

Two Oregon sites significant to Black history  the University of Oregons McKenzie Hall and the Letitia Carson Legacy Project at Oregon State University  received preservation grants from the national African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

McKenzie Hall, designed in 1968 by DeNorval Unthank Jr., will receive a $150,000 Conserving Black Modernism grant. The Letitia Carson Legacy Project, honoring an Oregon settler, was awarded $50,000 from the funds National Grant Program.

In all, 24 African American historic sites across the country will share $3 million in the new grant initiative, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The sites were selected for representing Black joy, resilience, innovation and activism, said Brent Leggs, senior vice president of the National Trust based in Washington, D.C.

Having visited Oregon last year, I saw how vital places like McKenzie Hall and the Letitia Carson Legacy Project are to the states and the nations Black heritage, Leggs told The Oregonian/OregonLive. These sites, designed by trailblazers and rooted in community, deserve to be preserved and celebrated.

Leggs, who is also the Action Funds executive director, said the fund has awarded $13.5 million in grants through programs like Preserving Black Churches and the National Grant Program.

Despite todays challenging climate, were continuing to invest boldly in Black history because preserving these stories is not optional, its essential, Leggs said.

McKenzie Hall, the second, larger home of the University of Oregon Law School, was designed in 1968 by Unthank, who in 1951 was the first Black graduate of the universitys architecture school.

Unthank designed the four-story building at 1101 Kincaid St. in Eugene in the modern, Brutalist style, an architectural name derived from the French phrase beton-brut or raw concrete.

McKenzie Hall, originally named Grayson Hall, is an irregular, rectilinear structure with yellow brickwork walls and concrete elements characteristic of the Brutalist style.

The $150,000 Conserving Black Modernism grant, a program designed to protect and promote the work of African American architects, will support future conservation of McKenzie Hall as a historic resource and provide for an interpretive display recognizing the late Unthanks contribution to the campus design.

Unthank also designed Northeast Portlands Harriet Tubman Middle School in 1983; low-income, elderly and mental health housing; office buildings; and private residences throughout the state, including his beach house in Yachats.

He received 20 individual American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards and was a University of Oregon architecture professor from 1965 to 1980.

He was also a civil rights activist as was his father, Dr. DeNorval Unthank Sr., a cofounder of the Urban League in Portland and one of the first Black doctors in Portland when the family arrived in the city in 1929.

DeNorval Unthank Jr., who lived in Eugene, died in 2000 at age 71.

Oregon State University's Letitia Carson Legacy Project seeks to preserve Carson's history and that of the earliest generation of Black settlers in Oregon. Lauren Gwin

The $50,000 grant awarded to the Letitia Carson Legacy Project at Oregon State University in Corvallis will help preserve the history of Carson, a formerly enslaved woman who came to Oregon in 1845.

The project also highlights the earliest generation of Black settlers and their connection to the regions Indigenous people.

The grant will support the projects interpretive planning efforts to design public programs and site visits.

Letitia Carson and her Irish husband, David Carson, settled on land in the Soap Creek Valley north of Corvallis that is now part of Oregon State Universitys Soap Creek cattle ranch.

Although there are no visible remnants of the Carson homestead, the land is a powerful reminder of the hard work and success achieved by many of Oregons early Black residents, despite the many obstacles they had to endure, according to the legacy project.

Because of the Oregon Territorys exclusion laws and the whites-only provision of the 1850 Oregon Donation Land Claim Act, Letitia Carson was forced off her land after her husband died.

She filed two lawsuits in 1854 against the administrator of her late husbands estate and won both suits.

Her attorney, Andrew Thayer, successfully argued that if she was not David Carsons legal heir, then she was due back wages for her seven years of work on the ranch, plus damages. She also made a claim for the unlawful sale of her cattle.

In 1948, Oregon State University acquired 6,200 acres of the former Camp Adair lands from the federal government, including most of the Carson homestead and what became the Dunn Forest.

The Letitia Carson Digital History Collection includes primary source documents and photographs, historic maps, newspaper articles, published works and other documentary evidence about Letitia Carson and her family.

The project is a partnership of the Black Oregon Land Trust, Oregon Black Pioneers, the Linn-Benton Counties NAACP Branch, Mudbone Grown farming and Oregon State University.

An Action Fund grant, called the Descendant and Family Stewardship Initiative, was introduced this year. The grant was awarded to preserve the Dr. James and Janie Washington Cultural Center in Seattles Central District, the historical center of the citys Black community.

Grants that support the physical preservation and management of these incredible places are crucial to keeping our nations history alive, said Leggs in a news release. We hope this investment will further empower these communities to be leaders in this important effort.

 Janet Eastman covers design and trends. Reach her at 503-294-4072, jeastman@oregonian.com and follow her on X @janeteastman.
A dancer performs at the 2023 Oregon Chinese Festival. This year's event will be held Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Its a simple question, really.

Why did Hongcheng Zhao decide to create the Oregon Chinese Festival, Portlands popular annual summer event celebrating local Chinese culture?

But pose the question to Zhao and he responds with a hearty chuckle, because the answer, it turns out, isnt so simple. Its buried in a forgotten and controversial past, lurking under decades of displacement and distrust. Its littered with drama and misunderstanding, hard work and hurdles. But its also filled with hope and accomplishment.

In a way, its a microcosm of the history of Chinese culture in a city that prides itself on progressivism today despite its complicated past.

Let me give you a brief introduction, Zhao, the president of the Oregon Chinese Coalition says, laughing.

An hour and 44 minutes later, it becomes clear that brief was never Zhaos intention, not with his passion and thirst to spread knowledge about the complex history of his culture in Portland.

I wanted to be more proactive to educate the general public and to have people be more exposed to Chinese culture, Zhao said. I wanted to have the opportunity to engage in conversations. But Chinese people are not used to these kinds of things, so it was extremely hard in 2019 to get started.

But start it did. And six years later, the Oregon Chinese Festival  which will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Pioneer Courthouse Square  has blossomed into one of downtown Portlands marquee summer events.

We are doing this more and more, bigger and bigger and better and better, Zhao said. You just cannot stop. When you set the bar high, you want to keep building. On this kind of stage, you feel a sense of self-satisfaction, but its way beyond that.

And what a stage it is. For seven hours, roughly 500 performers will deliver more than 60 performances covering traditional and modern Chinese performance art. And they will do so on what Zhao claims is the largest stage to ever span Pioneer Courthouse Square, a mammoth 40-by-32-foot structure that comes at a cost of $8,000 for the coalition.

Eight local food vendors, ranging from Home Taste to Little Beijing and LoLo S San Xiang to Mandarin House, will serve an assortment of traditional Chinese dishes, including Jianbing, Jian Bao, Sichuan noodles, steamed dumplings, barbecue, pot stickers and much, much more.

Additionally, six tables will host a variety of hands-on activities and arts and crafts, with many aimed at entertaining children, including diabolo, calligraphy, burr puzzles, tangram and origami.

And underlying every performance, every nibble of food and every craft will be the background and history of a culture that has quietly been a fabric of Portland for more than a century. Its a history Zhao was eager to detail in that brief introduction.

Cantonese-Chinese immigrants first arrived in Oregon in the mid 1850s, before it officially became a state. A decade later, they began flooding into the area to work on the Western section of the transcontinental railroad, literally building the gateway from the East on their backs. Zhao says roughly 20,000 Chinese workers helped finish the project.

By 1890, Portland featured the second-largest population in the United States behind San Francisco, as roughly one in 10 Portlanders was Chinese.

But their professional opportunities were limited and they were regularly discriminated against, most notably by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which restricted Chinese immigration and labor for decades. It remained a law until 1943, when China joined the Allied forces in World War II.

During those early decades, Zhao says, Chinese lived in Southwest Portland along the Willamette River, roughly where the Saturday Market thrives today. But the combination of harsh elements and discrimination ultimately displaced them a few blocks north, and local Chinese eventually settled into the area of modern day Old Town Chinatown.

The river had no banks on both sides, Zhao said. So there was small flooding every year  and sometimes big flooding. Thats not ideal for the people that live there. Also, there was an idea that they didnt deserve to live there  You dont deserve a million-dollar view  and so they started to move during World War II.

For decades, Chinese flourished there, building a tight-knit community that featured, among other things, celebrated restaurants and shops. In the 1980s and 90s, a new generation of Mandarin-Chinese immigrants arrived in search of higher education degrees and white collar jobs. Zhao, who went to Harvard and the University of California before landing in Portland in 1995, was one of them.

But sometime around the turn of the century, things started to change. Portlands population and reputation flourished. Downtown boomed. The Pearl District was transformed from gritty warehouses into glitzy galleries and condominiums. All the while, the city moved a concentration of social services into the area.

Suddenly, the heart of Chinatown  the Chinese  felt the squeeze. Many relocated their shops and restaurants. Most moved east. Others cashed in.

One Chinese-owned plot of land sold for $11.5 million. A two-story building sold for $8.5 million.

People were rushing into Chinatown to buy whatever property was available, Zhao said. And the older generation saw an opportunity. They thought, I cannot fight  Im not in a position to fight. So they moved to 82nd. They claim 82nd as a new Chinatown. Theyre more comfortable over there.

Zhao and others in the Chinese community worried they were losing an important part of their cultural history, so in 2016  the same year that plot of land sold for $11.5 million  he founded the Oregon Chinese Coalition. He knew it would be impossible to unify the entire local Chinese population, which now features roughly 40,000 people and is diverse and splintered, with half (mostly Cantonese) living on the Eastside near 82nd Avenue and the other half (mostly Mandarin) living in Southwest Portland and Beaverton.

But he hoped to do his best to bridge the divide for the betterment of the culture  and for the preservation of Chinatown.

We speak different languages, have a different history and background and do different things, Zhao said. Normally we dont connect that much. But if you dont do anything as a community, change the way you have been doing things, then you seal your own fate. After 20 years, trust me, you are going to be forced to move further away. You have to learn how to become part of this community. Engage. You deserve respect, you deserve space for your own, and you have to learn to stand up and say no to people.

Zhao convinced would-be sellers to hold on to their valuable property in Chinatown, and Chinese Americans still own seven or eight key active buildings in the district, he says. And in the nine years since, his coalition has expanded its reach and impact.

It organizes 50 different events annually, ensuring that at least one happens nearly every weekend. It comes together in November to replace all of the lanterns and lampposts in Chinatown, using funding from grants and community donations. It provides rental assistance to 1,000 families, using government programs and grants to eliminate the threat of homelessness for hordes of Chinese Americans. And it was the first organization in the nation to successfully advocate for restorative justice in response to Asian hate crimes.

But its biggest event will come Saturday, when thousands gather in Portlands living room  less than a mile from Chinatown  to celebrate a group that has been a fabric of the community for more than a century.

Its a pure, 100 percent immersive cultural experience for everybody, Zhao said. For the community and for us.

 Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | @freemanjoe.bsky.social
Oregon has scored a win in the world of gaming: Hillsboros Next Level Pinball Museum has been named Best Arcade in America by Newsweek.

Already recognized as the second-largest arcade in the world, Next Level houses more than 675 playable arcade and pinball machines across 27,000 square feet of retro gaming and memorabilia. The title came through Newsweeks Readers Choice Awards, where a panel of travel experts selected 16 standout arcades nationwide, followed by a five-week public vote.

Owner Jordan Carlson credited the win to the museums loyal fans and staff, saying the teams goal has always been to create a world-class experience for people of all ages in Oregon.

Next Level is no stranger to accolades. In 2023, the arcade earned the TWIPY Award for Favorite Pinball Location, considered the peoples choice award of the pinball world. Known for its free-play model where guests pay one admission fee for unlimited games and its walls lined with thousands of pieces of pop culture memorabilia, the family-run museum has become a destination for both experienced gamers and casual visitors.

In addition, Oregon landed a second spot on Newsweeks list: Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade in downtown Portland ranked No. 9. The iconic arcade features more than 100 new and retro games and pinball machines. Families are welcome during the day, while the evenings switch to 21+ with mixers, karaoke nights and Stern Army pinball tournaments.

Special When Lit retro arcade in Tigard, Oregon on September 10, 2024. Teresa Mahoney | The Oregonian/OregonLive

Oregons love for pinball and arcade culture continues to grow. Beyond its nationally recognized destinations, the region recently welcomed Special When Lit in King City, a nostalgic, coin-operated arcade with 46 pinball machines and retro games that recalls the classic 80s arcade experience.

A DJ spins music inside Star Tropics, a pinball arcade in the Lloyd Center, during the June Mall Crawl event. Samantha Swindler/ The Oregonian

Other Portland favorites include QuarterWorld Arcade, known for its mix of pinball and vintage video games, on Southeast Hawthorne, Wedgehead on Northeast Sandy, boasting 150 pinball machines from all eras and unlimited freeplay pinball for only $12, and Star Tropics, a pinball arcade in the Lloyd Center offering $8 wristbands for a full day of unlimited pinball.

 Chiara Profenna covers religion, faith and cultural connections. Reach her at 503-221-4327; cprofenna@oregonian.com or @chiaraprofenna.

The Oregonian/OregonLive receives support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to bring readers stories on religion, faith and cultural connections in Oregon. The Oregonian/OregonLive is solely responsible for all content.
ABU DHABI/BAGHDAD/JERUSALEM, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq on Thursday welcomed recent announcements by several countries regarding the recognition of the State of Palestine, describing the move as "significant" and "historic steps" toward achieving justice for the Palestinian people.

In a statement issued by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that international recognition of Palestine would enhance prospects for lasting peace and contribute to long-term regional stability.

Sheikh Abdullah stressed that supporting the Palestinian cause is a moral and humanitarian responsibility of the international community, calling for further similar actions to advance the peace process.

According to a statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, the increased international recognition of Palestine represents support for the process aimed at achieving justice for the Palestinian people and paving the way for the establishment of the independent State of Palestine.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that 43 aid packages were airdropped on Thursday across the Gaza Strip in coordination with Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.

The IDF stated that the packages contained food supplies for residents in both northern and southern Gaza, as part of broader efforts to enhance humanitarian aid in the Strip.

It stated it will keep working with the international community to improve humanitarian efforts in the Strip, while denying allegations of deliberately causing starvation. 
FILE - Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, during a news conference in New York on July 2, 2020. AP Photo/John Minchillo, File

WASHINGTON  Jeffrey Epsteins former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been moved from a federal prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas as her criminal case generates renewed public attention.

The federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday that Maxwell had been transferred to Bryan, Texas, but did not explain the circumstances. Her attorney confirmed the move but also declined to discuss the reasons for it.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She had been held at a prison in Tallahassee, Florida, until her transfer to the camp in Texas.

Minimum-security federal prison camps house inmates the Bureau of Prisons considers to be the lowest security risk. Some dont even have fences.

The prison camps were originally designed with low security to make operations easier and to allow inmates tasked with performing work at the prison, like landscaping and maintenance, to avoid repeatedly checking in and out of a main prison facility.

Maxwells case has been the subject of heightened public focus since an outcry over the Justice Departments statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

Since then, administration officials have tried to cast themselves as promoting transparency in the case, including by requesting the unsealing of grand jury transcripts.

Maxwell was interviewed at a Florida courthouse over two days last week by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The House Oversight Committee has separately said that it wants to speak with Maxwell as well. Her lawyers said this week that she would be open to an interview but only if the panel were to give her immunity from prosecution for anything she said.

--The Associated Press
FILE - The Truth Social account for former President Donald Trump is seen on a mobile device, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in New York. Trump Media & Technology Group, whose flagship product is social networking site Truth Social, will begin trading on the Nasdaq stock market on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The common stock of Trump Media & Technology Group will trade under the ticker symbol DJT. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) AP

President Donald Trump said Friday hes ordering the repositioning of two U.S. nuclear submarines, sending a warning to Russia in response to the highly provocative statements of the countrys former president Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump posted on his social media site that based on the highly provocative statements from Medvedev he had ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

The president added, Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.

It wasnt immediately clear what impact Trumps order would have on U.S. nuclear subs, which are routinely on patrol in the worlds hotspots, but it comes at a delicate moment in the Trump administrations relations with Moscow.

Trump has said that special envoy Steve Witkoff is heading to Russia to push Moscow to agree to a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine and has threatened new economic sanctions if progress is not made. He cut his 50-day deadline for action to 10 days, with that window set to expire next week.

The post about the sub repositioning came after Trump, in the wee hours of Thursday morning, had posted that Medvedev was a failed former President of Russia and warned him to watch his words. Medvedev responded hours later by writing, Russia is right on everything and will continue to go its own way.

Medvedev was president from 2008 to 2012 while Putin was barred from seeking a second consecutive term but stepped aside to let him run again. Now deputy chairman of Russias National Security Council, which Putin chairs, Medvedev has been known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since the start of the war in 2022, a U-turn from his presidency, when he was seen as liberal and progressive.

He has frequently wielded nuclear threats and lobbed insults at Western leaders on social media. Some observers have argued that with his extravagant rhetoric, Medvedev is seeking to score political points with Putin and Russian military hawks.

Trump and Medvedev have gotten into online spats before.

On July 15, after Trump announced plans to supply Ukraine with more weapons via its NATO allies and threatened additional tariffs against Moscow, Medvedev posted, Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didnt care.

Earlier this week, he wrote, Trumps playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 and added, He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isnt Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country.

___

Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.
Canfor Pulp Reports Second Quarter 2025 Results

"Our results for the second quarter of 2025 were strongly influenced by persistent global economic uncertainty, significantly impacting global pulp and paper market fundamentals."  Stephen Mackie President and CEO of Canfor Pulp Products. "Our results for the second quarter of 2025 were strongly influenced by persistent global economic uncertainty, significantly impacting global pulp and paper market fundamentals."  Stephen Mackie President and CEO of Canfor Pulp Products.

Aug. 1, 2025 - Canfor Pulp Products Inc. on July 31 reported its second quarter of 2025 results. The company reported an operating loss of $5.3 million for the second quarter of 2025, compared to operating income of $10.8 million for the first quarter of 2025. After adjusting for a $2.9 million inventory write-down in the current period, the company's operating loss was $2.4 million for the second quarter of 2025. These results were largely driven by a decline in both the company's average Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft ("NBSK") pulp and paper unit sales realizations in the current quarter and, to a lesser extent, an uplift in pulp unit manufacturing costs.

Commenting on the second quarter performance, CPPI's President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Mackie, remarked, "Our results for the second quarter of 2025 were strongly influenced by persistent global economic uncertainty, significantly impacting global pulp and paper market fundamentals. We anticipate these market pressures to continue throughout the third quarter. We are closely monitoring these external factors but continue to remain focused on optimizing areas within our control, including improving safety, reliability, productivity and cost structure."

Second Quarter Highlights

Global softwood pulp markets experienced downward pressure throughout the second quarter of 2025, primarily driven by weak demand from China, largely tied to the impact of new trade policies between China and the US, as well as general global economic uncertainty. As a result, US-dollar NBSK list prices to China, the world's largest pulp consumer, started the quarter at a high of US$798 per tonne, before declining steadily throughout the period, ending June at US$690 per tonne.

For the current quarter overall, US-dollar NBSK pulp list prices to China averaged US$734 per tonne, down US$59 per tonne, or 7%, from the prior quarter. As a result of weak demand, global softwood pulp producer inventories climbed significantly through the second quarter of 2025 to well above the balanced range, ending May at 46 days of supply, an increase of 8 days compared to March 2025. Market conditions are generally considered balanced when inventories are in the 32-43 days of supply range.

Canfor Pulp's average NBSK pulp unit sales realizations experienced a modest decline compared to the previous quarter, primarily reflecting US-dollar NBSK pricing pressure in China combined with a 3 cent, or 4%, stronger Canadian dollar. These factors, however, were moderated in the current period by an uptick in US-dollar pricing to other global regions, coupled with a favourable lag in the timing of shipments versus orders. As a result, the full impact of weak US-dollar China list prices towards the end of the second quarter will not be evident in the Company's average NBSK pulp unit sales realizations until the third quarter of 2025.

Pulp production was 102,000 tonnes for the second quarter of 2025, down 2,000 tonnes, or 2%, from the first quarter of 2025, primarily due to minor operational disruptions in the current period.

Operating income in the company's paper segment was $1.5 million, compared to $5.4 million in the previous quarter, largely driven by a slight decline in North American US-dollar paper pricing combined with the stronger Canadian dollar in the current period.

Outlook

Looking forward, global softwood kraft pulp market conditions are anticipated to remain weak throughout the third quarter of 2025 as purchasing activity, particularly from China, is forecast to be soft through the traditionally slower summer period, despite the announcement of market curtailments from some Nordic pulp producers. As a result, global pulp producer inventories are forecast to remain well above the balanced range through the third quarter of 2025.

The company continues to actively monitor developments in the trade relationship between Canada and the United States. In the event that tariffs are imposed on US pulp and paper shipments, the Company has mitigation strategies intended to largely offset potential impacts.

The subdued demand for bleached kraft paper in North America observed at the end of the first quarter and throughout the second quarter is anticipated to persist into the third quarter of 2025. This outlook is principally attributable to the ongoing uncertainties related to Canada-US trade relations, as well as general global economic pressures.

A minor scheduled maintenance outage will take place during the third quarter of 2025 at Canfor Pulp's Intercontinental NBSK pulp mill and at its paper machine. This maintenance outage is projected to reduce both NBSK market pulp production and paper production by 2,000 tonnes each.

Canfor Pulp Products Inc. is a leading global supplier of pulp and paper products with operations in the northern interior of British Columbia ("BC"). Canfor Pulp operates two mills in Prince George, BC with a total capacity of 780,000 tonnes of Premium Reinforcing Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft ("NBSK") pulp and 140,000 tonnes of kraft paper.

SOURCE: Canfor Pulp Products Inc.
Remember Windows 11 SE? I didnt, until I made my regular news rounds this morning. But it looks like the stripped-down, low-power version of Windows, originally intended to counter Chromebooks in the lucrative education market, is making a final bow soon. Microsoft says the operating system is getting its last update later this year, and will lose full support in 2026.

Thats according to an updated Microsoft support page (spotted by German site Dr. Windows), which says that version 24H2 will be the last for Windows SE. All updates for the OS, including software updates, technical assistance, and security fixes, will be shut down in October of 2026. If that date sounds familiar, its the new, adjusted end-of-life date for the long-suffering consumer version of Windows 10, too.

Windows 11 SE was announced in late 2021 and launched in January of 2022, explicitly designed for the education market. While it shares most of the codebase and features of Windows 11, its also far more locked down, with standard users unable to install third-party 32-bit apps or even apps from the Windows Store without admin assistance. Windows 11 SE lacks widgets and some Snap Layout options for the sake of being distraction-free, its even more insistent upon Microsoft applications like Office and Edge, and it needs to be managed via the Intune system.

Windows 11 SE was meant to be a successor to Windows 10 S, which didnt make a particularly big splash, either. Its easy to imagine how school administrators, used to standard Windows 10/11 or Googles popular and cheap Chromebook education setup, wouldnt be keen on sacrificing advanced features.

That said, giving Windows 11 SE users only a year of warning before it fully loses support seems a little short. One wonders if Microsofts workforce is feeling the pinch after all those recent layoffs. Microsoft still offers service to schools via the Windows 11 for Education system.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on July 31, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday sent 17 letters to pharmaceutical companies' CEOs in an attempt to pressure them to lower drug prices within 60 days, threatening to take action if they refuse to comply. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday sent 17 letters to pharmaceutical companies' CEOs in an attempt to pressure them to lower drug prices within 60 days, threatening to take action if they refuse to comply.

On Truth Social, Trump posted individual letters to 17 drugmakers, including Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Merck, asking the companies to take steps to cut U.S. drug prices.

The letters were sent after Trump signed an executive order in May to reinstate a policy called the "most favored nation" plan, which seeks to reduce drug prices by linking the cost of certain medications in the United States to much lower prices in other developed countries.

"Most proposals my Administration has received to 'resolve' this critical issue promised more of the same: shifting blame and requesting policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in handouts to industry," Trump said in the letters.

"Moving forward, the only thing I will accept from drug manufacturers is a commitment that provides American families immediate relief from the vastly inflated drug prices and an end to the free ride of American innovation by European and other developed nations," he said.

Trump also warned that if these pharmaceutical companies refuse to comply, "we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices," though he did not specify what measures would be taken.

Right now, brand-name drugs in the United States are up to three times more expensive on average than anywhere else for the identical medicines, according to the letters.

Shares of major drugmakers fell following the announcement. Both Eli Lilly and Pfizer dropped over 2 percent Thursday, while Merck's shares fell more than 4 percent. 
The United States Federal Trade Commission tried to make it easy to cancel subscription services in 2023. The judiciary threw it out earlier this year, just before it was scheduled to go into effect, on the grounds that the FTC had overstepped its authority and skipped procedural steps. Now the legislature, or at least a few members, will try to achieve the same thing.

The newly proposed Congressional bill is being provisionally titled the Click-to-Cancel Act of 2025. Its essentially trying to do the exact same thing that the FTC attempted, explicitly stating that it wants to codify the rule issued by the Federal Trade Commission relating to click-to-cancel. The two-page submission merely points to the original FTC filing, which says that customers must be able to cancel a subscription by the same means it was originally agreed upon. So if the bill passes, Americans couldnt be forced to call or even snail-mail to cancel a subscription that was begun online or in an app. Theyd also get an annual reminder before they were charged for re-upping a subscription for another year.



Its being proposed by a trio of Democratic congresspeople from California, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania, as Ars Technica reports. And unfortunately, that means it has little hope of passing under the current administration. At the risk of oversimplifying, the US Congress is currently bitterly divided with a slim margin of control held by business-friendly Republicans, who have gutted federal safeguards over industry at all levels. The conservatives are likely to keep any progressive proposals, no matter how popular, stymied.

With the Trump administration apparently keeping an iron grip over the judiciary as well, its possible that even if the law were passed, it would be either sued out of existence or simply not enforced by federal regulators. The odds of any progress being made in the area of exploitative subscription tactics used against consumers seem slim to none, at least in the short term.
A warehouse has been constructed on the site of the former Park Inn by Radisson Harrisburg West, which was once home to Wandas Deck and Beach Club.

But the new warehouse is not any ordinary facility; its the new West Shore home for BJs Wholesale Club.

After 35 years at 3805 Hartzdale Drive in Lower Allen Township, BJs Wholesale Club is moving.

BJs Wholesale Club was founded in 1984, so the store on Hartzdale Drive is one of its older clubs. At 8 a.m. Friday BJs will open the newly constructed 99,804-square-foot club at 5415 Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township, outside of Mechanicsburg. The move is years in the making.

Were thrilled to be coming to Mechanicsburg, bringing unbeatable value and convenience, said Kirk Saville, head of communications for BJs Wholesale Club.

(Video by Alexis Worlds, PennLive)

The membership-only warehouse club chain sells everything from groceries, including fresh produce, and apparel to pet supplies, cleaning supplies, tableware, toys, televisions and other electronics, bath and body products and items for the home.

Saville said a lot of members do a weekly grocery run followed by treasure hunt shopping.

The store has a full-service bakery with custom cakes, a full-service deli, and an optical shop.

Saville points out that members can order items at the deli on the retailers mobile application and have them ready for pickup before they leave the store.

And new for the West Shore, this BJs location will sell an assortment of beer and wine. Also new, this location will have a cafe serving its signature colossal cookies, pretzels, popcorn, beverages including slushies, and hot dogs. The cafe also has a space for seating.

We really worked hard to create a convenient one-stop shop, said Saville.

BJs offers a plethora of ways to shop.

We have dedicated space for curbside pickup now, Saville said. Thats something that didnt exist in 1990. Weve spent a lot of effort to make it easier to shop. Weve got curbside pick-up, in-club pick-up, BJs.com, and well even deliver groceries to your house within a couple of hours.

Members can also scan products as they shop and then skip the checkout line.

People can join the club for $15 for the first year.

We find that many people pay for their membership with gas alone, Saville said.

BJs gas station is located right outside the store.

About 100 people will work at the store.

One of the things that people really love about BJs is the opportunity it provides for team members, said Saville. Every day, I work with company leaders who started out as hourly employees. Were growing, so theres a lot of opportunity at the company.

Prospective employees can go to careers.bjs.com.

Workers were busy on Thursday afternoon preparing the new store for its opening on Friday morning. And things were pretty quiet with the exception of BJs red and white whistling robot, Tally. The robot scans pricing and inventory, and it whistles to alert customers of its presence.

Saville said the transition to the new location has gone very smoothly.

Were ready to go, he said.

BJs Wholesale Club is based in Massachusetts and has 255 clubs in 21 states. The company plans to open 25 to 30 new clubs over the next two years.

BJs in Hampden Township will be open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

We think this is a great location, very convenient, and its a beautiful new club. Based on the excitement that were already feeling and people reaching out as words gotten out, we think this is a great fit for us, said Saville.

BJs Wholesale Club is the anchor of the new Beltway Towne Centre. Construction is underway on the smaller structures at the shopping center. Other retailers planned for the Beltway Towne Centre include Shake Shack, Raising Canes, Taylor Chip, Honeygrow, Cava and Stretch Zone.

PennLive first reported on the project back in 2019. In 2021, the Radisson was demolished to make way for the shopping center. Along with the hotel and in addition to Wandas Deck and Beach Club, the property operated in the past as the West Shore Hardware Bar, Blarneys, and Legends. The venues hosted numerous concerts, other events, and weddings.

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A teenage boy was shot and killed while in front of a Philadelphia church early Friday morning.

The incident occurred at about 2 a.m. at the intersection of at North 18th and West Huntingdon streets, according to NBC10.

When police arrived on the scene, they found the teen lying on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to his face and head. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

Police said the victim was seen via surveillance cameras walking with two other people before the shooting.

About 30 minutes after the shooting, two teenage boys arrived at a hospital via a private vehicle with gunshot wounds.

We know one victim is 16 years of age and hes suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg, Chief Inspector Scott Small said to 6ABC. The second victim, who appears to be a juvenile, was suffering from a gunshot wound to his back and his leg. That second victim is unconscious. Hes unresponsive. So hes being worked on by doctors at the hospital.

Small said the sedan that dropped them off matches one that was seen leaving the scene of the shooting and the back window was shattered. He also said the vehicle appears to have been stolen.

Police said they are working to identify the teen who was killed.
Scott Snyder of the band Great White performs during the Kentucky State Fair at Kentucky Exposition Center on August 18, 2018. Snyder recently had surgery to remove a brain tumor. (Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images) Getty Images

Scott Snyder, the bassist for the band Great White, recently underwent surgery to remove a large brain tumor.

Thats according to Snyders sister-in-law, Victoria Anders, who started a GoFundMe to help cover expenses. To date it has raised a little over $10,000, with a goal of raising $65,000.

It has been a tough road that began when Scott started having vision changes, headaches, and confusion, with no clear idea of what it could be, Anders wrote. When the symptoms started to get more intense and frequent, they decided to go to the emergency room. The doctors discovered a fist sized mass in his brain. He was subsequently admitted to the hospital where they performed emergency brain surgery a week ago.

Although the tumor was largely removed and he initially recovered well, he has since developed blood pressure issues and had to return to the hospital, she continued. They are both strong willed individuals and have been trying to do things on their own, but with this latest setback they finally agreed to allow us to set up this GoFundMe. They are two of the kindest most loving people and would do anything for anyone."

Snyder, 63, joined Great White in 2008. but missed some of the bands shows in 2023 after undergoing back surgery, according to Blabbermouth. In addition to performing, he also owns Rock Me Tattoo & Piercing in Riverside, California.

Great White is best known for its 1989 cover of Once Bitten, Twice Shy. During the bands show at a club in Rhode Island in 2003, pyrotechnics set the place on fire and 100 people died as a result, including band member Ty Longley.

The bands original vocalist and co-founding member Jack Russell died in 2024.
When customers suggest that Kim Zanni take her artisan gelato to the next level, she brushes off the advice.

Zanni, who has been in the gelato business for nearly 20 years, owns Gelato di Babbo in Hummelstown, a tiny shop at 16 E. North Alley.

The housemade gelato is made in flavors such as tiramisu, peanut butter, pistachio and sugar cookie. Zannis recipes call for fresh, all-natural ingredients, including some that are imported, such as pistachios grown in the volcanic rock of Mount Etna in Sicily.

Nineteen years ago, Zanni introduced the world to her gelato, peddling it from a cart in Lititz and later growing it into a full-fledged brand sold at Giant and Whole Foods in 25 states. She was honored to be part of the Gelato World Tour from Italy in 2014.

The self-taught Zanni had been inspired by her travels to Italy, where she ate a lot of gelato and learned what it should taste like. She started tinkering with recipes from her former mother-in-law and added her twists.

In September, Zanni became the first American to compete with 34 master chefs at Scirubetta, a festival dedicated to the dessert in Calabria, Italy. She placed second in the competition.

Its just trial and error, she said.

Restaurant name: Gelato di Babbo

Address: 16 East North Alley, Hummelstown

Hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Signature dish that we photographed: Vanilla Fig Walnut

Why is it popular? Vanilla is the most-sold flavor in America, and then add the sweetness of caramelized figs and crunchy walnut pieces.

Hows it made? Vanilla base topped with caramelized figs and crushed walnut pieces

Price of the dish? $7

What does it taste like? Ill let you tell me.

How did you come up with the featured dish? Customer inspiration.

Approximately how many of these do you sell each week? A lot.
By Nadia Lathan and Sean Murphy, The Associated Press/Report for America

KERRVILLE, Texas  Two top leaders in a rural Texas county were asleep and a third was out of town in the initial hours of a catastrophic flood that came barreling through the region, causing widespread destruction and killing more than 130 people earlier this month.

Kerr Countys sheriff and its emergency management director both acknowledged Thursday during a legislative hearing that they were asleep in the early morning hours of July 4, even after emergency calls were coming into county dispatchers and it became apparent that a major flood event was unfolding. Moreover, Judge Rob Kelly, the top executive of Kerr County, was out of town on the day of the flood.

Their testimony, which came during a joint House and Senate panel of lawmakers who visited the hard-hit Texas Hill Country, was the first indication of the whereabouts of the trio of men who were charged with preparing for the impending weather and dispatching resources to rescue those affected. It also revealed a lack of on-duty leadership in the key initial moments of the flooding that killed at least 136 people, including 27 youths and counselors at an all-girls camp.

Public records requested by The Associated Press seeking their communications, schedules and other materials that could shed light on the flooding response have been rejected or remain pending, and the three have not replied to repeated interview requests.

Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring Jr., center, testifies during a Senate and House Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding public hearing in Kerrville, Texas, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) AP

County leaders were asleep, out of town

William Dub Thomas, Kerr Countys emergency management coordinator, told lawmakers that he was sick the day before the flooding occurred and missed two calls with Texas Emergency Management officials. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha and Thomas both acknowledged being asleep as a crisis was unfolding.

Kelly, who holds a position in Texas that functions as the countys chief executive officer, testified that he was out of town at Lake Travis, located near Austin about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, on the morning of the flood and woke up around 5:30 a.m.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick expressed his frustration.

Im not pointing a finger. Im not blaming you. I just want to set the record straight, he said in comments directed toward Kelly, prompting applause from those in the audience. Everyone was here that day working their ass off, and you were nowhere to be found.

Thomas said that on the morning of July 4, he was first awakened by his wife around 5:30 a.m., about two hours after emergency rescue operations were underway, and quickly drove to the sheriffs office.

There was no visible flooding on my drive into the office, but it quickly became clear that the situation was escalating, he said.

Attendees look at a marked up map of the Guadalupe River during a Senate and House Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding public hearing, in Kerrville, Texas, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) AP

Officials say better warning needed

In other testimony, local officials said they needed but lacked an updated warning system, when flash flooding swept away homes and vehicles and left families begging for rescue on the roofs of their homes earlier this month.

Others who testified Thursday before an audience of hundreds of people  some who wore green ribbons in memory of the victims  called for urgent improvements for better flood warnings and flood mitigation.

Over the last decade, an array of Texas state and local agencies missed opportunities to fund a flood warning system, repeatedly failing to secure roughly $1 million for a project to better protect those who spend time along the Guadalupe River, the AP previously reported. The plan, which would have installed flood-monitoring equipment near Camp Mystic, cost about as much as the county spends on courthouse security every two years, or 1.5% of its annual budget.

Kelly said residents had virtually no warning of the impending weather catastrophe until it was too late.

We need stronger communications and better broadband so we can communicate better, he said, adding that poor cell service did not help those along the river. What we experienced on July 4 was sudden, violent and overwhelming.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, center, speaks during a Senate and House Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding public hearing in Kerrville, Texas, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) AP

Sheriff lays out timeline

Leitha presented a timeline of events to lawmakers and said emergency responders realized they had an all-hands-on-deck situation as early as 3:30 a.m., when dispatchers received a call from a family stranded on their roof requesting air evacuation. But Leitha acknowledged that he was not alerted of the flooding until about an hour later, at around 4:20 a.m.

Rep. Ann Johnson, a Democrat from Houston, asked Leitha whether the county should have a protocol in place for when three of the top county officials are not available during an emergency.

Yes, maam, we can look at that real hard, Leitha said. Yes, I can look and maybe they can call me earlier.

Local residents caught off guard

Residents along the Guadalupe River have said they were caught off guard and had no warning when rainfall struck. Kerr County does not have a warning system along the river after several missed opportunities by state and local agencies to finance one.

Attendees wait for a Senate and House Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding public hearing to begin, in Kerrville, Texas, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) AP

The hearing comes as authorities have begun publicly releasing records and audio  including 911 calls  that have provided new glimpses into the escalating danger and chaos in the early hours of the July Fourth holiday. They include panicked and confused messages from residents caught in trees as well as families fleeing with children from homes with water creeping up to the knees.

People are dying, one woman tells a 911 operator in call logs released by nearby Kendall County. She says she had a young relative at a church camp in Kerr County who was stranded along with his classmates because of the high waters.

I dont want them to get stuck in a low-water crossing. And what are they going to do? They have like 30 kids, the woman says.

Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.
The exterior of the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia in May 2023. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS, file) TNS

By Rosa Cartagena, The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)

PHILADELPHIA -- On a Friday last November, staff at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia were in the midst of conducting an audit of the medical history museums collection of some 6,600 human remains when they found a box in the library stacks of their Center City building.

The tag on it read, Two mummified infant heads, said Erin McLeary, senior director of collections and research.

It had a found date of 2005, which meant an employee noticed the box that year and flagged that not much was known of its origin, except the donor, the late forensic pathologist Halbert Fillinger, and June 9, 1999, the date the skulls were received.

A woman whose parents had kept a boardinghouse in the 1920s or 30s was dying, and her last words were Go look in the attic  and the name of a  man who lived in the town. They found the mummified remains of five children, the notes in Mutters donor file read.

The handwritten notes also indicated that the remains came from Gallitzin, Pennsylvania, a small town between Altoona and Johnstown.

When Mutter staffers searched newspaper archives, using keywords from the notes, they made a chilling discovery: The two skulls were connected to a notorious crime that made national news 45 years ago.

1980: Stella Williamsons letter

Back in 1980, the remains of five infants  believed to have been killed decades earlier  were found in the Gallitzin home of a woman named Stella Williamson after she died at 76.

In the attic of her big, three-story, white frame house, in a beautiful hand-carved steel-banded chest, were the bodies of five babies  born between 1923 and 1933 and kept wrapped and bound in yellowing, crumbling newspapers all these years, a Philadelphia Inquirer report from Sept. 7, 1980, reads.

In early 1960, following a health scare, Williamson had written a letter with instructions to open the chest after her death. It wasnt found until after she died 20 years later.

I want to make things right if anything should happen to me, it read, according to an article that was published in the Washington Post in October 1980. It went on to quote more of the letter; some of its content redacted by local authorities.

In the attic in an old trunk you will find babies I had to [redacted] 30 years [ago] or more. How I got away with I dont no [sic] but I did so I dont want anyone else to be blamed for something they know nothing about. This is one reason I could never marry anyone else. I have lived a good life sense [sic] so as God is my judge this is the truth. Please forgive me if you can. Stella.

According to the Washington Post, then- Cambria-County coroner John Barron told reporters that he believed that three of the children were murdered. Their presumed father, whom he did not identify, was not involved. He added that, due to deteriorating health, the man was incommunicative and could provide no further insights.

The letter also hinted at Williamsons strained affair with the father, who was married to another woman: He never wanted me, she wrote. Only something to play with and I was a fool in his hands.

News reports of the time said neighbors recalled Williamson as a quiet, kind churchgoer and spinster who scrubbed floors at United Methodist Church and fixed hoagies for local firefighters. She often sat on her porch to greet the neighbors children with candy and treats.

The Inquirer report also mentioned that following a leg amputation due to diabetes, Williamson continued sitting on the porch, as she always had done, watching and nodding hello or waiting to play with one of the neighbors kids, especially the infants. She loved to hold them, kissing, cooing and teasing just as if she was a grandmother.

From Gallitzin to Philadelphia

Despite Williamsons letter, not much was known about the children whose remains were found in the box. The state police helicoptered the remains to Philadelphia for further examination. Assistant Philadelphia County medical examiner Fillinger and forensic anthropologist Wilton Krogman conducted tests to determine the infants gender, age and cause of death at Krogmans office in Lancaster.

Due to decomposition, the tests did not yield many answers. Using X-rays, Fillinger and Krogman concluded that four were infants, carried full-term but only months old. The fifth was older, between nine months and a year old.

Three children died by strangulation, with what newspaper accounts described as a noose-like cloth that accompanied each body. They could not determine the cause of death for the two other babies.

The problem we have here is a 50-year time period between the time it happened and today, Barron told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story published on Oct. 11, 1980. Its going to remain a mystery, unfortunately. There are some things wed all like to know, but theyre buried with the people.

Today, Barron, who still lives in Johnstown, believes that while Williamson has long been blamed for the deaths, there is no conclusive evidence of her guilt. He sees the letter as a confession that the children were hers, but not that she killed them. The Williamson family home had served as a boardinghouse for many years; Barron suspects others may have been responsible.

There were a couple players in the home [when the infants died]  her mother, there was a boyfriend," said the 71-year-old former coroner who later served as a district judge. It was so frustrating because theres so many questions we wanted to ask, but we couldnt, because there was no one to answer.

On Oct. 29, 1980, Cambria County authorities buried the remains of what they believed to be all five infants in the countys former paupers cemetery, today called Laurel United Cemetery.

The bodies returned from Lancaster in a pine box that was already sealed, Barron said.

Nobody opened it to see that two skulls were missing.

1980s-1999: A frustrating blank slate

In 1985, five years after the burial, Fillinger was named a fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the private medical society that oversees the Mutter Museum.

Earning the moniker Homicide Hal for his track record of solving high-profile murder cases throughout the Philadelphia region, Fillinger was a renowned forensics teacher for the FBI, the armed forces, and Temple University. After leaving the Philadelphia medical examiners office, he opened a forensics consulting company and later served as coroner for Montgomery County.

By 1999, Fillinger, in his early 70s, was living in Lower Gwynedd and looking to run again for the position of Montgomery County coroner. That year he was moving his office and, exercising a somewhat common practice among College fellows, decided to donate specimens and artifacts to the museum.

According to McLeary, his donations, dated April 30, 1999, and June 9, 1999, included funds for a new computer system, an X-ray tube and a mercury-vapor lamp, as well as anatomical specimens like a bladder stone, the skulls of five fetuses, a fetal skeleton  and the two mummified skulls from Gallitzin.

This was handled with no check and balance, and absolutely no dignity and respect by Fillinger or this museum, in my opinion, current Cambria County Coroner Jeffrey Lees said to The Inquirer.

When we received the call to my office [in November 2024], I thought it was a practical joke  my first question was, What the hell are you doing with them?

[Fillinger] took these two skulls without authorization. He does not own these skulls. And who are you to accept, what I believe, is stolen property? They dont belong to you.

In the eight months since the museum reached out to him, Lees has pored over documents and interviewed anyone he could find linked to the case, including coroner Barron who, in 1980, had sent a deputy to Lancaster to collect the remains after Fillinger and Krogman finished their report.

Wary of potential grave robbing, given the international attention the case had received, Barron buried the remains privately in an unmarked grave.

Reflecting on the situation decades later, Barron remembered one other crucial detail from the examination.

Dr. Fillinger had asked me that day in Lancaster if he would be able to obtain one [skull] or whatever, and I said, No, were going to bury them all, said Barron. He had no knowledge or understanding of what could have happened after the doctors completed their examination, he said.

Fillinger died in 2006 at the age of 79.

Maggie Fillinger, 74, does not recall her late husband discussing the Williamson case or any details about donating specimens to the Mutter.

But keeping the skulls, she said, doesnt sound like something he would do.

I dont think Hal wouldve stolen the remains or any of that type of stuff, said Fillinger, a retired nurse-practitioner in Ambler. He was very ethical, moral and ethical, in his practice  I knew my husband very well. He would never do anything like that, so its not in his character at all.

For Lees, who studied under Fillinger as part of the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association, seeing the doctors name was an unpleasant surprise.

He was somebody that I looked up to within my own career, and I was very proud and honored at the time to be part of his last class, said Lees. Today, I have different feelings.

The handwritten notes in Mutters donor file for the Gallitzin skulls were written by Gretchen Worden, the late director of the museum who raised its national profile with appearances on David Lettermans show. Her notes did not state Wordens motivations or name Stella Williamson.

There is no one around to ask anymore about what folks were thinking, I just dont know, said McLeary. Its a very somewhat frustrating blank slate.

1999-2024: Preserved and forgotten at Mutter

The two Gallitzin skulls arrived at the museum in a glass jar from Fillinger, according to McLeary. Then, for decades, they sat locked away and unnoticed in the climate-controlled stacks of the Colleges historical medical library.

At some point, the remains were transferred to a museum-quality archival box with museum-quality archival plastic with museum-quality archival tissue cushioning. There are no records indicating that the decomposed skulls  which remain in a delicate condition  were researched or displayed.

While the Mutter has been in possession of the remains for 26 years, the museum never formally accessioned the specimens, meaning that it did not legally take ownership of the Gallitzin skulls.

We have not been able to locate any accession paperwork or any signed transfers of material  I dont know why, but staff did not move, in 1999, to make them a permanent part of the collection, said McLeary.

This is not uncommon for museums.

Over the past two years, the Mutter Museum, starting under its former executive director Kate Quinn, has attempted to tackle complex questions about holding and displaying human remains in its collection, most of which were obtained during the 19th century with little information about their provenance.

In most cases, as in the case of the skulls, the people whose bones and organs are in the collection did not grant their consent. Quinn embarked on the Pew-funded project Postmortem: Mutter Museum, inviting the publics feedback through town halls and an exhibit, and initiated a collection-wide audit that has not yet been completed.

McLeary acknowledged there is an accessioning backlog that she and her staff have been addressing as part of the audit.

According to a statement from the College College of Physicians of Philadelphia:

The museum understood these materials to be legally and appropriately in Dr. Fillingers possession when he transferred them to the Mutter. At that time, the museums process for accepting these types of materials included clear language requiring a donor to have good and complete right, title and interest to do so, and there is no question that Dr. Fillinger understood this requirement.

Guests view the Hyrtl skull collection at The Mutter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia on Sept. 9, 2020. (Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS) TNS

2025: Where are the bodies?

In mid-May, the Mutter gave the box of two mummified skulls to Cambria County officials, who planned to reunite the remains with those buried at Laurel United Cemetery, 45 years after they were laid to rest.

Lees had agonized over the decision.

You think about these five angels. They never committed a sin  Two of them were stolen, then down the road, theyre at a museum. Its heart-wrenching, he said.

I felt awful, possibly disturbing them, but I wanted to make them whole.

On July 7, Lees led a team to bury the skulls and exhume the infants remains from the unmarked grave, but could not locate the bodies.

He returned days later with John Pupo, a former maintenance worker who helped dig the grave in 1980, to confirm his memory that the babies had been buried in the same vicinity.

On July 18, Lees brought in a ground-penetrating machine to analyze the plot. The team erected a large tent over the area for privacy, exhumed the skulls that were buried on July 7, and tried once more to locate the pine box, digging deeper.

According to the forensic anthropologist, the anthropology team, the backhoe operator, and the operator of this machine, all indications  a grave was dug there, said Lees. We went down approximately seven feet. Nothing. We hit shell.

Some seven hours later, Lees ended the search. He told reporters that the machine indicated a clear disturbance at the grave site, but he couldnt account for why, how, or when that could have occurred.

I have no clue where this pine box and these babies are located, Lees told The Inquirer. What I can guarantee you [is that] theyre not where theyre supposed to be.

To Barron, theres no mystery about what happened.

They were buried, and that was the end. I mean, these children need some peace, and we need to move on, he said. Remember, theyre almost 100 years old now. 100 years old is a long time of decomposition [when] youre not in a coffin  Im sure [the box is] decomposed. I mean, its been 50 years.

Lees believes the box should still be mostly intact. The coroner said his search is not over, and encourages anyone with information about the case to contact the Cambria County Coroners office.

For now, the skulls found at the Mutter Museum are buried at Laurel United Cemetery, in the plot where their presumed siblings had once been interred. Before burying them, Lees removed the cloth, which was once wielded as a weapon, from one of the remains and placed it in his evidence locker. He cradled the decomposed skulls in baby blankets.

He still hopes that he may, one day, put all five infants to rest, together.
NRC holds its first public meeting about the TMI restart

If there was any takeaway from the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions first public meeting on the restart of the nuclear power station at Three Mile Island, it may be this:

Forty-six years out from the nations worst-ever commercial nuclear accident, the days of widespread opposition to the very idea of nukes in the midstate seem over.

But what has stuck is a well-informed, highly-concerned minority that will do its level best to make sure regulators hold plant operators to the highest standards of operational safety, environmental protection and emergency preparedness.

As one example, representatives of the NRCs Crane Clean Energy Center Restart Panel were repeatedly grilled Thursday night at Penn State Harrisburg with concerns about how the growing Capital Region could be evacuated swiftly and safely in the event of another emergency.

Crane refers to the new name that plant owner Constellation Energy has bestowed on the generating station.

We need to see a realistic evacuation plan when Crane restarts this reactor at Three Mile Island because we did not have a realistic evacuation plan on March 28th, 1979, said Larry Arnold, of Susquehanna Township.

Anti-nuclear activist Gene Stilp went so far as to predict before the meeting that those safety concerns would be the Achilles heel that keeps the plant from reopening.

There were also repeated concerns about the ability of the NRC to play a watchdog role in a Trump administration that is prioritizing deregulation and its own version of governmental efficiency.

I know you have a lot of job openings (at the NRC). You havent been able to fill those, said Lebanon County resident Maureen Mulligan. Im concerned that youre not going to be adequately staffed.

The mission has changed under the (Trump) Executive Order and the Advance Act, she said, referring to a 2024 bill designed to expedite development of advanced nuclear technologies. And its very concerning that youre going to be able to meet all these goals, especially when theres a shift from safety to licensing and relicensing.

The NRC reps conceded they can never guarantee that there will never be another major accident at any nuclear plant.

But they were adamant that safety remains their top priority.

We are not going to accept just paperwork, said Erin Carfang, one of the co-chairs of the Crane restart panel and a director of plant inspection efforts.

She had earlier estimated that the reborn Three Mile Island Unit One would receive about 7,500 hours worth of on-site inspection and plan review.

We need evidence. ... We are going to go put our eyes on what is in the field to make sure the plant is ready to restart and it is safe for all of you.

Carfang also tried to assure the room that the regional inspections division she heads has adequate staffing for the unique challenge ahead, noting some are actually delaying retirements to be part of the effort.

These are some of the most senior people in the agency who have been with us for 40 years. They have a lot of experience, and they know this site very well, and they were there before, and they want to be there to ensure it is safe to restart, Carfang said.

As for evacuations and emergency preparedness, the panelists noted theres a lot of joint responsibility for that, starting with all-hazard emergency management plans developed by local and county governments, to be followed by a graded exercise.

Another undeniable takeaway from Thursday is that  safety concerns notwithstanding  there is a lot of support for the reopening.

With the reopening of the island as Crane Clean Energy Center, hundreds of jobs are available again. And for some families who had to leave when the island closed, they are moving home, said Ellen Willenbecher, a Middletown borough council member.

Local businesses can welcome back old and new customers. And community projects who serve residents may receive critical support. And all with low-carbon energy. I love saying that.

Union member Tyrone Thomas said, after more than 40 years of mostly safe operations at Unit One, the restart is a calculated risk worth taking for the hundreds of families who stand to benefit.

That 1979 accident, in a footnote that is of vital importance to anyone affiliated with Unit One, occurred at TMI Unit Two, a separate station on the island.

The Unit Two reactor has been closed since the accident, and is currently in the early stages of a long-term decommissioning project led by Energy Solutions, of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Theres no hundred percent guarantee that we wont have another accident, no. Theres no hundred percent guarantee that something wont go wrong, Thomas said.

But all we can do is plan based upon the knowledge we have to make it as safe as possible.

Thursdays was not a formal hearing; those will come over the next two years as Constellation Energys restart bid proceeds.

Constellation announced last year it wants to reopen the old TMI Unit One, which the companys corporate forefathers shuttered in 2019 for economic reasons.

A technology-driven sea change in U.S. energy demand has changed that paradigm.

In TMI Unit Ones case, Microsoft signed a 20-year commitment to buy the equivalent of all the wattage produced by the restarted nuclear plant, guaranteeing Constellations projected $1.6 billion investment in the restart will be profitable.

Constellation has already held several public updates on its work toward the restart.

But Thursdays meeting marked the first time the NRC - which ultimately holds federal government approval power over the project - held an open meeting expressly for the public on the restart.

Even here, the political and economic pressure surrounding the issue was unavoidable, as restart proponents organized a rally in support of restart on the Penn State Harrisburg campus, outside the meeting hall.

Inside, the commission used a ticket system to randomly select audience members for the chance to pose questions and/or comments to the NRC staff.

Among other items of note shared through the day was the fact that TMIs restart will, at least initially, be decided by the NRCs permanent staff.

The presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed commission would only be asked to weigh in on the restart if any future licensing decisions are appealed.

The local project is Americas second commercial nuclear plant restart under review by the NRC, trailing only the proposed reopening of Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan.

NRC staff filed public notice of their intent to restore the operating license for Palisades, situated along the Lake Michigan shoreline, just last week.

Some of the nuclear industrys most committed opponents have long argued that the NRC has an ingrained bias toward the industry.

Thats helped fan concerns about whether the various safety, security and operations reviews will be fair to all parties  especially the residents who have an operating reactor in their backyard.

This is really unfair to our community, who is being asked to bear the risk of all of this but then does not get our energy burden alleviated, one woman complained Thursday. We dont get cleaner energy for our houses, we dont get more affordable energy for our houses.

The officials here on Thursday said grid regulation is not their department, but they bristled at perceptions of being a rubber stamp.

Ultimately, from both a licensing perspective and an inspection perspective, we will only approve the project going forward if its safe, said Jamie Pelton, another of the restart panels co-chairs.

If we receive a (licensing) request that is not of high quality, we will not accept those requests, and we will only approve those requests when the licensee or applicant has demonstrated that theyve met our regulations and our safety standards, she added.

NRC staff pointed to the agencys 2022 denial of licenses for Oklo Powers compact fast reactor in Idaho  a much smaller project than what is envisioned at TMI.

Oklo has since moved on to new submissions for its smaller-scale technology.

Three Mile Islands restart is being targeted for 2027 by Constellations planning boards.

There are still many hurdles to clear, including:

NRC approvals of plans for reactor operations, projected environmental impacts, and security and emergency preparedness plans.

A Susquehanna River Basin Commission review of new water usage requirements.

Regional electrical grid monitor PJMs confirmation that enough transmission capacity exists for the addition of 835 megawatts to the grid.

The company is hard at work hiring and training staff, ordering equipment, and preparing formal NRC submissions on issues like acquiring nuclear fuel to repower the station, environmental assessments and the updated emergency response plans.
WILLIAMSPORT  A former township secretary/treasurer in Columbia County is facing jail time and payment of more than $185,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to federal tax evasion and bank fraud charges.

Linda L. Tarlecki, 63, of Aristes, was allowed to remain free pending sentencing after she entered her plea Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court.

The two charges carry a maximum prison sentence of 35 years, but the guideline range is between 8 and 21 months, depending on what enhancements may apply.
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Over 3.28 billion domestic trips were made in China in the first half (H1) of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 20.6 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday.

A total of 3.15 trillion yuan (about 441 billion U.S. dollars) was spent by domestic tourists during these six months -- up 15.2 percent from the same period of 2024.

Notably, the number of domestic trips made by rural residents increased by 30.6 percent year on year, with a 30.1-percent rise in spending compared to the first half of last year. Both increases were significantly higher than those for urban residents, the data showed. 
A Pennsylvania State Police trooper and three others were hospitalized Wednesday after a crash pinned a worker inside a store in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County.

The trooper, who was driving eastbound along the 2800 block of Lincoln Highway East around 5 p.m., was responding to an incident in Paradise Township when a white box truck pulled out in front of the patrol unit, causing a crash.

The troopers emergency lights and sirens were activated before the crash took place.

After hitting the side of the passenger side of the box trucks cabin, the truck spun and went north, striking a faux wall of a local Amish shop and pinning an employee between the wall and cash register, according to the Ronks Fire Company.

After being freed by others in the store, the employee was taken to Lancaster General Hospital but was later released, police said.

The driver of the box truck, a passenger in the truck and the trooper were also taken to the hospital. The driver and trooper were released later that night with minor injuries, but the passenger remained hospitalized with serious injuries.

The crash shut down Lincoln Highway East for about three hours, first responders said.

A member of the Pennsylvania Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Specialist Unit also responded to the scene.
Pennsylvania is one of at least nine states that received a letter from the Department of Justice for more information on voter data and the states vetting process for noncitizen applicants to ensure voter rolls are up-to-date and combat illegal and duplicate voting.

The Department of State responded in a detailed letter that said although county election offices ultimately oversee and maintain voter rolls, the commonwealth works diligently with the counties to ensure that all electoral processes are compliant with federal and Pennsylvania laws.
A Pa. senators proposed bill would allow for online local delivery of wine and ready-to-drink beverages in Pennsylvania. Getty Images

A state senator is proposing a bill that would allow customers to place online orders for local delivery of wine and ready-to-drink beverages.

Republican Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, whose district covers parts of Berks and Montgomery counties, would let online grocery businesses and delivery platforms make local wine and ready-to-drink (RTD) deliveries, including beer.

A growing number of Pennsylvanians are choosing to shop for groceries online, a trend driven by convenience, ease of ordering, and home delivery, read a co-sponsorship memo distributed by Pennycuick. Nationwide, the online grocery and delivery market has exceeded $60 billion in annual sales.

Pennsylvania, though, she noted, does not currently allow for the delivery of wine and RTDs through the various available platforms, despite consumer interest.

Pennycuick said that her bill would modernize the current system and allow beer and wine delivery with properly licensed transporters through online delivery platforms.

She said the delivery rights would be extended to beer distributors and enhance the states online retail ordering process by offering another mechanism for local delivery from state stores.

Pennycuick said her legislation would require alcohol server training and appropriate documentation for licensed transporters.

Also, she said there will be protections built into the system, such as identification verification and delivery protocols, to prevent underage drinking.

Pennycuick wrote in her memo that there will be a reasonable fee structure and mechanisms to ensure compliance and prevent misuse by bad actors.

Last year, the legislature and Gov. Josh Shapiro approved a bill to allow for ready-to-drink cocktail sales at grocery and convenience stories in Pennsylvania.
In this Aug. 6, 1945 photo released by the U.S. Army, a mushroom cloud billows about one hour after a nuclear bomb was detonated above Hiroshima, Japan. A contentious debate over nuclear power in Japan is also bringing another question out of the shadows: Should Japan keep open the possibility of making nuclear weapons, even if only as an option? It may seem surprising in the only country ever devastated by atomic bombs, particularly as it marks the 67th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 2012, and Nagasaki three days later. The Japanese government officially renounces nuclear weapons, and the vast majority of citizens oppose them. (AP Photo/U.S. Army via Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum)

By William Lambers

On the 80th anniversary (August 6, 1945) of the atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima, Japan we need to revive nuclear arms control and disarmament. We need some hope that something can be done to reduce the danger of nuclear weapons.

There are still over 12,000 nukes in the world. These weapons are far more powerful than the atomic bombs that killed and wounded hundreds of thousands in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 9). The United States using the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II, but unleashed the horror of nuclear weapons.

We can look to history for some inspiration on how to confront this danger we all share.

In 1963 the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom signed the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The treaty signing ceremony came one day before the 18th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

President John F. Kennedy made the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty a priority because just months before the world was almost plunged into darkness. The United States and Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war during the October, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviets placed missiles in Cuba and during those tense days both the U.S. and Soviets were test exploding nukes. Diplomacy fortunately prevailed and the Soviets removed the missiles.

The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was a dramatic turnaround from this nuclear standoff just months prior. The treaty offered a little ray of hope for peace. Diplomacy was better than going to the brink.

Today, we need more diplomacy as the United States, Russia and China are modernizing their nuclear arsenals. Progress on nuclear arms control and disarmament is stalled. The U.S. and Russian New START Treaty, which limits nukes, expires early next year.

If New START expires with no successor arrangement, Washington and Moscow could, in theory, increase their arsenals beyond New START limits, by uploading more warheads on existing long-range missiles warns the Arms Control Association.

What the world needs is some hope and diplomatic momentum for controlling nuclear weapons. A quick, easy step would be for the United States, Russia and China to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This treaty goes one step further than the pact achieved by President Kennedy. The CTBT bans all nuclear test explosions, including underground blasts.

But this treaty has languished because the United States nd other holdout nations have failed to ratify. Without U.S. leadership on the treaty, its never going to take effect. The U.S. Senate would have to approve the treaty and the President would have to sign it.

The U.S., Russia and China ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty would create a better atmosphere for disarmament talks. It would be a confidence building measure to obtaining more agreements.

Any step that could encourage diplomacy would be a welcome sign as negotiations are desperately needed for nuclear disarmament and ending the war in Ukraine.

The United States has not tested a nuke for decades and has no need to do so. Uniting the world to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty would be in the best interests of all nations. The United States should lead the way in getting all holdout nations, including nuke powers India and Pakistan, to ratify.

The activist group Back from the Brink encourages citizens to contact their elected officials about supporting the CTBT and other treaties.

As President Kennedy said about the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, it was a step towards peace--a step towards reason--a step away from war. Finishing the job today by getting a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty can be another step toward peace.

This treaty can help revive the diplomacy we need to end the threat of nuclear weapons.

William Lambers is the author of Nuclear Weapons and The Road to Peace. He partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book Ending World Hunger.
Reggie collects bikes in the rain for Citi Bike to load into a company van on 20th Street and Park Avenue South, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell) AP

By PHILIP MARCELO, The Associated Press

Strong rain storms lashed the East Coast Thursday, delaying flights throughout the region and prompting emergency rescues of motorists trapped in deep water on busy highways from the Philadelphia area to New York City.

In Pennsylvania, National Weather Service warnings of up to 3 inches of rain in an hour produced flooding in Reading.

Photos and videos online showed parked cars nearly underwater and water pouring down a narrow city street. Other videos from Reading showed emergency vehicles blocking off some streets or underpasses as flood waters had rendered them impassable.

In New York, flash flooding briefly closed sections of major roadways and flooded train stations across the metropolitan region as the evening rush hour approached.

Commuters captured video of water pouring over a train on a platform in Manhattans Grand Central Terminal and water pooling on the floor of a city bus as it pushed through a flooded Brooklyn street.

Riders of one Long Island-bound commuter train were evacuated by firefighters as floodwaters rose. Other commuter rail lines on Long Island and New Jersey were suspended or severely delayed.

A view into Gramercy Park in the rain, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Hassell) AP

Amtrak officials announced Thursday evening that trains between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, were stopped because of high water over tracks.

Once a route is available, anticipate residual delays, company officials posted on X.

Traffic cameras and social media posts on a highway in the New York City borough of Queens showed motorists at one point standing on the roofs of stranded vehicles and a tractor-trailer nearly fully submerged. Police said they pulled cars carrying two people from the flooded stretch before the waters receded and traffic slowly resumed.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other local officials pleaded with people to stay off the roads and urged residents in basement apartments to move to higher locations as rain was expected to fall through Friday afternoon.

In Maryland, emergency responders rescued multiple people from flooded vehicles in communities northeast of Baltimore.

Officials there also preemptively closed roads prone to flooding, shuttered schools and libraries early and opened emergency shelters as more thunderstorms were expected across Maryland. Flood watches and warnings were issued across the state.

Airports in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia all reported scores of flight delays and cancellations into Thursday evening.
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China is shocked at the U.S. sanctions on Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday.

"The U.S. move is disappointing and incomprehensible, without regard for the international community's efforts in promoting peace," Guo said at a regular news briefing.

The U.S. Department of State has announced sanctions that deny visas to PA officials and PLO members, accusing them of taking actions to "internationalize its conflict with Israel" and "continuing to support terrorism, including incitement and glorification of violence."

The Palestinian question is at the heart of the Middle East issue, which concerns international fairness and justice. Currently, the Palestinian question is at a critical historical point, Guo said.

The international community, especially the United States, should adhere to a fair, just, and responsible attitude, effectively implement relevant UN resolutions, and make active efforts to promote the proper resolution of the Palestinian question, rather than do the opposite, he said.

China supports the Palestinian people's just cause of restoring their legitimate national rights, and supports the effective administration of all Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank, by the PA, he said.

He added that China backs the comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question based on the two-state solution. 
Senior Reporter

Tiffany Tan is a senior reporter at The Post and Courier's Columbia newsroom. 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 South Dakota, Beijing, Singapore and Manila.
Lauren Leibman covers Georgetown County for the Post and Courier. She interned with The State newspaper and worked for The Daily Gamecock during her time at the University of South Carolina.
Reporter

Spencer Donovan covers Greenville for The Post and Courier. He's an Atlanta native and graduate of the University of Georgia. You can find him on walks around town, eating at local restaurants and hiking in the mountains.
People gather at a local shelter in Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2025. Located in northeastern Thailand, Si Sa Ket Province was among the first regions affected during the Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, with civilian casualties reported. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

A damaged convenience store of a gas station is seen in Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2025. Located in northeastern Thailand, Si Sa Ket Province was among the first regions affected during the Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, with civilian casualties reported. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

A damaged convenience store of a gas station is seen in Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2025. Located in northeastern Thailand, Si Sa Ket Province was among the first regions affected during the Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, with civilian casualties reported. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

A damaged convenience store of a gas station is seen in Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2025. Located in northeastern Thailand, Si Sa Ket Province was among the first regions affected during the Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, with civilian casualties reported. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

People gather at a local shelter in Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2025. Located in northeastern Thailand, Si Sa Ket Province was among the first regions affected during the Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, with civilian casualties reported. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

Damaged houses are seen in Si Sa Ket Province, Thailand, Aug. 1, 2025. Located in northeastern Thailand, Si Sa Ket Province was among the first regions affected during the Cambodia-Thailand border clashes, with civilian casualties reported. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
Greenville, SC (29601)

Today

Mostly clear. Low near 60F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low near 60F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
Nick Reynolds covers politics for the Post and Courier. A native of Central New York, he spent three-and-a-half years covering politics in Wyoming before joining the paper in late 2021. His work has appeared in outlets like Newsweek, Poynter, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. He lives in Columbia.
MACAO, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The economy of China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) returned to positive growth in the second quarter of 2025, with an increase of 5.1 percent year-on-year to 100.38 billion patacas, according to preliminary data released by Macao's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The DSEC noted that strong growth was found in service exports, which grew 5.8 percent year-on-year, supported by a nearly 20 percent surge in visitor arrivals amid government efforts to boost tourism.

In the first half of 2025, Macao SAR's economy grew 1.8 percent year-on-year to 200.14 billion patacas, the statistics showed. (1 pataca equals 0.12 USD) 
PR-Inside.com: 2025-08-01 13:01:34

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /Apex Critical Metals Corp. ("Apex" or the "Company") (CSE:APXC)(OTCQX:APXCF)(FWB:KL9) is pleased to announce that OTC Markets Group Inc., operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced that Apex has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Apex previously traded on the OTCQB Venture Market.Apex begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol "APXCF". U.S. investors can access current financial disclosure and real-time level 2 quotes for the Company at www.otcmarkets.com The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. In order to qualify, companies must meet more stringent qualification requirements than other OTC marketplaces, including higher financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB marks a significant milestone that allows companies to demonstrate their qualifications and enhance visibility within the U.S. investment community."Graduating to the OTCQX Market marks another important step forward in our mission to build a leading North American explorer focused on critical metals," stated Sean Charland, CEO of Apex. "This upgrade reflects the financial strength of our company, our commitment to transparent disclosure, and our intention to engage a broader base of U.S. investors as we continue to advance our rare earth and niobium-focused projects." About OTC Markets Group Inc.OTC Markets Group Inc. operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our public markets: OTCQX Best Market, OTCQB Venture Market, OTCID Basic Market and Pink Limited Market. Our OTC Link Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading. Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, OTC Link NQB, and MOON ATS are each SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com Media Contact:OTC Markets Group Inc.,+1 (212) 896-4428, media@ otcmarkets.com About Apex Critical Metals Corp.Apex Critical Metals Corp. ("Apex" or the "Company") is a Canadian exploration company specializing in the acquisition and development of properties prospective for carbonatites and alkaline rocks with potential to host economic concentrations of rare earth elements (REE's), niobium, gold and copper mineralization. Apex's Cap property located 85 kilometres northeast of Prince George, B.C., spans 25 square kilometres and hosts a recently identified promising 1.8-kilometre niobium trend. Apex's Bianco carbonatite project encompasses 3,735 hectares covering a large carbonatite complex within an area known for significant niobium mineralization in northwestern Ontario.Carbonatites are extremely rare rock types, with fewer than 600 known worldwide. They are host to rare earth element ("REE") minerals, niobium, tantalum and phosphate, as well as copper and gold. Carbonatites are host to the world's largest and most productive niobium deposits, including Araxa and Catalao in Brazil, and Niobec in Quebec. In addition, they are the primary source of REEs, including Mountain Pass in California, Mount Weld in Australia, and Bayan Obo in China. They are also important sources of phosphate (apatite), including Cargill, Ontario, while the Palabora mine in South Africa has produced copper, nickel, gold, magnetite, and vermiculite. Other carbonatites are known to have produced gold, iron, zirconium, fluorite, and other industrial minerals.By acquiring a multitude of carbonatite projects, Apex intends to investigate potential high-value opportunities to meet the growing global demand of specialty metals across various industries. Apex is publicly listed in Canada on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") under the symbol APXC, in the United States on the OTCQX market under the symbol APXCF, and in Germany on the Borse Frankfurt under the symbol KL9 and/or WKN: A40CCQ. Find out more at www.apexcriticalmetals.com where you can subscribe for News Alerts, watch our Video, or follow us on Facebook, X.com or LinkedIn.On Behalf of the Board of DirectorsAPEX CRITICAL METALS CORP.,--Sean Charland-- Sean CharlandChief Executive OfficerTel: 604.681.1568Email: info@ apexcriticalmetals.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this news release include: statements regarding the Company's intention to engage a broader base of U.S. investors and statements regarding the Company's intention to investigate potential high-value opportunities to meet the demand for specialty metals. Forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, unsuccessful exploration results, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same. 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. T
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Recognized as Best Plumber, HVAC, and Outdoor Lighting Company Across DFWSOUTHLAKE, TX / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /Berkeys Plumbing, A/C & Electrical has once again earned top honors in the annual Living Magazine Best of Readers' Choice Awards, winning in multiple categories across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.The respected home services company was named:Best Plumber and Plumbing Company in Southlake and ColleyvilleBest Heating and Air Conditioning Company in Southlake and ColleyvilleBest Outdoor Lighting Company in KellerThese honors reflect the trust and satisfaction of local homeowners who rely on Berkeys for dependable service, innovative solutions, and 24/7 support. These prestigious honors coincide with a landmark year for the Texas-based company, which marks five decades of delivering expert, reliable home services throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex."Since 1975, Berkeys has remained committed to providing top-tier plumbing, HVAC, and electrical services. We are extremely honored to be recognized by the readers of Living Magazine" said Jeff Cox, President of Berkeys. "Our team works tirelessly to deliver exceptional service across plumbing, heating, cooling, and electrical solutions. These awards are a testament to their dedication and our commitment to earning the trust of families throughout Southlake, Colleyville, Keller, and the entire DFW area." Berkeys' 50-year legacy and success is built on the company's founding principles:Exceptional Customer Service - Providing prompt, professional, and courteous service that exceeds expectationsQuality Craftsmanship - Offering reliable, efficient, and long-lasting solutionsCommunity Involvement - Actively supporting local organizations and giving back to the communities it servesBerkeys has long served the Dallas-Fort Worth region - including Arlington, Plano, Frisco, and surrounding communities - with licensed technicians, transparent pricing, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. The company continues to expand its offerings while maintaining its strong reputation for reliability, professionalism, and community involvement.The Living Magazine honors expand beyond only three communities, Berkey's is the Best of Reader's Choice for best plumber and plumbing company in Southlake and Colleyville, TX; the best heating and air conditioning company in Southlake and Colleyville, TX, the best outdoor lighting company in Keller, TX, serving Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Frisco and all other major cities in the DFW metroplex.In addition to its latest Living Magazine honors, Berkeys has earned a long list of awards and accolades over the years, including Southlake Journal Best of the Best Angie's List Super Service Award and an A+ Rating and Accreditation from the Better Business Bureau since 1997.About Berkeys Plumbing, A/C, & ElectricalTexas-based Berkeys has been providing quality plumbing, electrical, air conditioning, and heating services to homeowners in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex since 1975. The company sells America's top-rated brands of plumbing, AC repair, electrical, and heating equipment known for high efficiency, reliability, and serviceability; and it services all brands and makes of plumbing and air conditioning equipment. All Berkeys plumbers have passed rigorous state plumbing examinations and are licensed by the State of Texas; they understand the complexity of state plumbing codes all the way down to local requirements. Berkeys maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has led the field in area newspapers' readers' favorite polls. Berkeys is part of the Wrench Group, a national leader operating in 25 markets across 14 states to provide home repair, replacement and maintenance services specializing in heating, ventilation and air conditioning.TACLB133168E | Stephen M Harris M-37968 | TECL30739Media Contact:Mike MyersDirector of Marketing berkeysmarketing@ berkeys.com SOURCE: Berkeys
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Are you searching for the best online casinos USA players trust? Red Dog Casino is a prime choice. It is widely recognized as the best online gambling site and a leading casino online for US players. It stands out with a 255% welcome bonus and 35 extra free spins for slot lovers. The rewards don't stop there.JOIN THE BEST ONLINE CASINOS USA: RED DOGRed Dog offers generous casino bonus and deposit bonus promotions, including free spins, deposit matches, and bonus credits. These bonuses come with clear terms, such as wagering requirements and exclusive offers, giving players more chances to win and enjoy additional gameplay.Red Dog is among the most trusted online casinos, with top-notch security and fun. It's licensed by the Curacao Gaming Authority, making it reliable. As a real money casino, Red Dog pays real money quickly and reliably, with withdrawals taking only 2-3 days.Getting Started with Red Dog Casino: A Step-by-Step GuideStarting your gaming journey at a top online casino is easy. Red Dog Casino welcomes you with a user-friendly site and a fun mascot. You'll find the sign-up process simple and fun.1. Visit the Red Dog Official WebsiteGo to the Red Dog Official Website to start. The vibrant design and friendly mascot set the tone for a smooth and exciting online casino experience.2. Sign Up for a New Player AccountClick the Sign Up button to begin registration. Enter your personal details, select a strong password, and create your player profile in minutes.3. Verify Your Information and Complete RegistrationUpload your verification documents securely. This step ensures safety, account legitimacy, and full access to all Red Dog features.4. 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These companies are known for high-quality and reliable games.Diverse Game Selection: Red Dog caters to everyone by offering everything from new slots to classic table games, exciting live dealer sessions, and specialty games such as keno, bingo, or scratch cards. This means no matter what you like, you're covered.High-Quality Software: With games from RealTime Gaming and Visionary iGaming, Red Dog gives a top-notch gaming experience with great graphics and sound.Attractive Bonuses: Not only does Red Dog offer great games, but its generous bonuses also make playing even more fun and increase your chance to win. Some promotions include free spins on selected slot games.Significant Jackpot Games: Dreaming big? Red Dog has lots of jackpot games, offering chances for big wins.Red Dog Casino changes the online gambling scene by offering a fun and premium experience. It draws a wide audience. Whether you want to win big or try various games, Red Dog is a trustworthy and thrilling platform. It's among the best casinos online.Security, Game Fairness & Licensing at Red DogIn online gambling, it's not just about winning-it's about playing safely and fairly. Red Dog Casino stands out as one of the most trusted platforms for USA players, thanks to its focus on security and compliance. From your initial deposit to every spin on select slot games or round of blackjack and other table games, Red Dog ensures a secure and enjoyable experience for smart bettors.The trust journey starts with a gaming license. Red Dog operates under a Curacao gaming license. This shows its commitment to international gambling rules.Security is next. At Red Dog, cutting-edge SSL encryption keeps your data safe. This digital armor locks down your personal and financial details.Fair play is a reality, not just a claim at Red Dog. A Random Number Generator (RNG) ensures that games are truly random. This means each: spin, card, and roll is down to chance, offering fair play to all.Red Dog also features a reliable customer support system, with an efficient customer support team available to assist players promptly. This commitment to effective issue resolution further strengthens player trust and highlights the platform's dedication to transparency and credibility.With support for iPhone and Android devices, smooth mobile play, and games like scratch cards and promos with gold coins, it's a solid choice for both new and experienced gamblers. Red Dog stands for integrity and transparency.Game Selection at Red Dog: Slots, Table Games & Live Dealer OptionsRed Dog offers over 180 games, placing it among the best casino sites. From online slots to blackjack, crash games, and video poker, there's something for every style of play. 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LAKE STEVENS, WA / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / When Guardian Roofing, Gutters & Insulation named Fred and Rebecca Moore of Lake Stevens as the 2025 recipients of their annual HALO Project, it sparked more than just community pride-it ignited a company-wide movement of compassion, collaboration, and purpose.Every single Washington State-based Guardian team member, from field crews to office staff, played a part in the planning and execution of the complete roof replacement for the Moore's, making the initiative a true labor of love and a cornerstone of the company's culture. This annual project, now in its seventh year, isn't just about replacing roofs-it's about lifting spirits both inside and outside the company."At Guardian, the HALO Project has become something we all look forward to," said Lori Swanson, owner of Guardian Roofing, Gutters & Insulation. "It brings out the very best in our team. We don't just give back-we grow stronger together. This project unites us around a common mission and reminds us why we do what we do." Fred Moore, a Vietnam veteran, retired pastor, and active member of a local motorcycle ministry, and his wife Rebecca, a school bus driver and youth mentor, have spent their lives serving others. Though they never had biological children, they lovingly raised two daughters from their church community under a roof that is now dangerously deteriorated.Despite Fred's severe respiratory issues and Rebecca's mobility challenges, they've tried to keep up with repairs-until the roof's condition and their health made that impossible. When the Guardian team learned their story through a heartfelt nomination, there was no hesitation."Fred and Rebecca have spent their lives giving," said Swanson. "They've cared for their community and built a family with faith, love, and resilience. It's our honor to come together as a company and make sure their home is safe and secure for the years ahead." Guardian's HALO Project reflects the company's deep commitment to creating real change. It also serves as a powerful internal morale booster, reminding employees that their work has purposes far beyond the job site."This isn't just a one-day install," said English Bryant, Office & Dealer Finance Manager at Guardian. "Every department is involved. From the first phone call to the final shingle, we're all in. It's truly one of the most inspiring, community-driven, impactful, and uplifting things we do as a company." Support from valued industry partners-including Owens Corning, Sound Building Supply, Beacon Building Supply, Velux Skylights, Miles Resources, and Service Partners-helped bring this project to life, allowing Guardian to continue its mission of restoring hope one roof at a time.This year's HALO Project was completed during National Roofing Week, reinforcing Guardian's belief that roofing is more than just a trade-it's a way to build stronger communities from the top down."We are hopeful that as our company grows, we be able to continue helping even more families for many, many years to come," concluded Swanson.MORE ABOUT GUARDIAN HOME'S HALO PROJECT AND PAST WINNERS: https://www.guardianhome.com/lp_pg/guardian-roofing-halo-project About Guardian Roofing, LLCGuardian Roofing, LLC is an award-winning professional roofing contractor in the Seattle market, serving homeowners since 2005 in the counties of King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap and Thurston. Founders Lori and Matt Swanson have more than 60 years of combined roofing experience and employ a team of more than 100 skilled and professionally certified craftsmen who assist customers with their roof, gutter, attic, masonry, and skylight needs. Recognized in 2022 as one of the fastest-growing private companies by the Puget Sound Business Journal, Guardian is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and has been named a top 100 Roofing Contractor in the U.S. by Roofing Contractors Magazine. For more information, visit www.guardianroofing.com Licenses: WA UBI 604-059-205 | FEIN #81-4469822Media Contact:Dana CobbThe Barber Shop Marketing dana@ thebarbershopmarketing.com 972.955.9747SOURCE: Guardian Roofing
Muhammad Mohsin (front) practices Baduanjin, a traditional Chinese fitness routine, at Tianjin International Chinese College in north China's Tianjin, July 22, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin is pictured at a training classroom of Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in north China's Tianjin, June 17, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin (R) learns to operate automated equipment at Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in north China's Tianjin, June 16, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin (R) communicates with a classmate after a lecture at Tianjin International Chinese College in north China's Tianjin, July 21, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin (R) communicates with classmates during a lecture at Tianjin International Chinese College in north China's Tianjin, July 17, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin returns to his apartment after class in north China's Tianjin, July 21, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin (R front) attends a lecture at Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in north China's Tianjin, June 16, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin passes by the training classrooms at Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in north China's Tianjin, June 16, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin (1st L) attends a lecture at Tianjin International Chinese College in north China's Tianjin, July 17, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin is pictured at Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in north China's Tianjin, June 16, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin studies at his apartment building in north China's Tianjin, July 21, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)

Muhammad Mohsin returns to his apartment after class in north China's Tianjin, July 21, 2025.

Muhammad Mohsin, a 19-year-old Pakistani student majoring in electrical automation technology, describes China's technological development as "living in the future." In September 2024, seizing the opportunity provided by Luban Workshop, a vocational education cooperation program between China and Pakistan, Mohsin received a scholarship and began his academic journey to Tianjin.

This summer, in order to overcome language barriers and better prepare for next semester's specialized courses, Mohsin chose to stay in Tianjin to study professional Chinese language.

In July 2018, Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College and Punjab's Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority co-founded the Pakistan Luban Workshop in Punjab. The workshop offers courses including electrical automation technology and electromechanical integration technology. It attempts to improve employment through enhancing vocational education and to foster more talents for both Pakistani and Chinese enterprises along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

As of now, Pakistan's Luban Workshop has trained over 1,000 local youths, with a total of more than 8,800 hours of instruction. (Xinhua/Sun Fanyue)
PR-Inside.com: 2025-08-01 19:31:18

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / National plaintiffs law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP encourages investors in Fiserv, Inc. ("Fiserv") (NYSE:FI) who purchased or otherwise acquired Fiserv common stock between July 24, 2024 and July 22, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period") to contact us immediately regarding the pending securities class action against Fiserv. The deadline to apply to be lead plaintiff is September 22, 2025.Class Period: July 24, 2024 - July 22, 2025Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: September 22, 2025Case information: https://lieffcabraser.com/securities/fiserv/ Contact us: Email or text investorinfo@ lchb.com or call 1-800-541-7358Fiserv, incorporated in Wisconsin and headquartered in Milwaukee, provides transaction processing software for banks and retail merchants. The Company's flagship product and most important growth driver is Clover, a payment processing platform that facilitates secure processing of credit, debit, and mobile payment transactions on behalf of financial institutions and their customers. Beginning in late 2023, Fiserv began a forced migration of customers using its older Payeezy point-of-sale platform to its Clover platform. Despite this forced migration, Fiserv represented to shareholders that 90% of Clover's revenue growth was due to new client retention.The action alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (a) due to Payeezy's operational issues, Fiserv required its customers to migrate to Clover; (b) Clover's key revenue metric, "gross payment volume" (or "GPV"), and revenue growth were boosted by the migrations, obscuring a deceleration in new business; (c) after their migrations, many former Payeezy customers, including e-commerce merchants who found Clover's features costly and unnecessary, moved to competitors' platforms; and (d) as a result of customer attrition, Clover's GPV growth decelerated and its revenue growth could not be sustained.On April 24, 2025, Fiserv revealed that Clover's GPV growth rate had fallen from 14-17% in 2024 to 8% in Q1 2025. On this news, Fiserv's stock price fell $40.20 per share, or 18.51%, from a closing price of $217.10 on April 23, 2025, to close at $176.90 on February 26, 2025, on elevated trading volume.On May 15, 2025, the Company disclosed that Clover's GPV growth would continue to decelerate throughout 2025. Analysts reported that the bulk of the lost customers were e-commerce merchants who had been forcibly migrated to Clover, but had limited use for the product and wanted more tailored and lower cost alternatives. On this news, Fiserv's stock price fell $30.73 per share, or 16.18%, from a closing price of $189.86 on May 14, 2025, to close at $159.13 on May 15, 2025, on heavy trading volume.On July 23, 2025, Fiserv lowered the top end of its 2025 organic growth guidance range and revealed that its Q2 organic revenue growth in its Merchant segment was only 9%, compared to 28% in Q2 2024. Wolfe Research noted that "we recognize a need for the dust to settle, with stability/credibility in metrics and guidance reestablished before some investors add materially to shares." On this news, Fiserv's stock price fell 13.9%, or $22.98, from a closing price of $165.98 on July 22, 2025 to close at $143.00 on July 23, 2025, on extremely heavy trading volume.About Lieff CabraserLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with over 125 attorneys in offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and Munich, Germany, is an internationally-recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility. Repeatedly recognized as a "Plaintiffs' Powerhouse" by Law360, Lieff Cabraser has litigated some of the most important civil cases in the United States, and has assisted clients in recovering over $131 billion in verdicts and settlements. For over 50 years, Lieff Cabraser has remained committed to ensuring access to justice for all.Source/ContactSharon LeeLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP415 956-1000 slee@ lchb.com SOURCE: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
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Geochemical Results Confirm Significant Cu-Mo FootprintLONDON, UK / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Guardian Metal Resources plc (LON:GMET)(OTCQX:GMTLF), a strategic mineral exploration and development company focused in Nevada, USA, is pleased to announce rock chip assay results and geological observations from the Company's ongoing porphyry copper exploration campaign at its 100% owned Pilot Mountain Project ("Pilot Mountain" or the "Project") located in Nevada, USA.While the Company remains primarily focused on advancing tungsten exploration and development at its co-flagship projects, both are considered to hold significant porphyry copper (Cu) and molybdenum (Mo) potential, which will be further evaluated through targeted drilling at the appropriate stage.Laboratory assay results from rock chip samples collected across the Porphyry South Zone ("Porphyry South") target area have been received and are being integrated with geological field observations from the Company's ongoing exploration. These combined findings are helping to refine drill targeting, with an initial drilling programme tentatively planned following the completion of all skarn-related tungsten-focused drilling.TECHNICAL SUMMARYRock chip sampling from outcrop shows highly elevated copper and molybdenum concentrations across the circa 1.5 km2 Porphyry South Zone, and delineates a sizeable area of >500 ppm Cu results (Figure 1).A 1km long section of the 'Breccia Ridge Zone' has been geologically mapped and sampled, with 15 rock chip assays >1,000 ppm Cu and up to 20,500 ppm (2.05 %) Cu (Figure 1).The Company has finalised plans to extend the existing three dimensional induced polarisation ("3D IP") geophysical survey to cover the entire Porphyry South area. This 3D IP survey will commence shortly and will be used to finalise drill targets for porphyry style Cu-Mo mineralisation.Oliver Friesen, CEO of Guardian Metal, commented:"These new results provide a further layer of evidence that Pilot Mountain hosts a much larger mineral system than previously understood. While our main work continues to be centred on advancing the tungsten-copper-silver-zinc skarns, the results thus far from this porphyry- focused study increasingly point to a porphyry environment worth investigating further."The data not only expands the interpreted footprint of Porphyry South but also strengthens the case for a complex multi-metal system at depth. With clear indications of molybdenum and copper fertility, we see significant merit in testing these porphyry targets once the tungsten-focused drilling programme is completed." ONGOING EXPLORATION AT THE PORPHRY SOUTH ZONEWhilst tungsten focussed drilling is ongoing at Desert Scheelite and Garnet W-Cu-Ag-Zn skarns, the Company has remained committed to further exploration at Porphyry South.Porphyry South comprises a 1.5km2 area of outcropping silicic and quartz-sericite-pyrite ("QSP") alteration, stockwork quartz veins and gossanous breccias in metasediments intruded by quartz monzonite (Figures 1-3). Through geochemical fingerprinting by the Company, the magmatic system has already been confirmed as 'fertile' for porphyry Cu-Mo mineralisation.1Following reconnaissance level sampling and geological mapping of Porphyry South by Dr Lawrence Carter in 2024 (as previously reported 1,2,3), the ongoing exploration includes detailed mapping of the quartz monzonite and associated porphyry dykes, copper shows, sulphides and quartz vein density.An outcrop rock chip sampling campaign has also now been completed to determine the geochemical footprints of mineralisation and alteration across the Project, with a focus on Porphyry South. A total of 189 outcrop rock chip samples have been assayed by four acid-digest multi element ICP-MS and ICP-AES determination (Figure 1).Significantly, the rock chip samples confirm elevated copper and molybdenite across the entirety of Porphyry South (Figure 1). Additionally, the rock chip assays highlights a circa 0.2 km2 area of >500 ppm Cu which partially overlaps a 0.2 km2 area of >250 ppm Mo. This area of interest has been named the "Breccia Ridge Zone", which includes a 1 km long ridge with various outcrops of gossanous and mineralised breccias (Figures 3). To confirm the composition of the mineralised breccia a sample was taken for petrographic study, with thin section mineralogical mapping using an Automated Material Identification and Classification System ("AMICS") confirming the copper minerals cuprite, malachite and tenorite (Figure 4).A total of 15 rock chip samples taken variably along this ridge returned >1,000 ppm Cu, and up to 20,500 ppm (2.05%) Cu. The rock chip samples across Porphyry South also highlight two separate areas of approximately 0.02 km2 and 0.04 km2 which returned >500 ppm Cu.Trace element geochemistry also shows the Porphyry South area to have elevated arsenic (>~50 ppm As), Selenium (>~2 ppm Se) and tellurium (>~0.1 ppm Te) which, agreeing with the outcropping alteration, places the surface exposures at Porphyry South within the "quartz-sericite-pyrite" or "phyllic" zone, which is typically interpreted to overlie and surround the core of a porphyry system where the highest copper grades are typically found.4,5 In addition, boulders of quartz monzonite containing quartz unidirectional solidification textures (USTs) have been found as float in a small creek bed (i.e. not from outcrop) in the Porphyry South area (see Figure 5). Whilst the boulders are not mineralised, the observed textures are useful porphyry exploration indicators, since they typically form in the upper or 'cupola zones' of magmatic systems, where mineralised porphyry systems typically develop.5,6 Following on from the rock chip sampling results, the Company has finalised plans to extend the existing three dimensional induced polarisation ("3D IP") geophysical survey to cover the entire Porphyry South area. This 3D IP survey will be used to finalise drill targets for porphyry style Cu-Mo mineralisation. A MSc student research project (at Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter, UK) on the Porphyry South zone is also ongoing.Figure 1. Map of the Pilot Mountain project showing magnetic intensity, skarn and Porphyry South Zone, together with key features and rock chip sample copper (Cu) concentrations.Figure projection: UTM zone 11N NAD 83Figure 2. Examples of gossanous stockwork quartz-sulphide veins and secondary copper shows in QSP altered and silicified metasediments in the Porphyry South area.Figure 3. Example of gossanous breccia on the "Breccia Ridge Zone", which returned (sample LC-PM-28) 728 ppm Cu, 450 ppm Mo and 22.9% Fe.Figure 4. Automated Material Identification
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Strategic acquisition expands IWS's Midwest footprint and strengthens its service to Travel Center, Grocery, and Convenience Store marketsST. LOUIS, MISSOURI / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /International Wholesale Supply, a nationwide distributor with over 40 years of experience in full-service merchandising for travel centers and convenience stores, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Mid-America Distribution's Direct to Store delivery division, based in Dodge Center, Minnesota. MMCI Holdings Logo Logo for MMCI Holdings and its subsidiaries, Matthews Book Company, McCoy Medical Supplies, International Wholesale Supply"Mid America presents many growth opportunities, and we are excited to welcome them to the IWS team and into the MMCI Holdings Group of Companies," said Gedas Gudenas, CEO of MMCI Holdings. "We believe this division of Mid America is a great cultural and strategic fit as we continue expanding our service offerings across the Travel Center, Grocery, and Convenience Store markets." About International Wholesale SupplyInternational Wholesale Supply, a division of MMCI Holdings, has been a trusted nationwide distributor serving the Convenience Store, Grocery, and Travel Center markets for over 40 years. IWS specializes in full-service merchandising and direct ship programs across a wide range of categories, including e-cigarettes, cellular accessories, sunglasses, general merchandise, giftware, apparel, hemp derivatives, and other trend-driven products.About MMCI CompaniesFounded in 1889, MMCI Holdings is one of the nation's oldest employee-owned corporations. Originally established as a distributor of health science books and information, MMCI has evolved into a trusted provider of essential services to medical campuses, convenience stores, grocery retailers, and travel centers nationwide. Guided by the motto "Your Success is Our Vision," MMCI is committed to delivering exemplary service to their customers, driving success for its vendor partners, and empowering their dedicated workforce.About Mid America DistributionMid America Distribution has been a regional distributor of novelties and general merchandise to convenience stores throughout the Midwest with sales reps located throughout the Midwest to service their clients. This Direct Store Delivery division will now be operated by International Wholesale Supply from their centrally located distribution center in St. Louis, Missouri.Mid America will maintain an office in Dodge Center, Minnesota and will continue to serve end-consumers through its online websites ( midamerica.co midamericashop.com , and shopiws.com) and marketplaces (eBay, Etsy, TikTok, Amazon).Media Contact: Gedas Gudenas, CEOInternational Wholesale Supply gedas@ mmciholdings.comshopiws.com SOURCE: MMCI Holdings Inc.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America ("Allianz Life") recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to Allianz Life.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On July 16, 2025, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America ("Allianz Life") detected unauthorized access to a third-party, cloud-based CRM system used by Allianz Life. The breach compromised the personal information of most of its 1.4 million customers, along with some financial professionals and employees.The impacted data may include names and other personal identifiers.An investigation with cybersecurity experts followed, and Allianz Life filed notice of the breach with the Maine Attorney General on July 25, 2025. Allianz Life will begin mailing notice letters on August 1, 2025, to impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for individuals who receive notice that their sensitive 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 or email from Allianz Life, you are likely to be 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, LLP 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
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Leading securities law firmBleichmar Fonti & Auld LLPannounces that a lawsuit has been filed against Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) and certain of the Company's senior executives for potential violations of the federal securities laws.If you invested in Hims & Hers, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/hims-hers-health-inc-class-action Investors have until August 25, 2025, to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors who purchased Hims & Hers securities. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is captioned Sookdeo v. Hims & Hers Health, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-05315. A subsequent complaint alleging substantially similar claims was also filed and is captioned Yaghsizian v. Hims & Hers Health, Inc., et al., No. 25-cv-05321.Why was Hims & Hers Sued for Securities Fraud?Hims & Hers operates a telehealth platform that provides consumers with access to online consultations with licensed healthcare professionals, prescription medications, and a range of wellness products. On April 29, 2025, Hims & Hers and Novo Nordisk announced a "long-term collaboration" starting with the immediate sale of Novo Nordisk's popular weight loss drug Wegovy on the Hims & Hers platform. The active ingredient in Wegovy is semaglutide.As alleged, Hims & Hers touted and misrepresented to investors the nature of its partnership with Novo Nordisk, including asserting that under the terms of the agreement Hims & Hers could offer both Wegovy and compounded semaglutide to its customers. Hims & Hers also allegedly represented to investors that its sale of compounded semaglutide complied with FDA regulations.The Stock Declines as the Truth is RevealedOn June 23, 2025, Novo Nordisk announced that it was terminating the partnership, "based on Hims & Hers deceptive promotion and selling of illegitimate, knockoff versions of Wegovy that put patient safety at risk" and alleged that Hims & Hers "failed to adhere to the law which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs." On this news, the price of Hims & Hers stock fell $22.24 per share, or more than 34%, from $64.22 per share on June 20, 2025 to $41.98 per share on June 23, 2025.Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/hims-hers-health-inc-class-action What Can You Do?If you invested in Hims & Hers you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm.All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.Submit your information by visiting:Or contact:Ross Shikowitz ross@ bfalaw.com 212.789.3619Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?BFA is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It has been named a top plaintiff law firm by Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and ISS SCAS, and its attorneys have been named "Elite Trial Lawyers" by the National Law Journal, among the top "500 Leading Plaintiff Financial Lawyers" by Lawdragon, "Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar" by Law360 and "SuperLawyers" by Thomson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors, as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.SOURCE: Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP
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GULF SHORES, AL / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / Headed home but not quite ready to leave your vacation behind? Good news: LuLu's has landed at Gulf Shores International Airport. LuLus Takes Off at Gulf Shores International AirportNow Serving Travelers a Final Slice of Suns Lucy Buffett at LuLus Grab & Go airport store in Gulf Shores International AirportThat's right, Lucy Buffett's beloved coastal restaurant, famous for its fresh seafood, beachy energy, and world-class allergy-friendly menu, is opening a new store right inside the terminal. When you are waiting to board, you'll be able to grab a bite, sip something cold, and snag one last souvenir-no flip-flops required!"We want everyone who's enjoyed our great destination to keep the vacation going a bit longer. Why not at the airport?" said Lucy Buffett. "And if they didn't make it to LuLu's during their trip, this gives them one last chance to feel the love." The new terminal outpost is part of the airport's broader plans to meet rising travel demand following the recent launch of Allegiant Air service. Expansion plans are in the works, and LuLu's is leading the charge as its first official food and beverage partner.LuLu's Grab & Go airport store will be the "Last Chance" for a mix of snacks, drinks, quick eats fresh from LuLu's kitchen such as Smoked Tuna Dip, L.A. Caviar, "Pamenna" Cheese, Grilled Chicken Wraps, Key Lime Pie, and multiple retail items. Same heart, same hospitality-just in a smaller carry-on size.About LuLu'sFounded by Lucy Buffett, LuLu's is more than just a restaurant; it's a coastal destination! Known for its fresh seafood, live music, and laid-back charm, LuLu's brings the spirit of a beach vacation to every plate. The flagship location in Gulf Shores, Alabama, features a sandy beach, arcade, three-story ropes course, outdoor Crazy Sista stage and bar, and a retail shop loaded with signature LuLu's gear. With locations in Gulf Shores, Destin (FL), and North Myrtle Beach (SC), each LuLu's delivers the same mix of fun, food, and unforgettable hospitality Lucy calls "Gumbo Love." Contact InformationGabrielle BarnettDirector of Marketinggabrielle@ lulusfunfoodmusic.com (251) 223-7758SOURCE: Lucy Buffetts LuLus
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LONDON, GB / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /Orosur Mining Inc. ("Orosur" or the "Company") (TSXV:OMI)(AIM:OMI), has been notified that Newmont Mining Corporation, who held a stake of approximately 9.4% in the Company, has sold this holding to several institutional long-term investors, at a price of C$0.19 per common share of Orosur. The sale of the stake is in keeping with Newmont's program of non-core divestments.In its release of yesterday to the Toronto Stock Exchange, after market close, announcing the sale, Newmont also stated that "Newmont may, depending on price, market conditions or other conditions or factors it considers relevant from time to time, increase its beneficial ownership, control or direction over Common Shares or other securities of Orosur through market transactions, private agreements or otherwise".Orosur Executive Chairman Louis Castro commented:"Whilst we are sad to see Newmont go, we understand that the sale of the stake is part of Newmont's strategy of non-core disposals. Newmont has been a loyal and supportive partner to Orosur. We part on good terms and we welcome a number of strong and knowledgeable long-term investors as we push further into an exciting growth phase for the Company. Their investment is testament to the potential of the projects we are developing"For further information, visitwww.orosur.ca , follow on X @orosurm or please contactOrosur Mining Inc Louis Castro, Chairman,Brad George, CEO info@ orosur.ca Tel: +1 (778) 373-0100SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP - Nomad & Joint Broker Jeff Keating / Jen Clarke / Devik MehtaTel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470Turner Pope Investments (TPI) Ltd - Joint BrokerAndy Thacker/James PopeTel: +44 (0)20 3657 0050Flagstaff Communications and Investor CommunicationsTim ThompsonMark EdwardsFergus Mellonorosur@ flagstaffcomms.com Tel: +44 (0)207 129 1474The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') which has been incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service ('RIS'), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.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.About Orosur Mining Inc.Orosur Mining Inc. (TSXV: OMI; AIM: OMI) is a minerals explorer and developer currently operating in Colombia, Argentina and Nigeria.This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@ lseg.com or visit www.rns.com SOURCE: Orosur Mining Inc
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /PPX Mining Corp. (TSXV: PPX.V)(BVL:PPX)(the "Company" or "PPX") has, together with Silver Crown Royalties Inc. (CBOE:SCRI)(OTCQX:SLCRF)(FRA:QS0) ("SCR"), yesterday amended certain terms of the silver royalty agreement between the Company and SCR originally dated December 13, 2024 (the "Silver Royalty Agreement" and the amendment thereto referred to as the "Amendment").The second tranche price of the Silver Royalty Agreement in the amount of US$1,470,000, originally payable by SCR to PPX on or before August 6, 2025, has been amended in order to split the payment obligation in two and extend the time by which the total amount of US$1,470,000 must be paid. In connection with these amendments, a total of US$833,000 of the second tranche payment has been paid by SCR to PPX, and the remaining US$637,000 will be payable on or before December 31, 2025. Proceeds will be used by PPX to support its ongoing construction of the CIL and flotation plant at the Company's Igor project, located in La Libertad, Peru (the "Beneficiation Plant").In connection with the split of the second tranche payment obligations and the partial payment made by SCR, the royalty percentage and total payable ounces to which SCR is entitled under the Silver Royalty Agreement have been increased pro rata by the amount paid (relative to the total amount payable), by 5.1% (to a total of 11.1%), and 76,500 ounces of silver (to an aggregate total of 166,500 ounces of silver), respectively.Upon payment by SCR to PPX of the remainder of the second tranche price (being US$637,000), the royalty percentage and total payable ounces will increase by an additional 3.9% (to a total of 15%) and 58,500 ounces of silver (to an aggregate total of 225,000 ounces of silver) respectively, as originally contemplated in the Silver Royalty Agreement.In consideration of the splitting and extension of the second tranche payment, the parties also amended the Silver Royalty Agreement to extend the date by which the minimum silver royalty that SCR is entitled to receive under the Silver Royalty Agreement will commence, from the original date of October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026 (subject to earlier commencement upon startup of metallurgical operations at the Beneficiation Plant).Further details regarding the Silver Royalty Agreement can be found in the Company's press releases dated December 16, 2024 and February 6, 2025 announcing closing of the First Tranche. A copy of the Royalty Agreement is available, and a copy of the Royalty Amendment will shortly be available, on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca About PPX Mining Corp: PPX Mining Corp. is a Canadian-based mining company with assets in northern Peru. Igor, the Company's 100%-owned flagship gold and silver project, is located in the prolific Northern Peru gold belt in eastern La Libertad Department.On behalf of the Board of Directors John ThomasChief Executive Officer 82 Richmond Street EastToronto, Ontario M5C 1P1Canada416-361-0737Neither 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 press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements") as such terms are defined by applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements regarding the expected closing of the second portion of the second tranche payment, expected use of proceeds to support the Company's construction activities, and future plans. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business plans and financial performance and often contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," and "intend,", statements that an action or event "may," "might," "could," "should," "would" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to many various factors. Such uncertainties and risks include, among others, delays in closing the second portion of the second tranche payment when anticipated, or at all, as well as risks inherent to production and the Company's construction activities. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company cannot guarantee that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. The timing of events and circumstances and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, one should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of today's date, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law.SOURCE: PPX Mining Corp.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / July 31, 2025 /WHY: New York, N.Y., July 31, 2025. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") of Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (OTC:RBGLY) between January 13, 2021 and July 28, 2024, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 4, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.SO WHAT: If you purchased Reckitt ADSs 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 Reckitt class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=40120or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 4, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, during the Class Period, defendants failed to warn investors and consumers: (1) that preterm infants were at an increased risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis ("NEC") by consuming Reckitt's cow's milk-based formula, Enfamil; (2) of the attendant impact on Reckitt's sales of Enfamil and Reckitt's exposure to legal claims; and (3) as a result of the above, defendants' positive statements about Reckitt's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.To join the Reckitt action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=40120 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /WHY: New York, N.Y., August 1, 2025. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the "Western Asset US Core Bond Fund" mutual fund classes - Class I (ticker: "WATFX"), Class A (ticker: "WABAX"), Class C (ticker: "WABCX"), Class FI (ticker: "WAPIX"), Class IS (ticker: "WACSX"), and Class R (ticker: "WABRX") - and the "Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund" mutual fund classes - Class A (ticker: "WAPAX"), Class C (ticker: "WAPCX"), Class C1 (ticker: "LWCPX"), Class FI (ticker: "WACIX"), Class R (ticker: "WAPRX"), Class I (ticker: "WACPX"), Class IS (ticker: "WAPSX") between January 1, 2021 and October 31, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important September 5, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.SO WHAT: If you purchased WAMCO mutual funds 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 WAMCO class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=31956 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com 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 September 5, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants failed to warn investors that: (1) defendants favored certain WAMCO strategies, like Macro Opps, over other WAMCO strategies, like Core and Core Plus; (2) defendants disfavored certain WAMCO strategies, like Core and Core Plus; (3) any "compliance policies and procedures" that WAMCO maintained "to result in fair allocations of investment opportunities to clients" were either insufficient to ensure that Leech and his WAMCO Team fairly allocated trades among the strategies they managed or were expressly disregarded by defendants in order to allow the favoring of certain WAMCO strategies at the expense of other WAMCO strategies; (3) any "oversight mechanisms" that WAMCO maintained were either insufficient to monitor Leech and his WAMCO Team or were expressly disregarded by defendants in order to allow the favoring of certain WAMCO strategies at the expense of other WAMCO strategies. As a result, defendants' actions operated as a fraud or deceit on the Class, artificially reducing the price of the "Western Asset US Core strategy" mutual fund classes during the Class Period, damaging Class members.To join the WAMCO class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=31956 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email case@ rosenlegal.com 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 FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
Evacuees return to Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia on July 31, 2025. Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issue in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said on Friday. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH/BANGKOK, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issue in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that Cambodia welcomes Thailand's proposal to hold a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) in Kuala Lumpur," Cambodian Defense Ministry's Undersecretary of State and spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said at a press briefing.

"We're very confident that this meeting will be constructive and yield fruitful outcomes," she said.

According to Socheata, Cambodia's Defense Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's Deputy Defense Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit will attend the upcoming meeting.

The office of the spokesperson of Thailand's Ministry of Defense said Thursday on social media that Deputy Minister of Defense Nattaphon Narkphanit had officially responded to "Cambodia's invitation" for a special GBC meeting.

In his reply, Nattaphon welcomed the opportunity to join the meeting and emphasized a shared commitment to reduce tensions and resolve border security issues in a peaceful and constructive manner.

On July 24, armed clashes broke out between soldiers of Cambodia and Thailand along disputed border. The two countries agreed on a ceasefire on July 28, taking effect at the midnight of July 28. 

Evacuees return to Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia on July 31, 2025. Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issue in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said on Friday. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

Evacuees return to Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia on July 31, 2025. Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issue in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said on Friday. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

Evacuees return to Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia on July 31, 2025. Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issue in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said on Friday. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)

Evacuees return to Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia on July 31, 2025. Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issue in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said on Friday. (Photo by Nitola/Xinhua)
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SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / July 31, 2025 / As Sharp Business Brokers celebrates its two-year anniversary this August, the firm has evolved from a solo operation into a thriving, multi-agent brokerage serving clients across California. Founded by award-winning broker Steve Sharp, the agency has quickly become one of the state's most respected resources for small to mid-sized business sales.Now home to a dynamic team of seven licensed agents, each with their own area of specialization, plus a dedicated executive assistant, Sharp Business Brokers is expanding its reach while staying true to its original mission: delivering smart, streamlined, and confidential business sale services with a personal touch."I realized I could either keep doing everything myself or start investing in a team," says founder Steve Sharp. "But that shift isn't easy. Moving from dealmaker to team leader means learning to extract what's in your head, that is, the instincts, the processes, the decision-making, and translate it into systems others can follow. That's why I'm constantly exploring new ideas and technologies to make our training program more scalable, consistent, and effective." Industry Recognition And Real-World ExpertiseIn recognition of his outstanding performance, Sharp was recently honored by the International Business Brokers Association (IBBA) with the prestigious Chairman's Circle Award, given to top brokers who close transactions totaling $3 million or more in a calendar year. The award was presented at the 2024 IBBA Conference and places him among the top-performing business brokers nationwide.With over 15 years of experience and certifications as both a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI) and Certified Business Broker (CBB), Sharp brings deep insight into what makes a deal successful, from pricing and positioning to buyer psychology and due diligence. His personal background includes the sale of hundreds of businesses spanning a broad range of industries, from restaurants and salons to construction companies, manufacturing firms, ecommerce brands, and service businesses, making him one of the most adaptable brokers in the region.From Entrepreneur To Agency FounderBefore launching Sharp Business Brokers in August 2023, Sharp honed his skills at three different brokerage firms, earning multiple accolades along the way. Steve Sharp has consistently ranked among the top-performing business brokers in the industry, earning multiple sales awards over the course of his career, including recognition for most businesses sold and top overall production.His track record of excellence extends far beyond brokerage, rooted in a successful entrepreneurial career that began with founding and expanding San Diego's first tanning salon chain, California Tan. He went on to create West Coast Tanning Supplies, a company that helped launch over 90% of San Diego's tanning salons through equipment sales and business consulting. After selling his company to JK Products, a leading tanning bed manufacturer based in Germany, he became their top national sales agent, earning three awards: most equipment sold, most spray tan units sold, and most financing deals closed."When I joined Business Opportunities Unlimited in 2007, I was the youngest in the office, but I had more business experience than most of the agents," Sharp recalls. "My business background allows me to connect with my clients. I've lived through what they're going through with their business." Now, as an agency owner, Sharp focuses on training new agents using the same proven strategies that brought him success. His emphasis is on creating a professional, responsive, and execution-focused culture with systems that blend efficiency with care.Tech-Forward Sales With Confidential AgencySharp Business Brokers has carved out a clear identity specializing in the sale of small to middle market businesses, typically valued under $5 million. The agency combines the structure and professionalism of a larger M&A firm with the agility and attention of a small firm, leveraging AI-enhanced tools to streamline tasks like NDA management and profile distribution while preserving the vital human touch.Clients frequently praise the firm's blend of aggressive buyer outreach, strict confidentiality, and step-by-step guidance. Each listing is strategically positioned, marketed, and managed, never just "posted and forgotten." The Team Behind The NameIn addition to Sharp, the firm's growing team includes:Michael Price, MBA - Broker Associate with strong business sales insightShawn Ko - Business Broker with 35+ years in hospitality and retailManuel Aleu, MBA - Marketing-savvy agent with a business backgroundEmil Tuniyants - Experienced agent and entrepreneur in the salon industryMaggie Pound - Accomplished real estate broker with deep San Diego rootsAlexey Chasin - Business sales agent with SaaS and entrepreneurial expertiseKatherine France - Executive Assistant with 20+ years of operations expertiseEach team member brings a unique background, allowing the firm to serve a wide range of industries and client needs with professionalism and adaptability.Looking AheadWith more entrepreneurs reaching retirement age and a growing referral base, Sharp Business Brokers continues to position itself as a leading resource for small business owners looking to sell with confidence.As the company enters its third year, founder Steve Sharp's original mission remains the same: to deliver smart, confidential, and streamlined business sale services while guiding clients through one of the most important transactions of their lives with strategy, clarity, results, and understanding.The firm serves clients throughout California, including San Diego, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Counties. By representing both buyers and sellers, Sharp Business Brokers offers a balanced perspective that helps create a smooth and rewarding experience for everyone involved.Thanks to its proven track record, personalized service, and commitment to excellence, Sharp Business Brokers has earned a reputation as a trusted leader in the business brokerage industry.Ready to Buy or Sell?Visit sharpbizbrokers.com or call (619) 454-1786 to connect with an agent.Sharp Business Brokers Let Us Guide You - From Start To Finish9619 Chesapeake Dr #200San Diego, CA 92123(619) 454-1786DRE Lic# 02221795About ITN123ITN123 is a media group and content agency that focuses on spotlighting leading professionals across industries, helping readers discover new voices and perspectives.For press inquiries, contact Camille Sharon Kleinman at press@123 itn.com SOURCE: ITN123
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 /Supreme Critical Metals Inc. (CSE:CRIT)(FWB:VR61)(OTC:VRCFF) ("Supreme" or the "Company") provides its third bi-weekly Default Status Report under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"), pursuant to which Supreme issued its original default announcement indicating that the filing of its annual audited financial statements, annual management's discussion and analysis and related certifications for the financial year ended February 28, 2025 (collectively, the "Required Filings"), would be delayed beyond the filing deadline of June 27, 2025. The Company reports that since it's news release dated July 18, 2025, there have been no material changes to the information contained therein that have not been disclosed, nor any failure by Supreme to fulfill its intentions as stated therein, other than as set forth below.As a result of circumstances reasonably linked to the Company's delay in filing the Required Filings, in addition to the default to which this Default Status Report relates, the Company did not meet the deadline for filing its interim unaudited financial statements, interim management's discussion and analysis, and related certifications for the three-month period ended May 31, 2025 (collectively, the "Interim Filings"). As a result of the Company's delay in preparing the Required Filings, the Interim Filings could not be properly completed in accordance with Canadian securities law and regulation. Under the securities laws of the provinces in which Supreme is a reporting issuer, the Interim Filings were to be filed by July 30, 2025.The Company's Board of Directors and management confirm that they are working expeditiously to meet the Company's obligations related to the filing of the Required Filings and the Interim Filings. The Company will file the Interim Filings within five business days of filing of the Required Filings.Until the Required Filings and Interim Filings have been filed, the Company intends to continue to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines specified in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of further press releases for so long as the Company remains in default of the financial statement filing requirement. In the event that the Company does not file the Required Filings and Interim Filings in a timely manner, the Canadian Securities Regulatory Authorities may impose an issuer cease trade order on the outstanding securities of the Company.About Supreme Critical Metals Inc.SUPREME CRITICAL METALS INC. is a publicly traded diversified investment corporation actively exploring and investigating multiple opportunities in lithium, copper, silver, and precious metals. The Company adheres to strategic guidelines that prioritize regions conducive to mining, supported by favourable government regulations and existing infrastructure.For further information, please contact:George Tsafalas, DirectorPhone: Toll Free 1(778) 373-8578E-mail: info@ supremecritalmetals.comwww.supremecriticalmetals.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking InformationThis news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Such forward-looking information is provided to inform the Company's shareholders and potential investors about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "anticipate", "proposed", "estimates", "would", "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "will", and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking information contain these identifying words.More particularly and without limitation, the forwardlooking information in this news release includes: (i) expectations regarding the Company's business plans and operations; (ii) expectations concerning the MCTO; and (iii) expectations regarding the timing of filing the Required Filings and the Interim Filings. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions that have been used to develop such information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the Company's current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs based on information currently available to the Company.Whether actual results, performance, or achievements will conform to Supreme's expectations and predictions is subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from Supreme's expectations. Such material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals.Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release.SOURCE: Supreme Critical Metals Inc.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / August 1, 2025 / With Intelligence recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal information entrusted to With Intelligence.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On June 28, 2025, PeopleCheck, a third-party vendor for With Intelligence, discovered that threat actors had accessed data using compromised login credentials. On July 7, 2025, PeopleCheckalerted With Intelligence that data processed on its behalf may have been affected.The impacted files may have included your name, email, internal reference name, date of birth, phone number, birth city, Social Security number, gender, mother name, and share code.On July 11, 2025, With Intelligence reported the breach to the Massachusetts Attorney General and began notifying affected individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who receive notice that their sensitive 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 With Intelligence, you are likely to be 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, LLP 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
At Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Stephanie Michael, a final-year Crop Science and Horticulture student, points toward a makeshift nursery, a thatched-roof structure supported by bamboo sticks, housing plants labelled with students names. Thats our nursery for plants, she said.

Exposed to direct sunlight and an uncontrolled environment, the plants struggle to thrive, mirroring the challenges faced by students like Ms Michael. Without a greenhouse, the Faculty of Agriculture cannot provide the controlled conditions essential for experiments, limiting both plant growth and student learning.

A greenhouse is a structure designed to regulate the temperature and humidity inside. Various types of greenhouses exist, but they all feature areas covered with transparent materials that allow sunlight to enter while retaining heat. The most common materials used in modern greenhouses for walls and roofs are rigid plastic made of polycarbonate, plastic film made of polyethylene, or glass panes.

The absence of a greenhouse severely hampers Stephanies ability to complete her final-year research project, Effects of Calcium-Based Soil Amendments on Tomato Varieties, which began in August 2024.

Her study requires a controlled environment to germinate tomato seeds in seed trays and monitor their growth. Obtaining seed trays is manageable but preserving them is difficult, as Nnamdi Azikiwe University has neither a greenhouse nor a screenhouse. Ms Michael must manually move her trays outdoors twice daily for sunlight, a labour-intensive process that disrupts her experiment.

Even if I manage to grow the seeds on the tray, replanting is a huge challenge, she told PREMIUM TIMES in April. The soil here has nematodes, water access is limited, and the plants are dying off. A functioning greenhouse would resolve these issues, providing regulated conditions for her research.

With only three months left to meet her project submission deadline, Ms Michaels challenges highlight a broader issue: inadequate infrastructure stifling the efforts of young Nigerians eager to pursue innovative practices in agriculture.

The lack of greenhouses forces students to seek costly and unreliable alternatives.

Ms Michael told PREMIUM TIMES that her uncle had promised to help her by building a screenhouse, but he later changed the plan. Instead, he offered to build it on his own farm, which is far from the university.

A screenhouse uses mesh walls and sometimes a roof, allowing natural airflow while protecting plants from pests and larger animals. While greenhouse and screenhouse may differ in mechanism, the results are the same.

This new arrangement would make it hard for Ms Michael to reach the screenhouse regularly and carry out her research properly. She would need to spend at least N3,000 every day for four months on transportation, and the farm does not have enough water or proper security, making it an unsafe and costly option.

The school environment is secure, but the farm isnt, she noted. Id need to buy water daily, and the plants require constant attention, exposing me to security risks.

The financial burden of alternatives is daunting. Ms Michael thought about building a temporary screenhouse made of bamboo, but the cost of N350,000 is twice what she pays for school each year and far beyond what she can afford.

Despite her determination to stick with her research topic, she is contemplating changing the tomato seed variety, a decision that adds to her expenses. Her passion for agriculture, undermined by these resource constraints, reflects a systemic problem faced by many students, particularly during their mandatory one-year Industrial Training (IT), where access to functional facilities is critical for practical skill development.

Limited facilities across Institutions

PREMIUM TIMES found that the issue extends beyond Nnamdi Azikiwe University. At Yakubu Gowon University (formerly University of Abuja), Joy Ogbole, a final year Agric Extension student, noted that they had a greenhouse that is only partially functional.

Greenhouses usually have irrigation systems to channel water through pipes, but ours isnt well-equipped, she said. Students must fetch water in buckets, and the facility cannot accommodate all learners, leaving some outside during practical sessions.

This lack of capacity and functionality adds stress and limits hands-on learning. Ms Ogboles experience during her IT at Golden Fingers and Ranches Farm in Zuba, where she used a fully functional greenhouse, was transformative.

There, she explained how she met students from institutions like the University of Ilorin and Ahmadu Bello University, both of which have operational greenhouses for teaching.

Not having a functional greenhouse is a setback, Ms Ogbole lamented, worrying about graduating without the skills that employers demand.

Ms Ogboles journey into agriculture began with reluctance. Admitted to study Agric Extension, she had little passion for the course until the period she spent on industrial training at Songhai Farms in Imo State exposed her to greenhouse vegetable cultivation.

I was surprised farming could be fun, she recalled. Returning to her universitys inadequate facilities, however, was disheartening.

Gen Zs dont like stress, she said, highlighting the frustration of adapting to an environment that lacks the tools to support her newfound enthusiasm.

She added that the absence of functional greenhouses not only hinders academic progress but also risks producing half-baked graduates ill-prepared for agricultural careers.

Limited Scope of Teaching

The former Head of the Crop Science Department at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Okorie Ndukwe, explained that without a greenhouse, lecturers are limited in what they can demonstrate. The lack of greenhouses has a ripple effect on teaching

When students see evidence that something works, it inspires learning, he said in April. He believes greenhouses could also drive community development by showcasing practical agricultural solutions.

He added that its not just about the students; even the lecturers cannot compete with their counterparts globally when they need greenhouses to conduct experiments for their research work.

If we can get a screenhouse, we will be glad, the don, now dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the university, said.

The Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the university, Uko Ibeabuchi, noted that the faculty has repeatedly sought funding from the university and private donors for a greenhouse, to no avail.

Not having a greenhouse impacts our accreditation, he said, referencing the National Universities Commission (NUC) requirement for such facilities in crop science programmes.

Donald Iheaturu, another lecturer at the faculty, added that greenhouses are integral to the newly adopted Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), underscoring their necessity for compliance and quality education.

Mr Iheaturu highlighted that the cost of constructing a standard greenhouse is more than N20 million. He noted that there is a standard greenhouse at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) where it is used for research.

One standard greenhouse I know is in IITA, thats because of the research, and they also have power to keep the environment controlled, he said.

Strides So far

While some Nigerian institutions are making progress in agricultural education, the overall progress is inconsistent.

In February 2025, Kaduna State University received a grant to construct two greenhouses, and Obafemi Awolowo University partnered with the West Africa Hub to establish innovation hubs, including greenhouses, aimed at engaging youth in agriculture. Similarly, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture has utilised greenhouses for crop production.

However, not all institutions are effectively leveraging these facilities.

For instance, Anambra State Polytechnic, Mgbakwu, has a functioning greenhouse, but it is not utilised by students. Instead, the First Lady of Anambra State, Nonye Soludo, repurposed the facility for her Healthy Living project. While this initiative may have positive impacts, it deviates from the greenhouses original purpose as a student learning facility.

The farm manager at the Anambra Polytechnic, Udoka Aruonu, told PREMIUM TIMES that the greenhouse was previously used for preparing nurseries. He noted a lack of student engagement, stating, There is a course in Science Laboratory Technology (SLT) that requires students to visit the greenhouse for one semester, but they rarely go there.

He attributed this to students limited interest and highlighted operational challenges, saying, The facility lacks water and adequate manpower. We need more workers to maintain it. Despite these issues, Mr Aruonu observed that when students see water dripping in the greenhouse, they get excited, as some have never seen crops grown this way, which sparks their interest in studying agriculture.

The exact number of tertiary institutions with greenhouses remains unclear, as neither the National Universities Commission (NUC) nor the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) responded to PREMIUM TIMES request seeking details of the data. The systemic failure to provide greenhouses and screenhouses, mandatory for accrediting agricultural science faculties, discourages aspiring agriculturists and undermines Nigerias potential to harness youth interest in agriculture.

In response to the letter sent to the NUC, Folorunsho Ariyo, an official of the commission, said the NUC does not have the details.

Students like Ms Michael and Ms Ogbole, who are eager to contribute to food security and innovation, are hindered by outdated facilities. The challenges have forced Ms Michael to abandon her project topic and choose a new one that does not require a greenhouse, while Ms Ogbole recently finished her final examination at the university. Their experiences highlight a broader need for investment in agricultural education infrastructure to empower the next generation of Nigerian farmers.

Potentials of Greenhouse farming

Oluwatosin Aretola, head agronomist at Tolashol Ventures Limited, says greenhouse farming is transforming food production and education within Nigerian university communities. According to Mr Aretola, greenhouses ensure the year-round availability of fresh produce, helping universities overcome seasonal farming limitations.

This consistent supply of fruits and vegetables improves nutrition for students and staff, he explained.

By cultivating food within campus grounds, institutions can also reduce their dependence on external supply chains, shielding themselves from price fluctuations, transport disruptions, and insecurity. On a national scale, he emphasised that greenhouse farming holds the potential to address Nigerias food deficits, particularly for vegetables like tomatoes and bell peppers.

Greenhouses can produce yields up to 30 times higher than open-field farms and allow production throughout the year, he said.

David Obiakor, chief technology officer at Agrokulture Consults (AKC), explained that greenhouse systems offer enhanced control over planting and harvest schedules, better protection against pests and diseases, and higher returns on investment compared to traditional open-field farming.

He noted that if more institutions adopt greenhouse practices, they will create employment opportunities for technicians, farm managers, and skilled workers involved in constructing and operating these facilities. This, he said, could help tackle youth unemployment while equipping students with practical skills that complement their academic learning.

Mr Obiakor emphasised that greenhouse farming can also improve food security by enabling universities to produce enough fresh food to feed their communities, reducing pressure on external markets and potentially lowering food prices. He highlighted success stories such as soilless farms in Abeokuta, where greenhouse operations have provided sustainable incomes for years. To scale up these benefits, Mr Obiakor urged the government to designate protected agricultural zones and invest in policies that support greenhouse adoption.

If universities commit to this model, greenhouse farming can drive sustainable employment, strengthen local food systems, and boost the economy without disrupting academic performance, he said.

This reporting was completed with the support of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has endorsed a new ward-based development approach aimed at accelerating grassroots development and lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty.

The initiative, known as the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme (RHWDP), was adopted Thursday at the 150th meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC), held at the State House in Abuja.

The RHWDP targets Nigerias 8,809 administrative wards across the 36 states and is designed to serve as a direct intervention mechanism for poverty alleviation, food security, rural electrification, infrastructure improvement, and economic stimulation.

It is a key plank of Mr Tinubus broader Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

In his remarks at the meeting, President Tinubu urged governors to focus more on the welfare of ordinary Nigerians and invest heavily in critical sectors such as agricultural mechanisation, rural power supply, poverty eradication, and education.

I want to appeal to you; let us change the story of our people in the rural areas. The economy is working. We are on the path of recovery, but we need to stimulate growth in the rural areas, the President said. Let us collaborate and do what will benefit the people.

President Tinubu also called for the expansion of school feeding programmes to boost enrolment and reduce child poverty. He directed NEC to establish a special committee to fast-track the execution of national legacy infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar and Sokoto-Badagry Super Highways.

To support the seamless implementation of these projects, Mr Tinubu ordered the transfer of the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation to the presidency.

The RHWDP, presented to the Council by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, seeks to drive double-digit economic growth through active participation of federal, state, and local governments.

The programme mandates minimum economic activity thresholds per ward1,000 for smaller wards and 2,000 for larger onessupported by a National Steering Committee and the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning as secretariat.

The legal foundation for the programme is drawn from the 1999 Constitution and the Fifth Alteration Act, which directs government policy towards improved production methods and food security.

In another resolution, NEC directed the strengthening of State Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and asked the Federal Ministry of Finance to release emergency funds to mitigate anticipated flooding, following a presentation by the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Zubaida Umar.

The ward development strategy marks a significant shift in Nigerias approach to inclusive growth, with emphasis on bottom-up development and deeper collaboration between all tiers of government.
The federal government has warned residents in parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and neighbouring states of Niger, Nasarawa, and Kaduna to brace for potential flooding as heavy rainfall threatens high-risk communities.

The National Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), a unit under the Federal Ministry of Environment, issued the alert on Thursday, cautioning residents to take preventive measures to reduce the risk of loss of life and property.

According to FEWS, flood-prone areas in the FCT include Asokoro, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Damagaza, Garki 1 and 2, Guzape, Wuse 1 and 2, Gwarinpa, Nyanya, the Central Business District (CBD), and Kubwa.

In Niger State, areas likely to be affected include Suleja, Mashegu, Sarkin Pawa, and Rijau, while in Nasarawa State, high-risk areas include Mararaba, Gidan Rogo, Wamba, Agima, Rukubi, and Odogbo.

In Kaduna, Zaria, Jaji, Kauru, Kachia, and Buruku, residents have been advised to stay alert.

The unit warned that the locations listed will likely witness heavy rainfall that may lead to flooding between 31 July and 4 August.

Response

In response, the acting Director-General of the Federal Emergency Management Department (FEMD), Abdulrahman Mohammed, said he has placed the Departments Search and Rescue Team on red alert to forestall the loss of life in the event of heavy floods.

Mr Mohammed also appealed to residents not to drive or wade into a pool of water.

He urged residents to avoid walking or driving through flooded areas and advised them to clear drains around their premises. Please wait for the water to recede or use an alternative route. Please clear your drains to ensure free flow of water.

Cases of flooding

The listed areas have all experienced recurring flood disasters in recent years, largely driven by a combination of extreme weather, poor drainage, and unregulated construction on floodplains.

In Abuja, urban districts like Garki, Wuse, Nyanya, and Gwarinpa have seen repeated flash floods, often worsened by blocked drains and building violations that obstruct natural water channels. For example, flooding in Lugbes Trademoore Estate has become an annual crisis, with incidents in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024 resulting in widespread destruction and displacements.

Nasarawa State has also faced some of the countrys most devastating floods. In 2022, more than 350,000 people were displaced by floodwaters, which submerged homes and farmlands, especially in Toto, Lafia, and Doma. In late 2023, another wave of floods destroyed over 60 homes. Health agencies have flagged growing concerns over waterborne diseases in affected camps for the displaced.

In Niger State, flooding in 2025 has already claimed hundreds of lives. In Mokwa, a major flood in May claimed over 150 lives, displaced at least 3,018 people, and 265 houses were completely destroyed. Other vulnerable communities like Suleja and Sarkin Pawa have faced similar destruction due to dam releases and poor flood management.
The National Chairman of the Federal Health Institutions sector of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Murakiyo Olajide, has debunked claims that the union has suspended its ongoing nationwide strike.

Several media organisations had reported on Friday that nurses had agreed to suspend the strike following a closed-door meeting with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr Olajide described the reports as false, insisting that the union has not taken any decision to suspend the strike.

It is not true. We have procedures in place whenever we initiate or suspend strike actions. Those procedures have not been followed, and the union has not issued any statement to that effect, he said.

Mr Olajide noted that although a meeting was held with government officials earlier in the day, union leaders are still consulting widely with various subgroups before a final decision is made.

After todays meeting, we are expected to go back and meet with our subgroups, and then come back to the government with our position, he added.

Corroborating Mr Olajides position, the Chairperson of NANNM at the National Hospital, Abuja, Joe Akipi, also told PREMIUM TIMES that the strike has not been suspended.

We did not go on strike under anyones instruction, and we will not call it off under anyones instruction except from our union leaders. Whatever is being circulated is not true. We have not received any official communication from our national leadership, she said in a voice message.

According to the two officials, as of Friday evening, the strike was still on.

Strike impact, field observations

During the week, PREMIUM TIMES visited several public hospitals in Abuja and Lagos to assess the impact of the strike. Across multiple facilities, outpatient units were shut, with reports of cancelled or rescheduled appointments, and patients turned away due to reduced staffing.

In some hospitals, nurses who remained on duty said they were only attending to critical cases, while others relied on skeletal or locum staff to manage basic services.

Patients expressed frustration over the disruptions and uncertainty surrounding their healthcare.

Background

The seven-day warning strike, which began on 29 July, was declared by the NANNM-Federal Health Institutions Sector (NANNM-FHI) after the federal government failed to act on a 15-day ultimatum issued on 14 July.

The strike, affecting public health institutions nationwide, was prompted by concerns over poor welfare, inadequate working conditions, and unresolved grievances.

Key demands include the reversal of a 27 June circular by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), adjustment of shift and call duty allowances, mass recruitment of nurses, implementation of a 25 per cent CONHESS adjustment for nurses in Oyo State, and improved hazard allowances, especially at the local government level.

In Lagos, the impact was further compounded by a separate three-day warning strike by doctors under the Medical Guild, who protested unexplained salary deductions and other welfare concerns.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the overlap of both actions significantly affected services in many public hospitals across the state.

The NANNM strike is scheduled to last until 5 August, with state chapters threatening to join if negotiations with the government fail.
President Bola Tinubu has directed the transfer of the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF) from the Ministry of Works to the Presidency.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced this after Thursdays Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by the president.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the directive aims to streamline geospatial data management and ensure more direct oversight of national mapping and land administration priorities.

Although the minister did not provide detailed reasons for the reassignment, the move aligns with the administrations reform agenda and growing reliance on geospatial intelligence for planning, infrastructure development, and security mapping.

The OSGoF is the countrys official mapping agency, responsible for providing geospatial information, data, and services.

(NAN)
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved contracts worth N987 billion for extensive infrastructure upgrades at airports across Nigeria.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this following Thursdays FEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.

He explained that the projects would be funded through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.

Today, it was the turn of aviation to receive the kind attention of the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund.

We are very grateful that His Excellency the President has focused on aviation for massive infrastructural upgrades across the country.

The centrepiece of the upgrades is the complete rehabilitation and modernisation of International Terminal One at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The terminal will be stripped down to its structural frame and rebuilt to meet international standards.

We have decided to strip it down to only the carcass and then redo the entire mechanical and electrical systems, he added.

He said the project, fully funded by the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund, had been awarded to CCECC, the company responsible for constructing Terminal Two in Lagos.

Terminal Two will also be expanded to include a new apron, access roads, bridges, and related infrastructure.

The total cost of rehabilitating Lagos airports will amount to N712.26 billion, with an expected completion timeframe of 22 months.

FEC also approved upgrades at Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, including the rehabilitation of both runways and taxiways.

The project involves upgrading the airfield ground lighting to Category 2 (CAT 2) standards.

This upgrade, costing N46.39 billion and scheduled for completion within 24 weeks, is expected to significantly enhance flight safety, especially during the hazy harmattan seasons that have historically caused delays and cancellations.

With the navigational aids we are bringing to Kano, aircraft can land even in very hazy weather, he added.

A major security enhancement was also approved for Lagos airport: a 14.6 km perimeter fence equipped with CCTV, solar floodlights, intrusion detection systems, and patrol roads.

This security project is valued at nearly N50 billion and will take 24 months to complete.

Port Harcourt International Airport will undergo runway and taxiway rehabilitation, with upgraded airfield lighting to CAT 2 standards.

The project, costing N42.14 billion, will improve safety and operations during adverse weather conditions.

Mr Keyamo also announced FECs approval for the full business case for a 30-year concession of Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu.

(NAN)
A human rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FG) to fully integrate Shariah courts into the countrys judicial system.

The Muslim rights advocacy group contended that the countrys judicial system as currently operated is lopsided because Shariah is denied in certain parts of the country whereas common law courts are available all over the country.

The group therefore called on the Federal Government to treat Shariah courts like federal courts by establishing Shariah courts directly in all states of the federation, the same way federal high courts were established in them.

Making this appeal on Friday, 1 August, 2025, was the Executive Director of the Islamic human rights advocacy group, Ishaq Akintola, a professor.

He said:

The issue of Shariah continues to stir concern among Muslim communities. One of the questions recently raised is the fact that the Federal Government still went ahead to establish federal high courts in all states despite their existence at state level. It is also well known that the state and federal high courts exist in all states whereas Shariah only exists in the North. There is no single Shariah court anywhere in the South.

This implies that although Nigerian Muslims accommodate and tolerate common law courts which originated from Christianity, Nigerian Christians refuse to accommodate or tolerate Shariah courts. This amounts to denial of access to justice for Muslims while Christians enjoy full access to their own justice system.

The onus is therefore on FG to ensure that Muslims are not shortchanged by ensuring that the judicial system is neither selective nor exclusive. The current system whereby all parts of the country accept one judicial system (common law courts) while another system (Shariah) is only allowed to operate in only one part of the country is discriminatory, unfair, unjust and therefore unacceptable.

It shows clearly that full integration of Muslims and their way of life is still lacking in our society whereas Christian way of life has been allowed to dominate the Nigerian ecosystem.

The question that may arise from this conversation is What happens if Nigerian Muslims also insist on parity? What happens if they start to set conditions for them to accept any legal system other than their own? What happens if they make acceptance of Shariah courts in the South a condition for accepting Christian common law courts in the North and in predominantly Muslim communities?

MURIC advises FG not to wait until Nigerian Muslims start asking those legitimate questions before integrating Shariah courts into the Nigerian judicial system. Of course they are legitimate questions.

They are legitimate questions because there is no democracy without participation, without inclusiveness. The Nigerian constitution recognizes the tripartite nature of our judicial system: Christian common law, Shariah and customary law. Both Christian common law and customary law are already prominently featured all over the country but Shariah is restricted to the North thereby robbing Southern Muslims chances of participating in the nations judicial exercise.

It amounts to judicial apartheid against millions of Muslims in the South as well as imposition of Christian law on Northern Muslims. It may be argued that Northern Muslims have an alternative in the existing Shariah courts in their region but so could Southern Christians have an alternative in the existing Christian common law courts in their region but they are so intolerant that they refuse to allow Shariah courts in their region.

But what happens if Northern Muslims now elect to be as difficult as Southern Christians? We all know that life goes on in the world because we all recognize the essence of the social rule which says rub my back I rub your back. What if Northern Muslims play the card if you refuse to rub my back I will stop rubbing your back too?

Christian law courts in the North will become empty the day the region refuses to pay judges in the court and transfer court staff, registrar and clerks, to the Shariah courts.

Afterall the Christian Common law courts in the North survive on taxes paid by Northern Muslims. Ironically, too, the same courts in the South are funded with tax paid by both Muslims and Christians in the South. The money is used to run the Christian courts only even though Muslims also pay whereas their own Shariah courts are not beneficiaries. Is that justice?

Meanwhile state governors in the South have always ignored that section of the Constitution which stipulates the establishment of Shariah courts in all states that desire it to mean where the governor desires it. They simply refuse to implement it despite constant outcries for it coming from Muslims in their states. The way out is for FG to take up that responsibility in the name of fairness, justice and equity by establishing Shariah Federal Courts.

In as much as it is true that Nigeria runs a tripartite judicial system, as far as it is a reality that Southern Muslims also pay tax, if it is a fact that Section 275, 276 and 277 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stipulates the establishment of Shariah courts in all states of the federation, the onus is on FG to treat Shariah courts as federal courts by establishing Shariah Federal Courts in all states.

FG should treat Shariah courts like federal courts by establishing Shariah courts directly in all states of the federation the same way federal high courts were established in them.

We are thinking outside the box. If FG can have its own high courts in all states running parri passu with state high courts, nothing stops the same FG, as father of all, from establishing Shariah Federal Courts in each state, at least to pacify aggrieved Muslims who have been denied access to justice for decades. Only thus can Shariah be fully integrated into the countrys judicial system, only thus can justice be strongly entrenched, and justice is the soul of peace.

#ShariahCourts

#GiveUsShariahFederalCourtsNow

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Founder/Executive Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
CCTV: On July 31, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions against officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) because they take actions to internationalize the conflict with Israel such as through the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, continue to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence and provide payments and benefits in support of terrorism. The U.S. said it is in their national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable. Whats Chinas comment?

Guo Jiakun: China is appalled by the U.S. sanctioning officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). We find it disappointing and hard to understand that the U.S. keeps turning a blind eye to the international effort for peace. The question of Palestine lies at the heart of the Middle East issue. It is a matter of international fairness and justice. As the Palestinian question is at a crucial historical juncture, the international community, the U.S. in particular, should uphold justice and fairness, take on responsibility, earnestly implement relevant U.N. resolutions, and make an active effort for the proper settlement of the question rather than do the opposite.

China firmly supports the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights, the PAs effective jurisdiction over all of Palestines territory, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the comprehensive, just and lasting settlement to the Palestinian question on the basis of the two-State solution. China will continue to work with the international community to make relentless efforts for that.

China Daily: Its reported that Kosovo recently arrested Igor Popovic, Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the government of Serbia, and the French foreign ministry said in a statement that it hopes to see Igor Popovic released as soon as possible. Whats Chinas comment?

Guo Jiakun: We follow the arrest of Mr. Igor Popovic and noted the statements released by the French foreign ministry and the EU. We hope to see the safe release of Mr. Popovic. China respects Serbias sovereignty and territorial integrity, and believes that the security and lawful rights and interests of the Serbs in Kosovo should be safeguarded. We hope that parties will continue to engage in practical and constructive dialogue within the framework of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, actively seek a lasting solution to the Kosovo issue, and refrain from taking unilateral actions that may lead to tensions.

Shenzhen TV: The Cyber Security Association of China today disclosed two cases of the U.S. government launching cyberattacks against China via countries including Germany, the ROK, Singapore, and the Netherlands. It is also revealed that state-level APT groups overseas launched over 600 cyberattacks on important Chinese agencies in 2024, infiltrating Chinas key information infrastructure and information systems. Whats Chinas comment?

Guo Jiakun: We noted the report. It is the latest evidence of the U.S. governments malicious cyberattacks on China, once again shows that the U.S. is the top cyber threat faced by China and exposes the U.S.s hypocrisy on the issue of cybersecurityclaiming itself to be the victim while its the other way around. China will continue to do what is necessary to safeguard its cybersecurity.

We also noted that the U.S. used its allies in Europe and in China neighboring region to launch the cyberattacks. China always believes that cybersecurity is a common challenge faced by all countries and requires joint response through dialogue and cooperation.

Global Times: Its reported that recently, Hugo Meza, Vice President of Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies, said publicly that Paraguay is wasting time with Taiwan, which China holds for a province. He has called for a national debate on developing relations with China on the basis of national interests. He said Paraguay should stop being a beggar country for cooperation with the Taiwan authorities. Whats Chinas response?

Guo Jiakun: China noted relevant reports. Weve heard similar voices more than once. Relevant statements reflect what many in Paraguay strongly want.

In recent years, more and more Paraguayan friends have come to realize that Paraguay should stop being an outlier of the international community and turning its back on China. We hope the Paraguayan government will listen to their voices and make the right choice that truly serves the fundamental and long-term interests of Paraguay and its people. We also welcome more Paraguayan friends to visit China and experience first-hand a thriving China and an open and inclusive Chinese civilization as it is.

AFP: U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing tariffs on a large number of countries. Whats the Ministrys comment?

Guo Jiakun: Chinas opposition to the abuse of tariffs is consistent and clear. Tariff and trade wars have no winners. Protectionism is in no ones interests.

The Associated Press: I want to ask about the reports that the U.S. has opened an FBI office in New Zealand and the remark by the FBI director that this could be a way to counter Chinas influence in the region.

Guo Jiakun: We noted the reports and are shocked by relevant remarks. China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party. Seeking absolute security for a few in the name of countering China will not make the Asia-Pacific or the world safer. Relevant sides need to choose the course of action that is conducive to enhancing mutual trust and cooperation between countries, instead of the other way around.

AFP: In the executive order, Trump also announced a 40 percent tariff on goods rerouted to bypass tariff levies, which may affect Chinese exports. Whats the Ministrys comment?

Guo Jiakun: I just answered relevant question. China remains of the view that tariff and trade wars have no winners. Protectionism harms the common interests of all countries.

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During the summer, there will be no MFA regular press conference from August 4 to 15 and the press conference resumes on August 18.

During this period, journalists may submit questions to the Spokespersons Office via fax, E-mail or WeChat. Notice on any special press briefing will be put on the website of the MFA International Press Center.

Wish all journalists a pleasant summer.
GUANGZHOU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong has called for all-out efforts to secure a decisive victory over the outbreak of Chikungunya fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease, and to effectively safeguard people's health.

Liu made the remarks during a tour to inspect relevant epidemic prevention and control work in south China's Guangdong Province from Thursday to Friday.

Liu visited Shunde District of Foshan City -- an area that has been severely affected by the outbreak -- and inspected a local disease control and prevention center, as well as communities and hospitals, to learn about work related to disease prevention, patient treatment, mosquito control and raising public awareness. He also chaired a meeting on further plans to fight the disease.

Noting that epidemic control efforts are now at a critical stage, Liu urged efforts to curb imported cases and prevent the spread of Chikungunya both within and outside affected regions.

Scientific, effective mosquito eradication and prevention work should be carried out, Liu said, stressing the need to eliminate the breeding environment for mosquito reproduction. He also ordered thorough epidemiological investigations to sever chains of transmission.

He called for strict quarantine measures at ports to prevent imported cases, and for appropriate medical treatment for those who contract Chikungunya.

Chikungunya fever is an acute infectious disease caused by the Chikungunya virus, with clinical symptoms including fever, rashes and joint pains. The virus is transmitted to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes. 
President Bola Tinubu has approved N712.3 billion for the comprehensive upgrade of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos as part of effort to revamp the aviation sector in the country under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund.

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, disclosed this while addressing State House journalists on the outcomes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

The minister explained that the project would mark the first full-scale rehabilitation of the Lagos airports old terminal building since inception.

This is not a patchwork. Were stripping the building down to its carcass and rebuilding with full mechanical, electrical, and plumbing works, he said.

He emphasised that the contract has been awarded to CCECC, the same Chinese firm behind the construction of Terminal 2 at the airport, reiterating that the scope of the tasks also includes apron expansion, construction of access roads and bridges around the facility.

The aviation minister noted that the project is expected to be completed within 22 months.

Additionally, he said the domestic wing apron of the airport will be expanded over a three-phase project totalling more than 82,000 square metres, valued at N24.3 billion, to accommodate more aircraft.

He explained that the airport upgrade includes runway rehabilitation and lighting enhancement in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano, so as to improve the landing capability of aircraft during low-visibility conditions like the Harmattan season.

This is a heartwarming moment for the aviation sector, the elated minister said, describing the investment as the largest coordinated aviation infrastructure upgrade in Nigerias recent history.

Enugu Airport Concession

The minister further disclosed that the federal government has approved a 30-year concession for the Akano Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, in a bid to inject private capital into underperforming aviation assets in the country.

Mr Keyamo noted that this followed an unsolicited proposal from the Aero Alliance Consortium for both the passenger terminal and the unfinished cargo terminal at the southeastern airport.

The aviation minister said the concession marks the beginning of a broader strategy to involve the private sector in managing smaller airports that are currently operating at a loss.

It is no secret that the government spends the profits from Lagos, Abuja and Kano to keep smaller airports running. This model is unsustainable, he said.

He added that the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model would focus particularly on developing the non-aeronautical revenues at the airport  including shopping malls, conference centers, and other commercial hubs.

The move to concession some airports in the country by the previous administration has generated intense debates among aviation sector stakeholders, Nigerians and the legislative arm of government.

In May 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari, during a FEC meeting, approved the concession of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano, to the Corporacion American Airport Consortium. But this was faulted and condemned by the Senate, recommending that the federal government review the concession exercise and give a level playing field to all stakeholders in the aviation industry.

In September 2023, Mr Keyamo announced that the airport concession moves had been temporarily halted.

A year after, Mr Keyamo announced that the Mr Tinubu administration will review the Buhari administrations concessioning of two major airports to make it more transparent.

We are starting the process of concession of airports all over again to make it more transparent, the minister said at the time, adding that bureaucracy cannot run public infrastructure.

On Thursday, the minister told Journalists that the full business case for the concessioning of the Enugu airport was approved by the council, but that the government promised further transparency when finalising the agreement.

We will reveal all the players, their roles, and capacities. Weve carried the unions along from the very beginning, he said.

Perimeter Surveillance

Similarly, the minister announced that the FEC has approved a N49.9 billion project to secure the perimeter of Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport, amid growing concerns over runway incursions and wildlife hazards.

He said the initiative, under the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund, will see the construction of a 14.6-kilometre metal security fence, solar-powered floodlights, and intruder detection systems linked to a centralised command centre.

There have been too many near misses  aircraft encountering animals or unauthorized persons on runways, the aviation minister said, referring to recent incidents at other airports where aircraft hit deer during landing.

The surveillance system we are introducing will be the kind you find in modern airports  any movement along the fence line triggers an alert, he explained.

He noted that the installation will also include CCTV coverage, an operational road, and a sophisticated intrusion detection suite, ensuring that human patrols are no longer needed.

The project, he said, is scheduled for completion in 24 months and that it is part of a larger infrastructure renewal plan that includes runway and lighting upgrades in Port Harcourt (N42.1 billion), Kano (N46.3 billion), and Lagos (N44.1 billion)  all aimed at achieving Category 2 Instrument Landing Systems (CAT II) to mitigate delays caused by poor weather.
A former deputy governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Olujimi, has said the rhetoric deployed by Peter Obi in 2023 will not stop President Bola Tinubu being re-elected in 2027.

Mrs Olujimi, a former senator who represented Ekiti South District from 2015 to 2023, spoke when she appeared as a guest on Channels TVs Politics Today on Thursday night.

2023 election

During the 2023 general election, Mr Obi, the then presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), came third in the poll amid huge support from many Nigerians.

Many attribute his performance to his eloquence during the campaigns ahead of the last election.

But Mrs Olujimi, during the TV programme, said the technique would not pose any threat to Mr Tinubus reelection in the 2027 election.

The rhetoric of the last election will not work again (in 2027), except he comes with another gimmick. And you see, this (Tinubu) is a politician, a man who knows the terrain well, she said when asked about Mr Obis chances.

The senator, who recently defected to the APC from PDP, said it would be difficult to beat Mr Tinubu in 2027 given the presidents political experience.

This is the first time we are having a dyed-in-the-wool politician as president. He knows his onions; he knows all of us. He has been in the system for very long. Its tough.

This is a man who has worked with everyone, who has been useful to everyone, who has had opportunities to assist governments. Beating him? Uphill task, she said.

Why I joined APC

Mrs Olujimi, who served as the deputy governor of Ekiti State from 2005 to 2006 under the PDP platform, explained that she joined the APC because the partys leadership is now pragmatic and resolute.

When reminded how she criticised the APC in the past, the former deputy governor said: The APC we talked about in the past, the government that was in power then, is not the current one in power. There is a different APC now.

This government is pragmatic. Its resolute, its taking tough decisions and running with the decisions. Its not like other governments  taking tough decisions and when people start to complain, dropping it and making them comfortable again, going back to the old ways.

Rather, its taking the bull by the horns and moving on, and that is what I saw in the new APC. I am telling you that it is this government that made me join the APC, not any other.

Mrs Olujimi said she left PDP because the party lost traction, pointing out that she would rather leave PDP than remain in the party and work against it.

ADC has no structures

Mrs Olujimi said she did not consider joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) because the party was not properly anchored.

The ADC was recently adopted as the platform for the Opposition Coalition Group ahead of the 2027 general elections.

But the former senator said the ADC lacks the required structure to win elections.

ADC could not have worked for me. All the leaders there are my friends and my leaders.

But it is not properly anchored. The structures are not there, she said.

Mrs Olujimi said she would have preferred that such a coalition happened in the PDP where the structures were very distinct and clear for election victory.

But nothing like that happened. I would now go from number two to number five and then start looking for structures at the unit level, at the ward level, at the local government level, and at the state level, when the primaries for the presidential election are just around the corner, she explained.
The police have arrested Joseph Eriki, the director of Investigation and Prosecution of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), over alleged land fraud.

Mr Eriki was arrested alongside Boniface Agwu. Both men are currently in custody until their arraignment for criminal conspiracy, criminal trespass and forgery.

Other suspects are said to be at large

Messrs Eriki and Agwu were charged alongside Ikechukwu Kanu, Donatec Electrical Company Limited, Super Structure Limited, Weatherfield Engineering, Marine Service Limited, Asher Information Services Limited, Prince Isaac Omoluwa, Nwaimoneye Augustine Onyisi, Sarajo Aliyu, and Ogbole Michael.

They were alleged to have unlawfully entered Plot 461  470 and 486-496 belonging to Etha Ventures and put up structures with the intention of defrauding Etha Ventures.

According to the prosecution, to actualise their intent, the defendants fraudulently secured a consent judgment in suit number FCT/HC/CV/240/2018, given the title of Plot 1406 (461-470 and 486-496) Sabon Lugbe East Layout, Abuja, to Super Structures Limited.

Justice Suleiman Belgore of the FCT High Court Garki had, on 27 May, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the defendants so that they could appear in court for their arraignment on a 9-count charge of alleged land grabbing.

The prosecution counsel, David Kaswe, had told the court that the defendants were on administrative bail.

He said they had been duly informed of the charges against them and that all efforts to bring them to court had been abortive.

READ ALSO: FCTA to begin mandatory hepatitis screening for food handlers in Abuja

On 4 June, defence counsel CS Ekeocha and EE Apeh promised to produce his clients for arraignment.

Mr Belgore restated his earlier order for the arrest of the defendants, in spite of the promises given by some of the counsel.

After four consecutive adjournments, Mr Belgore fixed 30 October for the definite arraignment.

(NAN)
The ambiguity surrounding some recent court judgments has accentuated the call for clarity in judicial pronouncements.

No doubt, over the years, the judiciary has creditably acquitted itself as the final arbiter.

The judiciary has held its head high in the resolution of disputes, interpretation of laws, binding decisions, enforcement of rights, finality of judgments, checks and balances.

However, many stakeholders are worried that when court judgments are not concise and clear, they create room for multiple, jaundiced and conflicting interpretations.

In such situations, the parties torpedo the ambiguous judgments to suit their interests, making enforcement an uphill task.

In this context, court judgments on Senate vs Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Labour Party leadership tussle come to the fore.

In the latter, both Julius Abure and Nenadi Usman lay claim to victory after the Supreme Court judgment; in the former, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan claims the court ordered her reinstatement, while the Senate insists there is no subsisting court order mandating the Senate to recall her.

Following a 4 July judgment, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan attempted to resume legislative activities at the National Assembly on 22 July but was prevented by armed security agents at the complex entry points.

Irked by the uncertainty, a member of the House of Representatives, Clement Jimbo, (APC- Akwa Ibom), called for further judicial clarity in the ongoing legal impasse between the Senate and the suspended Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan.

He made the call in a motion on a personal explanation raised during the plenary recently.

Mr Jimbo called for greater clarity and consistency in the delivery of judicial judgments across Nigeria, alleging an increasing trend of court judgments being delivered with ambiguities subject to different interpretations.

He argued that court judgments should be simple, without ambiguity and not open to multiple interpretations, as it could sow confusion and weaken the rule of law.

Mr Jimbo warned that the judiciarys credibility was at stake if judgments continued to lack the clarity necessary for enforcement, especially in politically sensitive cases.

As members of parliament with the constitutional mandate to make laws for the good governance, prosperity and security of our nation, it is imperative we draw attention to these perceived inconsistencies from our judiciary.

There is also an urgent need to recalibrate the template on which judgments of our courts are written, expressed and delivered, to clearly convey the intentions of our judges, he said.

Legal practitioners are also weighing in on the puzzle of clarity in court verdicts.

Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said it had become imperative for the courts to avoid opacity in making pronouncements.

He said that such clarity would not create room for misinterpretations and obduracy

The various courts should make orders explicit, clear, lucid, unambiguous and intelligible in such a way that no doubt is entertained as to the import and purport of the judgment.

Many Nigerians do not ordinarily desire to obey court judgments; it becomes worse if a window of opportunity, however tiny, is opened for them through ambiguous judgments.

They will quickly latch on it and continue their intransigence and contumacy, he said.

Some legal luminaries, however, argue that such confusion emanates from deliberate angling of judgments by the parties.

Uchenna Njoku, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said that just like laws everywhere, Nigerian laws were not self-enforcing.

We need to have good disposition to comply with the laws; to see to it that the letters of the laws are properly observed and kept, the same with court judgments

The judgments of their lordships are clear; they are lucid.

When you see different interpretations, more often than not, it is parties skewing interpretations of the judgment in a manner to favour a position they want to project.

But the court judgments are clear; their lordships are trained in the art of delivering judgments that are lucid.

As we read the law reports, we see clearly what their lordships have said.

He said that the solution lay in avoiding subjective interpretations of court judgments.

Mr Njoku argued that the parties know the issues that were submitted to the court.

When you read the judgment, it is those issues that the court determined.

Stay within the issues; often than not, you see people take the judgment and begin to foist it on circumstances that were not considered in that case.

This is why, long ago, and in several decisions after decisions, the Supreme Court has warned: do not take what is decided in a case to foist on another where the facts and circumstances are different; do not give interpretation outside what is on the face of the document.

According to him, the courts are lucid in their judgments.

He said it behoved the parties to be honest in approaching what the courts had said.

For example, if I go to court today and the issue I have presented borders on trespass, if the court determines that issue was trespass, that is where I should stay within.

The court may not have addressed the issue of ownership because I did not present the issue of ownership.

Let the judgment say what it says on the face of it and let everybody go with it.

Of course, if parties have issues as to interpretation of a judgment, they go back to the court and ask for any clarification, if any of such arises.

But more often than not, on the things I have seen being interpreted here and there, I think if we want to be sincere to ourselves, we can see clearly what the court has said, Mr Njoku said.

In the broader perspective, the issue of ambiguity in court judgments is not limited to Nigeria alone; it is almost a global concern.

Writing for the Bar&Bench, a publication of the Indian Judiciary, Ummar Jamal made submissions that aptly correlate with the Nigerian situation.

Mr Jamal said that complex legal language obscured the rationale behind judicial decisions, leading to a lack of transparency within the legal system.

When judgments are written in clear, simple language, they become more transparent, allowing citizens to understand the basis for court rulings.

This transparency fosters trust in the judiciary and holds judges accountable for their decisions, as they are required to articulate their reasoning in a manner accessible to all.

Judgments serve not only as legal precedents, but also as guides for compliance and implementation.

When judgments are written in easy language, it becomes easier for individuals, organisations and government agencies to understand their rights and obligations under the law.

Clarity in legal documentation reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation or confusion, thereby promoting adherence to court rulings and facilitating the effective enforcement of laws.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court speaks on allegation linking justices Benin visit to Edo election case

He said, contrary to that, complex judgments often led to prolonged legal battles and appeals, as parties struggled to decipher the legal reasoning behind court decisions.

Mr Jamal said that by writing judgments in easy language, judges could minimise ambiguity and streamline the adjudicative process.

Clear, comprehensible judgments reduce the likelihood of appeals based on misunderstandings or misinterpretations, thereby promoting efficiency within the judicial system and alleviating the burden on courts.

The imperative to write judgments in easy language is not merely a matter of linguistic preference; it is a fundamental aspect of ensuring access to justice for all members of society.

By prioritising clarity and simplicity in legal documentation, judges can democratise the law, foster transparency and accountability, promote legal literacy, and enhance the overall effectiveness of the judiciary, Mr Jamal said.

By the aforesaid, it is the view of legal pundits and other stakeholders that lucid, straightforward verdicts will quicken closure in conflicts and also, where applicable, accelerate the decision of whether to appeal or not.

(NANFeatures)
The University of South Africa should be commended for organising a major conference on Global Governance: G20 and Africas Place in the World on 21st and 22nd July. Thanks to the Acting Executive Dean of the Thabo Mbeki School, Professor Edith Phaswana, I was able to play a major role giving a lecture and a seminar. In two media pieces, I will provide the key points in my discussions

Africa has become a key player in the changing political and economic situations throughout the world in the last few years. The concept that Africa may help build a new world order may seem too romantic, but it is founded on the fact that the continents political and economic influence is expanding. This makes many wonder if Africa has always been a passive actor in world affairs. Africa has numerous resources, a young population, and developing markets. This translates to the fact that Africa can decide its future and that of the worlds governments, economy, and security.

Transformation will not come easy for Africa. Its colonial past, which involved the continent being exploited of its human and natural resources, has left a devastating scar. The political and economic systems implemented by the colonial authorities still create problems for the African continent today. African countries have had to deal with political upheaval, weak institutions, dependence on foreign aid, and the long-term effects of foreign interventions. On the other hand, Africa is starting to take advantage of chances to change its place in the world as the global order is still changing.

One of the most amazing developments of recent times has been the demographic change experienced in Africa. With a little less than sixty percent of the population under twenty-25, this continent boasts the youngest population among all the others. This change in demographics is like a sword with two edges that can be a force that brings about change or become a dynamic and energetic workforce that will help Africa boost economic growth, spark new ideas, and become a major player on the world stage. On the other hand, it might be very hard to use if you dont follow the right rules. Unemployment, not being able to get a good education, and bad infrastructure are all things that could hold back this younger generation and cause social unrest, which would hurt Africas chances of developing.

Even with these problems, young people in Africa are becoming increasingly important in a globalised culture. Workers in Africa may increase demand in fields including manufacturing, technology, and financial services. Also, Africas growing cities  expected to see the most rise in urban populations in the coming few decades offer chances to build new infrastructure, change how people use digital technology, and set up new business areas. Cities like Nairobi, Lagos, and Addis Ababa are already proving themselves to be centers of trade and innovation, drawing investors from all over the world.

The efficient running of global supply chains is dependent on Africas key resources, especially in the manufacturing, energy, and technology sectors. Recently, African governments have tried to have more say over their resources. With an eye on increasing value from their exports, they have also begun to advocate for better terms in international trade agreements, thereby diversifying their economies beyond the sale of raw resources. Africas case for a more equal place within the global economic system depends on its making this shift towards resource sovereignty.

But Africas influence goes beyond its economic prowess as well. In addition to this, Africa is becoming a more important political power. The African Union (AU), which represents the interests of African states as its continental organisation, is making efforts to amplify the African voice in the decision-making process about global issues, especially trade, climate change, and peace and security. African leaders have been speaking out more in international contexts lately, which has made their aggregate power stronger in global governance organisations. In recent times, Africa has demonstrated unison at discussions on topics like climate justice, debt relief, and reforming international institutions. This is evidence that they want to rebuild the world in a way that better suits the African needs and goals.

The involvement of Africa in peacekeeping and conflict resolution schemes portrays the growth of its influence in the political sector. African nations continue to lead the charge in peacekeeping missions and mediation schemes. Africa plays a pivotal role in the measures to manage regional crises. This has created an avenue for the continent to take the lead on these projects. However, Africa is not without problems on the way to becoming the architect of a new global order, even though the continent has recorded tremendous progress. Key problems of the continent remain: political turmoil, corruption, and inequality. Although some countries have recorded progress toward democratic administration, several are still plagued by authoritarianism, weak institutions, and rampant corruption. This creates political and economic scenes that are sometimes split. This makes it hard for African countries to present a united bloc to the rest of the world. This is in addition to the problems that come with poverty and lack of growth.

Also, the relationship between other countries, like China, the US, and the European Union, and Africa is becoming more complex. Africa has been trying to make more connections for foreign investment, but the terms of these agreements have created worries. The continents many riches have made it a place where foreign powers compete. But Africa needs to do more than just get investment; it also needs to make sure that the money is used in ways that help the economy in the long run. It will be hard to carefully negotiate these ties since it will make sure that Africa benefits from international alliances without becoming even more reliant on other countries.

On the other hand, the bigger geopolitical picture has both chances and dangers. Africa now has the possibility to make a name for itself in the growing multipolar international system, which is defined by regional groups having increasing power and sharing it. The conventional Western powers may not have the same degree of impact as they did in the previous world order. As the world order changes, Africas position in global politics is shifting from one of passive participation to active involvement. There are particular special difficulties associated with this metamorphosis. One might draw links between Africas growing importance and both its unrealised potential and its long-standing struggle to express itself within the framework of the global environment. The destinies of African nations for millennia were primarily shaped by outside powers who grabbed resources and controlled political agendas. These nations were regarded as on the margins of world events.

In the last few years, China has become more involved in Africa through Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The plan is to enable trade and infrastructure to be more efficient all over the world. Huge sums have been invested in infrastructure projects in Africa for this plan. One of these initiatives includes building energy facilities, trains, and roads. Although these may help the economy thrive and prosper, they also raise the issues about how long debt will persist and what effects it will have on African independence in the future. Some others, on the other hand, think that these investments might lead to further reliance on China, therefore locking African nations into opposing economic alliances.

The United States and the European Union have both tried to improve their relations with Africa at the same time, but in different ways. For example, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has helped the US put democracy, human rights, and government reforms at the top of its list of things to do. Trade and development are also very important to the European Union (EU). The European Development Fund, for example, has helped African countries a lot. Sometimes, these ties come with stipulations that are in line with Western goals, which makes it hard for African countries to express their own political and economic goals.

Africa has a chance to become more involved in creating global governance since the geopolitical terrain is shifting. More and more, African countries are bringing up their problems and asking for changes to be made in places like the United Nations Security Council and other international organisations. These countries claim that the council advances the interests of world powers in an unfair proportion and is outdated. African leaders have been pushing for a permanent seat for their continent on the Security Council for some time.

This demand shows that Africa needs to have a say in things that influence world peace and security. The African Union has also called for Africa to have more say in world affairs. They claim this is important as the population, economy, and role of Africa in world politics are on the rise. This involves getting more people involved in the process of making policies that affect the whole world.

For this promise to be fulfilled, Africa needs to work toward political stability and unity. The African Union is still a work in progress, and member nations sometimes put their interests ahead of the continents unity even though the organisation has its set goal. The challenge African countries have is turning their political unity into a valuable tool for global community decision-making. To do this, the African Union and regional governments will need to change in ways that make them better able to move quickly on a wide range of issues, from solving crises to integrating the economy. Africa would be better able to use its collective power in global forums if it were to come together, whether the talks are about climate change, commerce, or security.

To move toward its goal of being the key architect in the growing global order, Africa must mix strategic thinking, teamwork, and a commitment to sustainable development. Africa has to be involved in defining the direction of world politics and the economy. There are numerous and different geopolitical pressures, economic opportunities, and internal reforms that Africa needs to make to make its presence known in the world arena. However, they all point to one important truth: Africa must accept its role as an active agent of change.

This shift stems from the understanding that addressing internal conflicts in Africa will help to achieve its full development. The basis of this change is this insight. Notwithstanding the continents extraordinary natural riches, young population, and growing markets, which provide great promise, political unrest, poor governance, and insufficient infrastructure may limit these advantages. If Africa wants to get past these problems, it needs to make long-term structural changes its primary priority. These improvements should improve governance, make institutions stronger, and encourage more openness. To reach this goal, we need to look again at political structures that were often inherited from colonial powers and recreated in ways that dont necessarily fit with the needs and reality of modern African culture.

To reform political institutions, the way power is utilised on the continent needs to change in a big sense, not just in terms of how institutions are set up or how elections are run. Many African countries still have political elites who use patronage networks and authoritarian systems to keep a lot of power. To fully realise Africas growing relevance, these systems need to put democratic administration, respect for human rights, and responsibility at the top of their lists of priorities. Strengthening the rule of law and making sure that everyone can participate in politics will help make sure that Africas people, not a small group of elites, define its future. Africa can keep growing on the world stage if it builds democratic institutions that are aware of the demands of all its people.

Africas economy has massively transformed, although political reforms continue. Transformation from an economy based on extraction to an economy based on innovation, technology, and diversity is a vital part of making an enduring development happen. Currently, the continents future depends on how well African governments can help entrepreneurs add value, which will help the economy become more independent even though a large part of Africas economy is reliant on natural resources. To enable this change, there has to be funding for infrastructure, technology, and education so that the new generation of workers and business owners is provided with the tools needed to succeed.

Regarding changes in the economy, the technology industry stands among the most promising ones for study. Cities such as Nairobi, Lagos, and Cape Town have become hubs of innovation and technology startups throughout Africa. Growing numbers of young entrepreneurs seeking to use technology to solve local problems call these places home. African entrepreneurs are proving that the continent can adopt digital solutions capable of promoting economic development and leapfrog conventional industrialisation procedures. This is being shown in alternative agriculture technologies, e-commerce, and mobile banking, among other sectors. African governments have the responsibility of creating rules that support entrepreneurial activities, thereby ensuring that people have access to financial resources, and investing in digital infrastructure that will enable these ideas to be applied on a broader scale.

The need for addressing this issue is matched by Africas need to embrace regional economic integration. The best time for trade between African countries is now that the continent is becoming more urbanised and its middle class is growing.

Some places have seen improvements in their economies, but many others remain unequal, particularly regarding class, gender, and race. There are still significant gaps in social services, healthcare, and educational opportunities among African countries. Rural and poor areas often fall far behind. The priority of Africa must be toward inclusive growth. The product is the creation of a society that is not just equal but one that reduces poverty and ensures every individual can succeed. By investing in education, especially in fields like science, technology, and vocational training, Africa will help its youths grow in the workforce of the future. In addition, by ensuring that healthcare systems are equipped to meet the needs of an expanding and ageing population, with a focus on rendering treatment to everyone.

Also, Africas plans to create a new world order depend a lot on its growing role in international security and diplomacy. Africa needs to make sure that its voice is heard in the organisations that rule the world. This is becoming more and more crucial in terms of geopolitics. Africa hasnt had enough say in significant international groupings like the United Nations Security Council for a long time. It has often struggled to get its issues resolved on the global stage. Africa must strive for a global governance system shaped to reflect the reality of the twenty-first century through reform if it is to be more active. This includes a promise to improve peace and security on the continent as well as better representation of people from around the world in the decision-making process. African countries have always been leaders in attempts to keep the peace and resolve conflicts. To make sure that Africa can handle its security problems without help from other players, these programs need to be supported and grown.

From a broader point of view on global power dynamics, Africas growing role in forging a new world order brings both chances and duties. As Africas geopolitical influence grows, it becomes possible to create a more fair, inclusive, and sustainable global system where Africas needs and opinions are at the heart of policymaking on trade, security, and the economy. The African Union and other regional organisations must continue to make efforts for the political will and institutional capacity required to realise these goals. African administrative authorities should strengthen their ties with the Global South, with other emerging powers, and even with themselves in Africa. They must also ensure that their alliances with traditional rules in Africa are fair, respectful, and mutually beneficial.

Whether Africa can become the architect of a new global order will depend on its capacity to maximise its significant natural and human resources, overcome internal challenges, and establish its position on the world stage. Visionary leadership, transformative change, and a commitment to building a future that is just, fair, and sustainable for all Africans are necessary for this road to be successful.

Toyin Falola, a professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities at The University of Texas at Austin, is the Bobapitan of Ibadanland.
The ICJs advisory opinion has, in essence, called a new tune for the global climate dance, a stark departure from the hesitant diplomatic shuffle weve witnessed for years. No longer can states comfortably sit on the sidelines, content with the old, slow waltz of diplomatic niceties and legal ambiguities that once limited international climate justice. The Court has clarified the choreography, affirming that there are not just moral but binding legal obligations to act, grounded in human rights, environmental law, and customary international law.

For years, climate change litigation between nations felt like a diplomatic dance in which everyone knew the steps but no one dared to lead. States, despite the planets ever-warming temperature, largely shied away from suing each other, citing everything from its complicated legalities to the sheer awkwardness of confronting powerful allies. As we discussed in our earlier piece, these were the legal and diplomatic limitations of international climate justice. But mark your calendars, because 23rd July, 2025 just rewrote the choreography entirely.

On that day, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, issued its unanimous advisory on the obligations of States concerning climate change. This was undoubtedly a landmark moment for the court, climate action, and the law, offering legal guidance on the scope of the duties of states under international law, while potentially reshaping the strategic and normative landscape for future climate accountability.

The relentless advocacy of youths from the small Pacific Island State of Vanuatu triggered this pivotal decision. They successfully lobbied a coalition of 132 nations, culminating in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 77/276, which formally requested an ICJ advisory clarifying the international legal obligations of states to protect present and future generations from climate changes adverse effects. On 29 March, 2023, the UNGA adopted this resolution by consensus, underscoring the member states keen interest in the Courts consideration.

The questions before the court were as follows:

What are the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, with regards to States, alongside present and future generations? What are the legal consequences under these obligations for States, where they, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment, concerning:

States, including in particular small island developing States, which due to their geographical circumstances and level of development are injured or specially affected by or are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change? People and individuals of the present and future generations affected by the adverse effects of climate change?

In response to the first question on the obligations of States, the ICJ, in its groundbreaking opinion, unanimously stated that climate change treaties (UNFCC, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, UNCLOS) set forth binding obligations for State parties, as beyond these treaties, under customary international law, international human rights law, the law of the sea and other instruments, that they have clear obligations to ensure the protection of the climate system and other parts of the environment from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

Under customary international law, states must prevent significant environmental harm (paras. 272-300) and cooperate in addressing climate change (paras 301-308). International human rights law further imposes obligations to protect rights affected by climate change, such as life, health, housing, food, and water, including the fundamental right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment (paras 369-404).

the court opined that rules of State responsibility apply to breaches of climate obligations (paras 405-420), and States can be held internationally responsible for failing to regulate key drivers of emissions, including fossil fuel production, energy consumption, issuance of exploration licenses, and subsidies for fossils fuels (para 427). Equally, these obligations are erga omnes  owed to the international community as a whole (paras 439-443).

The precautionary principle, equity and intergenerational equity, guide the interpretation of legal obligations (paras 146-161). The precautionary approach informs the due diligence obligations of States, requiring them to anticipate, assess and avoid environmental harm, even in the face of uncertainty (paras 293-294). Equity, in this context, requires a fair distribution of burdens and responsibilities among states. This includes recognising historical responsibility, different levels of development and capacity to act, and considering the rights and needs of vulnerable populations.

Crucially, the Court clarified that broader international law applies, meaning countries not party to the Paris Agreement or those wishing to withdraw, like the US, are still obligated to protect the environment, including the climate system. With this, the Court definitively laid to rest the argument that climate treaties are lex specialis  laws governing only a specific subject matter (paras 162-171).

Furthermore, the Court stated that states have obligations of conduct (to take steps) and obligations of result (to achieve goals such as Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs) (paras 174-270). This also includes the obligation to cooperate through finance, technology transfer, and capacity building under both treaty and customary law (paras 214-218, 260-267, 301-308).

The duty of due diligence applies across all these obligations, and the standard is stringent, particularly regarding the implementation of mitigation and adaptation efforts (paras 281-294, 250-254, 255-259).

In response to the second part of the question on consequences under these obligations for States, the court opined that rules of State responsibility apply to breaches of climate obligations (paras 405-420), and States can be held internationally responsible for failing to regulate key drivers of emissions, including fossil fuel production, energy consumption, issuance of exploration licenses, and subsidies for fossils fuels (para 427). Equally, these obligations are erga omnes  owed to the international community as a whole (paras 439-443).

Major emitters now face direct accountability, as customary international law applies to all States, including those not party to climate treaties. A States obligations are not determined solely by its treaty status or by general categorisations like developing country; instead, they are assessed in light of their current capabilities and responsibilities for global emissions (para 297). This brings high-emitting countries like the US, China, and India under scrutiny, even if they are not parties to certain treaties (e.g., the US to the Kyoto Protocol) or are classified as developing states under various treaty regimes.

What happens next depends entirely on whether governments, civil society, and the international community choose to truly embrace this new rhythm, aligning national priorities with these newfound legal obligations. The time for hesitant steps is over; its now up to us to ensure this isnt just a change in the music, but a full-fledged, urgent, and collective performance for climate justice, ensuring a livable future for generations to come.

Legal consequences of breaches include cessation of wrongful act, guarantees of non-repetition, reparation including restitution, compensation, satisfaction (paras 444-445). Each injured State may invoke the responsibility of every State that has caused harm through internationally wrongful acts, even if many States contributed cumulatively (para 438). Finally, the obligations to protect people, especially the vulnerable and future generations, are reinforced by human rights frameworks.

A pertinent question following the delivery of this landmark opinion is its implications to the climate justice terrain. While the ICJs advisory opinions are formally not binding, they regularly set legal and political frameworks prompting measurable action, often through UN resolutions, international negotiations or shifts in domestic or third-state behaviour. It is projected to be used as early as next week in national courts outside of the ICJ.

Previous ICJ advisory opinions have been implemented by governments, including when the UK agreed to hand back Chagos Islands to Mauritius in 2024. Another example is its advisory on the Namibian Mandate in 1971.

The Courts opinion has reasonably provided a clear legal benchmark with respect to climate change related obligations, removing earlier perceived ambiguities surrounding them. With legal clarity, the climate regime is strengthened. The 2024 Baku Climate Change Conference concluded years of negotiations on modalities for setting up the Paris Agreement. However, parties failed to agree on implementing the outcomes of the Global Stocktake (GST), which was disappointing, given the critical importance of NDC 3.0 in avoiding an overshoot of the 1.5C goal. The Courts advisory opinion has currently affirmed that limiting global warming to 1.5C is not merely aspirational but a legally binding target under the Paris Agreement and international law (para 224).

The ICJs advisory opinion has, in essence, called a new tune for the global climate dance, a stark departure from the hesitant diplomatic shuffle weve witnessed for years. No longer can states comfortably sit on the sidelines, content with the old, slow waltz of diplomatic niceties and legal ambiguities that once limited international climate justice. The Court has clarified the choreography, affirming that there are not just moral but binding legal obligations to act, grounded in human rights, environmental law, and customary international law. While the opinion itself isnt a direct order, its authority carries immense weight, empowering vulnerable states and putting high-emitting nations and fossil fuel actors firmly on the dance floor. If history is any guide, this legal clarity will catalyse new global norms and influence real-world change.

What happens next depends entirely on whether governments, civil society, and the international community choose to truly embrace this new rhythm, aligning national priorities with these newfound legal obligations. The time for hesitant steps is over; its now up to us to ensure this isnt just a change in the music, but a full-fledged, urgent, and collective performance for climate justice, ensuring a livable future for generations to come.

Ruth Soronnadi is a lawyer and West Africa regional coordinator for the Climate Parliament, while Tobi Oluwatola is a policy analyst and CEO of TAO Technologies, a climate technology company.






Okellos life purpose is summed up in the name of his NGO  Africa Vision 525. Of course, 25th May 1963 was the day the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established in Addis Ababa and it later transformed into the African Union. Okellos life work has been to build African unity and solidarity. Early in his teaching career in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he developed the idea of organising the Organisation of African Unity Mock Summit every year.

My good friend and senior colleague, Okello Oculi died on 26 July, aged 83, after a brief illness. Originally from Uganda, Okello has lived in Nigeria for the past 48 years and raised a Nigerian family. We both taught Political Science at Ahmadu Bello University in the post-1978 era. Friends, colleagues and students remember him as a deep thinker, an inspirational intellectual and above all, as someone who remained fully committed to promoting the Pan-African ideal throughout his life.

Okello graduated in Political Science from Makerere University in 1967. The following year, while still in his mid-twenties, he launched his career with the publication of two books, Orphan, a long poem, and Prostitute, a novel. Orphan addresses the theme of loss, vulnerability and social neglect. The poem delves into the emotional and physical struggles faced by a child who has lost their parents, highlighting how orphans often experience abandonment, poverty, and a lack of protection in society. These were some of the themes he would continue to work on for the rest of his life.

The second book was a novel, Prostitute, which explores several deeply interwoven themes defining Africas post-colonial condition through the life of Rosa Nakintu, a young woman who is uprooted and forced into prostitution by the newly emerged African ruling class. Rosa is torn from her rural village to the bustling city, only to be subjected to sexual assault and driven into prostitution, a tragic symbol of the vulnerability and isolation experienced by many rural migrants. The novel conveys the breakdown of traditional community bonds and the loss of identity. The real problem demonstrated in the work is the rapid rise of political corruption by the predatory elite.

These two important books should have been central to the African debates of the 1960s and 1970s, as Chinua Achebe and Ngugi wa Thiongo s novels were, but alas that was not the case. While the writers at that time published with Heinemann, which had an African Writers Series, Okello rejected the idea of using an European imperialist publisher and went for the only indigenous publisher around then, East African Publishing House, which immediately went bankrupt and Okellos works disappeared with it. Such was his commitment that he refused to re-publish these works with an international publisher and they were lost for a very long time until they more recently reappeared on Amazon. I suspect that the experience really shook him because he did not return fully to creative writing until almost thirty years later.

Okello, the teacher, was deeply committed to building the knowledge of his students but also their confidence and self-esteem. Transforming studious Political Science students into stars boosted the self-assurance of many a student. Indeed, a former female senator, who was a performer in one of the Summits, made the point that her participation was her personal breakthrough in public speaking, which eventually led her to enter politics and rise to the top.

It was providence that laid the conditions for Okello to live a long and fulfilled life. He was an assistant lecturer in early 1971, when following Idi Amins coup, soldiers raided the Makerere University Political Science Department and arrested him. All indications were that he would be executed within days, as the others were, for the crime of being a young intellectual from the wrong ethnic group. Luckily, his Head of Department, Professor Ali Mazrui, was at that time still close to Idi Amin and he intervened, securing his release. After helping him gain his freedom, Mazrui arranged for Oculi to leave Uganda through a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship in 1972 to pursue studies at the University of Wisconsin, where he eventually completed his PhD. Mazrui himself later had to flee Uganda when Idi Amin came for him and he joined Okello in exile in Nigeria, teaching for some years at the University of Jos.

Okellos life purpose is summed up in the name of his NGO  Africa Vision 525. Of course, 25th May 1963 was the day the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was established in Addis Ababa and it later transformed into the African Union. Okellos life work has been to build African unity and solidarity. Early in his teaching career in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, he developed the idea of organising the Organisation of African Unity Mock Summit every year. Students played the roles of president of African countries. It immediately became very popular with students and the Summit itself became a national event, with attained a pride of place on national television. A great ambition of generations of Professor Oculis students was to perform well in the event.

The Summit had a powerful pedagogic element, as groups of students working on each country had to study the policy positions of the said countries, prepare and present speeches and even learn the accents of African presidents to give convincing performances. It greatly increased students knowledge of the continent and generated massive campus-wide debates on the appropriateness of the policy positions of African countries. In particular, it placed the question on the table, of which countries were promoting African unity and which ones were opposing it. After leaving ABU and moving to Abuja, Okello continued the African Union Summits, this time with secondary school girls in the capital city.

Okello, the teacher, was deeply committed to building the knowledge of his students but also their confidence and self-esteem. Transforming studious Political Science students into stars boosted the self-assurance of many a student. Indeed, a former female senator, who was a performer in one of the Summits, made the point that her participation was her personal breakthrough in public speaking, which eventually led her to enter politics and rise to the top.

We remember Okello for his kind and loving disposition, his constant smiles, his commitment to a better future for the African people and his life-long effort to build generations of Africans with the ambition to leave the continent better than they found it. To his wife Debrah, his son Sembene and all his mentees, I pray God gives them the strength to bear the loss.

Okello was also active with the media. He ran a newspaper column for years and was on the editorial board of the Trust newspapers. It was in that capacity that he played a major role in the organisation of the African of the Year Award. He played a key role in the identification of the first laureate to emerge  the Congolese gynaecologist, Denis Mukwege. He was the one who drew attention to his on-going combat on sexual violence as a weapon of war in the Congo. Thanks to Okello, Dr Mukwege was awarded the African of the Year award long before he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2018.

Okellos message to Africas ruling classes is worth repeating. Stop deepening the vulnerabilities of citizens, build their strength. Stop the colonial policy of divide-and-rule, promote unity to build on the innate strength of the African people. Do not use African regional organisations as a prop for self-aggrandisement. Turn them into pillars of unity and strength.

We remember Okello for his kind and loving disposition, his constant smiles, his commitment to a better future for the African people and his life-long effort to build generations of Africans with the ambition to leave the continent better than they found it. To his wife Debrah, his son Sembene and all his mentees, I pray God gives them the strength to bear the loss.

A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.
The 1999 Constitution, as we all know, is essentially the same as that of 1979, which ushered in the Second Republic. Surely, Attah must be aware that that Constitution emerged through a national conference similar to the one he is now calling for. And that Constitution, it can be argued, is the best shot of all the efforts by Nigerians at constitution-making, since the first attempt in 1922.

Two weeks ago, on 16 July to be precise, the self-described Eminent Patriots, in conjunction with the Nigeria Political Summit Group, convened a three-day National Summit on The Future of Nigerias Constitutional Democracy at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. At that summit, two pre-eminent Nigerians, former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, grabbed media headlines for their diametrically opposed views on the countrys Constitution.

Anyaoku, who spoke first, said the problem with the country was its Constitution basically, because it was a military imposition and did not reflect the countrys plural nature. His solution, he said, was to go back to the parliamentary constitution of the First Republic, which was bequeathed to us to by our British colonial masters. Obasanjo disagreed and said the countrys problem was not its Constitution, imperfect as it is. The problem, he said, in effect, was the bad faith of those who operated it.

It is hard, if not impossible, to disagree with Obasanjo, even though as president, he did not always respect the checks and balances built into the Constitution.

Anyaoku is, of course, not alone in blaming our Constitution for the countrys woes. The vast majority of the countrys progressives do, and their voices are much, much louder than those of the conservatives. Probably, the loudest among them is The PUNCH. Editorial after editorial, it has never left any of its readers in doubt that not only does it think our Constitution is unworkable, it has repeatedly said it is, indeed, a fraud.

The latest of such editorials took up three-quarters of its editorial page in its edition of 8 July. Entitled Attahs position on the 1999 Constitution resonates, the 1,209-word editorial unequivocally supported the view of Obong Victor Attah, a former two-term governor of Akwa Ibom State and prominent member of the Eminent Patriots, that what the country now needs is not merely an amendment to the Constitution but a brand new one, because it is simply irredeemable.

We, Attah reportedly said, cannot amend what is so fundamentally bad. We need a completely new constitution. Attahs call was against the background of the ongoing exercise by the current National Assembly, to further amend the Constitution which, he said, has only given us a polity that is a unitary system masquerading as a federalism.

Attahs position, The PUNCH said, is compelling. The 1999 Constitution is a charade from start to finish  in letter, spirit, and form.

Clearly, the newspaper would be in total agreement with Anyaoku in his disagreement with Obasanjo. But both the newspaper and the retired top diplomat  and, of course, Attah as well  are, in my view, wrong to blame our Constitution for the countrys woes.

It is such demonstration of bad faith against our Constitution, not just by Obasanjo alone, but by so many of our leaders, that is mainly responsible for the seeming failure of our Constitution to serve our country well. And its not just our leaders; even ordinary Nigerians generally tend to preach one thing but practice the opposite. And, as the saying goes, a people get the leaders they deserve.

Our Constitution is, of course, not perfect, simply because nothing man-made can be perfect. To begin with, as a roughly 61,000-word document, it is rather too bulky for a constitution, especially compared to, say, the United States constitution we modelled it after; theirs, as a roughly 7,500-word document, including all of its 27 amendments, is a study in brevity, clarity and simplicity. Second, because our Constitution is military in origin, it sounds plausible to dismiss it as an imposition.

Third, our current 36-state federalism came about by a strong centre ceding powers to the states it created out of the original three regions that made up the country at independence in 1960. This is in sharp contrast to the US, which came about by, first, the original 13, and eventually 50, independent states coming together to cede powers to the centre.

The differences between the two constitutions in size, origin and evolution notwithstanding, both are grundnorms of presidential democracies whose common feature is a division and balancing of power among the three arms of government, namely the legislature, the executive and judiciary. But, contrary to popular public perception in this country, Washington DC, the US capital, exerts far greater power and authority over its 50 states and even over the private sector than Abuja, Nigerias capital, exerts over its 36 states.

However, the fact that of the US constitution has served it well for nearly 240 years since 1789, is not just because of its slim size, origin or history. It is essentially because its citizens, leaders and followers alike, have, by and large, kept faith with its provisions.

In his total rejection of the current Constitution, Attah said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, himself a victim of the abuse of the Constitution by President Obasanjo when he was governor of Lagos State, should appreciate the need for a totally new Constitution.

This particular President, he said, is in the best position to do it because he suffered the consequences of the type of thing that this Constitution allows to happen. His local government money was seized unconstitutionally So, he is really in the best position to do it,  if he doesnt do it, he would have left a worse Nigeria than he met.

From his own very words, it ought to have been clear to Attah that the problem between Obasanjo and then Governor Tinubu was not the Constitution itself. He himself said the money for the Lagos Local Government Areas was seized UNCONSTITUTIONALLY (emphasis mine). The Constitution, as our Supreme Court ultimately ruled, clearly forbade Obasanjo from doing what he did. It is therefore wrong for Attah to blame it, instead of the person who breached its injunctions. Rules, after all, do not execute themselves. It is people who do.

And unconstitutionally withholding the money for Lagos LGAs was not the only rule Obasanjo breached while in power. He hired and fired chairmen and other senior officials of his party at will, appointed and sacked Senate Presidents at will, sacked state governors and state legislatures at will, tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to fire his estranged Vice President, and even tried, again albeit unsuccessfully, to abrogate the Constitutions two-term limits for the elected executive offices of the president and governors.

Yes, our Constitution has its flaws. But no, those flaws are not so fundamental that it must be replaced with something completely new. Our problem, as I have often said, is not the tool as such but, as the English would say, it is that of a bad workman always quarrelling with it, instead of learning how best to use it.

It is such demonstration of bad faith against our Constitution, not just by Obasanjo alone, but by so many of our leaders, that is mainly responsible for the seeming failure of our Constitution to serve our country well. And its not just our leaders; even ordinary Nigerians generally tend to preach one thing but practice the opposite. And, as the saying goes, a people get the leaders they deserve.

Simultaneous with his call on President Tinubu to spearhead the making of a new constitution, Attah also pleaded with the National Assembly to pass a bill for the convocation of a national conference, with representation from all relevant groups, ethnic nationalities, and socio-cultural groups across the country, to sit down and prepare a proper constitution so that it is a Nigerian Constitution.

The 1999 Constitution, as we all know, is essentially the same as that of 1979, which ushered in the Second Republic. Surely, Attah must be aware that that Constitution emerged through a national conference similar to the one he is now calling for. And that Constitution, it can be argued, is the best shot of all the efforts by Nigerians at constitution-making, since the first attempt in 1922. The argument that it is merely a military imposition certainly does gross injustice to its framers.

First, the draft of that Constitution was framed and written by a 49-member Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) composed of some of the most brilliant and accomplished Nigerians, headed by the late Chief FRA Williams, the countrys first Senior Advocate. The committee spent nearly a year going round the country before it wrote and submitted its draft to the authorities under Obasanjo as military head of state.

Second, the Constituent Assembly (CA), which worked on the draft, was composed of 230 Nigerians, only 27 of whom were government nominees, seven of them being chairmen of the seven subcommittees of the CDC. The rest were all elected through what was one of the most credible elections ever conducted in the country. Anybody going through the list of its members will testify to the fact that generally they were among Nigerians of the best character and highest achievements in their various fields.

This Assembly spent about nine months going through the draft before it produced the Constitution. It speaks volumes of the credibility and integrity of that Constitution that some of the founding fathers of our nation, like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Malam Aminu Kano, contested in the two general elections of the Second Republic before it was overthrown in 1983.

Yes, our Constitution has its flaws. But no, those flaws are not so fundamental that it must be replaced with something completely new. Our problem, as I have often said, is not the tool as such but, as the English would say, it is that of a bad workman always quarrelling with it, instead of learning how best to use it.

Mohammed Haruna is a veteran journalist and political columnist and currently a National Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission.
In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy

All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and upon all his family and companions. To proceed:

Dear brothers and sisters! Islam, one of the worlds major religions, is often misunderstood and misrepresented in various aspects, including its stance on deceptive practices. In this sermon, I will explore what Islam truly teaches about deceit and dishonesty, dispelling misconceptions and shedding light on the religions ethical values.

At the heart of Islamic teachings lies a strong emphasis on honesty, integrity, and truthfulness. These values are deeply rooted in the Quran, the noble book of Islam, and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The Quran describes Allah as Al-Haqq (The Truth), emphasising the divine attribute of absolute truthfulness. Islam views honesty as an essential virtue that forms the basis of a just and compassionate society.

Islam explicitly forbids deceptive practices and condemns lying in all forms. The Quran condemns lying and deceitful behaviour. Allah the Almighty says:

Do not mix truth with falsehood or conceal the truth while you know [it]. [Quran, 2:42]

Additionally, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) warned against deception, stating:

Whoever does not give up false statements and evil deeds, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink. [Al-Bukhari]

Islam also addresses the issue of false oaths, emphasising their gravity and the negative consequences they bring. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

The signs of a hypocrite are three: Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; whenever he promises, he breaks his promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays (proves to be dishonest). [Al-Bukhari]

Islam goes beyond the mere prohibition of lying and encourages believers to be truthful in all their affairs. This includes interactions with others, in politics, in religious leadership, in journalism, in business dealings, in legal matters, in civil service, and even in self-assessment. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) emphasised the significance of honesty when he said:

Truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise (Jannah). A man continues to tell the truth until he is recorded with Allah as a truthful person. [Muslim]

Islam acknowledges that humans are fallible, and people may err or commit deceptive practices. However, the religion also emphasises the importance of repentance and seeking forgiveness. If someone falls into deception or dishonesty, Islam encourages them to acknowledge their mistake, seek forgiveness from Allah, and make amends with those they have wronged.

Islam warns against the severe consequences of engaging in deceptive practices. Not only do such actions harm individuals and society, but they also have spiritual consequences. A person who consistently engages in deception may risk distancing themselves from the path of righteousness and moral uprightness.

Respected brothers and sisters! Finally, Islam places an utmost emphasis on honesty, integrity, and truthfulness, condemning all forms of deceptive practices. The Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) serve as a guiding light for Muslims to lead honest and virtuous lives. Deceptive practices are incompatible with the core principles of Islam and stand in stark contrast to the values of truth, justice, and compassion that the religion advocates.

It is essential to recognise that the actions of a few individuals do not represent the true essence of Islam. Like any other religion, Islam encourages its followers to adhere to high moral standards and uphold the principles of honesty and integrity in all aspects of life. Understanding the true teachings of Islam about deceptive practices is crucial to fostering mutual respect and promoting interfaith harmony in an increasingly diverse and interconnected world.

May Allah guide us all to that which benefits us. And I ask Allah the Most High for protection, ameen.

All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Prayers, peace and mercy are upon our beloved master, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah (Peace be upon him), his family and Companions.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okenes Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] +2348038289761.

This Jumuah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Safar 07, 1447 AH (August 01, 2025).
Brighter Futures Nigeria, an ambitious crime prevention project, is laying the groundwork for a transformational approach to community safety and youth empowerment across four Nigerian states.

The programme is the first of its kind to test the Prevent approach of policing in Nigeria, effectively stopping crime before it occurs. The Prevent model was created in the UK and used to tackle systemic crime in inner city areas such as Liverpool and London. Unlike traditional crime prevention,the Prevent approach targets individuals on the early stage of the crime cycle, where harm is still limited and intervention is most effective. It complements enforcement by focusing on early intervention, resilience-building, and community-led change.

A Three-Pronged Approach to Prevention

The Brighter Futures programme delivers impact through three interlinked workstreams:

1. Building Prevent Structures

The programme has established Prevent committees and structures at the Federal, State, and Local Government levels in Lagos, Edo, Bayelsa and Zamfara.

These structures bring together representatives from the Nigerian police, government agencies, community stakeholders, and civil society organisations to collaboratively conduct crime profiling, identify participants, and design and implement long-term, sustainable interventions.

Crucially, all interventions are locally owned, with community leaders actively involved in their design and approval.

2. Capacity Assessment and Development

To strengthen institutional adoption of this Prevent model, Brighter Futures builds on existing Nigerian Police training by delivering customised courses in each of the four states. Officers are trained to implement the Prevent approach and will eventually form part of mixed teams alongside civilians in Crime Prevention Partnerships (CPPs) and Crime Prevention Steering Groups (CPSGs). A train-the-trainer component ensures long-term sustainability and scale-up.

The aim is to institutionalise the Prevent approach within relevant agencies and structures, ensuring long-term sustainability through targeted training and continuous stakeholder engagement. This includes strengthening Prevent integration across all levels, particularly within the National Police Force (NPF), to embed it as a core component of crime prevention efforts.

3. Strategic Communication

Communications campaigns are central to changing mindsets and reducing tolerance for organised crime. Long-term campaigns are currently running in:

 Zamfara  tackling cross-border illicit trade

 Lagos  countering cybercrime

 Bayelsa and Edo  dismantling cultism narratives

Early Wins, Long-Term Vision

From young people taking on leadership roles to communities forming new Prevent structures, early results show Brighter Futures is generating real change. The programme is already enabling communities to take ownership of their safety and empowering a new generation to thriveon their terms.

The Prevent approach works when it is community-led, credible, and aligned with local realities, said a Emeka Ukatu, the Brighter Futures Project Manager. Brighter Futures is proving that early, targeted actionnot punishmentcan deliver sustainable security results and open new doors for young Nigerians.

The programme has reached millions of young people across Nigeria, and helped many thousands of young people into work or education providing an alternative to becoming involved in organised crime. Now, as the programme moves into its next phase, it will continue to evolve in partnership with Nigerian institutions such as the National Crime Prevention Centre and POCACOV, with the long-term goal of embedding Prevent into Nigerias crime response architecture.

You can find out more about Brighter Futures by visiting the website
Workers unload a Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagon at a port in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 30, 2025. A total of 90 Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagons arrived here on Tuesday, which will all be put into an Argentina's railway network to undertake soybean and corn transportation. (Photo by Martin Zabala/Xinhua)

A worker unloads Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagons at a port in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 30, 2025. A total of 90 Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagons arrived here on Tuesday, which will all be put into an Argentina's railway network to undertake soybean and corn transportation. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

Workers unload a Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagon at a port in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 30, 2025. A total of 90 Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagons arrived here on Tuesday, which will all be put into an Argentina's railway network to undertake soybean and corn transportation. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

This photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows meter-gauge railway grain wagons at a port in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A total of 90 Chinese-made meter-gauge railway grain wagons arrived here on Tuesday, which will all be put into an Argentina's railway network to undertake soybean and corn transportation. (Photo by Martin Zabala/Xinhua)
Segilola Resources Operating Limited (SROL), operator of Nigerias first commercial gold mine and a subsidiary of Thor Explorations Ltd., has reaffirmed its commitment to youth empowerment and sustainable community development through the recognition of winners of its 2025 University Competition and the commissioning of key infrastructure upgrades in OdoIjesha, Osun State.

The 2025 University Competition, launched earlier this year, invited students from Tertiary Institutions across Osun State to propose innovative, practical solutions to the growing challenge of illegal mining. Independently judged by the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), the competition attracted exceptional entries and spotlighted the intellectual potential of young Nigerians to shape the future of the mining sector.

The top three winners were:

 Ibrahim Sulaiman  Adeleke University, Osun State  800,000 (winner- 500,000, including an additional 300,000 presented personally by CEO Mr. Segun Lawson)

 Beulah Chimaobi Ude  Obafemi Awolowo University  500,000 (Second Prize-300,000 , including an additional 200,000)

 Abisola Faith Adegboyega  Osun State University, Osogbo Campus  300,000 (Third Prize-200,000, including an additional 100,000)

Speaking on the competition, Mr. Segun Lawson, Chief Executive Officer of Thor Explorations Ltd., stated, This competition is not a token gesture. It reflects our firm belief that young Nigerians are not just the future of the mining industry; they are already shaping its present. The entries were bold, thoughtful, and solution-driven, offering real strategies for tackling illegal mining and promoting responsible, sustainable practices.

Building on this momentum, SROL officially commissioned two major infrastructure projects in OdoIjesha on July 31st, 2025: the renovated Community High School and an upgraded block of market stalls. These projects were undertaken in close partnership with community leaders to ensure they aligned with local needs and priorities.

The refurbished high school now offers a more conducive learning environment, while the improved market stalls provide traders with safer, more organised, and hygienic spaces to conduct business, enhancing both educational outcomes and economic activity in the area.

Speaking at the commissioning, Madhurii Sarkar Amoda, Community Development and Stakeholder Manager at SROL, remarked, It is always a privilege to work closely with host communities on projects that reflect their true priorities. These are more than just physical structures; they are symbols of progress, inclusion, and our long-term commitment to building with, not just for, the people of OdoIjesha.

Through strategic initiatives like the University Competition and collaborative infrastructure projects, Segilola Resources Operating Limited continues to demonstrate a strong, sustained commitment to inclusive development, transparency, and shared prosperity within its host communities and across Nigerias broader mining industry.
From the soil of Northern Nigeria from where grains are sourced, to the bubbling breweries in the South that bottle joy, and finally to your glass, beer is more than just a beverage. It is a cultural artefact, a celebration of local entrepreneurship, and it is a sustainable force of development. As the world observes International Beer Day, what better time to spotlight the engine room of this golden industry: Nigerias local beer supply chain

The Nigerian beer industry is one of the most dynamic in Africa, and caters to over 200 million consumers. Yet, beyond the stream of iconic labels and festival commercials, lives a vibrant ecosystem that adds value. Farmers, transportation engineers, marketers, bar owners, recyclers, and innovators, are reliant on beer production and delivery for gainful employment.

Sourcing fresh grains from Nigerian farmers makes beer companies contributors to rural economic development, supporters of agronomic innovation and diversification, and a means of reducing import dependency. Local sourcing alleviates food security and supports the building blocks of industrial self-reliance. Opening a bottle of beer in essence, is a silent salute to the thousands of farmers working across the rich, fertile lands of Nigeria

Beer binds cultures together, whether being toasted at a naming ceremony in Abeokuta or downed at the end of a long day in Jos, beer has become a nexus of community across tribes, religions, and class. Beer unifies people, encourages conversations, and often plays a backseat role in defining moments in ones life.

Beyond that, beer tells an indigenous Nigerian story. From the packaging that pays tribute to our heritage, to advertisements that mirror our humor, odds, and wins, beer serves as a lens into our identity. In many ways, when people engage with beer, they are not merely consuming it; they are experiencing it.

This layered value chain is also a training ground. Often, breweries will up skill employees with technical skills training, workplace safety protocols, and environmental sustainability, which means they are producing a skilled national workforce. It is an ecosystem where blue-collar and white-collar roles intersect, providing a balanced socio-economic impact.

Beer production today is being managed with the environment in mind. Increasingly Nigerian beer companies are looking to use renewable energy; treat wastewater; and implement circular packaging. Grains can be repurposed to animal feed, glass bottles recycled, and even introducing new technologies such as lighter-weight cans to mitigate carbon emissions. These actions are more than just corporate responsibility; they are commitments to Nigerias future.

As we raise our glasses high this International Beer Day, we must recognise the leg of the journey from seed to sip. Beer is more than a drink; it is an industry that provides families with food and shelter, builds communities, shapes culture, and now, takes into account its footprint on the planet. The local supply chain is not only strong but also strategic!

In celebrating and supporting this industry, we do not just celebrate a product, we celebrate potential, resilience, and the Nigerian spirit of enterprise.

Mrs Abiola Laseinde, Executive Director, Beer Sectoral Group (BSG) wrote from Lagos
A roundup of the most newsworthy press releases from PR Newswire the last two weeks, including Elsevier, DP World, and Nammos Hotels & Resorts.

LONDON, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire. To help journalists and consumers stay on top of the most newsworthy and popular releases, here's a recap of some major stories from the last two weeks that shouldn't be missed.

The list below includes the headline (with a link to the full text) and an excerpt from each story. Click on the press release headlines to access accompanying multimedia assets that are available for download.

Fortnightly Round-up: 12 Stories You Need to See

1: Carolyn Turnbull Appointed CEO of Nammos Hotels & Resorts

Nammos Hotels & Resorts is proud to announce the appointment of Carolyn Turnbull as CEO, eective immediately. A globally respected industry leader, Turnbull brings more than two decades of international experience and brand-building expertise to the role.

2: Croma-Pharma GmbH Announces Strategic Milestone as Novaestiq Corp. Joins Waldencast

Croma-Pharma GmbH, a global leader in minimally invasive aesthetic medicine, today announced the acquisition of Novaestiq Corp. by Waldencast plc.

3: DP WORLD SMART LOGISTICS NETWORK DELIVERS McLAREN RACING CAR TO FANS IN TRAFALGAR SQUARE

In a bold demonstration of the power of smart logistics, DP World orchestrated the time-critical delivery of McLaren Racing's newly unveiled WEC 2027 show car from the Circuit de 24 Heures du Mans in France, to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, before the car made its way to the first ever Racing Live: London event in Trafalgar Square.

4: Xelix secures $160 million Series B to advance agentic AI innovation in Accounts Payable

Xelix, a leading agentic AI software company in the Accounts Payable (AP) space, today announced a $160 million Series B funding round led by global software investor Insight Partners, with follow-on investments from Passion Capital and LocalGlobe.

5: Elsevier introduces Reaxys AI Search, enabling faster and more accessible chemistry research through natural language discovery

Elsevier, a global leader in advanced information and decision support in science and healthcare, introduces Reaxys AI Search, an innovative addition to the Reaxys platform that leverages AI-driven natural language processing to transform chemistry research.

6: Harry Potter 'Back to Hogwarts' 2025 Celebrations Revealed

Every 1st September, Harry Potter fans mark the iconic return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Now, nearly almost a quarter of a century since the first film enchanted audiences, this beloved tradition has grown into an annual global celebration of all things Harry Potter.

7: GET READY FOR A MAGICAL EXPERIENCE AS SPELLBINDING NEW TRAILER HERALDS HE RETURN OF THE MOST FAMOUS FAIRIES

As excitement builds for the return of iconic animated series Winx Club: The Magic Is Back, fans can catch a sneak peek at its fabulous new look and the thrilling surprises in store for viewers to its extraordinary new adventures after creators Rainbow Group released a breathtaking official trailer online.

8: Trial Evaluating Blood Test for 10 Cancers Reaches Major Milestone

MODERNISED, a multi-site UK clinical study has passed a key milestone: over 450 participants have joined the trial evaluating ENLIGHTEN, a first-of-its-kind blood test, registered with the MHRA, and designed to spot signals of up to 10 cancers at their earliest, most treatable stages.

9: 2025-2026 WORLD TOUR OF BREAK THE CEILING TOUCH THE SKY SUMMIT KICKS OFF IN DUBAI SEPT 8, 2025

House of Rose Professional Pte. Ltd (HORP)  the leader in global executive leadership development today announced that Dubai, UAE has been chosen as the kick-off city for its 2025-2026 World Tour of Break the ceiling touch the sky.

10: Olympic Arts Charter Marks 30th Anniversary in Paris, Unveiling Multiple Achievements and New Vision for Globalization of the Arts

The thirtieth anniversary of the Olympic Arts Charter was commemorated on 16 July at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, convening close to 230 distinguished participants from the spheres of culture, governance, and scientific inquiry.

11: Breakup Blues Are Fuelling a Surge in Hair Transplant Travel, Says Clinic Prime

Clinic Prime , a UK-focused cosmetic medical provider based in Istanbul, reports a sharp uptick in bookings from recently single men. These patients aren't just chasing aesthetics  they're seeking closure, control, and confidence.

12: Quest Global Signs Multi-Year Partnership with Andretti Formula E to Deliver Driving Performance and Innovation

Quest Global, a leading global product engineering services company, is proud to announce its multi-year partnership with Andretti Formula E as the team's official Engineering Technology Partner

Read more of the latest releases from PR Newswire and stay caught up on the top press releases by following @PRNalert on Twitter.

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Entrepreneur magazine recognizes both brands among the world's leading franchise opportunities

OAK BROOK, Ill., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ace Hardware, the world's largest hardware cooperative, has once again been recognized on Entrepreneur magazine's Best of the Best list, featured in the July/August issue and on Entrepreneur.com. Ace Handyman Services, a subsidiary of Ace Hardware, was also named to the list, earning top honors in the home repairs and handyman services category.

The Best of the Best designation is reserved for franchise brands that not only rank in Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 but also secure the top spot in their respective categories. The recognition reflects Ace Hardware's continued strength as a retail cooperative and Ace Handyman Services' position as a trusted choice for homeowners seeking reliable, professional help with projects big and small.

"This award reinforces what makes Ace unique: local ownership backed by national scale," said Andy Schmitt, Vice President of Retail Operations and New Business at Ace Hardware. "Our owners are at the heart of everything we do. Their dedication to service and their role in the communities they serve are what make Ace and Ace Handyman Services such strong opportunities for entrepreneurs."

Entrepreneur's annual ranking evaluates franchise systems across more than 150 data points, including costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial stability. Both Ace Hardware and Ace Handyman Services excelled across these criteria, further solidifying their reputations as world-class franchise opportunities.

Ace Handyman Services, formerly Handyman Matters established in 1998 and acquired and rebranded by Ace Hardware in 2019, is made up of locally owned and operated franchise businesses staffed by skilled craftsmen and women who deliver a wide range of home improvement and maintenance services, from carpentry and painting to drywall and flooring.

"Finding and retaining kind, servant-hearted people has allowed us to grow at a rate that connects us to so many communities," said Andy Bell, Founder and CEO of Ace Handyman Services.

The full 2025 Best of the Best list is available in the July/August issue of Entrepreneur magazine and online at Entrepreneur.com.

About Ace Hardware

Ace Hardware is the largest hardware cooperative in the world, serving more than 8,700 locally owned and operated stores around the globe, while providing the best products, services, and operating methods to almost 5,200 Ace retail stores in the United States. Ace Hardware's family of brands includes Ace Hardware, Emery Jensen Distribution, and independent retailers worldwide. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace operates an expansive network of U.S. distribution centers, along with international capabilities in Ningbo, China, and Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico. Since 1924, Ace has been a part of local communities, known as the place with the helpful hardware folks. For more information, visit acehardware.com or newsroom.acehardware.com.

About Ace Handyman Services

Ace Handyman Services (AHS) is a stand-alone subsidiary of Ace Hardware corporation. AHS employes reliable background checked craftsmen to complete 1,162 projects, including carpentry, drywall, flooring, painting, and miscellaneous repairs around residential and commercial properties. Ace sought to extend its "Helpful Place" concept to homes, as consumers are switching from DIY to a "do it for me" mentality. Ace Handyman Services currently has nearly 400 territories with over 200 owners across 47 states and is continuing to grow at a rapid pace while remaining a nationally recognized franchise.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Ace Hardware Corporation
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ADC Therapeutics SA (NYSE: ADCT), a commercial-stage global leader and pioneer in the field of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), today announced that the Company has made grants of options to purchase an aggregate of 127,000 of the Company's common shares to three new employees on August 1, 2025 (each, a "Grant").

The Grants were offered as material inducement to the employees' employment. The grants were approved by the Compensation Committee of the Company's Board of Directors pursuant to the Company's Inducement Plan to motivate and reward the recipients to perform at the highest levels and contribute significantly to the success of the Company. The Grants were made in reliance on the employment inducement exemption under the NYSE's Listed Company Manual Rule 303A.08.

The Company is issuing this press release pursuant to Rule 303A.08. The Grants shall vest and become exercisable 25% on the first anniversary of the grant date, and 1/48th of the aggregate number of shares subject to the award on each monthly anniversary of the grant date thereafter, such that the entire award will be vested as of the fourth anniversary of the grant date, subject to continued employment with the Company.

About ADC Therapeutics

ADC Therapeutics (NYSE: ADCT) is a commercial-stage global leader and pioneer in the field of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), transforming treatment for patients through our focused portfolio with ZYNLONTA and a PSMA-targeting ADC.

ADC Therapeutics' CD19-directed ADC ZYNLONTA (loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl) received accelerated approval by the FDA and conditional approval from the European Commission for the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy. ZYNLONTA is also in development in combination with other agents and in earlier lines of therapy. In addition to ZYNLONTA, ADC Therapeutics is leveraging its expertise to advance IND-enabling activities for a next-generation PSMA-targeting ADC which utilizes a differentiated exatecan-based payload with a novel hydrophilic linker.

Headquartered in Lausanne (Biopole), Switzerland, with operations in London and New Jersey, ADC Therapeutics is focused on driving innovation in ADC development with specialized capabilities from clinical to manufacturing and commercialization. Learn more at adctherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

ZYNLONTA is a registered trademark of ADC Therapeutics SA.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "would", "expect", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "seem", "seek", "future", "continue", or "appear" or the negative of these terms or similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those described. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the success of the Company's strategic restructuring plan; changes in estimated costs associated with the restructuring plan including the workforce reduction and planned closure of the UK facility; the expected cash runway into 2028 which assumes use of minimum liquidity amount required to be maintained under its loan agreement covenants; whether future LOTIS-7 clinical trial results will be consistent with or different from the LOTIS-7 data presented at EHA and ICML and future compendia and regulatory strategy and opportunity; the timing of the PFS events for LOTIS-5 and the results of the trial and full FDA approval; the Company's ability to grow ZYNLONTA revenue in the United States and potential peak revenue; the ability of our partners to commercialize ZYNLONTA in foreign markets, the timing and amount of future revenue and payments to us from such partnerships and their ability to obtain regulatory approval for ZYNLONTA in foreign jurisdictions; the timing and results of the Company's or its partners' research and development projects or clinical trials including LOTIS 5 and 7, as well as early pre-clinical research for our exatecan-based ADC targeting PSMA; the timing and results of investigator-initiated trials including those studying FL and MZL and the potential regulatory and/or compendia strategy and the future opportunity; the timing and outcome of regulatory submissions for the Company's products or product candidates; actions by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities; projected revenue and expenses; the Company's indebtedness, including Healthcare Royalty Management and Blue Owl and Oaktree facilities, and the restrictions imposed on the Company's activities by such indebtedness, the ability to comply with the terms of the various agreements and repay such indebtedness and the significant cash required to service such indebtedness; and the Company's ability to obtain financial and other resources for its research, development, clinical, and commercial activities. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and in the Company's other periodic and current reports and filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, achievements or prospects to be materially different from any future results, performance, achievements or prospects expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this document.

CONTACTS:

Investors and Media

Nicole Riley

ADC Therapeutics

[email protected]

+1 862-926-9040

SOURCE ADC Therapeutics SA
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- BLUETTI , a global leader in clean energy solutions, today announced the retail availability of its flagship Apex 300 Portable Power Station . Following its highest-funded Indiegogo campaign of 2025, raising over $5.4 million from 2,564 backers by July 20the Apex 300 is now available for a broader audience, bringing industry-leading innovation to homes and outdoor adventures.

BLUETTI Apex 300 portable power station, a $5.4M Indiegogo success, is now available in retailbringing its breakthrough energy and utilities innovation to a wider audience.

Since its debut, the Apex 300 has earned widespread acclaim and received several prestigious industry honorsincluding the 2025 Sustainability Awards from the Business Intelligence Group, the Home of the Future Award from Popular Science, and the Picks Award at CES 2025 from Residential Systems. These accolades highlight its innovation and focus on realworld energy needs.

The Apex 300 delivers dual 120V/240V output from a single unit with a simple button press. It is a robust standalone unit with 2,764.8Wh capacity and 3,840W output, supporting emergency home backup, RVs, offgrid cabins, and an expandable ecosystem for fully automated wholehome backup.

Key Innovations:

50A/12,000W bypass for highdemand appliances and EVs

True 0ms UPS switching to prevent blackout interruptions

Ultralow 20W AC idle draw for extended standby on fridges and medical devices

2ndgen automotivegrade LiFePO battery for up to 17 years of daily use

Early adopters praise the Apex 300 for its versatile standalone power and expandable ecosystem. Veteran reviewer Jeff Hagen logged 800+ hours of testing, highlighting upgrades from the AC300 and AC500, including improved AC standby efficiency at just 18Wideal for home battery backup preparedness during this active hurricane season. Popular Science's Executive Gear Editor Stan Horaczek adds: "The Apex 300 might be the most versatile portable power station yet."

"Our focus with the Apex 300 was to create a dependable portable power station that's easy to scale for various needs," said James Rays, spokesperson for BLUETTI. "We're honored that it helps bring reliable backup power within reach of everyday households."

Apex 300 Hits Retail Shelves August 1

Starting August 1, the Apex 300 will be available through the BLUETTI Official Store and Amazon , starting at $1,599. Customers who order during the launch period can enjoy an additional 10% discount using the promo code BLUETTIAPEX.

About BLUETTI

As a pioneer in clean energy technology, BLUETTI is committed to delivering reliable and innovative portable power solutions for home backup and outdoor living. Trusted by over 3.5 million users across more than 110 countries and regions, BLUETTI continues to advance energy independence with a focus on long-term sustainability and responsible innovation. Through initiatives like LAAF (Light An African Family), the company supports broader access to clean, reliable energy in underserved regionsunderscoring its ongoing commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values.

Media Contact

Ellen Lee

PR Specialist

[email protected]

SOURCE BLUETTI POWER INC.
SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Elegoo, a rapidly developing brand in global smart manufacturing, proudly announces the wrap-up of the first phase of its "ELEGOO With Her" initiative, a program supporting women creators worldwide through 3D printing. From over 110 sign-ups, 30 final participants from 17 countries stood out to join this phase. After three months of workshops and mentorship, the program now enters its showcase stage, with over 70% of participants new to 3D printing, underscoring its role in making the technology more accessible.

Elegoo wraps the first phase of Elegoo With Her, spotlighting women creators in home decor, fashion, cosplay, and education.

Launched at Formnext 2024, "ELEGOO With Her" was led by eight accomplished female designers and makers: Anouk Wipprecht, Batoul al-Rashdan, Brigitte Kock, Denise Bertacchi, Emily Boe (pseud.), Linette Manuel, Shehzeen Rehman, and Willow Creative (alias). Among the participants' creations were STEM kits empowering girls in Africa and intricately 3D-printed lamps inspired by early 20th-century design, showcasing 3D printing's creative potential in home decor, fashion, cosplay, and education.

"I remember how excited I was when I printed my first benchy. I also remember the failures. The hands-on workshops, mentorship, and community gave me more than just skills. They gave me the confidence to build and to lead," said Janet Zagah, a renewable energy entrepreneur and program participant.

"Having an inclusive program run by a company as big as Elegoo is powerful," said Kinnera Putti, a mobile developer who also participated in the program. "I hope others see what we've made and feel inspired to try something too."

"We've always believed 3D printing should be accessible to everyone, and these projects show just how powerful it can be when women challenge themselves and use the technology to create and improve lives beyond their own," said Coco Lee, Brand Director of Elegoo. "With proven reliability and ease of use, we're proud that our products enable people from all backgrounds to unleash their creativity and bring their ideas to life."

While this chapter wraps, the journey continues. Elegoo has made its workshops public on YouTube, and the next showcase will be at IFA Berlin this September, where their work will inspire more women to create.

For more information, please visit the ELEGOO With Her blog or follow Elegoo's social media platforms.

About Elegoo

Founded in 2015, Elegoo is a rapidly developing brand in the global smart manufacturing industry, specializing in R&D, manufacturing, and sales of consumer-grade 3D printers, laser engravers, STEM kits, and other smart technology products. Located in Shenzhen, the Silicon Valley of China, the company has sold millions of products across more than 100 countries and regions. In 2024, the company's total sales revenue surpassed 220 million USD, with more than 1000 employees and nearly 30,000 square meters of office and manufacturing area. With a focus on programming and 3D printing technology, Elegoo provides unique and smart creation spaces for diverse consumers to enhance personalized experiences.

SOURCE ELEGOO
SAO PAULO, July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ --

2Q25 Highlights

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of R$2.6 billion in 2Q25, up 7% compared to 1Q25. The highlight was the performance of operations in North America , which accounted for 61% of the consolidated EBITDA for the quarter and offset the decline in results in Brazil and South America .

(earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of in 2Q25, up 7% compared to 1Q25. The highlight was the performance of operations in , which accounted for 61% of the consolidated EBITDA for the quarter and offset the decline in results in and . Investments (CAPEX) of R$1.6 billion in 2Q25, with 80% allocated to Brazil . The Company has already invested approximately 50% of the total planned for 2025 ( R$6.0 billion ).

of in 2Q25, with 80% allocated to . The Company has already invested approximately 50% of the total planned for 2025 ( ). Dividend distribution of R$0.12 per share, equivalent to R$239.5 million , based on 2Q25 results.

of per share, equivalent to , based on 2Q25 results. The Company has reached approximately 68% of the 2025 Share Buyback Program, having repurchased around 43.8 million shares of Gerdau S.A., totaling an investment of R$686.1 million in the program so far. Management emphasizes that the current share repurchase plan remains in effect.

having repurchased around 43.8 million shares of Gerdau S.A., totaling an investment of in the program so far. Management emphasizes that the current share repurchase plan remains in effect. During 2Q25, Gerdau carried out two issuances: bonds and debentures totaling US$650 million and R$1.4 billion , respectively, extending the Company's debt maturity profile.

Additional information

Gerdau S.A. (NYSE: GGB, B3: GGBR3, GGBR4) informs that it is filling today its 2Q25 results at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and at the Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios (CVM), which are available at Gerdau's website. To access this document, please click on: https://ri.gerdau.com/en/notices-and-results/results-center/.

The 2Q25 Valuation Guide is also available at Gerdau's website.

https://ri.gerdau.com/en/financial-information/valuation-guide/

SOURCE Gerdau S.A.
SPARK TALENT brings together HR leaders, talent acquisition experts, and workforce strategists for three immersive days dedicated to exploring workforce agility, intelligent hiring, and the responsible use of AI. With a powerhouse lineup of speakers from PepsiCo, Hershey, The CocaCola Company, Staples, Vanta, GE HealthCare, ADM, and beyond, attendees will walk away with practical strategies to build resilient, future-ready organizations.

With tracks focused on talent acquisition and workforce planning, attendees have the flexibility to craft customized agendas that are tailored to their unique interests and HR needs.

"AI's impact on talent has never been more importantor more urgent. The future won't belong to those who resist it, but to those who learn to leverage it," explains conference speaker Peter Lynch, Chief People Officer of Cardinal Group Companies. "That's why I am so excited for my session where we'll explore how to stay human, stay ahead, and turn AI into your competitive edgenot your replacement."

SPARK TALENT provides attendees with opportunities to participate in hands-on labs and workshops; network with peers, industry leaders, and innovative HR tech providers; and delivers proven frameworks for learning how to harness AI in recruitment and workforce analytics, and for crafting hiring strategies for greater adaptability.

"The employee experience is being redefinedby AI, shifting expectations, and a workforce that craves meaning over management," explains Shane York, VP of Events at HCI. "At SPARK TALENT, the brightest minds and top practitioners in HR are sharing not just ideas, but real-world strategies to help you lead with clarity and confidence. This is where you turn insight into action and shape the future of your organization."

SPARK TALENT 2025 is made possible by support from sponsors who are redefining the HR technology landscape. Innovative brands including Vemo, Eightfold AI, Workforce Edge, AWS Cloud Institute, Lizzy AI and Neuroscale AI will be onsite throughout the event to connect with attendees, offering live demos, consultations, and insights into how their solutions support strategic hiring, skills-based planning, and workforce agility initiatives.

"HCI has always been the class act of strategic workforce planning conferences and certifications, and we're more than thrilled that SPARK TALENT is coming to San Antonio with a stellar roster of speakers," says presenter Peter Louch, founder and CEO of Vemo. "We're looking forward to doing hands-on work with HR practitioners to collectively advance our knowledge and experience in integrating AI with strategic workforce planning."

Set against the iconic River Walk and conveniently located near The Alamo, the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk hotel offers attendees a vibrant backdrop to learn, network, and unwind. SPARK TALENT attendees can access discounted room rates available for booking through September 15, 2025.

Register for SPARK TALENT online by visiting https://www.hci.org/spark-talent-conference-2025 or by calling 866-538-1909. Discounted pricing of $1,795 is available through August 31, 2025.

About Human Capital Institute (HCI)

Human Capital Institute (HCI), part of Simplify Compliance, is the first choice for high-performing HR professionals and teams who are focused on accelerating business results through strategic human capital practices. We help HR professionals optimize, acquire, engage, and develop the talent they need to support their organization's business strategy and accelerate business results. Our 300,000+ members worldwide have been advancing their HR careers with us since 2004. We can help you solve your next business challenge. Visit hci.org today.

SOURCE Human Capital Institute
GAZA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump recently admitted that Gaza is experiencing "real starvation," and announced plans to set up new food distribution centers overseen by Israel in the territory.

Referring to the past chaos and killings caused by the U.S. and Israel-supported aid distribution mechanism in Gaza, Palestinian analysts and residents argued that Trump's recent change in tone is simply a political maneuver aimed at placating public opinion, and is unlikely to lead to a real change in U.S. policy regarding the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

"The U.S. acknowledgment of starvation carries legal and moral weight, but remains symbolic unless translated into meaningful policy change," Hussam al-Dajani, a Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua.

"When the most powerful country in the world acknowledges starvation somewhere, this carries obligations. But instead of leading to protective action, it has resulted in reinforcing the mechanisms of suffering by assigning aid oversight to Israel," he said.

"This approach does not serve the interests of the civilian population but perpetuates their vulnerability," he added.

Al-Dajani explained that the aid model now being proposed by the United States risks turning humanitarian assistance into a political tool, rather than a means of relief.

"We are seeing an aid system designed not to save lives, but to manage and control populations under siege," he said.

Esmat Mansour, a Ramallah-based political analyst, shared similar concerns. He described the U.S. initiative as legitimizing an "aid regime" that is closely tied to military structures and security agendas.

"Israel does not deliver aid. It manages access to aid in ways that serve its broader strategic goals," Mansour told Xinhua.

"The United States has chosen to reinforce that framework instead of proposing an independent humanitarian mechanism, further blurring the line between relief and control," he said.

According to Mansour, Gaza's humanitarian crisis is not only the result of war, but also of a carefully engineered system of deprivation.

"The goal appears to be to keep the population in a constant state of need and exhaustion," he said. "The starvation is being used as a soft pressure mechanism, and the United States is complicit by supporting the very structures that produce it."

Hani al-Masri, a Ramallah-based analyst, told Xinhua, "The U.S. announcement was likely a response to mounting international pressure and global media coverage, rather than a substantive policy pivot."

"This acknowledgment does not come from a place of humanitarian concern, but rather from the need to manage reputational damage," al-Masri said.

He warned that empowering Israel to distribute aid as its military operations continue could pave the way for "a reinforced occupation model."

"Providing food under fire, with no ceasefire in place, undermines any credibility the United States claims in humanitarian leadership," al-Masri said.

Since March 2, a renewed Israeli blockade has closed all Gaza crossings, halting the delivery of food, fuel, and medicine into the enclave. Ceasefire talks have stalled, with some critics pointing to unwavering U.S. support for Israel as a key roadblock.

Claiming to help alleviate the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Palestinians in Gaza, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation established two food distribution centers in late May. Subsequently, it opened two additional centers in central and northern Gaza.

However, residents said these food distribution centers haven't truly improved their lives or stopped them from going hungry.

Gaza-based health authorities said Wednesday that a total of 154 people, including 89 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition.

Khaled al-Za'noun, a Palestinian man from al-Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, told Xinhua that, "Every time we hear that an American food center has opened ... we rush there, wait for hours, and usually return with nothing."

"Four weeks ago, my cousin was shot trying to grab a bag of flour. We couldn't save him. We ran for our lives," he said, dismissing the centers as chaotic and unsafe.

In central Gaza's Maghazi refugee camp, 40-year-old widow Om Sami al-Sheikh waited for six hours outside a food distribution center. "I came back with nothing."

Her 11-month-old baby, visibly malnourished, lay beside her as she spoke.

"The United States says it cares, but it funds this suffering and sends food through centers that humiliate us," she lamented. "If they really wanted to help, we wouldn't be starving like this. They are not just bystanders; they're part of what's killing us." 
Announced by CPT Group, Inc.

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CPT Group, Inc., announces a proposed Settlement in a class action lawsuit called Heath, et al., v. Keenan & Associates, Los Angeles Superior Court, Case No. 24STCV03018 (the "Action").

What is this about? The action arises from an unauthorized user gaining access to information relating to certain of Keenan & Associates' ("Keenan") customers between August 21, 2023 and August 27, 2023 ("Data Security Incident"). While Defendant denies any wrongdoing, the parties agreed to settle the case before trial rather than pursue litigation. The people who filed this lawsuit are called the "Plaintiffs," and the company they sued that is a party to this Settlement, Keenan & Associates, is called the "Defendant."

Who is affected? You are a Class Member, and you are affected by this Settlement, if you were notified by Keenan that your Personally Identifying Information ("PII") was or may have been affected in the Data Security Incident.

What does the Settlement provide? The Settlement will provide Class Members with the opportunity to select and make a claim for three years (i.e., 36 months) of Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services (i.e., CMIS) and either a pro-rata Cash Fund Payment in amounts to be determined in accordance with the terms of the Settlement; or Cash Payments of up to $10,000 per Class Member for reimbursement of certain Documented Losses ("Documented Loss Payment"). In addition, Keenan has agreed to take certain remedial measures and enhanced security measures as a result of this Action.

How do I file a claim? Claim Forms are available for download and online submission at www.keenanbreachsettlement.com. The deadline to submit a Claim Form, either online or via email or U.S. Mail, is October 30, 2025.

What are my other options? You can do nothing, exclude yourself, or object to the Settlement.

Do Nothing : If you do nothing, you will not receive the CMIS Settlement Benefit or any of the monetary Settlement Benefits, and you will give up your right to sue Keenan in a separate lawsuit for the claims this Settlement resolves.

Exclude Yourself : If you opt-out of the Settlement, you will not receive a Settlement Payment. You will, however, preserve your right to personally sue or be part of a separate lawsuit against Keenan for the claims this Settlement resolves. If you file a Request for Exclusion, you cannot also submit a Claim Form as part of this Settlement. Requests for Exclusion ("Opt-Outs") must be sent to the Settlement Administrator no later than October 15, 2025.

Object : If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you may object to the Settlement by writing to the Court about why you do not think the Settlement should be approved. To object, you must provide timely written notice of your objection to the Settlement Administrator as provided below, no later than October 15, 2025.

What happens next? The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on November 14, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. PST before Judge Timothy Patrick Dillon Department 15 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, located at 312 North Spring Street  1st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and will decide whether to approve the Settlement; Class Counsel's application for attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses; and the Service Payments to the Class Representatives. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court may also listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. You may attend the hearing at your own expense, or you may pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

How do I get more information? For more information and to view the full Notice, Claim Form, a copy of the Settlement Agreement, and other documents, go to www.keenanbreachsettlement.com. You may also contact the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-888-764-4519, by email at [email protected] or by writing to Heath v. Keenan & Associates, c/o CPT Group, Inc., 50 Corporate Park, Irvine, CA 92606.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK'S OFFICE

SOURCE CPT Group, Inc.
Transforming the way homes are bought and sold, iFinder expands with a fresh brand and powerful results.

DALLAS, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- iFinder Offers, the real estate platform that has transformed how homeowners connect with qualified investors, is proud to announce several major milestones as it continues its mission to simplify property transactions across the U.S.

iFinder Offers continues expansion accross the United States. iFinder Offers' new website and redesign provides clarity for home sellers, real estate investors, and real estate agents alike.

Founded in 2019, iFinder Offers has grown from a disruptive startup into a national force in real estate innovation. With nearly $2 billion in property submissions, the platform now facilitates transactions in 24 states, offering homeowners more choices and better outcomes than ever before. Backed by a robust network of 300 highly-qualified investors, iFinder Offers has facilitated a record-breaking number of property transactions  reinforcing its role as a trusted solution in a rapidly changing market.

The company's recent brand refresh and launch of a completely redesigned website mark a new chapter in its evolution. The updated brand identity reflects iFinder's commitment to clarity, simplicity, and customer empowermenthallmarks of its founding vision.

"This moment is about more than numbersit's about the people we've helped and the possibilities we've unlocked," said Anne Lakusta, President and Co-Founder of iFinder Offers. "Our team's passion, our technology, and our investors have helped thousands of homeowners access better offers with zero hassle. This brand refresh isn't just a new lookit's a renewed promise to lead with integrity, innovation, and impact."

As the company expands into new markets and enhances its offerings, it remains focused on delivering value to sellers, investors, and real estate professionals alike.

About iFinder Offers

iFinder Offers is a real estate company founded in 2019 to revolutionize how property owners sell their homes. By streamlining the offer process, iFinder empowers agents and investors to serve sellers better, delivering speed, transparency, and maximum value in every transaction. Submit your property for bids or become an approved investor! Learn more at www.ifinderoffers.com.

Press Contact:

Valerie Preston

Director of Business Development

iFinder Offers

[email protected]

(972) 874-1905

SOURCE iFinder Offers
NEW YORK, July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Novo Nordisk A/S ("Novo Nordisk" or the "Company") (NYSE: NVO). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Novo Nordisk 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 July 29, 2025, Novo Nordisk significantly lowered its sales outlook for 2025, citing the impact of increased competition in the markets for its drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

On this news, Novo Nordisk's American Depositary Receipt ("ADR") price fell $15.06 per ADR, or 21.83%, to close at $53.94 per ADR on July 29, 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
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kansas City Life Insurance Company recorded a net loss of $28.1 million or $2.90 per share in the second quarter of 2025 compared to net income of $4.7 million or $0.49 per share in the second quarter of 2024. The primary factor in the decrease in net income in the second quarter of 2025 was the establishment of a legal settlement accrual of $35.5 million, net of tax, related to a potential settlement of class action lawsuits.

Excluding this legal settlement accrual, net income would have been $7.5 million or $0.77 per share in the second quarter of 2025. After excluding the legal settlement accrual, the improvement over the second quarter of 2024 included higher investment revenues and lower policyholder benefits, partially offset by a decline in insurance revenues.

We recorded a net loss of $26.2 million or $2.71 per share in the first six months of 2025 compared to net income of $6.3 million or $0.65 per share in the first six months of 2024. The primary factor in the decrease in net income in the first six months of 2025 was the establishment of a legal settlement accrual, as mentioned above.

Excluding this legal settlement accrual, net income would have been $9.3 million or $0.96 per share in the first six months of 2025. After excluding the legal settlement accrual, the increase over the first six months of 2024 was primarily due to lower policyholder benefits. Partially offsetting this were decreases in insurance revenues and investment revenues.

Kansas City Life Insurance Company (OTCQX: KCLI) was established in 1895 and is based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Company's primary business is providing financial protection through the sale of life insurance and annuities. The Company operates in 49 states and the District of Columbia. For more information, please visit www.kclife.com.

Kansas City Life Insurance Company Condensed Consolidated Income Statement (amounts in thousands, except share data)

Quarter Ended

June 30



Six Months Ended June 30

2025

2024

2025

2024 Revenues $ 122,299

$ 122,512

$ 241,274

$ 249,820 Net income (loss) $ (28,073)

$ 4,735

$ (26,197)

$ 6,289 Net income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $ (2.90)

$ 0.49

$ (2.71)

$ 0.65 Dividends paid $ 0.14

$ 0.14

$ 0.28

$ 0.28 Average number of shares outstanding

9,683,414



9,683,414



9,683,414



9,683,414

























SOURCE Kansas City Life Insurance Company
Among other allegations, Glen Ivy Hot Springs allegedly failed to reimburse employees for using their personal cellular phones to execute job duties while on-the-clock.

**THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT**

RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The San Bernardino employment law attorneys, at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP , filed a class action complaint alleging that Glen Ivy Hot Springs violated the California Labor Code. The Glen Ivy Hot Springs class action lawsuit, Case No. CVRI2502906, is currently pending in the Riverside County Superior Court of the State of California. A copy of the Complaint can be read here .

The Law Office of Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP

According to the lawsuit filed, Glen Ivy Hot Springs allegedly failed to provide employees with legally required meal and rest breaks . Specifically, employees were allegedly required from time to time to work in excess of four (4) hours without being provided ten (10) minute rest periods. The applicable California Wage Order requires employers to provide employees with off-duty rest periods, which the California Supreme Court defined as time during which an employee is relieved from all work related duties and free from employer control.

The Complaint further alleges that Glen Ivy Hot Springs failed to reimburse employees for fronting the cost of required business expenses. California Labor Code Section 2808 expressly states that "an employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties" Employees incurred expenses related to use of their personal cellular phones.

For more information about the class action lawsuit against Glen Ivy Hot Springs, call (800) 568-8020 to speak to an experienced California employment attorney today.

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP is an employment law firm with offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside and Chicago that dedicates its practice to helping employees, investors and consumers fight back against unfair business practices, including violations of the California Labor Code and Fair Labor Standards Act. If you need help in collecting unpaid overtime wages, unpaid commissions, being wrongfully terminated from work, and other employment law claims, contact one of their attorneys today.

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Media Contact

Nicholas De Blouw

Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP

(800) 568-8020

[email protected]

https://www.bamlawca.com/

SOURCE Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- President Donald J. Trump has recently announced several new tariffs that could impact the cost of food and beverages. These changes could increase the prices for popular restaurant items like coffee and hamburgers and raise prices for many other needed menu ingredients. National Restaurant Association President & CEO Michelle Korsmo released the following statement about how these changes will impact restaurant operators and consumers:

"Operating a restaurant is becoming increasingly difficult due to economic and regulatory pressure and a nearly 5% increase in wholesale food costs since last year. These new tariffs on food and beverage items will exacerbate the situation.

"Although we are still evaluating the full impact of these announcements, it is evident that these tariffs will increase the cost to access many important menu products.

"With restaurants operating on very tight margins, many operators may have no choice but to increase menu prices, something they are reluctant to do, because we know Americans may have to make the choice to dine out less frequently if prices go up. Fewer people dining out jeopardizes an industry that supports millions of jobs and local economies.

"We ask the Trump Administration to continue with sensible trade agreements. While addressing trade deficits is important, food and beverage products are not major contributors to these imbalances. We strongly advocate for exempting food and beverage items from tariff negotiations, and ensuring USMCA-compliant goods remain exempt during ongoing talks with Mexico and Canada. These measures will help safeguard small businesses, preserve jobs, and keep dining out affordable for families.

"While restaurants are resilient, we require policies that enable us to continue serving our communities effectively."

Read the July 29 letter from the Association to the U.S. Trade Representative urging food and beverage to be exempted from tariffs here .

About the National Restaurant Association

Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises more than 1 million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of more than 15.7 million employees. Together with 52 State Associations, we are a network of professional organizations dedicated to serving every restaurant through advocacy, education, and food safety. We sponsor the industry's largest trade show National Restaurant Association Show; leading food safety training and certification program ServSafe; unique career-building high school program the NRAEF's ProStart. For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find WeRRestaurants on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

SOURCE National Restaurant Association
Highly anticipated Seasons at Cypress is currently open for sales by appointment only

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Richmond American Homes of Maryland, Inc., California Department of Real Estate  Real Estate Broker, Corporation License Number 01842595, is pleased to announce that Seasons at Cypress (RichmondAmerican.com/SeasonsAtCypress) is now open for sales by appointment in Rancho Cordova. This exciting new community will offer five inspired single and two-story floor plans from the builder's sought-after Seasons Collection (RichmondAmerican.com/Seasons), designed to optimize living space and make homeownership more attainable. All homes will showcase professionally curated fixtures and finishes (RichmondAmerican.com/Curated).

New to the Sacramento area, the Cassia plan will be available at Seasons at Cypress in Rancho Cordova, California.

More about Seasons at Cypress:

New single- & two-story homes from the upper $500s

Five thoughtfully designed floor plans

Designer-curated fixtures & finishes

4 to 5 bedrooms & approx. 1,720 to 2,910 sq. ft.

Close proximity to notable schools, essential services, recreation, shopping & dining

Models opening soon

Seasons at Cypress is located at 4273 Paisleyshire Way in Rancho Cordova. For more information and to schedule an appointment, call 916.472.7389 or visit RichmondAmerican.com.

About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.

M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1972. MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries, which operate under the name Richmond American Homes, have helped more than 250,000 homebuyers achieve the American Dream since 1977. One of the largest homebuilders in the nation, MDC is committed to quality and value that is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. The Richmond American companies have operations in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Mortgage lending, insurance and title services are offered by the following MDC subsidiaries, respectively: HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company. For more information, visit MDCHoldings.com.

SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), a globally renowned research institution for the new energy industry, released its BNEF Energy Storage Tier 1 List 3Q 2025 today. PotisEdge has once again been recognized as a Tier 1 Energy Storage Manufacturer, marking its fifth consecutive recognition by BNEF. This continued recognition reflects PotisEdge's sustainable innovation, global performance, and industry leadership in energy storage field.

PotisEdge BNEF Tier 1 Again PotisEdge BNEF Tier 1 List

As an authoritative third-party research and data organization in the global new energy sector, BNEF has established a transparent evaluation framework through its rigorous supplier rating system. Its Tier 1 methodology is based on a rigorous evaluation of the project bankability, encompassing criteria such as technological innovation, market performance, financial stability, and project delivery capabilities.

A Proven Leader in Sustainable Energy Storage

This landmark achievement not only secures PotisEdge's leadership position in the energy storage industry, but also underscores its commitment in delivering high-performance, scalable, and bankable energy storage solutions across residential, commercial & industrial (C&I), and utility-scale sectors. With systems actively deployed in Europe, Australia and the Americas, PotisEdge is enabling critical decarbonization and grid modernization efforts across diverse environments. Being listed reinforces not only product reliability but also the confidence that financial institutions and global developers place in PotisEdge solutions.

Powering the Sustainable Edge

As the global energy transition accelerates, PotisEdge is deepening its competitive edge through continuous innovation, localized service models, and global supply chain integration. The company remains committed to its mission of powering the sustainable edgedelivering energy systems that are not only intelligent and integrated, but also accessible, reliable, bankable and future-ready.

About PotisEdge:

PotisEdge, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, is a globally recognized leader in energy storage system (ESS) integration, ranked as a Tier 1 ESS provider by BloombergNEF and a Global TOP3 ESS Integrator by InfoLink in 2024. With over 13 years expertise in the ESS industry, PotisEdge combines patented 5S technologies (BMS, ICCS, EMS, TMS, PCS) and automotive-grade manufacturing standards to deliver high-performance, sustainable solutions.

PotisEdge maintains wholly-owned subsidiaries across Sweden, the U.S., Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with manufacturing bases located in Suzhou, China and Atlanta, the U.S.. It currently operates 31GWh of production capacity, targeting expansion to over 100GWh by 2028. PotisEdge combines cutting-edge innovation, operational excellence, and financial stability to serve C&I and utility-scale clients worldwide.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE PotisEdge
Kobre & Kim led litigation leading to one of the largest trade secret verdicts in U.S. history.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- California renewable fuels pioneer Propel Fuels, Inc. ("Propel") has been awarded $195 million in exemplary damages for trade secret misappropriation by Phillips 66 Company ("Phillips 66"). Together with the jury's $604.9 million award of compensatory damages, and pre-judgment interest that the court also allowed in the ruling, the total award to Propel stands at more than $833 millionalready one of the five largest trade secret judgments in U.S. historywith the possibility of an additional award of attorneys' fees and costs to be added later.

The order was issued by Judge Michael Markman of the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. Exemplary damages (similar to punitive damages) were allowed after the jury found Phillips 66's misappropriation to be willful and malicious following a five-week trial ending in October 2024. After numerous written submissions and an oral argument in March 2025, Judge Markman's order was "tied to [the Court's] review of the testimony and other evidence at trial," and concludes: "In summary, the court finds that Phillips 66's misconduct was 'reprehensible' from a business perspective." [Emphasis added.]

"Propel's decision to pursue litigation was not an easy one. This has been a seven-year effort." said Rob Elam, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Propel. "The ability of a company of our size to persevere in a long battle against an adversary of this size is rare, and to achieve a successful result like this is even more uncommon. The time, money and commitment required to seek justice in these cases is extremely challenging. We did this for the company, its founders, employees, shareholders, partners and customers. But we also did it for all small business entrepreneurs in Americadefending American innovation and the American dream, demanding accountability and responsibility from one of America's largest corporations." Mr. Elam continued, "We hope this begins a serious discussion about corporate behavior and ethics, and the damage being done to American competitiveness. Corporations need to be held accountable. The culture needs to be fixed."

Michael Ng of the global disputes and investigations firm Kobre & Kim, who led the trial team along with Daniel Zaheer, said: "We are grateful for the Court's attention to the detailed evidence and for its thoughtful findings, which affirm the decisive results from the jury last fall. As the order says, the story told by Phillips 66 fell apart on cross examination. We are proud to stand with innovators, especially those like Propel who are willing to persevere through the challenges of the litigation process."

The dispute results from the fallout of Phillips 66's terminated acquisition of Propel in 2018 and Phillips 66's misuse of confidential information acquired under NDA to immediately launch a new renewable fuels business that quickly grew to a multi-billion-dollar operation. Noting the disparity between Phillips 66 and the much smaller Propel, the Court addressed the need to deter future misconduct:

"The court anticipates that the total judgment is more than sufficient to cause Phillips 66, and public companies at large, to conduct due diligence fairly and to take reasonable steps to safeguard the trade secrets of their smaller potential acquisition partners. Steps like returning trade secrets and other confidential information after a failed merger or acquisition, pursuing future substantially similar business ventures by using a clean team ought to have been second nature to Phillips before it danced with Propel. The court is confident Phillips will make it so going forward as a result of this case and the exemplary damages award."

Finding that "the evidence strongly supports" the $195 million punitive award, Judge Markman's order cites a long list of misconduct by Phillips 66 during the due diligence, including "troubling aspects of Phillips' handling of the due diligence process" and "mismanagement of the transition from a potential acquisition" to the launch of its new business, and in particular, the "duplicitous handling of the wind-down" of the acquisition, which it says "contributes to the conclusion that Phillips 66's misconduct was reprehensible."

Saying the order covers only a "few examples" of the evidence that "strongly supports" the $195 million award, the Court noted:

"Phillips 66 gleaned an enormous amount of information concerning the renewable diesel and E85 markets from due diligence. Internally, some at Phillips characterized it as a ten-year head start, in the sense that Propel had accumulated ten years' worth of know-how, real-world data, and other information that Phillips would be able to leverage in an acquisition."

However, even after Phillips 66 had decided internally not to pursue the acquisition and instead "go it alone," the company "continued to string Propel along during that time, most jarringly seen in [an email] reassuring [COO Koichi] Kurisu at Propel that the deal had been presented to the decision-makers and was just awaiting final approval from the chairman of the board. It took another month before Phillips 66 formally called off the deal."

at Propel that the deal had been presented to the decision-makers and was just awaiting final approval from the chairman of the board. It took another month before Phillips 66 formally called off the deal." The Court concluded that after terminating the deal "Phillips 66 then managed to pivot to its 'go it alone' strategy, contacting California regulators the very next business day after terminating the Propel deal. It pushed forward building a business that it had not been a player in before due diligence with Propel. Its knowledge of Propel's trade secret information itself made the business case for entering the renewable diesel and E85 markets  Phillips 66 got its proof of concept from Propel and then ran with it."

regulators the very next business day after terminating the Propel deal. It pushed forward building a business that it had not been a player in before due diligence with Propel. Its knowledge of Propel's trade secret information itself made the business case for entering the renewable diesel and E85 markets  Phillips 66 got its proof of concept from Propel and then ran with it." "Phillips 66 took no efforts to shield the team implementing its renewable diesel project from Propel's trade secrets. Rather, the team that implemented Phillips 66's 'go it alone' strategy was virtually identical to the team that Phillips had used to conduct the due diligence of Propel. Phillips 66 knew it could make use of a 'clean team' to avoid any potential misuse of Propel trade secrets  such steps are well known throughout corporate America and Phillips executives testified they were certainly aware of the concept  but it did not consider the deal significant enough to undertake the necessary effort and expense."

The order was also critical of "Phillips 66's efforts to explain away the evidence reflecting its misuse of Propel's trade secrets," which it said "were not persuasive." The Court said certain testimony "did not seem to hold up on cross-examination," and "Propel effectively countered" other Phillips 66 claims "via contrary evidence and expert testimony."

The order concludes:

"Phillips 66 should have been candid with Propel about any alleged misgivings in early June 2018, when [Phillips 66's deal lead] effectively decided the deal should not be consummated. It should not have repeatedly reassured Propel that the acquisition was on track when the deal was effectively dead. It should have collected and sequestered, returned, or destroyed all Propel confidential information shared during due diligence, without exception and without trying to parse whether a particular piece of information was indeed a trade secret under the law. It should not have tried to re-use spreadsheets populated with data from Propel, both financial and concerning site evaluations. And if all that was really too hard or too expensive, then it probably should have just acquired Propel." [Emphasis added]

A conference regarding formal entry of judgment is scheduled for August 5, 2025.

A copy of the order can be accessed here.

SOURCE Kobre & Kim
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Radiance Technologies (Radiance) is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Jay E. Town as Chief Compliance Officer.

Mr. Jay E. Town, Chief Compliance Officer at Radiance Technologies

Mr. Town brings extensive legal and compliance experience to his new role. He previously served as United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama from 2017 to 2021, where he led federal prosecutions and coordinated with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. During his tenure, he participated in the Department of Justice's China Initiative addressing economic espionage matters and served on the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice.

"We are excited to welcome Jay to the Radiance family," said Radiance CEO Bill Bailey. "His significant legal experience and acumen will assure that Radiance maintains its high levels of compliance while protecting the cutting-edge solutions developed by Radiance. His proven leadership will be instrumental in enhancing our capabilities and assuring the long-term success of our company."

Prior to his federal appointment, Mr. Town served as a senior prosecutor in the Madison County District Attorney's Office for thirteen years. He began his legal career as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps, serving for twelve years and achieving the rank of Major.

Bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role at Radiance, Mr. Town will oversee compliance operations, manage regulatory relationships with government agencies, and enhance the company's risk management capabilities.

Mr. Town holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law. He is admitted to practice in Indiana, New Jersey, and Alabama, as well as before the United States Supreme Court. Town frequently provides legal commentary on national television and radio programs. He resides in Huntsville with his wife and daughter.

About Radiance Technologies:

Radiance Technologies is an employee-owned prime contractor founded in 1999. With over 1,200 employee-owners across the United States, Radiance serves the Department of Defense, the national intelligence community, and other government agencies. From concepts to capabilities, Radiance leads the way in developing customer-focused solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, systems engineering, prototyping and integration, and operational and strategic intelligence, including scientific and technical intelligence.

Contact:

Julia Parrish

[email protected]

SOURCE Radiance Technologies
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of State on Thursday announced sanctions that deny visas to officials of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

"It is in our national security interests to impose consequences and hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments and undermining the prospects for peace," the State Department said in a press release.

The department noted it reported to the U.S. Congress that both organizations "are not in compliance with their commitments under the PLO Commitments Compliance Act of 1989 and the Middle East Peace Commitments Act of 2002."

It claimed that the PA and PLO took actions to "internationalize its conflict with Israel" at international organizations such as the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.

It also accused them of "continuing to support terrorism including incitement and glorification of violence," and "providing payments and benefits in support of terrorism to Palestinian terrorists and their families." 
STAMFORD, Conn., July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ReFocus Eye Health, a leading regional network of physician led ophthalmology and retina practices, proudly announces the strategic affiliation with The Eye Center. Under the clinical leadership of Dr. Ayman Boutros, MD, FAAO, The Eye Center has five locations in Northern Virginia serving patients out of their Sterling, Leesburg, Alexandria, Fairfield and Manassas offices.

Since its founding in 1989, The Eye Center has grown into one of the largest and most respected ophthalmology and refractive surgery practices in the Northeast offering iLASIK (all-laser LASIK), EVO Visian Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) and advanced treatments such as CustomVue and iDESIGN-2.0. With over 40,000 vision correction procedures and a renowned reputation in laser eye care, the practice lives by its motto: "Better Vision Through Better Care."

Jeff Rinkov, CEO of ReFocus Eye Health, shared: "We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Ayman Boutros and The Eye Center to the ReFocus Eye Health family. Dr. Boutros's leadership in refractive and cataract surgery, combined with his commitment to innovation and outstanding patient outcomes, fits perfectly with our values. Together, we'll continue delivering world-class eye care."

Dr. Ayman Boutros, Medical Director of The Eye Center, added: "Joining forces with ReFocus Eye Health is an exhilarating milestone for The Eye Center. This partnership empowers us with enhanced operational support and broader resourceswhile preserving our commitment to personalized, compassionate care. I'm excited about this next chapter of growth and service."

This affiliation bolsters ReFocus Eye Health's mission to support physician-led practices and deliver cutting-edge care. The Eye Center's long-standing track record in pioneering and high-volume vision correction aligns seamlessly with ReFocus's commitment to innovation and patient-first philosophy.

About ReFocus Eye Health

ReFocus Eye Health is a managed service organization ("MSO") supporting a leading network of comprehensive ophthalmology and retina practices that provide comprehensive eye care services to enhance and improve lives. The ReFocus Eye Health affiliate network includes 150+ providers and 79 locations across 8 states.

SOURCE ReFocus Eye Health
During the event, SCFHP was joined by: Mayor Greg Bozzo, City of Gilroy; Mayor Mark Turner, City of Morgan Hill; Cristian Cornejo representing Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas; members of the SCFHP South County Resident Advisory Group; and representatives of McLarney Construction.

This critical milestone comes after more than three years of planning and working closely with South County residents to learn more about their health and social needs. More than 20,000 SCFHP members currently reside in South County. With the new SCCRC, SCFHP hopes to close the gap on health resources in the area, and offer residents support in their community without having to travel to San Jose for assistance.

"Starting construction on our newest Community Resource Center (CRC) in Gilroy is a momentous occasion for Santa Clara Family Health Plan, and the South County community," said Christine M. Tomcala, Chief Executive Officer of SCFHP. "For years, our members in the region have asked for a center that serves their health needs. Investing in South County with a new CRC will help further our goal of reducing health disparities in this area, to benefit our members and support all of South County."

Once open, the SCCRC at 150 Leavesley Road in Gilroy, will offer:

Medi-Cal, Covered California, and CalFresh application assistance

Referrals to food, housing, and healthcare resources

Health education, cooking, and exercise classes

SCFHP Customer Service

"I know there are needs in the Gilroy community not being met," said Mayor Bozzo. "I appreciate the support this South County Community Resource Center will bring to address them."

Added Mayor Turner: "It's a big win for South County that SCFHP is bringing a Community Resource Center to our region. This new center will serve thousands of residents who need help with affordable health care. The City of Morgan Hill and I look forward to working with SCFHP as this center opens to advance the well-being of South County residents."

SCFHP collaborated with residents, local officials, and system partners, to form a Resident Advisory Group to gather input and ensure the SCCRC provides services specific to the needs of South County residents.

While construction is underway, SCFHP is currently serving the South County community at our SCFHP South County Service Hub located inside The Neon Exchange at 7365 Monterey Road in Gilroy. Individuals interested in applying for services or food benefits can contact the Service Hub at [email protected] or call 1-408-613-9001 to schedule an appointment. The Service Hub is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed for lunch from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.).

For more information about the SCFHP SCCRC, and to keep up with construction progress, visit www.scfhp.com/sccrc and follow the SCCRC on Facebook and Instagram at @scfhp.southcounty.crc .

About Santa Clara Family Health Plan

Santa Clara Family Health Plan (SCFHP) is a local, community-based health plan dedicated to creating opportunities for better health and wellness for all. In partnership with providers and community organizations since 1997, SCFHP works to ensure everyone in Santa Clara County has access to equitable, high-quality healthcare. With a strong commitment to integrity, outstanding service, and support for our community, we serve more than 295,000 people through our Medi-Cal and Medicare health plans. For more information, visit www.scfhp.com.

Photos available upon request.

SOURCE Santa Clara Family Health Plan
With all homesites at Texas Grand Ranch sold out, Patten Properties launches The Estates of Texas Grand Ranch to meet continued demand for acreage living near Houston.

WALKER COUNTY, Texas, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Patten Properties is celebrating 10 years of success at Texas Grand Ranch, the fastest-selling acreage community in Texas. Now fully sold out, the community marks a decade of unmatched demand, rising land values and hundreds of families who now call the wooded development home.

"We love our neighborhood and want to create an amazing cookbook to honor it," said resident Brenda Finn. Post this Photo credit: Laurie Elliott / Contributors and residents of the Taste of Texas Grand Ranch Cookbook

The first 2- to 5-acre homesites were released in 2015. Within one weekend, six months of inventory sold out. Over the next decade, the community continued to grow, and by the time Section 11 opened, the average lot price had increased by 2.6 times compared to Section 1.

Today, the community is fully built out and continues to thrive. More than 600 homes have been completed, and neighbors have formed strong connections through shared events and local initiatives. Recently, a group of residents reached out to Patten Properties to request information for their first community cookbook, Taste of Texas Grand Ranch.

"We love our neighborhood and want to create an amazing cookbook to honor it," said resident Brenda Finn.

Next Chapter: The Estates of Texas Grand Ranch Now Open

With Texas Grand Ranch now sold out, Patten Properties has launched The Estates of Texas Grand Ranch , offering 1- to 3-acre wooded homesites in a prime location just minutes from I-45, The Estates is located within New Waverly ISD and provides a forested retreat with mature trees, natural beauty and a peaceful setting close to everyday conveniences.

"Texas Grand Ranch set the standard for what a legacy land community should offer  location, value and long-term vision," said Gary Sumner, senior managing partner at Patten Properties. "If you missed the opportunity 10 years ago, this is your chance to do what early buyers did: get in before it's gone."

Become a Texas landowner starting at just $79,900 in one of the most desirable acreage communities near Houston.

Ready to tour? Visit theforestera.com or call/text 833-447-3773.

About Patten Properties

Patten Properties is a national leader in land development with more than 600 communities completed across the country. For more than 40 years, the company has helped families realize the American dream of land ownership.

Media Contact:

Heather Robison

[email protected]

SOURCE Patten Properties
Applications Open for National University of Singapore - Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech for Odisha-based Students.

BHUBANESWAR, India, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of Odisha, in partnership with the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), announced the upcoming official launch of the Integrated Global Financial Technology Capability Hub (I-GFTCH) in Bhubaneswar, scheduled for 21 August 2025.

This marks the first time Odisha is launching a FinTech capability initiative of this scale and global integration. The I-GFTCH launch positions Bhubaneswar at the forefront of India's evolving financial technology ecosystem and aligns with its national development objectives.

For the first time, applications are open for National University of Singapore - Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech for Odisha-based Students.

The Government of Odisha is undertaking a comprehensive, globally integrated four-pronged strategy to establish the state as a leader in Financial Technology innovation and capability.

Global Learning: Odisha has partnered with NUS-AIDF and GFTN to launch a future-proof FinTech and InsurTech professional certification programme. This five-month hybrid course - combining online modules, two weeks of on-campus sessions in Bhubaneswar, hands-on projects, and internship placements - is designed to be inclusive and employment-oriented. The initiative aims to empower over 7,000 students from all districts across Odisha with pragmatic expertise spanning technology, regulatory frameworks, and business operations in Financial Technology and InsurTech sectors. The initiative will be supported by the Skill Development Institute and the Union Education Ministry.



Global Mindshare: In the first quarter of 2026, Bhubaneswar will host the Black Swan Summit (BSS) India , a forward-looking global forum accelerating the adoption of frontier technologies. BSS convenes leading technologists, policymakers, investors, and innovators to explore paradigm shifts in tokenisation, AI, quantum computing, semiconductor breakthroughs, and digital infrastructure. Launched this year in Perth , Western Australia , the Summit now anchors the Black Swan Network, GFTN's flagship multi-location, global platform for collective foresight and international collaboration. Beyond the Black Swan Network, GFTN also convenes a suite of high-impact forums, including Point Zero Forum ( Zurich ), GFTN Forum Japan ( Tokyo ), the Inclusion FinTech Forum ( Rwanda ) and the world's largest FinTech gathering - the Singapore FinTech Festival. These forums span Asia , Europe , and Africa offering Odisha's students, professionals and startups a direct gateway into global job pipelines, cross-border venture opportunities, and future-ready digital economy networks.



Global Innovation: Odisha will establish a Centre of Excellence to drive digital transformation and advance pioneering solutions. The Hub will accelerate innovation through a full stack of support for startups - offering incubation, mentorship, masterclasses, bootcamps, market readiness programs, and venture development - drawing on GFTN's international expertise to nurture a robust, future-ready Financial Technology ecosystem.



Financial Technology Global Capability Hub: Odisha is also developing a strategic offshore or nearshore hub for global and national GFTN's partner financial institutions, leveraging the I-GFTCH Global Learning talent pool. These centres will transcend traditional cost-efficient models to serve as dynamic nodes for business growth and agility, enabling collaboration among startups, corporates and innovators via shared workspaces and integrated resources.

This multi-pronged approach underscores Odisha's commitment to building an internationally competitive, innovation-led and inclusive Financial Technology landscape.

The I-GFTCH initiative, under the leadership of the Honourable Chief Minister Mr. Mohan Charan Majhi and supported by the Department of Electronics & IT and the Department of Higher Education, will begin with the roll-out of its first pillar - Global Learning - in September 2025.

The NUS-AIDF Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech (CFI) programme under the Global Learning pillar is supported by the Skill Development Institute, Bhubaneswar as a designated Centre of Excellence with a view toward future national accreditation, in consultation with the Indian Union Ministry of Education.

"By combining local potential with world-class institutions like NUS-AIDF, we are investing in the youth of Odisha to thrive in the $1.8 trillion global digital economy," said Shri Dr Mukesh Mahaling, Hon'ble Minister for Electronics & IT, Government of Odisha.

"This partnership places Odisha on the global map of digital skilling," said Shri Suryabanshi Suraj, Hon'ble Minister of Higher Education, Government of Odisha. "We are committed to building a talent pipeline that can power India's innovation economy, and this certification is a powerful step forward."

"It's remarkable to see how swiftly the leadership of Odisha has executed the Financial Technology partnership with Singapore - from an MoU signed during the 17  18 January 2025 State Visit of His Excellency Mr. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of Singapore - into tangible, forward-looking action," said Sopnendu Mohanty, Group CEO of GFTN and former Chief FinTech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

"Odisha's bold vision to become a global FinTech innovation hub is coming to life through world-class certification programmes and a cutting-edge Capability Hub - unlocking global opportunities for local talent and building a future-ready digital economy," said Mr. Mohanty.

About GFTN

The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) is a Singapore-headquartered organisation that leverages technology and innovation to create more efficient, resilient, and inclusive financial systems through global collaboration. GFTN hosts a worldwide network of forums (including its flagship event, the Singapore FinTech Festival); advises governments and companies on policies and the development of digital ecosystems and innovation within the financial sector; offers digital infrastructure solutions; and plans to invest in financial technology startups through its upcoming venture fund, with a focus on inclusion and sustainability. GFTN is a not-for-profit organisation established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in 2024.

About NUS-AIDF

NUS-AIDF is jointly founded by the MAS, Singapore's central bank, and the National Research Foundation (NRF), Singapore. AIDF aspires to be a thought leader, a FinTech knowledge hub, and an experimental site for developing digital financial technologies as well as for nurturing current and future FinTech researchers and practitioners in Asia. AIDF conducts the Master of Science in Digital Financial Technology and the PhD in Digital Financial Technology programmes, aimed at training the next generation of FinTech professionals. National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked #8 globally and #1 in Asia (QS Rankings 2025).

About the Black Swan Summit

The Black Swan Summit is a global, forward-looking forum that accelerates the discovery of frontier technologies, fostering disruption, adoption, and capability development at the crossroads of global innovation hubs. It seeks to build global minds for a disruptive and inclusive future. Launched this year in Perth, Western Australia, the Black Swan Network is GFTN's flagship multi-location global platform for collective foresight and international collaboration.

Annex: Details of Certificate in FinTech & InsurTech

Certificate from the National University of Singapore- Asian Institute of Digital Finance (NUS-AIDF) - Sponsored by the Government of Odisha in partnership with GFTN.

Certificate in FinTech and InsurTech covers topics on:

Fundamentals of FinTech and Insurtech

Al & Blockchain application

InsurTech innovations

Real-world case studies

Who Can Apply:

Final year undergraduate and postgraduate students seeking to build a career in the financial sector

Course Format:

Virtual selection test - English comprehension

Hybrid (55% online + 45% in-person) over 5 months

Live project with industry partners and potential employers

2 weeks in person classes in Bhubaneswar*

*Accommodation & food will be provided

Course Benefits:

Priority job opportunities Access to placement fairs Referrals to banking and insurance companies for internship placements.

Global Visibility - GFTN Knowledge Circle Exclusive, free access to hundreds of articles and reports from GFTN Complimentary access to GFTN Forums worldwide**



**Terms & conditions apply

SOURCE GFTN; Global Finance & Technology Network
Clinical Stage Biotechnology Company Uses Patient Immune System to "Seek and Destroy" Cancer and Metastasis

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Res Nova Biologics, a clinical stage cancer immunotherapy company focused on developing small molecules and cellular products as non-toxic cancer therapies, announced today the appointment of Allan Camaisa, former Chairman and CEO and cofounder of Calidi Biotherapeutics to its Advisory Board. Camaisa spent a decade leading the development of innovative stem cells delivering oncolytic virus to attack tumors. He currently serves as Board Director and Advisor to Calidi Bio.

Famela Ramos, President and CEO, Res Nova Biologics, Inc. Allan Camaisa Teams Up with Res Nova Bio

"Allan Camaisa's visionary leadership and proven success in biotechnology make him an invaluable addition to our Advisory Board," said Famela Ramos, President and Chief Executive Officer of Res Nova Biologics. "His expertise will be instrumental in advancing Res Nova's mission to deliver transformative therapies. Additionally, his commitment to curing cancer, inspired by the personal loss of his father, aligns with our dedication of finding lifesaving treatments using our novel immunotherapeutic candidates."

"My goal in life is to accelerate the development of cancer treatments and eventual cures," said Mr. Camaisa. "The dedication, perseverance and success that Famela and her team have is second to none. I am proud to assist this extraordinary group of people in accelerating their goal of making FloraStilbene available to breast cancer patients everywhere."

Res Nova Biologic's Scientific Advisory Board include Dr. Santosh Kesari, a world-renowned neuro-oncologist ranked in the top 1% of his field by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd, Bishop Joseph Coffey, Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA and Dr. Michael P. Koumjian, a cardiac surgery specialist with over 46 years of experience.

Dr. George Delgado, founder of Abortion Pill Reversal and Scientific Advisory Board Member, describes the company as a beacon of diversity and excellence, uniting luminaries from varied fields. "This diverse coalition of medical, scientific, and spiritual leaders ensures Res Nova's approach is both groundbreaking and grounded in a higher calling," he said.

"Res Nova Biologics is not just developing treatments; we are answering a call to transform a drug known to destroy life into a cure that supports life," said Ramos. "With Allan Camaisa's strategic vision and the wisdom of our esteemed board, including Dr. Kesari's oncology second-to-none experience in cancer immunotherapy, Dr. Delgado's reproductive medicine ingenuity and Bishop Coffey's moral guidance, we are poised to revolutionize breast cancer therapy."

Res Nova Biologics invites stakeholders, patients, and the global community to join in this transformative journey, where science and faith converge to heal and restore. For more information about Res Nova Biologics and its mission, visit www.resnovabiologics.com

For more information, please contact:

Famela Ramos

President and CEO

Res Nova Biologics, Inc.

619-246-9179

[email protected]

Follow us on

Twitter @ResNovaBioCo

Instagram @ResNova_Bio

https://www.resnovabiologics.com

SOURCE Res Nova Biologics, Inc.
The web publication for travelers ages 25--42 announces the 11th annual The Trazees winners

YARDLEY, Pa., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Trazee Travel, a web publication and part of the FXExpress Publications, Inc., family of brands, which includes Global Traveler and whereverfamily.com, announces the annual winners of The Trazees. This is the 11th year for the web publication's awards.

Trazeetravel.com is aimed at travelers ages 2542, designed and created by the same demographic. Updated daily, Trazee Travel delivers fresh content on a range of travel topics.

"Wow, I can't believe we're announcing the winners of the 11th annual The Trazees! Travelers aged 2542 are really changing the face of the travel industry, determining trends and setting the standards. Our readers are elite among them and perfectly qualified to name this premier group of winners," said Kimberly Inlander, editor in chief, trazeetravel.com. "Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 The Trazees!"

Reader votes for the best in travel across a range of categories were collected Sept. 20, 2024May 16, 2025. Read more about the winners on trazeetravel.com. The winners will be honored Aug. 19 at an awards event at Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 The Trazees:

Favorite International Airline Condor Airlines Favorite Airline Alliance oneworld Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Aircraft Type Boeing 787 Favorite Airline in Asia Korean Air Favorite Airline in Europe TAP Air Portugal Eighth Consecutive Year Favorite Airline in Mexico Aeromexico Sixth Consecutive Year Favorite Airline in the Middle East Etihad Airways Second Consecutive Year Favorite Airline in North America Alaska Airlines Favorite Airline in South/Central America avianca Favorite Green Airline Turkish Airlines Favorite Airline App Delta Air Lines Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Premium Economy Class, Asia Japan Airlines Favorite Premium Economy Class, Europe Virgin Atlantic Airways Favorite Premium Economy Class, South/Central America avianca Favorite Premium Economy Class, United States Delta Air Lines Third Consecutive Year Favorite Hotel Website Marriott.com Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Hotel Rewards Program in the World Marriott Bonvoy Fifth Consecutive Year Favorite Hotel Chain in Asia Taj Hotels Favorite Hotel Chain in Europe Mandarin Oriental Favorite Hotel Chain in Mexico Fiesta Americana Travelty 11th Consecutive Year Favorite Hotel Chain in the Middle East Jumeirah International Favorite Hotel Chain in South/Central America RIU Hotels & Resorts Favorite Green Hotel Element Hotels Favorite Hotel App Marriott Hotels & Resorts Favorite Country Greece Sixth Consecutive Year Favorite Worldwide City Seoul Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Honeymoon Destination Turks & Caicos Favorite Credit Card Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card from Bank of America Favorite Credit Card Design Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card from Chase Third Consecutive Year Favorite Airline Website Alaskaair.com Second Consecutive Year Favorite Frequent-Flyer Program United MileagePlus Eighth Consecutive Year Favorite Airline in Africa Royal Air Maroc Second Consecutive Year Favorite Overall Airport in the World iGA Istanbul Airport Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Airport in Asia Incheon International Airport Second Consecutive Year Favorite Airport in Europe iGA Istanbul Airport Second Consecutive Year Favorite Airport in North America Chicago O'Hare International Airport Favorite Airport in the Middle East Hamad International Airport Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Airport in South/Central America Bogota El Dorado International Airport Seventh Consecutive Year Favorite Airport Dining Chicago O'Hare International Airport Sixth Consecutive Year Favorite Airport Shopping Miami International Airport Second Consecutive Year Favorite Duty-Free Shopping Singapore Changi Airport Favorite Individual Hotel Nemacolin Favorite Hotel Chain InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Favorite Lifestyle Hotel Chain Moxy Hotels Favorite Adventure Destination Taiwan Third Consecutive Year Favorite Foodie City Austin, Texas Friendliest City Chattanooga, Tennessee Favorite Beach Town, Northeast United States Nantucket, Massachusetts Second Consecutive Year Favorite Beach Town, Mid-Atlantic United States Cape May, New Jersey Favorite Beach Town, Mid-Southern United States Cape Hatteras, North Carolina Favorite Beach Town, Florida (East) Cocoa Beach Favorite Beach Town, Florida (West) Sarasota Fourth Consecutive Year Favorite Beach Town, West Coast United States Santa Monica, California Favorite Beach Town, Hawai'i Kaimuki, Oahu Favorite Car Rental Company Hertz Favorite Tour Operator Abercrombie & Kent Favorite Luggage Brand Samsonite Second Consecutive Year Favorite Cruise Line Credit Card Holland America Line Rewards Visa Card Favorite Cruise Line Princess Cruises

Quint Status

Favorite Hotel Rewards Program in the World

Marriott Bonvoy

Fifth Consecutive Year

About trazeetravel.com

trazeetravel.com targets the sought-after 2540-year-old traveler. A network of journalists updates travelers daily with content on subjects of unique interest to this demographic, covering a wide range of topics. Trazee Travel is the ultimate source of information for this group of intrepid young travelers. According to MRI Simmons, Trazee readers average 17 foreign trips every three years, with more than 90 percent holding passports. Traditional banner advertising is complemented with sponsored content and creative digital marketing, including Trazee on the Go and sponsored html newsletters. Editorial newsletters include TrazeeMail and Trazee slideshow, sent weekly. Each year, trazeetravel.com awards The Trazees, the favorite travel brands as selected by the readers of trazeetravel.com.

About FXExpress Publications, Inc.

FXExpress Publications, Inc., based in Yardley, Pa., is a privately held company publishing Global Traveler, globaltravelerusa.com, FX Excursions, eFlyer and several annuals. WhereverFamily LLC publishes whereverfamily.com and its related brands, and Trazee Travel, LLC publishes trazeetravel.com. FXExpress Publications, Inc. awards the annual Industry Leader Awards and FXExpress Traveler of the Year honors.

SOURCE Trazee Travel
The special award honors the legacy of Chef Joey Fecci

YARDLEY, Pa., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Trazee Travel, a web publication and part of the FXExpress Publications, Inc., family of publications, which includes Global Traveler and whereverfamily.com, is honored to announce the inaugural winner of the Joey Fecci Award for Culinary Excellence. The award honors the life and legacy of Chef Joseph D. Fecci, who passed away in April 2024 at the young age of 26 in Nashville, Tennessee.

At the time of his passing, Fecci was in the early stages of opening his own restaurant following his role as chef de cuisine at Yolan at The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville. To help keep his legacy alive, Trazee Travel launched the award to honor a professional chef under the age of 40 who shows passion, dedication, originality, creativity and leadership, qualities Fecci embodied and lived every day.

Congratulations to Chef Rashida Holmes, owner, Bridgetown Roti, in Los Angeles, California, and the inaugural winner of the Joey Fecci Award for Culinary Excellence. Chef Holmes began her career in 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland, working full-time at an Italian restaurant while attending culinary school. In 2010, Holmes moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to work with James Beard-nominated Big Burrito group at its pan-Asian restaurant, Soba. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles in 2013, she accepted a chef de cuisine position to open French-inspired Terrine in West Hollywood before launching the pop-up concept Bridgetown Roti in 2019. Learn more at rashidaholmes.com.

Fecci's memory lives on and his influence remains strong. To further honor his memory and dedication to the culinary arts, his family established the Joey Fecci Foundation, a Tennessee 501c3 organization. This foundation recently administered its first culinary scholarships in his memory, supporting aspiring chefs who wish to follow in his footsteps. Learn more at joeyfeccifoundation.org.

Read the announcement article on trazeetravel.com.

About trazeetravel.com

trazeetravel.com targets the sought-after 2542-year-old traveler. A network of journalists updates travelers daily with content on subjects of unique interest to this demographic, covering a wide range of topics. Trazee Travel is the ultimate source of information for this group of intrepid young travelers. According to MRI Simmons, Trazee readers average 17 foreign trips every three years, with more than 90 percent holding passports. Traditional banner advertising is complemented with sponsored content and creative digital marketing, including Trazee on the Go and sponsored html newsletters. Editorial newsletters include TrazeeMail and Trazee slideshow, sent weekly. Each year, trazeetravel.com awards The Trazees, the favorite travel brands as selected by the readers of trazeetravel.com.

About FXExpress Publications, Inc.

FXExpress Publications, Inc., based in Yardley, Pa., is a privately held company publishing Global Traveler, globaltravelerusa.com, FX Excursions, eFlyer and several annuals. WhereverFamily LLC publishes whereverfamily.com and its related brands, and Trazee Travel, LLC publishes trazeetravel.com. FXExpress Publications, Inc. awards the annual Industry Leader Awards and FXExpress Traveler of the Year honors.

SOURCE Trazee Travel
UNITS to headline Hill Motorsports' #56 Toyota in high-profile race on August 8

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- UNITS Moving and Portable Storage, a leading provider of innovative moving and storage solutions, is proud to announce its role as the primary sponsor of Timmy Hill's #56 Toyota for Hill Motorsports in the upcoming NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International.

The highly anticipated race is set for Friday, August 8, 2025, at 5:00 PM ET as part of the iconic "Go Bowling at The Glen" race weekend. This marks UNITS' continued commitment to the sport and its loyal fanbase, reinforcing the brand's support for American motorsports.

This sponsorship is part of UNITS' ongoing partnership with Hill Motorsports, now in its fifth year.

"We're thrilled to welcome UNITS back as a partner for our return to Watkins Glen!" said driver Timmy Hill. "This partnership means a lot to our race team because UNITS has been with us through some incredible moments, and having their support again for this event makes it even more special. Watkins Glen is a track I've always enjoyed and one where I've had success in the past, so it feels like the perfect place to continue building on what we've accomplished together. We're excited to showcase the UNITS brand on track and push for another strong result on race weekend!"

Known for its picturesque setting in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Watkins Glen has long been a fan-favorite road course. The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race adds to the excitement of the Go Bowling at The Glen weekend, attracting fans from across the country and generating significant national television exposure.

"Watkins Glen is one of the most iconic and scenic venues in all of motorsports, and we're thrilled to have UNITS front and center on the #56 Toyota for this race," said Michael McAlhany, CEO of UNITS Moving and Portable Storage. "We've built our brand on trust, service, and strength, and we see those same values in Timmy Hill and his team."

Through its NASCAR partnerships, UNITS leverages the power of motorsports to expand brand recognition and foster deep connections with its customers.

To learn more about Units Moving and Portable Storage, please visit https://unitsstorage.com.

ABOUT UNITS Moving and Portable Storage

Established in 2004, UNITS Moving and Portable Storage was founded by Michael McAlhany during the emergence of the moving and portable storage industry. The company's mission is to deliver personalized customer service and provide the most innovative and highest-quality equipment. Nationwide UNITS Moving and Portable Storage are locally owned and operated and familiar with the communities they serve. UNITS Moving and Portable Storage offers high-quality, constructed containers featuring barn-style doors and all-steel construction.

The UNITS Moving and Portable Storage container is clean, weather-resistant, spacious, and available in 12-ft and 16-ft lengths. The UNITS Moving and Portable Storage ROBO Delivery System is the most technologically advanced in the industry, virtually eliminating any shift in contents when lifting containers on and off transport vehicles and placing them in tight areas where competitors cannot. The container may be placed in a UNITS Moving and Portable Storage service center or at the customer's desired location, always at ground level for easy access. The national network of UNITS Moving and Portable Storage and Service Centers currently services over 3,000 cities in more than 30 states throughout North America and continues to expand. Please visit www.unitsstorage.com for more information.

Media Contact:

Tammy Delgado

[email protected]

919-459-7147

SOURCE Units Moving & Portable Storage
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Unlikely Collaborators has awarded a grant to Medicinal Media to support the development of five new short-form content packages exploring perception, mental health, and personal transformation. Each story will examine a different aspect of the human experience from body image and emotional pain to psychedelics and gratitude through the lens of the Perception Box framework.

Unlikely Collaborators has awarded a grant to Medicinal Media to create five short-form stories exploring perception, mental health, and personal transformation. Blending documentary, art, and essay, each piece examines how internal narratives shape our experiencefrom body image to grief to gratitudethrough the lens of the Perception Box.

These unconventional short-form documentary stories combine visual profiles, original essays, and illustrations to explore how we relate to ourselves and the world around us. Subjects include the lived experience of body dysmorphic disorder; the role of psychedelics in shifting thought patterns; how emotional pain shows up in the body; the power of narrative therapy in times of grief; and the mental health benefits of noticing everyday beauty sometimes called "glimmers," as explored by Adriene Mishler.

Unlikely Collaborators is a nonprofit founded by Elizabeth R. Koch, dedicated to supporting storytelling that helps people see themselves and others more clearly. The organization believes that most external conflict stems from unresolved inner conflict often shaped by unconscious narratives we don't even realize we're carrying. Through partnerships like this one, Unlikely Collaborators aims to spark reflection, encourage connection, and gently challenge the assumptions that shape our perceptions.

At the core of this mission is the Perception Box framework developed by Koch that helps individuals recognize the internal filters through which they see the world. Rooted in cognitive science and psychology, the framework invites people to examine the stories they've absorbed and how those stories shape their emotions, relationships, and behavior.

"What excites us about this collaboration is Medicinal Media's ability to turn scientific and psychological insights into something artistic, unexpected, and emotionally provocative," said Elizabeth R. Koch. "Each story nudges us to examine our beliefs and assumptions and to notice how they shape the way we experience ourselves and others."

"We're grateful to Unlikely Collaborators for supporting this next phase of Medicinal Media," said Rob VanAlkemade, Founding Executive Producer. "These stories explore perception and transformation in a way that's emotional, hopeful, and deeply personal. Our goal is to help people feel seen and reflect on their own inner narratives."

To learn more about Medicinal Media, visit www.medicinalmedia.com . For more information about Unlikely Collaborators and the Perception Box, visit www.unlikelycollaborators.com .

SOURCE Unlikely Collaborators
RONKONKOMA, N.Y., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- US Air Tool Co. (USATCO), a premier manufacturer and global distributor of high-performance tooling for the aerospace, defense, and industrial markets, is proud to commemorate its 75th anniversary. Founded in 1951, USATCO has built an enduring legacy of precision, reliability, and innovation, solidifying its position as the go-to partner for specialized tooling solutions worldwide.

For three-quarters of a century, USATCO has been instrumental in the assembly and maintenance of the world's most critical aircraft and industrial structures. From supporting industry leaders like Boeing and Airbus to being the world's largest distributor of Cherry Aerospace and Monogram Aerospace products, the company's tools and fastener solutions have become synonymous with quality and durability.

USATCO's success has been built on a foundation of trusted roots in American manufacturing. With headquarters in New York and a key location in California, the company has delivered the quality products that are essential for assembling and maintaining the world's most advanced commercial and military aircraft.

This 75-year milestone would not be possible without a culture that balances tradition with forward-thinking innovation. While its heritage is in classic manufacturing, USATCO is keenly focused on the future. The company is announcing the launch of a completely redesigned website along with its recently announced ISO 9001:2015 certification further demonstrating a commitment to continuous improvement, quality, and operational excellence.

As the largest manufacturer and distributor of specialty aircraft tooling in the U.S. and the world's largest distributor of Cherry Aerospace and Monogram Aerospace products, USATCO is celebrating its past while actively building its future.

As USATCO looks to the future, it is strategically expanding its presence into key markets, through the upcoming launch of the USATCO Authorized Distributor Program, a program designed to develop and support sales channel partnerships throughout the world

To find out more about US Air Tool Co.'s 75-year history and its extensive product offerings, please visit www.usatco.com .

Established in 1951, US Air Tool Co. (USATCO) is a leading U.S. manufacturer and global distributor of specialty tools for the aerospace, defense, and industrial sectors. With locations in New York and California, USATCO provides an extensive line of drilling equipment, riveters, sheet metal tools, and more, serving a diverse clientele from major airlines to government organizations. As pioneers in aviation and aerospace distribution, USATCO combines precision engineering with innovative solutions to keep industries moving forward.

Contact Information

Media Relations

1-800-645-8180

[email protected]

SOURCE US Air Tool Co., LLC
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) growth goals of 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent are achievable with the right policy mix, economists said.

CIMB Securities said in a note on Thursday that the 13MP growth expectation is achievable, given Malaysia's economy grew by an average of 5.2 percent during 2021-2024, supported by robust private consumption.

"We view the plan as a strategic blueprint prioritizing fiscal consolidation while driving growth through semiconductors, artificial intelligence, clean energy, the halal industry, and rare earth elements," it noted.

Meanwhile, Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said in a note on Friday that the 13MP was largely in line with expectations, with key initiatives anchored on the MADANI framework and continuity across flagship policies such as the National Energy Transition Roadmap, New Industrial Master Plan 2030, and National Semiconductor Strategy.

Separately, Hong Leong said it is encouraged to see a lower fiscal deficit target at less than 3 percent of GDP by 2030. In its view, this is the government's commitment to responsible public spending and continued reform intent.

Maybank Investment Bank also said in a note on Friday that the timing of the 13MP could not be more timely, considering Malaysia is at a crossroads to balance external headwinds despite strong domestic tailwinds.

"The 13MP is set to raise development spending to boost domestic demand as the country's key growth engine. Standouts in the 13MP were the focus on high-value manufacturing and industrial parks, with broad infrastructure spending as enablers," said the research house. 
The web publication for modern family travelers congratulates the Wherever Awards winners

YARDLEY, Pa., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- WhereverFamily, a web publication, a trusted travel source for family travel and part of the FXExpress Publications, Inc., family of publications, which includes Global Traveler and trazeetravel.com, announces the winners of its Wherever Awards for the eighth year.

Whereverfamily.com offers useful travel content across a range of topics for today's family travelers. Updated daily, WhereverFamily covers luxury and budget travel, travel tips, worldwide destinations and much more.

"For the eighth consecutive year, we're honored to announce the winners of our Wherever Awards, from whereverfamily.com," said Francis X. Gallagher, publisher and CEO, FXExpress Publications, Inc. "As one of the most important segments of travel, family travel shows no sign of slowing down, and our intrepid readers are well-versed in the best of the best providers in the world of family travel. Congratulations to the winners!"

For the fourth year in a row, WhereverFamily also honored the Family Innovators of the Year, recognizing family travel providers leading the way in the industry. Alaska Airlines wins Family Innovator of the Year, Airline, for ensuring children 13 and under are always seated, at no extra charge, with an accompanying adult. For Family Innovator of the Year, Hotel, it's Great Wolf Lodge, with multiple locations in North America. Beaches Resorts was the first resort company in the world to complete training and autism certification, earning it the Family Innovator of the Year, Resorts honor. Hertz, Family Innovator of the Year, Rental Car, ensures families can travel safely with a range of car and child safety seats. Family Innovator of the Year, Travel Provider, MSC Cruises debuted North America's largest cruise terminal, while Ocean City, New Jersey, Family Innovator of the Year, Destination, offers abundant options for family travelers. Recently launching its 20th ship, Norwegian Cruise Line is also Family Innovator of the Year, Cruise Line.

Reader votes for the best in family travel across a range of categories were collected Sept. 20, 2024May 16, 2025. Read more about the winners on whereverfamily.com. The winners will be honored at an awards event Aug. 19 at Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Wherever Awards:

Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airline Best Family-Friendly Hotel Kids Club Alaska Airlines Beaches Turks & Caicos



Best Family-Friendly Airline in North America Best Family-Friendly Domestic Tour Company United Airlines National Geographic Family Journeys Second Consecutive Year Third Consecutive Year



Best Family-Friendly International Airline Best Family-Friendly International Tour Company TAP Air Portugal Abercrombie & Kent



Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Flyer Program Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line United MileagePlus Princess Cruises Sixth Consecutive Year





Best Family-Friendly Hotel Chain Best Family-Friendly MultiGen Cruise Line Marriott Hotels & Resorts Seabourn Cruises Fourth Consecutive Year





Best Family-Friendly Resort Chain Best Family-Friendly Cruise Line Kids Club InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Princess Cruises  Youth & Teens



Best Family-Friendly Individual Hotel Best Family-Friendly Credit Card Nemacolin Capital One Venture X



Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Stay Program Best Family-Friendly Credit Card Rewards Program Marriott Bonvoy Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Card from Chase Second Consecutive Year Eighth Consecutive Year



Best Family-Friendly All-Inclusive Hotel Best Family-Friendly International Destination Hyatt Ziva Spain



Best Family-Friendly Pet Hotel Best Family-Friendly Domestic Destination IHG Hotels & Resorts Phoenix, Arizona Second Consecutive Year







Best Family-Friendly Caribbean Island/Destination Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airport Jamaica Chicago Midway Airport



Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Northeast United States Best Family-Friendly International Airport Ocean City, Maryland iGA Istanbul Airport

Fourth Consecutive Year Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Southern United States Best Family-Friendly Airport Dining Tybee Island, Georgia Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta

International Airport Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Florida (East) Best Family-Friendly Airport Shopping Amelia Island Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Third Consecutive Year Fifth Consecutive Year



Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Florida (West)

Marco Island





Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, West Coast United States Quint Status Santa Monica, California





Best Family-Friendly Beach Town, Hawai'i Best Family-Friendly Airport Shopping Waikiki, Oahu Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Fifth Consecutive Year Best Family-Friendly Multigenerational Destination of the Year

Greece Special Achievement Awards Third Consecutive Year









Best Family-Friendly Amusement Park Family Innovator of the Year, Airline Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, PA Alaska Airlines



Best Family-Friendly Waterpark Family Innovator of the Year, Hotel Great Wolf Lodge Great Wolf Lodge



Best Family-Friendly Rental Car Company Family Innovator of the Year, Resort Hertz Beaches Resorts



Family Innovator of the Year, Rental Car Family Innovator of the Year, Destination Hertz Ocean City, New Jersey



Family Innovator of the Year, Travel Provider Family Innovator of the Year, Cruise Line MSC Cruises Norwegian Cruise Line

About whereverfamily.com

whereverfamily.com is the trusted source for family travel, written by award-winning journalists connected closely to family travel. Updated daily with content unique to today's traveling families, the platform features need-to-know information on planning family travel anywhere in the world for any familial configuration. WhereverFamily can be complemented by creative digital marketing options, including Family on the Go, and html newsletters sponsored by other brands. Family News, a weekly e-newsletter, as well as WhereverFamily slideshow, is sent to a select list of double-opt-in email subscribers. Each year, whereverfamily.com awards the Wherever Awards, the brands selected by the readers as the best in serving families that travel.

About FXExpress Publications, Inc.

FXExpress Publications, Inc., based in Yardley, Pa., is a privately held company publishing Global Traveler, globaltravelerusa.com, FX Excursions, eFlyer and several annuals. WhereverFamily LLC publishes whereverfamily.com and its related brands, and Trazee Travel, LLC publishes trazeetravel.com. FXExpress Publications, Inc. awards the annual Industry Leader Awards and FXExpress Traveler of the Year honors.

SOURCE WhereverFamily
ZAC helping US achieve AI supremacy, with its CXAI algorithm breakthroughs, requiring only a few training samples. Post this

only a few training samples ( typically 5 to 50 ), instead of 1000s to Billions,

), instead of 1000s to Billions, much less computation resources (e.g., much smaller number of CPU/ GPU ),

), much less energy /battery (i.e., Carbon footprint), and

/battery (i.e., Carbon footprint), and much smaller size/weight (especially, critical for the Edge/Mobile Computing applications).

These are significant milestones/ breakthroughs in AI and machine learning (ML), demonstrated, e.g., in projects for US Air Force (USAF) (Aerial Images) and Bosch/ BSH (Smart Appliances).

"As far as I know, ZAC is the only company or group in the world that can do the AI training with typically 5 to 50 training samples," said Dr. Bijan Tadayon, CEO of ZAC.

ZAC owns a very strong IP portfolio with over 450 inventions, including 14 issued US patents.

ZAC has an impressive team of scientists and developers. The development is headed by Dr. Saied Tadayon, a scientist, veteran software developer, and math prodigy, who ranked 1st as an undergrad at Cornell and got his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cornell at age 23 (the youngest).

ZAC world-renowned advisors include Prof. David Lee (Nobel Laureate, Physics), Prof. Mory Gharib (former Caltech Vice Provost of Research), Prof. Gholam Peyman, MD (Inventor of LASIK; and awarded National Medal of Technology and Innovation by US President), late Prof. Robert Buhrman (former Cornell Sr. Vice Provost of Research), Prof. Mike Spencer (former Cornell Associate Dean of Engineering for Research), and Prof. Mo Jamshidi (UTSA, former Founding Dir. of NASA Center for Autonomous Control; and US Army Science Board). The late Prof. Lotfi Zadeh of UC Berkeley ("Father of Fuzzy Logic"; co-inventor of Z-Transform; and AI Hall-of-Fame) is also one of ZAC inventors.

Some applications of ZAC Tech are: autonomous vehicles, satellite/aerial images, security/biometrics, medical imaging, drug discovery, e-commerce/ads, manufacturing/defect detection, and smart cities/homes/appliances.

Contact:

Z Advanced Computing, Inc. (ZAC)

Tel.: 301-294-0434

[email protected]

www.ZAdvancedComputing.com

SOURCE Z Advanced Computing, Inc.
Zamansky LLC, an investment fraud law firm representing defrauded investors nationwide, encourages those who have suffered losses from investing in the Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund (RMHIX) to come forward. According to the firm's founding attorney, Jake Zamansky, these investors may be entitled to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration.

NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zamansky LLC, a leading investment fraud law firm in New York, is evaluating potential claims against brokers that promoted the Easterly ROCMuni High Income Municipal Bond Fund (RMHIX), also known as the "Easterly Fund," to their clients. This includes potential claims against Osaic, among others.

From June 12, 2025 to June 24, 2025, the value of the Easterly Fund collapsed from $6.15 per share to $2.93 per share. This collapse came as the Easterly Fund conducted a series of markdowns, bringing its total value from more than $230 million to less than $15 million. Notably, however, this was not the first sign of trouble with the Easterly Fund, and this is among the reasons why Zamansky LLC is encouraging investorsparticularly those in Illinois, Kentucky and New Yorkto consider fraud claims against their brokers.

"Zamansky says that Easterly Fund investors may be entitled to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration" Post this

A recent investigation conducted by Jake Zamansky, founder of Zamansky LLC, showed that the Easterly Fund has been mentioned in relation to overconcentrating its portfolio in illiquid investments and overstating its performance. The firm's investigation further revealed that these, as well as Easterly's past issues related to artificially inflating the value of its portfolio assets and using flawed pricing methodologies, are concerns of which brokerage firms should have been aware, and they are issues that brokers should have considered when deciding whether to recommend the Easterly Fund to their clients.

In light of these issues, Zamansky says that Easterly Fund investors may be entitled to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration. Investors who have questions about their legal rights in light of the collapse of the Easterly Fund are encouraged to contact Zamansky LLC for a free and confidential consultation.

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BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank on Friday pledged to step up its implementation of a moderately loose monetary policy and strengthen support for sci-tech innovation and consumption in the second half of the year.

At a mid-year meeting, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said that financial support for economic growth, structural transformation and high-quality development has increased since the start of 2025.

As of the end of June, loans granted in the technology, green development and elderly care sectors have risen by 12.5 percent, 25.5 percent and 43 percent respectively year on year.

The PBOC said it will continue deploying a mix of monetary policy tools to ensure ample liquidity, support reasonable credit growth and strengthen the transmission of monetary policies.

Efforts will also be made to defuse local government debt risks, and to enhance risk monitoring and macroprudential oversight, according to the PBOC. 
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Washington, Aug 1 : The 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports announced by US President Donald Trump officially comes into effect, starting Friday.

The tariff, which also includes an unspecified penalty, was revealed in a post on Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, on Thursday.

Trump justified the tariff by accusing India of maintaining excessively high trade barriers and continuing its military and energy ties with Russia, especially amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. MAGA!" Trump wrote in his announcement.

He also criticised India for having what he described as "the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary trade barriers" in the world.

"Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high," Trump said. He further claimed, "India's tariffs are among the highest in the world."

Trump's statement also touched upon the growing US trade deficit with India, and specifically called out India's continued purchases of Russian weapons and energy supplies.

"At a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine, these things are not good," he stated. "India has always bought the majority of its military supplies from Russia and is one of the largest buyers of Russian energy, along with China."

Notably, the 25 per cent tariff will not yet apply to smartphone exports from India. These items are currently exempt under Section 232 of the US trade law.

A review meeting regarding this exemption is scheduled to take place in two weeks, after which a decision on smartphone tariffs will be made.
Doctor Shao Lizhu (C) inspects a patient at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 1, 2025. A team of medical experts arrived at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County on Friday, starting a month-long medical aid mission. They will focus on improving the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the hospital. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)

Doctor Ni Yan checks a patient at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 1, 2025. A team of medical experts arrived at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County on Friday, starting a month-long medical aid mission. They will focus on improving the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the hospital. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)

Doctor Hu Mengqing communicates with a patient at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 1, 2025. A team of medical experts arrived at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County on Friday, starting a month-long medical aid mission. They will focus on improving the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the hospital. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)

Doctor Hu Mengqing (C) checks surgical equipment at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 1, 2025. A team of medical experts arrived at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County on Friday, starting a month-long medical aid mission. They will focus on improving the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the hospital. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)

Doctor Ni Yan (L) inspects a patient at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 1, 2025. A team of medical experts arrived at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County on Friday, starting a month-long medical aid mission. They will focus on improving the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the hospital. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)

Doctor Li Jiali (R) checks a patient at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Aug. 1, 2025. A team of medical experts arrived at Renmin Hospital of Leibo County on Friday, starting a month-long medical aid mission. They will focus on improving the diagnostic and treatment capabilities of the hospital. (Xinhua/Lu Ye)
New York, Aug 1 : US President Donald Trump said that the United States will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 days with the goal of signing a trade deal.

Trump said in a Truth Social post after a phone conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time," said Trump on the social media platform.

"We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90 Day period of time, or longer," Trump added.

"We had a very good call with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. We avoided the increase in tariffs announced for tomorrow and achieved 90 days to build a long-term agreement based on dialogue," said Sheinbaum in a post on social media platform X.

Trump stressed the unique complexities of a deal with Mexico due to the shared border of the two countries. "We are getting to know and understand each other" more and more, said Trump.

In a letter posted on Truth Social on July 12, Trump threatened that 30 per cent tariffs would be imposed on Mexico starting August 1.

Earlier in July, 2025, Mexico called the tariffs announced by the US unfair, and the two sides had launched formal negotiations through a permanent bilateral working group, the Mexican government said.

In a joint statement, the foreign affairs and economy ministries said that a high-level meeting between a Mexican delegation and US officials was held in Washington, during which the Mexican side was informed that new tariffs would take effect on August 1.

"We stated clearly that we believe this is unfair and that we do not agree," said the ministries.

To protect businesses and jobs on both sides of the border, the two countries agreed to establish a permanent bilateral working group to address key issues in their relationship and seek alternatives to avoid the tariff implementation, said the statement.
Beirut, Aug 1 : Israeli warplanes carried out intensive airstrikes on multiple areas in eastern and southern Lebanon, targeting sites belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, according to Lebanese official media and an army source.

According to Labanon's National News Agency, a series of Israeli airstrikes "targeted the eastern mountain range in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon and wide areas deep within southern Lebanon."

A source from the Lebanese army intelligence told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes carried out 18 airstrikes in less than half an hour across the region, targeting Hezbollah positions that had been hit in previous strikes.

Meanwhile, in a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its Air Force struck strategic weapon production and storage sites in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, and in southern Lebanon.

"Among the targets struck were explosive manufacturing sites, which were used to develop Hezbollah's weaponry, as well as an underground site for the production and storage of strategic weapons," the statement said.

It claimed that Hezbollah tried to rehabilitate the sites and capabilities, actions that constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that one of the targets of the airstrikes was Hezbollah's largest precision missile production site in Lebanon.

He stated that Israel's policy of maximum enforcement against Hezbollah will continue, adding that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for preventing violations of the ceasefire agreement.

The ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, has been in effect since November 27, 2024, following more than a year of clashes related to the war in the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel continues to hold five positions in the south. It occasionally carries out airstrikes in both southern and eastern areas of the country, claiming they are aimed at eliminating "threats" posed by Hezbollah.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for his recent visit to Gujarat's Sabarmati Riverfront and the Statue of Unity, calling it a gesture that sends out "an important message of unity."

In a post on X , PM Modi wrote: "Kashmir to Kevadia! Good to see Shri Omar Abdullah Ji enjoying his run at the Sabarmati Riverfront and visiting the Statue of Unity. His visit to SoU gives an important message of unity and will inspire our fellow Indians to travel to different parts of India."

The Prime Minister was responding to a post by Abdullah, who shared his experience jogging along the Sabarmati Riverfront while on a two-day visit to Gujarat for a tourism promotion event.

Abdullah had posted, "While in #Ahmedabad for a tourism event I took advantage of being here to get my morning run at the famed Sabarmati River Front promenade. It's one of the nicest places I've been able to run & it was a pleasure to get to share it with so many other walkers/runners. I even managed to run past the amazing Atal Foot Bridge."

The visit comes at a time when the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is working to revive its tourism sector following the recent Pahalgam terror attack that severely impacted travel to the region.

During his Gujarat visit, Abdullah is engaging with tour operators and stakeholders in an effort to rebuild confidence in Kashmir as a safe travel destination.

"Gujarat, along with Maharashtra and West Bengal, has always played a major role in Kashmir's tourism economy," he said, expressing optimism that Gujarati tourists would return in large numbers.
United Nations, Aug 1 : UN humanitarians said that as starvation worsens in Gaza, efforts to swiftly distribute aid are being hampered by delays, looting and military operations, even as shipments continue to arrive through Israeli checkpoints.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that earlier this week, despite the Israeli military designating secure routes from border crossings into Gaza and toward distribution sites, aid trucks operated by the United Nations and its partners continued to face lengthy delays, putting drivers, humanitarian workers and crowds at risk, Xinhua news agency reported.

OCHA said that the sole route provided by Israeli authorities for UN teams exiting the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing into Gaza is frequently disrupted by Israeli ground forces setting up ad hoc checkpoints, causing additional delays in aid delivery.

The office said that despite such challenges, the world body and its humanitarian partners continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings.

"The teams have managed to collect wheat flour, ready-to-eat rations, high-energy biscuits, nutrition items, hygiene kits and other critical supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings," OCHA said.

The office said that "much of the food is taken by people en route, rather than reaching community-based distribution points," adding that "aid must be distributed at the community level" to ensure no one is left behind.

The United Nations and its partners insist on reaching Palestinians in need through community-based distribution points, numbering 400 across Gaza, rather than the four militarized Israeli and US-sponsored Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) hubs, due to chaos and gunfire erupting near them.

"OCHA urges the Israeli authorities to allow the consistent and simultaneous entry of large volumes of diverse humanitarian and commercial supplies through all crossing points and multiple routes," the office said.

Highlighting the difficulties aid workers face in coordinating movements across much of the Gaza Strip with Israeli authorities, OCHA said that only 47 per cent were fully facilitated, while 11 per cent were withdrawn by organizers, according to cumulative data from July 23 to 29.

"Unimpeded humanitarian access within Gaza is essential," the office said. "Without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs."
Nicosia, Aug 1 : As India and Cyprus continue to strengthen their strategic partnership, Indian High Commissioner Manish met with Cyprus' Deputy Minister of Tourism, Kostas Koumis, in Nicosia to discuss deepening bilateral tourism ties.

The two sides explored opportunities for enhanced cooperation through targeted tourism initiatives and held talks on engaging airlines to establish direct flight connectivity between the two nations.

The meeting underscored a mutual commitment to enhance people-to-people connections, boosting mutual visibility and strengthening ties between the nations through heritage and dialogue.

"High Commissioner Manish met with Kostas Koumis , Deputy Minister of Tourism , Cyprus, for a productive exchange on advancing tourism cooperation through focussed initiatives; and working with airlines to explore direct connectivity between our two countries," High Commission of India in Cyprus, posted on X.

"Amidst growing IndiaCyprus strategic partnership, discussions covered areas such as bilateral tourism promotion, cultural exchange initiatives and potential collaboration on film production. The meeting reflects a shared commitment to strengthening people-to-people ties, enhancing mutual visibility, and deepening bonds through heritage and dialogue," the post added.

Earlier in June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged in extensive discussions with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, during his visit to Cyprus. They focused on bilateral, regional, and global issues, emphasising the expanding cooperation between the two nations.

Both sides emphasised the value of fostering mutual understanding through cultural and people-to-people ties. They agreed to explore opportunities for enhancing tourism and the establishment of direct air connectivity between Cyprus and India, as well as enhanced air routes via shared partners, to improve ease of travel and boost bilateral exchanges.

Acknowledging the increasing alignment of their values, interests, international outlook, and vision, both sides expressed their determination to further advance this partnership across key sectors. Cyprus and India are committed to deepening their cooperation as trusted and indispensable partners contributing to regional and global peace, prosperity, and stability.

The two leaders recognised people-to-people ties as a strategic asset and multiplier for deepening economic and cultural ties. The two sides agreed to work to finalise a Mobility Pilot Program Arrangement by the end of 2025.
Srinagar, Aug 1 : The Amarnath Yatra remained suspended for the second-consecutive day from Jammu to the Valley on Friday while Yatris from Baltal base camp were only allowed to move towards the cave shrine. The number of Yatris, who performed the Yatra till Thursday, has crossed the 4 lakh mark.

Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) said on Thursday after the number of pilgrims crossed 4 lakh, "Baba Amarnath makes the impossible, possible. With his blessings, the Holy Yatra today crossed the figure of 4 Lakh.

"I bow to Lord Shiva for this miracle and express my gratitude to everyone involved in making the holy pilgrimage a divine experience for devotees."

Officials of SASB said there would be no movement of Yatris from Jammu to the Valley on Friday and no Yatri will be allowed to move towards the holy cave shrine from Pahalgam base camp because of the track maintenance going on in that axis.

Yatris will be allowed to move towards the cave shrine from the Baltal base camp only.

Lord Shiva's holy mace, the 'Chhari Mubarak', is traditionally housed inside the Amareshwar Temple at the Dashnami Akhara Building in the Budshah Chowk area of Srinagar city.

It is the journey of the Chhari Mubarak that determines the landmarks of the Amarnath Yatra. It will start its final journey towards the cave shrine from the Amareshwar temple in Srinagar on August 4 and will reach the holy cave shrine on August 9, marking the official conclusion of the Yatra.

During its journey from its seat to the holy cave shrine, traditional Puja will be held en route at Pampore, Bijbehara, Mattan and Pahalgam before the Chhari Mubarak arrives at its final destination, the holy cave shrine.

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 people after segregating them based on their faith in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

The Yatra started on July 3 and will end after 38 days on August 9, coinciding with Shravan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.

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.

Those using the Pahalgam route pass through Chandanwari, Sheshnag and Panchtarni to reach the cave shrine, covering a distance of 46 kms on foot.

This trek takes a pilgrim four days to get to the cave shrine. And, those using the shorter Baltal route have to trek 14 km to reach the cave shrine and return to the base camp the same day after having darshan.

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.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday announced a substantial increase in the honorariums of key support staff working in the state's education sector, including cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors.

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday announced a substantial increase in the honorariums of key support staff working in the stateas education sector, including cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors.

The decision, he said, is part of a broader effort to improve the stateas education infrastructure and motivate those who contribute to it.

In a detailed post on X, the Chief Minister highlighted the stateas progress in education since his government took office in 2005.

"Since the formation of the government in November 2005, we have been continuously working to improve the education system. In the year 2005, the total education budget was 4,366 crore rupees, which has now increased to 77,690 crore rupees," Nitish Kumar wrote.

He cited several improvements, including the recruitment of a large number of teachers, the construction of new school buildings, and the development of essential infrastructure. The Chief Minister also acknowledged the critical role of non-teaching staff in enhancing the quality of education in Bihar.

"Significant improvements have been made in the education system through the appointment of a large number of teachers, the construction of new school buildings, and the development of basic infrastructure. Cooks, night watchmen, and physical education and health instructors have played an important role in strengthening the education system," said Nitish Kumar.

Recognising their contributions, Kumar announced a major revision in their compensation: "Keeping this in mind, we have decided to double their honorarium, making a respectable increase in their remuneration. It has been decided to double the honorarium of cooks working under the mid-day meal program in the Education Department, increasing it from 1,650 rupees to 3,300 rupees. Similarly, the honorarium of night watchmen working in secondary/higher education schools has been doubled from 5,000 rupees to 10,000 rupees. Additionally, the honorarium of physical education and health instructors has been doubled from 8,000 rupees to 16,000 rupees."

He also announced an increase in their annual salary increment from Rs 200 to Rs 400, stating that the move will boost morale.

"This will boost the morale of the working staff, and they will perform their duties with greater enthusiasm and dedication," Kumar added.

The announcement represents long-overdue recognition for educators and support staff in Bihar for their contributions to the state's education system.
Guwahati, Aug 1 : Assamese actress Nandini Kashyap who was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run case in Guwahati in which a 21-year-old engineering student was killed, will be produced before the court on Friday, officials said.

The two-day police custody of the accused actress has ended and the police will produce her before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kamrup district.

According to police sources, the bail petition of Kashyap will be opposed by the investigative agency and extended police custody will be sought.

Meanwhile, a prominent theatre group in the city has cancelled its agreement with Nandini Kashyap following the hit-and-run incident.

The 21-year-old engineering student, Samiul Haque, who was critically injured in a hit-and-run incident, succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday evening, prompting Guwahati Police to arrest Nandini Kashyap.

The fatal accident occurred in the wee hours of July 26 in the city's Dakshingaon area and the actress did not stop to take the injured youth to hospital and just drove away.

Samiul was returning home from his part-time job at a streetlight installation site when he was allegedly struck by a Bolero SUV.

Kashyap, who had initially appeared before police on the morning of July 26, was interrogated and released on a Personal Recognisance (PR) bond.

She was summoned again on July 27 for further questioning and subsequently the cops let her go.

Her arrest came hours after Samiul died in the hospital on Tuesday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Jayanta Sarathi Borah, told reporters on Wednesday that traffic police were not immediately aware of the incident on the night it occurred.

"A Bolero had hit a scooty rider on the night of July 25. The next morning, the woman came to the police and was allowed to leave on a PR bond. A notice was issued requiring her to appear as needed," Borah said.

An FIR was later filed by the victim's family, though it did not name the accused.

According to the police, Kashyap's alleged involvement in the case was established on July 26.

Initially, charges under Sections 115(2), 125, and 281 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) were invoked. Following the victim's death, police added Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

Police have submitted a request to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination of the vehicle believed to be involved and are reviewing CCTV footage from the area.

DCP Borah also stated that Kashyap was medically examined after her arrest.

"Since she voluntarily appeared before the police on July 26, there was no immediate need for a medical check-up at the time," he added.

The victim's family has raised concerns over Kashyap's conduct, alleging that she neither stopped to assist Samiul after the accident nor visited him in the hospital during his treatment.
New York, Aug 1 : As the deadline for tariffs neared, US President Donald Trump imposed the threatened tariff of 25 per cent on India starting Friday as the prolonged negotiations appeared to have stalled.

His executive order, issued late Thursday, did not include penalty tariffs on buying Russian energy or for BRICS membership, which he had also threatened.

When Trump initially threatened the 25 per cent tariff, India said defiantly that it "will take all steps necessary to secure our national interest".

In the order setting the tariff rates for various countries, he claimed he was acting because "large and persistent annual US goods trade deficits constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States".

The 25 per cent tariff for India was higher than the rate ranging between 15 per cent and 19 per cent he imposed on most countries listed in the order, which takes effect at midnight (9.30 a.m. in India).

While India was one of the first countries to start negotiations with the US, the talks appeared to have foundered, and Trump made the threat of 25 per cent on Wednesday, but later that day, he held out a ray of hope, saying, "We're talking to India now, we'll see what happens".

He also did not issue a formal letter to India as he had to other countries.

But it appears that last-minute negotiations did not lower the tariffs.

While the negotiations were taking place, Trump repeatedly called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India his friends.

As recently as last week, he said that a deal was imminent.

India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal also sounded optimistic, saying last week that the negotiations were making "fantastic" progress.

The part of his executive order that would apply to India said that some "trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters".

The highest tariff among those in the order was for Myanmar, which was set at 41 per cent, and the lowest was 10 per cent for Brazil and Britain.

Brazil's rate was a surprise because Trump had threatened 50 per cent over a dispute over Brazil's prosecution of its former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Trump agreed to extend the deadline for Mexico in a last-minute reprieve, agreeing to continue negotiations.

Canada, with which Trump is embroiled in a heated fight, did not appear on the order, but separately, he had set the tariff at 30 per cent.

Talks are continuing with China, and under a temporary arrangement set to expire on August 12, its rate is temporarily 30 per cent, much lower than his initial threats of as much as 145 per cent.

His order set the tariff for Pakistan at 19 per cent, and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at 20 per cent.

A major hurdle for India was the US' insistence on opening the floodgates to US agriculture and dairy.

That could have serious consequences for India's agricultural sector, which employs nearly half the country's working population.

India's statement responding to Trump's threat alluded to this factor, saying, "The government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises)".

While some, like the European Union and Japan, mollified Trump by offering to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US, India was not in a position to make offers of that magnitude.

India also appears to have been caught in the heightened tension between Trump and Russia, after President Vladimir Putin refused to heed the US president's call for a ceasefire in the Ukraine War.

Trump brought up New Delhi buying Russian oil on Wednesday, and on Thursday, India was in the crossfire in a war of words between him and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, even though India had nothing to do with it.

In the Truth Social post attacking Mededev, he brought in India out of the blue: "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care".

As he had for several months, he riled against the high Indian tariffs, having declared India the "Tariff King", an appellation Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has strongly refuted.

In her budget in February, she substantially lowered the tariff on premium motorcycles that would cover Harley Davidson, the duties on which were Trump's pet peeve since his first term.

Trump may have to take separate action on India's pharmaceutical exports valued at $12.7 billion last year, as they form a significant portion of the generic medicines in the US, and any increase in prices would hit the already high medical costs.

Asked about the penalty for buying Russia's oil, which he had once said would be 100 per cent, by a reporter on Wednesday, he avoided answering it and instead talked of a penalty for membership of the BRICS.

If there is to be a penalty for buying Russian oil -- known as a secondary tariff applying to all buyers -- it will be linked to the deadline for Moscow to end the Ukraine War, which will probably be on August 7.

Since China is also buying Russian energy, the imposition of secondary sanctions will be complicated as Washington and Beijing try to avoid an all-out trade war.

Similarly, a BRICS penalty would also hit China.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday responded warmly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's praise of his recent Gujarat visit, underscoring the critical importance of tourism for J&K's economy and national unity.

In a post on X, CM Abdullah wrote: "I'm a firm believer that travel broadens the horizons & the mind @narendramodi ji. It's especially important for us in J&K as tourism is a crucial part of our economy & has the potential to gainfully employ lakhs of people. That's why I & my colleagues are trying to convince more of our fellow Indians to visit J&K, especially after the tragic events earlier this year."

Omar Abdullah was replying to Prime Minister Modi's earlier post in which the PM lauded his visit to the Sabarmati Riverfront and the Statue of Unity during a recent tourism event in Ahmedabad.

PM Modi had written: "Kashmir to Kevadia! Good to see Shri Omar Abdullah Ji enjoying his run at the Sabarmati Riverfront and visiting the Statue of Unity. His visit to SoU gives an important message of unity and will inspire our fellow Indians to travel to different parts of India."

The Prime Minister's message was in response to CM Abdullah's earlier post describing his morning run along the famed Sabarmati Riverfront:

"While in #Ahmedabad for a tourism event I took advantage of being here to get my morning run at the famed Sabarmati River Front promenade. It's one of the nicest places I've been able to run & it was a pleasure to get to share it with so many other walkers/runners. I even managed to run past the amazing Atal Foot Bridge."

Omar Abdullah was on a two-day visit to Gujarat to promote Jammu and Kashmir as a key travel destination, especially in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which had a chilling effect on tourism in the region.

During the visit, Abdullah engaged with tour operators and travel industry stakeholders in a bid to restore confidence and draw domestic tourists back to the Union Territory. He also had a meeting with his Gujarat counterpart, Bhupendra Patel
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on Friday that the United States has revised down for the second time tariffs on Cambodian exports to 19 percent.

He said on social media that the new tariff rate marked reductions from the first 49 percent on April 2 to 36 percent in the first negotiation on July 7, and then 19 percent. 
Seoul, Aug 1 : South Korea's exports rose 5.9 per cent from a year earlier in July thanks to robust global demand for semiconductors, despite the tariff scheme of the U.S. Donald Trump administration, government data showed on Friday.

Outbound shipments came to US$60.8 billion last month, the highest figure for any July, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports added 0.7 percent on-year to $54.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.61 billion, reports Yonhap news agency.

Semiconductor exports jumped 31.6 percent on-year to $14.71 billion, also making an all-time high for any July, backed by an increase in memory chip prices and solid demand for high-value products, such as high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips and DDR5.

Seo Ga-ram, a ministry official, said the sharp increase in chip exports is partially attributed to increased demand ahead of the possible imposition of semiconductor tariffs by the U.S. administration, but the sector is expected to deliver strong performance throughout the year on the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) market.

"Even if the U.S. imposes tariffs on chip imports, the move is expected to have limited impact on Korea's exports to the U.S. since Korean companies manufacture high-value semiconductors that U.S. firms cannot make," he said.

Shipments of automobiles increased 8.8 percent to $5.83 billion thanks to the strong performance in the European Union (EU), Latin America and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes Russia.

But auto exports to the U.S. decreased 1.7 percent on-year, with shipments of electric vehicles (EVs) nosediving 97.7 percent, due to the Trump administration's 25 percent tariffs on all imported cars.

Seo said the Korean automotive industry avoided the worst-case scenario with Thursday's trade deal between Seoul and Washington, which reduced U.S. tariffs on Korean cars to 15 percent from 25 percent -- the same rate for cars from Japan and Europe.

Ship exports spiked 107.6 percent on-year to $2.24 billion, marking the fifth consecutive month of on-year increase, driven by robust demand for high-value ships, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.

Exports of agro-fisheries products added 3.8 percent to $1.08 billion, the highest figure for any July, and cosmetics exports grew 18.1 percent to $980 million, also a record-high July figure, amid soaring global popularity of Korean food and culture, as well as Seoul's efforts to diversify its export items.

Shipments of electronic devices escalated 19.2 percent to $1.56 billion.

On the other hand, shipments of petroleum and petrochemical products decreased 6.3 percent and 10.1 percent to $4.21 billion and $3.75 billion, respectively.

Exports of bio-health products dropped 4.9 percent on-year to $1.18 billion, with computer exports tumbling 18.5 percent to $950 million and those of displays falling 9 percent to $1.57 billion.

Shipments of machinery plunged 17.2 percent to $4.28 billion on U.S. tariffs, while steel exports contracted 2.9 percent to $2.72 billion due to sluggish demand and 50 percent U.S. tariffs.

By destination, exports to the United States went up 1.4 percent on-year to $10.33 billion, but it marked the first time at least since the start of last year that the country came in third place after China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in terms of the amount of imports from South Korea.

a"IANS

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Mumbai, Aug 1 : Veteran Bollywood actor-filmmaker Anupam Kher took the Vande Bharat train from Surat to Mumbai. He went on to heap praise on the country and said that India has come a long way and is the best economy in the world.

Mumbai, Aug 1 (IANS) Veteran Bollywood actor-filmmaker Anupam Kher took the Vande Bharat train from Surat to Mumbai. He went on to heap praise on the country and said that India has come a long way and is the best economy in the world.

Anupam took to his Instagram stories, where he shared a video of him along with his "Tanvi The Great" actress Shubhangi Dutt and other crew members travelling in the Vande Bhart train.

He wrote: "Such a nice feeling to travel by Vande Bharat train from Surat to Mumbai. India has come a long way, India is the best economy in the world, maybe number 3, and a really happening country."

Cryptically taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who claimed that the 'Indian economy is dead', Anupam said that "some people cannot see it."

"Some people can't see it, so what can they say?" he added.

The actor then went on to add: " But such a wonderful thing to see, to see the growth of India in the last few years, many years since independence. Look at this, people are travelling, Jai Bharat."

On the film front, Anupam's latest release is "Tanvi The Great", which marks his return as a director after over two decades. The film boasts of powerhouse performers from Indian and International Cinema such as Jackie Shroff, Arvind Swami, Boman Irani, Pallavi Joshi, Karan Tacker, Nasser and Iain Glen.

The film also has two Oscar winners, the music director M.M. Keeravani and sound designer Resul Pookutty. The cinematographer of the film is Keiko Nakahara from Japan.

The film follows Tanvi Raina, a 21-year-old woman on the autism spectrum, who lives with her mother Vidya and grandfather Colonel Pratap Raina.

Inspired by her deceased father, Captain Samar Raina, an Indian Army officer who dreamed of saluting the flag at Siachen Glacier, Tanvi becomes determined to follow in his footsteps and join the army to fulfill his dream herself.
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 1 : In what's billed as a first of its kind in the country, the Kerala government is working to formulate a policy for the Malayalam film industry. As part of this exercise, the state government will hold a two-day conclave in the capital city.

State Minister of Films and Culture Saji Cherian has been working overtime to help formulate a comprehensive film policy for the Malayalam film industry, which he said will be path-breaking..

In a conversation with IANS, Minister Cherian said he has been working on it for a while and starting Saturday, he will be leading the Film Conclave.

"All the leading lights in the Malayalam film industry will be present, representing the various film bodies. Besides, we are getting guests from film organisations in the country. More importantly, there are 10 personalities representing the World cinema," said Cherian.

"The main purpose of this conclave is to formulate a full-fledged film policy for Kerala, which will be a path-breaking one for others to follow suit," added Cherian.

Spread over two days, there will be nine sessions where deliberations will take place, and Cherian expects that by the end of the event, a new film policy will be formulated.

"Just as Kerala has an Industrial Policy, those in the film industry want a Kerala Film Policy," he said.

"See, at the moment, there is little coordination between the various government departments. Those making a film -- from start to finish -- have to knock on several doors of the state departments to get things moving. One of the aims in the policy is a single window for making film production an easy task," added Cherian.

"Among the other areas which will be deliberated are the tax regime, rules for electricity, shooting locations, identifying new locations, to prevent exploitations, if there are any, when it comes to remunerations of those involved in the film production, getting sanctions and all such items. Another aim for the conclave is to ensure Kerala, with its huge natural beauty, gets a proper promotion, which will enable pan India films to be shot in Kerala. For that, we will list out new locations and also ensure there is proper infrastructure at all shooting locations. We will prepare a directory of each and every place that is identified as a possible location and publish it. Every aspect of the location will be listed out," added Cherian.

Among those who will be taking part in the conclave are Mohanlal, Suhasini, Priyadarshan, Maneka Suresh and numerous other leading lights in the film industry.

The Kerala Film Policy Conclave, as part of the framing of a policy for the Malayalam film industry, will witness the participation of over 500 delegates from all over the world and will have nine plenary sessions covering all aspects of the film industry.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the conclave at the Sankaranarayanan Thampi Hall inside the Legislative Assembly complex in Thiruvananthapuram on August 2
Bengaluru, Aug 1 : The Special Court for MPs/MLAs in Bengaluru will pronounce its verdict on Friday in the obscene video and rape case allegedly involving former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is also the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

The court on July 30 had deferred the judgment, citing the need for certain clarifications. After seeking inputs from both sides and issuing directions, the matter was adjourned until this day.

If found guilty, Prajwal Revanna is likely to face imprisonment of up to 10 years, as per police sources. He was arrested last year and has been in jail for 14 months. Based on the verdict, he could apply for bail in other related cases.

The case in question pertains to a rape complaint and other charges filed by a domestic worker from K.R. Nagar against Prajwal Revanna. The court has reviewed 26 pieces of evidence in connection with the case. Prajwal Revanna faces three other similar cases.

Videos allegedly showing Prajwal Revanna sexually assaulting women and recording the acts surfaced during the 2024 Lok Sabha election period. Following this, Prajwal fled the country. A victim from Holenarasipura initially filed a police complaint against him. Upon his return to Bengaluru on May 31, 2024, he was arrested by the Bengaluru Police.

His return came after public appeals from former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. Prajwal has been lodged in Bengaluru Central Jail, and his multiple bail pleas have been outrightly rejected by all courts.

One of the videos that caused widespread outrage during the election period purportedly shows the alleged sexual assault of an elderly domestic worker at a farmhouse in Holenarasipura. In the video, the woman is seen pleading with Prajwal to spare her, stating that she had served food to his father and other family elders.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has filed cases under IPC Sections 376(2)(n) (repeated rape on the same woman), 506 (criminal intimidation), 354A(1) (unwelcome physical contact and advances, sexual demands), 354B (use of criminal force with intent to disrobe), 354C (voyeurism -- capturing images of a woman engaged in a private act without her consent), along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

Police sources stated that they have collected stronger evidence in this particular case. They have recorded the statement of the victim, collected the samples of semen of Prajwal Revanna from the clothes of the victim, and they have also obtained the video of the sexual assault.

The verdict is eagerly awaited.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : From local manufacturing to research and development, India has a significant role in the development of the new foldable series, JB Park, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said on Friday.

According to him, the company engineers from the Bengaluru R&D facility have contributed significantly in the development of new Z Fold7 and the Z Flip7 devices.

"I am happy to share that these new phones are being manufactured at our Noida factory," Park said.

"Our latest foldables represent the next leap in smartphone innovation. They are the thinnest and lightest Galaxy Z series designs yet. They deliver cutting-edge performance and come with seamless Galaxy AI integration," added Park.

The company received a record 210,000 pre-orders for its seventh generation foldables - Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy ZFlip7 and Galaxy Z Flip7 FE  in just 48 hours in India - signalling rapid mainstreaming of the foldable form factor in the country.

The 'Made in India' Galaxy Z Fold7 is surprisingly gaining significant traction from not only tier 3 markets, but also tier 4 and beyond, amid a resilient economy and rising aspirations across the country, the company informed.

Park said the new devices will "help us mainstream the foldables in India".

"Galaxy Z Fold7 delivers the Ultra experience in the thinnest, lightest and most advanced Fold yet. Galaxy Z Flip7 packs flagship power, intelligence and personality into a compact and iconic form," he mentioned.

On AI, he said that today, on-device AI is independent of being in the cloud or a third-party source.

"But tomorrow, I think it's more of how people are using the AI. Like in India, you have so many dialects that you need someone to interpret. Tomorrow, it will all be done simultaneously on the devices. So you don't have to memorise things. You don't have to have an opinion of a lawyer or doctor. You just can have a massive intelligence that's connected on your device to a cloud that can guide you to a better solution. I think that's how the technology will evolve," said Park.

IANS

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Mumbai, Aug 1 : The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has summoned Anil Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Group (RAAGA companies), for questioning in connection with its ongoing probe into an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case.

Anil Ambani has been asked to appear at the ED headquarters in the national Capital on August 5, according to people close to the development.

Last week, ED raids on the premises and people linked with Anil Ambanias Reliance Group concluded, as investigators seized voluminous documents, hard drives, and other digital records from several locations across Mumbai and Delhi

The raids first began on Thursday in connection with a money laundering probe related to the Yes Bank loan fraud case.

The enforcement watchdog and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a large-scale money laundering probe. The operation is part of a broader investigation into alleged financial irregularities, including possible diversion of funds, loan fraud, and money laundering.

The EDas probe is focussed on whether funds from banks were routed through shell entities and misused by group firms. Meanwhile, the CBI has reportedly begun its own enquiry into other companies within Anil Ambanias Reliance Group.

Subsequent to FIRs registered by the CBI, the ED started probing the offence of money laundering by RAAGA Companies under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Other agencies and institutions also shared information with ED, such as the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and Bank of Baroda, according to reliable sources.

Preliminary investigation by the ED has revealed a well-planned and thought-out scheme to divert/siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions. The offence of bribing bank officials, including the Promoter of Yes Bank Limited, is also under the scanner.

A preliminary probe revealed illegal loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crore from Yes Bank (from 2017 to 2019).

The ED has found that just before the loan was granted, Yes Bank promoters received money in their accounts. The agency is also investigating this nexus of bribery and the loan.
Islamabad, Aug 1 : The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has strongly condemned the brutal 'honour' killing of Javed Naji, vice-chairman of the Awami Action Committee, along with a married woman in the Tangir district of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB).

The commission called the incident a gross violation of human rights and demanded immediate action from local authorities.

"That Naji was murdered in the presence of his mother and wife underscores the barbarity of the act. This marks the second such incident in Tangir within a week, with two women and two men killed in the name of 'honour'," the HRCP stated on Thursday.

The rights body demanded an immediate and transparent investigation, swift prosecution of the perpetrators and urgent action to dismantle the culture of impunity surrounding honour-based violence in PoGB.

Earlier this week, local media reported that the HRCP recorded at least 405 honour killings across the South Asian country in 2024, with most of the victims being women who were killed by relatives claiming to defend family honour.

Last month, a couple was shot dead on the orders of a local tribal council in Balochistan in a case of honour killing for marrying against the wishes of their families.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had received widespread condemnation for making shameful comments about the Baloch community after a video of the horrific act went viral on social media.

Asif had instead blamed the Balochs, stating that "the ones responsible for this oppression are your own brothers".

Baloch activists had termed Khawaja Asif's statement as a "matter of regret and shame", stating that the minister, instead of acknowledging the Sharif government's incompetence regarding the incident and holding their government accountable for such heinous events caused by state lawlessness, public distrust in the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and the unchecked proliferation of weapons, is instead trying to shift the burden of its failures onto others.

Last week, dozens of civil society members and rights activists staged a protest in Quetta, demanding justice and an end to parallel justice systems.

In another incident, Sana Yousuf, a young and widely followed Pakistani social media influencer, was recently shot dead at her residence in Islamabad by a relative, triggering widespread outrage and renewed focus on the country's persistent issue of honour killings.

Local media reports said that the popular content creator, originally from Upper Chitral, was killed at close range by a male relative who had come to visit her. He fled the scene immediately after the shooting.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : Actor Sunny Sachdeva, who recently wrapped up his role as Laal in the show Jhanak, has now joined the cast of 'Mann Atisundar',which he says is about educating society about an overweight young woman who hopes to find a life partner that loves her for her inner beauty.

Mumbai, Aug 1 (IANS) Actor Sunny Sachdeva, who recently wrapped up his role as Laal in the show Jhanak, has now joined the cast of 'Mann Atisundar',which he says is about educating society about an overweight young woman who hopes to find a life partner that loves her for her inner beauty.

Sunny, who is known for his work in shows such as Pyaar Ke Saath Vachan Dharam Patnii, Sherdil Shergill, and Naagin 6, said: "Yes, I'm excited to join the cast of this beautiful family drama. A beautiful story educating our society about an overweight young woman, who hopes to find a life partner that loves her for her inner beauty and her pure nature, instead of her outward appearance."

"I enjoy acting and associate with shows, which are not only just for entertaining the audience but also about bringing welfare," he added.

Sunny will be seen playing the role of Aham Mittal, elder brother of the protagonist Pratham essayed by Sparsh Singh Kotwal.

Talking about his role, he continued, "I will be seen playing the role of Aham, elder son of the Mittal family. He is responsible and heading the family business. It will be a grey shaded role as initially he is a positive and will ignore younger brothers' mistakes but later on things will change in the story."

"There will be tiff between the two brothers and the story goes on. Hopefully the audience will love me in this new journey," he said.

The actor talked about how he got the show.

"I was not in town, I was in my hometown Delhi. I got a call from the casting director TaranVir Singh. He explained the role so well and I was already driven to play."

He said: "The audition happened and was asked to join the show the same day. I arrived in Mumbai the same day and started my shoot, my first day was a night shift."
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Reacting sharply to Rahul Gandhi's endorsement of US President Donald Trump's controversial "dead economy" remark about India, BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar on Friday said the Congress party continues to ignore the country's rapid economic growth and cannot see the progress.

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Reacting sharply to Rahul Gandhi's endorsement of US President Donald Trump's controversial "dead economy" remark about India, BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar on Friday said the Congress party continues to ignore the country's rapid economic growth and cannot see the progress.

"They can neither see the truth nor acknowledge the country's progress. Today, global economists and world leaders are saying that India is rapidly moving forward, with one of the fastest-growing economies. But Congress chooses to oppose this progress," Sarkar said.

Rahul Gandhi, while speaking to the media in the Parliament complex on Thursday, had backed Trump's remark.

"Yes, he is right. Everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. Everybody knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy. I am glad that President Trump has stated a fact... The entire world knows that the Indian economy is a dead economy," the Congress leader said.

The BJP, however, has strongly dismissed the claim, citing India's consistent GDP growth, rising foreign investment, and its global image as a leading emerging economy.

In a separate remark, Jagannath Sarkar also lashed out at the Congress party's remarks following the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

"This is a major conspiracy by Congress. Congress has always stood against the nation because it is a Hindu-majority country. And this is not the same Congress as before; this has become a family-run Congress. One should investigate where their connections truly lie. They have consistently acted against Hindus and the interests of India. Hence, they bought out 'bhagwa aatankwad theory', but failed," Sarkar said.

Almost 17 years after the Malegaon blast killed six people, a special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the accused, citing a lack of evidence and failure of the prosecution to prove the charges.
Ahmedabad, Aug 1 : The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, has detained a city resident under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA).

The accused, identified as 30-year-old Manish alias Aahu, son of Bhupendrakumar Sharma, a resident of Ajay Tenament near RTO Circle, Vejalpur, Ahmedabad, was taken into custody following a thorough investigation and submission of evidence.

DCB officials submitted a formal PASA application to the Commissioner of Police, Ahmedabad, who approved the detention under PASA Order No. PCB/DTN/PASA/649/2025 dated July 30. The order was executed promptly, and legal procedures were followed to detain the accused. Authorities later transferred the accused to Rajkot Jail under police escort, as per the directives of the PASA order.

Officials stated that the move is part of an intensified drive to curb anti-social and illegal activities linked to the state's prohibition laws.

Between 2022 and 2024, Gujarat Police booked over 1,150 individuals under the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA) across key districts, highlighting a sharp focus on repeat and serious offenders. According to official data, Ahmedabad accounted for 389 arrests, Surat 532, Vadodara 163, and Rajkot 73.

In a broader crackdown in 2019-20, more than 2,800 PASA cases were registered in Ahmedabad alone, with 429 detentions across the state during a single year.

A recent special operation led by the Director General of Police identified 7,612 anti-social elements statewide within just 100 hours, leading to 59 PASA detentions, including 25 in Ahmedabad, 12 in Morbi, seven in rural Surat, and six in Gandhinagar. In Surat, authorities even invoked PASA against 25 white-collar offenders, including moneylenders, extortionists, and unlicensed financiers.

In 2025 alone, PASA orders were issued against at least 450 individuals ahead of the Rath Yatra in Surat. This followed 704 detentions in 2024 under the act, per official statements.

Despite widespread use, PASA has faced sustained criticism for misuse. Over the last two years, 5,402 detentions were recorded statewide, yet around 64 per cent were quashed by the Gujarat High Court, highlighting systemic overreach and legal scrutiny.
Students perform at Queshan Violin Industrial Park in Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A worker works at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A worker works at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows musical instruments on display at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows a pomegranate tree at a revolutionary memorial museum in Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows musical instruments on display at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A worker works at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

Students perform at Queshan Violin Industrial Park in Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

Clients check the quality of musical instruments at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A worker works at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A manager introduces musical instruments manufacturing to visitors at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A worker works at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows semi-finished musical instruments at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A guide (L) introduces history at a revolutionary memorial museum in Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows musical instruments on display at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows musical instruments on display at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A worker works at a workshop in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

Clients check the quality of musical instruments at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

This photo taken on July 24, 2025 shows musical instruments on display at an enterprise in Queshan Violin Industrial Park, Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)

A tourist visits the exhibition hall of an enterprise at Queshan Violin Industrial Park in Queshan County of Zhumadian City, central China's Henan Province, July 24, 2025.

In recent years, Queshan County has developed a complete industrial chain of the violin family manufacturing from raw material processing to instrument and accessories production. Local production accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's total output and the products are exported to European and American markets.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Zhugou Township in Queshan County was once a key anti-Japanese base, and now the county is pursuing its development in modern manufacturing. (Xinhua/Zhu Weixi)
Ottawa : , Aug 1 (IANS) Hours after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday raising tariffs from August 1 on Canadian goods to 35 per cent from 25 per cent earlier, Canada on Friday stated that "while the Canadian government was disappointed by this action", the nation "remained committed to CUSMA." Ottawa (Ontario), Aug 1 (IANS) Hours after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday raising tariffs from August 1 on Canadian goods to 35 per cent from 25 per cent earlier, Canada on Friday stated that "while the Canadian government was disappointed by this action", the nation "remained committed to CUSMA."

The tariff hike by the Trump Administration essentially targeted all products not covered under the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement CUSMA.

Earlier on Thursday, a statement by the White House said, "In response to Canada's continued inaction and retaliation, President Trump has found it necessary to increase the tariff on Canada from 25 per cent to 35 per cent, to effectively address the existing emergency."

A 40 per cent transshipment levy will apply to goods rerouted through third countries to bypass the tariffs, a White House fact sheet revealed.

The Trump Administration's move follows what it described as Canada's "continued inaction and retaliation," prompting the increase ahead of the August 1 tariff deadline.

Reacting to the announcement in an official statement on social media platform X, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated, "President Trump has announced that the United States will increase its tariffs to 35 per cent on Canadian exports that are not covered under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement CUSMA. While the Canadian government is disappointed by this action, we remain committed to CUSMA, which is the world's second-largest free trade agreement by trading volume."

"The U.S. application of CUSMA means that the U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest for all of its trading partners. Other sectors of our economy, including lumber, steel, aluminum, and automobiles are, however, heavily impacted by U.S. duties and tariffs," it stated.

"For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets," the PM promised.

"The United States has justified its most recent trade action on basis of the cross-border flow of fentanyl, despite the fact that Canada accounts for only 1 per cent of U.S. fentanyl imports and we have been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.

"Canada's government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs and end immigrant smuggling. These include thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, aerial surveillance, intelligence and security operations, and the strongest border legislation in our history.

"We will continue working with the United States to stop the scourge of fentanyl and save lives in both our countries," PM Carney said in his post.

"While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, Canadian government is laser focussed on what we can control: Building Canada strong.

"Federal government, provinces and territories are working together to cut down trade barriers and build one Canadian economy. We are developing a series of major nation-building projects provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners. Together, these initiatives have the potential to catalyse over half a trillion dollars of new investments in Canada.

"Canadians will be our own best customers, creating more well-paying careers at home, as we strengthen and diversify our trading partnerships throughout the world. We can give ourselves more than any foreign government can ever take away, by building with Canadian workers and using Canadian resources to benefit all Canadians," the post concluded.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) has been reported in cattle from 10 states in the country in 2025, the Centre informed the Parliament.

LSD is a transboundary animal disease that has gained significant attention in India due to its severe impact on cattle health and the dairy industry. The disease is characterised by the development of skin nodules across the body, fever, swollen lymph nodes, decreased milk yield, and difficulty in movement.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel, said that till July 24, "LSD has been reported in 10 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Karnataka".

"Presently active cases are reported only in Maharashtra," he added. Gujarat is also seeing a resurgence in LSD cases, infecting 300 cattle across eight districts in the state.

"More than 28 crore animals have also been vaccinated against LSD since 2022," Baghel said.

The Minister noted that vaccination among cattle was highest in Uttar Pradesh (4.6 crore), followed by Maharashtra (4.13 crore) and Madhya Pradesh (3 crore).

LSD virus transmission is primarily attributed to vector bites, with mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects playing a crucial role.

In the last two years, about 200,000 cattle have died across the nation, while millions more have lost their milk production capabilities due to LSD.

Notably, financial assistance is provided to states according to their demand for procuring vaccine doses for vaccination against LSD and related disease control activities under the Assistance to States for Control of Animal Diseases (ASCAD) of the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme (LHDCP).

"The funds of Rs. 196.61 crore have been released to states/UTs during the year 2024-25," Baghel said.
Bengaluru, Aug 1 : The Bengaluru police have solved the shocking kidnapping and murder case of a 13-year-old boy and arrested the two accused after shooting them in the legs during an encounter on Friday.

The body of the victim, A. Nischal, an 8th-grade student, was recovered on Thursday night on the outskirts of the city. Nischal was brutally assaulted and killed, and the accused later set his body on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the two accused were known to both the victim and his family. They have confessed to kidnapping the boy for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh and subsequently burning his body to erase evidence.

The official statement by the Bengaluru Police stated that the accused have been identified as 27-year-old Gurumurthy, a resident of Weavers Colony on Bannerghatta Road, and 27-year-old Gopi alias Gopala, a resident of Bannerghatta.

Gurumurthy sustained gunshot injuries in both legs, while Gopi was shot in one leg. Both are currently admitted to Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru.

Police Inspector Kumaraswamy B.G. and PSI Arvind Kumar, who were injured during the confrontation after being attacked by the accused, are also undergoing treatment at Victoria Hospital.

Investigations revealed that the accused worked as drivers and were acquainted with the victim's mother. Knowing the family's background, they targeted the boy for ransom. After kidnapping him, they sent a message via WhatsApp demanding Rs 5 lakh. However, they later slit the boyas throat and set his body on fire to eliminate evidence.

Nischal was a student of Christ School and used to attend tuition classes daily from 5 P.M. to 7.30 P.M. on 80 Feet Road in Arakere.

On July 30, he did not return home till late and when his parents contacted the tuition teacher, they were informed that Nischal had left the centre at the usual time.

During the search, the boyas bicycle was found near Arakere Family Park. His father, J.C. Achyut, subsequently filed a missing complaint at the Hulimavu police station. At around 8 P.M. on July 31, the family received a WhatsApp message stating that Nischal had been kidnapped and that Rs 5 lakh was demanded for his release.

Taking the case seriously, the police formed four teams to trace the kidnappers. At around 5 P.M., they received information about a half-burnt body found in the forest area of Bilwaradahalli, within the Bannerghatta police station limits. The police rushed to the spot, and the boy's family confirmed his identity.

Further investigation revealed that the accused were hiding in the same forest area. When police attempted to apprehend them, the duo attacked officers with a knife and dagger and tried to flee. Police initially fired warning shots in the air and then shot the accused in the legs before arresting them.

Further investigation is underway.
Chennai, Aug 1 : The makers of director Vignesh Shivan's 'Love Insurance Kompany', featuring actors Pradeep Ranganathan and Kirthi Shetty in the lead, on Friday announced that the first glimpse of the film which was to release on August 1 had now been postponed in the wake of the upcoming audio and trailer launch of Superstar Rajinikanth's 'Coolie'.

Taking to its Instagram timeline, Seven Screen Studio, one of the production houses producing the film, wrote, "The #FirstPunch of #LoveInsuranceKompany will now land a little later due to Coolie audio & trailer launch. @wikkiofficial @nayanthara @pradeep_ranganathan @krithi.shetty_official @iam__sjsuryah."

It also shared a poster that said, "First punch pushed to a later date. The new date will be announced soon after Thalaivar Dharisanam in Coolie trailer and audio launch."

For the unaware, the audio and trailer launch of Coolie is to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor stadium in Chennai on August 2.

The film has triggered a lot of excitement among fans as it features Pradeep Ranganthan, who until now has a 100 per cent success record in the Tamil film industry. Every single film of his until now has emerged a success, with his most recent film 'Dragon' going on to emerge a major blockbuster.

For the unaware, LIK is an eagerly-awaited romantic entertainer, featuring actors Pradeep Ranganathan and Krithi Shetty in the lead. The film is scheduled to hit screens on September 18 this year.

The film has been produced by actress Nayanthara, who is also the wife of director Vignesh Shivan.

It may be recalled that director Vignesh Shivan, in April this year, had penned a lengthy post in which he had announced that post production work of the film had begun. He had also thanked his entire team for their hard work, passion, honesty and love for the film.

He had then said, "Abundance of passion, love, honesty and hard work from each and everyone has built #LoveInsuranceKompany. Every day of shoot had a lot of challenges! But we never forgot to have a smile and also enjoy the process !"

The director said that without the support of everyone in the film, whatever magic they had tried to create in the film wouldnat have been possible.

"Without compromising even for one frame, we are proud that we have put in our best efforts to make an original, fresh entertaining movie," Vignesh Shivan said and added that, "Post production works kick start with all your love and support!"

Apart from Pradeep Ranganathan and Krithi Shetty, Love Insurance Kompany will feature actors S J Suryah and Gouri Kishen in pivotal roles.

The film boasts of an impressive technical team. It has cinematography by ace cinematographer Ravivarman and music by Anirudh. Pradeep Ragav has been assigned the task of editing the film, which has stunts choreographed by popular stunt master Peter Hein.
Montreal, Aug 1 : Top seed Coco Gauff fought back from a set and a break down to notch a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Veronika Kudermetova and reach the Round of 16 for the fifth consecutive edition of Canadian Open.

The 21-year-old Gauff is also the youngest player to register 10 career match-wins at this tournament since Justine Henin in 2003.

Gauff saw a 4-1 first-set lead slip away, and at 4-4, 40-15, the American lost five of the next eight points with double faults. Kudermetova took advantage, firing strong groundstroke winners from both wings as she wrapped up the set.

Three more Gauff double faults in the opening game of the second set gave Kudermetova a hefty set-and-a-break lead, but the typically gritty Gauff started to turn the match around as the set progressed. Gauff was able to pull back level, breaking for 3-3 with a forehand return winner, WTA reports.

Gauff had to save break points in both her 4-4 and 5-5 service games, barely denying Kudermetova chances to serve for a straight-sets win. But the American did scrape to 6-5, at which point Kudermetova blinked, slamming a backhand smash into the net to give Gauff the second set.

After that set, Gauff took charge, breaking Kudermetova at love for a 2-0 lead in the decider. Gauff eased home from there and finished the match with a 5-for-10 break point conversion rate.

Elsewhere, Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko defeated Czech Marie Bouzkova on Thursday night at the Omnium Banque Nationale 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the fourth round of a WTA 1000 event for the first time.

Mboko is the fifth 18-year-old to reach the Round of 16 in Canada in the last 10 years, joining Belinda Bencic, Catherine Cartan Bellis, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff -- the latter of whom is her next opponent.
Patna, Aug 1 : Resident doctors of Patna AIIMS launched an indefinite strike on Friday, alleging assault and threats by Rashtriya Janata Dal's rebel MLA from Sheohar, Chetan Anand.

The strike has brought hospital services to a standstill, creating serious inconvenience for patients and their attendants. The OPD and emergency services have been stopped.

According to the Resident Doctors Association (RDA), the MLA "misbehaved" with hospital staff and threatened to kill a resident doctor during a dispute related to a patient's treatment on Thursday morning around 12.15 a.m.

The doctors also alleged that security personnel were assaulted, and the MLA misused his political clout to intimidate hospital staff.

In a strong show of protest, resident doctors suspended all medical services and demanded the immediate registration of an FIR against Chetan Anand.

"We feel unsafe and disrespected. Legal action is the only way to ensure accountability," said an RDA spokesperson of Patna AIIMS.

In response, MLA Chetan Anand filed a counter-complaint at the Phulwari Sharif police station, accusing AIIMS staff of misbehaving and assaulting him on Thursday.

Anand claimed he had come to the hospital to assist with a patient's treatment, but was "physically mishandled" by hospital personnel.

With both sides sticking to their version of events, the matter has escalated into a full-blown standoff.

Meanwhile, thousands of patients are bearing the brunt of the crisis, as emergency and outpatient services remain suspended.

Hospital staff and doctors say they are unwilling to resume work until strict legal action is taken against the MLA.

"This isn't just about one doctor - this is about ensuring the dignity and safety of all medical professionals," a senior resident doctor remarked.

So far, there has been no official statement from either the hospital administration or the state government.

Phulwari Sharif Police Station SHO confirmed that the complaints have been lodged from both sides and the matter is under investigation.

However, sources said senior officials from Patna Police and the Health Department are in touch with both parties and are working behind the scenes to defuse the situation.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : A letter from US President Donald Trump has asked 17 global drug giants to cut their prices in the country, sparking severe losses for them, as its impact hit the Indian stock market too.

The letter urged that these businesses cut US drug pricing to match prices in other developed markets.

Though no Indian pharmaceutical companies received Trump's letters, the Nifty Pharma index reacted sharply, falling 2.45 per cent during the intra-day trade on Friday.

The index fell for the third day in a row. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fell 3.98 per cent. Aurobindo Pharma lost 3.42 per cent and Granules India lost 3.2 per cent. Gland Pharma, Cipla, and Lupin fell 2 to 3 per cent.

The US President wrote to 17 of the world's major pharmaceutical corporations, pressing them to lower drug prices immediately and give assurance that future drugs will be priced in line with other countries.

The letters were sent to Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and others, seeking 'Most Favoured Nation' (MFN) pricing for US within 60 days.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said recent data showed that Americans paid more than three times more for brand-name drugs than other developed nations.

Trump had earlier made a similar announcement on May 12, asking pharma companies to cut prices in US. Industry sources in India had then said Trump's proposal might hurt Indian exporters of branded generics to the US, given generic drugs are already sold at low prices. If prices are cut further, it will make shipping unviable, they said. A third of Indian pharmaceutical exports of $30 billion annually, reach the US market.

Trump gave drug companies 60 days to voluntarily comply with the new pricing diktat in the letter, failing which, he said, the US would use 'every tool in our arsenal' to protect Americans from 'continued abusive drug pricing' practices.

Trump's letter required companies to sell certain drugs directly to patients at prices at which they are offered to third-party insurers.
Washington, August 1 : The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States held talks in Washington for the first time since the launch of President Lee Jae Myung's administration last month, as the allies face a range of cooperation issues, including preparations for a summit between their leaders.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met at the State Department, just a day after President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Korea, saying that his summit with Lee will take place at the White House in two weeks, on Thursday.

The chief diplomats were expected to discuss coordination on North Korea's advancing nuclear threats and efforts to craft a shared understanding of the future direction of the bilateral alliance, as well as other regional and global issues, Yonhap news agency reported.

During a press briefing, Tommy Pigott, the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, announced the meeting between the top diplomats, while commenting on the trade deal between Seoul and Washington.

"This (trade) agreement, as the secretary is meeting today with ROK Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, reflects the unwavering strength of the US-ROK alliance, which has served as the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years," he said.

ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

Observers said that Cho and Rubio might use part of their meeting to discuss the agenda and the timing of a summit between Lee and Trump

Industry Minister of South Korea, Kim Jung-kwan, part of Korea's trade negotiation delegation, told reporters Wednesday that Trump wanted to meet with Lee and directed Rubio to arrange a summit at an early date.

-- IANS

int/bpd/rs
Seoul, Aug 1 : A New Zealand Army platoon has arrived in South Korea this week for deployment at the UN Command (UNC), officials said Friday, in the latest display of international commitment to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The deployment of the 35 soldiers marks the first time New Zealand has sent a combat-ready Army infantry platoon to the US-led multinational force's headquarters to train with both South Korean and US troops, according to the UNC.

The deployed soldiers will be assigned to the US 2nd Infantry Division and train at a range of facilities across the Korean Peninsula over the next 90 days, including the South Korean Army's Korea Combat Training Centre, the UNC said.

Another platoon is set to arrive in South Korea next year for training with the South Korean Marine Corps, Yonhap news agency reported.

The UNC welcomed the deployment as reflecting New Zealand's "steadfast" commitment to the UNC and the Korean Peninsula.

"The platoon's presence here reflects New Zealand's steadfast commitment to UNC, and to the enduring peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula. For over seven decades, New Zealand has stood firm in support of the shared values we defend together," UNC Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Derek Macaulay said.

Brig. Jason Dyhrberg, Land Component Commander of the New Zealand Defence Force, anticipated the training will enhance troop combat readiness and coalition integration.

"This is a great opportunity to gain valuable experience, work alongside Republic of Korea and United States personnel, and access world-class combat training facilities used by South Korea's best," Dyhrberg said, referring to South Korea's formal name.

"After three months, our troops will be more familiar with their counterparts' techniques and tactics, and be better able to readily integrate into a coalition warfighting environment," he said.

The deployment comes about a year after New Zealand's defence and foreign ministers announced a plan to deploy up to 41 additional personnel to South Korea, increasing the number of the country's contribution to the UNC and its Military Armistice Commission from 12 to up to 53.

They noted the decision reflects New Zealand's emphasis on collective security efforts for peace and stability as well as the international rules-based system in the Indo-Pacific region and on the Korean Peninsula.

The UNC was established under a 1950 UN mandate to support South Korea against North Korean aggression during the 1950-53 Korean War, which technically has never ended as a peace treaty was not signed.

A total of 22 countries, including the United States, Britain and Australia, sent troops or medical support to the South during and right after the war.

New Zealand deployed both naval and ground forces during the three-year conflict, with more than 6,000 New Zealanders serving in the Korean War. The country has contributed to the UNC and its Military Armistice Commission since 1998.
Raipur/Kochi, Aug 1 : A week after two Kerala-based nuns were arrested and remain in jail in Chhattisgarh, the Kerala unit of the BJP on Friday launched a damage control exercise.

State BJP president and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar met with Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), to discuss the issue.

Emerging from the meeting, Archbishop Thazhath said the Church had conveyed its deep concern over the continued detention of the two nuns, who, he asserted, had done nothing wrong.

"One of the nuns has been working in the region for over three decades, primarily serving leprosy patients. Their arrest has shocked us. We have urged Rajeev Chandrasekhar to ensure their immediate release," Thazhath told reporters.

He added that Chandrasekhar was the first political leader to reach out to the Church following the arrests, and that Congress leaders had also visited and expressed solidarity.

"We seek only justice. After today's meeting, we are hopeful, especially since Rajeev conveyed that both Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are aware of the matter and have assured support. We also raised concerns about the increasing insecurity faced by our missionaries working outside Kerala," he said.

Speaking to the media later, Chandrasekhar said that both the Prime Minister and the Home Minister had assured him "two days ago" that justice would be served.

"It's now clear that the Chhattisgarh government will not oppose the bail plea. This is a legal matter and should be allowed to follow due process. Some are trying to politicise it, but that's not necessary," he said.

He added that the BJP was extending help not for political gain but out of principle. "There has clearly been a misunderstanding. It must be noted, however, that issues like conversion and trafficking are sensitive."

Chandrasekhar left for Delhi soon after the meeting, reportedly to follow up with Amit Shah and other senior leaders to expedite a resolution.

Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, hectic efforts are underway to secure the release of the nuns. On Friday morning, three Congress MPs -- Kodikunnil Suresh, Anto Antony, and Dean Kuriakose -- arrived in the state, joined by two former CPI(M) MPs from Kerala, P.K. Sreemathi and C.S. Sujatha. They are expected to meet the detained nuns.

The two arrested, Sister Preeti Mary and Sister Vandana Francis, belong to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate, a congregation under the Syro-Malabar Church in Alappuzha district. They had been working at a hospital in Agra.

On July 26, while accompanying three women from Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district to Agra for jobs as kitchen helpers in a convent, the nuns and a man named Sukhman Mandavi were intercepted at a railway station by Bajrang Dal activists.

Based on their complaint, the police arrested the nuns on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. A local court subsequently remanded them to judicial custody.
BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A surprising discovery by scientists has revealed that an ancient genetic marriage roughly 9 million years ago gave rise to what is now the world's third-largest staple crop: the potato. And the tomato, it turns out, is the mother of the potato.

The study was conducted by a research team from the Agricultural Genomics Institute in Shenzhen, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and a domestic researcher from Lanzhou University, in collaboration with scientists from Canada and the U.K. It showed that the potato originated from an ancient hybridization event between the tomato plant and a potato-like plant about 9 million years ago. This cross also led to the creation of a novel organ: the tuber.

Published in the latest issue of the Cell journal, these findings provide a groundbreaking theoretical perspective for the genetic breeding of potatoes.

As the world's most important tuber crop, the potato is native to South America. Valued for its high nutritional content and wide adaptability, it has spread worldwide.

Huang Sanwen, who led the study, explained that the potato's origin had long puzzled scientists. In appearance, modern potato plants are almost identical to a potato-like species called Etuberosum, which does not carry tubers. However, potato plants are more closely related to tomatoes based on phylogenetic analysis.

To unravel the mystery of the potato's origin, the research team analyzed 101 genomes and 349 resequenced samples from cultivated potatoes and their 56 wild relatives -- effectively a comprehensive DNA paternity test for all potatoes.

They found that all potatoes examined carried stable, balanced genetic contributions from both the Etuberosum and the tomato. From this, they inferred that the potato was the hybrid offspring of the two.

To validate this hypothesis, the team further assessed the divergence times of the three species. Their results showed that the Etuberosum and the tomato began diverging around 14 million years ago. Approximately 5 million years after their divergence, the two hybridized, leading to the emergence of the earliest tuber-bearing potato plants around 9 million years ago.

"The tomato served as the maternal parent of the potato, while the Etuberosum was the paternal parent," Huang said.

However, what continued to puzzle the researchers was why only the potato develops tubers, while its parents lack them. The tomato has neither underground stems nor tubers, and the Etuberosum has underground stems but no swollen tubers.

Huang's team proposed a bold explanation: The tuber could be the product of genomic rearrangement. After the two ancestral lineages crossed, their genes recombined in a way that accidentally created the tuber as a new organ.

The team further traced the origin of the key tuber formation genes, which are a combination of genetic material from each parent. They found the SP6A gene, which acts like a master switch that tells the plant when to start making tubers, came from the tomato side of the family. Another important gene, IT1, which helps control the growth of the underground stems that form tubers, came from the Etuberosum side. Without either piece, the hybrid offspring would be incapable of producing tubers.

This ancient marriage not only produced the tuber but also enriched the genetic diversity of the potato plant's lineage.

The team also discovered that different potato individuals exhibit a "mosaic" pattern of parental genetic contributions.

When subjected to varying environmental stresses, this mosaic genetic combination allows for the selection of optimal gene sets, enabling potatoes to adapt to diverse habitats ranging from temperate grasslands to alpine meadows.

The tuber has an underground survival advantage. It stores water and starch, helping potatoes endure drought and cold, and allows reproduction without seeds or pollination, as new plants can sprout directly from the buds on tubers.

"Evolving a tuber gave potatoes a huge advantage in harsh environments, fueling an explosion of new species and contributing to the rich diversity in the potatoes we see and rely on today," Huang said. 
Jaipur, Aug 1 : In a decisive move following recent accidents in Jhalawar and Jaisalmer, the Rajasthan Department of Autonomous Governance has ordered the sealing and demolition of 2,699 dangerously dilapidated buildings across the state.

The action comes as part of a statewide monsoon preparedness campaign, with officials instructed to conduct ground inspections, warn the public, and prevent any untoward incidents. The above decision has been taken in the wake of recent accidents in Jhalawar and Jaisalmer -- where incidents related to unsafe infrastructure and torrential rains raised serious safety concerns -- the Department of Autonomous Governance in Rajasthan has moved into high alert mode.

Responding swiftly to the growing threat of structural collapses, especially during the monsoon season, the department has undertaken a comprehensive and statewide review of building safety and disaster preparedness across urban areas.

The Administrative Secretary of the Department, Ravi Jain, on Thursday, chaired a crucial virtual meeting attended by the heads of 224 urban local bodies from across the state.

The meeting marked the beginning of an aggressive enforcement drive to seal and demolish dilapidated buildings that pose a threat to public safety. In a strongly worded directive, Jain ordered the immediate sealing and demolition of 2,699 identified dilapidated structures in the jurisdiction of the 224 participating municipal bodies.

The Department of Autonomous Governance has been put on high alert, anticipating the possibility of further structural failures and waterlogging-related disasters. This meeting, convened by Jain, served as a review and action planning session aimed at mitigating risks posed by old, abandoned, and structurally weak buildings, said officials. In his opening remarks, Ravi Jain stressed the importance of taking proactive steps before further casualties occur.

Jain urged all commissioners and executive officers of municipal bodies to regularly inspect such buildings in their jurisdictions and take swift action to prevent accidents. He also emphasised the need for public communication by putting up visible warning boards in front of identified unsafe buildings, thereby raising public awareness and minimising the chances of accidental injuries or deaths.

According to data presented in the meeting, under a special campaign launched across Rajasthan, 2,699 buildings have already been flagged as unsafe.

These identifications were made following structural audits and physical inspections carried out under state guidelines. Jain confirmed that the process of sealing and demolishing these buildings is underway, with priority being given to those in highly populated or high-risk zones.

He issued a firm directive for all municipal commissioners and executive officers to visit their assigned areas personally and conduct regular physical inspections. This on-ground approach, he said, was necessary to ensure that orders were being followed and that public safety was not being compromised due to administrative negligence. He further ordered that municipal officials ensure the visibility of caution signage near dilapidated buildings and mandated real-time reporting to the department about progress in demolition and sealing efforts.

Another key focus of the meeting was the electrical infrastructure within urban areas. With increasing reports of electric shocks, short circuits, and fire hazards due to open or loose wires during rains, Jain instructed urgent coordination with engineers from power distribution companies (discoms). He ordered immediate repair of loose electric wires hanging dangerously over roads and public spaces.

Jain laid out specific instructions and said that loose wires near electric poles, distribution points (DPs), cable boxes, and switch boxes must be removed or repaired promptly. Also, broken or open lids of switch boxes must be sealed or replaced without delay.

Municipal fire brigades must be kept in constant readiness, with vehicles, technical staff, and equipment available 24/7 to handle sudden emergencies such as electrical fires or building collapses, he said.

Further, coordination with local electricity boards must be strengthened to ensure an immediate response to hazardous electrical issues. He emphasised that during the monsoon, even a small lapse could lead to life-threatening consequences, and preventive action was the only way to avoid disasters.

With Rajasthan experiencing heavier-than-expected monsoon rainfall this year, urban safety and infrastructure resilience have emerged as urgent priorities.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The acquittal of all seven accused in the case related to the 2008 Malegaon blast, has triggered strong political reactions across party lines, with leaders questioning the prosecution, defending the verdict, and accusing previous governments of politicising the investigation.

The special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit in the blast case, in which 6 people were killed and over 100 injured, citing lack of evidence and inconsistencies in the prosecution's case.

"Upon comprehensive evaluation, the prosecution has failed to bring any cogent evidence, and the evidence is riddled with inconsistencies. Therefore, the Court has to extend the benefit of doubt to all accused," Special Judge A.K. Lahoti said while delivering the judgment.

Reacting to the verdict, JD(U) MP Devesh Chandra Thakur welcomed the court's clarity, stating: "What can anyone comment on a court's verdict? The judgment must be accepted as it is. And now, the matter has become absolutely clear, it's not a decision made in haste. This case is old, and so many people were harassed, those who were accused, including members of the armed forces, and even Sadhvi Pragya, who was very young. All of it is now crystal clear."

Uttar Pradesh Minister Narendra Kashyap took a more political line, accusing previous governments of bias.

"There were already apprehensions about this, and the BJP had raised this issue on several platforms. In the Malegaon blast case, instead of taking action against the actual accused, the then governments targeted Hindu organisations and sants, branding it as 'bhagwa aatankwad' in an attempt to defame Hindus and Sanatan Dharma followers," he claimed.

Samajwadi Party MP Afzal Ansari, while not commenting on the acquittals, questioned the quality of prosecution: "It is absolutely clear that the prosecution failed to prove its case before the court. Now the question arises  who was handling the prosecution and who was responsible for managing it?"

BJP MP Jagannath Sarkar alleged a broader conspiracy: "This is a major conspiracy by the Congress. The party has always stood against the nation because this is a Hindu-majority country... They have consistently acted against Hindus and against the interests of India. Hence they brought out 'bhagwa atankwad', but failed."

The Malegaon blast on September 29, 2008, killed six people and injured over 100. The case, which shifted between the Maharashtra ATS and later the NIA, has seen intense political debate, especially over the term "saffron terror" that emerged during early investigations.

The court's verdict, nearly 17 years after the incident, has not only closed a legal chapter but also reopened political divides around the sensitive case.
Amaravati, Aug 1 : Andhra Pradesh Police have arrested the cousin brother of state Minister B. C. Janardhan Reddy for slapping a police constable during a temple inauguration.

Bobbala Madana Bhupal Reddy, cousin brother of Roads and Buildings Minister Janardhan Reddy, was arrested on Friday, hours after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him.

The accused had slapped an on-duty police constable during a temple inauguration in Kolimigundla of Nandyal district.

Bhupal Reddy allegedly abused and slapped the constable Jaswanth Kumar when the latter tried to stop him from entering a restricted area. The assault was caught on the camera and the video went viral on social media.

The incident took place on Thursday at the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Kolimigundla.

A police complaint was filed against Bhupal Reddy.

According to the complaint, the accused allegedly abused and slapped the constable in public view.

A case under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the accused for obstructing and assaulting a public servant on duty.

Janardhan Reddy, who belongs to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and was also present at the event, condemned the assault on the constable. He said immediately after learning about the incident, he asked senior police officials to register an FIR and take legal action against whoever was involved.

Human Resources Development Minister Nara Lokesh also condemned the incident. He stated that such behaviour by anyone was unacceptable. He said FIR was already registered and action would be taken as per law.

Opposition YSR Congress Party slammed the TDP-led coalition government for the incident.

"In a shocking incident, the brother of TDP Minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy slapped a police constable on duty, openly displaying the arrogance and lawlessness associated with TDP leaders and their families. The assault happened in public view, yet no immediate action was taken, exposing how the police force has been reduced to a tool under political pressure in the current coalition government," the opposition party posted on 'X'.

"This shameful act reflects the growing impunity enjoyed by those close to power, where even law enforcement officers are not spared. The silence of the government on this incident raises serious concerns about rule of law in Andhra Pradesh," it said.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to bring political parties under the purview of the anti-sexual harassment law.

"This falls within the Parliament's domain. How can we interfere? It is a policy matter," a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai and K. Vinod Chandran remarked.

Senior advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that she was not seeking the enactment of a new law, but merely an interpretation that would bring political parties within the ambit of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 -- commonly known as the 'POSH Act'.

Gupta pointed out that a Kerala High Court judgment had held that a political party is not legally required to establish an Internal Complaints Committee under the PoSH Act, as there is no employer-employee relationship among its members. Therefore, the matter should not be construed as strictly falling within the domain of the legislature, she argued.

At this, the CJI Gavai-led Bench advised the senior counsel to challenge the Kerala High Court decision independently by filing a special leave petition before the apex court.

She then chose to withdraw the PIL, which the court allowed. Granting liberty to take 'such steps as advised in law', the Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the plea as withdrawn.

In December last year, the apex court had disposed of a similar plea but directed the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI), stating that the poll body was the competent authority to urge recognised political parties to establish an internal mechanism for handling complaints of sexual harassment.

"In case the petitioner's grievance is not effectively addressed, she shall be at liberty to approach the judicial forum in accordance with the law," the apex court had ordered.

As per the fresh PIL, the petitioner sent a representation to the ECI in March this year, and to date, no response has been received from the poll body.

The PIL sought a declaration that political parties are bound to follow the procedure for protection of women in the workplace under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

It prayed the apex court to expand the scope of the POSH Act to include political party workers, ensure that political parties are held accountable for providing a safe work environment and protect individuals who work with political parties from sexual harassment.

Apart from the Union government and the ECI, the PIL impleaded the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the CPI(M), the CPI, the Trinamool Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the National People's Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Aam Aadmi Party, in the memo of parties.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : In a remarkable display of dedication and compassion, the South-West District Police successfully traced and reunited 142 missing individuals, including 61 children and 81 adults, with their families during the month of July under 'Operation Milap'.

Between July 1 and July 31, the police launched intensive search operations immediately upon receiving reports of missing or kidnapped individuals.

Their efforts included local enquiries, CCTV surveillance, and outreach at bus stands, railway stations, and public transport hubs.

Information was also gathered from drivers, conductors, vendors, and local informers.

Records of nearby police stations and hospitals were thoroughly examined to aid the search.

According to Delhi Police, from January 1 to July 31, 2025, the district police have reunited a total of 801 missing people, comprising 258 children and 543 adults.

Key police stations played a pivotal role during July as Police Station (PS) Kapashera traced 8 children and 15 adults; Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) teams recovered 22 children and 1 adult; PS Sagarpur reunited 9 children and 9 adults; and PS Palam Village traced 3 children and 15 adults. PS Vasant Kunj South and PS Delhi Cantt each reunited 10 and 9 missing people respectively, alongside missing children.

Other stations, including Kishangarh, Vasant Kunj North, R.K. Puram, S.J. Enclave, Vasant Vihar, Sarojini Nagar, and South Campus, contributed significantly, collectively reuniting dozens more individuals with their families.

"Under 'Operation Milap', South-West District Police reaffirmed their commitment to public service by ensuring the safe return of 142 missing individuals to their homes. Their compassionate approach, coupled with methodical investigations and swift action, brought hope and relief to many grieving families," said DCP Amit Goel, South-West District.

Under 'Operation Milap', the police combined compassion with methodical investigation, bringing comfort and closure to many families. Their swift coordination and relentless pursuit of leads continue to inspire trust in the force's public service mission.
Seoul, Aug 1 : The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States reaffirmed their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearisation of North Korea and the "full" enforcement of sanctions against it during their talks in Washington, a State Department spokesperson said.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their first talks since the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration last month, as Seoul and Washington face a series of cooperation issues, including preparations for a summit between Lee and US President Donald Trump.

Their meeting came just a day after Trump announced a trade deal with Korea, saying that his summit with President Lee will take place at the White House in two weeks.

"Secretary Rubio and Foreign Minister Cho also reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearisation of the DPRK, the full implementation of international sanctions, and expressed serious concerns about North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia," Tammy Bruce, the spokesperson, said in a readout.

DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The chief diplomats' show of unity against North Korea's nuclear threats came days after Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, ruled out the possibility of talks on the North's denuclearisation, while noting the personal relationship between Trump and Kim is "not bad."

At the talks, Cho and Rubio underscored the "unwavering" strength of the bilateral alliance, which has served as the "linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific for more than 70 years," according to Bruce.

"They expressed continued support for their mutual goal of strengthening the US-ROK alliance, including through our robust combined defense posture and the continued provision of extended deterrence to the ROK," the spokesperson said. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

Extended deterrence refers to the US' stated commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally.

The chief diplomats welcomed Wednesday's trade deal and the forthcoming visit to Washington by the South Korean president, Yonhap news agency reported.

The trade agreement, reached Thursday, commits South Korea to investing US$350 billion in the US in exchange for lowering the reciprocal tariff rate to 15 per cent from the initially proposed 25 per cent.

"The minister and secretary shared the understanding, in particular, of the need to enhance cooperation in shipbuilding and agreed to boost the pan-government framework to materialise the cooperation," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a separate release.

They also agreed that the two countries should work to "modernise" the bilateral alliance in order to elevate its "strategic importance," the ministry said.

"Modernisation of the alliance" is a term that has increasingly been cited by Seoul and Washington, and is largely seen as a US call for its allies to shoulder more of the defence burden and support its strategy to counter China.

Cho hoped that the advanced technology sector, like artificial intelligence, nuclear energy and quantum technology, will develop into another key pillar of alliance cooperation going forward, the ministry said.

Recalling South Korea's invitation to Trump for this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, Cho also requested US support for the successful hosting of the meeting.
Pune, Aug 1 : Newly appointed Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane, in his first reaction on Friday, said as the farmer's son, he will make every effort for the agriculture development and bring prosperity in farmers' lives.

Bharane, who was minister of state during the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government, was elevated to the cabinet rank in the Devendra Fadnavis-led council of ministers, and was holding departments of sports, youth welfare, minority affairs and Auqaf.

Bharane is likely to take charge as the agriculture minister early next week.

Bharane, in his post on X, said, "Born and raised in a farmer's family, I have experienced every aspect of farming. Therefore, I deeply understand the pain, difficulties, and expectations of farmers. Now, through the responsibility of this ministerial position, I have been given the opportunity to work for their justice, rights, and progress. The honour of farmers, sustainable agriculture, and rural prosperity will be my primary goals. I will sincerely strive to ensure that the voice of farmers reaches every policy of the government."

He further stated, "I am grateful for the honour bestowed upon a farmer's son with the position of Agriculture Minister. I sincerely thank Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister and my leader Ajitdada Pawar and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, NCP working president Praful Patel and state party president Sunil Tatkare for entrusting me with the responsibility of the state's Agriculture Minister."

Minister Bharane told reporters that he will focus on how the state's farmers will get justice through the Agriculture Department and how innovative agricultural initiatives will be implemented for the benefit of the farmers.

On the much-awaited government's decision on crop loan waiver, Minister Bharane said that he has not yet taken charge of this department. He clarified that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Dy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will take the right decision regarding the loan waiver.

"I belong to a farmer's family, and the people of Baramati (Ajitdada) have given me a lot. The Pawar family has always loved me a lot. Now I will try to make Indapur (his Assembly constituency) like Baramati," said Bharane.

He added that he would make more efforts to expedite the development of Indapur and transform it on the lines of Baramati (which is the bastion of Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar and known for its overall development).

However, NCP insiders said that Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane will have to pursue with the CM and two Dy CMs for announcing the crop loan waiver, which was promised by the Mahayuti ahead of the state Assembly elections. This is necessary as the opposition and various farmers' organisations have been criticising the government for dilly-dallying on this issue, as the arrears towards the agricultural loans to district cooperative central banks, regional rural banks and public sector banks have increased to over Rs 37,000 crore. Farmers have stopped repayment of loans, expecting an early crop loan waiver. In addition, Minister Bharane will have to pay attention to curbing farmers' suicides by putting in place a clear roadmap.

Further, the minister will have to activate the agriculture department machinery for the effective implementation of the crop insurance scheme, which will benefit the farmers and not the insurance companies.

A senior NCP functionary said the new agriculture minister will also have to give more time to address issues relating to the mismatch between the rising cost of production and guaranteed price for agricultural produce, facilitate market access to farmers and early payment of financial aid to farmers hit by natural calamities.
Jaipur, Aug 1 : Heavy rains in Rajasthan have brought disaster with them. In Dholpur, a driver and cleaner along with a mini-truck were swept away on Friday morning. The vehicle sank into the Parvati river on the Ranoli culvert of Maniyan police station area. The driver and cleaner also drowned with it.

The lives of the labourer and the contractor travelling in the vehicle were saved in the nick of time, while a search is on for the bodies of the driver and cleaner till the time of filing of this report. The police is busy searching for both, said officials.

In Jasnagar of Nagaur district, the administration has had to close National Highway-458 for the third time in the last 12 days as the water of the Luni river is flowing 6 inches above the Jasnagar culvert.

Therefore, in order to prevent any mishaps, the administration has had to close the National Highway once again. Due to this, Nagaur has lost connectivity with Pali and Beawar districts.

Incessant rains in the state this year have smashed all records in Rajasthan. The rainfall in the month of July this year has been the highest recorded rainfall in 69 years.

Last month, a total of 285MM rainfall was recorded. Earlier in 1956, the highest rainfall of 308MM was recorded in July.

The Meteorological Center Jaipur has issued a 'Yellow Alert' for moderate to heavy rain in 6 districts on Friday.

Schools were closed in 16 districts on Friday amid the warning of heavy rain.

Holiday has been announced in schools in Jhalawar, Tonk, Kota, Bharatpur, Deeg, Ajmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur, Sikar Churu and others. The Meteorological Center has also predicted more than normal rainfall in August (Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Bharatpur, Bikaner).

According to weather experts, the monsoon trough line is currently passing through Sri Ganganagar, Rohtak. A cyclonic circulation is formed at the upper level of South-West Rajasthan. Due to the effect of this system, rain is expected in Bikaner division on August 2, while the weather may remain dry in the rest of the state.
Kochi, Aug 1 : The Kerala High Court on Friday asked the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to clarify its stand regarding the proposed ropeway at the famed Sabarimala temple.

Located in the Western Ghats within Kerala's Pathanamthitta district, Sabarimala is one of India's most sacred and frequently visited pilgrimage destinations, drawing millions of devotees each year.

Sabarimala, perched at an elevation of 3,000 feet, traditionally requires pilgrims to undergo a 41-day penance followed by a barefoot ascent from the banks of the Pampa River.

The Division Bench of Justice V. Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K.V. Jayakumar was considering a suo motu petition regarding the construction of the said ropeway based on the reports submitted by the Advocate Commissioner.

The M/s. Eighteeth Step Damodar Cable Company Ltd, was proposing the ropeway, which would pass through the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

On Friday, the Court orally remarked, "Why would someone do this? You don't even have the capacity to provide toilets to all these people. Why do you want all these people to go there? How is it possible? I don't know."

The Bench also noted: "From the sketches provided, it doesn't appear from where to where this path is being cut. What is the length - absolutely nothing. What is stated is that a 12-metre-wide forest and trees will be cut and removed, and they will install 6 or 7 pillars and then take it up."

The Court expressed its scepticism regarding the permit being given for the project.

It was submitted before the bench that 10 acres of compensatory forestation would be done in Thenmala.

"This forest is different from Thenmala... If it is a tourist destination, you can take a ropeway or whatever. Here you look at the facilities there."

When the Court was told about the example of cable cars in Palani, the Court orally stated, "Sabarimala is different. No tree was cut in Palani."

Then the Court told the Deputy Solicitor General of India to get instructions from the MoEFCC, which was arrayed as the 6th respondent, to get instructions with regard to the feasibility of putting up a ropeway through the tiger reserve.

The Court then posted the case after 10 days.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : In its efforts to track down economic offenders, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has secured the deportation of fugitive Udit Khullar from the United Arab Emirates, a statement of the agency said.

Khullar, wanted by the Delhi Police in connection with a Rs 4.55 crore bank fraud case, was brought back to India on Friday through coordinated action with INTERPOL and law enforcement authorities in the UAE.

The repatriation was facilitated by the agencyas International Police Cooperation Unit (IPCU) in collaboration with the National Central Bureau (NCB) of Abu Dhabi, under the framework of INTERPOL.

"Udit Khullar has returned as a deportee at IGI Airport, New Delhi, from Dubai, UAE. The subject was earlier geo-located in the UAE through persistent follow-up by the CBI via INTERPOL channels with NCB-Abu Dhabi," the statement said.

Khullar is accused of orchestrating financial fraud in Delhi, involving the use of forged documents to secure multiple bank loans. The case was registered by the Special Cell of Delhi Police at Adarsh Nagar Police Station.

As per the FIR, Khullar, in collusion with co-conspirators, managed to obtain housing loans amounting to Rs 4.55 crore from both public and private sector banks.

During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Khullar had submitted fabricated property documents to banks, claiming ownership of assets that did not belong to him.

These forged papers were used as collateral to fraudulently secure three separate home loans. Once the loans were disbursed, he defaulted on repayments and fled the country to evade arrest.

Following his escape, the Delhi Police approached the CBI for assistance in locating and securing Khullaras return. The CBI, as the designated National Central Bureau for INTERPOL in India, activated its international cooperation mechanisms. The IPCU tracked Khullaras whereabouts in the UAE and worked closely with the NCB-Abu Dhabi to have him apprehended.

The CBI underlined that the successful deportation underscores the effectiveness of Indiaas international policing cooperation through INTERPOL and its dedicated portal, BHARATPOL.

This case marks another milestone in Indiaas intensified crackdown on financial offenders and fugitives living overseas.
On July 30 2025, the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone held a reception to warmly celebrate the 98th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The Ambassador, Mr. Wang Qing led all embassy diplomats in the reception. DeputyMinister of Defence of Sierra Leone, Colonel retired Muana Brima Massaquoi and other Sierra Leonean military and political officials, representatives from all walks of life, and representatives of the Chinese and overseas Chinese community attended the reception, approximately 200 people.





The Ambassador, Mr. Wang Qing toasted with the distinguished guests, highly commending the fruitful results of exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and militaries. He expressed hope that China and Sierra Leone will achieve further progress in friendly cooperation in various fields, including military, to better benefit the peoples of both countries and make positive contributions to lasting peace and common prosperity in the world.

Senior Colonel Pu Lin, Defence Attache of the Embassy, reviewed the glorious journey of the Chinese military over the past 98 years and introduced the positive role played by the PLA in maintaining world peace and practicing the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind in the new era.





The reception was held in a grand and warm atmosphere. The guests watched the photo exhibition themed "Safeguarding Peace, Sharing a Shared Future" and a promotional video of the PLA, and spoke highly of the positive contributions made by the PLA to maintaining world peace.










HANOI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's northern province of Quang Ninh is considering the installation of an early warning system for thunderstorms, whirlwinds, torrential rain and rough sea waves, Vietnam News Agency reported Friday.

The initiative aims to enhance safety for tourists on cruise ships following a tragic accident in Ha Long Bay last month that left 39 people dead.

Local authorities will work with the Institute of Earth Sciences to deploy the system at key tourist sites, including Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long Bay, and other coastal areas. 
Phnom Penh, Aug 1 : Cambodia has welcomed Thailand's proposal to hold talks on border issues in Malaysia next week, a Cambodian defence ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that Cambodia welcomes Thailand's proposal to hold a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) in Kuala Lumpur," Cambodian Defence Ministry's Undersecretary of State and spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said at a press briefing.

"We're very confident that this meeting will be constructive and yield fruitful outcomes," she said.

According to Socheata, Cambodia's Defence Minister Tea Seiha and Thailand's Deputy Defence Minister Nattaphon Narkphanit will attend the upcoming meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.

The office of the spokesperson of Thailand's Ministry of Defence said Thursday on social media that Deputy Minister of Defence Nattaphon Narkphanit had officially responded to "Cambodia's invitation" for a special GBC meeting.

In his reply, Nattaphon welcomed the opportunity to join the meeting and emphasised a shared commitment to reduce tensions and resolve border security issues in a peaceful and constructive manner.

Earlier on July 24, armed clashes broke out between soldiers of Cambodia and Thailand along the disputed border. The two countries agreed on a ceasefire on July 28, taking effect at the midnight of July 28.

Observation teams were deployed on Wednesday to monitor the implementation of a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand.

Socheata said in a press briefing that Malaysia, the current chair of ASEAN, sent on Tuesday a high-level delegation led by its Chief of Defence Forces, General Datuk Haji Mohd Nizam Bin Haji Jaffar, to Cambodia.

According to the spokesperson, the Malaysian defence forces chief said that two observation teams will be operational, one led by the Malaysian military attache in Cambodia and the other led by the Malaysian military attache in Thailand
New Delhi, Aug 1 : India does not make trade deals under any pressure or deadlines, and there is no chance to compromise on farmers, dairy and agriculture interests, government officials here said on Friday.

According to officials familiar with the subject, the 25 per cent tariff hike imposed by US President Donald Trump from August 1 is not at all alarming for the Indian markets.

aThere is absolutely no chance of compromising on farmers, dairy and MSMEs, and no chance of allowing import of genetically-modified crops either,a said officials, adding that "lower tariffs on Pakistan and Bangladesh will have no impact on us".

A US delegation is coming for the next round of trade talks by the end of August. The India-US trade negotiations are expected to continue and could bring some relief in the days to come.

Moreover, the recently concluded India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) has turned out to be a 'game-changing' deal that provides immense opportunities and benefits to farmers, businessmen, MSME sectors, young professionals and fishermen.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday that the country will take all necessary steps to protect national interest while negotiating trade deals with countries. Addressing the Parliament, Goyal also dismissed the US Presidentas "dead economy" comment, saying India has risen from 11th to the fifth-largest economy in 10 years, and remains the fastest-growing economy in the world.

"India has signed mutually beneficial FTAs with the UAE, the UK, Australia and the EFTA nations. We want to achieve such FTAs with more countries," said Goyal, adding that India, through its reforms and MSMEs and industry's efforts, is currently the 4th largest economy and will soon become the third-largest economy.

"We are constantly working towards protecting and promoting our farmers. The government is confident of achieving the Viksit Bharat goals. India is progressing towards aMake in Indiaa with self-confidence," the minister said.

According to the minister, India and the US decided to talk over a mutually-beneficial trade deal aimed to be completed by the fall of this year.
Kabul, August 1 : Nearly 1.2 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report. In the report, the UNHCR noted that many of the Afghans who have returned, face dire conditions and called for urgent aid to prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Over 156,000 returnees, including 98,000 registered cardholders, have received humanitarian assistance since returning to Afghanistan. UNHCR noted that women and girl make up about half of those receiving aid while roughly 2.2 per cent of all returnees are people who are specially-abled, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported, citing the report which was released on Thursday.

The agency stated that more than 315,000 Afghans came back to Afghanistan in 2025 alone, including 51,000 who were forcibly deported by Pakistani authorities. Increasing political and security pressures in Pakistan pose a threat to the status of over two million Afghan refugees who have lived there for decades.

According to the report, many Afghan returnees face bleak conditions, lacking proper housing, jobs and access to essential services in Afghanistan. Aid agencies have called on Afghan authorities and the international community to increase support, warning that the wave of returnees could deepen humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan if assistance is not provided.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned about rising spread of infectious diseases and poor sanitary conditions among Afghan migrants deported from neighbouring nations. WHO said that a surge in respiratory infections, diarrhea, skin conditions like scabies, and suspected Covid-19 cases is being witnessed among deported Afghan migrants.

The ground assessments at key border points a" especially Islam Qala in Herat Province a" show that upper respiratory infections are the most common health problems faced by deported Afghans, followed closely by diarrhea and dehydration, particularly among children and the elderly. Suspected cases of scabies and Covid-19 have also been reported among Afghan returnees.

In response, WHO has started emergency health screenings and mass vaccination campaigns in collaboration with local health authorities at Islam Qala and Spin Boldak border crossings. These initiatives have been launched to stop further outbreaks and provide critical care to vulnerable people. Nearly 29,000 people have been screened or vaccinated at major border points, including Islam Qala, Torkham and Spin Boldak. In addition, WHO mobile health teams have been deployed at reception centres and zero-point borders, carrying out daily health checks on hundreds of deported Afghans.
San Salvador, August 1 : El Salvador's National Assembly on Thursday approved changes in the country's constitution, that will allow President Nayib Bukele, who is in his second term in office, to run for re-election indefinitely. Bukele's party, which holds a supermajority in the legislature, voted to end presidential term limits and extend a president's term in office from five to six years, according to a National Assembly statement released on X.

The amendments to five articles of the constitution were approved on Thursday with 57 lawmakers voting in its favour, while three voted against it, according to the National Assembly statement. The Nuevas Ideas lawmaker, Ana Figueroa, who proposed the amendment, after the vote, noted that the changes will ensure that presidential polls coincide with legislative and municipal elections.

Figueroa stated that legislators and local officials like mayors, do not have term limits. The current term of Nayib Bukele ends in 2029. However, Ana Figueroa, noted that his term should end in 2027 to coincide with legislative polls, at which point he could contest for six-year term.

Bukele was first elected in 2019 and he successfully ran for second term in 2024. At the time, the legal scholars had said that El Salvador's Constitution did not allow president to serve consecutive terms. After Bukele's legislative allies selected new judges in the Supreme Court, the court reinterpreted the constitution and paved the way for Bukele to run again for presidency.

While being in office, the 44-year-old El Salvador President has consolidated power, leading his Nuevas Ideas party to its supermajority in the legislature and acting against gangs through mass arrests. Killings and extortion by gangs have reduced under Bukele-led government. However, Salvadoran human rights defenders have said that civil liberties have deteriorated.

Earlier in June, Bukele said that he would rather be called dictator than allow criminals to function with impunity. He also called himself US President Donald Trump's closest ally in Latin America. Bukele agreed for imprisoning immigrants expelled from the United States under Trump's deportation plan, in exchange for the return to El Salvador of members of the MS-13 gang who had been in US custody.
Gandhinagar, Aug 1 : The Gujarat government will organise a state-level celebration of 'PM Kisan Utsav Diwas' in Gandhinagar on Saturday.

As part of the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address farmers across the country and release the 20th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, which provides direct income support to farmers.

Speaking ahead of the event, State Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel stated that over 9.7 crore farmers across India will receive financial assistance exceeding Rs 20,500 crore through this instalment.

In Gujarat alone, more than 52.16 lakh farming families will benefit, receiving a cumulative amount of over Rs 1,118 crore, directly transferred to their bank accounts.

In Gandhinagar, beneficiaries of various central and state agricultural schemes will receive assistance during the ceremony. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will felicitate progressive farmers.

At the district level, Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel will lead celebrations in Rajkot, with similar events being held across all districts of the state.

Live telecasts of the Prime Minister's address will be streamed at Gram Panchayats and 30 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) across Gujarat.

An estimated 2.5 lakh farmers are expected to participate in these statewide celebrations.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, more than 11 crore farmer families in India have received Rs 3.69 lakh crore in financial aid across 19 instalments since the scheme's inception.

Gujarat alone has disbursed over Rs 19,993 crore to its beneficiary farmers so far.

As of 2025, Gujarat is home to approximately 62 lakh registered farmer families, according to data from the Gujarat State Agriculture Department. Of these, more than 52.16 lakh farmers are registered beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN scheme, which provides direct financial assistance to landholding farmers.

The state's agricultural landscape is dominated by small and marginal farmers, who constitute around 75 per cent of the total farming population.

Gujarat's farmers cultivate a wide range of crops, from cotton, groundnut, and millet in Saurashtra to wheat, rice, and sugarcane in North and Central Gujarat.

The government has also focused on promoting horticulture, animal husbandry, and organic farming, with over 3,200 cooperative societies and 30 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) playing a key role in farmer outreach and training.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : More than 6 crore people have been screened for sickle cell anaemia in the country, of which 2.16 lakh have been identified as diseased, Union Health Minister JP Nadda informed the Parliament on Friday.

Answering a question in the Lok Sabha, Nadda shared that the screenings were conducted in 17 states.

"As per data till July 28, a total of 6,04,50,683 population in the 17 identified tribal dominated states, including scheduled areas, have been screened, out of which 2,16,118 have been confirmed as diseased," Nadda said.

Further, of the individuals diagnosed with the disease, more than 16.7 lakh are carriers of the condition.

The Union Health Minister noted that Odisha topped among the states with sickle cell disease, with a whopping 96,484 cases registered with the sickle cell portal. It is followed by Madhya Pradesh (30,580 cases), Gujarat (28,150), Maharashtra (23,218), and Chhattisgarh (26,104).

Other states with notable numbers include Rajasthan (2,729), Andhra Pradesh (2,159), and Jharkhand (2,154).

However, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttarakhand reported lower figures, with 285, 32, 8, and 6 cases, respectively.

"Till July 28, a total of 2,62,67,997 genetic counselling ID cards have also been distributed in the country," Nadda said. These cards, issued after screening, indicate whether a person is normal, a carrier (Sickle Cell Trait), or has Sickle Cell Disease.

Nadda noted that the screenings for sickle cell are conducted at all health facilities, from district hospitals up to Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM) level. Hydroxyurea -- the standard therapy for sickle cell disease -- has also been included in the National Health Mission's (NHM) essential drugs list at sub-health centres.

Sickle Cell Disease is a chronic, single-gene disorder that causes a debilitating systemic syndrome characterised by chronic anaemia, acute painful episodes, organ infarction, and chronic organ damage, significantly reducing life expectancy.

The genetic blood disorder affects the entire life of the patient, as it leads to various severe health complications.

To eliminate the disease, the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2023.

The mission aims to eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem in India before 2047 by universal screening of 7 crore individuals aged 0-40 years in affected tribal areas by FY 2025-26.
Bengaluru, Aug 1 : Responding to the controversy surrounding the shortlisting of Special Investigation Team (SIT) Chief Pronab Mohanty for central deputation, Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara stated that the decision to relieve him lies solely with the state government and termed the ongoing discussion as an unnecessary controversy.

The central deputation of Mohanty, who also serves as the Director General of Police (DGP) in charge of the Internal Security Division (ISD) and is widely regarded as an upright officer, has stirred debate. The timing of his potential deputation -- amid an intensifying investigation into the Dharmasthala mass grave case -- has raised concerns and questions.

Speaking to the media in Bengaluru on Friday, Parameshwara said, "Pronab Mohanty is very much the Chief of the SIT probing the Dharmasthala case. The question of his exit from the SIT has not even arisen. The process of deputing him to a central post has not begun. The Centre must first write to us requesting that he be relieved for deputation to a specific post. It is up to us to decide whether to send him to central services or not."

"They haven't written to us yet. It's only an empanelment, and an unnecessary controversy is being created over it. He is merely eligible for a Central government post. That's all," Parameshwara clarified.

Addressing the confusion over the empanelment, he added, "When the Centre empanels IPS officers from across India for Central services, it considers factors like seniority, background, capabilities, and past postings. Based on that, they shortlist names for Central postings."

"It's a matter of pride for our state that DGP Pronab Mohanty's name has been shortlisted. That doesn't mean he's been posted immediately. He came to inform me about the empanelment," the Home Minister said.

Parameshwara also explained that, "We are currently formulating rules related to fake news and online gambling. Pronab Mohanty, as the head of the ISD, oversees these issues. I had called a meeting regarding these matters, and he came to brief me on that. Apart from this, there was no discussion."

Reiterating his earlier stance, he said, "Pronab Mohanty continues to lead the SIT in the Dharmasthala case. I've said this repeatedly -- until the SIT submits its report, we will not discuss the matter publicly or make any statements, as it would not be appropriate while the investigation is ongoing."

When asked about rumours and misinformation being spread regarding the Dharmasthala case, Parameshwara said, "We are closely monitoring these developments. If such content triggers unrest in society, we will act to contain it. The government has already established guidelines to curb hate speech, and we will take similar measures in this case."

"If it results in communal content or inflammatory posts in Mangaluru district, we will issue warnings and take strict action, as we already have, to a certain extent. If baseless or provocative posts related to the Dharmasthala case are made, we will regulate and act upon them. It won't be ignored," he concluded.

The SIT probing the mass burial case is digging up the suspected sites located near the banks of the River Nethravathi, at a Hindu pilgrimage centre in Karnataka's Mangaluru district, for the fourth day on Friday.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : In a significant engagement at Parliament House on Friday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extending a formal invitation to grace the upcoming 'Amrit Rajat Mahotsav' in Raipur on November 1.

The event marks the 25th anniversary of Chhattisgarh's formation and is being celebrated as the Silver Jubilee Year.

During the meeting, Chief Minister Sai briefed Prime Minister Modi on the state's developmental roadmap, highlighting key priorities and public welfare initiatives.

He emphasised that the Prime Minister's presence would lend historic gravitas to the celebrations and serve as a source of inspiration for the people of Chhattisgarh.

CM Sai also presented the state's long-term strategic blueprint - Anjor Vision @ 2047 - which outlines Chhattisgarh's roadmap toward sustainable growth in alignment with the national goal of a developed India. The document proposes sectoral reforms across education, healthcare, agriculture, industry, innovation, and environmental sustainability.

Drawing from the Centre's Jan Vishwas Act 2023, the Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister about the passage of Chhattisgarh's own Jan Vishwas Bill 2025, aimed at enhancing transparency and accessibility in the justice system.

Urban development featured prominently in the discussion, with CM Sai detailing the formation of the Chhattisgarh State Capital Region Development Authority (SCRDA).

This body is tasked with transforming 'Nava Raipur' (new Raipur) into a smart, modern urban hub through planned infrastructure and governance.

On the economic front, the Chief Minister reported robust momentum in industrial investment and job creation, catalysed by the state's Industrial Policy 2024-30.

He noted that the policy's single-window clearance system and targeted incentives, especially for enterprises employing over 1,000 workers, have significantly boosted investor confidence.

Between November 2024 and July 2025, Chhattisgarh received investment proposals worth Rs 6.65 lakh crore from 84 companies.

Among the marquee developments is the foundation of Indiaas first semiconductor unit in Nava Raipur, alongside the launch of construction for an AI data centre. The state is also prioritising sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, ready-made garments, and IT services to position itself as a technological and industrial powerhouse.

Turning to education, CM Sai underscored efforts to rationalise schools and deploy trained teachers in tribal and remote regions.

The integration of digital tools is central to the state's push for equitable and effective learning outcomes.

Two flagship projects - Medicity and Edu City - are underway to bolster healthcare and education infrastructure.

The Medicity in Raipur is envisioned as a cutting-edge medical hub, expected to generate substantial employment and elevate Chhattisgarhas profile in the health sector.

The Chief Minister also briefed Prime Minister Modi on rehabilitation and confidence-building measures in the Maoist-affected areas.

He credited the state's sensitive and forward-looking policies for encouraging large-scale surrenders and reintegration of former Maoists.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : Actress Aneet Padda, who has been getting a lot of positive response to her work in the recently released film 'Saiyaara', is overwhelmed with the love poured by her alma mater in Amritsar, Punjab.

On Friday, the actress took to her Instagram, and shared a video in which the teachers at her school can be seen recollecting how she was a student, and was always a promising talent, taking up theatre at a very tender age.

She also penned a long note in the caption, as she spoke about the love given to her by her school. She wrote, "I don't even know how to put this into words. Watching this, I just sat there with the biggest smile on my face and tears in my eyes. Dales is where I've grown up, where I've learnt how to dream big, where people believed in me long before I even had the courage to believe in myself. To see my teachers, my mentors, and even the students come together to make something this beautiful is overwhelming in the best way".

She further mentioned, "Every time I step onto a set now, there's a part of me that's still that little girl in a Springdale uniform, sitting in class, daydreaming about this exact life. And I know I wouldn't be here without the people who taught me, guided me, and loved me through every phase of growing up".

"I hope I make you proud, not just with the film, but with who I'm becoming. I can't wait to come back, and just say thank you to each of you, properly, face to face. You've given me so much more than an education, you've given me a piece of myself I'll never lose. Thank you for seeing me, for cheering for me, and for reminding me that no matter how far I go, I'll always have a home to come back to", she added.

Meanwhile, 'Saiyaara' has so far collected INR 274 crore at the Indian box-office, and is in the second week of its theatrical run.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : There are now a total of 29,277 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across the country, the Parliament was informed on Friday.

Karnataka leads with 6,097 EV charging stations, followed by Maharashtra at 4,155 and Uttar Pradesh at 2,326, Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

The Power Ministry issued the 'Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure-2024', in September last year, and the 'Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Battery Swapping and Charging Stations', in January this year, which lay down standards and protocols for developing a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, battery charging, and battery swapping stations.

"An allocation of Rs 2,000 crore has been made under the PM E-DRIVE Scheme to support the "setting up of adequate public charging infrastructure for various categories of electric vehicles" on a pan-India basis in consultation with ministries, states and other stakeholders," informed the minister.

The PM E-DRIVE scheme was launched in October 2024 to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) through demand incentives and expand EV charging infrastructure nationwide. The Centre has allocated Rs 10,900 crore for subsidies to EVs under this scheme.

When it comes to Tier-2 cities, there are as many as 4,625 EV charging stations operational in the country (as on April 1, 2025).

Meanwhile, the government has supported a total of 18,84,905 electric vehicles (EVs) under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme till June 30 this year.

Under the FAME-II scheme, the government supported 16,29,600 vehicles. The FAME-II scheme sanctioned a total of Rs 912.50 crore for the installation of 9,332 EV PCS, out of which 8,885 EVPCS have been installed (as on June 30), said Varma.

The FAME schemes were applicable all across the country, including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The FAME-I Scheme duration was 2015-2019, and the duration of the FAME-II scheme was 2019-2024.
JUBA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan has reached an agreement with joint oil operating companies to scale up exploration and drilling activities in prospective oil fields, as the country aims to increase oil production to shore up its struggling economy.

Undersecretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Deng Lual Wol said the agreement was sealed during a meeting held in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Thursday. The meeting, chaired by Vice President and Chairperson of the Economic Cluster Benjamin Bol Mel, brought together officials from the Ministry of Petroleum and the heads of oil operating companies.

Wol said the meeting discussed strategies for enhancing crude oil production in the short-to-medium term.

"The key resolutions made include the formation of a task force comprising the Ministry of Petroleum and joint oil operating companies to fast-track the maintenance and rehabilitation of key oil fields to improve oil production," he said.

Other resolutions included enhancing local content and workforce development to build national capacity within the oil sector, scaling up exploration activities such as drilling all potential prospects near development areas, and deploying new technologies to address high water cuts and sand production in oil and gas wells.

In January, the Ministry of Petroleum announced the resumption of oil production in blocks 3 and 7 located in Upper Nile, aiming to produce initially 90,000 barrels a day before increasing output.

Wol said the agreement has also guaranteed continuous production in the two blocks, whose production sharing agreements were set to expire in 2027.

"We have reached an agreement with the partners to continue operating in South Sudan," he said.

Blocks 3 and 7 are operated by Dar Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium that includes state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation and international partners. The ongoing war in neighboring Sudan has disrupted oil production in South Sudan, forcing Malaysian multinational oil and gas company Petronas to exit the country due to operational challenges. 
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The direct export loss from the higher US tariffs announced on Indian exports could be limited to around 0.3-0.4 per cent of its GDP as the country's largely domestic-driven economy and its relatively low share of goods exports to the US should provide some cushion, according to a CareEdge Ratings report released on Friday.

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The direct export loss from the higher US tariffs announced on Indian exports could be limited to around 0.3-0.4 per cent of its GDP as the countryas largely domestic-driven economy and its relatively low share of goods exports to the US should provide some cushion, according to a CareEdge Ratings report released on Friday.

"Not only is Indiaas overall export dependence relatively low, but its merchandise export exposure to the US is also low at around 2 per cent of GDP, offering additional resilience," the report contends.

Moreover, Indiaas services exports remain outside the scope of these tariffs and should continue to support the external sector, the report states.

The report also projects the current account deficit (CAD) to remain manageable at 0.9 per cent of GDP in FY26.

Any diversification in Indiaas oil imports away from Russia is expected to have a minimal impact on Indiaas CAD, as the price differential between Russian Ural and the benchmark Brent Crude has significantly narrowed to around $3 per barrel from an average of $20 per barrel in 2023.

Indiaas merchandise exports to the US stood at $87 billion in FY25. Electronic goods accounted for the largest share of exports at 17.6 per cent. This was followed by pharma products (11.8 per cent) and gems & jewellery (11.5 per cent).

The US accounts for 37 per cent of Indiaas total electronic exports. Select items from this sector have been temporarily exempted from the 25 per cent US tariffs. Additionally, Indiaas pharma exports to the US (accounting for 35 per cent of Indiaas total pharma exports) have also been excluded from the tariffs, the report states.

However, the overarching risk of sector-specific tariff action remains. India has one of the highest numbers of US FDA-approved manufacturing facilities catering to the generic medicine requirements of the US. While tariff uncertainties persist, the sector's fundamental competitive advantages offer some resilience, the report observes.

Indiaas relative tariff advantage for its exports to the US compared to several Asian peers, such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and South Korea, has effectively reversed following the 25 per cent US tariff, along with the possibility of an additional penalty linked to Indiaas trade ties with Russia, according to the report.

However, India-US trade negotiations are expected to continue and could bring some relief. Still, India is likely to remain cautious about opening sensitive sectors such as agriculture and dairy, suggesting that the talks may take some time to conclude, the report said.

Against this backdrop, it is too early to determine the clear winners and losers from the evolving tariff landscape. Volatility in global financial markets is likely to persist, and tariff-related developments will be critical to watch in the coming months, the report added.
Chandigarh, Aug 1 : The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed the plea of actress-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut for quashing the summoning order against her by a local court in Bathinda in a defamation case over her farm protest remark against an elderly woman farmer.

"There are specific allegations against the petitioner who is a celebrity, that false and defamatory imputations by her in the retweet have dented the respondent's reputation and lowered her in her own estimation, as also in the eyes of others. Therefore, filing of the complaint to vindicate her rights cannot be termed mala fide," Justice Tribhuvan Singh Dahiya observed.

The defamation complaint against the BJP's Member of Parliament was filed by Mahinder Kaur (73) of Bahadurgarh Jandian village in Bathinda district, alleging that Kangana had defamed her in a post on the social media platform X by identifying her wrongly as Bilkis Bano of Shaheen Bagh fame and implying that such women could be hired to protest for Rs 100.

In her retweet, Kangana had commented: "Ha ha ha, she is the same dadi who featured in Time magazine for being the most powerful Indian... And she is available for 100 rupees. Pakistani jurno's have hijacked international PR for India in an embarrassing way. We need our own people to speak for us internationally."

This was in reference to a tweet by Gautam Yadav, which carried the photograph of the complainant, Kaur, who contended that the defamatory content not only hurt her pride and honour, but also lowered her reputation among fellow protestors.

Kaur asserted she had no connection with the Shaheen Bagh protests or the woman featured in Time magazine, and that the imputations were wholly false.

Kaur said she belonged to a farming family, actively participated in the farmers' agitation, and that the remarks made by Kangna Ranaut had subjected her to public ridicule and caused mental distress.

After hearing the matter at length, the High Court found no merit in the petition and dismissed it. The post, which was later deleted, targeted Mahinder Kaur during her participation in the farmers' agitation at Delhi's borders.

On February 22, 2022, the judicial magistrate in Bathinda issued a summons asking Kangana to appear before the court.

Aggrieved by the lower court order, she had approached the High Court, contending that the trial court had misapplied Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The BJP on Friday said the Congress party in the last 17 years has been attacking saints, soldiers, Sanatan Dharma and the Constitution under a calculated strategy to malign Hindus for vote bank politics.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra, during a press conference at the party headquarters here, said, "Saints, soldiers, Sanatan and the Constitution -- Congress attacked all four for 17 years. It was a calculated strategy to malign Hindus for vote bank politics. But in the end, truth has triumphed,"

He said this while responding to the court's acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

Patra alleged that the Congress party, especially the Gandhi family, tried to impose a false narrative of 'saffron terror' and deliberately linked Hindu identity with terrorism. "The judgment by the NIA court has shattered the false propaganda that Congress tried to spread for years," he said.

Citing a major revelation, Patra referred to former ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar, who stated that he was pressured by senior officers and government officials to arrest RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat -- even though Bhagwat's name was never mentioned in any charge sheet or investigation report.

Mujawar refused to comply, citing constitutional limitations. As a result, false allegations were made against him, and his promotion was halted. He later approached the court and was acquitted, said Patra.

He further called it a clear example of Congress' vindictive politics under the Gandhi family's direction.

Patra also referred to PM Modi's earlier speech, where the latter had mentioned that a senior Congress leader met American intelligence officials and claimed that "Hindu terror" was a bigger threat to India than SIMI. "Everyone knows who that leader is," said Patra, indirectly referring to the Gandhi family.

Patra also slammed Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan for his statements -- saying terrorism has no religion yet referring to "Sanatani or Hindu terrorism".

He also reminded of Sushil Kumar Shinde's past remarks on "saffron terror", who later admitted he said it under the party high command's instruction.
Agartala, Aug 1 : To lessen its dependency on tribal-based parties, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) and the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), the ruling BJP has intensified efforts to further strengthen its organisational base in tribal-inhabited areas of the northeastern state.

Both the TMP and the IPFT are the allies of the BJP.

BJP's prominent tribal leader and party's General Secretary Bipin Debbarma said that a mega public rally of tribals would be held in Agartala on August 9 as part of the party's efforts to mobilise the support of the tribals, who constitute one-third of Tripura's four million population.

"We expect more than 15,000 tribals from West Tripura district and nearby districts would participate in the big gathering in Agartala.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and other state leaders would address the gathering," Debbarma told IANS.

On Thursday, the BJP government increased the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders.

Chief Minister Manik Saha in a post on the X said: "In a significant decision by the State Cabinet, the monthly honorarium for tribal community leaders (Samajpatis) has been increased from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000. This decision reflects the government's commitment to honouring the invaluable role and social contributions of the Samajpatis in the tribal communities."

A senior tribal leader of the BJP said that as a national party, it has always been trying to further consolidate its base among the tribals.

"As a national party, we have a national perception and objective, but the regional parties have different ambitions. Sometimes these create complex situations. That's why we try to strengthen our base among the tribals," the leader said, refusing to be named.

He said that the Central government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP governments in different states across the country, have dozens of schemes and projects for the all-round socio-economic development of the 11 crore tribals in India.

Amidst the BJP's stepped-up activities to hold organisational programmes in the tribal dominated areas, TMP workers attacked the former's (BJP's) Karyakartas (functionaries) on two occasions in Khowai and West Tripura districts during the past five days, injuring at least ten.

TMP workers attacked BJP functionaries when they assembled at a village in Khowai district during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on July 27, injuring nine Karyakartas.

On Thursday, TMP activists attacked BJP workers at Jampuijala in West Tripura district when the BJP leaders and members were holding a meeting as part of the campaign for the August 9 mega rally.

A BJP member was seriously injured in the attack, and now he is under medical treatment at the government-run Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital. Ahead of next year's elections to the politically significant Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), the BJP on July 17 held a crucial meeting -- 'Janajati Chintan Shivir' -- with all elected and organisational tribal leaders.

Tripura Chief Minister Saha, state Party President Rajib Bhattacharjee, Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma, tribal leader and former MP Rebati Tripura, all tribal MLAs, TTAADC members and tribal leaders across Tripura attended the daylong 'Janajati Chintan Shivir'.

"The meeting was held to further strengthen the BJP's organisational base among the tribals," Bhattacharjee, also a Rajya Sabha member, had told the media.

Chief Minister Saha in a post on the X, had said: "Under the visionary leadership of Hon'ble PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji, good governance has reached both the plains and hills. The determined efforts of the BJP-led government to bring about socio-economic and political upliftment of the Janajati communities across the country, including the long-neglected NE region, are now bearing fruit."

In Tripura, out of 60 Assembly seats, 20 seats are reserved for the tribals, and the BJP and the Congress have always depended on the tribal based parties to get votes of the tribals.

Tribals always play a crucial role in the electoral political affairs of the northeastern state.

The CPI (M)-led Left Front, which governed Tripura for 35 years in two phases (1978 to 1988 and 1993 to 2018), has also ruled the TTAADC for many years, as the Left parties have a substantial base among the tribals. In the last Assembly polls in 2023, of the 20 tribal reserved seats, the BJP got six seats and its ally IPFT managed one seat.

The then-opposition party TMP, which since March last year became an ally of the BJP, had secured 13 seats in the 2023 Assembly polls.

In a major and far-reaching political development, TMP, during the TTAADC 2021 polls, registered a landslide victory to capture power in the politically important tribal autonomous body, ousting the CPI (M)-led Left parties.

The TMP, headed by former royal scion Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, became a major political force since April 2021 after it wrested power in the politically important TTAADC, which has jurisdiction over two-thirds of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area, and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals.
New Delhi, July 1 : India's position as the world's fastest-growing economy gives it the confidence to stand firm against tariff pressures and adopt policies that protect its long-term interests, Raymond Vickery, Senior Associate at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and former US Assistant Secretary of Commerce said on Friday.

Speaking exclusive to IANS on the impact of US President Donald Trump's proposed tariff measures, Vickery stressed that India should not succumb to transactional approaches that focus only on immediate gains, but instead work towards building sustainable, mutually beneficial trade relationships.

He pointed out that India's trade deal with the UK serves as a good example, as it offers stability, lowers tariffs, and addresses the needs of both economies, enabling businesses to plan for the future.

This, he said, is in stark contrast to the unpredictable nature of Trump's trade policies, which make long-term planning difficult.

According to Vickery, Trump's stance towards India reflects a lack of appreciation for its economic potential and a short-sighted view that fails to recognise the benefits of a medium- or long-term partnership.

Highlighting India's strengths, Vickery noted that the country boasts some of the best technical talent in the world and has a vast consumer market that is still developing.

He praised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government's emphasis on national interest, but cautioned that true prosperity will come from competing globally.

India, he said, has moved far beyond the "license raj" mentality of the past and now has the capacity to be a global economic leader.

On the agriculture and dairy front, Vickery said the PM Modi government was right to avoid fully opening these sectors to US companies at present.

However, he argued that reforms -- such as those attempted earlier -- should be revisited, with a gradual approach that allows for reasonable competition.

Vickery also urged India to take on a leadership role in multilateral trade discussions, particularly at platforms like the WTO, to uphold the rule of law in global commerce.

He said that while standing up to tariff "blackmail" will be challenging, India is strong enough to do so and should align with other major economies such as Brazil to resist unfair trade pressures.

In his view, India's future growth lies in balancing national priorities with openness to global markets -- on its own terms.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : In a startling revelation, a former officer of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), who was part of the team that probed the 2008 Malegaon blast on Friday claimed that he was directed to arrest Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the case, but he refused and was subsequently falsely implicated and apprehended.

Mehboob Mujawar, the ex-ATS officer, said, "I was given the responsibility to track down absconding accused Sandip Dange and Ramji Kalsangra. But along with that, I was also told to arrest Mohan Bhagwat. This instruction came directly from senior officials, including Parambir Singh."

Mujawar said he was officially equipped for the task, with a team of 10 personnel, sufficient funding, and even a service revolver was provided by the ATS.

However, Mujawar said he refused to comply with the directive to arrest Bhagwat because there was no credible evidence to justify such an action.

"This is when the term 'bhagwa aatankwad' (saffron terror) began gaining traction. I was handed the responsibility of arresting Mohan Bhagwat, but I could not bring myself to fabricate such a lie. I stayed in Nagpur as instructed, but I didn't carry out the arrest because it would have been morally and legally wrong. Had I done so, who knows what would have happened to me?" he said.

According to Mujawar, his refusal led to retaliation from within the system.

"Because I didn't arrest Bhagwat, false charges were brought against me. I was arrested, sent to jail, and a charge sheet was filed. I later submitted all the documents in court proving that there was no evidence against the RSS chief. Eventually, I was acquitted. It has now been over ten years. These documents were also submitted to the NIA and presented during the final verdict," he told IANS.

Mujawar's statement comes a day after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

The court dropped all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, and Indian Penal Code (IPC), citing a lack of sufficient evidence.

The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, near Bhikku Chowk mosque in Malegaon, Nashik district, when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded during the holy month of Ramzan and just days before Navratri. Six people were killed and over 100 were injured in the communally sensitive region.

After nearly 17 years of legal proceedings, the verdict was delivered on Thursday in a packed courtroom with all the accused present, as directed by the court. The court also ordered compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for each injured victim.

The trial, which spanned more than a decade, involved over one lakh pages of documentation. Hearings concluded in April this year, and the court reserved its judgment on April 19.

The prosecution examined 323 witnesses during the trial, but 34 of them turned hostile -- severely undermining the case. The investigation was originally led by the Maharashtra ATS but was handed over to the NIA in 2011.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, said on Friday that Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar said long ago that the measure of a society's progress is linked to the condition of its women.

Addressing a National Commission for Women consultation meeting on the topic 'Rights of Muslim Women in India', Rijiju said that empowering Muslim women and educating them about their rights is an important step towards inclusive development.

The Union Minister said that economic empowerment of women is necessary, as when women are economically prosperous they are also powerful and with economic empowerment, they themselves are socially empowered.

Rijiju said that he will try and take forward the recommendations received from the consultation meeting.

National Commission for Women Chairperson, Vijaya Rahatkar, said that the Commission is constantly working for the protection of rights of Muslim women and their welfare.

She described the consultation meeting as a platform to bring the voice of Muslim women to policymaking.

"This is not just an event, it is an effort to give a platform to those voices which have been ignored for a long time. It is a shared resolve that now no woman, no matter what background she comes from, will be deprived of justice, respect and human rights," she said.

The NCW Chairperson said, "I firmly believe that when we talk about the rights of Muslim women in the Indian context, it is not enough to just open the law books."

"We also have to look at the changing face of society - where it is important to strike a balance between tradition and progress. We also have to discuss the legal framework that provided protection, and also the social scenario which is now on the threshold of change," she said.

Rahatkar wrote on X, "The NCW is continuously striving to protect the rights of every woman and promote their welfare. The role of the NCW is not merely to make recommendations  our responsibility is to give a voice to every victim, to challenge every silence."

"In this direction, our effort is to make this consultation meeting a powerful platform to bring the voices of Muslim women to policymaking. This is an endeavour, an endeavour to provide a platform for those voices that have long been ignored. This is a collective resolve, a resolve that no woman, regardless of her background, will be deprived of justice, dignity, and human rights," she said.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Japanese Ambassador to India, Ono Keiichi, on Friday said he had an engaging discussion with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra on the growing role of Japanese banks in India's economy.

Sharing the update on social media platform X, the envoy highlighted that the meeting focused on the expansion of Japanese banks' investments in India and how they are increasingly contributing to the country's economic growth.

"Honoured to meet Sanjay Malhotra, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India(RBI). We had an engaging discussion on the expansion of Japanese banks' investments in India and their growing contribution to the Indian economy," Keiichi wrote on X.

The meeting comes as India and Japan continue to deepen their Special Strategic and Global Partnership, with greater emphasis on trade, investment, and financial cooperation.

In recent years, Japanese financial institutions have expanded their footprint in India, supporting infrastructure projects, industrial growth, and business collaborations.

Earlier, senior officials from both nations had reaffirmed the importance of strengthening bilateral ties ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Japan later this year.

During a high-level dialogue in the national capital on July 28, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Japan's Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takehiro Funakoshi agreed to enhance cooperation in security, economy, and people-to-people exchanges, while working closely within frameworks such as the Japan-US-Australia-India partnership to promote a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

"At the Japan-India Vice-Ministerial Dialogue, the two Secretaries confirmed that, in anticipation of Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan scheduled for this year, they would work to strengthen bilateral relations in a wide range of areas, including security, economy, and people-to-people exchanges, and would further cooperate, including within the Japan-US-Australia-India framework, towards the realization of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific," read a statement issued by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 28 evening.

"In addition to bilateral relations, the two Secretaries also exchanged views on regional situations, and agreed to continue to cooperate closely between the two Secretaries. During the exchange of views with Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office, the two sides exchanged views on bilateral relations," it added.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The phase III clinical trial for India's 1st dengue vaccine has enroled 70 per cent participants, said Union Minister of State for Health, Prataprao Jadhav, in the Parliament on Friday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Jadhav shared details on the Phase III clinical trial of the indigenous one-shot dengue vaccine, DengiAll.

"The trial involves over 10,000 participants, out of which more than 70 per cent enrolment has been completed," Jadhav said. The trial is likely to be completed by October.

"The trial has been implemented in 20 sites across India. The approximate budget is Rs 1.3 to 1.5 crore per site for the trial," he added.

The indigenous tetravalent dengue vaccine, DengiAll, is being developed by Panacea Biotec under a licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The vaccine targets all four dengue virus subtypes and has shown promising results in earlier clinical trials.

As per data from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a total of 5,73,563 laboratory-confirmed (L form) dengue cases were reported in 2024.

"According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), all four serotypes of the dengue virus (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4) are known to circulate and co-circulate in India," Jadhav said.

Multiple serotypes can be present in the same geographical region and can even infect the same individual at the same time.

"Hence, participants have been enrolled in the ICMR vaccine trial from the different zones where these four serotypes circulate in order to test the efficacy of the vaccine against all four serotypes," he added.

DengiAll is being developed by Panacea Biotec under a licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary US federal agency for biomedical research. Initial results show no safety concerns for the one-shot vaccine to fight the mosquito-borne viral disease.

Citing ICMR, Jadhav said there is no specific antiviral treatment or licensed vaccines for dengue.

The government has also developed National guidelines on Dengue case treatment/management, which emphasise the preparedness of hospitals for case treatment/management, the minister noted.
Kabul, August 1 : Afghanistan remains the most food-insecure country across the world, with 75 per cent people facing livelihood instability and more than 12 million urgently requiring food aid as drought and poverty deepens in the nation, a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report detailed on Friday.

According to the FAO report, Afghanistan has once again been ranked at the top in the list of nations facing food insecurity in 2024 and 2025. The report released by FAO on Wednesday stated that 295 million people in 53 nations are facing acute hunger, which showcases a rise of 13 million compared to 2023, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported.

Afghanistan has been included in the FAO's chronic hunger list since 2016, alongside Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen due to political turmoil, humanitarian crisis and climate change impacts. Poverty remains one of the main drivers of worsening food insecurity in Afghanistan. The return of over 1.6 million Afghan migrants from Iran and Pakistan, falling international aid and strict economic restrictions have pushed millions of Afghans below the poverty line.

According to the UN, 75 per cent of Afghanistan's population faces livelihood insecurity and more than 12 million urgently require food assistance. Consecutive droughts, mass unemployment and damaged agricultural infrastructure have severely weakened domestic food production capacity of Afghanistan.

Crops have destroyed and livestock farming has been disrupted in Ghor and Badakhshan provinces of Afghanistan. Women and children are particularly vulnerable in Afghanistan. Taliban's restrictions on jobs and education of women have further cut families from critical sources of income.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that hunger-related deaths in Afghanistan will continue to surge sharply without increased humanitarian aid. FAO officials have said that Afghanistanas food crisis demonstrates a dangerous mix of conflict, climate shocks, and collapsing livelihoods. Aid agencies have reiterated their call for support from international community, warning that Afghanistan risks spiraling into one of the worldas worst hunger disasters if there is no sustained funding and access for relief operations.
UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday rejected U.S. accusations against China over its role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

At a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, the U.S. representative accused China of being "the most important supplier" of Russia's war efforts.

In response, Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, dismissed the false and slanderous narratives against China from the U.S. side as completely unacceptable.

China did not start the Ukraine crisis and is not a party to it. China has never supplied lethal weapons to either side of the conflict and has strictly controlled the export of dual-use goods, including drones, said Geng.

"The parties to the conflict are not under Security Council sanctions. China has normal trade relations with Russia and Ukraine. By doing so, it does not violate international law or breach its international obligations. China's legitimate rights and interests must not be infringed upon," he said. "In fact, till now, the United States has maintained its trade with Russia. If the United States is doing that itself, why doesn't it allow others to do the same?"

The Ukraine crisis is at a critical juncture where there are prospects and hopes for a political solution. It is not right for the United States, on the one hand, to expect China to play a role in putting an early end to the conflict, and on the other hand, to keep on smearing and pressurizing China, said Geng.

China, once again, urges the United States to stop its pointless blame game, stop shifting responsibilities, and play a constructive role in ending the fighting and promoting peace talks, he said.

To resolve the Ukraine crisis, what is needed is unity and cooperation, not division and confrontation, he added.

On the supply of weapons to Ukraine, Geng expressed concern about the expanding variety and range of weapons flowing to the battlefield, as well as a growing lethality and destructive power.

The reckless supply of weapons to the battlefield will only intensify confrontation, prolong the conflict, cause risks of proliferation, and inflict further casualties and suffering on the people of both sides and the broader region, he warned.

The urgent priority for Russia and Ukraine is to work together to de-escalate the situation on the battlefield as soon as possible. They should maintain the momentum of talks, continue to build consensus and ultimately reach a comprehensive, lasting and binding peace agreement, said Geng.

Since day one of the conflict, China has advocated for the peaceful resolution of disputes and has called on the parties to the conflict to end hostilities, start negotiations and restore peace sooner rather than later. China will continue to work with the international community to play a constructive role in an early political settlement of the crisis, he said. 
New Delhi, Aug 1 : Congress MP and former I& B Minister Manish Tewari on Friday said that the government should take Air India back from the Tata Group "as they have run the airline into the ground".

"The Airline is a complete management mess. There are hardly any competent aviation professionals running Air India. The privatisation has been a disaster," Tewari wrote on X.

"Flights cancelled at the drop of a hat, flights delayed without any explanation whatsoever," he added.

"The Pilots and the crew tell me that people who grow Tea in Tata Tea, make steel in Tata Steel, make cars in Tata Motors are running Air India," the Congress leader said.

"People I have known personally over the past 40 years and are sound professionals," he added in the note, which was tagged the civil aviation regulator, DGCA, as well.

A London-bound Air India flight from Delhi was forced to return to the bay on Thursday after the cockpit crew detected a suspected technical fault before take-off.

The flight, call sign AI-2017, was preparing to depart when the pilots halted the departure and brought the aircraft back for checks.

The airline said that all necessary safety procedures were followed and that an alternative aircraft is being arranged to fly the passengers to London as soon as possible.

"Our ground staff is extending all support and care to the guests to minimise inconvenience caused due to this unexpected delay. At Air India, the safety and well-being of our passengers remain the top priority," the airline added.

The incident comes just days after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) flagged 51 safety lapses at Air India during its annual audit.

These included outdated training manuals, incomplete pilot training, unqualified simulators, and irregularities in low-visibility operation approvals.

Of these lapses, seven were classified as critical Level I breaches, which the airline was instructed to address by July 30. The remaining 44 non-compliances must be rectified by August 23.

The DGCA's action followed recent enforcement measures, including the grounding of an Air India aircraft found to have an overdue inspection of its emergency slide -- a crucial safety feature.

The regulator has also issued three show-cause notices to the airline, giving it 15 days to respond.

Earlier, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told Parliament that the DGCA had immediately grounded the aircraft involved in the overdue slide inspection until the necessary checks were completed.
Guna, Aug 1 : Former Guna MP Laxman Singh said on Friday that those accused of conspiring in the 2008 Malegaon blast case must come forward and publicly clarify their role, especially now that the court has acquitted them.

Laxman Singh emphasised the importance of transparency in the wake of the court's ruling.

Speaking to IANS, Laxman Singh said, "The court's verdict is supreme and must be respected by all. However, if those accused are now claiming that they were falsely implicated, then it becomes their responsibility to clarify their position. They have remained silent so far, and that silence could be misinterpreted. It may lead people to believe that the allegations were true. Therefore, a clarification is necessary."

Singh further responded to long-standing political allegations surrounding the term 'Bhagwa Aatankwad' (Saffron Terror), a phrase previously linked to the Malegaon case by some Congress leaders.

"I do not support that label," he said, distancing himself from party colleagues who have used the term in the past.

When asked about Congress leaders like Digvijaya Singh and P. Chidambaram, who have previously used the term in the context of terror cases, Laxman Singh dismissed the notion outright.

"I don't think there's such a thing as 'Bhagwa Aatankwad' or even 'Muslim Aatankwad.' These are all baseless and misleading. Terrorism has no religion. Such terms only reflect a distorted mentality and should not be used," he told IANS.

On Thursday, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh also reiterated that no religion should be associated with terrorism.

"Neither a Hindu, nor a Muslim, Sikh, or Christian can be a terrorist," he stated, following the court's acquittal of all the accused. "Every religion is based on love, goodwill, truth, and non-violence," he said, emphasising the universal peaceful message at the core of all faiths.

On Thursday, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Shrikant Purohit.

The court dropped all charges against the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Arms Act, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), citing a lack of sufficient evidence.

The blast occurred on September 29, 2008, when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle exploded near the Bhikku Chowk mosque in Malegaon city of Nashik district, Maharashtra. The explosion, which took place during the holy month of Ramzan and just days before the Hindu festival of Navratri, claimed six lives and injured over 100 people in the communally sensitive town.

After nearly 17 years of legal proceedings, the verdict was delivered in a packed courtroom, with all the accused present, as directed by the court earlier. The court also ordered compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the families of each of the six deceased and Rs 50,000 for every injured victim.

The trial saw a prolonged legal process involving a voluminous case file exceeding one lakh pages.

Hearings concluded in April this year, and the court had reserved its judgment on April 19. Given the scale and complexity of the case, the court took additional time to scrutinise all the material before announcing its verdict.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution examined 323 witnesses, though 34 of them turned hostile, significantly weakening the prosecution's case.

Initially, the investigation was conducted by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which arrested the accused and filed the first charge sheet. However, in 2011, the probe was transferred to the NIA.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : On its third and final day of public bidding on Friday, the National Securities Depository Ltd's (NSDL) IPO attracted strong investor interest, with IPO subscriptions exceeding 15 times its offer size.

According to the NSE data, bids for approximately 54 crore shares were received in the company's first public issue, exceeding the offer size of 3.51 crore.

Non-institutional investors (NII) led the subscription race, overbooking their reserved section nearly 20 times. Employees booked their reserved portion nearly 10 times, while Retail Individual Investors (RII) subscribed nearly six times. QIBs subscribed to their allocated portion over three times.

According to reports, the company's unlisted shares traded at a grey market premium (GMP) of Rs 937, more than 17 per cent over the IPO price, slightly higher than the 16 per cent GMP quoted before the IPO.

NSDL, one of the largest securities depositories in the world, launched its IPO to raise Rs 4,012 crore from the capital markets at a price band of Rs 760 to Rs 800 per share. The IPO entirely comprises an offer for sale with no fresh issue component. NSDL will not receive any proceeds from the IPO.

Investors can bid for a minimum of 18 shares, with an investment of Rs 14,400, and in multiples thereafter. At the prevailing GMP, a profit of Rs 2,268 can be expected per lot for allotted investors.

The allotments will be finalised on August 2, and the shares will be listed on August 6, 2025, making NSDL the country's second publicly traded depository after Central Depository Services. The listing of NSDL is crucial in order to comply with SEBI's ownership norms. These regulations require that no entity can hold more than 15% of the shareholding in a depository company.

ICICI Securities, Axis Capital, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India), IDBI Capital Markets & Securities, Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors, and SBI Capital Markets are the book running lead managers to the issue.

Analysts said investors can consider long term exposure to NDSL shares. NSDL's reliable annuity-like revenue flows, and sectoral leadership support the stock despite regulatory scrutiny and CDSL competition.

NSDL is India's first and largest central securities depository and a capital market infrastructure institution for electronic securities settlement and custody. The issue is priced at a P/E multiple of 46.62.

The company raised Rs 1,201.4 crore from 61 institutional investors via anchor book on July 29.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, Aug 1 : Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil on Friday claimed that the Maharashtra government's objection to the increase in the height of the Almatti Dam, raising flooding concerns in Sangli and Kolhapur, was baseless.

The matter has come to the forefront with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis writing a letter to the Centre objecting to the increase in the height of Alamatti Dam.

Speaking to the media here on Friday, Minister Patil pointed out that this argument has already been rejected by tribunals, the Supreme Court, and even in Parliament.

"Before the construction of the Almatti Dam, Sangli experienced devastating floods in 1964, 1976, 1994, and 1997. The Supreme Court had already ruled in 2000 that we are permitted to raise the height of the dam to 524.256 meters. Despite this, Maharashtra approached the tribunal in 2005, but its interim petition was also rejected," he said.

Minister Patil said that the tribunal had not accepted the argument that the Almatti Dam is the reason behind flooding in Maharashtra's Sangli and Kolhapur districts.

"The tribunal had provided detailed reports in 2010 and 2013 on the matter and even considered the impact of the Hippargi reservoir. Furthermore, no state has contested the verdict of the second tribunal constituted to allocate Krishna River water," Patil said.

"In this context, it is clear to anyone that suddenly objecting now has a political motive," he remarked.

He also said that earlier, even Andhra Pradesh (before bifurcation) had raised objections, claiming it would not receive water if the Almatti Dam height was increased. But that argument, too, was dismissed.

He alleged that Maharashtra's current demand to re-evaluate the dam's height proposal is driven by political intentions.

"As someone who served as Irrigation Minister for five years, I have clear knowledge on the matter," he added.

"There is severe encroachment in the catchment areas of Sangli district. I have a report related to this. The Maharashtra government must focus on resolving this issue instead of obstructing our plans. I will also share these documents with Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar. We will provide a detailed response to this issue," Patil asserted sharply.

Home Minister Parameshwara, responding to the issue in Bengaluru, stated: "For us, safeguarding the interests of the state is of utmost importance. By increasing the height of the Almatti Dam, we will be able to store the water allocated to the state. Currently, we don't have sufficient reservoirs to store our allotted share. If we raise the height, we can store a few more TMCs of water. We will urge the Centre and other states to ensure the judicious utilisation of the allocated water share of our state."
Pune, Aug 1 : Communal tension gripped Yavat village in Pune district's Daund tahsil on Friday after an alleged objectionable post allegedly made by a youth of the minority community went viral on social media.

Soon after the post went viral on social media, local activists reached the home of the youth in Sahkar Nagar and vandalised the properties.

The situation escalated rapidly with incidents of arson and vandalism, prompting the closure of the Yavat weekly market after noon.

According to local sources, a few unidentified persons set ablaze two motorcycles, while a mosque in the area was vandalised.

The youth who allegedly made the objectionable post has been identified as a resident of Sahakar Nagar in Yavat.

Following the circulation of the post, a group of local activists gathered near his house and vandalised the property.

Police, however, intervened in time and managed to prevent further escalation.

Yavat Police Inspector Narayan Deshmukh confirmed that the youth, identified as Syed, has been taken into custody for questioning.

He said a heavy police deployment has been made in the area to prevent further escalation of the situation.

Local political leaders have also appealed for calm.

The incident comes just days after tensions erupted over the desecration of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Neelkantheshwar temple in Yavat on July 26.

The memory of that incident is still fresh among local residents, adding to the volatility of the current situation.

While police presence has been intensified in the area to maintain law and order, tension is still palpable. Authorities have appealed for calm and warned against spreading misinformation or provocative content on social media.

An investigation is underway to ascertain the authenticity of the post and to identify those involved in the violence.
Bhadohi, Aug 1 : In Uttar Pradesh, a grassroots education initiative launched by the Samajwadi Party has ignited a fierce political and legal debate over the role of ideology in classrooms.

Branded as 'PDA Pathshaalas', these informal community schools have emerged in response to the state government's plan to merge thousands of low-enrolment government schools.

The incident prompted an investigation and led to an FIR against Saroj and others under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A departmental inquiry has also been initiated against Assistant Education Officer Ramakant Singroul for alleged negligence.

While the BJP-led administration insists the mergers are aimed at improving resource efficiency and learning outcomes, the SP claims the move disproportionately affects children from marginalised communities.

The PDA Pathshaala model, first introduced in Saharanpur's Ramnagar by SP worker Faraz Alam Gada, blends basic education with political messaging. Children are taught the English alphabet using names of political and social figures aligned with the party's ethos - A for Akhilesh, B for Babasaheb Ambedkar, C for Chaudhary Charan Singh, D for Dimple Yadav, and M for Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The curriculum, according to Gada, is designed to foster early awareness of social justice and democratic values.

He argues that the BJP government's school merger policy is a calculated attempt to erode access to education for the poor, thereby silencing future dissent.

The controversy intensified in Bhadohi district when SP leader Anjani Saroj allegedly led a protest involving schoolchildren who had recently been relocated to an Anganwadi centre.

According to officials, Saroj distributed stationery and sweets before marching the children back to their original school, displaying SP banners.

While SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has hailed the PDA Pathshaala movement as a moral victory, Basic Education Minister Sandeep Singh clarified that no schools have been permanently closed and that mergers are reversible if they cause inconvenience.

He assured that sanctioned posts remain intact and that the initiative is intended to enhance learning environments, not dismantle them.

The PDA Pathshaala experiment raises deeper questions about the politicisation of pedagogy and the future of public education in India.

Whether seen as a protest or a parallel schooling model, it underscores the growing tension between state policy and grassroots resistance in shaping the educational landscape.

In May, the Chhattisgarh government decided to rationalise more than 10,000 schools. After this decision, around 43,000 posts could also be eliminated.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendr Fadnavis said on Friday that the decision to divest Manikrao Kokate was taken jointly after a discussion with the Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and further pointed out that 'warning' has been given to all the MLAs to "behave" and not "malign" the government's "good work." Mumbai, Aug 1 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendr Fadnavis said on Friday that the decision to divest Manikrao Kokate was taken jointly after a discussion with the Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and further pointed out that 'warning' has been given to all the MLAs to "behave" and not "malign" the government's "good work."

"There was an outrage over whatever had happened (Kokate's video went viral about playing rummy in the state council and terming the government a beggar). The decision to divest Kokate of the Agriculture Department was taken after discussion with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. Kokate's portfolio has been changed and given Sports, Youth Welfare, Minority Affairs and Auqaf). The agriculture portfolio has now been allotted to Dattatray Bharane," he told reporters in his reaction after the change in Kokate's portfolio amid chorus for his resignation by opposition and various farmers organisations for insulting farmers by playing rummy and making insensitive statements against farmers who are already in distress.

To a question whether there will be further reshuffling in the cabinet, Fadnavis said that there is no discussion of any other changes right now.

He said that instructions have been given to all ministers that indiscipline would not be tolerated, and they have been told to focus on departmental work.

"It is certain that if anyone indulges in indiscipline, they have been told that it will not be tolerated and action will be taken against them. This is a warning to everyone. We have come to serve the people. And while serving the people, people see everything we say, do, and how we behave, so there must be control over this," he observed.

On Monday, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar met all ministers after the cabinet meeting and asked them not to spark any controversies, which would dent the state government's image and adversely impact the government's "good work."

The Chief Minister has warned all ministers not to force him to take action if they will embroil themselves in controversies which will ultimately damage the government's image.

About his meeting with former minister and NCP legislator Dhananjay Munde on Thursday, the Chief Minister said he had met him three times, not for his re-induction in the cabinet but for different reasons.

Meanwhile, Minister Kokate, in his first reaction, said, "I accept the decision taken by the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and my leader, Nationalist Congress Party National President and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. I will continue my journey according to this decision."

On the allocation of the agriculture portfolio to Dattatray Bharane, Minister Kokate stated, "He (Dattatray Bharane) is a farmer's son having the necessary knowledge about agriculture and farmers. Therefore, he has been given this responsibility. I am confident that the Agriculture Department will get justice. If he needs any help and he asks me for any help, I will help him 100 per cent."

To a question whether he is upset about removing him from the Agriculture Department, Minister Kokate clarified that he was not upset, adding that, "I am happy."
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The back-end support provided by different departments of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to the armed forces was the key to Operation Sindoor's success, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday, calling for enhanced civil-military synergy to bolster the security structure.

Addressing the 84th Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civilian Services Day event at DRDO Bhawan, he said, "A war is fought not just by the military, but the entire country, and in today's rapidly changing security scenario, there is a need to move ahead with dynamism and innovative spirit while making constant improvements according to the evolving needs.

"We cannot leave scope for even the slightest negligence or mistake," he added, underscoring the importance of a nation fighting a war collectively and learning from every battle.

Emphasising that a robust administrative system is integral for a strong military power, Rajnath Singh commended the AFHQ Civilian Services for playing an important role in strengthening the country's security system during war as well as peacetime.

"AFHQ Services acts as an institutional memory for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It provides consistency, domain expertise and uniformity in the administration, while playing a key role in policy continuity and establishing civil-military synergy. It is a strong pillar of a modern and integrated national defence system," he added.

The Defence Minister also laid stress on capacity development, urging the AFHQ officials to assess and embrace the best practices being adopted by their counterparts in other Ministries and countries in the fields of training and capability enhancement.

"Emerging technologies, new challenges and changing global scenario indicate that training should not be just a formal process, but a continuous cycle of development. Skill upgradation, ethical orientation and behavioural excellence need to be added as integral parts of training," he said.
Chennai, Aug 1 : Actor Vishal on Friday commenced shooting for his 35th film which is being directed by well known Tamil film director Ravi Arasu.

Produced by veteran filmmaker R B Choudhary under the banner of his well known production house Super Good Films, the film was officially launched in July this year with a grand pooja ceremony.

It may be recalled that several celebrities from the Tamil film industry including directors Vetrimaaran, Saravana Subbaiah (Citizen), Manimaran (NH4), Venkat Mohan (Ayogya), Saravanan (Engeyum Eppodhum), actors Karthi and Jiiva, cinematographer Arthur A Wilson, and distributor Tiruppur Subramaniam had graced the occasion.

This upcoming project is the 99th film of Super Good Films, which has delivered numerous blockbusters and more imporantly introduced several talented filmmakers to the Tamil film industry.

The film, which is yet to be titled and which is being tentatively referred to as Vishal 35, will mark director Ravi Arasu's first-time collaboration with Vishal. The actor, who is riding a success wave with his most recent film to hit the screens 'Madha Gaja Raja' emerging a superhit, is intent on continuing the success streak.

The film boasts of an exceptional technical team. Acclaimed cinematographer Richard M. Nathan reunites with Vishal after their successful outing in the superhit film 'Madha Gaja Raja'. The film also brings back the Mark Antony combo of Vishal and G.V. Prakash Kumar together. G V Prakash will be composing the music for this film. NB Srikanth is in charge of editing, while Durairaj handles art direction. Costume design is being led by Vasuki Bhaskar.

Talented actress Dushara Vijayan will be playing the female lead, pairing opposite Vishal for the first time. The cast also includes Thambi Ramaiah and Arjai. Sources close to the unit say that the other members of the cast will be revealed soon.

The shooting is set to be completed in a single 45-day schedule in and around Chennai.
Mumbai, Aug 1 : The Maharashtra government-run two undertakings, Sant Rohidas Leather Industries and Charmakar Development Corporation Limited (LIDCOM) and Dr Babu Jagjivanram Leather Industries Development Corporation Limited (LIDKAR), on Friday, clarified that the traditional and historic Kolhapuri chappal, originating from Maharashtra and Karnataka, has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag. The officially registered ownership of this GI tag rests solely with them.

The clarification by two government-run corporations comes after the renowned Italian fashion brand Prada presented its spring/summer 2026 men's collection in June this year.

The leather sandals worn by a model in this show bore a striking resemblance to the GI-tagged traditional Kolhapuri chappals from Maharashtra. This resemblance sparked strong reactions on social media platforms and among traditional artisan communities.

Following the incident, a group of lawyers filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court, alleging that Prada's use of a design protected under GI registration constituted a violation of intellectual property laws.

On July 16, the court dismissed the PIL, stating that in such matters, only the registered GI holders - namely, the leather industry development corporations of Maharashtra and Karnataka - are the legitimate stakeholders and hence, solely entitled to initiate any civil legal proceedings, said the government release.

"Against this backdrop, LIDCOM and LIDKAR have jointly reaffirmed their position as the officially registered global GI holders of the Kolhapuri chappal. In their joint statement, the corporations clarified that no individual or organisation other than themselves is authorised to engage in any discussion, negotiation, or representation with Prada or similar international entities," said the government release.

The legacy of Kolhapuri chappals dates back to the 12th-century saint tradition and is closely associated with the progressive reforms of Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj in the 20th century.

LIDCOM Managing Director Prerna Deshbhratar and LIDKAR Managing Director KM Vasundhara, in a release, emphasised that their collective mission goes beyond protecting the geographical indication.

It is also aimed at safeguarding the rights of thousands of local leather artisans and firmly establishing this heritage on national and international platforms.
NEW YORK, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 days with the goal of signing a trade deal.

Trump said in a Truth Social post after a phone conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

"We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time," said Trump on the social media platform.

"We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90 Day period of time, or longer," Trump added.

"We had a very good call with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. We avoided the increase in tariffs announced for tomorrow and achieved 90 days to build a long-term agreement based on dialogue," said Sheinbaum in a post on social media platform X.

Trump stressed the unique complexities of a deal with Mexico due to the shared border of the two countries. "We are getting to know and understand each other" more and more, said Trump.

In a letter posted on Truth Social on July 12, Trump threatened that 30 percent tariffs would be imposed on Mexico starting Aug. 1. 
New Delhi, Aug 1 : While you wander the vast streets of Delhi, the majestic silhouette of Swaminarayan Akshardham attracts your attention - a quiet colossal amidst the city's chaos. Deboard a train at the bustling Dadar station in Mumbai, and the graceful BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir greets you as you enter the city's dynamic commotion.

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) While you wander the vast streets of Delhi, the majestic silhouette of Swaminarayan Akshardham attracts your attention  a quiet colossal amidst the city's chaos. Deboard a train at the bustling Dadar station in Mumbai, and the graceful BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir greets you as you enter the city's dynamic commotion.

Whether you are roaming around the iconic streets of London, weathering the winters of Toronto, indulging in the opulence of Abu Dhabi, or soaking in the multicultural diversity of New Jersey, one symbol of spiritual and cultural heritage stands talla BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir.

As Raymond Williams aptly phrased it, the Swaminarayan Sampradaya is 'A New Face of Hinduism.' These mandirs are not mere architectural wonders, they have become beacons of faith, celebration, and community, embracing both everyday believers and world leaders into their serene atmosphere.

Visiting the stunning Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi on April 21, 2025, US Vice President J. D. Vance inaugurated his maiden official visit to India with a symbolic and soulful stop. The Vice President, his wife, and his children immersed themselves in the rich heritage of Indian art, architecture and spirituality.

Observing the intricate carvings and timeless beauty of the temple, he remarked with admiration, "It is a great credit to India that you built a beautiful temple with precision and care. Our kids, in particular, loved it." The visit marked not just a diplomatic gesture but a heartfelt appreciation of India's cultural splendour.

Swaminarayan Akshardham continues to be an inspiration to global dignitaries seeking cultural and spiritual representation. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon visited the iconic Swaminarayan Akshardham temple on March 18, 2025, during his first official tour of India, marking a significant cultural engagement in his itinerary.

Accompanied by a visiting delegation of 110 members, including senior government officials, ministers, and community leaders, Prime Minister Luxon was deeply touched by the architectural grandeur and spiritual splendour of the temple.

Reflecting on his visit, he shared, "It's incredibly special to be here at Akshardham. To see this magnificent temple and the amazing work that has been done is truly inspiring." He further added, "Thank you for a wonderful place of peace and learning," capturing the essence of his experience and the profound impression left by Hindu culture.

For the Indian and Hindu diaspora across the world, BAPS Swaminarayan Mandirs function as the core centres of upholding and articulating their faith. Acknowledging the immense contributions of the Indian community, global leaders frequently visit these mandirs as a gesture of respect and appreciation.

Celebrating spirituality and community recently, the BAPS Swaminarayan satsang congregation in Sydney warmly welcomed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on March 15, 2025. The gathering was also graced by the presence of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, the spiritual leader of BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.

Addressing the crowd, Prime Minister Albanese was effusive in his praise for the ongoing mandir construction, terming it as "a work in majestic progress." Reflecting on the moment, he remarked, "One of the great joys of being Prime Minister of this great country is the opportunity to come to an event like this and witness the incredible devotion of communities who have given so much to our country."

The BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto has flourished as a dynamic centre for community and cultural activities. In April 2025, the mandir was privileged to host two of Canada's most prominent leaders. On April 5, marking the auspicious festival of Ram Navami, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited the temple, acknowledging the spiritual and cultural ideals it represents.

Just days later, on April 18, Pierre Poilievre, the Official Opposition Leader, also visited the mandir, where he made prayers to Bhagwan Swaminarayan and engaged warmly with the members of the Hindu community, emphasising the mandir's key role in fostering inclusivity and dialogue.

During his spiritual visit to South Africa early this year, Mahant Swami Maharaj inaugurated the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir and Cultural Complex in Johannesburg. In a welcome address to Mahant Swami Maharaj and the Hindu Mandir, the Deputy President of South Africa, Paul Mashatile, said, "The temple will serve not only as a place of worship, but as a sanctuary of peace, knowledge, and spiritual enrichment for people of all backgrounds. The principles of dharma, seva (service), and unity that BAPS upholds indeed resonate deeply with our national ethos."

Global icon of civilizational bridge, BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, has become a beacon of harmony. Honouring Indian culture and civilisation's principles, this mandir was opened a year ago in 2024 by Mahant Swami Maharaj and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mandir stands as a testament to the global reach, love, and acceptability of Hinduism. The BAPS Hindu Mandir, Abu Dhabi, is rapidly becoming a must-visit mandir in the UAE itinerary. When he came on April 21, 2025, the former President Ram Nath Kovind, rightly referred to the mandir as a "summary of all mandirs," a profound tribute to its spiritual and architectural grandeur as well as its cultural legacy.

Established by Bhagwan Swaminarayan in the nineteenth century, the Swaminarayan tradition has evolved into both the heart and the new face of global Hinduism, fostering unity and harmony worldwide.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : More than Rs 10 crore has been spent under the National One Health programme for preventing zoonotic diseases in FY 2024-25, the government informed the Parliament on Friday.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav, funds allocated and expenditure under the National One Health Programme for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses (NOHP-PCZ) during the last five years.

"More than Rs 15.73 crore were allocated in FY25 -- the highest in the last five years. Of this, over Rs 10 crore has been spent," Jadhav said.

In comparison, more than Rs 15.11 was allocated, and Rs 6.6 crore was spent in 2023-24.

Under the NOHP-PCZ, various initiatives are taken to strengthen prevention, detection, and response capacities for zoonotic diseases in India, including Nipah Virus Disease (NiV).

"Three cases of Nipah Virus infection have been reported in Malappuram and Palakkad

district in Kerala in 2025 and a total of 677 contacts were traced," Jadhav said.

Nipah virus disease is an emerging zoonotic infectious disease caused by the Nipah virus (NiV). It mainly affects pigs and humans. Nipah cases in humans tend to occur in a cluster or as an outbreak, especially in close contacts and caregivers.

The natural host of the virus is believed to be Pteropid fruit bats (flying foxes). According to the information available, fruit bats play a significant role in the transmission of this disease. The NiV infection closely follows the spillover of the pathogen from fruit bats to intermediate hosts or human beings.

"In India, a majority of the infections coincide with palm date sap collection times. Due to this, Nipah cases occur again and again in some areas," the MoS said.

In India, Nipah outbreaks have also been reported in West Bengal in the years 2001 & 2007 and in Kerala in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025, the Minister added.

Control measures initiated and steps taken by the government to contain Nipah outbreaks include enhancing surveillance mechanisms, establishing a National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT) and whole genome sequencing on clinical specimens from all positive cases, among others.
Indore, Aug 1 : A 13-year-old boy allegedly ended his life by suicide out of fear, for being scolded by parents, after he lost money on the 'Free Fire' online game in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, police said on Friday.

The heart-wrenching incident occurred in Anurag Nagar under the jurisdiction of the MIG police station in the city on Thursday night. The deceased boy, who was studying in class 7, has been identified as Aaklan Jain.

He was reportedly addicted to playing online games.

According to police, Aalkan's grandfather noticed him hanging from a ceiling fan, following which, he was rushed to a nearby hospital. However, he was declared brought dead.

Upon knowing about the incident, the police reached the hospital, and a post-mortem was conducted.

As part of the investigation, police also reached the deceased's home and interrogated his parents and other family members on Friday.

During the investigation, parents said that Aalkan used to play the 'Free Fire' game, and he had lost Rs. 2,800.

The boy had connected his phone via Wi-Fi and had linked his mother's debit card to his online gaming ID, MIG police station in-charge C.B. Singh told media persons on Friday.

Preliminary investigation revealed that after losing Rs. 2800 on 'Free Fire', Aalkan informed his mother, Apurva Jain, who scolded him.

The boy went to his study room and locked it from inside, and took this extreme step.

Further investigation in the case is underway, police said.

There have been several such incidents when children ended their lives by suicide due to addiction to online gaming. Ironically, after every incident, the state government would come up with an assurance that a new law would be passed to regulate the adigital gaming messa.

In 2022, an 11-year-old boy, who was addicted to the aFree Firea online game, ended his life by suicide in Bhopal.

Following the incident, the then State's Home Minister, Narottam Mishra, had announced that the government would bring a new legislation for online gaming.

--IANS

pd/dan
Istanbul, Aug 1 : Pakistan is witnessing a growing campaign of Transnational Repression (TNR) targeting dissidents, particularly in the United Kingdom (UK), through harassment, intimidation, physical violence and the misuse of Interpol 'Red Notices', a report highlighted on Friday.

According to a scathing report of the UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights on Transnational Repression, foreign governments are increasing their crackdown on political opponents in the UK. Since 2022, it stated, Pakistan has been one of the nations to intensify TNR. The UK's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, MI5, revealed that these threats have surged by 48 per cent.

Committee Chair Lord Alton cautioned that TNR is undermining the UK's ability to protect the human rights of its citizens and those seeking safety, a report by global policy research institution 'Geopolist' cited.

Pakistan's current regime has repeatedly been linked to silencing critics in exile.

"Will the UK now hold Islamabad accountable and stop this export of repression to British soil? In 2016, Pakistan passed the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to address issues such as hacking, data breaches, cyber extortion, online harassment, and the spread of false information," the report detailed

In January 2025, this law was amended, giving authorities the power to arrest, charge, and imprison journalists for allegedly spreading misinformation. Additionally, high fines and penalties for "defamation and spreading false news" came into effect. These draconian laws have now crossed Pakistan's borders, the report mentioned.

The report highlighted that Roshaan Khattak, a Pakistani documentarian and human rights activist in exile in the UK, has publicly condemned irregularities and human rights abuses by the Pakistani state.

His doctoral research thesis on enforced disappearances in Balochistan drew the ire of Pakistanas Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), as he received threatening messages while in the UK.

"Starting in December 2024, some of these threats were signed in the name of the Pakistani state or the ISI. These continued into 2025, including a message on X that read: Don't forget even in Cambridgea they can reach anywherea donat be foolish"a

Khattak was subsequently expelled from student accommodation at the University of Cambridge, stripping away his safety. This decision sparked widespread condemnation from British MPs and international human rights organisations, who called it a failure to safeguard academic freedom and surrender to intimidation.

"For decades, Pakistan's powerful military elite and the ISI have silenced domestic dissent through intimidation, censorship, and abductions. Now they are exporting these tactics abroad. The US State Department has officially acknowledged that Pakistan engages in 'transnational repression' to intimidate critics beyond its borders," the report highlighted.

Western intellectuals have repeatedly raised concerns and sharply criticised institutionalised transnational repression by Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies.

"In the United States, members of Congress warned that Washington cannot stand by while Pakistan tramples civil rights, even suggesting sanctions if the harassment continues. In Britain, MPs from across the political spectrum have highlighted the case of Roshaan Khattak and called for stronger protections for academic freedom," the report mentioned.

According to it, the campaign of silencing dissent and harassing political exiles in the West is escalating. Analysts warn that as Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir becomes increasingly emboldened, the campaign of threats and targetting critics abroad is expected to intensify.
Hyderabad, Aug 1 : The government of Telangana on Friday constituted a committee to thoroughly study the report of P.C. Ghose Commission on the alleged irregularities in construction of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project and prepare a comprehensive summary.

The committee includes the Secretaries of the Irrigation Department, Law Department, and General Administration Department (GAD) as members.

It is scheduled to present its detailed summary to the State Cabinet on August 4.

The Cabinet will discuss the findings and recommendations of the Commission and take a decision on the action to be taken on it.

The Commission submitted its report of about 700 pages to Irrigation Secretary Rahul Bojja on Thursday.

Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao and other officials on Friday handed over the report to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Revenue Minister P. Srinivas Reddy.

The Chief Minister had discussion with his Cabinet colleagues to chalk out next course of action on the report.

The Commission has reportedly flagged the irregularities in the construction of the mega project across Godavari by the previous government of Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

A decision on the criminal action to be taken against those found guilty will be taken after discussion in the Cabinet.

The government is understood to be contemplating departmental action against the officials found guilty by the Commission.

The Commission headed by retired Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose probed the alleged irregularities in planning, design, construction, quality control, operation and maintenance of Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla Barrages of the Kaleshwaram project.

The one-man Commission was constituted on March 14, 2024 to probe the allegations.

During the last 15 months, the Ghose Commission over 115 witnessed including engineers and retired and serving officials associated with the barrages and others.

Some piers of Medigadda Barrage had caved in during October 2023. After Congress party came to power in December 2024, it had ordered probe by the Vigilance Department. The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) was also asked to conduct an investigation into all aspects of the mega project.

After the preliminary report by the Vigilance Department highlighted irregularities, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had announced judicial probe during a debate in the Assembly.

The term of the Commission has been extended for seven times so far after its initial term ended on June 30, 2024. In May this year, the term was extended till July 31.

After the last extension, the Commission summoned former Chief Minister and BRS president K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and former ministers T. Harish Rao and Eatala Rajender.

KCR appeared before the Commission on June 11. The BRS leader, who was the chief minister from 2014 to 2023, was reportedly questioned by the Commission about re-designing of the project and the policy and finance related decisions taken for its construction.

The BRS denied allegation of corruption in Kaleshwaram project and termed summon to KCR an act of political vendetta by the Congress government.
Sejong/Seoul, Aug. 1 : South Korea's top trade negotiator said Friday that further opening of the Korean rice market was not discussed in the recently concluded trade deal with the United States, refuting Washington's claim on the politically sensitive issue.

Finance Minister of South Korea Koo Yun-cheol, who doubles as deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs, made the remarks upon returning from his US trip to clinch the deal, along with Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo.

Koo reiterated the Seoul government's earlier position on the rice market, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the trade deal provides market access to American rice, echoing US President Donald Trump's earlier claim, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Rice was not discussed at all (in the trade negotiations)," Koo told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. Koo added he will review the US announcement.

On Thursday, the two countries struck an agreement under which the US lowered its reciprocal tariff rate for South Korea to 15 per cent from the initially proposed 25 per cent in return for Seoul's pledge to invest US$350 billion in the world's largest economy and purchase $100 billion worth of American liquefied natural gas and other energy products over the next four years.

Rice and beef imports were originally considered key sticking points in tariff negotiations between the two sides, but Thursday's trade deal did not include the issues, according to the Seoul government.

The US administration had reportedly pressured Seoul to further open up its rice and beef markets, raising issue with Korea's import ban on American beef products from cattle aged 30 months or older.

The presidential office also confirmed that the deal does not include further market opening in farm products, though details on inspection or quarantine procedures would require further negotiations and coordination between the two sides.

"We have already opened 99.7 per cent of our agricultural and livestock markets, and it is our position that there will be no additional opening for the remaining 0.3 per cent, and that stands," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters. "It seems there may have been some misunderstanding on the US side."
Manila, Aug 1 : Underscoring the strong and growing maritime ties, Indian Naval Ships INS Delhi, INS Shakti, and INS Kiltan were accorded a warm welcome by the Philippines Navy personnel as they arrived in Manila on Friday.

Commanded by Rear Admiral Susheel Menon, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF), the Indian naval ships are in the Philippines as part of the Indian Navyas ongoing operational deployment to South East Asia. In a statement, Ministry of Defence stated, "The visit is a testimony to Indian Navyas commitment to strengthening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific."

During the port call, several harbour interactions are scheduled between the navies of India and Philippines. These include operational planning discussions, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEE), cross-deck visits and other professional and social engagements aimed at enhancing mutual learning and interoperability.

Upon arrival, Rear Admiral interacted with local media representatives, highlighting the shared commitment of two nations towards maintaining stability, and maritime security. He stressed the importance of such deployments in promoting understanding, trust, and cooperation among friendly maritime forces.

"The visits reaffirms the strategic importance of the event and the high-level engagement with the Philippine Navy, representing Indiaas maritime outreach in the region," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

During the visit, the navies of India and Philippines will also participate in a bilateral maritime exercise, focusing on joint manoeuvres and communication protocols to improve preparedness, build mutual trust and strengthen operational synergy in the maritime domain.

Meanwhile, Philippines President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr is set to undertake a State Visit to India from August 4 to 8 with an aim to deepen bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including defence and maritime security. This will be his first visit to India since assuming office.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), President Marcos will be accompanied by First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos and a high-level delegation comprising several cabinet ministers, senior officials, dignitaries, and business representatives. Apart from engagements in New Delhi, the President will also visit Bengaluru before concluding his visit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Marcos are scheduled to hold bilateral talks on August 5. The visiting leader will also meet President Droupadi Murmu, while External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is set to call on him as well.

India and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in November 1949. Since then, the two countries have built a strong partnership in areas such as trade and investment, defence, maritime cooperation, agriculture, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and digital technologies. Both sides also collaborate closely at the regional level, particularly through Indiaas Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with ASEAN.

"India's relations with the Philippines are an integral pillar of our 'Act East' Policy, Vision MAHASAGAR and our vision of the Indo-Pacific. The forthcoming State Visit of President Marcos, coincides with the 75th anniversary of India-Philippines diplomatic relations," the MEA said.
Bengaluru, Aug 1 : The district units of the Madiga organisations staged a protest against the Congress-led government in Karnataka on Friday at the Freedom Park, demanding immediate implementation of internal reservation.

The organisations held protests in front of the offices of all Deputy Commissioners across the state.

Speaking on the occasion, former Union Minister and senior BJP leader, A. Narayanaswamy, declared that the Madiga community will no longer wait or bow to false promises. "We will not wait until the next election," he asserted.

Narayanaswamy further warned that if the Congress-led government in Karnataka fails to implement internal reservation immediately, Madigas would launch a strong disobedience movement against the government.

He stated that protests are being held today (Friday) across all districts of the state, cutting across party lines. "This is not a BJP-led movement," he clarified.

He questioned whether the Karnataka government values its chair more than the people's issues. "Is development more important for the government, or is it just holding onto power?" he asked.

"Justice has not been served to the Madigas. Our patience has run out. We can't wait any longer. If we take to the streets, we know how to send you home," Narayanaswamy warned.

He also criticised the Chief Secretary for not holding a meeting when requested to discuss the injustices faced by Madigas since 1976.

"A reservation should not be given based only on population. The injustice faced by our community for over 40 years must be considered. If a higher reservation is not given based on decades of oppression, the Madiga community will be forced to launch an intense agitation," he warned.

He demanded that all past dues be cleared. "If old promises are not fulfilled, we will organise an intense struggle," he stated.

Narayanswamy noted that protests are being held today in front of the Deputy Commissioners' offices in 26 districts, calling it a reflection of the awakening of the Madiga community. "We want to remind many MLAs in this state that it would have been impossible for them to win without the Madiga vote," he said.

He criticised elected representatives who had won with Madiga votes but have now fallen silent. "You don't speak for the Madigas, yet you have the audacity to come and ask for our votes?" he questioned.

"Is there any law in this country that says Madigas should not get reservations?" he asked.

"During Zilla Panchayat and other local body elections, they keep saying 'tomorrow, tomorrow' when it comes to reservation. You had the power to suspend the Constitution and declare an Emergency to retain your position as Prime Minister. But for the Dalit Madigas of this state and country, injustice has continued even after Independence. Many Madiga students are unable to pursue MBBS due to a lack of money. Do you even understand all this?" he questioned the Congress party.

Narayanswamy questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's commitment to socialism. "The CM claims to be a socialist who delivers justice to all. Then what is he the champion of?" he asked.

He criticised that not even a single scheme has been given to the backward Madigas in any sector. "Where is your socialism?" he asked pointedly.

He declared that this is not just a disobedience movement  it will become a movement to unseat the government. He thanked everyone who participated in the protest.

BJP MLA Basavaraj Mattimadu, BJP state spokesperson H. Venkatesh Dodderi, BJP SC Morcha state vice-president Hoodi Manjunath, community leaders, and office-bearers of various organisations were present.
Kolkata, Aug 1 : The issue of enhanced annual dole from the West Bengal government to different community Durga Puja committees this year, might be highlighted as a point of argument at Supreme Court by the counsels of the state government employees filing a contempt-of-court petition against the state government for failures to clear 25 per cent of the dearness allowance arrears to the current and retired state government employees by June 30 as directed by the apex court earlier this year.

The crucial hearing in the matter is scheduled at the apex court on August 4.

An office-bearer of the Joint Forum of State Government Employees, the umbrella body spearheading the movement demanding dearness allowance at par with Central government and the arrears accrued on it, claimed that they objected that while the state government was not clearing their dues citing cash-strapped as the reason, it had no problem in enhancing the dole amount for the community Durga Puja committees.

"We have discussed this point with our team of counsels and they are expected to raise this point at the crucial hearing in the matter at the apex court on August 4."

On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hiked the grant for each community Durga Puja committee to Rs 1.10 lakh from Rs 85,000 last year.

CM Banerjee on Thursday hiked the grant for each community Durga Puja committee to Rs 1.10 lakh from Rs 85,000 last year.

Political observers feel that the grant amount was hiked to an amount more than what was announced earlier in view of next year's Assembly polls.

BJP's Information Technology Cell Chief and the party's central observer for West Bengal Amit Malviya, on Friday, too questioned the enhancement of state government's annual dole to the community Durga Puja committees, especially when the administration is unable to clear the dearness allowance dues to the state government employees.

"Shameful! West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has hiked the Durgapuja dole from Rs 85,000 to Rs 1.10 lakh per committee  a whopping Rs 400 crore handout to nearly 45,000 puja clubs! This is from a government that told the Supreme Court it can't pay Dearness Allowance (DA) because it would be "backbreaking"! A contempt petition is scheduled for hearing on 4th Aug," Malviya said in a statement which he posted on his official X handle on Friday.
New Delhi, Aug 1 : The Indian Army on Friday signed a Rs 223.95 crore deal with Axiscades Aerospace and Technologies Private Limited for the procurement of 212 next-generation 50-ton Tank Transporter Trailers to speed up logistics in battle situations.

These hi-tech trailers feature hydraulic and pneumatic loading ramps along with steerable and liftable axles. These capabilities will enable the swift and efficient transport of tanks and other armoured vehicles over challenging terrain, enhancing the operational mobility of the army.

The contract has been inked under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category, aligned with the 'Aatmnirbhar Bharat' initiative to boost indigenisation in defence manufacturing.

The procurement will significantly improve logistical and operational efficiency for the field units of the army. The indigenous contract contributes to the growth of the domestic defence manufacturing sector and promises sustained employment opportunities.

The government is keen to promote the country's defence industry, and earlier this month, the Defence Acquisition Council, under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, gave the go-ahead for 10 proposals to purchase military hardware, including missiles and electronic warfare systems, worth approximately Rs 1.05 lakh crore through indigenous sourcing.

India's indigenous defence production has surged to an all-time high of Rs 1.46 lakh crore, with exports increasing to a record Rs 24,000 crore in 2024-25, according to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

"Our defence production, which was only Rs 43,000 crore 10 to 11 years ago, has now crossed a record figure of Rs 1,46,000 crore, with the private sector's contribution of over Rs 32,000 crore. Our defence exports, which were around Rs 600-700 crore 10 years ago, have surpassed a record figure of Rs 24,000 crore today," the minister stated in his address at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual summit recently.

He described Make-in-India as crucial for security and prosperity, stating that the use of indigenous systems during Operation Sindoor has proved that India has the power to penetrate any armour of the enemy.

"Our weapons, systems, sub-systems, components, and services are reaching around 100 countries. Over 16,000 MSMEs associated with the defence sector have become the backbone of the supply chain. These companies are not only strengthening our self-reliance journey, but are also providing employment to lakhs of people," the minister said
Racing against time! A village official rushed door to door to help residents evacuate when floodwaters swept into a village of north China's Inner Mongolia. #FloodRescue #EverydayHero
Karachi, Aug 1 : A senior lawyer in Pakistan's Supreme court, Khawaja Shamshul Islam, was reportedly shot dead in Karachi on Friday while he was attending the funeral of a local trader along with his son in the Clifton area.

The incident took place near the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) mosque, where both the father and son were shot by around 15-20 men. The attackers first beat Islam with iron rods before opening fire.

The police, according to local media outlets, blamed the attacks on some personal disputes between the deceased and the attackers.

Islam reportedly sustained injuries on the back of his ears and hands and was taken to a private hospital.

Pakistan's leading daily, The Express Tribune reported that Islamas son also sustained injuries, including multiple gunshot wounds.

Islam succumbed to his injuries in the private hospital while his son, Daniyal, is reportedly still undergoing treatments, and is in a 'very critical' condition.

Sindh's Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar issued directions, instructing the Senior Superintendent of Police for the South District of Karachi to submit a detailed report, including the initial police action taken regarding the incident, along with instructing the police to mobilise for the immediate arrests of the suspects allegedly involved in the attacks, seeking up to the minute details of the proceedings, the Pakistan daily reported.

The police have launched an investigation related to the attacks while primary reports propounded that the shooting might have been the result of a targetted attack.

However, authorities are yet to confirm these allegations, since no official motive has been traced.

According to the Express Tribune, Khawaja Shamsul Islam was a well-known figure in Karachi's legal community, widely respected for his work in constitutional and criminal law.

Islamas sudden death has kindled grief, a feeling of profound loss as well as condemnation among the people of Karachi, including the legal and political circles of the region.
Bhopal, Aug 1 : Madhya Pradesh Assembly on Friday witnessed a ruckus as legislators from the ruling BJP and opposition Congress blamed each other, accusing each side of "disrespecting" the Indian Armed Forces.

The disruption that began during the 'Question Hour' session of the House continued till the evening, until Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar adjourned the House until August 4 (Monday). It started soon after senior BJP MLA and the state's former home minister Bhupendra Singh raised a question related to illegal encroachment on land allotted for Tribals in Khurai Assembly seat of Sagar district, which he has been representing for the last several years.

Some other MLAs also raised similar questions and sought a response from the government. As the subject was related to the Tribals' land, Vijay Shah, the Minister heading the Tribal Affairs Department, rose to reply to the queries raised during the debate. However, when Vijay Shah stood up to reply, the Congress MLAs unanimously objected to his presence in the House, saying that the person who used derogatory statements on Army officer Colonel Sofiya Qureshi does not deserve a ministerial post.

"Anyone who insults the Army should not remain in office. Vijay Shah should be sacked from the cabinet. What is making the BJP protect him (Shah)," Congress MLA Umang Singhar, who is LoP in the MP Assembly, said. Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar tried to convince Congress MLAs, repeatedly stating that the House is debating on a crucial subject; however, the opposition remained firm in opposing Shah's presence.

Later, when Congress MLA Arif Masood raised a question related to the Bhopal gas tragedy relief and rehabilitation. Again, as the department is being headed by Vijay Shah, he rose to respond to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. But opposition members were on their feet, demanding the resignation or sacking of Shah for disrespecting a woman Army officer. This time, Congress legislators even trooped into the Well of the House and shouted, Vijay Shah 'istifa do (resign), Vijay Shah ko 'barkhaast karo' (sack him).

Speaker Narendra Tomar asked Congress MLAs to maintain calm and take their seats, but the opposition members ignored his advice and continued with their protest. Some senior BJP leaders also tried to convince the opposition, but LoP Umang Singhar and some other Congress MLAs continued to demand Shah's resignation from the ministerial post.

Senior BJP Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is also the Parliament Affairs Minister in the State's Assembly, got upset with Congress's behaviour, and he blasted them. "A party that speaks the language of Pakistan and China, and questions the bravery of the Indian Armed Forces, has no right to speak on nationalism," Kailash Vijayvargiya said.

As accusations flew thick and fast between the treasury and opposition benches, the Speaker tried to maintain order in the House. But when the opposition members did relent, Tomar adjourned the House until August 4. It is the second time that Vijay Shah faced an embarrassing situation in the House since the monsoon session of the State Assembly started on July 28.

On July 29, when Vijay Shah rose to present a Bill related to the Tribal department, Congress MLAs had unanimously opposed his presence in the House. Congress's relentless efforts had made Shah sit back in his chair.
Lusaka, Aug 1 : The leaders of Zambia and Botswana on Friday reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the fraternal relations that have long united the two southern African countries.

The pledge was made during bilateral talks in Lusaka, Zambia's capital, between Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and his Botswanan counterpart Duma Gideon Boko, who is on a two-day state visit to Zambia.

Hichilema noted that the two countries have historically enjoyed cordial and warm relations, rooted in shared history, language, and culture that have nurtured strong people-to-people connections.

The Zambian leader also underscored the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation, particularly amid ongoing global trade disruptions, calling for increased trade and deeper collaboration in infrastructure development, including road, rail, and air transport networks.

He also welcomed the recent upgrade of the bilateral framework from a Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation to a Bi-National Commission, describing it as a key platform for strengthening ties and expanding cooperation with Botswana.

For his part, Boko said his visit was aimed at reaffirming the enduring relationship between the two countries, grounded in common history and mutual aspirations, Xinhua news agency reported.

He hailed the elevation of bilateral cooperation as a milestone that reflects the growth and advancement of their partnership.

"It reflects our shared commitment to promoting high-level dialogue, monitoring the implementation of bilateral agreements, and aligning our policies and priorities to deepen cooperation across multiple sectors," he said.

The enhanced partnership serves as a call to action, offering an opportunity to reflect on the progress and address remaining challenges, Boko added.

Last year, Zambia President hosted his then-Botswana counterpart Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi on a working visit to Zambia. According to Zambia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, this was a reciprocal visit following the working visit to Botswana by Hichilema in January 2024, at the invitation of Masisi. During the visit in Livingstone, Hichilema and Masisi held official talks on important matters of mutual interest.
Agartala, Aug 1 : The High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, Riaz Hamidullah, who is on a four-day visit to Tripura, on Friday met Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and visited various places in the state, including the Integrated Check Post (ICP) along the India-Bangladesh border here, officials said.

In a post on X, the Chief Minister's office said: "H.E. Mr. Riaz Hamidullah, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India, paid a courtesy call on Hon'ble Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha today at CM's Official Residence."

The Bangladesh envoy, after visiting the ICP and talking with the officials of the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI), told the media that the relationship between Tripura and the whole of eastern Bangladesh has been very natural, similar to the rivers that flow between the two countries.

He stressed that the interface, essentially between the two countries, has been economic trade. About his meeting with the officials of the LPAI, he said that during his two-hour meeting with the senior officials, he tried to ease out issues, adding that the meeting was result-oriented.

Noting that the relationship between the two countries is organic, natural, and people-centred, he expressed optimism about taking the relationship between the two countries to newer heights.

During his visit, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh will also take stock of the Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link project and will visit Nischintapur railway station near Agartala.

Besides, he would also be visiting the newly constructed "Maitri Setu" at Sabroom in South Tripura district on Sunday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then-Bangladesh counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated 'Maitri Setu' between India and Bangladesh in March 2021, but it could not be made operational due to the regime change in the neighbouring country.

On Sunday, the visiting envoy would also make a courtesy call with Tripura Governor Indra Sena Reddy Nallu.

A 1995 batch officer of the Bangladesh Foreign Service, Hamidullah, who was appointed the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India in April this year, before coming to Tripura, visited Assam and Meghalaya.

--IANS

sc/dan
Sukma, Aug 1 : In a significant breakthrough for anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh, security forces arrested five active Maoist members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) and recovered a cache of explosives during a coordinated operation in Sukma district.

Acting on intelligence provided by a local informant, a joint team comprising personnel from the Chhattisgarh Police, the 74th and 226th Battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and led by the Station House Officer (SHO) of Jagargunda police station, launched a search operation in the dense forest near Achakat village on Thursday, the police official said.

According to officials, the suspects attempted to flee upon sensing the presence of security forces but were swiftly apprehended. The arrested individuals - identified as Hemla Pala (35), Hemla Hunga (35), Sodi Deva (25), Nuppo (20), and Kunjam Masa (28) - are residents of the Chintalnar region and were reportedly active in the Surpanguda area as part of the Jagargunda-Pamed area committee.

Recovered from their possession were two country-made barrel grenade launchers (BGL) shells, a tiffin bomb, seven gelatin rods, nine detonators, explosive powder, and other materials used in the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The arrests mark a notable success in the ongoing counter-insurgency campaign in Sukma, a district long affected by Maoist violence.

The operation underscores the intensified efforts by security forces to dismantle militant networks and ensure civilian safety in the Bastar region.

Further interrogation and investigation are underway to determine the extent of the suspects' involvement in previous attacks and to trace the supply chain of the recovered explosives.

A Maoist insurgent was killed and three District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel sustained injuries in a fierce gun battle between security forces and Naxalites in the forested region along the Sukma-Dantewada border on Tuesday.

Three days ago, a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF), DRG, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a search operation based on intelligence inputs regarding Maoist presence in the area. The operation, initiated on Monday, led to multiple exchanges of fire throughout July 29.

During the combing operation, security personnel recovered the body of a uniformed Maoist along with a substantial cache of arms, ammunition, and bomb-making materials. Items seized from the site include bullets, improvised explosive device (IED) components, and other tactical supplies used in insurgent activity.

Tragically, three DRG jawans were injured when a pressure-triggered IED planted by Maoists detonated during the operation. All injured personnel were promptly evacuated and transported to higher medical facilities.

According to attending doctors, their condition is stable and they are out of danger. This encounter adds to the growing tally of successful anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, where over 225 Maoists have been neutralised this year.
Pune, Aug 1 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday heaped praise on Union Minister and veteran BJP leader Nitin Gadkari, saying that he is not just a 'man of vision' but also a 'man of action.'

He has done immense work that has transformed the lives of thousands of people.

Conferring the Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2025 on him is an honour for a proactive and sensitive personality, he added.

He was speaking at a function where the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2025 was presented to Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar, Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil, Minister of State Madhuri Misal, and Chairman of Lokmanya Tilak Memorial Trust Rohit Tilak were among others present on the occasion.

Fadnavis said that the concept of giving this award to individuals whose work reflects Lokmanya Tilak's self-respect is very unique in modern India.

"Minister Nitin Gadkari's leadership thinks ahead of time. He has cultivated extraordinary talent along with sensitivity and a culture that inspires continuous social work. He is a good researcher. His knowledge in the fields of agriculture, engineering, medicine, industry, architecture and science is immense. He is attracted to new things. He tries to find out how these things can be brought to the common man," he added.

Fadnavis further stated: "Minister Gadkari's 'Never Die Attitude' is a characteristic of his nature. He faces any situation with courage, which is why he can undertake big projects. It was only after the successful construction of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway that Atal Bihari Vajpayee entrusted the responsibility of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to Gadkari with confidence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also recognised the same quality in him and entrusted him with the work of road and highway development. Once, we used to go elsewhere to see the infrastructure of the world; today, the world is coming to us. This is Minister Gadkari's success."

He added that due to Minister Gadkari's work, a qualitative change has started in the work of road construction in the country. He has established himself as the most efficient minister in the Union Cabinet. The work of building a road network on the country's borders is being done under his guidance.

In his speech, Minister Gadkari said that Lokmanya Tilak is an inspiration and role model for all Indians. His achievements are truly remarkable. "It is a matter of honour to receive the Lokmanya Tilak National Award named after him. This honour has increased my responsibility, and I will work more vigorously for the country in the coming days to build the India of Lokmanya Tilak's dream," he assured.

"Today, we are third in the automobile industry, surpassing Japan and after America and China. In the coming years, the country will have a lot of opportunities in all areas such as agriculture, infrastructure, industry and research. If we contribute diligently, we can bring the country to the first place. Our country has the potential to become a world leader. We have intelligent youth power. If we work with a positive attitude and positive political will, we can make the country a superpower," he observed.

He appealed to everyone to contribute to bringing India to the top of the world and to build the India of Lokmanya Tilak's dream.

Regarding the development of the country, Minister Gadkari said a large tunnel worth Rs 12,000 crore is being built in the Brahmaputra. Instead of cycle rickshaws, e-cars and e-buses have been introduced in the market.

"About Rs 12,000 crore has been given for irrigation projects in western Maharashtra. Works worth Rs 50,000 crore will start in Maharashtra by December. Work on the Navi Mumbai to Pune highway will commence, while the work on the Mumbai to Bangalore highway has been taken up. With this new route, the journey from Pune to Mumbai will take one and a half hours. Works worth Rs 2 lakh crore are underway in the Pune area. Three new bridges are being built in Pune. Pune Metro and airport work have been accelerated. There will be no discrimination in development work," he added.
Ahmedabad, Aug 1 : The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has kicked off Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (Organisation Creation Campaign) across the state, as part of the All India Congress Committee's (AICC) decision to declare 2025 as the "Year of Organisation."

Gujarat has been chosen as the pilot state for this nationwide initiative, marking a bold attempt to rebuild the party's base from the ground up. GPCC President Amit Chavda stated that the Congress is committed to becoming the voice of the youth, women, tribals, the oppressed and the marginalised - not just in Gujarat but across the nation.

"From the streets to the Parliament, the Congress will fight for the people," he asserted.

He emphasised that the party's ideology is inclusive and aimed at the welfare of all sections of society, regardless of caste, religion, or class.

As part of the campaign, from August 2 to August 10, AICC-appointed observers will visit every taluka, municipality, and municipal corporation ward across Gujarat to consult with grassroots workers and appoint new local leaders.

The initiative follows the recent appointment of 41 city and district Congress presidents through a process-based selection.

"Young, educated, and ideologically committed individuals will be prioritised," Chavda added, highlighting the party's move to give preference to leaders under 55 years of age and rotating long-standing office-bearers to make space for new faces.

After each observer's tour, reports will be submitted to the state leadership to finalise appointments by the end of August.

The party is also preparing for statewide agitations in the coming weeks. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly, Tushar Chaudhary, slammed the BJP government for alleged betrayal of tribal communities, especially over the Tapi River Link Project.

He confirmed that protest programmes are being planned to hold the government accountable.

Chavda reiterated Congress's commitment to constitutional values, social justice, and inclusive governance.

"Congress belongs to everyone, and we welcome those who share our ideology to come forward and be part of this movement," he said.
Varanasi, Aug 1 : A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his parliamentary constituency, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrived in Varanasi on Friday evening and offered prayers at two of the city's most revered shrines - the Kaal Bhairav temple and the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Varanasi, Aug 1 (IANS) A day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his parliamentary constituency, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath arrived in Varanasi on Friday evening and offered prayers at two of the city's most revered shrines a" the Kaal Bhairav temple and the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

The chief minister's visit, his third to Varanasi during the auspicious month of Sawan, was marked by spiritual fervour and symbolic significance. He performed the traditional aDarshan-Poojana rituals at the temples, which are deeply significant in the Shaiva tradition.

Devotees and temple priests welcomed him with chants and Vedic hymns as he made his way through the bustling temple corridors late in the evening.

CM Yogi Adityanath is expected to stay overnight in the holy city and will personally oversee preparations for Prime Minister Modias visit scheduled for Saturday.

According to officials, the chief minister will conduct a detailed review of all the arrangements related to the prime ministeras programmes, including public meetings and inaugurations.

An official release from the Chief Ministeras Office stated that Yogi Adityanath will receive Prime Minister Modi at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi on Saturday morning.

The PMas visit is part of his ongoing outreach and development review across constituencies ahead of the upcoming Bihar and Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

In a significant developmental push for his parliamentary constituency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Varanasi on August 2, where he will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple projects worth around Rs 2,200 crore across various sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, tourism, urban development, and cultural heritage.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will also release the 20th installment of PM-KISAN, transferring Rs 20,500 crore directly to the bank accounts of over 9.7 crore farmers across the country.
Shillong, Aug 1 : In response to the ongoing crackdown on illegal settlers by the Assam government, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) on Friday issued a strong advisory to traditional village heads, urging heightened vigilance along the inter-state boundary.

According to KHADC officials, the directive comes amid growing concerns over possible cross-border movement into Meghalaya as a result of the Assam government's intensified action against unauthorised settlers.

Citing media reports, the Council warned that individuals fleeing eviction or legal action in Assam may attempt to enter and settle in villages under the KHADC's jurisdiction, particularly those located along the border.

In a circular issued to all 'Hima' - the traditional tribal administrative units - the KHADC instructed them to alert their respective 'Dorbar Shnong' and 'Dorbar Raid' (village councils and regional councils) to remain on high alert.

They have been directed to closely monitor their areas and prevent any non-indigenous or unauthorised individuals from entering or settling without proper documentation or permission.

The circular further stressed that any suspicious or unauthorised movement must be reported immediately to the nearest police station or state authority for necessary action.

The KHADC underscored the importance of maintaining demographic and cultural integrity, especially in border villages that are more vulnerable to infiltration.

"The Council takes this issue seriously, especially given the sensitivity of border regions. Cooperation between traditional institutions and state authorities is essential to prevent illegal encroachments and ensure the safety and security of local residents," an official from the KHADC said.

The move is seen as part of a broader effort by the autonomous council to safeguard indigenous land rights and maintain law and order amid evolving inter-state dynamics.

This latest advisory comes even as tensions occasionally flare along the Assam-Meghalaya border, making coordination between traditional bodies and government institutions more crucial than ever.
Kolkata, Aug 1 : As a drive aimed at both beautification and restoration of cultural heritage, the exteriors of the heritage building in Kolkata will be freed of all the advertisement hoardings, banners, and festoons at the earliest, city Mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday.

According to him, two reputed engineering institutes in the state, namely Jadavpur University in Kolkata and the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur in Kolkata-adjacent Howrah district, have been entrusted with the task of identifying the heritage buildings in the city.

"As soon as the task of identifying the heritage buildings would be over, the exteriors of those heritage buildings would be freed of the advertisement hoardings, banners and festoons," the Mayor said at his weekly citizens' interactive programme christened "Talk to Mayor" on Friday.

He also informed that the two engineering institutes would identify the heritage structures in the city based on their historical and archaeological relevance.

"It had come to our notice that in case of certain heritage structures in the city, their entire exteriors have been covered with such advertisement hoardings, banners, and festoons. This cannot be tolerated and we, on behalf of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, have decided to take action against such menaces," said Hakim, also the West Bengal municipal affairs and urban development minister.

He also said that the front side of the heritage structures in the city will also be illuminated. "The hawkers will not be allowed to sit in front of such structures," Hakim added.

Already last week, the KMC authorities identified several intersections within the city that will be declared as no-hoarding zones.

The initiative had been taken as part of KMC's city beautification drive before the forthcoming Durga Puja festival, when lakhs of people from outside, including foreign nationals, visit the city to a feel the Bengali's biggest religious-cum-social festival.
BEIRUT, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Four members of the Lebanese group Hezbollah were killed Thursday afternoon in a series of Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in eastern and southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese security sources and Hezbollah.

Lebanese security sources confirmed to Xinhua on Friday that the four Hezbollah members were killed in an airstrike that hit a Hezbollah position in the Jarmaq/Al-Aaishiyah axis, which is part of the city of Jezzine, deep in southern Lebanon.

For its part, Hezbollah mourned the four members in separate statements, saying they "rose as martyrs on the path to Jerusalem," without providing further details.

The group identified the fallen as Hassan Sharif Ghamloush, Ali Mohammad Hammoud, Nassif Al-Abed Bahja, and Hassan Mohammad Al-Hershi.

Israeli warplanes carried out 18 airstrikes Thursday afternoon on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa region and the deep south, according to the National News Agency.

A ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, has been in effect since Nov. 27, 2024, following over a year of clashes triggered by the war in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the agreement, which required a full Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon by the Feb. 18 deadline, Israel continues to occupy five positions in the south. It has been carrying out airstrikes in the southern and eastern regions of the country, claiming they are aimed at eliminating Hezbollah "threats." 
Nagpur, Aug 1 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday asked the administration to establish a world-class Sanskrit university at Waranga near Nagpur in a time-bound manner on the lines of the nearby National Law University.

He was speaking at inauguration of Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar International Gurukul and Academic Building and the laying of the foundation stone of the Student Building at Waranga.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Minister of Higher and Technical Education Chandrakant Patil, Minister of State for Finance Ashish Jaiswal, Vice Chancellor Hareram Tripathi, and Founder Vice Chancellor Pankaj Chande were present on the occasion.

In his speech, CM Fadnavis proudly mentioned the contribution made by Shrikant Jichkar and former founding Vice Chancellor Pankaj Chande to establish a Sanskrit language university.

Since this university is named after poet-culturist Kalidas, the initial concept was to have it in Ramtek.

"However, to make it easier for this knowledge center of Sanskrit language to reach the global level, we decided to develop this entire knowledge complex in Waranga, which is known as an educational complex in Ramtek taluka and close to Nagpur. A world-class Sanskrit university will be established here in the coming time on the lines of the nearby National Law University," he added.

He further stated: "Many old cultures of the world have become obsolete and extinct over time, but Indian culture has been able to survive in its eternal form. The valuable work of preserving Indian culture was possible through the Sanskrit language. The storehouse of knowledge in fields such as architecture , Ayurveda , astronomy , mathematics , chemistry is in Sanskrit language."

He expressed his belief that the Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University will play a valuable role in taking it forward to the society.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in his speech said in today's global context, the spirit of global and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam are one and the same. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam has a rich foundation.

"If we want to understand the power of knowledge given by Sanskrit language, then we should also realize its meaning. For that, language is necessary. Although many treasures of knowledge have reached many homes through Sanskrit texts and hymns, Sanskrit language should now become dependent on the people as well as the kings," he expressed.

"This is the real important time for building a self-reliant India. For this, our essence is valuable. Self-reliance depends on this essence. Strength is also necessary for this. If the mind, heart and intellect behind any strength are self-respecting, then such strength becomes more constructive," he said.

"Where there is sattva and strength, there is energy. Along with energy, the presence of Lakshmi also arises there, he explained the role of a prosperous India. "This is the need of today's environment. For this, everyone should give their strength. Sanskrit language is the main basis for us to understand this sattva more. We should understand Sanskrit language and the power places of knowledge in it," he added.
Bilaspur, Aug 1 : A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Bilaspur on Friday reserved its order on the bail plea of two Kerala-based nuns, Preethi Mary and Vandana Francis, arrested in a controversial case involving allegations of human trafficking and forced religious conversion earlier this month.

The court, presided over by Principal District and Sessions Judge Sirajuddin Qureshi, is expected to pronounce its decision on Saturday.

The nuns, along with a third accused, Sukaman Mandavi, were detained at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint lodged by a Bajrang Dal functionary.

The FIR, registered under the Chhattisgarh Religious Freedom Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, alleges that the trio attempted to traffic and forcibly convert three young women from Narayanpur district. However, defence counsel Amrito Das argued that the women are adults who have been practising Christianity for several years and were voluntarily travelling to Agra for employment at a convent.

He further submitted that the police have failed to produce any substantive evidence and did not seek custodial interrogation.

"The case diary has been submitted, and we have placed all relevant facts before the court. The FIR is based on suspicion, not proof. The alleged victims have returned home, and their families have denied any coercion," Das told reporters.

Special Public Prosecutor Dau Chandravanshi, representing the NIA, maintained that the charges warranted serious scrutiny.

"We believe this is a case of human trafficking. The investigation is at a preliminary stage, and the court will decide based on the material presented," he said.

The case has ignited political and public debate across the country. On Thursday, Rajya Sabha MPs John Brittas and P. Santosh Kumar of the CPI(M) submitted notices under Rule 267, seeking suspension of regular business to initiate a discussion on rising incidents of religious intolerance and the treatment of tribal converts. Parliamentary tensions again escalated on Friday as two Rajya Sabha membersJebi Mather (Congress) and A.A. Rahim (CPI-M)submitted a notice under Rule 267 seeking suspension of regular business to discuss the "unjust" arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh and the broader issue of religious intolerance against tribal converts.

The Deputy Chairman, Harivansh Narayan Singh, however, declined the request, citing procedural non-conformity and the sub-judice nature of the matter.

The issue is expected to be raised in the Upper House next week, with opposition parties demanding a broader inquiry into communal tensions in tribal regions.

The arrests have also drawn criticism from church leaders and human rights advocates, who allege misuse of legal provisions to target minority communities.

The outcome of Saturday's bail hearing is likely to have implications beyond the courtroom, as questions of constitutional rights, religious freedom, and administrative accountability continue to dominate the national discourse.
Agartala, Aug 1 : Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said on Friday that the state government is planning to conduct heart transplants at the Agartala Government Medical College and Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital for which talks with AIIMS are underway and also a MoU was signed with Mohan Foundation.

The Chief Minister while addressing the 21st Foundation Day of AGMC and GB Pant Hospital at the here said that plans are there to introduce courses in super-specialty at the AGMC and GB Pant Hospital.

"There were so many people who have worked tirelessly behind AGMC and GB Pant Hospital. On this day, we must remember their contribution. Agartala Government Medical College has secured a special place in the country. We are working to address the shortcomings faced by students," said Saha.

He mentioned that earlier, there were very few number of MBBS seats available in Tripura medical colleges, but now the number of seats is around 400 in three medical colleges in the state -- AGMC, Tripura Medical College (TMC) and Tripura Santiniketan Medical College (TSMC), a private medical college. The TMC has been governed by the state government constituted society.

"There was only one seat for BDS earlier. Now we have a Government Dental College which started with 50 seats and currently has 63 seats. We are trying to increase the seat capacity of AGMC. For 202526, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has given permission for 150 seats, of which 118 are for Tripura students, 22 for central government nominees, and the remaining 10 for the Northeast region," said Saha, who also holds the health and family welfare portfolio. He said that currently, around 525 students (of different years) are pursuing MBBS at AGMC.

The AGMC started in 2005, and in 2010 the first batch passed out. So far, 1,484 students have completed MBBS, among whom 1,270 are from the state who passed from AGMC.

"When there was a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas, we deployed MBBS graduates from Tripura Medical College and AGMC to those areas, which contributed to the development of the health department. In the last nine years, around 391 students have completed post-graduation. We are also considering and have held meetings with officials to start super-specialty courses in AGMC," he said.

CM Saha, who is also a dental surgeon, stated that there is a shortage of beds in GB Pant Hospital, which currently has 727 beds, reduced from 1,413. Plans are in place to increase 100 more beds for patients.

The Chief Minister said that three kidney transplants successfully conducted in the AGMC.

"We have signed a MoU with the Mohan Foundation. We are planning to conduct liver and heart transplants as well. Talks have been held with AIIMS, New Delhi regarding these initiatives. We are emphasising to start telemedicine, and the necessary official process has already been initiated. People have faith in AGMC and GB Pant Hospital. We have set up a cardiac care centre, and work is almost complete in the remaining districts," he said.

--IANS

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Bhopal, Aug 1 : The first five days of the ongoing monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly largely remained highlighted for protests from the opposition (Congress) members, relentless disruption, chaos, along with a few businesses, including the passing of some important Bills from the House till Friday.

Days before the monsoon session started on July 28, Madhya Pradesh Assembly Secretariat issued a notification, prohibiting protest and sloganeering in the Assembly premises; however, those directives remained on paper only as the opposition members staged a symbolic protest, and that continued till Friday.

On the first day (July 28), the House was adjourned within the next two hours after paying tributes to the victims of the June 12 Ahmedabad plane crash, the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and other prominent personalities who passed away recently.

On the second day (July 29), the Leader of the Opposition, Umang Singhar, charged that attacks on MLAs were taking place across the state. He said the state government and police were not taking any action against the accused. Congress also raised the reservation issue on the second day, alleging that the BJP government is not willing to implement the 27 per cent reservation policy for OBCs.

On the second day, Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar expressed his disappointment that questions raised by the legislators were not directly answered. Tomar even directed Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to ensure that direct answers are given instead of mentioning "details are being gathered". The issue was raised by senior Congress MLA from Jabalpur East, Bala Bachchan, who told the House that 16 questions related to Chief Minister's office had similar answer - "information is being gathered".

Responding to that, the Speaker said, "Instructions have been given on this matter earlier. The chief minister is sitting here. A direct answer should come."

On the third day (July 30), the House began as usual after a symbolic protest from the Opposition in the Assembly premises. However, the House witnessed healthy discussion on various key issues raised by the Congress and the BJP MLAs. A couple of key bills (Amendment) were also approved by the House.

Fourth Day (July 31), the state Assembly passed the revised rules of the Labour (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Amendment rules mandate industrial units to submit a 45-day notice before declaring a strike or lockout. Despite protests from the Congress MLAs, the state's Labour Minister Prahlad Patel defended the bill, saying it is designed to maintain a balance between workers' welfare and industrial growth.

"We respect the labourers, but the speed of development must also be maintained," Patel said. During the House proceedings, the State's Urban Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya put forth a proposal for the expansion of Metro rail connectivity for discussion. During the discussion, senior Congress MLA and ex-CM Kamal Nath appreciated the government for the proposal.

Meanwhile, he also took credit for sanctioning the Rail Metro Project for the state when he was a Union Minister.

The fifth day (August 1) of the monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly witnessed chaos as opposition MLAs launched a sharp attack against Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah, demanding his resignation.

The House reverberated with slogans of "Vijay Shah resign" as soon as the minister rose to respond to a departmental query. Relentless disturbance prompted Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar to adjourn the House for the next half-an-hour. When the House reassembled, the opposition again created pandemonium. While the second calling attention motion was being discussed amid noisy scenes, the opposition trooped into the Well. The Speaker adjourned the House till August 4.

The monsoon session of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly will conclude on August 8.
Jaipur, Aug 1 : The Rajasthan High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the growing threat posed by stray dogs and other animals to road safety across the state.

Citing media reports highlighting rising accidents and deteriorating road and social security conditions, the court termed the issue serious and directed immediate action from all responsible agencies.

The bench, comprising Justice Kuldeep Mathur and Justice Ravi Chirania, observed that stray dogs and cows have become a significant hazard not only within cities but also on state and national highways.

This endangers public lives and is directly contributing to major road accidents. Notices have been issued to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Urban Development and Housing Department, Director of Local Bodies, and the municipal corporations of Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur, among others.

The next hearing is scheduled for August 11.

Advocate Ayush Gehlot appeared for the state government.

The state informed the court that the Rajasthan Road Safety Bill, 2022 has been drafted with special provisions to control stray animals and reduce road accidents. The court, however, questioned whether the bill had become law and sought clarification in the next hearing.

Highlighting public responsibilities, the court remarked that pet owners must ensure proper care and vaccination of their animals.

It noted that negligence by pet owners, including abandoning dogs, worsens the problem and puts the public at risk. The court also acknowledged a social dividea"those who keep animals and those who oppose their presence on streets due to safety concerns. Taking cognizance, the court stated that unreported cases likely make the situation worse than reflected.

The court appointed senior advocate Dr. Sachin Acharya and advocates Priyanka Borana and Haley Pathak as amicus curiae to conduct a comprehensive study and assist the court on the matter.

Stray dogs, roaming openly on roads, and sometimes lying or resting on the middle of streets/roads, also pose threat to safety of commuters.
Bhopal, Aug 1 : Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon visit Madhya Pradesh, bringing a wave of enthusiasm among the citizens.

"It is a matter of great joy that Prime Minister Modi has given verbal consent to personally attend two major events a" the inauguration of the Bhopal Metro train and the foundation-laying ceremony of the PM MITRA Park in Dhar," the Chief Minister said in a statement.

Yadav said that during a meeting with PM Modi in New Delhi on Thursday, he had also requested him to participate in an upcoming Kisan Samman event dedicated to the farmers of the state. "The Prime Ministeras Office will soon finalise the event date for all three programmes," the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister's statement came a day after he met PM Modi at Parliament House in the national capital on Thursday, where he shared a detailed report of his 18 months in office. During the meeting, CM Yadav presented a booklet titled aVirasat Se Vikas Ki Rahi a" 18 Months of Good Governancea, highlighting the progress made across various sectors in Madhya Pradesh under the guidance of PM Modi.

The report outlines achievements in areas such as the state's economic growth, industrial development, poverty eradication, tribal welfare, women empowerment (Nari Shakti), health, education, good governance, urban development, infrastructure development, tourism and culture promotion, and environment conservation.

CM Yadav also briefed the Prime Minister on his recent industrial investment trips to Dubai and Spain, describing them as successful steps towards attracting global investment into the state. During his visit to New Delhi, the Chief Minister also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Kolkata, Aug 1 : West Bengal unit BJP president and Rajya Sabha member Samik Bhattacharya on Friday accused the Trinamool Congress and the Mamata Banerjee-led state government of resorting to a dangerous ploy to protect the illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators out of the fear of being defeated in the 2026 Assembly elections.

According to him, the Trinamool Congress government is desperate to get these illegal infiltrators retained in the voters' list of West Bengal, since such bogus voters constitute the dedicated vote bank of Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP's Salt Lake party office on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, Bhattacharya alleged that Trinamool Congress was smelling its end and hence had resorted to shielding infiltrators and threatening booth-level officers (BLOs) to ensure that bogus voters are retained in the rolls ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

"From Barasat to Madhyamgram, fake voter cards have been issued to Bangladeshi nationals with the active involvement of local Trinamool Congress leaders. Booth-level officers are being intimidated to ensure that not a single bogus name is removed. This is not governance... this is desperation," Bhattacharya added.

He also said that the recent war-cry from the Chief Minister against alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking people in the BJP-ruled states was not intended to protect the interest of genuine Indian Bengalis but to protect the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators, who also speak in Bengali.

Speaking on the occasion, he also claimed that the cops are being informed about the presence of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators by their neighbours, and many of those informing the police are Indian Muslims.

He also said that the names of these illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators will be deleted from the voters' list of West Bengal at any cost.

"Hindus and genuine Muslim voters have nothing to worry about the special intensive revision of the voters' list conducted by the Election Commission of India. BJP is there with them. But illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators will not be shared," he added.
UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians said Thursday that as starvation worsens in Gaza, efforts to swiftly distribute aid are being hampered by delays, looting and military operations, even as shipments continue to arrive through Israeli checkpoints.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that earlier this week, despite the Israeli military designating secure routes from border crossings into Gaza and toward distribution sites, aid trucks operated by the United Nations and its partners continued to face lengthy delays, putting drivers, humanitarian workers and crowds at risk.

OCHA said that the sole route provided by Israeli authorities for UN teams exiting the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing into Gaza is frequently disrupted by Israeli ground forces setting up ad hoc checkpoints, causing additional delays in aid delivery.

The office said that despite such challenges, the world body and its humanitarian partners continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings.

"The teams have managed to collect wheat flour, ready-to-eat rations, high-energy biscuits, nutrition items, hygiene kits and other critical supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings," OCHA said.

The office said that "much of the food is taken by people en route, rather than reaching community-based distribution points," adding that "aid must be distributed at the community level" to ensure no one is left behind.

The United Nations and its partners insist on reaching Palestinians in need through community-based distribution points, numbering 400 across Gaza, rather than the four militarized Israeli and U.S.-sponsored Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) hubs, due to chaos and gunfire erupting near them.

"OCHA urges the Israeli authorities to allow the consistent and simultaneous entry of large volumes of diverse humanitarian and commercial supplies through all crossing points and multiple routes," the office said.

Highlighting the difficulties aid workers face in coordinating movements across much of the Gaza Strip with Israeli authorities, OCHA said that only 47 percent were fully facilitated, while 11 percent were withdrawn by organizers, according to cumulative data from July 23 to 29.

"Unimpeded humanitarian access within Gaza is essential," the office said. "Without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs." 
Recent years have offered a hard lesson on the economics of authoritarianism. Often, authoritarian regimes have poor economies. This leads to compensating actionsoften military adventurism. Authoritarianism, adversity, adventurism: these present an ominous warning about China.

The 21st centurys economic performance of authoritarian regimes demonstrates starkly poor economic performances. Using World Population Reviews measure in constant U.S. 2023 dollars, between 2010 and 2020, Russias GDP fell from $1.525 trillion to $1.493 trillion. From 2005 to 2020, Irans barely moved (from $226 billion to $240 billion). Syrias plunged from $253 billion to $11 billion between 2010 and 2020, Venezuelas has dropped off the charts entirely, ditto North Koreas, and Cubas was a mere $107 billion in 2020.

The reason for such poor performance is not hard to discern. Authoritarian regimes overriding law is maintaining their hold on power. The result is diminished private sector investment, increasing attempts to move capital out of the country, and individuals hoarding of resources ahead of inevitable economic downturns.

Authoritarian regimes must compensate for their poor economic performances. In the case of smaller economies, they frequently seek to become clients of larger ones; North Korea and Syria became junior partners with the USSR/Russia. Larger authoritarian regimes seek to forcibly obtain what they cannot produce: Russia invaded Ukraine; Iran sought leverage through nuclear weapons.

In economic terms, authoritarian regimes attempt to engage in rent-seeking behavior: obtaining resources but without increasing the productivity necessary to economically produce theman effort to obtain something (additional resources) for nothing (their diminishing economic output).

No authoritarian regime has pursued rent seeking better than North Korea. A moribund economy since the Soviet Unions collapse, in the past it used the threat of obtaining nuclear weapons to wrest aid from other nationsincluding the U.S. from 1995-2008. Of course, North Korea eventually went ahead and obtained nuclear weapons. Now untouchable, it exports mercenaries and munitions to Russia. It was this same impunity that Iran sought with its attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

Authoritarian regimes incentive is clear: without such rent, they struggle. When their larger partners fail, the smaller authoritarian junior partners suffer accordingly: North Koreas economy slid dramatically behind the historically less-developed South Korea, while Syrias Assad was toppled entirely in 2024.

This brings us to China. China has had the most successful authoritarian economy for decades. It had seemingly beaten the authoritarian/adversity trap. Between 1990 and 2000, its GDP grew 235%, another 89% from 2000 to 2005, 170% from 2005 to 2010, and 81% from 2010 to 2015. By 2015, Chinas GDP was just $7 trillion below Americas and seemed certain to catch and surpass it.

China appeared to have squared the circle of repressive regime and impressive growth by keeping a comparatively light hand on its economy. High growth was its reward.

However, things have changed. Since 2020, Chinas growth has slowed markedly. According to Statistics Times, the 2025 U.S. GDP is projected to be over $11 trillion greater than Chinas.

Chinas economic underpinnings are worse than its recent performance. It has long been considered an unreliable trade partner, due to IP theft, restrictions on foreign businesses operating there, and more. COVID and the CCPs draconian policies devastated it. Its property sector stands tenuously on inflated values. There is significant corruption. And it is rife with inefficient state-run enterprises. Finally, there is the risk of decoupling: no longer a globally low-cost producer, and subject to frequent trade disruptions, investment is slowing and shifting.

The decline in Chinas economic growth has coincided with an increase in its belligerence. There are frequent clashes with its neighbors throughout the region. Its Belt and Road initiative aims at supplementing military might with economic resources. It increasingly partners only with other authoritarian pariahs: North Korea, Russia, and Iran. And there are unending threats against Taiwan.

Still with the worlds second-largest economy and a rapidly expanding military, Chinas increasingly authoritarian government has a slowing economy. Perhaps it also fears that its greatest growth is behind it. If so, could China join the descent of other authoritarian regimes?

Authoritarianism-adversity-adventurism: nowhere is this progression more dangerous than in todays case of China.
Armasight Jockey 640 Clip-On Thermal Optic is a compact, lightweight clip-on thermal unit that goes in front of any standard day optic to quickly convert your day rifle into a night ready. Rated for up to .308 Winchester, this little guy is a powerful tool for any hunter or tactical shooter.

The short and quick of it is that the Jockey 640 uses a QD mount made by American Defense to snap onto a standard 1913 Picatinny rail and uses the ArmaCORE 640 x 480 12um Thermal Core detector and a XGA OLED display for crisp thermal images. Human sized targets have a detection range of up to 932m.

Designed and built in Tempe, Arizona, every Armasight thermal unit is an American-made unit built for maximum durability and reliability. The Jockey 640 is one of Armasights smaller thermal units, but its just as robust.

ON THE RIFLE

The Jockey is everything that youve come to expect from Armasight thermal optics. 3-button design, easy-to-use menu with loads of options for what kind of thermal overlay is used, a 4x digital zoom, and a high-resolution screen that makes the most use of the ArmaCORE thermal core.

Less than a pound in weight, the Jockey doesnt add much bulk or heft to a rifle. The American Defense QD mount is one of the best on the market and makes taking the Jockey off just as easy as putting it on. The mount also returns to zero perfectly as long as you replace it in the same 1913 slot you zeroed it in. I find it easiest to mark the slot so I can make sure I get it right.

VERSITILITY

Something that helps the Jockey stand out is just how versatile it can be. Clip-on in front of an optic, standalone on a rifle using the digital reticle, but still light enough and small enough to be used as a handheld unit. Being able to fill all three roles in one unit gives the Jockey a surprising amount of coverage.

While the Jockey is mainly designed with an 1-6x LPVO in mind, it works with many other types of optics as well and comes with eyepiece attachments to mate with scopes with larger objective lens. These screw on/off quickly and simply. Change the eyepiece out for the right optic, and its easy to get the perfect fit no matter what kind of scope you use.

Using the Jockey as a handheld unit is just as easy; just switch out the eyepiece, and its ready to use.

SPECS

Detector Type: ArmaCORE 640 x 480 12um Thermal Core

Refresh Rate: 60 Hz

Thermal Sensitivity: NETD < 40mK

Detection Range: 932m on a Human Sized Target

Recognition Range: 233m on a Human Sized Target

Identification Range: 146m on a Human Sized Target

Exit Pupil: 25mm

Field of View: 17.6 x 13.2

Optical Magnification: 1x unity (recommended for daytime optics with 1x  6x magnification)

Digital Zoom: 1x  4x

Display: XGA (1024 x 768) OLED

Wireless: None

Graphics: Active On-Screen Graphics and Iconology

Recoil Rating: .308

Lens System: F/1.00; 25mm manual focus

Rear Collimator: f38mm

Diopter Adjustment: N/A

Power Supply: 2 x CR123A (3V) or 1 x 16650 (3V)

Battery Life: 4 hours at 20 C

Memory: 4 Hours of Video

Image Processing: Digital Enhancement

Environmental Rating: IP67

Operating Temperature: -40 C to +50 C (-40 F to + 122 F)

Dimensions: 147.07 x 77.22 x 77.72 mm / 5.79 x 3.04 x 3.06 in

Weight: 398g / 0.88lbs. w/o eyepiece cap, light suppressor or battery

Warranty: 3 years w/ registration

Color: Black

LOOSE ROUNDS

While not as large or powerful as the Armasight Operator 640 Clip-On, the Jockey brings a lot of bang for the buck while maintaining a smaller profile, making it a lighter and more handy option, especially on smaller rifles or being used as a handheld thermal.

Great image quality and rated for up to .308 Win recoil levels, the Jockey gets the job done without weighing you down. Overall, a very handy and helpful thermal sight.
Gross GST collection increased 7.5 per cent to about Rs 1.96 lakh crore in July on higher domestic revenues and taxes from imports.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff

Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up was Rs 1.82 lakh crore in July 2024.

Last month, the collection was Rs 1.84 lakh crore.

The gross domestic revenue grew 6.7 per cent to Rs 1.43 lakh crore, while tax from imports rose 9.5 per cent to Rs 52,712 crore.

GST Refunds shot up 66.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 27,147 crore.

The net GST revenue stood at Rs 1.69 lakh crore in July 2025, recording a 1.7 per cent year-on-year growth.

EY India Tax Partner Saurabh Agarwal said that despite some global pressures and temporary dips, the overall trend shows a stable consumption pattern and consistent growth trajectory of the economy.

"The government's timely refund process is also a great help to businesses, ensuring they have the working capital they need," Agarwal added.

Deloitte India Partner MS Mani said that in July, domestic refunds have more than doubled compared to the same month last year, and during the current year, refunds have increased by 46 per cent.

"The growth in state revenues amongst large producing and consuming states has been very low, ranging from 2 per cent (Delhi), 3 per cent (Gujarat), 4 per cent (Rajasthan), 6 per cent (Maharashtra), 7 per cent (Karnataka) and 8 per cent (Tamil Nadu).

"There are a few bright spots in terms of Punjab and Haryana, West Bengal (12 per cent), AP (14 per cent) and MP (18 per cent)," Mani said.

Price Waterhouse & Co LLP Partner Pratik Jain said that after a tepid growth in the previous month as well, the GST Council may like to discuss the possible measures to augment the revenues in the next meeting.

"With compensation cess going away, the states may also be a bit more concerned about the slowdown in GST collections," Jain added.
'The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products.'

IMAGE: Garment workers stitch shirts at a textile factory in Andhra Pradesh. Photograph: Samuel Rajkumar/Reuters

The 25% import duty on goods from India announced by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday may impact the margins of Indian exporters to a tune of 30% to 50%, said Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd.

Trump also announced levying a penalty on import of Indian goods for India buying Russian oil and defence equipment. He did not specify the penalty amount or the percentage.

'Around 30% to 50% of the tariff's impact is expected to be absorbed by Indian exporters, with the remainder falling on US importers and consumers; any rupee depreciation may cushion some of the pain for Indian exporters,' Anand Rathi said in a report on the impact of tariff announced by Trump.

Terming the 25% tariff as part of a broader US strategy of hard-nosed negotiations and not necessarily a final position, Anand Rathi said the episode underscores the need for India to diversify export markets and accelerate new trade agreements to reduce future vulnerabilities.

According to the Anand Rathi report, the development challenges India's policy of strategic autonomy -- prioritising national interest while balancing relations with the US, Russia, and others -- without succumbing to pressure.

The report pointed out India's carefully calibrated policy of strategic autonomy --prioritising national self-interest over ideological alignment.

'This has meant buying discounted Russian oil despite Western sanctions, continuing defence cooperation with Moscow, rejecting external mediation on its terms with Pakistan, and holding firm in trade negotiations with the US even under tariff threats.

'It has also meant embracing a leadership role in forums like BRICS, reshaping them into platforms for articulating the concerns of the Global South rather than echoing Western orthodoxy,' the report noted.

The announcement of a 25% US tariff on Indian exports marks a moment of reckoning for this posture.

The tariff decision by the US seems as much a negotiating ploy as a policy marker -- part punitive, part performative.

'There have been ample flip flops by the US on tariff issues relating to India. However, India is not alone here. The current US administration has done similar flip flops with most other major trade partners including Canada, China, EU and Mexico,' the Anand Rathi report noted.

"While Trump is talking tough, negotiations are still in progress. The biggest point of contention is market access for US agricultural and dairy products," said Aditi Raman, Associate Economist, Moody's Analytics.

India is concerned about the threat to livelihoods at home; agricultural workers make up 46% of the country's labour force.

Given that India opted not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2019 because it wanted to protect domestic industries, it is unlikely to now open the door to US competitors, Raman said.

According to Raman, both the countries have historically had a strong relationship. The US has increasingly relied on India as a counterbalance to China in the Asia-Pacific region, and the two countries are also part of a security alliance.

"It remains to be seen if India can leverage those ties to pull off a better deal," Raman said.

Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at venkatacharijagannathan@gmail.com

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
By threatening to punish India with high tariff, Trump is actually planting a tantalising thought in the Indian mind that the Modi government should suitably 'incentivise' him, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.

Photograph: Reuters/ANI Photo

Well-known author, fund manager and columnist for the Financial Times Ruchir Sharma wrote this week that the perception that US President Donald Trump's gambit with tariffs would have grave consequences have not really been borne out by economic data.

He says, 'so far, the consequences have been far less disruptive than just about anyone expected.'

'Tariff revenue is rolling in at an annual rate above $300 billion, roughly four times the pace this time last year,' Sharma, the head of Rockefeller Capital Management's international business, pointed out.

The Modi government has been optimistic that India would get away with a tariff between 10 and 15 percent.

Trump's Truth Social post on July 30 announcing punitive tariff of 25 percent on Indian products came as a rude shock.

The government's optimism was pinned on the hope that its 'Chanakyan' diplomacy would mellow Trump.

Delhi is gearing up to generate massive volumes of business for American arms vendors.

Just 24 hours before Trump's announcement, reports appeared that the Indian Air Force has recommended to the government that the US F-35 stealth fighter jets should be our preferred option as an interim platform until India can produce a fifth-generation Multi-Role Combat Aircraft.

The timing of the news report containing such Top Secret information was manifestly orchestrated to bring the seductive proposition to Trump's notice before August 1 in a gentle reminder that it was he who personally offered F-35 stealth fighter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office in February.

Delhi signals that with lightning speed, its ponderous bureaucracy is completing the paper work.

The Indian Defence Research Wing (DRW) website reported (external link), 'The IAF has recommended procuring 60 fifth-generation fighters as an interim measure until ... around 2035. The US-made Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a leading contender due to its combat-proven track record, high production rate (over 1,000 units globally), and advanced weaponry ... The Russian Su-57 E, while offered with technology transfer, has been criticised for its developmental shortcomings and limited induction in the Russian Air Force, making the F-35 the preferred choice, as per sources.'

The DRW praises F-35 as the talisman that 'will transform the IAF into a near-futuristic force by 2035.'

If the Modi government purchases 114 F-35s, we will be making a massive contribution to Trump's America First.

In our naivete, we believe that the F-35 Leak would lock in Trump forever as a friend of India.

But the cost of flying an F-35 fighter aircraft is $35,000 per hour -- Rs 2,800,000 per hour. The F-35 is the most expensive fighter aircraft in the world and the cost of one aircraft is approximately $110 million, or Rs 968 crore (Rs 9.68 billion).

And, of course, this price tag does not include the weapon package plus other repairs and servicing requirements through decades to come.

Unsurprisingly, the F-35 is a hugely controversial topic. The big question is, will Trump allow the IAF in the heat of the battle to deploy F-35s against Pakistan where his family members are reportedly digging a gold mine?

IMAGE: A US F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft takes off during Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Congress party pleaded (external link) that the PM should not take a 'unilateral stance' in the matter.

The Congress spokesman asked some searching questions: 'Did the American security agency 'Pentagon's report' itself admit that the F-35 fighter plane does not meet its operational requirements? Has the report of American security agency Pentagon admitted that F-35 has 65 operational flaws? Did Modiji study this Pentagon report and got the Indian Air Force to study this report?'

Indeed, a GoI decision will mean committing to the F-35 as the IAF's primary frontline fighter for decades to come.

Conversely, it also means phasing out the Russian-made combat aircraft from Indian inventory in a conceivable future.

Trump is a clever businessman. He has thrown a red rag at the excitable Indians, which kills three birds in a single shot.

By threatening to punish India with high tariff, Trump is actually planting a tantalising thought in the Indian mind that the Modi government should suitably 'incentivise' him.

Plainly put, he expects Modi to close the F-35 deal irrevocably.

In fact, the commerce ministry's supine reaction (external link) signals that the message has gone home.

Trump was a grandmaster in reality television and is the guru of all gurus in political theatre. What is Trump's real game plan?

Trump has literally made India's arms purchases and oil imports from Russia the central planks of his India policy.

He is confident he'll have his way with Modi government. From the high table, conceivably, he may throw a bone or two for the Indian peasant to chew, but that is for the optics -- and our government will probably hail it as success for Indian diplomacy.

Such a pantomime wouldn't be playing out today in a cynical fashion if only PM Modi had been candid and bold to trash Trump's claim to have collared India and Pakistan from committing harakiri in a nuclear conflagration.

Trump taunted Modi at least 28 times before making his move to bracket his mediation with trade.

The most dangerous part is Trump has linked the India-Russia relationship with his tariff war against India.

The US has tasted blood: India-Russia defence ties are atrophying rapidly.

Trump senses the time has come to go for the final kill.It is a geopolitical necessity for global balance.

In the looming confrontation between the US-led Collective West and Russia, Trump is threatening that if India does not join the western camp, there is going to be a heavy price to pay.

He may even sanction Indian entities and officials. Now, visa denial will be the unkindest cut of all for the Indian elite.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump shake hands at the White House, February 13, 2025. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

Yesterday, in a second post on Truth Social, Trump all but accused India of being Russia's ally: 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India... Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way... '

Trump's spiteful outbursts reveal quite a bit of unspoken truth. He has no respect for India, or the Modi government.

It is doubtful if he'd dare to speak about Indira Gandhi's India with such contempt.

There is something here to introspect seriously. What is this special relationship that our elites get so excited about?

Trump estimates that the Indian elites lack self-respect and grit to stand up to his bullying.

Self-respect, of course, is not a virtue that can be cultivated; it is an innate trait; some are born with it, most do not have it in a feudal society.

Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar served the Indian Foreign Service for 29 years.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
'We can't afford to fight each other.'

'We have to win the 2026 election.'

IMAGE: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, V D Satheesan, Shashi Tharoor and other party Kerala leaders at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

As the Congress-led United Democratic Front in Kerala gave the impression that it had kept groupism and Shashi Tharoor aside came the leaked phone conversation of Thiruvananthapuram District Congress Committee President Palode Ravi.

In the phone conversation, Ravi spoke about the possibility of the CPI-M Left Democratic Front returning to power in 2026, the BJP gaining considerably and the Congress faring poorly due to infighting and groupism. Ravi predicted that the Congress would come third in local body elections.

The leaked conversation embarrassed the Congress immensely and resulted in Ravi resigning as DCC president.

How will this affect the Congress and the UDF?

"We had a meeting in Delhi recently summoned by the Congress president and Rahulji where we expressed our opinion on the preparation of the elections, etc," Congress Legislature Party leader V D Satheesan, who is also leader of the Opposition in the Kerala assembly, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.

"All of us, all the leaders, made it very clear that none of us is claiming for chief ministership. Nobody will fight against each other. We are only fighting together!!"

How will Palode Ravi's leaked conversation affect the Congress?

What was leaked was only a part of, rather a selected version of what he said.

We listened to the entire conversation.

He was reprimanding the person for the infighting that was going on in the local area. What he said was, if they went on fighting at the local level, it would be disastrous for the Congress party.

According to me, he was telling them about the repercussions such infights would have on the party. He was making them understand the impact their fights would have in the local body elections. It was a message to the party workers at the bottom level.

Somebody edited his conversation and released selected portions to the media.

What splashed in the media looked like he was talking about the party and his predictions on the future of the party.

Though he didn't do anything wrong, he chose to resign as the DCC chief because it became big news in the media.

He was a very good DCC president and was doing good work.

He resigned taking moral responsibility. He said, let youngsters take over and lead now.

IMAGE: V D Satheesan speaks at a solidarity march by the District Congress Committee expressing solidarity with striking ASHA workers in Thiruvananthapuram, March 3, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

Does that mean there is lack of unity at the bottom level and also at the top level?

No, that is not the conclusion. In all political parties, there will be some problems at the booth level or at the district level or at the mandalam level. That is inevitable.

There is a hierarchy in the party and based on that, they settle all these issues.

It happens in all the organisations, not in political parties alone. Such problems are there in offices too. It may there in your office also (laughs). That is not unusual.

But what we do is we move ahead solving such issues.

You are saying, even if there are problems, they can be solved?

Yes. We have proven that we are better than the so-called cadre parties in the recent by-elections.

In Kerala, the BJP is supported by the RSS, a cadre-based organisation. And the CPI-M claims that they have a better cadre set-up.

But in the by-elections, we have proved that we have a better cadre system than any other cadre parties in Kerala.

We proved that in Nilambur recently.

We at the UDF are a confederation of many parties. But everybody realises that we work as a team. That's why we are called Team UDF now.

When we are in the field, we work as a single party, which is Team UDF!

Team UDF will be a model for the coalition set-up for the entire country.

IMAGE: V D Satheesan tweeted this picture: 'The LDF govt has crippled Kerala's health sector. Govt hospitals are in a pathetic state, with severe shortage of medicines and equipment. Inaugurated the protest by Ernakulam #DCC in front of Kalamassery Medical College demanding urgent action.' Photograph: Kind courtesy V D Satheesan/X

What about the rumours that within the Congress at the top level, there are still problems, and that there are many groups even today with many leaders aspiring to be the chief minister.

It is not true. We had a meeting in Delhi recently summoned by the Congress president and Rahulji where we expressed our opinion on the organisational set-up, preparation of the elections, etc.

All of us, all the leaders, made it very clear that none of us is claiming for chief ministership.

There are no chief minister candidates, including myself, because there is a procedure we follow in every state.

After the election, the AICC will send observers to Kerala and they will talk to every MLA. Then, the Congress president will declare the CLP leader.

So, right now, nobody is claiming to be the chief ministerial candidate.

I am the CLP leader now. I am also leader of the Opposition. I am not claiming that I am the CM candidate.

There is an internal arrangement in the party, and all of us will abide by that.

Nobody will fight against each other. We are only fighting together!!

For the first time in the history of Kerala, the LDF won consecutive elections. So, the coming election is very crucial for the Congress party.

Everybody has realised that. We cannot afford to fight each other.

We have to win the 2026 election.

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi felicitated by Congress MLA Chandy Oommen during the Oommen Chandy Smriti Sangamam at the St George Orthodox Church in Puthuppally, July 18, 2025. Photograph: AICC/ANI Photo

Won't the people want to know who the chief ministerial candidate will be?

You know the procedure followed by the Congress party. We don't go to the election with a chief minister's face. We had not declared the chief minister candidates in any of the states during the election.

There is no need to do so in Kerala also.

What we have now is collective leadership though I am the CLP leader and the LoP.

We will fight the election as a team. We will share our ideas, and then come to a decision on all matters.

Yes, we have a galaxy of good leaders.

Part II of the Interview: 'Kerala Is On A Ventilator'

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
SERANG, Indonesia, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia on Friday officially inaugurated the second phase of investment in PT Lami Packaging Indonesia (LamiPak Indonesia), a leading provider of high-quality, environmentally friendly aseptic packaging products and solutions.

Located in Serang Regency, Banten Province, the plant is the first aseptic packaging factory in Indonesia, producing such packaging end-to-end. It is also the first overseas expansion of the LamiPak Group, headquartered in Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu Province.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, along with officials from ministries and institutions, regional leaders, and representatives of packaging associations.

"This aseptic packaging factory is built on 16.2 hectares of land with a building area of over 55,000 square meters. Equipped with world-class machinery, it is the most advanced factory ever built by LamiPak. Following the installation of the new production line, our total annual capacity has increased from 12 billion packs to 21 billion packs," said Anton Hui, country managing director of LamiPak Indonesia.

LamiPak Indonesia began commercial production in 2024 with an initial capacity of 12 billion packs per year, serving the needs of the entire food and beverage industry in Indonesia. The factory currently employs 450 people and also produces paper straws as a complementary product.

"We are also proud that about 40 percent of our workforce comes from the Banten province," he said.

Minister Hartarto told reporters that the presence of the facility is capable of supporting President Prabowo Subianto's ambitious free nutritious meal program, locally abbreviated as MBG, across the country.

"As long as the MBG program provides beverages, of course this can be very beneficial," he said after visiting the manufacturing facility.

Launched early this year, the MBG program is already operational across 38 provinces in Indonesia. It is one of Prabowo's key initiatives, aiming to enhance nutrition for children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to high school level. 
'India did not surrender. That was why he wanted to pressurise India by this 25% tariffs.'

IMAGE: An electronic board being made at Fuji Electric India's newly inaugurated factory in Chennai. Photograph: ANI Photo

South Korea: 15%

EU: 15%

Japan: 15%

Philippines: 19%

Indonesia: 19%

Vietnam: 20%

UK: 10%

Mexico: 30%

Canada: 35%

India: 25%

These are the trade tariff rates imposed on various countries by United States President Donald John Trump.

There is an additional penalty for buying oil from Russia for India.

Though the trade negotiations between India and the US are still going on, from today Indian exporters have to pay 25% on all the goods exported to the US market.

How is this going to affect the Indian economy which Trump described as 'dead'?

"The US wants to India to relax its domestic policies. They want to operate in India. They want their companies like Amazon to have more facilities for operations. They want unlimited data flow for Google," Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, tells Rediff's Shobha Warrier.

25% tariff on all goods and a penalty for buying oil from Russia. Should India be worried? Or how much should India be worried?

There is no reason to worry.

We have to first understand that this is not the end of trade negotiations between the two countries.

India was the first country to start negotiating a trade deal with the US with the prime minister meeting the US president on the 13th of February.

Since then, many rounds of negotiations have taken place.

Though Trump has slapped 25% tariff and a penalty for buying oil from Russia, negotiations will continue.

What I want to say is that he expected India to surrender agriculture and the dairy sector like the EU or Japan did. But India did not surrender. That was why he wanted to pressurise India by this 25% tariffs.

With the 25% tariff in place from August 1, which sector in India is going to suffer the most? The textile sector?

Yes, the 25% blanket tariff without exemptions threaten the $25 billion exports to the US.

Most affected categories will be petroleum products, pharmaceuticals and electronics. Other sectors like engineering goods, electronics, and textiles will also to bear the brunt of the tariffs.

Jewellery cannot absorb 25% tariff. So, exports will decline.

We export $ 1billion worth shrimps to the US under a 15%-16% tariff. If 25% is added to it, it will be very high. So, they may buy from Canada if supplies are available from there.

This sweeping measure, part of a new executive order issued by President Trump on July 31, goes beyond mere tariff revision.

It places India among the most harshly treated countries in the new US tariff regime, offering no product level exemptions even for sectors deemed critical like pharmaceuticals, energy and electronics.

This blanket tariff, approved by President Trump, is one of the toughest trade actions the US has taken against a key trading partner in recent years.

What sets this action apart is that, unlike many other trading partners, India has been denied all product-level exemptions -- even for products and sectors, the US exempted goods from other countries.

These tariff exempted categories included finished pharmaceutical drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients and other key drug inputs; energy products such as crude oil, refined fuels, natural gas, coal, and electricity; critical minerals; and a wide range of electronics and semiconductors, including computers, tablets, smartphones, solid-state drives, flat panel displays, and integrated circuits.

These exclusions do not apply to India. Instead, India is subject to a flat 25% ad valorem duty across all goods, with no exceptions by product or sector.

The order mentions that tariffs may be reduced once countries do a deal with the US.

IMAGE: US President Donald John Trump delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, July 31, 2025. Photograph: Kent Nishimura/Reuters

Trump is not known for reasoning. In fact, he described India's trade policies as 'strenuous and obnoxious'...

It was his way of putting pressure on India so that India would surrender its agriculture and dairy.

I don't give much importance to his pressure tactics.

Do you think like the EU or Japan, India also will surrender agriculture and dairy sectors under pressure from Trump?

India has not surrendered so far, and that is why this problem.

But Europe, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, etc surrendered, and that was why a better deal was possible with those countries.

Agriculture and dairy have very strong red line for India. 700 million people depend on agriculture and it's their livelihood. If we surrender to the US, it will be a threat to their livelihood.

We are not talking about employment; we are talking about livelihood.

If there is no agriculture, what will they do? There are no industrial services.

The Indian government understands this and that's why they are keeping agriculture in the red line.

I think India will not open up the agriculture and dairy sectors.

Vietnam, after sacrificing its entire agriculture and industrial sector, has to pay 20% tariff.

We have not sacrificed anything, and we have to pay 25% tariff.

So, I am of the opinion that India is better off without a deal than countries which sacrificed heavily like the EU, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, etc.

I would put it this way. India without a trade deal is not worse off than countries with deals.

IMAGE: Ajay Srivastava IMAGE: Ajay Srivastava

Do you think how Trump reacted to India is more political than business-like?

It is not basically a trade deal.

It is something beyond a tariff cut.

The US wants to India to relax its domestic policies. They want to operate in India. They want their companies like Amazon to have more facilities for operations. They want unlimited data flow for Google.

So, it is beyond tariff, it is beyond trade. The US wants a big pie of the domestic economy.

Part 2 of the Interview: 'Trump Is Frustrated'

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
'Ordinary Indians are not happy with the tone and tenor of the American president.'

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha, July 29, 2025. Photograph: Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab

Rashtriya Janata Dal Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, who demanded passage of a resolution calling President Donald Trump the 'greatest liar of the 21st century', explains his rationale behind his proposal in this interview to Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.

During your speech in the Rajya Sabha on July 30, you demanded the passage of a resolution calling US President Donald Trump the 'greatest liar of the 21st century.'

Were you serious, or was this just a way to corner Prime Minister Modi?

I'll explain. If you look at my past speeches, I don't say things I don't mean. Every word in that speech was chosen deliberately.

What worried me was that this isn't just about the current prime minister. Mr Modi is prime minister today; tomorrow he may not be. Yesterday, the Congress was in power; today it's not. Political parties come and go. But India as a nation is perennial.

My concern was that the government is choosing to communicate through anonymous 'sources.' There should be direct communication.

In that context, I said that if the House wants (to call out President Trump's lies), the responsibility should be on the entire House. Then it (the resolution passed by Parliament) becomes the property of the House -- it transcends party lines. That was my intention.

And how did the treasury benches respond to your demand?

Well, the BJP MPs didn't thump their desks, which says something. But during my entire speech, not one of them objected. Some Opposition members did raise their hands. But let me tell you this: The fact that no one from the BJP objected also tells you something about what's going on deep inside the minds of ordinary members -- even on the treasury benches.

Could you explain why you think Trump deserves to be labeled the 'greatest liar of the 21st century'?

Why? Because just the other day, the prime minister was asked a direct question by Rahul Gandhi -- he was asked whether Donald Trump was lying (about prevailing upon India and Pakistan to announce a ceasefire). Mr Modi didn't say yes or no. Instead, he used an abstract phrase: 'No other world leader is saying this, only one leader is.'

At certain moments in history, you need to call things by their name. If I want to believe my prime minister -- and I do -- then why is the response to the American president filtered through anonymous sources or vague language?

In this context, I said that Trump has repeated this claim -- what, 31 or 32 times now? I've stopped counting. And even the prime minister said that no other world leader is saying this. That's telling. He didn't name Trump, but the implication was obvious.

Why is it important that Prime Minister Modi take Trump's name explicitly?

IMAGE: RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha speaks in the Rajya Sabha, July 31, 2025. Photograph: Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab

Because Trump is explicitly taking the name of India. He has even removed the hyphen between India and Pakistan -- that's not a small thing. If you heard my speech, you'll know I was deeply concerned about India's growing isolation on the global stage.

That's why I referred to the Bandung Conference -- it wasn't accidental. Every word of mine was carefully chosen. Back then, we were a newly independent, poor nation, but we had the courage to say to the world: 'Watch us, we mean business.' That spirit matters.

At the 1955 Bandung Conference newly independent nations like India, led by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, boldly refused to choose sides in the Cold War, creating the Non-Aligned Movement. Despite being poor and weak, they dared tell superpowers 'We'll chart our own course' -- that audacious spirit I believe is not being shown by Modiji when confronting Trump.

If such a resolution were to be passed unanimously, how would it help bring out the truth about under what circumstances India agreed to the ceasefire with Pakistan?

Watch Manoj Jha's Speech In Parliament.

It would help salvage India's image -- both at home and abroad. Even if some people aren't saying it out loud, I can tell you that ordinary Indians -- not corporate leaders, but the common man on the street -- are not happy with the tone and tenor of the American president.

Passing the resolution would send a clear message: We may not be as powerful as you, but we are Gandhi's nation. And we speak with truth and dignity.

Why do you think the Prime Minister Modi is hesitant to say that Trump is lying about his claim of bringing India and Pakistan to the negotiating table and work out a ceasefire?

I've known the prime minister (Modi) for a long time, but even I fail to understand this hesitation. It's puzzling. And frankly, it's not helping his image either. I don't know who is advising him to adopt this posture, but it's not working.

What does it say about India as a nation if we can't call out Trump's alleged lies?

Trump made a direct statement (about bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan). There should be a direct rebuttal (from the government that he is lying). But the prime minister has fallen short of that. It's not helping his stature either.

On a lighter note, there's a joke going around: After your speech, President Trump hit India with a 25% tariff plus penalty for buying oil from Russia. Is Trump seeking revenge for being called a liar in Parliament?

I don't think so. This isn't the first time an American President has been criticised in Parliament -- and they've heard worse. That's not the issue.

(After my speech) someone even joked that he (Trump) might deny me a US visa and I said, 'I don't want one!'
The Indian Embassy in Ireland on Friday issued an advisory expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently, states the advisory issued online.

The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours, the statement reads.

It also added emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.

The advisory follows a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as mindless, racist violence by locals.

The Gardai, as the police are known in Ireland, had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.

Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national happened in Tallaght, Dublin, Embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistances are being offered. Embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard, the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.

A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a vicious racist attack and to express solidarity with migrants to the region.

Earlier this week, a Dublin resident Dr Santosh Yadav took to his LinkedIn account online to post details of a brutal, unprovoked racist attack near his apartment.

Yadav, an entrepreneur and AI expert, stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for concrete measures from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin without fear.

His post reads: "After having dinner, I was walking near my apartment when a group of six teenagers attacked me from behind. They snatched my glasses, breaking them, and then beat me relentlessly across my head, face, neck, chest, hands, and legs, leaving me bleeding on the pavement. I managed to call the Gardai, and an ambulance took me to Blanchardstown Hospital. The medical team confirmed my cheekbone is fractured, and I have now been referred for specialist care."

"This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin  on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again."

Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month's attack.

People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills, he said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday cited a ruling by former Lok Sabha speaker Balram Jakhar, arguing why Parliament could not discuss the functioning of the Election Commission.

Photograph: Sansad TV/ANI Photo

Another day of the Monsoon session was washed out over the Opposition's demand that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be discussed in the two Houses.

Though Rijiju stressed that it was for the chairs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to take a call on the issue, indications emerged from official quarters that the government is unlikely to yield to the Opposition over an issue that has united the INDIA bloc parties in protest.

Jakhar, a late Congress veteran, was the speaker between 1980 and 1989, the last decade of the Congress majority in the Lok Sabha.

Rijiju said the SIR is part of the Election Commission's mandate. "This is not the first time the EC is doing it. Whether Parliament can discuss the EC's administrative work or not is for the Chair to decide in accordance with rules," he added.

He noted that a minister related to the issue in discussion generally replies to the concerns raised by members, and wondered who could do so in the case of the Election Commission, a constitutionally autonomous body.

What is not favoured by rules and convention cannot be discussed, he said.

The Opposition has accused the EC of acting at the behest of the government to benefit the ruling BJP in elections by allegedly removing voters sympathetic to them.

The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha has alleged that the poll body was indulging in "vote chori."

Since the session began on July 21, the Opposition's protest against the SIR and demand that it be discussed in Parliament has forced almost uninterrupted adjournments of the two Houses, barring the debate on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor stretching for two productive days.

The Opposition is likely to press its demand again on Monday and at the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee, which decides the agenda, of the two Houses.

Hitting out at the Opposition for disrupting Parliament, Rijiju said it is now allowing other members to raise their issues and then claims that it is not being allowed to speak.

The minister said vast resources, including manpower and money, are spent on running Parliament, but the Opposition's relentless protest has wasted them.

Every MP wants to raise an issue that he or she considers important, but opposition parties are now allowing them to ask questions of the government or give voice to their sentiments on key matters, he said.

"Crores of rupees are spent on running Parliament. The Congress and its allies should apologise to people for their conduct," Rijiju said.
An IndiGo passenger slapped a fellow passenger, who was on the aircraft aisle, onboard a flight from Mumbai to Kolkata on Friday, according to a source.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The incident happened in the flight 6E138 and after landing, the perpetrator was handed over to the security team at the Kolkata airport, the source said.

The perpetrator was also declared as unruly by the airline, the source added.

There was no official statement from IndiGo. The number of people onboard the aircraft was not immediately available.

The reason for the passenger slapping the fellow passenger was also not immediately known.

A video clip of the incident shared on social media showed a passenger sitting in his seat suddenly slapping another passenger on the aisle who started crying and was moved away from the spot.

Also, a cabin crew member is heard telling the passenger on the seat "don't do" while another passenger is heard asking why did he slap and that he does not have any right to hit anybody.

One of the passengers is also heard saying that the person who was hit was having a panic attack.

It could not be immediately ascertained whether the incident happened when the aircraft was preparing for takeoff or when it was mid-air.

The flight was operated with an Airbus A321 aircraft
A special court, in its acquittal order in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has highlighted a running battle between the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), pointing out stark contradictions in their probe.

IMAGE: Policemen stand guard at a blast site outside a mosque in Malegaon, 260 km northeast of Mumbai, September 29, 2008. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

In the over 1,000-page order, the judge noted that the ATS's charge sheet claimed the explosive device with RDX was fitted in a house in Pune which was in sharp contrast to the NIA's finding that the device was fitted to a motorbike in Indore and transported to Malegaon from the Sendhawa bus stand.

"Thus, there is a material variance in their charge sheets and both the investigation agencies are not consistent with each other on the material aspects like fitting, transporting and involvement of accused," said the judgement of special NIA judge A K Lahoti who acquitted all seven accused including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit in the case on Thursday.

The court also emphasised that a charge sheet's allegations are insufficient without supporting evidence. "The mere wording of charge sheet cannot be construed as conclusive proof," the judge remarked, adding that the prosecution bears the entire burden of proof in a criminal case and cannot rely on the weakness of the defence.

The judge reiterated the five "golden principles" for a conviction based on circumstantial evidence, which include conclusively establishing the circumstances, consistent facts, conclusive evidence and presenting a complete chain of evidence ensuring no reasonable doubt is left about the accused's innocence.

While the ATS first probed the September 29, 2008 blast in north Maharashtra's Malegaon that killed six persons and left 101 others injured, the NIA later took over the case.

Though the offences were against the security and integrity of the nation, "the law does not dilute the standard of proof", judge Lahoti said.

He was "fully aware of the degree of agony, frustration, and trauma caused to society at large and, more particularly, to the families of the victims by the fact that a heinous crime of this nature has gone unpunished", he acknowledged.

"No doubt, the terrorism has no religion because no religion in the world preaches violence. The court of law is not supposed to proceed on popular or predominant public perceptions about the matter," the judgment said.

The NIA, in its supplementary charge sheet, claimed that ATS officers had threatened some witnesses to falsely implicate the accused, it noted.

"The prosecution could not prove the (conspiracy) meetings held at alleged places among the accused were with the objective to commit alleged illegal activities...," it said.

On the allegation by an accused that senior ATS officers had directed one of the investigating officers Mehboob Mujawar to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the court said it did not find any force in this contention.

The motorbike allegedly used in the crime was damaged only in the bottom portion and was in half-burnt condition, and the prosecution's case that the bomb was fitted to the bike was mere guesswork, the court held.

The court also took note of the fact that the NIA, after taking over the probe, exonerated Pragya Singh Thakur.

As per the ATS, Lt Col Purohit had got the RDX from Kashmir where he was posted as an army officer, stored it in his house, assembled the bomb and handed it over to an absconding accused who then planted it on the motorbike. The NIA, however, claimed that the bomb was fitted to the two-wheeler in Indore, and it was then brought to Malegaon, the judgement pointed out.

There was no evidence to show that the RDX was procured by Purohit and assembled into a bomb, and the same was used in the blast, the court said.

The prosecution claimed that the accused were members of the rightwing group `Abhinav Bharat', but the outfit has not been banned or declared as a terror group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, it said.

A sanction was granted to invoke the UAPA without proper judicious application of mind, and hence it was invalid, the court said.
A special court in Mumbai, in its judgment acquitting seven persons in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case raised serious concern over allegations made by the accused as well as witnesses that they were tortured and illegally detained by Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad officers.

IMAGE: Residents and police officers clear debris at a blast site in Malegaon, about 260 km northeast of Mumbai, September 30, 2008y. Photograph: Reuters

The ATS had first probed the case after which it was handed over to the National Investigation Agency.

The court in its 1036-page judgment, which was made available on Friday, said almost all witnesses during the course of evidence deposed that they had not given their statements voluntarily but that these were taken under coercion by ATS officers.

"Several witnesses alleged they were subjected to torture, ill-treatment and unlawful detention during the course of investigation," the judgment said.

While prosecution had claimed these witnesses did not lodge formal complaints against the ATS officers, the court noted that absence of formal complaints cannot be grounds to dismiss their testimony as false or unreliable.

The court added that two prime investigating agencies were involved in the case but allegations of misconduct, torture and illegal detention have been leveled only against the ATS officers and not those from the NIA.

"This raises serious concern over the credibility of the evidence collected by the ATS during its investigation," the court said.

The court said a copy of its judgment shall be forwarded to the Director General of ATS and also the NIA for perusal and necessary action.

On Thursday, special NIA Judge A K Lahoti acquitted all the seven accused in the case, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The verdict came 17 years after an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others.
Wading into the political slugfest over the alleged harassment of Bengali migrant workers in other parts of the country, noted economist Amartya Sen said every citizen of India has the freedom to go wherever they want, and any effort to curb that must be objected to.

IMAGE: Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen. Photograph: ANI Photo

Speaking to reporters at his ancestral home in Santiniketan, Sen said it doesn't matter whether a person is a Bengali, Punjabi or a Marwari, the freedom to go wherever he wants and speak whichever language he wants is his constitutional right.

"An Indian citizen has the right of movement in the entire country. There is no mention of territorial rights anywhere in our Constitution," he said.

"Every citizen of India has the right to be happy. We have to respect everyone...," he said on Thursday, responding to a question from reporters on the issue that has rocked the state.

Sen said if Bengalis are being tortured and neglected, it must be objected to.

"It is not a question of Bengal alone, but the whole country," he added.

"The language that was integrated with 'Charyapad' (Bangla), its value must be acknowledged. Various poems have been written in that language. The messages of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam have been laid out very clearly in their works. These values must be acknowledged," he said.

The Trinamool Congress has been raising its voice over the last one month, alleging that Bengali-speaking people, especially poor Muslim migrant workers, are being harassed in BJP-ruled states and being branded illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has led a mega rally in Kolkata over the issue last month, and also started 'Bhasa Andolan', sharpening her attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP, on the other hand, has dismissed the allegations, claiming that the TMC did not think about the welfare of migrant workers over the last 14 years, and was now raising the issue with an eye on next year's assembly elections in the state.
Bharatiya Janata Party state chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said the arrest of two nuns in Chhattisgarh over allegations of human trafficking and forced conversion was due to a 'misunderstanding' and that they will be released on bail soon.

IMAGE: Opposition MPs from Kerala protest against the Chhattisgarh government after two nuns from Kerala were arrested in Durg on charges of trafficking and religious conversion, in New Delhi on Monday. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

Chandrasekhar made the statement after meeting with Archbishop of Trichur Andrews Thazhath, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), to brief him that the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister have assured the nuns would be released on bail.

The BJP state president said that both the PM and HM assured him that the state government will not oppose the bail pleas of the nuns.

"It is a judicial process. Let it happen. I only want to say that don't politicise the issue. We are not seeing it as politics. We are only trying to help the people. This was a misunderstanding," he contended.

Chandrasekhar said that there is a law regulating private placement agencies in Chhattisgarh which requires that young women moving from one district to another for jobs have to register on a portal.

"That was not done. Hence, the misunderstanding and the subsequent police action."

The BJP leader also urged that the issue not be politicised.

"We do not see the issue as a political one," he said.

He also termed as a 'political drama' the protests recently outside the Durg sessions court in Chhattisgarh and the jail where the nuns were kept.

Chandrasekhar, in an apparent reference to the Congress-Left protests there, claimed that it was due to the 'drama' outside the sessions court that the case was transferred to an NIA court.

On the other hand, the Congress-led UDF slammed the ruling BJP government at the Centre, accusing it of "encouraging" the attacks against the Christian community across the country.

"It is the BJP government in Chhattisgarh which arrested the nuns in the first place," Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly, V D Satheesan told media.

He alleged that attacks against the Christian community were on the rise across the country and that is why the UDF in 2023 had termed BJP leaders' visits to churches during Christmas as "wolves in sheeps clothing going to churches with cakes".

"Now the church itself is saying not to come with cakes," he claimed.

He also rejected the BJP allegations that no Congress leaders or MPs from Chhattisgarh were part of the protests seeking release of the arrested nuns.

Satheesan said all senior Congress leaders and MPs from that state were part of the protests.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Thazhath, after the meeting with the BJP state chief, told reporters the church wants the nuns to be released on bail during the day.

He said it was 'painful' to hear about the action taken against the nuns.

The Archbishop also said he informed Chandrasekhar about the increasing attacks on the Christian community in the country and the need to ensure their security.

The BJP leader, on Thursday, had met with Mar Raphael Thattil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, and informed him of the concrete steps taken to secure the early release of the nuns, according to a release by the church.

Chandrasekhar had also informed the Archbishop about the assurances given by the PM and HM regarding the issue.

His visits to the Syro-Malabar Church and the CBCI chief come in the wake of a powerful body of senior Catholic clergy in Kerala indirectly cautioning the BJP that any prospective friendship would depend on securing justice for the two nuns.

Nuns Preethi Merry and Vandana Francis along with Sukaman Mandavi were arrested at Durg railway station on July 25 following a complaint by a local Bajrang Dal functionary who accused them of forcibly converting three girls from Narayanpur and trafficking them.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Friday that some MPs moved aggressively in Rajya Sabha to prevent its proceedings, prompting marshals to stop them, as he asserted that it is not the government but for the respective Chair of the two Houses to take measures he deems fit.

IMAGE: Rajya Sabha deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh conducts the proceedings of the house during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, August 1, 2025. Photograph: Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab

His reaction came after Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raised strong objections to the presence of security personnel, including the Central Industrial Security Force, in the well of the House, alleging Opposition MPs were being prevented from raising issues.

Rijiju said CISF personnel are part of the security apparatus after the incident of two intruders jumping into Lok Sabha and opening smoke canisters, adding that there have been cases of MPs even climbing over the secretariat table within the House.

He said he is eliciting information from Rajya Sabha as to exactly what happened, assuring opposition parties that he will consult the Chair if they have any issue.

The minister said what he had gathered is that some MPs stepped aggressively out of their seats to disrupt proceedings.

Nothing will be done that comes in the way of MPs using their privilege or taking up their issues but they also have no right to prevent others from speaking and snatching the rights of other members, he added.

"Parliament security is a serious issue overseen by the Chair and not government," he said.

Asked about Kharge's objections to the presence of CISF, one of the central armed police forces brought in to oversee overall security mechanism following the December 2023 incident of intrusion, the minister said the security system has been updated after "some ugly incidents".

He said, "Certain decisions were taken. The administrative mechanism within the premises of Parliament is not under the government of India so I cannot exactly comment on what should be done."

In a letter to Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Kharge said he was shocked and astonished to see CISF personnel made to run in the House when members are exercising their democratic rights.

Writing on behalf of the Opposition parties, the Leader of Opposition said, "We are astonished and shocked at the manner in which CISF personnel are made to run into the well of the House when the members are exercising their democratic rights of protest."

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have seen frequent interruptions since the Monsoon session began on July 21, with opposition members raising slogans and often trooping into the well to protest the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The two Houses have seen regular adjournments, barring the discussion on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.
SHIJIAZHUANG, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese vice premier Zhang Guoqing arrived in Xinglong County of north China's Hebei Province on Friday to visit disaster-hit residents and guide relief and recovery efforts.

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visited the hardest-hit villages, temporary shelters, and a hospital, entrusted with the task by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

He stressed the need for disaster-affected areas to make full use of specialized teams and equipment, and to continue all-out efforts to search for missing persons.

With more rainfall expected, he called for strengthened monitoring and early warning systems to guard against secondary disasters such as landslides, collapses, and mudslides.

He called on relevant departments to promptly allocate relief supplies, release emergency funds, and expedite insurance advance payments and claims.

Zhang also urged enhanced coordination in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in flood prevention and disaster mitigation, and special attention to vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the sick, and people with disabilities to ensure their timely and safe evacuation. 
Asking the complainant's lawyer "why be so touchy", the Supreme Court on Friday extended the stay on trial court proceedings against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in a defamation case filed for his alleged "scorpion on Shivling" remark targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

IMAGE: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, July 29, 2025. Photograph: Sansad TV/ANI Video Grab

A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh passed the order after adjourning the matter on the request of Tharoor's lawyer.

The lawyer appearing for the complainant, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajeev Babbar, sought a hearing on a non-miscellaneous day.

"What non-miscellaneous day? Why do you want to be so touchy about all this? Let us close all this," the bench said, as it posted the matter for hearing on September 15.

Tharoor moved the top court against the Delhi high court's August 29, 2024, order, which refused to quash the defamation proceedings against him, asking him to appear before the trial court on September 10.

Tharoor's counsel previously argued that neither the complainant nor the members of the political party could be called an aggrieved party.

The counsel also said that Tharoor's comment was protected under the immunity clause of the defamation law, which stipulates that any statement made in "good faith" is not criminal.

Tharoor was stated to have merely made a reference to an article published in the Caravan magazine six years prior to making the statement.

The top court had expressed surprise that in 2012, when the article was originally published, the statement was not deemed defamatory.

"Eventually, it is a metaphor. I have tried to understand. It refers to the invincibility of the person referred to (Modi). I do not know why somebody has taken objection here," Justice Roy had said earlier.

While refusing to quash the proceedings against Tharoor, the high court had said, prima facie, imputations like "scorpion on Shivling" against the prime minister were "despicable and deplorable".

It said that prima facie, the remark defamed the prime minister, the BJP as well as its office-bearers and members.

The high court also said there was sufficient material before the judicial magistrate for summoning Tharoor under Section 500 (punishment for defamation) of the IPC.

The complainant alleged that his religious sentiments were hurt by the Congress leader's remark.

In October 2018, Tharoor reportedly claimed that an unnamed RSS leader had compared Modi to "a scorpion sitting on a Shivling".

The Congress leader purportedly said it was an "extraordinarily striking metaphor".
Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said, claiming that the United States President ended several conflicts around the world including the one between India and Pakistan.

IMAGE: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2025. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a 'full and immediate' ceasefire after a 'long night' of talks mediated by Washington, DC, he has repeated his claim on several occasions that he helped settle the tensions between the two countries.

At a White House press briefing on Thursday, Leavitt said that Trump has 'now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo and Egypt and Ethiopia.'

She said that the president has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office.

"It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," she said.

Trump has repeated his claim nearly thirty times that he 'helped settle' the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a 'lot of trade' with them if they stopped the conflict.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Parliament this week that no leader of any country asked India to stop Operation Sindoor.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday categorically said there was no third-party intervention in bringing about a ceasefire with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, asserting that the halting of the military action was also not linked to trade as claimed by Trump.

Intervening in the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in the Rajya Sabha, Jaishankar said Prime Minister Modi and Trump did not have any phone calls between April 22, when the Pahalgam terror attack took place, and June 16.
An irate mob vandalised properties and indulged in arson in Yavat in Pune's Daund tehsil on Friday afternoon over an objectionable post allegedly uploaded on social media by a youth from a different community, police officials said.

Photograph: / Rediff.com IMAGE: Police conduct a flag march in Yavat village after a clash breaks out between two groups, in Pune, Maharashtra, August 1, 2025.

A motorcycle was set ablaze and a bakery was damaged, the officials said, adding teargas shells had to be lobbed to bring the situation under control amid large mobs taking to the streets to vent their ire.

There is heavy police presence in the village at the moment and peace and order has been restored, these officials said.

The youth, who hails from outside the village, had kept an objectionable Whatsapp post, and he has been detained, Sandip Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police (Pune Rural), told PTI.

"On being alerted, we detained the youth and the process of taking action was underway. However, by then the post went viral, leading to trouble in the village already tense due to some previous incidents. The mob vandalised structures belonging to members of the opposite community hailing from outside," Gill said.

A Yavat police station official said a youth had allegedly desecrated the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on July 26, which had angered residents.

"Though there was some tension in the locality, the situation was under control since the person who committed the act was arrested at the time. Even a Hindu Jan Akrosh morcha held in Yavat on Thursday went off peacefully," he said.

"The objectionable post by a youth now sparked off fresh tension. Mobs hit the streets and resorted to the vandalism, targeting makeshift religious structures, houses, shops and vehicles of the opposite community, who are basically not natives of the village and have come from outside to earn their livelihoods," he added.

To bring the situation under control, police resorted to lathi charge and lobbing of teargas shells, the official said.

"The process to register cases in connection with the incident is underway," the Yavat police station official informed.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was in Pune to attend an event, said a youth, who hails from outside, had put up an objectionable post about a Hindu priest raping someone, which angered residents.

"To disperse the mob, police had to resort to lathi charge. The situation in Yavat is now under control and peace prevails. People from both communities are together and efforts are on to defuse tensions. Some persons keep such objectionable posts just to create tension. Strict action will be taken against them. No one has the right to post objectionable content," the CM said.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who visited the site, said the youth who allegedly uploaded the objectionable Whatsapp post hails from Nanded and is a daily wage labourer.

"He put out an objectionable post related to an incident that took place in Madhya Pradesh. This angered locals and they resorted to vandalism. The situation is now under control and police are maintaining a close watch. No one should spread rumours or misinformation," Pawar said.
Elihu Yale rose up the ranks of the East India Company to become governor of Madras and is the controversial benefactor after whom the famed Yale University is named.

IMAGE: Portrait of Elihu Yale at the Yale University Gallery. Photograph: Yale University Art Gallery/ Wikimedia Commons

Elihu Yale, the controversial benefactor after whom one of the world's premier universities is named, was a resident of Madras for nearly thirty years.

Yale arrived at Fort St George after a six-month voyage and began life in Madras as a clerk for the East India Company.

He rose up the ranks to become governor of Fort St George, the fortress that served as the lucrative outpost of the East India Company in 1687.

His name pops up in the museum at Fort St George where among the displayed porcelain and silverware used by the Nawabs of Arcot and East India Company are pieces donated by Elihu Yale.

IMAGE: Porcelain with the emblem of the East India Company displayed at the Fort St George museum, in Chennai. Photograph: Archana Masih/Rediff

Five years after becoming governor, Yale was removed for corruption and misappropriation of company funds. He was forced to pay a fine for his misdemeanour, but still managed to make a sizeable fortune.

In the fort complex is the St Mary's Church, the oldest church built by the British in India. The first wedding to be registered in the church was Elihu Yale's with Catherine Hynmers, a widow.

An American by birth, the Boston-born Yale moved to England as a child.

He returned to England from India in 1699 as a very rich man and set himself in a grand mansion in London. He became a successful diamond trader.

IMAGE: Register of christening and marriages at St Mary's Church inside Fort St George. Photograph: Archana Masih/Rediff

In 1713, he donated 32 books to the Collegiate School at Saybrook, the precursor to Yale. He made another donation in 1718 when he got the hint that the school which had by then moved to New Haven could be named after him if he made a second donation.

Yale sent hundreds of books, rich textiles, merchandise from the east and a portrait of King George I. On his instructions, the school sold the gifts for 800 pounds to construct a three-storied building called Yale College.

The institution was named Yale University in 1745, the third oldest university in America.

IMAGE: The docks at Fort St George, the oldest fortress built by the British in India. Photograph: Archana Masih/Rediff

Minutes of the East India Company's correspondences which were made available digitally in 2022 and investigations by later historians reveal that Elihu Yale had links with the slave trade.

The university launched the Yale and Slavery Research Project in 2020 to investigate the institution's historical involvement with slavery.

'Some portion of Elihu Yales fortune is derived from his commercial entanglements with the slave trade. As the governor of Madras for the East India Company, he had a direct role in the trafficking of enslaved people,' read the report.

Yale University issued an apology in February last year 'for the ways that Yale's leaders, over the course of our earlier history participated in slavery.'

The project quotes a statement by Franklin Dexter on Elihu Yale, saying, 'he left a record of arrogance, cruelty, sensuality, and greed.'
Over 2000 shells glimmer on the skyline of Bellows Falls during the annual Rockingham Old Home Day on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.
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MANCHESTER  Orvis will cut 4 percent of its workforce by the end of 2025. This is the key news emerging from a statement released by Simon Pe
GUANGZHOU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- In the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, the future of urban mobility is arriving ahead of schedule.

Upon arrival at Baiyun International Airport, a simple online reservation summons a driverless taxi to the curb. Within the city, autonomous minibuses shuttle passengers around landmarks like the Canton Tower, while low-altitude flight routes are set to bring "air buses" into everyday use.

Since February this year, Pony.ai, a Guangzhou-based robotaxi service provider, has run a robotaxi line between the city's downtown area, the airport and the high-speed rail hub. Riders notice the calm: no lurching stops, no creeping over crosswalks, just a spacious cabin gliding at a measured pace.

"Our fares match ordinary taxis," said Chen Haosheng, a staff member of Pony.ai. "Each car now handles up to 15 trips a day, and demand keeps rising." The difference is invisible -- dozens of radars and high-definition cameras, not a human hand, judge every lane change.

Another Guangzhou-based tech firm, WeRide, has launched its autonomous minibus service at the Canton Tower. The futuristic service has become a must-try for tourists visiting Guangzhou.

The 9-kilometer Canton Tower loop, operating 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, carried 1.13 million passengers over 2.01 million kilometers from December 2023 to the end of 2024.

As of the end of April 2025, 12 similar driverless bus routes have served 1.17 million riders safely and logged 2.17 million kilometers across Guangzhou, said the city's bus authorities.

The launch of these demonstration routes highlights Guangzhou's steady progress in autonomous driving policies.

As one of the earliest cities in China to explore autonomous driving, Guangzhou offers a rich variety of road test scenarios, creating a favorable environment for the application and demonstration of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs).

Since 2018, Guangzhou has been actively developing the ICV market, introducing policies and standards related to road testing, demonstration applications and operation, and gradually opening up its urban roads.

The city is also expanding the boundaries of autonomous driving by actively developing "air transportation." In late March, EHang Intelligent, a Guangzhou-based drone maker, obtained the operation certificate for autonomous passenger drones from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). This means that consumers will soon be able to purchase tickets at designated operating spots in Guangzhou to experience low-altitude tours, city sightseeing, and a variety of commercial passenger services.

The carrier, EH216-S, developed by EHang, is a pilotless electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It has completed more than 60,000 safe flights worldwide and can be applied in scenarios such as manned transportation, air tours, air logistics, and even emergency medical response.

"In the future, aircraft will have fixed stations like buses, and these stations will be very close to people's homes and travel destinations. People will also be able to book an aircraft via their mobile phones," said Xue Peng, vice president of EHang Intelligent.

According to Guangzhou's low-altitude economy development plan released in May 2024, by 2027, the overall scale of Guangzhou's low-altitude economy is expected to reach 150 billion yuan (about 21 billion U.S. dollars), with commercial manned flight operations being one of the core directions.

Data released by the CAAC shows that by 2025, the market value of the low-altitude economy sector is expected to reach 1.5 trillion yuan, and could soar to 3.5 trillion yuan by 2035. 
Theres mixed news for anyone worried that AI is about to wipe out a swathe of todays well-paid IT jobs: according to a Microsoft Research study of real-world Copilot use, IT roles will be among the most affected by the technology.

Whats less clear is whether applying AI to IT will mean that specific roles disappear. Its just as likely that AI will change the way IT people do their jobs rather than remove the need for them, the study suggested.

Being Microsofts inhouse chatbot, it makes sense that the authors of Measuring the Occupational Implications of Generative AI would choose to study Copilots effects. Since its integrated into Microsoft 365, the Edge browser, and the Bing search engine, it is probably the most widely used AI in offices across the US and beyond.

The study analysed 200,000 anonymised conversations between US users and the Bing Copilot during 2024, in combination with 100,000 interactions drawn from the Copilot user feedback database. From this, the team calculated how Copilot was being applied across a wide range of job roles, relating this to how effectively it performed specific tasks within these roles.

As one might expect, computing roles scored highly for AI applicability. Put another way, AI can be used to do a lot of things in IT that are done by people today. However, there are important caveats. The study only looked at data for Copilot accessed through Bing search. Other LLMs might have had a much greater or lesser impact.

Similarly, analysing occupations by breaking them down into individual work activities only gives a partial view of what a job entails. Many roles assume skills and actions not explicitly mentioned in a job description.

The issue of how Copilot is used is also worth underlining. It is a tool used predominantly by office workers, so tells us little about the effect of AI on coding, IT support, or cybersecurity, all of which could be hugely affected by more specialised tools.

What is not clear is whether automating a job role makes it obsolete. The researchers offer the interesting example of the advent of ATMs in the 1970s, which should have reduced the need for bank tellers. In fact, the number of bank tellers increased as banks opened more branches and started using tellers to perform more complex customer banking tasks beyond simple deposit processing.
An appeals court in Bosnia-Herzegovina has confirmed a prison sentence for Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik for disregarding the decisions of an international peace envoy, a charge the pro-Russia nationalist politician has dismissed as politically motivated.

Dodik was appealing a sentence handed to him in February for defying the Constitutional Court as well as the peace envoy. It included a one-year prison term that under Bosnia's legal system may be exchanged for a fine, as well as a six-year ban on political activities.

"I do not accept the verdict," Dodik told reporters. "I will seek help from Russia and I will write a letter to the US administration."

Goran Bubic, Dodik's lawyer, said they would appeal the ruling to the Constitutional Court and seek a delay of the implementation of the verdict pending the appeal.

The European Union, which Serbia seeks to join, said the ruling "must be respected."

"The EU calls on all parties to acknowledge the independence and impartiality of the court, and to respect and uphold its verdict," the European Union's diplomatic service said of the prison sentence.

The furor around Dodik has ignited a major political crisis in the EU membership hopeful, which is often referred to as the world's most complex democracy.

Since the Dayton peace agreement, which was signed in 1995 and ended the war in Bosnia, the country has consisted of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the ethnic Serb-dominated Republika Srpska under a weak central government.

While Republika Srpska can pass laws on internal matters, state-level laws and institutions remain supreme according to the constitution.

The Office of the High Representative (OHR) oversees the implementation of civilian aspects of Dayton. Dodik, who is currently under US and U.K. sanctions for actions that Western governments say are aimed at the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia, has refused to implement several orders from the OHR.
Welcome back to the Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Kian Sharifi. In this edition, Im delving into why Iranian authorities are cutting off mobile service to citizens who post critical content online, and what theyre demanding to restore access.

What You Need To Know

 Iran Requires Praise Online To Regain SIM Access: The Islamic republic is cutting off cell service for Iranians who criticize the state online. To get reconnected, some have been told to post messages supporting the political establishment, RFE/RLs Radio Farda has learned.

 Controversial 'Fake News' Bill Withdrawn: The Iranian government has withdrawn a controversial fake news bill following a strong backlash over its threat to free speech. Critics dubbed it the bill of suffocation, warning that vague terms like disturbing public opinion could justify harsh crackdowns on dissent and journalism. The bill, co-drafted by the government and judiciary, had been fast-tracked in parliament and proposed prison terms of up to 15 years for spreading false information, penalties harsher than those for some serious crimes.

 Iranian Shipping Network Hit With Major US Sanctions: The US Treasury this week sanctioned over 50 individuals and entities. It also identified more than 50 ships tied to a vast shipping network run by Hossein Shamkhani, a son of senior Iranian official Ali Shamkhani. The United Stated accuses the younger Shamkhani of exploiting his father's political clout to build a massive fleet of tankers and cargo ships, moving oil and goods from Iran, Russia, and beyond, earning billions. Irans Foreign Ministry has condemned the move, calling it a crime against humanity and a violation of international law.

The Big Issue

Speak Out, Lose Service

Over the past year, and with renewed intensity this summer, Iranian authorities have ramped up a quiet but powerful method of pressuring citizens: blocking their SIM cards if they criticize the government on social media.

The targets? Not just journalists and activists, but academics and everyday users too. The pattern is clear: post something critical on platforms like Instagram or X, and you could suddenly lose mobile service. That means no calls, no texts, and in some cases, no access to banking or even ride-hailing apps.

To get reconnected, users say theyre required to delete the offending content, sign pledges to avoid future criticism, and in some cases, publish pro-Islamic republic posts.

Why It Matters: Legal experts say this tactic is both illegal under Iranian law and a clear violation of international norms. Some see this as an extension of the post-2022 crackdown on dissent and a warning to anyone who dares speak up.

The implications go far beyond speech. Losing your SIM card in Iran means being cut off from basic digital infrastructure -- a powerful form of pressure in a country where censorship already runs deep.

Its no surprise Iran ranks near the bottom in global freedom indices. In its latest report, Freedom House cited vague laws, harsh penalties, and online surveillance as key reasons Iranians are increasingly afraid to speak openly, even in private.

What's Being Said: Take the case of Ali Akbar Gorji, a law professor at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University. His SIM card was shut off after he commented on Irans tensions with Israel. He told the Shargh newspaper that officials demanded the removal of his posts, but Radio Farda has learned that he was also told to post 20 times in support of the state.

Others shared similar stories with Radio Farda. One academic had to erase posts dating back to the 2022 "Women, Life, Freedom" protests. A user named Foad Ahmadi said authorities claimed he supported Israel, and as a result, not only lost mobile service, but also access to his bank account and everyday apps.

Expert Opinion: Actions like blocking SIM cards or user accounts without filing a case or issuing a court ruling are clear violations of basic legal principles, including the separation of powers, the principle of legality, the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial, Mohammad Hadi Jafarpour, a lawyer, wrote.

That's all from me for now.

Until next time,

Kian Sharifi

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday.
China and Russia have kicked off joint naval exercises near the coast of the Russian port city of Vladivostok as the two countries continue to deepen their ties through military cooperation.

The five-day exercises that opened on August 1 have been dubbed Maritime Interaction 2025 and will see naval forces from both countries training in anti-submarine warfare, air defense, search-and-rescue operations, and joint gun exercises, according to a statement from Russias Pacific Fleet.

The first two days consisted of land-based drills near Vladivostok and on August 3, the Russian and Chinese navies started carrying out live-fire artillery and anti-submarine drills off the coast in the Sea of Japan. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted the Pacific Fleet as saying Russian and Chinese vessels were moving in a joint detachment including a large Russian anti-submarine ship and two Chinese destroyers.

The drills are annual naval exercises between Chinese and Russian forces that are part of an accelerating trend of strengthening security ties through bilateral and multilateral exercises. According to The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, Beijing and Moscow have carried out 113 combined exercises since 2003.

But in a sign of the quickening pace of their cooperation, half of that total has taken place in the last six years alone. China-Russia joint exercises have a wide geographic reach but have become especially concentrated in the Pacific in recent years. Increasing tension around Taiwan and threats coming from North Korea risk transforming the region into a future flashpoint.

"The international society is in a new crisis era as it faces the biggest challenges since the end of World War II, Japans Defense Ministry said in an annual report released in July that cited Chinas growing military cooperation with Russia and an escalating US-China rivalry as chief security concerns for the region.

How Does China-Russia Security Cooperation Affect The Pacific?

China's Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said that the August 1-5 drills are not aimed at any other country or related to the current international or regional situation, but Japan has continued to warn that the tightening cooperation could lead to growing tensions in the future.

In its annual defense report, Tokyo said that some of Russias newest military hardware has been deployed to the Pacific and that Moscow has added troops, missiles, and warplanes to islands north of Japan, which the Soviet Union took toward the end of World War II, but which Japan says are sovereign Japanese territory illegally occupied by Russia.

Tokyo also says that Russia maintains active military operations around Japan and has violated its airspace. In light of these developments, Japan's Defense Ministry warned in July that increased strategic cooperation between Beijing and Moscow -- including enhanced military exercises -- pose strong concern for the countrys security.

Japan also recently echoed similar concerns raised in the past by the European Union and Asian governments like Taiwan and the Philippines that Russias three-and-a-half-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Beijings continued economic and political backing for Moscow amid the war, could negatively affect the security situation in Asia.

The security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific is inseparable, the Japanese Defense Ministry report said, warning that a Ukraine-like war is possible in the region without going into specifics.

Why Are China and Russias Militaries Training Together?

While China and Russia do not have a formal military alliance, CSIS noted in its report tracking China-Russia military cooperation that joint exercises are a newer and thriving element of China-Russia military ties and a driver behind the strengthening of China-Russia relations in recent years that bring several benefits, particularly for Beijing.

According to the study, enhanced exercises allow the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), Chinas military, to gain valuable experience operating with the far more experienced Russian military and afforded the PLA opportunities to practice maneuvering in a variety of geographies and climates far from Chinas borders.

An analysis published in May by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), a Berlin-based think tank, also noted that the growing number of exercises serve operational purposes while also signalling political alignment against regional rivals as both Beijing and Moscow look to challenge the United States and its allies in the Pacific and elsewhere.
US President Donald Trump said he is moving two nuclear submarines to regions near Russia following doomsday threats related to the war in Ukraine from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that the move was a precaution in case Medvedev's "foolish and inflammatory statements" were more than just rhetoric.

"Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances," Trump added, calling Medvedev a "failed" former president.

Later, in an interview with Newsmax, Trump said in reference to moving the submarines, "We had to do that. We just have to be careful."

"A threat was made, and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful."

"When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared. And we're totally prepared," he said, adding that the submarines were being moved "closer to Russia."

Trump did not specify if he was referring to nuclear-powered submarines or those armed with nuclear weapons. The US Navy, which normally does not discuss deployment of submarines, declined to comment.

Earlier this week, Medvedev, currently deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, accused the United States of playing a "game of ultimatums" in response to Trump's announcement that he had shortened a 50-day deadline for Russia to stop its war against Ukraine to 10 days.

On his X page from July 28, Medvedev wrote that "each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war."

He further urged Trump not to "follow the path" of former US President Joe Biden, whom Moscow had numerously accused of escalating tensions with Russia.

After being told by Trump to "watch his words" on July 31, Medvedev went further by reminding the US president of Russia's Dead Hand command system designed to automatically launch Moscow's nuclear missiles if the country's leadership had been taken out.

"If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right," Medvedev added.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Medvedev been one of the most outspoken anti-Western hawks in Moscow.

Some Kremlin critics consider him an irresponsible extremist, while others say his statements reflect the thinking of many senior Russian policymakers.

Reacting to the taunts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's top aide, Andriy Yermak, told the New York Post earlier this week that Medvedev was "very stupid" to make such statements.

"I dont know what his psychological condition is. Maybe he was drunk," he added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he doesn't think Medvedev should be considered a decision-maker in Russia but added that his comments can't be ignored.

"Obviously, he's someone who once held office there and is still in a government role, and his words are going to have an impact in the role of a provocateur," Rubio told Fox Radio on July 31.

This isn't the first time Trump and Medvedev have clashed.

The former Russian leader has been a vocal critic of Trump and recent US strikes on Iran. But it appears to be the first time an exchange between the two may has led to the real action.

Trump later on August 1 stepped his attacks on the Russian leadership, saying, "I have just been informed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine."

"Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year," he wrote on Truth Social.

"That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH! Ukraine, however, has also suffered greatly. They have lost approximately 8,000 soldiers since January 1, 2025, and that number does not include their missing," he said, adding that both sides have also suffered civilian deaths.

Neither side has given regular military casualty figures.
Not long after he gave Russia 10 days to stop the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump said unequivocally on July 31 that the United States will "put sanctions" on Moscow over its lack of movement toward a cease-fire or peace deal with Kyiv.

At the same time, he said it was unclear whether financial punishments would push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward a truce and told reporters his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, would travel to Moscow after a trip to Israel, where he arrived on August 1.



If Trump imposes sanctions on Russia before or after the 10-day deadline he announced earlier this week passes on August 8, it will be the first time he has penalized the Kremlin in the more six months since he took office in January following campaign promises to swiftly broker an end to the biggest war in Europe since 1945.

The threat of new sanctions comes as Russia pushes forward on the battlefield and pounds Ukrainian cities with air strikes such as a missile and drone attack that killed at least 31 people, five of whom were children, in Kyiv this week -- relentless attacks that Trump called "disgusting" in his remarks on July 31.

Could it lead to a turning point in the war? Here's what to watch.

Will Witkoff Make A Difference?

While Trump suggested the imposition of sanctions is now unavoidable, dispatching Witkoff, who has met with Putin multiple times since January, could be a last-ditch effort to make the Kremlin budge ahead of the deadline.

But the chances of that seem slim, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said unannounced talks this week with "some of Putin's top people" had brought no progress on "arriving at some understanding on a path forward that would lead to peace."

Three rounds of direct talks in Istanbul in May and June also left Russia and Ukraine miles apart on key hurdles to any cease-fire or comprehensive peace agreement.



"Russia will not make any further concessions," Prague-based political commentator Ivan Preobrazhensky told Current Time on August 1.

"The Kremlin realized that Trump has figured out he's being led on. As a result, Moscow is essentially preparing for a rupture in relations -- going back to the format that existed about six months ago under Joe Biden."

The flipside: Putin could see Witkoff's visit as a chance to convince the White House to back down on the sanctions threat or reverse its current course and return to laying a large chunk of the blame for the lack of progress toward peace on Kyiv, as Trump had been doing until recent weeks, when he began showing increasing frustration with Russia.

While Trump has directed his ire at Moscow lately, he has also stressed that it takes two sides to make a deal and that Ukraine must do "what they have to do" to end the war. "Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a cease-fire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal," John Kelley, the acting US representative to the UN, said on July 31.

So, even though Ukraine has agreed to a cease-fire proposed by Trump and Russia has not, Moscow may see an opening for a bid to get Washington to press Kyiv for concessions.

What Sanctions -- And Will They Work?

Trump has not said exactly what sanctions he plans to impose, but he has made clear they could include "very severe tariffs" on Russia itself and, as he said on July 28, "maybesecondary tariffs" on countries that trade with Moscow.

The former would probably have little impact, analysts say, because the volume of US-Russian trade is small. Secondary tariffs could be far more significant, particularly when it comes to oil and gas, Russia's most lucrative exports. In an interview with Fox News Radio, Rubio noted oil exports bring in "a huge part" of Russia's revenue.

But there are risks: China, India, and Turkey are by far the biggest buyers of Russian crude oil, and they are also among the top customers for its oil products, so secondary tariffs could complicate relations with all three.

Meanwhile, the rewards are uncertain, with the Kremlin showing no signs of moving toward making any concessions and China seemingly unwilling to abandon its support for Russia's war on Ukraine.

Rubio said Trump has "a lot of options," including secondary sanctions on sales of Russian oil and "sectoral banking sanctions that would also be very powerful." But in his own remarks on July 31, Trump seemed to play down the chances that punitive measures could sway Putin.

"I don't know that sanctions bother him," he said.

Will Trump Lean In Or Walk Away?

Sanctions aside, a crucial question is whether Trump will continue to show an interest in ending Russia's war against Ukraine in the coming months, or will he walk away, as he and other administration officials have repeatedly suggested he might.

At some point, Trump will have to decide "how much to continue to engage in an effort to do cease-fires if one of the two sides is not interested in one," Rubio said, adding that "obviously the president's not going to wait forever."

Even before his election last November, Trump had hinted he might use a combination of sanctions on Russia and support for Kyiv, mainly in the form of weapons supplies, to push the countries toward a peace deal.

On the question of arms for Kyiv, it's unclear how far Trump is willing to go. On July 14, when he set a 50-day deadline for peace -- which he reduced this week to 10 days -- he also announced plans to bolster Ukraine's arsenal, but not through direct deliveries.

Instead, he described an arrangement in which NATO members would send existing weapons like Patriot missile systems to Ukraine and backfill them by buying new ones from the United States -- or simply buy US weapons and ship them to Kyiv.

But there are questions about how many weapons will get to Ukraine this way in the near future, and how quickly they will get there.

Meanwhile, Trump has not authorized new arms deliveries to Ukraine under a program, frequently used by his predecessor, Joe Biden, that gives the president the power to send weapons from existing stockpiles. When Trump took office, there was about $4 billion available under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).

What Will Happen On The Battlefield?

Ukrainian forces have made few gains on the battlefield since a major counteroffensive fizzled in 2023. Russia has been taking additional territory ever since -- albeit slowly and a huge cost in terms of casualties.

When Trump announced the 50-day deadline on July 14, critics warned it would give Russia more time to push further forward before facing sanctions or other measures, weakening Kyiv's position in any talks over territory.

The much shorter deadline mitigates those concerns, and analysts said that in any case, Russia does not have the capacity to take the entirety of what it baselessly claims as its own - the mainland regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson, in addition to Crimea -- anytime soon.

So far, though, Russia has shown no sign of letting up in its efforts to advance on the ground, and there is no indication that the July 8 deadline -- or the sanctions likely to ensue -- will change that.

AFP on August 1, citing its own research, said Russia launched more drones at Ukraine in July than in any month since it launched its 2022 invasion.

The same day, Putin projected confidence, saying Moscow's goal for the war remain unchanged while asserting that Russian forces are moving forward along the entire front line despite what he described as the West's desire to stop their advance.

"In the coming months, Russia will increase pressure on Ukraine and will, of course, attempt a new offensive before the cold sets in," Preobrazhensky told Current Time, the Russian-language TV and digital network run by RFE/RL.

Current Time contributed to this report.
By Nazrin Abdul



A collegium meeting under the leadership of Vuqar Gulgammadov, Chairman of the Audit Chamber, was recently held, Azernews reports, citing the Chamber.

During the meeting, the auditors report on the results of the audit concerning the use of state funds and other assets by the Agrarian Services Agency under the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, along with its subordinate entities, was discussed in detail.

Following the discussions, the auditors report was approved, and a decision was made to implement necessary measures to address the identified deficiencies by the Agency.

Additionally, the collegium reviewed and approved the program to initiate a new control activity.
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least five policemen were killed in an overnight attack by armed bandits on a police checkpoint in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab, police said on Friday.

The incident took place in Rahim Yar Khan district, where dozens of heavily armed assailants targeted a checkpoint manned by Elite Force personnel, police spokesperson Irfan Ali Samo said.

"The bandits equipped with modern weapons attacked the post under the cover of darkness, killing our brave officers," Samo, who also serves as the District Police Officer, told the media.

Police forces swiftly responded to the assault, with additional contingents and armored vehicles dispatched to the area.

"We have sealed all routes leading to the bandits' hideouts, and an intensive operation is underway," Samo said.

Search operations continue in the surrounding areas, with security forces deploying heavy weaponry and armored support to apprehend the remaining attackers. 
Students wait in line to lay flowers on the tombstone of U.S. Flying Tiger pilot Glen Beneda in Hong'an County of Huanggang City, central China's Hubei Province, July 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Zixuan)

WUHAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- As Max Rasilla wheeled his suitcase through the bustling halls of Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in central China earlier this week, the Alfred University student felt a reluctant tug at the thought of ending his two-week journey in China.

"I don't want to leave China," Rasilla said. "I have a 10-year visa, so I'll be able to come back, and next year when I come back, I'll be a little bit more fluent [with my Chinese]," said Rasilla, 22.

Rasilla fell in love with pandas since his childhood and once dreamed of becoming a panda keeper. That innocent fascination sparked his interest in learning Chinese, a journey that has since grown into something far more enduring. Now, as someone majoring in ceramics art, Rasilla feels Chinese philosophy and culture are very inspirational for his artworks.

He was among nearly 100 participants -- mostly U.S. students along with a few entrepreneurs -- who traveled across China from July 17 to 30 to honor the legacy of the Flying Tigers, the American volunteer pilots who fought alongside Chinese forces against Japanese invaders during World War II.

As 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, Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, led the delegation to retrace the footsteps of the Flying Tigers through Beijing, Xinjiang, Shaanxi and Hubei.

The participants, hailing from over 10 U.S. high schools and universities, not only revisited a pivotal chapter in the Sino-American history but also began forging new people-to-people bonds.

"During the war, the Flying Tigers came to China and fought bravely alongside the Chinese people," said Catherine Greene, Jeffrey's wife, in fluent Mandarin. "Now, as U.S.-China relations face many challenges, we, the younger generation, must be the new Flying Tigers of our time and contribute positively to bilateral relations."

HONORING FLYING TIGERS LEGACY

"I didn't know about the Flying Tigers before I came here," said Rasilla. "Now I think their mission is really important. The connection between the Chinese and American people is so important. For our generation, as we grow older and take on leadership roles, maintaining a good relationship is essential."

The Flying Tigers, officially known as the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force, was formed in 1941 by U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault to help China in its fight against invading Japanese forces.

The story of Glen Beneda left a deep impression on many participants. In 1943, Beneda, then aged 19, was dispatched to China as a fighter pilot in the 14th U.S. Air Force. During an attack on a large Japanese army base in central China's Hankou the following year, the tail of Beneda's plane was hit and the aircraft crashed into Xiafeng Lake in Jianli County, Hubei Province. Beneda survived by parachuting into a nearby rice paddy, but he was severely wounded and could barely move.

Realizing he was an American soldier, farmers and soldiers risked their lives to transfer him on a stretcher across Japanese-controlled areas under the cover of night.

After 23 grueling days, Beneda finally arrived at the Fifth Division of China's New Fourth Army led by Li Xiannian, who later served as Chinese president from 1983 to 1988. There, the U.S. pilot gradually recovered and formed deep friendships with Chinese soldiers, even sharing games of ping pong with them.

The veteran later returned to China several times with his family. "I owe a debt to the Chinese people who have been so good to me," he said in a documentary. When he passed away in 2010, part of his ashes were buried in the memorial park of the former residence of Li Xiannian in Hubei's Hong'an County.

The sacrifices of the Flying Tigers were profound. A total of 2,193 members of the Flying Tigers lost their lives while supporting China and Myanmar during World War II. During battles, more than 200 downed pilots were rescued by Chinese civilians, and thousands of Chinese people died aiding them.

While visiting Hong'an, the student delegation laid chrysanthemums at the memorial site. Some were moved to tears while watching "Touching the Tigers," a documentary about Beneda's story.

Among the students was Lili Li, visiting China for the first time with her mother Anna Li, who is the daughter of Lieutenant Kuo Ching Li, the only Chinese-American Flying Tiger.

"I feel that the bond between the United States and China has been so strong these past decades," Lili Li said. "For me, being able to carry that connection forward, especially in today's world, is one of the most important things."

During their visit to northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the delegation learned about the heroic "Hump Route" over the Himalayas, which was used to deliver vital supplies to Chinese troops fighting Japanese invaders.

"We learned all about how they supported China and how the Chinese supported the Americans during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression," said Giacomo Weil, a student from the Central High School in Philadelphia.

"The Chinese made a ton of sacrifices and gave up their food so that the Flying Tigers could fly and make missions against the Japanese. It was really awesome to see that beautiful link between China and the United States," said Weil, 18.

FORGING NEW BOND

While paying tribute to wartime heroes, the members of the delegation also immersed themselves in rich and diverse cultures, experiencing a different side of the U.S.-China relationship, one defined by youth dialogue, shared interests and mutual curiosity.

In Beijing, the students visited the Temple of Heaven and the Great Wall. In Turpan, Xinjiang, they explored the Jiaohe Ruins, one of the world's best-preserved, longest-lasting and largest clay-built city relics, as well as the Karez wells, witnessing the resilience and ingenuity of ancient Chinese civilization.

"Very eye-opening. I didn't know that China had a wild west, too. We don't learn much about Xinjiang or any of those western regions of China, which was very interesting to me," said Sarah Destiny Golovey, a junior student at California State University, Sacramento.

They also visited Yan'an, a historically significant city in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. "It was really cool, really beautiful," Weil said. "China is so vast. In contrast to the desert in Xinjiang, Yan'an has green hills, and we saw the Yellow River. I even got to visit the Hukou Waterfall. But in every city I visited, the hospitality has been absolutely amazing."

In Wuhan, cultural exchanges came alive on the students' first evening during a welcome cruise, where local university students performed traditional dances, played the guzheng (Chinese zither), and sang English pop songs.

For Vrishab Kaushik, Weil's schoolmate, the surprise came when he first downloaded WeChat. "I didn't expect it to handle payments, travel arrangements, and almost everything in one app. Pretty cool," Kaushik said.

Rasilla said the trip is just the beginning. "My goal is to pass the Chinese proficiency test level five and come back to pursue a master's degree in Jingdezhen next year," he said. "And probably I'll go back to America to teach Chinese language and culture to more American students." 

Anna Li, daughter of Lieutenant Kuo Ching Li, the only Chinese-American Flying Tiger, lays a flower on the tombstone of U.S. Flying Tiger pilot Glen Beneda in Hong'an County of Huanggang City, central China's Hubei Province, July 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Zixuan)

Jeffrey Greene (2nd R), chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, lays a flower on the tombstone of U.S. Flying Tiger pilot Glen Beneda in Hong'an County of Huanggang City, central China's Hubei Province, July 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Zixuan)
India's Rice Industry and the Impact of U.S. Tariffs: A Blessing in Disguise, Says Dev Garg

Garg outlined why this situation could turn into a blessing in disguise, pointing to several key factors: the depreciated rupee...

Indias Rice Industry and the Impact of U.S. Tariffs: A Blessing in Disguise, Says Dev Garg

The Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Indias Rice Industry, Dev Garg Latest news: The tariffs imposed by the U.S. government are a concerning development, but they may also turn out to be a "blessing in disguise," according to Dev Garg, Vice President of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF) and Director of Shri Lal Mahal Group.

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Speaking to ANI, Dev Garg said, The tariffs imposed by the U.S. government is a concerning situation. We will not deny that because the U.S. is a major market for India.

Last year, India exported about Rs 3,100 crores worth of Basmati and non-Basmati rice to the U.S. market. Garg added that, in the current fiscal year, only Rs 833 crores worth of exports have taken place so far.

That means there is still a lot of gap to be covered. But the situation is concerning. However, this may be a blessing in disguise.

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He highlighted Pakistan and Thailand as Indias two major competitors in the U.S. rice market. Thailand holds about 40% of the market share, while Pakistan holds about 12%. India's market share is around 30%.

Given the fact that the tariffs imposed on Thailand and Pakistan stand at 19% and the tariffs imposed on India is 25%, there is a gap of 6%, he continued.

Garg outlined why this situation could turn into a blessing in disguise, pointing to several key factors: the depreciated rupee, surplus rice stocks, and the expected fall in rice prices.

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Despite the fact that there is a gap of 6%, he said, "if we look at the fundamentals of the Indian economy, today we are looking at a situation where the rupee has depreciated around Rs 88 to a dollar. We are staring at a situation where we have record surplus stocks in our country and in the coming season, it is a high expectation that there will be deflation on prices.

So, this gap of 6% vis-a-vis our competitors is not a very significant gap. If all these situations are right and the Indian market holds its expectations with respect to the deflationary trend of prices, it is expected that we will even surpass last year's figures of Rs 3,100 crores of export. This year, we might export more than 250,000 MT of rice to the U.S. market.

He further added, So, this situation is concerning but this is a blessing in disguise as this will help us narrow the gap between our competitor nations who do not have the fundamental advantages that our economy does."

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Earlier this week, the U.S. President Donald imposed a tariff rate of 25% on Indian imports, along with a penalty for purchasing energy and the vast majority of military equipment from Russia, starting August 1. In a post following the tariff announcement, in his harshest remark made against India yet, he called Indias economy dead, adding that he does not care what India does with Russia.

(For more news apart from Indias Rice Industry and the Impact of U.S. Tariffs: A Blessing in Disguise, Says Dev Garg, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman)
Punjab and Haryana High on its Own Motion V/S UT Chandigarh, Through Its Chief Secretary, Chandigarh

"Why are you permitting total anarchy in Sabzi Mandi?" asked Chief Justice Sheel Nagu

Punjab and Haryana High on its Own Motion V/S UT Chandigarh, Through Its Chief Secretary, Chandigarh

Punjab and Haryana High on its Own Motion V/S UT Chandigarh Latest News Update: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the deplorable conditions prevailing in Chandigarh's Sector 26 Vegetable Market, sharply questioning the UT Administration over its inaction.

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"Why are you permitting total anarchy in Sabzi Mandi?" asked Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry from administration.

Counsel appearing for the administration Aman Pal submitted, "We are in process of shifting the market to Sector 39 but the process of e-auction has been stayed by the Supreme Court."

The suo moto cognisance was taken on a newspaper report which stated that, "stinking garbage heaps, muddy roads and encroachments welcome visitors to the fruit and vegetable mandi in Sector 26."

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Amid the continued apathy, the market road, street lights and other infrastructure has also deteriorated to a point where it is unusable, it added.

The UT Administration has failed to act on its plan to shift the Sector 26 mandi to the New Grain Market in Sector 39 for the past 30 years. The project was first conceptualised in 1996, the news article reported.

The Supreme Court in April stayed the e-auction of shops and showrooms in the new Sector 39 vegetable market. The development comes after the Sector 26 Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Association (commission agents) filed a plea against the auction, contending that the Chandigarh Estate Rules, which govern the auction, should not be applied to a mandi where shop usage is restricted.

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While adjourning the matter to August 19, the Court asked the UT to file its response.

(For more news apart from Punjab and Haryana High on its Own Motion V/S UT Chandigarh, Through Its Chief Secretary, Chandigarh, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman)
Directives to Arrest RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in 2008 Malegaon Blast Case Latest News Updates

He further claimed that he was falsely implicated by the Investigating Officer for refusing to comply with his unlawful orders

Claims of directives to Arrest RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in 2008 Malegaon Blast Case Latest News

A former officer of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), who was part of the team that investigated the 2008 Malegaon blast, has claimed that he was directed to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the case.

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Mehboob Mujawar, a former ATS officer now retired, has made several additional claims in an interview with India Today TV, following the Maharashtra special court's verdict on the case on Thursday.

Mujawar alleged that the directive to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat came from Investigating Officer Param Bir Singh, allegedly aimed to create the narrative of 'saffron terror' in India, according to the report.

"I was directed by Param Bir Singh, and those above him asked me to arrest these individuals  Ram Kalsangra, Sandip Dange, Dilip Patidar, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. It was beyond my capacity to arrest someone like Mohan Bhagwat, who holds significant influence in Maharashtra," the officer, Mehboob Mujawar, is quoted as saying in the report.

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The 2008 Malegaon blast involved an explosion in the town of Malegaon, Maharashtra, that killed 6 people and injured about 100 others on September 29, 2008. The blast involved an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle near a mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.

On Thursday, the special court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur, in the blast case. While delivering the verdict, the court noted that there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them.

In his conversation with India Today, Mehboob Mujawar alleged that the courts verdict had exposed the "fabricated investigation" conducted by a "fake officer." He further claimed that he was falsely implicated by the Investigating Officer for refusing to comply with his unlawful orders, the report said.

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He said, as quoted in the report, that he was asked to file a charge sheet showing dead people as alive and claimed, When I refused, the then IPS officer, Param Bir Singh, implicated me in a false case... I protested because I did not want to engage in false work, and as a result, fabricated cases were registered against me. I have been acquitted in all of them."

The ATS had initially been tasked with probing the incident that occurred nearly 17 years ago in Malegaon town in northern Maharashtra. ATS had alleged that the blast was carried out by individuals linked to a right-wing extremist group called 'Abhinav Bharat' and claimed that the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, another accused in the case.

The probe was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which found major flaws in the ATS investigations and dropped charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), giving a clean chit to some of the accused.

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The NIA special court acquitted all the accused, citing the prosecutions failure to prove that the motorcycle used in the blast belonged to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur or was in her possession. It also noted that evidence concerning the procurement of RDX by Lt. Col. Purohit and the assembly of the bomb was insufficient.

The court acknowledged that a blast did occur but concluded that the prosecution failed to conclusively link the seven accused to the incident or establish the conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also observed that "terrorism has no religion" and that a conviction cannot be based on "mere suspicion" or "moral perception."

As per the India Today report, the court has also directed an inquiry into serious allegations against an ATS officer and the submission of allegedly fake medical certificates during the course of the investigation.

(For more news apart from Directives to Arrest RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in 2008 Malegaon Blast Case Latest News Updates, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman)
Trump Ended 6 Conflicts Including Between India and Pakistan; Trump Deserves the Nobel Prize: US

Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump has ended war in Asia for the second time.

Trump Ended 6 Conflicts Including Between India and Pakistan; Trump Deserves the Nobel Prize: US

Trump Ends Conflicts across the world Latest News : The United States has ended six conflicts between nations across the world ever since he took office earlier this year, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an announcement on the intervening night of July 31 and August 1 (Indian Standard Time).

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Karoline Leavitt said U.S. President Donald Trump has ended war in Asia for the second time.

She said, President Trumps working visit to the United States was a huge success. In less than 48 hours, President Trump brokered the biggest, most impactful trade deal in history and prevented a war in Asia for the second time since he took office. We have never had a president who wields the full power of the United States to negotiate good deals for our country and its people like President Trump.

She further stated that President Trump helped deliver an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia.

The two countries were engaged in a deadly conflict that had displaced more than 300,000 people until President Trump stepped in to put an end to it. The President spoke directly on the phone with the acting Prime Minister of Thailand and the Prime Minister of Cambodia to inform both leaders that unless they brought their conflict to an end, there would be no trade discussion or agreements with the United States. Almost immediately afterward, a peace was brokered that will save thousands of lives and allowed for trade negotiations with these countries to resume. And they have, Press Secretary Karoline said.

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She then went on to say that Trump has ended multiple conflicts across the world, brokering on average one peace deal or ceasefire per month.

The President has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia. He has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office. It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

(For more news apart from Trump Ended 6 Conflicts Including Between India and Pakistan; Trump Deserves the Nobel Prize: US, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman)
BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- China has urged relevant parties to actively seek a lasting solution to the Kosovo issue via dialogue, and refrain from unilateral actions that may lead to tensions after Serbian official Igor Popovic's detention.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to a relevant query at a regular news briefing on Friday.

Popovic, assistant director of Serbia's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, is being detained by the Kosovo side. The French foreign ministry has issued a statement demanding his immediate release.

China is following the news of Popovic's detention and noted the statements issued by the French foreign ministry and the European Union, Guo said, adding that China hopes for his safe release.

Guo reiterated China's respect for Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the belief that the security and legitimate rights and interests of the Serbs in Kosovo should be safeguarded.

"We hope that parties will continue to engage in practical and constructive dialogue within the framework of relevant UN Security Council resolutions," he said. 
US Special Envoy & Ambassador to Travel to Gaza to Hear Firsthand from Local Gazans

President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart and that's why he sent Special Envoy Whitkoff to the region"

US Special Envoy & Ambassador to Travel to Gaza to Hear Firsthand from Local Gazans

US Special Envoy & Ambassador to Travel to Gaza Latest News: The United States is sending U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Ambassador Mike Huckabee to Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites, secure a plan to deliver more food, and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about the dire situation on the ground, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an announcement on the intervening night of July 31 and August 1 (Indian Standard Time).

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, I know the topic of Israel is on everyones mind. I have an update from Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who I got off the phone with this morning. Special Envy Witco and Ambassador Huckabee had a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other officials today in Israel on the topic of delivering much needed food and aid to Gaza.

Steve Witkoff serves as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, and Mike Huckabee is the U.S. Ambassador to Israel.

She added, President Trump is a humanitarian with a big heart and thats why he sent Special Envoy Whitkoff to the region in an effort to save lives and end this crisis.

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She then said, Tomorrow, Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be travelling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazains to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground.

She further said the special envoy and the ambassador will brief the President immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.

We will provide more details for all of you once that plan is approved and agreed on by the President of the United States, she added.

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In the same announcement, she said that President Donald Trump has ended six conflicts across the world in the past six months, brokering a peace deal or ceasefire on average once per month, including between India and Pakistan.

(For more news apart from US Special Envoy & Ambassador to Travel to Gaza to Hear Firsthand from Local Gazans, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman)
Editorial: Trump-Modi talks beneficial too, challenging too

This claim was like an insult to India.

Editorial: Trump-Modi talks beneficial too, challenging too

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clearly told U.S. President Donald Trump that India neither asked for American mediation regarding Kashmir or Pakistan, nor will it accept third-party mediation on this bilateral issue. Through this direct clarification, Modi wanted to end all those controversies associated with Donald Trumps claims that he made the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan possible, and that he used trade promises as a bait or lure to convince both countries to agree to a ceasefire.

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This claim was like an insult to India. Although the Indian Ministry of External Affairs rejected Trumps claims several times, still the American President continued to repeat his statement. He even did the same during the G-7 summit in Alberta, Canada. Now, Mr. Modi has directly told Trump that the ceasefire was done at the request of the Pakistani DGMO, and that this is only and only a ceasefirenot the end of a war that emerged from Operation Sindhoor. Such straightforwardness should be welcomed.

According to the information given to the media by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Trump was supposed to hold an informal meeting with Modi during the G-7 summit, but due to some emergency situation, he had to return to Washington, D.C., early. On this, he asked Modi to come to America for a few hours after the conclusion of the G-7 summit. But the Indian Prime Minister expressed his inability to make any changes in his Croatia tour program. Diplomatic circles are taking such a direct "no" as an indirect expression of displeasure toward the U.S. President.

Through such expression, Modi showed that India is neither a follower of anyone nor a flatterer. It is capable of protecting its interests on its own. According to Misri, the suggestion for the phone call also came from Trump. It was accepted. This conversation lasted 35 minutes, and through it, while both leaders discussed issues like the Iran-Israel war, Ukraine-Russia war, and other international matters, Modi also made the American leader aware of Indias emotions and thinking regarding Pakistan. He clearly stated that no matter what Pakistan says, the entire India is united in not accepting any third-party mediation on Kashmir.

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The importance of this phone conversation also lies in the fact that it happened before the meeting between Pakistani army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Trump, and through this, Modi could also inform the American President about Indias position regarding Munir.

It is a known and acknowledged fact that Trumps claims about the India-Pakistan ceasefire damaged the image of the Indian Prime Minister. Though many opposition parties chose to remain silent on this issue, Congress kept targeting Modi repeatedly and accused him of being afraid of Trump. Even Modis own supporters seemed worried by the Prime Ministers silence. It is no exaggeration to say that Modi, once again, chose the best approach to answer his critics. Despite such smart maneuvering, the reality also remains that the U.S. and some other powerful countries are not refraining from pulling India and Pakistan with the same rope or trying to balance both sides. They need to be explained that India's regional concerns are not limited to Pakistan only. Nor does it want to dominate Pakistan through aggression. It believes in the policy of "live and let live." Conveying this message to every powerful and weak country is a challenge for both Modi and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
August 1, 2025 UPDATE (1)

A roundup of local and world news

August 1, 2025 UPDATE (1)

Newsroom, 01.08.2025, 17:25

PENSIONS  President Nicusor Dan, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan and Justice Minister Radu Marinescu on Friday discussed the Prime Ministers proposals to modify the retirement age and pensions for magistrates with representatives of magistrates. The meeting took place in the context of criticism and attacks from the judicial system generated by the changes announced by Prime Minister Bolojan. These include increasing the retirement age for magistrates to 65 years, increasing the length of service from 25 to 35 years and limiting the pension to a maximum of 70% of the net salary, compared to 80% of the gross salary at present. The Prime Ministers announcement was met with a harsh reaction from the Supreme Council of Justice, which accused the measures of blatantly violating the principles of the Constitution. At the same time, four professional associations of magistrates claim that the project is an irresponsible and disloyal attempt at constitutional change and rejected the constant campaign to denigrate and discredit the judicial system, which aims to violently and irreversibly destabilize the judiciary. Also on Friday, Nicusor Dan signed the retirement decrees for 73 magistrates, including the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Corina-Alina Corbu.

PROTEST  Trade unionists in the Romanian education sector protested on Friday in front of the Education Ministry of Education headquarters for the third day in a row, demanding the resignation of Minister Daniel David. In their opinion, the government is causing an unprecedented crisis in the last 35 years in the education system, and the measures in the fiscal package for which the government has taken responsibility will also affect the education system. According to union members, the measures that are severely affecting education in Romania include the increase in teaching hours by two hours, the merging of hundreds of educational institutions, which, in their opinion, will lead to layoffs of auxiliary teaching and even administrative staff, and the reduction in hourly pay rates. Trade unionists have announced that on September 8, the first day of the new school year, over 30,000 union members will participate in the Education Rally. (MI & VP)
Renault SA (RNLSY,RNO.PA), a French automobile manufacturer, announced on Friday that it has taken full ownership of its Chennai plant by acquiring Nissan's remaining 51% stake in their joint venture, Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd. The company also announced that Stephane Deblaise will be appointed as CEO effective from September 1.

This move is part of Renault's strategy to make India a key international hub and will result in the full consolidation of RNAIPL in the Renault Group's financial statements.

Renault Group is stepping up its plans in India, taking full ownership of its Chennai plant. After opening its biggest design center outside France in April and launching the New Renault Triber, the company plans to release four new vehicles.

The company aims to grow sales in India and boost exports. To lead this effort, Stephane Deblaise will become CEO of Renault Group.

Deblaise joined Renault in 2000 and has held key roles in Latin America, China, France, and Korea.

The Chennai plant and network, since opening in 2010, has made over 2.8 million vehicles, 1.2 million of which were exported. It is now preparing to build future models on a new, flexible, multi-energy platform. Renault currently has over 350 sales outlets and 450 service centers across India.

On Thursday, Renault SA closed trading, 1.48% lesser at EUR 32.71 on the Paris Stock Exchange.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Canadian stocks slumped on Friday as investors began to gauge the effect of new tariffs imposed by the US President on Canada, which are set to take effect in a week.

After opening lower than yesterday's close, the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index fell immediately. Failing to rebound, it travelled in negative territory before finally closing at 27,020.43, down by 239.35 points (or 0.88%).

As the pause on "reciprocal tariffs" suspension period expires today, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new tariffs on 69 countries with the levies ranging anywhere from 10% to 41%.

The tariffs are set to take effect from August 7. The week-long gap is intended to give the customs department time to brace up for collections.

Despite Canadian officials engaging in trade talks with the US for more than a month, last Friday, Trump expressed his disenchantment with the progress of talks and stated that Canada would face the tariffs instead of negotiations. The Canadian team is still in Washington working on a deal.

As it stands, Canada is likely to suffer a 35% levy on its exports to the US. However, most goods could bypass the tariff thanks to USCMA, an existing free trade treaty.

Nevertheless, concerns are rising as this treaty is coming up for re-negotiation in 2026, when Trump may have the calling cards.

In addition, Canada's consideration for recognizing Palestine as a sovereign nation if certain conditions are met has irritated Trump who indicated that making a deal with Canada would be very hard.

When assuring the nation would break the deadlock, PM Mark Carney also hinted that a trade deal would need to digest some of the US tariffs. Canadian houses have started looking for marketplaces outside the US to balance their earnings.

S&P Global data released today revealed that the Canada Manufacturing PMI rose to 46.1 in July from 45.6 of June but continued to reflect a contraction in the Canadian private-sector factory activity.

Economists are optimistic that being a dealmaker, Trump keeps the door open for negotiations and that Canada may get a deal done, sooner or later.

Sector-wise all the major sectors today traded in the negative territory, posting losses.

Materials, Consumer Discretionary, Utilities, Real Estate, Communication Services, Industrials, and Financials, all the sectors lost anywhere from 0.01% to 0.94% in today's trading session.

Major sectors that lost in today's trading were Healthcare (1.07%), Consumer Staples (1.15%), Energy (1.86%), and IT (2.37%).

Among the individual stocks, Bausch Health Companies Inc (3.43%), Vermillion Energy Inc (3.43%), Bitfarms Ltd (7.43%), and Coveo Solutions Inc (7.21%) were the notable losers.

Mda Ltd (18.38%), Dundee Precious Metals Inc (7.05%), and Capstone Mining Corp (5.15%) were among the prime market-moving stocks today.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
One of Indias leading car manufacturers, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), has announced sales figures for the month of July 2025 and closed sales account for the month. While the company would normally register a positive growth in sales, results for the month of July 2025 were slightly different. Lets take a closer look.

Hyundai Sales July 2025

For the month of July 2025, Hyundai Motor India registered 43,973 units sold in the domestic market. This registered a sharp YoY decline and a marginal MoM decline for the brand, as domestic sales fell completely in the Red. Hyundai is preparing to launch an updated version of Venue B Segment SUV soon, which might take the sales prospect higher post launch.

When compared to the 49,013 units sold in July 2024, Hyundai registered a sharp 10.28% YoY decline along with a volume loss of 5,040 units YoY. Where MoM sales analysis is concerned, there was only a marginal decline as the 43,973 units fell short of just 51 units to surpass the 44,024 units sold in June 2025.

The companys total sales for July 2025 stood at 60,073 units, which also incorporates Hyundais international business as the brand shipped 16,100 units to global markets from India, making it one of the leading car exporters in the Asian subcontinent. Exports grew 3.54% when compared to the 15,550 units shipped last year.

Another interesting development in July 2025s monthly sales analysis is the contribution of SUVs which stood at 71.8%, highest ever. Hyundais best-seller continues to be Creta SUV, which has revolutionised C SUV Segment and has dominated this space for a decade.

Statement from Hyundai Motor

Commenting on HMIL sales, Mr. Tarun Garg, Whole-time Director and Chief Operating Officer, HMIL said, As we celebrate the incredible 10-year journey of Hyundai CRETA in India, we are proud to see it setting new benchmarks in comfort, convenience and performance thereby holding on to the best-selling SUV crown in the Mid-SUV segment, every completed year since its launch in 2015.

In the January-July 2025 period too, Hyundai CRETA has further fortified its leadership position amongst SUVs. While the overall auto industry has seen some softness in recent months, we remain optimistic with the onset of the festive season and are fully geared up with robust supply and exciting product offerings.

At HMIL, we continue to stay focused on delivering enhanced value and innovation to our customers and with the upcoming state of the art facility at Talegaon, we are well positioned to adapt to market movements.
Tourists rest at a tea house in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province, July 26, 2025. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

Tourists visit Changchong Village in Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province, July 26, 2025. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

Tourists pose for photos outside a tea house in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province, July 26, 2025. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

This aerial drone photo taken on July 26, 2025 shows a coffee shop in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

Tourists walk downstairs at a movie theater in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province, July 26, 2025. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

This aerial drone photo taken on July 26, 2025 shows a general view of a movie theater in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

A staff member cleans the seats of a movie theater in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province, July 26, 2025. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)

Tourists are pictured at a movie theater in Changchong Village, Lujiang County, east China's Anhui Province, July 26, 2025. Changchong Village has endeavored to develop its tourism industry by integrating its natural scenery and cultural experiences. The movie theater and tea house built in the nature environment provide unique experiences for visitors. Changchong has became a popular attraction for urban residents to enjoy life in the countryside. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)
It is reported that Ferrari has purchased a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra and is likely using it for testing and benchmarking purposes

Ferrari is working on its first fully electric car, planned for launch in 2026. It will be manufactured at Ferraris new e-building in Maranello, Italy. This facility will also produce various electrical components such as battery packs and electric motors. Interestingly, a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra was spotted recently at this facility. Lets get more details on the story.

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra spotted at Ferrari factory  Whats brewing?

Several claims have emerged regarding the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra being spotted at the Ferrari factory. One such claim is that a team of Ferrari representatives had a meeting with their Xiaomi counterparts at the brands headquarters last year. This meeting could have explored various possibilities including the prospect of jointly developing next-generation high-performance electric motors.

However, theres no indication that anything concrete came out of the meeting or was formalized. But with the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra spotted at Ferrari factory, it does reveal the latters interest in the track-focused, high-performance EV. While Ferrari has a lead in the ICE segment, Xiaomi seems to have attained similar engineering excellence in the electric drivetrain and tech integration.

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra track credentials

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is truly ahead of its time and has been making waves in the high-performance automotive world. It has already proven its mettle at several track events. In April 2025, a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra achieved a lap time of 7:04.957 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife.

This is a record for a commercially produced four door vehicle at the Nurburgring Nordschleife. This track is considered by many as one of the most challenging in the world. The production version SU7 Ultra at the Nurburgring was driven by Vincent Radermecker. It was fitted with a Track Professional Package.

SU7 Ultras record at the Nurburgring has broken earlier records set by the Rimac Nevera and Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. This could be of special interest to Ferrari, as the brand has been traditionally using vehicles like Porsche Taycans for benchmarking purposes. Now that the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra has raced ahead, it is certainly worth studying.

While not official, Ferrari could be examining various aspects such as SU7 Ultras electric platform, thermal management systems and track-optimized cooling systems. Also, things like aerodynamic performance, chassis engineering and overall efficiency.

SU7 Ultra has also set a new lap time record of 2:09.944 at the Shanghai International Circuit. This makes the SU7 Ultra the fastest commercially produced car at the Shanghai International Circuit. The earlier record at this circuit was held by Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. SU7 Ultra took around 1.5 seconds less to complete the circuit. SU7 Ultra holds records at various other Chinese circuits such as Tianfu International Circuit, Zhuzhou International Circuit and Zhuhai International Circuit.

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra performance

Powering the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is a tri-motor all-wheel-drive system. It includes two HyperEngine V8s and one HyperEngine V6. Combined power output is 1,548 hp and 1,770 Nm of torque. These numbers make the SU7 Ultra one of the most powerful commercially produced four-door sedans. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.98 seconds. SU7 Ultra has a top speed of 350 km/h. Range is 630 km (CLTC) and charging from 10% to 80% takes just around 11 minutes.
A Jordanian serviceman prepares to drop humanitarian aid over Gaza, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM/AMMAN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that 126 aid packages were airdropped to Gaza, for the first time with the participation of Germany, Spain, and France.

According to the IDF, the three countries joined the ongoing cooperation between Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and the UAE in the aid airdrop operation.

The IDF noted it will continue to work to improve the humanitarian response in Gaza, along with the international community, while refuting the "false claims" of deliberate starvation in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian Armed Forces said in a statement that it sent humanitarian aid including food and infant formula into Gaza in coordination with several international partners.

The operation airlifted some 57 tonnes of critical supplies using aircraft from Jordan, Germany, the UAE, France and Spain, bringing the total delivered into Gaza since last week's resumption of missions to roughly 148 tonnes, said the statement.

Earlier on Friday, Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported that since dawn, 24 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in several incidents in Gaza, including five who were seeking humanitarian aid. 

Jordanian servicemen drop humanitarian aid over Gaza, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Jordanian servicemen prepare to drop humanitarian aid over Gaza, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

(250801) -- ZARAQ (JORDAN), Aug. 1, 2025 (Xinhua) -- A worker transfers humanitarian aid for Gaza at a military base in Zaraq, Jordan, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

(250801) -- ZARAQ (JORDAN), Aug. 1, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Workers load humanitarian aid for Gaza into an aircraft at a military base in Zaraq, Jordan, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

(250801) -- ZARAQ (JORDAN), Aug. 1, 2025 (Xinhua) -- A Jordanian Air Force plane carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza takes off from a military base in Zaraq, Jordan, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)

Jordanian servicemen prepare to drop humanitarian aid over Gaza, on Aug. 1, 2025. Several countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Spain, on Friday executed joint airdrops in Gaza, delivering humanitarian aid into the enclave. (Photo by Mohammad Abu Ghosh/Xinhua)
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Relief workers have handed cash to more than 10,000 hungry families in Gaza, who find little food on the market to spend on, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

"Market prices remain highly volatile and out of reach for many," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

OCHA said that nearly a week after the Israelis allowed the scale-up of aid and the safe passage for relief convoys, the assistance that has entered Gaza remains insufficient. Convoys continue to face obstacles and danger along the routes mapped out by the Israeli authorities.

The office said the months-long deprivation of most life-sustaining basics has led to a deepening of the crisis, and large numbers of people reportedly continue to be killed and injured searching for food. More than 100 people were killed in the past two days along food convoy routes or near Israeli militarized distribution hubs.

UN Children's Fund Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban, who just returned from Israel and Gaza, described some of the mission to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

"We called for more humanitarian aid and commercial traffic to come in, moving closer toward 500 trucks a day, to stabilize the situation and reduce the desperation of the population ... We need to flood the strip with supplies using all channels and all gates," he said.

OCHA said fuel remains in short supply, although limited quantities have been allowed to enter Gaza in recent days.

"The United Nations and our partners need hundreds of thousands of liters of fuel every day to power critical facilities, including health, water and sanitation, as well as emergency telecommunication services," the office said.

OCHA said that while fewer humanitarian movements are denied outright, approved missions still take hours to complete because they are being forced to halt at various points along the approved routes. 
KIGALI, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Officials from Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have convened the first meeting of a joint oversight committee established under the United States-brokered peace agreement for eastern DRC, the two governments announced in a joint statement on Friday.

During the meeting held on Thursday, the parties "discussed progress in the implementation of the peace agreement" signed on June 27 in Washington, D.C., the United States, according to the statement issued by Rwanda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The meeting also selected chairpersons for the committee and adopted terms of reference to govern future meetings, it said.

Representatives from the United States, Qatar, and Togo, serving as the African Union's designated peace facilitator for the DRC, attended the session as observers.

Both DRC and Rwanda expressed their appreciation for the "invaluable contributions and joint efforts" of the African Union, the United States, and Qatar as partners in advancing peaceful resolution, according to the statement.

The agreement, signed by the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the DRC, calls for a cessation of hostilities between the two countries' armed forces. It responds to key concerns, including respect for DRC's territorial integrity, the disarmament of armed groups, and the implementation of measures to restore lasting stability in the region.

Rwandan and Congolese officials have pledged to translate the accord into lasting peace and full pacification of the eastern DRC, which has been plagued by violence for decades. 
A ship sails on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

ISMAILIA, Egypt, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date.

"This achievement underscores Egypt's success in maintaining sovereignty over this crucial maritime passage," Rabie told Xinhua during celebrations marking the 69th anniversary of the Suez Canal's nationalization.

He noted that the Suez Canal has experienced unprecedented development since 1956, a level of progress not seen since its inauguration in 1869.

The chairman noted that the canal's draft has been expanded from 10 meters to 22 meters. Additionally, he said, the length of dual-lane sections has increased from 27.7 km to 99 km.

In 1956, former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal Company, asserting Egypt's sovereignty over its own resources and strategic infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Rabie said that the canal typically saw 75 to 80 ships transiting daily before the targeting of commercial vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea by the Yemeni Houthi group.

The number, he added, has now decreased to between 30 and 35 ships per day.

Tensions arose in the Red Sea after Yemen's Houthis group began attacking Israeli-linked ships in November 2023 to demonstrate solidarity with Gaza during the Hamas-Israel conflict, affecting transit through the man-made waterway.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said in March that the Suez Canal was losing approximately 800 million dollars in revenue each month due to the situation in the region. 

Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie speaks during celebrations marking the 69th anniversary of the Suez Canal's nationalization in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date.(Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A ship sails on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

A ship sails on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Ships sail on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

Ships sail on the Suez Canal in Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, on July 31, 2025. Chairman of the Suez Canal Authority Osama Rabie said on Thursday that the Suez Canal has generated 153.4 billion U.S. dollars in revenues and facilitated the transit of approximately 1.1 million ships since the waterway's nationalization in 1956 to date.(Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
DAR ES SALAAM, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday officially laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Kwala Industrial Park.

Located in Kibaha District of the Coast Region, the industrial park is a joint initiative between Group Six International and Arise Integrated Industrial Platform, and it covers 2,500 acres, with a goal of hosting more than 200 factories, Janson Huang, chairman of the Kwala Industrial Park, said in an interview with Xinhua.

According to Huang, the project aims to transform Tanzania into a leading hub for trade, manufacturing, and clean-energy innovation.

"Already, 12 factories are here, seven of them operational and five under construction," said Huang, adding that the park currently employs over 1,000 Tanzanians, with the number expected to reach 5,000 by the end of 2026.

Among its future-facing goals, the park is set to support battery manufacturing for electric vehicles, aligning with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions by 2050, he said.

Huang also confirmed partnerships focused on adding value to critical minerals.

He noted that in collaboration with the Tanzanian government, the fully completed park seeks to create over 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect jobs, attract up to 3 billion U.S. dollars in foreign and domestic investment, generate 6 billion dollars in annual output of manufactured goods, and boost value-added exports to 2 billion dollars. 
BISSAU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Soares Sambu, Guinea-Bissau's minister of economy, planning and regional integration, on Thursday praised the country's robust economic and trade relations with China, describing them as "excellent."

Sambu made the remarks during a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries (Forum Macao), led by Secretary-General Ji Xianzheng.

During their visit to Guinea-Bissau, the Forum Macao delegation held meetings with national authorities and representatives from the local business community, presenting a range of investment opportunities and cooperation projects under the framework.

"The visit to Guinea-Bissau is part of Forum Macao's scheduled activities and demonstrates the Chinese government's commitment to deepening cooperation with Guinea-Bissau," Ji said. 
The market spotlight at the end of the week will be squarely on the US jobs market.

At 1230 BST, the Department of Labor is expected to announce that the pace of non-farm payroll growth slowed from 147,000 in June to 110,000 for July.

In parallel, the rate of unemployment is expected to have ticked higher by a tenth of a percentage point to 4.2%, whilst average hourly earnings were seen rising at a month-on-month clip of 0.3%.

Meanwhile, in the background, investors will be keeping an eye out for potentially market-moving headlines around the 1 August deadline set by the White House for reaching deals with many of its trade partners.

Also expected out of the US, at 1400 BST, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release the results of its factory activity Purchasing Managers' Index for July.

The University of Michigan will publish its consumer confidence survey for that same month at the same hour.

On home shores, at 0600 BST Nationwide will release house price figures for July and S&P Global a final reading on its monthly factory PMI for the UK.

It will be preceded, overnight, by Caixin's China manufacturing PMI.

In the euro area, at 0900 BST Eurostat will provide a first look at harmonised CPI data for July.

Also on investors' radars, after Thursday's US market close, technology giants Amazon and Apple will update investors.

Friday 01 August

INTERIMS

IMI, IMI, IMI, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI), Intertek Group

INTERIM DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

Heavitree Brewery, Heavitree Brewery 'A' Shares, Merchants Trust 3.65% Cumulative Preference 1, NCC Group, Premier Miton Group

QUARTERLY PAYMENT DATE

British American Tobacco, CT UK High Income Trust, CT UK High Income Trust B , Mercantile Investment Trust (The), TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

Construction Spending (US) (15:00)

ISM Manufacturing (US) (15:00)

Non-Farm Payrolls (US) (13:30)

PMI Manufacturing (EU) (09:00)

PMI Manufacturing (GER) (08:55)

PMI Manufacturing (US) (14:45)

U. of Michigan Confidence (US) (15:00)

Unemployment Rate (US) (13:30)

Q2

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI)

AGMS

Braveheart Investment Group, Windar Photonics

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Hornby

UK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

PMI Manufacturing (09:30)

FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATE

B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI), Discoverie Group, GB Group, ICG, Motorpoint Group, Next, Norcros, Tate & Lyle, United Utilities Group, Vianet Group, Vodafone Group, Workspace Group
Competition authorities in the UK launched a probe on Thursday into possible 'market dominance' in cloud services aimed at US technology giants Amazon and Microsoft .

According to the Competition and Markets Authority, market concentration and barriers to entry in the market for cloud services have given the two companies "significant unilateral" market power and allowed them to generate undue profits.

Amazon and Microsoft both have an approximately 30-40% share of the infrastructure-as-a-service market.

For Microsoft, the watchdog "misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes."

Through their data centres, cloud service providers offer businesses enhanced abilities to process and store data, as well as to manage networks.

Google, the third-largest player in the IaaS market, lauded the CMA's decision, saying that it would unleash choice, innovation and economic growth in the UK.
London stocks finished on a mixed note on Thursday, despite well-received results from the likes of Rolls-Royce, Rentokil and Shell.

The FTSE 100 drifted lower by 0.05% to 9,132.81, while the second-tier index ran up 0.86% to 21,962.83.

"The mornings positive atmosphere has given way to much more cautious trading," said IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp.

"Last nights [US] tech results seemed to deliver the tonic investors had been looking for, but caught between more tech earnings and some harsh tariff rhetoric, stocks have given back their gains. Even with tonights earnings out of the way, there is still the hurdle of payrolls tomorrow to navigate.

Overnight, the US Federal Reserve had kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged on Wednesday at between 4.25% and 4.50%, as widely expected.

But Fed chair Jerome Powell sounded a bit more hawkish note than anticipated by some economists.

Worth noting, investors the world over were also waiting on the all-important monthly US non-farm payrolls figures due out the next day.

And US technology giants Amazon and Apple were due to release results after the close of the New York session on Thursday.

Fresh record high for Rolls-Royce

Aerospace and defence engineer Rolls-Royce surged to the top of the FTSE 100 as it raised its full-year guidance after a strong first half, in which underlying revenues grew by double-digits and operating profits surged by 50%.

The company now expects to book a full-year underlying operating profit of 3.1bn-3.2bn for 2025, up from previous guidance of 2.7bn-2.9bn, while the free cash flow target has been upped to 3.0bn-3.1bn from 2.7bn-2.9bn.

Rentokil advanced as it backed its full-year outlook and hailed a "solid" first half, in line with expectations, and an improving performance in North America.

St Jamess Place also gained after results, while energy giant Shell gushed higher as it reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings but still sharply lower than a year ago on the back of weak oil and gas prices.

Adjusted earnings came in at $4.26bn for the three month period, beating average estimates of $3.74bn in a company-compiled poll, but down 24% on 2024s $6.3bn. For the half year earnings were down 30% to $9.8bn.

Shares in financial services firm Just Group rocketed after it agreed to be bought by US-based Brookfield Wealth Solutions in a 2.4bn deal.

JTC also rose sharply after the professional services business reported a record first half for new business wins and announced the acquisition of trust and estate planning services firm Kleinwort Hambros Trust (KHT).

Standard Chartered ticked up as it posted a better-than-expected 26% jump in first-half pre-tax profit to $4.38bn.

On the downside, Mondi slid as the paper and packaging group warned that an uncertain economic environment would continue to impact trading in the second half of the year and reported a fall in interim profits.

Pets at Home slumped as it cut its full-year profit guidance, pointing to "subdued" retail market growth rates.

Retailer Next edged up as it lifted guidance for full-price sales in the second half and full-year pre-tax profit after a better-than-expected second quarter.

Vodafone lost ground after a downgrade to sell at Goldman Sachs.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 9,132.81 -0.05%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 21,962.83 0.86%

techMARK (TASX) 5,279.45 -0.21%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,071.50p 8.45%

Rentokil Initial (RTO) 369.00p 6.46%

St James's Place (STJ) 1,239.50p 5.99%

Spirax Group (SPX) 6,480.00p 2.37%

Shell (SHEL) 2,734.50p 2.07%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 378.20p 1.94%

Croda International (CRDA) 2,594.00p 1.77%

Weir Group (WEIR) 2,680.00p 1.75%

Convatec Group (CTEC) 235.00p 1.73%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 516.80p 1.69%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Mondi (MNDI) 1,105.00p -5.43%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,887.00p -5.39%

Glencore (GLEN) 298.80p -4.14%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 4,407.00p -3.95%

Anglo American (AAL) 2,146.00p -3.81%

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 9,674.00p -3.79%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 80.78p -3.30%

Whitbread (WTB) 3,052.00p -2.37%

Haleon (HLN) 357.10p -2.14%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,402.00p -1.96%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Just Group (JUST) 211.50p 67.86%

JTC (JTC) 925.00p 12.53%

Chrysalis Investments Limited NPV (CHRY) 123.80p 10.54%

Elementis (ELM) 171.00p 6.34%

Drax Group (DRX) 711.50p 4.94%

Polar Capital Technology Trust (PCT) 404.00p 2.80%

Hammerson (HMSO) 302.20p 2.65%

Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trust (HSL) 880.00p 2.56%

Allianz Technology Trust (ATT) 475.50p 2.48%

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 250.40p 1.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

RHI Magnesita N.V. (DI) (RHIM) 2,495.00p -5.13%

Diversified Energy Company (DEC) 1,108.00p -3.74%

BlackRock World Mining Trust (BRWM) 549.00p -2.66%

Pets at Home Group (PETS) 237.20p -2.55%

Helios Towers (HTWS) 115.80p -2.36%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 272.00p -2.30%

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The eurozones long-suffering manufacturing sector inched closer to recovery as the pace of contraction slowed in July, according to a survey published on Friday.

The HCOB eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' Index confirmed a flash reading, rising to 49.8 from 49.5 in June, its highest level since July 2021.

A mark of 50 separates growth from contraction.

"Manufacturing in the euro zone is cautiously regaining momentum. With the newly agreed trade framework between the EU and the US, uncertainty should decline, and the signs point to a continued upward trend in the coming months," said Cyrus de la Rubia, chief economist at Hamburg Commercial Bank.

The eurozone as a whole saw factory production levels rise in July, marking five successive monthly expansions.

The increase slowed slightly from June, however, and was the softest since March. Weighing on output was a fresh decline in new business. The deterioration in demand was small, but nevertheless the quickest in four months.

Export sales were a drag on total order volumes, latest survey data revealed, with new work received from international clients falling after stabilising in the previous month.

The US reached a framework trade deal with the European Union on Sunday, imposing a 15% import tariff on most EU goods.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
By Akbar Novruz



Testimonies of civilians affected by Armenias missile and artillery attacks during the 44-day Patriotic War were heard at the Baku Military Court on August 1.

Akifa Bayramova, a resident of Ganja, recounted how her home was destroyed by a rocket strike from Armenian armed forces around 2 a.m. on October 11, 2020.

I was injured. My grandson was pulled from the rubble and is still undergoing treatment, she told the court.

Another victim, Sevinj Hasanova, testified that she and her relatives were injured during an artillery shelling in Goranboy on October 5, 2020, while visiting her brothers family.

These hearings are part of the ongoing trial against citizens of Armenia accused of grave crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of terrorism, and violations of international humanitarian law during the war.
ACCRA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese medical experts and their Ghanaian counterparts convened a summit in Accra, Ghana's capital, on Thursday to promote the adoption of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) as a means to improve healthcare outcomes across West Africa.

The summit was jointly organized by the Health Community of West Africa, a Chinese private institution operating in Ghana, the Ghana Health Service, and the University of Ghana. It brought together medical professionals from academic institutions, healthcare facilities, medical supply companies, and public and private stakeholders in the health sector.

Yang Yongguang, head of the 14th batch of the Chinese medical team in Ghana, described the summit as a testament to the enduring partnership between China and West Africa, noting that this is the fruit of friendship-driven cooperation, uniting doctors, hospitals, and nations in a shared purpose and lasting collaboration.

Yang highlighted the advantages of MIS, which include reduced pain, less blood loss, quicker recovery, and shorter hospital stays. "In China, we have been using these methods for many years, and we are happy to share our experiences with our friends in Ghana and West Africa," he said.

Samuel Debrah, dean of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, hailed MIS as a transformative advancement in surgical care, noting that MIS represents a paradigm shift in health service delivery and significantly improves surgical outcomes.

Debrah said MIS not only accelerates patient recovery but also helps decongest operating theaters and recovery wards, allowing more procedures to be performed daily and providing faster relief to a larger number of patients.

He expressed confidence in the collaboration with the Chinese medical team. "Through this partnership, we are gaining the necessary skills and equipment to perform these advanced procedures," he said. 
Edgar Award-winner Elly Griffiths's beguiling The Frozen People turns on a captivating dilemma. Fifty-year-old Alison Dawson is a time-traveling cold-case detective in 2023 London with a 30-year-old son, Finn, and three ex-husbands. Alison's government-supported Department of Logistics sends agents back in time to resolve cases "so cold they are frozen"; Finn is special adviser to Tory member of Parliament Isaac Templeton. Mother's and son's work paths cross when self-aggrandizing Templeton, writing a book about his great-great-grandfather, Cain, wants to exonerate him of the murders of three women. The catch: the supposed crimes occurred in the 1850s, and no one in Alison's department has ever traveled back that far.

The clever hook: team members enter past realms through a portal called "the gate." They arrive at a specific spot, mark it with invisible ink, and return to that ingress point to exit. Alison prepares for her Victorian adventure with knee-length bloomers, whalebone corset, and a poke bonnet. What she doesn't prepare for is to be stranded in the January "mini-ice age" blizzard. Expecting to stay an hour in 1850, Alison is trapped for days.

Complications ensue in Alison's home zone when Finn is accused of murder. Griffiths seamlessly shuffles overlapping clues that might solve murders in both time periods. When a dastardly 19th-century culprit uses Alison's portal, he may be loose committing 21st-century crimes. Thrills mount as readers follow the team's amazing race against time. The totally unexpected and head-spinning solution makes for an engagingly impressive whendunit. --Robert Allen Papinchak, freelance book critic
Kathy Wang's poignant, charming third novel, The Satisfaction Cafe, follows the unpredictable decades of a Taiwan immigrant's California life. In 1975, 25-year-old Joan Liang is two years into her Stanford master's program. "For her entire life thus far, Joan [has] been a very good girl," but six weeks into her marriage, she (non-fatally) stabs her husband--because he deserves it.

Single again, she meets 51-year-old Bill--white, wealthy, thrice-divorced, with twins just a year younger than Joan. Lawyers and financial advisers get involved, but Joan and Bill's contented (enough) union lasts, producing two more children, Jamie by birth, Lee by adoption (she's Bill's sister's daughter). When Bill dies, his eldest son, Theo, sets the family's iconic mansion ablaze after learning he didn't inherit it. Rather than rebuilding, Joan eventually opens the Satisfaction Cafe. Inspired by a chance encounter with a professional Tokyo hostess, her "special" cafe is "a place one visited for conversation." And the customers come.

Wang (Family Trust) places Joan center stage, but she's equally attentive to the supporting cast, creating diverse, memorably quirky characters: Joan's acerbic mother; Jamie and his problematic "desire to please"; reliable lawyer Nelson; Jamie's colleague Ellison, who becomes Joan's employee. Wang writes with an easiness, never wallowing despite a lingering loneliness. She slyly addresses issues of racism and inequity with sharp wit: Jamie warns Joan to "behave" and not "do that thing you sometimes do... when you answer questions bluntly and pretend you don't know it's rude because English isn't your first language." For lucky readers, Wang expertly, gratifyingly nurtures that incisive directness throughout. --Terry Hong
India's First 1 MW Green Hydrogen Plant commissioned at Deendayal Port, Kandla, with a capacity to produce 140 metric tonnes annually.

Boost to Maritime Decarbonisation, supporting eco-friendly and sustainable port operations under Maritime India Vision 2030.

Fully Indigenous Project, executed in just 4 months by Indian engineers in collaboration with L&T, showcasing Aatmanirbhar Bharat in clean energy.

Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, inaugurated Indias first indigenously developed 1 MW Green Hydrogen Power Plant at the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kandla, Gujarat. This marks a significant stride in Indias commitment to sustainable maritime operations and clean energy leadership.

Developed entirely by Indian engineers, the plant is capable of producing approximately 140 metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually. It is part of the larger 10 MW Green Hydrogen project, for which the foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhuj on May 26 this year.

hydrogen ecosystem that sets a benchmark for other ports to follow. Commending the swift execution of the project, Sonowal hailed the 1 MW modules commissioning within just four months as a 'shining example of speed, scale, and skill' under the Maritime India Vision 2030. He lauded the Aatmanirbhar initiative, describing the facility as a future-readythat sets a benchmark for other ports to follow.

This is not just a technological milestone but a beacon of Indias green transformation under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Sonowal. DPA has turned the vision into reality, showcasing our nations capacity for innovation and sustainable development.

The Deendayal Port Authority has previously introduced Indias first Made-in-India all-electric green tug, further reinforcing its leadership in eco-friendly port operations.

Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Shantanu Thakur, echoed the sentiment, stating, This achievement makes not just Gujarat, but the entire country proud. It reinforces Indias rising stature in the global clean energy landscape.

Also present at the inauguration were Ports Secretary T.K. Ramachandran, DPA Chairman Sushil Kumar Singh, and senior officials from the ministry, port, and project partner L&T. Sonowal especially applauded L&Ts engineering team for executing the complex project with precision and speed.

This milestone project underscores Indias resolute path toward achieving net-zero emissions and setting a global standard for green port infrastructure.
Property insurance is a risk management tool that financially protects physical assets, such as homes, offices, or commercial buildings, from associated exposures, including fire, theft, weather events, and accidental damage. India is particularly susceptible to loss from all of these risks due to its geography, urbanisation, and infrastructure.

Property insurance plays a crucial role in mitigating financial losses resulting from unforeseen events. This blog will highlight some of the basic concepts of property insurance by discussing the key events that drive the need for property insurance in India.

What is Property Insurance?

Property insurance is a financial protection policy that covers damage or loss to physical property, such as a home, commercial buildings or personal property. It compensates for substantial out-of-pocket expenses incurred for repairing or replacing property due to unexpected events, such as fire, theft, natural disasters, or vandalism.

In India, property insurance typically offers coverage for the structure and contents of the insured property. It may even include coverage for liability exposure if someone is injured on the insured premises. This insurance is a vital tool for owners/tenants to safeguard their assets, ensure continuity, and manage financial risks associated with owning or renting property.

Key Coverages Under Property Insurance in India

The property insurance policies available in India provide limited protection through key coverages primarily designed for consumers and business owners. These are: Structural Coverage: Building coverage protects the physical structure of the property, including its walls, roof, foundation, and built-in storage and fixtures. Damage to the building caused by fire, storm, or accidental means is covered, allowing owners to rebuild or repair without incurring the repair.

Building coverage protects the physical structure of the property, including its walls, roof, foundation, and built-in storage and fixtures. Damage to the building caused by fire, storm, or accidental means is covered, allowing owners to rebuild or repair without incurring the repair. Personal Belongings Protection: This coverage includes household items such as furniture, appliances, electronics, and clothing. If theft or damage, or destruction occurs, the insurer pays for the loss of personal property on the premises.

This coverage includes household items such as furniture, appliances, electronics, and clothing. If theft or damage, or destruction occurs, the insurer pays for the loss of personal property on the premises. Natural Disaster Coverage: Coverage against natural calamities, such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and storms, is offered within a base policy or as an optional add-on. Since India frequently experiences these types of events, having this coverage for substantial loss risks is essential.

Coverage against natural calamities, such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, and storms, is offered within a base policy or as an optional add-on. Since India frequently experiences these types of events, having this coverage for substantial loss risks is essential. Theft and Vandalism Protection: This coverage helps pay for losses resulting from burglary, theft, or vandalism. This includes replacement costs for stolen items and repairs for property damaged as a result of vandalism, protecting the insured from unwanted threats to their security.

This coverage helps pay for losses resulting from burglary, theft, or vandalism. This includes replacement costs for stolen items and repairs for property damaged as a result of vandalism, protecting the insured from unwanted threats to their security. Liability Coverage: If a visitor or third party suffers injury on the property, the liability coverage pays for medical bills and legal expenses, protecting the property owner from potential lawsuits and financial obligations.

If a visitor or third party suffers injury on the property, the liability coverage pays for medical bills and legal expenses, protecting the property owner from potential lawsuits and financial obligations. Loss of Use: This coverage, in the event your property becomes uninhabitable because of a covered peril, will pay for additional living expenses, including temporary accommodation, food, and transportation until the house is repaired.

Why is Property Insurance Essential in India?

With India's increasing urbanisation, frequent natural disasters, and the changing nature of the real estate sector, property insurance has become a necessity. Below are reasons why property insurance is necessary:

Protection Against Natural Disasters: India is vulnerable to floods, earthquakes, cyclones, and storms. Property insurance protects against the cost of repairs and rebuilding your assets and property in the event of common incidents. In FY 202425, Digit Insurance settled 95 crore in claims for flood and inundation damage. These payouts came from 529 separate flood events, including a large 3 crore claim in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh.

India is vulnerable to floods, earthquakes, cyclones, and storms. Property insurance protects against the cost of repairs and rebuilding your assets and property in the event of common incidents. In FY 202425, settled 95 crore in claims for flood and inundation damage. These payouts came from 529 separate flood events, including a large 3 crore claim in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh. Financial Security for Homeowners and Businesses: Insurance protects homeowners from the economic distress that can accompany the loss of value caused by accidental damage to their property, as property values and developments have increased.

Insurance protects homeowners from the economic distress that can accompany the loss of value caused by accidental damage to their property, as property values and developments have increased. Legal and Liability Coverage: Liability protection will cover legal and medical costs associated with an injury to a visitor on the property, protecting the owner from expensive liability lawsuits.

Liability protection will cover legal and medical costs associated with an injury to a visitor on the property, protecting the owner from expensive liability lawsuits. Peace of Mind: Insurance gives you peace of mind that unforeseen catastrophes or even theft will not leave you with nothing financially, and allows you to invest in a property without worry.

Insurance gives you peace of mind that unforeseen catastrophes or even theft will not leave you with nothing financially, and allows you to invest in a property without worry. Supports Mortgage and Loan Requirements: Financial institutions in India often require property insurance for loans and mortgages to ensure they maintain interest on their investment, just like the borrower.

Benefits of Property Insurance

Property insurance not only provides coverage for harm but also offers numerous benefits, including security, ease, and financial certainty for the property owner. Among the key benefits are:

Cost Protection from Unforeseen Losses: Insurance covers the cost of expensive repairs and replacements after a fire, theft, or disaster, preventing out-of-pocket expenditures for property owners. For homeowners, this financial cushion usually comes from a home insurance policy. It protects both the building and its contents during such events.

Insurance covers the cost of expensive repairs and replacements after a fire, theft, or disaster, preventing out-of-pocket expenditures for property owners. For homeowners, this financial cushion usually comes from a policy. It protects both the building and its contents during such events. Comprehensive Risk Coverage: Policies generally cover a range of risks, often including natural disasters, accidents, worker injuries, thefts, and vandalism, providing full coverage.

Policies generally cover a range of risks, often including natural disasters, accidents, worker injuries, thefts, and vandalism, providing full coverage. Liability Coverage for Third-Party Injuries: Protects homeowners and businesses from liability for injuries to others on their property.

Protects homeowners and businesses from liability for injuries to others on their property. Additional Living Expenses Coverage: Pays for alternative housing, if needed, when damage to the insured property renders it temporarily unlivable and involves a covered peril.

Pays for alternative housing, if needed, when damage to the insured property renders it temporarily unlivable and involves a covered peril. Customizable Add-Ons : Policyholders can personalise their protection and add coverage for floods, earthquakes, or valuables based on individual needs.

: Policyholders can personalise their protection and add coverage for floods, earthquakes, or valuables based on individual needs. Encourages Responsible Property Management: Insurance policies create an incentive for better property maintenance, minimise negligence, and reduce the risks of loss or damage.

Insurance policies create an incentive for better property maintenance, minimise negligence, and reduce the risks of loss or damage. Facilitates Quick Claims Settlement : With the correct documents in place, insureds may receive timely payment for a claim, enabling quicker restoration and peace of mind.

: With the correct documents in place, insureds may receive timely payment for a claim, enabling quicker restoration and peace of mind. Supports Financial Stability: By transferring risk to the insurer, property owners avoid incurring unforeseen costs due to a sudden catastrophic event.

Standard Exclusions and Limitations in Property Insurance

Property insurance in India offers essential protection against various risks, but it also includes exclusions and limitations that insurers impose to manage the level of risk and deter misuse. Typical exclusions are as follows:



1. Wear and Tear: Loss caused by wear and tear, gradual deterioration, ageing or lack of in-service maintenance will not be covered. Property policies respond to sudden and accidental events (losses) but do not cover losses caused by ordinary wear and tear, as these are the owner's responsibility.

2. Intentional Damage and Negligence: Intentional damage or loss caused exclusively by the policyholder, or damage caused by gross carelessness, is excluded. This includes situations such as deliberate damage, misuse of a specific property or appliance, fraud, and a policyholder's failure to exercise reasonable care, which would exclude the claim under the insurance terms.

3. Faulty Construction and Material Defects: Any loss resulting from faulty workmanship, poor-quality construction materials, faulty design, or inherent defects is excluded. Insurance policies protect against injury from accidental damage, but do not have to cover structural faults and defects that occur before or as a result of poor construction quality.

4. Unoccupancy Limits: Most property insurance policies set limits or exclusions if the insured property has been vacant or unoccupied for a specified period (commonly 30 to 45 days). The longer a property remains vacant, the higher the risk that damage or theft will go undetected, which can lead to insurance companies limiting coverage for residential properties.

5. Business Equipment Exclusion: Equipment and assets used for commercial or industrial purposes located on a residential property are typically not covered under a standard residential property insurance policy. These items will require separate business insurance unless they are specifically included in the policy.

How Property Insurance Works in India?

Property Insurance works on the principle of transfer of risk. In exchange for premiums, the insured transfers their risk to the insurer, who will pay for any losses by the coverage selected. The flow is as follows:

Step 1: Policy Purchase and Premium Payment: The owner selects the type of coverage and the sum insured, and then pays the premiums, which are typically paid annually or monthly.

Step 2: Risk Assessment: Insurers consider several factors, such as location, property type, and risk profile, to determine the premium to charge and the terms of coverage. Step 3: Coverage Activation: When coverage is activated, the insurance will cover losses caused by the perils listed in your policy, such as fire, theft, or natural disasters. Step 4: Claim Intimation and Documentation: If a loss occurs, the policyholder calls the insurer, reports the loss, and submits proof, including a damage report, a police FIR (if applicable), or invoices. Step 5: Loss Assessment and Survey: The insurer will assess the loss using either an inspection method or documents to ascertain the validity of the claim. Step 6: Claim Settlement: Once the claim is approved, the insurer will indemnify the claim by repairing, replacing, or paying based on the insured's perils, as outlined in the policy.

Factors Affecting Property Insurance Premiums

Several factors can influence the cost of property insurance premiums in India, which are determined by the specific risks and coverage requirements. Some key factors to consider are the following: Location of the Property: Properties located in high-risk areas for flood, earthquake, or burglary are more likely to be exposed to higher premiums because they are exposed to greater risks.

Properties located in high-risk areas for flood, earthquake, or burglary are more likely to be exposed to higher premiums because they are exposed to greater risks. Type and Age of Property: Older properties or buildings built using risk-prone materials usually carry higher premiums because of damage

Older properties or buildings built using risk-prone materials usually carry higher premiums because of damage Sum Insured and Coverage Amount: The greater the coverage limit or coverage add-on, the higher the premiums, as this increases the potential liability for the insurer.

The greater the coverage limit or coverage add-on, the higher the premiums, as this increases the potential liability for the insurer. Security Features: Properties with enhanced security systems, fire alarms, and supervision may be eligible for discounts.

Properties with enhanced security systems, fire alarms, and supervision may be eligible for discounts. Claims History: Multiple claims can affect premiums, as more frequent claims come with a higher risk at premium renewals, necessitating a justification for a premium increase.

Multiple claims can affect premiums, as more frequent claims come with a higher risk at premium renewals, necessitating a justification for a premium increase. Occupancy and Usage: Rates can change based on whether the premises are residential or commercial, or rented, as applicable to their risk profile, as well as their use intensity.

Rates can change based on whether the premises are residential or commercial, or rented, as applicable to their risk profile, as well as their use intensity. Deductibles Chosen: Policies with higher deductibles (the amount the insured must pay before the insurance coverage begins) tend to have lower premiums, and vice versa.

How to Choose the Right Property Insurance Policy?

Choosing the correct property insurance policy requires a thoughtful decision to ensure that you have enough coverage without spending more than necessary. Here are some essential tips for selecting a property insurance policy:

Assess Your Coverage Needs: Consider the value of your property and contents, as well as the specific risks (such as floods and earthquakes) at your location.

Consider the value of your property and contents, as well as the specific risks (such as floods and earthquakes) at your location. Check Policy Inclusions and Exclusions: Get a clear understanding of what perils are covered and what are excluded so you do not have any surprises at claim time.

Get a clear understanding of what perils are covered and what are excluded so you do not have any surprises at claim time. Compare Premiums and Coverage: Obtain quotes from as many insurers as necessary to find competitive premiums that match your desired coverage benefits.

Obtain quotes from as many insurers as necessary to find competitive premiums that match your desired coverage benefits. Look for Customizable Options: Choose policies that offer add-ins for additional risks or valuable items.

Choose policies that offer add-ins for additional risks or valuable items. Verify Claim Settlement Track Record: Check the insurer's claim history before purchasing a policy. You can check customer reviews and stories to know the inside details.

Check the insurer's claim history before purchasing a policy. You can check customer reviews and stories to know the inside details. Read the Terms and Conditions Carefully: Pay attention to the fine print on deductibles, waiting period lengths, and documentation needed to avoid claim denial.

In an environment in India that is constantly at risk, having property insurance is not just good practice, but essential. Whether protecting residential or commercial assets, it provides crucial financial security, facilitating a prompt recovery and enabling longer-term prudence. With increasing property prices, there is a greater exposure to damage, making the risk of not having insurance substantial.

Investing in a reliable and suitable property insurance policy will ultimately protect the assets that you have spent your hard-earned money on, regardless of the circumstances. It forms an integral part of any responsible financial plan and asset management process.
New York City recently released admissions data for specialized high schools for fall 2025. This photo shows Staten Island Technical High School's 2025 commencement ceremony at the College of Staten Island, Willobrook. (Advance/SILive.com | Jason Paderon)

New York City has released new data that reveals stark disparities in offer rates to specialized high schools this fall across racial and ethnic groups.

Black and Hispanic students  who represented nearly 45% of test-takers overall  received just 9.9% of offers combined, according to the numbers.

The data showed that Black students received just 3% of offers this fall, compared to 4.5% last year, while Hispanic students received 6.9% of offers this year, compared to 7.6% in fall 2024 admissions.

In contrast, Asian students made up over 32% of test-takers and received more than half of all offers, or 53.5%  which is a slight uptick from last year, according to the data. White students received 25.9% of offers, despite comprising just 17.3% of test-takers. The percentage of white students who received an offer remained flat compared to last years admissions.

These gaps highlight ongoing concerns about equity and access in the citys most competitive public high schools.

Specialized high schools are selective public schools that offer an advanced or focused curriculum based on students results on the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test.

Of the eight specialized high schools that require an entrance exam, five of them admitted 10 or fewer Black students this fall, according to data.

Overall, there were approximately 26,000 students across the city who competed for seats at the citys specialized high schools this year, according to Department of Education numbers. Citywide, 4,023 students received offers.

The citys specialized high schools had faced backlash from the previous mayoral administration due to low numbers of admission offers to Black and Hispanic students. Some schools, like Staten Island Technical High School, have outreach programs that work to engage underrepresented middle schools.

As in previous years, students received offers to the Discovery Program this past spring  which means the number of students accepted into specialized high schools could increase.

The initiative, which aims to increase diversity, offers programs that are three to five weeks long in the summer, providing an opportunity for certain disadvantaged students who scored with a certain range on the entrance exam to attend a specialized school in the fall. Participation in the program is by invitation only.

According to the DOE, 785 students will be participating in this summers Discovery Program. Those who successfully complete the program will receive a seat at one of the eight testing Specialized High Schools.

However, even within this initiative, Asian students accounted for more than 60% of participants, while Black and Hispanic students made up just over a quarter, the data showed.
Cambodian soldiers receive a returned Cambodian soldier at O'Smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, Aug. 1, 2025. The Thai army on Friday released two out of 20 Cambodian soldiers that it captured after a ceasefire took effect, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said. (Agence Kampuchea Press/Handout via Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Thai army on Friday released two out of 20 Cambodian soldiers that it captured after a ceasefire took effect, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said.

"As of 11:00 a.m. (local time) on Aug. 1, 2025, the Thai side had returned only two Cambodian soldiers," Defense Ministry's Undersecretary of State and spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said in a statement.

"Therefore, Cambodia continues to urge the Thai side to promptly repatriate the remaining personnel in accordance with international humanitarian law," she added. 

This photo shows the O'Smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, Aug. 1, 2025. The Thai army on Friday released two out of 20 Cambodian soldiers that it captured after a ceasefire took effect, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said. (Agence Kampuchea Press/Handout via Xinhua)

Thai soldiers return a captured Cambodian soldier to Cambodia at O'Smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, Aug. 1, 2025. The Thai army on Friday released two out of 20 Cambodian soldiers that it captured after a ceasefire took effect, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said. (Agence Kampuchea Press/Handout via Xinhua)

Thai soldiers return a captured Cambodian soldier to Cambodia at O'Smach border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia, Aug. 1, 2025. The Thai army on Friday released two out of 20 Cambodian soldiers that it captured after a ceasefire took effect, a Cambodian defense ministry spokesperson said. (Agence Kampuchea Press/Handout via Xinhua)
New additions to the Richmond University Medical Center Board of Trustees are, from left, the Rev. Lester J. Figueroa, Heather M. Butts and Anne M. Boyle. (Courtesy of Richmond University Medical Center)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Richmond University Medical Center has welcomed three new members to its Board of Trustees.

The newly appointed trustees at the West Brighton hospital are Anne M. Boyle, Heather M. Butts and the Rev. Lester J. Figueroa. The new trustees will help guide and support the non-profit hospital, which is a safety net hospital, providing health care to all individuals, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay.

The new trustees began their term on July 1.

We are honored to welcome these three outstanding individuals to our Board of Trustees, said RUMC President and CEO Dr. Daniel J. Messina. Each brings a unique perspective and depth of experience that will be invaluable as we continue to advance our mission of delivering exceptional care to our community.

The leadership of the new members will help guide the strategic direction of the hospital and ensure it remains focused on innovation, equity, and compassionate service, Messina said.

It is an honor to welcome Heather, Anne and Lester to the Board,' said Timothy C. Harrison, chairman of RUMCs Board of Trustees. Actually, it is more than an honor. These are individuals of high personal and professional caliber, each with extraordinary records of community service. Beyond that, each possesses skill sets and experiences that are of vital importance to the Board, and to RUMC, as we navigate challenges that all hospitals  and particularly safety net hospitals  now face. All of us on the Board look forward to serving with, and learning from, Heather, Anne, and Lester, and are deeply grateful for their service.

The new trustees

Anne M. Boyle

Boyle is a human resources professional with 35 years of experience in human resources leadership. She earned her associates and bachelors degrees in business management and finance from the City University of New York, and pursued her masters degree from Brooklyn College. She also received her masters of science degree in human resources from Cornell University. Currently, she is a human resources senior executive and EVP at Wells Fargo, leading human resources for the Chief Operations Office. She also serves as president of the Pride (LGBTQ+) Employee Resource Network at Wells Fargo.

She began her human resources career at NatWest Markets and its predecessor, National Westminster Bank Plc, followed by a position as senior vice president and CHRO of Commerzbank Capital Markets Corp., where she was also a CAO in the Equity and Fixed Income Division.

Boyle went on to serve as vice president at Lehman Brothers and as a senior HR business partner at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals from 2003 to 2006. From May 2006 to November 2020, she was managing director and head of HR Operations at Bank of New York Mellon, where she also led Human Resources for Asset Management, Wealth Management, Corporate Trust, and Capital Markets.

She is also a former elementary school teacher for the New York City Department of Education.

Quality medical care is critical to our community in Staten Island, Boyle said. As a lifelong Staten Islander who has seen the population growth on Staten Island, continued expansion of health care and trauma care are front and center to our needs.

I am proud to join the Board of a Level One Adult and Level II Pediatric Trauma Center, which has attracted strong leadership, doctors, nurses, and a board of distinguished members of our community to further RUMCs mission,' Boyle said.

Heather M. Butts

Butts is an accomplished academic and professional with extensive experience in public health, law, and ethics. She received her bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, where she was a history major, concentrating in American and African American Studies. She received her juris doctor from St. Johns University School of Law; her masters in public health from Harvard University, and her masters in education from Columbia Universitys Teachers College.

Her professional experience includes roles at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked on regulatory compliance, clinical trial oversight and human research protection. She also held positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Columbia University Medical Center.

Currently, Butts serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. She is also the faculty course lead for the Leadership Course at the Mailman School of Public Health.

Butts is co-founder of the Staten Island-based non-profit H.E.A.L.T.H for Youths Inc.

Formed in 2009, the organizations mission is to improve the quality of education, health care and life-skills training offered to adolescent and young adults. The organization teams up with close to 100 partners each year to help more than 7,000 students achieve their dream of going to college.

It is an honor to have been selected to be a Trustee of Richmond University Medical Center. Butts said As a public health professional and professor, I have long followed the innovative work at RUMC and am eager to contribute to the efforts of this vital institution. Thank you to the Board and staff of RUMC for your dedication to the Staten Island community.

The Rev. Lester J. Figueroa

Figueroa was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and studied at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, where he completed his undergraduate and post graduate degrees in political science, international relations, public and private administration, and law. He is also a graduate of ministerial studies at Global University and is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God.

Figueroa began practicing law in 1984, and in 1990 became a partner at Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler, Nahins & Goidel, P.C. where he has been employed since 1984.

Figueroa has been an active advocate of civil rights and leadership developments throughout his adult life. In 1993, Figueroa helped establish the Latino Civic Association, a non-profit that services the growing Hispanic community on Staten Island.

In 2001, Figueroa became an associate pastor at International Christian Center on Staten Island, which became a strong, vibrant, and growing Hispanic congregation. In 2008, Figueroa became lead pastor of Calvary Assembly of God. And though at the time Calvarys membership and attendance had declined, it has currently increased attendance and services, and also hosts healing services and a food pantry.

I am honored to be a member of a team where its members are dedicated to making us all better, Figueroa said. Health care is a vital component of the life of a community, and this position will allow me to employ my resources and talents to serve RUMC in its efforts to continue to serve Staten Island with excellence.
President Donald Trump suggested that he could take shock action against U.S. cities that disobey him on immigration enforcement.

The Daily Mail reported that Trump on his Truth Social site posted a meme that suggests that he could impose martial law in order to take control of sanctuary cities that break U.S. immigration laws.

The meme also implied that that president could arrest insurrectionist mayors who make it harder for federal immigration enforcement agents to do their jobs.

The meme includes a black-and-white image of Abraham Lincoln surrounded by words made to appear as if spoken by the 16th president, who restored the Union by winning the Civil War.

Sanctuary City mayors are defying federal law, the meme reads. They are insurrectionists just like the southern governors during the Civil War.

It continues, President Trump should declare martial law in those cities, arrest the mayors, appoint military governors, and restore the rule of law, just like I did, the Lincoln meme reads.

Lincoln imposed martial law in certain parts of the U.S. while prosecuting the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.

Violent protests broke out earlier this year in Los Angeles between pro-immigration demonstrators and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Trump caught heat for dispatching U.S. Marine and National Guard troops to the Golden State to quell the protests.

Trump last month said that the White House has tremendous power to take control of U.S. cities.

Trump made the remark after being asked about the possible election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of the City of New York.

Trump said, Were not going to have  if a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to.

Trump did not lay out exactly what steps the federal government could take in order to assume control over the five boroughs.
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MANILA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has said it will provide 700 million U.S. dollars for a project to strengthen the Philippines' resilience to natural disasters and climate change.

Approximately 18 million households in the Philippines are expected to become less vulnerable to natural disasters in the coming years, due to enhanced community-led planning and infrastructure investments, the World Bank said in a press release on Thursday.

Of the total 874.35 million dollars, the World Bank will provide 700 million dollars through an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan. The Philippine government will provide the remaining 174.35 million dollars.

The Philippines ranks at the top of the World Risk Index due to its high vulnerability and exposure to cyclical extreme events, making it one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, the World Bank said. 
From the 1960s through to the 1990s, the mine reigned supreme as the worlds primary source of rare earth elements, before China muscled in and took control of the global market.

Hosted in rare earths-rich carbonatite rocks threaded with fenite and trachyte dykes, Mountain Pass still plays a critical role, not just as a mine, but as home to one of the only rare earths processing plants in the US.

And heres where things really start to hum for Locksley. If the drill rig hits its mark at El Campo or Desert, the nearby plant could become a ready-made, right-next-door option to process its ore - potentially slotting seamlessly into Americas push for critical metal independence.

This would likely be music to Apple Incs ears. The tech titan recently tipped in a cool US$500 million into Mountain Passs parent company to lock down a domestic supply of rare earth magnets - underscoring the strategic importance of the Mojave region.

Locksleys upcoming exploration campaign will hit up two separate systems. The first five holes will test the El Campo prospect for rare earths over a defined 860-metre strike. Three follow-up holes will then zero in on stibnite-rich antimony mineralisation at the old-timer Desert antimony mine, eight kilometres north.

Early sampling at the companys El Campo grounds has already thrown up some head-turning rock chips, delivering rare earth riches of up to 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 3.19 per cent neodymium-praseodymium.

Not to be outdone, the Desert prospect has coughed up rock chips grading a jaw-dropping 46 per cent antimony and 1022 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.

Despite recording huge grades, the old mine at site has never been tested with modern drilling. Now, three holes will test for stibnite-rich mineralisation using modern geophysics and targeting technologies.

Locksley Resources chairman Nathan Lude said: We are extremely pleased with the level of demand and the quality of institutional participation in this placement. This funding places us in a strong position to execute our exploration and downstream plans across the Mojave project and unlock the full value of our US-based critical minerals portfolio.

Both antimony and rare earths are listed as critical to US defence, semiconductors and electric vehicles. However, with no current domestic production of the former and a very limited supply of the latter, the US Government is extremely keen to rectify the situation.

In March, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to fast-track permitting for critical mineral projects, including authorisation for direct Defence Production Act funding. The energy departments Critical Materials Institute has also opened up new funding pathways for rare earths and antimony technologies.

Should Locksleys latest truth telling drill program deliver the goods, the company is likely to enjoy a newfound strategic significance, which could potentially attract a sizeable chunk of government funding support.

To promote its credentials, Locksley has already engaged Washington-based advisory firm Viriathus Capital to lead government relations, secure capital markets exposure and open doors to the US defence and energy departments and the Export-Import Bank.

With drill bits now turning and the White House hungry for home-grown critical metals, Locksleys moment in the Mojave sun might be about to shine a whole lot brighter.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
Australias median age has fallen for the first time in 50 years thanks to a post-pandemic surge in youthful migrants.

After hitting a high of 38.49 years in 2022, the median age dropped to 38.32 years in 2023 and remained there in 2024, the latest Bureau of Statistics figures show.

That modest decline reversed an ageing trend in place since the early 1970s.

During COVID-19 border closures in 2020 and 2021, the nations median age rose more rapidly than normal due to the departure of temporary visa holders. A dip in the birth rate during that period also contributed to the increase.
Imagine the confusion in the Twigg household. The trigger was the Wordle back in June. Sheryl and her daughter Keira pitched their daily battle, seeking to reveal the mystery words in fewer moves, though the real contest lay in how to say the eventual answer.

As Sheryl explains, I say TAUPE so that it rhymes with Thorpe, while my daughter insists the colour rhymes with rope. Both of us were adamant. In fact, wed only realised we reached the same answer after looking at each others phones.

Taupe, a truly horrible colour. But do you say it like rope or warp? Credit: Getty Images

So whos right? Thorpe or rope? Suddenly, I was magistrate in Twigg v English, compelling me to consult the original French. Brownish-grey on the spectrum, taupe derives from mole whose fur displays the in-between shade. Alas, French has an in-between way of saying the word, going closer to rope in rhyme yet longer in duration, the vowel somehow shorter.

Acting as mole on behalf of the Twiggs, I ran a radio survey across Victoria. Pick a rhyme: rope or warp. Hundreds replied. Ninety-five per cent stood in the warp camp, despite Collins (UK) and Merriam-Webster (US) favouring the rope echo. The Macquarie has a bob each way, promoting warp over rope, leaving us lost in the brownish-grey murk of indecision.
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 Having grown up on our screens as the golden-hearted schoolboy Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things, Finn Wolfhard is used to inhabiting an otherworldly realm.He has spent the past 10 years  almost half his life  heading off attacks from the alien forces of the Upside Down dimension. Mostly, he has confronted the unknown on greenscreen: blank sets where the work of computer animators will round out the action. They are amazing artists in their own way, he says. But as an actor, you are reacting off nothing. What attracted him to making fantasy film The Legend of Ochi, he says, was its hand-made quality. Isaiah Saxons film, which is screening at MIFF, is also a fantasy about a clash between humans and bizarre creatures, but it is a very different beast. Most of it was shot on location. It is set in the Carpathian Mountains  Count Draculas old haunt  where the villages, save for the occasional passing car, look very much as they always have, surrounded by mountains covered in thick forest. Here, the foolhardy explorer may encounter the Ochi, which are like large apes with an alien tweak. The smaller Ochi are played by puppets; the larger ones are actors in furry suits. I didnt want to go too far from nature, says Saxon. I wanted the audience to see the Ochi as real animals living in a real place. Helena Zengel as Yuri, with her baby Ochi. Credit: Madman Films For Wolfhard, all this was fantastically old-school. I loved the idea of working with animatronics and puppets, he says, speaking over Zoom along with German actress Helena Zengel, who plays the films heroine, Yuri. The puppets, he says, required people to operate them; one persons entire job might be operating a key Ochis ears. This was an opportunity to really have this kind of amazing experience which not a lot of people get to have these days, says Wolfhard, who has been in our lounge rooms as Mike since he was 12, but is still only 22. There was a whole team of people piloting the Ochi. And there was something so cool about that because, as they were controlling the puppets, they were the real actors.

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Zengel is 17, but her character is just emerging from childhood, torn between loyalty to her embittered father Maxim (Willem Dafoe) and longing for her mother Dasha (Emily Watson), a mythic figure who left the family under an impenetrable cloud years before. Maxim regularly takes the local boys  his proxy sons, handed over by their fathers for Maxim to toughen up  out on raiding parties. They try to kill any Ochi they can find, then come home for a revivifying wrestle; its a sort of genocidal version of Scouts. Finn Wolfhard with Willem Dafoe in The Legend of Ochi. Credit: Madman Films Wolfhard plays Petro, a hesitant orphan whom Maxim has taken into his home. Petro is repelled by this bloodlust but is too timid to say so; it is Yuri who is the good shot, keen to hold her own among the boys. Until, the day after one of these night raids, she finds a wounded baby Ochi in the woods. The little Ochi looks like a cross between Yoda and a bush baby. Miserable Yuri feels an immediate affinity for it; more remarkably, she discovers she can trill its musical language. She takes it home, bandages it, sings to it. Loading I wanted to centre a kid who felt that her ability to express herself had withered or died, says Saxon. Yuri is shut down and her only outlet is listening to screaming black metal. Then she sees an animal that is an antidote to everything humans are: direct, intuitive, instinctual. What would happen to that kid if that Ochi energy was in her life? As it happens  and happenstance proves unusually obliging here, even by the standards of fairytale  she rediscovers her mother, Dasha, now a shepherd high in the hills. You cant befriend an Ochi, says Dasha. You shouldnt try. Look at what we did to wolves, she spits. Turned them into lapdogs!

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This is Saxons first feature, but he has already carved out a significant career as an inspired music video director, working with artists including Bjork and Grizzly Bear; Wolfhard, who recently released his first album, was drawn to the project initially because he was a fan of those clips. I have this discomfort with our reliance on language as the primary communication format as human, Saxon says. The Ochi communicate by merging their emotions through their voices, which are produced by mixing a mockingbirds call and something called a throat whistle. Saxon discovered the throat whistle and its great exponent, Paul Manalatos, when he was trawling the internet. There was Manalatos, warbling into his webcam. Somehow, thats very much in the spirit of the film. The discovery of a wounded baby Ochi changes everything for Helena Zengels Yuri. Credit: Madman Films Zengel started acting even earlier than Wolfhard. She was 10 years old when she was lauded as revelatory in the tough 2019 German drama System Crasher, about a frighteningly volatile ward of the state who is passed from one agency to another, all her carers soon admitting she is beyond them. I was super young, you know, she says. Back then, obviously I had fun saying these bad words! It was a cool time; I was able to do anything that kids shouldnt do. But I understood what was going on, I understood the topic and I took it seriously. Loading The Legend of Ochi, as a family movie culminating in a clutch of benign messages about tolerance, diversity and the environment, is ostensibly that films polar opposite, but Zengel notes that it doesnt condescend to younger audiences. Very young children might have eyes only for the baby Ochi, but there is a darkness at the heart of the story that could provoke uncomfortable questions for viewers of any age.

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I think there are adults who might take life lessons from it, she says. It has beautiful side stories that it tells and things that you can project on todays society and todays life. So I think its a very complex film. Wolfhard agrees. I loved the script for just that reason. That, yes, kids could watch it, but it wasnt explicitly for children. I think movies made for kids in the last 15 years really try to spoon-feed children and assume they cant take in more nuanced themes. Think of a great movie for children: almost everyone goes straight for The Wizard of Oz. I watched that as a kid and theres a lot of scary stuff in that movie. But life is scary! says Wolfhard. Oh yes! I was traumatised by The Wizard of Oz! enthuses Zengel. I like when children even at a young age see films or talk about things that are more serious. A mother Ochi leaves her human counterpart in the shade in The Legend of Ochi. Credit: Madman Films Obviously, the Ochi are standing in for all the real animals that have been hunted or crowded out by humans  wolves, whales, tigers  at the same time as pushing a plea for peaceful co-existence that children readily understand. Closer to home, however, is the films frankness about families failings. Loading When Yuri runs away, mad Maxim dons some armour that could date back to Vlad the Impaler, gathers his boys and prepares to run his daughter to ground with a rifle. Dafoes Maxim is ultimately a pathetically vulnerable man, but hes dangerous with it; Emily Watson, as the bolter, is hardly a cosy mother figure. They compare poorly with Ochi parents, who enfold their young in their fur, singing.

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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 For Greg Mclean, director of the Netflix drama series Territory, the day the Logie nominations were announced was rather bittersweet. The outback soapie about a succession struggle for the worlds largest cattle station is the second most nominated drama of the year, with seven nods (Apple Cider Vinegar has eight). It was a bona fide hit for the streamer, making the top 10 list in 70 countries around the world, and becoming the most watched Australian original yet, with more than 26 million views to date of the entire seven-episode season. And yet, it was also cancelled, when a second season had clearly been set up and anticipated by everyone involved. If it played well, we kind of assumed we would get a second season, says McLean. Theres a story, a world to soak in, there are characters people fall in love with. Obviously, nothing is guaranteed, but its certainly disappointing for everyone involved. Netflix Australias former head of originals, Que Minh Luu, is no longer at the company, and precisely why she didnt order a second season remains unclear. But McLean is reasonably philosophical about it all. Man 2 man: Michael Dorman and Robert Taylor (and co-star Sam Corlett) will duke it out for best lead actor. Credit: Netflix The reality is, there are so many decisions made at different levels about types of programming, how long things take to get on screen, loss of audience between delivery of one series and the next. And its not a small show, so it would have taken at least a year and a half to get the second season out.

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Its not like Territory is the only show to get the chop despite doing well, either. I read recently that The Residence, which was a huge Netflix show and I believe a huge hit, also got cancelled, he says. There are so many factors that go into these things. And theres some solace, perhaps, in Territory fulfilling the old showbiz adage of always leaving the audience wanting more. Anna Torv is nominated for best lead actress for her turn as Emily Lawson. Credit: Netflix I feel like we will be a James Dean show, where we die young, leave a beautiful corpse, and people will look at it as the great thing that it was, he says. Loading McLean isnt personally nominated for Territory, despite directing all seven of its episodes; the Logies do not recognise technical categories such as directing, editing, cinematography (the AACTA awards, which were held in February, do; Territory received three nominations  for best sound, cinematography and for Anna Torv as best actress  but won none). Torv is again up for best lead actress, while three of the male cast  Michael Dorman, Robert Taylor and Sam Corlett  will duke it out for best lead actor. Sam Delich is up for best supporting actor and Kylah Day for the Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent.

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If the show wins as best drama, it will likely be creators Ben Davies and Timothy Lee and producer Rob Gibson who take to the stage. But if it does, McLean promises, Im going to just go up anyway. Ill be in the background and push my way to the front for the photo. And how do you rate your chances? This is a very, very good year. Theres a lot of really good stuff up, so who knows if well get anything, he says. But itd be hugely satisfying to see the actors get something, because Im a huge fan of all the cast. They deserve it. But if they go home empty-handed, he will still treasure the fact they got to make something a little mad, wild, ambitious  and successful. A meticulously researched show inspired by the real-life characters of the Northern Territory, a Wild West place unlike anywhere else on the planet. Greg Mclean, right, and Anna Torv, centre, watch a scene on a monitor while shooting the show in the Northern Territory. Credit: Netflix We were making a soap opera, granted. But we were at pains to say we wanted it to be really Aussie, he says. We didnt want to over-Americanise it, or try and soften it for anyone else. It was broad Australian accents, it was dealing with the issues of the NT  it was about indigenous history to some degree, it was about the mining industry, it was about the cattle industry, and specifically the Australian cattle industry. We were trying to make it as Australian as we could and not compromise, and I think that flavour is what made it travel around the world. The fact that we got to make a show like that is extremely satisfying, he adds. We took a very big swing with this to say were going to do a big romantic Australian drama about this place that there really hasnt been a drama of that scale done in.

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Eating outAussie icons Does Australias biggest contribution to global dining come from ... McDonalds? An award-winning author has been to McDonalds outlets in over 50 countries  heres what makes our Maccas stores stand out (for good and for bad). Lee Tran Lam August 2, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Before flat whites surged through New York City, Aussie-inspired coffee was being poured at Americas first McCafe in Chicago, back in 2001. Since its Melbourne creation in 1993, the McDonalds concept has taken off globally and McCafes now serve macarons in France and alfajores in Argentina. There are McCafes with bubble tea in China, zaatar croissants in Saudi Arabia and local coffee beans in Guatemala. I dont think it would be crazy to argue that Australian coffee culture is the countrys biggest culinary contribution to the world, within which McCafe plays a major role as the delivery vehicle, says Gary He, author of McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches. The self-published book won the Reference, History and Scholarship category at the prestigious James Beard food media awards in June, held in Chicago. McAtlas author Gary He at Taupo McDonalds in New Zealand. Gary He/McAtlas He, a US-based writer and photographer, travelled to McDonalds outlets across six continents to document the fast-food chains surprising diversity. The project, started in 2018, has taken him to more than 50 countries, from Swedens McSki to Germanys McBoat and New Zealands Taupo location which incorporates an actual plane.

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He has ordered McAloo Tikki in India, McFalafel in Egypt and visited a McDonalds in Italy with three ancient, buried skeletons displayed under glass at the counter (they were discovered during the restaurants construction). And yes, that Italian McDonalds has a McCafe. The idea that McCafe was Australian in origin wasnt on my radar at all before the project, says He. The McCafe was pioneered in Melbournes CBD at the Swanston Street McDonalds. Brewing long blacks, cappuccinos and lattes tapped into Australias coffee culture. Today, despite our love of independent cafes and neighbourhood baristas, a quarter of all coffees sold in Australia are poured by Maccas staff. A takeaway coffee from McCafe, circa 2002. Eamon Gallagher While Starbucks initial failure in the Australian market came from pushing sweet American-style caramel macchiatos on espresso-dependent locals, McCafe succeeded from being driven by Aussie representatives. Researching McAtlas, He got deep into the brands archives  even unearthing 1990s training manuals for McCafe baristas.

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Today, a quarter of all coffees sold in Australia are poured by Maccas staff. Then theres the El Maco range, with its shaker fries, from the same era. He says this Tex-Mex line debuted in Australia and has since become huge in Nordic countries like Sweden. We had the Shanghai McNuggets in the United States in the 80s, which came with chopsticks and a fortune cookie, and I imagine Tex-Mex flavoured burgers as a limited-time offer served the same purpose  Australia was a good-sized market to test a product like that. (Currently the Australian BLT Angus Burger is available at McDonalds in Hong Kong. I cant vouch for everyone in the city, but my friends that live here love it, the author says.) Related Article The great potato debate: McDonalds reignites an interstate dispute

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If McDonalds is Australias biggest contribution to international dining culture, maybe its because our spectacular failures dont make it abroad. He recalls the potato scallops with chicken salt that Maccas offered as a 2023 special. It was probably the single worst item I had in my travels while doing the book! He actually banned it from McAtlas and could only stomach two bites. [The scallop] was not crispy enough and kind of bland, even with chicken salt. He ranked it a zero out of 10 dining experience. Clifton Hills art deco outlet is Australias best McDonalds location, according to He. Gary He/McAtlas Whats definitely covered in McAtlas is the Golden Arches outlet in Melbournes Clifton Hill, also known as the art deco McDonalds.

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The Clifton Hill Maccas is perpetually on every listicle about cool McDonalds locations around the world, He says. It was more stunning in person than in any photos that I had seen. Also internationally famous? The Sky Kitchen at Sydney Airport, with its gravity-defying conveyor belt of orders that travel from checkout counter to next-level prep space and back. Its apparently the most Instagrammed part of the airport. This is going to sound extremely boujie, but the best place to photograph the Sydney Airport McDonalds is from the elevated balcony of the Qantas Business Class Lounge, says He. I actually visited that location twice, planning long layovers at different times of the day to try to figure out how to get the best light going through the Sky Kitchen where the meals are made. He says the set-up has Space Age flair, but the conveyor-belt system is also used overseas. So, Clifton Hill for the win if were going to pick the best Australian location.

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Our most well-known McDonalds, though, is Engadine Maccas. In 2018, Sydney musician Joyride infamously tweeted that then-prime minister Scott Morrison had soiled himself at that southern Sydney location after his beloved Cronulla Sharks lost the 1997 Super League grand final. This rumour even scored overseas coverage, with Stephen Colbert joking about it on The Late Show. It became a big enough of a thing that even American late-night comedians had to comment, says He. I had to include it. McAtlas features a photo near the Engadine McDonalds parking lot, showing Morrison-mocking imagery by artist Scott Marsh. Gary He at Lindvallen McDonalds in Sweden. For McAtlas, He also travelled to the lowest McDonalds on Earth (in the Dead Sea) and its northernmost counterpart (Tromso, the Arctic capital of Norway), but that didnt compare to heading to Australia from his New York home. There were locations that were a bigger pain to get to  Taupo, New Zealand, comes to mind  but by miles, Melbourne was definitely the farthest.

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While He mainly stuck to Melbourne and Sydney for McAtlass Australian entries, his international McDonalds-hopping continues. If anyone has any tips for great stories or locations elsewhere in the country, I am always happy to come back. The Philippines McSpaghetti. Gary He/McAtlas Five standout items from McDonalds across the globe One of the points of the book was to demonstrate that this very familiar brand could be different things around the world, says He, so hes wary of labelling any dishes as strange. However, there are certain items Australian diners might be surprised to see on a McDonalds menu. The marinated chicken bones in China have to top the list, plus nasi lemak in Malaysia (or really, any of the rice platters in South-East Asia), McSpaghetti in the Philippines and jamon Iberico sandwiches in Spain. And were definitely going to have to round off the top five with beer, which is available at McDonalds in most southern and eastern European markets.

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McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches. McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches is $US49.95 ($77) plus shipping, and available now at mcatlas.com.

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Eating outJust open A whisky collector, PS40 bartender and bottle of Ice Magic walk into a new bar ... Pack up the Kingswood and head to Silvers Motel in Enmore to relive the great Aussie road trip. Bianca Hrovat August 1, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

1 / 6 Silvers Motel co-owners Michael Chiem (left) and Tynan Sidhu. Edwina Pickles 2 / 6 Midori Splice Slushie, Ice Magic cocktail and the Bees Knees cocktail. Edwina Pickles 3 / 6 Silvers Motel Edwina Pickles 4 / 6 Silvers Motel co-owners Tynan Sidhu and Michael Chiem. Edwina Pickles 5 / 6 Silvers Motel. Edwina Pickles 6 / 6 The Ice Magic Old Fashioned and the Marigold Rush. Edwina Pickles Previous Slide Next Slide The spirit of the great Australian road trip has been distilled into Silvers Motel, a new Enmore Road bar serving a 300-strong whisky collection alongside bright-green Midori Splice slushies until 2am most nights. Like the highway motel your dad pulled into after a gruelling six hours behind the wheel, Silvers is all nostalgia and unpretentious charm. Behind the art deco exterior, its all vinyl bar seating, walnut laminate veneers and sunlight filtering through venetian blinds. Funk queen Chaka Khan is playing over the speakers, rare whiskys are hooked up to a line of spirit dispensers, and theres a conspicuous bottle of Cottees Ice Magic behind the bar. The Ice Magic Old Fashioned. Edwina Pickles Silvers Motel is the second venture from acclaimed bartender Michael Chiem, who owns and operates PS40, recognised as The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guides Bar of the Year in 2023. This time around, Chiem has partnered with former employee, bartender and whisky enthusiast Tynan Sidhu.

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Weve always had a fascination with roadside motels, Sidhu says. Theyre these beautiful time capsules of the 70s and 80s, and they really spoke to the kind of environment we wanted to create here in Enmore. Enmore, which has become one of Sydneys go-to destinations for a night out over the past two years, feels more laid back than its Kings Cross cousin. With a 90-person capacity, Silvers Motel is set to be the largest bar on the strip, but Chiem says it was important for the pair to lean into the suburbs characteristic approachability. Punters at Silvers Motel. Edwina Pickles The concept came from looking around at all these fancy hotel bars [that were opening in Sydney at the time] and thinking, well, were definitely not one of those  were more of a motel bar, Chiem explains. You know, somewhere thats approachable and warm, somewhere you can come and go as you please.

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That means plenty of seating, at tables, booths and along the shiny veneer of the nine-metre-long bar. It also means a friendly bartender is on hand and eager to walk you through their whisky selection  demystifying a liquor that can be intimidating for some. The nine-metre-long bar. Edwina Pickles Chiem says that same down-to-earth approach carries through to the drinks list, which features eight house cocktails, three whisky sours, a tight selection of mostly craft beers (the Crown Lager and GB Bitter being two necessary exceptions) and mostly Australian winemakers (save for the champers, of course), with standouts like Patrick Sullivan and Samantha May. Our drinks arent too over-the-top, Chiem says. Theyre very considered, very comfortable, and very delicious, but were not trying to force new things onto people. The house cocktail list ($24 each) channels rustic country cooking: the Semi Gloss cocktail is a three-day process of burning down mandarin peels to create a syrup, paired with gin, Margan vermouth, lemon verjuice and orange bitters; while the Marigold Rush is a whisky sour using freshly muddled marigolds.

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But were having fun with it, too, says Tynan, referencing the Midori slushie machine and the Ice Magic Old Fashioned (caramelised whey and cacao nibs, bourbon whisky, muscat and aromatic bitters, with one large ice cube drizzled with Ice Magic). Silvers Motel is open now, Wednesday to Monday from 5pm-2am, instagram.com/silversmotel Related Article This list of winners from the SMH Good Food Guide Awards makes the best dining hit list ever

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When the concerns were raised, JAG immediately took action, notifying NSW Police and the NSW Office of the Childrens Guardian. However, while James was banned from JAG centres, he was able to keep working as a casual with Randstad because his Working with Children check was not affected. We are deeply disturbed by the allegations, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the children and families impacted by the alleged offending, Randstad Education said in a statement on Friday. Screening of workers, including for the accused, is conducted in accordance with best practice in Child Safe recruitment principles. A persons Working with Children check is only affected if there is a sustained finding made  under the Reportable Conduct Scheme, the Office of the Childrens Guardian says in its annual report. Reporting inappropriate conduct does not always prevent an individual from continuing to work with children.

The OCG can place an interim bar on working with children in some circumstances, which it didnt do in the case of James. A letter from police was sent to parents using the after school care at Lane Cove West Public School Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald The OCG has been contacted for comment. The revelations that James continued to work in the sector come at a time of renewed focus on childcare and its regulation, after the arrest of Melbourne daycare worker Joshua Dale Brown and the screening of 1200 preschool-aged children for STDs. Industry heads have also raised concerns about the OSHC sector, which is becoming increasingly privatised and reliant on an unqualified, young and casualised workforce.

The centres where James alleged abuse took place were Pyrmont OSHC  City of Sydney; OSHClub  Barker College; Willoughby Kids House; Helping Hands  St Ives Park Public School; St Ives OSHC Centre  Kidzone; and Helping Hands  Lane Cove West Public School. On Friday, parents at Lane Cove West Public School expressed disbelief. The article popped up when I was at work, and I just could not concentrate after that, said Renee, who has a five-year-old daughter at the school and did not want her surname used. She said OSHC provider Helping Hands has circulated a letter to parents, assuring them that they are taking the matter seriously, and that staff members are now banned from having phones while children are in their care.

They said that Working With Children checks were comprehensive, but theyre obviously not comprehensive enough, Renee said. One parent, who works as a teacher at a different school, said his two children had been coming to Helping Hands for several years. He did not remember James. Its a travesty, an abomination really, he said. Theyve got lots of safeguards in place, but its scary to think someone like that worked here while my kids were there. At Friday afternoon pick-up at St Ives Park Primary School, parents said the school had informed them about the allegations against James several weeks ago.

One mother, who did not want to be named, said her children had attended the centre while James worked there, but she did not remember him. St Ives Park Primary School, where police say some of James alleged abuse occurred. Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong She had her own concerns about the OSHC facility, and once withdrew her children from holiday care when she found the three staff members on duty were all male and appeared to be inexperienced. What I saw, I didnt like, she said, adding she planned to raise her concerns in a formal letter. A graduate of the elite Knox Grammar School and featuring on the Heralds HSC High Achiever list in 2017, James worked for NSW Police in an entry-level role as a probationary constable at Chatswood Police Station from December 2021 to September 2022. After failing to complete his probation, he worked as a radio officer in civilian capacity until his resignation in May 2023.

James was identified by the Australian Federal Police in a mid-2024 investigation into dark web child abuse material. Loading He is now facing 13 charges, including nine counts of aggravated use of a child to make child abuse material, one count of using a child to make abuse material, two counts of possessing abuse material and one count of refusing officers access to his phone. The specifics of the allegations are mostly too graphic to publish, but include claims the man filmed young boys as they used the bathroom at the daycare. James also allegedly pleasured himself in a classroom in front of children.

Until his arrest, he lived at his family home on Sydneys lower north shore. All families of his alleged victims were contacted by investigators in June with letters. More than 1200 other families, whose children attended the services at which James worked, also received a letter outlining that a staff member had been charged. Based on information currently available, investigators believe the alleged behaviour of the man involves a very small number of children, however, the parents and carers of any child who may have had contact with the man has received a letter, the AFP said in a statement. The nations childcare industry has been in crisis since the arrest of Joshua Dale Brown in Melbourne on allegations he abused eight children. The case is unrelated to James alleged offending in Sydney. Brown is facing 73 charges, including child rape, after the alleged discovery of a cache of child abuse material in May.
A few days ago, Father Chris Riley, that extraordinary Catholic priest who founded the charity Youth Off The Streets, which has helped an estimated 60,000 young people, said he thought he might die soon. I think I might like to die, declared the man who grew up with horses, on the horses birthday.

And he did. On August 1.

Mean Streets, Kind Heart. The relentless campaigner Father Chris Riley in 2013. Credit: Greg Totman

Father Chris always liked to get his own way, whether batting away government objections to win approval for his various projects, hammering on corporate doors for funds, or even unashamedly assailing the ears of the righteous to give more to his charity at church services.

And while it made him some enemies, hed stop at nothing if he thought it might help secure a better future for Australias youth.
Father Chris Riley, founder of charity Youth Off The Streets, has died aged 70.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Chris Minns on Friday paid tribute to the visionary and big-hearted priest, who started the charity in 1991 with a single food van providing meals to young homeless people in Sydneys Kings Cross.

Father Chris Riley, who founded charity Youth Off The Streets in 1991, has died aged 70. Credit: Steven Siewert

Youth Off The Streets confirmed that Riley had died at home on Thursday, July 31, following a long period of ill health.

Albanese said Riley, whom he described as a good friend, had a heart as big as the country he served.
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export grew for the second consecutive month in July due to solid global demand for locally-made semiconductors, cars and ships, government data showed Friday.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, swelled 5.9 percent from a year earlier to 60.82 billion U.S. dollars in July, after going up 4.3 percent in June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Import added 0.7 percent to 54.21 billion dollars, sending trade surplus to 6.61 billion dollars. Trade balance stayed in black for the sixth successive month since February.

Of 15 major export items, three products saw an increase in outbound shipment.

Semiconductor export jumped 31.6 percent over the year to 14.71 billion dollars in July, marking the biggest amount for the month.

Soaring chip shipment was attributed to strong demand for high-end chips, such as double data rate 5 (DDR5) and high bandwidth memory (HBM) products used in generative artificial intelligence (AI) chipsets.

Automotive shipment gained 8.8 percent to 5.83 billion dollars last month, keeping an upward trend for the second straight month on the back of robust demand from Europe and Latin America that offset weaker demand from the United States, caused by a U.S. tariffs imposition.

Export for ships more than doubled to 2.24 billion dollars in July on a yearly basis, continuing to go up for the fifth successive month on higher demand for high-value-added ships such as LNG carriers.

Oil products export reduced 6.3 percent to 4.21 billion dollars on lower products price.

Global prices for gasoline and diesel dipped 15.4 percent and 8.5 percent each in July compared to the same month of last year.

Petrochemical shipment retreated 10.1 percent to 3.75 billion dollars owing to global supply glut and cheaper crude oil.

Dubai crude, the Asian country's benchmark, averaged 69.3 dollars per barrel in June, down 16.1 percent from a year earlier.

Global demand for display panels and mobile devices diminished to 1.57 billion dollars and 1.20 billion dollars each, while computer export tumbled 18.5 percent to 950 million dollars.

Auto parts shipment declined 7.2 percent to 1.92 billion dollars, and general machinery export dropped 17.2 percent to 4.28 billion dollars.

Steel products export shrank 2.9 percent to 2.72 billion dollars because of the negative effect of the U.S. protectionist moves, and secondary battery shipment plunged 21.1 percent to 580 million dollars.

Export for home appliances and textiles decreased to 640 million dollars and 830 million dollars respectively.

Export to the United States rose 1.4 percent over the year to 10.33 billion dollars in July, marking the first turnaround in four months on higher chip demand.

Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) soared 10.1 percent to 10.91 billion dollars, while export to the European Union (EU) climbed 8.7 percent to 6.03 billion dollars.

Export to Japan slid 4.7 percent to 2.48 billion dollars, but that to Latin America and India increased to 2.68 billion dollars and 1.79 billion dollars each. 
The sandstone mansion Graythwaite House sits atop a grassy hill in North Sydney, with views down to the harbour.

It was built on an early 1800s land grant and grew in grandeur as its owners became more illustrious; the fig trees they planted as saplings are now lush and shady. After the Gallipoli campaign, owner Thomas Dibbs was moved to donate it to the state government as a home for wounded soldiers, and it was used as a nursing home until around 2008, when the operator could no longer afford the upkeep.

Built in the early 1800s, Graythwaite House was sold to Shore School in 2009 despite residents protests. Credit: Sam Mooy

The battle to keep Graythwaite in public hands was fierce; residents worried that if privatised, it would be closed off entirely. The Supreme Court ruled it should be sold. The Commonwealth made an offer but was outbid by $10 million by Shore School. It restored Graythwaite, and now uses it as an office area. The purchase expanded the schools grounds by almost half, and the sprawling site now takes up a sizeable chunk of land to the south of North Sydney CBD.

Happily for Shore, it does not need to pay rates on that growing parcel of land because schools have an exemption. Shore can keep that cash for other things  such as buying even more land. Most recently, it has asked North Sydney Council if it can buy a chunk of Edward Street, to make pick up and drop off easier for parents.
An acting deputy commissioner with the Australian Federal Police has pleaded guilty to low-range drink-driving and had his licence suspended for a month.

Stephen Joseph Dametto was charged with one count of driving over the general alcohol limit after he was pulled over in the Brisbane suburb of Hamilton about 9.30pm on July 25.

The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard on Friday that when police pulled Dametto over, he recorded a reading of 0.056 per cent.

AFP Acting Deputy Commissioner Stephen Dametto (left) spoke of his remorse following the incident. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The court also heard he had no previous criminal or traffic history.
A child has been rushed to hospital after they were struck by a police car south of Brisbane, and suffered significant facial injuries.

Police are investigating the incident, which involved one of their vehicles and a primary school aged boy, at the intersection of Jacaranda Avenue and Wembley Road in Logan Central about 3pm.

The intersection is outside Woodridge State School, but it was not clear if the boy attended the school.

The Queensland Ambulance Service earlier said the boy may have potentially life-threatening injuries, and was transported to Queensland Childrens Hospital.

About 5pm, QAS said the boy had suffered significant facial injuries, but was in a stable condition.
New footage has revealed a secret shop door allegedly hiding thousands of illegal cigarettes and vapes.

Queensland Health revealed today it has seized about 45 million cigarettes, 350,000 vapes and more than six tonnes of loose-leaf tobacco across the state since November last year.

A newly released police video from one raid in Wide Bay, north of Brisbane, in March shows a cabinet concealing a secret storeroom filled with well over 5000 illegally imported cigarette packets.

Huge quantities of tobacco were found on a table, with stacks of counterfeit Australian packaging nearby. Credit: Queensland Police

A separate video shows huge quantities of tobacco on a table, with stacks of counterfeit Australian packaging nearby.
Western Australias ambulance service says theres no evidence any patients were impacted by a paramedic who was caught stealing powerful painkillers from their stores earlier this year.

Lee Headland, 39, pleaded guilty in the Bunbury Magistrates Court on Thursday to one count of stealing as a servant.

Headland was working at the Australind substation in WAs South West. Credit: Hannah Murphy

He managed St John WAs substation in the Australind region, in the states South West, when fellow paramedics noticed vials of fentanyl had been tampered with.

Headland was arrested and charged with the theft of $1312 worth of fentanyl over a two-month period between March and May.
The prosecution alleged Marco used other investors money to pay off his clients when they asked, and promised them their money was kept in a blocked bank account that had a multimillion-dollar insurance policy attached to give them security. In reality, according to prosecutors, bank statements tendered to the court of the blocked account at one point showed it only had a couple of hundred dollars in it. Strong returns, but were they too good to be true? One of those investors was Andrew Batchelar, an insurance underwriter in Sydney. He invested more than $1 million over the eight years he worked with Marco after he was introduced through a colleague, but told the court that by the end of their arrangement, he had been left unable to pay his mortgage.

Andrew Batchelar runs a successful Sydney business and paid money to Marco for investments. Credit: LinkedIn Batchelar told the court he agreed to invest after meeting up with Marco over a seafood lunch in Perth in 2011, and Marco talked him through his private placement investment strategy which involved placing money into Marcos bank account with other investors to boost the balance. Marco promised him a generous return for his investment. Over the years, Batchelar often invested hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time and frequently withdrew his money if necessary, he said. This gave me confidence that what was being said to be done, was being done, Batchelar told the court.

However, when asked by Whybrow if the generous return rate  usually exceeding 11 per cent  was too good to be true, Batchelar agreed. Certainly looking at it now, it probably does, he said. Batchelar said his confidence was again boosted by Marco claiming the blocked account had millions of dollars in it, meaning his clients could feel confident they were never going to lose their original investment. But he was confronted by a different set of numbers when ASIC came knocking in 2018. Theres a big difference between three million and nearly $300, Batchelar told the court.

In an email tendered to court, Batchelar questioned Marco over where his money was being kept. I am able to do what I consider fiscally responsible to hedge that investment, Marco responded. Our security is held in cash, property and a small amount of readily realised shares and collectibles, all documented in my affidavit on assets and liabilities. It was a development Batchelar claimed he had no knowledge of. I was totally unaware he was hedging any of those funds other than for what we originally agreed to  private placements was 100 per cent what we were doing, Batchelar told the court.

I had no idea he was buying vehicles or properties  or using investors money for his own needs. Loading However, under questioning from defence lawyer Luke Maragetic, Batchelar agreed his dealings with Marco had ultimately been net positive to the tune of $1.6 million. The second witness to take the stand in the opening week was Melanie Portman, a WA-based environmental scientist. Portman was a cautious investor, and Whybrow said Marco was not pushy when they met to speak about investing.

Portman took notes, and Marco again told her about the million-dollar guarantee she would not lose her investment. Whybrow told the court there was no indication all that Marcos clients would be sharing in the guarantee. If these guarantees were held in locked accounts for each person consistently, it would have added up to nearly $28 million, he said. In the video interview with Marco played to the court on Friday, he again defended his investment structures and his own conduct, saying the property and cars he had bought were an important part to his scheme. If anything ever happened we could sell down those assets, Marco said in the interview.

Like a bank we invested in property that could be sold quickly, as evidenced by [our] Mt Hawthorn and Kalgoorlie addresses  they sold in less than a month. Ive never driven the cars  thats provable by the odometer. I never ever have, thats true to my heart. Marco denied a question put to him about his investment strategy resembling a ponzi scheme. [For a ponzi scheme] I pay you something, and then I take the money and use it for my own purpose, Marco said.

Ive never used it for my own purpose. Ive taken a meagre wage each year, which I need to live. Maragetic has maintained throughout the trial Marco genuinely believed in the opportunities he was bringing investors, and every cent of money he had received was accounted for. During my time I have never ever, ever defaulted on a payment, Marco said in the interview played in court. We always paid our bills. Maragetic previously said Marco had been deceived by overseas operators, and many investors walked away with very generous returns.
We are in that situation with the Liberals with the electoral changeover to new generations of Australian voters, says Samaras. Rather than rage against climate realities and renewables investment, independent MP Helen Haines is preoccupied with making the transition work for her constituents. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The Libs are extra vulnerable to takeover at the ballot box. If the teals can form a network or coalition or whatever you want to call it, they could be it. They could push the Liberals completely off the electoral map. While there are fewer than 10 Liberal-held seats in the cities available for possible teal takeover, there are country seats that could be open to challenge by community independents like Helen Haines, who represents the predominantly rural Victorian seat of Indi. Rather than rage against climate realities and renewables investment, Haines is preoccupied with making the transition work for her constituents. Shes proposed a 20 per cent share in the profits from big renewable projects for regional communities, for instance.

Climate wasnt always a losing argument for the Coalition. It won some of the critical early battles of the climate wars. Barnaby Joyce was the original Coalition climate warrior. From the Nationals backbench, he illuminated the political pathway for Tony Abbott to follow. Climate scepticism worked for Tony climate change is crap Abbott. It worked for Scott lump of coal Morrison, until it did not. It did not work for Peter nuke em Dutton. And it wont work for Sussan moderniser Ley. If she goes there. But, thanks to the Nationals, it might not much matter. Because Barnaby, once again, is leading the Coalition into the rejection of climate change policy in all its manifestations. His current campaign is to abolish the Nationals commitment to net zero. Which seems odd. Because he was the partys leader who signed on to net zero in a deal with then-prime minister Scott Morrison only four years ago. Nationals Party members Matt Canavan, Barnaby Joyce, and Michael McCormack outside Parliament House on Monday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Even lump of coal Morrison could see that Australia would be marooned, missing out on the global $US200 trillion ($311 trillion) renewables investment boom, unless it could commit to the bare minimum of plausible climate policy  net zero emissions by 2050. Such national responsibilities mean nothing to the rabble-rousing Joyce and company.

The populist obscurantists in the Nats are more interested in incendiaries than investments. They only agreed to Morrisons net zero plan because he bribed them with $30 billion in government spending promises plus an extra seat in the cabinet. But today, there are no bribes on offer. Opposition parties have no access to the Treasury or seats in the cabinet. So Joyce is unchecked. Hes been joined by his former rival for the Nationals leadership, Michael McCormack. They have enough internal support and momentum to succeed. The man supposed to be leading them, David Littleproud, is meekly following them. Not formally, not yet, but it seems inevitable that he will. His job is on the line otherwise. The Nats will be great, says Samaras. Theyre not losing anything out of this. Their rural constituencies are older and their seats are safe. Joyce & Co are fomenting a country-versus-city resentment  the countryside is being destroyed by toxic solar farms and fascist new power lines so that rich city investors can make money from them. But the Liberals? What do they do? They dont have a formal position at the moment. Its under review, and the party is divided.

One argument is that they adopted net zero and lost anyway. So why not ditch it? The counter is that they didnt lose because of net zero, that it was overshadowed by an unpopular nuclear reactor plan. And that a party that aspires to government must have a credible climate and energy policy as a prerequisite to power. Loading But the Liberals face a wicked dilemma. With their junior Coalition partner exuberantly trampling climate change for the next three years, the Libs will have three options. One, join the Nats and suffer more electoral damage. The Liberals were all but driven out of the cities in the May election. Of the 88 seats classified by the Electoral Commission as metropolitan, Labor holds 71. The Liberals hold just nine. They cant aspire to government without a recovery in the cities. And if they embrace Barnabys climate policy, they can pretty much forget about that.

Two, the Libs can outline a separate policy and spend three years arguing with the Nats over it, which would be divisive and ugly. And how do you take two conflicting policies to an election? Three, the Libs can terminate the Coalition and go solo, much as Littleproud did by splitting with the Libs in the Eight-Day War in May. But that would be likely to mean being sentenced to permanent opposition  or oblivion  for both. The Libs dont have enough seats in their own right, and the Nationals dont have enough votes and rely on Liberal preferences. When Barnaby first launched the climate wars over a dozen years ago, they were directed against Labor. Today, the Nats climate war is waged against the Liberals just as much. A war against the enemy has turned into a war against the supposed ally. Its not that Labors renewables plan is rolling out smoothly. One of the gurus, Ross Garnaut, gave a damning speech this week, calling the energy transition sick. The entire national enterprise was on a path to comprehensive failure. There is a big and rich political fight to be had. Not in raging against the reality of climate change or the advantages of energy transition, but in interrogating the governments execution of it. The smart course for the Coalition is not to attack Labors goals but its incompetence in reaching them.

A colleague of Kos Samaras, fellow Redbridge director and former Liberal campaign chief Tony Barry, sees the opportunity cost of the Nats climate crusade: There are massive problems with the rollout for [Minister for Climate Change and Energy] Chris Bowen, and if Barnaby Joyce retired tomorrow, hed be beside himself. Barnaby keeps giving him a get out of jail card. Loading As the pollster for this masthead, Jim Reed of Resolve Strategic, puts it: The public debate about climate change is largely over, but the conversation about what to do about it, how urgently and at what cost still rages. But a Coalition lost in delusion and distraction cant prosecute these real problems while its caught up in ideological and irrelevant ones. The Liberals, concludes Samaras, are in the killing zone. Its just that, like the Black Knight, the Coalition seems unable to grasp the reality of its situation. As the victorious Arthur goes on his way, the Black Knight, now legless as well as armless, demands that the king come back and keep fighting. What are you going to do, bleed on me? retorts Arthur.
Top-secret security-clearance holders will be banned from posting about their position on social media in a move to protect the country from the $12.5 billion-a-year threat of espionage.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said on Thursday that more than 35,000 Australians had exposed the country to danger by recklessly implying on professional networking sites they had access to sensitive information, with almost 2500 people declaring they had a security clearance.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has revealed ASIO will ban people with security clearances from boasting about it. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Friday that stricter conditions would be enforced to stamp out the practice after the government moved responsibility for the highest levels of clearance to ASIO from Burkes department, which handles lower-level security passes.

What ASIO is going to start doing with those top secret clearances is just make it a condition [to not post about it online], he told ABCs News Breakfast.
Starmer called Netanyahu before the cabinet meeting. The formal readout of this call was typically bland, but the Israeli leaders reaction on the phone was not hard to guess. Soon afterwards, he accused the British leader of appeasing the Hamas terrorists. Netanyahu, however, has had few world leaders rallying to his side. Even Trump, who leads Israels most vital ally, seemed unworried about Starmers decision. Flying home from Scotland, he told reporters on Air Force One it was OK that the United Kingdom was following France. It doesnt mean I have to agree, he added. While the diplomatic debates were about statehood, the urgent arguments were about aid. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Gaza was on the brink of famine: Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.

The UN estimated that more than 20,000 children had been treated for acute malnutrition. The World Food Program said more than 500,000 people, or about one quarter of the population in Gaza, were enduring famine-like conditions. Loading This was the backdrop to the diplomatic manoeuvres. Early in the week, there was no sense of a penalty from Trump for those who spoke up for Palestine. Macron was working with Saudi Arabia to advance a two-state solution at the UN. The French and Saudi foreign ministers jointly chaired a UN session in New York to step up the push. On Tuesday, 15 nations backed a French call for a ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong was among the signatories. The others were from Andorra, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain.

One day later, the Arab League moved. It condemned the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, the slaughter of civilians that led to the war. This declaration, also at the UN session in New York, marked the first condemnation of its kind from major Muslim nations. Among the signatories were Qatar and Turkey, two vital states in the Hamas network. Qatar has given an estimated $2.6 billion to Hamas over the years, while Turkey has been a second home for some of the terrorist groups leaders. The declaration set out a peace plan that appeared ambitious. After decades of conflict, it seemed to be an impossible hope. It sought an independent, demilitarised Palestine at peace with Israel  and with no place for Hamas. In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, it said. It was signed by the Arab League, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, the European Union, France, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Spain, Turkey and the UK.

Leaders were moving together. Macron spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday, along with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Loading Starmer spoke to the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on Tuesday. The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, called on Monday for both Israel and Hamas to leave Gaza. Every step this week has seemed predicated on the idea that Abbas would administer Gaza  even though the two Palestinian zones are divided by Israel. The push for Palestinian statehood had immense challenges: the absence of any agreed borders, the uncertainty about any elections to agree on a political leadership, the convenient assumption that Hamas would somehow leave Gaza. More than anything, however, it faced the unwavering rejection of Netanyahu and Trump. Only after several days did Trump make his displeasure known. While he did not complain about Starmer  the two have a good relationship  he snapped at Mark Carney when the Canadian prime minister took a similar step to his British counterpart.

Carney moved after speaking with Starmer on Tuesday and Abbas on Wednesday, and he named similar concerns to France and the UK: the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the lack of food in Gaza. Carney, however, took a very different approach with the conditions he placed on Canadas decision to recognise a Palestinian state. He said a key factor would be whether the Palestinian Authority would commit to reform its own governance and demilitarise its territory. Both those objectives are easier said than done. Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Credit: Bloomberg Trump reacted on his Truth Social account: Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. The implications for Australia were immediate: Trump was willing to wield economic pressure on countries that did not follow his lead.

Even so, Trump was moving more slowly than the rest of the world. Germany, for instance, offered some support for its European neighbours on Thursday morning. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is a strong supporter of Israel, but his government showed its impatience with Israeli ministers who advocate the annexation of Palestinian territory. Germanys Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul, sent this signal before he boarded a flight to Jerusalem on Thursday. He noted that many countries in Europe were prepared to recognise a Palestinian state, but he repeated Germanys policy that this must depend on the progress towards a two-state solution. Israels Benjamin Netanyahu is increasingly isolated. Donald Trump, his strongest ally, stands by him on the recognition of Palestine. Credit: Getty Images That process must begin now, he said. Should unilateral steps be taken, Germany, too, will be compelled to respond. This last sentence hinted that Germany might yet shift its stance if Israel continues to claim Palestinian land. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has to weigh up the reaction from Trump as he considers whether to join the growing cluster of nations that are expressing their frustration with Netanyahu and his government. There are now 147 nations, of the 193 member states at the UN, that recognise Palestine. Albanese will have to decide whether Australia stands with Trump and Netanyahu, or with the long list of leaders heading in the other direction.
JAKARTA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government is encouraging the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as an effort to strengthen the supply chain within the industrial ecosystem.

"By utilizing AI technology, our MSMEs will be able to analyze market demand more quickly," Loto Srinaita Ginting, expert staff for finance and MSME development from the country's Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises, said at an event in Surabaya, East Java province, on Friday.

She said that AI technology would be capable of paving the way for data integration between buyers and sellers, making business processes more precise and responsive to market dynamics, adding that the technology would also help the MSMEs estimate raw material stock and manage production processes effectively and adaptively.

"AI can be a facilitator that can help the MSMEs expand business at the domestic level and enter the industrial chain at the global level," Ginting said.

Indonesia, through its Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, is currently pushing digital transformation to maximize performance by utilizing the latest digital technologies. This includes the utilization of AI, big data, and cloud computing.

Earlier this week, Vice Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria said that AI, supported by big data and cloud computing, would help state-owned enterprises improve strategic planning processes, risk mitigation, service security, and financial optimization. 
Amazon profits surge 35% as AI investments drive growth



San Francisco, United States, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2025



Amazon reported a 35 percent jump in quarterly profits Thursday as the e-commerce giant said major investments in artificial intelligence began paying off.

The Seattle-based company posted net profit of $18.2 billion for the second quarter that ended June 30, compared with $13.5 billion in the same period last year.

Net sales climbed 13 percent to $167.7 billion, beating analyst expectations and signaling that the global company was surviving the impacts of the high-tariff trade policy under US President Donald Trump.

"Our conviction that AI will change every customer experience is starting to play out," said Chief Executive Andy Jassy, pointing to the company's expanded Alexa+ service and new AI shopping agents.

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's world leading cloud computing division, led the charge with sales jumping 17.5 percent to $30.9 billion.

The unit's operating profit rose to $10.2 billion from $9.3 billion a year earlier.

The strong AWS performance reflects surging demand for cloud infrastructure to power AI applications, a trend that has benefited major cloud providers as companies race to adopt generative AI technologies.

Despite the stellar results, investors seemed worried about Amazon's big cash outlays to pursue its AI ambitions, sending its share price more than three percent lower in after-hours trading.

The company's free cash flow declined sharply to $18.2 billion for the trailing 12 months, down from $53 billion in the same period last year, as Amazon ramped up capital spending on AI infrastructure and logistics.

The company spent $32.2 billion on property and equipment in the quarter, nearly double the $17.6 billion spent a year earlier, reflecting massive investments in data centers and backroom capabilities.

Amazon has pledged to spend up to $100 billion this year, largely on AI-related investments for AWS.

For the current quarter, Amazon forecast net sales between $174.0 billion and $179.5 billion, representing solid growth of 10-13 percent compared with the third quarter of 2024.

Operating profit was expected to range from $15.5 billion to $20.5 billion in the current third quarter, which was lower than some had hoped for and likely also a factor in investor disappointment.
Nvidia says no 'backdoors' in chips as China questions security



Beijing, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



Nvidia chips do not contain "backdoors" allowing remote access, the US tech giant has said, after Beijing summoned company representatives to discuss "serious security issues".

The California-based company is a world-leading producer of AI semiconductors, and this month became the first company to hit $4 trillion in market value.

But it has become entangled in trade tensions between China and the United States, and Washington effectively restricts which chips Nvidia can export to China on national security grounds.

"Cybersecurity is critically important to us. Nvidia does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them," Nvidia said in a statement Thursday.

A key issue has been Chinese access to the "H20" -- a less powerful version of Nvidia's AI processing units that the company developed specifically for export to China.

Nvidia said this month it would resume H20 sales to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing curbs that had halted exports.

But the tech giant still faces obstacles -- US lawmakers have proposed plans to require Nvidia and other manufacturers of advanced AI chips to include built-in location tracking capabilities.

Beijing's top internet regulator said Thursday it had summoned Nvidia representatives to discuss recently discovered "serious security issues" involving the H20.

The Cyberspace Administration of China said it had asked Nvidia to "explain the security risks of vulnerabilities and backdoors in its H20 chips sold to China and submit relevant supporting materials".

China is aiming to reduce reliance on foreign tech by promoting Huawei's domestically developed 910C chip as an alternative to the H20, said Jost Wubbeke of the Sinolytics consultancy.

"From that perspective, the US decision to allow renewed exports of the H20 to China could be seen as counterproductive, as it might tempt Chinese hyperscalers to revert to the H20, potentially undermining momentum behind the 910C and other domestic alternatives," he said.

Other hurdles to Nvidia's operations in China are the sputtering economy, beset by a years-long property sector crisis, and heightened trade headwinds under US President Donald Trump.

CEO Jensen Huang said during a visit to Beijing this month that the company remained committed to serving local customers, adding that he had been assured during talks with top Chinese officials that the country was "open and stable".

ll-pfc-kaf/oho/sco
Slovenia says will ban weapons trade with Israel over Gaza conflict



Ljubljana, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2025



Slovenia said Thursday that it will ban all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, in what it said is a first by an EU nation.

Slovenia's government has frequently criticised Israel over the conflict, and last year moved to recognise a Palestinian state as part of efforts to end the fighting in Gaza as soon as possible.

"Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export and transit of weapons to and from Israel," the government said in a statement late Thursday.

It said it was moving ahead "independently" because the bloc was "unable to adopt concrete measures... due to internal disagreements and disunity".

Amid the devastating war in Gaza, where "people... are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them", it was the "duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others", the statement said.

It added that the government had not issued any permits for the export of military weapons and equipment to Israel since October 2023 because of the conflict.

Early in July, Slovenia -- also in a EU first -- banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country.

It declared both Israelis "persona non grata", accusing them of inciting "extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians" with "their genocidal statements".

In June 2024, Slovenia's parliament passed a decree recognising Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of 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.
Peru's president rejects court order on police amnesty



Lima, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2025



Peru's president on Thursday dismissed an international court order to suspend a law granting amnesty to police, military and state perpetrators of rights violations during a bloody campaign against leftist guerrillas from 1980 to 2000.

The law, passed by Congress and awaiting the signature of President Dina Boluarte, benefits uniformed personnel accused or convicted of crimes committed during fighting between state forces and the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru rebel groups.

Some 70,000 people were killed during the decades-long unrest, and critics say the legislation would impede access to justice and reparations for victims.

About 20,000 people remain listed as "disappeared."

Some 156 cases with final judgements and 600 ongoing trials could be affected by the amnesty, according to a report by UN experts.

Last week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) said Peru must "immediately suspend" approval of the law.

If not, it said, the competent authorities must refrain from applying the law while the court looks into the legality of the amnesty.

Boluarte insisted Thursday that "we will not allow the intervention of the Inter-American Court aimed at suspending a bill intended to bring justice to members of the armed forces, police, and self-defense committees who risked their lives to fight against the madness of terrorism."

A report by UN experts this month urged Boluarte's government to veto the law, arguing Peru "has a duty to investigate, prosecute and punish gross human rights violations and crimes under international law committed during the conflict."

Rights NGO Amnesty International had also urged the legislature to side with victims and reject the bill.

Twenty states in the Americas recognize the jurisdiction of the IACHR to interpret the American Convention on Human Rights -- a treaty on the rights and liberties that must be respected by parties.

According to Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, there are more than 4,000 clandestine graves in the country as a result of two decades of political violence.
African armies turn to drones with devastating civilian impact



Paris, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



The Easter period usually offers a rare respite in Gedeb, in Ethiopia's deeply troubled north, but on April 17 death rained from the skies in this sleepy town caught up in a war between rebels and the army.

On this important holiday for Ethiopian Orthodox and Protestant Christians, many families had gathered in the morning to repair the local primary school.

But out of the blue, shortly before 11:00 am (1400 GMT), "a drone fired on the crowd and pulverised many people right in front of my eyes", a resident told AFP.

Ethiopia and many other African nations are increasingly turning to drones as a low-cost means of waging war, often with mixed military results but devastating consequences for civilian populations.

Last year, Ethiopia carried out a total of 54 drone strikes, compared to 62 attacks in Mali, 82 in Burkina Faso and 266 in Sudan, according to data collected by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a US-based monitor.

According to one of two Gedeb residents contacted by AFP, the strike killed "at least" 50 people, and according to the second, more than 100 -- a figure corroborated by several local media outlets.

It is one of the deadliest in a series of drone attacks since the conflict began in August 2023, pitting the Ethiopian army against the Fano, the traditional "self-defence" militias of the Amhara ethnic group.

A shoe seller at the scene, whose nephew was killed instantly, also blamed an armed drone that continued to "hover in the air" some 20 minutes after the strike.

"The sight was horrific: there were heads, torsos and limbs flying everywhere and seriously injured people screaming in pain," he recalled.

Ethiopian authorities have not released any information about this attack in Amhara, where the security situation makes some areas very difficult to access and communications are subject to significant restrictions.

The Ethiopian army's use of drones, which began during the bloody Tigray War (2020-2022), has since spread to the Amhara and Oromia regions amid multiple insurgencies.

In the Amhara region alone, now the hardest-hit, at least 669 people have been killed in more than 70 drone strikes since 2023, according to ACLED data analysed by AFP.



- Low-cost -



Remotely piloted aircraft used for reconnaissance and strikes -- low-cost technologies now ubiquitous in current conflicts and particularly in Ukraine -- are generating massive interest in Africa.

Some 30 African governments have acquired drones, according to data cross-referenced by AFP from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) "Military Balance" and the Center for a New American Security's Drone Proliferation Dataset.

For decades, wars in Africa had been fought on land, conducted primarily by light and mobile infantry units.

"Drones offer sub-Saharan African militaries more affordable and flexible access to air power, which has been out of reach until now due to its cost and operational complexity," said Djenabou Cisse, a west African security specialist at the Foundation for Strategic Research.

Countries like China, Turkey and Iran have the advantage of selling drones "without attaching any political conditionality related to respect for human rights", she added.

Among African military commands, the most popular is undoubtedly the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone, which, along with its big brother, the Akinci, has dethroned the Chinese Wing Loong in recent years.

The TB2 made a notable appearance in 2019 in Libya, the first African theatre of drone warfare, between the Ankara-backed Government of National Accord and its eastern rival, Marshal Haftar, equipped with Chinese weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates.

The following year, its deployment in the Karabakh region during the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and then in Ukraine starting in 2022, boosted its popularity.

Orders soared and waiting lists grew. While contract details are kept secret, experts consulted by AFP estimate that a "system" of three drones costs nearly $6 million -- significantly less than the several tens of millions for a fighter jet or combat helicopter.

This offsets its rather average performance, with a range limited to 150 kilometres (75 miles).

The TB2 is produced by private company Baykar, headed by the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It "is now an integral part of Turkey's foreign policy, whose strategy is to export its military products worldwide," said Batu Coskun, a researcher at the Sediq Institute in Tripoli.

The growing footprint of Turkish drones in Africa is partly due to the fact that unlike the West, Ankara is free from the cumbersome export control procedures for military equipment.

"It's essentially at the president's discretion," he said.



- Turkish military cooperation -



After severing ties with former colonial ruler France, the military regimes of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have turned to Turkish drones to attack jihadist fighters as well as separatists.

In December last year, the Malian army eliminated a leader and several members of the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), a pro-independence coalition, in a drone attack.

In November 2023, drones played a decisive role in the recapture of the northern Malian city of Kidal from predominantly Tuareg rebels.

A senior Malian officer praised the "discretion" of Turkish military cooperation.

"When you pay for military equipment in the West, it has to go through political agreements, negotiations," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"With Turkey, we have a speed that we don't have elsewhere, not even in Russia or China," two countries that also supply military equipment, he added.

According to a young Malian surveillance drone pilot, who also wished to remain anonymous, the Turkish aircraft "are easy to pilot, which means we don't need a long training period".

In Chad, four Turkish drones have replaced French fighter jets at the forward bases they occupied until N'Djamena ended its military cooperation agreements with France at the end of 2024.

The latter had repeatedly provided air support to help the Chadian government halt the advance of rebels threatening the capital.

The capital N'Djamena is equipped with only five Russian Sukhoi aircraft and as many ageing Mi-24 helicopters.

Contrary to Franco-Chadian relations, "there is no military cooperation agreement (between N'Djamena and Ankara) but a trade agreement that allows us to acquire military equipment", a Chadian officer told AFP.

Turks are present to provide technical assistance and the former French bases are "entirely in the hands of the Chadian military", the same source added.

This flexible cooperation on drones clearly illustrates the desire of some African leaders to "assert their sovereignty and greater strategic autonomy", said researcher Djenabou Cisse.



- 'Extreme fear' -



On the ground, however, the tactical and strategic gains from the use of drones do not always materialise, several experts said.

"Drones alone cannot defeat an adversary," Cisse said, adding: "We saw this in Libya, where both sides had sophisticated drones, and more recently in Sudan, where each side uses drones, but with very unequal capabilities."

"Not only have these countries failed to fully stabilise but conflicts have often become entrenched or even escalated," the researcher added.

Drones are proving especially decisive in open terrain, when the enemy is unable to disperse and hide as is the case with jihadists in the Sahel, according to a detailed study by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

In Ethiopia, they helped turn the tide of the conflict in Tigray at a key moment, giving a decisive advantage to federal forces without, however, securing a definitive victory.

In the summer of 2021, a large column of Tigray rebel forces, which reached within 200 kilometres of Addis Ababa and threatened to seize the capital, was stopped by the arsenal of drones deployed by the government.

Analysis of satellite images by Dutch peace organisation PAX at several Ethiopian air bases confirmed the presence of TB2s and, more recently, the Akinci, as well as Chinese Wing Loongs and Iranian Mohajer-6s.

These drones have "significantly increased the Ethiopian army's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, as they can prowl for nearly 24 hours, track enemy movements, identify their positions, provide targeting information or directly strike targets," Wim Zwijnenburg, a drone specialist for PAX, told AFP.

While the fighting subsequently focused primarily on Tigray, it continued into 2022 and high tensions remain in the region despite the conclusion of a fragile peace agreement, while other hotbeds of violent insurrection have spread to Amhara and Oromia.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his peace efforts with neighbouring Eritrea, is now regularly accused of indiscriminate abuses against the population.

"The drones continued to target civilians despite the presence of sophisticated sensor systems, high-definition cameras and night vision," supposedly allowing for better threat identification, said Zwijnenburg, deploring "a lack of operator training or, in the worst case, a deliberate decision".

In Gedeb, the small Amhara town targeted during Passover, residents contacted by AFP said there had been no fighting in the area in the run-up to the attack.

They live in constant fear now.

"We are ready to flee to the bush at any moment in the event of a sudden drone strike," said one of them. "We live in extreme fear."

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Gaza civil defence says 11 killed by Israeli fire



Gaza City, Palestinian Territories, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



Gaza's civil defence agency said 11 people were killed by Israeli gunfire and air strikes on Friday, including two who were waiting near an aid distribution site inside the Palestinian territory.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five people were killed in a strike near the southern city of Khan Yunis, and four more in a separate strike on a vehicle in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah.

The Israeli army told AFP it could not confirm the strikes without specific coordinates.

Two other people were killed and more than 70 injured by Israeli fire while waiting for aid near a food distribution centre run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) between Khan Yunis and the nearby city of Rafah, the civil defence said.

The army did not immediately respond to the report.

Thousands of Gazans have gathered each day near aid distribution points in Gaza, including the four managed by GHF, whose operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.

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.

Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza since the start of the war nearly 22 months ago have led to shortages of food and essential goods, including medicine, medical supplies and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators.

The shortages were exacerbated by a more than two-month total blockade on aid imposed by Israel, which began easing the stoppage in late May as GHF was beginning its operations.

Israel's defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said Friday that more than 200 trucks of aid had been collected and distributed by the UN and international organisations the previous day.

The UN says Gaza requires at least 500 trucks of aid per day.

COGAT added that four tankers of fuel for the UN had entered the Palestinian territory, and that 43 pallets of aid were airdropped in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan.
Lebanon says four killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday



Beirut, Lebanon, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



A series of Israeli air strikes killed four people in south and east Lebanon, the health ministry said Friday, referring to strikes that occurred the previous evening.

"The series of strikes launched by the Israeli enemy Thursday evening led to the death of four people," the Lebanese health ministry said.

The Israeli military said Thursday that it had targeted Hezbollah "infrastructure that was used for producing and storing strategic weapons" in south Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described one of the targets as Hezbollah's "biggest precision missile manufacturing site".

More than a year of hostilities -- including two months of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah which largely ended with a November ceasefire -- left the militant group badly weakened.

Israel has nonetheless kept up near-daily air strikes in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, and has threatened to continue them until the group has been disarmed.

"Any attempt by the terrorist organisation to recover, re-establish or threaten will be met with relentless intensity," Katz said on Thursday.

Under the terms of the truce, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of the Litani river, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

Israel was meant to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon, but has kept them in five areas it deems strategic.

In a speech on Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he was determined to disarm Hezbollah, a step he has come under heavy US pressure to take, despite the group's protests that doing so would serve Israeli goals.
Putin says wants lasting peace in Ukraine



Moscow, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



Russia wants a "lasting and stable peace" in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Friday, adding that Moscow's conditions for peace remained unchanged as Kyiv repeated its call for a leaders' meeting.

Putin has consistently rejected calls to pause his nearly three-and-a-half year assault on Ukraine despite growing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who issued a 10-day ultimatum earlier this week to stop the fighting.

"We need a lasting and stable peace on solid foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and would ensure the security of both countries," Putin told reporters.

But he added that "the conditions (from the Russian side) certainly remain the same".

Russia has frequently called on Ukraine to effectively cede control of four regions Moscow claims to have annexed, a demand Kyiv has called unacceptable.

Ukraine has been pleading with its Western backers to send more weapons for its troops to withstand Moscow's daily attacks and levy more sanctions on Russia and its trading partners.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been pushing for a meeting with Putin to end the conflict, with Kyiv proposing talks by the end of August.

Zelensky on Friday repeated that call.

"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war," he said on social media.

Ukraine was ready "to meet at the level of leaders at any time", he added.

Putin, speaking alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, also said Moscow had started mass producing Oreshnik -- its hypersonic nuclear-capable missile.

Russia used Oreshnik to strike the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine last year before announcing it could deploy the missile in Belarus, its close ally.

"Our specialists, both Belarusian military specialists and Russian specialists, have chosen a place for future positions," Putin said.

"Work is now underway to prepare these positions. So, most likely, we will close this issue by the end of the year," he added.
Gaza civil defence says Israeli fire kills 22



Gaza City, Palestinian Territories, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli gunfire and air strikes killed at least 22 people on Friday, including eight who were waiting to collect food aid in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five people were killed in a strike in the southern Gaza Strip, and four more when a vehicle was hit in the central area of Deir el-Balah.

Bassal said Israeli forces killed five Palestinians who were trying to return to the Gaza City area, in the territory's north, after word had spread that troops had withdrawn from there.

There was no comment from the Israeli military, which told AFP it could not confirm any of the incidents without specific coordinates for each of them.

The civil defence agency reported deadly fire at Palestinians who were seeking humanitarian aid, in a territory where UN-backed experts have reported that "famine is now unfolding".

Bassal said six people were killed by Israeli gunfire while waiting near northern Gaza's Zikim crossing, through which aid trucks have entered from Israel in recent weeks.

Israeli fire on a crowd near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza killed two people and wounded 70 others, the civil defence said.

The site is run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of deadly incidents.

The Israeli military did not comment on the latest reports, while the GHF has denied that fatal shootings have occurred in the immediate vicinity of its aid points.

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.

As Gazans face dire conditions after nearly 22 months of war, thousands have gathered each day near aid distribution points in Gaza, including the four operated by the GHF.

Israeli restrictions on the entry of goods and aid into Gaza have led to severe shortages of food and essential goods, including medical supplies and fuel, which hospitals rely on to power their generators.

The shortages were exacerbated by more than two months of a total blockade on aid imposed by Israel, which began easing the stoppage in late May as GHF began its operations.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff made a rare visit on Friday to a GHF site in Gaza, with the aim to "help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza".

An Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said that more than 200 trucks of aid had been collected and distributed by the United Nations and international organisations on Thursday.

Four fuel tankers for UN agencies also entered the Palestinian territory, and 43 pallets of supplies were parachuted into Gaza in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, COGAT added.

The UN says Gaza requires at least 500 trucks of aid per day.
France says it cannot save contraceptives US plans to destroy



Paris, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



France said Friday it could not seize $9.7 million worth of women's contraception products that the United States plans to destroy, after media reports suggested the stockpile would be incinerated in the country.

The contraceptives were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden to be provided to women in some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

But Donald Trump's administration, which has dismantled USAID since Trump succeeded Biden in January, confirmed last month it intends to destroy the contraceptives being stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel.

According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste.

France's government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women's rights groups calling the US decision "insane".

But the health ministry told AFP that "unfortunately there is no legal basis" for French or even European health authorities to intervene to recover the stockpile.

"Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks," it added.

The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed.



- Where are they? -



It remains unclear where the contraceptives currently are -- or even if they have already been destroyed.

French women's rights group Family Planning told AFP on Thursday they had been informed that the boxes had started being moved out of the Belgian warehouse 36 hours earlier.

"We do not know where these trucks are now -- or whether they have arrived in France," the group's head Sarah Durocher said, calling on incineration companies to "oppose this insane decision".

Exactly which company could be responsible for incinerating the products has also not been revealed.

French company Veolia, which had been rumoured as a contender, confirmed to AFP that it has a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider.

However the company emphasised that the contract only covers "expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium.

The products, which include IUDs, implants and birth control pills, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring.

Belgium's foreign ministry told AFP earlier this week that it "is exploring all possible avenues to prevent the destruction of these products, including temporary relocation solutions".



- 'Senseless' -



The US decision has provoked an outcry in France.

"Can France accept to become the executor of a senseless policy imposed by the US?" said an opinion piece by five NGOs in the French newspaper Le Monde on Friday.

Among the signatories was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government. All offers have been rejected.

Last week, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse".

Shaheen and Democratic Senator Brian Schatz have introduced a bill aiming to prevent further US aid being wasted.

A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed".

The spokesperson also pointed to a policy, reinstated by Trump earlier this year, which prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that promote or perform abortions.

The NGO Doctors Without Borders, which has slammed the US plan as "unconscionable", has pointed to reports that there is another warehouse with USAID-purchased contraceptives in the United Arab Emirates.

A study published in The Lancet medical journal in June estimated that more than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people could die as a result of the USAID cuts.

Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.

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JAKARTA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia recorded a trade balance surplus of 19.48 billion U.S. dollars from January to June 2025, up from 15.45 billion dollars in the same period last year, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Friday.

"The surplus came from a 28.31 billion U.S. dollars surplus in the non-oil and gas sector, while the oil and gas sector posted a deficit of 8.83 billion U.S. dollars," said Pudji Ismartini, deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics at BPS, during a press conference.

Exports rose 7.70 percent year-on-year to 135.41 billion dollars during the period, while imports increased 5.25 percent to 115.93 billion dollars compared to the same period last year.

Non-oil and gas exports from January to June were mainly to China (29.31 billion U.S. dollars), the United States (14.79 billion dollars), and India (8.97 billion dollars).

The top three suppliers of non-oil and gas goods to Indonesia were China (40.00 billion dollars), Japan (7.47 billion dollars), and the United States (4.87 billion dollars). 
Jihadists kill 'dozens' of soldiers and civilians in Burkina Faso



Abidjan, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



Two jihadist attacks in northeastern Burkina Faso early this week killed "several dozens" of soldiers and civilians, two security sources and a local source told AFP on Friday.

In a "major" attack carried out on Monday, a military unit in the village of Dargo was targeted by "armed terrorist groups", leaving "several dozens of deaths on each side", one of the regional security sources said.

The other security source told AFP that jihadists waged a second attack on Monday, on a supply convoy going between the towns of Dori and Gorom-Gorom.

"In that ambush, several soldiers were killed, along with civilians, notably truck drivers transporting supplies," said the source.

A manager in a road haulage company confirmed the convoy attack, and said that "some 20 drivers and their apprentices were killed".

The attack on the military base was on Tuesday claimed by the JNIM, an armed Islamist militant group affiliated with Al-Qaeda that is active also in Mali and Niger. The group indicated it had killed 40 Burkinabe soldiers.

The JNIM has risen to become the most influential jihadist threat in the Sahel region, according to the United Nations.

Burkina Faso has been plagued by attacks by the JNIM and the Islamic State group since 2015.

Wamaps, a group of West African journalists specialising in Sahel security issues, said the attack on the Dargo base was one of the deadliest attacks against Burkina's military "in recent weeks".

In a post on X, the Wamaps group cited local sources as saying that around 50 soldiers were killed.

In the convoy attack, "nearly 200 terrorists" from the Islamic State group in the Sahel were believed to have taken part, the group said, adding that "some 15 escort soldiers were killed and more than 10 drivers executed".

bur/rmb/gv
Its commercial director James Miller said: The UK plum industry has now started to pull out of a decades-long decline and the quality of the fruit coming through right now, and the yield, is the best weve seen for ages.
He then recalls being hit in the back and upon looking at his arm, saw it had been cut, then looked down and saw that his intestines were hanging out. He put his hand over them and just ran.
We understand that there are strongly held views on all sides. Our officers will police without fear or favour, ensuring those exercising their right to protest can do so safely, but intervening at the first sign of actions that cross the line into criminality.
A Government spokesman said: Free speech is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Online Safety Act protects it. Platforms have a duty to uphold freedom of expression, and the Act places no curbs whatsoever on what adults can say and see on the internet - unless it is something that would already be illegal, offline.
She added: We have also got the French authorities reviewing their way of tackling the small boats on the north French coast where up until now they refused to engage once someone was in a boat in shallow water, they would not intervene, they are now looking at that.
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YANGON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council (NDSC) on Thursday declared martial law in 63 townships shortly after declaring a state of emergency in those areas, the state-owned Myanmar Radio and Television reported.

In the martial law order, the NDSC transferred the executive and judicial duties of the townships to the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, the report said.

The martial law was imposed to restore normal administrative conditions, peace, and the rule of law in the townships, the report said.

The townships placed under martial law included five in Kachin state, three in Kayah state, two in Kayin state, seven in Chin state, nine in Sagaing region, five in Magway region, three in Mandalay region, 14 in Rakhine state, and 15 in Shan state, the report said.

According to the order, the martial law will be in effect for 90 days. 
A screenshot of the video released by the First Amendment Alliance Educational Fund calling for Kristin Tips removal as chair of the Texas Funeral Service Commission. First Amendment Alliance Educational Fund

Kristin Tips has no business overseeing the Texas Funeral Service Commission, a female narrator says in the one-minute video. Call Governor (Greg) Abbott and tell him Kristin Tips should resign.

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The video recounts blunders that allegedly occurred at Mission Park Funeral Chapels, Cemeteries & Crematories, a San Antonio company that Tips owns and operates with her husband Robert Dick Tips and is regulated by the agency she heads.

The well-publicized gaffes include the disappearance of a body before it was cremated and the alleged mix-up of the identities of two corpses.

Whose family will suffer next? the narrator asks.

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The video released Saturday resembles the attack ads that are repeatedly shown on television during election season. It features grainy footage accompanied by eerie-sounding music.

Its the handiwork of the First Amendment Alliance Educational Fund, a Virginia-based nonprofit social welfare organization that says its purpose is to educate citizens regarding public policy issues.

The groups founder and treasurer is Anthony Holm, a former Republican political operative-turned trial lawyer based in Austin. Hit by a big truck? You need the big dog lawyer! his website says.

Commission upheaval

A video released by the First Amendment Alliance Educational Fund says Kristin Tips, chair of the Texas Funeral Service Commission, should be removed from the post. Her familys San Antonio funeral business has faced lawsuits over its practices. Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman

The upheaval at the agency Tips chairs and years of professional malfeasance of losing bodies and mixing up corpses at her funeral-home business sparked the video, he said.

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We should all have pause about the credibility of Mrs. Tips leadership, Holm said. We need the bright light of transparency shined into this taxpayer funded entity. Something is clearly afoul.

Tips didnt respond to calls or a text message.

Gov. Greg Abbott first appointed Tips to the commission in 2017 and appointed her chair in May 2024.

Neither the funeral commission nor the governors press office responded to a request for comment on the video or about how many people have called the governors office in response. Holm said he knows a number of calls have been made to the governor asking for her resignation.

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Besides being shared via text, the video is running on YouTube TV, Holm said.

The Texas Funeral Service Commission isnt an agency that usually draws much attention. Its charged with licensing funeral providers, inspecting funeral establishments and investigating complaints. Made up of seven gubernatorial appointments, the agency also oversees donations of bodies for medical studies and research.

But the turmoil roiling the agency has put a spotlight on it.

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Scott Bingaman, who was fired June 18 as executive director of the Texas Funeral Service Commission, has alleged that Kristin Tips instructed him to write a Jan. 13 letter to Gov. Greg Abbott in support of overturning a Texas Supreme Court decision allowing for the recovery of damages for mental anguish in lawsuits against funeral homes. Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman

It began with the June 18 firing of Executive Director Scott Bingaman, who fired off a letter to commissioners the day before his dismissal addressing what he perceived as conflicts of interest by Tips and other board members.

Then, last week, staff attorneys Christopher Burnett and Sarah Sanders told Dallas public radio station KERA-FM that they and deputy director Laura Rhinehart were fired July 21 at the direction of Tips. On his LinkedIn profile, Burnett says he spent two months at what could be the most dysfunctional state agency in Texas.

Burnett and Sanders, who were hired by Bingaman, supported their former boss allegations of unethical behavior at the commission.

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Bingaman alleged that Tips instructed him to write a Jan. 13 letter to the governor in support of overturning a Texas Supreme Court decision allowing the recovery of damages for mental anguish in lawsuits against funeral homes, among other requests.

Tips failed to tell me that these are all self-serving and misleading, Bingaman said in his June 17 letter to commissioners. Tips has a personal interest in capping non-economic damages against funeral homes.

Legal woes

Tips' Mission Park Funeral Chapels & Cemeteries has had its share of legal woes.

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In January, a San Antonio jury awarded three Bexar County siblings more than $1 million after the urn containing their mothers was destroyed by an excavator in 2021 at San Jose Burial Park. Mission Park recently gave notice it was appealing the verdict.

The siblings alleged in their case that Mission Park carelessly unearthed the wrong burial plot before a service for their father despite markers indicating where the burial should take place. They advised Mission Park of the correct location for burial of their fathers urn next to his wifes cremated remains.

In a 2018 photo, Kristin Tips and her husband Robert Dick Tips stand next to a coffin they had brought into a courtroom for a trial. Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News

A cemetery caretaker dug the new burial plot with an excavator rather than a shovel, their lawyer said. The excavator broke the mothers urn, tore the internal bag holding the ashes and spread them in the dirt and grass.

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Mission Park confidentially settled another lawsuit as a San Antonio jury was deliberating in April.

Three brothers sued Mission Park for burying the body of another woman next to their fathers grave instead of the body of their mother in 2020. The brothers had asked for more than $3.6 million for the mental anguish and pain they endured.

The family of the other woman also has a lawsuit pending against Mission Park. The case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

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Mission Park gained notoriety about a decade ago when the body of Julie Mott, 25, disappeared from one of its funeral homes before she was to be cremated. A San Antonio jury awarded her parents $8 million in mental anguish damages after it found the funeral home was negligent in the loss of the body. The parties later settled the dispute.

Good government

The First Amendment Alliance Educational Funds video highlights a couple of the legal cases against Mission Park.

A parents worst nightmare is losing a child, the video says. For one family it got even worse when the funeral home lost their daughters body. The funeral home was run by Kristin Tips, chair of the Texas Funeral Service Commission, a group that oversees funeral homes.

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It added that Motts body has never been recovered.

It happened again when Tips' funeral home swapped bodies, burying the wrong one and shocking a family who spotted a complete stranger in their mothers casket.

Holm, the Austin attorney behind the video, said We should all care about good government and good governance when asked why cared about the topic.

In the last 60 days, four senior members of the commission have been fired or left and publicly disclosed concerns about corruption and insider dealings by Kristin Tips, coupled with her many years of professional malfeasance and losing bodies and mixing up corpses, he said.

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Capping damages

Just weeks after Mission Park was told in January to pay more than $1 million in damages, legislation was drafted to limit the liability of funeral service providers who mishandle a body or human remains.

One bill, by state Sen. Donna Campbell, a Republican whose district Tips resides in, would have capped funeral service providers liability on mental anguish damages to the lesser of $50,000 or three times the amount paid for funeral services. The bill was later changed to increase the cap to $250,000. A similar bill was drafted in the House.

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Dallas attorney Jack R. Hales Jr. told the San Antonio Express-News in March that the legislation would have a chilling effect on lawsuits against funeral homes if it became law. Mental anguish often represents the largest  often the only  damages component of such claims.

Another bill, drafted by Republican Sen. Tan Parker of Flower Mound, would have given oversight of anatomical donations in the state to Texas Funeral Service Commission.

Bingaman, the commissions former executive director, said in his June 17 letter that Tips attempted to use her position as presiding officer to insert language in Parkers bill to cap mental anguish damages in lawsuits against funeral homes.

Tips testified in support of the various bills, including on April 2 before the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee.

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While identifying herself as presiding officer of the funeral commission, Tips said she was testifying on behalf of myself, as a funeral director working with Mission Park, a fifth-generation family owned funeral provider.

Family owned funeral homes, small funeral homes, mom and pop funeral homes are closing, she told the committee. Some across the state, in the last 12 months, have filed Chapter 7 (bankruptcy). Funeral directors are essential to public health and the well-being of the community.

Lawsuits have caused funeral homes insurance premiums to spike more than 1,000% in the past eight years, she testified, while 40% of them cant get insurance.

At a May 22 Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on Campbells bill, Tips testified that medical examiners, law enforcement and municipal and state cemeteries all have immunity from litigation over the handling of human remains.

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Were the only group standing there with no immunity, she said. Trial lawyers know this. They are exploiting that. Were easy targets to them, easy money.

None of the bills she supported advanced.

Political aspirations?

Speculation among insiders is that Tips is weighing a run for public office, though she didnt respond to a query on whether she has political aspirations.

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Some have speculated that Kristin Tips may run for political office, possibly for the seat occupied by state Rep. Marc LaHood. Jessica Phelps

Texas House District 121, the seat now occupied by Republican Marc LaHood, a San Antonio criminal defense lawyer who was elected for the first time in November, would be a possibility for Tips, some say.

LaHood earned the wrath of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the biggest donor in state politics, in this years legislative session after the groups three high-priority bills failed, Hearst Newspapers reported last month. One of the bills sought to rein in medical costs in personal injury lawsuits.

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The groups whiffs during the session may mean it could begin targeting legislators who bucked its wishes, Hearst reported. The group didnt respond to a query about whether its backing a candidate to oppose LaHood.

Elliott Griffin, a political consultant for LaHood, said his office had no knowledge of Tips' desires.

Whether its Kristin Tips or somebody else, Marcs prepared for a campaign, Griffin said.

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Holm, the Austin lawyer behind the Tips video, declined to say whether his video has anything to do with her running for elected office.
Real estate and rental listing marketplace Zillow faces copyright violation allegations from a competitor. The lawsuit could hit other listing companies, too. Tribune New Service

Real estate marketplace Zillow is in hot water over the photos that populate its rapidly growing selection of rental listings. Other companies could soon face similar trouble.

Virginia-based listing website CoStar sued Zillow on Wednesday, alleging the Seattle-based site illegally uses CoStars photos in a widespread and systematic pattern of copyright infringement.

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CoStar owns Apartments.com, a top competitor in the race to grab attention from renters searching for their next home.

The dispute is the latest volley in an ongoing fight between the two competitors, both vying for dominance in the for-sale and rental listing market. It also comes as Zillow spars with the brokerage Compass over private home listings.

In its lawsuit, CoStar claims Zillow has illegally used nearly 47,000 CoStar images in online property listings and that the images have been key to helping Zillow rake in more money from its rental-listing business.

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Zillow is profiting from decades of CoStar Group work and the billions of dollars we have invested, CoStar CEO Andy Florance said in a statement.

Zillow also shares rental listings with Seattle-based Redfin and Realtor.com, which is owned by a subsidiary of News Corp. CoStar threatened actions against those companies, too.

If these other sites do not immediately remove our images, we will have no choice but to sue them as well, Florance said.

Zillow did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday. Redfin declined to comment.

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CoStar claims it has created the worlds largest library of real estate photographs by paying thousands of photographers to document residential and commercial properties. The company copyrights and watermarks those photos and allows property owners to use them when advertising on a CoStar website. They cannot sublicense the photos to competing websites, according to CoStar.

The lawsuit alleges Zillow blatantly took thousands of those photos without CoStars permission and used them to populate rental listings on Zillow and several other Zillow-owned rental websites.

The photos benefit Zillow by drawing more renters and apartment owners to its website, CoStar claims.

Zillow uses the photos to build pages for properties that are not listed for rent, then invites property owners to claim this property and continue to use the same photos once apartments are advertised for rent, according to the complaint. It also sells advertising packages to property owners who claim their property on Zillow and sells renters a tool to apply for multiple properties.

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Beyond those pages, Zillow uses the photos of features inside apartments, such as granite countertops, to inform its estimates of property values and to make recommendations to people searching for rentals, the complaint said.

All told, those uses generate income for Zillow on the back of CoStars work, the lawsuit claims.

To illustrate the benefit, CoStar points out that Zillow now features rental listings from 60,000 properties and revenues to the rentals portion of Zillows business climbed 33% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year.

It has faced similar allegations before. A federal judge in 2022 ordered the company to pay nearly $2 million in another copyright infringement case.

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Zillow and Redfin are widely known as repositories for listings of for-sale homes. They draw information for those listings from multiple listing services, where real estate agents upload details about properties. But no similar database exists for rentals.
Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar, left to right, Samsung CEO of Semiconductors Kye Hyun Kyung, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, U.S. Rep Michael McCaul, and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett celebrate the announcement of a major grant at the Samsung semiconductor plant in Taylor Monday April 16, 2024. Jay Janner / American-Statesman

Samsung Electronics is struggling to catch up in the the race to supply chips for artificial intelligence as it bets big on a delayed semiconductor plant northeast of Austin.

The worlds largest maker of memory chips and smartphones said Thursday its profit dropped another 55% in the second quarter. Its chipmaking operations  which include the new plant in Taylor  were hit even harder.

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Samsung blamed U.S. export controls, weak demand and low production at its chip foundries for the decline.

The report came just days after the Korean company announced a $16.5 billion deal with Tesla Inc. tied to the companys new plant in Texas. Samsung is counting on the Taylor fab  and business from clients like Tesla  to help revive its semiconductor division after more than a year of turbulence. The deal is to supply chips for AI workloads in Teslas automobiles, robots and data centers.

With this as an inflection point, we hope to win additional orders from other major customers, and we expect it to help boost higher, more stable fab utilization at our advanced nodes, including the Taylor plant, which will in turn help boost revenue and profit, Noh Mi-jung, vice president of Samsungs semiconductor foundry business, told investors after the report was issued. Regarding investments, our goal has been to win next-gen chip awards from diverse U.S. clients as we set up our new Taylor fab, which is set to ramp up operations from 2026.

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Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. reported operating profit of $3.4 billion for the three months from April through June, down from $7.5 billion a year ago. Revenue rose slightly to $53.4 billion. The Device Solutions division, which includes the chip and foundry operations, reported a whopping 93.8% drop in profit, falling to $286.5 million from $4.6 billion a year ago. Semiconductor revenue also declined, to $20 billion from $20.5 billion.

Tesla has reportedly reached a $16.5 billion agreement with Samsung to produce its next-generation AI chips at a new semiconductor facility planned for Taylor, Jay Janner / American-Statesman

Samsung originally planned for the Taylor facility to begin production in 2024 but the timeline has since slipped to 2026 as the company has lost ground in chip manufacturing. Reuters reported earlier this summer that the company had postponed deliveries of chipmaking equipment for the Taylor site because of a lack of confirmed customers for the chips it would produce. Nikkei Asia later reported that Samsung was still struggling to line up clients and had delayed completion of the factory.

The companys share of the global foundry market slipped to 7.7% in the first quarter from 8.1% in the previous three months, according to Taipei-based TrendForce. Market leader Taiwan Semiconductors share was nearly 68%.

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The new Texas plant on 1,000 acres near U.S. 79 and County Road 401 was announced in 2021, when Gov. Greg Abbott said Samsungs planned $17 billion investment would be the largest-ever foreign direct investment in Texas. It included plans for two logic fabs and a research and development facility. In filings, Samsung has outlined the potential for up to 11 additional chip production facilities in the region in the coming decades.

However, U.S. trade policy is adding further pressure to the chip sector and raising new questions about such manufacturing growth. The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to release findings from a semiconductor import probe within two weeks, after former President Donald Trumps call in April for sweeping tariffs.

Trump announced earlier this week that the U.S. would impose a 15% tariff on semiconductor imports from South Korea, one of Samsungs largest export markets. Imports of steel and aluminum from South Korea would also face 50% tariffs under Trumps proposed global rate.

Samsung warned that those risks are likely to persist in the months ahead.

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Looking to the second half, geopolitical uncertainty driven by intensifying U.S.-China technology rivalry and potential U.S. semiconductor tariff policies will likely persist, Mi-jung said.
Liz Teitz covers environmental news and the Hill Country for the San Antonio Express-News. She writes about the San Antonio Water System, news in New Braunfels and Comal County and water issues around Central Texas. She can be reached at liz.teitz@express-news.net.

Liz joined the Express-News in June 2023. She has been a reporter for eight years, covering housing, government, education and other topics for the Ouray County Plaindealer, Hearst Connecticut Media Group and the Beaumont Enterprise. Liz grew up in Rhode Island and graduated from Georgetown University.
Dell Children's Medical Center staff said it has not had any ICE presence at the hospital or any other Ascension Texas hospitals. AMERICAN-STATESMAN FILE

While local hospitals and publicly funded clinics have not seen U.S. immigration officers on their campuses to detain staff or patients, officials at those facilities say they have protocols in place.

And they worry that people will avoid seeking care because of the worry about immigration officers.

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Central Health, the Austin-Travis County hospital district, and its clinical practice CommUnityCare, have not had any ICE agents at their clinics, but developed a policy in March to have a standard operating procedure for what staff should do if immigration officials show up at the clinics.

"We have processes and staff training for people who are our frontline staff, our doctors, our providers, our receptionists to help our patients feel and be safe when they come to access care," said Ted Burton, chief communications officer at Central Health.

Central Health's policy includes asking agents for identification and subpoenas, and notifying legal council and management as well as all team members.

Ascension Texas said a recent social media post about ICE activity at one of its hospitals are not true. "We have processes related to interactions with law enforcement that have not changed and that ensure we comply with legal requirements while protecting the privacy and other rights of our patients, associates and visitors," a statement from Ascension Texas said.

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St. David's HealthCare said, "We are not aware of any such activity at our hospitals" but did not go into its policies for what happens if immigration officials do arrive on hospital grounds.

Baylor Scott & White also said there have been no raids on its campuses. "We continue to comply with all federal, state and local regulations and requirements," it said in a statement.

Hospitals are required by a 2024 order by Gov. Greg Abbott to collect data about how many dollars of care it provides to people who do not have legal residency.

"The fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care," the Texas Hospital Association said in a statement in April. "Hospitals remain open and ready to serve Texans acute care needs.

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CommUnityCare, which is one of Austin's federally qualified health care clinic providers, is worried about people being afraid to come to its clinics and the general health of the community might suffer because of the fear.

"We acknowledge some of our patients, because of what has happened, may not feel safe," said Tara Trower, the interim chief operating officer and chief strategy officer at CommUnityCare. "When we talk about telehealth and we talk about access, these are some of the things we are contemplating as well to make sure folks are confident in keeping their primary care physicians and taking care of their preventive health needs so they do not end up in the ER."

Federally qualified health care clinics also are trying to fight potential changes to federal policies that would prevent them from treating people who do not have documentation. They are urging the community to submit public comments to the federal Department of Health And Human Services.

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Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker and accomplice to Jeffrey Epstein, was moved to a federal prison in Texas, according to media reports. MARK FELIX/AFP via Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted of sex trafficking in connection with Jeffrey Epstein, has been moved to a federal prison in Texas, officials said Friday.

Maxwell was transferred to the minimum-security federal prison camp in Bryan from a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Fla., a Federal Bureau of Prisons official told the Houston Chronicle.

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The bureau's online inmate locator currently shows Maxwell as "Not in BOP Custody," though a prison spokesperson said the system would be updated at midnight to reflect her current location.

According to the Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification code, inmates can be moved because of security and supervision requirements, medical or programming needs, separation or security measures for inmate protection.

The specific reason for Maxwell's relocation has not been revealed, officials told the Chronicle.

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She was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022 for helping Epstein groom and sexually abuse underage girls.

Josh Lepird, vice president for the region of the officers' union that includes Bryan, said the transfer did not seem unusual to him, even for a high-profile prisoner like Maxwell.

"The only unusual thing is that you typically only go to a camp if you have just a couple years left," he said. "But if someone is a cooperating witness, they can request a lower security level."

Because the facility is a "standalone" camp  and not a "satellite" affiliated with a larger prison  Lepird said it would have "a little more security."

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With more programming access and certain freedoms, Lepird said, the Bryan camp is considered a plum spot to serve out a sentence.

"It's one of the best prisons for anyone to go to," he said. "When you hear people say 'Club Fed,' they're talking about places like FPC Bryan."

The relocation comes as Maxwell's attorneys push the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction while pursuing a presidential pardon in exchange for cooperation in the Epstein investigation, USA Today reported.

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Austin City Hall pictured on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Mikala Compton/American-Statesma/American-Statesman

Austinites are all but guaranteed to vote this fall on whether to raise their property taxes to help plug a city budget shortfall. But how much more theyll be asked to pay remains undecided.

On Friday, Mayor Kirk Watson and a four-member City Council coalition released competing tax hike proposals  each outlining how tens of millions in new revenue would be used to support city services, with homelessness and public health among the top priorities.

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Mayor Kirk Watson gives remarks during the groundbreaking of a new parking garage at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. The new multi-level parking garage, the Yellow Garage, will provide approximately 7,000 parking spaces to travelers upon completion. Mikala Compton/American-Statesman

Watson proposed raising the city property tax rate to 56 cents per $100 of valuation, an 8-cent hike over last year's rate that would generate about $76.6 million in new revenue. Council members Ryan Alter, Jose Chito Vela, Jose Velasquez and Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes called for a higher rate of 59 cents per $100 valuation, which would bring in an estimated $148 million.

The city's current tax rate is 47.76 cents per $100 of value. Under Watsons plan, the owner of a $500,000 home would pay about $243 more per year, while the council plan would result in a roughly $260 increase, according to city budget documents.

Council approved a maximum possible rate of 60 cents per $100 of value on Thursday. It will adopt a final rate later this month. If the chosen rate exceeds 52 cents per $100, it will trigger a voter approval election under a 2019 state law that limits how much cities can raise taxes without a public vote.

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The council members backing the higher rate said draconian federal cuts and the state tax cap have left the city with little choice but to seek voter support.

We are faced with a hard decision  adequately address the pressing needs of Austin through a tax rate election, or slash homelessness, affordable housing, and public health programs, they wrote in a post on the council's online message board.

Their proposal would direct most of the new revenue toward homelessness programs, while also funding parks maintenance, public safety, and public health programs that have lost federal dollars.

Watson said his more modest proposal reflects a desire to avoid overburdening residents at a time when the city is already raising utility rates and fees.

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I believe this proposal, while not perfect, is balanced and one Austinites can support, Watson wrote in his own message board post.

Watson's proposal calls for $46 million for homelessness services, $7.7 million for Austin/Travis County EMS, and $6 million for park maintenance. But he acknowledged his plan would not address all the citys needs  such as employee pay raises beyond next year  and urged caution given the impact on affordability.

I believe its important to strike a balance with the cost to Austinites, including those who rent, and its impact on affordability, he said.

Several other council members have also staked out positions. Council Member Krista Laine said she supports a 57-cent rate. Mike Siegel and Zohaib Zo Qadri released a joint statement earlier this week favoring a slightly higher increase than the one proposed by Alter and his colleagues.

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Council Member Marc Duchen, meanwhile, said he opposes exceeding the voter-approval threshold. He said he would support a maximum rate of 54 cents per $100 valuation  lower than Watsons proposal  citing concerns about the tax burden residents already face.
Authorities investigating four fires in the small town of Bartlett have charged a man with setting one of them. Bartlett straddles Williamson and Bell counties. American-Statesman

Authorities investigating a series of fires in the town of Bartlett have charged a man with setting one of them.

Carlos Crathers, 34, of Bartlett was charged with arson, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He said he set fire to the vacant home of a relative to get rid of "demons," according to an arrest affidavit released this week. He was arrested on July 25.

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The fire that he is accused of setting is the fourth fire in a vacant building in the past few months in Bartlett, according to the Williamson County fire marshal's office. Bartlett straddles Bell and Williamson counties and has an estimated population of 1,600.

The other three fires are still under investigation, the fire marshal's office said in an email.

"We have not made a determination yet on if the fires were intentionally set," officials said. "One of the structures used to be a church. However, it was no longer being used as a place of worship when the fire occurred, and it was pending a sale."

The other three fires happened on March 14, May 15 and June 11, according to the fire marshal's office. They included another vacant church and a vacant home, said Bartlett Mayor Chad Mees.

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"As for the town and how citizens have been affected, I'd say it's made everyone a little on edge but glad we have a suspect behind bars," Mees said. "We pray that Mr. Crathers gets the treatment he is crying for, and the courts hand out justice due."

A judge has ordered a mental health assessment for Crathers, according to court records.

Crathers is accused of setting a home on fire at 106 Kimble St. on July 22, according to the affidavit. It said the fire was reported at 7 a.m. Flames and smoke were showing through the roof of the single-story home when Bartlett volunteer firefighters responded to it, the document said. It said the house was destroyed.

A task force of fire marshals from Williamson County and the cities of Liberty Hill, Jarrell and Hutto was requested "due to the number of fires in the area, the reported suspect (Crathers) on scene having been at prior fires and amount of damage to the structure," the affidavit said. It said one of those previous fires was on May 15 at 419 NE Front St.

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When the Williamson County sheriff's office detained Crathers at the scene of the July 22 fire, he initially said he was walking toward the house on Kimble Street when he saw black smoke coming from the windows and turned around and left, according to the affidavit.

He said he didn't call 911 about the smoke because he didn't have a phone and he didn't knock on anyone's door to inform them about the house fire, the affidavit said. Crathers told officials that his late uncle had lived in the house. He also said he had stayed in the house one night a few months before but was told he could not stay there anymore, according to the affidavit. It said Crathers told authorities he was not upset with his family for not wanting him to stay in the vacant house.

Two witnesses later told the fire marshal's office that they had seen Crathers walking toward the house on Kimble Street with a gas can before the fire, the affidavit said. It said a third witness said he saw Crathers walking out the front door of the house with a fire burning inside the home.

The affidavit also said Crathers walked into the Bartlett police station the day after the house fire and told the chief he had started it with gas from a can. The house belonged to his grandfather, according to the affidavit. Crathers told the police chief that "I'm tired of family battling over this," the affidavit said.

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It said Crathers also confessed to detectives with the Williamson County sheriff's office that he set the fire.
Leander police are investigating the shooting death of a man in a park. American-Statesman

Leander police are investigating the shooting death of a man killed in an argument between two groups of people in the parking lot of Bledsoe Park on Tuesday, officials said.

Authorities had not yet released the victim's identity on Thursday pending notification of next of kin. Police were alerted around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday about the shooting in the parking lot in the 600 block of Bagdad Road, according to a news release on social media.

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"Initial reports indicate that there were two groups involved in an altercation, where multiple shots were fired," the release said. It said the suspect left before police arrived.

"As this appears to be an isolated incident resulting from a disturbance, there does not appear to be an ongoing threat to the public," the release said.

Additional details were not released Thursday.

Anyone with information or questions about the case can call Lt. Ben Girdler at (512) 528-2963 or email him at bgirdler@leanderpd.tx.gov.
An aerial view from Star Flight shows homes and property damaged by flooding from Big Sandy Creek and filled with debris near Lago Vista on July 6. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman

As the Texas Legislature considers policy responses to the deadly Fourth of July weekend floods during the ongoing special legislative session, experts say state lawmakers are overlooking a key factor that made the disaster so devastating: unregulated development in flood-prone areas.

More than 130 people died in deluges across the statemany of them staying or living in non-permanent structures like RVs and mobile homes that were swept away by floodwaters.

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An analysis of the Federal Emergency Management Agencys flood maps by Hearst Newspapers show that many of the affected structures in Travis, Williamson and Burnet counties were located in government-designated floodways or floodplains.



At a nearly 12-hour hearing on July 23, Texas lawmakers on newly-formed House and Senate flood committees peppered officials with questions about weather alerts, flood gauges and emergency warning systems.

But such tools address symptoms rather than root causes, said Andrew Rumbach, a senior researcher at the Urban Institute who studies disaster risk and resilience.

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He and other experts say the state must grapple with why so many Texans  especially in rural and unincorporated areas  live in vulnerable structures in high-risk areas. The 2024 State Flood Plan found that 17% of Texans, or about 5.2 million people, live or work in known flood hazard areas. Many fall outside city limits, where county governments lack zoning authority and have limited ability to enforce building standards.

Rumbach said. Having appropriate land use regulations that not only balance the need for all the great things that we can do with land, but also the risks there, is essential.

While warning systems and rescue efforts are important, land use has to be a major part of the solution here, Rumbach said. Governments have not only the authority, but also the obligation to take peoples safety into account."

Jim Blackburn, a Rice University professor specializing in environmental law and flooding issues, said the states lack of guardrails on floodplain development amounts to negligence.

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We're very lax about the way that we approach land use regulation relative to flooding in Texas, he said. I just don't think it has ever received the attention or the focus that it needs at the state level.

Destroyed vehicles sit in floodwaters as volunteers clean up and recover belongings on July 7, 2025, following a weekend flash flood that devastated homes in Leander, Texas. Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman

Scope of the disaster

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FEMA flood maps show that several of the worst-hit neighborhoods are in high-risk areas. In Georgetown, two RV parks along the San Gabriel River that were all but wiped off the map are directly in the floodway, where water moves most forcefully during storms.

Many jurisdictions outright prohibit new construction in floodways, but most of those rules apply only to immovable structures. However, many people in the RV parks lived there full-time.

Unincorporated neighborhoods in northwestern Travis County sustained significant damage in the July flooding. Many of those who died or were displace lived in prefabricated homes in the 100-year floodplain along Big Sandy Creek Caroline Ghisolfi and Bayliss Wagner/Hearst Newspapers

In Big Sandy Creek, the hardest-hit area in Travis County, many residents live in manufactured homes that aren't meant to be moved.

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Many of those impacted were in the 100-year floodplain, a high risk zone that includes areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding. Others were in the 500-year floodplain, an area with a 0.2% chance of flooding in any given year.

Flood maps are meant to show which areas have the highest risk of flooding during major storms. FEMA creates them with help from local governments, using rainfall data, terrain features and models that predict how water moves. The federal agency uses the maps to determine where flood insurance is required, while local officials rely on them to shape building codes and guide development.

However, FEMAs maps are not a perfect representation of flood risk, nor were they meant to be, Rumbach said.

The maps are only updated around every five years, during which time flood conditions can change dramatically. A warming climate has made major rainstorms more and more common in recent years, and new developments can also shift flood risk. For example, expanding paved or concrete areas can lead water to concentrate in new places, Rumbach said.

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Some homes impacted during the floods were not in FEMA-designated floodplainsshowing that people who live outside of floodplains could also be in danger.

Many more people are at risk than realize it today, Rumbach said. We should be looking to modernize these flood maps to give people a better sense of what risks they face.

Cheap land, high risk

A combination of factors led mobile home residents and campers to be more vulnerable during the July floods.

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One reason, Rumbach said, is that regulations on permanent structures are often stricter than laws dictating temporary land uses, like RV parks or summer camps.

Additionally, land in designated floodplains is often inexpensive, attracting lower-income residents and developers of mobile home parks and RV resorts. Many of these properties are built in floodways or 100-year floodplains, including the Cedar Stays RV Park in Marble Falls, where dozens of mobile homes were picked up and hurled by floodwaters from Hamilton Creek. One person died, and many others had to be rescued by helicopter.

The Cedar Stays RV Park in Marble Falls is in a 100-year floodplain. Caroline Ghisolfi and Bayliss Wagner/Austin American-Statesman

If you have mobile home parks in (floodplains), they're at high risk, but it's not easy for them to move, Rumbach said.

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Recreational areas, like mobile home parks and campsites, also may have fewer restrictions and less risk awareness than in places where people live year-round.

The research says that (recreation) is a really under-appreciated area of risk, Rumbach said.

Regulatory gaps

Unlike cities, most Texas counties cannot regulate land use through zoning, which leaves them with limited power to restrict development in dangerous flood-prone areas. Local governments also lack authority to inspect buildings in unincorporated areas after theyre built.

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State law also does not authorize counties to establish and collect drainage fees in unincorporated areas, making it difficult for them to self-finance flood mitigation projects there, according to the state flood plan. Cities, on the other hand, can use money paid to public utility companies for that purpose.

Nearly every Texas flood planning region has asked the Legislature to allow counties to collect drainage fees, per the 2024 state flood plan. Several regions also recommended that state lawmakers clarify counties regulatory authority.

Regional flood planning groups have asked Texas officials to create statewide minimum design standards for infrastructure and buildings in order to reduce loss of life and property from flooding.

For Rice's Blackburn, its clear that the state should prohibit cities and counties from authorizing new developments in floodways. He agrees that the state needs to give counties, and potentially river authorities, more power to regulate.

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Travis County Star Flight Chief Medical Supervisor James Esquivel, left, debriefs with Judge Andy Brown, right, and his team before taking flight over Austin on July 6. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman

Travis County Judge Andy Brown, a Democrat, says hell ask the Legislature to let counties create locally-tailored floodplain development policies.

I will recommend to them that they allow counties the ability to create policies that support sustainable land use and development practices aimed at reducing flood risk, Brown told the Statesman in a statement. Additionally, it is crucial to ensure counties are able to prioritize the preservation and restoration of natural floodplains, as these areas serve as essential buffers, absorbing floodwaters and minimizing the impact on surrounding communities.

Chris Steubing of the Texas Floodplain Management Association is also hoping state and local governments will do more.

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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, said Steubing, deputy executive director of the flood mitigation and preparedness coalition. We can go a long way in improving the planning aspect and where we are across the state.

Whats next for lawmakers

Lawmakers have vowed to craft policies that will prevent future disasters. At the July 23 hearing, state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said the goal of the special legislative committees is to find constructive policy solutions which will prevent future loss of life like what our state has suffered over the past few weeks.

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After Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Water Development Board proposed five major flood mitigation strategies, but most were not enacted in the 2025 legislative session. Lawmakers approved $1 billion annually for water infrastructure  some of which may go to flooding mitigation  while other key recommendations for enhanced early warning systems and rural support programs were left unfulfilled.

Hearings continue this week, including testimony from flood survivors in Kerr County on Thursday. Blackburn is confident the state will boost warning systems soon, but said that turning the tide on land use regulations could take years.

We've got a lot more work to do on being honest about the effects of climate change on flooding and floodplain development," Blackburn said. "We will continue to destroy houses and potentially kill people in the floodplain until we get more serious about it.

Methodology

Hearst Newspapers sourced floodplain data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Floodplains appear in the data as a series of zones with different risk designations in the event of a flood.

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Data on Travis County floodplains was collected in January 2020 and last revised on June 23 of this year. FEMAs floodplain data in Williamson County was collected in December 2019 and last revised on April 4. Burnet County data was collected in November 2019 and last revised on Nov. 18, 2021.

The Statesman sourced data on sites impacted during the July floods from Travis Countys press release showing impacted county roads, and on-the-ground reporting in Travis, Williamson and Burnet counties.

Staff writers Maryam Ahmed, Lily Kepner, Keri Heath and Yilun Cheng contributed reporting.

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Hearst Newspapers' map shows FEMA-designated floodways and floodplains in the Austin area, as well as a number of sites impacted during the July 5 floods. Caroline Ghisolfi / Hearst Newspapers/Austin American-Statesman
ALMATY, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Kazakhstan plans to raise oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to 1.7 million tonnes in 2025, the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency reported Thursday, citing Kazakh Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov.

Kazakhstan transported 1.4 million tonnes of oil through the BTC pipeline in 2024, and about 800,000 tonnes were shipped in the first half of 2025 alone, said the minister, adding that efforts to boost export volumes are underway.

Plans to increase oil exports via the BTC pipeline were discussed during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's recent visit to Turkiye. 
Mud covers the cabinets and floor in Brandy Gerstner's home on Thursday, July 17, 2025 in Leander, Texas. On the morning of July 5, 2025, heavy rain caused flash flooding that destroyed and damaged homes in and around the Sandy Creek neighborhood in Leander. Aaron E. Martinez / American-Statesman

Travis County residents impacted by the deadly July flash floods will soon be able to access free food, supplies, legal aid and more.

The county announced Wednesday it would open a multi-agency resource center on Friday and Saturday at North Way Bible Church to connect affected residents with various aid and government organizations. The center will be open from 2 to 8 p.m. on Friday from 2 to 8 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The church is located at 589 San Gabriel Parkway.

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Participating entities will provide take-home food, cleaning supplies, clothing and housewares. Other organizations will provide debris removal services, financial and housing aid, legal advice and assistance with insurance claims.

Spanish translation services will also be available.

According to the county, the list of organizations in attendance will include: Salvation Army Austin, Central Texas Food Bank, Austin Public Health, FEMA and the Small Business Administration.

CapMetro will provide free shuttle service to the center from both Round Mountain Community Center and Round Mountain Baptist Church. Ongoing recovery services at Round Mountain Baptist will continue uninterrupted.
Travis County resident Ashlee Willis stands outside of the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday evening, July 31, 2025. She provided public testimony to state lawmakers during a joint hearing held in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

In emotional testimony before state lawmakers Thursday, survivors of the July 5 flood in Travis County accused local officials of responding too slowly to the disaster that tore through the Big Sandy Creek area, killing multiple people and leaving widespread destruction in its wake.

Speaking at a legislative field hearing in Kerrville that stretched past midnight, residents and volunteers said the county was unprepared, uncommunicative, and slow to begin search, recovery and cleanup efforts.

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, bottom right, addresses the crowd during a joint hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. State lawmakers hosted a hearing in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Auburne Gallagher of Sandy Creek cries as she gives public testimony to Texas lawmakers during a joint hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. State lawmakers hosted the hearing in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

The fact that we have spent our own personal money to help efforts because support has not been there is unacceptable, said Ashlee Willis, a flood survivor who described using her own resources to provide aid to neighbors. She said the community still lacked access to temporary housing, transportation and heavy equipment to clear debris.

Residents of Travis and Kerr counties also testified that human remains continue to surface from the devastating floods. Willis struggled to speak as she recounted finding a hip and a leg on her property.

They are not coming back to find the rest of these people, she said. In a phone interview with the American-Statesman on Wednesday, she expressed fear that my property is going to produce trash and human body parts for the rest of my life.

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Several lawmakers echoed the publics frustration, pressing Travis County Judge Andy Brown, a Democrat, for answers. Travis County has confirmed 10 deaths occurred within its bounds as a result of the July 5 floods. In Kerr County, at least 108 people died after the Guadalupe River overflowed on July 4, with a statewide death toll of more than 130.

Travis County is considering raising taxes to fund the recovery effort after spending $7 million of its $9 million emergency reserves, KUT reported.

Brown, the countys top elected official, acknowledged shortcomings in communication but defended the emergency response effort. He also said he would begin dispensing donations from a community-raised fund as soon as possible.

Because of the coordinated work across our community, lives were saved, he said. A greater tragedy was prevented. But of course, we always still can and must do better."

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Officials emphasize rescue first

The hearing offered a public account of what unfolded in the days after torrential rains overwhelmed the Big Sandy Creek area in Northwest Travis County. Witnesses described scenes where civilians took charge in the perceived absence of a coordinated government recovery effort.

Timothy Mabry, who is running in the Republican primary against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, recounted organizing truckloads of supplies for Big Sandy Creek after watching videos of the destruction on social media.

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It was not the state doing the cleanup. It was not the government helping, he said of the days after the flood. It was citizens. It was Texans helping."

Auburne Gallagher of Sandy Creek cries as she gives public testimony to Texas lawmakers during a joint hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. State lawmakers hosted the hearing in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

Another witness, realtor and contractor Melanie Strong, said she rushed to the area on July 6 after seeing an urgent call for help on social media. She said no official aid had arrived by then.

Nobody came to help, she said. They were left in the dark, and they did not have resources to dig themselves out.

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Auburne Gallagher, a 25-year resident of Big Sandy Creek, described leading a volunteer cleanup on Windy Valley Drive one day after the flood.

I began bringing in volunteers on July 6  my volunteers, chainsaws, heavy equipment, boots on the ground, supplies, whatever we could get, she said.

In response to the criticism, Brown said that search and rescue efforts were prioritized over debris removal in the floods immediate aftermath. He also said the vast area affected  roughly 176 miles  complicated visibility and public perception.

The search was a slow process and also caused a lot of frustration, I think, among the residents, understandably, he said.

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Hector Nieto, a spokesperson for Travis County, told the Statesman that officials initially avoided disturbing and removing debris to preserve any potential human remains, as per best practices during a search.

Brown testified that the Texas Division of Emergency Management deployed two search teams on the day of the flood and later dispatched 14 more at his request. Brown said he contacted TDEM again for more state help on July 7 after he gained a greater understanding of how big this was, frankly, for Travis County. At the time, about 10 people were still missing.

I actually asked them to send an incident commander, which is unusual, he said.

More than 560 personnel were ultimately sent to the area, including nearly 300 urban search and rescue professionals. Officials searched the area twice, and areas marked by a cadaver dog were searched a third time, Nieto said.

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They searched those three times in the best way that TDEM knows how to, Brown said.

Addressing Willis report about finding body parts, the county judge said TDEM called off the search once all missing persons were identified. He said people who find human remains should call 911. Willis has told the Statesman that the county does remove the remains once called.

A member of the Community Emergency response team (CERT), a FEMA-backed volunteer program, looks at a map of the Guadalupe River taped up on a wall at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. People filled event center to listen to a joint hearing in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

Pictures on social media show Brown visited the Round Mountain Baptist Church, where volunteers set up a resource center, several times. He spoke with Gallagher on July 6, according to photos provided by his spokesperson to the Statesman, and an Instagram post shows him speaking with Strong on July 12. Search and rescue crews had begun searching for missing persons July 5, the day the floods hit, according to the county.

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Gallagher has previously shared misinformation on social media about the floods, according to a report by KXAN.

Brown: More weather service help needed in future

Travis County Judge Andy Brown addresses state lawmakers during a joint hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. The hearing was held in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

Brown also raised concerns about the National Weather Service, which he said did not put several parts of the county under major flood warnings until late on the night of July 4. He noted that a county official had to request the upgrade to emergency status just after midnight July 5, only for the alert to be downgraded and later reinstated.

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He suggested the response would have gone more smoothly without the departure of Paul Yura, a liaison who served as a critical early-warning contact between the weather service and Central Texas officials. He took an early retirement offer from the Trump administration.

They did not replace him, Brown said. But he was the person who would say, Hey, Travis County. I know you get flash flood alerts all the time. But this is big one. You need to pay attention to it.

Gallagher, the longtime resident, testified that she did not receive any warning until 4:30 a.m. July 5, despite local officials telling her they knew the floods would be severe by around midnight.

We need to communicate better

During Browns testimony, several lawmakers on the committee suggested Travis County officials could have stepped in sooner. But they stopped short of giving the Democrat the tongue-lashing that they gave his Kerr County counterpart, whom Patrick, the lieutenant governor, slammed as 'nowhere to be found' during the July 4 flood.

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Victims are still in crisis and there's still not enough communication, said state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. She added that Initially, the heroic acts were all by the volunteers.

Republican Sen. Paul Bettencourt of Houston expressed alarm at the disconnect between the judges account and survivor testimony.

I would hope you would avail the opportunity to have a discussion with the victims, he told Brown, who agreed.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, asks questions of Hill Country officials during a joint hearing at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Thursday, July 31, 2025. State lawmakers hosted the hearing in response to the deadly July 4 floods that struck the Hill Country, resulting in the deaths of over 130 people. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

Sen. Jose Menendez, a Democrat from San Antonio, said bluntly, Residents shouldnt be finding body parts on their own.

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Brown acknowledged that the county could have done more to inform the public about its efforts.

There were hundreds of first responders and Texas military and others out there doing all sorts of things, he said. But what they said is true for them. They did not see enough of it. They did not hear me saying, Hey, this is what we're doing.

State Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, agreed and suggested the county could have played a stronger role in orchestrating the response.

People do need to see us, and they need to see us out there working hard and helping to organize, he said.

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Brown agreed to submit an after-action report to the Legislature once the immediate crisis phase ends and also pledged to investigate reports of unreturned 911 calls.

The Kerrville hearing was the second in a series of joint House and Senate select committee meetings. Lawmakers plan to propose new disaster preparedness policies before the special session ends in late August.

Statesman staff writer Lily Kepner contributed reporting.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, protests redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

The Texas redistricting map unveiled this week was drawn for the express purpose of boosting Republican strength in Congress, the House sponsor of the measure said Friday during the first, and perhaps the only, public hearing on the most controversial measure being considered in the special session of the Legislature.

"These districts were drawn primarily using political performance," state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, told the House Redistricting Committee. "And I want everybody to know that."

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U.S. Rep. Greg Casart, D-Austin, protests redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Dominique Payton, of Houston, protests redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, protests redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Pauline Mims, of Fort Worth, protests redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, protests redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman David Sanchez, left, and Christian Lopez protest redistricting plans before the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, explains the redistricting bill at the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman The House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting discuss redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, testify against redistricting plans at a House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Rep. John McQueeney, R-Fort Worth, holds a Congressional map while listening to testimony at a House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, testify against redistricting plans at a House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, speaks at a House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, and U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, testify against redistricting plans at a House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, explains the redistricting bill at the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, leaves after testifying against redistricting plans at a House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, walks to the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

The bill reshaping 37 of the state's 38 congressional districts was adopted by the committee on a party-line 12-6 vote Saturday morning after reconvening just hours after a 15-hour hearing that started the day before. The plan, which would provide five additional winnable districts for Republicans, now goes to the full House. If the map is approved by the Republican-led Legislature and signed into law, it could give the Texas GOP 30-8 majority after the 2026 midterm elections.

The unusual overhauling of the congressional districts in the middle of the decade has angered Democrats and has again put Texas in the national political spotlight. Democrats in Texas and in Washington have urged Democratic governors in other states to redraw their congressional districts in an effort to offset any Republican gains under the proposed new maps.

Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, listens during the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

As the author of House Bill 4, the legislation that would enact the new map, Hunter was the first Republican lawmaker to offer an expansive defense of redrawing the districts adopted by the GOP-led Legislature in 2021.

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When asked in past hearings why the matter was back before lawmakers, redistricting committee chairman Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, and Republican state Sen. Phil King of Weatherford, who leads the committee in the upper chamber, have said they were simply following the direction of Gov. Greg Abbott. The Republican governor called the 30-day special session that ends Aug. 19 and put redistricting on the agenda.

Hunter, who started his career as a Democrat and is now one of the most senior members of the Texas House, brushed aside arguments that Abbott and the Legislature are abusing the political process by revisiting redistricting with no new census data or court order compelling them to do so.

"It is important to note that when it comes to redistricting, it can be at any time," he said.

Hunter also sidestepped questions about President Donald Trump's influence over Texas redistricting, saying he is aware of the president's interest in the matter but that he was not taking orders from the White House.

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Friday's hearing drew hundreds of redistricting opponents to the Capitol, some of whom participated in a boisterous rally under the rotunda before the committee convened. Many more packed the committee room and several overflow rooms and some lingered in Capitol corridors to listen to testimony over an audio stream.

Democrats have denounced the process as an means backed by the Trump administration to dilute the strength of minority voters. They contend that as many as two of the four Black Democrats from Texas would be unable to win reelection under the new maps and that Hispanic Democrats could also be drawn out of winnable districts.

U.S. Rep. Al Green, a 20-year congressional veteran who represents a historically Black district in Houston, could find himself running in a newly drawn and unfamiliar district. He said Texas should not be redrawing its map to help offset any losses national Republicans might see in next year's midterm elections.

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U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, waits to testify at the hearing of the House Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting at the Capitol in Austin, Friday, Aug. 1. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

"It is time for us to let the president know that Texans will take care of their business, that he can't demand that we do something that quite frankly, is not only racial, but is racist," Green told the committee.
Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program pilots conduct a flyover ahead of the Red River Rivalry game between Texas and Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman

If you were in Austin around 10:30 a.m. Friday, you may have heard a loud "boom."

Local residents were quick to consult Reddit, with one user simply writing, "What was that??"

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The thread replies indicate a general consensus that the noise was caused by 3 F-18 jets flying low, with several users confirming seeing the aircraft.

"I saw, they flew right over my work. Three [F-18s] flying really low and fast, it was awesome," one user wrote.

"I thought a plane was about to crash into my building," another said.

Jets believed to be from Austin military funeral

The mystery seemed to have been solved shortly after the fact.

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"Hey Austin. Did you get freaked out by the very, very loud military jet flyover about 30 minutes ago?" an X user wrote at 11 a.m. "It was related to the burial of a former Marine Corps in the state cemetery."

The services for Lt. Gen. Jefferson Davis "Beak" Howell Jr. began at 10 a.m. Friday at the Texas State Cemetery. The retired veteran from Bee Cave passed peacefully at the age of 85.

"His selfless service to his country knew no bounds," Howell's obituary reads in part. "Beak will be remembered for his unwavering integrity, inspirational leadership, and commitment to excellence."
Katie Marschner, right, a constituent advocate in the office of U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, meets Tuesday with a constituent in the congressman's East Austin office. Bridget Grumet/Austin American-Statesman

As a constituent advocate for U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, Katie Marschner has seen it all. Veterans needing their benefits. A prison inmate whose belongings were lost in transit. Travelers scrambling for last-minute passport renewals. People desperate for their delayed IRS tax refund or Social Security check to arrive so they can pay their rent.

All urgent, apolitical matters.

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On Tuesday morning at Casar's office in East Austin, it was a woman who was still learning English, authorized to be in the U.S., anxious for updates on when her husband might be approved to join her and their child in America.

Ill see what I can find out, Marschner told the woman, knowing that immigration cases can take years, and its anyones guess what the coming weeks will bring.

By Wednesday, state lawmakers had unveiled a proposed overhaul of Texas congressional district maps, a flex of raw political power that would shove millions of people into new districts for the 2026 election.

While the discussion of this redistricting farce has rightly focused on the seismic political implications  the gambit to keep the U.S. House in GOP control, the potential for retaliatory redistricting in blue states, the shameful efforts to strip communities of color of their political voice  at the most tactile level, redistricting will sever millions of Texans from their current elected representatives, Republicans and Democrats alike.

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It will cut people off from the staffers who were helping them navigate the federal bureaucracy. In aggressively gerrymandered districts stretching across hundreds of miles, it will surely put some Texans even further away from the office of their Congress member, a place they should be able to turn for help.

We field thousands of calls from folks that don't have a partisan matter in mind, but they just want to make sure they get their back pay from the Army, or they change their address and they need to get their Social Security check, or they are looking to make sure they get the proper veterans benefits, Casar, a Democrat whose district runs from Austin to San Antonio, told the Texas House redistricting committee last week.

Those constituent inquiries can be very personal and sometimes frantic matters, added U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio. And so knowing who their member of Congress is, and having easy access to that office and to that person or their staff is important.

Changing the maps mid-decade, Castro added, will leave many people very confused.

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For instance, the proposed maps unveiled Wednesday would combine the Austin areas served by Casar and fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, while grafting other parts of their districts onto new neighboring ones. Youd have to track down your new rep after the 2026 election. If your old rep was helping you with a long-running case  say, trying to get your veterans disability status sorted out  your case would get transferred to your new member of Congress, whose staffers would have to get up to speed on everything.

Its the same story for myriad local issues  again, largely apolitical  that hinge on advocacy from plugged-in members of Congress. When I visited Casars East Austin office on Tuesday, he was wrapping up a meeting with Huston-Tillotson University President Melva Wallace, who is still trying to get the federal grant money that has, in theory, been approved for a dorm project at the historically Black college.

If suddenly H-T is chopped into some other member of Congress district who hasnt been following it, who doesnt know Dr. Wallace, and doesnt know that shes already been through two application processes, and that the (federal) money is held up there, that money could just be lost, Casar told me.

I recognize that Texans already go through a reshuffling once a decade, when congressional district lines are redrawn after the latest U.S. Census. But there is no reason to inflict such upheaval again, now. Show me a Texan who will benefit from being cut out of their current district and patched onto the proposed ones unveiled this week.

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(Compounding the upheaval: In sliced-and-diced areas, your rep can easily change again just because you moved to another place. I got a new member of Congress in 2015 when I moved to a new home 2.5 miles west of my old one; had I moved a half-mile east, I wouldve been in yet another representatives district.)

For many Texans, their member of Congress is their ombudsman, their advocate in the vast federal bureaucracy on issues that are neither conservative nor liberal. One could argue the role is a sacred trust, a function that keeps the government human and accessible.

But there is no reverence in this greedy redistricting push, no trace of humanity in maps drawn by data-gorged computers, no reflection of our communities in the districts designed to maximize one partys grip on political power.

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Kiki Simmons, second from left, a mobile outreach worker with Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, offers food and clothes to homeless people in a convenience store parking lot on East Riverside Drive Thursday January 9, 2025, when the temperature was in the upper 30s. Jay Janner/American-Statesman

President Trump has the answer to homelessness.

Forcibly clear the streets.

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On Thursday, he signed an executive order to address "endemic vagrancy" and end "crime and disorder on our streets." He called for the use of "civil commitments" to get those who suffer from mental illness or addiction into "humane treatment."

This comes after last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling making it legal for cities to punish people for being homeless, even if they have nowhere to go.

There's some truth in what he says, and California's record on housing and homelessness is ripe for criticism. I've watched too many people suffer from addiction and mental illness and asked why the help is so slow to arrive. But I also know there are no simple answers for either crisis, and bluster is no substitute for desperately needed resources.

Like a lot of what Trump does, this is another case of grandstanding. In the meantime, the Washington Post reported Thursday that the "Trump administration has slashed more than $1 billion in COVID-era grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and is proposing to slash hundreds of millions more in agency grants."

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As it happens, I was in the middle of a column on the latest Los Angeles homeless count when news of Trump's executive order broke. I had just spent time with two homeless women to hear about their predicaments, and none of what Trump is proposing comes close to addressing their needs, which are tragically commonplace.

Namely, they're living in poverty and can't afford a place to live.

In his executive order, Trump said that "nearly two-thirds of homeless individuals report having used hard drugs  in their lifetimes. An equally large share of homeless individuals reported suffering from mental health conditions."

I don't know where he got those numbers, but truth and accuracy are not hallmarks of this administration.

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No doubt, addiction and mental illness are significant factors, and more intervention is needed.

But that's more complicated than he thinks, especially given the practical and legal issues surrounding coercive treatment  and it's not going to solve the problem.

Reliable research has shown that among older adults who become homeless, the primary reason is the combination of poverty and high housing costs, rather than mental illness or addiction.

"They or their spouse lost their job, they or their spouse got sick, their marriage broke up or their spouse or parent died," Dr. Margot Kushel of UC San Francisco's Homelessness and Housing Initiative was telling me several hours before Trump's executive order was issued.

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Her team's landmark study, released two years ago (and covered by my colleague Anita Chabria), found that nearly half the state's homeless residents were 50 and older, and that participants in the study reported a median monthly household income of $960.

"The results  confirm that far too many Californians experience homelessness because they cannot afford housing," Kushel said at the time.

Among the older population, Veitzer said, the jump in homelessness comes against the backdrop of federal and local budget cuts that will make it harder to reverse the trend. And harder for nonprofits, which rely in part on public funding, to keep providing group meals, home-delivered meals, transportation, social services and housing support.

"Every provider I've talked to in the city of L.A. is cutting meal programs," Veitzer said. "We're going to have to close two of our 13 meal sites, and last year we closed three. We used to have 16, and now we're down to 11."

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On Wednesday, I went to one of the sites that's still up and running on Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of the 405, and met Jane Jefferies, 69. She told me she's been camping in her vehicle since February when living with her brother became impossible for various reasons. She now pulls into a Safe Parking L.A. lot each night to bed down.

As Veitzer put it: "There's nowhere near enough low-income senior housing in L.A. County. Wait lists open up periodically," with far more applicants than housing units. "And then they close."

His agency delivers a daily meal to Vancie Davis, 73, who lives in a van at Penmar Park in Venice. Her next-door neighbor is her son, Thomas Williamson, 51, who lives in his car.

Davis was in the front seat of the van when I arrived, hugging her dog, Heart. Her left leg was amputated below the knee two years ago because of an infection, she told me.

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Davis said she and another son were living in a trailer in Oregon, but the owner shut off the utilities and changed the locks. She said she reached out to Williamson, who told her, "I've got a van for you, so you'll have a place to live, but it's going to be rough. And it is. It's very, very rough."

I've heard so many variations of stories like these over the years, I've lost count.

The magnitude that exists in the wealthiest nation in history is a disgrace, and a sad commentary on an economic system and public policy that have served to widen, rather than narrow, the inequity gap.

On Thursday, Trump's executive order on homelessness grabbed headlines but will do nothing for Jane Jefferies or Vancie Davis and for thousands like them. We know the interventions that can work, Kushel said, but with deep cuts in the works, we're moving in the wrong direction.

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Davis' son Thomas told Times photographer Genaro Molina about another person who lives in a vehicle and has been a neighbor of theirs in the parking lot.

She wasn't there Wednesday, but we'll check back.

It's a 91-year-old woman.
Boys spend between seven and nine hours a day, on average, on digital devices. But the problem isn't the screens; it's what the screens have replaced, Joshua Chronicles writes. CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

They are vanishing in plain sight.

In classrooms, teenage boys are tuning out, slipping behind girls in reading, writing and engagement. At home, they retreat into bedrooms dimly lit by LED strips, eyes fixed on YouTube, TikTok or Twitch. In the workforce, theyre opting out before they even opt in, barely present in college, floating through gig work, or checking out entirely. In friendships, theyre more alone than ever.

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We are watching a generation of boys quietly disappear into screens, into isolation, into themselves and we treat it like background noise.

Lets start with the numbers. As of 2024, boys make up nearly 43% of college students nationwide, a gender gap wider than the one that once triggered urgent national efforts to close it in the other direction. But this time, theres no national campaign with real urgency. A few officials, including the U.S. Surgeon General, have raised red flags but public policy, philanthropic funding and media momentum have yet to match the scale of the crisis facing our boys.

In K-12 schools, its the same drift. Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), more likely to be suspended, and consistently underperform in reading and writing skills that are now gateways to all academic success. Post-COVID, boys are chronically absent at higher rates, with little attention paid to why.

Worse, their social lives are collapsing. According to a national survey by the Survey Center on American Life, over one in four men under 30 report having no close friends, a steep increase from previous generations. Thats not just loneliness. Thats social collapse.

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And what fills the void? Screens. Gaming, streaming, scrolling seven to nine hours a day on average, often more. For many boys, the digital world is no longer a supplement to life. Its the main event. Real-world relationships feel confusing and high-stakes; online life offers control, rewards and a sense of belonging, even if its hollow.

This isnt a hand-wringing lecture about technology. The problem isnt the screen. It's what the screen has replaced. One-third of American boys live without their biological fathers. Only 23% of K-12 teachers are men. Churches, community centers and after-school programs, once vital spaces of mentorship, have hollowed out. The result? Boys are growing up without men in their lives who model how to be strong, kind, accountable and grounded.

Into that void steps the algorithm. Boys search YouTube or TikTok for answers, and who shows up first? Andrew Tate. Jordan Peterson. A wave of hyper-masculine influencers who promise boys power, purpose and certainty in a world that offers them none.

We can debate their ideas, but the appeal is obvious. They speak to boys. Most of our culture speaks about them when it acknowledges them at all.

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If girls were falling behind in this way  underperforming in school, disconnecting from peers, dying by suicide at rising rates  the outcry would be deafening. And rightly so. But when boys falter, we tend to shrug. Sometimes we even smirk, framing it as long-overdue karma for historic male dominance. But boys today arent oppressors. Theyre untethered from fathers, from purpose, from society.

We tell boys theyre privileged while they quietly fail. We shame them for being too aggressive, then ignore them when they go numb. We tell them to speak up, then mock them when they say what they feel.

So they retreat. Some are in quiet despair. Some are bitter. And many withdraw into glowing rectangles where nobody asks them to grow up, just to log in.

The consequences are not distant. They're already here. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for those aged 1524, a tragic indicator of deep emotional distress. Male labor force participation has hit historic lows. Fewer boys are enrolling in college, entering trades, joining the military or starting families. Theyre not just disillusioned. Theyre disengaging.

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So what do we do?

First, acknowledge reality. The crisis facing boys is not fringe. It is central. A country cannot thrive when half its youth are disappearing into digital sedation and silent despair.

Second, rebuild spaces where boys can thrive. That means more male teachers. More mentoring programs. More community spaces that offer challenge and belonging, such as sports, trades, faith groups, apprenticeships, leadership training. Give boys something to strive toward, not just warnings about what not to be.

Third, listen. Not with suspicion. Not to correct them. Just listen. Ask them what theyre afraid of. What they want. Who they admire. Listen long enough, and youll realize theyre not angry at women, or weak, or toxic. Theyre just lost. And no one ever came looking.

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Finally, we must have the courage to say something obvious thats become oddly controversial: Boys matter. Not because they will someday become men. But because they are human. Because their pain is real. Because their silence is not a sign of strength. Its a symptom of neglect.

The boys are not alright. Theyre not even present.

They are fading fast. And we will not forgive ourselves if we keep pretending not to see.
Tina Thompson packs bags of medical supplies at Quiet Valley Ranch a week after the July 4 flood. Volunteers and civic organizations spring into action after a disaster, and federal grants often support community response efforts. Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman

When disaster strikes, Texans help Texans. We saw it after the devastating July 4 storms. Neighbors arrived with chainsaws. Churches opened shelters. Civic groups gave time and resources. Local governments and nonprofits distributed food and water. And behind all these Texans was a quiet but essential lifeline from Washington: the Community Services Block Grant.

Now, that lifeline is at risk.

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I lead the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies, a network of 38 organizations across Texas, helping more than 250,000 Texans build self-sufficiency and rise out of poverty. From Hurricane Harvey to COVID-19, Ive seen how disasters hit low-income Texans hardest. The Community Services Block Grant enables local agencies to not only respond immediately, but provide services long after the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross are gone.

Thats why it came as a shock that President Donald Trumps proposed federal budget for 2026 eliminates these block grants, which provided $37 million to Texas in 2024 alone. If Congress allows this to happen, Texas communities will be left to fend for themselves without one of the most effective tools for fighting poverty and responding to crisis.

The Community Services Block Grant may not make headlines, but it powers the daily, life-changing work of hundreds of communities across Texas  from food banks and domestic violence shelters to veterans programs and emergency housing services.

This block grant program was founded on the idea that local communities are better suited to address poverty than a top-down, one-size-fits-all federal solution. These funds are granted to states and delivered through Community Action Agencies. Agencies and community leaders identify the root causes of poverty and obstacles to self-sufficiency and get to work.

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Community Action Agencies are embedded in neighborhoods. Thats why when a disaster strikes, theyre ready to spring into action and coordinate with local officials for the fastest possible response.

Derrick Kyle salvages belongings at his Kerrville apartment on July 5, the day after massive flooding of the Guadalupe River flooded his complex. Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman

Specifically, four hours after the July 4 floods, the Concho Valley Community Action Agency was on site in multiple rural counties coordinating with the Red Cross and local government to triage services, including food, long-term shelter and basic household needs. The Hill Country Community Action Association served as the central command for connecting flood victims to services in Mason and Llano Counties. The Community Council of South Central Texas serves the states hardest hit areas and is providing temporary shelter for victims while transitioning to longer-term recovery services.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is central to this success, efficiently managing these block grant funds and directing resources where theyre needed most. Im grateful for their speed and precision after recent disasters.

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Slashing Community Services Block Grant funding now would be nothing short of another disaster for Texas. Cities, counties, nonprofits, foundations and churches cant replace these federal dollars.

The Trump administration may be looking to save money, but cutting these grants will only result in higher costs. Local taxes will inevitably rise to cover even a fraction of the gap. Other essential services such as police, fire and senior services will feel the pinch. It wont be sustainable, especially for small towns and rural counties already stretched thin.

Cutting these grants also ignores the basic disaster preparedness math. Every dollar spent through this program helps prevent future crisis costs  keeping people housed, healthy and working. Without it, we pay more later in emergency room visits, shelter beds, welfare and criminal justice costs.

I ask the Texas Congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats alike, to put their mud boots on and support the Community Service Block Grant. Stand up for Texas families. Stand with the local governments and service providers who answer the call when disaster strikes.

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Before the next storm hits, Congress must protect this block grant program. Lets not wait until the safety net is gone to realize just how essential it is.
A mother and her 12-year-old son are shown panhandling in 2019 near the Walmart on East Ben White Boulevard. The family had been sleeping in abandoned houses. Jay Janner, Jay Janner / American-Statesman

Most people probably don't know it, but Austin has a lot of kids experiencing homelessness. There are 1,945 families with children in Austin who do not have a home, and only a fraction of them are in shelters.

In fact, among the people in Austin who have no shelter, a quarter of them are families with children  meaning hundreds of children are living in cars or tents. They are sleeping in places that are not meant for human habitation, because all of the family shelters in Austin are full. Most families have no options. And while we know this is a health and safety issue, it also results in trauma for children coupled with other challenges like hunger and disruption of learning. An email snippet from a service provider in June reads:

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"We have a lady with a baby and two toddlers on the street and have been for some weeks due to husband being incarcerated and he was the breadwinner."

Youre probably not aware of this crisis because the kids are often living under the radar. Families revert to hiding when they fear their kids will be removed due to being unhoused. This happens all the time in families who are fleeing domestic violence. When parents escape abusive situations and face homelessness, they often turn to friends, family, hotels or live in their cars to keep their children from being identified by Child Protective Services. Abusers use the system to their advantage and tell parents their children will be taken away if they leave.

On top of this, there are not enough shelters for families to enter in Austin. In April, 218 families were on the Salvation Army family shelter waitlist. This years Point in Time Count found 475 kids under 18 on the streets in Austin one night in January.

While homelessness is no fault of these children, they end up paying the price. They frequently do not have stable meals, they miss school, and they live daily with trauma, fear and worry. Research has found that children experiencing the adversity of homelessness are much more likely to become homeless as young adults.

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This shouldnt be happening in Austin, a city with so much wealth. Kids shouldnt have to sleep in cars and tents without access to adequate hygiene facilities or food. And we should do what we can as a community to keep families together, because children do better when they stay with the people who love them. Having adequate emergency family shelter beds in the community is critical on many levels.

The Austin City Council will vote this fall on a 2025-26 budget, but the proposed base budget currently includes no additional funding for family shelter. We urge the council to prioritize funding for family shelter and address the crisis.

It is time to listen to the pleas of mothers and fathers who are reaching out every day to try and help their children, only to be turned away because all shelters are full. If Austin is going to make anything a funding priority, lets make sure we help children at risk and fund additional emergency shelter beds for families.

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We've all heard the expression that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members. The Masai people of Africa commonly greet each other with the phrase, And how are the children? because they understand that the well-being of our children is the measure of a communitys health and future.

Here in Austin, how are our children?

We are grateful for the dedication of Mayor Kirk Watson and the City Council to our communities children. The budget they will soon adopt is an opportunity to optimize safety for those at highest risk. We hope they will make these children a top priority by championing funding for more emergency shelter beds for families.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick displays a range of intoxicating THC products at a May 28 press conference to illustrate his concerns that seemingly harmless snacks and drinks pose a danger to public health among children and adults. Sara Diggins/American-Statesman

Texas has become ground zero in a national battle over high-potency THC drugs, and lawmakers now have a second chance to do whats right.

Earlier this year, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 3, a decisive effort to ban consumable hemp products containing any amount of THC, including dangerous derivatives like Delta-8 and Delta-9 that are flooding convenience stores, gas stations and vape shops across the state. These products are intoxicating and marketed to kids with names and packaging that resemble candy.

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But that bill was vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott, who  in a letter that could be used to justify the legalization of all drugs  claimed regulation is the answer to protect youth. That decision created an uproar among parents, public health advocates and even Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who has accused the governor of laying the groundwork for full marijuana legalization.

And it raised a deeper question: Who is Texas protecting, its families or the THC industry?

Now, lawmakers are back in Austin for a special session, and theyre taking a second shot. Senate Bill 5 is the revised version of the original ban, with adjustments designed to address the governors concerns. It still targets intoxicating THC products masquerading as legal hemp, while aiming to pass constitutional muster and protect Texas' non-intoxicating drug businesses from being collateral damage.

Lets be clear: If SB5 fails, the consequences will be devastating.

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Since the federal legalization of hemp in 2018, the THC drug industry has manipulated loopholes to create potent, psychoactive drugs that they falsely market as legal. These are not benign products. These are high-dose, lab-altered marijuana. They are sold as gummies, sodas, vape pens and even cereal bars, and are sending kids to emergency rooms and poisoning public trust.

Supporters of a THC ban in Texas have argued that THC gummies and other snacks are presented in ways that could appeal to children. Sara Diggins/American-Statesman

Between 2019 and 2024, the Texas Poison Center Network saw a 450% increase in cannabinoid-related calls involving children under five. THC-related poison control center calls tripled after hemp was legalized in the state. Parents are finding their toddlers high after eating THC-laced edibles that looked like snacks. Young people are experiencing psychotic breaks.

And all of this is taking place in what amounts to a legal-regulatory vacuum.

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Texas and federal law contains potency restrictions on hemp THC products. But actual oversight is minimal to nonexistent: The state lacks product-testing requirements, mandated dosage or labeling standards, and a central licensing authority monitoring this retail marketplace.

If a kid gets hold of dangerous THC edibles and gets sick from them, someone might be prosecuted as a result. But by then the damage will already have been done.

Supporters of these products argue that banning them is anti-business or a step backward. But whats pro-business about addiction-for-profit?

SB5 is the chance for Texas  and Abbott  to get this right. It would fully ban these drugs. It would finally define intoxicating hemp-derived THC products for what they are  dangerous and illicit drugs in disguise  and prohibit their sale.

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We urge every Texas lawmaker to support SB5. And we urge Abbott to sign it when the bill lands on his desk. If constitutional clarity is the issue, then work with the Legislature, not against it, to protect Texans.
BANGKOK, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Thai authorities organized a field visit of a delegation of foreign diplomats, military attaches, and foreign media based in Thailand on Friday to border areas with Cambodia following recent armed clashes between the two neighbors.

The delegation visited the areas in the northeastern Thai provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Sisaket, comprising ambassadors and charges d'affaires from 11 countries, military attaches from 23 countries, and journalists from domestic and international news agencies.

Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said the site visit to civilian areas provided firsthand observation of the impact from cross-border armed conflict with Cambodia.

During the visit, the Thai Army announced the release of two Cambodian soldiers who were among 20 detained by Thailand.

In a statement, the Thai Army said the soldiers, one injured and the other suffering from a psychiatric illness, were handed over to Cambodia, and the remaining 18 detainees will continue to be cared for according to human rights principles.

On July 24, armed clashes broke out between Thai and Cambodian forces along the disputed border. The two neighbors agreed to a ceasefire on July 28, taking effect at midnight.

Under the General Border Committee framework, both sides are set to hold talks on border issues in Malaysia next week. 
ANKARA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities detained 940 suspects in anti-drug operations carried out across 70 provinces over the past 10 days, Turkiye Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Friday.

More than 565 kg of narcotics and 357,180 pills were seized during the operations, the Turkish minister said on the social media platform X.

Yerlikaya said that the large-scale operations were conducted with the participation of 1,420 teams, 3,550 personnel, 13 aerial units, and 49 narcotic detection dogs.

"This struggle against drugs is a fight to safeguard our young people, who are the guarantee of our future," he said.

Turkiye, often used by illegal drug dealers as a transit hub, has been conducting extensive operations domestically and internationally against drug smuggling. 
Those who predict the "quiet death" of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway corridor after the opening of the Zangezur corridor have again jumped to conclusions.

Detractors and envious people began to predict the "quiet death" of this route already when Baku, Ankara and Tbilisi had just signed a memorandum on the construction of this road. And that was in February 2007. Almost two decades have passed, and envious people and ill-wishers continue to make their predictions, promising that BTC will disappear into oblivion, will never pay off, because it is unprofitable, useless to anyone, and so on.

BTK has already mixed up the maps of Russia and excited Armenia at the idea stage. The latter vehemently opposed the new route, arguing that there is already a road running through Gyumri from Turkiye to Georgia, and the project is political in nature in order to further isolate Armenia. The Armenian lobby has ensured a cold and cautious attitude towards the project of international financial institutions that have not shown interest in lending to the project bypassing Armenia. It was expected that Baku would be forced to abandon its idea and the BTK would go into the back burner. However, construction began in 2008. And today Baku-Tbilisi-Kars is one of the most important components of the grandiose Middle Corridor. If this route had not been built, it would still have to be created today, because international overland freight transportation is ineffective without a railway.

With the development of the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, TMTM), the need for BTK is also growing. This route is already a reality that has been accepted, but which continues to irritate the taste buds of certain countries and circles.

Yesterday, Kazakhstan and Turkiye agreed to increase cargo transportation along the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway route. According to the Kazakh Railways, the corresponding agreement was signed by the national railway operators KZHD and TCDD Ta?imacilik A.?. The agreement was signed during the official visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Turkiye.

The parties agreed to organize regular scheduled rail services between Kazakhstan and Turkiye, as well as to expand the capacity of freight traffic between China and Europe/Africa in both directions. In addition, customs and administrative controls will be simplified in order to speed up the passage of goods across borders.

In early July, the Railway Department of China (CR) and Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY) signed a memorandum of understanding in Beijing, providing for strengthening cooperation in the development of international transport corridors in freight transportation. The document pays special attention to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route, as a key element of the Middle Corridor, and an increase in the intensity of transit traffic along it to 10 trains per day. To achieve this goal, the parties will cooperate in improving the railway and port structures, digitalizing the route, and so on. It is reported that one of the largest container operators in China, China Railway Container Transport (CRCT), plans to join the Middle Corridor Multimodal joint venture established in 2023 by the railways of Kazakhstan (KTZ), Georgia (GR) and Azerbaijan (ADY).

In April of this year, Emil Mammadov, Deputy Chairman of ADY, announced at the Caspian-Central Asian Oil Trade and Logistics Forum in Baku that the BTK could be fully commissioned this year. In 2024, ADY carried out major repairs and reconstruction of the railway track, expanded the capabilities of the terminals, work is underway to attract dry cargo, and transportation of petroleum products via the BTK will begin after the road is fully operational.

In any case, the process will be completed before the end of this year. First of all, we are talking about the modernization and expansion of the Georgian section of the corridor. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in a government report to Parliament that 98.5 percent of the work on the Georgian section of the BTK has been completed. He stated that the railway modernization project is nearing completion. The result of the work carried out will be an increase in the annual capacity of the road from 27 to 48 million tons.

Recently, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev met with Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Mariam Kvrivishvili, who was on a visit to Azerbaijan. The meeting discussed, among other things, the upcoming work on the full launch of the BTK.

The creation of the BTK provided opportunities for the expansion of the railway segment of the Middle Corridor. In 2007, when the BTK was being conceived, the Middle Corridor was still out of the question, but today the Baku project turned out to be in the right place at the right time and waited in the wings, becoming almost indispensable. Someone says that with the launch of the Zangezur corridor, the BTK will no longer be needed. But, firstly, the launch of the road through Zangezur is still far away, there are too many political obstacles in the way of the project. Secondly, each of the routes has its own task. In addition, considering the volume of cargo transportation that is expected, both routes will be loaded to capacity.

In 2020, Turkiye announced plans to build a railway that will connect the Turkish railway network with the Azerbaijani one. The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure said that Turkey intends to become a "logistical superpower" by connecting a number of ports to the railways and increasing the capacity of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars corridor connecting the railways of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

In May 2023, President Erdogan made an important statement during a speech in Sivas. "The high-speed railway to be built in Turkiye will connect to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line," he said. According to him, a connecting line will be built from Yerkey station to Kayseri, which will be extended to Erzincan, Erzurum and Kars. And from there, the road will connect to the BTK. Erdogan stressed that this line, called the Iron Silk Road, will open a strategic corridor of global importance in our region.

On June 27, at the Global Transport Corridors Forum in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that the Turkish side intends to increase the efficiency of the BTK. Given the current geopolitical risks, the importance of the Middle Corridor is increasing significantly, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is an important component of this route, Fidan said. He also noted that the transformation of the BTK into an important component of the Middle Corridor is the result of the exemplary trilateral cooperation between Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

As President Erdogan says, this strategic corridor of global importance stretches from the ends of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars not only to Turkey, but also to Central Asia, where, with the assistance of China, accelerated work is underway to expand, modernize and build railway infrastructure, including tracks and terminals. Although Central Asia is separated from the BTK by the sea, this is not an obstacle to connecting the railway network of Central Asian countries to the Iron Silk Road and connecting their railways with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars corridor.

Once again, the world is convinced that everything that is conceived and implemented by Azerbaijan is conceived and implemented with a view to the future. It may take ten or twenty years, but Baku's projects always find their irreplaceable place in the grid of international interests. None of the Azerbaijani regional-scale projects were left out. So BTK is now entering a big game.
MINSK, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday called for expanding practical cooperation with China.

China is Belarus' key trade partner with current bilateral trade reaching nearly 8.5 billion U.S. dollars, exceeding Belarus' trade with the entire European Union by 1 billion dollars, Lukashenko said as he met with heads of Belarus' diplomatic missions.

He stressed Belarus' commitment to advancing joint technological development and attracting cutting-edge Chinese innovations, saying priority sectors for collaboration include machine tools, microelectronics, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Lukashenko also called for comprehensive support from government agencies and the Belarusian embassy in China at all stages of joint project development, ranging from market analysis, investor engagement, to coordination and project facilitation. 
BERLIN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Germany will deliver two Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine after reaching a deal with the United States, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The launchers will be sent to Ukraine in the coming days, which will be followed by the delivery of further system components over the next two to three months, the statement said.

The move is part of an agreement between Germany and the United States.

Under the agreement, Germany will in turn be the first country to receive expedited deliveries of newly produced Patriot systems.

"The precondition was that the U.S. manufacturer would deliver new PATRIOT systems as quickly as possible in return, so that we can continue to meet our NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) obligations," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in the statement. 
The head of the Department for Emergency Situations, State Secretary Raed Arafat, specifies that volunteers in flood-affected areas must respect certain rules to prevent accidents.





In this regard, he stated that one of the volunteers who arrived on Thursday evening ended up in the hospital after falling and injuring himself.He mentioned that the intervention area is a "risky" one and that accidents can occur. It is also necessary to coordinate the flow of cars so as not to block traffic, Arafat said."Those who came with aid... were asked to take it all to one place, after which the transport of aid, such as sandwiches, food, water, to the population is ensured, through a single means. But not everyone, on their own initiative, enters with a car and starts distributing, because, in fact, they clog and block the entire intervention area. I want this to be understood: such actions, if not coordinated correctly, fail," explained the head of the DSU."I watched, listened, and saw many comments 'that nothing is being done', that 'some of us are in Bucharest, others are working' and so on. And I want to emphasize one aspect: no matter where we are, the colleagues who are working, the intervention command, which is at the level of the chief inspector of the ISU Suceava, were there day and night and were in contact with us from the first, not hours, but minutes of the situation, the minister being directly involved, together with me, in contacting and discussing, both at the level of firefighters, and at the level of prefects, sub-prefects who were on duty, in order to prevent any situation that can be prevented and to ensure the correct and most urgent response to the population", Arafat specified.
Education unionists are protesting in the front of the headquarters of the Ministry of Education and Research for the third day in a row demanding the resignation of minister Daniel David.





The unionists chanted: "Transparency!", "Resignation", "Shame on you".Representatives of education unions on Tuesday demanded the resignation of the minister of education and research, Daniel David, and announced that starting on Wednesday they will protest in front of the ministry's headquarters.At the same time, the three unions claim that the measures were taken "out of the blue", without conducting an impact study.The unionists also complain about the "underfinancing" of research institutions and central university libraries by not updating the necessary costs for human resources and utilities.The three organizations announced that, on September 8, the first day of the new school year, over 30,000 union members will participate in the "Education Rally".
ANAF is tasked with finding all the nests of inactive, deregistered or fraudulent companies throughout the country and presenting this map of nests of companies with measures attached to the fraudulent ones, announced the Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare.

"The Court of Auditors discovered 47,000 companies at over 2,400 addresses in the analysis report on ANAF. ANAF is tasked with finding all the nests of inactive, deregistered or fraudulent companies, not from one address, not from one city, not just from Bucharest, but from the entire country. ANAF must present this map of company nests with measures attached to the fraudulent ones," the head of Finance stated on Friday in a post on his Facebook page.

Previously, the National Agency for Fiscal Administration announced that the General Directorate for Fiscal Anti-Fraud had launched Operation "Ghost Nest", a large-scale fiscal control action, targeting over 20,000 companies registered at addresses where over 1,500 companies are listed.

According to the relevant minister, many of these "headquarters" are abandoned, unhealthy or completely destroyed buildings, without minimum conditions for real economic activity.

"What the ANAF inspectors discovered: suspicious addresses, with 10 to 1,500+ registered companies; buildings without doors, windows, utilities - without any real activity; major fiscal risk and fictitious transactions with significant budgetary impact; 30 billion lei in debts accumulated by companies with fictitious headquarters, according to the Court of Auditors. Detailed checks and legal measures are coming: fiscal inactivation, cancellation of VAT codes and criminal complaints. We continue cleaning the system and strictly monitoring all information that raises fiscal alarm signals", Alexandru Nazare emphasized.
The border authorities at the "Henri Coanda" Airport discovered over 200,000 cigarettes in the checked luggage of four Romanian citizens coming from the United Arab Emirates, which they failed to declare.





According to a Inspectorate General of the Border Police (IGPF) release sent on Friday, border police officers and customs officers checked, on Thursday afternoon, the four men, aged between 31 and 47, who, after retrieving their luggage, proceeded through the corridor designated for passengers with nothing to declare.The entire quantity of cigarettes was seized by the customs authority. The case was reported to the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Buftea Court for investigation on charges of smuggling.
The organ in the Fortified Church of St. Stephen in Saschiz is among the top ten largest ones in Transylvania and was brought from Brasov in 1788, the church's organist, Hans Bruno Roth told the presentation of the organ restoration project, an event that took place within the "Haferland Week" Festival.

The organ, considered a valuable baroque instrument, was built in 1786 by master Johannes Prause.

"This year, St. Stephen's Church is celebrating 500 years since its first inauguration and consecration. I have been playing the organ for the last ten years, when it did not look the way it does now, and I have caught 'its last breath'. The organ was built in 1786 by Johannes Prause. (...) He built several organs in Transylvania, including this one. (...) Over time, this organ underwent two major changes: one in 1878 and the other in 1930. The communities were very large at that time and decided to enlarge the organ, add registers, sounds, whistles," said Hans Bruno Roth.

The most recent restoration was completed in 2024, and Hans Bruno Roth contributed to the restoration of the organ considered the "queen of instruments".

"We want to be a living community, we are the last religious parish that is sustaining itself. In the last 20 years, in our community we have had new things, built by generations, and during our lifetime we have witnessed the renovation of a church, the Fortress, the organ, we have sewage, paved roads," said engineer Rudolph Poledna Joachim.

The presentation ended with a short organ concert in which works by Johann Sebastian Bach were presented.

At the Saschiz Refuge Fortress, the mayor of the locality, Ovidiu Soaita, stated that "restoration began in 2018" with European funds.

"It is a source of pride for all of us because this testimony is alive, because it attracts many people who, when they get here, with a little effort, appreciate everything they find here, from the fresh air to the safety measures. We have slight problems climbing, we hope that when we get there too, there will be no more problems and that access will be as it should be. All the fortresses in this area are a testimony to the Saxon civilization that brought an enormous added value to the development of the area, Transylvania and Romania. (...) All the households we see here are small fortresses", said the mayor of Saschiz.

The 13th edition of Haferland Week is taking place from July 31 to August 3, in ten localities in the Oatland (Haferland) - Archita, Saschiz, Homorod, Rupea, Crit, Roades, Mesendorf, Cloasterf, Bunesti and Viscri.

The theme of the edition is "Traditions from the Neighborhood". Access to all events within the festival is free.

This year's edition of the festival takes place under the High Patronage of the President of the Romanian Senate and under the Patronage of the Head of the Federal Chancellery of Germany, Thorsten Frei, Minister for Special Affairs.

Haferland Week offers visitors the opportunity to get in touch with the rural civilization of the Saxons of Transylvania, which is still preserved today in the area of villages located between Sibiu, Brasov and Sighisoara. The Haferland region has preserved its rural character, attracting thousands of tourists every year who come to visit and stay in traditional Saxon farms.
The Minister of National Defense, Ionut Mosteanu, met on Friday, at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense, with the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Romania, Alfredo Maria Durante Mangoni, in which context they discussed the bilateral cooperation plan, in the context of NATO and the EU.

"Appreciating the importance of the decisions taken at the NATO Summit in The Hague, including regarding the increase in defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, Minister Mosteanu and Ambassador Durante Mangoni discussed the ways to implement these decisions. In this context, the Minister of Defense highlighted the role that Romania has in the Black Sea region, the strategic importance of our country for the security of the Alliance and the substantial contribution to ensuring stability in the region," it is stated in a press release from the Ministry of Defense sent to AGERPRES on Friday.

Regarding cooperation within the allied framework, the cited source mentions that Ionut Mosteanu thanked for the constant participation of the Italian military in the NATO consolidated air policing mission in Romania and said that "Italy's involvement in protecting the eastern flank of the Alliance is clear proof of the firm commitment to strengthening the allied deterrence and defense posture, as well as of allied unity and solidarity for fulfilling NATO's main mission."

The Minister of National Defense also emphasized the opportunities for cooperation with Italy at the European Union level, particularly those offered by the "Action for the Security of Europe" (SAFE), the MApN also reports.
Cooperation within NATO, the EU, and at the bilateral level, along with the outcomes of the Hague Summit, were the main topics discussed on Friday during a meeting between Minister of National Defence Ionut Mosteanu and the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to Romania, Lili Evangelia Grammatika, held at the Ministry of National Defence headquarters.

According to a press release from the Ministry of National Defence, allied projects involving Romania and Greece were reviewed, with a focus on establishing the Military Mobility Corridor for NATO's South-East region. The importance of the allied battle group stationed in Romania, with France as the framework nation, was also emphasized.

Minister Mosteanu wished Greece success in fulfilling its upcoming two-year chairmanship of the South-East Europe Defense Ministerial (SEDM) Process, a role recently handed over by Romania.

The minister also praised Greece's commitment to act as the framework nation for one of the EU's battle groups in 2026, a structure to which Romania will contribute significantly with both personnel and military equipment.
President Nicusor Dan signed on Friday the retirement decrees for 73 magistrates, including the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) Corina-Alina Corbu. 66 of the retirement decisions are effective as of August 1, while the others come in force starting September 1.

The head of the state also signed the decrees for the reassignment of 22 magistrates to other positions, and a decree acknowledging the resignation of yet another magistrate.

The magistrates' retirement is a hot issue, as the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) accused the president of delaying the signing of the documents, and President Dan tackled the subject during a press conference on Wednesday, mainly in the context of the upcoming legislative amendments covering this professional category. The president pointed the finger at the utter "disarray" regarding retirement applications in the judiciary, stating that roughly 70% thereof do not indicate a precise retirement date, and also that to their overwhelming majority, they ignore the requirement according to which a magistrate who intends to withdraw from activity should give the court they sit on a 90-day retirement notice, so that the respective institution be able to organize himself.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan announced on July 27 that a legislative project is in the pipeline to increase the standard retirement age for magistrates to 65. The prime minister also proposed that the amount of a magistrate's pension be a maximum of 70% of their last net salary, not 80% of their gross pay, as now. According to him, "the actual calculation takes the gross income as a reference, so the proposal is 55% of the gross income over the last five years, but no more than 70% of the latest net salary."

Four professional associations of magistrates rebuked the bill amending the retirement conditions for judges and prosecutors, terming it an "irresponsible and constitutionally disloyal change attempt", and slammed the "constant campaign to denigrate and discredit the judicial system", which aims to "violently and irreversibly destabilize the judicial authority".

The magistrates' professional associations asked the judges of the Supreme Court to consider referring the bill to the Constitutional Court for review before promulgation, and the Supreme Council of Magistrates to call the general assemblies of magistrates to debate this piece of legislation. They also asked the CSM president to notify the Constitutional Court regarding the legal conflict of a constitutional nature between the state powers.

According to the Romanian Judges Forum Association, the government's proposals to modify the retirement age and amount of the pension could trigger the "immediate" retirement or resignation of over 1,000 judges and prosecutors.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan met on Friday at Victoria Palace of Government with Michael Dickerson, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America, and representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in Romania (AmCham Romania), with talks focusing on a series of key areas for economic development - the digitalization of public administration, the healthcare system, absorption of EU funds, the agricultural industry, as well as support for Romania's accession to the OECD.





According to a government press release, the purpose of the meeting was to identify concrete ways to strengthen and diversify economic cooperation within the bilateral relationship between Romania and the United States of America, in an economic and geopolitical context where the Strategic Partnership and investments play an important role.At the same time, American companies highlighted the importance of predictability and political stability for maintaining existing investments and attracting new ones, as well as the need for authorities to promote a clear and coherent plan to support private investment.He expressed appreciation for the proposals put forward by the American business representatives and confirmed they would be duly considered in shaping public policy.AmCham provided information on upcoming economic and trade events planned in both Romania and the United States, including delegations of American companies interested in opportunities on the Romanian market.The meeting was also attended by Mihai Jurca, head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Dragos Hotea, secretary of state, and Raul Gutin, state counselor.
HELSINKI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials, civil society leaders, and international organizations gathered in Helsinki on Thursday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, renewing calls for dialogue, cooperation, and shared security amid geopolitical tensions.

Also known as Helsinki+50, the event was organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and was hosted at Finlandia Hall by Finland, which holds the OSCE chairmanship for 2025.

In opening remarks, Finnish President Alexander Stubb reaffirmed his country's commitment to the pact.

"In Finland, the choice is crystal clear. We want to continue building a Europe based on common rules and principles, through dialogue and cooperation," he said. Under shifting global dynamics, the Helsinki Final Act's principles - comprehensive security and peaceful conflict resolution - are "under serious threat" but remain "more important than ever," he added.

OSCE Secretary-General Feridun H. Sinirlioglu emphasized that military deterrence alone cannot ensure peace.

"Military deterrence alone can lead to an arms race and be destabilizing," he said. "Security must be ensured through cooperation, which requires dialogue. That is the living legacy of the Helsinki Final Act."

Sinirlioglu warned that the current international order is under visible strain and called for "an honest discussion of what went wrong."

"The choices we make in the coming weeks and months will determine what the world of our future generations will look like," he said. "We need to recommit to the fundamentals and work together."

In a video address, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres referred to the Helsinki Final Act as the crystallization of Cold War diplomacy wisdom and a lasting framework for peace.

He cited the war in Ukraine, rising regional tensions, and weakening multilateralism as threats to the international order anchored in the UN Charter and international law. "We cannot allow the rules-based order to collapse in our time," he said. "We must uphold the shared values of peaceful coexistence, mutual trust, cooperation, and human rights."

"We need the principles embodied in the Helsinki Final Act more than ever," Guterres said.

At a dedicated session during the conference, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen announced the launch of the Helsinki+50 Fund, intended to bolster the OSCE's operational capacity and improve the management of voluntary contributions.

"The Fund helps to improve the use of voluntary funding for the OSCE to deliver on its mandate, rooted in our shared principles and commitments," Valtonen said.

A total of 16 OSCE participating states have so far pledged support for the fund with a contribution of nearly 16.5 million euros (18.83 million U.S. dollars).

Signed on Aug. 1, 1975, by 35 countries including the United States, Canada, and most European nations, the Helsinki Final Act marked a Cold War-era agreement that helped reduce East-West tensions and promote cooperation on security, economic development, and human rights. The agreement laid the foundation for the current OSCE. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollar) 
A man carrying a knife was detected on Friday evening at the protest organized in Victoriei Square in Bucharest against the austerity measures announced by the Government.

''Within one of the pre-filtering devices adopted by the gendarmes in the context of the public gathering in Victoriei Square, a man carrying a knife was detected. Documents were drawn up to notify the criminal investigation bodies, in accordance with the provisions of art. 372 of the Criminal Code'', informs Bucharest's Gendarmerie.

The gendarmes remind that, in accordance with the legal provisions in force, it is prohibited and constitutes a crime for persons to participate in public gatherings if they have on them weapons of any kind, explosive or incendiary materials, tear-producing substances or substances with a paralyzing effect, electric shock devices or other objects that can be used for violent actions or to disrupt their normal course.

Several hundred people gathered on Friday in Victoriei Square to protest against the austerity measures announced by the Government. The protest is authorized to take place between 5:00 pm and 10:30 pm.
Interim president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Sorin Grindeanu stated on Friday that for the people who have suffered immensely in the counties of Suceava and Neamt, the Government must allocate additional funds for the reconstruction of destroyed homes, the repair of damaged roads and bridges and for the support of the families who have lost everything.





"The first aid package to be approved today by the Government for those severely affected by the floods in Suceava and Neamt is an important, yet insufficient step! Larger amounts are urgently needed for: rebuilding damaged homes, repairing the affected roads and bridges, and offering real support to families who have lost everything. People need help now, not actions aimed at building an image or passing responsibility between state authorities! I am in constant communication with the presidents of Suceava and Neamt County Councils, Gheorghe Soldan and Daniel Vasilica Harpa, who are genuinely coordinating the actions at the scene! They are out there day and night, alongside intervention teams and volunteers," Grindeanu wrote on his Facebook page."We will do everything in our power to ensure that every leu needed reaches its destination. Repairing roads, bridges, water networks, and providing assistance to the affected families are top priorities. People need to rebuild their lives. And we will be there to help them with the reconstruction! I want to thank everyone who got involved in the rescue and intervention efforts: firefighters, gendarmes, police officers, doctors, local authority employees, volunteers, and every Romanian who lent a helping hand when it was needed. The true Romania shines through in moments like these! I also want to thank Romanians everywhere who donated, mobilized, and stood by t hose affected. Your generosity means so much," Grindeanu said.
Judge Alina Corbu is ending her term as president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice on Friday, retiring from the judiciary following President Nicusor Dan's signing the relevant decree.

In a statement by the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Alina Corbu expressed concern about the danger of judges being vilified as 'enemies of the people'.

"In concluding arguments, from the perspective of a supreme court manager and 15-year judge at the High Court of Cassation and Justice, who becomes a simple citizen starting tomorrow, I must sound alarm over the immeasurable danger to our democracy, of the media-driven vilification of the judges as 'enemies of the people'. Regardless of the emotional heights the debate taking place these days may reach, the request of this still sitting president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice to the citizens of Romania is to inform themselves as comprehensively as possible and to take into account that, for each of us, wether employed in the public or in the private sector, in a management or in an executive position, rich or poor, the judge is the last line of defense when we are faced with a situation of abuse where our rights are violated. An independent, efficient and strong judiciary undoubtedly underpins Romania's vital national interests. For this very reason, for all responsible factors, the public debate on all these aspects should be approached in a pragmatic, substantiated and rational manner," the release states.

Alina Corbu's successor in office is the controversial Lia Savonea, but the latter's appointment must first be approved by President Nicusor Dan. On Wednesday, the president declared that he will very likely sign the decree appointing Lia Savonea to the helm of the top court.
The austerity measures that came into effect in Romania on Friday, imposed by the government to reduce the excessive budget deficit, the largest in the EU, include increasing VAT on books from 5% to 11%, a decision considered by experts to be dramatic in a country where people read much less than the European average, writes the Spanish agency EFE.

Eurostat data for 2022 shows that only 30% of Romanians read at least one book in the previous year, compared to the average of 52% in the European Union.

"This will probably be the darkest year for the publishing market," Mihai Mitrica, executive director of the Romanian Publishers Association (AER), told EFE, recalling the recent bankruptcy of the second national book distributor.

"The VAT increase is very harsh and will cause the disappearance of bookstores and publishing houses. Just in the face of the mere prospect of this increase, we have seen closures and, unfortunately, we will see others by the end of the year," anticipates the director of this association, which is calling for the elimination of VAT on books, not the increase of this tax.

In his opinion, this would compensate for the state's lack of action in other areas, such as education and providing public libraries with enough books.

In comparison, VAT rates for books in other EU countries are 4% in Spain, 5.5% in France or 7% in Germany, while countries such as the Czech Republic and Ireland apply zero VAT to books.

At the other extreme, the highest VAT for books is applied in Denmark, namely 25%, with Romania now in second place.

Increasing VAT to 11% not only does not support bookstores, but weakens them even more, emphasizes Ana Niculescu from Carturesti, a bookstore network with a presence throughout Romania.

"With a publishing market estimated at 200 million euros, the expected gain (by the state - ed.) from the VAT increase is ridiculous and questionable. This will cause prices to rise, reduce sales, and small publishing houses risk being closed," explains Ana Niculescu. She recalls a recent EU study showing that a 1% VAT reduction results in a 2.7% increase in the number of books purchased.

Another aspect is the impact on Romanian literature. Writer and literary critic Adrian Lesenciuc speaks of a "double negative impact". "On the one hand, purchasing power will decrease, which will lead many to give up what they consider to be a luxury or something unnecessary. Austerity measures will also cause a decrease in sales and other chain effects, such as the closure of bookstores and publishing houses," explains Adrian Lesenciuc.

In any case, he warns that the most substantial effect will be a return to the prevalence of publications financed by their authors themselves, regardless of their literary value, a similar situation occurring in the 1990s, after the fall of communism.
The National Company Romanian Post ended 2024 with a record gross profit of 85.3 million lei, the highest level ever recorded in its recent history, the company announced in a press release.

According to the cited source, gross profit increased by 67.7 million lei or 400% compared to 2023, while net profit reached 70.7 million lei. The company's turnover rose by 9.6% to 1.72 billion lei.

"2024 was the year in which the Romanian Post achieved what many considered impossible: to record the best year in its recent history. Without subsidies and with constant anti-reform pressure, we managed to prove that it is possible even for companies with majority state capital. This record profit confirms that investments in re-technology and digitalization bear fruit. The collective effort of the almost 20,000 employees in the last three years shows that good results require time and determination. It is a historical milestone that proves that we are on the right path, that this company is profitable without giving up on our public mission," said Valentin Stefan, the general director of the Romanian Post, quoted in the press release.

According to the cited document, the results were possible thanks to an accelerated modernization process, which included re-tooling, digitalizing services, streamlining internal processes and expanding the commercial portfolio. "All of this was achieved without budgetary support, as Romanian Post supports its activity exclusively from its own revenues, generated on a compet

For the current year, the company proposes an ambitious program of investments in re-tooling, IT infrastructure, modernizing the national network, developing new commercial services and consolidating its role as an essential supplier for communities throughout the country.

The National Company Romanian Post is the national operator in the field of postal services and currently owns a network of over 5,000 postal subunits at national level. Of these, 676 are post offices and 1,054 are post offices.
The Environment Fund Administration (AFM) in Romania has submitted a funding request for the implementation of the Integrated Environmental Information System (SIIAFM), a project that shall be financed through the Operational Programme for Smart Growth, Digitalisation, and Financial Instruments (POCIDIF) 2021-2027, the institution informs on Friday.





The estimated total value of the project exceeds 142 million RON (approximately 28 million Euro), with an estimated implementation duration of 24 months from the signing of the contract. By submitting the funding request, the AFM aims to secure non-refundable European funds through the POCIDIF 2021-2027 - Priority 2 "Digitalisation in central public administration and the business environment."The project aims to integrate all of the institution's activities into a unified information system: from managing funding requests to operating fiscal obligations, monitoring projects, risk control and the relation with taxpayers. At the same time, the AFM would benefit from a modern, scalable, and secure IT infrastructure, compatible with the latest European standards regarding cybersecurity, interoperability and digital accessibility.
Representatives of the Palace of Culture in Iasi announced on Friday that Romfilatelia is releasing a postage stamp issue titled European Art Gallery - Iasi, dedicated to universal fine art.





According to a press release, the images featured on the stamps are reproductions of paintings from the collection of the Iasi Art Museum, displayed in a specially curated space known as the European Art Gallery.On October 26, 2024, the European Art Gallery - a permanent exhibition comprising eighty works - was officially opened to the public at the headquarters of the Moldova National Museum Complex, as part of the Art Museum. The European art collection of the Iasi Art Museum has gradually expanded through donations, acquisitions, and transfers.
World Jewish Congress President Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder expressed his deep concern in a message to President Nicusor Dan regarding the latter's decision to postpone the promulgation of the Vexler law.

"I am deeply concerned by President Dan's decision to delay the adoption of legislation that would significantly strengthen Romania's ability to confront antisemitism and the distortion of Holocaust history. This is a law that has twice been declared constitutional and was developed through broad cooperation with Romania's democratic institutions. President Dan's decision to request a re-examination has been widely perceived, both domestically and internationally, as legitimizing efforts to rehabilitate war criminals and emboldening those who seek to deny or distort the Holocaust. This carries the risk of eroding decades of progress Romania has made in confronting its past and honoring the memory of its victims," reads Ronald S. Lauder's statement as posted on Facebook by the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania.

The President of the World Jewish Congress respectfully urges the President of Romania to consider the broader implications of delaying the adoption of this legislation and to support its swift enactment.

According to 2023 estimates, Romania is home to a Jewish community of approximately 8,900 people and was once one of the largest Jewish communities in the world before the Holocaust, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania (FCER) stated.

President Nicusor Dan said on Wednesday that there is a difference between opposing extremist manifestations and passing laws that, in context, are "more confusing than helpful", referring to his intention to send the Vexler law back to Parliament.

"I am convinced that my position is absolutely legitimate given the current legislative context. (...) It's one thing to be firmly against xenophobic and antisemitic manifestations, and another to pass a law that creates more confusion than it solves," the president told a press conference.

In mid-July, President Nicusor Dan announced that he would resend the Vexler law to Parliament once the Constitutional Court published its reasoning.

The Constitutional Court of Romania rejected as unfounded President Dan's challenge to the Law on measures to combat antisemitism and xenophobia, which also bans organizations, symbols, and actions of a fascist, legionary, racist, or xenophobic nature.

In his referral to the Court, Nicusor Dan argued that while the Romanian state must act firmly to prevent and combat incitement to hatred and discrimination of any kind, but it must do so in a balanced manner and in strict compliance with constitutional provisions, or otherwise, it may have the opposite effect. Another argument he raised was the lack of clarity surrounding the definitions of "legionary" (Iron Guard member) and "fascist."
Romania's European Consumer Centre (ECC Romania) - a department within the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) has obtained, after several months of efforts, an important correction of the discount policy implemented by the Wizz Air airline company towards Romanian consumers, the consumer protection authority informs on Friday.





"The ECC Romania received several complaints from the Romanian consumers regarding a practice in Wizz Air's Discount campaign, which involved subscription categories with varying values and services, valid for one year, but the validity period was not properly updated when switching between subscriptions. Specifically, when upgrading to a higher subscription, the new package (at full price, as advertised on the company's website) would continue the validity period of the previous subscription, instead of resetting to a new one-year term. Thus, the consumer choosing this procedure was financially disadvantaged. For instance, if a consumer switched to a superior promotional package just three days before the expiration of the previous one, the validity of the new package would only last for three days, despite the fact that the new subscription cost several hundred Euro. The ECC Romania worked with the Hungarian company to explain and resolve this issue amicably, ensuring a fair outcome for Romanian consumers," the release mentions.The ECC Romania is part of the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net), which includes 29 centres across all 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland and Norway. The centers provide information, advice, and facilitate the amicable resolution of cross-border disputes.
Two Romanians who sustained injuries in a multiple-car collision that occurred Friday morning in the area of Bulgaria's Veliko Tarnovo were to be airlifted to Romania by a Black Hawk helicopter of the Aviation Inspectorate General, for treatment at a Bucharest hospital, the Emergency Management Department (DSU) said.

The deployment of the helicopter equipped for medical evacuation missions comes in response to a request by the Romanian Embassy in the Republic of Bulgaria, the DSU said.

The victims are to be flown to Romania based on the framework emergency cross-border cooperation agreement between Romania and Bulgaria, so as to cut the time until the administration of specialized medical care, the cited source said.

According to the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry in Veliko Tarnovo cited by news agency BTA, ten people were injured in a three-car collision at the Pass of the Republic near Mishemorkov Han on Friday morning. Five victims are Romanians, including a child. Two of them were to be airlifted to Romania from Gorna Oryahovitsa Airport for adequate treatment, another two were discharged for home recovery, while one remains hospitalized in Veliko Tarnovo, declared Dr. Sibila Marinova, head of the Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Department of the Veliko Tarnovo Regional Hospital, BTA reports.
WARSAW, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Poland commemorated the 81st anniversary of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising on Thursday with a solemn Roll Call of Remembrance in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument in the capital.

The event was attended by veterans of the uprising, President Andrzej Duda, President-elect Karol Nawrocki, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, and representatives of veterans' organizations.

In his address, President Duda expressed gratitude and appreciation to those who fought against the German occupier for the freedom of Warsaw and of Poland.

He said that the uprising was rooted in patriotic values shaped through upbringing, adding that passing on this spirit requires building a stronger and safer Poland. He called those in power to bear the responsibility for modernizing the armed forces and strengthening national security.

Trzaskowski said that all generations will carry forward the memory and values of the uprising. He urged people to reflect on the courage of those who once fought with bare hands for dignity and principles.

The Warsaw Uprising, which broke out on Aug. 1, 1944, was the largest underground military operation in German-occupied Europe. Around 40,000-50,000 Polish insurgents took part in the two-month struggle, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 18,000 fighters and up to 180,000 civilians. After the uprising was crushed, about 500,000 residents were expelled from the city, and Warsaw was left almost completely in ruins. 
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JEFFERSON CITY  Last October, Kerri VanMeveren stood before a judge seeking answers that werent forthcoming.

A month earlier, the Cass County resident had filed a lawsuit against the Missouri Veterinary Medical Board, which regulates veterinarians. VanMeveren had complained about the care her horse, an 8-year-old purebred Arabian named Dennis, received from a local veterinarian. The board dismissed the complaint without an investigation.

Ignored by one arm of Missouri government, she sought accountability from another.

VanMeveren was representing herself and, not being a lawyer, had questions about the court system. I was in the Cole County courthouse in Jefferson City that day waiting on another hearing. As often happens when people dont have attorneys, VanMeveren had questions about procedure that the judge declined to answer. She asked Circuit Court Judge Christopher Limbaugh if he would record the hearing, which is common in contested cases. The judge said no. She asked if she could email her filings to the court. He said yes. In the end, the hearing was delayed.

Earlier this year, VanMeveren got good news. St. Louis attorney Elad Gross agreed to take on the case. In July, Gross argued before Limbaugh that the case deserves to go to trial so VanMeveren can have her day in court. At issue is whether the Veterinary Medical Board is accountable to the citizens its supposed to serve.

Why does this board exist in the first place if it doesnt have to do its job? Gross asks.

Its a fair question.

VanMeverens issues began in February 2024 during Dennis treatment for a hoof issue. The prescription she needed was expensive, and she asked the vet if he would approve her buying it at a discount pharmacy  instead of from the veterinarian himself. He said no. She asked again. After some back and forth, the vets wife texted: Just take your horse to someone else.

VanMeveren was devastated. She tried to get Dennis another vet, but his condition deteriorated.

I watched my horse suffer despite spending thousands of dollars with other vets and farriers who didnt know how to help him, she said. At one point, his condition was so grim that I scheduled a euthanasia.

She relented on that decision. Dennis is still alive, though hell never be a show horse.

When VanMeveren filed her complaint with the vet board, all she received was a one-sentence reply that said it chose not to investigate.

I wasnt just dismissed by the vet. I was dismissed by the system thats supposed to hold professionals accountable, VanMeveren said.

So she filed a petition with the Cole County Circuit Court, seeking a declaration that the board was at least required to conduct an investigation.

The boards attorneys say thats not what the law requires. In fact, they say, the board has discretion not to investigate and the law only requires the one-sentence reply VanMeveren received.

The plain language of the statue is clear, and nothing more is required, they wrote in a motion seeking a ruling in the boards favor.

There have long been questions about the various Missouri boards that regulate professionals, like doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and veterinarians. Most of the regulatory boards operate under a veil of secrecy. The veterinary board, for instance, says the results of its investigations are confidential. Last year, there were 16 veterinarians disciplined among 74 complaints that were filed. What happened to those veterinarians is a secret.

Thats why VanMeverens lawsuit is worth taking to trial, Gross said.

The central issue is protection of Missourians who are expecting professional service from people who are regulated, he said.

Having talked to animal-rights activists around the state, VanMeveren is sure she isnt alone. Her complaint didnt get the result she wanted, but shed like to know that the vet board will at least investigate legitimate complaints and show its work in some capacity.

Indeed, Bob Baker, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, said the vet board has long been a concern for his organization. Thats in part because four of the six members are chosen by a veterinary association, creating an incentive to protect veterinarians rather than police them. The veterinary board operates with less state oversight than any other medical board in the state, Baker says.

There are countless people like me who have filed complaints  real, documented, evidence-backed complaints  only to be ignored, VanMeveren said. The Missouri Veterinary Board is a taxpayer-funded body. But it acts like a shadow government  opaque, insular, and unaccountable.

Some day soon, Limbaugh will rule on whether VanMeveren can have something in a courtroom that the veterinary board never gave her: the right to be heard.
An airman salutes an F-16 Fighting Falcon as it taxis at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea, July 28, 2025. (Landon Gunsauls/U.S. Air Force)



The Air Force has started moving 31 F-16 Fighting Falcons from southwestern South Korea to Osan Air Base as part of a plan to form a second super squadron closer to the border with North Korea, the service announced Thursday.

The aircraft, previously stationed at Kunsan Air Base, about 115 miles south of Seoul, began arriving at Osan on July 28, according to a news release from the 51st Fighter Wing.

Osan  approximately 30 miles south of Seoul  is home to the 7th Air Force, the U.S. command tasked with defending South Korea from air attacks. About 5,500 U.S. personnel are stationed there.

The realignment is part of 7th Air Forces broader plan to consolidate its fighter assets into two large squadrons, aiming to produce more sorties with fewer resources.

The super squadron initiative is a yearlong force-optimization test designed to see if a larger, consolidated squadron can generate more combat power and operate more efficiently, Capt. Bryce Hughes of the 51st Maintenance Group said in the release.

Approximately 1,000 airmen from Kunsan are also scheduled to relocate to Osan in the coming months as part of the yearlong trial.

The first super squadron was formed in July 2024 with the arrival of nine F-16s and 150 airmen. After a yearlong trial, the Air Force approved plans to form the second squadron, which is expected to be operational by October.

Kunsan will continue to serve as a location for airpower exercises and rotational assets in South Korea, Capt. Alvin Nelson, spokesman for the 8th Fighter Wing, said by email Friday.

The 8th [Fighter Wing] will maintain its support of peninsula-wide exercises and training  remaining a critical part of 7th Air Forces mission to provide combat airpower in defense of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, he wrote.

Osan also received an unspecified number of F-16s from the 35th Fighter Wing at Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan between June 26 and 27, the 51st Fighter Wing said at the time. Those fighters  unrelated to the super squadron effort  had been upgraded with advanced avionic systems.

Air Force F-16s in South Korea regularly participate in exercises with South Korean and Japanese forces. On June 18, six of the aircraft carried out a drill south of Jeju Island alongside two South Korean F-15K Slam Eagles and two Japanese Mitsubishi F-2s, according to a news release from the Ministry of National Defense.
A sign posted by the 718th Civil Engineer Squadron warns residents to stay away from an area in front of a housing tower at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Aug. 1, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)



CAMP KINSER, Okinawa  Air Force civil engineers plan to inspect the balconies of all homes in six family housing towers on this Marine Corps base for spalling concrete, a problem discovered in other housing units on the island earlier this year.

The 718th Civil Engineer Squadron has already identified concrete spalling from balcony surfaces in the towers and will inspect all 544 homes, including 263 occupied units, according to a letter posted Thursday on the Okinawa Military Family Housing Facebook page.

The letter, signed by engineer squadron deputy Kelly Livingston, was also posted inside the towers and on residents doors. The affected towers  1086, 1087, 1088, 867, 871 and 872  are on Kinsers north side.

The spalled concrete was found outside tower 1088 on Tuesday, the 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base wrote in an unsigned email Friday.

The safety and well-being of our residents is our utmost priority, and all actions are in place to mitigate risk, the email stated.

Spalling refers to cracking and delaminating steel-reinforced concrete. It is caused by pressure under the surface of the concrete, and most often occurs due to improperly constructed joints or rebar corrosion, according to the U.S. General Services Administration.

Inspections will take about 15 minutes and include visual assessments and photos of balconies and other areas as needed, the letter states. They will take place over three weeks.

Residents should schedule an inspection by calling DSN 634-4663, selecting option 2 and then option 5. They can also call 090-7587-5225 or email 718ces.servicecall@us.af.mil, the letter states.

Orange netting blocks an entrance and grassy areas around a housing tower at Camp Kinser, Okinawa, Aug. 1, 2025. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes)



Questions or concerns can be directed to housing maintenance chief Eric McClay at 080-6481-1548 or eric.mcclay@us.af.mil.

The engineer squadron, part of the 18th Civil Engineer Group at Kadena Air Base, manages all military housing on Okinawa.

Orange plastic net fencing blocked off three sides of tower 872, including one of the main entrances, and areas around towers 1088 and 1086 on Friday. Signs warned residents to keep out of those areas.

Jessi Owzarski, who lives with her Marine husband, 2-year-old daughter and dog on the third floor of tower 872, said she saw the squadrons engineers setting up the fencing Thursday. The engineers told her there was swelling rebar pushing against concrete in the building, she told Stars and Stripes by phone Friday.

Owzarski has not noticed any spalling on her balcony, but said she is concerned for the safety of her family.

I dont feel like its being addressed appropriately, she said. They took an action based on safety, which I agree with, but the communication could have been better. No one was told that they were going to be blocking off the place.

Spalling concrete was also an issue in two family housing neighborhoods at Kadena earlier this year.

The wing announced in December that the 18th Civil Engineer Group had found spalling concrete in several units at the Sebille Manor housing area near Bob Hope Elementary School.

One family was moved, and several others were required to relocate by June 30, the wing said in January.

In February, the wing announced that another 263 homes in the Washington Heights neighborhood across the street from Marek Park and behind the base housing office would be inspected for the issue.
The sign for Fort Eustis is seen on base in Newport News on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot via TNS)



(Tribune News Service)  Sergeant Major Nathan Smith still remembers joining the Army Reserves 5-159th General Support Aviation Battalion. It was 1997, and he was a young Chinook mechanic, fresh to Fort Eustis in Virginia.

Almost three decades later, as the battalions Command Sergeant Major, hes preparing to say goodbye to the unit that shaped his military career.

Fort Eustis is set to lose its Army Reserve helicopter unit within the next year as part of an overhaul. The U.S. Army Reserve Aviation Command will inactivate the 5-159th, the largest aviation battalion in the Army Reserve, no later than September 2026.

The move is part of the Armys Transformation Initiative, which also includes inactivation of ARACs two Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigades. Inactivation means the unit will cease operations and end active service. It is not the same as deactivation  a permanent closure  though the Army currently has no plans to bring the unit back.

Smith, a Military Technician, serves in a dual civilian-military role. His unit manages and provides aviation assets to support a war effort, including air assault missions, paradrops and logistical support. They also provide training support along the East Coast.

Anybody who does this part-time is a very special type of American, Smith said.

Reservists typically serve just two days a month and train for two weeks a year, but many in Smiths unit travel from as far as Montana and Texas to meet proficiency requirements, often volunteering far beyond their contractual obligations.

Roughly 450 military and civilian employees at Fort Eustis will be affected. Nationwide, about 4,500 Army Reserve Aviation Command employees across 11 states will be reassigned, which is two-thirds of the aviation commands workforce. It is headquartered in Fort Knox, Ky.

While the jobs in inactivated units will cease, Chief Public Affairs Officer Maj. Jeffrey Windmueller said the Army is working to find new roles for affected personnel. Some may remain in the branch and retrain, and others may transfer.

Were doing everything in our power to make sure people who want to stay in the Army Reserve can, Windmueller said.

The Army has been offering conditional releases to allow service members to transfer between components and branches. Smith said his unit has also organized meetings and resources to help members navigate the transition.

There is an amazing buy-in on helping every single one of our soldiers find something new, he said.

Fixed-wing units will remain active, and ARACs training and operations will continue for now.

In a May 13 letter, aviation command Commanding General Brig. Gen. Roger F. Deon Jr. acknowledged concerns and said he is actively seeking clarification on the future of these operational missions.

Its part of a broader overhaul. Other changes coming to Fort Eustis include relocating the headquarters of the Army Training and Doctrine Command. It will merge with Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to form the new Army Transformation and Training Command. The Army hasnt said how many Fort Eustis-based service members will be affected.

The Army is always restructuring, Windmueller said.

Millions of dollars worth of equipment from the 5-159th will be reallocated. The units CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Black Hawks and HH-60 MEDEVAC helicopters may be transferred to other military branches, Border Patrol, or be sold privately.

Announced April 30 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the plan calls for divestment from wasteful spending, including outdated technologies and redundant workforce structures. It aims to make the Army a leaner, more lethal force.

The next day, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George and Secretary Dan Driscoll outlined a strategy to prioritize investments in areas like missile defense, cyber, and counter-space capabilities, including support for President Trumps proposed Golden Dome defense system.

How many helicopters do you see flying around Ukraine? None, Smith said. The face of national security is changing. This is one of those necessary changes.

Smith praised the flexibility of his fellow service members, noting that they are used to change.

When asked whats next for him, Smith said: I ask myself that all the time.

He may choose to retire or continue serving elsewhere. For others, the path forward may be less clear.

People that come here live and breathe flying Army helicopters, he added. Depending on where they are in their careers, the sentiment is, well, now what am I going to do?

2025 The Virginian-Pilot.

Visit pilotonline.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
MOSCOW, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to develop a roadmap for building Russia's high-speed rail network by March 31, 2026, according to directives published on the Kremlin's website Thursday.

"The Government of the Russian Federation, together with Russian Railways, the open joint-stock company, shall formulate a development model for Russia's high-speed rail network. This includes specific timelines and parameters for implementing each project to create high-speed rail lines," the website said.

Putin also ordered the government and SberBank, Russia's largest lender, to outline plans for utilizing 300 billion rubles (about 3.7 billion U.S. dollars) allocated from the National Wealth Fund as initial funding for the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed rail line. A report on the funding is due by Oct. 1.

The Moscow-St. Petersburg route will be Russia's first high-speed railroad, a specialized electrified double-track line on which trains can travel at speeds from 200 to 400 kph. Trains are expected to cover the distance between the two cities in two hours and 15 minutes.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Russian Railways CEO Oleg Belozerov have been appointed as the responsible parties. 
Members of the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade perform reload operations on a Patriot system in an unidentified location during Keen Sword drills on Oct. 28, 2024. (Connor Davis/U.S. Army)



The Army is sending an improved Patriot battalion to Guam as the Defense Department undertakes an $8 billion plan to defend the U.S. territory and mid-ocean military platform from missile attacks.

The unit will be one of up to four new Patriot battalions, Gen. James Mingus, the Army vice chief of staff, said July 2 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. He did not say when the battalions would become operational.

The Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense System being built on the island includes Patriot air defense systems, according to the projects final Environmental Impact Statement released July 25.

The defense system is expected to provide continuous 360-degree protection against cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks. Its plans call for radars, sensors, missile launchers, missile interceptors and support facilities at sites around the island.

The system is expected to become operational as each of its 16 sites are completed over the next decade, according to the EIS.

Army Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in May, estimated the projects cost at $8 billion.

Modern versions of the Patriot system, first used in combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, can carry up to 16 missiles designed to intercept and destroy incoming projectiles.

Adm. Samuel Paparo, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told lawmakers this spring that a Patriot battalion had been transferred from his area of responsibility to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East and South Asia.

In June, about 200 U.S. troops from a South Korea-based Patriot unit were temporarily redeployed to the Middle East.

Patriots defended Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar against Iranian missile attacks that month after U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers attacked Iranian nuclear facilities.

The new Patriot battalions will use a powerful type of air and missile defense sensor to vastly extend the Patriots range, Mingus said, according to an Army news release July 24.

The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor can identify and defeat multiple targets, including low-altitude cruise missiles, hypersonic missiles and short-range ballistic missiles, the release said.

It can scan 360-degrees  an improvement over older sensors that were limited to 270 degrees, according to the release.

It greatly expands the range, the altitude, and its a 360, Mingus said. That means the Armys 15 existing Patriot battalions would be twice as capable with the latest gear, he added.

You would have the equivalent of about 30 Patriot battalions because instead of having to deploy as batteries, you can break them up and disperse them in a much more tactical way, he said.
Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV, a 19-year-old aviation boatswains mate for launch and recovery equipment, was presumed dead July 30, 2025, after an assumed overboard incident in the Timor Sea aboard the USS George Washington. (U.S. Navy)



A 19-year-old sailor is believed to be lost at sea this week in an assumed overboard incident that led to a 45-hour search for him in the Timor Sea, the Navy said Friday.

Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV, an aviation boatswains mate for launch and recovery equipment, was last seen aboard the USS George Washington on Monday, the Navy said. He was from Florida and enlisted in June 2024. He joined the aircraft carrier in January.

Several Navy ships, aircraft and squadrons searched for the sailor alongside Australian forces, covering roughly 2,200 square miles before calling off the efforts on Wednesday.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of our shipmate, Airman Rivera Lynch, Capt. Tim Waits, commander of the George Washington, said in a statement. I am sincerely grateful for the support and coordination from all units who assisted in the search effort, including our partners from the Australian Defence Force and Border Force.

The George Washington has a crew of about 3,500 sailors and an air wing element of about 2,400 personnel. The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier was taking part in Operation Talisman Sabre when Rivera Lynch went missing. The major multinational exercise centered on the Sea of Timor, between the northern coast of Australia and the island of Timor.

When the sailor was reported missing Monday, the carrier and the warships in its strike group broke off from the exercise to conduct a search, the Navy said. The search included the destroyer USS Shoup, the cruiser USS Robert Smalls, Helicopter Squadron 12 and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 78, as well as multiple aircraft from the U.S. and Australia.

The courage and dedication shown by all personnel involved in this operation exemplifies the professionalism and commitment that defines our Navy, said Rear Adm. Eric Anduze, commander of Carrier Strike Group 5.
Oliver and Liana Annan the owners of Klay Keramik and Cafe in Kaiserslautern, Germany, pose for a picture on July 22, 2025. The couple opened the combined food and pottery establishment earlier this year. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



Oliver Annan smiled when speaking about a recent German news article that compared his downtown Kaiserslautern neighborhood to a hip area of Berlin, in part because of the cafe and ceramics studio he and his wife, Liana, opened a few months ago. Maybe not Berlin, he said. But something is happening in Kaiserslautern.

A dog sleeps near the coffee bar at Klay Keramik and Cafe in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on July 22, 2025. Owners Oliver and Liana Annan say they like to welcome people at their restaurant, and that sentiment extends to pooches as well. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

A painting depicting lemons, top left, that was created by a customer and given to the owners of Klay Keramik and Cafe hangs on the wall at the restaurant in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Customers enjoy food and drinks at Klay Keramik and Cafe in Kaiserslautern, Germany, on July 24, 2025. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



On a Tuesday morning, about an hour before opening, daylight poured through the picture windows of the historic sandstone building next to the Union Cinema that the couple converted into the modern Klay Keramik & Cafe.

Soon the space filled with an eclectic mix of patrons. I once ate there in the company of an elderly man reading a book, two young women gossiping over an iPhone, a mother breastfeeding her child and a Labrador napping under a table.

Like some other popular places nearby, Klay Cafe offers a health-focused, vegetarian-friendly menu with cakes made from organic ingredients and a variety of coffees.

But two things make the new establishment stand out from similar places nearby. First, theres a ceramics studio in the back, and handmade pottery is everywhere, some for sale, some used to serve food and drinks. Second, the food is better.

That assessment may reflect my soft spot for dill. A few months ago, my best friend from college asked if Id had any good dill dishes lately. I hadnt. But after ordering the savory waffle at Klay, I sent her a photo with an exclamation point.

It showed a warm, unsweetened square waffle topped with an organic soft-boiled egg and a sauce made of avocado and creme fraiche but with dill being the dominant flavor.

It was so different that it forced me to eat slowly to fully appreciate just how well the unusually paired flavors went together.

That has also been the case with every dish I ordered at the cafe, courtesy of Lianas culinary experimentation. I was surprised to learn that she taught herself to cook, in part to make healthy meals for her family of four.

The savory waffle at Klay Keramik and Cafe is a warm, unsweetened square waffle topped with an organic soft-boiled egg and a sauce made with avocado, creme fraiche and dill. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The organic burrata salad at Klay Keramik and Cafe consists of tomato and orange slices topped with a large ball of burrata cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a homemade seasonal pesto. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The crunchy homemade roasted nut granola served at Klay Keramik and Cafe in Kaiserslautern, Germany. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



The organic burrata salad is another standout among her creations. Its a bed of tomato and orange slices topped with a large ball of burrata cheese, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a homemade seasonal pesto.

After the cheese is sliced, its liquid center spills onto the fruit, which can be scooped up with the slices of brown bread that are served with the dish.

It was the first time Id eaten oranges with tomatoes or bread or cheese, but the combination was light, fresh and satisfying on a summer morning.

One other dish that impressed me is the homemade roasted nut granola, served with organic yogurt, a sweet mango-and-apple puree, organic silken tofu chocolate mousse and tangy berries. I was also surprised to taste rosemary in a bite or two. The dish has a lot going on, but it works.

Born in Turkmenistan, Liana moved to Kaiserslautern when she was 12. Oliver grew up in the city. After finishing school, the couple moved to various places, including Berlin, Vienna and Seoul, before returning to Kaiserslautern a few years ago, largely so their two children could be closer to family.

The exterior of Klay Keramik and Cafe in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The eatery occupies a historically listed building next door to the Union Cinema. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



Pottery is Lianas primary passion, and she teaches classes on site, including on Wednesdays when the kitchen is closed. Oliver, who also works as an economist, liked the idea of opening a cafe. In the end, they merged both.

The hybrid space has been attracting many of Kaiserslauterns creatives, they say. One regular who paints during her visits even gifted them a still life of lemons, which now hangs on the wall.

Patrons who come in to make their own art, play games or read often order hot drinks and cakes, of which several varieties are offered each day.

The lavender and lemon, carrot and cardamom, and banana cakes each got thumbs up from two colleagues who sampled slices I recently brought to the office.

One compared it to Starbucks cake but said it tasted more rustic, homemade and not as super sugary, which is to its benefit.

The other said shed have preferred a bit more sweetness to satisfy her American palate but added that the carrot cake, which shes usually not a fan of, was one of the best shed ever tasted.

Finding a seat at Klay can be tricky, as theres only about 15 inside. A few additional outdoor tables are available in warmer months.

Oliver said they hope their current model proves sustainable, as they like the role the cafe is carving out in the community.

We are a very small place, and people stay here for a while, but thats OK for us, he said. Were very liberal and open-minded. Our attitude is that we like to welcome people.

Klay Keramik and Cafe

Address: Kerststrasse 24, Kaiserslautern, Germany

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; closed Wednesday and Sunday.

Prices: Main dishes range from 10.50 to 15 euros; cake slices, 4.50 euros

Information: keramikcafe-klay@outlook.de, www.instagram.com/klay_keramik_cafe
Annafest in Forchheim, Germany, celebrates St. Anne. The festival continues through Aug. 4. (annafest.bayern)



A countless number of Europes fests can trace their roots to religious holidays honoring saints and holy figures from throughout the centuries. Even when the holy figure being honored no longer stands front and central to the celebrations, it can be interesting to piece together the connection between the partying and the person.

Annafest in Forchheim, Germany: Saint Anne is considered to be the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. She and her husband Joachim were long unable to conceive a child, but they were rewarded for their perseverance and faith with the birth of a baby girl. Saint Anne is the patron saint of grandmothers, pregnant women, lace makers, seamstresses and many others. The day chosen by the Roman Catholic Church to jointly honor her and her husband is July 26.

The city of Forchheim, located in Bavarias Franconia region, has been holding a folk festival by the name of Annafest since 1840. Pilgrims traveling to a chapel dedicated to Saint Anne on July 26 would pass through the Kellerwald, an oak-forested area where many beer cellars were built to make sure the beer would stay as cool as possible. Todays Annafest is an 11-day celebration known and loved for its exceptional woodsy setting, four local breweries creating a special Bock beer expressly for the occasion and traditional fare including sausages and grilled meats. The usual mix of tame and scary rides and games of skill and chance is found here too. The Annafest continues its 2025 run through Aug. 4. Forchheim is located roughly 25 miles north of Nuremberg. Online: annafest.bayern

Saint Lawrence Day in Florence, Italy: tradition holds that Saint Lawrence, or San Lorenzo in Italian, was one of seven deacons of the early Christian church in Rome. On Aug. 6, 258 A.D., Emperor Valerian ordered six of these clergy members, including the pope, to be executed. San Lorenzo was given three days to collect the treasures of the church, and upon giving them to the emperor, his life was to be spared. San Lorenzo chose instead to distribute the churchs wealth to the poor, which earned him martyrdom by being roasted over hot coals atop a gridiron. A quip to his tormentor about being well-done on one side led him to be named a patron saint of not just cooks and firemen but comedians too. His feast day is celebrated on Aug. 10.

Florence celebrates San Lorenzo, one of its two patron saints, on Aug. 10 with a historical procession of costumed marchers, a mass at the basilica bearing the name of the saint, a concert and the distribution of pasta and watermelon. The parade sets off from the Palagio di Parte Guelfa at 9:45 a.m., and the free meal is handed out at the square in front of the basilica at 8:30 p.m. Its traditional to top off the evening with eyes turned to the skies in search of the shooting stars of the Perseids meteor shower. Online: tinyurl.com/22pnvuxv

Sant Bartameu in Sitges, Spain: Bartholomew is one of the 12 apostles who traveled with Jesus during his three-year ministry. Following Jesus Ascension, he is believed to have served as a missionary to lands in the area of modern-day India, Turkey and Armenia. Various accounts of his martyrdom exist; one version is that he was flayed as punishment for converting a king to Christianity. The patron saint of tanners, bookbinders, butchers and shoemakers, his feast day is celebrated on Aug. 24.

Sitges, a lively coastal resort some 25 miles southwest of Barcelona, celebrates one of its two patron saints with the citys biggest bash of the year, the Festa Major de Sant Bartomeu, on Aug. 23 and 24. Elements of the festivities include costumed figures of giants and devils running in the streets, folk dancing, and the lighting of a fire castle on La Fragata beach. A grand display of fireworks is set off late on the evening of Aug. 23. Online: sitgesfestamajor.cat

Feast of Saint Marinus in San Marino: tradition holds that Marinus was a stonemason born on what is now the island of Rab in Croatia around 275 A.D. To flee persecution for his Christian beliefs, he moved to the area near Rimini, eventually settling into a hermits life on Monte Titano. This mountain is the highest peak in the Republic of San Marino, considered the worlds oldest extant sovereign state. Surrounded entirely by Italy, the worlds fifth-smallest nation in terms of land mass has a population of about 34,000.

The feast day of San Marino, celebrating the origin of the Republic in 301, is carried out with great pomp on Sept. 3 of each year. Following the 10 a.m. Mass, the relics of the saint are paraded through the streets, and at 2:30 p.m., a historical parade with costumed marchers sets off from the Porta San Francesco. The crossbow tournament featuring shooters from the nations nine districts at 3:30 p.m. is followed by a concert by the countrys military band, and a grand display of fireworks is shot off at 11:30 p.m. Online: tinyurl.com/3k9e4jff
Philippine marines secure family food packs delivered by CV-22B Ospreys assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing in Basco, Philippines, on July 30, 2025. (Brittany Russell/U.S. Air Force)



American forces have flown food and other supplies to northern Philippines communities affected by recent typhoons, tropical storms and monsoon rains, according to U.S. State Department and Marine Corps officials.

Marine and Air Force Ospreys and Air Force MC-130J airlifters recently delivered life-saving relief items to communities in Northern Luzon, the U.S. Embassy in Manila said in a statement on its website.

The death toll from recent heavy rains and tropical cyclones stood at 37 on Friday, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.

Following a request from the Philippine government, the Ospreys flew more than 600 family food packs and emergency relief items from Clark Air Base on Luzon to Basco, Batanes, on Wednesday and Thursday, the embassy said.

The Batanes  an island group in the Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines  have hosted U.S. forces during military exercises in recent years.

In October, Marine Rotational Force-Southeast Asia, at the start of a six-month deployment to the region, delivered aid to Batanes following Super Typhoon Krathon.

A U.S. airman assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing prepares to unload family food packs in Basco, Philippines, on July 30, 2025. (Brittany Russell/U.S. Air Force)



The embassy said operations to deliver 5,700 additional food packs to affected areas will continue in the coming days.

U.S. aircraft and personnel remain ready to assist the Philippine military in delivering more aid, the statement added.

The United States stands shoulder to shoulder with our Filipino allies, especially in responding to disasters, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said in the statement. We are grateful to the combined relief and rescue teams who have been working tirelessly on the ground to deliver emergency assistance to affected residents.

U.S. Marines deployed four MV-22B Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 and other personnel from Australia to support the relief mission, Marine Rotational Force-Darwin said in a news release Thursday.

The 2,500-strong force has participated in four exercises in the Philippines since beginning its six-month annual rotation to northern Australia in the spring.

The Marines are working alongside Air Force CV-22B Ospreys assigned to the 353rd Special Operations Wing at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, and Philippine air force aircraft, according to the release.

Were fully aligned with our Philippine counterparts and committed to supporting their lead in this lifesaving mission, said rotational force commander Col. Jason Armas. Our aircraft and Marines are here to support the Philippine governments mission to deliver urgent aid to those in need.

Since deploying the Ospreys on Saturday, U.S. troops have coordinated with Philippine government and military agencies to plan missions and stand ready to position supplies in storm-affected areas, the release said.
A composite image showing Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle, Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson and Navy Vice Adm. Frank M. Bradley. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)



WASHINGTON  The Senate has confirmed new commanders for U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Special Operations Command as well as the next chief of naval operations, giving the Navy its first permanent military leader in five months.

Adm. Daryl Caudle will take over as the Navys highest-ranking officer, Air Force Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson will lead U.S. Africa Command and Navy Vice Adm. Frank Bradley will lead Special Operations Command.

All three were confirmed on Thursday night by unanimous voice vote.

Caudles confirmation ends a nearly half-year vacancy in the chief of naval operations post, which has not been held by a permanent officer since President Donald Trump fired former Adm. Lisa Franchetti in February.

Franchetti became the first woman to serve as the top Navy officer and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in November 2023. Before Pete Hegseth became Trumps defense secretary, he had cast doubt on her qualifications in a book.

Few senators mentioned the circumstances surrounding Caudles nomination at his confirmation hearing last month. Senators from both parties praised his wealth of experience.

Since 2021, Caudle has led U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which is responsible for training and deploying naval forces, and previously served as a vice director on the Joint Staff.

He commissioned into the Navy in 1985 after attending Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and commanded nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines during his 40-year career.

At his confirmation hearing, Caudle spoke of the need to improve chronic delays in shipbuilding and maintenance, invest in modern technology and build a modern fleet that can compete with Chinas maritime dominance.

He also defended the Navys loosening of enlistment requirements in recent years, saying they provided more pathways into the service without lowering standards.

Anderson and Bradley faced questions about the Trump administrations cuts to the State Department and foreign aid at their confirmation hearing last month and discussed their work with non-governmental organizations in volatile locations such as Africa.

Anderson, now the director for joint force development of the Joint Staff, said Africa was at the center of a great-power rivalry and he has seen increased meddling from China and Russia.

Both of those nations see their futures running through the continent, Anderson said.

Anderson previously led Special Operations Commands Africa branch. He will be the first airman to lead AFRICOM, which has been commanded by Army and Marine Corps generals since the commands creation in 2007.

Bradley, the commander of Joint Special Operations Command since 2022, previously commanded at all levels of special operations, including leading joint special operations throughout the Middle East and South Asia.

He is a Navy SEAL officer and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. At his confirmation hearing, Bradley reflected on his 37-year career in special operations.

Special operations is the ultimate team sport, where to win is to live and to lose often means someone you care for does not, he said. As such, I am grateful to be a member of the most precise and lethal fighting force the world has ever known.
American flags stand in the ground outside of the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. on Sept. 1, 2020. 660 flags were ceremoniously placed under the wings billboard to represent the approximate number of Veterans that commit suicide every month in the U.S. (Hunter Hires/U.S. Air National Guard)



Jul. 31 (Tribune News Service)  Brian Greeson lives in Boulder, Colo., but he hasnt been home for the past few months  instead, hes been biking across the United States to bring more attention to the high suicide rate among military veterans.

With all the other news going on, its definitely not being talked about, said the 40-year-old Greeson. Were not going to fix something if were not talking about it, so I thought the ride would be a really good conversation starter.

As a former member of the military, Greeson said the issue of veteran suicide is close to his heart. He served in the U.S. Army from 2005 to 2010 and was deployed twice to Afghanistan.

He said an average of 20 veterans have taken their own lives every day for the past 20 years.

Its a much higher rate than other demographics, he said.

Greeson kicked off his cross-country ride on April 1 in San Francisco. From there, hes traveled through Death Valley in California, Zion National Park in Utah, and over Vail Pass in Colorado. He pedaled through South Dakotas Black Hills National Forest, boarded a ferry across Lake Michigan, and passed through Pittsburgh during his final push southeast.

His ride will end in Washington, D.C.

A cross-country solo tour is daunting for any level of cyclist, but Greeson has only recently started taking longer endurance rides. He moved to Boulder in 2018, after which he began training for a bike ride of this scale. He said the most intense ride hed taken before his current tour was an overnight biking trip.

Its definitely been a whole learning process, he said. Its been a real adventure.

Along his route, Greeson alternates between camping  often for five or six days in a row  and resting in a hotel. He also makes an effort to educate the people he meets on the issue of veteran suicide. While most people are sympathetic to the issue, Greeson said, theyre surprised to hear the staggering statistics.

They just dont realize that its such a big deal, he said.

Greeson is donating the money he receives to Veterans Expeditions, a Colorado nonprofit. Veterans Expeditions coordinates outdoor excursions, including biking and climbing trips, for people who served in the armed forces.

As of Thursday, Greeson had raised over half of his $50,000 goal. Donations can be made at OneMileFundraiser.com.

Greeson is nearing the end of his journey. A recent map update tracking his progress placed him along the Potomac River in Maryland.

Nick Watson, executive director of Veterans Expeditions, called Greesons ride amazing and praised its unique way of tackling a difficult topic. Like Greeson, Watson said hes consistently shocked by the high suicide rate among veterans.

Although suicide is a discouraging thing to talk about, Watson said, people need to hear the facts.

Its the elephant in the room in the veteran community, Watson said. Suicide is prevalent. Its been prevalent for a long time now.

Watson started Veterans Expeditions in 2010. He got to meet Greeson when the cross-country ride came through Colorado.

The donations from Greesons ride will help the nonprofit run more trips.

That allows more folks to get into that community and be supported by it, Watson said.

 2025 Colorado Hometown Weekly.

Visit www.coloradohometownweekly.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
SARAJEVO, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Appellate Division Panel of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Friday upheld a one-year prison sentence for Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, confirming his conviction for refusing to implement decisions issued by the High Representative in BiH.

Dodik was accused of knowingly defying decisions issued by Bosnia's High Representative, Christian Schmidt, in 2023. The ruling follows a public hearing held on June 12, during which both the prosecution and defense filed appeals. The court rejected both appeals and upheld the initial verdict. The decision is final and cannot be challenged further.

In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a six-year ban on Dodik from holding the office of President of Republika Srpska, effective from the date the verdict becomes final. The incarceration period will not be counted toward the duration of the ban.

In the same case, Milos Lukic, acting director of the Official Gazette of Republika Srpska, was acquitted of identical charges. The court found no legal basis for his conviction and upheld the initial not-guilty verdict.

Following the ruling, Dodik described the court's decision as "political" and "a direct attack on Republika Srpska." He argued that the Court of BiH serves "the political will of Sarajevo and Muslim political structures," and called the move "an obvious attempt to eliminate the Serb political factor from Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Dodik emphasized that the ruling does not prohibit him from remaining president of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), his party. He announced plans to return to elections with a new platform after the ban expires, depending on the outcome of future political consultations.

Once again denying the legitimacy of the Office of High Representative (OHR) and its leader, Schmidt, he told supporters that "not a single bullet will be fired" and stressed that "the greatest strength is the strength of unity."

The OHR, an international body established under the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war, holds sweeping "Bonn powers" that allow the High Representative to impose laws and dismiss officials in BiH. However, since taking office in 2021, Schmidt has frequently applied "Bonn powers" to impose legal changes, drawing criticism in BiH.

Dodik has served as the president of Republika Srpska from 2022 to 2025, and was the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018 to 2022.

BiH Presidency member and SNSD Vice President Zeljka Cvijanovic also criticized the court's decision, calling it "political." RS National Assembly President Nenad Stevandic said they would continue to win "with the support of the people and institutions."

Bosnia and Herzegovina is composed of two autonomous entities: Republika Srpska, with a predominantly Serbian population, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily inhabited by Bosniaks and Croats. The two entities operate under a weak central government. 
Ann Connors was charged in relation to fraudulently receiving Pandemic Unemployment Payments

The widow of burglary gang boss Fat Andy Connors has been given just over three months to pay the 5,000 she owes the State after pleading guilty to a sample count of deception against the Department of Social Protection.

Ann Connors (49), of The Ranch, Boherboy Road, Saggart, Dublin, appeared before Judge Pauline Codd yesterday at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The deception charge related to fraudulently receiving Pandemic Unemployment Payments in 2020 and 2021.

After pleading guilty, Connors was ordered to pay back 7,000 by yesterday, but the court heard she did not have the full amount.

A total of 29 theft charges were also taken into consideration.

At yesterdays brief hearing, it emerged that she had only 2,000 in court.

Ann Connors, the widow of 'Fat' Andy Connors

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

Evidence given by the prosecution barrister revealed that gardai had uncovered a bank account in January that significant amounts of money had passed through up to March, including 5,000 for rent and a separate lodgement of over 4,000.

She is not being upfront in relation to her financial affairs, the barrister said.

Andrew 'Fat Andy' Connors

However Connors defence counsel argued that she was the subject of a civil action from South Dublin County Council this year, when she was fined 20,000, had to pay accounting and legal fees and remove mobile homes from her land.

The prosecution also stated that the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) has been trying for years to take over land owned by her and that she did not engage with Cab.

However, defence counsel said Cab has seized all her properties apart from The Ranch.

In March, she was told by a civil court judge that she would be jailed unless she demolished an unauthorised chalet and mobile home development at The Ranch.

She was in breach of court orders directing her to remove two chalets and four mobile homes from the land.

Yesterday, Judge Codd told Connors she must come up with the 5,000 and adjourned the case until November 3.

I dont want this hanging over my head

The judge also ordered that statements dating from March 28 to July 31 from the bank account discovered by gardai in January be brought before the court on that date.

I dont want this hanging over my head, Connors told the court, saying that if she got the money before November, she would hand it over to her solicitor.

Connors husband was shot dead in front of her in 2014 when a masked man armed with an automatic pistol walked into their home at The Ranch and shot his victim six times. The murder remains unsolved.

In January, she was sentenced to three years in jail, with the final 18 months suspended, after being convicted of two charges of failing to make tax returns and one count of money laundering in relation to a car that was seized by gardai and found to be the proceeds of crime.

She was given temporary release from prison just 10 days after she was committed to the Dochas Centre in Dublin because of overcrowding in the womens prison.

That trial had earlier heard details of substantial rental income being made in relation to a number of properties, but no tax being paid on this income.

On that occasion, the court heard that the garda investigation began when a car worth around 30,000, which was being driven by a female relative of Connors, was stopped at a garda checkpoint in October 2020.
Jason Faulkner (33), with an address at 6 Longpavement Halting Site, Watch House Cross, Limerick, appeared before Mallow District Court via video link from Limerick prison, on charges of theft and public order after an incident last month.

A man with 125 previous convictions, who faced public order and theft charges at a Cork court, has been spared any further prison time.

Jason Faulkner (33), with an address at 6 Longpavement Halting Site, Watch House Cross, Limerick, appeared before Mallow District Court via video link from Limerick prison, on charges of theft and public order after an incident last month.

The court heard that on the afternoon of June 10, Mr Faulkner was discovered by Gardai after they were dispatched to attend an incident on Thomas Davis Street. Mr Faulkner was found intoxicated at Tipp ONeill Park in the North Cork town, and was arrested for his own safety.

Mallow Courthouse

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

When searched, Gardai found a number of items, including a box of Benson & Hedges cigarettes worth 23.20, a box of matches valuing 29 cent, and a 5 Wispa share size bar. The total amount of goods stolen was 28.29 from an Applegreen store in Mallow.

Mr Faulkner indicated his intention to plea, while the court was told the Limerick man had 125 previous convictions, 54 of those relating to public order. Mr Faulkner had only two previous convictions for theft-related matters.

He took these items, but he was so drunk he didnt know what he was doing, surmised Judge Colm Roberts.

All of his most recent convictions have been for alcohol, Garda Majella OSullivan informed the judge.

Mr Faulkner had been in custody since July 1, and Judge Roberts ordered a three-month sentence, with six weeks suspended for one year, on the condition that the accused doesnt consume alcohol. The sentence was backdated to the July 1st date.

My calculation is that you will be released today, or very soon, the judge told Mr Faulkner, before adding a 150 fine for the public order charge.

You cannot drink for the next year, Judge Roberts informed the accused.

No bother,  replied Mr Faulkner.

If you do drink, the other part will be triggered and you will be back in prison, warned the Judge.
Lukasz Lupa, 35, was charged with participating in a criminal organisation from June 5, 2019, until September 3, 2021, under section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

A Polish man is to face trial in Dublin on organised crime and counterfeit phone fraud charges.

Lukasz Lupa, 35, with an address in Kukulcza, Wagrowiec, Poland, appeared before Judge Peter White at Dublin District Court today.

He was charged with participating in a criminal organisation from June 5, 2019, until September 3, 2021, under section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

He also faces a charge of deception relating to counterfeit mobile phones over the same period.

Stock image

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

It follows an investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Detective Garda Neil Plunkett said Mr Lupa returned from Poland and was met by arrangement and made no reply when charged.

Judge White heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment at the Circuit Court level, with greater sentencing powers, or Mr Lupa could be sent forward on a signed plea should that arise.

Mr Lupas defence counsel said there was no bail application and that it was anticipated that his client would take the signed plea.

The court heard the defence had been furnished with a large amount of disclosure.

The accused, who did not address the court, was remanded in custody to appear again next week. The court heard Mr Lupa worked, earning 650 a week, but the court granted legal aid due to the seriousness of the case.
Kevin Yungman (32) first met the Brazilian woman in Paris three months previously

A US actor who placed his arms around the neck of a woman causing her to pass out before he raped her has been jailed for five years.

American Kevin Yungman (32) first met the Brazilian woman in Paris three months previously when they both happened to be on walking tour of the city.

She was 19 at the time and had been working in Dublin. Yungman was 25 years old. They had never met before. They spent the day together, had wine and chocolate at the Eiffel Tower and returned to his accommodation where they had consensual sex.

However during this meeting Yungman had told the woman at one point to start breathing fast, take a deep breath and hold it in before he placed a hand on her neck causing her to pass out.

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

Yungman, who has featured in a number of minor TV acting and singing roles, later explained to the woman that this was a technique he did when he was having sex.

He said when a person passes out it feels like you have taken drugs. He said it was normal and suggested it could be addictive. The woman told him that she had been scared by it.

They stayed in contact and agreed to meet again in Dublin the following June. They rented an AirBnB and again there was consensual sexual activity before Yungman raped the woman.

He placed his arms around her neck and squeezed hard. She tried to keep his arms away from her but she could not move out. She later told gardai she was not strong enough.

She described to gardai that at that point she passed out.

Yungman tried to turn her over and told her thats my girl, thats my girl before he raped her.

The woman told gardai she could not cope with it and asked him to please stop telling him my body cannot take it. Yungman said he would give her a break and they could go back to it later.

Detective Garda Kerrie Sullivan told Anne Rowland SC, prosecuting, that Yungman with an address in Florida, was arrested in the United States in August 2024 and extradited back to Ireland.

He had been initially questioned by gardai in the immediate aftermath of the rape when they stopped him in Dublin Airport as he was about to board a flight to return home.

He strenuously denied choking the woman and said any activity that had taken place was consensual.

He was ultimately released without charge following questioning and permitted to return to the States pending direction from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Kevin Yungman, 31, was taken into custody by US Marshals on Monday. Photo: Broward County Sheriff's Office

Yungman was brought before the Central Criminal Court last Monday when he pleaded guilty to one charge of raping the woman in June 2018 in the Airbnb on Ushers Quay in Dublin city centre.

The woman described in her victim impact statement experiencing panic attacks, mood swings, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, dysfunctional relationships and losing her faith in God, in the aftermath of the rape.

I didnt celebrate birthdays as I felt there was no reason to celebrate my life, the woman said.

At 19, I didnt properly understand what was happening, she said.

I had been living a dream up until I met him, the woman said describing living in Ireland as therapeutic as she had just lost both her parents. She said the rape impacted her grieving process.

In hindsight, I was vulnerable when I met him and he saw this in me, she said.

She said when she heard the court case was going ahead, she felt a little more hopeful and she began to look after herself.

I took actions to reconnect with my body, took up physical activities, began to have fun again

I could look back on what happened with a mature mind, and I stopped blaming myself. I was only 19, enjoying life, the woman said.

This was manipulation and not my fault, she continued.

But honestly, when I truly felt alive again, was when I heard him say the word 'guilty', the woman said before she described walking in the Phoenix Park afterwards and instantly life felt colourful again.

I want to close this time and never look back. Now, I will not live in pain anymore. The shadows of that memory is gone. I am glad now and I dont have to think about the dark memories, she continued.

She thanked everyone that was involved in this process. This is what helped me finally heal from the incident. I am extremely grateful for hearing me at the garda station, I cannot stress how important this was to me , she said.

How important it was to be heard as I felt so ashamed and guilty, she concluded her statement by saying she now has the power to speak up and not be silent anymore

Mr Justice Tony Hunt told the woman that he was very glad to hear the last few things she said.

I listen to victims on a regular basis. Sometimes I feel I should tell them they should not let these things define them. I am really glad to hear that you have come around, he said.

He said as an older person you come to realise that you are not going to be young forever and advised the woman to make the best of her youth. It is very important you realise that. And I am glad to hear you are moving on, Mr Justice Hunt said.

Ms Rowland told Justice Hunt that the plea was acceptable to the DPP and was based on the rape when Yungman caused the woman to pass out.

She later outlined an incident when Yungman had sex with the woman on the sofa in the rented Dublin apartment after she had told him she did not want to do anything.

Yungmans mother took the stand and looked directly at the woman sitting in the body of the court.

She used the womans first name and told her that from the deepest place in my heart and as a Mam and as a woman, I want to say sorry. There is nothing that I can say that is going to erase the pain. I want you to know that I heard every word that you said and I feel your pain. I am sorry.

She said she taught her children the difference between right and wrong, describing themselves as a law abiding family. What happened to you should not happen to anyone.

I believe in accountability and that every wrongdoing must have a consequence. He needed to acknowledge his actions, the woman continued.

She said as a mother the thoughts of being away from her son in a prison in Ireland while she is in America is breaking my heart but added even in our pain we understand that justice must be served.

She said she was not asking for forgiveness that would be too much and said she was not asking for leniency.

Even in our pain we know we stand behind the truth and we know this is the truth. I pray every day that you heal from this, the woman said.

Mr Justice Hunt addressed the woman and said it was very unusual in a case such as this for a parent to take the stand and address the court in that manner. He told the woman your son is very fortunate.

Having adjourned the case earlier in the week after hearing the facts, yesterday, Mr Justice Hunt imposed a sentence of six years with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions.

The judge said this was a very sad and difficult case, noting there was a consensual background, which took a bad turn. He said it was not the first and would not be the last of this type of case to come before the courts.

It all comes back to this idea of respect for the consent of the other person to sexual activity, Mr Justice Hunt said, noting that people have a duty to confirm that consent to a sexual act has been freely and voluntarily given.

The judge said the asphyxiation was among the aggravating factors in the case.

Referring to the victim impact statement, the judge said the woman was an incredibly articulate and thoughtful person and said the court was heartened that she appears to be making progress in her recovery.

Having set a headline sentence of eight years, the judge noted there was considerable mitigation including Yungman's guilty plea and the difficulty he will face serving a sentence in a foreign jurisdiction.

Mr Justice Hunt said there was a real prospect of Yungman fully rehabilitating himself elsewhere with the disabilities that such convictions bring, but that is something he will face up to in the future.

He imposed a six-year sentence with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions and backdated it to August 2024, when Yungman went into custody in the United States.

The judge directed Yungman to have no contact direct or indirect with the victim in perpetuity. He also told the defendant he must leave the jurisdiction once he is released from custody and not return for 10 years.

Mr Justice Hunt said Yungman was fortunate to have the support of his mother and wider family, who would support him and help him after he has paid a penalty for his serious misconduct.

He wished the victim well for the future and said in the circumstances, the court would also wish Yungman's family well. They are not responsible for what happened and they are patently decent people, the judge said.

ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE

Det Gda Sullivan told Ms Rowland that during the Dublin trip, having initially had said no to having sex with Yungman without a condom, the woman ultimately did have sex with him after they had some alcohol together.

She told Yungman the next morning that she had regretted that and told him it would not happen again. He replied okay and began touching her. She said she didnt want to do anything but he told her to shush, that he would not doing anything she did not want.

The woman tried to get up but Yungman turned her around so that her back was facing up and she was face down on the sofa. They had previously arranged a safe word between them and despite the woman saying no and using the safe word a number of times, Yungman had sex with the woman.

He told her to move and she said she didnt want to do that. She was feeling tired and he instructed her to go on his lap. He told her he wanted her to feel the same pleasure before he brought her into the bedroom and showed her a condom.

She said no that she was too tired but he kept trying and she asked him to put it on him. He took the condom from her and placed it under the pillow. She continued to tell Yungman to stop. She told him she did not want to engage in any other sexual activity.

Det Gda Sullivan said Yungman put his hands around the womans neck and was squeezing very hard. She tried to keep his arms away from her but she could not move out. She later said she wasnt strong enough.

Yungman tried to turn her over and told her thats my girl, thats my girl before he raped her.

The woman later told gardai she could not cope with it and asked him to please stop telling him my body can not take it. Yungman said he would give her a break and they could go back to it later.

The woman later told gardai that during the Paris trip, when she had also passed out by Yungman holding her neck, her mind was in a mess afterwards and she had not realised she had passed out.

Yungman asked the woman if she liked it. She was confused and didnt want to ask. She slept and there was more sexual activity afterwards.

She later told him in Paris that she had been scared by the earlier incident. He said it was normal and one could get addicted to feelings such as this. She changed the subject as she felt he was trying to encourage her to go again.

Lorcan Staines SC, defending, read a letter of apology from his client into the record in which Yungman apologised for the pain he had caused the victim and her loved ones.

He said he was so ashamed of himself and the choices that I made that have brought you here.

He described how his parents are not wealthy people and they have put all their savings into funding his defence.

He said he has shattered my family and they will never be the same again.

He apologised again for the atrocities I have caused you.

I will never forgive myself. I pray every day that God will bless you and help you move on. I am so sorry. I am so sorry, Yungman wrote.

Mr Staines said that his client has qualified as an emergency medical technician and has worked as a paramedic. He was working as a real estate agent at the time of their meeting in 2018.

He asked the court to accept that Yungman consented to his return to Ireland and never applied for bail.

Mr Staines accepted that his client initially denied the offences, but said he co-operated with the garda investigation and ultimately pleaded guilty.

He said he is from a good respectable family and Mr Justice Hunt interjected  the one thing he is fortunate in.

Counsel said it had been a positive interaction in Paris but acknowledged that license to do one thing is not license to do another before he acknowledged there was no question that there was an absence of consent.

FURTHER VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT

She said she decided to report the rape to the gardai and knew this meant she would have to tell her sister.

I couldnt speak the words about being choked, every time I spoke the words out of my mouth I felt it happening again, my mind was protecting myself from the pain again, the woman continued.

She described the following examination at the sexual assault treatment unit as being made feel like she was a science project, describing it as inhuman and invasive.

She said she told the nurse in the SATU that she had been choked and raped and that was the first time she had mentioned the fact that she had been choked.

She said the trip to Paris was her first trip on her own and she was excited and super proud of myself.

I felt self empowered, safe and confident. I met some lovely people, she said.

She spoke about meeting Yungman. She said he was very friendly and seemed good company. She said they chatted and she felt safe and secure. I felt ashamed looking back for believing him and spending time with him.

The woman said when she met Yungman in Dublin she felt as if she was falling in love.

Only now, seven years later that I can say out loud that night I was raped by him. I understood in that moment. I knew instantly that I had been raped. It was like something in me had died in that moment. My body felt like it was not my own anymore, the woman said.

She said retreated into a shell and felt dirty the next day. She tried to clean herself internally and began to have a panic attack. She said it was her first panic attack.

The woman said she ultimately returned to Brazil but struggled with the return of a lot of feelings. She said she thought it easier not to live and questioned the meaning of life. I felt I did not belong here, the woman said.

She described engaging in dysfunctional relationships, her anxiety and panic attacks got worse and she knew she needed professional help.

I know now that every problem in my life at that time, the root of it was the rape. The other things were just a distraction from the rape, she said.

She said experienced mood swings and lost her faith in God. She said beforehand she was spiritual and she would always pray for help but she thought no God would let this happen to a woman.

The woman said she began to self harm and while driving thought if she swerved or accelerated would it be enough to kill her. She thought while peeling a fruit if she put the knife into her throat.

She said she had never experienced these feelings before the rape. She said had no self love, no confidence. I was insecure and disconnected to myself. She said experienced trouble sleeping and eating.
Clifford Peeples claims his home was set on fire to silence his investigations into paramilitaries.

Clifford Peebles speaks to the Sunday World about the petrol bomb attack on his home

This is all that remains of a petrol bomb tossed through a loyalist pastors living room window earlier this week.

Clifford Peeples  a former loyalist prisoner once branded the Pipe Bomb Pastor  says hes lucky to be alive after the early morning attack on Friday.

And he says the petrol bomb is the latest in a long campaign of intimidation and harassment aimed at silencing his investigative work into past republican paramilitary crime.

In 2001, Peeples  an ordained pastor  was sent down for 10 years after police caught him in possession of home-made pipe bombs and Russian grenades connected to a shadowy loyalist group known as the Red Hand Defenders.

But he is also well known for his work in Ukraine, where he supplied aid and military advice to the Ukraine Defence Forces.

Petrol bomb

He was thanked for his work by a senior Ukraine Army officer who presented him a special military medal.

But shortly before 3am on Friday, Peeples was startled out of his sleep by a loud bang. Instinctively, he knew his home was under attack and he jumped out of bed.

And as he ran through the semi-detached property on Belfasts Forthriver Road to check for damage and defend himself if necessary, he discovered heavy curtains, window blinds and a settee in his front room were already ablaze.

A petrol bomb contained in a large medicine-style bottle had been hurled through the living room window, setting the curtains and other soft furnishings alight.

And in an exclusive interview with Sunday World, Peeples described how he grabbed two large Union Jack cushions and used them to successfully smother the flames before the Emergency Services arrived.

The PSNI has described the incident as an arson attack with the intent to danger life.

Police probing attempted murder attack targeting west Belfast home of pipe-bomb pastor Clifford Peeples

But 55-year-old Peeples  who has a Masters Degree in Law  says he in no doubt it was a bid to kill him.

Its attempted murder  nothing else  and I know Im lucky to be alive, he told the Sunday World.

When the firefighters arrived they told me I had taken a chance by tackling the fire on my own. And they advised against doing it again in the future, but I was determined to save my family home and its contents.

The people who did this failed in their effort to kill me. I believe it was a pathetic attempt by these cowards to silence me and to curb the investigative work I do in revealing the inner workings of the Provo death squads and their agents.

Only three weeks ago a tyre blew out in my car when I was driving at speed along the motorway. But when I took it for repair, the engineer was able to show me it had been tampered with by an almost invisible knife slit.

It was designed to blow when I had built up speed. Again, I was lucky. And I know some of those involved are working with out-of-state intelligence services.

Another thing which has been obvious in the last few days is that people who are unusually quick to jump on the condemnation trail have been silent throughout.

And its clear to me that some elements within loyalism have become embedded with republicans and that makes it doubly dangerous for people like me, who are intent on exposing it.

Police are probing the attempted murder.

He added: Im not moving anywhere and I want them to know it and get used to it. The show goes on. And as far as Im concerned, its a case of No Surrender.

A loyalist source who knew Peeples when he was a member of the UVF B Coy based in the Woodvale area says he was disgusted to learn other loyalists were suspected of carrying out the attack.

He said: Anyone who knows Clifford Peeples knows that although he may have parted ways with the UVF, he has never turned his back on the loyalist cause, hes just moved on.

He started a business and loyalists tried to intimidate him into handing over protection money, so he quit. Its well known that he didnt support the Good Friday Agreement, but so what? He has his own views on it.

Unlike the people who threw a petrol bomb at his home, Clifford Peeples travelled to the Ukraine to help the people fight the Russians. How many other did that?

His days with other loyalist groups are well over and he bettered himself by going to university to get at degree in law. At the same time he built up his media contacts, which helps him in the investigative work he does now.

He added: Clifford Peeples is an asset to the loyalist cause, not an enemy.

Detectives investigating the attack have ordered PSNI officers in patrol cars to keep a watching brief on his property.

And appealing to the public for information, they have also carried out a leaflet drop in the Forthriver/Glencairn area.

Detective Sergeant McCallum said: Around 3am on Friday 25 July, police received a report that a petrol bomb had been thrown at a property in the Forthriver Road area.

Officers attended along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, who made the area safe.

It appeared that a petrol bomb had been thrown through the living room window causing damage inside.

One person was present in the property, but fortunately, no serious injuries have been reported at this stage, he said.

And DS McCallum continued: We are treating this attack as arson with intent to endanger life.

Our inquiries are ongoing and I would appeal to anyone who may be able to assist our investigation, particularly anyone with CCTV, or dashcam footage to contact us on 101 quoting reference 141 of 25/07/25.
According to the police report, the homeowner told officers they were approached by an Irish-sounding male around 10.30am on Tuesday morning.

Police in Ontario, Canada, have arrested two men in a suspected door-to-door paving scam after a man with an Irish accent offered to carry out work on a local home in Kingston.

Authorities say they responded to a call at a home in the Sherwood Drive area on Tuesday after a homeowner was offered a contract for $6,000 for driveway repairs if they paid cash.

When police arrived they encountered an individual in a white pickup truck with an Irish accent who then called over his colleague before both left the scene at a high rate of speed.

Stock image

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

The driveway of the home was observed to be in a partial state of repair and construction, police said in statement issued on Wednesday.

Left behind were multiple shovels/racks and two other individuals, later determined to be foreign nationals.

Officers spoke with the two men who were left behind. The Canadian Border and Security Agency was contacted and both were placed under arrest for violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Custody of the individuals was then transferred to CBSA agents.

According to the police report, the homeowner told officers they were approached by an Irish-sounding male around 10.30am on Tuesday morning.

The homeowner was quoted $6,000 for repairs and paving work to the driveway if they paid cash.

The homeowners stated they did not have that amount of cash at the house, at which point the male offered to take them to the bank, police said.

The male then dropped off the other two individuals who immediately began preparing the driveway. No contract was provided to the homeowner and no money was exchanged.

Residents are now being warned to watch out for door-to-door paving scams operating in the Kingston area.

Scammers offer to repave residential driveways at a steeply discounted cash rate, requiring payment up front, police said.

The suspects often state that they are doing work nearby, which is why they are offering the discounted rate, which is too good to be true.

The work will be left incomplete, or the paving is of poor quality. In past cases, large piles of excavated asphalt and earth were left behind, often blocking the roadway.

In May 2024, Ontario police issued a similar warning to residents to beware of the scam after numerous homeowners in the area were targeted by a group of men who spoke with Irish accents.

It was the latest recent warning to be issued by cops in the US and Canada over Irish scammers who travel around conning homeowners out of money and leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

Police forces across Europe and as far away as Australia and New Zealand have also issued numerous similar warnings.
The Alzheimer Societys Day Care has been an absolute lifeline for us.

The family of a Dublin woman living with Alzheimers Disease have told how support services have proven to be a lifeline for them.

Sylvia Mulhall is one of tens of thousands of Irish people living with dementia  and her family says that day services, as well as the nature of their mums disease, has enabled the family to share her care.

Now Sylvias daughter Jenny Tobin is calling on the government to improve funding and support for people living with the disease.

Over 64,000 people in Ireland live with dementia, with that number expected to increase in the years ahead.

On September 21 which is World Alzheimers Day  thousands of Irish people will come together in locations across the country to remember and honour those living with Alzheimers and other forms of dementia  and the families who stand beside them every step of the way.

Alzheimers sufferer Sylvia Mulhall with her husband Shay and daughter Caitriona

Among them will be Sylvias loved ones, who will fundraise for the services that have made such a difference to their lives.

The Memory Walk is another way to bring us all together as a family, to go out to try and raise awareness, says Jenny.

Were lucky as a family that were bonded, and that Mam isnt a wanderer and shes happy and content.

There are other families who have it an awful lot harder and its to raise awareness of how prevalent Alzheimers has become, and its going to become more and more prevalent in years to come.

Still, Jenny feels that more could be done by the State to support people with dementia and their loved ones.

The services that we have now are nowhere near what they should be to look after patients with Alzheimers, she says.

Alzheimers sufferer Sylvia Mulhall with her husband Shay and daughter Caitriona

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

We keep raising awareness and keep trying to raise money for it  they are vital services for the families. Its vitally important to give people supports  they need a rest, a break.

Jenny says that the fact that their mothers Alzheimers has progressed slowly means she is cared for at home by husband Shay, who she married 57 years ago.

The couple are supported by children Jenny, Caitriona and Jimmy as well as other family members.

A day centre that Sylvia attends a few days a week has also made a huge difference.

She lives at home with Dad, and only this last few months now, we have a carer that comes in four mornings a week.

Three days a week, she goes to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland Day Care in Curlew Road, which is amazing.

The staff have been so welcoming and warm. Its like a home from home for us.

They treat my Mam and all the other residents there with such dignity, care, respect, kindness.

Every day she looks forward to going in. And my dad then gets a little bit of a break at home.

They really have been an absolute and utter lifeline to us, mostly for Dad, because hes living there 24/7  myself and my brother and sister are up and down all the time. Its Dad whos living the life of caring for mam, really, and theyre both 81.

Though the disease has been hard for Sylvia and her loved ones, Jenny says the family takes great joy in the fact that their mother, from Chapelizod, Dublin, is content and has fun in her days.

Well hop in the car, and then Ill drive up to Lucan and get her a cone or a Turkish Delight bar of chocolate, and we have a spin around, and we might drive through the Strawberry Beds, and we sing a few songs and go in through Phoenix Park and then home. That hour just settles her then in the evenings.

Shes so funny and she still has that little bit of fun and wit about her.

She doesnt always remember my name, she doesnt always remember Caitrionas name or Jimmy.

When she doesnt remember, we dont get upset about it  its just the Alzheimers. Its not her.

Once she is happy, the four of us are extremely happy.

Memory Walk, says Jenny, can be a bonding experience for families and carers who have a shared experience on the day.

Everybody kind of gets each other. Everybody has empathy for each other. Some of the Alzheimers clients can come along to the walk, and they can do, and everybody has a sense of patience.

Its like a camaraderie, and everybody coming together for one cause and understands each other as a collective group of people together.

Memory Walk honours, remembers, and celebrates the 64,000 people in Ireland living with dementia, along with their families and carers.

It also cherishes the memory of those who are no longer with us.

In 2024, almost 3,500 walkers participated in Memory Walk and raised over 150,000, which helped fund vital services for people with dementia, including daycare, daycare at home, family carer training, social clubs, cafes, and a national helpline.
We have to continue to campaign for other kids, because if we didnt we would be doing Harvey a disservice.

The parents of nine-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt, who died after a short illness earlier this week after waiting years for scoliosis surgery, said they will continue to campaign for healthcare for children with life-threatening conditions.

We are devastated, Harvey was our rock star, and we will continue to campaign for other children in similar situations as Harvey, his father, Stephen Morrison, said.

We have to continue to campaign for other kids, because if we didnt we would be doing Harvey a disservice.

After a while we will go strong again in our campaign. There are so many other children like Harvey and families like ours who need help and support, Mr Morrison said.

Harvey was our Little Rock star, he would burst into a room, he wanted to let everyone know he was in the room.

Anyone who met him said he had these big wide beautiful eyes that would draw you into him, a lot of people said to us that they felt like Harvey was here before, that he was an old soul.

Harvey was battling for so long, we are absolutely devastated, Stephen said.

Harvey Morrison Sherratt.

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

Little Harveys remains will repose at Massey Bros Funeral Home, Clondalkin, Dublin, from 3pm-5pm, Friday, August 1.

Harvey will be remembered at a public cremation service, at Newland's Crematorium Chapel, Newlands Cross, Dublin, (D22 EOCO), at 1pm, Saturday.

Harvey, from Clondalkin, was waiting three years for scoliosis surgery as the curvature on his spine continued to extend to a life-threatening 130 degrees.

The spinal curve grew so serious that it was crushing Harveys ribcage and lungs and putting severe pressure on his heart.

His severe condition was highlighted in February 2024 when his parents, Gillian Sherratt and Mr Morrison, shared a heartbreaking video of their vulnerable son struggling to breathe due to the curve on his spine.

The boys story of perseverance in the face of his worsening condition and delays in his surgery, as well as growing spinal waiting lists for childrens surgery nationally, were all later highlighted in the Dail.

Despite long demanding action over their sons surgery, Ms Sherratt discovered during a routine enquiry last August that, in fact, Harvey had been removed from Childrens Health Irelands active scoliosis surgical waiting list without their knowledge.

While not directly involved in their sons care, orthopaedic surgeon David Moore, emailed Ms Sherratt in response and told her: "I apologise for any misunderstanding that appears to have occurred in respect of Harvey's case."

Mr Moore also explained in the email that Harvey was not a candidate for surgery abroad, but that he was "happy to facilitate Harvey being reviewed by two Irish-based surgeons.

Harvey eventually had his surgery last December, however as his curve had grown to such a significant size, it was impossible to completely correct it.

Professor Damian McCormack, lead consultant surgeon in paediatric orthopaedic surgery at Temple Street Childrens Hospital, performed the surgery reducing some of the pressure on the boys lungs and heart.

Ms Sherratt said at the time that she and Mr Morrison had huge respect for Prof McCormack, and that they were so thankful to Professor Damian McCormack for being the only person that was actually willing to operate on Harvey.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Sherratt said: It is with the heaviest of hearts that myself and Stephen (Morrison) have to announce that our little rockstar Harvey passed away this morning with us by his side, arrangements to follow and it will be open to any and all of you who have supported him throughout his short life.

In a poignant joint tribute to their son, in his obituary notice, they wrote: Words cannot convey the heartbreak we feel in announcing that on 29th July after a very short illness, our little rockstar Harvey passed away in the arms of mum and dad.

He will be dearly missed by anyone who was lucky enough to know himIn his short life Harvey faced more challenges than most, and was the bravest, strongest and most courageous boy.

To know him was to love him, and he definitely left his mark on this world. If love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.

Harveys parents invited friends and the wider public to join us to celebrate Harveys life, and dress in colour at his cremation service, and they asked that mourners make a donation, if desired, to Child Vision In Memory of Harvey, in lieu of flowers.

Harvey Morrison Sherratt is survived by his parents Gillian and Stephen, his sister Lyla and brother Remy, grandparents Ann, Gordon, Christina and Thomas, and his aunts, uncles and cousins.
James Powers funeral wll take place on Monday, August 4 at 11am.

Tributes have been paid to a young motorcyclist who lost his life in a single vehicle accident in County Waterford on Wednesday.

James (Jimmy) Power (26) from Sleveen, Kill died in the single vehicle incident which occurred on the R675 at Ballinahilla near Bonmahon on July 30. It happened at approximately 11.45pm on Wednesday night.

Locals said Jimmy was a lovely quiet man who loved motorbikes.

James Power.

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

One local said: Deepest condolences to you John Breda and family we were deeply saddened to hear of the sad passing of your beloved son Jimmy we are thinking and praying for you all in this very sad time may god give you strength in these very dark days he was such a lovely quiet young man. Rest in peace Jimmy.

James is survived by his parents John and Breda, brothers Nicholas, John and Paddy, sisters Rebecca, Shauna, Ann-Marie, Louise, Olivia and Helen, daughter Aria, extended family and friends.

His remains will be reposing at Thompson's Funeral Home, Barrack Street, Waterford on Saturday from 2pm to 5pm with vigil prayers and rosary at 4pm.

Funeral will arrive at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Kill on Monday August 4 for Mass at 11am followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed Wednesday night's collision to contact them.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 11pm and midnight are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardai.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dungarvan Garda Station on 058 48600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
SAN FRANCISCO, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Apple on Thursday announced financial results for its fiscal 2025 third quarter that ended on June 28, with quarterly revenue of 94 billion U.S. dollars, up 10 percent year over year.

The company posted quarterly diluted earnings per share of 1.57 dollars, up 12 percent year over year. Its net income for the quarter increased to 23.43 billion dollars from 21.45 billion dollars a year ago.

Sales of iPhones rose to 44.58 billion dollars from 39.3 billion dollars a year ago. Its Mac sales increased to 8.05 billion dollars from 7.01 billion dollars a year ago.

The company's services income was 27.42 billion dollars, up from 24.21 billion dollars the previous year.

The sales of wearables, home and accessories products decreased to 7.4 billion dollars from 8.1 billion dollars a year ago.

"Today Apple is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic segment," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

"We are very pleased with our record business performance for the June quarter, which generated EPS (earnings per share) growth of 12 percent," said Kevan Parekh, Apple's CFO.

Apple's board of directors has declared a cash dividend of 0.26 dollars per share of the company's common stock. 
Its understood Robert Kincaid is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in the French capital

A Belfast man who had been missing for over two weeks has been found alive in Paris, his family has confirmed.

Its understood Robert Kincaid is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in the French capital.

The 38-year-old, from the Tullycarnet area, was due to arrive in Dublin on the evening of July 17 but never boarded his flight.

Robert Kincaid

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

The oil rig worker was returning from a stint working at a west African site in Benin and was set to board his connecting flight from Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.

On Friday the family confirmed that Robert had been found by emergency services.

In a statement to Belfast Live, Roberts brother Louis said: Rab has been found by emergency services and is requiring ongoing emergency treatment. While he is not out of the woods yet, we are just glad he is alive.

"As a family, we would ask for privacy in the time ahead as we deal with the situation.

In a post on Facebook, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the news was a massive relief for the family.

"Ive been with the Kincaid family this afternoon, he said.

They are delighted Robert has been found and are incredibly grateful for the public interest and community support.

They would now appreciate privacy as they reunite with their son.

Louis and a family friend flew to Paris on Wednesday to meet with British officials and assist in the search.

Ahead of the trip, he told this newspaper his last known point of contact was a video call with a friend made from a bar in the airport.

He said: I think he was in the airport bar having a chat basically. As far as Im aware, there was nothing bad said, there was nothing suspicious said.

A friend video-called Robert again, although a stranger answered the phone instead.

It looked like [they were in] a tin corrugated roof building. They basically said the phone [battery] was on 0% in broken English, Louis explained.

The second and final call made to Roberts phone was picked up by a woman, but the caller was unable to make out what was said before the line was cut off.

He doesnt have any contacts in France, but he is a very sociable person, he would make friends with anyone, his brother added.
Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born on July 26 having been developed from an embryo that was created in 1994

Lindsey and Tim Pierce, who live in Ohio, "adopted" the embryo from the biological mother

The worlds oldest baby has been born from an embryo that was stored more than 30 years ago.

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born on July 26 having been developed from an embryo that was created in 1994.

Lindsey and Tim Pierce, who live in Ohio, "adopted" the embryo from the biological mother, who had kept it frozen since 1994, according to the MIT Technology Review.

The embryo that was created while the adoptive father was still a toddler was transferred into Lindsey's uterus in November 2024.

Thaddeus who was born at the weekend, also has a biological sister who is now 30, with her own 10-year-old daughter.

Thaddeus Daniel Pierce

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

The adoptive mother Lindsey Pierce Lindsey explained that she and Tim had not set out to break any records but just wanted to have a baby.

She told MIT Technology Review: We had a rough birth but we are both doing well now.

"He is so chill. We are in awe that we have this precious baby.

The baby has a 30-year-old sister. Its like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Thaddeus came about after the biological mother and the adopting parents were linked up by a Christian "embryo adoption" agency.

Nightlight Christian Adoptions took on the embryos and placed them with Lindsey and Tim Pierce.

The embryo was donated by Linda Archerd (62) who told MIT Technology Review that its been pretty surreal that a baby from a decades-old embryo that she created is now a baby.

Lindsey and Tim Pierce, who live in Ohio, "adopted" the embryo from the biological mother

Ms Archcerd had been trying to get pregnant for six years with her husband, when they decided to try and undergo the relatively new IVF treatment at the time.

In May 1994, they created four embryos and transferred one to her uterus  which became a healthy baby girl, the 30-year-old who has a daughter of her own.

While Linda had hoped to have another baby, she and her husband ended up divorcing.

Linda won custody of the remaining embryos and paid to keep them in storage.

I always thought it was the right thing to do, she said.

Linda decided that while she didn't want to discard the embryos, or donate them to research, she also didn't want to donate them to a family anonymously, either.

She then learned about embryo adoption Nightlight Christian Adoptions, which allowed Linda to choose the family she donated them to.

Meanwhile, Lindsey and Tim had been trying to have a baby for several years and had seen many doctors in their fertility journey.

The couple ended up signing up for the same fertility programme as Linda, called Snowflakes where they were matched with Linda.

Lindsey later underwent the procedure at the Rejoice Fertility IVF clinic in Tennessee.

The record was previously held by Rachel and Philip Ridgeway, who had twins from 30-year-old embryos back in 2022, with Rejoice Fertility IVF Clinics John Gordon.

Gordon who also treated the Pierces, said the Ridgeways are such a lovely couple whose twins are growing like weeds.
The Assassination of Michael D Higgins is a film title that got cinema goers attention, and producer and actor Natalie Britton hopes the president likes it

Natalie Britton isnt sure if Irelands outgoing president has seen her new film yet.

But, with a head-turning name like The Assassination of Michael D Higgins, the 84 year-old head of state is, out of curiosity, almost certain to have it on his watchlist.

We did contact the Aras and invited him to the screening, the actor and producer tells Magazine+.

Unfortunately, he had other commitments, but sent back a lovely letter, thanking us.

The short film, written by Dave Minogue and John Doran, tells the story of a psychiatric patient who believes he is president and the nurses aid who goes along with the premise on his last day on the job, and premiered at the recent Galway Film Fleadh.

natalie britton

And Natalie - who plays boss woman Mrs Tiernan in the production by Julie Ryans MK1 Studios - agrees the provocative title may have been at least partly responsible for putting bums on seats.

Obviously, theres tons of shorts that play down there, but everybody was talking about it or had heard about it, which is a lovely feeling, says the Dublin woman of the rapturous first reaction to the film.

It is an eye-catching name that stops you in your tracks, but theres a pressure there; if you give yourself a title like that, then you have to deliver.

As a producer, you never know how something is going to play in front of an audience until youre in the room, [but] it landed so well in Galway.

Theres a lot of different things going on in this film, she adds, citing the theme of that push and pull between the institutionalism of old Ireland and the hope of new Ireland.

But I'm very proud of the journey that we take people on in that 10 minutes.

Multi-talented Natalie returned to her home city three and a half years ago after more than a decade living and working in Los Angeles.

Natalie Britton as Jane Kerrigan in Maxine

And she explains how she and actor husband Robert Mitchell, a New Yorker, with whom she has two young children, found an entirely different media landscape to the Ireland she left at 22.

Absolutely, its buzzier, I mean theres so many things shooting in Ireland now, says the actor, who played investigative journalist Jane Kerrigan in the controversial Channel 5 mini-series Maxine, about Maxine Carrs involvement in the 2002 Soham murders of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Weve always had the tax breaks, so theres always been productions who have come here, but now I think we have the talent, especially behind the camera  and were able to supply all these productions that are coming in here.

So I do think it's probably the busiest it's ever been in the Irish industry.

It's interesting, because I left Ireland when I was 22 and I went to London, and I studied in drama school there, and did that whole journey, because there wasn't, unfortunately, the same kind of resources that there are now for actors.

Then from there, I went to LA, so I actually never worked in Ireland as an actor or producer up until the past three years.

Natalie Britton

News in 90 Seconds, Friday August 1

Starting afresh at a later stage in life, continues the founder of Queens Gambit Films, has been a positive challenge for the creative couple, who have a seven year-old son and a three year-old daughter.

It wasnt a decision that we made to move back; we came back for a visit during Covid, when everybodys world was upside down, one thing led to another, and we just ended up staying.

We wanted to be around family and raise our kids here and to be able to give them that lifestyle that isnt there in LA.

For the last couple of years, Ive been going back and forth [between Dublin and LA], which is lovely, and its actually what a lot of people who have moved out of LA are doing now.

It gives you that opportunity to dip back in and see your friends and go grab that slice of pizza that you like. You get a top up of LA, but then you get to come home.

As a consequence, her diverse CV includes stints in some of the biggest shows on American television, including Curb Your Enthusiasm and NCIS, while closer to home, other half Robert has appeared in Irish dramas such as Clean Sweep and Conversations with Friends.

Whenever a nice gig comes in, the first thing is, Gosh, Im so grateful, and then its probably a phone call to my mum, saying, You can relax, Ive got a job, laughs Natalie.

Those big studios like HBO and Sony and NBC are machines, and youre a very small cog in the wheel of everything.

So I suppose, initially, you just feel very lucky to have been given a chance to do your thing, and get to play with wonderful seasoned actors.

Getting a chance to do that [is] what dreams are made of.

Of course, as an actor, youre only as good as your last gig, she continues. It took me maybe three years to get my first American TV credit, and then youve got to keep building.

Its a hard old slog, and the older you get  its harder.

When [youre younger] you can survive on a bowl of noodles and bounce around and couch surf. But then you have kids, who need a bit of stability, so you do have to make different choices  and I see why people give up.

Every year that we can stay in this industry and we can keep making things is a win for me.

Pot Noodle dinners, for now at least, are a distant memory for the in-demand pair, with Natalie having just wrapped on a new Channel 5 show that will air here on Virgin Media Television, and Robert set to appear in upcoming John Carney comedy, Power Ballad, starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas.

NBCs reboot of Quantum Leap, starring the Dubliner as Irish character Holly Carter, also drops on Netflix this month.

Meanwhile, shes hoping to have found at least one new fan in Miggeldy, as her latest short continues on the film festival circuit across the country.

We sent the link over, so we do hope he watches it because its a homage to him, really, she explains. All the hope and all the goodness in the film comes from our idea of the type of person that we want to see more of in Ireland.

You'd be hard pressed to find an Irish person who didn't love Michael D Higgins - all of us in the team are just kind of obsessed with him, if it's not obvious already!

I suppose he's a rare icon, isn't he? And you just don't want to take that for granted because he is a reminder that leadership can be humane - and I think now more than ever we all need that as an example.
Authorities have more than 42 active investigations under way into suspected trafficking offences.

Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello said the Government is not sitting on its laurels about the extent of the cross-border and domestic issue.

RNZ reported in March trafficking investigations had increased by almost 4000%, but no one had been prosecuted since 2018.

The figures show there were only six investigations from 2018 to 2020, and 236 in the two years up to last October.

The current 42 active investigations had elements of trafficking, said Costello, who took over responsibility for work against organised crime, including trafficking, earlier this year.

She said people were becoming desensitised to exploitation, trafficking and slavery  and were conflating it with issues such as being paid under the table or not getting holiday pay.

The victimisation was often unseen and the enormity of trafficking was often not understood, she said. The last trafficking case to be prosecuted was in 2020, when Hastings-based Joseph Auga Matamata was jailed for 11 years after bringing 13 Samoans to New Zealand and exploiting them over 25 years.

An unknown number of children have been brought from overseas and been sexually or financially exploited, or used as household slaves.

Costello said she is hopeful that fixes to international adoptions, where children have been exploited after being brought into the country without checks, will happen before the end of this parliamentary term.

But she remains unconvinced about how effective legislation would be in forcing companies to check their supply chains for modern slavery, a recommendation from the Ministerial Advisory Group on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime.

We have heard that it is highly likely that serious criminal exploitation, such as people trafficking, forced labour and sexual exploitation, is underreported and growing within New Zealand, said the group in its latest report. There are almost certainly exploited migrants in our horticulture, construction, beauty services and hospitality sectors.



Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello. Photo / RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Trafficking action

It recommended high-risk industries to actively identify, prevent, mitigate and account for the integrity of their supply chains, and making them subject to legal liability and regulatory enforcement similar to workplace health and safety.

Organised crime is the theme of todays World Day Against Trafficking in Persons and INZ said criminal networks were often behind trafficking.

Frontline staff, particularly at the border, are trained to help them recognise indicators of trafficking in persons. We also support the training of law enforcement officials to recognise suspected trafficking in the community, INZ said.

When a report is made, we assess the information provided. Victims of trafficking are eligible for access to support services from the government including from the Ministry of Social Development, the health sector, and INZ.

It points out warning signs that a person may need help, including migrants living at their place of work, locks on the outside of doors, people who have rehearsed statements and stories, or do not have money or ID, which might suggest their passport is being withheld.

The latest ministerial advisory group report recommends clarifying the mandates between MBIE and Police for taking the lead on human trafficking offences to improve effectiveness, and called for MBIE to update its systems and processes.

In September 2018, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and US jointly launched the Principles to Guide Government Action to Combat Human Trafficking in Global Supply Chains, including in private sector supply chains and government procurement practices.

The five-year New Zealand plan of action against forced labour, people trafficking and slavery expires this year. Out of its annual implementation reports, only two were published, in 2021 and 2022.

One of the measures was visas for certified victims to work and/or stay in New Zealand. Thirteen Victims of People Trafficking residence (and 33 temporary work) visas were approved in 2020/21, three the year after but none since.

RNZ
Katikati College students who have studied in the schools GrowHub facility shared their horticulture learning experience with the Education Minister last Friday.

Senior students spoke face-to-face with Erica Stanford while showing her around the horticultural hub, which opened in May 2023.

The afternoon began with a powhiri by the colleges kapa haka group, to welcome the minister and Coromandel MP Scott Simpson to the facility and school.

Stanford met Katikati College principal Louise Buckley and her leadership team then chatted to students about the hub and its impact so far.

Its great to be at Katikati College and to see the horticulture centre, the minister told Katikati News.

Actually, the most impressive thing is how passionate the kids are about what theyre learning and how it seems to have influenced what they want to do in the future, and thats what were here to do, right? Inspire kids and make them confident in their learning and give them future pathways.

A testament

Stanford said it was also exciting to see all the amazing equipment that they have in this amazing new building  so its a testament to the school.



Education Minister Erica Stanford and Coromandel MP Scott Simpson were shown equipment and projects inside GrowHub facility by senior student Millie Lochore Photo / Merle Cave

GrowHub was the brainchild of now-retired Katikati Innovative Horticulture project manager Hilary Johnson. She designed a flexible, cross-curricular and future-focused horticulture programme where students could personalise their learning by picking their own subjects.

She then realised there were people who didnt have access to this sort of training and education  and something was needed for the whole community.

The result was Katikati Innovative Horticulture Trust  which fundraised to build the horticulture block on the college grounds to educate school students and local youth alike.

The trust worked heavily with local horticultural industry and businesses to support the concept and fundraise for the venues creation.

The minister said it was excellent that local industry and businesses played a part in creating GrowHub.

We need more of that, frankly, all around the country when were looking at vocational pathways; to make sure weve got businesses involved and setting what those standards are, what the knowledge and the skills are that are needed to work in their industry. That really has to be driving what were teaching at school. This is an excellent example of that.

Proud

Buckley said hosting the Minister of Education at GrowHub makes me really proud of what weve achieved.

And thats the work of so many key people, and also reflected the support that weve had from local companies and local industries and just the community to put together this amazing facility with amazing opportunities for the young people of Katikati  so its great for it to be recognised at that national level.



Katikati College senior students talk to Education Minister Erica Stanford outside GrowHub on July 25. Photo / Merle Cave

She said much work was done for GrowHub to stand there today.

You cant talk about GrowHub without talking about Hilary Johnson, and the amazing amount of work she did to put the project at the forefront of peoples thinking and to get them behind to realise what an amazing opportunity it was for our school and our community.

Really, I have tautoko the work she did over a seven-year period.

This term, 72 senior horticulture students, from Years 11-13, utilise the GrowHub facility led by teacher-in-charge Kate Sutherland.

Pathway for all

Sutherland said it didnt matter what a students aspirations or passions were because GrowHub offered everyone a pathway to achievement  whether it be tertiary education, trade skills or employability via horticulture knowledge.

Thats where were really lucky because we do have such great external support  so we get students out to local businesses, we get speakers to come in. From this they get a closer connection to industry.

Years 11-12 and 13  Levels 1, 2 and 3  innovative horticulture students have the chance to choose what they study, just like Johnson designed, said Sutherland.

For Level 1 students, it gets them into the vein of what we do here. Its a big change for them because the learning structure is self-led, and its delivered through an online portal  so the teaching resources are all there from the start. They work in a digital space as far as their Achievement Standards go.

Sutherland said Level 2 is a big course with lots to choose from for Achievement Standards and Unit Standards.

Unit Standards are achieved using workbooks supplied by the Horticulture & Agriculture Teachers Association, Sutherland said.

For those, students do things like growing from seed, monitoring germination and its lots of note-taking, photo-taking etc. By the time students get to Level 3, they usually have to decide between Unit Standards, Horticultural Standards or Agribusiness Standards.

A smorgasbord

Buckley said students have a real smorgasbord of topics to choose from, which they can follow down whatever pathway they enjoy.

Theres something for everyone.

Sutherland said Johnson was amazing in her ability to source so much quality equipment for GrowHub.

You cant underestimate having that  its brilliant what the student have access to  were very lucky.
A teacher was injured when a student allegedly lashed out after being asked to put their phone away at Taurangas Otumoetai College.

Police received a report of a serious assault at the school on Windsor Rd about 10.15am on Tuesday.

One person received injuries and was transported to a nearby medical centre to be assessed, police said.

Officers were speaking to one person about the matter, and inquiries were continuing.

Otumoetai College principal Russell Gordon said the school was investigating an incident involving a student and a teacher.

This incident involved a single student who was asked to put their phone away, he said, adding that the phone was not confiscated.

The incident resulted in the teacher being taken to Accident and HealthCare on 2nd Ave as a precaution, before being sent home to recuperate.

We have involved the police, and they are conducting their inquiries, Gordon said.

All college procedures and policies were followed swiftly and effectively by our staff immediately after the incident.

The college had a zero-tolerance policy for antisocial or violent behaviour.

As principal, I fully support the boards unwavering stance on this. We are committed to fostering a safe and respectful environment, and any behaviour compromising this will be met with serious consequences.

He said the school adhered to the nationwide ban on phone use in schools, unless the teacher uses their discretion to allow it for educational purposes.

Students who witnessed the event had been offered counselling services, and their families were contacted immediately.

We are diligently working to ensure all appropriate actions are taken in line with our policies and legal requirements.

He declined to provide further details while the school investigated the incident.
Almudena Nogues Malaga Friday, 1 August 2025, 08:08 Share

There is another change on its way to the weather in Spain. This time, thunderstorms are arriving. The culprit? A weather system which will cross the country and which, as experts warn, could even develop a small high pressure depression in its midst. "The weather models anticipate locally strong storms in several regions, with associated adverse phenomena", explained the specialised portal Meteored. This episode will also leave its mark on Andalucia. At the moment, the state meteorological agency (Aemet) has activated a yellow warning for storms in Granada and Jaen provinces. It will affect the areas of Guadix, Baza, Cazorla and Segura from 2pm.

"Conditions will be favourable for the development of convective clouds, especially from midday onwards. Several areas of the interior and eastern half of the Spanish mainland will be under the divergence sector at altitude of the cold lift, the most unstable sector of the same. To this we will have to add the intense heat in low layers, the convergence of surface winds and the extra energy provided by a warm Mediterranean", explained Samuel Biener, researcher and disseminator of Climatology and editor of Meteored. And he warned: "One of the unstable areas will be the area around the Sierra de Segura and Cazorla (Jaen) and the Guadix-Baza plateau, where storm cells will develop and move from southwest to northeast".

For this Friday, Aemet forecasts "partly cloudy or clear skies in the region, with showers and occasional thunderstorms in the eastern interior". The wind will blow from the Levante, with light to moderate gusts on the Mediterranean coast and Cadiz, and more intense on the Almeria coast and the Strait of Gibraltar area.

Both the European weather model and the European Severe Storms Laboratory (ESSL) warn of a moderate to high risk of hail of 2cm or more in the north-east of Andalucia, the interior of the Valencia region, the Cuenca mountains, Teruel, Albacete, the north-east of the Andalucia region and the interior parts of Murcia.
Local Police and Firefighters of Almunecar save the life of a 91 year old woman who had been lying on the ground for days.

C. L. Friday, 1 August 2025, 10:31 Share

Local Police and the fire brigade in Almunecar on Granada province's Costa Tropical saved the life of a 91-year-old woman who had been lying on the floor of her home on Calle Tetuan, next to the town's post office.

The emergency services received a call from a nephew who lives in Madrid, who was concerned after his aunt had failed to answer the phone or return his calls for several days. When Local Police officers went to the address they could hear the woman's faint voice, but she was unable to open the door or move, so, after requesting support from the local fire brigade, they were able to access house via a ladder from the balcony.

Once inside, they found the woman lying on the floor where she had been for several days, without food or drink, dehydrated and unable to move on her own. She was quickly attended to by the medical services and taken by ambulance to the Santa Ana de Motril regional hospital.

Almunecar's councillor for public safety, M Carmen Martin Orce expressed her gratitude to the Local Police and the fire brigade "for their quick and efficient intervention, which was decisive in saving the life of this resident".

Martin Orce added that "cases like this demonstrate the importance of having well-coordinated and well-trained security and emergency forces, and also of maintaining neighbourhood vigilance, especially when it comes to elderly people living alone".
SUR in English Gibraltar Friday, 1 August 2025, 09:38 Share

Gibraltar's Fire Rescue and Service (GFRS) this week confirmed their investment into aerial ladder platforms for their fire engines. This addition to the emergency services is a versatile appliance which will improve responses to a wide range of emergency scenarios - including fires in tall, complex buildings, rescues from heights and defensive firefighting methods, among others.

This development of the fire brigade follows a competitive tender process, comprehensive research and onsite tests. The 1.3-million-pound investment demonstrates Gibraltar's commitment to development of the service for its growing population.

Chief fire officer, Colin Ramirez, said "With Gibraltars evident growth comes the need to adapt as an emergency service that has an undeniable responsibility to safeguard our community. The GFRS has been working closely with HMGoG to make this significant investment in our response capabilities to ensure that we obtain an asset that adapts and is very specific to our capabilities, to Gibraltars demographics, and that will improve how we approach incidents of a more complex nature. The ultimate beneficiary of this acquisition is of course our community, our friends, our relatives, and let us not forget our fire fighters, who continue to seek ways to improve the service that they provide to safeguard Gibraltar and its people."

The Minister with responsibilities for the fire service, the Hon Leslie Bruzon said As mentioned by me in Parliament and as per my budget speech, the acquisition of this state-of-the-art Aerial Ladder Platform is a testament to the Gibraltar Fire and Rescue Services forward-thinking approach and dedication to public safety. By investing in modern, specialised equipment, the GFRS is not only enhancing its operational capability but also ensuring that its firefighters have the tools necessary to work safely and effectively in challenging and high-risk situations. This development highlights the collaborative effort between the GFRS and HM Government of Gibraltar in prioritising community safety and resilience. Ultimately, this investment will help safeguard lives, property, and infrastructure while supporting the long-term growth and sustainability of Gibraltar.

The aerial ladder platforms have now been commissioned and are expected to be implemented into the fire service by the end of 2026.
SUR in English Gibraltar Friday, 1 August 2025, 09:37 Share

Francis Avellano was rewarded for his dedicated service as a member of the assisted travel team at Gibraltar International Airport. Minister for equality, employment, culture and tourism, Christian Santos, formally recognised Francis' hard work on 23 July.

Since joining the team in 2018, Francis has received many commendations from passengers reflecting his warmth, reliability and willingness to go the extra mile to help customers.

This success story is not just a personal one - it's also an example of the value of the Supported Employment Programme. The programme has placed over 100 individuals in employment across Gibraltar and proves that the right support can make a world of difference. Francis has hidden disabilities and the recognition of his work proves that individuals of all abilities can thrive in meaningful roles.

Airport Manager, Mr. Terence Lopez, said: "Francis is an important member of our very busy Assisted Travel Team, who has recently received a whole series of commendations from passengers directly related to the service he provides. He is clearly a natural at what he does, has a permanent smile on his face, and is always eager to help. Hes also known to show his initiative within the constraints of his job. Gibraltar Airport is a community airport, and its only right that we reflect the diversity in our community in our workforce. Francis is the perfect example of how someone with hidden disabilities can carry out an important role and excel at it when given the right opportunity. He has achieved more than expected and has become a bit of an ambassador through his efforts. It is only right and correct that he be recognised for this."

Minister Christian Santos GMD MP, said: "On behalf of the Ministry of employment, as well as the Supported Employment Programme, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Francis. He is a true tourism ambassador, whose warmth, reliability and dedication represent the very best of Gibraltar to all who pass through our airport.

"His success highlights the critical importance of the Supported Employment Programme in empowering candidates and promoting inclusive workforce opportunities. We celebrate Francis Avellanos achievements and remain committed to fostering a supportive environment where all individuals can thrive and contribute meaningfully to our community."
U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes.

"I was just informed that our Country's 'Jobs Numbers' are being produced by a Biden Appointee, Dr. Erika McEntarfer, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, who faked the Jobs Numbers before the Election to try and boost Kamala (Harris)'s chances of Victory," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without providing any evidence.

"We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY ... Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes," Trump said.

Trump's announcement came just a few hours after the BLS released the July jobs report, which showed just 73,000 nonfarm jobs added -- far below forecasts -- and downward revisions of over 250,000 jobs for May and June combined.

In July 2023, then U.S. President Joe Biden selected McEntarfer for the role, and the Senate confirmed her in January 2024 with strong bipartisan backing.

"This is a political firing, pure and simple. No justification in terms of performance or skills," Gary Hufbauer, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former Treasury Department official, told Xinhua.

"Going forward, it's likely that the BLS staff will prevent large-scale interference with data collection and presentation. However, Trump's appointee may be able to color statements in a way favorable to Trump," said Hufbauer. 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

U.S. President Donald Trump waves before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak to the press at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to speak to the press at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Aug. 1, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday announced that he has ordered the firing of Erika McEntarfer, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), accusing her of manipulating data for political purposes. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)
SUR in English Gibraltar Friday, 1 August 2025, 09:40 Share

Gibraltar's government has extended their deadline to reply to questions about the UK-EU treaty from the original 25 July to 1 September. The recent extension follows over 1,000 submissions of questions as well as ongoing treaty discussions with the EU (since 4 July).

The government is committed to addressing residents' concerns meaningfully and, throughout the next few weeks, will reply to all emails regarding the treaty. Anyone with questions are now estimated to have their response by 1 September.

Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: "Im grateful to all those who have taken the time to put their questions to us in this proper format and Im sorry that we have not been able to get back to you in the time that we would have liked to. However, I think its important that everyone who has written to us receives a meaningful reply and thats why I want to make sure that we take the extra time that we need to do so.

"The work on finalising negotiation of the treaty text is ongoing and I am very happy to be able to report that the past few weeks have seen a lot of activity in this respect, with a lot of text being circulated and considered in a very positive and constructive spirit which bodes well for the timing of the text being published sooner rather than later.

"All of this has contributed to not being able to have the bandwidth to answer the over one thousand questions I am advised have been received and the publication of an FAQ factsheet or booklet based on these."
Jennie Rhodes Malaga Friday, 1 August 2025, 11:23 Share

Calle Albert Einstein is, unsurprisingly, near the University of Malaga's faculty of science. The scientist spent two weeks in Spain in February and March 1923, giving lectures in Barcelona, Zaragoza and Madrid, where he was given an honorary doctorate. He turned down invitations from Bilbao and Valencia due to a lack of time.

According to the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana, which marked the centenary of his visit in 2023, "His visit served to make [the theory of] relativity fashionable despite the fact that few people understood what it was all about."

Zoom Einstein receiving his doctorate. BNE

Reporting on the visit at the time, journalist Julio Camba described a lecture he attended in Madrid for El Sol newspaper, "Undoubtedly we all admired him very much, but if anyone asks us why we admired him, it will put us in rather serious trouble." There was a general lack of understanding although people were fascinated by his personality and El Sol illustrator Luis Bagaria came up with a series of cartoons. One of the most famous is a boy asking his father:

-Tell me Dad, is there anyone wiser than Einstein?

- Yes, son.

-Who?

-He who understands him.

There is a connection with Andalucia and indeed Malaga as Einstein met Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) who grew up in Jaen and was educated at the Gaona school and later at the Colegio San Estanislao de Kostka in Malaga.

Ortega y Gasset spoke German and accompanied the scientist and his wife on a trip to Toledo. In his diary Einstein wrote that the city was like a fairy tale and that he had spent one of the most beautiful days of his life there.

Professor Thomas F. Glick's book Einstein in Spain: Relativity and the Recovery of Science (1988) focuses on the national discussion provoked by Einstein's trip to Spain.

Glick argues that Einstein's visit stimulated a debate on the nature and social value of science in a country that was waking up to the role of science in the process of modernisation.
Tony Bryant Mijas Friday, 1 August 2025, 11:22 Share

The Costa del Sol has long been an escape for foreign artists looking for a quiet haven in which to focus on their work, and none so much as Swedish surrealist and abstract painter Henrik Diamant. Born in Sweden in 1964, Diamant arrived on the Costa del Sol in 2016, following a divorce, and after closing his PR agency in Stockholm. He immediately fell in love with the area, finding a house in the Mijas mountains where he could concentrate on his painting. He found the light and lifestyle "sparked his imagination" more than the "cold and darkness" of Stockholm, which he says is like "living in a fridge with no light".

Diamant began painting as a child and his work is inspired by the structured forms of Swiss-French architectural painter Le Corbusier, and the symbolic style of Spanish surrealist painter and sculptor Joan Miro.

"I can use egg tempera on top of acrylic, gesso and occasionally mixed media to build texture and depth. I use earth tones and colour schemes from the 15th and 17th centuries. That gives the work depth - even when it's abstract," the 61-year-old artist tells SUR in English.

Diamant was surrounded by art in his youth, as his grandfather collected modern art. He was captivated by Italian painter Modigliani at the age of 16, after he saw one of his portraits at the Louvre; and later, by Miro, who "really got under my skin". He was stimulated by Miro's Retrato 2, which he described as "sheer joy to look at": one of his works that was inspired by this painting is now in a private collection in Los Angeles, a work the artist said is "not Miro, but maybe it belongs to that school of playful abstraction".

"I've been drawing and painting since I was a kid, growing up in a house full of art because my dad and granddad collected it. My grandfather once said, 'Miro can't draw a line wrong.' I didn't get it then, but I do now," he explains.

Dreamlike imagery

Diamant, whose paintings echo the surrealist and abstract approaches of dreamlike imagery and spontaneous forms, was also captivated by Picasso, who he says was "a genius from another era".

"I was inspired by Picasso, but in a different way. If you try to paint something Picassiano, he always wins. Over everyone. He's untouchable. Miro gives you more space to explore without being crushed by genius," he says.

Self-taught artist

However, the self-taught artist is somewhat diffident about his own work, even though he has had several exhibitions in Sweden and also here on the Costa del Sol, like the current collection that is on show at the Banana Kitchen in the Centro Idea shopping centre in Mijas.

"I'm not sure if I can call myself an artist. I wouldn't call myself a musician just because I can play Twinkle Twinkle with one finger. Same with painting. Just putting something on canvas doesn't make it art. But when a painting gives me some of the joy I feel from a great Miro, then I know I'm on the right track," he explains.

"If you paint a lot, you sometimes hit something great, but I don't always know when to stop. I paint over finished pieces - even after signing them"

The artist says that he "enjoys nothing more than painting in his studio in Mijas", a space where other artists and art lovers can visit to view and discuss his work, and art in general. His works incorporate layers, muted and complementary colours, blending abstract and figurative elements, employing traditional materials and techniques, although he claims to never know when a work is actually finished.

"If you paint a lot, you sometimes hit something great, but I don't always know when to stop. I paint over finished pieces - even after signing them. Sometimes I keep a head or some shapes and repaint everything else. Under many of my paintings there's another one hiding," he explains.

Although he paints daily, Diamant says that he often finds himself in a creative rut, or an 'art block'.

"You can stare at a canvas for hours. Then at midnight, there it is, and you continue. A lot of it is just finding your way back into the painting. You learn when to stop, when to start again," he concludes.
Antonio J. Guerrero Antequera Friday, 1 August 2025, 11:34 Share

Who would have thought that a book by Jose Antonio Munoz Rojas (1909-2009) would be translated into English 75 years after he wrote it? Andrew Dempsey and Alvaro Garcia have done just that. They aimed to pay tribute to Munoz Rojas - winner of the National Poetry Prize - and bring his thoughts to the English-speaking market in their translation of Las Cosas del Campo.

With the title The Life of the Fields, the English translation was launched recently in Antequera. Belen Molina Huete, lecturer at the University of Malaga, was in charge of presenting the event to cover the details of this translation - which has taken ten years to complete.

The Book Title: The Life of the Fields.

Author: Jose Antonio Munoz Rojas.

Translation: Alvaro Garcia and Andrew Dempsey.

Publisher: Shearsman Books. 2024, 132 pages, price: 19.24 euros

Within the simplicity of the language used by Munoz Rojas, there is a lexical, compositional and, above all, cultural transmission that is difficult to find in today's English dictionary.

The book's translation aims to "give an international voice" to a writer who "enriched Spanish poetry with English influence"

Dempsey shared how he first came to Antequera in 2000 to buy the author's book. He confessed that on his first reading, he understood little about the area, but was fascinated by the drawings and the way the men and women depicted life in the countryside. Years later, in 2015, he visited the town again, specifically the Caseria del Conde, to visit one of the poet's sons, and it was through him that the invisible chain of destiny linked this Englishman with Munoz Rojas.

Author's confessor

Father Dominic Milroy had been the author's confessor and at the same time a teacher of English. He sent him his first translation of the work, which, according to Dempsey, arrived later with his reply, "a devastating letter" from the priest.

The project was put on hold until Dempsey met Gracia, the poet's daughter, and she took him to Alvaro Garcia, who he said "saved my translation". They met between London, Marbella and Ronda, to finalise this translation "in dialogue, as the poet would have liked". He stressed the importance of this book, which is "absolutely universal, in the sense of time, in the sense of spaces and in the sense of languages". Munoz Rojas highlighted the book as an "experience of Spain, of a specific period, which he reflected with subtlety, with a love of language, of words, of the countryside and of people".

'It has not been easy'

Alvaro Garcia shared that he did this work "out of enthusiasm and fervour for one of the great Spanish poets", and it has not been easy because "it is an apparently simple, apparently colloquial poetry that comes from the lyric that he likes, English. It's conversational in appearance and, of course, there is a complexity in the background, a weft of subtleties so that it does not fall into the picturesque or the merely impressionistic, but embeds itself into the current of life and the way in which the countryside and the people of the countryside express themselves".

The aim of this project was "to give an international voice to a poet who, by nature, already had it; so universal, very open to English culture, he was a reader at Cambridge and was the first translator of Eliot, who he met in person. Years later, as someone who enriched Spanish poetry with English influence, it is nice that he has returned and that, in some way, he remains in the sphere he loved so much".
Jose Carlos Garcia Benalmadena Friday, 1 August 2025, 11:42 Share

The Vistamar is a "squatted" and "clandestine" hotel. The first term is the one that would be used by anyone who knows that whoever operates the establishment has never had a contract allowing them to do so and, furthermore, does not pay rent. The second description is defined by the Andalusian tourism law, which applies when services are provided without meeting legal requirements - as the establishment continues to do today. The regulations require any business in the tourism sector (not only hotels) to be registered in the Andalusian tourism register (RTA) and since 3 December 2024, the hotel, which currently operates under the name Vivemar, is officially a "clandestine" establishment.

On that date, the ministry of tourism of the Andalusian regional government cancelled the hotel's registration, according to a communication sent by the territorial delegation in Malaga of this department to Benalmadena town hall, to which SUR has had access. The cancellation is the resolution of a file initiated on 18 July 2024 following the complaint filed by the property owner, the company Promociones Los Nadales. The company was tired of the town hall continuing to allow the hotel to be open after the high court of justice of Andalucia (TSJA) - in December 2022 - had declared that it was what we call 'squatting': a company that exploits a hotel without being its owner, without having a contract that allows it to do so and not paying rent. For August, the price of a room in the main online search engine starts at 166 euros without breakfast.

The council became aware of the deregistration on 5 February, which is when ministry of tourism sent the requested communication. In reality, this wasnt necessary, as the regional government provides a public search engine granting access to the RTA, as they point out in the letter itself. With the information from the regional ministry in hand, the town hall did not sign the closure decree until 6 May, three months later, and did not execute it until 17 June, which is when the hotel was sealed and the case was reported in the national press. Before that, on 9 June, the council notified the company that operated the hotel of "the compulsory execution of the activity" and gave it until that day to do so, according to the council.

Two court orders and an invalid act

Just two days after the sealing, on 19 June, a judge endorsed the closure by denying in an order the precautionary measures requested by the operating company. In spite of this, the council proceeded to lift the seal "when it became aware that a new company had presented a declaration of responsibility for the start of the activity". The company, Vive resort management, which had not even appealed the closure decree, provided a contract dated October 2024 using the same formula that the courts had declared illegal in the first instance: the transfer of a lease agreement. This method has consistently been used to usurp control of the hotel from its rightful owners, involving a series of successive companies (after the original leasing company stopped paying rent and eventually went into bankruptcy administration).

The council says that the seal was "instrumental" and that it was lifted "to facilitate the passage of people"

When questioned by SUR, the town hall now says that it has not given validity to the declaration of responsibility that allowed the hotel to be unsealed and that it has communicated this to the company (in both cases, without specifying dates), to the extent that the closure decree of 6 May is still "in force". The local administration of Benalmadena goes so far as to assure that the sealing was merely "instrumental" in nature and that the lifting was done "to facilitate the passage of people while the new documentation was being analysed".

Even so, the council assures that it is taking "the appropriate steps" to execute it, without specifying what it needs to do to comply with its legal obligation to ensure the effectiveness of its own acts three months after having issued them, especially when the council has known for just over a month - based on information provided by the owners - that the TSJA ruling has become final by virtue of a supreme court ruling. Meanwhile, eight months after the ministry of tourism cancelled the inscription in the register and almost six months after the town hall was informed, the "squatted" and "clandestine" hotel continues to operate normally. The owners continue to pay around 100,000 euros a year in taxes to the town hall for the hotel, while they are still waiting for it to enforce the closure.
Tony Bryant Fuengirola Friday, 1 August 2025, 11:50 Share

Dutch television company NPO 2 was on the Costa del Sol last week to film an episode of Metropolis, a programme that has been broadcast since 2008. Presented by Dutch journalist Stef Biemans, who is based in Seville, the programme focuses on some of the charities that support foreign senior citizens who find themselves in difficult situations. The channel, which involved the assistance of a SUR in English correspondent, also interviewed several people who are suffering from financial difficulties that need the support of NGOs like Collective Calling and Age Concern, and those who rely on the services of local social kitchens and food banks.

One of the charities they visited was Adintre, the social kitchen in Fuengirola run by Joyce Gyimah Amponsah, who received an Honorary BEM (British Empire Medal) for her services to charity on the Costa del Sol last year. Biemans spent a morning at the facility, which has been providing a daily dining room and shower service to homeless people for 20 years.

The presenter told this newspaper that he decided to make the programme because we "usually only hear about the good side of life on the Costa del Sol".

"We decided to focus on foreigners who live on the Costa del Sol who are finding themselves in difficult situations caused by unforeseen circumstances. We mainly concentrated on Fuengirola, as the problem seems to be bigger in this area. We filmed at Adintre, and Joyce was extremely helpful. She is someone who is very dedicated to helping those less fortunate than most," he said.

The programme will be aired on NPO 2 later this year, and it can also be viewed online almost immediately after the broadcast.

Metropolis is a multimedia project in which local correspondents from around the world provide insights into the lives and lifestyles of foreign residents. At the core of the programme is a network of more than 50 correspondents worldwide. The human-interest programme received the De Tegel Dutch press award , the country's top journalism prize, in the news section in 2010.
Ignacio Lillo Malaga Friday, 1 August 2025, 10:42 Share

It seems like common sense, but until now it was not possible for a taxi driver to continue working in the event that their car needed a serious repair. The only other car they could potentially use was that of another self-employed driver that would agree to share for some time.

However, this inconvenience has now been eradicated, at least in the city of Malaga, where Aumat (the association of self-employed taxi drivers), the city council and the regional government have worked hard to provide 15 replacement cars that can be hired in the event of a breakdown or an accident.

Aumat president Miguel Angel Martin announced that this initiative will be the saving tool for taxi drivers in Malaga. The replacement taxis (Toyota hybrid) are offered by Rentax By 5210. In addition to the 15 vehicles in the city, there are several in other municipalities along the coast. All of them are equipped with a taximeter, a GPS system and municipal authorisations to enter the historic centre. The only difference is that they are identified by a sign that says 'Taxi de sustitucion' ('replacement taxi').

Demand is growing and 20 units will be available in the short term. At a rate of around 50 euros per day, a taxi driver can now have a car and continue exercising their profession while their private vehicle is getting repaired.

One of the first cities with this service

Malaga and the municipalities of the Costa del Sol are among the first in Spain to have a regulated service of this type. It has previously been tested in other towns, including Marbella, but at a much smaller scale. Miguel Angel Martin has announced that they are planning to extend the new service on a regional level and demand is not short. However, "for this to happen, it is necessary for the town councils to facilitate the necessary legal changes". "We are already receiving calls from other provinces, even from Madrid, because they want to follow Malaga's example," he adds.
Tony Bryant Mijas Friday, 1 August 2025, 07:48 Share

The municipal auditorium in Mijas Pueblo is hosting a new musical event on Saturday 9 August as part of the town hall's summer cultural programme. Starting at 10pm, folk night is a free concert featuring a line-up headlined by Hevia, the internationally renowned Asturian bagpiper. Organised by the tourism department, the event will be used to support families in danger of social exclusion, as attendees are asked to contribute one kilo of non-perishable food items or hygiene products, which will be donated to the Caritas charity and the food bank.

Folk night is much more than just a concert: its high-quality culture and a gesture of social responsibility. Entry is free, but we encourage all attendees to do their bit for those who need it most, tourism councillor Fransico Jerez said.

Jerez explained that the shuttle bus schedule has been extended to make it easier to get to the auditorium.

The headline act is Hevia, an artist with over 25 years of experience and whose music blends Celtic tradition with contemporary music. Creator of the electronic bagpipe, he has performed in more than 40 countries, selling over two million albums worldwide.

Joining him on stage will be the Seville-based duo Jones & Kid, who will take the audience on a journey through classic American and Spanish folk songs.

The concert is part of a music series organised by the town hall this summer, following the recent success of the blues night. The series will conclude on Saturday 30 August with a night dedicated to jazz, which will also be free and in support of charitable causes.

We are committed to offering a varied, high-quality programme with strong values. We want both residents and visitors to enjoy the unique setting of our open-air auditorium while also contributing to those who are in difficult situations, Jerez said.
Jose Antonio Sau Malaga Friday, 1 August 2025, 15:49 Share

The afternoon and evening of 28 April, when a national power outage struck Spain, were difficult for oxygen-dependent people, i.e. those who require supplementary oxygen to breathe properly. Patients and their relatives overwhelmed the emergency phone line because they could not use the concentrators or ventilators that depended on the electricity grid. It got to the point where the Local Police and civil protection groups had to take gas cylinders to those households. Many went to the hospital to have their batteries recharged or plugged directly into the flow of the generators that the health facilities have.

The regional ministry of health in Andalacia states that there are around 4,700 oxygen-dependent people in the province of Malaga. As pneumologist Carlos Rueda from the Hospital Regional Universitario explained, "oxygen-dependent patients are basically people who live with an amount of oxygen in their blood, called saturation, which is below an admissible limit and requires supplementation". In other words, the patient must receive oxygen to maintain adequate levels.

Among the patients who need this supplementary oxygen are those suffering from diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), fibrotic pathologies (related to excess tissue or scarring, for example pulmonary fibrosis), "which evolve quickly or over time, leading to fibrosis of the lungs, making them unable to absorb oxygen, so these patients need supplementation fairly early on". Dr Rueda also added embolic diseases to the list. There are patients who only need oxygen in acute moments; there are those who require it over a long period of time; and there are those that suffer from heart failure - "the heart not only mobilises the blood, but also takes it from the lung and transmits oxygenation; when this is not done properly, that is, when the transport vein is very deficient, you have to maintain that oxygen load".

The oxygen bottle is now symbolic

Dr Rueda confirmed that traditional oxygen bottles are largely a thing of the past. "In general, what we use in chronic oxygen therapy, meaning that you are going to live on oxygen for a while or for the duration of your recovery, is a concentrator - a machine capable of making the amount of oxygen concentrated, hence the name," he explained. With each inhalation, the level of oxygen in the blood increases. These devices are plugged into the electricity supply. "This improves your quality of life." They make noise and generate heat in the room, but one of the major breakthroughs in pulmonology has come with portable sources. "It's a wonderful invention, because it allows a patient who couldn't leave the house due to dropping oxygen levels and inability to walk, to now be able to do so," said Dr Rueda. They've become more common in recent months and, if needed, can even be plugged into a car battery, among other previously unthinkable settings. They allow users to go outside and even return to work.

"In general, patients with respiratory insufficiency will most likely have a large device at home, which can keep it running for 15 or 16 hours at home, and then a portable device, which has less autonomy," he explained. "In general, if a person is autonomous and not absolutely dependent, they tend to have both sources," he said, although some people only use a portable device to help them in their day-to-day activities.

The degree of quality of life varies from patient to patient. To have breathing as a conscious action where each breath of air requires an effort can be complex for some people. "Air doesn't cost money, it doesn't cost effort, but in these cases it does become costly," he said. With the advances in medicine, many people are starting to gain increasing degrees of independence.

Life expectancy also improves thanks to oxygen, treatments and rehabilitation. In addition, the surgical approach can help in emphysema and transplants are growing with "incredible" survival rates, but much progress has also been made in the field of ventilators, which are essential not only in the treatment of respiratory diseases but also in neurological diseases. For example, in patients with ALS, those with very advanced COPD or people with obesity. "Sometimes your brain no longer transmits the command to breathe properly. Or your weight might press down on your lungs too much. Or the lungs might be of poor quality," Dr Rueda says. "We can regulate without having to intubate. Instead, we can do what's called a ventilation: we give the whole muscular and respiratory system a rest and we put a mask on you to start the ventilation and we bring you back to your normal breathing," he said.

For example, the affected person can be ventilated for one hour at night, especially during sleep, which allows them to maintain a more normal quality of life during the day.

The UCRI - medical excellence in the Hospital Regional

The intermediate respiratory care unit (UCRI), open at the Hospital Regional since 2021, intervenes in more challenging cases concerning patients with severe respiratory problems but who do not need to be in the ICU. Those patients often don't require intubation, so the doctors ventilate them. These are patients with COPD, hyperventilation associated with severe obesity, heart failure or severe pneumonia, among other pathologies. During the pandemic, there were patients with bilateral pneumonia, prior to intubation. "This unit is a differential in our hospital," Dr Rueda said.

'There are patients who are very dependent on the ventilator, others who require less ventilation and then those who require it practically all day long'

"There are patients who are very dependent on the ventilator, others who require less ventilation and then those who require it practically all day long. In general, they will have two of these devices. There are battery-powered ventilators. Some ventilators come with a battery pack. If the power goes out, it won't run properly after four hours. That's when the second ventilator kicks in and keeps things running. The problem is that the system has a limit and that was the big issue during the blackout, when the entire system came under stress," the expert stated. In addition, on 28 April, phones didn't work and many people could not contact the emergency services.

On the day of the blackout, the hospital moved extra ventilators and spare oxygen bottles to wherever they were needed. Many people went to the shopping centre and even to the bank where they were able to plug in their devices, while many others went directly to the hospital.
A Barcelona court has taken a firm stand against the unauthorised use of press content, ruling that media summaries sold without a licence violate copyright law and undermine the sustainability of journalism. That was the decision during the preliminary hearing of the case between Cedro - the association that provides coverage in this field to more than 36,100 authors and publishers of newspapers, books, magazines and sheet music - and Hallon, which is a company that collects information from the media to offer it to third parties that contract its services. The judicial decision is relevant because it curtails a practice that erodes the viability of journalistic work.

This week's ruling halts Hallon's defence strategy of invoking article 163 of the intellectual property law, which allows appropriations to be made while a licence and its fee are being negotiated. "They were relying on legal fiction," said Jorge Corrales, general director of Cedro. Corrales's opinion was backed by the judge in charge of the proceedings, who rejected the argument, considering that the case deals with a possible infringement of copyright and not with a process of economic negotiation as the defendants claimed. "The key is that Hallon has been operating without the necessary licence to use content since August last year," Corrales said.

'Clipping' companies - as they are called in the media industry - collect and summarise relevant information for their clients, covering print and digital media as well as social media. "The judge has reiterated that content protected by intellectual property rights cannot be used without authorisation," said Cedro's director general. The head of the Barcelona court's decision is final and cannot be appealed and, therefore, consignment cannot be used to avoid legal obligations to press publishers.

As a result, the court will return to Hallon the amounts it had deposited over the past few months, as the judge considers that these payments are not applicable in a context that may involve a breach of intellectual property rights. The lawsuit will continue following the corresponding judicial course. The ruling is a step towards guaranteeing the economic sustainability of the publishing sector and protecting professional journalism, which is considered a fundamental pillar of democracy. "It is essential that the rights of news publishers are respected in all areas, both by clipping companies and artificial intelligence models," said Irene Lanzaco, general director of the association of news media (AMI).

Viability and democracy

Cedro wants companies that develop this type of press summaries or content aggregation to obtain the corresponding authorisations, respecting the terms of the authorisations and paying the corresponding considerations. "They have to respect intellectual property just as they respect the licence of any software they use," said Lanzaco. "Content has a value. With this activity, they are devaluing the service. This affects the business sustainability of the world of journalism and is critical in a state governed by the rule of law," warned Corrales.

According to data provided by the plaintiff, the content reuse market in Spain generates around 10 million euros per year, when at present "only 3.5 million euros are being collected". In any case, these figures are a far cry from those of neighbouring countries, which collect from 44 million euros in the case of the UK to 17 million euros in the case of France. "It is clear that we need to make progress in respecting the rights of press publishers, along the same lines as other EU countries, which recognise the value of the press in democracy and also in the creation of large national language models," added Lanzaco.

Cedro and AMI appeal to the entities that contract these services: "This is not a trivial issue: the work of the press is not recognised and this affects its sustainability, and therefore, all pillars of the State."
Activist investor to reap handsome return in Union Pacific  Norfolk Southern merger

One of the key beneficiaries of the proposed Union Pacific  Norfolk Southern merger is a largely under-the-radar activist investor whos been shaking up underperforming transportation companies, one after another: C.H. Robinson, Forward Air, and Norfolk Southern.

Ancora Holdings, an activist investor known for its hands-on approach, has recently played a pivotal role in reshaping the trajectory of Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC). This involvement has been marked by a series of strategic maneuvers that culminated in significant changes within the railroad companys management and its impending merger with Union Pacific, a move set to redefine the landscape of North American rail transport.

Ancoras engagement with Norfolk Southern shareholders began in early 2024 when the investor mounted an aggressive campaign to enhance the companys operational efficiency and financial performance. Discontented with the existing management and cost structure under CEO Alan Shaw, Ancora sought to push for better strategic outcomes. Despite initial resistance, Ancoras persistence paid off, resulting in Shaws removal following an internal investigation into his inappropriate relationship with the companys chief legal officer, Nabanita C. Nag. This series of events underscored Ancoras influence, which was further solidified as they secured three seats on Norfolk Southerns board of directors, providing a platform to advocate for deeper structural changes.

Amidst these boardroom shake-ups, Ancora maintained a keen focus on Norfolk Southerns financials. The investors likely entry point can be traced back to when Norfolk Southerns stock was trading predominantly between $220 and $260 per share earlier in 2024. This estimated cost basis would position Ancora well to reap substantial returns through strategic initiatives aimed at revitalizing the companys performance and shareholder value.

The proposed merger with Union Pacific, valued at $85 billion, is set to create the first U.S. coast-to-coast freight operator, merging Union Pacifics extensive western network with Norfolk Southerns sprawling eastern connections. This merger has garnered unanimous support from the board, including the three members installed by Ancora, highlighting the investors endorsement of the strategic alignment and future prospects of the combined entity. With Union Pacific agreeing to purchase Norfolk Southern at $320 per share, Ancora stands to achieve a significant return on investment. Assuming an average cost basis in the range of $220 to $240 based on when Ancora built its position in the name, Ancora could potentially realize a return of 33% to 45%, depending on its precise cost basis.
Susana Zamora Malaga Friday, 1 August 2025, 09:00 Share

The obligation of a hotel or any accommodation establishment in Spain to collect certain customer data and comply with the new register of guests, set out in a royal decree, does not give carte blanche to collect more information than necessary. Under this condition, the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) warns that establishments are not allowed to request and make copies or scans of the guest's ID card or passport during the check-in process.

For months now, countless complaints have reached this state body and many of them have resulted in the imposition of significant penalties. The last one has fallen on Suneris S.A. - the company that owns the Hotel & Spa Beverly Park, a four-star hotel located in the municipality of Blanes, Girona. A guest in this establishment filed a formal complaint with the AEPD, after the hotel staff asked for his ID card in order to scan it. When the guest refused, the hotel receptionist copied his data using the computer. The guest also reported that the staff had left a master key card in his room, which allowed access to all the rooms.

The company said that the purpose of the scan was to send the information to the state security forces. However, the AEPD stated that "it is not obligatory to collect, register or communicate to the competent authorities the full image or photocopy of the person's identity document". According to this official body, the only information that must be provided are the name and surname, the identification number, the support number, the type of document (ID card, passport, etc.), the nationality and the date of birth.

Therefore, the collection of more information than necessary or relevant by Suneris S. A. "cannot be justified", as it does not comply with the current regulation. It constitutes an "excessive data processing", because "the full ID card contains more data than required, such as the photo, the expiry date of the document, the CAN or the name of the parents". "Furthermore, providing a copy of personal documentation implies, among other things, an unnecessary risk of identity theft, which should be avoided or, at least, effectively mitigated," the resolution states.

For this reason, the AEPD has imposed an administrative fine of 9,000 euros. This was reduced to 5,400 euros after the company acknowledged the facts and took advantage of prompt payment conditions.
Melchor Saiz-Pardo Madrid Friday, 1 August 2025, 12:32 Share

Alvaro Garcia Ortiz, Spain's attorney general, will become the first to face trial in the country's democratic history. The Supreme Court has upheld a judge's decision to prosecute him for allegedly leaking confidential information in a tax fraud case against Alberto Gonzalez Amador, partner of Madrid's regional president, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, of the PP party. Garcia Ortiz is a political appointee of the rival PSOE party.

The court found sufficient evidence that Garcia Ortiz disclosed a private email from Gonzalez Amador's lawyer, which admitted two corporate tax offences in 2020 and 2021. According to the investigation, the prosecutor leaked the email to the media in March 2024 to counter a public narrative that the public prosecutor's office had offered Gonzalez Amador a plea deal - a version promoted by Ayuso's chief of staff.

The Supreme Court rejected earlier claims linking the leak to instructions from the Prime Minister's office and ruled this detail irrelevant. It also exonerated Pilar Rodriguez, head of the Madrid Provincial Prosecutor's Office, citing insufficient evidence of her involvement.

Garcia Ortiz is not stepping back or resinging however, leaving the awkward situation for many in the judiciary of having to process the trial of one of their bosses. Some associations of judges have complained.

The government is continuing to back the attorney general believing he is innocent.
Domenico Chiappe Madrid Friday, 1 August 2025, 09:22 | Updated 09:53h. Share

Some 13 children with heart conditions arrived in Spain on Thursday evening on a Spanish air force plane after being evacuated from the epicentre of the war zone in Gaza. They will now receive medical treatment in Spanish hospitals in the Basque Country, Asturias, Navarre and Catalonia regions and these minors will join 31 others who have been arriving at public and private medical facilities in Spain since July of last year. Their 44 relatives will join the 58 from the three previous evacuation missions, as previously reported.

Coordinated by the Spanish health ministry, the minors left the area via Jordan on a mission organised by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to Spanish authorities. They remained in Amman for 24 hours, cared for by Medecins Sans Frontieres, while Spanish health workers "clinically evaluated and stabilised" them for the journey ahead.

"In the previous instances, the cases treated were mainly war trauma and paediatric oncology, but this time they are primarily patients with heart conditions," stated the ministry. Once on Spanish soil, at 6pm, the patients and their families were transferred to the health centres where they will receive treatment: Hospital Universitario de Cruces, Hospital de Donostia, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Hospital de Navarra, Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Sant Joan de Deu Hospital and Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital.

As Spanish aid workers told SUR, evacuation depends largely on navigating bureaucracy, requiring the involvement of several ministries: foreign affairs, defence and social inclusion. Spain's cooperation office in Amman, which depends on AECID (the Spanish agency for international development and cooperation), carried out "all the paperwork" and the Spanish embassy in Jordan handled the visas. Accommodation, food, psychological and legal support and translation services are being provided by central government and the NGO Accem.

"Children from Gaza, who are sick or injured, are coming in on a medically-equipped plane to receive specialised care and treatment," announced health minister, Monica Garcia. "This is a complex medical evacuation measure that Spain was proud to inaugurate a year ago. The healthcare system in the Gaza Strip is completely collapsed and destroyed. Hospitals, which are supposed to be safe havens, have been periodically attacked and most are nonfunctional. Patients in Gaza cannot access essential treatment and the humanitarian blockade has led to a situation of famine and depletion of medical services."
Enia Gomez Madrid Friday, 1 August 2025, 14:14 Share

The region of Madrid in Spain has detected the presence of a two-year-old Iberian lynx - Uraclio - in several municipalities in the eastern part of the area (Villalbilla, Corpa, Los Santos de la Humosa and Anchuelo). The animal was born in the wild in the Montes de Toledo and was reintroduced in February this year, together with his companion Ventolera - bred in the Iberian lynx captive breeding centre in Zarza de Granadilla (Caceres) - by the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha in the province of Cuenca. Their release was part of a lynx conservation and expansion project in the areas of La Veguilla and Sierra Jaramena.

For two weeks now, Uraclio has been moving freely in different areas of the region of Madrid. He was located by technicians from the directorate-general of biodiversity and forest management and by the regional forest department, in collaboration with the authorities of Castilla-La Mancha.

The animal is in perfect health. "Lynx require habitats with a certain amount of scrub cover where they can take refuge and hide. In addition, Madrid offers an abundant population of rabbits, which are their main food source," said Laura Castro, head of habitats and protected species of the regional ministry of the environment, agriculture and the interior.

A fortnight ago, the authorities of Castilla-La Mancha informed that Uraclio had travelled from Cuenca to the northeast, entering the Madrid region. "Many of these animals are monitored by GPS collars as part of the conservation, reintroduction and monitoring programmes of the species, which allow their movements to be tracked and their position recorded. As a young lynx, Uraclio is making dispersal movements at this stage, looking for a territory to settle in. Uraclio's problem is that he does not yet have a mate and has not yet reached breeding age. Unlike females, males tend to be less fixed in the territory and are more mobile and tend to travel over large areas before settling down," said Castro.

Uraclio moves practically every day. "Sometimes, he goes backwards, but he has already covered a fairly large area of our region. This is the first time we have had a monitored, stable lynx in our territory. Although we don't know how much longer he will be in Madrid, we are happy to have had him here for two weeks now."

The regional government continues to work to ensure that this emblematic animal, still considered vulnerable despite not being in danger of extinction anymore, becomes a stable part of Madrid's fauna. Currently, the regional ministry of the environment is finalising the agreement with Patrimonio Nacional to add the area of El Pardo to the reintroduction area and complete the study of habitats.

El Pardo is a low traffic hazard area, which reduces the risk of animals being run over. The proposal envisages the incorporation of the 453-hectare estate of very high ecological value in the El Paular area, acquired by the region of Madrid in 2023, together with two plots of land from public forests 140 and 141, called Perimetro de Aguirre and Perimetro de Lozoya. The 2,058 hectares of Monte Cabeza de Hierro owned by the State and managed by the regional body of national parks would also be added.

It is a species considered vulnerable, so its presence in the region, although isolated, is a positive sign of its expansion

In June 2023, an Iberian lynx was also detected in Sevilla la Nueva (Madrid region), near the M-523 road. A resident spotted the animal near the Los Cortijos residential estate and was able to take photos and videos of it with his mobile phone. It had been 30 years since an Iberian lynx had been seen in the wild in the region. A few days after that sighting, the forestry officers of the region Madrid captured images of another animal near the financial city of Banco Santander.

The environmental department's team that located that specimen in the municipality of Boadilla del Monte had been monitoring since the first sighting in early June. This was a historic event for Madrid.

The Iberian lynx is considered vulnerable, so its presence in the region, although isolated, is a positive sign of its expansion.
David Maroto Valencia Friday, 1 August 2025, 11:36 Share

With just one photo of a woman's DNI (Spanish ID card), a scammer was able to open nine online bank accounts and continuously defraud her. The National Police have now arrested the fraudster in the town of Petrer. The man is accused of scamming a total of 13 people throughout Spain.

The detainee is under investigation for the offences of fraud and identity theft. He had opened multiple bank accounts, without the consent of the 13 people whose names he used.

The investigation started after a woman filed a complaint and reported that she had been the victim of a scam carried out by an acquaintance of hers to whom she had ceded control of an account in exchange for a financial benefit.

The victim lost contact with this person at the end of 2024, disregarding this bank account and not giving importance to the fact that he had her details. From that date until February 2025, he opened nine more bank accounts in her name as he had a photograph of her DNI card.

The fraudster moved more than 23,000 euros between the accounts. By the time the police opened the investigation, there were barely 20 euros left. He had spent all of the rest in online gambling.

The woman was not the only victim. The police discovered that the same person had opened numerous bank accounts in the name of a total of 12 other people from different parts of Spain. When the police contacted these victims, most of them confessed that they had shared a photo of their DNI through a messaging platform with a person who had "promised easy money".

Online accounts

Having all the information from these people's DNIs, the suspect was able to open online bank accounts without their knowledge. He would then transfer money from one account to another to make it difficult for the police to trace the destination and origin of the swindled money.

The police managed to identify and arrest the suspect in the Alicante town of Petrer. The detainee has been handed over to the magistrate's court in Elda.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A man died Thursday morning after being struck by a dump truck two blocks from Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

Around 7:01 a.m., the man was found badly injured in the street by Syracuse Police near East Adams and South Townsend streets, said Sgt. Thomas Blake, a Syracuse police spokesperson.

The man was taken to Upstate hospital where he later died, he said.

The driver of the dump truck remained on scene and is cooperating with police, Blake said.

Police have not yet identified the driver or the person who died.

Police ask anyone with information about the crash to contact the Syracuse Police Department Traffic Division at (315) 442-5130.

On July 10, two Syracuse University graduate students from China were killed after they were hit by a dump truck while walking near campus.

That accident happened on East Adams Street too, about 10 blocks from Thursdays fatal accident.

A man died Thursday after a vehicle hit him at the intersection of E. Adams and S. Townsend streets in Syracuse, July 31, 2025. Darian Stevenson

Staff writer Greta Stuckey covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at gstuckey@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y.  A 44-year-old Ithaca man was arrested Tuesday on federal charges of enticing a minor and distributing child pornography, prosecutors said.

David Pastorello is accused of texting a girl under 12 and repeatedly asking her to have sex with him, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York.

He also allegedly sent the child indecent photos of himself, and two images considered child pornography under federal law.

Prosecutors said Pastorello entered the apartment where the child lived without permission before fleeing.

In May, he was arraigned in Tompkins County on a state charge of possessing a sexual performance by a child under 16. Earlier this month, he pleaded guilty in Cortland County to disseminating indecent material to a minor. He was out on bond in both cases.

Pastorello was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals following his initial federal court appearance.

If convicted, he faces 10 years to life in prison for enticement and five to 20 years for distribution of child pornography, prosecutors said.

He would also have to register as a sex offender.
MILAN  Aeffe executive chairman Massimo Ferretti is taking action as the global slowdown in the luxury industry dragged down the revenues and profitability of the fashion group in the first half.

For starters, Ferretti said former Ferragamo chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti was named to the board on Friday to help develop growth strategies and strengthen the group, including, where opportunities arise, through strategic partnerships. He also mapped out measures to cut costs and to improve organizational efficiency with a focus on the provision of services, beginning in the first half and throughout a 2026-2028 plan.

More from WWD

The appointment and the first-half performance did not impress investors, who sent shares down 3.8 percent by mid-afternoon at 44 cents, closing down 5.14 percent at 43 cents.

It is now clear to everyone that we are experiencing a serious crisis in the fashion and luxury sector, which is having a significant impact on our groups performance, said Ferretti in a statement commenting on Aeffes first-half financial results. Persistent political instability, exacerbated by a series of ongoing conflicts, is having a heavy impact on the global economy. 2025 will still be a year of transition for the group as it works toward its desired recovery in sales volumes and performance, especially for the Moschino brand, given the difficulties that continue to plague the market.

Group revenues fell 27.8 percent to 100 million euros in the six months ended June 30 compared with 138.6 million euros in the same period in 2024.

Aeffe is launching a major cost rationalization project that will take full effect in 2026, including the reduction of fixed costs, direct costs and labor costs, as it expects a further slowdown in sales.

Aeffe directors continue to closely monitor the performance and evolution of the reference markets, the implementation of the cost rationalization plan, and all initiatives that could further protect cash flows and expected economic margins.

Ferretti further elaborated on the future steps, saying that Aeffe is preparing a 2026-2028 business plan which will contain the Groups new strategic guidelines in terms of sales channels and markets, as well as critically reviewing some of the companys most important processes, including operations and physical channels.
Salina, N.Y. - A truck hit the railroad bridge over the Onondaga Lake Parkway in Salina shortly after noon Friday.

The truck hit the bridge around 12:30 p.m., according to Onondaga County 911 Center dispatches.

The truck was an Enterprise rental box truck that was heading south toward Syracuse, according to Onondaga County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Thomas Newton.

Deputies and the Liverpool Fire Department were called to the crash.

The truck appeared to be stuck under the bridge while authorities were on the scene.

The bridge is 10 feet 9 inches tall. The truck that hit it is marked as being 13 feet 6 inches tall.

The truck driver was identified as Alexis Brown, 33, of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Brown was issued 14 tickets: 12 for disobeying a traffic control device, one for exceeding clearance and one for violation of operating out of restriction (not wearing glasses).

All lanes on NY 370 eastbound between Oswego Street and Park Street were closed following the crash.

The road reopened at around 2 p.m.

The bridge was not damaged, and no injuries were reported, according to Newton.

A truck struck the railroad bridge over the Onondaga Lake Parkway at about 12:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. State DOT

Staff writer Vince Gasparini covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach him at vgasparini@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Syracuse University announced Thursday it will close its Office of Diversity and Inclusion as part of a restructuring effort aimed at complying with federal law.

The office will be folded into a new unit within the Office of Human Resources called People and Culture, according to a statement from Chancellor Kent Syverud to the SU community.

Syverud said the move follows a review launched in March to assess the universitys compliance with federal regulations, including Title VI.

The law prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs that receive federal funding.

We want to be welcoming to all, while ensuring full compliance with federal law, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Syverud said in the statement.

The announcement comes amid increased federal scrutiny of diversity, equity and inclusion policies on college campuses.

Under the Trump administration, dozens of universities, including Harvard and nearly 90 others, have rebranded or eliminated DEI offices in response to evolving federal policy.

Syracuses Office of Diversity and Inclusion was established in 2020 following student-led advocacy for stronger DEI initiatives.

Vice President of the DEI office Mary Grace Almandrez and her team will transition to the new People and Culture unit, Syverud said.

Syverud said the review process included feedback from more than 300 students, faculty, staff, alumni and families.

The new unit will focus on faculty and staff development, employee retention and engagement, he said. It will also continue to manage the employee accommodation process and provide campuswide training and support.

The universitys Student Experience Division, along with its Intercultural Collective, will expand efforts to promote student belonging and engagement across different backgrounds and perspectives, Syverud said.

A Syracuse University spokesperson did not immediately answer further questions from Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, including whether the university was pressured or asked to adopt the new policy.

Staff writer Greta Stuckey covers breaking news. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at gstuckey@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Pyramid Management Group said Thursday it has reached a deal that will allow it to continue operating western New Yorks largest shopping mall while it seeks new financing for the center.

The Syracuse-based company, which counts Destiny USA among its shopping mall holdings, has been fighting a foreclosure action on the Walden Galleria filed May 29 by holders of a $220 million mortgage loan on the Buffalo area mall.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Voters will get the final word this fall on whether Onondaga County legislators should have longer terms with a limit on how many they can serve.

The legislature on Friday unanimously approved a local law that puts a referendum on the November general election ballot. The measure would lengthen terms from two years to four, while limiting time in office to three consecutive four-year terms. There are now no term limits.
By Chris Churchill | Times Union, Albany

Albany, New York  I would rather not be writing about redistricting and gerrymandering. Tooth decay, rodent migratory patterns and the Dallas Cowboys are among the many, many unpleasant subjects Id rather tackle.

But here I am, feeling almost compelled to subject you, dear reader, to one more column about the evils of drawing congressional districts to benefit one political party over another. Thats because some of the Democratic dodos at the Capitol are again devising a scheme that would enshrine their power and weaken their Republican opponents.

In fairness, none of this would be happening without a significant provocation. As recently detailed by the Times Unions Dan Clark, a new proposal to reopen the process for redrawing district lines in New York is ostensibly a response to a plan in Texas to do the same. If a red state is going to cheat, then gosh darn it, we will, too!

I think quite often in this country, we as Democrats play fair and Republicans use every tool that they can to an advantage, said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. I think at this point, we should really look to, Id say, counteract Republican actions.

Heasties attempt to clamber onto the moral high ground is hilariously disingenuous because, as you may remember, New York Democrats did not give a hoot about playing fair when given a chance to draw congressional boundaries, or state Senate and Assembly districts. Instead, when a supposedly independent redistricting commission collapsed in 2022, they came up with districts that were wildly partisan and horrendously cynical.

The maps, which likely would have guaranteed Democratic victories in 22 of New Yorks 26 congressional districts, were so egregiously awful that the Court of Appeals rebuffed the plan, reminding lawmakers that state voters previously made their distaste for gerrymandering clear in language added to the state constitution.

The districts were then redrawn by a special master with an eye toward promoting competition and, you know, democracy. That ended an embarrassing saga, more or less.

So make no mistake, Democrats who control the Legislature deserve no plaudits for fairness and integrity. They will happily cheat to ensure their partys dominance, just as Republicans in Texas and other states do when they have the upper hand. Gerrymandering is a bipartisan game and always has been. A pox on them all.

That said, what Republicans in Texas are attempting to do right now really is disgraceful. Amid fears the party will lose control of the House in next years midterm elections, theyve released new maps that could give the GOP five more seats in the state.

Millions of Texas voters would be represented by a different member of Congress under the proposal, which is apparently being urged by President Trump and takes the unusual step of redrawing district lines mid-decade. Typically, districts are drawn only after the release of new decennial census data.

However, Texas law permits mid-decade changes to district maps, whereas New Yorks constitution does not.

So, the legislation sponsored by state Sen. Michael Gianaris and Assemblyman Micah Lasher, both Democrats, proposes an amendment to New Yorks constitution that would allow lawmakers to reopen the process without a census prompt. Amending the constitution is no easy task, however, so its unlikely Democrats could draw new lines before 2028, at the earliest.

And even if they did, the courts have already shown little tolerance for the radical gerrymandering the party would presumably want. Precedent is not on their side.

What, then, is the point? Why is this a priority?

The answer can only be the ongoing game of one-upmanship that Democrats and Republicans are continually playing, a tiring tit-for-tat power struggle thats unseemly, at best. Alls fair in love and war, said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has reportedly discussed the possibility of redistricting in New York with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

And the voters? This isnt about them. As it happens, voters and the overall health of democracy are the victims of any war that results in gerrymandered, uncompetitive districts and incumbents with little to fear. A voter without choice has been robbed and effectively disenfranchised.

Why bother to turn out if the winner is already predetermined? Wheres the room for thought, debate and political passion when the system is rigged?

This kind of game-playing helps explain why so many Americans are disillusioned with politics and believe politicians care little about them. And with their partys popularity at historic polling lows, Democrats in New York and beyond can only further harm their brand by claiming to protect democracy while moving to undermine it.

Again, this isnt to defend what Texas Republicans are attempting, a move that could (and should) provoke a voter backlash. But a wrong in Texas doesnt make it right to steal from voters in New York.

 2025 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) . Visit www.timesunion.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A New York businesswoman has pleaded guilty in connection with a financial scheme that ripped off more than $30 million from foreign investors and funneled some of the stolen money into U.S. political campaigns, including a 2017 fundraiser for President Donald Trump during his first term.

Sherry Xue Li, 48, of Oyster Bay, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court on Long Island to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. by obstructing the Federal Election Commissions administration of campaign finance laws. She faces up to 20 years in prison and is set to be sentenced on Dec. 5.

Her lawyer, Kevin Keating, declined to comment on the plea and the charges Wednesday. She has been detained since her arrest in 2022.

Lis co-defendant, Lianbo Wang, pleaded guilty to similar charges in March 2024 and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Prosecutors say the scheme went on for nearly a decade. Li and Wang coaxed investors, many of whom were from China, into contributing $500,000 each to a fictitious development project, with a false promise to guarantee them lawful permanent resident status in the U.S., authorities said. They used millions of dollars from those investments for personal expenses, including clothing, jewelry, housing, vacation travel and upscale dining, officials said.

Li and Wang also sold investors access to U.S. politicians at fundraisers and used the proceeds to illegally contribute millions of dollars to U.S. political campaigns and committees. The campaigns and committees were unaware of the scheme, and no allegations of criminal wrongdoing were lodged against them, prosecutors said.

On June 28, 2017, Trump attended a fundraiser for his 2020 reelection bid at his hotel in Washington. Prosecutors said Li and Wang charged each of the 12 foreign nationals $93,000 for admission to the event, then used the funds to make illegal contributions in their names totaling $600,000 to the fundraising committee hosting the event.

Li took a photograph with Trump and his wife, Melania, at the event and would later use it to solicit donations to the fake development project, prosecutors said.

Other investors or prospects also received brochures featuring Li or Wang with Trump and other politicians, including Democratic then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, prosecutors said.

Li and Wang, who are naturalized U.S. citizens, also contributed millions of dollars to other federal, state and local campaigns, which were not identified by authorities.

Li defrauded more than 150 victims in the United States and abroad through years of lies and deception and sought to profit by selling access to the democratic process, Joseph Nocella Jr., U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. In doing so, she attempted to corrupt a fundamental institution in this country  fair and transparent elections free from unlawful foreign influence."

As part of her plea agreement, Li agreed to forfeit $31.5 million and three properties.
NASCAR arrives at the Iowa Speedway this weekend, for the three action-packed races leading up to the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol on Sunday, August 3. Ryan Blaney looks to defend his race title after a top 10 finish last week.

There will be televised practices and qualifying races throughout the weekend leading up to the Iowa Corn 350. 2025 Iowa weekend includes racing events for the ARCA Menards Series (Atlas 150) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (HyVee Perks 250) along with the NASCAR Cup Series.

NASCARs 2025 Iowa Race Televised Schedule

Friday, August 1

ARCA Menards Series Atlas 150, 7 p.m. ET on FS1 (STREAM)

Saturday, August 2

Xfinity Series practice, 11 a.m. ET on The CW (STREAM)

Xfinity Series qualifying, 12:05 a.m. ET on The CW (STREAM)

Cup Series practice, 1:30 p.m. ET on truTV (STREAM)

Cup Series qualifying, 2:40 p.m. ET on truTV (STREAM)

NASCAR Xfinity Series HyVee Perks 250, 4:30 p.m. ET on The CW (STREAM)

Sunday, August 3

NASCAR Cup Series Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol, 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network (STREAM)

Where to watch the Iowa Corn 350, all Iowa events

This week, the Cup Series flips to USA Network, while Xfinity stays on The CW. Qualifying and Practice sessions are on The CW (Xfinity) and truTV (Cup) while ARCA stays at its usual home on FS1. Sound complicated? The good news is that you can stream all of it, live on DirecTV (free trial) which remains the best bet for fans looking to watch NASCAR without cable. Sling and Hulu + Live TV also carry the necessary channels.

DirecTV $89.99 $59.99 Get $30 off your first month and enjoy local and national live sports, breaking news and must-see shows. Start for $0

What to know about the Iowa Speedway

Iowa Speedway, a.k.a., The Fastest Short Track on the Planet, is located in Newton, Iowa. Its a thrilling 7/8mile paved Dshaped oval patterned after Richmond Raceway, complete with turns influenced by the design work of NASCAR legend Rusty Wallace.

It opened in 2006, but the track didnt hold its first NASCAR Cup Series event until June 2024, at the inaugural Iowa Corn 350. Ryan Blaney dominated, leading 201 of the 350 laps, while William Byron and Chase Elliott rounded out the podium in second and third.

In the lower tiers, familiar names like Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have snowballed multiple Xfinity wins at Iowa, while drivers such as Christopher Bell, Erik Jones and William Byron have also triumphed in either Xfinity or Truck races here.

The Cup Series returns for its second Iowa Corn 350, set for 350 laps around the 0.875mile oval, and marking Race 23 of the 2025 season.

The entry list features 37 cars, led by shorttrack ace Blaney and best bud Bubba Wallace, fresh off a Brickyard 400 win with 23XI Racing. Meanwhile, Iowa native Joey Gase makes his first Cup start of 2025 in the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford.

Can I bet on the Iowa Corn 350?

Yes, you can bet on NASCAR from your phone in New York State, and weve compiled some of the best introductory offers to help navigate your first bets from BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Bet365 and more.

Despite his defending status, Blaney is only +550 to win again this year, while Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin share a favorite moneyline at +450, according to DraftKings.

Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft for this story, based on data provided to Syracuse.com. It was reviewed and edited by Syracuse.com.
Azerbaijani musicians have mesmerized the audience at the 39th Karak International Culture and Arts Festival in Jordan, Azernews reports.

Under the slogan "Here is Jordan... and its honor continues," the festival is organized by the Jordan Culture Ministry with the patronage of King Abdullah II.

A group led by tar player Ibrahim Babayev and soloists of the State Dance Ensemble, supported by the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry, are representing Azerbaijan at the festival.

During the festival, a presentation of the "MughaMix" music project prepared under the leadership of Ibrahim Babayev took place.

The concert, which was held in the central square of the ancient city of Karak, featured performances by Ibrahim Babayev (tar), Anar Valizade (balaban), and Vafadar Ramizin (drums).

They performed selection "Fantasy" from Uzeyir Hajibayli's musical comedy "If not that one, H. Hasanov's "I Cannot Forget," as well as the Azerbaijani folk songs "Kharibulbul" and "Sari Galin."

Pieces by Ibrahim Babayev, including "MughaMix," "Dance in the Sky," and "17.17," were also performed as part of the festival.

The Azerbaijani State Dance Ensemble also presented the folk dance "Yayl?q," V. Mustafazadeh's "Dance," and the composition "Colors of Azerbaijan," staged with the participation of the musician trio.

The concert program was met with great interest and applause from the audience.

The 39th Karak International Culture and Arts Festival features 230 cultural programs are expected to take place during the Karak festival, with representatives from 35 countries.

The program includes poetry nights featuring more than 140 poets, performances by music and folklore ensembles from different nations, as well as days dedicated to caricature, visual arts, calligraphy, and literature under the theme "Karak Hopes."

Azerbaijani performers and ensembles have successfully participated in the Karak festival in 2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021.
Nathan from Alabama recently called in to The Ramsey Show, in a financial pickle and seeking some advice.

While hes going through a nasty divorce, his current vehicle has died. She split up everything and left me with almost nothing, he said.

Don't miss

He told Dave Ramsey and cohost Rachel Cruze that he doesnt want to get a car loan. But with just $2,000 in his account, he doesnt know what other options he has, especially because his soon-to-be ex-wife removed his access to their joint savings of approximately $50,000.

After learning that Nathan has been separated for almost five months, Ramsey encourages him to take action, now.

Buying a car in the midst of a nasty divorce

Shes basically telling me to get a car loan, Nathan said. Which I dont like doing because we finally got out of debt.

He sought Ramseys guidance on how to get a vehicle without taking on debt, even during this difficult time in his life.

Currently, Nathan has around $2,000 in savings. In part, he says his savings are low due to his ongoing lawyer fees, which is hardly surprising. According to LegalZoom, the a divorce can cost more than $11,000, on average, when using an experienced family law attorney. However, before their split, Nathan estimates that he and his ex had a combined $50,000 in cash savings available.

With his ex pregnant with another mans child, Ramsey fears that Nathans emotions are clouding the situation.

First thing you do is you call your lawyer and you say, I need half of our savings account transferred to me by the end of the day. This is asinine. I want my money now, he advised.

Ramsey encouraged Nathan to be more forceful in his demands for the divorce to move forward swiftly and equitably.

Youve been real sweet and standing back and trying to let the lawyers do it, he said, The lawyers arent doing their job.

With things at a standstill, Ramsey told Nathan to light a fire under these people, starting with his lawyer.

Youve been pushed around and youre about to push back, he said.

Other than pushing back, Ramsey says Nathans only other option is to sell his current vehicle and use his savings to upgrade to a $3,000 vehicle.
V.Narayan Distinguished - BHPian

Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Delhi-NCR Posts: 4,409 Thanked: 74,936 Times

Re: Trump starts imposing tough tariffs on other countries | Are tariffs good or bad? Quote: volkman10 Originally Posted by



Trump also announced an additional penalty tariff for India as the country buys oil and weapons from Russia.



Attachment 2783053 Trump announces 25% tariff on India from August 1Trump also announced an additional penalty tariff for India as the country buys oil and weapons from Russia.



USA's ability to bully Europe represented by Ursula Van der Leyen has encouraged him. Having an unelected bureaucrat negotiate for you on the most important economic agreement in a generation reflects impotency. Sad for Europe.



India's exports to USA of non-software goods stands at ~$53 billion or about 1.5% of India's GDP. It is a large and important segment which will get affected seriously and those sectors will need help but, at a macro level, this is not about to crash the Indian economy or slow it down. Software and other services are not affected yet.



Hoping positively I pray this acts as the much needed jolt to our Government to unshackle the nation from the bureaucrats and red tape most especially in 4 areas - (A) red tape involved in setting up and running a manufacturing unit (B) dishonesty and shittiness in the Customs, Excise and GST departments - Customs alone with their behaviour discourage exports that are dependant on some imports (C) Labour laws (D) Courts stop protecting those who don't pay their dues to suppliers. For the last 21 years with the present Govt and the last one too there has been no demonstration of political will to address these ground issues.



These tariffs are Trumpistan's way of forcing our hand at the negotiating table. While there will be a negotiated settlement I doubt India will bow in supplication or seek forgiveness. Us imposing reciprocal tariffs while warranted will be immaterial to USA. Where things will pinch is if we cut them out of all future defense tenders. That will be fun. We knew this was coming and chose not to bend.



A lot of Trumpistan's mind set is stuck in the 1950s which caused him to misjudge China so very badly in the last 4 months. I quote below an incident of 1957, which was a big deal for us then, to show young readers how much has changed in 68 years and how our relative position is as different as chalk and cheese. As a light hearted aside it was oil and Russians then as it is now!! Americans just do not understand how deep our relationship of trust goes with Russia. He just made it stronger.



India and Indians, most of us at least, have always suspected America to be a frenemy on a good day and a fork tongued adversary on a bad day. This suspicion did not change with 17 years of America-Hindi bhai bhai. Now it lays buried for another decade and more.





Quote: V.Narayan Originally Posted by This reminds me of a economic incident from 1957. In those days sale of petroleum in India was largely monopolized by Esso, Burmah Shell and Caltex (American and Anglo-Dutch MNCs). The Govt of India wanted to reduce the price of retail diesel but could not do so thanks to the control these 3 had over the entire supply chain. In those days their control extended to even the tanker ships that brought the oil to our shores. It is a reflection of MNC attitudes of those early post-colonial days where being an MNC (especially in the oil sector) meant exercising political and economic clout over the host country. These 3 refused to co-operate with the Govt. I do not know what the terms were.



In order to exercise control over our own economic destiny the Govt. of India got in touch with the USSR who despatched a products tanker with diesel oil ready to distribute. This determination of our Govt caught the 3 Western petroleum MNCs by surprise. The day that tanker docked in Bombay the 3 MNCs dropped diesel prices and complied with the Govt order. Today MNCs come here on our own terms and that is the way it should be. Back then till certainly the late 1970s their attitudes had a strong colonial economic flavour to it. From this experience was born Indian Oil in 1960 and ONGCs off shore success at Bombay High in the early 1970s. Not sure why we need BP to trade in oil in India. Not sure what value it adds other than some who may claim BP will sell better quality petrol or diesel. So welcome back BP - this time on our terms. Your coming here as a trader is not likely to add value to this nation in my opinion. To contribute to our national development, build refining capacity. When an empire goes mad with arrogance and its invincibility it often, almost often, gets an emperor to match and reflect that insanity of arrogance. Trump is a product of what American Government and its ruling class have become - I'll give the benefit of the doubt to ordinary Americans.USA's ability to bully Europe represented by Ursula Van der Leyen has encouraged him. Having an unelected bureaucrat negotiate for you on the most important economic agreement in a generation reflects impotency. Sad for Europe.India's exports to USA of non-software goods stands at ~$53 billion or about 1.5% of India's GDP. It is a large and important segment which will get affected seriously and those sectors will need help but, at a macro level, this is not about to crash the Indian economy or slow it down. Software and other services are not affected yet.Hoping positively I pray this acts as the much needed jolt to our Government to unshackle the nation from the bureaucrats and red tape most especially in 4 areas - (A) red tape involved in setting up and running a manufacturing unit (B) dishonesty and shittiness in the Customs, Excise and GST departments - Customs alone with their behaviour discourage exports that are dependant on some imports (C) Labour laws (D) Courts stop protecting those who don't pay their dues to suppliers. For the last 21 years with the present Govt and the last one too there has been no demonstration of political will to address these ground issues.These tariffs are Trumpistan's way of forcing our hand at the negotiating table. While there will be a negotiated settlement I doubt India will bow in supplication or seek forgiveness. Us imposing reciprocal tariffs while warranted will be immaterial to USA. Where things will pinch is if we cut them out of all future defense tenders.will be fun. We knew this was coming and chose not to bend.A lot of Trumpistan's mind set is stuck in the 1950s which caused him to misjudge China so very badly in the last 4 months. I quote below an incident of 1957, which was a big deal for us then, to show young readers how much has changed in 68 years and how our relative position is as different as chalk and cheese. As a light hearted aside it was oil and Russians then as it is now!! Americans just do not understand how deep our relationship of trust goes with Russia. He just made it stronger.India and Indians, most of us at least, have always suspected America to be a frenemy on a good day and a fork tongued adversary on a bad day. This suspicion did not change with 17 years of America-Hindi bhai bhai. Now it lays buried for another decade and more.
By Marcelo Teixeira

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Trump administration's steep import tariff on Brazilian coffee looks set to reshuffle trade routes for beans from the world's top grower and exporter, benefiting China and incentivizing traders to look for indirect routes into the U.S.

A 50% tariff on some Brazilian products, including coffee, will begin on August 6, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday. The move will challenge commodities traders and Brazilian coffee exporters to find buyers for the roughly 8 million bags sold to U.S. coffee processors every year.

At around 25 million bags per year, the U.S. is the world's largest coffee consumer. A third of that comes from Brazil, through bilateral trade that was worth $4.4 billion in the 12 months ended in June.

"The global coffee trade flow will be reshuffled. The pain will be felt from Sao Paulo to Seattle - from origin to roaster, to cafe chains, grocers, and morning commuters," said Michael J. Nugent, a senior U.S. coffee broker and owner of MJ Nugent & Co.

The possible rerouting of the massive volume Brazil usually sends to the U.S., similar to the entire production of high-quality coffee grower Ethiopia, could benefit a major Trump rival: China.

More Brazilian beans may be bound for China because of trade ties between the two nations, both members of the BRICS group, and after the first Trump administration disrupted trade, said Marc Schonland, an independent advisor to the U.S. coffee industry.

Coffee consumption is surging in China as young professionals drop tea to seek a higher caffeine boost. Brazil is its main supplier, exporting 538,000 bags to China in the first half of 2025, data from exporters association Cecafe showed.

Coffee consumption has grown around 20% per year for the last 10 years in China and per capita coffee consumption doubled in the last 5 years, according to industry data.

More Brazilian beans could also head to the European Union, where they face no tariffs, said Logan Allender, head of coffee at U.S. roaster and distributor Atlas Coffee Club.

Trade experts see possibilities for exporters to try to dodge the tariffs by exporting Brazilian coffee to other countries, and from there to the U.S.

"It will add a bit of logistics costs, but brings down the (tariff) effect to a max 10% to 15%," said Debajyoti Bhattacharyya, commercial vice president at agricultural commodities firm AFEX Ltd., adding that countries such as Mexico or Panama could be used for the stopovers.

"Without a strong traceable supply chain, tariffs are meaningless. I mean, we can't stop oil from flowing, why would coffee?" he said.
US Energy Department misrepresents climate science in new report



Washington, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2025



Top scientists told AFP Thursday their research cited in a flagship climate report by the US Department of Energy (DoE) was misused to downplay the role of human activity in global warming.

The document released July 29 outlines the Trump administration's rationale for revoking a foundational scientific ruling that underpins the government's authority to combat climate change.

The paper was written by a working group including John Christy and Judith Curry, who have both in the past been linked to The Heartland Institute, an advocacy group that frequently pushes back against the scientific consensus on climate change.

It "completely misrepresents my work," Benjamin Santer, atmospheric scientist and honorary professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told AFP.

Santer said a section of the report on "stratospheric cooling" contradicted his findings while citing his research on climate "fingerprinting," a scientific method that seeks to separate human and natural climate change, as evidence for its analysis.

AFP and other media, including NOTUS, a US digital news website affiliated with the nonprofit Allbritton Journalism Institute, found inaccurate citations, flawed analysis and editorial errors across the document.

This is the third time since January, when Donald Trump took office, that scientists have told AFP a government agency has misrepresented academic work to defend their policies.

Previous instances included made up citations in the government's "Make America Healthy Again" report, which the administration then rushed to edit.

"I am concerned that a government agency has published a report, which is intended to inform the public and guide policy, without undergoing a rigorous peer?review process, while misinterpreting many studies that have been peer?reviewed," Bor-Ting Jong, an assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, told AFP.

Jong said the paper made false statements about the climate model her team examined and used different terminology that led to a flawed analysis of her findings.

On Bluesky, the budding social media platform favored by academics, other researchers in atmospheric and extreme weather fields also deplored that the DoE document cherry-picked data and omitted or plainly distorted their academic findings.

James Rae, a climate researcher at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who said his work is also misrepresented in the report, told AFP the shift in how the department uses scientific research "is really chilling."

"DoE was at the forefront of science for decades. Whereas this report reads like an undergraduate exercise in misrepresenting climate science," he said.

Contacted by AFP, a DoE spokesperson said the report was reviewed internally by a group of scientific researchers and policy experts from the Office of Science and National Labs.

The public will now have the opportunity to comment on the document before it is finalized for the Federal Register.

"The Climate Working Group and the Energy Department look forward to engaging with substantive comments following the conclusion of the 30-day comment period," the department added.
Heathrow unveils 49 bn expansion plan for third runway



London, July 31 (AFP) Jul 31, 2025



London's Heathrow Airport on Friday unveiled a pound49-billion ($65 billion) expansion plan, including the costs of building a long-awaited third runway, approved by the UK government after years of legal wrangling.

The runway would cost pound21 billion, with flights expected to take off within a decade, while the rest of the privately-funded investment will go toward expanding and modernising the airport.

Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport by passenger numbers, said the expansion would provide at least 30 new daily routes, more domestic connections and improved flight times.

The increased capacity would almost double the number of annual passengers from 84 million currently to up to 150 million passengers annually.

"It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow," said chief executive Thomas Woldbye.

"We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity," he added.

Despite fierce opposition from environmentalists and local residents, the London mayor Sadiq Khan and some Labour MPs, the Labour government backed the new runway in January in a bid to boost UK economic growth.

It would be a rare expansion in Europe, where countries are split between efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the needs of a strategic sector that has seen demand grow.

Heathrow has submitted its proposal for the 3,500 metre runway to the UK government, which has also invited a rival proposal.



- Green trade-offs -



Heathrow's proposal includes pound12 billion to fund a new terminal and pound15 billion for modernisation.

"A third runway and supporting infrastructure can be ready within a decade, and the full investment across all terminals would take place over the coming decades," Heathrow said in a statement.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is determined to deliver major infrastructure projects to revive the UK economy that has struggled to take off since the party came to power a year ago.

The government is expected to also back expansion at Gatwick airport, south of the capital, in October -- having recently approved upgrades to London's Stansted, Luton and City airports.

Britain's Supreme Court ruled at the end of 2020 that Heathrow could build the third runway, overturning a legal decision to block construction on environmental grounds.

Local residents "will see their lives put on hold for a few more years while more money and time is wasted on a doomed scheme," said Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK.

He added the plans "export more tourism wealth out of the UK in the most polluting way possible."

Arora Group, one of Heathrow's largest landowners, on Thursday said it will submit a rival bid to build a shorter third runway, promising lower costs and less disruption to local residents and the environment.

"This is the ?rst time the government has invited a competing proposal for Heathrow expansion," the UK-based property and hotel firm said in a statement.

Airport-owner Heathrow's latest investment proposal comes in addition to plans to invest pound10 billion over the next five years in upgrades to boost passenger numbers, which would be largely funded by higher charges on airlines.
One man's 30 years of toil to save Sierra Leone's orphaned chimps



Tacugama, Sierra Leone, Aug 1 (AFP) Aug 01, 2025



Bala Amarasekaran has never felt like running his world-renowned sanctuary for orphaned chimpanzees in Sierra Leone was truly work, having come to his calling only after several unexpected twists of fate.

Standing in his Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary not far from the capital Freetown, he tenderly patted a young ape's nose and stroked its cheek, whispering a few words of encouragement into its ear.

A nearby adolescent, visibly jealous, grabbed at Amarasekaran's hand, pandering for his attention with an intense gaze.

The chimps are not just Amarasekaran's life and work, but his family too. Since 1995 he has fought for them, nurtured them and preserved the oasis he created for them against an onslaught of dangers.

"I never feel I come to work because the chimps are a part of my life", Amarasekaran told AFP. "It's my passion, I come to see my family."

In the face of armed rebel attacks during the country's civil war, mass deforestation and even Ebola, Amarasekaran has ensured the chimps' safety.

In the midst of it all, Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary has become the country's leading ecotourism destination and a model for environmental conservation in west Africa.

The little apes in the enclosure visited by Amarasekaran had only recently arrived following traumatic life experiences.

Members of the critically endangered Western chimpanzee subspecies, the orphans are often malnourished or otherwise wounded by bullets or machetes, sometimes after being sold by poachers and kept as pets.

At the sanctuary, located inside the country's Western Area Peninsula National Park, they will first be rehabilitated then freed into its dozens of hectares of protected tropical rainforest, already home to 123 primates.



- All by 'accident' -



Amarasekaran, a 64-year-old accountant by training, was by no means destined for a life protecting young apes.

"Well it all happened by accident," Amarasekaran said, green eyes twinkling.

Amarasekaran first arrived in Sierra Leone at age 17 from Sri Lanka.

In 1988, while travelling in the countryside with his wife, Sharmila, the newlyweds were shocked to discover a baby chimpanzee tied to a village tree, malnourished and dehydrated.

"We took the chimp, otherwise he would have died," Amarasekaran said, and once home "we actually looked after him like a child".

Bruno, as he was named, would live with Amarasekaran for almost seven years until the sanctuary was built.

The couple was astounded by the ape's emotions and discovered that chimps had "the same kind of demands in terms of affection" as humans, Amarasekaran said.

The interspecies family grew as the Amarasekarans took in up to seven chimpanzees at a time.

Despite all the love, there could be "a lot of destruction", Amarasekaran said.

Sometimes the chimps would escape from the house, causing damage to neighbours' properties or stealing bread from passersby.

"I was public enemy number one," Amarasekaran said with a laugh, often returning home to find bills for repairs from neighbours.



- A refuge is born -



After a decisive meeting with renowned primatologist Jane Goodall in 1993, Amarasekaran secured funding from the European Union and a green light from the Sierra Leone government.

At the time, Amarasekaran thought he would commit one to two years to the project and then hand over the sanctuary.

But that never happened.

"I didn't realise the chimps would become a very important part of my life," Amarasekaran said, his voice breaking with emotion.

Thanks to his awareness campaign, the government declared the chimpanzee the "national animal of Sierra Leone" in 2019.

Over the years the sanctuary has endured many challenges. During the country's civil war, which lasted from 1991 to 2002, the sanctuary was attacked twice by rebels and completely looted.

Amarasekaran had to negotiate with the fighters to spare his staff and chimps' lives.

Later, the Ebola epidemic posed an existential threat to humans and chimps alike. The centre closed for a year and caregivers moved into the facility.

The same system was also put in place for several months during Covid-19.



- Closed sanctuary -



Faced with an alarming increase in deforestation and illegal encroachment on the national park where the refuge is located, Amarasekaran is taking drastic measures.

Since late May, he has kept the sanctuary closed in a protest meant to shock the government into action.

So far, however, the government has not responded and the financial consequences for the sanctuary, which depends on tourism and donations, are weighing heavily.

As a keeper it is easy to develop a special bond with a few favourite chimps, just like among humans, Amarasekaran said.

He had been particularly close with Bruno, Julie and Philipp, now deceased.

These days, he likes to visit with Mac, Mortes and Abu: "These are my friends", he said while smiling.

As AFP accompanied Amarasekaran around the sanctuary, a roar of excitement arose from an enclosure where some of the adults were gathered.

The adoring screeches seemed proof that the unique love Amarasekaran professed for his chimps goes both ways.
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In one of the most surprising crossovers in recent memory, Anthony Hopkins has resurrected Hannibal Lecter to endorse Kim Kardashians new Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap from her Skims clothing brand.

Hopkins imitated his Silence of the Lambs role, which earned him an Oscar in 1991, in a clip which has already gone viral on Instagram.

In the video, the 87-year-old actor is seen wearing a colourful shirt and the face wrap, which covers his chin, neck and ears and is not dissimilar to the mask Lecter wears to prevent him from biting people.

Mimicking his characters mannerisms, Hopkins says: Hello Kim, I'm already feeling 10 years younger. Paying further homage to the film, Hopkins tagged Kardashian in the caption, writing: Thank you, Kim. Don't be afraid to come over for dinner.

open image in gallery Anthony Hopkins as Dr Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs ( Orion Pictures )

Famously, during the acclaimed thriller, Lecter, who is a serial killing cannibal, tells FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster): A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

At the end of the film, he again tells Starling that he's "having an old friend for dinner".

The video, which has been seen more than 11 million times on Instagram, has received widespread praise, with Gwyneth Paltrow calling it genius.

Elsewhere, The Rookie actor Michael Beach wrote: "Great actor with a great sense of humour!"

Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington added that Hopkins was a true and phenomenal legend. Made in Chelseas Hugo Taylor simply wrote: This could be the best Instagram post ever made.

The post also caught the attention of Kardashian herself, who shared it on her Instagram stories, where she claimed that she was screaming.

open image in gallery Kim Kardashian responded to Hopkins on Instagram ( Kim Kardashian/Instagram )

The new Skims product, which was unveiled earlier this week, has attracted a lot of headlines due to its unique purpose, which essentially shrink wraps the users chin, jawline and cheeks in collagen yarn.

A description on the Skims website reads as: Our first-ever face innovation is here. This must-have face wrap boasts our signature sculpting fabric and features collagen yarns for ultra-soft jaw support. Velcro closures at the top and nape of the neck allow for easy, everyday wear.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Skims will open its first standalone UK store in Londons Regent Street. The US shapewear brand has signed a lease with the Crown Estate and will open a store on the historic shopping street in summer 2026.

Skims was co-founded by Kardashian and entrepreneurs Jens and Emma Grede in 2019. It rapidly gained cult status, specialising in womens underwear, loungewear and shapewear for a variety of body types. A mens collection was launched in 2023.
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Liam Neeson has opened up about filming a strange sex scene with co-star Pamela Anderson for The Naked Gun.

The 73-year-old actor stars in the critically acclaimed comedy as detective Frank Drebin Jr, who is investigating a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II. Anderson, 58, plays Beth Davenport, the sister of a man who has died under suspicious circumstances.

The film sees the characters become romantically involved and, during an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, the Taken star recently shed light on what it was like to film intimate sex scenes with Anderson. It marked the first time Neeson had worked with an intimacy coordinator, an experience he described as a little bit strange, although he insisted that Pamela and I knew... [what to do].

Theres an unexpected threesome, commented Colbert on the scene, which involves a snowman.

That was a first, agreed Neeson. That had to be specifically choreographed.

Admitting that he used a body double for a nude scene in which there is a close up of his characters bum, he added coyly: Lets move on.

open image in gallery Anderson and Neeson star in Naked Gun together ( Getty Images )

The films writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand said that the segment marked the strangest sex scene of [Neesons] life.

This is a spoiler, but he has a great  very strange love scene that I believe has to be the strangest sex scene of his life, Gregor told Metro.

Mand added: Every day was the strangest thing. Every scene is like, Liam Neeson is doing this?

open image in gallery Couple have sparked rumours of a romance ( Paramount Pictures )

Neeson and Andersons chemistry, both on and offscreen, has sparked dating rumours, which neither has addressed head-on. The pair have appeared cosy during red carpet appearances to promote the film.

Shes great in the movie, shes terrific, Neeson told Colbert. She loves to cook, she loves to bake. She made me sourdough loaves during the shoot, bran loaves which I love.

Asked about their potential romantic involvement on the Today show earlier this week, Neeson joked: What? I don't understand the question. I had never met Pamela before. We met on set. And we discovered we had a lovely, budding chemistry as two actors. Like oh, this is nice. Lets not mould this. Lets just let it breathe, and thats what we did.
Boeing Co.s (NYSE:BA) second-quarter results on Tuesday revealed a wider-than-anticipated loss, despite strong revenue driven by a significant jump in commercial aircraft deliveries and an expanding order backlog.

This mixed financial performance underscores the aerospace giants ongoing efforts to stabilize operations amid persistent industry challenges.

Despite the quarterly earnings per share (EPS) miss, Wall Street analysts largely maintain a bullish outlook on Boeing. They cite solid delivery momentum, a strong backlog, and improving cash flow as key reasons for optimism.

Also Read: Trump Trade Deals To Aid $600 Billion Boeing Backlog As Q2 Reveals Tariffs Becoming Less Of A Headwind

Goldman Sachs analyst Noah Poponak, for instance, reiterated a Buy rating and modestly raised his price forecast to $260 from $257, citing stronger-than-expected commercial deliveries and cash flow.

Similarly, Bank of America Securities (BofA) analyst Ronald J. Epstein maintained a Buy rating with a reaffirmed price forecast of $260, buoyed by robust jet demand and improving execution.

Boeing reported second-quarter revenue of $22.75 billion, topping analyst expectations thanks to a 63% jump in commercial aircraft deliveries. However, the company posted an adjusted loss of $1.24 per share, wider than the $0.94 loss forecast, partly due to a $445 million charge tied to a Department of Justice settlement. Free cash outflow came in at $200 million, beating consensus estimates by over $1 billion.

Commercial airplane revenue surged 81% year-over-year to $10.87 billion. Boeing delivered 150 commercial jets during the quarter, helping backlog swell to $619 billion, including more than 5,900 aircraft orders worth $522 billion. The 737 program remained steady at 38 units per month, while the 787 ramped up to 7 per month.

Analyst Take: Cautious Optimism With Focus On Execution

Goldmans Poponak views Boeings second-quarter results as a broad beat, driven by stronger Commercial Aircraft deliveries, stabilized Defense margins, and solid Services performance. Free cash flow exceeded consensus by over $1 billion, prompting an upward revision to full-year guidance. While 737 and 787 production rates remain at 38 and 7 per month, respectively, demand supports further increases.

Poponak believes Boeing must still improve operational execution to restore normalized margins and regain investor confidence. If achieved, the stock offers substantial upside. He maintains a Buy rating with a revised $260 price target, based on a 3.0% FCF yield on 2026E. Key risks include supply chain constraints, air traffic growth uncertainty, and defense contract execution.
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The musician Dave Edmunds, best known for his 1970 Christmas No 1 I Hear You Knocking, is reportedly fighting for his life in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest.

On Tuesday (29 July), Edmunds wife. Cici, shared on Facebook that her husband had been hit by a major cardiac arrest and had briefly died in my arms, before medics managed to revive him.

Cici, who lives with her husband in Rockfield, Monmouthshire, said that she kept Edmunds alive by clearing his airways of fluid while a nurse gave him heavy CPR. Miraculously, the musician was brought back to life after being intubated by doctors but is still critically ill in hospital.

She added that Edmunds very clearly has brain damage and severe memory loss and that the risk of another major cardiac arrest is high. Cici said that she believes she has PTSD from the horrific experience but asked for his fans to send their prayers and good wishes.

open image in gallery Dave Edmunds in 1969 ( Getty )

Cici concluded her lengthy post by adding: Dave will have a very long journey ahead of him if he survives. We both have. But knowing that there are kind-hearted people such as you all. Makes this tremendously difficult journey a little easier. Bless you all.

Edmunds, who was born in Cardiff, first rose to prominence as the frontman of the blues rock band Love Sculpture, who released their debut album Blues Helping in 1968. The band achieved a top five single in the same year with a cover of Khachaturians classical movement Sabre Dance.

After Love Sculpture broke up, Edmunds would embark on a successful solo career with his debut single, the aforementioned I Hear You Knocking reaching number one for Christmas in 1970. The song, which sold more than 3 million copies, was also a hit in the US, where it peaked at number three.

open image in gallery Irma Thomas poses with her 'MOJO Legend award with Dave Edmunds at The Mojo Honours List 2008 Award Ceremony ( Getty )

Edmunds would enjoy further hits as a solo artist throughout the 1970s, with singles such as Baby I Love You, Born to Be With You and Girl Talk all entering the top 10 at various stages during the decade.

He also trained to be a music producer and worked with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Stray Cats, Status Quo and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Edmunds also collaborated with Jeff Lynnes ELO for his 1983 album Information. In 1992 and 2000, he would tour as a member of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.
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Adrian Edmondson says boomers have ruined things for younger generations as they havent shared their wealth.

The Young Ones and Bottom comedy star reflected on the challenges faced by his five grandchildren in a new interview, stating: Sometimes I think weve f***ed the whole thing up for them.

Edmondson, 68, said the boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, have had the best of it but havent shared what they were given.

[Weve had] the best of the NHS, the best music  we had all the trimmings, he told The Telegraph.

Weve all got our houses, when a house cost three times your earnings. Now its, like, 27 times your earnings. How did we let it get like that?

Edmondson, who stars in new series Alien: Earth, added: Its unbelievable the f***ing mess weve made.

He said the political climate is very similar to Margaret Thatchers time rather than any Labour government as Prime Minister Keir Starmer is not Left.

open image in gallery Adrian Edmondson is worried about younger geerations ( Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI )

According to Nationwide Building Society, the annual rate of house price growth accelerated to 2.4 per cent in July, from 2.1 per cent in June, which took the average UK house price to 272,664.

Robert Gardner, Nationwides chief economist, said: While the price of a typical UK home is around 5.75 times average income, this ratio is well below the all-time high of 6.9 recorded in 2022 and is currently the lowest this ratio has been for over a decade.

Gardner credited a period of strong income growth alongside more subdued house price growth and a modest fallback in mortgage rates in what he described as the steady improvement of housing affordability.

Edmondson has been married to Absolutely Fabulous star Jennifer Saunders since 1985, and they have three children: Ella, Beattie and Freya.

The actors career was launched in the 1980s after meeting his comedy partner Rik Mayall at the University of Manchester the previous decade.

After performing on Channel 4s The Comic Strip Presents..., Edmondson and Mayall starred in anarchic 1982 sitcom The Young Ones and, in 1991, reteamed for slapstick series Bottom.

Mayall died aged 56 on 9 June 2014 after suffering a sudden heart attack and, in 2024, Edmondson opened up about their friendship and working relationship in a one-off special celebrating Bottom.

open image in gallery Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson in Bottom ( BBC )

Edmondson said its very weird being in a world without Mayall.

Its weird thinking that he didnt know anything about Brexit, didnt know about Covid.

The actor also revealed was not on the best of terms with Mayall at the time of his death.

I mean, our relationship was strained towards the end, Edmondson said, but added that he remembers their time working together as the most joy Ive ever had in my life.
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Coronation Street legend Sally Ann Matthews, known for playing the fiery Rovers Return landlady Jenny Connor, has announced shes leaving the soap after decades on screen.

The 54-year-old said in a post shared on Friday (1 August) that it was time to play different roles  ones that she always hoped I would when Id grown up.

Matthews made her debut on the soap in 1986 as Alan Bradley's tearaway daughter, before leaving in 1991. She made a shock return in 2016, which was only meant to last for a matter of months, but ended up staying as a central character in the show for another decade.

She said: Was supposed to stay for five months but ended up doing an extra ten years because I loved it so much!

Thanks Trafford Wharf Rd for the memories and endless laughter x.

Fans had been wondering whether Jenny might be saying goodbye to the cobbles after her on-screen stepdaughter, Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan), ran away with her money earlier this year.

Matthews exit follows a string of central character departures, with Shelley King, who played Yasmeen Metcalfe, Charlotte Jordan and Colson Smith, who played Craig Tinker, having all left the soap in the past year.

In January, Gail Platt actor Helen Worth and Luca Toolan, whose character Mason Radcliffe was killed off, both left the soap. Sue Cleaver, who played the popular matriarch Eileen Grimshaw, also left the show in June.

Sally Ann Matthews pictured in 2015 ( Getty )

Its also been announced that Sue Devaney, who plays Debbie Webster, will exit the series in 2027. Her character was diagnosed with early onset dementia, and the storyline will eventually lead to her exit.

TV stars have been sharing their well-wishes for Matthews online, with Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies commenting: Youve been absolutely wonderful!

One fan seemed confused about the cast shake-up, writing: Youre leaving the cobbles? Theres going to be nobody left.

Another fan shared a similar sentiment, writing: I wish they would leave legacy characters alone, first Sue Devaney, now you... We are going to end up stuck with a load of newbies we care nothing about, for the sake of the budget.

Not watched Corrie in about 6 months due to all the changes made by the new producer and now the fabulous @sallyannmatthews is bowing out as Jenny. I dont think Ill be back if this is how the show is going! said another disappointed viewer.

Meanwhile, one fan told Matthews: We love you! youve been sensational! An old school Corrie woman, flawed, honest, proud, unbreakable.
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EastEnders star Ricky Champ, known for his role as Stuart Highway, is returning to the BBC soap three years after he exited the programme.

The 45-year-old actor made his Albert Square debut in 2018 as the brother to Callum Highway. Stuart was initially a villain, famously beating up Ben Mitchell and leaving him for dead.

Champs character later underwent a redemption arc and became a fan favourite before the actor left the soap alongside his onscreen wife Rainie Cross (Tanya Franks) in 2022.

According to The Sun, Champ will return to EastEnders in the near future for a limited period contract to bring some drama to Albert Square, seven years after he first arrived in Walford.

Stuarts five years on the square saw him work in the local funeral parlor, Coker & Mitchell, before retraining in taxidermy.

Champs biggest storylines involved his character being diagnosed with male breast cancer and subsequently battling postnatal depression after welcoming his son Roland.

Stuart struggled to speak to his wife, Rainie, about his depression, and she eventually left Walford with their child after Bernie Taylor (Clair Norris) gave her an ultimatum.

Ricky Champ as Stuart Highway in 'EastEnders' ( BBC )

As Stuart struggled with his mental health, his brother Callum (Tony Clay) and his grandmother Vi (Gwen Taylor) were shocked to discover the taxidermist had been arranging his own funeral.

Rainie later returned to the square and convinced her husband to get treatment. The couple then moved out of Walford together to work on their marriage.

Back in 2023, Champ hinted at his return to Albert Square in an interview with MyLondon.

The door is open and that was a discussion that we had when we decided it was time for Stuart to leave, to be rested, he said.

He's not dead, so who knows what the future will bring but not for a while I don't think.

Fans were quick to speculate that Stuarts forthcoming storylines could be connected to the return of Max Branning (Jake Wood), who was confirmed to be making his way back to Walford this July.

Wood said: Im excited to see what hes been up to, and what is next for the character, but if his last 15 years in the square are anything to go by, Im sure there will be plenty of chaos.
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A man says he has had to spend nearly 150,000 on private medical care after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Steven Williams, 39, from Bridgend, South Wales, was leading a normal and active lifestyle, exercising regularly, working as a civil servant and playing in a rock band when he felt a sudden change in March 2021.

He began experiencing severe heart palpitations, fatigue and debilitating bouts of anxiety and depression, as well as new food intolerances and gastrointestinal issues  none of which he had experienced before.

Despite previously being the steady one in the group, Steven found himself unable to perform even simple daily tasks, such as taking out the bins, watching television, or washing himself, due to the overwhelming intensity of his anxiety and depression.

Seven months after visiting the GP and being prescribed various ineffective medicines, he says, it was discovered he had Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks.

open image in gallery Steven was a fit, outgoing man until he contracted Lyme disease ( Collect/PA Real Life )

He says the NHSs two-week course of the antibiotic Doxycycline would have been ineffective at his advanced stage, so since his diagnosis in October 2021, he has spent in the region of 150,000 on private healthcare around the world, having to remortgage his house to do so.

However, despite the expense, Steven said he has seen only minor improvements in his condition and is forced to live a robotic, limited life, eating a handful of plain foods and doing very few activities just to be able to function.

I just want to regain some of my old quality of life, he said.

Its small things like being able to meet friends for a meal, listen to music and do exercise.

open image in gallery Steven said it took seven months for him to be diagnosed with Lyme disease ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Since March 2021, although my symptoms have waxed and waned, Ive never felt better than a four out of 10.

The NHS is an amazing institution, and my GP has been so supportive, but a two-week course of Doxycycline is all theyve been able to offer.

For people who fall between the cracks, the system is too rigid.

Ticks that may cause Lyme disease are found all over the UK, but high-risk places include grassy and wooded areas in southern England and the Scottish Highlands, the NHS says.

open image in gallery Steven is now unable to listen to music because it is too overstimulating ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Steven said he does not know when exactly he was bitten, and he did not get a bullseye rash, a typical tell-tale mark surrounding the bite. But, despite common belief, the rash is only present in a minority of Lyme disease patients, according to Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Centre.

Living in South Wales, Steven spent long hours walking in the mountains and forests with his dog, Jarvis, and suspects he may have been bitten there, though he believes it could have been any number of days, weeks or even years before his symptoms first showed.

In March 2021, he said his life as he knew it ended abruptly as he was struck with sudden, severe bouts of depression and anxiety, as well as heart palpitations.

He said he also suddenly became highly intolerant to many food types and experienced significant gastrointestinal issues, and he found he was easily overstimulated, meaning he was unable to watch TV, socialise or even listen to music.

open image in gallery Steven, his partner Heather and their dog Jarvis ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Its very hard to explain but, as someone who used to play in a rock band, thats a hard pill to swallow, he said.

Steven visited a GP in March 2021 but said it was not until October that he was diagnosed with Lyme disease.

I knew something was not right and that my symptoms werent characteristic of me. It was terrifying, he said.

Id heard of the term Lyme disease but when I found out I had it, I thought, Great, now I can treat it and be well.

Lo and behold, it wasnt that simple.

open image in gallery Steven and his cockapoo Jarvis ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Steven said it was too late for the NHS-prescribed Doxycycline to be effective, so he was left to find his own remedies.

He claims he has tried a huge range  pharmaceutical, herbal and holistic  and has travelled all over the world to do so.

In February 2022, he said he visited a clinic in Bavaria, Germany, to receive intravenous antibiotics and whole-body hyperthermia, a treatment that uses heat to raise the body temperature, stimulating the immune response.

While this successfully killed the Borrelia bacteria that cause Lyme disease, he says, it did not impact the Babesia parasite, which infects red blood cells, causing flu-like symptoms.

Returning to Wales after his treatment in March 2022, Steven said he unfortunately contracted Covid-19.

open image in gallery Steven said he wants to regain some quality of my old life ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Since his immune system was compromised, he said the effects of this were severe and he was left with long Covid, causing fatigue, thickening his blood and further hindering his progress.

Following this, Steven said he has sought several other remedies  he visited Mexico to receive stem cell therapy and flew to New York on several occasions to work with Lyme disease specialist Dr Richard Horowitz.

He also tried extended fasting and herbal remedies and, in February 2025, he said he flew to India to receive Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy, a treatment which uses immunoglobulins, a type of protein that contains antibodies, which are taken from human blood.

While this had a positive impact on his food intolerances, he says, he remains well below full health, struggling with sleep and forced to live a strict, simple lifestyle.

I have to live such a robotic life, just to feel semi-normal, he says.

open image in gallery Stevens friend has set up a GoFundMe page to help him fund the next round of treatment in Germany ( Collect/PA Real Life )

Overall, Steven thinks he has spent nearly 150,000 seeking treatments.

He said his course in Germany was in the region of 35,000 and his IVIg treatment in India cost 20,000.

Steven said he was forced to remortgage his house to pay for them but he is determined to continue searching for an effective remedy.

Symptoms of Lyme disease NHS A circular or oval-shaped rash around a tick bite can be an early symptom of Lyme disease in some people. Some people also get flu-like symptoms a few days or weeks after they were bitten by an infected tick, such as: a high temperature, or feeling hot and shivery

headache

muscle and joint pain

tiredness and loss of energy

His friend Alecs Donovan has therefore set up a GoFundMe page to help him fund the next round of treatment in Germany, which he said will thin his blood and reduce the effects of long Covid.

Alecs has been absolutely amazing, he says.

Shes such a wonderful person, always trying to help others.

Health really is wealth so Im so grateful to everyone who has donated. I just hope I can get my normal life back.

open image in gallery Steven thinks he has spent nearly 150,000 seeking treatments ( Collect/PA Real Life )

A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said: While it is not appropriate for us to comment on the care received by individuals, we encourage Mr Williams to get in touch with our concerns team directly so that we can explore his concerns further.

To donate, visit Stevens GoFundMe page, or for more information, visit the NHS.

The NHS says not all ticks in England carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, but it is still important to be aware of ticks and to safely remove them as soon as possible.
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I was in the bath trying to get warm, surrounded by needles, screaming to God for help. I thought, Im going to be dead soon.

Id been out shoplifting, and hadnt been able to find anything to sell to buy some crack and heroin. My long-term partner had died of a methadone overdose and my circulation was so poor that I couldnt take in any of the drugs I was able to buy. At the age of 43, Id finally hit rock bottom. And I was ready to change.

This chapter of my life had begun when I was 15. That was when I met an older guy named Dave, who was 26. He looked after me and made me feel special. At the time, we didnt have the awareness of grooming that we have now. I lived in a nice part of Leeds, where that kind of thing didnt happen. My dad, a well-known policeman and pub and nightclub owner in the area, said that Dave was a nasty piece of work. But I rebelled. In my mind they had no reason not to like him. I thought he was brilliant. My mum was desperate and reported me to social services, but because I was only a few months off turning 16, they advised me the best ways I could be safe.

They put me in the middle of Leeds, with three other girls whod just left social services. They were 16 and 17. You can imagine what happened. The parties were endless. Dave told me he smoked cannabis oil and shared it with me. Hed smoke it in front of his mum so I believed him. I used it for a week and then one day I woke up and thought I had the flu. I was vomiting a vile green liquid. Ill never forget what came next. I said, This isnt cannabis is it?. He said: Youll never leave me now, will you b****?

Two months after I turned 18, I married him. Hed never hit me until the wedding night, when he beat me black and blue. He went on to beat me when I was pregnant. I lost the baby. He beat me so often that I can never have children again.

We had our wedding on a Thursday and I was arrested on the Sunday. Wed stolen cars and rammed them into a computer shop so Dave could loot it  he fled the scene and I was arrested. By Tuesday, I was on the way to prison. There, I became adamant that this was a one-time thing and that Id never go back to jail. But a prison officer had warned me: If you stay in that relationship, youll be in and out of here for a long time.

I wish more judges would give addicts a chance because youre in a constant, endless cycle. If youre released homeless then you go back on drugs and go back to crime and so on. My case worker and the judge could both see something in me that I couldnt see in myself

After I got out of prison, I met Evo at a trap house in Leeds on Bonfire Night in 1995. He was so charismatic, charming and protective. He made me feel safe even though I tried to push him away because of what Id been through. Dave couldnt touch me anymore because he knew that if he did, Evo would beat him up. Dave and I lost touch a few months into my relationship with Evo. I found out later that, years after we parted ways, he died by suicide.

When me and Evo got together, he would always say, I love you before you love me because it took me a long time to open up. We were together for 28 years. I thought of us as Bonnie and Clyde, until the alcohol took him over in the last 10 years of our relationship.

Over 32 years I was imprisoned for so many crimes. I cant remember how many convictions, charges, and prison sentences Ive had. Shoplifting. Theft. Burglary. Assault. Drugs. It was a continuous cycle.

In July 2022 my life changed again. Evo was feeling sick and becoming jaundiced. I begged him to get help, but he thought he would be OK. He was a very stubborn man. His condition worsened, and one day I woke up and he was dead. I was arrested and accused of murder, which was later dropped to a lesser charge of supplying drugs which resulted in death.

At the time, I was living with a sex worker in Leeds who was getting help from the Joanna Project, a brilliant support service for women. They would pick me up from wherever I had happened to find myself. My case worker, a woman called Jackie, fought for me to get the support I needed.

open image in gallery Charlie when she was in the grips of her addiction ( Supplied )

My probation worker also fought for me not to go to prison again. I wrote to my stepdad and my mum for the first time and asked for help, which Id never done before. The judge gave me a chance. He asked: Has this woman ever been to rehab? and ordered that I get support for my drug addiction. I never thought Id be grateful to a judge, but that one question changed my life. He took a chance on me, and Ive not looked back since. I wish more judges would give addicts a chance because youre in a constant, endless cycle. If youre released homeless then you go back on drugs and go back to crime and so on. Jackie and the judge could both see something in me that I couldnt see in myself.

When my support worker drove me up to Littledale Hall rehab the year after, I couldnt even get out of the car. I had chronic anxiety and was shaking. I couldnt be in a room full of people. My support worker sat with me on a bus shelter outside the building and I looked up and saw a stone that said Hope, which I took as a sign from Evo and my dog, who had died. On the first day, I introduced myself: Hi, Im Charlie, a junkie shoplifter from Leeds  because thats how I saw myself.

After three weeks of detox, I started rehab for the first time on 5 September 2023. I wasnt the easiest client because I had such a jail mentality  if Id shown vulnerability in jail, I wouldnt have survived. My sister has also been a big help. Shes eight years older than me and has always supported me. After 43 weeks, I had my first full four and a half hours of restful sleep on 1 December 2023. I lived in supported accommodation and continued to get support and left there before March this year and have been living in Preston ever since.

Ive had counselling and learnt about the patterns of domestic violence and abuse. Ive learnt a lot about how my past has affected me and the things I can do to change what happens in my life.

open image in gallery Charlie today (right) and her sister Sarah ( Supplied )

With the help of Lancashire Women, Im continuing to get counselling. Ive finally got my GCSEs with their help. Ive earnt certificates in child neglect and safeguarding and have become qualified to be a support worker. Ive had more education in the past year than Ive had in my lifetime. I used to have darkness in my head all the time and now I have light.

I volunteer as a peer mentor with probation and Littledale and will be doing the same with Lancashire Women, too. I share my story on TikTok and Instagram and I have almost 9,000 followers, who tell me theyve been inspired by my journey.

Im happier than Ive ever been, but it still doesnt stop my mind from going off some days and I still have nightmares about Dave.

I used to see myself as Charlie the shoplifting junkie. But now? I know Im compassionate. I know I can help others. I was 46 when I first went to rehab. If my story helps just one person realise that its never too late to turn things around, then Im happy. If I can give other people hope, then Im happy.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.

In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP
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American Eagle has finally responded to the backlash regarding its latest campaign with Sydney Sweeney.

Last week, the retailer revealed an advert with the actor, which features her posing in a denim jacket and jeans, alongside the tagline: Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.

While the tagline appeared to be a pun about denim  by changing the word genes to jeans  it sparked immense criticism online on Monday, since the phrases good genes and great genes have historically been used in the language of eugenicists, who believe the human race can be improved genetically by selective breeding.

Now, American Eagle has spoken out about the campaign and defended the Euphoria star.

Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans is and always was about the jeans, the retailer wrote in a statement on its Instagram Friday. Her jeans. Her story.

American Eagle says Sydney Sweeney ad always was about the jeans amid backlash ( Getty Images )

Well continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way, the statement continued. Great jeans look good on everyone.

Along with criticizing the tag line, many people noted the apparent subtext of the campaign and hit back at it for a lack of diversity.

Advertising has always been and will always be about subtext and interpretation. If you're going to run a campaign that has a double meaning, you better be clear on what those double meanings are. Making a blonde white lady the sole face of your campaign and saying she has good genes against the backdrop of literally everything happening in the world is a choice, one person wrote on LinkedIn.

Sydney Sweeney is a great example of white supremacy being the only way a lot of people derive self-esteem, another wrote on X. She starred in two shows where she played the less hot friend to a dark-haired and brown skinned woman and tried to steal their man for validation in both shows.

Meanwhile, a crucial part of the ad campaign has gone unnoticed.

As part of the campaign, American Eagle is launching The Sydney Jean, a limited-run on the companys wide-legged jeans that were produced in collaboration with Sweeney, according to a press release.

Theres also a butterfly motif on the back pocket of [The Sydney Jean that] represents domestic violence awareness, with 100 percent of proceeds from the jeans being donated to Crisis Text Line, a non-profit that offers confidential mental health support to anyone 24/7.

However, many people on X have expressed that the important meaning of this campaign isnt clear in any of Sweeney's advertisements.

If you watched those Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ads, youd never know they were fundraising for a domestic violence charity, one tweeted, while another agreed: That Sydney [Sweeney] American Eagle ad was supposed to be about raising awareness for domestic violence, and that's the approach they chose.

Despite the controversy over the campaign, sales at American Eagle were flying. Since the advert was announced, American Eagles stock jumped 10 percent, adding about $200 million to the groups value, according to Vanity Fair.
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Four people are dead after a shooting at a bar in Anaconda, Montana.

The shooting happened around 10:30 a.m. at The Owl Bar on Friday, the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation told the Associated Press. Officials have identified the suspect as 45-year-old Michael Brown.

He is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous, according to the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center. Brown was last seen near Stump Town, west of Anaconda. More than a dozen officers are in the area and appear to be searching for him in the woods, the AP reports.

The Granite County Sheriffs Office said the suspected gunman is wearing a tye dyed shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana. He was last seen driving a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup with Montana license plates, Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement told NBC Montana.

Officers from Denvers Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are responding. The FBI is also assisting, a spokesperson for the agencys Salt Lake City office told the AP.

open image in gallery Police have identified 45-year-old Michael Brown as a suspect in the Anaconda, Montana shooting ( Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center )

open image in gallery Photo of Brown distributed by police ( Granite County Sheriff's Office )

A SWAT team cleared the suspects house in Anaconda, the sheriffs office said at 1:30pm local time.

The Montana Highway Patrol has urged people to stay away from the area.

"There is a heavy law enforcement presence west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road, the agency said. Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be armed.

The sheriffs office said troopers stopped a driver in a white F-150 while searching for the suspect. The driver was not the suspected gunman.

open image in gallery Police respond to an shooting in Anaconda, Montana ( MTN News )

Local business owner Barbie Nelson told the AP the incident has shaken residents.

We are Montana, so guns are not new to us. For our town to be locked down, everybodys pretty rattled, Nelson said.

Its a small town, so we all probably know someone who was there, she added.

Governor Greg Gianforte said hes closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda.

Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy, Gianforte wrote on X.

Montana Senator Tim Sheehy also issued a statement on the attack: We are monitoring this tragedy and are in touch with local authorities. We thank law enforcement for their ongoing efforts to protect our communities and pray for the victims, their families, and the entire Anaconda community.
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Authorities revealed Thursday that two deputies have been fired after an inmate was released by mistake from a New Orleans jail.

The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office said 30-year-old Khalil Bryan was released from the Orleans Justice Center on July 25 over a human error and not a system failure, ABC News reported.

Bryan, who remains at large, was allowed to leave when he was mixed up with a fellow inmate with the same last name during the facilitys overnight release process. His identity was not properly verified, the sheriffs office said.

The mistake was compounded by inadequate protocol adherence," the office added. Two deputies, whose names have not been made public, were let go and accused of "severe breach of duty and process.

Another five staffers have been suspended "due to procedural failures and negligence" during the failed identity verification. The sheriffs office said its enacting additional training on the release process and conducting a review of all releases by a supervisor.

open image in gallery Khalil Bryan was mistakenly released from a New Orleans jail ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office )

In a Thursday statement, Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said, "This incident reflects a failure in execution, and we are taking full accountability.

"The people of New Orleans deserve a jail that operates with precision and professionalism, she added.

In May, 10 inmates escaped from the same jail, with one violent offender still at large. The inmates repeatedly pulled on a sliding cell door until it derailed. Next, they were able to pull bathroom fixtures off their mountings, and are thought to have squeezed through a hole in the wall.

The men made it to the jails supply loading bay and then used blankets to scale a security wall with razor wire and ran across Interstate 10, fleeing into the wider New Orleans area.

open image in gallery Inmates at Orleans Justice Center flee out of a loading dock on Friday, May 16 ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office )

open image in gallery In May, 10 inmates escaped from the same jail with one violent offender still at large

Bryan was being held on several charges, including possession of stolen property, drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer, according to the New Orleans Police Department. He has an active warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm, domestic abuse, child endangerment, and home invasion, the department added.

New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick noted that he has a violent criminal history. It includes aggravated burglary, aggravated assault with a weapon, and aggravated criminal damage to property.

The mistake was discovered about 10 hours after his release, the sheriffs office said. After finding the error at 11.10 a.m. on July 25, the public was informed at 3.45 p.m. on the same day.

open image in gallery Khalil Bryan remains at large following his mistaken release on July 25 ( Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office )

On Thursday, the sheriffs office said it waited to alert the public for several hours as they wanted to avoid tipping off Bryan as they searched for him.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said previously that his office has not ruled out pursuing charges against the deputies.

"This is a deeply troubling incident that underscores the ongoing systemic issues surrounding the exercise of custody and control over detained individuals," he said last week. "The failure to properly confirm the identity of an inmate prior to release is an unacceptable lapse that presents a real and immediate risk to public safety.

Authorities didnt believe Bryan was an immediate threat as he was being held "primarily for non-violent charges," the sheriffs office noted.

The inmate who was supposed to be released instead of Bryan was let go just before 11 p.m. on July 25.
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A Florida man who murdered his wife and two children with a machete in 1994 was executed on Thursday, making him the ninth person put to death in Florida this year.

Edward Zakrzewski was pronounced dead at 6.12 p.m. after he received a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, according to prison officials.

Prison officials woke Zakrzewski at 5.15 a.m. and he later received his last meal  fried pork chops, root beer, and ice cream  before he was put to death in the evening.

Florida Department of Corrections spokesman Paul Walker told the Associated Press Zakrzewski "remained compliant" during his execution process.

Florida has set a grim record with Zakrzewski's death; this year the state has executed more inmates than any other year since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The last record was eight executions in one year in 2014.

open image in gallery Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was sentenced to death for murdering his wife, Sylvia, and their two young children in 1994. He was executed on Thursday at the Florida State Prison. Zakrzewski was the ninth man executed in the state, setting a record for the most people put to death in Florida in a single year ( Florida Department of Corrections )

Not only has Florida outdone itself when it comes to killing inmates, but it has executed more people than any other state. Texas and South Carolina are tied for second with four executions each, according to the Associated Press.

The Sunshine State isn't slowing down either. It is expected to execute two other inmates  bringing its total to 11 executions under one year  on August 19 and 28.

Zakrzewski killed his 34-year-old wife, Sylvia, and their two children, Edward, 7, and Anna, 5, at their home in Florida more than 30 years ago.

Prosecutors argued Zakrzewski murdered his wife in retaliation of her seeking a divorce. He reportedly had told others he would kill his family before he'd agree to a divorce.

He attacked his wife with a crowbar and then strangled her with a rope, according to court documents. Zakrzewski killed his children with a machete and hit his wife with the blade as well when he mistakenly thought she'd survived his initial attack.

open image in gallery Florida State Prison, where Edward Zakrzewski was executed on Thursday ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Zakrzewski's attorneys tried to file appeals to his death sentence during his incarceration after the trial but all were rejected. Just before his execution, Zakrzewski's lawyers filed a final request to stay his execution, but the Supreme Court denied the request on Wednesday.

Demonstrators who oppose the death penalty pointed to the fact that Zakrzewski was sentenced to death by a jury who voted 7-5 for the punishment  barely a majority.

They noted that, under current state law, he could not have been sentenced to death with a hung jury. Florida currently requires at least an 8-4 vote in favor of execution to hand down a death penalty.

The Action Network, one of the groups that oppose the death penalty, asked volunteers to call Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss office to ask for a stay of execution.

"Florida does not need the death penalty to be safe. This execution will not make us safer, it will simply add another act of violence to an already tragic story. Justice does not require death," The Action Networks script said.

Before Thursday, 26 inmates were put to death in the U.S. this year, and 11 more are scheduled for execution before the end of 2025.
By Renju Jose and Lucy Craymer

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) -Australian products could become more competitive in the U.S. market, helping businesses boost exports, Trade Minister Don Farrell said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump kept the minimum tariff rate of 10% for Australia.

Trump set higher import duties of 10% to 41%, starting in seven days for 69 trading partners, including a duty of 35% on many goods from Canada, 50% for Brazil and 15% for Australia's south Pacific neighbour New Zealand.

"What this decision means in conjunction with all of the other changes to other countries is that Australian products are now more competitive into the American market," Farrell told reporters in Adelaide.

"We will assist all of our exporters in ensuring we take advantage of this situation and increase the volume of exports."

New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay said he was hoping to have talks with his U.S. counterparts.

"I am seeking an urgent call with the U.S. Trade Representative to make New Zealands position clear: this increase risks harming exporters and consumers of both countries," he said in a statement.

US firms now face an average tariff of 0.8% when exporting to New Zealand, McClay said.

New Zealand exports about NZ$9 billion ($5.29 billion) of goods each year to the United States, its second largest market after China, meaning the increase would be "considerable" for exporters, he added.

TRADE TALKS

Trump's decision to put Australia among countries facing the lowest tariff levels will be a relief for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the opposition criticised him for not meeting the U.S. president in person.

But Farrell said Australia's negotiations helped it to retain the baseline tariff rate.

"This is a vindication for the Albanese government and particularly the prime minister in the cool and calm way we have conducted diplomacy with the United States," Farrell said.

Australia last week eased restrictions on beef imports from the United States, potentially smoothing trade talks with Trump, although Albanese said the decision had long been considered and was not related to any trade negotiations.

($1=1.7007 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Renju Jose and Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez)
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Behind the gates of a federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, three high-profile women  whose lives once played out in the boardroom, on Bravo, or at billionaire dinner parties  now share the same khaki uniform, early wake-up calls, and tightly regulated daily routines.

Ghislaine Maxwell, 62, convicted of trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, has just been moved to Bryan Federal Prison Camp, the same facility where Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah are also housed.

While the minimum-security facility is known for a relatively relaxed environment  there are no towering fences, no barbed wire, and no high-security cells  the women must adhere to a strict schedule.

open image in gallery Ghislaine Maxwell, 62, convicted of trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, has just been moved to Bryan Federal Prison Camp in Texas ( Federal Bureau of Prisons )

Inmates are woken at 6 a.m. and are subject to regular roll calls.

Inmates are treated in a mature and responsible manner, according to the facilitys handbook, as reported by BBC, and are expected to act accordingly.

Rule violations, including a messy bunk, oversleeping, or skipping count, can result in disciplinary action.

Life inside revolves around work, education, and structured recreation. All inmates must hold jobs, earning between 12 cents and $1.15 per hour in areas like food service or maintenance.

Outside of work, inmates can take classes in business, foreign languages, and fitness, attend religious services, or watch television.

Meals follow a standard Federal Bureau of Prisons menu, which consists of chicken, tacos, hotdogs, and macaroni, and inmates are allotted one hour per meal. Family visits are allowed on weekends and holidays, and limited physical contact is permitted.

open image in gallery While the minimum-security facility is known for a relatively relaxed environment, the women must adhere to a strict schedule ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

open image in gallery Inmates are kept in dormitory-style cells ( Zoukis Consulting Group / YouTube )

Maxwells transfer this week comes as renewed scrutiny surrounds the Epstein case, since an outcry over the Justice Departments statement last month saying that it would not be releasing any additional documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation.

Now, Maxwell joins a prison population of just over 500 women, mostly non-violent offenders. Many of the women incarcerated there  including Holmes and Shah  have been convicted of financial crimes and fraud.

Holmes reported to Bryan in May 2023 to begin serving an 11 year sentence for defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup, Theranos.

The woman once hailed as the next Steve Jobs now wakes at in a dorm-style bunk, eats meals in a communal cafeteria, and earns a fraction of her previous Silicon Valley life.

open image in gallery Maxwell joins Elizabeth Holmes, who reported to Bryan in May 2023 to begin serving an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors in her blood-testing startup, Theranos ( Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Holmes has reportedly bonded with reality star Jen Shah, Shahs representative, Chris Giovanni, told People in 2023.

Shah was sentenced to six and a half years in prison in January 2023 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for her role in a nationwide telemarketing scam. Her sentence has since been reduced, and her release date is now set for November 3, 2026.

In a May 30 blog post shared by her representative, Shah greeted fans with the Islamic phrase Bismillah and offered updates on her well-being: I am in great spirits and well, she wrote, adding that she remains dedicated to fitness and helping other inmates achieve their goals.

open image in gallery Jennifer Shah, center, of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" reality television series, touches her face mask as she leaves Manhattan federal court, after pleading guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, in New York, Monday July 11, 2022 ( AP )

I wanted to share a personal image that I mailed to my team of one of my shahmazing workouts, she wrote, alongside a photo of herself jumping rope outdoors. The consistent love and admiration from my supporters, my loving family, and my faith keeps me going.

According to her representatives, she is making restitution payments and is focused on rebuilding her life once she returns to her family.
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Police are searching for a man they believe killed four members of a family in rural Tennessee before abandoning a 7-month-old baby girl in a front yard.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has named Austin Robert Drummond, 28, as a suspect in Tuesdays quadruple murder. He is still on the loose and police warn Drummond should be considered armed and dangerous. The Marshals Service is offering up to $7,500 for information leading to his capture.

Drummond is about 5'10, weighs 190 lbs, and has blue eyes, brown hair, and a goatee, though he may have altered parts of his appearance since the killings, according to the TBI. He has been added to the states most wanted list.

The suspect was last seen driving his white Audi A3 sedan, which has Tennessee license plate RI 01896. The vehicle can be further identified by damage it has on its driver's side, according to authorities.

Drummond is wanted for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and unlawful firearm possession in connection with the murders of Adrianna Williams, 20, James Wilson, 21, Courtney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15, police say.

open image in gallery Austin Drummond, 28, is wanted for the murders of Adrianna Williams, 20, James M Wilson, 21, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15. All the victims are related ( Tennessee Bureau of Investigation )

The four victims have been identified as being the mother, father, grandmother, and uncle of the baby girl Drummond allegedly kidnapped and then abandoned on a lawn.

Police have not confirmed if Drummond has any connection to the family.

He has a previous conviction for aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 13 years in prison, according to WREG. He finished his sentence in September.

open image in gallery A photo made available by the Dyer Country Sheriffs Office of the child allegedly kidnapped and abandoned after her family was killed ( Dyer County Sheriff's Office )

He is facing other charges, including attempted first degree murder and drug charges stemming from his time in prison. Drummond was not released on parole or probation.

Police became aware of the murders after receiving a call about a "concerning incident" at around 3.11 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Dyer County Sheriff's Office.

"A dark-colored minivan or a white mid-size SUV was reported to have dropped off an infant in a car seat at a random individuals front yard," the sheriff's office wrote alongside a photo of the child. "Thankfully a witness saw the car seat with the child and called 911."

Once the deputies identified the baby they wanted to speak with her family.

Around 10.26 p.m., a 911 call reported two of the victims were missing. The caller said they were searching around a home with a flashlight, according to Action News 5.

The discovery of the infant and the missing persons call eventually led the deputies to Lake County where they found the victims. The crime scene is approximately 25 miles north of where the baby was found, according to deputies.

A family friend, Amy Anderson, remembered Adrianna Williams, 20, as the "sweetest person."

Theyre devastated. Were just thankful that the baby was spared, grateful for that, Anderson told WREG 3. They were really good people, Adrianna was the sweetest person, she loved being a mama.

District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr said the TBI and FBI are working on the case alongside several local and regional law enforcement agencies.
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A teacher who admitted to killing a couple he didnt know in a brutal stabbing attack at an Arkansas state park was denied bond Friday as authorities try to figure out the suspects motive for what they describe as one of the most heinous crimes theyve worked.

Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, is charged with two counts of capital murder in the July 26 killings of 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink. He was arrested on Wednesday after a five-day manhunt and a flood of tips.

The Brinks, who had just moved to the area from North Dakota, were hiking with their daughters, ages 7 and 9, at Devil's Den State Park on Saturday when they were killed in what police are calling a completely random attack. The children were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, police said.

At a brief court appearance on Friday morning, McGann was denied bond and appointed a public defender. Prosecutors said the state will not be waiving the death penalty in the case.

Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said authorities are trying to determine a motive for the killings and said Thursday in a press conference that they have no reason to believe McGann knew the family.

open image in gallery Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, is charged with two counts of capital murder in the July 26 killings ( Washington County Sheriffs Office )

McGann was taken into custody at Lupitas Beauty Salon and Barber Shop in Springdale just before 5 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators were able to track him down based on a description of the suspect's vehicle, police said. Police also matched his DNA to blood found at the crime scene, Hager said.

The dramatic arrest happened right as the hairdresser had just started doing a fade on McGanns hair. The hairdresser later posted on social media that the ordeal left her shaking.

Shortly after his arrest, McGann admitted to the killings in an interview with police, according to Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the departments criminal investigation division.

open image in gallery McGann appears in front of District Judge Terra Stephenson for his bond hearing at the Washington County Detention Center on Friday morning ( AP )

open image in gallery McGann was denied bond and appointed a public defender. Prosecutors said the state will not be waiving the death penalty in the case ( AP )

He did indicate that he committed the murders, Rhoads said. When asked to elaborate, she said: I would call it an admission.

In my 27 years that Ive been with the State Police, this is probably one of the most heinous that weve had, especially the aspect of just how random it was, Rhoads added.

Officials said the father was stabbed first, approximately half a mile into the park. The mother ushered her children to safety before returning to help her husband. She was also stabbed to death.

Authorities have not said if the girls witnessed both their parents being killed.

open image in gallery McGann was arrested at Lupitas Beauty Salon and Barber Shop in Springdale while getting his hair cut ( Lupita's Beauty Salon and Barber shop )

open image in gallery The dramatic arrest happened right as the hairdresser had just started doing a fade on McGanns hair ( Lupita's Beauty Salon & Barber Shop )

McGann had recently moved to the area from Oklahoma and had been hired to work at a local school though he had not yet started, officials said. He had previously worked in school districts in Oklahoma and Texas.

The Brinks had recently moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas. Their water was connected less than two weeks ago, Mayor David Faulk said.

Clinton Brink was supposed to start working as a milk delivery driver on Monday in the Fayetteville area, according to Hiland Dairy, his employer. Cristen Brink had been licensed as a nurse in Montana and South Dakota before moving to Arkansas.

open image in gallery Cristen and Clinton Brink were found dead in Devil's Den State Park on Saturday ( Facebook )

Rhoads said the couples children were not harmed in the attack thanks to the actions of their mother.

We believe that the mother took them to safety, and then returned to help her husband, she said.

The Brink family said the couple died heroes protecting their little girls.
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A 28-year-old schoolteacher admitted to killing a couple who were hiking with their two young daughters at a state park in Arkansas, authorities said.

State Police arrested Andrew James McGann after a five-day manhunt and a flood of tips. He was found in Springdale, a city about a 40-minute drive from Devil's Den State Park, according to police.

Video shows the moment he was arrested at a local barbershop mid haircut. The video shows officers putting him in handcuffs as he wears his smock from the shop.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead Saturday on a walking trail at Devils Den after what police are calling a completely random attack. Their daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members, authorities have said.

Arkansas State Police Colonel Mike Hagar said authorities are trying to determine a motive for the stabbing attack. During an interview with police, McGann admitted to killing the couple, Hagar said. DNA matching McGanns was found at the scene of the crime, Hager said, and a search of his residence allegedly turned up items consistent with being involved in this particular crime.

Here's what to know about the case:

open image in gallery Andrew McGann, 28, who police say admitted to killing Clinton and Cristen Brink while they were hiking with their two young daughters in Arkansas ( Washington County Sheriff's Office )

open image in gallery McGann is seen getting arrested at a shop in Arkansas in connection to the murders of a couple along a trail. ( Lupita's Beauty Salon & Barber Shop )

The Brinks had just arrived in Arkansas

The Brinks had just moved from South Dakota to the small city of Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas. Their water had been connected less than two weeks ago, Mayor David Faulk said.

Clinton Brink had been scheduled to start a job as a milk delivery driver Monday in the nearby Fayetteville area, according to Hiland Dairy, his employer. Cristen Brink had been licensed as a nurse in Montana and South Dakota before moving to Arkansas.

Officials said Clinton Brink was stabbed first. Cristen Brink ushered her children to safety before returning to help her husband. She was also stabbed to death. Authorities have not said if the girls witnessed their parents being killed.

The Brink family said the couple died as heroes protecting their little girls.

Clinton Brink was stabbed first as Cristen moved her kids to safety, authorities said. She then returned to help her husband and stabbed

open image in gallery The Brink family said the couple died as heroes protecting their little girls ( Facebook/Arkansas State Police )

open image in gallery McGann has admitted to killing a couple who were hiking with their two young daughters at a state park in Arkansas, police say ( AP )

Hagar said he was in awe of the couples children, noting that  despite their unspeakable loss  theyve been assisting police with the investigation into their parents murders.

"The information that they were able to provide to start us down this path, to be able to make this arrest, it all started with those two little girls," he said. "It's incredible."

According to Hagar, the Brinks have a third daughter who was not on the trail the day of the attack.

McGann had just been hired as a teacher

McGann was charged with two counts of capital murder and was being held without bond. He was denied bond during a Friday court appearance.

Hagar said police have no reason to believe McGann knew the couple or their children.

open image in gallery ( Lupita's Beauty Salon and Barber shop )

Springdale Public Schools said it had hired McGann for the upcoming year but that he had not yet had contact with families or students.

He has active teaching licenses with no infractions or suspensions in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, according to government certification websites.

McGann was placed on administrative leave in spring 2023 while he was employed at Donald Elementary School in Flower Mound, Texas, following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism, according to a spokesperson for the Lewisville Independent School District. He resigned from the school in May 2023.

McGann was also a teacher at a small Oklahoma school district starting in the summer of 2024 until May.

Police received a flood of tips

Police had urged those who were at the park on the same day to check their cameras for images that could help point to a suspect  and people responded.

Their tips, photos and footage were instrumental in capturing McGann, police said. Police also released a composite sketch and a photo of a person of interest that showed him only from behind.

open image in gallery Police released a composite sketch and a photo of a person of interest that showed him only from behind ( Arkansas State Police )

open image in gallery The trail head to the Devil's Den trail at Devils Den State Park remains closed after the stabbings. ( AP )

Tips came in from as far away as Washington state, said Colonel Stacie Rhoads, commander of the state polices criminal investigation division.

It was overwhelming, she said.

Rhoads told ABC News that while McGann allegedly took steps to conceal his identity, he was very sloppy.

Devil's Den is a 2,500-acre state park near West Fork, about 140 miles northwest of Little Rock, the state capital.

The park is known for its hiking trails and rock formations, and it is a short drive from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and Walmarts Bentonville headquarters. It was selected as a state park site in the 1930s.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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As the search continues for the man accused of killing four people and abandoning an infant in rural Tennessee, a heartbroken relative is speaking out, describing the suspect as someone once deeply trusted by their family.

He was close to our family, wrote a woman who identified herself as the sister-in-law and aunt of three of the victims in a Facebook post. Yes, we cared about him and thought he cared about us. He has literally been nothing short of amazing to us and our kids every time he has been around us up until this point.

The statement was posted Thursday after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the suspect as 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond.

Drummond is wanted for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and unlawful firearm possession in connection with the murders of Adrianna Williams, 20, Matthew Wilson, 21, Courtney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15, police say.

The four victims have been identified as being the mother, father, grandmother, and uncle of the baby girl Drummond allegedly kidnapped and then abandoned on a lawn.

open image in gallery Austin Drummond, 28, is wanted for the murders of Adrianna Williams, 20, Matthew Wilson, 21, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15. All the victims are related ( Tennessee Bureau of Investigation )

A link between the suspect and the slain family had not been identified by police, but relatives say Drummond had a long-standing connection to the victims.

We NEVER expected him to cause ANY harm to ANYONE, much less anyone in our family, the post continues.

We are heartbroken. We are confused. We are devastated. We are MORTIFIED. We are hurting. OUR KIDS ARE HURTING.

We want justice for my sister in law, niece, nephew, and nieces boyfriend, she adds. The woman said she is married to the brother of one of the victims.

Drummond remains at large and is considered armed and dangerous, authorities said. He may be driving a 2016 Audi A3, which has Tennessee license plate RI 01896. A $15,000 reward is being offered for information leading to his arrest.

Drummond is about 5'10, weighs 190 lbs, and has blue eyes, brown hair, and a goatee, though he may have altered parts of his appearance since the killings, according to the TBI. He has been added to the states most wanted list.

open image in gallery A photo made available by the Dyer Country Sheriffs Office of the child allegedly kidnapped and abandoned after her family was killed ( Dyer County Sheriff's Office )

Drummond has a history of violent offenses.

According to public records, he was convicted of armed robbery in Madison County in 2014 and released from prison last September.

Just two months later, he was charged with attempted murder and drug-related crimes while incarcerated at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Lake County. He was out on bond at the time of the recent killings, authorities said.

He is facing other charges, including attempted first degree murder and drug charges stemming from his time in prison.

Police became aware of the murders after receiving a call about a "concerning incident" at around 3:11 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the Dyer County Sheriff's Office.

A dark-colored minivan or a white mid-size SUV was reported to have dropped off an infant in a car seat at a random individuals front yard," the sheriff's office wrote alongside a photo of the child. "Thankfully a witness saw the car seat with the child and called 911.

open image in gallery Matthew Wilson, 21, and Adrianna Williams, 20, were two of the four killed ( Facebook )

Once the deputies identified the baby they wanted to speak with her family.

Around 10:26 p.m., a 911 call reported two of the victims were missing. The caller said they were searching around a home with a flashlight, according to Action News 5.

The discovery of the infant and the missing persons call eventually led the deputies to Lake County where they found the victims. The crime scene is approximately 25 miles north of where the baby was found, according to deputies.

A family friend, Amy Anderson, remembered Adrianna Williams, 20, as the sweetest person.

Theyre devastated. Were just thankful that the baby was spared, grateful for that, Anderson told WREG 3. They were really good people, Adrianna was the sweetest person, she loved being a mama.

District Attorney General Danny Goodman Jr said the TBI and FBI are working on the case alongside several local and regional law enforcement agencies.
Investors in the Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF (AVEM) now have a lot more exposure to Shanghai-based electric-vehicle company Nio Inc. (NIO) than they did before.

The $11.6 billion exchange-traded fund disclosed in a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it now owns 911,470 shares of Nio as of the end of Mayup nearly 49% from the 613,576 shares the ETF disclosed owning in an April filing.

The latest, second-quarter purchase of the EV stock is the largest from AVEM and marks 21 consecutive quarters of buying, per a report from Electric-Vehicles.com.

A Closer Look at AVEM

AVEM, which launched in 2019, is an actively managed fund that invests in emerging market stocks of all market capitalizations. Its designed to increase expected returns by overweighting securities trading at lower valuations and with higher profitability ratios, according to Avantis Investors fund factsheet (Avantis is owned by American Century Investments).

The expense ratio is 0.33%, and its benchmark is the MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index.

AVEM may have recently increased in ownership in Nio, but its top holdings are Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), Tencent Holdings (TCEHY), Samsung Electronics Co., Alibaba Group Holding (BABA) and China Construction Bank Corp. The fund is up 20.6% year to date.

"AVEM has seen very strong inflows so far this yearmore than $2.5 billion through the first six months of 2025, around one-quarter of the net inflows into the EM category, according to data from Morningstar," Avantis Investors Chief Investment Strategist Phil McInnis told etf.com.

"We invest in Chinese companies across many of our emerging market ETFs. The aim of these strategies is to provide investors with low-cost, broadly diversified building blocks to use in their portfolios. Our approach is designed to marry the benefits of indexing with active oversight and the potential to outperform. As we continue to see strong inflows into the strategy, we continue to allocate to names with attractive valuation and profitability characteristics," he said.

The EV Buzz

In recent years, EVs have continued to gain market shareand thats not a trend thats expected to slow anytime soon.

As a result, more firms are looking for ways to allow investors to bet big on EVs. In April, for instance, GraniteShares launched two leveraged, single-stock ETFs giving investors daily leveraged exposure EV stocks: The GraniteShares 2x Long LCID Daily ETF (LCDL) and the GraniteShares 2x Long RIVN Daily ETF (RVNL).
Where might you find the worlds oldest printed object, the first illustrated edition of Pride and Prejudice, and one of Sigmund Freuds personal letters  all in one room  this weekend?

Right here in Melbourne.

The worlds oldest printed object  a 1250-year-old print of Buddhist prayers  at the Melbourne Rare Book Fair. Credit: Joe Armao

Saturday is the final day of the Melbourne Rare Book Fair, which runs for three days at the University of Melbournes Wilson Hall. Despite this being the 55th instalment of the event  the largest rare book fair in the southern hemisphere  it remains one of Melbournes best-kept literary secrets.

There are some truly special items on display this year, including the Hyakumanto Dharani (One Million Pagodas and Dharani Prayers), the worlds oldest printed object, created in 8th century Japan. Theres also a page of the first print run of the Gutenberg Bible, the Western worlds first piece of print.
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Eating outGood Food recommends How is Melbournes best croissant made? The citys top-ranked croissant is only available two days a week, is made to a strictly kosher recipe and comes from a self-taught baker. We stepped inside the bakery to see how this prize-winning pastry is made. Emma Breheny August 2, 2025 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

A croissant doesnt lie. Butter, flour, heat and time are the key components of this classic pastry but, like most simple recipes, its one of the most difficult to master. Self-taught baker Maaryasha Werdiger knows this all too well. Anything that happens at any level along the way, it will show you at the end, she says. It could be Werdigers humility that led her tiny Ripponlea bakery, Zelda, to earn top spot in a blind-tasting of 23 croissants by Good Food earlier this year. Zelda bakery owner Maaryasha Werdiger on a recent Thursday at the bakery. Justin McManus Every single bake, Im always looking and saying, how can we make this better?

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Being obsessive over this stuff and trying to get it right, thats like our [teams] idea of fun. Eight years ago, she attempted to make her first croissant as she threw herself into a home-baking hobby while working as a paediatric physiotherapist and raising three young boys. Zeldas croissant was crowned Melbournes best in March. Simon Schluter I didnt have any equipment  I didnt even have a ruler, she says, incredulous at her naivety. A ruler ensures the right ratio of butter to pastry and makes a well-formed croissant with even layers. I didnt have a prover. I didnt have anything! But, spurred on by an obsessive personality, Werdiger started running bread-baking classes for friends, then sold her bread and cakes by word of mouth and, later, set up a tiny bakery in her garage. The Zelda shopfront opened four years ago.

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Earlier this year, Good Foods panel of blind-tasters praised Zeldas croissant for its buttery aroma, delicate texture and caramelised crust. After being named number one, the bakerys croissant sales quadrupled. Aside from Werdigers persistence, what goes into making this croissant? Related Article Good Food ranked Melbournes best croissants, and a surprise suburban bakery took top spot Battles with butter Zeldas recipe is similar to most other Melbourne bakeries, Werdiger says, except for one key aspect. Running a kosher operation means that the chief ingredient of a croissant  the butter  cannot be sourced from most of Australias dairies.

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The kosher dairy [industry] is very small, she says. Its like only one small business [in Australia] and it doesnt have sophisticated equipment because theres not the demand for it. Most bakeries in Melbourne can order big flat sheets of butter specifically designed for making laminated doughs, including croissant dough. These sheets not only have the right malleability and melting point, they also make it more efficient to layer the butter between sheets of dough, a fundamental step in croissant-making. 1 / 8 Pressing sheets of butter into the mould. Justin McManus 2 / 8 Once the pastry is measured and cut, its shaped into croissants. Justin McManus 3 / 8 Shaped croissants go into a prover for the dough to rise. Justin McManus 4 / 8 Maaryasha Werdiger taught herself how to bake at home before opening the shop. Justin McManus 5 / 8 Eggwash goes on before baking. Justin McManus 6 / 8 Zelda bakes all its croissants in one particular oven, despite having two suitable for pastry. Justin McManus 7 / 8 The final product is golden, buttery and slightly nutty. Justin McManus 8 / 8 The croissants interior shows dozens of honeycomb-like layers. Justin McManus Previous Slide Next Slide It reduces the variables, and it makes a more consistent croissant, says Werdiger. At Zelda, the team create their own sheets every Monday using the kosher-certified butter. (Werdiger didnt want to print the name of her small butter supplier, lest the business gets overwhelmed with inquiries). Marching to your own beat

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Zelda might be the only bakery in Melbourne thats closed on a Saturday, while its local community observes the Sabbath. Its also only open two days a week, Wednesday and Friday. But from Monday to Friday, staff wearing tie-dye aprons are crammed into the 50-square-metre space mixing doughs, keeping an eye on the provers and juggling dozens of different items in various stages of readiness across three ovens. I pushed the space so hard we dont have room to open on other days, says Werdiger. You cant even open the door on Thursday. There are just crates with bread proving, and trolleys with products, and the fridges are full. Being obsessive over this stuff and trying to get it right, thats like our [teams] idea of fun. Zelda owner Maaryasha Werdiger Werdiger believes the tight workspace and small team  six full-time bakers including her  are key to Zeldas quality. Communication about each step from mixing to laminating, proving and baking is easier in a small team. We all work right next to each other, she says. From beginning to end, theres care taken.

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There are also no wholesale orders that need to be factored into their schedule; they can simply bake when things are ready, and wait if the times not right. Commercially, that model may not make sense for other bakeries. (Werdigers grandmother, Nechama Werdiger, is an AFR Rich Lister with 28 grandchildren, but she does not fund the bakery.) The bakery occupies a tiny space on Glen Eira Road. Letting the croissant rule The Zelda croissant has a few other quirks. The team mix the dough at a set time of day. They only bake croissants in one particular oven, despite having two ovens designed for pastry. And the croissants prove very slowly, an adaptation thats driven by the lower melting point of the kosher butter.

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Good Foods panel of tasters identified a toasted grain flavour, which Werdiger is thrilled to hear. It turns out she adds a little malt to the dough, a legacy from her garage baking days when her husband was a brewer and would bring home different malts for her to experiment with. At the end of the day, every croissant reflects a bakers own tastes, preferences and schedule. Zeldas  kosher and baked two days a week to a self-taught recipe  just happens to be downright delicious. Related Article Underground sourdough supplier Zelda Bakery moves from garage to Ripponlea shop

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I havent entered a gym since the last millennium, when an instructor took my shilling and promised to turn me into a he-man. At least, I thought he said he-man. He might have said human. Anyway, I got no closer to becoming a he-man than I did to becoming emperor of China. This failure has rankled. And I blame him.

Lately, gyms have emigrated from shopping centres and high streets to light industrial zones alongside car wreckers, chemical storage facilities and bikie HQs. You see muscled fellows wearing wisp singlets plodding along the backstreets like the strongest, simplest superhero in any franchise  the Hulk, the Thing  the type of erratic champion needing close and constant instruction from the mastermind of the gang lest he accidentally break North America.

Credit: Robin Cowcher

A whiff of the underworld accompanies bodybuilding for me. Is it the thuggishness muscle implies? The fact it can be turned so readily to standover work? Or the fact bikies and crime bosses have recently got so massive? Watching a cop trying to cuff a Coffin Cheater these days is like watching a toddler attempt a Rubiks Cube.

Maybe muscle gym membership should come with an ankle tracker. One of those devices parolees wear so they cant slip down to the pub on Tuesday arvo, slurp daytime beers and slide back into the life. You want the Gold Class membership that comes with caramel flavoured protein shakes? OK, put this anklet on and surrender your passport.
All of us hope that a diagnosis of cancer will never become part of our lifes story. But we also know that if such a diagnosis does come, early detection and treatment offer a far better chance of survival and recovery.

Since 2006, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program has aimed to give Australians that better chance  initially for those aged 55 and 65 and today for everyone aged between 45 and 74  with self-testing kits mailed out to those eligible across Australia every two years.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program recommends a colonoscopy within 30 days of any positive test result. Credit: iStock

In Victoria, statistics show that among those who die of cancer, bowel cancer is behind only lung cancer among men and lung and breast cancer among women. So the kits have the potential to save tens of thousands of lives.

But that potential can only be harnessed if a positive test from the kit is followed by a timely examination and diagnosis, beginning with a colonoscopy. On Friday, this mastheads senior health reporter Henrietta Cook revealed that public hospital patients in Victoria are waiting up to nine months to be seen for the vital procedure.
A man has been charged with murder after an 81-year-old woman died from stab wounds at a home in Victorias rural south-west.

Police were called to house in Pilleau Street in Coleraine, about 35 kilometres north-west of Hamilton, following reports a woman was injured about 1.10am on Saturday.

Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed to death at Coleraine in Victorias rural south-west. Credit: Nine

Officers arrived and found the local woman, but she died at the scene.

Homicide squad detectives travelled to Coleraine to investigate the circumstances, and later charged an 81-year-old Coleraine man with murder.
The screening program aims to detect early signs of the bowel cancer and is recommended for Australians aged 45 to 74, who receive a free at-home test every two years. Last year, the program was expanded to include Australians aged 45 to 49 amid a surge in rates of bowel cancer among younger people. Dr Joe Garra, a GP who works in Werribee, said he regularly treated patients who had received a positive result but then faced an eight- to nine-month wait for a colonoscopy at a public hospital. They are worried and stressed out, said Garra, who has previously run as an independent candidate in the state election. Theres no point having a screening test every two years if it takes more than six months to get your results investigated.

It was fortunate, he said, that none of his patients had been diagnosed with cancer after these delays. About 4 per cent of people who receive a positive screening test result go on to be diagnosed with bowel cancer. Loading Garra called on the state government to transfer public patients to private hospitals when colonoscopies were unable to be performed in a timely manner. Dr Anita Munoz, chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Victoria, said longer waits could lead to worse outcomes for patients with cancer.

If you are waiting five to six months to have a polyp removed, there is no harm, but if it represents a cancer that is growing, that is enough time for it to grow out of the wall of the bowel and metastasise, she said. Its an issue when we invite patients to take part in cancer screening ... and we dont respond appropriately and miss the opportunity to change the outcome. Last year, opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier advocated for a 58-year-old Geelong woman who had been waiting more than 140 days for a colonoscopy at Geelong Hospital. She was suffering from severe abdominal pain and bleeding and deemed a category 1 patient. A positive test demands urgent follow-up, Crozier said. Under the Allan Labor government, wait times for colonoscopies, surgery and ambulances are too long, and its putting the lives of Victorians at risk. Bowel cancer is Victorias second leading cause of cancer-related death among men and the third among women, according to Cancer Council Victoria.

Adjunct Professor Iain Skinner, a colorectal surgeon at Werribee Mercy Hospital, said the hospital was servicing a high-density, growing population, and an increasing number of people were presenting with symptoms. We understand this is a challenge faced by many Victorian hospitals, said Skinner, who is the hospitals clinical services director in the perioperative division. From a clinical perspective, colonoscopy procedures are now more medically sophisticated and complex. He said that in the last quarter, Werribee Mercy Hospital had reduced the number of unseen category 1 patients waiting beyond the 30-day benchmark by 34 per cent.

A state government spokeswoman said Victoria had the shortest colonoscopy waiting times in Australia for patients referred from the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. But she said there was more work to do. Thats why were working closely with the Commonwealth to improve access to timely colonoscopies and raise awareness about the importance of attending appointments promptly. A spokesperson for the federal Department of Health said state and territory governments were responsible for the delivery of diagnostic follow-up services following a positive test. They said the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program accounted for about 7 to 10 per cent of national demand for colonoscopies. To help address access concerns for [the screening program] participants, the Australian government provided $10.2 million over two years ... to states and territories to undertake activities to improve access to public colonoscopy.

Loading Bowel Cancer Australia chief executive Julien Wiggins said long waiting times could contribute to unnecessary stress and anxiety for people who received a positive test. Almost 99 per cent of bowel cancer cases can be successfully treated when detected in the earliest stage, he said. Yet the opportunity for early detection can be lost if people do not receive a timely colonoscopy following a positive screening test. He said if colonoscopies could not be performed within category 1 time frames, other models should be considered, such as delivering public procedures in private hospitals.
A West Australian father barred from interfering with his teenagers chemotherapy has revealed he now supports his sons cancer treatment.

The family, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, claim they wanted time to consider their options, but the boy was taken away before they could.

The teenager was recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare form of blood cancer.

On Monday, the boys father told the Family Court his son had been kidnapped by the state, and he was there to retrieve him.
Australians would face higher-priced groceries and fuel under an experimental change to the nations company tax system, some of the countrys loudest business voices have claimed in an attack that could kill a plan the Productivity Commission believes will lift the nations living standards.

As one of the proponents of a 5 per cent cashflow tax on all businesses said that winning support for the concept would be Treasurer Jim Chalmers Paul Keating moment, a group of organisations  including the Business Council, the Insurance Council, the National Farmers Federation, the Minerals Council and the Tech Council of Australia  slapped down the plan.

Some of the nations biggest business organisations have slapped down a proposal to overhaul company taxes, saying they could drive up grocery prices. Credit: iStock

On Friday, the commission released its recommendations to overhaul the company tax system under which the current 25 and 30 per cent rates would be sliced to 20 per cent for all firms with a turnover of less than $1 billion.

The cashflow tax would apply to all companies, but its impact would be reduced by firms investing more heavily in new technology, equipment and buildings.
Statehood would be unlikely to have an immediate effect for people in Gaza or on Israels war with Hamas, but it could help influence conversations about the future of the Middle East. Albanese said on Monday that a two-state solution was humanitys best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East, and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza. What is Palestines current status? Gaza and the West Bank form modern-day Palestine, officially referred to by the Australian government as the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It has no unified government, standing army or settled borders.

Professor Ben Saul, chair of international law at the University of Sydney, said Palestine met most of the requirements to be legally considered a state, including having a permanent population and the ability to enter into international relations, but it did not have an effective, independent government. He said that because of its disputed status, other countries recognition carried more power in supporting Palestinians right to self-determination. Almost 150 of the 193 UN member states recognise Palestine as a state, including many developing countries. Militant group Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, has run the Gaza Strip for almost 20 years. The Palestinian Authority, through which Australia officially engages with Palestine, has limited autonomy in the West Bank. The Oslo Accords in the 1990s gave the authority direct control of about 20 per cent of the territory.

There are numerous Israeli settlements across the West Bank, and these have been expanding. Israel retains control of security in much of the West Bank. According to the CIA, about 468,300 Israeli settlers lived in the West Bank in 2022. The agency estimated that as of 2021, 236,600 Israelis lived in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in 1980. Australia and most countries officially oppose the settlements on the basis they are illegal under international law. Israel disputes the illegality of the settlements. The Palestinian Authority, which was formed in the 1990s as a result of the Oslo Accords, is the territorys representative at the UN, where it is a non-member observer state and has no vote in the 193-member General Assembly. What will happen at the United Nations General Assembly session in September? Australia has joined France, the UK, and Canada in saying it will separately recognise a Palestinian state and use the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, which opens September 9, as the stage for that move.

Professor Saul said the announcement at the UN was a political move rather than a legal one, but the choice of location was important. Loading Recognition is just the political act. You could do it by press release  its just that doing it in a high-level, multilateral forum like [the UN] is absolutely designed to have a much greater impact politically, he said. Saul said the declaration could come as a joint statement, but it was likely each leader would want to speak for their country. Some of these states have been issuing joint statements lately  so it could be done as a joint statement, he said. I think it would more likely be that each leader, assuming they attend, would want to state their own governments position on it.

Does that mean Palestine will become a member of the United Nations? Probably not. Membership of the UN is separate from statehood and is open to all peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the United Nations charter. The charter contains rules, including a prohibition on the use of force against other nations. To join, a prospective member must submit a letter to the secretary-general of the UN, currently Antonio Guterres, stating it will abide by the charter. Then it requires the votes of at least nine of the 15 members of the UN Security Council. Any of the five permanent members  the US, China, Russia, France and the UK  is allowed to veto membership. Of the five permanent Security Council member countries, Russia and China recognise Palestine. If France and the UK do as they have indicated, the US will be the sole member not to recognise Palestine.

The US has historically vetoed Palestinian applications. Loading If no state vetoed the application, the secretary-general would then present it to the full General Assembly of the UN, where it would require a two-thirds majority vote. The United States vetoed a push in April for Palestinian statehood. What conditions have been put on potential statehood?

Speaking to reporters in Canberra on Monday, Albanese said recognition was happening in part because of commitments the government had received from the Palestinian Authority. Loading Our government has made it clear that there can be no role for the terrorists of Hamas in any future Palestinian state, he said. This is one of the commitments Australia has sought and received from President [Mahmoud] Abbas and the Palestinian Authority. Albanese said the PA had committed to demilitarise and hold general elections, and reaffirmed its recognition of Israels right to exist  commitments he said were bolstered by the Arab Leagues previous unprecedented demand that Hamas disband and surrender its weapons to the authority. This is an opportunity to deliver self-determination for the people of Palestine in a way that isolates Hamas, disarms it and drives it out of the region once and for all, Albanese said.

He and Foreign Minister Penny Wong did not say what Australia would do if the authority does not fulfil its promises. Loading The UK and Canadas recognition in September is also conditional. The UK will recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza, stops building settlements in the West Bank and commits to a two-state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long rejected such terms and almost certainly wont agree by the deadline. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his countrys decision to recognise Palestine was predicated on the PA committing to much needed reform, the demilitarisation of the Palestinian state, and the release of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

Do Palestinians support a two-state solution? Support for a two-state solution sat at about 30 per cent for both Palestinians and Israelis in 2022, down from about 50 per cent in 2016, according to the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research. Support has dropped even further in Israel since the October 7 attacks. The Palestinian Liberation Organisation, a nationalist coalition then led by Yasser Arafat, recognised Israels right to exist in peace at the start of the US-backed peace process in 1993 that set up the Palestinian Authority. It was hoped that it would be a step towards statehood. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Yasser Arafat mark the signing of the first Oslo peace accord with a handshake at the White House in September 1993. Credit: AP Hamas establishing charter called for the destruction of Israel, but in 2007, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said the group accepted the fact of an Israeli state but would not recognise it, according to the Wilson Centre.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong rebuked Israels behaviour in a private meeting with Benjamin Netanyahus top diplomat in Australia, days after its embassy claimed Gazans were not starving.

Wong held talks with ambassador Amir Maimon in her Canberra office on Thursday at the end of a week of intense debate on the worsening crisis in Gaza and global momentum to recognise Palestinian statehood.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Israeli ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon. Credit: Matthew Absalom-Wong

It was the second time in three days that Maimon was spoken to by the government, after a lower-level meeting with departmental officials on Tuesday.

Multiple sources familiar with Thursdays meeting, who were not permitted to speak publicly, said Wong reiterated Australias position on the situation in Gaza. That position includes urging Israel to comply with international law in its conflict with Hamas and allowing more food into Gaza. Australia has said it will recognise a Palestinian state in time, as long as conditions are met.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is one of the most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to hedge funds. Analyst Tim Anderson from Bank of America Securities maintained a Hold rating on Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) on July 25, setting a $27.00 price target.

Pfizers (PFE) Breakthrough Medicines Power its Dividend Stability

A medical technician wearing protective gloves and a mask mixing a biopharmaceutical solution.

The analyst based the rating on Pfizer Inc.s (NYSE:PFE) future outlook and current market position. It reasoned that Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is entering into a competitive avenue with its PD1-VEGF bispecific antibody, SSGJ-707, primarily because it faces competition from other major pharmaceutical companies.

The analyst reasoned that while Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) expressed confidence that its drug would hold differentiation in the market, the outcomes of the clinical trials are uncertain, and the crowded market dynamics warrant a cautious stance.

Anderson also stated concerns about Pfizer Inc.s (NYSE:PFE) long-term growth prospects due to competitive pressures from other pharmaceutical companies and the upcoming patent expirations.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is a global biopharmaceutical company that manufactures, develops, markets, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It advances wellness, prevention, treatment, and cures in developing and emerging markets.

While we acknowledge the potential of PFE 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.
Underworld funerals are usually glamorous affairs with gold caskets, Zegna suits and designer sunglasses, but there is rumoured to have been one with no bells and whistles.

The man in question would have been laid to rest under a John Doe name, that is if John Doe was a rat and a killer, who played the system for generations.

For if the rumour is true, one of Australias most dangerous and manipulative criminals has died with no one knowing how many murders he has committed.

So far, we have been unable to confirm this because he was a protected witness who has been living, and in all probability, dying, with a new name, a fictitious past and no future. And even if he is dead, his identity remains protected under the law.
A teacher from Melbournes west has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl and possessing child sex abuse material.

Troy Ollis taught at MacKillop College in Werribee, but was suspended by the teaching watchdog earlier this year when the charges emerged.

The former teacher in his mid-30s pleaded guilty to nine charges on Friday, including seven counts of sexual penetration of a 16-year-old child under his care, supervision or authority at the Melbourne Magistrates Court.

MacKillop College in Werribee. Credit: Justin McManus

According to charge sheets the abuse took place from September to December 2024 at multiple locations including Werribee, Tullamarine and Grovedale.
Although Melbourne was one of the least profitable capital cities for property resales during the March quarter of 2025, one local government area stood out with the highest median profit.

According to the latest Pain & Gain Report from Cotality (formerly CoreLogic), 11.3 per cent of all Melbourne home sales were loss-making in the March quarter. However, sellers in the City of Bayside local government area (LGA) made a median profit of $608,000, the highest average profit across all Melbourne regions.

This was almost $80,000 above the second most profitable LGA, Nillumbik Shire, at $528,500. In third place was Manningham Council, with a median profit of $520,000.

Bayside is home to blue-chip suburbs including Brighton, Sandringham and Hampton, and this contributes to why it made the most profit, said Eliza Owen, Cotality head of Australian research.
Mercedes-Benz Pulls Plug On U.S. EQ Model Delivery







Mercedes-Benz to halt U.S. EQ delivery, slash pricing amid weak demand

Special To The Auto Channel

From cbtnews.com

By Jaelyn Campbell

On July 30, 2025 Mercedes-Benz reported it will pause U.S. deliveries of its EQ electric vehicle lineup and reduce prices on several EQ models due to slowing demand and excess inventory at dealerships. The decision follows slowing EV demand and rising dealership inventories, compounded by the recent rollback of federal tax incentives under President Donald Trumps new budget law.

The German automaker will run down existing inventory while continuing to supply vehicles built at its Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plant. Starting with the 2026 model year, Mercedes will cut the base price of its EQE and EQS sedans and SUVs between 4% and 16%, excluding delivery fees.

Sign up for CBT News daily newsletter and get the latest industry stories delivered straight to your inbox.

Heres why it matters:

The announcement signals increasing pressures on dealers holding unsold EV inventory, especially as federal tax credits are phased out earlier than expected. Dealers will need to manage price depreciation, adjust sales strategies for premium EVs, and prepare for shifting product mixes, as Mercedes pivots back toward internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles amid a broader EV market condition.

Key takeaways:

EQ delivery pause in U.S.

Mercedes-Benz is suspending shipments of its EQ EV range to the U.S. while it clears existing dealership inventory.

Price cuts coming

The automaker plans to reduce the base prices on the EQE and EQS models by 4% to 16%, starting with the 2026 model year.

Made in Alabama

Despite the pause, Mercedes will continue to supply U.S. dealers with EVs produced at its Tuscaloosa plant.

Slower EV demand

Additionally , the decision follows reduced consumer interest and the removal of EV tax credits as part of Trumps recent federal budget changes.

ICE resurgence

Mercedes plans to launch 19 new combustion engine vehicles and 17 new EVs by 2027, reflecting a more balanced approach after BEV sales declined 25% last year.

Jaelyn Campbell is a staff writer/reporter for CBT News. She is known to cover the latest developments impacting automotive retailers, manufacturers, and industry professionals. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Jaelyn brings a journalistic focus to key trends shaping the retail automotive landscape, including dealership operations, evolving consumer behavior, EV adoption, and executive leadership strategies.
Malave, who served as Lockheed Martins finance chief for three years before departing this past April, is poised to take the financial reins at the jet maker as Boeing seeks to execute on a turnaround plan aimed at regaining profitability and repairing both consumer and regulatory trust in its business.

In light of his recent employment with Lockheed Martin, Malave has also agreed to certain conditions related to his appointment as Boeings finance chief, including not participating in the Boeing Defense, Space & Security business until the end of the year, according to the filing. Boeing has also agreed to pay Lockheed $2 million in connection with a release of claims relating to Mr. Malaves employment with the Company.

As CFO, Malave is set to receive an annual base salary of $1.05 million , as well as a cash award of $1.5 million, according to a July 3 securities filing. He will also be eligible to receive an annual bonus with a target value of 120% of his base salary, and beginning in 2026 will be eligible to receive long-term incentive awards with a target value of $6.5 million, per the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

I also want to extend my deep appreciation of Brian West for his outstanding work over the last four years to stabilize our business and navigate the recovery, all while continuing to position the company for our future, President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said Tuesday during the companys second quarter earnings call. I look forward to welcoming Jay to Boeing and Brian's continued counsel in his new role.

The Arlington, Virginia-based companys latest earnings come several weeks after Boeing announced it would be appointing Lockheed Martin veteran Jay Malave as its CFO, effective Aug. 15, CFO Dive previously reported. West is set to transition to the role of senior advisor also as of Aug. 15.

The Boeing Company narrowed its net loss and reported a 35% boost in revenue for its most recent quarter, coming as the aircraft manufacturer continues to face regulatory and economic headwinds. The companys core loss per share of $1.24 was a significant improvement compared to last year, CFO Brian West said Tuesday during the companys earnings call, citing higher commercial deliveries as well as improved operational performance as key drivers.

This story was originally published on CFO Dive . To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter .

Story Continues

The company narrowed its net loss for the quarter ended June 30 to $612 million compared to $1.43 billion for the prior year period. Revenue, meanwhile, spiked 35% to hit $22.7 billion for the quarter. The jet maker also narrowed its cash burn to $200 million for its Q2, compared to $4.3 billion for the prior year period  an improvement CFO West also attributed to higher commercial deliveries and working capital.

The jet maker is still facing a number of challenges, however, including continued scrutiny from regulators following several plane crashes and incidents in recent years.

The company remains under a production cap for its 737 aircraft, imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration following a January 2024 incident where a door plug flew off an Alaska Airlines flight. In June, the FAA found that Boeing failed to provide adequate training and oversight for its manufacturing operations, which led to the incident.

Boeing remains on track to request approval from the FAA to expand production of its 737 aircrafts to 42 per month from the current 38 per month cap, CEO Ortberg said Tuesday.

On 737, you'll recall our plan was to methodically ramp up to 38 per month, stabilize at that rate and then request an approval from the FAA for the next rate increase to 42 aircraft a month, he said in response to questions. For its Q2, Boeing delivered 150 commercial jets, and achieved its rate of 38 737 planes per month, and is now focused on demonstrating stability at that rate.

We'll continue to use key performance indicators that have been agreed to with the FAA to measure the health of the production system, Ortberg said, noting Boeing expects to be in a position to request approval to increase the cap to 42 planes in the company months.

Ortberg also downplayed the risk of a possible strike of approximately 3,200 employees in the companys fighter and munitions facilities in St. Louis and St. Charles, noting the the order of magnitude of this is much, much less than what we saw last fall, when about 30,000 machinists went on strike.

We'll manage through this, Ortberg said of the impending strike. I wouldn't worry too much about the implications of the strike. We'll manage our way through that.

Recommended Reading
Gujarat Governor praises Lalwani couples initiative





Deepak Lalwani And Sonal Lalwani of Deepak Agencies Nagpur have recently organised a road safety message campaign. Under the campaign, posters highlighting road safety messages were published and distributed free of cost. Governor of Gujarat Acharya Devvrat has praised the initiative and sent a letter to Deepak Lalwani and Sonal Lalwani for their efforts The work of public awareness is the most effective national service. I wish for the success of this public welfare campaign, he said.
2008 Malegaon blast case Court acquits all 7 accused





MUMBAI :

NEARLY 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was no reliable and cogent evidence against them. No religion teaches violence, the court said. Terrorism has no religion, but the court cannot convict on mere perception, it added. Special Judge A K Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) here, flagged several loopholes in the prosecutions case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt.

An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and injuring 101 others. Besides Thakur and Purohit, the accused comprised Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni. Once the court acquitted the seven accused, they looked relieved with smiles on their faces. They thanked the judge and their lawyers. The court while reading out the judgment said there was no reliable and cogent evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. Mere suspicion cannot take the place of real proof, the court said, adding that in the absence of any evidence, the accused persons deserve the benefit of doubt. The overall evidence does not inspire confidence in the court to convict the accused. There is no reliable and cogent evidence to warrant conviction, the judge said while reading out the judgment.

The court also said provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) were not applicable to the case. The court said it was not established that the motorbike used in the blast was registered in the name of Thakur, as claimed by the prosecution. It has also not been established that the blast was carried out by the bomb allegedly planted on the bike, the court said. Before the verdict was announced, the seven accused, all out on bail, arrived at the sessions court in south Mumbai which was barricaded with heavy security. All the accused were charged for committing a terrorist act under provisions of the UAPA and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act. The prosecutions claim was that the blast was orchestrated by right wing extremists with an intention to terrorise the local Muslim community.

The NIA, which conducted the probe into the case, had sought commensurate punishment for the accused. The trial, which started in 2018, got over on April 19 this year. The probe was initially carried out by the State Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which had pinned the blame on right wing extremists who were members of Abhinav Bharat group. The probe was later handed over to the NIA, which initially given a clean chit to Thakur, but the court had said there was prima facie evidence for her to face trial in the case. In its final argument, the NIA submitted that the blast in Malegaon - a town with a sizable Muslim population - was orchestrated by the conspirators to terrorise a section of Muslim community, disrupt essential services, create communal tensions and threaten the states internal security. The blast took place during the holy month of Ramzan, just before the Navratri festival, the NIA pointed out, claiming the intention of the accused was to strike terror in a section of the Muslim community. The charges comprised UAPA sections 16 (committing terrorist act) and 18 (conspiring to commit terrorist act) and various IPC sections, including 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 153 (a) (promoting enmity between two religious groups). During the trial, the prosecution presented 323 witnesses, of whom 37 turned hostile.

Saffron victory: Pragya Thakur

MUMBAI,

July 31 (PTI)

NEARLY 17 years after a blast in Malegaon town of north Maharashtra claimed six lives, a special court in Mumbai on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was no reliable and cogent evidence against them. Terrorism has no religion, the court said, adding it cannot convict on mere perception. Thakur and Purohit hailed the courts order. Thakur said the acquittal was not just a win for her, but for bhagwa (saffron), as their acquittal rekindled the saffron terror narrative buzz. Bhagwa ki vijay hui hai, Thakur said. AIMIM leader Imtiaz Jaleel demanded that the State Government challenge the acquittal.

There is no word yet from any Government functionary on this issue. Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde said the court verdict was a slap on the face of the Congress, and demanded an apology from the party for its saffron terror narrative. Terrorism should not be associated with any religion and no faith advocates violence, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh said. Thakur said her life was ruined for the past 17 years, and that God will punish those who tried to insult bhagwa. The court directed the Government to pay a compensation of Rs two lakh each to families of the six dead persons and Rs 50,000 to each of the 101 persons injured in the blast. We were shocked after the verdict came. People who died did not get justice, said Firoz Ahmed Azmi, who said he fought for justice in the Malegaon blast case.

Terror was never saffron: Fadnavis

MUMBAI,

July 31 (PTI)

MAHARASHTRA Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday hailed the acquittal of all the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, saying terrorism was never saffron and will never be, while Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said the verdict has wiped off the stigma on the Hindu community. Shinde claimed that Hindus can never engage in anti-national activities, and hit out at the Congress for coining the absurd term of Hindu terrorism. Opposition Congress hit out at Fadnavis, saying the CM had no regrets over the loss of innocent lives in the blast, and that his reaction over the court verdict showed his political mindset. It also sought to know if the Government would challenge the courts decision in the higher court as it did after the 7/11 blasts case accused were acquitted. Nearly 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court here on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was no reliable and cogent evidence against them. Reacting to the verdict, CM Fadnavis said on X, Terrorism was never saffron, is not and will never be.

In a post on X, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, Truth is never defeated. After a long battle of seventeen years, a special court has acquitted seven alleged accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case. It is true that justice was delayed, but it has once again been proven that truth is never defeated. He said Shiv Sena has unequivocally supported the patriots who were falsely accused and imprisoned in the Malegaon blast case. This is because Shiv Sena never had any doubt that their cause was just. Colonel Purohit, Sadhvi Pragya, and the other seven individuals had to endure immense mental and physical torment due to these accusations. The Hindu community will never forget this injustice, Shinde said. Hindus can never engage in anti-national activities, because patriotism is a sacred duty for those who follow Hinduism.

The absurd term Hindu terrorism was coined by conspiratorial Congress leaders. What answer do they have now for such blatant falsehoods? he asked. State Revenue Minister Chandrashekar Bawankule said the verdict of the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in the Malegaon bomb blast case was not merely a judicial decision but an exposure of a long-running political conspiracy to defame. The court clearly noted that there was no concrete evidence behind any of the allegations. But a more serious matter is that the Congress deliberately used the term Hindu terrorism in its propaganda, attempting to defame the Hindu community and its faith worldwide, he said. State congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said terrorism has no religious colour. Congress has always condemned terror and demanded strict action against the accused.

The Malegaon blast case was investigated by (then ATS chief) late Hemant Karkare, who sacrificed his life for protecting the country, he told reporters. If he and late State Home Minister R R Patil were alive today, what would have been the court verdict. This is what people are thinking, he said. Reacting sharply to the Chief Ministers comment, State Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said, Innocent people died in Malegaon blast, and the Government could not deliver justice to them, yet the Maharashtra Chief Minister has no regrets. His tweet (post on X) reveals his political mindset. This is precisely why questions have been raised about the attitude of the investigative agencies, he said.

These people view terrorism through a political lens as well. Individuals associated with the BJP and RSS had even labelled a brave officer like martyr Hemant Karkare a traitor, he alleged. Was it this same political mindset that led to Rohini Salian being asked to take a soft stance against the accused and to slow down the investigation? Witnesses were offered inducements. A witness like Randhir Singh was given a ministerial position in Jharkhand, Sawant said on X. When asked, senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde refused to comment on the verdict.
Big Bs day out onboard Navy warship





MUMBAI :

MEGASTAR Amitabh Bachchan, who spent an entire day on an Indian Navys warship, has showcased his admiration and pride for the Indian Armed Forces, honouring their sacrifice, and silent service for the nation. Amitabh first took to X, where he shared that he spent an entire day on an Indian Navy warship. He wrote: T 5457 - An experience of a lifetime - an entire day spent on an Indian Navy Destroyer pride, and honour for our fighting forces (sic).

The icon then took to his blog, where he shared pictures from the day spent and wrote: You hear about the strength of our Forces .. you hear the stories of valour about our soldiers that sacrifice their lives for us all .. you discover and learn the armoured vessels that fight, so you and I can get a peaceful sleep. Big B honoured the selfless sacrifice of the soldiers. You marvel at the dedication and will of our fighting men and women .. and you come back to the comfort of your home , when they that fight for your peace and calm and the very existence, put in their uniformed incredible effort to bring us our safety.

He added: Then you realise and give brave thoughts to the men and women of our fighting forces, and fall short for words in describing their unstinted contribution for the Nation .. Big B feels guided to a deeper, often unseen truth about our Armed Forces. I come back to day with the utmost learning for the Day .. and feel almost as though .. that from yesterday a guided hand brings me to the aspect of our forces which is never well known ..a prediction I have learnt .. I have known .. I am in pride .. and knowledge of much that should remain filled with secrecy. He then proudly declared: I am a citizen of Bharat .. and filled with admiration and pride for them that give their all, for us ..BHARAT MATA KI JAI (sic).
Dharmasthala mass grave case: SIT recovers bones at 6th burial site





MANGALURU :

IN A major development in connection with the mass grave allegation case, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) has recovered bones during the excavation of the sixth burial site at a Hindu pilgrimage centre in Mangaluru district of Karnataka, sources confirmed on Thursday. This discovery is likely to mark a significant turning point in the investigation into the mass grave allegations in the Dharmasthala temple town. According to SIT sources, two bones were recovered from the sixth burial site located in a forested area. Following the recovery, the SIT has shifted its full focus to a careful and detailed excavation of the site, with the entire team redirected to assist with the process. In response to the discovery, SIT chief DGP P. Mohanty and DIG M.N. Anuchet are rushing to the site.

The excavation is being carried out in the presence of the Tehsildar, forensic science experts, and SIT personnel. Authorities are proceeding cautiously with the digging process. The recovered bones will be documented and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for further examination and DNA analysis. Sources Stated that the whistle blower has claimed that he had buried 8 bodies at the 6th burial site. However, no official statement has been released yet regarding the discovery. Meanwhile, DGP and IGP M.A. Saleem has issued an order deputing nine additional police personnel  including a head constable and several constables  to assist the SIT in the ongoing investigation. Earlier, the department had provided 20 police officers to the SIT.

Digging at the marked burial sites continued for the third consecutive day on Thursday, despite rain. Of the 13 marked burial sites, excavation work is currently underway at sites numbered 6, 7, and 8. Civic workers are being deployed to carry out the digging, while Tehsildars, forensic science experts, and the complainant are also present at the site for monitoring. SIT Chief Mohanty had earlier Stated that nothing has been recovered from the burial sites excavated so far. However, reports have surfaced that sleuths recovered a red torn blouse and a PAN card belonging to a woman named Lakshmi from the first burial site. Additionally, the whistle blower and complainant in the case has reportedly submitted a skull  allegedly excavated from the burial site  to the SIT.

In a major development, on July 11, the unidentified complainant in the case, who had claimed that he was forced to bury several bodies of women and girls who were raped and murdered in Dharmasthala village appeared before a court in Karnatakas Mangaluru district and recorded his Statement. He requested that the police exhume the bodies in his presence. He further alleged that the bodies of the women showed clear signs of sexual assault. They were found without clothes or undergarments and bore injuries suggesting violent sexual acts. The revelations have shocked the State. A retired Supreme Court judge and activists demanded a SIT probe monitored by the Supreme Court or the High Court into the shocking Dharmasthala murders involving many women, girls and destitute men. The development has sparked a major controversy. --IANS
By Dan Catchpole and Aatreyee Dasgupta

(Reuters) -Business jet maker Bombardier reported a slight drop in second-quarter revenue on Thursday, though its net income beat analyst expectations thanks to a rise in aircraft deliveries and orders, better pricing, and strong demand for parts and repairs.

Those results were somewhat sapped by supply chain disruptions and secondary costs due to higher tariffs on raw materials, particularly aluminum.

The Canadian company burned through $164 million of free cash during the quarter, far above the roughly $41 million that analysts had expected.

The cash burn, a figure closely watched by investors, was largely due to increasing inventory as a buffer against potentially higher tariffs when Bombardier increases production in the second half of the year.

The company's share price was down 5% in early trading.

Bombardier capped the second quarter with a $1.7 billion order from an unidentified customer for 50 of its Challenger and Global aircraft, plus a service pact and options for 70 more, taking the value of its backlog to $16.6 billion. Deliveries of those planes will start in 2027.

The company brought in 2.3 times as many orders as planes delivered, far above what many analysts expected.

It delivered 36 business jets in the quarter, down from 39 in the year-earlier period.

The first Global 8000 business jet, described on the company's website as the fastest civilian jet since the Concorde, will be delivered in the second half of 2025, Bombardier CEO Eric Martel told analysts on a conference call.

The company still expects at least 150 deliveries through the end of this year, a rate it should be able to reach through 2030, he said.

Bombardier Chief Financial Officer Brett Demosky said during the call that profits will be stronger in the rest of the year due to higher deliveries of the company's more profitable Global models and defense products.

Martel highlighted growing demand for the company's defense business, adding that Bombardier signed a "strategic pact" with French group Safran to explore "common defense goals and technologies."

While Bombardier is still open to buying its share of Spirit AeroSystems' operations in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which make fuselage sections for the Montreal-based company's business jets, it is fine with Boeing operating the site after it acquires Spirit AeroSystems, he said.

TARIFF CONCERNS

Bombardier continues to contend with the uncertainty of U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive use of tariffs. In early July, Trump called for 35% tariffs on imports from Canada. They are set to begin on Friday.
Dimple Yadav remark row: FIR against three SP workers, Muslim cleric





NOIDA :

A NEWS channel in Noida has lodged a complaint against 3 Samajwadi Party workers and a Muslim cleric for alleged breach of peace after the maulana was slapped inside the studio for his remarks against MP Dimple Yadav, police said on Thursday. The SP workers slapped Maulana Sajid Rashidi inside the news channels studio in Noida after a debate show.

One of them also posted a purported video of the incident on social media, taking responsibility of the act Rashidi had allegedly made a derogatory comment against the Mainpuri MP over her visit to a mosque recently. On Tuesday, Rashidi went to attend a news channels debate programme in Noida, where he was slapped by the youths. On the complaint of the news channel, an case under BNS sections 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) was registered against Rashidi and three SP workers -- Shyam Singh, Mohit, and Kuldeep Bhati, Incharge of Noida Sector 126 Police Station Bhupendra Singh said. I did not mean to insult anyone, I commented on the basis of Islamic beliefs. If I committed any mistake, it does not mean that I should be treated like this, Rashidi told PTI.

My comment was given a political angle and because of that political drama has been created. There is a way of law. I will also give my explanation. the maulana said. And whatever I had said, an FIR was filed against me in Lucknow, the maulana said. Rashidi claimed that since the incident he has been getting threatening messages and calls on WhatsApp and social media. I have requested the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Delhi for my safety. I have also complained against three of them at sector 126 police station, he added. Meanwhile, Shyam Singh, the SP worker who allegedly slapped Rashidi, said, He has insulted MP Dimple Yadav, and on the news debate program as well he made derogatory comments on her. We have also lodged a complaint against him at Surajpur Police Station in Gautam Budhha Nagar, he added. Kuldeep Bhati, who claimed to be State secretary, Yuvjan Sabha, Samajwadi Party, posted a video on social media site X, saying Maulana Rashidi has been treated. We will treat in the same way to anyone, who will make derogatory comments against any women of India, he added in his video.
Dr Ambedkar Institute of Mgmt Studies & Research





THE BBA Department of Dr Ambedkar Institute of Management Studies and Research (DAIMSR) recently conducted an enriching 6 days course for semester V and III called Salesforce Technology Workshop. It was held under the expert guidance of Sunny Singh from Salesforce Technology who helped the participants dive into the world of lightning apps, creation of custom objects, fields and more.

The efforts of the faculties in-charge Prof Nidhi Somani and Prof Chaitanya Sakhare ensured a seamless execution of the workshop. Simultaneously, a power-packed workshop for shaping future leaders through innovation, ethics and responsibility was organised for BBA semester III students named SocialX- IER in Action. A Shark Tank competition that took place on the last day served as a well-deserved platform for the distinctive ideas of budding entrepreneurs. Dr Ruchi Chaudhary and Prof Khushbu Agrawal efficiently played the role of faculties in-charge. Dr Saket Bansod, HoD, BBA, Dr Nirzar Kulkarni, Associate Director, DAIMSR and Dr Mujahid Siddiqui, Deputy Director, DAIMSR applauded the endeavours of the course mentors, faculties and congratulated the students on successfully finishing the workshops. S B Jain Institute of Tech, Mgmt & Research
India, Russia can take their dead economies down together: Trump





WASHINGTON :

US President Donald Trump once again mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said that the two countries can take their dead economies down together. The US Presidents fresh criticism of New Delhi and Moscow came hours after announcing 25 per cent tariffs against India, plus a penalty for its trade with Russia. I dont care what India does with Russia.

They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care, he said. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World, he added. Trump on Wednesday announced the imposition of a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from India starting August 1, plus an unspecified penalty for buying Russian crude oil and military equipment. The surprise announcement came a day after Indian officials said that a US trade team would visit from August 25 to negotiate a trade deal.

The announcement is being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US, which has, in recent days, got favourable trade deals with major partners like Japan, the UK and the European Union. Trump termed Indias trade policies as most strenuous and obnoxious. All things not good! India will therefore be paying a tariff of 25%, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first, Trump said in a social media post. The penalty was announced as India has made large purchases of oil and military equipment from Russia. India is the first country to face a penalty for Russian imports.
India to take all steps to protect national interest





NEW DELHI :

INDIA will take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs plus penalty on domestic exports to America from August 1. In a suo motu statement in both the Houses of Parliament, he said, the Government is examining the implications of these tariffs and is in consultation with all stakeholders, including farmers, exporters, MSMEs and industry bodies, on the tariffs. The Government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs and all sections of industry.

We will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest, he said. He added that the implications of the recent development are being examined by the Government. The Ministry is engaged with all stakeholders including exporters and industry for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation, Goyal said. Goyals remarks are important as India has hardened its stance on giving duty concessions to the US on agriculture and dairy sectors -- a key demand of America in the trade talks with India. India is seeking import duty concessions from the US for its labour-intensive sectors like gems & jewellery and others, besides auto parts. The two countries are negotiating a bilateral trade agreement (BTA) from March with an aim to more than double the bilateral trade in goods and services to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the current USD 191 billion. So far five rounds of talks have been completed. For the sixth round of talks, the US team is visiting India from August 25.

They are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall (October-November) this year. The two sides are also looking at an interim trade deal before the BTA. India and the US entered into negotiations for a fair, balanced and beneficial bilateral trade agreement in March 2025, with the first phase of the agreement to be completed by fall of 2025, he said. The Minister also said that in just over a decade, India has rapidly transformed from being one of the Fragile 5 to the fastest growing major economy in the world. We have risen from the 11th largest economy to one of the top 5 economies, driven by our reforms, hard work of our farmers, MSMEs and entrepreneurs. It is also widely expected that we will become the 3rd largest economy in a few years, Goyal said. Today, he said, international institutions and economists see India as the bright spot in the global economy.

India is contributing to almost 16 per cent of global growth, he said. Trump once again mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said he doesnt care what New India does with Moscow. I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care, he said. We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World, he added. Goyal said that in the last decade, the Government has taken measures to promote India as the manufacturing hub of the world, driven by the Make in India initiative. Indias young, skilled and talented workforce is driving innovation and competitiveness of Indian industry. Our exports have steadily increased during the last 11 years, he said, adding in an increasingly protectionist world, India has done mutually beneficial trade agreements with UAE, UK, Australia and EFTA countries. We are also committed to similar trade agreements with other countries. We are consistently working for the welfare of the farmers and Indian agriculture, to promote prosperity and ensure food security, the Minister noted.
Malegaon case verdict Cong leaders owe Hindus an unconditional apology: BJP





NEW DELHI :

DECLARING that the Hindu terror bogey has been busted with the acquittal of all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, the BJP on Thursday asked the Congress leadership to apologise for maligning sanatan dharma by branding innocent individuals as terrorists. Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, owe Hindus an unconditional apology, said BJP IT Department head Amit Malviya. Several of his colleagues echoed him. The seven accused who were acquitted by a special court in Mumbai include former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit. The September 2008 blasts near a mosque in the Maharashtra town killed six persons and injured 101. Special Judge A K Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), flagged several loopholes in the prosecutions case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt.

Hindu terror bogey busted, said BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia after the verdict. Today, the Court has acquitted all accused, exposing how innocent individuals were branded as terrorists to satisfy political narratives and appease vote banks by the Congress, he said in a post on X. He added that it wasnt just a legal verdict but a moral indictment of those who defamed an entire faith for electoral gains. Who will be held accountable for years of humiliation, injustice, and media trials? Will Rahul Gandhi apologise to the nation and all Hindus, Bhatia said in his post. According to Malviya, the sinister conspiracy by the Congress to manufacture the bogey of saffron terror has not just collapsed but been buried for good with the acquittal of all seven accused in the case.

Those like Sonia Gandhi, P Chidambaram, and Sushilkumar Shinde, who led this malicious campaign, owe an unconditional apology to Hindus for maligning Sanatan Dharma, he said in a post on X. Hindus can never be terrorists, Malviya asserted. Attacking the Congress, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said, Home Minister (Amit Shah) said yesterday that Hindus cannot be terrorists. There is no such term as saffron terrorism. Hindus never indulge in such disgraceful acts. All the blasts that happened between 2005 and 2013 were carried out in India at the behest of Pakistan but the Congress-led UPA Government tried to create communal tension instead of catching Pakistani terrorists, he alleged. This is the Congress mindset. And it always practices China-friendly and pro-China politics, which has now been exposed, Dubey told

Challenge acquittal in HC: AIMIM to Mah
NMC gives conditional approval to all medical colleges in Cgarh





By Amlan Sinha

Raipur,

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has given conditional approval for the academic session 2025-26 to all state-run government and private medical colleges in Chhattisgarh. These colleges had previously received notices for failing to meet essential standards like proper infrastructure and sufficient faculty. The NMC has given these institutions four months to fix the identified deficiencies. While no penalties have been imposed this year, the NMC has issued a strong warning: if the colleges dont meet the standards, their admissions will be restricted in the next academic session.

The NMC is being very strict about the quality of medical education this year across India, including Chhattisgarh. As a result the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) in Bilaspur will continue to have 30 MBBS seats reduced, a decision that was also in effect last year. The Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institute of Medical Science and Researchers Raipur has been declared a zero admission year for first-year MBBS students in 2025-26 due to a bribery scandal concerning an increase in MBBS seats. Its noteworthy that all 10 state-run government medical colleges and 5 private medical colleges in Chhattisgarh have fallen short of NMCs requirements, including infrastructure, lab facilities, and faculty.

This even includes the oldest institution, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College Raipur, which was previously thought to have sufficient infrastructure. Dr. Debjyoti Singharoy, an Associate Professor, pointed out that a shortage of faculty and inadequate infrastructure (including hostel facilities for students) are major problems across these colleges. A senior official from the Directorate of Medical Education-Chhattisgarh confirmed the conditional renewal and stated that they are making full efforts to meet the NMCs standards within the given four-month timeframe.
PRICE PAID Forest Department pays record Rs 8.27 crore compensation in 24-25





By Shashwat Bhuskute :

This is the highest compensation paid in last 5 years

In a significant development, the Forest Department has paid the highest compensation in 2024-25 to victims of man-animal conflict in last five years. As per the data provided by the Forest Department, the Nagpur Forest Division paid Rs 8.27 crore for the financial year 2024-25, which is the highest since 2020. The amount, disbursed across 5,935 cases human death, human injury, reflects a worrying rise in human-wildlife conflict in the region.





As per official figures, crop damage remains the most reported issue, with 4,427 farmers receiving a total of Rs 3.37 crore in 2024-25. Cattle deaths resulted in Rs 3.13 crore being paid for 1,445 cases last year, while Rs 1.35 crore was provided to families of six individuals who lost their lives in wildlife-related incidents. An additional Rs 39.38 lakh went towards 50 human injury cases, and Rs 1.41 lakh was given for seven cases of cattle injury in 2024-25. In comparison, the previous four years recorded much lower totals. In 2020-21, Rs 6.33 crore was paid for 8,049 cases. The following year, 2021-22, saw a sharp decline with only Rs 3.5 crore distributed across 4,528 cases.

The compensation increased slightly in 2022-23 to Rs 4.59 crore and then, to Rs 5.73 crore in 2023-24. As per the data, Nagpur division witnessed the highest number of human deaths in man-animal conflict in 2024 whereas four human deaths took place in 2023-24 and five in 2022-23. Forest Department attribute this alarming rise to habitat encroachment, fragmented forest corridors, and increased human activity in wildlife zones. While compensation is a necessary relief, our priority must shift towards preventive action. We are actively working on community awareness, better fencing, and rapid response teams, said a senior Forest officer. The sharp rise in compensation also indicates greater responsiveness by the department Contd on page 2
Rains delay completion of work on Amravati Road flyover; to be ready by middle of August





Staff Reporter :

The Amravati Road flyover was supposed to be opened for public on July 31, 2025. Public Works Departments NHAI unit was working in that direction. But the two spells of rains disturbed the work and the agency has failed to meet the deadline. As per new plans, now the flyover is likely to be completed by mid-August, claimed the department. Sanjeev Jagtap, Deputy Engineer NHAI Division, PWD told The Hitavada, We have been following deadline in most projects. Sometimes they get delayed due to natures wrath. A flyover involves the construction of roads under it too. In case of this flyover, we tried our best to hand it over to people on July 31. But that was possible only if there was no rain. Unfortunately, Nagpur witnessed showers of three days each.

The entire stretch is almost complete, the only portion remaining is the ramp near Bole petrol pump chowk. The construction of the ramp was delayed because Traffic Police consumed a lot of time in extending permission to PWD when the issue of diverting traffic came. Near RTO, there is a small bridge where the pillar was to be installed. This construction was to be done without traffic disturbing the work. Later on, the PWD received the permission from Traffic Department. The road from Law College Square to Bole petrol pump was closed for traffic for some time. Due to the delay in getting permission from the Traffic Department, the project kept getting delayed. Whatever the reasons may be for the delay, but peoples woes are showing no sign of ending.

The road between Law College Square and Bole Petrol Pump is still closed for traffic. Here, the roads coming from Gokulpeth and from MLA Hostel dont have congestion. But the one under the under-construction flyover, is in a bad position. In the square, traffic mess is always witnessed. The vehicles going towards Gokulpeth too get stuck on this narrow road. They cant take a left turn till the traffic signal in Law College Square turns green. The vehicles stand in that position for a long time. After signal turns green, most vehicles move forward towards Ravi Nagar Square and then, the other vehicles could move towards Gokulpeth. This congestion has become routine feature of this Square. On several occasions, the school bus, an autorickshaw carrying students or senior citizens, ambulance, city bus, all get stuck on this road. The wait for the green signal makes most of them desperate. But they find themselves helpless as they dont have any option than to just wait.
This story was originally published on PharmaVoice. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily PharmaVoice newsletter.

If Novo Nordisk aimed to boost confidence in the companys future course by naming a new CEO, those hopes were dashed this week.

The weight loss and diabetes juggernaut announced that Maziar Mike Doustdar  a long-time company executive  is taking the reins on Tuesday, calling him the best person to lead Novo into its next growth phase.

Novo shares plunged over 20% after the news came out  its largest single-day drop ever recorded.

Of course, theres much more to Novos story than the CEO news, which comes as the industry grapples with a range of market challenges, including widespread regulatory changes, potential tariffs, patent cliffs and more. In fact, Novo is one of several large pharmas to shake up their top brass this month.

Heres more on Novos major leadership transition and other companies attempting to right the ship with a fresh face behind the wheel.

Novos descent back to earth

After its weight-loss-fueled ascent to the sales stratosphere, Novo is working to try to keep its growth sky high.

In May, the Danish pharma said CEO Lars Fruergaard Jrgensen would step down, following a turn in the obesity market. While Novo was the star of the emerging weight loss and diabetes market through its GLP-1s Ozempic and Wegovy, Eli Lilly took over the majority of the market officially earlier this year thanks to growing popularity for Zepbound and Wegovy. The switchup brought Novo back to the drawing board for a rebound.

This week, while naming its new CEO, the company also cut its guidance for 2025 from a sales increase of 13% to 21% to between 8% and 14% after slower-than-expected uptake of its GLP-1 products. Doustdar is now tasked with the challenge of navigating Novos new era as the second-place obesity leader, grappling with slower growth, potential incoming competitors and compounded versions of its drugs still available on the cheap for some patients.

Doustdar has been with Novo for more than 30 years, most recently serving as executive vice president of international operations after getting his start as an office clerk in Vienna during the 1990s. He oversaw the launch of Novos GLP-1s in several countries, and could tighten up the ship with workforce cuts once at the helm in August, The Wall Street Journal reported.
By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) -A proposed U.S.-Canada trade deal could still be weeks away, Ottawa's chief negotiator said on Friday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed higher tariffs on imports from Canada.

Trump - who had set an August 1 deadline for an agreement - signed an executive order increasing tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% from 25% on all products not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Prime Minister Mark Carney insisted on the talks to reset bilateral relations, saying Trump's tariffs have upended decades-old trading and security ties. The negotiations, though, have so far produced little.

Although over 90% of Canadian exports enter the United States without duties, the tariffs apply to crucial sectors such as steel, aluminum and automobiles.

Federal cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc, in charge of U.S. trade relations, said Canada had always made clear it would only accept a good deal.

"At the end of business yesterday that agreement was not yet in sight ... there remain sectors the Americans are targeting which are essential for the Canadian economy," he told public broadcaster Radio-Canada.

"Over the coming weeks we will ... continue talks with the Americans in an attempt to find a deal that would put us in a better position."

Separately, LeBlanc told reporters in Washington that he would speak to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick next week and hoped to meet him in August.

"The doors aren't closed, the doors are open, the conversations are ongoing," he said.

The White House cited what it said was Canada's failure to stop fentanyl smuggling and address U.S. concerns about trade barriers.

Washington is also unhappy about Canada's refusal to drop its own countermeasures, which were first imposed by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He resigned in March to be replaced by Carney, who won an April election promising to stand up to Trump.

In June, Carney had threatened to ramp up counter tariffs in July unless there was progress on the deal. A statement he issued on Friday did not mention retaliation.

Brian Clow, who was in charge of U.S. relations inside Trudeau's office for several years, noted Trump had announced deals with nations that declined to impose counter tariffs.

"Unfortunately, Canada stands on its own right now, along with China, because many other countries ... refused to stand up to this President," he said by phone. "So I'm not sure that further retaliation is the way to go."
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Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR  Get Free Report) and THT Heat Transfer Technology (OTCMKTS:THTI  Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.3% of Ingersoll Rand shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Ingersoll Rand shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 22.4% of THT Heat Transfer Technology shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Ingersoll Rand and THT Heat Transfer Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Ingersoll Rand 0 7 6 0 2.46 THT Heat Transfer Technology 0 0 0 0 0.00

Valuation and Earnings

Ingersoll Rand currently has a consensus price target of $100.92, suggesting a potential upside of 19.26%. Given Ingersoll Rands stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Ingersoll Rand is more favorable than THT Heat Transfer Technology.

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and THT Heat Transfer Technologys revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Ingersoll Rand $7.24 billion 4.72 $838.60 million $2.02 41.89 THT Heat Transfer Technology N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Ingersoll Rand has higher revenue and earnings than THT Heat Transfer Technology.

Profitability

This table compares Ingersoll Rand and THT Heat Transfer Technologys net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Ingersoll Rand 11.30% 12.33% 7.01% THT Heat Transfer Technology N/A N/A N/A

Summary

Ingersoll Rand beats THT Heat Transfer Technology on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ingersoll Rand

(Get Free Report)

Ingersoll Rand Inc. provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc. The Precision and Science Technologies segment designs, manufactures, and markets diaphragm, piston, water-powered, peristaltic, gear, vane, progressive cavity, and syringe pumps; and gas boosters, hydrogen compression systems, automated liquid handling systems, odorant injection systems, controls, software, and other related components and accessories for liquid and gas dosing, transfer, dispensing, compression, sampling, pressure management, and flow control in specialized or critical applications under the Air Dimensions, Albin, ARO, Dosatron, Haskel, Ingersoll Rand, LMI, Maximus, Milton Roy, MP, Oberdorfer, Seepex, Thomas, Welch, Williams, YZ, and Zinnser Analytic brand names. This segment's products are used in medical, life sciences, industrial manufacturing, water and wastewater, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, agriculture, and other markets. It sells through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors. The company was formerly known as Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Ingersoll Rand Inc. in March 2020. Ingersoll Rand Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina.

About THT Heat Transfer Technology

(Get Free Report)

THT Heat Transfer Technology, Inc. engages in the manufacture and trading of plate heat exchangers and related products. It offers plate heat exchangers, heat exchanger units, air-cooled heat exchangers, and shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The company was founded on August 7, 2006 and is headquartered in Siping, China.

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Invictus Private Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 25.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 265 shares of the companys stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Invictus Private Wealth LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its position 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 180.0% during the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 42 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, O Brien Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 25.5% during the 1st quarter. O Brien Wealth Partners LLC now owns 59 shares of the companys stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and set a $1,135.00 price target (up from $1,133.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $936.00 to $942.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an overweight rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Eli Lilly and Company from a strong-buy rating to a moderate sell rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $1,012.56.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of LLY stock opened at $739.62 on Friday. Eli Lilly and Company has a 1-year low of $677.09 and a 1-year high of $972.53. 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 company has a market capitalization of $700.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.40. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $774.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $799.73.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 85.51%. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 45.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

Read More

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Cnergy, Pakistans largest oil refining company, will import 1 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil in October, Azernews reports.

This shipment was purchased from the global commodity trader Vitol. Osama Qureshi, the Deputy CEO of Cnergyico, told Reuters: "This is a trial batch as part of our long-term agreement with Vitol. If it proves to be commercially viable and efficient, we could begin importing at least one shipment of crude oil per month."

This deal comes several months after former U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Pakistan with significant export duties, a move that prompted Islamabad to strengthen its energy and trade relations with Washington.

The delivery of American crude marks a significant shift in Pakistan's long-standing dependence on Middle Eastern oil suppliers. Oil remains Pakistan's largest import, accounting for a significant portion of the countrys trade deficit. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year (ending June 30), the value of oil imports reached $11.3 billion, making up about 20% of the nations total imports.

This step reflects Pakistans broader effort to diversify its energy sources and reduce its reliance on any single region for oil. It could also help Pakistan navigate its ongoing energy challenges, which include rising fuel costs and an increasing demand for energy amidst economic growth.

If successful, this partnership could also open the door for other Asian countries to explore American oil imports, as the U.S. continues to expand its production and trade capacities. It would mark a significant shift in the global oil market, where the Middle East has long been dominant.
This story was originally published on Packaging Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Packaging Dive newsletter.

Dive Brief:

Containerboard producers are being hit with a class-action antitrust lawsuit accusing them of creating a cartel and engaging in price collusion to boost profits at the expense of customers, as first reported by Bloomberg Law.

On Tuesday, Artuso Pastry Foods Corp. filed the complaint in federal court in Illinois against entities including Cascades, Georgia-Pacific, Graphic Packaging International, Greif, International Paper, Packaging Corporation of America, Pratt Industries and Smurfit Westrock over a series of seven price increases from November 2020 to the present.

Artuso Pastry is requesting that plaintiffs receive treble damages, an amount three times the damages eventually awarded by the court. It also seeks injunctive relief, in which a court orders violating parties to stop taking a particular action, and attorneys fees.

Dive Insight:

This is not the first time major containerboard producers have faced a price collusion class action lawsuit. In one example, Minnesota-based cleaning products company Kleen Products in 2010 brought a suit against nearly 10 containerboard producers, also in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on accusations of conspiring to increase prices and reduce output from 2004 to 2010.

That case resulted in multiple containerboard companies, including Packaging Corporation of America and International Paper, settling via multimillion-dollar payments, although Georgia-Pacific and WestRock went to court. Many of the defendants in the Kleen Products case are also named in the new lawsuit.

In this weeks nearly 50-page filing, Artuso Pastry said current containerboard producers and their predecessors have engaged in anticompetitive behavior and price fixing for more than 85 years. It says in the last five years, defendants engaged in numerous unprecedented and unjustified price increases, often implemented at the exact same time and for the exact same increase. This conspiracy resulted in customers paying higher prices for containerboard than would have existed in a competitive market, according to the filing.

This lawsuit stems from Mount Vernon, New York-based Artuso Pastry purchasing containerboard products from WestRock, now Smurfit Westrock, and paying an artificially high price, according to the complaint.
Economist Therese Turner-Jones says more accessible financial reportinglike a simplified peoples budgetcould help Bahamians understand how taxes are used and why they matter.

You voted:
On June 16, 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the legislation that created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the entity charged with insuring bank deposits. The moment rebuilt something that the Great Depression had annihilated  public trust in the banking system.

The guiding hand of the FDIC meant that now, your money was safe whether the bank was robbed, burned down or failed outright, like so many had over the years as customers watched their life savings evaporate in an instant.

Find Out: Fidelity Says This Is a Surprising Risk of Holding Too Much Cash  Do You Have Too Much?

Read Next: The 5 Car Brands Named the Least Reliable of 2025

The caricature of old-timers hiding their money under the mattress because they still didnt trust banks was born. Ninety years later, big banks like Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America are giant, global institutions that have integrated their services into every aspect of our financial lives  and they steer your saving habits quietly in the background, whether you realize it or not.

Heres how.

24-Hour Access Through Apps and Mobile Banking

According to Home Pride Bank, roughly nine out of 10 people  89%  use mobile banking apps as part of their daily lives. Americans are glued to their screens, and big banks have placed themselves front and center on their phones, laptops and tablets.

Real-time monitoring, updates, alerts and notifications make it impossible to tune out, which keeps people conscious of their cash, spending and saving, even if it happens subconsciously.

See More: Im a Financial Advisor: My Wealthiest Clients All Do These 3 Things

Budget Tools and Spending Trackers Keep Tabs for You

Keeping track of the money coming in and going out used to be a tedious chore that was beyond the capacity of anyone who didnt have the hours, diligence and head for numbers to balance checkbooks, comb through monthly statements and scour savings passbooks for accuracy.

Today, tools like automated expense trackers and category-based spending and budgeting features  which all the big banks include for free, complete with easy-to-read graphs and charts  do the heavy lifting for you and reveal at a glance precisely where you can cut spending and boost savings.

Features Make Consistent Saving Easy

Bank of America profiles its list of free tools that make it simple to save consistently, and consistency is the key to long-term wealth-building.

Its not just BOA. Every major bank boasts a similar menu of offerings, including:
This story was originally published on Banking Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Banking Dive newsletter.

Citis commercial bank is jumping on chances to serve as a consolidator of banking services for clients that have incrementally built a global presence.

Thats according to Tasnim Ghiawadwala, global head of the lenders commercial bank, who pointed to a client with $1 billion in annual sales, operating in 60 markets, thats dealing with 72 banks. Thats the type of opportunity Citi aims to capitalize on, leaning on its global reach.

For mid-size companies, that situation happens sort of organically, she said. Early on, commercial clients arent thinking from a global perspective. But smaller companies are taking an increasingly global posture, and as they rack up bank partners in multiple markets, it can carry a huge amount of cost, to maintain such a large banking group, she said.

With many companies finding themselves in that situation, I have no doubt about our ability to grow in this space, Ghiawadwala said. The New York-based lender maintained its global network  the banks biggest competitive advantage  when others with global ambitions retracted following the 2007-08 financial crisis, she noted.

Simplifying banking could mean assisting in some or all of the countries where clients operate or structuring their liquidity needs more efficiently, she said. In some instances, it makes sense for the client to use a local or regional bank for their needs and in other markets it makes more sense to use Citi instead, she said.

Serving in the consolidator role is an opportunity for us to help them with harmonizing their banking relationships and centralizing their financial operations to have better visibility, increased access and ultimately generate efficiencies, she said.

Citi has brought its commercial bank to several new markets over the last five years, including Western Europe, Canada and Japan. In the U.S., the commercial bank operates in 17 markets to cover top business hubs, although it works with clients across the country.

Citi doesnt disclose the size of the commercial business, although Ghiawadwala said its a decent part of Citis banking segment. Citis banking revenues rose 18% in the second quarter, to $1.9 billion, although that also includes investment banking and corporate lending.

The lender is working to draw in new mid-sized corporate clients and do more for its current roster, she said. Growing the commercial client segment is one of Citis main priorities this year and next.
ANTA urges

|

CHANDEL, Jul 31 : The Anal Naga Tangpi/Anal Naga Union (ANTA) has urged the Directorate of University & Higher Education to rectify its recent order which downgraded United College, Lambung to the lowest category by providing only one subject for the Honors With Research course and just four for the Honors course.

In a press release, ANTA said that as per the order issued on July 30, only one subject, Political Science, is available for the Honors With Research course while English, Physics, Education and Zoology are available for the Honors course at United College.

Saying that the study of remaining important subjects under different departments have been clustered to other colleges and institutions, ANTA termed it an act of negligence and disrespect to the people of Chandel.

It reasoned that Chandel district is one of the most backward districts in the State with an economically weak general population who find it difficult to pursue further studies by travelling far distances. ANTA also pointed out the convenient location of United College, Lambung at the District Head Quarter of Chandel which makes it a "centre point".

Saying that dropping of important subjects from the College will degrade the percentage of students enrolling for higher education, it added that it will also bring irreparable loss to the youths in the district. ANTA has thus urged the Directorate to rectify the order in the interest of the people in Chandel district.
This story was originally published on Waste Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Waste Dive newsletter.

By the numbers: Q2 2025

Revenue: $1.55B

Down 0.2% year over year

Net income: $126.9M

Down 4.8% year over year

Adjusted EBITDA: $336.2M

Up 2.6% year over year

Financial picture: Clean Harbors announced Wednesday that its environmental services segment logged a 13th consecutive month of expansion in adjusted earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin, even as some topline results declined year over year. Executives continued to tout the charge-for-oil strategy in the Safety-Kleen Sustainable Solutions business segment launched in November, saying results were ahead of expectations. Our favorable outlook is underpinned by a powerful combination of macro and company specific catalysts, co-CEO Mike Battles said on the companys earnings call.

Environmental services: The segment saw adjusted EBITDA increase by 4.5% year over year to $376 million. Pricing improved across the board, with Safety-Kleen Environmental Services growing revenue 9%. Incinerator utilization was 89% in Q2, excluding the Kimball, Nebraska, plant that is still ramping up. The companys adjusted average incineration price rose 7% as well during the quarter.

Safety-Kleen Sustainability Solutions: The segment saw adjusted EBITDA decrease 25.6% year over year to approximately $38 million. The segment is at slightly less than half its production target for the year, but CFO Eric Dugas said the SKSS has swiftly worked through a pricing backlog in its book of business, and expects sequential improvement in Q3. That gives us comfort into Q3 and Q4 here that we're going to expand the profitability of the business, Dugas said.

Growth plans: The companys Kimball incinerator continues to ramp up its pace, with Clean Harbors projecting the facility will process 28,000 tons of material and contribute $10 million in EBITDA in 2025. With the buildout of that project largely complete, Clean Harbors capital expenditures are down year over year, and it now anticipates spending $345 million to $375 million in 2025. That excludes roughly $15 million allocated for the companys Phoenix hub project, which is under construction. Looking ahead, Clean Harbors plans to continue investing in the hub and spoke model, which provides cross-selling opportunities and other synergies, executives said.

PFAS update: Clean Harbors is still waiting on the U.S. EPA to release its analysis of the PFAS destruction study the two entities conducted in Utah last year. But that hasn't hindered business, even as the federal agency hints at weakening regulations around per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The market is acting as if regulations are in place, and that's evidenced in how our pipeline is growing and some of the projects that we're doing, co-CEO Eric Gerstenberg said. The company did not share financial details of the business line, though executives said Clean Harbors is well positioned to take advantage of customer growth in the space.

Policy impacts: The demand environment has held up well for us, even in the face of tariff uncertainty that has impacted some of our customers, Dugas said. Executives said volume from late Q1 carried into Q2. The company also expects an extra $10 million to $15 million of tax savings in 2025 from bonus depreciation, and likely more in 2026. While executives see the new tax policy as beneficial for customers and therefore a tailwind for Clean Harbors, it's unlikely to change the company's own capital deployment plans, Battles said.

Field services: Margin improved in Clean Harbors' field services segment, in part thanks to a boost from the acquisition of Hepaco last year. Battles called returns from that deal terrific. Clean Harbors has opened 13 more field service branches this year as it continues to expand its emergency response business.
Trinamul Congress general secretary and the partys Lok Sabha member, Abhishek Banerjee, has convened a crucial virtual meeting on 8 August to finalise the partys blueprint on two crucial issues.

The first issue is on how to organise mass movements against the proposed Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voters list in West Bengal by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

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The SIR has already been described by the Trinamul Congress leadership as the BJPs ploy to delete names of genuine voters in West Bengal from the list and thus slap the NRC in the state indirectly.

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The second issue, party insiders said, is to work out a strategy on how to spread the partys scheduled movement on the issue of harassment of Bengali-speaking migrants in BJP-ruled states beyond the borders of West Bengal to other Indian states.

The meeting will start from 4 p.m. on Wednesday and will be attended by all elected party MPs, legislators, heads of municipal corporations, municipalities and panchayat bodies, all members of the partys state committee, chiefs of the party-affiliated mass organisations and all the district presidents and chairmen of the party, confirmed a member of the West Bengal Cabinet.

Notes have already been issued to those who are supposed to be present at the virtual meeting, the Cabinet member added.

It is learnt that while SIR and Bengali-speaking migrant harassment would be the two main issues to be discussed in the 8 August meeting, there are possibilities of discussion on some internal organisational matters surfacing in the course of the meeting. On Wednesday, Abhishek Banerjee accused the Centres ruling BJP of using the ECI to snatch away voting rights of a large number of people, and he also dubbed the poll-panel-initiated SIR as Silent Invisible Rigging.

He also claimed that the BJP got scared of the peoples mandate and that is why they resorted to such tactics to turn elections in their favour.

The statement from Banerjee came amid concerns that the Election Commission is planning to conduct a SIR of the voters list of West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

The ECI recently concluded a SIR of the voters list in neighbouring Bihar, where more than 60 lakh people were described as doubtful voters.
The results of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) will be announced on 7 August, nearly three months after the engineering entrance test was held on 27 April, officials said on Wednesday.

Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee, chairperson of the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board, confirmed the revised date, stating that the delay was caused by a legal dispute over the states OBC reservation policy. We are hopeful of declaring the results on 7 August. The delay occurred as the OBC certificate matter was sub-judice, she said. The delay stemmed from a Calcutta High Court order in May that put an interim stay on the West Bengal governments 2010 notification recognising OBC status in higher education admissions. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which on Monday issued a partial stay on the High Court order, allowing state authorities to resume procedural activities.

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In response, the state higher education department sought legal advice and instructed the Joint Entrance Board to proceed with results, pending final adjudication. The Board has also requested all candidates to update their caste certificates between 31 July and 2 August via the official portal. Approximately 1,00,000 students took the WBJEE for engineering courses across the state. The Board earlier intended to publish results by 5 June but had to suspend the process due to the legal uncertainty. On Tuesday, a division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justices Sujoy Paul and Smita Das Dey ordered the Board and the state government to declare results within a week. Failing that, they must file affidavits explaining the delay by 7 August. Earlier, SFI and other Left Front students unions staged agitation in College Street demanding immediate release of results.

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In its strict advisory the National Medical Commission (NMC), sole regulatory body monitoring medical education and ethics across the country, says that live broadcasts of surgeries should not be used for promotion of the operating surgeon, hospital and product brand.

The NMC in its detailed guidelines issued on 26 July to regulate the conduct and broadcast of live surgeries also said that the operating surgeons should not have a financial or commercial interest in the medical equipment or devices used during surgical procedures.

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The guidelines also make it clear that the patients consent must be taken before such procedure is performed by the concerned surgeon or team. The patient has the right to withdraw consent at any time.

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The commission maintained that its in favour of promoting recorded video, wet lab, cadaveric, and simulation-based surgeries as they entail no risk to the patient.

While issuing specific guidelines for patient selection issue, the medical commission has also stated that patients who require high-risk surgical procedures with incomplete investigations or unusual anatomy should not be included in live broadcasts of surgeries.

It also categorically makes it clear that no financial incentives should be given for participation in the live show of the process.

Also, complications and risks associated with live broadcasts should be addressed through stringent regulations and insurance coverage.

It added that live broadcasts can be provided for new procedures, while recordings should be preferred for established procedures or high-risk cases.

Patients should be medically fit and have no contraindications to the surgery/procedures. Patients can be enrolled in insurance coverage to safeguard against any unforeseen incidents during live surgery/ procedures. However, patients should be informed about the availability and limitations of this insurance. Any surgery/ procedure-related complications should be managed free-of-cost, it said.

The NMC guidelines also add that during surgery or procedures, the operating surgeon can broadcast but should not interact with the audience in order to maintain focus on the patients safety. Relevant step-wise live commentary by an operating surgeon can be permitted without any two-way communication with the audience in special situations, the guidelines state.

Surgeons are responsible for adhering to professional and ethical standards during the live broadcast, the NMC has said, adding that they must prioritise patient welfare over any other considerations.

Surgeons are also required to be involved in pre-operative discussions, and post-operative treatment for at least 24 hours after the surgery or procedures.

Additional recommendations include live broadcasts strictly serving educational purposes, and not involving commercial gain or promotion. Surgeons should avoid glorification, and the focus should be on surgical techniques and patient care.

Recordings of procedures should be used for educational purposes in closed groups, with live demonstrations reserved for vetted new procedures, and unedited recordings of the procedure preserved for at least two years, if there is no legal issue.
The Trinamul Congress has been highlighting atrocities to Bengali-speaking migrant labourers in BJP-ruled states and branding them as Bangladeshis.

On Thursday another such incident was flagged by the TMC regarding residents from Pingla in West Midnapore at Surat in its social media post.

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TMC wrote on its X handle: @BJP4Indias war on Bengal and its people has reached a new low! In a horrifying incident in Surat, @GujaratPolice forcibly picked up and assaulted migrant workers from Pingla, West Bengal, not for any crime committed, but for the simple act of speaking Bangla. In the dead of night, they were dragged away and brutalised, a chilling reminder of how linguistic identity is being criminalised in BJP-ruled states.

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Shri Ajit Maity, Honble MLA of Pingla, has personally spoken to the affected workers, and under the prompt direction of Smt. @MamataOfficial, GoWB and district administration are working tirelessly to ensure their safe return home. It is part of a deliberate, targeted campaign to erase Bengali identity, intimidate Bengali-speaking citizens, and push them out of spaces theyve worked hard to build a life in. Let the BJP know: Bengal will never bow down to hate!

The party also spoke about another incident where Lance Naik Hakimuddin Sheikh, a Kargil war hero, had his family branded Bangladeshi & Rohingya and raided in Pune by a mob. Even after showing all their Aadhaar cards, there was no reprieve. Police initially stood by silently, then eventually took the entire family to the police station.
CMA CGM could be throwing its hat in the ring as the latest suitor for dozens of ports worldwide held by Hong Kong-based port operator CK Hutchison.

Exclusive talks between Hutchison and a consortium of BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) ended Sunday, opening the $22.8 billion transaction to new participants.

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The deal has been largely held up over concerns of two ports on the opposite sides of the Panama Canal transferring hands, with China reportedly miffed over CK Hutchisons sale of the gateways to a group with an American business involved.

After Chinas antitrust regulator probed the deal, reports surfaced that the country threatened to block it if its own container shipping giant, Cosco Shipping, was not included. Panamas government also still needs to approve the portion of the deal involving the countrys canal-adjacent ports.

On Monday, Hutchison confirmed that it was mulling the idea of a Chinese investor into the MSC-BlackRock consortium, but would not identify the party. The talks between all parties remain ongoing.

Were watching this very closely, CMA CGM chief financial officer Ramon Fernandez told reporters in an earnings call Tuesday. Were naturally very interested in participating in the solution that hasnt been found.

Cosco is among the partners in the Ocean Alliance vessel-sharing agreement with CMA CGM, Orient Overseas Container Line and Evergreen.

Gaining a stake in CK Hutchisons 43 ports across 23 countries included in the preliminary deal would help further CMA CGM, like MSC, in vertically integrating port terminals within its ocean carrier business.

According to Fernandez, the French container shipping giant is already present in 65 terminals worldwide. He said the pending Hutchison ports deal was very important for the industry, and its important for us as a major player in this sector.

Such a deal gives carriers like CMA CGM, MSC and Cosco entry into new gateway markets. These companies further expanded their roles as hybrid terminal operators during the pandemic as they drove record profits fueled by high freight rates and freight demand.

Between 2019 and 2023, MSC and CMA CGM in particular have grown their [terminal] portfolios at three times the average rate of the industry, moving up the global terminal operator lead tables, as theyve also moved up in the liner capacity rankings, said Eirik Hooper, senior analyst, ports and terminals, Drewry, during a webinar in June.
Anil Ambani has been summoned for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to its headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, in connection with an alleged loan fraud investigation, involving claims as high as Rs 17,000 crore, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sources stated on Friday.

The case pertains to alleged financial wrongdoing, including the misuse of more than Rs 10,000 crore in loans by different companies in the group. A major part of the probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is focussed on a Rs 3,000-crore loan granted by Yes Bank to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group between 2017 and 2019, which the ED believes may have been misused.

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Last week, the ED raided 50 business entities linked to the Anil Ambani-led Reliance ADA Group and 25 persons under the PMLA. It raided at least 35 locations in Mumbai on July 24 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged bank loan fraud, besides several other allegations of financial irregularities worth crores of rupees by some group companies.

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However, the Reliance ADA Group has rejected all allegations of diverting funds through inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) involving its group company Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) and a previously undisclosed entity called CLE Pvt Ltd.

However, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), R-Infra allegedly moved approximately Rs 10,000 crore to group companies through CLE Pvt Ltd, without declaring it as a related company, through the guise of ICDs, equity investments and corporate guarantees. These transactions were allegedly carried out between FY2013 and FY2023, with total exposure to CLE Pvt Ltd, reported to be Rs 8,302 crore by the SEBI, besides write-offs amounting Rs 10,110 crore during FY 201721.

The Group has countered these claims, emphasising that R-Infra publicly disclosed the matter on February 9, 2025, and that SEBI did not make any independent discovery. It emphasised that R-Infras actual exposure was Rs 6,500 crore and not Rs 10,000 crore. The Rs 10,000 crore claim has been attributed to sensationalised media reports by the company.

The company wishes to clarify regarding todays media article pertaining to an over 10-year-old matter as regards alleged diversion of Rs 10,000 crore to an undisclosed related party, when the exposure as per the disclosures in the Companys financial statements is only about Rs 6,500 crore. In this connection, attention is invited to the fact that Reliance Infrastructure had publicly disclosed this matter on 9 February 2025, nearly 6 months ago, a Reliance Infrastructure statement issued on Friday stated.

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd had a net exposure of about Rs 6,500 crore which was duly disclosed in its financial statements for 4 years. Reliance Infrastructure diligently pursued recovery of its dues in this matter. Through mandatory mediation proceedings conducted by a retired Supreme Court judge and the mediation award filed before the Bombay High Court, Reliance Infrastructure arrived at a settlement to recover its 100% exposure of about Rs 6,500 crore. Further, Anil D Ambani has not been on the Board of Reliance Infrastructure for more than 3 years, from March 2022, the Reliance Infrastructure statement mentioned.

The company also stated that recovery of the Rs 6,500 crore exposure is underway through court-monitored mediation led by a retired Supreme Court judge, with pending dues from Odisha-based distribution companies currently before the Bombay High Court.
The stock market ended lower on Friday for a second consecutive session, marking the fifth straight week of losses. The Nifty closed below 24,600 on the first day of the August series.

Broad-based selling across sectors dampened investor sentiment, with pharmaceutical stocks being the hardest hit. Pharma, metal, and IT were among the top sectoral losers.

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Major pharmaceutical companies suffered sharp declines, with Aurobindo Pharma, Granules India, Sun Pharmaceutical, and Gland Pharma losing up to 5.3%.

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The broader indices underperformed, with the BSE Midcap index falling 1.3% and the Smallcap index down 1.6%. The overall market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined to 444.5 lakh crore from 449.7 lakh crore in the previous session.

Despite the sell-off, over 130 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE. These included Procter & Gamble Health, Radico Khaitan, Star Cement, Hitachi Energy, eClerx Services, JK Cement, Schneider Infrastructure, Fortis Healthcare, Bosch, Amber Enterprises, Chalet Hotels, and Maharashtra Scooters, among others.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) shares jumped nearly 8% intraday, taking the stocks two-day gain to 12%.

Shares of Eicher Motors rallied 4% to 5,670 after the company reported a 9% rise in consolidated net profit at 1,205 crore.

On the Nifty, top losers included Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddys Laboratories, Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel, and Cipla. Top gainers were Trent, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, HUL, and Nestle India.

Except for the FMCG index, all other sectoral indices ended in the red, with auto, realty, pharma, IT, metal, oil & gas, and PSU Bank indices declining by up to 2%.

Investor sentiment remained uncertain amid concerns over the impact of former U.S. President Donald Trumps announcement of 25% tariffs on Indian imports.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) aggressively sold Indian equities in July, offloading stocks worth 47,667 crore in the cash segmentone of the largest monthly outflows in recent times.

While Q1 earnings of Indian corporates have largely been in line with expectations, they have failed to justify the markets elevated valuations.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday expressed deep displeasure over the dilapidated condition of the Department of Women and Child Development at Kashmere Gate, stating that witnessing the present state of the building left her extremely distressed.

Gupta observed the condition of the government office while launching the Garbage Free Delhi drive and emphasised that the time had come to construct a new, well-organised, and integrated secretariat for all departments of the national capital.

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Taking a sharp dig at the previous government, CM said, Those who called themselves an educated government were busy building lavish offices for themselves but failed to provide even basic facilities essential for the working of officials. The ones who spent Rs 70 crore on their own office couldnt spend even a few crores on these departments, she added.

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Looking at the offices condition, the CM remarked, It is shocking to think how officials entrusted with ensuring good governance in Delhi can work effectively in such deplorable circumstances. The ceilings are leaking, the furniture is broken, there are no proper chairs to sit on, cupboards are damaged, and the fans are in such poor condition that they could fall at any moment.

She also expressed concern that the building, which suffered a fire in 2021, has still not been fully repaired to date. Are we forcing our officials to work while putting their lives at risk? she questioned.

Gupta declared that the time had come for Delhi to have a new, organised, and integrated secretariat for all departments.

She announced that the government will take steps in the direction beginning today, and a suitable location will be identified where the new Delhi Secretariat can be established, enabling all departments to function under one roof.

The CM asserted that officials cannot be left to work in such miserable conditions any longer.
The Indian tea industry is battling a tough season in 2025, grappling with multiple challengesfrom production shortfalls and falling auction prices to a surge in imports thats hurting domestic producers.

According to the Indian Tea Association (ITA), while production figures for the first half of 2025 show a rebound from the dismal 2024 levels, they still fall short of 2023, raising deep concerns about the industrys sustainability.

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All-India tea production dropped by nearly 8 per cent in 2024 due to erratic weather and pest attacks. Although there has been a recovery of around 25.76 per cent between January and May this year, much of that growth is relative to last years poor crop, said Arijit Raha, secretary general, ITA.

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West Bengal and Assamthe two major tea-producing statesregistered 44 per cent and 14 per cent growth respectively over 2024. However, the recovery has been modest for big growers, with production still down by 12.89 per cent in West Bengal and 8.65 per cent in Assam when compared to 2023 levels.

Darjeeling tea, globally renowned for its distinctive flavour, remains a serious concern. Its production in 2025 lags 10.34 per cent behind 2024 and 18.24 per cent behind 2023.

Worsening matters, the JuneJuly 2025 period witnessed severe climatic stress. A 2C rise in temperatures and reduced rainfall led to 2025 per cent crop losses across key tea regions, with July expected to record a further 1520 per cent decline.

This supply stress has not translated into better prices. Between April and July 2025, CTC leaf and dust auction prices fell by nearly 7 per cent in Assam and 9.5 per cent in the Dooars/Terai regions. The situation has been aggravated by a massive surge in importsup by 82 per cent in 2024, with Kenya and Nepal accounting for 74 per cent of the total. The influx of lower-priced teas continues in 2025, depressing price realisations and pressuring Indian producers.

On the export front, India shipped 85.77 million kg of tea from January to April 2025, a marginal dip of 0.22 per cent compared to last year. While North India posted gains, South India saw a sharp fall in volumes.

The industry stands at a critical juncture, and unless urgent steps are taken to address climate impacts, price instability, and unchecked imports, the future of Indian tea remains uncertain, Raha warned.
The film Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi, said to be inspired by the life of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has run into trouble with Indias censor board.

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has denied a certificate to the film, effectively blocking its release. This decision has sparked a legal battle, with the filmmakers approaching the Bombay High Court.

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The film is based on the book The Monk Who Became Chief Minister, which has been available in the public domain for about eight years without controversy. The films producers, Samrat Cinematics, claim that the CBFC rejected their application to certify the film, as well as its trailer and songs, without even viewing the material.

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A legal team representing the filmmakers, Advocates Aseem Naphade, Satatya Anand, and Nikhil Aradhe, argued in court that the boards rejection was arbitrary and unexplained.

They also pointed out that there had already been delays in the certification process. And, they reportedly had paid extra charges for priority screening.

Earlier this month, the Bombay High Court had directed the CBFC to make a decision promptly. That came after the filmmakers filed a petition over the delay. On July 17, the board had promised the court it would take action within two days. However, the certification was denied only much later.

A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale will hear the matter again on Friday, August 1. The judges have questioned why the CBFC would reject a film that is based on a book that has been publicly available for years without any issues.

They also issued a notice to the CBFC and asked the board to explain how the film could pose a threat to public order if the book itself did not.

The bench also criticized the CBFC for failing to process the certification in a timely manner. You cannot sit on an application, especially when they have paid the priority charges, the court remarked. The application has to be decided.

Directed by Ravindra Gautam, Ajey features Anant Joshi, Paresh Rawal, Sarwar Ahuja, and Rajesh Khattar in key roles. The film was originally scheduled for release on August 1, but that now seems uncertain given the ongoing dispute.
Hollywood legend Harrison Ford may be 83 years old, but retirement isnt even on his mind. In a recent chat with Variety, shared by PEOPLE, the veteran actor made it clear, hes not done acting yet.

When asked directly about the idea of retiring, Ford responded with a firm No. He explained that acting is a profession where age can actually be an advantage.

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Thats one of the things I thought was attractive about being an actorthey need old people, too, to play old people, he said with a smile.

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Ford has had a long and successful career, starring in over 60 films. Hes best known for iconic roles like Han Solo in Star Wars and the adventurous Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones series. Despite his age, Ford continues to take on new and exciting projects, showing no signs of slowing down.

He recently starred in the TV series Shrinking, a comedy-drama that earned him his first-ever Emmy nomination.

Ford also shared a funny memory from the set of Blade Runner 2049, where he worked with actor Ryan Gosling. During the filming of a fight scene, things got a little too real. We were rehearsing and got too close, I accidentally punched him. I apologised right away. What more could I do? Cant take back a punch. Just take it, he said.

Laughing about it now, Harrison Ford added, Hes a very handsome man. Still is.

Even after decades in the business, Ford remains passionate about acting and says he finds joy in the work. He doesnt seem bothered by the fast pace or by working with younger co-stars. Instead, he sees it as a chance to grow and learn, even now.

So, whats next for Harrison Ford? If his recent projects are anything to go by, hes far from finished. In Fords own words: They still need old people. And Im happy to help.
After a long wait, John Abraham starrer intense action-drama Tehran is finally ready to hit the screens, this time digitally. The film, which has been delayed for years, will premiere on ZEE5 during Indias Independence Week in August 2025.

The announcement came straight from the platform itself on Thursday. Alongside a gritty poster of the film, ZEE5 wrote, Dilli mein ek blast ne sirf ek embassy nahi, ek soye hue junoon ko jaga diya. #Tehran Coming this Independence Week, on #ZEE5.

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Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by ZEE5 (@zee5)

The fresh poster shows John Abraham in a rugged, bloodied avatar, standing in front of a chaotic cityscape that appears to be Tehran. The tagline reads: Hunted By Iran, Abandoned By Israel, Deserted By India.

The official trailer of Tehran will release on August 1.

Fans flooded social media with reactions. While many were excited to finally see the film, some were disappointed that it would not release in theatres. A John Abraham action film deserves the big screen, one fan wrote.

Others said they were just happy the movie was getting released at all.

Directed by Arun Gopalan, Tehran stars John Abraham alongside Neeru Bajwa, former Miss World Manushi Chhillar, and Elnaaz Norouzi. The film has been produced by Dinesh Vijans Maddock Films in collaboration with Pacific Worldwide Films, Shobhna Yadav, and Sandeep Leyzell.

Interestingly, Tehran was initially ready to release on Republic Day 2023, but the release had to postpone indefinitely. The story reportedly draws inspiration from true events and they shot it across Delhi, Mumbai, and Glasgow.

This marks yet another OTT release for John Abraham, who recently appeared in the spy thriller The Diplomat on Netflix. That film focused on a tense diplomatic situation involving the US Embassy in Iran.

John played JP Singh, a calm yet sharp Indian diplomat sent on a rescue mission. The film received praises for its tense storytelling.
71st National Awards: Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on Friday clinched his maiden National Award for his performance in Atlee-directed Jawan. He shared the award with fellow actor Vikrant Massey for the film 12th Fail.

Rani Mukherjee won the Best Actress award for her poignant role in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, where she played a mother battling a foreign government for the custody of her children.

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Considered the highest government honour for the film industry, the 71st National Film Awards were announced by the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The award honours the best of Indian cinema in various categories, including acting, direction, technical brilliance, music, and regional filmmaking.

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The award for Best Supporting Actor (Male) went to Malayalam actor Vijayaraghavan for his touching performance in Pookkalam, while Urvashi received the award for Best Supporting Actress.

In the feature film category, the Best Hindi Film was Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery. The Best Tamil Film went to Parking, directed by Ramkumar Balakrishnan, which also won for screenplay. Bhagavanth Kesari took home the Best Telugu Film award, while the Malayalam drama Ullazhukku was honoured as the best in its category.

The Best Kannada Film was Kandeelu: The Ray of Hope, and Shyamchi Aai won in the Marathi category. Other regional winners included Deep Fridge (Bengali), Rongatapu (Assamese), Pushkara (Odia), Vash (Gujarati), Rimgodittanga (Garo), and Pai Tang Step of Hope (Tai Phake).

The jury also recognised outstanding work in artistic and technical categories. The First Film (Hindi) by Piyush Thakur won Best Direction in the non-feature category, while Sai Rajesh Neelams Baby (Telugu) and Ramkumar Balakrishnans Parking (Tamil) shared the Best Screenplay award.

Pookkalam (Malayalam) impressed the jury with its precise editing by Midhun Murali. Mohandas won for Best Production Design for the Malayalam survival drama 2018: Everyone Is A Hero. The war biopic Sam Bahadur took home awards for Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up, with the work of Sachin Lavalekar, Divuyaa Gambhri, Niddhi Gambhir, and Shrikant Desai being recognised.

Animal, another popular film, received awards for Sound Design and Background Score, with special mention to M.R. Rajakrishnan for his re-recording work. The award for Best Choreography went to the energetic Dhodora Baje Re song from Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.

In the music section, G.V. Prakash Kumar won Best Music Direction for Vaathi (Tamil), while Sandeep Reddy Vanga won Best Background Score for Animal. The award for Best Lyrics went to Kasala Shyam for his soulful writing in Balagam (Telugu).

The non-feature film section included some of the most thought-provoking work of the year. Flowering Man (Hindi), directed by Soumyajit Ghosh, won the Best Non-Feature Film award. The award for Best Debut Director went to Mau: The Spirit of Dream of Cheraw from Mizoram.

MO Bau, MO Gaon by Subash Sahoo was awarded Best Biographical or Historical Reconstruction. Timeless Tamil Nadu, directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh, won Best Arts and Culture Film. The Best Documentary award went to God Vulture and Human, directed by Rishiraj Agarwal.

The short film Giddh: The Scavenger, a Hindi-language work by Manish Saini, was chosen as the Best Short Film. Akshat Guptas The Silent Epidemic, a film focusing on social and environmental issues, won in its category.

Other notable non-feature wins included The Sacred Jack: Exploring The Tree of Wishes for Best Voice Over by Harikrishna S, and Little Wings (Tamil) for Best Cinematography, credited to Saravanamaruthu and Meenakshi Soman. Moving Focus (English) was awarded Best Editing, while Dhundhgiri Ke Phool won Best Sound Design.

Pranil Desai was recognised for Best Music Direction in The First Film (Hindi), and the award for Best Script went to Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know (Kannada).

Two films in the non-feature section received Special Mentions: Nekal: Chronicle of The Paddy Man and The Sea and Seven Villages (Malayalam) for their unique approach and storytelling. In the writing on cinema category, Utpal Datta was named Best Film Critic.

The National Film Awards ceremony was streamed live on the Press Information Bureaus (PIB) official Facebook and YouTube channels from 6 PM onwards. This year, the jury reviewed more than 330 feature films and 115 non-feature films from different languages and regions.

Since its beginning in 1954, the National Film Awards have grown to become the most respected film honour in India. They continue to highlight diverse voices and talent from across the country, from mainstream hits to regional gems.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday condemned as grave injustice the arrest of two Kerala nuns in Chhattisgarh.

The arrest of nuns is a grave injustice. They have not done anything against the law, Tharoor told reporters in the national capital.

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He said that the nuns were just taking some tribal girls to the city for employment.

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Seeing this, members of the Bajrang Dal raised a false alarm and the police came and arrested the nuns. This is not right. When everyone is raising objections to it, they are still in jail for the last one week BJPs Kerala unit is saying they will travel to Chhattisgarh to get them bail. Nothing has happened so far, he said.

Congress MP Jebi Mather said charging the nuns with human trafficking and human conversion is a gross injustice.

Congress has been standing, speaking, and protesting from day one, demanding that this unjust arrest be addressed. We have been condemning it and taking all steps, from writing letters to protests inside and outside Parliament. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and everyone else have been fighting for justice for the sisters, she said.

We now hope that the sisters will be released on bail, but charging them with human trafficking and human conversion is a gross injustice. According to BJP and the Chhattisgarh government, what Bajrang Dal says and listens to has influenced this decision. We remain hopeful that they will be released today.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas said, We are going to Chhattisgarh to meet the nuns and to facilitate the ongoing bail process. We hope that the nuns can be released on bail because of the assurance given by the Home Minister, and the process is underway.

An All India Congress Committee delegation will visit the nuns on Friday.

Congress MP Hibi Eden, who is part of the delegation, said that he hoped the State government would not oppose their bail and justice would be done.

We have been protesting inside and outside Parliament for the last five days in support of the nuns. We have come to meet them and know their health condition, Eden told ANI in Raipur on Friday.

We hope the government will not oppose their bail, and justice will be done. We all pray that they get bail today, he said.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday told reporters in Delhi that the law is doing its job in the case against the nuns.

The nuns were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25 over charges of human trafficking and religious conversion.

On July 27, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) also strongly condemned the alleged incident, claiming that, according to reports, the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after being arrested.
As counting for the three-tier panchayat elections in Uttarakhand concluded on Thursday night, both the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress claimed victory on Friday. Both parties asserted that they will hold a majority in the 89 Block Panchayats and 12 District Panchayats where elections were conducted.

Reacting to the results announced by the State Election Commission on Friday, the BJP stated that a majority of the candidates supported by it had won in the 7,499 village panchayats, 89 Kshetra Panchayats, and 12 District Panchayats where elections were held in two phases in July.

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A large number of BJP-supported candidates have won in the recently concluded elections for village panchayat heads, Kshetra Panchayat members, and District Panchayat members across the state. I thank the people of Uttarakhand for turning out in large numbers and casting their votes, with a turnout of 70 percent despite the monsoon. Now, the elected representatives must work hard to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision of making India a developed nation, said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

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BJP-backed candidates have registered massive victories in the elections for Gram Pradhan and District Panchayat members. It is confirmed that the BJP will form its boards in all 89 blocks and elect its presidents in all 12 District Panchayats. This victory reflects the BJPs organizational strength and the peoples trust in us. The Congress should now introspect instead of making baseless allegations, said State BJP President Mahendra Bhatt.

BJP State Media In-Charge Manveer Chauhan added that the victory of party-supported candidates as District Panchayat members, Kshetra Panchayat members, village pradhans, and ward members is evidence of strong public support for the BJP.

The scale of our candidates victories ensures that the BJP will secure all 12 District Panchayat presidencies and a majority of the 89 Kshetra Panchayat presidencies in the days to come, he said.

However, the Congress was equally assertive in claiming success for its supported candidates across all three levels of panchayat bodies. State Congress President Karan Mahra said, These results are proof of the massive public support for Congress-backed candidates in the panchayat polls. Voters have given a clear mandate to the Congress in all three categories of panchayat bodies. People have rejected the BJP and the malpractices of the State Election Commission. BJP candidates have even lost in constituencies considered strongholds of their senior leaders, yet the party is distributing sweets.

While we are still assessing the number of village panchayats won by our candidates, Congress-supported nominees have secured 138 of the 198 District Panchayat constituencies they contested. In addition, more than half of the Kshetra Panchayat bodies have been won by Congress-backed and independent candidates. The BJPs claims are false. The ruling party has suffered a massive setback in the panchayat polls, said senior Congress leader and State Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana.

Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand were held in two phases on July 24 and July 28 for 7,499 village panchayat Pradhans, 2,974 members of 89 Kshetra Panchayats (BDCs), and 358 constituencies of 12 District Panchayats, excluding Haridwar. Counting took place on July 31. However, the State Election Commission did not release party-wise results as voting was not conducted on party symbols.

Presidential elections for Kshetra and District Panchayats will be held in the coming days, and unlike the earlier rounds, these will be conducted on party symbols. The electorate for these elections will comprise the newly elected panchayat members.
Investors looking to get into crypto have a few options. The simplest is to go out and buy some from an exchange like Coinbase or Binance. This method is fast, cheap and easy and lets you hold Bitcoin or Ethereum (or various other coins) directly. Another option is more of a bank shot approach: Buy stock in a publicly-traded company that is putting crypto on its balance sheet and hope that stock goes up.

Surprisingly, this second approach is one of the hottest trades in crypto right now and dozens of firms are clamoring to get in on the action. According to a site called Bitcoin Treasuries, there are now 160 firms around the world with Bitcoin on to their balance sheet, including 90 in the U.S. alone. Those include familiar names like GameStop, Block and Tesla as well as the Trump Media and Technology Group, which is controlled by the family of the President.

In theory, this trade doesnt make a lot of sense. Sure, the value of a companys assets help inform its share price but any change in the price of those assets should correlate directly.

If Nike for some reason decided to use its spare cash to buy a million bushels of corn, and the price of corn went up, its share price might increase to the same degree. But this wouldnt mean an investor bullish on corn should buy Nike stock rather than cornand, if anything, Nike shareholders would likely punish the firm for using its capital on something totally unrelated to its business.

For some reason, crypto is different. Firms that have piled crypto on to their balance sheets have seen a jump in their share price far out of proportion to the value of the crypto they added.

The most famous example is Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, a once-obscure cybersecurity firm based in Virginia. Several years ago, the firms charismatic founder Michael Saylor turned away from Strategys core business to focus on acquiring Bitcoin, and today it owns an eye-popping stash worth around $74 billion. This pivot proved wildly successful and, as of late July, the firms market cap stood at $112 billion even though its dropped its cyber business altogether.

Little wonder that more CEOs are glomming on to the same tactic. After all, if you can achieve a huge spike in your firms share price simply by swapping one currency on your balance sheet for another, why not? To get a sense of how popular the tactic has become, here is a screenshot from Bitcoin Treasuries list of publicly-traded firms with the most Bitcoins (one Bitcoin is currently worth around $118,000):

Major corporate BTC holders

A meme effect

While some of these firms were set up solely to invest in Bitcoin, many of them are operating firms whose core business involves something else. Mitchell Petersen, a finance professor at Northwestern University, likens the phenomenon to the internet stock bubble of the year 2000 when firms discovered they could boost their share price simply by adding dotcom to their name.
Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said that the two Keralite nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh would soon be released on bail, adding that the arrests were the result of a misunderstanding.

Amid public outrage over the arrests, Chandrasekhar held a closed-door meeting with Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) president and Thrissur Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath at the Archdiocese headquarters in Thrissur.

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The meeting, which lasted over 30 minutes, was also attended by Auxiliary Bishop Tony Neelankavil and focused on both legal and humanitarian aspects of the case. According to sources, the primary topic of discussion was the legal course related to the nuns bail plea.

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Speaking to the media in Thrissur after the meeting, Chandrasekhar said that the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister had assured him that the Chhattisgarh government would not oppose the nuns bail applications.

The BJP leader explained that the arrests stemmed from a procedural lapse under Chhattisgarhs law regulating private placement agencies, which requires young women moving across districts for work to be registered on a government portal.

This is a judicial process. Let it take its course. This is not a political issue; we are only trying to help the people, he stated.

Following the meeting, Archbishop Thazhath said the Church hoped the nuns would be granted bail during the day and described the police action as painful. He also urged Chandrasekhar to ensure the safety of the Christian community amid growing concerns.

On Thursday, the BJP state chief had also met Syro-Malabar Church Major Archbishop Mar Raphael Thattil to update him on the steps being taken for the nuns release, including assurances from the Prime Minister and Home Minister.

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Friday accused the BJP and the Sangh Parivar of promoting hate and divisive politics for electoral gain.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the family of Sister Vandana Francis at Udayagiri in Kannur, Venugopal questioned the BJPs delayed efforts to secure the release of the nuns, who have been in custody for eight days.

The two nunsPreetha Mary and Vandana Francisbelonging to the Assisi Sisters of Mary Immaculate under the Syro-Malabar Church, were arrested at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh last Friday while accompanying three girls. They have been charged with forced religious conversion and human trafficking.
To bolster security structure and safeguard national interests, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday called for enhancing the synergy between civil and military personnel.

Addressing the 84th Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civilian Services Day event at DRDO Bhawan here, the minister said exceptional back-end support provided by different departments of Ministry of Defence (MoD) to the Armed Forces was a key to Operation Sindoors success.

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He asserted that a war is fought not just by the military, but the entire country, and in todays rapidly-changing security scenario, there is a need to move ahead with dynamism and innovative spirit while making constant improvements according to the evolving needs. We cannot leave scope for even the slightest negligence or mistake, he added.

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Emphasising that a robust administrative system is integral for a strong military power, Singh commended the AFHQ Civilian Services for playing an important role in strengthening the countrys security system during war as well as peace time. AFHQ Services acts as an institutional memory for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It provides consistency, domain expertise and uniformity in the administration, while playing a key role in policy continuity and establishing civil-military synergy. It is a strong pillar of a modern and integrated national defence system, the minister added.

He also stressed the need for capacity development, urging the AFHQ officials to assess and embrace the best practices being adopted by their counterparts in other ministries and countries in the fields of training and capability enhancement.

Emerging technologies, new challenges, and changing global scenarios indicate that training should not be just a formal process, but a continuous cycle of development. Skill upgradation, ethical orientation and behavioural excellence need to be added as integral parts of training, the defence minister said.

Training components must not be limited to technical proficiency, but also include value orientation, which can connect actions with national interests. This would make AFHQ a value-based institution along with an administrative structure, he contended.

On the occasion, Singh also released a book Viksit Bharat@2047: Karmikon Ke Vichar and a magazine Samvad.

He presented awards to AFHQ personnel for their achievements in various fields such as sports, and some of the children of the employees who excelled in academics.

AFHQ Day is celebrated on 1st August in recognition of the role of civilian personnel functioning shoulder-to-shoulder with the Service personnel, primarily in the three Integrated Service Headquarters, HQ IDS and 24 Inter-Service Organisations of the Ministry of Defence.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) Friday said it has released the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, marking a significant step in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

The draft voter list is now available online, and citizens can check their names on the official website, the EC said in its daily press update.

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According to the ECI: From August 1 to September 1, voters and political parties can submit claims and objections to add or remove names from the electoral rolls. First-time voters born after July 1, 1987, may need to provide additional documents, such as birth certificates, parents voter ID, or other official documents proving identity and residence. And, voters can check their names using their EPIC number, personal details, or mobile number on the ECIs website or mobile app.

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The Opposition parties, including Congress and Samajwadi Party, have raised concerns over possible large-scale deletion of voters, alleging that the SIR process may disproportionately affect certain groups. They plan to deploy legal teams and volunteers to conduct independent audits of the draft rolls.

The ECI has emphasized that the SIR process aims to ensure accurate and inclusive electoral rolls. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar urged citizens to verify their details and file claims or objections within the specified timeline.

After the claims and objections period, the ECI will process accepted requests and prepare the final electoral roll, expected to be released in early October. This final list will serve as the official voter database for the Bihar Legislative Assembly elections.
Reacting cautiously to US President Donald Trumps decision to slap 25 per cent tariff on Indian imports and calling our economy dead, India on Friday asserted that the bilateral relationship has weathered several transitions and challenges, and expressed confidence that it would continue to move forward.

Addressing his weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal while responding to a question on India-US ties following the announcement of new tariffs imposed by the US, said, India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties.

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This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward, he said.

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We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward, the MEA spokesperson said.

As far as security is concerned, I would like to say that security ties between India and America are quite strong. There is potential for this partnership to grow further under the India-US COMPACT for the 21st century, he said.

Jaiswal also said India has taken note of the US sanctions on six Indian companies for the purchase of petroleum products from Iran.

However, he refused to comment on President Trumps statement that India may purchase oil from Pakistan one day after announcing an energy deal with Islamabad.

On the US announces sanctions on Indian companies involved in trading with Iran, Jaiswal said, We have taken note of the sanctions, we are looking into it.

The US has imposed sanctions on 20 entities involved in Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical trade, and is identifying 10 vessels as blocked property, including seven India-based companies.

Responding to a question on Trumps statement that India may purchase oil from Pakistan one day, the MEA spokesperson said, I have no comments to offer in this matter.

Earlier this week, Trump announced imposing 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods and an unspecified penalty over purchases from Russia, starting Friday.

India will be paying a tariff of 25 per cent starting on August 1, Trump posted on Truth Social. He said India would also face an additional tariff penalty for buying Russian energy.
A ruckus erupted in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly when the Opposition Congress vehemently objected to Madhya Pradesh Minister Vijay Shahs replying to a question on Friday. After several adjournments, the House was adjourned for the day.

Congress MLA from Bhopal, Arif Masood, raised a question regarding the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy during question hour. Vijay Shah, the Gas Relief Minister, rose to reply to the question.

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However, Congress MLA Phool Singh Barraiya objected and stated that a person who disrespected a woman officer of the Indian Army should resign. Leader of the Opposition Umang Singhar and other opposition MLAs also supported the demand.

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Several opposition MLAs trooped to the well of the house and began raising slogans like, Vijay Shah istifa do (resign), and Vijay Shah ko barkhaast karo (sack him).

In retaliation, the ruling BJP MLAs accused the Congress of disrespecting the Armed Forces. Legislative Affairs Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya alleged that the Congress always speaks in favour of Pakistan and China.

Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar tried to pacify the MLAs of both sides, but the din continued. Consequently, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings of the House midway during question hour till 1 pm.

After sitting in the well for a while, the Congress members shouted slogans outside the House.

When the House reassembled, the opposition again created pandemonium. While the second calling attention motion was being discussed amid noisy scenes, the opposition trooped into the well. The Speaker adjourned the House till 4 August.

Vijay Shah is facing an FIR, and has been severely reprimanded by the Supreme Court too, over his speech at Mhow on 12 May when he made derogatory comments in connection with Operation Sindoor, hinting at Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Quereshi, and termed her a sister of terrorists.
Members of Parliament from the Opposition parties, particularly from the INDIA bloc, staged a protest outside Parliament on Friday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, alleging it was an attack on democracy. The MPs, including top leaders from Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the Left parties, assembled outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament, raising slogans like Save democracy and Stop vote-bandi.

The MPs held huge banners reading: SIR  Loktantra par Vaar, emphasising their stance against the SIR drive.

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They demanded the rollback of the Election Commissions voter roll revision in Bihar, citing concerns over potential disenfranchisement of weaker sections.

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The protest also disrupted the proceedings in both houses of Parliament. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm, while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon, and then for the day. The opposition MPs continued their protests, submitting that the SIR drive was aimed at snatching away the voting rights of the marginalised communities.

The INDIA bloc has been consistently protesting against the SIR drive, alleging it was being used selectively and disproportionately, potentially leading to large-scale voter list deletions. The Election Commission has defended the drive, stating it aims to ensure accurate and updated voter rolls.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday extended an invitation to Indian citizens to participate in shaping his upcoming Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on August 15. The annual tradition reinforces the idea of participatory democracy, allowing citizens to contribute to the content of the Prime Ministers national addresses.

The citizens can share their ideas and messages by visiting the MyGov website to share their thoughts, he said.

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Taking to platform X, Modi urged citizens: As we approach this years Independence Day, I look forward to hearing from my fellow Indians! What themes or ideas would you like to see reflected in this years Independence Day speech? Share your thoughts on the Open Forums on MyGov and the NaMo App

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By inviting citizens to share their suggestions, PM Modi aims to make the speech a reflection of Indias diverse voices, unified by shared dreams and national pride. This initiative is part of a broader effort to promote patriotic pride and national unity, particularly among the youth.

As India approaches its 79th year of independence, this years celebrations are expected to focus on themes such as promoting unity and integrity among citizens, highlighting Indias advancements in technology and innovation, and looking forward to Indias 80th year of freedom in 2026 and beyond.

The Prime Minister has encouraged participants to contribute ideas that would resonate across generations, underlining a desire for a speech that reflects contemporary aspirations. This years speech will mark Modis 12th consecutive Independence Day address from the Red Fort, a rare achievement matched only by two previous Prime Ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
The Supreme Court on Friday said that the criminal defamation case against Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor for his controversial scorpion on Shivling remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be closed.

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Nongmeikapam Kotishwar Singh observed that public figures, including politicians, administrators, and judges, should have a thicker skin and not be overly sensitive to such statements.

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The court extended its earlier interim stay on trial court proceedings and adjourned the matter.

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Tharoor has challenged the Delhi High Courts August 29, 2024 order, which had refused to quash the case and directed him to appear before the trial court.

The defamation complaint, filed by BJP leader Rajeev Babbar, concerns Tharoors 2018 comment at the Bangalore Literature Festival, where he allegedly referred to PM Modi as a scorpion sitting on a Shivling. Tharoors counsel contended that he merely quoted a line from a 2012 Caravan magazine article.

The trial court had earlier issued a summons based on the complaint, which alleged that the statement hurt religious sentiments and defamed the Prime Minister.
Former Uttar Pradesh minister and Apni Janata Party (AJP) president Swami Prasad Maurya on Friday criticised the Yogi Adityanath government, urging it to operate within democratic norms rather than through authoritarian means.

Speaking to the media at his residence here on Friday, he said, The government should abandon dictatorship and work within the framework of democracy. He asserted that his party has the strength to confront anti-people policies: Whenever the BJP government takes any anti-people decision, the Apni Janata Party has the full strength to push it onto the back foot through protests on the streets.

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Highlighting the need for governance centred on public welfare, he remarked, The government is formed for the welfare of the people and should formulate schemes for public welfare. He further alleged, Whether its a double-engine government or not, it follows undemocratic and unconstitutional methods everywhere and attempts to suppress democracy.

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Maurya also raised concerns over the treatment of students, particularly in Delhi. Students are being oppressed, and irregularities are being seen in examinations. Students have tried to make their voices heard by the central government through public movements, he said. He condemned the governments response, saying, Instead of addressing the issue with sensitivity, the government resorted to baton charges and detained students at the police station overnight.

On the school merger issue, he questioned the logic behind the criteria being used, stating, Not all schools are within a one-kilometre radius as the standard criteria actually apply to areas beyond one kilometre.

In response to a question on terrorism, he remarked, If saffron terror is not terrorism, then what is? Whether a terrorist wears saffron or anything else, a terrorist is a terrorist.

Commenting on actor-turned-politician Ravi Kishan, he said, Had he struggled and gained experience in politics at the ground level, he might have spoken on real issues. But he entered politics in a superficial, showy manner.

Critiquing the ruling party broadly, Maurya said, The entire BJP government is on the path of anarchy and does not work in the public interest. The Yogi government is ignoring issues of public welfare. He warned that the Apni Janata Party has not ended its movement on the school merger issue. If the government does anything wrong under the guise of strategy, our party will oppose it, he remarked.
The notions of social security and social insurance systems have their roots in the evolution of the welfare state concept. In contrast, earlier laissez-faire or police states did not prioritize these aspects, focusing solely on maintaining order. It was later that governments began to prioritize social welfare and introduced systems to ensure social security. Members of modern society are ever exposed to certain risks, which are essentially contingencies against which it is not possible for an individual of poor means to provide effectively, either by his own ability or in private combinations with his fellows.

These risks are of sickness, invalidity, maternity, old age and death. Social security refers to the security that society furnishes through appropriate organisations against these risks. In India, where the majority of workers have to live in straitened circumstances, the need for social security plans does not require emphasis. But it is noteworthy that social insurance provides only partial security while a policy of social security aims at a unified approach for the prevention of injury and disease, the achievement of proper redistribution of income and the realization of freedom from all types of want.

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Briefly, social security is one of the fundamental objects of welfare-oriented development planning and social insurance is one of the means by which the objective may be reached. Therefore, social insurance is of great significance as it will encourage labour enthusiasm for augmenting production. Indias social insurance system is a complex and multifaceted framework designed to provide financial protection and security to its citizens, particularly vulnerable sections of society. While the system has undergone significant transformations over the years, it still faces numerous challenges that hinder its effectiveness.

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Some notable social security initiatives in India may be mentioned here as Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM) ~ a pension scheme for workers in the unorganized sector; Atal Pension Yojona (APY) ~ a voluntary pension scheme for citizens aged 18-40; National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) ~ a programme providing financial assistance to elderly, widows, and disabled persons below the poverty line, and Ayusman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojona (AB-PMGAY) ~ a health insurance scheme for poor families.

One of the primary concerns is the limited coverage of social security programmes. Many schemes, such as those under the Employees State Insurance Act and the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, primarily cater to workers in the organized sector, leaving out a vast majority of the workforce in the unorganized sector. This limitation is particularly problematic given the significant proportion of Indias workforce engaged in informal or unorganized activities.

The exclusion of these workers from social security benefits exacerbates income inequality and increases vulnerability to poverty and economic shocks. Awareness and education about insurance products are also significant issues. Many individuals, particularly in rural areas and among the underprivileged, lack awareness about the benefits and procedures of various social insurance schemes. This lack of awareness can lead to low uptake of these schemes, further marginalizing already vulnerable populations.

Moreover, the complexity of insurance products and the requirements for accessing benefits can be overwhelming for many individuals, highlighting the need for simplified processes and enhanced financial literacy. Affordability is another major concern. Premium costs can be prohibitive for low-income individuals, making it difficult for them to access insurance benefits. This is particularly true for health insurance, where out-of-pocket expenses can be catastrophic for many families. The governments initiatives, such as the Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, aim to address this issue by providing subsidized health insurance coverage to vulnerable populations.

However, the sustainability and effectiveness of such schemes depend on various factors, including funding, service delivery, and beneficiary identification. Administrative inefficiencies also plague the social insurance system. Claim settlement delays, beneficiary identification issues, and fund management problems can undermine the effectiveness of social insurance schemes. These issues can lead to frustration and mistrust among beneficiaries, ultimately affecting the overall impact of these schemes. Streamlining administrative processes and leveraging technology can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of social insurance programmes. Despite these challenges, the government has introduced several initiatives to strengthen the social insurance system.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, for example, aims to provide financial inclusion to all citizens, particularly the underprivileged. The Atal Pension Yojana provides pension benefits to unorganized sector workers, ensuring financial security in old age. These initiatives have the potential to significantly improve the social security landscape in India, but their success depends on effective implementation and sustained support. A comprehensive approach is required to address the social security needs of Indias citizens. This includes not only providing financial protection but also ensuring access to healthcare, education, and protection against various risks. Streamlining the fragmented social security architecture into a simple and inclusive system can help serve all citizens more effectively.

This may involve integrating various schemes, enhancing beneficiary identification and enrollment processes, and improving service delivery mechanisms. Ultimately, a robust and inclusive social insurance system is crucial for promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving the overall well-being of Indias citizens. By addressing the challenges and limitations of the current system, policy-makers can create a more effective and sustainable social security framework that benefits all sections of society.

This requires a concerted effort to enhance awareness, improve administrative efficiency, and ensure the financial sustainability of social insurance schemes. With careful planning and implementation, Indias social insurance system can play a vital role in achieving the countrys development goals and ensuring a secure future for its citizens. Indias social security measures are inadequate, particularly for the informal sector workers who make up a significant portion of the workforce. Some key issues include:

i) Limited coverage ~ only 7.5 per cent of the workforce receives monthly social security benefits;

ii) Insufficient budget allocation ~ the budget allocation for social security is inadequate, leading to a lack of resources for implementing and sustaining social security programmes;

iii) Policy challenges ~ social security policies are not effectively implemented, and there are issues with corruption and leakages in social security programmes, and

iv) Digital divide ~ the digital divide, particularly in rural areas, hinders access to social security benefits and services. In conclusion, Indias social safety net has made significant progress, but challenges persist. Though India has made efforts to improve social security, more needs to be done to address the challenges and ensure adequate coverage and benefits for all citizens. To strengthen the system, policy makers must address gaps in coverage, ensure adequate funding, and improve implementation. A robust social safety net is crucial for reducing poverty and inequality, and promoting inclusive growth. By prioritizing the most vulnerable populations and leveraging technology, India can create a more effective and sustainable social safety net that supports the wellbeing of all its citizens.

(The writer is Associate Professor and Head, Political Science, (Retd. WBES), Chandernagore Government College, Hooghly)
Its been almost 100 years since the U.S. had tariffs at the level they could reach next Friday.

Once President Donald Trump's planned tariffs take effect, Americans will see an average tax of 18.3% for imported products, the highest rate since 1934, according to the Budget Lab at Yale, a non-partisan policy research center.

Late Thursday, Trump ordered new tariff rates for 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands. Among them: a 40% tariffs on imports from Laos, a 39% tariff on goods from Switzerland and a 30% tariff on South African products.

Other trade partners, such as Cambodia and Bangladesh, had the tax rates on their exports to the U.S. reduced from levels the president had threatened to impose. Trump postponed the start date for all of the changes from Friday until Aug. 7.

Tariffs are a tax, and U.S. consumers are likely to foot at least part of the bill. The Budget Lab estimated that prices will increase 1.8% in the short term as a result of the trade war the U.S. waged this year. Thats the equivalent of a $2,400 loss of income per U.S. household, the group said.

Companies are dealing with tariffs in various ways. Many automakers appear to be swallowing tariff costs for now. But the worlds largest eyewear maker, EssilorLuxottica, said it raised U.S. prices due to tariffs. The maker of Ray-Bans grinds lenses and sunglasses in Mexico, Thailand and China and exports premium frames from Italy.

Retailers have been able to hold the line on pricing so far, but the new tariffs will impact merchandise in the coming weeks, David French, chief lobbyist for the National Retail Federation, the nations largest retail trade group, said Friday. We have heard directly from small retailers who are concerned about their ability to stay in business in the face of these unsustainable tariff rates."

Heres what we know about the tariffs and what their impact will be on U.S. consumers:

How we got here

Trump unveiled sweeping import taxes on goods coming into the U.S. from nearly every country in April. He said the reciprocal tariffs were meant to boost domestic manufacturing and restore fairness to global trade.

The president paused the country-specific tariffs a week later but applied a 10% tax to most imports. In early July, he began notifying countries that the higher tariffs would go into effect Aug. 1 unless they reached trade deals.

In announcing the new rates for dozens of countries on Thursday, Trump delayed their implementation until Aug. 7.

In the meantime, he announced a 35% tariff on imports from Canada would take effect Friday. But Trump delayed action on Mexico and China while negotiations continue.
The growing conviction among AI pioneers that artificial general intelligence (AGI) could arrive as early as 2027 represents more than just technological bravado ~ it signals a pivotal moment in the human story. If AGI can indeed surpass the average human in all cognitive tasks, we are staring down the barrel of what could become the most transformative force in economic history. But as with any force of great power, the true question is not whether it will change the world, but whether we are prepared to steer that change wisely.

The potential upside is breath-taking. AGI could supercharge the pace of scientific discovery; rewire innovation cycles, and compress decades of research into months. Economic growth ~ long thought to inch forward at modest, manageable rates ~ could spike beyond anything modern society has witnessed. With machines learning faster, solving problems more efficiently, and even refining themselves, breakthroughs in healthcare, climate technology, and energy could follow in swift succession. Such acceleration could lift billions out of poverty, unlock abundant clean energy, and make high quality education universally accessible.

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The illusion that economic growth alone will solve social rifts is a dangerous one. Without deliberate redistribution mechanisms ~ universal basic income, digital dividend systems, or AI resource trusts ~ the gains from AGI may flow to a thin layer of tech elites. If society fails to anticipate this asymmetry, the same tools that promise abundance may instead deepen unrest and instability. But the risks, though often veiled in abstraction, are equally profound. AGI could exacerbate inequality at an unprecedented scale. Ownership and control of these super-intelligent systems will likely be concentrated ~ whether in a handful of corporations or geopolitical blocs ~ creating power structures that are effectively un-challengeable.

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If AI displaces more jobs than it creates, we risk a crisis of economic dislocation and dignity, not just employment. Worse, scenarios involving AI misalignment, runaway self-improvement, or misuse in areas like biotechnology arent the stuff of science fiction ~ they are now part of serious policy conversations. The troubling part is that those closest to building AGI are also the most nervous. Many feel trapped in a global race dynamic, where slowing down means losing a strategic or economic edge to a faster competitor. This incentive structure, favouring speed over safety, could be our undoing.

It is not enough to marvel or fear. The years ahead demand global cooperation, new governance models, and a serious rethinking of what economic value means in an age when cognition itself is automated. We must shift the narrative from disruption to stewardship ~ from who builds AGI first to how it is shared, regulated, and embedded in human values. If this is indeed the dawn of super-intelligence, we must rise to meet it not just with innovation, but with foresight. The future wont be decided by the intelligence of our machines, but by the wisdom of our choices.
Over the years, the crime of human trafficking has taken a disastrous route, especially with traffickers adopting diverse ways to capitalise on the desperation and vulnerabilities of women and children at high risk of exploitation. The privacy provided by social media platforms has not only helped traffickers target women and children in anonymity, but it has also provided a medium to generate child sexual abuse and exploitative material.

In India, trafficking of women and girls for forced marriage is also a growing phenomenon. Young girls from vulnerable areas looking for better opportunities are being lured with the false promises of employment and a good quality of life, and sold for the purpose of forced marriage. In many instances, traffickers also deceive, coerce or even lure families coming from weak economic backgrounds, with money and promises to marry off their children, the majority of which results in trafficking. The practice forces minor girls into the chain of abuse, leading to physical and emotional trauma, abuse, limited education and economic dependence. The majority of these cases lead to a teenage pregnancy that has a long-lasting impact on their health and well-being.

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Recently, the Supreme Court of India in Pinki v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. Understanding the gravity of the offence has acknowledged that the changing trafficking patterns have brought about changes in the traffickers, their modus operandi, and their manipulation of the victims, which has only resulted in an increase in the number of cases being reported over time. In the landmark judgment, the Supreme Court, acknowledging the pendency of trials in human trafficking cases, has also issued directions to all the High Courts across the country to call for necessary information in respect to the status of the pending trials related to child trafficking cases. Further, the trial courts were directed to complete the trials within a period of six months, by conducting the trials on a day-to-day basis if required.

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With cases of missing children, presumed to be taken as cases of abduction or trafficking unless the investigation shows otherwise, many state governments in India have strengthened their legal framework and are developing ways to conduct the recovery of children and ensure protocols for the protection and rehabilitation of children.

In this context, it is important to highlight Just Rights for Children (JRC), a network of over 250 NGO partners working across 418 districts in India to advance child protection and child rights. This expansive network has played a crucial role in tracking and rescuing children, particularly those trafficked across state borders. Over the years, JRCs interstate collaboration has helped rescue thousands of children. Eastern India, a known source region for child trafficking, has witnessed several successful operations where state governments, inter-agency intelligence, law enforcement collaboration, and JRC partners have come together to dismantle trafficking networks and apprehend traffickers.

West Bengal is one of the states that has witnessed and ensured maximum recovery in cases of missing children, especially with the proactive protocols developed by the state government, further strengthened by the state police department. The state police are undertaking all necessary efforts and initiatives to ensure inter-state coordination for conducting raids and rescuing children. Further, as part of the prevention strategy to combat human trafficking, the law enforcement officials in the state are regularly conducting awareness campaigns aimed at communities, parents and children to identify and immediately report trafficking cases. The West Bengal police is also actively strengthening the Swayamsiddha initiative of the state government and is regularly reaching out to schools to educate children about the emerging trends of human trafficking cases and their rights and safety measures.

In conclusion, combating human trafficking requires a comprehensive approach involving legal reforms, community awareness, victim support, and proactive responses of law enforcement. Continued efforts and collaboration among government agencies, civil society, and communities are essential to eradicate this heinous crime and protect vulnerable women and children from exploitation and abuse.

The writer is a social activist who has been at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking and has led NGOs that have helped rescue victims across India. Views expressed are personal.
UN humanitarians said that as starvation worsens in Gaza, efforts to swiftly distribute aid are being hampered by delays, looting and military operations, even as shipments continue to arrive through Israeli checkpoints.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that earlier this week, despite the Israeli military designating secure routes from border crossings into Gaza and toward distribution sites, aid trucks operated by the United Nations and its partners continued to face lengthy delays, putting drivers, humanitarian workers and crowds at risk, Xinhua news agency reported.

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OCHA said that the sole route provided by Israeli authorities for UN teams exiting the Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem crossing into Gaza is frequently disrupted by Israeli ground forces setting up ad hoc checkpoints, causing additional delays in aid delivery.

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The office said that despite such challenges, the world body and its humanitarian partners continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings.

The teams have managed to collect wheat flour, ready-to-eat rations, high-energy biscuits, nutrition items, hygiene kits and other critical supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings, OCHA said.

The office said that much of the food is taken by people en route, rather than reaching community-based distribution points, adding that aid must be distributed at the community level to ensure no one is left behind.

The United Nations and its partners insist on reaching Palestinians in need through community-based distribution points, numbering 400 across Gaza, rather than the four militarized Israeli and US-sponsored Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) hubs, due to chaos and gunfire erupting near them.

OCHA urges the Israeli authorities to allow the consistent and simultaneous entry of large volumes of diverse humanitarian and commercial supplies through all crossing points and multiple routes, the office said.

Highlighting the difficulties aid workers face in coordinating movements across much of the Gaza Strip with Israeli authorities, OCHA said that only 47 per cent were fully facilitated, while 11 per cent were withdrawn by organizers, according to cumulative data from July 23 to 29.

Unimpeded humanitarian access within Gaza is essential, the office said. Without it, time and resources are wasted, lives are lost, and the response cannot match the scale of the needs.
Bangladeshs Awami League party on Thursday strongly condemned the recent heinous attack on the Hindu community in Rangpur districts Gangachara, highlighting the current lawlessness that prevails in the entire country under the current interim government led by Muhammad Yunus.

With direct support and patronage from the Nazi Yunus clique, communal terrorists have been orchestrating such shameful acts of terror in a planned manner. As part of this ongoing pattern, an attack has been carried out on the Hindu community in Gangachara Upazila of Rangpur district. The terrorism, violence, and oppression inflicted upon the Hindu and other religious communities under this illegitimate regime are inconceivable in any civilized state governed by the rule of law, read a statement issued by the Awami League.

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Since the forceful seizure of state power by the illegal occupier, extremist, communal, militant-terrorist clique led by the murderer-Nazi-fascist Yunus and his cohorts, indiscriminate oppression has been unleashed upon leaders and activists of the Awami League. Alongside this, widespread attacks, vandalism, looting, and arson have been carried out targetting members of the Hindu and other minority communities and their homes, the statement added

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The party sharply criticised the despicable attack, stating that these illegal occupiers  the murderer-Nazi Yunus group  openly harbor and protect extremist communal terrorists.

As such, they will not ensure proper justice. On the contrary, because of their shelter and support, incidents of communal terrorism will continue to occur, as they always have, the Awami League stated.

The Awami League highlighted that under the Yunus regime, members of the Hindu community across the country are facing extreme insecurity as if they are exiled in their own homeland.

It stated that many are being forced to abandon their ancestral homes and the illegal, occupying, murderous-Nazi Yunus group will show no accountability to the people.

To them, human life and dignity have no value. Therefore, we call upon the people of this country to stand united and resist this extremist communal force and its patrons. From your respective positions, uphold mutual solidarity and play a leading role in building a society of harmony and brotherhood, the Awami League emphasised.

Earlier this week, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) raised serious concerns after violent mobs allegedly attacked, looted, and vandalised at least 21 homes belonging to Hindu families in Gangachara, Rangpur district.

The human rights body mentioned that the violence on July 2728 followed a blasphemy allegation against a 17-year-old Hindu boy who is already in police custody.

A devastating episode of communal violence has forced scores of Hindu families to flee their homes in Rangpurs Gangachara upazila after a 17-year-old Hindu boy was arrested over a Facebook post allegedly defaming the Prophet of Islam. What followed was not an isolated expression of anger but an organized campaign of pillaging, fear, and displacement, read a statement issued by HRCBM.

Over the course of two days, mobs rampaged through the Hindu-majority area of Aldadpur village, targetting homes, looting valuables, and terrorizing residents. Local accounts indicate that between 14 and 21 houses were attacked. Eyewitnesses describe the scene as chaotic and violent, with law enforcement either arriving too late or unable to control the crowd, the statement added.
The Baloch Raji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) has taken responsibility for multiple assaults on the Pakistani military and its supply convoys in the Zamuran area of Balochistan, leading to the deaths of at least five soldiers and injuries to several more.

As stated by BRAS spokesperson Baloch Khan, the groups operatives initially conducted a mission on the night of July 28 near Nawano, Zamuran, where they intercepted and destroyed supply trucks headed for military installations. The vehicles were set on fire, but the civilian drivers were reportedly released unharmed after receiving a warning.

The next day, BRAS fighters attacked a Pakistani army convoy of motorcycles and other vehicles in the same area. This assault, which utilised a remotely detonated improvised explosive device (IED) followed by automatic and heavy gunfire, resulted in the deaths of five soldiers, according to the groups statement.

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BRAS further alleged that some local inhabitants were assisting the Pakistani military by transporting food and supplies, branding such actions as direct support of military operations. The group issued a serious warning to those participating, urging them to stop these activities immediately or face more severe repercussions in the future.

Those who keep supplying the Pakistani military will bear the consequences. Our attacks will escalate if these actions do not cease, the BRAS statement declared.

BRAS is a coalition of three Baloch sub-nationalist organisations: a splinter faction of the Baloch Liberation Army (led by Bashirzeb Baloch, based in Afghanistan), the Balochistan Liberation Front, and the Baloch Republican Guards. The primary goal behind the establishment of BRAS is the belief that unifying and consolidating national strength is the only path forward to end Pakistani control of Balochistan. The coalition was formed to carry out coordinated attacks against the Pakistani military, Chinese interests in Balochistan, and sites related to CPEC, as noted by the Centre for Strategic and Contemporary Research.

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In an escalation of state repression, Pakistani authorities have arrested an eight-year-old boy, Suhaib Baloch, from Turbat in Balochistan for sharing a speech by prominent human rights activist Gulzar Dost on social media.

Suhaib was promptly presented before an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), highlighting the brutal crackdown on even the most vulnerable voices in the region, according to a report by Zrumbesh Urdu.

Suhaib Baloch, son of Khalid, posted a short video clip of Gulzar Dosts speech on his TikTok account, after which law enforcement agencies detained him without delay. The targeting of a child for merely sharing a peaceful speech signals the Pakistani states ruthless efforts to silence any form of dissent in Balochistan.

Gulzar Dost, coordinator of Turbat Civil Society and a vocal critic of enforced disappearances and widespread human rights abuses, was himself arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on July 7. He remains in custody without being produced before a court, raising serious concerns about the legality and transparency of his detention. Charges reportedly include provocative speeches, a vague accusation often used to crush legitimate activism.

Dosts family has appealed for his immediate court appearance and protection of his constitutional rights, while civil society groups and human rights organisations condemn the arrests as blatant violations of fundamental freedoms. The use of anti-terrorism laws to imprison children and activists alike only deepens the climate of fear and repression in Balochistan.

The case has ignited outrage among Baloch activists, who have taken to the social media platform X to condemn the arrest of the child, seeing it as yet another example of the Pakistani states systemic oppression of Baloch voices.

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This disturbing incident underscores the ongoing abuse of power by Pakistani authorities in Balochistan, where enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and state violence against civilians, including children, have become tools to crush any call for justice or human rights.

The international community and human rights defenders must urgently condemn this repression and demand accountability from Pakistan for its persistent violations in Balochistan.

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Israeli warplanes carried out intensive airstrikes on multiple areas in eastern and southern Lebanon, targeting sites belonging to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, according to Lebanese official media and an army source.

According to Labanons National News Agency, a series of Israeli airstrikes targeted the eastern mountain range in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon and wide areas deep within southern Lebanon.

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A source from the Lebanese army intelligence told Xinhua that Israeli warplanes carried out 18 airstrikes in less than half an hour across the region, targeting Hezbollah positions that had been hit in previous strikes.

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Meanwhile, in a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its Air Force struck strategic weapon production and storage sites in the Bekaa Valley, eastern Lebanon, and in southern Lebanon.

Among the targets struck were explosive manufacturing sites, which were used to develop Hezbollahs weaponry, as well as an underground site for the production and storage of strategic weapons, the statement said.

It claimed that Hezbollah tried to rehabilitate the sites and capabilities, actions that constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a separate statement that one of the targets of the airstrikes was Hezbollahs largest precision missile production site in Lebanon.

He stated that Israels policy of maximum enforcement against Hezbollah will continue, adding that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for preventing violations of the ceasefire agreement.

The ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, has been in effect since November 27, 2024, following more than a year of clashes related to the war in the Gaza Strip.

However, Israel continues to hold five positions in the south. It occasionally carries out airstrikes in both southern and eastern areas of the country, claiming they are aimed at eliminating threats posed by Hezbollah.


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Canadian Pacific Kansas City profits and revenue grew in the second quarter as the railway carried more intermodal, grain, and coal shipments.

Chief Executive Keith Creel said the elephant in the room  the proposed Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP)-Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) merger  does not change the growth opportunities his railway enjoys thanks to its unique cross-border network linking Canada, the U.S., and Mexico.

This franchise continues to be positioned to deliver a unique outcome for years to come, he said on the railways earnings call Wednesday afternoon.

Creel affirmed CPKCs (NYSE: CP) long-term financial guidance despite the impact of ongoing trade tensions, such as the 50% tariffs the U.S. has imposed on steel imports from Canada. The tariffs have effectively stopped U.S.-bound steel shipments, Chief Marketing Officer John Brooks said.

CPKC saw strong international intermodal growth thanks to its Gemini partnership with Maersk and Hapag Lloyd, enjoyed 40% growth in its Mexico Midwest Express domestic cross-border intermodal hotshots, as well as a continued ramp-up in land-bridge traffic between Canada and Mexico.

CPKCs quarterly operating income increased 6%, to $970 million U.S., as revenue grew 3%, to $2.67 billion U.S., compared to a year ago. Earnings per share surged 37%, to 96 cents.

The railways operating ratio was 63.7%, a 1.1-point improvement.

Overall volume was up 6% based on carloads and containers, but 7% when measured by revenue ton-miles.

On a carload basis, the growth was led by a 14% increase in intermodal shipments, an 11% increase in grain, and 9% increase in coal volume. Energy, chemicals, and plastics traffic was flat. The rest of CPKCs segments  potash; fertilizers; forest products; metals, minerals and consumer products; and automotive  showed declines.

Average train speed was flat, but terminal dwell increased 7% partly due to the impact of congestion in former Kansas City Southern territory in the U.S. after a problematic May 3 computer systems cutover. The tech problems created congestion, missed switches, and significant delays for customers in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.

CPKC has made significant progress clearing up congestion on the legacy KCS lines in the U.S., Chief Operating Officer Mark Redd says, citing a 42% improvement in dwell and a 38% increase in car miles per day.

Subscribe to FreightWaves Rail e-newsletter and get the latest insights on rail freight right in your inbox.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

While shippers cite concerns, rival railroad sees value in mega-merger
Another International Friendship Day is here. According to the United Nations, "friendship feels almost radical in its simplicity. It doesnt arrive with fanfare or policy; it doesnt need speeches or signatures. It begins with something quieter: a conversation, a shared moment, a willingness to see one another not as strangers but as fellow travellers through the human experience."

Missing your best friend?

A handwritten letter or greeting card will never go out of fashion when it comes to showing your emotions to a dear one. Handwritten letters are valued for their deep sentimental value as it remind the receiver that the sender did take some time to think and put their thoughts for the person on paper. They say nothing can beat the gift of love and time. Yet, material presents can be a tool for close souls to relive favourite memories. As another International Friendship Day is here, here are some pocket-friendly gifts to send to your best buddy who is geographically far away.

ALSO READ | Seven budget Friendship Day gadgets under 2K to gift your friends

Friendship Bracelets: Send him/her a meaningful friendship bracelet or a matching charm. It's a constant reminder of your connection and who knows, you may get a similar one in return!

A Curated Playlist: Put together a Spotify or YouTube playlist of songs that remind the two of you of your best trips, occasions or events together. You can also include memorable songs from the movies the two of you caught together.

Digital Gift Cards: Most leading online shopping websites now have e-gift cards that allow the holder to shop for a certain amount. In most cases, you can choose the amount, making it an affordable option that fits your budget.

Shared Subscription(s): Split the cost of a streaming service. If your buddy is a gaming freak, it could be a gaming subscription. For bookworms, there are audiobook services and for film buffs, of course, there are several OTT options!

Personalised Mug: The cup or mug could carry your favourite selfie together or even that one iconic photo when the crew was in its full strength. You can further customise them with a funny quote, or your initials. Most digital studios offer mug customisation these days. Even better, a simple Google search will throw up at least half a dozen websites; it is a practical gift that will make them smile with every use.

ALSO READ | Five premium Friendship Day gadgets under 35K to gift your special friend

Matching Phone Covers: The concept is the same as with the mug. With a phone case, your friend will see the photo of you together more often every day.
Is MAGA turning into MIKA (Make India Kneel Again)? Just when you thought it couldnt get worse, Donald Trump has gone and tightened the screws on India, yet again.

As the first gentleman of the United States gets more and more ungentlemanly to India via Truth Social, there are some real-world implications for India.

(This) now threatens Indias already modest footprint on the global trade map, said Dr Vishal Sarin, dean & economist at Lovely Professional University.

ALSO READ | Trump tariffs: Was US president 'irritated' because India did not back ceasefire claim, nominate him for Nobel Peace Prize like Pak?

Indias trade with the US adds around 2.1 per cent of value to Indias GDP. With Wednesdays announcement of 25 per cent tariffsin addition to a plus penalty for buying oil (and arms) from RussiaIndian exports have suddenly become a lot less competitive.

As if that wasnt bad enough, Trump even lashed out at India and Russia, quipping that they can take their dead economies down together, for all I care".

Impact on India's neighbours

Rubbing salt into New Delhis wound, Trump announced a deal with Indias bete noire Pakistan to develop its supposedly immense oil and gas reserves, before bringing down the tariff rate on Islamabads exports to America from its Liberation Day high of 29 per cent down to 19 per cent.

Its the kind of bad gift keeps on giving: Pakistans new rate will go into effect in a weeks time, along with Bangladeshs at 20 per cent.

While the Pakistan move, per se, is more a psychological blow to India than any competitor of significance on the export stage (except for a petty rivalry over whos the rightful claimant to basmati rice), the tariffs on Bangladesh will rudely hit one of Indias more labour intensive sectorstextiles and garments.

Its easterly neighbour had grown into not just a competitor, but in recent times, had even raced ahead as a textile industry powerhouse, churning out clothes for some of the worlds major brands like H&M.

ALSO READ | Trump tariffs: Can India and US live without a trade deal?

For India, there is no escaping the bad news, whichever way you look at it. Initially, after the Liberation Day tariff announcement of April 2, there was still cheer in some quarters due to two reasons.

The first was the strategic relationship both nations enjoyed, as well as the Modi-Trump cameraderie, with their joint declaration of aiming for a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by fall 2025. The ideal scenario then was for Modi to sign the agreement along with Trump when he visited the US for the annual UN session, roughly around September 30.

Second, and more significant perhaps, was the fact that Indias tariff (then) of 26 per cent seemed to be much better off than most of its competitiors: China was slapped with rates starting 35 per centwhich even rose to 145 per cent as Trump played a numbers gamewhile rivals like Indonesia got 32 per cent.

In fact, Vietnam was shocked with a 46 per cent figure. In Indian commerce chambers, there was actually jubilation, as the impression then was that this would make Indian exports to America (mobile phones or otherwise) more attractive.

Tariffs on India versus other Asian nations

However, as India continued to play hardball at the negotiations, its Asian rivals stole a march.

Philippines moved from 32 per cent down to 19 per cent, at par with rival electronics manufacturing countries like Philippines and Malaysiaall getting more competitive as things stand.

In fact, Vietnams the case study of sorts here. The South East Asian nation was slapped with a heavy 46 per cent duty which they nimbly managed to bring down to 20 per cent.

ALSO READ | 'Will secure India's national interest': Centre responds to US President Donald Trump's 25% tariff

The point to note here is that Vietnam was the runaway winner in the battle to garner the manufacturing biggies moving out of China, or looking for an alternative to the mainland after Covid-19.

India tried to save face with Apple manufacturing, while a plethora of other global biggies (Samsung included), went to countries like Vietnam.

Presently, as much as 75 per cent of Samsungs phone manufacturing now takes place in countries outside of China like Vietnam. India boasts the worlds largest phone manufacturing plant of Samsung, but it is a pre-Covid phenomenon, and caters primarily to the domestic market.

How will this shape India's strategy going forward?

The writing on the wall for India is ominous.

The next round of negotiations between India and the US is only scheduled for the last week of this month, which means these tariffs will impact Indias exports to the US for at least a month.

The longer the impasse between the two countries continue, the more the pressure will be on Indias trade fortunes: with a direct impact on its GDP.

The doldrums in the stock markets and the fall in the value of the rupee are but initial warnings. The bigger whammy will be when investmentsparticularly in production and manufacturing in Indiatakes flight to countries with better tariffs (which in turn reduces their last mile cost in the US consumer market).

The aggressive US stance is expected to dent the Indian rupee and deplete foreign exchange reserves, said Sarin.

Regardless of the outcome, India must seize this moment to rethink and diversify its trade strategy. Programmes like Act East, Africa Outreach and European engagement may not just stay on paper, but should be actively pursued, she added.
Donald Trumps latest flat 25 per cent tariff on all Indian exports to the United States of America seems to have rubbed New Delhi the wrong way, as the worlds fourth largest economy has reportedly told US officials that India was no longer interested in buying its fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter jets.

The US has been repeatedly lobbying global military powers such as India to lift the American defence exports. But according to a Bloomberg report, India would no longer approve any major military purchases from the US, especially after the latest Trump tariffs.

The government is more interested in a partnership focused on jointly designing and manufacturing defence equipment domestically, Bloomberg cited an Indian official, in line with the countrys Make in India initiative.

Russia, however, has better-suited equipment for Indian defence capabilities, according to industry reports. Last month, Moscow is said to have offered the country, through Rostec and Sukhoi, a package deal for the new Su-57E fifth-generation stealth fighter and the Su-35M multirole aircraft.

No official offer made for F-35

Then again, F-35s never really made sense for India. They are to be imported. They are tied to Lockheed Martin software, they have high operational costs, and they cost $80 million each according to official US government estimates.

Back in February, when Trump pitched F-35s to India, they were only meant as a stopgap measure given that the countrys own fifth-generation fighters are ten years away.

But that did not stop the Rahul Gandhi-led Indian opposition from criticising PM Modi for even entertaining the idea of hearing Trumps offer. The Congress even invoked Elon Musks past criticism of the F-35 (where he referred to it as junk).

The F-35 design was broken at the requirements level, because it was required to be too many things to too many people.



This made it an expensive & complex jack of all trades, master of none. Success was never in the set of possible outcomes.



And manned fighter jets are https://t.co/t6EYLWNegI  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024

In fact, later in March, Air Force chief AP Singh at an event said that the countrys defence forces have not given it a thought and that no offer has been made till now.

Singh also highlighted the $80 million price tag and even quipped that it was not a washing machine or refrigerator that we can buy by just the looks of it.

F-35s may not be as safe as the US claims

Earlier on Wednesday (July 31), the US Naval Air Station Lemoore confirmed that an F-35C (the US Navys carrier version of the F-35) attached to the VFA-125 Rough Raiders went down near the installation. Officials later confirmed to agencies that the pilot was safe.

The F-35 fighter jet crashed near a central California naval installation and was engulfed in flames around 6.40 pm local time, according to the Fresno County Sheriffs Office. First responders found the wreckage in a cotton field just north of Naval Air Station Lemoore.

The pilot has ejected, and the first responders found them with a parachute in a nearby field.

A month ago, reports emerged that the US Air Force cut down on the number of orders of the fifth-generation supersonic stealth F-35 fighters it intends to procure from Lockheed Martin Corp from 48 to 24. The Pentagon also reportedly cut down its order to just 12 F-35Cs from the 17 that the US Congress approved for the fiscal year.
What once primarily affected elderly male smokers has now shifted dramatically, with roughly 50 per cent of lung cancer cases now occurring in non-smokers. The age group has shifted from 50-60s to 30-40s, and approximately 40 percent of diagnoses are now in women, according to Dr Arvind Kumar, Chairman of Lung Transplant and Chest Surgery at Medanta, Gurugram.

Various Indian studies peg between 40 to 52 per cent the prevalence of lung cancer in non-smokers. This is significantly higher than in Western countries. India's deteriorating Air Quality Index is one of the most obvious causes of rising lung cancer mortality rates, with each 10 g/m increase in PM2.5 concentrations associated with a 9 per cent increase in lung cancer risk.

The main culprits:

Outdoor air pollution: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone, and nitrogen dioxide from vehicular emissions and industrial activity penetrate deep into lung tissue, causing inflammation and cellular damage. The World Health Organisation officially categorises outdoor air pollution as a carcinogen. Delhi alone has witnessed lung cancer cases doubling due to pollution, noted Dr Vinayak Maka, Consultant, Department of Medical Oncology at Ramaiah Institute of Oncosciences, Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bengaluru. Scientific evidence shows air pollution is now the second leading cause of lung cancer globally.

Indoor air pollution: Cooking with solid fuels, biomass, kerosene, wood, or coal emits harmful gases. High-heat Indian cooking methods like tadka and deep frying produce ultrafine particles, explained Dr Abhijit Ahuja, Pulmonologist, Saifee Hospital, Mumbai. Poor ventilation traps pollutants indoors, creating chronic exposure. Radon gas, a naturally occurring radioactive substance, can accumulate in basements and poorly ventilated areas.

Secondhand smoke exposure: Despite being non-smokers, many individuals face a significant risk through passive smoking. Dr Manikandan Venkatasubramaniyan, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, MGM Cancer Institute, Chennai, identifies secondhand smoke as a major threat, particularly affecting family members living with smokers.

Occupational and chemical exposure: People working in certain industries, including construction, mining, and shipbuilding, face asbestos exposure. Industrial workers encounter arsenic, beryllium, and diesel exhaust. These substances significantly raise cancer risk, especially when combined with other factors.

Genetic factors and molecular changes: Dr Jeyhan Dhabhar, Consultant Medical Oncology, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, highlights that some non-smokers, particularly younger women, develop lung cancer due to specific genetic mutations like EGFR or ALK. Studies in Southeast Asia, including India, show EGFR mutations in 23-30 per cent of patients and ALK rearrangements in 5-7 per cent. Dr Shriniwas Kulkarni, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Sahyadri Super Speciality Hospital, Hadapsar, explains that these mutations can cause cells to proliferate uncontrollably, but the positive news is that these cancers often respond well to targeted therapies.

Pre-existing lung conditions: Chronic lung diseases create additional risk. COPD and pulmonary fibrosis elevate risk due to chronic inflammation. Previous tuberculosis can leave scarred lung tissue that may transform into cancerous growths over time, according to Dr Mandeep Singh Malhotra, Director of Surgical Oncology, CK Birla Hospital, Delhi. Long-term respiratory infections like asthma, pneumonia, and bronchitis increase vulnerability.

Lung cancer is no longer a smoker's disease. One needs to understand the diverse risk factors to stay safe from this health condition. Consult a health expert for more information.
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has staged a formidable resurgence, rising nearly 25% in just three months. One of the catalysts behind the dramatic climb has been an executive order from President Donald Trump proposing the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Although the reserve has not yet been operationalized, its premise signals a major shift in federal posture.

If implemented, the government would be required to hold Bitcoin acquired through asset forfeitures, effectively transforming the United States into a prominent institutional holder of the asset. With legal clarity emerging, institutional investors and large capital allocators are once again pouring funds into the ecosystem.

More News from Barchart

Amid this bullish backdrop, Strategy (MSTR) the world's first Bitcoin Treasury Company and the largest corporate holder of BTC now commands attention. As of July 29, the company's Bitcoin holdings reached 628,791 BTC.

MSTR stock has reflected this momentum. Shares have surged 36% year-to-date (YTD), outperforming the S&P 500 Indexs ($SPX) gain of 8%. On July 31, all eyes will turn to Strategy as it unveils its second-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings after market close.

About Strategy Stock

Based in Tysons Corner, Virginia, Strategy has undergone a complete evolution. It was once recognized for its business intelligence software, helping enterprises make sense of large-scale data. Today, the firm stands as a pioneering Bitcoin Treasury Company, holding firm to its belief in Bitcoin as digital capital.

Through a deliberate strategy of issuing equity and debt, and reinvesting operational cash flows, Strategy has consistently accumulated Bitcoin. Currently, the company commands a market capitalization of $110 billion.

The companys Bitcoin-centric pivot has paid off handsomely. Over the past 52 weeks, MSTR stock has skyrocketed 134%. On July 16, the stock touched a recent high of $457.22.

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However, its valuation commands a premium. Shares are priced at 239 times forward sales, far exceeding the industry average.

Strategy Misses on Q1 Earnings

Strategys Q1 fiscal 2025 results, announced on May 1, came in below market expectations. Revenue dropped 3.6% year-over-year (YOY) to $111.07 million, falling short of Wall Streets projection of $116.39 million. Gross profit also slipped 9.5% to $77.1 million. Still, some segments delivered notable gains.
In a late-night encounter, Karnataka police nabbed two of the four accused wanted for kidnapping and murdering a 13-year-old boy on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Thursday. The kidnappers were shot in the legs when they tried to attack police with lethal weapons.

Police nabbed two of the kidnappers, Gurumuruthy and Gopalakrishna, after an encounter in Bannerghatta area. According to police, the accused tried to attack police with daggers when they tried to arrest them. Despite firing warning shots, the accused continued to wield daggers at police in an attempt to escape arrest. Police shot the accused in the legs when they tried to run away, senior police officials said.

Police said Gurumuruthy is allegedly the mastermind of the crime. The victim's family had employed him as a spare driver in the past.

According to police, 13-year-old Nischith was reported missing on Wednesday evening by his parents, and a massive search was launched to find out his whereabouts. Miscreants kidnapped the class 8 student from Shantiniketan Layout, Arakere, Bengaluru, while he was returning home after his tuition classes, police said.

Nischith's father, a college professor, lodged a complaint with the Hulimavu Police Station after his son did not return home by 8 pm on Wednesday. They also found his cycle abandoned in Promili Park area Arakere.

According to police, the kidnappers contacted the family soon after they lodged the complaint and demanded a ransom of 5 lakh. While the family was reportedly ready to pay the ransom amount, things took a tragic turn on Thursday, after cops recovered the charred body of the teenager from a deserted area on Kaggalipur Road, Bannerghatta.

Rural Bengaluru SP C.K. Baba said, "When the kidnapper received information that the parents of the minor had filed a police complaint, they allegedly beat him to death and half-burned his body."

The kidnappers were rushed to Jayanagar government hospital for treatment. Further probe is underway.
Amid media reports claiming that the death sentence of Nimisha Priya has been revoked and that there is an agreement to release the Kerala nurse imprisoned in Yemen, the Ministry of External Affairs has clarified that such reports are incorrect.

MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Nimisha Priya case is a sensitive matter and the Centre has been giving all possible assistance for the Kerala nurse. He added that Yemen postponed her execution as a result of the Centre's concerted efforts.

Weekly Media Briefing by the Official Spokesperson (August 01, 2025)

https://t.co/e1AadhLBOb  Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 1, 2025

We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance. We are also in touch with some friendly governments on the issue. I would once again reiterate that this is a sensitive and complex case, he added.

Jaiswal warned that media reports based on misinformation and speculation are most unhelpful. We would urge all to be mindful of this, he said, adding that reports about Nimisha's death sentence being revoked and an agreement has been reached for her release are incorrect.

This is a sensitive matter and we urge all sides to stay away from misinformation, he reiterated.

Mediation by Kerala cleric?

Reports claiming the Kerala nurse's death penalty was revoked emerged on July 28 after the information was revealed by Grand Mufti of India Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, popularly known as Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar. Reports claimed that he mediated the issue with Yemeni authorities.

However, the family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni citizen who was murdered by the nurse, have refused to accept the blood money, demanding that Nimisha should be executed.

Talal Abdo Mahdi's murder

Nimisha had established a clinic in Sana'a in 2015 under the sponsorship of Talal. Things took a turn when Talal allegedly forged marriage documents and later took her passport. He reportedly abused her physically and mentally.

Later, in order to escape and retrieve her passport, Nimisha drugged Talal. However, he died of overdose. Yemeni authorities captured her from the Saudi border.

Nimisha was sentenced to death in 2020 and her appeals were quashed. The verdict was approved by the Yemeni president in 2024, following which her execution was scheduled for July 16. However, the sentence was postponed a day earlier, giving relief to the nurse's family.
Facing a troubling pattern of student suicidesover twelve deaths in the last five yearsIIT-Kharagpur has been prompted to take drastic measures, including removing ceiling fans from hostel rooms. It has also launched the Campus Mothers initiative, which involves trained female staff providing emotional support.

Officials said the decision to remove ceiling fans from hostel rooms was prompted by a grim trend: a number of student suicides at IIT-Kharagpur have involved hanging. Officials say the move is preventive, akin to buildings installing collapsible rods or sensor-based fixtures in sensitive zones.

As a part of the Campus Mothers initiative, trained female non-academic staff serve as informal emotional caregivers, providing a comforting presence in a predominantly high-pressure, male-dominated environment. These mothers check in on students, provide a listening ear and build a non-judgmental support system.

"There should be at least one psychologist for every 500 students; many IITs dont meet even that minimum," said a former mental health consultant.

The issue has now reached the countrys highest court. In a suo motu proceeding initiated earlier this week, the Supreme Court has asked the Centre, IIT Council and UGC to submit reports on the mental health infrastructure and suicide prevention protocols in place across Indias premier institutions.

The Courts direction came after multiple PILs and newspaper reports highlighted the alarming trend of suicides in institutions of national importance, especially among Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe/Other Backward Class students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

What is wrong with your IIT-Kharagpur? Why are students committing suicide? Have you given a thought to this problem? What steps have you taken? Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan asked during a hearing

On July 21, the Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of two student suicides - one involving a fourth-year engineering student from IIT-Kharagpur and the other a second-year BDS student from Sharda University in Greater Noida.

According to the affidavit filed by IIT-Kharagpur, The institute has also launched the SETU framework, comprising five integrated pillars, upgraded counseling services, an AI-enabled welfare application for anonymous emotional check-ins, hostel-level wellness units, trained volunteer groups, and structured student-engagement projects.

To reduce the gap between distress and assistance, QR codes have been affixed to every hostel room door and in conspicuous common areas.

A single scan provides students with direct links to emergency contact numbers, a counseling appointment interface, and contact details of wardens, mentors, and medical staff. The system also includes an anonymous grievance form to capture early-stage concerns.

The affidavit also notes the formation of a 10-member committee comprising clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, senior police and legal professionals, educationists, and alumni familiar with campus life.

The framework is designed not only for swift crisis response but to proactively identify and address emotional and psychological concerns among students, thus promoting resilience and overall mental wellness.

According to a report submitted by the Centre for Law and Policy Research between 2018 and 2023, at least ninety-one student suicides were reported in central higher education institutions.

IIT-Kharagpurs measures may signal a shift in attitude from silence to acknowledgement. But unless the symbolism is backed by systemic transformationmore funding for counseling, anti-discrimination cells, de-stigmatizing failure and faculty trainingfan removals may only act as institutional Band-Aids.

With the Supreme Courts involvement, however, the moment could be ripe for real accountability. The Courts future orders in this case may well shape how India treats student mental healthnot as a personal failing, but as a matter of constitutional and institutional responsibility.

I hope this is helpful. Let me know if you have any further questions.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday rubbished reports about strain in India's bilateral relations with Russia amid US President Donald Trump's tariff imposition.

"Our bilateral relationships with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. India and Russia have a steady and time-tested partnership," stated MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Weekly Media Briefing by the Official Spokesperson (August 01, 2025)

https://t.co/e1AadhLBOb  Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 1, 2025

Jaiswal, however, was quick to point out that India and the US share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties.

The statement comes following Trump's attack on New Delhi and Moscow for their historically close ties, saying theu can take their dead economies down together.

"I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he said.

Trump said the US has done very little business with India, claiming India's tariffs are too high and among the highest globally. He said, similarly, US has almost no trade with Russia. Lets keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory! Trump said.

In response, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday asserted that India is the fastest growing majar economy, which is on its way to become the third largest in the coming years.

Goyal said international institutions see India as the bright spot in the global economy, contributing to almost 16 per cent of global growth.
The arrest of two elderly Kerala nuns in Chhattisgarh is reportedly drawing conflicting reactions from Bharatiya Janata Party leaders of different states. While Kerala BJP Rajeev Chandrasekhar called the arrest a fallout of "misunderstanding", the Chhattisgarh government has justified the

Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party chief and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh was fallout of procedural lapses and "misunderstanding". Chandrasekhar said the BJP governments will not oppose bail plea of the nuns in the Chhattisgarh High Court.

#WATCH | Delhi: On two Kerala nuns arrested in Chhattisgarh on charges of trafficking and religious conversion, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai says, "The law is doing its job." pic.twitter.com/1H9KMrQOgV  ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

The Kerala BJP chief met with Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, head of the Thrissur Archdiocese and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), on Thursday, and reportedly briefed him about the developments. Archbishop Andrews Thazhath told mediapersons in the presence of Chandrasekhar that Christians are facing discrimination in various states and attacks against them are increasing.

The archbishop said the nuns did not commit any crime and urged the BJP leader to ensure that nuns are released from prison soon.

The arrest of two elderly Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh, where BJP is in power, over charges of human trafficking and forced conversion has reportedly hampered the BJP's move to woo Christian votes in Kerala.

Chandrasekhar told presspersons that the nuns' arrest should not be politicised and that the arrest happened due to procedural lapses. "States like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have strong laws against conversion and human trafficking. Details of candidates must be uploaded in a portal under the Chhattisgarh Private Placement Agencies (Regulation) Act while hiring persons from the state. Since they lacked these documents, the nuns were arrested," he said.

Chandrasekhar said Home Minister Amit Shah has assured him that police will not oppose the bail plea in Chhattisgarh High Court.

Meanwhile, Shah has reportedly summoned Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai over the incident. Sai, who is in New Delhi, had justified the arrest. Reacting to presspersons outside Parliament on Friday, when asked about the arrests, Sai said, "law is doing its job."

Kerala nuns, sister Vandhana Francis and sister Preethi Mary were arrested at Durg railway station in Chhattisgarh, alleging they were forcibly trying to convert three girls from Narayanpur, promising jobs. The nuns were allegedly manhandled by Bajrang Dal supporters at the station.

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told ANI the arrests have nothing to do with votes. "Earlier too, a delegation from the Congress party had come, and we facilitated their meeting with the nuns, but, they should understand whether by doing this, are they trying to pressure the court? This is a matter on which the police have taken action; whether bail will be granted or not, the court will decide."
Shivansh Joshi, a one-year-old boy, died of dehydration due to medical negligence in Uttarakhand. The boy was referred to at least five hospitals in four districts. The boy was the son of an army officer, Dinesh Chandra Joshi and died apparently due to inadequate service, lack of medical attention, and medical professional recklessness.

Shivansh had shown symptoms of dehydration from July 10, including regular vomiting. As he could not be breastfed, his mother took him to a public health centre PHC in Chamolis Gwaldam at around 1:50 pm. The boy was transferred to the community health centre in Bageshwars Baijnath, around 22 kilometres away. The public health centre did not have a paediatrician or facilities to help the child, according to reports. A staff member said, We did not have a paediatrician to look at the child. The CHC had ultrasound facilities, and first aid services were done there, while speaking to the Indian Express.

From there, the child was taken to the CHC in Baijnath, where he was treated. As the boy's condition deteriorated, he was moved once again to the district hospital in Baeshwar, which is another 20 kilometres away.

According to the boys father, the doctor on duty was busy on his mobile phone, and the nurses on duty were joking around and laughing. The boy's father said, "Neither the doctor nor the other staff talked politely. Even during the emergency, the doctor did not check my 14-month-old son properly and instead, referred him to Almora," while speaking to NDTV.

The child suffered from the blood flow impedance in the brain, and the lack of a paediatric ICU unit, neurologists, and cardiologists forced the doctor to refer the child to a higher centre, according to Dr Kumar Aditya Tiwari, the chief medical officer of the district hospital. The CMO said that a committee had been appointed to investigate the incident, and a report was submitted.

Shivanshs mother, said she had called for an ambulance at 7 pm, but the vehicle was two and a half hours late. Only after the father, Dinesh Joshi, who at the time was stationed at Jammu and Kashmir, called the District Magistrate and asked for help did the vehicle arrive.

The child's mother said, When doctors asked me to call 108 for better treatment, I did, but there was no immediate action. I was alone. My husband was on duty in Jammu and Kashmir. I told the doctor that the ambulance had not arrived. The hospital staff were not concerned about helping us. They were oblivious to our pleas."

When the ambulance arrived at 9:30 pm, the boy was taken to Almora Medical College, the fourth Medical college, which was about 68 kilometres away. The child was treated there but was once again referred to another hospital, The Haldwani Sushila Tiwari government hospital in Nainital, Haldwani. The doctors had put the boy on a ventilator in Haldwan on July 12. Four days later, on July 16, the boy was declared dead.

The boys father said "I want to ask all people concerned, what does emergency mean? We lost our son to recklessness," He said. He was heartbroken that he couldn't save his child. I have lost my one-year-old son. I pray that no parent has to go through what I did. The child was alive when we took the child from Gwaldam to Baijnath to Bageshwar, said the mother.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami made a post on X that said, The news of the death of an innocent child in Bageshwar due to negligence in medical treatment is extremely painful and unfortunate." As per the information received so far, it appears at first glance that negligence has been shown by officials and employees at certain levels in the discharge of their duties. Immediate investigation orders have been given to the Kumaon Commissioner. If negligence or indifference is found at any level in this case, the strictest action against the guilty will be ensured. No leniency will be tolerated in protecting the trust and lives of the public," he said.
US President Donald Trump, who imposed a blanket 25 per cent tariff on all Indian-origin goods effective August 7, has also made a strange proposal even as he announced the US decision to develop Pakistan's oil reserves.

In a social media post, Trump had said, We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves. We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe theyll be selling Oil to India some day!

#WATCH | Delhi | On the US announcing sanctions on Indian companies involved in trading with Iran, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "We have taken note of the sanctions, we are looking into it."



On US President Donald Trump's statement that India may purchase oil from pic.twitter.com/z70NqIncos  ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2025

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal refused to comment on the suggestion by Donald Trump, saying "I have no comments to offer in this matter," even as he said India has taken note of the sanctions imposed by the US. We have taken note of the sanctions and we are looking into it. About the query of proposed oil, etc, I have no comments to offer in this particular matter."



ALSO READ: FACT CHECK: Was Nimisha Priya's death sentence revoked?

Further, reacting to media reports that some of the Indian oil companies have stopped taking oil from Russia, Jaiswal said, "You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation. We are not aware of any specifics."

India currently relies heavily on oil imports from Russia.

He observed that India and the US share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties and added that this partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges.

"We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward," he added.
A special court in Karnataka has convicted former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna for raping his maid at his farmhouse and videographing the act. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.

The Additional City Civil and Sessions Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Revanna in one of the four rape cases registered against him in April last year. The court completed the hearing in the case earlier this month and reserved it for judgment on Friday.

The court examined 26 witnesses during the trial of the case. The Special Investigation Team probing the case said in its charge-sheet that Revanna repeatedly demanded sexual favours from these women, including maids hired by his family, and used videos of him sexually harassing them in the past as a medium of blackmail. He often recorded him sexually abusing many of the survivors with the sole intention of threatening them at his will.

The cases of sexual abuse came to light after pen drives containing explicit videos allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna were reportedly circulated in Hassan, ahead of Lok Sabha polls last year. The JD(S) suspended him from the party following the cases filed against him.

Four separate cases have been registered against Prajwal. He was arrested by the SIT on May 31 last year, upon arrival at Bengaluru Airport from Germany in connection with a case registered at the Holenarasipura Town Police Station. Following the controversy, Revanna lost in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In a country where cleaning human excreta is still a caste-assigned occupation, Maharashtras newly launched Manhole to Machinehole scheme signals a shiftfrom degrading manual labour to mechanised dignity.

Launched in August 2022 by former chief minister Eknath Shinde, the initiative aims to phase out the use of human hands in sewer cleaning across 11 municipal corporations, including Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

The Maharashtra government, on Wednesday, decided to reduce the minimum service duration for sanitation workers under a programme aimed at transitioning sewer hole cleaning to a mechanised mode, to 20 years from the existing 25-year norm. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar chaired a meeting to review issues concerning sanitation workers. He instructed Urban Development Department officials to tweak the minimum service criterion.

An ineffective ban

But the question that looms larger than the manholes themselves is this: Why does manual scavenging still exist in 2025twelve years after it was banned?

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, made the practice illegal. Yet, according to official data from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, over 58,000 manual scavengers were identified across India as of 2023. Activists believe the actual number is much higherhidden under vague job descriptions like sewer cleaners or sanitation workers.

More chilling is the body count. Over 400 deaths of sanitation workers during sewer or septic tank cleaning have been recorded since 2018, according to the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK). Most of these workers are Dalits, continuing to bear the burden of a casteist legacy.

Under Manhole to Machinehole, the Maharashtra government is deploying suction-cum-jetting machines, robotic arms, and protective gear in a phased manner. Crucially, sanitation workersmany of whom have been entering manholes for decadesare being trained to operate these machines.

This is about dignity, not just technology, said Shinde at the launch. We must ensure that no person is ever forced to clean a manhole by hand again.

Unlike past efforts, Maharashtras scheme links technology with social rehabilitation, offering skill development and a gradual exit from caste-based employment.

Mechanisation effort in other states

Maharashtra is not alone in the mechanisation effort. Tamil Nadu has introduced robotic scavengers like Bandicoot in several cities. Kerala is running training programmes for sanitation workers to operate mechanised equipment.

Delhi and UP, however, continue to report deaths of workers inside sewersoften with no accountability. Gujarat continues to report a high number of deaths resulting from manual scavenging.

THE WEEK spoke to Parshottam bhai Vaghela, founder-director of Manav Garima in Gujarat, an activist organisation working in the area of manual scavenging. "I can vouch for the fact that, despite being Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Gujarat continues to report an alarming rate of deaths of manual scavengers. This continues to happen because of apathy by not just the society but the government itself."

"It is inhuman to continue this system and it is unfortunate that it continues right under the government's nose, yet, it lets it happen."

Grim figures

According to a 2018 report by Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan (RGA), titled, 'Death of workers engaged in manual scavenging while cleaning the Septic tank or Sewer,' the highest death rate of 37 per cent was recorded in the age group of 15-25 followed by 35 per cent and 23 per cent in the age group of 25-35 and 35-45 respectively.

Sixty-seven per cent of the total deceased were married.

On March 27, 2014, the Supreme Court of India, in a landmark judgment, declared that a person being forced to enter into a manhole or septic tank would be considered as a crime even in an emergency situation and in case of death of the person, a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh would be awarded to the family of the deceased.

Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan found that out of a total of 51 incidents, only in 31 per cent of the cases the compensation was awarded to the families of the deceased, whereas in the remaining 69 per cent of the incidents, the compensation was not awarded.

The survey was also aimed at ascertaining implementation of the Self-employment scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) and Pre-Matric Scholarship for the children whose parents are involved in occupation involving cleaning and health hazard. It noted: "Not a single family whose members have died while cleaning the septic tank or the sewer received their due rights mentioned in the SRMS scheme. Not a single family was rehabilitated in alternative job, on the contrary; the deceased families have had to start engaging in manual scavenging as there was no alternate job available for their sustenance. "

The same goes for the pre-matric scholarship also. "Not a single child of the families who are involved in this hazardous and demeaning practice received the scholarship for their children," noted the report by RGA.

The Centre, too, announced in 2023 that it aims to make India manual scavenging free by 2025 under the NAMASTE (National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) scheme. But many municipalities remain under-equipped, under-staffed, or simply indifferent.

While machines can reduce risk, they cannot erase the entrenched stigma attached to sanitation work. As Dalit activist Bezwada Wilson of Safai Karmachari Andolan has often pointed out, The real problem is not technology. It is caste. It is societys belief that one group of people is meant to clean the waste of others.

Unless backed by strong monitoring, worker rehabilitation, and social inclusion programmes, machinisation will at best remain a cosmetic solution. In several cities, for instance, machines lie unused due to lack of trained operators or spare parts, while workers continue to descend into death traps.

Maharashtras initiative may not end manual scavenging overnight, but it offers a blueprint. For India to bury this inhuman practice once and for all, other states must follow. Because no one should have to die to keep a city clean.
The confrontation between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday escalated further after the Commission issued a detailed rebuttal to his recent allegations of bias and misconduct.

The ugly spat between Rahul Gandhi and the Election Commission marks a rare moment of open hostility between a senior political leader and the countrys top constitutional body tasked with safeguarding electoral democracy.

In a strongly worded clarification, the ECI called Gandhis remarks wild, irresponsible, and deplorable, accusing him of making unfounded claims and even threatening poll officials.

The latest row stems from Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the ECI over the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in states like Bihar, where the Congress has alleged manipulation and irregularities. Gandhi had recently accused the ECI of working under political pressure and ignoring democratic principles.

According to the ECI, the Congress leader was sent an official email and a formal letter on June 12, 2025, inviting him to share evidence or concerns on the matter. He did not respond to either communication, the Commission noted. Contrary to his public posturing, Rahul Gandhi has never sent any letter to the Election Commission on any issue whatsoever, it said.

Responding to Gandhis more recent attacks, where he reportedly accused the ECI of compromising its integrity and even issued veiled threats to its staff, the Commission condemned the statements as very strange and deplorable.

It added, The Election Commission takes strong objection to such irresponsible statements and urges all public figures to maintain dignity in public discourse.

Reiterating its position, the Commission affirmed that it has instructed all election staff across the country to continue functioning impartially, transparently, and without fear or favour. The ECI has a constitutional duty to uphold the integrity of the electoral process, and it will not be swayed by political rhetoric, the statement concluded.

What began as a critique of alleged irregularities in the Special Summary Revision (SIR) process in states like Bihar has now spiraled into a full-blown war of words, marked by accusations, denials, and counter-attacks.

ECIs strong response suggests it sees Gandhis remarks not merely as political rhetoric but as a serious attempt to undermine public trust in the electoral process.
The quantum computing space is heating up, and pure-play quantum stock Rigetti Computing (RGTI) is right in the middle of the action. The stock has made waves recently, with shares spiking 30% on July 16 after the company unveiled a major technical milestone, achieving 99.5% median two-qubit gate fidelity on its modular 36-qubit system.

This advancement cuts error rates significantly compared to previous results and marks a big step toward making quantum computing commercially viable. At the core of this progress is Rigettis modular architecture, which combines four chiplets to create a scalable 36-qubit system. By applying techniques from the semiconductor industry, Rigetti is tackling the tough challenge of building larger quantum systems without sacrificing performance.

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The result is a significant boost in system reliability, bringing real-world applications within reach. Now, all eyes are on Aug. 15, when Rigetti plans to officially launch its 36-qubit system. With a goal to roll out a system exceeding 100 qubits by the end of 2025, the company is positioning itself for the next phase of growth in the quantum space. For Rigetti stock watchers and quantum enthusiasts alike, Aug. 15 might just be a date worth circling on the calendar.

About Rigetti Computing Stock

Rigetti has been a key player in full-stack quantum computing since 2017, offering cloud-based access to its systems for enterprise, government, and research users. In 2021, it expanded into on-premises quantum solutions, delivering systems with 24 to 84 qubits. The 2023 launch of its 9-qubit Novera QPU further supported hands-on research by integrating easily with existing infrastructure.

Rigettis hybrid quantum-classical setup enables seamless cloud integration, while its in-house chip production and development underscores its focus on scalable, next-generation systems. The companys market capitalization currently stands at approximately $4.2 billion.

After an explosive 1,400% rally over the past year  easily eclipsing the broader S&P 500 Indexs ($SPX) 15% gain  Rigetti Computings momentum has somewhat slowed in 2025 with shares down 6% year-to-date (YTD). Still, in just the past three months, the stock has roared back to life, soaring 56% as investor enthusiasm builds around Rigettis recent technical milestones and the upcoming launch of its 36-qubit system.
The Trump administration again on Thursday claimed it "stopped" the conflict between India and Pakistan, and on average, the US president has brokered one peace deal a month during his six months in office.

Briefing the media on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned the India-Pakistan conflict while talking about the US role in brokering peace between Thailand and Cambodia. "The two countries were engaged in a deadly conflict that had displaced more than 300,000 people until President Donald Trump stepped in to put an end to it," Leavitt said.

"The president has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia. This means President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office. It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," she added.

According to India, no third nation was involved in the ceasefire talks with Pakistan. However, acknowledging the US's role, Pakistan said US President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a "pivotal" role in de-escalating the situation. Pakistan had also said it would nominate Trump for the peace prize.

Tensions between India and Pakistan heightened after the former launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror launchpads along the Line of Control. India launched the military operation to avenge the killings of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 by terrorists with alleged Pakistani links.

After days of heightened military activities, India and Pakistan agreed to stop firing on May 10 following talks between the DGMOs of both nations. US President Trump has been claiming credit for brokering the ceasefire.

Trump, in various instances, claimed that he stopped the war from turning nuclear. The US president had claimed he stopped the war using trade card. Trump said the fighting stopped after he told leaders of India and Pakistan that the US wouldn't trade with warring nations.
In a significant diplomatic engagement, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Syrias new foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, in Moscow yesterday. This marked the first visit by a top official from the reconstituted Syrian government following the fall of Bashar al-Assad last year.

Al-Shaibani led a high-level delegation that included Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra, General Intelligence Service Director Hussein al-Salama, senior diplomatic adviser Ibrahim Olabi, and Mohsen Mahbash, head of the foreign minister's office. Their visit signalled the start of formal relations between the Kremlin and the newly installed authorities in Damascus.

Al-Shaibani held talks with Lavrov and also met Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov. Later, the entire Syrian delegation was received by President Putin at the Kremlin, underscoring the importance Moscow still attaches to its ties with Syria, despite the dramatic political changes in Damascus.

This is the first such engagement since Assad was ousted in a lightning rebel offensive late last year, ending five decades of dynastic rule by the al-Assad family. Despite Russias steadfast military and political backing for Assad during the civil war, Moscow did not intervene to halt the final rebel advance, choosing instead to offer him refuge once defeat became inevitable.

Russias role in aiding Assad during the civil war is well known. It was Moscows decisive intervention in 2015, leading with heavy aerial bombardment on rebel-held areas that turned the tide of the conflict in Assads favour. Russia took an active interest in aiding Assad as it wanted to retain its strategic military facilities at Tartus and Hmeimim, Moscows only permanent bases outside the former Soviet sphere.

Now, with Assad gone and a new interim leadership in Damascus, it remains uncertain whether Russia will be allowed to retain these bases, which have long served as logistical hubs for Russian operations in the Middle East and Africa. Neither Lavrov nor al-Shaibani publicly addressed the future of the bases during their press conference, although Lavrov indicated that Russia was open to reviewing all existing agreements and contracts concluded under different conditions.

Al-Shaibani echoed the sentiment, noting that such agreements must now be assessed to ensure they serve the Syrian peoples needs. He added that Syria sought friends and partners on its path to rebuilding after more than a decade of devastation.

Lavrov struck a conciliatory tone, stating that Russias friendship with Syria was long-standing and would not be swayed by political changes. He expressed hope that Syrias interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa would attend the upcoming Russia-Arab League summit in October.

Of course, we hope that President al-Sharaa will be able to take part in the first Russia-Arab League summit, which is scheduled for October 15, Lavrov said.

Russia has made cautious moves to maintain its influence in post-Assad Syria. A Russian delegation visited Damascus in January, followed by a phone call between Putin and al-Sharaa in February. The Kremlin described their conversation as constructive and business-like, indicating a willingness to build ties with the new leadership.

During the Moscow visit, Syrias Defence Minister Abu Qasra also met his Russian counterpart, Andrei Belousov. Their discussions reportedly focused on defence cooperation and broader regional security issues. Lavrov later thanked the Syrian side for steps taken to ensure the safety of Russian citizens and facilities in Syria.

He reaffirmed Russias commitment to Syrias unity, sovereignty and independence, adding that Moscow would support the countrys reconstruction and continue its dialogue with the new government.

Damascus, in turn, has expressed appreciation for Russias consistent opposition to Israeli strikes inside Syria. President al-Sharaa recently thanked Moscow for its strong position in rejecting Israeli strikes and repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty, following Israeli intervention in clashes involving government forces and Druze armed groups earlier this month.

While Russia appears keen to re-establish itself as a reliable partner for Syria, the context has shifted. The new Syrian leadership has already begun diplomatic outreach to regional players including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the West. Russia and Iran were once Assads staunchest allies, but many of the new officials in Damascus have bitter memories of both powers for their roles in prolonging the civil war.

Despite the uncomfortable past, the interim government has taken a measured approach towards Russia. Lavrovs statement that Moscows stand does not depend on the political situation or changes of government shows that the Kremlin is keen to reassure the new government of its intentions.

At the same time, Syrias options have expanded. Western sanctions have been eased following Assads removal, and Gulf countries have emerged as primary backers of the transition. Russia, itself under heavy sanctions and no longer sending food aid to Syria, struggles to compete as a partner for economic recovery.

Russia, however, still needs to deal with the history of brutally bombing the rebel groups that now lead the new government, especially members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. At the moment, President al-Sharaa has signalled that he is willing to set aside past grievances in favour of a pragmatic foreign policy. Moscows approach, too, appears to be driven by strategic calculations. Pragmatism, therefore, could be the driver of bilateral ties.

As al-Shaibani explained during the joint press conference in Moscow, We are not seeking to erase the past, but to build a future in which Syria walks with those who respect its sovereignty and people. Russia, we believe, can still be one of those partners.
On Friday, August 1, a unique mission began in the cold mountains of Ladakh, where two carefully chosen individuals started living in complete isolation at a height of 14,000 feet.

This is not an ordinary experiment, but a special simulation that mimics what astronauts might experience during long space missions, such as trips to the Moon or Mars. The goal is to study how the human body and mind reacts in such harsh, isolated environments.

This important test is part of India's broader plan to send humans into space under the Gaganyaan programme.

The simulation is being run by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at a remote facility in Ladakh called the Himalayan Outpost for Planetary Exploration (or HOPE).

The site was developed by a Bengaluru-based space firm called Protoplanet and was officially inaugurated by ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan, just a day before the mission began.

The site at Tso Kar in Ladakh was selected because its rocky and barren landscape looked a lot like what astronauts would encounter on the Moon or Mars.

The cold desert environment, with temperatures dropping well below freezing at night and oxygen levels significantly lower than those at sea level, creates conditions that closely mirror the challenges of extraterrestrial habitats.

The experiment will last 10 days and will help scientists understand how people handle being cut off from the outside world for extended periods, especially in tough conditions. This will be useful in preparing for future space journeys that might last for months or even years.

Who are the participants?

The two participants, Rahul Mogalapalli and Yaman Akot, were chosen from 135 applicants. Rahul is doing his PhD at Purdue University, US and Yaman is a graduate in planetary science from the University of Aberdeen, UK.

They were selected based on ISRO's strict guidelines spanning medical fitness, psychological stability, and prior experience in similar confined environment simulations. Before being sent to the high-altitude location, they completed a 15-day training program at lower altitudes to prepare them for the tough conditions at Ladakh.

The main focus of this mission is to study changes in the human body and mind due to isolation and high-altitude stress. Scientists will collect blood, urine, and stool samples from the two crew members before, during, and after the mission. These samples will help researchers study what are called "omics" responseswhich include genetics (genomics), proteins (proteomics), and metabolism (metabolomics). In simple terms, they want to see how the body behaves and adapts under stress, explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

In addition to physical health, the mission will also closely watch how isolation affects mental health. This includes changes in mood, sleep patterns, ability to make decisions, and how the two people interact with each other.

The crew will follow strict daily routines similar to those aboard the International Space Station (ISS), including scheduled work periods, exercise sessions, and communication windows with mission control. Such studies are very important for planning longer missions to space, where astronauts will have to live and work in small spaces far away from Earth.

What sets HOPE apart?

India's HOPE facility is one among an elite group of analogue research stations worldwide.

The Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, operated by the Mars Society since 2001, has hosted over 200 missions in the American desert. Similarly, the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island, Canada, provides insights into polar conditions that mirror Martian environments. The HI-SEAS facility in Hawaii focuses on crew psychology and performance during long-duration isolation. Russia's SIRIUS program conducts ground-based isolation studies lasting up to 340 days, while the European Space Agency operates the CAVES underground training program in Italian cave systems.

What sets HOPE apart is its unique combination of extreme altitude, cold desert conditions, and the lunar-like terrain of Ladakh. Unlike other facilities that focus on single environmental factors, HOPE provides a comprehensive testing ground that incorporates multiple space-like stressors simultaneously. The facility's modular design allows for different mission scenarios and can accommodate various crew sizes and durations, Linganna pointed out.

Going forward

Protoplanet, the company behind this effort, is working with global space organisations like the Mars Society and Mars Society Australia. These organisations have already built similar testing stations in deserts and the Arctic. The HOPE station in Ladakh is designed to be semi-permanent, meaning it can be taken apart and moved or changed for future experiments. This makes it cost-effective and reusable.

The mission focuses on understanding the psychological, physical, and operational challenges of prolonged isolation, limited communication, and harsh surroundings. The crew is housed in a compact inflatable habitat called Hab-1, equipped with essentials such as a hydroponics farm and self-sustaining life-support systems designed to mimic those required for Moon or Mars bases, remarked Srimathy Kesan, founder and CEO of Space Kidz India.

The experiment also aims to test astronaut endurance, teamwork, emergency resilience, and physiological adaptability, all of which are critical before sending crewed Indian spaceflights into deep space. In addition, the mission validates key technologies such as life-support systems, habitat design, circadian lighting, and health monitoring devices in a near-space analogue environment, she added.

The mission is currently being overseen by ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre. Data collected will feed directly into the Gaganyaan mission planning, helping engineers design better life support systems and mission protocols.

In the future, Protoplanet plans to invite private companies, universities, and scientists from different fields to use the HOPE facility for joint research.

More such analogue missions are also planned in other parts of the Himalayas and across India. These future missions will help test different aspects of space travel, such as how to move on the surface of other planets, how to build better space homes, and how to maintain life support systems.

This mission marks an important step forward for India's space programme. By learning how people behave and stay healthy in space-like conditions on Earth, ISRO is preparing itself for more ambitious goalslike sending astronauts to the Moon and beyond.

The results from this mission, and others to follow, are expected to be shared later this year, contributing valuable data to the global space exploration community.
In the wake of violent attacks on Indian nationals in Ireland, the Indian embassy in Dublin on Friday warned citizens to avoid deserted areas.

Pointing out the rise of physical assault cases against Indian citizens in the European nation, the embassy in Dublin said it is in touch with the authorities concerned.

"At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours," the embassy stated.

It also posted emergency contact details for Indian citizens. They can call on 08994 23734 or email at cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.

Just a day ago, an businessman of Indian origin, Santosh Yadav, posted on LinkedIn about an "unprovoked racist" attack he face in the country. He was left bleeding with a cheekbone fracture after six teens allegedly thrashed him near his apartment in Dublin.

On July 19, an Indian man, 40, working at Amazon was stabbed in the face in Tallaght, Dublin. He had come to Ireland just three weeks before the attack.
The FBI has opened a federal hate crime investigation following a savage assault on multiple Jewish diners at a kosher restaurant in Queens, as shocking new details emerge about the attackers antisemitic threats and the extent of the violence.

The incident, which took place on July 20 at Sezam, a kosher eatery in the Forest Hills section of Queens, left two Jewish victims hospitalizedone with broken ribs, the other with a concussion and facial injuriesafter a group of men and women allegedly screamed We are going to kill all of you Jews while launching a violent, targeted attack.

Despite the explicitly antisemitic threats, the NYPD initially classified the incident as a drunken altercation.

Bita Golbari, 51, and her husband were dining with friends, all Jewish, when a group of men already in the restaurant was joined by two women. One of the women allegedly grabbed the purse of Elham Sharga, 45, unprovoked. When Sharga confronted her, she was thrown to the ground, kicked, and beaten.

They were hitting me on my head, my belly, my back, my neck, Sharga recounted. Then the men came over and joined in. I thought I was going to die. I screamed for help.

When her husband rushed to her defense, he too was beaten. His face was left covered in blood, and he later required hospitalization for a concussion and arm fracture.

Golbari, trying to flee the chaos, was chased out of the restaurant by one of the female attackers.

She grabbed me and said, What are you trying to do? Are you calling the police? Were going to kill all of you Jews, Golbari told The Algemeiner. Then she punched me so hard I thought I was dead. I just ran for my life.

Golbari managed to escape only after a passerby agreed to stand between her and her assailant. Her husband has since returned to the hospital twice due to worsening symptoms from his injuries.

Despite the reported antisemitic slurs and death threats, the NYPD declined to classify the assault as a hate crime, calling it a brawl. That decision drew widespread condemnation from Jewish leaders and advocates.

How many Jews do you have to hospitalize while yelling antisemitic slurs before the police take it seriously as an antisemitic crime? asked Israeli activist Hen Mazzig on X.

The FBI appears to be taking a different approach. This week, Golbari was contacted by federal agents to discuss the incident, a strong indication that the bureau is now treating the assault as a possible hate crime under federal law.

The assault comes amid a wave of antisemitic incidents across New York City in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre. In 2024, Jews were the targets of 55% of all hate crimes, according to NYPD dataup from 44% in 2023.

By early 2025, that figure had surged again. Hate crimes against Jews jump off the page as the single largest category of hate, at an astounding 62% of the total, said Deputy Inspector Gary Marcus, head of the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
The United States and Ecuador on Thursday signed a bilateral agreement aimed at strengthening their collaboration against transnational criminal networks.

The agreement, signed during a visit of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to the South American country, facilitates the exchange of information on suspected criminal offenders and risk assessments of cargo and travelers. Noem told reporters the efforts are crucial steps to improve security and ensure that migration is carried out within the framework of the law.

The deal with Ecuador comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to bolster regional cooperation in its clampdown against immigration and transnational criminal groups, including Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the White House earlier this year.

On Wednesday, Noem signed a similar agreement with Chile, which she visited as part of her latest tour of Latin America. That agreement allows Chilean officials to identify potentially dangerous migrants entering or exiting the country and share their fingerprints, iris scans and other biometric data with Homeland Security to prevent such individuals from traveling to the U.S.

(AP)
Dozens of Federal, State and local elected officials and community leaders came together at Camp HASC in a bi-partisan show of support for an informative and uplifting day of education, conversation, networking and action for individuals with special needs and developmental disabilities. HASCs long time Chairman, Mr. Abe Eisner, shared opening remarks that framed the goals of the program to look toward the future and ensure we are on track to provide for those most vulnerable members of our community. Recognizing the dedication of the many public servants in attendance, Mr. Eisner thanked all those that gathered for their support, hard work and commitment.

Honored with the ceremonial groundbreaking of a new state of the art therapeutic facility, NYS Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was visibly moved by his first visit to the Upstate HASC campus, touring the new medical facility and activities. In thanking Speaker Heastie and Assembly members who gathered, Mr. Eisner remarked, State Assembly funding is essential to the next stage of growth at Camp HASC, and we are grateful for your consistent support , friendship and partnership.

Guests were greeted by Mr. Shmiel Kahn, CEO of HASC Center, and toured Camp HASCs fully adaptive facility, receiving an insiders view of the extraordinary therapeutic, medical and academic programs and services offered.

A tireless askan for Klal Yisrael, Reb Chaskel Bennet, the programs Master of Ceremonies, led the charge with passion and eloquence, moderating a meaningful program focused on medical care and services for children and adults with developmental disabilities and autism in New York State. In the presence of his colleagues in the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Laura Gillen and Congressman Josh Riley, Congressman Mike Lawler, a stalwart friend of Camp HASC and HASC Diagnostic Center, was recognized for his extraordinary efforts in a meaningful presentation.

The Bi-Partisan Roundtable, a meaningful show of support for Camp HASCs work on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our community was graced by the attendance and participation of honored members of the New York State Assembly, Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, Assemblyman Sam Berger, Assemblywoman Paula Kay, Assemblyman Aron Wieder and Assemblyman Lester Chang. NYS Senator Peter Oberacker and NYS Senator Bill Weber, committed advocates on behalf of individuals with special needs and their families, participated in the lively discussion and program.

Our representatives in Washington and Albany were joined by a contingent of dedicated community leaders, including Rabbi David Katz, Director of the Israel Heritage Foundation, and Catskills Hatzolah coordinators. Camp administrators expressed appreciation to Sulivan County Sheriff Mike Schiff for his dedicated service in keeping everyone safe.

In his closing remarks, Rav Judah Mischel, Executive Director of Camp HASC, evoked the golden rule, and praised the special guests for choosing a life of public service and dedication to others: Let us close our meaningful day together the way we began by accepting upon ourselves the mitzvah of loving ones fellow as ourselves and commit ourselves to further action on behalf of those counting on us.










A convicted al-Qaeda operative who once boasted about helping Osama bin Laden orchestrate the September 11 terror attacks may be released from a UK psychiatric facility within days.

Haroon Aswat, a British-born terrorist who set up an al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon and claimed personal involvement in both the 9/11 attacks and the 2005 London bombings, is reportedly set to walk free without undergoing a full risk assessment.

Authorities have acknowledged that Aswat remains a risk to national security. Yet due to a technicality in the UKs Mental Health Act, he is expected to be released from a secure psychiatric hospital where he has been undergoing treatment  despite no formal clearance by terror risk assessors.

This despicable man was behind one of the most deadly attacks in modern history. He should never experience freedom again, said Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, slamming the impending release as a catastrophic failure of the justice system.

A known confidant of radical cleric Abu Hamza and Osama bin Laden, Aswat was sentenced in 2015 to 20 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to launch a jihadi training camp in rural Oregon. While incarcerated in the United States, he confessed to helping plan the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, and the 7/7 bombings in London that claimed 52 lives.

In March 2017 the defendant stated, If you think I am a terrorist, I dont shy away from my responsibility, court documents read. He also admitted being a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and the 2005 terrorist attack in the UK.

In 2022, Aswat was deported back to the UK following a psychiatric evaluation by a British doctor. Despite repeated warnings from counterterrorism officials, a British judge recently ruled that Aswats release was imminent under mental health legislation  without a full national security review.

Even more concerning: once freed, Aswat will not be subjected to stringent monitoring. He will be placed under a notification order  a bare-minimum requirement mandating only that he register his address and inform police of any planned travel. There will be no curfew, no ankle monitor, and no restrictions on his communications or online activity.

This is a man who trained terrorists, plotted mass murder, and gloried in his role, said one senior security official speaking on background. Releasing him into society with virtually no oversight is reckless. Its an insult to every victim of the attacks he helped mastermind.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
On Sunday, the Sullivan County Jewish Community Council (JCC) held its annual Meet & Greet event at the newly expanded Hamaspik Hall in Rock Hill, bringing together a wide range of elected and appointed officials to engage with the local Orthodox Jewish community. The event is part of the JCCs mission to promote civic engagement and voter awareness.

Notable attendees included Congressman Mike Lawler, State Senator Peter Oberacker, and Assemblywoman Paula Kay. Though Congressman Lawler does not officially represent Sullivan County, he was warmly received due to his strong ties to many voters in the district. Additional speakers included Sullivan County Sheriff Michael Schiff, who recently secured victory in his primary election, County Clerk Russell Reeves, Commissioner of Public Safety Scott Schulte, and Pat Regan of the Community Security Initiative (CSI), a former New York State Police colonel.

The event was also attended by local police chiefs, fire chiefs, and leadership from Hatzolah and Chaverim, reflecting the strong and ongoing partnership between emergency services and the community.

Keynote speaker Chaskel Bennett of Agudath Israel and Sullivan County resident, praised the JCC for its ongoing efforts to strengthen community-government relations and combat rising antisemitism. Sheriff Schiff emphasized the deep bond and collaboration between law enforcement and the Orthodox community. The meet and greet was emceed by Law enforcement liaison and JCC board member Abraham Rosenberg.

JCC Board Member Ari Greenhut also addressed the crowd, thanking all those involved in the JCCs voter registration initiatives, including colony heads, and development directors, for their essential role in mobilizing and empowering the community.



(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
As negotiations with Hamas hit a wall, Israel and the United States are pivoting away from piecemeal agreements and are now jointly backing a comprehensive framework aimed at ending the war in Gaza, securing the release of all remaining hostages, and disarming Hamas.

There will be no more partial deals, a senior Israeli official told reporters Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israel and the U.S. now agree on the need to shift from a framework for the release of some of the hostages to a framework for the release of all of the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.

The official added that both countries would also work to significantly expand humanitarian aid into Gaza, even as Israel presses forward with its military campaign. The comments suggest a notable policy shift for Israel, which until now had advocated for a phased approach, securing the release of small groups of hostages while retaining military pressure on Hamas to maintain domestic political stability.

The move comes amid a collapse in ceasefire negotiations and growing signs of friction between Hamas and its regional allies. Last week, both Israeli and U.S. envoys withdrew from talks in Doha after Hamas rejected the latest phased truce offer. Hamass counterproposal demanded limits on Israeli troop movements during a proposed 60-day pause and the release of more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for just over half of the estimated 50 remaining Israeli hostages.

On Thursday, sources involved in the talks told The Times of Israel that Hamas negotiators are refusing to return to the table until conditions improve for Gazas civilian population, where famine and medical shortages are spiraling.

Hamass stance has increasingly alienated Egypt and Qatar, the two key Arab mediators. Relations have soured in recent days after Hamass chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya accused Egypt of worsening Gazas humanitarian crisis. The terror group has also expressed fury at Qatar for signing onto a UN-backed declaration earlier this week that called on Hamas to disarm and relinquish power.

There has been a complete breakdown in contacts, the Israeli official said during Thursdays briefing. Hamas has cut off communication. There is no one to talk to on the other side. This is also [U.S. Special Envoy Steve] Witkoffs understanding.

Witkoff was in Jerusalem Thursday for high-level meetings with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other senior officials. He and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made a rare visit to Gaza on Friday to assess humanitarian conditions firsthand.

While Washington and Jerusalem continue to publicly agree on the need to eliminate Hamass military capabilities, some analysts say Netanyahus strategy may be more political than tactical. Critics argue that with Hamas already crippled as a military force, Netanyahus insistence on continuing the war risks prolonging the conflict without a clear postwar plan, especially given his refusal to outline who would govern Gaza once Hamas is removed.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum welcomed the apparent shift in Israeli policy, calling for a full and immediate agreement to bring home all remaining captives.

There is no moral or operational justification for partial, selective deals, the Forum said in a statement. For months, this failed approach has endangered the hostages and delayed the only solution that can end this nightmare: one comprehensive agreement to bring every hostage home.

The Forum urged President Trump and envoy Witkoff to act quickly.

Secure a comprehensive deal that ends the fighting and brings all 50 hostages home for rehabilitation  and the deceased for proper burial, the statement read.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
China's defense chief reiterates PLA's readiness for national reunification at Army Day reception

Xinhua) 08:28, August 01, 2025

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun on Thursday said that the Chinese military is always ready to pursue the goal of China's complete reunification, pledging resolute efforts to thwart any separatist attempts seeking "Taiwan independence" and foil any military interference by external forces.

Dong made the remarks at a large reception that the Ministry of National Defense held in Beijing to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), which will be observed on Aug. 1.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of 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 Taiwan's restoration and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, Dong said.

On Sept. 3, China will hold a military parade in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square to celebrate the anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Dong said the parade will demonstrate to the Party and the Chinese people that the PLA is a force that safeguards peace and justice, and that excels in military strength.

He also noted that the Chinese military is willing to work with its counterparts in all countries around the world to achieve the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity and the three major global initiatives, address risks and challenges, and build a world with lasting peace, universal security, common prosperity, openness and inclusivity, and a clean and beautiful environment.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
By Alimat Aliyeva

The hacker group Secret Blizzard (also known as Turla), which is believed to be linked to Russias FSB, has been conducting a sophisticated cyber espionage campaign targeting foreign embassies operating within the Russian Federation, Azernews reports.

According to Microsoft, this campaign has been active since at least early 2024, although the specific diplomatic missions affected have not been publicly disclosed.

Experts at Microsoft highlight that this operation marks the first known instance of hackers leveraging government-sanctioned access to Russian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to carry out attacks.

While we previously assessed with low confidence that this group might be conducting cyber espionage within Russia against foreign and domestic targets, we can now confirm they possess the capability to operate at the ISP level, the report states.

The campaign uses a malware known as ApolloShadow, which is installed on devices connected to Russian ISPs and telecommunications networks. This malware tricks devices into trusting malicious websites by mimicking legitimate traffic. Notably, Microsoft suggests that the hackers disguised their malicious software to resemble antivirus programs from Kaspersky Lab, one of Russia's most prominent cybersecurity firms.

Through these methods, the attackers reportedly maintain persistent access to diplomats devices, likely aiming to collect sensitive intelligence. Microsofts analysis indicates that the hackers can monitor a large portion of the victims internet traffic and gain access to confidential login credentials.

This operation underscores the evolving nature of cyber espionage, where state-linked actors increasingly exploit infrastructure-level access to target high-value entities like diplomatic missions. The blending of malware with trusted software further complicates detection and defense, raising concerns about the security of international communications within Russia.

Interestingly, this campaign reveals how cyber threats are becoming more embedded within national infrastructure, blurring the lines between state security operations and espionageposing new challenges for global cybersecurity frameworks.
Seidl said the performance in logistics beat our estimates nicely and reflects load growth of 7% year on year on execution in winning new business. Year on year growth momentum is expected to continue in (the second half) which we view positively given widely anticipated core demand softness, Seidl wrote.

Instead, he cited as an example the companys logistics segment. It grew its operating income to $4.3 million in the second quarter compared to $550,000 a year earlier.

The transportation team at TD Cowen led by Jason Seidl said in a report after the earnings call that Werner had (found) its footing in the second quarter, but that it wasnt just freight transportation at the truckload carrier that was the largest unexpected contributor.

Adding to that, CEO Christopher Wikoff said the first indications from the current quarter were positive. Wikoff said he expects another sequential improvement in revenue, with much of it attributed to new customers in the companys Dedicated division. He also said Werner is seeing very positive momentum in its logistics operations.

Revenue in the second quarter was $753.1 million, up from $712.1 million in the first quarter. The adjusted operating ratio (OR) for the Truckload Transportation Services segment was 97.5% in the second quarter, compared to 99.6% in the first quarter.

But strip that out and Leathers comments have a solid basis. For example, in the first quarter, Werner posted a non-GAAP adjusted operating margin of negative 0.3%. In the second quarter, that margin was 2.2%.

Werners bottom line results were positively impacted by the reversal of two liabilities it had been carrying on its books, one of them related to the nuclear verdict from 2018 that was reversed by the Texas Supreme Court during the quarter. The reversals impacted operating and net income.

Right off the bat on the call, Werner CEO Derek Leathers declared: We generated solid results during the second quarter and are encouraged by the sequential improvement in financial performance relative to Q1. 

That was the case also with Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ: WERN) , which released its earnings Tuesday and followed up with an earnings call with analysts.

Given that everyone knew year-on-year comparisons of trucking company financial results between 2025s second quarter and the corresponding three months of 2024 were always going to be bad, theres been a focus this year at a few companies of how things look sequentially in comparison to the first three months of this year.

Story Continues

Another area of significant improvement cited by both Seidl and the company was in used vehicle sales, which Ryder (NYSE: R) recently cited as a sequential area of improvement. Used truck and trailer values have accelerated since March, benefiting from tariff and other macro uncertainty, Leathers said.

Specifically, Werner said its gains on sale of property and equipment were $5.9 million in the second quarter, up from $2.7 million a year earlier. First quarter equipment sales were $2.8 million.

The difference was not volume; Werner said it sold 54% and 60% fewer tractors and trailers, respectively. But the average unit price was much higher, it said.

What the big rail merger means to Werner

The timing of Werners earnings report made it the first truckload carrier to report following the announcement of a merger agreement between Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC). Given that one of the planned benefits of the transcontinental hookup would be putting rails in better position to compete with trucks, it was inevitable that analysts would ask about it.

Leathers said he wanted to be a bit careful about getting too much into the weeds about the merger, but still described it as good news. Both companies are the predominant intermodal partners for Werner in their respective services areas, Union Pacific in the West and Norfolk Southern in the East, he said.

Current features of Werners routes, Leathers said, make it more difficult to shift that traffic to rail: length of haul, cross-border Mexican business, expedited freight. Those are for different reasons much tougher to tackle and much tougher to convert, Leather said.

But he added: Im not naive enough not to believe that there wont be some freight out there thats convertible, and thats why we have an intermodal product, and thats why weve had some good success converting it ourselves.

The companys Dedicated offering is about 65% of the revenue of the Truckload Transportation Services sector. Leathers said that business is completely insulated from any kind of rail merger.

He also stressed that intermodal has always been an offering at Werner. There are opportunities in that mode around the edges, Leathers said, and were constantly working with our customers on some of those opportunities because if its going to go intermodal, Id rather it go intermodal here than somewhere else.

Impact of the English language rule

Another issue that has risen in importance since Werners first quarter conference call is the enforcement of the English language proficiency rule for drivers.

In response to an analyst question, Leathers said he does not expect any impact on Werners fleet from enforcement. Weve always kept our English language proficiency test in place throughout the time that the rule wasnt being enforced, he said.

The impact on broader capacity so far has been minimal, Leathers added. The month to month and a half when enforcement has been underway is too short to have an effect, he said: 1.5 months in government time is like 1.5 minutes in everybody elses life, meaning it just goes slower than wed like to see.

But he added that Werner has seen enforcement starting to ramp up, with differences among states in the level of enforcement.

He cited 1,500 out of service orders as a result of enforcement, a level he said is at a slower rate than we would have expected or that maybe we would have wished for.

Talking the Texas Supreme Court decision

The earnings call was also the first opportunity Leathers had to publicly address its victory at the Texas Supreme Court that reversed a 2018 nuclear verdict that had grown in size to more than $100 million.

Leathers said the decision provided much needed clarity in the state of Texas, but legal reform is still needed in many states across the country. We will continue to work at the state level and with others in and outside our industry for fairness and reasonableness regarding these types of claims and lawsuits.

He called the decision that ended the legal saga from a 2014 fatal wreck the end of a decade-long and difficult chapter. He also said Werner would not lose sight of the tragic loss for the Blake family, which suffered fatalities and serious injury in the crash with a Werner truck.

In response to an analyst question, Leathers said he hoped the Texas Supreme Court decision would be a start of a tidal wave of similar decisions, but I think that would be a bit optimistic at this point.

The road to tort reform can be long, Leathers said. We think weve got a lot of work to do still as an industry and as a company, he said. Weve got to do that at a state-by-state level. Its difficult work, but work that needs to be done.

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Five takeaways from the State of Freight for July: What earnings and the indices are saying about the market

The post Dont look to last year; Werner cites improved numbers sequentially in its earnings appeared first on FreightWaves.
A group of IDF officers was barred by Polish police from entering the Birkenau concentration camp with Israeli flags during a Holocaust memorial ceremony on Thursday.

The 180-member Israeli delegation, part of the IDFs Witnesses in Uniform Holocaust education program, had arrived at Birkenaupart of the Auschwitz death camp complexfor a planned commemorative event. But as the delegation approached the entrance, local police abruptly stopped them, insisting that no flags would be allowed inside the camp.

Attempts by Israeli officers and local authorities to reach a compromise were unsuccessful, and the group was ultimately forced to enter the site without their flags  an act participants described as both humiliating and disrespectful.

There was tension in the air, said one Israeli officer who took part in the event. No ceremony has ever been interrupted in this way  not in Treblinka, not in Warsaw, not in Majdanek. This was different. This was targeted.

Delegation members say the flag ban was not only unexpected but also interpreted as a disturbing sign of lingering antisemitism in Europe  particularly when directed at a Jewish military delegation commemorating the Holocaust on the soil where six million Jews were murdered.

This shows that we are still fighting antisemitism in Europe, said one participant. There are still those who want to erase the Zionist narrative, and deny us the right to honor our history on our terms.

The IDFs Witnesses in Uniform program brings Israeli military personnel to former Nazi death camps in Poland to deepen their understanding of the Holocaust and the moral responsibility of military service in the shadow of Jewish history.

The Polish authorities have not publicly commented on the decision or clarified whether the ban was the result of a standing policy or an isolated action by local police. Previous ceremonies at Birkenau and other Holocaust sites have included Israeli flags without incident.

The Israeli Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry are expected to issue formal diplomatic inquiries to the Polish government.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
British Airways owner IAG saw double-digit profit growth over the first half as the group ramped up capacity for flights to the US despite the threat of tariffs.

Europe's airlines have broadly managed to dodge turmoil over tariffs, with Air France-KLM and Lufthansa reporting strong second quarters this week, and concerns over the potential impact on travel to the US has weighed on IAG shares.

IAG told shareholders on Friday that the North Atlantic, 'in particular between the UK and the US', is 'one of the world's largest and most valuable markets' where it holds a 'strong position'.

It increased capacity on routes in the region by 1.1 per cent during the first six months of the year as BA, which accounts for around 45 per cent of the group's profits, 'continues to consolidate its position, such as expanding to serve Pittsburgh on a daily basis'.

Boss Luis Gallego said that while US economy cabin sales remain 'weak', but 'improving', this had been offset by 'strong premium cabin' demand  one of the group's most profitable segments.

This helped drive North Atlantic passenger revenues up by 5.4 per cent and total sales 8 per cent higher to 15.9billion - 5.7billion of which came from the UK, up from 5.2billion last year.

Double-digit growth: BA accounts for around 45% of IAG's profits

IAG reported an operating profit of around 1.7billion for the half, beating forecasts of 1.4billion and up 35 per cent from a 1.2billion profit in the same period last year.

IAG, which is simultaneously boosting Latin American capacity, also noted Iberia and Aer Lingus have delivered profitable growth 'through adding frequency (Boston with Iberia), seasonality (Washington with Iberia) or flying directly to secondary cities such as Nashville and Indianapolis'.

It added: 'Trading in the first quarter was particularly good, driven by very strong demand, reduced competitive capacity into Heathrow and the success of the new XLR fleet.'

Gallego said: 'We continue to benefit from the trend of a structural shift in consumer spending towards travel. We remain focused on our market-leading brands and core geographies, where we continue to see robust performance.'

IAG shares were up 1.7 per cent to 387.1p in early trading, having added around 28 per cent since the start of 2025.

Adam Vettese, market analyst for Etoro, noted IAG had also managed to bring debts down significantly while returning 1.5billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, which he said signalled 'confidence in both the balance sheet and long-term strategy'.

He added: 'Whilst IAG held back from upgrading full year guidance due to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, margin performance, booking trends and cost control all point to underlying strength. Continued investment in fleet renewal and digital transformation also position the group well.'

Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said 'British Airways is benefitting from favourable supply and demand dynamics.

'With a large presence in a constrained London market, British Airways has strong pricing power and looks well-positioned to keep benefiting more than anyone from these dynamics.

'Fears had mounted earlier in the year over a potential weakening in North Atlantic demand, but that hasn't materialised and IAG's shares have soared nearly 140 per cent over the last 12 months.

'Despite the rally, a strong balance sheet and market position, generous shareholder returns, and strong growth prospects make the valuation look attractive, even compared to both the long-run average and its peers.'
West Fraser Timber (NYSE:WFG  Get Free Report) and Trex (NYSE:TREX  Get Free Report) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares West Fraser Timber and Trexs gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio West Fraser Timber $5.83 billion 0.91 -$5.00 million ($1.75) -39.63 Trex $1.15 billion 5.98 $226.39 million $1.82 35.30

Volatility and Risk

Trex has lower revenue, but higher earnings than West Fraser Timber. West Fraser Timber is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Trex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

West Fraser Timber has a beta of 1.15, indicating that its share price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Trex has a beta of 1.5, indicating that its share price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for West Fraser Timber and Trex, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score West Fraser Timber 0 1 4 0 2.80 Trex 1 7 7 2 2.59

West Fraser Timber currently has a consensus price target of $100.00, suggesting a potential upside of 44.21%. Trex has a consensus price target of $74.88, suggesting a potential upside of 16.56%. Given West Fraser Timbers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe West Fraser Timber is more favorable than Trex.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

40.2% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of Trex shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of West Fraser Timber shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Trex shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares West Fraser Timber and Trexs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets West Fraser Timber -2.18% -0.85% -0.66% Trex 17.69% 22.78% 14.66%

Summary

Trex beats West Fraser Timber on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About West Fraser Timber

(Get Free Report)

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., a diversified wood products company, engages in manufacturing, selling, marketing, and distributing lumber, engineered wood products, pulp, newsprint, wood chips, and other residuals and renewable energy. It offers spruce-pine-fir, douglas fir-larch, hem-fir, and southern yellow pine lumber, treated wood products, medium density fiberboard panels and plywood, oriented strand board, and laminated veneer lumber wood products, as well as particleboards. The company also provides northern bleached softwood Kraft pulp and bleached chemical thermo-mechanical pulp used to produce various paper products, including printing and writing papers, paperboard products, tissue and towel products, and a variety of other paper grades. Further, it offers bioproducts, including bioenergy and biomaterial. Its products are used in home construction, repair and remodeling, papers, tissue, and box materials, and industrial applications. The company sells its products to major retail chains, contractor supply yards, and wholesalers, as well as industrial customers for further processing or as components for other products in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and internationally. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Trex

(Get Free Report)

Trex Company, Inc. manufactures and distributes composite decking, railing, and outdoor living products and accessories for residential and commercial markets in the United States. It offers decking products and accessories under the names Trex Transcend, Trex Select, Trex Signature, Trex Transcend Lineage, and Trex Enhance for protection against fading, staining, mold, and scratching; Trex Hideaway, a hidden fastening system; and Trex DeckLighting, a LED dimmable deck lighting for use on posts, floors, and steps. The company also provides Trex Transcend Railing products that are used in Trex decking products and other decking materials; Trex Select Railing products for a simple clean finished look; Trex Enhance Railing system; Trex Signature aluminum railing for a contemporary look; and Trex Select T-Rail railing products. In addition, it offers Trex Seclusions, a fencing product that includes structural posts, bottom and top rails, pickets, and decorative post caps. Further, the company acts as a licensor in various licensing agreements with third parties to manufacture and sell products under the Trex name, including Trex Outdoor Furniture; Trex RainEscape, an above joist deck drainage system; Trex Pergola, a cellular PVC product; Trex Latticeworks outdoor lattice boards; Trex Cornhole boards; Diablo Trex Blade, a saw blade for wood-alternative composite decking; Trex SpiralStairs and structural steel posts; and Trex Outdoor Kitchens, cabinetry, and Storage products. It sells its products through wholesale distributors, retail lumber dealers, and Home Depot and Lowes stores. Trex Company, Inc. was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia.

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Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (BATS:SMIN  Free Report) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 15,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,023,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 123.2% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 49,600 shares of the companys stock worth $3,792,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,111 shares of the companys stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 23,400 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF by 255.3% during the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 1,439 shares of the companys stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF Stock Up 2.2%

iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF stock opened at $73.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.86. The company has a market cap of $893.96 million, a P/E ratio of 26.27 and a beta of 0.48. iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF has a 52-week low of $61.54 and a 52-week high of $87.06.

iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (SMIN) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI India Small Cap index, a market-cap-weighted index of the bottom 14% of companies traded on Indian stock markets. SMIN was launched on Feb 8, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SMIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (BATS:SMIN  Free Report).

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Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,332 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,084 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $1,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Altria Group by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 8,536 shares of the companys stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 4,007 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the companys stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 6,954 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 36,028 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,162,000 after buying an additional 5,440 shares during the last quarter. Patron Partners LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 12,217 shares of the companys stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Altria Group in the 4th quarter valued at $3,091,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Altria Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MO opened at $61.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $104.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.31. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $47.57 and a 12-month high of $62.32.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.21 billion. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 16th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Altria Groups payout ratio is 68.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised Altria Group to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on Altria Group from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Altria Group from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Altria Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. They set an underperform rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $58.13.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MO

About Altria Group

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report).

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Moors & Cabot Inc. cut its position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 393,754 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 8,676 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.s holdings in Pfizer were worth $9,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PFE. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pfizer by 11.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 132,478 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 13,228 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.2% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 1,413,472 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $35,817,000 after buying an additional 17,032 shares during the period. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Pfizer during the first quarter valued at $8,283,000. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 69.6% during the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 31,912 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 125,964 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 10,051 shares during the period. 68.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Pfizer Price Performance

Shares of Pfizer stock opened at $23.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $132.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Pfizer Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.92 and a twelve month high of $31.32.

Pfizer Dividend Announcement

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.43 billion. Pfizer had a return on equity of 20.33% and a net margin of 12.62%. The businesss revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.4%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is currently 124.64%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PFE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Pfizer from $36.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pfizer has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $28.28.

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Pfizer 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.

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Wealthquest Corp cut its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,360 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corps holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 67,972,953 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $7,688,160,000 after buying an additional 2,229,026 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 22,056,860 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $2,494,851,000 after purchasing an additional 2,060,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,018,429 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,020,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,329 shares during the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE ABT opened at $126.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $131.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $103.55 and a 12 month high of $141.23. The company has a market capitalization of $219.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.73.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 17th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.26. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 32.43% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $11.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The companys revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $148.00 to $145.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $144.47.

Read Our Latest Research Report on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(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.

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Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC  Free Report) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 146,943 shares of the railroad operators stock after selling 164,558 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLCs holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $34,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Norfolk Southern by 3.1% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors raised its stake in Norfolk Southern by 0.6% during the first quarter. Tower Bridge Advisors now owns 8,306 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $1,967,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,295 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its stake in shares of Norfolk Southern by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,507 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Cutler Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 99.2% during the 1st quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,008 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.10% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded Norfolk Southern to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI reiterated an in-line rating and set a $289.00 target price (up previously from $279.00) on shares of Norfolk Southern in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a neutral rating and set a $278.00 target price on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Norfolk Southern from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $285.15.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NSC opened at $278.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Norfolk Southern Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $201.63 and a fifty-two week high of $288.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $259.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.45. The firm has a market cap of $62.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.31.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.24 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.10 billion. Norfolk Southern had a net margin of 27.51% and a return on equity of 19.35%. Sell-side analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Corporation will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Norfolk Southerns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.89%.

About Norfolk Southern

(Free Report)

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NSC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC  Free Report).

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We recently published 10 Stocks With Shocking Surges. Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) is one of the best-performing stocks on Wednesday.

Embraer SA grew its share prices by 10.54 percent on Wednesday to close at $54.83 apiece as investors repositioned portfolios ahead of the release of its second quarter earnings, with strong confidence supported by a new backlog milestone.

According to Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ), it is set to release the results of its performance on Tuesday, August 5.

Embraer SA (ERJ) Surges 10.5% Ahead of Q2 Earnings

Prior to the release, the company announced recording as much as $29.7 billion in order backlog in the second quarter of the yearthe highest level ever recorded by the company.

The figure was higher by 40 percent year-on-year, and 13 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Of the total, commercial aviation shared $13.1 billion, followed by executive aviation with $7.4 billion, services and support at $4.9 billion, and defense and security at $4.3 billion.

In terms of deliveries, Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) was able to book 61 aircraft during the second quarter, or a 30-percent increase from 47 jets delivered in the same period last year.

For the full-year 2025, Embraer S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) said it targets to deliver between 222 and 240 jets across commercial and executive aviation segments.

While we acknowledge the potential of ERJ 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.
The weather will be largely dry and sunny with some surprise showers along the way for those attending All Together Now in Waterford this weekend.

All Together Now runs from July 31 to August 4 over the course of the August Bank Holiday Weekend

Cathal Nolan from Ireland's Weather Channel has given us a specific forecast for the area around the Curraghmore Estate where the much-heralded festival takes place.

He said: "Generally speaking weather conditions will be pleasant over the weekend with dry conditions and some sunshine on Friday with light winds, followed by another mostly dry day on Saturday itself though some rain is likely overnight Saturday into the early hours of Sunday, but that clears away to leave sunshine and the odd scattered shower for Sunday."

READ NEXT: Met Eireann issues warning over 'temporary structures' amid bank holiday storm risk

Met Eireann's national forecast says Friday morning will be "mostly cloudy with isolated light showers, mainly in the north and east. It'll become drier and brighter for the afternoon and evening as the showers die out and some sunny spells develop. Highest temperatures of 16 to 21 degrees, warmest in the south, in a light northwesterly breeze."

Their national outlook for the weekend predicts "a good amount of dry weather on Saturday and Sunday but unsettled on Bank Holiday Monday."

A risk of stormy weather on Monday puts the north of the country most at risk so those at All Together Now should escape with just some rain and a stiff breeze.
The conclusion of this story likely won't make anybody feel better about a not-so-long ago tragedy . . .

Some critics argue the defendant shouldn't have faced any consequences whilst advocates for the victim value human life over alleged theft of auto parts.

Either way the incident is one of many racially & politically charged altercations that turned out horribly for everyone involved.

Check the basics . . .

A former OReilly Auto Parts store manager in Kansas City, Kansas, is now a convicted felon and will serve nearly five years in prison.



Carl Kemppainen was convicted by a jury in May for choking a man to death whom he suspected of stealing.



On Thursday, the store manager was sentenced to 57 months in prison, the standard range of punishment for his crime.



Wyandotte County Judge Michael Russell rejected the defense's request for probation.

More interestingly . . .

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVOCACY SEEMS TO HAVE BACKFIRED IN THIS CASE!!!

This passage offers a hint at the circumstances confronting the defendant . . .

In Wyandotte County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Garett Relph's final remarks, he referenced Kemppainen's social media and vigilante justice.



He said, "There's a reason in our criminal justice system you can't take justice into your own hands. What if you're wrong?"



He mentioned Kemppainen's Facebook posts on the situation, which haven't been deleted.



In the posts, Kemppainen called Steen and Perkins "gang members." He said the district attorney was "woke" and "pressured by Black Lives Matter activists" to charge him.



Prosecutor Relph said it was Kemppainen who turned a misdemeanor theft into murder.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

KSHB: Former manager of KCK O'Reilly's sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for choking man to death
The Missouri Senator stepped away from the party line and suffered social media rebuke . . .

The bigger question . . .

IS SENATOR HAWLEY OFFERING A PREVIEW OF GOP LIFE WITHOUT PREZ TRUMP?!?

The reality is that NOBODY has more influence than the current Prez but his term will eventually end that will leave a lot of ambitious Republicans clamoring for power in a party that is dominated by personality much more than policy goals.

Here's the Missouri two-step . . .

Despite President Donald Trump's harsh criticism over his bill to ban stock trading among top government officials, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., insists he has a good rapport with the president, who shares his goal of enacting such a ban.



"The president and I had a really good conversation," Hawley told Fox News Digital on Thursday, adding "he wants to get it done."



"What the White House wanted was that the president, the vice president not be covered. They're not, the offices are, but it'll be the next office holders," he explained.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Dutch technology investor Prosus is set to win EU antitrust approval for its 4.1 billion euro ($4.7 billion) bid for Just Eat Takeaway, after agreeing to sell down its stake in Delivery Hero, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Amsterdam-headquartered Prosus, which is majority owned by South Africa's Naspers, announced the deal in February, banking on its artificial intelligence capability to boost Just Eat Takeaway, Europe's biggest meal delivery company.

Prosus last month offered to incrementally sell down its 27.4% stake in Delivery Hero and to give up its board seat to address EU competition concerns, other people familiar with the matter had told Reuters.

Delivery Hero and Just Eat Takeaway compete with each other in Austria, Bulgaria, Italy, Poland and Spain.

The European Commission, which is now seeking market feedback to Prosus' offer and will decide on the deal by August 11, declined to comment. Prosus also declined to comment.

The deal would make Prosus the world's fourth-largest food delivery company after Meituan, DoorDash and Uber, according to ING analysts.

Delivery Hero and its Spanish unit Glovo were fined 329 million euros by the EU antitrust watchdog in June for taking part in a cartel which included an agreement to divide up markets among themselves and not to poach each other's employees.

($1 = 0.8658 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, Editing by Louise Heavens and David Holmes)
Our progressive friends would like to call these "Latino Civil Rights Groups" but they only represent one facet of the community . . . Even if it's STILL the fastest growing.

What's more important to understand is that the La Migra raid was INSTANTLY POLITICIZED and sparked a ton of conversation even if the size of the roundup wasn't really that impressive.

In the end less than a dozen people were nabbed . . . In much the same way some of the more unbalanced TKC trolls demand attention for a semantic debate over Prez Obama's tenure as the "Deporter-In-Chief" vs. reasonable doubt in MAGA's ability to achieve those same numbers . . . It's a hilarious argument inasmuch as some of the more dysfunctional MAGA true-believers are way too invested in defending a narrative but conveniently forget about Mexico paying for a smallish wall that has been nearly forgotten.

To be clear, we'll stipulate that MAGA rhetoric and border crackdowns are far more satisfying to strident anti-immigrant activists BUT anything short of packing people in trains running day & night won't resolve EASILY MANIPULATED ANXIETY OVER MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL/UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THE US . . . In fairness and with what we hope is genuine compassion for everyone, hate/fear of undocumented/illegals is mostly an understandable reaction to increasingly diverse, complex contemporary life amid constantly shifting global macroeconomics that are proving successful in erasing the American middle-class and much of what Midwesterners understand about their circumstances.

Inconvenient facts that are fun for everybody . . . Amid deserved political duress, Prez Biden's administration double-crossed promises about helping to maintain & add onto that sketchy MAGA wall . . . AND . . . Prez Trump is currently tiptoeing around guest worker programs and "amnesty lite" that will make it easier for more migrants to work in much the same way the Reagan Amnesty opened the borders and taught smarter people to ignore the politics of the immigration debate and follow the money.

However . . .

Without the conversation there's no fun . . . And so we enjoy immigration flexing just like we love hip-hop . . . Because it's mostly boisterous tough talk by fancy dudes that has an exceptional rhythm but shouldn't be taken too seriously . . .

Three organizations that offer services supporting local Latino and immigrant families  including Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR), the Central Area Betterment Association and El Centro  threw their support behind detainees and their affected loved ones as questions regarding their whereabouts linger.



AIRR reported Thursday evening that three individuals had been released from ICE custody, one was being detained in Oklahoma and the locations of the others were still unknown.



The city of Lenexa said its police department was not involved in the raids but that it believed in community-oriented policing of all residents, regardless of immigration status.

(A more interesting quote from the group . . .)

These raids come as part of a broader pattern of targeting immigrant workers under the guise of enforcement, further traumatizing communities already vulnerable to exploitation, AIRR said in its statement. We stand in solidarity with the workers and demand answers regarding the conduct of HSI agents and the basis for these actions.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Workers arrested in ICE raid at Mexican restaurant in Lenexa Videos and images shared with the Post show ICE agents arresting workers at El Toro Loco locations in Lenexa and Kansas City, Kansas, on Wednesday.

Groups call for support of immigrant families after KC-area restaurant raids ICE raids at Toro Loco locations in Kansas City and Lenexa detain immigrants. Local groups demand answers and call for immigrant family support.

Homeland Security claims ICE raided Kansas restaurants to 'rescue victims of human trafficking' Local group Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, or AIRR KC, says that federal agents raided two locations of El Toro Loco restaurants in Lenexa and Kansas City

At least 3 released after immigration raids at restaurants in Lenexa and Kansas City, Kansas The immigrant-supporting group Advocates for Immigration Rights and Reconciliation confirmed Thursday night that at least three of the up to 12 people detained in raids the day before had been released.

Developing . . .
This afternoon (sorry) we enjoy the adventures of biz lady, celeb and Insta hottie Kylie as we take a pause to peruse pop culture, community reporting and top headlines

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Midtown Crumbles In Pix

Pictures show deterioration of midtown Family Dollar in weeks leading up to fatal collapse Pictures taken by city employees show the Family Dollar building in midtown deteriorating in the weeks leading up to the fatal partial collapse in July.

Golden Ghetto Evolves

Johnson County Board of Commissioners approves new district boundaries The Board of County Commissioners on Thursday voted on new district borders in Johnson County, Kansas.

Power Play This Week

Evergy receives Missouri approval to build gas plants, solar farms after Kansas thumbs-up TOPEKA - Missouri utility regulators on Thursday approved Evergy's request to build three natural gas plants and two solar farms, freeing the company to move forward with infrastructure projects that will cost more than $2.75 billion. The four-member Missouri Public Service Commission board approved the facilities after hearing presentations about the facilities two weeks ago [...]

Kansas City Wishes In One Hand

Midtown neighbors want more walkability, less blight A new survey shows Midtown KC residents want more restaurants, better sidewalks and housing at a range of prices.

Coping With Cowtown Crash

Kansas City woman working to rebuild salon after car crashes into building A Kansas City woman is working to rebuild her salon after a car crashed into it, destroying everything.

Cleavage flashing Kylie Jenner sets pulses racing in a bright pink bra Kylie Jenner flashed her surgically-enhanced cleavage in a bright pink bra as she posed for sultry Instagram snaps on Thursday.

Make WWIII Great Again

Trump moves nuclear submarines after statements by former Russian president U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to the "appropriate regions" in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Maybe She REALLY Doesn't Know

Kamala Harris refuses to say who's leading Democratic Party when pressed by Colbert During her appearance on "The Late Show," former Vice President Kamala Harris was asked who she thought was leading the Democratic Party, a question she refused to answer.

He's Not Wrong

Bill Burr Shreds Democrats: 'You Voted for a Guy Staring Off into Space. Your F**king Party Hasn't Let You Choose Your Candidate Since Obama's Second Term' Actor-comedian Bill Burr has delivered a searing assessment of the stumbling Democrats, taking them to task for backing former President Joe Biden even as his human frailties were obvious to all.

MAGA Adds One More To Unemployment Line

Trump fires BLS commissioner after weak jobs report and baseless claim of 'faked' stats Fresh jobs data showed a major slowdown of hiring in recent months.

States Evidence?!?

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to federal prison in Texas, source says | CNN Politics Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a federal prison in Texas, according to a source familiar.

August Downturn Starts

Wall Street slumps and bond yields sink following weak hiring numbers and new tariffs Stocks are slumping on Wall Street and Treasury yields are falling sharply after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month.

Holy Land Hard Times Explored

Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff visits Gaza aid 'death trap' Witkoff says he is helping 'craft a plan' to deliver aid as UN reports that Israeli forces have killed 1,353 Palestinians who were waiting for food

No Peace From Vlad

Russia launches 6,400 drones, missiles into Ukraine in record-breaking month More than three years into Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainians across the country retreat each night to bomb shelters and metro stations in a nightly ritual.

Writing-Up End Of An Era

Sarah Jessica Parker Says Goodbye To Carrie Bradshaw In Emotional Post As 'Sex And The City' Spinoff Ends And Just Like That... is ending its run after three seasons on HBO Max, and Sarah Jessica Parker is closing the chapter with an emotional post.

Font Around & Find Out

Out Of Sexting Ideas? Try These Whether you're in a long-term relationship or starting something new, these sexts are a great way to spice things up.

Baller Comeback Awaits

Chiefs' JuJu Smith-Schuster is ready for a Super Bowl run: 'We want to get back there' The veteran Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster looks for the team to bounce back in 2025.

EPIC Local Craftsman Endures

At Moon Marble in Bonner Springs, an old-fashioned glass artform is still thriving The little round balls may seem a bit outdated compared to some current games, but there's a community of collectors, artists and kids keeping marble culture alive. In this store and studio just outside Kansas City, visitors can watch marbles being made.

Summer 2025 Royal Retreat

MJ Melendez sent down among roster moves to accommodate trade acquisitions MJ Melendez is shipped out.

Taste Of Cowtown

Offering sauce and swag, Visit KC's new BBQ Experience makes every bite count The newly relaunched KC BBQ Experience is back with a gamified twist where diners can redeem points and win prize just by eating BBQ.

Katie's Forecast Today . . .

Wildfires causing poor air quality today and Saturday Temperatures remain cool but smoke from wildfires in Canada will make the sky hazy through Saturday

Saweetie - boffum is the song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
RhomTrip introducing a simple way for travel advisors and meeting planners to generate commissions by doing what they already do: recommend reliable transportation services.



(TRAVPR.COM) US - July 31st, 2025 - RhomTrip, the global ground transportation platform co-founded by Mariano Chiesa, Pablo Palma, and Matias Alvarez Capitaine, is introducing a simple way for travel advisors and meeting planners to generate commissions by doing what they already do: recommend reliable transportation services.

In this interview, co-founder Mariano Chiesa explains how their new referral system turns transportation logistics into a profitable opportunity.

Q: Mariano, whats the essence of this new feature?

MC: At RhomTrip, we specialize in airport transfers, private chauffeurs, and curated transportation in over 100 countries. This new feature lets advisors and planners share a referral link for any service we offer. If someone books using that linkeven a traveler themselvesthe system automatically tracks and attributes the sale, and the advisor or planner earns a commission.

Its seamless, and designed to reward professionals for the recommendations theyre already making.

Q: Can meeting planners benefit as much as travel advisors?

MC: Absolutely. In fact, planners coordinating eventslike congresses, trade shows, or weddingswill find it incredibly useful. They can share a booking link with attendees, teams, or speakers. Every booking through that link earns them commission.

For meeting planners who organize a fair, it is a great tool to provide a solution for the attendees and earn on the way.

It simplifies logistics for groups, especially when there are different arrival times or VIP needsand it turns what used to be a cost center into a revenue stream.

Q: What services can be promoted with this referral tool?

MC: Everything we offer: from basic airport pickups to full-day chauffeur services and even unique experiences like a private tour in Rome or a scenic drive from London to Paris.

Users can share links for specific services or general categories. For example, a planner organizing a retreat in Lisbon can send a link covering all local transfers. A honeymoon specialist can promote our VIP welcome service in the Maldives. Its flexible and easy to use.

Q: Is there any operational burden on the advisor or planner?

MC: None. Once the link is shared, the traveler books and pays directly through our secure platform. We manage driver dispatch, flight tracking, local support, and customer service. Advisors and planners dont need to get involved in logisticsthey just earn.

We also handle 3D secure verification, so payment is always smooth, even with international cards.

Q: What sets this apart from other affiliate or referral tools?

MC: Simplicity and focus. Were not a generic platformwere experts in transportation. Our referral tool is tailored for professionals working in real travel and event logistics. No setup fees, no integration headaches. Just generate your link and share it.

And this is only the beginning. Were planning upgrades like branded portals, campaign tracking, and analyticsbut the current version is already delivering results.

Q: Who should try this?

MC: Any advisor or planner who wants to increase their income by offering added value to clients. Whether you're organizing an incentive trip or building an itinerary, you can now monetize transportation without lifting more than a finger.

With RhomTrip, youre not just helping people moveyoure creating reliable experiences and getting paid for it.

To learn more or activate your referral link, visit www.rhomtrip.com

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Escape routine with curated luxury  where every corner inspires connection, celebration, and calm. A haven for creating memories, right where city energy meets peaceful indulgence.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - August 1st, 2025 - Ferns N Petals announces the launch of Udman Luxe Villa in South Delhi  a private luxury staycation villa offering comfort, elegance, and serenity just minutes away from the citys hustle. The ultimate getaway for staycations, memorable celebrations, and lively family events.

Ferns N Petals has officially opened the doors to Udman Luxe Villa  a beautifully designed private luxury villa tucked away in South Delhi. Crafted with true passion and an eye for every detail for those who value elegance, comfort, and a touch of nature, this new space brings a refreshing concept of staycation-style living right into the capital.

Udman Luxe Villa in Satbari, New Delhi, is crafted to enhance your intimate getaways. Our expansive 3,000 sq. ft. villa features four luxurious rooms, each thoughtfully equipped with a minibar, tea and coffee maker, in-room safe, separate living rooms and plush bath essentials. Host up to 20 loved ones in our elegant setting, where every detail is curated for your comfort. Spend tranquil moments by our pool, unwind in the steam bath, or prepare your favourite meals in our fully equipped kitchen. Here, every corner is designed to create lasting memories of togetherness and sophistication.

Perfect for small gatherings, romantic getaways, or quiet family retreats, Udman Luxe Villa offers a peaceful escape just minutes from Delhis busy streets. With tasteful interiors, lush green lawns, a private pool, and personalized hospitality, the villa is everything youd expect from a premium urban hideout.

Whether you're planning a special celebration or just need a peaceful weekend away, Udman Luxe Villa delivers the charm of a resort  without ever leaving Delhi.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The Institute for Development and Diplomacy (IDD) at ADA University is pleased to announce the publication of the Summer 2025 edition of Baku Dialogues, its flagship English-language quarterly policy journal, Trend reports via ADA.

This edition features analytical articles that reflect ongoing discussions on regional politics, multilateral diplomacy, and global challenges.

The main interview of this issue is conducted with Mr. Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The interview titled Azerbaijans Multilateralist Posture explores how Azerbaijan navigates its multilateral diplomacy, outlining its key priorities and approaches within various international institutions.

The issue also highlights Azerbaijans growing role in the green energy agenda. The article explores regional integration efforts through the CaspianBlack Sea Energy Corridor and the countrys contributions to energy security.

The article titled The D-8 and Azerbaijan: The Islamic Eight and the Ongoing Shift in the Global Balance of Power examines Azerbaijans position within this platform and the prospects for expanded cooperation.

In addition, the issue presents discussions on the opportunities arising from Azerbaijans membership in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a regional initiative promoting security and cooperation in Central and South Asia, as well as ways to optimize the countrys chairmanship of the platform.

Another key title, Shifting Geopolitics, offers insights into the transformations in global power dynamics and the evolving roles of major international actors. Here, the first article examines the current state and future possibilities of the European Union by assessing its potential pathways for transformation. The next article, titled Why the U.S. Should Embrace Israel-Azerbaijan Alignment highlights how the bilateral partnership between Azerbaijan and Israel reflects broader trends in global politics, while also emphasizing its potential to expand and benefit the United States.

To read or download the full issue, please visit bakudialogues.ada.edu.az.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on future cooperation between C4IR and Mastercard has been discussed, Trend reports.

According to the information, the discussion took place during the video conference between C4IR Executive Director Fariz Jafarov and Mastercard Vice President for Eastern Europe Engin Yashar.

During the meeting, information about C4IR's activities and projects underway was presented, and the parties exchanged views on the potential for cooperation.

The discussions focused on the possibilities of cooperation within the Industry 4.0 preparation program, creation of a special department in the Industry 4.0 Center with the support of Mastercard, as well as the organization of joint educational events.

The parties discussed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on future cooperation and agreed to establish relevant working groups.
Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter, Trend reports.

''Dear Madam President,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you and your entire people on the occasion of your countrys national holiday.

I believe that we will continue our joint efforts to further develop Azerbaijan-Switzerland relations in an atmosphere of friendship and to sustain our fruitful cooperation.

On this joyous occasion, I wish you robust health, success in your endeavors, and everlasting prosperity and well-being to the Swiss Confederation,'' the letter reads.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Dangerous materials identified during mine clearance operations will be handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations (FHN), Trend reports.

This provision is reflected in the amendment signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, to the decree "On the Implementation of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Mine Clearance Activities dated December 13, 2024, and Regulation of Certain Related Issues."

Under the amendment, any identified hazardous substances encountered during the mine clearance operation must be expeditiously conveyed to the FHN by the executing entity via a formal documentation process. This procedure may necessitate communication with the designated authority through either a certified mail service or digital transmission.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Azerbaijan Ronen Krausz has submitted a copy of credentials to the Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.

The minister congratulated the ambassador on his appointment and wished him success in his diplomatic activities in Azerbaijan.

Subsequently, the discourse encompassed the dynamics of bilateral and multilateral collaboration between Azerbaijan and Israel, alongside an analysis of the prevailing regional landscape.



The synergistic collaboration between the two nations across multifaceted domains such as political engagement, economic integration, trade facilitation, energy optimization, agricultural innovation, investment strategies, security frameworks, and humanitarian initiatives was duly acknowledged, with a pronounced emphasis on the expansive developmental trajectories of bilateral relations.



The meeting articulated profound apprehension regarding the escalating dynamics in the Middle East landscape and underscored Azerbaijan's advocacy for the instatement of tranquility and equilibrium, alongside its unwavering preparedness to facilitate this initiative.

The ambassador stressed that he will spare no efforts to expand cooperation between the two countries during his term.

During the meeting, views were also exchanged on other issues of mutual interest.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Sheldon Cooper / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Shares of ExxonMobil are about 2% higher year-to-date. Those of Chevron are up 4%

Key Takeaways

ExxonMobil and Chevron reported much lower second-quarter profits as the price of oil slumped.

Adjusted earnings for both oil giants beat estimates, but Chevron missed revenue forecasts.

Chevron's results were impacted by a loss in the fair market price of shares of Hess, which it finally acquired following a long battle with Exxon Mobil.





The sinking price of oil took a big bite out of profits at energy giants ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) in the second quarter.

ExxonMobil reported net income declined 23% year-over-year to $7.08 billion, and it was down 44% to $2.49 billion for Chevron. However, looking at adjusted earnings per share, both ExxonMobil ($1.64) and Chevron ($1.77) beat analysts' estimates.

ExxonMobil's revenue fell 12% to $81.51 billion, but beat forecasts. Chevron's revenue declined 12% to $44.82 billion, missing expectations.

Crude prices fell below $60 a barrel in the second quarter, well below prior-year levels. In addition, Chevron's earnings were hurt by a $215 million loss on the fair market value of Hess shares after the company finally completed the $53 billion purchase of its rival following a prolonged fight with Exxon over the deal.

Chevron said its addition of Hess "creates one of the most advantaged and differentiated portfolios in the industry."

Shares of ExxonMobil slipped nearly 2% in recent trading but are about 2% higher year-to-date. Those of Chevron edged lower Friday but are up 4% in 2025.



TradingView

Read the original article on Investopedia
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The legal dismantling of the bust of the Armenian-origin painter Hovhannes Aivazyan (Ivan Aivazovsky), which was illegally installed in Azerbaijan's Khankendi city in 2021 and has no relation to Azerbaijan and its native Karabakh land, "forced" a number of Russian MPs to voice anti-Azerbaijani statements again.

Yaroslav Nilov, the chairman of the Committee on Labor, Social Policy, and Veterans' Affairs of the State Duma, is one of those who were relieved by what happened. In his interview, he politicizes the dismantling of the monument for some reason. Connecting it with certain disagreements in Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral relations and describing the situation as "part of the struggle with monuments in a number of countries of the former USSR," he asks a rhetorical question: "Did they win?"

I want to remind MP Nilov and those who think the same that the decision on whether to erect a monument to someone on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijanbe it Karabakh or any other region of the countrycan be made exclusively by the Azerbaijani state and people.

This also applies to the case with the monument to Hovhannes Ayvazyan, a painter of the 19th century, who is represented as Russian and who had no relation to the region and never even set foot there.

Ramid Namazov

Azerbaijani MP
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov received Dragana Kojic, Head of the Azerbaijan Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on the occasion of the conclusion of her diplomatic mission in the country on August 1, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Trend.

Minister Bayramov articulated his appreciation to Dragana Kojic for her contributions in fortifying bilateral relations throughout her incumbency in Azerbaijan and extended his best wishes for her forthcoming pursuits.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the ICRCs 33-year presence in Azerbaijan, the current state and prospects of the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, reconstruction efforts in the liberated territories, the threat of landmines, and the fate of missing persons.

The ICRC representative expressed appreciation for the support and cooperation extended by the Government of Azerbaijan. The importance of continuing collaboration with the ICRC through its headquarters in Geneva after the closure of the delegations operations in early September was also underlined.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. On August 1, the Baku Military Court continued its open hearings on the criminal cases against Armenian citizens, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others. The defendants face charges related to crimes against peace and humanity, war crimesincluding orchestrating and waging aggressive war, genocide, and violations of the laws and customs of waras well as terrorism, financing terrorism, and the forcible seizure and retention of power, all stemming from Armenias military aggression against Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The trial, presided over by 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 legal counsel.

The session was attended by the accused, their lawyers, several victims, their legal heirs or representatives, and state prosecutors.

Judge Zeynal Aghayev introduced the panel of judges, prosecutors, interpreters, and other court personnel to victims attending for the first time while explaining their legal rights and responsibilities.

In his statement, victim Azer Abdullayev said he sustained a shrapnel wound while preventing a provocation by Armenian armed forces from the Gorus direction in the Gubadli district in September 2022.

While evacuating martyrs and wounded personnel, Samir Yusifov, who served as a paramedic at a medical station in Kalbajar, stated that on September 13, 2022, he was injured by a mortar shell explosion. In response to questions from public prosecutor Tarana Mammadova, Yusifov emphasized that the evacuation vehicle was clearly marked as a medical service vehicle.

Responding to state prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev, victim Akifa Bayramova stated that during the 44-day Patriotic War, a missile fired by Armenian armed forces at approximately 2:00 a.m. on October 11, 2020, destroyed her home in Ganja. Akifa Bayramova recounted being injured during the incident. The victim, whose grandson was pulled out from under the rubble, said, -"My grandson is still being treated."

Narbala Babayev, a resident of Ganja, also mentioned that his house was destroyed during the missile attack on October 4, 2020, adding that he and his son were wounded in the incident.

Amin Asgarov, Eldar Mammadov, Gulnara Guliyeva, Aynura Aliyeva, and Kubra Alakbarova testified that their homes in Ganja were destroyed during a missile attack by Armenian forces during the Patriotic War. They stated that they were injured and that the attack also resulted in casualties.

In her testimony, victim Sevinj Hasanova stated that she and her relatives sustained injuries from artillery fire from Armenian armed forces during the Patriotic War, on October 5, 2020, while visiting her brother's family in Goranboy.

Gurban Gurbanov, Huseyinbaba Sayilli, Khazri Ahmadov, Aliyar Mammadov, Ehtiram Samadov, Gasim Garibov, Ali Garazada, Anar Aliyev, Ulvin Musayev, Alihuseyn Shahbazov, Asim Mikayilli, and Jeyhun Khankishiyev testified that they were injured while preventing a provocation by Armenian armed forces from the Jermuk direction in Kalbajar between September 12 and 14, 2022. They noted that Azerbaijani forces suffered martyrs and wounded during the clashes. Responding to questions from public prosecutor Fuad Musayev, Jeyhun Khankishiyev remarked that this was not the first provocation by Armenian forces: "The enemy could not come to terms with the defeat in 2020 and attempted to seize strategic heights."

Saleh Hasanov, Mehdi Yusifov, Safa Mammadov, Alish Shamiyev, Farid Ilyaszada, and Sanan Mirzaliyev testified that they were injured while preventing a provocation in Zangilan on the night of September 1213, 2022. They also confirmed the presence of martyrs and injured soldiers among their comrades.

Responding to questions from Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev, Javanshir Tahirli stated that he was injured by gunfire during a provocation by Armenian forces in the village of Chayli, Tartar district, on June 1, 2016an incident that occurred in violation of the ceasefire.

During questioning by Nasir Bayramov, Head of the Department of Public Prosecution Defense at the Prosecutor Generals Office, Yusif Mammadov testified that he was injured by sniper fire while preventing a provocation by Armenian armed forces in the Fuzuli-Khojavand direction on April 3, 2015.

Victims Anar Nabiyev, Murad Musayev, Khayal Abbasov, Ilkin Tagiyev, Seymur Ismayilov, Adalat Mammadov, and Hasan Gadimaliyev also testified that they were wounded by gunfire from Armenian forces during the Patriotic War.

In their testimonies, Agil Isparzada, Mohsum Karimli, and Murad Babazada stated that they were injured by gunfire form the remnants of Armenian armed forces and illegal Armenian armed groups during the anti-terror operations conducted by the Azerbaijani Army in September 2023.

Shahin Garayev reported injuries from a mine explosion in the Tap Garagoyunlu village of the Goranboy district, where he lived, on November 21, 2021.

Nahid Yolchuyev mentioned in his statement that he was injured by gunfire from Armenian armed forces while serving in the Yusifjanli village of the Aghdam district in 2010.

Shakir Ismayilov recounted being injured during the April 2016 clashes.

Ruhin Valiyev reported injuries from a mine explosion during demining operations in Jabrayil on June 17, 2022.

Ismayil Huseynov and Tural Khanaliyev stated that they were injured as a result of a provocation by the Armenian armed forces.

Victims also responded to questions from the accused, their defense attorneys, and their own representatives.

During the court proceedings, the judge announced that the defendant Levon Balayan's lawyer had been assigned to a state agency. Therefore, a new defense attorney should be assigned to him. Commenting on the issue, defendant L. Balayan said, "It would have been better if he had stayed," adding that he had no objections to the appointment of a new lawyer.

The presiding judge announced that a new lawyer would be appointed for L. Balayan.

The court proceedings are set to continue on August 4.

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 association - on 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 additional articles.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. On August 1, the Baku Military Court continued its open hearings on the criminal cases against Armenian citizens, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others. The defendants face charges related to crimes against peace and humanity, war crimesincluding orchestrating and waging aggressive war, genocide, and violations of the laws and customs of waras well as terrorism, financing terrorism, and the forcible seizure and retention of power, all stemming from Armenias military aggression against Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The trial, presided over by 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 legal counsel.

The session was attended by the accused, their lawyers, several victims, their legal heirs or representatives, and state prosecutors.

Judge Aghayev introduced the panel of judges, prosecutors, interpreters, and other court personnel to victims attending for the first time while explaining their legal rights and responsibilities.

The court proceedings are set to continue on August 4.

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 association - on 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 additional articles.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The VI Summer Camp "Twinned Karabakh schools" dedicated to the "Year of Constitution and Sovereignty" is being held in the capital of Moldova, Chisinau, from July 29 through August 4, the Azerbaijani State Committee on Work with Diaspora told Trend.

The organizers of the camp, which is being held with the support of the Azerbaijani Diaspora Support Fund, are the "CAM" Azerbaijani-Moldovan Union, "Zafar" Public Union for Support to Martyrs' Families, the Congress of Moldovan Azerbaijanis, and the Cultural Center of Azerbaijanis in Switzerland.

Along with the children of martyrs from Azerbaijan, the event is also attended by children of Azerbaijani families living in Moldova.

As part of the program, participants will receive professional training in various fields, gain new knowledge and skills through introductions and group sessions.

At the same time, they will have the opportunity to visit historical, cultural, and tourist sites of Moldova.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The international cargo transportation via the e-Permit electronic authorization form has also been initiated with Kyrgyzstan, following Turkiye and Uzbekistan, Trend reports via the Azerbaijan Land Transport Agency.

The agency noted that a cargo car belonging to a carrier company from Kyrgyzstan arrived in Azerbaijan, carrying out transit cargo transportation on the Georgia-Kyrgyzstan route.

"Azerbaijan has also issued electronic permit forms for its vehicles, which will soon begin to carry out international transportation to Kyrgyzstan.

Full digitization of the exchange and issuance of permit forms ensures transparency of the process, increases the efficiency of logistics, and allows carriers to save resources when obtaining permits. The implemented project envisages a step-by-step exchange and issuance of forms in electronic format with other countries where international cargo transportation activities are conducted.

Work on expanding the use of electronic and digital technologies in international cargo transportation continues.

In Azerbaijan, digital technologies are successfully applied in the field of international road freight transport. This process includes, among other things, the electronization of permit forms exchanged with countries on a bilateral basis," the information added.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. During the ongoing proceedings at the Baku Military Court on August 1, victim Akifa Bayramova testified that during the 44-day Second Karabakh War, a missile fired by Armenian armed forces at approximately 2:00 a.m. on October 11, 2020, destroyed her home in Ganja, Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

Akifa Bayramova recounted being injured during the incident. The victim, whose grandson was pulled out from under the rubble, said, "My grandson is still being treated."

In her testimony, victim Sevinj Hasanova stated that she and her relatives sustained injuries from artillery fire from Armenian armed forces during the Second Karabakh War, on October 5, 2020, while visiting her brother's family in Goranboy.

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.

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Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Pursuant to the 2025 training plan, the Air Force Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Academy held a graduation ceremony for the UAV specialists, the Ministry of Defense told Trend.

The ceremony commenced with a tribute to the National Leader of the Azerbaijani people, Heydar Aliyev, and to the Martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity of the Motherland. This was followed by the performance of the National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Colonel Mobil Ovchiyev addressed the attendees, extending congratulations to the graduates on behalf of the Ministry of Defense leadership, and wished them success in their future service.

In conclusion, the graduates were presented with certificates.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The Minister of National Defense of Greece, Nikos Dendias, visited the 355th Tactical Transport Squadron (355MTM) of the 112th Combat Wing (112 CW) at the Elefsina Air Base, Trend reports.

The Minister, accompanied by the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General (AF) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, was briefed by the Commander of the 355th Squadron on the units mission, activities, and the firefighting operations conducted since the beginning of the summer wildfire season. He was also informed about maintenance, availability, and readiness issues concerning the Hellenic Air Forces aerial firefighting fleet.

Minister Dendias attended a demonstration and presentation of CL-215/415 aircraft and toured the Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, where he spoke with flying, technical, and administrative personnel.

In his address to the staff, Mr. Dendias emphasized the Air Forces ongoing mission to support society and strengthen collective security, alongside all branches of the Armed Forces. He highlighted that since the beginning of 2025, a total of 541 firefighting missions (lasting 1,265 flight hours) and 884 air medical evacuation missions (lasting 2,610 flight hours) have been carried out, during which 1,369 patients and 26 organs were transported.

It was also noted that since July 2023, 164 Armed Forces personnel have been assigned as ambulance drivers at 67 health facilities across the country, including EKAV units, health centers, and multipurpose regional clinics.

Also present during the visit were the Commander of the Air Support Command (ASC), Lieutenant General (AF) Vasileios Broumas, and the Commander of the 112th Combat Wing, Brigadier General (AF) Efthymios Simitzis.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Romanias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Oana Toiu, and U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, held talks regarding the strengthening of the Strategic Partnership, Trend reports.

The discussion reflected their shared commitment to deepening Romanian-American bilateral relations and reviewed the main areas of cooperation, the current status of joint projects, and future plans.

Both officials emphasized the importance of advancing the RomaniaU.S. Strategic Partnership and continuing bilateral cooperation in priority fields such as security and defense, energy, and investment in innovation.

Minister Toiu highlighted the excellent cooperation with the United States within NATO and bilaterally, as well as the crucial contribution of the U.S. military presence on Romanian soil to the security of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic space. She pointed to the significant potential in defense industry co-production, which is beginning to materialize through concrete projects such as high-performance military radar systems and ammunition production.

Foreign Minister Oana Toiu conveyed Romanian President Nicusor Dans appreciation for U.S. President Donald Trumps invitation for an official visit to Washington early next year. The Romanian foreign minister's visit to New York in September will enable further dialogue in preparation for the Presidents visit.

Reflecting decisions made at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Romania has taken steps to strengthen its defense budget, enhance national capabilities, improve host-nation support for allied troops stationed on its territory, and contribute to NATOs deterrence and defense objectives on the Eastern Flank.

Special emphasis was placed on the strategic importance of the Black Sea, with Romania reaffirming its commitment to cooperating with Allies and international partners to ensure maritime safety and advance offshore gas exploration projects in the region.

In the energy sector, ongoing bilateral projects were highlighted, particularly the development of reactors 3 and 4 at Cernavoda and the deployment of small modular reactor (SMR) technology at Doicesti. Through these initiatives, Romania is reinforcing its role in regional energy security and the development of transit routes.

Minister Toiu expressed confidence that the Trump Administrations domestic security goals would be supported by Romanias inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program, reaffirming the high priority Romanian authorities place on this matter and their commitment to close cooperation with U.S. institutions. She also praised the strong interministerial collaboration and the Prime Ministers active role in pursuing this objective.

At the invitation of the United States, through Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Oana Toiu announced Romanias intention to join the Joint Declaration on Submarine Cable Security and Resilience during the UN General Assembly in September.

Oana Toiu welcomed the signing of the EUU.S. Trade Agreement, emphasizing its importance for the stability of transatlantic relations and reiterating Romanias support for reaching a balanced and constructive compromise between both sides, in the interest of producers, consumers, and investors on both sides of the Atlantic
First Solar (FSLR) is on deck to report its Q2 2025 earnings report after tonights closing bell, with analysts expecting revenues of $1.04 billion and earnings per share of $2.68, on average. Heading into the release, FSLR stock is trading down about 10% from its year-to-date high set in January, having underperformed the broader equities market in 2025.

Options traders are looking for a bigger-than-usual price swing out of FSLR in tomorrows post-earnings session. The stocks weekly Aug. 1 options series reflects expectations for a 6.14% move in either direction, compared to FSLRs average earnings reaction of 5.40% over the past four quarters.

More News from Barchart

www.barchart.com

That projected move would put FSLR stock around $190 on the upside, and near $168 on the downside.

The high end of that range roughly coincides with the solar stocks May highs, while the low end roughly aligns with the site of First Solars 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

www.barchart.com

First Solars Footing in a Volatile Industry

The company's strategic focus on expanding U.S. manufacturing capacity has been advantageous, and FSLR in particular has benefited from Section 45X tax credits for domestically manufactured modules. However, First Solar faces challenges from lower capacity utilization at its Malaysian and Vietnam facilities due to U.S. tariff impacts, while a shift in sales mix toward the lower-priced Indian market could pressure margins.

Despite these headwinds, First Solar's strong project pipeline and healthy balance sheet suggest the potential for continued growth. Plus, the company's foothold in the U.S. market could continue to provide a competitive edge as demand for domestically produced solar components continues to rise, and as the U.S. investigates potential tariff circumvention by Chinese manufacturers operating through facilities in Indonesia, India, and Laos.

What Does Wall Street Say About FSLR Stock?

Recent analyst actions have been largely positive, with Susquehanna, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America all raising their respective price targets within the past week. FSLR is rated a Strong Buy overall, with an average price target of $205.37.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Defense Minister of Bulgaria Atanas Zapryanov said NATO is a unique organization that, even in the face of the most complex problems and diverging national interests, can find workable compromises, reach decisions, and implement them in practice, Trend reports.

The minister made the remarks at the conference NATO After The Hague 25: The Bulgarian Dimension, organized by the Atlantic Club in Bulgaria and the Union of Reserve Officers Atlantic (SORA), held on July 31, 2025, at the Central Military Club.

To address a threat, we must possess the necessary tools and present a clear plan for how we will implement our defense strategy. If we lack established capabilities and have not invested sufficiently to make them operational, then everything will remain only on paper, Minister Zapryanov said during his speech.

That is why we now need the Euro-Atlantic community to firmly support the decisions made in The Hague, especially regarding increased investments, modernization of the defense industry, and of the Armed Forces. It is essential that Bulgarian society understands that investments in defense are not financial losses but a guarantee of security  and security means prosperity, he emphasized.

Minister Zapryanov also addressed security threats and underlined that NATO is a structured military-political organization. Based on the current geopolitical situation, its two strategic commands have developed corresponding defense plans.

Given the growing threats, the new allied defense plans impose significantly higher quantitative and qualitative requirements on defense capabilities, he noted.

Raising military budgets is not the only crucial outcome. The NATO Summit in The Hague reaffirmed the unity of the Alliance, the commitment of all member states to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, the strength of the transatlantic bond, and the United States' commitment to European security.

In this complex situation, Bulgaria was highly active in preparing for the summit, and I categorically reject statements suggesting that smaller countries had no influence on the decisions taken. Our national position was jointly developed by the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and supported by the Cabinet. We actively participated in the budget increase debate to 3.5%, and we were one of the countries advocating  as was ultimately accepted  that there should be no abrupt increase. Instead, each country should decide on the stages of this adjustment independently, based on their own economic situation. The deadline was also extended by three years, until 2035, the minister said regarding Bulgarias role at the summit.

If we, as allies, lose the battle against disinformation, and if the public is convinced through hybrid methods that NATO member states investments in defense capabilities are meaningless, then the war will have been lost before it even begins, Zapryanov warned.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. On a recent visit to one of Lithuanias most advanced high-tech companies, Kongsberg NanoAvionics, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys met with company leadership to discuss the countrys growing space sector and the expansion of export opportunities, Trend reports.

In the course of the visit, Minister Budrys met with CEO Atle Wollo, who presented the companys latest projects and successful missions. These include Lithuanian-made satellites contributing to Earth observation, climate change mitigation, and enhanced security efforts.

The Lithuanian space sector is becoming a major driver of high-tech exports. Companies like Kongsberg NanoAvionics prove that we have the capabilities not only to develop cutting-edge engineering technologies but also to integrate into global supply chains and deliver on projects of international significance. Space is no longer the future  its already a part of Lithuanias economy today, the Minister emphasized.

Founded in 2014 as a Vilnius University scientific initiative, Kongsberg NanoAvionics has grown into one of Europes leading small satellite developers. In recent years, Lithuania has actively invested in the space sector and is currently participating in more than 30 projects under the European Space Agency (ESA).
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Lithuanian Deputy Ministers of National Defense Tomas Godliauskas and Orijana Masale met with Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk in Vilnius to discuss strategically important military mobility initiatives aimed at strengthening NATOs eastern flank and improving regional troop movement, Trend reports.

The talks covered the "Eastern Shield" and "Baltic Defense Line" projects, a unified NATO fuel reserve system, and military infrastructure development, including the Rudninkai military base, the largest defense infrastructure project in Lithuanias history.

Over the next ten years, Lithuania plans to invest 1.1 billion euros to strengthen its countermobility arsenal. In June, leaders from the Baltic States and Poland sent a joint letter to the European Commission, highlighting the significance of this project for Europes collective defense. In July, defense ministers from the same countries submitted a concept for protecting the EUs eastern border, outlining capability needs and funding requirements.

We are working with Poland and the other Baltic States to ensure that the Eastern Shield and Baltic Defense Line become top priorities within the European Union. We are seeking funding not only through the EUs ReArm initiative but also through the long-term Multiannual Financial Framework, said Deputy Minister Godliauskas during the visit to the countermobility equipment park at the Rudninkai training area.

We want to show that the Eastern Shield and Baltic Defense Line are truly one shared project. The border between Poland and Lithuania is not only a national border, but also a frontier of the EU and NATO. All of Europe must recognize this and dedicate proper investments, emphasized Polish Deputy Defense Minister Tomczyk.

Deputy Minister Masale, responsible for military infrastructure, stressed the importance of fuel supply security: NATOs fuel supply network was established in 1958 to ensure operational readiness during crises. Connecting our fuel reserve system with Poland is crucial for effectively supporting allied troops.

She also called for greater Polish business involvement in Lithuanian defense infrastructure development, noting that defense investment offers growth opportunities for businesses and strengthens national economies.

The deputy ministers also discussed joint drone and anti-tank mine procurements under the EUs SAFE funding program, military mobility corridors within the EU and NATO, Polands air policing mission at Lithuanias Siauliai Air Base, joint defense projects, continued support for Ukraine, and transatlantic cooperation. Both countries remain among the EUs leaders in defense spending and are committed to increasing defense budgets to 5 percent of GDP by 2026  well above NATOs baseline requirement.

The implementation of Lithuanias countermobility concept will continue through 2028, with the support of all available EU funding instruments. A long-term maintenance and modernization phase will begin in 2029.

Lithuania has already established 27 defensive engineering parks near the borders with Russia and Belarus, equipped with dragons teeth, road barriers, tank traps, and other tactical fortifications. Additional measures include the restoration of drainage ditches, the planting of roadside tree lines, and the fortification of river crossings along the Nemunas.

These measures form a key part of the EUs eastern border defense strategy and NATOs broader defense planning, aimed at increasing deterrence and strengthening the countrys defensive capabilities in the face of any potential threat.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) under the Ministry of National Defense and the Bank of Lithuania have signed a cooperation agreement that marks a major step forward in cyber defense coordination. With this move, the Bank of Lithuania becomes the first financial market regulator to join the National Cyber Incident Management Platform coordinated by the NCSC, Trend reports.

The integration will pave the way for a seamless flow of information on cyber incidents in the financial sector, helping to nip emerging threats in the bud with quicker and more efficient responses.

This is a significant milestonenot only in the development of the platform but also in strengthening the cyber resilience of the entire financial sector. It represents a new stage of intersectoral cooperation and a breakthrough in automated information sharing, said NCSC Director Antanas Aleknavicius.

The platform, cooked up by the NCSC, serves up real-time information on cyber threats and incidents, allowing for a coordinated response and bolstering national cybersecurity readiness. Its deployment reflects consistent national policy efforts by the Ministry of National Defense to enhance threat response and data protection at a national scale.

Cybersecurity isnt just about technologyits about operational speed and coordinated action. This partnership with the NCSC will allow us to react more quickly to threats and enhance the resilience of our entire financial system, said Julita Varanauskiene, Deputy Chair of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.

The agreement also lays the groundwork for secure communication channels, ensuring that when the chips are down, responses to potential cyber threats or large-scale incidents are as smooth as butter. The NCSC will provide expert support, monitor compliance with cybersecurity requirements, and organize joint exercises and training for the central bank.

This partnership will enhance organizational readiness while simultaneously augmenting the overall industry's capacity to address escalating cyber threats.



In alignment with Lithuania's overarching national framework aimed at fortifying cybersecurity postures, this accord serves as a paradigm for other entities engaged in the governance of cyber risk mitigation to emulate.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The Estonian Transport Administration, in collaboration with HexTech Solutions OU and Tallinn University of Technology, is conducting a study to analyze the use and trends of unmanned aviation in Estonia, Trend reports.

The research aims to gather factual data on drone activity to help the Transport Administration better understand the scope of drone usage, identify bottlenecks in the sector, and assess potential risks to manned aviation in shared airspace.

In alignment with the project objectives, a comprehensive survey was executed, garnering close to 400 participant responses. The outcomes have already elucidated some compelling insights.

Participants predominantly conveyed that the regulatory framework governing unmanned aerial vehicles is readily accessible and that the level of cognizance among recreational operators is comparatively elevated. Nonetheless, the telemetry from the sensors indicates a divergent narrativetransgressions of the established airspace parameters are pervasive.

Within the open category, the regulatory threshold for maximum allowable flight altitude, set at 120 meters, was surpassed in approximately 20 percent of all operational flights.

Moreover, a notable 13 percent of identified UAV operations transpired within the designated approach corridor of Tallinn Airport, with a significant proportion of these instances exhibiting violations of established altitude parameters. This indicates that there are approximately 2 to 3 potentially perilous operations involving unmanned aerial vehicles occurring on a daily basis in the airspace surrounding Tallinn Airport.

The subsequent stage of the initiative will prioritize advanced data analytics, comprehensive processing methodologies, and ongoing sensor-driven surveillance of unmanned aerial vehicle operations.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. On August 1, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna held a working meeting in Tallinn with Ian Borg, Maltas Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, Trend reports.

Discussions focused on geopolitical challenges in Europe and the Baltic Sea region, continued support for Ukraine, and ways to deepen bilateral cooperation between Estonia and Malta.

Addressing the situation in Ukraine, Minister Tsahkna emphasized the need to maintain comprehensive support for Ukraine and to establish legal mechanisms to ensure accountability for violations of international law.

He highlighted the Council of Europes adoption in June of the founding documents for a special tribunal on the crime of aggression as a landmark step toward international justice.

The tribunal approved during Maltas presidency sends a clear message: no crime should go unpunished, said Tsahkna, extending his best wishes to his Maltese counterpart for the next phase of Maltas presidency.

The ministers also discussed security in the Baltic Sea region, where activities by so-called shadow fleets have intensified.

Tsahkna stressed that such behavior threatens the environment and security of all coastal states. He called for closer coordination among Baltic and EU countries to develop solutions that could reduce oil transit revenues used to fund war operations.

The meeting concluded with a conversation on strengthening tourism cooperation. With over 11,000 Estonians visiting Malta annually, both ministers recognized the potential for closer cultural and economic ties.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing a 25 percent import duty on goods from Kazakhstan, a report from the White House on new reciprocal tariff rates says, Trend reports.

The new measure is part of a broader tariff policy affecting several countries. The decision places Kazakhstan on par with India, which is also subject to a 25 percent tariff. Other countries facing higher rates include Canada (35 percent) and South Africa (30 percent), while Taiwan will face a 20 percent duty.

The White House has not yet provided a detailed justification for the new tariffs. The decision is expected to affect trade flows between Kazakhstan and the U.S., pending any further exemptions or revisions.

The US and Kazakhstan have maintained diplomatic and trade relations since Kazakhstans independence in 1991. The U.S. is among Kazakhstans top foreign investors, particularly in the energy sector, with companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil, and others active in oil and gas development.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The price of Azerbaijans Azeri Light crude oil on a CIF basis at Italys Augusta port declined by $0.94, or 1.28 percent, to $72.7 per barrel on July 31, a source in the oil market told Trend.

At Turkiye's Ceyhan port, the price of Azeri Light on an FOB basis decreased by $1.02, or 1.41 percent, to $71.3 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the price of URALS crude went down by $0.94, or 1.52 percent, to $60.85 per barrel.

Brent Dated crude, produced in the North Sea, saw a decrease of $0.86, or 1.17 percent, bringing the price down to $72.7 per barrel.

Azerbaijans state budget for 2025 is based on an average oil price of $70 per barrel.

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ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, August 1. Turkmenistan and Afghanistan have signed an agreement and contract to implement an investment project aimed at expanding the infrastructure of the Turgundi dry port in Afghanistans Herat province, Trend reports via Afghanistans Ministry of Public Works.

The project, with an initial investment of $5 million provided by Turkmenistan, includes constructing warehouses and developing new loading and unloading facilities to enhance cargo handling along the Turgundi-Herat railway line. The upgraded infrastructure will facilitate more efficient trade and transit operations.

Although the investment is coming from Turkmenistan, construction and operational works will be carried out on the territory of Afghanistan under local laws. The revenues generated from the port will be used to return the investment to the Turkmen partners.

Turkmenistan remains a key trade and economic partner for Afghanistan, with ongoing cooperation in electricity, oil, and gas supplies, and major regional projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, fiber-optic communications development, and railway infrastructure.
Photo: The Ministry of Investments, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 1. Laziz Kudratov, Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan, held a meeting with Ahmad Al-Jufairi, Executive Chairman of Qatars leading investment company, Protocol Capital Group, to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation across several key sectors of Uzbekistans economy, Trend reports.

In the course of the meeting, the Uzbek side provided a detailed overview of the countrys investment climate and presented a portfolio of promising projects for potential joint ventures.

Al Jufairi, acknowledging the substantial partnership potential, expressed strong interest in investing in sectors including energy, housing construction, transportation, logistics, and information technology. Both parties confirmed their commitment to further explore investment opportunities and develop proposals that support sustainable economic growth, digital transformation, and infrastructure modernization in Uzbekistan.

Protocol Capital Group is a major Qatari investment firm managing assets exceeding $4 billion. The company is actively involved in financing projects across diverse industries such as real estate, oil and gas, water storage and air-cooling systems, construction materials, steel production, and pharmaceuticals. With over 1,000 successful projects implemented in more than 34 countries, Protocol Capital Group brings extensive experience and global reach to its partnerships.
Transaction values Northwind at $2.375 billion

HOUSTON, August 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five Point Infrastructure LLC ("Five Point") today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Northwind Delaware Holdings LLC ("Northwind" or the "Company") to MPLX LP ("MPLX") for $2.375 billion in cash consideration, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.

Founded by Five Point in 2022, Northwind provides sour gas gathering, treating, and processing services in Lea County, New Mexico. The Company is solving a highly critical issue in the Northern Delaware Basin, where upstream development has generally been restricted due to the lack of sour natural gas treating, acid-gas injection and sequestration well capacity. In addition, the Company contributes meaningfully to its customers sustainability objectives by capturing and sequestering the CO 2 in the natural gas stream.

Northwinds portfolio today includes over 200,000 dedicated acres, 200+ miles of gathering pipelines, two in-service carbon sequestration and acid gas injection (AGI) wells with a combined capacity of 20 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), and a third permitted well that will bring total capacity to 37 MMcf/d when completed in 2026.

David Capobianco, CEO and Managing Partner of Five Point Infrastructure, said, "Were proud to have played a key role in unlocking development potential in the Northern Delaware Basin, which we continue to expect will be one of the most important oil producing regions in North America. This transaction is a clear validation of our investment thesis regarding the need for critical infrastructure development across the nations most productive energy basins. We congratulate MPLX on its acquisition of a great business and look forward to Northwinds continued growth under their stewardship."

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

Piper Sandler & Co. served as the exclusive financial advisor and Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal advisor to the seller in connection with the transaction.

About Five Point Infrastructure

Five Point Infrastructure LLC is a private equity and infrastructure investor focused on investments within the North American powered land, surface management, water management, and sustainable infrastructure sectors. The firm was founded by industry veterans with demonstrated records of success investing in, building, and running infrastructure companies. Based in Houston, Texas, Five Point has approximately $8 billion of assets under management across multiple investment funds. For more information about Five Point, please visit: www.fpinfra.com.
Photo: The Ministry of Investments, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 1. Uzbekistan and Qatars Tamam International discussed expanding cooperation in energy, logistics, tourism, and healthcare, agreeing to form a working group to advance major investment projects, Trend reports.

The meeting was held between the Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan, Laziz Kudratov, and Murad Ali, Head of the Qatari company Tamam International.

In the course of the meeting, the parties discussed opportunities for expanding cooperation in key priority areas and implementing major investment projects. In particular, concrete proposals were made to develop electricity generation and distribution systems, modernize logistics infrastructure, and establish tourism facilities and modern healthcare institutions.

Following the negotiations, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening a mutually beneficial partnership and deepening cooperation. To systematically advance the proposed initiatives, it was agreed to establish a working group comprising representatives from Tamam International and relevant government agencies of Uzbekistan, as proposed by the Minister.

Tamam International is one of Qatars leading investment companies, with extensive international experience in implementing large-scale projects across various sectors, including energy, transport and logistics, tourism, and healthcare. The company is actively involved in transnational initiatives and is keen to expand its presence in the Central Asian region.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. Kazakhstan is advancing large-scale transport infrastructure projects, including the expansion of the Trans-Kazakhstan Railway Corridor and the modernization of key freight routes, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said on the occasion of Transport Workers Day, Trend reports via Akorda.

In his remarks, President Tokayev outlined ongoing efforts to enhance Kazakhstans role as a major Eurasian transit hub, citing the construction of second tracks on the Dostyk - Moiynty section, which is expected to increase freight capacity fivefold, as well as new railway lines such as Moiynty - Kyzylzhar, Darbaza - Maktaaral, and Ayagoz - Bakty. Additional measures include the development of logistics centers, continued repair of 11,000 kilometers of railway, and the expansion or modernization of 5,000 kilometers of track nationwide.

Tokayev also highlighted Kazakhstans growing connectivity through the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and its partnership with China on a logistics center in Xian, launched under the One Belt, One Road initiative.

In recognition of their contribution to the countrys transport sector, several industry workers received awards from the Head of State.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 1. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Bakhtiyor Saidov, received the credentials of Denmark's newly appointed Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Jesper Vahr, Trend reports.

We had a productive discussion exploring numerous opportunities to strengthen our bilateral ties, including enhanced cooperation, facilitating economic relations, and more, Saidov wrote on his official social media account.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stands ready to work together to unlock the full potential of our partnership. Wishing Mr. Ambassador a successful tenure in our country, Saidov concluded.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 1. The Agency for Foreign Investment Attraction of Uzbekistan has signed a cooperation agreement with one of South Koreas leading industrial companies, KCC Corporation, to implement a project for the production of automotive paints, Trend reports.

The project plans to establish an annual production capacity of 335 tons of automotive paints. The first phase is expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.

The parties also agreed to collaborate on preparing the necessary documentation for the successful implementation of the project, attracting qualified specialists, and organizing meetings and negotiations with representatives of government and private sector entities.

The initial meeting between the Agency and KCC Corporation took place on April 10, 2025, facilitated by the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in South Korea. Since then, the company has taken practical steps to organize its operations in Uzbekistan.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 1. A meeting was held at the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan between Deputy Minister Akram Aliev and Ignacio del Pozo, Executive Director of Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, to discuss prospects for cooperation in the financial sector, Trend reports.

The company articulated a robust inclination towards engaging in the capital allocation for initiatives executed within both B2B (business-to-business) and G2G (government-to-government) paradigms. Per the executive cadre's insights, these strategic initiatives serve as pivotal catalysts for augmenting and fortifying the bilateral synergy between Uzbekistan and Spain.



Santander Corporate & Investment Banking (Santander CIB) operates as the investment banking arm of Banco Santander Group, a preeminent entity within the European financial landscape. Established in 1985, the organization operates its principal office in Madrid, Spain. Currently, Santander CIB has a global footprint spanning more than 20 jurisdictions, encompassing key financial epicenters across Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Asia.

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TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 1. Russias largest airline, Aeroflot, is back in the saddle, resuming flights from Samarkand International Airport to Moscow, Trend reports.

According to Samarkand International Airport, regular flights on the SamarkandMoscow route are now being operated three times a weekon Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Aeroflot, a state-private carrier, operated a fleet of 171 aircraft as of June 2025, including 41 wide-body and 130 narrow-body medium-haul planes.

Meanwhile, according to the National Statistics Committee, 3.5 million Uzbek citizens traveled abroad for tourism in the first quarter of 2025, with 230,412 of them heading to Russia.

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Photo: Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The latest meeting of the Economic Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan was held on August 1 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ali Asadov, the Cabinet of Ministers told Trend.

The convening centered on fiscal allocations and taxation frameworks pivotal for formulating projections for the state and aggregated financial plans for the year 2026 and the subsequent triennium. Proposed amendments to the Tax Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan and current economic matters were also on the agenda.

During the session, proposals by Minister of Finance Sahil Babayev, Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, and Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population Anar Aliyev were presented and discussed by members of the Economic Council.

Following the meeting, pertinent directives were disseminated to the designated state entities, incorporating the insights and recommendations of Council members.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Efforts are progressing effectively towards optimizing the export potential of renewable energy generated in Azerbaijan, Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources Javid Abdullayev told Trend in an exclusive interview.

He addressed inquiries regarding the frameworks for diminishing reliance on conventional energy paradigms, ongoing pilot initiatives being executed in Karabakh, East Zangezur, and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republics within the green energy zone paradigm, the advocacy for indigenous manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, offshore electricity generation and hydrogen synthesis, alongside the current developments of diverse route projects for electricity exportation, as well as avenues for synergistic collaboration with global entities (IEA, IRENA, World Bank, ADB, etc.).

We may achieve the targets set for 2030 earlier than expected

A representative from the Agency initially articulated the strategic initiatives implemented to mitigate reliance on conventional energy sources. He articulated that the deployment of renewable energy modalities in numerous scenarios facilitates the divestment from conventional energy paradigms presently utilized for specific operations.



"Upon the liberation of these assets, a distinct market demand emerges for their reallocation." In certain scenarios, the pricing structure may exhibit a substantial elevation, potentially contributing considerable value to the national economic framework. From this vantage point, our primary endeavor is focused on amplifying the throughput of those conventional energy assets that are liberated. Facilities within the renewable energy sector facilitate the liberation of a significant quantity of gaseous reserves. Subsequently, these can be leveraged for exportation to the European market, characterized by robust demand dynamics.



Our objective is unequivocal: to augment the proportion of renewable energy modalities within the installed capacity matrix to 30 percent by the year 2030. Preliminary projections indicate that we could realize this objective as soon as the 20272028 timeframe. It is anticipated that this metric will escalate even more by the year 2030.

The commitments voluntarily undertaken by Azerbaijan during COP29  such as the reduction of carbon emissions and other related issues  are, of course, directly linked to the implementation of renewable energy projects," he said.

A hydropower potential of 500 MW Exists in Azerbaijans liberated territories

Abdullayev articulated the renewable energy prospects inherent in Azerbaijans liberated territories and the initiatives currently operational within this strategic framework.

"Our liberated territories, as well as the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, have been declared 'green energy' zones. The concept and action plan for Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur are already on the table, approved, and we can now talk about their implementation. In general, within the COP29 presidency, Azerbaijan has put forward an initiative regarding 'green zones,' and many countries around the world have supported this initiative. We are considered a leading country in this initiative. The key indicator of a 'green energy' zone is that every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity consumed in those areas comes from green energy sources.

The liberated territories have enough potential in to achieve this. The goal is to utilize about 500 megawatts of hydropower potential in these regions. There are sufficient mountain rivers there, which increases the hydropower capacity. Additionally, if we include the electricity generated from the Azerbaijani portions of the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydropower plants, we can see that the hydropower potential is significant, and that concrete steps are being taken toward its full utilization," Abdullayev noted.

According to the director, Azerbaijans solar energy potential is primarily concentrated in Jabrayil and Zangilan, while wind energy potential is centered in the Kalbajar-Lachin zone.

"The amount of renewable energy that can be obtained from there is assessed as quite substantial. What is needed is an appropriate transmission network so that the electricity produced after building the plants can be transmitted. The energy potential in these areas far exceeds the local demand. The energy generated there must be integrated into Azerbaijans national grid. Since other stations already exist in the national grid, they will most likely be redirected toward export.

Currently, intensive work is underway with bp on the construction of the 'Shafaq' Solar Power Plant (SPP) in Jabrayil, with an initial investment value of $200 million and a capacity of 240 megawatts (MW). In addition, the construction of the 'Ufug' and 'Shams' SPP projects, each with a capacity of 50 MW, is also progressing rapidly. All contracts have been signed, land plots have been identified, and network-related matters are completely clear to us. Work is being carried out on a daily basis toward implementation. These plants are planned to be commissioned by the end of 2027.

Concurrently, the requisite framework is being developed for the electrification of the Sangachal terminal. The comprehensive contractual architecture has been conclusively established. This was an intricate and multifaceted procedure. The successful execution of this intricate procedure was facilitated by a comprehensive evaluation of authentic economic frameworks and the operational efficacy of the initiatives," the official articulated.



Abdullayev further articulated that an extensive array of anemometric assessments is currently underway in the Lachin district.

"We plan to have bank-accepted data by the end of this year. After that, the data will be presented to investors. Of course, there is great interest from various companies in producing wind energy in that region. In fact, in accordance with an agreement signed at COP29, a joint venture has been established for a wind power project in Kalbajar. This joint venture has already started measurements in Kalbajar. The measurements are expected to be completed within a year, after which project proposals will be submitted," he clarified.

A wind power plant may be built in Kalbajar

An official from the agency stated that both the technical and economic potentials of renewable energy production must be considered. He explained that technical potential refers to the amount of energy derived from measurements of solar radiation and wind speed in a given area, while economic potential reflects what portion of that technical resource can be used with real economic efficiency.

"Of course, when working with investors, the second indicatoreconomic potentialis more important. Additionally, wind speed must meet the minimum threshold required for energy production, and the area must be accessible in terms of transport and logistics. These and similar factors are critically important.

Reconstruction work in our liberated territories is progressing very rapidly. For example, the high wind potential in the inaccessible areas of Kalbajar used to be considered only technical potential, because economically it was not viablewe had no roads to reach those locations. But now many of those issues have been resolved. At present, transporting wind turbines to those areas and installing them in the existing wind conditions has become economically efficient. From there, we can also consider connecting the electricity generated in Lachin-Kalbajar to the power grid, which makes the entire effort economically viable. For instance, today we could build an 800 MW wind power plant in Kalbajar. But is the grid ready for it? Therefore, studies are being carried out in that direction, including wind speeds and existing infrastructure in the area," he mentioned.

Nearly 2 GW of renewable energy sources may be integrated into the grid by late 2027

Abdullayev delineated imminent objectives and strategic initiatives earmarked for that timeframe.

"At the first stage across the country, we may be able to integrate nearly 2 GW of renewable energy sources into the grid by the end of 2027. Analyses have been conducted with American company Tetra Tech and Turkish companies EPRA and CESI, and the necessary steps have been defined. CESI is also the main consulting firm for our export project.

That is, we have determined the necessary work to be done to integrate nearly 2 GW of renewable energy sources into the grid by the end of 2027. This program also includes the installation of energy storage systems.

Construction work on the 'Navahi' substation has begun. The 330 kV section of the 'Navahi' substation is being built by Azerbaijan, while the 500 kV section is being funded through a $173 million loan from the World Bank.

At the 'Khizi-Absheron' Wind Power Plant (WPP), nine out of 25 wind turbineseach with a capacity of 6.5 MWhave already been installed: 12 in the Absheron district and 13 in Khizi. Weather conditions play a major role in the installation of the turbines. In any case, all turbines are expected to be installed and the plant commissioned by the end of 2025," he said.

The director emphasized that the agency is in talks with manufacturers of solar and wind technologies to promote local production.

"Up to this point, the apparatus deployed in our photovoltaic and wind energy facilities has leveraged technology originating from China.



The advancement of these initiatives significantly amplifies the engagement of manufacturers in Azerbaijan. We anticipate that, contingent upon bilateral accords, whether in a comprehensive or fractional capacity, certain technological innovations will be generated domestically within the confines of Azerbaijan. The paradigm of innovation extends beyond that point. Initiatives in the educational domain within the renewable energy sector are currently being executed. A strategic partnership is currently being established between the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University and a higher education institution in the United Kingdom," he underlined.

Negotiations are underway on four different electricity transmission corridors

Abdullayev reminded that Azerbaijan proposed the Green Energy Corridors initiative at COP29.

"Currently, we are talking about four different electricity transmission corridors:

The AzerbaijanGeorgiaRomaniaHungary corridor via the Black Sea seabed;

The AzerbaijanGeorgiaTurkiyeBulgaria route via land;

The NakhchivanTurkiye route (considering the Zangezur Corridor and other related matters in this context);

The route coming from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan.

Establishing these pathways, engaging in diplomatic negotiations with the specified nations, achieving initial accords, and formalizing strategic agreements is an extensive undertaking. We have transcended that phase and are currently immersed in reciprocal deliberations. During the subsequent phase, it is imperative to conduct a comprehensive assessment of both the technical viability and economic feasibility of the project.



In our capacity as an agency, we function as the operational hub for the Caspian SeaBlack SeaEurope electricity transmission initiative, alongside the Central AsiaCaspian Sea endeavor. For the Black Sea initiative, preliminary feasibility assessments have commenced. The Italian enterprise CESI is undertaking a comprehensive investigation into this matter. A collaborative enterprise has been initiated in Bucharest, comprising the transmission system operators from Azerbaijan (Azerenerji), Georgia, Romania, and Hungary. Significantly, the inaugural leader of this collaborative enterprise hails from Azerbaijan. By the conclusion of this fiscal year, the preliminary viability assessment for electrical conveyance through the subaqueous terrain of the Black Sea is anticipated to reach completion. Preliminary analyses indicate that the initiative demonstrates fiscal sustainability.



Initial assessments are underway regarding the electrical transmission infrastructure from Nakhchivan to Turkiye, with a focus on delineating the technical specifications of the initiative.

The electricity transmission project via the AzerbaijanGeorgiaTurkiyeBulgaria route was only recently announced. Nevertheless, organizational and institutional efforts are already underway. It is expected that similar work as seen in the other projects will be carried out along this route as well," he said.

ADB and EBRD each allocate $1 million for Central Asia electricity transmission

A joint venture has already been established in Baku for the electricity transmission project with Central Asia. For the preparation of the technical and economic feasibility study, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have each allocated $1 million. This will determine the scope of the feasibility study. The terms of reference have been agreed upon between the parties. The bank is currently working on selecting consultants to determine how the project will move forward.

We are close to finalizing work with Deloitte on the development of a business model for the export of renewable energy. This model will allow us to assess whether the cost of delivering renewable electricity produced in our country to consumers in Europe will be economically viable and whether it will cover the investments made in these power stations. The analysis shows that, under certain conditions, Azerbaijan's renewable energy export projects are economically viable," the director said.

New areas Identified for Renewable Energy Projects in Azerbaijan

The agency official emphasized that the distribution of renewable energy stations across the country is critical in terms of network impact.

In many regions of the country, the establishment of such stations is under consideration. In the second stage, we are discussing renewable energy production in our country with Chinese companies. But first, we need to study our network. To do this, a contract has been signed with one of the Chinese institutes, and work will begin soon. The institute will modernize our network after 2028 and provide proposals on how much electricity the network can receive and what reinforcement measures are needed, he explained.

The director also noted that the growth in electricity demand has become irreversible. The introduction of electric vehicles and the increasing electrification of various aspects of life are naturally driving this demand.

We need to model and understand how much this demand will grow, and how much electricity Azerbaijans industrial development will require.

After all these measures, the land allocation issue arises. Currently, we are planning a new renewable energy source (RES) project in Fuzuli and Garadagh. Preliminary sites have also been identified in our three-four other districts. Specifically, we have plans for new RES projects in Hajigabul, Imishli, and Kurdamir. These areas have been identified as potential zones for renewable energy production, but some clarifications are still needed. There is technical potential for RES projects in the mentioned districts, but whether this can be converted into economic potential depends on many factors. Other types of projects or economic activities may be more suitable there. Also, transport-logistics and network issues must be considered. A final decision will only be made after studying all of these factors, he said.

Five offshore wind project sites identified

Abdullayev also articulated insights regarding offshore wind energy initiatives.

These projects imply access to large-scale markets. The total technical potential for wind energy in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea is estimated at 157 GW (35 GW in shallow waters and 122 GW in deep waters). Our peak domestic wind energy demand is around 4.5 GW. The planned installed capacity would exceed this figure more than twice, so each of these projects must be export-oriented, and for this there must be an export route.

For offshore wind projects, the first step is to identify suitable areas. This is much more challenging at sea compared to land. However, coordination with all relevant authorities has already been completed to select areas for offshore wind energy production. In the northern part of the Absheron Peninsula in the Caspian Sea, five different zones have been identified for offshore wind development. In these areas, it would be possible to build at least 1015 GW of wind stations. They are currently awaiting official designation as renewable energy zones, and applications have already been submitted in this regard.

Next, the necessary onshore infrastructure must be established. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have allocated funds to support the analytical work for this purpose.

After installing the turbines at sea, a designated area will be needed to bring the electricity ashore. Another important issue is the large size of offshore wind turbines. There is now talk of experimental turbines with a capacity of 26 MW. Measurements of wind speeds at sea have already begun. Agreements with Chinese companies regarding these measurements are being finalized, and the process will start soon.

Currently, our biggest goal is to achieve significant progress in offshore wind energy projects. There is tremendous interest and intense competition in this area, he pointed out.

He stressed that first, wind speeds must be measured at sea. Then, appropriate turbines must be selected based on that data. Finally, logistical solutions for transporting and installing the turbines must be developed.

Hydrogen production issues habe been deepened, a strategic document is being prepared

Abdullayev outlined the upcoming goals of the agency he represents.

Overall, one of our main targets is to increase the share of renewable energy sources in electricity generation capacity to 30 percent by 2030.

Concurrently, informed by initial evaluations, specific measures have been implemented concerning the generation of hydrogen. At COP29, Azerbaijan unveiled its National Hydrogen Strategic Vision framework. At present, these issues are undergoing extensive elaboration, and a procurement process has been initiated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the formulation of a comprehensive action plan aligned with the strategic vision. A consultancy firm will be leveraged for the execution of this initiative.



All four interconnector initiatives referenced previously incorporate a hydrogen element. These require comprehensive analysis and the formulation of corresponding proposals to be developed. The EBRD initiative is anticipated to facilitate the delineation of zones optimal for hydrogen generation and the establishment of H valley ecosystems. Roughly nine liters of potable H2O are necessitated for the synthesis of one kilogram of diatomic hydrogen, thus necessitating the evaluation of such parameters during site selection, the official elucidated.

The National Electromobility Plan may be adopted by the end of 2025

The National Electromobility Plan has been meticulously formulated and is currently undergoing the final phases of alignment with pertinent stakeholders. In light of the exponential proliferation of electric vehicles and the concomitant expansion of charging infrastructure, our objective is to elevate the regulatory and legal architecture overseeing this domain to a fully optimized and mature condition. The escalating adoption of electric vehicles is concomitantly encapsulated within the national strategic priorities framework extending to the year 2030.

"We have formally submitted our strategic proposals for the endorsement of the National Electromobility Plan to the pertinent regulatory bodies. We will exert maximum effort to facilitate the program's endorsement by the conclusion of this fiscal year, Abdullayev concluded.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The liberated territories of Azerbaijan possess a hydropower potential of 500 MW, Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources Javid Abdullayev told Trend in an interview.

Abdullayev articulated the green energy potential inherent in the liberated territories and the initiatives currently operational within this framework.

"Our liberated territories, as well as the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, have been declared green energy zones. The concept and action plan for Karabakh and Eastern Zangazur are already on the table, approved, and we can now talk about their implementation. In general, within the COP29 presidency, Azerbaijan has put forward an initiative regarding 'green zones,' and many countries around the world have supported this initiative. We are considered a leading country in this initiative. The key indicator of a green energy zone is that every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity consumed in those areas comes from green energy sources.

The liberated territories have enough potential to achieve this. The goal is to utilize about 500 megawatts of hydropower potential in these regions. There are sufficient mountain rivers there, which increases the hydropower capacity. Additionally, if we include the electricity generated from the Azerbaijani portions of the Khudafarin and Giz Galasi hydropower plants, we can see that the hydropower potential is significant and that concrete steps are being taken toward its full utilization," Abdullayev noted.

According to him, Azerbaijans solar energy potential is primarily concentrated in Jabrayil and Zangilan, while wind energy potential is centered in the Kalbajar-Lachin zone.

"The amount of renewable energy that can be obtained from there is assessed as quite substantial. What is needed is an appropriate transmission network so that the electricity produced after building the plants can be transmitted. The energy potential in these areas far exceeds the local demand. The energy generated there must be integrated into Azerbaijans national grid. Since other stations already exist in the national grid, they will most likely be redirected toward export," he added.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. Reconstruction work in Azerbaijan's liberated territories is progressing very rapidly, Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources Javid Abdullayev told Trend in an interview.

"For example, the high wind potential in the inaccessible areas of Kalbajar used to be considered only technical potential, because economically it was not viable - we had no roads to reach those locations. But now many of those issues have been resolved," the official said.

He noted that at present, transporting wind turbines to those areas and installing them in the existing wind conditions has become economically efficient.

"After this, we can also consider connecting the electricity generated in Lachin-Kalbajar to the power grid, which makes the entire effort economically viable. For instance, today we could build an 800 MW wind power plant in Kalbajar. But is the grid ready for it? Therefore, studies are being carried out in that direction, including wind speeds and existing infrastructure in the area," he mentioned.

Speaking about the importance of considering the technical and economic potentials of renewable energy production, he explained that technical potential refers to the amount of energy derived from measurements of solar radiation and wind speed in a given area, while economic potential reflects what portion of that technical resource can be used with real economic efficiency.

"Of course, when working with investors, the second indicatoreconomic potentialis more important. Additionally, wind speed must meet the minimum threshold required for energy production, and the area must be accessible in terms of transport and logistics. These and similar factors are critically important," Abdullayev pointed out.

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Andrew Trautmann was shopping for a new couch when he came across a local furniture company that specializes in Italian leather.

After reading a few positive reviews online, Trautmann decided to contact Colliers Furniture Expo in Seminole County, Florida, about placing an order for a new leather sofa.

Don't miss

They sent me a really cool intro pack with lots of samples of different types of leather, Trautmann told WFTV Channel 9. They had a great selection to pick from.

Impressed with the companys offerings, Trautmann decided to place an order and paid $2,500 upfront. But the company reportedly kept delaying the delivery, telling Trautmann that his couch was held up in Mexico at the U.S. border.

Then, after Trautmann was convinced to make the final $4,200 payment, Colliers Furniture Expo left him hanging when the company suddenly went out of business. Trautmann made this discovery when he noticed a message on the companys website: Due to financial difficulties, this company has discontinued operations.

Emails, no response, Trautmann said of his efforts to get in contact with the company. Phone calls went directly to voicemail.

Thats when Trautmann contacted WFTV Channel 9s Jeff Deal for help and, as it turns out, Trautmann is just one of dozens of shoppers who allegedly gave thousands of dollars to Colliers Furniture Expo for furniture they never received.

A laundry list of complaints

When Deal began looking into Colliers Furniture Expo, he reportedly found dozens of online complaints that are similar to Trautmanns: thousands of dollars spent on furniture that was never delivered.

According to the Better Business Bureau's records, nearly 40 complaints were filed against Colliers Furniture Expo  which also operated under the name Leather Furniture Expo  in the past year alone.

We certainly have seen an uptick in the number of consumers both inquiring on our website and also filing complaints, said Holly Salmons, CEO of the Better Business Bureau.

When confronted about his business practices, Michael Collier  one of the companys former owners  seemed to be unmoved by the complaints from his customers.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. As many as 12 wind turbines out of 25 have already been installed in Azerbaijan's Absheron district and nine (each with a capacity of 6.5 MW) in Khizi at the Khizi-Absheron Wind Power Plant (WPP), Director of the State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources Javid Abdullayev told Trend in an interview.

He noted that weather conditions play a major role in the installation of the turbines.

"In any case, all turbines are expected to be installed and the plant commissioned by the end of 2025.

At the same time, construction work on the 'Navahi' substation has begun. The 330 kV section of the 'Navahi' substation is being built by Azerbaijan, while the 500 kV section is being funded through a $173 million loan from the World Bank," he explained.

The director emphasized that the agency is in talks with manufacturers of solar and wind technologies to promote local production.

"Up to this point, the apparatus deployed in our photovoltaic and wind energy facilities has leveraged technology originating from China.



The advancement of these initiatives significantly amplifies the engagement of manufacturers in Azerbaijan. We anticipate that, contingent upon bilateral accords, whether in a comprehensive or fractional capacity, certain technological innovations will be generated domestically within the confines of Azerbaijan. The paradigm of innovation extends beyond that point. Initiatives in the educational domain within the renewable energy sector are currently being executed. A strategic partnership is currently being established between the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University and a higher education institution in the UK.

That is, we are already moving towards a shift from foreign investment, foreign equipment, and foreign specialists to local contractors and technologies. Specialist training in this field is also being continued in Azerbaijan. Our contracts also require that if there is a specialist in Azerbaijan in some field, the participation of an Azerbaijani specialist in that project must be ensured.

We are trying to do our best to solve the issue of localization in the field of renewable energy. At the same time, equipment manufactured in Azerbaijan can also be exported to neighboring countries, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. These are very serious and complex issues," Abdullayev added.

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will pay an official visit to Kazakhstan on August 3 at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Trend reports via Akorda.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet in Almaty, where they will hold bilateral talks on key regional and international issues. Their agenda includes strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UN, with a particular focus on sustainable development, regional peace, and humanitarian efforts.

As part of the visit, President Tokayev and Secretary-General Guterres will also jointly visit the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan.

Kazakhstan previously served as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (20172018), advocating for global security, Central Asian stability, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. The country also hosts several UN regional offices and agencies, playing a strategic role in multilateral engagement across Central Asia. The UN Regional Centre for SDGs in Almaty, co-established by the UN and Kazakhstan, is a flagship institution promoting cooperation on sustainable development across the region, including Afghanistan.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. Kazakhstan has imposed a temporary ban on the export of steel semifinished products for a period of six months, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, the ban applies to iron and non-alloy steel in ingots or other primary forms, as well as semifinished products made from them. The restriction covers all modes of transport.

The decision was made in the interest of national security. Relevant state authorities will oversee enforcement of the ban and will notify the Eurasian Economic Commission accordingly

Meanwhile, starting from July 22, a three-month ban was imposed on the import of drywall (boards, sheets, panels, tiles, and similar products, undecorated, made of gypsum, coated or reinforced only with paper or cardboard) from third countries into Kazakhstan by all types of transport.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. Kazakhstan has officially opened an Honorary Consulate in Denpasar, the capital of Bali province, marking a new step in strengthening bilateral relations with Indonesia, Trend reports, citing the Kazakh MFA.

The inauguration ceremony was held with the participation of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Indonesia, Serzhan Abdykarimov, and prominent Balinese businessman Putu Vinastra, who was appointed as the Honorary Consul. The event was attended by Kazakh citizens, Indonesian government officials, business leaders, and media representatives.

Subsequent to the ceremonial renditions of the national anthems and the flag-raising protocols of both sovereign entities, Ambassador Abdykarimov underscored the geopolitical significance of the consulates inauguration. He observed that it encapsulates the strategic alignment of Astana and Jakarta in amplifying investment flows, enhancing trade synergies, fostering tourism initiatives, and cultivating cultural partnerships.

This new consulate is a clear signal of Kazakhstans serious intention to deepen its friendly relations with Indonesia, he said, highlighting the growing interaction between the two countries in recent years.

The Head of Balis Tourism Office, I Wayan Sumaraja, welcomed the initiative, citing increasing trade and mutual tourism exchanges as a foundation for expanded cooperation.

Putu Vinastra, in his remarks, expressed gratitude to the Kazakh government and pledged to promote bilateral ties across various sectors, including supporting the interests and welfare of Kazakh citizens and businesses in Indonesia.

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ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 1. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Arman Isetov held a meeting with Romanian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Madalina Lupu, Trend reports via Kazakh MFA.

During the talks, both sides highlighted the dynamic and steadily progressing nature of cooperation, discussing a wide range of issues in bilateral and multilateral formats. Special attention was given to enhancing trade, investment, and transport-logistics ties between Kazakhstan and Romania.

The assembly further evaluated the deliverables from the eighth iteration of diplomatic consultations, convened in Bucharest on March 17, 2025, at the deputy foreign ministers' echelon. Both parties evaluated the consultations as efficacious and reiterated their dedication to sustained diplomatic engagement.



Kazakhstan and Romania articulated a reciprocal inclination towards amplifying collaborative synergies across diverse sectors and deliberated on the prospective timeline of bilateral engagements for the 20252026 period, encompassing strategic preparations for convenings at both high and top-tier leadership echelons.



The entities culminated their discussions by reiterating their preparedness to maintain robust synergies on matters of mutual significance across both bilateral and multilateral arenas.

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BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, August 1. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is expected to pay an official visit to Kyrgyzstan, Trend reports via the administration of the Kyrgyz president.

Preparations for the visit were discussed in Cholpon-Ata during a meeting between Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov and Kazakhstans Deputy Prime Minister  Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu.

The exact date of the visit has not been disclosed.

In the course of the meeting, the sides also discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation across all areas of mutual interest, including the implementation of priority projects such as the construction of the Kambarata hydropower plant-1.

President Zhaparov noted the dynamic strengthening of political dialogue at all levels, which contributes to the steady expansion of interstate relations and adds practical substance to cooperation.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 1. The European Parliament will consider the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between the European Union and Kyrgyzstan during its plenary session scheduled for September 8-11, the European Parliament confirmed in response to a request from Trend.

The draft resolution on the Council decision on the conclusion of the EPCA between the European Union and the Kyrgyz Republic was adopted by the Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) on 4 June and is indeed due to be voted on by Parliament as a whole during the 811 September plenary session, the institution stated.

The draft received endorsement in the AFET committee, tallying 56 affirmative votes, 5 dissenting votes, and 12 abstentions.

The political foundations of the EU-Kyrgyzstan partnership were laid in the 1999 Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. On June 25, 2024, the EU and Kyrgyzstan signed the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in Brussels. The EPCA is expected to open up new avenues for cooperation, including in areas such as critical raw materials essential for the green and digital transition.

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(In second paragraph, corrects July 30 article to show impact of tariffs on Ford is on pretax adjusted profit, instead of gross revenue)

By Nora Eckert and Nathan Gomes

DETROIT (Reuters) -Ford Motor said on Wednesday that U.S. tariffs on imported vehicles, as well as on steel and aluminum, will likely cost more than expected for the year, and the automaker's shares slid about 3% in after-market trading.

Ford reported that second-quarter results took an $800-million hit from tariffs, a less pronounced impact than some of its U.S. rivals thanks to Ford's strong domestic manufacturing base. For the full year, the automaker lifted the higher range of its projected gross hit to pretax adjusted profit from tariffs by $500 million, to $3 billion.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company is in daily contact with the White House, with an ultimate goal of reducing its tariff costs, especially on parts tariffs. "We see there's a lot of upside depending on how the negotiation goes with the administration," Farley said.

Chief Financial Officer Sherry House said Ford raised the projection because duties on Mexico and Canada have remained higher for longer than expected. She also cited elevated levies on aluminum and steel.

The Dearborn, Michigan, automaker also issued guidance for annual results on Wednesday, after suspending it in May to assess the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Ford said it now plans to record full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion, down from its February 2025 projection of between $7 billion and $8.5 billion.

For the latest quarter, the automaker reported a 21% decrease in earnings per share to 37 cents, beating LSEG analysts' expectation of 33 cents. Ford recorded a net loss for the quarter of $36 million, which it said was primarily due to special charges related to cancellation of a three-row electric SUV, and field service actions from a $570-million recall.

Ford posted revenue of $50.2 billion for the quarter, up 5% from a year earlier. The automaker has clawed away market share from rivals with aggressive discounting programs and a "zero, zero, zero" campaign, which offers shoppers a $0 down payment, zero percent interest for 48 months, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most vehicles.

"The substantial revenue outperformance demonstrates Ford's pricing power, but margin compression suggests underlying cost pressures remain problematic," CFRA Research analyst Garrett Nelson said in a note.
Watch: Akhileshs cryptic response to Amit Shahs Hindu Terrorist speech

Union Home Minister Amit Shahs speech in the Rajya Sabha about Hindu Terrorists, a day before the 2008 Malegaon blast verdict, has opened a Pandoras box

Friday August 1, 2025 7:09 PM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

New Delhi/Mumbai: Union Home Minister Amit Shahs speech in the Rajya Sabha about Hindu Terrorists, a day before the 2008 Malegaon blast verdict, has opened a Pandoras box.

While political leaders and critics are listing the names of different terrorist groups and individuals from Nathuram Godse and LTTE to Naxalites and the killers of Indira Gandhi to refute Amit Shah, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadavs cryptic response is most telling.

Hindu can never be a terrorist

Defending the government during a debate on  Operation Sindoor , Amit Shah said, I am proud to say, no Hindu can ever be a terrorist.

They (the erstwhile UPA government led by Congress) tried to give terrorism a religious colour for the sake of votes  but people of India rejected the falsehood, Shah said, ostensibly a day before the NIA Special Courts verdict into the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

Seven Hindus, including former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and a serving Army Officer Lt Col Prohit, were charged in the case. The court acquitted them all due to lack of evidence and giving them benefit of doubt.

Outside the Parliament Thursday, when reporters asked Akhilesh Yadav for his response on Amit Shahs speech in the Rajya Sabha a day before the Malegaon blast judgment, he said:

Jo baat aap samajh rahe ho wahi main samajh raha hoon Jo aap kehna nahi chahte woh main bhi nahi keh raha, he said.

Loosely translated in English it means, You and I are on the same page on this (But) I will also not say what you don't want to say

Watch Video

#WATCH | Delhi: "Jo baat aap samajh rahe ho wahi main samajh raha hoon. Jo aap kehna nahi chahte woh main nahi keh raha. Kahi aisa toh nahi ki khabre dabaane ke liye khabre aa rahi ho?..." says Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav on Union HM Amit Shah's "A Hindu cannot be a pic.twitter.com/GYXoicCq7s  ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2025

Not Innocents

Commenting on the NIA Courts judgment , Senior Congress leader and Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan refuted the claim that the accused have been declared innocents.

The court said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) didn't produce concrete evidence. It doesn't mean that they are innocent. It means that the NIA, which is under Union Home Minister Amit Shah, didn't produce concrete evidence, Chavan said while talking to news agency ANI.

The court said that it can't award a punishment without concrete evidence. Who was responsible for producing concrete evidence? The NIA. Who does NIA work under? Amit Shah. So, no other verdict was expected...", he said.

"Congress Conspiracy"

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday alleged that the Congress had tried to paint Hindus as terrorists after the 2008 Malegaon blast, and officer-bearers of the RSS and Hindutvadis were targeted in a planned manner.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur, Fadnavis claimed the then UPA government indulged in vote bank politics and coined the terms like Hindu Terror and Bhagwa Aatankwad (Saffron Terrorism) when terror attacks were taking place in different parts of the world.

Interestingly, while condemning the linking of terrorism with Hindu religion, Fadnavis freely used the terms like Islamic Terrorism that he said was there and is still there.

Fadnavis, however, is maintaining a guarded silence on whether his government will challenge the courts order as it did in the case of the 2006 Mumbai train blast verdict. He also termed the case against the Hindu accused fabricated and hollow.

The court, based on the evidence, has revealed how hollow and fabricated this case was, how the conspiracy was orchestrated and all the details have now come to light", he said and asked the Congress to apologize.

Duty of the govt to file appeal

Meanwhile, chorus that the NIA Court verdict must be challenged in higher courts has become louder.

Saying that the government cannot have two sets of rule on the cases related to terrorism, former MP and NCP leader, Advocate Majid Memon, said the Chief Minister cannot give clean chit to the accused.

How can he say this? He must say that as the crime against the accused has not been proved, his government will challenge the verdict. This was his statement when Muslim accused in the 2006 Mumbai train blast were acquitted. As a Chief Minister, he should look at both the cases from the same perspective, Memon said.

Earlier, former Congress MLA Asif Shaikh and others in Malegaon too had appealed the government to challenge the verdict .

On the other hand, Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra, which provided legal aid to some of the victims, has announced to challenge the Special NIA Court verdict in the Bombay High Court.

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We have open and shut proof against Election Commission: Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi Friday again said that the Election Commission is involved in, what he called, vote theft, about which foolproof evidence will be provided soon

Saturday August 2, 2025 1:11 AM , ummid.com News Network

New Delhi: Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi Friday again said that the Election Commission is involved in, what he called, vote theft, about which foolproof evidence will be provided soon.

"We have open and shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in vote theft. Most importantly, whoever in the Elections Commission is involved in this exercise, right from top to bottom, we will not spare you," Rahul told reporters outside the Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi warned the officials that they will be punished for their "wrongdoings".

"You are working against India, and this is no less than treason. We will find you wherever you are, even if you are retired", he said.

Rahul Gandhi said that the Opposition's suspicion grew after the results of the Madhya Pradesh and Lok Sabha elections.

"Those only deepened after the Maharashtra Assembly polls  especially when we saw that 1 crore new voters had suddenly been added to the final voter list. Thats when we realised the Election Commission wouldn't act. So, we launched our own six-month investigation," Rahul said.



The Election Commission rejected Rahul Gandhi's allegations calling them "baseless".

"Atom Bomb"

Rahul evaded reporters' question when he is going to drop, what he called, the "atom bomb".

Sources, however, said the Congress party has planned a rally in Bengaluru on August 05, 2025 where Rahul will also be present.

At the Bengaluru rally on August 05, the details of "vote theft" will be disclosed, the party sources said.

The Opposition's next rally on the subject will be held in Bihar a day after Raksha Bandhan (August 09, 2025).

Party sources also said that the Party has conducted the forensic analysis of the voter list data of Bengaluru constituency. "The test revealed shocking results of manipualtion in voter lists", sources said.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

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A U.S. Appeals Court overturned the conviction of a former OpenSea product manager Thursday, blowing a hole in what had previously been the most prominent conflict of interest-related crypto industry prosecution in the United States to date.

The Manhattan-based appeals court found that prosecutors in the initial trial of Nathaniel Chastain were improperly allowed to argue that Chastains decision-making about what NFTs were featured on OpenSeas homepage constituted property of the company.

Chastain was found guilty of wire fraud and money laundering for manipulating his knowledge of what NFTs would be featured on the marketplaces landing page to enrich himself. He was sentenced to three months in prison. At the time of Chastains arrest for the charges in 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice touted the case as the first ever digital asset insider trading scheme.

The appeals court ruled that Chastains decision-making about what NFTs should feature on OpenSeas homepage did not constitute a traditional property interest of the company.

That doesnt mean Chastains conduct was not still potentially criminal. It means that, as Chastains attorneys later argued on appeal, he should have faced a different criminal charge, such as fraud based on unethical business dealings.

A note from the jury suggested that it believed that OpenSea did not view the featured NFT information as confidential but that Chastain acted unethically by trading on the information, the appeals court wrote in its decision today.

Under these circumstances, we cannot say that the jury would have reached the same verdict if it had been properly instructed that fraud requires the appropriation of a property interest rather than unprofessional business conduct, the court continued.

The appeals court also noted how, during Chastains initial trial, the defendant attempted to show that OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer also used privileged company information for personal benefit, as a means to prove that Chastain didnt believe company policy precluded officers or employees from using similar company information for personal benefit.

The district court ultimately prevented Chastains attorneys from questioning Finzer about purported trades the CEO made of Polygons native token prior to public announcements about the Polygon networks integration with OpenSea. The court ruled such testimony inadmissible in part because there was no proof Chastain was aware of any such trades at the time of his own featured NFT trades. It also said the testimony would improperly disparage Finzer.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, happening October 27-29 at Moscone West in San Francisco, a candid conversation is coming to the Builders Stage  one that unpacks what startup funding looks like beyond the venture capital echo chamber.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Gale Wilkinson, Erik Allebest, Kay Makishi

Funding routes that dont start in the Valley

Founders today have more capital paths than ever. But how do you navigate them  and know which one actually supports your growth? In this session, hear from Erik Allebest, the CEO and co-founder of Chess.com; Gale Wilkinson, the founder and managing partner at VITALIZE; and Kay Makishi, vice president at Lupoff/Stevens Family Office. Each brings a different perspective on how to raise money without giving up your vision or your cap table.

Whether youre bootstrapping, tapping family offices, or building through angel networks, this discussion breaks down whats working now, what to avoid, and how to choose the approach that fits your goals.

Meet the speakers carving out new funding lanes

Erik Allebest turned a college passion into Chess.com, now the leading platform for players and learners with over 200 million users. Built without chasing venture capital, its a bootstrapped success story in a league of its own.

Gale Wilkinson has made 50 personal angel investments and led more than $80 million in early-stage funding across 150 startups. Shes a WorkTech expert, a champion for diversity in venture, and a go-to voice for founders who want capital that shares their values.

Kay Makishi brings a cross-border lens as a key investor at a New York-based family office. With experience spanning U.S. and Japanese markets, she offers rare insight into how high-net-worth individuals and families back startups for impact, not just returns.

Skip the status quo and fund smarter

Theres more than one way to get to your next round. Dont miss this session that shows how founders are funding differently  and winning. Grab your pass to TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 today to save up to $668 in ticket savings, and be in the room with 10,000+ startup and VC leaders.

Were always looking to evolve, and by providing some insight into your perspective and feedback into TechCrunch and our coverage and events, you can help us! Fill out this survey to let us know how were doing and get the chance to win a prize in return!
As settlement talks between Harvard University and the Trump administration intensify, campus debate is reaching a fever pitch. With reports that Harvard may pay a $500 million settlement for restored federal funding  following similar deals by the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia  faculty are split on whether to stand firm or opt for a "harm reduction" strategy.

Harvard's High-Stakes Negotiation

The White House is reportedly pressuring Harvard to pay a significant financial settlement, with additional calls for outside oversight. Columbia's agreement, which included more than $200 million in payments and third-party compliance reviews, has set the stage for what Harvard might face. Brown University has also recently reached a deal with the federal government.

Faculty Push Back, Draw 'Red Lines'

Strong opposition has come from Harvard's chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), urging President Alan Garber either to reject any deal or to commit to non-negotiable terms. Their main concerns include:

No substantive changes to faculty hiring or tenure reviews

Protection against government intervention in academic units and centers

Student discipline guidelines free from political interference

No sharing of political data on students or faculty beyond legal requirements

Faculty involvement in all academic hiring decisions

Rejection of external monitoring, except by the federal judge currently overseeing related lawsuits

A separate letter from nine prominent faculty members emphasizes that outside authorities must not dictate governance, hiring, or admissions. They demand that any potential financial settlement be managed transparently, without allocation to "patronage slush funds".

The Columbia Deal as Templateand Cautionary Tale

Columbia's settlement, touted for restoring federal funds, included provisions for ongoing reviews and restrictions on protest activities. While former Harvard President Lawrence Summers praised the agreement as a template for Harvard, others warn that such deals can compromise university autonomy and academic freedom. Faculty reactions range from cautious optimism about financial relief to fears of eroding independence1.

National Stakes: Academic Freedom at Risk?

Beyond Harvard, the debate has broader implications for American higher education. Advocates like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression caution that a Harvard settlement could establish a "dangerous" precedent. They argue it might embolden further federal intervention and undermine both the First Amendment and academic autonomy at universities nationwide.

Faculty are acutely aware of the stakes. While some view a settlement as necessary harm reduction, others see it as capitulation to political pressure. The looming decision will not only shape Harvard's future but could redefine the boundaries of academic freedom across the country
By Alimat Aliyeva

Indonesia officially inaugurated the second phase of investment in PT Lami Packaging Indonesia (LamiPak Indonesia) on Friday, a prominent provider of high-quality, eco-friendly aseptic packaging solutions, Azernews reports, citing foreign media.

Located in Serang Regency, Banten Province, the plant is Indonesias first end-to-end aseptic packaging factory. It also marks the first international expansion for the LamiPak Group, which is headquartered in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, China.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, along with government officials, regional leaders, and representatives from packaging associations.

This aseptic packaging factory is situated on 16.2 hectares of land with a building area exceeding 55,000 square meters. Equipped with state-of-the-art machinery, it is the most advanced facility ever built by LamiPak. With the new production line installed, our total annual capacity has increased from 12 billion packs to 21 billion packs, said Anton Hui, Country Managing Director of LamiPak Indonesia.

LamiPak Indonesia began commercial production in 2024, initially with a capacity of 12 billion packs per year, aimed at serving the entire food and beverage industry in Indonesia. The factory currently employs 450 people and also manufactures paper straws as a complementary product.

"We are proud that approximately 40 percent of our workforce is from the Banten province," Hui added.

Minister Hartarto emphasized that the new facility would play a critical role in supporting President Prabowo Subiantos ambitious MBG (Free Nutritious Meal) program, which aims to provide meals to children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren across the country.

"As long as the MBG program includes beverages, this facility will be very beneficial," Hartarto said after visiting the plant.

Launched earlier this year, the MBG program is already operational in 38 provinces across Indonesia. It is one of President Prabowos key initiatives, designed to improve the nutrition of vulnerable groups, including children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and schoolchildren up to high school age.

This move by LamiPak also represents a significant step toward localizing production for the growing food and beverage market in Southeast Asia. Not only does it demonstrate Indonesias increasing role as a hub for manufacturing in the region, but it also reflects a broader trend where international companies are looking to scale their production facilities closer to key emerging markets. The combination of innovation in packaging and support for national nutrition programs could give LamiPak Indonesia an edge in this competitive sector.
But when Stefan Larsson took the reins as CEO at PVH in 2021, he moved to change strategies leading PVH to declare it was going to take back its licenses.

Morris Goldfarb, G-IIIs veteran chief executive officer, forged a relationship with PVHs former CEO Manny Chirico over more than two decades, building a business that ultimately produced a combined $16 billion in North American wholesale sales for the two brands.

Thats a big change for G-III and PVH, which traditionally were allies that worked well together and successfully navigated a market that took down bigger rivals like Liz Claiborne Inc. and Jones Apparel Group.

According to the countersuit: A senior executive at G-III even went so far as to make an explicit death threat to a senior PVH executive. In early March 2025, that G-III senior executive told a PVH senior executive that [y]oure lucky you dont have a bullet in your head. This was immediately escalated to the highest levels at G-III.

The PVH/G-III split started not with the air of a personal beef, but that of a begrudging corporate separation . Now its getting nasty and the emotions are raw.

Just where it all leads remains to be seen. But unless the two decide to settle and try to put all the dirty laundry away, a New York State judge is going to get a chance to rule on the hard-knuckled back-and-forth that clearly still exists on Seventh Avenue.

A G-III spokesperson said of the countersuit: These are baseless claims designed to distract from PVHs own self-inflicted troubles and unlawful actions, and we will continue to vigorously defend our business and contractual rights.

Now a countersuit filed by PVH divisions Calvin Klein Inc. and Tommy Hilfiger Licensing in New York State Court has brought much more of the strife out to light with claims that G-III refused to align with PVHs new strategic plan and has seemingly gone out of its way to undermine the parties day-to-day business relationship, with its executives hurling profanity, insults and threats.

When G-III Apparel Group sued PVH Corp. last month  charging that it was improperly denied the right to renew its suits license for Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein  it started to pull back the curtain on a dispute that for years has been roiling just below the surface in fashion.

Story Continues

It was no small move as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein accounted for over half of G-IIIs business at the time.

As PVH focused on building a more unified operating structure for the brands, G-III sought to make up the sales it was losing by signing new licenses, building up its Donna Karan and Karl Lagerfeld businesses and more.

That public peace was broken when G-III sued for breach of contract, arguing it had the right to extend the womens suits licenses for another three years. PVH responded late Tuesday, filing a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that G-III is looking to impose new obligations that the licenses dont provide.

The company  technically two of its divisions  gave PVHs side of the story in its own breach of contract suit filed against G-III, charging that its longtime partner refused to align its strategy for the Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein licenses to the then-new PVH+ corporate strategy.

For example, G-III insisted at the time that developing a strong digital business, as contemplated under the PVH+ plan, was not a viable business model in the United States market. G-III also was unwilling to work with the brand owners to evolve the product designs that it developed, many of which were not consistent with the respective aesthetics and brand images, the suit claimed.

In late 2022, following much conversation and deliberation and taking into account G-IIIs unwillingness to work more collaboratively with the brand owners and ensure greater alignment with the brand aesthetics and target consumers for Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, the brand owners informed G-III that they would need to start taking back the licenses, it added.

The suit claimed G-III then launched a systematic campaign to undermine the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands that included:

Lobbying wholesale accounts to not purchase the PVH brands.

Consolidating showroom spaces and reducing the Calvin Klein assortment.

Causing the brands to be moved to smaller, less desirable locations within stores.

Siphoning resources away from the licensed businesses and prioritizing its other brands.

Using looks designed for Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger for other brands, including DKNY and Nautica, which G-III produces.

And liquidating Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger products in unauthorized markets.

G-IIIs deliberate effort to favor sales of competing products under its own brands over its sales of its Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger products has negatively impacted the performance of the licensed businesses, the suit alleged. While the brand owners sales of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger products have seen important gains as a result of the PVH+ plan, G-IIIs sales of the licensed products in the United States and Canada are declining.

The suit contended the PVH side tried to work collaboratively as the licensing deals wound down and repeatedly asked G-III to provide a plan for how it would improve the declining performance of its licensed businesses.

Instead of acting like a responsible business and complying with its contractual obligations, not to mention ceasing its and its executives abusive conduct, G-III chose to double down on casting itself as the victim by filing a baseless and meritless lawsuit, incredibly accusing the brand owners and PVH of acting unreasonably by refusing to extend further the womens better suits licensesas was the brand owners agreed right, the suit alleged.

Its a breakup that might always have been headed for court.

The countersuit said G-III began threatening to sue PVH, regardless of the merits of such a suit, and one of G-IIIs senior executives went so far as to say that G-III didnt have to be right to sue. What G-III refuses to accept is that it is the brand owners  not G-III  who own Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.

This is all a long way from the close relationship G-III and PVH long enjoyed  a relationship that might have gotten even closer if G-III had had just a little more branded power earlier.

Goldfarb told WWD last year: We were negotiating with PVH at one point to possibly combine both companies and their prior CEO, Manny Chirico, cited the fact that we dont have a chit  the value of a brand as great as the value of the entity that we operated. Without the brand, we didnt really have much. I went back home and said, You know, maybe hes right.

Now Goldfarb and G-III have taken a decidedly branded turn with DKNY, Donna Karan, Karl Lagerfeld and others.

But as the company moves into that future on its own, its dealing with a fallout with its soon-to-be ex.

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We recently published 10 Stocks That Jim Cramer Talked About. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.

General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) created quite a bit of a buzz in the markets after its latest earnings report, which saw the shares dip by 8% only to recover the losses soon. The stock dipped after management outlined a massive $11.1 billion profit hit from tariffs on Mexican goods. In his previous comments about the firm, Cramer has discussed how General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is more vulnerable than rival and peer Ford when it comes to tariffs. However, with the shares having recovered all of their post-earnings losses, Cramer wondered whether things were bad at all:

GM went from 49 to 53 last week. If its so bad. How bad is it? Are we supposed to go to 58?

Heres what Cramer said about General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)s exposure to tariffs earlier:

Yeah, GM, look they obviously have a, they obviously have a tariff problem, its much bigger than a lot of people think. The theme of this quarter is that you have to have a tariff problem, then you make it smaller. RTX did that. It was like wow, we thought it was going to be like 800, it was going to be like 500. So when you see something that seems like a very large number, its entirely possible that people say well wait a second, thats not so good. Id like to point out that there was a lot that was good. And I think that Mary Barra is doing a very, very fine job. Because the only thing, added cost, but theyre selling! And I think that those who wanna sell the stock, go ahead. I think that this is just another good quarter despite the tariff. I think they can handle that.

General Motors Company (GM): If It's So Bad, Why Did The Stock Move? Wonders Jim Cramer

Copyright: wihtgod / 123RF Stock Photo

Theyre gonna have a lot more that I think can go their way. Uh, when I was speaking to Cleveland Cliffs yesterday, to Lorenzo Goncalves. . I mean hes just talking about this is the beginning of a lot of different things. Very in flux. GM has. .has much, much exposure. Versus Ford. . . Because everyone in the industry knows that theres a lot of companies ship a lot of stuff. Get to Allison Motor, down there in Mexico, it comes back. GM, David, its like back and forth with the car. . .that is not what they want.

While we acknowledge the potential of GM 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.
Campervan drivers behaving badly was on the agenda again at the July sitting of the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council.

Councillor Joe ORiordan told officials that visitors are parking campervans on footpaths, dumping household waste in public bins and avoiding paying for appropriate parking.

He said when it comes to the area's beauty spots, campervans are parked in car and bus spaces.

They are there for the enjoyment of the people of Dungarvan and the surrounding area.

They are not there for people coming down and spending a week there parking everywhere over grass verges and footpaths, and I just think we really need to reexamine this again because it wouldnt happen in any other town in Ireland, only in Dungarvan, said Cllr ORiordan.

Cllr ORiordan asked if the council are issuing fines for this behaviour.

Additionally, he said that he heard on the radio that campervan drivers do not pay for parking at Quanns.

He said that because council workers dont work weekends, there is nobody to inspect the sites.

He asked if campervan parking is monitored.

There are campervans parked up on the seawall side. They are driving up and parking caravans there and hitching caravans there, and anybody coming down there with a buggy or a wheelchair has to go back and come back all the way down the middle of the road.

I spoke to the gardai about it. They feel the council should put a barrier on the lip of the kerb on the right-hand side that will stop campervans from parking over the footpaths, and then they can come down and move them on because they are parked in the middle of the road, said Cllr ORiordan.

The councillor suggested new campervan parking be established to combat the problem.

Director of Services for Roads Gabriel Hynes said parking on footpaths is illegal and both the council and the gardai can issue fines.

In relation to the establishment of more parking, Mr Hynes said: We can certainly look at the site in Dungarvan, but what we would like to encourage is the private campervans to be developed where possible.
Local businesses are invited to take the Business Pledge to strive towards a cleaner, greener Waterford, and commit to completing at least two actions in the next 12 months that would reduce the carbon footprint of their business.

A spokesperson for Waterford City & County Council said that through the initiative, SMEs and hospitality businesses could be eligible for a 9% discount on their rates bill as a reward for taking action to reduce their carbon footprint.

"This is the fourth year of this scheme which is unique to Waterford," she said. Businesses have already completed training and carried out energy audits to help them avail of grant funding.

From August 5, businesses will be able to upload the evidence of some of the actions they are undertaking on Waterford City and County Councils submit platform to receive the discount for this year.

Local businesses that took the Pledge for a Cleaner, Greener Waterford in 2024: Blossom and Berry, Powerflow Electronics, Cantec Group and Dooleys Hotel

"If your business missed out last year, there is still opportunity to apply for the discount," said the spokesperson. "All you need to do is pledge to complete two 'greener' actions in the next year."

Additionally, if businesses are worried about applying or are unsure of the process Waterford City and County Councils Climate Action Team can help. A series of workshops, both online and in person, will be held in the coming weeks. These workshops will provide information and guidelines to help businesss choose the format that best suits their schedule.

The Climate Action Team is also available throughout the year, as is Waterford Local Enterprise Office to help businesses achieve their pledge for a cleaner, greener Waterford.

The scheme is open to businesses whose annual rate bill is less than 10,000 or who operate in the hospitality and leisure industries. These businesses will be eligible to receive a rates energy discount of 9% once they have provided details of the actions they will take to become more sustainable in the coming year.

For more information about the scheme see the Business Pledge Guidelines 2025 at https://submit.link/41A

Applications can be submitted from Tuesday, August 5 at https://submit.link/3V7 and more information including details and links to the online and in person workshops is available through the Climate Action Team at climateaction@waterfordcouncil.ie or through www.waterfordcouncil.ie
Councillor Thomas Phelan has requested KIMO consult on the disposal of the dead whale at Clonea Strand.

At the July sitting of the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council, Cllr Phelan welcomed the councils membership of KIMO and requested their assistance.

I see we have joined KIMO, the International organisation of local authorities sharing best practice on clean rivers and beaches, and I welcome that and support it.

Can I ask the executive or our KIMO representative, Cllr ODonovan, to make enquiries as to what is best practice internationally on the treatment or the approach taken to a very large, decaying whale carcass on a blue flag beach.

I am, of course, referring to the one washed up at Clonea Strand. Maybe as members of KIMO, we should be taking a different approach to it, said Cllr Phelan.

Cllr Damien Geoghegan jokingly suggested that they name the carcass KIMo the Whale, to which everyone laughed.

Senior Executive Officer in the Environment Section, Dawn Wallace, said perhaps they will.

Yes, perhaps Niamh can take that up with our colleagues in KIMO in relation to the dead whale.

But just to say, its not on Clonea Beach. It is not located on the Blue Flag Beach, just to be really clear about that, said Ms Wallace.

The whale washed up in January and it was hoped storms at the time would take it back out.

However, that did not happen and given the hard to reach location of the carcass, the council have taken the decison to let "natural processes" take their course.

KIMO NETWORK

KIMO or Kommunernes International Miljorganisation (Local Authorities International Environmental Organisation) is a network of coastal municipalities working to protect marine environments.

KIMO have 80 members across nine countries, and Waterford City and County Council joined in July 2025.

Wexford County Council is already a member, making Waterford the second Irish council to join the network.

Waterfords membership was launched at an event in Villierstown, and Dungarvan-Lismore District Cathaoirleach Niamh ODonovan is to be the council's political representative.
A West Waterford councillor has called on the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council to seek an update from the Department of Justice on the use of a hotel as a Reception and Orientation Centre (ROC).

Cllr Damien Geoghegan requested at the July sitting of the district council, saying it had been 10 years since the two-year contract at the Clonea Strand Hotel had been signed.

It was at the height of the Syrian Civil War. Quite a number of Syrian refugees came over, and since then, the Syrian regime under Assad has collapsed last December.

"Can we get an update on the different nationalities staying there and the numbers, and maybe their plans in the future regarding the use of Clonea as a Reception and Orientation Centre," said Cllr Geoghegan.

Cllr Joe ORiordan responded, saying that he knows many of the people staying at the former hotel are fleeing the conflict in Afghanistan.

Some of them are judges who were in the government before the Americans left, and there are quite a number of people who are actually fleeing from the war in Afghanistan, Cllr ORiordan.

ONGOING CRISIS

Readers should note that the fall of the Assad regime did not mark the end of the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

In a 2025 House of Commons report, citing the United Nations, an estimated 16.5 million people in Syria remain in need of aid.

Around 14.5 million people live with food insecurity, while 14.4 million people need water, sanitation and hygiene services.

The report also said "the prospect of refugee return to Syria remains deeply uncertain and highly challenging, given the widespread destruction, lack of infrastructure, limited economic opportunities, and ongoing security concerns."

Fighting and violence are still going on in Syria, with clashes earlier this month in the Suwayda province.

Aid is being distributed, but according to Al Jazeera, the UN has called the situation constrained.

OCHA told the news outlet that the humanitarian situation remains critical amid ongoing instability and intermittent hostilities.
With a low price-to-earnings multiple and strong hedge fund interest, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) earns a spot on our list of the9 Cheap Solid State Battery Stocks to Invest in Now.

General Motors Company (GM) Reports Strong Q2 Earnings; Citi Raises PT

Linda Parton / Shutterstock.com

On July 22, 2025, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) reported strong Q2 earnings, posting EPS of $2.53beating the consensus estimate of $2.34. A record quarterly revenue of $91 billion was driven by strong demand, stable pricing, and solid EV performance, particularly from the Cadillac Escalade IQ and Chevrolet Equinox EV. Strategic investments in battery technology and charging infrastructure have helped GM secure the second-largest EV market share in the U.S.

Despite regulatory and tariff-related challenges, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) maintained its full-year guidance, projecting EBIT in the range of $10 to $12.5 billion. GM continues focusing on mitigating supply chain challenges and expanding its EV production capacity.

Following the earnings release, Citi reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target from $59 to $61, citing General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)s operational resilience and growth prospects. The bank also pointed to GMs strategic influence in international trade discussionshighlighting potential benefits from agreements with South Korea, Japan, and the USMCA. GMs forward-looking strategy and strong EV momentum reinforce its place among solid-state battery-related value stocks.

Operating through its GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial segments, General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) manufactures trucks, crossovers, cars, and automobile parts worldwide. It is included in our list of cheap solid state battery stocks.

While we acknowledge the potential of GM 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: 14 Cheap Transportation Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 10 Cheap Lithium Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None.
By Rebecca Black, PA

Tanaiste Simon Harris is set to meet with the mother of murdered Irish peacekeeper Sean Rooney.

It comes after Natasha Rooney expressed her disappointment at a lack of justice for her son.

Pte Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was killed when a convoy of Irish troops serving with a UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon was ambushed and fired upon on December 14th 2022.

The shooting happened near the town of Al-Aqbiya in a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Pte Rooney was from the 121 Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces.

On Monday, Mr Harris said he had been informed of the completion of a military tribunal in Beirut for those indicted for the murder of Pte Rooney.

One man was sentenced to death, but he remains at large. A number of other men were also convicted in relation to other offences over the shooting.

Simon Harris said he will meet Natasha Rooney next week. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA.

Ms Rooney expressed disappointment and contended it was not justice.

In a statement released through Phoenix Law, she said the perpetrator of her sons murder has been untraceable and untraced for many years.

She added: The verdict in reality is nothing more than a headline to the Lebanese authorities who masquerade this sham trial process as a semblance of justice for my son.

Ms Rooney also urged Mr Harris to speak to her before seeking to speak for me, in his public statements.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Mr Harris said he is meeting Ms Rooney next week.

Im going to preserve any further comment til I meet her, he said.

Natasha is a grieving mother fighting for justice for her son who died while serving with absolute distinction wearing the uniform of Oglaigh Na hEireann. He has my absolute and total respect, as does his family.

I look forward to meeting with Natasha and engaging with her directly next week.
Embattled casino operator Star Entertainment has confirmed that the deal to offload its troubled Queens Wharf casino in Brisbane to its Asian partners has collapsed, leaving the group exposed to a loss-making asset and further investment in the operation.

Star shares dropped 16.3 per cent to a record low of 9.2 after the company confirmed on Friday that the deadline to renegotiate the sale of its 50 per cent stake in Queens Wharf to Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium had passed with no progress from the parties.

As of this morning, the parties have been unable to reach an agreement on a number of outstanding commercial issues, which in turn prevent the finalisation of long form documents, Star said in a statement to the ASX.

The Star Casino and Queens Wharf complex in the Brisbane CBD. Credit: Glenn Campbell

Star offered a glimmer of hope when it indicated that negotiations were continuing even though its joint venture partners had declined to extend the deal deadline to next week.
LVMHs market value has fallen by more than a quarter over the past year, to less than 250 billion. Hermes, a luxury brand Arnault tried and failed to buy, and has eyed with envy ever since, has taken LVMHs crown as the most valuable company in the industry, despite generating only 15 billion in sales last year. LVMH chairman and billionaire Bernard Arnault. Credit: Bloomberg Adding insult to injury, the Arnault family, which has topped Frances rich list since 2017, has also been dethroned by the Hermes clan. Can Arnault turn the ship around? Loading LVMH cant blame the economic environment for all its woes. It raised prices enormously in the post-COVID revenge shopping boom, irking some customers. The price of Louis Vuittons Speedy 30 canvas tote bag has more than doubled since 2019, for example, while the average price of personal luxury goods in Europe has increased by just over 50 per cent, according to HSBC, a bank. Only a handful of designers, including Chanel and Gucci, have raised prices more.

A series of scandals have also damaged the image of some of its brands. Moet Hennessy, LVMHs drinks division, has recently faced accusations of sexual harassment, bullying and unfair dismissal by former employees (which it denies). On July 14, an Italian court placed Loro Piana, an LVMH label that sells cashmere sweaters for more than $US1000 ($1500) a piece, under judicial administration for using suppliers that allegedly violate labour rights. Dior faced similar investigations last year. LVMHs response has been half-hearted: Transparency, control and management of this whole ecosystem can sometimes prove a bit difficult, it said recently. An Hermes luxury boutique in Paris, France. Credit: Bloomberg Arnault is attempting to steer towards calmer waters. New bosses have been put in charge of the booze, watches and retailing units. The appointment of Jonathan Anderson as the new creative director of Dior has been cheered by fashionistas. Some investors, however, worry that the companies problems are deeply rooted. One concern is that decades of pushing fancy clothing and accessories not just to the super-rich but also the merely well-off has made LVMHs brands more vulnerable to economic cycles and dented their image of exclusivity.

Even Louis Vuitton, the companys crown jewel, has not been immune. Analysts at HSBC term the brand schizophrenic for its attempt to peddle entry-level products like chocolate and make-up alongside ultra-pricey handbags and luggage. Loading The outlook for Moet Hennessy is more worrying still. As profits have shrunk, the division has announced thousands of job cuts. Analysts point out that young consumers arent drinking as much as older generations, and when they do, they tend to shy away from spirits such as cognac, which make up a big chunk of LVMHs booze business. The wine and spirits division now contributes less than 10 per cent of LVMHs operating profits, down by roughly half over the past decade. By contrast, Hermes, which has remained focused on selling fashion to the exceedingly wealthy, has continued growing handsomely. Its market value as a multiple of its net profit is now more than twice as high as for LVMH. Brunello Cucinelli, another purveyor of ultra-luxe fashion, is valued at a similar multiple to Hermes. If Louis Vuitton were to be valued at such a multiple, it alone would be worth significantly more than the entirety of its parent company.

That has led some to call for LVMH to break itself up. On July 25, reports emerged that it was exploring a sale of Marc Jacobs, a fashion label founded by a former creative director of Louis Vuitton. A bolder move would be jettisoning the troubled drinks business. Diageo, owner of tipples from Guinness to Johnny Walker, already controls a third of Moet Hennessy and has in the past expressed interest in taking the rest of it off LVMHs hands. The British company is currently grappling with its own slump in profits and recently parted ways with its chief executive, but analysts speculate that it could make a deal work by selling off its beer business at the same time. Bernard Arnault and his sons (from left) Jean, Frederic and Antoine. Credit: Getty Arnault, aged 76, is navigating all this while making plans for a transition at the helm. He clearly intends to keep the enterprise under family management. All five of his children work in different corners of his empire under the tutelage of experienced executives. His daughter, Delphine, who has been tasked with turning around Dior, is his eldest and the only of his offspring on the executive committee of LVMH, making her the most likely candidate to succeed her father. Yet, there are other possibilities. In February, Alexandre was parachuted in as the deputy head of Moet Hennessy. In March Frederic was put in charge of Loro Piana.
Credit where its due, however: Wilson at this point ranks as one of Australias more durable international movie stars, something no one could have predicted when she started out in the early 2000s as Toula in Fat Pizza.

Rebel Wilson is a spy masquerading as someone who designs plinths for cat shows in Bride Hard.

Hell hath no fury like Rebel Wilson armed with a pair of curling irons  but even if youre enticed by that image, or more broadly by the concept of a blend of spy caper and chick flick, I cant recommend Bride Hard as a fun night out.

On screen, Wilson is all about making it look as if shes barely trying. Yet, her career trajectory implies relentless determination, especially the way shes graduated from supporting roles, such as Fat Amy in the Pitch Perfect films, to comic vehicles of her own.

This paradox comes close to being the subject of Bride Hard, where her character Sam Doolan allows her friends to believe she makes a living designing plinths for cat shows when in fact shes a reckless but highly competent secret agent in the James Bond mould.

Rebel Wilson in Bride hard, where the supporting cast members all appear to be acting in separate movies.

How was she recruited into the world of espionage? We never find out, nor is it clear what motivated her to shake off her usual bored indifference for long enough to acquire the required skill set.

Her Australian accent, too, remains a mystery, considering shes been friends since childhood with the all-American Betsy (Anna Camp), whos about to be married on a private island off the coast of Georgia when the nuptials are interrupted by terrorists (the plot is a riff on Die Hard, if you hadnt guessed).
Western Australias peak medical union says the states horror flu season is stretching health resources to their maximum, with case numbers set to reach their highest in nearly five years.

Ambulances have been ramped at the states hospitals for a total of more than 7000 hours this month, and flu cases have totalled nearly 15,000.

Ambulance ramping hours are high, reflecting pressure on WAs health system from several fronts.

The Department of Health said influenza notifications remain stable in the past week, and in the upper range of values usually reported at this time of year.

Earlier this month, cases jumped by 20 per cent in just a week and about 2000 cases required hospitalisation.
Confidential talks canvassing strategies to prevent a war with China and deepen the United States-Australia alliance have been scrapped after the Trump administration abruptly blocked senior defence officials from travelling to Canberra next week.

National security experts fear an array of exchanges between US and Australian counterparts will dry up following a sweeping Pentagon edict, announced this week, suspending all participation in think tank and research events because it suspects they do not align with Donald Trumps America First agenda.

Under Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon has banned all co-operation with think tanks and research institutes. Credit: AP

The edict comes as the US reviews the future of the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepares for a potential first meeting with Trump in September after months of no discussions between the pair.

US and Australian officials were planning to meet some of the nations top defence experts in Canberra on Monday and Tuesday next week for the fifth round of the US-Australia Indo-Pacific Deterrence Dialogue, but the event was suddenly called off on Wednesday when the American officials were told they were no longer allowed to travel to the event.
A Melbourne academic has been arrested and charged after child abuse images flashed up on a screen during a lecture he was conducting at a city university this year.

Monash University confirmed the 74-year-old man worked there, was suspended immediately and removed from all teaching duties following the February incident.

Monash University says it has suspended the academic from all teaching duties. Credit: Wayne Taylor

He was interviewed and police searched the Middle Park mans home and seized electronic devices on February 12, a week after the images were allegedly aired during a university lecture.

Monash University was made aware of concerns relating to an incident in February 2025, and referred the matter to Victoria Police. We continue to support the ongoing investigation, a university spokeswoman said.
Trump on Thursday called the situation in Gaza a terrible thing when asked about comments from his ally and Republican US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who termed Israels offensive in the Palestinian enclave a genocide. Oh, its terrible whats occurring there, yeah, its a terrible thing. People are very hungry, Trump told reporters when asked about Greenes social media comments. Trump also noted financial assistance by Washington to address the hunger crisis in Gaza. Steve Witkoff, Donald Trumps US special envoy to the Middle East, will travel to Gaza on Friday. Credit: Bloomberg Ceasefire talks Indirect ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in Doha ended in deadlock last week, with the sides trading blame for the impasse and gaps lingering over issues including the extent of an Israeli military withdrawal.

Israel on Wednesday sent a response to Hamas latest amendments to a US proposal that would see a 60-day ceasefire and the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a source familiar with the details said. There was no immediate comment from Hamas. Loading Meanwhile, Gaza medical officials said at least 23 people were reported killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, including 12 among crowds who had gathered to receive aid around the Netzarim corridor, an area held by Israeli troops in central Gaza. The Israeli military said troops had fired warning shots to disperse crowds and had not identified any casualties. Since Israels offensive began, the Gaza health ministry has recorded 156 deaths from starvation and malnutrition, most in recent weeks, including at least 90 children. Confronted by rising international outrage over images of starving children, Israel said on Sunday it would halt military operations for 10 hours a day in parts of Gaza and designate secure routes for convoys delivering food and medicine.

Calls on Hamas to disarm The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Wednesday the United Nations and its partners had been able to bring more food into Gaza in the first two days of pauses, but the volume was still far from enough. Residents face peril from Israeli forces and Palestinian looters when trying to reach supplies. I have tried several times to grab a sack of flour. The only time I managed to do so, someone with a knife froze me in the street and took it away, threatening to stab me, one man from Deir Al-Balah told Reuters, asking not to be identified. Pressure has been mounting in Gaza on Hamas to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel. Hamas is still holding 50 hostages in Gaza, of whom around 20 are believed to be alive.

Mothers of hostages led a protest outside Netanyahus office, calling on the government to end Israels war in Gaza, which has killed over 60,000 Palestinians since October 2023, and more protests were held in Tel Aviv. Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition includes two far-right parties that want to conquer Gaza and re-establish Jewish settlements there, has said he will not end the war until Hamas no longer rules the enclave and lays down its arms. Hamas rejects calls to disarm. Qatar and Egypt, who are mediating ceasefire efforts, backed a declaration on Tuesday by France and Saudi Arabia, which outlined steps for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The declaration says Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority. Israel has ruled out the PA gaining control of Gaza.

Loading Hamas-led factions said on Thursday that Palestinian resistance would not stop until the occupation ended and an independent, fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital was established. Israel has denounced declarations by France, Britain and Canada since last week that they may recognise a Palestinian state, which Israel says amounts to rewarding Hamas for its October 7, 2023, assault, in which fighters killed 1200 people and took 251 hostages. The US State Department also announced sanctions on officials of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organisation, saying the groups were undermining peace efforts. It was Washingtons latest apparent diplomatic shift backing Israel against the Palestinians and diverging from its European allies. Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy en route in Gaza on Thursday. Credit: AP
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Georgia-Pacific is getting a new president and CEO, the company announced Wednesday.

Christian Fischer, who has served as president and CEO since 2017, will retire from the company at the end of October, ending a tenure dating back to 1989. Beginning in August, he will transition his responsibilities to Mark Luetters, who is currently an executive vice president at Koch.

Georgia-Pacific has been a subsidiary of Koch for the past 20 years. Luetters has overseen Georgia-Pacific during that period, and spent nearly a decade as president of GP Building Products.

Luetters will serve as an interim replacement. Georgia-Pacific expects to name a more permanent leader next year.

I look forward to working collaboratively with the GP team on our key initiatives, and ultimately naming a new, long-term GP president and CEO at some point within calendar year 2026, Luetters said in a statement.

In another leadership change earlier this year, Georgia-Pacific named Keith Hamilton the new president of its corrugated business.

Georgia-Pacific, one of the largest producers of containerboard and corrugated packaging, announced in May that it would permanently close a containerboard mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, resulting in 535 planned layoffs, most to take place by Aug. 1. The company indicated production may move to containerboard mills in Alabama, Mississippi, Oregon and Virginia.

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On 11 June 2024, the WCO held a Symposium titled Removing counterfeits from e-commerce, preceded by the Operation STOP III report launch.

As a follow-up, on 15 January 2025 the Secretariat held the second iteration of the Symposium with a special focus on medicines and medical devices. Over 1,000 individuals registered for the event, thereby endorsing the WCOs efforts to address the issue of IPR infringements via e-commerce.

Given the success of the first two Symposiums, the WCO plans to hold a third one at which, inter alia, the Operation STOP IV report, and its main findings will be shared.

Objective

The objective of this Symposium is to sustain and strengthen initiatives aimed at increasing awareness among Customs officers and the general public of the risks and adverse impacts associated with counterfeit goods in e-commerce.

Target audience

WCO Member administrations and the RILO network

International organizations

Rights holders and industry representatives

Private sector representatives (e-commerce platforms, Customs brokers, express carriers, postal operators)

Academia

Format: The Symposium will be held in a hybrid format.

Registration: participants may choose to attend either in-person at WCO Headquarters in Brussels or online.

Languages: English and French.

Date and time: 25 November 2025, from 13.00 to 15.00 (Brussels time)
The World Customs Organization (WCO), with financial support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), held a national workshop on Rules of Origin, from 18 to 20 June 2025 in Banjul, Gambia. This workshop was a result of the collaborative efforts of the WCO/JICA Joint Project, the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Gambia Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment (MOTIE). It formed part of a series of national workshops designed to strengthen the capacity of African Customs administrations to administer preferential Rules of Origin, particularly for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The workshop brought together Customs officials from various units and border posts of the GRA, representatives from the MOTIE as well as private sector stakeholders. In addition to enhancing technical knowledge on preferential Rules of Origin, the workshop fostered a collaborative platform for participants to identify and address common challenges, discuss potential policy enhancements, and built a network of professionals committed to derive benefits from the implementation of AfCFTA.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Alhagie K. Mbye, the Commissioner of Customs and Excise of the GRA, highlighted the importance of mastering Rules of Origin for facilitating intra-African trade. He expressed his appreciation for the continued support provided by the WCO and JICA.

Mr. Mamadi Dampha, the Deputy Permanent Secretary of MOTIE, emphasized the importance of collaboration with stakeholders to ensure effective implementation of AfCFTA Rules of Origin, enabling them to fully benefit from the AfCFTA.

A total of thirty-four participants from GRA, MOTIE and the private sector took part in the three-day workshop. It was facilitated by WCO Expert Trainers on Rules of Origin from Japan and Botswana, as well as a Master Trainer on Rules of Origin from Botswana. The workshop covered key elements of Rules of Origin under the AfCFTA, including correct origin determination and procedural requirements. The experts provided in-depth presentations on core provisions, such as verification of proofs of origin to ensure accurate application of preferential tariff treatment. Practical exercises and case studies were also conducted to equip participants with the skills needed to apply Rules of Origin within regional preferential agreements, including the AfCFTA.

The workshop marked a tangible step towards realizing the benefits of the AfCFTA and served as an excellent example of the benefits of utilizing the WCOs pool of Accredited Experts, as envisaged under the WCOs capacity-building strategy.
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday said the European Union will negotiate with the United States on steel, focusing on quotas that can be exported without too high tariffs, after the two sides struck a trade deal last month.

The EU's trade deal with Trump in July was greeted with a mix of relief and anger, with tariffs set at 15% for most products but negotiations continuing for certain sectors, including steel and aluminium, which carries tariffs of 50%.

The task now is to work out the "fine print," Merz said in the city of Saarbruecken.

"This will particularly concern quotas that we can then export without being burdened with excessive tariffs."

Merz described the agreement as "painful" for the entire European industry but said the EU was not in a position to trigger a full-blown trade dispute.

"There would have been only losers, and the biggest losers would probably have been us, the Europeans."

(Reporting by Markus Wacket; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Miranda Murray)
By Zaheer Kachwala

(Reuters) -Grab Holdings beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter revenue on Wednesday, as consumers boosted spending on its ride-hailing and food delivery platform despite global economic uncertainty.

Grab's push to turn its platform into a superapp, integrating ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, and other digital services, has drawn a growing number of users willing to pay for its subscription plans.

While ongoing U.S. trade negotiations have cast a cloud over global economic stability, leading to concerns about tariffs and elevated costs in Southeast Asia, the Singaporean economy has remained resilient. It grew 4.3% in the second quarter, avoiding a technical recession.

"What we're seeing is that the more you make our products more affordable, it drives that growth, and it also shields us from some of the macro that you're seeing across the globe," Grab CFO Peter Oey told Reuters.

The company has been attempting to lure price-sensitive consumers to its ride-hailing platform while increasing the number of drivers to keep pace with a growing userbase.

Grab reported revenue of $819 million, above analysts' expectations of $811.3 million, according to LSEG data.

The company noted its strong performance in Indonesia, a market it had previously described as underpenetrated, aiming to capitalize on the country's large population and grow market share.

Oey said Indonesia is a profitable market for the company, which seeks to double down on investing in the country.

The online service market in Southeast Asia has been consolidating, with large players acquiring smaller firms to grow their product portfolios.

Reuters reported in May that Grab was exploring acquiring smaller Indonesian rival GoTo, but Oey reiterated that the company is not in discussions with them.

Grab posted a profit of $20 million for the quarter, compared to a $68 million loss in the same period a year earlier.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Subhranshu Sahu)
Mayo man Darragh Loftus has been appointed as Fine Gael's director of elections for the upcoming Presidential election.

The Castlebar native served as the party's director of elections in the county for last year's the local, Europeans, general and seanad elections.

The former vice-president of the European Parliament, Mairead McGuinness' name will go forward for ratification as the party's candidate in September.

"First of all its a huge privilege for me to be once again trusted by the National Fine Gael Executive Council to lead the team in Mayo for the presidential election," said Mr Loftus.

"Regarding next November's election, my thoughts immediately go towards planning.

"And while we have not yet officially ratified Mairead McGuinness, my work will start next week when I sit down with the constituency chair Jim Higgins when we will look to forming my team on the ground in Mayo.

"The party is fully behind Mairead who has has had exceptional career in TV, media and rural affairs.

"Mairead also represented Ireland as an MEP and was instrumental in the key negotiations of the Common Agricultural Agreement. Mairead was also a formidable EU Commissioner for Financial Services under President Ursula Von Der Leyden," he added.

Ms McGuinness is the early front-runner for the 2025 race for the Aras, coming through the Fine Gael selection process unopposed.

She came to public prominence as a journalist and RTE presenter.
Hackers who breached U.S. insurance giant Allianz Life earlier this month stole reams of customer Social Security numbers, according to notifications filed with several U.S. states and seen by TechCrunch.

Allianz Life disclosed the July 16 breach this past weekend, confirming to TechCrunch the unidentified hackers stole the personally identifiable information belonging to the majority of its 1.4 million customers, as well as financial professionals and some Allianz Life employees.

The company said its customer relationship database was compromised in a social engineering attack, a ploy in which malicious hackers use deception tricks, such as impersonating an employee claiming to have lost their password, to convince helpdesks into granting them access to a system or network.

In a new filing with the Texas attorney general, Allianz Life said the hackers stole names, dates of birth, postal addresses, and Social Security numbers from its database. A separate filing with the Massachusetts attorney generals office also confirmed Social Security numbers were taken in the breach.

When reached by email, Allianz Life spokesperson Brett Weinberg said that the company is aware of the types of personal data that was stolen in the breach, but declined to share this information with TechCrunch.

The spokesperson said Allianz Life is expected to begin notifying affected individuals by August 1.

The letters will offer specific information relevant to impacted individuals including the type of data that may have been affected, the spokesperson added.

Allianz Life is the latest insurance company, including Aflac and Erie, in recent weeks to have been breached, as multiple hacking groups known for social engineering attacks ramp up their cyberattacks.

Do you know more about the Allianz Life cyberattack? Are you an affected customer or employee? Securely contact this reporter via encrypted message at zackwhittaker.1337 on Signal.

Updated with additional comment from Allianz Life.
Cllr Richard Finn has criticised a response sent by the Minister for Housing to a letter sent on behalf of members of the Claremorris-Swinford Municipal District as spurious and an insult.

The MD wrote to Minister James Browne on foot of a request from Cllr Alma Gallagher regarding exemptions from planning permission for converting commercial units to residential units under article 10(6) of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001.

Cllr Gallagher said at a previous meeting Ballyhaunis town centre will be decimated if commercial properties continue to get repurposed as residential units.

In response, Minister Browne advised a review of the current exempted development regulations is ongoing and engagement with government bodies is nearing completion following which, a wider public consultation will be undertaken.

He said the Government cannot pre-empt the outcome of this process.

Cllr Gallagher said a one-size-fits-all approach would not work for Ballyhaunis with regards to article 10(6).

We have a lot of multi-unit developments happening and there is no planning requirement for parking in these units and there is a lot of concern in the town over this, he said.

Cllr Gerry Murray said multi-unit developers take enormous latitude with these developments and can have a long-term impact on the amenities of people living in a town centre.

Cllr Finn criticized the letter and said it provided no answers. He said there are many obstacles for developers to provide accommodation during the ongoing housing crisis.

This is a spurious letter and it doesnt change anything. Were in an emergency situation with regards to housing and every single obstacle that can be put in a property owner or developers way is there, he said.

We are getting answers back from the Minister we already know. No developer will try to develop unless it is viable and this is kicking the ball further down the road.

Letters coming back like this is an insult, he concluded.

Cllr Patsy OBrien said the response was a complete snub to the MD.

They should at least acknowledge what was said but they dont and they didnt answer Cllr Gallaghers query, he said.
Mourners packed a Bronx mosque to pay respects to a New York City police officer who was among the four people killed when a gunman opened fire this week at the Manhattan skyscraper that houses the NFL's offices. New York's mayor and governor were among those who remembered Officer Didarul Islam for his devotion to his family, faith and the police department. The police commissioner said the 36-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant described policing as a blanket of the community, there to provide comfort and care,. Islam was a married father of two, with a third child on the way.
The share price of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) fell by 1.99% between July 22 and July 29, 2025, putting it among the Energy Stocks that Lost the Most This Week.

Helix Energy Solutions (HLX): Among the Energy Stocks that Lost This Week

A long convoy of trucks driving across miles of desert, carrying offshore energy services equipment.

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) is an international offshore energy services company that provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention.

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) fell after reporting disappointing results for its second quarter, with the company falling below estimates in both earnings and revenue. HLX reported a net loss of $2.6 million for Q2 2025, compared to a net income of $3.1 million for the first quarter and $32.3 million for Q2 2024. The companys revenue of $302.3 million was also down by 17% YoY and fell below expectations by over $23 million.

Following the recent downturn, the share price of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (NYSE:HLX) has fallen by over 33% since the beginning of 2025.

While we acknowledge the potential of HLX 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: 12 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds and The 5 Energy Stocks Billionaires are Quietly Piling Into.

Disclosure: None.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is one of the most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to hedge funds. J.P. Morgan analyst Lisa Gill assigned an Overweight rating to UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) with a $418 price target, suggesting that the company could rebound by 48% in the coming 12 months.

UnitedHealth Groups (UNH) Healthcare Dominance: A Key Player in the Dogs of the Dow

A senior healthcare professional giving advice to a patient in a clinic.

She stated that the companys shift from unaware in February to proactively cooperating with the Department of Justice isnt surprising, as she views the companys engagement as part of a broader defense of its practices. The analyst expressed an optimistic outlook for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), noting:

While we are not lawyers, we note that if the court were to view this case similarly to previous ones brought forth by the DOJ regarding the False Claims Act (FCA), we believe that this would place the burden of proof on the DOJ to prove improper coding.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) provides healthcare coverage, data consultancy, and software services. It operates through the OptumRx, OptumInsight, OptumHealth, and UnitedHealthCare segments, which have solid operations.

While we acknowledge the potential of UNH 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.
With a low price-to-earnings multiple and strong hedge fund interest, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) earns a spot on our list of the 9 Cheap Solid State Battery Stocks to Invest in Now.

JPMorgan up

JPMorgan Upgrades Ford Motor Company (F); Raises PT from $12 to $13

Image by Marcin Machalski from Pixabay

graded Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) to Overweight ahead of its Q2 earnings release on July 30, raising its price target to $13 from $12 on July 21, citing stronger-than-expected output as purchasers hurried to purchase vehicles ahead of tariff-driven price hikes.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), which is up 9.90% year to date, has benefited from robust hybrid sales, rising margins, and continuous profit growth. Nevertheless, Wall Street anticipates Q2 earnings per share to decrease 30% year on year to $0.33, with revenue down 4% to $45.79 billion due to greater incentives, EV sector losses, and lower vehicle pricing.

Nonetheless, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)s earnings history is encouraging: it has above EPS projections in seven of the previous nine quarters. While JPMorgan continues to favor car suppliers over manufacturers, its upbeat outlook suggests Ford may be better positioned than many believe in managing a changing automotive industry.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) designs, manufactures, markets, and serves a range of Ford trucks, SUVs, and cars worldwide, while also growing into electric and hybrid vehicles. It is included in our list of cheap solid state battery stocks.

While we acknowledge the potential of F 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: 14 Cheap Transportation Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 10 Cheap Lithium Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None.
10,000 Irish Tech Challenge SA applications close on Monday

Tech startups in South Africa are reminded that the window to enter the Irish Tech Challenge 2025 (ITCSA) is about to close on 4 August 2025.

Five ambitious, post-revenue South African technology startups stand to win up to 10,000 in grant funding and an international immersion in the Irish technology ecosystem in Dublin, Ireland with an opportunity to learn from Irish business mentors on how to scale their businesses internationally.



Startups who qualify are urged to apply in the next four days to grab this rare opportunity.

What is the Irish Tech Challenge South Africa 2025?

The Irish Tech Challenge South Africa 2025 (ITCSA) is a prestigious partnership between the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, South Africa's Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), and leading innovation hubs Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in South Africa and Dogpatch Labs in Ireland.

The program is designed to identify and nurture high-potential post-revenue South African tech businesses and provide them with the critical skills, networks and resources needed to expand into international markets, particularly Europe.

Successful applicants will embark on a journey focused on three key pillars:

Collaborate: Immerse in Ireland's world-class tech ecosystem, connecting with industry leaders, potential partners, customers and investors.

Master: Learn from leading tech professionals and business mentors at Tshimologong Digital Precinct, Dogpatch Labs and the broader Irish tech community.

Scale: Secure up to 10,000 in grant funding and leverage expert guidance to accelerate business development and international market entry.

"We are delighted with the progress of the 2025 edition of the Irish Tech Challenge South Africa," said Ambassador of Ireland Austin Gormley. "This initiative is part of the strong and growing partnership between Ireland and South Africa in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship as well as building a sustainable South Africa.



Gormley continues: With over 600 applications already submitted in July, we are confident that this years challenge will deliver a more diverse and higher quality cohort than previous editions."

The ITCSA particularly encourages applications from startups focused on solutions aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as ventures led by women, young entrepreneurs and those from historically disadvantaged communities.

Mark Harris, CEO of Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, added, "The Irish Tech Challenge South Africa 2025 has consistently proven to be a catalyst for growth for our local innovators.



The opportunity to connect with and learn from Ireland's dynamic tech scene, coupled with the incredible support from Dogpatch Labs, provides an invaluable launchpad for global success. We urge all eligible startups to seize this chance to elevate their vision in the next few days and throw their hat in the ring for a chance to join the list of illustrious alumni," he concluded.

The program includes a curated 7-day immersion trip to Ireland where participants have direct interaction with Ireland's tech giants, startup communities and innovation hubs. Previous alumni have benefited significantly from the mentorship, funding and networking opportunities, successfully expanding their reach and impact.



It has been an intense interrogation of our business working with such world-class talent and expertise, and the Dogpatch ecosystem has really kind of got us to benchmark where our solution is and where our solution could be, said 2024 alumnus and founder of Creddiple, Kgololo Lekoma.

Applications for the Irish Tech Challenge South Africa 2025 are now open and will close 4 August 2025. South African tech startups that are post-revenue (or pre-revenue with developed IP) and looking to scale globally are encouraged to apply.

For more information on eligibility criteria and to submit an application, please visit www.irishtechchallenge.com.

About Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct



Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, a Wits University entity, is a leading African hub for digital innovation, fostering tech entrepreneurship and developing digital skills for a new generation of innovators.

About Dogpatch Labs



Dogpatch Labs is Ireland's leading startup and innovation hub, providing a gateway for startups to access global connections, mentorship, and resources to scale internationally.



Key Partners
Entrepreneurship workshop brings innovative ideas to life

The Wits Innovation Centre recently held its annual Entrepreneurship / Prospector @Wits workshop.

Every year, the WIC's workshop gives Wits staff and students the opportunity to get intensive hands-on experiential training in how to turn ideas into innovations ready to be taken to market.

The workshop director, Professor Surya Raghu, says that the week-long programme proves that the university engages with the community through innovation and entrepreneurship in ways that address societys needs and try to better it. Good ideas and innovations can be created at the university, and these ideas are taken to the market through entrepreneurship with the support of the entire ecosystem.

Dineo Masokoane, the organiser of the workshop and the WICs senior innovation support manager, says the workshop demystified the journey from research output or concept to successful commercialisation. By the end of the week, attendees could articulate a clear value proposition for their innovation and outline the first steps of a roadmap toward market launch.

This development was clearly on display during the final day of the workshop, where the students presented their innovative ideas in groups to a panel of experts, who gave them feedback. One lucky team even got an investment towards their ideas future.

Urban Harvest  Vertical Farming in Cities

The winning team was awarded R50,000, sponsored by Adams & Adams. This group chose to focus on the problem that a significant percentage of South Africans in cities face food shortages or eat food with low nutritional value.

Their solution addressed this by turning towards underutilised urban spaces by encouraging modular, vertical hydroponic farms in inner cities. Through a farm-to-shelf data platform, they aim to foster connections between property owners, microfarmers, retailers, vendors, and inner city residents themselves.

Urban Harvest had the best overall coverage of idea to market and had the highest score according to the judging criteria provided to all the participants in advance, Raghu said.

They chose to tackle a problem that is personally meaningful to them, and this passion was clearly reflected in the strength and authenticity of their presentation, Masokoane said.

XPair  Minimising prescription medicine waste

This innovation, led by a pharmacist, plans to track expiry dates on medicines. They stated that around R300 million is lost yearly in the country due to expired medicines, and that there are no searchable and verified systems to simplify manual checks.

Xpairs solution addresses this through a web platform that works together with existing stock management systems and automatically alerts pharmacists of items that might soon expire. The team estimates that they could reduce stockouts and improve continuity of care while saving pharmacies money.

YouMeta  Edutech to facilitate college and career choices

This career platform helps high school students and other young people make more informed decisions about what to study, while connecting them with mentors and industries. The solution matches learners with possible careers and people in those fields through personalised AI and gamefied progress. It also aims to offer data to universities and funders.

The team aims to address how students dropping out of university can lead to funders of bursaries missing out on the return on investment, and how universities make less performance-based income, while students themselves suffer.

AirWise Solutions  Air quality monitoring and protective gear

This innovation came out of the personal experience of the team leader, Thandiswa Maseko, who grew up in an area with bad air pollution affecting the communitys health. Her team designed a wearable, personal air quality sensor that connects to an app to update a person about the air pollution risks around them.

The team has developed a prototype and hopes to be production-ready next year if possible. They aim to reach both people in high-risk areas or situations and fitness enthusiasts who are interested in their respiratory health.

ADBiologics  Affordable diagnostics of diseases

Targeting the problem of respiratory syncytial virus deaths (RSVs) and other diseases by developing locally produced antibodies. This would lower the price of these diagnostic tools in the country, bypass supply chain issues and address inequality and pandemic preparedness.

The team has a fungal technology in mind, which leads to a significantly lower cost of goods and a simplified process. They aim to target research labs to start off with and would like to prototype in the next year.

Blockchain Certificates - Validation and assurance of university credentials

This team is looking to offer verification of university credentials as a service. The product would be fully automated, making it cheaper and faster than its possible competitors. For instance, a verification may cost around R100 and be immediate, as opposed to taking three to five days and costing R175.

They plan to connect with the customer, authenticator, and user directly, to make the product useful to all. The team has also considered data protection and the local laws around personal data, and aim to protect this throughout.

BizVerse  Management support software for SMMEs

BizVerse was inspired by one of the team members experiences as a child, where their mother started a business. It failed within the first five years, not because of a lack of enthusiasm or finances, but due to a lack of managerial skills. To address this larger challenge, many small and medium businesses face, the team designed a business management app and learning platform.

They aim to set themselves apart by focusing on local communities, offering offline capabilities and multi-language support. They hope to offer both freemium and subscription services and to develop key partnerships.

'WOW', what a show!

Overall, the team behind the workshop was highly impressed by this years participants.

I should say wow for all the presentations  they exceeded my expectations by a mile, Raghu said. He mentions that the other professional judges were also impressed, with one remarking that the presentations were better than many they had seen pitched by industry players.

Beyond the classroom, he said, the ideas are viable to be taken to market with some refinement of the value proposition and business model. In fact, the judges even volunteered to talk to the groups later if they are still interested beyond the workshop and mentioned possible sources of support for them. 

This was the best workshop in the series so far, Professor Christo Doherty, the acting Angela and David Fine Chair in Innovation, said. We had a full house in terms of registrations, and the participants were highly engaged and committed. 

Doherty explains that this enthusiasm was backed across faculties. In a new development for the workshop, Faculty Deans and WIC Associates were asked to nominate staff and postgraduate students for the programme. Those chosen were supported by bursaries covering the workshop costs.

Masokoane adds that there was a variety of students in terms of disciplines in this cohort. It was inspiring to witness engineers collaborating with artists and health professionals, bringing diverse perspectives together to co-create innovative solutions.

We plan to continue the workshops as an annual event and also to extend this kind of training to reach more staff and students at Wits, Doherty says.
The Institute for Development and Diplomacy (IDD) at ADA University is pleased to announce the publication of the Summer 2025 edition of Baku Dialogues, its flagship English-language quarterly policy journal.

This edition features analytical articles that reflect ongoing discussions on regional politics, multilateral diplomacy, and global challenges.

The main interview of this issue is conducted with Mr. Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The interview titled Azerbaijans Multilateralist Posture explores how Azerbaijan navigates its multilateral diplomacy, outlining its key priorities and approaches within various international institutions.

The issue also highlights Azerbaijans growing role in the green energy agenda. The article explores regional integration efforts through the CaspianBlack Sea Energy Corridor and the countrys contributions to energy security.

The article titled The D-8 and Azerbaijan: The Islamic Eight and the Ongoing Shift in the Global Balance of Power examines Azerbaijans position within this platform and the prospects for expanded cooperation.

In addition, the issue presents discussions on the opportunities arising from Azerbaijans membership in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a regional initiative promoting security and cooperation in Central and South Asia, as well as ways to optimize the countrys chairmanship of the platform.

Another key title, Shifting Geopolitics, offers insights into the transformations in global power dynamics and the evolving roles of major international actors. Here, the first article examines the current state and future possibilities of the European Union by assessing its potential pathways for transformation. The next article, titled Why the U.S. Should Embrace Israel-Azerbaijan Alignment highlights how the bilateral partnership between Azerbaijan and Israel reflects broader trends in global politics, while also emphasizing its potential to expand and benefit the United States.

To read or download the full issue, please visit bakudialogues.ada.edu.az.
With a low P/E ratio and solid hedge fund backing, Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) earns a spot on our list of the 9 Cheap Solid State Battery Stocks to Invest in Now.

KeyBanc Upgrades Materion Corporation (MTRN) with $112 PT

Photo by Kumpan Electric on Unsplash

On July 18, 2025, KeyBanc upgraded Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) from Sector Weight to Overweight, with a price target of $112.00, indicating a potential gain of 10.96% from the current stock price of $100.94.

A resurgence in the semiconductor industry, one of Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN)s primary businesses, and a reduction in China tariff tensions are reflected in the positive call. Additionally, KeyBanc identified continued strength in defense and aerospace, including space technologies, as major demand generators. Notably, managements consistent emphasis on growing through-cycle EBITDA margins has led analysts to increase their 20252026 EPS projections.

Materions long-term appeal is increased by its crucial exposure to beryllium, a mineral with increasing strategic relevance as the United States works to strengthen its domestic supply chains. With a 7.69% gain in the last year and a 14-year dividend payment streak, Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) is putting itself at the forefront of several high-growth industries while rewarding shareholders.

Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) produces advanced engineered materials across the US, Asia, Europe, and other global markets. Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other are the companys four business segments. It is included in our list of cheap solid state battery stocks.

While we acknowledge the potential of MTRN 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: 12 Cheap Value Stocks to Buy Now According to Warren Buffett and 7 Best Potash Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.

Disclosure: None.
Klarna Financial Services UK (KFSUK) has secured an authorisation from the UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI).

With the authorisation in place, the company will introduce Klarna balance and Klarna cashback later in the year.

The authorisation allows UK consumers to use Klarna balance to deposit and manage funds within a Klarna account, enabling them to add money from their debit card, make transactions using Klarna, and directly receive refunds.

Additionally, a cashback initiative will be introduced, providing customers with the opportunity to earn rewards on their purchases made through the Klarna app.

Klarna Cashback will offer users a percentage back on their spending, which will be credited to their Klarna balance.

These funds can then be used for transactions at any merchant that accepts Klarna payments.

Klarna Financial Services UK head Abby Vickers said: "This authorisation marks Klarnas next big step in the UKmoving beyond flexible payments into everyday financial management.

While traditional banks are still playing catch-up, Klarna is giving consumers a smarter way to spendand now, to manage their finances too. This is what modern money management looks like: manage, spend, and get rewardedwithout the hassle.

In April this year, Klarna has put its planned initial public offering on hold in response to tariffs introduced by the US administration. The firm reported a net profit of $21m in 2024 as against a net loss of $244m in 2023.

"Klarna secures electronic money institution licence in UK " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand.




US envoy Steve Witkoff, pictured in July, visited Gaza on Friday for the second time this year.
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Europe

Portuguese aviation services workers in series of strikes for improved pay and conditions

Ground handlers working for multinational Menzies Aviation at Lisbon airport and other Portuguese airports held a four-day strike July 25, the first of five planned four-day weekend strikes extending through August.

The stoppage led to dozens of cancelled and delayed passenger and cargo flights.

The Metalworkers and Allied Industries Union and Transport Union members demand an end to a below minimum wage base salary. They also want night shift payments and general improvements to wages and working conditions.

Menzies Aviation provides services at over 300 airports in 65 countries. In 2024 its global revenue was $2.6 billion, an increase of 20 percent from 2023.

French pharmacists continue work-to-rule over financial threat to state-funded provision of medicine

Pharmacies across France have been on an indefinite work-to-rule since July 1, refusing to co-operate with local health services emergency out-of-hours schedules and insisting on up-front payments for free medicines during those hours. They also threaten further reductions in operating hours if changes are not made to the government provision of medicines.

The Union of Community Pharmacists Unions and the Federation of Pharmaceutical Unions of France members protest recent cuts in government health spending, which mean discounts for pharmacies purchasing generic medicines have reduced from 40 to 20 percent. They also complain of the administrative work and financial insecurity involved in third-party payments, whereby they have to wait to be reimbursed by the government for those medicines free to the public.

On July 23, after a meeting with pharmacists unions, the government proposed the generic medicine subsidy be reduced to 33 percent rather than 20 percent, but pharmacists say this is still not enough to safeguard the existence of thousands of pharmacy outlets across the country, particularly in already poorly served rural areas.

Public transport workers in Sardinia, Italy strike over inadequate working conditions

Employees for ARST, the publicly owned regional transport company in Sardinia, Italy, held a one-day strike July 26 to protest long-standing grievances about working conditions. Bus, rail and tram services were all brought to a halt.

The ORSA TPL transport union members have many unaddressed complaints concerning hostile management, a two-tier workforce, poor computer technology implementation, lack of meal vouchers, missing allowances and other substandard working conditions.

Train drivers in Hull, UK vote to continues series of strikes over sacking of driver

Train drivers working for Hull Trains, which runs trains from Hull/Beverly to London Kings Cross have voted to continue their series of intermittent stoppages.

The ASLEF union members began their programme of walkouts in February. They took the action in support of a driver ASLEF claims was dismissed for raising safety issues. An ASLEF official, quoted in a BBC News report July 25, said, Hull Trains has been telling our members that they wish to sort out this issue but its nearly a month since their last meeting with ASLEF and the silence is deafening.

The re-vote means action could continue until February next year, with Hull Trains saying services can be cancelled at short notice because of the action.

Workers at hotel chain in Glasgow, Scotland to strike over pay and conditions

Hotel workers at the Village Hotel in Glasgow, Scotland are set to walk out on Saturday until August 31. They are employed in the food and beverage department at the hotel. Village Hotel runs 33 hotels across the UK.

The Unite union members voted by 100 percent for the stoppage. Their demands are to be paid the real living wage of 12.60 an hour and for this to be paid to all employees regardless of age. They also want paid breaks and for backdated wages for under 21-year-olds paid at the same rate as workers at the Edinburgh Village Hotel.

Middle East

Continuing protests in Iran as economic conditions deteriorate

Protests continue across Iran in response to deteriorating conditions of life. On Saturday, owners of industrial units in the Chahardengeh, Khorramdasht and Siah Sang industrial zones held protests over recurring power outages.

The same day saw protests by merchants in the Salehabad Bazaar in Tehran over power cuts affecting their businesses. Meanwhile poultry farmers in Khorasan Razavi protested the state of their industry.

On July 21 and 22, protests took part in the city of Sabzevar in northeastern Iran over chronic power and water outages. Protestors holding marches and rallies were met with police attempts to disperse them but were able to prevail. There have also been recent protests in the cities of Nasimshahr and Marvdashht over water shortages.

July 20 saw protests by Social Security retirees in Rasht and Tehran over the inadequate level of pensions.

The same day drivers protested outside the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade in Tehran over vehicles they had bought but which have been held up at the Iranian border. Also, truck drivers in Zarand protesting tariffs and unequal division of orders held a demonstration.

July 20 also saw a rally at the Khorasan Steel company over management practices. In Tehran merchants at the Grand Bazaar protested over exorbitant rents.

With 70 percent of Iranian workers living below the poverty line, they are suffering the consequences of prolonged deteriorating economic conditions. These conditions have been exacerbated by US sanctions. The Trump regimes recent bombing raids were carried out as part of its attempts to reorganise the Middle East in the run up to war against China.

Airport workers at Israeli airport strike over staff shortages

July 25 saw ground staff at Israels Ben-Gurion refusing to load and unload baggage on incoming and outgoing planes. Reported in the Jerusalem Post, airport workers committee chairman, Pinchas Idan denied it was a strike but simply a lack of staff.

Idan said management were warned about staff shortages, had in fact wanted to cut around 100 jobs but transferred them to part-time posts.

Africa

Doctors in Lagos, Nigeria hold three-day strike over pay deductions

Doctors in Lagos, Nigeria held a three-day strike starting on July 28 to protest the unilateral deduction of money from their salaries by the state government.

The Medical Guild, which represents doctors and dentists called on our compassionate [State] Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to kindly intervene to restore the deducted amounts.

The Nigerian Medical Association has issued a three-week notice, to begin on July 30, of an indefinite stoppage in opposition to the federal governments failure to address long-standing demands.

Nigerian nurses and midwives begin national strike

Nigerian nurses and midwives began a national strike at midnight on Tuesday, after the expiry of a 15-day ultimatum issued by the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives.

The strike is to demand an increase in allowances for night and weekend shifts, as well as allowances for call duties, which often involve staff spending their own time on duty and providing emergency services.

Pilots at South African airline FlySafair continue stoppage over pay and safety

Pilots at budget airline operator FlySafair in South Africa are continuing their strike begun more than two weeks ago over pay and conditions.

The 220 Solidarity union members, two thirds of the pilots at FlySafair, rejected the companys latest offer in a 90 percent vote. The sticking point is the refusal of FlySafair to restore the fixed pattern of rosters of six days on two days off, then six days on three days off. The company introduced flexible algorithm-driven rosters to compensate for staff shortages. The new rosters impact work/life balance, family life and safety due to long, irregular hours in the air.

The pilots also demand pay is restored to pre-COVID levels. They want a rise of 10.5 percent, as opposed to the employers offer of 5.7 percent. Solidarity released a public statement on Monday stating: this strike is not about greed. It is about safetyThis year alone, 37 highly trained, experienced pilots resignedThese are professionals who have sacrificed years of their lives and small fortunes in training, only to find themselves working under conditions that disregard their well-being.

While the technology promised efficiency, the reality has been brutal: minimal rest, brutal schedules, and zero regard for basic human needs. The pilots asked for one weekend off a month. The response? The algorithm doesnt like rules.

FlySafair propose a joint roster committee consisting of pilot and company representatives. Talks are ongoing.

The pilots union SAA Pilots Association at South African Airways and Solidarity at Lift airlines have allowed the respective companies to fly FlySafair passengers between Durban and Cape Town.

Liberian truck drivers hold protest over control of routes being privatised

Liberian truck drivers held a protest on the streets of the capital, Monrovia to oppose the concession agreement between the Government of Liberia and the private Liberia Traffic Management Inc. (LTMI).

Drivers oppose transferring control of main transport routes, traffic management, and other core functions to a private firm. The agreement was signed on September 11, 2018, between the Government of Liberia and LTMI to modernise, digitise, and manage the countrys transportation and traffic systems with a focus on generating profits. The agreement was activated following a Supreme Court ruling on May 28, 2025.

Frankin Sisco, a driver with 17 years experience, said LTMI officers routinely issue fines of up to US$150, while police officers impose separate charges, leading to double punishment. He also said the judiciary are biased in favour of enforcement officers.
President of the Amazon Labor Union Chris Smalls speaks during the American Federation of Teachers convention, Friday, July 15, 2022, in Boston. Smalls spoke before an address by First Lady Jill Biden. [AP Photo/Michael Dwyer]

Chris Smalls, the founder of the Amazon Labor Union in the United States, was among those kidnapped by the Israel Defense Forces last Saturday while attempting to reach Gaza by sea with humanitarian supplies.

According to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the voyage, 21 civilians were abducted aboard the Handala, the vessel traveling to Gaza. Smalls was physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals, a statement from the group said. They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back.

Smalls appears to have been deliberately singled out. When his lawyer met with him, Christian was surrounded by six members of Israels special police unit. This level of force was not used against other abducted activists.

Among the other activists detained are 70 year-old grandmother Vigdis Bjorvand, of Norway, who was held in solitary confinement before being expelled from Israel on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Smalls and Hatem Aouini of Tunisia, the last two crew members still imprisoned, were finally released. They had been on hunger strike for more than five days to protest their violent treatment by the Israeli government.

This is the third time this year that Israel has attacked a vessel from the Freedom Flotilla. In June, the Israeli navy seized the Madleen, whose crew included well-known climate activist Greta Thunberg, in international waters, a brazen act of piracy. In May, drone-launched missiles were used to attack the Conscience in international waters just outside the Mediterranean island country of Malta.

The World Socialist Web Site denounces this latest criminal assault by Israel. We call on the workers of the United States and the world to organize actions to halt the flow of weapons into Israel being used to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Responsibility rests not only with the fascistic Netanyahu government in Israel, but the entire political establishment in the United States and in Europe. In America, both parties have spent the last two years brutally attacking mass demonstrations against the genocide; in Europe, governments are taking steps to illegalize even speaking in support of pro-Palestinian organizations. The cynical pretext for this is the false equation of opposition to the genocide and to Zionism with antisemitism, an insult to the memory of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

The arrest and beating of Smalls shows that the war on Gaza is part of a wider war on the working class. Eruptions of military violence abroad are connected with the industrial slaughterhouse in American factories and the attacks on immigrants and democratic rights more broadly. Recent horrific deaths include explosions at a fuel pellet plant in Nebraska and a fireworks factory in California, the death in a meat grinder of a 19-year-old food production worker and Guatemalan immigrant, and the death of autoworker Ronald Adams.

No doubt, the Israeli government meted out particular brutality against Smalls because they associate him with opposition to genocide from the international working class, which terrifies them above all else.

Smalls founded the Amazon Labor Union after he was fired in March 2020 from the companys JFK8 warehouse in Staten Island for organizing a strike against the operation of the facility during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

In April 2022, workers at the facility became the first in the US to join a union at Amazon. Workers did so because they wanted to organize broad rank-and-file actions against the massive transnational corporations. The militant workforce at the warehouse has organized walkouts repeatedly over horrible conditions, including a fire in 2022 and the death of a worker in the warehouses loading dock earlier this year.

Although Smalls is no longer with ALU, the unions executive committee issued a statement demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all detained activists  and we call on the broader labor movement to take a stance for Palestinian liberation.

Before departing to join the Freedom Flotilla, Smalls issued a statement calling out the AFL-CIO and the International Longshoremens Association (ILA) directly. These organizations have yet to pass a single resolution demanding a ceasefire. Worse, they continue to facilitate the shipping of arms to Israel, despite the blood on those shipments. Union members across the country are rising in protest, while your so-called leaders remain silent. That silence equals death.

Indeed, the union bureaucrats have lined up to offer their support for war, with many explicitly backing Trumps America First policies. The ILA has called Trump the greatest friend of workers and endorsed his illegal airstrikes on Iran. The Teamsters, which ALU joined last year, is also a major backer of Trump, as is the United Auto Workers; both are headed by reform administrations responsible for tens of thousands of layoffs.

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which is also part of the Teamsters, has launched a racist campaign against Mexican engineers as national security risks. The NABTU building trades union has even called for an immigration raid at a factory in Arizona.

Neither the AFL-CIO nor the Teamsters issued a statement as of this writing to defend Smalls. Teamsters General President Sean OBrien, however, has posted clips to his X/Twitter account from his podcast appearances alongside ultra-right figures such as Tucker Carlson and Vivek Ramaswamy. Their refusal to do anything or even acknowledge the attack makes them accomplices of the Israeli and American war machines.

Workers must organize themselves to put an end to the genocide. They must not only call the union apparatus to account for their criminal silence but take initiative into their own hands, including organizing mass protests and work stoppages. The fight against the genocide must become part of a broader movement against war and dictatorship, in which the working class must play the leading role.

To coordinate such a campaign, new structures, rank-and-file committees, must be established to open lines of communication between workers across the country, both union and non-union. These committees, free from the influence of the union apparatus, will form the basis of a fight for workers control and against the profit motive, which is responsible for war and oppression all over the world.
In the early hours of July 22, the Qassim family, including four young children, were violently awakened. Police officers immediately took them to the Leipzig/Halle Airport, where they were forced to board a plane to Baghdad for deportation to Iraq.

The Qassim family [Photo by permission]

That same morning, the Potsdam Administrative Court granted an emergency application to stop their deportation, ruling that their obligation to leave the country was invalid. The family should therefore be allowed to stay in Germany. The court ruling, however, came while they were already on a plane to Baghdad.

The deportation of the Yazidi family, who fled Iraq in 2014 from the terrorist militia ISIS, is an example of the brutal tightening of asylum and deportation policies under Germanys Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (Christian Social Union, CSU). The German government, a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD), headed by former BlackRock employee Friedrich Merz (CDU), has declared war on the working class, with refugees first in line.

The Qassim family had lived in Lychen, in the state of Brandenburg, for three years. They had integrated themselves into society; the children attended school, with the youngest in daycare. The administrative courts ruling, scheduled for the end of July, had been expected since April. However, the Saxon Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) deliberately created a fait accompli before the ruling arrived. The family was deported to Baghdad on Tuesday as part of a group of 43 people.

Deportations have increased rapidly under the Merz government. In the first half of 2025, there were 11,800 deportations, 2,300 more than in the same period last year (9,500). Last year, under Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), deportations had already reached a record number of 20,000.

Regarding Tuesdays deportation flight, Thuringias Justice Minister Beate Meissner (CDU) stated that it was completed without incident. As if speaking on behalf of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), she added, Our message is clear: Anyone who does not have a right of residence must leave our country.

The familys lawyer is now trying to secure their repatriation. However, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has classified the Yazidi family, whose house in the Sinjar Mountains was destroyed by ISIS and whose relatives and friends were murdered, not as members of a persecuted minority, but as economic refugees. The entire process exemplifies the bottomless mendacity and hypocrisy of the German ruling class.

Just 10 years ago, in the summer of 2015, when the idea of stationing the Bundeswehr in northern Iraq was being discussed, the case of the Yazidis was exploited relentlessly for propaganda purposes. It was argued that it was absolutely necessary to bring the Bundeswehr to Iraq so it could defend not only the Kurdish Peshmerga but also the Yazidis against the advance of ISIS.

If genocide can only be prevented with German weapons, then we must help, declared then-Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (now head of the European Commission). Referring to the attempted genocide against the Yazidis, she trumpeted at the Munich Security Conference in February 2015: Indifference is and remains not an option!

However, Yazidis like the Qassims in Germany are now classified as economic refugees. The Potsdam Administrative Court found that serious doubts exist about the legality of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejection of the asylum application. The situation in Iraq, and especially in Sinjar, remains far from safe for Yazidis.

Twelve-year-old Maatz Qassim, who was able to make a phone call from Baghdad on Tuesday, told an rbb journalist, We are afraid. He reported on the nighttime police abduction: They shouted police and shone their flashlights in our faces.

Maatzs classmates have since initiated a petition against the deportation and have already collected over 400 signatures in three days. Lychen Mayor Karola Gundlach (Independent) also said she was dismayed and could hardly believe that the family was deported. The Brandenburg Refugee Council described the deportation as scandalous.

This deportation is not an isolated incident. In Hesse, the Afghan Kapoor family was deported to India (!) in April, even though they too were well integrated and their two sons had been attending school in Frankfurt for years. Another example concerns a daycare teacher from Offenbach who was deported to Afghanistan, despite support from her colleagues.

Since the fall of the Assad regime in Damascus, a particularly large number of Syrians have been deported, even though the situation in their homeland has by no means stabilized. Most of the Syrians who came to Germany are well integrated and indispensable as workers. The German government is increasingly adopting the policies of the AfD.

The Socialist Equality Party (SGP) rejects all deportations and categorically opposes the attacks on refugees and migrants. These deportations are an attack on the entire working class. Workers with German passports must, as a matter of principle, defend their international colleagues! Refugees are only the first victims. The deportations are the flip side of the Merz governments war policy, the costs of which are ultimately intended to be borne by the entire working class.
The Western Sydney University and Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committees have called an online public meeting this Saturday August 2 to fight for a unified campaign by educators, students and working people against the Albanese Labor governments intensifying cuts to international student enrolments and jobs, and the underlying pro-corporate, pro-military reshaping of tertiary education. Register here.

Striking university workers and students at the NTEU rally in Melbourne, 3 May 2023.

Students, as well as staff members, continue to be hit with job cuts at Australias 39 public universities.

This week, Newcastle University announced, via an all-staff email, cost-cutting of at least $20.6 million this year. Previous modelling indicates that could mean up to 400 job losses. That would bring the total job destruction nationally over the past 10 months to more than 3,500.

As well as Newcastle, the known job cuts list now includes Western Sydney University, Sydneys Macquarie University, Charles Sturt University, the Australian National University, University of Canberra, University Technology Sydney (UTS), and the universities of Wollongong, Tasmania, Charles Darwin, Federation, James Cook, Southern Queensland, Griffith, La Trobe and Swinburne.

This assault is primarily being driven by the Albanese Labor governments reactionary cuts to international student enrolments, with a definite agenda: to transform tertiary education to satisfy the requirements of the corporate elite and the development of a war economy.

It parallels similar measures by the Starmer Labour government in the UK, where 10,000 university jobs are now being cut, and the Trump administration in the US, which is slashing funding for universities unless they comply with its fascistic, repressive and militarist policies.

The main campus trade unions, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), are desperately covering up the Labor governments role. They are trying to blame individual vice-chancellors for the assault, despite its sweeping character across the country.

At the same time, they are seeking to help the managements find ways to implement Labors agenda, including via supposed voluntary redundancies, as the NTEU proposed last week at Western Sydney University.

These cuts, on top of years of under-funding and corporate-style restructuring, are having a serious impact on students, who also face Labor government-backed attacks on anti-genocide protests and free speech, including arrests and suspensions of students.

Both the NTEU and CPSU have refused to oppose the cuts to international students. They are silent too on the fact that, while starving the universities of funds, the Albanese government is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into military spending, and backing the Gaza genocide, the criminal attacks on Iran and the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine.

The Labor government, like the Trump and Starmer administrations, is also seeking to suppress opposition to the ethnic cleansing in Palestine. Education Minister Jason Clare instigated moves to freeze the research grant of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a prominent critic of the Israeli war machine, at Macquarie University.

Jack, a chemistry student at Newcastle University, said the job cuts and course restructuring in recent years had already led to less access to lecturers and fewer subject choices.

My parents were surprised by how little face-to-face class time there was, compared to 30 years ago. I had 13 hours in one week and they were doing like 30 hours a week of class time.

If you really want to get an idea of how to do a broad range of questions and get a good understanding of all the concepts, then thats just not enough. Lecturers themselves dont have a lot of time to actually do the classes, because of their workloads.

Work integrated learning (WIL) is now mandatory in the Bachelor of Science degree. Its basically free labour. I did a group project on water treatment for a business in the area. It was a helpful experience, but people should get paid for this!

There is an attack on broad education, which is the ideal of universities, and free discussion. Its a lot about getting the paper that says I can have a job now. Its not about getting a broader understanding of ideas and concepts, which is really what universities should be about.

Jack said universities were becoming part of the development of a war economy.

Humanities courses are literally twice the cost of science and engineering courses. That was a result of the Morrison Liberal-National governments job ready graduates scheme, which has been continued by Labor.

The attack on the ideal of university is clearly connected with militarisation. The Labor governments Universities Accord stated openly that the push for more STEM graduates is bound up with the AUKUS submarine deal, or in its words national priorities.

Under Labor, the universities have really doubled down on militarisation, as well as all the attacks on students opposing the genocide in Gaza.

We see this even at a basic level, at the careers expos we have fairly regularly. The military businesses are always there. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and even the Australian Defence Force, have stalls Grants from defence are advertised to academics as well.

When it comes to militarisation, the money doesnt stop flowing, its like the German rearmament at the moment. With the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal, thats $368 billion over 30 years. Its coming out of essential services, such as universities.

The connection between the job ready graduates issue and the lack of knowing deeper concepts is a real race for militarisation You dont need to know deeper concepts if youre going to help manufacture a nuclear-powered submarine. You need to know how to solve the engineering questions relating to that kind of thing.

Jack also pointed to the deterioration in young peoples living conditions over the past five decades.

Students and teachers dont have the time they used to have to dedicate to study. Students used to actually be able to live on student allowances back in the 1970s when there was free uni. Now almost everyone works alongside study. Its a symptom of a whole societal crisis.

Daniel

Daniel, a fine arts student at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, first spoke about the deterioration in health, disability, counselling, equity and other support services for students.

Over the seven years that Ive been studying these services have become increasingly difficult to access. There are longer waiting times and difficulty in getting responses from certain services.

This is a political question because the money is available. Its just being prioritised in other ways, not education, or if it is education, it is for particular industries, particularly in STEM subjects and engineering.

And its become more and more clear that weapons manufacture and these sorts of associated businesses are closely tied with the universities.

Daniel said arts students faced deepening problems.

Were seeing a narrowing of options across the board. In my course, in particular, effectively all the elective classes have been removed. We dont really get any choice in that regard.

We have classes in visual arts and in the arts school that are basically focused on telling us that theres no future in the arts. Its a whole class dedicated to saying theres very limited funding in the industry. Youre going to be constantly asking for grants and you wont get them. The cost for exhibiting in gallery spaces is just astronomical. So youre likely not going to be able to afford it.

Another challenge, as an art student, is that you have to self-fund all your materials. So depending if youre a sculpture student or a photography student or a painting student, you have to source all your canvases or your paints or your brushes. So that limits students as to freedom of what they can explore.

To fight this agenda of job cuts, pro-big business restructuring and war preparations, there must be a unified struggle by staff and students across the country. This requires the formation of rank-and-file committees of staff and students at all universities, completely independent of the trade union apparatuses.

We urge students to join this struggle. It cannot be won on the campuses alone. Rank-and-file committees will fight for support among all educators, including in the schools, and all workers, because what happens in the universities is an issue for society as a whole. They will also link up with educators struggles globally, through the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees.

To discuss and develop this fight, the Western Sydney University and Macquarie University Rank-and-File Committees will host an online public meeting this Saturday August 2 at 3pm, titled What is driving the university job cuts across Australia? Labors pro-corporate and war agenda.

To join the meeting, please register here.

To support this campaign, contact the Committee for Public Education (CFPE), the educators rank-and-file network.

Contact the CFPE:

Email: cfpe.aus@gmail.com

Facebook: facebook.com/commforpubliceducation

Twitter: CFPE_Australia
Ambiq Micro, a 15-year-old manufacturer of energy-efficient chips for wearable and medical devices, closed its first day of trading on Wednesday at $38.53 a share, a 61% increase from the $24 IPO price the company set the previous day.

The success of the IPO signals strong investor demand in the public market for new small-cap companies benefiting from AI innovation.

Ambiq closed its first day as a public company with a valuation of $656 million (excluding employee options). This represents a significant increase from its last private funding valuation of $450 million in 2023, according to PitchBook.

The company has pitched itself as well-positioned to capitalize on the growth driven by AI. Because were so low energy, we can put more intelligence and more AI on board of edge processors, the companys CTO Scott Hanson told TechCrunch.

For the three months that ended March 31, Ambiq posted a net loss of $8.3 million against revenues of $15.7 million, the companys S1 filing shows. The Q1 results mark a slight improvement from the first quarter of 2024, when the company reported a $9.8 million loss on $15.2 million in revenue.

Kleiner Perkins and EDB Investments, a Singaporean state-backed entity, are the largest outside backers of Ambiq, according to the filing.

Wen Hsieh, who was a general partner at Kleiner Perkins until 2023, first backed Ambiq when the company raised its Series C in 2014. Hsieh also invested in Ambiq after he launched his own venture firm, Matter Venture Partners, two years ago.
The Detroit Opera has cancelled its season-opening production of The Girl of the Golden West (La fanciulla del West) by Giacomo Puccini. The opera company announced it made the decision to avoid a larger financial crisis in the face of declining revenues and increasing costs.

With public funding for arts already at meager levels, arts and cultural organizations across Michigan and nationally are being staggered by the loss of federal funding as the Trump administration moves to shut down the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). In mid-July the US Senate voted to eliminate funding for public broadcasting as well, including money that had already been allocated.

According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Opera suffered a fall in contributions from fiscal 20232024 of $1,889,226, primarily due to a loss of $1,744,477 from government grants. Public donations in the same period also fell by $145,749.

The Detroit Opera production of The Central Park Five by Anthony Davis [2025 Credit: Detroit Opera media]

Costs, including salaries, increased over the same period while the number of employees on its payroll declined. Detroit Opera management indicated it took the drastic decision to eliminate Puccinis opera from its schedule to forestall more severe difficulties in light of the Trump cuts.

Detroit Opera President and CEO Patty Isacson Sabee told Crains Detroit Business, Canceling an opera is a very, very serious decision. She added, For us to make that decision, we have to be thinking about our current and our future state and our  need to move forward, making sure were protecting the longevity of our opera company.

Many of Puccinis biographers assert that he considered The Girl of the Golden West, which premiered in 1910, his best work. Although the reaction of contemporary critics was largely negative, more recently that view has been reassessed, and the work has been lauded for its musical craftsmanship.

The opera is set during the California Gold Rush and revolves around a love triangle between the local sheriff, an outlaw and the saloon owner Minnie, an assertive and dominating female character, in striking contrast to the perceived role of women during that period. It complements Puccinis other mature operas, La boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and the unfinished Turandot, all centering on a female protagonist who meets a tragic end.

Scene from the Third Act of the premiere of The Girl of the Golden West (La fanciulla del West) by Puccini at the Metropolitan Opera, 1910

The Girl of the Golden West was the only opera scheduled for the 2025-26 season from the traditional classical repertoire, perhaps the first time this has happened. This type of opera is typically more elaborately staged and costly to produce. Remaining on the schedule are several more modern productions: Highways and Valleys: Two American Love Stories, set for December, an adaptation of author Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale set for March 2026, and Apartment House 1776, written by American composer John Cage for the US bicentennial in 1976.

The Detroit Opera closed its 2025 season with a modern opera, The Central Park Five, which took aim in part at the role of Trump in the 1989 frame-up of five minority youth for the alleged rape of a jogger in New Yorks Central Park. The production was supported by a $40,000 federal grant.

The Detroit Opera operates the only opera house in Michigan, a state with more than 10 million people, a population comparable to several European nations, including Belgium, Sweden, Hungary and Portugal. Belgium, by way of comparison, has four opera houses. This situation reflects fundamental problems with the state of culture in the US.

By and large, Americans, even those who can afford the price of admission, lack access to cultural institutions that expose them to the classical repertoire and to the musical achievements of the past. This inevitably restricts musical understanding and progress, as only aspiring musicians who grow up in the largest cities even have direct access to the most musically complex expressions.

The cultural deterioration and crisis in the US did not happen overnight, with the election of the culturally depraved ignoramus currently occupying the White House, but it has been ongoing for many decades.

In a possible indication of the direction things are heading, Crains reported that the Detroit Opera is diversifying the performances it is hosting in order to offset its loss in funding. It reports that the Detroit Opera House will host Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, 35th Anniversary Edition, a spoof of the famed Barber of Seville opera along with roughly a dozen other Looney Tunes shorts.

A retired musician with the former Michigan Opera Theatre orchestra (the company was renamed Detroit Opera in 2022) told the World Socialist Web Site,

I dont think they necessarily pulled [The Girl of the Golden West] because of its being classical as opposed to some of the more modern productions. I do know that the head of Detroit Opera is more interested in contemporary things than what they had in the past. [The late director] David DiChiera [who died in 2018] was steeped in the traditional opera. I dont know what is going on with those dynamics. Maybe they are looking for younger audiences. There is something going on there.

It is a sign of the times, I believe, he added. This writer noted that conductor Leonard Bernstein had hosted young peoples concerts in the 1950s and 1960s that were widely viewed. The musician noted,

When I was in elementary school, the Detroit Symphony would come and put on concerts for young people, and I dont know if they do that much any longer.

The elimination of NEA funding is having an impact across a broad spectrum of art and cultural organizations in Michigan.

In 2024 the NEA gave $3 million to arts organizations in Michigan, a tiny fraction of the amount spent on corporate tax handouts, police and prisons but still a critical lifeline for these groups. Since the defunding of the NEA by Trump in May, these funds have evaporated, leaving arts groups in the lurch.

For example, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press, the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MOCAD) in Detroit was notified May 2 that the NEA had cancelled funding for The Gun Violence Memorial Project, an important and timely exhibition that honors the victims of gun violence and raises awareness for the over 700 weekly deaths in the U.S. caused by gun violence.

The Charles H Wright Museum of African American History had a $300,000 grant rescinded, and the Detroit Historical Society stands to lose more than $300,000 in federal grants for digitalizing and other projects.

The Detroit Repertory Theatre is also feeling the pinch. Artistic director Leah Smith told the Free Press, The termination of grants to us and to so many other arts organizations is the opposite of what should be happening in our country. She went on, It is reckless. The arts are an economic driver and crucial to our collective emotional health.

Detroit Opera (detroitopera.org)

Much of the arts money being cut by the Trump administration is being redirected toward funding the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., dedicated to the glorification of American values, i.e., capitalism, which will receive $257 million in the new budget, up from $43 million.

The retired musician said, In this Trump era they are dumbing down everything. They are going after the universities and everything else. Arent they thinking about renaming the Kennedy Center for Melania Trump?

When the [Detroit] symphony musicians were on strike, we lost 25 percent of our season. It has never come back to what it was before then.

Now they are cutting healthcare for people. Medicaid, all in an effort to give tax cuts to the wealthiest people in this country. Everything is shifting toward the wealthy and have the rest of us do whatever we can to survive.

The struggle to elevate the general level of culture includes the tasks of expanding access to culture for the entire working class, improving the quality and availability of musical education for young artistically inclined workers, and preserving and reproducing the most poignant, sensitive and technically brilliant achievements in musical history at the highest professional level. None of this can be achieved without the intervention of the working class to secure the appropriate allocation of resources for the preservation and progress of classical music and musical culture more broadly.
Family, friends, lawyers and community members held a virtual press conference Thursday demanding the release of Tae Heung Will Kim, a 40-year-old Korean- American scientist who has been falsely imprisoned by the US immigration gestapo.

Tae Heung Will Kim

Kim has been held by the immigration police for nearly two weeks. He is not accused of any crime, is a legal permanent resident and has lived in the United States since he was five years old. He is currently pursing his PhD in infectious disease at Texas A&M University.

None of this prevented him from being kidnapped by immigration agents earlier this month and sent, according to his lawyers, to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Arizona.

Kim is one of over 150,000 people who have been taken by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or ICE during the first six months of Trumps second term. As part of the Trump administrations war on science and immigrants, he is among the hundreds, if not thousands, of students and scientific researchers who have been targeted by the Trump administration.

Previous targets include the frame-up of Chinese citizens and University of Michigan researchers Yunquing Jian and Chengzuan Han. Both researchers are being held without bond and are facing federal felony charges for the crime of failing to declare they were transporting non-hazardous biological materials (C. elegans roundworms and plasmids).

Kim, like Jian, Han and the tens of thousands of other workers, residents and immigrants who have been kidnapped by the US government, is not a criminal in any sense of the word. Unlike the fascists in the White House, Congress, Supreme Court and border police, Kim is providing a service to humanity through his groundbreaking research at Texas A&M, directed towards developing a vaccine for Lyme disease, a severely disabling and occasionally life-threatening bacterial infection that is transmitted to humans through infected ticks.

In Thursdays press conference Sharon Lee, Kims mother, said through a translator that the family has been given no reason as to why Kim has been kidnapped and imprisoned. CBP has refused to communicate with the family and denied Kim access to lawyers while he was held at the San Francisco International Airport.

Vehicles wait outside the international terminal at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco on July 11, 2017. [AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez]

She said that when she first heard her son was detained, her world was shattered and that she never really expected something like this to happen to her own son who is a legal permanent resident and a good son.



Sharon explained that the family left Korea on Monday local time and we were supposed to arrive on Tuesday morning. But upon her arrival she had not heard from Will for an entire day but that her other son eventually called her to let her know that he got a call from CBP that Will is detained.

The family has been given no reason for Kims detention. The only run-in with police Kim has had since living in the United States is a 2011 marijuana possession charge which has since been expunged from his public record following community service requirements.

According to Kims lawyers, Karl Krooth and Eric Lee, Kim was initially held virtually incommunicado for over a week at San Francisco International Airport upon returning from a family wedding in South Korea on Monday, July 21.

The conditions Kim has been suffering under are nothing less than torture. For more than a week at the airport, which is not a detention facility, Kruth said Kim was constantly moved back and forth between two different areas of the airport, neither of which had access to natural light or fresh air. While at the airport, Kim was denied access to speak to a lawyer and only briefly spoke to one family member.

Krooth said while at the airport Kim

was subject to the lights being on 24 hours a day His opportunities for things like exercise or fresh air were completely deprived of him. He was confined to a chair for sleeping. He only had access to concession food. He only had access to water and no other fluids. And he could not have full nights of sleep.

Kim suffers from asthma. Krooth could not confirm Kim was receiving any medical care and said that he only met with Kim once at a transit facility: he had certainly not had those precautions taken with regard to his health needs.

Krooth said in his 25 years as an immigration attorney he had never seen someone held by CBP at an airport for 72 hours or more. He added this sort of a prolonged detention indicates to me that there is a degree of coercion or inducement afoot, and specifically in this context I would speculate they were trying to coerce him into withdrawing his application for submission.

Krooth said that what has happened so far in Kims case shows that the system is broken. He explained:

Due process is a guarantee that foreign nationals gain by virtue of immigration court proceedings. And that has been articulated in many court decisions in every circuit court of the federal system. So there is no doubt that he deserved due process and did not get any at Customs and Border Protection. Just like the airport is not a detention facility, the airport is not an immigration courtroom, and Customs and Border Protection officers are interrogators. They are not neutral arbiters.

Attorney Eric Lee said he emailed CBP contacts multiple times to locate Will and to ascertain why he was being detained. After several days of not receiving a response, Lee said this past Saturday a supervising officer at CBP using an extremely hostile tone, told me that he would not allow me to speak to my client. I informed the officer that Will had lived in the United States for 35 years, that he was a lawful permanent resident, and that he had only been outside the United States for two weeks on a vacation.

The officer said he did not care. I asked the officer whether the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution applied to Will, and the officer gave me a one word answer, no.

Lee said it wasnt until the Washington Post covered Kims imprisonment in a July 29 article that the immigration police allowed him to meet with his client.

Lee explained:

... a critical democratic principle is at stake in this case. It goes far beyond Will and his family as important as they are. The Constitution applies to the people, not to citizens alone. The Bill of Rights refers only to the people  Even the Supreme Court has acknowledged this.

And the protections of the Bill of Rights do not simply wash away like watercolor when a green card holder briefly leaves the United States and returns. The manner in which Customs and Border Protection held Will incommunicado for over a week and denied him his most basic rights as a member of the people of this country should shock us  because it tells us something deeply concerning about the attitude of this administration to the Constitution, which Trump attempted to overthrow on January 6, 2021, and which he later said he planned to terminate.

Lee noted that the leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and Trump administration officials have consistently denounced journalists, lawyers and activists for comparing ICE and Customs and Border Patrol protection to the Gestapo. He continued:

Well, this case highlights the fact that the comparison is unfortunately quite apt. Theres another dark historical connection. For decades, the United States government in San Francisco, on Angel Island and elsewhere, exercised a policy of depriving Asian immigrants and Asian American citizens of their most basic democratic rights while coming into the United States. This dark historical period is being washed up again by this administration and this case exemplifies it as well. So because there has been no serious opposition to any of this from within the political establishment, the Democratic Party has been totally silent and has refused to do anything to oppose Trumps attack on immigrants, our appeal is to you, the population of the United States. We think that the people of this country have to stand up and take mass action to defend the most basic democratic rights and to stop the descent to dictatorship.

Lee observed that in the state of Texas, where Kim resides, devastating floods have impacted thousands of Texans of all races and nationalities, yet the Department of Homeland Security, instead of providing absolutely necessary resources to help Texans who are going through this devastating situation, is directing an immense amount of resources away from FEMA, away from helping people deal with natural disasters, towards locking up, flying people like Will around the country.

The government is spending thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to punish this individual who is trying to engage in research that will save the lives of people in Texas and all over with providing a vaccine for Lyme disease.

Lee concluded:

So this is an opportunity for Texans, whether they voted for Donald Trump in the last election or not, to understand that the anti-immigration crackdown that this administration is launching is based on a lie. The goal was never to make America safer. The goal was never to make America healthier. The goal was to create the infrastructure for an attack on the rights of everybody, citizen and non-citizen alike. And thats why this case is so important.
The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and Alton Estate Workers Action Committee (AEWAC) in Sri Lanka are stepping up their campaign to defend the 26 victimised workers from the Alton Estate in the Maskeliya area of the central plantation district. Police filed criminal charges against the workers on May 28.

Section of victimised workers who attended Alton Estate Workers Action Committee meeting

The workers were involved in a national plantation strike for higher wages on February 5, 2021. They continued their action at Alton Estate to oppose ongoing harassment by the estate manager. Following a protest near the managers residence on February 17, 2021, the manager and his assistant complained to the police, claiming that they were physically harmed by workers.

The police arrested dozens of workers, while the Horana Plantation Company (HRPC), which manages the estate, summarily sacked 38 over the same false allegations. Local leaders of the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), the main plantation union, participated the witch hunt.

The police did not file charges against the 26 workers until May this year, four years after the alleged incident and after repeatedly postponing the case at the Magistrates Court in Hatton.

The hearing of the criminal case against the workers, who have strenuously denied the charges, will begin on September 10. If convicted, the workers could be sentenced to seven years of imprisonment.

The charges include being members of an unlawful assembly with the purpose of attacking estate manager Sathyamoorthy Subash Narayanan and assistant manager Anushan Thiruchelvam; causing serious injuries to these individuals and damaging the estate managers residence.

SEP and AEWAC members have distributed hundreds of copies of a June 2025 World Socialist Web Site article titled Sri Lankan police file criminal charges against Alton Estate workers which calls on plantation workers and other sections of the working class to mobilise their strength to defend these class-war victims.

One AEWAC member explained during a recent meeting that a retired worker had told campaigners that, JVP [Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna] trade union people in the estate are telling workers that you [the SEP] are lying, saying those who have been charged will get a seven-year prison sentence.

The worker replied to the JVP supporter: They [SEP] know very well about the case. They are the people who, from the start and for nearly four years, came here and fought to defend those who were victimised. The union people never came here but always supported management.

AEWAC members later discovered that Bala Kumar, a JVP supporter, had made allegations against the SEP. The JVP is despised by Tamil plantation workers because of its provocative and long-standing denunciation of these workers as agents of India and Indian expansionism.

Kumar, who does not work at Alton Estate, played a prominent role organising campaigns for the JVP-led National Peoples Power (JVP/NPP) in the Maskeliya area during last years presidential and parliamentary elections. He recently established a branch of the JVP-led All Ceylon Estate Workers Union (ACEWU) with former members of the CWC at Alton Estate.

The JVP and its ACEWU have remained silent about the ongoing harassment of the victimised Alton Estate workers over the past four years, while the CWC, which has a branch at Alton, has participated in the witch hunt.

Detailed information on the continuing repression of these impoverished plantation workers is well known and widely publicised in dozens of WSWS articles in English, Tamil and Sinhala. The AEWAC and the SEP have held joint meetings at Maskeliya and Hatton and waged an international campaign to defend the Alton Estate workers.

The bogus accusations against the SEP and AEWAC are a crude attempt by the JVP-controlled trade union to sabotage the Alton workers defence campaign. We urge workers to reject these allegations and step up the struggle to defeat this attack on workers basic democratic right to organise and fight to improve their wages, jobs and working conditions.

The ACEWU, which has little support in the plantations, acts as the political tail-end of the widely discredited union bureaucrats from the CWC, Democratic Workers Congress, Up-Country Peoples Front, National Union of Workers and a host of other trade unions. The aim of the JVP/CWC union leadership is to hide the political dangers facing the victimised Alton Estate workers and derail the struggle for their defence.

The HRPC, which is a partner of the Hayleys Group, one of Sri Lankas major conglomerates and top profit earners, is determined to jail the 26 victimised employees. Following the February 17, 2021 protest, it summarily sacked 38 workers without any investigation.

The HRPC is retaining its own lawyers for the forthcoming criminal case as well as in the Labour Tribunal cases filed by sacked employees who are demanding reinstatement and payment of back wages.

Two cases already heard at the Labour Tribunal in Hatton backed the HRPC, ordering 13 workers to pay 7,500 rupees (about $US25) in legal expenses to the company and 17 others to pay 7,000 rupees.

The Labour Tribunal and Magistrates Court cases have dragged on for over four years since March 2021. During this period, the workers have had to travel to Hatton at least twice every three months, spending money on travel, losing wages on these days and having to pay lawyers out of their pockets. Some have found work in remote estates as casual hands or doing low paid daily work.

Thirteen of the workers penalised by the Labour Tribunal have collectively filed an appeal in the High Court in Nuwara Eliya, urging a reversal of the Labour Tribunal verdict.

As the SEP and AEWAC explains in its June 25 article, the Alton Estate witch hunt is part an intensifying assault on all plantation workers. This includes the introduction of highly exploitative revenue-share schemes which aim to replace the traditional wage system, abolish pensions and other basic rights, and transform workers into modern-day tenant farmers. This restructuring also includes converting unprofitable estates into agricultural and horticultural projects

HRPCs attempts to jail the 26 Alton Estate employees, which is backed by the government and the plantation trade unions, is a serious assault, not just on estate workers but the entire working class and must be defeated.

The SEP and AEWAC calls on workers in Sri Lanka and internationally to defend the victimised Alton Estate workers and support the fight for their immediate and unconditional reinstatement with full back pay.

Workers can only fight for their social and democratic rights as part of a unified political struggle of the working class against the capitalist system and for the establishment of a workers and peasants government that nationalises major industries, banks and estates, placing them under the democratic control of the working class.

We appeal to all those who support this struggle to contact us, voice your support, and discuss how you can contribute to this crucial campaign.



Telephone: +94773562327

E-mail: wswscmb@sltnet.lk
LG Energy Solution battery plant in Holland, Michigan [Photo: LG Energy Solution Michigan media]

Kim Jung Won, a contractor from South Korea, tragically died around 5pm on the evening of Sunday July 27 at the LG Energy Solution Michigan (LGESMI) in Holland, Michigan. Prior to his death, Won had been setting up a machine at the plant when it activated, first trapping and then crushing him. Wons death was confirmed at the site. No lifesaving efforts were made due to the severity of his injuries.

Describing what must have been a horrific scene, the Holland police said, Due to the injuries, the victim was clearly deceased.

The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) gave this terse summary; the 34-year-old senior researcher was installing and setting up a machine at a customer location when the machine activated, and the victim was caught between the frame and the lifting mechanism. MIOSHA is currently investigating, according to police, since machinery being serviced is legally required to be disabled following lockout/tagout procedures.

LG Energy Solution operates a major lithium ion battery manufacturing facility in Holland and is partnering with US automakers on the EV transition. According to the company website, President Obama attended the plant opening ceremony in 2010. In 2024 then-US energy secretary and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm toured the plant and met with company directors.

Wons death sheds light on a troubling pattern of safety neglect at LG Energy Solutions Michigan. Several current and former LG employees posted their opposition to hazardous working conditions that prioritize task completion over employee safety. A worker denounced the cruel and callous manner in which the company continued production immediately after the accident. They stopped in that area, washed the brain matter off the wall and went right back to work. What a joke.

That place is a horrible place to be, one worker wrote. People being ridiculed so much by company people to get the job done. There are supposed to be safety features that prevent the machines from running if doors are opened and people are in there. They either dont work or get disabled and not returned to working order. People lose fingers and a guy even lost a hand. This place dont care.

A worker pointed to the subordination of safety for production. They frequently use no mandatory protective equipment and never lockout/tagout equipment. LGESMI does not care about safety. They only care about running quantity.

LG Energy Solutions Holland facility, operational since 2012, has seen repeated safety infractions, including multiple OSHA violations and a separate fatal incident in 2023, where a 41-year-old man died after being hit by a pipe during a pressure test. The same year, they received seven citations, including two willful violations, for the control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout), resulting in a $70,000 fine for each violation. A willful violation occurs when an employer deliberately ignores safety regulations, or intentionally ignores established safety regulations, OSHAs most severe violation.

Safety is no concern at LGESMI, posted Jaimie Adams, who worked in the electrode department at the Holland LG facility for almost 4 years. In July Adams testified before the Holland city council, in opposition to tax breaks for the company, because of its harassment of workers and unsafe conditions.

In June of 2024 Adams suffered an open head wound from machinery missing a handlea part that she later fixed herself. Despite reporting her injury to supervisors and crew leaders, Adams was denied permission to seek medical attention. During this time LG also refused to comply with ADA (American with Disabilities Act) accommodations: I was forced to do things doctors said not to.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a work-related fatality every 99 minutes, with 5,283 workers killed that year from traumatic injuries. No data has been published for 2024 or 2025. Despite the magnitude of this social catastrophe, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cut back even its already limited oversight. In 2024 OSHA had only one inspector per 85,000 workers, with a budget of a meager $3.92 per worker. It would take 185 years for OSHA to inspect every workplace, because of their severe lack of resources. On top of that, employers face few consequences for allowing fatal accidents, with a median penalty of only $16,131 for a workers death and only 137 criminal prosecutions since 1970.

On July 27 the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) held a rank-and-file hearing on the death of Stellantis Dundee autoworker Ronald Adams, Sr. At the hearing a former autoworker and leading member of the Socialist Equality Party, Lawrence Porter, characterized the ongoing deaths and injuries as casualties in a class war. Porter explained that the capitalist system treats the 140,000 annual deaths of US workers from traumatic injuries and occupational diseases as merely a cost of doing business.

The IWA-RFC unanimously adopted a resolution confronting the death of Stellantis worker Ronald Adams Sr. The resolution demands an end to the systematic negligence and concealment of industrial slaughter that claims workers lives every day in warehouses, factories, processing plants and construction sites. Those responsible for these preventable deaths must be held responsible. The resolution denounces the bipartisan attack on social programs and workplace safety directed by the Trump administration, assisted by the Democrats. We urge all workers to join the IWA-RFC and to end capitalist exploitation that cruelly sacrifices workers lives for profit.
On July 22, the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) passed (306 votes to 67) in its third reading a law imposing fines for searching the internet for what the Kremlin classifies as extremist material and advertising VPN services. Virtual private networks (VPN) hide users IP and thus enable people to access sites and apps that are otherwise banned. Many sites and encrypted messaging services in Russia, such as Signal, are no longer accessible without VPNs.

The bill is expected to be signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The bill means that if a user deliberately searches for extremist material, they face administrative liability with all possible fines. The list of extremist materials includes neo-Nazi and radical Islamist literature, as well as literature by figures associated with the NATO-backed liberal opposition and generally critical of the war. The list, which has been significantly expanded in recent years, now includes more than 5,500 items.

Based on the bill, law enforcement agencies must prove that the user is doing this intentionally and did not come across the material by accident. This raises questions: How will the Russian secret service, the FSB, and the police obtain evidence? How will users be able to remember all 5,500 prohibited materials, the list of which is constantly being arbitrarily expanded and now includes many materials critical of the war in Ukraine?

The new law allows for increased pressure on anyone who does not cooperate with the authorities in providing information about users of VPN services and internet providers. Telecommunications operators, internet providers, and VPN service administrators will be required not to disclose information about their interactions with the state, otherwise they will face fines of millions of dollars.

For ordinary users, this means virtually no privacy in their online lives. Moreover, the constant updating of the list of extremist materials makes it possible to ban content that has long been publicly available and widely popular. In effect, this means virtually unlimited possibilities for restricting what remains of internet freedom in Russia.

Before the third reading, State Duma Deputy Speaker and leader of the New People party Vladislav Davankov conducted a poll on his Telegram channel about the new law. Seventy-five percent of participants voted against the law. A total of 430,000 people voted, which is impressive given that the poll was created just one day before the State Duma session. The results of the vote and Davankov's speech against the law did not convince Putin's party (United Russia) to reject the law. In the end, the misnamed people's deputies passed the reactionary law, clearly opposing themselves to the majority of the population.

The adoption of this extremely unpopular new law comes amid an increasingly fierce proxy war against NATO in Ukraine and economic stagnation in the country. Under conditions of growing social discontent and opposition to the war, it marks another step by Putin's regime to increase censorship and deprive them of all opportunities to obtain alternative information in the future.

The tightening of internet censorship in Russia has a long history. Back in 2012, a law on blacklists was passed, which created a register of websites that violate Russian law. In 2016, the Yarovaya laws were passed, requiring telecommunications operators and internet companies to store user metadata for three years. This metadata must be handed over to the authorities upon request, without a court order.

In effect, all these laws have allowed the authorities to begin building up their internet control apparatus. The general rehearsal for the use of the new technology took place in 2018, when a decision was made to ban the popular messaging app Telegram, due to its unwillingness to comply with the authorities. In the end, the censors had to back down, partly because of mass discontent and partly because of the imperfection of their own blocking technology.

In the years leading up to the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian state further improved its ability to block and monitor the internet. Just before the beginning of the war, the news agencies Meduza and Dozhd, which are both associated with the NATO-backed liberal opposition in the oligarchy, were blocked. Since the start of the war, Putin's regime has banned Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Signal, Discord, and slowed down YouTube. Amazon Web Services, an important cloud service for the IT industry, was also blocked. Starting in 2023, the blocking of popular VPN services intensified, and laws related to VPNs began to be tightened.

Most recently, the popular internet speed tester SpeedTest was blocked. The bitter irony is that SpeedTest was blocked just after a series of obvious failures of the Russian internet. At one point, the internet disappeared or slowed down dramatically in almost every region of the country. According to Sboy.rf, in the first month of 2025 alone, there were at least 195,000 complaints about mobile internet outages. This compares to 431,000 complaints in all of 2024.

This graph shows the impact of internet shutdowns in Russia on July 16, 2025. The areas marked in red experienced a partial shutdown of of mobile and wired internet. The areas in yellow experienced a partial shutdown of wired internet and the areas in orange a partial shutdown of mobile internet. [Photo: Telegram channel "Na sviazi"]

The adoption of the new VPN law is only an intermediate step by the Putin regime to restrict the information space for the working class and the laboring masses. We must expect further intensification of censorship and attacks on the most basic democratic rights of the working class.

Most recently, the Kremlin has also floated a ban of WhatsApp, one of the few Western apps still available in Russia without a VPN. For many, it is an important means of communication, including with friends and family abroad.

It should be noted that the issue of internet censorship is not only one of basic democratic rights. It also has a major socioeconomic dimension.

By blocking numerous messengers, services, applications, and websites that are important for coordinating production, design, and development, the Kremlin is worsening economic chaos in the country, which no domestic means of development can resolve. In fact, censorship leads to the further isolation and decay of the economic foundations of Russian capitalism, threatening huge social disasters for the Russian working class.

Moreover, the efforts to restrict the internet for ordinary users forces the Russian oligarchy to invest huge amounts of money and resources in strengthening internet censorship, which could be spent on healthcare and education  areas where the oligarchy has made major cuts. This poses the same fundamental question for Russian workers as the working class of every country today: the question of who controls the social and economic resources and who has state power.

As long as Russia is ruled by a class of billionaire gangsters who are living off the export of raw materials and profiting from the war in Ukraine, while seeking to strike a deal with imperialism, workers are confronted with an existential threat. Through its bankrupt policies, the oligarchy is, in fact, contributing in every way to the ruin of the country and the outbreak of a third world war.

Major class battles are ahead. The extreme intensification of censorship in Russia is part of the preparations by the Russian oligarchy for these struggles. For the working class, this poses the need to develop an international socialist strategy to carry out the revolution in Russia, the former Soviet Union, and other countries around the world. This strategy cannot be built without learning the lessons of the past, including the October Revolution of 1917, the two world wars, Stalinism, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the globalization of production.
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Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 26, 2025. [AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana]

The horrifying scenes of starvation from Gaza being broadcast around the world recall the darkest periods in human history. Israels genocide of the Palestinians, backed by the European and North American imperialist powers, is a crime against humanity comparable with the Nazis final solution of European Jewrythe Holocaust.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a wanted war criminalwho only remains free to oversee the annihilation of the Palestinians due to the refusal of all the major powers to execute an arrest warrant against him rivals Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels when it comes to the lies used to justify his barbarism. This week, with every day bringing news of multiple deaths from hunger and malnutrition across the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu declared that there is no starvation in Gaza. Although the Zionist regime has ruthlessly enforced a blockade on aid flowing into Gaza for five months, government officials state with a straight face that food shortages are due to Hamas stealing supplies or the UNs failure to deliver them. The latest figures from Gazas Health ministry indicate that over 150 people have died of starvation, including 83 children.

The Zionist regimes genocidal intent has been evident since the very beginning of its onslaught on Gaza, which has officially claimed over 60,000 lives, with the true death toll likely being many times more. On the second day of Israels bombardment in October 2023, then Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, another war criminal whose arrest warrant, like Netanyahus, has been outstanding for more than a year, asserted,

I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed We are fighting human animals, and we are acting accordingly.

For almost two years, the Zionist mass murderers have enjoyed an uninterrupted supply of the highest-powered weaponry to slaughter Palestinians indiscriminately, principally from Washington and Berlin, but also from the other imperialist powers. Governments in the US, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and elsewhere have viciously witch-hunted opponents of the genocide, denouncing them as antisemites, criminalising their activities, and deploying police violence to intimidate them.

Faced with the revulsion of billions of people around the world over the extermination of the Palestinians, some of the imperialist powers have felt compelled recently to attempt to distance themselves from the crime scene. Trying desperately to wash blood from their hands, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, and French President Emmanuel Macron have indicated their intention to recognise a Palestinian state in September.

Nobody should be taken in by these despicable hypocrites, all of whom continue to ship weapons to Israel while shedding crocodile tears over the innocent civilians they help slaughter. The thorough insincerity of their pronouncements is summed up by the statement signed last week by 28 countries calling for the immediate and unhindered supply of aid to Gaza, which also included a passage praising the fascist-minded US President Donald Trump for his tireless efforts to secure peace in the region. Earlier this year, Trump blurted out what the policy of American imperialism and its Israeli client is for Gaza: the forcible expulsion or extermination of the Palestinians to create a riviera of the Middle East in the enclave. Starmer, Carney and Macron will therefore be recognising a Palestinian state without the Palestinians.

A New York Times article by Stephen Erlanger pointed to the real concern motivating the imperialists: Israels very viability as a client of the imperialist powers amid widespread hostility towards the Zionist state around the world. Israel risks becoming an international outcast and is increasingly isolated, he wrote.

The problem facing the imperialists and their media lackeys is that Israels genocide in Gaza is not the product of misguided policies that can be corrected, but flows from the very nature of the Zionist project and its close reliance on imperialism to realise it. Since its emergence in the late 19th century as a reaction within the Jewish bourgeoisie and better-off layers to the growing appeal of socialism among Jewish workers, Zionism has shown no scruples about aligning with the most reactionary imperialist forces. From the Tsarist autocracy in Russia, to British imperialism in the early decades of the 20th century, and even Nazi Germany during the 1930s, the Zionist movement sought to secure the backing of the most violent and ruthless regimes for its reactionary project of an exclusively Jewish nation-state within the framework of decaying world capitalism. It was only after the Holocaust left hundreds of thousands of desperate Jews stateless that the Zionist project could be implemented, with the backing of the imperialists and the Stalinist Soviet Union, and on the basis of the forcible expulsion of the Arab population in the Nakba.

In the nearly eight decades since these tragic eventsfor the Palestinian and Jewish peoples alikeimperialism has used Israel as a bridgehead for its interests throughout the Middle East. The Zionists promise of a safe haven for the Jewish people has been transformed into a nightmare of one bloody war after another, culminating in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinians.

The imperialist war criminals in Washington, Berlin, London and Pariswho belong on the defendants bench on charges of war crimes alongside Netanyahu and his fascist entouragehave facilitated and continue to support the genocide for their own great power ambitions. As David North explained in his lecture Genocide in Gaza: imperialism descends into the abyss,

There are, of course, pragmatic geopolitical interests that determine the support of the United States and its NATO allies for Israels war against the Palestinian people. But underlying this united front against the Palestinians is the recognition that their democratic aspirations, which require the dissolution of the existing Israeli state and the creation of a new bi-national federation, threaten not only the interests of imperialism in the Middle East, but the entire historically obsolete state structure of imperialist geopolitics and capitalist rule.

The only social force capable of stopping the united front of the Zionists and imperialists aimed at exterminating the Palestinian people is the international working class. Mobilised in struggle, workers internationally must fight for immediate measures to halt the genocide as part of a broader struggle to put an end to the rotten social system that has produced it. As the World Socialist Web Site explained in a statement earlier this month, these measures should include:

 An immediate halt to shipment of all weapons to Israel.

 The boycott of all trade and other economic activity with Israel.

 US, European and other corporations assisting Israel in carrying out the genocide must be indicted and prosecuted.

 The arrest of Israeli officials for war crimes.

 The end of repression of the opposition to the Gaza genocide.

To these can be added the immediate admission of all aid blocked on Gazas borders by the criminal Zionist regime. Since our last statement, UN Palestinian Refugee Agency head Philippe Lazzarini has confirmed that over 6,000 truckloads of urgently needed supplies are waiting in Egypt and Jordan.

Enforcing these demands is possible only as part of a struggle by the working class against barbaric capitalism, of which the Gaza genocide is the most horrendous contemporary manifestation. The mass anger expressed by millions of people in global protests against Israels imperialist-backed genocide, including the growing opposition inside Israel itself, must be turned towards a fight to mobilise the industrial and political power of the international working class. Workers struggles against the savage attacks by the ruling classes throughout Europe and North America on jobs and social programmes, to fund arms supplies to Israel and their own mad rearmament plans, must be fused with the opposition to the persecution of opponents of genocide and war in a mass socialist movement to stop the imperialist war machine and the Gaza genocide.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators approach at UCLA, May 23, 2024

Coming just days after Columbia Universitys public capitulation to the Trump administrations witch hunt against anti-genocide protests, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) announced early Tuesday, July 29, that it had agreed to pay $6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Zionist faculty and students.

The lawsuit accused the university of failing to adequately protect Jewish and pro-Israel students during the wave of anti-genocide encampments in 2024, claiming this alleged inaction stemmed from antisemitic bias. Under the terms of the consent agreement, UCLA will pay the multimillion-dollar sum to the plaintiffs, a number of pro-Zionist advocacy groups and, without doubt, the legal team that orchestrated the suit.

The joint statement issued by UCLA and the plaintiffs declared they were pleased with the terms of todays settlement, and added that the university has agreed to demonstrate real progress in the fight against antisemitism. In reality, this is a politically motivated capitulation that lends state legitimacy to a false narrative, while covering up a campaign of brutal violence and state repression directed against peaceful student protesters.

Despite the lawsuits baseless assertions, the actual victims of violence and discrimination at UCLA were not the Zionist plaintiffs, but the students and faculty who participated in the anti-genocide encampment. The pivotal event was the fascistic mob attack that took place during the night of April 30 to May 1, 2024, when pro-Israel vigilantes, some masked and armed, descended on the UCLA encampment and viciously beat the students inside.

Zionist assailants used wooden two-by-fours, metal rods, caustic chemicals, and incendiary devices. Students reported broken bones, chemical burns, torn flesh and even incidents of sexual assault. These attacks occurred in full view of campus security and multiple police agencies, who stood by and did nothing. The students and faculty assaulted that night filed their own anti-discrimination lawsuit earlier this year.

After the pro-Israel mob dispersed, it was not the perpetrators of this violence who were arrested, but their victims. Police stormed the encampment with flashbang grenades, less-than-lethal rounds aimed at students heads and mass arrests. Videos widely shared at the time showed injured students being thrown to the ground and brutalized. Not a single member of the Zionist mob was arrested that night.

The lawsuit prominently cited a viral video from 2024 in which a Jewish freshman, Eli Tsives, claimed he was prevented from accessing a class due to the protest encampment. Tsives is a well-known leading Zionist activist at UCLA with appearances on Fox News and NBC. He has been affiliated with pro-Israel campus organizations such as Bruins for Israel and has run as a delegate for the World Zionist Congress.

On May 2, 2024, while the encampment was being forcefully removed, WSWS reporters observed Tsives and his collaborators stripping Palestinian solidarity signs and stickers from university property under police supervision, with no interference from law enforcement.

Eli Tsives and his collaborators on May 2, 2024, removing pro-Palestinian signs.

Only one of the attackers, Malachi Marlan-Librett, faced any legal consequences. Marlan-Librett, who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, battery and a hate crime, accepted a plea deal last week that will allow him to walk free and clear his criminal record after completing a diversionary program. His participation in a coordinated attack on a peaceful protest would in any other context be treated as a felony riot. Instead, he has been let off with impunity.

On the one-year anniversary of the attack, April 30, 2025, police once again intervened violently to suppress pro-Palestinian speech at UCLA. Officers raided a film screening hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine of The Encampments, a documentary about the nationwide student protests against Israels genocidal war in Gaza. Police seized equipment and arrested multiple students.

This repression is not limited to UCLA. It is part of a coordinated national campaign orchestrated by the Trump administration, working hand in glove with university administrators and the Democratic Party. The day after the UCLA settlement was announced, Trumps Department of Justice declared that the university had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, a far-right operative elevated by Trump, called the student protests systemic anti-Semitism and a disgusting breach of civil rights. The DOJ now claims that UCLA, and potentially the entire University of California system, is under investigation for failing to suppress pro-Palestinian activism.

This witch hunt follows the governments successful blackmail of Columbia University earlier this month. On July 25, Columbia agreed to implement sweeping restrictions on protest activity, impose new rules against discrimination and work more closely with the NYPD and federal law enforcement. The capitulation came just days after congressional Republicans, led by Trump allies, demanded the university be punished for failing to clamp down on pro-Palestine speech.

Already the effects of this campaign are being felt across the UC system. At UC Santa Cruz, more than 110 students and faculty were suspended or banned from campus for their participation in anti-genocide encampments. Laaila Irshad, one of the protesters, had her phone seized by police in a case that reveals the coordination between university administrators and state authorities. Although a judge ultimately quashed the search warrant, it was so sweeping that it amounted to political surveillance.

The goal of this nationwide campaign is not the protection of Jewish studentsa claim made in bad faith by the right-wing forces leading the attackbut the criminalization of antiwar, anti-imperialist and socialist opposition among students and faculty. In practice, it has served to embolden violent Zionist provocateurs, create a climate of fear and prepare the ground for further state repression.

The Democratic Party has played a central role in this process. At every stage, Democratic-run universities have coordinated with police to smash protests, silence dissent and side with Trumps agenda. Biden, California Governor Gavin Newsom and other leading Democrats have laid the foundation for these attacks and refused to defend the students, choosing instead to parrot the slanders made by the right.

The student protesters demanded their universities divest from weapons manufacturers and institutions complicit in Israels genocide of the Palestinians. The response from the ruling class has been to double down on war, censorship and political repression.

What is needed now is the turn by students to the mobilization of the working class against the threat of fascism. The working class must come to the defense of the students and take up the fight to end genocide, imperialist war and dictatorship. The Democratic Party and the trade union bureaucracies are not allies in this fightthey are enemies of the working class, deeply implicated in the war abroad and repression at home.

The task before students and workers is not to appeal to the university administrations or the courts, instruments of the capitalist state. It is to build a mass political movement, rooted in the working class, against the entire capitalist system, which breeds fascism, war and genocide.
We recently compiled a list of 10 Cheap Utility Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. Korea Electric Power Corporation stands ninth on our list and has developed the world's first superconducting power grid for data centers.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) is South Koreas largest electric utility, involved in power generation, transmission, and distribution using a diverse energy mix including nuclear, coal, gas, hydro, solar, and wind. It plays a central role in the countrys energy landscape and is expanding its presence in international markets.

One of Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP)s most significant recent initiatives is the development of the worlds first superconducting power grid tailored for data centers. Announced in July 2025, this project is in partnership with LS Cable & System and LS Electric. The grid uses superconducting cables to transmit electricity with minimal resistance, reducing energy loss and cutting infrastructure costs. Its designed to meet the surging energy needs of AI and data center operations while minimizing land use in urban areas. The business is handling technical and regulatory coordination, aiming to commercialize the technology both domestically and internationally.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) is also advancing its renewable energy strategy, with plans to integrate 1 GW of offshore wind power into its grid, supporting South Koreas broader energy transition goals. Additionally, the corporation is entering the nuclear decommissioning sector, managing the dismantling of the Kori-1 nuclear reactor over the next 12 years, a major step as the country begins retiring aging nuclear assets.

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEP) Accelerates Offshore Wind Expansion

A vibrant skyline illuminated by the lights of the electric utility company.

Amid climate-related disasters, KEP has engaged in community restoration efforts and contributed financial and material aid for recovery. These actions, along with government-backed electricity rate relief, reinforce its commitment to social responsibility.

While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL 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: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money.

Disclosure: None.
Lithium South Development Corporation has signed a non-binding letter of intent (LoI) with POSCO Argentina to sell its Hombre Muerto North Lithium (HMN Li) Project and associated concessions in Salta, Argentina.

POSCO has offered $62m (Won86.33m) in cash for the Lithium South assets.

The HMN Li Project, along with the Sophia 1, 2 and 3 concessions and the Hydra X and Hydra XI concessions, are collectively referred to as the Project.

POSCO Argentina is the Argentine subsidiary of POSCO Holdings and the sole owner and operator of the nearby Sal de Oro lithium project. The offer is free from any finder's fee.

The deal is contingent upon regulatory and government approvals, as well as the endorsement of Lithium South's shareholders at a forthcoming meeting.

There is no certainty that the conditions outlined in the LoI will be met or that the proposed transaction will be finalised. Lithium South has stated that it will not provide further comments on the LoI until it is deemed necessary or appropriate.

Canaccord Genuity is the financial advisor to Lithium South for this potential transaction.

Last week, Lithium South appointed Claudio C. Zalewski as director of development and construction for the project.

The company is looking to launch the feasibility study for the project before the end of the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025) and to deliver the full feasibility by late in Q1 2026.

The company has completed drilling across 75% of the project area, which encompasses the Alba Sabrina, Natalia Maria and Tramo claim blocks.

The exploration has resulted in the identification of a lithium carbonate equivalent resource of 1.58 million tonnes, with 90% classified in the Measured category, indicating the highest level of resource confidence, stated the company.

"Lithium South signs LoI for sale of Argentina assets" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




Two years into its viral lifespan, Dubai chocolate is still alive and well. So alive, in fact, that five Dubai chocolate creations have graced the grounds of the 2025 Wisconsin State Fair.

The food that has become a social media sensation was created in 2022 by British-Egyptian engineer Sarah Hamound, founder of FIX Dessert Chocolatier, who had a pregnancy craving for knafeh and pistachio.

In 2023, TikTok influencer Maria Vehera posted a video of herself tasting the chocolate bar filled with pistachio cream, tahini and bits of knafeh pastry. The video went viral, and the rest is history.

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Here's your chance to be part of that history with five twists on the viral Dubai chocolate trend at the State Fair.

There are five Dubai chocolate-inspired food items to try at the 2025 Wisconsin State Fair.

Price: $15

This Sporkies finalist is a Dubai chocolate strawberry smoothie poured into a cup layered with pistachio butter and chocolate topping. The drink is then topped with shredded kataifi and an extra chocolate drizzle for a fruity, nutty combination.

Jennifer Crowe, who was trying the smoothie on the fair's opening day, said she hasn't been a Dubai chocolate fan for long, but she's now become one for life.

"It's screaming flavor," she said, of the smoothie.

Price: $20

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This year, State Fair goers can take a must-have fair sweet treat to the next level.

The Dubai funnel cake from the Sweet Factory is that classic heap of fried dough topped with another heap of pistachio-cream phyllo and chocolate drizzle, and fair-going fans can't get enough.

On opening day, Makayla Shawambros watched as a friend tried to fashion the perfect forkful: "You need more Dubai!"

Price: $10

Its thick, its rich, itll send you to chocoholics anonymous.

Buzzy Badgers Dubai chocolate cookie is topped with drizzles of white and milk chocolate and verges into the "should we be bad...? dessert territory of ordering a chocolate lava cake  sub the fudge, though, for a crispy pistachio phyllo filling.

Price: $5

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Think of your typical salted caramel-filled chocolate cup, but add a creamy pistachio paste to the filling.

Find this sweet, salty and nutty treat inspired by the viral Dubai chocolate bar at Ultimate Confections. But wait  there's more from this vendor...

Price: $13

Looking to try the esteemed Dubai chocolate without the fair frills?

Ultimate Confections is also the place to get the quintessential candy bar filled with pistachio cream, layered with crispy phyllo and covered in chocolate. And thankfully, theyre more affordable than the original seller's $120 for a pack of six.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 5 Dubai chocolate treats at the 2025 Wisconsin State Fair


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More than a century before Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state, the islands played host to a ferocious fight for unification. With the help of actor Jason Momoa, one of the most famous warriors and dignitaries of the time is getting his story told in epic fashion.

Momoa co-created and stars in Chief of War, the nine-episode historical drama debuting today on Apple TV+. The seriesspoken fully in Hawaiian language Olelo Hawaiidepicts the tribal warfare and political turmoil that enveloped the islands at the end of the 18th century. Hawaii became a unified kingdom in 1810 under King Kamehameha I (played by Kaina Makua), and the U.S. annexed the territory in 1898.

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While Apple TV+ describes Chief of War as based on true events, allowing Momoa and the production team to add their own twist to real events, the tale is rooted in the harrowing true story of Chief Kaiana (played by Momoa). Heres everything you need to know about his influential role in Hawaiis history.

Kaiana was a famous Hawaiian explorer

According to historian David Millers The Hawaiian Journal of History, Kaiana was born on the largest island of Hawaii around 1855. He was a descendant of royalty, with his mother a member of the Maui royal family and his father the son of Hawaiian King Keaweikekahialiiokamoku.

Little is known about Kaianas early life, but his reputation in adulthood spread throughout the islands and even across continents. Nine years after Captain James Cook became the first European to reach the Hawaiian archipelago, Kaiana accompanied a British fur trader named John Meares on a 1787 expedition to China. Thus, he became the first Hawaiian chief to leave the islands. Kaiana also traveled to the Alaskan coast, encountering Indigenous Alaskans and Native Americans.

Kaianas large physical stature was one of his defining attributes. According to Meares, He was near six feet five inches...and the muscular form of his limbs was of an Herculean appearance.

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Longing for the warmer climate, Kaiana returned to Hawaii in 1788 and spoke to Kamehameha of his travels. He is traditionally credited with introducing gunpowder and firearms to the islands, though Miller suggests British sailors actually provided the muskets and cannons.

In any case, the weapons would quickly be put to use as tensions began to boil.

Kaiana turned on his alliance with Kamehameha

Nicola dove - Apple

Kaiana served in Kamehamehas forces, which had invaded the islands of Maui and Oahu by 1795 in an attempt to catalyze unification. However, their relationship soured, and alleged marital infidelity might have played a role.

According to Miller, British naval officer George Vancouverthe namesake of the city in British Columbia, Canadavisited Hawaii three times between 1792 and 1794. Although initially friendly with Kaiana, he learned of the 1790 seizure of a ship called the Fair American, resulting in the deaths of all but two crewmen. He believed Kaiana responsible, and later remarked of the turbulent, treacherous, and ungrateful dispositions of the chief and his brother, Namakeha.

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In one of his journals, Vancouver wrote of an alleged affair that occurred between Kaiana and Kamehamehas favorite wife, Kaahumanu (played in Chief of War by Luciane Buchanan). However, the rumors legitimacy is disputed: Two other members of Vancouvers expedition gave their own accounts of Kaahumanus alleged affair years later, but made no mention of Kaiana.

A more likely explanation is that Kaiana was excluded from a 1795 war council following the armys invasion of Lahaina. Soon after this slight, Kaiana and his brothers made the fateful decision to switch allegiances to join Kamehamehas primary enemy, Kalanikupule of Oahu.

Native Hawaiian scholar Natalee Kehaulani Bauer surmises Kaiana made this drastic choice out of self-preservation. What does this mean? Have I fallen out of favor? Is my life in danger? It wasnt quite a Judas-like betrayal, she explained.

The stage was set for a violent clash.

Kaiana died in battle at Nuuanu in 1795



That same year, Kamehameha led an army of 12,000 men and 1,200 war canoes into the Nuuanu Valley of Oahu.

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Kaiana, now fighting for the opposition, died early in the battle alongside many of his comrades. Some accounts say he was hit by a cannonball, while others suggest he was struck by a spear and clubbed on the head.

According to the Punahou School, Kamehamehas forceswith the aid of modern weapons such as cannonsthen chased Kalanikupules remaining warriors to the large cliffs nearby. With nowhere to run, around 800 of them leaped to their deaths. The resounding victory helped paved the way for Kamehameha to unify the islands as king years later.

Kamehamehas legacy in Hawaiian history is celebrated often. The schools are named after him, the highways are named after him: Hes King Kamehameha, Bauer said.

While slightly more mysterious, Kaiana has similarly remained an influential figure through centuries of Hawaiian storytelling. The new series marks the biggest adaptation of his life to date.

Watch Chief of War on Apple TV+







Chief of War is a passion project for Momoa, 46, more than 10 years in the making.

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The actor, originally from Honolulu, wanted to wait until his star power was strong enough to properly pitch and execute the story, according to Screen Rant. It was after his turn as superhero Aquaman and during his work on Denis Villenueves Dune (2021) that Momoa felt comfortable approaching Apple with co-creator and executive producer Thomas Paa Sibbett.

This is probably going to be the most impactful thing thats ever fking happened to me. I can't wait to bring it home and show my people, Momoa said.

The first two episodes of Chief of War are now streaming on Apple TV+, with new ones debuting weekly through September 19. The series stars Momoa as warrior Kaiana.

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President Trump warned he could impose new tariffs and export limits on advanced technology and semiconductors in response to digital service taxes in other countries that he says unfairly target American tech firms.

In a post to Truth Social late Monday, Trump argued the taxes are meant to hurt US companies while letting China's biggest tech players off the hook.

"As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies," Trump wrote.

Trump did not specify any countries in his post, but the European Union has employed various taxes and regulatory methods that Trump has said unfairly targets US tech giants. The EU defended its use of the measures on Tuesday.

"Its the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate our economic activities on our territory," a spokeswoman said.

The new drama comes after the US and the EU established a written framework for the trade deal agreed to in late July.

Also on Monday, Trump said a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea will hold despite President Lee Jae Myung's visit to Washington, D.C. The two countries struck a trade deal in July, allowing South Korea to avoid a stiffer 25% tariff, but tensions over the agreement have persisted, Bloomberg reported.

Last week, Trump said that the US is investigating furniture imports and will impose a tariff on the products once the probe is complete.

Meanwhile, US tariffs on imports from India are set to double to 50% on Wednesday, with no indications that the countries are moving toward any kind of deal.

Also last week, Canada vowed to drop its retaliatory tariffs to match US tariff exemptions for goods covered under the US-Mexico-Canada trade pact.

Earlier this month, Trump unveiled "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of US trade partners (which you can see in the graphic below).

Those tariffs face legal limbo in an appeals court case that could be decided within days.

Justice Department lawyers and lawyers for a group of small business importers who are challenging the tariffs imposed under this authority argued their positions before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. If the court rules against the government, it's likely Trump would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet

Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.

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Danny Ocean Breaks Down 5 Essential Tracks on His Album Babylon Club

The music of Danny Ocean is the kind that connects, heals, makes you fall in love and is a pure reflection of his genuine, relaxed vibe. And his new album, Babylon Club, released on Thursday (July 31) under Atlantic/Warner Music Latina, is no exception.

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I think this album is like that, its about moments a lot, not so much about thinking, the Venezuelan artist tells Billboard. It was much more about the moment and the energy you brought to the studio or to compose.

Babylon Club features 14 tracks and a narrative universe where freedom, desire, love and celebration occupy a central place, presenting a dynamic mix of sounds and collaborations that highlight Danny Oceans global vision. It includes exciting contributions from recognized artists such as Arcangel (Arena), Aitana (Anoche) and Louis BPM (Sunshine), as well as previously released singles Priti featuring Sech, AyMami with Kenia Os and the No. 1 hit Imaginate featuring Kapo.

Listening to it is like trying musical flavors from the Caribbean. There is a merengue, Pirata with El Alfa; his first salsa, Crayola; and a merengueton, Margarita, which also carries that Venezuelan sound. It is not a genre that was born in Venezuela, Danny explains. But I think it is a genre that we adapted to ourselves, to our way. And yes, it tastes like a little rum.

It also goes further in its sound exploration, reaching a refreshing flamenco in Corazon.

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Danny is not one to keep trophies, plaques or other visible reminders of his success at home; instead, he keeps them in the homes of some of the people he loves. With one exception: After our interview, he received a certificate plaque for Imaginate with Kapo going 3x Platinum from his Warner Latina label; the track spent seven weeks at the top of the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart.

Anxious, excited and ready to share his new music, Danny Ocean spoke with Billboard a day before the release of his LP in the intense heat of summer in Miami Beach. Below, he breaks down five essential tracks from Babylon Club.

1. Imaginate feat. Kapo

Imaginate, we made it here in Miami with Kapo. We met in the studio, had fun, and were there for like four hours at most. That song came out. We knew we were going to the studio to get to know each other, to see how it would go. And the song came out. The first meeting, the first day we met. I liked him a lot. Hes the best. I care about him a lot.

Watch the music video for Imaginate.

2. Crayola

Wow! Crayola was a theme we wanted to write for Venezuela. I think it also came out very naturally. We were pure Venezuelans who made that song [Danny Ocean, Daniel Rondon, Eddy Lugo, Eudis Ruiz and Manuel Lara]. And yes, I wanted to create a song dedicated to my country, and it came to me very naturally. We had made a demo, and I knew I wanted it to be a salsa. I had this idea that I think could be a salsa. I sent it to a producer friend of mine named Manuel Lara, and he nailed it. He made a demo. Then we recorded the instruments. But yes, he had produced Erotika by Nathy Peluso, and when I looked at the credits, I saw that it was Manu, who is a friend of mine. And I said, No way. Manu is the one who can take this song to salsa. This is the first time Ive made a salsa like this.

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Watch the Crayola visualizer.

3. Corazon

It was created here in Miami with a guitar, with some friends. One of them is from Spain, songwriter Manuel [Lorente] Spreadlof, and also songwriter Daniel Rondon. He told me, Bro, come to the house. Lets go to the terrace. We bought a beer and went with a guitar, and it happened. That day we made two songs, in fact. And Corazon was the second one. Its like a little cousin of Volare and I have another one called Amor as well, which is very similar to it.

Watch the music video for Corazon.

4. Arena feat. Arcangel

Arena with Arcangel. Wow, I made it to the studio. That was really a freestyle. And months later, I sent it to him. I liked the song. I knew I wanted the song for my album. I loved the song. I was saying to myself, I know I want someone on this track. Who could it be? And one day at an airport with my team, with Marcos, I said, What about Arcangel? I feel like Arcangel could be the one for this song. He said, Wow, I think so. And nothing, they got in touch. And it happened. He sent me his vocals about a month later. And I think he added so much to the song  he elevated it.

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Watch the visualizer for Arena.

5. Pirata feat. El Alfa

I saw El Alfa at Premio Lo Nuestro this year. And I go, Emanuel [El Alfa], bro, you know my girlfriend is Dominican, you know I love your country, I love what you do. I think El Alfa is very genuine in what he does, I feel that he has an angel.

And I told him, Look, man, you cant retire without me doing a song with you, brother, please, give me the honors. And its not a dembow, its a merengue, and I told him, Look, bro, I know youre very crazy, to let a merengue happen, but I see you way too much in this song. Its a very fresh song, and I think if you come in, youre going to give it that balance, youre going to take away a little of that freshness, and bring in some freshness. And thats how it was. He called me from the studio and said, What do you think? I told him, Dude, you killed it hard. He was in Santo Domingo when I made the song, and I was in Spain. And he broke it  he killed it. I loved it. I think thats one of my favorite tracks on the album.

Watch the Pirata visualizer.

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Hugh Jackman and his girlfriend, Sutton Foster, reportedly enjoyed a romantic trip in Massachusetts after the actor finalized his divorce from Deborra-Lee Furness.

The Deadpool & Wolverine star and the Younger actress took a little getaway to the chic wellness resort Canyon Ranch in Lenox in mid-July, sources told Us Weekly.

The source added that Foster, 50, instructed some fitness classes during her vacation.

Hugh Jackman and his girlfriend, Sutton Foster, reportedly enjoyed a romantic trip in Massachusetts after the actor finalized his divorce from Deborra-Lee Furness. Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

The Deadpool & Wolverine star and the Younger actress took a little getaway to the chic wellness resort Canyon Ranch in Lenox in mid-July, sources told Us Weekly. FilmMagic

The all-inclusive resort features chef-crafted dining, world-class spa amenities, wellness classes, an indoor pool and more, starting at $1,250 a night, per its website.

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Page Six has reached out to reps for both Foster and Jackman but did not immediately hear back.

The couples trip came a month and a half after Jackman reportedly amicably finalized his divorce from Furness.

The Daily Mail reported that the Greatest Showman actor, 56, and the Australian actress, 69, divided their multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio worth an estimated $387 million.

The all-inclusive resort features chef-crafted dining, world-class spa amenities, wellness classes, an indoor pool and more, starting at $1,250 a night, per its website. Canyon Ranch

The couples trip came a month and a half after Jackman reportedly amicably finalized his divorce from Furness. Getty Images

Jackman will reportedly keep their New York condo and a lavish estate in Bondi Beach, Australia. The outlet did not specify which properties Furness received in the settlement.

Furness filed for divorce from the Marvel star in May, nearly two years after they announced their split.

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The exes tied the knot in April 1996 and share two adopted kids: son Oscar, 25, and daughter Ava, 20.

Jackman went public with Sutton a year after his separation from Furness.

Furness filed for divorce from the Marvel star in May, nearly two years after they announced their split. Variety via Getty Images

The exes tied the knot in April 1996 and share two adopted kids: son Oscar, 25, and daughter Ava, 20. Getty Images

Jackman went public with Sutton a year after his separation from Furness. FilmMagic

In May, Furness broke her silence on the traumatic journey of betrayal in her failed marriage in a lengthy statement, calling the split a profound wound that cuts deep.

I believe in a higher power and that God/the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working FOR us, she added.

This belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage.
Momoa is shirtless for a good part of Chief of War. If you really need another reason to watch its the true story of the warrior Kaiana (Jason Momoa), who battles to unify the four kingdoms of the Hawaiian Islands at the beginning of the 19th century.

It was a passion project for the Aquaman star, whose father was a native Hawaiian, and has a predominantly Polynesian cast. The nine-part series offers some enthralling insight into a little-known culture, not to mention some great eye candy.

Chief Of War | Premieres Friday, Aug. 1, on Apple TV+
Call it the Battle of Montego Bay.

Angelina Pivarnick and Lauren Sorrentino, wife of Mike The Situation Sorrentino, had quite a clash on the Thursday, July 31, episode of MTV's Jersey Shore Family Vacation, filmed at the Royalton Hideaway Blue Waters in Jamaca. The brush up stemmed from an incident on last week's episode when Lauren objected to Angelina asking Mike about his sexual history.

Don't try to clip my wings girl cause it ain't happening, Angelina said. I am who I am, I'm not changing for (blank) you. I'm not changing for nobody. How about here's my boundaries  don't (blank) with me. Dont ever disrespect me again.

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I didn't come at you, Lauren said. I put up a boundaries around myself.

Angelina Pivarnick, facing camera, and Lauren Sorrentino hug during the July 31 episode of "Jersey Shore Family Vacation."

Lauren objected to the question on last week's episode because she didn't want her and Mike's three children to see this in the future. However, the Jersey Shore producers showed clips of Mike asking a similar question to cast members at previous dinners.

I feel like you act like you're above me and you're not doing that no more, Angelina said. You're not above me. You'll never (blank) be above me. I've been nothing but nice to you  I've supported you.

Angelina was fired up, but Lauren largely parried her attacks.

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I have a toddler so I am just conditioned to have extreme patience and wait for the meltdown to bubble over like a volcano and then simmer," Lauren said, "and then I come and collect them and let them know that I'm here for them."

The volcano approach seemed to work. Suddenly, Angelina was ready to hug it out with Lauren.

I feel like were on the same page, Angelina said. Lauren and I want this vacation to keep going this way.

Meanwhile, DJ Pauly DelVecchio and Nikki Hall wrapped up celebrating their five-year anniversary. Faith, Nikki's substitute mom, asked about a marriage between the two.

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Nikki weakly shook head her and parsed her lips.

Oh, that's not a question for me, Nikki said.

Maybe it's quietly going to happen, Faith said. I want to be in it.

Jersey Shore Family Vacation airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on MTV.

Subscribe to app.com for the latest on New Jersey celebs.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore Family Vacation: Angelina, Lauren battle in Jamaica
Beloved TV star Malcolm-Jamal Warner  best known for playing Theo Huxtable for all eight seasons of The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992  accidentally drowned at age 54 during a family vacation in Costa Rica, sources say.

Local officials confirmed that Warner got caught in a high current while swimming off the coast of the Central American nation near Playa Cocles, a beach in the province of Limon, and died due to asphyxia, according to an ABC News report.

The sitcom stars body was formally identified by Costa Ricas national police.

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Warner played the only son of now scandal-scarred Bill Cosbys Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the NBC hit. The role earned him an Emmy Award nomination in 1986  the same year he was tapped to host an episode of Saturday Night Live.

In 2023, Warner told People that despite the allegations later made against his screen dad, he and his show fam  who included Phylicia Rashad, Sabrina Le Beauf, Lisa Bonet, Tempestt Bledsoe and Keshia Knight Pulliam  were still proud of their work.

Regardless of how some people may feel about the show now, Im still proud of the legacy and having been a part of such an iconic show that had such a profound impact on  first and foremost, Black culture  but also American culture, Warner told the outlet.

Cosby, 88, was convicted of sexual assault in 2018, but the conviction was overturned on a technicality three years later  and he was sprung from the slammer. The former pudding pitchman has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women  but maintains hes innocent.

After The Cosby Show, Warner went on to star in the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie with funnyman Eddie Griffin from 1996 to 2000, BETs Reed Between the Lines from 2011 to 2015 and Foxs The Resident from 2018 to 2023.

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Last year, he also launched the podcast Not All Hood with Weusi Baraka and Candace Kelley, which explored the lived experiences and identities of Blacks in America.

Warner is survived by his wife and their 8-year-old daughter, whose names the protective performer never publicly revealed.
Call him Pope Pieus.

Pope Leo XIV recently received a special delivery at the Vatican which came all the way from Chicago.

The Illinois-born pontiff, 69, was treated to a personal-size pepperoni pizza from Aurelios Pizza, a chain hes reportedly loved since he was a boy.

Pope Leo XIV was gifted a personal-size pepperoni pizza from Aurelios Pizza. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

Pope Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost before he was elected the first American pope earlier this year, received the gift as he rode through Saint Peters Square in Rome on Wednesday, July 30.

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His brother, John Prevost, told Chicago TV station WGN that the pontiff devoured the personal pepperoni pie.

According to NBC News, friends from the Midwest came up with the idea to get the pope a box of his favorite pie.

It started 30 days ago when I started a challenge to deliver a pizza to the pope, Catholic content creator Jayden Remias, from Ohio, told WGN.

He drove to Chicago to pick up a frozen Aurelios pizza and delivered it to Madeline Daley from Cincinnati, with whom he connected online, before she left for Rome.

Pope Leo XIV received the gift as he rode through Saint Peters Square in Rome on Wednesday, July 30. Instagram / @jaydenremias

Daley, 22, made the final leg of the trek to deliver the pizza to the pope as he toured the historical plaza.

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She got his attention by waving the pies box and holding a sign that read We have Aurelios pizza. Leo appeared to signal to his security guard to accept the slice of home.

As he accepted the cheesy gift, the leader of the Catholic Church gave a thumbs up and had a big smile on his face.

When Pope Leo came around, he kept grabbing babies to bless them, but as soon as he saw the pizza, he had babies in his hand, but hes still saying, like, Get me that pizza, I want that pizza, Daley told NBC News.

And seeing the logo made him light up, and his smile was from ear to ear and he was extremely excited about it.

As Pope Leo accepted the cheesy gift, he gave a thumbs up and had a big smile on his face. Instagram / @jaydenremias

Joe Aurelio, president and CEO of Aurelios Pizza, said it was amazing to be able to deliver the Chicago pizza to the pope.

Pope Leo has been a lifetime Aurelios fan and going to Aurelios Pizza in Homewood, Ill., since the 1960s, he said. So its been part of his life and for him to recognize [the pizza] and actually stop there in the audience was amazing.
The lights go down in the cinema, the curtain parts and we are in a dug-out on the eastern front line in Ukraine. Are you filming? asks one soldier. Yeah, replies his comrade, Piro. Film how beautiful I am, the soldier says, blowing a kiss.

Then all hell breaks loose. A Russian missile thumps into the earth feet from the mens position. FPV! screams Piro, raising his rifle to shoot down an incoming first-person view drone. Suddenly a second missile lands, showering the men with mud and debris.

Piro decides to move before another missile strikes and enters a landscape of hellish devastation: splintered tree trunks jut out of the mud. Lightning flashes. Smoke rises from craters in the ground. There is another blast. This time, the Russian missile knocks Piro to the ground, breaking both his legs and leaving him gazing up, in agony, at the sky. Dont even think about blowing yourself up, a comrade begs.

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This is the opening scene of 2000 Metres to Andriivka, the latest film from Mstyslav Chernov, the Ukrainian director who won an Oscar for 20 Days in Mariupol and a Pulitzer prize for his reporting from that city under attack.

It would be dramatic enough if it were a feature film or a video game, but this is a documentary, much of it culled from footage shot by soldiers on the front line.

The result is a viewing experience unike any other in cinema, and the closest the comfortable world will come to the terror, agony and mad-eyed courage of the men holding back the army of Vladimir Putin. A masterpiece of story-telling, its one of the most impactful war films ever made; never before has a European land war, as intense as 1914 or 1939, been captured like this.

Footage from soldiers helmet cameras makes the film immersive to the point of whiplash - AP Photo

An establishing shot filmed by drone shows a narrow strip of forest leading to Andriivka, a tiny village in Ukraine held by Russian forces. The Ukrainian counter-offensive of 2023 is underway and the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has been ordered to retake the village, severing a crucial supply route for Moscows forces in the blood-drenched city of Bakhmut.

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For three years, the world has watched grim, grainy footage of the war in Ukraine. The battles are fought by nameless men for often nameless places. In 2000m, Chernov reverses the equation: he captures the humanity of the university students, engineers and IT workers who are called upon to fight and die for every metre of land on the way to Andriivka.

The battles take place only a few hours drive from Chernovs birthplace of Kharkiv, a city he says only remains free because of the sacrifices of soldiers like those he follows here. They are the only reason the places of my childhood still exist, he says.

Distance matters intensely to the platoon. In the film, their battles in the forest over the course of three months are introduced in terms of the distance remaining to reach Andriivka; 1000m, 600m, 300m. But traversing another distance was also on Chernovs mind.

2000 Metres to Andriivka

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I wanted to shoot something that will express how different it feels to be there on the frontline, but at the same time, how close it is to the normal world we all know, Chernov, 40, says when we speak over Zoom ahead of the films release.

During filming, he flew from premieres of 20 Days in Mariupol in London to the front line in Ukraine in under 24 hours to embed with the soldiers. That transition was so striking and dramatic for me. Like going back 100 years, or to another planet.

Western audiences might have a sense of the counter-offensive raging to the east, but it is inevitably filtered through scraps of deracinated footage. We keep seeing this footage on YouTube, Telegram and Instagram, says Chernov. I can see how people are detached from the violence, watching through their small screens without context, without connecting to the people who are doing it. I want to make sure people dont look at battlefield footage like its a video game.

Mstyslav Chernov won an Oscar for 20 Days in Mariupol and a Pulitzer prize for his reporting from that city under attack - AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Displaying the same bravery that saw him remain in starving Mariupol for 20 days after Russian forces entered the city, Chernov decided to join the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade on its final push for Andriivka, linking up with Fedya, a 24-year-old sergeant and unit leader tasked with raising the Ukrainian flag over the village.

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In his voiceover for the film, Chernov admits that one commander tells us we are idiots for wanting to go. The forest is a death-trap. Russian snipers, mortar teams and drones have wiped out dozens of men, and those sent in are filmed visibly shaking ahead of their deployment.

But Chernovs reward for putting his life in danger are powerful interviews conducted off-the-cuff with soldiers who know they are only ever moments from death, hiding under trees or crammed into dug-outs. Sometimes the camera will lie on the floor while the men open up in a way that would be impossible in the formal sitdown interviews typically used in documentaries.

Throughout the films 106 minutes, the viewer never leaves the battlefield, unlike spiritual predecessors such as Sebastian Jungers Restrepo (2010), which covered a platoons deployment to Afghanistans deadly Korengal Valley, or Mosul (2017), depicting the war against the Islamic State.

Many of the soldiers interviewed know they are only ever moments from possible death - Mstyslav Chernov

And its characters shine through. First, we meet Freak, a 22-year-old radio operator who has been tasked with ferrying Chernov and his second cameraman to Fedya. The men realise they went to rival universities in Kharkiv. In between puffs on a Lost Mary vape, Freak breaks into a huge smile as they joke about whether he should move to a separate dug-out. Well get back and settle it, he says, as a missile lands nearby. Whos better. Then comes the call to move up and out.

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Yes, the film could exist entirely edited from bodycam footage and drone footage, says Chernov. But he felt compelled to walk alongside the soldiers to bring their stories to life. Partially, that comes from my civilian perspective as being Ukrainian, he explains. Im a journalist, Im a film-maker but just having that guilt of not doing enough in my head also pushes me to step in and to be closer to these men.

Further up the forest we see Sheva, an older man who at first asks not to be filmed. I havent done anything yet, he says, hunched in a corner of a dug-out. Do you smoke? asks Alex Babenko, Chernovs second cameraman. I smoke like a freight train, replies Sheva, before speculating on what his wife is doing at that moment, and remembering that he has not, as he promised to, fixed the toilet. Maybe I shouldnt say that Ill quit smoking [after the war], he says. But maybe Ill smoke just a normal amount, without all these extra smoke breaks.

2000 Metres to Andriivka

It is a funny, out-of-place exchange, almost ecstatic in its mundanity. And then, comes terrible news. A few months after the battle for Andriivka, explains the voice-over, Sheva is wounded and killed. The laughs in the cinema turn to gulped-down sobs. When you talk to someone on the front line, there is always this fear that this might be the last conversation youre having with that person, Chernov says.

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In Shevas case, these few minutes of film are also the last recording of him alive. At a premiere for family members of the brigade earlier this year in Kyiv, Chernov met with Shevas wife. Every second of it was a treasure, she told him, and would be too for their daughter and grandson.

The brutal toll of the push for Andriivka colours the film. There are strategic debates about why the counter-offensive failed that Chernov deliberately avoids: was it right to fight so long for Bakhmut? Did the Americans push too hard for a full-frontal assault on hardened Russian lines? Instead, 2000m focuses on the narrow experience of the soldiers, and poses deeper, more existential questions. In essence, the film records a Pyrrhic victory: Fedya raises the flag above Andriivka, but within months that village  no more than a pile of bones and rubble  is recaptured by Russian forces.

Chernov wonders in the film how long Ukraine can keep fighting a war like this, and at least leaves open the question of whether anything can be worth such loss. The death of many of the men featured in the film posed challenges to Chernov, changing the tone of the final product. We spent a lot of time thinking, How do we do this right? How do we do this respectfully? His answer was that the film, in effect, would serve as a living memorial: I need to make sure this man will be heard and seen, he says.

At a funeral for one of the members of the brigade, a crying woman laments that all the countrys young men will soon be dead. But 2000m is not a lecture. Fedya himself provides a constant shot of optimism, leading his men into battle with what is, quite simply, an indomitable spirit. I think this is the power of cinema, especially for modern audiences who are bombarded with radical opinions and ideologies, says Chernov. It is very important for film-makers to step back a little bit and let the audience decide how they feel.

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A former Associated Press photographer, who has covered wars in Gaza, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, Chernov does have one agenda: to bring the suffering of his countrymen to the attention of a wider, and potentially influential, audience. As we speak, he is hoping to arrange a screening for senior Republicans, a route perhaps to Donald Trump, on a US tour.

Some viewers may be drawn to the film by the ground-breaking technology it employs. To capture the battle at 600m, footage is spliced together from seven different helmet cameras: the effect is immersive to the point of whiplash, a real-life version of the D-Day scene in Saving Private Ryan. (It was simply unheard of even a few years ago to be able to film something like this, says Chernov.)

But the director also employs techniques lifted from fictional films to lure in an audience that might be more comfortable watching Dune than events in the Donbas. Deep, stomach-churning bass accompanies 2000 metres, scored by Sam Slater, the producer of soundtracks for Sicario and Joker. An insistent military drumbeat similarly drives the men forward.

The combined effect is one of ferocious, blood-stained momentum. The film has a very raw, visual language, says Chernov. But we use all the instruments of dramatic structure, music and editing, to make sure the audience will not walk away. Because we are inviting the audience into extremely tough conditions. We are basically inviting the audience to experience war.

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At a preview screening of the film in London, Chernov was met with a long standing ovation. He is already working on a third film on the war in Ukraine, having taken on the role as its great documentarian, an empathetic eye in a morass of dehumanised news. Once this war is over, maybe Ill just make nature films, he says. Very peaceful films somewhere quiet.

2000 Metres to Andriivka is in cinemas from today

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The Smithsonians National Museum of American History in July removed references to President Donald Trumps two impeachments from an exhibit display. A person familiar with the exhibit plans, who was not authorized to discuss them publicly, said the change came about as part of a content review that the Smithsonian agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director.

After this story published, the Smithsonian said in a statement that a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.

A temporary label including content about Trumps impeachments had been on display since September 2021 at the Washington museum, a Smithsonian spokesperson told The Washington Post, adding that it was intended to be a short-term addition to address current events. Now, the exhibit notes that only three presidents have seriously faced removal.

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In addition to describing Trumps two impeachments, the temporary label  which read Case under redesign (history happens)  also offered information about the impeachments of Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, as well as Richard M. Nixon, who would have faced impeachment had he not resigned. The Post viewed a photograph of the temporary signage.

Now that display has returned to the way it appeared in 2008, according to the Smithsonian spokesperson.

In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the Limits of Presidential Power section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed, the spokesperson said in a statement. The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.

The change coincides with broader concerns about political interference at the Smithsonian and how the institution charged with preserving American history could be shaped by the Trump administrations efforts to exert more control over its work.

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The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden opened in 2000 and was curated by a team that included then-museum director Spencer Crew, curator Harry Rubenstein and historian Lonnie G. Bunch III, who now leads the institute as secretary.

The impeachment case includes a photograph of the prosecutors in Andrew Johnsons 1868 case, copies of the investigative report that launched Bill Clintons impeachment hearings in 1999 and a damaged filing cabinet from the Watergate scandal that would prompt Nixon to resign in 1974.

The online companion for the display briefly mentions Trumps impeachments, but does not provide any further information about the cases. And a search of the history museums collection for impeachment yields 125 results for Johnson, Nixon and Clinton  and a single Impeach Trump button from a 2017 environmental protest.

A filing cabinet that was broken into during the Watergate break-in is among the artifacts on display. - (Andre Chung/For The Washington Post)

The Smithsonian spokesperson said that a large gallery like The American Presidency requires a significant amount of time and funding to update and renew. Elsewhere in the exhibition, however, visitors can find more recent items, including commemorative pins from Trump and Joe Bidens inaugurations in 2017 and 2021, and a large wall display featuring every U.S. president.

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In January 2020, following Trumps first impeachment, a political history curator at the American History Museum told The Post that he was on a quest to acquire the right objects to tell the story of Trumps first impeachment. At the time, he could not predict when the display would be updated, but he said work was underway to change labels and add items.

The Smithsonian that month also announced its plans to update the impeachment section, reaffirming its commitment to actively engage with the history, spirit and complexity of the United States democratic experiment by collecting, documenting and sharing the American political system, including presidential history.

Trump is the only president in history to have been impeached twice. In 2019, he was charged by the House with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his attempts to withhold military aid meant for Ukraine and pressure its government to investigate his political rival Biden. He was acquitted by the Senate in 2020. Then, just over a year later, Trump was impeached again, for incitement of insurrection following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was acquitted a second time, after leaving office.

Since returning to the White House in January for his second term, Trump has attempted to exert influence over prominent cultural institutions, including by taking over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, making drastic changes at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and imposing budget cuts on the National Park Service.

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In March, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate anti-American ideology across the Smithsonian museums and restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.

Months later, Trump attempted to fire Kim Sajet, the director of the Smithsonians National Portrait Gallery, for being a highly partisan person  though he had no authority to do so. The White House later provided a list of 17 instances it said supported the presidents claims about her, including the caption for the museums presidential portrait of Trump mentioning his two impeachments and incitement of insurrection for the events of Jan. 6.

In response, the Smithsonians Board of Regents reasserted in June that only the institutions secretary could fire museum directors, but also announced it would scrutinize content across its museum for partisan bias. As directed by the Board of Regents, we will undertake an assessment of the Institution, evaluating the need for any changes to policies, procedures, or personnel, and I will share our findings and recommendations with the Board, Bunch wrote in an email to Smithsonian employees. Shortly after, Sajet announced her departure, explaining to staff that she was leaving because her presence had become a distraction from the Smithsonians mission.

Last week, the celebrated painter Amy Sherald pulled an upcoming exhibit from the Portrait Gallery, citing concerns that the museum considered removing her painting of a transgender woman posing as the Statue of Liberty.

While no single person is to blame, its clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role, Sherald said in a statement.
In 2006, Stephen Colbertbrutally in-character, and standing about six feet from the U.S. President he was openly mockingremarked that reality should sometimes be disregarded on account of its well-known liberal bias. The same thought may, presumably, also be applied to history, when a sober recitation of things that actually happened, and which everybody quite clearly remembers, gets in the way of prevailing political winds. For instance: The Washington Post reports today that a display at the Smithsonian Institute, focused on the extremely rare practice of presidential impeachment, has now been altered to make it seem just a little bit rarer. Youll never guess which of Americas three impeached presidents has been removed!

WaPo reports that, earlier in July, the Smithsonians National Museum Of American History altered a display in its The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibit, in order to remove references to the two times Donald Trump has been impeached by Congress. Trumps two impeachments (in 2019 and 2021) were added to the display via a temporary label, titled Case under redesign (history happens) back in 2021. The label has now been removed from the display, which now reverts to previous language that only three presidents have seriously faced removal. (For what its worth, the online companion for the exhibit briefly mentions Trumps impeachments, and updates the number of imperiled presidents to four, also including Clinton, Johnson, and the nearly-impeached Nixon.)

According to unnamed sources, the reversion of the display came after the White House put pressure on the Smithsonian to undergo review for anti-American ideology, one of those phrases that feels like a warm little slice of dystopia sliding into the brain every time we read it. A Smithsonian spokesperson said the exhibit was reverted to its 2008 state because none of the other exhibits in the Limits Of Presidential Power section its part of had been updated since then. (After all, why should the specific display on impeachment change, just because the total number of impeached or near-impeached presidents had increased by fully 33 percent since it was first created?) The decision comes as the Smithsonian comes under increased scrutiny from a President whos spent the last seven months fumbling and groping for the bra hooks of American cultural control; the Institutes National Portrait Gallery director, Kim Sajet, recently resigned her position after Trump repeatedly called for her firing, and painter Amy Sherald pulled a planned exhibit from the Portrait Gallery over reports that the Institute was considering removing her painting of a trans woman posing as the Statue of Liberty.

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The key that a dog holds to unlocking something inside a person is enormous, someone says in Folktales, and if that doesnt sell you on the movie, I dont know what will. In fact, if I had a quibble with Heidi Ewing and Rachel Gradys moving documentary about teenagers in an Outward Bound-style program in Norway, its that theres a lot about the people but not quite enough about the dogs.

Folk high schools are a Scandinavian invention of the 19th century, created to give rural people free education; today they offer survival-skills immersion for anyone seeking a year of independence before adulthood. Sort of like a gap year where youre tested to the limits of your physical abilities and beyond. Folktales zeroes in on one such institution, Pasvik Folk High School in Finnmark on the border of Norway and Russia, 200 miles above the Arctic Circle, and introduces us to a group of insecure, urbanized kids who seem as ready to face the frozen north as a bunch of baby ducks.

What makes it easier are the sled dogs for which the students will care and bond with before learning how to hook up teams and ride across miles of ice and snow. Theyre as motley as the young humans but possessed of the confidence of working animals  they are where they belong and doing what theyre meant to do, and part of the lesson for the kids is absorbing that animal assurance, earning the dogs trust and applying it to themselves.

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Most of them seem to need the help. Ewing and Grady dont give us clues about who applies for the folk high school programs and who gets in, but the students we meet are deeply insecure and fearful about moving into a world for which theyre not ready. Hege, still reeling from the violent death of her father two years earlier, sums up her existence as chaos, while Bjorn, a big, goofy self-professed nerd, worries that he has no friends because hes annoying.

The most tender of these tenderfoots is Romain, so lacking in self-confidence that he psyches himself out of activities before he can even try them. Granted, the activities include hunting, killing and skinning deer; hiking miles with full packs; and camping out through midnight downpours. The lessons lead up to dogsled runs through the tundra and solo nights, during which the kids venture out into the bitterly cold wilderness with only a canine for company.

In the beginning, the students think its all about the dogs, but the dogs are just a method, says Iselin, one of the teachers. The higher goal is the human being. The dogs teach us to be more human. She points out that we humans still have the same brains we had 10,000 years ago, brains that find modern life profoundly confusing, and the magic of Folktales is in watching Hege, Bjorn and Romain rewire themselves amid the harsh, uncomplicated beauty of their surroundings.

The filmmakers gild this frozen lily with techniques that sometimes amplify the experience and sometimes detract: lots of sweeping ambient music on the soundtrack, long shots and drone shots and a recurring visual trope involving the Norns of Norse mythology, who weave the fates of humans using red thread that winds its way through the film with a poetry that can feel forced.

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By contrast, the dogs are simply themselves in their individuality: Guinness, Odin, frisky Billy, shy Dia and old Sautso, whose passing in Folktales is treated with a respect commensurate with his life and in whose fading presence a young adult like Hege can come into her own. The great satisfaction of this documentary is seeing the troubled children of the early scenes emerge with a maturity and equanimity that comes from pushing oneself past the furthest you thought you could go. The dogs, by contrast, never change. They dont need to.

Unrated. At AFI Silver. An occasional cussword. In Norwegian and English, with subtitles. 105 minutes.

Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burrs Watch List at tyburrswatchlist.com.
Even after efforts to mitigate tariff impacts, CEO Edward Rosenfeld detailed pressures on Steven Madden Ltd.s second-quarter results.

Wholesale customers canceled orders and reduced open-to-buys. Shipment delays led to lost sales and pushed deliveries to later periods, and organic gross margins declined due to the significant increase in our landed costs, resulting in substantial pressure on both revenue and earnings, Rosenfeld told investors during the firms second-quarter earnings conference call.

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In the last quarter, the company quickly diversified its sourcing out of China, negotiated discounts with suppliers and added price increases on select merchandise to keep the increase in costs down. Rosenfeld said in the second quarter, the team continued to move forward on sourcing diversification efforts.

With the temporary reduction in China tariffs to 30 percent from 145 percent, he said the company moved some production for fall back to China in cases where it would be difficult to ensure on-time delivery, product quality and/or reasonable pricing in an alternative country. Currently, for fall 2025, the company expects sourcing of U.S. imports from China to total 30 percent, reflecting a reduction from 71 percent in 2024. Madden had moved a lot of product to Brazil, but theres still uncertainty regarding tariffs and the latest is that the duty rate might climb as high as 50 percent there.

As for strategic price increases, Rosenfeld said: We are also selectively raising prices to wholesale customers and consumers. So far, weve been pleased overall with consumer acceptance of price increases, particularly on new fashion, but its still early. We will continue to monitor the elasticity of demand carefully and react accordingly.

Price increases where implemented are up 10 percent on average, and are not across the board.

The CEO also noted that consumers have been responding positively to new fashion offerings, particularly in dress shoe and summer boot categories across both the direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels. He also cited to very strong performance in the Nordstrom anniversary event. The categories that the company didnt feel able to take price increases were sandals and fashion sneakers.

He also expects the boot category to continue beyond summer, adding that its not a seasonal category anymore. Girls are wearing a lot of boots, with dresses and shorts and skirts at this time of year. And I think we really nailed that. Its a bigger play for us in our DTC channels than in wholesale, he said, noting that some wholesale partners havent fully gotten on board with the way consumers are shopping right now.
The final chapter of the Conjuring franchise, The Conjuring: Last Rites, is on its way, and this time, too, it will cover a fascinating real-life case, The Smurl haunting. This is a case that once received national attention and remains one of the most popular instances of haunting in the state of Pennsylvania.

Ahead of The Conjuring 4, here is a breakdown of the real-life incidents that inspired the movie.

Is The Conjuring: Last Rites based on a true story and what is it?

Yes, The Conjuring: Last Rites is indeed based on a true story. It will adapt the alleged haunting of the Smurl family, which the Warrens investigated in 1986. A popular case with many followers, the movie will adapt the real story and add some dramatization, as it did for the previous movies, which were also inspired by real events.

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Jack and Janet Smurl moved into the duplex on Chase Street in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, in August 1973. Jacks parents also moved into the duplex eventually, and they also welcomed twins. Things were normal until 1985, when suddenly, the Smurls started to experience a range of supernatural activities, from loud noises to bad odors and screams.

They also claimed that they had witnessed their German shepherd being slammed against the wall and their daughter being pushed down a stairwell. After two failed exorcisms, the family decided to share their story with the world in hopes of getting help. It ultimately reached the Warrens in 1986.

The Warrens claimed that there were as many as four spirits inhabiting the house. This included a demon, an elderly woman, a young girl, and a man. The demon was allegedly using the three other spirits to torment the family.

Eventually, they got rid of the spirits with the help of a pastor of a nearby church, Rev. Joseph Adonizio. There have been conflicting reports since then. The next person who moved into the house claimed they had never felt anything supernatural.

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The Conjuring: Last Rites will add some drama to the story and possibly deliver one thrilling final chapter. The movie premieres on September 5, 2025.

The post What Is the True Story Behind The Conjuring 4: Last Rites? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
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ILL GANDER

Dessislava Boneva and Shane Davis bonded over aesthetics on the night they met in 2015: Seated together at an event, they talked the whole night, criticizing the production and design, laughs Des, who is an interior designer who grew up in Bulgaria and Singapore before moving to the United States. We felt like kindred spirits, he adds. Shane is the cofounder and creative director at Public Records, a multifunctional culture and arts space in Brooklyn, where the couple now resides. Together, they own Studio Kos, a design and development studio.

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When they got engaged in 2019, the design-minded couple knew they wanted a destination wedding. Being from Bulgaria, I was adamant that it be in Europe. I wanted to be somewhere by the water, while Shane wanted to be by the mountains, Des says. They were searching for venues in Greece or Sicily when the pandemic hit.

During that time Des and Shane welcomed their first child and got legally married, and the idea of a bigger wedding got put onto the back-burneruntil one fateful trip to Mallorca with their son. Ahead, the stylish pair explain how inspiration struck like lightning, why they needed to fire their first planner, and how they executed the June 2024 celebration of their dreams in about five weeks.

Dessislava & Shane. June 30, 2024. Mallorca, Spain ILL GANDER

Choose a destination based on one spectacular venue

During their pre-pandemic search, the couple had struggled to find a place that felt exactly right. We couldnt really find anything we loved. Everything had an issue: The cuisine wasnt good enough; the design wasnt good enough; the location wasnt good enough, Des says. Their list of needs had only gotten longer during their multi-year break in planning; now they also sought a place where they and their guests could stay on site for several days, and with kids.

Since we were bringing people from all over the world, we wanted them to spend time together and have the chance to speak with everyone, the bride says. And honestly, post-pandemic, we really just wanted a vacation with our friends and family.

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A lot of the extremely high-end, architectural marvels they were interested in werent equipped to fulfill all those requirements. While location-scouting, they decided to swing by one last place in Mallorca: the five-star hotel and wellness retreat Es Raco d'Arta.

As soon as we pulled up to those gates, it was just absolutely jaw-dropping. Everything is monochromatic, with the design and landscape blending into each other, Des says. Located less than 15 minutes from the beach, the estate smelled like salty Mediterranean air blended with white flowers and fig trees, which reminded the bride of the scents of her childhood. And with a main house dating back to the 14th century, two multi-bedroom villas, and a handful of casitas on the premises, as well as a restaurant, the property could actually house them and many of their 68 guests.

ILL GANDER

ILL GANDER

Listen to fate

While they loved the space, the couple werent quite sure they had finally found their unicorn venueuntil Des stopped by the spa and noticed some beautiful clothes on display. Back in 2019, she had selected a wedding dress by the Spanish designer Cortana. As she admired the precious silk and linen garments in the shop, she realized they all had the same tag. All of a sudden the light bulb goes on. Oh my god, thats Cortana! she says.

It turned out that the labels designer, Rosa Esteva, had helped design the space with her father and brother, the architects Antoni and Tomeu Esteva, making material selections and choosing the staffs neutral linen uniforms. That sealed the deal. We knew right there and then, Des says.

ILL GANDER

Dont be afraid to drop the wrong planner

Their visit to Mallorca happened in October 2023, right before the property mostly shut down for the winter. For their next steps, the couple reached out to the wedding planner theyd previously spoken to in Greece. As novices of weddings, we asked, Hey, since you do Greece, can you do Mallorca? And she said yes, Des says. That was probably the biggest mistake of this whole wedding.

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It didnt take long for the couple to realize that the planners lack of expertise with the Balearic Island, and Es Racos relative inexperience with weddings (theirs would only be the third thrown there), would make plotting the celebration an uphill battle. They are incredible, but they dont run a wedding-planning business. They run a hotel, Des says.

Struggling to nail down a date, what type of vendors they would need (like an AV team and furniture rentals), and the capabilities of different layouts or spots for each event, the couple finally flew from New York to Mallorca to hammer out the plan on site in April 2024. Our wedding planner turned out to be unprepared. She took me to a flower shop that was completely clueless, even when I had sent over inspiration multiple times, says Des. So three days in, we fired the wedding planner.

With the wedding only six weeks away, they started over by asking Es Raco about the event planners that had worked on the two previous weddings held there, and ended up hiring Pauline de Saussure at Saussure Events, which was an instant game-changer. They knew the contact, the venue, the AV and logistics needs, and who could show up to the middle of the mountains with a wedding cake, Des says. She brought to the table so many things that I didn't even know you had to do for the wedding.

ILL GANDER

ILL GANDER

Hold tight to your aesthetic vision

While that first florist the couple saw had put forth dainty little blooms, Des and Shane had a bigger statement in mind for their floralswhich is that there would barely be florals at all. The decor complemented the Mallorcan surroundings instead of competing with them, via warm wooden chairs, white candles in glass vessels, and spare explosions of palm leaves standing tall and architecturally, all handled by Enesencia Design. We chose to do a ton of candles to keep the light low. I think people look stunning when the light is at your eye level. It gives you that golden glow, says Des. We had these very tall greens to add some height, since the tent was so tall.

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Though vendors kept pushing them toward string lights, the couple wanted something more commanding, with James Turrells fine-art installations as a reference. Our AV team figured out how to do LED tube lights and string them up in the tent, which made the perfect golden orange colora strong request of Shanes, Des says of their work with Velvet Productions. It wasnt necessarily adding functional light, but a glow to the height of the tent that felt more like an art install.

ILL GANDER

Hire your friends

While their wedding was in many ways a celebration of this corner of Mallorca, they did call on a few of their own creative pals to lend their support to the festivities. Shanes friend Tal, who owns the store and fashion label Colbo in New York, created custom suits for the groom and the couples son, while their photographer friends Andrew Bayda and Everett Bouwer (who shoots under the name Ill Gander) captured the wedding. Their wedding band wasnt a wedding band at all, but an ambient jam group called The Zenmenn based in Berlin, who are friends of the couples. Shanes cofounder at Public Records, Francis Harris, whos a major collector of vinyl, also DJed after the band wrapped up.

For her makeup, Des breached the best of both by researching whom the Cortana team used for their dreamy fashion photo shoots. Barbara Urra did the makeup of not just the bride, but that of her mother, mother-in-law, and sisters. Rosa Esteva of Cortana wound up helping Des get dressed on the big day, too. It was really, really special, because I have such admiration for her creations. Every dress and outfit I wore during the weekend were hers! It was a nice little treat to spend time with her, says Des.

Create a solid slate of plans

For the proper vacation with loved ones they dreamt of, the couple pulled together a full itinerary around their wedding. On Thursday afternoon, they held welcome drinks at Es Raco, followed by a welcome dinner on the rooftop of Forn Nou, a homey restaurant in the nearest town of Arta. On Friday, they held a rehearsal dinner on site at Es Raco, followed by dancing. We actually had to kick everybody out at 1am, because nobody wanted to go to sleep, says Des.

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Saturday began with a meditation with guests under a tree, with the moment dedicated to Shanes father, as it was the anniversary of his passing. That afternoon, they held a pool party, followed by another dinner on the property. Since we had bought out the hotel, it was four days of full immersion with the people we love at all points, Des says.

The wedding itself began in the early evening on Sunday, so that their son and the other invited children wouldnt get too cranky. The ceremony was held on the lawn, followed by a cocktail hour nearby with a local band, the Nayla Yenquis Group, playing. Guests were summoned to walk through a vineyard to a tent for dinner, while dessert and cake-cutting were held back on the terraces, under moonlight, where the dancing began in earnest.

ILL GANDER

Share the local flavors

As nearly every wedding event was held on site at Es Raco, the food was coordinated by the venue. They were excited to talk to us about the food because we wanted not just your run-of-the-mill catering; we wanted a culinary adventure with both food and wine, walking people through Spanish tradition and Mallorcan flavors, says Des.

Chef Maria Solivellas of the restaurant Ca na Toneta, which had been awarded a green star by the Michelin guide for its efforts in sustainability, led the catering. The restaurant is pretty intense about local ingredients and sustainable farming, says Shane. For the rehearsal dinner they enjoyed local fish and lamb cooked over an outdoor firepit, along with roasted vegetables, many of which were grown on the property. It was all just really simple local seafood, which was what we wanted, he continues.

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During cocktail hour, guests were offered classic Mallorcan bites, like anchovies, crunchy cod and tomato, roasted eggplant croquettes, and patatas bravas, while dinner itself was a grilled sea bass.

ILL GANDER

Party with a taste of home

The wedding dinner opened with a sip from Des native Bulgaria: Small glasses of the fruit brandy rakia were handed out for a stiff toast. Theres one in particular we love, and I figured out how to procure it and ship a few cases to Es Raco from Bulgaria, the bride says. It was even served alongside an opening salad of mainly cucumbers and tomatoes, which is how it is typically consumed in her culture.

After all the dancing and merriment (and cocktails), the group was wiped by the end of the wedding, so the partying didnt exactly follow the Spanish tradition of winding into the wee hours. And that suited the couple just fineafter all, they were parents.

Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler

The Latest Stories from Conde Nast Traveler
Famed outlaw Wild Bill Hickok would be hootin and hollerin down the streets of Deadwood for this one.

Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, S.D., made USA TODAY's list of best bars in the country.

The USA TODAY Bars of the Year 2025 list, released July 30, features 29 bars from dives to high-end cocktail bars.

USA Today Network food journalists live and work in the states across the country. They know their communities well, and they pooled their expertise to select the list, which includes the places they spend their time and recommend to readers, travelers and friends.

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How Many Have You Been To? The 29 best bars in America in 2025: See USA TODAY's top picks

Why Saloon No. 10 was named one of the best bars

The chair in which Wild Bill was shot in 1876 while playing poker inside the dusty saloon still hangs on the wall today, for one.

But theres such a larger history lesson inside bar on Main Street. Built during the peak of the Black Hills Gold Rush 150 years ago and family-owned for 60 years now, Saloon No. 10 is a museum with a damn good bar for relics and folklore from the Old West, a stunning collection of George and Joseph Fassbenders artwork, a 1990 Dick Termes spherical painting that hangs above the cash register and photos from the 1930s of founder Stu Donavitz and his staff of bartenders in black ties.

But grab an Old Fashioned and settle in for the live bands, dancing atop a mess of saw dust, one of the largest whiskey collections in the region, Blackjack in the back and daily re-enactments of Wild Bills demise.

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I die and resurrect three times a day! says actor Travis Pearson who portrays the famed outlaw.

Now thats historic.

Raise a glass: Deadwood's historic bar named one of best in U.S.

Angela George is a trending reporter for the Argus Leader.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Historical South Dakota whiskey joint makes USA TODAY's best bars list
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56)  A London woman is facing a vehicular homicide charge after allegedly causing a three-car crash while drunk.

An arrest citation alleged that around midnight on Friday, Aug. 1, Kimberly Hedrick, 55, was driving south on American Card Road when she crossed the yellow line and hit another car head-on.

The driver of the other car died as a result of the crash, according to the citation.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

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During the investigation, the sheriffs office claimed Hedricks breath smelled like alcohol, and she had slurred speech.

She allegedly admitted to drinking before driving after a test detected the presence of alcohol, per an arrest report.

She was reportedly taken to St. Joseph Hospital in London and released with minor injuries, arrested just before 3 a.m., and booked into the Laurel County Correctional Center, where she was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol.

Court records indicate that her cash bond has been set at $50,000, and shes due in court for a hearing at 11 a.m. on August 5.

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The LCSO announced in a news release that deputies are looking for 39-year-old David Wynn of London, who was allegedly driving a Hyundai SUV that was hit in the crash.

Authorities in Laurel County are searching for Davind N. Wynn, 39, of London, who allegedly fled the scene of a deadly crash, leaving behind two injured women. (Laurel County Sheriffs Office)

Authorities said Wynn allegedly got out of the vehicle and fled, leaving behind two women who were taken to the Bluegrass Regional Medical Center. Deputies didnt say what condition the women were in.

Kentucky woman accused of trying to sneak meth into Disney World

Wynn also appears to have been wanted on an outstanding warrant, deputies wrote.

Anyone with information that could help find Wynn is asked to contact the LCSO at (606) 864-6600 or email g.acciardo@laurelcountysheriff.gov.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI)  Police have called off their search for one of two wanted suspects in Webster, Mass.

Police said officers had been out looking for a man and a woman, one of which was believed to be wanted in connection with a shooting in Woonsocket.

Police said the two of them ran off after crashing their car near Big Belly Cafe on Route 16.

The woman has since been taken into custody.

The man, who may be armed, is described as dark-skinned and wearing a black shirt and blue shorts. He was seen running toward the woods between Lower Gore and Upper Gore roads.

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However, the search was called off just before 6 p.m. since it looked as though he was no longer in the area, according to police. Police believe he may have been picked up.

There is no perceived threat to the public at this time, according to police.

The Woonsocket Police Department later told 12 News there are no active arrest warrants out for any suspects that involve a shooting in the city.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A man was pronounced dead at the hospital after a Frayser shooting, according to Memphis police.

At 8:33 p.m., officers responded to a shooting in the area of Overton Crossing Street and Frayser Boulevard.

They said one man was transported to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. This is an ongoing investigation.

Memphis Murder Map 2025

If you have any information that could help police, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A man is dead after a reported shooting downtown on Thursday.

According to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch, a shooting was reported just before 7:15 p.m. on Thursday night. Crews responded to the area of E. Fourth Street and Walnut Street.

Dispatchers report a male was shot in the head. He was taken to the hospital by medics.

A Dayton police sergeant told 2 NEWS on scene the man was sitting in his car when a suspect or multiple suspects shot into the vehicle several times.

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Lt. Eric Sheldon of the Dayton police Department confirmed Friday morning that the man succumbed to his injury.

No arrests have been made at this time. The DPDs Homicide Unit is actively investigating the incident.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
1 killed in York County motorcycle crash

One person is dead after a motorcycle crash in York County Thursday evening, officials said.

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol report, a Honda Accord on Highway 321 south of Clover near Meadow Road collided with a motorcycle around 7:50 p.m.

ALSO READ >> 1 killed in Catawba County motorcycle crash, troopers say

The motorcyclist was killed in the accident.

Officials say two people from the Honda were taken to the hospital.

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The cause of the crash is still unknown, but police say the accident is still under investigation.

Channel 9 is asking York County for more information on the victim.

This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

VIDEO: Excessive speed linked to fatal motorcycle crash in Hickory
A 1-year-old was taken to a hospital after police responded to a report of a drowning at a Mattapan home Thursday night.

Police went to 148 Standard St. in Mattapan at 7:24 p.m. Thursday for a reported drowning, Officer Mark Marron, a Boston Police spokesman, said. Officers rendered aid to a 1-year-old and took the child to a hospital.

The childs condition is unknown, but homicide detectives responded to the scene, Marron said. Both the childs age and the seriousness of injuries led to the homicide detectives going to the scene, he said.

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No arrests have been made.

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Read the original article on MassLive.
One person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries after a shooting in Rock Hill just after midnight Friday, police said.

ALSO READ >> Uptown Charlotte residents demand increased security after latest shooting

According to a release from Rock Hill Police, officers responded to South Jones Avenue at 12:20 a.m. after hearing gunshots in the area.

Inside a residence, officers found a 21-year-old man with a single gunshot wound.

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Police say the victim is in critical condition.

The initial investigations reveals the man was inside when he was shot by a suspect outside the residence.

There is no word on a suspect or any arrests.

This is a developing story. Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

VIDEO: 1 killed in Rock Hill shooting, suspects in custody
A mandate for manufacturers to register their devices or in vitro diagnostics (IVD) in a new database for medical devices in Europe is on the horizon.

The European Commission (EC) has outlined six modules as part of its European Database on Medical Devices (EUDAMED), with adherence to the first four modules mandatory from 1 January 2026.

The first EUDAMED module, Actor Registration, means device manufacturers, importers, and authorised representatives must obtain a single registration number (SRN). The module serves as a "gateway" to compliance with the regulations other measures.

By January 2026, manufacturers must also register the unique device identifier (UDI) of their medical device or IVD in EUDAMED. Adherence to this module is mandatory for devices newly certified under the EU Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) or the EU In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (EU IVDR) by January while legacy devices or IVDs have a 12-month grace period. According to the EC, this module is designed to centralise EU medical device data and ensure traceability.

Under EUDAMEDs Notified Bodies and Certificates module, manufacturers must register their CE mark certificates issued by Notified Bodies in EUDAMED. Meanwhile, the final module of the four set for implementation by January 2026, Market Oversight, that grants approvals to EU authorities to coordinate inspections, audits, and enforcement actions to promote consistent device oversight across Member States.

Full compliance expected by 2027

EUDAMEDs final two modules relate to clinical investigation performance studies and vigilance and post-market surveillance, with each anticipated to become mandatory by 2027.

In essence, EUDAMED is a system with the overall intent to heighten and simplify the market oversight, transparency, and surveillance of medical devices and IVDs marketed in Europe.

Dr Oliver Eikenberg, global QA/RA manager at life science consultancy Pure Global, told Medical Device Network: This system is important because manufacturers need the data being requested, and authorities need it, too.

Manufacturers need it to, for instance, identify similar devices which could have already been CE marked under the EU MDR, information that is required under the EU MDR as part of their clinical evidence.

EUDAMED will also serve as a platform whereby manufacturers can readily demonstrate that they are in compliance with regulations such as the EU MDR or EU IVDR.

The EU MDRs implementation period exists on a staggered timeline to 31 December 2028, with variable requirements dependent on a devices class. The EU IVDRs implementation period is similar, with the transition period concluding by 31 December 2029 for Class A and B IVDs.
The Arizona Educational Foundation has selected 10 semifinalists for the 2026 Arizona Teacher of the Year award.

The winner, who will be announced Oct. 18 at the Madison Center for the Arts, will be gifted $15,000 from the Arizona Educational Foundation and up to $10,000 for travel expenses to participate in National Teacher of the Year events, including a trip to the White House, according to the foundation.

The winner will also be considered to receive an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University.

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The 10 semifinalists were selected from over 200 nominations.

The Arizona Teacher of the Year contest has been hosted for 42 years by the Arizona Educational Foundation, which was founded in 1983 by then-state Superintendent of Public Instruction Carolyn Warner.

The Arizona Educational Foundation has selected 10 semifinalists for the 2026 Arizona Teacher of the Year award.

Who are the semifinalists to be the 2026 Arizona Teacher of the Year?

Angelica Abbey : A sixth-grade teacher at Frye Elementary School in the Chandler Unified School District.

Teresa Anthofer : An English teacher for 10th and 12th grades at Marana High School in the Marana Unified School District.

Becky Hill : A second-grade teacher at Anza Trail School in the Sahuarita United School District.

Tyler Hill : A science teacher at University High School in the Tolleson Union High School District.

Tiffani Jaseph : A K-5 special education teacher at Copper View Elementary School in the Sahuarita United School District.

Callie Mattus : A second-grade teacher at Elgin Elementary School in the Sonoita Elementary School District.

Cristina Parks : An early childhood career and technical teacher for 10th, 11th and 12th graders at Cienega High School in the Vail Unified School District.

Rachelle Port : A K-5 music teacher at Mesquite Elementary School in the Vail Unified School District.

Dawn Quamahongnewa : A fourth-grade teacher at Leupp Public School in Flagstaff Unified School District.

Caitlin Reynolds: An agricultural education teacher at Flowing Wells High School in the Flowing Wells Unified School District.

Who were the quarterfinalists for 2026 Teacher of the Year?

Lara Cox : A K6 physical education teacher at Faith Mather Sossaman Elementary in the Queen Creek Unified School District.

Mandy Fierro : A K8 STEM teacher at Desert Oasis Elementary in the Tolleson Elementary School District.

Jennifer Fox : A second-grade teacher at Hopi Elementary in the Scottsdale Unified School District.

Benjamin Garland . A band teacher at Sahuarita High School in the Sahuarita Unified School District.

Adalin Mena: A sixth-grade teacher at Patterson Elementary in Mesa Public Schools.

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Last year's winner was Emmett Burnton, an Advanced Placement World History and U.S. History Dual Enrollment teacher at Boulder Creek High School in the Deer Valley Unified School District. He created a card game to help his students better understand and analyze primary sources, like political cartoons. He then turned it into a company, called Duel of Fates, with cards based on the AP World History curriculum to serve as a review game for students.

In 2024, the winner was Efrain Casillas, a music teacher at Porfirio H. Gonzales Elementary and Desert Oasis Elementary in Tolleson Elementary School District. His mariachi band has performed at Disneyland and won awards at the International Mariachi Conference in Tucson.

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: 10 teachers named semifinalists for 2026 Arizona Teacher of the Year
The post 16-year-old becomes a member of Sigma Gamma Rho appeared first on ClutchPoints.

Is there anything Alena Analeigh McQuarter cant do? At age 13, she made history as the youngest Black person ever to be accepted into medical school in the United States. Now three years later at age 16, she is a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. McQuarter is a spring 2025 initiate of the Lambda Nu Sigma Chapter in Toronto, Canada.

At the age of 12, she graduated high school and enrolled at Arizona State University, initially focusing on chemistry and astronomy and planetary science. As the youngest intern ever to work at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she pursued her career goal of becoming a NASA engineer during her internship.

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After a life-changing trip to Jordan with her nonprofit organization, Brown STEM Girl, she shifted her focus to medicine. She changed her major to pre-med with a focus on viral immunology after being moved by the inequities in health throughout the world. Through the Burroughs Wellcome Scholars Early Assurance Program, the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham extended an early admission offer to her in 2022.

However, Alenas influence goes far beyond her academic accomplishments. As the creator of Brown STEM Girl, she has established a platform that offers mentorships, scholarships, and chances for study abroad to encourage girls of color in STEM fields.

She has received both national and international recognition for her innovative work, including

 Forbes 30 Under 30 (Nominee, 2021)

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 TIME and Nickelodeons Kid of the

 Year (Finalist, 2022)

 Global Child Prodigy Awards  World in Science (Recipient, 2022)

 Presidents Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award (Recipient, 2022)

 Ebony HBCU STEM Queen (Recipient, 2022)

As a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., McQuarter is now breaking down boundaries and creating futures while embodying the values of sisterhood, scholarship, and service.

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on November 12, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana, on the campus of Butler University by seven educators. Although the smallest sorority of the Divine 9, Sigma Gamma Rho, has chapters all over the country and the world. There are over 100,000 members in the organization, both domestically and internationally, with over 500 chapters in the US, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Germany, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and its newly chartered chapter in Tokyo, Japan.

Related: Twenty HBCU players named to HBCU+ Player of the Year watch list

Related: Four HBCU conferences agree to a broad strategic partnership
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  A 17-year-old who was shot and killed late Thursday night has been identified.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office said Lorenzo Davis Jr. was shot while on the 2900 block of 29th Avenue North around 11:30 p.m. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting roughly twenty minutes later.

Birmingham police are investigating Davis death as a homicide.

This article will be updated as more information is made available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
The JCPenney stores at the Mall at Robinson and at Westmoreland Mall are still open and operating.

But the real estate for the two big stores at the local regional malls have a new owner as part of a larger portfolio deal, in which Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust sold 119 JCPenney stores to Boston-based Onxy Partners Ltd., according to a press announcement .

Onxy paid $947 million in cash for the portfolio of anchor department stores throughout the country, a transaction in which Copper Property leadership described the Boston investment firm in a conference call as one that stood out as our preferred buyer, based on their capability at close, their business strategy and the offered purchase terms.

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Onxy Partners has issued no statements indicating any future plans for the stores here or elsewhere in the portfolio.

Click here to read more from our partners at the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

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Zariah Finley Dodd's baby girl was due in mid-October, and the 16-year-old expectant mother planned to finish school and study forensic law, according to a woman close to her.

But the lifeless body of the 22-week pregnant Finley Dodd was found with a gunshot wound shortly before 6 a.m. July 5, around the area of 55th Avenue and Osborn Road, according to Phoenix police.

A pair of men were booked in connection with Finley Dodd's death, including the adult father of the child she was carrying, authorities announced Aug. 1.

Zariah Finley Dodd is seen in this undated photo. The pregnant 16-year-old was found dead, the victim of a gunshot, in the area of Phoenix park, police said.

Man accused of preying on girls has prior conviction

Jurrell Davis, 36, faces charges on suspicion of murder and sexual misconduct with a minor, and Jechri James-Gillett, 18, according to Phoenix police. Davis impregnated the girl, police said.

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The teen was reported missing, only hours before, from a group home in Surprise, which advertises as being designated for abused, neglected or abandoned children. Police did not publicly identify Finley Dodd as the victim until July 31.

"She was sitting in the coroner's (office) for four days as a Jane Doe," said Richilyn Fox.

The 32-year-old Fox, who told The Arizona Republic that she was Finley Dodd's former foster mother, said on July 31 that she suspected Davis was the father and that he was known to prey on girls in group homes. Fox said that many foster girls she knew told her that Davis hosted parties to lure them.

"The reason why he goes for girls in group homes is because they don't have nobody that cared for them or loved them," Fox said. "He has a target."

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Fox shared a text conversation with The Republic that she said was between Finley Dodd and the mother of another underage teen, with whom Davis was accused of being in a relationship.

"He's good at lying and manipulation," Finley Dodd texted about Davis. The other suspect surfaced in the text conversation, too, as Finley Dodd and the mother both mention someone by the name of "Jechri."

Fox said she does not know how Finley Dodd met the man.

In 2007, Davis was charged in suspicion of sexual conduct with a minor in Maricopa County, according to court records. The following year, Davis pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of child abuse with sexual motivation and was sentenced to 10 years of probation, according to court records obtained by The Republic. He paid a $550 court fee, and in 2011, his request for early termination of probation was granted, the documents show.

Zariah Finley Dodd, left, is seen with Richily Fox.

Victim had named expected child, baby shower planned

Finley Dodd came into Fox's life in 2022 when the woman was a house manager at Sunshine Residential Home, she said. The girl was fostered by Fox before Fox's mother became the girl's foster parent, she added. Because Finley Dodd was a repeat runaway, the Arizona Department of Child Safety placed her in a group home in Mesa, according to Fox.

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When Fox learned of Finley Dodd going missing, she thought the teen ran away and expected the girl to return within a day as she usually would. Fox began to worry when she noticed messages to the teen's phone were not going through and that the girl's social media was deactivated.

"I kind of figured something else was wrong," Fox said.

After it was discovered Finley Dodd was pregnant, she was placed at the Sunshine Residential Care Home in Surprise, a facility for pregnant teens, Fox said.

Fox and her mother continued meeting with Finley Dodd, taking her to church and preparing a baby shower for her ahead of the baby girl she was expecting and had planned on naming Zaloni.

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Around 8 p.m. July 4, Finley Dodd left the Sunshine Residential facility, and a report about a runaway child was made at about 12:15 a.m., according to Surprise police.

Child protective services looking at group home

This timeline of events is confounding to Fox, she said, adding that Finley Dodd had a 10 p.m. curfew.

"So, from 10 to 11, there was still time," Fox said, noting how it appeared Finley Dodd going missing had gone unnoticed.

"Our number one priority is to keep our children, staff, and community safe," read a July 31 statement from Sunshine Residential to The Republic. "We continue working with the Phoenix Police Department and partnering agencies in their ongoing investigation. The person responsible must be brought to justice to protect our community from further violence."

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DCS spokesperson Darren DaRonco told The Republic on July 31 that the agency was working with Sunshine Residential to ensure the group home complied with all licensing rules.

A vigil to honor Finley Dobb was planned for 7 p.m. Aug 1. at Marivue Park at 5625 W. Osborn Road, Phoenix  the spot Fox said her former foster daughter was found dead.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Shot dead, pregnant teen found in Phoenix park, now 2 men face charges
Two public transportation enthusiasts embarked on a courageous journey to travel from the Mexican border to Canada, using only local transit, including several buses and trains along the West Coast.

Miles Taylor and Jackson Betz set out from San Ysidro, California, the southernmost point of the Golden State, armed with a detailed spreadsheet containing 50 rows of carefully planned connections.

"Because it's possible," Taylor told ABC News when asked about the motivation behind the unconventional journey.

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For Taylor, the trip represented a natural extension of his long-standing passion for public transportation. He began blogging about transit systems at age 13, reviewing every bus route and train station in New York's transit system. Years later, his YouTube channel, @MilesinTransit, had garnered millions of views, showcasing his budget-conscious travel adventures.

ABC News - PHOTO: Miles Taylor and Jackson Betz went on 1,400-mile journey using only public transportation

"I booked a ticket from New York to San Antonio for just $3," Betz told ABC News, highlighting the pair's commitment to cost-effective travel.

MORE: Enjoy a free visit to any national park on Great American Outdoors Day

The journey, which began on a Monday from Southern California, took the two college friends through Oregon, where they encountered both scenic vistas and unexpected challenges.

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"A lot of these buses have been jolting us out of our seats, but the scenery makes it all worthwhile," the duo told ABC News during their Oregon leg of the trip.

ABC News - PHOTO: Miles Taylor and Jackson Betz went on 1,400-mile journey using only public transportation

Their meticulously planned schedule faced a significant disruption when an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off Russia's coast, triggering tsunami alerts along their route.

"We checked into our motel, and then maybe 10 minutes later, the tsunami alarms went off and everything went haywire," Taylor told ABC News.

The natural disaster forced the friends to adjust their timeline, pushing their expected arrival at the Canadian border from last Friday to Monday.

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"Not that I heard Miles complain too much about having to travel for a little bit longer," Betz told ABC News.

For Taylor, the journey aligned perfectly with his content creation approach.

"What I do on my channel is just the things I'd be doing for fun anyway," he told ABC News.

The pair utilized various forms of public transportation throughout their journey, including light rail systems and regional bus services, demonstrating the possibilities of long-distance travel using only local transit options.
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  The Carolina Forest area welcomed two new elementary schools to the Horry County School system with ribbon cuttings on Thursday.

Ten Oaks and Pine Island elementary schools each had their ribbon-cutting ceremonies Thursday morning.

Last fall, News13 reported that more than 20% of the districts student population lived in the Carolina Forest area. With Horry County rapidly growing, county officials have opened these two new schools as part of their plan to alleviate student overcrowding.

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We know this is not the end of our growth. We know that Horry County in general is growing one of the fastest counties in the nation as a school system, HCS Superintendent Cliff Jones said. The school board has tasked me as the superintendent to really prepare ourselves for that growth, to look for areas where not only development is happening here in the next five years, but also in the next 20 years.

The two-story buildings are almost identical, featuring modern classrooms, creative common spaces, and the perfect mixture of spacious and close-knit environments for its new students.

What a bunch of positive energy happening right now. Its fantastic. And the community just surrounding us has been so helpful to the process, and working with the people in Horry County has been fantastic, Pine Island principal Dr. Michael Raymond said. You know, here we are. It seemed like it was forever away. And now were here, so were excited.

With smaller classrooms, the schools are seeking to provide students with the opportunity to develop closer relationships with their teachers and fellow classmates while learning. With the school year about to start, teachers and staff are looking to settle in rather quickly before welcoming their new students.

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Well be opening the doors to all of those students, and so I am excited about being outside, seeing the smiles, waving at parents as theyre dropping kinds off so they can know that theyre actually dropping them off to a safe place where theyll be learning and theyll also be loved as well, Ten Oaks Elementary principal Andrena Baker said.

* * *

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.

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DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  Two men are facing charges in Darlington County after allegedly pointing a gun at people and following them, the sheriffs office said Thursday.

Cody Chisholm was arrested Wednesday and charged with breach of peace high and aggravated in nature and pointing and presenting a firearm. Chad Freeman was arrested Thursday and charged with accessory after the fact to a felony.

On July 20, deputies were notified of an incident that happened the day prior on W. Old Camden Road in the Hartsville area. During their investigation, the sheriffs office said the victims were followed to a gas station by multiple suspects, who surrounded their vehicle and presented a gun with no regards for public safety.

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An arrest warrant accuses Freeman of giving Chisholm a ride in his vehicle after the crime. Freeman remains in the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center awaiting a bond hearing, while Chisholm was released Wednesday on a $20,000 bond.

* * *

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.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Two Las Vegas Strip resorts settled charges of religious discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced on Thursday. Those charges involved COVID vaccines.

According to a release from the EEOC, the files claimed that both the Aria Resort and Casino and the Luxor Resort and Casino denied employees religious accommodations to the companies COVID-19 vaccine policies.

After the EEOC investigation into the allegations, the agency found reasonable cause to believe both resorts violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.

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Following the investigations, agreements were reached with the EEOC to settle the disputes without admitting liability.

Each company agreed to provide the proper training to its Human Resources (HR) department, specifically the religious accommodation section of Title VII.

We commend both the Aria and the Luxor for putting in place training measures that will have a lasting impact on workers seeking religious accommodations in the workplace, Michael Mendoza, director of the EEOCs Las Vegas local office, said. It is important that all employers understand that federal law requires reasonable religious accommodations, unless such an accommodation would pose an undue hardship that is substantial in the overall context of the employers business.

The EEOC said in the release that it would monitor the companies to ensure compliance with the agreements.

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  Republican lobbyists Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl have pleaded no contest to charges alleging that they orchestrated a series of robocalls during the 2020 general election that were aimed at suppressing the vote of predominantly black voters in Detroit, the Michigan Attorney Generals Office said.

They both pleaded no contest to four felony charges: one count of bribing/intimidating voters, one count of conspiracy to commit an election law violation, one count of using a computer to commit an election law crime and one count of using a computer to commit the crime of conspiracy. Two of the charges come with penalties of up to seven years in prison. The other two have maximum sentences of five years in prison.

Burkman and Wohl are scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 1.

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Michigan officials decry robocall that dissuades mail voting

After five years, Im glad this case has finally reached a resolution, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a release. Deceptive and racially targeted suppression schemes will not be tolerated in Michigan. My office will continue to pursue and prosecute voter intimidation, no matter how long it takes, to ensure that Michiganders can exercise their right to vote free from fear and deception.

According to the Attorney Generals Office, the robocalls to nearly 12,000 residents with Detroit ZIP codes were made in late August 2020. They told voters that if they voted by mail, they could be subjected to arrest, debt collection and forced vaccination.

Following formal charges from Nessel in 2020, Burkman and Wohl have filed appeals arguing their robocall claims should be constitutionally protected speech. On June 27, the Michigan Supreme Court formally declined to hear an appeal of a previous court decision that upheld the charges.

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Dive Brief:

Microsoft expects its capital expenditures for its current quarter to exceed $30 billion, driven by the continued strong demand signals the software giant is seeing, CFO Amy Hood said Wednesday.

The remarks came as the company reported $281.7 billion in total revenues for its last fiscal year ended June 30, a 15% year-over-year spike. For the current fiscal year, Microsoft anticipates that it will deliver another year of double-digit revenue and operating income growth, according to Hood.

We will continue to invest against the expansive opportunity ahead across both capital expenditures and operating expenses given our leadership position in commercial cloud, strong demand signals for our cloud and AI offerings, and significant contracted backlog, she said during an earnings call.

Dive Insight:

On the heels of the better-than-expected quarterly earnings, Microsofts stock price jumped 5% on Thursday, pushing the company's valuation beyond the $4 trillion mark, according to a CNBC report.

The company joined chipmaker Nvidia, which hit $4 trillion for the first time earlier in July, the report said.

If this growth is maintained, it significantly reduces the risk that Microsoft would need to rethink its massive AI-related CAPEX, even if competitive pressure increases, Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com, said in emailed comments.

In other words, the companys ability to balance heavy AI investment with margin expansion shows it can scale efficiently into FY26, regardless of external challenges, he added.

Microsoft and other tech giants continue to bet heavily on AI as investors eagerly look for signs that its paying off. Meanwhile, economic uncertainty triggered by President Donald Trumps on-again, off-again tariff measures has created added pressure for big tech firms.

For its fiscal 2025 third quarter ended March 31, Microsofts capex, including finance leases, totaled $21.4 billion. That amount was slightly lower than expected due to normal variability from the timing of delivery of data center leases, Hood said during an earnings call in late April.

At the time, Hood said Microsoft expected its capex to grow at a slower pace in its upcoming fiscal year starting in July. This came after the company confirmed a pullback in AI data center projects.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  Two Siouxland groups will be hosting a rally and march this weekend.

According to a release, Sweetgrass Uprising and the Siouxland Good Troublemakers will be hosting a march that will begin in South Sioux City on August 2.

This march is part of a nationwide rally, encouraging Americans to stand up for human rights.

The march will begin at the Advanced Auto Parts parking lot in South Sioux City and end at the Sioux City Museum Green Space.

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The march begins at 4:30 p.m. and is expected to end at 6:00 p.m. During the march, there will be four prayer stops.

Story continues below

Speakers will begin talking at the green space at 6:15 p.m. Speakers include Iowa Senate District 1 candidate Catelin Drey, the National Organization for Womens Siouxland Chapters secretary, Tami Mugler, Iowa State Education Association regional director Bruce Lear, and Woodbury County Democratic Party chairman Ryan Ackerberg.

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Catelin Drey stated, Every election is the most important election of our lives and the special election on August 26th is no exception. Hearing from voters and volunteers is the way that I know our campaign is on the right track. Iowans are demanding higher wages, more access to childcare, and affordable healthcare in their communities. We are not alone in this fight and the rally march on August 2nd is proof positive.

Proceeds raised during the Sweetgrass Uprising and Good Troublemakers rallies have been donated to local nonprofits. This months rally will be raising funds for Women Aware. Previously, money has been raised for the Woodbury County Community Action Agency, the Food Bank of Siouxland, Safe Place, and Sanford Community Center.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Las Vegas police and the City of Henderson are trying to solve the same problem, and soon their differing solutions are going to intersect on Boulder Highway.

On Apr. 24, police responded to a fatal crash involving a pedestrian. Since the incident, Henderson and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department have been continuing to work on their answers to the years-long problem area.

On one side, LVMPD is expanding its 1,500-foot chain-link fence from East Harmon Avenue to East Flamingo Road, soon to reach Desert Inn Road. On the other side, a center bus lane from Broadbent Boulevard to Wagon Wheel Drive for Reimagine Boulder Highway.

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The two schools of thought are expected to intersect near Tulip Falls Drive, although LVMPD has not announced intentions of immediately expanding south. Henderson staff explained what the intersecting point will look like as both solutions meet.

The bus transition takes place at the signalized intersection of Boulder Highway and Broadbent Boulevard, city staff wrote. For the short distance (about 800) between Tulip Falls and Broadbent, the median will be similar to the existing condition. Our current plans dont call for a pedestrian barrier.

The alternative, the fence continues to prove effective according to LVMPD.

LVMPD continues to see success from the fencing and looks forward to more continuing to be put up, a police spokesperson said.

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However, some pedestrians are suggesting a third option be considered, pointing to how Clark County solved this problem for Las Vegas Boulevard decades agopedestrian bridges.

Las Vegas police and the City of Henderson are trying to solve the same problem, and soon their differing solutions are going to intersect on Boulder Highway. (KLAS)

They have pedestrian bridges that actually will solve that equation. Because for many years, a lot of people are having the same issues, Paul Caldwell, a Las Vegas resident said. A gate going down this way, the only problem is the home is going to cut that gate before they can say hello. And the same way with having some kind of a bus lane in the middle, you look at California, most of them incidents out there too.

Caldwell said he and his daughter, Jenmarie, cross Boulder Highway often and the existing pedestrian bridge is not an option due to a lack of maintenance and security patrol.

Paul Caldwell a Las Vegas resident and his daughter, Jenmarie, cross Boulder Highway often and the existing pedestrian bridge is not an option due to a lack of maintenance and security patrol. (KLAS)

For me, that bridge is not really safe, he said. But if you can put other bridges, it would actually solve more.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said nearly 20,000 Russian soldiers have died in July alone, calling the war in Ukraine "unnecessary" and reiterating his demand for a peace deal by Aug. 8.

"I have just been informed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine," Trump posted on Truth Social on Aug. 1. "Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year. That is a lot of unnecessary DEATH!"

Accurate, independently verifiable data on each side's total losses on the battlefield is not available.

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According to the daily figures released by Ukraine's General Staff, Russia lost a total of 33,220 troops over the month of July, bringing the total figure to 1,054,200 for the whole period of full-scale war. The General Staff's figures do not distinguish between killed and wounded in action.

Trump added that Ukraine has suffered an estimated 8,000 military deaths since January, not including missing personnel.

Ukraine does not regularly publish figures of its own losses.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Feb. 16 this year that over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had died on the battlefield since February 2022.

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"Ukraine has also lost civilians, but in smaller numbers, as Russian rockets crash into Kyiv, and other Ukrainian locales," he wrote. "This is a War that should have never happened."

The post comes amid a renewed diplomatic push by the Trump administration to bring an end to Russia's full-scale invasion. Senior U.S. diplomat John Kelley told the United Nations Security Council on July 31 that Trump wants both sides to agree to a ceasefire and "durable peace" by Aug. 8.

"President Trump has made clear this must be done by Aug. 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace," Kelley said.

Trump previously warned that major tariffs on Russia would begin taking effect unless Moscow agreed to halt its invasion. The proposed measures include secondary sanctions targeting countries that continue to import Russian oil, gas, and other goods  a move that could directly affect China, India, and others.

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Trump originally set a 50-day deadline for a peace deal on July 14 but has since said he is no longer willing to wait. "There's no reason in waiting," he said on July 28.

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, said the threats could lead to a wider conflict. "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country," Medvedev wrote on X.

Trump's comments follow a deadly Russian missile attack on Kyiv that killed at least 31 people and wounded over 150 others, according to Ukrainian officials.

Read also: As death toll reaches 31, Russias attack on Kyiv becomes most deadly on capital this year

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Mo.  On Wednesday, Ozarks First reported a massive pet rescue in southern Christian County, where the Humane Society says they rescued nearly 150 dogs.

The groups effort was not completed with Crews on the scene at the home, as they were rescuing more pets.

This is the second day that weve been here on the property. Yesterday, we removed 140 dogs and transported them back to the Humane Societys headquarters in St. Louis, and so far today, I believe we have rescued or weve put on our truck for transfer about another 25 or so and some other animals, Laura Keller said. Cats, kittens, a rabbit. Theres some birds that well be taking back to the Humane Society.

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The final tally resulted in 211 dogs, three cats, four kittens, four birds and a rabbit.

In a text to Ozarks First with the updated numbers, Keller said its safe to call it one of the largest rescues in Humane Society of Missouri history.

We know that it is just heartbreaking when we see this kind of situation. Heartbreaking for the animals, but also heartbreaking for the people that are involved, especially when, you know, you have to believe there was no ill intent, but still, we need to come out here and rescue these animals so that they can get a second chance, Keller said. This was definitely a hoarding situation.

Ozarks First spoke to several neighbors off-camera who many said they didnt know the homeowners very well, and were shocked to hear the number of pets in the home.

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Its a pretty typical animal hoard where theres a lot of feces on the ground and in the cages. The animals really didnt have any way to get away from that. Theres certainly some, you know, flies and insects in the house. Theres some mice that we find in the house. Its just not a good environment for any living creature to have to live in, Keller said. The dogs that we have rescued do have severe matting in their fur, obviously have never been groomed, so in order to do a full health assessment, well have to start taking care of that first.

Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole spoke to OzarksFirst while his deputies were helping with the situation.

Over the last 31 years of my career, Ive seen a lot of cases similar to this. I cant recall any that came to the magnitude of what were looking at here. Its my estimate from what I know that once were done here, were going to have probably over 200 animals come out of this house, Cole said. Our main concern is getting these animals out of here and getting them the care and medical treatment they need after that has been done and successful. We will be submitting a report to the prosecutor with the facts that weve gathered and itll be up to the prosecutor to determine whether charges are filed.

At the time of our interview with Sheriff Cole, the owners had been voluntarily surrendering the pets.

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As you can imagine, giving up these animals is like giving up their kids. Its been difficult, but they understand, I think, that whats happening is in the best interest of the animals at this point. It is voluntary surrender. Its been a little difficult from time to time and weve had to stop and talk with the owners, Cole said. When you start taking peoples property away from them and affecting their lives and I mean, this is a huge impact on their lives that affects peoples judgment sometimes, and emotions do stir from time to time. Were prepared to go the other direction if needed and take care of the situation through legal means if we need to do that.

Cole and deputies had to go in that other direction shortly after Cole said that.

At this point, the owners have revoked their consent, and we were prepared for that situation if it did happen. We have just served a search warrant to make sure all the other animals are removed and to get them the medical treatment they need, just like all the rest, Cole said.

Keller says theyll work on getting the animals ready to be adopted to new homes, but it could be some time depending the health issues.

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Every single animal is going to be assessed on its own health issues. I can tell you that weve seen already just in the triage process, weve seen some issues, some dental issues, obviously skin issues with that, with that matting. Each individual animal will be assessed at will get the medical treatment that it needs. Once that has taken place and the animal has been spayed or neutered and is cleared behaviorally to go home, they will be made available for adoption, Keller said. If someone is interested in adopting one of these animals is to watch our website that is updated every single hour, I would imagine itll be a few weeks before these guys start appearing there. Tis is most definitely a large rescue and it is going to put a strain on our shelter and on our staff and on our you know, our assets that we need to be able to take care of them, so were asking the public to help us if they can, and for their patience as we prepare these animals for adoption.

Ozarks First will continue to follow this story and update the status of the animals and if charges are filed.

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NEW SHOREHAM, R.I. (WPRI)  Federal investigators arrived on Block Island Thursday to begin piecing together the events that led to a small plane crash which left one person dead and two others hospitalized.

Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were seen examining the scene, focusing on documenting information related to the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment.

BACKGROUND: Plane ran out of runway in Block Island crash that left 1 dead

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A preliminary report from the NTSB is expected within 30 days, with a final report containing the probable cause and any contributing factors to be released within 12 to 24 months.

This marks only the second deadly plane crash on Block Island in the past two decades. In 2006, a surgeon and two of his family members were killed in a crash near the airport.

NTSB data shows there have been 26 other crashes linked to Block Island State Airport over the past 40 years, with most attributed to pilot error, such as missing the runway, misjudging the weather or landing too fast. None of those investigations resulted in recommendations for safety upgrades at the airport.

A 2005 master plan report on the airport compiled several concerns raised by pilots, including the short runway length of 2,500 feetthe shortest in Rhode Islands state airport system. However, the report concluded that extending the runway could cause environmental impacts too significant to avoid, minimize or mitigate and might actually compromise safety instead of improving it.

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The Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) told 12 News it has since invested $4 million in infrastructure improvements at the airport, as well as $1.5 million in maintenance upgrades across the states five general aviation airports.

The Block Island facility is also inspected quarterly by independent airfield safety experts and engineers as part of a routine safety program, according to RIAC.

Daniel P. Wilson, 77, was a passenger on the plane and died on the way to the hospital following Wednesdays crash. He served as a District 5 Legislator for Montgomery County in New York. The 87-year-old pilot and a female passenger, both also from New York, remain at Rhode Island Hospital.

A humble gentleman: Block Island plane crash victim identified as NY county legislator

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DENVER (KDVR)  Denver police have arrested a 21-year-old man in connection to a Saturday night shooting in LoDo that left four people injured just blocks from Coors Field.

The shooting happened near the intersection of 20th and Market streets and was reported by Denver police at 12:22 a.m. on X. Police initially believed there were three victims, but later Sunday afternoon, they located a fourth victim.

ICE operation underway in Colorado Springs after 2 suspects allegedly tried to ram officers

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On Thursday, the Denver Police Department announced that Damion Britt, 21, was arrested and being held on multiple charges, including four counts of investigation of attempted murder.

On Friday, the agency announced that Britt was no longer thought to be the shooter in the case, but is still believed to be involved. He is still being held on four counts of investigation of attempted murder and four counts of investigation of assault.

The agency said that the final charges will be determined by the Denver District Attorneys Office, but that it is still searching for the actual shooter.

FOX31s Kasia Kerridge was at the scene on Sunday morning after the shooting and described a trashed scene with a lot of beer bottles where the shooting happened.

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A witness told Kerridge that hundreds of people were in the area when the shooting happened.

I was ordering a hot dog, and next thing that I heard pop, pop, like ten different shots, and I saw three people fall to the ground, Patrick Dickman told Kerridge. It was chaos.

The agency also said that investigators believe Britt and the primary victim had engaged in a verbal altercation that escalated into the shooting. The agency said the other three people injured were bystanders.

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The Brief

What investigators say Eduardo Vargas did doesn't take a computer genius, you just need to know how to make social media accounts.

Investigators say Vargas shared intimate photos and videos of his ex without her consent.

Vargas is free from jail on a $30,000 bond.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - What investigators say Eduardo Vargas did doesn't take a computer genius, you just need to know how to make social media accounts.

Harris County crime: Man accused of posting intimate photos of his ex on social media

His alleged acts left him facing two felonies: Online impersonation and unlawful disclosure or promotion of intimate visual material.

Eduardo Vargas

What they're saying

"Much like anybody would create a social media profile for themselves, he used some identifiers of the victim in order to craft these social media profiles," said Lieutenant Jeff Lee with the Precinct 4 Constable Criminal Investigations Division.

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Investigators say Vargas shared intimate photos and videos of his ex without her consent.

"Friends and family observed those profiles and actually thought the victim made them, hence makes the online impersonation charge," Lee said. "By the time you hit send, it's too late. Once you send it out there, it ain't coming back."

Vargas is free from jail on a $30,000 bond.

The Source

FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace spoke with Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Lieutenant Jeff Lee about what happened.
IRON COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  A 22-year-old was killed in a rollover crash in Iron County overnight. The crash sparked a small brush fire that damaged the vehicle.

According to a press release from the Iron County Sheriffs Office, deputies responded to reports of a fire on SR-56 near mile marker 11 just before 3 a.m. Thursday morning. While driving to the scene of the fire, a report came in about a single-vehicle crash in the same area. Responders arrived at the scene and discovered that a vehicle had crashed and caused the fire.

Courtesy: Iron County Sheriffs Office

Courtesy: Iron County Sheriffs Office

Courtesy: Iron County Sheriffs Office

The sheriffs office says it appeared the vehicle left the roadway at a very high rate of speed. They believe the driver lost control and the vehicle rolled over multiple times. Deputies performed life-saving efforts at the scene of the crash, but the driver was ultimately pronounced deceased.

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The driver of the vehicle was identified as 22-year-old Tristin Vandall. The Iron County Sheriffs Office is still investigating the exact cause of the crash.

The small brush fire caused by the crash was extinguished by the Beryl Fire Department and Bureau of Land Management fire units. The sheriffs office stated that Utah Highway Patrol and the Office of the Medical Examiner also responded and assisted following the crash.

This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available.

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Editors note: This clip is from July 30, 2025

CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Mo.  The Humane Society of Missouris (HSMO) Animal Cruelty Task Force (ACT) says more animals have been located and rescued in a severe hoarding case from a home in Christian County, Missouri.

According to the Humane Society of Missouri, over 224 animals, including 211 dogs, were rescuedthe largest case the organization has seen in the last decade.

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FOX 2 initially learned that over 150 dogs were secured. And when crew members arrived at the scene on Wednesday, they said the animals were dehydrated, malnourished and had serious wounds.

The organization said that the homeowner agreed to surrender most of the animals, but a search warrant from the Christian County Sheriffs Office made it possible to retrieve every pet.

Now that we know the full scope of this rescue, we are so relieved to get these animals to safety, said HSMO President Kathy Warnick. We are grateful to the Christian County Sheriffs Department for assisting us today, and we are thrilled these dogs, cats, birds and rabbit will get the second chance they all deserve for a much better life.

The animals recovered were brought to HSMOs Macklind location, which is in St. Louis. They say the animals are receiving veterinary care; their road to recovery is expected to be long.

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Because of this large-sized rescue, the shelter where the animals are currently staying has become overcrowded, HSMO says. Staff members told FOX 2 theyre in dire need of donations for items, such as food, blankets, newspapers and toys.

HSMO is working to make the animals ready for adoption on a case-by-case basis once they undergo medical and behavioral treatment.

A disposition hearing for the rescued animals is scheduled to take place on Aug. 27. Once HSMO has official custody of the animals, they can be adopted.

Donations can be made here.

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NEED TO KNOW

Robert Saucedo, 23, an employee for the City of Sweetwater, Texas, died after sustaining an injury while fixing a water leak on July 29, authorities said

His mother-in-law said a saw was involved in Saucedo's fatal injury

Saucedo leaves behind a 5-year-old daughter





An employee for a Texas city, who was also a father to a 5-year-old, died from an injury while doing repair work earlier this week, authorities and the victims loved ones said.

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The City of Sweetwater announced the death of Robert Saucedo, 23, in a press release.

Saucedo was dispatched to the 1000 block of East 13th Street following a report of a water leak on Tuesday evening, July 29, the city said, adding that he sustained a fatal injury while repairing the problem.

In an interview with ABC affiliate KTXS, Josie Jennings, Saucedos mother-in-law, said the incident involved a saw.

"He just looked and he knew something was wrong. He was trying to talk. He couldn't. So they pulled him out and one of them just gave him the shirt off his back and just him," Jennings told the outlet, based on what Saucedos coworkers, who tried to save his life, recalled.

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The city said Saucedo was taken to Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

We are heartbroken by this devastating loss, said Bryan Sheridan, Sweetwaters interim city manager, in a press statement. Robert was a valued member of the City of Sweetwater team, and we are committed to supporting his family and colleagues as we navigate this difficult loss together.

Jennings told KTXS that she had known Saucedo since he was 12, adding that he was her daughters first love when they were young.

They separated as they got older, and they rekindled about a year ago, Jennings said.

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The City of Sweetwater said that Saucedo joined its water distribution department in October of last year.

He was actively working toward obtaining his D license as part of his commitment to further his education and career in the water industry, the news release stated.

The mother-in-law also said that Saucedo loved his job, despite the work not including hazard pay.

"He always was excited about overtime, excited about just going on call. It just was always the first one to jump to say, 'Yes, he'll do it,  Jennings said, per KTXS.

Saucedo leaves behind a 5-year-old daughter, according to Jennings.

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Just a loving, funny, hardworking person, and just everybody keep his memory alive for his daughters sake, she says of Saucedo.

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In its news release, the city didnt state the circumstances that led to Saucedos fatal injury. PEOPLE contacted the City of Sweetwater for additional information on Friday, Aug. 1.

The City of Sweetwater extends its deepest sympathies to the Saucedo family during this time. Counseling and support services will be made available to all City employees impacted by this tragic loss, the statement concluded.

Read the original article on People
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Dive Brief:

Microsoft received a stern rebuke from the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority Thursday after a banner year for its cloud division. Azure cloud services revenue increased 34% year over year to more than $75 billion in the 12 months ending June 30, Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said in the companys Q4 2025 earnings release.

Competition in the UK cloud market is not working well, the CMA said in its final decision, which singled out Microsofts software licensing practices for adversely impacting the competitiveness of AWS and Google in the supply of cloud services. The market watchdog recommended actions that would impose targeted and bespoke interventions to remedy the situation.

Microsoft reiterated objections raised in a February response to the investigation. The CMA Panels most recent publication misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes, the company said in an email. Microsoft looks forward to working with the Digital Markets Unit toward an outcome that more accurately reflects the current competition in cloud.

Dive Insight:

Microsoft is one of three U.S. cloud superpowers that together dominate nearly two-thirds of the global market for infrastructure services. AWS leads with 29% of the market, followed by Microsoft and Google Cloud, whose shares are 22% and 12% respectively, according to Synergy Research Group May analysis.

In Europe, the trio's combined footprint is even larger proportionally, swallowing up 70% of the regions $70 billion in cloud spend last year, Synergy Research Group data show. Europe-based providers saw their collective share contract from 29% in 2017 to its current level of 15% in 2022, the analyst firm said in a July report.

A surge in demand for cloud services, driven by AI adoption and ongoing workload migrations, sparked a hyperscaler building boom that has yet to subside.

Microsoft alone committed $80 billion to capital investments in its 2025 fiscal year and spent $24.2 billion during the final quarter, which included more than $17 billion on property, plants and equipment, EVP and CFO Amy Hood said Wednesday. The company expects CapEx to exceed $30 billion in the next quarter to satisfy escalating demand.

Even as we continue bringing more datacenter capacity online, we currently expect to remain capacity constrained through the first half of our fiscal year, Hood said. We have $368 billion of contracted backlog we need to deliver, not just across Azure, but across the breadth of the Microsoft Cloud.
CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Nearly eight months after a young father was killed in his home on Christmas Eve, Governor Josh Stein is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest in the case.

Angelo Markantonakis, 26, was shot and killed during a violent home invasion on December 24, 2024, on Windy Rush Drive in Kannapolis.

Authorities said three masked suspects broke into the home where he lived with his girlfriend, Arianna Black, and their 3-year-old son. Markantonakis was shot twice and died at the scene in front of his girlfriend and child. Police said the shooting does not appear to be random.

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Authorities are still searching for three suspects, all of whom were reportedly wearing masks and dark clothing:

Suspect 1: A dark-skinned Black male, 58 to 60, wearing a black hoodie, black knit gloves, and a camouflage-style ski mask with green trim. Police said he was armed with a small handgun

Suspect 2: A tall Black male, around 6 feet, dressed in all-black clothing

Suspect 3: A light-skinned Black male, heavy-set build, 58 to 60, wearing a tan ski mask and a sweatshirt with no hood

So far, no arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call the Kannapolis Police Department at 704-920-4000 or the State Bureau of Investigation at 919-662-4500.

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Crime & Public Safety

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Severe turbulence injured 25 passengers and crew members aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, forcing the plane to divert to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Wednesday evening.

Flight 56, operated on an Airbus A330-900 with 275 passengers and 13 crew members, landed safely at MSP shortly before 8 p.m. local time. Medical personnel and emergency responders, including the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Fire Department and paramedics, met the aircraft to provide immediate care.

Twenty-five individuals, including seven crew members, were taken to local hospitals for evaluation. Delta confirmed Thursday morning that all evaluated passengers and crew who shared their status have been released.

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Passenger Leeann Nash, traveling with her husband, described the incident to Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP: There was actually no warning. It was a very abrupt, hard hit. If you didnt have your seat belt on  everyone that didnt  they hit the ceiling, and then they fell to the ground, and the carts also hit the ceiling and fell to the ground, and people were injured, and it happened several times, so it was really scary.

She noted that glass bottles and cellphones were flying around, adding, Those carts are very heavy, so we were fortunate that we had seat belts on at the time, ABC reported.

Nash praised the crew, saying, I will hand it to the flight attendants, they were incredibly calm, very well trained and very responsive.

Delta emphasized that safety is our No. 1 value and said its Care Team reached out to passengers Wednesday night and Thursday to address immediate needs and arrange onward travel. The airline scheduled a special flight from MSP to Amsterdam for Thursday evening to continue passengers journeys.

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident. Delta said it is cooperating fully and expressed gratitude to first responders for their support.
25 Investigates: Karen Reads legal team subpoenas state police, DAs office for records

In the wake of her high-profile acquittal, Karen Reads civil legal team has sent subpoenas to several government agencies, including the Massachusetts State Police and the Norfolk County District Attorneys Office, 25 Investigates has learned. The legal demands seek a wide range of materials related to her criminal prosecution and others.

The subpoenas, filed by Reads civil lawyers, request records concerning witnesses who testified in her criminal trial, fired Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor, and materials related to the federal investigation of John OKeefes death, a source with knowledge said.

Reads team is also seeking communication between the DAs office and federal authorities about the Sandra Birchmore case.

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Matthew Farwell, a former Stoughton Police Officer, was federally indicted for the murder of Birchmore, 23, in August 2024. The DAs office and the State Medical Examiner had previously determined her death was a suicide.

A jury found Read not guilty of murder and manslaughter while drunk in the death of John OKeefe, but a jury convicted her of drunk driving in late June. She still faces a wrongful death lawsuit from OKeefes family in Plymouth Superior Court.

A request for comment sent to the Norfolk District Attorneys Office regarding this new development was not immediately answered..

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  After a Delta flight had to divert because of significant turbulence, the people who were injured have been treated and released from the hospital, and an aviation attorney discussed what the fallout from an incident like this looks like for the passengers onboard.

Wednesday night, 25 people were taken to the hospital after Delta flight DL56 experienced significant turbulence and was forced to make an emergency landing at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). The flight took off from Salt Lake City International Airport and it was enroute to Amsterdam.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 25 people taken to hospital after Delta flight from SLC experiences significant turbulence

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Delta announced on Thursday around 2 p.m. that seven crew members were taken to area hospitals after the flight landed at MSP, and they were all treated and released by Thursday morning.

Additionally, 18 passengers were injured, and Delta said that everyone who was evaluated at the hospital and shared their status with Delta have also been released.

Delta also said that they are cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board on an investigation.

The aircraft experienced significant turbulence while flying over Wyoming. The plane was an Airbus A330-900, and it had 275 passengers and 13 crew members on board.

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Safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team on Wednesday night and Thursday personally reached out to customers who were on the flight to assist them with their immediate needs, as well as coordinate their onward travel, Delta said in a statement.

Delta will be operating a special flight from MSP to Amsterdam Thursday evening so that the passengers can continue their journey.

What happens after an aviation incident like this?

ABC4.com spoke to Lea Bucciero, an attorney with Podhurst Orseck, who specializes in aviation.

Bucciero said that if severe turbulence happens without warning, injuries tend to happen because passengers do not have their seatbelts on. In many instances, that alone will result in many injuries to the passengers of the aircraft, she said.

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The passengers who were injured may be entitled to compensation under the Montreal Convention, which is an international treaty that governs carriage of passengers for international flights, Bucciero said.

Under that treaty, passengers could be compensated up to $170,000, but they would need to hire a lawyer to represent them.

Delta will also have to prove that it did not act negligently in this situation. In the case of domestic flights, airlines owe their passengers a duty of utmost care, Bucciero said. If they dont act reasonably under that duty, then of course, there would be avenues for a passenger to seek recovery from an airline, even for domestic travel.

Bucciero also said that her practice deals specifically with aviation incidents and accidents, and shes been doing this work for 15 years. In that time, shes seen many cases where passengers are injured by turbulence. I dont know that I would say that it is a very frequent thing, but it certainly does happen, she said.

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If something like this happens to you, Bucciero said that you should seek council before signing any kind of agreement with the airline. They need to really understand what their rights are under the convention, under the laws applicable to international flight travel, and to make sure their interests are protected, she said.

ABC News contributed to this report.

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Two top officials in the Texas county where dozens died in catastrophic flooding over the 4 July holiday weekend were asleep - and a third out of town - when disaster struck the region.

Emergency management coordinator William B Thomas and Sheriff Larry Leitha told Texas lawmakers at a hearing in Kerrville on Thursday that they were asleep when the flash floods hit overnight. Judge Rob Kelly, Kerr County's top executive, said he was out of town.

The downpour and flash flood killed at least 135 people in the state, while hundreds of others were forced to evacuate their homes.

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Kerr County was the hardest hit, where at least 95 people - including those at the all-girls Camp Mystic - were killed.

In the wake of the deadly tragedy, officials were criticised and questioned over whether adequate warnings were provided and what top officials were doing.

Mr Thomas, in his first public remarks since the disaster, explained that he had been feeling ill in the days leading up to the flood, and "remained in bed" throughout 3 July.

"My supervisors and the sheriff's office leadership were aware I was off-duty," he testified.

He said there was no indication that day about the flood risk or the disaster that would later strike.

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Mr Thomas told state lawmakers that he was woken up around 05:30 (11:30 BST) the next morning, when he was asked to immediately report to the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Larry Leitha testified that he went to bed on 3 July "with zero worries".

He said the weather report at the time shared "good news that we were finally about to get some rain", and added that he had "no idea, no warning" about the catastrophe that was about to unfold.

More than 130 people were killed in the deadly flash floods over the 4 July weekend [EPA]

Judge Rob Kelly, whose position functions as the county's chief executive officer, testified that he was away "at our lake house preparing for a family gathering".

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He also said that there was no flood alerts issued in the days before the disaster, and the intense flooding wasn't forecast by the National Weather Service.

Questions have been raised about whether authorities provided adequate flood warnings before the disaster, and why people were not evacuated earlier.

Experts say there were a number of factors that contributed to the tragedy in Texas, including extreme weather, the location of some homes and timing.

Governor Greg Abbott said authorities had issued a storm warning and knew about a possible flash flood, but "didn't know the magnitude of the storm".
FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI)  Colorful and fast boats will be cruising around Narragansett Bay on Saturday for the 19th Annual Borden Light Marina Charity Poker Run.

More than 30 boats will be participating in the event which raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Greg Hill Foundation.

The fundraiser starts at the Tipsy Seagull near the Braga Bridge. The boats will take off at noon and make stops in Providence, East Greenwich, Newport and Bristol before returning to Fall River.

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ALSO READ: RI charity license plate named best of 2024

The event is free to attend. Anyone who would like to get a closer look at the boats and meet the captains can go to the Borden Light Marina on Saturday morning.

Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode island has been partnered with the incredible team at Borden Light Marina since 2019, said Michael Vieira with Make-A-Wish. During that time, theyve raised more than $150,000 to support children in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. So, a truly incredible effort by wonderful people.

The event will also feature raffles, food and a dunk tank.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  A reward of up to $30,000 is available for information leading to an arrest in the unsolved 2017 homicide of a Greensboro woman, Governor Josh Stein and the Greensboro Police Department announced Friday.

On Sept. 19, 2017, Jacqueline Rene Thompson, 47, arrived at Cone Hospital with a gunshot wound, where she later died from her injuries.

Jacqueline Rene Thompson (Greensboro Police Department/Crime Stoppers)

Police later determined the shooting occurred inside a home in the 600 block of East Gate City Boulevard and that the shooting was not random.

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Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.

In a separate reward, Gov. Stein announced that the state is offering up to $25,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information concerning this case should contact the Greensboro Police Department at (336) 373-2450, Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers at (336) 574-4020 or the State Bureau of Investigation at (919) 662-4500.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.
A Jackson man has been sentenced to 33 years to life in state prison for murdering a woman in 2022.

Brandon Mitchell, 23, was sentenced in Carroll County Superior Court for one count of reckless second-degree murder in connection with the Nov. 30, 2022, shooting death of Esmae Doucette, 23, in Jackson.

The sentence includes a minimum term of 33 years and a maximum term of life imprisonment. Under the terms of the sentence, Mitchell is eligible to petition to suspend 4 years of the minimum term for good behavior during his first five years in jail.

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Mitchell pleaded guilty to the charge on June 11 as part of a capped plea agreement. Under the agreement, an alternative count of knowing second-degree murder and a charge of falsifying physical evidence will be dismissed.

Police were called to the Dana Place Apartments in Jackson on the night of Nov. 30, 2022, and found Doucette had been shot and seriously injured. She died from her injury two days later.

An autopsy performed by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Mitchell Weinberg determined Doucettes cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and the manner of her death was homicide.

Carolyn Gray, a former Madison resident now living in Maine, described Esmae in an online tribute as light, love, laughter, and joy.

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There are no words to describe a feeling like being in her presence when she talked, sang, or danced, Gray wrote on Facebook. Esmae was sunshine on a cloudy day.

In an obituary, Doucette was remembered as a true child of Jackson, an avid reader who loved hiking in the White Mountains, and a caring friend, sister and daughter. As her final act of generosity, selflessness and love, Esmae was an organ donor, giving the gift of life to three others, the obituary read.
Four people allegedly involved in a drug and firearms trafficking ring in Westmoreland County have been arrested, resulting in the seizure of over 47,000 doses of heroin and fentanyl.

Attorney General Dave Sunday made the announcement Friday.

David Jefferies, 34, James Womack, 33, and Shelton Payne, 34, and Andrew Ellis-Barnes, 41, of Wilkinsburg, were charged with illegal possession of firearms and felony drug trafficking.

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Police said Ellis-Barnes sold drugs to an undercover officer.

Fentanyl continues to fuel the opioid crisis in the Commonwealth and nationwide, and dealers use firearms to protect their lucrative trade, Attorney General Sunday said.

The investigation led to the execution of a search warrant at Jefferies home, where officers said they discovered a Glock 9mm handgun, approximately 382 grams of fentanyl and black tar heroin.

The Office of Attorney General Agents were assisted by the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force and the Police Departments of North Huntingdon, Monessen, Rostraver, New Kensington and Irwin in this operation.

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A 5-month-old boy was killed by a 130-pound dog after being left with relatives who were watching the baby as his mom celebrated her birthday, police said.

The Volusia Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a home near Ormond Beach around 9:50 p.m. Wednesday , where the infants great-grandmother and great aunt were watching him as his parents were out at his mothers 21st birthday dinner.

Officials said the family members put the infant, Carter, in a bedroom after becoming fussy and shut the door. While the great-aunt made tea and toast, she let her three dogs out of their kennels. Investigators said a Great Dane/Husky mix opened the bedroom door, and the great-aunt later found Carter bleeding and unresponsive with the 130-pound dog beside him.

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Carters parents returned home and rushed him to the hospital, but he died from his injuries.

"This young mother will remember on her birthday that her child is dead," he said. "It is so, so, so tragic. This was supposed to be a great night, and now I just can't imagine how anyone in this family feels, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a press conference.

A 5-month-old baby died in Florida after being attack by a dog inside a home, police say. (PA Wire)

Volusia County Animal Services took custody of the dog, which usually holds animals in quarantine for 10 days. After that, the family can appeal before the dog is euthanized.

In this case, the dog was classified as "dangerous," giving officials the authority to euthanize it. The family chose not to appeal the decision and surrendered the dog, which was euthanized Thursday.

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Randa Matusiak, Volusia County's director of public protection, said that there had been no prior calls related to the home, adding that dog attacks are rare occurrences in the area.

"It is a tragic accident," Matusiak said. "It's difficult because any dog has the potential of doing some harm. It's important to be aware of the dog when it's in your house, to understand dog behavior, to make sure you're properly socializing that dog and monitoring it."

In a chilling twist, photos taken by Fox 35 Orlando captured a Halloween-like yard decor, including a large human skeleton and a dog skeleton in the front yard of the home dressed in Hawaiian shirts and surrounded by beach gear.

A yard sign also read, Crazy dogs live here. Do not knock. They will bark. I will yell. Things will get ugly.

Chitwood asked community members to be compassionate in this situation as the incident remains under investigation.
Pradas retail sales at constant exchange rates were down 1.9 percent in the first half to 1.65 billion euros, showing good resilience, said chief financial officer Andrea Bonini, given the challenging context. The performance in the second quarter was mostly impacted by Japan and Europe due to lower tourist flows, while America and Asia-Pacific did sequentially better, he said. In the second quarter Prada retail sales decreased 3.6 percent.

Bertelli believes the structural growth opportunities remain unchanged, but we are conscious that in the short term we may continue to face a turbulent economic environment. We remain focused on the long term with an approach that is mindful of the context. As always, our efforts are centered on the product and the client experience, whilst we continue to strengthen our industrial capabilities and our organization.

In a statement, Patrizio Bertelli, Prada Group chairman and executive director, underscored the strength of the brands and the disciplined execution leading to the healthy performance despite the challenging backdrop, somewhat unprecedented in our industry.

During a conference call with analysts on Wednesday, he touted a solid and healthy set of numbers, leveraging the advancement of the relationship with consumers worldwide and a double-digit growth almost totally like-for-like. But Guerra said it is key to remain vigilant and nimble, given the volatility of the market, and that certain headwinds are likely to be more cyclical than structural. We remain committed to our strategy and to our ambition to deliver solid, sustainable and above-market growth. The group is weathering the challenges, reporting rising sales and steady profitability in the first half ended June 30. Revenues rose 8 percent to 2.74 billion euros compared with 2.55 billion euros in the same period last year.

Story Continues

We have gone through a period where we have refused to imagine that the industry was resetting, said Guerra. Then we have had a lot of fears and a lot of people that didnt know exactly how to tackle this new world. Then we understood today we are simply navigating in this new world. This is the new world. Were ready for this. We needed to have collections right for this new world, collections that have a soul, products that are able to give you emotions, that will satisfy aspiring consumers that today are a little bit weaker and very wealthy people that are looking for unique and personalized products.

No CEO Appointment Imminent at Prada

Guerra has been acting as the Prada brands CEO ad interim, following the exit of Gianfranco DAttis at the end of June, and when asked about a potential successor, he said that the Prada brand is unique, and at times we forget that this is a first-generation brand that maybe doesnt need a CEO, but needs a kind of bright coordination between very strong people, ideas, souls, creativity, thoughts, sometimes going with the flow, sometimes going exactly the opposite of the flow. So Ive been taking personally this task, and I will keep on doing that. And we will judge in due course. But if it is an interim, its a long one.



Looking at Prada specifically, Guerra offered three bullet points. First, the brand, the shows, image, foundations, pillars are all loved also in this resetting of the industry. Two, we have invested and worked incredibly hard on new products and collections that we have been launching, and we feel that the product structure of these collections and the price structure with more stretching between entry price and higher prices, are very correct in this moment of the industry. Three, we have been elevating our relationship with our consumers, our hospitality, day after day.



Miu Mius Potential

Miu Mius retail sales climbed 49 percent to 780 million euros in the first half, gaining across all categories and regions, now contributing to 32 percent of the total. In the second quarter they were up 40 percent.

Special projects such as Miu Miu Upcycled, Miu Miu Custom Studio and Miu Miu Gymnasium kept the brand in the spotlight, while events like Miu Miu Summer Reads, Literary Club and Tales & Tellers contributed to engage with the brands community. As reported, Miu Miu once again took the top spot on the latest Lyst hottest brands ranking for the second quarter of 2025.



Miu Miu has been strengthening the bond with its consumers, an even stronger and deeper link compared to six and 12 months ago, said Guerra. We had a very well-balanced growth between products and geographies and huge investments and the results are paying off. The executive still sees great untapped potential for the brand, and the recently opened London flagship reflects Miu Mius rebalancing in Europe, he said. Guerra also sees opportunities in leather goods, even if this category in the last three years has been the fastest growing at Miu Miu, and in North America.



The Versace Deal

In April, the group revealed the acquisition of Versace from Capri Holdings for an enterprise value of 1.25 billion euros and the transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year. For this reason, when asked for details about the future of the brand, Guerra demurred. Versace is not our company, and therefore its very unusual to comment.

Pressed for visibility on the closing, he said we have an estimate that tells us that between September, October, November, we should be able to finish up and start. So at the beginning of 2026 we will be able to share much more information regarding what were going to do. I think that when we signed the agreement, we said that it will take time, which means that we need to do things carefully. Its important not to kill the baby while you cure it. So we will go as fast as we can and as prudent as we can in terms of branding and identity positioning.

Sales by Markets



In the first half, sales in Asia-Pacific were up 8 percent to 838 million euros, representing 34 percent of the total, with similar trends in the first and second quarters amid broadly unchanged conditions in the region, notwithstanding the headwinds faced in Japan, said Bonini.



Revenues in Europe rose 7 percent to 728 million euros. The second quarter was impacted by lower tourist spending on tough comps on a multiyear basis. Local demand remained broadly stable in the second quarter.



The Americas rose 10 percent to 424 million euros, with the second quarter improving supported by both local and tourist demand.

Sales in Japan were up 6 percent to 326 million euros, decelerating compared with exceptionally high tourism in 2024 and in the second quarter in particular. Similarly to Europe, local demand proved more resilient. Revenues in the Middle East climbed 24 percent to 137 million euros.

In addition to the geopolitical issues, Bonini pointed to a decreasing number of American tourists in Europe. Tourism is expected to be a little bit softer in the third quarter.



I think we have stronger collections, probably even ahead of last year in terms of timing, said Guerra and the Japanese situation and American tourist situation should flatten out.

Product Mix and Pricing

Guerra said the product mix is an obsession, and we have a great opportunity to sell at higher prices. Weve been improving in the way we liaise with consumers, the way we have developed all our new stores, the level of hospitality that we are offering today, but I think we should remain credible at entry price, its not about lowering our prices. I think that we have well-balanced collections. He said there had been a maintenance price increase at the end of June.



In the first half, Churchs revenues were up 4 percent to 15 million euros.



The group closed the period with a net cash position of 352 million euros, after a dividend payment of 398 million euros and capital expenditure of 294 million euros.

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Five sheriffs deputies in Colorado have been reprimanded over the use of an encrypted group chat with state, local and federal employees that violated state law. One of those deputies is also being sued by the state attorney general.

The consequences follow the conclusion of an internal investigation into the involvement of the Mesa County Sheriffs Office (MCSO) in the high-profile detainment of Caroline Dias-Goncalves, a 19-year-old college student, in June. It found that the members of the group chat, which was on an encrypted messaging app called Signal, utilized it to collaborate on immigration-related arrests.

Immigration officers arrested and detained Dias-Goncalves after a sheriffs deputy pulled her over during a brief traffic stop in June. The deputy provided the members of the chat with a picture of her drivers license, a description of her vehicle and information about which direction she was heading prior to immigration officers pulling her over and detaining her moments after.

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Several MCSO deputies were in the group chat with federal employees  including those who worked for Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Agency. The chat also included Colorado State Patrol and a few other local law enforcement agencies.

The news comes as the Trump administration continues to implement its mass deportation and anti-immigration agenda, which has largely been met with resistance from community members, organizers, lawmakers and attorneys across the country.

What happened to Caroline Dias-Goncalves?

Caroline Dias-Goncalves is a 19-year-old student at the University of Utah. She was born in Brazil and brought to the U.S. by her family when she was a child on a visa that has since expired.

On June 5, MCSO Investigator Alexander Zwinck pulled her over while she was driving toward Denver on Interstate 70 outside of a Colorado town called Loma.

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During a traffic stop that lasted under 20 minutes, Zwinck claimed she was driving too close to a tractor-trailer.

Body camera footage of the interaction shows that Zwinck asked Dias-Goncalves where she was from because she had a little bit of an accent. She told him she was from Utah, to which he responded by asking if she was born and raised there.

She then told him she was born in Brazil.

Oh, thats cool, Zwinck said, before letting her go.

When she exited the freeway, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents then pulled her over, arrested her and placed her in ICE detention.

This image from police body camera footage provided by the Mesa County Sheriff's Office shows sheriff's Deputy Alexander Zwinck conducting a traffic stop on June 5, 2025, near Fruta, Colorado. via Associated Press

She has no criminal record and she was not shown a warrant, her attorney, Jon Hyman, told NBC News at the time in an email.

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As it turns out, when Zwinck pulled over Dias-Goncalves, he sent a picture of her drivers license to the Signal chat seeking information about her, the investigation revealed. His message prompted the federal agents to head to his location. However, he had already let Dias-Goncalves go. Zwinck provided the chat with a description of her vehicle and the direction she was heading, which helped the agents locate and arrest her.

The Investigations Findings

Zwincks actions appear to defy Colorado state law, specifically Senate Bill 25-276 and 21-131.

Colorado Senate Bill 25-276, passed less than two weeks before Dias Goncalves detainment, prohibits coordination between state law enforcement, such as MCSO, and federal law enforcement, including HSI and ICE. Further, SB 21-131 restricts state agencies from sharing personal identifying information with immigration officers unless there is a court order or a requirement of federal or state law.

The chat group was reportedly originally set up to facilitate communication and cooperation among drug interdiction officers in the area, wrote Art Smith, operations division chief, in a memo to Undersheriff Matt King. However, the uses of the chat seem to have expanded beyond that, as evidenced by the almost immediate arrest of Dias-Goncalves after her traffic stop.

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There were 18 members in the signal group chat, according to a summary of the investigation. While some of the names were redacted, the group chat listed the following members: three MCSO deputies  including Zwinck, Erik Olson and Joshua Ray  five Colorado State Patrol officers, six or seven people with Homeland Security Investigations, one person from the Eagle County Sheriffs Office, one from the Vail Police Department and a person with the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Its unclear to HuffPost how often this chat was used, as well as how many others may have been detained similarly to Dias-Goncalves.

Based on our findings, the Mesa County Sheriffs Office should not have had any role in the chain of events leading to Miss Dias-Goncalvess detention, and I regret that this occurred. I apologize to Miss Dias-Goncalves, Sheriff Todd Rowell said in a lengthy statement on Wednesday.

He also called on HSI to release all of the messages in the Signal chat.

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Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew C. Packard also released a statement on Wednesday, claiming that the patrol has stopped using the chat due to an apparent lack of shared purpose.

This incident involving Caroline Dias-Goncalves, Mesa County Sheriff Deputy Alexander Zwinck, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prompted the Patrol to reevaluate its use of the Signal group chat due to an apparent lack of shared purpose among all agencies on the platform, Packard said. For the Patrol, our use was for operations targeting the combat of drug trafficking and organized crime; other organizations may have different priorities and goals. As of June 18, 2025, the Patrol no longer shares information on this chat.

The Colorado State Patrol did not provide further comment.

As a result of the investigation, Zwinck has been placed on three weeks of unpaid leave, according to Rowell.

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Four others have also been disciplined as a result of the investigation: Deputy Erik Olson was placed on two weeks of unpaid leave. He is also being dismissed from the Western Colorado Drug Task Force (WCDTF) and reassigned to patrol.

Sgt. Joe LeMoine, the direct supervisor of Zwinck and Olson, will be suspended without pay for two days on dates of his choosing. LeMoines punishment comes as a result of not being reasonably aware of his subordinates actions and for not adequately complying with his supervisors instructions.

Lt. David Holdren, LeMoines supervisor, was given a letter of reprimand, which is set to remain in his personnel file permanently. The letter faults Holdren for Zwinck and Olsons violations because he was directed to ensure that individuals under him do not coordinate with federal law enforcement on immigration matters,per the letter.

Finally, Captain Curtis Brammer, Holdrens supervisor, received verbal counseling,which was documented, over the issues.

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Ray was not reprimanded, as the investigation found that he did not participate in the chat except for a previous, unrelated operation months prior. He then muted the chat and claimed to be unaware of its purpose.

MCSO declined HuffPosts request for further comment. HuffPost also reached out to ICE, the DEA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Eagle County Sheriffs Office, and the Vail Police Department, but did not immediately hear back.

On top of his unpaid leave, Zwinck is now being sued by the Colorado AG.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit against Zwinck on July 22 for his role in Dias-Goncalves ICE detainment. He also accused Zwinck of taking similar actions in the group chat before her arrest.

Colorado law clearly directs that our limited state resources go to enforcing Colorado criminal laws and not be diverted to immigration enforcement, Weiser said at a Denver news conference about the matter. The legislature specified that such actions can undermine public trust and also deter people from accessing the services offered by state agencies and political subdivisions.

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The deputy knowingly acted to assist federal immigration officers in immigration enforcement after the deputy knew that the driver wasnt involved in any criminal activity and had no outstanding warrants, Weiser said. After they took her into custody, the deputy commended the immigration officers, saying, Nice work.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced A Mesa County sheriff's deputy violated Colorado law when he shared information with federal officials that led to a Utah college student's immigration arrest last month at Ralph Carr Judicial Center in Denver, Colorado on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. Hyoung Chang via Getty Images

Sheriff Rowell argued that the case against Zwinck should be dropped since he is already being punished. Otherwise, each of the individuals involved in the chat should be sued, he reasoned.

I ask that Attorney General Weiser apply the law equally to all law enforcement and government officials instead of making Deputy Zwinck an example. This would include filing lawsuits and hosting press conferences for each state and local law enforcement officer in the group chat and other government officials who have violated SB 21-131 and SB 25-276, Rowell said in his Wednesday statement.

As it stands, the lawsuit filed by the Attorney Generals Office sends a demoralizing message to law enforcement officers across Colorado  that the law may be wielded selectively and publicly for maximum political effect rather than applied fairly and consistently, Rowell continued.

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A spokesperson for the Attorney Generals Office doubled down on the lawsuit in a response to Rowells statement.

The attorney general was presented with facts that showed blatant violations of state law. As the attorney general said last week, other law enforcement agencies are under investigation for a pattern or practice of civil rights violations, the spokesperson told HuffPost. The Mesa County sheriff has a job to do to investigate and discipline his employees. The attorney general has a duty to enforce state laws and protect Coloradans and will continue to do so.

Dias-Goncalves detainment draws attention to vulnerable Dreamers and immigrants across the country

Dias-Goncalves spent 15 days at the immigration center known as the Denver Contract Detention Facility before being released on bond. More than1,000 others are detained at the facility, which has been accused of inmate mistreatment and wrongful deathin multiple lawsuits.

The past 15 days have been the hardest of my life, Dias-Goncalves said in her first statement after being released.

She said she aims to focus on work, on school and on healing.

But I wont forget this, she continued. Immigrants like me  were not asking for anything special. Just a fair chance to adjust our status, to feel safe, and to keep building the lives weve worked so hard for in the country we call home.

A relative of Dias-Goncalves told the Salt Lake City Tribune that her family fled Brazil because they had experienced violence, including being robbed and held hostage by gang members.

Dias-Goncalves can be described as one of nearly 2.5 million Dreamers in the U.S. The term refers to the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which Congress never passed. It was intended to shield individuals who came into the U.S. as children from deportation.

Gaby Pacheco, president and CEO of TheDream.US, acknowledged the sheriffs apology as a positive step forward, but said Dias-Goncalves detention calls attention to deportations across the country.

(Dias-Goncalves is also a scholar with TheDream.US. The program provides immigrants with funding to attend school.)

We are heartened by the official recognition that Carolines detention was unlawful and we are grateful that she is now home, recovering and preparing to resume her college studies this Fall. The Sheriffs apology matters, its an important step, Pacheco told HuffPost in a statement. But lets not lose sight of the larger issue: Caroline still faces the very real threat of deportation. And shes not alone. Across the country, Dreamers are being targeted, detained, and now encouraged to self-deport from the only country most of them have ever known. This is unacceptable.

Pacheco urged Congress to pass the DREAM Act or similar legislation to protect vulnerable Dreamers like Dias-Goncalves.

Dreamers like Caroline belong here. They are students, workers, caregivers, and future leaders. Detaining and threatening them doesnt reflect American values, it betrays them, Pacheco added.

Dias-Goncalves attorney did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

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Eight pets were rescued from a hot car on Friday, July 25, in North Philadelphia

According to Temple University Police, the internal temperature of the vehicle was 102 degrees at the time of the rescue

The seven dogs and one cat saved from the dangerous situation are working to find homes with help from ACCT Philly







Temple University Police saved multiple pets stuck in a hot car, and after the ordeal, some of the rescued pets are now looking for forever homes.

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Corinthia Johnson was walking around the corner of 13th and Jefferson Streets in North Philadelphia when she noticed several animals stuck inside a car, according to NBC and CBS. The good Samaritan spotted the pets on Friday, July 25  one of the hottest days of the year thus far in the Philadelphia area, with temperatures reaching 98 degrees  and, fearing for the animals' safety, she called 911.

Temple University Police responded to the scene and retrieved seven dogs and a cat from the vehicle. At the time of the rescue, the temperature outside was nearly 100 degrees, per NBC.

"I am so thankful that Temple police showed up," Johnson said, per CBS. "They're my angels, and they always seem to show up. I appreciate Temple University, I really do."

Temple Police officer Arashdeep Bawa told NBC the car's internal temperature was about 102 degrees at the time of rescue. Every pet inside was showing signs of heat-related stress, the outlet reported, and some of the pets appeared to be covered in feces.

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"I was very concerned, as I have dogs of my own, and I wanted to make sure that the dogs were okay," Bawa said.

The university police then took the pets to ACCT Philly, where they received treatment and time to recover. Two dogs  Shih Tzu mix pooches Sky and Winter, both about 4 years old  are currently residing at Doggy Style Pets and need to be adopted together, per ACCT Philly. The cat, 4-year-old Sunny, is awaiting adoption at ACCT Philly.

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.

Of the five other dogs, per ACCT Philly, two have been adopted, and three were transferred to other rescue organizations.



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William Ike Eickholt, the man found in February in a roadside ditch in Hastings, died by homicide, officials said Friday.

Eickholt, 74, of Denmark Township, died of a gunshot wound to the head around 9:30 a.m. Feb. 2, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office.

No one has been arrested in connection with the killing, and an arrest is not imminent, said Cmdr. Kyle Schenck of the Washington County Sheriffs Office Investigations Division. He said there was no new information to pass along, and that the case remains under investigation by the Washington County Sheriffs Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Hastings Police Department.

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Eickholt was found on the side of the road on Feb. 2 in the 1300 block of Ravenna Trail (10th Street) in Hastings. He had been reported missing the day before when investigators responded to multiple vehicle fires at his property at 13536 St. Croix Trail S. in Denmark Township, the southern tip of Washington County. Friends said Eickholt had been living in his truck since his one-story house was left uninhabitable after a fire on July 30.

After Eickholt was found dead, Mitch Carmody, a friend of his since 2023, expressed concern that Eickholt was a victim of violence, targeted for his gender expression.

Eickholt, who liked to wear womens clothing, was a recognizable figure in southern Washington County, Hastings and Prescott, Wis. He regularly walked on St. Croix Trail and often hung his wardrobe on the trees at the end of his driveway.

Eickholt was a regular at many Prescott businesses, including the BP gas station, Dairy Queen Grill & Chill and Ptaceks IGA grocery store, friends and acquaintances said.

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In the summertime, he would sometimes show up at Ptaceks wearing a shiny red Speedo swimsuit and flip-flops, Katie Ptacek, whose family owns and operates the grocery store, told the Pioneer Press in February.

He would come in two, three, four times a day, she said. I likened him to Klinger in M*A*S*H. He was just an eclectic person  a big storyteller.

A community memorial event was held in Eickholts honor June 15 in Prescott.

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The FDNY is denying a decorated Army veteran and former fire marshal  who bravely served in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11  his benefits and pension, he claims in a scathing new lawsuit.

Leonard Draves, who toiled at Ground Zero to identify the remains of 343 fallen firefighters before being called to US Army active duty, alleges the FDNY is violating federal law protecting veterans, according to his $2 million suit.

It was a very traumatic experience for me to go through that and be treated in such a horrible manner, Draves, 64, said in an interview with The Post this week.

Former FDNY fire marshall and Army veteran Leonard Draves, 64, is suing the FDNY, claiming it is in violation of a federal law by denying him re-employment and canceling his FDNY and WTC worker benefits. Stephen Yang

While he was on the battlefield, the city mailed Draves a letter nixing his health insurance and pension  with two uniformed officials knocking on the door of his Queens home, terrifying his wife, he said.

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My wife  she thought it was a death notification  she was very distraught after that, Draves said. I was away serving and theyre harassing my family. I dont understand why.

Draves, who served in the army from 2002 until 2019 with tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, argues he has the right to get his old job back under a US law that guarantees wartime soldiers their civilian jobs and benefits once discharged.

But they wouldnt rehire me, he said of the FDNY  adding that he is also being denied access to a critical 9/11 health program.

His suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court last month, accuses the fire department of discriminatory conduct that was willful, wanton, and malicious, and showed reckless disregard for [Draves] protected rights.

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Draves seeks to collect damages for lost pay and benefits in violation of a law called Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA) and to be allowed to participate in the World Trade Medical Monitoring Program.

But an FDNY spokesperson said its actually Draves who owes the city $600,000 in salary payback.

Leonard Draves toiled at Ground Zero after 9/11 to identify the remains of 343 fallen firefighters before being called to Army active duty, where he served as a commissioned officer on recall for 17 years. Matthew McDermott for NY Post

The spokesperson, who said the FDNY was reviewing the suit, claimed Draves collected two salaries while serving and never properly communicated that he enlisted full-time with the Army.

His attorney, Peter Gleason, hit back that as a commissioned officer, Draves did not enlist but had an obligation to serve at the will of the US Army.

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Gleason also noted that the Bloomberg-era payback deal  where 9/11-era reservists who collected both city and military salaries had to repay the lesser of the two when decommissioned  has a six-year statute of limitations.

After multiple combat tours Lt. Col. Draves attempted to return to his civilian employment with the FDNY only to have the door slammed in his face, said Gleason, himself a veteran of the fire department.

Draves began working for the FDNY in 1985, and was promoted to fire marshall in 1999. Courtesy of Leonard Draves

To suggest that LTC Draves should have shirked his military obligation to pacify FDNY bureaucrats flies in the face of the FDNY mantra, Never leave a brother behind,' said Gleason.

And while the USSERA typically has a five-year limit, that restriction is ignored during call-ups in a time of war or national emergency, he noted.

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Draves grew up in Whitestone and attended both high school and the Transit Police Academy with Mayor Eric Adams. He worked as a transit cop for four years and joined the FDNY in 1985, getting promoted to fire marshal in 1999  all the while remaining in the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.

Draves joined the NYC Transit Police in 1982 after serving with the Marines following high school. Courtesy of Leonard Draves

From 2002 to 2019, Draves served in Afghanistan and Iraq combat zones as a much-needed lieutenant colonel in the Army. Courtesy of Leonard Draves

For nearly six months, Draves sifted through the remains of nearly 350 firefighters to help identify them. Matthew McDermott

Draves, in blue, fires his M4 carbine during a surprise Taliban attack at ISAF Headquarters in Kabul. Courtesy of Leonard Draves

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He worked to identify the remains of the fallen firefighters and the one fire marshal lost on Sept. 11, 2001 a traumatic task that involved removing the bodies of his fallen brothers from their bunker gear, taking fingerprints and recovering remains and any personal artifacts.

Despite wearing industrial Tyvek suits, Draves said, he came home every night covered with the stench of death.

It was a very, very tough time, he said.

In February 2002, he got the callup to serve with the Army Reserve  so he filled out the proper paperwork with the FDNY and shipped out, according to his lawsuit, first to Afghanistan, then to Iraq, where he trained local police to handle deadly improvised explosive devices that were killing scores of allies.

The city mailed Draves a letter nixing his health insurance and pension. Stephen Yang

For nearly six months, Draves worked to identify the remains of fallen FDNY members. Matthew McDermott

Getting called out to defend the country after 9/11, it was an honor, Draves said.

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With a shortage of commissioned officers, Draves said, he was recalled to the regular Army, extending his service until he was discharged.

But while he was dodging Taliban bullets, the FDNY was getting ready to fire a salvo of its own, his lawsuit claims.

In 2010, shortly after his recall, Draves got a letter from the city saying he and his family were getting booted from their health insurance and the FDNY pension system, the suit states.

Draves said the letter sent him and his family into a panic, and it did distract me from the mission. Courtesy of Leonard Draves

At the same time in Queens, a pair of uniformed city officials banged on the doors of the family home in an apparent attempt to locate him  terrifying his wife and four kids, Draves claims.

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His family had to scramble to get on a military insurance plan, said Draves.

My family suffered, he said. It was painful, and it did distract me from the mission.

After his honorable discharge in 2019, Draves went for his medical review to re-enter the FDNY at the MetroTech Medical Center.

But in the middle of his physical, Draves said, he was kicked to the curb when the fire chief of the medical center told him hed been gone too long, and he had to leave.

Thank God for the VA  they really got me through this, Draves said. They take care of their brothers. Stephen Yang

A promised follow-up never happened  a constructive termination, the lawsuit claims.

Draves is still denied access to the FDNYs WTC Health Program for his 9/11-related illnesses as a certified first responder, the suit states.

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Due to the ordeal and alleged mistreatment, Draves said, I couldnt bear going back to the fire department.

Thank God for the VA (Veterans Affairs)  they really got me through this, he said. They take care of their brothers.
A 9-year-old boy was killed in a wrong-way crash involving a suspected DUI driver in the Antelope Valley.

On July 30, California Highway Patrol officers responded to the crash on 200th Street East, just south of Avenue G in Hi-Vista at 5:45 p.m.

An investigation revealed the suspect, Christian Powell, 23, of Victorville, was driving his Dodge Challenger southbound on 200th Street when he reportedly drifted into the opposite lanes.

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When Powell noticed, he steered to the left to avoid crashing into an oncoming Honda in the opposite lane. To avoid impact, the Honda driver also steered to her right, mirroring the suspects direction, before both vehicles collided head-on.

The Honda was driven by Aileen Mendoza, 19, of Lancaster. Inside her car, she had two passengers  a 9-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl.

The 9-year-old boy, identified as Israel Mendoza, was pronounced dead at the scene. The 14-year-old girl suffered major injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Powell was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

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All individuals involved in the crash were wearing seatbelts; however, whether the seatbelts were being worn properly is being investigated, authorities said.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call CHPs Antelope Valley Area office at 661-743-6060 during business hours. After hours, the public can call the Los Angeles Traffic Management Center at 323-259-3200.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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904WARD is organizing a series of community conversations in Jacksonville this August and September to address systemic issues in policing, highlighted by a recent violent incident involving William McNeil Jr. and a Jacksonville Sheriffs Office (JSO) officer.

The incident with Mr. McNeil is not isolated but reflects broader systemic issues affecting Jacksonvilles Black community and public trust in law enforcement.

According to the Police Scorecard Project, JSO ranks 36th out of 40 Florida sheriffs departments, with concerning statistics on use-of-force and civilian complaint outcomes.

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>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

At 904WARD, we believe in the power of courageous conversation and the responsibility to confront hard truths, the organization stated, emphasizing the need for community dialogue.

The Police Scorecard Project highlights that Jacksonville uses more less-lethal force per arrest than 41 percent of law enforcement departments. Despite this, only five percent of use-of-force complaints were ruled in favor of civilians.

From 2017 to 2022, there were 5,510 civilian complaints of police misconduct in Jacksonville, yet only seven percent of these cases were ruled in favor of civilians. Notably, no complaints of police discrimination were upheld during this period.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

904WARD invites the community to a series of educational conversations this August and September:

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August 7  Breaking the Code: Talking Through Encounters with Police: A community conversation exploring the coded language often used when discussing policing and justice, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at The Jessie August 14  La Verdad Sobre ICE y la Policia: Community Facts and Stories A bilingual online session sharing stories and exposing the truth behind what is happening across our state regarding ICE and law enforcement 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Zoom (This session will be promoted and hosted with special care to protect participants and ensure responsible framing.)

August 19  Justice on the Line: An interactive perspectives conversation diving into the nuances of policing and legal systems in communities of color, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at The Jessie

September 10  Wine Down Wednesday: Raising the Age of Arrest, Part II A continued dialogue building on Julys discussion around juvenile justice and reform, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at The Jessie

For more information regarding registration for events, click here.

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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.
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  First-year Abilene ISD teachers each received a $150 grant to help with essential classroom items.

In less than two weeks, students will be back in class at most Big Country schools, so parents are planning back-to-school shopping. Clothes, backpacks, and plenty of other items on the supply lists add up, and it adds up for teachers as well. Every teacher must prepare their classrooms to create the best learning environment, and for new teachers just starting, theres a lot of expense in their first year.

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LIST: 2025-26 first day of school in the Big Country

Conall McCright was just one of many first-year teachers featured as guests for the Abilene Education Foundations 15th Annual Judy Dudley Memorial G.I.F.T. grants. These grants are specifically designed for first-year teachers to use in purchasing essential supplies for their classrooms. McCright outlined how this money will affect his classroom as a new music teacher.

Getting materials for various music instruction will be difficult, but with this grant, its going to be a lot easier to both fund those and find those so that these students can receive a comprehensive and well-rounded music education.

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34 first-year teachers with Abilene ISD received a grant totaling $150 each, and Executive Director for the Abilene Education Foundation, Adam Samuels, spoke to how their grant is specifically catered to suit the needs of these educators, no matter what subject they teach.

We know that they all are probably the best experts of whats needed for them, and so there are no restrictions on how they could use the money. Its whatever youre going to need. Is it supplies? Is it books? Is it materials? Is it a resource? Whatever that is, its up to them. Theyre the best judge of whats appropriate or what would be meaningful.

Abilene ISD unveils Budget Blueprint for public transparency

For some, this grant may seem like a drop in the bucket compared to what teachers contribute, but for these new educators like Conall McCright, this gesture of support goes a long way.

I have a wonderful group of administrators behind me and aides to help me through every single day. But now its up to me to pinpoint what to do next and to help these students really learn what they need to learn.

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ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  An Abilene man has received a 50 year prison sentence for a child sex crime.

Aaron Hooper received his 50-year prison sentence at the end of June after a jury convicted him of Sexual Abuse of a Child in March.

Court documents say Hooper inappropriately touched the child for years  from 2015 to 2018  and made her inappropriately touch him on at least one occasion.

Hooper was facing two additional child sex crime charges  another count of Sexual Abuse of a Child and one count of Indecency with a Child  but both were dropped when he was convicted for the initial charge.

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No further information is available at this time.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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STOWE, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  If you see a large number of police cars parked in Stowe this weekend, never fear, say Stowe officials  its part of a training course that will provide police with key medical skills.

Due to the large presence of Public Safety personnel at the High School, we wanted to inform the Public of the training.

What is the Presidential Fitness Test?

The three-day course will be held on Friday through Sunday. While Vermont Emergency Management is sponsoring the course, the actual instructors are coming all the way from Louisiana State University (LSU).

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The Active Threat Integrated Response Course aims to improve coordination among law enforcement, fire, and EMS in active shooter events. LSU instructors have already held the course in other states across the country.

Signs for the event will be posted on Barrows 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 ABC22 & FOX44.
Greenpeace activists witnessed sharks being hunted by a Spanish fishing ship using longline fishing off the coast of New Zealand.

What's happening?

According to The Guardian, Greenpeace Australia Pacific members aboard the observation ship Rainbow Warrior documented the fishing activities of the vessel Playa Zahara.

Activists spotted three endangered mako sharks being killed within a half hour, per the news report and an accompanying video.

The ship being observed was practicing longlining, an indiscriminate form of deep-sea fishing that can catch and kill many kinds of unintended wildlife. The owner of the Playa Zahara insisted that it was operating within regulations, including species within allowed quotas.

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"It was devastating seeing these beautiful creatures being caught, often on their gills, in their mouth, by huge baited hooks," said Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigner Georgia Whitaker, according to The Guardian. "They were fighting for their lives, and then minutes later you'd see blood spilling over the side of the boat."

Why is irresponsible fishing concerning?

Deep-sea biodiversity is suffering from overfishing in unregulated space. In addition to the capture of unintended species, commercial fishing leaves behind used lines and hooks. This ghost gear can entangle ocean creatures.

Discarded or lost lines and nets also pose a massive plastic pollution problem and contribute to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Trawling has been especially destructive to delicate ocean habitats, which make significant contributions to absorbing heat-trapping carbon pollution.

What's being done about the impacts of industrial fishing?

Greenpeace managed to free one endangered longfin mako shark, eight near-threatened blue sharks, four swordfish, and one ray from ghost gear, according to a report from the organization. It also removed almost 20 kilometers (around 12 miles) of longline fishing gear.

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The Greenpeace mission was a precursor to a U.N. meeting regarding a high seas biodiversity treaty. This agreement has the potential to create marine protected areas that could support sea life.

While more countries agreed to ratify the agreement, another 11 are needed for it to enter into force.

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.

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Naya Photo courtesy of Naya

You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter.

Naya, a fast-casual Mediterranean concept, has received an investment from New York-based private equity firm Pacific General to support the chains expansion into a national brand. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Naya, also based in New York, focuses on the cuisine of founder Hady Kfourys home country of Lebanon. It currently includes 35 units across six states and is growing rapidly. According to Technomic data, the chain finished 2024 with $41.1 million in sales, marking a 36.1% year-over-year increase. Its unit count also grew by over 36%, justifying its spot on Nations Restaurant News 100 Under 100 list.

Naya started as a full-service restaurant. It was called Naya Mezze and Grill, a 54-seat establishment that opened in Midtown Manhattan in 2007. In a recent interview, Kfoury said he plans to accelerate openings in the coming years, with a target of hitting 200 restaurants by 2030.

The Pacific General investment is part of a single-asset continuation vehicle transaction of TriSpan, offering TriSpans investors liquidity while providing growth equity capital to Naya.

We are pleased to welcome Pacific General as our investor alongside our longstanding partner TriSpan. We look forward to leveraging Pacific Generals strategic support and industry insights to help accelerate our growth, Kfoury said in a statement.

The transaction was led by Pacific General, with Kline Hill Partners LP serving as co-lead.

We are excited about our partnership with Naya and TriSpan and also teaming up with Kline Hill to contribute to laying the cornerstone for the companys next phase of growth, Pacific General managing partner Matthew Yoon said in a statement. TriSpan and the management of Naya have built the company as a standout brand in the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern fast-casual dining space, and we are thrilled to be joining the journey.

Contact Alicia Kelso at Alicia.Kelso@informa.com
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ)  Mosquitoes in three additional municipalities have tested positive for West Nile Virus.

According to Centre County officials, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Vector management reported that two mosquito samples collected in College Township and State College Borough, and one sample taken in Harris Township, tested positive for the virus.

Previously, West Nile Virus was confirmed in mosquitoes in Patton and Spring Townships.

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Officials say additional measures like mosquito surveillance, sampling, and larval control are currently being conducted by staff at the Centre County Mosquito Disease Control Program.

Residents are recommended to inspect their yards, reduce any yard clutter, and dump any stagnant water sources, which can attract mosquitoes. They are also encouraged to purchase mosquito control or repellent products while spending time outside.

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Centre County residents can report any concerns about mosquitoes by clicking here, or can contact the Centre County Mosquito Disease Control Program by phone at 814-404-4012.

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An advocacy group has filed a complaint against the Financial Services Regulatory Authority in Ontario for insurance transparency.

What's happening?

The advocacy group, Investors for Paris Compliance, wants FSRA to be more transparent because of rising rates of natural disasters. Increased floods and wildfires are driving up prices, according to BNN Bloomberg.

According to its website, I4PC is a group that works with investors "to hold Canadian publicly-traded companies accountable to their net zero promises." It fights against greenwashing and wants people to be able to invest while creating a better future for their kids.

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While BNN Bloomberg reported that this was a country-wide issue, I4PC started with Ontario because of its large housing market. Toronto also had a lot of flooding last year. It, as well as several other cities in Ontario, are very flood-prone.

Why are rising insurance rates concerning?

If insurance rates continue to go up, many people will be priced out of insurance policies. Financial transparency will make it easier for everyone (in Canada or otherwise) to prepare for natural disasters.

What's even more concerning is that this is happening because of plastic pollution and other actions that harm our environment.

Over 200 million people are at risk of frequent and severe flooding. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction says this is because plastic blocks drainage systems. If we continue producing plastic at our current rate, even more people will be at risk very soon.

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That can't happen when some insurance companies are stopping coverage in higher risk areas. While this is distressing, nothing will change until we address this.

People inside the insurance industry are starting to acknowledge how harmful this is as well. The Insurance Bureau of Canada stated that insurance damages were about $8.5 billion last year. This includes $110 million for flooding that happened in the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario.

What's being done about rising insurance rates?

While nothing has happened immediately, I4PC isn't giving up its fight.

"This issue isn't going to go away," said Kiera Taylor, senior policy analyst at I4PC, to BNN Bloomberg. "Open-ended rate increases and reduced coverage isn't a temporary thing, and whether the regulator looks at this now or later, it's going to demand a response."

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If you learn of efforts like this happening around you, it's good to get involved or at least stay informed. Even having conversations with people around you about their insurance rates and natural disasters can do a lot. Increased transparency and shared knowledge means better protection for everyone.

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African countries have gained an extra week to renegotiate trade terms with Washington, with new US tariffs  including steep hikes for South Africa and Algeria  now due to take effect on 7 August. The latest executive order signed by President Trump introduces a flat 15 percent tariff on most African exports to the United States, replacing a patchwork of earlier rates.

Most African countries will be hit with 15 percent tariffs, including Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Botswana.

Some countries had previously benefited from duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), so the new 15 percent tariff represents a significant new cost for exporters.

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In several cases, though, the 15 percent rate is lower than what Trump had threatened in April. Lesotho had faced a proposed 50 percent tariff, Madagascar 47, Botswana 37, Angola 32 and Zimbabwe 17.

In others, it is higher than what was floated earlier. The DRC and Cameroon had been told 11 percent, Nigeria 14.

A number of countries have already been hit hard by the shift in US trade policy. Lesotho, one of the most dependent on AGOA, was among the first to feel the impact.

Others, including South Africa and Algeria, had been facing proposed tariffs of 25 to 30 percent. They now have until 7 August to renegotiate.

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Trump hosts five African leaders in landmark summit on trade, investment and security

Tariff crises

Lesotho was among the first countries to feel the impact of the shift in US trade policy.

The small country of 2.3 million inhabitants within South Africa exported nearly $240 million worth of goods to the United States in 2024.

Concerned about the complete destabilisation of its textile sector and an imminent youth unemployment crisis, the country declared a state of emergency on 9 July.

Lesotho declares 'state of disaster' as it struggles with US policy changes

In Tunisia, a 25 percent tariff will take effect on 7 August.

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The new rate is part of a wider wave of US import taxes affecting nearly 60 countries, but it is expected to hit Tunisias craft sector especially hard. The United States is the largest buyer of Tunisian handmade goods.

Karim Bairam, who cuts stones for mosaics at the National Office of Crafts in Tunis, said 80 percent of his work is exported, much of it to the United States. He told RFI he fears demand will fall, since customs and delivery costs are paid by customers.

With Tunisias economy already under pressure, the tariff increase has caused concern across the sector.

"The impact on the artisans we work with will inevitably be that there will be less production, the production volume will inevitably decrease a little if prices change," said Kenza Fourati, co-founder of the brand Osay the Label, which sells traditional leather slippers.

South Africa punished

South Africa is among the few countries facing a 30 percent tariff, which comes on the back of harsh political criticism from Trump.

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The US president and his MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement accuse the South African government of discrimination against white farmers.

South African authorities still have a week to avoid the worst tariffs, and the country will use the week-long delay in the imposition of 30 percent tariffs to negotiate hard to avoid the penalty and save jobs, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday.

"Within the window that's still open, we're hoping that we will find a way to settle this matter," Ramaphosa told journalists.

"So intensive negotiations are now under way. Our task is to negotiate as strongly and as hard as we can with the United States," he said. "Our objective, really, is to save jobs."

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Listen to Spotlight on Africa: Ramaphosa in Washington: can South Africa - US ties be saved?

Algeria and Libya also face a 30 percent tariff, the same rate Trump had imposed on Algeria in April.

Trump warned in July that he would place an additional 10 percent tariff on any country aligning itself with BRICS, referencing the blocs "Anti-American policies" in a post on his Truth Social platform.

US-Algeria trade amounted to an estimated $3.5 billion in 2024 and the United States ran a $1.4 billion trade deficit with the country, down 20.9 percent from the 2023 deficit, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

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Algerias exports to the United States are mostly oil.

US-Libya trade was estimated at $2.0 billion in 2024, with an $898.3 million US goods trade deficit. The deficit fell 17.6 percent from 2023, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

Nearly all of Libyas $1.57 billion in exports to the United States in 2023 consisted of crude petroleum.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A Washington mother is suing a Seattle-area port nearly a year after a river otter attacked her toddler.

The woman filed the complaint against the Port of Bremerton in Kitsap County Superior Court on July 25. Court records show that she and her daughter, who was two years old at the time of the attack, live on a sailboat in the port-operated Bremerton Marina.

Senate confirms Joe Kent, ex-Washington candidate with extremist ties, to lead counterterrorism unit

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KOIN 6 first reported on the incident in September 2024. On Sept. 12, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife revealed an otter had pulled the child into the water as she walked along the dock with their mom.

According to the agency, the child eventually resurfaced after being pulled under water. WDFW said the otter bit the mother as she lifted her child from the water. The toddler was later treated at a Silverdale hospital, for the scratches and bites they had sustained on their head, face and legs.

The mother also claimed they had to receive rabies vaccinations, and her daughter still faces nightmares and behavioral aggression.

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The complaint alleges many of the on-site security cameras are inoperative at any given time, while the plaintiff pays the port a monthly service fee of about $125.

Prior to the attack, the Port of Bremerton had actual and repeated notice of otter activity on and around E Dock and had received complaints about their aggressive nature, Attorney Christopher Froines wrote. Tenants and staff had lodged multiple complaints with the Port about aggressive otter behavior, including otters defecating on docks, damaging marina property, living on several abandoned or derelict boats, being aggressive toward marina tenants and posing a risk to public safety.

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Froines also alleged another resident of the Bremerton Marina repeatedly complained to staff about related issues, such as an otter-infested and foul boat and otters that created safety hazards by dragging fish guts and feces all over the docks.

Oregon Bureau of Land Management timber sales made more than $13.5M in revenue in July

But the lawsuit accuses management of failing to minimize wild animal activity. Defendants are being sued for negligence, gross negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, among other claims.

KOIN 6 has reached out to the port for comment.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
The results are in.

AHN Saint Vincent has been named number 18 in Soliant Healths Top 20 Most Beautiful Hospitals in America contest for 2025.

Officials highlight pedestrian safety, aggressive driving enforcement wave

In June, Saint Vincent was named one of 49 finalists for the contest. Saint Vincent received 892 votes, according to Soliant Healths website. Members of the community, including hospital staff and patients, could vote in the contest.

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Soliant Health is a health care and education staffing company that was looking for facilities that go above and beyond just providing health care.

Local teachers get help for their classrooms from Totes of Appreciation

David Alexander, CEO of Soliant Health, said that AHN Saint Vincent is an inspiration. AHN Saint Vincent Hospital continues to stand out for the meaningful experiences it delivers to both patients and staff, Alexander said.

For Soliant Healths list of the top 20 most beautiful hospitals, click here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
AI-generated content of Guernsey's top politician has been used by fraudsters in a scam to try and persuade islanders into making investments, police say.

The scam, known as a deepfake, shows fake video and images of Guernsey's chief minister, Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, appearing to recommend an investment scheme, as well as fake local newspaper articles.

De Sausmarez said she hoped "most people would quickly realise it's fake", but advised islanders to warn vulnerable people the posts were fraudulent.

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A Guernsey Police spokesperson said: "Please be aware that this story, along with any others that may surface featuring Deputies requesting payment or investment, are not real and are a scam."

Police added people should be wary of "articles that promote too-good-to-be-true investments or prizes".

Deepfake scams have become more common in recent years as AI technology improves, with faked images of high-profile figures such as financial journalist Martin Lewis and London mayor Sadiq Khan used by people online to trick people.

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Guernsey Police warned people to think twice before clicking links, entering personal details or providing bank details.

Anyone who suspects they may have been the victim of online fraud should contact their bank immediately, a police spokesperson added.

Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

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Two friends have accused an Airbnb host of xenophobia after they were rejected for a room booking because they were Welsh.

Jemma Louise Gough, 38, and Jamie Lee Watkins, 37, had been trying to book an 83 double room for one night at the property in Manchester.

They were travelling to the city from Cwmbran, South Wales, to see the Australian music producer Sonny Fodera at the citys Co-op Live Arena.

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In the reason for their visit, they wrote they were coming from Wales to see the gig. Just over an hour after their booking request, they were emailed to say it had been rejected.

When they asked why the booking had been cancelled, the host responded with the message: Because youre from WALES.

Ms Gough, who works as a school support officer, said: My mouth hit the floor  nothing else other than because youre from Wales. It was nothing about us going to the concert or whatever. It was just discrimination of the country.

Were amazing people, the Welsh are lush. I dont know what me and my friend, or the whole of Wales, did thats so horrible. Its xenophobia. Its absolutely horrendous.

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Ms Watkins, a nurse, who attempted to make the booking through her account, said she would have understood if the host was concerned about people going to concerts and coming back if theyd had a drink or something. Thats an explanation.

She added: It was really blunt, just one line: because you are from, in capitals, Wales. What difference does that make?

Its discrimination

Ms Watkins asked the host for further explanation for the rejection, saying that it was discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

She said her message was read, but received no response, adding: I was just a bit shocked really that people still say things like that.

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Ms Gough posted on Instagram and Facebook to complain about the experience. The video gained thousands of views and comments from social media users who shared it.

Katie Jones, the superhost who rejected Ms Gough and Ms Watkins, describes herself as friendly and easygoing on the app. She has also spent eight years hosting and has an average 4.96-star rating.

The en-suite double room, which has an average 4.97-star rating with 300 reviews, has since been suspended by Airbnb from its platform.

An Airbnb spokesman said: Discrimination, including on the basis of nationality, has no place on Airbnb. As soon as this report was brought to our attention, we reached out to the guest to provide our support and suspended the host while we investigate this matter.

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Ms Jones was approached for comment.

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NEED TO KNOW

A passenger on board the Delta Air Lines plane that crashed in Toronto is now suing the company

Vanessa Miles and her lawyers claim the company's alleged negligence led to the violent crash

All 80 people on board survived the Feb. 17 incident, with 18 people transported to local hospitals





A passenger on board the Delta plane that rolled over during a crash landing in Toronto in February is now suing the airline.

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According to a lawsuit filed on July 28, Michigan resident Vanessa Miles boarded Toronto-bound Endeavor Air Flight 4819 in Minneapolis on Feb. 17, 2025. The woman was an employee of Endeavor Air  a regional Delta subsidiary  but was traveling as a passenger to reach another assignment location, a practice known as deadheading.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the flight crash landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at around 2:45 p.m. local time. Footage and photos captured during the incident show the jet catching fire as it hit the runway, skidded out and rolled over, coming to rest upside down.

GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Investigators examine the wreckage of the Delta Air Lines flights that crash landed in Toronto in February. Investigators examine the wreckage of the Delta Air Lines flights that crash landed in Toronto in February.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

All 80 people on board  76 passengers and four crew members  were evacuated, per the FAA.

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On the day of the incident, Delta issued a statement stating that 18 customers with injuries were transported to local hospitals.

Miles and her lawyers claim the incident was a result of Deltas alleged grossly negligent operation of the aircraft.

This accident was caused, at least in part, by Defendants knowing assigning an inexperienced and inadequately trained pilot to operate the flight, the lawsuit claims. Defendants cut corners on safety by rushing pilots through training programs and knowingly putting passengers at risk with inexperienced flight crew.



The suit details Miles alleged injuries during the crash. She claims she was left temporarily unconscious while hanging upside down in the inverted aircraft. She says she was soaked in jet fuel and surrounded by smoke. After unlocking her seatbelt and attempting to escape, she says she fell 6-7 feet to the ground because the emergency slides were not deployed. Then, she allegedly had to wait an hour in 15-degree weather for transportation to the hospital.

EDUARDO LIMA/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock A Delta Air Lines passenger plane is shown flipped upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport. A Delta Air Lines passenger plane is shown flipped upside down at Toronto Pearson International Airport.

Miles allegedly suffered severe and permanent injuries, including a fractured shoulder, traumatic brain injury, back injuries, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and more.



Legal claims include strict liability, negligence and gross negligence. Miles demands damages of at least $75 million on top of legal costs.

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Ms. Miles suffered significant injuries when Delta Air Lines/Endeavor Air Flight 4819 crash-landed in Toronto after preventable safety, training, and evacuation failures, as alleged in our complaint," Madeline Sinkovich, an attorney with Mike Morse Law Firm, shared in a statement with PEOPLE. "We are pursuing full accountability and compensation in court.

Delta Air Lines declined to comment on pending litigation, though a spokesperson for the company said Delta continues to support the Transportation Safety Board of Canadas ongoing investigation.

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 agencys preliminary report, released on March 20, found winds were gusting up to 35 knots at the time the plane approached Runway 23 for landing. After the rapid descent, the right main landing gear fractured and the wind detached from the plane.

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For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people. Thats why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Out of respect for the integrity of this work that will continue through their final report, Endeavor Air and Delta will refrain from comment, the company shared at the time.

Read the original article on People
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT)  Lawmakers announced a proposed bill Thursday that would allow the death penalty to be given to criminals who commit rape or sodomy of children under the age of twelve.

This comes as an investigation is underway for a sex trafficking ring discovered in Bibb County.

This is the worst of the worst offenses, said Rep. Matt Simpson (R-Daphne). Taking advantage and taking the innocence of children under the age of twelve is one of the worst things, if not the worst thing, that someone can do.

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Rep. Simpson said the law wouldnt retroactively cover those involved in the Bibb County case. but he wants to deter criminals in the future.

Because it is one of the worst offenses, it deserves the worst of the worst punishments, he said.

Bibb County Sheriff Jody Wade said the sex trafficking case is the worst hes ever seen.

Alabama AG to discuss expanding use of capital punishment

As we work to give a voice to these victims that havent been able to have their say as of yet, we just want to take time out to come here and voice our support for this legislation, said Wade.

Attorney General Steve Marshall believes adding the death penalty to severe acts against children could help prevent the crimes from happening.

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To be able to send a clear message about, not only the intent of the legislature in protecting kids, but the public policy in our state is how we hold those who hurt our children accountable, said Marshall.

Rep. Kenyatte Hassell (D-Montgomery) agreed sexual abuse is a horrific crime, but he said the death penalty is too extreme.

And, you know, the death penalty is also irreversible, he said. We can really execute the wrong person in some of these cases. So, why do we even have the option to do the death penalty? I mean, theres other things, life without parole.

I believe there is a special place in hell for child sex predators, said Sen. April Weaver (R-Brierfield). And when we pass this bill, and when it is approved by the courts, there is also going to be a special place in Alabama for child sex predators, and that is on death row in Holman prison.

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Sen. Weaver said the bill hasnt officially been filed for the 2026 legislative session. She said she wants to give other lawmakers time to co-sponsor the effort.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a press conference on July, 31,2025 in Montgomery that the state is prepared to challenge a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed the death penalty unconstitutional for crimes that do not result in the victim's' death. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)

Alabama lawmakers are preparing to reintroduce a bill that would make the rape or sodomy of a child a capital offense, punishable by death, state officials said in a press conference Thursday.

Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, one of the bills sponsors, said that while it is unfortunate that such a bill is necessary, the rape of a child is the worst of the worst of offenses and therefore deserves the worst of the worst punishments.

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HB 29, sponsored by Simpson in the 2024 legislative session, would have given adults who rape or commit sodomy against a child under six the death penalty or life in prison without parole, while those under 18 would receive a life sentence. The bill was amended in House committee to extend the punishment to those who commit such crimes against children under 12 and passed the House on an 86-5 vote, but did not make it to the Senate floor for a vote.

Sen. April Weaver, R-Alabaster, who plans to file a similar bill in the Senate, said that the death penalty is meant as a deterrent.

The death penalty is meant to be a deterrent, and if passing this bill keeps one innocent child from suffering, it will have done its job, and if it sends even one child predator to an early grave, well, that works too, Weaver said at the press conference.

This legislative push comes after seven people were arrested in Bibb County for their alleged involvement in a child sex trafficking ring. Jody Wade, sheriff in Bibb County, who has been briefed on the bill but had not had a chance to review it, said at the press conference that he wanted to show support for the bill.

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As we work to give a voice to these victims that havent been able to have their say as of yet, we just want to take time out to come here and voice our support for this legislation, Wade said.

Both Simpson and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who also attended the press conference, said the legislation is in part a direct challenge to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision, known as Kennedy v. Louisiana, that declared the death penalty unconstitutional for crimes against individuals that do not result in the victims death. Both said that the legal landscape has changed enough since the 5-4 ruling. Supporters of the bill think the current ourt will be more supportive

The Supreme Court acted back in 2008 to invalidate the efforts of states to be able to engage in capital punishment for a case in which there was no death, but theres a time to reevaluate the analysis that the Supreme Court used, as well as the importance that states have placed upon this issue moving forward, Marshall said.

Simpson added that the courts decision in 2008 was based on a lack of states with similar laws, a situation he believes is now changing.

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There is a push now to change that, that narrative. There are states that are trying to do it. So, its not going to be unusual because others try to do it, Simpson said.

Simpson pointed to recent legislation in other states, including Florida and Tennessee in 2023 and 2024, and Idaho, Oklahoma, and Arkansas in 2025, as a reason that the Supreme Court might reconsider its 2008 decision. Simpson believes that if Alabamas bill passes and an individual is charged under it, other states could file amicus briefs in support, which could convince the Supreme Court to reconsider its previous decision.

Marshall said his office is prepared to defend the law and would support other states with similar laws.

We prepared to do it the moment we have that opportunity, Marshall said.

Potential effects

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said in a phone interview after the press conference that such legislation may be counterproductive. She noted the Kennedy decision rested in part on testimony from experts who work with child sexual assault victims. Such a policy, they said, would worsen the problem of underreporting sexual abuse, increase the incentives for child molesters to kill their victims and heighten the trauma that child victims experience in the criminal justice process.

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Those experts said that making this crime death-eligible would only increase the danger to children and result in reduced reporting of child sex abuse by family members, Maher said.

An amicus brief filed by the National Association of Social Workers and other organizations in the Kennedy case states that the majority of child sexual abuse is committed by family members or close friends. Victims and their families may be hesitant to report abuse due to fear of the consequences for the abuser, a fear that would be significantly increased by a threat of the death penalty, the brief said.

The brief also argued that allowing the death penalty for child rape might lead to more victims being killed, since offenders might be more likely to murder the child to prevent them from testifying, since the punishment for rape and murder would both be death.

If an offender believes that he will be sentenced to death if convicted of either raping a child or murdering that child, the offender will have every incentive to kill his victim and thus eliminate the primary witness to the crime. The offender will as a result also be more likely to remain free to abuse additional children, in Louisiana and elsewhere, the amicus brief stated.

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Simpson countered that claim in the press conference, saying that perpetrators keep victims alive and commit that offense repeatedly, multiple times over a length of period of time.

They dont just stop, Simpson said.

The brief also states that death penalty trials would force child victims to relive painful events repeatedly. A study cited in the brief found that testifying repeatedly was associated with poorer later mental health, including more trauma-related symptoms. The appeals process can last for years, with one study finding the average time between sentencing and execution to be over 12 years.

Marshall countered those concerns, saying that kids are strong and that forcing them to testify is sadly, what we have to do in a criminal justice system.

Were not creating additional stress for victims because its a death-eligible case, those that offend children have created that problem, and the criminal justice system becomes the only vehicle for which we can provide them with relief, Marshall said.
The Princess of Wales wore Seraphine clothing during her pregnancies - Andy Commins/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Next has rescued a maternity brand favoured by the Princess of Wales weeks after the ailing firm crashed into administration.

The British retail giant has paid 600,000 for the Seraphine brand and intellectual property. The maternity wear companys founder Cecile Reinaud will return as an adviser, having stepped down from the business in 2021.

Next said the deal signalled a new chapter for the heritage British brand. The companys clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales in 2013 for the first official family portrait following the birth of Prince George.

Ms Reinaud said: Im very happy to see Seraphine find a new home with Next, a British brand with so much heritage and customer trust that resonates with millions of women and families.

This new ownership feels like a good fit and I believe Seraphine will thrive again.

Founder Cecile Reinaud has criticised the direction of the company - Seraphine

Just weeks ago, the company was forced to make the majority of its 95 employees redundant after collapsing into administration after failing to find a buyer for the whole business.

Ms Reinaud had been critical of the stewardship of the business by private equity firm Mayfair Equity Partners, which she sold the business to.

Writing on LinkedIn earlier this year, after Seraphine launched a new logo, she said: My original vision was to create clothes youd want to wear even if you werent pregnant. That guiding principle seems to have vanished now.

Seraphine was once a proud example of British fashion entrepreneurship, recipient of two Queens Awards: now, it seems to have lost its recognisable identity.

Mayfair defended the rebrand at the time as a hugely exciting moment for Seraphine, with the unveiling of its enhanced website and refreshed brand identity that incorporated consumer desire for a modernised look and feel.

Seraphine listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 with a value of 150m. However, it suffered a string of profit warnings and Mayfair Equity took it off the stock market in 2023. At that point, it was worth 15.3m.

The company made an operating loss of 13m on revenues of 42m during its latest financial year. It then called in administrators at Interpath on July 7.

Will Wright, the companys joint administrator, said: Unfortunately, the strong economic headwinds that have been impacting a number of the UKs high street and online retailers, including rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, have proved too challenging to overcome.

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An Alabama state-contracted worker has been arrested in connection with the death of 3-year-old KeTorrius K.J. Starkes Jr., who died last week after he was left unattended in a car for several hours in the sweltering summer heat.

Kela Stanford, who was tasked with caring for K.J. on the day of his death, was arrested Friday on a felony charge of leaving a child in a car, the Birmingham Police Department announced. She was a third-party worker contracted by the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which oversees care services in the state, police spokesperson DeRell Freeman confirmed to CNN.

K.J.s family has called the death of their bright little child a brutal scenario and has leveled harsh criticism against the Department of Human Resources. At the time of his death on July 22, the childs family said K.J. was living with a foster family, and Stanford was responsible for driving him from day care to a visit with his father.

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CNN has sought comment from DHR on the arrest. The agency previously said the toddler was being transported by a contract provider on the day he died and the worker has been fired by the contracting agency.

That morning, the family said Stanford picked K.J. up from day care to drive him to see his father. The visit, which was part of a court-ordered process for the parents to regain their custody of K.J., ended around 11:30 a.m., according to Courtney French, the familys attorney.

Rather than properly returning K.J. immediately to day care, the worker made numerous personal errands with K.J. buckled in a car seat in the back of her car, French told CNN last week.

Kela Stanford has been arrested in connection with the death of 3-year-old Ke'Torrius K.J. Starkes Jr., who died when he was left unattended in a vehicle for hours. - Jefferson County Sheriff

According to a timeline provided by French, Stanford went home at 12:30 p.m., leaving K.J. strapped inside the vehicle, with all windows up and the car engine off. He was left in the parked car outside the employees home for more than five hours before the day care reached out to her to ask why K.J. hadnt been returned, French said.

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The worker told law enforcement that it was only then that she realized K.J. was still in her vehicle and 911 was called, French said. K.J. was pronounced dead at 6:03 p.m., according to the medical examiners office.

During the time window when K.J. was allegedly left alone inside the car, temperatures topped 96 degrees and heat index values  which account for the feeling of both heat and humidity  ranged from 101 to 105 degrees, according to CNN meteorologists.

The charge against Stanford stems from the Amiyah White Act, which prohibits leaving a child or an incapacitated person unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm, police said in a statement.

K.J.s death is the first hot car death in Alabama this year, and he is at least the 16th child to die in a hot car nationwide in 2025, according to Amber Rollins, the director of Kids and Car Safety, a nonprofit organization dedicated to its namesake issue.

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Stanford was booked at the Jefferson County Jail and has posted a $30,000 bond, jail records show. CNN has been unable to determine whether she has legal representation.

A broken safety net for foster children

During a family news conference Friday, K.J.s aunt and French spoke on behalf of the family, sharing the parents anguish while also calling for a deeper inquiry into the childs death and the DHRs oversight of the preventable tragedy.

K.J.s aunt, Brittney Johnson, said the family is grateful for the overwhelming love and support they have received from their community. But the family still has several questions about the circumstances of the toddlers death, and they pray that this investigation be continued, Johnson said.

DHR is the Alabama state agency thats charged by statute with the protection, the safety and the welfare of our children, our most vulnerable children, French said. In their custody is where K.J. died, in the custody of the state agency that legally was supposed to protect him.

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DHR is supposed to be the safety net, French said. That net is broken.

Alabama State Rep. Patrick Sellers spoke at the family news conference Friday and demanded an investigation into the Department of Human Resources policies and practices regarding foster care custody.

While this development may bring a measure of accountability, it does not bring back the life of a precious child who was full of promise, joy and innocence, Sellers said of the arrest. K.J.s life mattered. He deserved protection. He deserved care and a future. What happened to him was preventable, and that truth should haunt us until real change occurs.

French said the Department of Human Resources has not contacted the family, responded to their questions or directly offered condolences. CNN has reached out to the department for comment.

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A candlelight vigil and balloon release is scheduled for Friday night in honor of K.J. and his funeral will be held Saturday.

CNNs Rebekah Riess and Rafael Romo contributed to this report.

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Controversial attorney Alan Dershowitz says he is suing a Marthas Vineyard farmers market vendor for allegedly refusing to serve him pierogi because of his political views.

The polarizing defense attorney, whose famous clients include Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump, described the incident on Thursdays episode of his podcast, The Dershow with Alan Dershowitz, saying he was turned away for political reasons after ordering half a dozen of the traditional Polish dumplings.

Bigoted vendor at Marthas Vineyard farmers market refused to sell to me because of my political views, he posted on X earlier this week. Im suing.

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According to Dershowitz, he was waiting for a glass of the best orange juice in the world he had just ordered when he walked across the area to a pierogi vendor.

So I went there and I said, Oh, can I have six pierogi? And he said, No, Dershowitz said.

When he asked the vendor if there werent any left, the answer surprised him.

No, no, no. We have plenty of pierogi. I just wont sell them to you, the vendor reportedly said.

When pressed for an explanation, the vendor told Dershowitz he wouldnt sell them to him because he did not approve of his politics, whom he had represented, and whom he supported, according to the controversial Harvard Law professor.

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The clear implication was that the vendor opposed Dershowitz because he defended then-first-term President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020, and because of a T-shirt he had worn to the farmers market a week earlier.

I was wearing a Proud American Zionist shirt (in) red, white and blue  and I recall that he looked at it strangely, Dershowitz said, later referring to the incident as pure McCarthyism.

A video shared on Instagram appears to show a police officer approaching Dershowitz during the incident before pulling him aside.

The person who shared the video said in the caption that they had stopped the polarizing lawyer from harassing a vendor who wouldnt serve him pierogi.

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I made a statement to the police and they threatened to trespass him if he bothered any more vendors, Instagram user bungee4 wrote. Three refused him! The police took a witness statement from me. No one else wanted to do it because he sues everyone here. Total scum!

_____
Chinook and chum salmon dry on racks near a home along the Yukon River in this undated photo. A new peer-reviewed policy brief makes recommendations for a management overall to try to restore the faltering runs and do more to help subsistence harvesters in the Yukon River basin. (Photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center)

A management overhaul is needed to address the faltering salmon runs in the Yukon River and the widespread harms that have resulted from shortages of fish along the rivers basin, according to a report by Indigenous leaders and Alaska scientists.

The report, a peer-reviewed policy brief published in the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, proposes an independent review of Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon issues by an entity like the National Academy of Sciences. It also recommends bigger management and science roles for Indigenous residents who live along the river, which flows nearly 2,000 miles from Canadas Yukon Territory to the Bering Sea.

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Building relationships between tribal members and government managers will likely require long-term effort, says the report, which has co-authors from various organizations, including the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Trust between Indigenous communities and fisheries scientists and managers needs to be enhanced by continuously, transparently, and equitably combining quantitative fisheries analyses with Indigenous Knowledge, the report says.

The report recommends a cultural exemption for small-scale personal harvests by river residents to help address inequities between commercial and subsistence fishers.

And it recommends more at-sea safeguards, including new or expanded protected areas.

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The recommendations are intended to address factors that the report identifies as hurting Yukon River salmon. Those include climate change and acidification in the Bering Sea; warming temperatures and streamflow changes in the river and its tributaries; competition for ocean resources from increasing volumes of hatchery fish; and accidental netting of salmon, known as bycatch, by trawl vessels targeting pollock and other species.

Some of the recommendations clash with Trump administration policies.

Edward Alexander, vice chair of Gwichin Council International, speaks during a panel discussion on July 30, 2025, at the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

The administration has slashed research on federal fisheries and climate change. Additionally, an April 17 executive order by President Donald Trump pushes for bigger commercial seafood harvests and revocation of marine protection designations.

One of the reports Indigenous authors said Trump administration policies should not prevent the reforms.

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I would say that its not a question of optimism. Its a question of being pragmatic and practical, said Edward Alexander, co-chair of the U.S-Canada Gwichin Council International.

An example of a scientific subject that he said needs further exploration  and for which local Indigenous knowledge would be useful  is the effects on salmon of the decades-old hydroelectric dam in Whitehorse, the Yukon Territorys main city. It is the only dam on the river.

The idea of protected marine areas is not new, Alexander added. He cited the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area that was established in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama, abolished by Trump in his first term, resurrected by President Joe Biden. Protections provided by the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area were abolished in Trumps second term through orders issued by the president and by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Legislation at the state and federal levels is already pending that would address one of the recommendations: establishment of tribal representation on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

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Former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, included a North Pacific council tribal provision in a bill she sponsored to reauthorize the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management. That bill did not pass before she lost her seat in the U.S. House. A similar bill, with the tribal seat provision, has been reintroduced by one of her bills co-sponsors, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California.

A state bill sponsored by Rep. Nellie Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, would designate two of the seven seats on the Alaska Board of Fisheries for subsistence users. It would also designate seats for commercial, sport and science representatives.

The measure, House Bill 125, passed the House on May 17 and is now pending in the state Senate.

Correction: This article has corrected the name of the chair of the U.S-Canada Gwichin Council International from Ed Alexander to Edward Alexander. The story has also been updated to clarify that the protections provided by the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area were abolished in Trumps second term through orders issued by the president and by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

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The House chambers are seen on Friday, May 13, 2022, at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

The Alaska Legislature is scheduled to meet Saturday for a special session called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, but lawmakers are expecting to eschew the governors agenda in favor of votes to either override or sustain some of his vetoes from earlier this year.

The special session could last for 30 days, but legislators believe they wont need that much time to act.

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I believe itll be short, Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, said during a July 25 legislative meeting. We go in Aug. 2, and we leave.

In an opinion column, Stevens and Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, said they see the most pressing issues in the special session to be overriding two of the governors vetoes  one of about $50 million in public education funding, and another of Senate Bill 183, which that would compel the Alaska Department of Revenue to produce specific reports about tax settlements paid by oil companies to the state.

Several legislators said they think additional vetoes could be taken up as well, but that would be decided only when all lawmakers are in Juneau.

From my understanding, were going to do a temperature check after considering an override on the education funding appropriations and SB 183, said Rep. Robyn Burke, D-Utqiagvik.

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Sen. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, said that if theres success on those things, and theres a desire to go forward, maybe it changes, but at this point, its those two things.

Dunleavy has asked legislators to consider education policy issues and the proposed creation of and an Alaska Department of Agriculture.

Legislators rejected the governors proposals this spring.

The governor, I think, is asking for that to be rethought, Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, told the Kenai and Soldotna chambers of commerce this week.

Legislators are preparing to turn down the governors request for reconsideration but are advancing alternatives. They have created an education task force to discuss some of the policy changes the governor has proposed. That task force, formally dubbed the Task Force on Education Funding, will hold its first meeting Aug. 25 in Anchorage.

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Yes, the name implies funding, but they will be taking up open enrollment and there are all sorts of policy things that will be on the agenda, said Mike Mason, chief of staff to Sen. Loki Tobin, D-Anchorage, one of the co-chairs of the task force.

In a written statement, Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, said lawmakers will consider creating a Department of Agriculture, but via legislation during the 2026 regular session, not during the special session.

Lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 128 to expand the governors original proposal, which had been enshrined in an executive order. Lawmakers voted to prevent that order from coming into effect, citing gaps in the governors proposal.

During the last legislative session, we listened to the public and incorporated their feedback into a stronger, more comprehensive bill, instead of an executive order that could not be adapted to fit the real needs of Alaskas agriculture industry, Giessel said in the statement.

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She is chair of the Senate Resources Committee, which held three hearings on the bill earlier this year.

Shortly after announcing the special session, Dunleavy asked conservative Republican legislators to stay away from its first five days. Thats when the Alaska Constitution requires lawmakers to vote on vetoes. An absent lawmaker is the same as a no vote.

In a constituent newsletter, Giessel said she opposes the governors request.

When we (legislators) campaigned to convince you to hire us for this job, we made all kinds of promises, she wrote. Voters decided to trust that we would do the job of showing up for work. Its disturbing that the Governor asked the Republicans to break trust with Alaskan voters. (Perhaps we could construe that he doesnt value trust and integrity, based on his action in making that request of Republicans.)

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Public polling results published Thursday by Data for Progress show Alaskans overwhelmingly favor an education veto override, with 91% of Democrats and 65% of independents and third-party voters in favor of an override. Only 35% of Republicans said they support an override. The polling firm works with progressive organizations.

Initially, several Republican legislators said they would follow the governors request.

However, on Monday Dunleavy called on legislators to hold committee meetings starting on Sunday. And on Wednesday, some  including Reps. Jamie Allard, Cathy Tilton, Kevin McCabe and Rebecca Schwanke  said they had reconsidered their plans and will attend in order to vote against overrides.

Budget vetoes are sustained unless at least 45 of 60 state lawmakers vote for an override. Policy vetoes are sustained unless at least 40 lawmakers vote to override.

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Initially, Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, was expected to be absent from the special session because of military service. Last week, he was able to obtain special leave and is now expected to be in Juneau on Saturday.

That matters because 46 of 60 lawmakers voted in May to override a prior Dunleavy education veto. If Dunbar was absent, only 45 of those lawmakers would have been present, at most. A change by any one of those pro-override legislators would sustain the governors decision.

Rep. Calvin Schrage, I-Anchorage and a member of the House majority, said hes not certain what will ultimately be on the agenda for Saturdays joint session. That will be determined in talks between the leaders of the House and Senate, he said, possibly as late as Saturday morning.

Wielechowski and House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, R-Anchorage, said thats their understanding of the plan, too.

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A bill sponsored by Schrage, HB 70, was one of five policy measures vetoed by the governor between the end of the regular session and the start of this special session, meaning that if lawmakers dont override the veto now, it will be sustained.

That bill would allow ambulance crews to help police and rescue dogs in the event of an injury.

Burke, too, has a vetoed bill  House Bill 174, dealing with teacher housing and the state-operated Mount Edgecumbe boarding school.

Im hopeful that well consider an override of HB 174, she wrote by text message from Kivalina.

HB 174 passed with a total of 54 yeas, 5 nays and 1 excused, she wrote. There are two other bills that were vetoed that received 50+ yeas out of both bodies; I hope well have an opportunity to consider those bills, too.

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Theres also the possibility that lawmakers could bring up other budget vetoes, too. Dunleavy vetoed a significant chunk of the major maintenance budget for public schools and a substantial number of road construction projects. The latter vetoes were because the governor disagreed with the funding mechanism used by the Legislature.

In a hearing of the House Transportation Committee last week, legislators said hundreds of millions of dollars in projects were endangered by the governors veto.

The governors legislative liaison, Jordan Shilling, commented on Facebook that lawmakers were to blame for writing a faulty method for funding those projects.

By text message from Kivalina, Rep. Ashley Carrick, D-Fairbanks and chair of the transportation committee, said that while overriding the transportation funding veto is a priority issue for me and for many communities across the state  my focus this special session is on education funding, as this is the No. 1 issue my constituents and Alaskans have contacted me about.

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Members of the Alaska Senate leave the Senate chambers on Monday, April 28, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska lawmakers are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. in Juneau for a special session of the Alaska Legislature. You can watch live online on Gavel Alaska.

Why is the Legislature meeting in a special session?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy called the special session. The official agenda says that it will involve legislation about education policy and a proposed Alaska Department of Agriculture.

Will legislators actually do that?

No.

What are they doing instead?

Theyre going to vote on overriding at least some of the vetoes the governor has made since the regular legislative session ended in May.

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No. 1 on the list is the governors decision to veto about $51 million in funding for public schools. The No. 2 item is the bill that would require the Alaska Department of Revenue to provide lawmakers with additional information about tax settlements between oil companies and the state. Lawmakers believe the state may be settling tax disputes for far less than theyre worth, costing the state millions.

Some legislators are interested in taking up other vetoes as well, including the governors decision to cancel a ban on payday loan lending, his decision to veto money for transportation projects, and his vetoes of bills affecting police dogs and teacher housing, among others.

Will those overrides succeed?

Its too close to call. The Alaska Constitution says votes from 45 of 60 legislators are needed to override a budget veto. In May, 46 legislators voted in favor of overriding the governors decision to veto a bill that increases the states public school funding formula.

That was the first time since 2002 that legislators voted to override the veto of a sitting governor.

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It isnt clear whether everyone who voted in favor of that first override will vote in favor of the second.

Overriding a policy bill veto, like the one dealing with the tax settlements, takes 40 votes.

Will everyone be there?

Probably not. Some conservative Republicans had said they would stay away from the session in a show of support for the governors vetoes. Immediately after calling the special session, Dunleavy asked them to be absent for the first five days because an absence is as good as a no vote when it comes to a veto override.

He later changed his position, asking lawmakers to begin meetings about his stated agenda on Sunday, and some Republicans changed course and said they will attend the session, after all. It wasnt clear whether all have done so, but it isnt likely to affect the vote total on the potential override.

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Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, is in favor of an override and had been expected to be unavailable because of military service overseas. He ended up getting a special leave of absence and is flying back from Europe. Sen. James Kaufman, R-Anchorage, is flying back from Vietnam to attend. Other legislators have canceled family plans and postponed business trips.

How long will this take?

On the low end, a few hours. On the high end, a few days. Officially, the special session can last for up to 30 days, but legislators have said they wont use all that time.

In some previous special sessions, legislators have left Juneau without formally closing the special session, just in case they need to come back. Those special sessions ended after the 30th day.

How much will this special session cost?

Based on historical costs, the estimated cost for a special session is $30,000 per day, according to the Legislative Affairs Agency, the Legislatures nonpartisan support agency. But that cost depends on the duration and scope of the special session, said Jessica Geary, the agencys executive director, by email on Tuesday.

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Many legislators had to change summer travel plans to attend the special session, and many of them purchase their own travel and submit for reimbursement. At this point we dont have any concrete cost estimates and wont know until the special session concludes, she said.

Geary said legislators have up to 60 days to submit reimbursements for expenses like hotel lodging, transportation and airfare, staffing, expenses, and so the agency will have a total cost by October.

Legislators receive an annual salary of $84,000 per year. The 57 members that live outside of Juneau are entitled to receive a per diem amount of $332 per day to cover expenses.

If lawmakers dont take up the governors ideas, are they dead?

No. Legislators have created a task force to consider education policy changes, including those from the governor. One idea supported by the governor is open enrollment  allowing a student to move between different schools and school districts, regardless of where they live. That will be considered by the task force, which meets Aug. 25.

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Legislators are also considering a bill that would create the Alaska Department of Agriculture. That bill is broader than the governors initial plans; for example, it would include sea farms (formally known as aquaculture), which are the fastest-growing agricultural sector in Alaska.

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Fridays Top Stories

Fridays Five Facts

[1] Albuquerque man convicted of 2nd-degree murder in South Valley shooting  Joseph Gonzales, accused of a fatal 2022 South Valley shooting, was found guilty in court on Thursday of second-degree murder. Gonzales shot and killed Abner Antillon after a confrontation that turned into a shooting, which was caught on a surveillance camera. A trial last year ended with a hung jury in the case.

[2] VIDEO: APD catches suspect who thought he was meeting an underage girl  New video shows what happened when officers met up with a suspect at an Albuquerque park, where he thought he was meeting up with a 15-year-old. Karim Vargas, 25, believed he was talking to a 15-year-old girl, named Ashlee, agreeing to meet at Mary Fox Park in downtown Albuquerque to have sex with her. He said he would give her money and bring condoms and a Reeses candy bar, but instead, he was met by detectives. Vargas is facing charges for attempted criminal sexual penetration of a minor and solicitation.

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[3] Rainfall and hotter air around New Mexico  Another round of afternoon storms will develop across the state Friday. A few strong to severe storms will be possible in northeast New Mexico, but all storms tomorrow will again bring a threat of heavy rain and flash flooding. Temperatures will also be hotter. Drier weather begins moving in Saturday. Sunday will bring dry weather to almost all of New Mexico as temperatures continue to heat up.

[4] Rail Trail project nearing completion for two major segments  Albuquerque residents will soon be able to use parts of a seven-mile multi-use trail connecting downtown, old town and the bosque. The city is currently working on two segments of the Rail Trial. A section in the Sawmill District should be finished in October. The other segment is at Central and 1st. The city said theyre currently designing the next trail piece, which would be in front of the ABQ BioPark and the bosque, along with streets in Old Town.

[5] $5,000 raised for Animal Humane New Mexico  In a fun campaign to raise funds for the shelter, Animal Humane said kittens had overtaken the shelters social media, website and even locked up Executive Director Val Wilson in a cozy kennel. Their demand was a $5,000 fundraising goal. The kitten takeover was successful as Animal Humane was able to meet its fundraising goal.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
LEIGHTON, Ala. (WHNT)  The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has identified a woman killed in a two-vehicle wreck near Leighton on Thursday.

ALEA said Keddra C. Ingram, 36, of Muscle Shoals, was killed when the car she was a passenger in was hit in the rear end by a tractor-trailer. The agency said she was pronounced dead on the scene.

Scottsboro Police arrest man for giving false information during manhunt

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According to authorities, the wreck occurred around 1:35 p.m. on July 31 on Alabama 20 near the 36-mile marker, about a mile east of Leighton.

ALEA said no further information is available at this time as state troopers continue to investigate.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced that a woman was arrested in connection with a stabbing near Stanton Park.

It all happened on Thursday, July 31, just before 4:45 a.m., when officers were called to the 300 block of Maryland Avenue NE for a stabbing.

D.C. police said when they arrived, they found a woman had been cut.

Man stabbed during robbery in Northwest DC; suspect in custody

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The police report obtained by DC News Now detailed that the woman called the suspect and wanted to meet and talk. During their conversation, the suspect took out a knife and slashed the woman before pulling out a gun from her waistband.

The victim then ran to the back of the house and hid in a bedroom with her boyfriend. The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Devyn Cyphers of Alexandria, Va., then left the area before police arrived.

The police department announced Friday that Cyphers was taken into custody and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon (knife).

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
One of two suspects accused of torturing an Italian millionaire in a New York City apartment over his refusal to disclose his bitcoin password, reportedly worth $100 million, was sprung from jail after spending two months in custody.

John Woeltz, 37, was released from Rikers Island on $1 million bond, the New York Post reported. The release came a week after a Manhattan judge granted bond for Woeltz and his alleged accomplice, 33-year-old William Duplessie.

Both men are accused of kidnapping and torturing Italian crypto trader Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan. Defense attorneys argued the alleged torture was akin to "fraternity-like hazing."

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2 Nyc Court Officers Stabbed At Site Of Iconic Trials

John Woeltz walks free from Manhattan Supreme Court aftert being released on one-million dollars bail, Thursday, July 31, 2025. Woeltz, Kentucky cryptocurrency investor, is accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian tourist in New York City in May, 2025.

"Mr. Carturan was there in the role of a pledge," Woeltzs attorney, Wayne Gosnell, said in a previous hearing, according to the Post. "He was essentially pledging and being hazed."

Duplessie, a Miami resident, was not released Thursday. Both men have pleaded not guilty.

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Woeltz, a Kentucky-based cryptocurrency investor, dodged questions about whether he tortured Carturan and how it felt to be freed from jail as he walked out of Manhattan Supreme Court, the Post reported. Sources told the newspaper the bond was a combination of cash and property put up by Woeltzs father.

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As a condition of his bail, Woeltz will be subject to home confinement and electronic monitoring. He can only leave his home for doctor's appointments, to meet with his lawyers or for emergencies.

Nypd Officers Entangled In Crypto Torture Case After Bitcoin Investor Escaped From Townhouse Of Horrors

William Duplessie in police custody leaving the NYPD's 13th Precinct stationhouse in Manhattan, N.Y., May 27, 2025.

Prosecutors said the pair kidnapped Carturan and tortured him over three weeks in a townhouse where they allegedly took his electronic devices and passport so he was unable to access them.

"Informant further states that the defendant and unapprehended male demanded that Informant provide the defendant with Informant's bitcoin password so that the defendant and unapprehended male could take Informant's Bitcoin," a criminal complaint states.

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2Nd Suspect Detained After Crypto Investor Accused Of Torturing Business Partner In Nyc

When Carturan refused to divulge his Bitcoin password, the pair allegedly subjected him to "beatings, including but not limited to using electric wires to shock Informant, using a firearm to hit Informant on the head causing a laceration, pointing the firearm at Informant's head on several occasions, and carrying Informant to the top flight of stairs within the above-mentioned location and hanging Informant over the ledge as the defendant threatened to kill Informant if Informant did not provide the defendant the Informant's Bitcoin password," the complaint added.

John Woeltz walks free from Manhattan Supreme Court.

Woeltz allegedly threatened the 28-year-old victims family in Italy while subjecting him to humiliation by having people urinate on him and forcing him to take drugs during captivity, authorities have said.

The pair allegedly wrote a manifesto about their plan to steal Carturan's cryptocurrency, prosecutors said. The alleged victim eventually managed to escape and called a nearby traffic officer.

Both defendants are scheduled to appear in court Oct. 15.





Original article source: Alleged bitcoin torturer walks free on $1M bond after two-month Rikers Island detention
MEXICO CITY (AP)  The alleged leader of an infamous Mexican kidnapping ring walked out of a maximum security prison after nearly 20 years Friday, hours after a judge said there wasnt sufficient evidence to support the charges holding him.

Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez on Friday rattled off a list of appeals, injunctions and complaints filed over the years of Israel Vallartas imprisonment in a case that never arrived at a verdict.

Vallarta had been charged with organized crime and kidnapping, but a judge tossed those out Thursday.

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The Attorney Generals Office did not immediately respond as to whether it would appeal.

Vallarta was arrested in 2005, along with his girlfriend French citizen Florence Cassez.

Cassez was eventually convicted and sentenced to 60 years on charges of aiding a kidnapping ring, in a case that soured relations between Paris and Mexico City.

She acknowledged living with Vallarta at a ranch where kidnap victims were being held, but professed her innocence, saying she was unaware of their presence. One victim identified her as a kidnapper, but by voice only rather than by sight.

A day after Cassez was arrested, police had forced her to take part in a staged raid on the ranch purportedly to rescue hostages and arrest suspects. It was covered by the media and broadcast on television.

In January 2013 the Supreme Court overturned Cassezs conviction due to procedural and rights violations. She was released and became a cause celebre in France.
Investing.com -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. reported record second-quarter revenue of $2.52 billion, up 6% YoY, though slightly below analyst expectations of $2.56 billion. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.51, narrowly missing the consensus estimate of $0.52, but demonstrating strong consumer demand across its brands.

Norwegians shares surged 9.6% following the announcement as investors responded positively to the companys strong performance and reaffirmed full-year guidance. The cruise operator reported that bookings have rebounded across all three of its brands, with booking levels now exceeding historical patterns in recent months.

The company delivered adjusted EBITDA of $694 million, exceeding its guidance of $670 million. Net yield increased approximately 2.7% on an as-reported basis and 3.1% in constant currency, outperforming guidance of approximately 2.5%. Gross margin per capacity day increased 11% compared to the same period in 2024.

"We delivered another record quarter, demonstrating once again the strong customer demand environment, the power of our brands, our outstanding onboard product, and the dedication of our team," said Harry Sommer, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH) Holdings.

Norwegian maintained its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting adjusted EPS of $2.05, representing a 16% increase from 2024. The company expects full-year net yield to increase approximately 2.5% on a constant currency basis versus 2024.

The cruise operator also announced expansion plans for its private island destination, Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, including a nearly six-acre waterpark expected to open in summer 2026. Additionally, the company took delivery of Oceania Allura and confirmed orders for two additional next-generation ships.

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Diego Ananias Arellano Diaz was arrested on Tuesday in Newport Beach on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

The San Ramon Police Department identified Diaz as one of several suspects that were responsible for the "bombing and burglary" of an ATM in a Target on Bishop Drive.

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges Diaz is a member of a Chilean "ATM robbery crew" that systematically identified ATMs in vulnerable locations between May and October 2024.

SAN RAMON, Calif. - An alleged member of a South American robbery crew was arrested in Southern California in connection with an ATM robbery involving explosives at a San Ramon Target.

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Diego Ananias Arellano Diaz was arrested on Tuesday in Newport Beach on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery in connection with a string of alleged thefts from banks and ATMs throughout California, Oregon and Washington, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

The San Ramon Police Department identified Diaz as one of several suspects that were responsible for the "bombing and burglary" of an ATM that was located inside of a Target store on Bishop Drive in San Ramon.

On July 20, police investigators found an improvised explosive device had been used to access an ATM near the front of the store. There were no reported injuries, but the blast caused damage to the stores entrance.

A robbery crew

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges Diaz is a member of a Chilean "ATM robbery crew" that systematically identified ATMs in vulnerable locations. The crew allegedly used construction crew disguises, blowtorches, cellphone jammers, and other "sophisticated tactics" to break into the ATMs and steal their cash.

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"To avoid detection, the crew rented short-term vacation properties near their intended targets and used cars rented on the black market," the U.S. Attorney's Office added.

Between May and October 2024, the crew allegedly stole more than $4 million from more than 29 different banks and credit unions throughout California, Oregon and Washington.

What's next

Diaz is currently being held in state custody. If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison for bank robbery and five years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank robbery.

Authorities did not say how many others were a part of the alleged robbery crew.
NEW YORK (AP)  U.S. health officials have told more than a half-dozen of the nation's top medical organizations that they will no longer help establish vaccination recommendations.

The government told the organizations on Thursday via email that their experts are being disinvited from the workgroups that have been the backbone of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The organizations include the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

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Im concerned and distressed, said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccine expert who for decades has been involved with ACIP and its workgroups.

He said the move will likely propel a confusing fragmentation of vaccine guidance, as patients may hear the government say one thing and hear their doctors say another.

One email said the organizations are special interest groups and therefore are expected to have a bias based on their constituency and/or population that they represent.

A federal health official on Friday confirmed the action, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

The decision was the latest development in what has become a saga involving the ACIP. The committee, created in 1964, makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how vaccines that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration should be used.

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CDC directors have traditionally almost always approved those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and greenlight insurance coverage for shots.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a leading voice in the anti-vaccine movement before becoming the U.S. governments top health official, and in June abruptly fired the entire ACIP after accusing them of being too closely aligned with manufacturers. He handpicked replacements that include several vaccine skeptics.

The workgroups typically include committee members and experts from medical and scientific organizations. At workgroup meetings, members evaluate data from vaccine manufacturers and the CDC, and formulate vaccination recommendation proposals to be presented to the full committee.

The structure was created for several reasons, Schaffner said. The professional groups provide input about what might and might not be possible for doctors to implement. And it helped build respect and trust in ACIP recommendations, having the buy-in of respected medical organizations, he said.

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Workgroup members are vetted for conflicts of interest, to make sure than no one who had, say, made money from working on a hepatitis vaccine was placed on the hepatitis committee, Schaffner noted.

Also disinvited from the groups were the American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Osteopathic Association, the National Medical Association and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

In a joint statement Friday, the AMA and several of the other organizations said: To remove our deep medical expertise from this vital and once transparent process is irresponsible, dangerous to our nations health, and will further undermine public and clinician trust in vaccines.

They urged the administration to reconsider the move "so we can continue to feel confident in its vaccine recommendations for our patients.

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Some of the professional organizations have criticized Kennedys changes to the ACIP, and three of the disinvited groups last month joined a lawsuit against the government over Kennedys decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for most children and pregnant women.

In a social media post Friday, one of the Kennedy-appointed ACIP members  Retsef Levi  wrote that the working groups will engage experts from even broader set of disciplines!

Levi, a business management professor, also wrote that working group membership will be based on merit & expertise  not membership in organizations proven to have (conflicts of interest) and radical & narrow view of public health!

HHS officials have not said which people are going to be added to the ACIP workgroups.

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___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

___

This story was first published on Aug. 1, 2025. It was updated on Aug. 4, 2025 to correct that the American Academy of Family Physicians said it did not receive a notice that it had been removed from the workgroups.
Amazon said opening a distribution warehouse in Essex, Vermont, will help it better serve the region. However, residents weren't convinced the move was in their best interest and voted down the proposal, according to a local outlet called VTDigger.

What's happening?

Opposition to Amazon's proposed 107,000-square-foot facility near Saxon Hill Road stretched into late July after residents expressed their concerns about the project at an hours-long meeting June 26, according to the Burlington Free Press.

Previously, residents had bashed the endeavor as threatening the character and well-being of their community, with one person declaring at a May meeting about the matter that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos "can find another way to make a billion or two," per NBC5.

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Residents expressed similar concerns in June, citing fears about burdensome traffic, harm to small businesses, and health and environmental impacts, including the proposed destruction of 23 acres of woodland, as the Free Press and VTDigger previously reported.

Why is this important?

The Amazon warehouse would bring hundreds of jobs to Essex, but numerous Vermonters have argued that the large corporation doesn't align with their Green Mountain values.

While Amazon has added electric vehicles to its delivery fleet and is reducing plastic in some of its packaging, actions that do make a difference, the company is still responsible for massive amounts of pollution. Amazon's commitment to artificial intelligence (and the energy-intensive data centers that house AI) is one factor in its environmental footprint.

Fortunately, Amazon has been a forerunner in pushing for cleaner, more energy-efficient, and less water-hungry data centers, including as the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy. And, more broadly, the adoption of clean energy to power data centers is growing. Yet critics argue that some of Amazon's projects are not as eco-friendly as they appear to be.

What is being done about this?

The Essex Development Review Board held an executive session, during which it voted to request additional information from Amazon representatives regarding the project's estimated traffic impact before it further considers greenlighting construction.

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"Through our conversations, we find that one of the most important and vital pieces to us is really the greater detail about the traffic studies," board chair Ian Carroll said, per VTDigger.

Jonathan Greeley, Amazon economic development lead in New England, wasn't pleased by the decision, stating that a previous traffic-impact study submitted by Langan Engineering "more than accurately overestimated what our traffic impact is going to be."

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"It's in light of our own self interest that if we're putting forth traffic counts and putting forth projections, and if we know we're going to be monitored, that we're accurately doing so, and so I just want to make sure the board understands we didn't just make some stuff up," he said.

Regardless, Essex residents stood firm in their opposition to the project, arguing that they hadn't been given the same consideration to make their case as developers and criticizing town leadership.

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"With buffers cleared, paradise gets lost to make a parking lot for Amazon town," Ken Signorello, chair of the Essex Conservation and Trails Committee, sang in a protest song shared by VTDigger.

In this case, it seems, Essex residents appear to have known what they got well before it was gone, and for now at least, it looks like Signorello and Co. won't have to worry about losing their paradise.

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To describe Benjamin Netanyahus government as a nightmare for liberal American Jews would be to badly understate the case. Its behavior is likely worse than any of us previously could have imagined. Netanyahu and his extremist Cabinet have put Israel in what Rabbi Jill Jacobs told me is the worst position its ever been, morally and ethically. Even Jacobs, who heads Truah, a rabbinic human rights organization, may be understating the case. This government is responsible for what is quite possibly the worst self-inflicted catastrophe for the Jewish people in their entire history.

With the counted dead numbering over 60, 000 in Gazaa figure that includes neither those missing and likely buried under rubble nor the increasing number succumbing to starvation and war-induced diseaseJacobs argued in The Forward that this war long ago ceased being a war to neutralize Hamas, return the hostages, and protect Israelis, and became a war of revenge and of settlement that serves primarily to hold the government coalition together and keep Netanyahu out of prison.

Israels behavior is under attack from almost every corner imaginable, but especially from Jews. In recent days, two Israeli human rights organizations, BTselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, judged their countrys behavior in Gaza to fit the legal definition of genocide. This came shortly after a well-respected Israeli-born professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University, Omar Bartov, made the same case in a 3,700-word New York Times op-ed.

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For decades the darling of the mainstream media, Israel is in the news these days primarily for its policies deliberately causing the starvation of Gazas population, bombing its hospitals, and killing those searching desperately for food with sniper fire. Each days news cycle brings another report of a hundred or so Gazans killed by Israel (journalists are forbidden by Israel to enter Gaza, so reporting is necessarily sketchy).

At the same time, West Bank settlers are carrying on a campaign of terror against Arab residents with the implicit and often explicit support of the government and the army. This week, Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian activist and journalist who helped make the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was apparently murdered on video by a famously violent Israeli settler. The settler was immediately released on house arrest with only trivial charges leveled against him. Hathaleen is one of 1,009 Palestinians who have been killed, with more than 7,000 injured, in the West Bank since October 2023. Few if any of the settler-terrorists who perpetrated these crimes have been arrested, much less seriously punished.

Whats more, Netanyahu, Israels longest-serving prime minister and the man whos asleep-at-the-switch leadership helped ensure the success of Hamass October 7, 2023, terrorist attack against Israel, which led to its catastrophic response, has adopted the Trumpian tactic of gaslighting truth tellers, denying observable reality, and blaming deep-state leftists and alleged traitors for raising any questions, even going on MAGA manosphere bro podcasts to make his case.

Netanyahu argues for U.S.-Israeli control of food distribution in Gaza because, as he said back in March, after breaking off ceasefire talks, Hamas is currently taking control of all supplies and goods entering Gaza. In fact, as the Times reported, the Israeli military never found any proof that Hamas had systematically done so when Israel was allowing the U.N. to distribute food and medicine. He also insists that when Israel is presented as though we are applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza, this is a bold-faced lie. There is no policy of starvation in Gaza. And there is no starvation in Gaza.

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Now Netanyahu is reported to be threatening to annex parts of Gaza unless Hamas meets his demands. In this regard, as in so many others, he is being led by the nose by the far-right ministers in his government who hold the key to his political survival (and therefore are keeping him out of jail). For instance, his National Security Minister Itmar Ben-Gvir recently declared, The only way to win the war and bring back the hostages is to completely stop the humanitarian aid, conquer the entire Gaza Strip, and encourage voluntary migration. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu congratulated the prime minister for racing ahead for Gaza to be wiped out.

A certain segment of anti-Zionist Jews have protested Israels actions owing in part to their ideological opposition to the existence of a Jewish state itself. Today, however, the composition of those protests has changed dramatically. On July 28, for instance, Jacob was joined by what she termed a minyan of Truah rabbis wearing tallitot and holding sacks of flour and rice [who] blocked Second Avenue in New York City, in front of the Israeli consulate. Holding signs that read Food --> Gaza and posters with images of starving Gazan children. They were arrested as hundreds of American Jews and Israeli Americans cried out Let Gaza Live! [with] chants of Thats My Rabbi from the assembled crowd, and we were so moved by the support, giving us strength to keep being a loud moral voice.

The next day, in Washington, 27 rabbis affiliated with the advocacy group Jews for Food Aid for People in Gaza entered Senate Majority Leader John Thunes office holding banners that read Rabbis say: Protect Life! and Rabbis say: Stop the Blockade. Over 1,000 rabbis have now signed an open letter demanding that Israel stop using starvation as a weapon of war.

No doubt even more significantly, the Union for Reform Judaism, representing the largest organization of Jews in North America, together with the Central Conference of American Rabbis and the American Conference of Cantors, issued what are likely the strongest condemnations of Israel in their respective histories, insisting that Israels policy of denying basic humanitarian aid crosses a moral line. Blocking food, water, medicine, and powerespecially for childrenis indefensible.

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Other signs of a fundamental change abound. A recent poll of Jewish New Yorkers found Zohran Mamdani leading Andrew Cuomo by a margin of 4326 despite a nearly full-court press of legacy Jewish organizations slamming the Muslim-born candidate for his support for boycotting Israel, reluctance to condemn the use of the globalize the intifada slogan, and willingness to allow the International Criminal Court to arrest Netanyahu on war crimes charges when he next travels to New York, the city with the largest Jewish population of any on earth. Another poll found that 60 percent of New York City Democratic voters say theyd be more likely to vote for a candidate who, like Mamdani, declines to travel to Israel. This despite the fact that a friendly trip to Israel has been an all-but mandatory mitzvah for pretty much every ambitious New York Citybased candidate for nearly 60 years.

The political trends are unmistakable. Roughly 70 percent of American Jews reliably vote Democratic, and in a recent Gallup poll, a mere 8 percent of the self-identified Democrats expressed support for Israel in the war. On Wednesday evening, a majority of Senate Democrats voted in favor of Bernie Sanderss bill urging the government to withhold certain offensive weapons being used in the war in Gaza, nearly double the number that did so as recently as April. This once unimaginable vote count is consistent with changes throughout the body politic. Nationally, a majority of Americans now disapproves of Israel for the first time ever, a political trend that can only increase as Israel allows starvation conditions in Gaza to worsen.

The future is, as always, unwritten. But as Jonathan Jacoby, who heads the Nexus Project, an American nonprofit organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, avers, This is more than a crisis in the relationship between Israel and American Jews. Its a turning point. And nobody really knows in which direction were headed.
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How should American power be deployed in the world? Since the Cold War, Americas role as a global leader has been up for debate.

Host Garry Kasparov and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton dissect the state of the neoconservative geopolitical worldview. They consider what the latest iteration of the America First foreign-policy rationale signals for democracy worldwide and analyze what it means that the new American right sometimes sounds like the old American left.

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The following is a transcript of the episode:

Garry Kasparov: I would like to begin this episode with two quotes from American presidents. You might try to guess which presidents they are from.

[Music]

Kasparov: The first: Good leaders do not threaten to quit if things go wrong. They expect cooperation, of course, and they expect everyone to do his share, but they do not stop to measure sacrifices with a teaspoon while the fight is on. We cannot lead the forces of freedom from behind.

And the second presidential quote, We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nationsacting individually or in concertwill find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

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The first, with the memorable line about not measuring sacrifice with a teaspoon while the fight is on, was spoken by my namesake, President Harry S Truman, in a 1951 address in Philadelphia at the dedication of the Chapel of the Four Chaplains. He had brought American troops into combat in Korea: a controversial decision to stand up to Communist aggression, only six years after the end of World War II.

The second presidential quote, about nations being morally justified to use force, is more surprising. It was spoken on stage in Oslo, Norway, in 2009, during Barack Obamas Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

Donald Trumps America First isolationist cry echoes the America Firsters of the 1930s who wanted to stay out of what they called Europes war, even as late as 1941. Refusing to defend Ukraine against Russias invasion has many parallels to the U.S. staying out of World War II until Pearl Harbor. Harry Truman learned the lesson. As he said in Philadelphia, you fight small conflicts to avoid big wars. Evidence of the good that can come from military intervention starts with South Korea, a thriving democratic ally, and North Korea, a prison-camp nation.

From The Atlantic, this is Autocracy in America. Im Garry Kasparov.

[Music]

Kasparov: Terms like intervention and regime change are practically dirty words in U.S. politics, since the disastrous occupation of Iraq. But when aggressive dictatorshipslike the Soviet Union in the past, or Vladimir Putins Russia todaygo on the march, words alone do not stop them.

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My guest today, Ambassador John Bolton, would agree with both of those presidential quotes, although, like me, he did not find much else to agree on with Obama during his eight years in office! Bolton has strong opinions on American foreign policy and the use of force. At a time when the new American right sounds like the old American left, his thoughts are critical.

[Music]

Kasparov: John Bolton, you have had many distinctions and titles in your career, including ambassador to the United Nations, national security adviser, and many others. I will add one more. You are the only guest to join us in both seasons of this show. Thank you for doing it.

John Bolton: Glad to be with you.

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Kasparov: And by the way, I see the chessboard in your office. Do you play chess?

Bolton: I do. You know, that was given to me by Nikolai Patrushev, my opposite number

Kasparov: Ooof! (Laughs.)

Bolton: when he was the Russian national security adviser. And it is interestingly made out of Karelian wood from the Finnish territory. So, and it was checked out by the Secret Service before I accepted it.

Kasparov: Do you think that the chess rules apply to this, you know, current geopolitics? Or its more like a game of poker?

Bolton: Well, I think I wouldnt argue with you about the rules of chess. I dont think people like Vladimir Putin care about the rules. When people talk about the rules-based international order, the prime malefactors didnt get the memo. They dont believe in it, and they dont act like its there. And for us to believe that its there, I think, handicaps our ability to defend ourselves.

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Kasparov: I want to talk with you about how American power should be deployed in the world, in service of democracies and against autocracies. But I want to start with what seems to be the ever-changing meaning of America First as a foreign-policy rationale. How do you interpret that term based on what youre seeing in the second Trump administration?

Bolton: Well, I think Trump himself has basically given us the answer on America First, Make America great againwhatever his slogans are. They are exactly what he says they are at any given moment. They dont reflect an overarching philosophy. They dont reflect, in this case, a clear national-security grand strategy. Trump doesnt even really do policy as we understand it. I dont think to this day that he really appreciates that the words America first were initially used in the run-up to World War II to be the slogan of the isolationists, those who did not want to be drawn into the European war.

He doesnt see, he never saw the background of that, or the concerns about anti-Semitism that lurked in that America First movement. And I think from Trumps point of viewbecause to him everything is transactionalit means he just makes the best deals in the world, and he doesnt necessarily distinguish among the terms of the deals hes making. Its the fact of making a deal that shows whos in charge.

Kasparov: You said, and we all suspected, that Trump was not aware about the true meaning of America First, because hes not ano matter what he saysa good scholar of history. But assuming he knew that America First meant isolationism back then in 1939, 1940, and a clear distinction of anti-Semitism, would he care?

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Bolton: I dont think he would care. And I think he views truth in a very relative way. People say Trump lies a lot. I actually dont think thats an accurate description. I dont think he cares much about whats true and whats not true. He says what he thinks he would like the world to be, and as it benefits him at any given time. And if pressed on that point about anti-Semitism in particular, I think he would just brush it away.

Kasparov: So youve written that Trumps decisions are like an archipelago of dots that dont really line up, and that advisers in the first term, you included, would try to string good decisions together. Now, what about the second administration? What is happening now?

Bolton: Well, you know, even just about six months in, I think you can see the difference in personnel selections pretty clearly. Certainly in the national-security space. In the first term, he had people who largely shared a Republican philosophy, a Reaganite approach to foreign policy. Obviously there were many disagreements on tactics, on priorities, on a whole variety of things, which is perfectly natural in any administration. And Trump, not knowing much about international affairs, could often buy one argument one day and another argument the next day. But eventually he got frustrated, I think, that his visceral instincts werent necessarily automatically adopted by his advisers, who were trying to give him the best advice, trying to get to the optimal outcome. So to avoid the problems that he saw in the first term, in the second term, I think, he has consciously looked for people who act as yes-men and yes-women.

They dont say, Well, have you considered these alternative options? Have you looked at these facts? He wants people who will listen to what he says and then go out and implement it. Now, in the first term, people said his advisers tried to constrain him, tried to really to make the decisions in his place. And I just think thats wrong. I think I can speak for many others: We were trying to make sure that he made the best decision possible, and giving our advice was part of our function. My title was national security adviser. I dont know what else Im supposed to do, other than give advice, in that job. But in the second term, he wants not loyaltyI think loyalty is a good word; I think it conveys a valuable commodityhe wants fealty. He wants people who are gonna say Yes, sir, and do it really without thinking, in many cases without trying to improve or suggest modifications. I think thatsironically, its gonna be harmful to Trump. Its certainly gonna be harmful to America, but that approach ultimately will hurt Trump too.

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Kasparov: How so?

Bolton: Well, if a president is making decisions in a very narrow focus without understanding the broader implications, the additional risks, the additional opportunities, hes gonna miss a lot of what the rest of the world will see. And then contingencies will arise that he simply wont be prepared for. So that even what was a reasonably good decision can go bad, because you dont take into account the second- and third-order consequences. And I hesitate to say this with Garry here, but in chess you have to think a couple moves ahead. Maybe some people think lots of moves ahead. Trump plays it one move at a time, and that is dangerous.

Kasparov: Yeah, its not a very rosy picture. So it seems that his Cabinet now, and all people who are supposed to give him advice, they are not going to contradict him.

Bolton: You know I have to say, contrary to the first term, there havent been so many leaks out of this White House in the early months. So I dont have confidence we really know how the decision making is going. But to the extent we do, my impression is that while theres a lot of discussion about the optics of how you present a particular decisionthe kind of background politics, how it makes Trump lookin terms of strategic thinking by people who understand international affairs, theres not an awful lot of that.

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And indeed, even in some cases it might seem unusual, people who disagree get excluded. It appears Tulsi Gabbardwho opposed, from all we can tell, the strikes against Irans nuclear-weapons programwas just cut out of the picture. And I have to say in the short term, Im delighted by that. It probably contributed to the right decision. But what that means more basically is that Trump made a fundamental mistake appointing her, because you want people who will give their best advice, and it helps the presidentshould help the presidentmake a better-informed decision.

Kasparov: You mentioned Tulsi Gabbard. What about other advisers? Who do you find the most worrisome?

Bolton: Well, I think Secretary of Defense [Pete] Hegseth really is in over his head in this job. I think his comments in public about comments and criticisms that people made about the outcome of the bombing of the Iranian nuclear sites demonstrated that. Its fine to defend the president. Thats what Cabinet members should do. If you get tired of defending the president, you should resign. But thats not your only job. Your job is also to explain and justify the conduct that youve ordered on behalf of the president. Not in a partisan way, but in a way that helps the American people understand. Leadership here is in large part education, and thats not what theyre doing. Theyre doing a kind of attack partisan politics. Again, it makes Trump feel good in the short term, but in the longer term, he will not be well served by that kind of approach either.

Kasparov: Now a strategic question: our allies in Europe. J. D. Vance went to Munich, the Munich Security Conference, back in February and chastised European democracies for many thingsamong them being afraid of the far right and suppressing democracies at home. Whats your take?

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Bolton: Well, there are a lot of interesting things in that speech. No. 1, you know, Vance is really on the quasi-isolationist side of the political spectrum. And he, and people like him, have been very critical over the years of the neoconservatives for their constant emphasis on human rights and similar concerns. And yet at Munich, what he gave was a neoconservative speech. Although he was criticizing the Europeans for their democratic failures, I wouldve felt better if he had included Russia and China as part of his critical analysis. But he was doing exactly what he criticized the neoconservatives for doing. This is, I think, a measure of how really partisan these kinds of approaches are from a domestic American point of view. Hes scoringVance there is scoring points against the neoconservatives, against liberal internationalists, against a variety of people that Im not part of. So I didnt take it personally. But it was carrying on a domestic-U.S. political debate in an international forum.

I think that Trump himself doesnt understand alliances. Im not sure Vance understands them any better. In Trumps case, he looks at NATO, for example, and he sees it as the United States defending Europe: We dont get anything out of it, and they wont pay. Well, if I thought NATO worked that way, I probably wouldnt be very enthusiastic about it either. But the whole point of a collective-defense alliance is that the security of all the members is enhanced when they live up to their obligations. And I think NATO remains the most effective politico-military alliance in human history.

There are members who are not pulling their fair share. Thats right. I think Trump was right to criticize that. Whats not right is to break the alliance up over it. And I think we arenotwithstanding the recent NATO summit where everybody smiled and seemed to be happyI dont think were past the danger point of Trump potentially withdrawing the U.S. from NATO in less happy times.

Kasparov: Oh, thats interesting. So can he withdraw from NATO unilaterally without a vote in the Senate, Congressional approval, whateveror is it just totally in the hands of the president?

Bolton: Its my very firm view that the Constitution does entrust that authority solely to the president. In the case of NATO, ironically, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and some others passed legislation a few years ago that said the president could not withdraw from NATO without the consent of the Senate. I think that provision is unconstitutional. I dont think you can limit the presidents authority. So if Trump decided to pull out, and he issued an executive order doing that, that might be challengeable in litigation, but it would take years to resolve. And in effect, Trump would have withdrawn by the time the case was decided by the Supreme Court.

Kasparov: Do you think its realistic, that he will go that far?

Bolton: You know, I think he, as I say, he doesnt understand the alliance viscerally. He doesnt like it. He has said, and his advisers have said, things like, Well, well only defend NATO members that are meeting what used to be the 2 percent threshold: 2 percent of GDP spent on defense, now 3 and a half percent, 5 with infrastructure. Well, thats a statement that the NATO alliance is like a piece of Swiss cheese. You cant defend this country and then not defend the country next to it because its not at 2 percent; its just not viable militarily. But that kind of thinking has not left Trumps mind, and has not left the minds of his advisers. So I remain very worried, notwithstanding this recent NATO summit where things seem to go well. This is deep within Trump that he distrusts the alliance, thinks its part of America getting a raw deal.

Kasparov: But I think that all countries that might be in danger, countries that border Russia or are just in the vicinity of potential Russian aggression, they already are almost at 5 percent. They spend a bigger percentage of GDP than the United States on their defense. Does it mean that America will defend them?

Bolton: Well, we certainly should, but I think this is an important question about Trump the man faced with a crisis situation like that. Lets say Russia invades the Baltics: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Not impossible; certainly something the Baltics fear very much. Now, we did not have any crisis nearly that dangerous in the first term. COVID was a crisis, but it was a health crisis played out over a long period of time. So what would Trump do if the Baltics were attacked by Russia? I dont know the answer to that question. And its legitimate for the Eastern European countries in NATO in particular to be worried about, because Trump does not like decisions where he cant reverse himself the next day. And obviously a decision to comply with Article V and defend countries invaded by Russia would be a decision that would be irrevocable for a long time until the military struggle played itself out.

Kasparov: So what do you expect to happen in Ukraine? Again, Ukraine is fighting this war, and many of us believe its shielding the free world against Russian aggression. And Ukrainians and many Europeans, especially neighboring countries, they are disappointed, I would probably say shocked, by the Trump administrations policy in the region. Can Ukraine survive on its own, or basically can Europe provide enough for Ukraine? And how long will America take this neutral stand?

Bolton: Well, Im afraid the answer is the rest of Trumps presidency. I think its gonna remain undecided. My guess is in the near termwhich may be the remaining three and a half years of the administrationTrump is not gonna go back and make a major effort to seek a diplomatic solution. I think he was burned by the failure of Russia to show any conciliatory impulses at all when he tried in the last few months.

And I think he sees it as a failure to live up to his campaign boast that he could solve the problem in 24 hours, which of course was never realistic. So the real issue is: Will he allow the continuation of U.S. military assistance at approximately the same levelsweapons, ammunition, and, to my mind, most important of all, military intelligence thats so critical to the Ukrainians on the battlefield?

And to the question youve raised, can the Europeans make up the difference? I dont think they can on the intelligence. I just dont think they have the capability. It could be they can make it up in hardware. I would hope they could, but it just wont be the same if Trump really does cut off the aid.

Kasparov: Now, about another crisis or another war, its the Middle East. How do you rate Trumps actions thereattacking Iran, then offering the olive branch? And again, some say he did it in a desperate search for the Nobel Peace Prize, Trumps policy vis-a-vis Israel-Palestinians.

Bolton: Right. Well, I think hes not gonna get the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing peace to Ukraine, thats for sure. So hes looking for another opportunity. I find myself to a certain extent satisfied, but to a certain extent frustrated. I think it was the right thing to do to order American military attacks on some of the key Iranian nuclear-weapons facilities. Theres been a huge and kind of intellectually arid debate about exactly how much damage was done by those attacks, which we dont know because we were not close enough to get a full assessment. But I think Trump cut off U.S. military action too soon. I dont think that there will ever be peace and stability in the Middle East while the regime of the ayatollahs remains in power. Im not saying that requires extensive U.S. involvement. It certainly doesnt require boots on the ground. It could involve assistance to the Iranian people.

[Music]

Bolton: I think the question is: Will they have the courage to try to take advantage of the splits and tensions within the regime that I think are pretty obvious across the world now, and see if this is not the moment to rid themselves of the ayatollahs.

Kasparov: Well be right back.

[Break]

Kasparov: Lets move from the world of practicalities into the world of idealism. What could be an ideal world if we could have our wishes granted? So, how should American power be deployed in service of democracy? So what are the tools to use, and where to use them? Exporting democracy, military interventions, regime change?

Bolton: Well, I think where American interests are at stake, there are a number of things we could do. I think regime change doesnt obviously have to involve American boots on the ground. There are all kinds of ways that regime change can take place. We tried that in the case of Venezuela in 2018 and 2019, that wouldve allowed the Venezuelan people to take control away from the [Nicolas] Maduro, really the Chavez-Maduro dictatorship.

But we wouldve, at the same time, pushed the Russians, the Cubans, the Chinese, the Iranians out of positions in Venezuela, very advantageous to them. It didnt work, but it was worth the effort. If we had succeeded, I wouldve said basically to the people of Venezuela, Congratulations. It now belongs to you. You figure out what youre gonna do with it. I have never been a nation builder, in the sense that some people have been, but I dont shy away from regime change. In the case of Iraq, which is the case that people point to again and again, I give full credit to the people who tried to make the coalition provisional authority in Iraq work. I think they did it out of the best of motivations. But its not what I wouldve done. In my perfect world, I wouldve given the Iraqi leaderssome in exile, some who had been in the countrya copy of the Federalist Papers and said, Good luck. Call us if you have any questions. Well hold the ring around you. Well protect you from Iranian and other external influences, but you need to do this yourself.

And I think thats really how you nation build. You dont enhance peoples political maturity by making decisions for them. Even if you can make better decisions than they can, you enhance political maturity by saying, Youre gonna make the decisions, and youre gonna learn by your mistakes. Its not guaranteed for success, but I think thats a more solid way of nation building than for Americans to try and do it for them.

Kasparov: But let me press on this issue. Because you mentioned Venezuela. I can add Belarus. In these countries, we clearly saw the opposition winning elections. Not hearsay. Winning elections, having physical proof of receiving, in both cases, 70 percent of votes. And both dictators[Alexander] Lukashenko and Madurothey stayed in power. They didnt care. They used force. Lukashenko, we understand hes too close to Russia. Putin was there. The opposition stood no chance. But Venezuela is just next door. Recently we had these elections, and Maduro basically ignored it. He made the deal with the [Joe] Biden administration, so some kind of relief of sanctions, but promising free and fair elections. So he reneged on his promise. Should America intervene?

Bolton: Well, lookback in 2018 and 2019, I think we were at the point where we should have been doing more. But you know, we didnt have many capabilities in the Western hemisphere, thanks to the Obama administration, that where we could have had opportunities through our intelligence community and others to help Juan Guaido, the legitimate president of Venezuela. The days are long gone by when we really could have done very much, and I feel we didnt enforce the sanctions as strictly as we could have. We made a lot of mistakes there. The Biden administration didnt even try that. They thought they could make a deal with Maduro. It was a total mistake. I dont see how anybody could believe he would honor any commitment he made.

I want to come back to Belarus, though, because I do think that that was a situation where it was very much in our interest to see if there was any way at all to persuade Lukashenko to pull away from Russia. So I went to Minsk in August of 2019, about two weeks before I resignedI was the first senior American to visit Belarus in a long, long timejust to see the guy, and see if there were some hooks we could put in to bring him away, for his own safetys sake, but ultimately leading to popular government. I, as I say, I resigned two weeks later, so I didnt carry through on it. But it was a case to me that suggested we could have some influence there, and maybe, as in the case of Poland with solidarity, maybe there were ways to make that work. But we never tried, because Trump didnt really care about Belarus. Trump asked in his first term, Is Finland still part of Russia? So to him, Belarus, Ukraine: They all look Russian to him. And its hard to get him to focus on things.

Kasparov: Weve talked now at length about Trumps view of the world, such as it is. Now I want to talk about the Bolton view. So my experience of growing up in the Soviet Union during the Cold War instilled in me a great deal of clarity about good and evil in the world of geopolitics. But there has been a terrible decline in American values after the Cold War, and a new lack of clarity about the American role in the world. So what has that meant for how you see Americas place as the global leader?

Bolton: Well, I think were seeing today play out in the Trump administration and among many people who are supportive of him that this virus of isolationismwhich isnt a coherent ideology itself, its a knee-jerk reaction to the external worldcan go through a long period of being irrelevant and then suddenly reappear.

And I attribute this in part to a failure in both political parties, ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, to develop political leaders who thought about what it would take from America to help in the wider world, create conditions of stability that would be beneficial to the U.S. here at home: that would allow our economy to flourish, that would allow our society to flourish. And so people at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, some were saying, Its the end of history. Others were saying, you know, We can have a peace dividend; we can cut our defense budgets; globalization will take care of everything; its the economy, stupid.

And we lost the postWorld War II and Cold War generations of leaders, who spoke very plainly to the American peoplewhether its Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, many, many moreto say, look, safety for America doesnt begin on the Atlantic and Pacific shores. Safety for America is having a broader place in the world, a forward defense posture with allies to guard against aggression and to try and deter aggression. And that means a robust, strong America that sees its economic and political and social issues really involved all over the world.

Now, theres a cost to that. Theres a defense budget that has to be paid. There are allies that have to be dealt with. There are risks that have to be taken. But to say we dont live in a perfect world, far from it, but the way to protect America is not to put our head in the sandnot to turn away from the rest of the worldbut to deal with it in ways that are most favorable to us.

And I think one of the things were seeing today, 35 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is: We dont have much in the way of political leadership that can speak to the American people in these terms. The Americans have always risen to the challenge when their leaders are straight with them. And the idea that we cant, we dont need to worry about the rest of the worldits not a threat, it doesnt concern us, its not gonna affect usis deeply uninformed. I dont call it naive. Its almost perverse, and yet thats what were dealing with. If we could see political leaders emerge, most likely I think in the Republican Party, that can make that case to the American people, we could return to a Reaganite kind of foreign policy that that was successful in the Cold War and could be made applicable to the very different, but no less threatening, challenges we see around the world today.

Kasparov: Going back to 1991, 1992. The Soviet Union is gone, and I think Americans expected some benefits from the victory, phenomenal victory in the Cold War. But eight years of [Bill] Clinton presidency brought no security. Prosperity yes, but security no. Because by the time Clinton left the office, al-Qaeda was ready to strike. Something went wrong, terribly wrong, in the 90s. So do you think that if [George H. W.] Bush 41 wouldve won the elections and stayed in the office, the Republican administration had a plan on how to redefine American leadership in the new world?

Bolton: No. I mean, I think there was a lot of uncertainty all around the political spectrum. George H. W. Bush talked about a new world order. Well, it wasnt much order before, and frankly there wasnt much order after. But what he was referring to was the collapse of the Soviet Union. What we didnt see, because we were too optimistic perhaps, was that Russia would return to authoritarianism. We thought, Well, now theyve got the chance; everything will be fine. That obviously didnt work out. We didnt see the turmoil in the Arab world. We didnt see the radicalization, the effect of the 1979 revolution in Iran. And we also, in the 1990s, didnt see China, didnt see that it was a threat, that it would be a threat. You know, we heard Deng Xiaoping say to the Chinese, Hide and bide. Hide your capabilities; bide your time. We didnt realize what he was saying. So this illusion that the end of the Cold War meant the end of historythat conflict was no longer a threat to usled us to make grave mistakes about Russia, about China, about the threat of Islamic terrorism.

And we have suffered through all of those and are still suffering through them today. So it was a catastrophic series of mistakes, that theres a lot of blame to spread around here for sure, and [the] Clinton administration bears a full share of it. Whether George H. W. Bush wouldve done better? I dont know. I think so, because I think he understood the world a lot better than Bill Clinton did.

Kasparov: But it still sounds very disturbing that the same peopleokay, Clinton replaced Bush, but the apparatus was there, you know, the CIA, Pentagon, the so-called deep state. And the same people, the same agencies, the same institutions that were instrumental in defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War made such huge blunders. You saidmissed Russia, missed China, missed Islamic terrorism, basically missed everything. Every threat that we are dealing with now has been totally missed in the 90s. What was that? Its just a kind of relaxation? We won. Lets go celebrate. You know, lets uncork champagne bottles.

Bolton: Look, I think it was escapism, and I think it was the desire to think, Okay, so in the 20th century weve had three world wars. Two of them hot, one of them the Cold War. Were past all that. Now, thats what the end of history means. And, it was a delusion. It was a detour from history. It really was. And weve paid the price.

Were still paying the price, and one reason is were not spending nearly what we should on defense. The 5 percent commitment that NATO made, were not approaching. The Trump budget for the next fiscal year is only a small nominal increase over the current budget. Its not gonna do nearly enough. Were setting ourselves up for, I think, a very risky future if we dont change that.

Kasparov: You just mentioned Trumps budget and its nominal increase in defense, but its a huge increase in ICE. So do you think its a bit dangerous? Yes? That this military force has been built in America and the control of the DOJ? And they already demonstrated very little respect for the Constitution. Could it be a potential tool for terror?

Bolton: Actually, Trump has come very close to achieving the goal he expressed of closing the border. I mean, he had the border closed at the end of the first term, because deterrence works. If you think youre gonna walk through Mexico and get stopped at the Rio Grande, youre not gonna leave your city or town or village. Thats been restored. Hiswhat he wants now is the deportation of the illegals. And I think hes going to have a lot of trouble with that. But the immigration issue is, I think, part of the isolationist temptation that somehow the rest of the world is gonna corrupt us. I think with careful attention and screening of who comes in, we can minimize the risk of terrorists coming in, criminals, agents of foreign governments. Nothings perfect, but I think we can do a pretty good job of it. I dont think thats what Trump wants to do. He wants the issue of the fight with California, for example. Thats why he federalized the California National Guard and sent in the Marines. Ironically, Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, wanted to fight too. It benefited both of them politically. It was just the country that was hurt.

Kasparov: So do you think its a real chance that Trump will do something totally unconstitutional in America to preserve his power, or just to secure the desired outcome of the next elections?

Bolton: Well, I think he tried that in 2020, and he failed. The system was stressed, but it held. I think Trump is gonna dohe did a lot of damage in the first term; he will do more damage in the second term. Some of it might be irreparable. I think withdrawing from NATO would be irreparable, for example. But I have confidence in the Constitution and the institutions. This is not the late Roman Republic. Were notI dont think were in danger of succumbing. It does require more people to stand up and say, We dont accept the way Trump behaves. Im disappointed more Republicans in the House and the Senate havent done that. I dont think this is gonna be easy. But I do think, for example, the courts are holding up pretty well. I think their independence is critical to sustaining the Constitution. And I think as time goes on, Trumps influence will decline. Remember, hes not just a new president now, which he is. Hes also a lame-duck president. And as people begin to appreciate that more and more, I think his influence will wane.

Kasparov: So, anything to be optimistic about today? Just, you know, give us just some hope that with Trump in the office, with the rise of authoritarianism, with Iranian regimes surviving, and with terrorism not yet being defeated, whats the best-case scenario?

Bolton: Well, I think realistically weve been through worse. I mean, it always seems youve got troubles unique to our time. But the U.S. has been through a lot worse than this, including an incredibly violent Civil War. And we came out on top. And I think one reason is that when you level with the American peopleand its gonna take the next president to do itthen we do rise to the occasion. I believe in American exceptionalism. And I think betting against America is always a dangerous thing to do.

[Music]

Bolton: So I think in the near term, weve just gotta grit our teeth, make sure we do the best we can to minimize the damage that Trump will cause, and try and get ready to meet the challenges were gonna face. The threats from China, from the China-Russia axis, from the nuclear proliferation, the threat of terrorism. There are a lot of threats out there, and its gonna take a lot of effort. But I believe in the United States. I think we will prevail.

Kasparov: John, thank you very much for joining the show. And lets see, you know, if the future brings us more positive than negative news. Thank you.

Bolton: I certainly hope so. Thanks for having me.

Kasparov: This episode of Autocracy in America was produced by Arlene Arevalo and Natalie Brennan. Our editor is Dave Shaw. Original music and mix by Rob Smierciak. Fact-checking by Ena Alvarado. Special thanks to Polina Kasparova and Mig Greengard. Claudine Ebeid is the executive producer of Atlantic audio. Andrea Valdez is our managing editor. Next time on Autocracy in America:

George Friedman: It is a historical norm, that there is a king, that there is a ruler. So authoritarianism historically is far more the norm than liberal democracy. Liberal democracy opened the door to the idea that people with very different beliefs could live together. It is a great experiment, but its a very difficult experiment. If you believe that the way you should live is a moral imperative, then it is very difficult to have a liberal democracy.

Kasparov: Im Garry Kasparov. See you back here next week.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV)  The American Red Cross held a community blood drive Thursday at Green Bay ER & Hospital, offering a sweet incentive to donors.

Participants received a free pint of Natures Touch Ice Cream as a thank-you through the Red Crosss Give a Pint, Get a Pint initiative in partnership with Kwik Trip.

Click here for more news, weather, and sports

Donors were also entered to win a $50 Kwik Trip gift card.

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We could not do this without the help of our supporting sponsor, De Pere Area Chamber of Commerce, officials said. Lets save lives together, one pint at a 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
Tourists visiting Cancun and Mexicos Riviera Maya this summer are being greeted not just with ocean breezes and poolside cocktails, but by heavily armed patrols.

In response to escalating cartel violence and crimes against travelers, the Mexican government has deployed more than 7,000 troops and security personnel to safeguard the countrys most popular vacation zones. Since 2021, Mexico has turned to deploying troops and local enforcement to patrol the beaches and tourist hot spots.

Former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Senior Special Agent Michael Brown, currently the global director of counter-narcotics technology at Rigaku Analytical Devices, told Fox News Digital that the sight of military rifles may do more to remind travelers of the danger than reassure them of their safety.

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"The fluidity of Mexican organized crime, gang activity, is constantly moving from one side of the country to the next," he said. "Unfortunately, these high-end tourist areas represent an easy opportunity for organized crime to come, steal, assault, and rob."

American Tourists In Popular Vacation Spot Face Increased Risk Of Being Killed, Robbed

This summer, the Mexican government has launched an aggressive security campaign across popular tourist destinations in the state of Quintana Roo  home to Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, and Cozumel.

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Dubbed "Operation Summer Vacation 2025," the initiative was formally announced on July 18 and involves the deployment of more than 7,000 security personnel, including members of the National Guard, Navy, Army, and state and local police. While Operation Summer Vacation 2025 is the largest coordinated seasonal deployment to date, it follows a multi-year pattern of heightened military involvement in Mexicos most lucrative tourist zones.

People enjoy a day at Playa Delfines beach (Dolphin Beach) at the Hotel Zone of Cancun, Quintana Roo State, Mexico, on November 8, 2022.

The goal is to safeguard the expected 2 million tourists throughout the summer and early fall months with a coordinated presence of land, air, and sea patrols.

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"We will not tolerate abuses, illegal fees, or practices that harm individuals. To our tourism service providers, I reiterate: you are the best ambassadors of our state. Your conduct, your ethics, and your commitment will make the difference," Gov. Mara Lezama Espinosa of Quintana Roo said in a news conference, according to Spanish-speaking regional media outlets.

Brown views the militarization as a red flag rather than a reassurance.

"You're sitting on a beach looking at soldiers. I'm worried about something happening. That really works against the concept of a vacation," he said. "If I'm sitting on a beach looking at the armed military, is that really going to make me relax?"

Americans Tourists Warned Of Increased Threat In Summer Vacation Hotspot

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Concerns about traveling to Mexico as an American are not overstated as cases of rampant crime against tourists have prompted the U.S. State Department to issue warnings.

The agency issued a Level 2 travel advisory to Quintana Roo, meaning travelers should "exercise increased caution" due to elevated risks connected to property crimes, scams, and occasional violent incidents - even in tourist areas.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico encourages U.S. citizens to remain vigilant at all times, especially in the downtown zones of Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum after dusk, and to stick to well-lit, populated areas to reduce vulnerability. Travel alerts also remind visitors of incidents where cartel-related violence and rival gang disconnects, though not necessarily targeted at tourists, have injured innocent bystanders.

"If you're going to go to places which represent a certain level of danger, you have to have a plan in place to mitigate that threat, because once it happens, you're not going to see it happen," Brown said.

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While military patrols may offer some comfort, Brown stressed that personal vigilance is still the most effective safety tool for American tourists, especially women traveling alone or in small groups.

Us Renews Travel Advisory To Popular Destination Amid 'Terrorism Fears': 'Exercise Increased Caution'

Brown recommends tourists carry personal GPS trackers, ideally concealed in a handbag, bracelet, or necklace, and set designated check-in times with family members back home.

He also urges travelers to only use transportation arranged by the hotel when staying at resorts and pre-verify the driver's identification and license plate.

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When it comes to nightlife, the former DEA special agent suggests never accepting drinks from strangers, only consuming beverages opened in front of you, and never leaving the resort alone, especially at night.

For cruise-goers or those venturing into local towns, he advises leaving all jewelry, designer items, and large amounts of cash onboard to avoid being targeted.

"Have a plan," he said. "Your awareness has to increase significantly the moment you step off that plane."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.





Original article source: Americans in vacation hot spot may see more military than margaritas this summer
A health care provider bandages a child after giving a vaccination shot. (Photo by Scott Housely/CDC)

A pair of Wisconsin Republicans want to increase awareness of the states vaccine exemptions by requiring waiver forms be given to parents with the health forms they receive from schools and child care center providers.

Coauthors of the bill Rep. Lindee Brill (R-Sheboygan Falls) and Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) said in a cosponsorship memo that there is a lack of transparency around the exemptions that can create confusion and unnecessary barriers for parents and increase administrative burden on schools when immunization documentation is incomplete or delayed.

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Wisconsin law requires children in elementary, middle, junior or senior high school, a child care center, or a nursery school to get vaccinated for various diseases based on their grade or age. The vaccine and booster schedule covers mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, poliomyelitis and tetanus.

Wisconsin allows parents to get the requirement waived if they submit a written statement objecting for reasons including health, religious or personal conviction.

Lawmakers noted that the bill would not change current requirements for vaccines. The bill would require schools, child care centers and nursery schools to create a process to present a vaccine waiver form with each health-related form it requires before a student can be enrolled.

Many parents are unaware of this right or are unclear about how to obtain that waiver and feel pressured to make medical decisions for their children that they otherwise would not have, Brill said in a statement. This bill ensures that schools make parents aware of the rights already afforded them by Wisconsin law and include information about the waiver from the vaccine requirement and a procedure for presenting it in any required pre-enrollment health-related forms.

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The proposal comes as Wisconsins vaccination rates have not caught up with pre-pandemic levels. According to a 2024 U.S. Centers for Disease Control report, Wisconsin is falling behind other states in childhood immunizations for illnesses including polio, pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus, and measles, mumps and rubella.

The decline in vaccine rates is partially to blame for diseases, including measles and pertussis, increasing across the country, according to health officials.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 86.4% of students met the minimum immunization requirements during the 2024-25 school year  a 2.8 percentage-point decrease from the prior year. The agency also reports that 6.7% of students had a waiver for one or more immunizations, representing a 0.6 percentage-point increase from last year, though the number of students waiving all vaccines fell to 1.3%.

Amid falling rates, DHS officials have ramped up efforts to encourage vaccinations to help improve effectiveness.

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Wisconsin has one of the lowest measles vaccination rates in the country, with only Alaska falling below it. One dose of the MMR vaccine, which fights measles, provides approximately 93% protection, while two doses are about 97% effective.

As measles vaccine rates have fallen, cases of the highly contagious disease have hit the highest level in 33 years, according to the CDC with 1,288 cases this year. More than 150 people have been hospitalized from measles, and three people have died this year. No cases have been reported in Wisconsin so far, but its neighboring states, including Illinois and Minnesota, have had cases.

The lawmakers efforts to increase awareness of vaccine exceptions comes amid a national wave of skepticism to vaccination, including from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a leading and prominent vaccine skeptic and was appointed by President Donald Trump this year.

Brill thanked Kennedy for his work on his Make America Health Again agenda in her statement about the bill.

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Cabral-Guevara, a board certified family nurse practitioner, has supported legislation that would loosen vaccine requirements before including a 2024 bill that would have allowed immunization exemptions at higher education institutions without documentation.

The bill passed the Senate and Assembly, but was vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers, who said in a veto message that he objected to the Wisconsin State Legislatures efforts to micromanage decisions to respond to public health incidents and restrict existing tools available to higher education institutions to keep students, faculty, staff safe and healthy on their campuses.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A retirees watchdog group said Ohio politicians are trying to block transparency at the State Teachers Retirement System by silencing the voice of teachers and replacing educators on the STRS board with political appointees.

There have been several years of chaos at the massive pension system, with retired teachers denied cost-of-living increases and the Ohio attorney general filing a civil complaint against two board members.

Columbus to get pro spring football team in 2026, will play at Historic Crew Stadium

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Much of the power struggle can be traced to a 2020 investment proposal from a private investment entity known as QED. For the first time, one of the founders of QED, JD Tremmel, goes on the record.

Tremmel co-founded the private investment group. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said QED then teamed up with some STRS board members as part of an attempted hostile takeover of the $96 billion pension fund. However, Tremmel said they didnt want to take over STRS  they wanted to save it from politicians and poor investments.

I would say its not about me or QED or anything of that sort, Tremmel said. Its about the teachers.

Tremmel knows that Ohios retired teachers have gone years without promised annual cost-of-living increases, and he believes its because their pension fund underperforms the market.

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And they deserve better than this, he said. I mean, they deserve to have what they were promised, and under the current format, unless the taxpayers of the state of Ohio bail them out with $15 million a day, its not going to happen.

Tremmel believes the STRS pension is poorly invested and not sustainable.

Amid Guardians investigation, DeWine calls for end to sports prop bets in Ohio

Theyre underperforming by the amount of their fees and trading costs, plus a little bit in the alternatives, he said. I mean, its difficult to be uniquely stupid somehow. Its difficult to be uniquely smart.

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As part of a proposal made by QED in 2020, instead of having the internal STRS investment staff control the billions in retirement funds, transfer some of the pension money to better-performing index funds.

When asked, Tremmel admitted that part of the motivation behind QEDs involvement was to make money for the firm.

Most certainly theres an economic component of it, he said. The, the discussions we had had with board members, we werent going to receive any fixed fees, which is simply a percentage of the profits above an index.

So QED would get paid when the investments performed better than the market. Tremmel said that last year, in the hands of the STRS staff, the pension fund performed nearly $1 billion below what it could have made through a passive index fund.

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In 2020, QED was pushing the index fund proposal through then-board member Wade Steen and current board president Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum. Steen and Fichtenbaum are the targets of Yosts civil lawsuit, which claims they were working with QED for a hostile takeover of the fund. Tremmel admits communication with Steen, even texting during board meetings, which he admits was unusual.

Dog missing since Lancaster floods found

Im not sure if its inappropriate, he said. I mean, I think from a fiduciary standpoint, they should rely upon people they believe who have an expertise in a subject matter. To the extent that we help educate board members about the issues, it STRS and, you know, encourage them to ask certain questions to gain more information.

I mean, were not going to apologize for that, Tremmel added. We think thats the ethical thing to do.

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New STRS CEO Stephen Toole had repeatedly turned down NBC4 interview requests, including not responding to a detailed list of questions due to pending litigation. However, STRS did release the following statement:

STRS Ohio respects the legislatures decision to restructure the retirement board. We are committed to working with state lawmakers to ensure a smooth implementation while upholding our mission to provide Ohios public educators a foundation for their financial security.

For more of Tremmels interview, watch The Spectrum this Sunday at 10 a.m. on NBC4.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Amistad has received a $747,500 grant to enhance its efforts in assisting homeless people, the organization announced on Friday, August 1, in a news release.

This funding, which is under the City of El Pasos HOMEAmerican Rescue Plan (HOME-ARP) program, will enhance their El Camino a Casa program.

The program provides 24/7 street outreach, rental assistance, and intensive case management, according to the organization.

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The organization said that the grant is awarded in partnership with the City, aiming to establish a collaborative approach to addressing homelessness alongside local community agencies, municipalities, and law enforcement.

Programs that assist unhomed individuals are vital lifelines that assist people in crisis, build bridges to stability, and promote public health and economic stability. Were grateful for this opportunity to increase our efforts to assist individuals in need, Amistad CEO Andrea Ramirez said.

The organization said the El Camino a Casa program assists over 500 individuals annually, and operates 24/7, 365 days a year.

Community members are encouraged to contact the El Camino a Casa team at (915) 298-1115 for assistance.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
By Marta Nogueira

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Energy companies operating in Brazil are expected to resume oil shipments to the United States after several oil products were exempted from U.S. tariffs, the head of Brazilian oil lobby group IBP told Reuters on Wednesday.

Oil is Brazil's top export to the U.S. and was exempt from the 10% April tariff imposed on Brazilian exports, but uncertainty over whether the commodity would be exempt under new tariffs announced on July 9 led to a halt in shipments for most of the month.

However, while President Donald Trump's decree on Wednesday hiked tariffs against Brazil to 50%, it excluded several major Brazilian exports from the measures, which included orange juice, some aircraft, pulp and energy products.

"We are out of the tariff," said Roberto Ardenghy, president of IBP.

IBP represents oil companies operating in Brazil including Petrobras, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Equinor.

Due to earlier uncertainty over the tariffs, instead of shipping their product to the United States, companies were storing oil on floating production vessels or on cargo ships, Ardenghy said.

Because it takes around 21 days for a shipment to reach the U.S. from Brazil, oil shipments were stopped once it became impossible to reach their destination before August 1, he said.

In 2024, Brazil exported a total of 1.78 million barrels per day, of which 243,000 bpd went to the U.S., according to government data compiled by consultancy group StoneX.

If no exemption for oil had been forthcoming, Brazil would have redirected shipments to Europe and India, Ardenghy said.

Magda Chambriard, CEO of Petrobras, Brazil's state-run oil firm, had also said the company would not be majorly affected and could redirect flows to other regions.

"Placing tariffs on our products is a lose-lose game," said Ardenghy.

(Reporting by Marta Nogueira; writing by Fabio Teixeira; Editing by Leslie Adler and Rosalba O'Brien)
New Release: Farm, merge, grow and expand your land in this new puzzle game!

New Release: Farm, merge, grow and expand your land in this new puzzle game!
ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK)- Residents of Anderson County met Thursday night as they continue searching for a solution for the future of their water rights.

Im very concerned about us losing our water, Anderson County resident Linda Holloway said.

Holloway was one of many in attendance who said shes fighting for her home and future.

Its probably one of the most serious things weve ever had in our lives in East Texas to lose our water, Holloway said. Just so people in Dallas could bring in big businesses. Thats not right. To kill us, to feed them all.

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Lawsuit accuses Panola County officials of misconduct, racketeering

The town hall, hosted by Clear the Citizens for Local East Texas Aquifer Rights Group, aimed to create a space for people to unite in their fight.

The main purpose is to organize a private well owners into a group so that we can hire a joint lawyer, President of Clear, Dick Swift, said.

Swift said he wants to connect everyone to pool their resources to get better representation. He said one issue hes seeing is the cost of hiring a good water lawyer.

Its going to be very difficult for each person to hire a competent water lawyer; theyre expensive, Swift said.

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Additionally, we use the meeting to gather peoples concerns and ideas for a solution.

Ive been involved for 26, 27 years, and water law needs to change to prevent things like this from happening, Swift said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.
Welcome to The Scoop  the ultimate back-to-the-office water cooler cheat sheet, your go-to source for all things everyone really wants to know! Get the latest on everything from the political swamp maneuvering in D.C. and Hollywood drama to jaw-dropping small-town shenanigans from Paula Froelich. Subscribe to her newsletter here.

(NewsNation)  Angelina Jolie is feeling more than a little vindicated these days.

Jolie has always claimed her ex, Brad Pitt, was abusive to her and her children.

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Gwyneth Paltrows biography releases, here are the top takeaways

According to The New York Times, Jolie filed a countersuit against Pitt in their never-ending War of The Rose battle over the Miraval chateau and vineyards they used to co-own.

Angelina Jolie claimed abuse by Brad Pitt: Court docs

The countersuit detailed Jolies abuse claims and an intimate look at the infamous 2016 flight in which Pitt lost his temper.

According to Jolies court papers, the dispute began when Pitt accused Jolie of being too deferential to their children and then began yelling at her in the bathroom. 

Pitt grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall, the filing states. Pitt then punched the ceiling of the plane numerous times, prompting Jolie to leave the bathroom.

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When one of the children came to Jolies defense, the court papers said, Pitt lunged at the child, prompting her to grab him from behind. Amid the altercation, Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face, the suit said.

Brooke Hogan not in Hulk Hogans will: Report

FILE  Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt pose for a photo at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards 2015 at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, on Nov. 4, 2015. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File) This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Brad Pitt in a scene from F1. (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP) VENICE, ITALY  AUGUST 29: Angelina Jolie is seen at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2024 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images)

Pitt has had a strained relationship with his children for years and has since gotten sober.

But Jolie is said to be breathing a sigh of relief about Amy Odells new book, Gwyneth: The Biography.

Gwyneth Paltrow worried that Pitt was verbally and emotionally abusive

Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt (Photo by Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage)

In the book, Odell describes Gwyneth Paltrows relationship with Pitt and notes Paltrow reportedly cried about Pitt multiple times.

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According to the book, what Paltrow described seemed to Kevyn Aucoin, a make-up artist and friend to Paltrow, according to someone with knowledge of his thinking, like Pitt might be verbally and emotionally abusive.

4 arrested after police discover house of abuse in Florida

Aucoins advice to Paltrow was simple: You really need to end this.

According to Odell, years later, Paltrow confided in friends that she was sad when she heard Pitt was going to marry Jennifer Aniston and said he has terrible taste in women. The disparagement didnt end there: In 2005, Paltrow allegedly told Aerin Lauder (billionaire heiress to Estee Lauder) that Pitt is dumber than a sack of st.

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A rep for Pitt, who is now happily living with his girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, declined comment.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)  Communities in Schools of the Greater Wichita Falls Area is a non-profit organization focused on dropout prevention by helping to provide support services for students in need.

On Thursday, July 31, they met at MSU Texas for their fourth annual convocation to bring awareness to their scope of work with their community partnership with local school districts. It is part of their call to action, as they actively seek partners that connect with their mission.

Executive director Toni Alonzo said they always look for volunteers to help work one-on-one with students on campus. She said these volunteers have positively impacted students, with a one-hundred percent graduation rate, among participating students.

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Everyone has a purpose, and everybodys presence matters. Even if its just one life that we are bringing light to, that is whats the important key here engaging, future-ready students, empowering them to, take on lifes challenges, Alonzo said.

The guest speaker for this event was WFISD Superintendent, Dr. Donny Lee.

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved, you can click here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com.
Over the last few days, Americans have witnessed two attacks that ended very differently.

A stabbing at a Michigan Walmart on Saturday was stopped by an armed man, a Marine veteran, who went to the shooting range but "forgot to take his pistol off his hip." TheNew York Times,Associated Press,Washington Post,NPR,NBC News,BBC, and many others completely ignored the gun used to stop the attack. But an eyewitnessdescribed how others who had tried to stop the attacker were stabbed, but it took the Marine with a gun to stop the attack. The attack was stopped several minutes before the first responders were able to arrive. One thought is that this hero might get some coverage in the legacy media simply because he is black and the attacker is white.

This case was far from unusual. Between January 2021 and December 2024, concealed handgun permit holders stopped 37 attacks that police said would have turned into mass public shootings if not for their intervention. But they rarely get national news attention.

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Unfortunately, after Mondays attack in New York City, Democrats drew the wrong conclusion. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) responded by calling for a federal assault weapon ban and blaming the tragedy on the absence of such a law.

Their gun control laws ensure that there wont be any armed civilians there to save the day. The murderer who killed four people broke numerous gun control laws - he openly carried a rifle that was already illegal to possess or carry in the state. New York State and New York City prohibit open carry of loaded long guns in public and ban so-called assault weapons, such as an AR''.ord('').';'''.ord('').';'''.ord('').';'15 style rifle. Even concealed carry permits do not authorize openly carrying a rifle in public.

Meanwhile, the law-abiding victims were defenseless, disarmed by the citys strict regulations. There are currently only about 6,000 active concealed handgun permits in a city with almost 7 million adults, so less than 1% of adults. And carrying a permitted concealed handgun is extremely difficult as there is a very long list of places where you are banned from carrying (e.g., public transportation such as subways, any places that serve alcohol, Times Square, government buildings and educational facilities, and public gatherings). The total costs for getting the permit run about $770 (for fees to the New York Police Department and the required course).

The problem is simple: Someone intent on murdering four people wont be deterred by extra gun control penalties. Even if the killer had survived, he would have already been facing four life sentences, which makes adding a few more years meaningless. For attackers who expect to die during the assault - as most mass public shooters do - those laws carry no weight at all.

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But for law-abiding citizens, the consequences are severe. Violating these laws could turn them into felons and upend their entire lives. The laws meant to stop criminals end up disarming the innocent instead.

These murderers take advantage of the laws that ensure they will be the only ones with weapons. Again and again, diaries and manifestos of mass public shooters show a disturbing pattern: They deliberately choose locations where they know their victims cant fight back due to restrictive gun laws. While it remains unknown whether this particular killer made such a calculation, his actions align with a pattern weve seen repeatedly in other cases. It isnt too surprising that 92% of mass public shootings occur in places where guns are banned.

Two of the four people murdered in the New York City attack were security guards, but people don't appreciate what an extremely difficult job uniformed police have in stopping these active shooting attacks. "A deputy in uniform has a difficult job in stopping these attacks,"saidSheriff Kurt Hoffman in Sarasota County, Florida. "These terrorists have strategic advantages in determining the time and place of attacks. They can wait for a deputy to leave the area or pick an undefended location. Even when police or deputies are in the right place at the right time, those in uniform who can be readily identified as guards may as well be holding up neon signs saying, Shoot me first. My deputies know that we cannot be everywhere."

In fact, even though civilians stop more of these active shooting attacks, 19 police officers were killed in these attacks versus two civilians with permitted concealed handguns. And surveys of academics who have published peer-reviewed empirical research on firearms showthat criminologists and economists strongly support letting people carry concealed handguns in order to stop mass public shootings.

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While politicians rush to call for new laws after each tragedy, they often ignore the basic reality that killers intent on murder are attracted to attack in places with strict gun control. Instead, those laws disarm only the potential victims, leaving them vulnerable and defenseless.

John R. Lott Jr. is president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. He served as the senior advisor for research and statistics in the Office of Justice Programs and the Office of Legal Policy in the U.S. Department of Justice during 2020-21.
The family of a United States citizen who was killed in a settler attack in the occupied West Bank is calling on the administration of President Donald Trump to open its own investigation into the incident.

Relatives of Khamis Ayyad, 40, who died in the town of Silwad, north of Ramallah, on Thursday, confirmed on Friday that he was an American citizen and called for justice in the case.

Ayyad  a father of five and a former Chicago resident  was the second US citizen to be killed in the West Bank in July. Earlier that month, Israeli settlers beat 20-year-old Sayfollah Musallet to death in Sinjil, a town that neighbours Silwad.

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Standing alongside Ayyads relatives, William Asfour, the operations coordinator for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), described the killing as murder.

We demand a full investigation from the Department of Justice, Asfour said. An American citizen was killed. Wheres the accountability?

According to Mahmoud Issa, the slain 40-year-olds cousin, settlers torched cars outside Ayyads home around dawn on Thursday.

Ayyad woke up to put out the fire, but then the Israeli army showed up at the scene and started firing tear gas in his direction.

The family believes that Ayyad died from inhaling tear gas and smoke from the burning vehicles.





How many more?

Settler attacks against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, which US officials have described as terrorism, have been escalating for months, particularly since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.

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The Israeli residents of illegal settlements have descended on Palestinian communities, ransacked neighbourhoods and set cars and homes ablaze.

The settlers, protected by the Israeli military, are often armed and fire at will against Palestinians who try to stop them.

The Israeli military has also been intensifying its deadly raids, home demolitions and displacement campaigns in the West Bank.

Just this past month, Israels parliament, the Knesset, approved a non-binding motion to annex the West Bank.

And on Thursday, two top Israeli ministers, Yariv Levin and Israel Katz, called the present circumstances a moment of opportunity to assert Israeli sovereignty over the area.

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Meanwhile, Israel continues to carry out a brutal assault in Gaza, which rights groups have said amounts to a genocide.

CAIR-Chicagos Asfour stressed on Friday that Ayyads killing is not an isolated incident.

Another American was killed in the West Bank just weeks ago, he said, referring to Musallet.

How many more before the US takes action to protect its citizens abroad? Settlers burn homes, soldiers back them up, and our government sends billions to fund all of this.

The US Department of State did not respond to Al Jazeeras request for comment by the time of publication.





No arrests in Musallets case

Last month, Musallets family also urged a US investigation into his killing.

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But Washington has resisted calls to probe Israels abuses against American citizens, arguing that Israeli authorities are best equipped to investigate their own military forces and settlers.

Mike Huckabee, US ambassador to Israel, called on Israel to aggressively investigate the murder of Musallet in July.

There must be accountability for this criminal and terrorist act, he wrote in a social media post.

But more than 21 days after the incident, there has been no arrest in the case. Since 2022, Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 10 US citizens. None of the cases have resulted in criminal charges.

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Ayyad was killed as Israeli forces continue to detain US teenager Mohammed Ibrahim without trial or access to his family.

Mohammed, 16, has been jailed since February, and his family says it has received reports that he is drastically losing weight and suffering from a skin infection.

On Friday, Illinois State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid called Ayyads death part of an ugly pattern of settler colonial violence in Palestine.

He called for repealing an Illinois state law that penalises boycotts of Israeli firms.

We need action. Here in Illinois, we have a law that punishes companies that choose to do the right thing by boycotting Israel, Rashid told reporters.

This shameful state law helps shield Israels violence and brutality from consequences.
Dario Amodei responded to Jensen Huang's claim that Anthropic wanted to control the AI industry via safety policies.

"It's just an incredible and bad faith distortion," Amodei said on the "Big Technology" podcast. He called it an "outrageous lie."

In response, an Nvidia spokesperson said that "lobbying for regulatory capture" will only make AI "less safe and secure."

There's a new AI feud brewing. Two of the industry's biggest bosses clearly don't see eye to eye, and they've volleyed criticisms at each other in interviews.

In June, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that he disagreed with "almost everything" Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said. Now, Amodei has fired back with criticism of his own.

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On the "Big Technology" podcast, host Alex Kantrowitz brought up Huang's past statements, characterizing the Nvidia CEO as saying Amodei "thinks he's the only one who can build this safely," and thus "wants to control the entire industry."

"I've never said anything like that," Amodei said. "That's the most outrageous lie I've ever heard."

Kantrowitz apologized if he misquoted Huang. "The words are correct and the words are outrageous," Amodei responded.

Huang's exact words were that Amodei "believes that AI is so scary that only they should do it." At the VivaTech Conference in June, Huang criticized Amodei's vision of a resulting white collar jobs bloodbath.

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"AI is so incredibly powerful that everyone will lose their jobs, which explains why they should be the only company building it," Huang said of Amodei's thinking.

On the podcast, Amodei said that he didn't know where "anyone could ever derive that from anything that I've said."

"I've said multiple times, and I think Anthropic's actions have shown it, that we're aiming for something we call a race to the top," Amodei said.

In a "race to the bottom," AI competitors compete to push out as many features as quickly as possible, Amodei said. In that case, "everybody loses" because the system is unsafe.

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But in Amodei's model, "everyone wins" because the safest, most ethical AI company sets the standard.

In a statement to Business Insider, an Nvidia spokesperson wrote that it supports "safe, responsible, and transparent AI," and that "thousands of startups and developers in our ecosystem and the open-source community are enhancing safety."

"Lobbying for regulatory capture against open source will only stifle innovation, make AI less safe and secure, and less democratic. That's not a 'race to the top' or the way for America to win," the Nvidia spokesperson said.

In May, Anthropic asked the US government to consider testing to "evaluate both domestic and foreign AI models for potential national security implications."

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In a June op-ed, Amodei wrote against the idea of a regulatory moratorium, saying that "the White House and Congress should work together on a transparency standard for A.I. companies."

On the podcast, Amodei gave some examples of his company leading the "race to the top." Anthropic introduced responsible scaling policies, which other companies replicated, Amodei said. Anthropic also releases its interpretability research for public viewing.

As for Huang's claim that he's using safety as a ploy for market dominance, Amodei strongly disagreed.

"I've said nothing that anywhere near resembles the idea that this company should be the only one to build the technology," Amodei said. "It's just an incredible and bad faith distortion."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Anti-Israel protesters were arrested after storming the lobby of Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrands offices in New York City. The NYPD confirmed to Fox News Digital that officers made arrests at "an unscheduled demonstration" at 780 Third Avenue, where both senators NYC offices are located.

The protesters, clad in black and yellow, put out signs with various slogans, including two that addressed Schumer and Gillibrand directly, demanding they "stop starving Gaza." They also chanted "Free, free Palestine, stop the genocide." Among the activists was actor Sara Ramirez, who starred in "Grey's Anatomy" and "And Just Like That," according to Reuters.

Actor Sara Ramirez takes part in an anti-Israel protest as demonstrators gather at the offices of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), in New York City, Aug. 1, 2025.

Trump: Hamas Surrender, Hostage Release Is Fastest Way To End Gaza War

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It is unclear exactly how many people were arrested, as the NYPD was not disclosing that information at the time of this writing.

Earlier this week, Schumer released a statement decrying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

"The reporting and images out of Gaza  depicting the devastating levels of hunger, starvation, suffering, and death  are wholly unacceptable and underscore the dire human cost of this ongoing conflict that cannot be ignored," the statement read.

Read On The Fox News App

A demonstrator is detained by police officers, as people protest at the offices of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), in New York City, Aug. 1, 2025.

Pro-israel Dem Says Those Who Won't Decry Hamas Over Oct. 7 Attack 'Have No Business' Posing As Humanitarians

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"Regardless of the status of negotiations, the Trump administration and the Israeli government must urgently work with experienced and long-standing humanitarian and development partners of the United States to surge the delivery of food, services, and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza. The action taken by the Israeli government to lift some restrictions on aid is a step forward  but much more must be done," Schumer added.

On Friday, President Donald Trump told Axios that he is working on a plan to "get people fed" in Gaza. The outlet noted that the president was concerned about starvation in Gaza, but placed the blame on Hamas. Additionally, Trump told Axios that Witkoff was "doing great work," but that he had not gotten a briefing from his special envoy yet.

Demonstrators were detained by police officers during a protest at the offices of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), board a bus, in New York City, Aug. 1, 2025.

Democratic Lawmaker 'No Longer On Speaking Terms' With Some Family Over Israel Support

Also on Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited aid distribution sites run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

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"Went into Gaza today [and] observed humanitarian food program by U.S.-launched GHF. Hamas hates GHF [because] it gets food to [people without] it being looted by Hamas. Over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months," Huckabee wrote on X. In a separate post, Huckabee hailed GHFs work as "an incredible feat."

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speak with an air working in Gaza as they visit a distribution site run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Huckabee also told Fox News Brian Kilmeade that the situation in Gaza is "a mess" because of Hamas. He added that he had seen evidence of the terror group stealing aid and selling it on the black market. According to Huckabee, a 4-kilogram (8.8-pound) bag of sugar is being sold on the black market for as much as $200.

Witkoff said that he and Huckabee spent five hours in Gaza "level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions and meeting with [GHF] and other agencies." He added that the aim of the visit was to give President Donald Trump "a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza."

Fox News Digital reached out to the NYPD as well as the offices of Schumer and Gillibrand.





Original article source: Anti-Israel protesters arrested after storming Schumer, Gillibrand's NYC office building
Joe Rogan has been dethroned as Americas number one podcaster on YouTube by a staunchly anti-MAGA, pro-democracy show.

After months of sharply criticizing President Donald Trumps actions, decisions and rhetoric, the left-leaning MeidasTouch Podcast overtook the Joe Rogan Experience for the first time last week, according to YouTubes weekly ranking of top podcast shows.

While Rogans 20.1 million YouTube followers dwarf MeidasTouchs 5.2 million, the podcasting giants show finished in second place. Progressive YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen and conservative-leaning Sean Ryans shows also made the top ten.

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The MeidasTouch Podcast saw its rankings climb in July as Trump attempted to appease Congress, the media, and voters over his administrations handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, with episodes zeroing in on the presidents past ties to and comments about the disgraced financier.

According to a May New York Times report, with the rise of video podcasting, YouTube is now the most popular platform for listeners with a one-third market share.

The Joe Rogan Experience was beaten to the top spot in YouTube's podcast rankings last week (Joe Rogan Experience/YouTube)

Were thrilled to see our audience continue to grow, MeidasTouch Network co-founder Ben Meislas said in a statement Wednesday. It's not just about the numbers. It's about building a movement powered by truth, accountability, and the people.

On Spotify, however, Rogan remains king, taking the number one spot, while MeidasTouch secured the 73rd spot on the audio streaming companys U.S. podcast charts.

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A similar trend appeared on Apple Podcasts U.S. charts, where the Joe Rogan Experience ranks second, bested only by ABC News Cold Blooded: Mystery in Alaska, and the MeidasTouch Podcast comes in 17th.

According to data analyzed by Newsweek using podcast analytics platform Podscribe, the MeidasTouch Podcast was the most downloaded podcast overall between June 7 and July 7.

Left to right: Ben, Jordy and Brett Meislas of the MediaTouch Podcast were delighted to beat the Joe Rogan Experience to take the top of the rankings (MeidasTouch/YouTube)

The data showed MeidasTouch amassed 124 million views in that period, with Rogan scooping the second spot with 39.2 million views.

The three brothers who produce the show, Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas, say they have seen ratings soar since Trump returned to the White House in January.

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The siblings formed the self-styled pro-democracy MeidasTouch Network in March 2020 as a super PAC with the sole purpose of preventing Trump from being reelected in that years presidential contest.

While the PAC changed its name to Democracy Defense Action, the MeidasTouch Network name continues to be used as a news organization.

By February this year, the MeidasTouch Podcast was ranked the most downloaded podcast, according to Podscribe data.

We're proving that pro-democracy voices are not just necessary but in demand, Brett Meislas told Newsweek at the time. The American people are rejecting the idea that MAGA is mainstream.

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These latest numbers mark a shift from the dominance of Rogan and other conservative-leaning hosts like Adin Ross, Lex Fridman, and Ben Shapiro, many of whom hosted Trump as he courted the so-called bro vote ahead of the 2024 election.

Many of those figures appear to be breaking away from Trump, including Rogan, who said Trumps lack of transparency over the Epstein case is a line in the sand.
An undated picture of Church Rock spill remediation ponds on the Navajo Nation. An exhibition of the "Anti-Uranium Mapping Project" opens Friday in Santa Fe focused on the Church Rock Spill of 1979. (Photo courtesy Shayla Blatchford)

As President Donald Trump and multi-national corporations push to dig the first new uranium mines in New Mexico in more than 50 years, Shayla Blatchfords exhibit opening today in Santa Fe seeks to equip people, particularly Indigenous people, with the tools to fight back.

Blatchford (Dine)  a photographer, artist and activist  told Source New Mexico in an interview that the complicated and obscure world of uranium mining can make activism difficult, especially given that the legacy of uranium mining in Indigenous communities here started as a clandestine project.

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It feels intimidating. And I think that was the intention of the federal government, to make it this censored thing, because it was a secret to begin with, she said.

Anti-uranium mapping project: Church Rock spill of 1979

The exhibit opening at Center is today from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit runs until Aug. 26.

The counter mapping workshop is Aug. 14 from 5 to 8 p.m.

Website

The Friday opening of the Anti-Uranium Mapping Project at CENTER in Santa Fe seeks to, among other objectives, counteract that censorship and intimidation. And it represents a grand unveiling of years of intense work and lifelong curiosity about Blatchfords roots to the Navajo Nation and its landscape.

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While shes given various presentations and held exhibits in other states, the homecoming to CENTER is the first time shes had full creative control over how the project is displayed. And its in Santa Fe, where she has lived more than a decade.

The exhibit opens amid a renewed push for uranium mining in New Mexico and shortly after the Navajo Nation reached an agreement with Energy Fuels, a global mining company, to transport uranium across the nation from a mine near the Grand Canyon to a mill in Utah.

On the New Mexico side of the Navajo Nation, the federal government has recently prioritized several uranium mine proposals here that have been pending for more than a decade. The projects are near Mount Taylor, a sacred mountain to several pueblos in New Mexico, as well as the Navajo people.

Blatchford moved to Santa Fe from California more than a decade ago to attend the Santa Fe Institute of Art and Design. After her mother began a genealogical investigation into her birth parents in the early 1990s, Blatchford as a child visited Santa Fe and reconnected with her aunt and uncle on the Navajo Nation.

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Her interest in the hidden world of uranium mining began shortly after she moved here for college. Once settled, she began poring over satellite imagery of the Navajo Nation to find her aunts house, where she had idyllic memories of visiting as a kid.

I was just trying to get to my aunts house from memory without having to call my mom and get directions. And through that, I was on Google Earth, and thats when I found this, like, weird black smear, and kind of, like, geometric shapes in the landscape beyond the hills where I remember going on that motorcycle ride with my uncle.

The smear was a giant coal mine, she said. The horror of that discovery led her down a rabbit hole that eventually ended at uranium. Since at least 2011, shes been gathering photos and maps and stories, along with compiling resources, for a website and in-person exhibit.

Part of her goal is to reclaim the maps used as a tool to plunder resources. Maps are central to the publics understanding of uranium, she said, but they are also top down and clinical, showing enforced borders and sterile data.

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But I feel like, once you come down to the 45-degree angle, and you see the landscape, you get this middle ground of information between the two worlds, she said.  And I feel like intuitively, you just have more of a connection and empathy is being instilled. As youre gathering new information, youre still kind of grounded somehow.

Visitors can expect that immersive view of the landscape and people, including photos and videos, and educational material as part of the month-long exhibit. It will focus primarily on the Church Rock spill of 1979.

On Aug. 14, Blatchford will also host a counter mapping workshop. As part of that, she asks participants to annotate top-down maps of the Four Corners region, with the boundaries of tribes and pueblo reservations outlined.

Among the questions she asks:

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Have you or someone you know been impacted by uranium mining? If so, please mark the location on the map and write what feels comfortable to share, and;

How have maps enforced colonial conquest and the imposition of capitalist property relations around the world?

A participant at a recent workshop at the University of New Mexico responded: Maps carry the sense of free land that must be claimed by people of power who dont care about community and respect, but rather see land and want it for the power and resources.
(Reuters) -ChatGPT-maker OpenAI roughly doubled its revenue in the first seven months of the year, reaching $12 billion in annualized revenue, the Information reported on Wednesday citing a source.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. OpenAI declined to comment.

The figure implies that OpenAI is generating $1 billion a month, the report said, adding that the company has around 700 million weekly active users for its ChatGPT products used by both consumers and business customers.

Illustration shows OpenAI logo

The Microsoft-backed company has increased its cash burn projection to roughly $8 billion in 2025, up $1 billion from the cash burn it projected earlier in the year, the Information said.

The firm has been lining up investors for the second $30 billion portion of its funding round, the report said, adding that shareholders Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global Management are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in the round.

Investors, besides Japan's SoftBank , are close to finalizing $7.5 billion in commitments to that second portion of funding, the report said.

The Japanese conglomerate's total agreed investment in OpenAI stood at $32 billion since first investing in Autumn 2024.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
Appalachian Cellar online marketplace launches; prominent WV chef promotes

CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) A prominent West Virginia Chef announced Season 2 of his YouTube series Roadmaps and Recipes to help promote an online marketplace that also just launched, called Appalachian Cellar.

The Mountain State Co-Hop, which is an organization that supports food producers across the state, released a new online marketplace called Appalachian Cellar. The marketplace features hundreds of shelf-stable products from more than 30 producers statewide.

Matt Welsch, chef and owner of Vagabond Kitchen in Wheeling, is supporting the launch through his popular Recipes and Roadmaps YouTube series. He was recently named the Executive Chef of the West Virginia state parks and was a 2018 winner on Food Networks Guys Grocery Games.

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I love telling stories, said Welsch. My whole life has been based off of living a good story and sharing stories  and everything I do with my food is attempting to tell the story of where it came from and whats going on currently. You know, I like to reach back into the history and the heritage of West Virginia, but also look to the future  and thats what the Appalachian Cellar is doing.

Play kitchens recalled after toddlers death

In his series, Welsch will travel far and wide to eight different locations across the state, where he will gather insight and creativity from those producers. Then, he will develop a dish based on that inspiration and share it at a reception for guests to enjoy.

Really meeting these producers and learning about their stories and what theyve got going on, I mean, weve got to tell that story, said Welsch. Weve got to band together  the people in this state that are doing awesome things. Weve all got to [have] each others back to help have a larger voice.

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The first stop for him was at the Ronk Family Farm near Charleston, where a variety of products including maple syrup are made. He recently released the first episode of his time here in July of 2025, and said it was such an amazing experience.

We come out with this food and like, heres what we did, and they get so excited, said Welsch. Its been amazing. Just their appreciation for what Im doing with that has been really, really cool. And Im like, No, no, you guys are the rock stars. Youre doing all this.

Season two of Recipes and Roadmaps will include eight episodes released on a monthly basis- with two episodes released in November and 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 WVNS.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Friday ordered chief prosecutor Karim Khan to recuse himself from an investigation into Venezuela, citing a conflict of interest.

Khans sister-in-law, international criminal lawyer Venkateswari Alagendra, has been part of a team representing the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the five-judge appeals panel at the ICC says her involvement creates an issue of bias for the prosecutor.

The British barrister, who is currently on leave from the court, stepped down temporarily pending an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

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Alagendra and Khan worked together previously on cases, including as defense counsel for Kenyan President William Ruto and for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Alagendra is the sister of Khans wife, human rights lawyer Shyamala Alagendra.

The Washington-based Arcadia Foundation, which focuses on human rights issues in Venezuela, filed a complaint with the court in 2024, asking for Khan to be removed from the case over a conflict of interest.

The court dismissed the initial complaint in February. In written filings, Khan told the court he could not recall any discussion with his sister-in-law about the facts of the case and did not attend any meetings where she was present.

The ICC has an ongoing investigation into violence that followed Venezuelas 2017 election but has so far not sought any arrest warrants.

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Khan announced in late 2021 that he was opening the investigation after a lengthy preliminary probe and an official referral  a request to investigate  in 2018 from Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay and Peru.

However, the full-scale investigation was put on hold when Venezuelan authorities said they wanted to take over the case. The ICC is a court of last resort that only takes on cases when national authorities are unwilling or unable to investigate, a system known as complementarity.

Khan pressed ahead with efforts to continue the courts first investigation in Latin America. ICC judges agreed with Khan and authorized him to resume investigations in Venezuela in 2023.
An appellate court has affirmed Ian Freemans federal conviction and jail sentence for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business with bitcoin ATMs.

Ian Freeman

Ian Freeman

In February 2024, Freeman was ordered to pay more than $3.5 million in restitution to 29 victims and forfeit other assets seized during an investigation into a money laundering scheme and other internet fraud.

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Freeman was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante to pay restitution totaling $3,502,708.69 to 29 victims. The court also issued a preliminary order of forfeiture of other assets seized during the investigation.

Freeman was convicted on Dec. 22, 2022, following a 10-day trial on counts of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, money laundering, and tax evasion.

Post-verdict, the district court acquitted Freeman on the substantive money laundering count based on insufficiency of evidence.

On Oct. 2, 2023, Freeman was sentenced to eight years in prison for laundering more than $10 million in proceeds from romance scams and other internet frauds. Freeman received 96 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a fine of $40,000.

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Prosecutors said Freeman, formerly known as Ian Bernard, ran a money-laundering business that catered to scammers and other criminals and had them make cash donations to Keene area churches and converted that into Bitcoin. In doing so, Freeman charged higher than normal transaction fees.

Freeman is a Free Keene activist who hosted a weekly internet radio program. Four other co-defendants pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors argued over the course of the trial that Freeman laundered more than $10 million in proceeds of romance scams and other internet frauds by exchanging U.S. dollars for Bitcoin. By charging exorbitant fees, Freeman made in excess of $1 million, prosecutors said.

Records and exhibits presented in court show Freeman and his co-conspirators opened and operated accounts at financial institutions in the names of various churches, including the Shire Free Church, the Church of the Invisible Hand, the Crypto Church of New Hampshire and the NH Peace Church.

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Freeman instructed Bitcoin customers, often victims of scams, to lie to the financial institutions and describe their deposits as church donations. Prosecutors said from 2016 to 2019, Freeman paid no taxes and concealed his income from the Internal Revenue Service.

On appeal, Freeman argued the district court should never have allowed the money-transmitting-business charges to reach trial, because something called the major questions doctrine  which governs how statutes are read that convey regulatory authority to administrative agencies  requires officials to interpret the relevant statutes as not permitting agency regulation of virtual currencies like bitcoin.

He also claimed the district court should have acquitted him based on the insufficiency of the evidence on his tax evasion charge and granted him a new trial on the remaining money laundering conspiracy count because the evidence admitted to prove (the money laundering) charge as to which (he) was acquitted was so extensive, inflammatory, and prejudicial that it necessarily spilled over into the jurys consideration of his guilt on other charges.

He also claimed that even if his convictions stand, the district courts imposition of a 96-month sentence is substantively unreasonable.

The appellate court found Freemans appeal chock-full of major questions rhetoric, but under scrutiny, it bears little resemblance to the line of extraordinary cases the Supreme Court has held triggers the major questions doctrine, and affirmed his conviction.
Jul. 31The Pennsylvania Superior Court in a carefully worded 24-page opinion vacated the drunken vehicular homicide conviction of Shavertown attorney Joseph Persico, who had not yet started serving his sentence of up to six years in state prison.

A three-member panel of the appellate court determined Persico's blood test to determine his alcohol level was unconstitutional in vacating a Carbon County jury's verdict that convicted the 74-year-old man on charges of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, homicide by vehicle, driving under the influence, simple assault and involuntary manslaughter.

The jury in Carbon County convicted Persico following a two-day trial in February 2024.

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Pennsylvania State Police at Pocono charged Persico, operating an Audi A4, for driving the wrong way in the northbound lanes of the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike before crashing head-on with Honda Civic, operated by Paul Gerrity, 50, of Scranton, on Nov. 6, 2018. Gerrity was pronounced dead at the scene and another motorist was injured in the crash.

After the crash, Persico was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital  Cedar Crest, where hospital personnel drew his blood, which was tested in the hospital's toxicology laboratory, and then secured and stored at an outside laboratory on Nov. 7, 2018.

The appellate court in its opinion stated the investigating trooper, after a half-empty bottle of vodka was found in Persico's Audi during a search of the vehicle on Nov. 29, 2018, served a search warrant for Persico's blood on Dec. 12, 2018.

Persico's blood was not tested until Dec. 14, 2018, more than a month after the fatal crash that returned an alcohol level of .22%.

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An adult driver in Pennsylvania is considered legally intoxicated with an alcohol level of .08%.

Prior to his February 2024 trial, Carbon County Judge Joseph J. Matika denied a request from Persico's trial attorney, Paul Walker, to suppress and prohibit Persico's blood alcohol level from being presented during trial.

After being convicted, Persico appealed Matika's denial to suppress the blood analysis results claiming his blood draw violated his constitutional rights. Persico claimed hospital personnel took his blood not for medical purposes but for criminal prosecution without being served a search warrant.

The appellate court panel agreed in vacating Persico's conviction.

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"...the blood draw violated Persico's rights under both the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution....and the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the results of his blood draw. The subsequent search warrants that permitted the seizure of Persico's blood sample for testing did not cure the defect of the illegal blood draw," the appellate court opined.

Persico's conviction was vacated as his case was sent back to Carbon County Court for a second suppression hearing regarding his blood draw.

Persico was sentenced to three-to-six years in prison but remained free on bail pending the appeal.

Reach Ed Lewis at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TLEdLewis.
Juana Lozanos phone buzzes with more than a dozen alerts each day: police stopping a truck with construction workers, dark-windowed vans near a shopping mall, a mother asking if its safe to drive down a certain road.

Lozano says the alerts are part of her routine. Shes a community leader in Central Florida and a member of a Telegram chat group called ICE Orlando y sus alrededores (ICE Orlando and its surroundings).

The group has more than 500 users sharing warnings about police and immigration authorities. It helps Lozano avoid trouble spots when she occasionally drives mothers and others who have no safe way to get around.

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Most people in this group are looking for safety, for themselves or others, said Lozano. People stay in touch, and its the community that shares and confirms the information.

Across the country, a growing number of immigrants and others at risk of arrest due to their legal status are turning to mobile apps, and encrypted networks to avoid encounters with law enforcement.

Tools like Coqui, StopICE.net, SignalSafe, PeopleOverPapers, and ICEBlock are becoming lifelines for vulnerable communities. These platforms offer real-time alerts, maps, and crowdsourced tips that help users track immigration activity nearby.

For community activists and developers these tools are seen as a way to stand up for the rights and dignity of the most vulnerable.

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We agree that the situation is delicate, said Isaret Jeffers, a community activist who defends the rights of immigrants and farmworkers in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Thats why those apps, hotlines, and chat groups are important.

Coqui, named after a small frog known for its loud warning sound, shares a live map where users can pin, report and see alerts about immigration activity. Markers appear within 10 miles. Coqui sends alerts to users who are within 3 miles of a reported marker. It uses encryption for extra security. The location is never saved or linked to the users name or identity. The app has over 10,000 users.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are targeting at least 3,000 arrests a day. As part of a tighter zero-tolerance policy, most people who entered the United States illegally within the past two years are also subject to expedited removal, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

An analysis by the New York Times found Florida this year averaged 64 immigration arrests a day through June 10, second behind Texas with 142. The surge is tied to Gov. Ron DeSantis support for mass arrests through the 287(g) program, which lets local agencies help with federal immigration enforcement.

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Florida has the most local agencies working with ICE under the program, with 247 statewide, according to the nonprofit publication CalMatters / The Markup.

Another developer, Sherman Austin of StopICE.net, said he built his website and mobile alert service earlier this year after realizing many places like churches or medical facilities were no longer safe from immigration enforcement. His network has more than 460,000 users nationwide. Two decades ago, Austin served a year in federal prison for hosting bomb instructions on his website.

People on the ground want to know what kind of activity is happening around them, Austin, of California, said during an interview with the Times on the encrypted messaging app Signal. Theyve got the right to do it.

What does the government say about these networks and apps? Nothing good.

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A group of Republican lawmakers has asked US Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into ICEBlock. The Trump administration said the apps put immigration agents at risk by showing their locations and possibly leading to threats or violence. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons said there has been an 830% increase in this kind of assault.

The federal government, meanwhile, is also using its advanced apps and tools to speed up deportations. One of them is the CBP Home, which gives nonU.S. citizens the option to leave voluntarily.

Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, executive director at Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka, a Central Florida nonprofit that supports immigrant and working-class communities, said technology is critical to protect local communities.

In the face of this lawlessness and the erosion of our constitutional right to due process, we must use every tool available to protect one another, including technology and community alert systems, said Sousa-Lazaballet. We must defend our communities and uphold our humanity.
The crowd inside the Untold Story in Anaheim was ready for open mic night to begin last week, but there was no way it would start on time.

Whenever owner Lizzette Barrios Gracian tried to approach the podium, someone pulled her away for a hug. A congrats. A recommendation. A thanks.

The bookstore opened last year in an industrial part of the city so isolated that 911 dispatchers couldnt find it when Barrios Gracian called about a medical emergency. Though it quickly earned a loyal following for focusing on BIPOC books and allowing activists to meet there without having to buy anything, the location wasn't working, and Barrios Gracian was ready to close what had been a longtime dream.

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Then she found a better, if smaller, place in a strip mall near downtown, within walking distance of her home. The Untold Story reopened a few weeks ago, and this was the first open mic night at the new spot.

Oh my god, what a difference location makes, Barrios Gracian told me as people kept filing in on July 25. Theyre coming to hang out, theyre coming to buy, theyre coming to organize, theyre coming from across the country.

Read more: 10 Latino-owned bookstores and comic shops in L.A.

Among the customers she talked to that day: Toby from Florida. Nick from Kentucky who lives in Utah. A group of teenage girls in town for a water polo tournament. Anton Diubenko of Ukraine, who was in Orange County to see a friend and told me he visits bookstores around the world.

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This ones really nice, Diubenko said. If I was a local, Id come here every week.

Barrios Gracian finally reached the podium. She was 20 minutes late. No one cared.

Thank you muchachos! the 52-year-old said in a loud, warm tone that hinted at her day job as a history teacher at Gilbert High in Anaheim. Bienvenidos to our new location of the Untold Story, Chapter 2! Your job tonight is to support, clap and give lots of love.

Lizzette Barrios Gracian, owner of the Untold Story bookstore, is also a history teacher at Gilbert High School in Anaheim. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Over the next two hours, the audience snapped their fingers, applauded, hooted in approval or nodded as speakers poured out their proverbial hearts in English, Spanish and Nahuatl. Local political blogger Vern Nelson tickled out on his electric keyboard the Mexican childrens tune El Raton Vaquero as adults and teens alike sang and clapped along. Every time someone went up to perform, Barrios Gracian sat in their seat, because all the others were occupied.

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The greatest success of this bookstore, she said in closing, flashing a smile as bright as her gunmetal gray hair, is uniting all of you.

Although the night was officially over, no one left. They wanted to exult in the moment.

Vivian Lee, who organizes board game get-togethers at the bookstore through her role as community engagement coordinator for the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, said that "welcoming spaces" can be hard to find in her native city.

People like Liz are just so incredible," said Lee, 30. "Shes game for anything that helps community.

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Paola Gutierrez teaches monthly bilingual poetry classes at the Untold Story. When I first asked if she could sell my book, she said not just 'Yes' but We will promote you and help you, the 47-year-old said. How can I not say Im free for whatever you need?

She pointed at a massive couch and laughed. Liz needs me to move this freakin thing again? Lets do it!

Barrios-Gracian, center, introduces poets during her bookstore's open mic night last week. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

I visited Barrios Gracian the following day when things were chiller. The Untold Storys design is bohemian Latinx. All the fixtures and artwork are donated, including bookshelves, massive mirrors and a bust of the Egyptian goddess Isis as well as a replica of the Titanic above the used fiction section. Insulation peeks out from sagging ceiling tiles. A stand next to the gift section offers free toiletries and canned and dried food.

Were going through hard times, Barrios Gracian said as Argentine rock gods Soda Stereo played lightly from speakers. I cant give a lot, but I can give.

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How did she think open mic night went?

It was very successful for our first time here, she responded. You never know if people will follow you when you move.

A customer walked in.

Hi, welcome! Barrios Gracian exclaimed, the first of many times she would do that during our chat. Dont shy away, you dont have to buy!

Born in Guadalajara, Barrios Gracian came to Anaheim with her parents in the 1980s without papers, eventually legalizing through the 1986 amnesty. A bookworm from a young age, she found her "safe space" as a teen and young adult in long-gone bookstores such as Book Baron in Anaheim ("I loved how disorganized it was") and the bilingual Libreria Martinez in Santa Ana.

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When the latter closed in 2016, Barrios Gracian vowed to open a version of it when her daughters were older. In 2021, she launched the Untold Story as a website and a pop-up, aiming to eventually open a storefront in her hometown.

Anaheim is nothing but breweries," she said. "That's the teacher in me. Theres nothing cultural for our youth  they have to go to Santa Ana to find it, while [Anaheim] lets gentrification go crazy.

Read more: Arellano: L.A.'s only Spanish-language children's bookstore will soon get mas grande

Rent proved prohibitive at most spaces. At others, prospective landlords would offer a lease only if the Untold Story dropped its books on critical race theory, which she refused to do.

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Those are the untold stories, Barrios Gracian said. Anaheim needs to hear them. Everyone needs to hear them.

She greeted Benjamin Smith Jr. of Riverside, who had read the previous night and was returning now with his poetry books.

"I can sell them, but we should have an event just for you, because people like to meet the author of the book they might buy," Barrios Gracian told Smith. He beamed.

Hailey Sotelo, 15, a student at Savanna High School in Anaheim, reads her poetry during the Untold Story's open mic night. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Liz gives people chances," Smith, 68, told me. "I'm no one famous, but look at me here now."

Barrios Gracian is keeping her job at Gilbert High, where she also heads the continuation school's teen parent support program. At the Untold Story, she wants to host more author signings and launch an oral history project for students to record the stories of Anaheim's Latino elders.

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Were in a crucial moment where our stories must be told from the past," she said. "Ellos sobrevivieron, tambien nosotros [They survived, we can as well]. It brings hope.

One thing I suggested she work on is the business side. The books are ridiculously affordable  used copies of a J. Robert Oppenheimer biography and a book about the rise of Nazism in L.A. before World War II set me back $11. Barrios Gracian's training consisted of a free entrepreneur course through the city of Anaheim, a video by the American Booksellers Assn., talking to other bookstore owners and Googling how to open a bookstore.

She laughed.

I tell my students we learn by falling and then getting back up," she said. "If I can make money, it would be great, but thats not the point here. Might sound crazy for business people, right?

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The numbers are thankfully going in the right direction, said the Untold Story's manager, Magda Borbon. Barrios Gracian was one of her favorite teachers at Katella High School, so now its time to pay it back by working at the store, she said.

Like me and too many other Anaheimers, Borbon moved to Santa Ana because I didnt see myself culturally in Anaheim. Now I do.

Barrios Gracian excused herself to greet more customers. I walked over to a table where a group of women were painting book covers as part of their book club. It was everyone's first time at the Untold Story.

This is very much an extension of Liz, said Angela Stecher, who has worked with Barrios Gracian before. Shes been talking about doing something like this for years, and its wonderful to see her do it.

This is like something that you'd see in San Francisco, added Maria Zacarias, who grew up in Anaheim and now lives in Santa Ana.

You go to a bookstore, you feel like you cant touch anything because everything is so neat, said Liliana Mora. She waved around the room as more people streamed in. Here, it feels like home.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Rep. Jay Richardson, a Fort Smith Democrat and chair of the Arkansas Black Legislative Caucus, listens to a speaker during a committee meeting in January 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Arkansas House)

The states Democrats and Legislative Black Caucus on Thursday condemned a Whites Only community in Northeast Arkansas and urged the attorney general to investigate.

Reports began circulating last month about acreage being purchased by Return to the Land, a private membership association for people with traditional views and European ancestry, according to the groups website.

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Attorney General Tim Griffin told the Independent last week that racial discrimination has no place in Arkansas or anywhere in a free society, and that his office was reviewing the matter. Griffins spokesperson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Tuesday that a preliminary review of the community hasnt revealed evidence that the group has broken the law.

Arkansas Democrats responded Thursday by calling on Griffins office to pursue an investigation. Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus Chair Rep. Jay Richardson, D-Fort Smith, said the association excluding people based on race, religion and sexual orientation runs counter to Arkansas values and potentially violates civil rights protections.

I am deeply concerned that Arkansas is being portrayed nationally as tolerant of discriminatory practices, Richardson said in a statement. This does not represent the Arkansas I know and serve. Our state has made tremendous progress, and we cannot allow extremist elements to define us or roll back decades of civil rights advancement.

Richardson argued this type of discrimination contributes to an ongoing brain drain that the state cant afford. He called on Griffins office to complete a thorough investigation and take appropriate legal action if violations are found.

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Rep. Nicole Clowney, a Fayetteville Democrat and lawyer, argued the community is illegal.

Lets be clear: The Civil Rights Act of 1866 says that you cant discriminate in the sale of property based on race. There are no exceptions. None. A whites only real estate development clearly runs afoul of that, Clowney said in a statement.

Return to the Land states on its website that it does not engage in real estate sales or rentals. The group argues that the owners of private property can determine who has the right to access their property.

We have the God-given right to form communities according to whatever values we hold dear, Eric Orwoll, co-founder of Return to the Land, said in a recent social media post, and the government does not have the right to tell free American citizens what values they have to live according to in their own private lives.

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The groups leader recently said it is exploring the idea of expanding north and building a new enclave near Springfield, Missouri, according to the Missouri Independent.

Both Democratic and Republican state lawmakers in Missouri have spoken out against the proposed community.

In an emailed statement to the Missouri Independent, a spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said racial discrimination has no place in Missouri.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Opening your doors to a student from another country can do more than just change their life  it can change yours too. But right now, theres a shortage of families willing to host foreign exchange students.

For Donna Baldwin, a state coordinator with the Academic Study Abroad and Student Exchange Program, it all started with an email.

Foreign exchange student calling Cabot home for the school year

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After hosting a foreign exchange student, she said she watched her own son, who had struggled with dyslexia for years, come out of his shell.

Having those students come into the homes and bring him out of his shell was just a huge thing for me, Baldwin said.

Baldwin said one of the best parts is watching students experience American life, even in small moments like their first ride to school or eating a smore for the first time.

Just riding the yellow school bus. Theyre like, Oh my gosh, a yellow school bus, and to us its, Oh my gosh  its a school bus, Baldwin said.

For Jessica Paradise, who has been involved in hosting foreign exchange students since 2015, the program is more than just hosting- its about sharing and building connections that last a lifetime.

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We have family all over the world now, Paradise said. We are getting to know other cultures. Were getting to know our culture through their eyes, Paradise said.

What to know as Trump ramps up his student visa crackdown

If you are interested, it all starts with one family willing to say yes and open their doors to a student whos ready to live their American dream. More information can be found on ASSE.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 KARK.
The U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court (Al Drago/Getty Images)

This commentary first appeared on the Arkansas Times Arkansas Blog and is republished here by permission.

On Monday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed another loss to voting rights advocates in Arkansas and the other states in the 8th Circuit by continuing to erode the power of the Voting Rights Act, or VRA, a 60-year-old cornerstone of federal civil rights law.

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The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering whether to take up a different VRA case from North Dakota, also part of the conservative 8th Circuit. If it does, the stakes will be high.

Theres some reason to think a majority of the justices might disagree with the 8th Circuits restrictive, precedent-defying interpretation of the VRA  which was outlined in 2022 with a different case out of Arkansas  thus restoring Arkansas voting advocates ability to challenge allegedly racially discriminatory practices under the civil rights law. But if the Supreme Court sides with the 8th Circuit, such VRA lawsuits could become non-starters everywhere in the country.

The Monday ruling from the 8th Circuit was about an Arkansas law that dates back to 2009, under Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. The law places limits on how many voters a particular individual can assist at the polls in the name of fraud prevention; it makes it illegal for a single person to help more than six voters cast a ballot. Thats been a problem for the immigrant advocacy group Arkansas United, which says the restriction makes it unnecessarily hard for translators to assist voters who arent fluent in English.

Arkansas United sued under the Voting Rights Act in 2020, and in 2022 a federal judge in Fayetteville sided with the group. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued an order blocking the state law, though the 8th Circuit stayed Brooks injunction while it heard the states appeal of his ruling.

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On Monday, the 8th Circuit reversed Brooks order, but not on the merits of the case. Instead, a three-judge panel of the appellate court said Arkansas United had no standing to sue under the VRA. The law only gives the U.S. attorney general the power to bring a lawsuit, the 8th Circuit panel said.

Thats more or less the same conclusion another 8th Circuit panel reached in 2023 in a different Arkansas VRA case, that one about gerrymandering. In that case, the Arkansas NAACP and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel  represented by the ACLU of Arkansas  contended that the states redrawing of state legislative district lines in 2021 diluted the power of minority voters.

The federal judge in Little Rock who originally heard the NAACP case, U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky, conceded there might be some evidence of discrimination in how Arkansas Republicans drew legislative maps after the 2020 census. But, Rudofsky said, whether or not the new lines might be discriminatory was immaterial because the plaintiffs couldnt sue in the first place. The suit was brought under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and the judge said that section doesnt allow for a private right of action, meaning private citizens or entities do not have standing to sue. Thats despite the fact that individuals and voting-rights groups have long sued to enforce the federal law under Section 2.

The decision was a radical departure from how courts have handled VRA cases over the decades, but it went down well with the conservative 8th Circuit. The appeals court embraced the new theory put forth by Rudofsky  a Trump appointee who previously worked for the Arkansas attorney generals office  and has applied it more broadly. The case brought by Arkansas United included a claim under a different section of the Voting Rights Act, Section 208, which protects the right of disabled voters or those with language barriers to receive assistance. The 8th Circuits ruling on Monday said theres no private right of action under that section, either.

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That brings us to the Voting Rights Act case out of North Dakota, memorably shorthanded as the Turtle Mountain case. It was brought by two Native American tribes  the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe  along with three individual voters, all of whom say that states legislative map was redrawn in a racially discriminatory way. The plaintiffs sued, a federal judge sided with the tribes, and North Dakota appealed to the 8th Circuit.

In May, a split three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit reversed the lower court, saying again that the Voting Rights Act doesnt allow for private plaintiffs to sue  only the federal government.

The plaintiffs went to the Supreme Court and asked it to intervene. On July 15, the high court granted their request for a temporary stay, blocking the 8th Circuits ruling from going into effect for the time being while the justices consider the request.

The three Supreme Court justices generally considered most right-wing, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, said they disagreed with the decision to grant the temporary stay. That means the Turtle Mountain plaintiffs  and voting rights advocates more generally  still have a chance, despite the courts conservative slant. The temporary stay suggests that Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts are at least somewhat skeptical of the 8th Circuits recent rulings and the no private right of action interpretation of the Voting Rights Act explicated by Rudofsky.

Its still unclear whether the court will take up the full Turtle Mountain case or not. Even if does, a decision wont come until next year at the earliest. But theres a bit of hope there for voting rights protections, even if its not much.
Huckabee Sanders said that she will meet with Israeli government officials and business leaders and strengthen economic ties between Israel and Arkansas.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced that she will visit Israel in the coming weeks in a post to X/Twitter on Thursday.

Huckabee Sanders said that she will meet with Israeli government officials and business leaders and strengthen economic ties between Israel and Arkansas.

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She mentioned Israels innovation within agriculture and manufacturing and spoke of her father, Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and his love for Israel.

"As my dad likes to say, it's the one place in the world you visit for the first time and it feels like coming home.

After visiting Israel, Huckabee Sanders will visit the UAE to further efforts in attracting more foreign investment and creating jobs in Arkansas.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, governor of Arkansas, speaks while delivering the Republican response to President Biden's State of the Union address in Little Rock, Arkansas, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. (credit: Al Drago/Pool via REUTERS)

Mike Huckabee's role in Israel

The governors father, Mike Huckabee, currently serves as the US Ambassador to Israel.

An evangelical Christian, Mike Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career, including defending Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has raised $8.3 billion at a $300 billion valuation, reports The New York Times. The deal is part of OpenAIs broader strategy to secure $40 billion this year.

The oversubscribed round came months ahead of schedule, per the NYT. OpenAI initially raised $2.5 billion from VC firms in March when it announced its intention to raise $40 billion in a round spearheaded by SoftBank. The AI giant had planned to take on an additional $7.5 billion by the end of the year, but beat itself to the punch as investors clamber to get onto its cap table amid impressive growth.

On Thursday, The Information reported OpenAI hit $12 billion in annualized revenue and surpassed 700 million ChatGPT weekly active users. The Times today said that the number is closer to $13 billion, with projections to reach $20 billion by the end of the year. Other tailwinds include the Trump administrations AI Action Plan and talks with Microsoft that could help the startup reach its goal of becoming a true for-profit company.

The Times reported that Dragoneer Investment Group, an under-the-radar investor, led the round with a startling $2.8 billion check. Many new investors participated in the round, including private equity giants Blackstone and TPG, and mutual fund manager T. Rowe Price. Other participants include Altimeter Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, D1 Capital Partners, Fidelity Management, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, and Thrive Capital.

Some early investors in OpenAI were reportedly dismayed by the smaller allocations they got in the round as the AI behemoth prioritized bringing on new strategic backers.

TechCrunch has reached out to OpenAI for comment.




NEED TO KNOW

During the ongoing investigative hearing into the deadly January plane crash near Washington, D.C., the U.S. Army defended its pilots

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 David Van Vechten Jr. insisted "nobody is perfect" when being questioned about Army pilots adhering to recommended helicopter route altitudes

The FAA also underwent intense questioning, specifically in regards to the delay in conducting drug and alcohol testing for the air traffic controllers working at the time of the crash







The U.S. Army offered a defense of its pilots as the hearings continued into the fatal Washington, D.C., crash between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet.

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The hearing comes months after the Jan. 29 crash, which killed three crew members on a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter as well as all 64 people on the American Airlines passenger flight when the aircrafts collided over the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan National Airport.

During a panel on Thursday, July 31, officials said that the crew in the helicopter likely believed they were flying lower than they really were  and that some of the Army helicopter's altimeter readers, which help pilots understand how high an aircraft is flying, were inaccurate. When the crash took place, the helicopter was far above its 200-foot limit.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 David Van Vechten Jr. also defended the pilots from his organization while being questioned by the NTSB about his interpretation of a FAA helicopter route chart for the area showing recommended route altitudes.

The chart showed both a recommended maximum and minimum, as well as a recommended figure, which Van Vechten acknowledged was "confusing, with conflicting information."

Alex Wong/Getty Emergency response units search the site of the American Airlines plane crash on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025 Emergency response units search the site of the American Airlines plane crash on the Potomac River on Jan. 30, 2025

"But the 12th aviation pilots were trained to fly as close to the maximum as charted in accordance with AP, the area planning guide in the flight information publication, trying to maintain that altitude as best you can," he said.

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When asked by the NTSB, "So to be clear, your interpretation of that legend is that 200 feet is a maximum altitude and that's what Army pilots would fly," he replied, "Yes."

"However, we're never under the assumption that it was 200 plus or minus zero," Van Vechten continued. "I mean, we would try not to go over the altitude obviously, but nobody is perfect and there are certain situations where you would go above or below it."

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy at the NTSB Washington, D.C., crash hearing Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Jennifer Homendy at the NTSB Washington, D.C., crash hearing

According to an NTSB presentation shown as part of the hearings, the helicopter's crew had discussed their altitude during the doomed flight  though flaws in the altimeter readings could have prevented them from understanding the true danger they were in.

At one point, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, reportedly the instructor on the flight, told Capt. Rebecca Lobach to come down" to 200 feet because they were at an altitude of 300 feet.

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During the first day of testimony, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Kylene Lewis said that an 80-to-100-foot discrepancy in the readings wouldn't have normally raised eyebrows.

At the time of the fatal crash, the plane was flying to D.C. from Wichita, Kan., with a number of young figure skaters on board who had attended an elite training camp. Meanwhile, the Black Hawk was returning to Fort Belvoir in Virginia after conducting an evaluation of its pilot.



https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

On Thursday, Rick Dressler, an official with Metro Aviation, a medevac operator, specifically expressed concern with the Army's 12th Aviation Battalion and its "gross misunderstandings of the airspace." The Black Hawk helicopter involved in the Jan. 29 crash was a part of that battalion.

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"I'm certainly not saying anything about bad piloting or good piloting," Dressler said, but noted that the 12th Battalion stopped participating in quarterly fly-ins hosted by Prince George's County after the battalion underwent a commander change.

At those meetings, knowledge was shared from people "like the PG County chief pilot, who has 38 years of experience," Dressler said. "I think it's important to train military members" so they "truly understand how the airspace works."

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The FAA also underwent intense questioning during Thursday's hearing, with a specific emphasis on the agency's delay in drug and alcohol testing for air traffic controllers who were working at the time of the crash.

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The recommended window for resting air traffic controllers is two to eight hours after a fatal crash, but in this case, while the decision to test occurred four hours after the event, actual testing didn't occur until the following day. (The results of those tests was not specified during the hearing.)

FAA Acting Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Operations Nick Fuller said that the agency didn't test its air traffic controllers sooner because they were "holding out hopes it was a rescue operation and there was not a confirmed fatality."

The line of thinking did not sit well with the NTSB's Dr. Katherine Wilson.

"I understand that maybe there could have been some survivors, let's say, and you were holding out hope, but the potential for serious injuries is also a reason to drug and alcohol test," Wilson told Fuller. "I feel like it was so obvious, so quickly, that we had a major event."

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Later, while revisiting the lapse in drug testing after the crash on Thursday evening, Inman appeared to cast doubt on the FAA's explanation for why they waited to conduct testing, noting there were two confirmed fatalities 20 minutes after the crash. Within an hour, there were 10.

"I had to look over 21 body bags right then. Youre telling me you didnt know a fatality occurred?" Inman asked.

The hearings will conclude on Friday, Aug. 1.



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The Army will review the use of selection boards to assess senior soldiers for command positions, officials said.

In a memo Thursday, Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll rescinded the official status of the Army Command Assessment Program, or CAP. CAP is a review board system that evaluates command sergeants major, lieutenant colonels, and colonels for command assignments. Those soldiers appear before a selection board of general officers and sitting or former brigade commanders. The boards evaluate a candidates suitability for command based on peer reviews, subordinate feedback, and other criteria to determine if they should be recommended for command.

CAP was elevated to an official program of record in a Jan. 13 memo by former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, just days before the end of the Biden administration. Driscolls Thursday memo rescinded that status.

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Driscoll ordered a deliberate review of how CAP fits into our broader talent management and warfighting strategy, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Tolbert, a spokesperson for Secretary Driscoll, told Task & Purpose in a statement.

Its unclear if the change in status for the program will immediately impact ongoing selection boards. The review of the program will take place over the summer, Tolbert said.

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Tolbert said that decertifying CAP as an official program gives the Army the ability to make changes, such as editing the selection criteria that the board uses to score candidates. Driscoll is calling for a review to determine whether the program assesses candidates for the appropriate attributes that Army leaders view as promoting lethality and meritocracy, Tolbert said, concepts that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has put at the center of his time at the helm of the Pentagon.

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According to an essay in Military Review by former CAP officials Bob OBrien and Col. Andrew Morgado, the program was set up to identify potentially hidden attributes by measuring intellect, behavior, and personality as well as counterproductive and ineffective leadership. The programs psychometric tests measure cognitive capacity, emotional intelligence, conscientiousness, self-awareness, and other behavioral traits.

The Command Assessment Program came under scrutiny last year when Army Gen. Charles Hamilton was relieved as the head of Army Materiel Command. The decision to relieve Hamilton of command came after an investigation found he attempted to use his authority to get a subordinate selected for battalion command.

Peer and subordinate reviews are one component of a candidates overall CAP score, along with other skills like written and verbal communication, physical fitness and body composition.

Scores that candidates receive for peer and subordinate feedback along with an interview, make up the Leadership Strength Spectrum in equal parts, Bullock told Task & Purpose in January when the program became official. Brigade and battalion levels of command, key billets, and the soldier feedback make up 5% of a candidates score.




NEED TO KNOW

Ke'Torrius Starkes Jr., 3, died after being left in a hot car for five hours in Birmingham, Ala.

A Department of Human Resources contractor allegedly forgot the child after a supervised visit with his father, according to police

The contractor, Kela Stanford, has been arrested





An Alabama woman was taken into custody following the death of a 3-year-old boy who police say was "forgotten" in a hot car for five hours, leading to his July 22 death.

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Kela Stanford, of Birmingham, was taken into custody Friday, Aug. 1, on a felony charge of leaving a child in a car in connection with the death of Ke'Torrius Starkes Jr., according to a Birmingham Police Department press release.



The charge stems from a law that "prohibits leaving a child or incapacitated person unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm," the release states.



Ke'Torrius, who was in foster care, was being "transported" by a Department of Human Resources contractor when he died in Birmingham, Ala., the department previously confirmed to PEOPLE.

WVTM13 reported, citing police, that the boy was allegedly left in a car for five hours with temperatures in Alabama in triple digits.

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Birmingham police Sgt. Laquitta Wade told NBC News the incident is believed to have been an accident.

"At this time, the only thing that I can say is that we believe it [the childs death] was accidental," Wade reportedly said, adding that a contractor had "forgotten that the child was in the vehicle."

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Ke'Torrius' family lawyer Courtney French told PEOPLE, "Had he been with his parents, nothing like this would have ever occurred."



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French said a DHR contractor was taking Ke'Torrius, in temporary foster care, to his daycare around 11:30 a.m. after a supervised visit with his biological father.

Read the original article on People
Since President Donald Trump took office for his second presidential term in January 2025, detentions of immigrants without criminal records increased more than 10-fold: from 1,048 detainees to 11,972 (an increase of 1,042%), according to public data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency in charge of immigration enforcement within the United States

In the same period (January 1 to June 28, 2025), the number of detainees with criminal records rose by 55%, from 9,741 to 15,141.

ICE data also show that fewer arrests are happening at border crossings and more are occurring throughout the rest of the country.

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The increase in arrests of people without a criminal record, according to experts consulted by Factchequeado, is due to changes in immigration policies and measures taken by the Republican administration.

Puedes leer esta nota en espanol haciendo clic aqui.

Lauren DesRosiers, professor and director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the P. Swyer Justice Center at Albany Law School, told Factchequeado that the arrests increased because the Trump administration rescinded immigration enforcement priorities implemented under President Joe Biden, a democrat. The Biden administration had prioritized arrests of individuals with certain serious convictions, DesRosiers said.

Another factor, according to DeRosiers and Florence Otaigbe-Nkwocha, an immigration attorney and member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), is the daily arrest quotas imposed on ICE agents. As reported by media outlets such as AlJazeera or Reuters, at the end of May 2025, the Trump administration increased the daily arrest quota from 1,000 per day to 3,000 immigrants. California Democratic Congressman Mark Takano also said on June 25, 2025, that the quota does not force them to focus on felons and violent criminals" during a speech on the House floor in a special session titled "Holding Power Accountable."

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Otaigbe-Nkwocha also cited other contributing factors, such as the rescinding of an October 2021 memo that prohibited immigration enforcement actions near or inside protected areas, like schools, hospitals, or religious sites, and the suspension of an April 27, 2021 memo that prohibited immigration enforcement near courthouses.

"Enforcement has increased due to ICE having more access to areas where they can arrest people," Otaigbe-Nkwocha told Factchequeado. "With how easy it is today to arrest in almost any location now, it could be said that this directly correlates to the increase," he added.

What the data say: fewer arrests at border crossings, more in the rest of the country

Since the beginning of Trump's second term, ICE arrests have become less common at border crossings and more frequent in the rest of the country. For example, looking at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehensions data, there were 460 arrests per day in the last quarter of 2024 (October, November and December). That figure dropped to an average of 170 arrests per day (14,264 per month) beginning in January 2025.

In contrast, data on immigrants detained by ICE in the rest of the country (non-border areas) show that the average daily number of arrests rose from 262 people in the last quarter of 2024 to 666 detainees per day as of January 2025, with a peak of 1,011 detainees per day in June (a total of 30,328 were detained in that month, according to data collected by Factchequeado through June 28).

ICE also classifies both ICE and CBP arrests into three categories based on the detainees criminal history.

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These are the official ICE definitions:

Convicted criminal: people who have violated immigration laws and who already had a criminal conviction when they were detained by ICE.

Pending criminal charges: people who have violated immigration laws and had unresolved criminal charges at the time they were detained by ICE.

Other immigration violator: people who have violated immigration laws, but had no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges at the time they were detained by ICE.

Among all immigrants detained by ICE, those classified as "other immigration violators," i.e., those with no criminal history, rose from 7% (1,048) in January 2025 to 29% (11,972) in June 2025. Meanwhile, those arrested under the "pending criminal charges" category accounted for 31% (4,747) in January and rose to 33% (13,560) by June 2025.

In contrast, the percentage of detainees classified as "convicted of a crime" dropped from 63% (9,741) to 37% (15,141) of the total number of arrestees over the same period.

John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE during Barack Obama's presidency, told ABC News, " for the last probably 15 years at least, the majority of ICE arrests, people booked into ICE custody or ICE apprehensions, were individuals apprehended at the border."

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"The problem is that you are now engaged in operations that are, frankly, more likely to find non-criminals than criminals," Sandweg added in the ABC article, which also found in ICE data that the current administration is increasingly arresting immigrants without criminal records.

An analysis by the Cato Institute, a nonpartisan, independent public policy research organization that "promotes libertarian ideas", of non-public ICE data found that 65% of those detained between October 1, 2024, and June 14, 2025, had no criminal record, and more than 93% have never been convicted of violent crimes.

84% of ICE detainees are considered "non-threat level" individuals

The data also shows the criminal history of immigrants held in ICE detention centers.

The agency classifies detainees into four categories::

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ICE Threat Level 1: Includes aggravated felonies, violence, major drugs, terrorism or threats to national security. These individuals are ICE's highest priority.

ICE Threat Level 2: Includes crimes not as serious as Level 1, but still significant (fraud, weapons, multiple misdemeanors). They are a medium-high priority.

ICE Threat Level 3: Includes individuals with one or two non-violent misdemeanors. Low priority for ICE, although may be subject to action.

No ICE Threat Level: Individuals with no criminal convictions. Generally undocumented migrants with no criminal history. Low priority under current policy, but still subject to deportation depending on political or legal context.

According to data collected as of June 23, 84% (39,722 individuals) of immigrants held in detention centers were classified under the "No ICE Threat Level" category. Threat Level 1 accounted for 7% (3,371 people); Level 2 for 4% (1,801); and Level 3 for 5% (2,338). The majority of detainees in all categories are held in detention centers in Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, California, and Georgia.

The percentages of each group has remained relatively the same since fiscal year (FY) 2022. However, between 2019 and 2021 (during part of the previous Trump administration) immigrants with no criminal history accounted for about 62%, while those at ICE Threat Level 1 made up 17%.

Jacqueline Watson, an immigration attorney and second national vice president of AILA, told Factchequeado that the data show that most immigrants in ICE detention centers have no criminal history "because immigrants commit fewer crimes than the native-born population," contrary to what is repeated on social media. In this Factchequeado article, we explained that there is no data showing a "crime wave" caused by immigrants, and in this article, we explained that immigrants have lower incarceration rates than U.S.-born individuals.

Graphic: Ignacio Ferreiro.

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Data also shows that FY 2025 has already surpassed the number of detainees in detention centers in FY 2019 (46,304). As of June 23, 2025, there were 47,232 individuals in detention centers and there are still three months left in the fiscal year (which runs from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025).

Data on immigrants in detention centers do not include certain facilities classified as:

Factchequeado is a verification media outlet built by a Spanish-speaking community to tackle disinformation in the United States. Do you want to be part of it? Join us and verify the content you receive by sending it to our WhatsApp +16468736087 or to factchequeado.com/whatsapp.
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. (WJHL)  An undercover prostitution investigation conducted by the Washington County, Virginia Sheriffs Office (WCSO) and Virginia State Police (VSP) resulted in the arrest of five people.

The multi-day operation targeted the illegal solicitation of prostitution in the area to help identify people who are being victimized or trafficked, the WCSO said in a press release.

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Crime Watch

The following people were arrested through the operation:

Johnny M. Bunch, 64, of Bristol, Tennessee Charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution

Tanner R. McMurray, 28, of Gate City Charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution

Moses I. Blakley, 31, of Richmond Charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution

Jedidiah B. Bickmore, 27, of Abingdon Charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution

Daniel S. Isaacs, 47, of Vilas, North Carolina Charged with one count of solicitation of prostitution and one count of possession of a schedule I/II narcotic (methamphetamine)



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Sheriff Andis is highly motivated and proactive in arresting anyone involved in promoting these types of criminal offenses, which often leads to victims of Human Trafficking, the sheriffs office said in the release. The Washington County, Virginia Sheriffs Office and its law enforcement partners will continue to tirelessly combat the exploitation of its citizens.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
After reporting on new tax relief for retirees in Wisconsin's state budget, we asked readers for their thoughts on the policy.

Within three days, nearly 60 of you wrote in about how the exemption  up to $24,000 in retirement income for those over 67  would affect you. Overall, feelings were mixed  even some who will benefit from the cuts worried about the impact on younger adults or funding for government services.

Just over half of respondents supported the retirement tax cut, submitting responses like "great idea and welcomed relief" or "way overdue." About 16 readers were mostly against it, giving answers like "it's a gimmick" or "pandering to old people."

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Another nine respondents had mixed feelings. "I like it, but I don't need it, and I don't want to harm others just for a tax break," said Jim, a 68-year-old from the Lake Wissota area.

Here are the main themes from your responses:

Will help finances, could impact moving decisions

Many welcomed the change and noted they have paid taxes for decades. Some said it could affect where they choose to live.

 "Love them. It's about time retirees got a break. We've been paying taxes for 40+ years. We will save some money and won't change residency to Arizona." Brad, 69, Delafield

 "Im near retirement and was considering moving closer to my kids in Illinois. Prior to passage, Illinois was higher in property taxes but did not tax pension, so it was a wash. The new tax break will favor Wisconsin residency so I may now decide to stay north of the border." Charlie, 59

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 "It has been a long time coming. It may not keep Wisconsin residents from moving to a tax-free state income tax state, but it would make that decision more difficult. Those states do have downsides, with higher insurance rates and higher vehicle registration fees to name a few." Paul, 78, Franklin, has winter home in Las Vegas

 "My wife is 67 and, at our present tax rate, it will save us about $850/year (not huge but every little bit helps)." Dan, 64, Shawano

 "Good move, but dont know why you have to be 67 when many people are retired and on a fixed income prior to that." Bob, 66, Dousman

 "It doesnt go far enough! We already paid state income tax while working  we pay again in retirement  thats wrong! Live in Illinois and you pay NO TAX in retirement!" Kim, 67, Kenosha

Concerns about burdens on younger people

Some respondents worried about the long-term effects on state finances and younger generations.

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 "I think it is a bad idea. This just shifts the burden to young struggling people trying to make it. This is an unfair burden for younger people and families." Joanne, 82, Madison

 "It's a bad idea, shifting more of the tax burden to young people. Though there are seniors who need help, as a demographic group, seniors are wealthier than all other groups. This is bad social policy." Dennis, 71, Wauwatosa

 "It depends on what we need to live a decent life. If the tax break means cuts to education, health care and environment, it is plain stupid." Hanna, 80, Cleveland

 "Being 78 years, I always like more money. But shifting the burden to the younger generations is a poor choice. I believe that the burden should rest mainly on the wealthy and (ultra) wealthy. Those that control more than 90% of the wealth should pay more than 90% of the taxes." Bob, 78, Hazelhurst

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 "I like that it is not a total retirement income tax break. Thus, those with higher retirement income (like me and my wife) still have to pay some, while many who still do pay taxes on retirement income will get a full break. I believe those with higher incomes should pay more in taxes  even though it (includes) me." John, 67, Milwaukee

 "After 74 years living in Wisconsin, my wife and I moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee. Tennessee does not have a state income tax, but that is not the reason for our move. We moved solely to be near grandkids. ... Tennessee has a very high sales tax, almost 10%. Tennessee politicians sell the sales tax by saying that visitors will help pay for the needed services. While this is true, two other groups shoulder the biggest share of this burden, families and the poor. In order for me to pay no state tax, families pay extra for food, diapers, clothes and other necessities. The same is true for the poor. So do I feel good about freedom from state taxes? The answer is definitely NO." Thomas, Tennessee

More: More spending plus tax cuts mean tough decisions later. Takeaways from an analysis of the Wisconsin state budget

Seen as political pandering to sway voters

Some respondents saw the policy as a political move. This year's state budget was considered a compromise, and tax cuts were among the wins for Republicans.

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 "The best the GOP Assembly can come up with to keep their reliable voters happy." Tim, 70, Whitefish Bay

 "It's just Republican pandering. I, along with most Social Security recipients, pay nothing or very little in state taxes anyway." Gary, 74, Wausau

 "This is a political ploy that was thought through, leading to higher deficits. People should concede that certain things are worth paying for!" Bruce, 73

 "It is about time, but really surprised (Gov. Tony) Evers signed off on the bill," Paul, 72, Neenah

Climate, family among top reasons for moving

We also asked about the biggest factors readers consider when deciding where to retire. Lawmakers have long discussed how to keep Wisconsin attractive compared to other states with lower income taxes, like Illinois.

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Weather and being close to family were the leading responses, but respondents also cited the overall cost of living and tax burdens.

 "Proximity to children and grandchildren, ready access to quality medical care, easy access to air transportation." Stuart, 68, Allouez

 "Proximity to family and weather. I spend winters in Arizona and the rest of the year in Wisconsin." Linda, 68, Wausau

 "The natural environment  we didn't want somewhere that gets too hot and didn't want somewhere where water issues will become a problem." Jill, 67, Brule

 "The tax burden on my retirement accounts. As things stand now, I am projecting that I will pay WI $6000 in income tax compared to states that do not tax that income (FL, NV, TN, and many more)," Joe, 60, Whitefish Bay

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 "We get to keep more of what we receive. I was thinking of moving to Florida again just to save," Gladys, 74, Pleasant Prairie

More: Wisconsinites often flock to Arizona, Florida to retire. Will new tax cuts keep them here?

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Readers have mixed feelings on Wisconsin's new retirement tax cut
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  An assault suspect was taken into custody in Mertzon on July 30 by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Tom Green County Sheriffs Office.

Reported by the Texas DPS, he suspect, Shelby Chappell, 30, of Big Lake, violated a protective order against him when he entered his wifes workplace and assaulted a customer in San Angelo. Chappell then fled the scene before law enforcement arrived.

Coke County manhunt suspect wanted for sexual assault

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DPS Aircraft Operations Division dispatched a helicopter to assist in locating Chappell. DPS AOD began an aerial search in the surrounding area and located a vehicle and driver matching Chappells description, headed west on US-67 toward Mertzon.

After a 12-mile vehicle pursuit, Chappell eventually stopped and was taken into custody without incident. He was then charged with assault and violation of a protective order and booked into the Tom Green County Jail.

Tom Green County jail logs: July 31, 2025

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Almost one million NHS free passes have been given out to asylum seekers in the last five years.

The HC2 certificates give low-income residents the right to freebies not afforded to most of the public, including free prescriptions, dental care, eye tests, wigs, and discounts for glasses, contact lenses, and travelling to and from appointments.

But new data released by the NHS Business Services Authority under freedom of information laws, reveal that the majority  59 per cent  of the 1.56 million issued across the UK in the last five years, 920,199 were awarded to asylum seekers.

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Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said the figures are another illustration of the costs of illegal immigration.

Those crossing the Channel invariably claim asylum, and then receive housing, bills paid, free money and full healthcare  despite never having paid a penny in tax and having entered the country illegally, he said. No wonder illegal immigrants from across Europe are flocking to the UK.

Anyone can apply for the NHS low-income scheme to get a HC2 certificate regardless of their immigration status, as long as they can demonstrate they have low or no income.

Asylum seekers are automatically given a HC2 certificate if they are eligible for section 95 support under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, which means they are entitled to claim financial and housing assistance.

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Other migrants claiming asylum are able to apply for it, depending on the levels of support they are receiving.

Steve Barclay, the former health secretary, said it was an abuse of taxpayer funds and completely wrong that asylum seekers are receiving beneficial access to health treatment compared to the taxpayers who fund it.

The certificate provides full help with health costs, such as unlimited dental care and prescriptions, vouchers worth up to 233 to spend on glasses, as well as refunds on any travel costs to hospital appointments.

Asylum seekers must renew their certificates every six months, rather than the 12 months that applies to other UK residents, making it hard to know the exact number of people claiming.

Unbalanced and unfair

Dr Sean Phillips, head of health at the Policy Exchange think tank, said the numbers just beg the question: who is the NHS for?

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When we recall, asylum seekers make up less than 1 per cent of the total population  for the majority of HC2 certificates to be issued to this group feels completely unbalanced, even unfair, given the levels of hardship felt more widely across the country, he said.

There have been 317,000 claims for asylum from migrants within the UK over the same period, which is double the number in the previous five years, between 2015 and 2019.

New data released on Thursday revealed that 25,000 migrants had crossed the English Channel on small boats in 2025, hitting the milestone earlier in the year than ever before.

Many migrants who arrive in the UK then seek asylum while housed in hotels, bed and breakfasts or other temporary accommodation on taxpayer expense. They are then able to get the full cost of their healthcare needs covered by British taxpayers.

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While there are no public figures available on the average cost to the taxpayer, it is easy to see how quickly it might rack up.

The cost of a prescription for a British resident is 9.90 if they have no other exemption, while the most basic NHS dentist check-up is 27.40 for those able to find a practice taking on NHS patients, and thats before the costs of any treatments  which often reach hundreds of pounds  are factored in.

A simple NHS eye test costs 23.55, while glasses or contact lenses are also likely to cost hundreds depending on the patients prescription.

Wigs and fabric supports, which can be given to patients with hair loss as a result of alopecia or cancer treatment, can cost in excess of 300.

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Anyone with an HC2 form can also get free care for their partner and children or dependents up to the age of 18.

Even if circumstances change, people are able to continue using the certificates to get all costs covered until it expires.

Mr Barclay, who is the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire, said it also completely directly undermines our democracy given previous health ministers made clear this practice was an abuse of the rules.

He added: It is outrageous that some health bosses are pushing their own Left-wing political agenda, wasting taxpayer funds, and reducing the funds available for treating local residents, and that NHS England, who is operationally responsible for these services, is once again failing to do its job.

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The Health Select Committee should summon those responsible for these programmes before Parliament to hold them to account for this abuse of taxpayer funds.

An NHS spokesman said: The NHS is legally required to provide healthcare services to asylum seekers, including access to help with health costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme.

A government spokesman said: We are fixing the chaotic asylum system we inherited and have returned over 35,000 people, including failed asylum seekers, immigrants and foreign national offenders to ultimately relieve pressures on nationwide services.

These certificates do not give access to NHS services ahead of people who dont have one. The highest number of certificates issued in the last five years were under the previous administration.

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The Brief

More than 240 flights canceled and 400+ flights delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson early Friday afternoon.

Thunderstorms across the East Coast caused significant flight delays and cancellations, with Atlanta's airport experiencing 424 delays and 53 cancellations by Thursday evening.

Major airports like Philadelphia, LaGuardia, and JFK faced severe delays, with ground stops in effect at several locations due to the storms and flash flooding.

Travelers were advised to check with airlines for real-time updates as disruptions were expected to continue into Friday.

ATLANTA - More than 200 flights out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had been canceled as of 8:45 a.m. Friday, according to FlightAware. Additionally, there were more than 170 flights flying in or going out that were delayed.

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The majority of the flights belong to Delta, which is based out of Atlanta and has the most planes flying in and out of the airport. A Delta spokesperson confirmed the delays and cancellations are a result of the "ongoing severe summer weather."

Almost 250 cancellations were being reported by FlightAware at 1:15 p.m. Friday, with 406 delays. Almost all of the flights appear to belong to Delta.

Travelers should check with their individual airlines for current information.

ORIGINAL STORY

Thunderstorms across the East Coast wreaked havoc on air travel Thursday, grounding flights and stranding passengers across the country, with ripple effects hitting hard at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

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A ground stop at Atlanta's airport further delayed issues with delays of over 2 hours.

Storms cause flight delays

What we know

By late afternoon, average departure delays from Atlanta reached 30 minutes and were increasing, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA warned that a full ground stop or delay program could be issued depending on developing weather patterns.

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Flight delays in Atlanta

Local perspective

The delays in Atlanta reflect a broader disruption in the nations airspace. According to FlightAware, more than 28,000 flights were delayed across the country on Thursday, with over 7,000 of those within, into or out of the United States. At least 1,803 flights were canceled nationwide, including 1,448 in the U.S.

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In Atlanta alone, 424 flights were delayed and 53 were canceled by Thursday evening.

Delta, Atlantas largest carrier, reported 274 delayed flights and 18 cancellations. Other airlines heavily impacted at Hartsfield-Jackson included Southwest with 44 delays and 10 cancellations, and Frontier with 23 delays and 11 cancellations.

Flooding rains cause delays along East Coast

Big picture view

Major destinations out of Atlanta were hit with even more severe delays. Philadelphia International Airport reported average delays of up to 135 minutes, while flights into New Yorks LaGuardia and JFK airports faced delays ranging from 90 to 120 minutes. Ground stops were in effect at several airports including Newark, Philadelphia, Reagan National in Washington, and Baltimore-Washington International.

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The storms also unleashed flash flooding in the Northeast. In New York City, major roadways flooded and stranded drivers were seen standing atop submerged cars. Emergency responders in Baltimore rescued people from flooded vehicles, and Pennsylvania saw several inches of rain within an hour, flooding city streets and low-lying areas.

Officials across the Northeast urged residents to stay home unless travel was absolutely necessary. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman warned suburban Long Islanders to avoid evening travel, citing ongoing flood risks.

Atlanta airport traffic

What's next

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, air traffic remained backed up into the evening as airport operations struggled to adjust. While the city avoided the worst of the physical storm damage, its role as a central hub meant weather issues in other regions caused significant secondary impacts.

Check your flights

What you can do

Travelers were advised to check with airlines for real-time updates and expect further disruptions into Friday as severe weather continues to affect flight routes up and down the East Coast.

The Source

The FOX 5 Storm Team, the FAA, and FlightAware provided the details for this article. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was updated Friday morning with current information.
Atlanta truck driver says hes been targeted twice in road rage incidents in 3 months

A metro Atlanta truck driver says hes been the victim of two dangerous road rage incidents in just three months, including one where he says someone shot into his truck while he was behind the wheel.

Tim Trea, a commercial driver, says the first incident happened in April while he was driving a fully loaded truck on the Downtown Connector near Interstate 20.

So he sped up, got directly in front of my truck and flipped me off, Trea said.

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He shared video of the encounter with Channel 2 Action News.

I was in the right-hand lane with a loaded truck, 80,000 pounds of material, he said. I wouldnt concede, slow down, or move over, which I really couldnt do any of the three.

Trea said the other driver responded by flashing a weapon.

He brandishes a weapon, pulls it up over the steering wheel, hangs it out the window, and points it back at me, he said. Its unnerving, it really is.

Trea said he gave police all the information he could  including the video  and filed a report with Atlanta police.

I felt like it was a public hazard, you know, get this guy off the street, he said.

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Then, just this past Tuesday, Trea said something similar happened again  this time on I-85 North as he tried to connect to I-285.

TRENDING STORIES:

As Im driving, this car bumps into the side of my truck, but I didnt realize it, Trea said

Trea told Channel 2s Eryn Rogers he didnt see the car trying to merge, and the driver didnt signal him to pull over, so he thought nothing of it.

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I drove another thousand yards, and I heard this noise. I thought it was a rock or something, he said.

But the next day, Trea discovered missing lug nuts on his truck  and a bullet hole that went straight through his sleeper compartment, just feet from where he had been sitting.

He got upset, pulled a weapon, and shot me, or shot my truck. By the Grace of God Im still here, he said.

Trea is now calling for action.

Theyre out there driving for themselves, and if you get in their way, theyre going to try to handle it with a weapon, and thats not the way it needs to be. These types of individuals need to be pulled from the road, charged, sentenced, he said.

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Trea told Rogers hes been disappointed with the police response. He said he hasnt heard anything from Atlanta police since he filed the initial report in April.

He also reported Tuesdays incident to College Park police, who responded, but said officers there werent sure if it was their jurisdiction or if theyd have to pass it on to East Point or South Fulton Police Departments.
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) -Panama's comptroller general, Anel Flores, said on Wednesday he had filed suit to the nation's Supreme Court against a contract to operate ports near the Panama Canal, held by a local firm controlled by Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison.

Flores said the two suits were to declare the unconstitutionality and to nullify the contract to operate the Balboa and Cristobal ports. The Supreme Court would still need to accept the request to hear the comptroller's complaint.

The suits stem from a months-long audit spearheaded by Flores, who has publicly complained that the contract did not serve the nation's interests.

Flores has not made the full audit public, but said on Wednesday that it had revealed "many irregularities."

The complaint could throw a wrench in a planned deal for a consortium involving Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte's family-run shipping company MSC and U.S. investment firm BlackRock to buy out most of CK Hutchison's global port business, including the two ports.

CK Hutchison holds a 90% stake in the local Panama Ports Company, which had a 25-year concession to operate the ports renewed in 2021.

The sale has faced pressure from both Washington and Beijing, with Reuters reporting that Chinese state-run shipping giant COSCO could also be brought into the deal.

"They are talking about billion-dollar deals here, which do not include Panama, the true owner of the Panamanian ports," Flores said. "That is why we have taken the actions we are taking, because we are not satisfied."

(Reporting by Elida Moreno; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Brendan O'Boyle)
SHAWNEE, Kan.  Prosecutors in Johnson County, Kansas are charging a man accused of stabbing a restaurant manager on Thursday.

Court documents show Maikol Valdes faces a first-degree attempted murder charge tied to Thursday afternoons incident at Haywards BBQ, a popular Shawnee restaurant at 75th Street and Neiman Road. Charging documents say Valdes intentionally and with premeditation attempted to kill Sweeney inside the restaurant on Thursday, around 1:30 p.m.

Johnson County Board of Commissioners approves new district boundaries

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Valdes is now behind bars. He was arrested by a team of police officers from Shawnee and Lenexa just before 3 a.m. Friday morning. He doesnt appear to have a court date set as of now.

However, he does have a court date on October 14 for charges in Jackson County, Missouri. In that case, hes facing first-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon.

Eric Sweeney, the restaurant owner, said he was out of town on Thursday when the incident happened. He identifies the manager who was stabbed seven times as Reilly Sweeney, his 30-year-old son.

Hes my only son. I only have one kid, Eric Sweeney said, while fighting back tears.

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Hes got a hole this big in his chest right here. They just missed his heart.

Video from Thursdays chaotic scene shows employees scuffling with Valdes. Sweeney said Valdes entered one of the restaurants bathrooms and refused to leave. When the manager tried convincing him to go, Sweeney was stabbed seven times. His father said hes in the hospital with more than 40 stitches, a punctured lung and staples in his skull.

Hes got stitches in his back and stitches in his chest and, you know, hes such a great kid, Eric Sweeney added.

Teacher charged in fatal stabbings in Arkansas bounced between schools in 3 states

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Customers who spoke with FOX4 News said theyre upset after hearing about this, and theyre praying for Reillys full recovery, and for Valdes to answer for what hes accused of doing.

Theres really no room for that. This is a great community thats driven by growth and a nice lifestyle. We hate to see that kind of thing happen here, Kevin Greiner, a regular customer, said on Friday.

Owners at Haywards BBQ believe Valdes may be a homeless man who stays in the area. Eric Sweeney said Shawnee Police patrols have helped keep an eye on their property, after they voiced concerns about theft and loitering.

As the victim recovers, supporters can help him and his family by contributing to a meal train thats been organized for them.

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Valdes is being held on a $1 million bond in the Johnson County Jail.

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Apalachee High School students will return to school Friday, and safety is top of mind for Andy Rogers.

Hes an attorney investigating security measures on behalf of Christian Angulos family. Angulo was one of two students along with two teachers who were killed in last years Sept. 4 shooting.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The continued attention to the terrible event that happened in Apalachee High School in September of 2024 will not only be a reminder, but a motivator, to look closely at the systems. Those include the physical systems, the barriers, the physical equipment as well as the training and the policies and procedures around spotting these red flags, and there appear to have been many in this case, Rogers told WSB Tonights Courtney Francisco.

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Barrow County Schools leaders have added weapon detectors and more deputies. Theyve updated panic alert systems, and they are speeding up the process of sharing student discipline records between districts.

Im encouraged on one hand and frustrated on the other, said Rogers.

He argues, with the prevalence of school shootings, some of these steps should have already been in place. He is urging other districts to examine their equipment and procedures around spotting red flags.

Frankly, any school system that has not already done what Barrow County is trying to do now, or is not in the process of doing what theyre doing now, is leaving our children, our students, exposed to the same potential harm, said Rogers.

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The man who killed four in a mass shooting at 345 Park Avenue bought the gun from his supervisor at a Las Vegas casino. The supervisor's lawyer insists that the transaction complied with state and federal law.

Via Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com, attorney Chris Rasmussen issued multiple statements in support of Rick Ackley, who sold the AR-15-style rifle to Shane Tamura.

"Rick Ackley administered the transfer of the firearm used in the tragedy in New York lawfully complying with Nevada and Federal gun laws on October 2, 2024," Rasmussen said in a statement issued to ESPN.

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In a separate statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rasmussen said Ackley "legally sold a firearm to the suspect in the New York shooting and is not a suspect or considered to have any nefarious involvement."

Separate and apart from the question of whether the sale was legal is the question of whether it should be. Does the Second Amendment guarantee access to weapons that can outgun a police officer?

Should the background checks for that type of gun be far more stringent?

There are fair and appropriate questions to ask, as part of a broader conversation about how to eradicate the tangible risk that everyone necessarily assumes when leaving their home and going to a public place.
Need some good news amid this brutal summer weather? Well, we're merely weeks away from our first sip of pumpkin spice lattes and other favorite fall flavors.

While summer doesn't officially end until Monday, Sept. 22, insiders have reported that Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts will be releasing their 2025 fall menus later this month.

Despite the coffee chains still promoting their summer-themed drinks, here's when you can get your first sip of fall this year.

When does the Starbucks 2025 fall menu come out?

While Starbucks has yet to confirm the launch, sleuths have pinpointed that the new menu drop could be Aug. 26. If correct, it will release later than last year's fall menu, which dropped on Aug. 22.

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According to Time Out, Starbucks' menu has typically been released in late August, with menus released on a Tuesday every year since 2018, with the exception of 2023, when it was released on a Thursday.

What fall items are returning to Starbucks? See rumors

According to popular food blogger Mark Devo, a leaked menu shows some fan favorites and new additions on Starbucks' fall menu:

Pecan Oatmilk Cortado (New)

Pumpkin Spice Latte(Hot or iced)

Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte

Italian Sausage Egg Bites (New)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin

Baked Apple Croissant

Raccoon Cake Pop (Vanilla cake with chocolate icing)

How long do Starbucks fall drinks last?

Starbucks usually keeps its fall menu around until the start of November, then it brings in its holiday drinks.

How many Starbucks are in Florida?

There were 940 Starbucks in Florida as of June 2025, the third most in any state after California (3,186) and Texas (1,473), according to statistics site ScrapeHero.

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You can find a location near you on the company's locations page

When does the Dunkin' Donuts fall menu come out?

Dunkin's fall menu includes the pumpkin spice latte and apple cider donut.

Similarly to Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts has not confirmed a launch date for its fall menu. Last year's fall menu came out on Aug. 28. However, insiders say it will arrive earlier this year.

Devo and other popular food accounts, including SnackBetch, have posted that the Dunkin' Donuts fall menu will arrive on Aug. 20.

What fall items are returning to Dunkin' Donuts?

According to Devo, here are the fall drinks you can sip on at Dunkin' very soon:

New "Cereal N Milk" Latte

New Mixed Berry Daydream Refresher

Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte (Hot or iced)

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As for fall food items, Devo posted:

New Chipotle Loaded Hash Browns

Maple Sugar Bacon (Sandwich, Snacking Bacon, Wake Up Wrap)

New Kreme Delight Donut

New Iced Pumpkin Loaf

Glazed Pumpkin Donuts, Munchkins

Pumpkin Muffins

What are Dunkin' Donuts rumored Halloween 2025 items?

Devo's post also shares that its Halloween items are predicted to return on Oct. 15 and will include:

New Candy Bar Signature Latte (Hot or iced)

Spider Specialty Donut

Halloween Sprinkle Takeover

New Halloween Munchkin Bucket

How many Dunkin' Donuts are in Florida?

According to World Population Review, Florida has the third most Dunkin' Donuts locations in the country, at roughly 909.

To locate an establishment near you, check its website here.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts fall menus: See rumored 2025 release dates
AUSTIN (KXAN)  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a warning notice to the Austin Aquarium on July 3 related to violations for its handling of animals.

KXAN reached out to the Austin Aquarium for its response. Well update this story when we receive one.

The USDA claims Austin Aquarium, LLC violated 9 C.F.R.  2.131(c)(1), which says animals must be handled so there is minimal risk of harm, both to the animal and to people. There must also be sufficient distance and/or barriers between the animal and the viewing public to help assure the safety of both.

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The USDA said Austin Aquarium, LLC, failed to meet the standards of that regulation.

In the notice, the USDA cited three incidents that occurred between June 2022 and May 2023, where the aquariums animals injured adults or children.

RELATED | Woman says lemur attacked her at Austin Aquarium

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provided the Austin Aquarium with an official warning for the violations, since violations of the regulations can have serious and costly impacts that are detrimental to the public interest.

If evidence of future events is found, APHIS could pursue sanctions, including criminal prosecution.

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As a disclaimer, the USDA said the warning should not be construed as a final agency action or as an adjudicated finding of a violation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
The Brief

Austin City Council voted Thursday to approve maximum tax rate allowed under state law

This could mean an increase of 7 cents per $100 property valuation

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin voters may have to decide on a property tax increase in November after the Austin City Council voted Thursday to approve the maximum tax rate allowed under state law.

What they're saying

The City of Austin has been building its budget for the next fiscal year, which includes a $33 million shortfall.

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Some city council members say a higher tax rate is needed due to state and federal funding cuts, and a higher tax rate will help maintain the quality of the city's programs and services.

READ MORE: Austin City Council continues to work through proposed budget with $33M deficit

That could mean an increase of seven pennies per $100 property valuation.

However, critics argue Austin leaders continue to add programs and spending has gone unchecked.

By the numbers

The proposed budget is set at $6.3 billion, with $1.5 billion for the general fund.

To fix the shortfall, the city is proposing moving $14 million from the budget stabilization reserve fund, plus cutting $19 million from these areas: less funding for animal services emergency surgeries, a reduction in EMS medical software, less funding for fire inspection services and a reduction in small tools and travel training.

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$9 million would be cut from police overtime by restructuring patrol officers. $500,000 would be saved by moving the Blue Santa warehouse to a city building.

What's next

The city council has two more work sessions on the proposed budget set for next week (August 5 and 7) and is expected to vote on the final adoption of the budget and tax rate the following week (August 13-15).

The Source

Information in this report comes from the Austin City Council and previous reporting.
Dozens of endangered parrots were rescued from smugglers after their car was stopped at the border in Nigeria.

What happened?

Officials took custody of 120 African Grey Parrots that were being illegally trafficked, according to a report by Intel Region.

The smugglers were taken into custody, and the birds are being rehabilitated by wildlife rescue organizations after being found in poor health.

"These birds are highly sought after in the exotic pet trade due to their intelligence and ability to mimic human speech," said Gambo Bature Bashir, a Nigeria Customs Service comptroller, per Intel Region.

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"Sadly, many are captured illegally, kept in cruel conditions, and trafficked across borders for profit."

Why is it concerning?

African Grey Parrots are an endangered species and are protected by law. Smuggling at-risk animals hurts their chance of survival, and in some cases, a species will become endangered due to rampant smuggling.

Trafficking animals outside of their native habitat can also make them invasive species, and they may become predators to native species, competing with them for resources.

Any kind of wildlife smuggling can damage ecosystems and destroy ecological balance, which is why it's incredibly important to never purchase exotic animals as pets.

What's being done about it?

To fight smuggling throughout the country, Nigerian officials have announced plans to increase overall surveillance and collaborate with security agencies.

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"We're sending a strong message to traffickers: wildlife crimes will not go unpunished," said Bashir.

It's a problem in many parts of the world, unfortunately. Poachers capture birds and reptiles to be sold as pets on the black market, or they kill larger animals for parts, like tusks, fangs, claws, and skin.

You can do your part by supporting organizations dedicated to fighting smuggling and protecting wild animals, such as the World Wildlife Fund or your local nature rescue.

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Residents in Burley, Idaho, received a surprise visit from a large and typically docile animal  but the incident served as a reminder that wildlife encounters can be unpredictable and occasionally risky.

What's happening?

According to the Idaho Statesman, a juvenile moose was spotted wandering in a suburban neighborhood in Burley on June 24.

Residents quickly alerted authorities to the presence of the yearling. Although moose sightings in the area "aren't uncommon," according to the Statesman, its location was cause for some concern.

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Officials from Idaho Fish and Game responded to the scene, alerting locals to be aware of the situation as the moose continued its stroll.

According to a press release from the department  which "receives multiple moose reports each year in the Burley area"  juvenile moose are often "driven off" by their mothers when new calves arrive in the spring.

The agency successfully sedated the moose and took it into custody before releasing it into a "more suitable moose habitat" south of the area.

Why was this moose encounter concerning?

While Burley residents discussing the matter on Facebook were seemingly charmed by the lone yearling moose and the relocation effort appeared to go smoothly  neither people nor the animal were injured  that doesn't mean the incident was without risk.

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"Wildlife in urban areas can create stressful situations for both the animal and nearby residents," Idaho Fish and Game acknowledged.

Rising temperatures and warming seas worldwide continue to wreak havoc on the balance of ecosystems. As the weather gets wilder and climate patterns shift, the effects on animals pile up.

Habitat loss (also due to urbanization) and fluctuations in their food sources in the wild act as a stressor for wildlife, much like they do for humans.

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When animals sense that their food or shelter is in jeopardy or becoming scarce, they're far more likely to behave unpredictably and aggressively.

What should people know about wildlife encounters?

Per the Statesman, anyone who encounters a moose should keep their distance and "shouldn't try to haze a moose."

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The National Park Service noted that moose are prone to trampling and can attack when they feel threatened.

"Don't be aggressive," the NPS advised. "You want to convince the moose that you aren't a threat."

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.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte issued what were likely the final two vetoes from her first legislative session, one dealing with electioneering by public employees and the other that would have allowed cities and towns to avoid having to make available voting machines for people with disabilities.

The accessible voting bill (HB 613) would allow a town or ward to not provide the accessible equipment for those with disabilities if no resident in the community asks for it at least 60 days prior to an election.

The reality is if someone needs the machine, it will be there. If they dont, the community wont have to afford the cost, said House Election Laws Committee Chairman Ross Berry, R-Weare.

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Sen. James Gray, R-Rochester, said leasing the machines can be very expensive for a small town that might have no demand for them.

Rep. Connie Lane, D-Concord, maintained the bill, as written, could violate both the federal Voting Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This is a law we are supposed to be abiding by, Lane said referring to the ADA.

In her veto message, Ayotte agreed with the Democrats.

This legislation impacts people with disabilities and would conflict with federal law that requires accessible voting systems be available at all polling places during federal elections, Ayotte wrote.

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John Corbett, an Ayotte senior adviser, said lawmakers could have allowed for this exception in the case of local elections such as town meetings or for school budget voting.

The federal law is clear that these machines must be accessible in state and federal elections, Corbett said.

Ayotte vows to revive electioneering issue

The second bill (SB 213) Ayotte vetoed dealt with more explicit definitions for what would be illegal electioneering by public officials at the polls.

I am vetoing this legislation as it conflicts with other bills I have recently signed into law regarding absentee ballots, Ayotte said.

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Additionally, I intend to work with the bill sponsors on the issue of electioneering to ensure that public employees can engage in public discourse without misusing their official positions for political purposes.

Voting rights leaders criticized Ayotte for signing those two bills (SB 287 and SB 218) that in the future will require anyone seeking to vote by absentee ballot to first prove citizenship, domicile and age to make them eligible to vote.

With her signature, Governor Ayotte just chose to make it harder for thousands of Granite Staters, especially our most vulnerable, to vote, all without solving a single real problem, said McKenzie Taylor, director of the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights.

SB287 will confuse voters, burden local election officials, and strip people of their freedom to vote securely from home when they cannot make it to the polls. Granite Staters deserve better than political games that attack our rights and weaken our democracy.

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Corbett said the bills bring absentee ballot rules in line with requirements for voting at the polls.

We have required voters to prove citizenship to cast a ballot; this extends the same to absentee voting, Corbett said.

The left can lose its mind over this, but this just makes common sense.

House and Senate leaders are expected to call lawmakers back for a one-day session later this fall to take up Ayottes vetoes that number more than a dozen in her first year in office.

klandrigan@unionleader.com
Volodymyr "Sprite" Ryzhenko, a combat medic from the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine, has been recognised as the best European medic of the year in the "military medicine" category. This award was presented to him at the largest European conference on military medicine, Combat Medical Care Conference 2025, held in Germany.

Source: 1st Azov Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard on Instagram

Quote: "He won this award for an exceptional case of saving a brother-in-arms in the winter of 2025  thanks to a transfusion of donor blood dropped from a drone, he managed to save the life of a soldier in extreme conditions.

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Along with the distinction, our friend Sprite received a sword  a symbol of strength, dignity and courage. During his speech, he thanked his brothers-in-arms who helped implement this rescue operation."

Details: In total, more than 1,400 leading experts from 44 countries attended the event. In addition to Volodymyr, two more doctors from the brigade took part in the international conference. They shared a unique experience of providing assistance in combat conditions.

Quote: "Senior Lieutenant Serhii 'Jedi' Rotchuk presented innovative approaches to medical logistics on the battlefield.

Olha 'Krava' Tahirova discussed the challenges of providing aid beyond the 'golden hour' and the constant work of training personnel."

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Background: Soldiers from a medical unit of the 12th Special Forces Brigade Azov delivered blood via drone to save a wounded brother-in-arms' life. The soldier had suffered a severe neck injury, resulting in significant blood loss.

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Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is included among the 11 Innovative Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Pfizers (PFE) Breakthrough Medicines Power its Dividend Stability

A medical technician wearing protective gloves and a mask mixing a biopharmaceutical solution.

The American multinational biotech firm developed a form of santonin used to treat intestinal worms, which gained rapid popularity thanks to its effectiveness. One of its founders, Erhart, drew on his background in candy-making to add an almond-toffee flavor, making the medicine easier to take. Around the same time, the company also started producing citric acid, a key ingredient in popular beverages like Coca-Cola. This product eventually became a core part of Pfizers business and played a major role in its growth over the following decades.

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has struggled in recent years, with its stock falling by over 28% in the past decade. Despite this underperformance, the future looks more promising due to a solid lineup of drugs in development. Many of the concerns surrounding the company seem to be already priced into its lower share value. Recently, Pfizers forward price-to-earnings ratio was 8.49, which is well below its five-year average of 10.2.

In addition to its innovation, Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) has always remained committed to its shareholder obligations. In the most recent quarter, it returned $2.4 billion to investors through dividends. Moreover, it has raised its payouts for 15 consecutive years. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.08%, as of July 28.

While we acknowledge the potential of PFE 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 Best and Safe Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Stocks with Highest Dividend to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None.
An Ohio couple says that they have welcomed a baby boy who was born from an embryo that was frozen over 30 years ago.

Lindsey Pierce, 35, and her husband Tim Pierce, 34, of London, Ohio, are now parents to baby Thaddeus, who was born July 26, according to MIT Technology Review.

Rejoice and John David Gordon via AP - PHOTO: This photo provided by Rejoice and John David Gordon on July 31, 2025, shows Thaddeus Pierce.

The Pierces told the publication they had been trying to conceive for seven years and "adopted" an embryo through an embryo adoption agency.

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The embryo the Pierces adopted was obtained through in vitro fertilization, or IVF, in 1994, according to MIT Technology Review.

In the IVF process, ovulation is induced and eggs are removed from a patient's ovaries. The eggs are then fertilized with sperm outside of the body, and the resulting successful embryos are either placed in the patient's uterus in the hope of pregnancy or are stored in a laboratory for future use, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Couple welcome twins from embryos frozen 30 years ago

After a successful embryo transfer using the adopted embryo, Lindsey Pierce became pregnant.

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ABC News medical contributor Dr. Alok Patel, who was not involved in Lindsey Pierce's care, said the age of a frozen embryo is not necessarily a risk.

Rejoice and John David Gordon via AP - PHOTO: This photo provided by Rejoice and John David Gordon shows Tim and Lindsey Pierce in November 2024 at Rejoice Fertility in Knoxville, Tenn.

"If these eggs are frozen properly and they are thawed and pass screening, they can be just as healthy as an embryo created today," said Patel, a board-certified pediatrician.

Baby born from 27-year-old frozen embryo breaks record

The Pierces could not be reached for comment by ABC News. The couple told The Associated Press in a statement published Friday that their goal throughout the process was just to "have a baby."

We didnt go into this thinking about records -- we just wanted to have a baby, Lindsey Pierce said, according to the AP.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now)  The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) is celebrating Back to School with a photo shoot for your furry friends.

The Back 2 School photoshoot will be held at AWLAs facility, located at 4101 Eisenhower Ave., on Aug. 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

From abuse to badge: Dean the dogs recruitment journey in Stafford

Those interested in signing up are required to register for a 10-minute session. AWLA is asking for a $50 donation, which will come with a complimentary digital image of your pet on a classic yearbook photo backdrop. Printed photo packages will also be available for purchase.

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People are not allowed in the shoot, and there is one pet allowed per person. Everyone is allowed to sign up for up to two sessions.

For more information, click here. To reserve a session, 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
MISSOURI  The tax exemption starts at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, August 1, and lasts until Sunday, August 3.

With the first day of school only weeks away, stores are filled with back-to-school shoppers. Students told Ozarks First what they were out shopping for.

A folder and a backpack, McKinley Nigh.

I need folders, books, and a lunch box, said Rocco Addotta.

All the art supplies, said Lilly Parris.

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I need a backpack and a lunch box, said Isabella Addotta.

Julie Widman and her daughter Everly did the last of their back-to-school shopping before the weekend started to avoid the crowds this year. Widman said shes taken advantage of the tax weekend in the past, especially when buying electronics like laptops.

I grew up in Missouri my whole life, and we always did tax-free weekends, said Widman. Its $50 to $100 that you can use on something else, like groceries with grocery prices right now.

According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, certain back-to-school purchases, such as clothing, school supplies, and computers, are exempt from sales tax during this period.

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Its a really great benefit if youre getting a whole new wardrobe or if youre going back to school and youre going to college and need notebooks and stuff! Whitman added.

Its important to note that the holiday applies only to items intended for educational use. Accessories like sunglasses, purses, and scarves are not exempt.

Elle Parris and her daughter Lilly were also out school shopping. Parris said the break is beneficial for parents with multiple children.

Were getting the basics, like notebooks and colored pencils and stuff like that, Parris said. I think in todays day and age, anytime you can save some money, its going to be beneficial in any way.

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You do not need to be a Missouri resident or a student to take advantage of the sales tax exemption.

The sales tax exempt is limited to:

Clothing  any article having a taxable value of $100 or less

School supplies  not to exceed $50 per purchase

Computer software  taxable value of $350 or less

Personal computers  not to exceed $1,500

Computer peripheral devices  not to exceed $1,500

Graphing calculators  not to exceed $150

Qualifying items defined for the sales tax holiday:

Clothing  any article of wearing apparel intended to be worn on or about the human body including, but not limited to, disposable diapers for infants or adults and footwear. The term shall include but not be limited to, cloth and other material used to make school uniforms or other school clothing. Items normally sold in pairs shall not be separated to qualify for the exemption. The term shall not include watches, watchbands, jewelry, handbags, handkerchiefs, umbrellas, scarves, ties, headbands, or belt buckles; and

Personal computers  a laptop, desktop, or tower computer system which consists of a central processing unit, random access memory, a storage drive, a display monitor, a keyboard, and devices designed for use in conjunction with a personal computer, such as a disk drive, memory module, compact disk drive, daughterboard, digitalizer, microphone, modem, motherboard, mouse, multimedia speaker, printer, scanner, single-user hardware, single-user operating system, soundcard, or video card; and

School supplies  any item normally used by students in a standard classroom for educational purposes, including but not limited to, textbooks, notebooks, paper, writing instruments, crayons, art supplies, rulers, book bags, backpacks, handheld calculators, graphing calculators, chalk, maps, and globes. The term shall not include watches, radios, CD players, headphones, sporting equipment, portable or desktop telephones, copiers or other office equipment, furniture, or fixtures. School supplies shall also include graphing calculators valued at $150 or less and computer software having a taxable value of $350 or less.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.
Bank of Utah hides $10,000 wallet in Utah woods for treasure hunters

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  The Bank of Utah has hidden a wallet with $10,000 inside somewhere in Utah. If you find it, you get to keep the $10,000 and donate another $10,000, courtesy of the bank, to a local charity of your choice.

Weve hidden a wallet deep in the woods, help us locate it to keep all the goods.

Follow on social, its easy to doon Instagram, Facebook and Twitter too.

Stay vigilant each week for the clues that we drop, watch for our side quests to be at the top.

$20,000 is the prize that you seek, give half to a charity and the other half you keep. Bank of Utah

Courtesy of Bank of Utah

Courtesy of Bank of Utah

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Starting July 30, you can visit the Bank of Utahs clue page to stay updated on the latest hints. New clues will be dropped weekly, and each clue will reportedly lead you closer to the wallet. Heres the first clue:

Its time for our riddles, what a feast this shall be. Its got so much flavor to fill you with glee. To begin, find the giants that bookend a city. Youll know youre on track when it gets kind of grid-y.

You can reportedly head to a local Bank of Utah branch to get a hint to solve Clue 6 early. This is the only clue that has been posted early. See below:

qes ymup qfbdsq ecqs imp c wcsrdiuj eye ae qupe sm iflt fs clt lms ncqq fs ay jmmh flsm fsq qmuj sm iflt c impkcsfml bm un sm fsq rcve clt qscps sde rejeapcsfml

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Once youve gotten the hint, the Bank of Utah asks that you keep it a secret, along with the clue.

Additionally, the bank said to keep an eye out for their social media side quests.

Crack the clues, track down our hidden piggy banks, and youll unlock bonus clues that will help on your hunt for the treasure. But thats not all  winners will also receive a handmade leather wallet from our friends at Stock & Barrel and an exclusive 2-night getaway at Black Desert Resort in Southern Utah, a release states.

Here are the following rules and regulations, courtesy of the Bank of Utah:

You must be 18 or older to participate.

Bank employees and immediate family/household members of employees are not eligible to win.

Wallet will not be hidden on private property. Please remember the leave no trace rule as you search.

The donation of $10,000 will be made in the winners name on behalf of Bank of Utah to a charity of the winners choice from an approved list of organizations. This donation will not be tax deductible.

Prize money will be deposited into a Bank of Utah account for easy access and transfer.

Bank of Utah is not responsible for taxes related to winnings.

By accepting a prize, the winner consents to the use of his or her name, likeness, voice, opinions, biographical information, hometown and state and/or other personal information in advertising without additional compensation.

No rock climbing, digging, or bushwhacking is necessary. Bank of Utah is not responsible for any personal claims of injury, death, loss, expense, or damages arising from participation in this campaign.

Bank of Utah reserves the right to disqualify any individual it believes or finds to be tampering or violating the official rules, or in any unsportsmanlike or disruptive conduct. Please be kind to others who are searching. Any attempt by any person to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of this campaign is a violation of criminal and civil law.

Any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with the prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action.

Bank of Utah will immediately inform participants as soon as we are aware the wallet has been found, but all other information or solves to the clues can be expected during normal operating hours for the bank.

Public forums to discuss the cash quest are welcome and encouraged. Feel free to post the clue page link but please refrain from posting clues or keyword to the cypher directly to your page to keep it fair for others.

Side quest locations are independent of the final location of the wallet. Please note also that there is a timeframe for redeeming the prize associated with the side quests. If you do not redeem within that timeframe, you will not receive the prize. All side quest bonus clues will be shared on the clue page for everyone to see within a certain period after the side quest is complete.

Latest headlines:

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Are you interested in attending Kentuckys premier political event?

Congressman Andy Barr (KY-6), who is running for Mitch McConnells U.S. Senate seat, is offering free transportation from London to this years Fancy Farm Picnic  an annual political tradition held in western Kentucky.

A charter bus will depart from Forcht Banks north branch at 100 CVB Drive in London at 7 a.m. Saturday, August 2, and return later that same day. Participants will receive free campaign gear, including shirts and signs, and join Barr for the afternoons events.

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At the 145th annual St. Jerome Church Fancy Farm Picnic, Barr intends to speak about his vision for Kentucky and the issues he has been working on as part of his Senate campaign. He announced his candidacy on April 22.

Fancy Farm is one of Kentuckys proudest traditions  and we want as many Republicans as possible to be a part of it. Thats why were inviting conservatives to hop on the Barr Bus and join us, Barr said. As your next U.S. senator, Ill fight every day for Kentucky coal, good-paying jobs, our farmers, and the conservative values we hold dear.

The Fancy Farm Picnic is known for its mix of political speeches and community atmosphere. Candidates from across the state gather each year to share their platforms and connect with voters in a more relaxed setting.

Also seeking the soon-to-be vacant Senate seat and speaking at the event are former attorney general Daniel Cameron and Lexington tech entrepreneur Nate Morris. The political speeches will kick off around 2 p.m.

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Alex Bellizzi, Barrs communications director, said the campaign chose London as one of the pickup locations to give residents of eastern Kentucky a way to attend the event and become more familiar with Barr.

We want to have fun, and obviously get to know any Kentuckian that comes out, Bellizzi said. Whether its an individual, a group of friends, or a family  all are welcome.

The transportation is free and paid for by Andy Barr for U.S. Senate. Those interested in riding the bus from London can sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdbwpdKXabh_aSk30H4OKwpFOvr_nBl7sJaJ31-5Lwf-XhqQA/viewform.
A Massachusetts woman was bitten by nearly $21,000 in medical bills after a bat flew into her mouth during a freak incident while vacationing in Northern Arizona, the unlucky traveler said Friday.

Erica Kahn, now 33, had recently lost her job as a biomedical engineer when she traveled to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in last August, she told NBC News.

Kahn, whose woman-vs.-animal story was first reported Thursday by KFF News, was snapping pictures of the night sky when a bat approached and got caught in between her camera and face.

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Then a part of the bat got into her mouth.

"It was kind of dark out and we were out on a cliff, so I was looking down and at my camera, I didn't really see it coming," she said Friday.

"When it got kind of tangled between my face and the camera, it was probably just like a few seconds. But it felt like a lot longer."

Erica Kahn and her father, Rich Kahn, visited the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona in August 2024. (Rich Kahn)

While there are highly effective drugs for rabies, it can be fatal if not treated before symptoms are felt.

At the urging of her travel partner and father, a doctor, the symptom-less Kahn sought care for rabies  but only after jumping online to buy new medical insurance.

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After Kahn lost her job, she declined to pay for her former employers insurance for $650 a month through COBRA, the federal continuation of health coverage law.

The unemployed Massachusetts woman figured she could roll the dice as a healthy woman in her early 30s or at worst, could hastily buy private health insurance in a pinch, Kahn said.

Kahn went online, bought a policy and then went to get rabies vaccinations and treatment in Arizona, Colorado and Massachusetts, believing she was in the clear.

Then the bills started pouring in, asking for a total of $20,749, because her policy had a 30-day waiting period before she could receive treatments covered by the plan, she said.

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"I felt so powerless against these companies," she said. "It should be a human right to have lifesaving care covered. In most other countries, like in Europe, you just go to the hospital, you get your rabies vaccines and you pay nothing."

The Mexican free-tailed bat, or Brazilian free-tailed bat, is a bat common to Arizona and known to reside in Glen Canyon Recreation Area. (Poetra RH / Getty Images)

Sabrina Corlette, co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, said most plans kick in on the first of the month after enrollment. It's generally not instantaneous.

The insurance companies  for good reason  dont want people to wait to sign up for coverage until they are sick, Corlette told KFF.

Kahn is now employed again and has health insurance, she's burdened by the bills.

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Kahn said looking back, she should have secured private health insurance as soon as she was laid off.

"I should have done COBRA, even though it was very expensive," Kahn said. "But yeah, hindsight is 20/20."

The near-$21,000 burden will probably lead to fewer vacations and a delay in having central air conditioning installed at her place, Kahn said.

She said she hopes others can learn from her misstep.

"It was my fault. I took the risk of not doing COBRA and that's forever on me," she said. "But if one person gets covered because they saw this story, then I would be happy about that."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
It's unknown what inside a jar was so enticing it caused a curious black bear in Bayfield County in northern Wisconsin to stick its head inside. And, to both the Chequamegon Humane Association and wildlife lovers, it doesn't matter.

What they care far more about is where the bear is the located  and how to get the stuck jar off its head.

Jayme Morey posted on Facebook that the CHA received a call the night of July 27 concerning the bear with the jar on by Lake Namakagon near the intersection of Crystal Lake and Juneks Point roads. It was seen again two days later on the 29th.

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Morey said she is concerned about the bear due to the awful heat," and that the "goal is to save the bear's life."

The bear was spotted again July 31, roughly 21 miles south of Barnes in Cable, according to a post from Morey. It has not been found yet, the Department of Natural Resources confirmed.

"It appears the bear is traveling almost non-stop and covering several miles per day," the DNR said in a statement. "This is making trapping nearly impossible because it is not staying in a single area."

Both the CHA and the DNR are advising anyone who finds the bear to not approach it, and instead contact DNR Wildlife Services at 715-369-5221.

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"This will likely only push it away from the area reducing any ability to capture and help the bear," the DNR said.

This story was updated to add new information.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bear in northern Wisconsin wandering around with jar stuck on its head
Police and wildlife officials were bombarded for weeks with reports of bears barging into homes in Sierra Madre, smashing windows and slashing screen doors.

So the California Department of Fish and Wildlife decided to kill the 300-pound female bear believed to be the culprit. State biologists set up a trap and the bear soon lumbered into it.

The bear was tranquilized and later shot and killed last month after wildlife personnel confirmed they had the right bear  a call based on a distinctive patch of fur on her back. The bear also had blood on her paws, a sign she had broken glass.

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Break-ins dropped off after the bear was put down, but Sierra Madre officials say their ursine troubles are far from resolved.

Sierra Madre, Claremont, Monrovia and other communities nestled just below the San Gabriel Mountains are a hot spot for human-bear conflict reports. Some say the Eaton fire has worsened the situation, driving bears whose habitat was charred into neighborhoods to seek food and water.

"With the fires, the weather and the dryness and heat, they're coming down," said Lt. Charles Kamchamnan of the Sierra Madre Police Department.

Local representatives for years have blasted the Fish and Wildlife Department for mismanaging black bears and demanded the agency mitigate what they describe as a public safety threat. But they say nothing has changed.

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Read more: A bear crashed a picnic and swiped at a woman's leg. Wildlife cops had a decision to make

In fact, the state cut all of its human - wildlife conflict specialists in Southern California after funding ran dry last year. Local leaders have started discussing what steps they can take on their own.

We need to figure this out before someone gets seriously maimed or killed, and before people start taking measures into their own hands and go bear hunting, said Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena). We don't want that. And I'll tell you, people are at a tipping point.

Sierra Madre spans just three square miles nestled into the wrinkled hills, with some homes perched right in the mountains. Prominent trails, including one to Mt. Wilson, allow wild animals to amble down directly into the community of 11,000.

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What tack to take with the bears remains a matter of disagreement. Some are calling for more forceful intervention, while others argue that people need to be better at securing trash and reducing other bear attractants.

How it started, how it's going

A bumper sticker on Michelle Tremblay's car in Sierra Madre. Tremblay is the president of Bear Lovers of Sierra Madre, a nonprofit that seeks to keeps bears and people safe through education. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

California is home to roughly 60,000 black bears, the highest population estimate for anywhere in the contiguous U.S. But black bears are a surprisingly recent phenomenon in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.

In 1933, 27 bears "whose antics got them kicked out" of Yosemite National Park were set loose in Southern California, The Times reported . Eleven furry, four-legged transplantswere released near Crystal Lake northeast of Sierra Madre, while six were dispatched near Big Bear Lake and 10 in Santa Ana Canyon.

People with deep local roots say bear conflict has only become an issue in recent years.

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Sierra Madre City Councilman Gene Goss said bear sightings were a rarity when he moved to the area in 1996. Harabedian said theres been an "exponential rise" in bear activity in San Gabriel Valley cities over just the past decade.

This June, Sierra Madre saw a surge in bears entering homes. There were 41 intrusions that month  a vast leap from the one recorded in 2023, the year police began tracking bear incidents in earnest, according to a presentation at a July 8 City Council meeting by Sierra Madre Police Chief Gustavo Barrientos. There were 37 break-ins throughout all of last year, with 13 in June.

Residents of the citys canyon area have taken to affixing wood pieces and bars over their windows to prevent bears from tearing through, Mayor Pro Tem Kristine Lowe said at the special meeting. Her in-laws have installed metal sheet grates over theirs, marking a "huge cost" for mitigation. City Atty. Aleks Giragosian said last year that local bears had learned to open doors, like Jurassic Park.

Black bear attacks are rare, but officials expressed fears that someone could get hurt as bear run-ins increase.

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Goss recounted an instance two years ago when his son, shooting hoops in the yard, saw a bear charging him. It had been spooked by neighbors who were making noise to shoo it away. Goss son moved out of the way, and it ended up in another property, where young children are often playing.

What do panicked animals do if you block their path or if you move suddenly? he said. "There's just so many things here that potentially could go wrong.

A bear-resistant trash can in Sierra Madre. "There's a lot of support for bears in the city," Mayor Robert Parkhurst said. "There's a lot of interest and willingness to live with bears, to coexist with them, but we've begun to see some increase in intrusions." (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

In 31 years on the Sierra Madre police force, Lt. Kamchamnan recalls three incidents where bears assaulted people, including a hiker who was attacked by two bears. In another instance, a bear maimed the hand of a man living in the Chantry Flat area of the Angeles National Forest. The unhoused man told Kamchamnan he was trying to put a leash on the hefty creature.

Sometimes local police will scare bears out of residents' homes with air horns or projectiles that release an irritant akin to pepper spray, but they are legally limited in what they can do. Fish and Wildlife is primarily responsible for managing the hulking mammals, including making the call to move or euthanize them.

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"Somebody up there is taking huge risks by not taking this problem more seriously," Goss said of state wildlife officials at the July meeting.

Peter Tira, a spokesperson for CDFW, said his agency for years has worked with local officials to address the city's bear issues  and will continue to do so.

"We want healthy bear populations that stay wild and don't come into conflict with people," he said. "So we're all working towards the same goal."

But he said the buck doesnt stop with the agency.

"The solution to human-bear conflicts rests with individuals and the community," Tira said, adding that the key is preventing access to trash, pet food, fruit trees  any food fit for a bears palate. "It's really not super complicated."

Simmering tension and funding trouble

The Sierra Madre City Council passed a resolution in 2023 demanding that the state wildlife agency correct what it called its mismanagement of local bears.

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A year later, the Los Angeles County Supervisors called on the agency to create a regional approach to addressing human-bear interactions to protect Sierra Madre and nearby areas and to hire more human-wildlife conflict specialists. Instead, state officials let go of all but one of the 13 conflict positions after one-time funding expired, citing budget cuts.

A statewide program remains that allows people to report incidents that "go right to our biologist, right to the closest person who can deal with those issues," Tira said.

Some Sierra Madre officials pointed to the uptick in bear intrusions this year as a possible result of losing the conflict specialist who served the city. Theyre not counting on a more robustly staffed state wildlife agency anytime soon.

Sierra Madre Mayor Robert Parkhurst has scheduled an Aug. 8 workshop for mayors along the foothills to discuss what can be done. There have been early-stage talks about creating an intergovernmental authority and pooling money from various cities in the region to fund their own local wildlife conflict specialists, Goss said.

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However, like the state, many cities are facing strained budgets. And creating such an authority would take time, testing the patience of residents who are demanding action now.

Harabedian, a one-time Sierra Madre mayor, doesnt see local authorities winning the day on bears. He introduced legislation this year that would have required CDFW to establish measurable performance goals for reducing bear encounters in the San Gabriel Valley, as well as tag and track any bears that entered neighborhoods in the region, among other things.

CDFW estimated that the effort would cost $3.7 million for the 2026-27 fiscal year and $2.9 million for the following fiscal year and beyond. The bill died in the assemblys appropriations committee, but Harabedian vowed to bring it back in some form.

State wildlife officials "had a long time to come up with the answers, and they haven't come up with it," he said. So I think that we need to have a real impetus and real fire under the department.

The hand that feeds

Humans have moved deeper into wildlands where bears live, while the ursids have similarly expanded into areas where they once were absent or scarce. Conflict has increased along with spatial overlap, with most incidents involving "the intersection of black bears and attractants, such as food, garbage and livestock," according to a state black bear management plan.

Sierra Madre resident Michelle Tremblay opens her bear-resistant, locking trash can. She said recent surveys suggest roughly 50% of residents aren't latching them. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

During the height of the recent surge in break-ins in Sierra Madre, a man was leaving out an entire rotisserie chicken on his lawn to feed ravens, said Michelle Tremblay, president of Bear Lovers of Sierra Madre, a nonprofit that seeks to keep bears and people safe through education. Others in the community have left out water to help coyotes, birds and "any poor wildlife" left high and dry by the Eaton fire, she said.

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Sierra Madre has special locking trash cans to deter bears, but Tremblay says recent surveys she's conducted suggest roughly half of the residents don't latch them.

Tremblay, who is enthralled by bears, is torn by how to deal with bears that, say, have ventured into a home but havent harmed a soul. She hopes bear experts will come up with a nonlethal solution.

"They're a very important part of the ecosystem and the natural world, and it breaks my heart to see that a healthy bear would be put down because now they're categorized as a conflict bear," Tremblay said. "But I also realize we don't want to wait until somebody is hurt.

Sometime in May while on a walk, Tremblay spotted a sizable bear on a hillside  one she thinks could be the one killed by authorities last month. It peered down at her. She sounded a bear horn, but it didn't respond. Then she yelled and it walked away.

She didnt take a photo; she never snaps photos of bears.

"If I see a bear, I will just soak in that 15 or 20 seconds and marvel at how beautiful they are," she said.

Then, if the bear is in her yard, she will try to scare it away.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  The Bear Valley Police Department said it is investigating multiple so-called romance scams targeting residents in the area.

In a release, officials did not say how much money may have been lost, but described the investigations of the scams as high-dollar.

Gamified job scams are on the rise, FTC says: How do they work?

The scams involve communication between a victim and a scammer using a fake profile on a dating or social media site. The scammer then attempts to build a relationship with the victim, eventually asking for money using different untrue scenarios and situations where they need financial help.

Signs of the scam to look for

Police said there are several things people can look for to avoid being a victim of one of the romance scams.

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Scammers say they cant meet in person: Scammers will provide all sorts of reasons they cant see someone in person they are trying to scam, officials say. The scammer might be working out of the country or in the military for example.

Scammers will ask for money: After gaining a victims trust, theyll ask the victim to pay for large expenses like medical, travel or fees to help them get out of some kind of made up problem. A scammer may also bring up investing in cryptocurrency, police said.

Scammers will tell you how to pay, send them money: Scammers will want money quickly and in a way that is difficult to get back  wiring money through Western Union or MoneyGram, using gift cards and giving them the PIN codes, sending money through cash transfer apps or transferring cryptocurrency.

Illinois woman loses $62K to scammer impersonating Kevin Costner

What to do if you suspect youre getting scammed

Stop communicating with the person

Talk to someone you trust. Family or friends may say theyre concerned about your love interest.

Search online for stories of previous victims. Others may have posted that they were scammed. Search for the type of job the scammer has plus scammer  oil rig scammer or US Army scammer.

Do a reverse image search of a profile picture. The scammers profile photo may be associated with another account or those details may not add up.

Ways to protect yourself

First, never send money to anyone you have only communicated with online or over the phone.

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Generally, you should be careful about posting publicly online. Scammers use details shared on social and dating sites to try and target potential victims, police said.

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Be wary if a person promises to meet but frequently cancels a meeting with an excuse for why they cant. If you havent met the person in a few months, that should be good enough reason to raise suspicion.

The Bear Valley Police Department is asking for people to report potential scams to investigators by calling 661-861-3110 or to its offices at 25101 Bear Valley 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 KGET 17 News.
A serial rapist who used dating apps to meet his victims was sentenced to 111 years to life in state prison on Thursday, according to a statement from the Ventura County district attorney's office.

Dustin Ronald Alba, a 31-year-old from Oxnard, was found guilty of the rape and sexual assault of five women last month. He committed his offenses from 2012 to 2020 in the cities of Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Los Angeles, the release said.

Multiple victims of Alba said they met him online through dating apps and social media. After meeting in person, they said he would use his body weight to confine and then assault them, the statement said.

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One woman he met through a dating app in August 2020 described how she and Alba spent a day together in Oxnard. Once back at his home, she said he forcibly "ripped her clothing, pulled her onto the bed, and proceeded to digitally penetrate and rape her," the release said.

Prior to meeting in person, the woman told Alba that she was not wanting to "hook up," the release said.

Afterward, she reported the rape to police, officials said. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the case, found text messages on his phone to other women whom Alba had assaulted, and four more victims were discovered.

He was taken into custody in September 2020, the district attorney's office said.

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Alba was convicted of nine felony counts of forcible sex acts, including rape, sodomy and attempted forcible rape, the release said.

Additional allegations and aggravating charges against him include that there were multiple victims, the victims were vulnerable, and that Alba abused a position of trust, the release said.

"The defendant's sexual violence caused profound harm to many victims, warranting the sentence imposed," Ventura County Deputy Dist. Atty. Rosa Romero, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement. "While nothing can erase the pain endured, it is my hope that victims will begin to heal."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Stephen Nellis and Akash Sriram

(Reuters) -Qualcomm's reliance on high-end smartphone chip sales and the looming loss of Apple as a modem customer overshadowed the company's optimistic quarterly forecast on Wednesday, driving shares down more than 6%.

The San Diego-based company is the world's largest supplier of modem chips that enable smartphones to connect to wireless data networks.

Qualcomm reported its chip segment revenue from non-Apple customers has risen more than 15% so far this fiscal year.

Its chip segment sales increase, excluding Apple, "is largely driven by ASP (average selling price) uplift from flagship Android launches rather than broad-based volume recovery," said William McGonigle, analyst at Third Bridge.

Taiwan's MediaTek has surpassed Qualcomm this year to become the global leader in smartphone chipset market share, driven by its dominance in affordable and mid-range segments and strong growth in major markets like India, according to Counterpoint Research.

Qualcomm reiterated its warning that Apple's shift to its own modem chips in future devices will hit its chip segment revenue. The iPhone 16e, launched earlier this year, was the first Apple smartphone to house a modem developed in-house.

Qualcomm forecast September quarter revenue of $10.3 billion to $11.1 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $10.64 billion, according to LSEG data.

The company has not seen signs of customers ordering chips ahead of normal seasonal schedules to try to get ahead of possible tariffs, Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala told Reuters in an interview.

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies have so far provided exemptions for smartphones and semiconductor chips from these levies. But Trump has issued warnings about potential sector-specific tariffs targeting the industry, saying this month that he would "soon announce tariffs on semiconductors."

The tariff situation remains highly fluid and complex, with existing Chinese electronics tariffs still in effect despite the exemptions granted for certain categories.

Global smartphone shipments climbed 1% in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC, as Apple, a key Qualcomm customer, accelerated shipments to avoid potential tariff impacts.

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said he expects the company's business to supply chips to augmented-reality glasses such as Meta Ray-Bans to expand.

"We have all the designs that matter right now - the number of designs like the Meta glasses is now up to 19, and that continues to accelerate," Amon told Reuters.
The News

Beijing is showing that two can play the national security game. The Cyberspace Administration of China summoned Nvidia to address concerns that its H20 AI chips have backdoors, after a US proposal called for advanced semiconductors sold overseas to have tracking capabilities. The company recently received approval from the Trump administration to export those chips to China, reversing a Biden-era ban that cost Jensen Huangs company billions in sales. Huang also just concluded a public visit to China in which he was greeted like a rock star, bucking other Big Tech CEOs who have avoided the spotlight when it comes to Beijing.

A chart showing the share of Nvidias quarterly revenue from China and Hong Kong.

Know More

Separately, sabotaging supply chains is just one of several options Chinese scientists have come up with to thwart Elon Musks system of Starlink satellites, which are seen as a tool that could be used against China in a conflict, the Associated Press reported. But the civilian use of the technology could ultimately pose an even bigger threat to Beijing and other countries that tightly control access to the internet.

Today, Starlink satellites require fairly noticeable dishes pointing at the sky in order to achieve high bandwidth connections. But telecommunications companies are researching ways to achieve satellite connections without the use of GPS, which is necessary today. Within the next several years, it may be possible to get satellite internet on cell phones, even indoors.

In that world, the only way to cut off the internet may be to take out satellites  which would mean targeting Musks products, even though the entrepreneur has also had more cordial relations with Beijing than his peers, given Teslas production and sales in the country. But Chinas national interest and competition with the US are superseding the personal relations it has with tech luminaries.
Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has called on the European Union once again to move away from confrontation and cooperate with Russia.

Source: BelTA, a Belarusian state-owned news outlet, citing Lukashenko during a meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Russia's Valaam Island, as reported by European Pravda

Quote from Lukashenko: "They shouldnt be locking horns with us, but seek common ground. The European Union and Russia, if united, would become an unstoppable force. Unfortunately, they [EU politicians] fail to grasp this."

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Details: According to Lukashenko, the Americans will not allow this, however.

"Its scary for them. Its scarier than China would be. If they were to unite, it would be a force. But they dont understand it. They probably dont need it either," he claimed.

Background:

Earlier, pro-Russian Moldovan Socialist party leader Igor Dodon visited Minsk following a trip to Moscow. He promised Lukashenko he would "take relations" between the two countries to a "new level" if he wins the upcoming elections in Moldova.

On 26 June, Lukashenko publicly reflected on the reasons why Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan refused to visit Belarus for the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  One South Nashville man is sick and tired of trash lining the roadways in his neighborhood.

Now, he said its become a health risk and is asking the city to step in.

Robert Young has lived in the Nashville area for 25 years; he said the trash along Bell Road is the worst hes ever seen.

Neighborhood News: Stories impacting your community | Read More

Minutes outside of Youngs neighborhood, Dreamland Estates, he said trash is piled along the side of the road from near the BP gas station all the way down to Interstate 24.

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While there are constantly volunteers out picking up the trash in the area, Young said the problem is persistent. The temporary help is no match for the constant littering.

Young told News 2 hes worried the constant trash depletes the pride he wants neighbors to have in their community.

VIDEO: Trashleys spreading litter across Antioch

He added he has reached out to both city and state officials about the issue and has received word from the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

Nashville has its own anti-littering campaign called Dont be Trashley, which launched in the spring. The campaign spreads awareness about littering on Nashville roads courtesy the Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure.

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You can report littering inside Nashville metro limits through hubNashville.

Do you have news happening in your neighborhood? Let us know by sending an email to neighborhoodnews@wkrn.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 WKRN News 2.
The state's deaf community is mourning the loss of a 36-year-old man who drowned Saturday at Conchas Lake, a sprawling reservoir just northwest of Tucumcari in San Miguel County.

A spokesperson for New Mexico State Police wrote in an email Wednesday the drowning victim was Martin Gutierrez of Santa Fe who was deaf and had worked at the New Mexico School for the Deaf. The matter is still being investigated, state police Officer Wilson Silver wrote.

Gutierrez, who worked in the maintenance department at the New Mexico School for the Deaf, also was a graduate of the school.

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Priscilla Shannon Gutierrez  Martin Gutierrez's mother  said in an interview with The New Mexican on Thursday many people in the region are in shock and devastated by the death of her son, particularly within the deaf communities in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, where he was especially active.

"My son was a beam of light, and everyone he touched was impacted by him," Priscilla Shannon Gutierrez said. "He left an impression on literally everybody that met him  very kindhearted, sweet-natured, funny."

State police have provided little information about the drowning. The New Mexican has submitted a request for records on the incident to the state Department of Public Safety.

Priscilla Shannon Gutierrez said she obtained much of the information about her son's death from a Conchas Lake Facebook group and by talking to people who were at the scene and tried to help him.

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"It's Thursday, and I have yet to hear from state police," Gutierrez said. "I learned of my son's death Saturday night when  one of the state medical investigators called."

She added,"I don't want anybody to ever have to go through what I have gone through."

She wrote in a text message later Thursday saying a state police commander finally had called her and said the investigating officer didn't reach out to her because he knew she had already spoken with the medical investigator, and he felt he could go on with his investigation and did not need to contact her.

State police also wrote in an email to The New Mexican the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator had been first to notify Martin Gutierrez's next of kin after his death.

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Martin Gutierrez had been camping alone at Lake Conchas last weekend  about 150 miles from Santa Fe  after camping there the previous weekend and enjoying himself, his mother said, noting her son loved to camp and swim. She was told by someone at the lake that day how her son had been swimming in shallow water before venturing farther from shore.

Her son, a good swimmer, appears to have been caught in a strong undercurrent and drowned, she said. He was picked up by someone who had a Jet Ski at the lake. But attempts at lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.

The New Mexico School of the Deaf released on statement on Martin Gutierrez's death, saying, We are heartbroken to share that our dear colleague and 2008 alumnus, Martin Gutierrez, passed away on July 26 at Lake Conchas. Martin was a kind and dedicated member of our NMSD family, first as a student, then as a long-serving staff member. He will be deeply missed.

People who worked with him also were among those sharing their condolences on social media.

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"Martin was one of the kindest, most diligent, and popular staff I had the pleasure of working with," one person wrote on Facebook.

Another wrote, "As soon as I heard the news, I broke down crying. The maintenance shop will not be the same without him. What sucks is his office is right across from mine. My heart breaks for him and your family. He will carry a legacy at the school and we will never forget him."
ILLINOIS (WCIA)  A program put on through the Illinois Department of Aging is giving some people the opportunity to take advantage of transportation related deals.

Through the Benefit Access Program, low income seniors (over 65) or people who are on social security disability and under 60 have the chance to get a discounted license plate sticker or free bus pass. In a Facebook post on Thursday, the Macon County Health Department said that Starting Point can help with a Benefit Access Application in order to receive these benefits.

Pritzker signs bill for universal mental health screenings in Illinois schools

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In order to be eligible, Illinois residents must meet the following qualifications:

Age Requirements 65+ before Jan. 1 of the current year; or You must become 65 this year; or You must be 16 + before Jan. 1 of the current year and qualify as disabled

Residency Requirements You must live in Illinois at the time you file the application

Income Requirements Your total gross income for the last closed tax year must be less than $33,562 for a one person household (yourself only); or $44,533 for a two person household (yourself and spouse, or yourself and one Qualified Additional Resident); or $55,500 for a three person household (yourself, your spouse and one Qualified Additional Resident, or yourself and two Qualified Additional Residents) * You must include your spouses income if married and living together on Dec. 31 of last year. If your spouse died last year, you would file as single and claim only your income. Do not include income of a Qualified Additional Resident

Disability Requirements To qualify as disabled, you must be at least 16 before Jan. 1 of the current year and be determined totally and permanently disabled (as defined by program requirements) before Jan. 1 of the current year



Additionally, to be determined eligible for these benefits, you must submit a Benefit Access Application online. Paper applications are not available.

Once an application is approved, people are able to print a certificate of eligibility to take to their local transit authority or Secretary of States Office. Illinois residents are asked to wait 10 business days from the date of their approval for their license plate discount to be available.

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CUPHD holding annual breastfeeding supplies drive, introducing new support group

On top of that, if people request the ride free benefit, they are asked to contact their local public transit system for more information. Some local transit systems may have additional requirements in order to obtain the free ride. People are encouraged to visit illinois.gov at anytime to see the status of their application.

It should also be noted that processing times to determine the eligibility of your benefits access application can take up to eight weeks depending on the requested documentation. People are able to check their application status 48 hours after submission.

For more information or help applying, visit a local Senior Health Assistance Program or Area Agency on Aging office. Illinois residents can also call 1-800-252-8966; for deaf and speech-impaired communication over the phone, dial Illinois Relay at 711; or email aging.ilsenior@illinois.gov. Those contacting this number are asked to have their Social Security numbers ready when they call.

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Additional details can be found by calling the Macon County Health Department at 217-423-6550 and choosing option 5. To apply for the Benefit Access Program, 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.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes)  Bernice M. Getz, 88, passed away peacefully, at home on Wednesday July 30, 2025, in the care of her loving grandchildren.

Bernice was born October 16, 1936 in Crawford, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Edna Gordon and Claud Kessler.

She met the love of her life, Sam in Youngstown and married on November 13, 1954. They were active members of The Salvation Army for many years. They built their first home by hand together in Liberty Twp. where they raised their two children.

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She was a devoted wife and loving mother. She enjoyed cooking, baking, shopping and traveling. She was known to hunt down and bargain for the best deals. She did not pass up too many garage sales and hosted the best of them. She kept her home immaculate and your stomach full.

Bernice was a devoted Christian who attended Bethel Assembly of God in Austintown. She loved her church family and loved to attend with her great-granddaughter. She was a member of the Cross Trailers Square and Round dancing for several years. She would make her own costumes with the help of her sister. Bernice and Sam were amazing dancers and loved to be a part of the community.

Bernice leaves behind her last remaining sibling, Ruth Sawyer of Spokane, Washington; two children; five grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, at the Rossi Brothers and Lellio Funeral Home, 4442 South Avenue in Boardman.

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A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 7, 2025 at the funeral home.

Family and friends are encouraged to offer prayers for the family by visiting the Book of Memories at www.rossifunerals.com.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Bernice M. Getz, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.

A television tribute will air Sunday, August 3 at the following approximate times: 8:58 a.m. on WKBN and 7:58 p.m. on FOX. Video will be posted here the day of airing.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Q&A

CHARLESTON, S.C.  Andy Beshear came to South Carolina to tell his fellow Southern Democrats that they were right. They did have a great offer to make to the voters who drifted away decades ago: Saving Medicaid. Their party had lost ground by using advocacy language that alienated normal people. And bless your heart was not a blessing.

Toward the end of the trip, Beshear sat down with Semafor for a conversation about the party, its strategy, and where he differed from the Democratic status quo. The questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

David Weigel: I wanted to start by asking about your criticism of how Democrats use language. How much of the Democratic problem in 2024 was down to that? Every Democrat I talk to here says, thats been haunting us for years.

Andy Beshear: In politics, you have to have connection, and in public service, youve got to have connection. Its how people get to know you, how they believe in you, how they trust that youll go out and work hard for them every day. And for that, you need to talk to people, instead of at them. So, I do think it has been a challenge. I dont think its the only challenge, but its certainly something that we can and we should change as quickly as possible.

[Former S.C. Gov.] Jim Hodges said that another phrase that he wants Democrats to stop saying is birthing person. There are some people who have gone through transition, and they dont identify as women, but they get pregnant. Why is it not important to change the language to account for that?

For an individual thats in that situation, I want to show them as much kindness as I can. But for 99.9% of the American population, they cant understand what it is that youre saying. And if they cant understand what youre saying, its pretty hard for you to communicate your point to them. Its about making sure that were meeting people where they are and with the experiences that they have in their daily lives.

The Trump administration has also banned gender surgery for minors. Do you agree with that?

Yeah. Im against surgeries on minors, okay? 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, whats the best health care for their kids?

Do you want to repeal the entirety of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act?

Theres a whole lot in the bill. Theres a small section thats good for the horse industry. But when you look at something as devastating as what it does to Medicaid and to food assistance? Its shameful that anyone voted for it, especially because these folks know how much its going to hurt their communities. In Kentucky, projections are that 200,000 people lose their health care, 20,000 people lose their health care jobs.

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Thirty-five rural hospitals, each the first- or second-largest employer in their community, are threatened with either closure or theyll reduce services. Thats going to impact every local economy, because its typically the largest budget out of any unit or business thats there.

And theres an impact on worker productivity, because if now you have to drive two hours to see a doctor, youve got to take off a whole day of work for your doctors appointment, and then youve got to take your kids off another day. And then, what about your parents? You got to take off a third day.

This is going to hit America, especially rural America, hard in just about every facet. Ive just never seen a more destructive bill.

Youve talked about health care being a right. Republicans have a talking point on that: There are some lazy guys who should be getting jobs and that would cover their health care. Whats your rebuttal to that?

Most people on Medicaid work. We expanded Medicaid in Kentucky and now we have the most people working, the most jobs filled  last month we had the largest workforce in our history. If you want to send somebody to work, they have to be healthy enough to work.

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I expanded Medicaid to hearing, vision and dental. Why? Because I want that person to go to work, but theyve got to be able to see well enough to drive to work. Theyve got to be able to hear well enough to be safe at work. This idea that you would remove what makes someone healthy enough to work, to try to force them to do it, isnt going to work.

On immigration: The administration has taken a more nativist view than prior Republican administrations. Weve seen people with temporary legal status getting it revoked, and JD Vance talk about how people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have more of a right to be here. Whats your view? Who deserves to be an American?

I think weve got to do a couple things. Number one, we do have to make sure that our borders are secure. And number two, we have to enforce our laws. But then we have to solve the math problem. We need to sit down and say: How many workers do we need, where? And make sure the math of what were offering people actually lines up with the needs.

I think that there are some in Washington that dont want to solve this problem, that want to be able to use it for political reasons. But you can quantify the needs of the country, and if you actually have a policy that provides that many worker visas or paths to citizenship, then we wont see the illegal immigration that we have, because there wont be the demand for it.

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And so if we would actually sit down and try to solve the issue, then we could actually make a lot of headway.

I think the other thing weve got to do is  in the program where people are fleeing violence, weve got to fix the program, and we dont have enough judges. Weve got a ton of retired federal, state, court of appeals judges throughout the country. Why dont we have a program where we ask for their help for a couple years? Theyve all had a career of service in making these decisions and, I think, could get up to speed pretty quickly.

Why dont we make sure that we reduce that time that right now its taking for people to get their hearing? And then, as long as its aligned with the needs of the country, lets make sure people can be productive citizens and work and pay taxes while theyre waiting for that hearing.

So Im not putting words in your mouth, it sounds like: Not everyone whos come into the country and says, I need asylum, should be in the country. That you need to provide some economic benefit.

Those that come in requesting asylum have to go through the process to prove they need it. A whole lot of them dont, in the current process. But it takes years upon years upon years, so lets take the system that was created to determine who really needs asylum and make it faster and make it work well.

James Comer is continuing to investigate Joe Bidens presidency and his use of an autopen. Is that connecting in Kentucky?

I dont hear people talking about it in the state. People in my state and across the country are worried about their job, theyre worried about their next doctors appointment. Theyre not talking about or worried about an autopen.

Is he investigating anything you want to know, or Americans should know, about the use of an autopen at the end of Bidens presidency?

I believe everybody needs to be accountable for what happens in their administration or in their job as a senator or representative or as a governor. But the idea that we would use these committee hearings solely to score political points is playing politics and not doing your job.

Notable
UPDATE: A Bettendorf man on Monday was sentenced in connection with spray-painting incidents in 2024, according to Scott County Court documents.

Gavin Olson (Scott County Jail)

Gavin Olson pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony and to a charge of criminal mischief. A sentence and judgment were deferred, and he was placed on probation during good behavior for a period of two years unless sooner released by the court upon recommendation of the probation officer, a Scott County sentencing order says.

According to the sentencing order, probation conditions include that he will obtain a mental health evaluation and successfully complete any recommended treatment, pay restitution to the Clerk of Court in the amount of $1,254.07 for the benefit of the Iowa Department of Transportation, and pay restitution to the Clerk of Court in the amount o f$750 for the benefit of Aria Salon.

Hunter Bargmann (Scott County Jail)

A second suspect, Hunter Bargmann, is scheduled to appear Aug. 5 in Scott County Court for a review hearing., court documents show.

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EARLIER UPDATE: A second 23-year-old Bettendorf man has been arrested in connection with spray-painting incidents late last year, according to court records.

Gavin Olson faces felony charges of conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony and second-degree criminal mischief, court records show.

Between Oct. 13-Dec. 21, 2024, police say in affidavits that Olson spray-painted the word TEAR in graffiti-style writing on about five properties across Bettendorf.

(Bryan Bobb, OurQuadCities.com)

Bettendorf Police detectives executed multiple search warrants on social media accounts, residences and electronic devices, and found about 168 cans of spray paint, spray paint accessories, and clothing worn during the acts that were uploaded to YouTube, along with drawings of the word TEAR in Olsons room, affidavits show.

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During a review of Olsons social media and cell phone, detectives located photos and videos of

Olson spray-painting properties across Bettendorf. Detectives have estimated the total damage to be about $8,500.

During two of these incidents, on Oct. 13 and Dec. 21, Olson conspired with a co-defendant to spray paint the I-74 concrete wall and the Salon Aria at 915 Middle Road, police say in affidavits.

Olson, who was arrested on a warrant, was released on bond.

In a document filed Thursday in Scott County Court, police say Hunter Bargmann, who was arrested earlier in connection with the incidents, also faces felony charges of conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony and second-degree criminal mischief, court records show.

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Affidavits show that during two of these incidents, on Oct. 13 and Dec. 21, 2024, police say Bargmann and Olson conspired to spray paint the I-74 concrete wall and the Salon Aria at 915 Middle Road

EARLIER: A 23-year-old Bettendorf man faces charges after police say he defaced numerous businesses with spray paint  even going so far as to climb a ladder to do it, according to court records.

Hunter Bargmann faces a felony charge of second-degree criminal mischief and four serious misdemeanor charges of trespass  injury or damage greater than $300, according to court records.

On Monday, Davenport Police conducted a search warrant on a Bettendorf residence during an investigation into several spray-painting incidents. Police say in affidavits that Bargmann spray-painted several businesses including but not limited to Big 10 Mart, Golden Corral, Bi-State Barricade, Taco Bell, Red Lobster, McCaid Properties, Elevate Living, Canadian Pacific and several others.

(Bryan Bobb, OurQuadCities.com)

The amount of damage to property has been reported at $5,460. Bargmann did not have right or permission to be on the property or damage any of the property, affidavits say.

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Affidavits show that, during a search of his house, officers located 170 cans of spray paint as well as other accessories. On his Instagram and YouTube accounts, Bargmann posted videos/photos of the incidents, affidavits say.

(Bryan Bobb, OurQuadCities.com)

He climbed a ladder to get on top of Red lobster and damaged the building over $300, according to affidavits.

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)  A HEMSI spokesperson said a bicyclist was injured in a wreck Thursday afternoon.

According to HEMSI spokesperson Don Webster, the incident happened on Max Luther Drive near the Regency Retirement Village around 4:14 p.m.

He said there was a vehicle and a bicycle involved in the wreck.

Webster said the bicyclist is currently at Huntsville Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Former US president Joe Biden has warned that the country is facing "dark days" due to the way current President Donald Trump is governing.

Source: CNN, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Speaking at the National Bar Associations annual convention in Chicago, Biden said that the United States is heading into "dark days" because of the policies and approach of his successor Trump.

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Quote: "Judges matter. Courts matter. The law matters and the Constitution matters. I think a lot of Americans are starting to realise that under the pressure were under now with this guy we have as president. Oh, get ready, folks, this is just starting."

Details: During his speech, the former president never mentioned Trump by name, referring to him instead as "this guy".

"I am proud Ive appointed judges doing their best to be independent, fair, impartial, respecting the rule of law I wish I could say the same for the executive branch, which seems to be doing its best to dismantle the Constitution," Biden stated.

"These are dark days," he said, adding that "our future is literally on the line".

Background:

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Biden had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer with bone metastases.

In his initial comments after Bidens diagnosis became public, Trump wished him a speedy recovery, but later expressed surprise that "the public wasnt notified a long time ago".

Trump subsequently stated that he felt no pity for Biden regarding his illness.

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By Rashika Singh

(Reuters) -Qualcomm shares fell nearly 5% in early trading on Thursday as the looming loss of Apple as its biggest modem customer and higher dependency on premium smartphone chips outweighed its upbeat quarterly forecast.

Shares of the mobile chip designer were last down at $152.55.

The San Diego-based chip supplier warned investors that Apple's move to depend on in-house modems, starting with the February launch of the iPhone 16e would hit future chip revenue.

Qualcomm has intensified its focus on sectors such as data centers and personal computers.

Adding to the pressure, U.S. President Donald Trump's renewed tariff threats on semiconductors have emerged as a risk, potentially disrupting supply chains and hurting Qualcomm's handset revenue, analysts said.

While smartphones and semiconductor chips have so far been exempt from these levies, Trump recently warned he would "soon announce tariffs on semiconductors," raising concerns of sector-specific duties.

CFO Akash Palkhiwala told Reuters that the company has not seen early chip orders yet, suggesting customers aren't rushing to beat possible tariffs.

"Tariffs could trim mid-single digits off handset revenue, but Chinese OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) still view (Qualcomm's mobile phone chip) Snapdragon as essential for global 5G and AI-on-device marketing," said Michael Ashley Schulman, CIO at Running Point Capital.

Qualcomm, the world's largest supplier of modem chips and seen as a bellwether for smartphones, said chip sales to non-Apple customers have risen more than 15% this fiscal year, driven by premium Android launches.

"We see durable share at Samsung and an extended collaboration with Xiaomi as key support in the handset segment as Apple chipset revenue comes out of the model," TD Cowen analysts said.

Qualcomm is also expanding in augmented reality.

CEO Cristiano Amon said the company now supports 19 augmented reality designs including META's Ray-Ban smart glasses and expects that number to grow.

Qualcomm forecast fourth-quarter earnings slightly above estimates, with Citi analysts warning that Apple's potential exit continues to weigh on core growth.

The company's 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio is 13.36, trailing Nvidia's 34.91, Intel's 47.14 and Advanced Micro Devices 35.33, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Maju Samuel)
Former President Joe Biden touted appointing Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, during a slur-filled speech at the National Bar Association's 100th annual gala at the Hyatt in Chicago Thursday evening  just hours after one of his top aides testified before the Republican House Oversight Committee for their investigation into the former presidents fitness for office.

Biden slurred on multiple occasions during the night, including while discussing serving as the vice president to the first Black president, former President Barack Obama, and selecting Kamala Harris as his vice president. Harris was the first woman of Black and South Asian heritage to serve in the role.

Likewise, Biden said he also selected demographically diverse judges during his administration.

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Kamala Harris To Publish Behind-the-scenes Account Of Failed 2024 Campaign

"I promised to have an administration that looked like America and appoint a bench that looked like America," Biden said. "And I kept my promise. I appointed the most demographically diverse  slate of judges ever in the history of the United States of America. The top of that list, one of the greatest lawyers I've ever met, Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the United States Supreme Court."

"Justice Jackson, as you witnessed earlier this week, has proven herself to have the wisdom and the character that I saw in her when I nominated her. Appointed 13 Black women to the Courts of Appeals of the United States Federal Court, more than every other president in American history combined," he said. "For other historic firsts as well, for historic, for Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Muslim Americans, by the way, I didn't just appoint Ivy League judges."

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Dnc Vice Chair Compares Trump To Notorious Segregationists During Heated Town Hall Event With Beto O'rourke

Then-President Joe Biden listens as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 8, 2022.

The National Bar Association originally formed in Iowa before Black attorneys were permitted to join the American Bar Association, and is now made up of 66,000 members working in law who advocate for civil rights and diversity.

Those who attended the event included Jackson, as well as Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, MSNBC pundit Joy-Ann Reid and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Biden and his allies have faced allegations of concealing the truth about Bidens mental fitness while in office, following his debate performance against President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, where Biden struggled to answer seemingly basic questions.

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Longtime Biden Aide Testifies He Stood To Earn Up To $8M Had President Won Re-election

Then-President Joe Biden appeared frail and struggled with a raspy voice during the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign against then-former President Donald Trump in Atlanta on June 27, 2024.

Multiple books have been written in 2025 detailing Bidens final days in office, his deteriorating mental faculties and challenges within the Democratic Party as a result of his decision to withdraw from the election.

Additionally, several investigations are ongoing on Capitol Hill concerning Bidens mental decline. For example, the House Oversight Committee is examining the cover-up of Bidens cognitive decline and potentially unauthorized executive actions taken during his presidency.

Earlier Thursday, longtime Biden aide Michael Donilon appeared before the House Oversight Committee and told lawmakers that he could have raked in a total of $8 million if Biden had won re-election in 2024, Axios first reported.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's spokesperson for comment and has not yet received a reply.

Fox News Charlie Creitz and Alex Schemmel contributed to this report.





Original article source: Biden slurs way through latest speech, touts nominating demographically diverse judges
CHICAGO  Former President Joe Biden expressed alarm Thursday about attacks on the rule of law and threats to civil rights under President Donald Trump in some of his most pointed criticism about the new administration since leaving office.

Biden, speaking to the National Bar Association in Chicago, did not mention Trump by name but his intended target was clear during remarks that only ran about 20 minutes.

You cant sugarcoat it. These are dark days, Biden told the crowd of nearly 1,100 members of the predominantly Black legal organization.

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The remarks echoed, at least in tone, some of his previous comments about Trump, portraying him as a threat to democracy and the rule of law.

"We are, in my view, at such a moment in American history, reflected in every cruel executive outreach, every rollback of basic freedoms, every erosion of long-standing, established precedent," he said.

Biden also criticized the administration for trying to erase truth" and faulted Congress for sitting on the sidelines" and failing to check the authority of the executive branch.

"My friends, we need to face the hard truth of this administration, and that it has been to ease all the gains we've made in my administration," Biden went on. "To erase history rather than making it. To erase fairness, equality, to erase justice itself. And that's not hyperbole. That's a fact."

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Calling the administration cruel, he pointed to "immigrants who are in this country legally ... getting dragged away in handcuffs. And he criticized the administration's attacks on law firms and media companies.

In response, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that Joe Biden, in between sleeping on the beach and handing over the presidency to an autopen, spent his days watching his henchmen tear our Constitution to shreds via autopen through lawfare, the invasion of the southern border, and selling out our country to the rest of the world. Hes the last person to talk about how to run this country, considering he ran it into the ground."

Bidens remarks were more than political posturing. His remarks were also a mix of memoir and history lesson. In typical fashion, he wove together stories from his past  his early proximity to the Black community in Wilmington, Delaware, his time as a young public defender after the 1968 riots, and the legacy of the mentors who shaped him.

He invoked Dr. Martin Luther Kings assassination, saying, I didnt just see the pain. I felt it. And he hailed former President Lyndon Johnson for signing the Civil Rights Act.

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Biden also drew attention to his own work appointing more Black women to the bench than any other president, and naming Kamala Harris as his vice president.

And he reminded the crowd of his administrations support of HBCUs, Historically Black College or University.

Each of the points drew applause from the crowd that included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was also being honored by the organization.

Bidens speech didn't meander in the way he has been known to do. There was a through line: America is worth fighting for. Theres been nothing in the course of our countrys history that we havent been able to accomplish, he said. Were the only nation in the world that has come out of every crisis stronger than when we went in.

Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.
BIG SPRING, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Big Spring Police Department is investigating a shooting that left one person dead early Friday morning.

According to the department, around 2:00 am on August 1, investigators found 20-year-old Christopher Salazar dead in the roadway in the 300 block of NE 6th Street. He reportedly died from gunshot wounds.

Big Spring PD is investigating the incident as a homicide.

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Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 432-263-TIPS. You may also submit your anonymous tip using the PS TIPS mobile app.

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Billionaire Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates says AI is moving at a speed that surprises even him, as workers and employers are preparing for how the technology will impact their jobs. Leaders are already saying its just as good as workers, and is taking more jobs than are being created.

Job seekers are scrambling to figure out when AI will come for their jobsbut even the experts cant agree on a timeline. Now, Bill Gates is sounding the alarm: It could all happen so fast, workers wont even have time to catch up.

The question is, has it come so fast that you dont have time to adjust to it? Bill Gates just said in an interview with CNN.

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The Microsoft cofounder noted that AI is already capable of taking over administrative roles like telesales, but its still falling short when it comes to more complex tasksand even hes dumbfounded by just how quickly its closing the gap.

Its improving at a rate that surprises me, the tech pioneer, worth $122 billion, said in the interview, while pointing to its deep research capability as an example.

A few times a day, I take some complex question, and just for fun, I see AI does an awfully good job gathering all the materials, and summarizing what I need to know.

In just a few years, the technology has gone from writing emails to generating functional code. Thats why no one can pin down when exactly the tipping point will come, Gates added.

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AI today can replace human work, the most complex coding tasks, [but] its not able to do [it] yet. And people in the field disagree: is that within the next year or two, or is it more like ten years away?

Tech leaders agree that AI will be as good as human workers

Fellow business leaders have been candid that AI will be just as capable as, or even more advanced than, most human workers in the next few years.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei predicted that up to 50% of entry-level white collar jobs could be replaced by AI within 5 years.

Most of them are unaware that this is about to happen, Amodei warned in an interview with Axios. It sounds crazy, and people just dont believe it.

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Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also told employees that within the next few years, AI would reduce some corporate roles, like customer service representatives and software developers. And over at Meta, its CEO Mark Zuckerberg is already getting started on automating some of his employees jobsthe tech billionaire announced that the company is building an AI engineer to help with coding tasks.

That shift isnt unique to just tech roles. IBM cut around 8,000 jobs this May in HR and other departments, as the tools take over routine administrative tasks. Instead, the company is hiring more engineers and salespeople, signaling a transition to more roles that require creativity and complex decision-making.

AI is improving productivity, Bill Gates says

As more companies pull back on hiring and training early job seekers, they are also shrinking the talent pool of future leaders. The jobs that have historically served as stepping stones for entry-level workers are under threat.

With recent college grads struggling to land entry-level jobs, Gates weighed in on growing fears that AI is taking opportunities from young workers. He argued that rising productivity should free peoples time to do more of the other things they enjoyfrom side hustles to vacations.

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When you improve productivity, you can make more [jobs], Gates said. It means you can free up these people to have smaller class sizes or have longer vacations or help to do more, so its not a bad thing.

New research echoes that already, 4 in 10 say it has provided better work-life balance, reduced stress, and improved decision-making.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
Flood defences protecting the Lincolnshire coast will be "ineffective" by 2040 unless billions of pounds are invested, the Environment Agency (EA) has warned.

According to projections, a breach in the defences could leave the town of Mablethorpe under about 4ft (1.3m) of water and Ingoldmells, near Skegness, under about 5ft (1.6m).

A meeting of the county council's environment committee on Friday heard urgent action was needed.

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Almost 90% of defences on a 30-mile stretch of coastline between Saltfleet, north of Mablethorpe, and Gibraltar Point, south of Skegness, were expected to fail within the next 20 years, councillors were told.

Deborah Higton, flood risk manager for the EA, told the committee it would take "billions" to replace all of the Lincolnshire coast defences.

"There is real urgency, even though 2040 feels like a long way in the future," she said.

The area, which was below sea level, was "completely reliant on flood defences" to protect 20,000 homes and 38,000 static caravans, she added.

Mablethorpe among communities hit by the Great North Sea flood of 1953 [Getty Images]

Councillor Tom Ashton (Conservative) told the committee local holiday resorts faced "stagnation and decline" without investment.

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"If we don't get investment to secure our long-term security, that decline begins relatively quickly."

Councillors would also be forced to consider a "managed retreat" if funding could not be secured, a report compiled for the meeting stated.

The EA currently replenishes thousands of tonnes of sand along the Lincolnshire coast annually at a cost of between 10m and 15m.

However, Ms Higton said: "We are facing a future where the old ways of protecting the land will no longer be enough."

The agency, along with partners, said it hoped to draw up a masterplan by 2028, and secure funding and contracts by 2036.

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Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Danny Brookes, the executive member for the environment at the Reform-led authority, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "It's worrying, but I'm glad to hear we're taking action.

"We're trying to get this into the council's corporate plan, and we will make sure this does get done."

It comes after Reform abolished the authority's flooding committee following its victory in May's local elections, despite other parties calling for it to be saved.

At the time, council leader Sean Matthews promised the new administration would work "longer and harder on flooding than ever before".

Stark warning

Analysis by Paul Murphy, Environment Correspondent.

This is a pretty stark warning from the specialists charged with defending Lincolnshire's coastal communities from the North Sea.

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In recent years the Environment Agency has been revising a lot of its projections to take into account the impact of climate change and rising sea levels on our coastline.

The more the EA scrutinises existing flood defences, the more it is finding areas of vulnerability.

Thousands of people in the county live at or below sea level, many of them in static caravans nestled behind flood defences.

Projections of flood water up to 5ft deep in some places will be sobering for this population, many of whom are older and perhaps more vulnerable in an emergency.

There is mention too of "managed retreat"  the Whitehall euphemism for no longer defending against flooding and letting nature take its course. This could have a profound impact on the local economy.

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The storm surge of 1953 claimed 43 lives along the Lincolnshire coastline and led to the construction of existing defences. The risks are more than just theoretical.

The government has already announced extra funding for Lincolnshire, including almost 11.3m to bolster defences between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point.

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A bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation Thursday calling for tens of billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine to be spent over the next two years, as Russian President Vladimir Putin rebuffs calls from President Trump to halt the war.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a member of the Appropriations Committee. The top-line figure for the bill comes in at more than $50 billion, according to Shaheens office.

The Shaheen-Murkowski bill comes as the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced on Thursday a defense funding bill with $1 billion in military assistance related to Ukraine.

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Still, the bills passage faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, where GOP leaders in the House and Senate have deferred to Trump over which legislation makes it to the floor. The administration has slashed foreign aid so far, and administration officials and some GOP lawmakers regularly rally against sending U.S. military and other assistance abroad.

While Congress approved $60 billion in Ukraine funding in April 2024, 18 senators voted against it, including Vice President Vance, then a Republican senator from Ohio.

And Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has held back putting on the floor a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill  with a veto-proof majority of co-sponsors  at the request of Trump, who wants to decide when to impose sanctions on Russia if Moscow fails to negotiate an end to the war. Trump has set an Aug. 8 deadline.

But Shaheen and Murkowski are framing their legislation as giving Trump additional tools to force Putin to the negotiating table  by scaling up Ukraines military capabilities to withstand Russian attacks. The legislation also sets up guardrails to protect against executive action limiting assistance to Ukraine.

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The language responds to Trumps decision in March to pause intelligence sharing to Ukraine for one week after a public spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, and a decision by the Pentagon earlier this month to pause certain weapons transfers to Ukraine pending a review.

Shaheen and Murkowskis legislation provides billions of dollars in direct military assistance to Ukraine, but much of the funding is intended for investing in military production in the U.S., and it also seeks novel ways of raising funds to pay for support for Kyiv.

These include using interest earned from frozen Russian assets in the U.S. to fund assistance for Kyiv; sending to Ukraine seized, illicit weapons from nonstate actors or using the sale of those weapons to fund military equipment for Ukraine; and prioritizing American military production for purchases by U.S. allies to then be sent to Ukraine.

The bill also codifies Trumps so-called minerals deal with Ukraine, formally named the Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which was established in May. U.S. military assistance to Ukraine is expected to be counted as a U.S. contribution into the fund.

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Direct funding for military assistance for Ukraine includes $30 billion lasting until 2027 and provides $3 billion in foreign military financing for Ukraine over the next two fiscal years. The bill increases the presidential drawdown authority from $100 million to $6 billion each year, allowing the U.S. to pull directly from Pentagon weapons stockpiles to send to Ukraine, with the money to pay for backfilling those stocks.

The bill also provides $600 million for the State Departments Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement to support Ukrainian law enforcement and anti-corruption programming. It provides $50 million for war crimes prosecutions.

Shaheen and Murkowski also include $1 billion for a trilateral drone initiative  for research, development and production of drones with Ukraine and Taiwan  to learn lessons from Ukraines fight against Russia.

The bill also creates a task force to process lessons learned from Ukraines fight, including modern warfighting doctrine and how to counter U.S. vulnerabilities to drone attacks.

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This bipartisan bill is a win for America, Shaheen said in a statement. It supports our defense industrial base, American manufacturers and workers  all while ensuring the U.S. military learns from Ukraines battlefield innovations. Make no mistake: unprovoked violence against U.S. partners by would-be aggressors in the Kremlin and Beijing will be met by unshakable resolve from the U.S. and our allies.

Im pleased to work with Senator Shaheen in introducing the Supporting Ukraine Act of 2025, which reaffirms our commitment to both Ukraines sovereignty and Americas national interests, Murkowski said in a statement.

By providing critical funding for military and humanitarian assistance, this legislation ensures Ukraine can continue to resist Russias illegal and brutal war.

She added, We are also incorporating the use of seized Russian assets to hold aggressors accountable, while strengthening Americas military preparedness by applying valuable battlefield insights from Ukraines fight and sharing these lessons with critical partners like Taiwan. Its time to reaffirm our leadership on the world stage and show that our support for our allies is unwavering.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  Birmingham Mayoral candidates spoke at a forum to discuss their plans for the city ahead of elections next month.

The candidates were thrown a series of questions, among those questions asked were what their plans are to improve pay for city workers protecting city assets from state takeovers and what makes them the best candidate for mayor.

Birmingham mayoral candidates Kamau Afrika, Juandalynn Givan, Jerimy Littlepage, Lashunda Scales, Brian K. Rice and Frank Woodson were seated side by side and peppered with questions in a nearly packed room.

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Student loan borrowers lament system changes as interest accrual restarts for SAVE

The topic of the questions ranged from public works, finances, crime and policing.

The first question to kick off the night, what are their plans to conduct disparities studies for the city of Birmingham.

Weve got a study thats about two years old, I dont want to study our disparities anymore. Its time to implement the recommendations from the study, said Scales.

I would suggest, as a mayor, that I would want an updated disparity study. So that not only can we implement it, I think it needs to be published. said Woodson.

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Another question was how they would protect city assets from state takeovers, similar to what happened with the Birmingham Water Works.

We must strengthen our law departments, we must make sure our city council makes the recommendations for them, and they have their own lobbyist in Montgomery, said Brian K. Rice.

You dont have a big enough gun to fight them. Im not going to be a martyr that way. Take your money out of their banks and you will get their attention, said Kamau Afrika.

What is going on with the state board is the fault of the mayor. You have to be present, said Juandalynn Givan.

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That was already in the works. The deal was already made and we just got to wake up and hold the people accountable because theres a lot of lies and deception, said Jerimy Littlepage.

Lastly each candidate shared why they feel theyre the best fit for the position.

The Birmingham FOP hosted this forum.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfins was unable to attend the forum due to a prior engagement.

The Birmingham mayoral election is set for August 26.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  Salaam Green, Birminghams inaugural poet laureate, is one of 23 recipients of the Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.

The fellowship awards a total of $1.1 million to support community-driven poetry projects across the country. It will help support the launch of Lyrics for Life Birmingham, a 10-week poetry and hip-hop workshop series led by Green with the Magic City Poetry Festival and Radical Reversal. The program will engage incarcerated youth, ages 13 to 17, through sessions promoting themes like self-expression, identity and healing. Participants will also produce original work that will be published in a digital and printed zine.

This fellowship is an extraordinary honor, Green said in a statement. Poetry is how we navigate grief, joy, injustice, and reconciliation. Teaching literary excellence as a form of healing is at the heart of my work. Through literary arts, we repair what systems have broken and Im eager to apply this work with incarcerated youth.

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As part of the fellowship, Green will travel to Washington, D.C. in September to present work from her most recent collection, The Other Revival. This collection was written in residence at the Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation, a former plantation transformed into a literary sanctuary. Through her work, Green focuses on themes of resistance, spiritual reclamation and southern storytelling.

More of Greens work can be found here.

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  The Birmingham Police Departments Crime Reduction Team has arrested two suspects in connection to a robbery investigation in the Roosevelt City community.

According to the BPD, the investigation began on Sunday, July 13, after an adult female was robbed of money and personal belongings.

The BPD Robbery Unit identified the suspects as Andrea Hall, 35, of Birmingham, and Robert Bell Jr., 34, of Bessemer. Detectives presented case information to the Jefferson County Magistrates Office, and the suspects were issued with arrest warrants for 2nd degree robbery.

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Hall and Bell were arrested on Thursday with a $10,000 bond. They are in custody of the Jefferson County Jail.

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In September of 2023, Giovanni Mussini, a paleontologist and doctoral student at the University of Cambridge, joined an expedition into the vast depths of the Grand Canyon. He and other researchers rode a dinghy down the turbid Colorado river, stopping occasionally to scale dangerously flaky rocks in search of 500-million-year-old fossils from the Cambrian period, the dawn of complex animal life.

The results of that expedition, reported July 23 in Science Advances, included the miniscule remnants of brine shrimp-like crustaceans and snail-like mollusks. But the most interesting findingsuncovered as Mussini dissolved Grand Canyon rocks in acid and combed them for fossilswere two types of tiny mystery teeth. One set was sharp. The other had feathery projections coming out of its sides. Both, it turns out, belonged to an obscene-looking monster.



The creature was a priapulid worm, often knownfor obvious reasonsas a penis worm.

Theyre  peculiarly shaped, says Mussini.

The 500-million-year old cache of fossils, including the 'penis worm' were found in the Grand Canyon. Photograph by Joe Clevenger

Fossil site in Grand Canyon Photograph by Joe Clevenger

Following the suggestion of a Star Wars-obsessed colleague, Mussini named the newly discovered Grand Canyon worm Kraytdraco spectatus after the krayt dragon, an enormous burrowing dragon seen in the streaming show The Mandalorian. An adult K. spectatus would have measured roughly six to eight inches long, says Mussini.

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From within its body emerged a darting, retractable throat, reminiscent of the xenomorph in Alien. This throat, or pharynx, was ringed with spirals of teeth. The Grand Canyon worm differed from most of its fellows, however. While it had the usual spiky teeth around the ring of its extendable throat, the inside was filled with concentric rows of feathery-looking teeth, of a sort that have never been observed anywhere else, Mussini says.

The priapulid's pharynx

Named for Priapus, the Roman god of fertility, priapulids are far, far older than the vertebrate genitalia they resemble. Trace fossils and body remains from before the dawn of the Cambrian period suggest that they were some of the worlds earliest dedicated predators and ecosystem-engineering burrowers, devouring anything they could swallow. Some lived like hermit crabs in animal shells. Others hosted symbiotic accumulations of smaller worms.

Everywhere we look in these exceptional preservation deposits, like China and the Burgess Shale, we see priapulids, says Mussini.

In a video his team made reconstructing this new species of priapulid, the animals pharynx rises toward the camera as if chasing after prey, showing off the concentric rows of feathery teeth inside. While the bigger, heavy-duty teeth around the rim could scrape the sediment or bits of animal carcass, the more delicate rings may have filtered for the finer particles the animal is really interested in, Mussini says.

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Once satisfied, the pharynx itself can be folded inside out like the finger of a glove, returning the worm to a more bulbous appearance.

Although it might be named for a Star Wars character, Mussini says the penis worm more closely resembled the sandworms seen in Dune with its sphincter mouth full of fine, sand-sifting teeth. Unfortunately for the research team, the name Shai-Hulud was already taken by an unrelated worm fossil.

Fig. 2. Kraytdraco spectatus pharyngeal tract Photograph by Mussini et al.

A closer look at the pharanx of Kraytdraco spectatus and the teeth inside it. Photograph by Mussini et al.

A priapulid would have been better to get that name, says Mussini, because the resemblance is quite uncanny.

Priapulid worms are still around today, Mussini adds. About 20 living species survive, though they've been shrunken by time, now measuring mere millimeters long.

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There may have been some trend toward miniaturization as the eons went by, he says of the priapulid worms that have endured half a billion years of evolution.

In other words, for penis worms, size wasnt necessarily everything.
(Bloomberg) -- Shares of Qualcomm Inc., the biggest maker of chips that run smartphones, fell after the company reported lackluster growth in that market, fueling concerns that tariffs will take a toll on the industry.

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Phone-related sales rose 7% to $6.33 billion in the fiscal third quarter, which ended June 29, Qualcomm said Wednesday in a statement. The average analyst estimate was $6.48 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The results add to broader fears that a chip growth resurgence is under threat. In recent days, semiconductor makers such as Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp. gave cautious outlooks, triggering concern that a sales rebound will be short-lived.

Qualcomm shares fell as much as 6.2% Thursday in New York, their biggest intraday decline in three months. Heading into the earnings report, the chipmakers stock had already lagged a general rally by semiconductor stocks this year.

Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon said he didnt understand why investors werent happy with the companys results. The report showed that Qualcomm is executing on its plan and is on course to get half of its revenue from outside of the smartphone market, he said.

The company has changed, Amon said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. The company has created a lot of growth opportunities.

Arm Holdings Plc, another chip technology provider that serves the smartphone industry, also reported results on Wednesday. Its shares declined as much as 14% Thursday, the worst intraday plunge since April, after a profit forecast came in below estimates, hurt by spending on new products.

Qualcomms revenue in the quarter ending in September will be $10.3 billion to $11.1 billion, the San Diego-based company said. That compares with an average analyst estimates of $10.6 billion.

Third-quarter profit was $2.77 a share, excluding some items. Revenue gained 10% to $10.37 billion. Wall Street had predicted a profit of $2.72 a share and sales of $10.33 billion.

Revenue from chips used in vehicles rose 21% to $984 million. Connected-device semiconductor sales, meanwhile, climbed 24% to $1.68 billion.

Qualcomm supplies processors and modems that are the main components of the worlds most advanced smartphones. The chipmaker also collects fees calculated as a percentage of the cost of a handset, regardless of whether the phone maker uses its chips.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  The Shreveport Police Department is hosting a blood drive in honor of Officer Thomas LaValley.

Shreveport opens new police substation

In honor of Officer LaValleys service and sacrifice, donating blood becomes a profound gesture of remembrance and unity, a press release stated. His courage in protecting the community lives on through the gift of life we extend to others.

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Blood donations collected at this drive may help save future lives in critical moments, just as Thomas dedicated his own to safeguarding others. By rolling up our sleeves, we stand together, turning grief into hope and ensuring that his legacy continues in the most vital way possible.

The blood drive will be held on Tuesday, August 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Shreveport Police Department, located at 1234 Texas St. in Shreveport.

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LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)  Friday, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced it was beginning to shut down in light of the GOP-led legislation that pulled already-approved funding to public broadcasting.

Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations, CPB President Patricia Harrison said in a statement.

Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it is beginning to shut down

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WKAR Senior Director of Content and Education Ashlee Smith said it would take a pretty significant overhaul for things to go back to the way they were.

Its absolutely our hope that, you know, as things change in this political future, there could be an opportunity for us to return to community service grants, Smith said. I personally dont know what thats going to look like because weve gotten to the point where the Corporation for Public Broadcasting itself is shutting down.

She explained that public media itself is relatively cheap and costs taxpayers around $1.60 per person per year. Since WKAR has a television and radio broadcast license, it receives community service grants for both stations. While WKAR is not planning on shutting down for the foreseeable future, Smith said its a tragedy that some stations in the nation are considering shutting down.

WKAR General Manager Shawn Turner expressed disappointment that the CPB is shutting down, but also acknowledged the station has prepared for this possibility.

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While not unexpected, the news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down is another disappointing blow to public media, Turner said. CPB has been a vital partner to stations like WKAR for decades. The loss of the organizations experts, support, and advocacy will be felt at stations across the country.

At WKAR, we fought hard to avoid this outcome, but we also prepared for this moment. As a result, I can say with confidence that, with our current team, the help of our community and if our university, this station will continue to serve mid-Michigan for the foreseeable future.

Housed inside of Michigan State Universitys College of Communication Arts and Sciences, adjacent to the universitys School of Journalism, the station is owned by MSU. It was the third educational TV station to launch in the United States and is the second-oldest still in operation.

In a statement regarding cuts to funding, Turner said the following on WKARs website:

If you believe in the power of public media and would like to help us maintain the programming and services that enrich our community, here are a few things you can do: Make a donation at wkar.org. If you have any trouble with the online system, during business hours you can call our helpful front office staff at 517-884-4700. Zora, Nicole, Sara, and Keira are standing by to assist you.

Donate your unwanted vehicle to WKAR

Include WKAR in your estate plan

Sign up to be a part of our new WKAR Volunteer Network, launching soon. WKAR General Manager Shawn Turner

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More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general announced a lawsuit challenging recent moves by President Trumps administration to severely restrict access to gender-affirming health care for anyone under 19, including in states where treatment is legal and protected by law.

The lawsuit filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts challenges three written directives: Trumps Jan. 28 executive order seeking to end federal support for gender-affirming care for minors, and two memos from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate.

The suit names Trump, Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

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In an email, a Justice Department spokesperson said, As Attorney General Bondi has made clear, this Department of Justice will use every legal and law enforcement tool available to protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of care.

The Bondi memo, dated April 22, calls for the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute transition-related care for youth as genital mutilation. Shumates memo, sent to the Justice Departments Civil Division on June 11, directs attorneys to prioritize investigations and enforcement actions against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, consistent with Bondis order.

The attorneys general said Friday the Justice Department has taken aggressive action to implement Trumps directive on gender-affirming care and an earlier order from the president proclaiming the U.S. recognizes only two unchangeable sexes, male and female. A federal judge in Baltimore blocked Trumps Jan. 28 order, which sought to withhold grant funding from medical providers that offer gender-transition treatments to patients under 19, in February.

The Department of Justice announced last month that it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children in investigations of health care fraud and false statements. In June, the FBI made a public plea for information about hospitals, clinics and individual providers of transition-related surgery to minors.

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The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children, said New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who is leading Fridays lawsuit. This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and are putting countless lives at risk in the process.

Also joining the lawsuit are the Democratic attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is also a plaintiff.

Other federal agencies and departments have also moved to enforce Trumps order on gender-affirming care. In May, the Department of Health and Human Services broke with major health groups in an unsigned report that declared puberty blockers, hormones and rare surgeries for minors with gender dysphoria lack scientific evidence, calling for a greater reliance on psychotherapy over medical interventions.

In a May 28 letter to health care providers, risk managers and state medical boards, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said treatment protocols should be immediately updated to align with the departments review.

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Also on May 28, Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), demanded data from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to youth. CMS previously called on states to suspend the use of Medicaid funds for hormones or transition-related surgeries for minors.

On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a public inquiry into whether providers of transgender health care are violating federal consumer protection laws. The FTC held a workshop in July titled The Dangers of Gender-Affirming Care for Minors.

None of the Administrations actions challenged by this suit have any legal basis, the Democratic attorneys general wrote in Fridays lawsuit. They should be declared unlawful and vacated in their entirety.

Across the country, hospitals, even in Democratic-controlled states that protect gender-affirming care, have begun to pause or discontinue care, citing uncertainty about Trumps executive order and other federal actions.

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In Colorado, Denver Health suspended gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19, and UCHealth said it would no longer prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to minors; in Illinois, at least four Chicago-area hospitals have paused gender-transition treatments for youth; three of New Yorks most prominent hospitals said they would curb gender-affirming care for minors following Trumps order; in Washington, D.C., Childrens National Hospital recently announced it would stop prescribing gender-affirming medications starting Aug. 30, citing escalating legal and regulatory risks.

In July, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles shuttered its Center for Transyouth Health and Development, one of the nations oldest and largest clinics for transgender young people.

The nonprofit health giant Kaiser Permanente announced last week that it would pause gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19 by the end of August. Kaiser, which serves more than 12 million members in eight states and D.C, said the decision to suspend care was influenced by an evolving legal and regulatory environment for gender-affirming care and referenced specific Trump administration actions, including the Justice Departments subpoenas.

California, where Kaiser is headquartered, protects access to gender-affirming care under a 2022 state law signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

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At a July 24 news conference, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D), responding to the announcements from Kaiser and other state health providers, acknowledged the states protections but signaled that his office would focus more on addressing the Trump administrations threats than on medical institutions responses to them.

The main problem here  the core of the issue  is the unlawful, inappropriate threats from the Trump administration. He is attempting to bully these hospitals into submission, Bonta said. We want to focus on the problem, which is the threat emanating from Washington, D.C., and the Trump administration, and we will be.

Updated at 2:31 p.m. EDT

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Aug. 1 (UPI) -- An attorney disciplinary board is recommending White House official Jeffrey Clark be stripped of his Washington, D.C., law license over his involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election for President Donald Trump.

A majority of the nine-member Washington, D.C., Board on Professional Responsibility recommended Clark be disbarred on Thursday, stating Clark "was prepared to cause the Justice Department to tell a lie about the status of its investigation" into the 2020 general election.

"Lawyers cannot advocate for any outcome based on false statements, and they certainly cannot urge others to do so," the panel said.

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"Respondent persistently and energetically sought to do just that on an important national issue. He should be disbarred as a consequence and to send a message to the rest of the Bar and to the public that this behavior will not be tolerated."

Of the nine members, seven voted for Clark to be disbarred, while two recommended he be suspended for three years and required prove his fitness to practice prior to reinstatement. The D.C. Court of Appeals will have the final say in the matter.

"The fight continues," Clark said in response to the ruling on X.

Clark is the acting administrator of the White House Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, but was previously acting assistant head of the Justice Department's Civil Division during Trump's first term and a supporter of his boss' false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

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The letter at the center of the ruling is one that Clark drafted in late December 2020, after Trump lost the general election to then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

In the letter to Georgia officials, he said the Justice Department had "significant concerns" about the state's election, despite the federal department being aware of zero issues. The letter recommended that Georgia's governor call the state's legislature into special session to consider replacing electors that supported Biden with those that were in favor of Trump -- a plot that is now widely referred to as the fake electors scheme.

After being warned against sending the letter by two superiors, Clark, whose job at the Justice Department was not involved in elections, continued to advocate for it to be sent.

Trump also considered replacing then-Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Clark but later declined to name him head of the department after being informed that doing so would ignite mass resignations.
LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56)  Initial autopsy results have been released, identifying the body of a man who was found Thursday on the grounds of a Livingston County school.

At 12:30 p.m. on July 31, the Livingston County Sheriffs Office said it was called about a dead individual found at North Livingston Elementary School and Livingston County Middle School.

Deputies immediately responded to the area and secured the scene, according to the sheriffs office.

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In a news release Thursday night, Kentucky State Police (KSP) said the body was of a deceased male who is not a school employee or student. He was reportedly found in a grassy area near the school.

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According to authorities, the man was identified as Ethan Schriner, 30, of Calvert City.

An investigation into Schriners death remains ongoing by state police. More information will be released as it becomes available.

Camille Hantla and Corey Elam contributed to this story.

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The body of a 38-year-old man who had been missing since late August 2024, was discovered in a ravine in Cleveland.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Calvin Bub Jones was last seen on August 20, 2024, when he delivered a pizza to his childrens home in Brooklyn Heights, according to CBS affiliate WOIO.

He worked at Giorgios Pizza on Harvard Avenue in Cleveland and had a brief phone call with his son around 11:30 p.m. that night, which was the last time his family heard from him.

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Jones was a single father of three children, and his family insists he would never have left them voluntarily.

The circumstances of his disappearance and how he ended up in the ravine remain unclear.

The Cleveland Homicide Unit has taken over the investigation.

Authorities are continuing to look into the case to determine the events leading up to Joness death.

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Four flight attendants aboard the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 plane that experienced a mid-air cabin panel blowout last January are now suing Boeing, adding to the long list of lawsuits the company has faced since the incident.

Flight 1282 departed from Portland on January 5, 2024, en route to Ontario, California. During the flight, a panel flew off the aircraft at 16,000 feet in the air. The plane returned to Portland in a safe landing, with minor injuries reported by seven passengers and one flight attendant.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a full investigation into Flight 1282 and released its results in June. The NTSB determined that Boeing did not properly train its employees and failed to implement a system for identifying human errors.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was also named in the NTSB report, claiming that the FAA failed to monitor Boeings ability to address recurring issues with its aircraft.

KIRO 7 obtained a copy of the four new complaints brought by crew members, which were filed Tuesday in Seattles King County Superior Court, each seeking compensation for past and future economic damages due to emotional distress, physical and mental injuries, and other financial costs resulting from the incident.

When the door plug blew off the aircraft on flight 1282, each of the four flight attendants acted courageously, following their training and putting their passengers safety first while fearing for their lives. They deserve to be wholly compensated for this life-altering traumatic experience caused by Boeings negligence in the 737 MAX production process, said Tracy Brammeier, the attorney representing each of the plaintiffs.

One of the plaintiffs, Michelle Hughes, added, This act of negligence caused both physical and mental damages which profoundly impaired my personal and professional life. It also resulted in many challenges to return to my dream job that I had proudly made my career.

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This event is something that never should have happened. Im committed to seeking justice, accountability and making the sky a safe place, affirmed plaintiff Christine Vasconcellos.

The lawsuits accuse Boeing of product liability, claiming the plane used for Flight 1282 was unsafe to operate. Boeings negligence within its manufacturing operations and practices was also mentioned.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Boeing knew passengers could be flying on unsafe aircraft and continued to operate these planes.

The other two plaintiffs have not released statements.

KIRO 7 has reached out to Boeing and Alaska Airlines for comment on the lawsuits.
BELVIDERE, Ill. (WTVO)  Mosquitoes in Boone County have tested positive for West Nile Virus in 2025, according to the Boone County Health Department.

Authorities said the mosquitoes were collected in Belvidere on July 30th.

So far, Boone County has had no positive bird or human cases of West Nile Virus.

This year, there have been 3 reported cases of West Nile Virus in Illinois.

West Nile Virus is transmitted from the bite of a mosquito that has fed on an infected bird. The health department says 4 out of 5 people bitten by an infected mosquito will not get sick.

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Those who do often experience fever, nausea, headache, and body aches within 3 to 14 days of being bitten. Serious illnesses, such as encephalitis or meningitis are possible, however

The best way to prevent West Nile encephalitis and other mosquito-borne illnesses is to reduce the number of mosquitoes around your home and neighborhood and to take personal precautions to avoid mosquito bites, said Amanda Mehl, Public Health Administrator of the Boone County Health Department.

The health department recommends the Three Rs to avoid becoming infected:

REDUCE exposure  avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn. Keep doors and windows closed. Eliminate sources of standing water where mosquitoes can breed, including wading pools, old tires, and other receptacles. Change bird bath water weekly.

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REPEL  when outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Apply EPA registered insect repellent that contains DEET, picaridin, oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, or IR3535 according to label instructions.

REPORT  The Health Department is monitoring freshly-dead birds, such as crows or blue jays. The birds must not show any signs of decay or trauma. To report a dead bird, call 815-544-2951. Be prepared to give the location, date and time you found the dead bird. You may also contact the Health Department to report areas of stagnant water in roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The Department is relying on county residents to help identify and report potential mosquito breeding areas in and around underdeveloped or abandoned residential building sites and swimming pools.

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The southern border has largely gone quiet.

United States Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks posted to X on Friday that southwest border apprehensions hit a monthly record low in July, with only 4,399 apprehensions. For the third month in a row, there have been zero releases.

This is the new all-time record low, beating the prior record low of 6,070 in June.

Border Crossings Plummet To Historic Lows; Trump's Enforcement Policies Yield Big Results

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In July, it averages out to 141 apprehensions per day at the southern border. At the height of the Biden-era crisis, there were 10,000-plus apprehensions on some days in December 2023.

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The high number of crossings resulted in an intense strain on resources in small border communities for years, as agents struggled to keep up with the demand while also dealing with responsibilities at the legal ports of entry.

In addition, many migrants were bused at the request of some Republican leaders to Democratic-run areas like New York City.

'Trump Effect' Touted As Southern Border Numbers Stay Low, Including New Record

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During the Biden administration, the record high was December 2023, with 249,785 apprehensions, the majority of which were released into the U.S. The nosedive in numbers is seen as a major victory by Republicans and the Trump administration.

"The border is secure again  as it should be. Strong policies equal quiet borders," Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, posted to X.

At the start of President Donald Trumps second term, troops were deployed to the border, and the CBP One app that was commonly used for people crossing illegally to claim asylum was shuttered.

New Data Reveals Border Crossings Reach Record Lows Amid Trump Admin's Crackdown

The U.S. southern border near El Paso, Texas.

The app was replaced with CBP Home, which is used for people to self-deport. The Department of Homeland Security has been touting for months an offer to give people $1,000 and free travel outside the U.S. if they have not committed other crimes. Deportation efforts are now underway throughout the U.S., as the administration is honing in on areas with sanctuary policies, with push back from Democratic officials at different levels of Congress.

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Still, border and immigration enforcement is expected to get a resources boost with the recent passage of the Trump-backed spending bill, dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Billions were allocated for border security efforts, including to pay back states for costs incurred during the Biden administration, and ICE is now beginning recruitment for thousands more agents theyve been given the budget to hire.





Original article source: Border apprehensions hit record low in dramatic turnaround from Biden era
BOSSIER CITY, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  Bossier Parish Schools and the Bossier Parish Sheriffs Office (BPSO) are doing their part to ensure students, faculty, and staff are safe at all Bossier public schools.

During the week of July 28, BPSO deputies completed 40 hours of rigorous School Resource Officer (SRO) training. The training covered a wide range of topics, and on July 31, it included active shooter scenarios.

Local Pack the bus for Bossier schools, Bossier Chamber looking to businesses for help

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Superintendent Jason Rowland explains how important the training is.

What makes our SROs unique is they go through a lot of training, a lot of planning, a lot of preparation, for things we hope never happen, he explains.

Literally a blessing and a forward-thinking move on our parish about keeping our schools, keeping our students, and also keeping our community safe, Rowland also shares.

Registration for 2025-26 school year now open for Bossier Parish Schools

The training is meant to be as real as possible. With blank rounds being shot to emulate real gunfire, actors playing students as well as perpetrators, and sound effects playing on a speaker to fully immerse deputies in their training.

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You cant have school unless you have safe school. So these deputies, theyre primary job every single day, is to make sure every child and every staff member at that school is safe, explains Captain Adam Johnson, Director of Security for Bossier Parish Schools.

Capt. Johnson also shares that every public school in Bossier Parish has at least one armed officer on campus, and every public high school has two officers.

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The online brokerage Robinhood soared past analysts expectations Wednesday when it posted strong financials for the second quarter. It reported a 7% quarter-over-quarter increase in revenue to $989 million, beating the FactSet consensus of almost $915 million. And it reported earnings per share of 42 cents, a beat of analysts consensus of 31 cents.

The fintech hulk smashe[d] its earnings, Dan Dolev, a senior analyst at Mizuho Securities, said in a short note after Robinhood posted its quarterly results.

The online brokerage, which lets users trade stocks as well as digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, posted gaudy results despite a decline in crypto transaction revenue, which dipped 36% from the previous quarter to $160 million.

In the past, Robinhoods quarterly fortunes have been closely tied to booms and busts in retail traders activity in markets. During the crypto craze of early 2021, for instance, its revenue from crypto transactions made up 41% of the companys topline. But, amid the most recent so-called Crypto Winter, that percentage dipped to as low as 5% in the third quarter of 2023.

As Robinhood rode the ups and downs of the stock and crypto trading cycle, the company began to build out its business to not rely merely on the whims of retail traders. It expanded its subscription business, launched its own credit card, and let users trade on margin, or take out loans to buy and sell more stock. It also pushed into banking while working expand its business in Europe and the U.K.

In 2021, when we went public, it felt to me like we were much more fragile than today, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said during Wednesdays earnings call.

While cash generated from transactions still comprised the majority of the companys revenue in the second quarter, almost 30% of its topline came from portions of its business that generate interest. These include the money it takes from users who margin trade as well as interest on users cash balances.

And almost 10% of its revenue in the second quarter came from Robinhood Gold, its subscription business in which users pay a monthly fee and receive benefits like yield on their cash reserves on the app.

If you look at things that we expect to deliver in the short term, medium term and long term, its pretty packed, said Tenev. So this is probably the least diversified you should ever see Robinhood.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
This week, Boston reached a milestone of granting more than 60 new liquor licenses to local businesses, and new state legislation could mean the city is on track to see even more offerings coming from its restaurants and bars.

The new legislation, included in the $60.9 billion 2026 state budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey last month, will allow businesses holding beer and wine licenses to upgrade to an all alcohol license.

This new legislation is a game-changer for our small businesses, especially in Black and brown neighborhoods that have been historically locked out of opportunities to grow and thrive, Rep. Christopher Worrell, D-5th Suffolk, said in a statement. By expanding access to all-alcohol licenses, were giving local entrepreneurs the tools they need to compete, to build wealth and to shape the future of our communities.

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Mayor Michelle Wu said Thursday she would introduce an order to the City Council next week to accept the new state legislation. The city will offer workshops and office hours for beer and wine licensees to learn more about the process this fall.

Last year, the state Legislature granted Boston the ability to introduce a total of 225 new liquor licenses. Almost all are neighborhood-restricted, meaning they can only be given to businesses within certain ZIP codes where there are fewer existing licenses.

Five new licenses will be added annually in each of the 13 ZIP codes included, which span Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roslindale, Roxbury, the South End and West Roxbury. The remaining licenses include 12 that are unrestricted, three restricted to the Oak Square neighborhood in Brighton and 15 community licenses that can be used by nonprofits, small theaters and outdoor spaces.

The addition of 225 new liquor licenses was the most significant increase in the number of available licenses in Boston since the end of Prohibition nearly a century ago.

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The city announced the first 37 licenses in February and another 21 in late June. On Thursday, the Boston Licensing Board approved three additional community space licenses for American Repertory Theater in Allston, Boston Center for the Arts in the South End and Sorrel & Lime in Dorchester.

Stefano Bruno, owner of Florenza in East Boston, said having a liquor license, which was awarded in February, has led to a bump in sales at the pizza and panini restaurant.

Florenza opened last year, and partly because of the menu offerings, served mainly customers who ordered takeout, Bruno said. But he has been expanding the menu in an effort to draw in more dine-in customers, and the cocktail, beer and wine offerings have helped.

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Speaking by phone from the restaurant shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, Bruno said that the bar seating was completely full.

The past month or so, its definitely been increasing, he said. Were happy we have it. Were happy were one of the restaurants that got a liquor license.

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Read the original article on MassLive.
Boulder City Council, from left: Council Member Steve Walton, Mayor Pro Tempore Sherri Jorgensen, Mayor Joe Hardy, Council Member Cokie Booth, Council Member Denise Ashurst. (Boulder City Council meeting screengrab)

Boulder City is the latest community in Nevada to enact an anti-homeless camping ban, which took effect in June.

Susan Reams, a Boulder City resident who is currently experiencing homelessness, filed a lawsuit in late July seeking to make the ordinance more humane and prevent the law from being enforced, especially in the triple digit heat.

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Because of rising rent costs and (the) unemployment rate, a lot of people, including myself, are unhoused, Reams said. I just think theres more that Boulder City could be doing. Theres nowhere for people to go. Boulder City doesnt have safe camping zones or even a shelter.

In an email to Nevada Current, a city spokesperson said it couldnt comment on the lawsuit because it had not yet been served with it.

The council unanimously passed the ordinance May 27 that prohibits camping, sleeping, and storing personal property in a public place. Violating the ordinance is a misdemeanor and people could face up to six months in jail.

City Attorney Brittany Walker told council members in May that the bill would provide the city with the tools it needs in order to ensure that individuals arent camping in the public places and are seeking services.

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Boulder City joined Reno, Las Vegas, Henderson and Sparks along with Clark, Washoe and Nye counties in being among localities across the state that have passed or expanded various punitive measures in recent years to restrict where those experiencing homelessness can sleep or camp.

Multiple decisions out of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Nevada, ruled in recent years that ordinances were unconstitutional if cities didnt have adequate shelter space for people who were sleeping in public places.

Some cities, including the City of Las Vegas, tried to circumvent the federal courts ruling by adopting bans on sleeping and sitting in public rights of way that would only go into effect if shelter space was available.

The legal landscape changed in June 2024, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled local governments are not violating the 8th Amendments restriction on cruel and unusual punishment if they criminalize people experiencing homelessness for sleeping outside, even if there arent other adequate accommodations.

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More than 200 municipalities across the country have adopted anti-homeless camping bans since last years high court ruling, according to the National Homelessness Law Center.

Increased statutory criminalization comes as homelessness has spiked across the country, including in Nevada.

The state saw a 17% increase in homelessness last year, according to a December report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Southern Nevadas 2024 Point-in-Time Count, an annual snapshot of homelessness on one particular night, showed a 13-year high in the number of people experiencing homelessness.

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The data is likely an undercount.

Among the number of those entering into homelessness is Reams, who was evicted last year.

I didnt realize that you could be evicted even though your rent was paid, she said, adding that her eviction stemmed from having two dogs in the apartment.

Though she has been able to get an occasional room at weekly motels, most of the time she has been finding discreet spots to sleep around Boulder City.

There is a Boulder City emergency aid, but their hours are limited along with their finances, Reams said.

Though she has signed up to be on waitlist for housing assistance through Boulder City and other nonprofits, she hasnt had any luck.

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In an email to the Current, the city said in 2022 it created a community resources liaison position at the Boulder City Hospital to help address needs of unhoused individuals.

The liaison declined to be interviewed.

In the email the city said the liaison has connected unhoused individuals to services, including recently several unhoused people who were reunited with families out of town.

Our first response will be referrals to the Community Resources Liaison rather than issuing a citation, the city said in an email. The new ordinance provides a legal mechanism for the city to approach unhoused people in our parks and help connect them with available resources.

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The city told the Current they have tallied 12 unhoused people in the city.

In a staff report from the May 27 council meeting, officials said that a growing number of individuals are occupying public places in Boulder City and storing personal property and belongings in public places in a manner causing concern for City staff.

Speaking to council members at the May meeting, Boulder City Police Chief Tim Shea said some of the unhoused people officers have talked with have said they were told by law enforcement in the Las Vegas area to come to Boulder City.

Boulder City Councilwoman Denise Ashurst said she believed the city needed an ordinance because if you dont have something in place, then you dont have anything to lean on if you do need something.

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Camping will still be allowed with a permit, said Walker, the city attorney.

Walker also said it was her understanding that there has never been a conviction under Las Vegas or Henderson ordinance for such a violation.

However, data previously reported on by the Current showed that the Henderson Police Department issued 150 citations or arrests among 99 people for camping or sleeping in a public right of way from August 2023 to September 2024.

Shea said his department would use discretion before issuing a citation or making an arrest.

In the meantime, Reams said she is making repeated appeals to get the council to make the ordinance more humane, and has called for a town hall in order for city officials to better understand the homeless crisis.

I find this is a big issue in Boulder City, and I dont think its going to get any better, she said.
A Boynton Beach city commissioner is facing a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a reported confrontation with a political opponent at City Hall in January.

Records show the courts issued Commissioner Thomas Turkin a summons to appear for an Aug. 4 arraignment hearing before County Judge Paul Damico at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach.

Voters reelected Turkin to the District 3 seat on the commission in March, giving him 57.85% of the vote in the nonpartisan race. He defeated Dominick Vargas, who law enforcement officials say he had an altercation with in January.

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Attempts to reach Turkin and his attorney for comment were not immediately successful.

Vargas: Altercation with Turkin grew from cellphone video

According to a probable-cause affidavit made public on June 27, the altercation occurred on the afternoon of Jan. 10 in the front lobby of City Hall's reception area.

Vargas told a Boynton Beach police officer that he had gone to City Hall that afternoon to file paperwork related to his campaign when Turkin approached him, began a conversation and then snatched his cellphone from his hand.

Police handled the initial investigation before referring the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Vargas released the following statement regarding the battery charge:

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What happened on January 10 is now part of the public record. I went to City Hall to file paperwork, something any resident should be able to do without interference. Instead, I was confronted and physically touched by an elected official in a public building in front of witnesses.

"I have cooperated fully with the investigation and provided a sworn statement. I am speaking now not as a candidate but as a resident who believes public service is a responsibility, not a license to intimidate or cross personal boundaries.

"I am not asking for special treatment, just equal treatment. What happened was inappropriate for anyone, let alone someone in public office. This process should bring accountability not just for what was done to me but for the principle that public spaces should feel safe, respectful, and fair for all of us.

Hurricane season is here: Florida offering ideas on how to cut your insurance premium

Vargas told police Turkin's actions made him uncomfortable

Boynton candidates speak to residents at a February Town Hall meeting. From left: Dominick Vargas (District 3 candidate), Court McQuire (Mayor), Rebecca Shelton (Mayor), David Merker (Mayor) and Thomas Turkin (District 3).

According to the affidavit, Vargas said he was waiting in the front lobby when Turkin approached, reached out to shake his hand and then started a conversation about the election. Vargas said he became uncomfortable during the conversation and took out his iPhone to record to Turkin's actions.

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Turkin reportedly told Vargas that he did not have permission to record, then snatched the iPhone from Vargas' hand. He held onto the phone for about 20 seconds before handing it back to Vargas, the report said.

Vargas told an investigator he briefly struggled with Turkin for possession of the cellphone before Turkin "overpowered" him. He reported the altercation began after Turkin made a derogatory remark about his handshake strength and told him he should not run for the commission, claiming Vargas did not live in Boynton Beach.

Records show that Vargas has a Boynton Beach address and is a graduate of Boynton Beach High School.

Turkin was the subject of a Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics investigation after he appeared at the scene of a 2023 DUI investigation that involved a female friend.

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The ethics commission concluded there was not enough evidence to find that Turkin improperly influenced police, but an ethics commission investigator found his conduct to be "concerning."

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: Boynton city commissioner accused of battery against campaign opponent
BRANSON, Mo.  No, its not real news, but it is news satire.

Branson Area Breaking News (BABN)  a Facebook page that was created in 2020 and now has almost 39,000 followers  is satire that can blend blurred lines between reality and fiction, with newsy social media posts sometimes so realistic theyre often shared and seen as real news by thousands of southwest Missourians.

Branson Area Breaking News AI-generated profile picture on Facebook. Photo courtesy of BABN.

According to BABN, the worlds first floating Dollar General has sailed across Table Rock Lake. The worlds largest watermelon ever was grown in Branson. A 47-pound baby was born at a hospital in Branson, breaking a world record.

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Those are all satirical writings from BABN, but other writings  including a recent BABN post that said Branson police arrested two people after they were caught living in the attic of a Wal-Mart in Branson  can come across as authentic hard news to unassuming people scrolling quickly through their social feeds.

The creator of BABN is a born-and-raised Branson resident who wishes to remain anonymous. Her pseudonym is Margaret. She created the page independently but now has one other person who she bounces ideas off, and he occasionally writes stories, too.

Margaret told Ozarks First shes always been interested in humor and satire.

I was active in a local Branson group when I decided to start a satire news page just to see what kind of reactions Id get, Margaret said. It was a hit. People who understood satire jumped in right away and played along in the comments. The page really grew organically  people love to laugh, and satire offers a break from constant negativity and political noise.

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Margaret said the page took off rather quickly when it was created in 2020. But after the initial buzz, she didnt have time to post regularly, so the pages growth remained stagnant for a while at around 7,500 followers.

At the beginning of this year, however, Margaret committed to posting consistent content every day, which helped BABN to grow up to nearly 39,000 followers in just half a year.

Margaret said she enjoys The Onion and other mainstream satire news outlets, but shes especially fond of locally-run satire pages. One of her favorites at the moment is a page called Celina 52 diner on Facebook.

And the local feedback shes received from her own community satire page has been more positive than negative, although there are the occasional critics.

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Ive received both positive and negative feedback from the community, Margaret said. Many local businesses have joined in on the fun  it gives them a unique way to engage with people in the area. Of course, I get some hate messages and angry comments too.

Margaret said some people dont realize the page is satire, and even those who do realize the humor sometimes still get upset with select content.

I dont let the negativity bother me, she said. The positive comments and messages far outweigh the negative ones. And honestly, part of the art of satire is making stories just believable enough to spark those reactions.

Margaret said she enjoys when people think BABNs stories are real news.

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It makes the page even more fun, she said. Some of them argue, some get upset, and some eventually figure it out and join in on the fun. The page is clearly labeled as satire. I encourage everyone to read the tagline.

The tagline claims BABN is a world-renowned satirical news organization that has received many awards for breaking news stories.

Some of Margarets favorite BABN pieces include a story about Casey Anthony opening a daycare in Branson; the Arch being moved from St. Louis to Branson; and a story about a large group of bears overtaking Highway 65.

Regarding her future goals for BABN, Margaret said that in one year, she sees the page growing to over 100,000 Facebook followers.

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Well have our own website, sell Branson-themed merchandise and promote local businesses, she said. Eventually, I want BABN to be my full-time job. Its something I truly love doing  and what could be better than turning your passion into a career? Satire is that for me.

Margaret said she appreciated the communitys support.

The page wouldnt exist without all the people engaging with the content, and Im excited to keep it going, she said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.
A Brazilian judge sanctioned by the United States for what President Donald Trump calls a "witch hunt" against a far-right ally vowed Friday to keep working and said his court "will not bow" to threats.

The US Treasury imposed financial sanctions Wednesday on Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who it accused of seeking to be "judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against US and Brazilian citizens and companies."

At the heart of the dispute is the trial of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, accused of plotting a coup to wrest back power after his 2022 election defeat to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

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Trump also signed an executive order slapping 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports, citing Bolsonaro's "politically motivated persecution."

Moraes, in a rare public address, said Friday he would pay no heed to the sanctions and "continue working."

"This Court, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Federal Police will not bow to these threats," he said during a court session.

And he vowed the court would remain "absolutely uncompromising in defending national sovereignty and its commitment to democracy."

Moraes has repeatedly taken aim at the Brazilian far-right and its figurehead Bolsonaro, as well as tech titan Elon Musk, over online disinformation.

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He is also the presiding judge in the coup trial of Bolsonaro, who risks a 40-year prison sentence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Moraes of "serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression."

Moraes recently ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle bracelet pending the conclusion of his trial, and barred him from leaving his home at night or using social media pending an investigation into potential obstruction of justice.

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Brazilians set fire to effigies of Donald Trump in protests across several cities Friday, denouncing the US president's politically motivated trade tariffs.

Anti-Trump protests were held in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, a sign of souring ties between two of the Americas' largest economies.

The demonstrations were modestly attended, but reflected broad anger at Trump's decision to put a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian exports and to sanction a top judge.

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The mercurial US president has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.

The far-right Brazilian firebrand is currently on trial for plotting a coup after failing to win reelection in 2022.

Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's congress in January 2023, ransacking the chambers and attacking police, in scenes reminiscent of Trump supporters' attack on the US Capitol two years before.

A Brazilian general has given evidence that the alleged plotters also wanted to assassinate leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several other public officials.

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Trump has called the trial a "witch hunt" and his Treasury Department has sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in response.

Trump also signed an executive order slapping 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports, citing Bolsonaro's "politically motivated persecution."

The tariff is due to enter into force on August 6.

Moraes, in a rare public address, said Friday he pledged to "continue working" despite a US travel ban and assets freeze.

"This Court, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Federal Police will not bow to these threats," he said during a court session.

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And he vowed the court would remain "absolutely uncompromising in defending national sovereignty and its commitment to democracy."

Moraes has repeatedly taken aim at the Brazilian far-right and its figurehead Bolsonaro, as well as tech titan Elon Musk, over online disinformation.

He is also the presiding judge in the coup trial of Bolsonaro, who risks a 40-year prison sentence.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused Moraes of "serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and infringing on the freedom of expression."

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Moraes recently ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle bracelet pending the conclusion of his trial, and barred him from leaving his home at night or using social media pending an investigation into potential obstruction of justice.

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By Luciana Magalhaes and Gabriel Araujo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing a criminal case against an ally of President Donald Trump, told a court session on Friday that he will continue to do his job and "ignore the sanctions" imposed by the United States that effectively block him from the country's wide-reaching financial system.

On Wednesday, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Moraes for overseeing the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing the judge of authorizing arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression.

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Justice Moraes has presided over the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who has been charged with plotting a coup to overturn Brazil's 2022 presidential election after his supporters violently stormed government buildings following the election victory of leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The U.S. sanctions were accompanied by an executive order imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, which was also tied to the case Moraes is overseeing against Bolsonaro, an unwavering supporter of the U.S. president.

Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, and several of his closest allies were charged with plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral loss, in a case that was in many ways similar to accusations against Trump.

Moraes said the court would not submit itself to foreign coercion or what he likened to new coup attempts by Bolsonaro's allies.

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Moraes said the Federal Supreme Court will continue to exercise its role as guardian of the Constitution.

"It will continue to exercise its role in criminal proceedings so that it can provide a final answer to all Brazilian society regarding who was truly responsible" for the attempted coup, he said, adding that there will be due process of law with no internal or external interference.

Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of the former president who moved to the U.S. to persuade the White House to intervene in his father's favor, has claimed credit for Trump's policies on Brazil.

"This criminal organizations insistence on implementing measures harmful to Brazil, by encouraging the imposition of these tariffs and making spurious and illegal attacks against Brazilian public officials, is aimed at creating a severe economic crisis in the country," he said. "But to the dismay of these traitorous Brazilians, that crisis will not happen."

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Moraes added that the court would conclude the trial of those accused of attempting a coup d'etat before the end of the year.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo and Luciana Magalhaes; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Claims that Return to the Land  a "whites-only" communal living group founded in Arkansas  had plans to expand into Missouri spread online in July 2025. The rumor stemmed from a story by Missouri news outlet KOLR-TV.

We reached out to RTTL co-founder Eric Orwoll, who claimed the KOLR reporter, Kathryn Skopec, "exaggerated" his statement in the story. "I was asked by a reporter if I had heard of any groups looking into the Springfield area, and I said that I had, but none that had definitively decided on it as a location and none affiliated with RTTL," he told Snopes.

Skopec provided Snopes with a screenshot of their conversation in which she asked Orwoll whether he saw "Return to the Land coming to the Ozarks of Missouri," to which he responded: "There is a group that is considering developing a community near Springfield. We're glad to facilitate communities in Missouri and think it's a great state."

It's unclear whether RTTL has definitive plans to establish a settlement in Missouri. However, Orwoll did post on X that he was planning "an RTTL recreational site  within an hour of St. Louis." He told Snopes it would not be a residential community.

In July 2025, a rumor circulated online that Return to the Land  a "whites-only" communal living group established in Arkansas  planned to expand into Missouri.

One Facebook post (archived) making the claim had received more than 14,000 reactions and 26,000 comments, as of this writing. The claim also spread to X (archived) and Reddit (archived).

According to Return to the Land's website, the group is for "individuals and families with traditional views and European ancestry." RTTL began establishing communal living infrastructure on a 150-acre parcel of land in northern Arkansas in 2023, where "numerous families" and construction of new homes is well underway, according to the group's website. Applicants to join the settlement must be of European ancestry, and cannot be Jewish  conditions critics say potentially violate housing discrimination laws.

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According to July 2025 reporting by CBS-affiliated Missouri news outlet KOLR-TV, the group's co-founder Eric Orwoll confirmed RTTL also may expand into Missouri. However, he later contested this report.

The July 22, 2025, story (archived) interviewed Orwoll, who reportedly announced the plan for expansion. "We're glad to facilitate communities in Missouri and think it's a great state," the story quoted Orwoll as saying. The article claimed he confirmed an RTTL group was specifically considering development near Springfield.

We reached out to Orwoll, and he said this was an exaggerated conclusion. He wrote via email: "That reporting is exaggerated, I was asked by a reporter if I had heard of any groups looking into the Springfield area, and I said that I had, but none that had definitively decided on it as a location and none affiliated with RTTL. The group that was considering Springfield is private so I can't discuss who that was."

We then contacted the KOLR reporter who wrote the story, Kathryn Skopec, and she provided a screenshot of their conversation in which she specifically asked Orwoll whether he saw "Return to the Land coming to the Ozarks of Missouri," to which he responded: "There is a group that is considering developing a community near Springfield. We're glad to facilitate communities in Missouri and think it's a great state."

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Following the KOLR report, Missourian politicians and leaders began protesting the alleged expansion into Missouri. "Missouri families are fed up with the fringe extremism Missouri Republicans keep inviting into their communities," said Chelsea Rodriguez, communications director for the state Democratic Party, according to The Hill. "If this hate group tries to relocate to Springfield, they shouldn't expect to be embraced."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People issued a statement on July 29 that began:

The NAACP Springfield Chapter vehemently condemns the proposed expansion of Return to the Land (RTTL), a community explicitly designated as whites-only, beyond the borders of Springfield. Such a move starkly contradicts our core values of equity, inclusion, and justice, and undermines the progress toward racial equality that our city has strived to achieve.

There was no primary evidence showing construction of such a community had begun in Missouri, as of this writing, although the group's X page and YouTube account feature numerous videos and images of settlement construction that do not specify the location. This footage likely depicts construction in the established Arkansas settlement, given that groups in other regions appear to be in the planning stages.

The group's site (archived) lists several locations of development, including the original community in northern Arkansas and a second community reportedly established in January 2025 in northeast Arkansas. It also lists several locations in "the initial planning process," including a community in the "deep South," two in the Appalachian region and a third in the Ozarks region.

(returntotheland.org)

On July 26, 2025, Orwoll posted on X (archived) that he was planning "an RTTL recreational site is [sic] Missouri, within an hour of St. Louis." Orwoll told Snopes that it would not be a "residential community."

The first place I'll be going to organize an RTTL recreational site is Missouri, within an hour of St. Louis.



It's in the middle of the country, and if it's large enough could be an excellent location to host big private events going forward.



If interested, reach out.  Aarvoll (@Aarvoll_) July 26, 2025

Sources:

Return to the Land. https://www.returntotheland.org/. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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Skopec, Kathryn. 'A Whites-Only Community Could Be Coming to Springfield Area'. Ozarks First, 22 Jul. 2025, https://www.ozarksfirst.com/news/whites-only-group-springfield-expansion/.

- YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLRzP99QAY. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended the Supreme Courts recent practice of handing victories to President Donald Trump without explaining those decisions, while speaking at a judicial conference on Thursday.

For most of its history, the Supreme Court was very cautious about weighing in on any legal dispute before it arrived on its doorstep through the (often very slow) process of lawyers appealing lower court decisions. There are many reasons for this caution, but one of the biggest ones is that, if the justices race to decide matters, they may get them wrong. And, on many legal questions, no one can overrule the Court if the justices make a mistake.

Beginning in Trumps first term, however, the Republican justices started throwing caution to the wind. When Trump loses a case in a lower court, his lawyers often run to the Courts shadow docket, a once-obscure process that allows litigants to skip in line and receive an immediate order from the justices, but only if the justices agree. Unlike in ordinary Supreme Court cases  argued on the merits docket  the justices do not often explain why they ruled a particular way in shadow docket cases.

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Before Trump, the Court was hypercautious about granting relief on the shadow docket, because doing so often required them to decide high-stakes matters without much deliberation, full briefing, or an oral argument.

Now, the Supreme Court hands down emergency orders benefiting the Trump administration so often that its just a regular part of the justices work. (The Court was much more reluctant to grant similar relief to former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.) As law professor Steve Vladeck pointed out in late June, the Court granted, at least in part, each of the last 14 [shadow docket] applications filed by the Department of Justice.

Since then, the Court handed Trump two more victories on its shadow docket, including a major decision permitting the Trump administration to fire close to half of the Department of Educations workforce.

Though the Democratic justices frequently dissent from these shadow docket decisions, the Courts Republican majority rarely explains why they cast their lot with Trump. At a judicial conference last week, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, said that these silent decisions are a mistake. Courts are supposed to explain things, Kagan argued. Theyre supposed to explain things to litigants. Theyre supposed to explain things to the public, generally.

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And that brings us back to Kavanaughs remarks on Thursday, which seemed to be a direct response to Kagan and others whove offered a similar criticism of the Courts unexplained pro-Trump decisions.

Kavanaughs argument for silence is pretty good  but only if you assume that the Court needs to fast-track every request from Trump

Kavanaughs case for deciding Trump cases without an explanation is fairly straightforward. The shadow docket is often the Courts first opportunity to weigh in on a particular lawsuit, but it will not be the last. Typically, when the Court grants shadow docket relief, that relief is only temporary  lasting while the case is being litigated to a final decision.

Once a federal appeals court reaches its final decision on the matter, the losing party can seek Supreme Court review of that final decision. And, if the justices decide to take up the case at this later stage, it will receive the full deliberation, briefing, and oral argument that Supreme Court cases have traditionally received.

Kavanaugh warned that there is a risk, if the Court releases a majority opinion when the case reaches them on the shadow docket, of a lock-in effect, of making a snap judgment and putting it in writing, in a written opinion thats not going to reflect the final view.

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If the majority explains itself, the argument goes, then the justices may become entrenched in a position that is incorrect  and that they would not have reached if they had considered the case for the first time after full briefing and argument. Lower courts, meanwhile, are bound by Supreme Court opinions, even when those opinions are handed down on the shadow docket.

So if a majority of the justices hand down a half-baked opinion that is riddled with errors and unworkable legal standards, every other court in the country will have to apply those standards to similar future cases.

Viewed through a narrow lens, Kavanaugh makes a pretty good argument. If you assume that the Supreme Court cannot simply tell Trump to wait until after the lower courts are done considering his cases before the justices get involved, as it did for nearly all litigants for most of its modern history, then Kavanaugh is right that these hastily decided cases should often be decided without an opinion.

The justices should, at the very least, be briefed on all the downside risks of deciding a case in a particular way before they issue a binding opinion that makes those risks a reality.

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But the justices do not need to drop everything and race to hand down a decision every time that Trumps lawyers ask them to do so. The Court used to have a way of screening shadow docket petitions to ensure that only the ones that required their immediate attention received it. It could go back to doing things the way they were done before Trumps rise to power.

Nken v. Holder, briefly explained

The Supreme Court explained how the shadow docket is supposed to work in Nken v. Holder (2009), which was handed down roughly a decade before the Court turned its shadow docket into a fast-track complaints department for Donald Trump.

Nken explained that, when a litigant asks an appellate court to block a lower courts decision while the case is still ongoing, it is not enough for that litigant to demonstrate that they are likely to prevail on appeal. Someone seeking shadow docket relief (or its equivalent in a lower appeals court) must also show that they will be irreparably injured absent a stay. Often, appeals courts must also ask whether blocking the lower courts decision would substantially injure any third parties, or otherwise harm the public interest.

Think of it this way: Imagine that Pepsi sues Coke, wrongly claiming that it is illegal to sell Coke products in the state of Indiana. Now imagine that a trial judge issues an injunction prohibiting Coke from selling anything in that state.

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This injunction is illegal, and an appeals court should eventually reverse the trial court. But, under Nken, Coke may not be entitled to immediate relief before the appeals court reaches its final decision. The ban on Coke sales in Indiana, while illegal, probably wont cause any irreparable harm to Coke. When it wins on appeal, Coke can calculate how much money it would have earned if it had been allowed to do business in Indiana while the injunction was in place. And a court can potentially order Pepsi to reimburse Coke for this amount of money.

Now imagine a different version of Pepsi v. Coke, where Pepsi convinces a trial judge to force Coke to reveal its secret formula for Coca-Cola syrup. Once a secret is out, it is out. So, under Nken, Coke should be entitled to an immediate appeals court decision allowing it to keep its most precious trade secret confidential.

As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson explained in a pair of dissents earlier this year, however, the Republican justices appear to have abandoned Nken, at least when the Trump administration asks for shadow docket relief.

In Social Security Administration v. AFSCME (2025), for example, the Republican justices ruled that DOGE, the enigmatic White House office that was once led by billionaire Elon Musk, may have immediate access to sensitive information kept by the Social Security Administration. Notably, however, when a judge asked one of Trumps lawyers what harm the government would experience if DOGEs access to this information were delayed, the lawyer did not answer  saying instead that the Trump administration would stand on the record in its current form.

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Similarly, in the Trump administrations brief to the justices in AFSCME, Trumps lawyers did not even attempt to argue that it faced irreparable injury without shadow docket relief. That brief devoted only one paragraph to the question of irreparable harm, and it did not identify any injury to the government that could not be unraveled by a future court order. Instead, it merely complained that the lower court order blocking DOGEs access impinges on the Presidents broad authority.

And yet the Republican justices voted with Trump, violating Nken in the process.

Restoring Nken would not mean that shadow docket relief was never available, or even that it would not be available to the federal government in particularly pressing cases. To understand why, consider Judge Matthew Kacsmaryks infamous decision attempting to ban the abortion drug mifepristone by rescinding the Food and Drug Administrations approval of this medication.

The Supreme Court blocked Kacsmaryks decision on the shadow docket, and it was right to do so because cases involving pregnancy are a classic example of a time-sensitive matter where people will be irreparably harmed if the courts do not act quickly. If Kacsmaryks order had remained in effect, many women seeking abortions would have been unable to obtain the medically recommended treatment. Some might have undergone much more invasive procedures, such as a surgical abortion. Others may have been forced to carry their pregnancy to term.

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These are irreparable harms. Once a woman undergoes a surgery, it is not possible to unoperate on them, and then go back in time to give them the medication that they should have received in the first place.

On the other end of the spectrum, consider the Republican justices decision in Trump v. CASA (2025), which held that lower court orders blocking Trumps attempt to strip citizenship from some Americans may have been too broad. Though CASA was the unusual shadow docket case where the Republican justices actually produced an opinion that discussed Nken, they brushed off the question of how, exactly, the government is irreparably harmed if someone remains a citizen while this case is being litigated.

That was wrong. Nken should have required Trump to demonstrate why these Americans couldnt just be stripped of their citizenship at some later date if he somehow prevails in this litigation.

In any event, restoring Nken would address Kavanaughs concern about hastily drafted opinions in nearly every case. If the Court started applying Nken to Trump, most of his shadow docket petitions would simply be dismissed for seeking relief prematurely  so there would be no need for the Court to issue a rushed opinion explaining whether Trump is likely to prevail once the case is fully litigated. If Nken were still applied, the risk that lower courts would then be bound by those rushed opinions would also disappear in most cases, because there would be no opinions.

There would still be occasional shadow docket decisions blocking a lower courts order  like the Courts very brief order in the mifepristone case, where the justices blocked Kacsmaryk without fully explaining themselves. But those decisions would be rare. There would no longer be more than a dozen decisions handed down in just a few months, all of which favor a Republican administration, and few of which contain any legal reasoning whatsoever.
Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of dismembering his wife, Ana Walshe, with a hacksaw and disposing of her remains after using his sons iPad to Google the best ways to get rid of a body, was back in court Friday afternoon for a pre-trial hearing.

Court video:

Walshe briefly appeared in Plymouth Superior Court via Zoom, one week after his attorneys last week asked a judge to limit some of the evidence that can be presented at his trial in October.

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Larry Tipton, Walshes lead defense attorney, argued last week that the prosecution didnt present sufficient evidence to the grand jurors to indict his client for first-degree murder on theories of premeditation.

Tipton wants his clients first-degree murder charge tossed on those grounds.

Earlier this week, the judge presiding over the case ruled that prosecutors can use evidence from Walshes sons iPad during the trial.

In court on Friday, the judge announced that there could be a conflict due to a state attorney who is a friend of hers. The judge then gave Walsh and Tipton time to discuss the possible conflict and said they would touch base next week, marking an end to the hearing, which lasted about 15 minutes.

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The judge determined that investigators did not exceed the scope of Walshes consent when searching his devices. However, the judge agreed to suppress certain search warrants related to the GPS system on Walshes mothers car and specific days of records from his cellphone.

Prosecutors allege that Walshe killed his 39-year-old wife and misled investigators about her disappearance in early 2023.

In March 2023, a Norfolk County grand jury indicted Walshe on a charge of murder, misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice, and improper conveyance of a human body in connection with his wifes death. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Ana Walshe, a mother of three young children and a real estate professional who worked in Washington, D.C., vanished on New Years Day 2023 and was reported missing a few days later, authorities said.

Prosecutors have alleged that Walshe killed his wife in their Cohasset home on New Years Day. The couples three young boys were reportedly home at the time.

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Days after Anas disappearance, a hacksaw and a blood-soaked rug believed to contain biological evidence were recovered from their home by investigators.

Police later searched trash bins, dumpsters, trash trucks, and trash facilities in the areas where Brian Walshe traveled following her disappearance.

Prosecutors have also previously said that a broken knife with blood on it was found in the basement of the Walshe family home.

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The Norfolk District Attorneys Office previously said that it was awaiting DNA test results from dozens of items.

In September 2024, prosecutors announced that they wouldnt call then-suspended-and-now-fired Massachusetts State Police trooper Michael Proctor to testify in Walshes upcoming trial. Proctor was the lead investigator assigned to Ana Walshes murder.

State police suspended Proctor in July 2024 following Karen Reads mistrial. While testifying during Reads trial, Proctor received criticism for inappropriate texts he sent about Read. He was fired from his role with the law enforcement agency in March, and Read was acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges just months later.

Walshe has been held without bail since his arrest.

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He is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for selling fake Andy Warhol paintings.

His murder trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 20.

Anas body has never been found.

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This story was originally published on Restaurant Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Restaurant Dive newsletter.

Dive Brief:

Shake Shack same-store sales rose 1.8% in Q2 2025, driven by a shifting order mix and increased prices, but partly offset by a decrease in traffic, according to the brands Q2 shareholder letter.

The brand will increase its paid media ad spend as a strategic component of its business, CEO Rob Lynch said during the chains earnings call.

An early use of that ad spend, CFO Katie Fogerty said, would be to support promotions like the chains Dubai Chocolate Shake.

Dive Insight:

To capitalize on the success of its core operations and the buzz driven by limited-time menu items, Lynch said the brand was looking to launch paid media advertising at scale. An emphasis on paid media is a departure from the brands pervious strategies, Lynch said.

Its hard to believe, but all of the marketing has always been word of mouth, earned media and bottom of the funnel promo activations, Lynch said.

The chain began testing paid media programs in select markets over the last two weeks. While test results arent recorded in the brands Q2 earnings report, Lynch said the company was ecstatic with the results.

Lynch said Shake Shacks marketing focus would be on setting the chain apart from fast food competitors. A focus on the brands identity and premium menu items could help the chain take occasions from QSR burger brands, which have struggled to grow same-store sales as pricing pressure has eroded QSRs traditional value edge over both casual dining and fast casual competitors. Chilis, in particular, has seen its efforts to contrast its burgers with fast food drive astronomical traffic growth.

Were making these investments because we do believe that they will drive sales and margin expansion, but that is not in the guidance today, Fogerty said.

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HALIFAX COUNTY, Va. (WFXR)  The Virginia Department of Transportation is advising motorists of lane closures due to a bridge repair on Route 58 (Philpott Road).

Eastbound lanes on Route 58 will be closed. It will also be closed to through traffic from Route 119 to the intersection of Route 699 on Tuesday, August 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Traffic on Route 58 east will be rerouted. Drivers will take Route 119 into North Carolina, then Route 1547, followed by Route 1318, and return to Route 699 in Virginia. This detour affects the stretch from Mount Carmel Road to Wilkins Road before getting back to Route 58.

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Lynchburg emergency bridge closure causing detours

See the map below for more information.

(Photo Credit: Virginia Department of Transportation)

Detours will be in place.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Lebanon Police have arrested a Bristol man they say was involved in a stabbing Thursday morning in Colburn Park.

Dahlton Fairbank

Dahlton Fairbank

Police received a call about an assault in the park at 8:52 a.m. Responding officers found a man who had been stabbed in the neck, who was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries.

Surveillance footage captured a man running north through Colburn Park and across the Carter Community Building Association recreation center parking lot and fields fleeing the scene, according to police.

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Stabbing suspect

Lebanon police are looking for a Bristol man they say was involved in a stabbing Thursday morning in Colburn Park. Lebanon police have identified the suspect as Dahlton Fairbank, 29, of Bristol, shown here in surveillance footage.

Lebanon Police deployed a K-9 unit and a drone to search the area and multiple reports were received of a male matching the assailants description running southbound along Interstate 89 near Exit 18.

Lebanon police have now identified Dahlton Fairbank, 29, of Bristol, as their suspect in the stabbing. Police determined Fairbank was picked up off the interstate after running from the scene, then transported back to his home in Bristol.

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A search warrant was obtained for Fairbanks residence and Bristol Police were notified to assist in a search. Police arrived and found Fairbank had left the residence on foot.

During the search, police recovered clothing matching the description of what was worn during the assault, a cellphone, and several sharp-edged weapons, they said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Fairbank for first-degree assault, second-degree assault, felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, all felony-level offenses.

At 12:30 p.m. Friday, Fairbank was found and taken into custody in Bristol, police said. He is being held in the Grafton County House of Corrections, pending a hearing before a New Hampshire magistrate.
Every day, Christians say the prayer which Jesus himself taught, the Our Father. Its first expressed wish is Thy kingdom come.

Those three words refer to the belief that Jesus will have a Second Coming to earth which will inaugurate the eternal reign of God. When we say them, we express a sincere hope, but we are assuredly not expecting it to happen any time soon.

In history, preachers have emerged claiming they are the Messiah, or his prophet, and that the Kingdom is coming right now. They have been lunatics, charlatans, or political adventurers. It is not, from a Christian view, impossible that the Second Coming will be manifested soon in a high street near you: it is just extremely unlikely. Fear those who claim otherwise.

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The call for a two-state solution of Israel/Palestine is the political equivalent of Thy kingdom come. It is a noble aspiration towards which we should strive, but not, to put it mildly, likely or imminent. Beware of those who tell you different.

The proposal to recognise a Palestinian state now makes the same mistake as those who try to fast-track the coming of Christs kingdom. Its advocates may be perfectly sincere, but their actions empower the worst people. They will not create the state they seek.

There are differences between the recognition terms being offered by France, Canada and Britain. Canada, for example, imposes quite strong conditions, such as demilitarising the Palestinians. The British version is notably the worst. It demands Hamas release the hostages, but with no penalty if Hamas does not comply.

Weirdly, the British position makes our recognition of a Palestinian state dependent on Israels behaviour in the coming weeks. Recognition will be granted unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza and commits to a long-term sustainable peace, including through allowing the UN to restart without delay the supply of humanitarian support to end starvation, agreeing to a ceasefire, and making clear there will be no annexations in the West Bank.

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Is Sir Keir Starmer seriously saying that if Benjamin Netanyahu obeys him and calls off his dogs of war, the case for a Palestinian state falls? If statehood is needed, that need does not depend on how good or bad Bibi decides to be between now and September.

And what incentive does Britain give Hamas to offer a ceasefire? We have told the terrorists that if Israel agrees one, we will not recognise Palestinian statehood. What earthly reason will Hamas have for releasing the hostages now? Until the UN General Assembly, when recognition will be declared, it will want to drive Israel into more extreme positions. Then Britain will back the Palestinian state that Hamas wants.

This may not matter, since Britain has so little power in the situation, and has now, by its various recent actions, lost all leverage with Israel. For Mr Netanyahu, the latest British pressure need hardly register. The only Western power that matters here is the United States.

But why, then, did Sir Keir regard the nearly 80-year-old question of Palestinian statehood as suddenly so urgent that it required an emergency Cabinet meeting this week?

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And why is it that, for the first time, three G7 members are playing this recognition game?

I suppose the answer friendliest to those three states is that they want to forestall Israel. They think that Mr Netanyahu wants to annex Gaza: they fear that President Trump cannot be relied upon to stop him. They imagine their declaration of Palestinian statehood can prevent this.

They are right that the Netanyahu government has waged nearly two years of war without disclosing its post-victory plans. That makes everyone nervous. But I fear  a fear confirmed by the hasty, repetitive, almost inarticulate wording of the British statement  that the call for Palestinian state recognition is driven by motives little related to a long-term international settlement.

The most obvious is that the countries involved have big, restive Muslim populations to be appeased. Here in Britain, our governing party has a proportion of Muslim membership much higher than that of the general population (thought to be over 60 per cent in London). Labour is shedding votes in all directions. Muslim ones are among the most volatile.

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It would not be surprising, too, if the security services were privately warning of Islamist attacks stirred up by what is happening in Gaza. Labour is scared.

Slightly less obvious, but still powerful, are undercurrents about values. Attending President Macrons speech in Westminster Hall during his state visit, I was struck by his emphasis on recognising Palestine. Although he said it was his own view, he implied it arose from Anglo-French conversations. He waxed eloquent about how for us as Europeans there is no double standard (a remark which implies a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas). Mark Carney takes a similar line. He is back home ruling Canada these days, but there remains no greater devotee of European righteousness.

One must not forget that Sir Keir, although outwardly deferential to Trump, is desperate for a shadow EU membership for Britain to wash off what he sees as the stain of nationalism and realign us with the Union our voters rejected in 2016. For him, European values are talismanic. Unfortunately, they have never included robust support for Israel.

Then there is colonial guilt. Speaking at Wednesdays UN conference on the two-state solution in New York, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, invoked the hand of history that famously fingered Tony Blair in Northern Ireland. Britain bears the special burden of responsibility that goes back to the Balfour declaration of 1917, he said. We must protect the civil and religious rights of the Palestinian people which, along with a homeland for the Jews, Balfour promised.

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Balfour did not promise a Palestinian state, however. There has never been one. Palestinian leaders have rejected all offers of one. This Mr Lammy did not discuss.

It is a serious matter to create a new state. As a result, there are four international legal principles for doing so, based not on aspiration, but on facts: does the entity in question have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government and the capacity to enter into relations with other states? This Government of lawyers is oddly reluctant to engage with these questions.

It was a surprise to hear the distinguished ex-jurist Lord Sumption say on television that it is completely clear that Palestine has met these conditions, especially that of having a government. Until now, such complete clarity has eluded all those who have sought to deal with representatives of the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority is much less than a government. Hamas, as all admit, has no legitimacy whatever. Its plan for statehood was well expressed in its actions of Oct 7 2023.

Palestinian statehood, as currently offered, bursts with contradictions. Here is a darkly funny one. At present, the official status of most Palestinians in the territories is that of refugees (the only example in the world of refugee status being hereditary), for whom the UN is responsible. If statehood were granted, they would be refugees no more, so would UNWRA and all its aid have to be sent packing? That is just one of the many things which Sir Keir and colleagues have not thought about.

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When Balfour made his momentous declaration, he had power and responsibility, qualities which forced him to think. The current British Government has neither, so its thinking is all over the place.

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The Brooklyn Museum has changed the description of a painting by Illia Repin to reflect that the landscape depicted is Ukrainian, not Russian, art historian Oksana Semenik told Espreso on air on August 1.

The correction is seen as a cultural victory for Ukraine, which has long accused Russia of attempting to erase or appropriate Ukrainian artists, heritage, and cultural symbols  a trend that has intensified since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The updated label replaces the word "Russia" with "Ukraine" for the painting formerly titled Winter Landscape  Russia.

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According to Semenik, the canvas portrays his birth city of Chuhuiv in northeastern Ukraine (today's Kharkiv Oblast), and Repin himself identified it as such in his writings.

"In fact, the issue was not only Repin's nationality and identity, but also the fact that this painting is a landscape from Chuhuiv, and Repin himself wrote that it was Chuhuiv," said Semenik. "But for some reason, this American museum listed the title as 'Winter Landscape - Russia.'"

Semenik said the change came after nearly two years of communication with the Brooklyn Museum, starting in 2023. Instead of calling Repin a Russian artist, the label now also omits nationality altogether, listing only his place of birth and death.

"Museums often do this to avoid political conflict," she said. "We discussed the title of this painting for a very long time  communication with them began back in 2023. It took them two years to finally make these changes."

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Repin was one of the most prominent painters of the Russian Empire, known for his realistic and psychologically rich portraits, historical scenes, and depictions of everyday life.

Born in Chuhuiv, Repin was deeply influenced by Ukrainian culture and landscapes throughout his life.

Although often labeled a Russian artist due to the imperial context of his time, Repin's identity and work are closely tied to Ukraine.

Read also: Its disgusting  Trump says deadly Russian attack on Kyiv very sad, threatens sanctions

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
They asked for it.

Gov. Ron DeSantis new Department of Government Efficiency demanded mountains of information from the Broward County administration, from contracts and payroll to DEI and Green New Deal projects, determined to identify any potential wasteful spending that abuses the taxpaying public.

It took nine days for county employees in every department to gather the information, County Administrator Monica Cepero told elected commissioners in an email released Friday in response to a public-records request. By the time the Florida DOGE team left for the day, it had everything it requested, Cepero said.

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This includes over 54,910 files, totaling over 134.7 gigabytes of data, in various file formats, she wrote. This volume of information was produced, organized, reviewed, and submitted by county personnel across numerous areas of responsibility over the past nine days.

In person, Cepero said, the DOGE team focused its questions Thursday on the process of assigning contracts to vendors and efforts to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion. She anticipated Fridays discussions to focus on environmentally conscious programs, dubbed Green New Deal by the state audit team, and transportation.

The county also provided information about compensation, water and wastewater management, property management and services to the homeless.

DeSantis has long pointed to Broward as a county in which local governments allow left-leaning political ideology to steamroll over fiscal responsibility, resulting in higher property taxes and out-of-control spending.

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Broward officials said they hoped to counter that narrative by being transparent with the DOGE team and accounting for its spending priorities.

While some local officials say the outcome of the DOGE review was predetermined by its mission, County Mayor Beam Furr said the exercise can be fair if the audit team is honest and it gives the county a chance to address its findings before issuing a final report  a standard practice in government and nonprofit audits. The Broward County Commission receives an independent audit annually. The auditor, Bob Melton, was part of the Broward team that met with the DOGE representatives this week.

We should have an opportunity to respond to their initial findings, Furr said in an interview Thursday. If theres money that was misspent, that is a fair target. But political differences should not be confused with government waste, he added.

If a local government determines that something is needed, its their right to do that, he said in a follow-up interview Friday. Other people may not agree with what we decide. Thats the way our representative democracy works.

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A separate DOGE team went to Gainesville on Thursday, and DeSantis said more reviews will be conducted in Orange, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, along with the city of Jacksonville.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
Prosecutor Bill Thompson is weighing in on criticism after Bryan Kohberger received a plea deal for his role in the Idaho college murders.

I think that we did our job, and we had the opportunity to do it in a way to really give some immediate finality, which wouldnt have happened if we had to go through trial, Thompson, who has been the Latah County Prosecutor since 1992, told The Idaho Statesman in an interview published on Wednesday, July 30.

Were pleased and relieved that the community and the victims families arent going to have to continue to live through this, and relive this during a trial, he added.

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Kohberger broke into the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022 and fatally stabbed four college students  Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin  while they slept. He left a knife sheath containing his DNA behind in the house, leading to his arrest a little over one month later.

Details About Idaho College Murders Emerge as Gag Order Lifts: What Bryan Kohberger Did

Kohberger initially pleaded not guilty, but earlier this month, Kohberger pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary as part of a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. Kohberger was sentenced to four lifetimes in prison without the possibility of parole.

Thompson told the publication that he and his team would have sought the death penalty had the case gone to trial in August.

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This certainly was a case where the death penalty was appropriate, Thompson told the publication. If we ended up going through trial into a penalty phase, I think under the law it met the elements.

If Kohbergers case had gone to trial, Thompson was confident that the prosecution would have been able to convict.

Disturbing Takeaways From Unsealed Idaho Murders Documents After Bryan Kohberger Gets Life in Prison

Our thought is that this case is on track for trial, and if thats where it goes, thats where its going to go, he explained. And were going to do our best job to present everything that we believe is legally relevant to help the jury make that decision.

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He also addressed past comments made by Moscow Police Corporal Brett Payne, who stated that police would have connected the case to Kohberger even without his DNA on the forgotten knife sheath.

There are a lot of white Hyundai Elantras out there, Thompson said, referring to the car Kohberger drove to the crime scene. But if they stuck with it, eventually they would have found Mr. Kohbergers car and made that preliminary connection.
A newly released picture shows University of Idaho murderer Bryan Kohberger moments after his arrest in the high-profile slayings.

Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University in Pullman at the time of the November 2022 killings, was at his parents' home in eastern Pennsylvania when he was arrested on the morning of Dec. 30, 2022.

Kohberger is currently being housed in the "J" block of the Idaho Maximum Security Institution near Boise, which is considered long term-restrictive housing -- the most restrictive area -- ABC News has learned.

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It appeared Kohberger was "sorting through garbage, with gloves on, just shortly before the arrest occurred," Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson told ABC News.

The photo shows the now-convicted killer staring at the camera, wearing black shorts and a hooded sweatshirt with his hands behind his back.

Moscow Police Department - PHOTO: Bryan Kohberger moments after his arrest.

MORE: Idaho murders: Investigators speak out about targets, motive and interviewing Kohberger

"I'll never forget -- my phone dinged and I looked at it and it said, 'We got him,'" current Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger told ABC News of that moment. "The next thing on, there was a picture of him in handcuffs from the scene."

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"I can't describe the relief that washed over in that moment," Dahlinger said. "So being able to share that information with the community, I can only imagine that many of us in the community felt the same when we knew that we had him."

MORE: Idaho killings latest: Motive unknown but 'new information could come out,' former chief says

Gilbertson, the lead investigator, was among the authorities who interviewed Kohberger that day.

He described Kohberger as "expressionless," but said the former criminology student liked to "speak to you and teach and enlighten you."

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"We started with just very general questions about Pullman, about WSU ... he spoke at length about that with us," Gilbertson said.

Kyle Green/Pool/Getty Images - PHOTO: Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse for his sentencing hearing on July 23, 2025 in Boise, Idaho.

MORE: Idaho families slam Bryan Kohberger at emotional sentencing hearing: 'Hell will be waiting'

Gilbertson said Kohberger asked several times why he was being interviewed.

Gilbertson said he eventually told the suspect, "We're here because of the case in Moscow."

"As soon as we mentioned that, then he stopped, and he said, 'I don't want to talk anymore.' We asked if he was familiar with it, if he knew anything about Moscow, and he said, no ... and stopped right then and said he wanted an attorney," Gilbertson said.

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He said police left that interview feeling like they "had their guy."

Kohberger was sentenced last week to four life sentences plus 10 years after pleading guilty to all charges in the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. The four students were stabbed to death at the girls' home on Nov. 13, 2022. Moscow police said they don't know which victim was the specific target and have not found any link between Kohberger and the victims.
Originally appeared on E! Online

Bryan Kohberger is spending a lot more time alone.

After the 30-year-old was sentenced to life in prison for the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, he has been moved to solitary confinement, the Idaho Department of Corrections confirmed to E! News.

Kohberger now lives in the long-term restrictive housing of J Block in the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, a spokesperson for the department confirmed. Inmates live in single-person cells, are provided a shower every other day and are allowed one hour of outdoor recreation per day, according to IDOC.

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Officials noted that inmates have access to religious services, communication through the prison's JPay system, as well as a commissary.

Kohbergerwho is serving four life sentences for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapinis among the 128 prisoners who reside in J Block. The facility houses inmates in general population, protective custody, long-term restrictive housing and death row.

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Another notable inmate living in the facility is Chad DaybellLori Vallow's husbandwho is currently on death row after being found guilty for the murders of his first wife Tammy Douglas Daybell, along with Vallow's kids Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and daughter Tylee Ryan, 16. (Vallow was convicted of murdering her children in 2023 and found guilty of killing her fourth husband Charles Vallow in April 2025.)

The Idaho Maximum Security Institution houses 535 of the state's "volatile male residents," according to the Department of Corrections' website, within "a double perimeter fence reinforced with razor wire and an electronic detection system."

Before Kohberger's sentencing, he was residing at the Latah County Jail, about 300 miles north of the prison, where a neighboring inmate described his unusual habits.

Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Images

In the Moscow Police Department documents obtained by E! News, lead detective Brett Payne noted that he spoke with an intimatewhose name was redacted from the fileswho said Kohberger "quickly became annoying" due to his behavior, including washing his hands "dozens of times each day" and showering for "45 minutes to an hour."

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He added that the former criminology student "would be awake almost all night" and was heard "moving around all night."

The inmate described Kohberger as "highly intelligent and polite for the most part," but that he had "lost his temper" more than once. While he added that Kohberger "did not mention his alleged offenses at all," but would ask other inmates about their charges.

For a closer look at Kohberger's trial, keep reading.

Who Were Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were University of Idaho students who lived in an off-campus apartment. On Nov. 12, 2022the night before their bodies were foundGoncalves and Mogen were at a nearby sports bar, while Kernodle and Chapin were at the latters fraternity party. By 2 a.m. on Nov. 13, the four roommates and Chapin were back at the three-story rental house. Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She was expected to graduate in December before heading to Austin, Texas, for a job at a marketing firm, her friend Jordyn Quesnell told The New York Times. Mogen, who was studying marketing, was best friends with Goncalves since the sixth grade. She had plans to move to Boise after graduation, family friend Jessie Frost shared with The Idaho Statesman. Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing, the University said at the time. She and Chapinwho majored in recreation, sport and tourism managementhad been dating since the spring, the roommates neighbor Ellie McKnight told NBC News.





Were There Any Survivors?

Two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, had been home at the time of the murders. In text messages that were unsealed March 6, 2025, Mortensen and Funke tried contacting their roommates on Nov. 13 after the former saw a masked man moving through the house, according to documents obtained by E! News. "No one is answering," Mortensen texted Funke at 4:22 a.m. "I'm rlly confused rn." She continued to reach out to their roommates, urging them to respond. "Pls answer," she texted Goncalves at 4:32 a.m. and again at 10:23 a.m. "R u up??" At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call was placed after Kernodle was found unresponsive, per an additional motion obtained by E! News. A woman named A1 in the transcript described the current situation to the operator. "One of the roommates who's passed out and she was drunk last night and she's not waking up," she said on the phone. "They saw some man in their house last night."





Who Is Bryan Kohberger and How Was He Found?

Bryan Kohberger, who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, was a doctoral candidate at Washington State University. Over one month after the bodies of Gonclaves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin were discovered, Kohberger was taken into custody Dec. 30 in Monroe County, Penn. He was extradited to Idaho Jan. 4, 2023. As for how authorities connected him to the killings? DNA was found on a knife sheath that was left at the crime scene, prosecutors revealed in June 2023 court documents, per NBC News. When the DNA didn't match anyone in the FBI database, authorities ran the DNA through public ancestry websites to create a list of potential suspects, according to the filings. After learning that Kohberger had driven to his parents' home in Monroe County, local officials then went through their trash and found DNA that tied him to that found on the sheath.





What Was Kohbergers Initial Defense?

At the moment, a motive for the attack has not been detailed and a gag order prevents many involved in the case from speaking publicly, NBC News reported. However, the unsealed documents provided some insight into their initial arguments. Kohberger's attorneys argued in a motion obtained by E! News to strike the death penalty that Kohbergerwho initially faced death penalty if found guilty on all countshas autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment." His defense argued that Kohbereger "displays extremely rigid thinking, perseverates on specific topics, processes information on a piecemeal basis, struggles to plan ahead, and demonstrates little insight into his own behaviors and emotions." "Due to his ASD, Mr. Kohberger simply cannot comport himself in a manner that aligns with societal expectations of normalcy," the motion said. "This creates an unconscionable risk that he will be executed because of his disability rather than his culpability."

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Where Was the Trial Set?

Initially, Kohberger had a judge enter a not-guilty plea to the first-degree murder charges on his behalf after remaining silent at his May 2023 arraignment. Although his trial was set to begin Oct. 2, 2023, Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial in August 2023. His trial datewhich was scheduled to take place in Ada County, more than 300 miles from Latah County, where the killings took placewas set to begin Aug. 11, 2025. Latah County Judge John Judge previously ruled in favor of the transfer request made by Kohberger's defense in September 2024 based on "presumed prejudice" if the trial remained in Latah County. Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied the defense's request to suppress key DNA and other evidence, including cell phone and email records, surveillance footage, past Amazon purchases and DNA evidence in the trial.





What Was the Verdict in the Trial?

Kohberger's murder trial was abruptly canceled after he took a plea deal from prosecutors on June 30, 2025. In accepting the deal, Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to four counts of murder and one count of burglary, as well as waive his rights to appeal and ask for a more lenient prison sentence. He entered his guilty plea on July 2, 2025, confirming with a "yes" after the judge asked if he killed all four victims "willingly, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice with forethought."





Did Kohberger Take a Selfie After the Murders?

A selfie Kohberger took the morning after the murders took place was introduced in March 2025. The photograph, which sees him in front of a shower showing a thumbs up, displays how he may fit the description a witness identified as "D.M." gave in filings, who said the perpetrator had "bushy eyebrows." Steve Gonclaves, the father of victim Kaylee, later reacted to the image calling it a "trophy" in an interview with Fox and Friends. "I know the timeline, I know that he had just returned to the crime scene and he had come back," Gonclaves said. "He had realized that nobody had called 911." As he put it, "To him, thats his little trophy to let him know like, Hey, I got away with it, nobodys on me.





What Did Kohberger Google Before the Murders?

In a 2025 Dateline documentary about the murders, a former classmate of Kohbergers detailed a peculiar text she received from him after making his acquaintance at a party. I definitely felt a little obligated to chat with him, because to me, he seemed a little awkward, the studentidentified as Hollyexplained. Kind of like you might expect for a PhD student who didn't know anyone at the party and was maybe trying his best to kind of get out there and be social and make friends. The following day, Holly said she received a text from him, which she described as overly formal. Hey, I am pretty sure we spoke about hiking trips yesterday, Bryans text from July 10, 2022 at 1:19 p.m., read, per Dateline. I really enjoy that activity, so please let me know. Thanks! Elsewhere in the Dateline documentary, Kohbergers browsing history was found to have included searches for Ted Bundy, Britney Spears song Criminal, and the term University of Idaho Murders.

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Did Kohberger Confess to Killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?

After accepting a plea deal that would spare him from the death penalty, Kohberger changed his plea to guilty in the murders of Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin, as well as one count of burglary, at a July 2, 2025 hearing in Idaho. When judge Hippler questioned Kohberger if he killed each victim "willingly, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice with forethought," he replied with a firm, "Yes" for each. In taking the plea deal, Kohberger has waived his right to appeal or ask for a more lenient prison sentence, according to Hippler.





How Long Is Kohberger's Prison Sentence?

Though the families of Goncalves and Kernodle each slammed the decision to issue a plea deal, therby taking the death penalty off the table, Kohberger was officially sentenced to life in prison July 23, 2025. Judge Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four life termsto be served consecutivelywithout the possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder, along with a $50,000 fine for each count and a $5,000 civil penalty to be paid to each of the victims' families. He also gave Kohberger 10 years and imposed a fine of $50,000 on the burglary count.



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A Buffalo, New York, man is facing charges in two states after allegedly killing his girlfriend and fleeing to a church in downtown Erie.

Parishioners were preparing for a 5:15 PM mass at Saint Peter Cathedral on Tuesday evening when they were interrupted by 37-year-old Daniel Negron.

We did come upon an individual. He was armed with a knife. There were individuals in mass at the time. Officers did challenge that individual, asking him to drop the knife, said Rick Lorah, Deputy Chief of the City of Erie Police Department.

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After Negron fled the church, Lorah said officers were able to successfully deploy a taser on him.

Man in custody in City of Erie allegedly involved in New York murder

Negron was then arrested and taken into police custody, but Lorah said there was a brief struggle as Negron tried to push the knife into his own chest.

This individual was making some remarks, saying, shoot me, kill me. During the struggle, they were able to pry the knife from this individuals hands and take him into custody with minor injuries, said Lorah.

A priest at the church on West 10th Street said anyone is welcome to come into the church when its open, but isnt exactly sure why Negron chose to come into the cathedral that night.

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However, he said police handled the situation promptly and safely.

No one was hurt. He made it very clear he didnt want to hurt anybody, so nobody from what I heard was actually afraid of him. They were just kind of concerned for him, said Father Michael Kesicki, resident at St. Peter Cathedral and Gannon University Chaplain. This particular person, his desire to bring harm on himself required us to call the police, and the police were professional and did what they needed to do.

During the encounter, Lorah said Negron made remarks claiming he had hurt his girlfriend somewhere close to Buffalo, New York.

Amherst Police Department in New York then reached out to Erie Police, saying they had found Negrons 27-year-old girlfriend dead with multiple stab wounds at a motel north of Buffalo on Niagara Falls Boulevard.

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Negron faces charges from the Amherst Police Department for second-degree murder for the death of his girlfriend.

Homicide at NY Wegmans warehouse affecting numerous stores including Erie

He is also facing charges including terroristic threats, possessing an instrument of a crime and recklessly endangering another person.

The Amherst Police Department secured an arrest warrant for Negron, but he is being held at the Erie County Prison pending extradition proceedings.

Amherst Police said the investigation is ongoing and are working with the Erie Police Department to ensure an extradition process.

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Racist graffiti has been found at the new Nissan Stadium construction site inside a temporary bathroom weeks after work was interrupted due to the discovery of a noose on site.

Crew members found the graffiti during the morning of July 31, according to Tony Williams, a spokesperson with Turner Construction Company. He said the impacted area has been secured, and an internal investigation is underway.

Kris Mumford, a spokesperson with Metro Nashville Police Department, said the graffiti was left on a wooden board that was part of the temporary bathroom.

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She said the board was removed and declined to say what the graffiti was. Williams, too, declined to say what the graffiti was, but the company has determined when it was created, he said.

"We condemn this act unequivocally," Williams said in a statement released via email. "It is a direct violation of the values we uphold and the inclusion, respectful work environment we are committed to maintaining."

He called the graffiti "unacceptable."

"What sets this project apart is our commitment to acknowledge and confronting them. We report what we see, investigate thoroughly, support those affected and take decisive action to uphold our standards," Williams said in the statement.

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In light of the graffiti's discovery Aug. 1, the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement denouncing the recent string of race-related issues at the stadium site.

The presence of such racist hate at a major construction site is a reminder of the persistence of racism and the need for a zero-tolerance approach to bigotry in all forms, "CAIR spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper said in the Aug. 1 statement, sent via email. "We call on law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure accountability. Hate has no place in our workplaces or communities."

Hooper urged the stadium's contractor and local officials to implement anti-bias training and protocols to ensure a "safe and inclusive environment" for those working at the site and to prevent future incidents.

The racist graffiti comes weeks after the Tennessee Builders Alliance and Metro Nashville Police Department investigated after finding a noose hanging from the ceiling of the stadium construction project. Officials never said exactly where the noose was left.

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Although a person of interest was sought and later questioned in the noose investigation, police declined to file charges, citing a lack of eyewitnesses and evidence. The person also denied any involvement in the incident.

Work was paused on the stadium build after MNPD launched the noose investigation July 17.

At the time, the company condemned the actions of the person responsible for hanging the noose, calling it a "racist and hateful symbol."

"There is no place for hate or racism in our workplace," Tennessee Builders Alliance officials said in a statement at that time. The construction company also offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

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There are about 1,400 workers at the Nissan Stadium construction site per day.

"We continually reinforce the message that hate has no place in our workplace. We encourage respectful behavior, monitor for compliance, and lead with accountability," Williams said in his July 31 statement. "This incident is a painful reminder of why that vigilance mattersand why we remain unwavering in our efforts to build a culture of respect, dignity, and safety for everyone on site."

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: Builder: Racist graffiti left at Nissan Stadium jobsite in Nashville
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Japanese banking giant Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and San Francisco-based asset manager Fin Capital will invest $300 million in U.S.-based fintech startups, the bank said Monday.

The initiative, dubbed the SMBC Fin Atlas Beyond Fund, will focus on early-stage start-ups in the banking, payments, wealth management, and artificial intelligence realms. Atlas Beyond will also focus on the CFO technology stack, insurtech, risktech and vertical fintech realms.

We are committed to investing in innovations tailored to the financial industry, aiming to elevate our banking groups business and foster new ventures within the sector, according to the funds website.

As a bank-backed CVC supporting diverse industries beyond finance, we aspire to drive innovation across various sectors by leveraging cutting-edge technology and data, the website said. We also seek to invest in companies offering specialized solutions in high-demand verticals, where banking expertise is essential.

Atlas Beyond will be run by Eiko Ooka, who is also general manager of SMBCs digital strategy department. Managing Director and Head of SMBCs Asia Innovation Centre Mayoran Rajendra, Fin Capital Managing Partner Logan Allin and Fin Capital General Partner Christian Ostberg join Ooka on Atlas Beyonds investment committee.

Finally made it! Since moving to New York in 2013, I've been working on VC investments and creating collaboration opportunities between startups and Japanese companies within the U.S. ecosystem, with the vision of establishing a CVC for the SMBC group. We will now further intensify our innovation activities in the U.S., Ooka said in a LinkedIn post Monday.

Its the first time the bank has focused its venture activities on U.S. startups, SMBC Group wrote on LinkedIn.

Atlas Beyond will work closely with SMBC Americas and other SMBC Group subsidiaries to build relationships with startups, entrepreneurs, investors, and universities across the U.S., according to SMBCs press release.

SMBC launched a similar fund in 2023 to support Asia-based fintech startups, dubbed the Asia Rising fund, alongside Tokyo, Japan-based venture firm Incubate Fund.

Asia Rising has since invested in six firms, including Vayana, a Pune, India-based trade credit infrastructure platform which processes over $1 billion in financing monthly; and Jakarta, Indonesia-based invoicing and payment platform Paper.id.
Local leaders, legislators and disability advocates had a message for those attending a town hall meeting Thursday: When it comes to accessibility for those with disabilities, much has been done and much is left to do.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan looked back on the 35 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in July 1990. The lives of people with disabilities have improved since the passage of that bill, with greater access to buildings, better access to transportation and even more inclusion in the community.

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Commissioner Bill Gaughan greets attendees to the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Mayor Paige Cognetti during the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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An interpreter translates Director of Economic Development for Lackawanna County Kristin Magnottas speech into ASL during the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Community members listen as the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall begins at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Rep. Bridget Kosierowski addresses the crowd gathered for the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Commissioner Chris Chermak speaks during the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Lackawanna County Disability Action Committee chairman Keith Williams served as emcee during the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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State Rep. Jim Haddock speaks during the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Commissioner Bill Gaughan greets attendees to the Building Bridges Disability Issues Town Hall at the Electric City Trolly Museum in Scranton on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Expand

Seemingly, many barriers have been torn down, but many remain.

Here we are still working in 2025, stone by stone, to dismantle those walls, he said. We know that too many remain closed, literally and figurately.

Providing accessibility and opportunity for those with disabilities shouldnt be an afterthought, he said. Instead, every citizen, whether disabled or not, should have a voice that carries weight.

Gaughan said the town hall, titled Building Bridges, was an opportunity to work to see barriers for those with disability come down.

Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak said the county backs multiple projects which make the community more accessible for those with disabilities.

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He credited those participating in the town hall and those attending with doing the work necessary to make change possible.

Were here to encourage open dialogue and communication as we build a more accessible future, he said.

Equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, economic stability

Dale Verchick, Disability Rights Network and the events keynote speaker, said it was appropriate for the event to be held at the Trolley Museum, which focused on moving people forward.

Thats our goal this afternoon, to connect across systems so those with disabilities can get where they need to go in every area of life, she said, adding a focus on ADA goals including equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self sufficiency.

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The benefits of the ADA were apparent to many of those who wheeled into the session, equipped with ramps and seating areas that made their participation possible. Other benefits of the legislation are closed captioning, relay calling, sign language interpretation and moving people out of institutions and into the community.

Whether because of the force of law or the pull of conscience, the ADA has moved us toward our goals, she said.

She spoke about the accessibility of Lackawanna Countys McDade Park, with slides and swings accessible to those children in wheelchairs and quiet areas designed with autistic children in mind.

These are concrete local wins, she said.

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But the need to fight for additional accessibility still remains, whether that means contacting legislators or supporting legislation to force the hands of leadership.

We still hear concerns from those with disabilities in Pennsylvania every day, she said. None of these goals belong to one party, they belong to every constituent.

Its about quality of life

Kristin Magnotta, Lackawanna County Department of Planning and Economic Development director, said grants received by the county often have built in requirements to make projects ADA compliant. Because of those requirements, it is important for the county to take accessibility seriously when it comes to parks, trails and economic development.

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But, she said, it goes beyond that.

It isnt just about having access to a location, she said. Its about quality of life and the opportunity for those with disabilities to enjoy the same amenities as everyone else.

Like the other speakers, she indicated there was more to do.

My department stands ready to hear, she said. She reminded those in attendance the Trolley Museum itself is an accessible space.

Full participation

State Rep. Bridget M. Kosierowski said she grew up in the 1980s and remembers when young disabled people didnt have the opportunity to participate in normal everyday activities.

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She recently attended the unveiling of an updated Weston Park playground, paid for by several state grants.

Kosierowski said the playground is accessible to children in compliance with ADA requirements. She is also seeking additional state funds for more disabled-accessible playground equipment, such as sensory boards, at Weston Park.

On the other end of the spectrum, Kosierowski also serves on the Aging and Older Adults committee in the states general assembly. She said she was happy to see the opening of the Older Adult Advocacy Center in Scranton, which provides resources for older adults experiencing serious challenges.

State Rep. Kyle Mullins said there have been real successes regarding those with disabilities.

But, there is a collective recognition that our work to make our communities more inclusive, compassionate and accessible is not finished, he said. I think this is our charge and our responsivity as public officials, but also everyone else up here has loved and cared for someone in this room.

He pointed out that when it comes to Pennsylvania constituents, legislators are always working to find new ways to make their offices and the state Capitol fully accessible.

Each voice makes a difference

Tim McGrath, executive director of the County of Lackawanna Transit System, or COLTS, said transportation is key to accessibility

McGrath said the agencys Shared Rides program serves 458 square miles, provides 500 trips daily and serves older and disabled residents. Its fleet of vehicles includes 37 vans, equipped and fitted to carry four wheelchairs each.

The elephant in the room, he said, is that COLTS and other programs like it across the state operate at a deficit for several reason, including insufficient compensation.

McGrath said the agency is working with PennDOT consultants to operate more efficiently.

Hes hoping that increases in compensation and increase in efficiency will mean the agency can no longer operate at a loss.

Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said she is excited for improvements the city has made, including upgrades to cross walks, pave cuts and accessibility.

Like the other speakers, she said there is still more to be done.

If I could redo every pave cut and cross walk, I would, but we cant, she said. We truly cant fund everything wed like to do.

She said Thursdays event highlights the importance of public input when it comes to issues such as accessibility.

With your voices, I think we can continue to make great progress, she said.
(QUEEN CITY NEWS)  More food items are being marketed as high protein, and Americans are eating it up. Chief Business Correspondent Taylor Young explains whats beginning the protein boom and whos benefiting from it.

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CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  While families are planning to spend less on back-to-school shopping this year, the National Retail Federation predicts consumers will spend a total of $39.4 billion this year compared to $38.8 billion last year. Chief Business Correspondent Taylor Young explains how the Trump administrations tariff deadline impacted families back-to-school spending habits this year.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.




NEED TO KNOW

Cecile Dionne, one of the famous Dionne quintuplets, has died at the age of 91

She and her four sisters  Marie, Annette, Yvonne and Emilie  quickly gained fame worldwide after their birth in Corbeil, Ontario, on May 28, 1934

Cecile was described in her obituary as a symbol of an era marked by wonder, controversy, and exploitation





Cecile Dionne, one of the famous Dionne quintuplets, has died. She was 91.

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Family spokesman Carlo Tarini announced that Cecile died at a hospital in Montreal on Monday, July 28, according to The New York Times and The Canadian Press.

Tarini said she died following a long illness, according to The Canadian Press and CBC News.

In her obituary, shared by Tarini, Cecile was described as a symbol of an era marked by wonder, controversy, and exploitation who lived her life with quiet dignity, exemplary discretion, and gentle humour, despite the hardships of a childhood lived in the public eye.

"She leaves behind family members, close friends, and countless Canadians who continue to remember with emotion the extraordinary story of the 'Dionne quintuplets,'" the obituary read, according to reports.

New York Times Co./Getty A portrait of the Dionne quintuplets (from left to right: Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Marie and Emilie) standing in the corridor of a train approaching Grand Central Station, New York City, New York. A portrait of the Dionne quintuplets (from left to right: Yvonne, Annette, Cecile, Marie and Emilie) standing in the corridor of a train approaching Grand Central Station, New York City, New York.

Cecile and her four sisters  Marie, Annette, Yvonne and Emilie  were born in Corbeil, Ontario, on May 28, 1934, and quickly gained fame worldwide, according to the Times and CTV News.

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The Dionne sisters were the first set of quintuplets to survive past infancy, the Press and CBC News reported.

Cecile and her sisters weighed a combined 13.5 lbs. at the time of their birth, according to the Times. But in an interview on her 50th birthday, Cecile said she resented everyone for the way we were brought up,

Because of the accident of birth, we were not considered people, she explained at the time.

In fact, the Ontario government removed the Dionne quintuplets from their home as infants and placed them in what the Press described as a nursery-style exhibition called Quintland.

In 1998, the Province of Ontario apologized to the three surviving sisters, according to CTV News. They then received $4 million in compensation for their exploitation, CBC News reported.

Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Cecile Dionne in Toronto, Tuesday, October 26, 1999. Cecile Dionne in Toronto, Tuesday, October 26, 1999.

In the 1930s, the Dionne quintuplets appeared in three movies about their births, according to IMdB: The Country Doctor (1936), Reunion (1936) and Five of a Kind (1938).

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Later in life, the Dionne quintuplets helped launch the Adopt-a-Child campaign, which helped 800 orphans find homes, according to the Dionne Quints Heritage Board website.

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Following Ceciles death, Annette is now the only surviving quintuplet. Emilie died in 1954, Marie died in 1970, and Yvonne died in 2001.



The family extends heartfelt thanks to the medical staff who provided care and compassion during the last months of her life, Cecile's obituary read, according to CTV News. Her funeral will be private.



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The Brief

Cal Fire has added two new Firehawk helicopters to its fleet, bringing the total to 16.

Governor Newsom called the additions a critical investment amid growing fire threats and federal funding cuts.

Oakland - As California approaches the height of fire season, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the addition of two state-of-the-art helicopters to Cal Fires aerial fleet.

The two new Firehawk helicopters bring Cal Fires total to 16, and Newsom said the state is home to the worlds largest aerial firefighting force.

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Each helicopter is equipped with a 1,000-gallon water tank, night vision technology to allow 24/7 operations, and space for a nine-person crew. Officials say the helicopters are critical in responding to wildfires across California.

Newsom praised the helicopters during a press conference in Sacramento on Thursday, highlighting their effectiveness in recent wildfires in Southern California.

"We saw first hand, in real-time, these Firehawks at night doing nighttime suppression. I think at the peak about eight of these hawks were out doing rings and circles to suppress the impacts of those spot fires. So, one cannot understate the importance of these investments," he said.

Cal Fire Director Joe Tyler said the helicopters will help firefighters keep most wildfires contained to 10 acres or less.

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"Having the largest civil fleet in the world, I am proud to be able to support the women and men who are flying these and make it safer for them." Tyler said.

Local fire departments welcome support

The new helicopters will be deployed across multiple counties, including many in Northern California, such as Santa Clara County.

Oakland Fire Chief Damon Covington said Cal Fires support was essential in stopping the Keller Fire last October from spreading further into the Oakland Hills.

"We're excited, Cal Fire is such a fantastic partner. We use them frequently, especially when we have a greater alarm wildland fire. Governor Newsom has really stepped into this space," he said.

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Newsom also affirmed the state's commitment to investing in firefighting resources, especially amid federal cutbacks.

"We hear from the president talking about raking the forest, which he quite literally means, literally believes that we should be raking the forest," he said. "I'll remind you we've never received a rake, and all we received this year were cuts of $450 million nationwide to aid and advance those efforts, cuts to the U.S. Forest Service."

The Source

Original reporting by Betty Yu of KTVU
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, leading a multistate coalition, filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the Trump administrations attempt to restrict access to gender-affirming health care for transgender, intersex and nonbinary youth.

The latest lawsuit marks Californias 37th lawsuit against the Trump administration since President Donald Trump took office back in January.

The suit targets Executive Order 14187 and accompanying directives from the U.S. Department of Justice. The order directed the federal government to stop supporting what it described as gender ideology and redefined the legal age of adulthood as 19 for health care-related decisions.

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The order led to a series of DOJ directives that initiated federal investigations of doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies involved in providing gender-affirming care, according to Bontas office.

The coalition argues that the actions are unlawful, exceed federal authority and undermine state laws. California law recognizes gender-affirming care as medically necessary and prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or expression in health care settings.

The President and his administrations relentless attacks on gender-affirming care endanger already vulnerable adolescents whose health and well-being are at risk, Bonta said in a statement. These unlawful threats have not only undermined state rights but have created a chilling effect, where providers are pressured to scale back care for fear of prosecution.

Back in February, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles announced that it is pausing transgender hormonal therapy for patients under the age of 19. In July, news broke that it would close its gender-affirming care center.

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Despite the executive order, Bonta issued a reminder to California hospitals and federally funded health care providers of their obligations under state law to provide gender-affirming care.

California supports the rights of transgender youth to live their lives as their authentic selves, Bonta said in a statement. We will not let the President turn back the clock or deter us from upholding California values. I understand that the Presidents executive order on gender-affirming care has created some confusion. Let me be clear: California law has not changed, and hospitals and clinics have a legal obligation to provide equal access to healthcare services.

California is joined in the lawsuit by attorneys general from New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, along with the governor of Pennsylvania.

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More Californians are using paid family leave benefits to care for a child after a new state law that increased payments for parents went into effect in January, according to new state data.

Claims in the first two quarters this year were up about 16%, compared with the same time period last year, according to data provided to LAist from the California Employment Development Department.

Anne Chapuis, public information officer for EDD, said several factors contributed to the uptick.

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The January 2025 benefit rate adjustment has led to higher benefit amounts for eligible customers. Also, we typically see a higher seasonal number of claims submitted near the end of each calendar year, Chapuis said in an email.

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While claims tend to tick up at the beginning of every calendar year, the uptick in the first quarter of 2025 was nearly 25% higher than the same period last year.

Before this years change, most workers got up to 60% of their income when they took time off to care for a new baby. Now, many workers can get up to 90% of their wages .

The changes stemmed from legislation in 2022 that aimed to allow more families to be able to take leave, especially low-income workers. Prior analysis showed that higher-income workers were using paid family leave benefits at much higher rates than workers making less than $20,000 a year.

For those making under $20,000, claims were up about 2%, while claims for those making under $60,000 were up 17%.

How paid family leave works

Currently, moms and dads can get up to eight weeks of paid family leave to bond with a new child. Thats in addition to the paid time off pregnant people get before and after giving birth to a child.

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The paid family leave program in California is funded through the State Disability Insurance program , which covers about 18 million employees in the state. Workers pay into this fund with 1.2% taken out of their paychecks (it usually shows up on paystubs as  CASDI ).

Workers who make less than $63,000 a year can get up to 90% pay  workers who make above that get 70%.
California lawmakers now want to document the undocumented

WASHINGTON (KSEE/KGPE)  As a candidate, President Donald Trump lobbied Republicans to kill a bipartisan border bill. Lawmakers now want to bring it back.

A pair of Central Valley lawmakers, Republican Rep. David Valadao and Democratic Rep. Adam Gray, have reintroduced the Dignity Act, which aims to document undocumented immigrants.

Obviously, theres a lot of people who have immigrated to this country, in ways that they shouldnt have, but it was their only option, said Rep. Valadao. And they play a vital role in our economy.

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The great majority of immigrants who are here working hard, each and every day in our communities, helping us, with agriculture, helping us, with many other industries, said Rep. Gray.

But Republican Rep. Tom McClintock, chair of the House Subcommittee on Immigration, has opposed the Dignity Act.

No. First of all, they broke our immigration laws by entering our country, said McClintock.

Rep. McClintock has called the Dignity Act an amnesty bill. He says the Biden administrations immigration policy is costing taxpayers money.

It has flooded our schools, our classrooms, with non-English speaking students. It has flooded our emergency rooms with illegals demanding care, McClintock said.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, argues that the Reagan-era amnesty in 1986 demonstrated that documentation reduces poverty and increases tax revenue.

They were less likely to rely on any kind of government benefits. They were able to support themselves. And that meant that they were paying more taxes into the economy, Reichlin-Melnick said.

According to the libertarian Cato Institute, the average immigrant generates more than $600,000 for the economy over their lifetime. But Gray says immigration reform is about more than money.

Id like to get serious and start working on real issues. Like protecting our friends and neighbors. Ive heard from farmers who have said to me, people who work for them and have worked for them for 15, 20 years are, in fear, Gray said.

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Rep. Gray says Central Valley farmers are counting on a bipartisan compromise.

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CAMARILLO, Calif. - An elderly man in California allegedly called 911 to tell dispatchers he had killed someone. When the cops arrived, he allegedly refused to put the gun down and got shot by a deputy.

What we know

The Ventura County Sheriff's Office arrived at the man's home in the 4300 block of Central Avenue in Camarillo around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 31. The 79-year-old man was allegedly armed with a gun and the dispatcher, who was still on the line, had asked the elderly man to step out of the house.

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The man was allegedly still armed and behaved in a "threatening matter," prompting one of the deputies to shoot him, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.

The man has since been taken to the hospital. None of the officers were hurt at the scene.

What we don't know

Deputies searched the man's house after the shooting and did not find any victims, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office wrote in a press release.

Officials did not specify the severity of the elderly man's injuries after he was rushed to the hospital.

The Source

This report used information provided by the Ventura County Sheriff's Office.
Young mom Maya Hernandez is facing a murder charge in California for allegedly allowing her 1-year-old son to roast to death inside a sweltering vehicle, while she plumped her pout with lip fillers in a medical spa  and experts reveal the tragedy is the 15th hot car death this year of a helpless tot.

Evidence shows that children left to perish in vehicles amid scorching temperatures is an all-too-common occurrence.

According to NoHeatStroke.org, 1,025 kids aged 5 days to 14 years have died from pediatric vehicular heatstroke since 1998. A total of 505 children lost their lives during that period because a caregiver forgot their charge in a vehicle  but in a disturbing 202 instances, youngsters were knowingly left behind. Yet, in another 237 heartbreaking occurrences, curious kids gained access to cars on their own and trapped themselves inside.

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Its horrifying  especially in light of the fact that its totally preventable, Dr. Stuart Fischer, author of Little Book of Big Medical Emergencies, tells the National Enquirer. Depending on the ambient temperature, a child can suffer potentially fatal symptoms in as few as two or three minutes.

The Enquirer was among the first to bring the issue to national attention more than a decade ago by covering the horrific 2014 death of 22-month-old Cooper Harris, whose father, Jared Harris, left him in a car for a sickening seven hours, while he went to work on a 92-degree day near Atlanta.

Harris was initially found guilty of murder and other crimes and was released after more than a decade behind bars in June 2025  three years after his murder and child cruelty convictions were overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court, per Court TV.

Yet such disturbing incidents continue to occur.

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Authorities say California mom Hernandez, 20, left son Amillio Gutierrez and his 2-year-old brother strapped in their car seats with her Toyota Corollas engine running and the air conditioner blasting at 60 degrees on June 29 at 2:09 p.m. in Bakersfield, Calif., but the hybrids engine automatically shut off after an hour of inactivity.

Lawmen charge the mom finally returned to the car at 4:33 p.m. on a day that outside temperatures soared to 101.

Detective Charles Jordan testified at a preliminary hearing that a witness recalled Hernandez re-entering the spa holding Amillio, who was limp and purple and making gargling sounds, local NBC affiliate KGET reports.

According to the outlet, Officer Moises Contreras also testified that an emergency room nurse noted Amillios temperature was 107.2 degrees, while Detective Kyle McNabb said that a spa nurse feared the older child, who survived, looked like he was going to have a stroke.

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Amillio was declared dead at 5:48 p.m.

It was something very sad that never had to happen, Gricelda Anaya, who works next door to the spa, told KGET.

Hernandez, who has entered not guilty pleas to charges of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child cruelty, remains in custody on more than $1 million bail.

Days after Amillio lost his life, lawmen say a 6-month-old girl in her dads care died in Belcamp, Maryland, after being left in a hot car. The Harford County States Attorneys Office is waiting for detectives to complete their investigation before determining whether to file charges.

Julie Siejack, a community outreach clinical nurse manager at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health, told WBALTV 11 News that small reminders can save lives.

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I often tell parents to try a teddy bear, Siejack explained to the station. Put the teddy bear in the car seat when the child is not in the car seat. And, when the child is in the car seat, the teddy bear rides up front with you. So, if the teddy bear is up front with you when you arrive at your destination, you better check that back seat.

It could happen to anybody, Siejack said. Life is busy. People forget.
Seoul (Reuters) -Shares of South Korean automakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp fell on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. will charge a 15% tariff on imports from South Korea, including autos, as part of a trade deal.

While the agreement reduces auto tariffs from 25%, it removes the 2.5 percentage point advantage in tariffs that South Korean automakers had enjoyed over Japanese rivals under the Korea-U.S. free trade deal.

Some analysts said the share falls may have been driven by profit-taking as news of the tariffs was already factored in after South Korean automaker shares surged last week following news that Trump agreed to reduce Japanese auto imports to 15%, a move that stoked optimism about a similar deal for Seoul.

South Korea's auto association said the tariff cuts are "fortunate" and said it removes uncertainty and creates a level playing ground with Japanese and European rivals.

Hyundai Motor said the deal "validates our unwavering confidence in the U.S. market and our commitment to American manufacturing."

Hyundai Motor Group in March announced a $21 billion investment in the United States with Trump at the White House, including a $5.8 billion steel factory and an expansion of Hyundai Motor's new car factory in Georgia.

Before Washington imposed 25% auto tariffs in April, there were zero tariffs on most South Korean auto imports under a bilateral trade deal, while there was a 2.5% tariff on Japanese auto imports.

South Korean negotiators demanded 12.5% auto tariffs, but Trump wanted the rate to be 15%, the presidential office said.

"The non-tariff premium for Korean automakers is gone," said Shin Yoon-chul, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.

But James Hong, head of mobility research at Macquarie, said the difference is "manageable," given the brand value and more sales of higher-price vehicles for Korean automakers.

Korean automakers are also better positioned than U.S. automakers which have been paying up to 25% on vehicles imported from Mexico, said Ester Yim, an analyst at Samsung Securities.

Hyundai Motor shares ended down 4.5% and Kia Corp stock lost 7.3%.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul and Daniel Leussink in Tokyo and Heekyong Yang in Seoul; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Michael Perry)
California and a coalition of other liberal-led states sued the Trump administration Friday over efforts to end gender-affirming care for transgender, intersex and nonbinary children and young adults nationwide  calling them an unconstitutional attack on LGBTQ+ patients, healthcare providers and states' rights.

The lawsuit was brought by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and officials from 15 other states and the District of Columbia. It challenges a Jan. 28 executive order by President Trump that denounced gender-affirming care as "mutilation" and called on U.S. Justice Department officials to effectively enforce a ban, including by launching investigations into healthcare providers.

The lawsuit notes the Justice Department last month sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics that have provided such care nationwide, with justice officials suggesting they may face criminal prosecution.

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Bonta's office, in a statement, said such efforts "have no legal basis and are intended to discourage providers from offering lifesaving healthcare that is lawful under state law." The lawsuit asks a federal court in Massachusetts to vacate Trump's order in its entirety for exceeding federal authority and undermining state laws that guarantee equal access to healthcare.

In a statement to The Times, a Justice Department spokesperson said that, as U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi "has made clear, this Department of Justice will use every legal and law enforcement tool available to protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of care."

Trump made reining in transgender rights a key promise of his presidential campaign. Upon taking office, he moved swiftly to do so through executive orders, funding cuts and litigation. And in many ways, it has worked  particularly when it comes to gender-affirming care for minors.

Clinics across the country that had provided such care have closed their doors in response to the threats and funding cuts. That includes the renowned Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, one of the largest and oldest pediatric gender clinics in the United States.

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Read more: End of transgender care at Children's Hospital L.A. signals nationwide shift under Trump

The clinic told thousands of its patients and their families that it was shuttering last month. Other clinics have similarly closed nationwide, radically reducing the availability of such care in the country.

Republicans and other Trump supporters have cheered the closures as a major win, and they praised the president for protecting impressionable and confused children from so-called woke medical professionals pushing what they allege to be dangerous and irreversible treatments.

Bonta said in the Friday statement that Trump and his administration's "relentless attacks" on such care were "cruel and irresponsible" and endangered "already vulnerable adolescents whose health and well-being are at risk."

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"These actions have created a chilling effect in which providers are pressured to scale back on their care for fear of prosecution, leaving countless individuals without the critical care they need and are entitled to under law," Bonta said.

Mainstream U.S. medical associations have supported gender-affirming care for minors experiencing gender dysphoria for years. They and LGBTQ+ rights organizations have accused Trump and his supporters of mischaracterizing that care, which includes therapy, counseling and support for social transitioning, and can include puberty blockers, hormone treatment and, in rarer circumstances, mastectomies.

Queer advocates, many patients and their families say such care is life-saving, alleviating intense distress  and suicidal thoughts  in transgender and other gender-nonconforming youth. They and many mainstream medical experts acknowledge that gender-affirming care for young people is still a developing field, but say it is also based on decades of solid research by medical professionals who are far better equipped than politicians to help families make difficult medical decisions.

However, as the number of children who identify as transgender or nonbinary has rapidly increased in recent years, that argument has failed to take hold in many parts of the country. Conservatives and Republican leaders have grown increasingly alarmed by such care, pointing to young people who changed their minds about transitioning and now regret the care they received.

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Some of those young people, including Chloe Cole, a prominent "detransitioner" from California, are among the administration's most vocal supporters. In a post on X last month, Cole praised the closure of the Children's Hospital clinic in L.A. as the beginning of the end to gender-affirming care in liberal states, writing: "Let's finish the job!"

The battle has played out in the courts, in part as a state's rights issue. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that conservative states may ban puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender teens, with the court's conservative majority finding that states are generally free to set their own standards of medical care.

The Trump administration, however, has not taken the same view. Instead, it has aggressively tried to eradicate gender-affirming care nationwide, regardless of state laws  like those in California  that protect it.

Trump's Jan. 28 executive order, titled "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation," claimed that "medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a childs sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions."

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It defined children as anyone under the age of 19, and said that moving forward, the U.S. wouldn't "fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another," but would "rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures."

The states' lawsuit focuses on one particular section of that order, which directed Bondi to convene state attorneys general and other law enforcement officials nationwide to begin investigating gender-affirming care providers and other groups that "may be misleading the public about long-term side effects of chemical and surgical mutilation."

The section suggested those investigations could be based on laws against "female genital mutilation," or even around a 1938 law known as the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food, drugs, medical devices and cosmetics.

On July 9, Bondi announced the Justice Department's subpoenas to healthcare providers, saying doctors and hospitals "that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable."

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On July 25, The Times reported that Bill Essayli, the Trump administration's controversial pick for U.S. attorney in L.A., had floated the idea of criminally charging doctors and hospitals for providing gender-affirming care, according to two federal law enforcement sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Read more: Essayli upended U.S. attorney's office by pushing Trump agenda. Will he stay on top?

The targeting of gender-affirming care is part of a wider effort by the administration to eliminate transgender rights more broadly, in part on the premise that transgender people do not exist. On his first day in office, Trump issued another executive order declaring there are only two sexes.

His administration has sought to limit the options transgender people have to get passports that reflect their identities, and the Justice Department has sued California over its policies allowing transgender girls to compete against other girls in youth sports. Many transgender Americans are looking for ways to flee the country.

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Read more: Feeling threatened in U.S., transgender Americans look abroad

Still, many in the LGBTQ+ community fear the attacks are only going to get worse. Among those who are most scared are the parents of transgender children  including those who believe their health records may have been collected under the Justice Department's subpoenas.

One mother of a Children's Hospital patient told The Times last month that she is terrified the Justice Department is "going to come after parents and use the female genital mutilation law ... to prosecute parents and separate me from my child."

Bonta said his office has not heard of any parents being targeted, but he hasn't ruled it out as a possibility, given the Trump administration's actions to date.

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"If they're willing to use nonexistent law to attack providers, what would stop them from going after parents as well, as they wage these cultural wars?" Bonta said during a Friday morning news conference.

Bonta is leading the lawsuit along with the attorneys general of Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. Joining them are Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the attorneys general of Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  As deportations pick up in Oklahoma City, the OKC Catholic Charities said they are seeing more and more people reach out to them for help with immigration services.

We have a huge list, said Director of Immigration Services Melinda Alizadeh-Fard.

Alizadeh-Fard said that they specifically help those in the low-income bracket and victims of crimes.

There have been several families that News 4 has reported on who have had a criminal record from decades ago that they served time for and have since started a family, gotten a job, and obtained a work visa.

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OKC families see four ICE detainments from one neighborhood street

Ho Nguyen is one case where he has an illegal gambling charge from the 1990s which he served time. However, he was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month.

Nguyen is now sitting in an ICE facility in Cushing. His family has said they do not know when or where hes headed next, but that theyve been told he eventually will be deported to Vietnam, a country he hasnt been to since he was 13 years old.

Hes a good man. He does everything for me. He takes care of the bills, the house, everything for me. Hes a very good guy, said his wife, July 11th, when interviewed.

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The family said that they reached out to Catholic Charities about some kind of help and are on the waitlist.

Alizadeh-Fard said that even though there is a waitlist, for those who have questions or need help, they can still reach out.

We do have a list. So, if you think you might be interested, its best to call now and get yourself in line and see if we can help you or get yourself referred, said Alizadeh-Fard.

The Catholic Charities provides:

Education and information about U.S. Immigration Law and options through consultations and community outreach.

Naturalizations and citizenship applications

Renewals of Permanent Resident cards, aka green cards

Renewals of Employment Authorization Documents, aka EADs or Work cards

Adjustment of status applications

Immigrant visa petitions for immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens

Visa applications for victims of crimes

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If you or a loved one needs their help and has some kind of criminal record, Alizadeh-Fard said that they will do what they can to send you in the direction of help, if they cant.

She also said that its usually cheaper than most immigration attorneys.

If you are looking for help from them, you can go to their website and call their phone number 405-523-3001.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) -Cambodia will nominate U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, its deputy prime minister said on Friday, following his direct intervention in halting the Southeast Asian country's recent border conflict with Thailand.

Asked via text message to confirm Cambodia's plan to nominate Trump for the prize, Chanthol responded, "yes."

Speaking to reporters earlier in the capital, Phnom Penh, Chanthol thanked Trump for bringing peace and said he deserved to be nominated for the prize, the highest-profile international award given to an individual or organisation deemed to have done the most to "advance fellowship between nations".

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Pakistan said in June that it would recommend Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in helping to resolve a conflict with India, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month he had nominated Trump for the award.

It was a call by Trump last week that broke a deadlock in efforts to end the heaviest fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in over a decade, leading to a ceasefire negotiated in Malaysia on Monday, Reuters has reported.

Following the truce announcement, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that Trump made it happen.

"Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!," she said.

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At least 43 people have been killed in the intense clashes, which lasted five days and displaced more than 300,000 people on both sides of the border.

"We acknowledge his great efforts for peace," said Chanthol, also Cambodia's top trade negotiator, adding that his country was also grateful for a reduced tariff rate of 19%.

Washington had initially threatened a tariff of 49%, later reducing it to 36%, a level that would have decimated Cambodia's vital garment and footwear sector, Chanthol told Reuters in an interview earlier on Friday.

(Reporting by Martin Petty in Bangkok and Chantha Lach and Zaw Naing Oo in Phnom Penh; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal)
Cambodia floated plans Friday to nominate President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for working to broker a ceasefire agreement that helped the country end its border war with Thailand.

He should get the Nobel, not only for his work on Cambodia but also elsewhere, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, adding that Phnom Penh will present the presidents name to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Trump warned last week that if the cross-border fighting, which lasted for five days, between Cambodia and Thailand did not end soon, neither nation would reach a trade agreement with the U.S.

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The president spoke with Thailands acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Monday, sharing that the neighboring countries reached a CEASEFIRE and PEACE.

After the pause in fighting was reached, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on social platform X that Trump made this happen.

She added in her Monday post, Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!

The truce was brokered in Malaysia, negotiations that were attended by U.S. government officials. The war between the two nations killed at least 45 people and displaced more than 300,000 residents on both sides.

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The Trump administration said last week that both Thailand and Cambodia will have their goods subject to a 19 percent tariff. Trump initially threatened to impose a 49 percent tariff on Cambodias items coming into the U.S., later lowering it to 36 percent.

On Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick revealed that the two nations had reached trade agreements with the U.S., though few details were provided.

Since returning to office, Trump has been recommended to receive the prestigious award by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pakistani officials and a handful of Republican lawmakers and conservative pundits.

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said early Friday he is disappointed by President Trumps decision to increase tariffs on his country to 35 percent but left open the door for a potential trade deal.

After weeks of negotiations with Americas northern neighbor, Trump decided to ratchet up levies on the country alongside sweeping new tariffs announced Thursday.

The president again cited what he claimed was a flood of fentanyl from the northern border, a statement not supported by data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Carneys efforts to recognize a Palestinian state also jeopardized talks, Trump said late Wednesday.

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In his statement, Carney said Canada accounted for only 1 percent of fentanyl coming into the U.S. and that the country has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes.

Canadas government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling, he wrote. These include thousands of new law enforcement and border security officers, aerial surveillance, intelligence and security operations, and the strongest border legislation in our history.

Trumps updated tariff rate does not impact goods that are primarily manufactured in Canada, one of the provisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement negotiated during his first term. Carney said that carve-out would keep the countrys overall tariff rate low, among the lowest of all its foreign trading partners.

However, the Canadian prime minister said other sectors of the economy, including lumber, steel, aluminum and cars, would be significantly impacted, and that his government would explore protective measures.

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For such sectors, the Canadian government will act to protect Canadian jobs, invest in our industrial competitiveness, buy Canadian, and diversify our export markets, he wrote.

Canada instituted retaliatory tariffs in March after Trump floated a 25 percent levy on steel and alumni, both significant Canadian imports. In his statement, Carney appeared to acknowledge that influencing the White Houses decisions might be beyond his reach.

While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser focused on what we can control: building Canada strong, the prime minister said.

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OTTAWA  After months of drama, Prime Minister Mark Carneys top lieutenant departed Washington Friday without a deal, but confident Canadas trade pact with the U.S. and Mexico would blunt the impact of Donald Trumps escalating tariffs.

Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc held a lengthy meeting with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday night after touching down in D.C. before moving on to other senior White House officials. None of that prevented Trump from raising Canadas tariff rate to 35 percent from 25 percent on Thursday after the countries failed to reach a deal.

That leaves LeBlancs White House texting buddy on the back-burner for the time being.

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I would expect to talk to Sec. Lutnick on the phone next week, LeBlanc told POLITICO Friday from the Canadian embassy in Washington. Theres no meeting scheduled, but I exchanged text messages with him yesterday.

Despite Trumps increased tariff, LeBlanc, as well as Carney, noted the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement extends broad protection to most  but certainly not all  Canadian industries.

The president's respect of the USMCA application puts Canada in a favorable position, said LeBlanc, whose immediate priority is working with Carney to help Canadian workers affected by the tariffs.

Trumps tariff hike still hits goods that are not covered by the USMCA. The Bank of Canada forecast this week that up to 95 percent of Canadian exports could qualify for exemptions under that agreement. Meanwhile, the share of Canadian companies claiming tariff exemptions has soared.

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Before boarding a flight back to his New Brunswick home, LeBlanc said that leaves Canada in a favorable position with respect to the overall tariff rate on our economy as compared to other trading partners.

LeBlanc was in Washington with Carney's chief of staff, Marc-Andre Blanchard, and Kirsten Hillman, Canadas U.S. envoy and chief negotiator, for the homestretch of talks ahead of Trumps self-imposed Aug. 1 trade deadline.

When no deal was reached, Trump signed an executive order justifying the hike in tariffs as a response to the illicit movement of fentanyl over Canadas land border into the U.S.

In fact, U.S. data shows that fentanyl accounts for less than 1 percent of the amount of the illicit drug that is smuggled into the U.S. Canada has spent C$1.3 billion on a border-security package that includes drones, helicopters and additional law enforcement personnel  points LeBlanc said he repeatedly reinforced in his interactions this week.

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We were obviously disappointed by the president's decision, LeBlanc said. It doesn't mean that we can't continue to constructively engage with our American counterparts.

Candace Laing, the CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, called the White House fact sheet on the tariffs a fact-less sheet on the fentanyl emergency. More fact-less tariff turbulence does not advance North American economic security.

LeBlanc, meanwhile, took a more conciliatory approach, saying there is zero daylight between Ottawa and Washingtons commitment to tackling the opioid crisis.

Hell turn his attention to working with Carney on domestic initiatives, focused on the work I have to do around building one Canadian economy and the major projects.

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He and Carney will consult Metis leaders in Ottawa next week as the government moves to expedite the approval of nation-building projects, which could include energy corridors, roads, mines and other infrastructure.

LeBlanc acknowledged Canadas steel and aluminum exports are still taking a 50 percent tariff hit under a separate national security law, and that non-USMCA-protected autos face a 25 percent levy.

We are very much shifting our focus to what we need to do to support those sectors of the economy hit by the [Section] 232 tariffs, like the steel and aluminum sector, like automobiles, he said, referring to Trumps use of the Trade Expansion Act to justify those levies on national security grounds.

He said Carney will be announcing support measures for those workers and businesses, like we did with steel a couple of weeks ago.

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LeBlanc also met senior Mexican officials in Washington this past week, and said they discussed starting talks as early as the fall on the review of the USMCA  a process scheduled for next year under the pacts sunset clause.

Mexico managed to secure a 90-day extension to allow more time to reach a longer-term agreement with the U.S.

We continue to believe that the USMCA is a very valuable instrument to build the economies of all three countries, LeBlanc said.
RICHMOND, Ky. (FOX 56)  Cherlynn Stevenson is running for Kentuckys sixth congressional district, and her campaign trail brought her to a group of concerned Madison County residents.

Stevenson joined Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman for a roundtable discussion where several Madison County community members voiced their concerns about the Big Beautiful Bill.

Its important to connect to your voters and connect to your constituents to go meet them where they are so that you can hear what theyre actually worried about, Stevenson said.

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Residents here spoke about their concerns about Medicaid and SNAP benefits being cut as a result.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

Coleman said shes a big supporter of Stevenson, adding to the discussion that these are valid concerns.

The reality in Kentucky is this. You are either going to personally be hurt by these cuts to health care, or you know and love someone whos going to be hurt by these cuts in health care, Coleman said.

Stevenson, who served in Kentuckys 88th House district from 2019 to 2024, said shes making this format the theme of her campaign, hoping to build as many personal relationships as possible.

LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS:

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I believe that we need to be listening a lot more than were talking, and that was absolutely what helped me to flip a very difficult seat in 2018. I believe that thats going to be the difference and help us flip the seat in 2026, that we are determined to go out and meet people where they are and listen to their stories, Stevenson said.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Viewers and NBC4 staff will soon bid goodbye to Paris, the stations Puppy with a Purpose, as he enters his professional training phase.

The Labrador-golden retriever mix was born in California on Feb. 2, 2024, and arrived in Columbus eight weeks later. He was NBC4s fourth Puppy with a Purpose in partnership with Canine Companions  a nonprofit that trains assistance dogs to help children, adults and veterans with disabilities  free of charge.

Named by viewers before his first TV appearance, Paris got his famous moniker in honor of the 2024 Olympic Games in the City of Lights.

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For the past year and a half, he has been on-air every Friday, visiting the NBC4 Today staff while staying with his puppy raiser, Elaine May. Now, he will take his next step on his journey to becoming a full-service assistance dog. It is time for Paris to learn working skills, such as opening doors and retrieving dropped items, to assist a child, adult, or veteran with disabilities.

Elaine May and Paris, NBC4s new Puppy with a Purpose. (NBC4) Parris, NBC4s fourth puppy with a purpose, arrived in Columbus, March 28, 2024. (NBC4) Paris and characters from Star Wars join forces in training service dogs with Canine Companions (Courtesy/Elaine May, Canine Companion volunteer puppy raiser) Paris and characters from Star Wars join forces in training service dogs with Canine Companions (Courtesy/Elaine May, Canine Companion volunteer puppy raiser) Paris and characters from Star Wars join forces in training service dogs with Canine Companions (Courtesy/Elaine May, Canine Companion volunteer puppy raiser) NBC4s Puppy with a Purpose, Paris, celebrates his first birthday. (Photo Courtesy/ Andrea Robinson) NBC4s Puppy with a Purpose, Paris, celebrates his first birthday. (Photo Courtesy/ Andrea Robinson) NBC4s Puppy with a Purpose, Paris, celebrates his first birthday. (Photo Courtesy/ Andrea Robinson) NBC4s Puppy with a Purpose, Paris, celebrates his first birthday. (Photo Courtesy/ Andrea Robinson) NBC4s Puppy with a Purpose, Paris, celebrates his first birthday. (Photo Courtesy/ Andrea Robinson)

Recently, at Canine Companions weekly puppy class, Paris joined other future service dogs in training for a special session of interacting with a local Star Wars group.

This is about socializing the dogs so that when they do encounter someone out in public with a costume on, that theyre not going to be fearful or anything like that, said Suzanne Sliclen, the puppy program manager at Canine Companions.

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All the dogs passed the test, including Paris.

Sliclen also said that Canine Companions is looking for volunteer puppy raisers in central Ohio. Anyone interested in raising a dog to become a future service dog can visit canine.org to start the application process.

Pariss last day on-air will be Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. Fans of NBC4s furry friend can leave well-wishes on our Facebook page and share photos using the form below.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
CANTON, Ill. (WMBD)  An investigation is underway after fire crews put out a fire at a pool house in Canton.

At 7:41 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, the Canton Fire Department was sent to a structure fire in the area of East Holly Street and South Sixth Avenue, according to a release from the fire department.

The release said arriving crews found an unattached pool house fully on fire. Crews had the fire under control in approximately 10 minutes.

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The Canton Police Department and Ameren Illinois assisted at the scene, the release said.

There were no injuries reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A car rolled into an electric fence early Friday morning, sending the driver to the hospital.

According to Portland Fire & Rescue, crews responded to Northeast Marine Drive, where a small sedan had rolled over and crashed into a high-voltage security fence.

Once they arrived at the scene, firefighters were able to turn off the electric fence and extricate the driver.

A car crashed into an electric fence in northeast Portland early Friday morning (PF&R)

The driver was taken to the trauma unit at a nearby hospital, officials said.

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Their condition is currently unknown.

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Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its Baron Focused Growth Fund second-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund maintained its strong relative performance from the first quarter into the second quarter, with overall performance improving as it completely recovered from the losses experienced earlier, which were related to economic concerns stemming from newly implemented tariffs by the administration. Most of the firms company management teams expect the tariffs to have a minimal impact, as costs will likely be shared with suppliers and passed through in small price increases that won't significantly affect demand. As a result of this clarity, the fund appreciated by 12.78% (Institutional Shares) compared to an 11.31% gain for the Russell 2500 Growth Index. In addition, please check the funds top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its second-quarter 2025 investor letter, Baron Focused Growth Fund highlighted stocks such as Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT). Headquartered in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) offers audio streaming subscription services. The one-month return of Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) was -10.29%, and its shares gained 93.30% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On July 30, 2025, Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) stock closed at $650.47 per share, with a market capitalization of $133.852 billion.

Baron Focused Growth Fund stated the following regarding Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  According to the American Foundation for the Blind, only 44% of people who are blind or visually impaired are employed. The Careers and Canine Connection program is hoping to raise that percentage with the help of some four-legged friends.

A collaboration between Guide Dogs for the Blind and the American Printing House, the five-day program provides young adults the opportunity to experience guide dog mobility firsthand.

Youth Outreach Program Supervisor Jane Flower, with Guide Dogs for the Blind, says participants need to be at a certain mobility and maturity level before they are ready for a guide dog.

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But once they are, their four-legged companion can help with much more than just navigation.

For many, its the first step toward a life of greater independence and connection.

Building permits filed for Portland-area In-N-Out

It also bridges the gap with people, Flower says. A cane can be a stigma. It can be socially isolating. A dog is something that will attract people  maybe make them want to come up and talk to you.

Melina Mendoza, a student in the program whos been using a cane for years, says the experience has shown her the clear difference between the two mobility tools.

A guide dog is an obstacle avoider, where the cane is an obstacle finder, Mendoza says. She plans on applying for a guide dog once she completes the program, though it may take up to a year and a half before shes matched with one.

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Guide Dogs for the Blind is always looking for volunteers. Right now, they need people to raise puppies for their program. If youre interested in supporting their mission, learn 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 KOIN.com.
Every few weeks, it seems like another millionaire packs up and leaves the UK for the United Arab Emirates or South Africa or Monaco or Italy. Fed up or fearful of the Government and its threats against the wealthy, they are fleeing to somewhere more welcoming.

The impact may be sorely felt by the estate agents and restaurants that line the streets of central London. But by the Treasury? Probably not.

Most of these people will have structured their affairs to be extremely tax-efficient, and shielded from the whims of an anti-wealth government.

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These arent the people we should be worrying about. Instead, we should be concerned by the trail of young, highly educated people leaving the UK because they have no faith in a future on these shores.

They are moving to start their lives somewhere else  taking with them not only their taxes, but their everyday spending, property deposits and investment pots  not to mention lucrative skills and ideas.

Theyre not currently super wealthy, but they could be in the future. They are ambitious Henrys  high earners not rich yet  who are ready to start businesses and create wealth.

There is no dataset to show the movement of these people, and its worrying that they are essentially disappearing without a trace. Well only see it in fewer home-grown millionaires making money and paying taxes, and a drop in the number of new companies  which create their own ecosystems of employment, wealth generation and tax receipts.

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Some 28pc of British people aged 18-30 are either actively planning or have seriously considered emigrating, according to a survey by the Adam Smith Institute, a think tank.

Anecdotally, they started leaving a while ago  to Spain on a digital nomad visa in search of a lower cost of living, or the Netherlands, using a skilled worker visa and lured by huge tax breaks. Here, staff recruited from abroad receive a tax-free allowance worth 27pc of their salary every year for five years. Why cant we treat our home-grown talent to the same incentives?

One 20-something tech worker  a friend of a friend  who moved to Amsterdam earns less than he did in the UK, but makes a huge tax saving and, crucially for him, has a far better quality of life than he did in London. His plan is to start a business, qualify for Dutch citizenship and live his life (and spend his money) in the EU.

Another earns around 100k in Barcelona but pays just 500 (432) rent a month, saving the rest in a quest to retire early (and not in Britain). And who can blame a couple moving to Dubai to see if they can double their salaries in Britain and actually live a little?

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High taxes  not just on income but on property purchases and inherited wealth  are driving out many of these escapees. The tax system kills ambition and penalises aspiration, particularly for high-earning families with small children, who we should want to build their homes in this country.

But worse than the tax bills is the anti-rich rhetoric  the threat that everything you work for could one day be taken away from you, and the implication that wealth is dirty, and success is shameful. Who would want to stick around in a country that punishes people who work hard, save diligently and build anew?

This isnt helped by the growing feeling that nothing works here. A housing market that largely prohibits people from buying near where they work, especially in London and high-tech areas like Oxford and Cambridge. Terrible commutes, insane childcare costs and no doctors appointments  all topped off by sluggish wage growth.

Even if these escapees earn less than they do in Britain, rents and mortgage rates are often much lower, and a better quality of life is simply more attainable.

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Lets stop worrying about the odd multi-millionaire packing up and following his offshore wealth, and focus more on the future talent pouring away from Britain.

Sir Keir Starmer is trying to drum up support from Henrys. At this rate, hell have to tell the last one to turn off the lights.

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CASTRIES, Saint Lucia (Reuters) -Caribbean gay rights activists celebrated a landmark court ruling this week striking down colonial-era legislation in the island nation of Saint Lucia that criminalized gay sexual relations and imposed prison terms of up to a decade.

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court issued the decision on Tuesday in the case brought by LGBTQ rights alliance ECADE on behalf of a gay couple.

The court ruled that sections of the criminal code that outlawed "buggery" and "gross indecency" were unconstitutional.

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"Our own courts are now recognizing that these colonial-era laws are incompatible with human dignity," Dane Lewis, regional program manager at rights group CariFLAGS, said.

Many Caribbean countries still have laws forbidding intimacy between people of the same sex, a legacy of British colonial-era statutes. Though rarely enforced, activists say these cement widespread institutional biases and discrimination.

Jessica St. Rose, founder of local rights group 758Pride, said the ruling marked a "momentous legal change."

"It sends a clear message that love is not a crime," she said, though Saint Lucia still needs reforms to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination and threats to their safety.

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Saint Lucian politicians were mostly silent about the decision publicly, including Prime Minister Philip Pierre who made a national address ahead of Friday's Emancipation Day.

In nearby Guyana, where "buggery" is a felony subject to a lifetime behind bars, rights group Guyana Together welcomed that another country in the CARICOM regional bloc had "dismantled these archaic laws."

More than 60 countries worldwide criminalize gay sex, many former British colonies across Africa and the Caribbean.

There was some criticism on social media from Saint Lucia residents of the decision, some citing Christian scripture and calling the ruling a sin.

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"We do expect the religious society to come out to speak out against the recent ruling," St. Rose said.

Bradley Desir, a gay man from Saint Lucia who moved to Canada in 2016, said he was encouraged by signs of change and would feel safer visiting the island though he would still maintain his guard.

"I hope they carry on with the discussion and possibly call for the legalization of (gay) marriage," he said, adding he did not expect this in his lifetime.

The growing visibility of LGBTQ people through global media was a positive sign, he added: "Kids today are growing up in a different world."

(Reporting by Sarah Peter in Castries; Editing by Sarah Morland and Cynthia Osterman)
Carolina Strong: Monroe tea house serves up community impact around the world

A Monroe tea house is doing more than just serving scones and filling up cups  its serving our community and supporting women across the globe.

Twelve years ago, Rhonda Griffin, executive director of A Cause for Tea, realized she could serve her community through serving tea.

ALSO READ >> Carolina Strong: Middle schooler uses passion for cooking to help community

I just felt like we could make a bigger impact on our community and the women and children that we were supporting by being open daily, Griffin told Channel 9s Erika Jackson.

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In 2022, Griffin swapped quarterly fundraising events for a year-round tea house. Its open five days a week in a historic home in Monroe.

Some of her employees are part of the addiction recovery ministry House of Pearls.

One employee, Tabitha Hinson, started in the Tealight workplace transition program and is now a Cause for Teas head chef.

House of Pearls helped me recover from my addiction, but A Cause for Tea is what truly gave me my life back, Hinson said.

Griffin says the program is full of success stories.

The tea house also supports the Help Pregnancy Center by throwing baby showers for women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.

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A Cause for Teas work goes beyond U.S. borders.

This year, Hinson said theyve used proceeds to build three houses in Nicaragua. The house sponsors 14 women there by selling their hand-sewn items in the gift shop.

Those products create income for the ladies, where they can support their families, and that provides food, water, shelter and education for their families, Griffin said.

She hopes each cup will make you feel warm  in more ways than one.

Theres a heart behind A Cause for Tea. Its more than a business, she said. Its a tea house that makes a huge impact on our community as well as our partners.

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Volunteers with A Cause for Tea are taking their next mission trip to Nicaragua in October. For more details visit the tea house website.

VIDEO: Carolina Strong: South Carolina free cafe serves thousands of meals amid rising need
Nicholas Haddad holds a yellow eye snapper caught off Pensacola, Floridas Gulf Coast in February 2025. Reef fish, like this can experience injuries from dramatic pressure change. Specialized devices help improve their chances of survival when released. (Photo Credit: Return Em Right)

It happens with a tug at first, the smallest indication that a fish has taken interest in the bait on your hook. Then it pulls hard and steady, bending the fishing rod into a steep downward arc toward the water.

The reel digs into the palm of your hand as you work to spool back the line with  hopefully  a prized red snapper on the end. It rushes through the deep blue of the water, from hundreds of feet below up to the surface, the shining red- and white-scaled creature breaking through the waves.

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But fish like red snapper face health risks when pulled up to the surface too quickly from such depths. Much like a scuba diver, they can be hurt from the sudden, dramatic change in pressure.

Fishing experts and researchers have explored different ways to address the concern, with federal rules and special tools having been created for use on the water. But convincing anglers to follow and use them is challenging, especially as one key law is set to expire soon.

Barotrauma, an injury sustained by a rapid change in pressure, heavily affects reef fish when they are pulled up from deeper water. Gases in the fishs body expand as they accelerate toward the surface, where they blow up like a balloon, said Nicholas Haddad, communications manager for Return Em Right, a nonprofit partnership program funded with settlement money from the BP-Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Return Em Right uses the funds to send free descending device release gear to the angling community in the Gulf of Mexico and provides education on how to use them.

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An avid angler in his own right with a background in fisheries management and biological science, Haddad said the signs of barotrauma, such as bulging eyes and organs protruding from a fishs body, can be kind of gruesome looking.

Barotrauma mainly affects fish species that spend most of their time at the bottom of the water column or on reefs. Some fish are vulnerable to pressure damage at depths as shallow as 30 feet.

Once you start fishing deeper than that, the signs of barotrauma will continue to get worse, Haddad said. So if youre fishing in 150 feet or deeper, likely every fish you pull up will have barotrauma.

If a fish is out of season or not within the size range anglers can keep, it has to be put back into the water alive. Barotrauma prevents fish from being able to swim back down to the bottom on their own, making them a floating, vulnerable meal for predators or causing them to succumb to their pressure-related injuries.

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Its almost like trying to swim down with a life vest, Haddad said. Youre buoyant so you cant get down on your own, so youve got to do something to overcome that.

Haddad said, for many years, few anglers knew there was anything they could do to help fish swim back down to the bottom. But programs and groups such as Return Em Right and Louisiana SeaGrant, part of a network addressing marine issues, are spreading the word about tools that can help fish survive and better recover from barotrauma.

Jeffrey Plumlee, a fisheries scientist with Louisiana SeaGrant and assistant professor at Louisiana State University, recommends using gear thats designed to alleviate the pressure put on a fishs body, called venting tools or descending devices. A big push to increase their use has made them popular along the Pacific Coast over the past 20 years, he said.

You attach them to the lip of the fish  attach it to a spare rod and reel, or you can attach it to a rope and a hand line, and basically lower the fish back down, he said.

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The slow descent allows the fish to release built-up pressure that would otherwise prevent it from swimming to the bottom on its own.

All those physics, everything is happening in reverse, so all those gasses are recompressing naturally, Plumlee said.

Fishers can use venting tools, as simple as a hollow needle, to manually release the pressure inside the fishs swim bladder, the main organ that puffs up with gas as a fish is pulled to the surface. While piercing the swim bladder is better than doing nothing, Plumlee said there is a risk of piercing the wrong organ and harming the fish more.

Both methods require specialized gear and extra time to help get the fish back to depth.

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Venting or decompressing fish increases their chances at survival dramatically, said Haddad, citing a wide body of preliminary research into the effectiveness of these tools.

When you add that up to tens of millions of fish a year, it can really add up in the survival rates, he said.

But anglers have mixed feelings on whether they believe in using these tools.

Hollow needles are sometimes used to puncture the swim bladder on reef fish experiencing barotrauma. (Photo credit: Return Em Right)

The DESCEND Act, a federal law sponsored by then U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, in 2020, requires fishers in federal waters have either a venting tool or descending device on their vessel and ready to use. But it doesnt require anglers to actually use the tools.

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Enforcement would be nearly impossible, said Emily Muehlstein, spokeswoman for the Gulf Council, one of eight regional fishery management groups Congress has tasked to manage and guide fisheries.

It can be hard to break into the culture, said Myron Fischer, a retired biologist with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and former charter fishing captain.

His son, Richard Fischer, president of the Louisiana Charter Boat Association, said promoting the use of descending devices throughout his organization and changing the culture is a priority.

These people charging well over $1,000 to go fish, maybe closer to $2,000, theyre in a rush, Myron Fischer said. They want to get that fish off the line and get a customer baited and go back down.

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I think the need for education is very important and needed, Richard Fischer said.

There are some recreational fishermen that dont take conservation seriously, and [descending devices are] just kind of collecting dust on their boat, he added. So if they get stopped by enforcement, Yeah, here it is. I got it, and they never had any intention of using it.

And the law is about to change; the DESCEND Act, signed into law by President Trump in his first term in office, is set to expire in January.

I do think that, regardless of whether or not theres a regulation, a good bit of the fleet is already adopting those behaviors, Muehlstein said.

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I dont think a lot of dudes are gonna chuck the gear off their boats just because the DESCEND Act is gone,she added.

The Gulf Council is interested in placing the DESCEND Acts standards in its own rules, having previously required fishers in its jurisdiction to have a venting tool on board their vessel.

But it wont be in place by the time the federal law expires.

A lot of the requirements of our rulemaking, we have to base our management decisions on the best available scientific information, Muehlstein said.

The Gulf Council wants to see more population-level research, such as exact mortality rates for different species, how different sexes of fish are affected and data over longer periods of time, before it implements a new rule, she said.

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Its very much a fledgling field, like were kind of newly learning about these tools and how useful they are and how impactful they can be, Muehlstein said.

Researchers now rely mostly on information reported from anglers, Plumlee said, which can vary in accuracy. Newer methods, such as satellite imaging of popular recreational fishing spots to assess how many boats travel and fish there, can help provide more precise information, he said, but there is still much more to figure out.

If we can get better data collection  and if we can get better estimates of how many people are using these descender devices that we know are effective  we can reduce the amount of discard mortality that were assuming, Plumlee said.

With more research, these tools could have a large impact on the number of fish in the ecosystem, he said.

By making sure that they get back down to depth and recover from this injury so that they can live to be caught another day, thats a really important concept, Plumlee said.

Muehlstein thinks progress is being made but also said theres more work to be done with continued education and further research.

I think that in recent years, people have been slowly adopting and changing to using descending devices, she said. But I dont know that a majority of folks have done that, especially some of those old salted guys that are just going to do it the way theyve always done it.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
DENVER (KDVR)  Aurora police arrested two suspects on Wednesday morning after spotting a stolen vehicle, including a man who had an active warrant for obstruction and criminal trespass.

The agency said the vehicle was seen during proactive overtime patrol shifts intended to address crime trends in the area. The initiative allows officers to work extra hours focusing on their districts needs and addressing crime before it escalates, according to the Aurora Police Department.

Man with 4 warrants arrested after brief wrong-way pursuit: Douglas County Sheriffs Office

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The spotted vehicle was a Toyota RAV4 that was stolen out of Denver. It was seen near East 32nd Avenue and North Airport Boulevard, and Aurora officers reportedly followed it into Denvers Montbello neighborhood and attempted a traffic stop.

However, the driver fled, and officers pursued, ending the pursuit with a PIT maneuver, or precision immobilization technique.

The Aurora Police Department said that the passenger, 26-year-old Mackson Beti, surrendered at the scene, but the driver, 28-year-old Abel Paneo-Castro, fled on foot.

He was captured after a brief foot chase. Body-worn camera footage shared on social media showed Paneo-Castro fleeing into a neighborhood and trying to jump a fence to enter someones backyard. Police officers caught up with him on the fence and arrested him there.

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The department said that Paneo-Castro has a long history with Aurora police, including numerous vehicle thefts, felony eluding, drug possession, concealed weapons and theft-related crimes. At the time of his arrest on Wednesday, Paneo-Castro had an active warrant for criminal trespass and obstruction.

The Aurora Police Department shared this image of a handgun seized on Wednesday. (Courtesy the Aurora Police Department) The Aurora Police Department shared this image of illegal drugs seized on Wednesday. (Courtesy the Aurora Police Department)

Police said that Beti had a felony quantity of narcotics, several stolen credit cards and a handgun with an extended magazine.

APD thanked the Denver Police Department for assisting at the scene.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The Clark County School District has reduced teacher vacancies entering the upcoming school year, attributing the change to investments made over the last several years.

Post pandemic, CCSD would begin the first day of classes with more than a thousand teacher vacancies. But when classes start in August, CCSD will have only 280 openings, according to the district.

Our schools have not been fully staffed since 1994. Thats over 31 years ago. But today that dream is finally within reach, RoAnn Triana, CCSDs chief human resources officer, said on Thursday.

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The nations fifth-largest school district was hosting a new teacher-hire event Thursday at the M Resort Spa Casino in Henderson.

Cheyenne High School was recognized for its dramatic turnaround.

We are making Cheyenne High School a destination school, Cheyennes Principal Anthony Nunez said.

Data shows CCSD teacher vacancies have steadily increased under Jaras tenure

Its been years of hard work for Nunez to get Cheyenne on the upward trajectory its currently riding. Hes entering his fourth year as principal.

Anthony Nunez, Cheyenne High School principal. (KLAS)

It was very clear that there had been many initiatives, but no initiative fell under one vision or had been able to be consistently implemented just due to vacancies, Nunez said.

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The number of teacher openings has plagued Cheyenne, as it has other CCSD schools, especially those in North Las Vegas.

Data 8 News Now obtained showed in August 2023, Cheyenne began the new school year with 30 vacancies  the most of all high schools at the time. The following year, Cheyenne had 20 vacancies.

North Las Vegas schools have the most teacher vacancies this year

Nunez said despite adding new positions, nearly every teaching job is filled entering the first day of classes.

In that first year, even though we increased the number of positions. I decreased the vacancy rate from 37% to 25%, so we hired a substantial number of teachers, Nunez said.

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CCSD shared a chart showing the number of vacancies since 2019.

Vacancies peaked at 1,367 in 2022, and there has been an 80% decrease as of July 21.

Solving the long-term shortage will take all of us, Triana said.

Nevada lawmakers can also take credit for the decrease in vacancies. They increased teacher salaries during the 2023 legislative session and made them permanent at this years session.

Educators who work in Title 1 schools, such as Cheyenne High School, also receive a bonus.

Students will be back in the classroom on Monday, Aug. 11.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Alcoholic beverage maker High Noon recalled some of its popular seltzer products that were mislabeled as Celsius energy drinks.

The recalled packs were shipped to stores in eight states between July 21 and July 23, according to the recall notice. In a statement to USA TODAY on July 31, a spokesperson for High Noon said the company is working with officials to manage the recall.

"We are working with the FDA, retailers, and distributors to proactively manage the recall to ensure the safety and well-being of our consumers," the statement reads.

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Here's what Floridians should know.

Are High Noons recalled?

Yes.

According to the announcement, High Noon said its Beach Variety 12-packs were recalled after some cans were mislabeled as Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition cans, which are a non-alcoholic energy drink.

"Consumption of the liquid in these cans will result in unintentional alcohol ingestion," the company said.

Was High Noon recalled in Florida? See map

Yes. Along with Florida, the mislabeled 12-pack products were sent to distributors and retailers in the following states:

Florida (distributors and retailers)

Michigan (just distributors)

New York (distributors and retailers)

Ohio (distributors and retailers)

Oklahoma (just distributors)

South Carolina (distributors and retailers)

Virginia (distributors and retailers)

Wisconsin (distributors and retailers)

Are these in your fridge? Recalled High Noon drinks lot codes, product description

Celsius and High Noon cans

Recalled High Noon Beach Variety Packs (12-pack of 12 fluid ounce cans), lot codes include the following (found on the exterior of the 12-pack box):

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L CCC 17JL25 14:00 to L CCC 17JL25 23:59

L CCC 18JL25 00:00 to L CCC 18JL25 03:00

Recalled Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition (12 fluid ounce cans) lot codes include (found on the bottom of the can):

L CCB 02JL25 2:55 to L CCB 02JL25 3:11

What if I have a recalled drink? What should I do?

The company advises those who didn't purchase a High Noon Beach variety pack to check if their Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition drinks contain the lot codes of the recalled products (L CCB 02JL25 2:55 to L CCB 02JL25 3:11) before consuming.

Consumers are also advised to throw out the Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition cans with the impacted lot codes (L CCB 02JL25 2:55 to L CCB 02JL25 3:11) and not drink the liquid, according to the company. High Noon Beach Variety packs with different lot codes than those that are part of the recall are safe to consume, the company added.

How to get refund if you purchased recalled High Noon, mislabeled Celsius

Anyone who bought the recalled High Noon Beach variety 12-packs or mislabeled Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition drinks should contact High Noon Consumer Relations at consumerrelations@highnoonvodka.com to get more information on next steps, including refunds.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: High Noon recalls seltzers mislabeled as Celsius. Is Florida affected?
CENTRAL SQUARE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV)  Friday, August 1 is the final deadline for New York State school districts to submit their cell phone policies to the state as part of a new push to limit student screen time in schools.

More than 500 districts have already submitted their cell phone plans to the state. But others are still in the works, including Central Square School District.

The board has already met and had the first policy meeting to make the changes to our current policy of electronic devices, so that when school starts, we will be in compliant with what the governors new regulations states, said Superintendent for Central Square Central School District Tom Colabufo.

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Earlier this year, Central Square approved a new digital device policy, which took effect after February break. The policy allowed students to use their devices during non-instructional times, like in hallways, the cafeteria, and study hall. But, after Governor Hochul announced the bell-to-bell policy in the spring, the district was forced to revise its rules.

They will have to keep their electronic devices, their cell phone, in the lockers, locked up. Unless a teacher allows them to use it for educational purchases, which some do, Colabufo said.

Colabufo said that if storing cell phones in lockers isnt effective for students, the district will then have to pivot to using cell phone pouches instead.

As part of the governors multi-million dollar investment in cell phone pouch initiatives, Colabufo said the district will not be using the Yondr pouches, a popular but costly option adopted by many districts.

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For us it shakes out to be $18,000, so that will almost cover what we will need if we go the pouches route, which we would go with the local business and philanthropist, Vinny Lobdell, Colabufo said.

A district board meeting will be held on August 6. A second meeting will take place at the end of the month, in which the policy will then be approved and submitted to the state.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR.
RICHFIELD  Gov. Spencer Cox doesnt believe hes begged in a long time.

But as he stood at a podium just out of harms way of a wildfire burning in central Utah Friday, he said hes begging Utahns to make good decisions outdoors because the fire conditions across the state are that bad.

This can happen anywhere in the state right now, he said. Im begging people to please use extreme caution. One spark and we can have another fire just like this, and that means shrinking resources.

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Cox came to Richfield Friday to meet with firefighters, dispatchers and local officials before touring some of the Monroe Canyon Fire operations, as it continues to grow in areas south of Monroe, Sevier County. It scorched nearly 20,000 acres over the past 48 hours, jumping to 55,642 acres since it started on July 13, federal firefighters reported earlier Friday.

Containment of the fire also slipped again, from 11% on Thursday to 7% on Friday, as red flag conditions  a mix of warm temperatures, low relative humidity levels and gusty winds  make for difficult firefighting conditions.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for south-central Utah on Friday, and a similar warning is expected on Saturday.

One lane of state Route 24 is now open with pilot vehicle escorts in both directions from about Glenwood to Burrville in Sevier County, according to Sevier County Emergency Management. Utah Department of Transportation officials say that it will remain open to local traffic only for the time being.

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Officials had closed the highway Thursday evening as the Monroe Canyon Fire approached the road after crossing Bear Valley Road, and it remained closed most of Friday morning. Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from crossing S.R. 24 through containment efforts Thursday night and Friday morning, Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team No. 5 officials reported.

It was a win in what has been a difficult week fighting the fire. The team previously warned that theres a high likelihood for large fire growth should the fire jump the other side of the highway.

That took some strategic backburning and that took some strategic expertise," said Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, who joined Cox at a briefing Friday.

Over 1,200 personnel are now assigned to battle the blaze. Teams were able to stop small fires created by burning embers from the primary fire in the Bagley Ranch area, which continues to be a challenge because of the windy conditions. Crews also worked diligently to protect structures and bolster a fire line by some of the communities at risk, firefighters said.

Power restored to most of Wayne County

Power has been restored to most of Wayne County, Garkane Energy Cooperative reported Thursday night. The south-central power provider was forced to cut off power Wednesday just before the Monroe Canyon Fire burned 12 power poles.

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At least two other poles have since burned, but the company brought in several large-scale generators to help restore power to most of Wayne County that was affected by the outage. Officials reported Friday that the fire is still threatening some of its transmission lines, but its working to keep the lights on as much as possible while that happens.

Its unclear when power will be restored to Sevier County areas impacted by the outage. Some of the communities included in the outage were also evacuated because of the fire.

Dangerous fire conditions remain

Several new fire restrictions are now in place statewide. Stage 2 fire restrictions went into effect Friday across all state and private unincorporated lands, as well as most National Park Service land, and most other federal land across the state.

The increased restrictions were issued as the states drought intensified, increasing fire danger. Extreme drought has returned to pockets of northwest, central and eastern Utah, while severe drought still covers 60% of the state, per the U.S. Drought Monitor. The rest of the state remains in moderate drought.

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Cox declared a state of emergency over the states escalating wildfire threats on Thursday, which activates Utahs emergency operations plan, authorizes the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed and opens up more resource options for local governments impacted by this years wildfires.

The governor said the state is well-staffed to fight fires at the moment. It helps that firefighters have been able to mostly contain all the other fires that have broken out this year, which has allowed the state to throw everything at trying to stop the Monroe Canyon Fire.

Yet, with the land and weather conditions not providing any favors, hes concerned that another fire of this magnitude can spark, and that would make it difficult to fight the Monroe Canyon or other large fires. Thats why hes begging people to make good decisions outdoors, especially since 72% of the states fires this year have been human-caused.

Planning for whats next

Cox said he is also worried about what happens after the fire, which is something he said the state will explore.

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This years fires have burned down dozens of homes and cabins because some have started near communities. A fires burn scar can make the area around it susceptible to flooding for years after the fire, which can also impact structures and the communitys water supply as much as a fire itself.

Thats where we need more resources, Cox said. Were going to be working with the Legislature to make sure that we can get those resources (and) working with our federal partners, as well.

Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, was also on hand for the governors media briefing in Richfield on Friday. She said her office will seek federal resources to help Sevier County recover from the fire over the next several years, also because of the burn scar.

Theres going to be a lot of ash on the ground, and at some point, were going to start having summer monsoons, she said. When that rain comes, then you worry about everything coming off the mountain.
SOPA Images / Getty Images Starbucks reported better-than-expected quarterly sales Tuesday

Key Takeaways

Several analysts raised their price targets for Starbucks stock after the company's earnings call Tuesday.

CEO Brian Niccol said he isnt just focused on getting Back to Starbucks anymore, and is taking steps to build a "better Starbucks."

Niccol said Starbucks plans to test new product lines and invest $500 million in additional labor hours into its U.S.-operated portfolio.

Starbucks reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, but its adjusted profit missed estimates.





Brian Niccol isnt just focused on getting Back to Starbucks anymore.

On the companys quarterly earnings call Tuesday, the coffee giants CEO unveiled a slate of new initiatives, telling analysts, we're not just getting 'Back to Starbucks,' we are building a better Starbucks, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.

Niccol said Starbucks plans to invest more than $500 million in additional labor hours into its U.S.-operated portfolio. The company is also looking to test new product lines, Niccol said, including coconut water-based tea and coffee beverages, as well as gluten-free and high-protein menu options.

Team Niccol [is] the shot of energy hoped for, JPMorgan analysts said after the call, and lifted their price target for Starbucks (SBUX) stock to $105 from $100. Bank of America analysts also raised their target, to $144 from $110, while Morgan Stanley moved to $103 from $95. Shares were about 2% higher in recent trading near $95, and have added roughly 4% in 2025 so far.

The company's "Back to Starbucks" turnaround plan was intended to help speed up service and get customers to spend more time in cafes. Its initiatives have included using algorithms to sequence orders, expanding free refills, and having baristas return to writing customers' names on cups. The coffee giant has also seen layoffs.

Starbucks on Tuesday reported better-than-expected quarterly sales, but its adjusted profit missed Wall Streets expectations. Oppenheimer analysts, who maintained a neutral rating, said they see a "difficult setup for earnings to catch up enough to justify the stocks valuation.

"While we believe Mr. Niccol's strategies to improve the business will gain momentum, the sales and margin recovery path appears elongated," they said, and suggested they would remain on the sidelines until they see a "better entry point."



Read the original article on Investopedia
For the record:

12:26 p.m. Aug. 7, 2025: An earlier version of this column said President Trump won just over half the popular vote in 2024. He won just under half the vote.



Kamala Harris does not want to be governor of California, which has a whole lot of contenders (and some voters) doing a happy dance this week.

But with her announcement Wednesday that she is bowing out of a race she never officially entered, Harris has ignited a flurry of speculation that she's warming up for another run at the White House in 2028.

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Whether you like Harris or not, a possible run by the XX chromosome former vice president raises a perennial conundrum: Can a woman win the presidency?

"This question is legitimate," Nadia E. Brown told me.

She's a professor of government and director of the Womens and Gender Studies Program at Georgetown University. She points out that post-election, Democrats can't figure out who they are or what they stand for. In that disarray, it may seem easy and safe in 2028 to travel the well-worn route of "a straight, old white guy who fills the status quo."

Read more: Run for president? Start a podcast? Tackle AI? Kamala Harris' options are wide open

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That may be especially true in the Trump era, when an increasingly vocal and empowered slice of America seems to believe that women do, in fact, belong in the kitchen making sandwiches, far away from any decision beyond turkey or ham.

Brown points out that even Democrats who flaunt their progressive values, including how much they'd love to vote for a female president, may harbor secret sexism that comes out in the privacy of the voting booth.

Post-2024, Harris' defeat  and deciphering what it means  has caused a lot of "morning-after anxiety and agita," she said. "We're all doing research, we're all in the field trying to figure this out."

While confused Democrats diddle in private with their feelings, Republicans have made race and gender the center of their platform, even if they cloak it under economic talk. The party's position on race has become painfully clear with its stance that all undocumented immigrants are criminals and deserving of horrific detention in places such as "Alligator Alcatraz" or even foreign prisons known for torture.

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The Republican position on women is slightly more cloaked, but no less retrograde. Whether it's the refusal to tell the public how Trump is included in the Epstein files, the swift and brutal erosion of reproductive rights, or claims, such as the one by far-right podcaster Charlie Kirk, that the only reason for women to attend college should be to get a "Mrs." degree, Republicans have made little secret of the fact that equality is not part of their package.

Although Trump's approval ratings have tanked over immigration, he did win just under half of the popular vote last fall. So that's a lot of Americans who either agree with him, or at least aren't bothered by these pre-civil rights ideas on race and gender.

Add to that reality the eager pack of nice, safe Democratic white guys who are lining up for their own chance at the Oval Office  our current California governor included  and it does beg the question for the left: Is a woman worth the risk?

"I've definitely seen and heard consultants and, you know, even anxious women donors say, 'Maybe this means we can't run a woman.' And I think it's completely normal for certain elements of the party to be anxious about gender," said Mini Timmaraju, president and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, a grassroots advocacy group.

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She too thinks the gender question is "logical" since it has been blamed  though not by her  as "the reason we lost to Donald Trump twice in a row, right? Whereas Biden was able to beat him."

While Timmaraju is clear that those losses can't  and shouldn't  be tied to gender alone, gender also can't be ignored when the margins are thin.

Read more: Chabria: 3 things that should scare us about Trump's fake video of Obama

Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive political organizing group Our Revolution, which backed Bernie Sanders for president in 2016, said that gender and race are always a factor, but he believes the bigger question for any candidate in 2028 will be their platform.

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Harris, he said, "lost not because she was a woman. She lost because she did not embrace an economic populist message. And I think the electorate is angry about their standard of living declining, and they're angry about the elites controlling D.C. and enriching themselves."

Geevarghese told me he sees an opposite momentum building within the party and the electorate  a desire to not play it safe.

"Whoever it is  male, female, gay, straight, Black, white, Asian  the candidate's got to have a critique of this moment, and it can't be a normie Dem."

Brown, the professor, adds, rightfully, that looking at the question of a female candidate's chances through the lens of just Harris is too narrow. There are lots of women likely to jump into the race. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are just two names already in the mix. Brown adds that an outside contender such as a woman from a political dynasty (think Obama) or a celebrity along the lines of Trump could also make headway.

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The criticisms of Harris, with her baggage of losing the election and critiques of how she handled the campaign and the media, may not dog another female candidate, especially with voters.

Whether Kamala runs again or not, Im optimistic that the American people will vote for a female president," Vanessa Cardenas told me. She is the executive director of America's Voice, an advocacy group for immigrants' rights.

Cardenas points out that Hillary Clinton received more than 65 million votes (winning the popular vote), and Harris topped 75 million. If just Latinos had gone for Harris, instead of breaking in an ongoing rightward shift, she would have won. Cardenas thinks Latino votes could shift again in 2028.

"After the chaos, cruelty and incompetence of the Trump presidency, Latino voters, like most Americans, will reward candidates who can speak most authentically and seem most ready to fight for an alternative vision of America," she said. "I believe women, and women of color, can credibility and forcibly speak to the need for change rooted in the lived experiences of their communities."

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Timmaraju said that regardless of what Harris decides, Democrats will probably have one of the most robust primaries in recent times  which can only be good for the party and for voters.

And rather than asking, "Can a woman win?" the better question would be, "Do we really want a system that won't let them try?"

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Chanel Inc. informed its customers Friday morning about a data security breach at the U.S. company.

In a letter to clients, Chanel said that on July 25, Chanel became aware of a security incident involving a Chanel Inc. database in the U.S. hosted by a third-party service provider, where an unauthorized external party accessed and obtained some of the client data we hold.

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A Chanel spokeswoman confirmed the security incident Friday and said, The investigation indicates that there was unauthorized access to this database. There was no malware deployed to our systems, and our operations remain unaffected. She said upon detecting the issue, the company immediately activated their incident response protocols and engaged leading cybersecurity experts to support their investigation.

Based on the findings of the investigation, the data obtained by the unauthorized external party contained limited details of a subset of individuals who contacted our client care center in the U.S. specifically name, email address, mailing address and phone number. No other information was contained in the database. The clients affected have been informed, said the spokeswoman.

When asked how many people were impacted, she said the incident affected one Chanel Inc. database in the U.S., which contained the information of individuals who contacted Chanels client care center in the U.S.

As a precaution, Chanel recommended to its clients that they remain vigilant for suspicious phone calls, emails or other unsolicited communications. They are also advising clients to never open attachments or click on links from unknown senders, or to disclose sensitive information to these sources. Chanel will never reach out to you for your password or sensitive information, or send you links to identify yourself, through unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls, said Chanel in the email.

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In the letter to clients, Chanel said it sincerely apologized for this incident and would like to assure you that Chanel takes the protection of our client data extremely seriously. The company included a dedicated hotline in the letter for any questions.

We continue to serve our clients without interruption. Data security and the privacy of our clients are of the utmost importance for Chanel, and we have dedicated significant resources to responding to the situation, said the Chanel spokeswoman.

Retail-related cybersecurity attacks have become a growing problem in the industry. As reported, a report from KnowBe4 in March said there is a 56 percent spike in retail cyberattacks driven by phishing and AI. This puts retail in the top five industries targeted by cybercriminals, the report said. It noted that the average cost of a single retail data breach reached $3.48 million in 2024, representing an 18 percent increase from 2023.

In June, The North Face warned its customers not to recycle login information on its customer accounts, following a cyberattack on its site in April that used a technique called credential stuffing. An attacker had launched a small-scale credential stuffing attack using email addresses/usernames and passwords stolen from another source, such as a breach of a different company or website, to gain unauthorized access to user accounts, as reported.

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In May, Adidas said it had a cyberattack in which an unauthorized third party obtained some consumer data  but not any passwords, credit cards or an other payment-related information  through a third-party customer provider. The same month, Victorias Secrets e-commerce site was down for a few days as it addressed a security incident. The breach also resulted in a delay of its first-quarter earnings report. And fashion firms overseas  Harrods, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op Group in the U.K. in May also saw hackers targeting their online operations.

Dior confirmed in May that it was impacted by a data breach involving its Chinese customer base. The breach occurred in January 2025, but wasnt discovered until May.

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"If nothing is done differently in response to these environmental conditions and budget changes then, on the horizon, health care will cost even more than it does now." (Photo by Jack Yen Joy Photography/Getty Images)

During the Fourth of July holiday, I took some time to reflect both on the freedoms brought by independence and on the dramatic shifts in the role of government likely to be felt by many as a result of the federal mega bill.

The law enacts significant changes in public policy legislation and budget expenditures for the coming fiscal year and the decade ahead. In a recent blog post, the NH Health Cost Initiative has made it dramatically clear the impact the new law  and the new New Hampshire budget  will have on the health care delivery system in New Hampshire:  the landscape of health care in New Hampshire is shifting, sometimes rapidly, and not always equitably. At the same time, federal and state budget debates fuel uncertainty for what the future of health care will look like and who will be able to afford it.

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Changes and uncertainty, especially in health care, are coming, if not already here, as a result of the current political and economic environment, both nationally and within the state. These changes and their impacts have been identified in a number of recent reports and news releases:

The federal governments new tax and spending cut law reduces tax revenue support and SNAP benefits going to states, which affects states ability to provide a social safety for needy individuals and families.

Medical costs, rising faster than expected, will likely lead to more expensive insurance premiums.

Severe reductions in funding supports for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare subsidies are set to end this year) will mean fewer individuals and families will have health insurance coverage, affecting providers, rural hospitals, and likely increasing insurance costs for employers, and private and self-insured health policy holders.

An increased administrative burden, with no financial supports, will be placed on individuals and health care administrators due to the implementation of new federal and state rules and regulations leading to fewer direct services, more uncompensated care for providers, and longer wait times for patients.

Our New Hampshire state budget, which went into effect July 1, is strained. New fees have been added and budget cuts required by the Legislature have been requested of many departments, affecting health and mental health care, social services, food supports, and child care. Combined with federal cuts from the mega law, greater economic and social burdens will be placed on individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofits, where, in a number of cases, demand outstrips capacity.

If nothing is done differently in response to these environmental conditions and budget changes then, on the horizon, health care will cost even more than it does now. We will also see reduced access to services, leading to less revenue for health providers, more administrative burdens, longer wait lists, a shrinking workforce, poorer quality care, more emergency room visits, delayed care, and poorer health outcomes.

Or these conditions can be an opportunity for charting a new path forward to a whole person system of care that is affordable, accessible, equitable, and high quality, and aligns with patient non-medical social needs.

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When times are tough, I have learned that responsible Granite Staters with strong community values and who believe we are all in this together will step up to meet the challenges with fair solutions that help everyone. Now is such a time. We have to work together to make a new future out of what is before us.

In New Hampshire, there are health care leaders, researchers, advocates, regulators, providers, and talented stakeholders already at work trying to build an affordable and equitable health care system. I think they are ready to do more, bring others into the fold, and help lead us forward through turbulent times to a system of care that assures a healthier New Hampshire.

One approach these leaders can take, which would be beneficial for many, is to put energy into implementing primary care medical homes, which incorporate behavioral health and substance use treatments and coordinate access to specialty care, allied services, and utilized community health care worker services.

Medical homes  integrated primary care models  have been shown to cost less while providing comprehensive services and are easier to access by the community. Under an umbrella of accountable care driven by a value-based payment model, these homes can promote patient-centered, cost-effective care, competing effectively in the marketplace.

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Health care leaders can work with legislators, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Attorney Generals Office, the Insurance Department, and leaders from Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) to recommend legislation for the consolidation of services across the states FQHCs (and look-a-likes) and CMHCs. Or, in addition, CMHCs can become Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC), a specially designated clinic that provides a comprehensive range of mental health and substance use services, including coordination with primary care and social services (non-medical drivers of health).

An integrated health care delivery system, medical homes, or CCBHCs, can be set up to serve anyone who walks through the door, regardless of their diagnosis and insurance status.

This integration might allow for the more effective and efficient use of resources to address the needs of New Hampshires most vulnerable populations, including those with chronic illnesses and serious mental health conditions. They can address greater control over pricing, services, staffing, and operations.

These comprehensive, integrated health care models could also help improve health equity, align with social service needs of patients, and provide protection from hospital corporations or private equity firms that might want to swoop in and consolidate PCP and/or mental health services. It may also allow for greater strength in negotiating with insurance companies and protecting rural hospitals from closure.

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The scope of work will not be easy to develop, implement, finance, and assess. All this will take time for stakeholders to come to agreement, align their interests and desires, and form coalitions to assure that New Hampshire has an affordable health care system that meets the needs of all its residents.

It will, most assuredly, take committed leadership, effective and civil communication, and trust.

Coming together, understanding one another, working in coalitions, and working in agreement and in collaboration on a direction for health care requires trust.

NHHCI states: Our goal is clear  to engage diverse perspectives in developing policy solutions that make health care more affordable, more transparent, and more accessible for Granite Staters.

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New Hampshire must change the way it delivers health care. Can we meet this new challenge? Can we trust one another?

I think New Hampshires thoughtful health leaders, patient advocates, researchers, providers, policy makers, and government leaders have made the right decisions in the past and they can do so now.

They can work together and lead us to a healthier New Hampshire, where all can thrive.
Charlamagne tha God shared skepticism Thursday on the possibility of another White House bid from former Vice President Kamala Harris but encouraged her to connect with people by publishing a book.

I dont know if she should run again, but I definitely would like to see her write a book. I definitely would like to see her start a podcast and just build a real connection with people, Charlamagne said during a Thursday episode of The Breakfast Club.

And she is relatively young. I just dont know whats going to happen in 2028, man. I just think Democrats suck so bad. I dont know, he added.

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Some have speculated Harris is planning to enter the presidential race in 2028, where her Democratic opponents could range from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) to California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

I think Kamala can definitely be a leader in the Democratic Party. And I mean, I think the interesting thing about the former VP is I kind of like that strategy, Charlamagne told listeners.

On Wednesday, Harris announced she would not launch a bid for governor in the Golden State.

However, she also promoted her new book 107 Days, focused on the behind-the-scenes of the campaign trail she undertook months after former President Biden dropped out of the race.

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In the past, Charlamagne lauded Harris for reviving a dead campaign but said President Trump captured audiences and spoke to voter grievances better.

Harris is expected to give her first formal postelection remarks in a Thursday interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Colbert, whose show is ending next year, has been critical of both Trump and his networks parent company, Paramount, for a lawsuit Trump brought against 60 Minutes over its editing of an interview with Harris.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A Charlotte woman is using the power of social media to help an unexpected new friend: a homeless widow battling cancer.

Shes kind of become part of our family in a way, Madisyn Rejzer said of Miss Kim. My kids ask about her.

Rejzer met Miss Kim about six weeks ago outside a grocery store. Miss Kim was living there, and Rejzer brought her a cold drink.

She started telling me a little about her life, that she was widowed last year, Rejzer said. She lost her husband the day before their 17th wedding anniversary to cancer, and that she herself was battling cancer.

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Reizer says she couldnt stop thinking about the encounter and went back to check on Miss Kim every few days.

Madisyn Rejzer.

She eventually put her up in a hotel for a few nights, but couldnt afford to do more.

Miss Kim gave Rejzer approval to start a GoFundMe, then a TikTok account, to help raise money.

The TikTok page has rocketed to 75,000 followers.

A video of Miss Kim, overcome with emotion as she learns that another week at her extended-stay motel was paid for, has amassed 1.5 million views.

The room is now paid through the end of August, as she continues with chemotherapy every two weeks.

Rejzer says it means a lot to Miss Kim to have a room, a bed and a bathroom, especially when shes not feeling well.

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But permanent housing is the goal.

Rejzer, with the help of all their new internet friends, plans to continue doing everything she can to reach that goal.

Its definitely changed my life in certain ways, just knowing her as a person, seeing someone so grateful for just every little thing, she said.

Click here for the TikTok account.

If youd like to donate to the GoFundMe, 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 Queen City News.
Charred hair collected by store employee could help prosecutors in Kissimmee CVS arson case

A fire destroyed a Kissimmee CVS store and injured three people in April. Now, new court documents reveal the fire is being investigated as arson.

Federal prosecutors indicted Joao Marcelo Mendes-Minillo this month.

A surveillance photo included in an affidavit shows a man appearing to be Mendes-Minillo walking into CVS with a red gas container. The affidavit says video investigators obtained shows Mendes-Minillo emptying the red gasoline container into the aisle and onto products sitting on the shelves.

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According to records spotted by Court Watch, just three minutes after the fire started, the suspect went across the street to another store to get burn cream. Investigators collected charred hair that apparently fell off of the suspect while he was in that store, and an employee initially saved that hair because the suspects behavior was suspicious.

There were burn marks on [his] hands, and the person was in a panicked state, one employee said, according to the affidavit. That employee said the man smelled like gasoline and burned hair.

Another employee noticed as the man touched his beard, hair fell out into the business.

Its listed as evidence submitted for DNA testing at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Forensic Science Laboratory.

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Whats uncommon in this situation is how it was obtained, said Rajan Joshi, a criminal defense attorney not tied to this case.

Are there questions about how he collected it, and also who all had access to it, Channel 9 asked.

Absolutely, and thats something very crucial because the chain of custody is something that is going to be scrutinized. How he collected it, was it properly preserved, where he took it afterwards, how long he had it in his possession, those are all things that will be scrutinized thoroughly, Joshi replied. But then again, you know DNA is very reliable. Unless you have an identical twin, theres not enough people in the world to say that that DNA could have belonged to someone else.

But Joshi says prosecutors have much more solid evidence than the charred hair, including surveillance video.

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Authorities also say they found a lighter on Mendes-Minillo when he was arrested on an unrelated out-of-county warrant that day.

Mendes-Minnillo is in custody at the Polk County Jail where he is on a hold by multiple agencies including ICE, FBI and U.S. Marshals Service.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Cherriots is proposing to assess a .7% payroll tax on employers in Salem, Keizer and the rest of its taxing district in the Salem-Keizer urban growth boundary.

If the seven-member board of the Salem Area Mass Transit District, which operates as Cherriots, votes to approve the tax, it will take effect on January 1, 2026.

Cherriots says it would use the projected $39.4 million it raises each year from the tax to expand service. Cherriots provided about 3.2 million rides in 2024, down from its peak ridership of about 5.5 million in 2004.

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The service we provide is excellent, the level needs to grow, Cherriots' general manager Allan Pollock said.

Cherriots is considering enacting a payroll tax on employers in Salem and Keizer starting in 2026.

What is the payroll tax that Cherriots is proposing?

The tax would be paid by businesses and not employees like some payroll taxes. It would be collected by the state Department of Revenue. The tax would be on salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses and deferred compensation by employers in the district.

A company with an average annual payroll of $500,000 would pay $3,500 per year, according to Cherriots' figures.

Cherriots has a budget of $154.7 million for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The largest share of that, $32.5 million, comes from federal funds. Oregon contributes $16.3 million from employees' pay, a .1% payroll tax, collected for transit districts across the state.

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The Salem Area Mass Transit District estimates the proposed payroll tax would have raised $39.4 million in 2025.

Dont bus riders pay enough to cover costs for Cherriots?

Cherriots riders pay $1.60 for a one-way ride, with people age 18 and under riding for free. Thats the same its been for over a decade.

The district earned approximately $2.2 million in fares for the 2024-2025 budget years, according to Cherriot's figures.

The Eugene-based Lane Transit District charges $1.75, and Portland-based Tri-Met charges $2.80. Businesses in the Lane Transit District pay an .8% payroll tax, and in Tri-Mets district, they pay a .8237% payroll tax.

Lane is projecting to receive $61.2 million in payroll tax this year.

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We also want the same local investment that Tri-Met and Lane are getting, Cherriots board president Maria Hinojos Pressey said.

Cherriots says it would raise approximately $39.4 million per year from its proposed payroll tax on employers in Salem and Keizer.

Didn't voters turn down a payroll tax for transit?

The Salem Area Mass Transit District asked voters in 2015 to support a .21% payroll tax on employers to pay for Saturday and Sunday service and extend weekday evening service.

The proposal was rejected with 42% approving and 58% of voters saying no, but the district still expanded service to weekends and for more hours.

The Salem city council in July 2023 passed a .814% payroll tax on employees that was decisively repealed by voters before it was enacted.

Who would and wouldnt pay the payroll tax?

All businesses within the Salem-Keizer Urban Growth Boundary would be subject to the payroll tax. That includes self-employed and gig workers.

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Entities that would be exempt include federal credit unions, public school districts, 501(c)(3) non-profits and tax-exempt institutions except hospitals, insurance companies, domestic insurers and those who provide domestic service in private homes.

The state of Oregon would not pay the tax, but would pay $11 million in lieu of the tax, according to Cherriots.

How can Cherriots enact a tax without it being voted on?

Senate Bill 1536, which the Oregon Legislature passed in 2018, changed the seven-member board of the Salem Area Mass Transit District from being appointed by the governor to being voted on by residents.

That bill also repealed a state law that will prevent the board from taxing residents without approval in an election. That repeal takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.

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Thats why the district is discussing the payroll tax now.

What this repeal basically does is places Cherriots on equal footing with the other two mass transit districts in Oregon who have had access to funding by board action since their inception, Pollock said.

Cherriots chief operations officer Tom Dietz talks about a charging station at the Keizer Transit Center in 2024.

What impact could the upcoming special session of the Oregon Legislature have?

Gov. Tina Kotek has called the Oregon Legislature into special session on Aug. 29 to vote on a transporation funding bill that includes doubling the current state payroll transit tax on employees to .2%.

If passed, Cherriots could potentially collect more than $32 million every two years, about double what it now gets.

Its something that we are keenly aware of, and we hope that it does that, but  the investment that would actually go to Cherriots, and specifically Cherriots within the urban growth area, is significantly less than you might imagine, board member Ian Davidson said.

What does Cherriots plan to do with the money from the proposed payroll tax?

Cherriots says it would use the money from a local payroll tax to purchase buses and hire more drivers to increase the frequency of service and provide service more hours, including weekends and holidays.

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It also would use technology to enhance traffic signals, improve bus stop safety and accessibility, add a unified payment system like a phone app, provide a downtown Salem circulator, launch a new on-demand transit service, and reinstate rides to special events such as the Oregon State Fair.

Cherriots says it also would use the money to help fund its planned South Salem and Chemeketa transit centers. Those would be similar to the Keizer Transit Center, which opened in 2013.

Cherriots provided an estimated 3.2 million rides in 2024.

Salem-area business leaders push back against Cherriots' payroll tax proposal

At a July 31 forum at the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, business leaders questioned why they should have to pay more for a transit agency that is already highly rated by customers for its service, and does so with less money than comparable transit districts.

Some of the business leaders likened enacting the payroll tax to a power grab.

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I think this is really irresponsible, said Ryan Allbritton, a past chamber president.

One person estimated that each ride provided by Cherriots costs $42, based on publicly available financial documents.

Another asked if the district would be better off giving people certificates for Uber and Lyft and retaining the ability to move disabled people with Cherriots-provided vehicles.

Uber provided in 2024 three million rides for the entire state of Oregon. They cannot replace what we do, Hinojos Pressey said.

Salem Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tom Hoffert urged the Cherriots board to send the tax to voters, although the district is not required to do so.

Whats next for the payroll tax?

Cherriots' general manager Allan Pollock said the district board would consider imposing the tax in the fall.

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Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem Area Mass Transit board considers payroll tax for Cherriots
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)  A Chicago area man is in the Vanderburgh County Jail on rape and theft charges.

The Vanderburgh County Sheriffs Office says Craig Bryan raped a woman and was later connected to the thefts of home improvement equipment in Illinois.

Deputies say the rape occurred at a Vanderburgh County hotel. Authorities say Bryan came to Evansville to steal a backhoe from Home Depot, but the theft plans were thwarted by the rape arrest. He also admitted to attempting similar thefts at other Home Depot locations between Evansville and the Chicago area

Craig Bryan

Charges filed

Rape  Level 1 Felony

Intimidation  Level 6 Felony

Conspiracy to Commit Theft  Level 6 Felony

Conspiracy to Commit Organized Theft  Level 6 Felony

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).
Chicago's air quality is considered among the worst in the world right now, thanks to thick wildfire smoke drifting southward from Canada. The smoke is prompting health concerns, triggering air quality alerts and smothering outdoor events in a dangerous haze.

Hazardous smoke is also blanketing Minneapolis, earning it a top spot in poor air quality rankings.

The smoke has pushed the U.S. air quality index to code red across much of the Midwest and Great Lakes. In fact, air quality alerts are in effect in at least nine states.

Throngs of people cheer in front of a backdrop of smoke during Lollapalooza in Chicago.

This isnt just affecting sensitive individuals like the elderly and small children, warned senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman. It can affect everybody that exerts themselves outdoors or spends too much time outdoors.

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The timing couldnt be worse for Chicagos outdoor-loving summer scene. The iconic Lollapalooza music festival kicked off Thursday in Grant Park, drawing thousands of concertgoers under a veil of smoke.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs are set to host the Baltimore Orioles at Wrigley Field today, just blocks from where air quality remains unhealthy.

The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for all of Illinois through the end of Friday, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is urging vulnerable groups to avoid outdoor activities. Everyone else should take it easy outdoors, swapping intense workouts for a walk and minimizing time outside, say experts.

Unfortunately, this smoke could linger in some parts of the Midwest through Saturday, while spreading into upstate New York and northern New England by Sunday.

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Before heading outside this weekend, check the air quality near you, wear a mask if needed, and consider using an air purifier.

Weather.com lead editor Jenn Jordan explores how weather and climate weave through our daily lives, shape our routines and leave lasting impacts on our communities.
The Brief

Wedding dreams shattered: A South Side couple lost over $180,000 after their destination wedding was allegedly stolen by travel agent Laticha Douglas of FlyGirl World Travel.

Widespread complaints: Most guests received no refunds; the BBB and Illinois Attorney General are investigating similar claims against Douglas, whose business has faced prior legal troubles.

Plea for accountability: The couple is left heartbroken and in debt, urging Douglas to come forward as a police investigation continues.

CHICAGO - A South Side couple claims their long-awaited wedding day turned into heartbreak and financial ruin after their dream destination wedding was allegedly stolen from them along with more than $180,000.

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Iris Smith and Dedric Vaughn had been planning a lavish ceremonyin Mexico, set for July 19, with 75 guests, including their two young daughters. The girls were set to be flower girls.

On Thursday, instead of celebrating their union, the family is stuck at home in Chicago, surrounded by unopened wedding favors and painful memories.

"Very, very heartbroken," Iris Smith said in an interview with FOX 32.

"Devastated. Its tough," added Dedric Vaughn.

The Wedding That Wasn't

The couple hired Laticha Douglas, owner of FlyGirl World Travel LLC, to help coordinate their destination wedding.

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According to Smith and Vaughn, guests RSVP'd and paid Douglas directly through her now-deactivated website. The payments were supposed to cover travel, hotel rooms, and more.

Instead, the couple said they received excuses and eventually, silence.

"I had been trying to contact her for days, and she hadnt responded," Smith said. " When we calculated everything, over $180,000."

They said only 2% of their guests received refunds. The couple was forced to cancel the wedding entirely.

One email to Smith, allegedly from someone claiming Douglas was hospitalized, suggested guests should dispute charges with their banks and re-book their travel. The email assured her a refund system was in place, but most guests never saw a dime.

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"The dates on all of this stuff wont match anymore," Smith said, glancing at her wedding favors.

"What do you do? Just keep it? Pass it out still?" said FOX 32's Tia Ewing.

"I think pass it out. Everyone kind of knows what happened. Its so unfortunate," Smith said.

Receipts & Repercussions

FOX 32 obtained dozens of receipts confirming thousands in guest payments.

The couple said the losses include their own costs, their childrens expenses, and all guest reservations. But, the trouble may go further.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has received at least five separate complaints against FlyGirl World Travel LLC:

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One traveler paid $2,300 for a trip to Jamaica, only to find there was no reservation.

Another made monthly payments for a $3,900 trip to Egypt. That trip never happened.

In both cases, Douglas stopped responding, and her website disappeared.

According to state records, FlyGirl World Travel LLC was terminated earlier this year by the Secretary of State, then later reinstated.

The Illinois Attorney Generals Office confirmed it is now working to mediate multiple complaints.

"We are attempting to mediate consumer complaints we have received about this business," the office said in a statement.

Tracking the Travel Agent

FOX 32 went looking for Douglas at two addresses linked to her business.

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At one home in Washington Heights, lights were on, but no one answered. At another address in Back of the Yards, we spoke to Douglas' mother.

She acknowledged knowing her daughter and took our number, promising to pass along a message. But we never heard back.

Numerous phone calls and emails to Douglas also went unanswered.

Public records show prior charges under Douglas maiden name, Laticha Allen, for theft, deception, and computer fraud in the early 2000s. We could not confirm how those cases were resolved. None appear to be active today.

What's next

The Chicago Police Department confirmed an investigation is underway.

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Meanwhile, Smith and Vaughn, both city employees, are left with heartbreak and debt.

"I still find myself in shock sometimes," Smith said.

Now, they just want accountability.

"At this point, just turn yourself in," Smith said in a direct plea to Douglas. "You took a lot of peoples money. A lot of people are angryincluding us."

The Illinois Secretary of State's office said Thursday that FlyGirl World Travel LLC is currently listed as "not in good standing" as of July 1.

The company failed to file its required annual report on time. If the report is not filed by Jan. 1, 2026, the business will be automatically dissolved.

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FlyGirl World Travel can return to good standing by submitting the report and paying the necessary fees before the deadline.

The company also received a legal notice known as a UCC filing after its lender, True Advanced Funding Inc., claimed the right to seize the businesss assets if the loan is not repaid.

The full statement from the Secretary of State's office can be read below:

"Flygirl World Travel LLC has not been investigated by the Secretary of States office. However, it is currently in Not In Good Standing status as of July 1, 2025, because it did not submit an annual report to the office before this deadline. If an annual report is not filed by January 1, 2026, the entity will be involuntarily dissolved. The business could submit its annual report, pay the annual fee and penalty fee before January 1 to return to Good Standing status after that date.

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"Also of note, True Advanced Funding Inc. filed a UCC filing against Flygirl World Travel LLC which outlines a financing arrangement between the two entities. Please find the UCC filing attached."

What you can do

If you believe youve been impacted by FlyGirl World Travel or need to file a complaint, visit this link.
Starbucks (SBUX) reported a sixth straight quarterly drop in US same-store sales on Tuesday as the company continues to grapple with an uncertain consumer environment and its CEO's turnaround efforts.

US same-store sales fell 2%, in line with the prior quarter's drop but less than the 2.5% drop that had been forecast. That was driven lower by a 4% decline in comparable transactions. Wall Street expected a sharper 4.5% decline.

Starbucks "fixed a lot and done the hard work on the hard things to build a strong operating foundation and based on my experience of turnarounds, we are ahead of schedule," CEO Brian Niccol, who previously led the turnaround at Chipotle, said in the release.

Starbucks stock was little changed near midday on Wednesday.

Global same-store sales fell 2%, more than the 1.5% decline expected, per Bloomberg data, marking an acceleration from the previous quarter's 1% drop.

Same-store sales in China rose 2% against forecasts for a 1.4% rise, driven by beverage innovation. The jump was driven by an increase in transactions, which was offset by a decline in the average ticket as the company lowered prices to compete with rival Luckin Coffee (LKNCY). This marks the second straight quarter of positive growth for its operations in China as the company seeks out a partner in the region.

Niccol said Starbucks seeks a local partner that shares the same "belief that there's this opportunity to grow" and can set up the brand long-term.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.50, missing forecasts for $0.65 per share. Revenue rose 5% to $9.5 billion, more than the $9.3 billion that had been forecast.

Read more: Live coverage of corporate earnings

Since joining the company last fall, Niccol has tried to change the fortunes of the coffee chain by cutting staff earlier this year and announcing plans this month to require more staff to be in the office four days per week.

The company has also incentivized its management team to more aggressively turn around the business, offering executives performance-based stock grants focused on cutting costs.

The company plans to prioritize a cozy coffeehouse atmosphere and move away from pickup-focused experiences for customers. Consequently, Starbucks plans to execute small, targeted renovations of its stores, amounting to approximately $150,000 per location, to bring back the thousands of chairs for patrons it took away.

For new locations, Niccol said it was able to cut the build cost by roughly 30% and will introduce a new stand-alone prototype in fiscal 2026 that will have 32 seats and a drive-through.
The Brief

A 25-year-old man was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head early Friday in the 9100 block of South Stony Island Avenue.

He was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition as police continue to investigate.

CHICAGO - A 25-year-old man was critically injured in a shooting early Friday on the citys South Side, according to Chicago police.

What we know

Officers responded around 1:27 a.m. to a report of a person shot in the 9100 block of South Stony Island Avenue, where they found the victim unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head.

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He was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition.

Police said no arrests have been made, and Area Two detectives are investigating.

The Source

The information in this report came from the Chicago Police Department.
CHICAGO (WGN)  A Chicago teacher has been charged with receiving and distributing child pornography.

The Department of Justice said 27-year-old Jaron Woodsley shared images of child pornography last fall with another person on the social media platform Telegram.

While using Telegram, Woodsley reportedly distributed at least 13 videos and received six videos from the other person, who was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Colorado last year, according to investigators.

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Man charged with dealing meth from home daycare in North Chicago

Officials said Woodsley was arrested on the morning of Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, and appeared in Chicago court at 2 p.m.

Woodsley has been charged with receiving and distributing child pornography, which are charges punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in a federal prison and a maximum of 20 years.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

Chicago Public Schools later confirmed Woodsley was a CPS teacher and issued the following statement:

Student safety is one of Chicago Public Schools highest priorities. The District was notified Friday, August 1 of charges involving CPS teacher Jaron Woodsley. Upon learning of the teachers arrest, the District immediately removed this individual from their position and the Office of Inspector General has opened an investigation. CPS will not hesitate to terminate an employee under established District policies and procedures.

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Furthermore, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras said Woodsley was a staff member with them and issued the following statement:

We have learned that one of our part-time staff members was arrested for alleged receipt

and distribution of child pornography. This alleged behavior is abhorrent and vile and

completely inconsistent with both CYSO policies and the law. This individual was suspended

immediately while we conduct our own investigation. CYSO staff has no reason to believe

that any CYSO child has been impacted by these allegations. The safety of our students is our highest priority, and we are dedicated to

maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for their learning and development. CYSO staff and community are deeply disheartened by this situation, and we will cooperate

fully with appropriate authorities. For the past 80 years, CYSO has proven itself as an

organization of excellence. We look forward to continuing that tradition at Lollapalooza

tomorrow and in our upcoming season. Jennie Oh Brown, Executive Director

Anyone believing they are a victim of sexual exploitation is asked to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by going to www.missingkids.com or by calling 1-800-843-5678.

The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a 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 WGN-TV.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO)  Winnebago County Deputies arrested Gabriel Populorum, 25, for allegedly grooming and sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl.

On March 4, deputies received reports from Cherry Valley Police that a man was having inappropriate contact with a minor. The mother of the teen told authorities she had gone missing that day.

The girl was in Chicago with Populorum and had sexual relations with him, according to court records.

Gabriel Populorum. Photo: Winnebago County Jail

Officials reported that the suspect was sending Ubers to bring the 13-year-old to Chicago multiple times and was communicating with her through Snapchat since February 19.

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After further investigations and search warrants, Deputies arrested Populorum.

He was booked into the Winnebago County jail on July 31.

He is charged with criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault of a minor, grooming and traveling to meet a minor.

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.
The Brief

Anthony Reed, 28, of Chicago, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for robbing two taxi drivers and an Uber driver at gunpoint in February 2022.

Reed pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm; during one robbery, he struck a driver with his gun.

Over the span of four days, Reed stole cash, phones, a tablet, a wallet, and a jacket from his victims.

CHICAGO - A Chicago man was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after robbing two taxi drivers and a rideshare driver at gunpoint on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

What we know

Anthony Reed, 28, of Chicago, was arrested in 2022 and pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and one count of brandishing a firearm earlier this year.

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In early February 2022, Reed threatened to kill the driver if they didn't hand over their money and belongings, prosecutors allege.

During one of the incidents, Reed allegedly used the butt on his gun to hit the driver in the head.

The reported incidents include:

Feb. 4, 2022: Reed stole a tablet and cell phone from a Flash Cab taxi driver.

Feb. 5, 2022: Reed stole $120 in cash, a tablet, and cell phone from a Flash Cab taxi driver.

Feb. 8, 2022: Reed stole a wallet containing $200 to $400 in cash, as well as a cell phone and jacket from an Uber driver.

What they're saying

"Over the course of only four days, defendant robbed three victims at gunpoint while the victims were doing their job," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret A. Steindorf and Paul Schied argued. "A significant sentence is warranted to protect the public from defendants criminal appetite and deter defendant from committing future violent acts."

The Source

Details for this story were provided by the Northern District of Illinois U.S. Attorney's Office.
The Brief

Catalina Baldwin, 37, of Phoenixville, has been arrested for Aggravated Assault and related charges in the assaults on two infants she cared for at Oaks Early Learning Center.

Baldwin is being held on $500,000 bail.

OAKS, Pa. - Horrific allegations have emerged against a child-care teacher in Montgomery County, as the District Attorney accuses her of assaulting two babies in her care.

What we know

Catalina Baldwin, 37, of Phoenixville, faces two counts of aggravated assault.

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Baldwin worked at Oaks Early Learning Center, where a seven-month-old girl suffered an apparent seizure in early July.

The infant was found to have bleeding on the brain and required surgery to remove part of her skull for treatment.

Investigators also received a report from May concerning a five-month-old baby girl who had unexplained bleeding from the mouth.

Dig deeper

On July 9, at 10:20 a.m., Upper Providence police and EMS responded to a report of an unresponsive 7-month-old girl at Oaks Early Learning Center.'

Upon arrival, police say two Upper Providence Township Firefighters, who had been onsite at the daycare for an event, were providing emergency aid to the infant who appeared to be having seizures.

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The baby was transported to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia where officials say she was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma with mass effect, midline shift and an uncal herniation.

They say she was also found to have numerous retinal hemorrhages in both eyes and injuries to the ligaments in her cervical spine, both of which are consistent with non-accidental trauma.

The infant was then flown by helicopter to CHOP in Philadelphia, where she underwent emergency surgery.

Officials say a part of her skull had to be removed to assist with treatment. The baby remains hospitalized, police say.

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Then, Upper Providence Police and Montgomery County Detectives began a joint investigation into the aggravated assault of the infant.

Detectives learned that it was the infants third day at Oaks Early Learning Center. On the day of the incident, police say the infant was dropped off at 7:30 a.m. by both parents, who said that their baby had been healthy, alert and interactive.

Officals say the hurt child, was one of three babies in the infant room under the sole care of Baldwin.

At 10:12 a.m., officials say Baldwin texted the school Director, Christina Dolga, asking her to respond to the infant room.

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Dolga then arrived to find the baby listless and unable to hold up her head, officials say. The school director ran outside to get help from the firefighters and called the police.

Upon downloading Baldwins cellphone, detectives found that she had texted another teacher at 10:04 a.m.: "[the infant's name] is a nightmare," approximately eight minutes before she texted Dolga for help.

On the cellphone, investigators say they also found that Baldwin had googled "Shaken Syndrome" on July 11, 2025.

Simultaneously, Upper Providence police say they were investigating a report of a 5-month-old baby girl, who was injured while in the infant room at Oaks Early Learning Center.

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Officials say the babys mother received a message from Baldwin on May 29, saying that the infant had experienced unexplained bleeding in her mouth. Balwin said the baby had caused the injury herself by putting a broken wicker basket in her mouth.

The mother took her child to CHOP for evaluation and the baby girl was placed on a feeding tube due to a laceration in her mouth.

The CHOP Child Protection Team said that the 5-month-old's injury was "highly concerning for non-accidental trauma/child physical abuse."

Baldwin was arrested on July 31, 2025, on two counts of Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Recklessly Endangering Another Person.

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She has been taken into custody and is being held on $500,000 bail.

What's next

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 12 at 10 a.m.

Authorities continue to investigate the incidents.

The Source

The information in this story is from the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Upper Providence Township Police.
Signs are growing that Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is close to demonstrating its ability to launch and recover aircraft from its first catapult-equipped aircraft carrier, the Fujian, if it has not done so already. Fujian completed an eighth round of sea trials, which were said to have been particularly intensive, back in May.

Chinese state media outlets have released previously unseen, but also undated videos and pictures showing flight operations aboard Fujian this week in the lead up to todays marking of the 98th anniversary of the founding of the PLA. Fujian has been conducting sea trials since May 2024 and is reportedly expected to enter operational service by the end of this year.

First-ever official footage of flight operations aboard China's newest, soon-to-be commissioned aircraft carrier, CNS Fujian (18)



On the eve of the PLA's 98th anniversary, PRC media released video showcasing another major milestone: integration tests between the electromagnetic pic.twitter.com/wIrU4hxFi6  Ian Ellis (@ianellisjones) July 31, 2025

Chinese authorities have yet to show aircraft launching from or recovering aboard Fujian, but the newly released imagery notably includes a view of a Shenyang J-15T single-seat carrier-based fighter at least in position for a catapult launch with its afterburners engaged.

The J-15T with its afterburners engaged at least in position for launch aboard Fujian. Chinese internet

Another view of a J-15T with its wings and horizontal stabilizers folded aboard Fujian. Chinese internet

Another clip shows the shadow being cast on Fujians deck from a J-15-series fighter flying low over or at least very near the ship. There are no clear indications, one or the other, that the jet in question took off from and/or landed on Fujian.

A J-15 casts a shadow on Fujians deck. Chinese internet

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The J-15 family is derived from the Soviet-era Sukhoi Su-33 Flanker, with the T version being specifically developed for catapult launch. Earlier variants of the J-15, as well as the Su-33, were designed for use on short takeoff, but assisted recovery (STOBAR) carriers with ski jumps rather than catapults.

A stock picture of a J-15T. Note the catapult bar on the jets nose landing gear strut. Wei Meng/VCG via Getty Images

The recently released official imagery also includes a look at members of Fujians crew conducting a so-called Foreign Object Debris (FOD) walk. This is a routine proactive safety measure taken on carriers and land airfields to check for potentially small, but serious hazards ahead of flight operations.

Personnel aboard Fujian conduct a FOD walk. Chinese internet

A Harbin Z-9 helicopter, a license-produced variant of the Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS365 Dauphin, is also seen in one of the video clips that have been released. Z-9s are also part of the air wings found on Chinas STOBAR carriers, including for use as plane guards while fixed-wing aircraft are launching and recovering.

A Z-9 helicopter together with a J-15 aboard Fujian. Chinese internet

A J-15 launches from the Chinese STOBAR carrier Liaoning. A Z-9 helicopter acting as a plane guard is seen in the background. Japanese MoD

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Its also worth noting here that its unclear whether the PLAN could have launched a J-15T from Fujians deck without the help of the ships catapults, possibly by using a jet with a light fuel load and/or that is otherwise stripped down, and a long takeoff run. In such a scenario, the aircraft would also have to be craned off afterward.

Still, it seems more likely that Fujian is now launching and recovering fixed-wing aircraft, or at least is getting very close to doing so, as part of its ongoing trials. Basic function testing of the carriers electromagnetically-powered catapults first began in 2023 while the ship was still being fitted out. Chinese state media has also released other imagery in the past showing members of the carriers crew at least going through the motions of a catapult launch.

Un passager d'un vol commercial survolant pres du chantier naval Changxing Jiangnan a Shanghai, ou le troisieme porte-avions chinois est actuellement en construction, a pu filmer ce qui semble etre un test de catapultage dans le bassin. pic.twitter.com/8OhWG0Xwqc  East Pendulum (@HenriKenhmann) November 26, 2023

As Chinas first CATOBAR carrier, Fujian has been a source of great interest, in general, for years now. With Fujian, the PLAN is also notably going straight to electromagnetic catapults without ever operating a carrier that uses steam-powered ones. The U.S. Navys supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford was the first carrier ever to get an aircraft into the air using what is also referred to as an electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). France and India are also now moving to field EMALS-equipped carriers, and the United Kingdom may also follow suit.

Electromagnetic catapults offer the advantage of being able to be more finely tuned to very different aircraft types, particularly ones at the smaller and lighter end of the spectrum. EMALS, which are also less complicated mechanically than their predecessors, offer lower reset times that can help increase sortie generation rate. At the same time, the electromagnetic catapults on USS Gerald R. Ford did prove to be temperamental new technology, causing issues for years before the U.S. Navy said it was able to mitigate them.

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The overall capabilities that EMALS offer are particularly relevant for launching uncrewed platforms. The PLAN is actively pursuing advanced uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) and other types of drones that can be launched from carriers and big deck amphibious warfare ships. Fujians full air wing is set to also include new J-35 naval stealth fighters and KJ-600 airborne early warning and control aircraft.

Oh man,  what a start to the day!  



I think this is actually the very best photo of a naval J-35 published so far and here quite clearly the prototypes 3501 (with Pitot) & 3506.



(Image via @ from Weibo) pic.twitter.com/lvrzSGcMvb  @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) June 19, 2025

A great KJ-600 image for the morning  pic.twitter.com/LdcqHPmNGR  @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) June 20, 2025

Imagery of a new jet trainer, which looks to be based on the existing JL-10 and could be designed with carrier training in mind, has also emerged today. Conducting routine CATOBAR operations from Fujian will also require the PLAN to set up a steady pipeline for naval aviators qualified to do so.

More broadly speaking, Fujian reflects a major modernization push by the PLAN dating back to the 1990s, with particular emphasis on supporting higher-end region missions, such as intervention against Taiwan, as well as longer-range blue water operations in the Pacific and beyond. China is reportedly already working on a new CATOBAR carrier, commonly referred to as the Type 004, which may also be nuclear-powered. Renderings that have emerged in the past related to that design show distinct similarities to the U.S. Navys Ford class and Frances future New Generation Aircraft Carrier, both of which are nuclear-powered.

A rendering of a Chinese future CATOBAR carrier concept. Chinese internet

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PLAN modernization has not been limited to carriers, but also includes a still-growing array of new and ever-more advanced surface combatants, amphibious warfare ships, and more. China has been particularly prolific when it comes to the relatively rapid expansion of its amphibious fleets. This includes a super-sized big deck amphibious assault ship named Sichuan, also referred to as the Type 076, which is unlike any other such vessel in service anywhere else in the world. It notably has its own single electromagnetic catapult along one side of the forward end of the flight deck. Sichuan has also been a major feature in media related to the 98th anniversary of the PLAs founding.

 Soldiers Chorus Navy Band Performance  Saluting & Celebrating PLA 98 Years of Founding Anniversary | Type 076 Sichuan 51 https://t.co/AO3uz6Xeaspic.twitter.com/6no3mvJ8li  David Wang (@Nickatgreat1220) August 1, 2025

Some new shots of Type 076 LHA 51 Sichuan, courtesy of a PLA media event (no relation to fitting out/trials). CODAG propulsion visible via funnels. EMALS shelter remains in place. Via "ACuriousPLAFan"/"by78"/SDF. pic.twitter.com/GTw8xDugld  Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) August 1, 2025

Chinese state media this week has also highlighted an example of the Type 075 amphibious assault ship, as well as shown imagery of a significant portion of all of the PLANs major amphibious warships sailing in formation together. The PLANs amphibious capabilities are also growing further now with new jack-up barges that can be linked together to help get ground forces ashore, as you can read more about here.

#PLAN

The newest Type-075 LHD (34) is now called 'Hubei'.



Today is August 1st, , the PLA's 98th Anniversary  Expect many announcements (or reveals) pic.twitter.com/XEScsqg6VF  Iron Lady (@nuwangzi) August 1, 2025

Four Type 071 LPD and two Type 075 LHD on a joint cruise. Coincidentally or not exactly half of each types overall numbers active in the PLAN fleet. Via "by78"/SDF. pic.twitter.com/kDaK1E4JiP  Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) August 1, 2025

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1/x New lengthy & detailed footage (2nd & 3rd videos) of the  Chinese Shuiqiao-type landing barges (self-propelled amphibious landing platform utility vessels) during some trials with civilian cars

(via wb/) pic.twitter.com/ajphn4m0mu  Jesus Roman (@jesusfroman) June 15, 2025

This years anniversary of the PLAs founding comes amid new geopolitical friction with the United States, especially over tariffs and other trade issues. In addition, there continues to be ominous warnings about PLA efforts to at least get to a place where it would be confident of succeeding in an armed intervention against Taiwan, potentially as soon as 2027.

The [Taiwanese] population need[s] to not be naive like in the past, Wu Chihchung, Taiwans deputy foreign minister, said in an interview with Sky News in the United Kingdom that was broadcast today. China is preparing to invade Taiwan.

If nothing else, there are growing signs that Chinas first catapult-equipped carrier Fujian is getting ever closer to entering operational service.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
By Marius Zaharia and Claire Fu

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Dwindling job and income prospects in China are fuelling intense social media chatter about the fashion and culture of the country's high-growth period 20 years ago, in what analysts describe as a way to express discontent about the economy without attracting censorship.

The hashtag phrase "beauty in the time of economic upswings," often accompanied by early 2000s pictures of celebrities wearing bright clothes and make-up or music videos and TV ads from that period, surged in social media mentions over the summer just as 12.2 million university students graduated.

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They entered one of the most challenging job markets in decades - pandemic years aside - as the world's second-largest economy grapples with higher U.S. trade tariffs, deflation, industrial overcapacity and sluggish domestic consumption.

While China is growing at roughly 5% this year, analysts describe it as a dual-speed economy, with manufacturing and exports running strong, while households struggle. The current pace is half of that from the 2001-2010 decade.

"The economy has its cycles, but youth doesn't come twice," a social media user wrote on a widely-shared post on the topic.

The State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the government, did not respond to a comment request.

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China's ruling Communist Party exerts a high degree of control over domestic media and social media in the name of safeguarding social stability and preventing the spread of rumours and fake news.

Reports and public discussions on what the Party considers as sensitive are routinely removed from the internet, including views critical of the economy and any veiled criticism of policymakers.

On RedNote, China's version of Instagram, the hashtag has so far garnered close to 50 million views.

Most posts come from millennial women recalling greater career and consumption choices in their twenties, says Yaling Jiang, founder of consultancy ApertureChina, citing platform data.

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But it is today's young Chinese, who face far more limited options, engaging with these posts.

"Considering when it has gone viral, this is likely a response to the widespread complaints about the declining value of higher education and the increasingly tough job market for young graduates this summer," Jiang said.

Xiao Qiang, the founder of U.S.-based China Digital Times, which tracks China censorship, says the topic's popularity "poses a challenge to the authorities mainly because it uses everyday symbols, such as make-up and fashion, to subtly express dissatisfaction with economic decline and life pressure."

"It creates a collective atmosphere of nostalgia and indirect criticism," Xiao said. "It can quietly erode public confidence in the official economic narrative."

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The content is "awkward" for censors, says Xiao, as most users share opinions over the aesthetics of China's recent past and express positive emotions.

MARKETING OPPORTUNITY

Fashion labels such as Giorgio Armani, Estee Lauder's Tom Ford and Valentino have sponsored "boom era"-themed posts on RedNote in the past 30 days, said Jiang.

More than a dozen stores on Alibaba's Taobao e-commerce platform have used this tag to sell clothes.

Bloggers have promoted the "Millennial Rose" shampoo by Procter & Gamble's Safeguard, or bulky Nike sneakers advertised on Taobao as "millennial classics reborn."

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L'Oreal-owned Maybelline, in a Weibo post promoting some of its brighter lipsticks, wrote "feel the beauty and vitality of the economic upswing."

However, early-millennium looks are not prominent on Chinese streets. Jiang said marketing teams are leveraging the social media trend for brand awareness, not pushing new 2000s-inspired collections.

Fashion bloggers posting under the "upswing" hashtag say styles often reflect the prevailing economic mood.

This year's make-up trends, for instance, feature the more conservative, less expressive "glass skin," achieved through heavy use of moisturisers and hydrating primers or monochromatic looks where foundation, blushes or lipsticks can differ in gradient but belong to the same colour palette.

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The 2000s embraced futurism with metallic tones, glossy finishes and pearlescent blue or green eyeshadows. Full-eyeliner looks with smoky eyes contrasted with Barbie-pink lips for dramatic effect.

"In times of economic growth, make-up is meant to look expensive and give out that glow of confidence that comes with flying careers and optimism," one beauty blogger wrote.

(Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By David Kirton

CHONGQING, China, August 1 (Reuters) -Temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) have broiled Chongqing, a metropolis in China's southwest known for its fiery hotpot restaurants and cyberpunk cityscape, pushing some locals to cope with the increasingly hot weather in innovative ways.

"It's getting hotter and hotter," said Liu Fengying, 60, a local resident.

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As afternoon temperatures soared on Thursday, Liu avoided the heat by playing card games and sharing snacks with friends among around 100 retirees sheltering in the air-conditioned chill of a subway entrance.

"Aside from coming here, there's really no other way to avoid the heat. Last night, even with the AC set to 17 degrees C, it was still hot and wouldn't cool down."

Record heat across China has strained its power grid as demand surges to new all-time highs, now in excess of 1.5 billion kilowatts, with records broken four times just in July.

After daily peaks exceeding 40 C for a week, Chongqing elevated its heat-wave warning to the highest level - a red alert - on Thursday, with 21 out of its 38 districts forecast to hit up to 43 C. A peak of 44 C is projected for Sunday.

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Historically, daily peaks in the city of nearly 32 million people have rarely exceeded 39 C in July, which is already very hot by global standards.

Since the start of May, the number of days the city recorded temperatures exceeding 35 C this year was double the historic average.

But some Chongqingers remain unfazed - for now.

Xie, 79, one of dozens of swimmers who gathered at a tributary of the Yangtze as the sun started to set on Thursday, cools down with regular swims in China's longest river.

"Chongqing has always been a furnace city, but we have the river to cool down," he said before diving off a two-metre tall river bank in his underwear.

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On the same night, Qiu Xianhui, 36, came with friends to eat hotpot, Chongqing's famously spicy broth, at a restaurant in one of the city's old bomb shelters, where the air cools naturally.

"We're locals, so we're used to 40-plus degree weather. We've seen it all," he said.

($1 = 7.2087 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by David Kirton; Writing by Xiuhao Chen; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Forms filed with the Federal Election Commission on Friday show Chris Jones has filed to run for the U.S. House for Arkansas District 2.

Jones most recent political appearance was running against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for that seat in 2022.

Jones filed as a Democrat.

Former Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Chris Jones announces bid for DNC vice chair

The incumbent for the House seat is Rep. French Hill, a Republican who has held the seat since 2015. District 2 is in the states center, including northern Pulaski County up through Van Buren County to the north, White County to the east and Perry County to the west.

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An Arkansas Democratic Party spokesperson said that while the party is not allowed to participate in the primary, it is wishing all the candidates the best.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
A Washington-based government transparency watchdog has referred former FBI Director Christopher Wray to the Department of Justice and the FBI, urging a criminal investigation into allegations that he had made false statements to Congress and obstructed proceedings in two high-profile cases.

Oversight Project President Mike Howell told Fox News Digital that the group is specifically asking officials to examine Wray's congressional testimony on the so-called Richmond memo from the FBI office in Virginia that exposed an anti-Catholic bias there, and his testimony about a Chinese plot to disseminate illicit drivers licenses before the 2020 election.

In July 2023, Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on the FBI-Richmond memo that had labeled Catholics as potential domestic threats.

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Trump Says Brennan, Comey 'Crooked As Hell' Amid Fbi Probe, May Have To 'Pay The Price'

Christopher Wray

"Well, what I can tell you is youre referring to the Richmond product, which is a single product by a single field office, which as soon as I found out about it, I was aghast and ordered it withdrawn and removed from FBI systems," Wray said.

The Oversight Project alleges that statement was ultimately misleading or false.

Read On The Fox News App

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., pressed Wray on the Richmond memo and so-called "Trump questionnaire," which was circulated at the FBI and asked about allegiance to the president and whether agents had attended any protests or rallies associated with the Jan. 6 Capitol Breach.

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"We keep hearing about these isolated examples whether it's Richmond Catholics, this [questionnaire] -- isn't it a pattern?" Tiffany asked.

The Oversight Project pointed to Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassleys opening remarks from a June hearing on Biden-era "cover-ups," in which Grassley said the Richmond memo "used the shoddy research of the radical Southern Poverty Law Center to accuse traditional Catholics of being violent extremists."

"Based on records I released the other week, there wasnt just one FBI document that used biased anti-Catholic sources, but over a dozen," Grassley said. The referral also notes that this remark by Grassley belies Wrays testimony suggesting a one-off incident.

Fbi Launches Criminal Investigations Of John Brennan, James Comey: Doj Sources

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"And more FBI field offices were involved than wed been led to believe," Grassley, R-Iowa, said.

A second Richmond memo similar to the first that went unreleased following the backlash was part of a partially redacted series of documents Grassleys committee transmitted to FBI Director Kash Patel in June. It stated that the bureau "assesses RMVE (Racially Motivated Violent Extremism) interest in RTC (Radical Traditional Catholic) ideology is likely to increase  in the run-up to the [2024] general election cycle."

"Director Wrays testimony was inaccurate not only because it failed to reveal the scope of the memos production and dissemination, but also because it failed to reveal the existence of a second, draft product on the same topic intended for external distribution to the whole FBI," the Oversight Project said in a separate statement. "That draft product was intended for distribution as a Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report ("SPEAR"). It was clearly a separate product."

The Oversight Project specifically alleged violations of obstruction of proceedings before Congress, perjury and false statements.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Grassley, who also told Fox News Bill Hemmer in June that he had found 13 other documents similar to the Richmond memo. Grassley said the documents had gone out and that "at least 1,000 people had access to information that  was telling people that the Catholic Church needed to be watched because it could be considered a terrorist organization."

Fox News Digital reached out to a phone number connected to Wray but did not receive a response.

Fbi Blocked Probe Into Alleged Chinese 2020 Election Meddling To Protect Wray From Fallout, Documents Show

Patel cited the CCP influence case in a June statement, declaring that "former FBI leadership withheld the facts and misled the public on Chinas 2020 election interference. And they did so for political gain. This FBI is exposing all of it and giving Americans the truth they deserve."

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Patel claimed the FBI in 2020 "buried" evidence "for political convenience" and thanked Grassley for helping the current FBI brass bring the topic to light.

During September 2020 testimony, Wray told Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., that the FBI had "not seen historically any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether by-mail or otherwise."

Wray added that the FBI had identified localized voter fraud and that his testimony was not intended to downplay the overarching threat.

Howells group argues those statements were belied by documents Patel gave to Congress in June that reportedly showed concerns in August 2020 that China had mass-produced such fake IDs to help former President Joe Biden.

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The criminal referral against Wray also cites a related August 2020 seizure of 20,000 counterfeit licenses by Customs and Border Protection in Illinois. A Chicago port official told Fox News at the time that the proliferation "can lead to disastrous consequences."

It is unclear if any ballots were cast as part of the scheme.

During a 2020 address to the Hudson Institute, Wray did warn of the CCP threat to the upcoming election and beyond:

"Chinas malign foreign influence campaign targets our policies, our positions, 24/7, 365 days-a-year. So its not an electionspecific threat. Its really more of an allyear, allthetime threat. But certainly that has implications for elections, and they certainly have preferences that go along with that," he said.

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The FBI and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.





Original article source: Christopher Wray referred to DOJ over claims he misled lawmakers on Catholic memo, China probes
This story was originally published on Restaurant Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Restaurant Dive newsletter.

Dive Brief:

Starbucks is building a menu innovation pipeline composed of premium coffee options, non-coffee drinks and artisanal food, CEO Brian Niccol said on the chains fiscal Q3 earnings call.

Many of the brands menu additions will have significant protein content, or other nutritional features designed to appeal to health-conscious consumers. For example, Niccol said the chain will introduce a protein Cold Foam customization.

Starting next year, the chain will launch a new baked goods case, a new variety of dark roast coffee and other menu changes, with a particular focus on experiential drinks and afternoon snacks, Niccol said.

Dive Insight:

Some of Starbucks food innovations could come from tests in other markets. Canada has been a strong food market for the chain in recent months, selling pancakes and waffles and will begin to serve bagel bites soon, Niccol said. Food innovation is helping to drive same-store sales growth.

There is [an] opportunity for us to figure out what theyre doing up in Canada from a food standpoint to figure out what makes sense for us to bring not only to the U.S. but around the world, Niccol said.

From a drinks standpoint, Starbucks will test alternatives, such as coconut water-based tea and coffee drinks in select markets, Niccol said.

Well lean into customer needs with upcoming tests of gluten-free and high-protein options to create food thats as artisanal as our beverages, Niccol said.

The combined focus on ingredients, like coconut water and added protein, place Starbucks new strategy squarely within the major menu trends in restaurants. Premium coffee concepts that focus on on-premise experiences are doing well, while consumers are looking for healthy-seeming inclusions, like protein and fruit, in new drinks.

Simultaneously, the growth of caffeinated beverages other than coffee is creating new daypart opportunities. With QSR chains like McDonalds and Yum Brands focusing on new drinks development, Starbucks may be looking to preserve its position as a go-to beverage chain from new entrants seeking to capitalize on shifting consumer sentiment.

Starbucks is standardizing its menu test process by rolling out new items in five stores, a shift the chain calls the Starting 5.

Niccol said the aim of the Starting 5 is to ensure innovation is being co-built with our baristas in our stores, versus we build it in the support center, we throw it over the wall, and we hope that our baristas can figure it out.
Mayor Aftab Pureval held his first news conference since early Saturday morning's viral beating in the downtown business district, hours before a fourth suspect was arrested in connection with the brawl.

City officials and community leaders spoke during the briefing, including announcing new criminal charges and more victims from the assault.

A local pastor, Reverend Damon Lynch, explained a version of events based on video footage that he claims he's seen. He said that the white man who was depicted in the video being pummeled actually started the fight, leading to questions about whether the victims of the crime could bear criminal responsibility.

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Cincinnati Business Owners Slam Viral 'Out Of Control' Beating Amid Fight To Clean Up Downtown

So far, there are six suspects in the crime, according to Police Chief Teresa Theetge. Previously, only five had been announced. Four are in custody, and police are actively searching for the two who remain on the loose, calling them "fugitives."

The fourth suspect, Dominique Kittle, 37, was arrested Friday evening, authorities said. He is expected to be charged with felonious assault and aggravated riot.

Read On The Fox News App

Lynch said until "all the mugshots" are seen, race is still a factor in the assault's aftermath.

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"For those who want to racialize it, then a black man stepped in between the combatants, separated them and said, this is about stop fighting, everybody needs to chill.,'" he said. "And then, for those who want to racialize it, the white man being steps back in the ring and slaps not the black man that he had just squared up with, but slaps another black man. So after that he was met with disproportionate force."

"But when I see the mugshots, I only see people who look like me," said Lynch, who is black. "I don't see the person who re-engaged. And so until we see all the mugshots, this is still a racial issue."

Asked why this was the first time anyone had heard that version of events, Pureval cited the ongoing investigation, then said there would be more arrests.

"I agree with Pastor Lynch, that there is no doubt that this public safety challenge, that this incident will require further investigation, further charges and further arrests for every single person involved," he said.

Mayor Aftab Pureval speaks at a press conference about early Saturday mornings viral beatdown in downtown Cincinnati on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

Democratic Policies Paved Way For Cincinnati Brawl, Say Ohio Republicans: 'Fear And Chaos'

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"The investigation is ongoing, and I expect that we will have more charges and more arrests as the investigation proceeds," the mayor said later.

"This was an awful incident, and our law enforcement has been working quickly and effectively to bring all responsible to justice," he said while standing alongside other city officials and leaders. "Let me be clear there is no place for violent crime in Cincinnati, whether it's a fight or gun violence. We will pursue those responsible and we will hold them accountable no matter who they are."

Pureval said later that observers have inflamed racial tensions in the aftermath of the attack.

"Cincinnati is a special place. We are a proudly diverse city with a large and vibrant black community that is rich in tradition and history," he said. "The racial dynamics of this fight are unavoidable, and some have cynically used the opportunity to try and divide us along racial lines. That is a choice we must firmly reject."

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Pureval also roundly denounced comments made on Facebook by City Councilwoman Victoria Parks, who said the victims "begged for that beat down!"

"I am grateful for the whole story," Parks added in the post.

"I profoundly disagree with Councilmember Victoria Parks. No one deserves to be a victim of violent crime, ever," Pureval said. "And we are working very hard to make sure that a fight like that doesn't happen again in our city."

During the news conference, Theetge provided updates on the progress in the investigation into the brutal crime.

Authorities had previously said five people had been charged, three of whom had been arrested. Theetge said Friday that six people had now been charged with felonious assault and aggravated rioting. The city's fugitive apprehension unit is pursuing other suspects who have not been captured yet.

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Theetge also said that six victims have been identified in the viral attack  five males and one female. They were subjected to "unimaginable physical violence," she said.

Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge speaks Friday at a news conference about last weekends viral street assault in downtown Cincinnati.

Doj, Fbi Investigate Brutal Cincinnati Assault Captured In Viral Video

Theetge said the city had 11 police officers working in the central business district at the time of the attack, which she said was sufficient.

One of the three suspects apprehended so far in the brutal downtown street beating last Saturday morning was set to be released on bond on Friday.

Jermaine Matthews, 39, was expected to leave the Hamilton County Jail on Friday after paying a combined $270,000 bond. He was hit with four charges stemming from the beatdown, according to his attorney, Brandon Fox.

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"The way that it works, he's got an electronic monitoring component to his bond," Fox told Fox News Digital. "Basically an ankle monitor. So, while he posted the financial component, it still requires the probation department to come over and ensure that the ankle monitor is on, [to] tell him the rules, where he can go when, he can go there, that kind of stuff."

Matthews was charged with two counts of assault, two counts of felony assault and aggravated riot for his alleged participation in the brutal brawl, which has garnered national attention this week.

During a bond hearing Thursday afternoon, Fox told the court that Matthews did not start the fight.

"That video that we discussed yesterday has now been released of that individual slapping on my client and then the fight ensuing thereafter," he said.

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Fox also said that Matthews is not responsible for knocking unconscious the male victim seen in the viral video.

"That person was knocked unconscious by a different individual, and my client moved that person from his business vehicle. That's where the basis of that charge comes from," Fox said.

Fox also claimed that one of the victims used racial slurs before the fight.

Third Suspect In Brutal Cincinnati Beatdown Arrested, Charged With Assault

"I will tell you, that there's a lot more to the story than what's been reported thus far," he told Fox News Digital on Friday. "We expect that additional information will come forth today. That information will likely dispel a lot of the narrative that's already been placed out by politicians."

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Matthews' next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 8, according to jail records.

A Cincinnati Police detective was also present during the hearing and disputed that the slap began the fight.

He told the judge that "we have video footage that totally disputes the slap being the first incident of someone putting their hands on someone."

Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor David Hickenlooper also weighed in.

"This person is unconscious," he said of the victim. "[Matthews] wasn't rendering aid. He was dragging him into the middle of the street after he had been knocked out. This is my understanding."

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Two other suspects remain in jail as of Friday morning.

Montianez Merriweather, 34, and Dekyra Vernon, 24, were arrested Tuesday night. Both face felonious assault, aggravated riot and assault charges . Merriweather is being held on a $500,000 bond, while Vernon is being held on a $200,000 bond.

Theetge said the names of the three remaining suspects would be released when they are captured.





Original article source: Cincinnati assault: Mayor vows charges for everyone involved after pastor says its still a racial issue
About 10 times each day, giant freight trains pass along a narrow section of track along the Sacramento River in far northern California where engineers on the locomotives regularly tense up with stress.

Every single time, its a near miss of a train hitting a person, said Ryan Snow, the California state chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. Multiple near misses, every single run. My nightmare is that a family that isnt paying attention gets hit.

This particular stretch of track, which wends north from the town of Dunsmuir, is a renegade route for hikers to one of northern Californias most enchanting natural sights, Mossbrae Falls. Fed from glaciers on Mt. Shasta, the water pours out of lava tubes and down mossy cliffs, forming a verdant and ethereal cascade into a calm, shaded swimming hole.

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It appears magical. It is also inaccessible  unless visitors trespass more than a mile on the tracks or wade across the river. Accidents have happened. Two people have been struck by trains in the last few years (although both survived). In May, a Southern California woman drowned after trying to reach the falls via the river. But the tourists keep coming. Drawn by Instagram and TikTok, increasing numbers of people have taken to visiting the falls  nearly 30,000 according to a city study, the majority of them by trespassing up the train tracks.

For years, outdoor enthusiasts in and around Dunsmuir have pushed Union Pacific Railroad, which owns the tracks, to work with the city to create a safe, accessible and legal path. But the effort has been dogged by delays.

This week, the train workers union decided to enter the fray, issuing a press release decrying the slow progress and calling on Union Pacific to do more to make the long-held dream of a trail a reality.

Each month that goes by without a real construction timeline, lives are put at risk, Snow said in a statement. The statement also accused Union Pacific of slow-walking the project, saying railroad officials have called for meeting after meeting, but has never produced a right-of-way commitment or a clear construction timeline.

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Many engineers, Snow said, are frustrated and feel the delay "unfairly endangers both railroad personnel and the public."

In a statement, Union Pacific said that the railroad had approved the concept of a trail into Mossbrae Falls years ago, and we have been working with the City of Dunsmuir and the Mount Shasta Trail Association to find solutions that address everyones safety concerns.

Earlier this summer, Dunsmuir city officials held a summit with Union Pacific officials to tour the falls and talk about the proposed trail connection.

City officials said the summit, which included representatives from local elected officials' offices as well as railroad officials from Omaha and Denver, marked a new milestone in the slow but steady process. A city press release noted that key Union Pacific officials had the opportunity to see the falls for the first time, recognizing the importance of building public access to this beautiful natural resource.

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But some longtime trail advocates said they were not convinced that the dream is any closer. John Harch, a retired surgeon with the Mount Shasta Trail Assn. and has been working with others for years on public access, said he still didnt see evidence of concrete progress.

Here we sit, as before, while people risk their lives to see the falls, he wrote in an email.

Snow said he hopes the public can put pressure on the parties to make concrete progress.

Weve been lucky that we havent had any fatalities caused by a trespasser strike, he said. The worst thing an engineer can do is hit somebody. Its stressful.

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Meanwhile, he said, the route is only becoming more popular. Its in hiking magazines, and on the internet everywhere. Its attracting more and more people.

He added: I cant blame them. Its beautiful.



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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A cryptocurrency ATM setup in a convenience store on May 12, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Prices of cryptocurrencies have experienced turbulence recently as many have seen their value drop. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

They may resemble other ATMs, but officials are increasingly warning about the potential for fraud with the expanding fleet of cryptocurrency ATMs popping up across the country.

The National Consumers League says the largely unregulated machines have become favored by scammers for their anonymity and irreversibility  once a user transfers or deposits funds, that money is essentially gone.

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While officials say the machines can be used for legitimate purposes, red and blue states are increasingly imposing new regulations to protect consumers: AARP says 11 states have recently passed new laws or regulations of the machines.

In state after state, AARP found lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and local law enforcement eager to work on commonsense rules that balance innovation and consumer safety, Nancy LeaMond, AARPs executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer, said in a news release.

Last year, the FBI reported nearly 11,000 complaints of cryptocurrency ATM fraud. Those cases disproportionately affected older Americans and cost victims $246.7 million.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets, including bitcoin, that offer an alternative payment or method without control of a central bank or government like other currencies. Crypto ATMs, sometimes called crypto kiosks, allow users to insert cash or use debit cards to convert currencies such as U.S. dollars into cryptocurrencies.

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The Federal Trade Commission says crypto ATM scams often start with a call or text message warning of a supposed problem, such as unauthorized bank charges or suspicious activity on an Amazon account.

The FTC says consumers should contact banks or other institutions directly about any account issues. And it warns consumers not to believe anyone who says they must use a crypto ATM to address a financial problem.

Real businesses and government agencies will never do that  anyone who does is a scammer, the agency said.

After signing a bill with new regulations, Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen was clear that the state would continue to welcome cryptocurrency businesses as it aims to become a hub for the industry.

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The Nebraska law requires ATM operators to acquire state licensure, warn customers of the potential for criminal exploitation and take reasonable steps to detect and prevent fraud. The law also limits transactions to $2,000 per day for new customers and $10,500 for existing customers, and requires operators to issue refunds for properly reported fraudulent transactions.

At least 40 states have introduced legislation regarding cryptocurrency, digital or virtual currencies and other digital assets in the 2025 legislative session, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Those measures include ATM regulations, prohibiting the use of digital currencies by governments and allowing state investment in digital assets.

Federal lawmakers are also taking action on the issue. The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives declared the week of July 14 Crypto Week, when lawmakers considered several pieces of legislation.

At the end of that week, President Donald Trump signed into law the GENIUS Act, the first major law governing digital currency. It establishes a regulatory framework for the industry.

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Trump hopes the bill will instill confidence in the industry that spent heavily to strengthen its legitimacy and political might, The Associated Press reported.

This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit, the president told crypto executives.

In state legislatures, new bills regulating crypto ATMS have enjoyed bipartisan support. AARP tracking shows new bills have been approved in Arkansas, Iowa and Oklahoma, as well as in more liberal states such as Maryland and Vermont.

In May, Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed Republican-sponsored legislation that sets daily transaction limits and mandates crypto ATM operators provide customers certain disclosures and warnings.

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The legislation followed local news coverage of at least two dozen crypto scams, including one that cost an Arizonan $28,000.

Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@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.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  Over 3,000 backpacks, ready for a new home ahead of the new school year.

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We have over 1,500 backpacks at each site. So here at the West Mesa Community Center and also at the Cesar Chavez Community Center, shared West Mesa Community Center Supervisor Dominic Saavedra. For an eighth year in a row, Albuquerque Youth & Family services is teaming up with Presbyterian Turquoise Care, for another Cruisin Into The School Year supply drive.

I think that the most crucial part of the school year is to start on the right foot. And sometimes it means just a kid going to school with the right materials, continued Saavedra. Students from pre-school through high school will get a backpack to fill with whatever school supplies they need most. The goal of the event is to provide our students with backpacks and essential school supplies that they need to kind of get their school year started, emphasized Saavedra.

The drive has grown in both size and need as families face higher costs, Regardless of how many free events there are around the city, theres always going to be a need, said Saavedra. So thats why we chose the specific sites that we did to try to target some of the higher need areas both on the west side and on the east side.

This year theyre expecting enough families to where they may be able to give everything away. Families are asked to pre-register for this weekend school supply giveaway event. Visit this link to the City of Albuquerques website for more information

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  Birmingham families with children in school have a chance to win money for showing up to class.

Mayor Randall Woodfin announced the Ready Day One initiative Thursday morning. Two families from each Birmingham City School will be randomly selected to receive $500.

All you have to do is register your child for school, and make sure they are there on the first day of class on Aug. 7. The goal is to get every child to learn, and give a few lucky families some extra money to start the school year.

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Through this initiative to families, two families from each Birmingham City School will be randomly selected to receive $500 each. No strings attached. remarked Woodfin. The first day of school, we all know sets the tone for the entire year. Attendance on day one is not just about being in class, it impacts our childrens learning, our schools resources, and ultimately the success of our entire community.

The initiative is a partnership between the Penny Foundation and the city of Birmingham. Birmingham City School Superintendent Mark Sullivan says he hopes it will help combat absenteeism, a problem common in Birmingham.

If a child doesnt have clothes, if a child needs a haircut, if a child needs hair done, you know, a lot of times parents dont want to send their students to school when they have those conditions. We want to take those things away and providing incentives helps incentivize parents to bring their students to school, commented Sullivan.

Mayor Woodfin has a plea for parents and guardians of Birmingham students as they get ready to start the school year.

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Please make sure your child is registered and present and ready. On Thursday, August 7, a week from today, lets start the school year strong. Lets start it together. Because when our children win, Birmingham wins, said Woodfin.

Registration is available in person or online. For more information, click here.

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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  The City of El Paso is now proposing to reduce its property tax rate for fiscal year 2026.

The City is now proposing to reduce the tax rate to $0.759649 per $100 of valuation, the lowest rate in a decade, according to the City. City staffs preliminary Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal had maintained the current property tax rate of $0.761405 per $100 valuation.

Robert Cortinas, the chief financial officer for the City of El Paso, said they were able to make the change after they received the certified appraisal roll from the El Paso Central Appraisal District (CAD) on July 25.

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So up until today, we recommended to maintain the same property tax rate. Fortunately for us, the property appraisals came a little bit better than we expected, giving us the opportunity to not only reduce the property tax rate for next year, but also partially restore some of the other items that we had taken up reductions in the prior year, Cortinas said.

Cortinas presented the new tax rate and other revisions they made to the proposed budget over the past few weeks at a special city council meeting on Thursday, July 31.

During the presentation however, Cortinas noted that despite the reduced tax rate, some residents in El Paso will see an increase to their property tax bill due to rising home values made by CAD.

Cortinas presented the table below to highlight that.

Courtesy of the City of El Paso.

According to Cortinas, the average El Paso home in FY 2025 was valued at $209,718, compared to $221,191 in FY 2026. That will increase the tax bill for some residents by an average of $83, despite the reduced tax rate. Thats an average of $7 per month and a 5.2 percent change.

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At the meeting, City Rep. Josh Acevedo emphasized that the City is not responsible for raising home valuations, in response to a public narrative that he said had formed.

We dont set the home values or commercial property values, Acevedo said. So, as (Cortinas) and (his) team are coming and doing a bunch of stuff with the numbers and getting a lower tax rate, the lowest in ten years, and putting a lot of work into that, the Central Appraisal District is doing values for properties, and they are following state law. And so, if theres any reform that is needed, I believe its at the state level in terms of changing that law and how often they appraise. I think thats the frustration here, where we are lowering the tax rate, but then people are still going to pay more because their home values went up.

However, senior and disabled residents in El Paso who qualify for the Citys proposed Over 65 Homestead exemption will get a 20 percent reduction to their property tax bill with the newly proposed tax rate, according to Cortinas.

According to the City, its outstanding debt also continues to decline. They project a drop of $100 million compared to FY 2025.

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In addition, other key budget and tax highlights in the proposed budget are investments in public safety and infrastructure, including staffing for first responders, two new fire stations, a new health clinic and maintaining $10 million in street resurfacing, with more allocations for facility repairs and park improvements.

As well, the City also underlines the importance of restored funding for key services in the FY 2026 proposed budget, in which it will restore funding for vacant positions and facility improvements that were previously reduced due to past fiscal constraints.

City staff held their last in-person community meeting Thursday evening at the El Paso Polices Westside Regional Command Center.

There is one last virtual community meeting on Thursday, Aug. 7. You can find the link here: https://tinyurl.com/5daf46dz

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Next weeks final meeting will be followed by two public hearings at City Hall, before City Council votes on the proposed budget on August 19.

Upcoming Budget Hearings

August 12, 2025  Public Hearing on the Proposed Tax Rate

August 18, 2025  Public Hearing on the Proposed Budget

August 19, 2025  City Council Vote on Budget and Tax Rate Adoption

Residents are encouraged to learn more about the proposed budget by visiting the Citys website.

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TOPEKA (KSNT)  The City of Topeka says that the property owner of the Mott House, formerly known as the Transgender House, is responsible for the damage caused by police during a standoff, but adds that the property owner can file a claim with the city.

The Topeka Mott House, formerly known as the Transgender House, was damaged after a homicide suspect, later identified as 51-year-old Carlos Slaughter, barricaded himself inside the home on Tuesday, July 29. He was wanted in connection with an Oklahoma City homicide.

Police entered the home around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30 and found Slaughter dead inside. Police are investigating his death as a possible suicide.

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Topekas Best: Rachel Holthaus, The Hope Dealer

City Communications Director Dan Garrett said the damage to the property was caused by officers attempting to enter the home safely after Slaughter refused to come out. Garrett told 27 News the property owner is responsible for the damage, but they can file a claim. He said the city would review the claim under Kansas law to see if there is any liability.

According to the city website, Kansas law applies a higher standard than mere negligence when it comes to personal property damaged by police officers. Under K.S.A. 12-105b, the city has up to 120 days to investigate a claim. During that time, nobody can file a lawsuit against the city until the claim is denied or until 120 days pass since the claim was filed.

The City is not permitted to settle a claim unless substantial evidence establishes that the City may be legally liable. Topeka Municipal Code 3.35.030.

We are deeply concerned about the incident and dont have many details on what happened, a spokesperson for the property owner, Planting Peace, said on Wednesday, July 30. Our focus is working with law enforcement to learn more and support their investigation however we can.

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Planting Peace has yet to confirm whether the organization plans to pursue claims for the damage caused to the property. An email message was not answered and a man who identified himself as a property manager at the property Thursday said he could not comment.

The Kansas Tort Claims Act (KTCA), enacted in 1979, added clarity to the issue of governmental immunity for property damage. Tort claims provide remedies to people who have suffered harm by unreasonable acts of another. According to the Kansas Legislative Research Department, the law covers the liability of damages caused by negligence.

Just a real gift to the world: Topeka moms death leaves hole in the community

The KLRD pointed to several exceptions to the rule of liability, including an example illustrated in Allen v. Board of Commissioners of the County of Wyandotte wherein law enforcement officers owe a duty to the public to use reasonable and ordinary care and diligence in exercising their duties.

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Police officers who act maliciously, or wantonly fail to exercise the care and diligence required of officers, are not afforded protection by the KTCA, as opined by the Kansas Supreme Court Hopkins v. State 1985 case.

Plaintiffs also have asserted a variety of other tort actions under this law including, among others, defamation, invasion of privacy, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, trespass, and nuisance, the KLRD wrote.

Mass layoffs planned in Manhattan with sports apparel facility closure

Under the KTCA, there is a $500,000 cap on damage awards for any number of claims from a single incident or accident. Some provisions can waive the cap if there is insurance or a pooling arrangement to provide coverage over the $500,000 liability limit.

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The Mott House is situated on the same property as the Equality House and was painted with the colors of the transgender flag in June 2016. The properties are part of the global nonprofit organization Planting Peace. Planting Peace works on a variety of humanitarian and environmental topics, including LGBTQ+ advocacy. The house was renamed in 2019 to honor Kansas transgender activist Stephanie Mott.

You can read more about the police standoff at the Mott House 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.

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CLEVELAND (WKBN)  The Cleveland Cavaliers announced their four-game preseason schedule on Thursday.

Cleveland will tip off the preseason at home against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 7 at Rocket Arena. That game will be followed up by a pair of road games. The Cavs will again face the Bulls on Oct. 9 before traveling to Boston on Oct. 12.

Cleveland will conclude its preseason schedule in Cleveland with a home game against Detroit on Oct. 14.

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2025 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS PRESEASON GAME SCHEDULE

Oct. 7  CHICAGO  7 p.m.

Oct. 9  at Chicago  8 p.m.

Oct. 12  at Boston  7 p.m.

Oct. 14  DETROIT  7 p.m.



HOME GAMES AT ROCKET ARENA IN ALL CAPS

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
We are submitting this statement on behalf of Sara Wood, a former Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) assessment worker with an exemplary record of public service of approximately 2.5years, who now faces retaliatory criminal charges. These charges are brought despite a welldocumented and heavily reported-upon pattern of DCS overburdening and mismanaging frontline workers, such as Mrs. Wood. These charges are a blatant act of retaliation by DCS officials following Mrs. Woods filing of a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

At the time of the alleged conduct, Mrs. Woods was assigned a caseload more than double the national and state-recommended standard. Indiana law (I.C. 31-25-2-5) has capped caseloads at 12 for initial assessments since 2006. While the statute requires DCS leadership to ensure those standards are kept, they are simply ignored. Throughout her employment, our client was forced to handle well over 25 cases at once, all while supervising a trainee and managing that individuals caseload as well.

Despite Mrs. Woods raising repeated and urgent concerns to supervisors and upper management, DCS took no action to reduce her caseload or provide reasonable support. Instead, she was wrongfully terminated and singled out for criminal prosecutiona move that is both Page 2 of 2 punitive and wholly inconsistent with agency practices involving other similarly situated employees.

This retaliatory action comes amid an escalating pattern of systemic failure and public controversy within Indiana DCS. In 2017, then Director of DCS, Mary Beth Bonaventura, warned in her very public letter of resignation that DCS would find itself in the position it is in. Unfortunately, her predictions were spot on.

Our client is being targeted not because of alleged three inaccurate record notes, but because she refused to remain silent. These charges should be seen for what they are: a desperate and pathetic attempt to deflect blame from the agencys leadership by criminalizing overworked and unsupported staff. We call on the public, lawmakers, and members of the media to demand accountability from DCS leadership, not those who risked their own well-being to protect Indianas children under impossible conditions.

We will vigorously defend her innocence in court and will highlight the epic failure that is the DCS leadership in doing so. Any future statements or comments on Sara Woods behalf will take place exclusively through pleadings and argument in the criminal proceedings.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  Friday calls for cloud cover before gradual clearing, except in some coastal parts of the region.

Daytime highs will be in the mid 60s to low 70s along the coast, mid 60s to low 80s around the bay, and low 80s to low 90s inland. Overnight lows will be mostly in the upper 50s, with interior areas in the low 60s.

Gusty onshore winds are expected Sunday afternoon into Monday evening along the coast and Altamont Pass. Warming trend mid next week.

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Sunrise in San Francisco is at 6:13 a.m. Sunset is at 8:17 p.m.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
Forecaster Yves Lamoureux is troubled by what he sees in current stock markets, and says its time to raise some cash. - MarketWatch photo illustration/iStockphoto

The stock market has become a casino full of gamblers and nows the time for caution.

So says our call of the day from the president of market research firm Lamoureux & Co., Yves Lamoureux, who has switched from extremely bullish to neutral on stocks because of a powerful rally seen this year.

Most Read from MarketWatch

Its very rare to see a market rally this dramatically, so one part of the change in my view is because of the behavior of this market, the forecaster who has made prescient past calls told MarketWatch on Tuesday.

In early April, just as tariff fears were hammering stocks, Lamoureux told MarketWatch he expected upside surprises ahead, maybe within six months, but the speed of the bounce has shocked him.

Ive argued for 50,000 when the market was really, really low, he said his past call was for the Dow industrials DJIA to reach 50,000 by 2027. Well, look we got to 45,000, we were almost at 46,000, so Im very close to my target. But rather than doing this thing in say, one year, weve done this in just what two months? Its crazy.

Lamoureux said thats a sign that gambling is back, risk-taking is back and I dont see risk-taking as a good sign. He noted the resurgence of meme stock mania and record trading in extremely short-dated options contracts.

What I see today is now very similar to 2021. People are in the market, theyre gambling, they dont know what theyre doing and thats why my stance is really to look forward, he said.

The forecaster sees a topping process ahead, which means stocks could move sideways for couple of years. A topping process means that maybe we dont go higher than the 45,000 on the Dow for maybe the next two to three years, he said.

So when theres risk, you have to take some money off the table. Im not saying to go cash completely, Im just saying you have to reduce your portfolio and build back some cash, to buy stocks when they get cheaper, he said.

He suggests investors raise cash gradually, just as he did in November before the market pulled back. When things start to drop, you scale in. You buy a little bit and it goes down, you buy a little bit more, it goes down, buy a little bit more. Same thing the other way when it goes up. When it goes up and you dont know when to sell, you scale out, he said.
Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor was booked into jail Friday.

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A grand jury indicted Taylor on Thursday on two counts of destruction of public records and two counts of violation of oath of office.

She has been the Cobb County Superior Court Clerk since elected in 2020.

A spokesperson for superior court said the 7th Judicial District would appoint a judge to preside over the case.

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According to the indictment, Taylor ordered an employee to delete a folder with records on fees from passport services. Also, she directed the employee to delete an email related to passport revenue.

Chief Deputy Clerk Libby Blackwell told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell that Taylor was not available at the office Thursday but is still working there.

No impact to our office, we are open and normal business, Blackwell said.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr filed charges against Taylor after a GBI investigation into her actions in response to an open records request in 2022.

The Cobb District Attorneys Office said in a statement that it recused itself from this case.

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(Reuters) -Chilean copper miner Codelco said on Thursday that one worker died at the Andesita project of its El Teniente mine after what it called a seismic event around 5:30 p.m. local time.

The company said in a statement it was looking for another five workers, and that nine workers had various injuries but were out of serious risk.

Codelco said it immediately suspended activities in the affected area and started an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

El Teniente is the world's largest underground copper deposit and Codelcos flagship mine.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon in Santiago; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
EDITORS NOTE: This story now reflects President Donald Trumps updated tariff executive order.

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)  A new 50% tariff on Brazilian imports is set to take effect next week, raising concerns among Michigan coffee shop owners about possible shortages and price hikes. This specific tariff would replace the 10% tariff that currently impacts nearly everything the U.S. brings in.

Brazil is the worlds largest coffee producer, and the source of about 30% of U.S. coffee imports. Coffee is not exempt from the tariffs like minerals and aircraft parts.

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order this year, authorizing the tariffs in response to what he described as an economic threat posed by Brazils policies and the prosecution of former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro.

Local businesses are already feeling the impact.

James Defrees, co-owner of 517 Coffee Company, said that his stores core blends come from Brazil. When the aforementioned 10% tariff was imposed in April, it added 40 cents per pound to his imports. Now that tariffs are set to rise to 50%, Defrees fears a nationwide shortage.

A lot of us are going to be looking for other origins, he said.

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Defrees explained that alternatives are limited. Central America doesnt produce nearly as much coffee as Brazil. This forces buyers to choose between higher prices and shortages.

The timing of the tariffs adds to the challenge, as many coffee shops begin their annual ordering process in August  just as the new tariffs are set to take effect.

There are so many unknowns in business ownership and entrepreneurship. We dont need more of that, Defrees said.

Some roasters are petitioning to add coffee to the list of tariff exemptions. Meanwhile, Brazilian officials have indicated they may retaliate with tariffs of their own if U.S. tariffs go into effect.

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After announcing the tariffs in April, Trump initially delayed them until Aug. 1. One day short of that deadline, the president has announced a further delay to those tariffs in a new executive order. Some wont begin until next week. Tariffs on Brazil are set to take effect now on Aug. 6 with nearly 700 exceptions. Coffee is not one of them despite U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnicks earlier comments that exemptions could be granted for any goods that are not produced in the U.S.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
Police in Bengaluru, India arrested a CoinDCX software engineer in connection with the theft of 3.79 billion rupees ($43.4 million) in crypto assets from the exchange last month, the Times of India reported on Thursday.

Local police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Rahul Agarwal, whose office-issued laptop credentials were allegedly used to access CoinDCXs internal systems and initiate unauthorized transfers on July 19. The stolen assets were routed to six wallets in a coordinated breach, according to investigators.

Agarwal denied direct involvement, but admitted to freelancing for unknown overseas clients. He also received a 1.5 million rupee deposit and a WhatsApp call from a German number shortly before the incident. Police are investigating whether malware or credential misuse during his side work enabled the hack.

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The exchanges parent company, Neblio Technologies, conducted an internal probe and confirmed that all customer assets remain secure. CoinDCX said it will absorb the losses from its own treasury.

The incident has raised concerns over internal security and potential links to international hacking groups. Authorities are probing possible North Korean involvement, echoing tactics used in prior crypto-related breaches.

The stolen funds have not been recovered. Investigations are ongoing.

Read More: North Korean Hackers Are Targeting Top Crypto Firms With Malware Hidden in Job Applications
HARTSVILLE, S.C. (WBTW)  Coker University is set to begin classes for the fall semester shortly, and with move-in day on Aug. 15, school officials say theyve seen increases in applications and enrollment.

That includes students from two now-closed universities in Limestone and St. Andrews.

Right now, we have 54 students coming from Limestone and eight coming from St. Andrews, vice president of strategic communication and enrollment Katherine Davis said. Those students from Limestone are mostly online, so were still able to help them and serve them to get their degree. And the St. Andrews students were really unique because six of those students were nursing students in their last year of clinicals.

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Since closing last spring, St. Andrews and Limestone students have had to change where theyll complete their education. Coker has tried to make those transitions easier.

Were seeing students from Limestone come across from sophomores all the way up to, they had nine credit hours left to complete, Davis said. So we worked with SACS COC, our accrediting agency, to lighten up some of the requirements that are normally in place for students to transfer in and graduate from Coker.

Coker has also seen a rise in enrollment from area and state high schools, using AI as another resource to reach out to potential students.

Both Limestone and St. Andrews students have been running into those same challenges, and I know schools across the state have helped many of those students, whether they were in nursing or education or any of those that require certifications, Davis said.

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Classes start Aug. 19. The dining hall is set to open in January 2026 after a ceiling collapse last year.

* * *

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.

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The Colleyville branch office of Houston-based law firm Nistico, Crouch & Kessler, P.C., serves as the headquarters for a radical-left political entity, the Texas Public Education Defense Fund (TPEDF).

The Dallas Express has obtained thousands of emails and FOIA requests from TPEDFs Senior Legal Director, Rachel Elizabeth Wall, a Grapevine resident who works as an attorney and is listed as a partner at Nistico, Crouch & Kessler on her LinkedIn profile and other professional sources.

Wall has sent over 6,000 emails to the Grapevine-Colleyville ISD (GCISD) Board of Trustees and district administrators in recent years from her Nistico, Crouch & Kessler email address during business hours. District officials say the handling of Walls emails and FOIA requests (which they are legally obligated to do) has cost the district over $3 million to date.

GCISD, along with neighboring Tarrant County districts Southlake-Carroll ISD and Keller ISD, have been targets statewide and nationally by radical-left groups since Republicans assumed majority political control of those districts Trustee Boards, who have rooted out critical race theory curricula, and implemented financial and other reforms.

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Among others, TPEDF is a rebrand of a prior leftist group, the Texas Bipartisan Alliance. The groups operate as 501(c)(4) organizations, according to public records. Such groups do not have to disclose their donors, leading to accusations of dark money politics.

TPEDF also frequently collaborates with another radical-left Grapevine political activist, Danee Mastagni, a partner in Fort Worth-based AMM Political Strategies, a voter contact firm that offers phone services for Democratic political campaigns and progressive grassroots advocacy.

Collectively, these groups organized to support the successful campaign of GCISD Trustee Matt Faust, who was elected in May specifically to roll back conservative reforms made in GCISD in recent years.

Un-Woke ISD Buried with Avalanche of Emails at Taxpayer Expense

Since then, Wall has sent over 6,500 emails and Public Information Act requests to GCISD. District officials told DX that the average cost to review Walls inquiries is $173.75 per email and requires an average of three staff members to handle a single email from Wall.

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Additionally, responses to Walls emails often include the time and cost of the school district attorneys to formulate a response.

Wall has also been a prominent fixture at GCISD board of trustee meetings, including protests over the removal of former Colleyville Heritage High School Principal James Whitfield.

A vocal proponent of critical race theory, Whitfield was placed on administrative leave in 2020 and ultimately terminated after encouraging on-campus BLM protests, student walkouts, and emailing parents to evaluate their white privilege.

Whitfield faced criticism from parents and school officials for his purported concerning communication with teachers and staff, which included sending a contentious email to all families, faculty, and staff regarding the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, as noted in earlier stories by The Dallas Express.

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Whitfield filed a lawsuit against the school district and one of its conservative trustees. Following a hearing that Wall allegedly attended, a state judge dismissed his case and ordered Whitfield to pay the school districts attorneys fees in full.

After appealing his loss, Whitfields lawyers withdrew from representing him, and he is now representing himself on appeal.

Whitfield is currently under investigation by the Texas Education Agency and embroiled in another controversy at Euless-based charter school Treetops School International after being accused of mismanagement and misdeeds by school parents, as reported in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

GCISD district officials allege that Wall is purposefully sowing discord and distrust within the district for political purposes with her promotion of Whitfield and email harassment campaign, often citing the legal expenses the district has incurred to make curriculum and financial reforms that her radical left organizations oppose.

Like a Bad Neighbor, State Farm is There?

A DX investigation into Walls firm, Nistico, Crouch & Kessler, suggests the firm may be a captive alternative legal service provider (ALSP) to insurer State Farm. A captive legal firm is a law firm owned and operated by an entity other than a traditional partnership of lawyers, often an insurance company or a corporation.

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These firms raise ethical concerns because the lawyers within them may face conflicts of interest, potentially prioritizing the needs of their parent company over those of their clients.

DX made multiple inquiries to State Farm to confirm and to ask if State Farm had knowledge that TPEDF was operating out of Nistico, Crouch & Kesslers Colleyville branch. State Farm did not respond.
Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been sentenced to 12 years of house arrest following his conviction for witness-tampering and bribery, according to local media reports.

The sentencing hearing on Friday also resulted in Uribe, 73, receiving a fine of $578,000 and a ban from serving in public office for 100 months and 20 days  or just over eight years.

He is now required to report to authorities in Rionegro, in his home province of Antioquia. Afterwards, Judge Sandra Liliana Heredia has ordered him to proceed immediately to his residence where he will comply with house arrest.

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With his conviction on July 28, Uribe has become the first former Colombian president to be found guilty in a criminal trial.

But Uribes defence lawyers have already announced that they plan to appeal.

The sentencing culminates a six-month trial and nearly 13 years of legal back-and-forth for the popular conservative leader, who is considered one of the defining forces in modern-day Colombian politics.

His house arrest also comes less than a year before Colombia is set to hold presidential elections in May 2026.

A person holds a banner that reads Uribe to jail in Bogota, Colombia, on July 28 [Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]

Allegations of human rights abuses

The case centres around Uribes role in Colombias more than six-decade-long internal conflict, which has seen government forces, right-wing paramilitaries, left-wing rebel groups and drug-trafficking networks all fighting for control over parts of the country.

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During his tenure as president from 2002 to 2010, Uribe led a strong-armed offensive against left-wing rebels like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the largest such group at the time.

But that approach earned him criticism for alleged human rights abuses, which he has denied.

Under his presidency, the Colombian military faced increasing accusations that it was killing civilians to boost the number of enemy fighters it could report as dead.

This practice, known as the false positives scandal, has been implicated in the deaths of at least 2,000 people, with experts indicating that the number could be far higher. As many as 6,402 killings have been investigated.

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Critics have also questioned Uribes ties to right-wing paramilitaries, another allegation the ex-president has rejected.

But more than a decade ago, Uribe took action to silence one of his most prominent critics, left-wing Senator Ivan Cepeda, sparking his current trial.

Cepeda and others had drawn connections between Uribes rise in politics in the 1990s and the creation of the paramilitary group Bloque Metro.

Opponents of former President Alvaro Uribe display a sign that says Guilty outside a Bogota court on July 28 [Fernando Vergara/AP Photo]

A legal boomerang

In 2012, Uribe filed a libel complaint against Cepeda with Colombias Supreme Court, after the senator launched a probe into the ex-presidents paramilitary contacts.

But in 2018, the case took a surprising new direction: The Supreme Court dismissed the complaint against Cepeda, and the court system instead started to weigh charges against Uribe instead.

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Prosecutors accused Uribe of seeking to pressure paramilitary witnesses to change or suppress their testimony. While Uribe has admitted to sending lawyers to meet with former members of Colombias paramilitaries, he has denied taking illegal actions.

Two paramilitaries have testified that Uribes lawyer Diego Cadena, who also faces criminal charges, offered them money to give favourable evidence.

Their witness statements were also being used in a murder trial featuring Uribes brother, Santiago Uribe.

Uribes conviction was announced after a 10-hour hearing in which Judge Heredia said there was ample evidence that the ex-president sought to change witness testimony.

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But that decision has sparked backlash from the United States, where the administration of President Donald Trump has shown a willingness to place political pressure on countries like Brazil that pursue criminal cases against former right-wing leaders.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on social media in defence of Uribe, repeating charges of judicial bias that have become commonplace under Trump.

Former Colombian President Uribes only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland, Rubio said. The weaponization of Colombias judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent.

But Democrats in the US accused Trump of seeking to subvert the rule of law overseas for political gains.

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The Trump Admin is saying that foreign leaders shouldnt be subject to rule of law if they say nice things about Trump, Representative Jim McGovern wrote in reply to Rubios message.

It is very wrong to support impunity for a strongman held accountable by courts in his own country. This statement is shameful, and you know it.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery in a historic case that gripped the South American nation and tarnished the conservative strongmans legacy.

The sentence, which Uribe said will be appealed, followed a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that he attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group in the 1990s.

Politics prevailed over the law in sentencing, Uribe said after Friday's hearing.

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Uribe, 73, has denied any wrongdoing. He faced up to 12 years in prison after being convicted Monday.

His attorney had asked the court to allow Uribe to remain free while he appeals the verdict. Judge Sandra Heredia on Friday said she did not grant the defense's request because it would be easy for the former president to leave the country to evade the imposed sanction.

Heredia also banned Uribe from holding public office for eight years and fined him about $776,000.

Ahead of Fridays sentencing, Uribe posted on X that he was preparing arguments to support his appeal. He added that one must think much more about the solution than the problem during personal crises.

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The appeals court will have until early October to issue a ruling, which either party could then challenge before Colombia's Supreme Court.

The former president governed from 2002 to 2010 with strong support from the United States. He is a polarizing figure in Colombia, where many credit him for saving the country from becoming a failed state, while others associate him with human rights violations and the rise of paramilitary groups in the 1990s.

Heredia on Monday said she had seen enough evidence to determine that Uribe conspired with a lawyer to coax three former paramilitary group members, who were in prison, into changing testimony they had provided to Ivan Cepeda, a leftist senator who had launched an investigation into Uribes alleged ties to a paramilitary group.

Uribe in 2012 filed a libel suit against Cepeda in the Supreme Court. But in a twist, the high court in 2018 dismissed the accusations against Cepeda and began investigating Uribe.

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Martha Penuela Rosales, a supporter of Uribes party in the capital, Bogota, said she wept and prayed after hearing of the sentence. Its an unjust sentence. He deserves to be free, she said.

Meanwhile, Sergio Andres Parra, who protested against Uribe outside the courthouse, said the 12-year sentence is enough and, even if the former president appeals, history has already condemned him.

During Uribes presidency, Colombias military attained some of its biggest battlefield victories against Latin Americas oldest leftist insurgency, pushing the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia into remote pockets and forcing the groups leadership into peace talks that led to the disarmament of more than 13,000 fighters in 2016.
A Colombian judge on Friday sentenced still-powerful former president Alvaro Uribe to 12 years of house arrest, capping a long and contentious career that defined Colombian politics for a generation.

Uribe, 73, received the maximum possible sentence after being found guilty of witness tampering.

The sentence marks the first time in Colombia's history that a former president has been convicted of a crime and sentenced.

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Uribe led Colombia from 2002 to 2010 and led a relentless military campaign against drug cartels and the FARC guerrilla army.

He remains popular in Colombia, despite being accused by critics of working with armed right-wing paramilitaries to destroy leftist rebel groups.

And he still wields considerable power over conservative politics in Colombia, playing kingmaker in the selection of new party leaders.

He was found guilty of asking right-wing paramilitaries to lie about their alleged links to him.

A judge on Monday found him guilty on two charges: interfering with witnesses and "procedural fraud."

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Uribe insists he is innocent and told the court that he will appeal the ruling.

"You have treated me in the worst possible way" he told judge Sandra Heredia at the sentencing hearing.

A law-and-order hardliner, Uribe was a close ally of the United States and retains ties to the American right.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier decried Uribe's prosecution, claiming, without providing evidence, that it represented "the weaponization of Colombia's judicial branch by radical judges."

Recent opinion polls revealed him to be the South American country's best loved politician.

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- Political vengeance? -

The investigation against Uribe began in 2018 and has had numerous twists and turns, with several attorneys general seeking to close the case.

It gained new impetus under Attorney General Luz Camargo, picked by current President Gustavo Petro -- himself a former guerrilla and a political arch-foe of Uribe.

More than 90 witnesses testified in the trial, which opened in May 2024.

During the trial, prosecutors produced evidence of at least one ex-paramilitary fighter who said he was contacted by Uribe to change his story.

In 2019, thousands protested in Medellin and capital Bogota when he was first indicted in the case.

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On Monday, a smaller group of followers gathered outside the court wearing masks fashioned after his image and chanting: "Uribe, innocent!"

The former president is also under investigation in other matters.

He has testified before prosecutors in a preliminary probe into a 1997 paramilitary massacre of farmers when he was governor of the western Antioquia department.

A complaint has also been filed against him in Argentina, where universal jurisdiction allows for the prosecution of crimes committed anywhere in the world.

That complaint stems from Uribe's alleged involvement in the more than 6,000 executions and forced disappearances of civilians by the Colombian military when he was president.

Uribe insists his witness tampering trial is a product of "political vengeance."

das-arb/sla
A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked Donald Trumps administration from revoking deportation protections for tens of thousands of immigrants from Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua.

A searing 37-page ruling argued that a decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to cancel those temporary humanitarian protections appeared partially rooted in racial and discriminatory animus.

Color is neither a poison nor a crime, stated the ruling from District Judge Trina Thompson, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden.

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Her decision is a reprieve for more than 60,000 immigrants who were allowed to legally live and work in the United States under the Temporary Protected Status program. Immigrants from Nepal who are enrolled in the program were set to lose their status August 5, and TPS was set to expire for Honduras and Nicaragua in September.

Thursdays decision postpones those deadlines until at least November 18 as the legal challenge continues.

At least two federal judges have argued that a decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to cancel Temporary Protected Status designations is at least partially motivated by racism (Reuters)

In her decision, Thompson listed a series of statements from Noem and the president amplifying the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population.

By stereotyping the TPS program and immigrants as invaders that are criminal, and by highlighting the need for migration management, Secretary Noems statements perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population, Thompson wrote.

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In several lawsuits, immigrants advocacy groups and TPS holders have argued that the Trump administration explicitly relied on false and discriminatory stereotypes  including the presidents claims that foreign prisons were emptying out jails to send criminals to the U.S., and that immigrants are poisoning the blood of the country  to justify the end of the program.

The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek, Thompson wrote in her ruling. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.

Homeland Security accused the judges ruling of reading like a New York Times opinion piece.

Restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. That is all we  and the American people who elected President Trump in a landslide election  seek, assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades. This is yet another example of how out of control judges are race-baiting to distract from the facts and presidents constitutionally vested powers.

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Homeland Security intends to appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us, McLaughlin said.

The Trump administration wants to cancel temporary humanitarian protections that have allowed tens of thousands of immigrants to legally live and work in the U.S. after fleeing disasters and violence in their home countries (AP)

Congress created the program in 1990 to provide temporary immigration protections for people fleeing war, natural disasters and extraordinary and temporary conditions in their home countries. Beneficiaries are allowed to apply for renewable work permits and protections against deportation.

To carry out its plans for mass deportations, the administration has pushed to de-legalize tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted humanitarian protections to legally live and work in the U.S.

In February, Noem announced the administration was ending TPS designations for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

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In May, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to cancel TPS for roughly 350,000 Venezuelans while legal challenges continue. In a separate ruling, the nations highest court paved the way for the administration to revoke TPS for another 532,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Taken together, the rulings gave Trump permission to begin stripping legal status for nearly 900,000 people who are now vulnerable to deportation.

Noems past statements reflect her animus against immigrants and the TPS program even though individuals with TPS hold lawful status  a protected status that was expressly conferred by Congress with the purpose of providing humanitarian relief, Judge Thompson wrote.

Their presence is not a crime, the judge added. Rather, TPS holders already live in the United States and have contributed billions to the economy by legally working in jobs, paying taxes, and paying contributions into Medicare and Social Security.

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Thompson is at least the second judge to directly suggest that Noems decision-making was rooted in racism.

In March, California District Judge Edward Chen said the Trump administration's generalization of criminality to the Venezuelan TPS population as a whole is baseless and smacks of racism predicated on generalized false stereotypes.

Arguments from the Trump administration defending the move, including claims that TPS holders are members of the gang Tren de Aragua, are entirely lacking in evidentiary support, Chen wrote.

Instead, the move to cancel those protections appears predicated on negative stereotypes casting class-wide aspersions on their character, including insinuating they were released from Venezuelan prisons and mental health facilities and imposed huge financial burdens on local communities, according to the judge.
This story was originally published on HR Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily HR Dive newsletter.

Dive Brief:

Participants in a Colorado workforce reentry program for formerly incarcerated people experienced median quarterly income growth of 123% within six months of enrollment, demonstrating the potential economic benefits of such models, according to an analysis published by the University of Denvers Colorado Evaluation & Action Lab.

The program, operated by the nonprofit Center for Employment Opportunities, provides participants with immediate transitional jobs with daily pay, as well as supportive services both before and after full-time employment is procured. Participants most often worked in administrative and support services, accommodation and food services, construction or social assistance roles.

Evidence of an upward earnings trajectory for program participants is encouraging, Roger Low, founder and CEO of the Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative, a partner organization, said in a CEO press release. The release noted that work is a challenging barrier to reentry for the formerly incarcerated, citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics that showed about 60% of people were unemployed after one year post-incarceration.

Dive Insight:

Talent experts have long posited that formerly incarcerated people are an overlooked resource for organizations struggling to fill jobs. In recent years, employers whove taken steps to hire these workers have become more vocal in supporting reentry employment initiatives, with some calling on HR to overcome biases and prejudices against people with criminal records.

Sam Schaeffer, CEO of Center for Employment Opportunities, said in the firms release that the study findings reinforce what we see every day: when given access to meaningful support, justice-impacted individuals thrive.

At the legal level, some jurisdictions have sought to boost reentry employment opportunities by banning employers from asking about workers criminal histories via so-called ban-the-box laws. Employers can take their own steps towards hiring from this population, such as partnering with local community organizations, particularly those involved in criminal justice reform, and by creating inclusive policies like allowing employees time off to visit parole officers.

HR professionals might need to take the lead in advocating for such programs within their organizations, just as one Maryland-area HR professional did in helping bring a second-chance hiring initiative to local grocer Giant Food. This work also can include empathy training for managers and recruiters who may not be familiar with the particular obstacles formerly incarcerated workers face, a speaker told attendees at SHRMs 2023 conference.
MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX)  On Thursday, the Colorado Division of Insurance (DOI) released preliminary information on small group market private health insurance plans for 2026, which includes a request for Colorado DOIs approval for, on average, 13.6% higher premiums for approximately 172,000 Coloradans.

By rating area, the average requested rate increase is 14% for Mesa County and 14.9% for the West-Mountain Region.

The average requested rate increase of the rating area across Colorado. (Map Courtesy of Colorado DOI).

How the rate increases will impact consumers will depend on their employers insurance company, payment plan and rating area. In the west region of the state, including Montrose and Delta Counties, the possible increase could be up to 17.2%.

The DOIs calculations on how the requested premium increases can impact consumers in the Denver and the western region of Colorado in 2026. (Courtesy Colorado DOI).

The health insurance companies requesting the increase include Anthems Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Services, Kaiser Foundation of Colorado, Kaiser Permanente, United Healthcare Insurance Company and United Healthcare of Colorado. Additionally, in 2026, the companies plan to offer 383 plans across the state.

The average requested rate across Colorado by different insurance companies and the overall calculated average of their requests. (Courtesy Colorado DOI).

Starting in 2026, due to the passage of Senate Bill 24-073, the definition of a small employer will change from an employer employing one to 100 employees to an employer with one to 50 employees. Employers with 51 to 100 employees have up to five years to switch to the large group market and are encouraged to contact their insurance agents for available options.

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The requested premium increases for plan year 2026 will put employers in the position of making difficult decisions on how to pay for health insurance for their employees, said Colorado Insurance Commissioner Michael Conway. Once again, this year it will be important for employers to shop for the best option available for their employees, as there may very well be more affordable options in the market. And we will continue to work to ensure that the rates we approve are appropriate and justified.

The DOI will hold a public stakeholder meeting on the initial findings of the rate filings from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday via Zoom. Public comments on the requested change will be accepted until Tuesday, Aug. 12.

The Colorado DOI, part of the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), regulates the insurance industry and assists with insurance issues. More information about the requested premium insurance increase or the Colorado DOI can be found at doi.colorado.gov.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  This week on Columbus Business Beat, Digital Anchor Rachel Ramsey talks to Mark Somerson, Managing Editor of Columbus Business First, about business news across central Ohio.

To watch this weeks episode, view the video player above.

Some of this weeks topics included:

Data centers and power

Anduril and economic growth in Ohio

Short North Alliance creates visitor fee for neighborhood services

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Digital reporters David Rees and Ava Boldizar also discuss some of their business stories in this latest episode.

Upper Arlington restaurant Sow Plated is expanding with another grab-and-go location

Home goods company Picanova is relocating to Obetz

The worlds largest rubber duck is waddling back into Ohio this 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  The City of Columbus aims to provide the community with additional tools for de-escalating conflicts.

The citys Office of Violence Prevention announced Thursday the Safer Together 614 campaign, which is meant to give people tangible tools to handle disputes without resorting to violence.

Its rooted in knowledge and empowerment, so creating an awareness in our community that peace is possible here, Office of Violence Prevention Executive Director Rena Shak said.

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Dog missing since Lancaster floods found

Shak said Safer Together 614 is based on data.

We know that over 30% of last years homicides were directly a result of conflict or resolution dispute inabilities, she said. We know that the majority of the violent crimes that happen here in the city are also due to people just not being able to figure out an argument or a dispute.

Shak said they also went to the community to get feedback on what they need.

One of the recurring themes that we keep getting from everybody, no matter what part of the city were in, is that they wish they had more knowledge about how to help themselves and others de-escalate a conflict, Shak said.

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This campaign is being funded by the violence prevention office, with Safer Together 614 providing a tangible toolkit to learn those skills.

Columbus to get pro spring football team in 2026, will play at Historic Crew Stadium

We have things that are based for children, youth, ages 5 to 18, Shak said. We have things that are based for young adults. We have things that are geared towards older adults. And the tips that were sharing in these toolkits go from just regular argument situations. They speak to domestic violence.

At Thursdays launch, the office gave out information on accessing documents and videos on de-escalation training.

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Well have QR codes on hot cards that we can pass out throughout the city, Shak said. Youll just be able to scan that QR code and access an entire library of PDFs, of videos that can take you through de-escalation tips. How to do it safely, right? So were not asking the community to put yourself in an unsafe situation to de-escalate violence. We have actual videos where you can put on this virtual reality headset and go through actual scenarios on how to de-escalate situations as if its happening in real time.

The launch of Safer Together 614 happened Thursday at the Columbus Urban League campus on Alger Road.

One of those who attended the launch, Christian McDowel, 15, knows all too well the pain of losing a friend to violence.

I had a friend that I used to hang out with a lot, McDowell said. One day, I was just at school  I go to Whitehall  I was at school, and I actually looked on social media and saw they were posting about it. When I looked at it, I couldnt really believe what happened, because Im like, This is not true. It really turned me around, like it really made me look at how the world is really changing into a place full of violence.

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She said more work needs to be done and said that if she got the chance to speak with Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, she would make some suggestions.

We need more help for young people in our community, McDowell said. We see violence around us, and sometimes it feels normal. I think the city should give us more safe spaces, places we can go after school.

Shak said the tools will be on the Office of Violence Preventions website starting at the launch.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
The popular, pro-Trump influencers known as the Nelk Boys got an earful from comedian Bassem Youssef during a recent discussion about the influencers softball interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In recent months, the prime minister has sought to make inroads with right-wing podcasters to combat a growing bipartisan outrage in the U.S. toward his governments stranglehold on Gaza, which has left 60,000 dead, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. One such effort, a recent softball interview with the Nelk influencers, drew criticism from across the political spectrum for having the appearance of blatant propaganda.

To give you a sense of how soft an interview it was, the chat at one point shifted to a discussion of Netanyahus preference for Burger King over McDonalds, which interviewer Aaron Steinberg called the Israeli leaders worst take. The podcasters also platformed Netanyahus claim that Hamas is stealing food aid, a claim that senior Israeli military officials have said is unsupported by evidence.

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After that interview, one member of the Nelk crew, Kyle Forgeard, said Netanyahus team gave us a script to ask [questions] but we didnt really follow it. Then, during a subsequent podcast featuring Egyptian American comedian Bassem Youssef, who is a staunch critic of Israel, Forgeard expressed regret about the interview, saying that we should have grilled [Netanyahu] 50,000, 100,000 times harder and its something we cant get back.

Youssef responded that the men (who are in their 30s despite the juvenile name) dont deserve a pass for their ignorance and that they need to stop infantilizing themselves.

Youssef said:

Im not absolving you from your trip. You guys are not little kids. You are f---ing 30 years old, right? People in your age have families and they have a career, and  you need to stop. Im just saying this because youre my little brothers, but youre not little, right? You need to stop infantilizing yourselves, like, Were just stupid people doing stupid stuff. Youre 30 years old, and you need to be aware of whats happening in the world, and that your reach and your platforms mean something and it affects people.

Youssef denounced what he called a total lack of critical thinking during the content creators exchanges with Netanyahu.

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Watch the clip here:

Bassem Youssef cooked Nelk boys, the guys who interviewed Benjamin Netanyahu recently on their podcast. pic.twitter.com/J8HPPhhW57  Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) July 31, 2025

The lesson here about not becoming a dupe for authoritarian regimes is one that others in the pro-MAGA podcast ecosystem would do well to heed  assuming they want to influence public dialogue in a positive way (which is obviously a pretty big assumption). Between these MAGA podcasters regretting their pro-Netanyahu propaganda and other Trump-supporting podcasters  like Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz expressing feelings of betrayal as Trump deals with the Epstein Files scandal  evidence abounds that the podcast community is little more than a credulous vector for manipulative rhetoric.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Dr. Anna Wolfson says she sees dangerous misuse of the allergy medication diphenhydramine in her clinic every day.

If someone has an allergic reaction to a food, people will say, Dont worry, I have diphenhydramine in my purse, and I would say, Really, epinephrine is the first-line treatment for food allergies, said Wolfson, an allergist at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Diphenhydramine can be harmful if people take it after having an allergic reaction to food, she said, because the drug  best known by the brand name Benadryl  makes them drowsy and can cause them to miss signs that their symptoms are getting worse.

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Its time to move on. For every single indication that people are using diphenhydramine, there are better drugs that are more effective at treating the symptoms people are trying to treat with fewer side effects, she said. Ive had patients where I worried that diphenhydramine was impairing their ability to drive or fully participate in their daily lives.

Wolfson isnt alone in preferring alternatives. In a review published in February, allergy experts from Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, San Diego called for the removal of diphenhydramine from over-the-counter and prescription markets in the United States, saying its outdated, dangerous and eclipsed by safer alternatives.

A first-generation antihistamine approved in 1946, diphenhydramine is widely used for allergies, sleep aid and cold symptoms. Its a common over-the-counter medication in the US, with usage rising in the summer months as people use it to treat itching from bug bites or poison ivy, as well as sneezing and runny nose caused by grass and pollen allergies, according to the American Pharmacists Association.

Despite its longstanding presence in American homes, the authors of the new review say it poses disproportionate risks, especially for children and older adults, than newer antihistamines.

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Patients should trial alternatives agents like loratadine, which is Claritin, or cetirizine, which is Zyrtec, or fexofenadine, which is Allegra, to alleviate allergy symptoms, Dr. James Clark of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the lead author of the paper, told CNN.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents the OTC medicine industry, says that common side effects associated with products containing diphenhydramine are disclosed on the label. However, it notes, these products are not intended for long-term use.

When used as directed, these medicines provide well-established therapeutic benefits for common health ailments like allergies, the common cold, motion sickness, minor skin irritations, and occasional sleeplessness, the group said in a statement on behalf of Benadryls maker, Kenvue. Like all medicines, responsible use is essential, and consumers should always follow directions and warnings on the Drug Facts labels and consult healthcare providers if they have questions.

Risks of diphenhydramine

Antihistamines work by blocking receptors called H1, part of the bodys system for responding to allergens, which trigger symptoms like sneezing, itching and a runny nose. But older drugs like diphenhydramine dont just block the allergy-related receptors, they can also affect other parts of the brain. Diphenhydramine often causes sedation, cognitive impairment, and in some cases, dangerous cardiac effects, the authors wrote.

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In older adults, the drug can stay in the body for up to 18 hours, resulting in lingering sleepiness, disorientation and increasing risk of falling. The review also highlighted a possible link between long-term diphenhydramine use and dementia.

In children, the risks can be even more pronounced. The reviews authors cite cases of accidental overdose; paradoxical reactions such as agitation, extreme sedation and coma; and even death, particularly with pediatric formulations, because of accidental ingestions. The medication was linked to several child hospitalizations and fatalities during the viral Benadryl Challenge on TikTok.

Dr. Manuela Murray, director of general pediatrics and urgent care at the University of Texas Medical Branch, says diphenhydramine should not be used lightly.

It should always be used under the guidance of a Medical Professional, and it is only indicated to treat allergic reactions and motion sickness, Murray wrote in an email.

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The medication is often misused and doesnt offer a benefit for treatment of cold symptoms, and it is not a safe sleep aid medication, she said. In fact, it can have the opposite effects in children, leading to hyperactivity.

Dr. Alyssa Kuban, a pediatrician and associate medical director at Texas Childrens Pediatrics, also said that she finds diphenhydramine overused for symptoms it does not directly treat and that there are safer alternatives.

I see some families use diphenhydramine when the child has a cold or upper respiratory infection, thinking it will help with the congestion and help them to sleep better at night, she said. This is not effective for cold symptoms, nor is it very safe.

She recommends over-the-counter cetirizine to treat children with hives, seasonal allergies or an itchy rash. Cetirizine is also longer-lasting and not as sedating as diphenhydramine, she says.

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Murray agrees that loratadine and cetirizine are safer for children over 6 months, and saline drops and suctioning are better alternatives for infants.

Time to say a final goodbye

Diphenhydramine appears in over 300 OTC formulations, often blended into combination products for coughs, colds and flu. The authors of the review say that, like products with pseudoephedrine, diphenhydramine should at minimum be moved behind the counter, allowing pharmacists to guide patients toward second-generation alternatives.

The American Pharmacists Association says patients should use caution with combination cough and cold products that contain diphenhydramine.

Pharmacists may recommend alternative medications for older adults who have a history of being cognitively affected by certain medications, the group says, and it encourages patients and parents/caregivers to ask their pharmacist for the most appropriate treatment recommendation for their symptoms with the least amount of side effects.

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The review authors also emphasize that there is no strong clinical data that may suggest that diphenhydramine works better than other options. Although it may reduce symptoms like sneezing and itching, it has minimal effect on nasal congestion and doesnt outperform second-generation drugs in randomized trials. Newer options, such as oral cetirizine, offer 24-hour coverage with fewer adverse events.

However, in the US, the medication remains a staple. According to the review, more than 1.5 million prescriptions are still written annually, not counting untracked OTC purchases.

In the past, it has been a useful medication that has helped millions of patients; however, its current therapeutic ratio is matched or exceeded by second-generation antihistamines, especially due to their markedly reduced adverse reactions. It is time to say a final goodbye to diphenhydramine, a public health hazard, the authors wrote.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  A local nonprofit organization hosted a community forum Thursday evening to address the publics concerns about the Great Salt Lake, as Utah is facing intensifying drought conditions and the lowest levels of the lake in the past two years.

Grow the Flow is a local nonprofit organization focused on restoring the Great Salt Lake. They hosted the community forum, featuring ecologist Dr. Ben Abbott, who is a professor at BYU and also the executive director of Grow the Flow, and Dr. Kevin Perry, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Utah and an expert on Great Salt Lake Dust.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Low Great Salt Lake levels trigger forced conservation efforts

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The lower water levels will only make the drought worse, as it reduces precipitation and pollutes the air. The lakebed has high levels of toxic pollutants like arsenic and heavy metals, and as more of it is exposed, the risk of toxic dust storms increases.

There are around 120 of these large saline lakes around the world, Abbott said in an interview with ABC4.com. Almost all of them are in decline, and theres not a single example of a lake once its slipped into decline being restored, and we want our community to be the first, and one of the real assets that we have is Utahns care about Great Salt Lake.

While multiple factors are contributing to the decline of lake levels, the biggest one is local water consumption, and thats actually a good thing, Abbott said at the community forum. Because it is local water use, that means that we actually have control over it, and we can come up with a solution. If it was something like climate change, that would be less in our control.

Dust from the Great Salt Lake will be deposited onto agricultural fields, reducing soil fertility and damaging crops, and were already starting to see that happening, Abbott said. The dust will also make snowmelt happen earlier and earlier, which will also have a large impact on agriculture.

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This is already impacting our lives, and the world is watching, Abbott said.

Abbott said that we need to reduce the amount of water we use by a third to a half in order to get the Great Salt Lake back to where it needs to be, but he believes that is possible.

The state is exploring options besides just conservancy, including a pipeline to the Pacific Ocean and building up the berm around the lake, but those options will take time, even potentially decades. Abbott is confident that the lake can be saved through conservancy.

According to Alexa Musselman with the Utah House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Mike Schultz has asked Governor Cox, State Forestry Fire, and State Lands to look into the benefits of raising the berm around the Great Salt Lake. If it would be beneficial, Speaker Schultz will reportedly encourage the governor to add it to a special session call or to consider legislation during the next station.

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Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams said in a statement to ABC4.com, Utah is currently experiencing a severe drought and heightened wildfire activity. The safety of Utahns and firefighters remains a top priority. As we take action to address these challenges, I support extending the wildfire emergency and evaluating raising the berm along the Great Salt Lake as a measure to address declining lake levels.

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DENVER (KDVR)  Colorado lawmakers continue to learn more about how the One Big Beautiful Bill is set to impact the state. Thursday, Capitol Democrats heard about what help organizations may need.

Community groups testified before state lawmakers, making their message clear: many services will need help from the state to make up for lost funding.

Budget director says Colorado is facing another big budget gap

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Colorado is very unique. We have both rolling conformity and we start with federal taxable income. This means that when the federal tax income changes, we automatically incorporate these changes into our own tax code. And additionally, any deductions that taxpayers take at the federal level will also decrease their Colorado taxable income, said Caroline Nutter of the Colorado Fiscal Institute.

Leaders of organizations related to health care, food security, economic mobility and clean energy in Colorado testified before House and Senate Democrats at the Capitol.

Several leaders talked about the negative impact multiple changes taking effect at once will have on Coloradans; things like having to re-enroll in Medicaid while losing food assistance.

Larimer Countys Human Services Director, for instance, said they have seen a 150% increase in people seeking help with SNAP benefits over the past five years, and they are concerned those folks will lose assistance. Feeding Colorado, a coalition representing food banks across the state, said they are going to have to do a lot more with less.

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Fiscal impact analysts showed the disproportionate impacts the poorest in the state could see as a result of the changes. One of the most vocal concerns came from Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains. The groups Vice President of Government Affairs said the organization felt the impacts of lost funding immediately after the bill was signed. They are asking state lawmakers for around five million dollars to help Medicaid patients while they figure out what comes next.

We need the state to restore payments using state funds on an emergency basis. so that we can restore access to appointments. We cannot make up this funding through philanthropy; its not possible. This needs to happen in a special session. It cannot wait until January when abortion coverage comes into effect and it becomes illegal for Medicaid patients to go to providers that dont take Medicaid, Jack Teter of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains told lawmakers during the hearing.

Wednesday, the states budget director warned lawmakers that some state tax credits will be suspended in 2026 and 2027. On Thursday, groups reminded Coloradans that some federal tax credits were also not renewed in the bill.

US Department of Agriculture to move workers to regional hubs, including Fort Collins

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These enhanced premium tax credits significantly boosted affordability and led to record levels of enrollment in Colorado and across the country. Especially true for rural areas. Roughly 34,000 Coloradans will lose access to tax credits altogether as the tax credit cliff goes back into effect. While those that remain eligible for tax credits will see huge increases in their out-of-pocket premiums, said Adam Fox of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.

So how will the state fill the newly announced $1.2 billion budget hole? Leaders of multiple groups said state law around the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) presents a challenge for moving money around in Colorado, creating a big test for a state that incorporates federal dollars into funding for services.

We have a relatively small general fund budget compared to the population of our state and compared to the wealth of our state. When we cut programs here in Colorado, we are not cutting fat; we are cutting meat, we are cutting to the bone. And this bill and its effects on Colorado are going to directly impact the ability of this body in this state to provide the core services that support Coloradans, Nutter said.

We reached out to Republicans at the Capitol. They said they do not plan to host any hearings like the one Democrats held today. Instead, they urged Democrats to tighten up on state spending.

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First District U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) holds an in-person listening session at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, Thursday evening July 31, 2025. (Copyright Mark Hertzberg/for Racine County Eye)

ELKHORN  At a raucous listening session in a high school auditorium Thursday evening, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) defended the immigration and tariff policies of President Donald Trump and the Republican budget reconciliation law that Trump signed on July 4.

From the roars of the crowd, critics of the congressman appeared to account for the majority of the group that filled nearly two-thirds of the 600-seat Elkhorn High School auditorium. But there were also recurring cheers, shouts and applause at key moments from a smaller coterie of supporters in the room.

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Steil represents the 1st District in Congress, which covers Southeastern Wisconsin from Janesville and Beloit east to Racine and Kenosha on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Over the last several months, Republican members of Congress have been counseled not to hold in-person events with constituents after publicity about angry crowds turning up at some GOP town halls.

Steils constituents have been protesting weekly outside his office in Racine for months, calling on him to hold an in-person meeting rather than telephone ones.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil talks to a raucus crowd during his in-person listening session at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, Thursday evening July 31, 2025. (Copyright Mark Hertzberg/for Racine County Eye)

Taking the stage shortly after 5 p.m. and lasting for about 80 minutes there, Steil stuck with a cheerful, breezy tone. He treated the loud, impassioned and often angry audience cries as mostly a difference of opinion.

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When an audience member asked Steil how he might take a stand against other congressional Republicans who lie to the American public and malign the dignity of 70 million people on Medicaid by suggesting that they are lazy, Steil lamented the tone of political discourse and vowed not to denigrate anyone. Then he turned the subject back to the boisterous auditorium.

Id say the overall majority of people here want to learn and understand my perspective, want to hear the question, he said. And then theres a small group of people that are challenging.

It was left to the moderator of the session, Janesville radio host Tim Bremel, to lecture the crowd to refrain from shouting over Steils answers during a Q&A period.

During one interruption, the radio host scolded, Ladies and gentlemen, we will never get questions if we cant keep the auditorium quiet. And please do the person who asked the question the respect of allowing his question to be answered.

Pledge of Allegiance

Steil kicked off the session with the Pledge of Allegiance, inviting the audience to join him. They did so, some shouting the final words and justice for all with vehemence.

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He followed with a short talk offering just kind of an overview of where were at in this country to get ourselves back on track  words that prompted more angry taunts.

Steil said that the nations spending is about $1.8 trillion more than on the revenue side, a comment that prompted scattered shouts scoffing at tax breaks.

He defended the expansion in the budget reconciliation law of work requirements for SNAP food aid, saying the change followed a model that Wisconsin had already instituted for the program in the 1990s.

When he switched to immigration and a graph that Steil said showed the dramatic drop, the decrease that we have seen in border apprehensions, a cry of We are all immigrants! came up from several rows of seats.

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Nine minutes in, Steil made a pitch for his offices constituent services, then appealed for restraint from the crowd.

The more civil we are with each other  theres people that have different views in here, we heard applause and boos on the border security issue, weve heard it a couple of times, he said. We have people on all sides, its great, thats what makes us so great.

Tariffs, ICE and deportation

The questions that followed came from members of the audience who filled out forms at tables in the school lobby.

Bremel told the crowd that the questioners would be chosen at random. Some greeted that claim with loud skeptical scoffs. Over the course of the hour, however, the vast majority of people who were chosen asked questions sharply critical of Steil, Trump, the Republican congressional majority, or all three.

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Criticizing Trumps tariffs, Tom Burke asked Steil what dire economic circumstances justified the presidents executive orders to impose them.

What we need to do is make sure that were having other countries treat the United States fairly, Steil replied, adding that the U.S. should work collectively with our allies to address the real culprit, which is China.

Burke wasnt satisfied with the answer. U.S. allies, seem to be alienated beyond belief, he told Steil, adding that until he got a satisfactory answer to his question about their rationale, Im going to be totally opposed to these tariffs  period.

Specifying that her question was about not politics, but morality, Jean Henderson of Elkhorn told Steil, What I see happening to our immigrant population embarrasses me, terrifies me.

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Henderson criticized the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, their faces hidden by masks, against immigrants who are doing the right thing by going to the immigration office, only to be taken into custody. It is a trap, she said. Why is this happening and why arent you stopping it?

Steil began in reply, What I view is the moral hazard created by the Biden administration, prompting a roar of disapproval from the crowd, then a shout of Joe Biden sucks! from someone perhaps more sympathetic to the congressman.

The rest of Steils response was largely drowned out.

When it was her turn at the microphone, Kelly Neuens connected the experiences of her grandparents and great aunt and great uncle, who were held in U.S. internment camps during World War II as U.S. citizens of Japanese descent, to the conditions in the El Salvador prison where the Trump administration has sent some immigrants taken into custody.

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President Trump said, Homegrowns are next when he was speaking to the El Salvador president, Neuens told Steil. My worry is that we are repeating history here.

A plea for the climate

In his answer, which was repeatedly interrupted, Steil described the World War II internment as one of the more darker chapters of American history, then added, As we look at the engagement that law enforcement is doing now against immigrants who are in the country illegally, I dont see the exact parallel.

Another questioner asked Steil to explain why you support Linda McMahon and defunding the Department of Education?

Congress, Steil said, is still analyzing what the spending will be for the upcoming fiscal year. He added that the department has burdened a lot of our local school districts with unnecessary red tape in the course of distributing funds to the states. I think what we will see as we negotiate this going forward is a way to make sure that those funds are there for local schools, he said.

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When it was her turn to ask a question, Sharna Ahern of Fontana thanked Steil and his staff for answering all the contacts Ive made with you over the years.

She enumerated a wide range of concerns she has had  about the Department of Education, about the treatment of immigrants, about the rule of law and civil rights  and then turned her focus on the environment.

Extreme weather conditions are happening more frequently as we experience them, she told Steil. The EPA is deregulating the standards that are in place to fight climate change, to protect the citizens. Where do you stand on this issue? And how can you be an advocate for us to initiate legislation to restore our safeguards?

Steil praised Wisconsin as one of the most beautiful states in the country and asserted that making sure that were protecting our air and water and soil is absolutely essential. He said that on the issue of climate change, what we need to be doing is focused on addressing that global aspect. But again, make sure other countries are doing their fair share of it.

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The crowd largely jeered at the response. When another audience member asked about Trumps executive orders rolling back Biden administration measures to address climate change, Steil said that action was necessary to correct  the overreach in the previous administration.

It was after 6 p.m. when Bremel called for the final question.

A few minutes earlier, someone had shouted a question about children starving in Gaza, and the woman whose turn it was asked Steil to address that topic as well as to defend the SNAP cuts.

I can do them both, Steil said. He started with SNAP, reiterating his earlier assertion that Wisconsin would not be affected by the programs changes to work requirements because of policies the state had in place already.

Turning to Gaza, Steil said, To me the easy answer to address this crisis is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages. Release them. Israel was unfairly, unjustly attacked.

His comments gave rise to another brief demonstration, punctuated by repeated chants of 60,000 people are dead!

By the time the chanting ended, Steil had left the stage.

Protestors rally before Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steils listening session in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, Thursday. (Copyright Mark Hertzberg/for Racine County Eye)

The photos accompanying this report are not available for republishing except by agreement with photographer Mark Hertzberg.
39%? For Switzerland, this is a huge shock, and worse than the worst-case scenario  these are the highest tariffs in Europe.

Globally, the fourth highest, behind only Syria, Laos, and Myanmar, (although if President Trump follows through on his 50% tariff threat then Brazil will jump to the top of the list).

It's the one story dominating the news and the airwaves on Friday. One newspaper, Blick, described it as the country's biggest defeat since French victory in the battle of Marignano in 1515.

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Just weeks ago, Switzerland's government was exuding confidence.

In May, a Swiss facilitated meeting between the US and China in Geneva, aimed at preventing a trade war between the two economic superpowers, allowed Switzerland's president Karin Keller-Sutter to grab a meeting with US trade secretary Scott Bessent.

She came out smiling. She had been told, she said, that Switzerland was likely to be second on the list after the United Kingdom to strike a trade deal with Washington. 10%, she hinted, was the tempting tariff offer, far lower than the 31% Donald Trump had unveiled for Switzerland on his 'liberation day' in April.

Now, those illusions are shattered. Just hours before the August first deadline, one last telephone call between Ms Keller-Sutter and President Trump yielded nothing. Hours later came the news that the tariffs would not be 31% as originally threatened, but a punitive 39%.

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Why? Some Swiss politicians are already arguing that Switzerland's negotiating tactics were not up to scratch  but some say too tough, others say too obsequious. The reality may be more straightforward: Trump was keen to make big deals, and Switzerland just isn't that big. It's not even clear now many discussions the Swiss trade negotiators were able to have with their US counterparts.

The sticking point, the Swiss government says now, is the trade deficit it has with the US.

Trump sees trade deficits - when a country sells more to the US than it buys - as inherently a problem for the US, although this is a view not widely shared by economists. He believes tariffs can help protect the US manufacturing sector, which for decades has lost jobs to companies overseas.

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The Swiss trade deficit with the US was $47.4 billion in 2024, though if service industries are included, which Trump conveniently ignored, the deficit shrinks to $22 billion. Switzerland sells more (primarily in pharmaceuticals, gold jewellery, watches and machine tools) to the US than it buys.

To try to compensate for that, the Swiss government reduced its own tariffs on US industrial good to zero, and multiple Swiss companies (Nestle, Novartis) promised multibillion dollar investments in US plants. Switzerland is already the world's 6th largest investor in the US, creating, the Swiss say, 400,000 US jobs.

But balancing the deficit looks impossible. The population of Switzerland is just 9 million, and, bluntly, many of them don't want to buy US products. The gas guzzling cars are too big for alpine roads, US cheese and chocolatewell, let's just say they're not really to Swiss taste.

Switzerland's president Karin Keller-Sutter [Getty Images]

Jan Atteslander, head of foreign trade at EconomieSuisse which represents businesses, told Swiss broadcasting: "We need reliable relations with the United States."

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This could be a signal of frustration that one of Switzerland's most important export markets has adopted an on/off trade policy, stripping Swiss business of the certainty it needs.

So what can Switzerland do now? There is a small window of opportunity, until August 7th, when the tariffs are due to come into force. Until then, the Swiss government will feverishly try to negotiate. Swiss businesses are warning of thousands of job losses if the 39% can't be reduced.

But it's hard to see what the wiggle room is.

With the investment promises, and the zero tariffs, Switzerland had already offered everything it could. The only tactic now would be punitive - withdraw the investment offer, introduce reciprocal tariffs, and, the nuclear option, cancel Switzerland's order for US F35 fighter planes.

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Across Switzerland, there is confusion - and anger.

Friday is Swiss national day, the equivalent of July 4th. After giving her traditional speech, Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter was asked about the US tariffs.

She told reporters the talks with the US went well but that for Donald Trump, the trade deficit was the obstacle. The inference was that the US president was the problem.

Instead of the usual patriotic celebrations, many Swiss feel they are being punished for having one of the world's most competitive and innovative countries.

Others say the country has survived economic shocks before, and will be able to use that innovation to survive this one.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced a draft defense spending bill that would reverse the Pentagons plan to freeze the U.S. Navys F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based combat jet program. In addition, the legislation includes funding for the U.S. Air Force to continue with the acquisition of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, something the Department of Defense also wants to axe.

The version of the 2026 Fiscal Year Defense Appropriations Bill that the Senate Appropriations Committee approved today includes $1.4 billion for F/A-XX and $647 million for E-7.

A rendering depicting an E-7 Wedgetail in US Air Force service. USAF

The $1.4 billion figure aligns directly with a call for additional F/A-XX funding that the Navy had reportedly included in its annual Unfunded Priority List (UPL) sent to Congress earlier this month. The UPLs, which all branches of the U.S. armed forces and certain other commands are required to submit each year by law, are intended to outline key funding requests that could not be included in the annual proposed defense budget. However, the current circumstances surrounding F/A-XX are somewhat unusual in that the Navy appears to be in direct conflict with top Pentagon leadership over the fate of the program.

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The proposed budget for the 2026 Fiscal Year that the Pentagon rolled out in June includes just enough funding to complete initial development work, but not actually procure any of the jets. U.S. military officials have said that this decision was made to avoid competition for resources with the U.S. Air Forces F-47 sixth-generation fighter program amid concerns that the industrial base in the United States cannot handle work on both efforts simultaneously.

A rendering that the US Air Force has released of the F-47. USAF

Since then, in addition to the UPL submission, Navy officials have been outspoken about how important they view the F/A-XX as part of their services future carrier aviation plans.

Nothing in the Joint Force projects combat power from the sea as a Carrier Strike Group, which at the heart has a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN). To maintain this striking power, the CVN must have an air wing that is comprised of the most advanced strike fighters, Adm. Daryl Caudle, the current nominee to become the next Chief of Naval Operations, wrote in response to a question about F/A-XX ahead of his confirmation hearing last week. Therefore, the ability to maintain air superiority against peer competitors will be put at risk if the Navy is unable to field a 6th Generation strike fighter on a relevant timeline. Without a replacement for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and E/A-18G Growler, the Navy will be forced to retrofit 4th generation aircraft and increase procurement of 5th generation aircraft to attempt to compete with the new 6th generation aircraft that the threat is already flying.

The Navy has a validated requirement for carrier-based 6th generation aircraft, and it is critical that we field that capability as quickly as possible to give our warfighters the capabilities they need to win against a myriad of emerging threats, he added.

Adm. Daryl Caudle speaks at his confirmation hearing on July 24, 2025. DOD

Even before the Pentagons budget rollout, there had been growing signs that the F/A-XX program was at best in limbo, in part due to industrial base concerns. Boeing, the prime contractor for the F-47 and a contender for the F/A-XX contract, notably pushed back on that assertion back in June. Northrop Grumman is understood to be the other company in the running for F/A-XX after Lockheed Martin was reportedly eliminated in March. Lockheed Martin is now aggressively pitching a heavily reworked version of the F-35 as the Bridging Fighter at least for the Air Force ahead of the F-47s arrival.

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A fight has also already been brewing over the E-7 program, but primarily between the Pentagon and Congress, at least in public. Since 2023, the Air Forces plan had been to replace a portion of its aging E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft with Wedgetails. This was also intended to serve as a bridge toward larger ambitions to eventually push a significant part of that mission set to distributed satellite constellations in space. Confirmation of the decision to axe E-7 purchases and acquire additional E-2D Hawkeye airborne early warning and control aircraft, currently flown by the U.S. Navy, to fill the resulting gap first emerged at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in June. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, pushed back hard on that idea at the time.

I have been concerned. We have E-3 capability up north, of course, but we were all counting on the E-7 Wedgetail coming our way. Were kind of limping along up north right now, which is unfortunate. And the budget proposes terminating the program, she said. Again, the E-3 fleet [is] barely operational now, and I understand the intent to shift towards the space-based  you call it the air moving target indicators  but my concern is that youve got a situation where youre not going to be able to use more duct tape to hold things together until you put this system in place. And, so, how we maintain that level of operational readiness and coverage, Im not sure how you make it.

An E-3 Sentry flies over Alaska together with a pair of F-22 Raptors. USAF

I would file this entire discussion under difficult choices that we have to make, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during an ensuing exchange with Murkowski. But you know, the E-7, in particular, is sort of late, more expensive and gold plated, and so filling the gap, and then shifting to space-based ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] is a portion of how we think we can do it best, considering all the challenges.

Hegseth had also previously highlighted the E-7 as an example of a capability that is not survivable in the modern battlefield and had said that it would be better to fund existing platforms that are there more robustly and make sure theyre modernized. Since it formally kicked off two years ago, the Air Forces Wedgetail program had already been beset by notable delays and cost growth, issues the Pentagon has also said were major factors in the cancellation decision.

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Other advocates of the E-7 program, including a significant number of retired senior Air Force officials, have since stepped forward. Earlier this month, 19 retired Air Force generals, including six former Air Force chiefs of staff, signed onto an open letter from the Air & Space Forces Association to Congress to express our alarm at the Wedgetail plan.

On July 11, the House Armed Services Committee released a draft of the separate annual defense policy bill, or National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for the 2026 Fiscal Year, which also included $600 million for the continuation of rapid prototyping of the E-7. At that time, the proposed legislation made no changes regarding the F/A-XX plans, but members of the committee subsequently directed the Air Force and the Navy to provide more details on their respective next-generation fighter plans. A separate draft defense spending bill put forward by the House Appropriations Committee also included $972 million for continued work on F/A-XX.

The House and Senate will eventually have to align their respective draft NDAAs and defense appropriation bills before a final vote on either can occur. Funding plans for F/A-XX and E-7 could change again in the course of that process. President Donald Trump will also still need to sign the bills into law.

If nothing else, the Senate Appropriations Committee has now given F/A-XX an important vote of support in the face of the Pentagons plans to gut the program. It has also joined the growing chorus of calls to push ahead with the Air Forces E-7 effort.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com
Prices for the eponymous Swiss watches, Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese could skyrocket in a week as a result of U.S. President Donald Trumps trade war.

Switzerland, home to some the world's most recognizable luxury brands, now faces an upcoming 39% tariff from the U.S. Industry groups on Friday warned that both Swiss companies and American consumers could pay the price.

Trump signed an executive order Thursday placing tariffs on many U.S. trade partners  the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and alliances  that's set to take effect next Thursday. The order applies to 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands.

In Switzerland, officials failed to reach a final agreement with the U.S. after Donald Trump initially threatened a 31% tariff in April. Swiss companies will now have one of the steepest export duties  only Laos, Myanmar and Syria had higher figures, at 40-41%. The 27-member EU bloc and Britain, meanwhile, negotiated 15% and 10% tariffs, respectively.

Figure came as a surprise

The Swiss government spent Friday  the countrys National Day  reeling from the news. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter said that the 39% figure was a surprise, because negotiators had hashed out a deal last month with the Trump administration that apparently wasn't approved by the American leader himself.

We will now analyze the situation and try to find a solution," Keller-Sutter told reporters. I cant say what the outcome will be, but it will certainly damage the economy.

The U.S. goods trade deficit with Switzerland was $38.5 billion last year, a 56.9% increase over 2023, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Keller-Sutter said that she believes Trump ultimately chose the 39% tariff, because the figure rounded up from the $38.5 billion goods trade deficit.

It was clear that the president was focused on the trade deficit and only this issue, she said.

Time is ticking for watch companies

For Swiss watch companies, whose products already come with price tags in the tens of thousands  if not the hundreds of thousands  of euros, a timepiece for an arm could cost a leg, too, come next week.

The 39% figure was especially galling to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, because Switzerland in 2024 got rid of import tariffs on all industrial goods.

As Switzerland has eliminated all custom duties on imported industrial products, there is no problem with reciprocity between Switzerland and the U.S., the federation said in a statement. The tariffs constitute a severe problem for our bilateral relations.
The U.S. Capitol as lawmakers worked into the night on the "big beautiful bill" on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

The Ohio legislature may have finished its work on the state operating budget, but when it returns from summer break, another significant piece of work lies ahead of them.

The congressional map that establishes voting districts for Ohios U.S. House representatives must be redrawn before the end of the year. State lawmakers first deadline is approaching in September, and maps must be in place for 2026 primary elections.

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The process dictated by the Ohio Constitution starts in the legislature. The General Assembly gets first crack at drawing the districts.

According to a legislative brief on the process, each chamber has to come up with agreement from three-fifths of the members to achieve a bipartisan map, including at least half of the Republicans and Democrats in the chambers.

If the legislature cant come to an agreement, the Ohio Redistricting Commission is reactivated to take over the process.

That commission is made up of the governor, the auditor of state, the secretary of state, and individual lawmakers appointed by the House Speaker, Senate President, Senate Minority Leader, and House Minority Leader.

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Ohio Republican politicians currently hold five out of the seven Ohio Redistricting Commission seats.

Both Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman and Ohio Senate President Rob McColley have sat on the commission previously: Huffman in his former role as Senate President, and McColley as an appointee of Huffman.

The commission has a month to come up with a bipartisan plan. If the commission also cant come to an agreement, the process returns to the legislature, which then has until Nov. 30 to come up with a map.

If a bipartisan map is agreed upon, that map will last 10 years, but if the commission doesnt have bipartisan agreement, or if the legislature passes a map by a simple majority vote, the map only lasts for four years.

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In comments made to reporters during the budget process in June, Huffman said a positive note for this go-round with congressional redistricting is that the state already has the data, rather than having to wait for a census count to be completed.

He said the procedure thats spelled out in the state constitution may begin with negotiations as early as August.

I think there will be some, probably, informal negotiations starting in August with the idea that it may be possible to have a bipartisan bill in September, Huffman said. If that doesnt happen, the redistricting commission will meet in October, and if the commission doesnt come up with a bill, then in November, the legislatures required by Nov. 30 to file a redistricting bill.

A spokesperson for Ohio Senate President McColley said discussions about next steps in the process havent started yet in that chamber.

A history of redistricting

The process of redistricting has been a fraught one in the state since the 2020 U.S. Census, which marked 10 years since the last redistricting process.

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Redistricting typically happens in line with the decennial census, so that state leaders who draw the maps have the most recent data on population shifts and trends in Ohio.

The layout of the state in redistricting maps should align with the voting trends in the state.

In 2024, President Donald Trump won with 55% of the vote compared to 44% for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Ohio Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno defeated former Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown with 50.09% of the vote compared to 46.47% for Brown.

An average of partisan statewide elections over the last 10 years has Republicans getting 55% of the votes compared to 44% for Democrats.

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Currently, Republicans control 66% of Ohios U.S. Congressional districts, holding 10 seats compared to five seats held by Democrats.

Moreno has suggested Ohio Republican politicians should draw districts that favor Republicans 12-3, giving them 80% of districts.

During the last round of congressional redistricting in 2021, the two congressional maps that were adopted by Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission were both struck down by a 4-3 bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court majority as unconstiutionally favoring the Republican Party.

At the time of that court, elections for the Ohio Supreme Court were nonpartisan. Republican lawmakers added partisan labels to state supreme court races beginning in 2022. Since then, Republican candidates have swept court races and Republicans now hold Ohio Supreme Court seats 6-1. The remaining Democratic justice on the court, Jennifer Brunner, faces a challenge from Republican Justice Patrick Fischer in 2026.

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Even after the second map was struck down by the states high court in 2021, however, no changes were made, and the second unconstitutional map remained in place for the 2022 election cycle.

The Ohio Supreme Court will continue to take up all challenges and decide on the constitutionality of the maps this time around.

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While current Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy was not chief justice at the time, she, DeWine and Fischer all supported the commission-adopted maps, going against the majority courts decision that the maps were unconstitutional.

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Despite his father, Gov. Mike DeWine, sitting on the commission, Justice Pat DeWine did not recuse himself from the redistricting cases.

During the last round of redistricting, then-Chief Justice Maureen OConnor served as the swing vote on every redistricting decision.

Forced to retire from the court due to age restriction, Connor then went on to join the movement to change the process, serving as a leader in a campaign in 2024 to amend the Ohio Constitution to remove politicians from the process of drawing districts.

Supporters of the measure wanted to see a citizen-led commission drawing the maps and what advocates saw as a more transparent and publicly accountable process.

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After Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board used their positions to write ballot language for the proposal telling voters that the anti-gerrymandering amendment would require gerrymandering, voters rejected the amendment. Many Ohio voters expressed confusion about the issue before, on, and after Election Day.

WEWS Morgan Trau contributed to this article.

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GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP)  A program in Greenfield, organized to ensure kids have access to healthy meals all summer long, has garnered the support of state lawmakers.

This federally funded program is called Summer Eats, which ensures kids receive free meals when school is out across the state. And as part of the 11th annual Summer Food Rocks Tour, US Congressman Jim McGovern visited Greenfield High School to witness the ongoing success of this program.

Acquired land in Orange protects Quabbin Reservoir

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Lines of cars drove up to the Greenfield High School grab-and-go site to receive bags of nutritious meals to bring home for Friday and into the weekend.

Its lovely to see all of the smiles on everyones faces, said Director of Food Services for Greenfield Public Schools, Greta Shwachman. We get a lot of families, you know, saying how much they appreciate this and how much it means to them.

Through this program, children are able to receive healthy meals all summer long, promoting their growth and development. Since June, about 300 families have come out every Friday, totaling up to nearly 1,800 meals over three days, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. More than 20 volunteers, many of whom are staff members from Greenfield Public Schools, are preparing these meals for families.

To supplement their grocery budget and to help them get those meals for their kids is a critical support for the families that are experiencing food insecurity, said Chief Policy Officer for Project Bread, Jennifer Lemmerman.

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And Congressman McGovern is working towards protecting programs like this one after the Trump administration has already frozen and cut nutritional programs like the Farm-to-School programs, which link local farms with schools to provide students with access to healthy, locally sourced food and agricultural education. It also comes after the passing of the Big Beautiful Bill, which led to drastic cuts in SNAP benefits.

Its going to increase hunger in this country, which is sad, Congressman McGovern said. The richest country in the world, and we have 46 million people who are food insecure, hungry. But were going to fight back.

With just two weeks to go, this program is on track to surpass the number of meals passed out last year, which was more than 60,000 meals. So far, more than 56,000 meals have been distributed at not only this site but nearly 20 others in the city.

McGovern also stopped in other towns like Orange during the 11th annual Summer Food Rocks Tour. After Greenfield High School, he headed over to the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School in Orange to promote the summer eats program.

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A short press conference occurred at the Orange stop, where Congressman McGovern and other speakers highlighted the importance of federal nutrition programs in reducing local hunger and the impact of Summer Eats in Massachusetts, and a statewide effort to permanently solve hunger.

The program brings free meals to students throughout the summer to help bridge the gaps for kids who normally rely on free school meals. The meals are administered by local sponsors in coordination with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

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WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) announced in a press release that he, General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, SEAC David Isom and local community leaders met and toured at Goodfellow Air Force Base.

In the morning of August 1, a representative from Pflugers office released this statement from Pfluger:

Goodfellow Air Force Base is the gold standard in military trainingfrom firefighting to intelligence and cryptologic operations, this base is equipping mission-ready warfighters, said Rep. Pfluger. It was a privilege to join Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and SEAC David Isom on their tour of Goodfellow and help highlight the outstanding work being done here every single day. Leadership starts at the top, and General Caine doesnt just set the standardhe embodies it. Americans can rest easier knowing someone of his caliber is leading our armed forces.

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Below is a slide show of his visit:

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Rep. LaMonica McIver's comments came with the release of a new report highlighting political representation by Black women. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

Rep. LaMonica McIver, whose first year in Congress has been marked by a federal indictment and a threat of censure by her Republican colleagues, said her time serving on the Newark City Council helped her develop the tough skin necessary to navigate her current political predicament.

McIvers comments came as Rutgers officials unveiled a new report Thursday that charts a decade of data surrounding Black womens representation in public offices, one that shows historic strides but a continued lack of representation at every level of government.

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City council and local government, it makes you tough  Im up against a case thats literally trying to throw me in jail. I have a situation where members of the other side of the aisle are trying to censure me, theyre trying to kick me off committees, McIver said during a virtual briefing on the report. That experience really gave me those, you know, tough lessons that is helping me today.

Federal prosecutors in June hit McIver, a Democrat representing the 10th Congressional District, with a three-count indictment accusing her of assaulting federal officials and impeding the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, also a Democrat. The charges stem from a May 9 incident outside a migrant jail in Newark, when McIver and two other members of Congress attempted to enter the building for an inspection. A melee followed when federal agents attempted to arrest Baraka.

McIver and Baraka, whose federal trespassing charge was dropped days after his arrest, say the charges are political, as do their Democratic colleagues. The states chief federal prosecutor, acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, a former personal attorney for Republican President Donald Trump, has pledged to use her office to turn New Jersey red.

McIver, who sat on the Newark City Council for six years and was its president when she was elected to Congress, on Thursday credited other Black women in Congress whom she said hold me down. McIver joined Congress in September 2024 after winning a special election to replace the late Rep. Donald Payne Jr. At 39, shes one of the youngest members of Congress.

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Were facing so many challenges, you know, each and every day to, you know, be serving in Congress, be serving at the federal level. Many of us have families. Many of us are wives. Were trying to manage so much, but at the same time, were managing literally being targeted each and every day as well, on many different levels. And so the sisterhood has really been incredible, she said.

Thursdays report was produced by Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics and the Higher Heights Leadership Fund, a nonprofit aimed at boosting Black women in leadership roles. It found that while a record number of Black women now serve in state legislatures, only 25 Black women have ever held statewide elected executive office  in just 17 states  and none have ever been elected governor.

The report was released just one day after former Vice President Kamala Harris announced she would not pursue the governorship of California, a decision that panelists described as representative of how Black women navigate power obstacles. Harris last year lost her bid for the White House to Trump.

She believes that her current most powerful use of her voice, her time, talent, and treasures, is as someone not running for office and somebody not governing, Glynda Carr, the president and CEO of Higher Heights, said.

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Speakers on Thursday discussed the Kamala effect, the idea that Harriss rise and representation at all levels of government have inspired Black women to greater political participation.

Since 2014, the number of Black women in statewide elected executive offices has grown from two to 10. In the 2024 election, 63% of Black women congressional nominees won their contests, outpacing the win rate of women candidates and men candidates, the report said.

Chelsea Hill, the report author and director of data at the Center for American Women and Politics, said that Harriss presidential campaign revealed the obstacles that Black women face when running for elected offices.

She confronted deeply entrenched gender, racial and intersectional stereotypes about her likability, her deservedness of the nomination and her ability to do the job, Hill said.

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Theres a status conference in McIvers case scheduled for next week. A motion to censure her was introduced last week in the House by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana). It says her actions on May 9 violated congressional rules that members behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.

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HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  Connecticut joined over a dozen other states on Friday in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administrations efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care.

State leaders weigh in on recent decisions to decrease gender care for patients under 19

This announcement comes a week after Yale New Haven Health announced that it will be eliminating medication treatment in its gender-affirming program for patients under the age of 19. Connecticut Childrens announced the day prior that it would be winding down its gender care program.

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The lawsuit targets recent federal actions aimed at deterring providers from offering such medical care to people under the age of 19, even in states where such care is legal, according to Attorney General William Tong. The lawsuit alleges that the administration is overstepping its authority by using threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations to intimidate health care providers.

Its disappointing for hospitals in Connecticut to be forced to make the difficult decision to end gender-affirming care for minors in response to the federal executive order, Gov. Ned Lamont said. These decisions are not based on Connecticut values or Connecticut lawthey are part of a series of relentless federal demands that have created fear, confusion, and legal uncertainty for our healthcare providers.

Connecticut Childrens winding down gender care program for patients under 19

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office declaring that the United States would only recognize two sexes and calling for an end to federal support for what it called gender ideology. A second order focused on restricting medical health care for youth. It defined everyone under 19 as a child, although Connecticut recognizes 18-year-olds as legal adults, and described recognized medical treatments as chemical and surgical mutilation.

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Its a good day for Connecticut and for common sense, Peter Wolfgang, the head of the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut, said when Connecticut Childrens announced the winding down of its program. Doing this to minors was always crazy. Its against common sense.

Trumps order directed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to pursue enforcement actions related to this care. Since then, DOJ has issued subpoenas to providers, demanded private patient data and suggested that criminal charges may follow. The attorneys general argue that these efforts have no legal basis and are intended to discourage providers from offering lifesaving health care that is lawful under state law.

Christian day care in Milford challenging Connecticut mandatory vaccination rules

On Day One, President Trump took decisive action to stop the despicable mutilation and chemical castration of children  which everyday Americans resoundingly support, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said. The President has the lawful authority to protect Americas vulnerable children through executive action, and the Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue.

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Joining Attorney General Tong in filing this lawsuit, which was led by Connecticut, New York, California, Massachusetts, and Illinois, are the attorneys general of Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Governor of Pennsylvania.

The full lawsuit can be read here.

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FAIRFIELD, Conn. (WTNH)  Two individuals were charged on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in a $500 million nationwide scheme for COVID-19 testing services, one of whom was from Connecticut.

Yale New Haven Hospital nurse sentenced for tampering with Lorazepam

The scheme involved billing Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE and other health insurance programs for services that were never rendered. Dr. Martin Perlin, 74, of Fairfield, along with another person from Florida, was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and more than 50 counts of health care fraud.

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Perlin was Fast Labs medical director and provider responsible for ordering the majority of COVID-19 tests. He was arrested on Wednesday morning.

Tolland man arrested in alleged life insurance fraud scheme

According to the indictment, Fast Lab operated a website offering free COVID-19 tests during the pandemic. Individuals were prompted to enter their insurance information on the website, which Fast Lab then fraudulently billed.

Fast Lab claimed that the antigen tests had been observed by medical professionals, saliva samples were collected by medical professionals, and PCR testing was performed. In reality, the vast majority of tests were either not observed by professionals or not taken at all. PCR testing was never performed. Perlin was the ordering physician for these tests, according to the indictment.

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Further, Fast Lab would regularly submit insurance claims before the test kits were even delivered to the beneficiaries. In total, more than $500 million in claims was billed.

Perlin has not been found guilty and a court date has not yet been released.

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Taking a page from a commonly used playbook when people with power and money are caught doing bad things, Conor McGregor fired off a lengthy social media post Friday calling the rape accusation and legal ruling against him a "shake down."

McGregor, a former UFC fighter, remains an adjudicated rapist in the eyes of Ireland's civil High Court after his appeal was denied Thursday following a verdict that found him liable for a 2018 sexual assault of Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel room.

McGregor on Friday railed against the decision by the High Court in Dublin that left him on the hook for a 250,000 verdict against him in civil court. In addition, he was ordered to pay Hand's legal costs.

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A co-defendant in the rape case, James Lawrence, also was at the heart of McGregor's tirade because Lawrence was not allowed to recover legal costs in his own case. The court ruled that the "shrouded in mystery" arrangement between McGregor and Lawrence meant the possibility that if Hand was forced to pay Lawrence's legal fees, Lawrence then would turn that money over to McGregor  whom it's alleged has been paying those fees. And that, in essence, would mean that Hand, the victim, would be paying the man found liable for raping her. Lawrence's testimony, the appeals court said in its ruling, included untruthful evidence on the stand to support McGregor.

McGregor's social media defense Friday said he said on the stand he didn't know if he was paying Lawrence's legal fees or not when he was "on the stand in a world of fog being accused of a crime I didn't commit."

McGregor said he was cleared of rape criminally  but criminal charges were not brought against him, just the civil case.

McGregor said the process of going through this legal situation, the first of dozens of brushes with the law he's had over the past decade, and the most high-profile of several sexual assault accusations to come to light so far, was "some eye opener." He said he wondered "how people sleep at night" to "falsely accuse someone of rape and lose."

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McGregor also said additional witnesses would exonerate him. But on the day of his appeal that was to see that evidence brought in front of the court, McGregor and his legal team decided against presenting it. That decision likely did not help his defense in the eyes of the court, and a new report from Ireland's national broadcast service, the RTE, said there are new possible perjury charges in the McGregor team's future  and that Hand will be filing additional suits against McGregor to try to recover damages to her reputation and for being "retraumatized" due to McGregor's appeal.

McGregor has said he aspires to political office in the near future and has taken up a nationalistic right-wing rallying cry similar to Donald Trump in that pursuit. Like Trump, McGregor has multiple sexual assault accusations against him, and now, like Trump, a ruling against him for one, too.

In that vein, the 37-year-old McGregor, who has four children with partner Dee Devlin, made a plea to his countrywomen and countrymen to stand with him in the wake of the mountain of civil and criminal charges against him over the years, and the civil rape and sexual assault trial that now has come home to roost.

"Ireland, amidst this SHAKE DOWN dont let it distract you," McGregor posted. "You can see what I am up against here and we knew this would always be the case. WE FIGHT ON!"

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In Ireland, a recent poll found that only 7 percent of responders would consider voting for him for the country's president.

McGregor's legal team's appeal was denied on each of the arguments that were presented for it Thursday.

Part of the new evidence presented by the McGregor side in the appeal included sworn affidavits from neighbors who said they saw Hand in a physical altercation with her partner hours prior to her encounter with McGregor. That, presumably, was to suggest Hand's bruising was not from McGregor.

But Hand denied such an event ever took place, and McGregor's team withdrew the evidence. The judges in the appeal, according to reports, did "not wish to speculate" as to why the evidence was not presented. Additionally, the McGregor defense in the appeal said the issue paper at the conclusion of the trial asked the jury whether McGregor "assaulted" Hand, rather than "sexually assaulted."

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The judge in the appeal said there was little doubt the jury members in the original trial were confused over Hand being "assaulted" or "sexually assaulted." The trial judge, it was brought up, in jury instructions before their deliberations, told the members that Hand had been "violently raped" by McGregor, according to her own testimony.

McGregor's team also hoped there might be some substance to his repeated "no comment" to initial police questioning, and that the jury members did not appropriately know that was not an admission of liability.

McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) has not fought since he broke his leg in a second straight knockout loss to Dustin Poirier more than four years ago. He was supposed to return against Michael Chandler at UFC 303 in June 2024, but pulled out after he broke his baby toe.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC: Conor McGregor fails rape verdict appeal, asks 'how people sleep'
HUNTINGDON, Pa. (WTAJ)  A controversial construction site is under more scrutiny from one conservation group.

The Coalition to Save Old Crow Wetlands has opposed the decision for a Rutters at a nearby plot of land. The group has cited muddy pond water from recent rainfall and the potential ripple effects on the sensitive ecosystem.

In a statement to WTAJ, co-founder Angie Spagnoli is frustrated that no one heeded their warning.

Unfortunately, the damage to Old Crow Wetlands is no surprise. Those of us who opposed the project predicted this. Most people dont understand that the wetland is a delicate ecosystem. By carelessly depositing sediment into the ponds, the sensitive insects that live in the substrate are buried, destroying the balance of the food web. Everything within the ecosystem works together to sustain the life that depends on it. It is incredibly frustrating that folks cant see the value in having pristine natural places that exist just for the sake of existing. The wildlife in Old Crow deserve better than this. It deserves to be protected, not ruined for cheaper gas. Angie Spagnoli, Co-Founder, Coalition to Save Old Crow Wetlands

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had the Huntingdon County Conservation District inspect the site and land around the construction site. They have also provided a statement on their findings, along with pictures of what they found.

The Huntingdon County Conservation District (HCCD) inspected the site Monday morning. Best Management Practices (BMPs) for erosion and sediment control appeared to have been installed, maintained, and functioning according to the approved plans. With respect to the observed turbid water within the wetlands, the HCCD did not observe any matted vegetation, vegetation that was stained, or any sediment accumulation. The HCCD will again inspect site and wetland conditions later this week. John Repetz, Deputy Director of Regional Communications, PA Dept. of Environmental Protection

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Health bodies on the Isle of Man have raised the alarm about a "contaminated or high-potency" batch of cocaine after a spike in hospital admissions.

The alert follows a significant increase in the number of people attending the emergency department at Noble's Hospital, Public Health Isle of Man said.

It said there was evidence that "high-potency or a contaminated batch of cocaine" is circulating, and symptoms among those affected include agitation, increased heart rates, and chest pain.

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A Public Health Isle of Man spokesman said: "Be honest with medical staff about what was taken  it could save a life."

He said the advice to everyone was to "avoid using cocaine or any unknown substance" which may be "stronger than usual or mixed with other harmful drugs".

The risk was "particularly high" for those with underlying health conditions, or mixed with other substances.

People are also being asked to call emergency services if they know anyone that has become unwell after drug use.

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.

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The Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center in Sioux City. (Photo courtesy of the Woodbury County Sheriff's Office)

A building contractor is suing the Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center Authority, alleging it publicly disclosed false and defamatory information about the company.

Hausmann Construction Inc. of Lincoln, Nebraska, is suing the authority, Woodbury County, the architectural firms Introba Inc. and Goldberg Group Architects (GGA), and construction manager The Baker Group in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

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The lawsuit stems from a long-running dispute over the design and construction of the $70 million Woodbury County Law Enforcement Center on 28th Street in Sioux City. The authority was created to facilitate the completion of the design and construction of the center, and Hausmann served as the prime or general contractor for the project.

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The lawsuit alleges the $43 million center that was initially contemplated by the parties in June 2021 is not the $70 million center that was constructed and exists today. Throughout the life of the project, a multitude of issues have plagued the construction and completion of the Law Enforcement Center, stemming from certain design errors and omissions as put forth by GGA as the lead architect for the project, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit claims the alleged design errors brought the project to a screeching halt in June 2023, which in turn has delayed almost every subsequent aspect of the project, increasing the ultimate cost of the project, and thereby bringing about the current lawsuit.

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According to the lawsuit, Hausmann unfairly bears the brunt of many of the accusations for the overall delay in completion. As recently as July 2, 2025, the lawsuit alleges, the authority acknowledged that the delay in completion of the project stemmed from the design errors. Despite that, the lawsuit claims, the authority has continued to craft its own narrative of the issues plaguing the project to save GGA, Introba, and Baker Group from incurring additional expenses.

On July 3, 2025, the authority, along with Woodbury County, allegedly sent a confidential 22-page demand letter to Hausmann, GGA, and Introba to facilitate settlement discussions. Despite knowing that the confidential letter was subject to disclosure under Iowas Open Records Law, the authority and county crafted the letter to include various false and defamatory statements against Hausmann regarding Hausmanns performance on the project, the lawsuit claims.

Hausmanns other projects and future projects have allegedly been impacted by the authoritys release of the letter, as numerous news outlets have created damaging articles about Hausmann based on untrue and unsubstantiated allegations within the letter, the lawsuit states.

It is apparent that the authority, GGA, Introba, and Baker Group have very close outside relationships with each other, demonstrating a clear conflict of interest, the lawsuit alleges, asserting that Baker Group hired the son of one authority member to oversee and manage the construction of the project.

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Given the cozy relationship between the authority, GGA, Introba, and Baker Group, it has been easiest for the authority to blame Hausmann for delays and refuse to pay Hausmann for its completion of the project, the lawsuit claims.

In June 2023, for example, it was discovered that that design plans had failed to include fire and smoke dampers in the buildings heating, cooling and ventilation systems. The omission of the dampers was a clear design error and a life-safety threat where occupants could not be evacuated in the event of a fire at the authoritys facility, the lawsuit alleges.

Construction of the building was completed last year and it is now occupied and operational. But as a result of the various delays, the authority has allegedly refused to pay Hausmann for $5.7 million that the company says it is owed for its work.

The lawsuit alleges breach of contract and unjust enrichment by the authority, professional negligence by Introba and GGA, and tortious interference with business relationships by each of the defendants.

The defendants in the case have yet to file a response to the lawsuit. The Woodbury County attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.

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Embedded semiconductors perform functions and connect electronic devices. TI makes hardware and software solutions for processing, wireless connectivity, sensing, motor control, cybersecurity, safety, and more. Growth markets for embedded semiconductors include industrial automation, the automotive industry (sensors, cameras, radar, etc.), and edge AI.

Analog semiconductors take analog information and convert it into electric signals -- like a microphone turning a sound wave into an electric audio signal. These semiconductors are in consumer electronics, like speakers, but they are also in cellular radios, satellite communication devices, measurement devices, the automotive industry, healthcare applications, and more.

If the semiconductor industry were a house, Texas Instruments would be the fasteners holding everything together with its analog and embedded semiconductors.

News that TI and ASML are expecting a near-term slowdown may spook investors. However, it's essential to understand how both companies fit into the broader AI narrative before overstating their impact on other AI stocks.

Similarly, ASML reported good results, but said that it could not confirm it will grow in 2026 due to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. However, ASML did reaffirm its 2030 targets, which (on the high end) guide for doubling revenue from 2024 levels and expanding gross margins from the low 50% range to 56% to 60%.

TI reported solid results but guided for a slowdown in its upcoming third quarter. The guidance was enough to send the stock tumbling .

Here's why TI and ASML have taken a hit and what it could mean for other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks .

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN), commonly known as TI, and ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML) -- two semiconductor companies in the tech sector -- underwent significant sell-offs after their latest earnings reports. TI fell 13.9% from when it reported earnings on July 22 through July 25, while ASML is down 13.6% since reporting earnings on July 16.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed at all-time highs on July 25. The major indexes continue to pull further and further away from their April lows as many mega-cap growth stocks rocket to new heights. However, not all tech stocks are riding the wave.

Shares of both tech companies are looking like good values right now.

ASML is pushing the limits of what is possible in semiconductor manufacturing.

Story Continues

Edge AI involves running AI algorithms directly on a device, rather than in the cloud, and then transferring information to the device. For example, TI makes a number of solutions for factory automation that use AI microprocessors to improve efficiency, security, and enhance human-machine interaction.

TI may not provide the essential graphics processing units (GPUs) or central processing units (CPUs) that are used in data centers, but it does contribute key associated infrastructure in the form of power management solutions, converters, controllers, and connectivity solutions. Power solutions help data centers boost power conversion by reducing energy waste and managing heat.

Due to TI's exposure to numerous different end markets, the company's results can fluctuate in line with the broader economy. So, changes in the global supply chain, trade, and general economic growth can throw a wrench in its results. In fact, TI's growth has been negative over the last couple of years because demand boomed in 2022 and 2023 and has since slowed down. As you can see in the following chart, TI's stock price has gone practically nowhere for the last four years, and earnings are down significantly from their peak.

TXN data by YCharts

On the second-quarter 2025 earnings call, TI CEO Haviv Ilan said the following in response to an analyst question asking why TI is less optimistic about a cyclical recovery in the industry:

But I think all the situation of tariffs and geopolitics disrupting supply chains, I think that's not over. It's true that there is pause right now on the semiconductor tariffs, both in the U.S. and in China. But we have to be prepared for what the future may hold.

IIan also said that there have been signals of industrial recovery, but that automotive hasn't recovered. In general, management's tone shifted from being upbeat about the near-term prospects to being more cautious. And that shift, paired with the stock running up into the earnings print, was enough to trigger a steep sell-off.

ASML's global supply chain and customer base make it vulnerable to trade tensions

AMSL manufactures highly complex lithography machines used to produce semiconductor chips. Lithography is just one step in the semiconductor manufacturing process, but it is arguably the most crucial. ASML has a virtual monopoly on the latest technology in photolithography, called extreme ultraviolet (EUV). These machines are in high demand because they are essential for producing complex AI chips at scale.

So, while TI is a diversified company that sells a lot of different high-volume products to a variety of customers, ASML is a highly specialized company that depends on just a handful of customers (like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, and Intel).

In its latest quarter, ASML sold 76 lithography systems for 5.541 billion euros in net bookings -- meaning each system sold for an average of $85.6 million. But the newer EUV systems can sell for $150 million to $400 million.

Even for a company the size of Taiwan Semi, it takes a lot of capital to buy a handful of these machines. The spending cycle will ultimately depend on the capital allocation plans and demand from key customers (like Apple, Nvidia, Broadcom, etc.).

While TI indicated that the cycle could take longer to recover than initially anticipated, ASML's warnings were more closely tied to near-term uncertainties related to trade tensions and the economy.

Despite being a Dutch company, and therefore not directly involved in U.S. trade policy, ASML is highly sensitive to trade tensions because the Netherlands (as a member of the EU and NATO) works closely with the U.S. on trade. ASML sources parts from around the world and sells the majority to its systems to customers in Asia. However, restrictions limit ASML from selling its most advanced systems to China.

Balanced buys for investors looking for value in the semiconductor industry

TI and ASML are similar in that they don't design or manufacture GPUs and CPUs, but rather, benefit from the overarching growth of AI and global connectivity. Despite their differences, both companies offered a useful reminder that the semiconductor industry is cyclical, and earnings can fluctuate for factors outside each company's control.

The degree to which TI and ASML's warnings impact other AI companies depends on the application. For example, TI's news could have ripple effects for companies like Analog Devices or NXPI Semiconductors. ASML's forecast may relate to other semiconductor equipment suppliers, such as Lam Research or Applied Materials. However, their forecasts don't directly impact chip designers, like Nvidia and Broadcom, or signal that demand for AI spending is slowing down (as evidenced by growing AI budgets from hyperscalers like Microsoft).

All told, TI and ASML remain solid investments in the semiconductor space, offering effective ways to capitalize on broader industry evolution. Both companies also pay growing dividends, especially TI, which features 21 consecutive years of dividend growth and has a 2.9% dividend yield.

Should you invest $1,000 in Texas Instruments right now?

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If youre still looking for someone to blame for Donald Trumps 2024 reelection, dont just look at the usual suspects  the MAGA die-hards, the QAnon crowd or your uncle screaming at Fox News. Consider the bros at your local gyms squat rack, the Discord server or the gaming lounge who suddenly swung right  or, better yet, consider blaming the Democrats who decided those guys didnt matter. Yeah, nice work, geniuses.

Recent focus groups conducted by the centrist Democratic group Third Way, with the polling firm HIT Strategies, show that many young men feel criticized, overlooked and talked down to by a party they see as hostile to their values and concerns. This echoes similar feedback from last fall, when young male voters told pollsters that the Democratic Party  has somehow become the anti-male party .

If you're wondering why this siege mentality hasnt softened, it may be because the condescension and antagonism persist  especially among progressive elites whose statements are often conflated with the Democratic Party.

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July alone offered a plethora of examples. And lest you think this is from the fever swamps of the internet, consider a few selections from the New York Times.

First, we got  The Boy Crisis Is Overblown , which shrugs off boys educational struggles, instead suggesting that boys expect others (women) to pick up the slack, both at home and in school. Then came  The Trouble With Wanting Men , a literary masterclass on how dating men amounts to unpaid emotional labor. And to round it out,  Why Women Are Weary of Mankeeping , which blames men for  being human? Having different priorities than their girlfriends and wives?

See a pattern?

None of these pieces are entirely wrong. Boys and men are only human, and there are good guys and bad guys. But if youre a dude just trying to stay afloat in a rapidly changing world, you might get the impression that the cultural left, which (lets be honest) constitutes the Democratic Partys base of energy and pressure, isnt exactly rolling out the welcome mat.

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And if youre a guy, what do you do with all of that criticism? You check out. You find a podcast. You listen to some YouTuber explain how protein cured his depression and why you should never trust a woman who owns more than one NPR tote bag.

You exercise your greatest act of middle-finger rebellion: You vote for Trump!

Now, you might say, Is it really fair to blame the entire Democratic Party for what a few writers say? No! But politics isnt about fairness. Its about vibes, and the vibe right now is that progressive culture has morphed into the HR department from hell. Heck, even Sydney Sweeney in an American Eagle ad was too much for the online pitchfork crowd. Whats next? Canceling golden retrievers?

The problem for the Democratic Party is that once youre branded a woke scold, its hard to pivot, no matter what you say.

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Look at President Biden. He was called Genocide Joe for supporting Israel, yet still got blamed for pro-Palestinian campus protests  proof that stereotypes are sticky, and perception, not policy, drives voter sentiment.

But heres the irony: Democrats have an opportunity to turn things around  and if their friends werent so busy writing gender theory op-eds, they might notice theres an opening to do just that.

Thanks to issues ranging from tariffs to immigration roundups to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, some of these podcast bros have started mocking Trump . Meanwhile, South Park skewered him for threatening lawsuits to intimidate or silence his critics, which is an impressive about-face considering he used to score points by criticizing cancel culture.

While some of these young men are still drawn to Trump and the Republican Party, Third Ways focus groups found , most are persuadable swing voters who dislike significant aspects of Trumps actions so far in his second term.

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But its gonna take more than President Obama podcasting about  whats right with young men . Its gonna take modern leaders  men and women  who have the guts to stand up to their own tribe and say, Hey, maybe we shouldnt treat half the population like defective appliances.

Want their votes? Talk to them like theyre human. Stop acting like masculinity is a war crime. Nominate a presidential candidate who lifts and can go on Joe Rogans podcast. Offer some real policies that dont sound like they were cooked up in a gender studies seminar at Bryn Mawr.

Until then? Dont be shocked if a whole generation of guys hears one more lecture about toxic masculinity  and decides to vote for the most toxic guy in the room.

This is how Trump wins.

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Matt K. Lewis is the author of Filthy Rich Politicians and Too Dumb to Fail.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Roy Cooper has an early, six-point lead in the North Carolina Senate race, according to the first public poll of the marquee contest.

The Emerson College poll, released Friday morning, found the Democratic former North Carolina governor with 47 percent support to Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatleys 41 percent. Another 12 percent of voters are undecided.

The North Carolina Senate race  likely between Cooper and Whatley, who have each cleared their respective primary fields  is expected to be one of the most competitive and expensive in 2026. Its the top offensive target for Democrats, who must net four seats to retake the Senate. In June, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis declined to run for reelection after clashing with President Donald Trump over his domestic agenda and warning fellow Republicans about the Medicaid cuts in their spending package.

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Cooper, who finished his second term in 2024, starts the open race to replace Tillis with stronger name recognition and favorability than Whatley, a first-time candidate. Most voters view Cooper positively, one-third perceive him negatively and just 13 percent are unsure, the poll found.

By contrast, nearly two-thirds of voters do not know or are unsure of Whatley and another 17 percent view him favorably  capturing his challenge to quickly define himself with an electorate that isnt familiar with him.

Cooper also holds a 19-point edge among independent voters, a significant bloc that supported him during his gubernatorial campaigns. For now, these voters prefer Cooper to Whatley 47 percent to 28 percent.

But in a preview of what will be a tight Senate race in a hyper-partisan environment, voters in purple North Carolina are evenly divided on whom they prefer on the generic congressional ballot: 41.5 percent support would back the Democrat and 41.3 percent would back the Republican.

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In the 2028 presidential primary, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leads among Democratic voters in North Carolina with 17 percent support. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who opted against a gubernatorial run this week, receives 12 percent, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom with 10 percent and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 7 percent. Nearly a quarter of the Democratic voters are undecided.

Among Republicans, Vice President JD Vance dominates the GOP primary with 53 percent backing him, compared to 7 percent for Florida Gov. and failed 2024 presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and 5 percent for Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Emerson College conducted the poll from July 28 through July 30, interviewing 1,000 registered North Carolina voters. It has a 3-point margin of error.
The Corp. for Public Broadcasting said Friday it was shutting down, a week after President Trump signed legislation stripping its funding.

The move startled some public radio and television station managers throughout the country. Many had only begun to absorb the shock of losing federal support and were quickly figuring out ways to keep their stations vibrant.

The Corp. for Public Broadcasting administers funds for PBS TV affiliates and NPR radio stations  more than 1,500 local television and radio stations nationwide.

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In a statement, the group said it would "begin an orderly wind-down of its operations." A majority of staff positions will be cut Sept. 30, when the group's fiscal year ends and "a small transition team will remain through January," it said.

"This reflects the devastating impacts on public broadcasting," said Andrew Russell, PBS SoCal chief executive. "CPB provides funding to local stations, it provides funding to national programming, and it has played a leadership role in public broadcasting since its inception. These are all real losses."

Bert and Ernie in a "Sesame Street" episode from 1976. (Dieter Klar / DPA / Associated Press)

Since returning to office, Trump has made a priority of yanking federal funding from public broadcasters as part of a wider campaign against media outlets that he dislikes. The president derided PBS and NPR as government-funded left-wing propaganda. Congress fell into line.

Conservatives have long wanted to strip funding from public media because of what they perceive to be liberal bias.

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Lawmakers passed a "rescission" measure in mid-July, largely along party lines, that canceled $1.1 billion previously allocated for public broadcasting for two years.

"There was no offramp," said Ken Siebert, general manager of Yellowstone Public Radio in Billings, Mont. "That money had already been appropriated. It wasn't like they came and said: 'OK, you've got two more years to figure out how you're going to prepare for this revenue shortfall and these additional expenses.' It was just, 'Nope.'"

Separately, lawmakers introduced a Senate appropriations bill for 2026 that excludes funding for the Corp. for Public Broadcasting for the first time in more than 50 years.

The actions left the public broadcasting group without a steady source of operating money  and little hope that more would be on the way.

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"That appears to have been the last straw," said Kliff Kuehl, chief executive of Kansas City PBS. His station is losing $1.8 million, or about 13% of its television budget and 9% of its financing for its radio operation. "It's tough."

Read more: The Senate voted to defund NPR and PBS. How will local stations cope?

Corp. for Public Broadcasting Chief Executive Patricia Harrison said in a statement: Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations.

Fred Rogers, known to generations of PBS viewers as Mister Rogers, addresses a National Press Club event in Washington in 1993. (Charles Tasnadi / Associated Press)

The organization dates back nearly 60 years and has helped nurture such notable programs as "Sesame Street," "PBS NewsHour," "Nova," numerous Ken Burns documentaries and "Antiques Roadshow." It also supported "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," distributing educational children's programming that has long helped fill an important gap in the market. It has fortified such NPR programs as "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered."

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Through its partnerships with local stations and producers, the nonprofit made a mission of supporting educational and cultural programming, local journalism and emergency communications.

The move could cripple smaller public stations, including those in rural areas that struggle to mount high-dollar local membership campaigns.

"Often, the only local media in some of these really small markets is public broadcasting," said Kuehl, who has worked in public broadcasting for two decades and seen previous funding cut threats come and go.

"I would always tell our members of Congress: 'Hey, if you do this, you're not going to get rid of L.A. or New York, Chicago, Dallas or Kansas City. You're going to get rid of Smoky Hills, Kansas, and Redding, California,'" Kuehl said.

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Yellowstone Public Radio is losing more than 13% of its budget, or about $350,000 a year  money that helped provide a small newsroom for its far-flung listener base, an enormous swath of northern Wyoming and Montana stretching to the Canadian border.

"People tend to think about this as just NPR, and PBS, but the heart of it is about the member stations, the people who live and work in the communities," Siebert said. "We tailor our programming for the specific arts and culture and educational needs of our listeners  old-school programming ... news and information, classical music, jazz, bluegrass, blues."

PBS SoCal, which operates member stations KOCE and KCET in Orange and Los Angeles counties, respectively, was set to lose more than $4 million in federal funding, Russell, president and chief executive of the stations, previously told The Times.

"We've had some of our viewers and funders starting to step up [with donations], but it won't completely replace that [CPB] funding," Russell said. "PBS SoCal will continue and public broadcasting will endure, but the system that we've known will be different going forward."

Tim Russert, from left, Judy Woodruff, Kate O'Beirne, Chuck Todd and David Gregory on NBC's "Meet the Press" in 2007. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Read more: What's next for PBS and NPR after Republicans strip funding?

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NPR has two large affiliates serving Los Angeles: KCRW-FM (89.9) and LAist/KPCC-FM (89.3).

LAist, based in Pasadena, will lose about 4% of its annual budget  $1.7 million. Alejandra Santamaria, the station's chief executive, told The Times last month that funding helped pay for 13 journalist positions in its newsroom.

KCRW in Santa Monica had been expecting $1.3 million from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting.

The stations have asked listeners to donate to compensate for the shortfall. But the station managers said they worried that listener and viewer pledge drives may not be enough to sustain stations and their small newsrooms over the long haul without the funding.

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"Even if you make some of these things dormant, there's permanent damage," Kuehl, the Kansas City broadcaster, said. "Some of these stations will get sold, others will shut down. How do you put back together a system that serves 99% of the country again? It's a real shame."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it will wind down its operations after the Trump administration and Congress slashed its funding.

The organization funds PBS and NPR, as well as more than 1,500 local TV and radio stations. The majority of staff positions will end on September 30, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said in a statement. A small transition team will remain through January 2026 to help close out operations.

NPR and PBS receive about half a billion dollars in public funds through the organization, CBS News reports.

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Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations, Corporation for Public Broadcasting President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement.

The organization cited a recent Senate Appropriations Committee bill for the upcoming fiscal year, which excluded Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding for the first time in more than five decades.

The organization also cited a federal rescissions package, which canceled $1.1 billion that had been approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. President Donald Trump signed the bill last week after threatening to withhold endorsements from Republican Senators who didnt vote to approve it.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides about half a billion dollars in funding for PBS and NPR (Getty)

Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country, Harrison said. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

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Trump also issued an executive order in May instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other agencies "to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS. The White House went on to post a statement accusing the outlets of bias and spreading radical, woke propaganda.

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher called the executive order an affront to the First Amendment rights of NPR and locally owned and operated stations throughout America to produce and air programming that meets the needs of their communities.

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger called the order unlawful and said it threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programming, as we have for the past 50-plus years.

Kerger and Maher also defended their organizations against accusations of bias at a Congressional hearing in March.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes 70% of its funding to local stations, announced its closure Aug. 1 after losing more than $1 billion in federal funds last month.

The cuts to federal funds are yet another blow for Indianas public broadcasting stations which saw their state funding slashed during the most recent legislative session.

The news was another gut punch to Jay Kincaid, interim executive director of WTIU/WFIU in Bloomington, but not necessarily surprising, he said.

What does CPBs closure mean for local stations?

The decision to close stemmed from the funding loss but doesnt mean much materially for local stations. Instead, the closure can be viewed as a symptom of the cuts.

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It doesnt really affect us because theres no money for them to distribute to us, Kincaid said. Other than its just heartbreaking.

The cuts in general are likely to hit rural stations harder because federal funds make up a higher percentage of their budget. At least four Indiana stations were expected to lose over 50% of their revenue: Northern Indiana's Lakeshore Public Media, Ball State Public Media, WVUB and PBS in Vincennes, and Tri-State Public Media in Evansville.

Some Indiana stations, like Lakeshore Public Media in Merrillville, began laying off staff before the federal cuts were announced. Most recently, Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations laid off members of its statewide reporting team, citing state budget cuts.

Will the CPB close immediately?

The CPB called its closure an orderly wind-down of its operations in a news release Aug. 1. That includes eliminating most staff by Sept. 30 and keeping a small transition team until January 2026.

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That team will distribute remaining funds and work to secure continuity for music rights and royalties for local stations.

Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country, said CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison in the release. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

Why is public media losing funding?

A state budget shortfall and accusations of bias toward National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Station combined this year to create an uncertain fiscal environment for public media in Indiana.

Cuts at the federal level were previously appropriated but rescinded in a narrow vote prompted by President Donald Trumps distrust of the national outlets.

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The decision is at odds with the majority of Americans according to a Harris Poll conducted in July, which showed 66% supported federal funding for public media. Local public media reaches 95% of Hoosiers according to IPBS, and 2.5 million Hoosiers tune in weekly.

Contact Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com or find her on X at @marissa_meador.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Will the closure of the CPB affect Indiana stations?
WASHINGTON  The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will cease its operations by the end of this year after Congress passed a massive spending cuts package last month that stripped roughly $1 billion in federal funds to the nonprofit radio company.

The organization announced on Friday its plans to begin an orderly wind-down of its operations, citing the passage of President Donald Trumps rescissions package as the reason behind the decision. The majority of staff positions will be eliminated by the beginning of October, with a small transition team remaining in place until January to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations.

Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations, CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.

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The CPB was authorized by Congress in 1967 and provides partial funding to PBS and NPR stations throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. Less than 1% of NPRs total funding comes from the federal government, but local stations that receive those grants pay fees to NPR.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting logo. | The Corporation for Public Broadcasting

However, 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.

NPR especially came under fire over personal comments CEO Katherine Maher made expressing her own political views, including social media posts in 2020 when she described President Donald Trump as a racist and a sociopath. At the time, Maher did not work at NPR but was the CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation.

NPR had $11.2 million in operating revenue provided by the CPB in 2024, Maher told lawmakers in March, arguing the funds ensured news and information was provided to all local public radio stations.

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Americans shouldnt be forced to fund public media, especially not the biased programming pushed by PBS and NPR, Lee told the Deseret News in a statement. They are now free to attract audiences and donors on their own, without the tax dollars of hardworking families.

Congress approved the spending cuts package in late July, and lawmakers have since withheld further funding for the organization in upcoming appropriations bills  the first time that has happened in more than five decades, Harrison argued.

Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country, Harrison said. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

The CPB transition team will work over the next six months to focus on final distributions and completing any long-term financial obligation, such as continuity for music rights and royalties that remain essential to the public media system.

Meanwhile, the board of directors will work to address any legal, financial or operational requirements related to its closure.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down its operations after the loss of federal funding, marking the end of almost six decades as the entity that distributed grants to public media, PBS and NPR.

The CPB informed employees on Friday that the majority of staff positions will end on Sept. 30, with a small transition team in place through January, 2026. The CPB has around 100 employees.

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Patricia Harrison, the president and CEO of CPB, said in a statement on Friday, Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations. CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.

The announcement follows the GOPs move to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding already allocated to the CPB for the next two fiscal years. This week, Senate Republicans advanced a funding bill that also included no money for public media, dashing hopes that there would be at least some restoration of funding.

President Donald Trump had called on lawmakers to roll back funding for CPB, calling the programming of PBS and NPR biased, part of his broader attacks on traditional media.

The CPB has noted that the majority of its funding, about 70%, goes to local stations, not the national outlets. Advocates also have pointed to polling showing high levels of public trust in public media.

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Harrison said in her statement, Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

Members of the CPB board of directors, including Sonys Tom Rothman, have recently stepped down. In the spring, Trump sought to remove board members Rothman, Laura Ross and Diane Kaplan. The CPB sued to block the move, but that litigation now appears moot with the corporation ending its operations.

Congress created the CPB in 1967 as a private non-profit to shepherd federal money to stations and other public media outlets. The idea was to shield the entity from political interference. With an advanced appropriations cycle, the CPB also helped give stations certainty in their budgets. With the loss of federal funding, stations are now scrambling to make up for the loss of funds, and advocates have warned that some are at risk of closure. According to an analysis from advisory firm Public Media Company, about 100 TV and radio stations in rural areas are threatened, per The New York Times.

The funding cutback is expected to lead to layoffs and programming changes. Last week, GBH in Boston announced that it is pausing new productions for American Experience, public medias signature U.S. history series, after its upcoming 37th season.

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CPB has survived past funding battles, including during Trumps first term. His White House sought to zero out funding in their proposed budgets, but a bipartisan group of lawmakers blocked any such effort.

This time around, the clawback of funding was part of a package of $9 billion in rescissions that also included support for foreign aid and health care. Trump threatened to withhold support for any lawmaker who voted against the clawback of funding. Only a handful of Republicans voted against the rescissions package, while even some past strident supporters of public media, like Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) voted to end the funding.

Katherine Maher, president and CEO of NPR, said that the closure of CPB represents the loss of a major institution and decades of knowledge and expertise, in what she said was an immediate consequence of the passage of the rescissions package.

She said NPR will continue to respond to this crisis by stepping up to support locally owned, nonprofit public radio stations and local journalism across the country, working to maintain public medias promise of universal service, and upholding the highest standards for independent journalism and cultural programming in service of our nation.

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PBS issued a statement saying, As this remarkable institution winds down, PBS is committed to building on CPBs legacy and maintaining our service to the American people for years to come. We are grateful to Patricia Harrison, who for the last 20 years has ensured public television remained available and accessible to every American.



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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which directs federal funds to local public TV and radio stations, says it will shut down after having those federal dollars taken away.

The decision comes a few weeks after Congress passed a bill that included Trump administration priorities of tax cuts, cuts to Medicaid, increased spending for defense and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, among many other things. The bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, also included the rescission of $1.1 billion in previously approved funding for CPB.

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The CPB said on Friday that it will lay off the majority of its staff by the end of its fiscal year on Sept. 30, with a small transition team remaining through January 2026 to finish winding down operations and ensuring final distribution of CPB funds to local stations.

Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations, CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.

Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

Money from the CPB has provided partial funding to PBS TV stations and National Public Radio outlets, though the majority of most stations budgets come from donations and corporate grants. It is the largest single source of funding for research, technology and program development for public radio and TV stations. CPB also funds documentary filmmakers through ITVS.

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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 and CEO Paula Kerger said in July. 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.







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There's potentially exciting news from a trial conducted in monkeys: A single shot of gene therapy given to newborn monkeys appears to shield them from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, for at least three years.

Of course, studies conducted in animals don't always pan out in humans. But scientists say that if it does, it could save the lives of babies and children still imperiled by HIV.

The study authors estimate that more than 100,000 children worldwide (largely in subSaharan Africa) are believed to contract HIV soon after birth, primarily via breastfeeding with an HIV+ mother.

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"Nearly 300 children are infected with HIV each day," said lead author Dr. Amir Ardeshir, associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Tulane National Primate Research Center in New Orleans. "This approach could help protect newborns in high-risk areas during the most vulnerable period of their lives."

His team published its findings July 30 in Nature.

It noted that the new work hinges on the notion that in the first few weeks of a primate's life -- humans are primates, too -- the body's immune system is naturally more tolerant of "invaders," including gene therapies.

The research focused on a tried-and-true form of HIV-fighting gene therapy. It works by programming cells to continuously produce HIV-fighting antibodies.

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The gene therapy was piggybacked onto a harmless adeno-associated virus (AAV) to help deliver it to the muscle cells of newborn rhesus macaques.

Muscle cells were chosen because they are particularly long-lived, Ardeshir's team explained.

The gene therapy instructs these cells to produce broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bNAbs, which are capable of neutralizing multiple strains of HIV.

It's not the first time bNAbs have been used in gene therapy to fight HIV. However, in prior trials repeat injections were required to keep the immune system vigilant.

In the new trial, "we turn these muscle cells -- which are long-lived -- into micro factories that just keep producing these antibodies," Ardeshir explained.

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When such an approach is used in older monkeys, however, the animals' robust immune systems turn against the therapy, shutting it down.

That didn't happen when Ardeshir's team introduced it during a macaque's first few weeks of life.

All of the monkeys who got a single shot of bNAbs therapy soon after birth were shielded from infection with HIV for at least three years, with no need for a booster.

Tulane researchers said that's roughly the equivalent of a treatment that could ward off HIV in humans deep into adolescence.

If the gene therapy was delivered even a bit later -- 8 to 12 weeks after birth -- the young monkey's more developed immune system swung into action to fight it, eroding its effectiveness.

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Giving the shot soon after birth seemed key, Ardeshir said.

"This is a one-and-done treatment that fits the critical time when these mothers with HIV in resource-limited areas are most likely to see a doctor," he noted in a Tulane news release. "As long as the treatment is delivered close to birth, the baby's immune system will accept it and believe it's part of itself."

Will it work in human babies?

That's not entirely clear, since it's possible infants might be less amenable than monkeys to therapies that are delivered via AAV, the team said.

The monkey trial also used only one strain of simian-human immunodeficiency virus, which is similar in some ways to HIV but may not reflect the variety of circulating strains of HIV strains.

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Still, the research team is hopeful.

Giving families a one-shot preventive tool to protect their children would be especially useful in areas where access to repeat medical treatments can be tough, the researchers said.

"Nothing like this was possible to achieve even 10 years ago," Ardeshir said. "This was a huge result, and now we have all the ingredients to take on HIV."

More information

Find out more about HIV and AIDS at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

SOURCE: Tulane University, news release, July 30, 2025

Copyright  2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
A Spanish air traffic controller is calling out a couple who allegedly ditched their 10-year-old son at an airport and went on vacation without him.

Just weeks earlier, a fellow traveler had accused another couple of leaving their children to sit alone on a flight, returning only to snatch an iPad from their tearful son before walking away.

Apparently, the boy's parents allegedly chose to continue their journey without him when they discovered his passport had expired.

Couple Slammed For Allegedly Leaving Son At The Airport

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The controller, who shared the shocking story on TikTok, said the child was not allowed to fly because his passport had expired, and he also needed a visa. Despite this, the parents reportedly decided to board the flight anyway, leaving their son behind at the terminal.

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Speaking in Spanish, she called the situation "surreal" and said she could not believe what she was witnessing. In a translated version of the video, she added, "They call a relative, who might take half an hour, an hour, or three hours, and they calmly board the flight and leave the child behind."

According to The Daily Mail, the parents' plan did not go smoothly. Airport staff reportedly noticed the boy was alone and contacted the police. The couple was eventually found and brought to the airport's police station, where their son had been waiting.

The online reaction was swift, with users blasting the parents' decision. One commenter summed up the mood by writing, "What an outrage!"

Parents Accused Of Prioritizing Airplane Comfort Over Their Kids

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The Spanish airline case was not the only recent case of questionable parenting while traveling. Days earlier, another incident unfolded mid-flight on a different airline.

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A Reddit user shared a post on the platform stating they were stunned after witnessing parents separate themselves from their two kids, believed to be around 8 and 13, on a flight.

The writer claimed the parents left the kids around strangers while they moved to a more comfortable spot farther back.

The person noted that it was okay at first, since the older one fell asleep and the younger one was on their iPad. But things took a turn mid-flight when the mother returned, not to sit with them, but to take the iPad away and instruct the younger child to sleep.

The result? A 20-minute meltdown. "He starts crying and yelling for his mom for 20 minutes," the post read.

Passenger Called Out The Parents Over 'Baffling' Incident

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The traveler, in a post titled "PSA: Do not leave your kids with strangers so you and your husband can sit together farther back in the plane," shared that the incident happened on a flight from Denver to Jacksonville.

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They recalled that before takeoff, a flight attendant mentioned there were empty rows available in the back of the aircraft. "Kind of weird the parents wouldn't each keep a kid or ALL go back further so they could sit together," the user wrote, adding they were "baffled" by the parents' decision.

In a follow-up, the passenger, who is also a parent, stated they would "NEVER" let their own child sit alone, especially when there was enough room for the whole family to stay together.

Dublin Airport Authority Arrests Man After Violent Meltdown

 Dublin Airport Statement: "The passenger arrived intoxicated, missed his flight, and proceeded to damage our airport. He was swiftly arrested and is now due in court. We hope the justice system deals with him appropriatelyand that we never see him at Dublin Airport again." pic.twitter.com/NdqaSvenvD  Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) March 17, 2025

Adults misbehaving at airports is nothing new; however, a man at Dublin Airport put a twist on that phenomenon. The airport staff had to step in fast when the man flew into a violent rage after missing his flight.

The Blast shared details of the incident, where the man, described as being in his 20s, smashed up furniture and caused severe damage before being restrained. Airport Police quickly stepped in and handed him over to An Garda Siochana.

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Dublin Airport later addressed the outburst, confirming the arrest and making their stance clear: "We hope the justice system deals with him appropriately and also that we never see him at Dublin Airport again."

While officials did not identify the man or the flight he missed, the Irish Examiner noted the chaos unfolded around 7:20 AM.

The Shirtless Man Wreaked Havoc At The Airline Over A Missed Flight

 Dublin Airport Statement: "The passenger arrived intoxicated, missed his flight, and proceeded to damage our airport. He was swiftly arrested and is now due in court. We hope the justice system deals with him appropriatelyand that we never see him at Dublin Airport again." pic.twitter.com/NdqaSvenvD  Turbine Traveller (@Turbinetraveler) March 17, 2025

Videos posted online show the man, partially covering his face, pacing erratically and throwing chairs and tables like props in a movie scene.

In one of the clips, he is seen trying to tear wires from airport equipment used by budget airlines like Ryanair. After a struggle, he managed to bring a heavy metal box crashing to the ground.

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At one point, he flexed his muscles mid-stride, seemingly feeding off the attention as he moved through the terminal.

His destruction did not stop there. He kicked over a Ryanair baggage weight checker and wrecked furniture around a nearby cafe before airport police tackled and restrained him.

Thankfully, airport staff stepped in for the 10-year-old boy allegedly left by his parents before the situation could escalate.
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If the Social Security Administration (SSA) moves all payments to electronic deposits, some older Americans may find themselves playing catch-up.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the SSA to end paper check issuance by September 30 and instead use direct deposit, prepaid cards or other digital payment options. While it may seem inconsequential, the move impacts nearly half a million seniors nationwide.

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And although Senator Elizabeth Warren tried to assure Americans in a statement on July 23 that the SSA will keep paper checks, the uncertainty isnt exactly reassuring.

Here are the top five states where seniors would be most exposed to this sudden change, if implemented.

Where the end of paper checks will be felt most

There isnt a state in the union that doesnt have someone who still receives their benefits through the Postal Service. However, some states would be expected to weather the change better than others.

Most seniors who rely on a more traditional form of payment live in one of Americas largest states or overseas territories.

In U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, approximately 8,378 individuals still receive their Social Security benefits through physical checks each month.

Among the 50 states, California stands out with the highest number of residents still relying on paper checks  exactly 62,409 people. Texas is a distant second with 36,919 recipients, while New York ranks third with 32,867 individuals.

Florida, often regarded as a top retirement destination for older Americans, has the fourth-highest number of seniors still receiving paper checks. Finally, Ohio rounds out the top 5 with 28,131 Americans still opting for paper payments.

Many of these seniors could struggle to adapt to the Trump administrations proposed implementation of exclusively online transfers.

Read more: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has an important message for the next wave of American retirees  here's how he says you can best weather the US retirement crisis

How to reduce your reliance on Social Security

Whether or not the mandatory switch from paper to digital checks happens, its important not to be caught off guard. The best way to ensure this is by not being reliant on Social Security in the first place.
Waco, Tx (FOX 44)  The Hill is reporting that action related to one of President Trumps executive orders involving unions could end up in federal court in Waco.

The Trump administration is turning to a one-judge district in Texas to assert that its move stripping bargaining rights from federal employees is legal.

President Trump late Thursday signed an executive order seeking to end bargaining rights for a wide range of agencies with national security ties a group of 18 departments, as well as additional agencies.

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While unions have vowed to sue, the Trump administration made the first move, seeking a declaratory judgment from a Waco court that the White House has the power to rescind or repudiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) across numerous agencies.

Plaintiffs wish to rescind or repudiate those CBAs, including so they can protect national security by developing personnel policies that otherwise would be precluded or hindered by the CBAs. But to ensure legal certainty and avoid unnecessary labor strife, they first seek declaratory relief to confirm that they are legally entitled to proceed with doing so, the suit says.

In a fact sheet accompanying the order, the White House said allowing government workers to unionize enables hostile Federal unions to obstruct agency management.

The order targets agencies it says have a national security mission, but many of the departments don`t have a strict national security connection.

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In addition to all agencies with the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State and Veterans Affairs, the order also covers the Treasury Department, all agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the General Services Administration and many more.

The civil service law that allows for collective bargaining does have exceptions for national security agencies.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) did not respond to request for comment but indicated Thursday in a letter to members that it plans to sue, condemning the action as illegally strip[ping] collective bargaining rights from hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

Let`s be clear. National security is not the reason for this action. This is retaliation because our union is standing up for AFGE membersand a warning to every union: fall in line, or else, the email said.

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AFGE is not going anywhere. We are fighting back. We are preparing legal action.

An Office of Personnel Management memo that accompanied Trump`s executive order encouraged agencies to terminate any already-signed collective bargaining agreements and stop participating in any grievance proceedings.

The filing is a somewhat unusual move for the Trump administration, which has in other cases has aggressively fought lawsuits and appealed rulings in cases launched against them but has seldom initiated such a request before being taken to court.

The case is sure to come before U.S. District Court Judge Alan Albright, who oversees all cases filed in that district.

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If unions sue and score favorable rulings in other districts, a judgment in Texas could help speed review by the Supreme 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 KWKT - FOX 44.
Jul. 31Court officials told lawmakers Thursday that reduced security staffing at the Bernalillo County Courthouse endangers both the public and staff.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office officials responded that modest reductions in court-related security staff strike a balance between public safety and exorbitant overtime costs for deputies.

The two narratives offered to the legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee suggest the two sides remain at odds about how to resolve the dispute, which has resulted in reduced hours at public courthouse offices and other changes.

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"We were able to reduce a lot of our staffing for overtime and still provide the same level of service to the courts," BCSO Chief Deputy Pete Golden told lawmakers.

"The courts then decided that they wanted to reduce services because they perceived that there was a risk that we don't believe is there," he said.

Second Judicial District Court officials said counties are required by law to provide security in state district courtrooms, which can be scenes of high emotion that too often turn violent.

"We've had two fights break out at the same time at different ends of the courthouse," 2nd Judicial District Court Chief Judge Marie Ward told lawmakers. "Inmates have had to be removed for extremely aggressive behaviors. People appear intoxicated, impaired and with serious mental health issues."

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Deputy staffing at the courts began dropping in January, Ward said. On July 11, the court was notified that BCSO would cut staff to nine deputies at the Bernalillo County Courthouse and five at the Children's Court, she said.

Ward cited a January incident when the family of a victim attacked the accused killer in Judge Cindy Leos' courtroom, resulting in a melee that injured a corrections officer.

"At that time, we had 17 deputies in the courthouse," Ward told lawmakers. "Seven were able to respond to the incident. But if the same were to happen today, it would be extremely difficult for deputies to respond."

State Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, said lawmakers may be able to provide an eventual solution but that Bernalillo County needs to broker a resolution to the impasse in the short term.

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"It's the county that's responsible for funding the sheriff's office, not the state Legislature," Chandler said. "My encouragement here is, the county needs to address this, and they need to address it promptly."

Golden said that the sheriff's office has trouble recruiting deputies to serve as "court security specialists" to provide security in the Bernalillo County Courthouse and the Children's Court.

BCSO currently has 12 deputies specifically assigned to court security posts, leaving daily vacancies ranging from one to five positions, requiring BCSO to pay deputies overtime, Golden said.

"Due to poor interest in court security specialist positions, daily vacancies have been back-filled by deputy overtime," he said.

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As a result, court-related overtime cost the county $1,136,000 in 2024 and $887,000 through June this year, he said. Golden suggested changes in state law that would allow retired deputies to return to work longer than 36 months, the limit set by lawmakers in 2024.

"I have individuals right now that are willing to rehire as court security specialists, but they will not forego a continuous full-time position in retirement for one that only has a limit of 36 months," Golden said.

The county also is considering hiring civilian and private-security staff to supplement sworn deputies in the courts, he said.

The 2nd Judicial District Court reduced hours Jan. 11 at the clerk's office and other court offices to reduce foot traffic in the courthouse. In addition, civil, family and children's court hearings in the 2nd Judicial District Court were conducted remotely rather than in person.

Ward said the courthouse on Wednesday expanded hours at the clerk's office to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., but those hours remain curtailed from the past schedule of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Since Milwaukee college student Sade Robinson's death in April 2024, her grandparents, Linda and David Scarbrough, have lived in constant sadness.

"We can no longer sleep at night. We no longer are able to have our family dinners together. Holidays are very emotional. We will never be the same again," the Scarbroughs wrote in a July 31 letter to the court. "We are constantly reliving all the awful things in our head of how our lovely granddaughter was tortured."

In June, a jury convicted bartender Maxwell Anderson, 34, of killing Robinson, 19, and dismembering her body, after the two went on a first date. On Aug. 1, Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello sentenced Anderson to a life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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One day before Anderson returned to court to be sentenced, 12 statements like the letter Robinson's grandparents wrote were filed, each attesting to the impact of the crime of which Anderson was convicted. Six of the statements were from friends, colleagues and relatives who, like Linda and David Scarbrough, knew Robinson personally  her manager at the Wisconsin Club, her stepfather, an aunt, a cousin, a childhood friend.

The other half were from nearby residents compelled by the horrific nature of her death to urge the judge to impose a harsh punishment on the convicted killer.

Jonathan Reams, Robinson's stepfather, wrote about watching Robinson grow up  her first steps, her first day of school. He wrote that Anderson's murder of his stepdaughter "stole" future moments and unmade memories from the family.

Sheena Scarbrough, center, is comforted by a loved one, outside of Milwaukee County Court, while the family attorney, left, speaks at a press conference following the verdict of Maxwell Anderson on Friday, June 6, 2025. Anderson was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, hiding a corpse and arson in the April 2024 death of Scarbrough's daughter, Sade Carleen Robinson.

June Vang, 21, an elementary school classmate, wrote a long letter describing Robinson as an emotionally mature and uplifting child, who teased Vang for being younger than she was.

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"I never thought there would be a point in my life where Sade wasn't older than me," Vang wrote.

Vang recalled praying the week Robinson was announced missing, until she was declared dead 10 days later. She recounted grieving "silently," missing send-offs and rallies in the wake of Robinson's death, unable to face the reality of her loss.

While Robinson's relatives mourned the prospect of a future without their loved one, individuals who never met the college student attested to the profound impact of the highly publicized death on Milwaukee, and further.

Rachel Greer, a realtor, described her homeowner client's fear to leave her front door after learning about Robinson's murder. Greer wrote that Anderson should have received the death penalty, a sentence abolished in Wisconsin since the 19th century.

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Iris Miranda recounted reliving the death of her own daughter, Kayla Calderon, when she learned about Robinson's death.

Lashunda Hewings, writing that Robinson represented women  particularly Black women  who are often forgotten or silenced in the aftermath of violence, asked the court to impose on Anderson the maximum sentence allowed.

Other pleas were more creative. A citizen who signed their statement as "Stargazer" wrote a 10-stanza poem about the details of the case, addressing Anderson, who the poet condemned to "rot in a cell." Crivello referred to Stargazer's poem when delivering Anderson's sentence at the morning hearing.

Anderson plans to appeal his conviction, according to his attorney, Anthony Cotton. Meanwhile, a civil suit filed against Anderson by Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarbrough, is still pending. But the legacy of Robinson's life and resoundingly horrifying death promises to persist even outside of the court.

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"This isn't just about punishment. It's about declaring that what happens to Sade matters," a Dane County resident, Sara Rose Lietz, wrote in a filed impact statement. "That we, as a society do not look away. That a woman's life  her body, her dreams, her joy  cannot be desecrated without consequence."

"From a stranger who will never forget her," Lietz signed her statement, "With sorrow, rage, and enduring love."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: In court filings, Sade Robinson loved and grieved by family, strangers
The woman remembered a dirt road and neat rows of fruit trees.

Her rapist had driven her there, an isolated spot in southern Hernando County, one day in June 1993. Held captive and viciously assaulted for hours, she listened as the man told her about how hed killed before.

The victim was a little girl, he said. Hed brought her to that same spot.

The girls name was Jennifer Odom.

The woman recounted the incident more than 20 years later to a Hernando County detective investigating the 12-year-old girls abduction and murder, a crime that was unsolved for 30 years and haunted the Tampa Bay area.

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The details of what she and others told Hernando detectives are buried in nearly 400 pages of investigative documents, part of the states ongoing prosecution against Jeffrey Norman Crum.

The story that emerges from the records  never told publicly until now  is that of an investigation built on numerous small clues, including the recollections of Crums family, women hed dated, people with whom hed partied or worked, roommates and neighbors.

They described a volatile man who seemed to take pleasure in other peoples pain.

A few spoke of what seemed to be an open secret among some: that Crum had boasted of having killed a young girl. Yet few people in Crums orbit shared what they knew until long after.

Portrait of a suspect

For years, about all anyone knew about Jennifer Odoms killer was that he drove a blue truck. Two of her classmates saw such a vehicle pulling up beside her moments after she stepped off their school bus on Feb. 19, 1993.

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Crum drove a 1978 Toyota pickup. It was blue. His brother remembered seeing a backpack in the truck bed at some point. His son remembered his father painting the truck gray and replacing the bed with one made of flat wood. He traded in the truck sometime in 1993.

Jennifers body was found six days after she vanished, along a horse trail through an abandoned Hernando County orange grove. Shed been killed with a blow to the head. Two years later, a couple found her book bag and clarinet, disassembled inside a case, discarded along a road more than 10 miles away.

Crums brother once called in a tip, records indicate. The records are unclear, though, about what he said or how investigators followed up. Citing the ongoing court case, the Hernando County Sheriffs Office declined to comment.

It wasnt until 2015 that Crum became a person of interest for investigators. It happened after his DNA linked him to a similar unsolved case  the 1992 rape of a teenage girl who was nearly killed after she, too, got off a Pasco County school bus.

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After he was arrested in that case, Hernando detectives learned a lot about Crum from people whod known him throughout his life.

He was short and thin, with dark hair and a beard. He was originally from northeast Ohio but had lived in Florida for many years. He worked tree trimming, drywall and construction jobs. He told people hed helped build Epcot and Animal Kingdom in Orlando.

In the early 1990s, he lived with his father, brother and son at a property on Somerset Acres Lane. It is an unpaved, wooded street off U.S. 41 in northern Pasco County, a little more than a mile south of where the 1992 rape occurred.

Questioned in 2015, his father told investigators that Crum was troubled. Hed had an alcohol problem since he was 18, his father said, drinking as much as a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey each day. When he drank, he often wanted to fight.

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His brother said Crum was never the same after he left prison. Hed spent a little more than two years locked up in the late 1980s for a Hillsborough County rape conviction. When he got out, his brother said, he was wild and crazy.

He said alcohol wasnt as much of a problem for his brother as crack cocaine.

Years ago and again more recently, his brother said, Crum told him hed committed a murder and should be locked up for life.

Crums nephew, T.J. Seames, remembered living next door to his uncle as a teenager. He recalled when a girl went missing and wondered if Crum was responsible.

Seames said his uncle was in the Ku Klux Klan. Hed taken his nephew to a few KKK meetings at Crews Lake, a wilderness park in the Shady Hills area of Pasco County.

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At home, Seames said Crum often watched pornography. Theyd hang out in a back shed or beside a firepit. Theyd get high. His uncle would tell stories. He talked about killing people and burying them in the woods, Seames said.

Seames believed such stories were just talk. But he knew his uncle could be violent. He told investigators he once held a shotgun to his head.

Jeffrey Crum Jr. told a similar story about his father threatening him with a gun. He remembered the 1992 rape. Like a lot of other kids, he had to be driven to the school bus stop thereafter for fear that the perpetrator was still on the loose.

He remembered the flute his father gave him when he was about 11. It was black and came disassembled inside a dark case. He tried playing it a few times, but lost interest and never saw it again after he moved. It is unclear whether the instrument might have been Jennifers clarinet.

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He also remembered Jennifer Odom, recounting a conversation with his father about a dozen years after her murder.

They were living at a home in rural Odessa, in northeast Hillsborough County. One day, as they drank and smoked in the garage, his father mentioned hed done a lot of bad things and hurt a lot of people. He spoke of seeing demons.

Remember that little Black girl when you were a kid? I did that, he recalled his father saying, an apparent reference to the Pasco rape victim. He confessed that he also did Jennifer Odom, his son said, but then said he was kidding.

Tales of confession

The word that Crum had killed a young girl seemed well known among some.

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Susan Guntor Casiglia dated Crums son for several years in the early 2000s. She told detectives about one drunken night and a conversation about what it meant to be a badass.

When you gotta look somebody in the eyes and kill them, thats being a badass, she remembered Crum saying.

She recounted how he bragged of having killed a 12-year-old girl. She said hed picked her up at a bus stop, luring her to his truck by telling her there was something wrong with her parents. Once inside, he said hed slammed her head against the dashboard, Casiglia said. He kept her for a couple of days in a shack in the woods, then raped her and killed her.

In Casiglias telling, though, the girl was Black. Detectives noticed she seemed to conflate the details of the Pasco rape with the Jennifer Odom case.

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Other people, though, recalled similar stories.

Casiglias daughter, Krystal Guntor, remembered a night that featured Cisco wine, Natural Ice beer and talk about the baddest thing Crum and his son had done.

I aint got nothing compared to what you did, the son told his father. You killed that girl.

His father denied killing anyone, telling his son he wasnt supposed to talk about that.

Casiglias son, Travis Guntor, also remembered talk about a girl being killed and money being taken from her.

Everybody that knew us and knew Jeff knew that this happened, he told detectives. This wasnt hidden.

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When investigators came to see Toni Ann Buckner in 2019 and showed her a picture of Crum, she knew right away it was about Jennifer Odom.

She met Crum in the late 1990s when he lived in the backyard of her mothers home in northwest Hillsborough County.

When he drank, she said, hed start talking.

He talked about robbing banks, she said. He talked about raping women. He talked about killing people and burying them. He talked about Jennifer Odom.

He picked her up, I want to say, at the bus stop and took her to the woods and raped her and killed her, Buckner said Crum told her.

Detectives scoured reports of unsolved rapes from the 1990s. They found the woman who said shed been attacked by a man who claimed hed killed Jennifer Odom.

She told them her rapist spoke in detail about how hed held her at his home for a few days.

I guess he had hit her too hard or something and he didnt mean to kill her, the woman recalled her rapist telling her.

The woman later managed to escape the mans car and reported the rape. She remembered her attacker was short, with long dark hair and a beard. But when shown a photo lineup in 2015, she did not pick Crums image.

He was never charged with her rape.

Combing for evidence

George Loydgren, a Hernando County cold case detective, spent weeks trying to find Crums blue Toyota pickup in the hope, however remote, that it may hold a trace of Jennifer.

After Crum sold it, Loydgren learned, it passed to a few other owners before it ended up in a scrapyard in 1997 and was likely destroyed.

The people who bought the Somerset Acres home from the Crum family let investigators pull up the floorboards to examine the original carpet from Crums old bedroom. They let them process a shipping container and a shed where Crum used to hang out. They let detectives dig up an old firepit where the family had bonfires.

Investigators collected hairs and fibers, dirt and debris. They compared them to dirt samples from the bottoms of Jennifers feet and hairs taken from her body.

They processed Jennifers recovered belongings. A fingerprint on a piece of notebook paper in her book bag was linked to one of her classmates. They processed the clarinet for DNA.

If there were any forensic links to Crum, theyre not reflected in the records released so far.

A jailhouse witness

As Crum awaited trial for the Pasco rape, detectives questioned men housed near him in jail. They wanted to know: Did he ever talk about his crimes?

One man said Crum had told him about raping a girl and hitting her with a big, heavy club. The same man said Crum admitted hed grabbed a girl from her bus stop.

In April 2019, Crum was found guilty in the Pasco rape case. After that, Hernando detectives spoke again with the jailhouse informant, who was by then in state prison with a life sentence for kidnapping. He agreed to be equipped with a hidden audio recorder and placed with Crum in a Pasco jail cell.

In more than four hours of conversation, Crum talked about the rape, his impending life sentence and Hernando Countys interest in him for a cold case. He mentioned he had two murders and chuckled.

An interrogation

In early summer 2023, Hernando County detectives decided to speak to Crum directly. They chatted with him for five hours in a conference room at Okaloosa Correctional Institution.

Loydgren took out a small picture of Jennifer and put it in front of him. Crum said he knew who she was but nothing else. He said he was pretty sure he was in Orlando when she went missing.

They tried for a confession. They suggested Crum wasnt to blame, but the old Jeff  the drunk, nasty, mean Jeff from years ago  was the murderer. He said no.

If he knew who was responsible, they asked, would he tell them? Crum said he wouldnt answer the question.

Is it possible, he was asked, that the murder is something he blocked from his mind, perhaps in a drunken blackout?

Yes, he said.

A haunting request

A grand jury in July 2023 charged Crum, 63, with Jennifers murder. No trial date has been set. He has pleaded not guilty.

Efforts to reach Crums brother for comment for this story were not successful. Jennifers family has not commented publicly about the case since Crums arrest.

News of Crums indictment generated more information for investigators. One lead came from Jennifers younger sister.

A registered nurse, she told investigators about an incident that occurred years earlier when she was working in a Pasco County hospital. It was after Crums arrest in the Pasco rape, but long before he was charged in her sisters murder. His name, though, had surfaced in media reports as a person of interest in the case.

A patient had asked for her by name to come treat him. She went to the patients room. It was Crum.

He lay in a hospital bed under the guard of law enforcement. Its unclear why he was there.

I cant treat this patient, she told a supervisor.

She didnt see him again.
Close to 700 wildfires have ripped through nearly 114,000 acres in Utah, prompting Gov. Spencer Cox to issue an emergency declaration Thursday to help those impacted.

The state of emergency is in effect for 30 days and is designed to help protect drinking water supplies, wildfire victims, ranchers and others.

Heroic efforts are underway as firefighters and emergency personnel work around the clock to save homes and neighborhoods, Cox said. We are mobilizing every tool at our disposal to support them and keep Utahns safe.

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The executive order activates the State Emergency Operations Plan, authorizes the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed, and streamlines assistance for local governments under Utah law.

On Friday, Cox will travel to the Monroe Canyon Fire to receive an on-site briefing, meet with local leaders and fire teams, and provide an update to members of the media.

The Monroe Canyon Fire has burned more than 37,000 acres and destroyed seven cabins and homes.

In this photo provided by the Hurricane Valley Fire District, firefighters fill self-supporting tanks while working to subdue the Monroe Canyon Fire near Monroe, Utah, Friday, July 25, 2025. | Hurricane Valley Fire District

Shifting winds, abundant dry fuels, and fast-moving flames continue to threaten the surrounding community. The governor is urging residents to follow evacuation orders and stay clear of the area so first responders can operate safely and effectively.

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So far this year, 72% of Utahs wildfires have been human-caused. The governor reminded the public that fire sense saves lives and property by reducing sparks from everyday activities and helping firefighters focus on blazes ignited by lightning.

There have been 22 Red Flag warning days  marked by high winds, low humidity and critically dry fuels  which underscore the extreme conditions firefighters face. The challenges follow record-low snowpack and precipitation that extended the warm, dry period in much of the state.

The governors executive order notes the four largest active wildfires as of Thursday have burned more than 100,000 acres with the cost to fight fires exceeding $103 million.

Aside from the immediate threats to public health, firefighter and law enforcement safety, as well as to homes, livestock and recreational cabins, these wildfires have prolonged impacts.

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His order notes that the aftermath will result in burn scars, increased flooding risks and altered landscapes.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, poor surface water conditions are present in many streams and rivers of western Wyoming, Utah, western Colorado, central Arizona, and northern New Mexico.

More than 60% of Utahs land is in severe drought, while some isolated pockets are in extreme drought.

The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City has said it is hoping for an active monsoon season to counter those impacts, but the outlook is dismal.

Earlier this month, the Utah Division of Water Resources echoed those concerns about the need for more precipitation.

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On average, Utah reservoirs dropped around 10% between June 1 and July 1. Typically, reservoirs drop around 2% during the same period. This is due to increased demand and an inefficient spring runoff earlier this year.

We have seen some water restrictions go in place around the state, Candice Hasenyager, division director said.

Restrictions are very localized and we rely on Utahns to be in touch with their water provider for any restrictions that may be in place.

Some junior water right holders may have already seen curtailments of their water supply go into effect.

Wildfires are particularly problematic for the packed Wasatch Front, with state experts drafting revised plans to help those who live in what is called the wildland urban interface.

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As an example of this, the Wasatch canyons such as Big and Little Cottonwood are particularly vulnerable.

Some areas may have to implement additional precautionary practices to avoid losing or to reduce home insurance premiums due to wildfire risk.

It is a top priority for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.
The Monroe Canyon Fire near the communities of Richfield, Monroe and Koosharem burns on July 15, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Utah Fire Info)

As wildfires across the state intensify, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared a 30-day state of emergency starting on Thursday.

The order allows the government to use all available state resources to protect lives, homes, livestock and drinking-water supplies threatened by this years severe fire season, according to a news release. It also authorizes the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed, and streamlines assistance for local governments.

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In an executive order, the governor cited severe drought as one cause exacerbating wildfire hazards. As of Thursday, the National Weather Service had identified 22 red flag warning days in Utah, a caution used when extreme fire behavior is likely, including a combination of high winds, low humidity and dry conditions, posing a high risk of wildfires.

Heroic efforts are underway as firefighters and emergency personnel work around the clock to save homes and neighborhoods, Cox said in a statement. We are mobilizing every tool at our disposal to support them and keep Utahns safe.

This year Utah has recorded 693 fires, which have burned nearly 114,000 acres, according to the order. Over 100,000 of those burnt acres were due to the four largest active wildfires in the state. The cost of fighting them has exceeded $103 million.

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On Friday, the governor is scheduled to travel to the Monroe Canyon fire to hear a briefing on the disaster that has expanded to more than 37,000 acres and destroyed seven cabins and homes.

Shifting winds, abundant dry fuels, and fast-moving flames continue to threaten the surrounding community. The governor will continue to urge residents to follow evacuation orders and stay clear of the area so first responders can operate safely and effectively, Coxs office said in the release.

About 70% of wildfires in the state have been human-caused. Cox advised Utahns to reduce sparks from everyday activities.

The Monroe Canyon Fire near the communities of Richfield, Monroe and Koosharem burns on July 14, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Utah Fire Info)

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EXCLUSIVE: Senate Republicans, led by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, are gearing up to wield their federal oversight powers to force Washington, D.C., to demand an end to what they call the capitals dangerous experiment of allowing illegal immigrants and noncitizens to vote in local elections.

The development follows reports that roughly 400 noncitizens voted in the 2024 general election, with about 100 participating in the primary.

Federal law supremacy prohibits state or local jurisdictions from allowing illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections, since a measure by then-Rep. C.W. Young, R-Fla., called the IIRAIRA passed in 1996.

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However, state and municipal leaders have the ability to allow illegal immigrants to vote in lower-tier elections, and Washington, D.C., is one of several that has.

148 Democrats Back Noncitizen Voting In Dc As Gop Raises Alarm About Foreign Agents

Congress, meanwhile, has unique constitutionally-explicit leverage over the governance of the District on any matter, including local affairs and the overturning of council-passed laws.

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Britts bill would prohibit noncitizens from voting in District elections and repeal the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022  which the City Council passed that authorized noncitizen voting in municipal elections.

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"This isnt just about local school boards or fixing potholes. This is about the direction of our nations capital," Britt said.

Election Investigation Uncovers Alleged Illegal Voting By Noncitizens And Double Voters In Multiple States

"In the city representing the strongest democracy in the world, the D.C. City Council chose to flagrantly violate one of democracys core principles. This is a slap in the face to every American citizen, whether they live in DC or not, who should be the only voters deciding who represents them in every election and at every level of government.

"I am hopeful we gain bipartisan support in the Senate for this commonsense bill--it is our duty to protect the votes of hardworking American citizens and those who came to our country legally and took the time and effort to go through the naturalization process. Ultimately, this is about strengthening the integrity of our elections."

The National Mall seen from the top of the Washington Monument.

Noncitizen voters spoke to the Washington Post after the last election, including a woman named Ana Lemus who came to the U.S. more than a decade ago from El Salvador.

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Her daughter, who was 4 years old at the time, said she is voting to help address "wealth inequality and police brutality" among other concerns.

In the House, Rep. August Pflueger, R-Texas, is championing companion legislation. While Britts bill so far only has Republican co-sponsors, Pfluegers effort has garnered about 50 Democratic supporters.

In addition to Washington, select communities in Maryland, New York and Vermont  plus California in certain school board races  allow illegal immigrant voting.

The first city to allow it was Takoma Park, Maryland, back in 1992.

Current Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., helped spearhead that "Share The Vote" effort in the community, which abuts the nations capital to its northeast.





Original article source: Crackdown on illegal immigrants voting in DC elections launched by Senate GOP
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  Firefighters are trained for anything, even a call Grand Rapids crews received Thursday that put their training to the test.

Firefighters came to the rescue to pull Porta-Potties out of the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids. It is something they had never seen before.

It was definitely an interesting one, Lt. Mike Walker with GRFD told News 8. These are the first two porta-potties Ive pulled out of a river. It was definitely No. 2 on my checklist for my career.

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Grand River Greenway work continues, now possibly stretching to Lowell

But sometimes duty calls.

It is unclear how the porta-potties got in the Grand River, but around noon on Friday, GRFD firefighters were called to assist as construction crews worked to pull them out.

Crews pull a portable toilet from the Grand River in Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025. (Courtesy) Crews pull a portable toilet from the Grand River in Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025. (Courtesy) Crews pull a portable toilet from the Grand River in Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025. (Courtesy) Crews pull a portable toilet from the Grand River in Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025. (Courtesy) Crews pull a portable toilet from the Grand River in Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025. (Courtesy) Crews pull a portable toilet from the Grand River in Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025. (Courtesy)

If somebody were to go out and try to do that on their own it becomes an emergency, then we are kind of in a defensive spot rather than an offensive spot, Walker explained.

It was an all-hands-on-deck kind of operation. Tim Keeling, who has been with the department for eight years, told News 8 that he had a somewhat special role in the operation.

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They asked me to climb on top of it. One of the newer guys was a little afraid to do it so I decided to do it. Took one for the team? I guess I did take one for the team, Keeling said. I was kind of nervous that when I drilled into the side of it that a bunch of blue was going to spill out everywhere, so I was prepared for that but fortunately I think it had all washed away.

GRFD crews rescue fisherman in Grand River during training exercise

Joke aside, firefighters said they were able to treat it as a training opportunity and that it is always good to get extra practice at a time where lower stakes are involved.

There is not a life risk involved in it, so we kind of slow everything down, we will put our operations in the water, we will treat it as a training opportunity to get hands on running the boats, get our hands on some rigging and then figuring out how we actually tackle an operation like that, Walker said.

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No one was injured in the process.

It was not how I thought my day was going to go, turned a crappy situation into a good one, Walker said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
Update, 6:23 p.m.: New report that wreck is, in fact, cleared.

Update, 5:14 p.m.: WSDOT is now reporting the right lane remains blocked.

Update, 4:33 p.m.: WSDOT reports the wreck is cleared, but traffic is solid to State Route 18 in Federal Way.

Previous post: A collision on Interstate 5 in Tacoma has blocked three lanes of southbound traffic Thursday afternoon.

The Washington State Department of Transportation reports the wreck occurred about 4:11 p.m. near Portland Avenue.

Traffic was jammed to 54th Avenue in Fife.
Update at 5:30 p.m.

The intersection of 6th Street and Oberlin Avenue has reopened, SPD Lieutenant Tim Jenkins told WCIA.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA)  A Springfield intersection is currently shut down due to a crash Thursday afternoon.

The crash involved two vehicles at the intersection of 6th Street and Oberlin Avenue. Springfield Police Lieutenant Tim Jenkins told WCIA that while there are conflicting witness statements, the crash appears to have been caused by a car that was driving north on 6th Street at a high rate of speed.

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That car collided with another car that was crossing Oberlin Avenue, Jenkins said.

3rd teen arrested in Champaign shooting that left a 14-year-old with potentially life-threatening injuries

Three people were taken from the scene with injuries, Jenkins added. All of them are expected to be ok.

The cars also crashed into a utility pole, but Jenkins said it was only an ancillary pole. CWLP crews have already disconnected the wires from it.

The intersection of 6th and Oberlin will be closed for at least another hour while the crash scene is cleaned up, Jenkins said. He added that the car allegedly speeding on 6th Street flipped over, and first responders are waiting on tow trucks.

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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 WCIA.com.
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Denso, a leading auto parts supplier to Toyota, posted a bigger-than-expected 11% decline in first-quarter profit on Friday, hit by U.S. tariffs and a stronger yen.

The world's second-largest car parts manufacturer reported an operating profit of 107.2 billion yen ($720 million) for the three months to the end of June.

That was well below an average estimate of 130 billion yen from seven analysts surveyed by LSEG.

The company maintained its prediction for full-year operating profit to climb 23% to 675 billion yen, while raising its revenue target for the period by 2% from an earlier estimate.

Its initial estimates were made in late April, after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners.

Denso on Friday estimated the hit to full-year operating profit from U.S. tariffs to be 130 billion yen, and said it was looking for ways to partially offset the impact.

"We'll take measures such as making things in the U.S. that can be made there ... in order to thoroughly reduce it (the impact)," Yasushi Matsui, the company's chief financial officer, told reporters.

Trump has imposed a blanket 10% tariff on trading partners. Last week, Japan struck a trade deal with the U.S. that lowers tariffs on the country's cars and other goods to 15% in exchange for Japan investing $550 billion in the United States.

Denso gets more than half its revenue from Toyota group companies, including truck unit Hino Motors and small-car maker Daihatsu.

($1 = 148.92 yen)

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
The presence of asbestos at a bonfire site in Belfast is under criminal investigation by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), the environment minister has confirmed.

Concerns were raised about the hazardous material at the site, between the Donegall Road and the Westlink, in the run up to the lighting of the 11 July bonfires.

The NIEA previously removed about 20kg of asbestos from the Meridi Street site and had confirmed that further fragments of asbestos had been found in the site.

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The landowners, Boron Developments, have been contacted for comment.

Environment agency taken issue 'very seriously'

Boron Developments bought the site in the summer of 2017 and were made aware of asbestos at that time.

It previously said it engaged a waste management company to remove the asbestos but the company needed "no personnel" on the site in order to complete the removal of asbestos.

Northern Ireland's Environment Minister Andrew Muir told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme on Friday a criminal investigation has been initiated in relation to the asbestos and litigation proceedings are underway.

"The Northern Ireland Environment Agency rightly considers this very seriously and will be doing all that they can in regards to it because this is an issue of concern and the officials in my department are working studiously in regards to it," he said.

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Muir added the agency is focused on making sure that the asbestos pile is "safely removed".

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has said the probe is a "Northern Ireland Environment Agency investigation".
Children at Bright Future Child Care in Brooklyn Center. Courtesy photo.

Child care in Minnesota has been in crisis for years and now it is moving swiftly from crisis to collapse.

It is unaffordable for families, and yet we dont have enough resources to pay our teachers living wages. We are losing child care programs every day, often ones that have been part of the fabric of our communities for decades, leaving families scrambling to find care.

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This spring St. Paul lost several child care centers: Hallie Q. Brown Early Learning Center, Sandcastle Early Learning Center, and Childrens Center Montessori.

Childrens Country Day School is closing at the end of this summer.

Ive had too many conversations with other child care directors center around whether or not they will be able to stay open much longer.

When the Minnesota Legislature passed over $1 billion of funding for child care in 2023, it felt really big, but in reality it was far too little and far too late. Now, in 2025, with the federal government operating in the interest of billionaires at the expense of our family, friends, neighbors and  most importantly in my work  our children, we are left with no choice but to act boldly.

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You know what happens when we act boldly? We create amazing things, like Head Start. Head Start turned 60 years old this year  but what should be a joyous moment of celebration is instead a tenuous moment of fear and worry.

Head Start has served over 40 million kids in its 60 years. We have spots for 38 of those children at Wilder Child Development Center, where I am the director. Thats over half of our enrollment. These are kids like Liam, who needs extra behavioral and mental health support after losing his father at a young age. Hes getting that support and thriving, and his mom can work full time without worrying about him. It is very clear that investing in our youngest at a young age works.

To meet the requirements of Head Start, and the needs of these children, we receive a per diem for every Head Start child. For us, that adds up to nearly $250,000 every year  about one-third of our entire budget.

The Trump administration has backed off their quest to eliminate Head Start, but it is little consolation, as they have also closed five of the regional Head Start offices with no notice and no instruction on what the programs served by those offices should do, leading to huge funding delays. Administrators are being forced to take out bank loans to make payroll. In what world is this ok?

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More recently, the administration declared that Head Start should be reclassified as a federal public benefit which would slash eligibility of immigrant families by up to 500,000 children, while immediately impacting 115,000. This affects all of us.

If we lose Head Start kids, we lose Head Start funding. If we lose that funding, we will have to close at least one classroom, leading to loss of child care for 15-20 children, whether they are part of Head Start or not. Without that funding, we would have to let staff go. It is even possible that we would have to close our doors.

What I mean by acting boldly in this moment is taking action to ensure that if federal funding for child care is cut off, that we as a state have the resources we need to support the programs the federal government is choosing not to  because if they are coming for Head Start, they are surely coming for the federal grants that support our Child Care Assistance Program, too.

Already, state agencies are struggling to draw down federal funds they use for child care and instead are met with an email from DOGE asking them to justify why they need the money. Considering that child care centers are closing every day because they cant charge families enough to cover their expenses, this is beyond insulting.

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Without funding, child care will cease to exist, thousands of parents will be unable to work, our economy will no longer function, and our kids will suffer greatly.

Our children cannot wait, our families cannot wait, and we cannot wait. The time to act is now. We need our elected leaders in Minnesota to not just act, but to act boldly.
BECKET  Authorities are investigating an incident that resulted in a fatality Friday at a performing arts center.

At 12:32 p.m., the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit responded to Jacobs Pillow for a reported fatality, according to the Berkshire District Attorneys Office. The incident leading to the fatality is under investigation and there is no danger to the public, authorities said.

The Becket Police Department responded to the scene and the medical examiner has accepted jurisdiction, authorities said. More information will be released as it becomes available, the district attorneys office said.

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Nick Kepley, director of marketing at Jacobs Pillow, said earlier on Friday that a critical incident occurred at the center. Kepley could not share more details about the nature of the incident.

The incident canceled all Friday events and performances, according to an email sent to patrons.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, all performances and events at Jacobs Pillow today, August 1, have been canceled including Sekou McMiller & Friends, Eun-Me Ahn, Kara Jenelle & KaJe Movement Collective, and the All Styles Dance Battle, a message from the center said.

more news from Western Massachusetts

Read the original article on MassLive.
Odors and noise from Bright Feeds commercial food waste plant in Berlin drew a chorus of complaints from neighbors last winter, but for the past several months the controversy appears essentially over following installation of 35-foot-high thermal oxidizer.

The pioneering facility that converts food waste to animal feed is back to normal operations, and neighbors monthly grievances at selectmens meetings have fallen silent.

Its great. I consider this pretty much resolved, said Town Manager Ryan Curley, whose office was inundated with calls and emails at the peak of the dispute in January.

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The situation was a fairly familiar story for any community where industry is close to homes: The operations of the business began to annoy residents, and patience ran out as months went by without an answer.

But after some failed efforts with relatively inexpensive fixes, Bright Feeds brought in complex and costly equipment that appears to have curtailed the noxious odors and persistent industrial noises that drifted blocks away into quiet suburban neighborhoods.

We knew it was a long road for the neighbors and we felt for them, Curley said. The council, the mayor, the state, the Central Connecticut Health District all worked together on this. But I give a lot of credit to Bright Feeds; if it wasnt for them, we wouldnt have had this answer.

Jonathan Fife, the companys chief executive officer, said the months of contention were disheartening because he and his staff got into the business to make peoples lives better, not worse.

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A lot of people here decided to join the company for environmental reasons and the mission, so it was upsetting to see the concerns, Fife said during a tour of Bright Feeds 25,000-square-foot plant this week. We put in the RTO in April. We have a complaint hotline and theres been nothing on it since then.

Now we want to remind people about why were in business and what were doing, Fife said.

The Berlin plant opened to accolades in late 2022, with Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes calling it an exciting new part of the solution to Connecticuts worsening waste disposal troubles.

Bright Feeds introduced technology to divert up to 450 tons of food waste a year out of the normal garbage stream, instead putting it through a multi-stage processing system that strips off wrappers and packaging, grinds down the food, removes impurities and ultimately converts it to a powder that becomes high-quality animal feed.

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Food producers from Connecticut and nearby states send pallets of expired bread, popcorn, cereal and other products; theyre fed into the system, and the resulting feed is sold to New England farms.

Laxmi Wordham, the companys chief growth officer, said some of Connecticuts biggest farms use the feed, and save roughly 20% off the cost of a similar, traditionally made product.

Bright Feeds has built its business by roughly 400% since opening, and now is looking to build additional plants in the Northeast. Fife said an RTO, or regenerative thermal oxidizer, will be included in the plans for all future plants.

The company initially thought its original processing system would be enough to contain odors and noise, and was dismayed to find neighbors were reporting they couldnt sleep and had to keep windows closed to block the bad smell. The company installed new equipment to mitigate the sounds and smells, but it didnt work well enough.

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Fife doesnt give a precise price of the massive RTO, which super-heats waste to eliminate the odors. But he acknowledged it was over $1 million.

This is the biggest and most powerful odor solution on the marketplace. Its the highest-level solution you can have. Its not something you buy off the shelf, Fife said.

It was a major, major investment for us, and a lot of engineering went into making it happen. The biggest food companies, a lot of huge bakery companies, have this type of solution, Fife said. We looked to what our customers use; for a small business like ours its not common, but we knew it was really important to fully resolve this.

Even as homeowners were speaking of losing patience this winter, Bright Feeds was pressing the supplier of its RTO to speed delivery. The enormous custom-engineered equipment normally takes a year from initial design to delivery; Bright Feeds paid to expedite the work, but it still took a half-year to build in California, ship to Connecticut and assemble.

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Sergio Squatrito, a former executive at Carlas Pasta in South Windsor, was brought in to oversee reconstruction of the buildings pipes and air-flow systems to accommodate the machinery.

Since April, the town hasnt had complaints, and the Facebook community pages that used to be riddled with posts from unhappy neighbors have moved on to other topics.

Throughout the winter, town government hosted every-other-month update sessions for neighbors, but stopped after the RTO began operating. State legislators who were regularly hearing from constituents also noted a change.

This has been a long ongoing process, and a great example of citizen advocates getting result, said Sen. Rick Lopes. Theres been great improvement and we hope they continue.

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On an afternoon when the outdoor temperature was measured at 102, Fife invited a visitor to walk around the plant and its parking lot and then drive through nearby streets. The plant was in full operation but there was neither a detectable odor or noise.

We knew we had to get this right. Inside, all of our technologies and feed blends were working, our customers were all thrilled, Fife said. Our business proposition was working, but it wasnt working for the community. We want to be here for the long term. We feel this is the right solution for Connecticut and other states.
Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday that state officials are cooperating with a federal grand jury investigation of possible irregularities in the way tens of millions of dollars has been distributed to and spent by nonprofit social service organizations operating in Hartford.

Look, we are working with the feds on this in a totally transparent and open way to help them get to the bottom of this, Lamont said. The question is, regarding some not for profits, we found out early on that they were having some problems with some of their payments. Either they were being ripped off or something else was going on.

The governor was referring to as much as $800,000  of which $300,000 came from the state  that disappeared during attempts by non profits to transfer funds by wire in 2023 and 2024.

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Federal authorities are looking into the apparently intercepted transfers as well as how decisions were made to award state funds to certain nonprofit agencies and whether conditions may have been placed on grant awards, such as instructions concerning who to hire, according to people familiar with the events and the inquiry.

In addition, FBI agents also have asked questions about the highly competitive and multi-million dollar application process for obtaining state licenses to operate legalized marijuana cultivation and retail sales businesses, according to people familiar with the early stages of the investigation.

The U.S. Attorneys office served subpoenas associated the investigation last week.

Lamont said that, after learning of the intercepted wire transfer of state funds, the state cut off funding to a major city nonprofit, the Blue Hills Civic Association, which was attempting to move money to My People, another local nonprofit organization.

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We held our payments going to these nonprofits going back I think April, doing everything we can on the side of caution, Lamont said. We did have some additional resources for other not-for-profits to make sure that those folks were able to take care of people in need that might be cut off.

Republicans said the state needs to do more to make sure nonprofit spending gets were it is supposed to go.

In general ,we have been very critical of the way we have been seeing money flowing out the doors of the state of Connecticut, House Republican leader Vincent Candelora said. We have proposed and we think these nonprofits need to be vetted before money goes out the door. We had a lot of earmarks that Democrats put in the budget this year that we dont know what these organizations do.

We are relying on the legislature and the governor to say these are worthy projects, Candelora said. But the public really doesnt know that. So I would like to see some formalized transparency put into place rather than waiting for the FBI to conduct investigations and arrest people and then we react. Which seems to be the way Connecticut has been going for the last five years.

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Among those believed to be targets of the investigation, according to subpoenas and other sources, is state Sen. Douglas McCrory, a Bloomfield Democrat whose district includes north Hartford. McCrory declined in a text message earlier this week to discuss the matter.

Also named in subpoenas is McCory associate Sonserae Cicero Hamlin, who runs a wide ranging consulting business offering advice to clients on subjects as disparate as human resources and legalized marijuana sales. Cicero Hamlin declined to discuss the matter, but her company is said to have provided consulting services to at least three Hartford nonprofits named in subpoenas, according to people active in the citys charitable giving circles.

The investigation began as a flood of government grant money  in addition to millions more from private charitable and business groups  has poured into state capitols like Hartford and, from there to nonprofits, since Congress enacted the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, in 2021, which sent $350 billion to state and local governments to support coronavirus pandemic recovery measures.

State government officials have said financial controls loosened as the increased funding arrived from Washington and influential political figures at the Capitol, among them McCrory, were able to play a large role in directing to what nonprofits grant money was distributed.
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, along with Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., want to help community water systems adopt new smart water technologies to conserve the finite resource in the West.

The pair earlier this month introduced the bipartisan Water Infrastructure Modernization Act to provide $50 million in grant funding for community water systems to purchase and implement technologies such as those that can identify water loss, examine pipe integrity, detect leaks, prepare for severe weather, innovate water storage systems and more.

Across Utah and the West, communities face real challenges with aging water systems, drought resilience, and growing demand, Curtis said.

Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, speaks during the Utah Republican Partys state organizing convention held at the UCCU Center in Orem on Saturday, May 17, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

The Water Infrastructure Modernization Act empowers local leaders to adopt next-generation technologies and reflects our pioneer values of innovation, thrift, and stewardship, and puts modern tools in the hands of those closest to the land.

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In a region plagued by drought, it is important systems move toward these water savings, added Gallego.

In the West, we know that every drop of water matters. By investing in the latest technologies, we can make our water systems more efficient  saving communities water and money," he said.

Such investments would help systems like the Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility.

Wastewater is treated in a primary clarifier at the Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility in South Salt Lake on Thursday, March 16, 2017. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

This bill will provide a great benefit for Utah, said the facilitys general manager Phil Heck.

A few years ago, the facility launched the Digital Water Committee, which is part of the Water Environment Association of Utah.

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At CVWRF, we already have many real time sensors and instruments that monitor our processes and feed data into the supervisory control and data acquisition system that automates control of the plant. The topic of intelligent water infrastructure is extremely pertinent for us as we are now significantly increasing the number (by around a factor of 10), variety and sophistication of the sensors and the control software we use.

Heck said the work is being implemented as part of the redesign and construction of treatment facilities to lower costs and improve the quality of wastewater that is discharged into the Great Salt Lake.

We are also starting to use this information for asset management such as triggering maintenance events based on sensor data and not just a simple maintenance schedule, Heck said.

On a daily basis, the district handles between 50 and 60 million gallons of wastewater that flows into it for treatment.

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Those millions of gallons of water are processed, impurities are separated and treated, and harmful bacteria, protozoa and viruses are eliminated so that only clean water is returned to Mill Creek and the Jordan River.

Central Valley is a regional facility owned by five special service districts: Mount Olympus Improvement District, Cottonwood Improvement District, Granger-Hunter Improvement District, Taylorsville-Bennion Improvement District, and Kearns Improvement District; and two cities: Murray City and South Salt Lake.
The Brief

The first human case of West Nile Virus in Dallas County for 2025 has been reported.

The patient is a man in his early 40s who was diagnosed with non-neuroinvasive disease.

Public health officials are urging residents to take precautions to prevent mosquito bites.

DALLAS COUNTY, Texas - Dallas County Health and Human Services has reported the first human case of West Nile Virus for the 2025 season.

Dallas County West Nile Virus

The infected person is a Dallas resident, the DCHH said in their Thursday release, and is a man in his early 40s. He's been diagnosed with West Nile Non-Neuroinvasive Disease. No other details will be released about the patient.

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So far, 98 WNV-positive mosquito pools have been found in Dallas County, the release says. The first was discovered in May.

In 2024, 37 human cases of WNV were reported in Dallas County, with three deaths.

What they're saying

"With the first West Nile virus human case, its an important reminder that prevention is key," says Dr. Philip Huang, Director of DCHHS. "With a few simple precautionslike using insect repellent, removing standing water around your home, and wearing proper clothingyou can greatly reduce your risk."

What you can do

Health officials urge the public to take protective measures by utilizing the 4Ds to reduce the risk of West Nile virus:

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DEET: Use insect repellents that have the active ingredient DEET or other EPA-registered repellents.

DRESS: Wear long, loose and light-colored clothing outside.

DRAIN: Drain or treat all standing water in and around your home or workplace where mosquitoes could lay eggs.

DUSK to DAWN: Limit your time outdoors from dusk to dawn when mosquitoes are most active.

What is West Nile Virus?

Dig deeper

WNV is a disease that is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes can become infected when they feed on the blood of infected birds. The infected mosquitoes can then transmit WNV to humans and animals.

Severe WNV infections can cause neurologic complications such as encephalitis. Milder symptoms include fever, headache, and muscle aches. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for WNV.

For more information from Dallas County on WNV, click here.

The Source

Dallas County Health and Human Services provided the information in this article.
Dallas police arrested 22 people during multi-day prostitution stings across the citys Northwest and Southeast divisions in July.

The operations targeted prostitution-related crimes through coordinated enforcement efforts.

The Dallas Police Departments Special Investigations Division led the operations alongside the Northwest Division Prostitution Task Force. Their sweep netted 19 women charged with prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor.

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Officers also arrested three alleged human traffickers during the operations. Two faced outstanding warrants and evading arrest charges, while a third, identified as gang-affiliated, received city tickets.

The evading arrest charges constitute Class A misdemeanors under Texas law. Police did not release the names of those arrested or specify which gangs were involved.

The operations reflect ongoing efforts by Dallas police to combat prostitution and human trafficking.

The Dallas Police Department is laser-focused on public safety and will continue to aggressively pursue those who exploit others and destabilize our neighborhoods, said DPD Major Yancey Nelson. Even if we save just one person from this life, its worth it.
A veteran Dallas police officer was arrested Wednesday on felony assault charges after turning himself in to county authorities.

Senior Corporal Scott Jay, who has served with the department for nearly 28 years, faces accusations of aggravated assault causing bodily injury. Dallas police confirmed the charges stem from an incident that prompted an arrest warrant.

Jay, badge number 7562, surrendered to the Dallas County Sheriffs Department on July 30, 2025. The second-degree felony charge carries potential prison time if convicted.

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The 27-year veteran joined the force in September 1997. He most recently worked in the specialized Canine Unit.

Department officials placed Jay on administrative leave while conducting an internal investigation. The review will determine whether policy violations occurred alongside the criminal allegations.

Dallas police did not provide details about the alleged assault incident. The timing, location, and circumstances surrounding the charges remain unclear.

Second-degree felony assault in Texas typically involves serious bodily injury to another person. Convictions can result in two to 20 years in state prison.
DANVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56)  A Danville man was charged with assault on Thursday after allegedly shooting another man, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Officials with the Danville Police Department (DPD) told FOX 56 News that authorities were dispatched to Sheeji Food Mart on South Danville Bypass on July 31 in response to reports that a man had been shot.

According to the department, an initial investigation showed that two menJustin Smothers, 43, and David Clem, 44, both from Danville were arguing inside the store.

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Officers said the argument turned physical when Smothers allegedly drew a gun and shot two rounds, hitting Clem in the upper arm and torso.

Clem was reportedly taken to Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center and was listed in critical condition.

Smother was on scene and taken into custody by police, officials wrote in a news release. A gun was allegedly found in his car by authorities.

He was charged with first-degree assault. The shooting 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.
(Bloomberg) -- US President Donald Trumps 50% tariff on goods from commodities powerhouse Brazil is upending crop markets, sending orange juice prices tumbling and coffee rising.

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Trumps executive order contained some meaningful exemptions including orange juice. Still, beef and coffee from the worlds top exporter remain on the list of commodities that will be subject to import duties.

Orange juice futures traded in New York plunged by the exchange maximum, while coffee surged as much as 3.5% on Thursday. Markets were already closed when the executive order was issued on Wednesday.

The market reacted to news that coffee is not on the exemption list and, in theory, will be subject to tariffs, said Fernando Maximiliano, an analyst at StoneX. Theres still uncertainty about a possible exemption, but for now, its a bullish sign for New York futures, and it means higher costs of coffee in the US.

The US accounts for about 40% of Brazils orange juice exports and 16% of the nations coffee shipments. While China is the biggest market for Brazils beef, exports to the US had been on the rise as the American herd shrank to a 73-year low.

Orange juice futures for September delivery fell by the exchange limit of 25 cents, dropping 8.8% to $2.6015 a pound on ICE Futures US. Arabica coffee jumped as much as 3.5% to $3.036 a pound before easing slightly to $2.971 a pound by 10:44 a.m. in New York.

Even before Wednesdays announcement, the expectation of tariffs were already impacting coffee exports. US importers asked to delay shipments from Brazil, according to people familiar with deals that asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations.

The move is already visible in the data. Brazil shipped just 2.4 million bags of coffee to all countries this month through July 29. That compares with 3.8 million bags for the whole month of July in 2024, according to data from industry group Cecafe. The nation is in the middle of its coffee harvest, so supplies are ample.

Tariffs are also impacting the meat market, with industry group Abiec saying some plants have halted production of products usually shipped to the US. American beef imports from Brazil fell 23% this month through July 27, according to US Customs data compiled by IHS Markit.
Richardson police arrested a man this week who allegedly killed a man, then fled on a DART train.

Officers with the Richardson Police Department arrested 35-year-old Willie Cage on Tuesday after he allegedly stabbed 46-year-old Tyrone Cuban Simmons, according to a statement from the department. Cage caught a DART train, and Simmons ultimately died.

Witnesses called police at 5:55 p.m. on July 30, reporting a physical altercation between two men near 900 E. Lookout Drive in Richardson. While officers were on their way, a witness reported that one of the men was apparently stabbed, and the other boarded a nearby DART train.

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The stabbing occurred in an area or plaza-type area, nearby the DART Galatyn Station, so not at the DART station or platform area, Public Information Officer Mike Wieczorek told The Dallas Express.

Richardson and DART police soon found Simmons and began life-saving efforts until Richardson Fire Department paramedics arrived, according to the statement. Simmons went to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Police and detectives identified Cage as the suspect and found him at the DART SMU/Mockingbird Station  more than 12 miles away. According to Wieczorek, police arrested him by 9 p.m.

Cages motive was unknown at the time of publication, Wieczorek said. He was initially taken to the Richardson police jail, then transferred to the Dallas County Jail. Cage is charged with murder and faces a $250,000 bond.

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This isnt the first time in recent days that DART has been in the news. A DART train caught fire, injuring 15 and sending six to the hospital, as The Dallas Express reported.

Suburban mayors have recently expressed frustration with DART, citing issues like low ridership, unreliable fare enforcement, and crime.
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WTNH)  Months before a 2-year-old choked at a New Britain day care and later died, the facility received seven violations during an inspection, according to data from 211 Connecticut.

The incident happened at the YWCA when Saunti Reynolds was eating a meatball, according to his mom Shamyra Cooke.

DCF investigating childs choking death at YWCA in New Britain

Reynolds was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Cooke said she watched her son flatline.

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The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is investigating to determine if the death is a case of abuse or neglect. Theyre working alongside the Office of Early Childhood.

On Thursday, the medical examiner said Reynolds cause of death is pending further studies.

According to data from 211 Connecticut, YWCA faced seven violations in October 2024 after an unannounced inspection.

Officials found problems with sinks, free standing cribs and the playground. All of those issues were corrected, according to the data.

The Office of Early Childhood says day cares are required to have at least one program staff member who has current certification in CPR from a reputable organization and one program staff member who holds current certification in first aid based on a first aid course appropriate for all of the children.

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Vigil set for child who died after choking at YWCA in New Britain

News 8 reached out the YWCA on Thursday for further comment but has not heard back.

YWCA sent News 8 the following statement Wednesday:

On Tuesday, July 29, 2025, a beloved child at YWCA New Britain experienced a medical emergency and was transported to the hospital, where they later passed away. YWCA New Britain grieves this immeasurable loss with the parents, family, and loved ones affected. There are no words to fully express the sorrow we feel, and we extend our deepest, most heartfelt condolences to the childs parents, family, and loved ones. We are holding them close in our hearts during this unimaginably painful time.

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YWCA New Britain staff responded immediately and followed all emergency procedures, including administering age-appropriate first aid and calling 911. Emergency services were contacted, and the childs family was immediately notified and involved throughout the process. The child was then taken via ambulance to the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, we learned the devastating news that the child passed away.

At YWCA New Britain, our children and families are at the very heart of all we do. This loss is felt deeply by every member of our staff and community. We are grieving alongside the family and ask the community to join us in surrounding them with love, care, and support.

YWCA New Britain Childcare services will be closed on Wednesday, July 30th. Grief counselors and support resources will be made available to staff and families. We will also make counseling available for children who may need help processing this tragedy.

We are cooperating fully with the New Britain Police Department and other state agencies as they review this incident.

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We are all so deeply saddened by this loss, and we ask for privacy and respect for all during this very difficult time for the families and our surrounding community as we mourn together.

Reynolds family is holding a vigil for the 2-year-old on Aug. 2 at 5:30 p.m. at Stanley Quarter Park.

They have a GoFundMe page as well.

To check for any violations against a childcare facility in the state and the results of unannounced visits by inspectors, click the link here.

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HIGHSPIRE, Pa. (WHTM)  Police in Dauphin County covered the costs to euthanize a dog after a man was arrested for severely injuring it.

Highspire Borough Police say on July 29, officers responded to a domestic violence call on the 1st block of Ann Street. Police say Nathaniel Clipp allegedly assaulted an individual and a 6-month-old Australian Sheppard/Pitbull mix.

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The dog was taken to a local veterinary care center for treatment, however the dog had to be euthanized.

Highspire Borough Police say officers paid out of pocket for the dogs treatment due to a lack of funding from the dogs owners.

Clipp was arrested for simple assault, cruelty to animals, and harassment. Hes being held at the Dauphin County Prison on $10,000 bail.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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THOMASVILLE  The owner of a Thomasville-area property that has been a longtime source of drug problems and community complaints has given the Davidson County Sheriffs Office unusual authority to arrest virtually anyone just for being on the property, the sheriffs office said.

Following an investigation by the sheriffs office and the N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement Division Nuisance Abatement Team, the owner of 827 Shell Road west of Thomasville agreed on Tuesday, July 29, to grant the sheriffs office a limited real estate power of attorney, the sheriffs office announced Wednesday. This allows the sheriffs office to arrest any person for trespassing except the owner and her sole tenant.

The announcement referred to the property as a drug house.

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This property will no longer be used or kept for drug use or distribution, the sheriffs offices announcement said. The owner intends to sell the property in the coming months.

The limited real estate power of attorney is allowed under a state law as a method to address nuisance activities including recurring criminal activity, Sheriff Richie Simmons said.

The nuisance abatement law is a valuable tool that provides remedies for locations consistently associated with criminal activity and harm to communities, he said.
Aug. 1 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1498, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus set foot on the American mainland for the first time, at the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela.

In 1790, the first U.S. census showed a population of 3,929,214 people in 17 states.

In 1907, an Aeronautical Division was added to the Army Signals Corps. The first aircraft bought by this forerunner of the U.S. Air Force was built by the Wright brothers.

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In 1961, the first Six Flags amusement park opened on 212 acres in Arlington, Texas. In its opening year, admission for adults cost $2.75 and for children cost $2.25.

Navy divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2 from the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Va., survey the wreckage of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis on August 7, 2007. The bridge collapsed August 1. File Photo by Joshua Adam Nuzzo/U.S. Navy

File Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI

In 1966, Charles Whitman killed 16 people, including his wife and mother, in Austin, Texas. Thirty-two people were wounded. Most of Whitman's victims were struck by shots fired from the University of Texas Tower. The gunman, a student and ex-Marine, was killed by a police officer.

Fab 5 Freddy's iconic gold and diamond "MTV" ring is on display for an auction celebrating the history and cultural impact of hip hop at Sotheby's on September 10, 2020, in New York City. On August 1, 1981, MTV premiered with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

In 1977, Francis Gary Powers, pilot of a U-2 spy plane shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was killed in the crash of his weather helicopter in Los Angeles.

In 1981, MTV premiered with the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star."

A sign post warning people about the presence of mines stands before a "pyramide of shoes" in Paris on September 30, 2006. Residents stacked up their old shoes in solidarity with Handicap International's bid to bring attention for demands on a global ban of anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs. On August 1, 2010, a worldwide ban on cluster bombs went into effect. File Photo by Eco Clement/UPI

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In 1994, Lisa Marie Presley confirmed rumors that she had married pop star Michael Jackson May 26 in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorced less than two years later.

In 2004, nearly 400 people died in a supermarket fire on the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay.

Michael Jackson (R) is pictured in April 1995 with Lisa Marie Presley in Los Angeles. On August 1, 1994, Presley confirmed rumors that she had married the pop star May 26 in the Dominican Republic. The couple divorced less than two years later. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

In 2005, Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who had ruled since 1982, died after a long illness at the age of 83. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah.

File Photo courtesy the Arafat press office

President Barack Obama makes a statement about CIA torture in the White House briefing room in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 2014. File Photo by Dennis Brack/UPI

In 2007, an eight-lane bridge across the Mississippi River at Minneapolis, collapsed during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring nearly 150. About 50 vehicles were thrown into or near the water when the steel-and-concrete Interstate 35W span buckled and fell.

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In 2010, a worldwide ban on cluster bombs went into effect. Cluster bombs, usually dropped from planes, are filled with smaller anti-personnel bombs, which are scattered over wide areas. More than 120 states have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama said CIA agents who interrogated suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States "crossed a line" and "tortured some folks."

In 2024, Simone Biles became the first American in history to win two Olympic all-around gymnastics titles, taking home gold at the Paris Summer Olympics. Fellow American Suni Lee -- who won the all-around gold in 2020 -- took home bronze, and Brazilian Rebeca Andrade captured silver.
The Bureau of Prisons has transferred Ghislaine Maxwell from a federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas.

Patrick McMullan / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

The transfer happened as Maxwell, an accomplice of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, seeks a deal with a Trump administration eager to tamp down a furor over its refusal to release its files on Epstein.

Maxwell attorney David Markus confirmed the move to HuffPost but declined to comment any further. Earlier this week, Markus wrote in a letter to members of Congress seeking Maxwells testimony that shed be happy to speak in exchange for a pardon or commutation from President Donald Trump.

Related: Hillary Clinton Just Hit On One Of Donald Trump's Biggest Insecurities With Three Words

New York Daily News Archive / NY Daily News via Getty Images

Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence for helping Epstein recruit and groom underage girls for sexual exploitation by Epstein, Maxwell, and others. Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 shortly after hed been indicted.

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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this year she had an Epstein client list on her desk and that the files would soon be released, but last month the Justice Department said it would release no further information about the case. Epsteins life and death have been the subject of rampant speculation, and the governments reversal prompted a furious backlash from some of Trumps strongest supporters outside of government. Trumps name is reportedly mentioned in the files.

Related: If You Want To Know How MAGA Feels About The Epstein Files And Trump RN, Consider This Clip Of A Fox News Host Being Booed

Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images

Trump was friends with Epstein for years, and the two were repeatedly photographed together. He said this week their relationship soured after Epstein and Maxwell stole young women from his Mar-a-Lago club. When reporters asked if he was referring to Virginia Giuffre, one of Epsteins most outspoken victims, Trump said yes.

Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, has said she was hired away from Mar-a-Lago in 2000, when she was 16, and that she was ordered by Maxwell and Epstein to have sex with men by telling her to give them massages.

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Giuffres family sharply criticized her transfer to a more lenient facility in a statement to CNN.

Related: "My Generation Will Never Forgive You": 25 Of The Very Best And Very True Political Tweets From The Last Week

Dave Benett / Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency, the family said. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas. This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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The prison camp where Maxwell was sent, FPC Bryan, is classified as a minimum security camp for women. Her previous facility, FCI Tallahassee, houses both men and women and is classified as low security.

Related: Gavin Newsom Has Been Roasting MAGA Left And Right, And WOW, Is It Entertaining

Patrick McMullan / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

While the differentiation seems subtle, the differences between a minimum and low security facility are significant.

The BOP describes minimum facility institutions, like the one Maxwell has been transferred to, as having dormitory housing, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing.

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By contrast, a low security facility has double-fenced perimeters, cubicle housing, and a higher staff ratio.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Also in In the News: "How Can You Possibly Be This Ignorant": 26 Tweets Calling Out The Sh*t Show That Is Politics This Week

Also in In the News: Trump Can't Stop Talking About Pete Buttigieg, And Pete Responded With One Simple Tweet

Also in In the News: President Obama Just Responded To Donald Trump's "Bizarre" Claims Of Him Committing Treason

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A local man is in custody after allegedly making threats to kill thousands in Cincinnati.

FBI Cincinnati alleges Scott Michael Hanna, 30, of Dayton, made a social media post on X on Thursday, July 31. According to Cincinnati FBI, Hanna posted that he wanted to organize mobs to kill people in Cincinnati, where he was aiming to kill 30K by Sunday.

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The FBI aggressively investigates those who threaten our communities with violence, said Elena Iatarola, special agent in charge at FBI Cincinnati. Threats like this impact the entire community and have serious consequences.

Cincinnati police is said by the FBI to have reported Hannas alleged post to the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force, which allowed the FBI to reportedly track the post to him.

Allegedly, Hanna is known to law enforcement because of a menacing incident that reportedly occurred in September 2024. Hanna allegedly threatened to police that he was going to cut someones head off. In that instance, Hanna allegedly swung a sword at someones neck, which caused what the FBI describes as a partial decapitation.

Hannas neighbors say federal agents surrounded his home on Friday, shouting for him to surrender himself to authorities.

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One neighbor has lived in the area for years and says police have been to Hannahs unit three times in the last year.

Im not surprised based on the unit, and based on the recent history, said the neighbor. But one bad seed doesnt make the whole neighborhood terrible, you know?

WDTN was in court for Hannas initial court appearance. 2 NEWS learned in court that Hanna is charged with one count of interstate communications with a threat to injure.

If found guilty, the 30-year-old could face a maximum of 5 years in prison with a 3-year supervised release, up to $250,000 fine, forfeiture and restitution.

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Hanna will be back in court Aug. 13 for a preliminary hearing.

2 NEWS will follow this story.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  After weeks of negotiating with the Washington Commanders and pressure from Mayor Muriel Bowser and Congressional leaders, the D.C. Council came to an agreement on its first vote on the deal.

In a historic 9-3 decision, the Council voted to advance the modified version of the deal Bowser struck with the Commanders earlier this year.

This sets the stage for the Commanders to return to the District in 2030.

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After many weeks of negotiations and work, Im pleased that we were able to approve this legislation on first reading, said Chairman Phil Mendelson, who led the negotiations for the council. This is a pivotal step toward developing the land at the RFK campus quickly and completely. At the same time, Im pleased that we were able to vastly improve the legislation from what was introduced  so that District residents will see more benefits.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DC Council schedules vote on RFK Stadium Deal

Under the deal announced last Thursday, D.C. is expected to receive up to $949 million in tax revenue and other support, including taxes from parking, merchandise, food and beverages. The $4 billion deal includes a 65,000-seat roofed stadium, housing, retail, parking garages, green space and park space.

The Commanders will pay $2.7 billion on the project, while D.C. taxpayers will pay about $1 billion.

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The era of a crumbling sea of asphalt on the banks of the Anacostia is finally coming to an end, said Mayor Muriel Bowser. In its place, we will bring our team home and deliver a state-of-the-art, Super Bowl-ready stadium for our Commanders, more than 6,000 new homes for DC residents, a SportsPlex for our kids, parks and recreation space for the community, and so much more.

Residential units will be built in phases, with the first stage of housing set to open in 2030 in line with the opening of the stadium. Housing will then come online annually between 2032 and 2040.

Ward 7 has not seen its fair share, said Councilmember Wendell Felder, who represents the Ward. By bringing the Washington Commanders home, redeveloping the 180 acres of RFK, that will really jump start our economy, bringing in the types of businesses that neighbors so long deserved.

RELATED COVERAGE: This is not the right investment for our city: Washington Commanders RFK Stadium deal draws mixed reactions from DC Council

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Despite general excitement over the teams return to Washington, many were skeptical of the deal in the days before the vote. Issues of labor union agreements, parking and traffic concerns, and overall funding priorities left some worried about the deal.

Councilmembers Robert White, Brianne Neadeau and Matt Frumin voted against the legislation on Friday.

Ahead of the vote, other Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George and Zachary Parker, for example, said they would not support the deal without broader union labor agreements.

Project labor and labor peace agreements that cover the stadium and hotels within the commercial development are a win-win for the District and the Commanders  Any deal before the council must have project labor and labor peace agreement as an essential part of the terms we sign onto, the two said in a joint statement on Thursday.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DC Council releases final text on RFK Stadium deal ahead of first vote

They were able to reach an agreement with the team just hours ahead of the vote on Friday, securing what they called a major win for workers and Washingtonians.

The agreement includes a commitment to employ a project labor agreement and a labor peace agreement on the stadium and hotels in the mixed-use development.

Included also was a requirement that the mixed-use development agreements must include 51% District worker participation, ensuring that everyday Washingtonians will benefit from good jobs with livable wages, real protections, and sufficient benefits, Lewis George and Parker said in a joint statement on Friday.

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The two ultimately voted in favor of the bill.

Labor union leaders announced joint support following the revisions. On Friday, leaders of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, the Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades, 32BJ SEIU and UNITE HERE Local 25 and Local 23 issued a statement.

RELATED COVERAGE: House Oversight Committee calls on DC Council Chairman for swift action on RFK Stadium deal

A release from the unions stated they were pleased with the changes and were especially thankful to the Councilmembers who advocated for them, namely George and Parker.

The Committee of the Whole began shortly before 1:30 p.m. The meeting began with a series of amendments proposed by Councilmember White. Amendments one and two proposed taxing personal seat licenses, followed by laying out a revenue-sharing plan, respectively. Both amendments failed.

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The team wouldve had about a decade to build the housing and if they dont, they face penalties. And after that, the land would go back to the District, said White. I want to make sure we dont end up with just a stadium and not the housing and the grocery store that we were counting on.

White pointed to the residents in Brooklyn who are still waiting on promised affordable housing that was part of the deal to build the Barclays Center in New York.

Mendelson optimistic about RFK Stadium deal ahead of DC Council vote

While that amendment failed, the Council did say they were willing and interested in continuing discussions around these penalties between now and the second vote.

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A third amendment also failed that wouldve put in place stronger punishments if the team didnt get development done on time. It wouldve required the team to pay $2 million every year the development went beyond 2038. The city wouldve been able to take the land back if the entire mixed-use development hadnt been completed by 2042.

In the hours ahead of the vote, Mendelson said he was optimistic about the deal as a whole, despite the pressure put on him and his fellow Councilmembers by local and federal leaders.

The Washington Commanders are the Washington Commanders, not the Landover Commanders. Theres just excitement about that  these are intangible benefits, he said in an interview on Friday morning.

Commanders Managing Partner Josh Harris released a statement on behalf of the team on Friday afternoon.

Todays approval by the Council is transformational for D.C. and brings the Commanders back to our spiritual home. Like many fans, RFK was the site of memories that fueled my love for this team and this city. Now were closer than ever to reigniting that energy for a new generation. Were incredibly grateful to the Mayor and the Council throughout this process for their leadership and guidance. This is a historic moment. This project is about more than delivering a world-class stadium worthy of our players, fans and the region. Its about revitalizing a critical part of our city, creating thousands of jobs and unlocking long-term economic benefits for the District. We look forward to working with our fans, residents, community leaders and elected officials to deliver on this vision. Josh Harris, Commanders Managing Partner

A second and final vote on the bill is scheduled for Sept. 17.

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WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  A D.C. man was sentenced Friday for chasing an elderly person with a knife after a road rage incident in March, according to the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia.

Ronald Hall, 56, will serve two and a half years in prison with two years of supervised probation after pleading guilty in May to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. He is also ordered to seek treatment for substance abuse and abstain from alcohol.

DC man to spend nearly 20 years in prison for shooting, killing man in car

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According to court documents, on March 1, Hall and the victim, a senior citizen, were involved in a car accident near the 3900 block of East Capitol Street NE.

Hall proceeded to chase the elderly man through traffic, trying to stab him with a knife before being taken into custody at the scene.

The incident was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, according to the USAO.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  A Washington, D.C. man will spend nearly two decades in prison due to his involvement in a deadly shooting last year.

Andre Clark, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder while armed on May 5. The charge against him stems from the morning of Oct. 20, 2024.

According to court documents, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was called to the 1400 block of 8th Street SE just after 8:45 a.m. that October morning. There, officers found 28-year-old Leonard Taylor, Jr. of Suitland, Md. in the drivers seat of his gray sedan.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Arrest made in death of man found shot in car in Southeast

He was unconscious and unresponsive, suffering from a gunshot wound to his back.

Despite first responders life-saving efforts, he died at the scene.

During their investigation, authorities learned that Clark walked out of a nearby building and toward Taylor, who was in his car parked on the street. Clark walked up to his door, leaned down toward the window and used his right hand to point a gun at Taylor.

As Taylor began driving away, Clark fired, striking him in the back and killing him.

Just over two months after the incident, on Dec. 19, 2024, Clark was arrested in Baltimore, Md. and has been in custody ever since.

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He was sentenced on Aug. 1, 2025, to serve 19 years of prison time, followed by five years of supervised release.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
(In paragraph 7, corrects value to $1.7 billion, not $1 billion)

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -An association representing chemical companies in Brazil, where large U.S. firms like ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical operate, expressed "deep concern" regarding a U.S. executive order raising tariffs on Brazilian exports to 50%.

The Brazilian chemical sector is intrinsically tied with the United States, Abiquim said in a statement on Friday, describing a relationship marked by "integration" and "cross-investments."

"The impact will be significant on Brazilian chemical exports, compromising supply chains, jobs, and investments in Brazil and the U.S., Andre Cordeiro, head of Abiquim, said in the statement.

More than 20 chemical companies operating in Brazil are American-owned, Abiquim said.

Together with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Abiquim said it submitted a joint statement to the governments of Brazil and the United States "requesting actions to prevent damage to the integration and resilience of chemical supply chains, focusing on trade facilitation measures and regulatory cooperation."

Brazil, which exported $2.4 billion of chemical products to the U.S. last year, runs a trade deficit of nearly $8 billion with the U.S. in this sector, according to trade data cited by Abiquim.

President Donald Trump's executive order from July 30 affects about $1.7 billion in annual Brazilian chemical exports to the U.S., while exempting only five products, which represented $697 million in sales to the U.S. in 2024.

In addition to direct exports, Abiquim said more pain will be inflicted on its companies as chemical products have applications in industries including food, furniture, textiles, leather goods, and rubber, some of which are dealing with U.S. order cancellations because of the new tariff.

Before the executive order was published, Abiquim said last week its own sector already faced contract cancellations linked to the threat of Trump's tariffs.

(Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
A roach that fell from the ceiling onto an inspectors iPad, raw chicken particles in a handwashing sink and water from the employees toilet backing up through floor were among the violations that temporarily shut 11 South Florida restaurants and one food truck last week.

The Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for high-priority violations, such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.

Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spot a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR. (But please dont contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesnt inspect restaurants.)

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BROWARD COUNTY

La Gourmandize Island Restaurant

7108 Pembroke Road, Miramar

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Ordered shut: July 24

Why: Seven violations (three high-priority), including:

11 live roaches crawling on wall behind unplugged refrigerator in kitchen, under case of plantains next to triple sink, under chair next to cash register and on floor of dry storage.

Employee, after switching from raw to ready-to-eat [food], washed hands with no soap.

Bag of carrots stored on floor in kitchen.

Status: Reopened July 25 after a follow-up inspection found two basic violations.

La Tia Restaurant

7100 Pembroke Road, Suite A, Miramar

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Ordered shut: July 25

Why: Nine violations (three high-priority), including:

One dead rodent under [double-door] freezer in kitchen.

18 rodent droppings in kitchen areas including inside drawer next to malanga, next to stove, under rack with clean dishes and containers, as well as next to water heater in dry storage area in a separate room.

Stop sale ordered for cheese and cooked oxtails, rice and chicken due to temperature abuse.

Wall between triple sink and stove soiled in kitchen.

Status: Reopened later the same day after a second visit found two intermediate violations. A follow-up inspection was required.

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Founey Caribbean Bar & Grill

6252 Pembroke Road, Miramar

Ordered shut: July 23

Why: 12 violations (three high-priority), including:

37 rodent droppings in the kitchen under steam table, in front of triple sink and in dry storage area.

Employee, after sweeping, washed hands with no soap and proceeded to handle clean containers to store cooked food.

No soap provided at handwash sink in kitchen.

Water leaking from faucet handle in triple sink.

Status: Reopened July 24 after a follow-up inspection found six violations (one high-priority).

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5th Element Indian Grill

1325 S. Powerline Road, Pompano Beach

Ordered shut: July 24

Why: 21 violations (eight high-priority), including:

About five rodent droppings on top of dishwasher.

About two live roaches crawling on floor.

About 25 dead roaches on floor stuck in sticky trap and on floor in kitchen area.

About 25 roach excrement droppings on wall in kitchen by clean storage rack.

About 55 live flies in kitchen area, landing on unwashed onions, cutting boards, clean utensils and flip-top coolers, in dishwashing room, landing on clean dishes and in bar area.

About 20 dead flies on sticky tape situated over flip-top coolers and table used for prepping food.

Stop sale ordered for a can of pureed tomatoes with a large dent on the seam.

Stop sale ordered for vegetable and lamb samosas, cooked chicken, cooked goat and cooked rice with vegetables due to temperature abuse.

Observed in dishwashing area several clean dishes with old labels attached to them.

Observed in both walk-in coolers several different containers of food left uncovered.

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Status: Reopened July 25 after a follow-up visit found no violations.

Pinolandia

273 N. University Drive, Pembroke Pines

Ordered shut: July 23

Why: 16 violations (six high-priority), including:

Employee changed gloves after handling raw chicken and went to other task portioning prepared food item without washing hands first.

Employees purses on top of canned and dry goods on back storage shelves.

Employee cellphones on top of microwave in kitchen.

Time/temperature issues involved fried chicken, fried plantains, rice, grilled pork, fried cheese, stewed beef, beans, cooked yuca and raw marinated beef.

In storage-area Dukers reach-in cooler, container of cooked beef and pork uncovered.

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Status: Reopened July 24 after a second visit found one intermediate violation.

Madame Ericks Kitchen

6047 Miramar Parkway, Miramar

Ordered shut: July 21

Why: Nine violations (two high-priority), including:

Water from employees toilet backing up through floor causing standing water in front of exit door next to water heater in kitchen. Area cannot be isolated from kitchen. Employees dragging wastewater through kitchen.

Floor area(s) covered with standing water including under triple sink in kitchen, in front of employees bathroom in kitchen and in employees bathroom.

Employee washed hands with no soap and proceeded to cut tomatoes.

Time/temperature issue involved cooked pork prepared onsite and held more than 24 hours [and] not properly date marked.

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Status: Reopened July 22 after a follow-up inspection found one basic violation.

Tropical Vibes Caribbean Restaurant

6033 Miramar Parkway, Miramar

Ordered shut: July 21

Why: 15 violations (four high-priority), including:

Establishment operating with no potable running water.

Stop sale ordered for cooked white rice, cooked rice and beans, pikliz, and cooked spinach and meat.

Time/temperature issue also involved cooked liver.

Employee with no hair restraint while engaging in food preparation.

Status: Reopened later that day after a second visit found two intermediate and basic violations.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

La Rosa Monja Blanca

913 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach

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Ordered shut: July 25

Why: Five violations (three high-priority), including:

About 14 live roaches in reach-in, three-door cooler being used for storage, above dry storage rack by three-compartment sink, on wall in and around electrical wiring and on ceiling above three-door, reach-in cooler.

In walk-in cooler, raw shell eggs stored over raw beef.

In kitchen, observed roach droppings on wall surrounding electrical wiring by storage rack and reach-in, three-door cooler.

Status: Reopened July 26 after a follow-up visit found no violations.

El Jalapeno (food truck)

Ordered shut: July 24

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Why: Six violations (three high-priority), including:

About 33 live roaches, including one that fell from ceiling onto inspectors iPad, and others walking on floor in between steam table and flip-top cooler and under three-compartment sink next to wastewater tank.

About 13 dead roaches inside storage cabinet for single-service items, inside AC unit on ceiling and under three-compartment sink.

Time/temperature issue involved refried beans.

Food truck flooring has rusted away with holes through the floor making outside ground visible from interior.

Employee handled gas can and, without washing hands, handled dried chilis.

Status: Closed July 25 after a follow-up visit found two basic violations. Reopened later that day after a third inspection found one basic violation.

Sabor Latino Restaurant

1500 Gateway Blvd., Suite 100, Boynton Beach

Ordered shut: July 23

Why: Eight violations (one high-priority), including:

Eight live roaches on the floor under oven next to hand sink at cook line, on the inside wall of garbage can in front of steam table, on the floor in front of prep table and on the inside door frame of reach-in freezer under horchata machine at entrance to cook line.

Inside oven soiled with chip debris.

Wet wiping cloth not stored in sanitizing solution between uses at front line.

Ceiling/ceiling tiles/vents soiled with accumulated grease, dust or mold-like substance to the right of ice machine.

Status: Reopened July 24 after a follow-up inspection found no violations.

Sbarro

10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 102, Wellington

Ordered shut: July 22

Why: Four violations (three high-priority), including:

About 11 live roaches crawling on the floor on preparation area by back door under shelves holding single-service items and also on dish rack inverted used to keep containers with salt off the floor.

Time/temperature issues involved chicken wings and tomato salad.

Pizza cook grabbed garbage can, dirty apron, and kept engaging [in] food preparation.

Status: Closed on July 23 after a follow-up inspection found one high-priority violation. Reopened later that day after a third visit found no violations.

The Rock Irish Pub

614 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach

Ordered shut: July 21

Why: 12 violations (six high-priority), including:

More than 35 rodent droppings on top of dish machine and at storage closet.

At walk-in cooler, raw chicken stored over beer bottles.

At reach-in cooler, raw shell eggs stored over raw fish.

Time/temperature issues involved chicken kabobs, cheese, raw chicken and meatloaf.

At kitchen, handwashing sink used for other purposes as evident by raw chicken particles in sink.

Status: Reopened July 22 after a follow-up visit found one basic violation.
New York socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed backlash over his past anti-police rhetoric following a mass shooting inside a Manhattan skyscraper that left four people dead.

Authorities say a man opened fire Monday morning inside a high-rise building in Midtown Manhattan, killing four individuals before turning the gun on himself, according to The Guardian.

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Mamdani rose to national prominence after defeating former governor and longtime Democratic figure Andrew Cuomo in the citys Democratic primary. His campaign platform included policies to defund the NYPD, tax the wealthy, create city-run grocery stores, and support Palestinian causes, Newsweek reported.

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Now running as an independent, Cuomo has seized on Mamdanis record on public safety in the wake of the deadly shooting.

He has said the NYPD are racists, the police are a threat to public safety, Cuomo told Fox News. I think hes dangerous because he doesnt understand the need for public safety in this city.

The New York City mayoral race has tightened in recent weeks amid growing scrutiny of Mamdanis past remarks. The federally regulated prediction market Kalshi currently places Mamdanis chances of victory at 72%, down sharply from 94.8% in April, The Dallas Express previously reported.

Facing mounting criticism, Mamdani has attempted to distance himself from some of his earlier statements, claiming they were made in frustration following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

Im proud of the public safety platform weve put together, Mamdani told Fox News. For the former governor to have spent an entire day speaking almost exclusively about me and barely about the New Yorkers who have been killed is indicative of the very politics New Yorkers want to leave in the past.

Social media posts from Mamdanis earlier campaigns included statements such as:

We dont need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer and a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD.

He has also advocated for eliminating cash bail, banning all guns, decriminalizing sex work, and ending city cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The number of people killed in a massive Russian attack on Kiev a day earlier has risen to 28, after further bodies were recovered from under rubble, authorities said on Friday.

Authorities had put the death toll from the overnight strikes at 16 on Thursday evening, including two children aged 2 and 6, as well as a 17-year-old boy.

Some 160 people were injured in the attacks, according to the civil defence force.

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Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones the following night, with a 63-year-old man killed in the Zaporizhzhya region, according to military governor Ivan Fedorov. Another four people were injured in the attack.

Four people were injured by drone strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak reported, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old teenage girl.

Two farms, a high school and a post office caught fire, with a blaze also recorded on a private property.

Russian forces deployed some 72 drones in their latest nightly attacks on Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Some 44 drones were intercepted, with 28 impacts recorded in nine locations in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kiev.
The number of people killed in a massive Russian attack on Kiev a day earlier has risen further, after further bodies were recovered from under rubble, officials said on Friday.

A total of 31 people have died in the strikes according to the current count, including five minors the youngest of whom was 2 years old, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Authorities had put the death toll from the overnight strikes at 16 on Thursday evening, including two children aged 2 and 6, as well as a 17-year-old boy.

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Some 160 people were injured in the attacks, according to the civil defence force.

"Once again, this vile strike by Russia demonstrates the need for increased pressure on Moscow and additional sanctions," Zelensky wrote on X.

"In July alone, Russia used over 5,100 glide bombs against Ukraine, more than 3,800 'shaheds' (drones), and nearly 260 missiles of various types  128 of them ballistic. This can only be stopped through joint efforts  by America, Europe, and other global actors."

Russia continued to pummel Ukraine with drones the following night, with a 63-year-old man killed in the Zaporizhzhya region, according to military governor Ivan Fedorov. Another four people were injured in the attack.

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Four people were injured by drone strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak reported, including a 4-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl.

Two farms, a high school and a post office caught fire, with a blaze also recorded on a private property.

Russian forces deployed some 72 drones in their latest nightly attacks on Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Some 44 drones were intercepted, with 28 impacts recorded in nine locations in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kiev.
Scorching days and sweltering nights have baked the South Korean capital of Seoul over the month of July, with the heat reaching levels not seen in 117 years of record keeping, Al Jazeera reported. At least 16 people have died in South Korea already this year from heat-related causes.

"Normally, if it's hot for just one day, temperatures spike and then quickly return to normal," said Youn Ki-Han, the director of Seoul's meteorology forecast division, per the Guardian. "But when warm conditions persist for several days, the heat doesn't fully dissipate, it lingers and accumulates with each day."

What's happening?

As daytime temperatures in Seoul have soared, nighttime temps have not dropped as much as usual, resulting in persistent heat around the clock.

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Over the course of July, South Korea experienced its highest number of tropical nights for the month since record keeping began in 1908. A "tropical night" is defined as a night in which the temperature never drops below 77 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Al Jazeera.

In July, Seoul experienced 22 tropical nights, topping the previous record set in 1994, per Al Jazeera, with records kept since 1908.

The hottest night came on the evening of Wednesday, July 30, when temperatures in Seoul never dropped below 84.7 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest July night ever recorded in the South Korean capital, according to the Guardian.

Why does nighttime heat matter?

When people think of heat waves, they tend to imagine sweltering daytime temperatures fed by an intense, midday sun. However, experts have warned that nighttime temperatures have been rising faster than daytime temps in many areas, with potentially deadly consequences.

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"Most people don't realize that hot nighttime temperatures have been outpacing daytime temperature increases across most populated regions worldwide in recent decades," Kelton Minor, a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University, told CNN.

When heat persists at night, our bodies do not have a chance to recover from the day's high temps. With no nighttime relief, the health problems associated with dangerous levels of heat continue to accumulate over the course of multiple days.

A study published in Lancet Planetary Health found that hot nights following hot days led to a 50% increase in mortality risk as compared to a cooler night following a hot day. The same study also found that heat-related deaths could increase sixfold by 2100 purely as a result of hotter nights.

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.

Scientists hypothesize that hotter nights are a result of more moisture being drawn into the air as daytime temperatures rise.

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"We think it's because as days grow warmer, there is more moisture in the air that traps the heat," said Lisa Patel, executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, per CNN. "During the day, that moisture reflects the heat, but at night, it traps the heat in."

This can be a cyclical effect, because hotter temperatures in the first place can cause more moisture to evaporate into the air  one of the key reasons that gradually increasing worldwide temperatures can lead to drought in some places and bigger rain storms and flooding in others.

"A warmer atmosphere increases the rate at which water evaporates during dry periods," the Associated Press summarized in a report on scientists analyzing recent weather patterns. "It also holds more water vapor, which fuels heavy rainfall events."

What's being done about nighttime heat?

For decades, scientists have warned that releasing large amounts of heat-trapping pollution into the atmosphere would cause global temperatures to rise, supercharging severe weather events and increasing their magnitude.

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While no one specific weather event can be attributed directly to human causes, the South Korea heat wave is precisely the type of extreme weather event experts predicted.

While high nighttime temperatures have made South Korea's heat wave more dangerous, the silver lining is that both rising daytime and nighttime temperatures have the same root cause: planet-warming pollution.

In the near term, the impact of rising temperatures can be mitigated, particularly in urban areas, by planting more trees and finding other ways to increase the levels of shade.

However, to address rising temperatures over the long term, it is necessary to significantly reduce the amount of heat-trapping pollution entering the atmosphere.

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This can be accomplished in ways large and small. For example, taking public transit and driving an EV can help to reduce transportation pollution, and installing solar panels can help to decrease pollution from energy, heating, and cooling usage. All add up to make a difference. Check out the TCD Guide for more.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA)  A Decatur man has been sentenced to probation after he pleaded guilty to beating a 16-year-old boy over a suspension from school.

Court records show Darrius Cliff, 35, was charged with three counts of domestic battery, including specific charges of strangulation, causing bodily harm and having prior convictions. Earlier this month, he agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors and entered a guilty plea on July 23.

He pleaded guilty to a Class 4 felony of domestic battery with a prior conviction; the other two counts against him were dismissed by Judge Thomas Griffith.

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Decatur Police on the scene of shots fired call

A sworn statement filed by the Decatur Police Department detailed that Cliff was arrested on April 17. Officer Charles Lane, who signed the statement, said he spoke with the teenage victim that day and learned that he had been suspended from school. Cliff picked the teen up from school.

[The teen] advised on the drive home, Darrius was yelling at him for getting in trouble at school, Lane wrote. [The teen] advised Darrius then punched him one timebetween his nose and mouth.

It was a hard enough punch that the boys nose started bleeding, Lane said.

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The physical violence didnt stop there. The boy said that once they got home, Cliff grabbed him by the collar, body slammed him to the ground and then stood over him as he continued punching him. Later, while he was changing his clothes, Cliff choke slammed him onto a bed.

[The teen] advised Darrius held him down on the bed by his throat for approximately 10-15 seconds while continuing to punch him in the head and face area, Lane said. During that time, [he] stated he was unable to speak or breathe as the pressure on his throat obstructed his airway.

The teen said Cliff punched him several more times in a fourth attack before leaving their home. While he was gone, the teen climbed out of a window and went to his aunts house.

3rd teen arrested in Champaign shooting that left a 14-year-old with potentially life-threatening injuries

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He was still bleeding when he arrived, and his aunt called the police. Lane said that when he arrived, he found the boy holding a bloody washcloth and fresh bloodstains on his pants. The aunt showed Lane pictures of the boys injuries that were dated today.

While I was speaking with [the teen], I was able to observe that he had swelling and bruising on the top right portion of his forehead as well as what appeared to be bruising forming on his left cheek under his eye. He was also observed to have a scratch on the left side of his neck, Lane said. The bruising on his face was consistent with being struck more than once and the scratch on his neck was consistent with his statement of being grabbed his throat.

When Cliff was questioned, Lane said his version of events was that they argued over the teens behavior at school and the teen tried to punch Cliff. Cliff claimed the teen missed and that while Cliff did throw the teen to the ground, he did not punch him; the blood on his hands and pants was from the teens nose bleeding after being thrown to the ground.

Lane said a check of Macon County records showed Cliff had two prior domestic battery convictions  one in 2008 for a misdemeanor count that resulted in conditional discharge and a fine and another in 2022, where he was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

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In the latest case against him, Cliff was again sentenced to probation. He will also have to comply with all DCFS requirements relating to contact with the victim.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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

Renewed emphasis on pedestrian safety in Decatur schools due to recent crashes involving students and staff.

Installation of speed cameras in school zones as part of efforts to improve safety.

Reminder to drivers about Georgia laws requiring them to stop for school buses, with significant penalties for violations.

DECATUR, Ga. - As students in the City Schools of Decatur returned to class on Thursday for the start of the 2025-2026 academic year, officials are placing renewed emphasis on pedestrian safety following a series of crashes involving students and school staff.

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The school district welcomed about 5,500 students across its campuses, which include one early childhood center, five K-2 schools, two upper elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Superintendent Dr. Gyimah Whitaker said the districts top priority is creating a "safe, engaging, and inclusive environment where every student succeeds."

Local perspective

That focus comes as the city continues to address concerns about pedestrian safety around school zones. Over the past year, multiple students and a crossing guard were hit by vehicles in or near crosswalks.

Among the most serious incidents:

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On Jan. 9, a 13-year-old was struck by a driver who ran a red light at the crosswalk between Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School. The driver fled the scene and has not been found.

On Nov. 6, a 16-year-old boy was killed while crossing East College Avenue. Police charged Decatur resident Jared Bradley with homicide by vehicle and reckless driving.

On Sept. 11, a crossing guard was hit at South Candler Street and East College Avenue while helping a student cross. The guard survived, and the driver was arrested.

Those incidents are part of a troubling trend that saw at least 24 pedestrian-involved crashes reported in Decatur since January, including one fatality.

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In response, the city installed speed cameras in some school zones.

Big picture view

City officials also reminded drivers of Georgia laws requiring all motorists to stop for school buses that are loading or unloading children, with potential penalties including a mandatory court appearance, up to a $1,000 fine, and up to six points on a drivers license.

What's next

Alongside safety upgrades, the district is also launching the third year of its five-year strategic plan. This years top goals include enhancing safety, supporting academic success, and executing a capital improvement plan. New measures include background checks for visitors, additional school resource officers, and weapons detection systems at the middle and high schools.

The Source

Decatur City Schools and the City of Decatur provided the details for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were also used.
A California Mini Corps tutor helps a migrant child at McKinley Elementary. The Trump administration said it would unfreeze funding for education programs. Migrant families relied on some of those funds, and some program leaders say damage has been done during the freeze and theyve had to shut down this summer. (Photo courtesy of Butte County Office of Education)

Victoria Gomez de la Torre doesnt know when  or if  the migrant children she serves are going to get the education help theyve come to rely on.

Gomez de la Torre oversees the migrant education program for 12 central Florida counties. The federally funded service helps the children of migrant agricultural workers, who move within and between states based on planting and harvesting seasons.

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Her staff identifies agricultural workers whove migrated to the area and helps them enroll their children in school. It also helps connect them with tutoring and medical care.

Earlier this summer, the Trump administration froze more than $6 billion in education funding, including money for migrant education, after-school programs, English-language programs for non-native speakers and other grants. Congress had already approved the money, but the administration said it wanted to conduct a review of the programs.

The administration announced last Friday it would release the remaining $5.5 billion of the money, after unfreezing $1.3 billion earlier this month.

But for Gomez de la Torres program, the damage had already been done: Without the money, it had to shut down this summer.

We didnt have enough money left over to carry the program, said Joram Rejouis, the director of program development for the public schools in Alachua County, which includes Gainesville and is the largest of the 12 counties. Definitely, stopping the program caused damage.

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The program came to a complete halt when Gomez de la Torres 11 staff members were offered other positions in the school district. Throughout July, about five dozen migrant children across the 12 counties were without summer services. The funds were supposed to go out before the start of the month.

Its going horrendously, said Gomez de la Torre. Migrant families depend on us, rely on our system and our help.

The Alachua County program serves about 1,000 to 1,200 children of migrant workers throughout the year, many in rural farming communities. Each year, roughly 17,000 migrant children are served by programs across Florida.

It is a very valuable program for a very vulnerable population, Rejouis said. Definitely, stopping the program caused damage, period  for the families, for the program and for the district.

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Migrant children are less likely to have regular primary care and are more likely to face health conditions such as anemia and high blood pressure. Many migrant families who harvest food in the fields dont have enough food themselves.

The program also helps with communication and translation among parents, teachers and guidance counselors. We were their go-to for whenever they needed something, Gomez de la Torre said. Now, they dont have us.

Stopping the program caused damage, period  for the families, for the program and for the district.

 Joram Rejouis, director of program development for the public schools in Alachua County, Fla.

The freeze in funds added to the uncertainty and fear created by the Trump administrations broader moves to target benefits for immigrants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced it had added Head Start to the list of public programs that would be closed to immigrants who are here illegally. After the funding announcement earlier this month, a senior official said the administration had established guardrails to ensure the funds are not used in violation of Executive Orders.

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Its anybodys guess when well come back, Gomez de la Torre said. If well come back. If people who chose to retire will return, if their retirement can be rescinded.  Nobody knows exactly how its going to play out.

A similar story is unfolding in California.

The statewide Mini Corps program, run by the Butte County Office of Education, north of Sacramento, connects migrant children at schools and labor camps with bilingual tutors who help them during the school day. Many of the tutors are former migrant children themselves, said Yvette Medina, who oversees the program.

The funding freeze forced the office to lay off around 400 workers statewide, according to spokesperson Travis Souders. Despite Fridays announcement, the organization is waiting for official word  in writing  before reversing layoffs.

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Theres going to be many students out there who are just going to have another disadvantage to the disadvantages that we already have, Medina said.

In Santa Clara County, which includes San Jose, the program was forced to shut down altogether, according to Medina.

Medina grew up in migrant labor camps, following her parents to the fields at 4 a.m. as they picked cherries and grapes before she went to school. Her parents worked throughout the Central Valley, back in Mexico and up and down the West Coast, all the way to Oregon.

It is devastating, she said. If it wasnt for the migrant program, I know for a fact theres no way I would have graduated high school.

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SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Migrant families already are gripped with fear as the Trump administration ramps up immigration raids and arrests, which President Donald Trump insists are focused on those with criminal histories.

They are terrified, Gomez de la Torre said. We had families stop sending kids to school and others who fled the country.

Ruby Luis, a consultant who helps school districts across Florida identify and enroll migrant students in school, also was a migrant child. Her parents worked in orange groves, at strawberry and Christmas tree farms and produce-packing houses.

Program tutors read books with her and gave her school supplies. The program took her on college tours and she enrolled via a scholarship for migrant children  a first-generation college student. She eventually graduated with a degree in biology.

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Just having even somebody to talk to you about going to college  because you dont have anybody to talk to about [that], she said. Having that support was really impactful.

To take that away, and then now they just have to navigate it themselves, it creates these barriers, Luis said. And it can ultimately leave these children not having access to education.

Stateline reporter Nada Hassanein can be reached at nhassanein@stateline.org.

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This article was originally published in Stateline.

Victoria Gomez de la Torre doesnt know when  or if  the migrant children she serves are going to get the education help theyve come to rely on.

Gomez de la Torre oversees the migrant education program for 12 central Florida counties. The federally funded service helps the children of migrant agricultural workers, who move within and between states based on planting and harvesting seasons.

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Her staff identifies agricultural workers whove migrated to the area and helps them enroll their children in school. It also helps connect them with tutoring and medical care.

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Earlier this summer, the Trump administration froze more than $6 billion in education funding, including money for migrant education, after-school programs, English-language programs for non-native speakers and other grants. Congress had already approved the money, but the administration said it wanted to conduct a review of the programs.

The administration announced last Friday it would release the remaining $5.5 billion of the money, after unfreezing $1.3 billion earlier this month.

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But for Gomez de la Torres program, the damage had already been done: Without the money, it had to shut down this summer.

We didnt have enough money left over to carry the program, said Joram Rejouis, the director of program development for the public schools in Alachua County, which includes Gainesville and is the largest of the 12 counties. Definitely, stopping the program caused damage.

The program came to a complete halt when Gomez de la Torres 11 staff members were offered other positions in the school district. Throughout July, about five dozen migrant children across the 12 counties were without summer services. The funds were supposed to go out before the start of the month.

Its going horrendously, said Gomez de la Torre. Migrant families depend on us, rely on our system and our help.

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The Alachua County program serves about 1,000 to 1,200 children of migrant workers throughout the year, many in rural farming communities. Each year, roughly 17,000 migrant children are served by programs across Florida.

It is a very valuable program for a very vulnerable population, Rejouis said. Definitely, stopping the program caused damage, period  for the families, for the program and for the district.

Migrant children are less likely to have regular primary care and are more likely to face health conditions such as anemia and high blood pressure. Many migrant families who harvest food in the fields dont have enough food themselves.

The program also helps with communication and translation among parents, teachers and guidance counselors. We were their go-to for whenever they needed something, Gomez de la Torre said. Now, they dont have us.

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The freeze in funds added to the uncertainty and fear created by the Trump administrations broader moves to target benefits for immigrants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced it had added Head Start to the list of public programs that would be closed to immigrants who are here illegally. After the funding announcement earlier this month, a senior official said the administration had established guardrails to ensure the funds are not used in violation of Executive Orders.

Its anybodys guess when well come back, Gomez de la Torre said. If well come back. If people who chose to retire will return, if their retirement can be rescinded.  Nobody knows exactly how its going to play out.

A similar story is unfolding in California.

The statewide Mini Corps program, run by the Butte County Office of Education, north of Sacramento, connects migrant children at schools and labor camps with bilingual tutors who help them during the school day. Many of the tutors are former migrant children themselves, said Yvette Medina, who oversees the program.

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The funding freeze forced the office to lay off around 400 workers statewide, according to spokesperson Travis Souders. Despite Fridays announcement, the organization is waiting for official word  in writing  before reversing layoffs.

Theres going to be many students out there who are just going to have another disadvantage to the disadvantages that we already have, Medina said.

In Santa Clara County, which includes San Jose, the program was forced to shut down altogether, according to Medina.

Medina grew up in migrant labor camps, following her parents to the fields at 4 a.m. as they picked cherries and grapes before she went to school. Her parents worked throughout the Central Valley, back in Mexico and up and down the West Coast, all the way to Oregon.

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It is devastating, she said. If it wasnt for the migrant program, I know for a fact theres no way I would have graduated high school.

Migrant families already are gripped with fear as the Trump administration ramps up immigration raids and arrests, which President Donald Trump insists are focused on those with criminal histories.

They are terrified, Gomez de la Torre said. We had families stop sending kids to school and others who fled the country.

Ruby Luis, a consultant who helps school districts across Florida identify and enroll migrant students in school, also was a migrant child. Her parents worked in orange groves, at strawberry and Christmas tree farms and produce-packing houses.

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Program tutors read books with her and gave her school supplies. The program took her on college tours and she enrolled via a scholarship for migrant children  a first-generation college student. She eventually graduated with a degree in biology.

Just having even somebody to talk to you about going to college  because you dont have anybody to talk to about [that], she said. Having that support was really impactful.

To take that away, and then now they just have to navigate it themselves, it creates these barriers, Luis said. And it can ultimately leave these children not having access to education.
POTTSVILLE  A 29-year-old New Jersey man accused of lighting a womans foot on fire is requesting his charges be dismissed in Schuylkill County Court based on violation of Rule 600.

Naszier T. Colburn, who remains jailed in Schuylkill County Prison, appeared for a motions hearing Friday before Judge William L. J. Burke on felony aggravated arson and other charges stemming from the reported assault of the Pottsville woman from March to April 2024.

Pottsville police charged Colburn on May 31, 2024, accusing him of choking and beating the woman on several instances in front of her children. The victim was pulled around the residence by her hair and lighter fluid was used to set her foot on fire, leaving injuries, police said.

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Prior to that case, Colburn was charged March 6, 2024, with felony strangulation, aggravated assault and other offenses against the same victim.

Rule 600 establishes the defendants right to a trial within 365 days of the filing of the criminal complaint.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Bench called Detective Marty Heckman from the DAs office to the stand. Heckman testified about criminal records and correspondence with judicial staff that reflected the defendant had failed to appear for a court proceeding last year.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Taglieri told the judge he has filed a Rule 600 timeline and a brief in support of the motion to dismiss the case. Burke said he would review the documents shortly.

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Colburn faces felony charges of aggravated arson  bodily injury, aggravated assault and intimidating a victim, a misdemeanor count of simple assault and a summary count of harassment for the May 31, 2024, case.

Prior to Fridays hearing, Colburns attorney, Douglas J. Taglieri, had made a motion to set nominal bail on the aggravated arson case so the defendant can reside with his family until the case is adjudicated.
Trump's crypto policy report misses one key promise originally appeared on TheStreet.

A new White House study on digital assets makes no mention of President Donald Trump's long-promised strategic crypto reserve in the U.S., as per the latest Bloomberg news report.

The report's factsheet, set to release on July 30, calls for regulators to clarify crypto trading regulations and proposes a new law that would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) authority over spot markets, with the goal of propelling a "Golden Age of Crypto."

The Working Group on Digital Asset Markets has worked on the much-awaited report. Trump signed an executive order in January, asking the Working Group to submit the report to the President within 180 days.

Though building a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was a significant aspect of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, the new report focuses more on rules and innovative ideas.

The organization wants Congress to enact the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to remove legal gaps and give the CFTC control over digital assets that aren't securities, like Bitcoin.

It also asks authorities to utilize their existing power to make it easier for people to trade cryptocurrencies at the federal level by clarifying how processes such as registration, custody, and trading should function.

Join the discussion with CryptosRUs on Roundtable here.

The report calls for faster approval of new crypto products, clearer guidelines for how banks may use stablecoins, and easier ways for firms to gain bank licenses.

The report also recommends that Congress enact legislation that "treats digital assets as a new class of assets subject to modified versions of tax rules applicable to securities or commodities" for federal tax purposes.

It also urges Congress to address tax loopholes like wash sales and provide the IRS with clear standards on how to handle crypto and corporate taxes.

Trump's crypto policy report misses one key promise first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 30, 2025

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Two men pleaded no contest to a series of felonies for their roles in a robocall scheme to spread inaccurate information around Detroit leading up to the 2020 election, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's Office announced Friday, Aug. 1.

According to Nessel's office, Jacob Wohl, 27, and John "Jack" Burkman, 59, engaged in a scheme that circulated robocalls to nearly 12,000 residents with Detroit phone numbers in late August 2020. The robocalls made false claims about voting by mail, which was promoted that year as a way to avoid contracting COVID-19 during the then-ongoing pandemic.

The robocalls falsely alleged that voting by mail would place voters' personal information into databases that law enforcement and credit card companies could use to track down individuals, Nessel's office stated. The robocalls also falsely claimed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would use vote-by-mail records to track individuals for mandatory vaccinations, Nessel's office said.

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Burkman and Wohl, both of Virginia, pleaded no contest to intimidating voters, conspiracy to violate election law, using a computer to violate election law and using a computer in a criminal conspiracy, Nessel's office announced.

A "no contest" plea occurs when a defendant accepts punishment for a crime without admitting guilt to a charge. The most serious charges carry maximum sentences of up to seven years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1 in Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court.

"The matter has lasted (five) years, the agreement preserves their freedom and that was the biggest aspect of the no contest plea," William Amadeo, a defense attorney representing Wohl, said over email.

Wohl and Burkman's robocall scheme targeted voters in other states, as well. In Ohio, they were ordered to spend 500 hours registering low-income voters as part of their sentence for robocalls targeting Cleveland-area voters, and a federal judge said robocalls to voters in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois in 2020 violated a series of state and federal civil rights laws.

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The Federal Communications Commission also proposed $5.1 million in fines against Wohl and Burkman, who gained prominence as conservative provocateurs in the years surrounding the 2020 election.

After five years, Im glad this case has finally reached a resolution, Nessel said in a statement. Deceptive and racially targeted suppression schemes will not be tolerated in Michigan. My office will continue to pursue and prosecute voter intimidation, no matter how long it takes, to ensure that Michiganders can exercise their right to vote free from fear and deception.

Wohl and Burkman had initially fought the charges brought by Nessel's office in Michigan court, arguing the robocall scheme was protected by free speech rights, according to prior Detroit Free Press reporting. In 2020, after they were first charged in Michigan, the pair filed a motion to quash the charges in circuit court. After the circuit court denied the motion, they asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to reconsider the case. The appeals court also denied the order.

Wohl and Burkman appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. While the high court didn't necessarily disagree with the Court of Appeals' denial of Wohl and Burkman's attempt to dismiss the case, the court ruled 5-2 last year to send the case back down to the Court of Appeals to determine whether the state law the charges were brought under violated free speech rights.

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After the Court of Appeals subsequently ruled the case could proceed, the Supreme Court denied a final attempt from Wohl and Burkman to toss out the charges.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Backers of robocall scheme targeting Detroit voters plead no contest
A Virginia Beach defense contractor that grew from operations as a dive shop to outfit Navy SEALs is expanding again.

ADS, founded in 1997, now provides a wide assortment of military and tactical equipment, technology and logistics solutions to more than 5,000 suppliers, including the Department of Defense, federal agencies and first responders.

The company is in the process of expanding its 80,000-square-foot warehouse by 50%, adding another 40,000 square feet. Employees do everything from picking, packing and labeling to assembling kits within the space to ship thousands of packages every month throughout the world.

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The company has grown each year for the past four years, leading to the need for additional space, Jeff Gordon, ADS executive vice president of operations, said in an email.

Were serving more customers, and working with more suppliers than ever before, he said.

The upgraded warehouse space is intended to handle larger orders, expedite deliveries, enable more efficiency, streamline military supply chain operations and meet government fulfillment and requirement demands.

We can ship more products in less time, which ultimately means the warfighter gets critical gear they need in the shortest amount of time, he said. Since 2020, weve shipped over 55 million products to 135 countries.

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Gordon pointed out that meeting that goal with 470 employees is an enormous feat.

The warehouse expansion will allow for the same number of team members to handle the increase in shipments, but Gordon said there is no doubt ADS will create more jobs across its industrial base by adding capacity.

In terms of recent federal government decisions, ADS sees the focus on efficiency and the push for increasing U.S.-based manufacturing and strengthening the defense industrial base as a win-win-win for its operations, Gordon said.

ADS acts as a bridge between innovative American companies who build amazing products, and the military customer who needs the best equipment possible, he said.

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After two years of planning and development, the company broke ground on the expansion project in May. Completion is anticipated in early 2026.

The warehouse will be named in honor of Levi Wilson, the companys former vice president who died in November. ADS CEO Ryan Angold said in a news release that Wilson was a true inspiration who epitomized what leadership at ADS is all about.

Gordon characterized Wilson as a force of nature. The retired Marine Corps sergeant major joined ADS in the early 2000s as its ninth employee after he served 30 years in the military.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  Alleged deficiencies in care led to a patient death at a Batavia community living center run by the VA Western New York Healthcare System, according to a report from the VA Office of Inspector General.

The report revolves around a patient simply known as Resident A. The resident, who was in their 70s, was admitted to the Buffalo VA in late 2024 for increasing combativeness, agitation and confusion. The resident had a history of dementia, anxiety and diabetes. Inpatient medication included periodic single doses of haloperidol for agitation.

The patient was discharged from the Buffalo VA to the Batavia clinic for long-term care. At the Batavia living center the dose of haloperidol was increased and it was noted that the resident needed extensive assistance with daily activities, including eating.

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At the residents first night in Batavia the resident fell but was not injured and a nurse documented normal vital signs but an elevated blood sugar level.

On the residents 16th day, a physician ordered bloodwork to monitor diabetes and electrolyte levels. Four days later, the resident had a fingerstick blood sugar level completed, which was elevated at 349 milligrams per deciliter. The report states that a normal level is 70 to 115 milligrams per deciliter.

On the residents 23rd day, a nurse noted that the resident was lethargic, did not respond to voice, and had abnormal vital signs. The residents blood sugar was registered at over 600 MG/DL. The resident was then admitted to the ICU. On day 36, the resident was transferred to the Buffalo VA for hospice and died two days later.

The results of the investigation showed that there were deficiencies in care including physician and nursing staff management of Resident As dementia and diabetes as well as nursing documentation of medication administration and nutritional intake. It further found deficiencies in provider staffing and nurse education that increased risk to patient safety and may have contributed to Resident As functional decline.

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The VA said in a statement Friday that the employee who was overseeing the veterans care is no longer with the VA.

The entire VA Western New York Healthcare System team grieves for the loss of this Veteran, the VA Western New York said in a statement Friday. We are working closely with the Batavia Community Living Center to implement the recommendations provided by the Office of Inspector General, ensuring that all Veterans receive the highest quality of care that they deserve.

This is now the second report from the inspector general in the past year. In September 2024, the office released a report involving dozens of patients having their care delayed at the Buffalo VA Medical Center, located on Bailey Avenue. The patients, for the most part, were attempting to receive care in 2022 or 2023. In one case, it took more than 300 days for a patient to receive care.

Report: Alleged negligence at Buffalo VA Medical Center caused delays in care

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One month before that, the VA healthcare system director and chief of staff were both transferred out of their positions due to concerns raised by clinicians about local leadership and instances of delayed care.

I am appalled by the findings of the recent OIG report detailing devastating failures in care at the Batavia Community Living Center, Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) said in a statement Friday. It is completely unacceptable that deficiencies in care contributed to a veterans death and that similar issues were found with another resident. The reports findings, including preventable failures in dementia and diabetes care, poor documentation, and a lack of accountability from leadership, indicate a systemic breakdown that puts our veterans at risk.

Nationally, the VA cut nearly 17,000 jobs before June 1 this year and plans to cut another 12,000 by the end of the year. Those more recent numbers came after an internal memo was sent in March that the Trump administration planned to cut 80,000 VA jobs. As of June, the VA had around 467,000 employees nationwide.

This was a catastrophic failure of leadership, oversight, and basic care. Just as I fought to overhaul the failed leadership at the Buffalo VA, Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY-23) said. Im now demanding the same level of accountability and sweeping reform in Batavia. Im actively working with VA Secretary Doug Collins to ensure this never happens again.

Latest Local News

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.

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Rob Petree is an anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of his work by clicking here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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As delays continue, Department of Unemployment Assistance introduces new pilot program

The Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) is facing delays in processing unemployment claims, prompting the introduction of a new pilot program to address the backlog.

Secretary Lauren Jones explained that the DUA is experiencing a historic influx of caseloads, particularly during the summer months, which is contributing to the delays.

Historically we see an uptick for unemployment issuings within the winter months as well as the summer months, said Lauren Jones, Secretary of the DUA, and that trend is continuing as we see it now, that has not changed over the years its been pretty significant and were trying to make sure that not only are we addressing the increase that were seeing during this time but the backlog we know we need to get through.

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Paul Fletcher, a viewer, reported waiting nearly 22 weeks for an unemployment check. He was recently informed by the DUA that he would receive a check within 48 hours.

Its literally pending pending pending, and its like its stuck in this loop.

The DUA staff met with House and Senate members to discuss the new program and explore ways to improve the processing of claims.

Were doing so with a pilot that were launching tomorrow, Jones added. Where staff are going to be dedicated throughout the day on Fridays throughout the next three months, focused on increasing claim processing, trying to understand what is holding up a claim, helping to what we call adjudicate those claims.

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Boston 25 also reached out to the governors office for comment on these delays, which they referred us to the duas remarks and declined to comment

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist addressed constituent questions from town hall attendees during a panel discussion alongside State Rep. Donavan McKinney, Macomb County Commissioner Michael Howard, and State Rep. Mai Xiong. July 31, 2025 | Photo courtesy of Michigan Families for Fair Care

Updated at 3:25 p.m.

Michigan residents living in the 7th and 10th Congressional Districts had choice words for Republican U.S. Reps. Tom Barrett and John James during two townhalls held this week focused on the impact of federal Medicaid cuts  but neither of the congressmen were there to hear them.

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Michigan Families for Fair Care, a left-of-center nonprofit dedicated to highlighting the voting records of the representatives, hosted the rallies in Lansing and Warren on Wednesday and Thursday evening. Each event targeted Barretts and James districts with attendance from Democratic Party activists, community members and those running for office against them on the Democratic sides of the races.

The future of health care and food assistance following federal cuts in the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act were among the primary concerns at both town halls. The cuts are expected to impact hundreds of thousands of Michiganders, including $6 billion to hospitals in Michigans Medicaid program and the 1.5 million people who are likely to be affected by cuts to Michigans Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

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More than 2.6 million Michiganders rely on Medicaid access for affordable health care.

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In Warren on Thursday, the panel included Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, state Rep. Mai Xiong of Warren and state Rep. Donavan McKinney of Detroit. Gilchrist is seeking the Michigan Democratic Party nomination for governor in 2026, while McKinney is seeking to primary U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit, a Democrat who currently represents the 13th Congressional District. Macomb County Commissioner Michael Howard, also a Democrat, was on the panel as well.

Gilchrist that it was up to community members to stand up when their elected officials dont show up for them. To that end, he said that James was absent from the community he served, and was more interested in running to Washington to vote for this bill that guts Medicaid.

Do you know that 182,000 in this district are living with Medicaid? That there are 41,000 veterans in the state of Michigan who are getting services from Medicaid? Gilchrist asked the crowd, and by proxy an absent James. These are the people he voted to strip and rip health care from. These are the people who he has voted to kill faster than they otherwise would have passed away. His absent leadership is dangerous.

McKinney said that the community he serves and is seeking to serve in Congress has a medium income of $13,000 a year. With multiple children, McKinney said he also struggles balancing child care and other vital expenses to keep his family healthy and secure, and that was on a state representatives salary. He said that someone earning less than $14,000 a year, which equates to about just $1,000 a month in take home pay, would face even greater hardships now that programs like Medicaid and SNAP are being slashed at the federal level.

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They do not need elected officials to cut one single resource, but thats what this man, so-called Congressman John James, just did, McKinney said, before adding that the congressmen on either side of 8 Mile Road at the border of Wayne and Macomb counties were absent from their districts, referring to James and Thanedar.

For Xiong, everything happening at the federal level is now touching all of her constituents lives.

No matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat or independent, Xiong said. Whats happening at the federal level is hurting so many families. Its devastating. Were in unprecedented times. In all my 40 years that Ive been alive, I dont think that weve ever faced as many obstacles as we have this year.

The trio took questions throughout the night on the state of Medicaid and SNAP in the fallout of the bill, and on the ways Democrats could strategize in order to talk about the cuts with their friends and neighbors, including Republicans who might be feeling buyers remorse.

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One question focused on James joining the Republican stated goal of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse and using that as a guise to finally cut areas of the federal budget that GOP hawks have salivated over ripping apart for decades.

Gilchrist said what theyre actually going after is peoples ability to live and thrive.

When they say they want to get rid of waste, fraud and abuse, and then the action they take is getting rid of services and health care and food assistance, it means they think that the people are the waste, Gilchrist said. So maybe they werent lying when they said they want to get rid of waste, because instead, they are harming and killing, in this case, the people in the state of Michigan.  Its inhumane. Its cruel.

He noted that was the major difference between Republicans and Democrats in the modern age. Gilchrist also touched on the billion-dollar Michigan budget hole that will be created in the fallout from the One Big Beautiful Bill Acts cuts and provisions.

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Thats something John James did to us on purpose, Gilchrist said. It wasnt an accident. It was intentional. What we have to do [now] is triage. How do we take care of the pregnant women who are more likely to die because their health care just got cut?  We need to be a little more creative.

With those new holes in the budget and the current stalemate over the process going nowhere between the Republican-controlled Michigan House and the Democratic-led state Senate, McKinney said it could be possible that Michigans government shuts down on Oct. 1. He also said he believes thats what the Republicans in the House want.

Were fighting like hell to figure it out, but these Republicans are playing hardball, McKinney said. They really dont care. Whatever Trump is doing, theyre just following the federal protocol in D.C.

Requests for comment to James office was not returned.

Byrum leads panel in Lansing

The Lansing event featured Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for secretary of state, state Rep. Kara Hope of Holt and Ingham County Commissioner Ryan Sebolt.

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Like the panel in Macomb County on Thursday, Byrum on Wednesday said that it was up to constituents to fight for their needs and resources when their elected leaders dont show up for them, noting that Barrett has avoided town halls just like the ones held this week.

Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum (left), Ingham County Commissioner Ryan Sebolt (center right) and Democratic state Rep. Kara Hope of Holt (right) during a town hall in the district of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte). Not pictured: Tom Barrett. July 30, 2025 | Photo by Ben Solis/Michigan Advance

She also counseled those in attendance to reach out to their friends and neighbors to explain how these cuts will affect their lives, but cautioned to do it with empathy, deep listening and to avoid saying, I told you so.

Be reflective, Byrum said. I think if we have those conversations, I think that will also help. Its imperative, and its so fitting that were sitting in the AFL-CIO building, that we remember that we are stronger together. We need to lean on each other.

Although no candidate who might face Barrett was on the panel, several of his Democratic challengers were in the audience, including Michigan State University professor Josh Cowen, former NAVY Seal Matt Maasdam and Elyon Badger.

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Jason Roe, a strategist working with Barretts campaign, told Michigan Advance that the congressman and his staff have met with hundreds of constituents since he took office seven months ago, and continue to do so.

However, these stunts organized by the Democratic Party and progressive advocacy organizations are nothing but political theater, Roe said. Further, there has been violence against elected officials across the country over the last several months and these kinds of antics only further inflame this behavior. He will continue to do the job he was elected to do and let his opponents play their little games.

This story was updated to include a response from the campaign of U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte).
North Carolina Rep. Carla Cunningham (D-Mecklenburg) speaks on the House floor on July 29, 2025. Cunningham voted to override on Gov. Josh Stein's vetoes, breaking with her Democratic Party colleagues. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

Its no surprise that State Rep. Carla Cunningham  a Democrat from Mecklenburg County  declined to speak with reporters this week after helping to override Gov. Steins veto of a mean-spirited and ill-conceived anti-immigrant bill.

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Thats what often happens when a politician puts their foot in their mouth.

House Bill 318 will force local sheriffs  even when it makes their communities less safeto cooperate with federal ICE officials in detaining people merely accused of criminal offenses.

Its one of the ham-handed tactics the Trump administration has been using to terrorize immigrant communities and round up good people for deportation.

Unfortunately, all of this seems to have escaped Cunningham, who not only provided the decisive yes vote, but who also gave an uninformed speech in which she accused immigrants of exploiting and abusing native born Americans and implied that immigrant cultures are inferior.

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The bottom line: Cunningham embarrassed herself and her constituents  many of them foreign born  with her cruel rant. One prays shell awaken soon from her delusions.

For NC Newsline, Im Rob Schofield.
Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror

A Democratic PAC aimed at supporting statewide Democrats in 2026 launched its campaign against their GOP opponents Thursday, taking aim at their support of President Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill that will kick millions of people off of health care to pay for tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy.

Copper State War Room, an arm of the Copper State Victory PAC, held its first press conference on Thursday and launched a broadside against the two leading contenders in the Republican primary for governor, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and Karrin Taylor Robson. Both have been endorsed by Trump.

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Let me be crystal clear. By supporting these cuts, Karrin Taylor Robson and Andy Biggs are attacking seniors, Dora Vasquez, the executive director of the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans, said, adding that rural hospitals are also at risk from the cuts.

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Congress set aside $50 billion for rural hospitals in anticipation of the impact the cuts would have, however, hospital leaders have voiced concern if it will be enough given that the cost of the cuts are estimated to reach $155 billion for rural hospitals in the next 10 years.

Vasquez also noted that former Gov. Jan Brewer, who co-chaired Robsons previous campaign for governor, had voiced opposition to the proposed cuts to those programs. While governor, Brewer fought against Republicans to expand Medicaid enrollment, and ultimately succeeded.

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Robsons campaign refused to answer if Brewer is still part of the campaign or what Robsons opinion is on Brewers stance on the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and instead doubled down on support of the spending package in an emailed statement.

Katie Hobbss opposition to the Big, Beautiful Bill is an insult to the voters and taxpayers of Arizona, Robson said in the statement. Her opposition to a historic tax cut for the working class and Arizona families, funding for border security and law enforcement, and efforts to root out fraud, waste, and abuse in our government is a reminder that she is unfit to be governor of our great state.

Biggs campaign manager, Pat Aquilina, sent a written statement after this story was published defending the legislation that will kick an estimated 12 million Americans, including nearly 400,000 Arizonans, off of Medicaid.

Congressman Biggs vote for President Trumps bill followed through on what his constituents and all Arizonans believe in: responsible reforms that prioritize Medicaid support for the disabled population, women, and children who need it the most, not illegal aliens or fraudsters who have cost our states taxpayers billions in funding, Aquilina said.

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Dr. Vishal Verma, who practices internal medicine in Scottsdale, expressed his concerns over how the budget bill will impact rural communities and the healthcare industry as a whole.

This bill hits us at a time when the health care system is already strained and stressed by burnouts, workforce shortages and rising costs, Verma said. Five rural hospitals and approximately 300,000 Arizonans are at risk due to the cuts with Arizonas Healthcare Cost Containment System, also known as AHCCCS, estimated to lose about 19% of its $22 billion budget.

Verma said the physicians and hospitals, especially those in rural areas, that have larger percentages of patients on those programs will face financial ruin from the cuts.

If rural hospitals go under, so do the local rural economies, Verma said, adding that patients will be forced to drive for hours to get care.

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Both Biggs and Robson have praised Trumps Big Beautiful Bill and championed the cuts to Medicaid, as well as a number of other cuts and major policy aims of the Trump administration.

The PAC and its campaign efforts are the result of dysfunction at the Arizona Democratic Party, which has been in turmoil since party members elected Robert Branscomb as chairman in January. Top Democrats and party donors clashed with him almost immediately and vowed to work around the state party, so they launched Copper State Victory PAC in June. Last month, Democrats ousted Branscomb as chairman.

***UPDATE & CORRECTION: This story was updated to include a comment from Pat Aquilina, the campaign manager for Andy Biggs. Additionally, a sentence saying that Biggs and Robson had championed the cuts to Medicaid and Medicare was rewritten to remove a mention of Medicare; both have praised the Medicaid cuts.

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Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett said Friday that GOP-proposed congressional maps in Texas would draw her out of the district where she lives, part of a redistricting effort Democrats say is aimed at at picking up five seats to keep Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

During public testimony at a hearing on the plan in the state capitol, Crockett said she had been asked to confirm her home address by the legislature, she said, ahead of the previous field hearings.

"In addition to the fact that I know that this legislature did ask us as members of Congress to confirm our addresses, I don't know how many of us actually still reside in the districts that we represent. I do not currently reside in my district based upon the plan that has been drawn, which is another red flag," she said.

Arturo Holmes/Getty Images - PHOTO: Rep. Jasmine Crockett speaks onstage during the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, July 4, 2025, in New Orleans.

She alleged that some other members had also been drawn out of their seats.

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MORE: Texas Republicans propose new congressional maps that could allow GOP gainsMORE: Texas Democrats escalate fight against Republican-led redistricting efforts with Pritzker, Newsom meetings

More broadly, Crockett attacked the proposed maps as discriminatory and the map "does nothing but divide, distract and depress," she said.

Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who currently represents Texas' 37th Congressional District but would be in the same district as fellow Democratic Rep. Greg Casar if the new maps go through, told the hearing that he is an "unusual opponent of this plan" because more than half of the people in the district he represents, which he said he's filed for reelection in, are still there.

"This is not a Texas map. It is a Trump map. It was not requested by any Republican or any Democrat in Texas. It was imposed by President Trump, who has a stranglehold on Congress, and the only question here is whether he also has a stranglehold on this Texas legislature," Doggett said.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images - PHOTO: Rep. Lloyd Doggett speaks during a mark up meeting with the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill, May 16, 2025.

Republican state Rep. Todd Hunter, who filed the bill containing the new maps and chaired the 2021 redistricting committee in the legislature, told the hearing that "political performance" was part of the considerations when drawing the maps.

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Hunter also said later that the "newly drawn districts now trend Republican in political performance. Doesn't guarantee electoral success. Does not guarantee; that's up to the candidates, but it does allow Republican candidates the opportunity to compete in these districts."

Redistricting in both red and blue states has often been alleged to be partisan; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that federal courts cannot police partisan gerrymandering.

Outside of the hearing, protesters gathered in the capitol's rotunda to slam the maps, according to photos shared by state Rep. Gene Wu and former U.S. Rep. Colin Allred.

Some Republicans have defended the proposed new maps and redistricting effort.

Mark Schiefelbein/AP, FILE - PHOTO: Sen. John Cornyn speaks on Capitol Hill, April 8, 2025.

Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn, responding on Thursday to the proposed new congressional maps in his home state, said, "Texas has changed, like many other states, and there are a lot more Republican voters, and they're underrepresented in the current maps. And so this is a chance to align the population changes and the voting changes in Texas with those maps, so that everybody gets fair representation."
AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Democrats argued Friday that a Republican plan for redrawing districts in Texas to create more winnable U.S. House seats for the GOP is not only a power grab by President Donald Trump but also an attack on Black and Hispanic voters that violates the landmark federal Voting Rights Act.

The plan's Republican author acknowledged during a state House committee hearing that his proposed map is designed to help the GOP pick up five seats in Texas, something Trump is pushing to preserve the party's now-slim House majority. The Texas House committee expected to vote on the plan by Saturday, allowing the full House to vote as early as Tuesday, before going to the Senate.

Democrats have few options for thwarting the Republican plan during a 30-day special session called by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, and calls for offsetting efforts in Democratic states intensified among Democrats outside Texas. Democratic legislators in Texas can walk out, go to another state and prevent either chamber from conducting but would face fines  and also block relief for victims of deadly flash flooding last month in the state's Hill Country.

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Republicans disputed that their plan dilutes the power of Black and Hispanic voters to elect candidates of their choosing and said it could give them better representation by uniting some communities that previously have been split.

But the new lines likely would make it harder for four Hispanic incumbents and two Black incumbents to retain their seats in 2026. The Texas delegation would go from a 25-13 split in the GOP's favor to a 30-8 advantage.

Ive never seen anything this brazen, this broken and this spineless, said former Democratic U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, who's running for the U.S. Senate. If you do this, well see you in court and at the ballot box.

Defending the map and partisan motivations

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Texas once was required by the 1965 Voting Rights Act to submit its redistricting plans to the federal government for review because of its past history of discrimination, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared in 2013 that the requirement was outdated and unconstitutional. The act requires states to have the number of districts in which minority voters can elect a candidate reflect their percentage of the population.

The GOP plan creates five new districts without any incumbents, and sponsoring Republican state Rep. Todd Hunter noted that in four of them, at least half of the voting-age U.S. citizens are minorities, and there would be 10 Hispanic-majority districts, rather than the current nine.

Its a good plan for Texas, Hunter said.

Hunter acknowledged that the lines were being redrawn for partisan purposes, which he said is allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court. He said a law firm was consulted as the map was being drawn.

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Other Republicans testified in favor of the plan for other reasons, many of them mayors or local party chairs. Melinda Preston, Denton County's GOP chair, said the new maps will reflect the booming population in the state of 30 million.

The redistricting push could move to other states

Democrats argued that if Republicans succeed in redrawing the districts in Texas, Trump will push other states to redraw theirs before theyd normally do so, which would be in 2031 or 2032, after the next nationwide census. States are required to adjust the lines at least once every 10 years to keep the districts as equal in population as possible after population shifts.

Thats led Democrats in California and New York to consider redrawing their states lines to help Democrats, though each state has an independent commission for drawing the lines.

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Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, also said Democratic governors should retaliate, if they can.

We need to respond in kind, which I think we do to protect the American people, Kelly said Friday at news conference during a DGA meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. I hate the fact that were here, that we even have to consider something this drastic.

Why walking out is hard for Democrats

Texas is unusual in requiring two-thirds of members to be present for the House or Senate to conduct business. That rule would allow Democrats, particularly in the House, where they hold 62 of 150 seats, to shut the chamber.

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But Democrats haven't publicly promised to do that, though they've used the tactic in the past.

House members now face a fine of $500 each day they're absent, and the chamber's rules prohibit lawmakers from tapping campaign funds to pay them.

In addition, the chamber also couldn't consider flood relief proposals  which Democrats have insisted should be the focus of the special session. Democratic state Rep. Rhetta Bowers accused Abbott and his fellow Republicans of holding that relief hostage so they could slice up Black and Latino communities just to please Donald Trump."

Let me be clear: We will not allow flood relief to be used as a bargaining chip for racially rigged maps, Bowers said during a briefing for reporters and others.

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How the map could change the partisan balance

Under the exiting lines, which were in place for the 2022 and 2024 elections, Republicans won all of their seats in districts carried by Trump by at least 10 percentage points.

Democrats won all 11 districts carried by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar and Vincente Gonzalez won reelection in districts that Trump won by less than 10 points.

If the GOP's proposed map had been in place in 2024, Harris would have won eight districts, and Trump would have won the other 30 by at least 10%.

In San Antonio, Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro would be drawn out of a safe blue district into one that Trump would have won by nearly 22 points.

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And in Houston, Democratic Rep. Al Green would live in a majority-Hispanic district  but 72% of the Black voters he now represents would not. He would go from being in a district that Harris carried by 44 percentage points to one Trump would have carried by 15 points  with a GOP incumbent.

This is not democracy, Amanda McLaughlin, a North Texas resident, said. Is it worth destroying Texas to give the president five more seats?

___

Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Also contributing were videojournalist Lekan Oyekanmi in Austin; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, and Brian Witte, in Annapolis, Maryland.
Abortion providers and Democrat-led states are bringing lawsuits over the Trump administration's decision to defund Planned Parenthood, a legal fight that raises the stakes by challenging the will of both Congress and the president.

Planned Parenthood and several blue states have sued over the provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that strips Medicaid funding from certain abortion providers for one year. The bill was passed by Congress and signed by the president in July.

The legislation advances the pro-life movements longtime goal of defunding Planned Parenthood, the nations largest abortion provider, but a federal judge in Massachusetts has temporarily blocked the Trump Health and Human Services Department from carrying it out.

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Derek Muller, a professor at Notre Dame Law School, told Fox News Digital that taking on two branches of government sets this litigation apart from many of the hundreds of other lawsuits targeting the Trump administration.

Senate Parliamentarian Oks Ban On Planned Parenthood Federal Funding In Trump Megabill

A federal judge has paused the Trump administration from enforcing part of a massive tax and spending bill that would block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood health centers.

"Congress has the power of the purse," Muller said. "Congress has a lot of discretion [over] how it wants to spend its money, and this is not an instance where the executive has been engaged in overreach or doubtful conduct.  This is ordinary legislation, and when it comes to ordinary legislation, there's more deference given to Congress, and certainly more in how it chooses to subsidize things, where it wants to give money or where it doesn't want to give money."

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The judge's decision to temporarily block the funding cuts stemmed from a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit with hundreds of facilities across the country that provide abortions and other reproductive health services.

Planned Parenthood's attorneys alleged in court papers that the provision was unconstitutional, arguing it would deprive the nonprofit of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements, causing it to lose half of its patients and forcing it to shutter up to one-third of its facilities.

Federal Judge Pauses Trump Administration's Planned Parenthood Defunding Measure

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Katie Daniel, counsel at SBA Pro-Life America, told Fox News Digital Planned Parenthood was making a "desperate argument" that "totally undermines Congress' ability to determine how taxpayer dollars are spent." It also signals that Planned Parenthood was not a solvent business, she said.

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"It's a business that really can't keep itself afloat without getting hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars," Daniel said.

Planned Parenthood's attorneys noted that Medicaid does not typically cover abortions and that the funding cuts would affect other services. Cancer and sexually transmitted infections would go undetected, especially for low-income people, and more unplanned pregnancies would occur because of a lack of contraception access, the attorneys said.

"The adverse public health consequences of the Defund Provision will be grave," the attorneys wrote.

Daniel said the Medicaid marketplace includes other options for clinics and that those options "outnumber Planned Parenthood nationally 15 to one."

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Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, said she was inclined to agree with Planned Parenthood that the legislation violated several provisions in the Constitution and granted a preliminary injunction, which the Department of Justice is now appealing.

That lawsuit has been joined by two others challenging the bill. A coalition of 21 states with Democratic attorneys general, along with the District of Columbia and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, brought one of them on Monday.

Maine Family Planning, which operates 18 health facilities in the Pine Tree State, has also sued over the legislation. While lawmakers have touted that the bill defunds Planned Parenthood, it was written to include other entities, including Maine Family Planning, as a way to pass parliamentarian scrutiny.

Judge Torched For Planned Parenthood Order: Her Court Looks 'Like A Fast Food Drive-through'

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Daniel told Fox News Digital she anticipates the higher courts will rule in favor of the Trump administration but that the bill's one-year limit on the funding cuts works in Planned Parenthood's favor.

"At this point for Planned Parenthood, it's really about running out the clock," Daniel said. "The defund provision is for one year, so every single day that they can keep getting money.  That's existential to them."

If the Trump administration ultimately wins the court fight, it could attempt to claw back the Medicaid funds it lost while Talwani's injunction was in place. Daniel noted, however, that "it's incredibly difficult, it's time-consuming, it's costly, and Planned Parenthood is relying on all of that."

Among Planned Parenthood's allegations was a longshot claim that Congress's bill violates the Constitution's bill of attainder clause because it singles out and punishes Planned Parenthood without a trial.

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Bills of attainder are pieces of legislation that serve to bypass the role of judges and punish people or entities. The Constitution prohibits bills of attainder because they infringe on the function of the courts.

Muller told Fox News Digital he believed the bill of attainder argument was a "nonstarter."

"People have tried to argue that certain things that Congress does, singling out or targeting individuals, could rise to a bill of attainder," Muller said. "This has gotten some traction in lower courts. It has never really gotten traction in the courts of appeal because it is far afield from the original meaning of the Constitution on this topic."





Original article source: Democrats escalate anti-Trump lawfare by targeting Congress in Planned Parenthood funding fight
BANGKOK (AP)  U.S. President Donald Trumps new tariff rates of up to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of countries drew expressions of relief Friday from some countries that negotiated a deal or managed to whittle them down from rates announced in April. Others expressed disappointment or frustration over running out of time after hitting Trump's Aug. 1 deadline for striking deals with Americas trading partners.

The new rates are due to take effect on Aug. 7, but uncertainty over what Trump might do next remains. The way ahead for China, which runs the largest trade surplus with the U.S., is unclear after talks earlier this week in Stockholm produced no deal. Trump has yet to say if he'll extend an Aug. 12 pause on painfully high import duties on Chinese products.

The reaction from financial markets was muted. Benchmarks fell in Asia, with South Koreas Kospi dropping nearly 4% after the tariff rate for the U.S. ally was set at 15%. The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, trading at more than 150 yen per dollar.

Regret and disappointment for Canada and Switzerland

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government was disappointed by Trump's move to raise the U.S. tariff on goods from America's northern neighbor to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. Goods transshipped from unspecified other countries face a 40% import duty.

Trump cited what he said was a lack of cooperation in stemming trafficking of illicit drugs across the northern border. He also slammed Canada's plan to recognize a Palestinian state and has expressed frustration with a trade deficit largely fueled by U.S. oil purchases.

Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes, Carney said in a statement.

Many of Canada's exports to the U.S. are covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and face no tariff. But steel, lumber, aluminum and autos have been subject to still higher tariffs.

Switzerland was reeling after Trump ordered a 39% tariff rate for the land of luxury watches, pharmaceuticals and financial services. That was up from his original proposal of a 31% duty.

The Federal Council notes with great regret that, despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerlands very constructive stance from the outset, the U.S. intends to impose unilateral additional tariffs on imports from Switzerland, the government said in a post on X. It said it would continue to seek a negotiated solution.

Still working on it

Just days after it was sealed with a handshake, France is already talking about possibly renegotiating parts of the EU-US deal on tariffs, to make it more favorable for European producers. The deal reached Sunday, which hasn't been published in writing, calls for a 15% tariff on EU goods.
NEW YORK (AP)  Democrats are launching a nationwide summer blitz designed to force vulnerable Republicans to defend President Donald Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts bill  especially Medicaid cuts that will leave millions of Americans without health care coverage.

Republican leaders in Washington, meanwhile, have encouraged their members to promote more popular aspects of the bill during smaller controlled appearances where GOP officials are less likely to face difficult questions or protests.

The Democratic National Committee's Organizing Summer will feature events in all 50 states, beginning with Alaska, Texas, Colorado and California over the coming week. The party's message will be reinforced by online advertising and billboard trucks at state and county fairs in the coming days targeting vulnerable House Republicans in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Jersey, among other states.

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As Democrats, our job is to ensure that every American across the country understands the devastating impacts of this bill," DNC Chair Ken Martin said. "Democrats will be holding events, highlighting Republican hypocrisy, and ensuring Americans across the country know exactly who is responsible for taking away health care, food, construction jobs, and nursing homes in order to give massive handouts to billionaires.

The massive Republican-backed tax and spending package that Trump called big, beautiful and signed into law on July 4 may ultimately become the defining issue of next year's midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress for Trump's final two years in office.

Republicans are touting the bill as a tax cut for all Americans, but polling suggests that U.S. adults have been slow to embrace the GOP's message. The new law will add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits through 2034, leave more than another 10 million people without health insurance and leave millions of others without food stamps, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

For much of the year, Republican officials have avoided town hall meetings with constituents or public appearances where they might face protesters or unscripted questions from voters. GOP members of Congress may be slightly more visible this summer, however, according to a memo distributed this week by the House Republican campaign arm.

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The memo encourages Republicans to be proactive in selling Trump's bill during the August recess, although the National Republican Campaign Committee suggests its members focus on tax cuts in smaller settings they can control.

Among the NRCC's suggestions outlined in the memo: Visit a local hospital and discuss how you voted for no tax on overtime, stop by a restaurant to highlight your vote on no tax on tips and work the counter at a local store and chat about your work to lower costs.

The monthlong August break is a critical opportunity to continue to define how this legislation will help every voter and push back on Democrat fearmongering, the Republican memo says.

Democrats are planning a decidedly more public campaign this month than their Republican rivals, although they'll also offer multi-day intensive bootcamps as part of a training program for political operatives and community leaders.

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Events are being planned for all 50 states with special focus on 35 of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. Current and former Democratic officials will be featured, including former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who emerged as a leader against gun violence since her 2011 assassination attempt.

As part of the new effort, the Democratic National Committee is also launching a new digital advertising campaign initially targeting vulnerable Republicans in Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia. That's in addition to the DNC sending mobile billboard trucks to county fairs in the districts of Republicans in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Trump's big ugly bill: $4 trillion giveaway to billionaires. The rest of us pay the price, read the billboards, which will feature the name and face of each Republican congressman.

And as Republicans search for an effective message to sell Trump's bill, Democrats are increasingly confident.

The big, ugly law is a political disaster," said Viet Shelton, spokesman for the House Democrats campaign arm. Everyone hates it and vulnerable House Republicans know it, which is why theyre scared to face their constituents in person during the August recess.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office arrested a man connected to an investigation that spanned over seven years involving several massage parlor locations that are currently under investigation.

Paul Bowden, 59, of Denham Springs, has been charged with two counts of pandering.

Paul Bowden was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish prison for pandering.

A business operating under multiple names, including Y&L Body Relaxation and Rainbow Spa Li, has repeatedly violated state law by continuing to operate without a valid massage license on Airline Highway, according to authorities.

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Since 2018, the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy (LBMT) has issued numerous cease-and-desist orders to the business for operating without proper licensing and advertising unregulated services. Disregarding these orders, the business continued to operate under new names and ownership, while illicit online ads continued.

Despite years of enforcement, violations, and even past arrests, the Airline Highway business continued to operate with total disregard for the law, investigators said. Officials also noted a troubling pattern of suspected human trafficking, including women being forced to live and work on the premises under exploitative conditions.

An administrative hearing with LBMT related to the businesss license status has been repeatedly delayed, most recently rescheduled for August 2024.

In June 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at the Airline Highway location. The investigation uncovered unlicensed massage activity, evidence of individuals living on-site, and items consistent with illicit services, including condoms hidden inside soft drink cans, revealing clothing, erotic advertisements, and a large supply of lubricants and massage oils.

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The business was linked by phone numbers and receipts to other locations under investigation or previously shut down for similar offenses. The other locations included Rose Spa on Florida Boulevard, Lomi Spa on Coursey Boulevard, and Relax Spa in Youngsville. Authorities believe these businesses are connected through individuals moving employees between locations and collecting earnings from alleged prostitution-related activity.

During a June 11 search, investigators found a credit card receipt for a massage after regular business hours, as well as utility bills and receipts tying the location to individuals previously involved in illegal massage operations.

The investigation remains ongoing.

East Baton Rouge corrections officer fired, accused of drug dealing

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
DENVER (KDVR)  The Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is saying goodbye to its Nile hippopotamus, Mahali, as he moves to a wildlife preserve in Texas this fall.

The zoo said the move is designed to help with Mahalis long-term well-being in addition to the zoos sustainability goals: Mahalis habitat uses 21 million gallons of water each year (which is about 27% of all water usage at the zoo in 2024) and is no longer suitable for him.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife developing beaver conservation, management strategy

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Mahali is housed in Old Pachyderms, a building that has housed such animals, including rhinos and elephants, since 1959. The zoo said the building needs maintenance and repair to remain up to standards set by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, from both an animal husbandry and guest perspective.

Mahali, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliances Nile hippo, will be moving to Texas. (KDVR) Mahali, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliances Nile hippo, will be moving to Texas. (KDVR) Mahali, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliances Nile hippo, will be moving to Texas. (KDVR) Mahali, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliances Nile hippo, will be moving to Texas. (KDVR)

In our most recent inspection conducted by AZA, the facility was flagged for significant updates and is no longer considered suitable for the species, the zoo explained. We are aware that Old Pachyderms would not pass future inspections without substantial upgrades.

The zoo added that when it combines the water usage and natural gas to heat the water, Mahalis habitat costs nearly $200,000 in utilities each year.

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That means later this fall, Mahali will move to Texas and his old habitat will be vacant during maintenance. The zoo also noted that it didnt include hippos in its master plan, and no discussions are happening about bringing new Nile hippos or similar large hippos to the zoo.

The zoo didnt name Mahalis new home in Texas, simply saying it has a cooperative partnership with a wildlife preserve in Texas presented a timely opportunity for Mahalis future. The zoo did say that he will be introduced to an older female hippo at his new home.

The zoos partnership with the wildlife preserve also brought desert bighorn sheep to the zoo, as well as a red-flanked duiker.

Photos: Denver Zoo gets 2 Rocky Mountain bighorn lambs

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Mahali, now 23, was born at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance in 2002 to Samantha and Bert and is described as a fan favorite to staff, volunteers and guests.

Crowds gather around Mahalis pool to watch him play with his toys, drink from his firehose and sunbathe, the zoo said on its website. Kids and adults alike delight at his antics and even the occasional splatter as he would spray his poop around in a territorial gesture. Mahalis departure will leave a hippo-shaped hole in our hearts and on our campus.

In preparation for his trip, a crate will soon be placed in his yard to allow him to acclimate to and feel more comfortable during the move.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
A Pennsylvania vote-by-mail ballot envelope (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall)

U.S. Department of Justice officials say the department will seek voting and election information from all 50 states, according to a national group that includes many top state election officials.

The department has sent letters to Pennsylvania and at least eight other states in recent months asking for information related to voter list maintenance in the states under the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.

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Several letters also request state voter registration lists, prompting concern among some Democrats and voting rights activists about how the department, under the control of President Donald Trump, plans to use the data.

The National Association of Secretaries of State, known as NASS, said that after states began receiving letters, its staff reached out to the department for additional information and context.

DOJ staff told NASS staff that all states would be contacted eventually on NVRA and HAVA matters. We passed along this information to members, assocation spokesperson Maria Benson wrote in a statement to Stateline, using the acronyms for the two voting registration acts.

The Department of Justice has declined to answer questions from Stateline about its plans for the voter registration data.

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SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Some states have declined to hand over their full voter registration records, which can contain sensitive personal information, including partial Social Security numbers.

Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have all declined to release full lists. In Maine, Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows plans to deny a similar request, telling the Maine Morning Star that the DOJ can go jump in the Gulf of Maine.

The departments focus on elections comes after 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.

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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.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is getting put on blast after she once again demanded that President Donald Trump be given the Nobel Peace Prize.

President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office, she said as she listed some of those efforts. Its well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

While Trump has had his hand in some ceasefire agreements, his efforts overall have been a mixed bag.

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A ceasefire between Israel and Iran, for example, came only after he launched a U.S. strike on Iranian facilities.

And some of the biggest conflicts have continued to rage.

Trump vowed repeatedly to end the war between Russia and Ukraine on his first day in office, but the situation has only worsened. Hes also promised to end the war in Gaza, but Israels assault in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks has continued, and the humanitarian crisis has escalated.

Trump has instead complained that he didnt get a thank you from Gaza for sending money intended for food aid.

But Leavitts demand is in line with Trumps longtime grievance over the award.

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Hes complained repeatedly about not getting one during his previous term in office, insisting that he should have had four or five of them by now.

And he really doesnt like that President Barack Obama was awarded one.

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had nominated Trump for the honor in a move many observers believed was just a blatant attempt to curry favor.

As a result, Leavitts critics fired back with a number of facts about her boss. Some also noted that she seemed to pronounce Nobel as noble, which, ironically, is how Trump himself has spelled the name of the prize in the past.

And a few compared her over-the-top praise for her boss to North Korean propaganda.

Trump should have long ago been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, says White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt.



Disgraceful. No serious statesman begs for awards and factually, since Trumps so-called toe-dip into diplomacy, Putin has only ramped up his campaign of terror, pic.twitter.com/tysip1zU79  Shaun Pinner (@olddog100ua) August 1, 2025

When a propaganda mouthpiece has an absence of shame as her boss. Sad to see the depths of cringe that they both would go to. https://t.co/89GoYYTc5h  Errol Mendes LSM (@3mendous) July 31, 2025

People in North Korea are like "man, she's laying it on a bit too thick" https://t.co/Y9p4PcZDkH  scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) July 31, 2025

Why not physics for creating an alternate universe  Dj Omega Mvp (@DjOmegaMVP) July 31, 2025

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We are North Korea now. https://t.co/A22DdeqGr9  Jim Stewartson, Antifascist  (@jimstewartson) July 31, 2025

Remember sending the National Guard to California? Thats not peace.  Mermaid78 (@mermaid8861) July 31, 2025

WAIT! Karoline Leavitt just made this bizarre demand from the podium that Donald Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.



Is she acting CRAZY? 

pic.twitter.com/vUEvZDKwEX  Lucas Sanders  (@LucasSa56947288) July 31, 2025

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Karoline Leavitt: It is well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.



For what exactly? pic.twitter.com/yQBWuGj1gF  Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 31, 2025

Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize? Whats next, naming a civics award after George Santos?  Chetter  Beacon for Democracy (@ChetterHub) July 31, 2025

A less-than-noble effort at pronouncing Nobel, to be sure. https://t.co/w8UYDN6A7Y  Brett Baker (@BrettSBaker) July 31, 2025

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Secretary of Stupidity @PressSec Karoline Leavitt says it's well past time that Trump be "awarded the noble peace prize." Not Nobel - "noble." https://t.co/JZNZ8zLA62pic.twitter.com/nz1foolwz6  Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) July 31, 2025

Karoline Leavitt: President Trump has brokered, on average, one peace deal or ceasefire per month. It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.



These people are living in their own reality. pic.twitter.com/x9hxCd4Mte  Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) July 31, 2025
Alan Dershowitz, a seasonal Chilmark resident and prominent attorney known for his controversial clients, is threatening litigation after he was denied a half dozen pierogi at the West Tisbury Farmers Market this week.

A Harvard Law professor famous for his public outcries of being socially ostracized on Marthas Vineyard, Mr. Dershowitz issued the threat and laid out his claims of discrimination at the summer market in a 30-minute video posted on Youtube Thursday.

He alleged that he tried to order the dumplings at Good Pierogi during the weekly Wednesday market, before the person at the stand refused to do business with him due to Mr. Dershowitzs politics.

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He said at one point he didnt like the people I defended, said Mr. Dershowitz, who has represented O.J. Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. A lot of people dont like the people Ive represented, but they dont refuse to serve me. And I said That was pure McCarthyism.

During his video, in which he sported a farmers market T-shirt, Mr. Dershowitz went on to threaten legal action against the farmers market to ensure that they only have booths that will sell to everybody and dont allow booths that discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion or politics.

Ethan Buchanan-Valenti, the manager of the farmers market, offered a brief statement on the incident.

The West Tisbury Farmers Market is committed to supporting local agriculture and business  and that means not only supporting our vendors, but our patrons as well, he wrote. We are reviewing our own internal bylaws to make sure everyone at the market is always being respected and their rights protected.

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Police were called around 10 a.m. to assist with the situation. According to a statement from West Tisbury police, Mr. Dershowitz expressed displeasure with the operators of the pierogi tent, an officer de-escalated the situation, and everyone went their separate ways.

A video taken by a bystander shows Mr. Dershowitzs interaction with a police officer. In the video, posted on social media, Mr. Dershowitz claims that the refusal of service was against the law and he goes on to have a several minute conservation with the officer.

The officer asks Mr. Dershowitz to stop standing at the front of the stand as other customers come up and also notes that because the stand was a private establishment, they had the right to refuse service.

They have the right to refuse customers of their choosing, the officer can be heard saying.

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Good Pierogi is run by Krem Miskevich and started at the farmers market this year. They did not respond to a request for comment Thursday, though the business did thank the person who posted the video of the officer interaction in an Instagram comment.

Mr. Dershowitz is a regular at the farmers market, and can often be seen there wearing a shirt that reads Proud American Zionist. He mentioned the shirt during his Youtube video, and claimed that Wednesdays incident was another example of the intolerance of the Island.

It became evident to me that [the pierogi seller] opposed my being a Zionist, my support for Israel, Mr. Dershowitz said.

This is not Mr. Dershowitzs first kerfuffle on the Island. He allegedly got into a tiff with comedian Larry David on the porch of the Chilmark General Store, and waged a public campaign against the Chilmark library and others for not inviting him to talk about his work.

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Ive been on the Island now 50 years, he said. I dont think Ive ever seen a place that is as intolerant as Marthas Vineyard.

Wednesdays incident attracted international attention, gaining press in New York Magazine, The Daily Beast, and The Independent.

The Vineyard Gazette on Marthas Vineyard is a news partner of MassLive.com. To subscribe to the Vineyard Gazette, click here.

More Cape & Islands content

Read the original article on MassLive.
DES MOINES, Iowa  A jury convicted a Des Moines man of second-degree murder in relation to a 2024 incident on Thursday.

A Polk County jury deliberated for around two hours before finding Walter Bickham, 59, guilty of second-degree murder for stabbing his girlfriend in September 2024.

On September 18, 2024, just before 5:30 p.m., Des Moines Police and Fire Departments were called to the 1500 block of Capitol Avenue on reports of a medical emergency. Authorities located an adult female in cardiac arrest. She was transported to a hospital, where she later died.

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Police deemed the womans death, later identified as 52-year-old Suzette Gums, suspicious due to a laceration on her leg, which caused significant blood loss.

Teenage bicyclist hit by car in Pleasant Hill, taken to hospital

During the investigation, Ring and Lorex cameras in the house captured moments of Gums and Bickham arguing throughout the day and leading up to the incident. Videos show that during the argument, Gums asked Bickham to leave, but he refused.

Bickham is shown in video footage to be holding a Bowie knife throughout the day during his interactions with Gums. Authorities say that forensic evidence showed that while the two were off camera, the argument escalated and Bickham stabbed Gums in the lower right leg. The owner of the home discovered Gums a short time later and called authorities.

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Bickham told police that he had taken the knife away from Gums and was holding it when she kicked the knife, causing the wound.

Bickham is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12 and faces up to 50 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 who13.com.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers have "apprehended almost 3,000" undocumented immigrants so far this year, and that number will continue to go up as the agency prepares to set up a new strike team to increase arrests, officials said Aug. 1.

At a press conference in Orlando at Florida Highway Patrol Troop D Headquarters, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Florida Highway Patrol will establish a new unit: The Immigration Enforcement section within the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence.

The team will work closely with state and federal agencies to "identify, locate and apprehend criminal aliens across the state," DeSantis said. "There's no other state that is even in the ballpark of our efforts."

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Florida has taken the lead in immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump took office in January and pushed his mass deportation agenda. The state exceeded expectations, mandating all local law enforcement agencies to get what's called 287(g) training to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and opening a state-run detention facility in the Everglades.

There are a little over 1,800 highway troopers currently working for FHP. Larry Keefe, the director of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, said Florida would continue to work alongside the federal government in "the largest deportation in history."

The past six months has been just a warm-up, he said: "I think it's going to skyrocket."

DeSantis said the federal government has deported over 600 people from the South Detention Facility in the Everglades, but there still weren't concrete plans to open a second detention facility at Camp Blanding in Clay County.

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The governor also addressed concerns that ICE was poaching officers away from local law enforcement. The deputy director of ICE sent immigration-certified officers a recruitment email, a move that upset some Florida sheriffs, including Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

"Sheriffs losing deputies who are in this fight to just wear a different jersey basically, but still be in the fight, that doesn't necessarily add to what we're doing," DeSantis said.

DeSantis and other officials also took time to attack former President Joe Biden and Democrats during their comments. But Attorney General James Uthmeier and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia thanked Trump for "closing the border" and cracking down on illegal immigration.

"They wanted to change the makeup of our country as we know it, and thank God they weren't able to get away with it," Uthmeier said.

Official criticizes Palm Beach Post for coverage of FHP arrest

At the press conference, FHSMV executive director Dave Kerner also criticized the Palm Beach Post's coverage of the arrest of Kenny Laynez, a U.S. citizen who got detained in a federal immigration crackdown. The Post is a member of the USA TODAY Network  Florida.

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Laynez was riding with his mother and two coworkers to a landscaping job near North Palm Beach on May 2 when FHP officers and Border Patrol agents pulled over their van.

Laynez told the Palm Beach Post he started recording once an officer told the four people in the van to turn off their cellphones. His phone then captured officers having a candid conversation where they describe using a Taser on one of Laynez's coworkers as "funny" and boasting about a $30,000 bonus. It was not clear what bonus the officers were referring to.

"They are starting to resist now," an agent said in the video. "We're going to end up shooting someone."

Kerner said reports of the video were "a false narrative" and "trying to change history," and said prosecutors, who dropped the resisting an officer without violence charge against Laynez, were encouraging people to resist arrest.

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"If this continues, it's certainly above my pay grade, but I do not think it's going to end well for that prosecutor," Kerner said.

Laynez told the Palm Beach Post he is proud of himself for recording the detention so people in Florida and across the country can see the reality behind immigration crackdowns.

"Don't let them take over your rights because we have our rights, too. We're all humans. We all have rights to record every moment of it," Laynez said.

This story contains previously published reporting by Valentina Palm of the Palm Beach Post. Ana Goni-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network  Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis: Florida to increase immigration arrests, create strike team
Florida Highway Patrol troopers have "apprehended almost 3,000" undocumented immigrants so far this year, and that number will continue to go up as the agency prepares to set up a new strike team to increase arrests, officials said Aug. 1.

At a press conference in Orlando at Florida Highway Patrol Troop D Headquarters, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Florida Highway Patrol will establish a new unit: The Immigration Enforcement section within the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Intelligence.

The team will work closely with state and federal agencies to "identify, locate and apprehend criminal aliens across the state," DeSantis said. "There's no other state that is even in the ballpark of our efforts."

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Florida has taken the lead in immigration enforcement since President Donald Trump took office in January and pushed his mass deportation agenda. The state exceeded expectations, mandating all local law enforcement agencies to get what's called 287(g) training to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and opening a state-run detention facility in the Everglades.

Immigration crackdown: He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video

There are a little over 1,800 highway troopers currently working for FHP. Larry Keefe, the director of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, said Florida would continue to work alongside the federal government in "the largest deportation in history."

The past six months has been just a warm-up, he said: "I think it's going to skyrocket."

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DeSantis said the federal government has deported over 600 people from the South Detention Facility in the Everglades, but there still weren't concrete plans to open a second detention facility at Camp Blanding in Clay County.

The governor also addressed concerns that ICE was poaching officers away from local law enforcement. The deputy director of ICE sent immigration-certified officers a recruitment email, a move that upset some Florida sheriffs, including Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

"Sheriffs losing deputies who are in this fight to just wear a different jersey basically, but still be in the fight, that doesn't necessarily add to what we're doing," DeSantis said.

DeSantis and other officials also took time to attack former President Joe Biden and Democrats during their comments. But Attorney General James Uthmeier and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia thanked Trump for "closing the border" and cracking down on illegal immigration.

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"They wanted to change the makeup of our country as we know it, and thank God they weren't able to get away with it," Uthmeier said.

Official criticizes Palm Beach Post for coverage of FHP arrest

At the press conference, FHSMV executive director Dave Kerner also criticized The Palm Beach Post's coverage of the arrest of Kenny Laynez, a U.S. citizen who got detained in a federal immigration crackdown. The Post is a member of the USA TODAY Network  Florida.

Laynez was riding with his mother and two coworkers to a landscaping job near North Palm Beach on May 2 when FHP officers and Border Patrol agents pulled over their van.

Laynez told The Post he started recording once an officer told the four people in the van to turn off their cellphones. His phone then captured officers having a candid conversation where they describe using a Taser on one of Laynez's coworkers as "funny" and boasting about a $30,000 bonus. It was not clear what bonus the officers were referring to.

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"They are starting to resist now," an agent said in the video. "We're going to end up shooting someone."

Immigration crackdown: Charges dropped against U.S. citizen who caught detention on video

Kerner  previously a Palm Beach County commissioner and state representative  said reports of the video were "a false narrative" and "trying to change history," and said prosecutors, who dropped the resisting an officer without violence charge against Laynez, were encouraging people to resist arrest.

"If this continues, it's certainly above my pay grade, but I do not think it's going to end well for that prosecutor," Kerner said.

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John Bisognano, Executive Editor of The Palm Beach Post, said: We stand by our reporting.

And the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office issued the following statement: After a thorough review of the report and contact with the arresting officer, we have determined there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal charge," a spokesperson said.

Laynez told the Post he is proud of himself for recording the detention so people in Florida and across the country can see the reality behind immigration crackdowns.

"Don't let them take over your rights because we have our rights, too. We're all humans. We all have rights to record every moment of it," Laynez said.

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(This story was updated to add new information.)

Palm Beach Post staff writer Hannah Phillips contributed to this story. This story also contains previously published reporting by Post reporter Valentina Palm. Ana Goni-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network  Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: DeSantis: Florida pushes immigration arrests; Kerner faults Post story
Officers including Florida state troopers questioned and detained contractors working on apartment buildings in Tallahassee, May 29, 2025. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix)

Gov. Ron DeSantis is questioning the federal governments recruitment of Floridas local and state police who are focused on enforcing immigration laws.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been recruiting officers with specialized training to work for the federal agency, ABC news reported Thursday.

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I know that theres some sheriffs that have some strong feelings about it, DeSantis said Friday during a news conference in Orlando, flanked by Florida Highway Patrol troopers and the members of the Florida Cabinet.

ICE is dangling like a lot of bonus money and all this other stuff, as the governor put it, to local and state officers whove received partial or full training in enforcing immigration laws and participating in 287(g) agreements.

Why not recruit additional people to be supplementing that instead of just kind of displacing? DeSantis said.

He bragged that Florida has made a stronger effort than any other state in deputizing state and local law enforcement officers to act on behalf of ICE. According to data released this week from that agency, approximately 320 of the nearly 900 agencies in the United States that have signed agreements with ICE are in Florida.

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Thats been a huge help to ICE right? Lets just be clear, thats been a huge benefit to those federal agencies. And so now, if youre in a situation where those folks are being poached off of that mission, well its like, wait a minute, how is that? Why dont you bring in new people to supplement a mission going forward? DeSantis said.

The agency has offered willing officers up to a $50,000 bonus, paid over five years, ABC reported.

I think we want to continue doing what were doing. But sheriffs losing deputies who are in this fight to just go wear a different jersey, basically, but still be in the fight, that doesnt necessarily add to what were doing. Its just moving someone over. And so I think there is frustration from that, and so, well see, DeSantis said.

Also in the ABC report, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri called ICEs outreach wrong.

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We have partnered with ICE like no other state to help ICE do its job of illegal immigration enforcement, Gualtieri told the news organization. ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership.

DeSantis said he told sheriffs its up to them to fight for what you think is right and that hes heard a lot of static coming out of our sheriffs departments about the recruitment letters.

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Everglades detention center

The news conference, nearly an hour and a half in length, featured the governor reciting the states record on immigration enforcement, including talking extensively about the Everglades deportation center thats garnered national attention.

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The governor referenced news reports about the conditions inside the temporary facility. NBC reported torturous conditions in cage-like units full of mosquitoes, where fluorescent lights shine bright on them at all times.

Phony narratives, DeSantis called them but suggested: Maybe they will have the intent, the effect, of deterring people from going there and choosing this option.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando, responded to the governors news conference in a written statement.

Ron DeSantis and his hand-picked Cabinet didnt come to Orlando to solve problems  they came to peddle a half-billion-dollar anti-immigrant grift. While everyday Floridians are struggling with the cost of living, DeSantis is using taxpayer dollars to fund a secretive detention camp, rip families apart, and divert our public safety officials away from real community needs, she said in a written statement.

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They talk about enforcing the law while breaking it  hiding contracts, denying people due process, and using an appointed Attorney General who was just found in contempt of court. They intimidate local elected officials and ignore home rule, not based on laws but on political agendas. This isnt leadership. Its lawlessness.

Floridians deserve better than political theater. Shut down the Everglades camp, restore transparency, and start putting people before politics.

In addition to the Attorney General James Uthmeir, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, DeSantis was joined by Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Dave Kerner, FHP Director Gary Howze II, and State Board of Immigration Enforcement Director Larry Keefe.

Republican leaders will gather in Orlando this weekend for the Florida Freedom Forum, a fundraiser for the Republican Party of Florida.

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FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn has faced a number of civil and criminal charges regarding alleged financial fraud. FAT Brands

You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter.

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped all criminal charges against former FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn, who was indicted in May 2024 on federal charges alleging a scheme to conceal $47 million in distributions.

The criminal charges of multiple counts of financial fraud, including accusations of tax evasion, wire fraud, and illegal possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, have been dismissed.

I am grateful to the U.S. Attorneys Office for taking a fresh look at this case and to the attorneys who worked tirelessly on my behalf and on behalf of the other defendants, Wiederhorn said in a statement. With this indictment behind us, I look forward to focusing on the continued growth and success of FAT Brands.

Concurrently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed separate civil charges in May 2024, alleging misappropriation of $27 million of company money and using that money to fund his lavish lifestyle. In January, Wiederhorn appealed the charges with the Ninth Circuit United States Court of Appeals. That case is still pending, and the next major deadline with the appellate court is Aug. 13.

In April of this year, the SEC appeals case was paused temporarily after assistant U.S. attorney Adam Schleifer was fired without explanation at the behest of President Donald Trump. The termination notice was emailed to Schleifer one hour after conservative media personality Laura Loomer called for his termination in a social media post in which she called out his alleged criticism of President Trump, according to AP News.

Schleifer was representing the United States Government as the appellee attorney at the time in the Wiederhorn case, which proceeded without counsel.

Soon after, Schleifer filed a wrongful termination case with the Merit Systems Protection Board, which handles wrongful dismissal cases of federal workers. In the filing, according to the Los Angeles Times, Schleifer called the dismissal unlawful, and said it was politically motivated by a smear campaign allegedly committed and promoted by Wiederhorn and his defense team.

In April, Bill Essayli was appointed interim U.S. attorney for the Los Angeles region by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In his wrongful termination case, Schleifer claims that in March, shortly before his termination, the U.S. attorneys office, including Essayli, met with Wiederhorns counsel and discussed the potential removal of Schleifer on the grounds of his cases reflecting, a woke, DEI, and Biden bias. The meeting also included U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna, who was in charge of the investigation against Wiederhorn, and is now on his defense team, according to The Los Angeles Times.
WATCH: DeSantis speaks with Florida law enforcement leaders in Orlando

Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Orlando on Friday.

The governor spoke at the Florida Highway Patrol Headquarters.

Watch the full news conference here:

Several key state officials attended the press conference, including Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, and Wilton Simpson from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Dave Kerner, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and Colonel Gary Howze II, Director of the Florida Highway Patrol, also attend the event.

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Additionally, Larry Keefe, Executive Director of the Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement, also attended.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Gregory Washington, president of George Mason, speaks with a guest at the Aug. 1, 2025 Board of Visitors meeting. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

After Democratic state lawmakers and advocates said they feared Gregory Washingtons job as president of George Mason University was in jeopardy as the school faces multiple federal investigations, the governing board on Friday unanimously approved a state-appropriated 1.5% salary increase for him, signaling the security of his future at the institution.

Attention on Washington and GMU has grown steadily over the past several weeks, after the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice launched four investigations against the school, two of which are related to alleged racial discrimination in employment practices and another that questions the schools DEI practices.

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State leaders also called for a stop to what they characterize as the politicization of Virginias colleges after the University of Virginias president resigned weeks before the GMU investigations launched, following downward pressure from federal education officials over the schools DEI policies.

The board had scheduled a closed session meeting on Friday to discuss Washingtons performance and goals. He presented his state-of-the-institution report, Navigating Rough Waters, during Thursdays annual Presidents Conference and Fridays business meeting. Washington is the first Black president in the schools history.

Regardless of how one views the events unfolding at George Mason University, todays display of unity by the Mason community is inspiring, Washington said in a statement. It is a reminder of how centrally important our university is to Northern Virginias families and economy. For now, the community can refocus on what really matters most: in just three weeks we will welcome the incoming class of 2025, which is once again the largest, most diverse and one of the most qualified freshman classes in the history of George Mason. Fellow Patriots, you are simply the best. Lets get back to work.

The board, which had recently been criticized by faculty members for failing to defend Washington and George Mason as they weathered the federal scrutiny, met for over three hours in closed session with Washington.

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The 1.5% salary bonus aligns with the action proposed by the General Assemblys budget that was signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Washingtons salary will increase to $823,452.43.

Board of Visitors Rector Charles Stimson commented on the impending investigations and public concerns before leaving the business meeting.

Were gonna fulfill our fiduciary duty, and at George Mason University that means everybody at the university, Stimson said, adding that the board will get through this and move onto the next level.

Alumni and supporters speak out

Just ahead of Fridays meeting, Stand With Mason, a group of alumni and GMU supporters publicly stated their opposition to removing Washington from office. Students, faculty and other supporters also stood in the drizzling rain to protest against removing Washington.

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In Stand With Masons statement, 75% of respondents said they would be concerned about the institutions reputation if political interference led to the presidents removal. The group surveyed 411 registered voters from Northern Virginia.

This data could not be clearer: Northern Virginia voters want their public universities focused on education  not politics, said Brian Drummond, former George Mason Alumni Association President, in a statement. The Board of Visitors actions are not just unpopular  they are dangerously out of step with public opinion, especially as we approach the November elections.

Jimmy Hazel, former rector on the board, said before the boards vote on Washingtons that he wouldnt be surprised if they voted to pause on the matter, considering the outpouring of support and potential negative impact on George Mason. Hazel was part of the search committee that ultimately found Washington.

Theyre realizing there is more at stake than they thought, than just removing somebody from their job, Hazel said. From a realistic point of view, the federal investigations arent finished yet to take action against the president while the investigations are still ongoing; that just doesnt make sense.

Bethany Letiecq, president of the George Mason University chapter of the American Association of University Professors, hands out ponchos at the Board of Visitors meeting on Aug. 1, 2025 business meeting. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

Students and faculty members also feared that Washingtons removal could eliminate more initiatives and programs the president has championed. Washington said the institution has paused or terminated 50 projects due to the federal governments restructuring.

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Savannah Scott and Annabelle Spencer, PhD students in the history department, stood outside for around two hours before the meeting to bring awareness about whats at stake.

These things that weve seen either get surrendered to the federal government or given up entirely at other universities (are) highly possible here, and I think thats really concerning to me and us, Spencer said.

Scott added that Washington has remained steadfast in his support for university policies at the cost of upsetting others at higher levels that wish to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. She voiced her concern that Washington might be succeeded by someone who would excessively accommodate the Trump administration.

DEI has been a lightning rod between political parties dating back to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, when these types of programs were created to assist formerly enslaved Black Americans and give them a fairer chance at educational, financial and social success in American society.

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Public demand for corporate and institutional commitments to treat all Americans fairly emerged during the pandemic in 2020 when Washington was hired. Beginning in 2020, America faced two high-profile examples of racial injustice and unequal opportunity for people of color  the murder of Black Minnesota man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer, and the Supreme Courts recission of affirmative action policies on college campuses in 2023.

Tim Gibson, vice-president of the George Mason University chapter of the American Association of University Professors, addresses a crowd at the Board of Visitors meeting on Aug. 1, 2025 business meeting. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

Republicans argue that DEI initiatives present cultural, ideological and political problems. Chief among the concerns is the threat of placing a persons identity over achievements when determining their qualifications, and reverse discrimination, which they say puts the majority, white Americans, at a disadvantage.

During the boards hours-long review of Washingtons performance, students and faculty members also raised signs and chanted in support of Washington and in opposition to any overreach by Trump and Youngkin, who is responsible for appointing members to the governing board.

On Tuesday, a circuit court judge temporarily suspended four members from serving on GMUs board after the Virginia Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections rejected the appointees, signaling that the legislature wasnt willing to confirm the new additions. An additional four were suspended at the University of Virginia and Virginia Military Institute. The case is expected to continue with appeals from Youngkins administration.

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Tehama Lopez, a faculty member at George Mason, said on Friday shes been following the investigations in Virginia including one that led to the departure of former UVA President Jim Ryan. Lopez said it hit home for her as a UVA graduate.

Its devastating to see whats happened, Lopez said. I wish that President Ryan had not stepped down. Im sympathetic to what he did, but I believe we need to stand firm and not acquiesce.

How Washington made the case for staying

On Thursday, Washington spoke publicly to the senior leadership at George Mason, presenting the institutions current state highlighted by the school retiring $100 million in debt and earning the designation higher access, higher earnings for its top-rated admissions access for Pell Grant recipients and students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, and the number of students receiving high earnings eight years after graduation.

The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which assigns the ratings, manages the measurement tool to recognize and describe institutional diversity.

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Were fulfilling the mission that I believe the individuals who founded this institution had in mind, to have an institution that was going to produce a workforce that could fund their needs and their growth, Washington said on Thursday. That mission is being fulfilled here, and were reaching people wherever you are.  We dont care if youre Black, white, Asian, or other. We put systems in place to support you no matter where you are, and it gets you to the point where you want to be. Thats why students are flocking here because they actually know it.

Stimson said Thursday that the institution has worked hard to build its successful reputation, and parents considering universities should choose Mason if they want their children to succeed without significant debt.

Charles Stimson, rector of the George Mason University Board of Visitors, at the Aug. 1, 2025, business meeting. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

Mason isnt going anywhere, Stimson said on Thursday. We are the best university for the best value, for the best outcomes in Virginia, in the DMV.

Washington also talked about the schools challenges including multiple investigations by Trumps administration and the federal governments restructuring, which has cut funds for research and financial aid, economic challenges that are projected to result in job, wage, and output losses and enrollment challenges, with some non-U.S. born students prohibited from receiving visas to attend school.

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The U.S. House Committee on Judiciary is also investigating Mason for potentially violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and President Donald Trumps executive order for institutions to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, according to a July 29 letter.

Despite the challenges, Washington said Mason is one of the most efficient institutions in reducing the cost of attendance and graduating a significant portion of Virginias workforce.

Washington also presented details on the institutions fundraising efforts and programs to support students who had dreamed of working for the federal government, as well as displaced federal workers amid the significant workforce changes.

Why would we do this? Because we are an integral part of the region, Washington said. We want the region to be successful, we care about the region and we need it to be successful if we are going to be successful.

Gregory Washington, president of George Mason, addresses the new Board of Visitors members on July 31, 2025. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  With temperatures dropping, many West Michiganders saw Thursday as a chance to finally step outside. However, the cooler air comes with a catch: another air quality alert due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.

This is the 12th air quality alert in West Michigan this year alone. Smoke from Canada, primarily the central portions of the Saskatchewan and Manitoba providences, continues to push southeast, bringing with it fine particulate matter that can be harmful to breathe.

The air quality was in the unhealthy range Thursday, meaning it affects more than those with preexisting conditions. Despite the warning, many people spent the day outdoors basking in what felt like a long-awaited break from the humidity.

A haze over Grand Rapids on July 31, 2025.

Were also so happy to be able to be outside on a beautiful day with a breeze blowing, said Stephanie Feddema, who spent the day at Riverside park with her granddaughter Sophia. I think were not noticing the smoke in the air so much because weve been so oppressed by the humidity for so long that were all just so happy to get out and actually exercise without sweating to death.

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Feddema is not the only person who has accepted the wildfire smoke lingering in the air as a new normal. Some people saw the haze over the Grand Rapids skyline and didnt think anything of it.

We didnt really even pay attention to it, said Grand Rapids resident Jaclyn OReilly. We just felt the temperature outside and said we should go for a walk so we just came out anyway  its gorgeous today. Its really breezy and the temperatures have come down, so thats a relief

Some people feel immediate symptoms from the wildfire smoke. Richard Page, another Grand Rapids resident, did his daily walk in the park on Thursday. He said he feels the effects every time the smoke passes through.

When it gets smoky, the first thing I do in the morning is clear my nasal passage because they get all clogged up and then I have to do my eyes with eyedrops, that seems to help a lot, he said.

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He said even though it makes his eyes itch and nose run, after weeks of sweltering heat and humidity, the trade-off feels worth it. Officials say air quality is expected to remain unhealthy through Saturday, so people who are vulnerable are encouraged to limit time outdoors and close their windows.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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CHISINAU (Reuters) -Moldovan business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc said on Friday that he wanted to return to the ex-Soviet state to clear his name in his first major statement on social media since being detained in Greece on a warrant linked to a mass fraud case.

Plahotniuc, a former lawmaker and considered one of Moldova's richest men, is one of the chief suspects in Moldova's "theft of the century", the disappearance in 2014 of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system -- the equivalent at the time of 12% of the ex-Soviet state's GDP.

Last week, he agreed to be extradited to Moldova and pledged to cooperate with international judicial authorities. Moldova's government, which wants to join the European Union by 2030, had long sought his return.

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"I want to return to the country in order to prove my innocence to law enforcement authorities or at least what remains of them after so-called reforms," Plahotniuc wrote.

He described all allegations against him as being based on "slander and political hatred".

He also suggested that authorities would try to drag the extradition process out to ensure his return to Moldova came after a September 28 election in which pro-European President Maia Sandu's Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) may lose its majority in parliament.

He said authorities feared his return to the country might "expose the truth" about the criminal case.

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The press spokesman for the president's PAS party, Adriana Vlas, dismissed Plahotniuc's comments, saying the country wanted the justice system "to act, with the law in the forefront."

Plahotniuc, 59, who fled Moldova in 2019, was arrested last month at the Athens airport while on his way to Dubai.

An Interpol red notice was issued against him based on accusations that include participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and fraud.

Plahotniuc was the leader of Moldova's Democratic party from 2016-2019, part of the governing coalition at the time, and served as deputy speaker of parliament.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Ron Popeski, editing by Sandra Maler)
Aug. 1WILKES-BARRE  Prior to being sentenced to prison on April 15, James Lockwood said he made arrangements for his wife, Jessica Lockwood, to continue to buy Percocets from Terrance Ray in Hazleton.

Less than two weeks later, April 27, Jessica Lockwood, 39, was found dead along Club 40 Road, Hazleton, where her body was set on fire.

James Lockwood, serving a one-to-two year sentence after he pled guilty to attempted aggravated assault related to a shooting in Hazle Township, testified during Ray's preliminary hearing before District Judge James Dixon held at the Luzerne County Courthouse on Friday.

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James Lockwood explained how he purchased Percocets from Ray, 56, known as OG, for more than three years for Jessica Lockwood due to chronic pain from her cervical (neck) spine and lumbar (lower back) spine despite surgeries. Knowing he was going to be sent to prison for the shooting, he made arrangements with Ray to continue to sell Percocets to his wife.

Hazleton City police detectives Brett A. Naprava and Joshua Keller testified how text messages found on Jessica Lockwood's cellular phone led to Ray being the primary suspect in her murder.

Jessica Lockwood was found after Hazleton City firefighters responded to what was believed was a mannequin on fire on Club 40 Road at about 7 a.m. April 27. Her body had been wrapped in a tarp.

An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Charles Seibert revealed Jessica Lockwood died from blunt force trauma and a gunshot wound to her chest. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

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Naprava testified surveillance cameras recorded a blue Ford Explorer traveled on Club 40 Road at 6:47 a.m., about 12 minutes before the fire was discovered. A registration check showed the Ford belonged to Ray.

Armed with search warrants, detectives searched Ray's residence at 137 Muir Ave., Hazleton, where they found blood on an outside trash can, a pool of blood and blood on a handcart with a rope tied to its handle in the basement, and a plastic Lowe's shopping bag in a kitchen trash can.

Keller testified the shopping bag contained burnt cigar ends, a 9mm shell casing, and packaging for an 8 feet by 10 feet tarp that was similar to the tarp wrapped around Jessica Lockwood's body.

Naprava said blood found at Ray's residence matched Jessica Lockwood's, and surveillance footage showed Ray moving Jessica Lockwood's white 2022 Honda CRV from the rear of his residence on April 26.

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Keller testified when Jessica Lockwood was found dead, she had one earring with the matching earring found in the basement of Ray's residence.

Naprava and Keller also testified that text messages from Jessica Lockwood's cellular phone, which was found discarded along state Route 424, indicated she was communicating with Ray to buy Percocets on April 26.

After Jessica Lockwood's body was found, Ray fled the area but was captured by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and the Pennsylvania State Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit at a hotel in Westchester County, N.Y., just north of New York City, on May 8.

Ray is facing charges of criminal homicide, abuse of corpse and tampering with evidence.

Attorney John B. Pike is representing Ray.

Assistant district attorneys Daniel Marsh and Allyson Kacmarski are prosecuting.
For the first time in over three decades, the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is hosting an exhibition of Native American art  one of the largest showings of its kind in the Midwest.

Opening September 28, Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation will bring together more than 90 works from more than 60 Anishinaabe artists across the Great Lakes region.

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.

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Running through April 5, 2026, visitors can expect a wide range of media, beadwork, birchbark, painting, sculpture, fashion, jewelry, photography, film, and more.

Dr. Denene De Quintal, the DIA's assistant curator of Native American art, conceived the exhibition with guidance and collaboration from an advisory board consisting of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi artists.

This exhibition has been a collaborative process that could not have happened without the trust, guidance, and generous sharing of knowledge from our Anishinaabe advisory board and the artists themselves, De Quintal said in a statement. We have worked together to ensure that this exhibition represents the diversity and dynamism of contemporary Anishinaabe art while honoring the cultural traditions from which these works originate. What emerges is not just an art exhibition, but a testament to the creativity, and continuing presence of the Anishinaabe people.

Themes of water protection, generational knowledge, and ancestral connection run throughout the exhibition, with symbols like the Thunderbird reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. Galleries are also presented in both English and Anishinaabemowin.

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Featured artists include respected names like Jim Denomie, Monica Rickert-Bolter, Jason Quigno, George Morrison, and Kelly Church, alongside emerging voices such as ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, Summer Yahbay, and Monica Jo Raphael. In total, the exhibit features artists from 21 different Anishinaabe tribal nations.

A full-length, illustrated catalogue published by Yale University Press will accompany the exhibition, with essays by leading Native scholars including Matthew L. M. Fletcher, Dr. Christopher T. Green, Dr. Kendra Greendeer, and Dr. Shawnya Harris.

The book reflects on how Anishinaabe art challenges mainstream definitions of Indigenous and contemporary art, while amplifying voices that have long been excluded from dominant museum narratives.

Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation is free with museum admission and open to all. Admission is always free for residents of Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties.

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Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include the correct closing date of the exhibition as April 5 and a statement from the curator of the exhibition, Dr. Denene De Quintal.

About the Author: "Kaili Berg (Aleut) is a member of the Alutiiq\/Sugpiaq Nation, and a shareholder of Koniag, Inc. She is a staff reporter for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Berg, who is based in Wisconsin, previously reported for the Ho-Chunk Nation newspaper, Hocak Worak. She went to school originally for nursing, but changed her major after finding her passion in communications at Western Technical College in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. "

Contact: kberg@indiancountrymedia.com
Terrance Neal fainted before he could speak about his 6-year-old son, Rylee Love, who was shot to death in the head by a stray bullet while inside his Detroit home on July 27.

At a rally for the slain child outside of the Joseph Campau Church of God on Friday, Aug. 1, the grieving father tried to get words out but couldn't through heaves and sobs. Then he collapsed to the floor.

It was after community members carried Neal away that Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison promised Rylee's family that he'll soon be able to tell them:

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"We got 'em," he said, referring to his hopes to soon arrest suspects in the shooting.

"Then everybody will get a chance to see exactly who did this. And then we will hold them accountable. And then they'll have to live each and every day of the rest of their lives with this."

Below the police chief stood enlarged Spiderman-themed photos of Rylee, who was described by family as a bright spirit and a risk taker who loved swimming and playing with his siblings  the photos were reminiscent to the Spiderman-themed funeral repast for 4-year-old Samir Josiah Grubbs, who was gunned down climbing up a slide at Skinner Playfield one month before Rylee's death.

Above Bettison, a large cross with the words "Church of God." Then Maurice "Pastor Mo" Hardwick declared it was time for prayer before they would go to the scene of the shooting, led by three-wheeled, open air Slingshot vehicles, around the corner from the Joseph Campau church.

Frames photos honoring 6-year-old Rylee are displayed in a parking lot during a rally on Joseph Campau Street in Detroit on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Rylee was killed when a bullet from a drive-by shooting struck him while he was inside his home.

Just hours before Friday's rally, community leaders, pastors, school principals, politicians and police had just finished an hourlong prayer session downtown in front of the "Spirit of Detroit."

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Samir's killing kicked off a particularly bloody July for Detroit's youths. And a day prior to Rylee's rally, an 8-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were shot and injured as they slept in an early morning drive-by shooting.

Police have said despite an overall decline in violent crime in the city, there has been an uptick in violence among youths. As of July 29, there have been 33% more juvenile victims of gun violence compared with last year, and 18% more juveniles 17 and under have been caught with guns compared with last year, according to police.

In Samir's death in the Skinner Playfield shooting  which also included an 18-year-old shot to death and another teen shot and injured  two teenage suspects were arrested. Authorities say the suspects shot up the playground because one of the teens was mad someone ripped off his ski mask on a bus earlier that day, and those he thought were responsible were at the park.

In response to the violence, the city increased fines for violating curfew and approved overtime for officers to work later into the night. Community Violence Intervention (CVI) groups have also mobilized with youth programming and resources for families to try and prevent further bloodshed. Bettison used the recent killings to once again advocate for more funding from Lansing to expand CVI groups' reach in the city.

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Those gathered downtown prayed to protect Detroit's children, to cry out that "enough is enough," and to implore the city's elders to wrap their arms around the city's children and help them, guide them and give them the resources they need to succeed.

Darryl Woods Jr., vice chair of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, wears a shirt with the words Fighting the Good Fight as he prays during a rally for peace at the "Spirit of Detroit" in downtown Detroit on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

Rylee's rally was no different. Prayer after prayer after prayer that day, as community members held hands, bowed their heads, yelled out "Jesus Lord," and "praise Jesus," and "hallelujah." Some even got on their knees. Others cried. Even Bettison had to hold back tears.

Together, their message was clear:

"Not another body, Lord God. Not another child, Lord God," said Cierra Renee of the Community Violence Intervention group Force Detroit.

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"Enough is enough, we are desperate, Lord God."

Andrea Sahouri covers criminal justice for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at asahouri@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit leaders vow justice, pray after boy, 6, killed by stray bullet
ARKANSAS  A former Oklahoma elementary school teacher has been charged in the murder of a married couple at Devil's Den State Park in West Fork.

The Arkansas Department of Public Safety reported that James Andrew McGann, 28, was arrested Wednesday, July 30, in at a business in Springdale, Arkansas.

Officials said Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were killed while they were hiking with their two young daughters in the park Saturday, July 26. McGann is charged with two counts of capital murder.

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"Im extremely grateful for the long hours and dedication that our agents put forward in bringing justice to this family," said Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar. "The collaboration between state police, other state and local law enforcement agencies, and our federal partners has been second to none. Because of their hard work and investigative skill, we were able to take a monster off the streets, and bring relief to those two precious girls, and the rest of our citizens.

Broken Arrow Public Schools released a statement to news outlets about McGann: "The man who was arrested in Arkansas for the murders at Devil's Den State Park was a teacher for Broken Arrow Public Schools during the '23/'24 school year. He was a fifth-grade teacher at Spring Creek Elementary during the '23/'24 school year and left of his own accord to work out of state. As with all employees hired by the district, he was subjected to and passed the legally required background checks prior to being hired."

Sand Springs Public Schools officials confirmed McGann had also been employed there from 2024-2025 before he resigned. Springdale Public School officials said McGann was hired as a teacher candidate for the upcoming school year.

McGann was booked at the Washington County jail in Arkansas.




NEED TO KNOW

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were fatally stabbed Saturday in Devils Den State Park in Arkansas



Andrew James McGann, 28, has been charged with two counts of capital murder



McGann was previously investigated at his job as a fourth grade teacher







The man who authorities allege fatally stabbed a couple he didn't know while they hiked with two of their children in Arkansas was investigated in his previous job as a fourth grade teacher in Texas.

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Arkansas State Police arrested Andrew James McGann, 28, on July 30, at a barbershop in Springdale, Ark., roughly 35 miles north of Devils Den State Park, where Clinton David Brink, 43, and his wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were stabbed to death on Saturday, July 26.



The couple's two daughters were found uninjured, and police believe Cristen Brink took the girls to safety before returning to help her husband.

McGann was charged with two counts of capital murder in what authorities believe to have been a random attack.

Cristen Brink/Facebook

Following his arrest, a school district where he previously taught sent a letter to families, which was shared with PEOPLE, noting he had been placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2023. The district said it had investigated complaints of poor classroom management and poor professional judgment, specifically regarding alleged favoritism.

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McGann resigned in 2023, after the investigation found McGann's classroom conduct to be below expectations, though the investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior towards students.

Arkansas State Police via AP Andrew James McGann Andrew James McGann

When McGann joined the Donald Elementary School in Aug. 2022, he introduced himself to the community in a Facebook post that said, among other things, that his favorite thing to do was exercise, specifically running. A parent whose child attended Donald Elementary told PEOPLE that McGann started a running club for students at the school.

McGann had a new job in Arkansas at Springdale public schools at the time of his arrest, but he hadn't yet started work, the district superintendent said.

Prosecutor Brandon Carter tells PEOPLE he intends to pursue the death penalty against McGann, who made his first court appearance on Aug. 1. He is being held without bond, Carter noted.

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Authorities alleged McGann confessed to the crime while in custody, but he did not enter a plea at his hearing on Friday morning. He is due back in court on Aug. 25.

The trails at Devil's Den have been closed to the public since Saturday.



Read the original article on People




NEED TO KNOW

Hairdresser Adriana Ruiz Avalos said accused killer Andrew James McGann seemed soulless and something about him immediately felt off

She recalled his hair being unusually dry and matted as she began the haircut

After learning who he was, she said the experience left her overwhelmed and heartbroken for the victims children





Days after a double murder at Devils Den State Park in Arkansas, the man accused of stabbing a couple in front of their young daughters was arrested mid-haircut  and the stylist who served him says she had an eerie feeling from the moment he sat down.

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As soon as I saw him, as I was telling him to come into my chair, I had an eerie feeling about him, hairstylist Adriana Ruiz Avalos said on NewsNation of the suspect, Andrew James McGann.

Before the haircut began, Ruiz Avalos aunt  who also works at the salon  asked McGann to sign his name. He allegedly stared back blankly.

Something kind of didnt feel right, Avalos recalled, based on her aunts reaction.

Clinton Brink/Facebook Cristen Brink and Clinton Brink Cristen Brink and Clinton Brink

He looked soulless. He didnt look right," she said, describing his eyes as very sunken in and his hair as very dry and matted.

Ruiz Avalos also offered a chilling detail about his behavior as police moved in: He had his head down the whole time. He really didnt say anything until they were like, I believe its your car.

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McGann, 26, walked into Lupitas Beauty Salon in Springdale, Ark., on July 30, nearly five days after police allege he fatally stabbed Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, while they hiked with their daughters, ages 7 and 9.

Ruiz Avalos said a hairdressing cape was still around McGanns neck when officers handcuffed him.

The Brink's daughters survived and ran for help, providing descriptions that helped lead investigators to McGann. Authorities matched a black Kia Stinger seen near the park and DNA evidence to McGann after surveillance footage placed him at the scene.

Arkansas Department of Public Safety

Related: Devil's Den Suspect Andrew James McGann Was Investigated at Prior Teaching Job

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McGann was booked into the Washington County Jail later that day. Police have not disclosed a motive, saying in a press conference the attack appeared entirely random. McGann did not enter a plea at his Friday morning hearing and is being held without bond.

Now, as she grapples with the shock of having once been so close to someone accused of such brutality, Ruiz Avalos says shes still processing what happened.

It does take a toll on someone. Im just overwhelmed. Im saddened because two little girls lost their parents," she said. "And its  a soulless act by Andrew. Its unimaginable."

Read the original article on People
Union Pacific has signed an agreement to acquire Norfolk Southern in a stock and cash transaction, at an enterprise value of $85bn, which will result in a combined enterprise worth over $250bn.

This strategic move will create the first modern transcontinental railroad in the US, seamlessly connecting over 50,000 route miles (80,467km) across 43 states and linking approximately 100 ports.

The two companies recently confirmed discussions regarding the merger, while insisting that no guarantees could be made about the finalisation of any agreement.

This combination is expected to transform the US supply chain and generate new avenues for economic growth and workforce opportunities while safeguarding union jobs.

Shareholders of Norfolk Southern will receive one Union Pacific common share and $88.82 in cash for each share they hold in Norfolk Southern.

The acquisition values Norfolk Southern at $320 per share, a 25% premium over its recent average price.

Union Pacific is set to issue around 225 million shares to Norfolk Southern shareholders, which will account for 27% ownership in the merged entity on a fully diluted basis.

This arrangement allows Norfolk Southern shareholders to benefit from the growth opportunities and synergies of the combined company.

The agreement is designed without a voting trust and incorporates a reverse termination fee of $2.5bn.

The transaction, approved by both companies' boards, is subject to Surface Transportation Board review and shareholder approval, with a target closing by early 2027.

Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said: Railroads have been an integral part of building America since the Industrial Revolution, and this transaction is the next step in advancing the industry.

The merged entity will offer quicker and more extensive freight services to US shippers by minimising interchange delays, introducing new routes, enhancing intermodal services, and shortening distances and transit times on crucial rail corridors.

This will provide a more truck-competitive solution, reduce highway congestion, and support annual infrastructure investments of approximately $5.6bn.

Additionally, the workforce will benefit from protected and expanded job opportunities, with union employees having job security and the possibility of additional employment due to expected rail volume growth.

Communities will also see continued investment in safety and development initiatives, with a goal of zero incidents.

Furthermore, the transaction promises significant shareholder value, with more than $30bn of potential value creation expected from synergies.
FIRST ON FOX: A transgender illegal alien is being charged with child rape in the sanctuary city of New York, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

DHS told Fox News Digital that the illegal alien, Nicol Alexandra Contreras-Suarez, a Colombian biological man who identifies as a woman, is being charged with rape of a minor and stalking.

According to the agency, Contreras-Suarez was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for illegally entering the country in San Ysidro, California, in March 2023. Contreras-Suarez was released into the country under the Biden administrations "catch and release" policy and then went on to commit several serious crimes in American communities.

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Contreras-Suarez had been arrested by the Medford Police Department in Massachusetts for armed robbery, prostitution and assault with a dangerous weapon. However, "due to local sanctuary policies," DHS said, Contreras-Suarez was once again released.

Trump Admin Unleashes Crucial Recruitment Campaign With Massive Bonuses To Bolster Ice Ranks

Nicol Alexandra Contreras-Suarez mugshot

Contreras-Suarez is now facing criminal charges in New York for first-degree rape of a child less than age 17 and stalking. Contreras-Suarez has a preliminary criminal hearing in New York City this week and is set to have his case heard by the New York Supreme Court Sept. 10.

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The agency said Contreras-Suarezs "horrific and preventable crime illustrates the consequences of the Biden administration's catch and release and sanctuary policies."

Commenting on the arrest, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin lamented that "this creep shouldve never been released into our country."

Former Ice Chief Torches 'Unconscionable' Biden-era Policies As Trump's Dhs Finds Migrant Children

President Donald Trump (C), alongside Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (R) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (L), speaks to reporters after arriving at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, on July 1, 2025.

"Thanks to the failed sanctuary policies and Bidens open-border agenda, this serial criminal was freed to prey on innocent American children  but that ends now," she said.

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ICE lodged an immigration detainer against Contreras-Suarez in February. He is currently in custody at Rikers Island Prison in New York until his next court hearing.

This comes as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing intense criticism for its crackdown on illegal immigration and as officers are dealing with an 830% increase in assaults.

While the agency has said it will not back down from arresting any immigrants who are in the country illegally, the new DHS statement says that the vast majority of those arrested thus far have criminal charges or convictions. Despite claims by some Democrats that ICE is targeting innocent immigrant communities, 70% of the agencys arrests have been of illegal aliens convicted or charged with crimes.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

DHS called Contreras-Suarez one of the "worst of the worst" criminal illegals it has arrested in its nationwide sweep thus far.

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"ICE will not allow predators like Contreras-Suarez to terrorize American citizens," said McLaughlin.





Original article source: DHS scoops up trans illegal alien charged with heinous crime on child in sanctuary city: 'Worst of the worst'
Diadora USA has named Fleet Feet veteran John Moloznik as its new director of sales.

The company noted in a statement that Moloznik will be play a pivotal role in driving Diadoras sales strategy and deepening relationships with key wholesale partners across the United States.

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In his new role, the company said that Moloznik will oversee Diadoras sales organization, with a focus on developing robust go-to-market strategies, fostering high-value relationships, and strengthening Diadoras presence across all categories, with a strong focus on run specialty, the company said.

We are delighted to welcome John to the Diadora family, Bryan Poerner, president and chief executive officer of Diadora USA, said in a statement. His exceptional track record at Fleet Feet and his holistic approach to sales and business development will be invaluable as we expand our reach, build deeper wholesale partnerships, and serve more athletes and consumers nationwide.

Moloznik brings over a decade of high-impact experience in the sporting goods industry, most notably from his senior leadership roles at Fleet Feet, where he led strategic sales growth initiatives, executed successful omnichannel strategies, and spearheaded the opening of over 100 retail stores nationwide. Moloznik joined Fleet Feet in 2007.

I am honored to join Diadora at such an exciting time in the companys journey, Moloznik added. I look forward to building on Diadoras incredible brand story and current momentum to drive growth with our valued partners, and connecting with consumers who appreciate incredible products.

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This news comes just months after Diadora entered the world of college athlete endorsements with its first name, image and likeness (NIL) deal. In April, the Italian sportswear brand signed a new NIL partnership with Villanova junior Marco Langon.

The company said that as part of the deal, Langon and future Diadora NIL athletes will be provided with access to the brands Centro Ricerche Diadora (CRD) laboratory for performance testing, as well as altitude training opportunities and mentorship. Langon will also receive state-of-the-art product designed, developed and crafted at Diadoras headquarters in Caerano di San Marco in Italy, Diadora added.

In March, Diadora launched its new tech-loaded Atomo Star super trainer.

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3:35 p.m. UPDATE: Secretary of State Monae Johnson is publicly apologizing for the posting of legally prohibited information about registered voters on her offices website. As Secretary of State, I take full responsibility for the release of this information. My office is committed to both transparency and protecting voter privacy, she said in a statement released by her office. Upon discovering the issue, we acted immediately to remove the data and prevent further dissemination.

According to the statement, individuals who registered at a public assistance agency and had that information publicized will be notified by mail. The statement further said that county auditors have been contacted, and those who accessed the information will be contacted and asked to delete the files including this information. It is important to emphasize that just because someone registers to vote at a public assistance agency does not mean that they are receiving benefits, Johnson said.

3:30 pm UPDATE: A spokeswoman for ACLU-South Dakota said Friday afternoon that the Secretary of State office hasnt responded to the July 31 letter but has complied with three of the groups four demands. Theyve removed the data from the files and will notify impacted voters by mail, but we are still demanding they update the voter registration form to make it more clear what information will be kept confidential or not, Sarah Parkin said.

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PIERRE, S.D. (KELO)  The South Dakota attorney general has appointed lawyers from his office to separately represent the Legislature and the South Dakota Secretary of State in the event that a lawsuit is brought over voter registration information that was improperly made available to the members of the public.

Tribal leader reacts to state lawmaker Instagram post

A new section of South Dakota law which took effect on July 1 requires that the secretary of state establish and maintain a rolling five-year historical archive of the complete statewide voter registration file and that the archive must be made available free of charge.

Secretary of State Monae Johnson attempted to comply with the new law. However, on Thursday, July 31, ACLU-South Dakota sent a letter to Secretary of State Johnson pointing out the list contained information that appears to be in violation of state and federal laws.

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Specifically, your website is currently providing free copies of the statewide voter registration file and these publicly available files make it possible to identify which voters registered at public assistance offices while applying for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the ACLU letter states.

The ACLU letter called for Secretary of State Johnson to take corrective steps.

 Remove both copies of the statewide master registration file publicly available

on your website;

 Remove all data pertaining to the location, method, or source by which a voter

on any statewide voter registration list that could be made publicly available

registered to vote;

 Notify by mail all registered voters whose confidential information was exposed in the July 1 and July 29 statewide voter registration files to make them aware of this breach;

 Update the current version of the FAQ section on the voter registration form; specifically the section titled Is Your Voter Information Public? This section should clarify what registration info beyond a voters name, address, party, year of birth, email address, and phone number is public and should also clarify that whether a voter registered at a public assistance office will be kept private.

You can view the ACLUs letter to Johnson below.

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07.31.2025-ACLU-SD-re-Data-Breach-1Download

South Dakota law requires that the state attorney general represent state government officials in their public roles in legal matters. South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley confirmed that he is doing so. Due to overall concerns about House Bill 1062, I have appointed separate counsel for the secretary of state and legislators to discuss the issues, Jackley said in a statement issued through his office.

Asked why the Legislature was also getting legal counsel, a spokesman for Jackley said some legislators had questions about the new law.

ACLU-South Dakota in a news release late Friday afternoon left open the door for a possible lawsuit. The release came after Secretary of State Johnson had issued a public apology.

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Removing these files does not wash away the damage that has been done. Private information about South Dakotans has now been made public to anyone who downloaded the files in the past month, the ACLU-South Dakota statement said. It concluded with this:

Any South Dakota residents who have been impacted by this violation of privacy are encouraged to reach out to the ACLU by filling out the information on our legal intake form, which can be found at aclusd.org/get-help.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.




NEED TO KNOW

A crabber, later identified as Benji Nevers, was stranded in a Louisiana marsh for about nine hours after his boat encountered motor issues

He was unable to call for help as his phone was underwater

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office found the crabber and he was taken to the hospital





Louisiana authorities rescued a 57-year-old crabber with a physical condition when his boat was partially submerged in a marsh that left him stuck for about nine hours last week.

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A spokesperson for the St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office (STPSO) said in an email to PEOPLE that the crabber ventured out in his boat on the morning of Friday, July 25.

The sheriff's office also said in a news release that he didnt return home from the East Pearl River and was last heard from at 10 a.m. local time.

"Around 5 p.m., a family member called to report him missing and that he had not returned as expected," the spokesperson told PEOPLE.

The crabbers family told deputies their loved one was partially paralyzed on his left side due to a previous medical condition.

STPSO Marine Division members Sgt. Chuck White and Deputy John Hrabley were dispatched to find him, per the sheriffs office. They followed a trail that led to a marsh based on information provided by the crabbers family about his usual launch point and route.

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It was there that White and Hrabley found the crabber in the water and his sunken vessel about 45 minutes into their search. They discovered that the mans cell phone was underwater and the boats motor was inoperable.

The sheriffs office added that the crabbers medical condition hampered his ability to move as he was surrounded by marshland.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

He was immediately turned over to medical personnel, evaluated, and brought safely home that night, the sheriffs office news release said.

This is what we do, it added. And on this day, it saved a life.

The crabber was later identified as Benji Nevers, Fox affiliate WVUE reported. In an interview with the outlet, Never said he was on a fishing trip and approached the mouth of the Pearl River on Friday, July 25, when he found himself stranded. A strong wind and the boats motor issues contributed to Nevers dilemma.

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Waves then pushed the crabber into the marsh and swamped the boat, per WVUE. His cell phone was lost due to the rough waters and there was little traffic among passing boats that day, in an ordeal that lasted nine hours.

Im crippled, I had a stroke, Nevers told WVUE. But the Lord took care of me.

Fortunately, Hrabley and White arrived in time. They recalled how desolate the area was.

He was tucked in the marsh. I saw a little green thing and I said, Are you Mr. Nevers?  White recalled, per WVUE. [He] said, Yeah, and I said, Were coming to you. 

A dehydrated and hungry Nevers said he was taken to the hospital. He expressed his gratitude to Hrabley and White for rescuing him.

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They were great people, they took care of me, Nevers told WVUE.

Nevers said that he plans to repair his boat so he can resume crabbing as well as keep his phone in a waterproof case attached to the vessel.

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PEOPLE contacted the STPSO for additional information on Thursday, July 31.



Read the original article on People
It is hard to think of a political leader who has had their legacy so fundamentally dismantled by their immediate successors than former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. The successful passage this week of legislation to undo her ban on off-shore oil and gas exploration is the most recent example of her well-meaning but often economically illiterate policy agenda being undone by her conservative successor, former businessman Chris Luxon.

Ardern came into office somewhat unexpectedly, finishing a distinct second in 2017 but, thanks to New Zealands proportional voting system, was able to form a government that stretched from the far-left Green Party to the populist-right New Zealand First. Her agenda seemed to, like Justin Trudeau in Canada, follow whatever the current right-thinking mindset thought was important, including anti-car legislation (such as the Ute Tax and significantly lower nationwide speed limits), radical race relations policies (particularly around so-called co-governance, giving Maori a disproportionate role in government decision making and entrenching race-based constituencies at every level) and climate alarmism.

There are certainly plenty of examples of well-meaning but economically or socially harmful policies. A major light rail infrastructure project that after five years had created more paperwork than track laid. A child poverty action plan that had 4,500 more children in poverty at the end of her time in Government than at the start. A crime policy that repealed the previous conservative governments Three Strikes law that resulted in higher (and rising) violent crime rates at the end of Labours time in office. A foolhardy approach to public finances which an economist at New Zealands largest bank called a debt-fuelled spending spree that was projected by the Governments own figures to result in a permanent structural deficit.

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Arderns announcement of her resignation in 2023 came as a shock to many, but probably should not have done. Her leadership had become unpopular, and the Labour Party was struggling to break 30 per cent in polling, comparable to the level of polling Labour was at when she replaced her predecessor in 2017.

And it did not take long for her party to start undoing her agenda in an attempt to appeal to the voters in advance of the General Election held later that year. Controversial schemes around water regulation and management (always a touchstone issue in a country with a major agricultural sector), welfare reform, lowering the voting age and hate speech legislation were either shelved or put on the back burner until after the General Election. Her replacement, Chris Hipkins, said his plan was instead to focus on the bread and butter issues facing New Zealand families. While nothing overt was said, the implicit comparison with the focus of his predecessor as Labour leader and Prime Minister could not have been stronger.

Despite Labours best efforts (and deliberately keeping Ardern out of the campaign), Labour went down to a devastating defeat later in 2023, losing almost half their vote and seats from 2020. Since then, Luxon and his National-led government have worked hard to undo even more of the Ardern legacy. Gone are the often absurd efforts to incorporate Maori tradition into modern governance and science. Punitive taxes on cars and fuel have been abolished. Spending is falling (slower than some might like, but the country is on track to balance the books) and taxes are lower.

But fundamentally the difference is one of mindset. Arderns government represented the nadir of the idea that outcomes were less important than intentions. This was exemplified by the idea that having a policy called a child poverty reduction strategy and spending large amounts of borrowed money on it was more important than measuring the results. It is interesting that during the six years Labour was in power the yearly benchmarks that the previous government introduced on health, crime, education and economic outcomes were quietly shelved, Ardern preferring to rely on vibes than statistics.

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The approach by the hard-headed Luxon could not be more different. Vibes are out, results are in.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  Two candidates looking to fill the vacant District One seat in the Iowa Senate have less than one month to connect with voters before they cast their ballots.

The special election is scheduled for August 26.

Democrat Catelin Drey and Republican Christopher Prosch were selected by their respective parties and are vying for the seat held by Lawton resident Rocky DeWitt, who passed away in June.

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Everything you need to know about voting in the special election

Whoever wins will represent District One in the Senate until January 2027. KCAU 9 anchor Tim Seaman recently asked the GOP candidate about what led him to campaign for the seat.

Our dated taxes. I think we really need to take a look at energy infrastructure and, beyond that, a growing divide over private property rights. Im running because I want to rejuvenate the local economy and make it stronger and build it better than ever, said Prosch.

Later in the discussion, Prosch added, I completely support that we are fazing out our state income tax, but to me it isnt enough. Id like to see a complete elimination of our state income tax. Families in the Siouxland area deserve to keep more of their money. We need to have a complete overhaul and a real discussion about the tax base and how unfriendly it really is.

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We will hear from Democratic candidate Catelin Drey on Friday at 6 p.m.

Absentee ballot request forms are now available with a deadline to request by mail of 5 p.m. on August 11. The ballots will not be mailed out before August 6.

In-person absentee voting also starts August 6 at the Auditors Office.

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DeWitt, 66, died following a battle with pancreatic cancer on June 25. He was elected in 2022

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
Plans for works and signage to improve safety at an open-air diving board in Guernsey have been submitted.

The planning application by Guernsey States Property said a number of minor improvements were required at the Ladies' Pool at La Vallette in St Peter Port.

It comes after the platform at the Ladies' Pool was closed in February over safety concerns about the depth of the water.

The proposal, put to the Development and Planning Authority, includes extending the platform by 250mm (about 10 inches), replacing the access steps and adding handrails to the steps, fixing strips of high-grip material to the deck of the platform.

Earlier this year the diving board was closed because of health and safety concerns [BBC]

It also hopes to replace signage in two locations, at the top of the steps to the Ladies' Pool and at the site entrance.

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The application proposes a number of unguarded edges and steps around the pool are marked with narrow strips of white paint to make them clearer.

A number of "no diving" warnings will also be painted on the poolside concrete in a number of "critical areas".

The States has also set out expectations that all new development should demonstrate the "wise use of natural resources, incorporate appropriate sustainable construction techniques and mitigate, adapt and become more resilient to climate change".

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"It is expected that these improvements will be effective and durable, enhancing safety for the users of the pool, while limiting environmental impacts as far as possible."

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A husband who received 325,000 in a divorce from his multimillionaire wife has won a court appeal after accusing the divorce judge of gender prejudice.

High Court judge Mr Justice Francis awarded Simon Entwistle, a 42-year-old City trader, just 0.5 per cent of Jenny Helliwells fortune in January last year.

Mr Entwistle claimed that the judge, who upheld a pre-nuptial agreement in which the couple agreed to keep their own assets in the event of a split, would not have made the same ruling if the genders were reversed.

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Appeal judge Lady Justice King ruled that Mr Entwistles case should be heard again, after she accused Ms Helliwell, 42, of fraudulent behaviour by not declaring almost 48m of her 66m personal fortune while making the prenup.

Mr Entwistle and Ms Helliwell married in 2019 in a 500,000 ceremony in Paris and lived in a 4.5m villa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Jenny Helliwell did not declare almost 48m of her 66m personal fortune while making a prenup with Simon Entwistle

They split after three years of marriage in August 2022 when Ms Helliwell ordered her husband out of their home with 48 hours notice.

In court, Mr Entwistle asked for 2.5m of his ex-wifes personal fortune, including 26,000 for a personal meal plan, as a court heard he cant even cook an omelette.

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He was left with a 0.5 per cent cut after the judge upheld a prenup, which Mr Entwistle went on to dispute.

Appealing the ruling, Mr Entwistle said he was a victim of gender prejudice and that the prenup had been invalidated by Ms Helliwell having failed to disclose assets worth almost 48m  amounting to 73 per cent of her wealth  when he signed it.

At the Court of Appeal in March 2025, Deborah Bangay KC, for Mr Entwistle, said: The judge was warned against gender prejudice, but failed to heed that warning.

Had the positions been reversed, it is very unlikely that [Mr Justice Francis] would have ... so ungenerously assessed the needs of a wife after a six-year relationship.

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Lady Justice King has ruled that the non-disclosure by the heiress amounted to fraudulent behaviour, which invalidated the prenup.

She sent the case back to the divorce courts, ordering it to be recalculated as if the prenup did not exist.

The appeal judge said: Since the husband in the instant case was deliberately deprived of information which it had been agreed that he should have, in my judgment, the agreement cannot stand.

Fraudulent non-disclosure

Lady Justice King, giving her ruling on Friday, made no finding on the gender prejudice argument, but said that when agreeing to the agreement, Ms Helliwell disclosed 18.2m of assets, and failed to include 47.9m assets.

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The assets Ms Helliwell failed to mention included almost 40m worth of business assets, 8m worth of beachfront land in Dubai and a 1.6m house in Wimbledon, where her mother lives.

Lady Justice King said: The deliberate decision by the wife not to disclose her business assets and her interest in her mothers house amounted to fraudulent non-disclosure which vitiates the agreement.

She concluded: In my judgment, the judge erred in law in concluding that on the facts of the case, the wifes deliberate non-disclosure, on current figures, of some 73 per cent of her wealth did not serve to vitiate the agreement.

She added there must be a reconsideration of the husbands needs and in particular his housing provision.

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Des Moines Area Community College. (Photo courtesy pf DMACC)

A former Des Moines Area Community College administrator, fired after making a comment about having pulled a knife on someone, is now suing the school, alleging age and racial discrimination.

Kim Jackson of Des Moines, who ran DMACCs Upward Bound program for 20 years, is suing the school in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

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Jackson alleges she was employed by DMACC for a total of 26 years until she was abruptly and wrongfully terminated on July 2, 2024. She alleges she filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and that the EEOC subsequently issued her a formal notice of her right to sue, clearing the way for her lawsuit.

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Jackson alleges the school fired her for the pretextual reasons of gross misconduct and conduct unbecoming a supervisor.

The lawsuit notes that in November 2024, an administrative law judge with the Iowa Unemployment Insurance Appeals Bureau conducted a hearing on Jacksons unemployment benefits claim and later ruled that, contrary to what DMACC had claimed, Jackson had not engaged in workplace misconduct.

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According to the findings of the judge in that case, Jackson had raised her voice during a discussion with other Upward Bound employees in June 2024. Jackson had a family connection to two students who were being discussed and the other Upward Bound employees felt Jackson had been favoring the two and treating them differently than the other students in the program.

After being told the two students were rude and behaving in an entitled manner, Jackson allegedly responded that if one of the two had made the comments attributed to him it was not appropriate, stating loudly, If he spoke to you like that, he needs to be corrected. He did not come from a family where that is okay.

The judge found that Jackson did not yell at the other employees, use profanity, threaten anyone, or disagree with the premise of the conversation.

The judge noted that two days later, Jackson apologized to her colleagues for having raised her voice. While explaining that she tried to control her anger, Jackson referenced an incident from her youth when she pulled a knife on someone when she was angry  a comment some of her DMACC colleagues allegedly took as a threat, the judge found.

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She was later fired for her conduct.

As a result of the unemployment hearing, Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth Johnson awarded Jackson jobless benefits, finding there was no workplace misconduct that would disqualify her.

I do not believe Ms. Jackson referencing pulling a knife on someone in her youth was a threat, but an explanation of why she no longer acts on her anger today, Johnson ruled. I do not think anyone in that meeting reasonably believed it was a threat, given that they all remained in the meeting and did not flee or call 911 or Campus Security.

The lawsuit alleges the schools stated reasons for firing Jackson were pretextual and that that DMACCs Human Resources Department had been trying to get her to take early retirement since 2020, when she was roughly 60 years old.

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When Jackson was terminated, she was the only Black DMACC employee at a director-level position, the lawsuit alleges. Jacksons responsibilities and roles were replaced by two white females who were more than 10 years younger than Jackson.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including back pay and punitive damages, for discrimination and retaliation.

DMACC has yet to file a response to the lawsuit. The schools spokesperson could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KARK)  Arkansas State Police (ASP) say that DNA matching Andrew James McGann was found at the scene of a fatal double stabbing at Devils Den State Park in West Fork. McGann was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the Saturday killings.

ASP Col. Mike Hagar said Thursday that the attack on the hiking couple appeared to be random, and the motive was still unknown.

Arkansas State Police make arrest in Devils Den double homicide case

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Hagar pointed out the structure of the investigation, which began with roughly 500 tips from the public, including photos from homes and businesses near the park that showed McGanns car, which investigators determined to be a KIA Stinger.

Once the car was known, ASP says that investigators were able to vet tips and suspects, leading to McGanns arrest. He was arrested without incident at a Springdale barbershop, officials said.

WATCH: Videos shows Devils Den double homicide suspects arrest, booking into Washington County Jail

McGann made statements during his interview with investigators that indicated hed stabbed husband and wife, 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink, on a trail at Devils Den State Park, ASP reports.

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Meanwhile, ASP Criminal Investigation Division Maj. Stacy Rhodes backed up an earlier statement from Hagar that social media comments caused significant harm in the investigation. She continued to decry keyboard warriors, adding, if youre an expert, youre probably not on social media.

Hagar explained that the investigation began with those two little girls, the 7- and 9-year-old daughters of the Brinks who were with them. Hagar reiterated that misinformation and speculation about the deaths on social media have hurt the family.

This is not an episode of CSI and its not going to be wrapped up in an hour, Hagar said.

Devils Den double homicide suspect booked into Washington County Jail: What we know about his arrest

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Rhodes said that while Clinton Brinks was being attacked Cristen Brink led the girls to safety, then returned to aid her husband.

Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said he wanted the public to know they are safe. While suspects are innocent until proven guilty, he said, we have the right defendant in the case.

Carter added that he would be out hiking in the park as soon as the trail was reopened.

Officials throughout complimented the other agencies that supported the state police in the investigation, including police and sheriffs departments.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper

(Reuters) -Thousands of license applications by U.S. companies to export goods and technology around the globe, including to China, are in limbo because turmoil at the agency in charge of approving them has left it nearly paralyzed, two sources said.

While U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has become a familiar face touting President Donald Trump's tariff and trade deals, sources said the export bureau under Lutnick's command has failed to issue expected new rules, stifled communications with industry representatives, pushed out experts, and lost staff through buyouts and resignations.

Shipments of artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia to China are the most high-profile example of licenses not being swiftly approved. The company said July 14 the government assured it licenses would be granted for its H20 chip, and it hoped to start deliveries soon. Lutnick and other officials confirmed sales would be allowed.

But sources said this week no licenses have yet been issued, and billions of dollars of AI chip orders are at stake.

One U.S. official said the backlog of license applications is the lengthiest in more than three decades.

A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment.

The Commerce Department defended its licensing practices, saying its Bureau of Industry and Security "will no longer rubber-stamp license applications that raise grave questions of national security," a spokesperson said.

"BIS is driving forward President Trump's agenda through strong rules and aggressive enforcement," the person added.

The turmoil and resulting inaction at an agency tasked with promoting overseas trade and safeguarding American technology are alarming both those seeking tougher restrictions on exports to China and companies trying to sell their wares abroad.

Licensing is how the U.S. does business and competes globally, said Meghan Harris, who served on the National Security Council in the first Trump administration and has worked at Commerce. "Delays and unpredictability put us at an unnecessary disadvantage."

BIS averaged 38 days per export license application in fiscal year 2023, the most recent data available, denying 2% of 37,943 applications.

The license process enforces U.S. export restrictions in an effort to make sure sensitive goods and technology do not reach countries or entities whose use of the items could harm U.S. national security.

Some staff have criticized Jeffrey Kessler, who became BIS undersecretary in March, saying he has micromanaged the bureau and failed to communicate adequately.
A Brooklyn doctor warns that a modest transformation in fingernails could indicate lung cancer.

Dr. Davood Johari, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, told the New York Post that 5 percent to 15 percent of lung cancer patients develop nail clubbing, which typically appears in later stages of the disease, often too late for effective intervention.

Fingertips appear wider and rounder than normal, with the nails curving downwards, resembling an upside-down spoon, Johari said as August 1 marks World Lung Cancer Day.

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The nail bed, the area under the nail, feels spongy and softer, he added. The fingertip might be red or feel warmer than usual.

The exact cause of nail clubbing and the connection to lung cancer isnt fully known, but it may result from hormone-like substances produced by tumors that widen blood vessels in the fingers, increasing blood flow and causing fluid buildup under the nails.

Nail clubbing, often a late-stage lung cancer sign, can also indicate other serious conditions such as chronic lung infections, heart defects, gastrointestinal diseases, and autoimmune disorders, Dr. Davood Johari said. (AFP/Getty)

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths globally, with about 226,650 new U.S. diagnoses expected this year, leading to nearly 125,000 deaths.

Johari urges that anyone who notices persistent changes in nail color, shape, or thickness lasting more than two weeks, even without other symptoms to seek medical attention.

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People with other lung cancer symptoms including a persistent cough, voice changes, unexplained weight loss or fatigue, ongoing shoulder pain that worsens at night, vision issues, or drooping eyelids, should also consult a doctor, he said.

Lung cancer evaluations usually start with a medical history review, physical exam and imaging, with a biopsy required for a definitive diagnosis.

Nail clubbing can also indicate other serious conditions like chronic lung infections, heart defects, gastrointestinal diseases and autoimmune disorders. Johari said that other nail changes such as dark streaks, persistent bruises, nail lifting or bleeding, may also signal various forms of cancer and shouldnt be ignored.

Many nail changes are harmless and may be related to aging, injury and trauma or everyday activities like using nail polish, Johari told the outlet. However, any changes in nail color, nail shape or thickness, which are persistent and last for more than a couple of weeks, should be checked by a physician.

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While smoking is the most well-known cause of lung cancer, several other risk factors can also lead to the disease. One major cause is radon exposure, a naturally occurring, odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the US, particularly among non-smokers, according to the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A biopsy is the most definitive way to confirm a lung cancer diagnosis (AFP/Getty)

High, unsafe levels of radon are commonly found in rock, soil and groundwater. Testing homes for radon and understanding local regulations are key to reducing exposure, and fortunately, high radon levels can often be lowered through effective mitigation.

Age is another factor, with two-thirds of lung cancer cases diagnosed in individuals over 65 years old, and most occurring in those over 45, per the source. A family or personal history of lung cancer also increases risk. Additional environmental and occupational exposures, such as to arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, chromium, uranium and certain petroleum products, can contribute to lung cancer development.

Air pollution, prior radiation therapy to the chest or breast and a history of lung diseases such as tuberculosis further elevate the risk.
When an attorney for Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart appeared before an ethics panel last week to defend the longtime lawmaker against a harassment complaint, he began his case by offering what he called a little bit of context about the events leading up to the tense encounter.

Ray Vargas said Stewart lost her cool when her accuser, the Legislative Council Services capital outlay programs coordinator, informed her she had missed the deadline to submit her capital outlay allocations, even though her office had emailed the funding sheet in time, with about an hour and a half to spare.

The funding was especially important for Stewart, he told a subcommittee of the interim Legislative Ethics Committee, because she had approximately $4 million in capital outlay that she was attempting to direct to her district, which is known as the Albuquerque International District.

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He noted, if were being honest, its still called the war zone in Albuquerque. Its one of the poorest districts in the state of New Mexico, and $4 million of capital outlay is extremely important to this impoverished district.

Despite Vargas claims about the urgency of funding for Stewarts hardscrabble district, documents show she directed about a quarter of her capital outlay  $1 million  to projects not just outside her district but outside Bernalillo County, including a loader for Jemez Pueblo, improvements at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, a learning center construction project in Socorro and a theater renovation at the ABQ BioPark zoo in downtown Albuquerque.

Vargas, one of the states top trial lawyers, did not return a message seeking comment on the contradiction.

The subcommittee voted 4-3 along party lines to recommend dismissal of the complaint  and no sanctions  against the Albuquerque Democrat.

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The subcommittee was made up of seven members: three Democratic senators, three Republican senators and Democrat Richard Bosson, a retired New Mexico Supreme Court justice. Bosson and the three Democratic senators  Roberto Bobby Gonzales of Ranchos de Taos, Leo Jaramillo of Espanola and Carrie Hamblen of Las Cruces  recommended dismissal of the complaint after finding no offense that justified sanctions.

Campaign finance reports filed with the New Mexico Secretary of States Office show Stewart has contributed money to all three Democratic senators who served on the subcommittee, including $5,000 to Hamblen, $2,500 to Jaramillo and $1,000 to Gonzales. The reports show an additional $2,500 contribution to Hamblen from People for Mimi Stewart.

Its not unusual for high-ranking Democratic or Republican lawmakers to make campaign contributions to members of their own party.

Stewart also said lawmakers customarily dedicate capital outlay outside their districts.

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The process of fulfilling capital outlay requests is never done in a vacuum and most if not every legislator also looks to the needs across the state and does what they can to help, she said in a statement. Just as I welcome the support from my colleagues when they put money toward projects within my district, I gladly use a small portion of the funds allotted to me to assist large projects that might not otherwise receive adequate funding. For years I have committed to helping Navajo Prep, the Jemez Pueblo, and assisting with requests from UNM and Highlands University.

Stewart said the amount of capital outlay lawmakers receive is never enough to meet the states needs and that pooling resources is an effective strategy.

Regardless of how much money is available, the needs from across the state will always outweigh whatever we might have to invest, and without the collaboration and pooling of resources that we do, many projects would never get off the ground, she said. This is a best practice that every legislator should embrace and one I fully intend on continuing.

Stewart said she was very proud of the work she does with her fellow legislators to ensure the many needs of her constituents in the International District are vetted and met.

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This year we funded requests for schools, parks, fire stations, and made great inroads in supporting affordable housing needs in the area, she said. There are other projects such as the Domingo Baca Aquatic Center, the ABQ BioPark Zoo renovation, or stormwater infrastructure improvements that while not physically within the bounds of District 17, certainly benefit everyone and improve the community as a whole.

Editors note: NM Politics Check is an occasional series that shines a light on public officials or public policy news in New Mexico.
US President Donald Trump has raised tariffs on Canadian imports, while maintaining existing tariffs on Mexico and China, citing their failure to curb the trade in fentanyl and its component chemicals.

He has also threatened higher tariffs on Mexican imports but delayed enforcement to allow for negotiations to take place.

How serious is the fentanyl crisis in the US?

Fentanyl is a synthetic drug manufactured from a combination of chemicals. US regulators approved it for use in medical settings as a pain reliever in the 1960s, but it has since become the main drug responsible for opioid overdose deaths in the US.

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More than 48,000 Americans died in 2024 after taking drug mixtures containing fentanyl, according to the US Centres for Disease Control (DCD).

The US has long accused Chinese corporations of knowingly supplying the chemical components to gangs who trade in them. The White House has also accused Canada and Mexico of failing to prevent criminal gangs from smuggling fentanyl into the US.

It is frequently mixed with other illicit drugs, leading many users to be unaware that the substances they are consuming contain fentanyl.

As little as a two milligram dose of fentanyl - roughly the size of a pencil tip - can be fatal.

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Over the past decade, the global fentanyl supply chain has expanded, making it harder for law enforcement and policymakers to control.

China is the primary source of the precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl.

Canada's role in the fentanyl trade

President Trump has accused Canada - alongside Mexico - of allowing "vast numbers of people to come in and fentanyl to come in" to the US.

According to data from the US Customs and Border Patrol, only about 0.8% of all seizures of fentanyl entering the US so far this year were made at the Canadian border. Almost all of the rest is confiscated at the US border with Mexico.

But in January, Canada's financial intelligence agency reported that organised criminal groups in Canada are increasingly involved in the production of fentanyl by importing chemicals used to make it and lab equipment from China.

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The trade in fentanyl takes place in both directions.

In the first 10 months of 2024, the Canadian border service reported seizing 10.8lb (4.9kg) of fentanyl entering from the US, while US Border Patrol intercepted 32.1lb (14.6kg) of fentanyl coming from Canada.

In December, the country pledged C$1.3bn ($900m; 700m) for combating fentanyl and enhancing border security.

And in February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment Kevin Brosseau, as Canada's fentanyl czar.

Most fentanyl enters the US via Mexico

Since last October, 9,200 lb (4,182kg) of fentanyl have been seized in the US, according to figures published by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

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Almost all (96%) was intercepted at the south-west border with Mexico. Less than 1% was seized across the northern US border with Canada. The remainder was from sea routes or other US checkpoints.

[BBC]

According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Mexican criminal organisations - including the Sinaloa Cartel - play a key role in producing and delivering fentanyl, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs into the US.

The chemicals used to make fentanyl are sourced from China by traffickers and turned into the finished product in labs in Mexico before being smuggled into the US.

According to the DEA, the Sinaloa Cartel uses a variety of tactics to conceal shipments coming into Mexico, such as hiding the chemicals among legitimate commercial goods, mislabelling the containers, using front companies, and shipping through third party countries.

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The Trump administration has accused the Mexican government of colluding with the drug cartels. Mexico's President Sheinbaum says the claims are "slander."

In December, shortly after Trump had threatened Mexico with tariffs, the country's security forces announced their largest ever seizure of fentanyl - equivalent to around 20 million doses.

In response to the threat of tariffs from the US, in February the Mexican government launched Operation Northern Border, deploying 10,000 national guard troops along the US-Mexico border.

China is the main source of fentanyl chemicals

In 2019, China classified fentanyl as a controlled narcotic and later added some of the chemicals used to make it to the list.

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Despite this, the trade in other chemicals involved in the manufacturing of fentanyl - some of which can have legitimate purposes - remain uncontrolled, as those involved in the trade find new ways to evade the law.

A review of several US indictments, which include details of undercover agents communicating with Chinese manufacturers, suggests that some chemical companies in China have been selling chemicals - including controlled ones - in the knowledge that they are intended to make fentanyl.

Dozens of indictments reviewed by BBC Verify detail instances where Chinese manufacturers have provided instructions on how to make fentanyl from products they sell, through encrypted platforms and cryptocurrency payments.

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"So you have these massive loopholes where criminals engage in selling legal products, but they knowingly sell them to criminal entities," says Vanda Felbab-Brown, senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institute.

In a statement, China said it had some of the strictest drugs laws in the world and had conducted joint operations with the US in the past.

"The US needs to view and solve its own fentanyl issue," it said.

And while China remains the main source of the chemicals used to make fentanyl, the DEA has also identified India as an emerging major source for these chemicals.

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In a US indictment from January 2025, two chemical companies in India were charged with supplying the chemicals used to make fentanyl to the US and Mexico.

Additional reporting by Lucy Gilder.

This piece has been updated to reflect President Trump's announcement on 1 August of tariff increases on Canada and to include the most recent data on fentanyl seizures at US borders.

[BBC]

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
Dog Days of Summer celebrates FDLEs 10 K-9 teams, which specialize in electronic storage, firearms, and explosives detection, crucial for safeguarding Floridians and visitors.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has launched its Dog Days of Summer social media campaign from August 1 to August 10 to showcase the departments K-9 teams and their handlers.

The campaign will be proudly shared on FDLEs Facebook, X, and Instagram pages, highlighting the important roles these K-9 teams play in assisting, and agents are excited to showcase their incredible work to everyone.

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Among the featured K-9s are Gatsby, a Yellow Labrador assigned to Capitol Police Officer William Boyer, who detects explosives in vehicles and mail trucks entering the Capitol.

Hunter, a Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd mix, works with Officer Getavius Zachary to search state office areas for explosives.

Laya, a Golden Retriever born in Colombia, is trained to detect explosive materials and recover firearms and ammunition, working alongside Officer Travis Tharp.

Cirill, another Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd mix, is certified in explosive detection and partners with Officer Jonathan Crawley.

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The regional teams include Joze, a German Shorthaired Pointer in Pensacola, certified in electronic storage detection and works with Special Agent Vannessa Carmona.

Rocket, a Black Labrador in Tallahassee, transitioned from a service dog to an electronic detection K-9, partnering with Special Agent Aida Limongi.

Zeus, assigned to the Jacksonville Regional Operations Center, supports the Cyber/Hi-Tech Crimes Squad with Special Agent Supervisor Garrett Carlisle.

Ruby, a silver English Labrador, is part of the Orlando Cybercrime Task Force with Agent Georgie Torres, specializing in electronic storage detection.

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Layla, an American Labrador in Tampa Bay, joined FDLE in 2022 and works with Special Agent Supervisor Ritchie Kaplan in electronic storage detection.

Cache, a black English Labrador in Fort Myers, partners with Special Agent Justin Gilmer, who also focuses on electronic storage detection.

The Dog Days of Summer campaign offers the public a chance to learn more about FDLEs K-9 teams and their contributions to law enforcement, with updates available on the departments social media platforms.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a project that President Donald Trumps administration touted as the flagship endeavor in its war on waste, has generated $21.7 billion in waste since its launch, Democrats claimed in a new report Thursday.

The staggering figure comes from Democrats on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, spearheaded by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), who released their findings in a 55-page report on losses accrued by DOGE, the brainchild of Trump and his billionaire friend-turned-enemy Elon Musk.

The results, the Democrats say, are the unsurprising outcome of a tech CEO with zero government experience taking charge of a massive federal spending overhaul, promising it was going to be a revolution.

Elon Musk speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. via Associated Press

By prioritizing disruption over governance and failing to identify solutions for any of the problems it purported to solve, DOGE has created its own forms of waste, the report stated.

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The waste found in the investigation was largely generated by the Trump administration paying hundreds of thousands of employees to stop working. That includes $14.8 billion under the deferred resignation program, which has paid around 200,000 employees not to work throughout the last eight months. Sources told The Washington Post on Thursday that there are currently more than 154,000 federal employees in that program being paid through Sept. 30 or to the end of the year.

The $21.7 billion total also includes $6.1 billion for paying more than 100,000 employees who were involuntarily separated from federal service or put on prolonged periods of administrative leave.

One of the federal employees put on leave six months ago by DOGE says they have no idea when their full pay and other benefits will end  or if theyll be asked to return to the job they loved.

Maybe this week, maybe next week, maybe the week after, or maybe next month, the worker, granted anonymity by HuffPost, said. We all just kind of guess and make predictions, and were usually wrong.

Theyre hopeful to get some news in the next few weeks, but they arent holding their breath.

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Ive said that many, many times over the last six months, and here I am still, they said. Starting a different job would force them to formally quit their government job, foregoing severance and losing their place at the front of the line for future government work.

Seeing the $21.7 billion figure is especially frustrating, knowing that important research has ceased and grants have stopped going out.

DOGE really forced waste, fraud and abuse by eliminating so much of the federal workforce, the worker said.

The waste found in the report also includes $110 million on food aid and medical supplies that are spoiling in warehouses, awaiting destruction. That will be destroyed at a further cost to taxpayers, the report found. In one example provided, the U.S. is spending approximately $160,000 to incinerate $9.7 million in contraceptives because it allegedly refused to sell them to a third party at anything below full market value.

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Another $66 million in the total comes from slapping high-level employees with entry-level tasks, including more than $138,000 for paying scientists to check guests in at national parks, per the findings. DOGE mandates for people to move closer to physical government offices cost another $41 million in relocation fees.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) led the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations' probe into DOGE waste. via Associated Press

The $21.7 billion does not include the governments legal expenses from DOGE-related lawsuits, the report noted, nor does it include some indirect costs, like the economic consequences of weakened disaster response agencies or stifled innovation from canceled grants.

The full extent of the waste and harm caused by DOGEs disruptive activities is difficult to quantify because costs remain hidden and many of the consequences have yet to fully materialize, the report stated.

The White House did not immediately respond when reached for comment about the report. DOGE claims it has saved Americans $199 billion so far, amounting to $1,236.02 per taxpayer.

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The report called on the Offices of Inspectors General to launch an investigation into DOGE, which has continued despite Musks fallout with Trump and departure from the department. Per the DOGE website, it terminated numerous employees from the departments of the Interior, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, among others, just last week.

Fully understanding and quantifying the true costs of DOGEs operations, the report concluded, is crucial to holding the administration accountable and preventing similar detrimental efficiency schemes in the future.

Related...
Ohio Republican U.S. Sens. Jon Husted, left, and Bernie Moreno, center, and Vice President JD Vance, right. (Official photos.)

Ohioans continue to raise concerns that they will lose their health care access or food assistance benefits now that Congresss massive spending bill has been signed into law.

All of Ohios U.S. House Republican representatives voted for the law, as did Ohio Republican U.S. Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, and Ohio native Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate.

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For one Ohio woman, Medicaid is the reason she says she is alive.

From doctor offices, to food banks, to being unhoused for two years, Clevelander Autumn La Riche said she has been trying to survive.

Nobody wants to be stuck in poverty and disabled all the time, La Riche said.

Suffering from multiple chronic illnesses that impact her mobility and pain, she had to leave her job as an educator, relying on services like Medicaid.

Right now, she qualifies for disability but fears that changes to the program due to what the GOP calls the Big Beautiful Bill will cause her and people like her to suffer.

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If I dont have health care, how am I ever gonna get better and return to work? she said.

By mid-July, La Riche said she had been calling the offices of Sens. Moreno and Husted about her concerns each week  for months. She never got to talk to anyone, at least nothing more than an automated message, she said.

I cant lose my services because I dont know what I would do, she said.

Medicaid funding has been cut, and there are additional work and reporting requirements. Now, most able-bodied individuals ages 19 to 64 would need to work at least 80 hours per month.

Republicans like Vice President Vance claim that this will bring down spending.

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The best way to protect Medicaid is to ensure only the needy get access to Medicaid, the VP said Monday at an event in Canton.

There were also major changes to the work requirement exemptions for food stamps, SNAP  eliminating veterans and people facing homelessness from the exceptions list.

The bill also increases the work requirements for the elderly. It raises the age for work requirements up to 64, and changes exemptions for parents to only those with children under 14.

The GOP says these types of governmental service changes are all to make the systems work more efficiently.

If youre looking for work, were gonna help you look for work, Vance said.

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Dylan Armstrong with nonpartisan Center for Community Solutions shared one impact that the new reporting aspect could have.

By adding additional paperwork and additional bureaucracy, it will make it more difficult for individuals to either receive benefits or continue to receive benefits, Armstrong said.

The paperwork struggle is real for La Riche, who lost her SNAP benefits when she faced homelessness. Still, her top worry is her medical care.

Vance was asked what he says to the hundreds of thousands of Ohioans facing a potential loss in health care coverage.

Well, what Id say to those Ohioans is one, dont believe every false media report that youve heard because our explicit goal in the Trump administration is to protect peoples health care so long as theyre working hard, playing by the rules What Id say to people is If youre looking for work, were gonna help you look for work,' Vance responded.

Watch the entire exchange:

After we reached out to the offices of both Ohio senators, La Riche said they called her back.

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Assisting Ohioans in need is Senator Morenos top priority. While the Senate has been dealing with an exceptionally high volume of calls, our office is committed to responding to each and every Ohioan in need of assistance and working through all requests as quickly as possible, said Morenos spokesperson Reagan McCarthy said in a statement. Its a shame Democrat dark money groups have decided their petty political projects are more important than the needs of our constituents.

La Riche said she told them this message: You have no idea what is too much or not enough, if you have never lived with chronic illness, if you have never fought the disability system, if you have never had to fight for resources just to survive and live one day.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

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Donald Trump is finally getting his wish to turn the White House into the gaudy resort he calls home by adding a $200 million ballroom.

The White House announced that it would begin construction in September on a 90,000-square-foot ballroom that can seat 650 people.

Yes, Trump is laser focused on the issues that matter most to Americans: replacing the large and unsightly tent that typically hosts guests just 100 yards away from the building.

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During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Trump confirmed that he wouldnt spend any taxpayer dollars on the $200 million project. Its a private thing, yeah, and well probably have some donors, he said.

Theyve wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years, but theres never been a president thats good at ballrooms, he added.

Trump said the expansion would not interfere with the White House. Itll be near it but not touching it, and pays total respect to the existing building,

Trumps mission to add a gaudy event hall to the White House didnt come out of nowherehe claims that he pitched it to the last two presidents. During a press conference in February, Trump said hed asked Joe Biden about building a ballroom in the White House, offering to have it built himself.

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I was going to build a beautiful, beautiful ballroom like Ive done before, Trump said. It would cost $100 million. I told them again and again. They didnt know what to do. They had no idea.

He made a similar claim on the presidential campaign trail in 2016, telling his supporters that hed offered to have a ballroom built for the Obamas.

Trump has already begun a massive decor overhaul at the White House, gilding the Oval Office with gaudy gold detailing and ornate crown molding, plastering a golden Trump crest above the door, and shipping in golden cherub statues straight from Mar-a-Lago, according to The Daily Beast.

Its clear that Trump much prefers the luxury aesthetics of his resort home, and with the dismal report card hes received in office so far, the president should feel free to pack his bags any time.
Before Barack Obamas CIA Director John Brennan and 50 other intelligence analysts deceived Americans in the run-up to the 2020 election by warning that Hunter Bidens laptop had "all the earmarks of a classic Russian information operation" - and before Obama, Brennan, Obamas FBI Director James Comey, and National Intelligence Director James Clapper falsified an Intelligence Community Assessment in December 2016 to destabilize Donald Trumps first term - there was Hillary Clinton.

The medias focus these days is on President Trumps possible cameo in the so-called "Epstein files" and Obamas role in advancing the Russia collusion hoax.These stories crossed when DNI Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe released compelling evidence that six weeks before his term concluded, Obama pressed the intelligence community to ignore its previous assessments and instead rely on the sham Steele dossier and an ambiguous and unverifiable sentence fragment to smear Trump and undermine his presidency before it began.

But lets not forget the Clinton campaigns role in this kabuki dance.

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Clinton, not Obama, was Trumps opponent in the 2016 election. As we learned last week from the declassification of reports issued by Gabbard and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, the weight of the heretofore concealed evidence is that if Putin had a preference, it was most likely Clinton - not the wildcard first-time officeholder who surprised the world by winning.

According to the now declassified September 2020 majority staff report of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Putins principal goal was to undermine faith in the U.S. democratic process, not help any particular candidate. Thus, he chose not to leak the most compromising allegations about Clinton, presumably so that he could later use them to weaken her expected presidency. If Russia really wanted to help Trump, the purported information - whether true or not - would have been released during the campaign.

The intelligence community and media, which did have a clear favorite in 2016, carefully hid the compromising accusations, including secret meetings in which State Department representatives are alleged to have unlawfully offered assistance to religious groups in exchange for their support in the 2016 election, along with emails from Democratic National Committee officials describing Clintons "psycho-emotional problems," including "uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression, and cheerfulness." Clinton was said by these sources to be on a daily regimen of "heavy tranquilizers."

Recently declassified intelligence files show that Clinton authorized the bogus Steele dossier during the 2016 campaign to deflect attention from her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state, and to discredit Trump. Obama, his senior intelligence team and Democratic leadership used the dossier to push the dishonest Russia narrative, Trumps first impeachment, and a largely successful effort to block his first-term agenda.

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Just a year earlier, a bombshell New York Times report disclosed that Clinton breached core security protocols by exclusively using a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. She may have done so to shield emails about improper Clinton Foundation fundraising efforts, her hiring of private consultants, and other political conflicts. In a highly inappropriate press conference before the 2016 election, Jim Comey took it upon himself to excuse Clintons security lapses, curiously asserting that "no reasonable prosecutor" would bring a criminal case. An investigation led by Chairman Grassley found that Comey intended to exonerate Clinton even before the FBI interviewed her.

On July 21, 2025, Grassley released a long buried June 2018 FBI Inspector General report that concluded the FBI never fully investigated Clintons use of the private server. Further, contrary to sound investigative protocols, witnesses were permitted to attend each others depositions, and no action was taken when Clintons lawyers accessed confidential information, or when her aides used hammers to destroy BlackBerry phones and BleachBit software to erase the emails. According to Grassley, then-DNC chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz confirmed that Obama scuttled the investigation to protect Clintons candidacy.

When Clinton served as Obamas secretary of state, foreign governments and corporations donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation and paid Bill Clinton premium prices for speeches, including governments that obtained substantial State Department assistance. Clinton personally attended meetings with foundation donors and sought favors for them, a practice begun when she was New Yorks junior senator.

Bill Clintons White House run was rocked by allegations over investments Bill and Hillary made in the Whitewater Development Corporation. Despite the disappearance of key documents from the White House private quarters, evidence of Hillarys questionable activities, and the conviction of one of their business partners, neither Clinton faced prosecution.

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In 1978 and 1979, while first lady of Arkansas, Clinton invested $1,000 in cattle futures, generating almost $100,000 in profit in less than a year. Despite suspicions suggesting that the profits were disguised pay-offs from Tyson Foods and the improbability of such returns, there was no official investigation.

While Hillary Clintons time on the national stage may be sunsetting, she remains the epitome of the disparate standards to which Republicans and Democrats are held by American elites.

Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank. He is the author of fiction and non-fiction books and a frequent speaker and contributor to media, including RealClearPolitics, The American Mind, National Review, television, radio, and podcasts.
The Brief

A restaurant owner in downtown St. Pete says the city isnt enforcing the law that bans public sleeping in a new lawsuit against the city.

She says its affecting her business, and creating safety concerns for her, her employees and her customers.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Ronicca Whaley, the owner of Shiso Crispy in downtown St. Petersburg, said she, her staff and her customers have been harassed and threatened by people sleeping outside her store and in nearby Williams Park.

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She recently filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Petersburg, accusing local leaders of not enforcing the state law banning public sleeping. Her lawsuit includes pictures she took of people sleeping on the ground and on benches.

Big picture view

According to court documents, Whaley said people have dug through her trash and threatened to throw it on her, urinated and defecated on the restaurants property, spit or attempted to spit on her and her staff, called female employees derogatory names and made violent threats, including to slit their throats or shoot them in the face.

The lawsuit said by allowing people to sleep and camp in Williams Park and on nearby sidewalks, the city jeopardizes the health and safety of Whaley, her employees and patrons, "while undermining the economic vitality of downtown St. Petersburg." It goes on to say residents and visitors "are deterred by fear and revulsion, avoid businesses plagued by such conduct, causing Plaintiff irreparable financial and reputational harm."

Whaley said in the lawsuit that police told her they cant remove individuals, instead issuing verbal warnings or citations. According to a spokesperson for the St. Petersburg Police Department, there are two ordinances on the books that address public sleeping.

By the numbers

In 2024, officers made 216 arrests for people sleeping or reclining on the right-of-way, and six for sleeping in public. So far this year, officers have made 269 arrests for sleeping on the right-of-way, and 27 for sleeping in public.

What they're saying

Jason Mathis, the CEO of the St. Petersburg downtown Partnership, is not a part of the lawsuit, but he said the topic is a big issue thats difficult to tackle.

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"I do think it's a real challenge," Mathis said. "If people don't have aplace to sleep, that's obviously really a difficult situation, and I think one thing that we really need to focus on is making sure that any place that we have where we're directing unhoused people is safe, is clean, is comfortable. It's a place where they would feel comfortable spending the night, where they would feel like their belongings would be protected, where they would be safe with personal security, that they would have dignity. So, I think that that's really not related directly to Williams Park, but just something that as a community and a society you really should focus on."

He said his group is talking to city leaders about starting a Clean and Safe program for downtown, and they hope the city will fund it in its next budget this fall.

"The Clean and Safe program would have a dozen to 20 people out on the street every day, power washing, doing graffiti removal, weeding. If there are areas of the city that have code violations, we will be working on code enforcement with the property owners, but it's really about just really focused on downtown and making sure downtown is the best it can possibly be, making sure downtown St. Pete continues to be a dynamic, vibrant place that people love coming to," Mathis said.

Dig deeper

Part of the plan includes hiring a homeless liaison that would connect the unhoused population with services to get them back on their feet.

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"There's a lot stuff that we can do, but we also know that in any urban center, there's probably going to be some unhoused people, and we want to make sure that we're managing that in a way that's thoughtful, that is strategic, that's not haphazard," Mathis said.

The other side

A spokesperson for St. Pete said it doesnt comment on pending litigation. FOX 13 reached out to Whaleys attorney and left a message.

What's next

The Williams Park Partnership non-profit recently received $800,000 in the state budget for safety improvements. Mathis, whos a board member, said itll be used to add more lighting, level out parts of the park and fix some sidewalks. He said the hope is to make it a place everyone, no matter their housing status, feels welcome.

The Source

FOX 13s Kailey Tracy used Pinellas County court records for this story.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have held the first meeting of a joint oversight committee, taking a step towards implementing a peace deal even as other commitments are yet to be fulfilled.

The African Union, Qatar and the United States joined the committee meeting in Washington on Thursday.

The committee discussed progress on implementing the agreement, among other things, a joint statement released by Rwanda and DRC on social media said on Friday.

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The deal in June between Rwanda and DRC marked a breakthrough in talks held by US President Donald Trumps administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attracted billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

The deal outlines provisions for the respect for territorial integrity and halting hostilities in eastern DRC, which are still yet to be implemented.

It also includes economic measures, but has few details.





In the Washington agreement, the two African countries pledged to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern DRC within 90 days.

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The agreement also said DRC and Rwanda would form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.

Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a DRC-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwandas former army and fighter groups that carried out a 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.

But 30 days from the signing have passed without a meeting of the joint security coordination mechanism, and operations targeting the FDLR and the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers have yet to begin.

Deal not off track

The joint oversight committee was established as a forum to deal with the implementation and dispute resolution of the peace agreement.

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The committees meeting, due to take place within 45 days of the signing, was on schedule.

Trumps senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, told reporters on Wednesday that the deal was not off track, adding that a meeting of the security mechanism was due to be announced in the coming days.

Asked about the lack of progress on operations against the FDLR and withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers, Boulos said: There was no timeline for that  If you look at the chronology of what weve been able to do since April, its been extensive, and its been very much on point and very much in line with our aspirations. So its not off track in any way.

Sources with knowledge of the negotiations recognised delays in the implementation of the deal, but added that they were not yet threatening the deal as a whole.

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Military and diplomatic sources told the Reuters news agency that the parties in conflict  including armed groups such as Rwanda-backed M23 and DRC-aligned fighters groups known as Wazalendo  have strengthened their military presence on the front lines.




Tariffs are essentially taxes or duties imposed by a government on goods and services imported into, and exported out of, a country.

As China imposes new export restrictions on certain grades of graphite, a critical material in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, the US faces increasing pressure to secure its supply chain. These tariffs come at a pivotal moment for the US, just as federal incentives and private investments are driving a nationwide push to expand EV production and battery manufacturing.

Graphite is essential for lithium-ion battery anodes, and China currently dominates both mining and refining of graphite, controlling over 60% of global supply and more than 90% of processing capacity. With export controls now in place, US automakers and battery manufacturers are confronting a potential shortfall of this vital material, threatening production schedules and cost structures.

Navigate the shifting tariff landscape with real-time data and market-leading analysis. Request a free demo of GlobalDatas Strategic Intelligence here.

Short-term consequences

In the immediate future, the tariffs are likely to create bottlenecks and drive up prices for battery-grade graphite. Companies such as Tesla, GM, and Ford may be forced to navigate higher input costs, which could ripple through to vehicle pricing and manufacturing timeliness. With many EV battery plants under construction or scaling up in the US, this supply pressure could complicate efforts to meet federal targets for EV adoption. EVs already face affordability challenges for many consumers, and any rise in production costs could slow down adoption, particularly in the mid and entry-level market segments.

Automakers such as GM, Ford, and Stellantis report significant margin pressure. GM is targeting 30% of tariff costs through capacity reallocation and pricing strategies. Battery producers and retailers are diversifying supply. For example, Batteries Plus cut its China sourcing from 32% in 2018 to 4%, adding the US, Vietnam, and Malaysia as suppliers. Graphite producers outside China, like Syrah Resources and Nouveau Monde, saw stock surges up to 2226% due to new US duties.

How the US government may respond

In response, the US Commerce Department imposed a 93.5% tariff on anode-grade graphite imports from China, effective on materials with a minimum carbon purity of 90%, whether synthetic, natural, or blended. This case was initiated in December 2024 by the American Active Anode Material Producers, a coalition of US graphite companies, including Anovion, Syrah, Novonic, and Epsilon. This action has escalated US-China trade tensions, particularly in the critical minerals sector that is essential for electric vehicles. While US producers may gain domestic advantages from this tariff, graphite-dependent industries, especially EV battery manufacturers, are advocating for exemptions and seeking alternative sources.
A version of this article originally published in 2016.

Wildfires have burned millions of acres of trees, brush and other vegetation across Arizona.

Some wildfires are more well-known, including the Yarnell Fire in 2013 that took the lives of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots. Another well-known wildfire was the 1990 Dude Fire about 10 miles northeast of Payson, which killed six firefighters from a prison crew in a burn-over.

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But they are not necessarily among the largest wildfires in Arizona's history, having burned 8,500 acres and 25,000 acres, respectively. They are not even close.

Here, in total acres, are Arizona's Top 10 largest fires since 1990, according to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.

Wallow Fire

When: 2011 | Where: Eastern Arizona | Acres burned: 538,049

Fierce heat and winds fueled the Wallow Fire, which demonstrated the dangers of "spot fires," new blazes that are ignited by embers and carried as far as three miles by the winds. The fire, believed to be human-caused, led to the evacuation of more than half a dozen towns and hamlets in the White Mountains area of the eastern Arizona region and became the largest fire in state history.

Rodeo-Chediski Fire

When: 2002 | Where: Near Show Low, Heber and Pinetop | Acres burned: 468,638

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It was nicknamed "The Monster." After the Wallow Fire, the Rodeo-Chediski Fire is known as the second-largest wildfire in Arizona's history. It began as two separate fires intentionally set by people in June 2002  the first set by a Bureau of Indian Affairs firefighter as a means to create a job for himself and the second by a stranded hiker to signal a helicopter to her location. The fire consumed more than 468,000 acres.

Cave Creek Complex Fire

When: 2005 | Where: Between Bartlett Lake and New River | Acres burned: 248,310

The Cave Creek Complex Fire engulfed more than 248,000 acres in 2005 and is thought to have brought down the world's largest saguaro at the time. Dubbed "The Grand One," this particular saguaro stood approximately 46 feet tall and was estimated to be 150 to more than 200 years old.

Horseshoe Two Fire

When: 2011 | Where: Chiricahua Mountains | Acres burned: 222,954

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The Horseshoe Two Fire began atop the Chiricahua Mountains in May 2011 and scorched nearly 223,000 acres. It burned nine homes in the world-renowned bird-watching area in eastern Arizona. At its most active, there were 1,400 personnel assigned to battle the fire.

Bush Fire

When: 2020 | Where: Tonto National Forest | Acres burned: 193,455

The Bush Fire, believed to have started by a vehicle fire, began in the Four Peaks Wilderness area on June 13, approximately 38 miles northeast of Mesa. There were no reported injuries or structural loss from the fire that happened during the COVID pandemic, but many iconic saguaro cactuses were burned.

Telegraph Fire

When: 2021 | Where: Surrounding Superior | Acres burned: 180,757

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The fast-burning Telegraph Fire ignited in the afternoon hours of June 4, 2021, and quickly grew into one of the largest in Arizona's history in a matter of days. The fire was 100% contained by July 4 that year.

Dragon Bravo Fire

When: 2025 | Where: North Rim of Grand Canyon | Acres burned: 144,991

The Dragon Bravo Fire was ignited by lightning on July 4, 2025, and chewed up about four times the land area of Tempe.

Among the dozens of structures destroyed by the fire was the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on July 12. The lodge, which opened in 1937, was the only hotel located inside the national park at the North Rim.

Woodbury Fire

When: 2019 | Where: Tonto National Forest | Acres burned: 123,875

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The Woodbury Fire began in the Superstition Wilderness area on June 8, approximately 5 miles northwest of Superior, and burned more than 123,000 acres of tall grasses, brush and chaparral.

Bighorn Fire

When: 2020 | Where: Catalina Mountains | Acres burned: 119,987

The Bighorn Fire was 100% contained 48 days after a lightning strike first sparked the blaze in the Catalina Mountains and Coronado National Forest near Tucson.

Willow Fire

When: 2004 | Where: Mazatzal Mountains | Acres burned: 119,500

During June and July 2004, the Willow Fire wiped out nearly 120,000 acres of high desert, chaparral and pine forest in the Mazatzal Wilderness southwest of Payson.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Here are the largest Arizona wildfires
The Brief

Fullerton police have arrested a man accused of intentionally hitting a bicyclist with his car.

Christian Diaz of West Covina is facing attempted murder charges.

The family of Jesse Costello said the driver tried to hit him at least once before the crash.

FULLERTON, Calif. - Fullerton Police arrested a man this week they said intentionally crashed his car into a bicyclist who was riding home from work.

What we know

Officers arrested 22-year-old Christian Diaz of West Covina on Wednesday. He was booked for attempted murder.

The backstory

The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. on July 22, on Orangethorpe Avenue near Harbor Boulevard.

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Jesse Costello was riding his bike home from work, when his family said he ran into the driver at a red light. The driver, the family said, was flirting with a woman who was waiting at the light. When the light turned green and the driver didn't move, Costello tapped the car's bumper to get the driver's attention.

PREVIOUS: Fullerton bicyclist sent flying after wrong-way crash

The driver allegedly tried to hit Costello right then, when he was crossing the street. Costello was able to get out of the way, but wasn't so lucky the next time.

Security video from nearby showed a red Dodge Challenger driving across several lanes of traffic to plow into Costello, sending him flipping. Costello, however was able to walk away with some bruised ribs and scrapes.

What you can do

The Fullerton Police Department is still investigating the crash. Anyone with information should contact detectives at 714-738-6754.

The Source

Information in this story is from a press release from the Fullerton Police Department issued on Thursday, July 31, 2025, and a previous interview with the Costello family on July 24, 2025.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A man accused of hitting a 16-year-old boy with a vehicle on an East Side street and driving away received his sentence on Wednesday.

Herman Posey III was sentenced to 36 months in prison, as well as a five-year suspension on his drivers license, according to a judgment entry in the case. Posey is receiving credit for the 69 days that he already served in custody.

Posey pleaded guilty last month to vehicular assault, a third-degree felony, and failure to stop after an accident, a fourth-degree felony.

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Reports said Posey was driving a vehicle at about 9:10 a.m. Sept. 20, 2024, northbound on Bennington Avenue, when he hit the teen at the intersection with Parker Street and then drove away.

The teen was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center to be treated for his injuries, which were considered to be serious but not life-threatening.

Police found the vehicle a short time later by using surveillance video from nearby East High School and from school speed cameras to help track it down.

Joe Gorman contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
The driver of an RV that struck and killed a 9-year-old boy in Koreatown Thursday night has been arrested on suspicion of DUI, police confirmed Friday. The crash also left the boys 19-year-old brother in the hospital.

Police say the siblings were riding an e-scooter near the intersection of South New Hampshire Avenue and 4th Street when the RV made a turn, striking them both, just before 9:30 p.m.

The youngest of the brothers, Nadir Gavarreta, was pronounced dead at the scene. His brother was taken to a hospital and was listed in stable condition.

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The driver, identified as 46-year-old Jimmy Pittman, was seen taking a breathalyzer test shortly after the crash. Pittman has been booked on DUI charges, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KTLA.

A witness said the RV was flying down the street seconds before the collision.

I was crossing, and he was flying. I was like, Slow down before you kill somebody. And he was like, F you.  He almost ran me over, you know. I got out the way quickly, and then he hit them babies, Candy Williams said.

Nadir Gavarreta is seen in an image provided by his family. Nadir Gavarreta is seen in an image provided by his family. A memorial grows in Koreatown for Nadir Gavarreta on Aug. 1, 2025. (KTLA) Police were seen performing a breathalyzer test on the suspect before handcuffing him and placing him into a patrol vehicle after a deadly crash in L.A.s Koreatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (RMG) Police were seen performing a breathalyzer test on the suspect before handcuffing him and placing him into a patrol vehicle after a deadly crash in L.A.s Koreatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (RMG) A 9-year-old child was killed and a 19-year-old victim was hospitalized after an RV driver struck them in L.A.s Koreatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (RMG) A 9-year-old child was killed and a 19-year-old victim was hospitalized after an RV driver struck them in L.A.s Koreatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (RMG) A 9-year-old child was killed and a 19-year-old victim was hospitalized after an RV driver struck them in L.A.s Koreatown neighborhood on July 31, 2025. (KTLA) Nadir Gavarreta is seen in an image provided by his family. Nadir Gavarreta is seen in an image provided by his family.

It was unclear if Pittman was living out of the RV, but a woman who lives in the area said she is concerned about the number of RVs in the area.

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Something needs to be done with these RVs. I mean, they are all over. To drive drunk  thats somebodys child, Yvette Railey said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help Nadirs family with burial arrangements and hospital bills, as his older brother is still receiving treatment.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Five people have been charged in connection with a New Jersey car crash on New Years Day 2024 that killed a Princeton woman who worked in the governors office.

The mega-crash unfolded on Route 1 in Plainsboro around 1:56 a.m. It involved six vehicles and was touched off by a drunken driving crash, which culminated in the death of Louisa Bradlow Carman. She was 25 years old.

A Chicago native, Carman worked for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy as a policy analyst on health and medical issues prior to her death, NJ.com reported.

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According to the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, the chaos kicked off when 24-year-old Cianni Hall, of Delran, struck Carmans Ford Fusion, leaving it disabled in an active lane of travel. Some six minutes later, Carmans vehicle was again struck, this time by a Chevrolet Impala driven by 27-year-old Adriana Vega, of Trenton.

Then, a car driven by Kartika Shorter, 44, of Trenton, collided with an SUV driven by a 48-year-old male, who was shuttling a 43-year-old female and two juvenile passengers. That crash injured a Good Samaritan who stopped to help.

Police charged Hall and Shorter with drunken driving shortly thereafter, but Vega fled the scene.

On Thursday, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office announced Vegas arrest in connection with the crash. Shes facing charges including first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree vehicular homicide, and leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

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Hall has also been charged with endangering another person, a third-degree crime while Shorter is facing additional counts including four counts of fourth-degree assault by auto, two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and one count of third-degree endangering another person.

Zyira Dixon, 25, of Trenton, was charged with third-degree attempted escape, and fourth-degree obstruction and a fifth person, whose full name was not provided by the prosecutors office, was charged with fourth-degree hindering, third-degree attempted escape and fourth-degree obstruction.
A Ukrainian soldier surrounded by Russians was recently saved in a robotic rescue effort, which highlights rapid changes occurring in combat rescue. Though about a mile behind enemy lines and the last surviving member of his four-man team, the soldier managed to escape thanks to a 40kg (about 88 pounds) electric bike dropped by a large drone.

This operation was the latest in a growing trend of troops being rescued by drones, though most of the time it has been by uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs). This method of evacuation is increasing as mobility in Ukraine becomes increasingly limited due to the ubiquity of short-range loitering munitions.

The rescue of the soldier, call sign Tankist, was captured in a wild video taken by his unit, the Force of Freedom Battalion of the National Guards 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade Rubizh. The battalion later posted it to their YouTube channel.

The 16-minute-16-second video opens with a soldier at a monitor observing Tankist through an ISR drone feed and giving him instructions. He had been alone and under fire for about five days, watched all the while by Ukrainian drones.

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Ok, I can hear you. I can hear you fine, said the soldier at the monitor. Come on. Lets start.

The video then cuts to a drone lowering a bike down to Tankist. However, problems quickly ensued.

The first drop failed because the drone was shot down. The second drop failed because the bike was too heavy.

It was only on the third attempt that Rubizh was able to successfully deliver the bike. However, the soldiers monitoring his escape watched in horror as Tankist hit a landmine just a few hundred yards away from where he picked up the bike.

However, despite the explosion, Tankist only suffered minor injuries and troops finally were able to reach him and take him to a shelter. From there, he finally made it back, thanks to another bike dropped by a drone.

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While a highly unusual event, all things considered, the rescue of troops by drone is becoming more common. As we previously reported, both sides have been increasingly relying on UGVs for rescue operations.

The emphasis on ground drones really has increased in the last 12 to 18 months, Deborah Fairlamb, co-founder of the Green Flag Ventures investment group, told us. And it came in the context that it was getting harder and harder to go out and pick up soldiers who were wounded, because every time somebody went out, they were being hit with an FPV from the Russians. So the physical space is so highly contested.

As a result, both the Russian and Ukrainian sides really started looking at ground drones to be able to do deliveries, to go pick up wounded soldiers, and move things across areas that they needed to move things across without wanting to send a human.

Ukrainian drone footage shows how a wounded soldier of the K-2 Battalion of the 54th Mechanized Brigade is getting rescued by a remotely controlled unmanned ground vehicle. pic.twitter.com/WjS2PLvX90  War Monitor Clips (@WarMonitorClips) June 12, 2025

These robotic rescue missions are not just being conducted in combat. Recently, a man in China was rescued from rising flood waters by an agricultural drone, an event that was also caught on video.

trapped man in chinas ghangxi region gets lifted to safety from rising floodwatersby dronepic.twitter.com/10K7JY9OdZ  ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) July 1, 2025

Given how dangerous it is for troops on either side of the conflict to be out in the open, these types of operations will only increase.

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Speed is of particular importance during combat search and rescue and casualty evacuation operations. Medical professionals often talk about the golden hour, the first 60 minutes after a serious injury where they have the best chance of saving that persons life or otherwise preventing serious permanent damage.

In these situations, every second counts, and in Ukraine, anyway, robots are becoming the best options for these increasingly risky rescue missions.

This is like something out of the world of science fiction, said one of Tankists fellow soldiers.

The reality that combat rescue is changing in a new era of anti-access/area-denial capabilities is not lost on the U.S. Department of Defense. Even for downed pilots, the old days of flying into enemy airspace and plucking troops to safety via helicopter may be outright impossible in future fights. This is due to the long-distances that will be involved in many future air combat scenarios, especially in the Pacific, and the anti-access capabilities proliferating amongst adversaries. If a stealth fighter or bomber backed by all the combined effects the U.S. has to offer couldnt survive over an area, how will slow-flying rescue helicopters and the aircraft needed to support and protect them? You can read all about this in this previous article of ours.

HH-60W refuels from an HC-130J. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Tristan McIntire

With all this in mind, new ways that will allow personnel to self rescue, or at least get to a more favorable area for an assisted rescue, under some circumstances, are being eyed. This may include leveraging new forms of mobility, such as electric flying vehicles, and the use of unmanned rescue aircraft that wont require many additional lives be put at risk executing a rescue attempt.

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So, what we are seeing in the bike-delivering drone video above is this change on a very rudimentary level. It is quite literally a peek at whats to come on future battlefields.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Nearly 4,000 people were evacuated from a 532-unit building that caught fire in Dubai in June.

The incident, which resulted in no major injuries, showed that the building had an average of seven people living in each apartment, which are one-, two-, and three-bedroom flats. Previous deadly fires involved partitioned units targeted at low-wage foreign workers.

Dubai is cracking down on overcrowding. But the citys expensive rents leave service workers earning $300 to $550 a month with few options. An Egyptian man, among several workers interviewed by The Associated Press, said he pays $270 a month for a closet in a two-bedroom apartment shared with nine others, and is now being forced out. His plight is shared by many in a city increasingly catering to the wealthy.
LEHIGHTON, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A Luzerne County Attorney who prosecutors say caused a deadly DUI crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike just had his conviction overturned.

In October of 2023, Shavertown attorney Joseph Persico was sentenced to three to six years in prison after being found guilty of vehicular homicide that took the life of Paul Gerrity.

Persico was driving the wrong way on the Pennsylvania Turnpike under the influence in 2018.

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Persicos sentence has been overturned because of an unauthorized blood draw on the night of the crash.

The superior court says the judge made a mistake in denying Persicos motion to conceal the results of the blood test for trial.

Arsonist sentenced in Wayne, Lackawanna Counties after fires

In the 24-page judgment, the Pennsylvania Superior Court states that Persicos rights were violated under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article I of the Pennsylvania Constitution during the investigation.

After arriving at the hospital, hospital personnel took several blood and urine tests from Persico.

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At the request of the police, the vials were tested for blood alcohol content more than a month later.

Persico was found to have a .22 blood alcohol content at the time of the crash, nearly three times the legal limit in Pennsylvania.

The judges say that despite getting a search warrant to get a sample of his blood, the damage was already done due to the unwarranted blood draw.

Persico argues that the commonwealth provided no evidence that hospital personnel conducted the blood draw for medical purposes.

He says the blood was taken for criminal evidence without establishing probable cause.

It is now unconstitutional for hospitals to draw blood after car crashes based solely on probable cause of DUI without requiring a search warrant.

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This comes from the verdict of Commonwealth vs Hunte that was passed down on June 17.

Carbon County District Attorney Michael Greek says, The District Attorneys Office is reviewing the decision made by the superior court and is currently evaluating whether an appeal will be filed with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Well be sure to update you on air and online when more information becomes available to us in this case.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to 28/22 News.
A 66-year-old man has died from his injuries after he was struck by a DUI driver in Santa Ana, police confirmed Thursday.

The collision happened on Wednesday night, according to the Santa Ana Police Department, around the large intersection at Bristol Street and Segerstrom Avenue.

SAPD said it received multiple reports of a crash around 10:50 p.m. Officers, along with the Orange County Fire Authority, arrived at the scene to discover the collision involved a pedestrian and a vehicle.

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First responders began treating the victim at the scene before transporting him to a local hospital, where, despite life-saving efforts, he succumbed to his injuries. He was later identified as John Valenzuela Luera, 66, of Santa Ana.

Based on witness statements, John was seen walking in traffic lanes on Bristol St. when a vehicle struck him, SAPD stated. The driver remained at the scene, cooperated with the investigation, and was ultimately arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The suspect was not immediately publicly identified.

The Santa Ana Police Departments Collision Investigations Unit is investigating this incident and asks anyone with information about this collision to contact Detective J. Martinez at 714-245-8207 or the Santa Ana Police Departments Traffic Division at 714-245-8200.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  East Baton Rouge Parish School Board District 3 Representative Carla Powell Lewis is hosting her second annual Back to School Prayer Breakfast on Saturday, Aug. 2.

The event will be from 8-10 a.m. at Greater King David Baptist Church, 222 Blount Road, in the Dr. John E. Montgomery II Auditorium.

This free community event will bring together faith leaders, educators, families, and students from across the capital city to unite in prayer and encouragement ahead of the 2025-2026 school year, which begins Aug. 7. The program will feature uplifting words, music, and a time of fellowship.

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Registration is required due to limited seating. Guests can register online by clicking here.

Back to School 2025: Where to get free school supplies in, near Baton Rouge

Latest News

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
This story was originally published on Supply Chain Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Supply Chain Dive newsletter.

The U.S. will install a 50% tariff on copper imports starting Aug. 1, according to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

The duty will apply to all imports of semi-finished copper products and intensive copper derivative products and stack upon any other applicable tariffs, per the order. However, cars and auto parts that would be subject to the tariff on copper will instead be covered by the Trump administrations previous 25% automotive duties.

The order also calls for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to establish a process to consider additional derivative copper goods within the next 90 days. Additionally, the U.S. plans to work with the United Kingdom to negotiate an approach to the trade of copper, per a framework agreement between the two countries.

Trump made the decision to install the copper levies after receiving the results of a Section 232 investigation from the Commerce Secretary on June 30. Similar Section 232 investigations have served as precursors to U.S. tariffs, such as the 50% duties currently being levied on steel imports. The report stated that the U.S. is overly reliant on copper imports, posing a national security risk and necessitating action such as tariffs, according to the order.

As part of the report, the Commerce Secretary recommended the implementation of additional tariffs to be phased in through 2028, including a 15% tariff on refined copper starting in 2027 and 30% starting in 2028. The order also asks the Commerce Secretary to deliver a report on the state of the domestic copper industry that can help assess whether the additional tariffs on refined copper are needed.

The Commerce Secretary also recommended the implementation of a 25% domestic sales requirement for copper inputs and scrap, as well as export controls. The order charges the Commerce Secretary with taking appropriate action to install the domestic sales requirement, although it remains unclear when such a provision would be enacted.

Trump first announced plans to levy a 50% tariff on copper imports in a Truth Social post earlier this month. The president had teased the new tariffs at a cabinet meeting days earlier while also suggesting tariffs on pharmaceuticals would be coming very soon.

U.S. copper import sources in 2024

The customs value in dollars of U.S. copper imports in 2024 by country.

Chile and Canada were the top exporters of copper to the U.S. last year, supplying more than $10 billion combined, per data from the U.S. International Trade Commission compiled by Supply Chain Dive.
UPDATE: Eastbound lanes on I-20 near Lindale are now open.

LINDALE, Texas (KETK)  Traffic on Interstate 20 near Lindale is backed up after a multi-vehicle crash occurred on Friday morning.

The Lindale Police Department said traffic is backed up on I-20 eastbound after a multi-vehicle wreck involving a semi-truck at around 10:30 a.m.

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As of now, the total number of vehicles and the condition of those affected is unknown.

KETK News will keep this article updated as more information becomes available.

You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24/7 on your smart TV with KETK+, our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite neededwatch for free, anytime. Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.

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NILES, Ohio (WKBN)  Healthcare, computer services, home improvement and more were represented by the different companies in attendance to give out more information to job-seekers Friday at the Eastwood Mall.

The event, hosted by OhioMeansJobs, was held at the Eastwood Mall and helped Trumbull County locals decide where they would like to work. Sixty-nine businesses had representatives and were interacting with people who wanted more information.

I think it gives you a great opportunity to see whats out there, you know, from hours, wages, benefits, said Kim Barrell, from OhioMeansJobs in Trumbull County. So it allows them to see really many different opportunities that can meet their lifestyle.

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OhioMeansJobs holds smaller job fairs frequently, but this was their first large-scale event since 2019.

More information on what OhioMeansJobs does can be found on its website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Cargo theft is more than an industry challenge  its a $700 billion crisis that threatens global supply chains. It isnt just about stolen goods, either. Cargo theft creates a ripple effect that affects shippers, motor carriers, brokers, and yard operators alike.

Thieves are constantly adapting their tactics, targeting locations with known security gaps where theft is quick, low-risk, and highly profitable. Industrial outdoor storage yards (IOS) and parking facilities have become hotspots, often labeled as secure but lacking the infrastructure to deter criminals.

Dont let your cargo become a target

This eBook takes a deep dive into this growing threat and explores what you can do to strengthen your defenses. Youll gain a clear understanding of how theft tactics are changing, why traditional security measures are falling short, and what it really takes to protect high-value goods.

Whats in this eBook?

The urgent need for secure IOS: tactics, trends, and how to stay ahead

Check your cargo security readiness: is your facility a target?

The gold standard for IOS cargo security: key features to look for

Download the eBook now to learn the practical steps you can take to reduce risk and protect your cargo.

The post eBook: Cargo at rest is cargo at risk appeared first on FreightWaves.
Edisto Island, S.C. (WCBD)  Edisto Island residents now have access to faster internet, which is something residents say was long overdue.

In many rural areas, reliable high-speed internet can be hard to come by. But Thursday that changed for Edisto Island, thanks to AT&Ts new fiber expansion.

For years, many community members have struggled with slow or unreliable internet which has made working, learning, and running a business a challenge.

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Local business owner of over 30 years, Lily Howard, said not having reliable internet to power her card readers, has caused her to lose out on business.

Sometimes you have good service and sometimes you have bad service. So I havent been using the card readers for the last 3 months. Ive lost a lot of sales, said Howard.

AT&T held the ribbon cutting Thursday morning at Kings Market, which marked the official expansion of high-speed internet to this rural community. Over a thousand new residential and business locations will now have access to high-speed internet fiber access from AT&T. Bringing modern amenities to the rural area.

AT&T Representative of South Carolina, Jay Byrd, said it gives residents the opportunity to tap into new technology. Telehealth communications, homework from home, finding a job, and just an opportunity as far as economic opportunities.

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A community where tradition meets modern needs. This connection in Edisto Island means more than just fast internet. Charleston County Councilmember, Joe Boykin, said this is life changing to the island and its residents, and they plan to continue expanding to more rural areas of South Carolina.

You dont have to live downtown to have the conveniences of living downtown. You can have your country and rural lifestyle and still have top broadband access said Boykin. He carried on to say he will continue to work with the county, staff, and state to push this anywhere they can.

Community members said theyre hopeful this new access will open doors for education, business, and connection across Edisto Island.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
As fans of The Gilded Age know, great fortunes were made by building railroads across the width of the USA.

Chicago, of course, was the epicenter of all that. Celebrities going from New York to Hollywood had to change trains in Chicago, usually with time for a quick visit with legendary gossip columnist Irv Kupcinet in Booth One at the Pump Room. And cross-country freight, for the most part, also had to make a change in Chicago. It still does. What today is known as the Norfolk Southern Railway serves states to our east. The Union Pacific railroad, as its name suggests, operates in 23 states west of Chicago and New Orleans.

On Tuesday, in a deal Cornelius Vanderbilt would have loved, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific said they had agreed to merge, thus creating, for the first time ever, single ownership for a rail link from the ports of New Jersey to the Pacific Ocean. This is a stock-and-cash acquisition of Norfolk South by Union Pacific that is worth more than $71 billion. It will need regulatory approval. Legitimate concerns unsurprisingly have been raised by unions, which fear job losses flowing from consolidation, and by freight customers, who fear that reduced competition will lead to worse service and rising prices, especially if the similarly aligned rail-freight competitors, BNSF and CSX, feel forced to merge to remain competitive. Thats a likely outcome.

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Clearly, competitiveness for customers has to be maintained and the way to do that in this instance would be to insist as part of the approval process that other railroads get some trackage rights on the newly coast-to-coast Union Pacific rails, a concept known as reciprocal switching in the industry. The proposal also should not be approved without incentives and penalties designed to protect levels of service.

On the other side of the ledger, the CEOs of the two railroads have been out there arguing that the merger will mean more freight moves by rail and less by truck, which is obviously good news for anyone who drives on the interstates alongside 18-wheelers.

What will this Big Freight deal mean for Chicago? Thats no small question, since 25% of all U.S. rail traffic currently originates, terminates, or passes through our immediate area.

Some have speculated that a merger would mean fewer trains rolling through northern Illinois, given that there would be no need to hit the start and end points of two different railroads. That would be good in the long term for mass transit in our region, especially Amtrak and Metra, which often share tracks with freight railroads. Anyone who has sat on a passenger train is familiar with the delays caused by the lumbering passage of freight. In this new world, in theory, Chicago would no longer be the main locus of moving cars from one railroad to another.

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Surely some benefits would accrue. That is something for the regulators to consider.

In the industry publication FreightWaves, though, Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena poured cold water on the idea of streams of trains soon taking a different route across the nation. We dont see a huge amount of business changing from Chicago to go to Memphis or go to New Orleans, Vena reportedly said, because the out of route miles just dont add up.

But if trains arent likely to disappear from the notoriously delay-prone crossings in DeKalb County and elsewhere, they should at least move through Chicago more quickly and efficiently. And that should help both local drivers and the many bottlenecks that frustrate rail passengers here.

The era of celebrities doing photo shoots between trains here was killed off by coast-to-coast flying. That was a local loss. But freight trains dont stop by Booth One. Wed all be better off with fewer of them. Unless, that is, you rely on moving cargo from one railroad to another for your livelihood.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  The first Tuesday night in August is commonly National Night Out, a time when communities come together for the greater good. But there is nothing common about the event El Paso, Illinois is planning this year.

So many activities are planned for the El Paso Night Out on Aug. 5, that its become one of the largest such community festival nights in the country.

El Paso Police Chief Joseph Montemurro and his wife, Ashley Montemurro, are planning the event and stopped by WMBD This Morning to talk more about it.

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The evening will also include a 300-foot zip line, a biplane air show, skydivers, and a hot dog-eating contest.

Ashley Montemurro is with Gentiva Hospice. She said the agency is sponsoring this years hot dog-eating contest. Its a 10-minute timed contest, with last years winning consuming 21 dogs and buns.

The best part about it might be that the entire event is free. It even includes a free raffle everybody can win, great prizes, TVs, bicycles, lots of good things, the chief said.

There will also be a variety of first responder agencies on hand demonstrating specialties like the Illinois Secretary of State Bomb Squad, K-9 units, dive and rescue teams, and representatives of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

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The event is at South Pointe Park in El Paso and will run from 4 p.m.  8:30 p.m.

National Night Out is also happening in 17,000 other communities, 182 of which are in Illinois. Its celebrated on the first Tuesday of August every year, since 1984, according to the National Night Out website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Four people were arrested on July 28 in El Pasos Lower Valley with multiple charges after a traffic stop led to the discovery of narcotics and one occupant fled on foot.

According to El Paso Police, two men and two women were arrested and charged with the following:

Carlos Antonio Carillo

Two separate counts of manufacturing and/or delivery of a controlled substance.

Ashley Judith Pedroza

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Two counts of possession of a controlled substance

Amanda Michelle Pina

Three separate counts of possession of a controlled substance

Edgar Ivan Sonora

One count of burglary of a building

One count of evading arrest

Two counts of possession of a controlled substance

One count of failure to identify fugitive from justice

One count of wt/ drug paraphernalia possession

At roughly 4 p.m. on July 28, officers were driving northbound on Carolina Drive and Giles Road when they saw a vehicle with an expired registration, El Paso Police said.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle, when one occupant fled on foot, El Paso Police said.

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El Paso Police said a K9 unit was called to assist, and the K9 tracked the fleeing suspect to a shed, where he attempted to hide.

Officers then uncovered the narcotics, which included meth, fentanyl pills, heroin, and crack cocaine, El Paso Police said.

Narcotics seized during a traffic stop. Photo courtesy of El Paso Police Department.

The fleeing suspects and the other three individuals in the vehicle were then arrested, El Paso Police said.

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El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele secured the right to seek indefinite re-election on Thursday after his party-controlled Congress approved a sweeping constitutional reform that also extends presidential terms from five to six years.

Bukele, 44, who has been president since 2019 and was re-elected in 2024 with 85 percent of the vote, now holds near-total control over the country's institutions -- in what the opposition calls a "dictatorship."

In a fast-tracked vote, 57 of 60 lawmakers passed measures allowing re-election "without reservation", extending the presidential term from five to six years, and doing away with a second round of voting in elections.

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Lawmakers also voted to synchronize legislative, presidential and municipal elections.

Fireworks erupted in the main square of San Salvador as lawmakers ratified the reform in a second late-night plenary session.

"Thank you for making history, colleagues," said Assembly President Ernesto Castro of Bukele's party.

The reform also shortens the current presidential term by two years, moving general elections to March 2027 -- which would allow Bukele to seek a longer new term earlier than scheduled if he wins.

Bukele enjoys enormous support at home for his heavy-handed campaign against criminal gangs, which has reduced violence in the country to historic lows.

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But it has also drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups.

The reforms came shortly after a wave of arrests targeting human rights defenders and government critics, prompting dozens of journalists and humanitarian workers to flee the country.

- 'Democracy is dead' -

At a bus stop in northern San Salvador, 41-year-old teacher Mauricio Acevedo told AFP he wasn't surprised.

"While some of the actions have been good, the bad will only grow," he said.

"In the end, all we can do is watch."

Ruling party lawmaker Ana Figueroa, who introduced the reform, said Salvadorans "can now decide how long to support their president."

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But opposition lawmaker Marcela Villatoro denounced the move.

"Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," she said, criticizng the reforms' approval just as the country enters a week-long vacation.

"They've taken off the masks... They're shameless."

Human Rights Watch's Americas director Juanita Goebertus said El Salvador is "following Venezuela's path."

"It begins with a leader who uses his popularity to concentrate power, and ends in a dictatorship," she wrote on social media.

Miguel Montenegro of the nongovernmental Human Rights Commission said the reforms "completely dismantle what little democracy remained."

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In a speech marking the first year of his second term, Bukele said he doesn't care if people call him a dictator, brushing off international criticism over the arrest of humanitarian activists.

- Crackdown on Critics -

A close ally of US President Donald Trump, Bukele's international image has been dented by his handling of detainees.

His government held 252 Venezuelans for four months in a mega-prison he built for gang members. Many later alleged torture and abuse.

Emboldened by its relationship with Trump, the Bukele administration detained human rights defenders in May and June, including prominent lawyer Ruth Lopez, who had denounced alleged cases of government corruption.

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Under the ongoing emergency regime, roughly 88,000 people have been arrested on gang-related charges. Rights groups say thousands were detained arbitrarily, and more than 400 have died in custody.

Bukele's 2024 re-election had already sparked concern, with critics arguing it violated the constitution and was enabled by a ruling by loyalist judges.

bur-mis-cdl/dhc
El Salvadors ruling party has passed a bill to overhaul how elections are run in the Central American nation, opening the door for President Nayib Bukele to serve another term.

On Thursday, 57 Congress members voted in favour and three voted against a constitutional amendment that will allow indefinite presidential re-election, extend terms from five years to six and scrap election run-offs.

Bukele won a second term last year despite a clear prohibition in the countrys constitution. El Salvadors top court, filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that it was the leaders human right to run again.

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After his re-election last year, Bukele told reporters he didnt think a constitutional reform would be necessary, but evaded questions on whether he would try to run for a third term.

With Thursdays constitutional reforms, Bukele, who enjoys enormous support at home for his heavy-handed campaign against criminal gangs, will be able to run again.

The overhaul will also shorten the presidents current term to synchronise elections in 2027, as presidential, legislative and municipal elections are currently staggered.

Thank you for making history, fellow deputies, said Ernesto Castro, the president of the Legislative Assembly from the ruling New Ideas party, after counting the votes on Thursday.





Democracy has died

Speaking during the parliamentary session, opposition lawmaker Marcela Villatoro from the Republican National Alliance (ARENA) criticised the proposal being brought to parliament as the country begins a week of summer holidays and said democracy has died in El Salvador.

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Opposition politician Claudia Ortiz from the Vamos party slammed the reform as an abuse of power and a caricature of democracy.

The constitutional reform has also drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups.

The reforms lead to a total imbalance in the democracy that no longer exists, Miguel Montenegro, director of NGO the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, told the AFP news agency.

The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely, and we continue to follow the well-travelled path of autocrats, Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal, told the Reuters news agency.

The group recently left El Salvador, declaring itself in exile due to Bukeles drive to consolidate his grip on power and crack down on critics and humanitarian organisations.




El Salvador's Legislative Assembly has approved constitutional changes that clear the way for President Nayib Bukele to run for reelection indefinitely.

The changes passed Thursday night with a 573 vote, less than an hour after they were introduced, without debate or amendments. That outcome was expected: Bukele's party, New Ideas, holds 54 of the Assembly's 60 seats, and allied parties control three more.

"Historically, reelection has been allowed in El Salvador for almost all elected positions, without prohibitions or particular conditions," said Ana Figueroa, a New Ideas lawmaker who introduced the measure. "The only exception so far has been the presidency."

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The exception is now gone.

In addition to allowing indefinite presidential reelection, the reforms eliminate the second round of presidential elections, extend presidential terms from five to six years, and move the next election from 2027 to 2029 to align with congressional elections.

Figueroa claimed the changes would "foster stability, reduce costs, and increase legal certainty in order to attract investment."

Bukele, a former mayor of San Salvador, was first elected as president in 2019. He gained international attention for his aggressive crackdown on gangs and his decision to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.

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Under Bukele's leadership, El Salvador's homicide rate dropped. But the cost has been steep: More than 2 percent of the country's adult population has been imprisoned under a "state of exception" that suspends constitutional rights and allows mass detentions without trial. While supporters credit his security strategy with restoring order, human rights groups have reported widespread abuses, including arbitrary arrests and the detentions of innocent people.

Bukele has worked to consolidate power since first taking office. He once marched into the Legislative Assembly flanked by armed soldiers after lawmakers blocked a funding request. He later removed Supreme Court justices and replaced them with loyalists. He has also pushed through electoral reforms that weakened political opposition.

In 2024, Bukele won reelection with 85 percent of the vote, despite a constitutional ban on consecutive presidential terms. With a loyalist court in place to reinterpret the rules, his path to reelection was cleared. Bukele celebrated his win as "a record in the entire democratic history of the world."

Meanwhile, dozens of journalists, opposition leaders, and activists have fled the country, citing harassment and threats from the government. The Los Angeles Times has called it "the biggest exodus of political exiles since the country's bloody civil war," noting that El Salvador now finds itself "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."

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Despite international condemnation, Bukele remains popular at home. For many Salvadorans, safety on the streets outweighs concerns about authoritarianism.

Still, the erosion of liberal norms is undeniable.

"Democracy in El Salvador has died!" said Marcela Villatoro, a lawmaker from the conservative party Arena who voted against the changes. "You don't realize what indefinite reelection brings: It brings an accumulation of power and weakens democracythere's corruption and clientelism because nepotism grows and halts democracy and political participation."

With Thursday's vote, one of the last remaining checks on presidential power is gone. Bukele once called himself "the world's coolest dictator." The dictator part no longer sounds like a joke.

The post El Salvador Just Made It Legal for Bukele To Stay in Power Indefinitely appeared first on Reason.com.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is one of the AI Stocks Everyone Is Watching Closely. On July 28, Morgan Stanley reiterated the stock as Overweight, stating that Walmart is a clear leader in retail artificial intelligence.

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These super agents will replace existing agents and AI tools and will be the first point of contact for every AI interaction that the groups will have with Walmart. The company is planning to leverage artificial intelligence to boost its e-commerce growth, with a goal set for online sales to account for 50% of its total sales within five years.

One of the agents from Walmart, Sparky, has already been made available for shoppers on Walmarts app as a Gen-AI-powered tool, albeit not in its super-agent form yet.

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Disclosure: None.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP)  El Salvador's Legislative Assembly pushed through a constitutional reform overnight eliminating presidential term limits, fueling concerns on Friday that it paves the way for President Nayib Bukele to indefinitely stay in power.

Watchdogs and critics of the self-described world's coolest dictator said they've seen this coming for years, watching Bukele's administration slowly chip away at democratic institutions, attack opponents and consolidate power in the president's hands.

Bukele, who regularly posts streams of tongue-in-cheek remarks on social media, remained notably silent Friday. His government didnt respond to multiple requests for comment.

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It's not surprising. But that doesn't mean it's not severe," said Claudia Ortiz, one of the country's few remaining opposition lawmakers. The implication of this is more concentration of power, more risk of abuse of the rights of Salvadorans ... and the complete dismantling of all democratic checks and balances.

Here's what happened overnight in El Salvador

On Thursday night, Bukele's New Ideas party and its allies approved changes to El Salvador's constitution, which were jammed through Congress by the partys supermajority.

The changes will:

The vote passed with 57 in favor and three opposed.

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Damian Merlo, a U.S. lobbyist and consultant hired by Bukele's administration, defended the changes, noting that many European countries don't have term limits, and said the move only gives Bukele the option of reelection, not an automatic extension of his mandate.

"Its up to the people to decide who the leader will be," Merlo said. Its been made very clear by the electorate they are very happy with the president and his political party  and this move represents the will of the people of El Salvador.

Why watchdogs aren't surprised

Ortiz, the opposition congresswoman, called the defense absurd, and said that Merlo was citing countries  Germany and France  with democratic systems of government answering to the countries' parliaments. In El Salvador, power is now entirely concentrated in the hands of Bukele, she said.

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Bukele, 44, was first elected president in 2019 after founding the New Ideas party, casting aside the country's traditional parties thoroughly discredited by corruption and lack of results. Bukele's highly controlled messaging of beating back the country's gangs and rooting out corruption have gained traction in El Salvador, especially as homicide rates have sharply dropped.

But critics say many of the moves he has justified as tackling corruption and violence have actually whittled away at the country's democracy.

Over the years, his attacks on opponents and critics have gradually escalated. In recent months, things have come to a head as Bukele has grown emboldened by his new alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump. A number of high profile arrests and a slew of other actions have forced more than 100 members of civil society  lawyers, activists and journalists  to flee their country as political exiles in the span of months.

A look back at some of the actions he's taken

Intensifying his crackdown in 2025

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This year, watchdogs have warned that Bukele has ramped up his crackdown on dissent, emboldened by his new alliance with Trump.

What critics are saying

The recent constitutional reform has fueled a new wave of criticism by civil society in the Central American nation, with leaders saying that Bukele's government has finally done away with one of its last democratic norms.

Roxana Cardona, a lawyer and spokeswoman for the Movement of Social Justice and Citizen Control, said a democratic state has been transformed into an autocracy. Cardona was among those to provide legal representation for Venezuelans detained in El Salvador and other Salvadoran youth accused of being gang members.

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Today, democracy has died. A technocracy has been born. Today, we live in a dictatorship, she said.

Others, like human rights lawyer Jayme Magana, said the idea of alternating power, crucial in a country that still has decades of civil war and dictatorships of the past simmering in its recent memory, has been broken. Magana said she worried for the future.

The more changes are made to the system of government, the more we see the states repression of the Salvadoran population intensifying, she said.

___

Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
El Salvador's lawmakers on Thursday adopted a constitutional reform to abolish presidential term limits and allow current leader Nayib Bukele -- who enjoys overwhelming majority support in parliament -- to run indefinitely.

The reform, reviewed under an expedited procedure, was adopted by Bukele's 57 supporters in the Legislative Assembly, and voted against by only three opposition members.

The move will allow re-election "without reservations," extend the term in office from five to six years, and do away with a second round of voting in elections as Bukele tightens his grip on the Central American nation.

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The 44-year-old self-described "cool dictator" has been president since 2019. He was re-elected in 2024 with a whopping majority after a Supreme Court ruling allowed him to bypass a constitutional ban on successive terms.

That election handed Bukele control over state institutions and the parliament, which adopted the changes slammed as anti-democratic by the opposition -- the same day as it began debating them.

"Thank you for making history, fellow deputies," said the president of the Legislative Assembly Ernesto Castro, from the ruling Nuevas Ideas party, after counting the votes.

"This day, democracy has died in El Salvador... The masks were removed," said opposition lawmaker Marcela Villatoro during the parliamentary session, criticizing the proposal being brought to parliament as the country begins a week of summer holidays.

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Lawmakers voted to synchronize legislative, presidential and municipal elections, and the shorten the current presidential term by two years from 2029, with general elections due in March 2027.

With the constitutional reforms, Bukele will be able to run again.

Bukele enjoys enormous support at home for his heavy-handed campaign against criminal gangs, which has reduced violence in the country to historic lows.

But it has also drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups.

His government is also facing accusations of repression against rights activists and critics of Bukele's government, which has forced dozens of journalists and campaigners into exile.

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"The reforms lead to a total imbalance in the democracy that no longer exists," Miguel Montenegro, director of NGO the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, told AFP.

In April 2024, the parliament approved a reform so that constitutional changes no longer require ratification in another legislative session.

Opposition politician Claudia Ortiz slammed the reform as "an abuse of power and a caricature of democracy."

bur-mis/aks/sla
El Salvadors legislature approved constitutional amendments removing term limits, potentially allowing its President Nayib Bukele to rule for life.

The strongman leader has won plaudits at home, and many fans abroad, for a hardline crackdown on gang violence that has largely tackled sky-high murder rates in the Central American nation. But the effort  involving mass incarceration, including at a notorious megaprison  has been criticized by rights groups for rounding up huge numbers of innocent people as well.

Along with scrapping term limits, Bukeles party, which dominates the legislature, also extended the duration of presidential terms and delayed the next election. The change, El Pais said, was long-expected but momentous, and consolidates an increasingly autocratic model of power.
El Salvador's congress has approved constitutional reforms to abolish presidential term limits, allowing President Nayib Bukele to run an unlimited number of times.

The reform, reviewed under an expedited procedure, will also extend term times to from five to six years, while the next election will be brought forward to 2027.

Mr Bukele, who has been president of the Central American nation since 2019, is a polarising figure. His major crackdown on crime has proved popular among voters, but human rights groups say thousands have been arbitrarily arrested.

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"Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," said Marcela Villatoro, an MP with the opposition Republican National Alliance (Arena).

The reform was adopted by Bukele's 57 supporters in the Legislative Assembly, and voted against by only three opposition members. Critics say the move will entrench one-party rule in the country.

"Thank you for making history, fellow deputies," said the president of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro, from the ruling New Ideas party, after counting the votes.

Bukele, 44, won a second term last year despite a clear prohibition in the country's constitution.

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El Salvador's top court, which is filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that it was the leader's human right to run again.

The overhaul will also shorten the president's current term by two years, to synchronize elections in 2027, as presidential, legislative and municipal elections are currently staggered.

Despite his popularity, Mr Bukele remains a controversial figure.

His crime crackdown has caused murder rates to fall. But human rights groups say that thousands have been arbitrarily arrested during his anti-gang drive.

An estimated 75,000 people have been arrested under emergency measures that have been repeatedly extended.

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"The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely and we continue to follow the well-travelled path of autocrats," Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal, said.

In a report in December, Amnesty International criticised the "gradual replacement of gang violence with state violence".
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -El Salvador's ruling party on Thursday passed a bill to overhaul how elections are run in the Central American nation, opening the door for President Nayib Bukele to serve another term.

Bukele won a second term last year despite a clear prohibition in the country's constitution. El Salvador's top court, filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that it was the leader's human right to run again.

The constitutional amendment passed on Thursday by Bukele's New Ideas party, which dominates Congress, will allow indefinite presidential re-election, extend terms from five years to six and scrap run-offs.

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After his re-election last year, Bukele told reporters he "didn't think a constitutional reform would be necessary," but evaded questions on whether he would try to run for a third term.

The bill passed 57-3 as Congress prepares to break for recess.

The overhaul will also shorten the president's current term to synchronize elections in 2027, as presidential, legislative and municipal elections are currently staggered.

Consolidating the voting schedule would likely favor the ruling party across the board.

"This is quite simple, El Salvador: only you will have the power to decide how long you wish to support the work of any public official, including your president," said lawmaker Ana Figueroa, a New Ideas member who proposed the bill for the constitutional changes. "You have the power to decide how long you support your president and all elected officials."

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The few non-ruling party lawmakers in Congress opposed the proposal over concerns it will entrench one-party rule in the country.

"Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," said legislator Marcela Villatoro of the opposition Republican National Alliance (ARENA).

Bukele remains one of the most popular leaders in the region, largely due to his across-the-board crackdown on gangs that has caused homicides to plummet, despite an outcry from human rights groups, which say innocent people have been caught up in the dragnet.

"The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely and we continue to follow the well-traveled path of autocrats," said Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal.

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The group recently left El Salvador, declaring itself in exile due to Bukele's drive to consolidate his grip on power and crack down on critics and humanitarian organizations.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Additional reporting by Sarah Kinosian; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Christian Schmollinger)
Germanys ongoing SuedOstLink high-voltage electric powerline project is one of the nations largest ongoing infrastructure endeavors. But construction along the 105-mile-long transmission route is also yielding some of the countrys most striking and surprising archaeological finds in years. In July, workers uncovered multiple graves near the town of Krauschwitz dating back 4,500 years to the Neolithic Corded Ware Culture. According to the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, the construction has revealed yet another notable funerary site, this time about 115 miles east. About 500 years older than the previous discovery, the 12 pits were constructed by the Salzmunde Culturea people whose ceremonial burials appear to reflect a violent and difficult world.

The Salzmunde Culture was a regional offshoot of the broader Funnelbeaker Culture that lived along the lower and middle Saale River between roughly 34003050 BCE. Archaeologists first discovered evidence of the group in 1921, and have since documented multiple sites linked to the group. Among these are graves displaying elaborate and unusual traditions, including burials beneath mounds of broken pottery, charred house materials, and even partial skeleton reburialsmost often the skulls.

The grave seen above included two individuals and was created in a repurposed oven pit. Credit: Oliver Dietrich

The latest finds mirror these ceremonies in many ways. Each pit measured 6.5 to 9.8 feet wide and 6.5 to 8.2 feet deep, and contained mixtures of burnt offerings including housing rubble. One chamber notably featured a pair of well preserved ceramic vessels likely intended as sacrificial offerings. In another chamber, archaeologists found charred dog bones still interred in anatomical order beside a human skull that displayed no signs of weathering.

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This suggests that the pits remained open during extended ceremonies, or that the dog bones were kept in another place for a prolonged period of time, researchers explained in a statement.

Experts believe these details reflect the complexities of funerals for the Salzmunde Culture. One burial also seems to be in a converted oven pit, and included the remains of two individuals. Experts explained it appears they had, apparently been laid out elsewhere for some time prior to the community moving them to their final internment location. This further suggests Salzmunde Culture mourning rituals required multiple phases before they were completed.

But why were these observances so lengthy, detailed, and complicated? While direct evidence, archaeologists think the process reflected the harsh era in which the Salzmunde Culture lived. Both physical artifacts and climatological data indicate that Central Europe during the late 4th millennium BCE saw cooler and more erratic weather patterns. This would have dramatically affected agricultural communities such as the Salzmunde. Meanwhile, another Neolithic group known as the Bernburg Culture began expanding into the region from the north around the same time, possibly adding even more stress on both the community and local resources.

The rituals, by which people were apparently seeking the support of their ancestors, can be understood in the context of this period of crisis, the team explained.

More specifically, the inclusion of dogs possibly symbolized the Neolithic cultures belief in the animals as spiritual guides, protectors, or even intermediaries between this world and the afterlife. Otherwise, there simply isnt much direct evidence to explain the burned home rubble, or if the ceremonies were communal, family-oriented, or only reserved for prominent figures in society.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said that the responses from Skydance and Paramount Global to her and other senators queries were dodgy, as she called for an independent investigation as to whether there was a side deal with Donald Trump.

On Thursday, in a letter to Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Skydances general counsel Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon wrote that the company was in full compliance with anti-bribery laws as it sought regulatory approval of its acquisition of Paramount Global.

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Paramount Global co-CEO George Cheeks also responded to the lawmakers, in a letter that defended the companys decision to settle Trumps lawsuit against CBS News over the way that 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris. The settlement, Cheeks wrote, was for $16 million, including plaintiffs fees and costs. Other than that, the entire amount will be allocated to a future non-profit presidential library, Cheeks wrote.

Neither letter addressed Trumps claim that the lawsuit settlement also included an additional $16 million in public service and advertising commitments. Trump later said that the figure was $20 million, but it was something that they anticipate from the new owners. Paramount Global has asserted that the settlement amount it agreed to was $16 million.

In her latest statement, Warren said, These dodgy responses raise even more questions about whether Paramount and Skydance engaged in corrupt side deals or political favors to get their merger approved  and reveal why we need a full, independent investigation into whether there was any criminal behavior.

The existence of a secret side deal with Skydance is a big open question. President Trump claimed that there was a $16 million side deal. Paramount contradicts President Trumps claim, while Skydance does not deny the existence of this side deal  and refuses to disclose any terms.

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A spokesperson for Paramount Global declined to comment. A spokesperson for Skydance did not immediately return a request for comment. Following FCC approval of the merger last week, the transaction is scheduled to close on Aug. 7.

Skydances McKinnon wrote to the senators, Throughout its history and during the review of the proposed acquisition of Paramount, Skydance has fully complied with all applicable laws, including our nations anti-bribery laws.

McKinnon also wrote that as with any transaction that requires regulatory approval, Skydance executives and its representatives have had routine and customary interactions with government officials, including with the administration, Congress, and federal regulators.

Warren, though, said that raised more questions of the meetings between Skydance representatives and members of the administration, and Who met whom, when, and what other deals were made?

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Warren also noted that Skydance admitted that it knew in advance of CBSs plan to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. That decision was announced just days after Colbert, in a July 14 monologue, called the Trump settlement a big fat bribe.

These giant corporations must think Americans are fools if they think these half-answers resolve serious questions about whether they bribed their way to a merger approval, Warren wrote.

In her letter, McKinnon wrote that Skydance was not involved in the decision. She wrote that Paramount did provide notice, but only after Paramount reached its own independent decision, and shortly before Paramount publicly acknowledged the cancellation. Last week, in a letter to Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Cheeks wrote that the decision was made before Colberts July 14 monologue. He also wrote that it was purely financial and made against a challenging economic backdrop for late night television programming. It was not related in any way to the shows performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.

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ELMHURST, Ill. (WGN)  A missing 9-year-old Elmhurst boy who was last seen Thursday evening riding his bicycle has been found safe, according to Elmhurst police.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

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Billionaire Elon Musk donated a total of $15 million in June to super PACs favoring President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans ahead of next years midterm elections, new campaign finance reports show.

The donations of $5 million each to MAGA Inc., the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund came on June 27  amid Musks bitter feuding with President Donald Trump over federal spending legislation  and just days before the worlds richest man declared he would form his own political party.

The newly disclosed donations underscore Musks outsize influence in US politics and raise fresh questions about what role the mercurial businessman might play in elections moving forward.

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The Tesla CEO emerged in Thursdays filings as the largest individual contributor to each of those congressional super PACs. Separately, campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission show Musk this year plowed more than $45 million of his own money into America PAC, the super PAC he oversees  as he worked, unsuccessfully, to shape the outcome of a Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

In the 2024 election, Musk spent more than $290 million to help elect Trump and his favored congressional candidates. He served as a top White House adviser and the leader of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency for several months this year before stepping back from government work to focus on his companies.

At the time, he signaled he also might pull back on his political spending.

But by early July, Musk was publicly battling again with Trump and congressional Republicans over domestic policy legislation Musk said would explode the deficit.

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He also pledged to form the America Party, although there are few signs that he has taken concrete steps in that direction.

Thursdays report with the FEC covers his super PACs activity only through the end of June.

This story and headline have been updated to reflect an additional $5 million donation disclosed Thursday.

CNNs Alex Leeds Matthews and David Adkins contributed to this report.

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Elon Musks X has accused the UK of censorship over online safety rules.

The company, formerly known as Twitter, said that free speech will suffer and called for significant changes in the law.

It is the first major social media company to break cover and explicitly criticise the laws amid a brewing backlash.

Adult websites and social media companies including X, have been required to verify users ages since last Friday.

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The laws are designed to prevent children from seeing pornography or violent material, but have been criticised by privacy and free speech activists. Reform UK has called for the laws to be repealed.

The Acts laudable intentions are at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach. Without a more balanced, collaborative approach, free speech will suffer, X said.

Many are now concerned that a plan ostensibly intended to keep children safe is at risk of seriously infringing on the publics right to free expression.

When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of online safety. It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made.

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X also criticised new measures such as a new police team to monitor social media posts for anti-immigrant sentiment. It said this oversteps the intended mission of protecting children.

Mr Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022, has been a frequent critic of Britains internet laws. Over the weekend, he called the Online Safety Act suppression of the people and endorsed a petition calling for its repeal, which now has more than 450,000 signatures.

The billionaire has criticised the UK for arrests over posts made during last summers unrest.

X has introduced age checks and said it had worked hard to be in compliance, but said it continued to face the threat of fines, which would encourage over-censorship.

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This week, The Telegraph reported that Donald Trumps White House had raised concerns with the UK over the laws.

Ofcom has written to several US-based websites reminding them of their obligations to comply with the Act. It is unclear whether X has been sent a letter.

Companies face fines of 18m or 10pc of their turnover for failing to comply with the law. This could cost X up to 200m.

Ofcom said this week it was opening its first investigations into dozens of porn sites that had not introduced age checks.

Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, this week said that critics of the laws were on the side of predators like Jimmy Savile.

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Enforcement of the laws has led social media sites to censor some discussions about Gaza and Ukraine, as well as a speech by Conservative MP Katie Lam about grooming gangs.

An Ofcom spokesman said: The new rules require tech firms to tackle criminal content and prevent children from seeing defined types of material thats harmful to them. There is no requirement on them to restrict legal content for adult users. In fact, they must carefully consider how they protect users rights to freedom of expression while keeping people safe.

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Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is one of the most undervalued blue chip stocks to buy according to hedge funds. On July 23, Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo reiterated a Buy rating on Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) and set a price target of $115.00.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) reported its Q2 2025 earnings on July 15, with net income for the quarter reaching $4.0 billion, or $1.96 per diluted share, on revenues of $21.7 billion.

Revenues rose 8% from the prior-year period, on a reported basis, attributed to growth in each of Citis five interconnected businesses. Revenues grew 9% excluding divestiture-related impacts in both periods.

Headquartered in New York, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) provides financial products and services. Its operations are divided into the following segments: Services, Markets, Banking, Wealth, US Personal Banking (USPB), and All Other.

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 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.
EMIGRATION CANYON, Utah (ABC4)  Emigration Canyon Rd. will see closures for nearly two weeks in Aug. due to construction work, according to the Municipal Services District.

The closure will be in place from Aug. 4  Aug. 15 as crews work to maintain the pavement along Emigration Canyon Rd. The work will reportedly be done in one- to three-mile phases throughout the canyon from 7 a.m.  5 p.m. daily.

Delays and brief closures are expected. During micro surfacing and curing, pilot cars will guide traffic through temporary road closures, and flaggers will manage traffic, a release states. One lane of Emigration Canyon Road will be closed during the day to accommodate ongoing construction activities.

Courtesy of Municipal Services District

Visitors are asked to avoid Emigration Canyon Rd. for the duration of the project. The road will also be closed to cyclists during the entirety of construction.

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For residents who live along the canyon road, access to driveways and streets will be temporarily restricted while the asphalt cures, officials said.

Driving or walking on uncured pavement will damage the new surface. Residents are asked to remain in their driveway until a pilot car arrives, and to follow all posted signage and crew instructions, the release states. Delays of 15 to 30 minutes are expected  please plan accordingly and allow extra travel time. Vehicles left in work zones will be towed.

For contractor notices, project updates, and the most current schedule, visit the Emigration Canyon website here.

Latest headlines:

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Encino residents and community leaders gathered in front of Van Nuys City Hall on Thursday, demanding action from city officials to address growing public safety concerns following recent break-ins and a double murder.

We are not asking for miracles just modern tools and accountability, said Roy Nwaisser, Encino Neighborhood Council president.

Earlier this month, American Idol executive Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas DeLuca, were killed in their Encino home by an intruder. The murders, along with a surge of home burglaries, prompted a meeting scheduled for Thursday night with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman.

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There needs to be a reset. People are afraid, theyre angry and its our role to channel that anger and fear into constructive collaboration with our elected city officials and LAPD, said Rob Glushon of the Encino Property Owners Association.

American Idol Executive Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas DeLuca, were killed in their Encino home by an intruder (Facebook/Robin Kaye)

The LAPD has responded to the spike in crime by increasing patrols in the area.

Residents recently voiced their concerns at a community safety town hall, urging the mayor to take immediate action. They presented the city with action items, including increased law enforcement patrols, a reporting center that tracks crime in real-time, drone surveillance and automated license plate readers.

Meanwhile, the mayors office stated that the city has already implemented many of the demands and is working to enhance collaboration with the sheriffs departments burglary taskforce, citing a drop in homicides to the lowest in six years.

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Adam Wright, an Encino resident, emphasized the urgency of the situation.

We demand our elected officials to take immediate action and enforce existing laws, clear the encampments, Wright told KTLA.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
A man who stole and crashed a Republic Services trash truck near Encore casino in Everett Thursday afternoon was shot by police during the incident and is now in critical condition, according to Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan.

Everett resident Admilson Vizcaino is facing charges including armed assault with intent to rob, carjacking and leaving the scene of a car crash involving property damage in connection with the incident, Ryan said during a Thursday evening press conference.

What authorities say happened

The incident began around 12:45 p.m. when Medford police received a report that a person at a Sunoco gas station  who was later identified as Vizcaino  was acting erratic, Ryan said. Viscaino left the gas station in a black Chevrolet SUV before officers arrived.

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Medford police asked other local police departments to be on the lookout for the SUV, and soon after, a Stoneham police officer unsuccessfully attempted to pull Vizcaino over, Ryan said. Around 2 p.m., the SUV was spotted at a 7-Eleven in Billerica, where a shoplifting incident had just taken place.

Around 3:15 p.m., Malden police responded to an address after a relative of Vizcainos reported that he was there, Ryan said. Officers arrived at the address as Vizcaino was leaving in the SUV. They then began pursuing him, but lost sight of him as he crossed into Everett.

Soon after, Vizcaino crashed the SUV near the Encore casino, but kept driving it until it became completely inoperable, Ryan said. He then tried to steal several nearby vehicles  including a moped  but was unsuccessful.

Vizcaino continued down the road until he came to the trash truck, which was stopped at a red light, and tried to force the driver out, Ryan said. By this time, Everett and State Police had caught up to him and began trying to de-escalate the situation.

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Vizcaino ignored commands from police to get away from the truck, and police shocked him with a Taser several times as he tried to force his way in, Ryan said. As he was trying to pull the truck door open, an Everett police officer shot at him several times and struck him.

Vizcaino still managed to get the truck door open and struggled with the driver while wielding a knife, Ryan said. The passenger in the truck exited through the passenger side door, and officers were eventually able to safely remove the driver from the truck.

Vizcaino then got into the drivers seat of the truck and began driving down Broadway, striking utility poles, fire hydrants and a scooter and causing other property damage on the way, Ryan said. State Police troopers soon deployed stop sticks to deflate the trucks tires, and the truck eventually came to rest on the Alford Street Bridge that leads to Boston.

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Troopers and police officers from other departments surrounded the truck and arrested Vizcaino as he tumbled out of it, Ryan said. He was taken to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

Police later searched the SUV and found a gasoline can that Vizcaino had been seen with at the 7-Eleven, Ryan said. Authorities are still investigating what he planned to do with the gasoline, but the district attorney described the presence of the can as being among very concerning facts.

Whats next

Vizcaino will be arraigned on the charges at a later date if he recovers from his injuries, Ryan said. The district attorney would not say how many people were injured during the incident, if any.

The officer who shot Vizcaino has been put on administrative leave, per Everett police policy, Everett Police Chief Paul Strong said during the press conference.

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It is more likely than not that these officers and troopers saved many lives today during this event, he said.

More local crime stories

Read the original article on MassLive.
At a construction site along the Los Angeles River, just south of where four freeways converge in Vernon, a crane hoisted a set of massive white pipes into the air on a recent weekday morning.

The pipes will eventually be connected to fuel dispensers where they will serve as storage vessels for hydrogen  a growing yet controversial source of energy that some see as key to California's ambitious climate goals.

The site is being developed by a New Jersey-based company called Avina in partnership with Vernon Public Utilities. When completed this October, it is planned to produce up to 4 metric tons of compressed green hydrogen a day to power heavy-duty trucks and buses, helping to clean up one of the worst polluting sectors in the state.

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The facility is expected to eliminate approximately 130,000 metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to Avina. Company officials said it will be the largest clean hydrogen project with on-site dispensing  meaning pumps where fleets can refuel  in the country.

The project is rising in spite of a rapidly changing energy landscape in the United States. The Trump administration in recent months has slashed subsidies, grants and tax benefits that support wind, solar and renewable energy projects, while simultaneously championing fossil fuels in the name of energy independence. Trump received record donations from oil and gas interests during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Construction continues at the new Avina Clean Hydrogen Facility in Vernon. Company officials said it will be the largest clean hydrogen project with on-site dispensing  meaning pumps where fleets can refuel  in the country. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Hydrogen has also been hit by the administration's shifting objectives, with Trump's landmark spending plan  the so-called Big Beautiful Bill  slated to end federal tax incentives for new hydrogen projects that break ground after Jan 1, 2028. Already this year, the Department of Energy has canceled billions of dollars in funding for clean energy projects, and is considering slashing $1.2 billion for a major hydrogen hub in California awarded by President Biden.

Read more: Trumps Department of Energy targets California and other blue states for budget cuts, according to internal documents

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Yet even in the absence of such support, Southern California is doubling down on hydrogen, both as an investment and a pathway toward carbon neutrality.

"This is one of the reasons why we think California is really going to stand out," said Vishal Shah, Avina's founder and chief executive, as he walked through the construction site in Vernon. "Because when federal legislation changes happen, what happens is states step up."

Shah said California's climate leadership is part of what drew Avina to the state. The project has received grants from CalStart  a clean transportation nonprofit  and the California Energy Commission, along with two rounds of funding from energy and tech investors including Chart Industries and KBR.

"What's also driving us are state-level regulations that are going to continue to push these fleets  and a lot of other consumers  toward zero-emission transportation," Shah said. California has committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2045 .

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Hydrogen is not without detractors, however. The process is energy- and water-intensive and has historically been linked to the production of natural gas. That's because one of the most common methods of producing it involves heating methane to release the hydrogen, which can also release nitrogen oxides and other pollutants in the process.

Vishal Shah, founder and chief executive of Avina, is photographed at the company's planned Clean Hydrogen Facility in Vernon that will help the transportation industry transition away from fossil fuels. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

"Instead of reducing climate emissions, hydrogen projects can increase emissions and extend the life of fossil fuel infrastructure," the nonprofit Food & Water Watch wrote in a recent news release about California's hydrogen hub.

Hydrogen's link to fossil fuels may also be why the Trump administration's approach to it has been murkier than its approach to renewables such as wind and solar. Just before the Big Beautiful Bill's passage, the Senate decided to extended its hydrogen tax credit deadline from the end of this year to the end of 2027.

Read more: California's billion-dollar hydrogen hub project is approved  but not without controversy

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Avina says it's working on a cleaner approach. The Vernon facility will use large electrolyzer machines powered by 100% clean energy to split hydrogen from water. The machines will be fueled by wind and solar projects in California, along with energy sourced from Vernon Public Utilities, whose grid is currently 40% renewable-powered.

The water used in the process  about 30,000 to 40,000 gallons per day  will come entirely from Vernon's groundwater, with no imported supplies, according to Margie Otto, assistant general manager of Vernon Public Utilities.

"Knowing that there is all this legislative requirement to go as green as you can  as renewable you can  how do you get there?" Otto said. "When you look at the different renewable sources like solar and wind and geothermal, they have limitations on the volume that they can provide as well as the sustained availability. Clean hydrogen is one of those good mediums that addresses both: It puts out very low emissions, plus, volume-wise, it can handle what would traditionally be provided with common fuel sources like natural gas and petroleum."

A construction worker on site at the Avina Clean Hydrogen Facility. The project has received grants from CalStart  a clean transportation nonprofit  and the California Energy Commission. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Whether Southern California will become a hydrogen juggernaut depends partly on whether projects like Avina work. Shah said the Vernon site will meet the deadlines and qualify for the federal tax credit , and that one of his main objectives is to bring the cost of retail hydrogen fuel to parity with diesel  a "magic number" that hovers somewhere around $10 per kilogram. Current rates are roughly $20 to $30 per kilogram, he said.

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"We certainly see us getting there in a relatively short amount of time," Shah said, in part because the state is continuing to invest in hydrogen, and because the wind and solar energy sources the project will depend on have been coming down in cost over time, making hydrogen a more affordable prospect.

Jack Brouwer, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at UC Irvine who is not involved with the project, said it could serve as proof-of-concept for the rest of the region and country.

"They are one of the first to actually work through all the details of this to see if it can actually be cost-effective today," said Brouwer, who is also the director of UC Irvine's Clean Energy Institute.

He said Avina is wise to focus on heavy-duty trucks and freight transport because it is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize, and because hydrogen hasn't yet really caught on with fuel cell cars or passenger vehicles that run on hydrogen, despite a statewide network of fueling stations. What's more, focusing on the transportation sector has some of the best health benefits for disadvantaged communities that live near the Port of Los Angeles and the freight corridors that traditionally spew diesel pollution.

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"It's still going to be more expensive than diesel, but if they can get close, that's going to be super exciting," Brouwer said. "Because then, as the technology costs go down their regular cost curve  like sun and wind power have, like batteries have  we're going to start to find people adopting this technology."

A view of construction at the new Avina Clean Hydrogen Facility in Vernon. It will use large electrolyzer machines powered by 100% clean energy to split hydrogen from water. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

It remains to be seen whether Trump's wind and solar tax cuts will have a slowing effect on the hydrogen projects that depend on them. Under the Big Beautiful Bill, wind and solar projects must either begin construction by next July or be placed into service by the end of 2027 in order to receive the credit.

Brouwer said those sectors have already gotten more affordable and aren't likely to lose much momentum in California.

Read more: Column: Hydrogen is a crucial climate solution. It's also a distraction

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Avina also isn't the only hydrogen project underway in L.A. County. A Texas-based company called Element Resources is planning to build one of the largest green hydrogen plants in North America, the $1.85-billion Lancaster Clean Energy Center, slated for opening in 2027.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is converting its Scattergood Generating Station  the largest natural gas-fired power plant in the city  into a hydrogen-ready facility as part of its decarbonization strategy. L.A. has committed to 100% renewable energy by 2035.

The estimated $800-million project would see two of the plant's gas units replaced with units that can operate on a mixture of natural gas and at least 30% hydrogen, and is slated for completion toward the end of 2029. DWP officials said the goal is to eventually reach 100% green hydrogen as more supply becomes available and the technology evolves.

"There are specific hard-to-electrify applications where hydrogen makes sense," agency officials said in an email, "such as heavy-duty long-haul trucking and certain port operations, serving as a complement to battery technologies. Hydrogen is LADWP's best bet today toward clean, firm power generation with long-duration energy storage benefits, getting us closer to a cleaner, reliable, and fully decarbonized future in 2035."

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The project is not only key to the city meeting its clean energy goals, but also ensuring a reliable source of energy during crises that strain the grid, such as heat waves or wildfires, officials said. However, the plan has drawn considerable opposition from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the Los Angeles Waterkeeper, who say that the mixture of hydrogen and natural gas  so-called gray hydrogen  is not aligned with L.A.'s climate goals.

"We are concerned about a lot of the unknowns that come with the Scattergood proposal," said Ben Harris, a senior staff attorney with L.A. Waterkeeper. "They rely on assumptions about hydrogen gas being available on an open market, and until then, they would be burning natural gas."

Harris referenced a recent report from researchers at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation that found that hydrogen power  even green hydrogen  would have a significant water-use footprint in water-stressed California, and should be implemented with caution.

Read more: California lawmakers urge Trump to spare state's hydrogen energy project

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But though he would like to see the DWP deploy more alternatives to hydrogen to help meet its clean power goals, including wind and solar, Harris was tentatively more supportive of green hydrogen projects, such as the one rising in Vernon  provided it achieves what it the company says it can do.

"If it's done right, green hydrogen won't be produced through fossil fuels," Harris said. "And it could have potentially less water use than other conventional fossil fuel generation. So I think there could be a role for it."

Others in the state are more enthusiastic about hydrogen  even in the face of the fossil-fuel-favoring federal administration. In April, a bipartisan group of California lawmakers called on the Trump administration to preserve the $1.2 billion in funding for the state's hydrogen hub, noting that the project "plays a critical role in securing American energy dominance."

Brouwer, of UC Irvine, said hydrogen's role as both a transition fuel and a long-term climate solution is all but inevitable.

"I don't know how big a role, but it's going to play a role for sure, so it's a good investment," he said.

Ultimately, he added, it doesn't matter if green hydrogen projects are driven by profit, legislative mandates or some other motivation, so long as the climate benefits are achieved.

"I hope California and Los Angeles show this to the whole world  and have the whole world adopt this technology  because unless it does, we don't affect the climate, either," he said. "That's what's gotta happen."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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In the most detrimental climate changerelated regulatory action ever, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed this week to withdraw its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health or welfare. EPA had consistently invoked this endangerment finding in its regulatory actions, including during the Trump administrations first term.

In addition, EPA proposed to repeal all its greenhouse gas standards for cars and trucks. To justify these deeply misguided actions, the agency engaged in a shocking display of professional ineptitude, invoking legal, scientific, and economic arguments so weak that, if raised before a court, they might trigger disciplinary sanctions.

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In its legal claims, EPA argued that the definition of air pollutant for the purposes of the Clean Air Act applies only to local and regional pollution, not to global pollution like greenhouse gas emissions. The local and regional limitation does not appear anywhere in the text of the statute. Quite to the contrary, the definition of welfare in the Clean Air Act includes effects on  weather  and climate. The Supreme Court has recently made clear that when Congress chooses not to include any exceptions to a broad rule, courts apply the broad rule. EPA has violated this clear command in making up a limitation out of whole cloth.

Besides running roughshod over the statute, EPA also ignored at least three important Supreme Court decisions related to climate change. Massachusetts v. EPA, a case that also involved EPAs authority to regulate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, explicitly rejects EPAs argument that the Clean Air Acts vehicle provisions apply only to local or regional pollutants. The court was clear that the statutory text forecloses EPAs reading that Congress did not intend it to regulate substances that contribute to climate change.

EPA also mischaracterized UARG v. EPA, claiming that this case established that the agency may not treat greenhouse gases as a pollutant for the purposes of two other important Clean Air Act programs. In fact, in UARG, the court did exactly the opposite, upholding EPAs authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under these programs in certain circumstances.

And EPA ignored American Electric Power v. Connecticut, which held that the Clean Air Act authorize[s] EPA to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions, which are the most prevalent vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, under a range of Clean Air Act programs. This ruling is squarely at odds with EPAs central claim in its new proposal.

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As to the science, EPA claimed that reducing GHG emissions from such vehicles to zero would not measurably impact GHG concentrations in the atmosphere or the rate of global climate change. The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gases in the U.S., and only China emits more greenhouse gases than the U.S. If zeroing out the emissions of one of the largest sources of climate pollution makes no difference, then nothing that any country could do would likely matter. EPA is essentially saying that we are doomed to the adverse consequences of climate change.

EPA also called into question the well-established scientific consensus on the harmful effects of climate change, claiming, for example, that the 2009 endangerment finding was unduly pessimistic in attributing health risks from heat waves to increases in global temperature. On this point, it relied heavily on a report by five self-proclaimed dissenters from the scientific consensus who were handpicked by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

EPA paid lip service to scientific transparency and reliability. But in its repeated invocation of the contrarian report, it violated the most basic scientific norms. The authors were not independent experts picked through a public process, and their report has not yet been subject to public comment or independent peer review. In contrast, EPAs prior work on climate change, most recently its 2023 report on the adverse impacts of greenhouse gases (which the agency now ignored altogether), complied with the scientific gold standard in terms of the selection of the experts and the vetting of the report.

EPA fares no better on economics than it did on law and science. In its analysis, EPA cast aside the two major classes of benefits for the vehicle rules: greenhouse gas emissions reductions and savings in gasoline costs. The agency ignored the benefits of greenhouse gas reductions altogether, pretending they dont exist. On fuel savings, EPA dismissed, with little explanation, the energy efficiency paradox, which establishes that, for myopia and other reasons, consumers undervalue the energy savings that will accrue to them over time from purchasing more efficient cars or appliances. EPAs analysis merely showstautologicallythat if one ignores the benefits of regulation, regulation has only costs.

In its cynical attempt to avoid addressing climate change, EPA is wrong on law, science, and economics. Its cruel, head-in-the-sand, misguided efforts are nothing but an embarrassment.
A Salem mom said her 15-year-old was bitten in a tussle with a middle-aged man at New England Dragway.

Epping Police are investigating after Cole Heitin went with a friend to see the action at the track, but ended up getting punched in the jaw, called a slur and bitten. His mother said Heitin told someone he shouldnt urinate in front of the crowd.

Officers assigned to New England Dragway learned about the fracas around 8:25 p.m. while working their usual detail.

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A preliminary investigation revealed that an adult male had assaulted a juvenile male. During the incident, the suspect reportedly bit the juvenile on the left arm before fleeing. Despite officers efforts, the suspect was not located, according to a press release from the Epping Police Department.

Detectives are now looking for a man described as a white male, middle-aged, unshaven, wearing a white T-shirt with a Nike swoosh, navy blue Nike shorts, a black-and-white trucker-style hat, and sunglasses.

My 15-year-old son was @New England Dragway & Motorsports Park yesterday and was attacked by this poor excuse of a man, Sue Heitin wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. He called him a (slur), punched him in the jaw and as he lay on the ground, he wound up to kick him in the head with his boot. If it wasnt for Coles friend shielding him, things could have been worse. As Cole tried to wrestle himself away he was bit by the man on his forearm. No one from the speedway, nor bystanders helped.

New England Dragways Assistant General Manager Lydia Perry released a statement about the incident, saying track officials thoughts are with the Heitin family and Cole as he recovers from his injury.

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The safety of our guests is our top priority at New England Dragway, and we are taking this incident very seriously. We are fully cooperating with authorities in the ongoing investigation and are grateful to those who have come forward with information. If anyone has additional details, we encourage them to share them with the Epping Police Department, the statement said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that could help identify the man can call Lt. Detective Stephen Soar at 603-679-5122 or email s.soares@eppingnh.gov.

dpierce@unionleader.com
Virginia Giuffre, the woman who survived years of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse and died by suicide this year, wanted the so-called Epstein files released, her siblings said.

"She had a little bit of hope in her because it was said that the files were going to be released," Amanda Roberts, Giuffre's sister-in-law, said in an interview Thursday, adding that she thinks Giuffre would have wanted "transparency and justice."

"She was fighting for that to happen right up until the very end," Roberts said. "She wanted the public to know the crimes that they had committed."

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In recent weeks, Giuffre has been in the headlines amid a renewed push for the release of a trove of documents that allegedly detail the years of abuse by Epstein and his longtime partner Ghislaine Maxwell.

"We've constantly had to relive, since my sister's passing, these things from her past," said Danny Wilson, one of Giuffre's brothers.

Asked specifically Tuesday whether Giuffre was among the people Epstein had "stolen" from the spa at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, President Donald Trump said: "I think that was one of the people. He stole her."

Giuffre was a locker room attendant at the Florida club in the summer of 2000, when she was 16.

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The White House has said Trump kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago "for being a creep."

Epstein died in what was ruled a suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Sky Roberts, Giuffre's other brother, said the family was "shocked" by Trump's use of the word "stolen" to describe their sister. He said it makes him wonder how much Trump knew about what Epstein was doing.

"She's not an object; she's a person," he said through tears. "She's a mom. She's a sister. And she was recruited by Maxwell. She wasn't stolen."

Virginia Giuffre leaves federal court in New York on Aug. 27, 2019. (Jeenah Moon / Bloomberg via Getty Images file)

Trump was asked last week about pardoning Maxwell and responded that he hadn't thought about it but that he's "allowed to do it."

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Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday about the interview. Last week, Markus said there had been "no asks and no promises" about clemency but added that his client "would welcome any relief."

Giuffre's family urged Trump in a statement not to pardon Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role recruiting and trafficking minors for sex.

The family said they put out the statement because Trump "invoked" their sister's name and that in her absence they felt they needed to represent her wishes.

Lanette Wilson, Giuffre's sister-in-law, said Thursday a pardon of Maxwell would be an "abomination," because "our sister always told us that Maxwell was even worse than Epstein."

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A senior administration official told NBC News on Wednesday that "no leniency is being given or discussed." The family said Thursday that they are relieved the administration does not appear to be exploring that option for Maxwell.

Sky Roberts said a pardon would "unwind everything that my sister and all the survivors fought for."

Amanda Roberts said: "It's really important that we create a culture ... for victims and survivors to come forward, to protect them, to trust them and believe them. Survivors deserve the space to be heard always, and that if you were to let [Maxwell] free, it would be silencing them all over again, and that is not a culture that any of us want."

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, or go to 988lifeline.org, to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child sex trafficker and accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein serving a 20-year prison sentence, has been abruptly moved into the custody of a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas  the same one housing disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.

A spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) confirmed in an email that Maxwell  who was convicted of procuring minors for Epstein to abuse  was moved to the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan, a minimum-security facility for women in Bryan, Texas, about 100 miles northwest of Houston, on July 31.

She had previously been serving her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Tallahassee in Florida, a low-security prison for men and women. Minimum-security is a more lenient designation than low-security in the BOP system.

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Per the BOP website, FPC Bryan is described as a facility with dormitory housing, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing, compared to the double-fenced perimeters at FCI Tallahassee.

The BOP spokesperson would not confirm the reason Maxwell was moved, but listed various factors that generally inform custody status including "the level of security and supervision the inmate requires, any medical or programming needs, separation, security measures to ensure the individual's protection, and other considerations, including proximity to the individual's release residence."

Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, didn't immediately return an inquiry seeking comment on why his client had been moved.

Maxwell is not the first high-profile detainee at FPC Bryan. The facility also houses Holmes, who is serving an 11-and-a-quarter-year sentence for wire fraud related to her phony blood-testing startup Theranos, as well as Jen Shah, the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star who is serving a 5-and-a-half-year sentence for wire fraud related to her role in a telemarketing scam.

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Maxwell is currently angling for a pardon or commutation from President Donald Trump in exchange for information on associates of Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 in what was controversially ruled a suicide as he faced sex trafficking charges.

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.

Maxwell spoke with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last month, reportedly speaking about 100 ex-associates of Epstein, and has been subpoenaed to testify in front of Congress, though she intends to assert her Fifth Amendment rights unless she gets immunity from prosecution.

She is also trying to get the Supreme Court to throw out her conviction, arguing she is covered by Epstein's controversial 2008 non-prosecution agreement that required him to register as a sex offender.

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The news comes as Trump faces substantial scrutiny over his administration's handling of the Epstein files  and his own long friendship with the convicted child sex offender.

Trump was reportedly told by his own Attorney General that his name appeared in the Epstein files, and has sued the Wall Street Journal for publishing details of a bawdy birthday card he allegedly wrote to Epstein, in which he allegedly says the two share "certain things in common."

This week, Trump told reporters he and Epstein fell out after the disgraced financier "stole" a then-teenaged Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club, where she was working as a spa attendant. Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, alleged she was trafficked to high-profile individuals like Britain's Prince Andrew, who settled a lawsuit with her but denied the allegations.

In a statement, Giuffre's family called Trump's remarks "shocking" and added: "it makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's criminal actions."

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If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

Read the original article on People
Jeffrey Epsteins long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly been moved from her prison in Florida to another institution in Texas, The New York Sun reports.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Epstein recruit, groom and abuse young girls. She was being held at a federal prison in Tallahassee. Now, shes at the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in southeast Texas, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told the Sun.

The Florida prison was classified as a minimum security prison with a detention center that housed nearly 1,200 men and women. She was being housed in an honor dorm for the best-behaved inmates, and activities included yoga and pilates.

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Her new prison is an all-female prison camp that houses 600 inmates. It has limited perimeter fencing and is home to fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and reality star Jen Shah.

Maxwell was temporarily placed at a federal prison in Oakdale, Louisiana, before she was moved to Texas, the Sun reports.

Maxwell was thrust back in the spotlight during the fallout over the release of the Epstein files. Trumps administration said no more information would be released despite promises during the campaign. That angered his base and created weeks of tension with his supporters as Democrats attacked the White House over the nondisclosure. In recent weeks, DOJ officials met with Maxwell to discuss the files and Epstein, and that has fueled speculation of a pardon for the British socialite.

Well, Im allowed to give her a pardon, but nobodys approached me with it, Trump said Monday. Nobodys asked me about it.

Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in helping Jeffrey Epstein recruit, groom and abuse young girls. She has now moved prisons, according to a report. (US District Court for the Southern District of New York)

Maxwells attorney, David Oscar Markus, told The Independent he could confirm that she is being moved but declined to comment further.

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Maxwell asked Congress Tuesday to push for a pardon so she could testify openly and honestly before lawmakers, ABC News reports. Her request is on the heels of the House Oversight Committee subpoenaing Maxwell last week, setting her deposition date for August 11.

Markus said Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment right and decline to testify if certain conditions arent met. These include granting Maxwell immunity and interviewing her outside of the prison where shes carrying out her sentence.

"Ms. Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity. Nor is a prison setting conducive to eliciting truthful and complete testimony," Markus wrote to House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer.

"Of course, in the alternative, if Ms. Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing  and eager  to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, D.C., Markus said. She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.

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Maxwell has also petitioned the Supreme Court to consider an appeal of her conviction. The Justice Department urged the court to reject her request last month, The Washington Post reports. Markus also asked the House Oversight Committee to postpone Maxwells deposition until the Supreme Court has decided whether to take her case.

Maxwell has been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to testify about the Epstein case. (Federal Bureau of Prisons)

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also interviewed Maxwell last week. Maxwell never invoked a privilege and never refused to answer a question, Markus said Friday.

Lawmakers subpoenaed Maxwell as the Trump administration faces blowback for its handling of the Epstein files. Democrats and Trumps MAGA supporters alike have called for the administration to release more information on the disgraced financier.

The criticism comes after Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo last month indicating there would be no further disclosures in the Epstein investigation. The memo claimed Epstein never kept a client list containing the names of his alleged associates. Attorney General Pam Bondi had suggested the client list was on her desk in February.

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The agencies also confirmed Epstein died by suicide in a New York City jail cell, following years of conspiracy theories surrounding his death. Epstein died in August 2019, a month after he was arrested for federal sex trafficking charges.

That announcement angered Trumps base, who had long latched onto conspiracies about his death or the people he was connected to, including politicians and the wealthy.

As tensions rose around Epstein last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Bondi notified Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein files. The report came days after a reporter asked the president if Bondi told him his name appeared in the files.

Appearing in the files also does not indicate that an individual has committed any wrongdoing.

The Journal also reported Trump wrote an alleged 50th birthday card to Epstein in 2003, which included a drawing of a naked woman. The card ended with the wish, may every day be another wonderful secret. Trump denied the claims, telling the outlet, I never wrote a picture in my life. The president has sued the newspaper and its publishers for $10 billion.
Ghislaine Maxwell, the accomplice of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been moved from a prison in Florida to a minimum security facility in Texas, the Bureau of Prisons said Friday, triggering an angry reaction from some of their victims.

No reason was given for Maxwell's transfer but it comes a week after a top Justice Department official met with her to ask questions about Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly sex trafficking underage girls.

"We can confirm Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas," a Bureau of Prisons spokesman said.

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Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, interviewed Maxwell for two days at a Florida courthouse last week in a highly unusual meeting between a convicted felon and high-ranking Justice official.

Blanche has declined so far to say what was discussed but Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, said she answered every question she was asked.

Maxwell has offered to testify before Congress about Epstein if given immunity and has also reportedly been seeking a pardon from Trump, a one-time close friend of Epstein.

She had been subpoenaed to give a deposition to the House Oversight Committee on August 11, but Politico reported Friday it had been postponed indefinitely.

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The former British socialite is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein.

Two women who said they were sexually abused by Epstein and Maxwell and the family of another accuser who recently committed suicide condemned the prison transfer.

"It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received," Annie and Maria Farmer and the family of Virginia Giuffre said in a statement Friday.

"Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency," they said.

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"Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas," they said. "This move smacks of a cover-up. The victims deserve better."

- 'Cover-up in real time' -

Tim Hogan, a senior Democratic National Committee advisor, also denounced what he alleged was a "government cover-up in real time."

"Donald Trump's FBI, run by loyalist Kash Patel, redacted Trump's name from the Epstein files -- which have still not been released," Hogan said.

"While Trump and his administration try to cover up the heinous crimes included in those files, they're simultaneously doing favors for convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell."

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Trump is facing mounting demands from Democrats and many of his conspiracy-minded Make America Great Again supporters to be more transparent about the case of the wealthy and well-connected Epstein.

Trump's supporters have been obsessed with the Epstein case for years and have been up in arms since the FBI and Justice Department said last month that Epstein had committed suicide while in jail, did not blackmail any prominent figures, and did not keep a "client list."

The president raised further questions this week as he told reporters he fell out with Epstein after the financier "stole" female employees from the spa at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

One of those girls was Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave and committed suicide at her home in Australia in April.

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Giuffre's family issued a statement this week appealing to Trump not to consider pardoning Maxwell, who they called a "monster who deserves to rot in prison for the rest of her life."

cl/acb
Key Points

While Chemed's sales were reasonable enough, both of its business segments' profitability plummeted.

Its hospice care unit, Vitas, saw earnings decline as it faced Medicare cap billing limitations.

Earnings for Chemed's Roto-Rooter business dropped as it continues to wrestle with increasing marketing costs.

10 stocks we like better than Chemed 

Chemed (NYSE: CHE) -- home to hospice care provider Vitas Healthcare and Roto-Rooter -- saw its shares decline 9% as of 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Chemed reported second-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations, causing its share price to tumble.

While Chemed grew sales by 4% in Q2, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) declined by a staggering 22%. Meanwhile, management cut 2025 EPS guidance from $25.20 to $22.15, implying a 4% decline from last year's earnings.

Adding further uncertainty, the company announced Nick Westfall, CEO of Vitas Healthcare, was stepping down.

Chemed's challenging quarter

From a revenue perspective, Chemed's Q2 was relatively steady. However, each business segment faced profitability issues.

Vitas grew revenue by 4%, but faced Medicare cap billing limitations that caused earnings to drop by 24%. Even excluding these as theoretical one-time impacts (though it is more of a continuous cycle thanks to working in a highly regulated industry), Vitas's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was flat for the quarter.

Image source: Getty Images.

Meanwhile, Chemed's typically steady-Eddie Roto-Rooter business only eked out 1% sales growth alongside a hefty 20% decline in net income. Much of this decrease stems from increased pressure on its marketing costs.

Management referenced Alphabet-owned Google search during the earnings call, explaining:

They're saying if we can get money for making them pay for advertisers, we'll make sure they don't show up in the free areas. We deal with it. It's a bit of an adjustment for us.

Though Roto-Rooter remains the largest plumbing company in North America, this issue needs to be monitored by investors.

Ultimately, Chemed has a lot to sort out, but at just 20 times free cash flow, it could be a turnaround story.

Do the experts think Chemed is a buy right now?

The Motley Fools expert analyst team, drawing on years of investing experience and deep analysis of thousands of stocks, leverages our proprietary Moneyball AI investing database to uncover top opportunities. Theyve just revealed their 10 best stocks to buy now  did Chemed make the list?
Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein, was quietly transferred from a federal prison in Florida to a federal prison in Texas, according to a Bureau of Prisons official.

Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas, BOP official Benjamin OCone confirmed Friday in an email to The Hill.

The move to Texas comes as Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, and her legal team are appealing her case to the Supreme Court in hopes of having her conviction overturned.

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Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee subpoenaed Maxwell, asking for her testimony as the demand for President Trumps administration to release more documents related to Epsteins case continues.

Maxwells attorney, David Oscar Markus, said her client would only speak to the committee if granted immunity, something the panel rejected.

Markus also asked for the questions directed to Maxwell to be submitted in advance and that any potential deposition be held after the nations highest court weighs in on her petition.

The Justice Departments (DOJ) No. 2 official, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, spoke with Maxwell in Florida last week for more than nine hours over the course of two days.

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The Trump administration has faced a backlash after an early-July joint memo from the DOJ and FBI said that Epstein, a convicted sex offender and disgraced financier, died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in jail and that he did not keep a client list.

The news of Maxwells transfer was first reported by The New York Sun.

Federal Prison Camp Bryan is a minimum-security jail for female inmates and will likely offer better conditions for Maxwell. The facility is located around 95 miles northwest of Houston and can hold up to 635 inmates.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  After serving the Dayton area for many decades, a local family is stepping away from the car dealership business.

Jacob Walker, general manager of Toyota Sales, Parts, & Service at Walker Toyota, announced Friday afternoon on social media that the Walker family is leaving the automotive industry.

Photo/Montgomery County Auditors Office

After 50 plus years in the Automotive industry the time has come for us to hang up our boots and move on to other aspirations, said Walker.

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County reallocates $1M to The Foodbank

Starting Monday, Aug. 4, the dealership will reopen under the name South Dayton Toyota and ownership of Performance Automotive Network, which is said to be a long tenured local family.

According to Walker, the values of the incoming owner aligns with the values that have been held by his familys business.

They share the same values in customer service and leadership that we have always given to our customers and employees and you will see many of the same faces youve seen over the years, Walkers post said.

The business will be closed Aug. 2 and 3, but reopen Aug. 4 for normal operating hours.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
ST. LOUIS  Missouri U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt is urging FEMA to approve additional aid in response to the May 16 tornado in St. Louis, specifically a debris removal request originally made by Mayor Cara Spencer.

Schmitt, along with members of the Missouri Congressional delegation, sent a letter to FEMAs Acting Director David Richardson, asking for approval of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission to assist with debris removal.

Last month, the mayors office announced a tornado cleanup phase under development with FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would involved private property debris removal and individualized assessments of debris removal needs for affected properties, followed by contracted services.

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Child accidentally shoots brother with rifle left on the couch

Respectfully, we urge your immediate review and approval of Mayor Spencers request for a PPDR mission to accompany these valiant local, state, and federal efforts. We appreciate your attention to this request, and we stand ready to assist our constituents in any way possible, Schmitt wrote in the letter.

The May 16 tornado caused five deaths, an estimated $1.6 billion in damages and left behind more than one million tons of debris in the City of St. Louis, much of its on private properties in the citys westside and northside neighborhoods.

Meanwhile, FEMA is currently offering disaster assistance following a federal declaration in June. Individuals can apply for aid through Aug. 11. For more information, click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The head of the agency that compiles the closely watched monthly jobs report usually toils in obscurity, but on Friday, the current holder of that job was loudly fired by the president of the United States.

Erika McEntarfer, a longtime government employee, bore the brunt of President Donald Trumps unhappiness with Fridays jobs report, which showed that hiring had slowed in July and was much less in May and June that previously estimated. He accused her without evidence of manipulating the job numbers and noted she was an appointee of President Joe Biden.

McEntarfer, a longtime government worker who had served as BLS head for a year and a half, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press. But her predecessor overseeing the jobs agency, former co-workers and associates have denounced the firing, warning about its repercussions and saying McEntarfer was nonpolitical in her role.

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Heres what to know about Erika McEntarfer:

McEntarfer has a strong background on economics

McEntarfer, whose research focuses on job loss, retirement, worker mobility, and wage rigidity, had previously worked at the Census Bureaus Center for Economic Studies, the Treasury Departments Office of Tax Policy and the White House Council of Economic Advisers in a nonpolitical role.

She has a bachelor's degree in Social Science from Bard College and a doctoral degree in economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

She was confirmed as BLS head on a bipartisan vote

McEntarfer was nominated in 2023 to serve as BLS head, and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions recommended that her nomination go to the full Senate for a vote.

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She was confirmed as BLS commissioner in January 2024 on a bipartisan 86-8 Senate vote. Among the Republican senators who voted to confirm her included then-Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, who is now Trump's vice president, and then-Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is now Trump's secretary of state.

Before her confirmation hearing, a group called the Friends of the BLS, made up of former commissioners who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, members of statistical associations and credentialed economists, said McEntarfer's background made her a great choice for the job.

The many reasons to quickly confirm Dr. McEntarfer as the new BLS Commissioner all boil down to this: the agency, like the entire statistical system, is undergoing an intense, significant period of change and Dr. McEntarfers wealth of research and statistical experience have equipped her to be the strong leader that BLS needs to meet these challenges, Friends of the BLS wrote.

Her former associates and co-workers decry her firing

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William Beach, who was appointed BLS commissioner in 2019 by Trump and served until 2023 during President Joe Biden's administration, called McEntarfer's firing groundless and said in an X post that it sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.

Former Labor Department chief economist Sarah J. Glynn, who received regular briefings from McEntarfer about BLS findings, said McEntarfer was generous with her time explaining what conclusions could or couldnt be reached from the data.

If the data didnt support something an administration official was saying, McEntarfer would say so, Glynn said. She also never weighed in on how the administration should present or interpret the data, Glynn said  she would simply answer questions about the data.

She had a sterling reputation as someone who is concerned about the accuracy of the data and not someone who puts a political spin on her work, Glynn said.

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Heather Boushey, a senior research fellow at Harvard University, served with McEntarfer on the White House Council of Economic Advisers and said McEntarfer never talked politics at work.

She showed up every day to focus on the best analysis and the best approach to her field and not get political. That is what I saw from her time and again. She is brilliant and well-respected among labor economists generally, Boushey said. She wasnt coming into my office to talk politics or the political implications of something. She definitely wasnt engaging on that side of things.

___

Olson reported from New York. Associated Press writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.
President Trump on Friday accused the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Erika McEntarfer of faking jobs numbers, directing his team to fire the former President Biden appointee.

Trump blamed McEntarfer for the bad Friday jobs report, showing that the country added 258,000 fewer jobs in May and June than previously reported.

The U.S. added just 19,000 jobs in May, significantly lower than the 144,000 reported previously, and saw an increase of 14,000 jobs in June, more than 90 percent lower than the 147,000 initially shared. The country gained 73,000 jobs in July. In the last three months, the U.S. added 106,000 in total.

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An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to The Hill that McEntarfer was terminated from her post. A BLS official told The Hill that McEntarfer was sacked and that Deputy Commissioner William Wiatrowski will serve as acting head until the administration finds a replacement.

Trump argued that McEntarfer, who was nominated by Biden in 2023 and confirmed to the post the following year, faked the jobs numbers before the 2024 presidential election to boost former Vice President Kamala Harriss chance of winning in November.

This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000, Trump wrote in a lengthy post Friday on Truth Social.

These were Records  No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers, the president said, vowing that McEntarfer will be replaced by someone much more competent and qualified.

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McEntarfer, a labor economist who has worked in the federal government for more than two decades, was confirmed by the Senate in early 2024 in a bipartisan 86-8 vote. Her nomination was supported at the time by now Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the two former senators representing Ohio and Florida, respectively.

Prior to working as the commissioner of the BLS, which is part of the Department of Labor, McEntarfer held positions within the Treasury Department, the Executive Office of the President and the U.S. Census Bureau, according to her biography posted on the BLSs website.

She was the head of research for the Longitudinal EmployerHousehold Dynamics program at the Census Bureau. The labor economist, who earned a bachelors degree in social science from Bard College and an economics Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, was a senior economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers prior to joining the BLS.

In another post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that Fridays jobs report figures were RIGGED in order to make the president and Republican lawmakers look bad.

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Just like when they had three great days around the 2024 Presidential Election, and then, those numbers were taken away on November 15, 2024, right after the Election, when the Jobs Numbers were massively revised DOWNWARD, making a correction of over 818,000 Jobs  A TOTAL SCAM, Trump wrote.

The BLS often revises job number tallies, but the scale of the change in the Friday report surprised investors and experts after a solid week of economic data.

Persistent policy uncertainty, tariffs, and diminished immigration flows paralyzing employers, the US economy is now flirting with job losses, revealing a labor market that is much weaker than most Fed policymakers had believed, EY-Parthenon chief economist Gregory Daco wrote.

The collection of economic data can take time due to the slow response rates of those surveyed and the size of the economy. The delay does not necessarily mean the data is being manipulated.

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The BLS said in August last year that the U.S. added 818,000 fewer jobs over a one-year period than what was previously reported.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said Friday that she agrees with Trumps decision to fire McEntarfer and confirmed that Wiatrowski will work as the acting commissioner.

A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner, Chavez-DeRemer said in a Friday post on social platform X. I support the Presidents decision to replace Bidens Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS.

William W. Beach, who served as the BLS head during Trumps first term, disagreed with the presidents decision to terminate McEntarfer, warning it would set a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau.

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Inside a small art studio not far from Atlanta, 67-year-old Basil Watson is shaping history.

The Jamaican-born artist is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship. Smalls would go on to become a top Union naval officer during the Civil War, and is celebrated as a champion of civil rights and equality.

"It's an honor to get to put this piece on the state Capitol in South Carolina," Watson said.

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His statue of Smalls will be the first monument honoring an individual African American on the State House's grounds. Currently, the statues surrounding the Capitol are all of White men, many with ties to the Civil War or the Jim Crow-era South.

Basil Watson is creating a sculpture of Robert Smalls, the historic South Carolina lawmaker who escaped slavery in Charleston by commandeering a Confederate ship. / Credit: CBS News

A bipartisan push from state lawmakers made Smalls' statue a reality.

"It helps to complete the incomplete and unfinished story," historian John McCardell said.

"Here is someone whose intelligence was recognized almost literally from birth," McCardell said of Smalls. "He was bold and courageous on that night in May of 1862 when he brought his family and others on board, and, almost miraculously, delivered that ship to the Union blockade offshore."



Watson's plans for Smalls' statue depict the icon's journey from illiteracy to a pioneering statesman, using a stack of books as a platform symbolizing Smalls' elevation. The completed sculpture will be about 12 feet tall, Watson said.



"I will fade into the background, but I want them to remember is Robert Smalls, what he did, and to understand where African Americans are coming from," Watson said.

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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)  The estate of a man who was fatally attacked with a machete by his co-worker while on a North Charleston construction site is suing the companies that maintained the site, alleging they are liable for his death.

David Keith Carter, 57, was a contracted worker at the SHL Medical construction site on Trade Center Court on June 19, 2024, when he got into an argument with fellow contract worker Tyrone Clayton Campbell, 33, before 3 p.m.

During the argument, Campbell pushed Carter to the ground and began attacking him with a machete, the North Charleston Police Department said. Carter was conscious when the attack happened and had multiple lacerations on his face, head, and body, court documents state.

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Carter consciously begged and pleaded for his life while he was being violently slashed repeatedly with the machete, the suit says.

After he attacked Carter, Campbell put the machete in his bag and walked away. Police arrived shortly thereafter, and Campbell pulled the machete

back out, refusing to drop it.

Officers subdued Campbell by tasing him before arresting him. He remains in custody at the Al Cannon Detention Center for the charges of murder, assault and battery in the third degree, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to jail records.

Both Carter and Campbell were working as temporary contractors employed by Labor Finders of South Carolina at the time of the attack.

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The men were working on what is now the site of an SHL Medical manufacturing facility.

Carters estate is suing SHL Medical, Evans Contracting of North Charleston, and Flooring Services of Goose Creek, claiming that his death is a result of the negligence, reckless disregard, and carelessness of the three companies.

In addition, the estate claims the companys actions show a conscious disregard for the rights and dignity of Carter, his heirs, and the community.

If the companies had performed a basic background check on Campbell then he should not have been allowed on the worksite, the complaint contends.

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The suit alleges the companies took no action to ensure Campbell did not have a deadly weapon and that they should have known of his violent tendencies before allowing him to work beside others.

Online court records show Campbell was arrested in Orangeburg County for attempted murder and arson. Campbell was on probation for the arson charge at the time of the attack against Carter.

He was also charged in 2012 for the unlawful carrying of a pistol in Berkeley County.

In the suit, the plaintiffs ask for the companies to be named liable for Carters death in addition to being awarded damages.

Although the family of David Keith Carter will never get to see him again, it is their hope through this lawsuit that no other family will have to suffer losing a loved one in such a horrific way, said Plaintiff Attorneys Justin Bamberg and Chris Hart. We intend to hold all defendants responsible for failing to keep the workplace safe from machetes and deadly assaults. Mr. Carter was only doing his job to provide for his family.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2.
Originally appeared on E! Online

Stacy Chapin is sharing the range of emotions shes feeling after the killer in the University of Idaho murders was sent to prison.

The mom of Ethan Chapin, 20who was fatally stabbed in November 2022 alongside Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, and Xana Kernodle, 20was absent from the July 23 sentencing when Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison. Skipping the trial was a choice she and her family made over two years ago, when Stacy told Today that attending "is energy that doesnt feel like its well spent." However, now that the case has concluded, she is speaking out reflecting on the last few years.

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"Weve given a lot of thought to what we should say since 7/23 and have edited this a million times," she wrote on Instagram July 31. "The entire situation has been a tough pill to swallow but at the end of the day, we believe the outcome is the right one."

She also penned a message directly to Ethan, sharing a heartbreaking tribute to her son taken far too soon.

She also thanked the community for their support in the aftermath of the murders, saying the Moscow Police Department, FBI and more investigators "worked tirelessly on this case, and spent time away from their loved ones."

The matriarch went on to share her gratitude for the University of Idaho as well as prosecutors, who she said "openly communicated with transparency, answered every call and email, and were fantastic throughout this process.

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"Thank you, Ethan. You were only with us for 20 years, but you touched the lives of so many people," she wrote. "From the time you were a baby to when we dropped you off at college, you were an absolute joy and the glue that held our family together."

Stacy, who also acknowledged that her and Jim Chapin's children Maizie and Hunter graduated this past May without their triplet brother, continued, "We remember your smile, your laugh, how you kept us in check, and the many ways you brought happiness and light to any situation. There will never be another you. There would never have been enough time with you. We love you, miss you, and promise to continue honoring your legacy.

She also thanked the community for their support in the aftermath of the murders, saying the Moscow Police Department, FBI and more investigators "worked tirelessly on this case, and spent time away from their loved ones."

The matriarch went on to share her gratitude for the University of Idaho as well as prosecutors, who she said "openly communicated with transparency, answered every call and email, and were fantastic throughout this process.

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Read on for a full breakdown of the case.

Who Were Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?

Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20, were University of Idaho students who lived in an off-campus apartment. On Nov. 12, 2022the night before their bodies were foundGoncalves and Mogen were at a nearby sports bar, while Kernodle and Chapin were at the latters fraternity party. By 2 a.m. on Nov. 13, the four roommates and Chapin were back at the three-story rental house. Goncalves was a senior majoring in general studies at the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. She was expected to graduate in December before heading to Austin, Texas, for a job at a marketing firm, her friend Jordyn Quesnell told The New York Times. Mogen, who was studying marketing, was best friends with Goncalves since the sixth grade. She had plans to move to Boise after graduation, family friend Jessie Frost shared with The Idaho Statesman. Kernodle was a junior majoring in marketing, the University said at the time. She and Chapinwho majored in recreation, sport and tourism managementhad been dating since the spring, the roommates neighbor Ellie McKnight told NBC News.





Were There Any Survivors?

Two roommates, Dylan Mortensen and Bethany Funke, had been home at the time of the murders. In text messages that were unsealed March 6, 2025, Mortensen and Funke tried contacting their roommates on Nov. 13 after the former saw a masked man moving through the house, according to documents obtained by E! News. "No one is answering," Mortensen texted Funke at 4:22 a.m. "I'm rlly confused rn." She continued to reach out to their roommates, urging them to respond. "Pls answer," she texted Goncalves at 4:32 a.m. and again at 10:23 a.m. "R u up??" At 11:58 a.m., a 911 call was placed after Kernodle was found unresponsive, per an additional motion obtained by E! News. A woman named A1 in the transcript described the current situation to the operator. "One of the roommates who's passed out and she was drunk last night and she's not waking up," she said on the phone. "They saw some man in their house last night."





Who Is Bryan Kohberger and How Was He Found?

Bryan Kohberger, who was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary, was a doctoral candidate at Washington State University. Over one month after the bodies of Gonclaves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin were discovered, Kohberger was taken into custody Dec. 30 in Monroe County, Penn. He was extradited to Idaho Jan. 4, 2023. As for how authorities connected him to the killings? DNA was found on a knife sheath that was left at the crime scene, prosecutors revealed in June 2023 court documents, per NBC News. When the DNA didn't match anyone in the FBI database, authorities ran the DNA through public ancestry websites to create a list of potential suspects, according to the filings. After learning that Kohberger had driven to his parents' home in Monroe County, local officials then went through their trash and found DNA that tied him to that found on the sheath.





What Was Kohbergers Initial Defense?

At the moment, a motive for the attack has not been detailed and a gag order prevents many involved in the case from speaking publicly, NBC News reported. However, the unsealed documents provided some insight into their initial arguments. Kohberger's attorneys argued in a motion obtained by E! News to strike the death penalty that Kohbergerwho initially faced death penalty if found guilty on all countshas autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment." His defense argued that Kohbereger "displays extremely rigid thinking, perseverates on specific topics, processes information on a piecemeal basis, struggles to plan ahead, and demonstrates little insight into his own behaviors and emotions." "Due to his ASD, Mr. Kohberger simply cannot comport himself in a manner that aligns with societal expectations of normalcy," the motion said. "This creates an unconscionable risk that he will be executed because of his disability rather than his culpability."

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Where Was the Trial Set?

Initially, Kohberger had a judge enter a not-guilty plea to the first-degree murder charges on his behalf after remaining silent at his May 2023 arraignment. Although his trial was set to begin Oct. 2, 2023, Kohberger waived his right to a speedy trial in August 2023. His trial datewhich was scheduled to take place in Ada County, more than 300 miles from Latah County, where the killings took placewas set to begin Aug. 11, 2025. Latah County Judge John Judge previously ruled in favor of the transfer request made by Kohberger's defense in September 2024 based on "presumed prejudice" if the trial remained in Latah County. Ada County Judge Steven Hippler denied the defense's request to suppress key DNA and other evidence, including cell phone and email records, surveillance footage, past Amazon purchases and DNA evidence in the trial.





What Was the Verdict in the Trial?

Kohberger's murder trial was abruptly canceled after he took a plea deal from prosecutors on June 30, 2025. In accepting the deal, Kohberger agreed to plead guilty to four counts of murder and one count of burglary, as well as waive his rights to appeal and ask for a more lenient prison sentence. He entered his guilty plea on July 2, 2025, confirming with a "yes" after the judge asked if he killed all four victims "willingly, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice with forethought."





Did Kohberger Take a Selfie After the Murders?

A selfie Kohberger took the morning after the murders took place was introduced in March 2025. The photograph, which sees him in front of a shower showing a thumbs up, displays how he may fit the description a witness identified as "D.M." gave in filings, who said the perpetrator had "bushy eyebrows." Steve Gonclaves, the father of victim Kaylee, later reacted to the image calling it a "trophy" in an interview with Fox and Friends. "I know the timeline, I know that he had just returned to the crime scene and he had come back," Gonclaves said. "He had realized that nobody had called 911." As he put it, "To him, thats his little trophy to let him know like, Hey, I got away with it, nobodys on me.





What Did Kohberger Google Before the Murders?

In a 2025 Dateline documentary about the murders, a former classmate of Kohbergers detailed a peculiar text she received from him after making his acquaintance at a party. I definitely felt a little obligated to chat with him, because to me, he seemed a little awkward, the studentidentified as Hollyexplained. Kind of like you might expect for a PhD student who didn't know anyone at the party and was maybe trying his best to kind of get out there and be social and make friends. The following day, Holly said she received a text from him, which she described as overly formal. Hey, I am pretty sure we spoke about hiking trips yesterday, Bryans text from July 10, 2022 at 1:19 p.m., read, per Dateline. I really enjoy that activity, so please let me know. Thanks! Elsewhere in the Dateline documentary, Kohbergers browsing history was found to have included searches for Ted Bundy, Britney Spears song Criminal, and the term University of Idaho Murders.

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Did Kohberger Confess to Killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle?

After accepting a plea deal that would spare him from the death penalty, Kohberger changed his plea to guilty in the murders of Goncalves, Mogen, Kernodle and Chapin, as well as one count of burglary, at a July 2, 2025 hearing in Idaho. When judge Hippler questioned Kohberger if he killed each victim "willingly, unlawfully, deliberately and with premeditation and malice with forethought," he replied with a firm, "Yes" for each. In taking the plea deal, Kohberger has waived his right to appeal or ask for a more lenient prison sentence, according to Hippler.





How Long Is Kohberger's Prison Sentence?

Though the families of Goncalves and Kernodle each slammed the decision to issue a plea deal, therby taking the death penalty off the table, Kohberger was officially sentenced to life in prison July 23, 2025. Judge Hippler sentenced Kohberger to four life termsto be served consecutivelywithout the possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder, along with a $50,000 fine for each count and a $5,000 civil penalty to be paid to each of the victims' families. He also gave Kohberger 10 years and imposed a fine of $50,000 on the burglary count.



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EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova has commented on the steps taken by the Ukrainian authorities following the controversial vote to restore the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO). The ambassador described the outcome as important "for the trust" between Ukraine and the EU.

Source: Mathernova on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Mathernova said that the vote in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) to restore the independence of NABU and SAPO was significant "not only for Ukraine, but also for the trust between Ukraine and its closest partner, the European Union".

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She emphasised that this was made possible by a synergy of three factors  "the civic voice of mostly Gen Z from the squares, intense and challenging behind-the-scenes negotiations far from the cameras, and the ability of leaders to show self-reflection in the interest of their country".

The ambassador stressed that although the youth protests were the most visible, the quiet diplomatic work was no less intensive.

"I was there. And I will never stop being grateful for that opportunity. Because here, friends, European history is being written. It took a great deal of effort, persuasion, and creative solutions. And it was worth it," Mathernova wrote.

She added that President Zelenskyy and the Verkhovna Rada deserve respect for listening to the criticism, submitting a new draft law and ensuring its smooth passage, while political forces should be commended for securing 331 votes in favour.

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Quote: "Ukraine today needs institutions its people can trust. The European Union needs a partner it can trust and rely on. This week, we moved closer to both goals. But the journey is far from over."

Background:

On 31 July, the Verkhovna Rada swiftly considered the presidents draft law aimed at fixing the situation with NABU and SAPO that emerged after the adoption of a controversial bill which made these institutions dependent on the prosecutor general.

The bill was supported by 331 MPs  all those present who participated in the vote. Another 9 MPs did not vote.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos welcomed the result of the vote in the Rada but noted that "challenges remain".

There are also signals that the head of the Economic Security Bureau, chosen through a competitive process, could be appointed next week.

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BRUSSELS (AP)  Text messages exchanged between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and a pharmaceutical boss during the COVID-19 pandemic were seen by her top adviser and have likely been destroyed, the New York Times reported Friday.

Von der Leyen and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla exchanged the messages as COVID-19 ravaged European communities from Portugal to Finland and the EU scrambled to buy millions of hard to find vaccines. She was under intense scrutiny to deliver.

The U.S. newspaper took the European Unions executive branch to court after it refused to share the messages under the blocs transparency laws. In May, the court said the commission had failed to provide a credible explanation for declining access.

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In a letter to the Times dated July 28, the commission said von der Leyens head of cabinet, Bjoern Seibert, had last month examined the phone she uses and its Signal app and did not find any messages corresponding to the description given in the newspapers request.

It said Seibert also checked her phone in 2021 and found the messages only helped to ensure that calls between von der Leyen and Bourla could be arranged as needed, so they were not kept as official documents.

The commission insists text messages and other ephemeral electronic communications do not necessarily constitute documents of interest that should be saved or made public.

Von der Leyen herself was responsible for deciding whether the texts constituted documents of value and worth keeping.

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The commission also noted in its letter that her phone has been replaced several times since the messages were exchanged, the last time in mid-2024. Her cabinet said the old messages were not saved and the phones were formatted and recycled.

Critics accuse von der Leyen and Seibert of centralizing power in the EUs powerful executive branch, tightly controlling who works in the cabinets of the various policy commissioners and vetting communications.

Von der Leyen survived a July 10 no-confidence vote in the European Parliament, the first against a commission president in over a decade, which was called in part over the text messaging scandal dubbed Pfizergate, the alledged misuse of EU funds and doubtful allegations about election interference.
The European Union's top court is to rule on Friday on a list issued by Italy of countries labelled as safe enough for asylum seekers to be returned there.

The list is part of an effort by the right-wing government in Rome to speed up the vetting of asylum requests and to allow fewer people to enter Italy.

The Italian government aims to bring migrants hailing from countries designated as safe and intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea to a reception centre in Albania where their asylum requests are examined under an accelerated procedure.

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Two Bangladeshi nationals challenged the rejection of their requests for international protection based on the assumption that Bangladesh is a safe country as per the list.

The Italian court dealing with the matter called on the European Court of Justice to clarify if the Italian government was allowed to compile the list of safe countries under EU law, if Rome has to unveil its sources for declaring a country as safe and what criteria have to be respected.

With right-wing positions gaining popularity across the 27-member bloc, many EU countries are adapting a tougher stance on migration.

Several capitals are discussing setting up accommodation centres for rejected asylum seekers in countries outside the EU. Italy's push to process protection requests and accommodate rejected migrants in Albania is however facing several legal obstacles.
The European Union has provided six hospitals in East Jerusalem with a total of 22 million ($25.1 million) to support the treatment of patients, including from Gaza and the West Bank, the European Commission announced on Friday.

The payment was made to the Palestinian Authority, with Italy contributing 1 million.

The financial support is meant to allow the hospitals "to continue providing high standards healthcare services to Palestinian patients" despite being "currently under strain due to the ongoing conflict and economic challenges linked to the war in Gaza," the commission said.

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"These hospitals are an integral component of the Palestinian healthcare system, providing specialised medical services that are not available in the public hospitals," a press release said.

Since 2013 the EU and its 27 member countries have supported the six East Jerusalem hospitals with over 213 million, according to commission figures.
Volkswagen has suffered another defeat in its defence against damage claims from owners of diesel cars fitted with a defeat device, after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) sided with two plaintiffs.

The two car owners are demanding compensation after their diesel vehicles were equipped with defeat devices, which play an important role in the Volkswagen emissions scandal that has kept courts busy for years and already cost the German carmaker billions in compensation.

The devices ensured that exhaust gas recirculation was reduced at an outside temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, resulting in an increase in nitrogen oxide emissions and at times in a breach of environmental standards.

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Volkswagen argued in the proceedings that it had assumed the defeat device was permissible and that it would have been approved by national authorities if they had been asked for approval.

The Europeaon Union's top court ruled however that a car manufacturer cannot be released from liability for an unlawful defeat device simply because the competent national authority has granted approval for the vehicle type or the device itself.

In addition, the court clarified that the manufacturer's liability applies both if the illegal defeat device was installed during the vehicle's manufacture and if it was installed at a later date.

The ECJ also stressed that it must be ensured that financial compensation represents appropriate reparation for the damage suffered.

In light of the many customers affected, Germany's Federal Court of Justice had previously issued guidance for lower courts to order a baseline compensation rate of between 5 and 15% of the purchase price, to prevent them from having to go into further detail in every case heard and having to involve an expert.
By Kate Abnett, Valerie Volcovici and Sarah Marsh

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON/BERLIN, August 1 (Reuters) -European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data the United States historically made freely available to the world, and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews.

The effort - which has not been previously reported - marks the most concrete response from the European Union and other European governments so far to the U.S. government's retreat from scientific research under President Donald Trump's administration.

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Since his return to the White House, Trump has initiated sweeping budget cuts to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies, dismantling programs conducting climate, weather, geospatial and health research, and taking some public databases offline.

As those cuts take effect, European officials have expressed increasing alarm that - without continued access to U.S.-supported weather and climate data - governments and businesses will face challenges in planning for extreme weather events and long-term infrastructure investment, according to Reuters interviews. In March, more than a dozen European countries urged the EU Commission to move fast to recruit American scientists who lose their jobs to those cuts.

Asked for comment on NOAA cuts and the EU's moves to expand its own collection of scientific data, the White House Office of Management and Budget said Trump's proposed cuts to the agency's 2026 budget were aimed at programs that spread "fake Green New Scam 'science,'" a reference to climate change research and policy.

"Under President Trumps leadership, the U.S. is funding real science again, Rachel Cauley, an OMB spokesperson, said via email.

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European officials told Reuters that - beyond the risk of losing access to data that is bedrock to the world's understanding of climate change and marine systems - they were concerned by the general U.S. pullback from research.

"The current situation is much worse than we could have expected," Sweden's State Secretary for Education and Research Maria Nilsson, told Reuters. "My reaction is, quite frankly, shock."

The Danish Meteorological Institute described the U.S. government data as "absolutely vital" - and said it relied on several data sets to measure including sea ice in the Arctic and sea surface temperatures. "This isnt just a technical issue, reliable data underpins extreme weather warnings, climate projections, protecting communities and ultimately saves lives," said Adrian Lema, director of the DMI's National Center for Climate Research.

Reuters interviewed officials from eight European countries who said their governments were undertaking reviews of their reliance on U.S. marine, climate and weather data. Officials from seven countries - Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden - described joint efforts now in the early stages to safeguard key health and climate data and research programs.

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LEANING ON THE U.S.

As a priority, the EU is expanding its access to ocean observation data, a senior European Commission official told Reuters. Those data sets are seen as critical to the shipping and energy industries as well as early storm warning systems.

Over the next two years, the senior official said, the EU plans to expand its own European Marine Observation and Data Network which collects and hosts data on shipping routes, seabed habitats, marine litter and other concerns.

The initiative was aimed at "mirroring and possibly replacing US-based services," the senior European Commission official told Reuters.

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Europe is particularly concerned about its vulnerability to U.S. funding cuts to NOAA's research arm that would affect the Global Ocean Observing System, a network of ocean observation programs that supports navigation services, shipping routes and storm forecasting, a second EU official told Reuters.

The insurance industry relies on the Global Ocean Observing System's disaster records for risk modelling. Coastal planners use shoreline, sea-level, and hazard data to guide infrastructure investments. The energy industry uses oceanic and seismic datasets to assess offshore drilling or wind farm viability.

In addition, the senior EU Commission official said, the EU is considering increasing its funding of the Argo program, a part of the Global Ocean Observing System which operates a global system of floats to monitor the world's oceans and track global warming, extreme weather events and sea-level rise.

NOAA last year described the program, in operation for over 25 years, as the "crown jewel" of ocean science. It makes its data freely available to the oil and gas industry, marine tourism and other industries.

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The United States funds 57% of Argo's $40 million annual operating expenses, while the EU funds 23%. The White House and NOAA did not respond to questions about future support for that program.

The European moves to establish independent data collection and play a bigger role in Argo represent a historic break with decades of U.S. leadership in ocean science, said Craig McLean, who retired in 2022 after four decades at the agency. He said U.S. leadership of weather, climate and marine data collection was unmatched, and that through NOAA the U.S. has paid for more than half of the worlds ocean measurements.

European scientists acknowledge the outsized role the U.S. government has played in global scientific research and data collection - and that European countries have grown overly dependent on that work.

"Its a bit like defense: we rely heavily on the U.S. in that area, too. They're trailblazers and role modelsbut that also makes us dependent on them," Katrin Boehning-Gaese, scientific director of Germany's Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, told Reuters.

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'GUERRILLA ARCHIVISTS'

A number of European governments are now taking measures to reduce that dependence. Nordic countries met to coordinate data storage efforts in the Spring, Norwegian Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland told Reuters. European science ministers also discussed the U.S. science budget cuts at a meeting in Paris in May.

Aasland said Norway was setting aside $2 million to back up and store U.S. data to ensure stable access.

The Danish Meteorological Institute in February started downloading historical U.S. climate data in case it is deleted by the U.S. It is also preparing to switch from American observations to alternatives, Christina Egelund, Minister of Higher Education and Science of Denmark, said in an interview.

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"The potentially critical issue is when new observations data stop coming in," the Institute's Lema said. While weather models could continue to operate without U.S. data, he said the quality would suffer.

Meanwhile, the German government has commissioned scientific organizations, including the center, to review its reliance on U.S. databases.

Since Trump returned to the White House, scientists and citizens worldwide have been downloading U.S. databases related to climate, public health or the environment that are slated for decommissioning - calling it "guerrilla archiving."

"We actually received requestsor let's say emergency callsfrom our colleagues in the U.S., who said, 'We have a problem here... and we will have to abandon some datasets, said Frank Oliver Gloeckner, head of the digital archive PANGAEA, which is operated by publicly funded German research institutions.

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About 800 of NOAA's 12,000-strong workforce have been terminated or taken financial incentives to resign as part of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency cuts.

The White House 2026 budget plan seeks to shrink NOAA even further, proposing a $1.8 billion cut, or 27% of the agency's budget, and a near-20% reduction in staffing, bringing down the NOAA workforce to 10,000.

The budget proposal would eliminate the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, NOAA's main research arm, which is responsible for ocean observatory systems including Argo, coastal observing networks, satellite sensors and climate model labs.

It is also reducing its data products. Between April and June, NOAA announced on its website the decommissioning of 20 datasets or products related to earthquakes and marine science.

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NOAA did not respond to requests for comment.

Gloeckner said there were no legal hurdles to storing the U.S. government data as it was already in the public domain.

But without significant funds and infrastructure, there are limits to what private scientists can save, said Denice Ross, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit science policy group and the U.S. government's chief data officer during Joe Biden's administration.

Databases need regular updating - which requires the funding and infrastructure that only governments can provide, Ross said.

Over the last few months, the Federation and EU officials have held a series of talks with European researchers, U.S. philanthropies and health and environment advocacy groups to discuss how to prioritize what data to save.

There is an opportunity for other nations and institutions and philanthropies to fill in the gaps if U.S. quality starts to falter," she said.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels, Valerie Volcovici in Washington, Sarah Marsh in Berlin and Alison Withers in Copenhagen. Additional Reporting by Andreas Rinke. Editing by Suzanne Goldenberg)
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette visited Horry County on Tuesday to mark the official opening of Horry-Georgetown Technical Colleges new Nursing and Health Sciences Institute.

The school hosted the dedication ceremony on its Grand Strand campus. The $15 million, state-of-the-art facility serves as a modern simulation and training center designed to support students across all 18 of the schools health care programs.

Officials say the investment will allow the school to increase enrollment for nursing and other healthcare programs.

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News13 also asked Evette about her intended run for South Carolina governor.

What Im proud of is everyone whos thrown his hat into the ring, Im the only non-career politician, she said. Im a conservative businesswoman, Im a mother of three, Ive signed the front of paychecks, Ive balanced budgets, Ive created good-paying jobs. So thats what sets me apart from the pack. Im going to continue to send that message out across the state.

* * *

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.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
(NewsNation)  Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith believes evil came to Starke, Florida, last Friday when Christopher Jones was fatally shot while picking his children up from day care.

The woman accused of killing Jones is the mother of his children, Mindy Osteen.

Osteen and Jones kids were in the back seat of the car when she began shooting, putting them in harms way. She claims she shot Jones in self-defense.

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Sheriff Smith told Banfield on Thursday that the children were strapped in their car seats during and after the shooting.

Pure evil came to town that day in our community, a lady, if you want to call her a lady, Ive got better names for it, but probably not appropriate to what shes done, Smith said.

Couples children helped police nab Devils Den killing suspect

After reviewing surveillance footage, the sheriff tells NewsNation that Jones was cordial with the mother of his children while picking up his kids.

He got into the drivers side of his truck before being shot several times.

She pulls a handgun, leans in the vehicle and just instantaneously fires off three rounds inside that vehicle, takes like a stutter step back  and then she eases back in and fires off two more rounds from that semi-automatic weapon, Smith said.

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The sheriff said his investigators found a social media post by Osteen from a few months ago. Jones was wearing a suit in a photo and Osteen commented, You bought that suit for your funeral.

It leads you to believe that shed been planning this for some time, Smith 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.
A former police officer has been banned from the profession after being convicted of two counts of sexual assault.

Hatel Patel, who resigned from the Greater Manchester Police while under investigation in October 2022, pleaded guilty to the sexual assault of two women over the age of 16.

The 39-year-old was given an eight month sentence, which was suspended for two years, at Manchester Magistrates' Court in March.

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During a police misconduct hearing, Chief Constable Stephen Watson said Patel would have been dismissed without notice if he had not previously resigned.

In his ruling, Mr Watson said Patel, who was not present at the hearing, acted in a "thoroughly offensive, unprofessional and disturbing manner" while commending the victims for their "courage and integrity" in coming forward.

He said: "Mr Patel has paid a heavy price for his offending.

"He rightly stands convicted of sexual offences; it has caused him to lose his position as a constable and he has lost his good name and reputation.

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"Given the features of this case I find I am unable to reconcile the maintenance of public confidence with doing anything other than making the clearest declaration that had Mr Patel not resigned, I would have dismissed him from the service without notice."

Patel has been placed on the College of Policing's barred list.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

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A former porn actor and gay rights activist will be Colombia's new equality minister, a government source told AFP Friday.

Juan Carlos Florian is to be named to the cabinet, an official said, in a move sure to spark debate in the deeply Catholic nation.

Florian, who was a sex worker and creator of gay porn, will head up a department that guarantees vulnerable communities get access to social programs.

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He has already served as a junior minister and worked in various international organizations.

More than 50 ministers have passed through leftist Gustavo Petro's cabinet since he took office three years ago.

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Ukraines economic crimes watchdog nominees said he is likely to be appointed next week following international pressure on the government to accept his candidacy.

Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, who was nominated by an independent selection committee on June 27, agreed to take a polygraph test to prove that he has no ties to Russia after a what he called a "constructive" phone call with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko on Aug. 1, Tsyvinsky told the Kyiv Independent.

The prime minister's sudden about-face follows weeks of controversy over his appointment after the government rejected his candidacy over alleged Russia ties early last month, a claim critics have called baseless. Pressure to appoint Tsyvinsky domestically and from European partners only grew after Kyiv moved to curtail the independence of Ukraine's key anti-corruption agencies last week.

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"The truth is that there is no compromising information. We agreed on a method that is acceptable for resolving all questions that could be there, so that next week, as I understand it, we can finish this story," he said.

Svyrydenko announced on her Telegram channel that she had spoken to Tsyvinsky about taking the polygraph test, saying it would "rid the situation of any manipulations."

"I expect that as early as next week, we will be able to make the appropriate decision that will allow the bureaus work to be renewed and will be a significant step toward a positive reset in relations between the state and business," she wrote.

Tsyvinsky said that while he believes he will take the position as head of the Economic Security Bureau in the middle of next week, on Aug. 6 or 7, he is not celebrating yet as the paperwork still needs to be signed.

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The government initially rejected Tsyvinsky as the new head of the bureau after Ukraine's security service sent a letter to the Cabinet of Ministers noting his estranged father had Russian citizenship  information the selection committee was already aware of.

Tsyvinsky says he has not spoken to his father in years and the committee didnt raise it as a concern, considering Tsyvinsky had already passed vetting processes. He also had two decades of experience working in law enforcement and a decade of working as a detective at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)  the same agency that was targeted in last week's legislation undermining its independence.

In addition to calling the decision politically motivated, anti-corruption activists and opposition lawmakers also pointed out it was in violation of the laws creating the bureau, which stipulate that the government has 10 days to appoint the winner of the competition.

International partners began putting pressure on the government to adhere to the committee's decision to appoint Tsyvinsky by the July 31 deadline set by set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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On the day of the deadline, the European Commission urged Svyrydenko to appoint Tsyvinsky as director in a letter seen by the Kyiv Independent. The EC said there was no real information that Tsyvinsky was a risk.

Simultaneously, the EC noted the issue was one of the demands set by anti-corruption protestors over the last week. Protests began on July 22 when the government ignited outrage by passing a law stripping two anticorruption bodies of their independence, which it overturned on July 31 in response to the backlash.

Created in 2021 to investigate economic crimes, the bureau has been accused of inefficiency and political meddling.

In addition to a requirement under its IMF loan program, reforming the bureau is also part of Ukraine's broader reform commitments under its EU accession process.



Polygraph tests have become a common move of President Volodymyr Zelenskys administration in response to various threats, despite having questionable results. A new bill that passed on July 31 to restore independence to anticorruption bodies included mandatory polygraph tests every two years for employees with access to state secrets, to clear out Russian influence.



Anti-corruption watchdogs previously told the Kyiv Independent there is little evidence that Russian influence was an issue in the two targeted agencies: NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor (SAPO).

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Yana Prots contributed reporting to this article.

Read also: Editorial: Democracy won the day in Ukraine  but it will be tested again

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
By Gram Slattery and Ted Hesson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department is planning to spend up to $7.85 million to help Costa Rica deport immigrants, according to a document seen by Reuters, under an arrangement similar to a Biden-era program that drew criticism from migrant advocates.

According to the document, the State Department will transfer money from its "economic support fund" - which is typically used to boost economic development in allied countries - to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement. DHS will then work with Costa Rican authorities to facilitate deportations from the Central American nation.

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Earlier in the year, Costa Rica agreed to a Trump administration request that it accept 200 immigrants originating from Africa, Asia and Europe who were in the U.S. illegally. While the plan was for Costa Rica to send those immigrants back to their countries of origin, dozens remain in the Central American country.

Asked for comment, the State Department suggested that the new funds were mainly intended to help Costa Rica deport migrants passing through the country on the way to the U.S., rather than repatriate those immigrants deported from the United States.

"The program will build capacity of the Costa Rican immigration authorities to stop the flow of illegal migration through its borders, while also providing training and resources on asylum screening," a spokesperson said.

While the document gave details of the planned money transfer, it was not clear when the deportation effort will happen or if it could be subject to changes.

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According to the document, the Costa Rica arrangement is modeled "in part" on a deal signed in 2024 between the administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden and Panama, under which the U.S. paid for Panama to detain and deport migrants moving through the country as they traveled from Colombia to the U.S.

Some migrant advocates and elected Democrats said at the time that the deal could essentially stop vulnerable populations from having access to the U.S. asylum system.

"The Department intends to support the Government of Costa Rica in conducting deportation operations of migrants that do not have international protections or other legal grounds to remain," reads the document, which was sent in recent weeks to some congressional offices.

"Activities would provide Costa Rica with technical advice and logistical support, including air transportation, for deportation procedures."

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Costa Rica's ministries of public security and immigration referred questions to the president's office and the foreign affairs ministry. Neither entity responded to requests for comment.

NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPORTATION

Since U.S. President Donald Trump entered office in January, his administration has relied on a number of novel arrangements to facilitate deportations from the U.S.

These have included deals with other countries - including Costa Rica - to accept immigrants in the U.S. illegally, regardless of whether those migrants have any connection to the nations where they are sent. Some of the countries accepting deportees have weak institutions or poor human rights records, raising safety concerns.

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While the arrangement outlined in the document is similar to the Biden administration's 2024 deal with Panama, there are differences between the situation in Costa Rica now and in Panama in 2024.

Northward migration through the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama and onward to Costa Rica and the U.S. has slowed dramatically.

At the same time, some Venezuelan migrants have been transiting through Costa Rica on a southward journey, after giving up on entering the U.S. amid Trump's crackdown on unlawful migration and his elimination of Biden's humanitarian parole programs.

The document did not specify to what countries Costa Rica would deport the migrants, leaving open the possibility that some could be sent to a third-party country.

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It was not clear if the Trump administration plans to set up similar programs to fund deportations from other Latin American nations.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has traveled to several Latin American countries in recent months to discuss immigration issues, including Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Chile.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Ted Hesson in Washington; Additional reporting by Alvaro Murillo in San Jose; Editing by Don Durfee, Alistair Bell and Michael Perry)
Twenty-five female business leaders have been named finalists for the 2025 Accolades Awards, hosted by the Southern Colorado Womens Chamber of Commerce.

Since 1994, the annual Accolades Awards have honored and highlighted the accomplishments of women who are making a significant impact in the southern Colorado business community, the event webpage states. This years awards luncheon will be held from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in Colorado Springs, 1775 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd.

Were thrilled to celebrate the remarkable leaders and businesses making an impact in Southern Colorado. These finalists exemplify innovation, dedication and community leadership  and we cant wait to honor them at Accolades 2025! the chamber said in a July 25 Facebook post.

Award categories are Business Leader of the Year, Minority Owned Business of the Year, Emerging Leader of the Year, the Don Brown Entrepreneur Award, Member of the Year and Veteran Owned Business of the Year.

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Internationally acclaimed and Hall of Fame keynote speaker, therapist, comedienne and bestselling author Connie Podesta is the keynote speaker for the 2025 Accolades Awards. Her speech, Life would be easy if it werent for other people, will give attendees the tools to decode human behavior, lead with confidence, communicate with influence and create a culture of accountability and excellence, a Thursday news release said.

Immediately after the awards luncheon, Podesta will host an exclusive deep dive session on leadership, expanding on themes from her keynote in an interactive workshop format. This is a separate ticketed event from the luncheon.

For more information on the awards, this years finalists, Podesta, and to register to attend the 2025 Accolades Awards, visit scwcc.com/accolades/. Online registration closes Tuesday.
By Nidhi Verma and Gleb Stolyarov

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW (Reuters) -At least two vessels loaded with Russian oil bound for refiners in India have diverted to other destinations following new U.S. sanctions, trade sources said, and LSEG trade flows showed.

The U.S. Treasury Department this week imposed sanctions on more than 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities, and ships, some of which are involved in transporting Russian oil.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has urged countries to halt purchases of oil from Moscow, threatening 100% tariffs unless Russia agrees to a significant peace deal with Ukraine.

Three ships - the Aframaxes Tagor and Guanyin and the Suezmax Tassos - were scheduled to deliver Russian oil to Indian ports this month, trade sources said. All three vessels are under U.S. sanctions.

Tagor was bound for Chennai on India's east coast, while Guanyin and Tassos were headed to ports in western India, according to trade sources and Russian ports data.

Tighter Western sanctions aimed at cutting Russia's oil revenue, seen as funding its war against Ukraine, have been increasingly hitting Russian oil supplies for India, which buys more than a third of its oil needs from Russia.

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Tagor is now heading to Dalian in China, while Tassos is diverting to Port Said in Egypt, the data shows.

Guanyin remains on course to Sikka, a port used by Reliance Industries and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd..

Indian Oil Corp, which was to receive the Tagor shipment, and BPCL did not respond to Reuters' emailed requests for comment.

Zulu Shipping, linked to Panama-flagged Tassos and Tagor, and Guanyin-owner Silver Tetra Marine could not be reached for comments. Both companies are under U.S. sanctions.

A Reliance spokesperson said that "neither of these two vessels, Guanyin and Tassos, is coming to us".

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Reliance has previously purchased oil in Guanyin.

Separately, two other vessels, Achilles and Elyte, loaded with Russian oil, are preparing to discharge Russian Urals for Reliance, according to LSEG data. Both these vessels are sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. India has condemned the EU sanctions.

(Additional Reporting by Chen Aizhu in Singapore, Editing by Louise Heavens)
Mosquito species typically found in tropical and subtropical climates are becoming increasingly common in Europe, bringing with them diseases such as West Nile virus and dengue.

What's happening?

Warmer weather and increased travel is to blame for this shift, according to Euronews.

The publication cited data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control that noted 1,436 cases of West Nile and 304 dengue infections were acquired in Europe in 2024, compared to just 201 over the two previous years combined. France has already had seven outbreaks of chikungunya this summer, it added.

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"It's an exponential curve," Jan Semenza, an environmental epidemiologist at Sweden's Umea University, told the news site.

Semenza is one of several researchers who believe that certain mosquito-borne illnesses typically found in tropical and subtropical regions, such as chikungunya and dengue, will eventually become endemic in Europe.

Why are these trends concerning?

This isn't limited to Europe. Scientists warn that rising global temperatures and wetter weather in regions across the globe are creating the perfect conditions for disease-carrying mosquitoes to thrive and expand their ranges.

For instance, a recent study predicts that several mosquito species will spread across the Americas in coming years thanks to warming weather trends.

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Examples abound. For one, 2024 was already named "the worst year for dengue cases on record" by the World Mosquito Program. Health officials in Florida sounded the alarm there after several cases of locally acquired dengue in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. And many areas of the United States, such as New Jersey, are reporting earlier West Nile virus seasons this year.

What's being done about mosquito-borne illnesses?

Across the world, governments are trying to help minimize mosquito populations to protect citizens. There's a "bounty" program in one Manila, Philippines, neighborhood that pays residents for any mosquitoes they can round up, dead or alive. In a Florida county, officials are turning to X-ray technology to zap invasive mosquitoes.

Still, Semenza told Euronews it's impossible to eliminate mosquitoes. That's why he suggests that European governments focus on other efforts, such as boosting surveillance in hotter southern countries during summer, especially near airports and other transit hubs.

Euronews also summarized initiatives from across the region that are meant to reduce disease burdens. For instance, people in Spain can submit photos of mosquitoes to an artificial intelligence-powered identification app that issues an alert if the species hasn't been detected in the area before.

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Near Nairobi, Kenya's capital, residents living at the edge of a famed national park are facing a growing threat: hungry lions.

With natural prey dwindling and migration routes blocked by urban sprawl, the big cats are increasingly targeting livestock. According to The Guardian, one expert describes the situation starkly, calling lions "victims and villains in a drama of our own making."

What's happening?

Nairobi National Park is the only major wildlife reserve within a capital city. Though fenced on most sides, its southern boundary remains open  the last link to broader savanna ecosystems. That land runs through the Maasai community territory, where families like Isaac ole Kishoyian's are making tough sacrifices to keep it open.

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Kishoyian, a cattle herder in Empakasi, has fenced off only a small corner of his land. "A lion managed to enter the cattle pen while I was away," he told The Guardian. "My wife scared it off before it could kill one of my cows."

Lion sightings are now common. Another resident, Phyllis Enenoa, says she has lost several animals. "I don't know how long [my injured cow] will survive in that condition," she said, per The Guardian.

Why is this important?

As Kenya's rangelands give way to roads and development, wildlife inside the park is becoming genetically isolated. Dr. Joseph Ogutu of Hohenheim University warns this could lead to "ecological extinction," where inbreeding weakens survival traits and population health. With wild prey scarce, lions increasingly hunt livestock, raising the risk of conflict.

For pastoralist families, that means more than economic loss. It brings daily stress, safety fears, and pressure to abandon traditional livelihoods, especially as attacks grow more frequent.

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"The choice is stark," Ogutu told The Guardian. "Feed lions with functioning ecosystems, or watch them feed on livestock until neither can be sustained."

What's being done about it?

With most of Kenya's wildlife living outside parks, the government has begun compensating landowners who preserve the habitat. In 2025, 256 landowners received $175,000 through a pilot program that paid them to keep their land unfenced  approximately $ 0.68 per acre per year.

"I got 6,000 shillings [$34] for my 20 acres," said herder Daniel Parsaurei, per The Guardian. "It's not much, but it helps. If we open up the land, lions can find food in the wild again."

Experts say that expanding these efforts is critical, not just for wildlife, but also to ensure that rural communities aren't forced to choose between safety and conservation.

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Beachcombers in Ketchikan, Alaska, found shells of invasive European green crabs on a sandy state park shore in June, making this the newest location in a fight with these harmful non-native species, reported the Alaska Beacon.

What's happening?

The shells were found during a beach survey June 6 as part of a University of Alaska Southeast class. After this first find, more shells turned up at other spots along Ketchikan's road system.

These crabs first showed up in Alaska in 2022 on Annette Island, about 30 miles south of the recent Ketchikan find. The Metlakatla Indian Community has caught around 3,000 of these invasive crabs since they were first spotted, with more than 300 trapped on nearby Gravina Island just last month.

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"They have continued to spread. They will continue to spread," said Barbara Morgan, a UAS professor who helped lead the beach surveys, per the Beacon. "They are expected to spread through Southeast Alaska, probably most of Southcentral  kind of the southern coast of Southcentral."

Why are invasive green crabs concerning?

These destructive crabs threaten Alaska's marine ecosystem and fishing industry. They eat salmon fry, young Dungeness crabs, and other native fish species. They also destroy eelgrass beds, which serve as essential habitats for many fish species, including commercially valuable salmon.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warns Alaskans that green crabs "could potentially damage Alaska's multibillion-dollar fisheries industries, especially for salmon, crab, and mariculture operations."

What's being done about invasive species?

The Metlakatla Indian Community leads Alaska's most active response effort, establishing a detection program in 2020 that has trapped thousands of green crabs. This "functional eradication" approach focuses on protecting key sites vital to native species, such as salmon and Dungeness crab.

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The Alaska Invasive Species Partnership coordinates broader work among government agencies, university experts, nonprofits, and community organizations, per the Beacon. It advocates for establishing a stronger state invasive species council to coordinate broader protection and facilitate a quicker response.

Bills now in the Alaska Legislature would create such a council. The House approved earlier attempts but didn't reach final approval before the sessions ended, per the Beacon.

If you spot what might be a European green crab, you can help by learning to identify them correctly. They have five spikes on each side of their shells and three bumps between their eyes. They can be green, brown, yellow, reddish, or a combination of these colors.

Contact your local wildlife office if you spot suspicious crabs or shells. Supporting laws for invasive species control can also help shield Alaska's valuable marine ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.

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Dogs have been given some pretty cool jobs over the years, but scientists may have found the best one yet for them. According to ENCA, dogs in South Africa are finding endangered tortoises.

Meet Delta, a border collie that works with its handler, Esther Matthew, from South Africa's Endangered Wildlife Trust.

Delta searches the grassy area near Cape Town for geometric tortoises that have a yellow star-like pattern. When the dog found the tortoise, it stopped and lay down. Matthew then went to search for the tortoise before throwing a foam Frisbee as the reward. This is how the dogs are trained. They associate the smell of the tortoise with something good, in this case, the toy.

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The tortoise Delta found was a female one, according to Matthew, because of its flat belly.

Delta and these dogs are playing a crucial role in finding these endangered species, which are on the verge of extinction.

Sadly, as early as the 1990s, there were only 1,500 left. Now, there are estimated to be several hundred left, according to conservation authority Cape Nature Biologist Andrew Turner.

He added, "There are very few places left in the Western Cape that still support these tortoises. It's really just a couple of nature reserves and pieces of good habitat left on people's private property."

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Due to development, their habitat has become fragmented, making them more vulnerable to other animals, fires, and droughts, which scientists warn are increasing with warming temperatures. Due to fragmentation, the tortoises are cut off from finding more of their species.

The good news, Matthew said, is that "We've seen a dramatic increase in the number of finds with the dogs."

Dogs are more effective at these searches and have an easier time finding juveniles and hatchlings that humans often overlook.

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Unfortunately, the geometric tortoise is not the only animal in peril. For example, the Florida scrub jay has become rare. However, the Environmental Conservancy of North Port aimed to create a sanctuary for these birds.

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These declines in numbers are not an isolated event. A 2024 report showed that since 1970, the global wildlife population decreased by about 73%.

Dogs like Delta are not the only part of the plan to save the tortoises. Endangered Wildlife Trust aims to build partnerships with homeowners.

However, bringing back species from the brink is challenging work, which is why it's vital to explore critical climate issues to find solutions for these problems.

Endangered Wildlife Trust's dry lands conservation program lead, Zanne Brink, said, "Our biggest challenge is to get enough information to prevent critical biodiversity areas from being lost to unsustainable land use.

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Claim:

An Arkansas man pleaded guilty to child endangerment after impregnating a 15-year-old girl, avoiding jail time.

Rating:

Rating: True

In late July 2025, rumors circulated online that an Arkansas man who was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault of a minor got out of jail time by accepting a plea deal. The rumor further purported the sexual assault resulted in the minor in question becoming pregnant.

Users across social media platforms like Facebook (archived) and Instagram (archived, archived) spread the mug shot of the man in posts featuring text that read, for example, "man impregnated a child, and the judge let him walk."

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Some users added their own commentary such as "I'm infuriated but not surprised."

This is 23 year old Mason Lee Gibson and he impregnated a child and ended up only getting probation!  pic.twitter.com/Vic35MYm3C  Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) July 22, 2025

The claim that an Arkansas man pleaded guilty to child endangerment after impregnating a minor and avoided jail time is true.

Mason Lee Gipson was the man in question who entered his guilty plea to the circuit court of Craighead County, Arkansas, on July 17, 2025, according to official court documents.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Gipson voluntarily went in for questioning on Aug. 6, 2024, following a complaint filed with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) on July 30, 2024.

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The affidavit stated the complaint to DHS involved an incident "between a 15 year old female and unknown 22 year old male. In the incident the two subjects had sexual intercourse resulting in the 15 year old becoming pregnant. The 15 year old stated that the 22 year old was friend's [sic] with her dad. The resulting investigation revealed that the 22 year old was Mason Gipson."

Further, the affidavit reported "Mason said he had also been drinking heavily. Mason admitted to having sexual intercourse with the 15 year old female. Mason stated that he knew it was wrong and that he wasn't in the right state of mind."

A search of the Arkansas Judiciary Case Search for Gipson's name also revealed a substantial number of traffic and child support violations beginning in 2021. The same document stated Gipson has three children ages 5, 2 and "newborn," though it is unknown if the "newborn" in question refers to the child with the victim.

The page listing Gipson's child endangerment charge showed he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of "endangering the welfare of a minor  2nd degree" on July 17, 2025. The original filing against Gipson, dated Sept. 9, 2024, charged him with a more substantial "sexual assault in the fourth degree" felony which came with a fine "up to $10,000.00 and/or up to 6 years" in prison. However, the charge and resulting sentence were lessened after Gipson agreed to a plea deal.

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According to the sentencing order, the judge decreed Gipson would not be made to register as a sex offender despite the nature of the admitted crime. Further, another court document showed Gipson was fined $690 in restitution for the victim and given 12 months of supervised probation in lieu of jail time. In addition, the court declared he must complete a mental health assessment as well as "parenting classes."

Plea deals are often used as a method of efficacy within the judicial system. According to a paper published by Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School, "scholars estimate that at least 90 percent of state and federal cases are resolved by plea bargain. The vast and persistent use of pleas to decide huge case volumes has made the practice an engine of efficiency in the courts."

Sources:

Affidavit: Man Accused of Impregnating Child Blames Alcohol. 2024. www.kait8.com, https://www.kait8.com/video/2024/08/07/affidavit-man-accused-impregnating-child-blames-alcohol/.

Case Loading  Arkansas Judiciary. https://caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad/case/16JCR-24-1012. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

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Charges. Circuit Court of Craighead County, Arkansas, 9 Sep. 2024, https://archive.ph/MaSK1.

DMM, Adam Roberts. "Arkansas Man Who Police Say Admitted to Impregnating a Child Avoids Jail." KHBS, 23 Jul. 2025, https://www.4029tv.com/article/arkansas-probation-impregnating-child/65477545.

Guilty Plea Statement. Circuit Court of Craighead County, Arkansas, 17 Jul. 2025, https://archive.ph/RIGlW.

Hessick, Carissa Byrne. Plea Bargains: Efficient or Unjust? | Judicature. 21 Jun. 2023, https://judicature.duke.edu/articles/plea-bargains-efficient-or-unjust/.

Order of Probation or Suspending Imposition of Sentence, or Judgment and Commitment. Circuit Court of Craighead County, Arkansas, 17 Jul. 2025, https://archive.ph/Hxgna.

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Probable Cause Affidavit. District Court of Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas, 9 Sep. 2024, https://archive.ph/XLdK2.

Search Results  Arkansas Judiciary. https://caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad/search?context=participants&firstName=Mason&middleName=Lee&lastName=Gipson. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Sentencing Order. Circuit Court of Craighead County, Arkansas, 17 Jul. 2025, https://archive.ph/aBiSX.


Did former President Barack Obama charge the Biden Administration $18 million a year for consulting? No, that's not true: The post spreading that claim originated on a Facebook page with a satire disclaimer and a warning that all the contents of the page are fabricated. The owner of the page is known for tricking conservatives into liking and sharing made-up content. There is no evidence that it is real.

The claim originated in a post (archived here) published by the America's Last Line Of Defense Facebook page on April 8, 2025. The caption read "Obama has always been a crook". The meme read:

Obama Charged the Biden Administration $18 Million a Year for 'Consulting.' No Other Ex-President has Ever Charged a Fee to Offer Advice to Their Successor.

This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:

Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Thu Jul 31 15:37:17 2025 UTC

The claim continued to spread on social media without a satire label months after the satire was published.

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There is no evidence that the claim is real. A Google search (archived here) for "Obama Biden $18 million consulting" found no evidence supporting the claim, only fact checks confirming it was false.

The account that shared the post is the creation of Christopher Blair, a self-professed liberal from Maine, who for years has run networks of websites set up to troll conservatives with made-up news items in order to get them to share his posts. He uses the nickname "Busta Troll." A 2018 BBC profile called Blair "the Godfather of fake news," describing him as "one of the world's most prolific writers of disinformation."

His websites usually have multiple satire disclaimers and the stories very often contain obvious hints they are not real, like category names indicating they are fiction, links to "sources" that instead go to funny or offensive images or an "S for Satire" logo added to the images used as illustration. Another telltale sign is the name "Art Tubolls" (anagram for "Busta Troll") for characters in the stories. Blair also frequently pays homage to two of his friends who passed away by using their names ("Joe Barron" and "Sandy Batt") in stories.

Blair's stories have been widely copied by foreign website networks trying to make money by spamming American conservatives with clickbait headlines.
FAIRWAY, Kan.  A family of five has been forced out of their Fairway, Kansas, home following a fire caused by a lithium-ion battery.

Fire investigators said a lithium-ion battery for a lawnmower is to blame.

Shawnee police arrest man suspected of stabbing someone Thursday afternoon

From charging your phone to e-bikes and e-lawnmowers with rechargeable batteries, fire officials said there can be dangers associated with the lithium-ion batteries, even with normal use.

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When you use a lithium-ion battery properly it can still pose a problem, Fire Chief Steve Chick, Jr. said.

Consolidated Fire District 2 crews got called to the house fire in Fairway just after 5 p.m. Monday.

Firefighters found heavy flames coming from the garage and venting out the back. The fire also spread to the above living space.

Chick said investigators believe the source of the fire is a lithium-ion battery for a lawnmower that was charging in the garage.

Chick said the family reported just finishing yard work. They put the battery on the charger and less than 15 minutes later  it was on fire.

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I would say a day like this, when youve got high heat, high humidity, it was probably very warm in the garage where the battery was being charged, and the homeowner did nothing wrong that we know of, they just charged their battery, Chick said. Batteries can enter a thermal runaway situation and once they do, you get a rapid expansion of heat in product, and that can be, what some people call an explosion, and from that point the heat and fire spread can be quick.

See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri

FOX4 spoke with Fire Marshal Todd Kirk, who said thermal runaway is when the battery gets hot and the heat cant dissipate as fast as it accumulates, potentially starting fires, or forcing explosions.

He reminds people to store batteries where its not excessively hot, or cold and be aware of other potential problems concerning the batteries.

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Inspect your rechargeable batteries periodically, Kirk said. If theyre hot to the touch or have a foul smell or deformed in any way, dont use them.

The Sedalia Fire Department shared photos on social media and told FOX4, over the past two days, they ran two lithium-ion battery related fire calls.

Thankfully, no homes caught fire.

The Fire Inspector said on Wednesday, an e-bike was charging in a home when a lithium-ion battery exploded, starting a fire.

The homeowners heard a loud pop and found the bike on fire.

One person rushed to move it to the yard, suffering burns to their legs, according to Sedalia Fire.

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The day prior, a phone charger overheated and burned a hole in a couch.

The fire inspector said the owner unplugged the charger before flames broke out.

Put your phone on a nightstand, Kirk said. On a solid surface thats not covered where it can dissipate heat.

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Fire Officials shared safety information:

UL Mark:

Look for the UL Mark when buying devices, as it indicates the product has been tested to nationally recognized safety standards.

Use the Correct Charger:

Always use the charger specifically designed for your e-bike battery. Using an incorrect charger can damage the battery and potentially lead to safety hazards.

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Avoid Overcharging:

Modern e-bike batteries and chargers are often designed with overcharge protection, but its still best to unplug the charger once the battery is fully charged. Avoid leaving the battery charging overnight.

Charge in a Safe Location:

Charge the battery in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated area. Keep it away from flammable materials, ideally on a non-flammable surface. Avoid charging in living spaces, especially bedrooms.

Monitor Charging:

Pay attention to the battery while its charging. If you notice any unusual heat, swelling, or other warning signs, unplug the charger immediately and contact the manufacturer for guidance.

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Avoid Charging Unattended:

If you cant monitor the charging process, use a timer to ensure the charger is turned off after a set time.

Dont Use Extension Cords:

Avoid using extension cords or power strips for charging, as they can overheat.

Manufacturer Instructions:

Always adhere to the manufacturers guidelines for charging and storage, including using the correct charger and power adapter.

Charging Environment:

Charge devices on a hard, non-flammable surface, at room temperature, and away from flammable materials.

Regular Inspections:

Check chargers and devices for any signs of damage, such as cracked cases or frayed cords.

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Battery Replacement:

When replacing a battery, choose the manufacturers recommended battery for your specific device.

Avoid Alternatives:

Do not use aftermarket or generic chargers and batteries, as these can lead to safety issues.

Fire Safety:

Be aware of the risks associated with lithium-ion batteries and take necessary precautions to prevent fires, such as storing devices away from flammable materials and avoiding charging on soft surfaces.

Smoke Alarms and Fire Extinguishers:

Install smoke alarms and charged batteries installed to notify you quickly if a fire occurs and have an extinguisher ready in case you escape route is blocked by fire.

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Fire Officials encourage people to have a fire extinguisher on hand in case thermal runaway occurs and call 911 immediately.

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The Daily Show on Thursday aired a damning montage of correspondent Jordan Kleppers past exchanges with Donald Trump supporters about late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the presidents onetime close friend.

Comedy Central

The MAGA supporters expressed outrage over Epsteins crimes, but then backpedaled when Klepper pointed out his ties to Trump.

Comedy Central

One woman agreed she could never support someone who associates with somebody like Epstein, only to fume when Klepper pointed out the Trump-Epstein link, likening him to a fake fucker who thinks youre a journalist, youre not. Klepper calmly replied, Im not.

Comedy Central

Related: "My Generation Will Never Forgive You": 25 Of The Very Best And Very True Political Tweets From The Last Week

The clip underscored what Klepper described as a clear double standard among Trumps base, who are now demanding the release of documents on Epstein, which is being stalled by the Trump administration.

Comedy Central

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Related: Gavin Newsom Has Been Roasting MAGA Left And Right, And WOW, Is It Entertaining

So how will this group react if the Epstein files are released and Trump is in there? Klepper asked. Im sure we can expect a very rational response  or maybe not.

Comedy Central

You can watch the full clip here:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Also in In the News: "How Can You Possibly Be This Ignorant": 26 Tweets Calling Out The Sh*t Show That Is Politics This Week

Also in In the News: Trump Can't Stop Talking About Pete Buttigieg, And Pete Responded With One Simple Tweet

Also in In the News: President Obama Just Responded To Donald Trump's "Bizarre" Claims Of Him Committing Treason

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
Good morning and happy Aug. 1! Temperatures out the door are sitting in the lower 60s to upper 50s across the state under a mostly clear sky.

We will see a perfect day today and just in time to open up the state fair! Temperatures will climb in the upper 70s this afternoon under a mostly sunny sky.

It will be a great weekend to head out to the Indiana State Fair with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s with sunny skies. Heat will return next week with limited rain chances.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTTV CBS4Indy.
The COVID-19 pandemic five years ago pushed thousands of Colorado students out of brick-and-mortar classrooms and into homeschooling  and many have not returned.
After a summer with multiple stretches of sweltering heat, some North Dakota residents could be wondering if it's ever going to cool down.

While it's only a matter of time until fall arrives, how much the weather will cool depends on where you live in the state, at least according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.

Here's what the Almanac predicts for fall weather in North Dakota.

When is the first day of fall?

In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox marks the start of fall, though the exact date varies by year. In 2025, it's Sept. 22.

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However, meteorological fall always runs from Sept. 1 to Nov. 30, which makes it easier to "calculate seasonal statistics from the monthly statistics, both of which are very useful for agriculture, commerce, and a variety of other purposes," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

What does the Old Farmer's Almanac predict for fall in North Dakota?

In eastern North Dakota and across the Upper Midwest region, September and October are expected to be cooler and drier than normal, the publication says.

The average temperature in September is expected to be 57 degrees in the region, or 2 degrees below normal, with 3.5 inches of rain, slightly above normal. There will be "frequent rain, drizzle and some early snow in the north, with brief warm-ups late in the month," the Almanac says.

In October, the average temperature is expected to be 45 degrees, or 2 degrees below normal, with 1.5 inches of rain, an inch below normal. The month will feature a "mix of chilly rain and snow, especially in the north, with a few sunny, warmer days mid- to late month," the publication says.

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However, in western North Dakota, which the Almanac includes in its High Plains region, fall weather is predicted to be warmer-than-average with more rainfall than normal.

How accurate is the Old Farmer's Almanac?

The Old Farmer's Almanac claims that it correctly predicts the weather about 80% of the time. The publication has been making weather predictions for more than two centuries.

It doesn't predict the weather in the same way as a day-to-day meteorologist. Instead, it compares solar patterns and historical weather conditions with current solar activity.

The publication's overall accuracy for the winter of 2023-2024 was 64%, which it attributes to "how abnormal recent weather patterns have been."

The Old Farmer's Almanac 2025 fall forecast.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: North Dakota fall weather: What does the Old Farmer's Almanac predict?
(Reuters) -Sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip on Friday, prompting the military to launch an interceptor missile towards a suspected threat, the Israeli military said.

The military later confirmed that the launch was triggered by a false alarm, and no threat was detected.

Israeli media reported on Friday that U.S. Middle East peace envoy Steve Witkoff is visiting a food distribution centre in Gaza.

(Reporting by Tala Ramadan and Ahmed Elimam; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Daredevil Felix Baumgartner  who successfully completed a 24-mile skydive from the edge of space in 2012  tragically perished in a motorized paragliding accident when he suddenly fell ill, lost control and fatally crashed into a hotel swimming pool in Italy, sources say.

The Austrian extreme sportsman, 56, died instantly in the freak mishap, and a facility employee was struck by the glider and brought to a hospital with neck injuries, according to Sky Austria.

Hours before his deadly descent, concerned Baumgartner griped on his Instagram Stories about there being too much wind.

The fearless stuntman was renowned for his astonishing feats  including his famous 2012 jump, in which he used a helium balloon to soar to the stratosphere before hurtling back to Earth. Baumgartners four minute and 19 second freefall saw his speed peak at 843.6 mph before he deployed his parachute. The record-setting accomplishment made him the first person to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle.

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Nearly 8 million people watched a livestream of the breathtaking event  and Baumgartners sponsor Red Bull later made a documentary from footage captured by his helmet cam.

According to the U.S. Sun, immediately after touching down in New Mexico, he confided, When youre standing on top of the world, you dont think of records anymore. All you think is that you want to come back alive.

In 1999, the flyboy set the world record for the highest parachute jump by plunging from the 1,483-foot Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The very same year, he set a record for the lowest ever BASE jump, perilously dropping from the 85-foot arm of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In 2003, brave Baumgartner also became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a custom-designed carbon fiber rig  taking off from Dover, England, and landing safely in Cap Blanc-Nez, France.

Heartbroken fans flocked to their fallen heros Instagram account to offer their condolences, including one who wrote: Rest in peace, brother. Fly free.
One of the best-known leaders in the decades-long struggle for US farm laborer rights, Dolores Huerta may be 95 years old but she is busier than ever.

With the administration of US President Donald Trump ramping up immigration raids targeting farmworkers, the veteran activist -- who co-founded the country's largest agricultural union more than 60 years ago -- is a galvanizing figure for those seeking to fight back.

"People are reaching out because they want to do something," she told AFP during an interview at the headquarters of her Dolores Huerta Foundation in Bakersfield, an agricultural nexus in California's Central Valley.

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Born in New Mexico and raised in California, Huerta took the reins of the US farmworker movement in the 1960s along with the late activist Cesar Chavez.

They created what is now United Farm Workers, launching an unprecedented fight for the rights of marginalized laborers who toil in the fields that feed America every day.

At the time, Huerta was raising seven children -- she later had four more -- while going through a divorce.

Finding the time to organize and mobilize workers remains as crucial as ever today, she said.

"We've got to be a lot more active, because what's happening right now is so huge. I liken it to what was happening in Germany before Hitler took power," Huerta said.

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She argues that it is essential to prepare the electorate to vote in the 2026 midterms, which could reshape the US Congress. Both its chambers currently have Republican majorities.

"This is the only way that this can be solved," she said.

- 'Si se puede' slogan -

Much has changed since her time as a young union leader, but one thing that has never gone away is racism, Huerta said.

"I believe that that illness of racism is what has really contaminated our political system," said Huerta.

"Trump is actually playing out that racism when he is again putting immigrants, and mostly people of color, into the detention centers" with "inhumane conditions," she said.

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Many have been sent to countries with which they have no connection, Huerta noted, such as the 252 Venezuelans who were sent to a notorious El Salvador prison, before eventually being repatriated to their homeland as part of a political deal.

For Huerta, the Republican-led crackdown is "absolutely atrocious... our people have been caught off guard."

Huerta believes that the swell of Latino support for Trump that aided his victory in November was driven by religious interests.

Church leaders and lobbyists who are influential with Hispanic communities used issues like abortion and LGBTQ+ rights to "intimidate" Hispanic communities, who traditionally favor Democrats, into voting Republican, she said.

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But Huerta -- whose famous "Si se puede" slogan was mirrored by Barack Obama's "Yes, we can" rallying cry in 2008 -- believes Trump's promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in US history could yet backfire.

In various sectors ranging from agriculture to hospitality and services, employers are realizing how much they need hard-working immigrants, she said.

- 'Fear' -

The risks have sharply risen for many in her community since Trump came to power, but for Huerta personally, activism has long had perilous consequences.

When she was 58, Huerta was arrested and brutally beaten by police at a San Francisco protest.

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Her commitment to the union movement also meant she was an absent mother -- and even today, she spends more time on her work than with her many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Huerta has often been the only woman in male-dominated spaces, and is renowned by many for her ability to face down corporate power.

In February, her foundation helped drive an ongoing boycott against the retail giant Target over its decision to end pro-diversity programs following Trump's election.

"Trump instilled fear in all these corporations," she said.

Using tactics like boycotts to influence billionaire business owners who can "pull Trump's strings," she said, "we finally are able to move them in the right direction."

"They need to start speaking up and stop these dangerous policies of Trump."

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When Sarah Pye and her partner Doug Knight bought a small property on Anglesey in Wales, it seemed to be the rural idyll theyd always wanted.

Quiet and picturesque, the smallholding was meant to be a place to raise their children and run a local tourism business. Or at least that was until a solar developer warned it could seize control of their land  casting doubt over their future plans and life savings.

Out of the blue, we had a series of letters from LightsourceBP, a solar energy company, saying they may need our land for a solar farm, says Sarah.

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The letters, describing plans for the 3,200-acre Maen Hir solar fields, arrived just after she and Doug had finished four years of work  including planting 4,000 trees to create a woodland camper-van site.

They want to run cables right through our new woodland and campsite and surround our property with solar panels, says Sarah.

And it seemed like we had no choice because if we refused, they would use compulsory acquisition powers.

Her fears were brought about by a notice issued by the energy company, which was sent to Sarah and many of her neighbours. It confirmed powers to acquire their land or to take rights over it.

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The proposed development consent order will authorise compulsory acquisition and temporary possession of [your] land and rights, it warned. LightsourceBP declined to comment.

It seems like they can do what they want

Over in Norfolk, two dozen villages are facing the same threats, but from a different developer.

Island Green Powers East Pye Solar Project, a proposed 500 megawatt solar and battery energy storage system, would cover 2,500 acres of farmland  amounting to an area similar in size to the town of Chichester.

But, as in Anglesey, the developer initially owned little or none of the land. Instead, it plans to buy or lease what it can and acquire the rest using compulsory purchase.

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It seems like they can do what they want, says Rebecca Mayhew, who co-runs Old Hall Farm with her husband Stuart, near Woodton, deep in the Norfolk countryside.

Pictured: Rebecca Mayhew with husband Stuart and children Isobel and Jack. The family co-run Old Hall Farm, in Norfolk

Their 500-acre operation is based on regenerative livestock farming, selling largely dairy produce via a farm shop and cafe. They also employ 37 local people.

Island Green wants to run its cables through our land right next to our farm shop, she says.

The workings for the trench would be 40m to 50m wide, and hugely disruptive to our business. But they have warned us they have legal powers to do what they like, even though our family has owned this land for 60 years.

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Island Green has sent letters to many other locals warning that their land or homes may be required for its massive solar project.

Those affected include residents of three villages that appear in the Domesday Book  Hempnall, Saxlingham and Tasburgh  which would be partly surrounded by giant solar panels.

Over my dead body

Hempnall resident Yvonne Davy, 89, told The Telegraph that she has warned Island Green it would get her land over her dead body, demonstrating the fury sparked by the companys area-wide legal notice.

Theyre putting these vast numbers of panels and its going to blight the countryside. Where I walk and where I live is going to be surrounded by solar panels the height of a house. It would be dreadful.

Where I live is going to be surrounded by solar panels the height of a house, says Yvonne Davy - James Linsell Clark / SWNS

In its letter to local residents, Island Green said: Our proposed development consent order will authorise compulsory acquisition of land, including interests in land, rights over land and imposition of restrictions, powers to override, suspend or extinguish rights over land and powers for the temporary use of land.

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Island Green Power is using similar powers to push through several other controversial solar developments across the UK, including Lime Down in Wiltshire, the Droves in Norfolk and Green Hill in Northamptonshire.

Since May, the company has been fully owned by Macquarie, the Australian investment giant best known for loading struggling utility giant Thames Water with debt and extracting vast dividends in the process.

But Macquarie is just one of the many, mostly foreign, solar developers being given rights to take land rights from UK citizens.

All want to build solar energy plants whose profits will come largely from subsidies paid for by levies on Britains energy bills.

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The Planning Inspectorate for England  which only deals with the largest schemes  lists 40 vast solar plants approved or in planning, with its Welsh equivalent listing three more, including the Maen Hir development on Anglesey.

The legislation at the heart of this controversy is the Planning Act 2008, drawn up by the last Labour government when Gordon Brown was prime minister and Ed Miliband was completing his first stint as energy secretary.

Miliband helped steer the bill, which had a key aim of accelerating large-scale energy projects.

The first step was to classify these as nationally significant infrastructure projects, limiting the ability of local authorities to object to schemes and handing ultimate approval to the Secretary of State.

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However, the killer clause for property owners was one that handed developers compulsory acquisition rights to take over other peoples private land and buildings.

Until then, compulsory land purchases had generally been led or overseen by the government, for building substations, power stations or roads, with only small chunks of land affected in any given area.

But a key element of the 2008 act was that it gave private renewable energy developers as much power to seize peoples land as the Government, provided they had a compelling case in the public interest.

What is now happening is that, whenever a solar company seeks a development consent order, it almost always asks for those powers as part of the deal.

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This has set the stage for the most significant land transfers to private companies for more than a century, says David Rogers, professor of ecology at Oxford University and founder of SolarQ, which monitors the expansion of solar farms.

Solar and other renewable developers have been given outrageous powers by Miliband and they can use these powers to force people to give up their land, often top-quality farmland, to industrialise it with solar panels.

So far, about 2,000sq km of English farmland are set to be covered in solar panels and many hundreds, possibly thousands, of people are facing legal threats of losing their lands and livelihoods.

Most solar development companies are foreign-owned, so we risk seeing British people thrown off their land by foreign speculators all in the name of net zero.

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Milibands Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz), argues that giving solar developers the power to acquire land is essential for the UK to meet its net zero targets.

This is particularly key given Milibands goal of tripling solar energy capacity to about 70GW by 2035 and 90GW by 2050.

A Desnz spokesman said: Anyone impacted by compulsory acquisition must be fairly compensated. Solar is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

Projects are subject to a rigorous planning process. Wherever possible, developers should utilise brownfield, industrial or previously developed land. Where the development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, lower-quality land should be preferred to higher-quality land.

A spokesman for Island Green Power adds that compulsory acquisition powers are sometimes necessary to ensure the deliverability of nationally important projects (NSIP). The spokesman said: It is entirely standard practice for NSIP applications to include a request for compulsory acquisition powers.

The inclusion of such powers does not mean they will necessarily be used. Our strong preference is always to secure land and rights voluntarily through agreement with landowners and stakeholders.

But such promises seem unlikely to stem the backlash to the solar blitz building up in rural communities across Britain, impacting people like Sarah Pye in the process.

We set up our home and business here to support our family and the local area, she says. We have put years of work into our business, but who is going to come here just to see a countryside ruined by solar panels?

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The Brief

Officials state that no alert system could have prevented the flash flood that killed more than 130 people on the Guadalupe River on July 4.

A public hearing is underway with testimony from first responders and family members of the victims, some of whom are calling for new alert systems.

During the hearing, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick publicly criticized Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly for being out of town during the disaster.

KERRVILLE. Texas - Kerr County officials said none of the alert systems in place on July 4 could have prevented the flash flood disaster that killed dozens of people.

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Today is the first public hearing on the tragedy along the Guadalupe River, with testimony in Kerrville from first responders and relatives of the victims.

What we know

The much-anticipated hearing started with lawmakers stating that the hearing was not about pointing fingers but trying to find solutions to prevent this from happening again, but some of the questioning was critical of actions taken by some officials.

More than 130 people died in the Central Texas Floods, most of them in Kerr County, including children on camping trips from North Texas.

For weeks, it has been reported that the forecast quickly changed overnight, and the hardest hit part of the Texas Hill Country saw a flood wall of nearly 30 feet.

Outdoor siren system

The purpose of this state legislative hearing is to find solutions to prevent future disasters. One common option is an outdoor siren system, but many more resources are needed as well.

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"In my view, no alert system would have changed the outcome or prevented the tragic loss of life that was upriver. By that time the true danger became clear. The monitoring of our office was in full mode, rescuing residents and visitors," said Kerr County Sheriff, Larry Leitha.

The mayor of Kerrville said he wants emergency sirens installed before next summer.

Lt. Gov. calls out Kerr County Judge

Dig deeper

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was the acting governor at the time of the flood.

Even though lawmakers said this was not about pointing fingers, Patrick did call out the Kerr County Judge for not being in town during the flood.

"Ive gotten to know these people andI think I have to make this point on behalf of them. Judge Kelly, I never saw you on day one. I came here from Austin. In this room. I talked to the sheriff multiple times. I talked to the mayor multiple times," said Patrick.

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County Judge Rob Kelly did not offer a rebuttal but acknowledged earlier in the hearing that he was at Lake Travis on July 4.

Testimony from those affected

What they're saying

Emotional testimonies were given by flood victims and their families.

No one is suffering more than parents like Allissa Baker, the mother of one of the Camp Mystic children swept away by the raging Guadalupe River.

"When we know better, we do better. And so, we need to do better for the people in this community, for the people that are suffering," said Baker.

"I don't think the sirens by themselves will be helpful. Like I said, people will stop listening to those. But the sensor, when it gets to a certain level and then the sirens go off and then people know it's time. Like, this is serious."

Local perspective

Many people from Kerr County and the Texas Hill Country testified before the joint committee to tell their stories from that fateful day.

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The trauma Kelly Rabons sons experienced at La Junta, a boys' camp in Hunt, Texas, which sits along the Guadalupe River, still lingers.

"He battles nightmares of water dripping from the ceiling or his mattress being wet. His fear is so profound that he is now anxious about the tsunami in Hawaii. He lives with the terror that no child or any person should have to carry," said Rabon.

"It means creating a system to identify who was impacted and proactively providing them with care, no matter where in Texas or beyond they call home."

The Source

Information in this article was provided from the Kerrville Flooding Hearing on July 31.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Families with critically ill children are spending their first night in a newly renovated space aimed at giving them comfort, connection, and peace of mind.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities Portland East House, located on the campus of Randall Childrens Hospital in North Portland, officially reopened after months of renovation.

The updated space is already making an impact for families like Desiree Hills.

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Wilson: Portland to comply with Trump DEI demands

After developing severe preeclampsia, Hill delivered her son at just 28 weeks.

He remains in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and the East House allows her to stay close during his recovery.

I want this to be my house, my decor. I want my lawn to look that pretty, Hill said with a smile.

This place brings a sense of security, she added. We all support each other, we find encouragement, we talk to each otherwere never alone in what were dealing with.

Another resident, Bronson Kleiber, a firefighter from Dallas, Oregon, is experiencing that same sense of support.

Bronson Kleiber is staying at the Ronald McDonald House in North Portland as his premature twins are in the neonatal intensive care unit. July 31, 2025 (KOIN). Desiree Hill is staying at the Ronald McDonald House in North Portland to help her care for her child in the neonatal intensive care unit. July 31, 2025 (KOIN).

While battling the Palisades Fire in Southern California this January, Kleiber received newsthrough spotty cell servicethat he and his wife were expecting twins.

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All I could hear was, Congrats, theres two, Kleiber recalled.

Shortly after, his wife became dangerously ill with the flu. She was rushed to the hospital, where she gave birth to their twin boys prematurely.

Now in the Portland NICU, the boys are making steady progress.

Theyre tiny, but theyre growing, Kleiber said.

When families arent at the hospital, they can find comfort at the East House in expanded guest suites, a fully upgraded kitchen, and brighter, more welcoming community spaces.

Deputy shoots, kills suspect late Wednesday night

Theres also a vibrant teen lounge, play areas for kids, and quiet corners for rest.

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Every room in the house has been put together thinking about the families that are coming to stay, said Jessica Jarratt Miller, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington.

The $4 million renovation is made possible by donors, local foundations, McDonalds, and in-kind supportincluding over $300,000 in services from Andersen Construction.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities Portland East House is located on the campus of Randall Childrens Hospital in North Portland. July 31, 2025 (KOIN). The Ronald McDonald House Charities Portland East House is located on the campus of Randall Childrens Hospital in North Portland. July 31, 2025 (KOIN). The Ronald McDonald House Charities Portland East House is located on the campus of Randall Childrens Hospital in North Portland. July 31, 2025 (KOIN).

Families stay at the house free of charge, which many say is invaluable.

You know it kind of brings back a little bit, a sense of humanity, that you know, that everybody gets lost in life, Kleiber said.

According to the organization, nearly 3,000 families stayed at Ronald McDonald House locations in Oregon and Southwest Washington in 2024.

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Donations are still helping furnish and complete parts of the newly expanded space.

More information, and ways to donate, can be found at rmhcoregon.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 KOIN.com.
BERNALILLO, N.M. (KRQE)  A New Mexico school district has been ordered to pay a family nearly $2 million after attorneys argued that they didnt help a student who was being stalked, harassed, and eventually beaten up.

Story continues below

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Cell phone video from October 2023 shows a 15-year-old student on the floor, while another student punches her at Bernalillo High School. The students attorney said staff didnt do anything to intervene, and didnt try to prevent it from happening. My client was attacked. Suffered significant injuries, and still has injuries to this day, said the familys attorney Paul Melendres.

The parents of that teen sued, arguing Bernalillo Public Schools failed to protect their daughter from stalking, harassment, and bullying that led to their daughter being seriously injured by another student she didnt even know. One of the reasons my client or this family brought this lawsuit is because they never want this to happen to another student, said Melendres.

According to Melendres, an 18-year-old student and a 14-year-old student were threatening his client with physical harm, verbally and through social media. The girl told her parents, and the parents told the school. In this case, the parent already made the school aware of these physical threats. The school has policies and procedures its supposed to follow to make sure that students are safe. That did not happen here. Schools are required to conduct threat assessments to determine if this is an actual threat, said Melendres.

Melendres said the parents showed the threatening messages to school officials, but still nothing was done. A week later, he said the 14-year-old beat up his client, while the 18-year-old recorded it. Melendres said as staff stood by, another student was the one who intervened to help the girl.

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The lawsuit went to trial, and on Wednesday, a jury sided with the student and awarded the family $1.8 million.

When identifiable threats are brought to an administrations attention, they conduct basic threat analysis, they follow policies and procedures, and they involve not only their security team but the licensed law enforcement officer. If those steps had been taken, I dont believe this would have ever happened to my client.

Melendres told KRQE his client suffers from migraines and PTSD, and was out of school for two months due to her injuries. The family hopes the funds can be used to get her the medical attention she needs.

KRQE reached out to Bernalillo Public Schools, but has not heard back yet.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
The Brief

Walter Russell was convicted of killing one person and shooting two others at an Edgewater homeless camp in October 2023.

Russell was sentenced to 50 years behind bars.

Now, the family of one of the victims, Johnny Ellis, is speaking out about his death and Russell's sentencing.

EDGEWATER, Fla. - A man convicted of killing one person and injuring two others in a 2023 shooting in Edgewater has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.

What Happened

Walter Russell learned his fate Thursday after being found guilty in the death of 39-year-old Johnny Ellis, who was killed in what police described as a drug deal gone wrong.

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The deadly shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 5, 2023, at a homeless encampment north of Juniper Drive in Edgewater, and also left two others injured.

What they're saying

The shooting left J.E. Ellis without a father. He was in the fifth grade when it happened.

"Im like the only kid in my class without a father. A lot of people laughed at me," the 12-year-old said. "Its been really heartbreaking and sad."

During Wednesdays sentencing hearing, the victim's mother, Margie Ellis, addressed the court and expressed her desire to confront Russell directly.

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"I wanted to spend 20 minutes with the guy to tell him how I really feel," she said. "He actually cried. He had remorse, but I didnt accept the apology. Im lost. Im very lost."

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Both said they are satisfied with the 50-year sentence.

"The guy got 50 years. Im so freaking happy," said Margie.

"Im just happy he got the time that he did," J.E. told FOX 35. "Im happy hes there, and we dont have to feel so empty inside."

The family acknowledged Johnny Ellis had struggled with addiction and said they wished they had done more to intervene. They shared their story in hopes of encouraging other families to support loved ones facing similar challenges.

The Source

This story was written based on information shared by the Edgewater Pol.ice Department, court proceedings and statements from Margie Ellis and J.E. Ellis.
Generators can be helpful in an emergency, but they must be used with caution, as one family learned in a near-fatal situation.

Jody and David Burgin of Westlake, Louisiana, used their generator Halloween night last year and suffered from intense carbon monoxide poisoning, KPLC reported.

"I woke up on the bathroom floor," Jody recalled. She immediately called 911, and the couple was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Jody had a quick recovery, but David is facing a longer road after having to be airlifted to another hospital in Texas for hyperbaric chamber treatment.

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The outlet reported that first responders theorize that because the generator was running in the garage, once the power turned back on and the central air kicked on, it sucked the carbon monoxide into the home's attic, where it leaked throughout the house.

"We're very lucky and very blessed to still be alive, and a lot of people, they never wake up and just knowing how close we were to that, it's terrifying," Jody said.

Carbon dioxide is tasteless and odorless and can cause dizziness, permanent brain damage with prolonged exposure, and even death, according to the Mayo Clinic. During Hurricane Laura, eight of the fourteen deaths that occurred were from carbon monoxide poisoning from generators, per KPLC.

Generators run on gasoline, diesel, propane, or natural gas, all of which emit these dangerous emissions near your home (not to mention they're noisy machines). The pollution from operating a standard, 3.5-horsepower generator at an average load of 1 kilowatt for one hour emits as much pollution as driving a car 150 miles, according to the California Air Resources Board

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Opting for solar is a cleaner, safer way to power your home, and it can be used during emergencies with backup batteries. EnergySage offers free tools to obtain installation estimates and compare quotes, helping you maximize your savings and find the best fit for your energy needs.

Ditching the generator can also save you money. While solar panels and backup batteries have higher upfront costs, there's the ongoing cost of purchasing fuel and performing other mechanical maintenance on a gas-powered generator, which adds up over time.

EnergySage can really help find the best solar for you, thanks to their free services, which can help the average person get nearly $10,000 in incentives for solar purchases and installations. They also have a helpful mapping tool that shows, state by state, the average cost of a home solar panel system, as well as the incentives available to further help cut costs.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Tributes have been paid to two "bright and deeply loved" siblings who drowned off the east coast of Spain.

Ameiya and Ricardo Junior Parris, 13 and 11, were pulled from the water at Llarga Beach in Salou on Tuesday evening.

The pair, from Birmingham, were on holiday with their mother and father, with the latter also having to be rescued by emergency services after trying to save his children.

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A GoFundMe page by relatives to cover the cost of bringing their bodies back to the UK had raised more than 30,000 on Friday.

Family members said the two children went for a swim with their father, Ricardo Parris, a a construction worker, on Tuesday, when they got into trouble in strong currents.

Hotel staff noticed the trio struggling and alerted the emergency services, who pulled Mr Parris out of the water unconscious, but alive.

He had since been released from hospital after suffering a concussion, the family added.

He was waiting with the children's mother and his partner, Shanice Del-Brocco, at the hotel where they were staying for the children's bodies to be repatriated.

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Kayla Jasvinder Del-Brocco, the children's aunt, said she said she had spoken to their parents who are "trying to keep it together".

"They've trying to stay strong and are telling everyone not to worry so as not to burden them," she said.

"They're obviously very numb but they're trying to keep things as normal as possible for their little ones."

The couple have four younger children and they have been told of the deaths of their siblings, Ms Del-Brocco said.

She added she was amazed by the "overwhelming" support from the public, which had moved the family to tears.

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"The family will forever be grateful for the shared blessing," she said.

"It's unfathomable but it shows people do care."

The children died after entering the water at Llarga beach in Salou [EVN/ Radio Television Espanola]

The fundraising page, set up by cousin Holly Marquis-Johnson, said nothing could have prepared their "heartbroken" parents for losing two children.

The pair were affectionately nicknamed as Maya and Jubs.

"Maya was intelligent, thoughtful and growing into a strong, young woman," Ms Marquis-Johnson wrote.

"Ricardo Junior was playful, kind and always smiling. They brought so much love, laughter and energy into the lives of everyone around them.

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"Their absence has left an unbearable silence, not just for their parents but for their whole family, who were incredibly close and shared an unbreakable bond."

Paulette Hamilton MP, who represents Erdington, where the family is from, said all residents in the area "felt the tragic loss".

"I was shocked and saddened to hear the awful news about Ricardo and Ameiya," Hamilton said.

"My deepest thoughts and prayers are with their family and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time.

"If the family needs anything, please reach out to me and I'll do as much as I can as the local MP."

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Spanish officials said lifeguards on the beach had finished their shifts by the time an emergency call was received at about 21:00 CEST.

Police chief Jose Luis Gargallo said authorities would "review everything" and take steps to prevent any similar future incidents.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "We are supporting the family of two British children who have died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."

Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was caught tumbling on the Senate floor Wednesday, sparking massive ridicule from right-wing influencers who made the 76-year-olds minor fall into a major talking point.

Warrens fall was captured live on C-SPAN moments after she voted in favor of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) resolution to block U.S. weapons sales to Israel.

The viral clip shows Warren leaning back on a small table before knocking it over and stumbling backward in a sitting position.

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Some lawmakers, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) hurried to help her up. She can be seen tapping Cruz on the hand, letting him know shes OK.

Elizabeth Warren fell in the Senate floor pic.twitter.com/qXXTxZqflG  Reda (@redamor_) July 31, 2025

Far-right influencers had a field day with the senators mishap.

Podcaster Nick Sortor mocked Warren on X, formerly Twitter, saying Gravitys a b*tch, Pocahontas! referencing President Donald Trumps nickname about her Native American heritage. Sortor wrote that Warren attempted a casual lean to look like a normal human being, but totally botched it.

Ian Miles Cheong, another right-wing influencer, wrote, Its too bad Elizabeth Warren didnt fall on her face.

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The Conservative Brief, a right-wing media outlet, shared the video and suggested, Perhaps its time for her to retire?

Several more right-wing users commented about her age  Warren is 76  or called for a cognitive test.

Politicians falling is not out of the ordinary. Earlier this year, Trump, 79, nearly face-planted while climbing on board Air Force One. His predecessor Joe Biden also had a history of stumbles, which conservative media loved to seize upon.

President Trump stumbles while attempting to board Air Force One pic.twitter.com/HRxGMDSP1h  Acyn (@Acyn) June 8, 2025

Related...
Aug. 1A jury awarded $6.25 million in punitive damages to family members of a man killed by his ex-father-in-law in February of 2021.

The four-day wrongful death civil lawsuit ended Thursday at Lewiston with the killer's daughter also found to be responsible.

Family members of the late John Mast called the verdict "vindication," proof that he was an innocent man.

The jury agreed that James Brashear, 71, and his daughter, Rebecca Brashear-Mast, were liable for "actions" causing 40-year-old John Mast's death in Nez Perce County's 2nd District Court.

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"We were here to see our brother John vindicated of all the injustice," said Sam Mast, 49, of Redding, Calif.

He was among more than a dozen family members and supporters who traveled to Lewiston for the trial. Family members were silent as the verdict was read, but hugged each other when Judge Mark Monson released the jury.

Mast was killed in the Lewiston Rosauers parking lot by James Brashear, who is serving 15 years in prison after a jury convicted him of voluntary manslaughter in 2023.

Daily headlines, straight to your inboxRead it online first and stay up-to-date, delivered daily at 7 AM

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Rebecca Brashear-Mast was never charged for involvement in the killing. However, the jury rejected her claims of having no knowledge of her father's intentions. They ordered her to pay $4.55 million, with her father on the hook for the other $1.7 million.

In her closing statement, she described herself as "just a mom trying to defend herself." And her father continued to claim to have acted impulsively and alone.

Plaintiffs' attorneys, Kevin L. Hickey, of Arkansas, and Joseph C. Miller, of Boise, created an argument based on circumstantial evidence that the killing was no unplanned act to save his grandchildren from a predator, as Brashear claimed. Attorneys convinced the jury that Rebecca Brashear-Mast set up her ex-husband by emailing him to meet her in the Rosauers, near the library dropoff box, to hand over the children, when she knew her father was armed and gunning for him.

The email, they argued, was uncharacteristic cooperation from her, and that she was a few minutes late when she arrived to hand over her children, allowing James Brashear  who she knew always traveled with a gun and who had hugged her when he left and told her she wouldn't have to worry about anything  to lay in wait for John Mast.

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Speaking on behalf of his family, Sam Mast said he doubts the Brashears have much money. But that wasn't the point.

During the trial, plaintiffs' attorneys included as a witness a detective who worked for 1 1/2 years on the allegations that Rebecca Brashear-Mast levied against John Mast during their acrimonious child custody dispute. The detective found "zero evidence" that Mast was guilty. Another witness was a social worker who described Mast as a loving father who doted on his children. Testimony from three family members described John Mast as a patient, gentle and hard-working father.

"The jury made a resounding statement that Rebecca was the real problem," Sam Mast said.

Ferguson can be reached at dferguson@lmtribune.com.
The father of the accused Apalachee High School shooter was in possession of a letter from his son asking for forgiveness on the day of the shooting, an investigator testified during a court hearing Friday.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent John Giunta testified law enforcement officers conducting a protective sweep of Colin Grays home saw a letter from his son in which Colt was asking for forgiveness.

Attorneys for the father argued during a Friday motions hearing that statements and evidence collected shortly after the shooting should not be used in trial.

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The hearing in Winder, Georgia, took place just after students at Apalachee High School started their first day back at school, just a few miles away. Its been almost 11 months since the mass shooting left two students and two teachers dead, as well as nine people injured, about 50 miles outside of Atlanta.

Grays attorneys told a judge a protective sweep when deputies arrived at the Gray home the morning of the shootings was more of a search and was done prior to a warrant being issued.

Not only did he see the letter, he obviously read it. Because he gave that information to the GBI agent who was getting the search warrant, defense attorney Jimmy Berry said. That is a search.

The content of the accused shooters letter was used in part to get a search warrant, Berry told Judge Nicholas Primm.

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It was an illegal search, Berry said. It was not a protective sweep

If the magistrate used that in his decision to issue the search warrant, then the search warrant itself is bad, Berry told the court. If you give information thats bad in a search warrant it invalidates it.

State investigators testified they secured and executed a search warrant for the home on September 4, the same day as the mass shooting.

District attorney Brad Smith rebutted that the sweep was necessary to protect the law enforcement officers at the house and that Colin Gray had verbally given permission to search the home.

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One of the deputies who spoke to Colin Gray at his home following the shootings testified that Gray was calm and spoke to him voluntarily.

Law enforcement and first responders control traffic after a shooting took place at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024. - Christian Monterrosa/AFP/Getty Images

Portions of Deputy Brandon Bazinets body camera video were played in court.

In the video Gray says, If you just need OK, you all can go. You dont need a search warrant there aint nothing there to hide. And its clear it has something to do with my son. I just want to make sure he is not hurt.

While speaking with an officer in the video, Colin Gray says, I know its bad, as he worried about the physical condition of his son.

The defense said the statements were not made voluntarily. They claim Colin Gray had been moved away from his home amid corrosive police activity.

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Portions of a second video were played in court of Gray speaking to investigators during an interview the day after the shootings.

In the video, Gray speaks with a deputy casually, talking about how his name had been handed down through his family.

Barrow County Sheriffs investigator Jason Smith testified that during the taped interview authorities were in the process of obtaining a warrant for Grays arrest, which he said he did not know at the time.

Colin Gray has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder  alleging that he shares responsibility for the September shooting at Apalachee High School, where four people were killed.

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Colin Gray is facing 29 charges in total; he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Judge Primm said he will rule on the motions to suppress the statements made by Colin Gray and whether the search warrant was valid within the month.

Colin Gray is only the third person charged in the US in connection with a school shooting by their child.

Investigators previously testified in court that Colin Gray bought the AR-15-style rifle allegedly used in the school shooting for Colt Gray as a Christmas present last year, only seven months after the family was questioned by law enforcement over online threats to commit a school shooting.

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His trial had been scheduled to start this fall but was pushed back due to scheduling conflicts with his defense team. A new trial date for Colin Gray has not been set yet.

Colins son Colt is accused of killing four people and injuring others. He was 14 at the time of the shooting has been indicted on 55 felony counts.

Authorities have said that Colt admitted to the shooting, according to court records.

Attorneys for Colt told the court earlier this year that he may change his not guilty plea and is considering a plea deal.

CNNs Ryan Young contributed to this report

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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)  The owners of Mona Lisa Restaurant on Royal Street signed a lease for it in December after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Twenty years later, they may be forced to close.

Farrow Stephenson and Tom Moore say the building has been sold to a new owner, and the new owner has served notice that the restaurant lease will end in two months.

New Orleans will restrict automated speeding tickets to school zones

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Loved by customers for its elegant Italian dishes (Tom does the cooking) and for its irreverent vibe (Farrow can be sassy), Mona Lisa is not a restaurant for touristsalthough tourists who discover it are lucky. Its a restaurant for locals, whove been lighting up social media in despair that it might be lost.

Hear what Farrow Stephenson tells WGNOs Susan Roesgen in the video player at the top of this story.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO.
July 31 (UPI) -- The FBI has for the first time opened a dedicated office in New Zealand, officials announced Thursday.

FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to the country this week to open the office in Wellington, which will house a dedicated law enforcement attache office.

"While the FBI has stationed personnel in New Zealand for several years, establishing a full legal position in the country will strengthen and enhance the longstanding cooperation with a key Five Eyes partner in the southwestern Pacific region," Patel said in a statement.

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The Five Eyes partnership comprises five countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of which have a history of partnership and cooperation.

Patel added that the new office will also help the United States and New Zealand cooperate on shared security objectives in the region.

The Wellington office is the latest in a series of locations across the globe that the FBI has established to "investigate and disrupt a wide range of threats and criminal activities including terrorism, cybercrime and fraud, organized crime and money laundering, child exploitation and foreign intelligence threats," the statement from Patel's office continued.

The new office will oversee partnerships in New Zealand, Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands and Tonga.

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The Wellington FBI office will continue to work on issues that the agency and the New Zealand police have already been pursuing, including investigating terrorist attacks in Christchurch, organized crime and money laundering activities, child exploitation and drug smuggling cases, cybercrime and fraud.

"Tackling these challenges demands close collaboration and trust, and our existing partnerships in New Zealand have already delivered notable successes," the statement said.
Aug. 1A Miami Twp. man is accused of threatening to organize a mob to target Black people and kill thousands in Cincinnati.

A complaint was filed in federal court Thursday charging Scott M. Hanna, 30, with one count of making interstate communications with a threat to injure.

On Thursday, Cincinnati police shared screenshots of a threatening post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to the FBI Cincinnati Joint Terrorism Task Force.

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"Organizing mobs to kill all the apes in Cincinnati since @GovMikeDeWine and the @OSHP won't do anything about this nonsense," the post read, according to court records. "We the people need to paint the town red and kill them all. Fill the morgues and cleanse this city of blacks. By Sunday we are aiming to have killed 30k."

DeWine announced earlier this week he'd offer state assistance following what Cincinnati police called a "violent attack" downtown early Saturday.

Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers will support Cincinnati officers, helping with traffic control, undercover units and aviation support during chases, according to our media partner WCPO.

The FBI submitted an emergency disclosure request for the X username and were able to trace the IP address to an Orchard Run address.

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The X user reportedly had posted multiple photographs, which appeared to be the same person in Hanna's BMV photo, according to court records.

A Google account for a Scott M. Hanna was also allegedly linked to the Orchard Run address.

FBI confirmed Hanna still lived at that address with local law enforcement.

In a previous encounter for a menacing incident on Sept. 11, 2024, Hanna reportedly called police and threatened to cut off a person's head.

Hanna swung a full-sized sword at the individual's neck, causing serious injury and what appeared to be a partial decapitation, according to court records.

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He also reportedly called an officer a racial slur.

FBI agents arrested Hanna Friday morning. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Dayton Friday afternoon.

"The FBI aggressively investigates those who threaten our communities with violence," stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. "Threats like this impact the entire community and have serious consequences."
The FBI has arrested a Dayton man accused of threatening to kill tens of thousands of people in Cincinnati.

Scott Hanna, 30, was arrested on Aug. 1 after the Cincinnati Police Department sent a threatening X post, allegedly posted by him, to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to a news release. Hanna was charged with making an interstate communication with a threat to injure.

The profile that created the threatening post was connected to Hanna through an FBI investigation, including information accessed by making an emergency disclosure request to X. The FBI also made emergency requests with information provided by X to AT&T and Google.

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With the information those companies provided, the FBI identified the creator of the X post as Hanna, the release said.

The post reads as follows: Organizing mobs to kill all the apes in Cincinnati Since @GovMikeDeWine and the @OSHP wont do anything about this nonsense. We the people need to paint the town red and KILL THEM ALL. Fill the morgues and cleanse this city of blacks. By Sunday we are aiming to have killed 30k.

Hannas X profile now has its tweets protected. It also has a button to donate to Hannas Cash App.

The FBI aggressively investigates those who threated our communities with violence, stated the FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatrola. Threats like this impact the entire community and have serious consequences.

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According to court documents, on Sept. 11, 2024, local police responded to a reported menacing at Hannas residence in Dayton. While en route, Hanna called dispatch and requested to speak with a detective and told them if they were not going to charge a specified individual then he was going to cut off her head.

Local law enforcement noted that they had previous contact with Hanna when he claimed the same specified individual had broken into his residence. Hanna had swung a full-sized sword at a womans neck, resulting in serious injury and a partial decapitation, court document say.

During the Sept. 11 incident, court documents add that Hanna became "extremely irate" and began yelling and screaming, calling one of the responding officers a racial slur.

Hanna is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Dayton at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 1. Making interstate communications with a threat to injure is punishable by up to five years in prison.

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The Dayton Police Department, Oakwood Public Safety Department, and the Miami township police department are also assisting in this investigation.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Ohio is prosecuting this case.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FBI: Dayton man arrested after terrorism threats posted on X
July 31 (UPI) -- Former Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa disappeared 50 years ago at age 62, but the FBI's Detroit Field Office continues seeking information for its ongoing investigation.

The FBI investigates missing persons cases that might involve violations of federal law, such as kidnapping, organized crime and other criminal acts.

"As the 50th anniversary of Mr. Hoffa's disappearance approaches, the FBI remains steadfast in its commitment to pursuing all credible leads," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, in a news release on Thursday.

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Anyone with information relating to the Hoffa case is encouraged to contact the FBI by calling 800-CALL-FBI or by submitting an online tip.

Hoffa's conflict with Robert Kennedy

While Hoffa was president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, he clashed with then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who for many years investigated the union's and Hoffa's alleged corruption and ties to organized crime.

Several high-profile hearings elevated the general public's awareness of Hoffa, as well as Kennedy, who was assassinated while seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for president on June 6, 1968.

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Kennedy's investigations contributed to Hoffa eventually being convicted of bribing a grand jury member, along with a separate conviction for fraud, and going to federal prison in 1967.

There is no known connection between Kennedy's assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, and Hoffa, the Teamsters or organized crime.

Sirhan said he carried out the assassination due to Kennedy's support of Israel.

Hoffa tried to regain union control

Hoffa was last seen on July 30, 1975, at the Macchus Red Fox restaurant at 6676 Telegraph Road in the Detroit-area suburb of Bloomfield, Mich.

He allegedly was there to meet with two organized crime leaders during his effort to regain control of the Teamsters Union.

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Self-admitted mob hitman Charles Allen in 1982 claimed Hoffa had assigned him to kill then-Teamsters Union President Frank Fitzsimmons.

Allen claimed Hoffa told him to shoot and kill Fitzsimmons outside the Teamsters Union headquarters in Washington, D.C.

He also claimed Hoffa ordered him to kill East Coast trucking leader Tony Provenzano and others who blocked Hoffa's path back to power within the Teamsters.

Fitzsimmons was a highly placed Teamsters official while Hoffa was the union's president from 1957 to 1971.

Fitzsimmons became the union's president when Hoffa was sentenced to federal prison in 1967 for jury tampering.

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Fitzsimmons also allegedly was more willing than Hoffa to continue loaning money from the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund to those who were affiliated with organized crime.

Such loans allegedly helped the mob to build and control several casinos in Las Vegas for many years.

Effort to regain Teamsters presidency

Hoffa's plan to kill Fitzsimmons unraveled when Hoffa's foster son, Chuckie O'Brien, warned Provenzano after a fallout, Allen claimed.

O'Brien said Hoffa initially supported O'Brien's desire to seek election to a Teamsters post with its Detroit local, but Hoffa changed his mind.

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President Richard Nixon commuted Hoffa's sentence in 1971 with the condition that Hoffa cease his involvement in union activities.

Hoffa reneged on the agreement and sought to regain his former office and oust Fitzsimmons, who was less popular among union members.

Organized crime figures were concerned about Hoffa and viewed Fitzsimmons as someone they could control, so they ordered Hoffa's demise, Allen said.

Allen claimed Provenzano and New Jersey mobster Salvatore Briguglio had Hoffa killed and his body disposed of by grinding it into small pieces and distributing the remains in a Florida swamp.

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Fitzsimmons died of cancer in 1981, and Briguglio was killed in an execution-style hit in New York City on March 21, 1978.

Continued interest in disappearance

Hoffa's disappearance has led to movies about his life and death, several documentaries and continued media interest.

Many tips over the years have suggested Hoffa's body was buried under Giants Stadium in New Jersey, beneath several Detroit-area driveways and under a freeway overpass.

Occasional tips have caused the FBI to investigate several homes and other locations, but none have turned up any additional evidence leading to the discovery of Hoffa's remains.

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At least two major motion pictures have been filmed about Hoffa and his disappearance.

Actor Jack Nicholson portrayed Hoffa in a 1992 film titled "Hoffa," which details the union leader's organizing activities with the Teamsters and his eventual death and disappearance.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese in 2019 released "The Irishman," which attributes Hoffa's death to alleged mob hitman Frank Sheeran, who is played by Robert De Niro.

Al Pacino played Hoffa, and Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel played significant supporting roles in that film.

"The Irishman" received 10 Academy Award nominations in 2020, including best picture, best director and best supporting actor for Pacino and Pesci, but the film did not win any Oscars.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  FBI Director Kash Patel provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the capital aims to counter Chinas influence, drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and ire from Beijing.

Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBIs first standalone office in New Zealand and to meet senior officials. The arrangement aligns New Zealand with FBI missions in other Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations, which also include the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Wellington office will provide a local mission for FBI staff who have operated with oversight from Canberra, Australia, since 2017.

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Patels China remarks prompted awkward responses

In remarks made in a video published Thursday by the U.S. Embassy, Patel said the office would help counter Chinese Communist Party influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean.

New Zealand ministers who met Patel, the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit New Zealand, quietly dismissed his claims. A government statement Thursday emphasized joint efforts against crimes such as online child exploitation and drug smuggling, with no mention of China.

When we were talking, we never raised that issue, Foreign Minister Winston said Thursday.

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Judith Collins, minister for the security services, said the focus would be on transnational crime.

I dont respond to other peoples press releases, she said when reporters noted Patel had mentioned China, Radio New Zealand reported.

Trade Minister Todd McClay rejected a reporters suggestion Friday that Wellington had celebrated the office opening.

Well, I dont think it was celebrated yesterday, he said. I think there was an announcement and it was discussed.

Beijing decries the FBI chief's comments

At a briefing Friday, Beijings foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun denounced Patels remarks

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China believes that cooperation between countries should not target any third party, he said. Seeking so-called absolute security through forming small groupings under the banner of countering China does not help keep the Asia Pacific and the world at large peaceful and stable.

New Zealand, the smallest Five Eyes partner, has faced ongoing pressure to align with U.S. stances on China, its largest trading partner, while carefully balancing relations with Beijing. Analysts said the FBI chief's comments could vex those efforts, although New Zealand has faced such challenges before.

Its in New Zealands interest to have more law enforcement activities to deal with our shared problems, said Jason Young, associate professor of international relations at Victoria University of Wellington. Its perhaps not in New Zealands interest to say were doing this to compete with China.

The FBI expansion comes during fresh Pacific focus

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Patels visit came as the Trump administration has sought to raise global alarm about Beijings designs. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in June said China posed an imminent threat and urged Indo-Pacific countries to increase military spending to 5% of GDP.

New Zealand has traditionally avoided singling out individual countries when discussing regional tensions, Young said.

Im sure the U.S. would like New Zealand to speak more forthrightly and characterize the China challenge in a similar way to the United States, Young added.

New Zealand is a remote country of 5 million people that was once assumed by larger powers to be of little strategic importance. But its location and influence in the contested South Pacific Ocean, where Beijing has sought to woo smaller island nations over the past decade, has increased its appeal to countries like the U.S.

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Peters, the foreign minister, told The Associated Press in 2024 that U.S. neglect of the region until recent years had in part been responsible for Chinas burgeoning influence there. He urged U.S. officials to please get engaged and try to turn up."

New office provokes anger among New Zealanders

Not everyone welcomed the expanded FBI presence.

Online, the new office drew rancor from New Zealanders who posted thousands of overwhelmingly negative comments about the announcement on social media sites. A weekend protest against the opening was planned.

Young said it was unlikely people posting in anger took issue with cross-border law enforcement efforts in general.

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I think it would be more a reflection of some of the deep unease that many people in New Zealand see with some of the political choices that are being made in America at the moment, he said.

___

Ken Moritsugu contributed from Beijing.
Once again, a Democrat hoping to challenge Lauren Boebert raised more in campaign contributions than any other candidate in Colorado in the most recent fundraising quarter.
Donald Trumps administration has repeatedly hailed itself as the most transparent in American history.

But the presidents name was reportedly redacted from documents surrounding the investigation into sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as the administration prepared for their potential public release.

Investigators blacked out Trumps name, and the names of other high-profile figures, claiming that the information constituted an unwarranted invasion of privacy, according to Bloomberg. Attorney General Pam Bondi told the president that his name was in the files in May, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

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Ultimately, in July, the Department of Justice and the FBI declined to release any additional documents.

Public scrutiny of Trumps connections to Epstein and the financiers crimes and circumstances of his death have only intensified in the wake of that memo.

Donald Trumps name was reportedly redacted from so-called Epstein files in March as FBI agents prepared for their potential release, which the FBI and Justice Department declined in July (Getty)

In February, the White House handed over binders of largely publicly-available Epstein-related documents to several far-right influencers in an apparent effort to prove that the administration was listening to demands for more information on Epstein and his death.

At the time, Bondi labeled the release of those documents a first phase and told Fox News that more materials  including a so-called client list of high-profile figures allegedly implicated in Epsteins sexual abuse of girls and women  were sitting on my desk right now to review.

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In July, the Trump administration reversed course, finding no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials despite demands from MAGA supporters and allies for a full accounting of Epsteins death and alleged ties to a wider child trafficking conspiracy implicating powerful figures.

The DOJ determined that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.

Before releasing the binders, Bondi wrote to FBI director Kash Patel demanding to know why the agency failed to provide her with documents she requested. She then pressured the FBI to deploy hundreds of employees to support staff that work on Freedom of Information Act requests to dig for records, according to a letter from Senator Dick Durbin on July 18.

In March, nearly 1,000 agents were pulled from field offices for 24-hours shifts to comb through thousands of documents, including grand jury testimony, case files, and investigative notes from the FBI, according to the senators office.

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They were instructed to flag any records in which Trump was mentioned, according to Durbin.

FBI personnel identified numerous references to Trump in the documents, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The names of dozens of other public figures also appeared, the outlet reported.

In preparation for their potential public release, the documents were reviewed by a team of FOIA officers who applied redactions, blacking out Trumps name and the names of other high-profile people, Bloomberg reported.

FOIA officers redacted the presidents name arguing that he was a private citizen when federal law enforcement launched an investigation into Epstein nearly 20 years ago.

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Investigators reportedly relied on a FOIA exemption that limits the release of information considered a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, and another that protects the release of personal information in law enforcement records, that could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

A persons appearance in the documents does not necessarily indicate wrongdoing.

Bondi reportedly made Trump aware that his name appeared in the files in May. The FBI and Justice Department issued the joint statement declaring there was no basis to release any other files connected to the case on July 6.

Bondi reportedly told Trump that his name appeared in the so-called Epstein files in May before the Justice Department and FBI declined to release additional documents in July (Reuters)

On the campaign trail, Trump had promised to release FBI files related to Epstein, who died by suicide in his jail cell on August 10, 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

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But the president, whose friendship with Epstein spanned more than a decade, has insisted that the public and press should move on from questions about the case. Epsteins death during Trumps first administration has fueled ongoing conspiracy theories of a government-wide cover up to protect powerful public figures who exploited and abused young girls.

Last year, Bondi told Fox News that people named within the so-called Epstein files have no legal basis to conceal their names, unless theyre a child, a victim, or a cooperating defendant.

In January, Patel promised during his Senate confirmation hearing that the American public knows the full weight of what happened.

Trump, who has denied any connections to Epsteins abuses, filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal , its publishers and right-wing media mogul Rupert Murdoch over an article that reported he sent a bawdy birthday card message to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003.

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Meanwhile, Trumps former criminal defense attorney Todd Blanche  who is now Bondis top deputy at the Justice Department  recently performed a two-day jailhouse interview with Epsteins accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking and other offenses in connection with Epstein in 2021. She is serving a 20-year sentence for what prosecutors labeled a 20-year scheme to recruit, groom and abuse young girls.

On August 11, Maxwell is scheduled to sit for a deposition sought by the Republican-led House Oversight Committee. In a letter to the committee, her attorneys have asked for some immunity protections  and made another appeal to Trump for clemency.

The Independent has requested comment from the FBI and the White House.
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has acquired over 12,000 acres in Bay County that will become Sandy Creek State Forest.

According to the news release, this milestone acquisition expands the Florida Wildlife Corridor and adds a new site for public recreation in Northwest Florida. DEP officials say it protects a key portion of the St. Andrew Bay Watershed. Adding that the land will help safeguard water quality and reduce flooding in surrounding communities.

Once opened, Sandy Creek State Forest will offer hiking, wildlife viewing, and outdoor education.

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When opened, Sandy Creek State Forest will provide new outdoor recreation opportunities for families, sportsmen, and nature lovers in Northwest Florida, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said. Through the Florida Forest Services stewardship of over 1 million acres of state forest land, were expanding access to the outdoors while protecting our natural spaces for future generations to enjoy, added Simpson.

The land supports a variety of habitats, including longleaf pine forests, wetlands and floodplains. The land is home to wildlife such as the gopher tortoise, the Florida black bear, and other potentially threatened and endangered species like the reticulated flatwoods salamander and dark-headed hatpins flower.

With the creation of Sandy Creek State Forest, were not only preserving vital ecosystems and expanding wildlife habitat but also connecting conservation lands from Eglin Air Force Base to Apalachicola National Forest, said DEP Secretary Alexis A. Lambert. This new state forest will offer meaningful public access while protecting the natural resources that make our state so special.

The Florida Cabinet approved the acquisition during a previous Cabinet Meeting at 97% of its appraised value.

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The property will be managed by the Florida Forest Service. It was acquired through the Florida Forever Program as part of the Bear Creek Forest Florida Forever Project.

Through the Florida Forever Program, the state conserves land that provides environmental, recreational, and preservation benefits, including water quality and quantity safeguards.

As well as resilience from storm impacts, habitat and species protections and outdoor recreation opportunities.

Since 2019, the state has committed more than $1.4 billion to the Florida Forever Program, including $950 million specifically for the Florida Wildlife Corridor. This funding has since enabled the DEP to acquire over 374,000 acres for conservation, 91% of which is within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

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The Florida Forest Service is eager to add Sandy Creek State Forest to its conservation efforts alongside our stewardship of 38 other state forests, Florida Forest Service Director Rick Dolan said.

Florida currently has over 1 million acres of state forest land, protecting some of the states most valuable natural resources, added Dolan.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments Friday afternoon in a challenge to President Donald Trump s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship in the U.S., one of several lower court cases that took shape after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in June.

The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit agreed this summer to hear arguments in two consolidated cases centered on the matter, O. Doe. v. Trump, and the State of New Jersey v. Trump, joining several other appeals courts in reviewing the legality of Trump's executive order.

The hearing comes roughly five weeks after the Supreme Court partially sided with the Trump administration in a case centered on the birthright citizenship order. Justices narrowed when lower courts can issue so-called "universal injunctions" blocking the president's orders from taking effect nationwide.

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Trump signed his birthright citizenship executive order on his first day in office. It seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Ninth Circuit Rejects Trump's Bid To Reinstate Birthright Citizenship Order

Supreme Court justices attend President Donald Trump's inauguration at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025.

Instead, the language put forth by the Trump administration, and subsequently blocked, would have clarified that individuals born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright.

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The Supreme Court declined to rule on the merits, instead giving the Trump administration 30 days to outline how it would enforce the order  effectively punting the issue back to the lower courts. So far, the administration hasnt found much success there.

A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a nationwide injunction last month blocking Trump's order from taking force, and certified as a class all infants born in the U.S. who would be denied citizenship under the order.

Arguments before the First Circuit come just one week after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also blocked Trump's birthright citizenship order from taking force nationwide.

Judges on the Ninth Circuit voted 2-1 to block the order, siding with the Democratic-led states in ruling it unconstitutional.

Demonstrators holds up a banner during a citizenship rally outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

They also ruled it "is impossible to avoid this harm" caused by the order "absent a uniform application of the citizenship clause throughout the United States," prompting them to issue the nationwide injunction.

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"The district court below concluded that a universal preliminary injunction is necessary to provide the states with complete relief," U.S. Circuit Judge Ronald Gould, writing for the Ninth Circuit majority, said in the ruling.

"We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the states complete relief."

Olga Urbina and her 9 months son Ares Webster participate in a protest outside the US Supreme Court over President Donald Trump's move to end birthright citizenship as the court hears arguments over the order in Washington, DC, on May 15, 2025.

It's unclear how judges on the First Circuit will rule. But their oral arguments come days after the Trump administration detailed new specifics on how it plans to enforce its order in question.

Guidance from roughly half a dozen U.S. agencies outlines these new requirements for parents. One document published by the Social Security Administration outlines new requirements parents will need to meet to prove their child is a U.S. citizen at birth.

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"With respect to citizenship, an SSN applicant may currently demonstrate U.S. citizenship by providing a birth certificate showing a U.S. place of birth," a document from SSA said.

"Once the EO takes effect, a birth certificate showing a U.S. place of birth will not be sufficient documentary evidence of U.S. citizenship for persons born after the EO takes effect."

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The policy, which remains halted by the lower courts, is widely unpopular.

More than 22 U.S. states and immigrants' rights groups have sued the Trump administration to block the change to birthright citizenship, arguing in court filings that the executive order is both unconstitutional and "unprecedented."

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And to date, no court has sided with the Trump administration's executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship, though multiple district courts have blocked it, including in wake of the Supreme Court ruling, from taking effect.





Original article source: Federal appeals court weighs Trump birthright citizenship order as admin outlines enforcement details
Dr. Marvin Singleton, a former Republican member of the Missouri legislature, stepped back into politics because he is worried about seniors (Suzanne King/The Beacon).

Dr. Marvin Singleton, a Republican who spent 13 years as a Missouri state senator, worries about many of the policies he sees coming out of Washington D.C. these days.

Of course, the retired ear, nose and throat doctor is concerned about federal cuts to Medicaid spending, which could leave millions of Americans without insurance and strain hospitals, nursing homes and home-based care programs that senior citizens rely on.

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But Singleton, 85, who now lives in a retirement community in Overland Park and was recently elected to the Kansas Silver-Haired Legislature, is also concerned about cuts to food assistance programs and economic policies like tariffs and tax cuts that he fears will push up prices.

Everything has ramifications on aging individuals, he said, and those individuals who are on fixed incomes get hurt the worst.

Singleton is not alone. Many advocates working to help senior citizens in the Kansas City area worry, too. A growing population of older low-income adults, they said, already struggles to find health care, pay rent and afford food.

In Missouri, almost 10% of the states 1.1 million residents 65 years old or older live below the poverty level and 22% receive food assistance. In Kansas, 8.5% of the states 510,000 seniors live below the poverty level.

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We do not have the infrastructure to meet the needs of the regions aging population at this moment, said Jeron Ravin, president and CEO of Swope Health, a safety-net health clinic in Kansas City that has made improving that infrastructure one of its priorities.

And thats the situation before provisions in new federal legislation, President Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill, go into effect.

That legislation will cut $911 billion in spending on Medicaid over the next decade and trim $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), causing an estimated 22 million households to lose all or part of their food assistance.

All of that will hurt low-income seniors and the long-term care facilities, health care providers and community organizations that they rely on, senior advocates said.

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Were in crisis now, said Janet Baker, executive director of KC Shepherds Center, which provides meals and other support to older, mainly low-income adults. We cant meet the need that we already have, and that need is just going to grow.

Growing older populations

In both Missouri and Kansas, older adults make up a growing portion of the populations.

A recent survey of older Missourians found that almost one-third of respondents couldnt access the health care they needed, often because it cost too much or they couldnt find a provider in their area. And at least three in 10 said they didnt have enough money to afford healthy meals.

Weve seen this coming for a long time based on demographics and population shift, said Rachel Ohlhausen, director of program partnerships with Jewish Family Services, and we havent seen federal dollar investments that match.

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In fact, since Trump returned to office in January, the opposite has happened.

Funding has been slashed for safety-net programs like Meals on Wheels and transportation services to help older adults get to the doctor or the grocery store. Area agencies like KC Shepherds Center and Jewish Family Services have been forced to turn down requests for help from seniors and their families.

Food pantries and meal sites, meanwhile, also are struggling to help food-insecure seniors as federal food aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture also experiences steep cuts. And affordable housing for seniors is a growing need.

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, people 50 years or older represent the fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness. The organization predicts that that group will triple in size by 2030.

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In Kansas City, Swope Health will break ground Aug. 7 on a development at 5900 Swope Parkway designed to include 200 units of senior affordable housing, along with senior health and dental clinics.

But Ravin said plans for the project, called Swope Health Village, may be curtailed by federal funding cuts, which will likely take money away from community health clinics like Swope by reducing the number of patients covered by Medicaid and potentially increasing the number who need free care.

In addition, he said, the donations required to complete future phases of the project will be harder to come by.

The question is, due to these cuts, will the project, instead of being completed within five years, take 10 years or 15 years? Ravin said. All safety-net providers are likely to be less financially secure. Philanthropy is going to have more of us asking them for support than ever. And, you know, the well is only so big.

Impact on care for seniors

Across the spectrum, health providers are expecting to feel the effect of cuts to Medicaid funding.

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The new federal law will reduce the number of people who can receive Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance program, by adding work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. Some of those requirements could be especially burdensome for seniors, advocates said.

The law also shifts more of the programs costs, which have always been jointly funded by state and federal taxes, to states. Finding those dollars in Missouri and Kansas will probably be difficult.

In addition to federally qualified health clinics like Swope that rely heavily on revenue from patients covered by Medicaid, safety-net hospitals like University Health in Kansas City expect to lose revenue. And so will long-term care facilities like nursing homes, which already have faced headwinds in recent years.

Medicaid covers 65% of residents in Missouri nursing homes and 58% in Kansas nursing homes.

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During the COVID pandemic, long-term care facilities became ground zero for deaths because the virus so easily spread in close quarters and residents health and age made them more vulnerable.

Many patients moved out of the facilities as well, resulting in empty beds and, in some cases, closed doors.

Kansas once had at least one skilled nursing home option in all 105 counties in the state. Now nine counties have none, said Linda MowBray, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living, which represents long-term care facilities in the state.

MowBray praised the Kansas legislature for adding funding to the Medicaid program to increase reimbursement rates for long-term care facilities. But reimbursements still dont meet the actual cost, she said, and many facilities continue to struggle financially. The new federal law wont help, she said.

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Most concerning to her members, MowBray said, is a reduction in the amount of time people have to qualify for Medicaid coverage once theyve moved into a long-term care facility.

Currently, if a person enters with a Medicaid application pending, they get 90 days to complete the cumbersome process. The facility will be reimbursed for the time the patients application was pending as long as approval comes within that 90-day window.

But the new law shortens that window to 60 days, which may not be long enough for many older patients to complete the process, MowBray said. That means nursing homes wont be reimbursed for all of the days that the application process requires.

This will force providers to take a serious look at how much risk they can take, MowBray said.

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Some small facilities may not be able to afford the risk, she said.

The concern is  where are these people going to go? MowBray said. Are they just parked in the hospital while the application is going through? And if it doesnt go through, and theyre beyond 60 days and the hospital doesnt get paid, thats an even bigger bill thats going to have to get written off.

Marie Dunham, an owner of Blue Hills Rest Home in Independence, is not ready to panic. After four decades in this business, she said, shes seen this play out before when people have worried about government benefits being reduced but then everything turned out to be fine.

Every time we get a new president, a new governor, everybody always gets this fear factor, Dunham said. Everybody needs to take a big breath.

Blue Hills, an assisted living facility, serves senior citizens and people with disabilities. The vast majority of them receive Medicaid. Dunham doesnt believe the state of Missouri will abandon this population.

Theres got to be homes to take care of our people  our elderly and disabled, Dunham said. Theyre not going to put our people out on the streets.

Ripple effects

Baker, who, in addition to her role with KC Shepherds Center, serves in Missouris Silver-Haired Legislature, is less optimistic. She expects to see more nursing homes close and more seniors left at greater risk.

More hunger, more hardship and more homeless seniors, she said. I dont believe the state is prepared from the standpoint that senior services are inadequately funded in the first place.

In 2023, then-Missouri Gov. Mike Parson launched a study to develop a master plan on aging for the state. Officials are holding town hall meetings across the state before the report is finalized later this year.

Low-income older adults will almost certainly feel the ripple effects that follow cuts to federal funding, health leaders said. Even before those cuts passed Congress, states were expecting increased needs among the growing senior population. And both Missouri and Kansas have been planning.

In 2023, then-Missouri Gov. Mike Parson launched a study to develop a master plan on aging for the state. Officials are holding town hall meetings across the state before the report is finalized later this year. A Kansas City event is scheduled at 9 a.m. Aug. 1 at the Kauffman Foundation at 4801 Rockhill Road.

And the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has drafted a state plan on aging that makes several recommendations for improving care for older Kansans.

Now the question becomes whether the current political landscape will allow priorities laid out in the state plans to be implemented. Observers fear that fiscal and political realities make that unlikely.

Missouri has shifted its own tax policy, including eliminating the states capital gains tax earlier this year, which will mean less tax revenue coming in. And federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP will force both states to carry a greater portion of the costs of those programs, meaning less money for other priorities.

Stacy Morse, executive director of the Missouri Council on Aging, said she hopes state legislators will understand that priorities included in the master plan on aging, which her organization supports, are recommendations from people around the state.

After tax cuts, its going to be really hard  to fund these services and support that people across Missouri are saying they need, Morse said. Theres a complete disconnect between what we want and what Missouri is willing to pay for.

Even if big financial investments are not possible in the current environment, small changes could still help, said Mindy Ulstad, who has led the master plan process from her post with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

For example, the master plan will recommend that the state work on a no wrong door policy for seniors in the state, so one call to a single agency will let them get all their questions answered. And the state can work on outreach, so seniors have a better idea of what services are available to help them.

There may be things that are harder to enact over the next few years, she said. But the state can work on getting information out about whats available and helping people navigate those systems.

Ulstad also said that the information gathered during the process of writing the master plan will be available to local governments and community organizations so they can learn from it and perhaps implement some of its recommendations.

We are letting people know that the plan will be out there and they can use it for their own strategic planning, she said.

Increasingly, support for older adult services is falling to county taxpayers. In November, for example, Jackson County voters passed a tax levy that will raise $8 million annually to support senior services beginning sometime next year. Across the state, 55 other counties have similar taxes.

But as state legislators look at limiting property taxes, Morse fears that this source of revenue could be at risk, too. In testimony before a Missouri House committee on the issue, she urged legislators to remember that those taxes are helping seniors.

We recognize that there is this need to reduce the property tax burden, she said. Also that the assessments may have increased too quickly, and it took a lot of people by surprise. But what we want to remind you is that the property taxes are providing really necessary services. For the older adults, its helping them age in place.

More patients are likely to need support to stay at home. Many people cant afford long-term care or would prefer to be in a familiar place.

Swope Health started a program a year ago called PACE KC, which relies on Medicaid and Medicare payments to provide health care and social support like transportation to Jackson County residents who are 55 or older.

But the reality is that more people will need more help, especially after federal and state cuts are absorbed.

It will get worse before it gets better, Ohlhausen said, and my hope is that we learn and we really try to hold on to what we want to build back on the other side.

She is also still holding out hope that lawmakers will reconsider and reverse some of the funding cuts before they take effect.

I dont know if thats possible, but whatever is possible should be pursued.

This article first appeared on Beacon: Kansas City and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX)  With billions in funding from the Department of Education still frozen, programs focused on adult learning are facing an uncertain future  including one in Mesa County.

Theres a lot of questions, theres a lot of unknowns and certainly uncertainty, says Mesa County Libraries Executive Director Michelle Boisvenue-Fox.

In late June, the Trump administration announced funding from the Department of Education would be frozen while grants are reviewed. Those grants help fund adult education and literacy services, among other things.

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Our adult learning center, which has been in action for over 36 years, started a federally funded grant program in 2018 that hires instructors to teach GED prep classes for adult learners in our community, says Boisvenue-Fox.

Boisvenue-Fox says the funding freeze has put the librarys Adult Learning Center in limbo.

Weve gotten no word of funding. We dont know how much, if theres going to be a reduction in the funding. It makes it very challenging for us to plan, it makes it very challenging for instructors to figure out their life and what their work is going to look like.

She says the library has enough funds to cover the program through the end of 2025, but beyond that, things are uncertain.

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We are in the very early stages of figuring out what our budget is for next year. So while were able to cover them for the rest of this year to help give them some stability, we dont know what the future is.

With the freeze falling on year two of a four year grant cycle, the library is already considering other ways to fund the program.

What are we able to cover with donors? What are we able to cover if businesses are able to step up and help us in that way? What do partnerships look like in the community and who should we be talking to?

Boisvenue-Fox says the Adult Learning Centers impact cant be understated, and neither can the impact of its potential loss.

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They go on to certification programs, they go on to college. They might work with the Business Incubator Center and start a new business Theyre looking to improve their families. Theyre looking to improve their ability to earn and their ability to make dreams come true and their ability to make their children proud.

Boisvenue-Fox says the community can help by doing any of the following:

Donate to the Mesa County Library Foundation and direct your donation to the Adult Learning Center.

Volunteer for the Adult Learning Center.

Send ideas for funding considerations or creative strategies to director@mcpld.org.

Email your legislators and urge them to release the funding.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A federal judge on Friday postponed the Trump administration from revoking the temporary status for Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants, finding the cancellation was likely rooted in racial animus.

The 37-page ruling by San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson, a Biden appointee, argued the move by Homeland Security Secretary Krisiti Noem to cancel the temporary humanitarian protections appeared to be parietally rooted in "racial and discriminatory animus" in support of their Fifth Amendment claim.

"Color is neither a poison nor a crime," the ruling states. "Therefore, Plaintiffs have provided sufficient evidence to establish that Plaintiffs will likely succeed on the merits of their Fifth Amendment claim."

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Dhs Terminates Temporary Protected Status For Around 76K Honduran, Nicaraguan Migrants

President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as they tour a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security likened Thompson's ruling to a New York Times opinion piece.

"Restoring integrity to our immigration system to keep our homeland and its people safe. That is all weand the American people who elected President Trump in a landslide electionseek," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "TPS was never meant to be a de facto asylum system, yet that is how previous administrations have used it for decades. This is yet another example of how out of control judges are race-baiting to distract from the facts and Presidents constitutionally vested powers under Article II. We will appeal, and we expect a higher court to vindicate us."

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The ruling is a reprieve for more than 60,000 immigrants who have been allowed to legally live and work in the United States under the TPS program.

A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the program was never intended to become permanent.

"Temporary Protected Status is, by definition, temporary. It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency, and no bizarre analysis from radical judges will change that fact," White House spokesperson Abigal Jackson said. "This judge simply did not have lawful authority to review the TPS designation - the Supreme Court already affirmed in prior rulings that extensions of TPS are committed by law to the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security."

"The ruling reads like a left-wing fever dream, not a serious judicial opinion," she added. "Ultimately, the lower courts ruling will not stand and we look forward to ultimate vindication in this case."

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Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Immigration Policy In Shocking Decision On Haitian Protections

The Trump administration was poised to end the protections for Honduran and Nicaraguan migrants as it ramps up deportations. TPS was set to expire for Honduras and Nicaragua in September.

The decision to end TPS for the two nations comes weeks after DHS terminated the same status for Haiti and months after terminating TPS for Venezuelans. A federal judge has since blocked that termination amid an ongoing legal battle.

In her ruling, Thompson noted statements made by Noem, like those that cast illegal immigrants as "invaders" or "criminals," "perpetuate the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population."

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"Although the Secretarys statements may appear innocent or only mildly offensive to one who is not a member of the targeted group, the statements are in reality . . . intolerably abusive or threatening when understood from the perspective of a plaintiff who is a member of the targeted group'," she wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security noted that some of the people who "exploited" the TPS program include several Hondurans with convictions for aggravated assault, possessing, selling, or manufacturing a dangerous weapon, sex crimes against children, domestic violence and resisting arrest.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in a ruling that lifted a San Francisco District Court Judge's injunction that temporarily blocked the termination of TPS for Venezuelans, paving the way for the administration to legally revoke TPS for subsequent nations.

Created by Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS allows individuals from countries affected by natural disasters, war, or other dangerous, unusual circumstances to seek refuge in the U.S. This program can be renewed in 18-month increments.

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Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell contributed to this report.





Original article source: Federal judge finds 'racial and discriminatory animus' in Trump move to cancel temporary protected status
A federal judge in California delayed the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) decision to terminate protections for immigrants from three countries, a move that adds to the legal hurdles for the Trump administration as it pushes to carry out its deportation agenda.

Judge Trina Thompson said that DHS Secretary Kristi Noems terminations of temporary protected status, also known as TPS, for immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal were likely "preordained decisions" that violated the Administrative Procedure Act and were driven by racial animus.

"The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek," Thompson, a Biden-appointee, wrote in an order. "Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees."

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Thompson later added: "Color is neither a poison nor a crime."

Dhs Terminates Temporary Protected Status For Around 76K Honduran, Nicaraguan Migrants

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, left, and White House border czar Tom Homan speak with reporters at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington.

The lawsuit was brought by a group representing TPS holders, including some who have lived in the country for more than two decades.

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Attorneys wrote in court papers on behalf of the immigrants that they were "laborers, health care workers, artists, and caretakers" who have "relied on TPS to provide the most basic forms of human security  a stable place to live and a chance to work for a living during a time of severe crisis in their home countries."

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They argued that Noem declining to extend their TPS status was, by law, supposed to be reached based on an individualized analysis of each country. The judge found that Noem likely failed to condition TPS termination on factors specific to the immigrants' countries of origin.

They also said Noem had given the immigrants a historically short notice period of 60 days before they would lose their TPS status. And she and other Trump administration officials have normalized using "racist invective" to explain their TPS decisions, the attorneys said.

Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Immigration Policy In Shocking Decision On Haitian Protections

President Donald Trump speaks with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as they 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.

The attorneys cited dozens of examples of Trump or Noem describing migrants as Ms-13 gang members, murderers, terrorists and people who have it in their "genes" to commit crime. They pointed to Trumps viral debate moment in which he made the unproven claim that Haitian immigrants were eating Ohioans' house pets.

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The TPS program gives the DHS authority to permit immigrants who might otherwise have no legal status to temporarily reside in the United States because of extraordinary circumstances in their home countries, such as wars or natural disasters.

The plaintiffs argued that roughly 61,000 people would lose their TPS as a result of Noem's decision, which would end the immigrants' legal status and work authorizations and make them eligible for deportation.

The Trump administration has argued that the statute governing TPS gives DHS secretaries sole discretion over TPS designations and that Noem should be allowed to end the status using the same authority that past secretaries used to grant it.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 12, 2025.

In May, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration in an emergency order related to a case involving TPS for Venezuelans. The order temporarily paused a lower court order, clearing the way for Noem to end TPS for about 350,000 immigrants.

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Thompson's decision will stay in place until at least November, when the next hearing is scheduled. DHS told Fox News Digital it plans to appeal the decision.





Original article source: Federal judge halts Trump TPS policy, accuses DHS of making migrants 'atone for their race'
Leavenworth Federal Correctional Institution, pictured here in 2023, is the subject of criticism from civil rights groups and immigration attorneys who say conditions for immigrants inside are inhumane. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA  Problems linger in a Kansas federal prison holding immigrant detainees, even after altering some practices that a coalition of lawyers, civil rights groups and advocates revealed were harmful to those inside.

The Federal Correctional Institution at Leavenworth is one of two places in Kansas where Immigration and Customs Enforcement can detain people long term, and the coalition wrote to the prison warden in June about unsanitary, inequitable and unhealthy conditions.

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Warden Crystal Carter wrote in a June 20 response letter that the prison had eliminated medical fees, added law library resources that ICE failed to provide, implemented new recreation hours and expanded Spanish-language communications.

But concerns about lockdowns and adequate phone call time remain, said Kyle Virgien, a senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Unions National Prison Project.

We see a lot of problems across ICEs detention network, Virgien said. Detention is difficult. It rips people from their communities. It isolates them from their families. This is a constant.

Virgien began speaking with people inside Leavenworth in April and continues to monitor conditions.

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What he heard was troubling, he said.

The coalition wrote in a pair of letters in May that detained immigrants faced unsanitary and crowded living quarters, extended lockdowns, delayed and costly medical treatment, restricted contact with their families, and no access to religious services.

Some had attempted suicide, the letter said.

Carter, the warden, said things have changed.

After reviewing its procedures, the prison eliminated a $2 fee that people in ICE custody were charged for certain health visits. Staff were told to stop those charges and reverse all previous ones. To boost access for medical services, the prison created request slips written in Spanish for ICE detainees, Carter said. However, it is unclear how quickly officials respond to Spanish medical requests.

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Carter said capacity concerns did not exist at the time of writing, and, according to the coalition, people inside have said what once were crowded cells have become less so.

According to July data from ICE, estimating average daily populations from the past year, about 35 people are held daily in Leavenworth for immigration reasons. Most pose little to no threat, according to ICE threat level classifications. On average, around 21 people were associated with criminal cases, and 12 were not. All are male and stay an average of 25 days.

During those 25 days, people in ICE custody now are afforded at least one hour of outdoor recreation time daily and a maximum of 300 minutes of phone calls per month, with no call lasting longer than 15 minutes.

People in ICE custody at Leavenworth are subject to the rules and policies of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which oversees operations. Some of the rules and policies are a departure from typical conditions in ICE detention facilities, Virgien said.

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He has heard stories of mistreatment from guards and retaliatory lockdowns that punish many for the actions of few, he said. Lockdowns mean people are in cells for 23 hours a day and must pack all of their life tasks into that one hour outside the cell, Virgien said, which can include recreation, showers, legal research, religious practices and phone calls.

Carter said one instance of a lockdown has occurred in Leavenworths ICE detention unit for 72 hours, and another more than eight hours.

Except for the limited and infrequent instances, all ICE detainees have time outside of their cell each day and have access to exercise, the electronic law library and phone systems, Carter said.

The people ICE detains in Leavenworth are imprisoned alongside people awaiting criminal trials or serving criminal sentences.

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Benjamin OCone, a spokesman for the bureau, said in an emailed statement that its the mission of the bureau and Leavenworth to operate facilities that are safe, secure and humane.

We take seriously our duty to protect the individuals entrusted in our custody, as well as maintaining the safety of our employees and the community, OCone said. Humane treatment of the men and women in our custody is a top priority.

ICE did not respond to a request for comment. ICE also has not responded to the coalitions letter, according to ACLU of Kansas spokeswoman Esmie Tseng.

Virgien said the coalition is glad the prison addressed some of the issues they raised, but concerns remain.

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Many of the people at the facility have already won their immigration cases, and ICE is still detaining them, Virgien said.

The coalition believes ICE should release people as soon as their immigration cases are won.

In at least one case, an immigration judge determined a man could not return to his country of origin without risking torture. Others include people who have spoken out against authoritarian governments in their countries of origin or fled persecution. Some have young children. Many have come from Chicago, and a small number from Kentucky, Virgien said.

When asked about the possibility of pursuing legal action, Virgien said, all options are on the table.

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Now, with major Congressional budget increases for ICE, Virgien fears problems will only multiply.

Congress approved more than $175 billion for ICE in its most recent budget bill, making it what the Brennan Center for Justice classified as the largest federal law enforcement agency. The funds expand ICEs ability to bring people into custody while capping the number of immigration judges in the country.

Also in Leavenworth, private prison company CoreCivic is battling the city government to reopen a shuttered prison to use as its Midwest Regional Reception Center, which would detain as many as 1,000 people. A judge temporarily blocked the company in July from housing people at its facility until the matter is worked out in court.
Colorado health care providers and policy experts present information about federal cuts to Medicaid to several Democratic state lawmakers, including Rep. Emily Sirota, left, and Sen. Judy Amabile, center, during a meeting of the state House and Senate Democratic caucuses, Thursday at the Colorado Capitol. (Delilah Brumer/Colorado Newsline)

The immediate question Colorado lawmakers face in the wake of congressional Republicans tax break and spending cut law is how to fix the billion-dollar state budget shortfall the new law caused. But once they do that, longer-term impacts of the federal law  including Medicaid work requirements and food assistance cost burden shifts  will still loom large, health experts and economists warned top state Democrats on Thursday.

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing estimates that those federal changes, some of which wont take effect until 2027, will put 377,000 Coloradans at risk of Medicaid disenrollment and add significant administrative costs to the state.

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The law, which was signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, cuts more than $1 trillion nationwide from Medicaid, a state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes.

All four Republican members of the Colorado delegation to the U.S. House voted in favor of the law. All four Democrats, as well as Colorados two Democratic U.S. senators, voted against it.

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The laws reduction in health care premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act insurance enrollees will mean premium increases of 50% to 150% or more for nearly 300,000 Coloradans, said Adam Fox, the Colorado Consumer Health Initiatives deputy director.

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The reconciliation law is dramatically and rapidly diminishing affordability of health insurance, Fox said during a presentation to the state House and Senate Democratic caucuses at the Capitol in Denver. The tax and spending law was passed in Congress through a reconciliation process.

The presentation came a day after members of the Executive Committee of the Legislative Council met at the Capitol to discuss the estimated $1.2 billion tax revenue hit to the state that follows the laws passage.

More than a dozen Democratic state lawmakers, including Senate President James Coleman and House Speaker Julie McCluskie, attended the presentation Thursday. Democrats have strong majorities in the state House and Senate.

The reconciliation law is dramatically and rapidly diminishing affordability of health insurance.

 Adam Fox, Colorado Consumer Health Initiatives deputy director

Gabriela Walters, the director of quality, risk and compliance at Tepeyac Community Health Center in Denver, said the nonprofit served 7,500 patients last year, about a third of whom rely on Medicare and another 55% of whom have no health insurance. She said that the new law will negatively impact our financial stability and sustainability.

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We believe that the results of many of our patients who are on Medicaid losing coverage (is that it) will make them less likely to seek preventive and primary care and more likely to delay care until concerns are more severe, which will ultimately lead to sicker patients and sicker communities, Walters said.

Presenters pointed to cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also made under the new federal law, as damaging to the health and food security of low-income Coloradans.

The law changes SNAP by broadening work requirements, penalizing states with higher error rates of under- or over-payments, and, for the first time, requiring states to share some of the costs of providing SNAP benefits.

Ron Meehan, the government relations manager at Feeding Colorado, said about 36,000 Coloradans are at risk of losing SNAP benefits, adding that this will increase the burden on food banks.

The overarching message is that Colorados anti-hunger network is going to be expected to do a lot more with a lot less, he said.

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Constellation Energy plans to restart Unit 1 of the former Three Mile Island nuclear power plant as the Crane Clean Energy Center. (Capital-Star/Peter Hall)

On Thursday, community members had the chance to voice their hopes and concerns about the planned reopening of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor.

More than 100 people attended a public meeting held by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) at the Penn State Harrisburg campus near Middletown, less than five miles from the now-decommissioned reactor.

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Tonight, the reason were here is transparency and communication with the public, said Jamie Pelton, acting director of the Division of Operating Reactor Licensing.

With increased energy demands, due largely to a construction boom of power-hungry data centers driven by advances in artificial intelligence, Constellation Energy is working to reopen the nuclear facility  renamed Crane Clean Energy Center  by 2027. Thats a year earlier than initially expected.

It is slated to power data centers for Microsoft. An agreement reached between the tech company and Constellation is reported to last 20 years, could create around 3,400 jobs and bring $3 billion in state and federal taxes.

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It will also be one of the first shuttered nuclear plants in the United States to reopen, along with another plant in Palisades, Michigan.

Attendees offered polarized views, with some concerned about the potential of another failure like the one in 1979, or the impacts on the environment and public health. Others were hopeful that reopening the reactor could bring much-needed jobs and stimulate the economy in Londonderry Township and surrounding communities in Dauphin County. Each person was allowed around two minutes to speak.

One of Three Mile Islands two reactors partially melted down in 1979. That accident captivated the country and changed the course of the nuclear energy industry in the United States. No injuries or deaths were reported to have resulted from the accident. But some attendees at the meeting recalled what is why like during the crisis.

I had a metallic taste in my mouth, and so did so many other people, said Maria Frisby, 61, who lives in Middletown. How are you going to prevent all of that from occurring again?

Maria Frisby of Middletown spoke at a public meeting in Middletown, Dauphin County, about the planned reopening of the former Three Mile Island nuclear plant. (Photo by Ian Karbal)

The sites other reactor continued operating until 2019 when it was shut down by Constellation Energy, the sites owner, which deemed it more expensive to operate than it was worth.

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Mark Rodgers, a spokesperson for Constellation, said in a statement to the Capital-Star that the reactor that operated until 2019 was one of the highest performing and safest nuclear reactors in the country until we had to prematurely retire the unit in 2019 due to market conditions.

Microsoft is enabling us to make the investment to restart the unit as the Crane Clean Energy Center, bringing back over 600 jobs and putting over 800 megawatts of clean, emissions free power back onto the grid where it will go into the homes, businesses, schools and hospitals throughout the region, he added.

But despite the sites history, many people supported its reopening.

I stand before you in support of a responsible restart of the Crane Clean Energy Center, said Jim Enders, president of the Central Pennsylvania Building and Construction Trades Council. Weve safely built and continue to maintain other nuclear facilities throughout the east coast and the Midwest, and were ready, willing and able to bring Crane back online in a safe manner. Its time to turn the page.

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Others welcomed the impact new jobs and workers could have on the community.

Middletowns historic downtown is just minutes from the plant, and it has numerous small businesses that thrived over many years from the customers from the island, said Ellen Willenbecher, vice president of the Middletown Borough council. For some families who had to leave Middletown when the Island closed, theyre moving home. Local businesses will welcome back old and new customers.

But the plan had detractors as well.

Patricia Longenecker spoke at a public meeting in Middletown, Dauphin County, about the planned reopening of the former Three Mile Island nuclear plant. (Photo by Ian Karbal)

Patricia Longenecker, who lives near the plant, raised concerns about the projects environmental impact, and what it would mean to operate a reactor dependent on the Susquehanna River in an era of increased doubt and flood risk due to climate change.

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My comments come from being a steward of Lancaster County farmland, with my family going back 200 years, she said. Last October, our area experienced a severe drought. One could walk across the river south of Three Mile Island on rocks. Where would 100 million gallons of water per day needed to operate the plant have been secured?

The Capital-Star could not verify the amount of water required to operate the plant.

Maureen Mulligan, who lives in Lebanon, was particularly concerned about how the NRC, or any other group, could ensure safety amid President Donald Trumps push to slash the federal workforce and deregulate the energy industry.

There is a lot of pressure on the NRC to race to permit nuclear plants to enable these humungous, energy hogging AI plants to get built, she said. Our community, which has experienced the worst [nuclear] accident in U.S. history, deserves to be protected, and the NRC will have to earn our confidence back.

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In June, the Trump administration fired one of the five NRC commissioners. The move followed an executive order calling for reform of the independent commission, a wholesale revision of its regulations, and for the body to facilitate the expansion of the nations nuclear capacity.

Larry Arnold, 76, who also remembers the 1979 accident, put it more bluntly.

Larry Arnold speaks at a public meeting on restarting the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on July 31 in Middletown, Dauphin County. (Photo by Ian Karbal)

What happens when the current administration decides it doesnt like what the NRC is doing, and cuts staff and budget? he said. What will you be doing then and how will we be protected?

Arnold also raised concerns about evacuation plans, which will be created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has recently had its funding slashed.

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We did not have a realistic evacuation plan on March 28, 1979, he said.

Other speakers raised concerns specifically about the feasibility of evacuating nearby hospitals and senior centers.

The NRC panelists said another virtual public meeting will be held on August 6 at 4:00 p.m. Information can be found on their public meeting schedule.

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The freshman Republican representing Colorado's most competitive congressional district ranks as the country's most vulnerable House incumbent in the National Journal's initial list of the 2026 battleground seats.
A school bus drives along a rural road outside of Kenosha, Wis. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act established a national tax credit scholarship program, but state leaders can decide whether and how to participate. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

This story was originally published by Stateline.

When President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, he gave state leaders  not federal regulators  the power to decide whether and how to participate in the first-ever national tax credit scholarship program.

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That decision now looms largest in blue states, where Democratic governors and lawmakers must weigh whether to reject the law outright on ideological grounds  or try to reshape it into something that reflects their own values.

This isnt the federal voucher program we were worried about five years ago, said Jon Valant, a senior fellow in governance studies at the left-leaning Brookings Institution who testified before Congress on earlier versions of the bill. It still has serious problems  but states now have tools to mold it into something they might actually support.

The final law gives states wide discretion, he said. They can opt out entirely. They can opt in passively, leaving the program to operate as written. Or, as Valant suggests, they can try to redraw its footprint  focusing less on private school tuition and more on public school supports like tutoring, transportation and enrichment services in underserved districts.

My hope is that blue states take a hard look and ask: Can this be used to address our own needs?

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For progressives and education advocates who are wary of school vouchers, the decision is fraught. Opting in could draw criticism for approving what many see as a vehicle for privatization of K-12 education. But opting out could mean turning down federal dollars  education money that states with budding or robust private school voucher infrastructures, such as Arizona and Florida, will gladly take.

Theres money on the table, and it can be used for more than just private school tuition, Valant said. If blue states want to keep that money from reinforcing inequality, theyll have to get creative, and act fast.

Since 2020, private school choice programs  once limited to low-income or special needs students  have rapidly expanded.

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In 2023, $6.3 billion was spent nationwide on private school choice programs  less than 1% of total public K-12 operational spending, according to EdChoice, a nonprofit that advocates for school choice measures. From 2023-24 to 2024-25, participation in universal private school choice programs surged nearly 40%, growing from roughly 584,000 to 805,000 students in just one school year.

By 2026-27, about half of all U.S. students will be eligible, according to estimates by FutureEd, an independent think tank at Georgetown University.

These trends, combined with new federal tax credit, could fundamentally reshape the education funding landscape across state governments, experts say.

States will need to decide whether to encourage the redirection of funding to support private and religious schools  either by expanding existing voucher programs or, if they dont have one, by introducing such a program for the first time, said Sasha Pudelski, director of advocacy for AASA, The School Superintendents Association. The group opposes the national voucher plan.

State regulations

As of this May, 21 states operated tax credit scholarship programs with varying degrees of funding and oversight. According to the EdChoice Friedman Index, the states of Florida, Arkansas, Arizona and Alabama rank highest in private school access, with 100% of students eligible for school choice programs.

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Some states, like Florida and Arizona, already have extensive tax credit scholarship systems. Others, including Texas, are building new infrastructure such as statewide voucher programs and education savings accounts, known as ESAs.

States with no current programs face decisions about participation, regulation and equity, but without clear federal guardrails, education advocates told Stateline.

The federal policy builds on existing state-level tax credit scholarship programs  such as Alabamas  but significantly expands eligibility, removes scholarship caps and broadens allowable uses to include not just tuition, but also tutoring, therapy, transportation and academic support services. Beginning in 2027, scholarships will be excluded from federal taxable income.

Valant, of Brookings, told Stateline that some of his initial concerns were addressed in the version of the bill signed into law.

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There was a very realistic scenario in the earlier version of the bill where a small number of very wealthy people could essentially make money off this, Valant said. That was mostly addressed.

The enacted version eliminates stock donations and caps individual tax credits at $1,700. And with states that opt in having the power to shape their own program, Valant said that gives them the chance to establish their own guardrails, such as income eligibility caps or nondiscrimination policies for participating schools.

If blue states want to keep that money from reinforcing inequality, theyll have to get creative, and act fast.

 Jon Valant, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution

The scholarship-granting organizations, known as SGOs, would then be subject to new state regulations about where the money can go.

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States could say SGOs cant give money to schools that discriminate based on sexual orientation.  Theres quite a lot of room here for state regulation, he said.

Looking ahead, Valant said hell be watching how states interpret their regulatory powers  and how effective scholarship-granting organizations are at fundraising under the new rules, which prohibit large stock gifts and rely instead on millions of smaller donations.

Now its a strange pitch: Can you front me $300 to give to the SGO? I swear the IRS will give it back, he said. Its going to take time to figure out how to sell this to families.

Concerns over transparency and equity remain. The program allows donors, scholarship-granting organizations and families to direct funds with little public accountability, critics say. And in states without robust oversight, Valant warns that funds could be misused  or channeled to institutions that exclude students based, for example, on identity or beliefs about sexual orientation.

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He also emphasized that early participation is likely to skew toward families already in private schools, particularly in wealthier ZIP codes  mirroring patterns seen in programs in Arizona, Florida and Georgia.

One big risk is that the funds will disproportionately flow to wealthier families  just like weve seen in many ESA programs, Valant said.

What do these programs look like across the country?

FutureEd studied eight states  Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia  where 569,000 students participated in school choice programs at a cost to taxpayers of $4 billion in 2023-24.

The FutureEd analysis found significant differences among the states in design, funding and oversight.

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Arizonas ESA program was the first of its kind in 2011, and also the first to shift toward universal eligibility in 2022.

Florida operated the largest and most expensive program, with broad eligibility, no caps or accreditation requirements, and a major influx of higher-income families, though it mandated some university-led performance reviews. Iowa fully funded ESAs and, like other states, saw mostly existing private school families benefit.

Arkansas had a cautious rollout due to legal delays and geographic clustering of participants, while West Virginia allowed spending across state lines with no performance reporting.

Newcomer North Carolina began with income-based prioritization but quickly expanded under political pressure or demand, while Alabama and Louisiana will launch ESA programs in 2025-26 using general state revenues.

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Utah enacted a universal voucher program in 2023, providing up to $8,000 per student for private school or homeschool expenses. A state teachers union sued, arguing that participating schools were not free and open to all children and that the program diverted public school funds. A state court this April ruled the program was unconstitutional.

As the new federal law opens the door for tax-credit-funded tuition support, Texas is building its first universal school voucher program, aided through ESAs to begin in the 2026-27 school year. The program is funded with $1 billion over two years, with $10,000-$11,000 per student  up to $30,000 for students with disabilities and $2,000 for homeschoolers.

The Texas comptroller will oversee the program, and private schools must be open for at least two years to be eligible for funds.

Voucher programs can drain state budgets, and budget wonks predict the cost for Texas could rise to around $4.8 billion by 2030, The Texas Tribune reported.

A spokesperson for the Texas comptrollers office said that details are still being finalized; the state has issued a request for proposals due Aug. 4 to select eligible educational assistance organizations that would help funnel scholarship dollars to schools.

Other states may be more cautious. The Missouri National Education Association filed a lawsuit this summer to block $51 million in state appropriations to private school scholarships through the MOScholars program. The suit argues that using general revenue rather than private donations violates the state constitution and undermines public education funding.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

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The Brief

ICE sent law enforcement officers emails to boost recruitment.

The emails touted a hefty signing bonus.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey called the tactic "backhanded."

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A recruitment email from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is drawing sharp criticism from some Florida sheriffs, who say the agency is attempting to poach deputies from their ranks after years of partnership.

What we know

When the deputy director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent immigration-certified law enforcement officers an email in an effort to boost recruitment for the agency, it drew the attention of some Florida sheriffs.

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Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said the email felt like a betrayal. Ivey said more than 80 of his deputies received the email. He shared a copy of the email with FOX 35 News.

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"Your experience in state or local law enforcement brings invaluable insight and skills to this mission  qualities we need now more than ever," the email states. "This is more than a job; its a continuation of your service to our country..."

It also boasts a $50,000 signing bonus for new recruits who agree to work for the agency for five years. The bonus would be paid out over five years.

What we don't know

It's unclear how many law enforcement officers will join ICE who were inspired by the email. ICE was not immediately available for comment ahead of publication.

What they're saying

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey finds the move appalling.

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"What the hell were you thinking?" Ivey asked of ICE. "Why would you go after those that are trying to help you and try and recruit away the law enforcement officers from the very law enforcement agencies that are protecting our communities?"

Ivey said in speaking with sheriffs across the country, they've determined most, if not all, emails were sent to members of local agencies and not at state agencies.

"My guess is they didnt want to aggravate the governors of the states by going after state law enforcement, so they just crapped on us," Ivey said.

Despite the uproar, Ivey said many of his deputies found the recruitment email laughable.

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"Actually, some of them deleted it, because we talk to them so much about the different scams where people are trying to do intrusions, so they wouldnt even click on the link because they thought maybe it was a trick or something," Ivey said.

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Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri shared similar concerns in a statement.

"We have partnered with ICE like no other state," Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said in a statement. "ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong, and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership."

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Some departments, like Seminole and Orange counties, said the email hasnt impacted their recruiting efforts, but acknowledged it underscores the ongoing competition for law enforcement talent.

"We will continue to recruit individuals who believe in our organizational philosophies and desire to serve their local communities," Seminole County sheriff's deputies said in a statement."

"We dont believe it makes it harder for us to compete [for recruits]," Orange County deputies said.

The Source

FOX 35 News interviewed Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey. His office supplied a copy of the letter. FOX 35 News also reached out to sheriff's offices across central Florida and received statement responses from offices in Seminole, Orange and Pinellas counties.




GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  A Newaygo County man will spend years in prison after he admitted to driving to Salem, Massachusetts, because he wanted to destroy a Satanic Temple.

Luke Terpstra, of Grant, was sentenced to three years in prison for possessing an unregistered destructive device, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Michigan announced Friday. The 31-year-old must also pay $850 in fines and fees.

Man targeted Satanic Temple with homemade bomb, feds say

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Terpstra pleaded guilty to the charge in April. According to the plea agreement, he traveled from Grant to Massachusetts in September 2023 while carrying guns and homemade bombs. He admitted to building the bombs because he wanted to destroy the Satanic Temple by setting it on fire, the attorneys office said.

The sentence in this case is significant and it reinforces that individuals who build bombs with the intent to injure innocent civilians and destroy property will be held accountable, said U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey in a statement. This conduct puts us all at risk, and my office will hold those who commit such crimes accountable.

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the Grant Police Department and the Kent County Sheriffs Office.

 News 8s John Hogan contributed to this report.

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AUSTIN (KXAN)  It feels like each summer we complain that its hotter than the previous year. While summer 2025 is actually trending cooler so far, the average hottest stretch of days of the year is now upon us.

July 31 through Aug. 14 has an average high temperature of 99 even with triple digit days scattered throughout the month.

Average temperatures from July 31 through Aug. 14

The final day of July 2025 marked the hottest day of the year so far with a high of 102 in the Austin area, beating the high of 101 set back in May twice and once in July.

While July 2025 high temperatures were about 3.5 cooler than the average, August generally runs hotter and drier for the first half of the month.

Aug. 10 ranks as the day with the most triple digit days in the Austin area at 42 days since records began. On average, our last triple digit day falls on Aug. 30.

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As a reminder, with the heat settling in, drink plenty of water, take breaks from the heat and check in on loved ones and pets to make sure they are safe.

If you love data, be sure to visit our KXAN Weather Data Hub.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY)  Following the opening of pop-up recovery centers for residents impacted by the Fathers Day Flood in Marion County last month, a new recovery center is available downtown.

After a federal disaster declaration took effect early last week for Marion County, the City of Fairmont has officially opened its main Disaster Recovery Center to help those impacted by the flooding that took place a month ago.

The disaster relief center is located at the Fairmont Public Safety Building at 500 Quincy Street.

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Both FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA) are on location, as well as members from the American Red Cross and the West Virginia Department of Human Services.

The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center located at 500 Quincy Street (WBOY Photo)

WVDEP holds second meeting on mine water discharge plan

Officials from the SBA said that they also offer disaster loan assistance to homeowners and renters who were affected by storm damage and that their aid is not exclusive to small business owners or victims of flood damage specifically.

Our physical damage disaster loans are available for homeowners, renters, private non-profits and small businesses that suffered physical damage from that June 14 and 15 floods although the damage could have been from other severe weather those days. Were not only providing assistance to people who had flood damage, SBA Public Affairs Specialist Stephen Clark said.

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Representatives from FEMA urge those who are in need of assistance to apply sooner rather than later, and that they can fill out their paperwork in person at the disaster relief centers or online.

FEMA will be able to have some situations where you can first of all, want you to run your insurance and we can help with some uninsured losses. That might mean the property thats inside your home, it also could mean to clean and sanitize your home, it could be your car, it could be a private road or bridge, but thats why its good to either call the 800 number where youre actually talking to someone or come here in person so we can kind of hear what your situation is, FEMA Media Relations Specialist Kim Fuller said.

The Disaster Recovery Center will be open six days a week for those in need, operating from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The application deadline for physical damage assistance from the SBA is on Sept. 22nd.

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Disaster Recovery Centers are also open in Ohio County, where flooding on June 14-15 claimed nine lives.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  The West Tennessee Drug Task Force seized fentanyl, weapons, and electronic scales during a search warrant in the Westwood area on Tuesday.

On July 26, agents conducted a search warrant in the Westwood area after weeks of investigating.

Agents said they seized approximately four ounces of fentanyl, eight weapons, multiple sets of electronic scales, and assorted paraphernalia associated with the sale of fentanyl.

Courtesy of West Tennessee Drug Task Force

They said after further investigation, one weapon had been stolen in an auto burglary in Arkansas.

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This case is still under investigation, and charges are still pending.

Agents are working with the Shelby County District Attorneys Office as the investigation continues.

Fentanyls a dangerous poison, even by standards of illegal drugs; and it often kills unsuspecting users, said DA Mulroy.

Any time we get it off the streets, its a good thing, said Task Force Director Johnie Carter. When taking fentanyl, it isnt so much a matter of it, its a matter of when youll overdose.

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Jul. 31dbeard @dominionpost.com MORGANTOWN  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has told lake Lynn Generation that it did not violate its hydroelectric project license when it responded to low dissolved oxygen levels in July, August and October 2024.

The first two instances occurred during the long summer drought and the company responded by opening a dam gate to release more water. The October instance occurred while Lake Lynn was a second generator online to increase power output.

"Based on our review of the available information, " FERC said in a Wednesday letter to the company, "we will not consider the DO deviations included in your July 19, August 14, and October 4, 2024 reports as violations of your project license."

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The July instance occurred on July 16, when the dissolved oxygen dropped below required level (necessary to maintain aquatic life below the dam in the Cheat River) three times for 10 minutes each.

Lake Lynn opened a dam gate to get water flowing and stir up the oxygen levels, and FERC said the company acted according to operating procedures.

Also on July 16, Lake Lynn submitted to FERC a request to lower its seasonal minimal Cheat Lake reservoir level by three feet in order to increase spillway discharge.

That request drew overwhelming negative responses from the community, with residents expressing concerns about the negative effects on boaters and Cheat Lake residents and on the lakeside economy. Many opposition letters cited distrust of the company and echoed allegations of poor maintenance of the lake and its recreational facilities.

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The August instance occurred on Aug. 14, with oxygen levels falling below the minimum level twice. Again, Lake Lynn opened a dam gate to get more water flowing. In both the July and August cases, FERC said in its letter, "You state in your report that no adverse environmental or other resource effects were observed or reported as a result of these deviations."

Lake Lynn withdrew its request to lower the lake level on Sept. 11, 2024, in the face of the overwhelming opposition and West Virginia's Department of Environmental Protection and Division of Natural Resources withdrawing prior OK's.

The Dominion Post reported on Sept. 24, 2024 that the effects of the ongoing drought were apparent around Cheat Lake. Marinas were largely empty. Boats were stranded on mud flats. Related in part to the low lake levels, vast swaths of hydrilla covered portions of the lake surface.

As explained before, the summer drought put Lake Lynn in a trilemma  having to choose between three competing FERC license requirements: maintain the summer level of 868-870 feet ; maintain a flow rate of 212 cubic feet per second (cfs) into the Cheat River, with an absolute minimum of 100 cfs ; and maintain dissolved oxygen at 5 milligrams per liter for the aquatic life.

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In withdrawing its request to lower the lake level, Lake Lynn proposed developing an Operation Plan that will include standard operating procedures to be implemented during periods of low inflow and low dissolved oxygen, "which will document the prioritization of license requirements and how Lake Lynn will comply with the operational requirements of the license."

Whether Lake Lynn had violated its license requirements was a question raised in a lawsuit underway in federal court.

Marina 1 LLC, a Biafora family company doing business as Cheat Lake Marina, filed suit Sept. 30, 2024, alleging that before the Labor Day weekend, Lake Lynn deliberately lowered the level of Cheat Lake below the 868-foot minimum in violation of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license. This caused various damages, some of them irreparable.

Both sides are awaiting a decision from Judge Thomas Kleeh in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in Clarksburg: whether the case might be dismissed ; or remanded back to Monongalia County Circuit Court, where it began, and continued there ; or neither and simply continue in federal court.

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Marina wants the case sent back to county circuit court. Lake Lynn wants it kept in federal court and wants the case dismissed.

The October incidence occurred on Oct. 4, 2024 and was related to stationary water stored in a turbine, Lake Lynn told FERC. When the oxygen level dropped, the company decreased generator output and opened a gate to increase spillway discharge.
FERGUSON, Mo.  A tense exchange between a Ferguson councilman and a resident shocked those in attendance at a July 22 public meeting, culminating with the mayor yelling to clear the room.

Councilman David Williams said he was done being interrupted by a certain citizen, when he had the floor.

Shut up three times, he said. Im tired of you. Shut up.

Williams then flipped off the citizen

I gave her the bird, he admitted to FOX 2 News.

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The councilman agreed to take a break from his day job to talk with us about it.

Im not saying thats acceptable behavior, but this has been going on for months, he said.

Williams said citizens had their chance to speak earlier in the meeting but then kept interrupting him despite the mayors warnings. The mayor repeatedly tried to quiet the citizen.

The tensions surround the city councils decision to cut taxpayer payments tied to a 2016 consent decree. Its a deal Ferguson struck with the U.S. Department of Justice in reforming policing and the courts surrounding the events in Ferguson in 2014. The city has already paid about $6 million in court ordered obligations following the unrest.

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That time is over, Williams said. I think we need to move forward.

With the coming new year, Williams said theyre going to cut fees they believe go to outsiders who dont understand local needs. Basically, we drew a line in the sand, he said.

Citizen Becca Bryan said, Its the behavior I expect from certain council members.

Bryan was at the meeting. She says opposing citizens are giving a valid warning. Suck it up and do it instead of spending so much time and energy trying to defund something that were under a court order to follow, she said.

She fears resistance could cost more in possible contempt of court findings.

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Erica Brooks, the person whom Williams flipped off, told FOX 2 News by phone that the actions were about silencing her and that she disrupted a meeting because she felt it was the only way to be heard.

She does have the right to petition our government, even if her view is different from mine, Councilman Williams said.

He offered no apologies at that tense meeting. After giving the gesture, he could be heard telling the mayor, Id do it again.

Speaking with FOX 2 on Thursday, the councilman expressed regret over any embarrassment the city might feel over the incident but said he couldnt promise about any future reactions.

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If I had to do it again, I dont know if my outcome would have changed because were all human, Williams said.

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State judges have denied most of the applications from incarcerated people who met eligibility requirements for early release. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

When New Jersey lawmakers passed a compassionate release law in 2020 meant to give more seriously ill people a path out of prison, they cheered the move as the right thing to do and projected it would save the state significant amounts of money in medical costs.

But four and a half years since it took effect, only seven people have been released under the law  representing just .05% of the total prison population, which averaged about 12,900 over that period, state Department of Corrections data shows.

Figures showing the number of inmates deemed eligible for early release by the state Department of Corrections versus how many were approved for release by state judges. (Chart courtesy of N.J. Department of Corrections)

Department doctors determined that 36 incarcerated people who were terminally ill or permanently physically incapacitated met the eligibility requirements for release, but state Superior Court judges did not approve 26 applicants (three others await court decisions), the data shows. The department did not provide numbers on how many incarcerated people requested compassionate release but were rejected as ineligible.

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Surraya Johnson is director of the criminal justice reform program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. She said seven people in over nearly five years is a disappointingly low number and surely not what the legislators had intended, given that the compassionate release law was meant to free more people than the restrictive 1997 medical release law it repealed and replaced.

I think that the lawmakers enact these bills with the best intentions of getting reform, Johnson said. But reform work sometimes can be slow, after a bill is enacted, to get it into practice. As much effort is put into getting legislation passed, we have to put equal, if not more, effort into making sure that that legislation is properly enacted and executed.

She added: Accountability is oftentimes synonymous with transparency, and so I think making this information public will help motivate legislators to hold the state agencies accountable, to make sure that their legislation is being enacted in the way that they envisioned.

Marleina Ubel, a senior policy analyst with progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, called on policymakers to investigate why so few people have been released under the law, which was signed in October 2020 and took effect in early 2021. Ubel called compassionate release denials cruel, considering most applicants are elderly.

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We know that geriatric populations are the least likely to recommit any kind of crime. Theyre one of the safest populations. So this is not about public safety, she said.

The low numbers may be partly due to ongoing disagreement over eligibility, with court challenges arising over exactly what permanent physical incapacity means and whether people convicted of especially heinous crimes could apply. Most recently, the justices had to parse the laws particulars on whether doctors must examine applicants in person to assess their medical condition. They do not, the court ruled Monday, although justices decreed that examinations must be timely.

Some of those who sought compassionate release in recent years include:

Celestine Payne, 75, who poisoned her husband, got her autistic tenant and children to help her dispose of the body, and enlisted her daughters boyfriend in another murder, among other crimes. The state Supreme Court in January acknowledged Payne suffered from permanent physical incapacity but said her crimes were too horrific to justify early release.

Eddie L. Oliver, aka Al-Damany Kamau, who gunned down a Newark detective in an Essex County courthouse, shot and wounded two other officers, and planned to kill a judge. Oliver, who was bedridden at the end of his life, died at 54, six months after the state Supreme Court denied his bid for release.

A 76-year-old man identified only as F.E.D. in court records who has been imprisoned since 1980 for three murders. His diminished ability to perform daily living activities was not enough to justify early release, the states high court ruled in 2022.

A man with brain cancer, identified as M.R. and serving a sentence for racketeering, who applied for compassionate release in February 2023 but was denied eligibility by state corrections officials. He died in June 2024, a month after he asked the state Supreme Court to review his case. The court ruled Monday that state officials wrongly relied on old medical records to deny him eligibility for early release.

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The Department of Corrections relies on assessments by doctors from Rutgers University Correctional Health Care  the prison systems designated health care provider  to determine eligibility for compassionate release, along with input from incarcerated people and their families, attorneys, and advocates, said Daniel Sperrazza, a department spokesman.

One advocate regards the low number of people granted compassionate release  whatever its cause  as one of several failures by state officials to follow through on their promises to reduce New Jerseys prison population.

Bonnie Kerness, coordinator of the American Friends Service Committees prison watch program, pointed to the states inaction on closing its long-troubled youth jails and stalled progress on Gov. Phil Murphys vow to keep parole violators out of prison. Murphy also did not exercise his clemency powers for most of his eight years in office, Kerness added, although she acknowledged his flurry of pardons and commutations since December.

There are so many ways that we can decarcerate people. These things all tie in together. Theyre very much connected, Kerness said. Its concerning that they are not happening in the way that they should be.

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Stalling on decarceration efforts also is costly, Ubel added.

Victoria Kuhn, the departments commissioner, has testified before state lawmakers about the high health care costs of incarcerating elderly and ill people. And Murphy said in February that keeping technical parole violators out of prison would enable the state to close a correctional facility, likely East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge.

Not only is it the humane thing to do, the moral thing to do, but it is actually the economic thing to do for the state, Ubel said.

An earlier version of this story cited a Department of Corrections figure on the number of people released under the compassionate release law that the department later said was incorrect.

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Vaccinations among kindergarteners declined during the 2024-25 school year compared to the year before, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Rates dipped to 92.1 percent for the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) and to 92.5 percent for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and polio vaccine, the data show.

The drop in vaccination coverage comes as the U.S. grapples with rising cases of the measles one of the most contagious diseases in the world.

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There have been 29 outbreaks of the virus this year, resulting in more than 1,330 confirmed measles cases across 40 states, according to the latest CDC numbers.

Herd immunity against measles requires roughly 95 percent of the population to be vaccinated against the disease, according to the World Health Organization.

Vaccine coverage decreased in more than half of states during the last school year compared to the year before, with about 286,000 kindergartners attending school without documentation showing they completed the MMR vaccine series.

Vaccine exemptions for one or more vaccines have also gone up, with a total of 138,000 kindergarteners exempt from a vaccine in the last school year.

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The number of exemptions rose to 3.6 percent during the 2024-25 school year from 3.3 percent the year before.

Exemptions increased in 36 states and Washington, D.C., with 17 states now reporting an exemption rate of more than 5 percent, the data show.

The Trump administration has shaken up the countrys federal vaccine policy, sparking concerns among the medical community about the future of vaccine access.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has a long history of vaccine skepticism, has changed the process for vaccine recommendations as well as who is eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.

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The decision to vaccinate is a personal one, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told The Hill. Parents should consult their health care providers on options for their families.

The spokesperson added that vaccination remains the most effective way to protect children from serious diseases like measles and whooping cough which can lead to hospitalization and death.

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Saying it was time for new and younger leadership to take over a congressional district he has represented for nearly three decades, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis announced Thursday he wasnt seeking reelection and endorsed veteran state Rep. La Shawn Ford to succeed him.

I am 83 years old. Some people wont get to be 83. I mean, a lot of people that I know, and were in my Rolodex, theyre not there anymore, Davis said at a news conference outside his West Side congressional office, surrounded by a crush of family, allies and clergy.

I just decided that this would be a good time  this would be a great time  to try and usher in and help bring in new leadership, he said. Because when youre on the verge of leaving, its hard to do the kind of planning youd like to do.

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By retiring at the end of his current term in January 2027, Davis decision to forgo seeking a 16th term in Congress, as well as the power of seniority that came with being Illinois longest-serving sitting House member, creates the fourth open-seat congressional contest in Illinois next year.

U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and Robin Kelly of Matteson have opted to seek the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, along with Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. And U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston announced in May she would not seek a 15th term in Congress.

Since all four districts are regarded as safely Democratic, the winners of next years March 17 Democratic primaries will be the heavy favorites in the general election.

Ford said Davis endorsement was not just an honor but a strong affirmation of our shared mission to uplift and empower the people we serve.

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This campaign isnt just about securing your vote. Its about sending a firm message against Make America Hate Again, Ford said, altering President Donald Trumps Make America Great Again slogan. This agenda and the policies voted by many Republicans is harmful. We will boldly defend and expand civil rights, human rights and the dignity of every person in our state.

While Davis sought to anoint Ford as his successor and cited Fords 18 years of experience in the state legislature, Democrats had been lining up for the primary in anticipation of the incumbents retirement. Ford himself launched his bid in May but said at the time he wouldnt challenge Davis if the congressman sought reelection.

In addition to Ford, at least eight people had already filed to run before Thursday, including attorney Richard Boykin, a former Cook County commissioner and Davis former chief of staff, and Chicago businessman Jason Friedman, who has raised more than $1 million for his campaign.

Both issued statements honoring Davis career in public service, and both vowed to follow Davis agenda, while ignoring the Ford endorsement.

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The endorsement also did little to quell the size of the field.

Shortly before Davis formally made his announcement, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin announced she planned to run for the seat again. In 2024, Conyears-Ervin challenged Davis for the congressional seat but lost in the Democratic primary. During the campaign, Conyears-Ervin was forced to fend off allegations she violated the city ethics code by improperly firing two employees, among other accusations. City ethics officials later fined her a total of $70,000.

Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins also announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the seat as Davis made his decision public. Several others are also mulling a run.

Ford said that while Davis passed the torch, (he) told me, Youve got to finish the race. Thats my intention. He credited Davis for meeting with voters and allies in the district to solidify support and build an infrastructure for his campaign.

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We have a constituent base that (Davis) has had since hes been in Congress that has grown, so to pass that on is huge, Ford said. But once again, its my responsibility to convince them that I will continue the legacy and carry it further.

Ford said he would follow Davis lead in working to fight Republican cuts in health care and social services.

In 2012, Ford faced a 17-count federal indictment alleging he lied about money he spent on a real estate rehab that resulted in him underpaying taxes by nearly $3,800. But in 2014, federal prosecutors dropped all felony counts without explanation and Ford pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor tax charge. He was sentenced to six months probation, ordered to pay back taxes and perform community service.

Ford on Thursday said the conviction was the result of a plea with the whole United States against you. He said that after he paid off the tax required by the court order, he later, in 2014, received a U.S. Treasury check for $3,793, refunding the amount. He displayed a copy of the check to a Tribune reporter.

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I just think that it was a situation that has connected me even closer to the constituents of the 7th Congressional District, so Im not ashamed of it, he said of the misdemeanor. I look forward to people bringing it up and I would ask them, my opponents, how many of them could actually withstand a federal investigation?

Davis remarked on the changes that have taken place during his tenure serving the vast congressional district that includes Chicagos West Side, the citys downtown and the South Loop. Madison Streets Skid Row reputation gave way to a bustling West Side real estate market and the growth of the citys medical district, while the South Loops once-tawdry history has been rewritten to feature a canopy of high-rise condos and apartments.

Davis was a powerful progressive voice throughout his tenure in public service, which began in 1979 with an 11-year run on the Chicago City Council, followed by six years on the Cook County Board before his 1996 election to Congress.

Asked what he would consider his legacy, Davis said he hoped that I helped inspire, motivate and activate people to be engaged in public policy.

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If people dont feel that they have a responsibility, a citizenship responsibility, then tyrants like Donald Trump end up leading the country, he said.

Davis said while he had purchased a rocking chair for retirement, he had also agreed to chair Fords congressional bid.

But he said he would not seek reelection as a committeeman to the state Democratic Party central committee  the partys governing board made up of members from each of the states 17 congressional districts.

Davis did not offer an endorsement of a successor in that race, but Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch said in a statement that he intended to seek the state central committeemans post.
Filipino teachers help DCPS fill remaining classroom vacancies ahead of new school year

The countdown to the first day of school is on, and Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) is still working to fill open teaching positions.

Last year, DCPS said it entered the school year with 97% of teaching positions filled. That translated to about 250 classroom vacancies on day one.

However, when Action News Jax asked how many vacancies remain now, the district said it would not provide an updated number until next week.

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DCPS provided Action News Jax with the following statement Friday afternoon:

Each year, we provide media with Back to School information, which includes data on teacher vacancies. We typically provide this the week before school starts so that you have the most concrete and up-to-date data," the district wrote. Our vacancies tend to be mostly in specialized areas.

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To help close the gap, DCPS has been recruiting teachers from around the world  including countries like the Philippines, Ghana, and Jamaica.

Three of those teachers  Zarah Santos, Roann Villapaz, and Aubrey Albaracin  moved from the Philippines to Jacksonville through a cultural exchange program designed to fill critical vacancies.

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I sent my resume all around the world. America was the first one to open up its doors for me, said Aubrey Albaracin, who now teaches in Duval County.

The women are part of TPG Cultural Exchange, an official J-1 visa sponsor designated by the U.S. Department of State.

TPGs website says: Teachers can engage in the cultural exchange program for up to 5 years: the initial visa is issued for 3 years, and at the conclusion of the 3 years, teachers can request an extension for 2 more years for a total of 5 years.

The women have already been teaching in Duval County for a couple of years.

I got a call from South Carolina and Jacksonville. Given that theres a big Filipino community in Jacksonville, I felt there would be more support here, Santos said.

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But the job comes with challenges beyond the classroom. Many of these teachers, like so many others, are paying out of pocket for basic supplies, which is why events like Saturdays Balik Skwela (Back to School) drivehosted by Jax Filipinosare so important.

It makes us more focused on lesson planning instead of budgeting, Villapaz said.

While adjusting to a new school system, these teachers are also dealing with growing concerns about immigration enforcement and visa status.

There was a teacher in Ohio who got detained. He had a J-1 visa too. That gave me a scare, Santos said.

The teachers say TPG provides them with regular updates and instructions, but recent news has led some of them to take extra precautions. I normally dont do it, but I travel with my passport now just in case I get stopped and need to show documents, Santos added.

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The teachers say the shifting political climate adds uncertainty they didnt anticipate when accepting the job offers.

My program, TPG, is guiding us and easing us because they know we came here legally, Villapaz said. And my school is very supportive. They reassure us that we are here through a proper process.

Local immigration attorneys Action News Jax spoke to advise that the teachers carry a copy of their J-1 visa and passport as proof of their legal status, should they ever be questioned.

For now, these international teachers remain focused on preparing their classrooms and supporting their students, hoping policy debates happening at the state and national levels wont interfere with their mission to teach young minds in Duval County.

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The abandoned power line suspected of igniting the Eaton fire could have been removed years ago under a rule proposed by state Public Utilities Commission staffers, but the regulation was weakened amid opposition from Southern California Edison and other utilities, according to records and interviews.

State regulators have long known that old transmission lines could set off wildfires, and in 2001 they proposed a safety rule that would have forced Edison and other electric companies to remove abandoned lines unless they could prove they would use them in the future.

Amid opposition from the utility companies, the Public Utilities Commission studied the proposal for several years, ultimately watering it down to allow the old lines to remain up until executives decided they were permanently abandoned, records show.

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One of those old transmission lines, Edison's Mesa-Sylmar line that last saw service during the Vietnam War, is at the center of dozens of lawsuits claiming it ignited the devastating Eaton fire on Jan. 7. The inferno roared through Altadena, killing 19 people and destroying 9,400 homes and other structures.

Edison has said a leading theory of the fires cause is that the century-old line somehow briefly re-energized, creating an arc that sparked the wildfire. The investigation is continuing.

Raffy Stepanian, an electrical engineer who was part of the commissions safety team that proposed the 2001 rule to take down abandoned lines, said commission members dialed back the regulation under fierce lobbying by the state's utilities.

There was a lot of pressure on us to agree with utilities on everything, Stepanian said, adding that the utilities "pretty much wrote those rules.

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Now retired from the commission, Stepanian lives in Altadena. His house survived the Eaton fire, but homes adjoining his property were destroyed.

This fire could have been prevented, he said.

Edison, responding to questions from The Times, said the company kept the Mesa-Sylmar transmission line in place because it thought it might need the line in the future. It last transported electricity in 1971.

We have these inactive lines still available because there is a reasonable chance we're going to use them in the future, said Shinjini Menon, Edisons senior vice president of system planning and engineering.

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Menon said the company inspects and maintains the dormant lines to ensure their safety.

Loretta Lynch, the commissions president in 2001 when the changes were proposed, said she remembers the safety staff coming to her and explaining why the rules needed to be strengthened. But the effort met with resistance from utility executives, she said.

Ultimately, the commission allowed the utilities to debate the rules at dozens of workshops over two years.

The weakened proposal was approved in 2005, less than two weeks after Lynchs term had expired. Lynch's departure left just three people on the five-member commission, which was chaired by Michael Peevey, the former president of Edison International, Southern California Edison's parent company.

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The folks who were trying to improve safety got pulled into a back room with a bunch of industry participants and what happened was a final decision that rolled back safety regulations, Lynch said.

In an interview this week, Peevey acknowledged that in the hindsight of 20 years, a time when utilities have repeatedly sparked some of the biggest wildfires in the state, the commission might have acted differently.

"If we knew then what we know now, perhaps we would have come to a different conclusion," he said.

The other commissioners who approved the rule were Susan Kennedy, who was chief of staff for former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Geoffrey Brown, an attorney and cousin of former Gov. Jerry Brown. Brown said he couldn't recall the details of the vote. Kennedy had no immediate comment.

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In the years since the commission's 2005 decision, abandoned power lines have continued to pose a threat, with hundreds of miles of the unused transmission lines running like spider webs through California.

In 2019, investigators traced the Kincade fire in Sonoma County, which destroyed 374 homes and other structures, to an abandoned line owned by Pacific Gas & Electric.

After the Eaton fire, PUC executive director Rachel Peterson was called before the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee to address how the agency monitors abandoned power lines.

If we wanted to know where all of the inactive lines are, is there a place where we can get that information? asked Assemblywoman Rhodesia Ransom (D-Tracy).

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Not as of today, Assemblymember, Peterson replied. And I would, I guess, Id say in part because the service territories are so large and the pieces of equipment are so numerous that a registry of a specific element may or may not exist. However, well take that back and look at it.

Is there a timeline requirement for them to remove abandoned lines? asked Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita).

"There's no timeline, Peterson responded.

Terrie Prosper, a commission spokeswoman, wrote in an email that the commission expects the companies to inspect and safely maintain the dormant lines just as it does for those that are energized.

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Requiring utilities to remove power lines prematurely  would be shortsighted and could significantly raise bills for utility customers, Prosper wrote. She declined to make officials available for interviews.

Edison said earlier this year that the unused transmission line in Eaton Canyon may have become energized through induction, a process where magnetic fields created by nearby live lines cause the dormant line to electrify.

The company built two transmission lines that run parallel to the dormant Mesa-Sylmar line. They were energized when videos captured the Eaton fire igniting under one of the Mesa-Sylmar transmission towers.

After the 2019 Kincade fire, PG&E said it had agreed with the commission to remove 262 miles of lines that had no future use. The company said it would prioritize the removal of those where the risk of induction was high.

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At the right conditions, failing idle facilities can pose significant wildfire and safety risks, PG&E wrote in its plan to remove the lines.

Edison says it has 465 miles of idle transmission lines in its territory. Kathleen Dunleavy, an Edison spokeswoman, said the company could not release the locations of those lines because it was considered confidential.

How to define 'abandoned'

State utility rules have long stated that permanently abandoned lines must be removed so they shall not become a public nuisance or a hazard to life or property.

But utilities and commission safety staff sometimes disagreed on what lines had been abandoned.

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In 2001, when the commission and its staff proposed strengthening the rule, Edison was challenging the agencys finding that it had violated it by failing to remove an electric line at a Lancaster home that had been demolished. A man who Edison said was attempting to steal equipment had climbed the pole and been electrocuted, according to commission documents.

Edison told the safety staff that it had a pending order for service to be re-installed to the property, arguing it was not abandoned. Staff later discovered there was no such work order, according to the commission's investigation into the death.

To strengthen the rule, the commission said in a January 2001 order that it would define permanently abandoned lines as any line out of service unless the owner can demonstrate with appropriate documentation how it would be used in the future.

Edison and other utilities objected to that proposal and a dozen other rule changes the commission had proposed, asking for the plan to be debated at a workshop, documents show.

Ultimately, an administrative law judge at the commission allowed 50 days of workshops over the course of two years. The judge also allowed Edison and other utilities to pay $180,000 to choose and hire a consultant to facilitate the workshops, according to commission documents.

The goal of the workshops, according to a commission document, was to gather parties views and attempt to narrow disagreement.

At the workshops, one or two of the commission's safety staff defended the proposal while listening to comments from dozens of employees from the electric utilities and the telecommunications companies, according to an utility industry website that kept executives apprised of the developments.

The companies did not just want to debate the commissions proposed rule changes. Documents show the companies suggested 50 other changes to the safety rules, including some that would significantly weaken them.

Lynch, the former commission president, called the workshops the worst way to go about fact-finding on what is needed to ensure safety and said the utility-paid facilitator had "unheard of" powers in drafting the workshop notes, which were incorporated into the commission's final decision.

In the final wording, gone from the proposal was any requirement for utilities to document how they planned to use dormant lines in the future. Instead the language revised the rule to define permanently abandoned lines as those that are determined by their owner to have no foreseeable future use.

With that definition, utilities could keep their old unused lines up indefinitely if executives believed they might be used in the future.

The commissions vote perverted the entire intent of the proposal meant to strengthen the rules, Lynch said. Instead the commissions final decision reduced safety requirements.

Its very Orwellian, she said. Up is down.

In an interview in July, Connor Flanigan, Edisons managing director of state regulatory operations, pointed out that commission staff had been given the power to block a company proposal at the workshops, which were open to the public.

When the commission holds these proceedings, they try to be very transparent, he said.

The document outlining the commissions final decision includes quotes from Edison executives praising the workshop process.

Like most parties, SCE achieved some, but not all, of the rule changes it sought, the executives said.

Read more: Flaw in Edisons equipment in Sylmar sparked two major wildfires in last six years, lawyers say

Read more: Edison customers are paying more for fire prevention. So why are there more fires?

Read more: Power lines near the Eaton fire needed 'ignition risk' repairs, records show

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Firm sues Gabriel House, local company on behalf of survivors of deadly fire in Fall River

A national law firm is suing Gabriel House Assisted Living Residence in Fall River on behalf of three residents who claim they were injured in a deadly fire that killed 10 people in July.

Morgan & Morgan, with a location in Taunton, also represents the families of two residents who died in the fire at the assisted-living facility on July 13. Attorneys are currently reviewing legal actions on their behalf.

The new lawsuit, filed Thursday in Bristol Superior Court on behalf of residents Patricia Martin, Terry Young and Donna Murphey, alleges the facility and its owner Dennis Etzkorn knew or should have known that residents smoked in their rooms, despite having medical oxygen on site, and that some residents smoked while being administered oxygen therapy.

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Investigators later determined that the fire began in a residents room located on the left side of the second floor of the structure. An oxygen concentrator and numerous smoking materials were found in the room, State Fire Marshal John Davine said last week.

According to the complaint, Davine said the fire may have been caused by careless smoking activities.

Boards cover the windows of the Gabriel House assisted living facility, July 15, 2025 in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi, file)

The lawsuit is also the first to name Fire Systems Inc., a North Dartmouth corporation, as a defendant.

Fire Systems allegedly provided fire alarms and life safety systems for Gabriel House and allegedly inspected and maintained that equipment.

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The complaint alleges the fire panel, fire pump and sprinkler system at Gabriel House were improperly installed and maintained and failed to operate reasonably, at the time of the fire.

Gabriel House turned into a death trap. Our lawsuit alleges the owner and the fire safety company he contracted with knew it, and yet they failed to act in time to save the facilitys vulnerable residents from death and permanent injuries, Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan said in a statement.

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)

Our elderly and disabled deserve our best efforts, but in this case, we allege their safety was recklessly and callously ignored in favor of profits, Morgan said. We will stop at nothing to achieve justice for the people and families impacted by the defendants alleged negligence.

The complaint also alleges Gabriel House failed to meaningfully enforce its no-smoking policy.

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It also claims the facility had window air conditioning units that were too large to allow for safe evacuation through windows, that the facility allegedly lacked an Emergency Preparedness Plan, and that an elevator on the property had been broken for eight months.

Weve spoken with residents and employees. Our complaint alleges that Gabriel House had multiple code violations, Morgan & Morgan attorney J. Ryan Will said in a statement.

Michael Pimentel, center, a resident at the Gabriel House assisted living facility, in Fall River, Mass., receives assistance from an emergency medical worker, right, outside a temporary shelter, Monday, July 14, 2025, in Fall River, following a fire that started late Sunday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

We have heard firsthand accounts, and our complaint alleges that the facility has staffing and training issues and failures of fire safety equipment in which smoke detectors, fire alarms and sprinkler systems allegedly did not operate, Will said.

The fact that this facility has been able to operate under these alleged conditions for this long unchecked is appalling, Will said. We will hold all those responsible for this tragedy accountable for their alleged negligence.

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The plaintiffs are seeking damages for physical injuries, emotional and mental anguish and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, economic losses, and medical expenses and property damage, according to the complaint.

An investigator takes measurements Monday, July 14, 2025, near an entrance to the Gabriel House assisted living facility following a fire that started late Sunday, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Nearly a decade ago, the Fall River facility temporarily lost its certification due to resident mistreatment, the Associated Press reported.

In the wake of the fire, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has since announced a new safety initiative.

It requires all 273 assisted living facilities in the Commonwealth to send letters to residents and families outlining safety protocols and evacuation plans. Theres also a new safety assessment survey these facilities must complete, as well as specify their disaster and emergency plans.

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Mayor Paul Coogan and IAFF General President Edward Kelly said in the days after the fire that staffing levels at the Fall River Fire Department will increase immediately.

The staffing changes came days after the union said inadequate staffing hindered the response to a fire.

The lawsuits announced Friday are being spearheaded by Morgan & Morgans fire litigation section.

The firm previously secured a $143 million settlement for the victims of the September 2018 Columbia Gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley, according to the firm.

It also secured a $17 million verdict in April for a mother and child after a fire in Gainesville, Florida, and a $10 million settlement over an apartment complex fire in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to the firm.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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First Alert Weather: Sun and storms at times over the weekend

Heres what the First Alert Weather Team said you can expect in the forecast for Friday evening and beyond:

Hot Friday evening with only an isolated shower. Otherwise, mostly clear, dry, and very warm. A few storms may move into inland Southeast Georgia for Blackshear, Waycross, Nahunta, and Brunswick after dark.

Saturday will begin with sun and hot temperatures nearing 95 by early afternoon. Then, numerous heavy storms will develop in the afternoon, cooling temperatures but also producing locally strong winds, frequent lightning, and torrential downpours  keep an eye on the sky.

Sunday will begin partly cloudy, very warm and humid before midday and afternoon showers/storms redevelop. More clouds and rain will limit temperatures to the 80s to around 90 before storms develop.

More rain and storms for early next week.

INTERACTIVE RADAR: Keep track of the rain as it moves through your neighborhood

Tropics

No areas of immediate concern *some* long-range potential late next week & the following week over or near the Caribbean, Gulf &/or SW Atlantic. Always more: Talking the Tropics With Mike.

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WATCH THE FORECAST | DOWNLOAD THE APPS

First Alert 7-Day Forecast

FRIDAY NIGHT: An isolated shower early, otherwise mostly clear, very warm a few storms possible late evening over SE Ga. Low: 79

SATURDAY: Partly sunny, hot & humid with afternoon storms. High: 95

SATURDAY NIGHT: Evening showers & storms gradually diminishing. Low: 75

SUNDAY: Mix of clouds & sun & very humid with midday & afternoon showers & storms. High: 87

MONDAY: Partly cloudy with midday & afternoon showers & storms. 74/89

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy with scattered afternoon storms. 73/92

WEDNESDAY: Partly sunny with scattered afternoon tstorms. 74/91

THURSDAY: Partly sunny with scattered afternoon storms. 75/92

FRIDAY: Partly sunny with scattered afternoon showers & tstorms. 74/91

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SHARE WITH US: Send us photos of the weather youre seeing in your area 
Donald Trumps border czar is adamant that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil will still be deported from the country despite several court rulings that have kept the Palestinian activist out of detention.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a request from the Trump administration to re-arrest Khalil and keep him in immigration detention center while he continues to challenge the governments attempts to remove him from the United States. Homan says the administration will continue to appeal.

We got radical judges just trying to stop the Trump administration from doing our job and enforcing the law, he told Newsmax on Thursday.

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He claimed there is only one ending to Khalils case: We detain him and deport him, but regardless, he will be deported.

That same day, the immigration court judge overseeing his case voided her earlier ruling that allowed the government to deport him.

Trumps border czar Tom Homan claims Mahmoud Khalil did a lot of bad things despite federal court rulings finding the administration retaliated against him for his activism against Israels war in Gaza (Getty Images)

Khalil, a prominent student activist against Israels war in Gaza, was stripped of his green card and arrested in front of his then-pregnant wife in their New York City apartment building on March 8. He was then sent to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, where he was held for more than 100 days and forced to miss the birth of his child.

Trump administration officials have accused Khalil of antisemitic activities, allegations Khalil and his legal team have flatly denied. Officials concede that Khalil did not commit any crime, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sought to justify Khalils arrest by claiming that Khalils presence in the country undermines foreign policy interests to prevent antisemitism.

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Khalil and his legal team argue his arrest and detention  and attempted removal from the country, which is currently blocked by court order  are retaliatory violations of his First Amendment right to freedom of speech and his Fifth Amendment right to due process of law, among other claims.

Look, First Amendment rights have a limitation, too, Homan told Newsmax. He did a lot of bad things. Were going to hold him accountable. He will be deported.

Khalil was freed from immigration detention in June after more than 100 days in a Louisiana ICE facility. He will remain out on bail while his legal challenges continue (REUTERS)

On June 11, a federal judge granted Khalils release from ICE detention on bail while legal challenges against his arrest and threat of removal from the country continue in both federal and immigration courts.

New Jersey District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that the administration had unconstitutionally wielded the law against Khalil, whose career and reputation are being damaged and his speech is being chilled, the judge wrote.

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The government has little or no interest in applying the relevant underlying statutes in what is likely an unconstitutional way, Farbiarz added.

Mahmoud spent 104 days in detention as punishment for speaking out for Palestinian rights, ACLU senior staff attorney Noor Zafar said in a statement after this weeks appeals court ruling.

That is time with his family that he will never get back, but this decision affirms that he will remain free and that the government cannot pursue his removal based on the likely unconstitutional foreign policy charge as his case moves through appeal, she added. We will not stand by and allow the government to weaponize immigration law to suppress lawful political speech.

Khalils attorneys have also argued that the administrations secondary basis for his arrest and removal  allegations that he lied in immigration paperwork  are similarly retaliatory and violate his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment due process rights.

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The White House continues to insist that Khalil can still be deported on those grounds.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Independent on Friday that Khalil was given the privilege of coming to America to study on a student visa he obtained by fraud and misrepresentation.

Despite the lower court judges wishes to the contrary, the executive branch has the lawful authority to take actions that will protect Americas foreign policy interests and promote the overall welfare of the public, she added. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.
First Liberty founders son resigns as head of Coweta GOP amid investigation into company

Brant Frost V, son of the founder of First Liberty Building and Loan, has resigned from his roles in the Georgia and Coweta County Republican Parties amid ongoing investigations into the company.

The Georgia GOP announced Frosts resignation as federal and state agencies continue to investigate First Liberty Building and Loan, which is alleged to be a $140 million Ponzi scheme.

The investigation is primarily focused on Edwin Brant Frost IV, the founder of the company.

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We in no way consider his resignations as an indication of guilt in the pending legal issues of First Liberty Building and Loan, Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said in a statement Thursday night.

Federal and state investigators are scrutinizing First Libertys business dealings, particularly those involving Brant Frost IV.

The company is accused of targeting elderly investors with promises of high returns as part of a so-called Patriot Economy.

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Without getting into specifics, I can say that we are looking at anyone and everyone who had anything to do with encouraging investors to invest in this, State Securities Division leader Noula Zaharis said.

Gabe Sterling from the Georgia Secretary of States Office emphasized the importance of identifying and assisting victims of the alleged scheme.

The second secretary Raffensperger heard about this, he said to do whatever we need to do to find every victim and do everything we can to help those victims, Sterling said.

Federal investigators said their investigation is centered on Edwin Brant Frost IV. They have not made any direct mention of anyone else.
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  Governor Ned Lamont Friday directed all United States and state flags to return to full-staff Saturday at sunset.

PREVIOUS: Flags directed to fly at half-staff in honor fallen Plainville volunteer firefighter

For nearly a week, theyve been lowered to half-staff statewide in remembrance of Plainville volunteer firefighter Raymond Ray Moreau, who died in the line of duty at a house fire on Sunday.

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A wake is being held for the longtime firefighter on Friday afternoon and a funeral is planned for Saturday morning at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Health officials are sending a warning to residents in Gulf Coast states after eight people are dead from the flesh-eating bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus.

On Thursday, July 31, the Louisiana Department of Heath confirmed 17 cases of the flesh-eating bacteria this year, all of which resulted in hospitalizations. Additionally four cases resulted in death. About 75% of those cases were due to wound infection via seawater.

Additionally, the Florida Department of Health confirmed 13 cases and four deaths from Vibrio this year. Both Mississippi and Alabama have also reported single cases, neither fatal.

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Health officials are encouraging residents to educate themselves in order to stay safe during the summer months.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Vibrio is the source of about 80,000 illnesses in the United States per year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vibrio naturally live in coastal waters, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people are sickened by vibrio after eating raw or undercooked shellfish  particularly oysters  because the bacteria will concentrate inside the shellfish, the CDC explains. However, they naturally live in brackish water and cause an infection if a swimmer has an open wound  or a recent tattoo or piercing.

Getty Oysters Oysters

Most infections occur from May through October when water temperatures are warmer.

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Symptoms of a Vibrio infection vary, depending on how the bacteria is contracted. For bloodstream infections, the CDC says someone may experience fever, chills, dangerously low blood pressure, and blistering skin lesions. However, for a wound infection, a fever will accompany swelling and discharge around the wound. And for those who ingest the bacteria, it can mimic food poisoning, with watery diarrhea, often accompanied by stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

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The CDC says a Vibrio infection is treatable with antibiotics, but in more dire cases, doctors may need to amputate a patients legs or arms to remove dead or infected tissue.

The flesh-eating bacteria is fatal for 1 in 5 people, according to the CDC, which warns that some people die within a day or two of exhibiting symptoms.



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The flight attendants on board Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, where the door plug blew out in January 2024, are now suing Boeing, claiming they "sustained injuries of a personal, permanent, and pecuniary nature," according to the complaints.

Four attendants working the flight -- Adam Fisher, Michelle Hughes, Steven Maller, and Christine Vasconcellos -- claimed in four separate suits that, "As a direct and proximate result of the ejection of the door plug and the resulting decompression, Plaintiff sustained physical and mental injuries, severe emotional distress, and other damages of a personal and pecuniary nature."

"This act of negligence caused both physical and mental damages, which profoundly impaired my personal and professional life. It also resulted in many challenges to return to my dream job that I had proudly made my career," Hughes said in a statement.

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MORE: NTSB blames Boeing, FAA for cause of Alaska Airlines door plug blowout

Vasconcellos said in another statement, "This event is something that never should have happened. I'm committed to seeking justice, accountability and making the sky a safe place."

Handout/Getty Images - PHOTO: NTSB Investigates Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 After Section Of Plane Blew Off During Flight

Tracy Brammeier, who represents the flight attendants, said in a statement to ABC: "When the door plug blew off the aircraft on flight 1282, each of the four flight attendants acted courageously, following their training and putting their passengers' safety first while fearing for their lives. They deserve to be wholly compensated for this life-altering, traumatic experience caused by Boeing's negligence in the 737 MAX production process."

The lawsuits were filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington.

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Boeing declined to comment on the suit.

The company has repeatedly said that it's supported the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation into the incident "in the transparent and proactive fashion we have supported all regulatory inquiries into this accident."

MORE: 4 bolts missing from Alaska Airlines door plug before blow-out: NTSB report

The mid-exit door plug separated from the Boeing 737 Max 9 passenger plane on Jan. 5, 2024, minutes after Flight 1282 took off from Portland International Airport. Passengers captured footage showing a hole where the door plug came loose.

The plane safely made an emergency landing and no one was seriously injured in the incident.
Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  From kayaking to walking alongside the river on trails, the Big Sioux is a staple for outdoor activities.

We just kind of had the idea to utilize the river that we have here in Sioux Falls, said co-owner of Sodak FloatShack Jeff Horne. And, we finally got everything in motion to finally start putting people down the river in stock tanks.

Arrest made in E. 41st and Southeastern crash

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The business is only in its second year, but Horne first introduced the idea to his business partner a decade ago. They took inspiration from other cities success with similar businesses.

Niobrara, Nebraska, is a big tanking community. Theres places in Tennessee, kind of outside of Nashville that do it, said Horne.

Some customers have even traveled across state lines to experience the Sodak FloatShack.

We had some people from Minneapolis that came that actually it was on their bucket list to tank. They made T-shirts and the whole nine yards and, there was 18-year-olds all the way to 89 years old, said Horne.

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As far as what exactly youre floating in, its commonly seen in the Midwest- just in a different context.

Its a galvanized stock tank that, its most commonly used for cattle to drink water, said Horne. Otherwise, a lot of people use it for backyard swimming pools. And so, itll hold up to about 5, 6 thousand pounds and only needs about a half inch of water to float.

Ashley Hinker was looking for a way to get on the water and took to social media for recommendations.

I was on Facebook and I put a little post on there, see if anything like that was around, and someone had mentioned these guys, so I checked them out, said Ashley Hinker, a first-time customer at Sodak FloatShack.

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Hinker and her group brought snacks and energy drinks, but the business provides most everything you need from there.

My partner and I, we provide a cooler and ice because obviously its hot out. We have chairs, life jackets. All you need to do is show up and have a good time, and youre on your way, said Horne.

If youre looking for an activity that involves kids, grandparents and even dogs, theyre welcome on the FloatShack, too.

Were also dog friendly, so weve had a couple people utilize that option, bring their dog with them, said Horne.

After you arrive at the launch site and go down the river, Sodak FloatShack transports you right back to your vehicle.

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Well trailer the tanks, bring the customers back to archery outfitters here, and then we store the tanks, said Horne.

And customers say the process of booking and paying is easy and reasonable.

You just book it online and then you pay for it in advance and then get your reservation, and its $35, said Hinker.

Then all you have to do is keep calm, and float 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 KELOLAND.com.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Floridas Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday will take place from August 1 to August 31, offering families a month of savings on essential school supplies.

The tax holiday exempts items like school supplies under $50, clothing and footwear under $100, learning aids under $30, and personal computers and accessories under $1,500 when used noncommercially.

Orlando community helps families get ready for school with free supplies.

Proud to deliver additional sales tax holidays, including the back-to-school sales tax holiday that begins on August 1, said Governor Ron DeSantis.

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Florida has a low unemployment rate, a AAA credit rating, and low per-capita taxes. Governor DeSantis said that by cutting taxes, empowering parents, and boosting the economy, Florida is creating a supportive environment for residents to live, work, and prosper.

DeSantis says the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday is a great part of Floridas efforts to provide families with tax relief, helping everyone in the state become more economically resilient.

Earlier this year, DeSantis signed the FY 202526 budget with $2 billion in tax relief, including repealing the Business Rent Tax and targeted sales tax holidays. The package saves $450 million through sales holidays to support families.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
A Florida man convicted of the 1994 killings of his wife and their two children was put to death on Thursday, marking the ninth execution in the Sunshine State this year and a state record for a single-year total since the death penalty was reinstated in the U.S. nearly 50 years ago.

Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke after a three-drug injection, which consists of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the state Department of Corrections.

"I want to thank the good people of the Sunshine State for killing me in the most cold, calculated, clean, humane, efficient way possible. I have no complaint," Zakrzewski said after the curtain to the death chamber went up shortly after 6 p.m.

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Zakrzewski was lying on a gurney covered with a white sheet when the drugs were administered. Before the drugs began flowing, he also quoted from a poem as 14 witnesses, as well as reporters and prison staff, looked on.

Execution Date Set For Florida Man Convicted Of Kidnapping Woman, Killing Her

Once the drugs were administered, Zakrzewski began breathing deeply, surrounded by three prison staffers in dark suits. One of them shook Zakrzewski by his shoulders and shouted his name, but there was no reaction and then he became still.

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On Thursday morning, Zakrzewski woke at 5:15 a.m. and later in the day had a meal that included fried pork chops, root beer and ice cream, according to state Department of Corrections spokesman Paul Walker, who said Zakrzewski had one visitor and "remained compliant" as his execution time neared.

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Zakrzewski was sentenced to death for the June 9, 1994, killings of his wife Sylvia, 34, and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5. Trial testimony showed he killed his family at their Okaloosa County home after his wife asked for a divorce. He had told others he would kill his family instead of allowing the divorce to happen.

He first attacked his wife with a crowbar and strangled her with a rope, court testimony showed. The two children were killed with a machete, and Sylvia was also struck with the blade when Zakrzewski believed she had survived the previous attack, according to court records.

Edward Zakrzewski was sentenced to death for the June 9, 1994, killings of his wife Sylvia, 34, and their children Edward, 7, and Anna, 5.

Zakrzewski's lawyers filed several unsuccessful appeals over the years, including a final plea for a stay of execution, which the U.S. Supreme Court denied on Wednesday.

Before he was put to death, opponents of Zakrzewskis execution pointed to his military service as an Air Force veteran and the fact that a jury narrowly voted 7-5 to recommend his execution. They emphasized that under current state law, he could not have received the death penalty with a split jury vote.

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After the Supreme Court restored the U.S. death penalty in 1976, Florida's previous record for total executions in a year was eight in 2014, which was exceeded on Thursday. A 10th execution is scheduled in the state on Aug. 19 and an 11th on Aug. 28.

Alabama Inmate's Execution Stayed To Determine If He Is Competent Enough To Be Put To Death

Zakrzewski was lying on a gurney covered with a white sheet when the drugs were administered.

Florida has also carried out more executions this year than any other state, with Texas and South Carolina tied for second with four each.

Across the U.S., 27 men have been put to death so far this year, while nine other people are scheduled for execution in seven states for the rest of the year. Florida was also the last state to execute someone, with Michael Bernard Bell killed on July 15.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Florida breaks 50-year execution record with ninth death sentence carried out this year
FLORIDA (WMBB)  The Florida Department of Education announced Thursday that teacher vacancies for the 2025-2026 school year are 17.7% lower than the 2024-2025 school year.

Florida continues to attract the best teaching talent because we have raised teacher pay, empowered our teachers in the classroom, and created new pathways for Floridians to enter the teaching profession, said Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas.

Through the Teacher Apprenticeship Program, more than 80 individuals are receiving on-the-job training from veteran teachers while they pursue their teaching certification, and nearly 500 have applied for the program.

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More than 100 military veterans have begun their teaching career through a temporary teaching certificate through the Military Veterans Certification Pathway, and nearly 700 have applied for the program.

While the teachers unions use the same, tired tactics in an attempt to smear Floridas education system, we are focused on providing our teachers with the tools they need to succeed, and the data show our approach is working,  Kamoutsas continued. I am proud of the work Florida has done to dramatically reduce the number of vacancies across the state, thanks to the policies Governor Ron DeSantis has championed.

Vacancy data is reported directly from school districts to the Department.

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Citing a 57 percent increase in property tax collections since 2020, the Florida DOGE team has announced its coming to town next week to start digging into the City of Jacksonvilles finances.

A letter from the state calls for the city to make available for next weeks on-site visit documents related to procurement and contracting, personnel compensation, property management, utilities, DEI, emissions or carbon reduction targets, grants, and financial management.

Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia, DOGE Team Lead Eric Soskin, and the Governors Director of Policy and Budget Leda Kelly jointly wrote, We are commissioning this review to better understand the spending being undertaken, and opportunities for improvement in Jacksonville.

READ THE FULL LETTER BELOW:

Letter to Jacksonville (July 28 2025) by ActionNewsJax on Scribd

Earlier this year, the Jacksonville City Council approved a resolution calling for the state DOGE team to examine the citys finances.

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A local DOGE effort undertaken by the council claimed to have saved the city more than $25 million by identifying capital projects that were completed but had outstanding balances.

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Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegans office has contested the characterization of those findings as savings.

A spokesperson for Deegans office responded to the new State DOGE letter in an emailed statement saying in part: The City of Jacksonville has been cooperating with Florida DOGE since their first request in March and will continue to do so. They will find that our city finances have been managed responsibly and prudently  We welcome any financial evaluation not driven by partisanship or political gamesmanship.

READ THE FULL STATEMENT BELOW:

Jacksonville FL DOGE Statement by ActionNewsJax on Scribd

According to the letter, municipalities could be fined if they fail to comply with the DOGE teams requests.

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NEED TO KNOW

Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was executed by lethal injection in Florida for the brutal 1994 murders of his wife and two young children

After committing the murders, Zakrzewski fled to Hawaii, changed his identity, and lived on a religious commune

His execution marked Floridas ninth this year, the highest number since 2014





A man convicted of killing his family with a machete three decades ago was put to death in Florida on Thursday, July 31, setting the states record for the highest number of annual executions since the restoration of the death penalty.

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Edward Zakrzewski, 60, was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Bradford County, according to court records obtained by PEOPLE.

Zakrzewski and his 34-year-old wife Sylvia had been going through marital problems; he had told a neighbor twice that he would rather kill his family than go through a divorce, according to the court documents.

On the morning of Jun 9, 1994, when Zakrzewski found out Sylvia wanted a divorce, he purchased a machete on his lunch break. His day went on as usual, then went home and waited for his family, the court documents said.

When his family got home, Zakrzewski first approached Sylvia, knocking her unconscious and strangling her with rope as she was sitting alone in the living room, per the court documents. He then approached his 7-year-old son Edward and killed him with the machete.

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According to the court documents, he then confronted his 5-year-old daughter Anna, striking her with the machete as she was in the bathroom.

Following the murders, Zakrzewski drove to Orlando and took a flight to Hawaii, where he changed his name and lived with a family who ran a religious commune for four months, per the court documents.

One day, the family was watching the television show Unsolved Mysteries and saw Zakrzewskis picture, the court documents said. The next day, he turned himself in to local police.

Over the years, Zakrzewskis lawyers filed numerous appeals but they were all denied, court documents show.

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On the day of his execution, Zakrzewski woke up at 5:15 a.m. and had fried pork chops, root beer and ice cream as his last meal, CBS News reported, citing state Department of Corrections spokesman Paul Walker. According to Walker, he had one visitor and remained compliant as he awaited to be executed.

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For its lethal injection, Florida uses a combination of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, the outlet reported, citing the state Department of Corrections.

This year, Florida has executed more people than it has in any year since 2014. Zakrzewski was the ninth person to be executed in the state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Read the original article on People
Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Florida has executed a 60-year-old Air Force veteran for killing his wife and two children in 1994, marking a record ninth execution for the Sunshine State.

Edward Zakrzewski was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Raiford, about 46 miles southwest of Jacksonville. He was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. EST, the Florida Department of Corrections said in a statement.

With Zakrzewski's death, Florida has killed nine people so far in 2025, its most in a calendar year since the resumption of executions in the United States in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

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It is also the United States' 27th execution of the year, the nation's most since 2015 when there were 28, as executions were on a near-yearly decline from a height of 98 in 1999.

Zakrzewski was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to killing his 34-year-old wife, Sylvia, his 7-year-old son, Edward, and his 5-year-old daughter, Anna, on June 9, 1994.

He was accused of hitting his wife, who wanted a divorce, on the head with a crowbar multiple times before strangling her with a rope and then striking her with a machete. He then used the machete to kill his two children.

Following the murders, he left for Hawaii, where he lived with a family that ran a religious commune. Zakrzewski turned himself in to police after the family saw his picture during a broadcast of the television show Unsolved Mysteries.

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The jury voted seven to five to recommend he be executed for killing his wife and Edward, and life in prison without the possibility of parol for the murder of Anna.

His defense, according to court documents, argued their client was under extreme mental and emotional disturbance and had expressed remorse since the crime.

They also filed numerous appeals in the years since the conviction, with the final one being rejected Wednesday by the Supreme Court.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his death warrant on July 1.

"Gov. Ron DeSantis now holds the dishonorable distinction of executing more people in one year than any prior governor in Florida's history," Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty said in a statement.

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"There have been many media inquiries about the reasons for the unrelenting number and pace of these executions, all asking one thing -- why now? And the response from the administration? Deafening silence. This killing spree has taken place on a desolate road in the middle of nowhere, far from the governor's mansion, without rhyme or reason.

"The people of the State of Florida deserve better than executions shrouded in silence and secrecy," the group said.

Florida has scheduled two more executions for this month, Kayle Bates on Aug. 19, and Curtis Windom on Aug. 28.

There are, so far, 10 more executions scheduled throughout the United States this year.
Big changes are coming for teen drivers in Florida. A new state law (SB 994) will require teens to complete a six-hour drivers education course before they can get a learners permit.

The law, which took effect Friday, aims to reduce teen crash rates.

In 2023, drivers aged 16 to 19 were involved in fatal crashes at nearly three times the rate of drivers over 20, according to federal data.

Whats changing?

Previously, all new drivers in Florida were required to complete a four-hour Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education (TLSAE) course. Starting Friday, teens ages 14.5-17 will need to complete a six-hour, instructor-led drivers education course instead, either online or in person.

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The reason for the change, really, I believe, is that, you know, drivers education is all about transportation and public safety. And the better that we can educate our young drivers, the safer our roads will be, said Florida Safety Council Executive Director Christopher Earl.

Adults (18 and over) still only need the four-hour TLSAE course if theyve never held a license before.

Teens who move to Florida and already have an out-of-state license are exempt from the new course requirement.

Whats different about the new course?

Unlike the older TLSAE course, which allowed students to learn at their own pace, the new six-hour course requires live instruction. It must be completed with an approved instructor, either in person or via live online sessions.

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Pasco County tax collector Mike Fasano told the ABC station in Tampa that he is concerned the state hasnt provided clear guidance about where or how teens can take the course, and he expects confusion in the coming weeks.

We are preparing for a lot of confusion indeed, he said. Starting August the first, were probably going to disappoint a lot of young people.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) released the new requirements on July 25, leaving little time for families to adjust.

What else is needed to get a learners permit?

Aside from the new education requirement, the other steps to obtain a learners permit in Florida remain the same:

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Be at least 15 years old

Submit a signed/notarized parental consent form (if under 18)

Pass vision and hearing tests

Pass the Class E Knowledge Exam (50 multiple-choice questions, 80% passing score)

Provide documents to prove identity, Social Security number, and residential address

For more information, go to https://www.flhsmv.gov.

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Florida Sheriffs Accuse ICE of Poaching deputies after 287(g) partnership

Several Florida sheriffs say they feel betrayed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after receiving reports that the federal agency sent out recruitment letters to local deputies, the same officers who recently completed federal 287(g) immigration enforcement training.

The move has sparked backlash across law enforcement agencies that believed they were partnering with ICE, not supplying it with new hires.

ICE Recruitment Offer Raises Concerns

According to multiple sheriffs, the letter was sent earlier this week to thousands of 287(g)-certified deputies and police officers across the state. The message came directly from ICEs deputy director, stating the agency is actively recruiting and offering a $50,000 bonus spread over five years for those who join.

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Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said the recruitment effort is not only inappropriate, it undermines the trust between local law enforcement and federal partners.

Appalling. Betrayed, Ivey told Channel 9. The sheriffs and the chiefs of police in Florida went into this as a partnership... and it ends up we became a recruiting depot for ICE and Customs.

Ivey believes ICE used the email addresses collected through the 287(g) program to target certified officers for federal positions.

Its the principle of the matter, Ivey said. They used our resources to try and recruit our people. Quite frankly, its like letting the fox in the henhouse.

Sheriffs Demand Answers from ICE

Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith echoed Iveys frustration, saying the situation deserves an explanation and an apology.

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They owe us an apology. What is their explanation? The Florida sheriffs and our governor, we all deserve an answer respectfully, Smith said. We dont want to burn bridges, but somebody lit the fire on the other end.

Meanwhile, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, who had not yet seen the email when we spoke to him yesterday, said he supports whatever decision his deputies make individually.

Awaiting a Response

As of Thursday afternoon, ICE has not responded to requests for comment. Governor Ron DeSantis office has also not weighed in on the issue.

However, sheriffs across the state say they want ICE to stand down and rescind the recruitment offer.

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BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  Teens wanting a learners permit have new requirements to meet starting Friday.

Applicants under the age of 18 will have to complete a six-hour online drivers education course. Previously, the only prerequisite was the four-hour traffic law and substance abuse education course.

The new course requires students to demonstrate knowledge of traffic laws and safe driving.

It includes defensive driving strategies, the consequences of distracted driving or driving under the influence, and the best practices for driving in Florida weather conditions.

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Theyll also need to be real I.D.-compliant when they come in, meaning theyre going to need their birth certificate, their Social Security card, proof of address. And of course, a parent has to come in with them and sign on their behalf, Bay County Tax Collector Chuck Perdue said.

Any teen under 18 who takes or took the four-hour course before Friday and still has a valid certificate of completion may be exempt from taking the new test.

If you have questions, call your county tax collectors office 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 mypanhandle.com.
A young hiker perched on shoulders looks back as he and his companion make their way down Fossil Trail in South Table Mountain Park on June 14, 2023.
(Photo by Getty Images)

One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealths leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small  and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating.

How many people detained by ICE at the Chesterfield Courthouse were there for traffic-related violations?

As the federal government continues an aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration nationwide, ICE agents detainment of undocumented immigrants at the Chesterfield Courthouse have dominated headlines across the state this summer and prompted pushback from advocates and legislative leaders who say the practice isnt transparent, fuels fear in Latino communities and hinders due process.

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A report from WTVR showed during a four-day period in June, ICE detained 15 people. A Freedom of Information Act request revealed that five of those 15 had non-traffic related violations, with the most serious offense being assault on law enforcement.

The other ten were in court for traffic citations such as improper vehicle registration, or driving while suspended or without a drivers license.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares supported the ICE detentions at the courthouse, with the governor saying the majority of undocumented immigrants detained were violent criminals who should be arrested..

But the television stations review of those 15 peoples criminal records in the state found only two had faced previous charges for violent offenses.

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Over 2,500 people have been detained by ICE in Virginia since March. Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan pushed back against the Youngkin administrations claim that most of them were violent criminals, stating she does not believe all 2,500 people have violent offenses because of the lack of evidence to support that claim.

McClellan recently introduced legislation into Congress that requires the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to track and publicly report when U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents are detained or deported for immigration purposes. This is in an effort to create transparency and bring to light potential wrongful removals.

The Mercurys efforts to track FOIA and other transparency cases in Virginia are indebted to the work of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit alliance dedicated to expanding access to government records, meetings and other state and local proceedings.

Loudoun County School Board looks to limit public comments

Twice a month, the Loudoun County School Board has two public comment nights. But one member of the board wants to limit the invitation to the public to speak their minds to once a month.

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WJLA reported that board member Anne Donohue said it has been a challenge to balance receiving public opinions and maintaining time to conduct board business. The topic will be debated at a meeting next month. There could be further limitations after recent meetings have dragged on late into the night.

Hot button topics, such as the debate over if students should be allowed to use the locker room or bathroom that aligns with their gender identity, have drawn large crowds of people eager to share their thoughts.

The report stated that Prince William, Arlington, and Alexandria school boards limit public comment to one hour per meeting. Prince William County can extend that time if there are a lot of speakers. Fairfax County School Board limits the number of people who can speak at each meeting and people are selected through a lottery.

Former Richmond City Council candidate in hot water over campaign finance filings

The Virginia State Police are investigating Tavares Floyd after campaign finance filings for his failed run for the 6th District City Council seat raised questions. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that multiple supposed donors said they never contributed to the campaign.

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The paper submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to see the interview notes related to the state police investigation. A FOIA officer rejected the request, stating the files are exempt from production due to being part of an active criminal investigation.

Floyd, who was running against the incumbent Councilwomen Ellen Robertson and another candidate, Willie Hilliard, reported $150,000 in campaign donations from people around the country.

Five donors said they never made donations to Floyds campaign, with some stating they had never heard of him. A sixth person listed as a donor had been dead for 30 years.

Floyd reportedly refused to answer the Times-Dispatchs questions and sent the newspaper a cease and desist letter.

Norfolk Superintendent faced more than one attempt to fire her

Records obtained by journalist Jim Morrison revealed that when Norfolk School Board fired Superintendent Sharon Byrdsong, there had been efforts in the works for years to oust her.

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The report published by WHRO explains through emails and phone calls between other board members obtained via Morrisons FOIA request, Byrdsong had been serving as interim superintendent when she was hired in 2020 and she had not applied for the position.

The former school board chair had written in a Feb. 19, 2020 email that a phone call from former school board member Rodney Jordan seemed threatening because he pressured Byrdsong not to apply for the job, saying it would ruin her career.

The board ultimately approved a contract for Byrdsong but there were divisions between the board members on if they approved of having her in the position.

The 4-3 vote that ended Byrdsongs tenure as the superintendent had been added last-minute to the agenda and did not provide cause for her termination. The termination didnt include a public announcement about her severance package, which is required by Virginia law to be shared.

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Emails obtained through public records requests show that there had been negotiations between Byrdsong and her attorney before the vote for her to potentially resign without cause. They also showed there had been attempts in 2024 to oust Byrdsong that had been thwarted by other members of the board.

After she was fired, the Norfolk City Council seemingly hit back at the school board by passing a resolution praising her and spoke about her successes.

Morrison faced some challenges getting the public records requests in this case and ended up taking Norfolk Public Schools to court to obtain the records. He faced delays, omissions, and what he considered to be excessive fees for the files. After he filed suit, he reported that the school district had been much more responsive to his requests and even waived all fees.

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Despite California's ban on foie gras, the pumped-up bird livers are being sold in Southern California stores.

Foie gras, which is made by force-feeding ducks and geese, was spotted by Times journalists this week on the shelves of Wild Fork Foods stores in Venice, Manhattan Beach and Westlake Village.

Ben Williamson, the executive director of the animal welfare organization Animal Outlook, said he learned that the product was being sold in California after having read several Yelp reviews, including one in which a buyer was pleasantly surprised to find foie gras at at a Wild Fork store.

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"Sure was nice to buy some foie gras, the buyer wrote. Did not think u could purchase it in California."

The pre-sliced moulard duck liver product sold at Wild Fork stores is packaged by Fossil Farms and was being sold for $10.98 per vacuum-packed container. The duck livers were sourced from La Belle Farms in New York, which is one the nation's largest producers of foie gras.

After The Times contacted Wild Fork Foods for comment, a Times journalist returned to two of the stores visited a day earlier and found that the foie gras was no longer on the shelves.

Wild Fork Foods didnt respond to requests for comment. Nor did its parent company, Brazils JBS Foods, the worlds largest meat packer.

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Fossil Farms and La Belle Farms didnt respond to requests for comment.

Foie gras is produced by farmers who ram tubes down the throats of male ducks or geese and force feed them several times a day, swelling their livers to more than 10 times their natural size. The feedings also increase the organs fat content  making it buttery and light for bird-liver connoisseurs.

The fowl are then slaughtered and their livers are sold as is, or whipped into a paste to spread on crackers or other food items. The animals are also typically confined to pens or cages in crowded farms.

"This systematic suffering for a so-called 'luxury' food product represents one of the most deliberate forms of animal cruelty in modern food production," Williamson said.

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In 2004, California lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1520, which banned the production and sale of foie gras, described in the law as the "force feed[ing of] a bird for the purpose of enlarging the bird's liver beyond normal size."

The law went into effect in 2012 and has been challenged several times since on grounds including federal preemption, for violating the due process and commerce clauses of the U.S. Constitution and for being unconstitutionally vague.

The case has been declined for review by the U.S. Supreme Court twice, including as recently as 2023.

In 2020, a judge opened the door for out-of-state sales to individuals, but maintained the state's store and restaurant bans  as well as the prohibition against producing the gastronomical delicacy in the state. That decision, and the sales ban, was were reinforced by the Ninth Circuit in 2022.

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The Los Angeles County district attorney's office is the designated law enforcement agency overseeing local sales of the liver product.

"California Health and Safety Code violations are enforced by local and state agencies that regulate businesses and various law enforcement or prosecuting agencies depending on the jurisdiction and whether the potential activity is criminal or civil in nature," the District Attorney's office said in a statement. "Our office does not comment on whether or not we are conducting an investigation."

Other state agencies that oversee various aspects of California's health and safety codes, including the Department of Public Health, the Department of Food and Agriculture and the state's Occupation Safety and Health Administration, said foie gras sales were not their purview.

"A product may not be sold in California if it is the result of force feeding a bird for the purpose of enlarging the birds liver beyond normal size," said the office in a statement, reiterating the text of the law. "Violations are enforced by local jurisdictions."

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State Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office, which has defended the state ban in court, said local law enforcement often oversees these kinds of violations and declined to provide an interpretation of the law as it stands.

Williamson of Animal Outlook said such store sales of foie gras are rare in California. He suspects that the product may have "just slipped through the cracks" to end up on the shelves of Wild Fork.

He also noted that the Trump administration has taken issue with animal welfare laws, including seeking to overturn California's Proposition 12, which banned cages for egg-laying hens, gestation crates for pregnant pigs and veal crates for calves. That could suggest that the White House might be open to challenging California's foie gras ban, he said.

The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.

Times staff writers Corinne Purtill, Noah Haggerty and Sean Greene contributed to this report.



This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Souto Foods celebrated the expansion of its Gwinnett County facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 31, marking a $28 million investment and the creation of 70 new jobs.

The expanded facility, located on Sugarloaf Parkway in unincorporated Lawrenceville, is part of a strategic move to enhance Souto Foods distribution capabilities, the company said.

The company said in an announcement that the expansion transforms the former Cisco Corporate Campus into a key logistics hub, supporting the companys growth in the food distribution sector.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Todays ribbon cutting is a celebration of our people, our growth, and our future, said Kimberly George, Senior Vice President at Alex Lee. We are thankful to Partnership Gwinnett and our many partners for helping bring this vision to life.

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Partnership Gwinnett led the project in collaboration with several organizations, including the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Gwinnett County Government.

This collaboration underscores the importance of community and state support in fostering economic growth, the company said.

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Misti Martin, Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, highlighted the significance of Souto Foods expansion in strengthening Georgias food and beverage distribution industry.

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Georgia and communities such as Gwinnett County proudly support existing industries that contribute to the growth of our diverse and dynamic business ecosystem, Martin said.

Gwinnett County Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson also praised the expansion, saying it was a testament to the countys strong business climate and diverse workforce.

Were grateful to Souto Foods for their commitment to doing business in our community and appreciate their entrepreneurial and diverse leadership that exemplify the spirit of Gwinnett, Hendrickson said.

Founded in 2010, Souto Foods specializes in high-quality food products from Latin America and the Caribbean.

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The new facility is part of the Sugarloaf Logistics Hub, a redevelopment project led by Foxfield and AEW Capital Management.

The hub aims to create a mixed-use space with industrial, warehouse, and residential components, enhancing the areas infrastructure and connectivity.

Garrett Hatton, Managing Director of Asset Management at Foxfield, expressed pride in welcoming Souto Foods as a flagship tenant.

Their decision to grow here affirms our vision of converting underutilized corporate land into an adaptable, high-performance logistics campus that supports long-term economic development and job creation in Gwinnett County, Hatton said.

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(NewsNation)  Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 312,000 U.S. vehicles because of a potential loss of power brake assist, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The issue involves a faulty electronic brake booster module that may fail during driving or while using advanced driver assistance systems, increasing the risk of a crash.

The recall affects certain 2025 Lincoln Navigator, F-150, Expedition, Bronco, and Ranger vehicles, including:

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2025 Ford F-150: 217,969 units built between May 8, 2024, and June 9, 2025

2025 Ford Bronco: 39,913 units built from May 31, 2024, to June 17, 2025

2025 Ford Expedition: 26,582 units built from Nov. 8, 2023, to June 9, 2025

2025 Ford Ranger: 20,522 units built from Feb. 5, 2024, to June 20, 2025

2025 Lincoln Navigator: 7,104 units built from Nov. 9, 2023, to June 9, 2025

NTSB to wrap up probe of deadly DC plane crash

Because these vehicles were not assembled in VIN order, owners are urged to check their vehicles recall status directly with Ford.

The loss of power-brake assist can extend stopping distance and increase the risk of a crash, and can result in a vehicle not braking as expected when the advanced driver assistance system is engaged, the NHTSA said.

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Ford will update the module software at no cost, either through a remote update or a dealership visit. Owners can call Ford at 1-866-436-7332 or contact a local Ford or Lincoln dealer for more information.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
Nine regional Forest Service offices  including one in New Mexico  will be phased out over the next year, according to a reorganization plan published by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins last week.

In their stead, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will stand up five regional hubs across the country from Salt Lake City to Raleigh, N.C., which will take on operations of several different USDA agencies including the Forest Service.

In a Wednesday committee hearing on the reorganization plan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Alexander Vaden said employees of the regional office would likely either be absorbed into other Albuquerque operations or asked to move.

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But while the regional office will be phased out and the Forest Service office at 333 Broadway Blvd. in Albuquerque will be closed, the plan states two administrative support locations will be kept, one in Albuquerque and the other in Minneapolis.

"Albuquerque is specifically mentioned in the secretary's memorandum because of its important HR functions," Vaden said Wednesday. "That is a core area of the Forest Service that will be unaffected by this reorganization."

In 2006, the Forest Service moved human resources workers from around the country to a centralized hub in Albuquerque.

Last year, the Forest Service announced it would be consolidating some of its Albuquerque operations, saving nearly $3.2 million each year in rent costs as part of a broad effort to reduce leasing costs.

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A news release from the agency about the new reorganization plan stated a review of the federal agency's operations found a "bloated, expensive, and unsustainable organization" and it would be divesting properties with high deferred maintenance costs and low occupancy, consolidating some operations and relocating some workers from the Washington D.C. area to the five new hubs in Salt Lake City; Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis; Fort Collins, Colo.; and Raleigh, N.C.

American agriculture feeds, clothes, and fuels this nation and the world, and it is long past time the Department better serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers we are mandated to support," Rollins said in a news release. "President Trump was elected to make real change in Washington, and we are doing just that by moving our key services outside the beltway and into great American cities across the country."

The Department of Agriculture employed just under 100,000 people in September 2024. More than 15,000 have already elected to leave the agency through voluntary resignation programs, Rollins wrote in the July 24 memo. About 39,000 of those employees worked for the U.S. Forest Service, as of September.

The Forest Service operates on four levels. A Washington, D.C., headquarters is at the top. Under that are the nine regional offices, which coordinate work on national forests and grasslands, allocate budget and guide planning. The regional forester for the office would then oversee forest supervisors, who manage a specific national forest or grassland, which then are broken down further into ranger districts.

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The Santa Fe National Forest, for example, is made up of five ranger districts. It's one of 11 national forests in Arizona and New Mexico managed by the Southwestern Regional Office based in Albuquerque.

In a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee on the reorganization plan, New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan's questions about the Albuquerque office and its approximately 250 employees devolved into a fiery exchange with Vaden.

Like other senators on the committee  Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, called the reorganization a "half-baked plan with no notice"  Lujan demanded additional details about the plan from the deputy secretary.

"Mr. Vaden, I'll try to be more clear," Lujan said at one point. "I'm sorry if my English is spoken with an accent.  I'm proud to be born and raised in New Mexico. I'll try to speak more clearly. When will you provide this information to the committee?"

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After several back-and-forths, Vaden acknowledged the plan was "a vision to be implemented" and in need of finalizing.

"The individual details will need to be worked out with the agencies and the employees," Vaden said.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Officers have arrested a man accused of a conspiracy forging scheme to obtain prescription medications.

Ian Samuel Curtis, 20, was arrested Thursday evening on four counts of conspiracy forgery, charging documents show.

Officers with the South Jordan Police Department began investigating a series of forged prescriptions that were allegedly being faxed to pharmacies across the Salt Lake Valley. Several pharmacies received four identical prescriptions.

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The prescriptions detailed the same two substances: 10 capsules of Benzonatate  a non-narcotic cough medicine, and a common cough syrup. Police say neither are controlled substances, but both can be abused.

Utah Supreme Court throws out homelessness lawsuit against Salt Lake City

Four different doctors names appeared on the prescriptions. Each confirmed the prescriptions to be fraudulent. The prescriptions even displayed incorrect information but did not have actual signatures.

After faxing the prescriptions, police said Curtis would arrive and collect the medications. Pharmacies in Kearns, Salt Lake City, Midvale, and South Jordan all fell victim to the scheme.

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According to court documents, facial recognition from security footage was used to identify Curtis. Police tracked his next pick-up to a Harmons in Millcreek where officers waited for him to arrive before taking him into custody.

Officers said Curtis told them he receives the prescriptions from someone he met online. He also told police that he uses the substances for personal use because they dont show up on his drug tests.

Curtis was booked on multiple felony charges and ordered to be held without bail.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Former senior Biden adviser Mike Donilon told the House Oversight Committee on Thursday that he was paid $4 million working on the former presidents 2024 campaign and was set to receive an additional $4 million if he was reelected, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.

While Donilons $4 million salary was first detailed in the book Original Sin, the possible $4 million additional payout for a Biden reelection victory was not previously known.

In his closed-door testimony to the committee Donilon defended former President Joe Bidens fitness for office amid reports about his mental and physical decline during his time in the White House. What I saw, day in and day out, was a leader who was deeply engaged and in command on critical issues, both at home and abroad, according to a copy of Donilons opening statement obtained by CNN.

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Donilons testimony to the committee comes as the Republican-led panel has interviewed Bidens top White House aides this week as part of its intensifying investigation into the former presidents cognitive decline and possible efforts to conceal it from the public.

I believed that President Biden was the best person to lead the country on the day he took the oath of office and I continued to believe that was true every day he served as President, Donilon said in his statement.

CNN has reached out to Donilon for comment.

This week the committee also met with former Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti, who called the probe an unprecedented effort to intimidate the prior administration

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Several Biden aides have declined to cooperate with the committees investigation and invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after being subpoenaed to appear.

Earlier this month, three Biden aides  White House physician Dr. Kevin OConnor, former assistant to the president and senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal and former assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini  who previously served as director of Oval Office Operations  pleaded the fifth in the face of questions from the panel.

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV)  Beloved Savannah businessman Cliff McCurry passed away Thursday night, his family confirmed.

McCurry was serving as the Director of Community Development at Sterling Seacrest Pritchard, where he had worked for over 16 years.

He was inducted into the Savannah Business Hall of Fame in 2019. McCurry has served in different roles for organizations such as the St. Josephs/Candler Health System Foundation, World Trade Center Savannah, Savannah Economic Development Authority, Communities in Schools of Savannah and Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce.

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His son Jamie released a statement on behalf of the McCurry family and said, Our father and grandfather loved the state of Georgia, and he took great pride in serving this community. His legacy of kindness, service and mentorship is an example for us and so many others to follow. 

Jamie said, While we mourn his passing, we celebrate a life exceptionally well lived and rejoice in his Salvation.

McCurry was honored in 2025 with the Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of Georgias Terry College of Business.

Credit: Bunny Ware Credit: Bunny Ware Credit: Bunny Ware Credit: Bunny Ware Credit: Bunny Ware Credit: Bunny Ware Credit: Bunny Ware

Nina Gompels, a close friend of McCurrys said, For over 35 years, I had the privilege of knowing a man whose heart was as big as his love for Savannah. He wore many hatsfriend, boss, mentor, promoterand somehow managed to wear them all with grace, humor, and boundless energy. A gifted storyteller and tireless community champion, he had a way of making you feel like you mattered.

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Gompels said, We shared a special tradition of celebrating our birthdays together each year, and I feel so grateful that we were able to celebrate his one last time on July 8th. He never missed a chance to care for others, whether it was leading a community cause or sending a message all the way to Costa Rica to make sure my friends and I were safe. I will forever cherish our years of friendship and the legacy of kindness, laughter, and unwavering commitment he leaves behind.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV.
Welcome back to Foreign Policys Latin America Brief.

The highlights this week: Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is convicted of bribery, the United States announces tariffs and sanctions on Brazil, and Mexico City marks the anniversary of Tenochtitlans founding.

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U.S. Slams Conviction of Ex-Colombian Leader

On Monday, a court in Colombia found a former leader guilty of a crime for the first time in the countrys history.

Former President Alvaro Uribe was convicted of bribery and procedural fraud. Prosecutors argued that Uribe, who governed from 2002 to 2010, offered to pay a paramilitary member to retract testimony that he funded paramilitary groups in the 1990s. The case has stretched over 13 years.

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Uribe is a tough-on-crime and conservative figure who has remained highly influential even after his time in office. He successfully boosted allies Juan Manuel Santos and Ivan Duque to the presidency, although Santos would later diverge politically. Uribes right-wing party plans to run a candidate in next years presidential election.

Uribes conviction is major news in Colombia. But a subsequent social media statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added an international element to the story. Rubio denied that Uribe had committed any crimes and wrote that the weaponization of Colombias judicial branch by radical judges has now set a worrisome precedent.

Uribe closely aligned Colombia with the United States while in office and is friendly with conservative political groups in the United States that are close to Rubio. Rubios post echoed the Trump administrations recent criticism of the trial of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. In an editorial, Colombian newspaper El Espectador called Rubios statement unacceptable interference by the United States in our justice system.

This weeks ruling against Uribe was only at the circuit court level, and his lawyers said they will appeal. The case is a test of the integrity of Colombias judiciary.

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Judging an ex-president isnt desirable, but it should not cause a cataclysm in a democracy. To the contrary: It is a symptom of institutional health, journalist Vladimir Florez wrote in El Tiempo. A 2023 Foreign Policy analysis found that at least 78 political leaders in democratic and semi-democratic countries have been indicted this century.

As with Brazil, the Trump administrations dissatisfaction with Uribes trial could have consequences for Colombias relations with the United States.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on many Brazilian goods; the tariffs were detailed in an executive order that also complained about Bolsonaros trial. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are considering allowing anti-drug cooperation with Colombia to lapse ahead of an annual renewal deadline next month. The partnership sends tens of millions of dollars of financial aid to Bogota each year.

Uribes conviction may also galvanize the Colombian right at a moment where left-wing President Gustavo Petros popularity is slumping. For months, Uribe has urged the countrys smattering of center-right to right parties to unite ahead of next years election.

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Colombias centrist politicians have lately been reluctant to team up with Uribe, which is partly due to the legal charges against him. In the countrys most recent presidential election, the candidate who was the second-most popular after Petro was a little-known former mayor who styled himself as a political outsidernot a candidate from Uribes hard right.

Upcoming Events

Friday, Aug. 1: Panama assumes the one-month rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

Sunday, Aug. 17: Bolivia holds general elections.

What Were Following

New U.S. tariffs. On Wednesday, the Trump administration followed through on its threat of 50 percent duties on Brazilian goodswith several exemptions. Dozens of products were left off the levy list, leaving the effective U.S. tariff rate on Brazil at around 31 percent, Goldman Sachs estimated.

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U.S. buyers of Brazilian goods lobbied hard for the exemptions, which include orange juice, fertilizers, energy, and airplanes. Brazil is the source of more than half of the orange juice consumed in the United States, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Washington also introduced financial sanctions on the Brazilian Supreme Court judge overseeing Bolsonaros trial, Alexandre de Moraes. The moves against Brazil are the clearest example so far of [the Trump administrations] autocracy promotion, Oliver Stuenkel wrote in Foreign Policy this week, adding that they are bound to reduce U.S. influence in the country.

Mexico, for its part, dodged potential U.S. tariffs of 30 percent on Thursday after President Claudia Sheinbaum held a call with Trump. Currently, many goods not covered by an existing trade deal are subject to a 25 percent duty.

The higher rate will be postponed for 90 days, Trump said after the call. He added that he hoped to sign a trade deal with the country soon.

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Travel diplomacy. Last week, Argentina announced greater business and tourism travel permissions with China. This week, it made a similar announcement with the United States: The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding that will jump-start Argentinas reentry into the U.S. visa waiver program. The process could take some three years to complete.

Washington made the commitment in part because Argentines have the lowest U.S. visa overstay rate of any Latin American country. But the move is also a response to Argentine President Javier Mileis friendly posture toward the United States, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.

Argentina enjoyed visa-free travel to the United States until 2002, when it was halted amid a financial crisis in Argentina and post-9/11 U.S. border tightening. Chile is the only Latin American country that enjoys that privilege today.

Mexican Army soldiers and actors perform during the celebration of the 700-year anniversary of Tenochtitlans founding in Mexico City on July 26.Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images

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Aztec anniversary. Last weekend, Mexico celebrated the 700-year anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan, the Indigenous Aztec city that preceded Mexico City.

In the capitals main square, hundreds of actors simulated Tenochtitlans founding. Aztec elders told historians that the location for the city was chosen when they saw an eagle sitting on a cactus and holding a snake, thought to be a divine sign. The image is depicted on Mexicos flag.

Tenochtitlan was a city built on islands in the middle of a lake, split by canals, somewhat akin to Venice, Italy. Spanish colonists later drained the water, but the city center remains where the old Aztec temple was located.

Sheinbaum spoke at the ceremony, saying that great civilizations built Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards. She urged an end to anti-Indigenous racism.

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Question of the Week

Which of the following cities was also an ancient Indigenous capital?

La Paz, Bolivia

Cusco, Peru

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Barranquilla, Colombia

Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire.

FPs Most Read This Week When the Threat Is Inside the White Houseby Tim WeinerThe Great Dismantlingby Suzanne NosselXi Jinpings War on Dinner Is Hurting Chinas Economyby Lizzi C. Lee In Focus: New Migration Hotspots

Venezuelan refugees board a Brazilian Air Force plane, heading to Manaus and Sao Paulo, at Boa Vista International Airport in Brazil on May 4, 2018.Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images

It has been around six months since the Trump administration moved to shut down asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. In that time, some Latin American countries have tightened their own migration restrictions, while others have allowed an influx of people seeking work or protection.

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A new report this week by the research group Mixed Migration Centre examined patterns from the year so far. In addition to Brazil, which has accepted some migrants who previously sought to build lives in the United States, people are looking to neighboring Paraguay. The country received 15,000 residency applications between January and May, a rate that is on track to break an annual record; top applicants included Brazilians, Argentines, and Bolivians.

Thousands of Ecuadorians have headed to Argentina, according to Ecuadors Interior Ministry. It counted 7,754 Ecuadorians who left for Argentina between January and May and did not return. Ecuadorians migrated to the U.S.-Mexico border in large numbers at the end of former U.S. President Joe Bidens term due to rising violence and economic strains in the country.

Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina all are part of a nine-country residency agreement between the customs union Mercosur and several other South American nations that eases movement between them.

Even so, individual countries have some legal space to tighten or loosen migration requirements. Ecuador and Argentina have upped restrictions in recent weeks. Uruguay went in the other direction, expanding access to a residency policy that largely benefits Cuban migrants.

Its too early to say how Latin American migrants will impact the economies of their new host countries. But the United States loss could be another countrys gain. This week, former senior officials from the Biden administration wrote in a Brookings report that the expanded numbers of legal migrants to the United States after 2020 helped the country avert a post-pandemic recession.
NEW YORK  The NYPDs Internal Affairs Bureau looked into a rape allegation against a former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, according to court documents filed Friday.

Tim Pearson, a longtime friend of Adams who served as a senior adviser in City Hall, is facing several lawsuits related to allegations he sexually harassed an underling in a mayoral office he ran and then retaliated against the woman and several other staffers who raised concerns  allegations he has denied. A newly submitted exhibit in one of those cases contains an internal NYPD report summarizing a rape allegation made against Pearson roughly a decade before he joined the Adams administration.

The allegation against Pearson comes at an inconvenient time for Adams, who is running for reelection in part on his public safety track record and oversight of the police department. In addition to Fridays filing, several recent lawsuits have drawn attention to the chaotic leadership changes at the NYPD during his tenure.

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Pearson did not respond to a request for comment. His attorney referred questions to City Hall.

Tim Pearson does not work for this administration and he was not a city employee when these allegations  which were determined to be unsubstantiated by law enforcement  were reported or when they allegedly took place, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said in a statement.

According to the internal report made public Friday, a woman accused Pearson in 2013 of raping her in Nassau County. The woman, whose name is being withheld by POLITICO, told investigators she later reported the rape to two NYPD officials  then-Chief of Department Phil Banks and then-Deputy Chief Rodney Harrison, who was in the Internal Affairs Bureau at the time  and that they did not act.

Banks denied the woman ever approached him about Pearson, while Harrison told POLITICO he took her complaint, but was transferred out of the Internal Affairs Unit shortly afterward.

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In 2015, the woman filed a complaint accusing Banks and Harrison of failing to follow up, which prompted the internal investigation outlined in Fridays filing.

As part of the internal probe, which exonerated both officials, an NYPD investigator interviewed the Nassau County detective who had handled the original rape allegation and deemed it unfounded. The Nassau County detective told the NYPD that the allegation appeared to stem from relationship strife.

The report also noted that, by the time the woman reported the alleged rape, Pearson was no longer with the NYPD, meaning Banks and Harrison would have had no recourse anyway.

In an interview Friday, the woman said her story was not reflected in the testimony from the Nassau County detective. She repeated the allegation that Pearson raped her.

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Those are Pearsons words, she said of the Nassau County detectives summary. They are not mine.

Pearson was pushed out of the administration last year after several rounds of negative headlines : He got into a scuffle with security guards at a city-run migrant facility. He delayed a migrant contract in the hopes of scoring a security contract for a friend. And the FBI seized his phone as part of a broad corruption investigation into the Adams administration. The allegation in the court documents filed Friday has not been previously reported.

Pearsons accuser further alleged that Nassau County police declined to pursue her case because she did not immediately go to the hospital. She told POLITICO that, while she was romantically involved with Pearson at the time, that does not negate her allegation.

You can be in a relationship and be raped, she said.

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Banks denied on Friday that he ever received a report about Pearson.

She never made a complaint to me about Pearson or anybody else. And if she had, I would have called 911, Banks said in an interview, noting that Pearson was a civilian at the time and thus not under the jurisdiction of the Internal Affairs Bureau. That conversation never took place.

Harrison said in an interview Friday that he recalled discussing a complaint with the woman as part of his role in the Internal Affairs Bureau, but noted that he was transferred out of that unit shortly afterward to a role on Staten Island.
The Colorado Association of School Executives recently appointed a Colorado Springs-area district leader as its future president.

Wendy Birhanzel, superintendent of Harrison School District 2, was named president-elect at a CASE convention last week. Birhanzel, who will assume leadership in 2026, will be only the third CASE president from the Pikes Peak region in the last 29 years.

Im really honored to have been chosen for this role, Birhanzel said. Im looking forward to stepping into this role at a time when public education has a lot of challenges, but also a lot of opportunities.

Birhanzels ascent to CASE leadership comes during a fraught period in public education.

A 2024 adequacy study of Colorado school funding, published by the nonpartisan American Institutes for Research, concluded that Colorado schools are severely underfunded, and that it would take an additional $4 billion to properly educate students across the state. There is a growing effort to shift public funds toward charter and private schools. And a teacher shortage threatens the quality of instruction in classrooms across Colorado and the U.S.

Public education is under attack, Birhanzel said. Thats why its important that we advocate and we tell our story and we make sure that students receive a quality education regardless of where they go.

As the states leading organization for K-12 leaders, CASEs primary mission is advocacy for Colorados educational professionals and the students they serve, Birhanzel said.

Everyone who knows me knows that I will share my opinion and I will advocate fiercely for our kids, said Birhanzel, whom CASE named the Colorado Superintendent of the Year for 2023.

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Im a firm believer that, regardless of what ZIP code you live in, you should have a quality education, and I have always advocated for that. Im just going to be doing it on a larger scale.

As CASE president, Birhanzel intends to spend much of her time meeting with educators and lawmakers on the state and national level, to tell the story of whats happening in schools here in Colorado, she said.

I want to help change the perception of public education. I will not change everyones perception, but if we can just educate a few people to understand the work that is happening in our public schools, if we can help people realize that our teachers are in a noble profession, that our school leaders give so much of themselves. If I can accomplish that, then I will consider my term a success.

Birhanzels three-year CASE tenure will include a year as president-elect and member of the executive committee, one year as sitting president and a year as past president, she said.

The fight for public education is on, Birhanzel said. And Im ready.
HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK)  A former Eustace police officer was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography in the 392nd District Court.

Cody Mitchell Burris was arrested in January on four counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of possession with intent to promote child pornography. The arrest came after authorities obtained three videos reportedly depicting minors engaging in sexual conduct.

In December 2024, investigators examined the items collected during the search warrant, where they reportedly found screenshots of several videos of infants and young child pornography.

Mugshot of Cody Mitchell Burris courtesy of Henderson County District Attorneys Office

While looking through the content folder, [the investigator] observed a photo of a white males face sitting inside a car. The background of this photo appears to be a police car, the affidavit stated. While looking through the folder, there was another image of the same male, in the suspected police car from a different angle.

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Investigators contacted Eustace Mayor Dustin Shelton, who reportedly identified the man as Burris.

Henderson County Sheriffs Office takes aggressive stance to arrest child predators

After pleading guilty, Burris was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison and was charged with possession with intent to promote child pornography. Burris will also be forced to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.

Henderson District Attorney Jenny Palmer explained why Burris received the maximum sentence. The defendant took an oath to protect and serve our community, Palmer said. Its time now that we protect our community from him, and sentence him to the full 20 years.

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  In a lawsuit filed in state court, former Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan i accusing Mayor Rick Blangiardi of retaliation, coercion and violating whistleblower protection laws.

The court papers were filed on Thursday, July 31, just after 9:30 p.m., where Logan alleges whistleblower retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress following what he said was his refusal to comply with what he believed were illegal demands.

The explosive complaint alleges Logan was forced to resign under threat  not just to his job, but to his familys well being.

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The former chief is now seeking damages and calling for accountability.

The lawsuit claims Logan was subjected to a relentless pattern of political interference, legal pressure and ultimately forced resignation.



This lawsuit has not even been served yet. But can let you know that the evidence in this case will show that the threats and the level of duress would make any reasonable person resign from their position, said Joseph Rosenbaum, attorney for Chief Logan.

The allegations are sweeping. In the complaint, Logan accuses Mayor Blangiardi of

Demanding that HPD grant media access to encrypted police radio transmissions, despite federal and state law prohibiting it

Pressuring HPD to clear homeless individuals from Waikiki and Chinatown, actions Logan says would have violated constitutional protections

Attempting to control HPDs hiring of public information officers

And threatening Logan and his family during a private May 28th meeting where Blangiardi allegedly told the chief Im telling you to resign or I will make it very difficult for you and your family, and you know I can.

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The Mayor, who is traveling in Japan, said in a statement:

I am deeply disappointed that the former Chief Joe Logan has chosen to file this meritless complaint against the city. He voluntarily stepped down as chief and had every opportunity to rescind his resignation if he changed his mind over the last two months. The city will vigorously defend against these claims as we remain firmly focused on strengthening public safety in communities across Oahu, advancing officer recruitment, and increasing public confidence in government.

At the news conference, Logan and his wife, Gaylene, did not answer any questions. But Loga s attorney said his client is asking for a jury trial and special and compensatory damages for emotional distress.



I believe any time the Chief of Police is removed from his position, it leaves a void, and so public safety concerns are obviously paramount. I think thats the reason, in part, why this lawsuit is being brought. Because its a matter of serious public concern, said Rosenbaum.

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HPD Chief Joe Logan announces retirement

Chief Logan announced his retirement in June following a meeting with Blangiardi.

That same day, Blangiardi recommended then-Hawaii Island Chief Ben Moszkowicz for the Interim Chief role.

Check out more news from around Hawaii

The position eventually went to Rade Vanic.

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MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (WTNH)  A former Middletown day care teacher plead guilty to charges after a video showed her allegedly throwing a child through the air like luggage.

Kristie Ann Kovarcik of Haddam plead guilty to a felony count of risk of injury to a child and three misdemeanor counts of second-degree reckless endangerment.

BACKGROUND: Middletown day care teacher accused of throwing 2-year-old like luggage

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Police said the incident occurred at Town & Country Early Learning Center on Main Street in October of 2023, but they werent alerted to it until that January.

Video of the incident showed Kovarcik walk over to the victim, who had fallen on the ground.

She is then seen grabbing the victim by the shirt with both hands before launching them through the air like a piece of luggage.

New Britain YWCA had 7 violations during inspection months before 2-year-old fatally choked

Investigators estimated the child traveled about six feet before striking their head on the wall.

Following the incident, a doctors examination determined the child sustained a contusion to the right eyebrow.

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According to an arrest warrant, Kovarcik was immediately fired after the incident. An arrest warrant stated she had been working at the center since 2019.

When giving her statement to police, Kovarcik said she was remorseful and it was not intentional, she just lost her cool.

Kovarcik is due back in Middletown court for sentencing on Sept. 25. Shes been released form custody after posting bond.

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Jul. 31SANTA FE  Former New Mexico congresswoman Yvette Herrell has been appointed to a Trump administration post and is not planning to run next year for the southern New Mexico-based seat she represented for a single term after winning the 2020 election.

A Herrell campaign spokesman confirmed her plan to not run in 2026 for the 2nd Congressional District seat, which is currently held by U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a Democrat.

The seat has been one of the nation's most hotly contested districts in recent years, but became more favorable to Democrats under a new congressional map that took effect in 2022. Vasquez defeated Herrell in last year's general election, getting about 52% of the votes cast in the race.

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The vote spread between the two candidates was larger than it was in 2022, when Vasquez ousted Herrell by a razor-thin margin.

Herrell, a former state legislator, was appointed by the president in June to be an assistant secretary for congressional relations in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She has not yet been confirmed by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, where her nomination was sent. U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., is a member of that committee.

Herrell has worked as a real estate broker in Alamogordo since leaving Congress. She also owns an ice and water vending machine company and would transfer ownership of the company to a family business if confirmed, according to a public financial disclosure report obtained by the Journal.

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As assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Herrell would hold a key post in a federal agency that employs nearly 100,000 people and oversees the U.S. Forest Service and other departments. If confirmed, she would replace Adrienne Wojciechowski, who stepped down in January after Trump took office.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently led by Brooke Rollins, who announced during a June meeting of the Western Governors Association in Santa Fe that her agency intends to repeal a rule that prohibits road construction and logging on 91,000 square miles of Forest Service land.

Rollins also recently announced plans to restructure the USDA by transferring most of the agency's employees in Washington, D.C., to offices in five cities around the nation: Salt Lake City, Indianapolis, Fort Collins, Colorado, Kansas City, Missouri, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Meanwhile, Herrell's appointment could lead to other Republicans entering next year's CD2 race.

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Eddy Aragon, a radio talk show host and former Albuquerque mayoral candidate, announced his candidacy in May and is currently the only GOP candidate in the race, according to federal election filings.

Vasquez is seeking reelection in the district, which now includes all of southern New Mexico and stretches north into Albuquerque's South Valley.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  There are new details in the shocking murders at Devils Den State Park in Arkansas. The man arrested for the murders of a couple is now charged with two counts of capital murder and has ties to Oklahoma.

Ive got 2 bodies down here, an officer on the radio said the day of the murders.

That call was the moment officers found 43-year-old Clinton Brink and his 41-year-old wife, Cristen, stabbed to death in front of their daughters on a trail in the park on July 26.

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RELATED STORY: Devils Den double homicide suspect booked into Washington County Jail: What we know about his arrest

The couples seven and nine-year-old daughters managed to escape and run for help. Shortly after that, a manhunt ensued.

Arkansas State Police released a composite sketch, then a photo of the suspected killer, hoping to get a lead.

Composite sketch released by Arkansas State Police. Image courtesy ASP.

Photo released by Arkansas State Police. Image courtesy ASP.

The Governor of Arkansas also promised the suspect would be caught.

Five days later, Andrew McGann was arrested at a barber shop 25 miles away in Springdale, Arkansas.

Andrew McGann arrested for murder of couple (Washington County Sheriffs Office)

News of the arrest quickly spread and then revelations of McGanns ties to Oklahoma came to light.

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RELATED STORY: Teacher charged with killing couple who were hiking in Arkansas park with their kids

McGann is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and then went on to teach elementary students in Broken Arrow and, most recently, in Sand Springs before moving to Arkansas.

A family member of the Brinks said the couple died as heroes, protecting their little girls, and they deserve justice.

Right now, there is no known motive for the killings, and police believe he did not know the victims. McGann is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Officials said a former Pulaski County Clerks Office employee surrendered herself to court after an arrest warrant had been issued.

Attorney General Tim Griffin said Deborah Smith is facing a single felony count of violation of voter eligibility. Smith turned herself in when a warrant was issued for her arrest, he said, and she was released on her own recognizance.

Arkansas Election Commission investigation finds Pulaski County improperly altered voter records

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Griffin said the investigation began when 132 voter registrations had been switched from North Little Rock to Maumelle ahead of the 2024 general election. The investigation is ongoing, he said.

The Election Integrity Unit determined that Smith had deliberately switched the voter registrations while working at the clerks office, Griffin said. She resigned from the office when the switch was discovered, he said.

Instances like this in Arkansas are rare, but to keep them from becoming more frequent, the response of justice must be swift and decisive, Griffin said. I am grateful for the excellent work of my Election Integrity Unit and for the support of the State Board of Election Commissioners and [Sixth Judicial District] Prosecutor Will Jones.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
SALISBURY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A man already on federal probation for previous bank robbery convictions was arrested again Thursday on similar charges.

Salisbury Police reported that officers responded just after 2:30 p.m. to the F&M Bank on South Avalon Drive, a call which was quickly confirmed as a robbery in progress. Officers were in the area already and promptly detained a white male who had exited the bank.

Man faces new charges after Rowan County custody exchange shooting

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Bank staff told officers that the man, later identified as 58-year-old Jeffrey Dean Athey, allegedly passed them a note demanding money. He was given money at which time he exited the bank and was detained by officers.

Athey was charged with common law robbery and placed in the Rowan County Detention Center under a $50,000 bond.

Athey, a former Davidson County sheriffs deputy, was previously charged with robbing F&M branches in 2018 and 2022, the Salisbury Post reports, including the Avalon Drive location.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Eric Descheenie, 46, is running for U.S. Congress to represent Arizona's largest congressional district. Descheenie is Dine and originally from Chinle, but he lives in Flagstaff. Photo courtesy of Eric Descheenie

Former Arizona State Rep. Eric Descheenie has joined the race for U.S. Congress in Arizonas largest district, where he will face off against former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Eli Crane.

Its time to do what Ive always done, and that is to do my part in advocating for whats right, particularly from a Dine perspective, Descheenie told the Arizona Mirror about his candidacy.

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Descheenie said he started thinking about running for Congress in December 2024, when people in the Flagstaff area urged him to run. He filed to run for Congress in May.

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The Second Congressional District stretches from south of Phoenix to the borders of New Mexico to the east and Utah to the north, encompassing much of eastern and northern Arizona.

The district is amazing because you can go from one community to the next and the demographics will change, he said. I think that each one of those communities has something profound to offer.

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The district covers about 60% of Arizona, and tribal land makes up a large portion of that area, but it is sparsely populated.

The district includes 14 tribal nations, with Indigenous people making up about 20% of the districts total population.

The district was redrawn in 2021 during the once-a-decade redistricting process to include heavily GOP Yavapai County, and Republicans have a strong registration advantage as a result.

The redrawn district gave the GOP a seven-point edge, a stark difference from the nearly evenly split district it replaced.

Descheenie said he is not running so he could be the first Native American to have a seat in Congress from Arizona, but rather, he sees a problem and it needs solving.

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He said there are chronic issues that the people of CD2 badly need to be resolved, such as access to water, affordable housing, healthcare and more.

Based on the current philosophy of leaders, policy strategies and models of politics within the district, Descheenie said these issues are not going to be fixed anytime soon.

We have to ask ourselves, what have we been doing and how should we be doing those things differently? he said.

Through his experience in government over the last 20 years at the state, tribal, county and federal levels, Descheenie said he is capable of bringing in something different.

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As a Dine (Navajo) man, I see a different future: one that puts people and decency first and treats our neighbors and families as they should be treated, his website states. One that prioritizes basic human rights such as universal healthcare, a livable wage, affordable housing, fully funded public education and adequate and clean drinking water.

Descheenie is originally from Chinle, but grew up in the Phoenix area. He now lives in Flagstaff with his three sons.

He was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2016 and served a single term. He said he chose not to run for reelection to focus on raising his three sons.

 I could not see myself missing those years that you just dont get back, he said. Now, his oldest son has graduated from high school.

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Hes now entering into this world that has got a lot of threats, got a lot of volatility, Descheenie said.

As his children enter adulthood, Descheenie said he can see that the world theyre entering is far worse than when he was their age.

We have a very present climate crisis, a developing authoritarian regime led by oligarchs, and an artificial intelligence revolution taking shape, as we speak, he said. These are all unprecedented, serious threats we are all having to shoulder, and I believe I can do something about it.

Descheenie said he wants to be able to connect with the people in CD2 on a level where they can understand each other beyond party lines and have deeper conversations about the issues that impact them all.

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Human to human as opposed to Democrats or Republicans, he added.

Descheenie said he has observed Cranes tenure in office  he was first elected in 2022  and how he openly aligns with the far-right and Donald Trumps MAGA agenda, which Descheenie said often derails important conversations in an unproductive way.

 I dont anticipate him problem-solving any of our real chronic issues anytime soon, Descheenie said.

He pointed to Cranes decision to vote in favor of Trump and the GOPs Big Beautiful Bill, which included cuts to Medicaid and food stamps to pay for tax cuts for businesses and wealthy Americans.

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Its so upside down that Im still waiting for him to justify it, Descheenie said. Jobs in rural Arizona are few and far between and people need food security, and he voted the direct opposite of how he should have.

Descheenie said he listened in on Cranes recent virtual town hall meeting, where he told his constituents that there were too many people on those benefit programs that shouldnt be.

 Thats not an excuse, thats not a justification  that is a pathetic attempt to justify an abhorrent vote, he added. Thats not leadership. Thats being cruel.

As for his fellow Democratic candidate, Descheenie said that Nez has been pretty consistent in his form of politics.

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We all know what to expect from Jonathan, Descheenie said, noting how Nez lost his reelection for Navajo Nation president and his first bid to Congress in 2024.

Descheenie said that Nez lost to Crane by nine points, which is worse than when former Rep. Tom OHalloran lost his seat in 2022 by eight points.

I cant expect him to do anything different this go around, he added. And thats why I dont have the confidence that hes the best candidate in this race.

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SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  A former pastor in Sumner County has been sentenced to prison for stealing funds from a food bank he was once in charge of, officials said.

On Friday, Aug. 1, two assistant district attorneys secured felony convictions in Sumner County Criminal Court against 83-year-old James Gill.

JULY 2023: Former Sumner County Food Bank director indicted on theft, prostitution charges

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According to Sumner County District Attorney General Ray Whitley, a judge has ordered Gill to serve 12 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction after the 83-year-old pleaded guilty to theft of property over $60,000 and patronizing prostitution.

Officials said Gill was the former executive director of the Sumner County Food Bank (SCFB) and senior pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Gallatin.

James Gill (Courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

In May 2022, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation began investigating allegations that Gill was using charitable donations, which were meant to serve vulnerable residents, to make personal purchases.

Amid the investigation, TBI agents reportedly discovered that Gill issued checks to himself and others, redirected food bank funds to accounts he controlled, used food bank resources to pay a volunteer in exchange for sexual services, made extensive personal purchases using the food banks debit card and paid for improvements to his residence with food bank funds.

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According to Whitley, the SCFB was a nonprofit that was established in 2009 by Gill and members of Liberty Baptist Church. The organization was reportedly operated almost entirely by volunteers.

Records obtained between February 2020 and May 2022, showed that Gill authorized the misappropriation of charitable assets, including:

Over $200,000 in payments to himself

$130,000 to the director of operations

$40,000 to the food banks treasurer

Nearly 100 checks made out to cash, which were all endorsed by Gill

Purchased a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado for personal use, directly from the nonprofits account

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In 2022, Gill announced the food banks closure, citing health concerns as the reason. The First Baptist Church of Hendersonville reportedly formed a new nonprofit, Feed Sumner Food Bank and Ministry, to continue distributing food in the county.

CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee

To support its launch, equipment and vehicles from SCFB were sold to Feed Sumner Food Bank. However, church leaders allegedly discovered that even though more than $300,000 had been deposited from asset sales, only $28,000 remained in SCFBs account.

According to Whitley, Liberty Baptist Church officials reviewed SCFBs bank records and reported their findings to law enforcement. In February 2023, TBI agents executed a search warrant at Gills residence in Bethpage, where they reportedly found approximately $114,000 in cash hidden in a safe.

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Abuse of public trustespecially involving charitable organizationswill be investigated thoroughly and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by this office, said Assistant District Attorney Thomas Dean.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Whitley added that more than $300,000 has been recovered through judicial forfeiture from Gill and his co-defendants. News 2 previously reported that three more people were arrested for allegedly stealing from the food bank in July 2023.

The misappropriated funds will be transferred directly to Feed Sumner Food Bank and Ministry, officials said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Related Video: Video shows Devils Den double homicide suspects arrest

LEWISVILLE, Texas (KNWA/KFTA)  In the wake of the arrest of Devils Den double homicide suspect Andrew McGann, a Texas woman describes her sons experience as one of his students.

McGann, 28, was booked into the Washington County Detention Center around 7 p.m. on Wednesday. He was charged with two counts of capital murder connected to the deaths of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, who were fatally attacked while hiking with their two daughters.

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Sierra Marcum told KNWA/KFTAs NBC affiliate in Dallas, NBC 5 DFW, that she recalled her son voicing several concerns with McMann when he was a teacher in Lewisville, Texas.

Marcum said McGann was her sons homeroom teacher. She said he didnt manage his class well. She also said that her son had voiced concerns about inappropriate behavior, saying he had seen some things that made him feel uncomfortable.

Marcum told NBC 5 DFW that she informed the school of what her son had told her. The school told her it found no evidence of inappropriate behavior, but he was put on administrative leave for inadequate management and judgment.

The full story can be read on NBC 5 DFWs website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
Seniors can get help on Monday applying for three state tax credit and cash rebate programs that Colorado lawmakers passed to help lower housing costs for older adults.

A group of volunteers from the Colorado Gerontological Society will be at Library 21c, 1175 Chapel Hills Drive, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. to assist adults age 65 and above with applications for the Senior Housing Income Tax Credit, the Colorado Property Tax/Rent/Heat Rebate and the Senior Property Tax Exemption-Homestead Exemption.

Trained volunteers will be available to complete the tax forms. Appointments are suggested, but walk-ins are welcome.

For more information, call 303-333-3482.

Anyone not able to attend Mondays session can contact the following local people for assistance:

Kelli Holt Holt Agency, 5376 Tomah Drive, suite 100, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 719-434-5588 or kholt@farmersagent.com

Chris Schweiger Neighborhood Insurance Solutions, 719-367-0782 or chris@nisbrokers.com

Robin Depies Heartfelt Financial Solutions, 719-761-1802 robin@heartfeltfinancialsolutions.com
Retired Air Force Col. Nicole Malachowski recalls the terror of being in the cockpit of her F-15E Strike Eagle during a training mission and experiencing a wave of brain fog that left her temporarily unable to locate the radio switch  on a control panel shed been using for 15 years  to answer a call from air traffic control.

It was one of more than five dozen symptoms, ranging from neurological issues to night sweats, that would emerge in 2012 and 2013, halting her flying career and nearly ending her life. It would take years, and appeals to medical providers outside the military, for Malachowski to receive a diagnosis. She had a tick-borne illness  five of them, actually, including Lyme disease. Shed finish her career, which had included making history as the first woman to fly with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, essentially bedridden and with a medical retirement. Her retirement certificate, she said, was mailed to her home.

Malachowski believes the military didnt give her the information she needed to prevent tick-borne illness, or the diagnoses and medical treatment she needed when she became ill. Shes now on a mission to change that for the military.

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In May, recognized nationally as Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Malachowskis advocacy helped lead to the first tick-borne illness prevention program to be deployed across the Air National Guard. A letter of appreciation from Col. Russell Kohl, air surgeon for the Missouri Air National Guard, states that more than 100,000 Guardsmen were briefed through the program, and more than 100 doctors and 1,000 medical technicians were involved.

Statistically, it is anticipated that these efforts are likely to have prevented at least 30 cases annually of tick-borne illness in [Air National Guard] personnel let alone the immeasurable impacts to their families and friends who benefit from their knowledge and experience, Kohl wrote in the letter. These impacts positively impact our military readiness and national security as well as securing our social contract to support those who step forward and serve and defend our nation.

Malachowskis comment in a LinkedIn post sharing the letter was poignant: I think I may have finally made a difference.

Malachowskis advocacy helped lead to the first tick-borne illness prevention program to be deployed across the Air National Guard. Here, Malachowski speaks during an event at the Tulsa Air National Guard Base, Oklahoma, in December 2023. (Master Sgt. Rebecca Imwalle/Oklahoma Air National Guard)

For Malachowski, who reached the peak of her profession as a squadron commanding officer for the 333rd Fighter Squadron and went on to serve as the executive officer of the Joining Forces initiative under the Obama administration, her saga of chronic illness is full of glaring missed opportunities for diagnosis and proper treatment. Despite her medical retirement, she said, she still pays out of pocket for private health care, having lost faith in the military medical system.

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Entrenched doubt about the prevalence of Lyme disease  famously illustrated in a quote from a National Institutes of Health provider who dismissed the concerns of "Lyme Loonies"  still affected medical care, Malachowski said. And the stakes, she added, were getting higher.

What were finding is the incidence of tick-borne illness is increasing because the population of ticks is spreading because of climate change and and more and more people are getting sick, she said. And now its becoming an issue that they can no longer ignore.

A military study of vector-borne diseases published last year did find that Lyme disease was the most common one tracked between 2010 and 2022, with 3,400 confirmed cases in that period, nearly all of them in North America. But the study also found that the number of confirmed and probable Lyme disease cases had decreased sharply in recent years, from a high of 471 in 2012 to 90 in 2022. That trend contrasts with the Centers for Disease Control, which recorded just over 30,000 cases in 2010 and nearly 90,000 in 2023. Notably, the CDC issued a new case definition for Lyme disease in 2022, reflecting a growing understanding of how the disease presented and how certain well-known symptoms, like the bulls-eye rash, were not necessary for a diagnosis.

Malachowski did get a bulls-eye rash on her hip when she was first bitten in 2012, but says the flight surgeon who examined her dismissed the possibility of Lyme disease because he didnt believe there were any cases in North Carolina, where she was at the time. When Malachowski actually did find an engorged tick on her leg the following year, in a rare instance of a patient suffering two disease-causing tick bites, the doctor who examined her advised her to wait to see if a rash developed instead of testing for Lyme disease.

During her Air Force career, Malachowkski served as commander of the 333rd Fighter Squadron. Here, Malachowski, left, poses for a photo with then-Col. Jeannie Leavitt on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, in May 2013. (A1C John Nieves Camacho/U.S. Air Force)

Malachowski has been told, she says, that the small number of recorded military cases means Lyme disease is not a serious concern.

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I scoff, she said, because we know the tests arent any good, and we know people get undiagnosed and misdiagnosed all the time. And we know were not testing for all tick-borne illnesses, were only testing for Lyme. And Lyme barely scratches the surface.

By the time she got her full diagnosis in 2016, Malachowski and her husband had catalogued 63 symptoms, she said. At her lowest point, she was bedridden and housebound, required a home health aide and couldnt even talk. Her treatment, supervised by specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, required a PICC line, or central catheter, to deliver medications to large arteries near her heart. Even today, when Malachowski is best known as a sought-after motivational speaker and disease prevention advocate, she said shes at 50-60% of what she used to be.

Malachowskis fingerprints are on much of contemporary Lyme disease advocacy. In addition to the recent Guard campaign, she was able to help the Air Force rewrite regulations for dealing with ill service members as an ambassador and mentor for the services wounded warrior program. As a member of the Committee on the Evidence Base for Lyme Infection Associated Chronic Illnesses Treatment, she contributed to the National Academy of Sciences report on new treatments for Lyme, published in May.

She said shes still connecting, though, with service members who are suffering from tick-borne illnesses and feel unseen. Among her current priorities is working with the Defense Health Agency to support awareness programming like that recently pushed out by the Guard, and to update outdated aspects of the tick-borne illness training provided to medical providers. DHA, she said, hasnt responded to her inquiries.

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In response to an inquiry from Military Times, DHA officials provided a statement and linked to a number of articles the agency had published about Lyme disease and coverage of Bugapalooza, an insect risk awareness event it had supported.

The Defense Health Agency has promoted and continues to share a wealth of resources designed to educate and inform beneficiaries about bug-borne illnesses and how to prevent them, the statement read.

For Malachowski, the issue continues to be personal.

I still go through the grief cycle, she said. I lost my career, I lost my identity, and I lost my means for providing for my family, and I had to reinvent myself alone. And this is happening to young airmen, and that pisses me off.
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/new

Former Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has withdrawn her nomination to serve in the No. 2 spot in the Trump Education Department after cultural conservatives mounted a campaign opposing her.

The U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday that Schwinn would serve instead as a senior adviser and chief strategist, roles that do not require Senate confirmation.

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Schwinn enjoyed a good reputation among national conservative education advocates for her work in Tennessee to boost reading proficiency and target pandemic relief dollars toward academic recovery. Schwinn was the second name President Donald Trump announced to lead his Education Department, after Secretary Linda McMahon, even before he was sworn into office.

Despite support from Republicans like Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, increasingly influential conservative commentators in the state almost immediately came out in opposition to Schwinn. They pointed to her support for social and emotional learning and her support for reading curriculum they found objectionable. The right-wing advocacy group Tennessee Stands called Schwinn an incredibly terrible pick.

Their persistent opposition raised questions about Schwinns prospects for confirmation. Neither Sen. Marsha Blackburn nor Sen. Bill Hagerty, both Republicans from Tennessee, replied to multiple requests for comment through their offices regarding Schwinns nomination. But Blackburn in particular may be sensitive to concerns from the right flank of the party as she eyes a potentially crowded Tennessee gubernatorial primary in 2026.

In a press release, Schwinn said she had made the decision to withdraw after thoughtful consideration about how I can best contribute at this moment in a way that supports progress for students and education.

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Im grateful to President Trump and Secretary McMahon, and remain committed to protecting kids, raising achievement, and expanding opportunity  my lifelong mission and north star, Schwinn said.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn presents a proposed new school funding formula at Tennessee state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022.

Jim Blew, co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, a conservative think tank, said he believes Schwinn could have been confirmed  but it might have been an ugly battle. That senators appear to have sided with conservative influencers over their own president raises serious concerns, he said.

There was a time when senators could explain that they were going to disregard these fringe voices and say they were going to vote with the president, said Blew, who served in the Education Department in the first Trump administration. These senators allowed these influencers to shape their opinions in ways that are not good for the country and that are not good for students and that are not good for the administration.

Asked why Schwinn withdrew and whether she had the votes to be confirmed in the Senate, Education Department spokesperson Madi Biedermann replied with a copy of the press release.

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I am grateful to Dr. Schwinn for her commitment to serving students, families, and educators across the nation, McMahon said in a statement. Penny is a brilliant education mind, and I look forward to continue working with her as my Chief Strategist to Make Education Great Again.

Advocates hoped Schwinns education experience would complement McMahons background in business and administration. Her perspective as a former state schools chief would have been particularly valuable, they said, as Trump sought to return education to the states.

Schwinns critics feared she would undermine Trumps agenda from inside the department. Less ideological critics also raised questions about Schwinns business dealings. Florida business filings indicated that she made plans to start an education consulting business with former Palm Beach County superintendent Donald Fennoy after she was nominated. The 74 reported that Schwinn and Fennoy filed paperwork to dissolve the company shortly before her confirmation hearing.

At her confirmation hearing in June, Schwinn pledged her alignment with Trumps education agenda. The Senate education committee advanced her nomination in a party line vote later that month, but she never came up for a vote in the full Senate, where lawmakers have been consumed with divisive budget battles.

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Many key leadership roles in the Education Department remain vacant as nominees await Senate confirmation even as McMahon tries to move forward with the legally complex task of reducing the departments footprint.

Its lopsided to ask this secretary to do so much work and then not give her the team she needs, Blew said.

Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, said Schwinns withdrawal reflects poorly on the Republican Party.

This is a big loss for the country and for the Department of Education, he said. Shame on the Republicans for refusing to show any spine.

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Chalkbeat Tennessee Bureau Chief Melissa Brown contributed reporting.

Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeats national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Penny Schwinn, former TN education head, withdraws from Trump nomination
Members of the Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners review irregular absentee ballots on Nov. 5, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)

A former Pulaski County Clerk employee has been charged with a felony in connection with voter registration tampering last year.

Deborah Smith, 57, of North Little Rock surrendered to authorities Thursday after investigators with Attorney General Tim Griffins Election Integrity Unit obtained a warrant for her arrest, Griffin said in a press release.

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The State Board of Election Commissioners this spring referred a complaint it received from Pulaski County election commissioners about a possible election integrity violation. The state board asked the attorney generals office and the county prosecuting attorney to investigate the switching of 132 voter registrations from North Little Rock to Maumelle ahead of the 2024 general election.

We determined during our investigation that Smith deliberately switched the voter registrations while employed at the clerks office. She is charged with one count of violation of voter eligibility, a Class D felony, Griffins press release said.

Smith resigned from her position in Clerk Terri Hollingsworths voter registration department on Oct. 24, according to blogger Snarky Media. That was two days after Hollingsworth initiated an investigation into the alleged switch. The precinct switch allegedly occurred on the first day of early voting, Oct. 21.

In an Oct. 28 letter to county election commissioners, Hollingsworth said her office took steps to correct the changed precincts, but four voters had already voted before the fixes were made.

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Smith was processed at the Pulaski County Detention Center on Thursday and released on her own recognizance, Griffin said.

Griffin said his offices investigation is continuing.

Preserving the integrity of our elections is foundational to maintaining our democracy, he said in a press release. Instances like this in Arkansas are rare, but to keep them from becoming more frequent, the response of justice must be swift and decisive.

Secretary of State Cole Jester, who is chairman of the state election commissioners board, thank Griffin for his offices work on the case.

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Intentional violations of election law should always be met with criminal charges, Jester said in a statement.

Online news outlet South Arkansas Reckoning first reported in November about Hollingsworths letter to county election commissioners about the changed precincts and what shed done about it.

In May, the State Board of Election Commissioners reprimanded Hollingsworth for the precinct changes and issued a warning letter to her for having failed to prevent unauthorized changes to voter records.

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FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Traffic flows in the Fort Mill School District will look different this school year. Drivers will only be able to make a right turn out of six schools in high-traffic areas.

District leaders hope the change will mitigate crashes and pedestrian accidents.

Were obviously hopeful that this will help ease some of the traffic flow and safety issues of the left turn. We understand that thats not ideal. We also understand this is not a permanent solution, said Fort Mill SD representative Joseph Burke.

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A crossing guard was hit and killed in March of 2024 while directing traffic at the entrance/exit to Fort Mill Elementary. Seven months later, another guard was hit and seriously injured. The district is weighing long-term options like working with Fort Mill and Tega Cay police to help with traffic flow.

RELATED: Fort Mill Schools change crossing guard setup: What parents need to know

We are still going to be requesting additional features of the SCDOT like lights, signage, turning notifications, all of those things, speed limits and school zones to be reduced to all of those things that we have previously requested, Burke said. We are still able they are still able to provide crossing guards at any of the painted and properly signage crosswalks. So but what they will do, they are not going to direct traffic, but what they can do is stop traffic to allow pedestrian crossings at those crosswalks.

State law says uniformed adult crossing guards can temporarily stop traffic to help students get across the street, but it doesnt give them authority to direct or control traffic congestion on public roadways  especially in front of schools.

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We have a lot of schools, students who do not have a safe walking path. And in South Carolina, you cannot provide bus transportation within a mile and a half unless there are no safe walking paths. So all of those areas that there is not one of those, we provide bus transportation, he said.

Burke says its unfortunate to have to deal with this near the start of the school year, but officials are working hard to find efficient solutions while they work on a long-term one.

Parents were sent a letter notifying them of the change, reading in part:

To improve safety and efficiency at our busiest locations, the district is implementing a right-turn only rule at the car rider and student exits during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up for the following schools, effective immediately:

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Catawba Ridge High School

Fort Mill Elementary School

Fort Mill Middle School

River Trail Elementary School

Riverview Elementary School

Tega Cay Elementary School

Parents attending Catawba Ridge High Schools freshman orientation say they hope the change works.

Traffic in the morning and after school is a nightmare, but it helps to know that the district is trying to do something to help, one parent told Queen City 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 Queen City News.
UTAH COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  ICE is looking at local sheriffs departments to recruit new agents which is catching the ire of local sheriffs.

Its completely, in my opinion, foul play and unprofessional, said Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith about deputies being recruited by ICE. ABC4 is told deputies are receiving emails from the federal agency to recruit them to join. The email offers perks like a $50,000 sign-on bonus and $10,000 on the annual service anniversary for the first 5 years.

Email sent out to sheriffs deputies recruiting them to join ICE.

With offers like that to go along with other perks of working for the federal government, how can a local department compete? Sheriff Smith expressed.

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He also said, You see agencies that are doing this and are offering these big bonuses and these things because on the other side of it, with working environment and job satisfaction and you know, just your enjoyment in the job, its lacking. So, you have to overcompensate in other areas to get people to come work for you.

He continued, We make sure that were providing a good work space for our employees to work in, provide good morale and leave them with the feeling that theyre being taken care of here and theyre appreciated. We love the relationship with our deputies. And thats where I think you have the most power.

The sheriff added that he would never prevent one of his deputies from taking an opportunity that they want and feel is best for their family. He noted, though, how important he believes their work is in the local community.

He explained, The letter talks about, you know, the United States needs you and yeah, so does your local community, because thats where we live. Thats you know, the day-to-day interactions of what affects us in our lives and the safety we enjoy; happens in these communities and we need you here.

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Just two weeks ago, Utah County voted to enter a partnership with ICE where the sheriffs department would offer assistance.

Utah County Sheriffs Office votes yes to enter agreement with ICE

With a move like this, Sheriff Smith now questions if he wants to continue to be a part of it. He detailed, If this is the level of respect I can expect back from ICE on a federal level, I truly question our partnership and if I want to be involved in it.

Sheriff Smith tells ABC4 that 10 deputies from Washington County are confirmed to have received the recruitment email.

A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security provided the following statement to ABC4.com:

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ICE is recruiting law enforcement, veterans, and other patriots who want to serve their country and help remove gang members, child pedophiles, murderers, terrorists, and drug traffickers. This includes local law enforcement, veterans, and our 287(g) partners who have already been trained and have valuable law enforcement experience.

Additionally, more than $500 million from President Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill will go to increasing our 287(g) partnerships with state and local law enforcement. Like hiring, were supercharging our efforts to fulfill President Trump and the American peoples mandate to remove the worst of the worst from our country.

Latest headlines:

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Four Dallas police officers were fired following disciplinary hearings with Chief Daniel Comeaux this week.

The terminations included a 16-year veteran accused of evidence tampering and a rookie officer arrested for drunk driving, according to reports.

The dismissals highlight ongoing integrity concerns within the department as officers face criminal prosecution. Both cases involved arrests that violated department policy and public trust.

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Senior Corporal Joseph Robeson, who joined the force in June 2009, faced multiple violations, including evidence theft. He was arrested for tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony charge.

Robeson also failed to investigate a shooting incident properly and violated off-duty employment rules. Most damaging were findings that he gave untruthful statements during an investigation, according to the termination notice.

A second termination involved Police Officer Elijah Walker from the Central Patrol Division. Walker, hired in March 2023, was fired for engaging in adverse conduct when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated.

The Class B misdemeanor charge ended Walkers brief two-year career with the Dallas police.

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Police Dispatch Analyst Kenyon Campbell of the Communications Department was fired for causing a workplace disturbance. Campbell had been with the department since 2008.

Police Officer Jason Bower, who had been employed by the department since 2001 and worked in the Auto Pound Unit, was terminated for failing to complete departmentally mandated training courses before their assigned end dates, having an indifference toward work through loafing, sleeping, inattention, and failing to remain at his workstation, according to a DPD statement.
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ)  After a multi-agency investigation, a man and his three conspirators are facing charges in connection with selling guns and drugs to an undercover cop, Attorney General Dave Sunday announced.

David Jefferies, 34, James Womack, 33, and Shelton Payne, 34, are all charged with illegal possession of a firearm as well as drug trafficking charges. Jefferies, Womack, and Payne all have prior felonies that prohibit them from possessing firearms. Andre Ellis-Barnes, 41, is also being charged with allegedly selling controlled substances to an undercover cop.

According to AG Sunday, a recent search of Jefferies home led officers to find a Glock 9mm handgun and about 382 grams of fentanyl and black tar heroin.

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The Office of the Attorney General says the Westmoreland County Drug Task Force and North Huntingdon, Monessen, Rostraver, New Kensington, and Irwin police departments assisted with the investigation.

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Senior Deputy Attorney General Tomm Mutschler will be prosecuting the case.

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Authorities are searching for a gunman who allegedly opened fire at a Montana bar on Friday morning and killed four people, officials and media reports say.

Law enforcement announced on social media that officers responded to reports of an active shooter in the small town of Anaconda, Mont., around 11:40 a.m. PST. The Associated Press confirmed the four fatalities in an alert later Friday afternoon.

There is an active shooter in Anaconda Deer Lodge, the Granite County Sheriffs Office said on Facebook. Granite County deputies are at the Georgetown Lake / Flint Creek area. The shooter is said to be wearing a tye dyed shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana.

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The sheriffs office asked community members to remain vigilant while they search for the suspect, who they later identified as 45-year-old Michael Brown of Anaconda. Federal law enforcement also responded to help, including SWAT and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Law enforcement personnel respond to a reported shooting in Anaconda, Mont., Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard via AP) Police and other emergency personnel are seen after a reported shooting in Anaconda, Mont., Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard via AP) Police and other emergency personnel are seen after a reported shooting in Anaconda, Mont., Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard via AP) People are seen in the town of Anaconda, Mont., following a reported shooting, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Joseph Scheller/The Montana Standard via AP)

Deputies at one point were in pursuit of a white F-150 in the area, but soon learned the driver was not the shooting suspect. According to local officials, SWAT later cleared the suspects house in Anaconda, finding no trace of the alleged gunman.

Im closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda, said Montana Governor Greg Gianforte. Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy.

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Authorities asked the community to avoid the Anaconda area and to report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement.

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The last of four Milwaukee hotel workers accused of killing a man by pinning him to the ground has pleaded guilty to being a party to felony murder.

Former Hyatt Hotel security guard Todd Erickson entered the plea in connection with DVontaye Mitchells death in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Thursday morning, online court records indicate.

Erickson was set to go on trial on August 11. He faces up to 15 years in prison when hes sentenced September 3. His attorney, Kerri Cleghorn, didnt immediately return a voicemail left at her office.

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Ericksons plea moves a massive criminal case reminiscent of George Floyds death a step closer to resolution.

According to investigators, Mitchell ran into the Hyatts lobby in June 2024 and went into the womens bathroom. Two women later told detectives that Mitchell tried to lock them in the bathroom.

Security guard Brandon Turner pulled Mitchell out of the bathroom and together with a guest dragged him out of the lobby onto a hotel driveway. Turner, Erickson, bellhop Herbert Williamson and front desk worker Devin Johnson-Carson continued to struggle with Mitchell before taking him to the ground and piling on top of him, according to a criminal complaint.

(Center) Karl Harris, the cousin of DVontaye Mitchell, makes remarks at a Justice for Jah and DVontaye rally on July 2024 in Milwaukee. - Jovanny Hernandez/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA Today Network

Hotel surveillance video shows Johnson-Carson holding Mitchells legs while Erickson, Turner and Williamson held down his upper body. They kept him pinned for eight to nine minutes. By the time emergency responders arrived, Mitchell had stopped breathing.

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A medical examiner later determined that Mitchell was morbidly obese, suffered from heart disease, and had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system. The medical examiner concluded that he had suffocated and ruled his death a homicide.

Attorneys for Mitchells family have likened his death to the murder of Floyd, a Black man who died in 2020 after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about nine minutes. Floyds death sparked a national reckoning on racial relations.

Mitchell was Black. Court records identify Erickson as white and Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson as Black.

The four workers told investigators that Mitchell was strong and tried to bite Erickson, but they didnt mean to hurt him. Ambridge Hospitality, the company that manages the Hyatt, fired all four of them in July 2024.

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Turner, Williamson and Johnson-Carson were all charged with being a party to felony murder along with Erickson. Turner pleaded guilty to that count this past March. Williamson and Johnson-Carson both pleaded guilty to a reduced count of misdemeanor battery that same month. All three are set to be sentenced Sept. 3, the same day as Erickson.

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After months of playing coy, President Alassane Ouattara of Cote dIvoire announced earlier this week that he will run for a controversial fourth term in the countrys presidential election in October. In preparing the ground for his announcement, Ouattara has made Cote dIvoires economic performance central to his electoral strategy. Since he first came to power following the 2010-2011 post-election crisis that claimed over 3,000 lives, Cote dIvoire has experienced a remarkable economic recovery. With its real GDP growth for this year projected to reach 6.3 percent, it is now among Africas fastest-growing economies.

Ouattara has used his economic stewardship to portray himself more broadly as the guarantor of prosperity amid regional chaos. Cote dIvoire is on the front lines of a deepening divide in West Africa between the Alliance of Sahel States, or AES, and the remaining members of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, from which the junta-led AES governments withdrew in January. With jihadist violence in the Sahel continuing to worsen, Cote dIvoire is managing the drawdown of French troops from its territory while entertaining U.S. interest in establishing a drone base in the northern part of the country.

As the military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger consolidate power, deepening a crisis of legitimacy for democracies in the region and beyond, the stakes of Cote dIvoires elections extend far beyond its borders.

Two-Term Reset

To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter.

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Ouattaras path to a fourth term began back in 2016, with a constitutional revision that eliminated the age limit for presidential candidates, a change that now benefits the 83-year-old incumbent. His allies argue that the 2016 constitution reset a two-term limit for the presidency, allowing Ouattara to run for what they characterized as a first term under the new framework in 2020, rather than a prohibited third term under the old one. Ouattara had previously indicated he would respect the two-term constitutional limit regardless of the constitutional revision, but the death in July 2020 of his preferred successor, then-Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, prompted him to disregard his prior pledge. This led to his controversial 2020 re-election, which triggered deadly protests and intercommunal violence that killed over 50 people.

Given the muted international response at the time and the undemocratic regimes that have since seized power in the Sahelian states, Ouattara likely calculates that a fourth-term bid will face minimal external resistance. Domestically, the fact that Cote dIvoire has never had a peaceful transfer of power coupled with the legacy of past cycles of electoral violence has heightened collective anxiety around the upcoming vote. Yet, unless political elites deliberately incite unrest to achieve outcomes they are unable to secure through the ballot box, the desire to protect the countrys relative stability and economic prosperity may serve as a moderating force that limits the risk of large-scale violence.

That said, according to an Afrobarometer survey conducted last year, Ivorians overwhelmingly value democratic ideals, with nearly 92 percent preferring democracy over single-party systems. But only about half have confidence in the legal system and courts, and only two-thirds view recent elections as fair and transparent. This limited institutional trust raises concerns about electoral dispute resolution mechanisms, as the perceived weakness of judicial institutions could increase the likelihood of small-scale violence when legal remedies are not viewed as viable options for addressing electoral grievances.

Clearing the Field

Over the past few months, Ouattaras ruling partythe Rally of the Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace, or RHDPhad framed his widely anticipated candidacy as an elder statesman graciously accepting the will of the people to remain in office. Conveniently, during that time the courts have systematically cleared the field of virtually all major political figures who could mount a serious challenge to his continued rule.

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In June, the Abidjan-based Tribunal of First Instance used a technicality to bar Tidjan Thiamthe leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Cote dIvoire, or PDCIfrom running, contending that Thiam, who is believed to be Ouattaras most formidable challenger, held dual French-Ivorian nationality at the time he registered as a candidate. Former President Laurent Gbagbo, who Ouattara defeated in the 2010 election, has also been barred due to a domestic conviction for looting the Central Bank of West African States during the post-election crisis in 2011. The electoral prohibition comes despite the fact that Gbagbo was acquitted by the International Criminal Court, or ICC, for his role in the 2011 violence and pardoned by Ouattara in 2022 for the robbery conviction. Charles Ble Goude, Gbagbos former youth minister who was also acquitted by the ICC for his role in the events of 2011, faces a similar exclusion. And Guillaume Soro, a former prime minister and rebel leader now living in exile, has been barred from running due to multiple convictions by Ivorian courts, including a 20-year sentence for embezzlement and a life sentence in absentia for plotting a coup.

The fact that Cote dIvoire has never had a peaceful transfer of power coupled with the legacy of past cycles of electoral violence has heightened collective anxiety around the upcoming presidential election.

Amid a dramatically weakened opposition field, the remaining opposition forces have attempted to mount a coordinated campaign through the Coalition for a Peaceful Alternation, or CAP-CI, formed in March 2025. Yet, notably absent from the coalition is Gbagbos African Peoples Party-Cote dIvoire, PPA-CI, which is insisting on its own process for selecting a candidate, despite the fact that Gbagbo was an early proponent of building an opposition coalition.

CAP-CI has so far failed to agree on a single candidate, which limits the oppositions ability to present a unified alternative to Ouattara. This lack of consensus may depress voter turnout in opposition strongholds, further benefiting the incumbent and smoothing his path to a fourth term.

Hostile Neighborhood

The maneuvering of Cote dIvoires political elites unfolds against the backdrop of regional tensions with the junta-led regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Cote dIvoires support for ECOWAS punitive stance against these coup regimes when they first ousted democratically elected civilian governments in the early 2020s has severely strained ties with neighboring Burkina Faso in particular. That has resulted in unsanctioned cross-border incursions by Burkinabe soldiers and associated self-defense militia, as well as allegations by the junta in Ouagadougou that Ouattaras government is harboring coup plotters against the Burkinabe regime in Abidjan. Diplomatic tensions escalated last week when pro-AES Burkinabe influencer Alain Christophe Traore, who had been arrested in Abidjan in January on espionage charges, was found hanged in Ivorian custody, fueling allegations of foul play.

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Meanwhile, Cote dIvoire has found itself targeted by Russian-aligned disinformation campaigns, the most significant of which occurred in May, when pan-Africanist influencers sympathetic to the AES regimes promoted a fabricated rumor of a coup against Ouattaras government in an apparent effort to undermine confidence in Cote dIvoires democratic institutions. While there is no evidence that this disinformation campaign was officially sanctioned by the AES juntas, the incident indicates how these countries could attempt to sow doubt about the democratic process in Cote dIvoire in October, particularly when public suspicion already runs high due to the judiciarys exclusion of much of the opposition.

The regional security landscape is also in flux, with geopolitical fragmentation between ECOWAS and the Russia-friendly AES states causing coordination on border security and intelligence-sharing to decline. The fault line has also played out in the regions security partnerships with external powers. In February, after having been forced to exit the AES states over the preceding three years, France ended its decadeslong military presence in Cote dIvoire, even as the Wagner Group passes the baton to Russias Africa Corps in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The shifting security landscape has also had an impact on the U.S. militarys regional presence. Between the unconstitutional changes of government and the expansion of jihadist violence in the Sahel over the past decade and a half, the U.S. has had to move its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance infrastructure gradually east and then south. It is now considering repositioning this infrastructure to Cote dIvoire, which would make the country more of a critical regional security partner for Washington.

Firewall Under Pressure?

On the surface, Ouattaras calculation for running in Octobers election appears sound. With the domestic opposition systematically neutered through judicial maneuvers, international actors distracted by global crises and neighboring juntas presenting an undemocratic model of governance that makes his own maneuvers pale in comparison, Ouattara must believe that the costs of democratic backsliding have never been lower.

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Despite its potential for tactical success, however, Ouattaras move threatens to reverse years of painstaking progress in Cote dIvoire to consolidate peace and promote social cohesion, even as it exacerbates vulnerabilities that hostile actors can exploit through disinformation campaigns. The irony is profound: In seeking to preserve Cote dIvoires stability and post-conflict progress, Ouattara may be reinforcing the very institutional weaknesses that made neighboring populations initially receptive to the idea of unconstitutional changes of government.

Dr. Lesley Anne Warner is a former senior U.S. government official who specializes in security and governance issues in Africa. She previously served at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department, and as a congressional staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. You can find her on Substack and follow her at @lesleyannewarner.bsky.social.

The post With a Fourth-Term Bid, Cote dIvoires Ouattara Is Playing With Fire appeared first on World Politics Review.
Authorities have arrested a man they say was a passenger in a vehicle that allegedly tried to ram into law enforcement officials in Black Forest on Thursday, but they are still looking for the driver, a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday.

The spokesperson said Francisco Zapata-Pacheco was arrested around 2 p.m. Thursday and is cooperating with investigators while in ICE custody pending immigration and criminal proceedings.

Information on Zapata-Pacheco's immigration status or any criminal charges has not yet been released.

Still at large is Jose Mendez-Chavez, who ICE alleges is a Mexican immigrant in the country illegally. According to a news release, Mendez-Chavez has prior convictions on child abuse and domestic violence charges.

"He knows hes not supposed to be here, since weve removed him (from the country) six times previously," read the release.

The spokesperson said Mendez-Chavez was wanted on suspicion of assault on a federal officer.

Here's what we know so far about the incident Thursday:

The El Paso County Sheriff's Office received a request for assistance from Homeland Security and ICE after an agent fired shots into the vehicle, which managed to escape and was later found abandoned.

The incident prompted authorities to issue a shelter-in-place order for a quarter-mile radius in the 9900 block of Burgess Road between Windmill and Greentree roads that lasted for several hours.

A law enforcement scanner reported a call for shots fired in the area at 9:42 a.m., according to a transcript from real-time event and risk detection software Dataminr.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the call and set up a containment area of the crime scene to preserve its integrity and ensure a thorough investigation, according to a Friday news release from the Sheriff's Office.

The FBI's Denver field office has launched an investigation into the incident, according to a spokesperson for the bureau.

An ICE spokesperson said Thursday that no injuries were reported.

Kurt Smith, a sheriff's spokesperson, told The Gazette Thursday that there was a second scene near Vollmer and Poco roads that was connected to the ICE investigation  about 3 miles from where the confrontation with the suspects occurred.

The second scene appeared to be at a housing development called Timber Ridge, where authorities were reportedly questioning construction workers.

"The El Paso County Sheriffs Office deployed numerous resources to ensure the safety of our community, including deputies assigned to the Patrol Division, Civil Unit, School Resource Officers, Reserves, Tactical Enforcement Unit (including the deployment of drones), and our Community Service Specialists," according to the Friday news release from the Sheriff's Office.
A federal fact-finding probe into a deadly midair crash near Washington earlier this year that concluded on Friday shows a disaster decades in the making.

Over three days of hearings before the independent National Transportation Safety Board, witnesses described an aviation system that seemed bound to eventually fail and a sclerotic government response to the catastrophe that virtually everyone saw coming.

The contours of the problem in the skies near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport echo those seen across the country: subpar equipment, a congested and complicated airspace and overworked air traffic controllers. Those issues are as well-documented as they are tough to fix, especially in an era where Congress regularly flirts with shutdowns and policy priorities change with each administration.

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Indeed, one of the most common threads during the long inquiry was that nobody seemed shocked that a PSA Airlines passenger jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided in January, killing all 67 on board both aircraft.

I was chairman of the board for almost eight years. Ive followed aviation for several decades. Nothing in this surprises me, said Jim Hall, who served as NTSB chair under then-President Bill Clinton and watched part of this weeks NTSB proceedings. It only demonstrates that the past is prologue.

Asked for comment, the FAA pointed to a statement from Thursday saying it will work with NTSB to uncover the truth to ensure this never happens again.

Here are four things we learned from the NTSBs three-day hearing into the crash:

Changes that could have increased safety have been proposed but never implemented.

The NTSBs final report on what went wrong is still about a year away. But for days witnesses have outlined a host of solutions proposed well before the crash that were never implemented. That includes moving a helicopter route at the center of the investigation, reducing flights at Reagan National, which has one of the single-busiest runways in the country, or making better use of collision-warning or alerting technologies. None of those were implemented.

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The FAA has for years tried to upgrade its equipment and shore up its air traffic controller workforce. But funding is subject to politics, and the washout rate for controllers is high.

Could you hurry it up? NTSB board member Todd Inman said repeatedly to various FAA and Army officials as they explained what theyve been doing to try to fix their problems.

Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation safety consultant who was a longtime official at both the FAA and NTSB, called the hearing the FAAs day of reckoning and predicted that the hearings could put pressure on the FAA to finally curtail flights at Reagan National and take further action to bolster air traffic controller staffing. And it could push the Army to reduce its helicopter operations in the area.

The Washington airspace is busy and used by dozens of federal entities with competing priorities.

In testimony, Army officials and federal investigators described a hectic and congested airspace around Reagan National where military helicopters often operate alongside commercial airplanes  sometimes even flying behind or underneath passenger planes as they land. In the case of the deadly flight, the Army helicopter had been on a training mission. Investigators believe the crew may have been wearing night vision goggles, which can be difficult to use in bright urban environments such as Washington.

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The routes are no stranger to scrutiny; for at least a decade pilots have complained about risks posed by growing helicopter congestion  a majority of which is military traffic  near the airport.

Lawmakers have questioned why the military needs to fly so close, especially for flights used to ferry VIP officials to and from the Pentagon. Over the years, the routes have been changed, but mostly to alleviate noise concerns. (Documents released as part of the crash investigation show those noise-related changes may have made the routes even riskier.)

A working group including air traffic controllers at Reagan National had previously pushed to remove the route the helicopter used on the night of the crash. But an air traffic controller testified that management canned it because the change was too political.

The FAA closed the route for good to non-essential traffic in March this year  a month-and-a-half after the crash.

Fatigued controllers just have to make it work.

Air traffic controllers, in interviews with NTSB investigators and in testimony, described an environment at Reagan National where they felt forced to just figure out how to make it work despite fears about the safety risks posed by the feverish pace of flights.

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That refrain  make it work  arose repeatedly during the hearing, though FAA officials maintained the facility was adequately staffed the night of the crash.

Clark Allen, the operations manager at Reagan National the night of the crash, in an interview transcript said everyones just trying to constantly make it work, make it work, make it work.

Prior to the crash, air traffic controllers had asked their superiors to reduce the pace of flights at Reagan National. But that recommendation never went anywhere. On Thursday, some FAA officials involved with air traffic management said some of the problem isnt the sheer number of flights, but that some airlines schedule them stacked up around certain times of the day. They recommended a flight limit cut into 30-minute chunks, rather than the current one hour, similar to procedures in place at LaGuardia International Airport in New York.

On Friday some senators called for action.

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Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), who chairs the Senate Commerce panel on aviation, said he wants to hold a hearing on why the FAA has such an arduous process when it comes to acting on safety recommendations from employees. His counterpart, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), agreed, and said she wants to examine the FAAs process for frontline folks to raise concerns.

We need a more aggressive FAA, Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said on CNN Thursday. That's their job to protect the flying public, to make these decisions, and if air traffic controllers are telling them, Look, this is too much, then they need to listen.

Unfixed problems significantly impair safety buffers, leaving little margin for error.

The night of the crash, amid a typical busy night, air traffic control did not give the passenger jet a key warning  and the helicopter pilot may not have heard a key directive.

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On cockpit recordings, air traffic control can be heard telling the helicopter pilots to pass behind the jet, which was attempting to land. But a mic on the helicopter was keyed at a crucial moment, making the words pass behind indecipherable.

Compounding the problem, air traffic control did not alert the plane that a helicopter was going to pass close. Interviews with controllers that night suggest that they could not detect that the helicopter and plane were about to cross paths. FAA officials who testified were unable to explain why the controller did not see what was about to happen.

A location-transmitting technology that would have helped controllers see the helicopters position was not working during its flight. In fact, investigators found that the device had been inactive for about two years prior to that night. Nobody had checked to make sure the device was working that night, Army Col. Andy DeForest testified.

Additionally, the helicopter had been using an altimeter, which determines height above the surface, that could have made pilots think they were flying lower than they actually were. Army spokesperson Matt Ahearn said in a statement that the Army is looking into the NTSBs finding on the altimeter's limitations and trying to figure out if it represents a significant error across the fleet.

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John Cox, an aviation safety consultant who was previously executive air safety chair of the Air Line Pilots Association, said the altimetry issues with the Armys Black Hawk helicopters appears to reflect a more systemic problem.

They need a fleet campaign to get their altimeters fixed, he said.
France airdropped food into the Gaza Strip on Friday, President Emmanuel Macron said, as he called on Israel to do more to alleviate the hunger afflicting Palestinians in the territory

"Airdrops are not enough," Macron wrote on X. "Israel must open full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told broadcaster France Info that four flights from Jordan would each carry 10 tons of aid supplies to the Gaza Strip.

Germany also began airdrops over Gaza on Friday, joining other countries like Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
The French government will deport a Gaza student accused of reposting alleged antisemitic content on her social media and halt all evacuations from the territory, the countrys foreign minister said Friday as outrage grows over her reposts.

She must leave the country. She does not have a place in France, Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with radio station France Info, without saying if authorities would return the student back to Gaza.

The foreign minister did not name the woman, who has also been expelled from her university in the northern French city of Lille.

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The incident has sparked a political firestorm, dominating French news coverage with the interior minister saying her content amounts to Hamas propaganda.

The French and Israeli vetting of her before she arrived in France did not reveal the antisemitic and unacceptable posts, Barrot said, adding that all French evacuations from Gaza would now be suspended pending the results of an inquiry into the case.

France has evacuated hundreds of people from Gaza since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, and just last Tuesday Barrot said France was dedicating lots of energy, to get starving journalists from French news agency AFP out of the enclave. The foreign ministry has yet to say if these evacuations will continue.

Barrot added that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is inhumane, describing it as a scandal that must stop immediately.

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The womans university, Sciences Po Lille, did not specify the posts that drew controversy, but said the content was in direct contradiction with its values.

(Sciences Po Lille) fights against all forms of racism, antisemitism, and discrimination, as well as against any type of call to hatred, against any population whatsoever, the university said on X on Wednesday.

The college said it had annulled the students enrolment after consulting with several government agencies including the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, whose minister called the students alleged comments extreme.

France does not have to welcome international students who advocate for terrorism, crimes against humanity, and antisemitism. Whether they come from Gaza or elsewhere, international students holding or relaying such statements have no place in our country, the minister, Philippe Baptiste, wrote on X.

Other senior ministers echoed the outrage at the students posts and said the matter had been referred to the judicial authorities.

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France has suspended all evacuations from Gaza while it investigates how a student accused of sharing violently antisemitic content online was allowed to enter the country and enrol at a top university.

The move comes after officials said the female student from Gaza will have to leave France after the Sciences Po university in the northern city of Lille revoked her accreditation over the online posts.

"No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told Franceinfo radio on Friday.

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All Gazans who have entered France will undergo a second screening, he added.

France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October 2023, including wounded children, journalists, students and artists.

The conflict, triggered by Hamas's deadly 7 October attack on Israel, has seen Israel retaliate with a military campaign and an aid blockade in Gaza that some rights groups have qualified as "genocide".

Hamas is designated a terrorist group by both the EU and the US.

Thousands of patients need to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

Antisemitic posts

Lille's chief prosecutor said on Thursday a probe had been opened against the student for apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service".

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Screenshots of posts the student allegedly shared in September  published by pro-Israel accounts on X  include an image of Adolf Hitler and words appearing to call for the death of Jews.

Some of the posts come into direct contradiction with the values upheld by Sciences Po Lille, which fights against all forms of racism, antisemitism and discrimination, as well as against any type of incitement to hatred, against any population whatsoever, the university said in a post on X.

The account attributed to the student has been taken offline, on the instructions of French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.

Barrot said the screening carried out by the relevant departments of the ministries concerned "clearly did not work.

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"She must leave the country", the foreign minister confirmed, adding that discussions were ongoing to determine where she would be sent.

According to a French diplomatic source, the student arrived in France on 11 July on a scholarship based on "academic excellence" and after "security checks".

She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille university following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem, the establishment said.

(with newswires)
France said Friday it could not seize $9.7 million worth of women's contraception products that the United States plans to destroy, after media reports suggested the stockpile would be incinerated in the country.

The contraceptives were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden to be provided to women in some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

But Donald Trump's administration, which has dismantled USAID since Trump succeeded Biden in January, confirmed last month it intends to destroy the contraceptives being stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel.

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According to several media reports, the unexpired products were to be incinerated in France at the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste.

France's government has come under pressure to save the contraceptives, with women's rights groups calling the US decision "insane".

But the health ministry told AFP that "unfortunately there is no legal basis" for French or even European health authorities to intervene to recover the stockpile.

"Since contraceptives are not drugs of major therapeutic interest, and in this case we are not facing a supply shortage, we have no means to requisition the stocks," it added.

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The ministry also said it had no information on where the contraceptives would be destroyed.

- Where are they? -

It remains unclear where the contraceptives currently are -- or even if they have already been destroyed.

French women's rights group Family Planning told AFP on Thursday they had been informed that the boxes had started being moved out of the Belgian warehouse 36 hours earlier.

"We do not know where these trucks are now -- or whether they have arrived in France," the group's head Sarah Durocher said, calling on incineration companies to "oppose this insane decision".

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Exactly which company could be responsible for incinerating the products has also not been revealed.

French company Veolia, which had been rumoured as a contender, confirmed to AFP that it has a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider.

However the company emphasised that the contract only covers "expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium.

The products, which include IUDs, implants and birth control pills, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring.

Belgium's foreign ministry told AFP earlier this week that it "is exploring all possible avenues to prevent the destruction of these products, including temporary relocation solutions".

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- 'Senseless' -

The US decision has provoked an outcry in France.

"Can France accept to become the executor of a senseless policy imposed by the US?" said an opinion piece by five NGOs in the French newspaper Le Monde on Friday.

Among the signatories was MSI Reproductive Choices, one of several organisations that have offered to purchase and repackage the contraceptives at no cost to the US government. All offers have been rejected.

Last week, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen pointed to the Trump administration's stated goal of reducing government waste, saying the contraceptives plan "is the epitome of waste, fraud and abuse".

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Shaheen and Democratic Senator Brian Schatz have introduced a bill aiming to prevent further US aid being wasted.

A US State Department spokesperson told AFP earlier this week that the destruction of the products would cost $167,000 and "no HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed".

The spokesperson also pointed to a policy, reinstated by Trump earlier this year, which prohibits providing aid to non-governmental organisations that promote or perform abortions.

The NGO Doctors Without Borders, which has slammed the US plan as "unconscionable", has pointed to reports that there is another warehouse with USAID-purchased contraceptives in the United Arab Emirates.

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A study published in The Lancet medical journal in June estimated that more than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people could die as a result of the USAID cuts.

Last month, the US also incinerated nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits that had been meant to keep malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan alive.

pan-mep-dl/rmb
France has suspended its programme for receiving Palestinians fleeing Gaza.

The freeze will be in place while authorities investigate a Palestinian student in France who has been accused of making antisemitic remarks online, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said.

The 25-year-old woman was on a scholarship in northern France's city of Lille and will have to leave the country after her university withdrew her accreditation.

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France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out following the 7 October 2023 attacks.

The woman, who arrived in France in July, was due to start attending classes at Sciences Po Lille university in the autumn.

She has since been deregistered, the university has said.

France's Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on X that he had requested for the account to be closed, legal action to be taken. "Hamas propagandists have no place in our country," he added.

Palestinians already in France through this scheme will be "subject to a new check" following "failures that brought this young woman here", he said.

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Retailleau said that security checks carried out by state services and Israeli authorities did not detect these "unacceptable and concerning remarks".

Sciences Po Lille university confirmed the woman's comments to AFP and told the news agency that the posts were "in direct contradiction with the values upheld" by the institution.

The woman was part of a group evacuated from Gaza as part of a programme run by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the director of Sciences Po Lille told French newspaper Liberation.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Volunteers gathered Friday morning in Providence to help thousands of Rhode Island children get ready for the upcoming school year.

Attendees assembled 15,000 backpacks and more than 80,000 school supplies as part of the 26th Annual Back to School Celebration.

The backpacks will be distributed to families in need on Saturday, Aug. 23, at a dozen locations between Woonsocket and Newport. Students must be present to get a free backpack.

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The distribution events run from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. but backpacks will be available on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.

Here are the pickup locations:

City/Town Site Address Central Falls Veterans Memorial Elementary School 150 Fuller Ave. Cranston YMCA 1225 Park Ave. Cumberland Garvin Memorial Elementary School 1364 Diamond Hill Road Newport East Bay Community Action Program 6 John H. Chafee Blvd. Pawtucket Jenks Middle School 350 Division St. Pawtucket Slater Middle School 281 Mineral Spring Ave. Providence Nathanael Greene Middle School 721 Chalkstone Ave. Providence Student Registration & Placement Center 325 Ocean St. Providence United Way of Rhode Island 50 Valley St. Providence West End Community Center 109 Bucklin St. West Warwick Thundermist Health Center 186 Providence St. Woonsocket Woonsocket Middle School 60 Florence Drive

WPRI 12 is proud to be teaming up with Back to School RI for this drive.

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NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP)  Mass General Brigham is breaking barriers for patients to access necessary care.

Joesiah Gonzalez announced resignation from New North Citizens Council Board

We have tremendous emphasis on cancer care at Cooley Dickinson Hospital as well as MGB, said Cooley Dickinson Hospitals Associate Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sundeep Sunny Shukla.

A patient battling cancer may face numerous challenges when it comes to traveling for treatment. Like any other patient, there could be transportation barriers, financial burdens, and physical limitations. But Mass General Brigham has made it easier for every patient since 2018.

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Pre-pandemic, we used to have the shuttle bus; it was usually a couple of small vans that took patients to Boston, said Dr. Shukla.

In 2020, the service was temporarily paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Shukla told 22News that the community spoke up. He said, They told us how important it was to them to get to Boston to get the best care. So the Cooley Dickinson Hospital helped fund a relaunch for the service last month. Since then, its been back in full swing.

The new shuttle service includes a 28-passenger bus with wheelchair accessibility and free wifi. Every day, the shuttle bus will leave the parking lot across from 8 Atwood Drive in Northampton at 6:30 a.m. The bus will arrive at Mass General Hospitals Fruit Street entrance around 9 a.m.

It will then head to Brigham and Womens Hospital. The bus will leave the hospital at 3 p.m.

With only one stop between Northampton and Boston and the option to take another guest, 50 people have used it so far. Theyre hoping to help more.

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We can take patients to Mass Eye and Ear, Mass General Hospital, Brigham Womens Hospital, said Dr. Shukla.

If a patient has an appointment between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., reservations to ride on the shuttle bus are required. Anyone under 18 must be with an adult. To reserve a seat, its advised to call (413) 966-8011, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and noon. You must call 24 hours in advance.

The shuttle service is not available on weekends or major holidays

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
The Statler, known as a French American-style bistro in downtown Detroit, has temporarily closed.

According to messages on the Statlers social media outlets, the restaurant is temporarily closed as we undergo a full redesign and prepare to introduce something new.

The message on Instagram indicates a fresh concept is in store for a reimagined space, that will be truly worth the wait.

Joe Vicari, president of the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group which owns The Statler, cited nearby competition and a typical summertime slowdown as the reasons for closing.

The Statler in downtown Detroit on Washington Boulevard has closed and is undergoing a redesign with a new concept planned.

We are talking about several different concepts, but we have not narrowed it down yet, Vicari, reached by phone Friday afternoon, told the Free Press. Summertime is a slow time of the year for restaurant business anyway and its just been slow, and we decided to close.

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The Statler occupied part of the ground floor of the City Club Apartments CBD in downtown Detroit, on the corner of Washington Boulevard and West Grand River. Its named after the historic Statler Hotel, which once occupied the site.

About a year and a half after The Statler's opening, French restaurant Le Supreme opened its doors on the same street, about two blocks away. Parisian-inspired Le Supreme opened in 2023 on the ground floor of the Book Tower building.

Vicari said they committed to continue running The Statler as a French restaurant as long as they werent losing money, but the restaurant ultimately did lose money. He said they decided to close, and transform the space into a new concept.

Vicari said the group hoped to have an idea of what will be in the location in the next 30 days, saying they are leaning more toward a more casual concept and more mainstream.

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More: Smashburger returns to metro Detroit with DTW location

The Statler offered seating for more than 150 inside and an outdoor patio that seated more than 125 people, featuring portable heaters and fire pits, amid views of nearby Grand Circus Park and the Detroit skyline.

The Statler opened in late 2021, touting modern takes on bistro classics and contemporary twists on French cuisine. In May, The Statler announced that Jeff Lanctot, formerly of the Rattlesnake Club, joined as its new chef, with a focus on a locally sourced and seasonal menu.

Widely known for its Andiamo Italian locations and Joe Muer Seafood restaurants, Vicaris hospitality group also owns and operates the Birmingham Pub in Birmingham, the Bronze Door in Grosse Pointe Farms and other concepts. Andiamo Pasta & Chops is the newest concept from the hospitality group, with the first one opening last September at The Mall at Partridge Creek on Hall Road in Clinton Township.

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In April, Andiamo's Fenton location transformed to Andiamo Pasta & Chops Fenton.

More recently, Vicari collaborated with Kid Rock, transforming the group's Joe Muer Seafood in Nashville into The Detroit Cowboy.

Family-owned and operated for more than four decades, the Joe Vicari Restaurant Group in 2023 ranked as the 22nd largest restaurant group in the United States by industry magazine Nation's Restaurant News, with more than 20 restaurants in the group.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: The Statler, French American bistro in downtown Detroit, closes
Nighttime drivers can expect lane closures and congestion next week on Interstate 5 and State Route 16 as the Washington State Department of Transportation repaints road lines.

Starting Monday and continuing through Thursday, WSDOT maintenance crews will repaint lines on I-5 and SR-16 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., WSDOT said. Crews will start south of Grand Mound in Thurston County and work north each night to the Pierce County line north of Fife, according to a press release.

Once that repainting work is complete on I-5, crews will begin repainting lines on SR-16 beginning in Tacoma and ending in Kitsap County near Gorst, WSDOT said.

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Drivers are reminded not to cross newly painted lines. If paint gets on your vehicle when there are warning signs present, Washington state will deny a reimbursement claim.

Weather could delay the work, WSDOT said.

WSDOT re-paints thousands of miles of highways every year to keep striping visible and reflective at night, because it wears down over time, according to WSDOTs website. Quick-dry paint needs to be applied on dry roadways, and the striping season typically runs from April through October.

Highway paint is special in that it has tiny little glass beads mixed into it, which is what makes it reflective at night. Similar methods are used for highway signs and license plates, WSDOT said. When the beads are hit by headlights, they reflect some of the light back towards the driver, making the paint more visible. The glass beads are made from 100% recycled glass.
Two immigrants suspected to be in the country illegally were on the run Thursday after allegedly attempting to ram their vehicle into law enforcement officials during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in the Black Forest area, according to an ICE spokesperson.

An officer reportedly fired three shots into the vehicle, which fled and was later found abandoned, the spokesperson said. No injuries were reported.

Authorities issued a shelter-in-place order around 10:30 a.m. Thursday for a quarter-mile radius in the 9900 block of Burgess Road between Windmill and Greentree roads in the Black Forest neighborhood, according to Peak Alerts and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Officials lifted the order around 6 p.m.

"Secure your home/business and stay away from doors and windows. Shelter in a safe place until further notice," the Sheriff's Office said on Peak Alerts.

Gazette reporters saw at least two dozen unmarked vehicles on Burgess Road and deputies from the Sheriff's Office blocking off the area.

Kurt Smith, a sheriff's spokesperson, said there was a second scene by the intersection of Vollmer and Poco roads that's connected to the ICE investigation. That is located about 3 miles from where the confrontation with the suspects occurred.

The second scene appeared to be at a housing development called Timber Ridge, where authorities were reportedly questioning construction workers.

Representatives from the Colorado Rapid Response Network, a freelance group that tracks ICE activity across the state, were in the Timber Ridge neighborhood Thursday afternoon talking to neighbors and workers who showed up after the initial response. CORRN volunteer Erik Mattson claimed that rubber bullet casings were found outside one of the homes.

Elizabeth Guerrero, 16, came to the construction site in the afternoon after receiving a video from her uncle that morning. Guerrero said her uncle's video showed a fellow worker at the site being detained while others ran away. She had not heard from her uncle or a family friend since.

While a sheriff's deputy said the response at the construction site was part of a criminal investigation, Guerrero worried that it was targeted because her parents were Mexican immigrants who owned the construction company.

"I'm thankful for the officers, because they are doing their job, but at the same time, they're not doing the right thing. They have a blind eye which somebody is covering and they don't want to tell other families what is truly happening," Guerrero said.
Note: The video attached to this story originally aired April 10, 2024, and concerns pedestrian safety along North Lamar Boulevard.

AUSTIN (KXAN)  An Austin imam killed by an allegedly intoxicated driver Sunday night will be laid to rest Friday, according to a Thursday press release from his mosque and the Austin branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Former Austin-area Imam Islam Mossaad, who was killed while crossing North Lamar Boulevard on July 27, 2025.

Islam Mossaad, 50, attempted to cross North Lamar Boulevard when he was hit by a car Sunday evening.

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CAIR Austins release calls Mossaad a pillar of faith and service in Austin. He served as an imam from 2008-2023.

Imam Islam Mossaad was a servant leadernever too big to do the small things, never too small to do the big things. His legacy goes beyond sermons and prayershe built bridges with the broader Austin community and civically engaged with everyone, said Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austins operations manager. We mourn his sudden and tragic loss and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family.

His funeral service is open to the public and will be held at 3 p.m. Friday at the North Austin Muslim Community Center, located on 11900 North Lamar Blvd.

Faith community mourns local leader

Other local religious leaders also commented on Mossaads death.

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This week, Austin lost one of its prophetic leaders, Imam Islam Mossaad. He had a passion for human condition. He spent the last chapter of his life serving the poor and homeless of Austin. He had a genuine righteous anger on their behalf, said Rev. Jim Rigby, of Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church, in CAIR Austins release.

Imam Islam Mossaad was not only an Imam; he was a mentor, a leader, and a friend. He touched so many lives with his infectious smile and kind words. He genuinely loved God and Gods creations and it reflected in the way he spent his life in building bridges and serving people, said Nueces Mosque Imam Anwer Imam in CAIR Austins release.

Imam Islam Mossaad speaks at an interfaith event in Austin. Mossaad was killed while crossing North Lamar Boulevard on July 27, 2025. (Courtesy Interfaith Action of Central Texas)

Interfaith Action of Central Texas, or iACT, also sent an email Thursday mourning Mossaad, who had served on the organizations board of directors.

For many years, Imam Islam shared his faith with grace and compassion, demonstrating a profound commitment to interfaith understanding. He will be remembered for his gentle spirit, thoughtful wisdom, and unwavering dedication to building bridges across communities, iACTs email reads. Imam Islams warmth, scholarship, and sincere presence touched all who had the privilege to know him. May his memory be a blessing, and may his legacy continue to inspire and guide us.

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Imam Dawood Yasin of the Islamic Center of Greater Austin set up a fundraiser for Mossaads family. As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, it had raised nearly $90,000.

According to Yasin, Mossaad was a dear brother and more than a religious leader.

He was the spiritual heart of the Austin Muslim community  a man who dedicated his life to serving Allah and uplifting those around him, Yasin wrote.

In-Depth: KXAN reported on risky road in 2024

KXAN previously reported on pedestrian safety issues along the section of North Lamar Boulevard where Mossaad was killed. NAMCC is also along that stretch.

2024 | When will Austin upgrade sidewalks along North Lamar Boulevard?

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Since then, sidewalks in front of NAMCC have been improved. The sidewalks also do not run the full length of North Lamar Blvd. Additionally, there are no crosswalk to allow pedestrians to safely cross the four-lane road.

According to Austin Police, Mossaad was struck while crossing at a crosswalk to NAMCCs north, located a mile away. There is a crosswalk south of the mosque that is half a mile away.

KXAN reflects on prior interviews with former imam

KXAN interviewed Mossaad for multiple stories connected with the citys Muslim community over his years as a religious leader.

In 2022, he told us about a free Islam 101 course he offered at NAMCC:

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We want to demystify and also inform, and go a little bit deeper and see the level of complexity of some of these issues, said Mossaad to KXAN in 2022. Hopefully [people gain] a new insight, a new awareness and appreciation. If they had something that was inside them, that had a misgiving toward Islam, that those misgivings are taken away from their hearts.

Read more: Austin mosques Islam 101 classes aim to demystify religion amid refugee increases

In 2021, KXAN talked with him about the challenges involved with observing Ramadan during the COVID-19 pandemic:

Maintaining the balance of, Yes, the mosque is open, but we still need to be careful so that people dont get sick and that we dont spread something because of a lack of vigilance, Mossaad told KXAN in 2021. When we break our fast we want to break it with others. But, again, with the priority is on peoples health and their safety.

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Read more: Another pandemic Ramadan; Whats different for thousands of Austinites this year

And, in 2018 and 2019, Mossaad talked with KXAN about vandals targeting the mosque.

We will be more emboldened to worship, to congregate, to do good in this world that we wont let anyone or anything stop us from doing good.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Friends remember life of Oklahoma woman stabbed to death by boyfriend

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  An Oklahoma man is facing a first-degree murder charge after admitting to police that he stabbed his girlfriend to death.

Over the weekend, Oklahoma City Police responded to a 911 call from Kyle Guthrie.

According to court documents, he told police, they had been doing mushrooms, and he stabbed her all over her body.

Kyle Guthrie. Image courtesy, the Oklahoma County Jail.

Former Oklahoma teacher charged with murder in AR killings

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When officers arrived, they found 36-year-old Thanh Thi Yen To, known to family and friends as Kelly To, dead.

Friends and family of Kelly To are left grappling with her senseless death. Image courtesy, Jasmine Nguyen.

Now, her friends and family are left grappling with her senseless death.

It doesnt matter what the circumstances were; no one deserves to go through what she went through because I cant imagine what her final moments were like, said Jillian Canada-Meador, Tos friend.

Friends say Tos story puts a spotlight on domestic violence.

When you love someone, you want to give them a chance to, to try again, and thats what happened, said Amy Trin-Bishop, Tos friend.

To was described as a firecracker and a person who loved others.

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She was caring, she was empathetic, she was strong-willed, she wasnt scared of anything, said Jarrid Bishop, Tos friend.

To worked as a nail tech and leaves behind her two children.

She recently became a single mother going through a divorce and so but that didnt stop her from proceeding to do everything she could for her kids at all. She still wanted to make them happy; they were a first concern for her all the time, said Bishop.

For those who knew her best, they say her light will continue to shine.

Its shining in every person you loved and every laugh you sparked and in every heart thats grieving you now. Ill carry your joy and your kindness with me always, said Canada-Meador.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
John J. McConnell Jr., the chief U.S. district judge in Rhode Island, recently decided to break his silence. By his own account, the 67-year-old McConnell, who has served on the federal bench since 2011, has faced an unprecedented deluge of attacks this year, ranging from 500 vile phone calls and six credible death threats to two judicial misconduct complaints and a set of impeachment articles filed against him.

One particularly appalling voicemail, he said, shook his faith in the judicial system so much that he felt he needed to speak out.

Its daunting. It was frightening, the Obama appointee said. Ive never had anyone threatening to put me in prison, threatening bodily injury, wishing that I was assassinated.

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McConnell described the galvanizing effect the threats have had on him during Thursdays edition of the nonpartisan Speak Up for Justice forum, a grassroots effort to advocate for judicial independence and judges safety. He and two other federal judges, led by New Jersey U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, recounted the startling and sometimes violent threats theyve received this year after issuing rulings against the Trump administration or speaking out against the attacks on the judiciary. For McConnell and Judge John Coughenour, a senior district court judge in the Western District of Washington, this marked the first time either has spoken out about the harassment and attacks theyve incurred for upholding the rule of law. Each warned of the chilling effect these acts could have on judicial independence.

I didnt want to be here. It took me a long time, McConnell said, crediting Salas courage following the 2020 murder of her son, Daniel Anderl, by an assailant who was targeting her, for his willingness to speak out.

Ive never spoken about whats happened to me personally because Im not looking for pity. Im not looking for sympathy, McConnell said. I want to be able to just do my job again, and I want to be able to uphold the Constitution. I want the public to speak out once again and support an independent judiciary, a judiciary where each one of us is safe to follow the rule of law without fear or favor.

In the expletive-laden voicemail McConnell received, which played at the beginning of the webinar, an angry caller accused the judge of overstepping his authority and threatened to harm him.

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Tell the son of a b**ch, were going to come for him. His ass is going to prison, the caller said. I double dare you to try to put charges on Donald J. Trump, you son of a b**ch. Youre gonna get your asses whupped, OK? I will slap the f**king s**t out of it, OK? Ill slap your face to your face, motherf**ker. But you know what, motherf***ker, your ass is gonna go to prison. OK, son of a b**ch? And I wish somebody would f**king assassinate your ass. Somebody needs to f**king wipe his ass out.

Earlier this year, McConnell ruled against the Trump administrations executive order freezing funding for grants and federal aid, first ordering the restoration of the funding cuts and then issuing a second order to enforce it. Since then, hes also been subject to pizza doxing, the practice of sending large pizza orders to someones home. (In his case, the order was placed in the name of Judge Salas murdered son.) Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., hung a wanted sign with McConnells picture on it in the halls of Congress. An unknown person, McConnell said, searched for his home address on the dark web, while Trump allies Laura Loomer and Elon Musk verbally attacked McConnells daughter, a former federal employee.

I dont know that the public understands how the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary is so violently under attack [in ways] Im not sure weve ever seen in this country, McConnell said.

For Coughenour, who is now 84 and was originally appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981, the threats against him and his family followed his January order blocking the Trump administrations executive order on birthright citizenship. He described being swatted after the local sheriffs office received a call alleging that he had murdered his wife and a message from the FBI that someone had left a bomb at their home. (There was no bomb.) He chose to be a judge and will endure the attempts to intimidate him, Coughenour said, but his family hadnt signed up for this level of harassment.

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What kind of people do these things? Its just so disgusting, he said. Its unspeakable that people will do these things.

Its just been stunning to me how much damage has been done to the reputation of our judiciary because some political actors think that they can gain some advantage by attacking the independence of the judiciary and threatening the rule of law, Coughenour added.

District Judge Robert Lasnik, who serves with Coughenour in the Western District of Washington, said he was probably the only judge who actually wanted to speak out Thursday. The senior judge made a decision earlier this year to recuse himself from cases relating to the Trump administration so that he could remain free to comment on the overall picture of whats happening to the federal judiciary under these threats and intimidation.

Lasnik also received a pizza delivered in the name of Salas son after he called on Trump and his supporters to tone down the rhetoric directed toward the federal courts. More alarming still, his two adult children each received pizzas in Anderls name delivered to their homes.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Whats the message to Judge Lasnik? We know where you live. We know where your children live, and they could end up dead, like Judge Salas son did. Thats a pretty cruel thing to do, the Clinton appointee said, adding that federal marshals are investigating incidents reported by more than 50 judges who said they received pizza deliveries they didnt order.

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When Judge Salas was asked how these doxings in the name of her murdered son had affected her, she grew emotional. The fifth anniversary of Anderls killing was son July 19, and she spoke to Salon about the dangers facing federal judges just a few days later.

What were talking to everyone about here today is that judges are being threatened. These threats go to the core of a human being, and thats when youre messing with someones family, she said during Thursdays forum.

These speakers acknowledged that judges have sometimes faced attacks from left-wing critics as well, such as the 2022 assassination attempt against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. But Salas emphasized that the nature of the inflammatory rhetoric coming from the top down this year alone amounts to a different threat entirely.

We, in fairness, are nonpartisan, but we have to speak the facts, she said. The facts are that we have political leaders with large social platforms, political leaders with power, calling us deranged and idiots. That is the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that I think caused the judges that are on here today to come forward.

The post It was frightening: Federal judges speak out on vicious threats from MAGA fans appeared first on Salon.com.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  Soon after U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell started hearing arguments in a lawsuit against the Trump administration, mysterious pizzas started arriving at his house.

He soon learned from the U.S. Marshals Office that the pizzas were meant to intimidate him as Trump and his allies publicly railed against federal judges who were blocking multiple attempts to push forward the presidents political agenda.

They wanted to let us know that they knew where we lived, McConnell said Thursday during an online panel on threats against the judiciary. Its daunting. It was frightening.

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One of those deliveries was in the name of Daniel Anderl, who is the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Anderl was shot and killed by a disgruntled litigant at Salass New Jersey home in 2020. McConnell said he called Salas personally about the delivery.

Its the hardest call Ive ever made, but I called my friend Esther because I thought she needed to know what was going on, McConnell said. We had a good cry over it.

The panel of five federal jurists organized by Speak Up for Justice  a nonpartisan organization that promotes the work of the courts  was a rare glimpse into the harassment, threats and intimidation judges have faced as they handle lawsuits against Trumps policies.

WATCH: Full Speak Up for Justice panel discussion

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Our court received over 400 vile, threatening, horrible voicemails, McConnell said. Its the one time that actually shook my faith in the judicial system and the rule of law.

McConnells daughter was also targeted in the wake of the funding freeze fight he presided over. Trump associate Laura Loomer identified McConnells daughter, who is a former federal worker, on social media. The post was then amplified by Elon Musk.

There were six credible death threats against my life, McConnell said. Someone was on the dark web searching for my home address because, this is a quote, he wanted Smith and Wesson to pay me a visit at my home.

McConnell said his image was put on a wanted poster with other judges by a member of Congress, which was hung inside the U.S. Capitol. Another congressman filed articles of impeachment against him at the urging of Musk.

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I dont know that the public understands how the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary is so violently under attack like Im not sure weve ever seen in this country, he said.

Salas, who was part of the panel, said there have been hundreds of cases of so-called pizza doxing reported to the Marshals, which investigates threats against federal judges.

RELATED: Federal judges detail rise in threats, pizza doxings

I just found out recently Florida judges, our state judges are now receiving pizzas in Daniels name. So now Florida judges, state judges that are just doing their jobs are getting pizzas in my beautiful boys name, Salas said. We need our political leaders from the top down to stop fanning these flames, to stop using irresponsible rhetoric, to stop referring to judges as corrupt and biased monsters that hate America.

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During the discussion a voicemail left for McConnell was played, with the caller demanding the judge be assassinated and imprisoned. Its unclear if anyone has been charged for the threats against McConnell, an email to the Marshals office was not immediately returned.

Im not looking for sympathy. I want to be able to just do my job again, McConnell said. I want to be able to uphold the Constitution, and I want the public to speak out once again and support an independent judiciary.

Tim White (twhite@wpri.com) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.

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.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.
A 28-year-old Frisco man was arrested after allegedly stabbing his mother to death in their Valencia Drive home.

Ryan Jackson faces murder charges in the death of 63-year-old Marie Placide-Jackson, marking a tragic case of domestic violence in the North Texas suburb.

Officers responded to the 13500 block of Valencia Drive in the Villages at Willow Bay subdivision around 6:31 p.m. on July 30. En route, the victims husband reported finding his wife dead and identified their son as the suspect.

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Police encountered the son and suspect, Ryan Jackson, at the front door when they arrived. Inside, they discovered Placide-Jackson deceased from multiple stab wounds.

Ryan was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Frisco Detention Facility. He faces a first-degree felony murder charge.

The case remains under active investigation by Frisco police. Authorities emphasized there is no ongoing threat to public safety.

Anyone with information should contact Frisco Police at 972-292-6010. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Tip411 by texting FRISCOPD plus the tip to 847411.
A trio of celestial events could dazzle across the sky in August, starting with the Full Sturgeon Moon, followed by the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, and then the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower.

The eighth full Moon of the year, known as the Sturgeon Moon, will reach peak illumination at 3:55 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 9, but will appear full and bright for several nights surrounding the peak.

The name "Sturgeon Moon" has historical ties to Native American and colonial traditions, as the large freshwater sturgeon fish were most easily caught during this time in waterways across North America.

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Unlike last year, August 2025 will not feature a Blue Moon, as there are only 12 full Moons on the calendar this year.

A Blue Moon can refer either to the second full Moon in a calendar month or the third full Moon in a season that contains four events.

The next Blue Moon is expected to rise during May 2026.

Dont Miss These Celestial Events In 2025

Just a few days after the full Moon, early risers will be treated to the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the predawn sky on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

The event occurs when the two planets appear very close together in the sky and will be rather bright.

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According to Nasa, the conjunction will be best viewed after 4 a.m. EST, but the visibility will ultimately depend on how clear the eastern horizon is.

A telescope will not be needed to view the event, but the use of a viewing device may enhance the experience.

See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon

During the overnight hours on Aug. 1112, one of the years most anticipated astronomical events will peak - the Perseid meteor shower.

Originating from debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, the Perseids can produce up to 100 meteors per hour, making them one of the years most spectacular meteor showers.

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In North America, the display can begin as early as 10 p.m. and extend into the pre-dawn hours.

According to NASA, the Perseids are known for producing numerous fireballs, which makes the event even more remarkable.

Members of the York Astronomical Society prepare to view the annual Perseids meteor shower in the village of Rufforth, near York, northern England on August 12, 2015. The Perseids meteor shower occurs every year when the Earth passes through the cloud of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle.





Original article source: Full Sturgeon Moon, Perseid meteor shower and planetary conjunction to light up August skies
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  TriStar Health is holding a 5K run and community event this weekend to raise money for tourniquet kits in Sumner County schools.

The ultimate goal of the fundraiser: buy tourniquets for every classroom in the county.

A closer look at the vaccines required to enroll in Tennessee schools

Tourniquets can save lives. The number one cause of preventable death after injury is bleeding control, said Kennedy Toban, Director of Trauma Services for TriStar Hendersonville. We hope we get as many people as possible and raise lots of money to get these tools to the schools.

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Toban said a small tourniquet kitincluding a tourniquet, gauze, scissors, and markers to mark the timeare what they would like to provide to each local school. The kits reportedly cost about $100 each.

Toban and her trauma team are already active on campuses, providing Stop the Bleed education, a national initiative that launched after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.

Last year, their trauma department taught 23 classes centered on life-threatening bleeding, reaching over 1,000 participants across Middle Tennessee.

Our trauma team, in 2024, we trained over 1,000 people to stop the bleed. We hope we are saving a lot of lives, Toban told News 2. What weve been doing here in Sumner County, Macon County, Robertson County, and even down into Davidson County, is going into the schools and teaching this life-saving course to students and faculty.

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Toban said schools like Liberty Creek already have tourniquets on campus. Even if its not the worst-case scenario, nowadays, she said you can never have enough resources.

It can even be as simple as playing on the monkey-bars and you fall and break your arm. It can be as simple as you were using the scissors to cut paper and it slipped. Life-threatening bleeding doesnt always mean a worst-case scenario, Toban explained.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

We want to empower the public with these skills and knowledge so they can intervene even before EMS gets there, she added.

The 5K will start at 8 a.m. at Drakes Creek Park in Hendersonville on Saturday, Aug. 2. Organizers said attendees can enjoy family activities, a 1-mile run and a free pancake breakfast.

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Those wishing to participate can register at the event or online by following 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 WKRN News 2.
Meet Coco, an 11-month-old Malinois and lab mix looking for her forever home!

Coco is very energetic and loves to greet new friends with a lick and lots of wiggles!

Because Coco is still a puppy and constantly burning off puppy energy, she would do best in a home that can devote time to giving her lots of exercise.

Coco has decided that she would probably do best as the only dog in the home but would love to make friends outside the house!

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She is super smart but also loved to explore things with her mouth so a home that is okay with a touchy-feely friend is best!

If you are interested in meeting Coco, please visit the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts in Brockton on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday between 1-4 p.m. or head to their website.

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
(WKBN)  Its been a week since President Donald Trump signed a bill eliminating money for public broadcasting. Around the Mahoning Valley, it affects three stations  PBS Western Reserve for TV and The Summit FM and WYSU for radio.

Read next: Youngstown police officers express concern over poor leadership, lack of City Council support: Survey

The stations are now looking at changes  some more than others.

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For PBS Western Reserve, the elimination of funding and some state money resulted in a 28% budget cut. Between the stations three transmitters, the broadcast covers all of Northeast Ohio and into Western Pennsylvania.

We still need about $600,000 to close the gap in our budget for this fiscal year, which we see as well within reach, said Natalie Pillsbury, CEO of Western Reserve. Our goal is not to reduce staff, because the minute we start reducing staff, its going to mean a reduction in services and programming.

The Summit FM, based in Akron, broadcasts into Youngstown. It lost 10% of its budget with the federal cuts.

Youre going to see a lot of public radio and television stations across the country go dark. Theres no question, said Stan Tommy, general manager of the Summit FM.

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The major concern for the Summit FM is the royalty fee needed to play the music. Currently, its $500 through a deal negotiated with the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, but that ends Dec. 31, and The Summit has joined with 50 other public stations to negotiate something fair.

What are we going to pay for the music streaming royalty rights? That is the great unknown. Is it $5,000 a year? Is it $50,000 a year? We have no idea, Tommy said.

PBS Western Reserve is already marketing its situation, hoping to increase pledges  a strategy that will continue, though there will be fewer pledge shows that PBS is known for.

And have more spots throughout the programming schedule where were talking about the campaign and we want to keep the community updated on how its going, Pillsbury said.

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The Summit FM does two five-day fundraisers a year but will now have to add a third.

Were really not radio professionals as such. We are professional fundraisers that connect people through music, Tommy said.

As for WYSU on the campus of Youngstown State University, the situation is still being evaluated, but the cuts in federal money are not expected to significantly affect operations, according to a statement from WYSU.

We view this as an opportunity to strengthen WYSUs long-term sustainability. We are currently reviewing WYSUs mission, reimagining its donor engagement strategy and exploring programming changes that better reflect audience needs and community priorities, the statement said.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Jul. 31A gang member and downtown Spokane shoe store owner was arrested Wednesday at his business on suspicion of sex trafficking, rape and several other charges.

Taurean D. Jones, 38, is accused of raping a 14-year-old girl several times and providing money, drugs, alcohol and clothing to the teen for the sexual acts on himself and his friends, according to court documents.

Many of the encounters occurred at his store, Check Point NW, 2 N. Post St., according to documents. The girl described one occasion to police when Jones held a gun to her head before Jones' friends took turns raping her in the upstairs room of the store, court records say.

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The girl reported the alleged crimes, which happened over several months, to a Kootenai County Sheriff's Office deputy in December.

She said she met a man named, "Macc," later identified as Jones, at his store in June 2024. She described several of his tattoos, including one that said "Crip" and a wheelchair tattoo on his neck.

Jones is affiliated with the Murder 1 Crips street gang, according to Spokane police in documents. Jones goes by the moniker, "T-Macc," and the wheelchair tattoo is used as a symbol by Crip gang members, police wrote.

She said she returned to see Jones multiple times over a few weeks, and eventually, the girl and Jones agreed he would "manage (the girl's) sexual activity so she could make money," according to documents.

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She said Jones threatened to kill her on two occasions, frequently carried a gun and that she was sexually exploited.

The FBI interviewed the girl in February.

She said during her first meeting with Jones at his store, Jones gave her and her friend marijuana, and they exchanged Snapchat messaging accounts.

She said Jones drove the girl and her friend, a then-14-year-old boy, to the boy's relative's house in Spokane. Jones picked up the two teens about 1 a.m. the next day, and drove them to a gas station where Jones bought alcohol and vapes for the teens. He then drove them to a park where they drank alcohol. There, Jones exposed his penis to the boy, the boy told police.

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The girl reported Jones drove them back to the boy's relative's house, where he got out of the car, but Jones drove away with the girl. The girl told Jones to let her out, but he refused, she said.

He then forced her to give him oral sex after she refused multiple times. Jones then allegedly pulled the girl out of the car and raped her.

She said she told him to stop several times and tried to get away, but he held her in place. Jones then gave her cocaine and marijuana, she said.

A few weeks later, Jones contacted the girl on Snapchat and apologized, she said in documents. He offered her free drugs, and the girl informed Jones she was only 14.

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She came to the store at Jones' request in July 2024. He apologized, gave her money and told her he was going to spoil her. He also told her he had friends who were interested in her.

She reportedly went to the store the next day, and Jones led her to an upstairs room where Jones' friend raped her. Afterward, Jones gave her money, marijuana and cocaine. The girl said the same "scenario" occurred multiple times.

In August, she said she tried to leave the upstairs room after Jones told her two of his friends were going to have sex with her. Jones pulled out a pistol and put a gun to her head, so she complied and the men raped her, she said in court documents.

The girl described another time after that when Jones allegedly raped her at his store.

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When arrested Wednesday, Jones denied the sexual encounters and also denied communicating or having a relationship with any underage teen. When police showed the Snapchat messages between him and the girl, he said he didn't recall them but if the person using that account was 14, he didn't know it.

Police found a stolen 9 mm pistol, 158 grams of cocaine and a digital scale in Jones' Mercedes, according to documents.

Jones was booked into the Spokane County Jail on suspicion of promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor, commercial sexual abuse of a minor, first-, second- and third-degree child rape, possession of a controlled substance- distribution to a minor, unlawful possession of a firearm, indecent exposure and possession of a stolen firearm, according to Spokane police in a news release.

Jones made his first appearance on those charges Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court, where his bond was set at $1 million. An extra $50,000 was added as he awaits trial on assault, unlawful imprisonment and harassment charges for an alleged domestic violence incident in which he's accused of assaulting a woman.

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Jones has previous convictions for a drive-by shooting outside a north Spokane nightclub, a riot charge stemming from a gang-related shooting and a second-degree assault charge from shooting at a motorist, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting.

Counselors and child advocacy groups are working with the girl in the sex trafficking case, police said. Victims of trafficking or anyone who knows someone being trafficked can visit humantraffickinghotline.org/en/report-trafficking for assistance or call (888) 373-8888.
Editor's note: Veda Ershade was found safely shortly after midnight Friday, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Colorado Springs police need help in a search for a missing at-risk 16-year-old.

Veda Ershade was last seen Wednesday, July 30, around 2:30 p.m. at her home in the 6700 block of Annahill Place, east of Powers Boulevard near Barnes Road and Peterson Road.

Ershade is described as a white, 5-foot-6 female who weighs about 160 pounds and has black hair. She was last seen wearing blue jeans, a gray sweater and a dark tank top.

"If you have seen Veda or know of her whereabouts, please call CSPD at 719-444-7000," the Police Department said in a social media post Thursday.
A CBS News investigation into surveillance footage from Jeffrey Epsteins final hours has raised new doubts about the federal governments handling of the convicted sex offenders death.

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, conservative figures and anti-human trafficking advocates have questioned the Department of Justice and the FBIs conclusion that Epstein died by suicide and had no client list. Among them is Jaco Booyens, a Texas-based activist and founder of Jaco Booyens Ministries.

There must be justice for the victims of sex trafficking. We cannot and will not stay silent, Booyens wrote on X. Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were convicted as traffickers. That means they sold human beings, including minors, to buyers for sex.

The newly analyzed 11-hour video, released earlier this year by the FBI, provides only a partial view of the area outside Epsteins cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. The footage does not clearly show the cell entrance or the staircase to Epsteins tier, contradicting previous statements by federal officials  including former Attorney General William Barr  that no one entered the area prior to Epsteins death.

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Video forensic experts told CBS News the footage leaves room for unmonitored movement and fails to provide a conclusive visual record of the key hallway. They also pointed out technical anomalies, including:

A one-minute gap just before midnight

Subtle changes in the videos aspect ratio suggest it may be a stitched-together screen recording , not raw DVR footage

Unexplained movement, such as a mysterious orange shape ascending the stairs and an unidentified individual appearing after midnight

These discrepancies raise further questions about the reliability of the footage, which was a central piece of evidence in the FBIs decision to close its inquiry.

The Inspector Generals report also relied on statements from prison staff  some of which appear to contradict the video. Claims that no one could access Epsteins tier unnoticed are cast into doubt by what is (and isnt) seen on the tape.

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In addition to video issues, the CBS investigation spotlights serious lapses in jail protocol. Epstein, who had previously been placed on suicide watch, was left without a cellmate, and guards Tova Noel and Michael Thomas failed to conduct their required 30-minute checks.

While the DOJ maintains that Epstein died by suicide, the incomplete surveillance footage and lack of internal accountability continue to fuel public skepticism about one of the most high-profile inmate deaths in modern U.S. history.
The Scoop

No story in the United States is scrutinized more than coverage of the war in Gaza, and nowhere is that coverage more closely watched than The New York Times, where billboards across the street have demanded the publication Stop the anti-Israel Bias while pro-Palestinian protesters have distributed copies of The New York War Crimes in the lobby.

The Times attempts to be quite careful when it comes to the words and images it uses in relation to Israels war in Gaza. And as the story of deepening hunger in the territory rippled through the global media, the Times thought it was being careful, too.

Last Thursday at 3 pm, the Times was preparing to run images of Youssef Matar, a young child in Gaza with cerebral palsy who was suffering from lack of nourishment, alongside its July 24 story that cited doctors in Gaza finding an increasing number of their patients are suffering and dying  from starvation.

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But the Times topmost editors wanted to err on the side of caution. After viewing the gutting photo, according to communications viewed by Semafor, they worried that it might inadvertently call into question the papers reporting, which said that many of the children suffering from hunger did not have preexisting health issues.

Do we want to use a photo that will be the subject of debate when there is presumably no shortage of images of children who were not malnourished before the war and currently are? managing editor Marc Lacey said of the proposed photo, according to Slack messages obtained by Semafor.

Executive editor Joe Kahn agreed.

The story isnt framed around people with special needs and the lead art really should not do that, either, he said.

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They landed instead on a photo of Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, an 18-month-old child in Gaza suffering from malnutrition, whose similarly shocking photo the paper believed illustrated the story about intense malnutrition brought about by the conflict.

Know More

After the story went live, however, pro-Israeli groups and some friendly media outlets criticized the photo, pointing out that al-Mutawaq had, as the New York Post put it, genetic and other disorders, which the Times story only briefly mentioned. The Israeli Consulate General, which reportedly made a request for an update from the Times, said in a statement that it was unfortunate that the international media repeatedly falls for Hamas propaganda. First they publish, then they verify, if at all.

The pushback from pro-Israel voices after the story went live prompted a flurry of activity within the Times. According to one person familiar with the reporting, after the piece ran on July 24, and the paper learned that al-Mutawaq may have had additional health issues, the Times went back and spoke with the doctor, another hospital official, his mother, and looked at his medical records. The re-reporting prompted an update from the Times, and a removal of a quote from his mother saying he was born a healthy child.

We have since learned new information, including from the hospital that treated him and his medical records, and have updated our story to add context about his preexisting health problems. This additional detail gives readers a greater understanding of his situation. Our reporters and photographers continue to report from Gaza bravely, sensitively, and at personal risk, so that readers can see firsthand the consequences of the war, the Times said.

Maxs view

The Times caution came at a turning point in US coverage of the war in Gaza. Some of the largest Western media outlets, many of which have tried for years to cover the war through a removed lens  and have been shut out from reporting independently in the territory by the Israeli military  now appear nearly singularly focused on the widespread hunger in the war-torn zone.

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In recent days, NBC News and CNN both ran stories with shocking visuals of malnourished children, along with numerous segments about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and Israels restriction of aid coming into the area. The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat shifted his stance to write of how Israels war became unjust. And center-left writer Matthew Yglesias posted that Since the start of Donald Trumps second term, Israel has pivoted tactics in Gaza in a direction that is provoking mass famine. These new tactics have prompted condemnation from people who had not condemned earlier tactics. This was a shift from earlier in the war: A researcher at Syracuse found that in the first nine months of the war, CNNs digital coverage was notably supportive of Israel. This week, a CNN producer described the situation as absolutely catastrophic, with no access to food, clean water, or medical care and bombings [that] never stop.

The alternative media spaces, intensely attuned to young audiences left and right who are increasingly hostile to Israel, have shifted more dramatically. Joe Rogan reportedly turned down an opportunity to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his podcast, while podcast host Theo Von told Vice President JD Vance in June that he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Piers Morgan, now a YouTube sensation, moved from defending Israel to brutally grilling its diplomats, writing that theyd crossed a line. The Nelk Boys, a goofy, right-leaning Canadian YouTube outfit, embarked on a kind of apology tour after their own softball interview with Netanyahu: It was a moment they would always regret, one of the groups founders, Kyle Forgeard, told the Egyptian comic Bassem Youssef, whom they invited on the show to reprimand them after an enduring wave of backlash from their audience. The group should have pressed Netanyahu 100 times harder, Forgeard said.

Even The Free Press, the most high-profile independent media outlet with a friendly attitude towards Israel, acknowledged the alarming food shortages in Gaza, referring to it in one piece as a hunger crisis, and acknowledging in another that many Palestinians had not eaten meals in days (which the publication blamed on Hamas, and, to a lesser degree, Israel).

This shift comes as the American public turns against the Israeli campaign, with just 32% backing the action in Gaza, a new low, according to Gallup.

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And while the Times took heat over its update last week, the existence of a major New York Times story, with all its accompanying urgency, seemed to illustrate a shift in coverage away from a focus on conflict between two sides equally and towards one about the suffering of Palestinians.

Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan said there had been a clear tonal shift in media coverage and political reaction. Ryan Grim, the editor of Drop Site News, a digital news outlet that has covered the war from a perspective critical of Israel, said he sensed a shift from the legacy and broadcast outlets that had often made painstaking attempts to weigh both the Israeli and Palestinian sides with equal measure.

I think for the normal media they see that we are witnessing a crime of historic proportions and are beginning to ask how they will look in retrospect, Grim said.

Room for Disagreement

The Free Press commentator Eli Lake rejected the idea that the mainstream medias tone had meaningfully shifted in favor of the Palestinian cause recently. He pointed Semafor to a previous internal uproar within The New York Times over stories about rape on October 7, and what he argued were erroneous stories about famine in Gaza (which The Free Press, in a separate piece, referred to as part of a constant barrage of libel), to say they merely show that mainstream news outlets have been on the side of the Palestinians for years.

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The tone has been that way for a year and a half, to put it conservatively, he said.

The View From Times Square

One thing that pro-Israel critics of the Times and some staff at the paper agree on is that there is a large contingent of staff at the paper who are opposed to the war in Gaza, and blame Israel for the crisis.

The Times is a large paper with a variety of viewpoints reflected across its editorial staff. But over the past several days, Semafor spoke with six Times journalists, many of whom expressed frustration at the papers statement, saying that it undermined the papers vital reporting on starvation in Gaza and was an unnecessary concession  that children could have various medical conditions made worse by lack of food and water.

The update represents the challenges that the Times has faced covering a war in which pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups have attempted to wage a battle of inches over every detail of the papers coverage of the war.

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The feeling among leadership at the Times, according to a senior employee, is that the goal of the various pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups is to cow the Times into tilting its reporting one way or the other, to make it painful to report a fact that does not align with their ideology. A senior staffer told the newsletter Status that starvation is real and happening in Gaza and the attacks over this photo and the editors note are just the latest instance that we have experienced where truthful, independent reporting gets weaponized by groups representing these biased perspectives. It just gets weaponized by partisans to suggest this is propaganda or bias or somehow negates the idea that starvation and suffering is happening in Gaza.

In a statement to Semafor, a New York Times spokesperson acknowledged the intense pressure the paper is under from interest groups attempting to sway its coverage.

As the exchange between our editors demonstrates, we are focused on accuracy and fairness and on making sure our reporting and photography reflect the human toll of this war fully and fairly, the spokesperson said. We will not be swayed by advocacy groups hoping to change our journalism to align with their perspectives.

Notable
President Donald Trumps special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, arrived in the Gaza Strip on Friday to visit aid distribution sites amid a worsening famine that has drawn international outrage in recent months.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Mike Huckabee, the American Ambassador to Israel, will brief the president after touring Gaza to help finalize a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.

Witkoff visited at least one hub run by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israelibacked group staffed by American security contractors that has been distributing aid since May. In the months since, the Israeli military has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians who were gathered at aid distribution sites operated by the GHF. IDF soldiers told Israeli newspaper Haaretz in June that theyve been ordered to open fire on civilians gathering at the sites.

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Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  The purpose of the visit was to give POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza, Witkoff wrote on X on Friday afternoon.

At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other pic.twitter.com/aCtLuMuhq1  Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) August 1, 2025

After the envoy left, Palestinians told CNN that Israel shot at them near the same site that Witkoff had visited.

Reactions to Witkoffs visit were sharply divided. Some Gazans expressed hope it might spur action toward a ceasefire. Its now clear to everyone that Gaza is no longer livable, Hatem Abu Rahma told CNN, urging the envoy to intensify efforts to end the war and relieve the suffering. Others dismissed the trip as political theater. This is a naive visit an insult to all the reports about famine in Gaza, Raed Radwan said to CNN, describing aid distribution as putting food for the animals in a cage.

International aid groups say the crisis has reached a worstcase scenario of famine. While Israel has paused fighting in parts of Gaza and allowed more trucks in the figure remains far below what the UN says is needed, and most trucks never reach UN warehouses, according to the Associated Press. Airdrops continue but deliver only a fraction of needed supplies, and some packages land in evacuated or inaccessible zones, or in the sea.

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Aid workers warn that recent Israeli changes will not make a meaningful difference. These are theatrics, token gestures dressed up as progress, Bushra Khalidi of Oxfam told the AP. A handful of trucks, a few hours of tactical pauses and raining energy bars from the sky is not going to fix irreversible harm done to an entire generation of children that have been starved and malnourished for months now.

The post Gaza is no longer livable: Trump envoy tours aid sites amid famine appeared first on Salon.com.
Donald Trump is working on a plan to get people fed in Gaza after he sent his special envoy to the war-battered enclave to visit controversial aid distribution sites.

Steve Witkoff, accompanied by Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador for Israel, spent five hours touring a US-backed aid operation in the ruins of the southern city of Rafah that has been linked to hundreds of deaths.

Mr Witkoff, the first senior official to visit Gaza since the war began, said what he learnt would help Washington craft a plan to get more food and aid to Palestinians.

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Mr Trump has become increasingly concerned by reports of widespread starvation in the Strip and has in recent days pushed for more aid to reach Gazans.

We want to help people. We want to help them live. We want to get people fed. It is something that should have happened [a] long time ago, Mr Trump told the Axios news website on Friday.

Regular bloodbaths

The site the two officials toured is one of only four in Gaza which are run by the highly controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which aid agencies say is responsible for contributing to the hunger crisis across the territory.

More than 1,300 people seeking aid in Gaza have been killed since GHF took over aid operations in late May, according to the UN, most of them shot by Israeli forces in the vicinity of the aid hubs.

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Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israeli forces of presiding over regular bloodbaths close to the US-backed aid points.

The GHF says nobody has been killed at its distribution points, and it is doing a better job of protecting aid deliveries than the UN.

Mr Huckabee praised the private aid operation, which relies on protection from IS contractors and the Israeli army. In a post on X, he said he learnt the truth of what was happening, saying the GHF carries out an incredible feat by delivering more than one million meals a day.

Steve Witkoff and Mick Huckabee inspecting an aid station in Gaza - Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Coinciding with the diplomats visit, Human Rights Watch condemned GHFs aid sites as a death trap and accused Israeli forces of using starvation as a weapon of war.

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The US president has not yet shared details on the new aid plan he is working on. It is not clear if it will involve more support for the GHF or for other aid mechanisms.

In a quickly deleted tweet after the visit, Mr Huckabee claimed Gazans love Mr Trump and believe he is helping.

Mr Huckabee, appointed by Mr Trump in February, is a controversial figure who is heavily opposed to the two-state solution and a staunch advocate of Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

However, hours after their visit, Palestinian medics said Israeli forces shot dead three Palestinians near one of GHFs sites in Rafah. It is not yet clear if it was the same hub the officials visited.

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Mr Witkoff made his visit to Gaza a day after arriving in Israel to push for fresh ceasefire negotiations, as Israel is under mounting international pressure over the destruction of Gaza and growing starvation among its 2.2 million inhabitants.

Medics also said at least 12 other Palestinians were killed in air strikes across the Gaza Strip on Friday.

It comes as France and Germany carried out airdrops over Gaza. Emmanuel Macron, posting footage of the operation, however cautioned that it was still not enough as he pushed Israel to allow full humanitarian access.

Israel also began food air drops this week, but UN agencies say it is a poor alternative for allowing trucks into the enclave, which carry twice as much as planes.

On 1st Aug France started to air-drop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza as it urged Israel to allow full access to the area which it said was slipping into famine - UNPIXS

The worsening humanitarian crisis has prompted France, Britain and Canada to pledge to recognise a Palestinian state, a move already taken by most countries but not by major Western powers.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced earlier this week that the UK government will recognise Palestinian statehood unless Israel takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza. Following his comments, the US and Israel accused Sir Keir of rewarding the Hamas terrorist group.

Alexander Stubb, Finlands president, on Friday also said he is ready to approve a recognition of Palestinian statehood if the government moves forward with such a proposal.

Meanwhile, France plans to suspend its programme to evacuate Gazans pending a probe into how a student accused of sharing anti-semetic posts was allowed into the country.

France has helped more than 500 people leave Gaza since the war began, mostly including wounded children, journalists, students and artists.

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No evacuation of any kind will take place until we have drawn conclusions from this investigation, Jean-Noel Barrot, Frances foreign minister, told Franceinfo radio, adding that all Gazans who have entered France will now undergo a second screening.

03:24 PM BST

Thats all for today

We will be back soon with more updates and analysis from the war in Gaza.

02:49 PM BST

Witkoff says Gaza visit to help craft aid plan

US special envoy Steve Witkoff said that his visit to US-backed aid stations in Gaza would help Washington daw up a plan to deliver more aid to the Palestinian territory.

Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza, Witkoff said on Fridfay in a post on X, accompanied by a photo of himself wearing a protective vest and meeting staff at a distribution centre.

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He added that the purpose of the visit was to help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.

At @POTUS's direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other pic.twitter.com/x0a8JaUSk8  Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) August 1, 2025

02:25 PM BST

Lebanon says four killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday

A series of Israeli air strikes killed four people in southern Lebanon on Thursday, Beiruts ministry of health said today.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that it had targeted Hezbollah infrastructure that was used for producing and storing strategic weapons, including what the countrys defence minister described as the groups biggest precision missile manufacturing site.



02:01 PM BST

France airdrops more aid into Gaza

France, along with Germany, is dropping more aid into Gaza today.

Posting footage of the operation, Emmanuel Macron warned that air drops are still not enough and insisted Israel allows full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine.

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I thank our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, as well as our armed forces for their dedication, he added on X.

Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UNs agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), went further to say that air drops are insufficient and inefficient.

Calling on Israel to flood Gaza with assistance, he said: Airdrops are at least 100 times more costly than trucks. Trucks carry twice as much aid as planes. If there is political will to allow airdrops - which are highly costly, insufficient & inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings.

Faced with an urgent humanitarian crisis, we just conducted a food airdrop over Gaza.



I thank our Jordanian, Emirati, and German partners for their support, as well as our armed forces for their dedication.



But airdrops are not enough. pic.twitter.com/KpWFhOLmbi  Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 1, 2025

01:36 PM BST

Finlands president ready to recognise Palestinian state

Alexander Stubb, Finlands president, has said he is ready to approve a recognition of a Palestinian state if the government moves forward with such a proposal.

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Many countries, including France and Canada, have pledged to recognise a Palestinian state alongside the 80th UN General Assembly in September which Mr Stubb said has breathed new life into the peace process.

If I receive a proposal to recognise the Palestinian state, I am prepared to approve it, Mr Stubb said in a post on X on Thursday, deploring an inhumane situation in Gaza.

Finlands president, elected for six years, has limited powers but helps coordinate the countrys foreign policy in close cooperation with the government.

01:30 PM BST

In pictures: Witkoff and Huckabee in Gaza

Steve Witkoff, Trumps Middle East envoy, walks with Mike Huckabee, US ambassador for Israel, on a trip to Gaza - USAmbIsrael / X

The senior US officials were on a fact-finding mission for Trump to assess the dire situation in the Strip

Huckabee and Witkoff visited an aid distribution centre in Rafah controlled by the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

12:42 PM BST

Huckabee praises US-backed aid centres on visit to Gaza

Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has praised the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for delivering OVER 100 million meals in two months.

Following his visit to an aid site in Rafah, he wrote that Hamas hates the new aid delivery system - which has been highly critiqued and boycotted by the UN and most aid agencies - because it gets food to be people without it being looted by Hamas.

Went into Gaza today & observed humanitarian food program by US launched GHF. Hamas hates GHF b/c it gets food to ppl w/o it being looted by Hamas. Over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months. pic.twitter.com/BrBtrDg2Hg  Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) August 1, 2025

12:41 PM BST

Trump envoy enters Gaza to assess dire situation

Donald Trumps Middle East envoy has arrived in Gaza to assess the dire situation in the war-shattered territory.

Footage, released by Channel 12, appears to show Steve Witkoff along with Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, at an aid distribution centre in the southern city of Rafah.

Mr Trump said he wants to make sure the people of Gaza get fed amid a global outcry at the rising levels of starvation in Gaza that the UN says is reaching the worst-case scenario.

The two senior US officials will inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground, the White House said on Thursday.

Following the visit, Mr Witkoff and Mr Huckabee will brief the US president on the situation before he approves a new plan for delivering aid into the Strip.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff arrives at an aid centre in Gaza to assess the dire situation - Amit Segal / X

11:26 AM BST

Vatican tells UN: Two-state solution is the only path to peace

The Vatican has told the UN that a two-state solution is the only path to peace and that Palestinians have a right to live in an independent and sovereign state.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, said that a two-state solution, based on secure and internationally recognised borders, is the only viable and equitable path toward a just and lasting peace.

He added that the Holy See remains committed to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and it continues to back their legitimate aspirations to live in freedom, security, and dignity within an independent and sovereign State.

His comments come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced earlier this week that the UK government will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza. Following his comments, the US and Israel accused Sir Keir of rewarding the Hamas terrorist group.

The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, also announced his countrys plans to formally recognise Palestine during the UN general assembly in September. This comes after France and other countries including: Andorra, Australia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia and Spain, co-signed a declaration pointing towards further recognitions of an independent Palestinian state.

11:07 AM BST

Germanys military starts aid drops over Gaza

Germanys military has started dropping aid supplies over Gaza, starting with two Luftwaffe flights carrying almost 14 tonnes of supplies.

The flights can only make a very small contribution to providing those affected on the ground with the bare essentials, Boris Pistorius, the defence minister, said on Friday, adding that expects Israel to ensure comprehensive humanitarian supplies for people in the enclave.

Germany has also pledged to give an additional 5 million euros (4.3 million) in support to the World Food Programme in Gaza, the foreign office said.

Johann Wadephul, Germanys foreign minister, will also visit the West Bank today and meet with Palestinian leaders following his talks yesterday with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels prime minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul in his Jerusalem office. pic.twitter.com/n5ae1n2FOs  Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 1, 2025

10:55 AM BST

Pictured: Palestinians receive aid in central Gaza

Palestinians carry aid supplies in the central Gaza Strip this morning - REUTERS

10:33 AM BST

Rights group condemns death trap US-backed aid centres

Human Rights Watch has accused Israeli forces of routinely killing Palestinian civilians seeking food at US-backed aid centres in Gaza, as well as using starvation as a weapon of war.

US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths, said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW.

Israel and the US have backed a private aid operation run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) at four sites inside Gaza, protected by US military contractors and the Israeli army.

GHF launched its operations in late May, side-lining the longstanding UN-led humanitarian system, there have been mass killings outside its aid centres, with frequent witness reports of Israeli troops opening fire on civilians.

More than 1,300 aid seekers have been killed in Gaza since May, according to the Palestinian branch of the UNs human rights office has said.

10:15 AM BST

Pictured: Israelis protest the governments Gaza aid policy

Dozens of Israelis, holding banners, gather at the Habima Square to protest the governments control over aid entering Gaza on Thursday - Anadolu

10:01 AM BST

160 children shot during Gaza war, says report

There are at least 160 cases of children that had been shot during the war in Gaza, a BBC investigation has revealed.

In 95 of the cases, the child had been shot in the head or chest, the report said.

In 59 of those, eyewitnesses alleged that 57 of these children were shot by the IDF, and two were shot by Palestinians - one in celebratory gunfire and the other in a gang conflict.

For the remaining 36 cases, the investigation was not able to account for what happened.

The International Committee of the Red Cross told the outlet that the world cannot accept the type of warfare that allows so many children to be shot as a new normal.

09:42 AM BST

False alarm prompts sirens in Israel near Gaza Strip

Sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip on Friday, prompting the military to launch an interceptor missile towards a suspected threat, the Israeli military said.

The military later confirmed that the launch was triggered by a false alarm, and no threat was detected.

09:06 AM BST

After Gaza, Witkoff will head to Russia

After his unprecedented trip inside Gaza, Donald Trumps Middle East envoy will be travelling to Russia.

Yesterday, the US president revealed that Steve Witkoff would finish his trip to the enclave and Israel and believe it or not visit Moscow.

His announcement followed his condemnation of Russias recent disgusting strikes on Kyiv, which came despite Mr Trump shortening his deadline for Vladimir Putin to end the war by August 8 or face crippling sanctions.

The US held secret talks with senior Russian officials this week, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, said on Thursday, revealing to Fox News Radio that the discussions, which did not involve Putin, made no progress toward a peace deal.

08:53 AM BST

Israel willing to end the war if all hostages released

Israel will agree to a comprehensive ceasefire with Hamas which would see the release of all hostages, a disarmament of Hamas and a demilitarised Gaza, according to reports.

Until now, Israel had refused to agree to ending the war permanently, opting for a partial 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living and 18 dead hostages.

Israeli media reports that the US and Israel have reached an understanding that the switch must be made instead of agreeing to a partial hostage a ceasefire deal.

The U-turn comes as US special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday. Mr Witkoff is visiting aid distribution sites in Gaza today.

Hamas, which has refused to agree to the 60-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. said on Friday that continuing negotiations while there is mass starvation empties them of content and meaning.

The terror group also claimed that Israel withdrew from talks last week without any justification  while we were close (to an agreement).

Israel and the US did indeed pull their delegations from Qatar last week, with Mr. Witkoff saying that Hamas clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza. While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith.

Donald Trump has also said that Hamas didnt really want to make a deal. I think they want to die.

08:34 AM BST

Trump: Gazans must be fed

Donald Trump said he wants to make sure the people of Gaza get fed as he sends his Middle East envoy to the war-torn enclave to assess concerns over rising starvation.

Steve Witkoff along with Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, will inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Thursday.

We want to make sure people get fed, the US president told NBC news, adding that he was looking forward to hearing their report on the situation.

Mr Witkoff met with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, last night whose coalition is facing mounting international pressure over the widespread destruction of Gaza and constraints on aid entering the territory.

Credit: Reuters

08:27 AM BST

US to deny visas and impose sanctions on Palestinian officials

The US said it is going to deny visas and impose sanctions on Palestinian leadership organisations.

The sanctions affect both the Palestinian Authority (PA), which was established by the Oslo peace accords, and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) which was recognised during the same process as the official representative of the Palestinian people.

The State Department said it deny visas to PLO members and PA officials, citing claims the groups are continuing to support terrorism.

The move by the Trump administration comes as a growing number of countries have vowed to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of UN meeting in September. France has committed to recognising a Palestinian state, while Britain and Canada have pledged to do the same if certain conditions are not first met by Israel, including reaching a ceasefire and alleviating suffering in the Strip.

08:00 AM BST

Gazas aid crisis: Looting, blame and the fight for control

The grainy video shows a flat-bed lorry piled high with cardboard boxes, surrounded by Palestinians.

Standing on top of the boxes, clear enough against the sandy backdrop, are two masked figures, both armed with Kalashnikov rifles.

The IDF published the footage on Tuesday, saying it showed Hamas violently looting humanitarian aid and preventing it reaching the civilian population of Gaza.

In the maelstrom of claim and counterclaim over Gaza  where foreign journalists are banned  pictures and footage such as this have taken centre stage in the propaganda battle over what is really going on with the delivery of aid.

The UN, WHO, dozens of other NGOs, and several of Israels key allies (Britain included) say that escalating starvation in the Strip is principally caused by Israels two-and-a-half-month total blockade up to the second half of May, followed by the lethally ineffective US-backed replacement scheme, coupled with a trickle of NGO aid trucks since then.

Credit: IDF

07:43 AM BST

Iran rejects Wests accusations its plotting assassinations

Iran has rejected accusations by the US and more than a dozen of its allies that Tehran has attempted to kill or kidnap dissidents, journalists, and officials in Western countries.

In a statement, Esmaeil Baqaei, Irans foreign ministrys spokesman described the claims as baseless, calling them an attempt to divert public attention from the most pressing issue of the day, the genocide in occupied Palestine.

Western governments including the US Britain, France and Germany condemned on Thursday the growing number of state threats from Iranian intelligence services in our respective territories.

We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty, they said.

These services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organisations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America.

07:40 AM BST

US imposing 15pc tariff on goods from Israel

The White House announced a 15 per cent tariff will be imposed on goods from Israel as the Trump administrations unveiled sweeping levies on dozens of countries last night.

The decision, part of an executive order signed by the US president, forced higher tariffs on 69 trading partners in his latest bid to reorder the global economy in favour of US businesses.

Mr Trump set rates including a 35 per cent duty on many goods from Canada, 50 per cent for Brazil, 25 per cent for India, 20 per cent for Taiwan and 39 per cent for Switzerland.

Israel, Iceland, Fiji, Ghana, Guyana and Ecuador were among the countries with imported goods taxed at 15 per cent.

07:23 AM BST

Trump sends envoy to Gaza to assess dire humanitarian situation

Donald Trump is sending his Middle East envoy into Gaza to observe the dire situation on the ground.

Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, and Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, met Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday.

On Friday, they will be given rare access to Gaza, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced.

Tomorrow, special envoy Witkoff and ambassador Huckabee will be travelling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground, Ms Leavitt told a briefing on Thursday.

The men will brief the president immediately after the visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region, she said.

Photographs of emaciated children in the war-torn territory are beginning to turn the tide of public opinion against Israels military campaign against Hamas.

Aid agencies are warning that hunger and malnutrition may already have reached a tipping point after two and half years of war, raising fears of mass starvation.

Aid agencies have raised fears of mass starvation - Abdalhkem Abu Riash/Anadolu via Getty Images

07:16 AM BST

Hello and welcome to our live coverage

Were bringing you all the latest from the war in Gaza and Steve Witkoffs trip to the war-torn enclave.

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GB News has overtaken the BBC as Britains most watched news channel for the first time.

New figures from official ratings agency Barb show GB News beat both BBC News and Sky News during key time slots in July, in a major coup for the start-up broadcaster just after its fourth birthday.

The latest data show GB News pulled in an average audience of 80,600 across each day in July. That was ahead of BBC News on 78,700 and 67,000 for Sky News.

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GB News also triumphed during the breakfast show and primetime weekday evenings, as well as during the Sunday morning political slot, which is hosted by Telegraph associate editor Camilla Tominey.

Ben Briscoe, head of programming at GB News, said: This is a seismic moment, not just for us, but for British broadcasting. We are ending the dominance of the BBC News channel and Sky News.

Bosses said the channel will build on its success as it prepares to launch a new US show from Washington DC in September. The broadcasters website is already the fastest-growing news platform in the US.

Mick Booker, GB News editorial director, said: Were now firmly on track to achieve our ambition of becoming the UKs biggest news channel by 2028.

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GB News is winning because it is different, and because we place the community at the heart of everything we do. We focus on the stories that matter most to our audience and, as a result, our bold, fearless journalism is reaching more people than ever.

Fresh boost

The rise of GB News comes against the backdrop of a declining market for traditional broadcast TV, as viewers increasingly switch to streaming.

Figures released by Ofcom this week showed Britons spent 4pc less time watching broadcast TV in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Nevertheless, the numbers will provide a fresh boost to GB News after the channel overtook Sky for the first time late last year  as viewers flocked to the channel for coverage of the farming protests.

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Surging viewing figures at GB News come even as the channel is locked in a bitter dispute with Ofcom over its use of politicians as presenters.

GB News secured a major victory in the High Court earlier this year after a judge ruled the regulator was wrong to accuse Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg of breaching impartiality rules in two episodes of his show.

The court quashed the verdicts and Ofcom subsequently dropped three further breach rulings. The legal tussle contributed to a surge in costs at the regulator, which spent 4.6m on external advisers last year.

However, the row has been re-ignited after Ofcom outlined plans to further tighten rules around the use of politicians as presenters.

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Under its latest proposals, politicians would be blocked from presenting news segments, though they would still be allowed to helm current affairs shows.

GB News has hit back against the plans, branding them irrational and an unjustified interference with freedom of expression.

Despite its popularity with viewers, GB News is still struggling to achieve financial success as it battles an ongoing advertiser boycott.

Even before its launch, GB News was targeted by campaign groups such as Stop Funding Hate  prompting brands including Ikea and Nivea to pull their campaigns.

While some advertisers including Marks & Spencer have since returned to the channel, the boycott continues to hurt the companys bottom line. GB News has launched a paywall on its website in an effort to boost revenues from subscribers.

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GB News has lost more than 100m since its launch in 2021. Its owners  the hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai investment firm Legatum  pumped a further 34m into the channel last year.

In a speech earlier this year, Sir Paul accused Ofcom of unfairly targeting the broadcaster due to an onslaught of complaints from pressure groups.

Ofcom has said it enforces its rules fairly and proportionately.

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Gender-critical campaigners have accused the NHS health board at the centre of a transgender row of undermining the Supreme Court.

Sandie Peggie is suing NHS Fife for unlawful discrimination after the nurse had to share a changing room with Dr Beth Upton, a trans medic, at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023.

At last weeks hearing in Dundee, Jane Russell KC, the barrister representing NHS Fife and Dr Upton, repeatedly questioned the Supreme Courts ruling that a trans woman is a man.

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In April, the court ruled that the words sex, man and woman mean biological sex, biological man and biological woman regarding the Equality Act.

But when Ms Russell was challenged by Naomi Cunningham, Ms Peggies barrister, that the court had in fact determined that a trans woman is a man for the purposes of the Equality Act, Ms Russell said she disagreed with the lawyers summary of the cases judgment.

Judge Sandy Kemp went on to describe the cases meaning as a contentious matter, adding that its meaning was in dispute.

Dr Beth Upton is at the centre of a transgender row being heard at a tribunal - Iain Masterton/Alamy

For Women Scotland has now weighed into the Dundee tribunal, saying it is concerned about Ms Russells comments in a letter to the hearing.

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Ther campaign group said: If the tribunal does not make it clear to the parties (and the viewing public) that what exactly For Women Scotland says is in fact clear and settled law and not contentious, a hypothesis or in dispute then it may render the judgment open to appeal on any point where Dr Uptons sex is relevant.

It also listed three exchanges between the barristers, one in which Ms Russell argued that the Supreme Court judgment was an abstract case regarding representation on public boards in Scotland and did not concern lavatories.

In a second exchange, on July 23, Mr Russell told the court: Dr Upton is not a man, she is a trans woman.

In response, Ms Cunningham said: Dr Upton is a trans woman and trans women are men, certainly for the purposes of the Equality Act as we know from For Women Scotland.

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Finally, on July 24, Ms Russell said: Dr Upton is not a man. For Women Scotland [the case] doesnt say so.

Sandie Peggie is suing a trans doctor and NHS Fife after she was placed on special leave - Andrew Milligan/PA

The gender-critical groups letter to the tribunal judge said the first exchange was not factually correct, adding: We are surprised there was no correction by the tribunal.

In the second and third exchanges, Ms Cunningham was factually correct in her statement that Dr Upton is a man under the Equality Act, in accordance with the For Women Scotland ruling by the Supreme Court. This should not be a point in dispute by the court, nor regarded as contentious or a hypothesis to be tested.

Ms Peggie is seeking financial compensation for harassment and hurt feelings from both Dr Upton and NHS Fife.

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The veteran nurse was placed on special leave in January last year after Dr Upton made allegations of bullying and harassment, and cited concerns about patient care.

Evidence hearings have now concluded and oral submissions will be heard in September.

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After weeks of relatively mild summer temperatures across much of Southern California, Mother Nature is turning up the heat next week.

Temperatures this weekend will hover in the mid-80s in downtown Los Angeles, and in the high 80s to mid-90s in the valleys, persisting through at least Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The low clouds and morning fog that hang along the coast and burn off by the early afternoon are also expected to continue  but not for long.

The mercury is forecast to rise on Tuesday, and by Wednesday, it'll be extra toasty across much of Los Angeles County with temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in the valleys and the low 80s along the coast, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

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Read more: City by the Bay? More like City by the Brrr! San Francisco is having its coldest summer in decades

"We're not looking at temperatures like we've seen in some previous summers, where we've gotten to 120 degrees, but it's certainly looking like 5 to 10 degrees above normal," Wofford said.

Downtown Los Angeles could experience temperatures in the mid-90s by the middle of next week. Woodland Hills is forecast to get up to about 107 degrees and Burbank could get up to about 100 degrees, according to the weather service.

Over the last few weeks, a persistent low-pressure system has been lingering in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia, keeping temperatures cooler across much of California. But next week, a high-pressure system will expand from New Mexico and Arizona toward the West Coast, bringing a significant warm-up.

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"We definitely had a pretty quiet July," Wofford said. "We had some warm temperatures in June there for a bit, but July was pretty blah in terms of temperatures."

Widespread strong winds are not expected to accompany next week's warm-up, reducing the risk of serious fire weather conditions, Wofford said.

But it's still early in the fire season, experts warn. With heat waves likely continuing through the rest of the summer, drying out brush, and later fall winds kicking up, it could make for dangerous conditions in the coming months.

As temperatures rise, officials caution the public to stay hydrated, avoid strenuous outdoor activities and check on those who are vulnerable to heat-related illnesses.

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On Wednesday, a 21-year-old hiker collapsed from possible heat stroke while hiking on a trail near Lake Berryessa. Another six hikers were also suffering from heat-related illness and had to be rescued, according to the Vacaville Fire District.

"Take HEAT seriously," the fire district warned in a post on Instagram. "This could have been deadly."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Va. (WJHL)  A Georgia man was arrested by the Washington County, Virginia Sheriffs Office (WCSO) after he allegedly drove to the county with plans to pick up a juvenile girl.

In a news release, the sheriffs office announced William Phillip Stevens, 35, of Louisville, Georgia, was charged with 40 counts of taking indecent liberties with children and attempted abduction and kidnapping.

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Crime Watch

According to the WCSO, Stevens was arrested Tuesday after an online investigation into child exploitation.

Stevens travelled to Washington County, to a secluded area believing that he would be picking up a juvenile female and returning to Georgia with her, the release states.

Arrests made in Washington County, Virginia prostitution investigation

Stevens was arrested without incident, and the investigation remains ongoing as of Friday with Georgia authorities.

The WCSO encouraged parents to be present in their childrens lives and online activities and be aware of the dangers on the internet.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
People in Germany are drinking less beer than ever before, with German breweries selling a total of 3.9 billion litres of alcoholic beer domestically and abroad in the first half of 2025, marking the lowest figure recorded since statistics began in 1993.

This represents a 6.3% decline compared to the same period last year, the Federal Statistical Office said on Friday.

Similar drops were only seen during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and again in the second half of 2023.

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For the first time, beer volume sales fell below the 4 billion litre mark in a six-month period.

Domestic sales, which still make up just under 82% of total volumes, dropped by 6.1%, while exports fell even more sharply, declining by 7.1%.

The German Brewers' Association attributes the decline not only to demographic changes but also to broader economic challenges.

Chief Executive Holger Eichele said: "The poor consumer climate is hitting breweries hard, much like the restaurant and retail sectors."

Eichele also warned that new EU tariff agreements with the US could further increase pressure on exporters.
German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche on Friday called the country's arms industry an "essential component" of economic resilience, arguing it had been long underestimated and must now play a key role in both national security and economic recovery.

"Possibly underestimated in recent decades, and largely ignored even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was clear even before the war in Ukraine that our country must be able to defend itself," Reiche said during a visit to arms manufacturer KNDS in Kassel, where the Leopard 2 battle tank is produced.

Reiche, a member of the conservative Christian Democrats, said economic and security policy are inextricably linked, noting that the defence sector is showing strong growth and innovation.

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Given Germany's current economic stagnation, she suggested the industry could help bolster the country's performance.

While declining to comment on the possibility of the state taking a stake in KNDS, Reiche referred to Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who has previously confirmed the government is exploring the option, though no decision has been made.

KNDS, headquartered in Amsterdam, was formed by the merger of Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter.

According to Borsen-Zeitung, the Wegmann family, who are major shareholders, are reportedly seeking to gradually exit the company that shares their name.

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The push to strengthen the German Armed Forces comes amid rising concerns over Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

The German government plans to significantly increase defence spending in the coming years, partly by relaxing constitutional rules on government borrowing. Last week, the Cabinet approved legislative changes aimed at accelerating arms procurement.
By Riham Alkousaa

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul sought to tone down previous comments about his country's position on Palestinian statehood during a trip to the West Bank on Friday, saying Germany had no immediate plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

Wadephul's comment followed sharp criticism from Israeli officials over his earlier suggestion, before he left for the trip, that Germany could respond to any unilateral Israeli actions with recognition of a Palestinian state.

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Far-right Israeli government minister Itamar Ben-Gvir had written on X: "80 years after the Holocaust, and Germany returns to supporting Nazism".

After meeting Israel's foreign minister, prime minister and president on Thursday evening, Wadephul explained on Friday that Germany did not plan to recognise a Palestinian state immediately, "as that is one of the final steps to be taken" as part of a two-state solution.

Wadephul's attempt to clarify his remarks highlights Germany's longstanding difficulty in taking a clear position on the issue, caught between growing international pressure to hold Israel accountable for its actions and Germany's own post-Holocaust commitment to ensuring Israel's security.

He called on Israel to ensure safe access for United Nations agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, saying the current restrictions were worsening the crisis.

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"The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must end now," Wadephul said, stressing that aid distribution through the UN had long worked effectively and needed to resume without obstacles.

He said Germany would provide an additional 5 million euros ($5.7 million) to the UN World Food Programme to support bakeries and soup kitchens and fund a field hospital in Gaza City.

Asked about Israeli concerns that aid could be diverted by Hamas, Wadephul acknowledged that misuse could not be fully ruled out but said it was no reason to block relief efforts.

"The best way to prevent Hamas from misusing supplies is to deliver more aid and ensure full coverage for the population," he said.

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He also condemned rising violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, adding that Berlin would continue pushing at the European level for sanctions on violent settlers.

($1 = 0.8759 euros)

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Markus Wacket Editing by Miranda Murray)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Friday sharply condemned violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, as he visited the village of Taybeh.

"Such acts are crimes, they are terror and they finally need to be prosecuted," Wadephul said, adding his visit to the West Bank community was "a sign of solidarity with all people suffering under settler violence."

Taybeh has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli settlers over the past few months, amid a surge in violence directed at Palestinian communities in the occupied territories since the October 7 attacks on Israel.

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"As an occupying power and a constitutional state, Israel must enforce security and order and prosecute offences," said Wadephul.

"It must protect the Palestinian population from these offenders," he urged, adding that Berlin is in favour of imposing further sanctions on violent settlers at EU level.
Germany has announced it will deliver two Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, following an agreement with the United States under which Berlin will be first in line to receive replacements for the systems it sends.

Source: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, cited by Reuters; as reported by European Pravda

Details: German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius stated that thanks to US commitments, "Germany can initially support Ukraine with launchers and then with additional Patriot system components".

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The Bundeswehr will first deliver additional Patriot launchers to Ukraine in the coming days, and then, within two to three months, it will hand over other system components.

In return, Germany will receive new Patriot systems from the United States on an accelerated schedule.

Background:

On 14 July, US President Donald Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington that the United States would no longer provide weapons to Ukraine for free  European countries and Canada would now finance the purchases.

Ukraines Ambassador to Germany, in an interview with European Pravda, responded to a question about how many Patriot systems Ukraine expects from Germany by saying the number is currently changing. "We initially asked the Germans to purchase two systems for us from the United States. After the Ramstein meeting, it was publicly announced that the partners were trying to find five systems. However, in reality, we need ten or more," he said.

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BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany said on Friday that it will deliver two Patriot systems to Ukraine after reaching an agreement with the U.S. that Berlin will be first in line to receive the latest systems in return.

Thanks to the U.S. commitment, "Germany can initially support Ukraine with launchers and then with additional Patriot system components," said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in a statement.

The Bundeswehr army will initially deliver additional Patriot launchers to Ukraine in the coming days, followed by additional system components to be handed over in two or three months.

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In return, Berlin will receive new Patriot systems, for which it is providing the funding, from the United States at an accelerated pace.

Ukraine's needs for air defence have grown more urgent as Russia has intensified its nationwide aerial attacks this summer, and the Patriot systems have proven effective at destroying Russian ballistic missiles.

Germany has already delivered three of its Patriot systems to Ukraine and said on Friday that sending the additional systems will not affect its contribution to the NATO defence alliance.

(Writing by Miranda Murray, editing by Rachel More)
Germany is set to provide another 5 million ($5.7 million) in aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday, the second day of his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Wadephul said the money would go to the UN's World Food Programme to be used primarily for "bakeries and soup kitchens to provide the people of Gaza with bread and hot meals in the medium term."

Berlin also plans to fund a field hospital run by the Order of Malta to provide urgently needed basic health care in Gaza City, the minister added.

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Wadephul called on the Israeli government to quickly resume close cooperation with the United Nations and its organizations on the ground to improve the distribution of humanitarian aid in the embattled Gaza Strip.

UN staff had "clearly shown that they are able to provide sufficient supplies to all people in Gaza if they are allowed to do so and if they can work in safety," he said.

While Germany's top diplomat conceded that some of the aid might end up in the hands of the Palestinian extremist group Hamas, he stressed that "the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip is now so great that it is not justified to create further obstacles here."

Moreover, the best way to prevent abuse is to allow as much food and aid as possible into the Gaza Strip, he added.

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Israel is facing an international outcry over the situation in the sealed-off coastal strip after its military campaign of more than 21 months in response to the October 7 attacks has rendered much of the Strip inhabitable, and with aid organizations warning that the population is on the brink of famine.

According to the German Foreign Office, German humanitarian aid for the Palestinian Territories has totalled more than 330 million since the start of the fighting in Gaza in October 2023.

More than 95% of the money is used for the population in the Gaza Strip, it said.
Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that the situation in the Gaza Strip has become "unbearable" and he fears this could lead to the further diplomatic isolation of Israel.

What will be decisive is how quickly the situation in Gaza improves, the top diplomat told German public broadcaster ARD on its nightly news programme.

"The situation must fundamentally improve for the people in the Gaza Strip. The whole world is watching, and this threatens to put Israel in an increasingly difficult position," he said.

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He made similar remarks on the other public channel, ZDF, during its earlier news programme.

During his visit to Israel on Friday, Wadephul emphasized the immense pressure on the situation.

"We urgently need a ceasefire and an agreement on the release of the hostages," he said. The international situation has escalated to the point where Israel is, unfortunately, finding itself increasingly isolated on the global stage.

"This cannot leave Germany indifferent," he added.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the German government would soon decide on its next steps in the Gaza conflict. Speaking in Saarbrucken, Merz said he expected a report from Wadephul on Saturday regarding his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

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When asked whether the government might consider participating in sanctions against Israel, Merz said: "One thing is clear to us: the situation there is unacceptable. It must be resolved as quickly as possible."

The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas terrorists and other Islamists invaded Israel, killing around 1,200 people abducting more than 250 into Gaza.
Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been transferred from a federal correctional facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to a facility in Bryan, Texas, CBS News has learned. No reason was given for the move.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence after she was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls. An appeal of her conviction is currently awaiting action by the Supreme Court, which is set to discuss whether to take up her case at its closed-door conference in late September.

Maxwell had been held at the federal correctional institute in Tallahassee, a low-security facility with a population of nearly 1,200 inmates. The federal prison camp in Bryan, where she's been moved, is considered minimum security and houses 635 inmates, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

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The move was condemned in a statement by several of Epstein and Maxwell's accusers, including the family of Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year.

"It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received. Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas. This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes," they said in a statement.

"The American public should be enraged by the preferential treatment being given to a pedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender. The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better," the statement continued.

A low-security facility like the one in Tallahassee has double-fenced perimeters, components geared toward work and other programs and has mostly dormitory or cubicle housing, according to the Bureau of Prisons. The staff-to-inmate ratio in low-security institutions is also higher than it is in minimum security facilities.

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Minimum security facilities, including the Bryan Federal Prison Camp, have dormitory housing for inmates, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and little or no perimeter fencing, according to the Bureau of Prisons. It also states that these facilities, which are all referred to as Federal Prison Camps, are "work- and program-oriented."

The transfer comes days after Maxwell met with Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tallahassee to discuss Epstein's case last week. Her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, said she answered all of Blanche's questions across two days of talks. Blanche sought to interview Maxwell as the White House and Justice Department have faced pressure to release more information about Epstein and the files the government amassed during its investigation.

The backlash arose after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo earlier this month that concluded Epstein did not have a "client list" and confirmed he died by suicide in jail in 2019, shortly after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges.

The memo also concluded that there was no "credible evidence" that the disgraced financier blackmailed prominent people. The Justice Department and FBI said they did not plan to release any further information about Epstein's case.

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But the findings frustrated some of President Trump's allies, who were skeptical of the Justice Department's claim that there is nothing left to divulge.

In addition to Blanche's interview with Maxwell, the Justice Department asked federal judges in New York who handled Epstein's and Maxwell's cases to unseal transcripts from those grand jury proceedings.

Congressional investigators have also subpoenaed Maxwell to sit for a deposition. But Markus, her lawyer, said she would only be willing to provide lawmakers with information if she were granted immunity by a House committee or clemency by Mr. Trump. The House Oversight Committee said Friday that it will postpone its planned interview until after the Supreme Court considers her appeal on Sept. 29.

Epstein was initially investigated by federal authorities in Florida in the 2000s, which ended in a federal non-prosecution agreement and a guilty plea on state prostitution charges in 2008. He was arrested again on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 and was awaiting trial at the time of his death, which the medical examiner ruled a suicide.

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Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly been moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp Bryan in southeast Texas.

The move, first reported by The New York Sun on Friday, comes a week after Maxwells meetings with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Trumps former personal attorney, regarding the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

The two spoke over a period of two days, during which she indicated she would testify before Congress if granted full immunity from future prosecution, including a presidential pardon.

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Its not clear why the 63-year-old convict was transferred. The Bureau of Prisons couldnt immediately be reached for comment. Its online inmate tracker didnt list a location for inmate #02879-509 early Friday afternoon.

Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison 2022 for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade, according to the Justice Department. Shes appealing her conviction.

The presidents association with the pair is under heavy scrutiny amid reports that he and Epstein  who died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges once had a close relationship.

Trump said earlier this week that he and Epstein had a falling out many years ago after the disgraced financier stole teenage employee Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club, where she worked in the spa in 2000.

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Giuffre died by suicide in April, according to her family, who have insisted that shed been exploited by Epstein and believe Trump may know more than hes telling. Giuffre is not known to have accused Trump of wrongdoing. Hes denied any impropriety involving Epstein and Maxwell.

Trump told New York magazine in 2002 he enjoyed spending time with Epstein.

It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side, he told the magazine.

Trump has since called Epstein a creep and distanced himself from the sex offender, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitutes including a minor.

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Maxwells sweetheart deal places her in a prison that puts her much closer to her family, according to the Daily Beast.

FPC Bryan offers the lowest level of restriction in the federal system  a step down from the low-security FCI Tallahassee she was previously in.

_____
Ghislaine Maxwell has reportedly been moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp Bryan in southeast Texas.

The move, first reported by The New York Sun on Friday, comes a week after Maxwells meetings with U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche  President Donald Trumps former personal attorney  regarding dozens of people allegedly connected to Jeffrey Epstein.

The pair spoke over a period of two days, during which Maxwell indicated she would testify before Congress if granted full immunity from future prosecution, among other conditions including a presidential pardon.

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Its not clear why the 63-year-old convict was transferred, though the sweetheart deal places Maxwell in a prison that puts her much closer to her family, according to the Daily Beast.

The Bureau of Prisons couldnt immediately be reached for comment. Its online inmate tracker didnt list a location for Maxwell as of Friday afternoon.

Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for her role in a scheme to sexually exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade, according to the Justice Department. Shes appealing her conviction.

The presidents association with the pair has been under heavy scrutiny amid public demands for the DOJ to release the so-called Epstein files, as well as reports that Trump was once close friends with the billionaire, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

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Trump told New York magazine in 2002 that he enjoyed spending time with Epstein.

It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side, he told the magazine.

Trump has since called Epstein a creep and distanced himself from the sex offender, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitutes including a minor.

Earlier this week, the president claimed he and Epstein had a falling out many years ago after the disgraced financier stole teenage employee Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club, where she worked in the spa in 2000.

Giuffre later became one of Epsteins most vocal sex abuse accusers. She died by suicide in April, according to her family, who believe Trump may know more about Epsteins alleged activities than hes telling. Giuffre is not known to have accused Trump of wrongdoing, and hes denied any impropriety involving Epstein and Maxwell.

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Giuffres family members and two other alleged Epstein victims sent a statement to media outlets condemning Maxwells prison transfer.

President Trump has sent a clear message today: Pedophiles deserve preferential treatment and their victims do not matter, the statement said.

A Trump administration official told one NBC News reporter the any assertion Maxwell is getting preferential treatment is absurd, saying prisoners are often moved for a multitude of reasons including safety concerns.

FPC Bryan offers the lowest level of restrictions in the federal prison system  a step down from the low-security FCI Tallahassee that Maxwell was previously in. Camp Bryan famously houses convicted Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah, who was convicted in 2023 of running a nearly decade-long nationwide telemarketing scam.

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Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who was serving 20 years in a federal prison in Tallahassee for her role in finding and trafficking children for disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffery Epstein, has been quietly moved to another prison in Texas, a federal Bureau of Prisons official confirmed Aug. 1.

The move comes a week after Maxwell spent two days talking to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trumps former personal defense lawyer. She answered questions for hours each day about what she knew of Epstein's activities, according to her attorney, David Markus, leading to speculation that a deal might be forthcoming.

Maxwells attorneys are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction but they're also seeking a pardon or commutation from Trump in exchange for her cooperation in the Epstein investigation.

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The White House said in a statement to USA TODAY that no leniency is being given or discussed. Trump himself said last week hw was not thinking about clemency for Maxwell at this time.

When asked on July 25 about Trump's comments, Markus said, "We haven't spoken to the president or anybody about a pardon just yet.

We can confirm, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas, BOP Inmate Locator official Benjamin O'Cone said in an email to USA TODAY. The news was first reported by the New York Sun newspaper.

Ghislaine Maxwell in demand for what she knows about Epstein files

Interest in Maxwell has surged lately as the so-called "Epstein files" have dominated the news. Maxwell was Epstein's girlfriend and her relationship with him and her role in his alleged sexual abuse of minor girls has brought back the question of what she knows about other people who may have been involved.

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For weeks now, Trump has been fighting critics and supporters alike over his own possible involvement in Epstein's illegal activities. The Justice Department on July 17 released a memo stating that there was no long-rumored list of Epstein's possible sex-trafficking clients, no evidence he was murdered in prison while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges and no need to release any more information about the investigation.

This came after years of Trump and other prominent conservative leaders claiming that the files would expose a widespread network of elite pedophiles and the former majority-Democratic government's conspiratorial efforts to cover it up. Now cries to release the files are coming from both sides, and Maxwell could potentially implicate the president or clear suspicions.

The White House has not commented on any possible deal. When asked about pardoning her last week, Trump said, Its something I havent thought about.

"I'm allowed to do it," he told reporters before leaving the United States for a trip to Scotland, "but it's something I have not thought about."

Where is Ghislaine Maxwell now?

Maxwell was moved to Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, a minimum security prison for female offenders.

Why was Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Texas?

As of Aug. 1, no reason has been given for the move, which was not announced by the Justice Department or the Bureau of Prisons.

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The Sun reported that Maxwell was transferred by Bureau of Prisons officials instead of the U.S. Marshals Service, which usually oversees interstate inmate transport. She was taken to Federal Correctional Institution Oakdale in Louisiana first, and then to FPC Bryan.

How long is Ghislaine Maxwell's sentence?

Maxwell, 63, was sentenced to 20 years. Barring an early release or pardon, Maxwell will be released on July 17, 2037.

She was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $750,000 fine.

What was Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of? When was she convicted?

Maxwell was found guilty in December 2021 of conspiracy to entice minors to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, conspiracy to transport minors to participate in illegal sex acts, transporting a minor to participate in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking conspiracy, and sex trafficking of a minor.

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From at least 1994 to around 2004, Maxwell helped Epstein "recruit, groom, and ultimately abuse victims" that both of them knew to be under the age of 18, with some as young as 14, prosecutors said.

She identified vulnerable girls, often from single-mother households in difficult financial circumstances, befriended them, remained present during some of their interactions with Epstein, caused some to cross state lines to Epstein's residences, and "normalized and facilitated sexual abuse," the Justice Department said.

Why does Ghislaine Maxwell think she should get a pardon?

Maxwell's family petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in April to overturn her conviction, saying that Epstein had a non-prosecution and plea agreement with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida in 2008 that protected him and any co-conspirators.

The Justice Department, however, has argued the agreement didn't protect co-conspirators from prosecution in other jurisdictions. Maxwell was prosecuted on other charges in Manhattan.

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Lower courts have rejected her attorney's arguments. Her conviction was upheld by a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in 2024.

Will Trump pardon Maxwell?

Unclear. But, as he said, he could. She was charged in a federal court, so the president could commute her sentence or issue a full pardon.

According to journalist and Trump biographer Michael Wolff, Trump considered pardoning Maxwell during his first term but was concerned over what she might say.

But things have been heating up for Trump lately. Many of his previous diehard supporters have turned on him, demanding a release of the files and causing him to lash out at them over what he called the "Jeffrey Epstein hoax."

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Trump was a longtime friend of Epstein's in the 1990s and early 2000s, calling him a "terrific guy" and once saying, "It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." Trump later said he hadn't talked to Epstein for 10 or 15 years, blaming it first on Epstein reportedly acting inappropriately to the daughter of a member, although it may have been due to bad blood over a property deal.

On July 30, Trump changed his story, telling reporters that Epstein "stole" Virginia Giuffre  one of Epsteins most prominent and outspoken sex trafficking accusers  while she was working at his Mar-a-Lago resort as a spa attendant and he banned his former friend after he tried to poach more employees.

"I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people," Trump said. "He stole her. And by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever."

In a lengthy statement, Giuffre's family rejected Trump's characterization, saying she was "stolen" by Maxwell, not Epstein.

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"We would like to clarify that it was convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell who targeted and preyed upon our then 16-year-old sister, Virginia, from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working in 2000, several years before Epstein and President Trump had their falling out," the family said.

Guiffre died in April from an overdose following a car crash.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ghislaine Maxwell moved to Texas after talking to Trump lawyer
After meeting last week with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said he wanted to learn what she knows about Jeffrey Epstein, the federal Bureau of Prisons moved Ghislaine Maxwell from a low-security facility in Florida to a minimum-security camp in Texas.

The move raises several questions, and officials didnt give a reason for the Maxwell move. But lets look briefly at what we know up to this point.

President Donald Trump has faced atypical political backlash from his supporters because his administration has not released all its information related to Epstein, who died in 2019 in what the medical examiner called a suicide while being held on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was subsequently convicted of conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors, and shes appealing her conviction and 20-year sentence with a pending petition at the Supreme Court.

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Meanwhile, Blanche, who was Trumps personal criminal defense lawyer before Trump named him to a high-ranking DOJ post, met with Maxwell in his stated effort to obtain information from her. Its not publicly known what they discussed.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has also moved to depose Maxwell in prison, which her lawyers have objected to without certain conditions being met  but they said shed be happy to testify if Trump grants her clemency first.

Maxwell was previously held in FCI Tallahassee, which the BOPs website describes as a low-security correctional institution with a detention center that has both male and female inmates. Maxwells new housing is FPC Bryan, which the BOP describes as a minimum-security federal prison camp with only female offenders.

One of the questions raised by Maxwells move to a lower-security facility is whether it might indicate that Trump is going to pardon her, commute her sentence or both.

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But it doesnt have to mean that, at least not directly, because if Trump wanted to grant Maxwell clemency, he couldve done so already no matter where shes housed.

Still, the move could facilitate the conditions for a more productive relationship between Maxwell and the administration, which could ultimately lead to the administration providing some sort of legal relief for her, including a pardon.

Again, the details of the highly unusual Blanche-Maxwell summit have yet to become public. But it wouldnt be surprising if, in connection with discussions about potential cooperation, Maxwells counsel told the government that she wanted to move to a different facility for one reason or another. So to the extent that Maxwell was moved to a facility that she believes is more comfortable for her, could that begin to jog her memory about information that would be politically advantageous to the administration?

Time will tell, as will the degree to which this helps Trump politically, given that the move seems to add more questions to an already conspiracy-rich saga.

Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for expert analysis on the top legal stories of the week, including updates from the Supreme Court and developments in the Trump administrations legal cases.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been moved from a Florida prison to a new minimum-security facility in Texas, authorities have confirmed.

The move comes as Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, has pressed the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction while also seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Earlier in July, Maxwell held two meetings with the Deputy US Attorney General, the details of which have not been made public.

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Maxwell has been at the centre of controversy surrounding the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files, and the reasons for her transfer from the Florida prison are unclear.

While speculation has been rife that Trump may pardon Maxwell, the White House has previously said "no leniency is being given or discussed".

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on Maxwell's move to Texas.

"We can confirm Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas," the BOP said in a statement on Friday.

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Maxwell's attorney, David Oscar Markus, confirmed the transfer but declined further comment.

In a statement, the family of the late Virginia Giuffre - one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims - expressed their "horror and disgust" at what they described as the "preferential treatment" given to Ghislaine Maxwell.

They further condemned the move as having been made "without any notification to Maxwell's victims".

"This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes," the statement said. "The American public should be outraged by the special treatment afforded to a pedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender."

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The facility, FPC Bryant, is located about 100 miles (160km) from the Texas capital of Austin.

Like other federal prison camps, inmates at FPC Bryant are housed in dormitories, with a low staff-to-inmate ratio compared to other, more secure federal prisons. It houses inmates serving time for non-violent offences and white-collar crimes.

Also housed among the approximately 650 female inmates at the facility is disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence after being found guilty of defrauding investors in her blood-testing start-up in 2022.

By comparison, the facility where Maxwell was housed in Florida, FCI Tallahassee, houses over 800 inmates, both men and women. Both facilities are officially deemed to be "low-security" federal prisons.

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While discipline is strict at the facility and all prisoners are expected to work, they also have access to foreign language and business classes, can play sports, watch television and attend religious services.

Contact with family members is allowed to video calls, and inmates are permitted visitors during weekends and holidays, according to a prison handbook published by authorities online.

Less than a week ago, Maxwell's legal team indicated that she was willing to testify before Congress on what she knows about the case, but only if she is granted strict legal protections.

However on Friday, the scheduled 11 August deposition was indefinitely postponed, the chair of the House Oversight Committee announced.

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Rep James Comer said while the committee was "willing to continue to engage in good faith negotiations", it would not grant her congressional immunity or provide questions in advance, two conditions Maxwell's lawyers had requested.

Earlier in July, she held two meetings with Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said he planned to see if she could provide additional information on other people who might have been helped by Epstein to sexually abuse girls.

After the meetings, he said that he would reveal what he learned at an "appropriate time". Maxwell's lawyer has said that she has not made promises or sought anything in exchange.

Pressure has been growing on President Trump to release more files related to the Epstein case, after he repeatedly promised to do so while on the campaign trail last year.

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Trump has instead accused political rivals of using the case to distract from his achievements since returning to office.
Ghislaine Maxwell has been quietly moved to a minimum-security prison in Texas.

The British socialite and former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein is currently serving a 20-year jail sentence for procuring underage girls for the paedophile financier.

Maxwell was being held at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, but was relocated to a minimum security prison this week.

The transfer comes a week after she was interviewed by Todd Blanche, Donald Trumps deputy attorney general.

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Her legal team appear to be capitalising on the Trump administrations recent interest in their clients case, agreeing she will testify before Congress if demands over her release are met.

Maxwells lawyer, David Oscar Markus, confirmed the transfer in a statement to The Telegraph.

He said: We can confirm that she is being moved but have no further comment at this time.

The disgraced socialite is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan in Bryan, Texas, a Bureau of Prisons spokesman told The New York Sun.

Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, where Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to - Mark Felix/AFP

A source with knowledge of the situation told the newspaper that Ms Maxwell was temporarily moved to FCI Oakdale in Louisiana prior to her move to Texas.

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She is not staying in Oakdale, the source said. It was a brief stopover. Officials from Texas were expected to take custody of her shortly after the handoff, and she is being moved again to an undisclosed location.

Inmates at minimum security institutions, also known as federal prison camps, benefit from low prison guard-to-inmate ratio, and limited to no perimeter fencing.

At the Texas prison, Maxwell will sleep in dormitory housing and have access to off-site work programmes.

It is the same prison facility where Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, is serving her 11-year sentence.

Maxwell was temporarily moved to FCI Oakdale in Louisiana

The 37-acre all-female facility is home to more than 500 inmates, most of whom are serving time for non-violent offences and white-collar crimes.

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According to the prison handbook, life at the prison is centred around work, with inmates earning up to $1.15 an hour for their jobs  many of which involve food service and factory work.

Beyond work, inmates may take classes on foreign languages and business skills, play sports, watch television and attend religious services, the handbook states.

The prison features on a list of the best federal prisons to serve time in, compiled by Elizabeth Franklin Best, a criminal defence lawyers consultancy.

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, left, arrives, flanked by prison officials, at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas - Mark Felix/AFP

According to the lawyers, the facility allows prisoners to train dogs to become service animals, through a partnership with Canine Companions for Independence.

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It also subscribes to a rehabilitation programme called assert yourself for female offenders, where women learn to be assertive without trampling the rights of others, according to a DoJ document from 2020.

Maxwell begged Trump to be freed

On July 22, Mr Trump permitted the DoJ to interview Maxwell and did not rule out offering the British socialite a pardon in exchange for information.

Maxwell has since begged the US president to free her from prison. However, Mr Trump said on Friday that nobody had asked him to grant clemency to Maxwell.

Im allowed to do it, but nobodys asked me to do it. I know nothing about it. I dont know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it, he told Newsmax.

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Maxwell has long argued her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction should be overturned because of a 2007 plea deal that promised immunity for Epsteins accomplices. She is the only person who has been convicted in connection with his crimes.

Her legal team appear to be capitalising on the Trump administrations recent interest in their clients case, agreeing she will testify before Congress if demands over her release are met.

Maxwells transfer was allegedly handled by BOP officials directly rather than the US Marshals service, which usually deals with interstate inmate transport.

Georgia prison inmates Stephanie Walker, left, and Marcia Wall spend some quiet time with their Labrador puppies during guide dog training at Metro State Prison - Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images

Mr Trump has come under extreme pressure from members of his own party to release the so-called Epstein files after the Department of Justice and FBI said he did not possess a client list and died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.

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On Monday, Mr Trump once again declined to rule out offering the British socialite a pardon, telling reporters: Well, Im allowed to give her a pardon but nobodys approached me with it.

The family of the late Virginia Giuffre, one of Epsteins first accusers who also accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, which he denied, said offering Maxwell a pardon would send a chilling messages to survivors of sexual abuse.

Were talking about a sex trafficker, a monster that could do unspeakable things to young women without conscience, Ms Wilson, Giuffres sister-in-law, said. So what would she do to get herself out of the situation that shes in?

She added: It does send a message to the survivors that, you know, if youre in power, if youve got money, if youve got connections, then youre above the law.

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Its just sending a message to survivors that their voices and all of the hard work that theyve done for the last however many years, 10-plus years, doesnt matter.

A number of Epstein survivors and the family of victim Virginia Giuffre released a statement condemning Maxwells transfer. It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received.

Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas, the statement said.

Annie and Maria Farmer and the family of Giuffre said the justice system had failed them.

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The American public should be enraged by the preferential treatment being given to a paedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender. The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better.

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(NewsNation)  Wall Street opened lower Friday as President Donald Trumps trade deadline took effect, with the nations three major indices falling by roughly 1% in the first few minutes of trading.

The S&P 500 fell 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 383 points (0.8%) and the Nasdaq composite was down 1.4%.

The markets tumble and weak job growth in the July jobs report followed a last-minute executive order establishing new tariffs on a wide swath of the United States trading partners.

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Which countries will get free trade deals done? Heres what bettors think

The order imposed levies ranging from 10% to 41%, which are now set to take effect Aug. 7. Tariffs on the three largest U.S. trading partners  Mexico, Canada and China  are being handled differently.

The announcement threw world shares off-kilter, with early European trading seeing drops in Germany, Britain and France. Asian shares tumbled too  including in South Korea and Japan, two countries that had reached deals with the U.S.

Trump signs order imposing tariffs on 90+ trading partners

Trump signed an executive order on Thursday night, solidifying tariffs on more than 90 countries.

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Set to go into effect a week from Friday, the worldwide levies came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in the last several days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of Trumps self-imposed deadline.

New tariffs could raise prices of Ozempic, Wegovy

The U.S. has cut deals with 12 of its top 18 trade partners, including Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the European Union. All those deals included not only tariff negotiations, but also billions invested into the U.S.

Trump increases tariffs on Canada to 35%

The president still has an uphill battle with some of the countries that havent made a deal.

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On Thursday, Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to extend trade talks  and deadlines  for another 90 days, despite Trumps insistence that his deadline would not waver. China also received an extension.

Trump administration to construct $200 million ballroom in White House

Trump also raised levies on Canada, from 25% to 35%, starting Friday, citing a lack of cooperation to curb illicit drugs.

The announcement from the White House late Thursday and said Canada had failed to do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept  traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.

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Trump previously said Canadas decision to recognize the Palestinian state complicated efforts to broker a trade agreement.

NewsNation partner The Hill and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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GREENFIELD  A hot dog on a bun, carton of milk and some fruit  including locally grown peaches  in a brown bag drew more than 100 families, a congressman and a state cabinet secretary to the parking lot of Greenfield High School Friday.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, visited this Greenfield Summer Eats pickup location where families were also grabbing food in this case a nacho kit, peanut butter, jelly, more cartons of milk and more fruit  to tide them over for the weekend.

Because without these programs, a lot of kids will go without. Look, you know, food insecurity and hunger are real problems in Massachusetts and throughout the country, said McGovern, whos made hunger and nutrition a focus. And when kids dont get enough nutrition, they dont learn when they go to school. T heyre more likely to have health issues. Its the same for anybody of any age for that matter.

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McGoverns Central Massachusetts district stretches into Hampshire and Franklin counties, also included a stop at a program in Orange as part of his 11th annual hunger tour.

This years tour comes weeks after the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress passed a new domestic budget and policy bill.

The bill spared school nutrition programs like Greenfield Eats, said Jennifer Lemmerman, chief policy officer for Project Bread, which advocates for and helps run summer food programs around the state including Greenfield.

Lemmerman said the bill does cut $200 billion from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and has cuts for Medicaid. Both those programs promote school nutrition programs and help get the word out about summer nutrition.

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Summer programs like this one helps strapped families that normally rely on free school breakfast and lunch programs meet needs over the summer.

McGovern said some changes to SNAP  like work requirements for parents of teens  start in just a few weeks despite the real cuts being delayed until after the 2026 elections.

People are going to feel that in this community. Look, theres nothing more important, theres no job more important than being a parent, McGovern said. And for Washington to try to make it more difficult for parents to be able to take care of their kids, especially when theyre teenagers. I think it is kind of a rotten thing to do.

The Trump administration has already eliminated the farm-to-school program that p[aid local farms to grow fresh foods for schools and summer nutrition programs.

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Teri Poirier is the Summer Eats program manager for Greenfield Schools. She said 15 sites serve about 52,000 meals this summer from June through the end of August.

The idea is to fill the gap, Poirier said.

Grateful for McGoverns support, she said the program needs to keep going after what happens in Washington.

We are going to feed the kids, she said.

McGovern observed as families pulled up for dive-though service or walked to a few tables to get their food.

Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler was also there,

 These are the strategies to meet that need, he said.  You see the cars pulling up, you see the young people coming to grab meals for the day and into the weekend. 

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Melinda Griffin of nearby Northfield walked up with her two children. Its hard to keep up with bills.

Everything is getting more expensive, she said.

McGovern said hes continuing to fight in Congress for food programs like this one, and for SNAP.

I think at the end of the day, were going to ultimately succeed because I think most people in this country are good, he said. They understand the value of investing in nutrition. They get it.

Read the original article on MassLive.
TRAVERSE CITY  The folks who took down the Walmart stabbing suspect are getting a whole lotta love in northern Michigan, especially the good Samaritan with the gun.

The Iron Pig Smokehouse in Gaylord is offering free barbecue meals for life to the gunman who confronted the knife-wielding man in the Walmart parking lot, along with the other civilians who cornered the suspect that day.

Deadstream Deli announced on Facebook that it would "love to offer" the gunman "a free meal on the house whenever it's convenient to take the scenic drive to Honor! Thank you for your bravery and quick actions in protecting the public!"

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Roy's General Store in Traverse City is offering free fountain pop and coffee all week to CPL holders "as a thank-you for being prepared" and to honor those who stepped up "in the tragedy over at Walmart."

The owners of Roys General Store in Traverse City are offering CPL holders free fountain pop or coffee on Thursday, July 31, 2025, after a stabbing on Saturday, July 26, at a Walmart near Traverse City. Derrick Perry, a Concealed Pistol License holder, helped subdue suspect Bradford James Gille after a mass stabbing at the Walmart.

On July 26, in the middle of a busy shopping day in a popular vacation beach town, a Walmart store became the scene of unimaginable terror after a man with a folding knife randomly attacked shoppers of all ages with his 3-inch blade. The attack sent 11 people to the hospital  six men and five women with ages ranging from 29 to 84.

All of them survived.

But it could have been much, much worse, local residents and officials say, were it not for the bystanders who ran toward the knife-wielding man, rammed him with a shopping cart, and yelled at him to "drop the knife."

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As the community continues to pray for the victims, it remains heavily focused on these civilians who intervened.

And perhaps most notable, the man who pulled out a gun.

"It was an amazing thing that those fellas did," said Iron Pig Smokehouse restaurant owner Ian Murphy, who watched many of the videos that surfaced online of the parking lot takedown. He said the bystanders' actions inspired him to offer them free meals at his restaurant for life, and that he especially marveled at the actions of the man who pulled a pistol on the suspect, "and the restraint that he showed."

"He's a pretty humble guy," Murphy said of Derrick Perry, the Marine veteran who pulled a gun on the stabbing suspect, yet said he never considered pulling the trigger.

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"I ultimately just wanted him to put the knife down and back away until law enforcement got there. I did not see myself as any type of judge, jury or executioner," Perry said in an interview with "Good Morning America." "I just wanted everyone to be safe."

Murphy, who noted he's not sure whether he could have shown the same restraint, said Perry called him this week to thank him for the free food offer. He said he told Perry to come in anytime, and that he looked forward to also buying him a beer.

In a region known for cherries, beaches and wineries, this is a glimpse into the community spirit that has enveloped Traverse City following the horrific tragedy that brought nearly a dozen families to their knees as their loved ones were rushed to the hospital with serious stab wounds.

As of Friday Aug. 1, four remain hospitalized in good condition at Munson Medical Center. Two have been treated and transferred elsewhere and five have gone home.

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"In addition to physical healing, we recognize the importance of emotional and mental health support," Munson Medical Center said in a statement on July 30, stressing: "Confidential, compassionate help is available at Grand Traverse Mental Health Crisis and Access Center."

While the victims recover, life appeared to be returning to normal in Traverse City this week. The restaurants were filled with smiling customers. Swimmers took to the beaches. Outdoor volleyball courts bustled with activity. And the boutiques and craft shops bustled with business.

Still, against this backdrop, locals looked for ways to lift the spirits of those affected by the Walmart tragedy.

At Blair Township Community Park, a few miles southwest of downtown Traverse City, Emily DeFrance and her 7-year-old son, Hudson, spent part of Thursday afternoon stringing beads and charms together to form key chains, which they plan to donate to employees at the Walmart store in town.

Hudson DeFrance-Monroe, 7, and his mom, Emily DeFrance, 28, of Traverse City, make beaded key chains at Blair Township Community Park for the employees of Walmart on Thursday July 31, 2025, following the July 26 mass stabbing that sent 11 shoppers to the hospital.

DeFrance, 28, said her son didnt know all the details of the stabbings at Walmart, only that several people were hurt and that the store employees rushed to help them. She said her son likes to make cards for people going through hard times, and considered making beaded bracelets for the employees.

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But then they realized that different employees would wear different sizes, she said, "So we've decided key chains were the best idea."

DeFrance said she plans to drop off the key chains next week for distribution to the estimated 500-600 employees who rotate through the store.

Local response to the mass stabbing has triggered emotions of all sorts, if the Overheard in Traverse City Facebook group is any indication.

For example, when the Roy General Store offered free pop and coffee to CPL owners, the gesture triggered varying responses on Facebook.

"I think this is a nice way to encourage responsible gun owners to protect our community if needed. Good on you guys," one Facebook user wrote of the General Store promotion.

The owners of Roys General Store in Traverse City are offering CPL holders free fountain pop or coffee on Thursday, July 31, 2025, after a stabbing on Saturday, July 26, at a Walmart near Traverse City. Derrick Perry, a Concealed Pistol License holder, helped subdue suspect Bradford James Gille after a mass stabbing at the Walmart.

Another person asked: "Why not hold a fundraiser for mental health instead?" While another person took issue with it:

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"Shame !! Traverse City mourns the heinous attack on our neighbors, shaking our community to the core and you are advertising free coffee in celebration of this terrible, bloody attack? As a 15 year CPL holder and gun advocate I am sickened by this."

Roy's General Store acknowledged some of the criticism, but scoffed at it, stating in a Facebook video that the business isn't making any money off this  it's giving away free drinks. And it's doing so to honor the bravery of those who intervened in a terrible tragedy.

"We're getting a lot of foot traffic because of it," store clerk Dylan Willcock said of the promotion, noting about a dozen CPL owners had taken advantage of the free drinks in two days. "I think that was the right way to do it because you're rewarding safety."

According to police, civilians helped subdue the suspect until law enforcement arrived and arrested him.

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The defendant, 42-year-old Bradford James Gille, who has a history of mental health struggles and numerous run-ins with the law, is facing terrorism and assault with intent to murder charges. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. He remains jailed on a $1 million bond and has pleaded not guilty.

Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Traverse City Walmart stabbing: Good Samaritan with gun gets free BBQ
A missing water monitor whose been on the lam for weeks once again evaded capture near the Connecticut border.

According to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, the lizard was spotted on July 30 in the town of Douglas.

A concerned resident snapped this photo of the reptile along the roadway.

Wildlife officials responded to the scene but were unable to located the lizard.

Environmental police are reminding residents not to approach the animal if spotted and not to attempt to capture or interact with it.

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Anyone who sees the lizard is asked to contact environmental police at 800-632-8075 or Webster Police/Animal Control at 508-943-1212.

Youre not going to find it: Lizard hunter comes up empty after search for Webster water monitor

On July 18, a five-foot-long water monitor named Goose escaped from his home in Webster.

Its caught the attention of communities near and far, as well as reptile experts like Jean-Paul LaPierre, whos tracked down lizards, snakes, and more in Massachusetts communities for decades.

Its a needle in a haystack, said LaPierre.

On July 25, the reptile was spotted in Thompson, Connecticut.

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Authorities are reminding residents that water monitor lizards are illegal to possess in Massachusetts without a permit.

The search for Goose continues.

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DOUGLAS, Mass. (WWLP)  The elusive water monitor lizard named Goose, missing since mid-July, has once again resurfaced, this time in Douglas, Massachusetts.

Nearly two weeks after it was first reported loose in Webster and later spotted in nearby Thompson, Connecticut, Goose the water monitor lizard was spotted on Wednesday, July 30, in Douglas.

Missing water monitor lizard in Webster (Massachusetts Environmental Police)

Missing water monitor lizard in Webster (Webster Animal Control)

Search for missing 5-foot water monitor lizard in Massachusetts

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According to a new update issued Thursday by the Massachusetts Environmental Police, a confirmed sighting of the five-foot-long reptile was reported on July 30 in Douglas. A citizen captured a photograph of the lizard and quickly alerted authorities.

Courtesy of Massachusetts Environmental Police

Officers were unable to locate Goose. Authorities are now working closely with Rain Forest Reptiles, a group of reptile specialists, to assist in safely capturing the animal.

Water monitor lizard resurfaces in Connecticut after vanishing in Massachusetts

Originally reported missing on July 18 in the area of Blueberry Lane in Webster, Goose was later spotted on July 25 across the Connecticut border near Little Pond and Wilsonville Road in Thompson. The lizard is believed to have traveled over six miles by vehicle distance or approximately 2.25 miles in a straight line between those sightings.

WWLP-22News

Officials are warning the public not to approach or try to capture the lizard. Instead, they advise anyone who sees it to leave the area immediately and report the sighting to local authorities.

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Residents are also being urged to keep pets and children away from brush, woodpiles, bodies of water, and other possible hiding areas where the lizard may seek shelter or sun itself.

Water monitor lizards are illegal to own in Massachusetts without proper permitting. The Massachusetts Environmental Police are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding Gooses possession and escape.

The public is encouraged to report sightings to:

Massachusetts Environmental Police: 800-632-8075 (Press #1)

Webster Police/Animal Control: 508-943-1212 ext. 1240

Officials emphasized the importance of public cooperation and awareness as they continue efforts to locate the animal safely.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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BOSTON (WWLP)  Governor Healey announced an initiative dubbed DRIVE on Thursday, which stands for Discovery, Research, and Innovation for a Vibrant Economy.

Cell phone ban passes among other top priorities

Massachusetts is home to one in ten research and development jobs in the country, and the governors bill intends to keep it that way despite widespread economic uncertainty.

The DRIVE bill seeks to use $400 million dollars to create and retain jobs and support research and innovation. Half of the funding will go to research projects at hospitals, universities, and independent institutions, with the other half going to public higher education institutions.

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Massachusetts is Americas leader in healthcare, innovation, and discovery. Theres no state that packs a punch like Massachusetts, said Governor Healey.

The president of the University of Massachusetts system says much of the Bay States economic success can be attributed to research institutions, underscoring the importance of funding these projects. Governor Healey today is sending a message that Massachusetts is standing up for research, innovation, and jobs, said UMasss Marty Meehan.

The job-boosting plan comes as Massachusetts lost over $1.2 billion in federal grants, lost nearly 2,000 payroll jobs in June, and both the executive branch and the House and in a hiring freeze.

Both the House and Senate will need to vote to approve the governors plan before it can be implemented.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP.
The Indiana Department of Correction will work to make available up to 1,000 beds at the Miami Correctional Facility for immigrant detainees, Gov. Mike Braun's office announced Aug. 1.

This is one of several agreements between state agencies and immigration officials to ramp up arrests and detention of undocumented immigrants in Indiana  part of an ongoing collaboration with the federal government to execute President Donald Trump's plan for mass deportations.

State law enforcement officers, including Indiana State Police troopers, can now arrest and detain people for immigration violations, duties normally left to federal officers, under an agreement to participate in the 287(g) program, according to Braun's office. The program authorizes local and state police officers to enforce immigration laws, including arresting and detaining people in the country illegally who are accused of or convicted of crimes. At least four other local law enforcement agencies have previously signed up to participate.

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Indiana Department of Correction officers also now have the authority to identify and deport immigrants incarcerated at IDOC facilities and to perform other immigration enforcement duties, according to Braun's office.

Miami Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison located at the former Grissom Air Force Base about 70 miles north of Indianapolis, can house up to about 3,100 men. Annie Goeller, chief communications officer for IDOC, said part of the facility has not been filled because of staffing shortage.

In January, Braun signed an executive order directing state law enforcement agencies "fully cooperate" with the federal crack down on illegal immigration, including investigating, arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants.

"That commitment has not wavered and Gov. Braun is ready to deploy any and all resources to assist President Trump and ICE," said Molly Craft, Braun's deputy chief of staff.

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A continuing surge in arrests, coupled with a new federal policy that disqualifies immigrants from bond hearings, has created an increased demand for more bed spaces and detention facilities. In the past, immigration judges have allowed immigrants who are not considered a threat or a flight risk and have community ties to be released while they fight deportation. But the Trump administration has circumvented the years-long practice.

Advocates say this means more and more immigrants  regardless of criminal history  will be detained for longer periods of time while their cases are pending.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has relied on a large network of jails, state and federal facilities to hold immigrant detainees facing deportation. In Indiana, four county jails, including Marion County, have contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service to house ICE detainees. The federal government pays the local jails a per diem rate for each detainee, as well as transportation and meal costs.

Jail data shows population at local jails has skyrocketed during the Trump administration.

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Clay County in Brazil, just outside of Terre Haute, is home to one of the largest ICE detention centers in the Midwest. In 2024, Clay County Jail, which has been housing ICE detainees since 2013, held about 1,000 people facing immigration enforcement, according to jail data. In the first five months of this year, more than twice as many immigrants have already been detained at the jail.

Marion County has more modest, albeit also rising numbers. In 2024, the Marion County Adult Detention Center held more than 500 ICE detainees, according to jail data. In the first five months of this year, that number has already reached 700.

Two other ICE detention centers in the state are in Clark and Clinton counties.

Camp Atterbury to house up to 1,000 ICE detainees

Camp Atterbury, located near Edinburgh, Indiana.

The Trump administration is already planning to use Camp Atterbury, a military training facility south of Indianapolis, to house ICE detainees, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported last month.

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A spokesperson for Democratic U.S. Rep Andre Carson told IndyStar that few of the congressmans questions about the plan have been answered. However, his office said the Department of Homeland Security indicated in writing that Camp Atterbury, once used to house World War II prisoners of war and more recently newly arrived Afghan refugees, is being prepared to hold up to 1,000 ICE detainees.

It's still unclear when the base will be repurposed as an immigration detention camp. Neither ICE nor the Indiana National Guard responded to an IndyStar inquiry about the matter.

Camp Atterbury is in Edinburgh, a town of roughly 4,400 people along Interstate 65. The federally owned military training base, licensed to and operated by the Indiana National Guard, sits on more than 34,000 areas west of the interstate and U.S. Route 31.

Area churches and immigration advocates have already started preparing for what could come. About a week after the news broke, Columbus Community United, a grassroots coalition, held a July 29 community meeting to discuss the plan for Camp Atterbury and offer support to the local immigrant community.

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The Rev. Felipe Martinez, of First Presbyterian Church in Columbus, said speakers advised immigrant neighbors of their rights and offered guidance about how mixed-status families could create an emergency plan if a loved one is detained by ICE. Martinez said the group also has begun strategizing about how to support people who might end up at Camp Atterbury.

He and several other religious leaders intend to contact the base's leadership to let them know of their desire to support the emotional and spiritual needs of detainees. He's hoping to leverage past relationships cultivated with the base when his church and others helped Afghan refugees housed at the base after they arrived in the country.

In 2021, government officials and aid organizations transformed the military training site into a temporary home for some of the men, women and children who fled Afghanistan as the Taliban swept across the country in August.

"We have experienced Camp Atterbury as a place of hospitality," Martinez told IndyStar. "It is jarring to experience this phase."

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IndyStar reporter Noe Padilla contributed. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gov. Mike Braun plans to use 'all resources' in deportation efforts
(COLORADO SPRINGS)  Ahead of Colorado Day on Aug. 1, which celebrates the founding of our state, Governor Jared Polis was in Colorado Springs to bolster support for small businesses across the Centennial State.

On Thursday, July 31, Polis visited Goat Patch Brewing Company to promote support for small businesses that contribute to the foundation of Colorado and its economy. The Governor took a tour of the brewerys taproom and brewing facility, and got to taste the delicious offerings on tap at Goat Patch.

Courtesy: FOX21 News photojournalist Adam Drake Courtesy: FOX21 News photojournalist Adam Drake Courtesy: FOX21 News photojournalist Adam Drake Courtesy: FOX21 News photojournalist Adam Drake Courtesy: FOX21 News photojournalist Adam Drake

The Brewery is celebrating its 8th anniversary in tandem with the 149th birthday of the State of Colorado, with special deals all weekend.

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In honor of Colorado Day, there will be statewide celebrations through Aug. 3. On Friday, Coloradans can check out an open house at the Governors house and the State Capitol, and support local food trucks at both.

On Aug. 2, locals can visit free celebrations at the Center for Colorado Womens History and History Colorado Center featuring live performances, arts and crafts, and food vendors.

Colorado day is this Friday, thats our 149th anniversary as a state, so were really celebrating across the state. So many small businesses, neighborhoods, theyre all doing great events, so I visited Goat Patch here in Colorado Springs, they have some specials going on for Colorado Day!

You can head to Goat Patch Brewing Company all weekend, located at 2727 N Cascade Ave #123, to take advantage of Colorado Day deals, and visit Celebrate.Colorado.gov to find discounts across Colorado.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  With over 100,000 acres burnt due to the ongoing wildfires, Governor Spencer Cox (R-Utah) has issued a state of emergency.

According to the latest information from Utah Fire Info, Utah has had a total of 695 fires that has burnt nearly 115,021 acres. The order, which goes into effect immediately, allows any and all available state resources to be used against ongoing wildfires in the state. The order is expected to last for 30 days.

According to the Governors office, nearly $103 million has been spent across local, state and federal agencies on suppression efforts.

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There have been twenty-two Red Flag Warning days so far this year. High winds and dry conditions have allowed some fires, like the Monroe Canyon Fire, to grow significantly. That fire is currently burning over 48,000 acres.

Monroe Canyon Fire grows over 11,000 acres in 24 hours, crosses 48,000 acres due to active winds

Heroic efforts are underway as firefighters and emergency personnel work around the clock to save homes and neighborhoods, Cox said, We are mobilizing every tool at our disposal to support them and keep Utahns safe.

In addition to releasing resources, this executive order also authorizes the government to deploy the Utah National Guard and streamlines assistance for local government, according to the Office of the Governor.

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Cox also urged the public to practice fire sense and reduce sparks as 72% of Utahs wildfires have been human-caused this year.

Latest headlines:

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Montgomery, Ala. (WDHN)  Alabama high school seniors now have a new, simplified path to higher education, thanks to a statewide initiative announced by Governor Kay Ivey.

The Direct Admissions Initiative will automatically admit eligible seniors to participating colleges and universities across the state  no formal application required.

The program aims to eliminate barriers that often deter students from underserved communities from pursuing higher education.

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A total of 39 institutions have signed on to the initiative, including 23 community colleges.

Among the participating schools are Enterprise State Community College, Wallace Community College, Lurleen B. Wallace Community College, and Troy University.

This helps our young people make informed decisions about their future, said Governor Ivey. Whether that means preparing for a two-year degree, a four-year university, or technical credentials that lead straight to a good-paying Alabama job.

State officials say the Direct Admissions Initiative is part of a broader effort to build Alabamas future workforce and ensure all students  regardless of background  have the opportunity to succeed.

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A ZIP code should never determine a students opportunity, Governor Ivey emphasized.

The initiative is expected to roll out during the upcoming academic year and will include additional support to help students and families navigate the transition from high school to college.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WARREN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes)  Grace Juanita Brenneman, 92, went to heaven on Friday, February 28, 2025, in Warren, Ohio.

She was born August 3, 1932, in Niles, Ohio to Ernest and Mary Reahle.

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Grace was raised in a spiritual Italian American home, the eldest sibling to James and Ernest. She graduated from Niles McKinley High School and married James Brenneman, with whom she had three children: Diana, Jim and John. After her husband returned from the Army with fatal MS, Grace courageously raised her children alone in the red brick home her father helped build on Draper Street. She was most proud of what her children accomplished.

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She lived simply but richly, devoted to her faith, her family and the importance of daily life. She prayed and read her Bible and every day (especially Psalms) and kept her Christmas tree up year-round. She loved food and cooked abundant meals, such as roasted chicken, macaroni/potato/cucumber salads, liver and onions and spaghetti and meatballs.

Grace had a gift for truly listening and an immense, graceful will to live. She advised, Pray to God to help you through, and knew everything is in Gods hands. She had a lightning memory, the strength to stand firm in her beliefs, forgiveness for those who made her path harder and an incredibly resourceful heart.

She delighted in strawberry picking with her daughter, sewing hair bows, secondhand treasure hunting, beach trips with her son Jim, weekly errands, Carmens pizza, donuts and going to the hot dogs shop. She adored spending time with her grandchildren.

When family said I love you, Grace always replied, I love you more. She survived by her children, Diana (David) Fowler, James (Kathy) Brenneman and John (Sandy) Brenneman; brother, James Reahle; grand/great grandchildren, James Brenneman, Erin and Aurora Fowler, Chris Lipnik, Jessica and Robert Brenneman and Lindsay (James) Hoertt.

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She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Ernest Reahle; former husband, James Brenneman; daughter-in-law, Kathy Brenneman; grandsons, Sean Fowler and Matt Lipnick.

Her celebration of life will be held August 7, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. at Pineview Cemetery in Warren, Ohio.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Carl W. Hall Funeral Home.

A television tribute will air Sunday, August 3 at the following approximate times: 6:27 p.m. on WYTV and 6:58 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
For Missouri landowners, Grain Belt Express appeared to be an unstoppable force.

Those who found themselves in the path of this 800-mile, high-voltage power line received consoling words from county commissioners or state legislators. But talk is cheap. Like the wind itself, Grain Belt Express barreled forward and blew right through the opposition.

When one side has homemade Stop Grain Belt Express" signs and the other has former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon as legal counsel, guess who wins?

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Last week, opponents of this long-haul transmission line received some good news. The Department of Energy canceled a $4.9 billion loan guarantee for a project designed to bring wind power from western Kansas to population centers east of the Mississippi River, using Missouri as flyover country.

It remains to be seen whether this spells the end of what U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley calls a "boondoggle" and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey refers to as a "scam.

Hawleys assessment is closer to accurate. This is a project with a price tag of $11 billion (up from $7 billion in 2023 and $2 billion in 2021). Grain Belt has its second owner in 10 years after Chicago-based Invenergy bought the assets from Houston-based Clean Line Energy.

For years, the debate over Grain Belt centered on property owners and the fairness of a for-profit entity taking land by eminent domain. The bigger issue is feasibility and the role of government for a project with rising costs, multiple owners, and lots of promises to show for the last decade.

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With this history, a loan commitment in the waning days of the Biden Administration smells like a taxpayer-funded bailout. If this isnt a boondoggle, then Invenergy has a chance to prove it by building the line without the governments help.

Whatever happens from here, supporters and detractors should note the irony of Grain Belt finding itself in a similar position to the Keystone XL pipeline, another project with promises of energy security that faced intense political opposition.

You might say Grain Belt just got Keystoned.

At least theres no exclamation point

Missouri Western State Universitys rebrand could have been a lot worse. Theres no infuriating exclamation point (as in Trails West!), no special characters and no excessive use of capital letters for something thats not an acronym. By rebranding as MoWest in everyday marketing, the university also avoids the air of pretentiousness that sometimes infects higher education.

A name is just a name, but MoWest seems like a way to make the institution appear more accessible and familiar, much like referring to the University of Missouri as Mizzou.
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz.  A wildfire that broke out in Grand Canyon National Park has now been deemed a "megafire" due to its size.

The Dragon Bravo fire ignited from a lightning strike on July 4. As firefighters readied to contain the blaze, fire conditions rapidly changed, causing the fire to explode in size.

As of Friday, the Dragon Bravo Fire has burned 111,970 acres, becoming a "megafire"  a term given by the U.s. Forest Service when a fire reaches over 100,000 acres.

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See It: Aerial Footage Of Grand Canyon Wildfire Captures Flames Ravaging Historic National Park

Trees and brush continue to be the primary fuel for the fire.

Nearly 1,200 personnel are battling the wildfire, which is now 9% contained.

See It: Charred Remains Of Historic Grand Canyon Lodge After Wildfire Rips Through North Rim

The fire closed the Grand Canyon's North Rim for the remainder of the 2025 season after causing significant damage, including burning the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and the Grand Canyon Visitor's Center. In total, 70 structures have been lost, according to the National Park Service.

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Several trails within the Grand Canyon's inner rim are also closed due to smoke accumulation from the Dragon Bravo Fire.

3 Critically Endangered California Condors Relocated During Arizona White Sage Fire

In this handout image provided by Grand Canyon National Park, Two firefighters stand silhouetted against an intense orange-red sky as the Dragon Bravo Fire burns through a forested area at night, with flames and smoke rising in the background at Grand Canyon National Park on July 12, 2025.

Fire officials said the fire continues pushing north, particularly into a burn scar from a 2006 wildfire called the Warm Fire.

Weather conditions on Friday may help firefighters fight the fire, as relative humidity is expected to be within 15-20%, the highest humidity in eight days.

But overall, extreme fire conditions still remain in place.





Original article source: Grand Canyon's Dragon Bravo Fire reaches 'megafire' status, surpassing 100,000 acres
A Butler County grand jury found that Middletown police were justified in the fatal shooting of a man who prosecutors say shot his wife numerous times, killing her.

The grand jury's decision not to return charges against any of the police officers involved in the shooting happened Aug. 1, the Butler County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release.

Ronald Hazen Kerr, 60, was shot and killed by officers responding on July 13 to what was described as a deadly domestic violence incident, according to the department and a representative for the city's police union.

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Officers responded to a home on Mohawk Street in Middletown in the afternoon of July 13 after a report that a woman was shot by her husband, according to Middletown police.

Prosecutors said that officers tried to de-escalate the situation before they forcibly entered the residence, where police believed Kerr's wife was injured and in need of medical attention.

Those attempts failed after police heard a gunshot from inside the home and they breached the rear door.

Prosecutors said Kerr pointed a firearm in the direction of officers entering the home. He was shot four times in the head and three times in the torso.

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The officers then found that Kerr's wife, Consuelo Kerr, was dead in an adjoining room with 11 gunshot wounds, prosecutors said, adding that the woman's death was "presumably caused by her husband."

"The circumstances occurring before the police responded and the motive for her death are still under investigation by the Middletown Police Department," the release states.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was tasked with undertaking an independent investigation into the police shooting following a request from Middletown police Chief Earl Nelson.

"It is again worth repeating that pointing a firearm at a police officer or police officers in the performance of his or their duties will be met with lethal force to neutralize the lethal threat presented with death the likely consequence," the prosecutor's office said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Middletown police cleared in shooting man suspected of wife's killing




NEED TO KNOW

A grandmother died after she was involved in a car crash in Georgia while returning home from visiting her 1-month-old grandson, according to her family

The woman, who was one of two people killed in the crash, has been identified by family as Nancy Lee Veasy, 76

Police were seen handcuffing the driver of the truck involved in the crash, but authorities say he is currently not facing charges as they wait for evidence to return





A grandmother has died after she was involved in a car crash while returning home from visiting her infant grandson, according to her family.

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Police said the fatal crash occurred at the intersection of Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Robinson Drive around 4:15 p.m. local time on Friday, July 25, reported FOX affiliate WAGA-TV and NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.

Two people died at the scene of the crash, according to a statement from the South Fulton Police Department.

One of the two victims has been identified by family as 76-year-old Nancy Lee Veasy, according to ABC affiliate WSB-TV.



https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Ameera Joe, Nancys daughter, told the news station that her mother was returning home after visiting her 1-month-old grandson when she was involved in the collision.

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She never put the baby down. The whole time. said her son Japhet.

She wanted to hold them babies. Anybodys baby, added Cloys Veasy, Nancys husband of more than 50 years.

Nancy was traveling down Fulton Industrial Boulevard when the fatal crash occurred, according to WSB-TV.

A witness told the news station that a truck driver was operating erratically, causing the vehicle to go into the median and into oncoming traffic before crashing into two cars, including the one driven by Nancy.

Japhet was following his mom home at the time of the crash. He said he got out of his car after the crash, only to find his mom dead.

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Thats the only thing I can imagine right now, Nancys son recalled. I can just still see her in the car.

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.

Police were seen handcuffing the driver of the truck involved in the crash, but authorities have said he is currently not facing charges as they wait for evidence to return. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

A funeral for Nancy will reportedly be held at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta on Aug. 11.



Read the original article on People
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  A 49-year-old Greece woman has been charged with burglary as well as driving while intoxicated on a federal level.

Traci Adolph was arrested and is facing charges of burglary in the third degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree, petit larceny, aggravated unlicensed operation in the first degree, aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree, and driving while intoxicated  a Class D felony.

Greece Police arrived to reports of burglary at a vacant house on Kirkwood Road at around 5 p.m. Thursday. Investigators found Adolph got into the home through an outside window and stole multiple items once inside.

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The victim confirmed that Adolph admitted to breaking into the home through photos via text messages and calls about the burglary as well as sent images from inside the home. All while officers were still on scene.

Adolph then returned to the area in a car and parked a short distance away. It was there where she was immediately detained. The stolen items were sitting in her passenger seat in plain view.

Police said Adolphs license was already revoked, and officers suspected her to be under the influence of alcohol at the same time. She is said to have had two prior DWI convictions within the past ten years.

Adolph remains in Monroe County Jail where she awaits arraignment.

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GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  The Greensboro Police Department conducted an investigation after a man barricaded himself in a room on East Seneca Road Thursday night, according to a press release.

According to GPD, they received a call around 5:45 p.m. about a man armed with a gun walking in the parking lot of the My Choice Extended Stay hotel and pointing the weapon at people outside.

Officers made contact with the suspect, who barricaded himself in a room.

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In addition to the GPD, SWAT teams worked to remove the suspect from the room and used two distraction devices: flashbangs and pepper spray.

The suspect was taken into custody shortly after 10 p.m. He has minor injuries.

No officers were injured.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP)  A Greensboro woman was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for her role in a multi-million dollar urine drug testing scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

On April 9, Jasmine Hoyle, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud and one count of money laundering.

According to court documents, Hoyle owned and operated two businesses in Winston-Salem: Harvest Focused & Consulting Services, LLC and The Ultimate Sacrifice, both of which billed Medicaid for services that were not performed, including significant quantities of urine drug tests.

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Documents state that on 97 occasions between August 2020 and July 2022, Harvest Focused submitted claims to Medicaid for urine drug tests for a Medicaid beneficiary who had never heard of either business, never received services from those companies and did not provide any urine for urine drug testing.

Throughout the scheme, Medicaid reimbursed Harvest Focused and The Ultimate Sacrifice

over $6 million, which Hoyle allegedly used on personal expenses, including the purchase of a Dodge Challenger.

In addition to a sentence of 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release, the court also ordered Hoyle to pay $6,299,738.89 in restitution.



On July 8, Hoyles former business partner, LaTameria Davis, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States on July 8. Daviss sentencing is scheduled to take place on September 26, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. in Greensboro.

Davis faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a period of supervised release of up to three years, and monetary penalties.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A Gresham police officer has been indicted on dozens of charges after being connected to the sexual abuse of an underaged girl, according to the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office.

Officer Hector Carranza is accused of four counts of third-degree rape, 12 counts of third-degree sodomy, 24 counts of second-degree sex abuse, five counts of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct, five counts of encouraging child sexual abuse, five counts of luring a minor, and one count of attempting to use a child in display of sexually explicit conduct.

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The charges relate to accusations dating back to 2014  the same year he joined the Gresham Police Department.

However, officials say these incidents did not take place during Carranzas work hours.

None of the allegations in this indictment relate to on duty conduct or involve individuals related to any criminal investigation in which Carranza participated, the DAs office said.

Gresham police said they began investigating Carranza after receiving a complaint in November 2024, and he was immediately placed on administrative leave.

112 pounds of meth seized in major drug bust on I-5 in Oregon; 2 arrested

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The police department said it was told he was arrested as a result of that investigation on Thursday afternoon.

Nobody is above the law  when a police officer breaks it, we have a duty to hold them accountable just like anyone else, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said.

Gresham Police Department also shared the following statement:

The officers and professional staff of the Gresham Police Department are committed to improving the quality of life in the City of Gresham through service, integrity, and respect for the individual. Criminal conduct by any employee of the department is a serious violation of these values. All members of the department are expected to meet the highest standards of moral and ethical conduct.

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Carraza is expected to appear in court on Friday, Aug. 1.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Photo illustration by Getty Images.

Montanas battle against dark money in politics stretches back more than a century, when the state was humiliated because of a bribery scandal that saw wealthy copper king William Andrews Clark elected to the U.S. Senate. This week, Montana added to that history by beginning the constitutional initiative process aimed at challenging dark money, corporate spending and the Citizens United ruling.

Leaders who have signed on the measure admit: They have a steep hill to climb. Citizens United, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, said that the power to spend money in elections is tantamount to free speech and so most attempts to thwart or limit it have run afoul of the U.S. Constitution and the nations highest courts.

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However, the wording of the new initiative seeks to limit the amount of money corporations can spend  not through traditional campaign laws or limitations, but rather by limiting corporate charters.

The new and untested method would leverage the states inherent power to regulate corporates through the charter process. The language of the proposed state constitutional amendment would prohibit corporations from making political contributions, except in very specific circumstances. Meanwhile, individuals would be free to spend on candidates and causes.

The idea, said Jeff Mangan, a former Montana Commissioner of Political Practices, is conservative in nature: The state has the power to put limits on the corporations it charters to do business in the state; this one would simply not allow them the power to participate in elections directly, while still leaving a path for political action committees.

The key, Mangan said, is about transparency. He said the current system allows private corporations to be established and collect money, but to keep those donors and the amounts hidden from public view. Those corporations, which can consist with as few as one donor, can give to candidates and causes under the corporation name, although the people supporting that corporation and the amount of money donated are unknown, leading to the term dark money.

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The change in Montana law would simply not grant the corporations the power to give to candidates or causes, but would allow individuals to give, but those donations would be tracked.

The proposed legislation is the first-of-its-kind and takes a different approach to the problem of campaign finance in spending. For example, last years U.S. Senate race in Montana, which saw Republican Tim Sheehy beat incumbent Democrat Jon Tester, had more than $275 million spent in a state of roughly 1.2 million people.

Basically the only difference is that corporations wont be able to spend in our elections, Mangan said.

The specifics of the proposed constitutional amendment would carve out exceptions for organizations like political parties and even media organizations whose coverage could possibly run afoul of the amendments language.

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If a person wants to spend money, then they have to put their name on it. Its full disclosure. Thats what this is all about, Mangan said.

Constance Van Kley, an assistant professor at the University of Montana law school, said its unknown whether this idea will get around the Citizens United ruling, as well as clear the First Amendment, but she said it nonetheless attempts a new solution.

Theres nothing that I am aware of that squarely forecloses it, though, Van Kley said.

She teaches constitutional law in Missoula and said that since the United States Supreme Court has said that money equals political speech, and political speech is the most protected part of free speech. Many campaign finance laws have been evaluated in terms of whether they restrict, prohibit or curtail free speech. However, Van Kley said, this initiative is different and limits corporations using the power states have inherently in their power to issue a charter.

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The question that has not been decided to my knowledge is whether this can get by the First Amendment, she said.

Mangan told the Daily Montanan it eliminates the vaguely named organizations, which often become nothing more than shields to hide where the money is coming from.

This is not limiting anyones speech. They have the right to do whatever they want with their money, they just have to put their name to it, Mangan said. But it has to come from individuals. And, I think the individuals  the rank-and-file folks  they are tired of the money in politics and theyre just waiting for someone to do something about it.

He said because of the Citizens United decision and its connection to free speech and the First Amendment, many believe the solution to the dark money in politics is insurmountable.

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Many citizens are just resigned. You know: It is what it is, Mangan said. People are born, but corporations are created with rights by a piece of paper and pen. That means that states can change corporate rules the same way. States have always had the right to change charters.

Mangan said he expects opposition from corporations who like putting money into campaigns to protect their business interests. However, people who work for companies or corporations may not like or support their employers political decisions. This initiative, Mangan said, would stop that.

Van Kley said that this measure is different because not many politicians have been actively fighting against the Citizens United ruling because the decision has meant a tidal wave of money pouring into both parties, despite the public being opposed to the ruling. Van Kley said the movement to change campaign financing has not had state legislatures and politicians chipping away at it like the countless challenges to other issues, like abortion, which finally chiseled it away enough to lead to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. She said that makes this particularly constitutional initiative a challenge to predict because so much of it has not been explored by the courts.

Especially in Citizens United, most people have thought that the only pushback to it would be by an amendment (to the U.S. Constitution) because it involves freedom of speech, Van Kley said. Is it the first step to rethinking First Amendment and campaign finance law?

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The initiative has several major hurdles to clear before it would even get in front of the voters. The language must first be approved and checked with the Attorney Generals Office. Then initiative supporters must collect signatures throughout the state, a daunting task because of the requirements. The initiative will take about 63,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot, so Mangan said theyll likely need to aim for double that amount just to ensure those signatures can all be verified.

We trying to get things back to the way they were, he said. We tell them right up front, well be transparent with our donors for anyone who ask. Montanans shouldnt have to do this. It shouldnt cost this much. It doesnt matter if youre a Democrat or Republican, it just doesnt make sense.

Van Kley also sees this initiative as a bit of history repeating itself.

Montana and Alaska, she said. They have been the places that have had incredibly rich natural resource and not a lot of people, which has made them victims of extraordinary political corruption, historically.

CI ____ would amend Article XIII of the Montana Constitution to redefine the powers of artificial persons, including corporations. It defines their powers as only those the constitution expressly grants and provides that artificial persons have no power to spend money or anything of value on elections or ballot issues. It affirms that the people of Montana never intended for artificial persons to have the power to spend on elections or ballot issues. CI ____ provides that actions beyond those expressly granted powers are void. The initiative permits political committees to be granted the power to spend on elections and ballot issues. It allows enforcement through forfeiture of state-conferred privileges. The initiative includes a clause that ensures that valid portions of the initiative remain effective even if other parts are invalidated. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA: NEW SECTION. Section 1. Article XIII of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended by adding a new section 8 that reads: Section 8. Powers of Artificial Persons. (1) Artificial Persons exist only by grant of the state and shall have no powers or privileges except those this constitution expressly provides. (2) (a) The legislature may by statute create Artificial Persons consistent with subsection (1). (b) The people never did, and do not, intend the powers of Artificial Persons to include Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity. This section retracts all Artificial Persons powers and re-grants only those powers that the people deem necessary or convenient to carry out an Artificial Persons lawful business or charitable purposes, as described in (3)(e). Powers related to Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity shall not be deemed necessary or convenient to those purposes. (3) Definitions. (a) Artificial Person means every entity whose existence or limited-liability shield is conferred by Montana law, including, without limitation: (i) business corporations; (ii) nonprofit corporations (public-benefit, mutual-benefit, religious); (iii) limited-liability companies; (iv) unincorporated associations, limited-liability partnerships, statutory trusts, professional corporations, cooperatives, and any successor form; (v) Foreign Entities that are authorized to transact business, are otherwise transacting business, or hold property in Montana. Any Foreign Entity that directly or indirectly undertakes, finances, or directs Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity in the state of Montana is conclusively deemed to be transacting business in this state. (b) Election Activity means paying, contributing, or expending money or anything of value to support or oppose a candidate, political party, or political committee. (c) Ballot-Issue Activity means paying, contributing, or expending money or anything of value to support or oppose a ballot question or initiative. (d) Election Activity and Ballot-Issue Activity do not include any bona fide news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, or of any print, online, or digital newspaper, magazine, blog, or other periodical publication, unless such broadcasting, print, online, or digital facilities are owned or controlled by a political party, political committee, or candidate. (e) Artificial Person Powers means powers necessary or convenient to carry out lawful business or charitable purposes, excluding any power to directly or indirectly engage in Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity. (f) Charter Privilege means any benefit to Artificial Persons that exists only because the state of Montana confers it, such as, without limitation, limited liability, perpetual duration, succession in its corporate name, and tax credits and abatements. (g) Foreign Entity means an Artificial Person organized or existing under the laws of any jurisdiction other than the state of Montana. (4) Total Revocation of Previous Power Grants. (a) The creation and continued existence of an Artificial Person is not a right but a conditional grant of legal status by the state and remains subject to complete withdrawal at any time. All powers previously granted to any Artificial Person under Montana law are revoked in their entirety. No Artificial Person operating under the jurisdiction of this state shall possess any power unless specifically granted by this constitution. No provision of this constitution grants or recognizes any power of an Artificial Person to engage in Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity, except as provided in (5)(c). (b) Transitional Safe Harbor. Nothing in (4)(a) shall be construed to invalidate, impair, or modify any existing contract, debt instrument, security, or other legal obligation validly entered into before the effective date of [this act]; provided, however, that nothing herein authorizes any Election Activity or Ballot Issue Activity after the effective date. (5) Selective Re-Grant of Artificial Person Powers. (a) Each Artificial Person possesses the powers defined in (3)(e), unless its organizational documents limit the exercise of such powers, and no powers beyond those expressly granted. No provision of this constitution grants or recognizes any power of an Artificial Person to engage in Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity, except as provided in (5)(c). (b) Any language in articles of incorporation, organization, association, or other organizational documents purporting to directly or indirectly confer Election-Activity authority or Ballot-Issue-Activity authority to Artificial Persons is void. (c) Political committees registered under Montana or federal law are entities created for the purpose of engaging in Election Activity and Ballot-Issue Activity. Such committees may be granted the power to engage in those activities provided that they exist solely for that purpose and claim no Charter Privilege other than limited liability. This constitution does not grant any other Artificial Person the power to engage in Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity. (d) No Charter Privilege shall be construed to authorize Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity. An Artificial Person that exercises Election-Activity authority or Ballot-Issue-Activity authority, unless expressly permitted to do so under (5)(c), initially forfeits all Charter Privileges as a matter of law. The legislature shall, during its first regular session following the effective date of [this act], enact procedures that allow reinstatement upon full disgorgement, certification of compliance, and payment of civil penalties. (6) Ultra Vires Actions. Any Election Activity or Ballot-Issue Activity conducted by an Artificial Person is ultra vires and void. Such conduct results in the forfeiture of Charter Privileges as provided in (5)(d) and shall also be subject to civil action by a member, shareholder, or the attorney general for injunctive relief, disgorgement, and confirmation or enforcement of the forfeiture. The legislature shall, during its first regular session following the effective date of [this act], enact procedures for such civil actions. (7) Severability. If any provision of [this act], or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remaining provisions and applications that are severable shall remain in effect. In such event, no prior grant of corporate powers shall be revived or reinstated, nor shall any court construe [this act] to authorize broader powers than are expressly conferred in [this act]. NEW SECTION. Section 2. Effective date. [This act] is effective January 1, 2027.

THE MONTANA PLAN PROPOSED BALLOT STATEMENT

THE COMPLETE TEXT OF CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE NO. *** (CI-***)
The super PAC run by billionaire Elon Musk spent $47.4 million in the first half of the year, when the group was actively engaged in helping former Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel run unsuccessfully for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The new filing by America PAC includes, for the first time, confirmation of $1 million payments that Musk gave to each of three individuals at a Green Bay rally "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote."

It also reports that America PAC spent $27 million on in-kind payments for "petition incentives" on June 30. The payment came from the United States of America Inc., a new business created by Musk last year.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during President Donald Trump's inaugural celebration in Washington, DC, on Jan. 20, 2025.

It is not clear what those payments were for, but the super PAC offered Wisconsin voters $100 to register their opposition to "judicial activists" via a website. Musk's group also made numerous payments to consultants, media groups and canvassers in the first six months of the year.

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Overall, the report indicates Musk gave a little more than $18 million to America PAC in the first half of the year. That comes on top of the $27 million in-kind payment by the United States of America Inc.

A spokesman for America PAC could not be immediately reached for comment.

On April 1, liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford defeated Schimel, a conservative, in an election that determined the ideological control of the Supreme Court. Liberals now hold a 4-3 edge with Crawford's investiture on Aug. 1.

The race set a record for the most spent on a judicial race in the United States. Even before America PAC's latest report, all sides had reported paying out more than $100 million on the hotly contested race, with independent groups far outspending the two candidates.

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Alison Dirr can be reached at adirr@jrn.com.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 313-6684 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

(This story was updated to add a photo or video.)

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Group run by billionaire Elon Musk spent more than $47 million
ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- An Odessa woman was convicted Friday by an Ector County jury in connection with the 2022 death of a disabled woman. Christine Raines was sentenced to life in prison, plus 110 years after she was convicted of Murder, Injury to a Disabled Person, Tampering with a Human Corpse, and Tampering with Evidence.

According to court records, on January 29, 2022 officers with the Odessa Police Department responded to a home in the 6500 block of Amber Drive to investigate after a woman with Down Syndrome was found dead. Investigators said 53-year-old Brenda Raines was found on a filthy crib mattress on the floor. Brenda, was reportedly wearing a soiled diaper and was covered in bedsores; she was also extremely underweight, an autopsy said she only weighed 66 pounds when she died, and the mattress she had been sleeping on was covered in dog feces and urine.

Christine was identified as Brendas sister and main caretaker, and she acknowledged that Brenda was unable to walk, speak, feed, or bathe herself. She claimed she would never leave Brenda home alone at night, but investigators said security video in the area showed her leave the home around 7:30 p.m. on January 28; she didnt return home until three in the afternoon the following day- when Brenda was found dead.

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An autopsy stated Brenda starved to death and ruled her death a homicide.

Two other family members, Justin Raines and Elvira Luera pleaded guilty to lesser charges earlier in the year.

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GULFPORT, Miss. (WJTV)  A Gulfport man was sentenced to 87 months in prison for possessing images and videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Nicholas Snyder, 29, was also sentenced to 25 years of supervised release.

Mississippi deputies charge man with kidnapping, sexually assaulting ex-girlfriend

In 2020, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Gulfport discovered that Snyder was in possession of the illegal materials. His cellphone was seized in May 2020.

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Prosecutors said a forensic examiner with the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office, Cybercrime Division, conducted a forensic extraction on those devices. They said the evidence showed Snyder possessed multiple images of children engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including children under the age of five years old.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office, Cybercrime Division.

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Police are frantically searching for an Army veteran accused of killing at least four people Friday morning at a Montana bar.

The shooting suspect, identified as 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, of Anaconda, is believed to be armed and dangerous and was last seen in the Stumptown area, which is west of Anaconda, according to the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center.

It is unclear what led to the shooting, which happened at about 10 a.m. at The Owl Bar. Authorities have not yet confirmed if there were additional injuries.

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Brown was an armor crewman in the Army from January 2001 to May 2005, and served in the National Guard from April 2006 to March 2008, Army Public Affairs confirmed to Fox News Digital. He deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, and left the service with the rank of sergeant.

He also served as an armor crewman in the Montana National Guard from April 2006 to March 2009, officials said.

Active Shooter Report Prompts Massive Police Response In Midtown Manhattan Business District

Read On The Fox News App

Brown's house was cleared by SWAT, but he is still at large, according to GCSO.

The Montana Department of Corrections confirmed to Fox News Digital that Montana State Prison, a men's facility in Deer Lodge, is locked down for "safety and security reasons."

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"This facility is located on about 38,000 acres which are in relatively close proximity to Anaconda, where the shootings occurred," MDOC communications director Carolynn Stocker wrote in a statement.

The Granite County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) posted to social media noting a person involved in an F-150 car chase in the area was not the suspect.

Police and other emergency personnel are seen after a reported shooting in Anaconda, Mont., Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

Shooting At Nevada Casino Resort Leaves Multiple People Injured; Suspect In Custody

Montana Highway Patrol and Anaconda authorities asked the public to avoid the area of Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road.

Anaconda is less than 80 miles southeast of Missoula.

Law enforcement personnel respond to a reported shooting in Anaconda, Mont., Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Denver Field Division told Fox News Digital it is at the scene providing assistance.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also responding to provide investigative support, according to a statement on X from FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

Chilling Image Shows Idaho Firefighter Ambush Suspect In War Paint Before Deadly Attack

Gov. Greg Gianforte said he is praying for the victims in a Facebook post.

"Im closely monitoring the situation involving an active shooter in Anaconda," Gianforte wrote. "Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy."

People are seen in the town of Anaconda, Mont., following a reported shooting, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.

Senators Steve Daines, R-Mon., and Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., also said they are keeping an eye on developments in separate social media posts.

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"We are monitoring this tragedy and are in touch with local authorities," Sheehy wrote in an X post. "We thank law enforcement for their ongoing efforts to protect our communities and pray for the victims, their families, and the entire Anaconda community."

The Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Law Enforcement Center, GCSO, Montana Highway Patrol, FBI and ATF did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Gunman shoots at least 4 people dead at Montana bar, authorities launch intensive manhunt
The Brief

Congressional Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was in Austin

Jeffries is encouraging Democrats to fight the Republican effort to re-draw voting lines

A long-shot option would be to create an independent redistricting commission

AUSTIN, Texas - Congressional Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries was in Austin to encourage Texas Democrats to fight the Republican effort to re-draw voting lines.

For more than 20 years, Democrats have been outnumbered under the Capitol dome.

Texas Democrats fight back

What they're saying

At the State Capitol on Thursday, a delegation of Texas Democrats stood with Congressional House Leader Hakeem Jefferies.

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"It's not simply the case that help is on the way, help is here," said Jefferies.

A new voting map, produced by Texas Republicans, brought Jefferies to Austin.

"So, this fight is not over, it's just beginning," said Jefferies.

When pressed for details about options to fight back, Jefferies avoided saying the words, "quorum break". A quorum break not only has a political risk, but it would also bring a financial cost.

Texas Democrats, if they walk out of the Special Session, could each be fined $500 a day. Party donors, reportedly, are being asked to help raise money to pay for the break.

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"We will make clear that we're going to do everything possible to support the Texas legislators as they consider the best ways to push back. It's an all-hands-on-deck moment, and all options should be on the table to protect the people of Texas. But Texas Democrats are going to be the ones to decide that. We will fight them politically. We will fight them governmentally, we will fight them in court, we'll fight them in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the people of Texas and beyond," said Jefferies.

Republicans react

The other side

Karl Rove, in an interview on the FOX News Channel, provided a breakdown of the controversial map.

"Two South Texas Democrat districts are made more Republican. The Houston and Dallas Dem Districts are made more Republican. Two Austin-area Democrats are put together in one district, which creates a new open seat that will be more Republican. And some Democrat seats are made more Democrat in order to make this happen. And interestingly enough, some Republican seats are less Republican as a result of this. So, both parties are making a bet," said Rove.

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Jennifer Fleck, who heads up the Travis County Republican Party, spoke after the Democrat's news conference. She believes a congressional rewrite will be sent to the Governor, but she also admits it could take a long fight with Democrats.

"I don't deny that they're likely going to break quorum or try to break quorum. However, we do have the majority. We have enough to get the vote right and to pass the bill. And my guess is that Abbott will continue to call special sessions until we can get enough people there to push it through," said Fleck.

Dig deeper

Putting redistricting on the Special Session call was a move encouraged by President Trump.

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The effort could help Republicans win five additional seats in Congress and would expand the narrow majority the GOP has in the House. But the political fight that has come with the proposed map could jeopardize action on big issues like flood relief and regulating hemp products.

"I personally think that redistricting and redrawing the map lines is equally important as everything else on the call," said Fleck.

Independent redistricting commission

A long-shot option is HB 221. Filed by Round Rock Democrat James Talarico, it would create an independent redistricting commission.

"Because as we've seen in red states and in blue states, in both political parties, politicians are going to draw the lines to benefit themselves, not their constituents. And not the public as a whole. And that's why you see such extreme policymaking at the state Capitol and why we can't make progress on healthcare, on education, on housing, because these districts are leading to such polarized politicians and therefore polarized politics," said Talarico.

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The Commission concept is used in states like California.

Ironically, Governor Gavin Newsom has threatened to dismantle that states commission and move the process to the Democrat-controlled California legislature. It would be in retaliation to the Texas redistricting effort.

That move would also face legal challenges.

The Source

Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Rudy Koski
Hamas has released video of emaciated Israeli hostages being held in Gaza in an apparent attempt to weaponise starvation.

Evyatar David, 24, from the city of Kfar Saba, is seen inside a tunnel, bare-chested, with only a dirty mattress and a small bottle of water.

Mr David, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct 7 2023, does not say anything in the video, which also shows images of emaciated Palestinian children.

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They eat what we eat, they drink what we drink, a message from Hamas says, accusing Israel of starving everyone in Gaza, including the hostages.

Hamas accused Israel of starving everyone in Gaza, including the hostages - Abdel Kareem Hana/AP

Mr Davids sister, Yeela, said watching the clip of her emaciated brother felt like one million punches to the heart. She pleaded with the public not to share the images, as her mother and other brother had not yet seen the footage.

Earlier on Thursday, the Islamic Jihad terrorist group released a video of hostage Rom Braslavski, 21, also looking emaciated.

The terror group claimed the six-minute video was recorded days before it lost contact with the captors holding Mr Braslavski, saying it did not know what had happened to him.

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His mother, Tami, said the terrorists had broken her son. They broke my boy. I want him home now. I know how many beatings he is taking. Look at him. Thin, limp, crying. All his bones are out. Dont cry over the children in Gaza. Cry for Rom. Have compassion for the hostages, she told Israeli media Ynet.

Rom Braslavskis mother said Hamas had broken her son, who was captured at the Nova festival on Oct 7 2023

With two hostage videos released in 24 hours, both of which blame Israel for starving the people of Gaza, Hamas seeks to increase international pressure on the Israeli government.

Aid agencies including the UN are warning that hunger and malnutrition may have reached a tipping point, raising fears of mass starvation.

Israel has denied accusations of starving Palestinians, instead pointing the finger at the UN for failing to collect and distribute the food that enters through border crossings.

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Donald Trump, the US president, said this week that starvation was happening in Gaza, despite Benjamin Netanyahus denials. You cant fake that, he said on Tuesday, adding that he was not particularly convinced by his ally.

Steve Witkoff, Mr Trumps Middle East envoy, spent five hours visiting controversial aid distribution sites in the war-battered enclave on Friday.

Mr Witkoff, the first senior official to visit Gaza since the war began, said that what he learnt would help Washington craft a plan to get more food and aid to Palestinians.

Steve Witkoff, centre, Donald Trumps Middle East envoy, visited aid distribution sites in Gaza on Friday - David Azagury/AFP

On Friday, 126 aid packages, containing food for the residents of both the southern and northern Gaza Strip, were airdropped by France, Spain, the UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Germany, the Israel Defense Forces said.

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Mr Witkoff and Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador for Israel, toured one of the four sites run by the controversial Israeli and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Aid agencies have accused the foundation of contributing to the hunger crisis.

More than 1,300 people seeking aid in Gaza have been killed since GHF took over aid operations in late May, according to the UN, most of them shot by Israeli forces in the vicinity of the aid hubs. GHF have denied the claims.

Israel claims Hamas is looting aid in an effort to steal for its own fighters, thus enabling accusations the Jewish state is deliberately starving Palestinians. Hamas denies this.

Eli Sharabi, an Israeli former hostage, testified before the UN Security Council in March that Hamas eats like kings, while hostages starve.

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Mr Sharabi said: I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNRWA emblems on them into the tunnels, dozens and dozens of boxes, paid for by your government. They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it.

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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  A Hamburg man was arrested and arraigned on Friday after he allegedly sold marijuana to young children, according to police.

Cory Los-Shumacher, 34, is facing multiple charges after a parent reported him to police. It is alleged that Los-Shumacher used apps such as Snapchat to sell the drugs.

In a release, Hamburg police said, this case emphasizes the importance of parents being aware of their childrens online activities. While the internet offers a wealth of educational and entertaining information, it can also serve as a pathway for illicit communications and predators seeking to exploit young people.

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Los-Schumacher was arraigned on charges of criminal sale of cannabis to a person under the age of 21, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawfully dealing with a child.

He was released on his own recognizance.

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.
The New Hampshire State House is seen in Concord, N.H. A recently signed New Hampshire law will require doctors to follow patients wishes with regard to voluntary sterilization. (Getty Images)

This story originally appeared on Stateline.

New Hampshire has become the first state to require doctors and medical staff to sterilize patients who request it.

The measure focuses on adults who have medical conditions for which sterilization may be a treatment option. New Hampshire Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the bipartisan bill into law on July 15.

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The law says physicians cant deny sterilization based on a patients age, number of children, marital status, or if the physician has views on fertility that run contrary to the patients wishes.

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Its the first law of its kind. And it comes at a time when state legislators across the country have enacted laws restricting womens reproductive choices.

A doctor should not withhold your needed treatment because the doctor doesnt like the idea that you decided not to have kids or dont want any more kids, New Hampshire Democratic state Rep. Ellen Read, who sponsored the bill, said earlier this month during a panel at the National Foundation for Women Legislators.

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Her cosponsors included two Democrats and two Republicans.

Read said her own medical experience led her to sponsor the bill. She was diagnosed at 26 with polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that can cause painful periods, infertility, ovarian cysts and an increased risk of other diseases, such as diabetes. As Reads health worsened over the years, she said, her doctors continued pushing her to wait to get a hysterectomy, in case she wanted a child in the future, even though she and her husband  who had already gotten a vasectomy  had decided they didnt want children.

Sterilization, or permanent contraception, is the most common method of contraception among U.S. women of reproductive age, and its one of the most straightforward surgical procedures an OB-GYN can perform, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

In women this is a tubal ligation, where the fallopian tubes are closed off or removed; in men it is a vasectomy, where a portion of the tube that carries sperm is removed. A hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus, also renders a woman sterile.

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But in the United States, sterilization has a fraught history. Vulnerable groups have been sterilized without their knowledge or consent, including people with disabilities, Indigenous women and Black women. In the past, many have been sterilized as the result of state laws.

Meanwhile, others who desire sterilization have been unable to access it. One survey of 1,800 obstetrician-gynecologists found that while most OB-GYNs said they would help a patient obtain a tubal ligation, up to 70% would try to dissuade her, depending on characteristics such as how many children she had or whether her husband agreed.

Surgical sterilization rates among women have increased since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturned the constitutional right to abortion, according to a study published last September by researchers at Columbia University.

Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.
All-hands-on-deck to clean up Worcester following a series of Clean City Initiatives

In Worcesters business areas, they are sprucing things up like they always do, making sure the flowers look nice, the streets are clean, but some of the neighborhoods can be a far different story.

The City Manager says that the cleanliness of Worcester is unacceptable, and hes announcing a series of Clean City Initiatives to tidy things up.

I wouldnt characterize Worcester as a dirty city. I think I would characterize is it as an effort that would try to continuously beautify our community, City Manager Eric Batista said.

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The City Manager is calling for an all-hands-on-deck approach.

That means, in August, the DPW will be working nights and weekends, picking up trash, cleaning streets, trimming weeds, basically giving the city a good late summer cleaning.

People just leave their trash on the floor, one Worcester resident complained. They put their garbage back here.

People just dont care a lot about it, Worcester resident Boris Velez told me. They leave their trash on the streets and sidewalks where kids and students go by. So, A little pride would be wonderful to have in Worcester,

And the city is asking for public help,

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On certain days, authorities will ask people to move their cars to give street sweepers access to trash thats caught up against curbs.

And at the Residential Drop Off Center, they are waiving bulk waste fees for the rest of the month

Its an effort to instill pride in our community, that our residents have in our city, City Manager Batista said

City officials say its worth paying, but not everyone agrees.

I think they used enough funds for that. There are other focuses they should worry about, the homelessness (for example), city resident Tiffany Johnson said.

It is hoped Worcester will be significantly cleaned up by the time college students return to the city in the Fall.

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A collection of banned books. (Photo courtesy Kennedy Library)

According to a new report by a state commission on banned books in Virginia schools, Hanover County Public Schools removed the book Medical Discoveries: Medical Breakthroughs and the People Who Developed Them from libraries sometime between July 2020 and March 2025.

Censored, too, was a book entitled Sexual health information for teens: health tips about sexual development, described by its publisher as basic consumer health information for teens about puberty, sexuality, reproductive health, contraception, and disease prevention.

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Likewise jettisoned were copies of Encyclopedia of the Human Body, The Way We Work: Getting to Know the Amazing Human Body, and The Medical Advisor: The Complete Guide to Alternative and Conventional Treatments.

The conservative library review movement in Virginias public schools, which has galvanized during the tenure of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, purports to be about protecting parents rights to know what their children read. The July report by Virginias Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) put the lie to that claim.

Book banners in schools want to dictate what students can learn in their classrooms and from their libraries, regardless of what individual parents and guardians believe. No greater violation of adults child-rearing choices exists than the moral arbitration right-wing extremists hope heap on them.

JLARC found that 63% of Virginia public schools removed no books from their libraries. That good news was tempered by the fact that one in three had removed at least one book. But the real bad news is that the public-school book ban movement is just getting up to speed, as holier-than-you evangelical Christians try to take over school boards across the country. Weve seen it in Pennsylvania, Florida, and other states. As many of those types of people gain positions of power in the administration of President Donald Trump, violations of parents First Amendment rights by radical theocrats seem likely to accelerate.

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Hanover County, which lies about 30 miles north of Richmond, serves as a cautionary tale. Hanover schools are governed by a conservative majority and the school board is appointed, not elected like most school districts in the state. The JLARC report revealed that Hanover accounted for 36% of all book removal actions in the state. Hanover removed 125 titles from its schools from July 2020 until March 2025, the report found.

This is the last step in a progression that begins with challenging content in library books, then pulling them from shelves and requiring guardian consent to check them out, and finally, removing them from libraries entirely.

Letting political and religious ideologues control childrens reading choices leads to censoring their exposure to prize-winning literature and reflects obvious prejudices against books about racism and LGBTQ+ issues. It sacrifices scientific knowledge to faith and, in some cases, ignorance. Hanover proves that.

The conservative attack on diversity, equity and inclusion  all fundamental American values  will lead to a literal whitewash of U.S. history and doesnt serve anyone who believes that those who dont learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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Censorship to shape politics and culture like what is happening in Hanover often finds its natural conclusion in symbolic or actual book burnings, like those that famously fired up Hitlers power in Germany.

Banned books in Hanover dont just include books about gender or sexual identity. The list also includes literary classics by Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, Booker Prize winner Maragaret Atwood, and National Book Award winner Kurt Vonnegut.

For would-be book banners, a single sex scene in hundreds of pages or a suggestion of white racism now serves as justification for exclusion from a school library.

As that continues, taboos grow. Hanover County dumped The Freedom Writers Diary. The book tells the story of a California teacher who taught students about the Holocaust by making them read and write about The Diary of Anne Frank.

To get an idea of how far-gone Hanover is, the county Board of Supervisors removed references to school library censorship from a certificate it gave a Hanover student who won a national Girl Scout award. Kate Lindley received a Freedom to Read award from the Girl Scouts for establishing a website and a series of Banned Book Nooks in the county where students could read books the school board had removed from libraries.

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As she accepted her certificate from the Board of Supervisors, Lindley showed more class than the governing body.

You have shown the world that you are afraid to call something what it is, be that a banned book or a deselected one, she told the boards conservative majority. Thank you for this recognition.

What the rest of us must recognize and resist is the assault on our rights by people who, without our consent, would deprive Virginia kids of access to books like Jesus Land: A Memoir. A New York Times bestseller, it tells the true story of a 16-year-old white girl and her Black adopted brother trying to survive a brutal, violent fundamentalist upbringing. It could be that Hanover County banned the book because it does not cast Christian fundamentalism in the light that evangelicals want it seen.

That is the polar opposite of parents rights.

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NEED TO KNOW

Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca were found dead in their Encino, Calif., home on July 14

Police arrested Raymond Boodarian for their murders the following day

Two 911 calls were made from the couple's residence on July 10, which is also believed to be the day they were killed





Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca were shot and killed in their multi-million-dollar Los Angeles home on July 10. While police arrested the man responsible days later, questions remain over whether the tragedy could have been prevented.

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The same day of the murders, the Los Angeles Police Department responded to two 911 calls at the couples home but left without entering the property. Deluca, a musician, and Kaye, who worked as a music supervisor at American Idol for over 20 years, were found fatally shot inside their home four days later, after officers responded to a welfare check.

On July 15, 22-year-old Encino resident Raymond Boodarian was arrested and two days later, was charged with their murder.

Kris Herzog, owner of a security company that Kaye reached out to months before her death, said the LAPDs policy of not entering a property without obvious probable cause may have delayed the discovery of the crime.

Hundreds of departments around the country have the opposite policy, he told PEOPLE. 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.

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The LAPD declined to comment on Herzogs claims, but Lt. Guy Golan said that the officers who responded to the 911 calls on July 10 were unable to make entry onto the property due to it being highly fortified.

So, what happened to Robin Kaye and Thomas Deluca? Heres everything to know about the double murder and why it took so long for police to find their bodies.

Kaye and Deluca were found dead in their Los Angeles home on July 14

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times/Getty Police officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed on July 15, 2025 in Encino, California. Police officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed on July 15, 2025 in Encino, California.

On July 14, the LAPD conducted a welfare check on a $4.5 million home in Encino, Calif. A friend grew concerned after they hadnt heard from the pair, and provided officers with a key code to the house.

Detectives discovered the couple in separate rooms and pronounced them dead at the scene, both having suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Kaye was found in the pantry, and Deluca was discovered in the bathroom. They were both 70 years old.

Police arrested Boodarian for their murders a day later

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Police officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed on July 15, 2025 in Encino, California. Police officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed on July 15, 2025 in Encino, California.

Forensic evidence and surveillance footage led officers to arrest Boodarian on July 15. They believe that Kaye and Deluca walked in on the suspect while he was in their home and confronted him, which turned deadly. Though the couples home has been described as heavily secured with an eight-foot barrier and security cameras, police say that the 22-year-old entered through an unlocked door.

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"The victims returned home while the suspect had gained entry into the residence, and a confrontation ensued, which resulted in the suspect taking their lives, authorities said. The victims succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, and the suspect fled from the residence on foot.

LAPD claimed that the killings appear to be random and have found no connection between Boodarian and the couple. The suspect, who has a documented criminal history, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of burglary.

Boodarians bail was denied, and he was transferred to jail, where hell remain until his arraignment on Aug. 20.

Investigators believe the couple interrupted an attempted burglary

Rachel Murray/Getty La'Porsha Renae, Randy Jackson and Robin Kaye attend The 7th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards on February 16, 2017 in Hollywood, California. La'Porsha Renae, Randy Jackson and Robin Kaye attend The 7th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards on February 16, 2017 in Hollywood, California.

Police believe that while Kaye and Deluca were out grocery shopping, Boodarian entered their home and was inside for around 30 minutes before they arrived.

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During a town hall meeting on July 21, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said Boodarian found the couples gun inside their home and used it to shoot them execution-style multiple times, per CBS News.

Police responded to two 911 calls at the home on the day of the murder, but didn't go inside

Joshua Blanchard/Getty Robin Kaye at the 6th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards on January 21, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Robin Kaye at the 6th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards on January 21, 2016 in Los Angeles, California.

On July 10, LAPD responded to two possible burglary calls at Kaye and Delucas residence  the same day the couple was killed, according to a felony complaint filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles. The second call reported an armed suspect.

According to police sources, LAPD officers visited their home around the time the suspect was believed to be inside. They walked the perimeter of the house, and a helicopter flew over the property. But because they saw no suspicious activity and claimed that no one inside the home responded, they left.

At around 4:12 p.m., a neighbor called 911 after seeing a man jump the fence. Officers and a helicopter arrived shortly after, but left when they found no evidence of forced entry.

Boodarian made the second 911 call after the murders and pretended to be the victim

Jonathan Leibson/Getty Robin Kaye attends the 4th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards on February 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Robin Kaye attends the 4th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards on February 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

Around 4:53 p.m., the second 911 call came in and reported that a suspect had broken into the office of that same home and was armed. The caller  who identified themselves as the resident of the home  was allegedly Boodarian.

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Hochman said during the July town hall meeting that the suspect used his cellphone to call the police and report a break-in. According to the probable cause statement in the affidavit, the 911 operator heard the caller say, Please dont shoot me, and gave his real name.

Boodarian then told the operator that a police response wasnt necessary, and any follow-up attempts to reach him again were not successful, LAPD Communications Director Jennifer Forkish told PEOPLE.

Officers arrived on scene and conducted a check of the surrounding area and attempted to visually check the residence through the security gate," she said in a July 2025 interview. "They attempted entry at two access points but both were locked and secured ... The Air Ship visually checked the location and advised there was no visible activity or evidence of a break-in.

Its unclear when officers arrived, but after canvassing the home, they cleared the scene and left again. The couples time of death was later recorded to be 4:14 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner.

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A multi-agency task force has been assigned to investigate why police didnt enter the home on July 10.

The couples home had been burglarized before

Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Police officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed on July 15, 2025 in Encino, California. Police officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed on July 15, 2025 in Encino, California.

Kaye and Deluca regularly attended neighborhood council meetings, where they voiced their concerns for safety and shared that they had been victims of a burglary before. In a June 2025 Zoom meeting  less than a month before the July 10 break-in  the American Idol executive shared her most recent scare.

Just a few weeks ago, we had our own home invasion  as we were sleeping, Kaye said. They broke in, climbed our wall, smashed through our kitchen door ... it was scary."

She also voiced concerns about a neighbor allegedly known for hosting parties with lots of shady people, calling him a scary guy and claiming he had multiple past arrests. This unnamed neighbor has been cleared of involvement in Deluca and Kayes murders.

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There was also an attempted burglary at their home in May 2024, but the two suspects fled the scene before the couple could call for help.

Kaye expressed fear about living in her home

Rachel Murray/Getty Robin Kaye attends The 7th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards on February 16, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Robin Kaye attends The 7th Annual Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards on February 16, 2017 in Hollywood, California.

The late American Idol producer also reached out to a private security company after an increase of burglaries in her neighborhood. She allegedly spoke with Herzog, the owner, who told PEOPLE that the homes alarm system was off and the door was open at the time of the murders.

This is the first time in my career that what I predicted potentially could happen 90,000 times ... actually happened, he said. The door was left open. The alarm was turned off. And Boodarian walked right in. I told [Kaye] at the time ... You have to be able to defend yourself if you only have a second notice.



Read the original article on People
PHOENIX - Loved ones of a 16-year-old are seeking justice after she was found shot dead; Scottsdale man accused of secretly recording women during sexual acts at his apartment; and more - here's a look at some of your top stories on FOX10Phoenix.com for Thursday, July 31, 2025.

1. Who killed Zariah Dodd?

What we know

Loved ones of 16-year-old Zariah Finley Dodd are seeking justice, as well as systemic changes, after she was found shot to death at a Phoenix park.

What they're saying

The woman who considered Dodd a daughter said she should not have been allowed to walk out of her group home on her own.

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"Even if my child wasn't in DCS, I wouldn't allow that to happen," said Richilyn Fox.

Read More

2. HVAC worker dead after collapsing in extreme heat

What we know

Arizona's triple-digit heat can be deadly for air conditioning workers, a reality tragically underscored by the recent death of 58-year-old Matt Nelson.

Dig deeper

Nelson, who started his own HVAC company within the last year, responded on July 1 to an AC service call at a home in Dewey. His niece said temperatures in the attic reached 150F, and that Nelson collapsed shortly after exiting the attic,

Read More

3. Scottsdale man accused of filming women during sex

What we know

Scottsdale Police say they have made an arrest in a case that involved allegations of women being secretly recorded during intimate moments.

By the numbers

Investigators say after a search warrant was obtained for the Julian Burne Nixon's digital devices, they found over 100 videos that were taken surreptitiously inside his apartment.

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4. Arkansas man accused of killing couple who were hiking with children

(Photo Courtesy: Arkansas State Police)

What we know

A teacher has been arrested in connection with the murder of a couple during their hike at a state park in Arkansas. The couple's seven-year-old and nine-year-old daughters were not harmed.

What we don't know

While investigators have identified the suspect as 28-year-old Andrew James McGann, they declined to release a motive, nor did they state how the victims were killed.

Read More

5. "Stronger-than-fentanyl" drug sees resurgence in Arizona

What we know

A drug worse than fentanyl is making a comeback, and one of the first lines of defense is in Phoenix.

Why you should care

Cheri Oz, the U.S. special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Phoenix Field Division, explained that carfentanil is a synthetic opioid 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

Read More

A look at your weather for tomorrow

Get the Full Forecast
SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  Officials are warning the community after harmful algal blooms were detected in Utah Lake and some parts of the Jordan river.

According to the Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD), the algal blooms have been identified from the Southern line on the Jordan River to approximately 9000 South. Blooms have also been identified in canals as far north as 3000 South.

The Utah Lake Authority said according to data received from the Utah Division of Water Quality, there is a lakewide harmful algal bloom.

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While no water bodies have been closed, officials are asking those recreating near them to be cautious. Teams within SLCoHD and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) say they will be monitoring the Jordan River for any changes.

In the meantime, health officials advise the public to follow several precautions like:

Kayaking is permitted but avoid contact with visible algae

Do not swim in the river or canals

Clean fish thoroughly and discard guts

Keep pets and animals away from the water

Do not drink the water

So far this year, similar warnings have been issued for Mantua Reservoir, Zion National Park and Baker Reservoir

What are harmful algae?

Also known as blue-green algae, DEQ said the blooms are not actually algae at all. It is an aquatic bacterium known as Cyanobacteria that photosynthesizes like a plant.

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Officials say 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.

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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.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Brief

A Harris County Precinct 5 constable deputy is under investigation after a viral TikTok video suggested she would issue tickets if she didn't receive what she wanted.

Residents expressed concerns about the deputy's professionalism, with some calling her actions "inappropriate" and "unprofessional".

The Precinct 5 Constable's Office has acknowledged the situation and stated that internal affairs has opened an investigation.

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A Precinct 5 constable deputy is facing an internal investigation after posting a TikTok video that went viral and has since been deleted.

What we know

In a viral video that has since been deleted, a Precinct 5 deputy participated in a TikTok trend which could jeopardize her job.

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The video suggested she would issue tickets if she didn't receive what she wanted before her shift.

The video showed the deputy taking notes and blurring parts of her uniform, though her name remained visible. Other videos featured her in uniform engaging in TikTok trends.

Her account has been deleted, but residents in the Precinct 5 area expressed mixed opinions.

What they're saying

FOX 26 reached out to Precinct 5 Constable Office about the viral video, and they sent us the following statement:

"Our administration is aware and internal affairs has opened an investigation. We have no other comment at this time."

Unprofessional

The other side

"I think it's really inappropriate and disrespectful," said resident Alex Fitch.

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Another Precinct 5 resident who didn't want to be identified agreed with Fitch: "It's very unprofessional. You shouldn't be doing things like that. When you're a professional, you carry yourself a certain way. What you do outside of work is cool, but I don't think she should've done that."

FOX 26 asked residents if videos posted on social media by uniformed officers create distrust for residents. Some were split.

"I feel like they're playing. They're childish. They ain't taking nothing serious. You gon write me a ticket because you ain't get cracked? That's crazy, but that's the society and world we live in today," one resident said.

"Not as much distrust, but you can't rely on them. It makes them look unprofessional when they start posting videos like that. You can't take them seriously," Fitch said. "Then they wonder why, when you see them, they say, Why dont you respect me?' or Why are you talking to me like that? Well, you don't treat yourself like a woman, and you ain't treating yourself like a police officer."

The Source

FOX 26's Jonathan Mejia reached out to Precinct 5 Constable Office for a statement and spoke with residents in the area.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris signaled Thursday that she is taking a break from political office for the time being, calling the system broken.

After months mostly out of the national spotlight, Harris made an appearance on Stephen Colberts The Late Show for her first interview since President Trumps inauguration to promote her forthcoming book, 107 Days, which outlines her last-minute presidential campaign.

With speculation circulating widely about whether she will mount a 2028 White House bid, the former Democratic presidential nominee said Wednesday she would not run for California governor next year. Harris explained that decision to Colbert on Thursday evening.

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I dont want to go back into the system. I think its broken, she said. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people. And I dont want it to be transactional, where Im asking for their vote.

Harris, also a former senator, said she had avoided the news for months after her presidential loss, part of a wider Democratic backslide across the electoral map.

Im just not into self-mutilation, the former vice president said, adding that she watched lots of cooking shows, including The Kitchen.

107 Days is billed as the inside story of Harriss truncated presidential bid. Still, she skirted questions from Colbert about how she thought about differentiating herself from former President Biden during the campaign, a theme she said she would address in the book.

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Its an instinct of mine to be someone who does not participate in piling on, and I was not going to pile on, she said.

When asked near the end of the interview who she thought led the Democratic Party, Harris claimed it was a mistake to put it on the shoulders of any one person.

Its really on all of our shoulders, 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.
In her first interview since losing the election to President Trump and leaving office, former Vice President Kamala Harris told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show that her decision not to run for California governor was more basic than saving herself for a different office  which is to say, another run for president in 2028.

After years of being a devout public servant, Harris said in the interview, set to air Thursday night, she just doesnt want to be in the system right now.

Recently I made the decision that I just  for now  I dont want to go back in the system, she said. I think its broken.

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She said that was not to take away from the important work being done every day by so many good people who are public servants, such as teachers, firefighters, police officers and scientists.

Its not about them, she said. But you know, I believe, and I always believed, that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now that theyre not as strong as they need to be.

She said she instead wants to travel the country and talk to Americans in a setting that isnt transactional, where Im asking for their vote.

Read more: Run for president? Start a podcast? Tackle AI? Kamala Harris' options are wide open

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Colbert said to hear Harris  whom he called very qualified for the presidency  say that the American system is broken was harrowing.

Well, but its also evident, isnt it?" Harris replied, to applause from the studio audience.

The interview came on the heels of Harris announcements this week that she is not running for California governor and is releasing a memoir about her short, whirlwind presidential campaign following President Bidens decision to drop from the race, and it was a big get for Colbert in what appears to be his final chapter on late-night TV.

CBS, blaming financial concerns across late night, announced July 17 that the 2025-2026 season of The Late Show would be its last.

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The announcement followed Colbert sharply criticizing Paramount Globals $16-million settlement with Trump over a CBS News 60 Minutes interview with Harris during the presidential campaign, which Trump accused the venerable news show of manipulating to make her look better.

Read more: Is late night dead? Stephen Colbert's CBS cancellation raises troubling questions

Paramount Global was at the time seeking a major merger with Skydance Media and needed the Trump administrations approval, which it ultimately got. Just days before the announcement that his show would be ending, Colbert described the 60 Minutes settlement as a bribe to get the merger deal done.

All that caused many observers and allies of Colbert to speculate that the cancellation of the show was political in nature. The Writers Guild of America, for example, said the company appeared to be sacrificing free speech to curry favor with the Trump Administration.

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Trump said it was not true that he was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert, and that the reason he was fired was a pure lack of TALENT and that Colbert's show was losing Paramount millions of dollars a year.

And it was only going to get WORSE! Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Paramount has said the decision was not related in any way to the shows performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount, though some polling has suggested many Americans dont believe the company.

Its unclear whether Harris considered any of that in granting Colbert her first interview since leaving office. However, it would almost certainly not have been her only reason.

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Colbert is liberal and seen as a friendly interviewer by Democrats.

During Thursdays interview, the late-night host heaped praise on Harris. After saying it was harrowing to hear she feels the system is broken, he asked whether she was giving up fighting.

Harris said she was not.

I am always going to be part of the fight, Harris said. That is not going to change.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
With Kamala Harris opting out of the 2026 race for governor of California, attention now turns to the remaining announced Democratic candidates in the field in this overwhelmingly Democratic state.

There are six significant and arguably viable Democrats running, including Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; Tony Thurmond, the incumbent state superintendent of public instruction; former secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra (also a former attorney general of California and member of Congress); former member of Congress Katie Porter; Toni Atkins, a former president pro tem of the state Senate and former speaker of the Assembly; former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (also a former Assembly speaker); and Betty Yee, current vice chair of the California Democratic Party and a two-term state controller.

There are also two or three other unproven Democrats who have announced, none of whom have ever held public office. And there might be other Democrats who jump in, too, spying an opportunity now that Harris is out.

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For the time being, there will likely be no obvious frontrunner among the current field, with all currently polling in the single digits, and none of them comes with significant statewide name identification or political base. In a recent poll conducted by the University of California Irvine, released in early July, every one of the Democratic candidates other than Harris were in single digits - and the leader after Harris, with only 9%, was someone who isnt even a candidate at the moment: Los Angeles businessman Rick Caruso, who ran for mayor there in 2022.

Kounalakis, despite being the incumbent lieutenant governor and having been elected to the office twice, came in at a measly 2%. Porter, who ran for the U.S. Senate in last years statewide primary election, showed up at just 6%. Sitting Superintendent of Public Instruction Thurmond, also a state officeholder in his second term, didnt even register.

But there is a big X factor hanging out there for all of the candidates not named Eleni Kounalakis: the prospect of her super-rich father, Sacramento developer Angelo Tsakopoulos, starting to throw millions of dollars into a putative independent expenditure to buy her name ID and try to move her into position as a leader in the polls. Word on the street for quite some time - spread by Kounalakis supporters themselves, apparently to make the rest of the field think twice - is that Tsakopoulos has parked $50 million he is willing to spend to try to buy her the governorship.

And lest anyone write this off as an idle threat, lets not forget that he outright bought Kounalakis her current job in 2018. He poured more money into a so-called independent expenditure on her behalf than was raised and spent in total by her Democratic run-off opponent in the race for lieutenant governor, Sen. Ed Hernandez, who was 10 times more qualified than she was.

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The Fair Political Practices Commission, the states political campaign-spending watchdog and regulator, has made crystal clear that any attempt by an immediate family member to fund a putative independent expenditureis presumed to be "at the behest of," and coordinated with, the candidate its intended to benefit - and thus a violation of the California Political Reform Act.

And, come on, ones own father would be one of the most immediate family members. It defies reason and common sense that a candidates own parent, who lives in the same city, whos the grandparent of her kids, whose company she ran for years, and which is still paying her, could conduct a truly independent expenditure without any communication or coordination with his own daughter - which is the determinant of whether an expenditure is actually independent of the candidate.

They got away with it in 2018 because Kounalakis Democratic run-off opponent declined to file a complaint or raise hell about it, which he was fervently urged to do by those of us who understand the law and knew it didnt pass the smell test as a truly independent expenditure.

And lest we Democrats forget, Kounalakis andher father already stuck us with one terrible nominee for governor, their business crony Phil Angelides in 2006. He was on the ropes in the Democratic primary, out of money and off the air, way behind a far better candidate. Then the two of them came in overnight with a $10 million so-called independent expenditure that saved Angelides, got him back on TV, and won him the nomination. After running an atrocious campaign, he got creamed that November by 17 points, in an otherwise great year for Democrats, in which they took back both the U.S. Senate and House, and won a majority of governorships.

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Democrats should expect and demand that the remaining candidates for governor fight it out fairly and squarely, making their best case to the voters, using their fundraising success as one measure of their appeal to the Democratic electorate, and ultimately to the state of California.

The governorship of the largest state, with more people than the continent of Australia, and an economy that is the fourth largest in the world, should not be determined by a filthy rich sugar daddy - quite literally - putting his moneyed thumb on the scale.

Garry South is a veteran Democratic strategist who has run four campaigns for governor of California, including both of Gray Davis winning races, Steve Westlys primary campaign in 2006, and Gavin Newsoms first race for governor in 2008-09, before he withdrew from the race.
A 30-year-old Hazel Park man is facing first-degree murder charges following a shooting at a Detroit gas station that left two people dead and two others injured.

Jaylen Lee Robinson was arraigned Aug. 1 in 36th District Court in Detroit and remains in custody, according to a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutors Office.

Martin Clay, 32, of Davison, and Maria Jenkins, 34, of Highland Park, were killed in the shooting shortly before 4 a.m. July 28 at a gas station in the 3300 block of Puritan, prosecutors said. A 28-year-old woman and 39-year-old woman from Detroit were also injured.

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Officials believe a verbal fight between Robinson and Clay escalated, with Robinson pulling out a gun and firing multiple shots.

Police arrived to find Clay on the floor of the entrance to the gas station with wounds to his torso and buttocks area, prosecutors said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jenkins had a gunshot wound to her torso and was taken to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

One of the two survivors of the shooting had a gunshot wound to their torso and the others torso was grazed.

The prosecutors office charged Robinson with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to murder, four counts of possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

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First-degree murder is punishable by life in prison without the possibility of parole.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hazel Park man faces murder charges in Detroit gas station shooting
Welcome to Ohio Utility Watch, a periodic newsletter tracking developments in Ohios ongoing public-corruption saga, often referred to as the House Bill 6 scandal.

If youre new to the subject, here is an overview. In brief: Utility companies used dark money groups to route roughly $60 million in bribes to lawmakers so that they would pass legislation mandating more than $1.5 billion in subsidies  paid for by utility customers  to aging, uneconomical coal and nuclear power plants.

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The Ohio Manufacturers Association Energy Group and the Office of the Ohio Consumers Counsel filed briefs last week that call for FirstEnergys Ohio utilities to pay more than half a billion dollars for regulatory violations in three of the agencys House Bill 6-related regulatory cases. The utilities claim any remedy should be orders of magnitude smaller.

Its the latest development in the saga of HB 6, the 2019 law at the heart of Ohios ongoing corruption scandal involving FirstEnergy, which owns three regulated utilities in Ohio. In the alleged multimillion-dollar conspiracy, the sprawling corporation used dark money  political spending whose ultimate source is concealed  to bribe former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R) and pay others for their help in passing and protecting the law for the benefit of FirstEnergy and its unregulated subsidiaries, including FirstEnergy Solutions, which ran two Ohio nuclear plants and was in bankruptcy at the time.

The legislation would have charged customers of utilities across the state  including FirstEnergys utilities, AEP Ohio, Duke Energy Ohio, and AES Ohio  more than $1 billion over the course of six years for the two nuclear plants. Lawmakers repealed that charge in 2021, along with terms guaranteeing revenue for utilities. HB 6 still requires utility customers to subsidize two 1950s-era coal plants through mid-August. Terms gutting Ohios renewable energy and energy-efficiency standards also remain in place.

FirstEnergy has admitted that it funneled roughly $60 million to dark money groups connected to Householder and that it paid $4.3 million to Sam Randazzo, former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, shortly before Gov. Mike DeWine (R) appointed him, in return for helping to pass HB 6 and doing other favors for the company at the commission.

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FirstEnergy paid roughly a third of a billion dollars to resolve federal criminal and securities charges, but neither those nor any state settlements to date address violations of Ohio regulatory law. Three cases at the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, or PUCO, had their evidentiary hearing  an administrative trial in June.

One case explores whether FirstEnergy violated Ohio law requiring corporate separation between utilities and unregulated affiliates. Another case examines how FirstEnergy used more than $450 million collected from customers under a bill rider that was later found to be unlawful. The third case considers whether charges to an account that was meant for expenses related to utilities capital equipment were improper. The PUCOs fourth HB 6 case, which likely wont have an evidentiary hearing before next year, considers whether customer money was used for political or charitable purposes.

FirstEnergy has undertaken significant measures to make amends for past misconduct, its utilities' lawyers wrote in their July 21 brief. FirstEnergys utilities deny that they violated Ohios corporate separation law. They further argue that they shouldnt have to pay much more than a $6.6 million refund, with interest, plus a measured remedy for concealing a side deal with Randazzo in the case that imposed the unlawful bill rider.

FirstEnergys proposed resolution would be more like a pat on the back than a slap on the wrist in terms of a punishment for committing those crimes and misusing ratepayer money, said Dave Anderson, policy and communications manager for the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group.

What does evidence show?

FirstEnergy spokesperson Jennifer Young said the company is unable to comment on ongoing litigation. Yet the utilities brief raises unusual arguments about the states corporate separation law and their failure to track specifically how customer money was spent.

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FirstEnergys utilities concede that state law prohibits them from favoring their unregulated affiliate, FirstEnergy Solutions. But they argue that this rule was not broken, claiming that the companys bribes to public officials were meant to boost the financial standing of its regulated utilities. HB 6s revenue guarantees funnelled money toward those utilities, the brief says, while the laws nuclear subsidies would have provided them with more baseload power.

While FirstEnergy Corp. engaged in criminal conduct  there is no evidence that the Companies extended an undue preference or advantage to any affiliate, the brief says.

However, Ohios corporate separation law bans regulated utilities from favoring or subsidizing unregulated electricity production, and the majority of the HB 6 subsidies were for FirstEnergy Solutions nuclear plants.

FirstEnergys utilities also claim they properly spent the unlawful rider money directly or indirectly for grid modernization, as the PUCO required in a 2016 order, and that it cant be refunded because of a 2019 ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court. Nonetheless, the company noted, roughly two-thirds of the total rider payments went back to customers under a 2021 settlement in a case about significantly excessive earnings.

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The 2019 Ohio Supreme Court decision said the bill charge wasnt refundable because it hadnt yet been ruled unlawful. The court didnt address whether restitution is appropriate for alleged misuses of the money, which came to light later. Thats the basis for the Ohio Manufacturers Association Energy Group and Office of the Ohio Consumers Counsel request for the charge to be refunded. And the case about significantly excessive earnings suggests the utilities had sufficient profits, which undermines claims that they needed the rider money, the consumers counsel noted.

Evidence at the regulatory hearings in June included a 2022 audit by Daymark Energy Advisors. Daymark found the spending could not be traced after it went into a money pool managed by an unregulated affiliate, FirstEnergy Service Co. And while the utilities made some upgrades to their distribution infrastructure, they recovered the funding through other bill charges, the auditor found. Daymark also concluded there was insufficient evidence for FirstEnergys claim that debt reduction and cuts to utilities pension obligations improved its ability to borrow money later for grid modernization.

FirstEnergy has utterly failed to sustain its burden of proof and  its actions in furtherance of HB 6 and the bribes have and still are causing harm to customers, lawyers for the manufacturers group wrote in their brief. Rather, evidence showed multiple violations, they wrote, citing testimony by the groups expert, John Seryak, and by Ashley Brown, a former PUCO commissioner who testified on behalf of the state consumers counsel.

Limited review

PUCO Chair Jenifer French has said the agency will continue to follow the facts wherever they may lead in the HB 6 saga. But critics say the commission is merely perpetuating a piecemeal approach to the corruption scandal, which began while Randazzo was still its chair.

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It just seems like there was a deliberate effort within the PUCO to break it up into multiple cases and just create a really confusing and convoluted process that has made it hard for the public to follow, said Anderson, with the Energy and Policy Institute.

Regulators still have not ordered a full-scale investigation and management review of FirstEnergys utilities, which the Office of the Ohio Consumers Counsel requested nearly five years ago. Nor did the commission announce any investigation into its own activities after Randazzos first criminal indictment in late 2023.

Questions in the individual regulatory cases are certainly relevant, but theyre marginal, Brown told Canary Media. The heart of the issue is this is a corporation gone rogue.

FirstEnergy has announced multiple reforms, including a new ethics officer and other steps to improve corporate governance. But good corporate governance hinges on companies knowing there will be consequences for violations, Brown said.

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Indeed, if regulators dont require steep financial penalties, the manufacturers group suggested they should revoke the FirstEnergy companies ability to do business as monopoly distribution utilities.

That possibility merits consideration, Anderson said. At what point does a corporation give up its government-granted privilege of having a whole body of captive ratepayers that it can collect ratepayer money from and have guaranteed profits from after having engaged in behavior like this? he asked.


On Friday, Governor Maura Healeys administration announced the final hotel shelters for migrants in the Bay State closed ahead of schedule and ended the state of emergency.

Healey had previously directed all hotel shelters to be closed by the end of 2025.

When we took office, families were being placed in hotels all across the state, and families were staying in shelter for months  sometimes years  at a time. There was no plan in place to reform the shelter system to handle the surge in demand, protect taxpayer dollars or help families leave shelter. We can all agree that a hotel is no place to raise a family. So we took action, said Healey. As a result of my reforms and our efforts to help families get jobs and stable housing, we have fewer families in shelter than the day we took office, and all hotel shelters are now closed  months ahead of schedule."

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Healey declared a migrant housing emergency in 2023 when shelter occupancy reached its peak with 100 reported state-run facilities. Since then, the administration has been working to make changes to the emergency shelter system aimed at reducing case loads and costs.

Healey said the decreases in shelter numbers are a result of a number of reforms she made to reduce caseloads and the cost of the states Emergency Assistance family shelter system.

These include a six-month length of stay requirement, workforce training and job placement for residents, and increased case management to help families find stable housing.

In January, Healey announced that families staying in Massachusetts emergency shelters must be in the U.S. legally and must also undergo a criminal background check before staying at shelters.

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Those were among the significant changes that Healey proposed to the states Right to Shelter law in January amid a migrant crisis in Massachusetts.

We are deeply grateful to the frontline teams whose extraordinary work make all the difference for families, said Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus. The dedication of our shelter providers ensured that thousands of families had access to safe shelter and support when they needed it most. We also thank the communities and partners across the state who stepped up to help families in need.

Massachusetts has turned to hotels and motels to shelter homeless families when traditional shelters reach capacity.

In 2014, 1,500 families were being sheltered in hotels across the state.

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In 2024, the hotel shelter system cost taxpayers over $188 million, according to records.

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AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A local Mexican restaurant was closed Friday.

Mahoning County Public Health said El Cowboy in Austintown in the Wedgewood Plaza voluntarily closed to address an insect issue.

A statement from Supervisor of Environmental Health Cory Powell states that the facility is conducting the proper measures to rectify the situation.

WKBN reached out to the restaurants owner, Israel Zambrano, who disputes the insect issue and said they are working on a plumbing problem. He said he hopes to have the restaurant reopened by Sunday.

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Kristen Hephner 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.




NEED TO KNOW

A dad of two was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 2020 after experiencing "strange symptoms"

Sam Suriakumar, 40, said hed been "smelling a strange smell and feeling really unwell" in the days leading up to his diagnosis with a glioma, describing the smell as "like ammonia or bleach"

Suriakumar assumed his wife Sindhu, with whom he shares daughters Avaana, 10, and Arya, 8, had been cleaning the bathroom





A British father of two is speaking out about receiving a devastating diagnosis after noticing he had some strange symptoms  which included randomly smelling bleach.

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Sam Suriakumar, now 40, was diagnosed with a glioma in February 2020 after having a seizure on the London Underground on his way home from work, according to the Brain Tumor Research website.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a "glioma is a tumor that forms in the brain or spinal cord."

"There are several types, including astrocytomas, ependymomas and oligodendrogliomas. Gliomas can affect children or adults. Some grow very quickly. Most people with gliomas need a combination of treatments such as surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy," the clinic adds.

Suriakumar shared his story with Brain Tumor Research, writing, "In the days leading up to my diagnosis in February 2020, I had been experiencing some strange symptoms. Id been smelling a strange smell and feeling really unwell."

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"It was a smell like ammonia or bleach, and it felt like a cleaning agent was filling up my mouth. I now know this as a symptom or a warning sign called an aura,'" he continued.

Brain Tumor Research Sam Suriakumar and family Sam Suriakumar and family

According to the Daily Mail, the first time Suriakumar smelled the bleach, he assumed his wife, Sindhu, had been cleaning the bathroom.

"I felt like I needed to lean against the wall to stand, I felt very strange but didn't think much of it," he said of experiencing the symptoms, per the outlet.

Suriakumar added, according to the Brain Tumor Research site, "The next day, when I was lifting a heavy weight at the gym, I experienced the same smell. I felt like I was going to collapse, and I had to put the weight down," sharing, "I didnt know it was a trigger warning that something was going on in my brain."

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He remembered going back to his office in central London, but "didn't feel right" and "couldnt face sitting in front of a computer screen," so headed home.

While on the subway, Suriakumar said he closed his eyes, but opened them "just two minutes later," despite it feeling "like so much time had passed."

He said he'd "had a full tonic-clonic seizure on the tube," adding, "My seizure was so severe that I fell off my seat, and the contractions were so violent that I dislocated my shoulder."

Suriakumar  who shares daughters Avaana, 10, and Arya, 8, with his wife Sindhu  wrote, "A member of the public had pulled the emergency lever on the tube, and I was taken off at Balham [London Underground station] where the station staff called an ambulance. Later, I was told Id had another seizure in the ambulance."

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He explained that the doctors at St. George's Hospital, where he was taken, "didn't know" why he was having the seizures, as he'd "had no previous symptoms."

Suriakumar recalled, "I had some scans and a lumbar puncture to collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for analysis. At first, nothing really showed on the scan, but a further scan revealed a mass on my brain."

Brain Tumor Research Sam Suriakumar Sam Suriakumar

"When they told me, I was devastated. I didnt even understand those words. To me they just meant death with a zero per cent chance of fighting this," he continued, adding that "suddenly" his "life changed."

"I couldnt work, I couldnt drive, and my future was far from certain. It felt like life had stopped and I was in a dark tunnel with no light. I couldnt speak, hear or understand what was going on," he shared.

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Suriakumar said that the COVID lockdown "soon followed" and he enjoyed some quality time with his wife, whom he married in 2011, and two girls.

After thanking people for their support, Suriakumar continued, "My brain [tumor] is a glioma and it was growing like a cobweb. This means it is difficult to remove with surgery without causing damage to the areas of my brain which control speech, memory, emotions and mobility."

He said that he was told if he "did have an operation, it would only be possible to remove 40% of the mass."

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According to the Daily Mail, Suriakumar was later told that his tumor had grown while he was at a wedding in Brazil in July 2023, after his condition had remained stable for two years. Not long after flying back to the U.K., he underwent surgery to have some of the tumor removed, the outlet noted.

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"In August 2023, I had a biopsy followed by a course of radiotherapy at the Royal Marsden in Sutton. I then underwent a year-long course of chemotherapy which finished in September 2024," Suriakumar shared with Brain Tumor Research, stating that he was "really sick during chemotherapy" and lost around 44 lbs.

Now, Suriakumar has been working on his health, completing a fitness competition in Belgium in April of this year, as well as recently celebrating his 40th birthday on July 26.

"I now have check-up scans every six months. My most recent one was in May, and it was stable which is what Im looking for," he told Brain Tumor Research. "When I was first diagnosed, my oncologist gave me a poor prognosis  I didnt think Id get to see my 40th, thats the crude reality of living with a brain [tumor]."

"When I was first diagnosed, I didnt even think Id see the end of the week. Forty was always a big benchmark number because of the poor survival statistics for people with brain [tumors], so getting to celebrate it has been a massive dream for me," Suriakumar insisted.



Read the original article on People
Jul. 31WESTOVER  Some exchanges are just as ordinary  as they are extraordinary.

Such as this one this past Wednesday morning in Westover.

Ron Wenig walked up to Lee Saffel and said, "Hi, Mr. Saffel. Good to see you again, sir."

Saffel, smiling, shook Wenig's hand on occasion of their second meeting and said, "You too. And it is great to be here."

Not that Saffel remembers their first meeting this past February.

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Saffel was flat on his back, unconscious. His son, Eli, was desperately doing chest compressions to keep his dad alive.

And Wenig and other first responders arrived  and took over.

Eli Saffel, a 17-year-old Morgantown High student who wants to be a cardiologist, picked up the narrative for his father, who is director of the West Virginia University Press, the school's in-house publishing arm.

"We had somebody at the house who was working on the roof, " he remembered. "My dad was talking to him. Mid-sentence, and he just dropped."

"I don't remember a thing, " Lee Saffel said.

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Eli watches medical dramas on occasion and had seen some YouTube videos on how to do CPR, but that was the extent of his medical training, he said with a bemused grin. Still, he went to work.

And that's why everyone was at the Education Center for Monongalia County Emergency Medical Services in Westover for the morning.

Mon EMS presented Eli and Wenig, a county medic, with its Lifesaver Award for their efforts that day six months ago.

The same recognition went to Walter Joy and Joshua Fletcher, Wening's fellow responders for Mon EMS.

Zach Lipscomb, Larry Dudley, Louie Shoemaker and Matt Farber of the Brookhaven Volunteer Fire Department received the same accolade.

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That's how many people, especially Saffel's son, Robby May said, who brought back Saffel's heartbeat while keeping him stable for the trip to J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital.

May, a former history teacher who directs clinical services for Mon EMS, said Eli, in particular, was the linchpin in the process.

"Nationwide, more than 350, 000 suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year, " the director said in prepared remarks.

"Nearly 90 % do not survive. But when CPR is started immediately by a bystander, survival rates can double or even triple. Which is why Eli's decision is so powerful."

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Eli doesn't have a lot of recall of that day either.

"I was just going on adrenaline, " he said. "I was just thinking about my dad."

He was already thinking about the medical profession for a career, he said. His dad's heart attack makes him want to become a cardiologist, he said.

"I can still see him out there, " the son recalled. "I was out sick from school. I'm just glad I was home."

Lee Saffel's just glad to be part of the proceedings, he said in a voice thick with emotion.

His daughter, Rhowyn, married in March. He got to walk her down the aisle. He just got back from band camp with Eli, which has turned into a father-son tradition.

"I'm overcome with emotion and gratitude, " the elder Saffel said. "It's been a journey. I'm still here because of all of you."
Heat index to soar above 100 Friday in Central Florida

Central Florida is under a heat advisory on Friday, with temperatures expected to reach a heat index of 104 to 109 degrees.

The advisory comes as the region experiences a combination of high temperatures and humidity, driving peak heat index values to dangerous levels.

Residents are advised to take precautions to avoid heat-related illnesses.

There is a 30% chance of scattered showers developing this afternoon, which may provide brief relief from the intense heat.

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Looking ahead to the weekend, a nearby weather front is expected to stall just north of Central Florida, increasing the chances of rain and storms.

As rain chances increase, temperatures are forecasted to drop slightly, with highs returning to the low 90s by Sunday and early next week.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Of all the infrastructure projects that have failed to get off the ground in this country, none has tested the patience of the British public quite like Heathrows proposed third runway. It has been 22 years since it was first reported that Labour ministers were seriously considering expanding Londons major airport. A decade of protests followed. Boris Johnson, when he was the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, threatened to lie down in front of the bulldozers. The coalition government scrapped the plans, before later admitting that an airport expansion in the South-east might be necessary after all. On and on it went.

When they returned to power, Labour was supposed to Get Britain Building. In January, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, threw her support behind the third runway, putting economic growth over her fellow Cabinet member Ed Milibands pursuit of net zero. And still, there was no clear road ahead. Heathrows owner, Heathrow Airport Holdings, was warned in May that it could not afford a third runway without loading the business with billions of pounds more debt. On Thursday, as it presented the Government with a fresh plan for expansion (which is expected to cost 50bn), a rival bid emerged.

Hotel tycoon Surinder Arora claimed his proposal for a shorter runway would save billions and avoid redirecting the M25. As Gareth Roberts, the leader of Richmond council, puts it: Its a bit like Hannibal Lecter saying hes going to go vegetarian one day a week. Its still appalling, but slightly less appalling than whats being proposed.

Billionaire businessman Surinder Arora has presented a rival bid for the proposed third runway - Geoff Pugh

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer says he is prepared to do whatever it takes to get spades in the ground by 2030.

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But history would suggest that whatever announcements and declarations are made, the spades may well stay in the shed, never to break ground. Indeed Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London  who has long opposed a third runway  said on Thursday that airport expansion was not compatible with net zero.

With hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayer money already plunged into the project, lets remind ourselves of the long road to the third runway.

2003

In May 2003, BAA plc admits publicly it plans to seek approval for a third runway. Local groups, politicians in the capital and the aviation sector condemn the news, but by December, Downing Street is cautiously on board. Alistair Darling, the transport secretary at the time, launches a white paper outlining plans for a third runway and a sixth terminal at Heathrow  though the paper does say there are concerns about air pollution. Darling predicts a third runway will emerge within 12 years.

The late Alistair Darling, the transport secretary in 2003, presented a white paper approving the expansion - Stefan Rousseau

Justine Bayley, the chairman of the Stop Heathrow Expansion coalition, who lives in Harmondsworth (one of the villages facing proposed partial demolition), says: Nobody who lives around Heathrow is inexperienced in the trauma and the [feeling of] forever sitting on the edge of your seat and wondering whether this time its going to be any different from last time, or whether once again youre given a reprieve but only until next time.

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Its the ongoing drip feed of anticipation of the worst.

2007-09

The Camp for Climate Action is established to the north of Heathrow in the village of Sipson, but the governments support for the third runway remains steady. Environmental campaigners have always deemed the notion of a third runway to be disgraceful.

Protesters in Sipson form a giant NO during a demonstration against the expansion in 2008 - Alessia Pierdomenico/Reuters

By 2008, it is clear that a Conservative government will likely block a third runway. David Cameron criticises prime minister Gordon Brown for pig-headedly going ahead and trying to push the scheme through. There would be no runway under his watch, he says. No ifs, no buts.

The following year, Geoff Hoon, the Labour transport secretary, gives the green light, promising the toughest climate change regime for aviation anywhere in the world. Miliband (who was then energy secretary  a role he would reprise more than a decade later) leads the rabble of Cabinet ministers opposing the plan and a rebellion ensues.

2010

The tail end of the last Labour government sees the chances of Heathrow expansion plunged into chaos, uncertainty and a predictable Labour revolt.

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Meanwhile, Johnson, by now the mayor of London, sails into the Thames estuary with a team of engineers in search of a site for a new airport. Yes, Boris Island, remember that? The artificial island in the middle of the Thames. That began to bubble away in 2010.

Foster and Partners design for the Thames Hub in 2011, better known as Boris Island after its biggest cheerleader, Boris Johnson, who was mayor of London at the time - Foster and Partners

And then? Well, then Labour lost the election. The new coalition Government immediately scraps the proposal, and everyone retreats to their corners.

2012

Two years later, Cameron and his chancellor, George Osborne, acknowledge there is a need for an expansion of the airport provision in south-east England, having been lobbied by business leaders. By June, they make it clear they are open to proposals.

Further splits are forming, though. Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, promises his party will not back the third runway, describing it as a disaster. Zac Goldsmith says hell quit as MP for Richmond Park, which would trigger a by-election; transport secretary Justine Greening is removed in a reshuffle.

2015

The Airports Commission publishes a report backing the expansion. The commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, the former director general of the Confederation of British Industry, calls for a new runway to the north-west of the airport, and specifies that night flights should be banned and there should be caps on noise and air quality.

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At this point, for campaigners like Bayley, the battle to block the expansion has already been going for more than a decade. She describes the hovering threat of the Heathrow third runway as a blight on the lives of homeowners in the area, where properties could be bulldozed or rendered uninhabitable. Some of the people she was campaigning with in 2015 are now stepping away from the fray. A lot of my older friends in the village are saying, Well, whether it goes ahead or not, Im going to be in a box before they come to knock my house down  Ive done my fighting, Im not going to waste any more time on it.

2018

The third runway has never been a straightforwardly Right and Left issue, and the Theresa May era (after Cameron resigned in 2016 following the Brexit vote) is mired in more Tory divisions. In 2016, May delays the vote on the expansion, in the midst of threats that members of her own party could resign. Greening is back in the cabinet as education secretary, and Johnson is foreign secretary and still vehemently opposed. But come 2018, the Commons backs the expansion by 415 votes to 119. Johnson skips the vote.

2019

Four separate judicial reviews are brought against the governments decision to approve the expansion, led by Khan. Heathrow opens a consultation on its plans in June. The plans include a proposal to reroute the M25 under a tunnel. For Rob Barnstone, of the No 3rd Runway Coalition, its at this point that the sheer cost of the project becomes clearer. Barnstones biggest question to date is: Can we afford a third runway? [] The airport is already in debt.

He fears it will go the way of other projects that have burnt public money. This could be like HS2 all over again, he says.

2020

By 2020, reports suggest taxpayers have already footed a 504m bill for the botched expansion.

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The Court of Appeal slows things down significantly in a win for campaigners. In February, the court finds the governments approval of the expansion to be illegal and blocks it. Ministers had, it ruled, failed to take into account its climate commitments. Ten months later, while the country limps through a pandemic, the Supreme Court overturns the decision, but the impact of lockdown and the economic hit taken by the aviation industry means more delays are inevitable.

In February 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of campaigners who challenged the governments plan for expansion - Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/PA Images

For the remaining three and a half years of Tory rule, the issue of Heathrows third runway judders on in fits and starts. Meanwhile, people who live near the airport find they are in limbo, unable to sell their homes even if they wanted to, as mortgage lenders wont take on properties that could one day be razed to the ground.

2025

And so, we come to a new era. For Roberts, of Richmond council, the motivation behind Starmer and Reevess push to Get Heathrow Done is transparent. Its the old politicians logic. Something must be done, this is something, therefore we must do it, he says.

Possibly they want to distance themselves from the Tories failure on HS2. They want to have something which is eye-catching and deliverable.

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It seems to be [a case of] We have to show that were in favour of growth. What can we do? Ah, Heathrow. Lets say were going to expand Heathrow.

Sir Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, opposes the proposed third runway, in contrast to the PM, Sir Keir Starmer, who wants spades in the ground by 2030 - Carl Court/Getty

Whether, in fact, they will deliver on that pledge remains to be seen. The Prime Minister is, sources say, up for the fight. Hell do whatever it takes on this, a senior Government source told The Times. He views aviation as a key driver of economic growth.

Familiar rhetoric, but will he follow through? Or will the hot potato simply be passed to the next leader? He will need to get things moving if he truly wants spades on the ground in this Parliament. Amid fears Khan could launch a legal challenge that would delay expansion by years and add to costs even if it proved unsuccessful, he might need to do something about the Mayor of London, too.

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London's Heathrow Airport on Friday unveiled a 49-billion ($65 billion) expansion plan, including the costs of building a long-awaited third runway, approved by the UK government after years of legal wrangling.

The runway would cost 21 billion, with flights expected to take off within a decade, while the rest of the privately-funded investment will go toward expanding and modernising the airport.

Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport by passenger numbers, said the expansion would provide at least 30 new daily routes, more domestic connections and improved flight times.

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The increased capacity would almost double the number of annual passengers from 84 million currently to up to 150 million passengers annually.

"It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow," said chief executive Thomas Woldbye.

"We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity," he added.

Despite fierce opposition from environmentalists and local residents, London mayor Sadiq Khan and some Labour MPs, the Labour government backed the new runway in January in a bid to boost UK economic growth.

It would be a rare expansion in Europe, where countries are split between efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the needs of a strategic sector that has seen demand grow.

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Heathrow has submitted its proposal for the 3,500 metre runway to the UK government, which has also invited a rival proposal.

- Green trade-offs -

Heathrow's proposal includes 12 billion to fund a new terminal and 15 billion for modernisation.

"A third runway and supporting infrastructure can be ready within a decade, and the full investment across all terminals would take place over the coming decades," Heathrow said in a statement.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is determined to deliver major infrastructure projects to revive the UK economy that has struggled to take off since the party came to power a year ago.

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The government is expected to also back expansion at Gatwick airport, south of the capital, in October -- having recently approved upgrades to London's Stansted, Luton and City airports.

Britain's Supreme Court ruled at the end of 2020 that Heathrow could build the third runway, overturning a legal decision to block construction on environmental grounds.

Local residents "will see their lives put on hold for a few more years while more money and time is wasted on a doomed scheme," said Douglas Parr, policy director for Greenpeace UK.

He added the plans "export more tourism wealth out of the UK in the most polluting way possible."

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Arora Group, one of Heathrow's largest landowners, on Thursday said it will submit a rival bid to build a shorter third runway, promising lower costs and less disruption to local residents and the environment.

"This is the rst time the government has invited a competing proposal for Heathrow expansion," the UK-based property and hotel firm said in a statement.

British Airways owner IAG's chief executive Luis Gallego said the rival bid was "credible" as the group announced its net profit jumped 44 percent to 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in the first six months of the year on "strong demand".

"We always think that competition is good to improve things, and we have seen that in commercial aviation in the past," he added.

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Airport-owner Heathrow's latest investment proposal comes in addition to plans to invest 10 billion over the next five years in upgrades to boost passenger numbers, which would be largely funded by higher charges on airlines.

ajb/jkb/rl
Londons Heathrow airport unveiled shovel-ready plans for its long-debated third runway, which it hopes it can have operating within 10 years.

Heathrow is Europes busiest travel hub, but is running at capacity, which the projects proponents say causes bottlenecks for UK growth. The new runway and an accompanying sixth terminal would boost annual passenger throughput from 84 million to 150 million although opponents are concerned about environmental impacts, and myriad veto points in the British zoning system can cripple infrastructure plans.

A high-speed rail line running north from London is years behind schedule and double the original budget, while the application for a road tunnel under the Thames ran to 350,000 pages and cost 300 million before the plan was even approved.
At least seven people have died in Conakry due to heavy overnight rain, exposing the citys vulnerability to extreme weather.

The downpour, which struck overnight from Wednesday 30 July to Thursday 31 July, brought chaos to numerous neighbourhoods, collapsing homes and sweeping vehicles into the floodwaters.

The government said seven people had died, though civil protection services suggest the death toll could be even higher, as several people are still missing.

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Several buildings collapsed during the downpour, trapping residents in floodwaters, local media and witnesses said.

A resident of the Soumanbosiya neighbourhood, Benjamin Kamano, lost his three children and their mother when part of their home collapsed.

I heard the children calling for help, he told AFP reporters. I got up quickly and found myself underwater There was no one in the children's room. I realised they were gone, because their crying had stopped.

The municipality of Matoto  Conakrys largest  also suffered heavily, with at least five reported deaths after two homes collapsed.

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Rescue operations underway after Nigeria flooding kills at least 150

Infrastructure, drainage systems overwhelmed

The rainfall recorded in Conakry on Wednesday evening reached 70.8mm, according to national meteorological services.

The effects have been compounded by longstanding urban planning issues, with unregulated construction and blocked drainage systems making many parts of the city vulnerable to severe flooding.

Since the end of June, flooding in Guinea has resulted in at least 15 deaths and affected over 1,200 households.

The director of the National Agency for Emergency and Humanitarian Disaster Management, Lancei Toure, acknowledged that poor infrastructure and overwhelmed drainage systems have exacerbated the crisis.

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In a statement issued Thursday, the government expressed deep sadness over the loss of life and widespread damage.

It pledged ongoing efforts to assist affected families and address the root causes of the citys vulnerability to extreme weather events.

As the rainy season continues, many residents remain on high alert.

There are growing calls for sustainable urban reforms to better protect Guineas capital from future disasters.

Unprecedented floods devastate harvests in northeastern Senegal

(With AFP)
(FOX 5/KUSI)  A two-day Polynesian celebration will transform the Junior Seau Oceanside Pier Amphitheater into an island realm, bringing Tahitian rhythm and spirit to the San Diego area.

Now in its 15th year, Heiva San Diego is expected to draw thousands to celebrate the rich cultural traditions of French Polynesia through music, cuisine, art and much more on August 2 and 3.

Bazaar del Mundo outdoor market brings artisan crafts from Mexico, Central and South America

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Since its inception in 2011, the event has aimed to promote cultural awareness and friendship between French Polynesia and the United States.

Whether youre a seasoned Tahitian dancer or simply captivated by the culture, this family-friendly event offers something for everyone.

Enjoy performances from world-class dancers, explore the marketplace and try a variety of dishes from vendors serving exotic flavors.

The event runs from 9:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. both days at 301 The Strand North, just south of the Oceanside Pier.

Adult general admission is $30 for one day and $55 for both days. General admission for children is $20 for one day and about $29 for two days.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Amid a rise in wolf attacks, Americas cattle farmers are taking an unorthodox approach to protecting their herds  with the help of some notorious rock legends.

Since gray wolves were reintroduced to the U.S. in 1995 following near-elimination, their populations have rebounded across their historical range in the Intermountain West and along the West Coast.

While the species return has led to multiple beneficial ecological changes, it has also recently resulted in the deaths of dozens of cattle and other livestock across multiple states.

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Along with new strategies in collecting predator DNA to limit attacks, details of which the Department of Agriculture published this week, for the past three years, federal predator specialists have been hazing the gray wolves, using drones with speakers attached to blast AC/DC hits, including Thunderstruck and Blue on Black.

And thats not all  a clip of an intense argument between Adam Driver and Scarlett Johanssons characters in the 2019 movie Marriage Story also served to startle the wolves away from livestock.

Researchers are using drones blasting AC/DCs classic hits to stop wolves from attacking livestock on farms in western states. For now, its working (AFP/Getty)

The operations are quick and methodical. The drones have heat-seeking cameras that can show operators where the wolves are at night. A loudspeaker attached to the drone then plays a clip of human sound, and the wolves disperse nearly instantaneously.

After deploying the speaker-outfitted drones to the Klamath Basin area in southwestern Oregon, wolf attacks fell from around one every other night to less than one a month.

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We were able to effectively haze wolves away from cattle  and in one case  even stop an attack in progress, said Dr. Dustin Ranglack, Predator Project Leader and Utah Field Station Leader for USDAs National Wildlife Research Center, told Jefferson Public Radio last December.

Hopefully theyre gonna be successful, Jim Rickert, the 77-year-old owner of Californias Prather Ranch, told The Wall Street Journal on Friday, but Im kinda betting on the wolves, truth be known.

Dozens of cattle have been killed by gray wolves in states across the western U.S. this year. In California, there were 27 calf deaths in May and April alone (AFP/Getty)

It was a vast improvement on previous strategies for preventing wolf attacks  which involved Ranglack and his colleagues at Wildlife Services  chasing the predators on foot, he explained to The Wildlife Society this past February. Hardly an easy task when a gray wolf can reach speeds of up to 37 mph.

But while this strategy has had success, the attacks keep coming.

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So far this year, dozens of cattle have been killed in western states.

California saw 27 calves killed in March and April alone, costing the state millions to reimburse agricultural losses and help to pay for fencing and other nonlethal deterrents, according to The Sacramento Bee. Earlier this week, Washington State wildlife officials killed an adult male wolf from a pack blamed for two cattle deaths in Ferry County, The Spokesman-Review said. In Colorado, state officials said theyre working to kill at least one wolf in Pitkin County after determining wolves killed one calf near Aspen last month, according to CPR News.

An adult gray wolf and five pups are seen in Oregon. While gray wolf populations have rebounded since they were nearly eliminated by habitat loss and hunting, conservation groups are worried about the impact of removing protections in the future (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)

And the hunter appears likely to become the hunted once again.

Earlier this year, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would remove the gray wolf from the list of endangered and threatened wildlife, and ensure that the decision could not be challenged. The move comes following similar legislation from Republicans that leaves it up to the states to determine whether the wolves can be hunted.

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Although proponents have argued that the species has recovered over the last couple of decades, conservation groups say the gray wolves future remains precarious even without stripping their protections.

Melissa Smith, executive director of the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, said when federal protection was lifted in early 2021, Wisconsin state-licensed hunters killed 218 wolves in less than three days, surpassing a quota of 200, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.

Certainly weve seen what wolf delisting does and did do in 2021 to wolves, she said. I have serious doubts in the accountability, transparency and democracy of the agency, especially when whats going on federally, that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will not be able to monitor the situation of a freshly delisted species.
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56)  Franklin County authorities are asking the community to keep an eye out for a teenager who was last seen Wednesday night.

 MISSING IN KENTUCKY

Benjamin Charleton, 16, was last seen around 11 p.m. on July 30 near the 400 block of Schenkel Lane, officials said.

Benjamin Charleton missing (Frankfort Police Department)

He stands 5 feet, 5 inches and was last seen wearing a black hoodie and gray sweatpants.

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Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to contact Franklin County dispatch.

This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 56 News 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 FOX 56 News.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A Henderson councilwoman is alleging her ward is getting gerrymandered in favor of an opponent endorsed by the city council.

The mayor calls the accusation a stunning lack of knowledge.

During a July 15 Henderson City Council Meeting, Councilwoman Carrie Cox asked city staff to explain the reasoning behind the new ward redistricting set for a vote on Aug. 5, adding she was surprised to see it on the agenda.

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I had no idea this was coming until it was pointed out it was on the agenda, Cox said. I had no prior knowledge, and that was disturbing to me.

During a July 15 Henderson City Council Meeting, Councilwoman Carrie Cox asked city staff to explain the reasoning behind the new ward redistricting set for a vote on Aug. 5, adding she was surprised to see it on the agenda . (KLAS)

Andrew Powell, the Henderson Planning Manager, said based on new population estimates, two Henderson wards are now 5 percent greater than another. The population difference requires redistricting to occur in a year when there is not a general election, according to Powell, who prepared two redistricting plan drafts.

Because theres not a general election this year that we fit that bill, he said. We also have to complete that redistricting effort at least six months before the closing of the candidate filing period, which is fast approaching in March.

Cox thanked Powell for his explanation; however, reiterated her concerns about the motivation behind the decision and said in her opinion, it felt like it was made behind closed doors.

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Its an unbelievable to me that were in this situation for the second time in two years, during my term, she said. And my ward is being set up to be the most affected.

Sitting nearby, Annette Dawson Owens, a Nevada State Board of Education board member running against Cox, became the subject of the conversation between the city council and staff.

I question how political this is, Cox said. As requirement I understand, but given recently, an opponent is in the race and was supported by the mayor and council.

Councilwoman Monica Larson pushed back on claims the decision was made behind closed doors and pointed to the growth in the neighborhoods of Cadence and Inspirada.

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It was implied this was a back-door meeting, closed-door meeting, we all found out at the same time, Larson said. This is a state law, a state requirement.

Clearly looks political

Two weeks after the city council meeting, Councilwoman Cox furthered her statements in a press release from Lisa Mayo-DeRiso, a Nevada campaign consultant. The release characterizes the decision as politically motivated and directed by Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero.

Redistricting should reflect facts  not political convenience, Mayo-DeRiso wrote. By bypassing the U.S. Census, the city has eroded public trust and possibly violated redistricting norms designed to protect equal representation.

The release claims the changes were made using internal population estimates, not official U.S. census data, to redraw all wards but Ward 1. The release characterizes the redistricting of Ward 3, which would be the second in two years, as an act to disenfranchise thousands of voters, and an attempt to weaken Coxs position.

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Cox wrote that she is directly challenging the assertion made by city staff that the 5 percent population growth rate justifies the redistricting.

Redistricting is a huge concern for me. As always, my number one priority is my constituents. It is well known that I have stood up for them and have not always agreed with the mayor, Cox wrote in response to 8 News Now request for comment. The redistricting of my ward twice in a two-year period is not typical and frankly unheard of. My ward stands to be most impacted, with two other wards being affected also, which is unacceptable. The estimated numbers do not make sense and clearly, this looks political; it amounts to suppression of the voters and a needless tax burden to the residents.

The citys reasoning and documents associated with the redistricting were also disputed by Dr. Scott Gavorsky, a demographer, according to the press release.

The Consensus Population Estimates that the city provides are consistently higher than any publicly available Census estimates, Gavorsky wrote.

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The data used to arrive at the citys population estimates have yet to be approved by the city and it has not yet been explained where the data came from, according to the press release.

City staff answer questions

The City of Henderson responded to several of the accusations outlined by the press release and Coxs questions, again describing the redistricting as normal.

This is not a new process and has been systematically followed for years. It is guided by highly skilled City staff who are experts in municipal planning and follow best practices and established standards, city staff wrote. It is conducted impartially and independently, without influence or direction from elected officials.

The formula and data set used by city staff was a specific question from opponents who questioned the origin of the internally generated estimates.

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The data utilized to estimate the population includes building permit data, U.S. Census Bureau persons per household data, and local utility record data provided by NV Energy and other utility providers, staff wrote. The estimate methodology is consistent with the provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes and Nevada Administrative Code that govern the estimation of population in Nevada. The U.S. Census Bureau does not estimate population at the election precinct level and would not be usable for redistricting outside of a decennial census.

Opponents also questioned the frequency of the changes for Coxs ward. City staff described that change as normal and within guidelines.

We avoid moving precincts from one ward to another to the extent practical, particularly if they were already moved during the last redistricting effort, city staff wrote. Although we strive to minimize back-to-back changes, sometimes it cannot be avoided, as in this instance. Fast-growing areas require adjustments often. The fastest-growing area in the City of Henderson in recent years has been the Cadence Master Planned Community, located in Ward 3, which necessitates back-to-back ward updates in that area.

Stunning lack of knowledge

Mayor Romero responded to an 8 News Now request for comment regarding the specific accusation that she was behind the choice to redistrict the wards. A mayoral campaign spokesperson sent the response, not city staff.

Mayor Romero responded to an 8 News Now request for comment regarding the specific accusation that she was behind the choice to redistrict the wards. A mayoral campaign spokesperson sent the response, not city staff. (KLAS)

Ward maps are developed independently of the Mayor and Council office. The newly drawn Ward maps presented at the last city council meeting were made available to the Mayor, City Council and the public at the same time, a week prior to the meeting, Romero wrote. The allegations made by Ms. Cox display a stunning lack of knowledge of the process for both city operations and redistricting as described in our city charter.

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HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT)  Health First Community Health Center and Community Alliance Resource Partners are teaming to host a block party Friday afternoon in Henderson.

The organizations are encouraging the community to come out from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at 700 MLK Jr. Ave.

Organizers state a foam party, free food and treats, giveaways and local resources will be available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).
New Orleans jail inmates line up during a mock evacuation drill June 15, 2023. (Nigell Moses/Verite)

NEW ORLEANS  The mother of a child sex trafficking survivor who has pressed authorities for years to bring her alleged pimp to justice learned from a reporter Thursday that he was mistakenly released from jail and was out for months before authorities were aware.

David A. Jones, 32, was released from the Orleans Justice Center in December after a mixup involving his bond paperwork, The Times-Picayune first reported. A judge had ordered Jones held without bond in May 2024 after he violated conditions of his release for an arrest separate from his charges for child sex trafficking and kidnapping in 2018.

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The Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office, which operates the city jail, did not disclose Jones release to the public until April, when Jones turned himself in, and said he was on an ankle monitor through the entire four-month period.

District Attorney Jason Williams also didnt share information with the survivors mother about Jones release, she said. The womans name is being withheld to protect the identity of her daughter, who was 13 when Jones allegedly sold her for sex with other men.

I did not find out until a few hours ago, she said in an interview Thursday afternoon. I had no knowledge of this at all, and Ive been in contact with the (victim) advocate over at the DAs office. No one notified me of this incident at all.

In a text message sent to our news partners at WVUE-TV Fox 8 News, the district attorneys office said it became aware of Jones release when he walked into court March 27. The judge was informed he should not have been released, and the prosecution asked the court for an arrest warrant April 4. Jones attorney emailed the DAs office April 8 to say he would turn himself in, which he did April 14 according to the DAs statement.

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Watch the Fox 8 News story.

Sheriffs office: No mistakes made

The Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office disputes that it made a mistake with Jones release. It provided a recap of Jones recent court dates to Fox 8 News that said a prosecutor was present for the April 8 court date when the record noted Jones was out on bond and on an ankle monitor. Jones appeared before a judge six days later and was returned to jail 134 days after his release.

What occurred was part of an internal cleanup of administrative records. Specifically, the closure of one of Mr. Jones other case folders, the sheriffs office said in a statement. This action was taken for record-keeping clarity and did not cause a change in his physical custody or legal status.

The sheriffs office said any suggestion that Mr. Jones was mistakenly released, including those made by the Office of the Orleans Parish District Attorney, is factually incorrect.

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However, Jones attorney, William Boggs, told The Times-Picayune his clients release was an error and that he shouldnt have been allowed to bond out.

Following another mistaken release last week, the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office fired two of its deputies and suspended five others Thursday. Khalil Bryan was let out of jail July 25 after guards failed to follow identification protocol and confused Bryan with another incarcerated person with the same last name. He remains at large.

Sheriff Susan Hutson, whos seeking re-election, has been under intense scrutiny since 10 inmates organized and executed a mass escape in May. Six of the escapees face murder or attempted murders charges. One man, convicted killer Derrick Groves, 28, has yet to be caught.

An investigation into the May 16 breakout has led to 16 arrests, including charges against two jail employees accused of aiding the escapees.

Case approaching 7 years

Jones arrest affidavit details how the victims mother learned in August 2018 her daughter was being exploited for sex. She received a phone call from an unknown woman who informed her streaming live video posted on Twitter showed her 13-year-old engaging in sexual intercourse with several men.

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The affidavit said Jones allegedly kept the girl in a downtown New Orleans hotel room for several days and she was forced to have sex for paying clients. He reportedly would attack the girl when she disclosed her actual age to the men, having instructed her to say she was 18 years old.

Jones was indicted in November 2018 and formally charged a month later. His case would stretch out for months through a series of continuances and rescheduled hearings. The public defender assigned to his case was changed three times in 16 months before Jones was released on $75,000 bond in October 2020.

He was arrested again in May 2024 for domestic abuse, and his bond was revoked, court records show. Back in jail, Jones was charged a month later when was allegedly found with a 7-inch shank.

It was for that contraband charge that Jones was allowed to post bond in December and released. His trial is set to begin Aug. 18.

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Over the years of seeking justice, the survivors mother has become active in statewide efforts to prevent sex trafficking. She told reporters she now feels officials at every level have disappointed her.

This case has been pushed back time after time after time, she said. This happened when my child was 13 years old; she will now be 21. So how do you make sense of something like that? You dont. You just dont.

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Heavy rain should be present across southern New England Thursday night and going into Friday morning, with forecasters warning that flooding is possible in part of the region.

A large system across the Northeast has produced very heavy rain across eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is likely to see the most instability, according to the National Weather Service.

Despite this, southern New England could see between 1 and a half and 2 inches of heavy rainfall, with localized amounts being between 3 and 4 inches across Central and Western Massachusetts, going into northwestern Connecticut, forecasters said.

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Urban and poor drainage street flooding is expected but could be minor, forecasters continued. A flood watch is in effect in Connecticut until 2 a.m., and is not expected to expand into Massachusetts.

Timingwise, the rain area will initially be focused across interior Massachusetts into northwestern Connecticut into this evening with scattered convection further south... Drier air begins to move into northern MA where rain will taper off late tonight," forecasters wrote.

Going into Friday morning, rain could largely be isolated to the south coast as it wanes across the interior, forecasters said. Dry air should move south, giving the region a chance to see some sunshine during the afternoon.

Daytime highs on Friday should be in the low to mid-70s and closer to 70 degrees in southeastern Massachusetts, forecasters said. By the evening, lows could reach the 50s.

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Dry and seasonable weather should persist starting on Saturday and continue through next week, forecasters said. But theres uncertainty toward the end of the week, as a system from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley enters the Northeast.

While we don`t see a return of hot and humid conditions, it may promote moisture feed up the East Coast and could bring our next round of rainfall, especially if we see surface low development near the mid-Atlantic coast, forecasters wrote.

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PARKCHESTER, The Bronx (PIX11)  Didarul Islam, a three-and-a-half-year veteran of the NYPD, was laid to rest on Thursday at a mosque thats at the heart of the Bangladeshi American community in the Bronx, of which Islam was an active member.

The funeral ended under gray skies and rain that suited the somber mood of the occasion, but that occasion also included a massive show of support by fellow officers from around the region, the country, and the world.

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Their uniforms had service patches showing that they came from departments as wide-ranging as Aurora, Colorado; Cicero, Illinois; Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East; and places closer to New York City, like Waterbury, Connecticut. Thats where Ofcr. Jennifer DeWitt serves. She summed up the general mood among the thousands of officers who, like her, had come out to the mosque at Gleason and Virginia Avenues.

Its bittersweet, she said. It feels great to see this much support and this much camaraderie, but its also a terrible loss, because we lost a family member.

A sense of family was apparent among Islams fellow officers from the 47th Precinct, to which hed been assigned. The officers stood at attention in front of the Parkchester Jame Masjid, the mosque hosting the funeral service, as the Islamic family arrived just before 10:00 a.m.

The rest of the day-long events were dedicated to the Islam family, and how they are now even closer to a larger, uniform community.

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The president of the Police Benevolent Association, the uniformed officers union, spoke about it in an interview with PIX11 News before the funeral service.

Were part of your family now, said PBA President Patrick Hendry, about the Islams new status, and were going to take care of you.

Hendry was also one of the speakers at the funeral, where Gov. Kathy Hochul also addressed the packed gathering.

The Quran says, Whoever saves a life saves all of humanity,' she said. This officer saved lives.

Wife of cop killed in NYC mass shooting shares message: He was our world

Mayor Eric Adams spoke next, calling Islam exemplary not only as a police officer, but also as a New York citizen. Everyone we talked with talked about how special he was, the mayor said, and what he represents.

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The strongest reception was for an announcement made by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, regarding a new service status for the fallen police veteran.

It is my honor and great privilege to promote Officer Didarul Islam to Detective First Grade, she said to thunderous applause. Commissioner Tisch then hugged Detective Islams widow as she presented her with his new detective shield.

After the ceremony, there were public prayers. Even though the mosque building is multi-story and can accommodate hundreds of worshipers, it was by no means large enough for the many people whod come to pray.

Side by side, they laid out prayer rugs, faced Mecca, and prayed in the street outside. Members of Detective Islams Bangladeshi Muslim community were joined by Jewish, Christian, and other people of faith in their prayers.

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Then, in silence, Islams casket was brought out by an honor guard to the waiting hearse. The Islam family watched as a hard rain began to fall. Taps was played by a trumpet trio, followed by a four-helicopter flyby.

Lastly, a motorcade of hundreds of motorcycles, extending for about nine blocks, with officers from across the country driving each vehicle, led Detective Didarul Islam to his burial, nearly 20 miles away, at Laurel Grove Cemetery, in Totowa, New Jersey.

A candlelight vigil in Det. Islams honor is scheduled for Friday outside of the 47th Precinct, at 4111 Laconia Avenue, between 229th and 230th Streets, across the street from the Edenwald Houses.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  The National Weather Service has extended a Red Flag Warning for leeward portions of the Hawaiian Islands through Saturday afternoon.

According to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, warning signals of critical fire weather conditions are currently in effect or may occur soon.

Emergency preparedness: What should you pack in a go bag?

Critical fire weather conditions are characterized by a combination of strong winds, low humidity and dry fuels, which can significantly amplify fire behavior.

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Lives at risk if red flag power cuts go into effect

It is reported that the east winds of Oahu and Kauai are 15 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. Maui County and the Big Island can experience gusts up to 50mph. Relative humidity is a low range of 35% to 45%.

We cannot afford to be careless when conditions are this dangerous. Nearly all of Hawaiis wildfires are started by human activity, which means nearly all of them are preventable. Every person in our state  residents and visitors alike  has a role to play in reducing the risk. Please take this warning seriously, avoid activities that can spark fires and do your part to keep our communities and ohana safe. Gov. Josh Green

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First responders advise the public to:

Avoid activities that have an open flame or produce sparks

Remove brush or vegetation surrounding your home that could be flammable

Plan and practice a family evacuation plan

Report any smoke, flames, or potential fires by calling 911

Have your Go Bags ready

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Officials said that 99% of Hawaii Wildfires are caused by citizens, typically on accident.

Check out more news from around Hawaii

The warning may be extended, dropped or modified depending on the weather conditions that develop.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
GUILFORD COUNTY  The new Allen Jay Elementary School will cost nearly five times what was estimated in 2019, and the new K-8 school planned for the Colfax area will cost even more than that, Guilford County officlals said.

The presentation was to Guilford County commissioners and school board members during the Joint Capital / Facilities Committee meeting.

The old Allen Jay buildings are being demolished. The current price tag for the new building, due to be completed by August 2027, is $77.2 million, though that figure could change because tariffs are causing a range of construction material prices to rise, Deputy Superintendent Julius Monk said.

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Also, labor shortages and rising employment costs continue to affect the cost and timetable for major construction projects, as they have for the past several years.

The original estimate for the new school building in the Guilford County Schools' 2019 master plan was $16.6 million.

The cost of the new Katherine G. Johnson K-8 school in southwestern Guilford County, which has been annexed into High Point, is $94.5 million, though that could change over time, Monk said.

School officials had estimated in March, before designs for the school were done, that the school would cost $59.3 million.

The new school is estimated for occupancy by August 2028.

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The current activity is a review of the schematic design of the new building. In next three months, the design development phase should be completed.

In the next three months, crews will begin the construction phase on the new Allen Jay.

Monk said that the positive outlook for Guilford County is that bond projects are progressing despite the churn in the construction field nationally.

Guilford County voters approved $2 billion in bonds during the November 2020 and May 2022 referendum issues with the goal of transforming aging and outdated schools across Guilford County.

Guilford County Chief Financial Officer Don Warn said that the total debt issued to date is $870 million. The bond issuance is on schedule, he told the commissioners and school board members.

The joint county committee was created at the suggestion of former Superintendent Sharon Contrares, who proposed the idea more than six years ago when planning was underway on the school facilities blueprint. Contreras proposed the formation of the committee so that commissioners and school board members could keep abreast throughout the year on capital projects.
Pittsburgh residents received 5,000 pounds of fresh produce today, courtesy of Highmark Wholecares Farm-to-Family event.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Highmark Wholecare pushing to expand fresh food initiative in 2025

The Farm-to-Family initiative is a 25-stop tour, started by Highmark Wholecare, which aims to distribute 120,000 pounds of fresh produce to more than 6,000 families across Pennsylvania.

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Two weeks ago, the tour stopped at the Monessen municipal building to offer food to around 500 people.

People are always so gracious, just always so happy and thrilled to be able to receive it, said Michael Callaghan, Supervisor at Highmark Wholecares Connection Center. Were happy to be here to be that entity that can help.

This particular stop was at Allegheny Dwellings Housing in the 1700 block of Belleau Drive in Fineview. The distribution was held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The program has scaled up by 40% in 2025 due to overwhelming demand.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Highmark Wholecare pushing to expand fresh food initiative in 2025

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We expanded our partnership with both Allegheny County Housing Authority and the City of Pittsburgh Housing Authority to host our free Farm-to-Family farmers markets, beginning in 2024, said Callaghan. We increased our presence at City of Pittsburgh housing locations this year to reach more people in need where they live. Along with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, we are bringing healthy produce to neighborhoods with Farm-to-Family because food is medicine. It plays an important role in helping people get and stay healthy.

Callaghan said the initiative is particularly important right now as families focus on staying healthy as they prepare to head back to school.

Volunteers are always welcome for future events.

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A major crash took place on Highway 16 in the Pewaukee area on the morning of Aug. 1 involving at least 7 vehicles, leaving four injured, authorities say.

The crash occurred on Highway 16 south of College Avenue at 8:06 a.m., according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The crash prompted officials to close Highway 16 in both directions until about 3:28 p.m., when the westbound lanes reopened, according to WisDOT.

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The eastbound lanes were reopened at 4:43 p.m.

At least seven vehicles were involved in the crash, and it is an ongoing investigation, according to the Village of Pewaukee Police Department.

Four people were transported to various hospitals as a result of the crash, which occurred in the eastbound lanes near mile post 190, according to a news release from the Wisconsin State Patrol.

The type and extent of the injuries are unknown at this time, the State Patrol said.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter near the scene said two large trucks were involved, one of which was a tanker truck; there were also tow trucks and emergency vehicles at the site.

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While the highway was closed, traffic on Highway 16 eastbound was diverted off the highway at the Main Street exit, according to WisDOT. Highway 16 westbound was closed at Interstate 94.

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: 4 injured in multi-vehicle crash on Highway 16 near Pewaukee
ATHENS, Ohio (WCMH)  A crash involving a Highway Patrol cruiser left two people dead Thursday.

According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP), a trooper witnessed a traffic violation while traveling on U.S Route 50 shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday. While trying to catch up to the vehicle in violation, the cruiser crashed into a car trying to cross lanes, killing John G. Horton, 82, and Le-Ann Horton, 72, of Albany.

OSHP said the Hortons were traveling westbound on US-50 in a 2012 Toyota Prius. They tried to cross eastbound lanes onto Fisher Road when they collided with the cruiser.

OSHP said the trooper had non-life-threatening injuries and was treated at an area hospital.

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OSHP said it was assisted on-scene by the Ohio Department of Transportation, Richland Area Fire Department, Athens Police Department, Athens County Coroner, Athens County EMS, Athens Fire Department and the Athens County Sheriffs Office.

The crash remains under investigation, OSHP said.

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A hiker died Wednesday morning after falling off the side of Glen Burney Trail in Blowing Rock, the Watauga Democrat reported.

At approximately 9 a.m. on Wednesday, emergency personnel received a call that someone had fallen off the side of the popular hiking trail and down a steep embankment.

Historic hotel in Blowing Rock to be demolished

Responders found the person who had died at the scene.

Officials identified the hiker as Barry H. Dubner, of Parkland, Florida.

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The Glen Burney Trail was temporarily closed until further notice.

Authorities are reminding all hikers to exercise extreme caution, remain on marked paths, and be aware of their surroundings, especially in areas with steep drop-offs.

VIDEO: Things to see and do in Blowing Rock and Boone
On Thursday, President Donald Trump raised his general tariff on Canadian goods from 25 percent to 35 percent. Why? Something something fentanyl something. I will try to unpack that argument, but I warn you: The closer you look at it, the less sense it makes.

A few weeks after he was elected, Trump said he planned to "charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States." He complained that "thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before." He averred that "both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem" and warned that the 25 percent import tax "will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!"

The implication that Canada was largely responsible for illicit fentanyl trafficking was puzzling. "Canada is not known to be a major source of fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, or precursor chemicals to the United States," a congressionally appointed commission noted in a 2022 report. In FY 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the northern border, compared to about 21,000 pounds at the southern border.

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Trump's contention that Mexico and Canada could "easily solve" the drug trafficking problem was equally dubious. For more than a century, politicians have been promising to "stop the flow" of illegal drugs, and they have never come close to achieving that goalnot for lack of trying, but because the economics of prohibition doom all such efforts.

Prohibition allows traffickers to earn a hefty risk premium that provides a strong incentive to find ways around any barriers that governments manage to erect. Drugs can be produced in many different places, and they can be smuggled into the country in a wide variety of ways. Any serious effort to prevent drugs from entering the United States would entail intolerable disruption of travel and trade, and it still would not succeed. That challenge is magnified in the case of a highly potent drug like fentanyl because large numbers of doses can be transported in small packages that are hard to detect.

Given that reality, Trump's promise that his tariffs would "remain in effect" as long as fentanyl smuggling continued was tantamount to saying the tariffs would be permanent. But if so, they could not possibly serve their advertised function of pressuring Canada and Mexico to try harder.

On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order that declared "a national emergency" involving drug trafficking by "cartels and other organizations." He also issued a proclamation that described the influx of drugs and illegal aliens at the southern border as "a national emergency."

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On February 1, Trump extended the latter declaration to include "the flow of illicit drugs across our northern border." Decrying "the failure of Canada to do more," he announced the 25 percent tariff he had previously threatened, invoking his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977. On the same day, citing the same statute, he announced a 25 percent tariff on imports from Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, which he said was necessary to "address the synthetic opioid supply chain" by encouraging tighter restrictions on fentanyl precursors.

It is not clear whether the IEEPA, which does not mention tariffs and has never been used this way before, authorized those orders. On May 28, the Court of International Trade (CIT) concluded that it did not. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is reviewing the CIT's decision and held a hearing in that case on Thursday.

The CIT panel, which also rejected the much broader "Liberation Day" tariffs that Trump announced on April 2, concluded that he was claiming "an unlimited delegation of tariff authority" that "would be unconstitutional." The court added that the anti-drug tariffs were illegal for another reason: They did not satisfy the criteria laid out in the IEEPA, which authorizes presidential action to "deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States" after the president "declares a national emergency with respect to such threat."

The anti-drug tariffs "rest on a construction of 'deal with' that is at odds with the ordinary meaning of the phrase," the CIT said. "'Deal with' connotes a direct link between an act and the problem it purports to address. A tax deals with a budget deficit by raising revenue. A dam deals with flooding by holding back a river. But there is no such association between the act of imposing a tariff and the 'unusual and extraordinary threat[s]' that the Trafficking Orders purport to combat. [The] collection of tariffs on lawful imports does not evidently relate to foreign governments' efforts 'to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept' bad actors within their respective jurisdictions."

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The CIT's reading of "deal with" is debatable. Even if the IEEPA does not authorize tariffs like these, it indisputably authorizes economic sanctions that may be aimed at changing the policies and practices of foreign governments. That is what Trump claims to be doing here: pressuring Canada, Mexico, and China to cooperate more in the war on drugs.

The CIT did not consider another, more dubious aspect of Trump's IEEPA declarations: He claimed to be addressing a "national emergency" caused by an "unusual and extraordinary threat," which implies a sudden, unanticipated crisis. Drug-related deaths, which have been rising for decades, clearly do not fit that description. Trump himself described drug trafficking as a "long simmering problem."

The tariffs on Canada and Mexico were supposed to take effect on February 4. But the day before that deadline, Trump announced a one-month delay in light of steps that both countries had agreed to take.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she would assign 10,000 members of Mexico's National Guard to border control. As Mexican journalist Carlos Loret de Mola noted, that was essentially the same deal that Sheinbaum's predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, struck with Trump in 2019 during a similar tariff showdown. Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister at the time, won the same dispensation simply by proceeding with preexisting antidrug plans.

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That one-month grace period expired on March 4, when the tariffs took effect. Evidently, Mexico and Canada still were not waging the war on drugs enthusiastically enough for Trump's taste. But for some reason, Trump seems especially displeased with Canada.

Announcing the tariff increase on Thursday, Trump said Canada had failed to "take adequate steps to alleviate the illegal migration and illicit drug crises through cooperative enforcement actions." Slighly more specifically, he cited "Canada's lack of cooperation in stemming the flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across our northern borderincluding its failure to devote satisfactory resources to arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept drug trafficking organizations, other drug or human traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs."

Since Canada accounts for only a tiny percentage of fentanyl entering the United States, "flood" seems like an exaggeration. In any case, it is not clear what would qualify as "adequate steps" or "satisfactory resources" as far as Trump is concerned. Taking Trump at his word, there is no such thing, because there is nothing that Canada or Mexico can do that will be sufficient to achieve the impossible goal of stopping illegal drugs from entering the United States.

The post Hiking Tariffs on Canada, Trump Demands 'Adequate Steps' To Achieve an Impossible Drug War Goal appeared first on Reason.com.
When wars kill many over years, the names of the dead can bleed into faceless lists.

But each loss still burns a black hole in the worlds they left behind. And few more so than Tymur Hryhorenko.

Most of the bald facts of his death are horrifyingly unremarkable, after three years of Russian bombardment. He was the only death from a huge 4:40 a.m. local time, Russian airstrike that hit a top floor apartment in the frontline town of Kramatorsk on July 22.

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But Tymur, 10, one of the most recent children to die in Russias war on Ukraine, had lost his father to the war two years earlier, and had demanded to visit his grandmother in Kramatorsk. He was just nine hours away from catching the train, with his mother Nastya, to the relative safety of Kyiv.

Video posted by Donetsk emergency services shows Tymurs limp, bloodied body, apparently still with a pulse, being resuscitated on the floor outside the ruined apartment. His mother had left him that night with his grandmother, but rushed back to the scene.

Like a new breath of hope, she said, one of the soldiers came out and said that he had a pulse and they were resuscitating him. And for those 40 minutes, while they were pumping his chest, I prayed to God to give him life. But the miracle didnt happen.

Tymur Hryhorenko was killed when a July 22 airstrike on an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Ukraine. - CNN

Toys were left flipped onto the roof of the apartment building following the strike. - CNN

She said she was unable to go up to the apartment to see his body, and sensed the worst had happened when her sister rang an hour earlier. She hung up the call immediately, but quickly rang back. She said, They took Mom away, and theyre searching for Tymur under the rubble. From that moment on, I felt like I was in a dream.

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Nastya sits alone on a bench outside her sisters apartment in Kramatorsk, swamped in loss. Tymur was her only child. And his father, Evhen, from whom she was separated, died in May 2023, fighting the Russians outside of Lyman. She shares video of Tymur and Evhen playing on a bed. Evhen throwing his son around, with the fatherly skill of appearing carefree, while being intensely careful. Nearly a year ago, she says, she remarried, but her second husband died from a heart attack six months later.

She blames herself for not being in her mothers spare room alongside her son Tymur when the bomb struck. At that very moment, I wasnt at home, unfortunately, she wept. I dont know why or how, what forces took me away from it. But I should have been with him. And I blame myself very much for that.

Tymur had insisted they go and see his grandmother. But Nastya was insistent they leave the next day, on the train to Kyiv. He said he wanted to stay. I said, No, son, were going, were definitely going.

Tymur Hryhorenkos mother Nastya was not in the apartment when the airstrike hit. - CNN

The scene of his death is typical for an eastern town, where Ukrainian troops live among the locals, and Russian bombs refuse to discriminate, and torment every night. An elderly woman, tending her plants in the courtyard, mutters how troops in the town make them a target. Another neighbor clears broken glass from the stairwell still stained by Tymurs blood. On the roof, childrens plastic toys are trapped beneath upturned roofing felt. Three generations of Nastyas family have lived in her mothers apartment, and the childrens toys were stacked up in plastic bags for when grandchildren visit.

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She remembers their last moment together, the evening before he died. We went crazy, I showed him how I used to give him massages when he was a child, we laughed  and that was it.

She shows videos of a growing boy, enjoying a McDonalds milkshake, in a Friends hoodie. Of birthdays, and of Tymur reading a poem about the value of family. It is his little virtues, even at that age, that Nastya clings to most dearly.

Tymur Hryhorenkos grave in Kramatorsk. - CNN

He loved all animals and children, she said. At home in Kyiv, he has two pet rats waiting for him. He loved them madly. He constantly called me and asked, Mom, did you clean their cage? Did you feed them? Do they have water?

His teacher praised him for standing up when girls in his class were picked on. He is very caring, she said, her voice breaking to tears. A very bright boy, very much so.

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UNICEF reported in June that over 2,700 children had been killed or injured by the war in Ukraine.

Tymur sits on the outskirts of town, on a hill in a fresh grave, the chalk stone he lies under covered in flowers. The graveyard has new holes, freshly dug, accepting the towns loss is far from over. The skyline occasionally rattles with blasts, and the birds scatter, disturbed by air raid sirens.

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Students celebrate graduation in 2024 at Cleveland High School in Liberty County, Texas, one of the fastest-changing counties in the country. Hispanic, Asian and multiracial people drove population growth in the United States last year, according to a new analysis by the Brookings Institution. (Photo by Vanesa Brashier/Bluebonnetnews.com)

Hispanic, Asian and multiracial residents drove population growth in the United States last year, and 16 states would have lost population without gains in those groups, according to a new analysis published this week by the Brookings Institution.

In three states where the number of residents declined  Mississippi, Vermont and West Virginia  growth in those communities prevented even greater population loss, according to the analysis.

Nationwide, the 1% population growth for the year was mostly fueled by immigration, representing a much-needed uptick from the historically low population growth of the COVID-19 period, along with the diminishing growth of recent decades, the Brookings report said.

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Recent Census Bureau data breaking down changes by race and Hispanic status show that Hispanic, Asian and multiracial categories made up 93% of the nations population growth. The number of Black and Native people also grew but at a much slower rate, while the white population declined.

Hispanic, Asian and multiracial people made up 86% of the growth in Texas, which had the largest population growth for the year at almost 563,000, and 78% of the growth in Florida, which ranked second for growth at about 467,000. California, which grew by about 233,000, would have lost population without growth in those groups.

In addition to California, 15 other states would have lost population, but grew instead, because of larger numbers of Hispanic, Asian and multiracial people: Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington.

Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@stateline.org.

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When commuters on the R5 SEPTA train that connects suburban Chester County to Philadelphia approach Malvern station, they might spot a square stone monument on the right side in a clearing surrounded by a thick stand of forest.

Above it, a sign paid for by the Amtrak electrical workers union and suspended from the trees reads:

BURIAL PLOT OF IRISH RAILROAD WORKERS: At this site, known as Duffys Cut, fifty-seven Irish immigrant railroad workers from the counties of Donegal, Tyrone, Derry and Leitrim died of cholera and murder in the summer of 1832.

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Im a historian at Immaculata University, about one mile west of Duffys Cut. In 2004, my colleagues and I were the ones to discover the mass grave when we excavated the site with the permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

My students, who were about the same age as Duffys workers in 1832, provided a great deal of the labor at the excavation.

More recently, in May 2025, we discovered human remains that suggest a second Irish immigrant railroader mass grave 11 miles west of Duffys Cut, in Downingtown.

57 dead railroaders

Duffys Cut was named after an Irish Catholic immigrant railroad contractor named Philip Duffy, who lived from 1783-1871 and was probably from County Donegal in northwest Ireland.

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I learned about the site and its possible mass grave from Pennsylvania Railroad documents that survived in my family.

A 1909 file, labeled History of Duffys Cut Stone enclosure east of Malvern, Pennsylvania, which marks the burial place of 57 track laborers who were victims of the cholera epidemic of 1832, was compiled by future Pennsylvania Railroad president Martin W. Clement when he was an assistant supervisor. My grandfather, who was Clements executive assistant and later director of personnel, obtained the file before the records were auctioned off in 1972, and my brother showed me the file in 2002.

The Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad, the predecessor of the Pennsylvania Railroad, wanted to shorten the travel time from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh from three to four weeks by Conestoga wagon to three to four days by rail, canal and river.

The file my brother had in his possession stated that the dead railroaders at Duffys Cut were young men, recently arrived from Ireland. It also said the cost of mile 59 was vastly more expensive than the typical Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad mile. Laying a typical mile of P&C railroad cost US$5,000 in the 1830s. But at mile 59, gouging the landscape with a cut to lay the tracks on level ground and bridging the valley with a fill  an earthen bridge  cost $32,000. Although the work was especially difficult, the common laborers received about 25 cents a day.

Fragment of an Irish-made clay pipe unearthed near the Duffys Cut mass grave. AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Most of the men had sailed from the city of Derry in the north of Ireland to Philadelphia from April to June of 1832 aboard the John Stamp. The ship pulled into the Lazaretto quarantine station on the Delaware River in Essington, Pennsylvania, before sailing on to Philadelphia.

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No one on the John Stamp was reported to be ill. This was the height of the 1832 cholera epidemic that ultimately killed at least 10,000 people in the U.S.

Forty-seven laborers from the John Stamp ship joined 10 other Irish immigrant workers who were already living with Duffy in a rental house in Willistown, a mile south of the work site.

Yet almost as soon as they arrived to the work camp at mile 59, so did cholera, which had spread to Philadelphia from New York City.

Cholera in the camps

Americans could read about the spread of cholera across Europe in 1831 in the newspapers, but very little was known about the disease until decades later.

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Cholera is a bacterial infection that spreads due to poor sanitary practices in which human feces get into drinking water, via excrement passed into streams or by seepage from outhouses to wells.

But in 1832, people believed cholera was linked to intemperance and vice, which were thought to weaken the body. According to the prevailing miasma theory, it caused outbreaks once airborne. Immigrants and the poor were thought to be especially susceptible to the disease and primary vectors for its spread.

Cholera causes extreme diarrhea and vomiting that lead to rapid electrolyte loss. In 1832 it was fatal in about 50% of cases. In the Delaware Valley, cholera cases mounted from July into August 1832. Philadelphia registered its peak number of cases, 173, on Aug. 6 and peak number of deaths, 76, on Aug. 7. The hardest-hit areas in the region were working-class neighborhoods and canal and railroad work camps.

A typical crew on a P&C mile numbered 100 to 120 men. However, the work by Irish immigrants was segregated along sectarian lines on the railroads in the U.S., as it was in the Belfast dockyards at the same time. The other half of the workers at mile 59, according to Canal Commission reports, were Irish Protestant immigrants who worked for an Irish Protestant contractor and did the less dangerous work of laying tracks. They did not die of cholera.

Signs of a massacre

To excavate the site, we partnered with the Chester County Emerald Society, a law enforcement group that cleared our work with the county district attorney, and the coroner, in case we found human remains. The University of Pennsylvania Museum provided ground-penetrating radar, as well as archaeological and anthropological assistance for the dig. Staff trained my students in how to properly excavate and handle artifacts and bones.

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Our research team uncovered seven sets of remains between 2009 and 2012 in the remaining eastern portions of the fill. The skeletons had been buried in coffins sealed with an exceptional number of nails, perhaps to contain the cholera.

Analysis at the UPenn Museum showed evidence of violence to each of the skulls  with one skull showing both an ax blow and a bullet encased in the skull. Researchers found no evidence of defensive wounds on any skeleton, suggesting that the men might have been tied up before being killed.

After our team analyzed the remains, we came to the startling conclusion that the men didnt die from cholera  they were massacred.

I believe that fear of cholera, an epidemic that some clergymen in America and England called a chastisement for the sins of the people, and anti-immigrant sentiment fueled violence against them by native-born populations.

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After forensic examinations of the remains, five of the skeletons were reburied during a ceremony at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd in 2012. My team determined the identities of two of the deceased  18-year-old John Ruddy from County Donegal and 29-year-old Catherine Burns, the daughter of one of the workers, from County Tyrone  and their remains were returned to their home counties in Ireland in 2013 and 2015.

Bishop Michael J. Fitzgerald takes part in a funeral at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in 2012 for the five 19th-century Irish immigrants whose remains were excavated from the Duffys Cut site. AP Photo/Matt Rourke

A second mass grave in Chester County

Historical records led us to what we believe is a second mass grave in Chester County.

An article in the Nov. 7, 1832, issue of the Village Record newspaper in West Chester reported that one man from Duffys Cut fled westward down the unfinished track line to another Irish immigrant railroader crew near the line of East Bradford and East Caln.

This was P&C mile 48 in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. It was under the direction of Irish immigrant contractor Peter Connor, whose crew of 100 to 120 men was reported to have all died around the same time as Duffys crew.

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Forty years later, Charles Pennypackers 1909 History of Downingtown recorded that the dead Irishmen in Downingtown were carted north to a field where they were buried in a mass grave on the property of present-day Northwood Cemetery, in the eastern part of the cemetery, near the gully.

File photo from March 24, 2009, shows bones recovered from the mass grave at Duffys Cut. AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File

On May 15, 2025, the Duffys Cut team unearthed the first human remains from the Downingtown crew in the exact place reported by Pennypacker. This work has just started.

Up and down the East Coast, there are numerous mass graves of anonymous workers who died of epidemics and overwork in the 1820s and 1830s. Most of those people will never have their stories told.

At Duffys Cut, and now at the Downingtown site, we hope to humanize some of the hardworking immigrants who died building a crucial part of Americas industrial landscape.

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Visitors can view artifacts found at Duffys Cut at the Duffys Cut Museum in the Gabriele Library at Immaculata University in Malvern, Pa.

Read more of our stories about Philadelphia and Pennsylvania.

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: William E. Watson, Immaculata University

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William E. Watson serves as the unpaid director of the 501 c 3 educational non-profit and in 2016 served as director of an NEH summer teachers' institute at Immaculata University. .
Atlanta loves to repeat its favorite line, a city too busy to hate. But these places know otherwise.

There are streets in Atlanta where memory lies low, beneath the asphalt, whispering like wind through brick. If you walk slowly enough, youll hear it: not history, but instruction. Not nostalgia, but reckoning.

Begin here. Georgia Avenue. Capitol View Avenue. Ormonde Street. This is Summerhill, but it is also Peoplestown. It is also Mechanicsville. They sit together like braided memory, Black, old, and enduring.

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In 1865, newly freed people came here, built lives out of what could be salvaged. Summerhill, settled by emancipated Black families. Mechanicsville, home to white railroad workers, grew up beside it. Peoplestown, lined with Victorian houses and electric streetcars, welcomed domestics and immigrants, Black and Jewish, who worked and worshiped side by side.

By the 1940s, shotgun houses filled the blocks, rows and rows of single-family homes with porches and tight kinship. There were corner stores, churches, barbershops, bakeries, movie theaters. Not slums, communities. Working-class, yes. Overlooked, often. But never passive. They had built something. Something Atlanta decided it needed to erase.

In 1957, the city called it urban renewal. But to the people living here, it looked like bulldozers. In the name of progress, Atlanta cleared more than 3,000 housing units, closed 154 businesses, and promised relocation that rarely came. The neighborhoods were shattered. The expressways, I20, I75, and I85, became walls. Then came the final insult: a stadium, built not for the people displaced, but for the white crowds who would drive in and drive out without ever learning the names of the streets they parked along.

Read More: History Beneath Our Feet: Marcus Garvey Met with the Klan and then Faced Prison in Atlanta

By 1966, Summerhill and its sister neighborhoods had endured enough, but there was still more pain to come. On Sept. 6, a white police officer shot a Black man named Harold Prather near Capitol View and Ormonde. He was unarmed. The response came swiftly. More than a thousand Black residents gathered. Not just for Prather, but for every eviction, every neglected school, every trash pile left festering in a city that forgot them. Members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee came. So did Stokely Carmichael. And so did Mayor Ivan Allen, climbing atop a police car as the crowd refusing to be silenced rocked it beneath him.

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Tear gas eventually cleared the streets. But no words could.

From that moment, Summerhill was marked, not as a victim but as a threat. Yet the truth is more nuanced.

Now we walk west.

You cross time and terrain to arrive in Dixie Hills, a middle-class Black neighborhood where pain was dressed in patience. In 1950, over 200 homes had been built, but not one had running water. Residents tapped into a parks water line just to bathe and cook. By the mid-1950s, apartments rose on Verbena Street, followed by a shopping center to match. The Flamingo Grill, the centerpiece, would become the flashpoint.

Protests broke out in Dixie Hill in June 1967 following police arrests and a police shooting. (Courtesy of Skip Mason)

On June 17, 1967, a young man named Eddie Wilkins stood outside the Grill. He had a beer. He was 21. Security harassed him. A scuffle broke out. Police arrived. Arrests followed: Wilkins, his sister Georgia, and a bystander, Joseph Kendrick. By nightfall, 300 people gathered. Dixie Hills had been asking for streetlights, working sewers, garbage pickup. They received handcuffs instead.

Read More: Beneath Our Feet: Atlantas Gentrifying Neighborhoods Hold Haunting Stories of 24 Murdered Black Women

The next day, Stokely Carmichael returned, wearing a Malcolm X T-shirt, speaking outside St. Josephs Church. He was arrested again, along with four others.

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On June 19, a young man disabling an alarm was shot by police in Dixie Hill. That night, as 250 residents gathered inside the church, SNCC members shouted down city leaders pushing for calm. Outside, the crowd swelled. Riot police arrived. Sounds of shotguns cracked through the summer night air.

On June 20, the city tried to sweep the wounds clean, sending street cleaners, grading land for a playground, making promises. That night, a cherry bomb was thrown. A shot rang out. Willie Ross, an elderly man, was killed sitting on his porch. A 9-year-old boy was wounded, too. Officials blamed a sniper. Community leaders didnt believe them.

The city passed emergency ordinances, gave itself curfew powers, and promised concessions: Black butchers, Black apartment managers, pest control, fresher vegetables. But when Mayor Allen returned to the Dixie Hills neighborhood a year after the uprising and following Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination, the same burned-out buildings remained. The same poverty. The same park. The same unfulfilled promises.

What connects Summerhill and Dixie Hills is not only geography, it is a pattern. Both neighborhoods were told to be quiet. Told to wait. Told to be patient. Told the system would work if they just behaved.

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But as King warned, a riot is the language of the unheard.

Atlanta loves to repeat its favorite line, a city too busy to hate. But these streets know otherwise.

They remember the shotguns, the tear gas, the vacant homes, the families displaced, the voices dismissed. The rhetoric of pride has always cost someone their neighborhood.

So again we walk.

We walk Georgia Avenue, through the memory of Harold Prather. We walk past Turner Field, where houses once stood. We walk on Verbena Street, where promises were broken and rebroken. We stand outside the Flamingo Grill, still echoing with the sound of rage.

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And when we stop, we do not call it history. We call it a warning.

Because these neighborhoods were never broken, they were betrayed.

And if you listen closely, the ground still speaks.

So go now. Find their ghosts. And let them walk beside you.

The post History Beneath Our Feet: The Police Killings That Sparked Summer Riots in the 1960s appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
An HIV-positive gay man who fled Turkmenistan, one of the most repressive countries in the world, risks being deported, imprisoned and tortured, he and several non-governmental groups told AFP.

Emir -- whose name has been changed for safety reasons -- fled the ex-Soviet Central Asian country in 2018 for fear of being persecuted for his homosexuality.

He then found a job in a territory in Europe that is not internationally recognised.

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To avoid compromising his safety and that of his relatives back home, AFP has chosen to keep his exact location secret, but was able to interview him in person in July.

The 30-year-old said he tested positive for HIV in 2024.

He showed the results of medical lab tests, which AFP was able to authenticate, and said he had no access to antiviral treatment.

"My condition is getting worse. My body and stomach are hurting, I have pain under my ribs," he said.

"I can't sleep anymore, I sleep four or five hours, thinking about my health every day. I don't want to get AIDS," he added in a faint voice.

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- Mortal threat -

Because of his HIV-positive status, Emir said he had been fired from his job in his current place of residence, lost his income, and now faces deportation to his home country.

In Turkmenistan, he said, he would be arrested: "Because of my illness, they will torture me, abuse me, and kill me."

Emir is unable to leave the place where he is now because he would have to first return to Turkmenistan to renew his passport, a photograph of which he provided to AFP.

Swiss nonprofit Life4me+ sent him six months of antiviral treatment before stopping it due to the exhaustion of their "remaining medication stocks," the organisation's president, Alex Schneider said.

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Emir then received a few irregular shipments of medication, but for almost four months now he has been without medication.

On three occasions, the health authorities in the territory where he is based have refused to provide him with treatment.

A local LGBTQ rights group said it was currently unable to provide Emir with the necessary medication for financial and legal reasons.

In an email to AFP, it said it had helped find Emir a psychologist who diagnosed him with "severe anxiety and depression symptoms with thoughts of suicide".

- 'Place forgotten by God' -

In Turkmenistan, homosexuality is punishable by jail under the criminal code provision prohibiting "sodomy".

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HIV-positive people, instead of receiving treatment, regularly find themselves imprisoned and tortured, according to several human rights groups.

The nonprofits and exiled independent media reported waves of arrests targeting LGBTQ people several times in recent years.

People detained as part of the repressions have been reported to disappear into the prison system and held incommunicado.

Turkmenistan -- a gas-rich desert country rich officially home to seven million people -- is considered one of the most reclusive in the world.

Internet access is severely limited, and no independent nonprofits are allowed to operate there.

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"It's a place forgotten by God where people suffer terrible things," said Evi Chayka, founder of EQUAL PostOst, a rights group helping LGBTQ people who are victims of repression in the former communist bloc.

According to reliable sources familiar with the situation on the ground, speaking on condition of anonymity, the unrecognised territory where Emir is located does not have a "formal asylum framework" which prevents him from being taken into care by international bodies.

Stuck in the maze, the young man said he still hopes that someone will find a way to help him.

Even if, he added, "thousands of other people are suffering" throughout the world.

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  In the last year and a half, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services responded to 86 incidents involving injured electronic bike riders under 18 years of age.

Fifty-two of those came from children aged 14 or under.

New law to better regulate e-bikes on Oahu signed by Mayor Blangiardi

Children under the age of 15 arent supposed to ride e-bikes at all.

E-bikes are not toys. Theyre moving vehicles, said Honolulu City Councilmember Augie Tulba. One mistake could be life changing or worse, fatal.

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14 years of age and under should not be riding e-bikes, said Kenneth Faria, Honolulu EMS Acting Assistant Chief of Operations, I mean I would believe that those individuals probably wouldnt be making the best decisions on our roadways.

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Earlier this year, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed legislation requiring all e-bike riders under the age of 18 to wear a helmet. However, in 81% of the reported injuries, riders were not wearing a helmet.

With school back in session soon, and 57 of the 86 incidents coming from children aged 13 to 16, the Honolulu EMS reminds the public of the importance of staying safe on e-bikes, and following the laws regarding them.

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I can hear the cries of parents behind me as they treat their child on scene for these types of injuries, Faria said, We can avoid this together. This is 100% avoidable.

Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news

EMS and the Honolulu Police Department also ask for parents help in making sure their children abide by the laws.

People  parents, you guys need to be accountable for your childs actions, said HPD Sergeant Henry Roberts. By all means, safety first.

Government and legislation are not the only solution to keeping our keiki safe, Tulba said. Lets work together to ensure that this happens to get our keiki back to school safely.

KHON2 reached out to the E-bikes Hawaii for comment but did not hear back.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Life doesnt pause for war  not entirely. Even as missiles and drones target Ukrainian cities and front lines shift, people find ways to carry on. For those not holding a weapon, survival means more than staying alive. It also means showing up to work, gathering with friends, keeping routines stitched together with fragile hope.

In Ukraine, it also means going out to protest against the government  because even amid the chaos of war, there are moments when silence feels more dangerous than speaking out. The battle for Ukraines democracy is waged not only in the trenches, but in holding the government accountable for the decisions it makes during wartime.

On the night of July 30, Ukrainian photographer Serhii Korovayny captured how Ukrainians of all ages gathered in the countrys capital leading up to a vote from the Verkohovna Rada, Ukraines parliament, to call for the reinstatement of the independence of the countrys anti-corruption institutions.

People gather near the Ivan Franko Theater in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 30, 2025, to protest against the law destroying the independence of Ukraines anti-corruption institutions. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

More than 1,000 people protest outside the Ivan Franko Theater demanding the restoration of the anti-corruption institutions' independence in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 30, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

Over 1,000 Ukrainians rally outside the Ivan Franko Theater in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 30, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

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People gather outside the Ivan Franko Theater to protest aganst the law that strips Ukraines anti-corruption agencies of independence in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 30, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

By nights end, as strains of the national anthem drifted through the air outside government buildings, and voices trembled with fierce devotion to the cause for which so many at the front were laying down their lives, those same protestors  who only hours before had stood with unshakable resolve  had to find shelter, tormented by the sounds of yet another massive Russian attack.

The photographs in Korovaynys series capture not only the collective struggle of Ukrainians, but also the intimate rituals that unfold within it. He invites us into his familys apartment, where he, his wife, and their dog practice the quiet skill of making a cramped corridor or bathroom livable for a few hours  creating a pocket of comfort while Russian steel buzzes overhead, killing strangers in your city and threatening to kill you too.

Daria Vilkova, the photographers partner, hides in the bathroom with their dog Ginny during a Russian mass drone and missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

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As morning breaks, Korovayny turns his lens to the aftermath of the Russian attack  scenes of wreckage where rescuers sift through twisted debris in search of life, and those spared by cruel fate navigate the shattered remains of what was once home, the weight of survival pressing into the silence that lingers.

And still, the day moves forward. The sun rises over broken windows and sleepless eyes. A tea kettle boils. A door creaks open. Somewhere, someone sweeps glass from a floor they still call home. There is no grand finale to this kind of endurance  only the quiet repetition of choosing to live, even when the world around you becomes increasingly fluent in the language of death.

Russias July 31 attack killed at least 16 people in Kyiv.

All this has become routine, Korovayny said. That is what terrifies me most.

A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, killed at least 16 people, including two children, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

People wait outside of a residential building as rescue operation continues following a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack that struck residential areas in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

First responders carry out a rescue operation at the site of a Russian strike in a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

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Broken windows and destroyed cars at the site of the Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

Police at the site of the Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

At least 16 people were killed and 159 others injured, including 12 children in a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

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The aftermath of a large-scale Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

Car cushion cover with U.S. President Donald Trump's face at the site of a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

People gather at the site of a Russian missile and drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

A dog gets scratches at the scene of a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

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The aftermath of the Russian large-scale missile and drone attack on residential neighborhoods in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 31, 2025. (Serhii Korovayny / The Kyiv Independent)

Read also: Growing up under missiles  Ukrainian childhoods shaped by war (Photos)

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hormel workers allege company violated state's new sick and safe time law originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

Workers at the Austin-based plant of Hormel Foods have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging it has violated the state's new earned sick and safe time (ESST) law.

The unionized workers and the UFCW Local 663 allege that the company began offering the benefit in March, but the state law guaranteeing ESST went into effect in January 2024.

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Workers are suing to regain the 14 months of benefits that were not granted and that they say the company refuses to provide.

The suit, brought by four employees in Mower County District Court, alleges that the company willfully refused to provide most workers with the ESST benefit from January 2024 through March 1, 2025. It further alleges that employees who were provided the benefits were denied the right to carry over accrued, unused benefits into 2025.

A representative for Hormel says the company does not comment on pending litigation.

It's the first lawsuit of its kind, challenging the violations of the state's ESST law, according to attorney Tim Louris, who is representing the employees.

Hormel Foods in Austin, Minn.Myotus/Wikimedia Commons

"ESST matters because it gives us the time to care for ourselves or our families when we need it most," says Dan Lenway, a UFCW member who has worked at Hormel for 30 years and is one of the four plaintiffs named in the suit. "It means we don't have to risk our jobs or wages just to take care of our health of our families. Everyone deserves the right to rest and recover without fear."

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The law requires applicable employers to provide an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with a maximum of 48 hours  six eight-hour shifts  collected per year. Since it was brought forward by state lawmakers in 2023, the law has faced opposition from businesses that cited increased costs they could face from the law.

"If Quality Pork Processors can implement ESST correctly, and they are right next door, why can't Hormel?" Rena Wong, President of UFCW Local 663, said at a press conference announcing the suit on Wednesday.

"There are more than three million working people in Minnesota, and earned sick and safe time upholds the rights and health of every single one of them," said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, who joined union members at the event. "I am rooting for them, and so is every person in this state who believes in hard work and access to health care."

The suit follows a labor arbitration ruling earlier this year that ruled in favor of workers.

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"When the ESST law took effect in 2024, Hormel Food refused to provide most of its production, maintenance, and quality control employees with any additional benefits," Louris said at Wednesday's event.

"Instead, Hormel told those employees that if they missed work due to illness or injury, the only way they could receive pay would be to give up a day of paid vacation."

The union did not provide a figure for monetary compensation sought in the suit, but if the class is certified, Louris says it could impact up to 2,000 workers.

According to filings, Hormel has roughly 1,600 employees classified in production, maintenance, and quality control.

Related: Around 140,000 Minnesotans could lose health insurance due to federal Medicaid cuts

This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
NESHOBA COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV)  Horse races at Mississippis Giant House Party may not get as much attention as political speakers, but the crowds around the racetrack routinely surpass most speeches made under the Pavilion.

The races throughout the week bring people together for a variety of reasons. WJTV 12 News reached out to some of the horse race attendees to see what made them come out this year.

Mark Jordan and Shanna Muirhead

Siblings Mark Jordan and Shanna Muirhead watching horse races on July 31, 2025, at the Neshoba County Fair (WJTV) Siblings Mark Jordan and Shanna Muirhead talking with each other during the horse races at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV)

Jordan and Muirhead are siblings who grew up watching the races together. As they became older, they certainly had reasons not to regularly meet up. Jordan now lives in South Carolina. Though Muirhead recently purchased a cabin on the fairgrounds, it does not have a view of the racetrack.

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All these years later, the brother and sister still watch all the horse races together each year at the Neshoba County Fair. Though their itinerary of things to do is usually full throughout the week, attending racing events together is a priority.

This is our family fun, Muirhead said.

Dekerrian Fortune

Dekerrian Fortune watching the horse races at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV) Dekerrian Fortune watching the horse race with his family on July 31, 2025 (WJTV)

The 21-year-old from Walnut Grove usually watches horse races with his family. He even has a first cousin who races horses. Fortune told WJTV that most of the racers he knows at the fair are not family members. Part of the reason why is that he and his family train racehorses for others. Fortune, his father and others in his family help do so.

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2025 Neshoba County Fair

Fortunes uncle was one of those people who supported the horse training business; he died earlier this year. Seeing the horses that his family helped to train race at the fair helped Fortune keep his memory alive.

We tried to attribute this to him, you know, try and win the Morris Therrell, Fortune said.

Chad Grantham

Chad Grantham (center), prepares for horse race as the official starter at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV) View of horse race from safety truck at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (Courtesy: Shay Daly) Chad Grantham (center), the official starter for horse races at the Neshoba County Fair, prepares for a race on July 31, 2025 (WJTV)

Granthams job as the official starter for horse races involves more than sitting in the back of a pickup truck. He helps ensure that horses and their drivers run in sequence and do not disrupt other competitors stride before the race begins. The horses are moving before the race officially starts.

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Unlike most racetracks, people often ride in the back of the truck with Grantham to get a close-up view of the race as it starts. He hopes that the unique vantage point for attendees entices others to be as invested in horse racing as he is.

It really boosts the morale of the racing program with youngsters, Grantham said.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  With just days left until death row inmate, Byron Blacks execution, a Nashville hospital said it never agreed to deactivate his heart-regulating implant before he is put to death, but a judge ruled he can be executed regardless.

Byron Black is scheduled to be executed Aug. 5 for the 1988 murders of Angela Clay and her two young daughters, LaToya and LaKeisha.

However, a judge ruled Blacks heart-regulating implant, which his defense attorneys argued would deliver painful shocks during his execution, should be deactivated first, despite the states argument Black wouldnt be able to feel the shocks once the pentobarbital was administered.

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A Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) official said in a court declaration Nashville General Hospital told her they could deactivate the device prior to Blacks execution, but on Wednesday, hospital officials claimed they never agreed to take part.

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In a statement obtained by the Associated Press, a Nashville General Hospital spokesperson wrote:

Earlier reports of Nashville General Hospitals involvement are inaccurateThe correctional healthcare provider contracted by the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), did not contact appropriate Nashville General Hospital leadership with its request to deactivate the implanted defibrillator. Any assertion the hospital would participate in the procedure was premature.

Tennessee asked the court for permission to execute Black without deactivating his implant, and a judge ruled in the states favor Thursday.

Kelley Henry, Blacks attorney, wrote in a statement to News 2:

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TDOC has flagrantly violated court procedures and misrepresented the facts in its dogged refusal to prevent Byron Black from suffering a prolonged and torturous execution, said Kelley Henry, one of Mr. Blacks attorneys. We are now asking the Tennessee Supreme Court, which has seen this misconduct first-hand, to enter a stay to prevent a readily preventable constitutional violation and the human suffering it will inflict.

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

A TDOC spokesperson referred News 2 to the Attorney Generals Office for a statement. A spokesperson sent the following:

Today, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected Byron Blacks latest attempt to delay his execution. Thirty-seven years have passed since Black brutally murdered six-year-old Lakeisha Clay, nine-year-old Latoya Clay, and their mother Angela Clay. Over the decades, courts have uniformly denied Blacks eleven distinct attempts to overturn his murder convictions and death sentence. Four different state and federal courts exhaustively reviewed the evidence and found that Black is not intellectually disabled. And the States experts testimony refutes the suggestion that Black would suffer severe pain if executed. Our office will continue fighting to seek justice for the Clay family and to hold Black accountable for his horrific crimes.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) On Thursday ECU Healths Injury Prevention Program welcomed local law enforcement, emergency responders, and even the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey to their annual hot car demonstration.

The demonstration showcasing the importance of hot car safety especially when it comes to children, seniors, and pets.

Parents will say I would never leave my child alone in the car our message from the national highway traffic safety administration is that unfortunately never happens, Ellen Walston, Injury Prevention Program Coordinator for ECU Health Medical Center said.

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North Carolina is number six in deaths of children left in hot cars. Texas and Florida lead the nation in that and thats not somewhere we want to lead, Mike Causey, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner said.

The program today providing some educational information you might not know like how the UV rays can heat up a car even on overcast days or days where the temperature is only in the 70s.

Childrens bodies heat up three to five times faster than an adult and their body surface area is smaller so theyre not able to cool as easily as an adult can, Walston said.

The serious demonstration having a little fun with smores for educational purposes.

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We want them to think about smores and fun and its a neat way to make that connection of how warm the car can get. A car can heat 15 degrees in just a few minutes and theres a myth that if you crack the windows that will reduce the temperature in the car and that is not correct, Walston said.

We really want parents to think about their routines, think about if they are doing anything out of the norm, if dad is taking the child to daycare instead of mom and just making sure you set a reminder on your phone, Walston said.

These are all preventable and people can prevent this every time if they just think before they put a child or a person in the car, Causey said.

For more information click on the video above.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  We started off the week here in KELOLAND with intense heat and now we are ending it on a much cooler note as we go into the last month of summer.

Meteorologist Jaelyn Borresen explains what is behind the change and how common this is.

We have had a dramatic shift in our weather in KELOLAND for the end of the week. We went from extreme heat to highs well below average.

Winds shifted to the northeast yesterday and with cooler air aloft, we only got into the 70s and low 80s for highs. That trend held steady today, and while we are not only getting relief from the heat, some of us are also getting a much needed break from the rain and thunderstorms. Thanks to a high pressure sinking southward from Canada, we have had the chance to dry out in eastern KELOLAND.

As we begin the last month of summer tomorrow, this cooler weather is not very common. In Sioux Falls, temperatures have been at or below 80 degrees on August 1st just 31 times in the last 132 years. Aberdeen has seen this 36 times, with the most recent being in 2013. For Pierre and Rapid City, it is less frequent but their record books also dont go back as far.

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We will stay on the cooler side just a bit longer before a warming trend kicks in by the middle of next week. Central and western South Dakota will jump back into the upper 80s, with even a few low 90s possible.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com.
SHREWSBURY, Pa. (AP)  A truckload of hot dogs spilled across a Pennsylvania interstate Friday after a crash that briefly clogged the heavily traveled artery in both directions.

Crews were stuck with a job they did not relish  rolling up the scattered tube steaks for disposal.

Once those leave the truck and hit the road, thats all garbage, and its still pretty warm, Shrewsbury Fire Company Chief Brad Dauberman said.

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State police said the tractor trailer had an unspecified mechanical problem on Interstate 83 a few miles north of the Maryland line as morning rush hour was wrapping up, causing it to push into a passenger vehicle. When the truck scraped along a concrete divider, its trailer was ripped open and the contents scattered.

Four people required medical attention, Dauberman said, for injuries that police said were not life-threatening.

A front-end loader was used to scoop up the hot dogs and drop them into a dump truck.

Dauberman said emergency crews couldn't help but see the humor in the situation, and his daughter texted him a photo of a hot dog-themed T-shirt.

I can tell you personally, hot dogs are very slippery, the fire chief said. I did not know that.
As the earth experiences hotter and hotter summers, new research using data from California emergency departments shows that the heat may be making us sicker than we know, and in ways we may not anticipate.

A study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances tracked emergency department visits and fatalities in the state over the course of 11 years and found that while deaths increased both in cold and hot temperatures, especially among older adults, emergency room visits steadily increased as temperatures did - particularly among young children.

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The findings underscore the impact that a hotter planet has on lives, health and medical infrastructure.

While scientists have spent decades covering how extreme heat and cold lead to death, we have a relatively poor understanding of whether those relationships are the same for morbidity - rates of disease and poor health, said Carlos Gould, the papers lead author and an environmental health scientist at the University of California San Diego.

The focus on fatalities could be because of how deadly heat is - its the most lethal form of extreme weather. High temperatures have been linked to cardiovascular deaths, chronic kidney disease mortality and respiratory failure. Heat can put undue stress on organs: The heart pumps faster to get blood flow to the skin; kidneys work harder to preserve the bodys water. Those with preexisting conditions are more at risk in hot weather.

Extreme heat is the biggest weather-related killer. But most temperature-related deaths globally are attributed to cooler temperatures, likely because we spend more time in lower temperatures than extremely high ones. As Earth warms, some projections indicate that temperature-related fatalities could decrease, but the effects would be unequal: Hotter and poorer countries would see an increase in deaths, while colder, wealthier countries would see a decrease.

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Some researchers contend its a fraught comparison to begin with.

It remains problematic to trade off mortality and morbidity from hot versus cold temperature extremes, said Kristie Ebi, a professor at the Center for Health and Global Environment at the University of Washington. People are not fungible. The goal of public health is to prevent as much morbidity and mortality as possible.

Gould said deaths are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to temperatures effects on society. Between 2006 and 2017, more people in California visited emergency rooms as temperatures went up, further burdening public health systems as the world got hotter.

It is helpful to have more detailed analyses of temperature-morbidity relationships, to help identify interventions that could decrease hospitalizations during heat waves, said Ebi.

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Gould added that while he was reluctant to generalize beyond the data from California, its rates of mortality to extreme temperatures were in line with those from across the country.

The study found that as temperatures increased, more people visited emergency rooms for illnesses including those linked to poison, respiratory symptoms and nervous system problems. Data also showed that children under 5 visited emergency rooms at a higher rate than any other age group.

Hot days can worsen our health far before they lead to deaths, said Gould. And it can be a large range of things that we get sick from.

In some cases, its difficult to know how these illnesses are linked to heat, said Robert Meade a research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who studies heats impacts on the human body. It could be an error in how the data was analyzed, or it could further highlight the challenge of anticipating heats indirect effects on our health.

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For example, researchers cautioned against using the data to draw a direct link between hotter temperatures and more poison-related illness.

The mechanisms might not be clear to us, but it still could reflect a very complex interaction between heat and peoples behavior that causes this rise, Meade added.

Ebi also noted that the analyses didnt consider other factors, such as wildfires, which are drivers of cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses and mortality, especially in California.

Climate change is increasing the numbers of wildfires, which could have influenced the results because wildfires are often associated with hot days, she said.

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She also pointed out that the data ends in 2017, which means it missed many large, extreme heat waves over the last 7 years that could have altered the way we respond to heat exposure.

Gould hopes the data will help public health officials broaden their understanding of who needs to be protected during heat waves.

Deaths are of course the most severe outcome, and protecting deaths is one of the single largest priorities of public health, he said. But these illnesses can affect kids, working families, reduce our productivity and strain our hospitals and communities.

Even when heat doesnt kill, said Gould, it hurts a lot.

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- - -

Kevin Crowe contributed to this report.

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Homebuilding has fallen to its lowest level in nearly a decade since Labour came to power, raising fears the Government will struggle to hit its target to build more than one million new homes.

On Thursday, new figures showed just 201,000 new energy performance certificates (EPC) were granted for new dwellings in the 12 months since last years general election, indicating a slump in housebuilding.

That is down 8pc on the number awarded in the previous 12-month period, and represents a fall of more than 17pc from the post-Covid peak of more than 243,000 in 2022.

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The awarding of EPCs is a key indicator of housebuilding levels because they are granted to new properties.

Adam Smith, a former adviser to ex-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, said this indicates housebuilding is falling short of the Governments target to build 1.5m new homes, championed by Angela Rayner, the Housing Secretary.

Registration of energy performances certificates on new dwellings is a useful indicator of the pace of building, he wrote for The Telegraph, noting that boosting construction is crucial to the Governments economic and political success. The early signs are not good and this should be a major cause for concern in the Treasury.

The Government has not specified an annual target, but building 1.5m homes over this parliament requires an average of 300,000 new properties to be constructed each year, or 75,000 per quarter.

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In no period since 2008, when the requirement for EPCs was fully introduced, have this many been granted for new properties.

The minor planning reforms they have half implemented will count for nothing, said Mr Smith, noting that levies introduced under the Conservatives have also made it more expensive to build.

Instead of a housebuilding boom that delivers the economic growth that the Chancellor has promised, we are going to see the sector limp along like the rest of the economy because this government simply doesnt understand that tax and regulation matter.

A study by Homes England published this month indicated that more construction  particularly in London  will make houses more affordable, boosting the economy by enabling workers to more easily move to better jobs, and by allowing more investment in other assets.

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To achieve a 10pc reduction in house prices and a 3.1pc increase in productivity, a 5pc increase in housing stock  equivalent to 187,000 new homes in London  would be needed, the study found.

That would be a valuable boost to the capital and the country as a whole, as productivity has stagnated in recent decades, resulting in weaker economic growth and a sustained blow to living standards.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, which published the EPC figures, said the Government will hit its building target, but that it will take time to turn around the poor rate of growth left by the Conservatives.

The Government inherited an acute and entrenched housing crisis, but through our Plan for Change we will deliver our stretching target of 1.5m homes and restore the dream of homeownership, the spokesman said.

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We have already taken action to get Britain building, including by overhauling the National Planning Policy Framework, driving forward our landmark planning and infrastructure bill and levelling the playing field for smaller housebuilders.

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Two Housing Authority employees have retained an attorney in response to what he describes as unlawful actions by London Mayor Randall Weddle, according to a letter sent to city officials.

In the July 29 letter, Attorney Brandon Voelker alleges Weddle directed staff to disregard HUD regulations, threatened their employment, and used law enforcement to pressure them during an eviction matter.

Weddle rejected that version of events.

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When it says that Mayor Weddle came over with the police, that is a blatant lie, he said. The police were there on a drug-related call. I got a phone call saying the staff there was selling drugs.

Stephanie Newsome and Bethani Smith, the Housing Authoritys executive director and deputy director, said their experience working under Weddle has been nothing short of a nightmare.

One issue brought up by Newsome and Smith was that Weddle did not attend a board meeting they had called on Sept. 29, 2023  instead sending the then-city clerk. Days later, safety officer Rick Cochrane delivered a letter relieving board members of their duties. The letter, dated Oct. 1, cited KRS 80.030 and 80.040.

Weddle commented that he missed the September 2023 meeting because he was at training, and confirmed he sent Katelin McPeek instead.

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When I came into office  something to keep in mind  nobody tells you that youre on this board, that board. Youve got to figure this stuff out yourself, Weddle said.

The first couple of years, Weddle said, he was learning where he held authority and did not.

According to Newsome, a new board wasnt formed until nearly two years later, and only after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reached out.

Had they not, I dont think he would have replaced anyone, she said.

Thats consistent with a May 2025 email to Weddle from HUD official Carol Spencer, who wrote that there were no appointed Board members at that time and offered assistance to get the Housing Authority in compliance.

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Throughout that time, both women said they stayed quiet out of fear.

We were terrified to make a move HUD was being no help whatsoever, Newsome said.

Smith said she has declined to share documents requested by members of the new board, as Voelker advised them not to.

They want to know how much every tenant pays in rent how much we make. I wont give them anything until I know theyre a legal board, she said.

Mayor Weddle confirmed they had requested financial records including audits and PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) documentation, but had not received them.

Im requesting documentation  they never send it, he said.

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Newsome also described an earlier encounter that made her uncomfortable. When the letter removing the board was delivered, she said Cochrane told her, Just do what he says and youll be fine.

Both women, as well as Weddle, said state law requires the Housing Authority board to include two Republicans and two Democrats. Weddle said there was no documentation at City Hall proving past boards had been appointed properly.

I did remove the board, but they werent in compliance, the mayor said. This board was illegally done because there was no documentation in City Hall that any mayor had ever appointed them.

City Attorney Larry Bryson said the previous board members terms had expired.

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They were not removed. Their terms had expired, he said.

Weddle agreed. That is true, he said. A lot of these guys had been on there forever. The statute says some roll off after 2, 3, or 4 years. Thats not what was happening. He added, There was no board legally.

City Council Attorney Conrad Cessna said he had not been consulted about the changes.

It appears by first glance that it does require council approval, he said, though he noted Bryson had raised possible legal exceptions.

If the appointments require City Council approval, and that hasnt occurred, then the Council will have to look at all their options, Cessna added.

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At the end of the day, there is something going on over at that Housing Authority that they have deflected and kept information from this office for going on two years, Weddle said.

In response to the ongoing concerns, Weddle said he had reached out to both the state auditor and HUD.

Theyre going to have problems because Ive asked the auditor, and Ive asked the HUD office to issue me letters Even HUD is suspicious of stuff, Weddle stated.

As for potential legal action, Weddle commented, I have lawyers coming out my yin yang. Im sure if they sue me, well fight another fight.
The international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday accused Israel of war crimes and violations of international law because of the killings of people near food aid distribution sites in Gaza -- as well as deprivation of food, aid and other basic services.

There have been several mass casualty events near the four sites run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) since it began operating in late May, HRW said.

In a statement in response to the HRW report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it allows the GHF "to operate independently" in the distribution of aid and that troops operate "in proximity" to make sure food is delivered in an orderly fashion.

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MORE: A famine hasn't been declared in Gaza, but that may not matter, experts say

The HRW's report came as U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited Gaza on Friday, inspecting food aid delivery.

In previous incidents, the IDF has said that it only fires "warning shots" at crowds and when it feels like its personnel are in danger.

At least 58 people were killed near Zikim aid distribution center on Wednesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, and another 14 were killed near an aid center in Muraj in southern Gaza, local hospital authorities confirmed to ABC News. In response to the Zikim shooting, the IDF said troops fired "warning shots in the area, not directed at the gathering, in response to the threat posed to them."

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The Israeli government has also previously claimed that Hamas shoots people waiting in food lines and films the events for propaganda videos. Hamas has denied these claims.

"Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families," Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW, said in a statement. "U.S.-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarized aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths."

Jehad Alshrafi/AP - PHOTO: Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City, Gaza Strip, July 28, 2025.

HRW called on nations to pressure Israel to stop using deadly force as a crowd control method, to lift restrictions on aid entering Gaza and to end the GHF system.

Meanwhile, in its statement, the IDF accused Hamas of starving and endangering the population in order to maintain control over the strip and taking actions "to prevent the success of food distribution in Gaza."

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"The IDF stresses that, as part of its operational management of the main access routes to the distribution areas, IDF forces are conducting systematic review processes in order to improve the operational response in the area and minimize, as much as possible, any friction between the civilian population and IDF forces," the statement read, in part. "As part of these efforts, IDF forces have recently worked to reorganize the area by installing new fences, placing signs, opening additional routes, and more."

"Additionally, following reports of civilian casualties near distribution areas, in-depth examinations were conducted by the Southern Command, and the incidents are under review by the authorized bodies within the IDF," the statement continued.

MORE: UK to recognize Palestinian state as Netanyahu considers annexing parts of Gaza

Meanwhile, a hunger crisis is reportedly worsening across Gaza. At least 159 people have died from starvation and malnutrition, including at least 90 children, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, since the war began in the wake of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on southern Israel.

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Aid slowly resumed entry into Gaza after Israel instituted an 11-week total blockade on all humanitarian supplies entering the strip earlier this year. The blockade caused widespread malnutrition and conditions likely to lead to famine, according to the U.N. and aid groups. Israeli officials have long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which Hamas denies.

Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the idea that Israel is applying a campaign of starvation in Gaza is "a bold-faced lie," adding that "there is no policy of starvation in Gaza, and there is no starvation in Gaza."

However, a new report on Tuesday from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global initiative monitoring hunger, said that "the worst-case scenario of famine is playing out in the Gaza Strip," and that "access to food and other essential items and services has plummeted to unprecedented levels."

Additionally, a USAID analysis appeared to undercut some of the assertions about the extent to which Hamas had allegedly stolen humanitarian aid. A presentation reviewed by ABC News, examining more than 150 reported incidents involving the theft or loss of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, showed that the group failed to find any evidence that Hamas engaged in widespread diversion of aid to cause the amount of hunger seen in the strip.

Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters - PHOTO: Palestinians carry aid supplies, that entered Gaza on trucks through Israel, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, July 29, 2025.

On Friday, Witkoff wrote in a post on X that he and Huckabee spent the previous day meeting with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza

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"Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza -- level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with [GHF] and other agencies," Witkoff wrote. "The purpose of the visit was to give [President Donald Trump] a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza."

It came amid Trump's plan to expand aid deliveries to Gaza, although there are no signs the White House is moving away from the GHF.

Hamas senior official Izzat al-Risheq criticized the visit in a statement.

"Witkoff's visit to Gaza is nothing but a publicity stunt aimed at containing the growing outrage over the U.S.-Israeli partnership in starving our people in the Strip," he said. "Witkoff sees in Gaza only what the occupation wants him to see, viewing the ongoing tragedy through a misleading Israeli lens."

ABC News' Will Gretsky and Diaa Ostaz contributed to this report.
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, including some far-right protesters, as well as a smaller pro-refugee demonstration.

Essex Police said one officer had suffered minor injuries to their neck and eight officers in total sustained cuts, grazes and hand injuries.

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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 the 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 at officers and at the hotel, after what started as a "peaceful protest", police said.

Vans and vehicles were "smashed" and the building itself was also damaged.

The disturbance prevented residents from being able to use Epping High Road, with police closing a section "for the safety of the public and those protesting".

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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.

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.

"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.

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Speaking earlier, Ch Supt Simon Anslow said the culprits "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," he added.

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".

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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."

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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.

A second individual was arrested on Thursday for failing to comply with the orders that were given around dispersal, and was in custody.

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A 33-year-old man, from Loughton, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of violent disorder and criminal damage.

He remains in police custody for questioning, Essex Police confirmed.

Correction 1 August: This article originally reported that far-right groups had gathered to protest and could have been taken to suggest that protests about the use of the hotel were exclusively far-right. This was later amended to remove references to the far-right given the difficulty in estimating those numbers. We also added quotes from Essex Police explaining that "criminality and violence" which was not representative of these communities had followed peaceful protest earlier that day. We have since updated the article again to explain that far-right elements were in attendance.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

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A detainee at the Florida immigration detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz has been on hunger strike for at least nine days, the latest in a string of detainees to allege being mistreated at the prison in the Everglades.

Since my life no longer belongs to me, its up to them to decide whether I live or die, detainee Pedro Lorenzo Concepcion, 44, told El Pais from inside the facility.

State officials run the Florida detention camp, housing migrants in a series of hastily assembled tents and chain link enclosures on a converted airstrip as they await federal immigration court and potential deportation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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The Independent has contacted the Florida Division of Emergency Management, one of the state agencies overseeing the facility, for comment.

Concepcion, who came to the U.S. from Cuba in 2006 but lost his permanent resident status after going to prison, has been in detention since being arrested on July 8 after a check-in at a Florida Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, according to his family.

Detainees have complained of rough treatment, unsanitary food, poor access to lawyers, and inhumane conditions inside Florida immigration detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz (REUTERS)

The Independent has contacted ICE for comment.

On July 22, he went on hunger strike and has collapsed multiple times inside Alligator Alcatraz. During the strike, he was taken to Miamis Kendall Hospital, according to his family, where he said he sat in handcuffs as doctors tried to get him to eat, but he refused.

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I dont want food, I refuse any treatment, reads a document he signed about his protest, obtained by El Pais. I didnt even ask to be taken to the hospital, because Im fighting for my family and all Cubans, and I belong where my people are, in prison, suffering the same hardship they are.

The Independent has contacted Kendall Hospital for comment.

Concepcions wife said shes worried he could be deported back to Cuba without her or the couples two children.

In a minute, your life falls apart, she told the paper. Its been 19 years of being together.

Florida opened detention center known as Alligator Alcatraz on July 3 (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Concepcion, who said he was shackled and left on a floor at Alligator Alcatraz for more than 10 hours upon his arrival, is not the only one to complain of alleged poor conditions at the facility, which federal officials say they plan to support with millions in reimbursement funds and use as a model for future detention centers.

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Other inmates say they have faced poor sanitation and other brutal conditions inside the facility, which sits in the middle of a sweltering swamp.

They only brought a meal once a day and it has maggots, Leamsy La Figura Izquierdo, a Cuban artist who was housed at the facility, told CBS News. They never take of the lights for 24 hours. The mosquitoes are as big as elephants.

The facility is facing lawsuits on environmental and civil rights grounds, with lawyers accusing officials of largely barring them from being able to speak with detainees.

Deportation flights for detainees held at the facility have begun, state officials announced last week.

Earlier this month, Florida news outlets found that among those held at Alligator Alcatraz, only about one-third had a past criminal record, despite officials touting the prison as being designed to hold the worst of the worst.
EAST PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  A local community college has begun its search for its next president.

The Illinois Central College Board of Trustees launched its search for its next president by hiring the executive search firm R. H. Perry in a special board meeting on Thursday, according to a news release from the college.

Current president Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey announced her plans to retire on Dec. 31. She has served as president since July 2016.

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The board appointed ICCs Executive Vice President of Administration and Finance, Bruce Budde, to serve as the interim president from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2026.

Bruce Buddes long-standing commitment to Illinois Central College and his deep understanding of our operations make him a natural choice to guide us through this transitional period, said ICC Board Chair Cindy Byrd. The Board has great confidence in Bruces ability to lead the College as we move forward with the search process.

Budde had previously served as interim president in 2015, and said he is honored to serve in the role.

Its a privilege to support the work of our dedicated faculty and staff as we continue advancing student success and strengthening our impact in the community, Budde said.

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The college board hopes to have the next president start on July 1, 2026.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com.
(NewsNation)  A recruiting email sent this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements deputy director is part of a federal hiring blitz of officers, but the promise of a $50,000 signing bonus directed at local sheriffs deputies isnt sitting well with some officials, who feel their departments are being poached.

More than $46 billion of President Donald Trumps big, beautiful bill has been allocated to hiring an additional 10,000 ICE officers and employees. But to add manpower, ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan is actively targeting local departments with existing 287 (g) contracts with the federal government that allow local officers to cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts.

In the email, which was obtained by NewsNation, Sheahan asks local law enforcement officers to consider joining ICE during a critical time for our nation.

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Camp Bliss a concentration camp for migrants: Commissioner

Sheahan writes, This is more than a job; its a continuation of your service to our country and an opportunity to work alongside dedicated professionals on the front lines of national security.

The email, which is sent from an ICE email address with the name Join The Mission, also promises a $10,000 for a new hire reaching their fifth anniversary. A minimum of five years is required to receive the incentives, the email said.

Deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Madison Sheahan, flanked by Acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, speaks during a news conference at ICE Headquarters, in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The email also directs potential applicants to a hiring website, which, in addition to the signing bonus, offers the possibility of receiving up to $60,000 in student loan repayment and premium payment.

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America has been invaded by criminals and predators, the website reads. We need YOU to get them out.

ICE recruitment could hurt short-staffed sheriff departments

Despite the immigration enforcement cooperation between local and federal agencies that accompanies the 287 (g) agreement, some sheriffs take issue with ICE zeroing in on some local departments, which in some cases, already face staffing challenges.

It was bad judgment that will cause an erosion of a relationship that has been improving of late, Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs Association, told NBC News. And its going to take some getting over, and its going to take leadership at DHS to really take stock, (be)cause, hey, they need state and locals.

Thompson added: This is inappropriate behavior of a partner organization. Were all in the same boat. And you just dont treat friends or partners like that.

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Migrant released from ICE custody with help from GOP lawmaker

Grady Judd, the sheriff in Polk County, Florida, told NBC News that he feels disrespected by the federal agency after his deputies served as force multipliers in helping ICE carry out federal immigration enforcement.

This is the thanks we get for helping them do their job? said Judd, who blamed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for allowing the recruitment to take place.

Kristi Noem needs to get on her big girl pants and do whats right. She needs to make sure that theres an apology.

A spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriffs Department did not immediately respond to an email from NewsNation on Friday.

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The email targets law enforcement officers who understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law. It also says that such experience brings valuable insight and skills to this mission  qualities we need more than ever.

Texas sheriff says dont blame ICE for staffing woes

Despite the issues that some local sheriffs have with the recruiting pitch, Terrell County, Texas, Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland isnt among them.

Cleveland told NewsNation on Friday that he doesnt understand the animosity being directed toward ICE. He said he expects the U.S. Border Patrol to be more affected by the hiring push than departments like his, which only has four full-time deputies on staff.

He said that he has always encouraged his deputies to chase after whatever employment opportunities they wish, including working for a federal agency.

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You cant blame ICE for wanting to target experienced law enforcement agents for jobs, Cleveland said, adding, This is obviously better than a street hire and will require less training.

Cleveland said that he has one deputy who has already expressed interest in one of the ICE jobs and that he has no issue with his deputies being drawn in by the incentives being offered.

But Cleveland also feels like he is in the minority of sheriffs across the country who arent offended by ICEs hiring overtures, despite running the risk of seeing experienced deputies leaving for bigger job opportunities.

I dont understand that mindset (of being upset), Cleveland said. As a leader, you have to look after your people, even if that means you may lose them.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
A recruiting email sent this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) deputy director is part of a federal hiring blitz of officers, but the promise of a $50,000 signing bonus directed at local sheriffs deputies isnt sitting well with some officials, who feel their departments are being poached.

More than $46 billion of President Trumps big, beautiful bill has been allocated to hiring an additional 10,000 ICE officers and employees. But to add manpower, ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan is actively targeting local departments with existing 287 (g) contracts with the federal government that allow local officers to cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts.

In the email, which was obtained by NewsNation, Sheahan asks local law enforcement officers to consider joining ICE during a critical time for our nation.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Sheahan writes, This is more than a job; its a continuation of your service to our country and an opportunity to work alongside dedicated professionals on the front lines of national security.

The email, which is sent from an ICE email address with the name Join the Mission, also promises a $10,000 for a new hire reaching their fifth anniversary. A minimum of five years is required to receive the incentives, the email said.

Deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Madison Sheahan, flanked by Acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, speaks during a news conference at ICE Headquarters, in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Madison Sheahan, flanked by Acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons, speaks during a news conference at ICE Headquarters, in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The email also directs potential applicants to a hiring website, which, in addition to the signing bonus, offers the possibility of receiving up to $60,000 in student loan repayment and premium payment.

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America has been invaded by criminals and predators, the website reads. We need YOU to get them out.

ICE recruitment could hurt short-staffed sheriff departments

Despite the immigration enforcement cooperation between local and federal agencies that accompanies the 287 (g) agreement, some sheriffs take issue with ICE zeroing in on some local departments, which in some cases, already face staffing challenges.

It was bad judgment that will cause an erosion of a relationship that has been improving of late, Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs Association, told NBC News. And its going to take some getting over, and its going to take leadership at DHS to really take stock, (be)cause, hey, they need state and locals.

Thompson added, This is inappropriate behavior of a partner organization. Were all in the same boat. And you just dont treat friends or partners like that.

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Grady Judd, the sheriff in Polk County, Florida, told NBC that he feels disrespected by the federal agency after his deputies served as force multipliers in helping ICE carry out federal immigration enforcement.

This is the thanks we get for helping them do their job? said Judd, who blamed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem for allowing the recruitment to take place.

Kristi Noem needs to get on her big girl pants and do whats right. She needs to make sure that theres an apology.

A spokeswoman for the Polk County Sheriffs Department did not immediately respond to an email from NewsNation on Friday.

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The email targets law enforcement officers who understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law. It also says that such experience brings valuable insight and skills to this mission  qualities we need more than ever.

Texas sheriff says dont blame ICE for staffing woes

Despite the issues that some local sheriffs have with the recruiting pitch, Terrell County, Texas, Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland isnt among them.

Cleveland told NewsNation on Friday that he doesnt understand the animosity being directed toward ICE. He said he expects the Border Patrol to be more affected by the hiring push than departments like his, which only has four full-time deputies on staff.

The Texas sheriff added that he has always encouraged his deputies to chase after whatever employment opportunities they wish, including working for a federal agency.

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You cant blame ICE for wanting to target experienced law enforcement agents for jobs, Cleveland said, adding, This is obviously better than a street hire and will require less training.

He also noted that he has one deputy who has already expressed interest in one of the ICE jobs and that he has no issue with his deputies being drawn in by the incentives being offered.

But Cleveland also feels like he is in the minority of sheriffs across the country who arent offended by the administrations hiring overtures, despite running the risk of seeing experienced deputies leaving for bigger job opportunities.

I dont understand that mindset (of being upset), Cleveland said. As a leader, you have to look after your people, even if that means you may lose them.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other federal officials arrested an illegal immigrant who was recently released from a county jail despite facing multiple charges of sex crimes against children.

Oscar Adalberto Penate, a 56-year-old from El Salvador, was taken back into custody on July 27 in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the IRS' Philadelphia offices. The Department of Homeland Security said Penate  who had an ICE detainer placed on him  was allowed to walk out of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania "due to the county's sanctuary policies."

"If the elected officials in Montgomery County are not going to protect the citizens of the county, we will," said ICE ERO Philadelphia Field Office Director Brian McShane said in a statement. "An illegal alien who committed a crime by unlawfully entering the United States, who is then charged with heinous crimes like this, should never be released to prey on the citizens of Montgomery County.

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"The sanctuary policies recently enacted by the Montgomery County Commissioners forced prison officials to release this individual to the streets rather than turn him over to ICE officials on the detainer filed against him," McShane added. "I am just glad we got him before he could harm another."

Fbi Captures Former Marine Corps Reservist Accused Of Shooting At Ice Officers At Texas Detention Center

Homeland Security said Penate claimed to have entered the United States in 1998 by crossing the border into Texas.

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On July 22, he was arrested by the Pottstown Township Police Department on charges including "involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16 years of age, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, two counts of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age, two counts of corruption of minors by a defendant age 18 or above, and two counts of indecent assault without consent of the other party."

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Ice Arrests Ms-13 Member With Lengthy Rap Sheet After Virginia County Refused To Cooperate

ICE conducted an operation at a car wash in Philadelphia earlier this year.

Those charges against Penate are pending.

"His criminal history includes an arrest by the Houston Police Department on Aug. 18, 2001, for resisting arrest, search or transport," Homeland Security also said. "He pleaded guilty to these charges Aug. 24, 2001."

Penate will now remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, Homeland Security added.

Protesters gather to protest the ongoing deportations and activities by ICE and President Donald Trump's administration on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 31, 2025.

The government of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania told Fox News Digital on Friday that it "does not comment on individual criminal matters."





Original article source: ICE arrests illegal immigrant who was released despite charges of sex crimes against children
The ICE arrest of a police officer in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, who the agency claims was in the country unlawfully, has sparked a days-long exchange of blame between the resort town's police department and DHS.

ICE says agents arrested Jon-Luke Evans, a Jamaican national, on July 25 after he allegedly attempted to unlawfully purchase a gun. The attempted purchase "triggered an alert to ATF agents, who worked in coordination with ICE to make the arrest," ICE said. Evans allegedly told ICE he was trying to purchase the weapon as part of his employment with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department.

ICE has strongly condemned the police department for hiring Evans, claiming that he entered the country lawfully on September 24, 2023, but overstayed his visa when he failed to depart a week later.

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MORE: ICE recruitment efforts upset some local law enforcement leaders

"The fact that a police department would hire an illegal alien and unlawfully issue him a firearm while on duty would be comical if it weren't so tragic. We have a police department that was knowingly breaking the very law they are charged with enforcing in order to employ an illegal alien," said ICE ERO Boston acting field office director Patricia Hyde in a statement.

But Police Chief Elise Chard says DHS had cleared Evans to work as a police officer.

"In hiring Evans, our department and our community relied on the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify program to ensure we were meeting our obligations, and we are distressed and deeply concerned about this apparent error on the part of the federal government," she said in a statement.

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"DHS informed the Police Department that Evans was authorized to work and had an Employment Authorization Document that did not expire until March 2030," she added.

Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty - PHOTO: ICE-Detains-Immigrants-in-New-York-Court-House

Chief Chard says Evans was hired as a part-time summer reserve officer in May and completed the standard hiring process, which included background checks, submitting immigration forms to DHS, and undergoing the standard training and physical agility tests as all full-time police officers.

However, in a statement released by the police department, the police chief said that while reserve officers are issued a firearm, they are not allowed to bring the firearm home and are not allowed to purchase their own firearm to use as part of their employment.

In the state of Maine, some noncitizens who are in the country legally are allowed to work as law enforcement officers.

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ABC News has not independently verified Evans' immigration status. DHS did not respond to a request for documentation that proved Evans was in the country unlawfully, nor did it respond when asked what kind of visa he was issued.

"Usage of E-Verify does not absolve employers of their legal duty to verify documentation authenticity, and all employers should take necessary steps to effectively verify legal employment status. The Old Orchard Beach Police Department's reckless reliance on E-Verify to justify arming an illegal alien, Jon Luke Evans violates federal law, and does not absolve them of their failure to conduct basic background checks to verify legal status," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Old Orchard Beach Town Manager Diana Asanza defended the police department's hiring practices.

"Today, the Department of Homeland Security doubled down on its attack, but in doing so has thrown its own electronic verification system into question. If we should not trust the word of the federal computer system that verifies documents and employment eligibility, what good is that system?" she said in a statement.

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MORE: Millions of undocumented immigrants will no longer be eligible for bond hearings, according to ICE memo

ABC News has reviewed documents released by the city that are part of the 153-page personnel file it says it compiled as part of the hiring process.

A resume belonging to Evans purports to show his work experience going back to October 2020, when he said he was a teaching assistant at the College of Agriculture, Science, and Education in Portland, Jamaica.

It also shows a four-month stint at a Waffle House in South Carolina from May 2022 to September 2022, over a year before DHS claims he entered the country lawfully.

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DHS did not respond to questions about the employment history.

In his resume, Evans said he's a trained agricultural educator and was "seeking to transition my skills in problem-solving, critical thinking and environmental conservation to a career in law enforcement, where I can make a positive impact on society."

Chief Chard said ICE had not alerted her about his arrest and that she learned about it through a press release.

"Any insinuation that the Town and Department were derelict in our efforts to verify Mr. Evans' eligibility to work for the Town is false and appears to be an attempt to shift the blame onto a hard-working local law enforcement agency that has done its job," she said in a statement.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer on a previously deported illegal migrant charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman in his apartment complex in Pasadena, Texas.

In arrest records from July 2, investigators said Jose Maldonado-Zavala, a 60-year-old from Honduras, pretended the victim's air conditioner was leaking into his apartment, then grabbed and dragged her into his apartment and sexually assaulted her. The victim then fought off the suspect and managed to escape, according to records.

"This depraved criminal illegal alien should have never been in our country," said Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "Local police charged Maldonado-Zavala with kidnapping and sexually assaulting his neighbor.

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"We will not allow criminal illegal aliens to prey on American citizens. This monster was already deported once in 2011. Thanks to President Trump and Secretary Noem, we now have the most secure border in history and have stopped criminals like this from invading our country," McLaughlin added.

Ice Agents Capture Criminal Illegal Immigrant Accused Of Stalking Government Official

Maldonado-Zavala was first sent back to Honduras in 2011 after illegally entering the U.S. near Hidalgo, Texas, according to ICE.

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He later entered the U.S. again at an unknown date and location, and without inspection by an immigration official, according to the agency.

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Ice Places Detainer On Illegal Immigrant Facing Charges For Allegedly Killing Teen: 'Evil Crimes'

ICE made 422 arrests recently in a weeklong operation in Houston.

The Pasadena Police Department said in late July that "Investigators believe there may be additional victims in the area."

They added that "If you or someone you know has had an interaction" with Maldonado-Zavala and "believe a crime may have occurred," contact law enforcement.

ICE has placed a detainer on Jose Maldonado-Zavala.

His bond in the case has been set at $250,000, Khou reported.





Original article source: ICE lodges detainer against illegal migrant charged with kidnapping, sexually assaulting neighbor in Texas
DENVER (KDVR)  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told FOX31 that on Thursday, officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in Colorado Springs when suspects allegedly tried to ram their vehicle into ICE officers.

The agency said there were two suspects involved, whom they described as criminal aliens, and said an officer on scene fired three shots into the vehicle to try and protect the threatened officers. ICE said that the two suspects fled and abandoned their vehicle.

Mesa County sheriff apologizes for deputys actions that may have led to teens arrest, seeks lawsuit dismissal

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As of about 3:45 p.m., the agency said officers were searching for the fugitives. The operation has been underway for over eight hours as of 10 p.m. on Thursday.

No injuries were reported. The fugitives were not identified on Thursday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Denver provided a statement to Nexstars Colorado Springs station on Thursday.

FBI Denver is investigating an alleged assault on a federal officer that occurred in El Paso County, Colo. earlier today. As this is an ongoing investigation, we do not have any further information to provide at this time, the agency said.

Law enforcement in Black Forest on July 31, 2025, were looking for two alleged immigration fugitives. (KXRM) SkyFOX flew over the scene in Black Forest on Thursday, July 31, at about 3:45 p.m. and saw a mobile command unit and several armored vehicles in the area. ICE said it was searching for two fugitives. (KDVR) SkyFOX flew over the scene at about 3:45 p.m. and saw a mobile command unit and several armored vehicles in the area. (KDVR)

The agency said its officers are facing an 830% increase in assaults.

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Lies and violent rhetoric incites hostility against the brave men and women of ICE who put their lives on the line every day to protect American communities, as we witnessed in Colorado today, ICEs statement to FOX31 read.

The El Paso County Sheriffs Office said at about 1 p.m., it had closed Burgess Road between Black Forest Road and Greentree. There were also shelter-in-place orders in the area, but those were lifted at about 6 p.m. Updates on the fugitives were not shared.

FOX31s Nexstar sister station in Colorado Springs interviewed Ray Green, who lives near the Black Forest.

If theyre doing the job right, theyve done their investigation and theyve vetted it out properly, Im all for it, Green said. 

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement looks to bolster its ranks by 10,000courtesy of the slush fund it is provided under Trumps budgetits resorted to poaching local law enforcement officers who participated in ICEs 287(g) program, which allows local law enforcement to partner with the agency.

In recent days, ICEs deputy director has reportedly sent out emails urging 287(g) participants to join the agency. As someone who is currently supporting ICE through the 287(g) program, you understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law, the email says, per NBC News. The offer also carries potential incentives, including a $50,000 signing bonus and up to $60,000 in student loan repayment.

Jonathan Thompson, executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs Association, told NBC the move was inappropriate behavior of a partner organization, adding, Were all on the same boat. And you just dont treat friends or partners like this.

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Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Florida, told MSNBC, Were a force multiplier to help ICE, and weve been spending a lot of time and effort. And the next thing we know, the people who we have submitted to ICE, who have been ICE-trainedon our dime, by the wayreceived a direct email from the administration.

Judd reached for an idiom to convey the betrayal: I mean, thats biting the hand thats feeding you. Other Florida sheriffs also got figurative: Quite frankly, its like letting the fox in the henhouse, Brevard Countys sheriff told WFTV Channel 9. We dont want to burn bridges, but somebody lit the fire on the other end, observed the sheriff of Bradford County.

A number of sheriffs are now demanding mea culpas from ICE. (Judd, for instance, told NBC that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should get on her big girl pants and do whats right. She needs to make sure that theres an apology.) Some are apparently receiving them: The sheriffs office in Forsyth County, Georgia, reportedly received an apology from ICEs Atlanta Field Office.
NEW COVERAGE: Convicted felon at large after officer attack in Black Forest

UPDATE: FRIDAY 8/01/2025 10:43 a.m.

(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.)  The El Paso County Sheriffs Office (EPSO) is speaking out on its involvement with the incident in Black Forest.

On Thursday, EPSO received a request for assistance from federal partners with Homeland Security (HSI) and Immigration and Customs (ICE) after an incident where two suspects tried to ram their car into ICE officers near an active construction site in the Black Forest area.

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While Federal Agents were conducting targeted enforcement and investigation operations, they were met with violence and responded with the use of force, resulting in a critical incident, EPSO said.

Deputies responded to the call and set up a containment area of the crime scene to preserve its integrity and ensure a thorough investigation. Various resources, including deputies assigned to the Patrol Division, School Resource Officers, and the deployment of drones, were used.

EPSO deputies also knocked door-to-door in the neighborhood to ensure community members were safe.

UPDATE: THURSDAY 7/31/2025 6:08 p.m.

The shelter-in-place has been lifted from the 9900 block of Burgess Road, according to an updated Peak Alert from the El Paso County Sheriffs Office.

ORIGINAL STORY: THURSDAY 7/31/2025 4:21 p.m.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed that two people suspected of living in the country illegally tried to ram their car into ICE officers on Thursday, July 31, prompting a law enforcement response on Burgess Road in Black Forest.

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A Peak Alert was initially sent out shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, telling neighbors in a quarter-mile radius of the 9900 block of Burgess Road to shelter in place due to law enforcement activity.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Law enforcement activity prompts shelter-in-place order near Black Forest

ICE has confirmed that the law enforcement activity was in response to an attempted assault on a federal officer and a shootout.

Courtesy: FOX31 Courtesy: FOX31 Courtesy: FOX21 News Reporter/Anchor Austin Sack Courtesy: FOX21 News Reporter/Anchor Austin Sack

Two criminal aliens attempted to ram their vehicle into ICE officers during a targeted enforcement operation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, [on] July 31, ICE confirmed to FOX21 News. As a result of their violent actions and to protect the officers and agents onsite, an officer fired three shots into the vehicle. The aliens fled and later abandoned the vehicle. Law enforcement officials are currently searching for the fugitives.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation Denver (FBI Denver) released the following statement to FOX21 on Thursday. FBI Denver is investigating an alleged assault on a federal officer that occurred in El Paso County, Colo. earlier today. As this is an ongoing investigation, we do not have any further information to provide at this time.

ICE said there were no injuries reported as of Thursday afternoon, and a heavy law enforcement presence is still active at the Burgess Road location. The public is urged to avoid the area.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
Christopher Byers speaks in a video for theHomes For Our Troops website. (Screenshot from video)

Idaho Falls volunteers will gather Saturday morning to help landscape a new home for an injured veteran.

Homes For Our Troops is a national nonprofit that builds and donates specially adapted homes for severely injured post-9/11 veterans, like Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Byers, according to a press release. The nonprofit built the accessible home for Byers, and the Volunteer Day on Saturday will focus on landscaping the new home.

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When: Volunteers check in at 9:30 a.m., and landscaping lasts from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 2

Where: 1615 Helix Blvd. in Idaho Falls

RSVP: Online here.

Byers, serving on his third deployment as an infantryman, stepped on an improvised explosive device, IED, on July 7, 2012, in Mushan, Afghanistan, and lost both his legs below the knees, according to the nonprofits website. The blast also resulted in a traumatic brain injury and tinnitus. Byers had to quarantine for a week in Texas upon his arrival because of bacteria he acquired when injured overseas, the website said.

Byers is now medically retired and lives in Idaho with his five children.

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The new home was meant to support Byers independence, as a single-level house with an open floor plan.

Saturdays Volunteer Day is part of the nonprofits mission to not only provide homes  but to engage the community in honoring and uplifting those who have sacrificed for our country, the release said.

Seeing volunteers come out and work side by side to support one of our nations finest is incredibly moving, Homes For Our Troops President/CEOTom Landwermeyer said in the release. It will take the entire community to enable our Veterans to fully rebuild their, and their families lives.

More information about the nonprofit can be found at hfotusa.org.

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Ethan Chapin's family have released a statement following Bryan Kohberger's sentencing last month

Chapin, 20, was one of four University of Idaho students murdered by Kohberger in November 2022

Stacy Chapin, Ethan's mother, said that the outcome of Kohberger's sentencing was "the right one" and said of her son, "There will never be another you"





The family of Ethan Chapin, who was one of the four University of Idaho students murdered by Bryan Kohberger, has released an emotional statement after choosing not to attend his sentencing last month.

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On July 23, Kohberger, 30, was sentenced to four lifetimes in prison without parole in an Idaho courtroom for the murders of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Chapin, 20  plus 10 years for a burglary charge and $270,000 in fines and civil penalties.

The four victims were found brutally stabbed to death inside their off-campus Moscow home on Nov. 13, 2022.

According to ABC News, the Chapin family didn't attend the sentencing, but did share a statement on Instagram on Ethan's mother Stacy Chapin's account on Thursday, July 31, insisting they'd "given a lot of thought" to what they should say since the sentencing date.

Instagram; Kyle Green-Pool/Getty Kaylee Goncalves, (standing), Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle; Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse in Idaho Kaylee Goncalves, (standing), Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle; Bryan Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse in Idaho

"[We] have edited this a million times. The entire situation has been a tough pill to swallow but at the end of the day, we believe the outcome is the right one," they said in the post, which was shared alongside multiple family photos of Ethan with his parents Stacy and Jim, and his siblings Hunter and Maizie.

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Mentioning "the true heroes in our lives," the family thanked the Moscow Police Department, ISP and FBI, "who worked tirelessly on this case, and spent time away from their loved ones," as well as "the prosecutors who openly communicated with transparency, answered every call and email, and were fantastic throughout this process."

"The University of Idaho staff who consistently supported our family, especially Maizie and Hunter, from their first day of orientation through graduation this past May," the post added, as well as thanking their "incredible extended family, friends, and the communities that continue to lift us up every day."

"Theyre our backbone, and we recognize how fortunate and privileged we are to have this ongoing support," the caption read.

The statement also thanked, "All of the kids!! Close friends of the triplets, Greek family, and others who were part of this story from the very beginning."

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"Although each of their experiences is different, all have suffered severe loss and trauma. We continue to be in awe of their strength, and will continue to support them in any way we can," the message read, as well as thanking "the media for providing us with opportunities to share our story while treating us with respect and care."

Courtesy Chapin Family Ethan Chapin

The family concluded by sharing a special tribute to Ethan, writing, "Finally, thank you, Ethan. You were only with us for 20 years, but you touched the lives of so many people."

"From the time you were a baby to when we dropped you off at college, you were an absolute joy and the glue that held our family together," the family continued. "We remember your smile, your laugh, how you kept us in check, and the many ways you brought happiness and light to any situation."

"There will never be another you. There would never have been enough time with you. We love you, miss you, and promise to continue honoring your legacy," they insisted.

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The statement came after a trove of recently unsealed police reports released by the Moscow Police Department shed new light on the final moments of the victims' lives.

Evidence previously suggested that Ethan, who was sleeping at the time, nor his girlfriend Kernodle, were Kohberger's intended victims on the night they were murdered. The reports suggested thatKernodle had instead encountered the killer upon returning upstairs after collecting a DoorDash delivery left outside the door on the first floor.

Monroe County Correctional Facility via Getty Bryan Kohberger Bryan Kohberger

It's believed Kohberger may have chased Kernodle, stabbing her more than 50 times, before accidentally leaving behind the biggest piece of evidence in the case  his KA-BAR knife sheath. Kernodle put up a fight, and the commotion got the attention of surviving roommate Dylan Mortensen.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

During an emotional interview on the TODAY show shortly before Kohberger's sentencing last month, Ethan's parents spoke about their son and how the killer appeared in court.

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"You expected some  I don't know  some remorse, emotion, something, and there was just zero," Stacy said of coming face-to-face with Kohberger for the first time during his plea hearing on July 2.

Ethan's parents said they speak to their son every day when they wake up. "I have him where I need him," Stacy said. "In my mind and my heart and my soul."



Read the original article on People
"Over the past few hours, 126 aid packages, containing food for the residents of both the southern and northern Gaza Strip, were airdropped by six different countries," the IDF said.

The IDF air-dropped humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in coordination with several countries on Friday, the military announced in a statement.

"Over the past few hours, 126 aid packages, containing food for the residents of both the southern and northern Gaza Strip, were airdropped by six different countries," the statement read.

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The IDF carried out the aid drop in conjunction with the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Spain, France, and Germany. Notably, it was the IDF's first aid drop in conjunction with the three European countries.

IDF soldiers operating throughout the Gaza Strip, July 29, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Zamir pushes back against starvation rumors

Later, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir pushed back against international accusations of deliberate starvation in Gaza.

The false campaign about starvation these days is a deliberate, coordinated, and deceitful attempt aimed at accusing the IDFa moral armyof war crimes. The party responsible for the killing and suffering of Gazas residents is Hamas. IDF soldiers and commanders act with morality and integrity, in accordance with the IDFs spirit and international law.

He also added that if a partial deal was reached, the war in Gaza would continue without pause.

I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach a partial deal for the release of our hostages, the chief of staff told the commanders. If not, the fighting will continue without pause.
Sec.-Lt.s A., N., and Y., return to Zikim after having to stave off Hamas's brutal attack on October 7, 2023, with just six weeks of training.

Over 700 young men and women reported for duty at the Tel HaShomer conscription base on Wednesday, marking a historic moment for the IDF's Home Front Command's Rescue Brigade, as they started their journey in the brigade's training program.

The Rescue Brigade is a combat brigade, just like any other fighting unit in the IDF. Until this week, it consisted of four battalions and a reconnaissance unit, with a fifth battalion now being added.

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The new recruits of the brigades "Tavor" Battalion are unaware that their commanders are part of a heroic chapter in the brigade's legacy, as these commanders enlisted exactly two years ago in the August 2023 draft and were sent to basic training at the Zikim base in southern Israel.

When Hamas terrorists invaded the Zikim area and attempted to overtake the base on October 7, a group of recruits from the August 2023 draft was stationed there. For an entire day, they found themselves defending the base. Their commanders fought on the front lines and repelled waves of terrorists. After many commanders were wounded or killed, these recruits  just six weeks into service with barely any combat training  were forced to evacuate the wounded and fallen, take over the defensive positions, and protect the base themselves.

Three of those recruits have recently completed officer training. This week, they each became platoon commanders for the August 2025 draft of recruits.

Sec.-Lt. A., Sec.-Lt. N, and Sec.-Lt. Y. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)

Due to the war, the brigades training base  where soldiers undergo three months of basic training followed by four months of advanced training  was relocated to Nabi Musa in the Judean Desert.

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Right before meeting the new recruits, the young officers  Sec.-Lt.s A. from Kibbutz Mevo Hama, N. from Modi'in, and Y. from Ramat Gan  sat down for a conversation.

We enlisted in August 2023. October 7 caught us six weeks into basic training. We had just done a few shooting ranges and had only the most basic training, said Sec.-Lt. A.

I was in bed, just came off a guard shift. Around 6:30 a.m., the alarm sounded. We were told to go to the shelter. We had no idea what was happening, said Sec.-Lt. N.

I was supposed to start a guard shift when the alarms began. The company commanders rushed to the defensive positions and started organizing resistance against the terrorists advancing toward the base, said Sec.-Lt. Y., who added: There were constant alarms. We saw the commanders running to defend the base and us. After about half an hour, we were ordered to leave the shelter in small groups, head to our rooms, put on uniforms and combat vests, and return to the shelter immediately. Outside, we could hear the heavy fighting. Our company commander, Maj. Adir Avudi instructed the officers to engage and protect the recruits in the shelter.

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The fog of war began to lift when one of the female commanders entered the shelter.

She came in after a bullet hit her helmet. She was covered in blood. Thats when we realized how serious it was outside, said Sec.-Lt. A.

At that point, with the command staff being injured, the recruits were called to join the fight.

IDF soldiers operate in Gaza's Beit Hanun, July 2025; illustrative. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

As the number of casualties rose, they began using us as a fighting force. We started reinforcing the defensive positions. We were called to evacuate the wounded and the dead, said Sec.-Lt N.

We came to evacuate the casualties. Most of the companys command staff were there  Eden, Yanai, Eder, and Omri. All of them were killed. Eden was a squad commander, Yanai and Eder were platoon commanders, and Omri was the company commander, recalled Sec.-Lt Y.

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There was no crying, no moment of panic. We immediately understood we had to help and fight. We kept thinking about how we could volunteer for missions and take action. After all, we enlisted to be combat soldiers. It came very early in our service, but I told myself: This is why I joined  to defend and fight, said Sec.-Lt. A.

The young officers describe how a new dynamic emerged in the chaos. Some recruits stepped up and acted decisively in response to the attack on their base.

There was a strong sense of camaraderie. My friends were acting, doing what had to be done, and I never thought for a second to stand back. I couldn't just watch, said Sec.-Lt. A.

Sec.-Lt. Y. added that, There was initial shock. Some soldiers saw dead bodies for the first time. But the focus had to be on responding quickly and accurately. The commander gave us orders, and I focused on carrying them out. Later, even after the fighting subsided, we had to man the positions for ten straight hours in case of a second wave. I was stationed in a post from which, minutes earlier, we had evacuated four of our fallen commanders. It was covered in blood. In those moments, you dont speak  you just carry out the mission.

'Being a soldier is about character'

Being a soldier is about character. You face fear and danger, but you must have the determination to win.

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A week before October 7, we participated in a mass casualty drill. That was the first time we were exposed to a battlefield-like situation. Maybe that helped us that morning, said Sec.-Lt. Y.

Some soldiers were in initial shock, but that didnt take away from their fighting spirit," Sec.-Lt. N. added. "Many quickly began fighting, and throughout the war, they fought with great courage.

Whoever functioned that morning became a stronger, more resilient soldier than the rest of the battalion, summarized Sec.-Lt. Y.

After about 24 hours at the Zikim base, with the IDF bringing in reservists and active service forces to establish a defensive line, the decision was made to evacuate the recruits. They were bused straight to the Central Command headquarters in Ramla. Most hadnt slept in over a day. Some wore blood-soaked uniforms.

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I remember getting off the bus. They lined us up, and for the first time, removed the magazines from our rifles, cleared the chamber, and inserted the safety plug. That was the moment we were returned to being recruits who had just come back from battle, said Sec.-Lt. Y.

One of the commanders read out the names of our fallen and wounded commanders. Then, we were given new uniforms, told to shower, and asked to pile our old, bloodied uniforms. After a shower and a light meal, they sent us to sleep for a few hours. When we woke up, new commanders from other battalions had arrived to reinforce the depleted command staff. Later, we were allowed to attend our fallen commanders funerals, said Sec.-Lt. N.

The August 2023 draft continued basic training for another month at various IDF facilities. Afterward, they were transferred to the former paratroopers training base at Nabi Musa, where, under a new command team, they began advanced training. The three then proceeded to the squad commanders course. Two became platoon commanders for new recruits, and one remained to command the next cycle of the course.

During the squad commanders course, I realized I wanted to become an officer. I saw I was good at it and understood that this was not the time to leave the army  the IDF needs officers and leaders now, said Sec.-Lt. A.

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Sec.-Lt. N. added that the death of her commander, Lieutenant Yanai, motivated her to continue his mission:

I wanted to walk in his path. I want to lead and complete the training path for new recruits, just as Yanai intended to train us. For me, theres no question  if you can be a soldier, if you can lead, you must. Thats what the country needs now.

I didnt know at the start that I wanted to be a commander or an officer, but after our commanders were killed defending us, I knew I had to continue in their path. I also understood that I had a responsibility  I could do more, added Sec.-Lt. Y.

Coming full circle

For the three young officers, this marks a full-circle moment.

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Two years after we enlisted, were now receiving the next generation of fighters. Its our responsibility to train them to be the best fighters possible, they say with pride.

They plan to share their personal story with their recruits and commemorate the bravery of their fallen commanders who fought to stop the Hamas terrorists from entering the base and harming the recruits.

There will be a heritage lesson, and I wont hide anything from them, said Sec.-Lt. N. Im going to explain to them: Youre here to become fighters. And we truly understand why orders and procedures must be followed precisely. Weve been there  we know what war is, what real fighting is.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  Internet hype is manifesting into something real in Austin again.

Dubai chocolate bars, originally created by Dubais Fix Dessert Chocolatier in 2022, have gone viral on social media. CNBC even produced a mini-documentary about the confection and how it exploded in popularity, in part because of its scarcity.

The chocolate bar features a pistachio cream filling with Kataifi, a type of shredded phyllo dough, a pastry commonly used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean desserts.

Dubai Chocolate bar with green kadayif and pistachio spread with pistachio nuts (Getty Images photo)

The virality of the chocolate has culminated in price-gouging resale trends and spin-off creations from companies like Lindt, Trader Joes, and Costco.

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IHOP is the latest company to capitalize on it, announcing Thursday that it will soon offer Dubai Chocolate Pancakes at only three locations for a limited time.

Austin has one of those locations. The others are in New York City and Los Angeles.

IHOPs Cesar Chavez Street location will sell the pancakes starting Monday, August 4. The pancake stack, which will feature layers of silky smooth pistachio cream and crunchy roasted Kataifi, topped with pistachios and chocolate curls, according to IHOP, is selling for about $13.

If that wasnt sweet enough, IHOP is also offering its scaled-up, Luxe Dubai Chocolate Pancakes  valued at $130 dollars  for free to the first 25 guests at the participating IHOP locations.

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IHOP calls them their most decadent pancake ever, with handmade Madagascar Vanilla whipped cream, a whole Dubai Chocolate bar, edible 24k gold flakes and gold glitter on top of the Dubai Chocolate flavored pancakes.

Dubai chocolate has made an appearance in Austin before. The Museum of the Future House at South by Southwest 2025 offered guests FIXs original Dubai chocolate bar.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  A Best Buy store in Austin will set aside 1,000 square feet later this year for a collaboration with furniture store IKEA, the companies announced this week.

The collaboration is a 10-store test run that will offer customers the chance to design and order custom kitchen and laundry rooms. This is a service offered at IKEAs full-sized store in Round Rock, Texas  approximately 27 miles north of the U.S.- 290 Best Buy chosen for the pilot.

IKEA U.S. COO Rob Olson said in a Thursday press release that the collaboration is a great step towards helping homeowners build beautiful, functional homes at a price they can afford.

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This partnership between IKEA and Best Buy is about making great design and functionality more accessible for the many, Olson said. By bringing together our home furnishing expertise, products, and services with Best Buys leadership in appliances and technology, were creating a one-stop destination where customers can design their dream kitchen, storage solutions or laundry space with ease.

IKEA opens new store in San Marcos

That press release was jointly issued by the two companies. It cites a May 13 report from Capital One Shopping Research that claims 80% of all retail sales still go through brick and mortar locations.

A digital render of an IKEA space inside of a Best Buy.

Patrick McGinnis, chief merchandising officer at Best Buy, said in the release that the space will help customers make more informed decisions about their home.

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With this partnership, we get to combine technology and design and show shoppers whats truly possible in their home like never before, McGinnis said.

The spaces will serve as showcase rooms, similar to ones at IKEAs showrooms. IKEA workers will be on-site to assist customers with the companys custom design process. Best Buy staff will aid in selecting kitchen and laundry appliances.

The companies didnt give a specific launch date for the Austin location, but instead said it would come in the fall.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
If you've ever wondered if it's legal or not to ride in the bed of a truck in Arizona, you're not alone.

Mesa police said this is a common question and many drivers and passengers don't understand what is allowed under Arizona's driving laws.

While a bit more than half of the states have laws prohibiting or restricting riding in the bed of trucks, Arizona is not one of them.

So before you decide to hop in that truck bed and hit the road, here's what to know about Arizona's traffic laws regarding riding in the bed of a truck and the consequences of doing so.

Is it illegal to ride in the bed of a truck in Arizona?

No, it's not illegal to ride in the bed of a truck in Arizona.

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Though Arizona has no law on the books limiting this activity, it does have seatbelt laws that ultimately restrict some from riding in truck beds.

"There is no law that makes it illegal to ride in the bed of a truck, but there are restrictions in place that require certain occupants, such as children, to use restraint devices (inside the vehicle)," Mesa Police Department told The Arizona Republic.

Arizona law requires children under the age of five must be in a child restraint system. The law also requires children between age 5 and 8 who are under four feet nine inches tall to use appropriate child restraint systems, such as booster seats.

Adult drivers are also responsible for ensuring that passengers under that age of 16 are buckled up.

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However, when you get into the bed of the truck, you are no longer considered a passenger and are instead legally considered "cargo." Thus, it's not illegal to ride in the bed of a truck, but it could come with consequences, Mesa police said.

More: Can you be on your phone at a red light in Arizona? Here's what the law says

Police: Riding in truck beds can be dangerous

Mesa Police Department said in a statement that though it's not illegal to ride in the back of a truck it is dangerous, especially for children. If something were to happen to a child riding in the back of a truck, even on accident, it could warrant charges like child endangerment, aggravated assault or manslaughter for the driver.

"Adults that ride in the bed of a truck know the inherent risks that come with this and are responsible for their own actions. Children are not of that age, or are responsible enough, to make that decision for themselves," the statement said.

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Mesa police added that "we cant tell ourselves, 'its just down the street and in our neighborhood.' What could happen? Why would you want to gamble with your childs life?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Is it illegal to ride in the bed of a truck in Arizona? What laws say
CHICAGO  The Illinois Attorney General and the City of Chicago filed a lawsuit this week alleging the mishandling of materials containing asbestos during the renovation of a building on the citys Northwest Side over the past two years.

Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Tuesday that his office had filed a joint lawsuit with the City of Chicago against MCC Properties LLC (MCC), MC Construction Group LLC (MC) and an individual named Fintan McCarthy over the alleged improper handling of asbestos-containing materials.

According to the lawsuit, the three parties were responsible for a renovation taking place in 2024 and 2025 at a large commercial and industrial building in the 6000 block of West Dickens Avenue, in Belmont Cragin.

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But the lawsuit alleges that during the renovation, crews disturbed a significant amount of asbestos-containing material at the site and even left piles of possible asbestos-containing debris exposed to the atmosphere.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

The lawsuit states that an investigation by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) into the alleged mishandling started on May 7, when the IEPA received notice from the City of Chicago indicating that asbestos-containing material had allegedly been disturbed at the site.

During the May 7 visit, officials also indicated that they had allegedly spotted numerous piles of possible asbestos-containing debris that had been exposed to the atmosphere.

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LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

The following day, on May 8, the building was vacated and the IEPA sealed the site to the public, stating that the facility contained asbestos-containing pipe insulation, duct insulation, pipe fittings, adhesives, floor tile and mastic, roofing and window seals.

The improper handling and storage of materials containing asbestos is dangerous to the health of workers and the general public, Raoul said. I will continue to protect all Illinois communities from environmental hazards and hold companies accountable when violations of our environmental laws occur.

According to the lawsuit, the city is seeking injunctive relief, civil penalties, cost recovery, and attorneys fees, while the state is seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties.

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Illinois EPAs investigation of this matter identified the presence of asbestos in debris throughout the facility, which was a significant threat to the health of the surrounding community, IEPA Acting Director James Jennings said. We appreciate the swift action of Attorney General Raoul to ensure appropriate action is taken by the responsible parties.

WGN News attempted to reach out to McCarthy regarding the lawsuit, but was not able to get in contact with them.

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that was widely used in insulation, automotive parts and building materials from the late 1800s to the 1980s.

The use of asbestos became widespread because of the materials heat resistance and strength, but its past uses later led to exposure incidents and widespread use eventually ceased in the 1970s.

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While asbestos is no longer mined or used in products in the United States, the risk of exposure still exists for those who work with legacy asbestos products.

What happens to those exposed to Asbestos?

Exposure to Asbestos, which has been classified as a known human carcinogen, is not safe in any amount, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Asbestos is dangerous to humans because it can break down into microscopic fibers that can remain airborne for days after being disturbed.

Once in the air, the harmful asbestos can be inhaled, traveling deep into the lungs. Evidence indicates that the inhaled asbestos can later cause several serious illnesses, including lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
For students in Illinois, mental health screenings will soon be required alongside annual vision and hearing exams.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Thursday that will require public school students in grades 3 through 12 in the state to undergo a mental health screening each year.

The change will go into effect in the 2027-2028 school year with at least one screening per student required annually, according to a press release from Pritzker's office.

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Pritzker also said the new legislation makes Illinois the first state to mandate universal mental health assessments for public school students.

"At a time when our kids are struggling with anxiety and depression more than ever before, it's our responsibility to ensure that young people have all the support that they need to get the help that they deserve," Pritzker said in remarks at the signing ceremony.

Maskot/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images - PHOTO: Stock photo of a students in class.

"Our goal is an integrated, comprehensive approach to quality mental and behavioral health services for young people across the state," Pritzker added, saying the legislation will pave the way for schools to receive resources and support to implement the new push for screenings.

Kids who own smartphones before age 13 have worse mental health outcomes: Study

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The bill, SB1560, encourages schools to connect student caregivers and parents with the Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation or BEACON Portal, a tool launched in January that can provide information about available mental health resources and services.

Illinois' move comes two months after the Trump administration pulled funding for about $1 billion in mental health grants. The Department of Education said in May that the grants would be discontinued because the money was going to "race-based actions" instead of mental health services in schools.

Trump administration discontinues $1 billion in school mental health grants

Students' mental health has been top of mind ahead of the back-to-school season. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anxiety and depression are some of the most common mental health conditions diagnosed in children between the ages of 3 and 17, with mental health being a significant concern among teens.

The Illinois State Board of Education has until Sept. 1, 2026, to provide schools with guidance and policies to implement the mandated mental health screenings. The state is also promising schools free screening tools and access to technology to fulfill the mandate.
EVANSVILLE, Ill. (WTVO)  An Illinois man has been charged with rape and theft after allegedly assaulting a woman while he was planning to steal a backhoe from Home Depot.

According to the Vandenburgh County Sheriffs Office, deputies were called to the area of University Parkway and Marx Road in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 31st.

There, they met with a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted by an acquaintance at a hotel on Weston Road. The woman told investigators the suspect, Craig Anthony Bryan, 35, of Streamwood, had also threatened to kill her and her children.

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When Bryan fell asleep, the woman fled from the scene in his truck and called a friend, who called 911.

Detectives took Bryan into custody, although he denied the rape had occurred. Police said text messages corroborated the alleged threats.

Police said they discovered the reason why Bryan was in Evansville was to steal a back hoe from Home Depot.

According to authorities, Bryan had paid a third party to rent the equipment from the store, with the arrangement that Bryan would take the backhoe out of state and sell it. Police said Bryan had not yet taken possession of the backhoe, and the theft was thwarted due to the rape investigation.

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Police also identified his co-conspirators in the scheme. Bryan also admitted to authorities that he had stolen other equipment from another Illinois Home Depot. State and federal authorities are working to determine if he is connected to other crimes. Police said he admitted to attempting similar thefts at other Home Depot locations, but claimed he had come to Evansville after failing to locate the equipment elsewhere.

Bryan has been charged with Rape, Intimidation, Conspiracy to Commit Theft, and Conspiracy to Commit Organized Theft.

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CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO)  A Chicago man has been arrested for allegedly selling meth out of his home, which doubled as a daycare.

According to the Lake County Sheriffs Office, Delwin Hodge, 27, was arrested in the 2100 block of Wright Avenue in North Chicago on July 31st.

Hodge was the target of an investigation by the Special Investigations Group, a task force specializing in drug trafficking.

During the operation, authorities said Hodge sold over 200 grams of methamphetamine to undercover detectives.

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Police said it appeared that drugs were flushed down the toilet just prior to the entry of the SWAT team at the residence.

Packaging materials for drug distribution were found in Hodges bedroom, authorities said. A gun and ammunition were also found inside the home.

Detectives said the home also operated as a daycare, and the gun was not secured and acessible to children. DCFS was notified of the situation, police said.

Hodge has been charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 1 felonies), unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 4 felony), and endangering the life/welfare of a child.

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Police said Hodge as on parole at the time of his arrest.

Sheriff John D. Idleburg said, It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to traffic dangerous drugs in our community, especially from a home where children are present. The fact that methamphetamine was being sold and a firearm was left accessible in a daycare environment is beyond reckless. I am proud of the outstanding work our Special Investigations Group and SWAT did to safely apprehend this individual and prevent further harm.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WGN)  Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a new state initiative into law on Thursday, which aims to promote better mental health for kids across the state.

Annual screenings would begin in the third grade if parents want their children to be part of the program. Pritzker says its a matter of providing a supportive environment statewide to encourage teen mental health, which Pritzker says the new initiative is all about.

As governor of this great state, as a father, and as a great advocate for mental health, this is an issue that is both important and very personal to me, Pritzker said.

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Reporting lost firearms within 48 hours among new gun safety measures signed into Illinois law

As part of the program, mental health screenings in Illinois schools will become a regular thing. The states Board of Education will work with childrens behavioral health experts on what guidance should be given to school districts. The goal is to implement the program starting in the fall of 2027.

Our goal is an integrated, comprehensive approach to quality mental and behavioral health services for young people across the state, Pritzker said.

Experts will screen children beginning in third grade, every year, until they graduate. Dr. Dana Weiner helped develop the program.

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Just as with vision and hearing screenings, parents can opt out if they wish, Weiner said. But what we have heard from families and from young people is that an annual check on sadness, worry, fear, and other problems would help to identify young people who need to talk before they experience the crisis that makes that require more serious, even hospital-based interventions.

Six state agencies will be part of the initiative, Pritzker added.

Pritzker may consider political counter if Texas changes congressional boundaries

We will begin equipping school districts with the resources necessary to implement universal mental health screenings, just as we have been screening for vision, hearing challenges that students have had for many years, the governor said. We will now provide assessments for mental health.

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Pritzker notes that Illinois is the first state to provide universal mental health screenings to public school kids.

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CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO)  Illinois is one of 15 Democratic states suing the Trump administrations efforts to block gender-affirming treatments for minors.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 14 other attorneys general, along with the governor of Pennsylvania, filed the lawsuit targeting federal action that prohibits doctors from offering transgender treatments to individuals under the age of 18.

In Illinois, such medical services are legal.

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The lawsuit says the Trump administration has overstepped its authority by using threats of criminal prosecution to pressure medical providers.

Medically necessary health care for transgender youth is lawful, essential and lifesaving medical treatment that supports the right of all individuals to live as their authentic selves. However, the Trump administrations attacks and attempts to mischaracterize and threaten this care have been relentless, Raoul said. The Department of Justices focus on hospitals and health care providers that offer a wide range of care to pediatric patients is cruel, unlawful and does not make children safer. Instead, the department is diverting valuable law enforcement resources away from catching real child predators and instead coercing health care providers to stop providing the care their patients require.

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order declaring that the United States will only recognize the existence of two sexes, male and female, and has called to end federal support for gender ideology.

A second order restricted medical services that the government described as chemical and surgical mutilation for persons under the age of 19, even though states like Illinois consider 18-year-olds as legal adults.

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Since the orders were issued, the U.S. Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to providers, demanded patient data, and suggested criminal charges may follow.

Raoul and the other attorneys general have argued that those efforts have no legal basis.

Raoul contends that medical experts have said gender-affirming care is necessary for transgender individuals, since denying it has been shown to increase rates of suicide, depression, and anxiety among those individuals.

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South Koreas former president Yoon Suk Yeol lay on his prison cell floor in his underwear to resist attempts to interrogate him, prosecutors said Friday.

A fresh arrest warrant was obtained on Thursday to forcibly bring the impeached former leader in for questioning over allegations of election tampering.

However, they were unable to do so due to his strong refusal, prosecutor Oh Jeong-hee told reporters, as he lay on the floor of his cell on Friday and refused to leave.

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Mr Yoon was removed from office in April by the constitutional court over his botched attempt last year to declare martial law.

Political turmoil

On December 3, he sent troops into parliament to prevent lawmakers from voting down the declaration, plunging the country into political turmoil.

He now faces a litany of charges, ranging from insurrection to election tampering, and is being investigated by a special prosecution team formed under the new president, Lee Jae Myung.

But when prosecutors tried to get him to comply with an arrest warrant and attend questioning voluntarily on Friday, the suspect refused arrest while lying on the floor without wearing his prison-issued clothing, Ms Jeong-hee said.

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Due to concerns over safety incidents, physical force was withheld, and the execution of the warrant was temporarily suspended.

Serious nature of the situation

Yoon was wearing a sleeveless top and prison-issued briefs, prosecutors said, calling it the most appropriate way to describe his attire given the serious nature of the situation.

There was no information on the colour of his underclothing, they added.

Prosecutors informed Yoon that they would have to carry out physical force if necessary in the next attempt.

Yoons legal team said the prosecutors had shown a disturbing disregard for basic human decency.

Yu Jeong-hwa, one of Yoons lawyers, told Reuters that bringing up what he was wearing in a small space where the temperature was close to 40 degrees Celsius (104F) was a public insult to his dignity and showed how the state was violating inmates human rights.

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The special counsel turned what should have been a press briefing into a stage for personal humiliation, Mr Jeong-hwa told AFP news agency.

Significant challenges to maintaining his health

Yoons lawyers said the former president suffers from several underlying conditions that pose significant challenges to maintaining his health, making it difficult for him to fully cooperate with the investigation.

The former president was put back in a solitary cell at the Seoul Detention Centre in July, as prosecutors investigating his short-lived declaration of martial law sought additional charges against him.

Yoon is already on trial for insurrection, a charge which in South Korea is punishable by death or life imprisonment.

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He also faces a string of other investigations led by special prosecutors, including one into scandals surrounding his wife, former First Lady Kim Keon Hee, where the couple allegedly exerted inappropriate influence over elections.

Yoon has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers have accused prosecutors of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt.

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Aug. 1BELTRAMI ISLAND STATE FOREST, Minn.  At more than 703,000 acres, with hundreds of miles of roads and trails, Beltrami Island State Forest can be an intimidating place for newcomers to visit and experience, but a group of forest enthusiasts is out to change that.

The inaugural Adventure Through Beltrami Island State Forest self-guided tour event, held last Saturday, July 26, was a key first step, organizers say. And by all accounts, the adventure day was a big success.

Hosted by the Beltrami Forest Historical Restoration Society, the self-guided tour featured stops at seven key sites of interest throughout the forest and adjacent public lands: Norris Camp, headquarters of Red Lake Wildlife Management Area; Winner Silo; Carp's Pit Recreation Area; Hayes Lake State Park; Clear River Campground; Penturen Church; and Bemis Hill Campground.

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Volunteers from several area snowmobile, ATV and sportsmen's clubs  Lake of the Woods Drifters Snowmobile Club, Fourtown-Grygla Sportsman's Club, Roseau-Lake of the Woods Sportsman's Club, Moxie Inc. (which hosts the

annual Femme Fatale ATV ride

fundraiser), Beltrami Forest Historical Restoration Society and Roseau County Trailblazers  were on hand at each of the sites serving up snacks and info.

Forest visitors could travel at their own pace and visit as many or as few of the sites as they wanted. The goal: To get more people out in the forest and enjoying what it has to offer, said Myles Hogenson of Roosevelt, Minnesota, trail administrator of the Roseau-Lake of the Woods Sportsman's Club and one of the event's organizers.

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The idea of an Adventure Day came about through talks with the other clubs, Hogenson says; everyone was onboard.

"We've got to get the people that want to go jogging and want to go walking, want to ride bikes out here," he said. "There's a ton of stuff to do."

Despite being the second-largest state forest in Minnesota  only 900,000-acre Pine Island State Forest in Koochiching County is larger  no one should be afraid to venture out on Beltrami's network of forest roads, minimum maintenance roads and trails, Hogenson says.

All told, he says, there's "between 600-700" miles of roads and trails throughout the forest, including 221 miles of ATV grant-in-aid trails. Local ATV and snowmobile clubs sign and maintain grant-in-aid trails with funding provided by the state through a variety of sources, including snowmobile and ATV registration fees, user fees, off-road fuel tax allocations and trail pass revenues.

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The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources designates Beltrami Island State Forest as "managed," meaning roads and trails are open to motorized use unless specifically signed as closed. Maintaining that access designation  as opposed to the more restrictive "limited" designation  is an ongoing concern with the local trails groups, Hogenson says.

Under the "limited" designation, roads and trails are closed to motorized use unless specifically signed as open. There have been efforts as recently as the 2025 Minnesota legislative session to restrict or close motorized trails on state forest lands.

"We're all kind of worried about this 'limited' forest (designation), and it's going to be devastating for us" if it ever happens, Hogenson said. "We're proud of what we do up here, and we do maintain it pretty darn well.

"Our road system out here is by far one of the best in the state. There's just so much to see."

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During last weekend's Adventure Day, some visitors made the rounds to the various sites in cars and trucks, some came on ATVs or other off-highway vehicles, and the Warroad Senior Living Center brought a busload of residents out to enjoy the day.

In addition to the sportsman's club volunteers, park manager Allen Larson was on hand at Hayes Lake State Park, and Charlie Tucker, manager of Red Lake WMA, gave tours at Norris Camp throughout the day.

"I think it went well," Tucker said. "There were easily 100 people who came through (Norris Camp) Saturday and maybe almost that many who went on an informal tour with me. That's a lot, when you consider it was groups of four or five most of the time."

Rich in history, Norris Camp was a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp from 1935 until 1940.

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"It was a good, hot summer day," Tucker said. "I think folks had fun, and it's always good to give people an excuse to get outside."

Historic Penturen Church, surrounded by tall pines in the heart of the forest, was perhaps the most popular stop on the Adventure Day tour. Named after a family, Penturen also was the name of a town in the forest back in the old days, before the state of Minnesota decided to turn the area into a state forest, said Kim Cole of Warroad, a member of the Beltrami Historical Restoration Society.

The first log church on the site was built in 1906, and the Penturen Church that stands today was built in 1915.

"There used to be a little store and a post office and then the church," Cole said. "There were a lot of settlers that homesteaded in that area, and when the state decided to make a state forest, they traded land up closer to Warroad for land that was out in Beltrami."

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About 20 years ago, Cole says, volunteers from the Restoration Society and other groups redid the stucco exterior of the church, replaced the cedar shakes on the roof and rebuilt the bell tower. Last year, the church got a new coat of gray paint; earlier this summer, sportsmen's clubs and area businesses teamed up to build a modern pit toilet onsite with a holding tank like those in state or national parks.

At least 150 people stopped by Penturen Church last Saturday, said Tammy Cole, Kim's wife and secretary of the Beltrami Forest Historical Restoration Society, which hosted the Penturen stop.

Considering temps were in the 80s, the ice cream cones they served were a hit among those who visited, Tammy Cole said.

"We had lots of shade," she said. "We just kept moving chairs, and people stood in the shade.

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"People loved it. They had a great time out at the church."

The Restoration Society also received about $700 in donations that will be used for the church, which is always open to the public.

"We were really happy with the amount of people we got out there," Tammy Cole said. "It was really a good turnout  more than we expected.

"Once they started coming, they just kept coming."

The participating clubs and organizations donated the food for each of the stops. Hogenson, the Roseau-Lake of the Woods club trail administrator, says he cooked up 130 brats at Bemis Hill  "and there were people that didn't eat"  and the Fourtown-Grygla Sportsman's Club went through 40 pounds of pulled pork and potato salad at Winner Silo, running out of homemade baked beans. Nearly 90 people stopped by Carp's Pit, Hogenson said, with another 100 or so at Clear River.

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Organizers gathered at the Winner Silo afterwards to talk about how the day went, "and everybody agreed that we should make this an annual thing," Kim Cole of the Restoration Society said.

"The only real issue we had with our Adventure Day was we had rain and a wind storm that came through the night before," he said. "There were quite a few trees down across the road, so we had to cut down a bunch of trees just to get to the church.

"But once we got there, it went really well."
Indian state-owned refineries suspended Russian oil purchases last week amid threats of tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump and narrowing price discounts, Reuters reported on July 30, citing its sources.

The news coincides with Trump's announcement of a 25% tariff on India starting on Aug. 1 as he rebuked New Delhi for its purchases of Russian energy and arms amid the war in Ukraine.

India, long dependent on Middle Eastern oil, sharply increased imports from Russia after Moscow launched its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, taking advantage of deep discounts and falling European demand.

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The South Asian country remains one of the leading buyers of Russian oil, second only to China.

State-owned refiners, including Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum, have not purchased Russian oil over the past week, four sources familiar with procurement plans told Reuters.

The companies, which typically buy Russian crude on a delivered basis, have turned to spot markets to replace lost volumes, sourcing mainly Middle Eastern grades like Abu Dhabi's Murban and West African crude, the sources said.

While private refiners such as Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy are India's largest buyers of Russian oil, state-owned companies account for over 60% of the country's total refining capacity of 5.2 million barrels per day.

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Earlier, Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on countries that continued purchasing Russian crude oil.

Upon taking office, Trump imposed short-lived "Liberation Day" tariffs in April, which he withdrew for 90 days due to market and economic concerns.

The U.S. has now imposed various deadlines to reach deals with its many trading partners before tariffs may be reintroduced.

Read also: Russias rocket-powered kamikaze drones are now hitting Kyiv  heres everything we know

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ELKHART  Around 50 mayors from across the state are meeting to discuss ideas and share insights about the challenges and rewards of city leadership during the annual Indiana Conference of Mayors.

This is the first year Mayor Rod Roberson has been president of ICOM and the first time Elkhart has hosted ICOM during his administration.

It is a perfect opportunity for us to not just showcase what we do, but to receive recommendations, suggestions, criticisms, and be able to critique in a manner that allows a mayor to be able to see a broader perspective, Roberson said. Im excited about the opportunities were going to have in the next couple of days.

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The conference runs from Wednesday to Friday. The mayors attended a few workshops each day and got to hear from different presenters.

One of the workshops took place at Hotel Elkhart on Wednesday, regarding housing and quality of life. The featured presenters were Development Services Director Mike Huber and weIMPACT Group Founder David Weaver.

What weve seen at weIMPACT over the last couple years is 15 new leases, six relocations to downtown, eight new investments in downtown and weve seen the highest concentration of reinvestment in modern history, Weaver said. Between municipal investment, other developers, Elkhart Health and Aquatics and community impact, weve seen $250 million invested in the River District.

Housing has always been a challenge, Roberson said.

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For Elkhart in particular, there are 40,000 people who come to Elkhart for work and then they go home, he said. They would love to live closer to this community, so our housing shortage is very well documented. What we have been trying to do and what we have been doing with my administration, and the previous administration set the stage, is to try to develop housing opportunities and re-densify our downtown which will recreate it in a more livable way.

Following the workshop on Wednesday, the mayors were treated to a walking tour of the city to showcase the citys strategic investment in quality of place. They visited the Lerner Theatre, the River District, and the Aquatic Center.

On Thursday morning, Gov. Mike Braun was expected to visit and speak with the mayors about key issues going on around the state.

Its a wonderful opportunity for us to engage with each other, Roberson said of the meeting with Braun. Theres a lot of activity thats going on in the state. Obviously, Senate Bill 1 has been a challenge for local municipalities to be able to grapple with the change, but now that its with us, we need to make sure we continue to articulate some of the challenges that we have so that we can grow together. There are going to be moments in which we all need each other and those are the times in which we need a good solid platform to work from.

The mayoral activities will end today at 2 p.m. with the ICOM Grand Prix Mayors Race at the Elkhart Grand Prix.
This article was originally published in Chalkbeat.

Like their peers nationwide, students at Crawford County Middle School in southern Indiana struggled academically in the pandemics wake. Principal Tarra Carothers knew her students needed help to get back on track.

So two years ago, she decided to double instructional time for math and English. Students now spend two periods per day in these critical subjects. Carothers believes the change has been a success, and a key trend backs her up: Crawfords ILEARN scores in English language arts increased by over 8 percentage points from 2024 to 2025.

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But overall, Indiana middle schools are heading in the opposite direction when it comes to English. In fact, despite gains in math, middle schoolers are struggling more than students in other grade levels in English, state test scores show. Since 2021, ILEARN English proficiency rates in seventh and eighth grades have fallen, with the dip particularly pronounced for seventh graders. And while their scores are up slightly compared with four years ago, sixth graders performance fell over the past year.

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Indiana has made significant and much-publicized investments in early literacy, relying heavily on the science of reading, as many states have in the last few years. But that instructional transformation has come too late for current middle schoolers. Meanwhile, ILEARN English scores for third and fourth graders have risen by relatively small levels since the pandemic, although this improvement has been uneven.

The Board of Education expressed specific concerns about middle schoolers performance at a July 16 meeting. Weve gotta pick it up and make sure all of our middle school kids are reading, provide those additional supports, said Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.

Some middle school leaders say strategies theyve used can turn things around. In addition to increasing instructional time for key subjects, they point to participation in a pilot that allows students to take ILEARN at several points over the school year, instead of just once in the spring. Educators say relying on these checkpoints can provide data-driven reflection and remediation for students that shows up in better test scores.

Middle school an optimum time for students recovery

Katie Powell, director for middle level programs at the Association for Middle Level Education, said she often asks teachers if middle schoolers seem different since the pandemic and heads nod, she said. These post-pandemic middle schoolers are harder to motivate and engage, self-report more stress, and are less likely to take risks academically, Powell said.

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When the pandemic hit, they were young, at the age of school where theyre developing basic reading fluency and math fact fluency, she said. Current eighth graders, for example, were in second grade when the pandemic shut down schools and many learned online for much of their third grade year. Third grade is when students are supposed to stop learning to read and start reading to learn, Powell said.

Powell noted that middle schoolers are in the stage of rapid development with the most changes for the brain and body outside of infancy.

This is actually an optimum time to step in and step up for them, she said. It is not too late. But its critical that we pay attention to them now.

Crawford County Middle School has nine periods every day, and students spend two periods each in both math and English. While many schools have some version of block scheduling, many have a model in which students only go to each class every other day. But at Crawford, students attend every class every day. Their version of block scheduling results in double the amount of instructional time in math and English.

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To make this switch, sacrifices had to be made. Periods were shortened, resulting in less time for other subjects. Carothers worried that student scores in subjects like science and social studies would decrease. But the opposite occurred, she said. Sixth grade science scores increased, for example, even though students were spending less time in the science classroom, according to Carothers.

If they have better math skills and better reading skills, then theyre gonna perform better in social studies and science, she said.

Meanwhile, at Cannelton Jr. Sr. High School, on the state line with Kentucky, the first three periods of the day are 90 minutes, rather than the typical 45. Every student has English or math during these first three periods, allowing for double the normal class time.

Canneltons sixth through eighth grade English language arts ILEARN scores increased by nearly nine percentage points last year.

Schools use more data to track student performance

Cannelton Principal Brian Garrett believes his schools reliance on data, and its new approach to getting it, is also part of their secret.

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Students take benchmark assessments early, in the first two or three weeks of school, so that teachers can track their progress and find gaps in knowledge.

This year, the state is adopting that strategy for schools statewide. Rather than taking ILEARN once near the end of the year, students will take versions of the test three separate times, with a shortened final assessment in the spring. The state ran a pilot for ILEARN checkpoints last school year, with over 70% of Indiana schools taking part.

The Indiana Department of Education hopes checkpoints will make the data from the test more actionable and help families and teachers ensure a student is on track throughout the year.

Kim Davis, principal of Indian Creek Middle School in rural Trafalgar, said she believes ILEARN checkpoints, paired with reflection and targeted remediation efforts by teachers, helped us inform instruction throughout the year instead of waiting until the end of the year to see did they actually master it according to the state test.

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The checkpoints identified what standards students were struggling with, allowing Indian Creek teachers to tailor their instruction. Students also benefitted from an added familiarity with the test; they could see how questions would be presented when it was time for the final assessment in the spring.

It felt very pressure-free, but very informative for the teachers, Davis said.

The type of data gathered matters too. In the past, Washington Township middle schools used an assessment called NWEA, taken multiple times throughout the year, to measure student learning, said Eastwood Middle School Principal James Tutin. While NWEA was a good metric for measuring growth, it didnt align with Indiana state standards, so the scores didnt necessarily match how a student would ultimately score on a test like ILEARN.

Last year, the district adopted ILEARN checkpoints instead, and used a service called Otis to collect weekly data.

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It took approximately six minutes for students to answer a few questions during a class period with information that educators could then put into Otis. That data allowed teachers to target instruction during gaps between ILEARN checkpoints.

Not only were they getting the practice through the checkpoints, but they were getting really targeted feedback at the daily and weekly level, to make sure that were not waiting until the checkpoint to know how our students are likely going to do, Tutin said.

Both Davis and Tutin stressed that simply having students take the checkpoint ILEARN tests was not enough; it had to be paired with reflection and collaboration between teachers, pushing each other to ask the tough questions and evaluate their own teaching.

We still have a fire in us to grow further, were not content with where we are, Davis said. But were headed in the right direction and thats very exciting.

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, flanked by Indiana State Police personnel, holds a news conference in his Statehouse office on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

A trio of Indiana agencies have signed up for federal immigration enforcement powers, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun announced Friday.

Indiana is not a safe haven for illegal immigration, Braun said in a news release. Indiana will fully partner with federal immigration authorities as they enforce the most fundamental laws of our country.

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If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement approves the agreements, the Indiana State Police, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Correction would join four local Hoosier agencies  and nearly 900 others from across the nation  that have inked similar deals.

The formal partnerships are authorized in Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and let ICE delegate certain immigration enforcement powers to state or local officers.

There are three active program models: task force, warrant service officer and jail enforcement.

The Indiana State Police has submitted a memorandum of agreement for the task force model, according to an ICE list of pending deals that was updated Friday morning. So did the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of Correction asked for a warrant service officer deal. The agency is working with ICE to make available up to 1,000 beds at Miami Correctional Facility, the news release said.

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The announcement follows an executive order Braun issued in January directing Hoosier law enforcement agencies to fully cooperate with ICE, and, to the maximum extent permitted, enter into (287(g)) agreements.

If ICE approves the deals, the agencies will be moved to a separate list of enacted deals. But that doesnt mean theyre active.

The agencies will nominate specific personnel to take on federal powers. However, the officer nominees must undergo ICE training and pass examinations to be deputized.

Nominees from at least two of the four local Indiana agencies that have finalized 287(g) agreements with ICE still have not been trained  and therefore, havent been tapped in the national deportation effort, the Capital Chronicle found.

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Braun is also anticipating further partnership between the Indiana National Guard and federal immigration authorities, it continued. That will not be a 287(g) agreement, according to the Braun administration.

Camp Atterbury  a federally owned military installation that is licensed to and operated by the guard  will be used to hold immigrant detainees.

It will be available for temporary use by the (U.S.) Department of Homeland Security to house illegal aliens subject to deportation, with safety in mind for staff, detainees, and surrounding communities, the news release said.

The plan was revealed last month in a letter from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to congressional members.

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An Indiana State University professor has contributed to climate change research indicating drought pressure may jeopardize the growth of tropical forests.

The research was published Thursday in Science, a global, peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Projections suggest that as climates get warmer and drier, this could impact the density of tropical rainforests, according to the global study, which includes contributions from James Speer, professor of geography and geology at Indiana State University.

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He worked alongside an international team of researchers from North America, Africa, Europe and Asia.

In the global study, scientists studied tree rings from 483 tropical forests in Africa, Central and North America, and Southeast Asia to see how drought affects tree growth and how that might impact the ability for trees to store carbon long-term.

The findings showed that, during the driest 10% of years since 1930, tree growth dropped by about 2.5%. In around a quarter of the cases, the drop was over 10%, especially in hotter, drier areas and for certain types of trees.

Speer has dedicated over 30 years to dendrochronology, the study of tree rings, to uncover historical climate patterns and ecological changes.

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His work focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, a region critical to global climate science yet vastly underrepresented in tree-ring records. Of the more than 5,000 records in the International Tree-Ring Data Bank, only five were from sub-Saharan Africa when the team began their research.

Through their collaborative efforts, that number has now increased to 25.

Since 2021, Speer has helped launch and lead dendrochronology field schools in Zambia in partnership with Justine Ngoma, lecturer and researcher at Copperbelt University. These schools, now in their fifth year, train local students and scientists in tree-ring analysis and have played a key role in this research.

To support this research, Speer recently received a $319,165 grant from the National Science Foundation.

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This is part of a larger collaborative project totaling $550,000, in partnership with Matt Becker (Brigham Young University), Stockton Maxwell (Radford University), and Nicole Zampieri (Central Florida University).

Together, the team is expanding their field school model and research capacity across the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa holds vital climate records locked within its trees, yet its one of the least studied regions in dendrochronology, said Speer. Through this collaborative research, were not only expanding the global understanding of climate change, but also building local capacity through education and collaboration. Working with such rich biodiversity is a fantastic opportunity to document ecological resilience over time.

Melinda Roberts, dean of ISUs College of Arts and Sciences, added, Dr. Speers work exemplifies the kind of globally relevant, high-impact research we are proud to support at Indiana State University.

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The study found that while drought can temporarily slow tree growth, tropical forests have typically rebounded in wetter years  showing resilience so far. But as global temperatures continue to rise, researchers caution this recovery may not last.

Looking ahead, Speer and his team aim to expand the project to other African countries, including Kenya and Botswana, to build a more complete network of climate data that can help predict future environmental change.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Indonesia began releasing hundreds of inmates from its notoriously overcrowded prisons Friday after parliament approved the first stage of a wide-ranging clemency plan by President Prabowo Subianto aimed at building national solidarity.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas made the announcement late Thursday after a consultation between the government and party factions in the legislature.

Subianto surprised the nation barely two months after he took office in October by saying he planned to grant clemency to some 44,000 inmates nationwide  most of them imprisoned for political reasons  as a way to help unify the country.

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Past Indonesian leaders have rarely used their amnesty powers, which require the approval of parliament.

The first group of 1,178 began leaving prisons Friday, after Subianto signed a Presidential Decree on the clemency. It includes prominent rivals of former President Joko Widodo who were jailed during his term, as well as six Papuan independence activists serving prison sentences for treason as the government considers their movement unarmed.

Analysts have cautiously welcomed Subiantos sweeping plan, which could see the release of thousands of inmates as Agtas said it would prioritize political prisoners and inmates with mental and chronic health illnesses, older people, juveniles and those convicted of blasphemy or insulting the countrys leader.

Among the prisoners set to be released are several prominent opposition figures, including Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary general of the countrys only formal opposition party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

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Kristiyanto, a former Widodo ally who later became a harsh critic, was released Friday evening from his cell at the anti-Corruption Commissions detention center in South Jakarta where he had been jailed since February.

He was sentenced last week to 3 1/2 years in prison for bribery in a 2019 legislative seat appointment scheme.

We must learn from this incident because we want justice to be served fairly, Kristiyanto told a cheering crowd after his release. I will never stop loving this country, no matter what happens.

Agtas said parliament also approved an end to criminal proceedings against former Trade Minister Tom Lembong, a onetime Widodo ally who broke with him during the 2024 presidential election to support political rival Anies Baswedan. Lembong was accused of abusing his authority as minister and sentenced to more than four years in prison. He had been preparing to appeal before Subianto proposed him for clemency.

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Both (Kristiyanto and Lembong) have demonstrated service to the nation, and our priority now is to strengthen the unity of the nation, Agtas said.

Agtas revised the initial number of prisoners to be released in the first phase to 1,178 from a previous estimate of 1,116, after his ministry recalculated its data. Authorities are expected to submit a second list of 1,668 inmates to parliament in the near future, he added.

Dozens of excited supporters, including Baswedan, flocked to Cipinang Prison in eastern Jakarta where Lembong is serving his sentence since October, to welcome his release with cheers and tears.

I dont want my freedom today to be the end of the story; I want it to be the beginning of sharing responsibility, Lembong said in his speech shortly after being released.

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I want to speak out, raise awareness, and, if possible, help make our legal system fairer, clearer, and more aligned with truth rather than narrow interests. I also want to let everyone know that I return with a strong spirit, not a broken heart," Lembong said.

One of his supporters, Iwan Roberto, said by granting Lembong abolition (of legal proceedings), "It means that President Prabowo wants to create political stability,

Azmi Syahputra, a state law analyst from Trisakti University, urged Subianto to explain his decision in granting amnesty and the abolition of proceedings, especially for Lembong and Kristiyanto, who are high-profile politicians convicted in graft cases that he said cannot be forgiven by most Indonesian people.

Amnesty and abolition are absolute powers held by the president, but people are owed an explanation, Syahputra said. Failure to fully explain the reasons will raise questions in the public sphere that could have widespread negative consequences if not addressed comprehensively.

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The move could be interpreted by the public as a political agreement between the executive and legislative branches to relieve criminal liability rather than improve law enforcement, he said.

This measure is used to free high-profile figures from a sentence currently being served for certain political interests, Syahputra said.

A political analyst from Diponegoro University, Mohamad Rosyidin, viewed the clemency plan in the context of rights groups' criticism of Subianto, a former general with ties to the countrys dictatorial past who is linked to alleged human rights abuses.

President Prabowos amnesty plan could be a step to dispel these perceptions and portray him as pro-democracy and a defender of human rights, Rosyidin said.

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Since taking office in October, Subianto's administration has moved to repatriate several high-profile foreign inmates, all sentenced to death or life in prison for drug offenses, back to their home countries.

Serge Atlaoui, an ailing Frenchman, returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed to repatriate him on humanitarian grounds.

Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines in December. In the same month, the government sent to Australia the five remaining members of a drug ring known as the Bali Nine.
A person suspected of starting a fire at an industrial estate in Glasgow has been captured on CCTV.

Fire crews were alerted to the blaze at a single-storey commercial building on Stanley Street at about 06:45 on Thursday.

CCTV footage, obtained by BBC Scotland News, shows a person walking up a lane near the Kinning Park storage unit, then climbing over a wall.

Flames are then seen coming from the area behind the wall, before the suspect appears again, jumps off the wall and runs off.

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Police Scotland have confirmed that the fire was started deliberately.

Smoke from the fire was sent billowing across the M8 at rush hour.

Police appeal

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent nine appliances and two high-reach vehicles to extinguish the fire. No injuries have been reported.

Roads in the area were cordoned off by police while fire crews tackled the flames and residents were advised to keep their windows and doors closed due to the smoke.

Det Insp Lesley-Ann McGee said: "Our inquiries remain ongoing, and I am appealing to anyone who was in the area at the time and who may have seen something to get in touch."
INEZ, Ky. (FOX 56)  Firefighters in Inez were sent to a Turkey Creek home on Friday to find a home that had severe structural collapse.

Inez Fire Rescue posted on Facebook around 7 a.m. on Aug. 1 that crews had been sent to the 4400 block of Turkey Creek, and when they arrived, the two people living in the home were able to escape, but two family pets were still trapped inside.

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Firefighters were able to locate the pets and safely remove them from the residence without incident, department staff wrote.

Crews with Inez Fire Rescue were dispatched to the 4400 block of Turkey Creek on Aug. 1 to find a home that had severe structural collapse. (Inez Fire Rescue) (Inez Fire Rescue) Inez fire and rescue crews wrote that two family pets had been trapped inside the home, but firefighters were able to find them and get them to safety. (Inez Fire Rescue)

Emergency personnel reportedly checked the pair who escaped, only finding minor injuries.

An investigation into what caused the collapse 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.
Celebrities, including Made In Chelsea star Olivia Bentley, are being paid by Ofcom to promote its new pornography age-checking rules.

The digital regulator has paid influencers, including Ms Bentley, to post on social media in support of age checks on pornography, which have been introduced under the Online Safety Act.

A sponsored post seen by hundreds of thousands of people shows Ms Bentley telling followers that current tools to prevent children accessing online porn just arent cutting it.

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It comes as Ofcom battles a backlash against the Online Safety Act from tech companies and US officials. A Parliamentary petition to repeal the law was signed by more than 450,000 people. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, and US politicians have labelled the rules an attack on free expression.

In the promotion posted by Ms Bentley, who has 617,000 Instagram followers, she says: This is not to ruin anyones fun but its about time that children are protected online.

The clip starts with Ms Bentley entering her home and  apparently  removing her top just out of view of the camera. She then takes a can of beer from a fridge labelled pornography, before addressing the camera, fully clothed: Now Ive got your attention.

The influencer compares the checks to when you have to go to the pub and show your ID and adds: Its almost as if the internet is finally growing up.

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According to transparency data published by Meta, which owns Instagram, the ad was mainly targeted at 20 to 35-year-olds and paid for by Ofcom, which is in charge of enforcing the Online Safety Act.

Ofcom has also paid for adverts from Adam Beales, a YouTuber with 4.6 million subscribers. They ran last week ahead of new age checks coming into force on July 25.

The Telegraph has asked Ofcom how much it has paid the influencers. The regulator is funded by fees from the companies it regulates, rather than by the taxpayer.

YouTuber Adam Beales has also produced paid adverts for Ofcom - Gareth Cattermole/Getty

New rules require websites that allow pornography or other explicit posts to block children from seeing them. The changes have prompted new age verification checks across both pornography sites and social media, including X and Reddit.

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Some internet users have bristled at the checks, which require them to undertake a face-scanning age-estimation test or upload government ID to access pornography.

They can also block internet users from seeing other posts deemed harmful to children if they refuse to confirm their age. This can include extremely violent content or hate speech, but in some cases, innocuous content has been put behind an age gate, such as a Reddit forum dedicated to beer.

Ofcoms ads represent an effort to win over young social media users. However, on Ms Bentleys post, one follower responded: Its a well intentioned but horribly implemented law.

Critics have also argued that the checks can be easily bypassed by VPN apps, which allow internet users to hide their identity and location.

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On Thursday, Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, accused opponents of the laws of playing politics with child safety and said there were no practical alternatives to age verification when it came to stopping children seeing explicit online posts.

An Ofcom spokesman said: Helping people understand new online safety protections is an important part of our job as the communications watchdog.

Like many public bodies, we work with online ambassadors to reach millions of children and adults who connect with them  in our case, explaining changes that are happening and how to stay safe.

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.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Nine recuperating birds were released after a break-in at the Bird Alliance of Oregons Wildlife Care Center early Thursday morning.

According to the Bird Alliance of Oregon, a suspect was caught on camera breaking into two outdoor enclosures that held nine recovering birds: an American crow, three Northern Flickers, and five American Kestrels.

Its hard to get into somebodys mindset and we do have police and federal officials getting involved, said Travis Koons, with the Bird Alliance of Oregon. Please understand that what you did has a lot of consequences and it hurt a lot of people.

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Officials said they believe the birds were released before they had fully recovered, but they dont know the reason why.

Earthquake-ready Burnside Bridge moves forward despite federal grant uncertainty

They also said that it appears one bird, an American Kestrel, was killed  most likely by a predator  due to a feather pile found at the bottom of a nearby tree.

Nine recovering birds were released during a break-in at the Bird Alliance of Oregons Wildlife Care Facility (Bird Alliance of Oregon) Nine recovering birds were released during a break-in at the Bird Alliance of Oregons Wildlife Care Facility (Bird Alliance of Oregon) Nine recovering birds were released during a break-in at the Bird Alliance of Oregons Wildlife Care Facility (Bird Alliance of Oregon)

The suspect in the break-in damaged enclosures, and officials said they also disturbed supplies with gloves, masks and kennels thrown around.

The Bird Alliance is asking anyone with information to contact the police.

The birds had been in their care for between 18 to 58 days for a myriad of reasons, including the baby crow that fell from its nest during a storm and a flicker suffering from spinal trauma due to a window collision.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
As a recent article in the Journal Sentinel pointed out, the only way to improve the conditions for everyone in this state is to reduce the prison population (Prison staffing unsolved, July 14) .

We could make one big stride toward this goal by offering a second chance to men and women who committed a serious crime in their youth, have served 25 years or more, and are now middle-aged or older. The prison population includes numerous such individuals.

Many of them have matured into hard-working, responsible citizens and could be released today without endangering society, but there is no mechanism to make that possible. Some of them received such extreme sentences that they cant even be considered for parole until 2040 or later.

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Some other states are systematically reconsidering the cases of prisoners like these, and Wisconsin should do that too. Offering a second chance to mature, rehabilitated men and women would not just free prison space for people who actually need to be there, but would also save tax dollars for better purposes.

Most important, it would allow these individuals to put their energies, skills and hard-earned wisdom to good use in the families and neighborhoods that need them.

Sherry Reames, Madison

Opinion: Comparing Milwaukee crime with New York under Rudy Giuliani doesn't hold water

Letters: Government 'of the people' devolves into government 'of the billionaires'

Tips for getting your letter to the editor published

Here are some tips to get your views shared with your friends, family, neighbors and across our state:

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Please include your name, street address and daytime phone.

Generally, we limit letters to 200 words.

Cite sources of where you found information or the article that prompted your letter.

Be civil and constructive, especially when criticizing.

Avoid ad hominem attacks, take issue with a position, not a person.

We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions.

We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters.

Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months.

All letters are subject to editing.

Write: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 330 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 500, Milwaukee, WI, 53202. Fax: (414)-223-5444. E-mail: jsedit@jrn.com or submit using the form that can be found on the on the bottom of this page.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: We can reduce prison rolls by releasing rehabilitated inmates | Letters
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  Local educators and officials gathered at the Hulman Center Thursday afternoon for the Innovate Indiana Series.

Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner was the keynote speaker and took questions in a moderated session. She said, for years, literacy rates were down, but with funding they have started to rise.

$170 million were invested into this reading space, Jenner said. Weve now improved three years in a row with the largest jumping being last year. We will have an unprecedented jump that will probably make national headlines coming out in August.

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In higher education, Indiana State University President Mike Godard announced the school has recently partnered with Thompson Thrift.

With a $1.4 million gift, our board of trustees approved the naming of the Thompson Thrift Department of Construction Management in the Bailey College of Engineering and Technology, Godard said.

Students will now have access to a number of resources in the real estate field.

It includes $1.3 million in paid internships, new renewable scholarships, enhanced work-based learning, and guest lectures and mentoring directly from Thompson Thrift professionals, Godard said.

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Jenner urged more businesses to follow this path and support education.

If youre a business and industry leader and youre interested in offering a work base learning experience or internship, we know thats the number one way to develop skills for kids, Jenner said.

Jenner emphasized that change starts with local leaders right there in the room.

Everything starts at the community level, Jenner said. At the state level we need to get barriers out of the way, but it all starts with key leaders like you at the local level.

During a moderated panel, a group of local leaders also discussed ways to bring new businesses into the Wabash Valley and what changes need to be made at the local and state level to help residents thrive.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com.
Hangers standing empty in the community closet. Offices stacked with cardboard boxes. A bulletin board with only one item tacked to it.

Most dramatically, empty spaces where the Petes Place signs on the corner of Cerrillos and Harrison roads and above the building at 2801 Cerrillos Road had stood for years.

The Petes Place homeless shelter was as empty Thursday morning as most people had ever seen it as the local nonprofit Interfaith Community Shelter hosted a farewell breakfast for volunteers and prepared to hand out bagged lunches to guests one last time.

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At 1 p.m., management of the low-barrier homeless shelter officially changed hands to Urban Alchemy, a San Francisco-based nonprofit. The Santa Fe City Council hired the out-of-state group in June through a one-year emergency contract to continue operations at the troubled property after voting to end its contract with Interfaith, which had run the site for over 15 years.

The new operator is renaming the city-owned shelter Agape House, after the Greek word for the highest form of love. The organization said in a news release the name reflects its mission of compassionate and dignified care.

A new guest experience?

We aim to be the Four Seasons of shelters by offering the best possible service and experience to the guests we serve at Agape House, Urban Alchemy Chief Administrative Officer Mike Anderer said in a news release.

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Anderer said at the shelter Thursday it has the potential to be as clean as a spa  maybe not to Ojo Caliente standards, he acknowledged, but it can be nice.

The city has agreed to complete maintenance work on the property, including repairs to the fence and fixing leaks, and Urban Alchemy crews will clean the property, he added.

The City Council voted 7-1 to terminate Interfaith Community Shelters lease at Petes Place during a contentious meeting June 3 when it also approved two contracts with Urban Alchemy totaling more than $9 million for homeless services: shelter operations and a separate street outreach effort that began last week.

Many shelter volunteers and other local nonprofits said they were unhappy with how the city had handled the process.

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Interfaiths lease was terminated largely due to longstanding frustrations with crime and drug use in the area surrounding the shelter in the Siler-Rufina neighborhood  something Urban Alchemy said in its news release will improve under the groups oversight.

Urban Alchemy assumes responsibility for the quality of conditions both inside and outside of the shelters they manage and operate and are committed to creating cleaner, safer, and more welcoming conditions in the 1,000 foot radius around Agape House, the release said.

073125_Pete's Place Last Day_001.JPG

Rosieta Langley, left, is comforted by Amanda Martinez, a security guard, as she becomes emotional while the last of the Petes Place T-shirts are handed out Thursday before the shelter's management transition to Urban Alchemy.

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Bittersweet goodbye

It was an emotional goodbye Thursday morning for Interfaith volunteers, including Meryl Lieberman, who was at the shelter with her service dog, Bear.

Its heartbreaking, said Lieberman, who has been a shelter volunteer since its inception. But I have been told we need to support the new entity, even if were not happy about how it happened.

Volunteers Angie Heath and Sandy Schackel took a group photo with Executive Director Korina Lopez after the breakfast.

Its just really enriched my life, Heath said of volunteering at the shelter for the last eight years. She said there was never a dull moment.

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Ive made a lot of friends and Im really going to miss them all, she said. Its very sad that were no longer needed.

Heath and Schackel volunteered together in the community closet, where they helped outfit people for job interviews, court dates and other important occasions.

Schackel started volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many other volunteers started to stay away due to health concerns, and she said the farewell event was bittersweet.

We dont really understand whats happening with the new outlet, but we have hope that our people will be taken care of, Schackel said.

A shelter resident approached them on their way out. I appreciate what yall did, he said.

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073125_Pete's Place Last Day_008.JPG

Korina Lopez, executive director of the Interfaith Community Shelter at Petes Place, shares a moment with the Joe Dudziak, the founder of Chaplain Joes Street Outreach, before the management transition Thursday to Urban Alchemy.

Hope for smooth transition

The shelter was once again a hub of activity later in the afternoon as Urban Alchemy employees conducted a deep clean of the building while residents gathered on the outdoor patio, occasionally ducking in to use the restroom.

Lopez gave Anderer the key code to the propertys locks Thursday afternoon. He said in an interview later that day he was grateful to Interfaith Community Shelter for its graciousness during the transition.

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He moved to Santa Fe to help stand up Urban Alchemys operations in the City Different, and said over the past month he has been humbled by how much residents care for the shelter.

Urban Alchemy is focusing on a smooth transition for everyone whos accustomed to being here, he said, and it will host a Friday morning meeting for guests to provide more information about the changeover.

Many things will remain the same, Anderer wrote in an email: Guests can still house their pets on the property, they will be connected with case managers (which Urban Alchemy calls care coordinators) and will be given access to three meals a day.

Other things will be different: The shelter will be open to residents 24 hours a day, rather than closing for some daytime hours and locking up at night, and people entering the property during the day will be asked to sign in.

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Instead of a rotating cast of volunteers to provide meals, Anderer said Urban Alchemy is working with local caterers to start, and is still deciding whether it makes more sense to contract out food services or to have an in-house kitchen staff.

The shelter will still accept donations of food from the public, he added.

073125_Pete's Place Last Day_005.JPG

Rosieta Langley, left, becomes emotional as Petes Place T-shirts are handed out Thursday before the homeless shelter's management transition from Interfaith Community Shelter to Urban Alchemy.

Seeking partnerships

Anderer said the shelter space will look different in the coming weeks and months.

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A parking lot on the property will be used as one of two oases Urban Alchemys street outreach team will be managing in Santa Fe, with another planned in the downtown area.

Creating the oases  designated spaces where people can congregate that include bathrooms, showers, access to food and water, and other amenities  will take about three months, according to Urban Alchemy, and will be influenced in part by guest feedback. Some guests said they want an improved place to keep their pets at the shelter, something Anderer said the organization is taking into consideration.

It is also exploring the possibility of purchasing a prefab structure that could be used as an indoor gathering space and shelter overflow on code blue nights in the winter, Anderer said, when freezing temperatures prompt a citywide effort to get as many people as possible off the streets and into a shelter.

Urban Alchemy is searching for alternative parking locations for staff, noting nearby residents said they didnt want the surrounding streets to become crowded if the shelters lot was off-limits.

A schedule of day services at the shelter is in the works, but Anderer said Urban Alchemy plans to offer on-site services in partnership with local organizations including The Life Link, Southwest Care and Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.

We really want to continue to partner with the nonprofit community, he said, encouraging local organizations interested in offering services at the shelter to reach out to Urban Alchemy.

Despite the overhaul, it was largely business as usual Thursday, with dozens of people gathered inside and outside the fence.

We dont know thats going to happen, said one man, who sat smoking a cigarette on the shelters outdoor patio Thursday morning. He declined to give his name. This could turn out to be just exactly what we want. Or it could be the worst mistake the mayor ever made.
NASA and SpaceX launched a four-member crew to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday for the latest research expedition to the orbiting laboratory.

American astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov lifted off at 11:43 am aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The capsule, named Endeavour, has previously flown four NASA missions as well as a private mission.

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The Crew-11 mission marks the 11th crew rotation mission to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.

As part of their six-month stay, the Crew-11 astronauts will simulate Moon landing scenarios that could be encountered near the lunar South Pole under the United States-led Artemis program.

Using handheld controllers and multiple display screens, they will test how shifts in gravity affect astronauts' ability to pilot spacecraft, including future lunar landers.

Continuously inhabited since 2000, the ISS functions as a vital testbed for research that supports deeper space exploration -- including eventual missions to Mars.

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Among Crew-11's more colorful cargo items are Armenian pomegranate seeds, which will be compared to a control batch kept on Earth to study how microgravity influences crop growth.

The ISS is set to be de-commissioned after 2030, with its orbit gradually lowered until it breaks up in the atmosphere over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, a spacecraft graveyard.

Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos has been holding talks with NASA's acting administrator Sean Duffy this week about the station's future.

When US-Russia relations nosedived at the start of the Ukraine war, Russia threatened to pull out of ISS cooperation early. But on Thursday, Bakanov confirmed Russia remained committed to de-orbiting in 2030.

ia/wd
I'm not sure if you've heard, but there's a "whites-only" community tucked into a remote part of the Ozarks in Arkansas that has been gaining quite a bit of attention for their expansion efforts.

TikTok: nbcnews / tiktok.com

The group, which refers to itself as a private membership association called Return to the Land, includes about 40 inhabitants who live on 150 acres of land. The community has cabins, roads, wells, a community center, and a schoolhouse, the Independent reports. And now, they're looking to expand to Missouri.

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TikTok: nbcnews / tiktok.com

You must be white, not apart of the LGBTQ+ community, and Christian to join. Jewish people are not allowed.

Related: I'm Not Gonna Lie, I Got A Little Sad When I Looked At These Historical Pictures Of The Rose Garden Before Trump Paved Over It

In a video about the group's expansion desires, Return to the Land leader Eric Orwoll said, You want a white nation? Build a white town... It can be done. Were doing it.

TikTok: nbcnews / tiktok.com

Over 10.2 million people watched NBC News's interview with several group members, which spawned reactions from nearly 80,000 commenters.

Related: 14 MAGA Voters Are Finally Realizing What They Voted For, And The Stories Are Shocking

Commonly, people were flabbergasted by the group's name...

...especially considering that US land originally belonged to Indigenous people.

Related: If You Want To Know How MAGA Feels About The Epstein Files And Trump RN, Consider This Clip Of A Fox News Host Being Booed

"'Return to the Land' yet they're basing it on EUROPEAN ancestry," one commenter wrote. "So are they at least admitting their ancestors were immigrants? Maybe 'return to the land' should be them leaving to go back to Europe."

Others can't believe how vocally the group supports discrimination.

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Beliefs like this sound vaguely familiar, some suggest:

Related: Donald Trump Is Going To Scotland, And This Brutal Scottish Newspaper Cover "Welcoming" Him Is Going Viral

Overall, viewers widely agreed the community "should not be allowed to happen!"

According to NBC News, the Arkansas attorney general is currently reviewing the legality of the group. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Also in In the News: Trump Can't Stop Talking About Pete Buttigieg, And Pete Responded With One Simple Tweet

Also in In the News: Gavin Newsom Has Been Roasting MAGA Left And Right, And WOW, Is It Entertaining

Also in In the News: President Obama Just Responded To Donald Trump's "Bizarre" Claims Of Him Committing Treason

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH)  The Hartford Healthcare Swim Across the Sound begins Saturday at 6 a.m.

Swimmers from all over the country will make the 15.5-mile journey from Port Jefferson on Long Island to Captains Cove in Bridgeport to raise money for cancer patients and their families.

Cancer survivors, Hartford HealthCare employees gear up for Swim Across the Sound fundraiser

Bill Jennings, the senior vice president of Hartford HealthCare and president of the Fairfield Region, talked to News 8 about how the event has grown over the years, how the money raised helps cancer patients, and shares some of the patients stories.

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News 8 is the official media partner of the Swim Across the Sound and will have full coverage of the race Saturday online and on-air starting at 6 a.m. on Good Morning Connecticut.

Watch the full interview 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 WTNH.com.
PELLA  The City of Pella is mulling over the best way to clear out invasive plants from Big Rock Park, but every solution comes with its own challenges.

There is a wide infestation of Amur honeysuckle and garlic mustard growing in the park, which is now competing with the native plant life.

Ann Summitt, vice president of Friends of Big Rock Park, said the park is one that is growing wider traction at the state level, with its unique ecosystem attracting not only visitors looking for scenery, but also biologists and conservationists looking to study rare flora and fauna that dwell in the 83-acre ecosystem.

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We also are getting a lot of attention statewide through like Travel Iowa and things because of the trails and things like that. Im on a few of those websites and theyre popping up all over the place about Big Rock Park, Summitt said at Pellas July 15 city council meeting. So we are being recognized more and more statewide for what we have.

However, the park is heavily infested with Amur honeysuckle and garlic mustard, both of which are considered invasive species, and are in direct competition with native plant life.

Big Rock Park is a bur oak savanna, the rarest type of ecosystem in North America. But while its uncommon now, there was once it time where it made up much of Iowa. Paulina Mena, a professor of biology with Central College, said the park is a glimpse of Iowa before it was settled, farmed on and built over.

Its a real luxury that we have because with so much intervention our land, that most of our land in Iowa here has been turned into agriculture or cities, and there is very, very, very [little] land that is left untouched, and thats important for lots of reasons.

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What this park is, is it has never been farmland. It is a true environment  ecosystem  that has never been damaged by agriculture, or anything like that," Summitt said. "And it has held many different species.

Mena added that its also a place of refuge for many native species that would otherwise have no place to dwell in Iowas ever-changing landscape.

From my biologists point of view, it serves as a little island, because lots of native species cannot live in cities or in agricultural field," Mena said. "And so this provides a little refuge for them, that it keeps those rare species.

Along with the many known species in Iowa, Mena said this may also include a previously undiscovered species of bee. Specifically, a bee of the genus andrena. Also known as miner bees, andrena differ from the more commonly thought of honey bees, in that they are solitary, making their homes by digging holes in the earth.

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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources lists over 400 species of bees in Iowa, and according to Mena, the andrena was found in Pella at Big Rock Park by a colleague. Mena says they havent been able to capture a specimen.

And so specifically for andrena, its common  (and) in several other genera  its common for a new species to arrive  because they have been so understudied.

Summitt explained that there is no easy solution for removing the invasive plants from the park. In particular, Summitt says the garlic mustard is a hard plant to remove because of how easily it grows. Those clearing it out would have to place it in bags just to keep the seeds from falling to the ground and making new mustard sprouts.

Ideas posited have included controlled burns but concerns were raised about how this would affect nearby residents. At the most recent council meeting, Summitt presented another alternative, though it also had its drawbacks.

You want to have quite a scene, you could get the goats, Summitt said. But you have to be very careful with that because you dont want the goats coming in and eating the endangered species.
Gunshots heard in a Keene neighborhood Wednesday morning were likely caused by an air rifle discharge, not criminal activity, police have concluded.

Keene police responded to the Wilford Street area at 6:39 a.m. after a witness reported hearing two shots near 62 Wilford St. and seeing a male suspect with what appeared to be a long rifle-type firearm.

Officers encountered limited cooperation from residents at the address during their initial investigation, prompting authorities to establish a security perimeter around the area as a precautionary measure, police said.

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Police eventually identified and accounted for all occupants of the residence. They also located and interviewed a male subject who had left the area before officers arrived, they said.

The investigation revealed the sounds reported as gunshots were likely from an air rifle, which was recovered at the scene, according to police.

Multiple agencies assisted Keene police, including New Hampshire State Police, New Hampshire Conservation Officers, the Cheshire County Sheriffs Department and Walpole Police Department.

No criminal charges are expected in connection with the incident.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing took over responsibility for many of Iowa's licensing boards in July 2023. (Photo illustration via Getty Images; logo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing)

A Cass County assisted living center is one of several care facilities recently fined by the state in the wake of medication errors, injuries and a death.

State records indicate that on July 8, a male resident of Allen Place, an assisted living center in Atlantic, was left unattended in the shower where he slipped and fell, suffering a head injury. He was taken to by ambulance to a hospital, where he died a short time later.

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According to the state inspectors, a non-skid bathmat was not in place in the shower at the time of the incident, and the worker tasked with showering the man was not properly trained and wasnt assisting the man in the shower.

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The worker in question had been on the staff for roughly one month. In a written statement referenced by inspectors in their report, the worker indicated he didnt understand that the resident needed physical assistance standing and showering and so he sat a few feet away from the bathroom while the resident showered. Within a minute of the resident entering the shower, the worker reportedly wrote, the man fell.

I lacked the proper training on the proper stand-by procedure, the worker allegedly wrote in his statement. Due to this lack of training, I thought the shower mat thats normally down  but was up that day  should remain up.  and once [Tenant C1s] in the bathroom, I leave the bathroom as to what I was taught before and leave the door half open while I sit in a nearby chair  Around a minute into the shower he falls.

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The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing fined Allen Place $10,000.

Other Iowa care facilities recently fined by the DIAL include:

 Hallmar Village, a Cedar Rapids nursing home where a resident sustained two broken legs while being transferred to bed in a mechanical lift, was fined $20,500 by the state. The resident was facing amputation of one leg before being assigned to hospice care a few days later, according to state records.

Inspectors reported that one employee of the home, a certified nursing assistant, indicated the staff at the home had been using a modified method of using the mechanical lift with the resident that involved the use of a pillow and avoided the use of leg straps intended for safe transfers. The CNA reportedly told inspectors she felt the modifications by the staff posed a risk to the resident and said she relayed her concerns to a nurse.

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The CNA also told inspectors that because the transfer process looked unsafe, she asked to work a different floor at the home. A state review of training records indicated the nurse and two CNAs at the home did not have training on the use of a mechanical lift, according to inspectors.

 Bickford Cottage I, a Sioux City assisted living center, was fined $7,000 after a resident wandered from the facility on July 5 and wasnt found for several hours. The resident was admitted to a local hospital due to acute kidney injury, dehydration and elevated creatine levels.

 Windsor Manor, a Grinnell assisted living center, was fined $5,000 after a male resident of the home was given seven separate medications intended for someone else. The resident who was mistakenly given the drugs became unresponsive and was admitted for a short time to a local hospital.

 Azria Health-Longview, a Missouri Valley nursing home, was fined $7,000 after a resident fell on June 30 and sustained a serious head injury. Inspectors noted the facility was to have placed non-skid strips near the residents bed, but the work order calling for that to be done included the wrong bed number. The resident suffered multiple facial fractures and had to be hospitalized. As of July 16, the resident was still hospitalized.

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 Bickford Cottage, an Iowa City assisted living center, was fined $5,000 after a female resident wandered from the facility about 8 p.m. on June 1. About one hour later, an off-duty paramedic found the woman 1.3 miles from the facility.

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IOWA (KCAU)  Get those purses and wallets ready, as an annual financial holiday is right around the corner.

Iowas official sales tax holiday kicks off Friday and runs through Saturday. During that time, clothing and shoes under $100 will be tax-free at checkout.

Online and in-person sales qualify for the discount, which gets rid of Iowas 6-7% sales tax that is normally included.

Business owners around Siouxland are preparing for the weekend, with many stores hosting drops, which are when special items are saved for the sale.

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Destiny Suhorepetz, employee at Platos Closet, said, We set out a ton of tables, put all of our shoes out there. We bring some racks out and put all of our denim. We size it around, and then we cover it up so that its ready for the weekend. It starts on Friday, though, this time for the tax free.

Store managers say the weekend not only brings in bigger crowds, but bigger purchases too.

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Im expecting a big line on Friday and Saturday before we open. We did extend our hours for all this. So we do open that line now. A lot of people buy more items just because its not taxed. And then its pretty close to the back to school so that theyre able to get their items for back to school a little cheaper, said Suhorepetz.

The holiday has been shown to boost sales of Iowa businesses since it was founded in 2000.

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A lawsuit has been filed in the Middle District of Georgia by attorneys for Mohamed Ali Aboubaker Naser, who has been detained at a federal detention center there despite being granted bond by an immigration court judge.

The suit asks that a federal judge look at the argument ICE is using to keep Naser in custody, his attorneys said at a press conference Friday outside the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro.

ICE attorneys filed an appeal of the bond ruling in immigration court.

The immigration court is under the Justice Department, while federal court judges are under the judicial branch but operate independently. There is nothing more the immigration judge can do, according to his attorneys.

This is our last line of defense, said Helen Parsonage, one of Nasers attorneys, of filing the action in federal court.

Naser, who is in the country legally, has a valid work permit and is not under a deportation order.

Disappointment, frustration and anger threaded through the crowd of about 200 people who gathered outside the museum.

The detention of the father of five from Libya has touched off a nerve in a Southern community where immigrants are a proud part of the fabric of its neighborhoods, colleges and business workforce.

Among those in the crowd were elected officials, ranging from Alan Sherouse, a member of the Guilford County Board of Education to Jeff Thigpen, Register of Deeds. And a diversity of faith leaders representing various religious denominations. Others, Parsonage said, had commitments. But she mentioned that Mayor Nancy Vaughan had been in Washington earlier this week reaching out to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis.

Some in the gathering knew Naser, others were appalled at his predicament.

My father is willing to fight this injustice not only for himself but for others, his son, Ali Naser, told the News & Record via telephone. His family did not attend the press conference.

The outdoor crowd yelled Mo was Kidnapped and Bring Mo Home as the attorneys described his predicament.

It represents everything wrong with an immigration enforcement system that has lost its way, said Jeremy McKinney, the other attorney representing Naser.

The case is bigger than the Naser family, McKinney said.

Behind him were colorful signs with "Justice and Liberty for ALL" and "IMMIGRANTS make AMERICA GREAT."

Due Process doesnt disappear because someone has an accent or was born in another country, McKinney said.

This is unAmerican! yelled someone from the crowd.

State Rep. Tracy Clark pointed out that Naser did not have a criminal record, even as ICE has stated it is going against the worst criminals. She mentioned the Legislature's override of the governor's veto of a bill that would, among other things, require local law enforcement to hold a suspect for 48 hours after ICE is notified.

"This bill does nothing to punish criminals, it just terrorizes our immigrant communities," Clark said.

Parsonage was asked by a reporter about the government's position. ICE has not commented.

"I will try to explain it, but as a lawyer it makes little to no sense," Parsonage said.

ICE argues he has overstayed the visa he came on with his wife, who was pursuing a doctoral degree at UNCG. The family then filed for asylum, following government policy.

"We also showed that filing for asylum gives you permission to stay here while you wait," Parsonage said. "Basically, the government is ignoring him, saying we don't recognize that."

The lawsuit was filed Thursday night.

Maria Rosales, the executive director of the non-profit advocacy group FaithAction International House, spoke of working alongside immigrant families and the children of immigrants who are volunteers.

Im also the child and grandchild of immigrants, so the idea that immigrants are people to be feared and excluded instead of loved and appreciated has never made sense to me, Rosales said.

Mohamed Naser deserves to be at home, Rosales said. His family deserves to have him at home. ...And we all deserve to live free from fear of masked people who refuse to identify themselves when they grab people without warrant or explanation.

ICE is appealing his release after he was granted bail and release from the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia after having been picked up by agents July 17. His lawyer is calling it vindictive.

He was given a $20,000 bail on Tuesday. He was expected to be released from custody within days.

Naser, who services appliances and equipment for a chain of Wendys fast-food restaurants, was arrested while working at one of the restaurants, Ali Naser said.

After he was picked up, an ICE agent told his attorney that there had been a national security alert issued and that he was required to ask him a series of questions about Iran. His attorney reiterated at the time that he is from Libya.

Instead of admitting their mistake, state Sen. Michael Garrett told the crowd, they doubled down on injustice.

Shame the crowd chanted repeatedly.

ICE has invoked a provision of law little used in years past that places an automatic pause on his release from custody while ICE appeals the judges decision, Parsonage said.

A group was preparing to make the 6-1/2 drive to the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia to pick Naser up. They were awaiting a release date.

The News & Record has been unable to reach ICE and Homeland Security since Nasers arrest but the episode has unnerved the entire family.

At about 1 p.m. Wednesday, his lawyer received a call from ICE to inform her that the bond payment was being canceled.

Parsonage spoke with Naser before the press conference, and he had a message to those fighting on his behalf. But she also shared that he was using the commissary money people were sending him to buy items for new detainees who didn't have anything on their books.

"Thank you for supporting me," Parsonage said Naser told her. "You know what's in my heart."
Ali Ahmad's eyes fill with tears as he lifts his shirt to show deep bruises across his back.

While he was detained, Iranian officers struck him and accused him of spying, he says. "They used hoses, water pipes and wooden boards to beat me. They treated us like animals."

He was speaking to the BBC earlier this month at Islam Qala on the two countries' border, before crossing back over to Afghanistan. His name has been changed to protect his identity.

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Iran - which says it hosts more than four million undocumented Afghans who fled conflict in their homeland - has been stepping up deportations for months. In March those without papers were given a July deadline to depart voluntarily, but since a brief war with Israel in June, the authorities have forcibly returned hundreds of thousands of Afghans, alleging national security concerns.

Daily returns peaked at about 50,000 people in early July, according to the United Nations  often after arduous journeys.

Ali Ahmad says Iranian officials confiscated his money and phone and left him without "a single penny to travel back". He'd lived in Iran for two and a half years.

'Scapegoats'

Iran's crackdown has coincided with widespread accusations linking Afghans to Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, including Iranian media reports that cite police sources claiming some individuals were arrested for espionage.

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"We're afraid to go anywhere, constantly worried that we might be labelled as spies," one person, who wished to remain anonymous, told BBC News Afghan.

"You Afghans are spies", "You work for Israel" or "You build drones in your homes", are other frequent accusations, according to this individual.

Barnett Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan who served as senior adviser to the US Department of State, says Tehran may be "looking for scapegoats" for its shortcomings in the war against Israel.

"The Iranian government is very embarrassed by their security failures", which show Iran "was very thoroughly penetrated by Israeli intelligence", he says.

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"So they had to find someone to blame."

Critics also say the accusations of espionage are aimed at buying legitimacy for the government's plan to deport undocumented Afghans.

The BBC attempted to contact the Iranian government but did not receive a response. The return of Afghan refugees "without tension and with respect for human rights is a goal pursued at all levels", the state-backed Islamic Republic News Agency said on 18 July.

'Four days, like four years'

Abdullah Rezaee, whose name has also been changed, has a similar story to Ali Ahmad.

At the detention centre where he was held, about 15 Iranian officers physically harmed him and other deportees, Abdullah told the BBC at Islam Qala.

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"Iranian police tore up my visa and passport and beat me severely. They accused me of being a spy."

It is estimated that there are over 4 million undocumented Afghans living in Iran. [Getty Images]

Abdullah says he'd only been in Iran two months before being detained, despite having a visa.

"They beat us with plastic batons and said: 'You're a spy, you're ruining our country'."

The four days he was detained "felt like four years". He describes constant mistreatment, physical abuse and lack of food.

The online allegations of collaboration between Afghans and Israeli secret services started early in the war.

On 13 June, the day Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military facilities, the government issued statements to the population, asking citizens to report suspicious activities such as unusual movements of vans, which might be transporting Israeli operatives' weapons.

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Then Telegram channels with large followings posted warning messages using similar wording to the government's. But they added that the population should be vigilant of "alien citizens"  an expression mostly used to describe Afghans in Iran  driving vans in big cities.

The following day, a series of detentions of people allegedly connected to the Israeli attacks, including some Afghans, were reported.

On 16 June, news channels broadcast a video of Afghans being detained claiming that they had been carrying drones with them. It went viral. But the video was old, and portrayed migrants detained due to their undocumented status.

On 18 June, a Telegram group attributed to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps posted that 18 Afghans had been arrested in the city of Mashhad for building drones for Israel, according to the independent monitoring group Afghan Witness.

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The following day, the provincial deputy security chief was quoted saying the arrest had "no connection to drone-making" or co-operation with Israel. "They were arrested solely for being in Iran illegally."

But posts connecting the arrests to espionage had spread widely on social media platforms. A hashtag saying the "expulsion of Afghans is a national demand" was shared more than 200,000 times on X in the space of a month, peaking at more than 20,000 mentions on 2 July.

Anti-Afghan sentiment on Iranian social media is not new, but the difference this time is "the misinformation is not just coming from social media users but from Iranian-affiliated media", according to an independent researcher at Afghan Witness.

From 'serial killers' to 'spies'

More than 1.5 million Afghans have left Iran since January, according to the UN Refugee Agency. A spokesperson from the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation told the BBC that more than 918,000 Afghans entered Afghanistan from Iran between 22 June - 22 July.

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Some had been in Iran for generations.

Millions of Afghans have fled to Iran and Pakistan since the 1970s, with major waves during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and more recently in 2021, when the Taliban returned to power.

Experts warn Afghanistan lacks the capacity to absorb the growing number of nationals forcibly returned to a country under Taliban rule. The country is already struggling with a large influx of returnees from Pakistan, which is also forcing hundreds of thousands of Afghans to leave.

At first, Afghans were welcomed in Iran, says Dr Khadija Abbasi, who specialises in forced displacement at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. But anti-Afghan sentiment increased gradually, with state media portraying Afghan refugees as an "economic burden" to society, she says.

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False narratives about Afghan migrants in Iran followed suit.

In the 1990s, a series of rapes and murders in Tehran was widely assumed, without evidence, to be the work of an Afghan, which led to a rise in hate crimes. It was later revealed that the killer was Iranian.

When an estimated two million Afghans migrated to Iran in the post-2021 wave, exaggerated posts on social media claimed more than 10 million Afghans were living in the country. Iran had been the only neighbour to allow refugees and migrants to enter at scale during that time.

Expulsion of Afghans from Iran, says Dr Abbasi, "might be one of the very rare topics that most Iranians" are in agreement with the government  although in July more than 1,300 Iranian and Afghan activists signed an open letter calling for an end to "inhumane" treatment of Afghan citizens in Iran.

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Today, anti-Afghan sentiment is widespread. "It has become very dangerous," she says, "so people will just try to stay at home."

For huge numbers that is no longer an option. The border continues to swell with people.

For Abdullah the deportation has destroyed his plans.

"I lost everything," he says.

By Babrak Ehsas, Yasin Rasouli, Rowan Ings, and Sucheera Maguire, with additional reporting by Soroush Pakzad
Most of us hate taxes, and for good reason: They're legalized muggings to support a government that no decent person would want to fund or empower. Ideally, Congress would dramatically slash taxes, make remaining impositions less intrusive, and cut government to match. But while we got a bit of tax relief in the One Big Beautiful Bill, it did little to cut the expense or reach of the state, nor did it reform the byzantine tax code. The good news is that there are fewer tax collectors to enforce the federal government's demands now that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been reduced by a quarter.

A Smaller Tax Agency

Among the Trump administration's promises when it took office was "to further decrease the size of the Federal Government." The Department of Government Efficiency has been part of that effort, and while its actions have been haphazard and often disappointing, it's scored some wins. Notably, the IRS is dramatically smaller than it was just months ago.

"Since January 2025, the IRS has taken steps to reduce the size of its workforce in compliance with the President's executive orders and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance. Employees were encouraged to take deferred resignation program (DRP) offers or other incentives to separate and avoid possible Reduction in Force (RIF) actions," according to a July report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. "According to IRS records, 25,386 employees separated, took a DRP offer, or used some other incentive to leave. Another 294 employees were sent termination notices due to RIF actions. These departures represent 25 percent of the IRS's workforce and impact certain business units more than others."

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Overall, IRS staffing went from about 103,000 in February 2025 to 77,428 as of the publication of the report. Of particular interest, tax examiners who ensure compliance in federal tax returns, and revenue agents who audit individuals and businesses, saw 27 percent and 26 percent reductions, respectively, in their ranks. That's a lot fewer federal employees pawing through people's finances looking for rule violations to punish and money to steal for the government's use.

A Less Capable IRS, We Hope

In April, the now supporter-funded PBS reported on declining morale at the tax agency. It also warned of "fears that Trump will weaponize the IRS against his enemiesand reward his friends." That's fair given the IRS's extensive history of politicization for its own purposes and for use as a weapon by those in power. But a smaller IRS should be a less dangerous agency in anybody's hands.

Also in April, as workforce cuts were still underway, Renu Zaretsky of the Tax Policy Centerwhich generally favors a larger, more intrusive statefretted that tax compliance could decrease, noting that "enforcement gaps and eroding IRS capacity are especially consequential in the small business sector." Zaretsky said we might be "watching the income tax system being dismantled in real time."

Many of us would disagree only to the extent that we see the IRS's reduction as a good thing. If it's less capable of harassing businesses and of mugging individuals, there's little basis for complaint.

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And most of us do resent what the IRS does. An April survey by Gallup found 59 percent of respondents describing the amount of federal income tax they pay as "too high." That's been the majority's preferred answer with rare exceptions since 1956. A survey the previous month by WalletHub put the number calling their tax rate "too high" at 66 percent.

The same can be said of taxes overall. In January 2024, two-thirds of those surveyed told A.P.NORC pollsters that federal income taxes are too high, six in 10 said the same of state sales taxes, and seven in 10 thought local property taxes are too high.

"Among those who pay federal income taxes, half say they would prefer having fewer government services if it meant reducing their bill," elaborated Cora Lewis and Linley Sanders of the Associated Press. "One-third would keep their taxes the same in exchange for the same services, and 16% would opt to increase taxes for more services."

So, a smaller IRS that doesn't have the resources to scrutinize the financial details of many people's lives should be more popularor at least less unpopularwith the general public than the ravenous tax behemoth that has put the screws to individuals and businesses and ruined lives over decades. But that doesn't mean cutting the IRS workforce without other major changes is the solution to our problems.

Government Spending and the Tax Code Remain Untouched

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act "does not include further structural reforms, and instead introduces many new, narrow tax breaks to the code, adding complexity and raising revenue costs," the Tax Foundation cautions. That's after decades of largely unheeded warnings that the tax code is too complicated and full of traps that even IRS employees don't understand, let alone taxpayers.

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In 1976, then-presidential candidate Jimmy Carter called the income tax system "a disgrace to the human race." In 1989, The Washington Post found that IRS employees were giving wrong answers to one-third of tax questions received over a phone line established to offer filing assistance. In 2009, Deborah Schenk, an NYU professor of taxation and editor-in-chief of the Tax Law Review, warned in 2009 that the tax code is so complex, "I'd say almost everybody makes a mistake on their income tax return." In 2020, the IRS's own Taxpayer Advocate conceded that "the most serious problem facing taxpayersand the IRSis the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code (the 'tax code')."

That tax code is growing morenot lessbyzantine as the years go by. It remains in place to ensnare unlucky taxpayers targeted by the shrunken IRS. Fewer might be tormented by the reduced agency, but all the rules and traps are still there to be invoked by remaining tax examiners and revenue agents.

And, as the tax code grows, so does the unaffordability of government. The U.S. Treasury notes "the U.S. government has spent $5.35 trillion in fiscal year 2025" and that "compared to the federal spending of $5.03 trillion for the same period last year (Oct 2023  Jun 2024) our federal spending has increased by $318 billion." Worse, "the federal government has spent $1.34 trillion more than it has collected in fiscal year (FY) 2025, resulting in a national deficit," according to the Treasury, up from $1.27 trillion for the same period last year. The debt that deficit fuels is now approaching $37 trillion.

The Tax Foundation expects the One Big Beautiful Bill to reduce increases in federal spending by about $1.1 trillion over the next decade relative to previous projections. But that leaves government growing; it will be bigger and cost more in years to come, just not as much as was originally forecast. With the gap widening between spending and revenues, deficits will rise by $3 trillion.

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Don't get me wrong: Dramatically thinning the ranks of financial inquisitors at the IRS is definitely a good thing. If that's all we get, so be it. But behind the scenes is the larger long-term problem of an incomprehensible tax code that's still in place to fund oversized and over-expensive government.

The post The IRS Is Now 25 Percent Smaller (and, Hopefully, Less Dangerous) appeared first on Reason.com.
BELLEVILLE, Ill.  According to the U.S. Justice Department, fewer than 20% of police officers sworn in are women.

The Illinois State Police Department (ISP), however, is looking to raise those numbers.

ISP hosted a recruitment event at Southwestern Illinois College in an effort to bring more women on the police force Thursday morning.

Its great to be able to expose people to our line of work and some of the options they have for some right-along opportunities, said Casey Faro, ISP Division of Patrol Captain.

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Faro said there are more positions in their department, and theyre welcoming women to apply to all of them.

If you dont want to be a police officer in our code positions, whether youre a tech communicator or a forensic scientist, theres many other options there as well, Faro said.

Faro said the department is offering many incentives to those interested, including a starting salary of $90,000.

Recruits said todays event is more than a jobits taking steps toward a potential career.

I know that most of the time police and law enforcement fields are male-dominated, said recruit Alana Brown. Just knowing that I could be a change in someones life, knowing that I could help solve a case that has to do with their family member or friends and just bring that closure to them and figure out what happened.

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Faro said the job is rewarding and one that she hopes more people look into long-term.

Its a giving-back profession and I cant think of a better profession that you can be, Faro said.

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(NewsNation)  As the situation has worsened for humanitarian aid in Gaza, President Trumps Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff, made his way to Israel to discuss the matter and possible solutions.

Joining Witkoff is U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The two are expected to inspect food distribution in Gaza after international outcry over images of emaciated children and increasing reports of hunger-related deaths.

Huckabee appeared on On Balance on Thursday, saying Israel is receiving too much blame for the matter instead of Hamas.

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Top Trump officials traveling into Gaza amid food crisis

Theres been so much misinformation, and a lot of it has been malicious, he said. The tragedy is that Israel is getting the blame for the lack of humanitarian care, when the fact is, its Hamas that started the war. It was Hamas that murdered 1,200 people and took 250 people hostage.

This week, Israel paused fighting in parts of Gaza and airdropped food, but aid groups and Palestinians say the changes have only been incremental and are not enough to reverse what some have called the worst-case scenario of famine in the territory.

Huckabee argued Hamas are the ones that are making it very difficult to get food to Palestinians because they continue to steal and loot the trucks of food coming in from the United Nations source.

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Greene calls Gaza humanitarian crisis a genocide

As for Israel? Theyre doing everything they can, says Huckabee: They are the ones making it possible to send the food through, whether its the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation program; theyve opened up routes for hundreds of trucks to go in and distribute food.

The amount of food that piled up, which could feed Gaza for two years, some of the food agencies didnt want to take it in because they didnt think it was safe, according to Huckabee.

Democrats implore Trump to step up role in addressing suffering and starvation in Gaza

Huckabee said the Trump administration feels that Israel has gone above and beyond to help in Gaza while also trying to protect civilians.

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Has France, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands or Ireland sent food to Gaza? No, they havent, he said. Have they sent any volunteers? No, they havent. Have they offered to take any refugees from Gaza? Not one. The hypocrisy is glaring.

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Mosab Hassan Yousef, known as the Green Prince and son of a Hamas founder who later worked with Israeli intelligence, joins NewsNation to weigh in on Democrats distancing themselves from Israel. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pushing a vote to block military aid, arguing Americans shouldnt fund a government starving kids on purpose. But most of that aid is spent on U.S.-made weapons. So, is this the right move  or just the wrong time?

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Israel is engineering chaos and massacres in the Gaza Strip by continuing to block aid deliveries and opening fire on starving Palestinians seeking desperately needed food supplies, a humanitarian official has warned.

Caroline Willemen, Gaza project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, told Al Jazeera on Friday that food remains critically scarce in the besieged enclave despite the increased entry of aid in recent days.

There is little indication that sufficient aid will arrive consistently, Willemen said. As a result, every day, people risk their lives in a desperate search for food.

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The Gaza Health Ministry said on Friday that three more people, including two children, died of hunger and malnutrition in the previous 24 hours.

That pushed the total number of starvation-related deaths to 162, including 92 children, since Israels war on Gaza began in October 2023.

More than 80 Palestinians were also killed in Israeli strikes across the Strip on Friday, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Of those, 49 people were killed and more than 270 others were wounded while seeking aid, the sources said.

Palestinians mourn outside the al-Shifa Hospital morgue in Gaza City on July 31, 2025 [Bashar Taleb/AFP]

Condemnation of Israels starvation policy in Gaza has grown this week, with a global hunger monitoring system warning on Tuesday that the worst-case scenario of famine was unfolding.

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While Israel has authorised a series of aid airdrops in recent days, top United Nations officials have denounced the scheme as expensive and dangerous while urging Israel to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza.

If there is political will to allow airdrops  which are highly costly, insufficient & inefficient, there should be similar political will to open the road crossings, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), wrote on X.

As the people of #Gaza are starving to death, the only way to respond to the famine is to flood Gaza with assistance.

Olga Cherevko, an official with the UNs humanitarian office (OCHA), also told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza that while there has been a slight increase in aid being allowed in, it is still grossly insufficient.

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The slight increase in what is coming in is not nearly enough to even scratch the surface, she said. The needs on the ground are overwhelming.





Deadly incidents a daily reality

Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza continue to risk their lives by seeking aid at notorious sites run by the United States- and Israeli-backed GHF.

Ibrahim Mekki, a Palestinian man from Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, said he waited at least six hours and risked being shot by Israeli forces just to end up with a few bags of pasta.

Its a trap, a game, he told Al Jazeera. Letting you move a little, then opening fire.

The UNs human rights office reported that at least 1,373 aid seekers have been killed in Gaza since May, when the GHF began operating in the enclave.

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Of those, 859 people were killed near GHF-run aid sites and 514 were killed while waiting along food convoy routes, the office said. Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli military, it added.

MSFs Willemen also recounted a harrowing incident from earlier this week, when Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians attempting to reach aid trucks near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza.

People were wounded in the gunfire and in the crush as crowds panicked and ran, she said.

These deadly incidents have become a daily reality in Gaza for too long now. The current methods of distribution are engineering chaos and massacres.





Still, Israel and its top ally, the US, have continued to support GHF despite the killings and growing global criticism of the groups operations in Gaza.

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US President Donald Trumps Special Envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, also visited the enclave on Friday alongside US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to assess conditions and engage with GHF.

Witkoff said the trip aimed to help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.

The Trump administration announced last month that it approved $30m to support GHFs operations.

The US provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel annually, as well as diplomatic backing at the UN  assistance that has increased significantly since the start of the war on Gaza.
Relief supplies involving 126 pallets of food from six countries were dropped over the Gaza Strip on Friday, the Israeli military said on social media.

Germany, Spain, France, Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates participated in the coordinated action, the post said.

German aircraft dropped 34 pallets containing nearly 14 tons of food and medical equipment over the blockaded coastal area on the Mediterranean, according to the German Defence Ministry in Berlin.

Air drops of relief supplies are controversial

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said air drops are at least 100 times more expensive than transporting the same amount of goods by land.

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Additionally, far larger quantities can be transported by truck. Also people on the ground risk being hit and injured by the falling supplies.

The Gaza Strip is facing the threat of famine, according to the UN. Israel controls all access points to the area and, for several months, has allowed no or only minimal aid deliveries to pass through in an effort to increase pressure on the Islamist group Hamas.

Since Sunday, Israel has permitted larger aid deliveries via land routes and also allowed air drops.
The National Security Council recently updated its travel advisory for the UAE after it received intelligence regarding potential revenge attacks against Israelis.

After the National Security Council issued an update on Thursday to its travel advisory for the United Arab Emirates, citing credible threats of terrorist attacks targeting Israelis, the foreign ministry announced that its missions to the United Arab Emirates are open on Friday.

The foreign ministry announced in a statement that it continues to operate at the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate in Dubai in cooperation with local authorities, and this includes ensuring the protection of Israeli diplomats.

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The embassy in Dubai had previously temporarily evacuated most of its staff, and Israeli citizens currently in the UAE were urged to exercise extreme caution.

The updated warning was based on operational intelligence indicating that terrorist operatives are already active in the UAE and are believed to be planning revenge attacks aimed at high-profile Israeli individuals and institutions.

A bird sits on a boat with the flag of United Arab Emirates seen behind, during a heatwave in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, July 31, 2025. (credit: Raghed Waked/Reuters)

Security officials said the warning reflects heightened concerns following Operation Rising Lion and ongoing incitement related to the food security situation in Gaza. According to the council, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, and global jihadist groups are behind the threats because they have intensified their efforts to harm Israelis abroad. Israeli intelligence suggested that the UAE is a focal point.

Israelis in UAE told to proceed with extreme caution

Although the UAE was already under a Level 3 advisory, which recommends avoidance of non-essential travel, the revised warning reflects a more serious assessment of the situation.

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Following intelligence pointing to planned attacks on Israelis in Abu Dhabi, authorities decided to evacuate most of the embassys staff. They are expected to return to Israel on Friday and will remain there until the council conducts a new security review and authorizes their return. Ambassador Yossi Shelley is also not expected to resume his post until next week at the earliest.

It is important to follow the instructions of the competent authorities," Shelley said. "There is no reason to panic, but there is definitely a need to exercise increased caution and tighten behavioral guidelines abroad."

The National Security Council is urging Israeli citizens in the UAE to take steps to minimize their visibility, including avoiding public displays of Israeli or Jewish identity. Other recommendations include not wearing clothing with Hebrew writing, staying away from gatherings or visits to Israeli or Jewish institutions, and remaining alert at all times.

Citizens have been instructed to immediately report any suspicious activity to local security forces.
CAIRO (Reuters) -The Israeli military said on Friday it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards Israel that triggered sirens in several areas in the country.

Houthis have been firing at Israel and attacking shipping lanes, in what the group says is solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.

Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba and Yomna Ehab; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
GAZA AFFAIRS: Israelis have begun to question the morality of the country's war in Gaza after widespread claims that Gazas population faces crisis levels of food insecurity.

The news on Israels main TV channel had just finished a segment on howhunger in Gaza is portrayed around the world, when the anchor looked up and said: Maybe its finally time to acknowledge that this isnt a public relations failure, but a moral one.

Whether or not it was a Walter Cronkite moment, as when the US broadcaster declared on live TV in 1968 that the Vietnam War was unwinnable  a turning point in public opinion  it seemed significant in a country thats been steadfast in its defense of the war against Hamas in Gaza for 22 months.

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There are other indications  from WhatsApp group chats to new reports by Israeli human rights organizations  that the mood is shifting away from a robust embrace of the conflict.

Some commentators are announcing a change of heart about the war, triggered when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250. The subsequent Israeli offensive has killed nearly 60,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, and left much of the Palestinian territory in ruins.

The United Nations World Food Program has warned for weeks that Gazas population of more than two million people faces crisis levels of food insecurity, with scores of aid groups reporting widespread starvation.

Palestinians climb onto trucks carrying aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip July 29, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

After the massacre, it was imperative to strike at Hamas with all our might, even at the cost of civilian casualties, wrote Nahum Barnea, a columnist for centrist newspaper Yediot Aharonot. But the damage  in military casualties, Israels international standing, and civilian casualties  is growing worse. Hamas is to blame, but Israel is responsible.

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Sherwin Pomerantz, who runs an economic consulting group, wrote in The Jerusalem Post: What was a just war two years ago is now an unjust war and must be ended.

Shifting sentiments in Israeli society

The shift in Israeli sentiment is reflected in a pileup of bad news: Hamas still holds hostages in Gaza and remains a military force, soldiers continue to die, Israelis abroad are shunned, even attacked, and now scenes of starving children are shown across global media.

US President Donald Trump, a fervent defender of Israel, even weighed in, saying this week he didnt agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus assertion there is no starvation in Gaza. Thats real starvation stuff, I see it, and you cant fake that, Trump said in Scotland on Monday.

There havent been any recent polls published in Israel related to the war. One in May showed 65% of Israelis unconcerned about humanitarian conditions in Gaza. But until this past week, little of the destruction and death there appeared in Israeli media. Now the issue of hunger dominates news coverage.

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Other shifts in public discourse are noticeable. Human rights lawyers abroad have been accusing Israel of war crimes and genocidal intent in Gaza since just after the war started  charges the vast majority of Israelis have rejected. For the first time, two Israeli human rights groups are now using the term genocide for whats happening  BTselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel.

ALSO ON Monday, the presidents of five Israeli universities wrote an open letter to Netanyahu urging him to intensify efforts to address the severe hunger crisis currently afflicting the Gaza Strip.

Like many Israelis, we are horrified by the scenes from Gaza, including infants dying every day from hunger and disease, they wrote. As a people who endured the horrors of the Holocaust, we also bear a responsibility to use every means at our disposal to prevent cruel and indiscriminate harm to innocent men, women and children.

Yair Lapid, head of Israels main opposition party, gave a fiery speech this week describing the war as a disaster and a failure and calling on Netanyahu to end it and eliminate Hamas through cooperation with regional powers.

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After ceasefire talks stalled again last week, a new effort is under way to revive negotiations with Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US and others. Theres growing commentary in mainstream media declaring Hamas defeated, making an end to the war easier to accept. Theres also pushback to the starvation narrative.

Israeli military authorities said, without additional evidence, that one photo of a skeletal boy published on front pages around the world was of a child with a genetic disease that makes his bones protrude, and that hed been evacuated from Gaza more than a month ago. In addition, the military has distributed photos purported to be of Hamas operatives surrounded by food and looking healthy.

And, so far, Netanyahu has shown no sign of shifting policy.

We are fighting a just war, a moral war, a war for our survival, he said in a statement on Monday. No country in the world would allow the continued rule in a neighboring territory of a terror group bent on its destruction that already stormed across its borders in a genocidal attack.

Well continue to act responsibly, as we always have, and well continue to seek the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas, he said. That is the only way to secure peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said on Friday that fighting in the Gaza Strip will continue if there is no deal on releasing the hostages kidnapped from Israel on October 7, 2023.

"I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages. If not, the combat will continue without rest," he said during a visit to troops in Gaza.

"The war continues, and we will adapt it to the changing reality according to our interests."

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According to official Israeli figures, 50 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, with at least 20 of them confirmed to be alive. Relatives, in particular, fear that the continuation of the war could endanger their loved ones' lives and worsen their conditions.

On Friday, the Palestinian Islamist Hamas released a new video showing one of the hostages. The man's sister appealed to the media not to publish the footage until the family gives its consent.

Seeing her brother's condition was like "a million blows to the heart," she was quoted as saying by the news portal ynet.

Israel accuses Hamas of engaging in psychological warfare by releasing hostage videos.

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The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists and other Islamists killed around 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 others from Israel into the Gaza Strip.

Israel responded with massive airstrikes and a ground offensive. According to the health authority controlled by Hamas, more than 60,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the war's start. Gaza is now facing the threat of famine, according to UN reports.
Italy plans to evacuate ill Palestinian children from the Gaza Strip for treatment, in light of the worsening humanitarian situation there, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday.

Tajani said Rome was working on a plan to fly out some 50 people, including adults to accompany the children.

He also announced plans for Italy to join other countries who have been airdropping aid over Gaza in recent days, with the first air drops scheduled. They could start as early as August 9.

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Italy is also set to provide another 5 million ($5.7 million) to be spent on food for Gazans.

Aircraft operated by Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have been dropping aid pallets on Gaza since Sunday, when Israel began allowing more aid into the sealed-off territories after months of near-total blockade.

Germany and France also began participating in the airdrops amid warnings of imminent famine in Gaza, on Friday, though the UN and other aid organizations have criticized such measures as largely symbolic, arguing it is significantly less costly and more efficient to supply aid via land.

Since Sunday, in addition to authorizing airdrops, Israel has allowed around 200 lorries per day from UN agencies and other organizations to enter.
A ruling by the EU's top court has dealt a further blow to Italy's attempts to create a fast-track system in Albania for processing asylum applications offshore.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the way the Italian government currently defines whether a country is "safe" to return someone whose application is rejected contravenes EU law.

That "safe country" concept is central to the deal that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni struck with Albania in 2023 to send migrants intercepted at sea straight there for accelerated processing.

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Anyone from a "safe country" who was refused asylum was supposed to be deported within a week.

But the ECJ has ruled that a nation can only be included on the government's list if the entire population there is safe, which means Italy will have to revise its procedure.

It currently identifies Egypt and Bangladesh, for example, as safe, whilst accepting that certain groups there require protection.

The ruling brought an angry reaction from the government in Rome which said the European court was overstepping its role, adding that the decision would weaken the ability of countries to "defend national borders".

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The European court also said that the government must make public any evidence and sources it uses in reaching its conclusions on safe countries, so that asylum seekers can challenge the decision in their cases.

"Today, the court makes clear that a country cannot be designated as safe unless it offers effective, generalised protection, for everyone and everywhere, and unless that claim can be independently verified and challenged," Katia Scannavini of ActionAid Italy explained.

"The so-called Albania model collapses at its legal core," she argued.

The fate of Italy's Albania project is being watched closely by other governments including in the UK which are keen on handling asylum applications offshore as they try to reduce the number of irregular migrants arriving in their countries.

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Meant as the centrepiece of Meloni's tough approach to immigration, the Albania deal has hit legal obstacles from the very start. The handful of migrants who were sent there were all eventually returned to Italy after the intervention of lawyers.

Many times over budget, the centres that were built have never yet been used as intended.

'This puts significant halt to Albania plan'

In its ruling, the European Court did not object in principle to a fast-track procedure for migrants from safe countries, but it made clear that the implementation of that policy must change.

"It's fundamental: the 'safe country of origin' concept can no longer be used to carry out transfers to Albania until Italian law is changed to be in line with EU legislation," Amnesty International migration researcher Adriana Tidona told the BBC.

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"This puts a significant halt to Italy's plans in Albania."

Amnesty, like others, considers the Albania deal a violation of human rights more fundamentally. "That isn't to do with the safe countries of origin, but with the fact that it's based on an automatic detention system," Adriana Tidona said. "That's unlawful."

It is not clear what impact today's ruling may have on the new EU migration pact which enters into force next year and introduces a common list of safe countries for returns  including Egypt and Bangladesh.

But the decision does make clear that the definition of safe countries does not ultimately lie with politicians.

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"The court says it's the judge who has the power to make assessments about safe countries," Daniele Gallo, professor of EU law at Rome's Luiss University explains. "Whatever the government says, every judge in Italy now has a duty to set aside Italian legislation and apply EU law."
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticized Friday's European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the classification of safe countries of origin.

She said the decision further restricted the already limited room for manoeuvre of governments. "This is a step that should worry everyone," Meloni said.

"The court's decision weakens the policy to combat illegal mass immigration and to protect national borders," said the leader of the far-right ruling Brothers of Italy party.

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In a case brought by Italy, the ECJ ruled earlier on Friday that European Union countries are allowed to designate countries of origin as safe to fast-track asylum procedures if authorities disclose the sources for their assessment.

"The sources of information on which such a designation is based must be sufficiently accessible, both for the applicant and for the court or tribunal having jurisdiction," the EU's top court wrote in a press release.

A second condition laid out by the court stipulates that a state can only be designated as a safe country of origin if it offers adequate protection to the entire population, including minorities.

As part of an effort by the right-wing government in Rome to speed up the vetting of asylum requests and to allow fewer people to enter the country, Italy has issued a list labelling a number of countries as safe enough for migrants to be ineligible for international protection.

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The Italian government aims to bring migrants hailing from countries designated as safe and intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea to a reception centre in Albania where their asylum requests are examined under an accelerated procedure.

Two Bangladeshi nationals had challenged the rejection of their requests for international protection based on the assumption that Bangladesh is a safe country as per the list.

The Italian court dealing with the matter had called on the ECJ to clarify if the Italian government was allowed to compile the list of safe countries under EU law, if Rome has to unveil its sources for declaring a country as safe and what criteria have to be respected.

Meloni criticized the decision as interference by the courts in political matters. She said the judiciary - this time the European one - was claiming responsibilities "that do not belong to it, while the responsibility lies with politicians."

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According to her, the ruling gives precedence to the assessments of individual national judges over the evaluation by specialist ministries and parliament.

Rome also views the timing of the court's decision sceptically. The ruling comes a few months before the entry into force of a new EU migration pact, which provides for stricter rules for dealing with safe countries of origin.

The government in Rome announced that it would seek all possible technical and legal solutions by then "to ensure the safety of citizens."

With right-wing positions gaining popularity across the 27-member bloc, many EU countries are adapting a tougher stance on migration.

Several capitals are discussing setting up accommodation centres for rejected asylum seekers in countries outside the bloc. Italy's push to process protection requests and accommodate rejected migrants in Albania is however facing several legal obstacles.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has criticized Friday's European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on the classification of safe countries of origin.

She said the decision further restricted the already limited room for manoeuvre of governments. "This is a step that should worry everyone," Meloni said.

"The court's decision weakens the policy to combat illegal mass immigration and to protect national borders," said the leader of the far-right ruling Brothers of Italy party.

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In a case brought by Italy, the ECJ ruled earlier on Friday that European Union countries are allowed to designate countries of origin as safe to fast-track asylum procedures if authorities disclose the sources for their assessment.

"The sources of information on which such a designation is based must be sufficiently accessible, both for the applicant and for the court or tribunal having jurisdiction," the EU's top court wrote in a press release.

A second condition laid out by the court stipulates that a state can only be designated as a safe country of origin if it offers adequate protection to the entire population, including minorities.

As part of an effort by the right-wing government in Rome to speed up the vetting of asylum requests and to allow fewer people to enter the country, Italy has issued a list labelling a number of countries as safe enough for migrants to be ineligible for international protection.

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The Italian government aims to bring migrants hailing from countries designated as safe and intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea to a reception centre in Albania where their asylum requests are examined under an accelerated procedure.

Two Bangladeshi nationals had challenged the rejection of their requests for international protection based on the assumption that Bangladesh is a safe country as per the list.

The Italian court dealing with the matter had called on the ECJ to clarify if the Italian government was allowed to compile the list of safe countries under EU law, if Rome has to unveil its sources for declaring a country as safe and what criteria have to be respected.

Meloni criticized the decision as interference by the courts in political matters. She said the judiciary - this time the European one - was claiming responsibilities "that do not belong to it, while the responsibility lies with politicians."

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According to her, the ruling gives precedence to the assessments of individual national judges over the evaluation by specialist ministries and parliament.

Rome also views the timing of the court's decision sceptically. The ruling comes a few months before the entry into force of a new EU migration pact, which provides for stricter rules for dealing with safe countries of origin.

The government in Rome announced that it would seek all possible technical and legal solutions by then "to ensure the safety of citizens."

As right-wing parties gain influence across the EU, many member states are adopting tougher migration policies. Several are discussing the possibility of hosting asylum seekers in third countries. But Italys attempt to process asylum requests in Albania is already facing legal scrutiny.

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Germany is watching closely. While Berlin did not immediately comment on the implications of the ECJ ruling, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the decision was under review.

He added that Germany already discloses the reasoning behind designating countries as safe and only makes such classifications when the general population is considered protected.
ITHACA, N.Y. (WETM)  An Ithaca man was arrested on several felony charges on Thursday after reports of an assault at a parking garage in the city, according to a release from the Ithaca Police Department.

Jordan M. Berrios, 24, was arrested on Thursday, July 31, on the following charges:

Criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class C felony.

Assault in the second degree, a class D felony.

Menacing in the second degree, a class A misdemeanor.

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Ithaca man out on bond arrested on federal charges regarding child sex abuse material

Berrios arrest stems from a report of an assault at the Green Street Parking garage around 7 a.m. on Thursday. Police arrived to find a victim who was assaulted and struck by a hammer. The victim was treated and taken to the local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Several hours later, Berrios was found at the Asteri building at 118 E. Greet St. and arrested.

Berrios was processed and seen in court before being taken to the Tompkins County Jail.

Any witnesses to the incident or anyone with information are asked to call the Ithaca Police Department at 607-272-3245.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com.
A Jacksonville woman has pleaded guilty to murder in the 2023 death of her girlfriend, State Attorney Melissa Nelsons office announced Thursday.

Shannon McCarthy also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and sending written threats to kill or do bodily injury in Heather Sheppards death, according to a news release from Nelsons office.

McCarthy was sentenced to 30 years in the Florida State Prison system by Judge Meredith Charbula.

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The case began when Sheppards daughter reported her missing to the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office on July 3, 2023, the release detailed. Sheppard was last seen at the Colonial Avenue home she shared with McCarthy.

When Sheppards daughter and another person attempted to check on her, McCarthy refused to let them enter the house, claiming Sheppard had left.

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On July 4, 2023, McCarthy allowed them to pick up Sheppards belongings but restricted their entry to the porch, where they noticed a foul odor, the news release said.

On July 5, 2023, detectives from the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office were given consent by McCarthy to search the home. They found Sheppards body after McCarthy attempted to cover it with a tarp on the porch.

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Neighbors reported hearing gunshots on June 28 and June 30, 2023, which led to further investigation. Multiple firearms were seized from the home, and McCarthy admitted to sending threatening texts to Sheppard, the release said.

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An autopsy confirmed that Sheppard had been shot multiple times. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement matched the projectiles to McCarthys gun.

Action News Jax told you in August when McCarthy filed a Stand Your Ground motion, claiming she shot Sheppard in self-defense. That motion was denied in October.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Joseph Licandro.

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.
Iranian director Ali Ahmadzadeh, who won Locarnos Golden Leopard for his clandestinely shot film Critical Zone in 2023 , says he is living in fear of imminent imprisonment after a group of 50 armed men broke into his home this week while he was shooting a new film.

Ahmadzadeh said the men went on to steal his phone; computers; a hard disk holding his past movies; awards, including his Golden Leopard, and all his shooting equipment, which was being rented.

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They also took the paintings in my house, all my papers, all my pictures, everything, my passport, ID cards, bank accounts  my whole my life. Its a big attack on Iranian independent cinema, he said in an email which has been made available to Deadline.

More worryingly for the director, one of the people conducting the raid issued a summons at gunpoint ordering him to attend an appointment at the Ministry of Information, which he fears is the first step to him being jailed.

Cannes Palme dOr winner Jafar Panahi, who has also done jail time in Iran for standing up for cinematic freedom of expression, posted footage of Ahmadzadehs ransacked home, calling the raid an act of government terrorism.

What happened to Ali Ahmadzadeh was not an armed robbery, it was a psychological terror. It was an attack aimed at crushing will, destroying hope, breaking the camera. But they dont understand that no government can stop the dream with guns and fear.

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Panahi said the raid was at odds with the governments recent overtures to Irans cinema community and suggestions it wanted to take a more open stance.



This is the same government whose president in front of the camera falsely breathes talk to opposition and with a Minister of Guidance who dreams of returning exiled artists. Will they be greeted by government kidnappers as soon as they enter the country? Or must they first swear that they will not do anything, say anything, feel anything.

Panahi said the raid marked a decisive moment for Irans cinema community.

If we remain silent today, tomorrow it will be the turn of every Iranian filmmaker, even those who make movies with licenses, he wrote.

Ahmadzadeh has previously found himself in the crosshairs of Irans hardline authorities for Critical Zone, which he shot in secret without permits and with a cast of non-professional actors.

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The Iranian and German co-production follows a drug dealer as he navigates Tehrans underworld over the course of one night.

Following the announcement that Critical Zone had been selected for Locarno in 2023, Ahmadzadeh came under intense pressure from the Iranian authorities to withdraw the film, and was stopped from leaving Iran to attend the festival.

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Democratic strategist James Carville advised Democratic leaders Thursday not to get distracted by woke issues and instead begin to stick it to President Donald Trump where it really hurts.

In the latest episode of his Politics War Room podcast, the former adviser to Bill Clinton said he believes his party should focus on hitting Trump over the excesses of his $3.3 trillion "big, beautiful bill," and warned them not to let the Republican Party distract them with radical issues they're on the wrong side of politically, like trans rights.

"Dont let them go there. And the public is with you," he said, urging his party to stay on target.

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Senate Passes Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' After Marathon Vote-a-rama

The strategist began by noting how opposition to the "big, beautiful bill"  which Congress passed and Trump signed earlier this month  is one of the Democratic Partys strongest issues to run against the GOP at the moment.

"If I were the Democrats, Id say, Look, why dont we have a campaign about issues this time,'" he said. "Were always talking about how we have personalities. This is one of those rare moments where Republicans and Democrats agree on the topic, and that is  Is the big, beautiful bill good or bad?"

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"That is an argument that the Democrats cannot lose, OK?" Carville added. "They cant lose it."

Trumps legislation passed with zero support from any Democratic Party members in either chamber of Congress. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., labeled the bill "cruel" during floor remarks that lasted hours, pointing to Medicaid and SNAP reforms that reports suggest would remove millions of beneficiaries from the programs.

Tax Cuts, Work Requirements And Asylum Fees: Here's What's Inside The Senate's Version Of Trump's Bill

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), joined by fellow Democrats, speaks out against the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act at a press conference outside of the U.S. Capitol on July 02, 2025 in Washington, DC.

"This is a rare time in American politics that we have an agreement on what the number one issue should be," Carville said, adding, "This is a really good opportunity for Democrats to look big and talk about something that really, really matters to people."

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He also noted that if Democratic leaders focus upcoming elections on this issue, there is "no way" they can lose those.

Following those points, co-host Al Hunt argued that the GOP will start hammering radical left issues, like the trans issue, to distract from the weaknesses of their spending bill.

However, Carville said he doesnt think Democratic figures will fall for it this time.

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"I think at this point, youre going to look silly if you go to trans stuff, okay? I think that idea has, like, come and gone," he said about the GOP continuing to make hay of those issues. "I think the Democrats realize theyre not going to say anything stupid on this again."

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Still, he warned the Democratic Party, "Just dont let them take you there. Theyre going to try anything they can, but dont let them go there."





Original article source: James Carville warns Democrats not to get baited into discussing woke issues: 'Youre going to look silly'
A Japanese woman living in China was attacked and injured by a man in a Suzhou subway station, Japanese media outlets said, hours after two Chinese men were seriously injured in violence in Tokyo.

The attacks on Thursday raised concern about xenophobic sentiment in both China and Japan that have been blamed for assaults in both countries. It was the third attack involving Japanese living in China since last year. In the two previous cases in China, Chinese authorities have insisted they were isolated incidents.

The Japanese broadcaster NHK did not identify the woman injured in Suzhou by name but, citing the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai, said she was with her child inside a subway station when the attack took place. The child was not injured, and the mother had returned home after reportedly getting treated at a hospital, NHK reported.

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A phone call to the Suzhou Police went unanswered on Friday evening, and the local police were yet to release any official statement. But the Japanese news agency Kyodo said the suspect had been detained.

In Tokyo earlier Thursday, two Chinese men were seriously injured in attacks, and four male assailants wielding unspecified weapons remained at large, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Japan. The identities of the assailants were unclear.

The Chinese Embassy urged the Japanese authorities to take action to catch the assailants in the Tokyo attack and to ensure the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Japan in response to the recent surge in xenophobic sentiment in Japanese society.

In southern China last September, a 10-year-old Japanese student died after being stabbed by a Chinese man not far from the gate of the Shenzhen Japanese School in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. The man was sentenced to death.

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In June 2024, a Japanese woman and her child were injured in an attack by a Chinese man, also in Suzhou. A Chinese bus attendant who tried to protect them from the attack was killed. The man was sentenced to death.

On Friday, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China called for Chinese authorities to ensure Japanese citizens safety and security in China.

It is extremely regrettable that such an incident has happened again. Ensuring the safety of employees and their families is fundamental for doing business in China, the statement said.

___

AP writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
Vice President JD Vance mocked Democrats on Friday for being outraged over Sydney Sweeney and American Eagles new Great Jeans ad campaign, joking that the criticism  including some saying it is not-so-subtle Nazi propaganda  is a great strategy to win over voters, especially young men.

Vance, during an appearance on The Ruthless Podcast, seemed amused by the week-long blowback the Anyone But You starlet and the clothing company have faced from many media members and social media critics.

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My political advice to the Democrats is: continue to tell everyone who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi, Vance joked. That appears to be their actual strategy.

The VP then said the reaction to the ad actually reveals something pretty interesting about the depths of Democrats, because they have managed to so unhinge themselves over something as harmless as an all-American, beautiful girl doing a jeans commercial.

Its like, Guys, did you learn nothing from the November 2024 election?' Vance continued. Like, I actually thought that one of the lessons they might take is, Were going to be less crazy; a lesson they have apparently taken is, Were going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful. Great strategy, especially young American men.

NEW: Vice President J.D. Vance weighs in on the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign and absolutely nails it about the Democratic Party pic.twitter.com/m7jvalB286  jerry maga  (@_jerrymaga) August 1, 2025

Vances comments come after some have suggested the ad promotes eugenics and white supremacy by featuring the 27-year-old blonde actress and its play on words with jeans/genes.

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Just to point to a few examples, an MSNBC producer wrote that the ad showed an unbridled cultural shift toward whiteness, conservatism and capitalist exploitation, ESPN commentator David Dennis said he was mortified by the ad, and Salon.com said Sweeney and American Eagle were using American eugenics to sell jeans. Others on TikTok and other social platforms made similar claims.

American Eagle and Sweeney appear to have just shrugged off the criticism, and the companys stock  which jumped more than 10% in the days after the ad was released on July 23  is still up a few percent since the controversy started.

The post JD Vance Mocks Democrats Over Sydney Sweeney Ad Outrage: Great Strategy appeared first on TheWrap.
Vice President JD Vance had some fun at the expense of the left over its wild response to the American Eagle ad campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney.

"My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi. That appears to be their actual strategy," Vance joked during Friday's appearance on the "Ruthless" podcast.

American Eagle has sparked a social media firestorm with the launch of its fall clothing campaign, titled "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans." Progressive critics have linked the ad campaign to racism and Nazi-era eugenics.

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Liberal Media Outlets Argue Sydney Sweeney Good Jeans Ad Promoting Whiteness, Eugenics

American Eagle's new ad campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney has sparked outrage from the progressive left.

"It actually reveals something pretty interesting about the Dems, though," Vance said, "which is that you have like a normal, all-American beautiful girl doing like a normal jeans ad, right? To try to sell, you know, sell jeans to kids in America, and they have managed to so unhinge themselves over this thing. And it's like, you guys, did you learn nothing from the November 2024 election?"

"Like, I actually thought that one of the lessons they might take is we're going to be less crazy," he continued. "The lesson they have apparently taken is we're going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful. Great strategy, guys." That's how you're going to win the midterms." Especially young American men."

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Sydney Sweeney Slams Hollywood's 'Women Empowering Other Women' Message As 'Fake'

"Their course correction lasted about 30 seconds," joked "Ruthless" co-host Josh Holmes.

"That's right, [it] lasted 30 seconds, somehow has gotten even crazier," Vance responded. "But again, it's just so much of the Democrats is oriented around hostility to basic American life. So you have a pretty girl doing a jeans ad, and they can't help but freak out. It reveals a lot more about them than it does us."

Tune in to "Ruthless" every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday on all podcast platforms and YouTube.

Click Here To Listen To More Episodes Of Ruthless

"Ruthless" can be listened to on all podcast platforms and can be watched on YouTube.





Original article source: JD Vance sounds off on Sydney Sweeney ad uproar, mocks left's 'Nazi' strategy
Editors Note: A video attached to this article has been replaced because it included the name of a minor.

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR)  A Douglas County jury found a Jefferson County K-9 handler not guilty after the dog broke out of a kennel at their home, biting and injuring a two-year-old girl and her dad in their yard.

The two-day trial ended with a not guilty verdict, a little over an hour after the jury got the case to deliberate. Colorados 23rd District Attorney George Brauchler is enraged over the outcome and situation. He sat down with FOX31s Nicole Fierro before the jury made the decision. Now, the case is sealed.

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James Craig found guilty of poisoning, killing wife

Jefferson County Sheriffs K-9 handler, Zachary Oliver, took the stand Thursday to defend himself against two counts of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog in Douglas County, where he lived on Aug. 11 last year.

I run over into their backyard and I see its K-9 Ragnar and obviously my heart dropped, Oliver said on the stand in the courtroom.

He talked about how K-9 Ragnar got out of his outdoor kennel and bit a two-year-old girl across the fence at her backyard birthday party. According to the Jefferson County Sheriffs office, the childs father attempted to intervene and was also bitten.

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Oliver testified that he and Ragnar were supposed to work the night shift that evening. While he cleaned urine in the K-9s indoor kennel before work, he put Ragnar in his outdoor kennel, and that is when the dog got out.

The defense argued Oliver should be immune based on the law and a contract he signed with the Jefferson County Sheriffs office.

Every time I am taking care of that dog, I am immune because its their dog, Oliver said.

I have spent a career, 30 years in this game, being a fierce defender of law enforcement, especially when people accuse them of overreach or acting outside the bounds of the laws, Brauchler said. But in this case, I am outraged at what has taken place not just in the community, but what has taken place in our courtroom.

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Brauchler and the prosecutors who tried this case fully disagree with the immunity argument for what happened on August 11th, 2024.

This guy has some sort of crappy contract with his own agency, an agency that doesnt exist or operate without our permission in this county, Brauchler said. He then chooses to live here and house this killer dog, this trained killer dog with him, and then wants to hide behind the fact that, well, I have a contract with JeffCo that says that Im on duty all the time. And the purpose of that is to invoke a law that was never meant to be used for this purpose, to say, hey, when my dog gets out of its kennel and jumps the fence and attacks a two-year-old at her birthday party and then attacks the dad that tries to save her life. Well, no harm, no foul. I think thats outrageous.

Cyclist killed in suspected speeding, DUI crash: Police

Brauchler wants to take action after this.

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Two things need to happen, Brauchler said. One, we need to have a legislator, and I think we can find one in this county. And were going to create something called Deputy Olivers law. And that law is going to take away any sense of, geez, where does this work and where doesnt it work to make clear that it wont happen here again? The other thing that needs to happen is, I think our sheriff and our county commissioners need to reach out to any surrounding agency, not just JeffCo, and say, if youre going to house some trained killer dog here in our community, one, youre going to register it with our sheriffs office. And two, youre going to notify everybody in the community. We do it for sex offenders because of the risk. Why wouldnt we do it for killer dogs?

The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office declined to do an interview with FOX31 but told us Oliver resigned and the K-9 is still with him. While Ragnars future is unclear at this point, the sheriffs office said he will no longer be a working dog with the 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 FOX31 Denver.
The former girlfriend and convicted accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein is now at a new prison facility, Fox News Digital has learned.

Ghislaine Maxwell has been transferred from a federal prison facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to the Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas, her attorney confirmed to Fox News Digital.

Neither the Bureau of Prisons nor Maxwells attorney provided an explanation for the move.

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Ghislaine Maxwell Asks Supreme Court To Overturn Conviction Citing Epstein Immunity Deal

Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were both indicted on federal sex trafficking charges stemming from Epstein's years of abuse of underage girls.

Maxwell's new life behind bars comes with an upgrade, with the FPC Bryan location serving as a minimum-security prison that also houses Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and celebrity housewife Jen Shah. The prison has roughly 600 female inmates and is primarily home to non-violent offenders convicted of white collar crimes.

"Maxwell now has a dorm-style housing situation, rather than a cell," Dave Aronberg, former Palm Beach County State Attorney, told Fox News Digital. "The new facility will have a lower staff-to-inmate ratio, and will either have a very limited fence or no fence at all."

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The move was criticized Friday by the family of Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide earlier this year.

Jeffrey Epstein 'Stole' Virginia Giuffre, Other Employees From Mar-a-lago Spa: Trump

Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in procuring underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein.

"It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received," her family said in a statement to Fox News. "Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas. This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes.

"The American public should be enraged by the preferential treatment being given to a pedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender. The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better."

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A senior administration official told Fox News: "Any false assertion this individual was given preferential treatment is absurd. Prisoners are routinely moved in some instances due to significant safety and danger concerns."

Jeffrey Epstein Thrown Out Of Mar-a-lago For Hiring The Help: Trump

The update comes one week after Maxwell met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche at a Florida courthouse to answer questions regarding her involvement in Epsteins years of sex crimes, in which Maxwell helped procure underage girls for the disgraced financier to abuse.

"The decision on whether someone gets moved to a better facility is generally made by the Bureau of Prisons, and there's a procedure to follow," Aronberg said. "It's hard to imagine that the lengthy interview that Maxwell had with the number two official at the Department of Justice had nothing to do with the transfer. It almost certainly did."

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The meeting came just days after the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena asking Maxwell to testify in front of lawmakers regarding Epsteins crimes. Maxwells legal team has since asserted she would consider testifying if granted immunity  a demand the panel swiftly rejected.

Jeffrey Epstein Accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell To See How Feds Meeting Plays Out Amid Subpoena: Brother

Ghislaine Maxwell jogs around the track at FCI Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Florida, Thursday, July 10, 2025. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking in connection with Jeffrey Epstein.

"She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning," her lawyers previously said.

Separately, Maxwells attorneys filed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to hear her appeal of her 2021 conviction, saying that she should have been included in Epstein's non-prosecution agreement. The court is set to discuss taking the case at a private conference on Sept. 29.

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Maxwell has reemerged in national headlines as conversations regarding the scope of Epsteins crimes have heated up as the Department of Justice looks to unseal court records containing grand jury testimony from both Epstein and Maxwells cases.

Epstein Accuser Virginia Giuffre's Family Says Trump 'Should Never Consider Giving Maxwell Any Leniency'

Ghislaine Maxwell jogs around the track at FCI Tallahassee, Tallahassee, Florida, Thursday, July 10, 2025.

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in procuring underage girls for Epstein. She recently appealed to President Donald Trump to pardon her sentence  a possibility Trump has previously said is within his right to consider, but he has not been asked to do so yet.

However, a senior administration official told Fox News Digital that "no leniency is being given or discussed."

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"Thats just false. The President himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time."

Maxwell is scheduled to testify in front of the committee on Aug. 11.

Fox News' Patrick Ward contributed to this report.





Original article source: Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell moved to new prison amid fight over answers, immunity
The home of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is in the news and on real estate sites.

The six-bedroom, 7 1/2-bathroom lakefront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, once owned by Epstein, is no more  the multimillion-dollar home was demolished after his death in 2019. The two-story home featured a living room and patio with views of the intracoastal waterway, an elevator, West Indies-style architecture, a cabana and a separate building used by household staff, according to reporting by the Palm Beach Daily News, a USA TODAY Network newspaper.

In 2021, the Palm Beach Daily News and the Palm Beach Post captured photos and video of the demolition of Epstein's home in Florida.

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However, photos of the white house with a crystal blue pool and a waterfront view still show up on sites like homes.com and realtor.com. The site has been razed and the address changed. The real estate sites list property details that are public record.

Built in 1952 and sold for $18.5 million in 2021, the Epstein home was a key site where many of the crimes committed by the financier occurred, investigators said. Underage girls from Palm Beach County told investigators they were assaulted at the Palm Beach mansion as well as Epstein's homes in New York, New Mexico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

'House of horrors.' Whatever happened to Jeffrey Epstein's home in Palm Beach, Florida?

When he died by suicide in 2019, Epstein had faced federal charges of conspiracy and sex trafficking. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to two Florida felony counts that included solicitation of a minor. He served nearly 13 months in the Palm Beach County Jail before being released for a year of probation on house arrest until August 2010.

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His accomplice and former girlfriend Ghislane Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence on federal sex-trafficking charges.

Below are photos of the Jeffrey Epstein home in Palm Beach, Florida, before and after its demolition and an exclusive Palm Beach Post video that details what happened there.

Jeffrey Epstein home in Palm Beach, Florida: Before and after

The west exterior of the home that belonged to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, once located at 358 El Brillo Way, Palm Beach, Florida, on April 19, 2021.

Timeline of Jeffrey Epstein case: From financier to convicted sex offender and human trafficking case

Walkthrough video of Jeffrey Epstein mansion taken by police in Palm Beach, Florida

Demolition of Jeffrey Epstein's home in Florida

Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @byjensangalang. Support local journalism. Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Epstein home in Florida was a key site of crimes by late sex offender
A New Jersey hospital hospital is asking for the publics health identifying a patient.

Newark Beth Israel Medical Center said the man, believed to be in his 20s, was brought to the hospital by ambulance from Irvington on Tuesday. No identification was found on him.

No other information about the mans condition was released.

Hospital officials stressed the importance of identifying the man to ensure he receives proper medical care  and to notify any loved ones.

Anyone with information can call Newark Beth Israel at 973-926-7278; after 5 p.m., call 973-926-7455.
The employee sustained severe injuries to the neck and upper body, and was declared dead after prolonged resuscitation efforts at Hadassah-University Medical Center.

Uriel Nuri, an employee of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, was pronounced dead after a leopard attacked him on Friday, Hadassah-University Medical Center announced.

Following Nuri's death, The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo announced that it would be closed to visitors until future notice.

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The 36-year-old employee was found unconscious with severe wounds to his neck, and medical sources said he was evacuated to Hadassah-University Medical Center in Ein Kerem in critical condition to receive further medical treatment.

Upon arrival, hospital staff noticed extensive injuries to his upper body, and after prolonged resuscitation efforts, were forced to declare him dead.

Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedic Dov Shari arrived at the scene after receiving a report of someone injured in the leopard enclosure: "I ran over and saw a man lying unconscious, with significant injuries to his neck. We immediately attempted to stop the bleeding, and very quickly, another MDA team arrived. We gave him life-saving treatment, including CPR, before he was evacuated for further treatment."

Police at the site of the leopard attack at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo (credit: ISRAEL POLICE SPOKESMAN)

From the initial investigation, it seems that Nuri was one of the leopard trainers who was bitten while feeding the animals. Other zoo employees managed to remove him from the enclosure without having to shoot or harm the leopard.

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Israel Police added that forces from the Moriah Station in the Jerusalem District were dispatched to the scene to investigate the incident.

"During a routine activity to prepare food for the leopards, which took place as part of a behind-the-scenes tour for visitors of the zoo, a leopard managed to escape from the leopard house into the inner courtyard and attacked one of the zoo employees," The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo said in a statement regarding the incident.

It clarified that "at no point was there any physical danger to the visitors, who were protected behind a glass window. With the help of the Israel Police, we are now conducting a comprehensive investigation to understand how the leopard managed to escape into the courtyard."

Previous animal attacks

Last year, a similar incident took place after a crocodile attacked a 45-year-old employee working in the crocodile enclosure, severely injuring him. Luckily, a security guard took notice and fatally shot the crocodile, likely saving the man's life.

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The employee was evacuated to the Hadassah-University Medical Center's trauma unit in Ein Kerem, where a multidisciplinary team of anesthetists, surgeons, oral and maxillofacial, orthopedic, and plastic specialists worked together in an operation that lasted over 9 hours.

This is a developing story. Maariv contributed to the report.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY)  Downtown Clarksburg is getting ready to be filled with the sound of music and prayer on Friday as Jesus Fest 2025 officially kicks off its 20th year with events in Jackson Square.

Organizers said Thursday that Jesus Fest is more than just a concert or street fair, its a community-wide expression of faith. The two-day festival features live Christian music, dynamic speakers, childrens activities and outreach booths from churches and faith-based organizations.

The weather is going to be nice and cool; God has blessed us with the weather as always. Weve got headliners out of this world this year with Ben Fuller and Stephen McWhirter, theyll all be here. Ben is Friday and Stephen is Saturday. We expect a large crowd and a joyful, wonderful time in worshiping Jesus in this area, President of Jesus Fest, Michael Gallo, said.

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The festival is set to kick off Friday, Aug. 1, in the afternoon with an opening prayer, followed by a full lineup of praise bands and worship teams from across the Mountain State. Between the music, attendees are encouraged to explore dozens of ministry tents, prayer booths, and family zones set up throughout the square.

Purple Heart veteran in Harrison County receives new roof from Titan Roofing

We have a baptism pool; they baptize people every year here and that is what it is all about getting people a closer relationship with Jesus, Gallo said. Well have our prayer tents up, baptism pool, there will be different churches have booths. Well have everything from cotton candy to hot Italian sausages, to potatoes, baked potatoes, different vendors selling all kinds of different foods.

The festival is entirely free to the public, made possible by local churches, donors, and community sponsors. Organizers expressed that the goal is simple: to remind everyone that hope, faith and love are still alive and well in West Virginia.

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Jesus Fest continues all day Saturday at Jackson Square, wrapping up with the final concert and closing prayer Saturday, Aug. 2.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on Thursday voted on new district borders in Johnson County, Kansas.

The changes are set to take effect immediately.

Homeland Security claims ICE raided Kansas restaurants to rescue victims of human trafficking

The county said the new districts are based on population shifts and continued growth in Johnson County.

The borders define the six voting districts. From each district, one county commissioner is elected.

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Specific boundary changes are noted in the maps below.

BOCC Chairman Mike Kelly said he appreciated the residents who provided feedback during the redistricting process.

All Johnson County residents should be fairly and equitably represented, he said in a statement. Its a key tenet of our democracy, and Im grateful for the participation of our community.

Kansas statute requires the BOCC to review the countys districts every three years to ensure the populations are not fluctuating too much between districtsso representation remains fair.

According to the county, redrawing the voting district lines, also known as redistricting, was needed because the current districts varied in population by 11.02%. Redistricting is required when population variation is greater than 10%. The countys most recent redistricting was done in 2013.

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To rebalance the commission districts, the BOCC voted to accept an option that assigned more than 18,500 residents into a different district. With the boundary adjustments, the districts will vary in population by only 4.39% and should not need to be redrawn for at least five years, according to the 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 FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A Superior Court judge declared life sentences without the possibility of parole unconstitutional for minors, paving the way for the resentencing of Robert Tulloch, who is serving two such sentences for killing two Dartmouth College professors when he was a teenager.

Tulloch pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for his involvement in the murders of Half and Susanne Zantop inside their Hanover home in 2001. Tulloch, who was 17 at the time of the murders, was given a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Judge Lawrence MacLeod sided with Tullochs attorneys in agreeing that the state constitution prohibits life without the possibility of parole in such cases, with such a sentence being cruel and unusual.

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New Hampshire is the only New England state and one of only 17 states nationwide where any defendants are serving such sentences, and the unequivocal trend amongst other jurisdictions is to ban or place additional restriction on (life without parole) for minors, he wrote.

The state can still argue for life sentences without the possibility of parole during resentencing but must prove the facts, such as the child being incapable of change, beyond a reasonable doubt, MacLeod said.

The case has seen starts and stops over the years with Tullochs lawyers, Richard Guerriero and Oliver Bloom, filing a request in 2018 to consider a life sentence without the possibility of parole unconstitutional under New Hampshire law. Such a sentence would be cruel and unusual, they said.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court declared mandatory life sentences without parole for juvenile murderers unconstitutional. Two years later, the state Supreme Court ruled that four minors sentenced to life without parole were entitled to new sentencing hearings, including Tulloch.

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The Attorney Generals Office has argued that Tulloch, now 42, could ultimately receive the same sentence even with a new hearing.

Previous arguments surrounded the mandatory nature of the sentence.

Tulloch hatched the murder plan along with James Parker, who was 16 at the time. They had planned to rob and kill someone that day in 2001 to get money to travel overseas. They were later found on the run by a trucker in Indiana.

In agreeing to become a key witness in a trial against Tulloch, Parker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison. Parker was released on parole last June.

The state Supreme Court has declined to weigh in on Tullochs case before it heads to resentencing.

A date for the resentencing hearing has yet to be set.

jphelps@unionleader.com
A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from rapidly deporting migrants who entered the U.S. legally on humanitarian grounds, potentially curtailing arrests at immigration courts that have triggered controversy across the country.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb of Washington, D.C., barred federal immigration officials from using two Trump administration directives to apply a fast-track deportation process known as expedited removal on migrants who were granted immigration parole to enter the U.S. at an official port of entry. Parole is an immigration authority that allows federal officials to admit foreigners on humanitarian grounds, and lets them live and work in the U.S. legally on a temporary basis.

If left in place, Cobb's ruling could significantly hinder the Trump administration's aggressive efforts to ramp up its mass deportation campaign by targeting migrants allowed into the U.S. under the Biden administration through the parole authority. The Justice Department is expected to appeal her order.

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One operation in particular that could be curtailed by Cobb's ruling is a Trump administration effort to convince immigration judges to dismiss the court cases of certain migrants, so that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can arrest them after their hearings and place them in expedited removal.

Unlike immigration court cases, which typically take years to complete due to a backlog of millions of unresolved claims, expedited removal allows officials to more quickly deport migrants who arrived to the U.S. in the past two years. Those placed in that process face summary deportation from the U.S. unless they express concerns of being persecuted in their home countries and prove to an asylum officer that their fear is credible.

The courthouse arrests have been reported in cities across the U.S., with videos emerging showing ICE officials detaining migrants immediately after their hearings conclude. In some cases, those taken into custody have been seen weeping and visibly distraught. The practice has been strongly decried by Democratic lawmakers and advocates, who say it punishes people who are trying to follow the legal process by showing up to their hearings.

In her opinion, Cobb found the Trump administration's efforts to be illegal, saying the lawsuit against the expedited deportations raised a "question of fair play." She noted the plaintiffs in the case, two migrants from Cuba and Venezuela, had "played by the rules," entered the country with the government's permission and attended their court hearings  and were nonetheless targeted for expedited deportation.

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"This case's underlying question, then, asks whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules," Cobb wrote. "Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that  as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers  may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?"

Stephen Yale-Loehr, an expert in U.S. immigration law, said Cobb's order could mean that "several hundred thousand people will be temporarily spared from immediate removal under the expedited removal procedures."

Yale-Loehr noted the ruling is a reprieve for many of the more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who were allowed into the U.S. through the parole authority, under a Biden administration sponsorship policy. It also protects some of the nearly 1 million migrants paroled into the U.S. along the southern border under another Biden-era policy powered by a now-discontinued phone app known as CBP One.

In a statement, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin denounced Friday's order.

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"This ruling is lawless and won't stand," McLaughlin said.

Black swimmers teach others amid history of aquatic segregation

Lawyer says political pressure helped Marine Corps veteran, wife reunite after her ICE detention

Judge blocks Trump administration from closing sites that help at-risk kids
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  Three escaped prisoners from the eastern Caribbean island of Grenada who were accused of killing an elderly U.S. couple last year after hijacking their catamaran have been sentenced.

Ron Mitchell, a sailor in his 30s who was accused of being the ringleader, received two life sentences late Wednesday in the killings of Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel.

Atiba Stanislaus, a farmer in his late 20s, received 60 years for manslaughter and nearly 18 years for the rape of Brandel, among other sentences, for a variety of crimes including kidnapping.

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Trevon Robertson, an unemployed man in his early 20s, received 56 years for manslaughter and other sentences for different crimes, according to local media reports.

The New Today, a local newspaper, reported that prosecutors said the men bound and gagged the couple before throwing them overboard, with Mitchell accused of steering the yacht over Hendry.

The two bodies were never found.

Police at the time said the men had escaped in late February 2024 from the South Saint George Police Station. They hijacked the catamaran Simplicity on the following day and then headed to nearby St. Vincent, where they were arrested, according to authorities.

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The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association had said that Hendry and Brandel were veteran cruisers and longtime members of the association, calling them warm-hearted and capable.

It said the couple was spending the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administrations bid to cancel deportation protections and work permits for more than 63,000 Nicaraguan, Honduran and Nepali immigrants, saying the decision by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appeared rooted in racism.

Color is neither a poison nor a crime, U.S. District Judge Trina Thompson said in a 37-page ruling Thursday, which postponed a Sept. 8 deadline Noem had imposed for those 63,000 immigrants to leave the country or lose Temporary Protected Status, better known as TPS.

The Trump administration is almost certain to appeal Thompsons ruling and may have reason for optimism that it will be reversed in the appellate courts. The Supreme Court recently lifted the bulk of a lower-court judges order postponing Noems termination of TPS for thousands of Venezuelans, and allowed the termination of a similar immigration status known as parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

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Still, Thompsons accusation of racism by senior Trump administration officials concurred with the claims of advocates who have described the presidents mass deportation agenda as an effort to target people of color.

The San Francisco-based Biden appointee accused Noem of using terminology drawn from the discriminatory belief that certain immigrant populations will replace the white population. The judge also pointed to language Donald Trump used on the campaign trail in 2023denouncing immigrants for poisoning the blood of our country. And she said Trump, Noem and others have conflated TPS recipients  who were admitted into the country legally  with criminals.

The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek. Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood, Thompson wrote in the preamble to her ruling. The Court disagrees.

Thompsons conclusions echoed those of another San Francisco-based federal judge, Edward Chen. In a March ruling, the Obama appointee described Noems rationale for ending protections for Venezuelans as a classic example of racism.

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Thompsons decision Thursday extended the TPS status for Hondurans, Nepalis and Nicaraguans until Nov. 18. She said she plans to hold a hearing on that date to consider further relief.

Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night.

According tostatistics released last year, almost 53,000 Hondurans, nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans and over 7,500 Nepalis have TPS protection. Those groups are dwarfed by the population of Venezuelan TPS recipients, which totals about 600,000.

Under the 1990 law creating TPS, the status is supposed to be temporary and linked to dangerous conditions in immigrants home countries, such as the impact of war or natural disasters.

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However, both Republican and Democratic administrations have extended some of the protections for years and even decades, leading to some TPS holders putting down significant roots in the U.S. The initial TPS designation for Nicaragua and Honduras came in 1999, during the Clinton administration, following devastation there caused by Hurricane Mitch. Nepal was given TPS status in June 2015 under the Obama administration after an earthquake struck near its capital.

Immigrant rights advocates say about half the TPS recipients are pursuing other avenues to stay in the U.S. legally, through claims for asylum or withholding of deportation to their home countries.
Sitting federal judges targeted for impeachment or misconduct complaints by the Trump administrationand its allies are speaking out publicly  some for the very first time  because the danger to judicial independence, they say, is now unprecedented and growing terrifyingly and intimately violent.



I double dare you. Tell the judge. Give me a call back and tell that son of a bitch, were going to come for him and send his ass to prison somebody should wipe him out. You damn white son of a trashy bitch, a man said, his crackling over a voicemail for U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island.



One obscenity after another flowed amid promises to assassinate McConnell or harm his family if he dare cross the president. McConnell received the call after he had blocked the Trump administrations attempt to freeze roughly $3 trillion in federal funding to the states.



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The voicemail was one of 400 similar messages McConnell received. Investigators also told him someone on the dark web searched for his home address and posted a message about wanting Smith & Wesson to visit. The judge received six confirmed credible death threats, and his family wasnt spared either.

Related: Gavin Newsom Trolls JD Vance With Viral Video: 'Go Get Em JD!'

Laura Loomer, the far right propagandist and Trump ally, tweeted a photo of the judges daughter on social media after he was first assigned the federal funding case. McConnell said Elon Musk picked up on it and amplified Loomers post to his millions of followers. Things spiraled out of control from there, he said.

Related: 'Yikes': GOP Lawmaker Jeered Relentlessly As Voters Give Her An Earful

His daughter, a former federal employee, was doxxed and received threats, the judge said Thursday during a conference hosted by Speak Up For Justice, a non-partisan group of judges, lawyers and other legal professionals who hope to protect the nations courts from political interference.



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Ive been on the bench almost 15 years, and I must say, its the one time that actually shook my faith in the judicial system and the rule of law and the work that we do. Ive never spoken about whats happened to me personally. Im not looking for pity or sympathy, I want to be able to just do my job again and uphold the Constitution. I want the public to speak out once again and support an independent judiciary, a judiciary where each one of us is safe to follow the rule of law without fear or favor, McConnell said.

Violent attacks, threats and attempts to intimidate judges have been on the rise in recent years, affecting judges on both the federal and state level, and regardless of what president appointed them.



But since Trump has taken office and his administration has tangled in federal courts over attempts to dismantle the federal government or longstanding constitutional precedent, threats against federal judges have spiked significantly.

The U.S. Marshals Service reported that already this year, roughly a third of the federal judiciary has been flooded with threats, and according to The New York Times, those threats noticeably spike as Trump lashes out at judgesor the judiciary at large.



Related: Zelenskyy Gets Snarky After Marjorie Taylor Greene's Boyfriend Remarks On His Suit

U.S. District Judge John Cougenhour of Washington state was swatted after he issued a rulingthat upheld birthright citizenship. Police stormed his home after they received a false report that he had murdered his wife.



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Shortly after that, we received a message from the FBI that there was a bomb at our house. There wasnt. What kind of people do these things? Its just so disgusting, and its really unspeakable, he said, adding that while he had signed up for this by being a judge, his wife and family had not.



Years ago, Cougenhour said when doing outreach for new judges in places like the former Soviet Union and eastern Asia, he recalled the reverence people in those places had for the independence of the American judiciary, the three branches of power and their co-equal operation.



Today, the judge said, its just been stunning how much damage has been done to the reputation of our judiciary because some political actors think they can gain some advantage by attacking the independence of the judiciary and threatening the rule of law.



Whether it was the Nazis rise to power in 1930s Germany, or Pol Pots rise in 1970s Cambodia, or the struggles over power in places like Rwanda or the former Soviet Union, the judge said the common denominator in every place that loses democratic representation is the overt attack on the rule of law, independence and the rejection of court rulings by those in power.



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We need a call to action from our lawyers and our judges to say: not in our country. Not on our watch, Cougenhour said.



U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of New Jersey has been very vocal on the subject since 2020 after a self-proclaimed antifeminist lawyer came to her home and shot her son, Daniel Anderl, to death. Her husband, Mark Anderl, was also shot during the attack. Her husband survived, and she was uninjured.



Daniel, Salas reflected through tears during Thursdays panel, would have been 25 years old this month.



Since his murder, Salas has spoken publicly at length about the need for increased security for judges, and she has called on the president and lawmakers alike to dial back the inflammatory and unnecessary rhetoric.

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We need our political leaders to stop fanning these flames. Stop using irresponsible rhetoric. Stop referring to judges as corrupt, biased, monsters who hate America. We need leaders to lead responsibility. Its a matter of using our words. Were used to being appealed, but keep it on the merits, stop demonizing and villainizing us, she said. What theyre doing is inviting people to do us harm. Theyre inviting [people] to call you because now they feel emboldened to use those words against you because our leaders are calling us (judges) idiots, deranged and monsters. We need civility. Appeal us to a higher court. But if youre a leader, lead responsibly.

Speak Up For Justice approached several judges, Salas said, appointed by Republican and Democrat presidents. Many did not want to come forward and share their personal stories. Those who did, she said, understand that the silence has to be broken if anything is to change.



The only reason to tell these very personal stories is to change the situation for the current and next generation, Salas and McConnell urged Thursday.



McConnell, who is fending off an impeachment bid launched by Stephen Millers group, America First Legal, said he is unsure if the public realizes how dire the situation is becoming for judges and how untenable it could be in the future if judges are unable to do their jobs without worrying that any ruling they make could could kick off a firestorm of baseless complaints, attacks, or worse.



Related: Feds Urged To Investigate Pizzas Sent To Judges Using Name Of Judges Murdered Son

Andrea LaVerne Edney, the former president of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), said Thursday that often people hear or read about attacks on the courts, and they dont know what to do or how to help.



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Edney said it starts with people talking about the rule of law and the nations system of government often and loudly.



Sometimes this feels like such a little thing to do when the problem is so big, she said.

But we cannot give up. Weve got to continue to educate people, talk about the rule of law, our system of government and the importance of the three branches of the government and the independence of the judiciary. We have to continue to advocate this, even to our children, this lesson on civics that when there is a ruling someone doesnt like, theres a process.



Somewhere along the way weve lost the ability to be civil to each other, she said.



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But now is the time to take things back to the basics, and she said ABOTA is trying to get the word out to judges, lawyers and aspiring lawyers by going into classrooms and forums to remind them of their purpose and that there is power in the masses.



In the 18th century, before the American revolution, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik of Washington state said Thursday there was a powerful unitary executive under King George.

King George wanted all colonial judges under his control, Lasnik said. He could remove them at will and decide how much salary they were paid, even.

Lasnik, who has not presided over any Trump administration cases this year specifically so he could speak up about the intimidation openly, said this was one of the reasons colonists felt they could not live under a monarch.

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It would behoove the public to remember today that this notion was central to the Declaration of Independence, he said.

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A Cambridge police officer and his legal team convinced a federal jury that the SIG Sauer P320 pistol was defectively designed and caused him injury when it unintentionally discharged while on-duty, but he wont receive the damages he sought in the case.

Jacques Desrosiers wont receive any actual, compensatory, and punitive damages after the jury sided with SIG that the officer voluntarily and unreasonably used the P320 pistol knowing that it was defective and dangerous, according to the verdict form.

While we are disappointed he wont be getting any compensatory damages, we are happy that a jury now for the third straight time has found the P320 is defectively designed and those defects caused Officer Desrosiers injury, said attorney Robert W. Zimmerman, of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, which represents hundreds of injured SIG Sauer gun owners.

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The law firm is calling for the weapon to be recalled or redesigned.

Newington-based SIG posted a lengthy statement titled P320 information on its website about news reports involving law enforcement and the military.

The P320 cannot, under any circumstances, discharge without the trigger first being moved to the rear. This has been verified through exhaustive testing by SIG SAUER engineers, the U.S. Military, several major federal and state law enforcement agencies, and independent laboratories, the statement reads.

Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky said the Cambridge, Mass., Police Department had four unintended discharges after the department switched to the P320.

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According to the complaint, Desrosiers had his department-issued P320 secured to his belt when it unintentionally discharged while walking toward the police station in October 2019.

At no time did Officer Desrosiers touch the trigger, and no other item touched the trigger when the gun discharged, the complaint reads. The bullet impacted Officer Desrosierss scrotum, left inner thigh, and exited his right knee causing devastating injury.

The department no longer uses the P320.

A Houston, Texas, Police Officer Richard Fernandez also filed a lawsuit after reporting his P320 went off by itself and shot him on Jan 20. The gun was holstered, and he did not touch it, according to the suit.

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The lawsuit comes days after a U.S. Air Force Security Forces airman was killed in Wyoming while wearing his SIG Sauer M18 pistol, the military version of the P320.

In March, a group of 22 plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Concord over the design of the pistol.

Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky says the injuries to Desrosiers never should have happened.

The Cambridge Police Department, like many other law enforcement agencies nationwide, made the responsible decision to abandon the P320 and has purchased other safer alternative pistols for its officers, a statement reads.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  A Topeka family is finding comfort in each other after the tragic killing of a local mom whose son was abducted and taken to Illinois.

27 News talked to Jennifer Amyx, aunt of 29-year-old Ashley Brown, on Thursday, July 31 about the recent double-homicide involving her niece. Amyx said Brown was a devoted mother and a force of nature to her two-year-old son Zabe Mendez.

He [Zabe Mendez] has lost so much already in his young life because he has just lost his mom, his grandpa, and earlier this year a grandma, so we want to be able to provide for him whatever he needs as navigates these next few years and we want to be able to have the opportunity to support his closest family thats going to be at home with him during these really pivotal years, Amyx said.

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Entire State of Kansas enters high risk level for West Nile Virus

Mendez lost both his mother and grandfather, 55-year-old Sean Thornton, in a double-homicide incident that rocked the Topeka community on July 22. Family members of the homicide victims are now taking action by launching a fundraiser to help Mendez with everything from daycare to education costs.

I have so many, Amyx said when asked what her favorite memory of Brown is. I am instantly flooded. My niece was so beautiful, so warm, so loving, just a real gift to the world. One of her favorite sayings that she took with her throughout her life is just when the caterpillar thought the world was about to end, she became a butterfly and Ashley was a beautiful butterfly in this world. So, Id like people to remember her community service, her love of animals, and what a great mom she was to her boy, and an amazing big sister to everyone in her family.

Browns family is set to hold a celebration of life ceremony for her in August. You can find a link to Mendezs GoFundMe by clicking here.

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Kansas game wardens bust boaters at huge Milford Lake event

Past reporting

Topeka police were called around 9:50 a.m. on July 22 to a house in the 500 block of Northeast Wabash Avenue to conduct a welfare check on the residents living there. Officers at the house found two people, a man and woman, dead and a child belonging to the household missing.

The Topeka Police Department worked with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) to issue an AMBER Alert to help locate the missing two-year-old child. Law enforcement in Mattoon, Illinois recovered the child, later identified as Zabe Mendez, safely around 12:25 p.m. on July 22 and arrested 32-year-old Christopher Barnshaw for his alleged part in the abduction and double-homicide in Topeka.

KDOT to shut down Topeka bridge over I-70 for most of 2026

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For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
Carolyn Feinstein said she initially thought the message sent to her private email address on a late Friday afternoon was a scheme or a prank. It turned out that she was being fired from her federal job. Once Feinstein read the email, she discovered her work cellphone was no longer operating.

Feinstein's decade of work as a forensic auditor for the Justice Department's Office of Trustee  which helps oversee bankruptcies  ended on July 18, when her employment was terminated in a three-paragraph message sent by an agency administrator.

"This is a big loss to me," Feinstein told CBS News. "I have dedicated my career to the mission of the U.S. Trustee program. I believe strongly in that mission. I would get up every day knowing that my actions professionally were helping. They were adding to the greater good."

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Feinstein joins dozens of other Justice Department employees who have been ousted this year. Her firing was conducted in a similar fashion to other Justice Department terminations, via an email from the agency that cited the administration's "Article II" power to fire employees.

"I felt like I was just kind of left in the dark, because that termination letter really didn't explain anything to me," Feinstein said.

But Feinstein's background and her case are different from the others.

Feinstein's husband, who operates a private business, developed a controversial phone app that helped users track the location of federal immigration agents. The ICEBlock app, which carries the moniker, "see something; tap something", bills itself as an "innovative, completely anonymous crowdsourced platform that allows users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity with just two taps on their phone."

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ICEBlock  and similar apps that notify people about the presence of ICE agents  have grown in popularity this year, as the Trump administration aims to ramp up arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants. Administration officials have lashed out at those responsible for these apps, alleging they impede the work of federal law enforcement.

In the days after the ICEBlock app was publicized in reporting by CNN and later by Trump ally and social media figure Laura Loomer, Feinstein said she notified her employers about threats she and her husband had been receiving from critics.

Feinstein said she was fired days after, with the Justice Department alleging the termination was "based on your lack of candor during an internal inquiry."

"It's dehumanizing to the federal workforce, it's treating them like commodities," said Kel McClanahan, an attorney who is representing Feinstein.

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McClanahan told CBS News he views the recent wave of firings as a governmental version of a "5-year-old's tantrums."

Feinstein has a 20% ownership of the company that operates ICEBlock, which her husband runs, according to McClanahan. The lawyer told CBS News that Feinstein held an ownership stake to allow her to wind down the company if her husband were to face an emergency or die. The app is free, and Feinstein's husband told CNN he doesn't plan to monetize it.

McClanahan said Feinstein had reported her connection to the business behind the app on annual disclosure forms.

The Justice Department cited the app and Feinstein's connection to the company in a statement defending her firing.

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"For several weeks, the Department of Justice inquired into this former employee's activities and discovered she has a sizable interest in All U Chart, Inc., the company that holds the IP for ICEBlock," a Justice Department spokeswoman told CBS News. "ICEBlock is an app that illegal aliens use to evade capture while endangering the lives of ICE officers by disclosing their location. This DOJ will not tolerate threats against law enforcement or law enforcement officers."

Feinstein is the latest of dozens of career Justice Department civil servants fired this year. In the hours after President Trump's second inauguration, his administration began conducting a purge of prosecutors, staff and office administrators who were involved in prosecuting people who took part in the Jan. 6 riot  a violent insurrection that Mr. Trump has sought to redefine  and the criminal investigations of Trump himself, which were shuttered in 2024 after his election.

The firings have continued this summer, with several high-profile terminations of administrators and prosecutors, who have claimed their firings were forms of political retribution.

Feinstein argued her firing will exacerbate a staffing shortage inside the agency's bankruptcy trustee audit program. She worked out of a Texas office for the U.S. Trustee Program.

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"Those people are very competent and able to do their jobs, but they are only human. So when you take out someone as proficient as myself in such a vital role as auditor, it is really going to impact what that office can do for the program," she said.

The Justice Department is facing unusually severe shortages of employees in other major offices, according to multiple sources who spoke with CBS News.

In late spring, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of Columbia had 89 staffing openings, a capacity gap that two former prosecutors said could lead to staff being overworked and greater delays in processing cases. That office handled all of the Jan. 6 prosecutions, and saw multiple prosecutors fired early in 2025. The office's total workforce is nearly 700 people, including prosecutors and support staff.

Federal employees, including Feinstein, have the right to challenge their terminations under the government's Merit Services Protection Board. But several fired employees have told CBS News the board is jammed with a wave of new cases and is less able to move swiftly on any new complaint.

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Feinstein said she loved job and misses the work.

"I'd go back in a heartbeat," she said.

Arkansas officials reveal new details about Devil's Den murders of husband and wife

Trump's Canada tariffs will impact lumber, steel and aluminum industries

New shocking jobs report as Trump's tariffs roll out
This year, the Justice Department introduced new incentives for companies to self-report misconduct.

Companies that quickly tell the DOJ, cooperate, and handle the issue internally can breathe easy.

The policy takes some risk off the table for telling the government about in-house crime.

In June, Matthew Galeotti, the head of the Department of Justice's criminal division, gave a speech outlining the Trump administration's law enforcement priorities.

About halfway through, Galeotti used a word that ricocheted through the offices of white-collar lawyers around the country: "will."

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The Justice Department was announcing that it would provide declination letters  formal commitments not to prosecute companies  to companies that turn in their employees for potential white collar crimes.

Before the second Trump administration, there was only a "presumption" of a declination. The Justice Department had signaled it was safe for companies to self-report potential crimes or misconduct, but it still retained the discretion to prosecute if it wanted to, according to Lisa Zornberg, an attorney at Morvillo Abramowitz and former federal prosecutor.

That one word  will  replaced years of ambiguity with a guarantee.

Galeotti told BI in a statement that his revisions to the policy maximize the criminal division's enforcement efforts by encouraging companies to voluntarily self-disclose potential wrongdoing, cooperate with investigations, and "disgorge ill-gotten gains."

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"My revisions in May to our Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP) provide clear incentives for companies to do just that, which allows the Division to identify and prosecute white collar crimes, including those we may never otherwise know about, and hold individual wrongdoers accountable," Galeotti's statement said. "This policy also encourages companies to invest in compliance programs, which helps deter misconduct from happening in the first place and detect it when it does occur, all of which benefits the American public."

The new policy offers the benefit of certainty and closure. If a company blows the whistle on itself, works with federal authorities to investigate employees, and handles the situation internally, then they will receive a declination letter, Galeotti said in his June speech.

"If you self-report and you get a declination, it's over," Zornberg told Business Insider. "It's in the company's rear view mirror and you don't have to worry or wonder whether in four years from now a different DOJ administration is going to come back and dig into what happened."

Self-reporting isn't always the obvious move

To receive a declination, the companies need to cooperate with the government, which could mean supplying information to pursue criminal charges or civil enforcement action against any employees responsible for the mess.

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"They're trying to take a narrower view of when the corporation has to be prosecuted, and instead they're going to focus on individual wrongdoers," Zornberg said.

For corporations, recognizing wrongdoing  like fraud, bribery, or skirting regulations  and reporting it to the government isn't always a black-and-white issue.

If companies conduct an internal investigation into potential criminal activity, they face a sophisticated decision matrix for how to move forward.

Do they reach out to the government when they open the investigation, before all the facts are known? If they suspect a whistleblower, do they want to rush to self-report before the whistleblower goes public? What if they're unsure if there was a civil or criminal offense, or simply a violation of an internal company policy? And are they sure the Justice Department would even be interested in the misconduct?

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"Deciding whether and when to self-report is not off the rack, it's couture," Zornberg said.

Turning in your own employees to the government could have downsides. While it's helpful for agencies, it could be at odds with the interests of shareholders or employees, according to Rod Rosenstein, who served as deputy attorney general in the first Trump administration.

Companies have fiduciary obligations to weigh the pros and cons, Rosenstein said. Instead of telling the government, they could try to fix things in-house and hope government agencies don't find out about it before the statute of limitations expires, he told Business Insider. Even if the Justice Department chooses not to prosecute a case, there's always the risk that the disclosures could trigger class action or shareholder lawsuits, or an investigation from a regulator in another country.

"For companies that have engaged in wrongdoing, there's always a cost-benefit analysis," said Rosenstein, now an attorney at Baker McKenzie. "As in, 'If we say nothing, there's a chance we'll get away with it. If we cooperate, how harsh a penalty are we going to suffer?"

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The second Trump administration has taken a light touch on white collar crime, as Business Insider previously reported.

By increasing incentives for self-reporting, the Justice Department can enforce the laws with fewer resources, Rosenstein said.

"The perception of reduced enforcement does create a risk that companies will be more willing to roll the dice," Rosenstein said. "And so this policy is really intended to offset that to some extent by creating a greater, a bigger carrot to incentivize companies to come forward and cooperate."

The DOJ is upping the incentives

For companies that report their own misconduct and cooperate with the government, the Justice Department also created incentives for companies that exist in a gray area.

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In May, it announced that companies won't necessarily face a full-scale criminal investigation if they don't do everything they need to do to get a declination letter. If a company self-reports but doesn't do so quickly enough, or if there are aggravating factors that could still warrant a criminal prosecution, the Justice Department says it'll offer a non-prosecution agreement and reduced fines.

According to Rosenstein, the incentives continue a decadeslong effort by both Democratic and Republican administrations to make it easier for companies to self-report suspected crimes being committed within companies..

"The government has adopted a series of strategies to try to incentivize companies to police themselves and report to the government the details of the wrongdoing," Rosenstein said.

It also marks a continuation of the Justice Department going after individual bad actors, rather than entire corporations.

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Prosecuting an entire company could be a death knell for the corporation, potentially leading to people unaffiliated with the wrongdoing losing their jobs.

"A corporation is in some ways a fiction," Zornberg said. "If you prosecute a corporation, there's almost never a trial because there's no one to sit at the counsel table."

Zornberg pointed to the 2002 conviction of accounting giant Arthur Andersen, which prosecutors said enabled fraud at Enron.

The Supreme Court overturned the company's conviction three years later, but Arthur Anderson had already collapsed by then, leading to tens of thousands of job losses.

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"From a prosecutor's standpoint, it just hits in the moral kishkas that, if there are individuals who have been engaged in criminal conduct  flesh and blood people who have done wrong things that have injured investors or the environment or whatever, name your victim  that those individuals should be held accountable for their conduct," Zornberg said. "That's the ethos of always prioritizing the accountability of individuals."

Read the original article on Business Insider
(NewsNation)  A romance may be brewing between Justin Trudeau and Katy Perry, as the former Canadian prime minister was seen at her recent concert.

In a photo shared by Pop Crave, a smiling Trudeau can be seen in the front row watching Perrys Lifetimes Tour in Montreal on Wednesday.

Justin Timberlake reveals Lyme disease diagnosis after tour

Trudeau and Perry pictured together at dinner

Perry and Trudeau were spotted together having dinner at a high-end restaurant in Montreal on Monday night, according to The Hill. TMZ published a photo of the pair together.

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Perry is currently on tour in Canada, with stops in Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. She is scheduled to perform in Toronto next week, The Hill reports.

Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the media in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom breakup

After a six-year engagement, Orlando Bloom and Perry ended their relationship last month.

Sydney Sweeneys new American Eagle good jeans campaign draws backlash

NewsNations Paula Froelich reported that, despite the breakup rumors, Bloom and Perry were expected to reunite at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchezs wedding in Venice, Italy. While Bloom attended, Perry didnt because she was on tour.

Trudeau and his then-wife, Sophie, announced in 2023 that they were separating after 18 years of marriage.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
1st edition of Citizen Science Summit in Astronomy held in Dalian, NE China

Xinhua) 08:34, August 01, 2025

Attendees watch an astronomical science popularization video during the first edition of Citizen Science Summit in Astronomy in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, July 31, 2025. The event was held here on Thursday, aiming to promote the popularization and public participation of astronomy. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

This photo taken on July 31, 2025 shows the opening ceremony of the first edition of Citizen Science Summit in Astronomy in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. The event was held here on Thursday, aiming to promote the popularization and public participation of astronomy. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

This photo taken on July 31, 2025 shows an astronomical photographic equipment during the first edition of Citizen Science Summit in Astronomy in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. The event was held here on Thursday, aiming to promote the popularization and public participation of astronomy. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

Attendees listen to a report during the first edition of Citizen Science Summit in Astronomy in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, July 31, 2025. The event was held here on Thursday, aiming to promote the popularization and public participation of astronomy. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

A staff member presents photos taken with astronomical cameras during the first edition of Citizen Science Summit in Astronomy in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province, July 31, 2025. The event was held here on Thursday, aiming to promote the popularization and public participation of astronomy. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN)  Huber Heights police arrested two juveniles for setting fires at local parks.

The Huber Heights Fire Division shared a shout out on social media, complimenting local police officers for helping detain two juveniles whove been setting fires at local parks.

Huber Heights officers used various tech and good old fashion police patrols to arrest two juveniles on Thursday night.

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These juveniles are accused of setting a slew of fires near or under park shelters at local park properties.

The fire department thanked the police for keeping the city safe from unnecessary fires.

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UPDATED: Kamala Harris, in her first post-2024 election interview, said that what has most surprised her about Donald Trumps term is the level of capitulation.

I didnt predict that; I did not see that coming, Harris told Stephen Colbert on Thursday on CBS The Late Show.

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Colbert had asked Harris whether she would like to say I told you so, given that she predicted a number of things that Trump is now doing, including alienating allies and giving tax cuts to the rich.

I believed that on some level, there should be many who consider themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy, who just capitulated, she responded.

Harris was not specific, but suggested that congressional Republicans have failed to stand to Trump as he amasses power. She did not mention Paramount Globals $16 million settlement of Donald Trumps lawsuit over the way that 60 Minutes edited an October interview with her.

I think there are a lot of people who think they are riding out the storm as an excuse to be feckless, she said.  We designed our democracy with three, independent co-equal branches of government. I mean, you see that the president of the United States is trying to get rid of the Department of Education, and Congress has the role and responsibility to stand in the way of that, and theyre just sitting on their hands, and then they go on recess because they dont want to deal with transparency.

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Harris was referring to House Speaker Mike Johnsons decision to go on recess last week, earlier than planned, staving off Democrats efforts to bring legislation to the floor to require that Jeffrey Epstein records be made public.

Harris was greeted by a sustained ovation from the Late Show audience, while Colbert generally asked a friendly list of questions.

Her appearance was tied to the release of her upcoming book, 107 Days, which she described as a behind-the-scenes account of her short presidential campaign.

Harris also explained her announcement Wednesday that she would forgo a run for governor of California and, for the time being, elective politics altogether.

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I just, for now, I dont want to go back into the system, Harris said. I think its broken.

While she said that theres so many good people who are public servants, who do such good work, teachers and firefighters and police officers and nurses and scientists, Harris said, I always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. And I think right now that theyre not as strong as they need to be, and I just dont want to for now. I dont want to go back in the system. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people, and I dont want it to be transactional, where Im asking for their vote.

Harris announced Wednesday she would not run for governor of California, saying that she would not enter elective politics for now. Her statement did not rule out a 2028 presidential run.

Colbert asked, To hear you say that its broken, to hear you say that our systems arent strong enough, is harrowing.

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Harris responded, But its also evident, isnt it? And it is.

It doesnt mean we give up. No Absolutely not. I am always going to be part of the fight.

Harris gave a glimpse of some passages of the book, including when Biden told her that he was dropping out of the race, and how she navigated staying loyal to him while also trying to distance herself at points during the campaign. Some pundits say that Bidens unpopularity ultimately dragged her down.

Its an instinct of mine to be someone who does not participate in piling on, and I was not going to pile on, and I just wasnt going to do that, she said. There was a lot of piling on at that time, and I wasnt going to participate in that.

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Colbert did press Harris on whether, after Bidens disastrous debate performance in June 2024, she was told that she better start preparing for a presidential run.

I have an incredible amount of respect for him, and I think that the way that we should be thinking about where we are right now is to remember that we had a president of the United States who believed in the rule of law, who believed in the importance of aspiring to have integrity and to do the work on the behalf of the people, and thats where I will leave that, she said.

Pressed further, Harris said that there were some who did tell her to prepare, but it was Joes decision and he made that decision.

Harris said that her book would help people see from the inside what it is like to run for president on such a compressed time frame, something she said was an intense experience. She said that during the campaign, she would pray that I hope I have done everything I can do today.

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The book also will get into what happened on October 20, her 60th birthday, coming just weeks before the election. Her husband Doug Emhoff also was out on the campaign trail and, in the scramble, kind of dropped the ball on my big birthday, Harris said.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD8Nf09z_38?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]

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During her Thursday night appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Kamala Harris explained her decision to not run for California governor next year, and her plan to steer clear from politics for now.

Listen, I am a devout public servant. I have spent my entire career in service of the people. I thought a lot about running for governor. I love my state, I love California, the former vice president said. Recently I made the decision that I just, for now, I dont want to go back in the system. I think its broken.

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Harris continued that while she always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles, and I think right now that theyre not as strong as they need to be.

On Wednesday, Harris announced that she would not be running for governor of California in 2026, though she did not address her plans for another presidential run, similar to her appearance on The Late Show. On Thursday, she further revealed she is releasing a new memoir, titled 107 Days, that will track her 107-day 2024 presidential campaign.

I dont want to go back into the system, she added. I want to travel the country, I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people and I dont want it to be transactional where Im asking for their vote.

In response to Harris, Colbert said, To hear you say that its broken, to hear you say that our systems arent strong enough, is harrowing.

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But its also evident, isnt it? Harris answered. But it doesnt mean we give up, thats not my point. I am always going to be part of the fight.

The former vice president added that she believes we have to acknowledge and agree that I mean, look, the power is with the people. That has always been the ideal and the strength of our nation, of America, that we believe fundamentally, the power is with the people.

Harris continued, And I believe right now, that it is important to do what I can do from the positions that I have held and what I have seen about the world in our country to get out there and remind everyone who needs reminding right now of their power. It is our government, it is our country and it is important.

The politician also further teased what readers can expect from her memoir. This book is basically what I would offer as a behind-the-scenes sharing of what it means to run for president. It was an intense experience, she said, to which Colbert added, To run for president in a way that no one had run before.

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Well, to run for president, period, but certainly in a way that no one had done before in 107 days, Harris clarified.

Speaking about her September 2024 debate with Trump, Colbert said she predicted a number of things that the president has since done and asked her if she wanted to say I told you so.

She didnt, but she said that while she anticipated some of Trumps actions, what I did not predict was the capitulation.

Perhaps its naive of me, someone who has seen a lot that most people havent seen, but I believed that on some level, there are many, there should be many, who consider themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy who just capitulated. And I didnt, didnt see that coming, she said.

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When Colbert pressed about whether those who had capitulated thought they could just ride out the storm and everything will be fine on the other side. Harris said that was a completely naive attitude and that she thinks there are a lot of people who think they are riding out the storm as an excuse to be feckless.

When asked who the leader of the Democratic party is, Harris declined to name names but, in keeping with the more collective approach to change that she expressed throughout her interview, said, It is a mistake for us who want to figure out how to get out and through this and get out of it to put it on the shoulders of any one person. Its really on all of our shoulders. It really is.

Harris also spoke about what she and husband Doug Emhoff had been up to since she had left office, with the former vice president joking she didnt watch the news for months because shes not into self-mutilation.

Instead, she said shed been watching cooking shows and shared that Emhoff was doing well as he had returned to practicing law. Though, she shared that Emhoff dropped the ball on her October birthday as she was running for president, something she said she writes about in the book.

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SACRAMENTO, California  Kamala Harris is out, but the climate still isnt in.

The former vice presidents decision Wednesday not to run for California governor in 2026 cracked open a splintered-yet-stagnant field, liberating Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), and others who would have struggled against Harris name ID and fundraising prowess.

Climate advocates see a wide-open lane  and no one taking it.

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Theres no candidate right now who has kind of taken that space, said Ken Alex, a former climate adviser to former Gov. Jerry Brown (D) and now the director of Project Climate at the University of California, Berkeley. Yes, Im worried, is the short answer.

Its not that Harris would have necessarily occupied that lane, either. Her thin record on energy and environment issues includes calling for a ban on fracking and promising to prosecute oil companies over their contributions to climate change, and then backing away from those positions during her 2024 race against President Donald Trump.

The now wide-open race, though, is likely to get candidates to work harder to differentiate themselves on policy questions. And theres plenty of climate debates to go around: how to phase out oil, manage growing grid demands and balance climate goals with affordability  all under a hostile federal administration and amid worsening natural disasters.

The debate is already skewing toward jobs and prices, with labor unions weighing in heavily on refineries and high-speed rail, including at a Labor Federation forum in May.

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All seven of the Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls answered yes when an ironworker attendee asked for a commitment to stop targeting Californias oil and gas industry in ways that jeopardize union jobs and force us to rely on dirty imported energy.

Porter, who stands to benefit most from Harris exit because of their overlapping donors and her early polling strength, is trying to tie a changing climate to rising costs. In her first campaign event in March, she said that the states next governor needs to fix a spiraling property insurance crisis.

One clear dividing line in the race is which candidates signed a pledge to decline fossil fuel industry money. That campaign, supported by environmental groups from across the country, lists Kounalakis, Porter, state Superintendent Tony Thurmond and state Controller Betty Yee as signatories. (Harris also signed the pledge in 2019.) Former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins aren't listed.

And former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa tops the campaign websites No Fossil Fuel Money Wall of Shame, reserved for politicians who initially committed to the pledge and then backtracked. Chevron contributed $39,200 each to Villaraigosas and Becerras gubernatorial campaigns in June, according to campaign finance filings.

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Villaraigosa's campaign spokesperson, Josh Pulliam, said Villaraigosa didnt break the pledge, which he initially signed during his 2018 gubernatorial run  hes just refusing to sign it this time around.

Anyone who says that closing refineries is good for the environment is ignoring [that] it just means more gas is being imported by the Middle East, Pulliam said.

Environmental groups have kept mostly to the sidelines of the race so far, said RL Miller, founder of the super political action committee Climate Hawks Vote. But Harris exit is nudging them out of the starting block: Miller said she started officially reaching out to campaigns Thursday to figure out who she might ultimately support.

It's time for all of us to start having serious conversations with serious candidates in a much more fractured field, she said.

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Former Vice President Kamala Harris declined to name who is currently leading the Democratic Party when she was pressed about the political void on "The Late Show."

Harris, who was plugging her newly announced book "107 Days" about the 2024 presidential campaign, sat down for a lengthy interview with host Stephen Colbert, marking her eighth appearance on his soon-to-be-canceled program.

Before wrapping up the interview, Colbert noted how Harris is now out of office and currently isn't seeking one. He then asked, "Who's leading the Democratic Party?"

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Kamala Harris To Publish Behind-the-scenes Account Of Failed 2024 Campaign

Former Vice President Kamala Harris was pressed by "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert on who was currently leading the Democratic Party.

"There are lots of leaders," Harris responded.

"There's generally a leader of the Democratic Party," Colbert retorted. "Who comes to mind?"

Read On The Fox News App

"I think there are a lot of  I'm not going to go through names because then I'm going to leave somebody out and then I'm going to hear about it," Harris told Colbert. "But let me say this. I think it is a mistake for us who want us to figure out how to get out and through this and get out of it to put it on the shoulders of any one person. It's really on all of our shoulders. It really is."

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Kamala Harris Rules Out 2026 Run In Her Home State Of California

Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced she is writing a book about her failed presidential bid.

Harris teased that her "107 Days," due for release in September, will give a "behind-the-scenes" look at her failed presidential bid.

She announced this week that she would not enter the 2026 California gubernatorial race, fueling suspicion she may take another shot at the White House in 2028. The field could be crowded, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer among the possible candidates.

During the interview, Harris was asked about the difficulty of differentiating herself from then-President Joe Biden in the 2024 campaign. She told Colbert she did not want to participate in the "piling on" of her boss after Biden withdrew from the presidential race.

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She also expressed her shock at the amount of "capitulation" that she said has taken place since President Donald Trump took office.

"Perhaps it's naive of me, someone who has seen a lot that most people haven't seen, but I believed that on some level, you know, there are many, there should be many who consider themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy who just capitulated, and I didn't see that coming," Harris said.

The former vice president might have been alluding to Paramount's major settlement to Trump earlier this month ending his "election interference" lawsuit that was brought over CBS' handling of her "60 Minutes" interview in October, which was followed by the cancellation of "The Late Show" and the FCC approving Paramount's merger with Skydance Media.

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Colbert didn't ask about Trump's lawsuit that stemmed from the editing of Harris' appearance on "60 Minutes" last year.

Harris called out the "capitulation" that has taken place since President Trump took office, likely alluding to Paramount's recent multi-million-dollar settlement.





Original article source: Kamala Harris refuses to say who's leading Democratic Party when pressed by Colbert
Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday surprised The Late Show host Stephen Colbert with her very candid reason for not wanting to be a public servant right now. Harris, who announced this week that she wouldnt run for California governor, recalled her long career in public office and said, I just, for now, I dont want to go back in the system. I think its broken.

CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images

The 2024 Democratic presidential candidate acknowledged the many good people in the public sector and said she always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles. But amid President Donald Trumps second term, she said, I think right now that theyre not as strong as they need to be, and I just dont want to, for now, I dont want to go back in the system. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people, and I dont want it to be transactional, where Im asking for their vote.

CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images

Related: Hillary Clinton Just Hit On One Of Donald Trump's Biggest Insecurities With Three Words

Colbert said: To hear you say that its broken, to hear you say that our systems arent strong enough, is harrowing.

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Harris asked him: But its also evident, isnt it?

She then clarified that it doesnt mean we give up.

She added, Oh, absolutely not. I am always going to be part of the fight. That is not going to change.

Harris was on the show to promote her new book, 107 Days, which she described as a behind-the-scenes tell-all about her 2024 bid for president, the shortest ever run for the White House after former President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection campaign.

kamalaharris/ Simon & Schuster / Via instagram.com

Related: If You Want To Know How MAGA Feels About The Epstein Files And Trump RN, Consider This Clip Of A Fox News Host Being Booed

At another point in the interview, Colbert noted Harris warnings about what Trump would do if he won. I know youre not here to say, I told you so, but would you like to? the host asked Harris. She acknowledged her correct predictions but said she didnt foresee the capitulation to the current president, suggesting she had been naive.

CBS Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images

Related: "My Generation Will Never Forgive You": 25 Of The Very Best And Very True Political Tweets From The Last Week

Elsewhere in the chat, Harris admitted it was months after leaving office that she watched the news because Im just not into self-mutilation and teased how her husband, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, dropped the ball on her big 60th birthday last October, which was just weeks before the election.

Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

You can watch the entire interview below:

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Related: Gavin Newsom Has Been Roasting MAGA Left And Right, And WOW, Is It Entertaining

More on this

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Also in In the News: "How Can You Possibly Be This Ignorant": 26 Tweets Calling Out The Sh*t Show That Is Politics This Week

Also in In the News: Trump Can't Stop Talking About Pete Buttigieg, And Pete Responded With One Simple Tweet

Also in In the News: President Obama Just Responded To Donald Trump's "Bizarre" Claims Of Him Committing Treason

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
Former Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday surprised The Late Show host Stephen Colbert with her very candid reason for not wanting to be a public servant right now.

Harris, who announced this week that she wouldnt run for California governor, recalled her long career in public office and said, I just, for now, I dont want to go back in the system. I think its broken.

The 2024 Democratic presidential candidate acknowledged the many good people in the public sector and said she always believed that as fragile as our democracy is, our systems would be strong enough to defend our most fundamental principles.

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But amid President Donald Trumps second term, she said, I think right now that theyre not as strong as they need to be, and I just dont want to, for now, I dont want to go back in the system. I want to travel the country. I want to listen to people, I want to talk with people, and I dont want it to be transactional, where Im asking for their vote.

Colbert said: To hear you say that its broken, to hear you say that our systems arent strong enough, is harrowing.

Harris asked him: But its also evident, isnt it?

She then clarified that it doesnt mean we give up.

She added, Oh, absolutely not. I am always going to be part of the fight. That is not going to change.

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Harris was on the show to promote her new book, 107 Days, which she described as a behind-the-scenes tell-all about her 2024 bid for president, the shortest ever run for the White House after former President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection campaign.

At another point in the interview, Colbert noted Harris warnings about what Trump would do if he won. I know youre not here to say, I told you so, but would you like to? the host asked Harris.

Harris acknowledged her correct predictions but said she didnt foresee the capitulation to the current president, suggesting she had been naive.

Elsewhere in the chat, Harris admitted it was months after leaving office that she watched the news because Im just not into self-mutilation and teased how her husband, former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, dropped the ball on her big 60th birthday last October, which was just weeks before the election.

Watch the full interview here:

Related...
TOPEKA (KSNT)  Kansans may notice hazy skies at the start of August caused by the arrival of wildfire smoke from hundreds of miles away.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) issued an air quality health advisory on Friday, Aug. 1 due to wildfire smoke from Canada arriving in the Sunflower State. The KDHE reports the hazy skies and poorer air quality will likely stick around until Saturday, Aug. 2.

Kansass Air Quality Index will likely range from Moderate to Unhealthy air quality during this advisory, according to the KDHE. You can find the current air quality for Kansas and fire activity in your area by clicking here.

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The KDHE also recommends people take some precautions when going outside during this advisory. These include the following:

Healthy people should limit or avoid strenuous outdoor exercise.

More vulnerable people should stay inside.

Help keep indoor air clean by closing doors and windows and running air conditioners with air filters.

Drink lots of water.

Reach out to your doctor if you have symptoms like chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath or severe fatigue.

Entire State of Kansas enters high risk level for West Nile Virus

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

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Kansas City, Mo.  His name was Tru King; he was only 11 months old when he died.

He loved his brothers. Oh God, he loved his brothers. Like a lot, Trus mother, Krishawn Huggins, said.

It makes sense. He was born on Valentines Day.

Thats my love baby, Huggins said.

Metro homeowners dealing with crumbling driveways reveal possible nationwide problem

If I had a bad day at school I would just come home and hold him to make myself happier, one of Trus older brothers, Tyaun, said.

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But just a week before his first birthday, something terrible happened.

He was supposed to come home that day. He was with his dad, Huggins told FOX4.

Huggins said she let Tru stay with his father for a few days. The fathers girlfriend was also there, according to Huggins.

He hadnt seen the baby in a month and a half, maybe two months, she said. But he was doing better; he got an apartment. So, I let the baby go.

Ill never forget that day. I never shouldve let him go.

Then she got a phone call from Trus father.

Huggins said he told her that Tru was unresponsive. She said he told her a bunch of different stories about what had happened.

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With Tru in the hospital, his mother rushed to be by her sons side.

When she arrived, her son was already dead. From there, things only got worse.

I really dont have any closure, she said.

Thats because she hasnt been able to get any answers. Neither the hospital, nor the Kansas City Police Department, would give her a cause of death. Weeks rolled by.

When I call and try to get answers, its like, well were still investigating.'

Then months went by. She got the same response: were still investigating; well give you a call when we find out anything.

But that call never came. Instead, months later, a death certificate arrived.

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The certificate said the 11-month-olds cause of death was from two types of fentanyl and doxylamine  a drug commonly used for allergies or as a sleep aid  toxicity.

When I got this and knew for sure how my baby passed away, [I wanted] justice. They need to be charged with the murder of this baby, Huggins told FOX4.

Now, its been almost six months  equal to half of Trus short life.

His family still grieves his death and aches for justice, which is why they reached out to the FOX4 Problem Solvers to share their story.

Kansas City nurse indicted, accused of illegally acquiring narcotics

What are you doing with fentanyl? Why would you have that in a house with kids? Huggins said.

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FOX4 Problem Solvers reached out to the Kansas City Police Department, which sent us an almost fully redacted incident reportand stated the investigation is ongoing.

KCPD provided no further update on the case.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A Kansas City nurse has been accused of acquiring narcotics illegally.

A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment charging 40-year-old Brooke Haller, of Kansas City, Missouri, with four counts of possession of a controlled substance by deception and subterfuge.

Kansas City woman working to rebuild salon after car crashes into building

Haller, a nurse, allegedly obtained Percocet and Oxycodone through misrepresentation and fraud.

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She made her initial court appearance on July 25 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Angel D. Mitchell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Faiza Alhambra is prosecuting the case.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended the Supreme Courts handling of emergency appeals brought by President Trumps administration, rebuffing criticisms from those who argue the court is not offering enough explanations in its decisions.

There can be a risk, in writing the opinion, of a lock-in effect, of making a snap judgment and putting it in writing, in a written opinion thats not going to reflect the final view, Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee, said Thursday at a Kansas City, Mo., judicial conference attended by lawyers and judges, according to multiple news outlets.

Trumps lawyers have flooded the Supreme Courts emergency docket, filing 21 emergency applications, tallying up more appeals to the nations highest court in six months than former President Biden did during his four years in the Oval Office.

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The administration has appealed cases related to Trumps immigration directives and his administrations firings of members of independent federal agencies.

In the vast majority of those cases, Trump has come out with a win. Cases on the Supreme Courts emergency docket are decided quickly, without oral arguments and often contain no explanations.

We have written a lot more than weve written in the past on the interim orders docket, Kavanaugh said at the conference hosted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

Kavanaugh shared his views in a conversation with U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk, who was his law clerk when he was a federal appeals court judge.

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When asked about the hike in emergency appeals, Kavanaugh placed the blame on both major political parties for increasingly trying to issue executive orders and regulations that achieve the policy objectives of the president in power.

And I think presidents, whether its President Obama  I think the phrase was pen and phone  or President Biden or President Trump, have really done more of that, and those get challenged pretty quickly in court, the Supreme Court justice said,

Kavanaugh, along with Amy Coney Barrett, warned previously that explanations of their preliminary thinking may create a lock-in effect as a case moves forward.

Liberal Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said last week that the nine justices should do more to explain their reasoning when tackling cases on the emergency docket.

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I think that we should hold ourselves, sort of on both sides, to a standard of explaining why were doing what were doing, she said.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Kansas Citys City Council met late Thursday to discuss funding for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA).

KCATA warned the city council that service could grind to a halt in two weeks if it doesnt get the funding it needs.

Kansas City family still waiting for justice after 11-month-old dies from fentanyl

The city council did not pass the ordinance  which would allocate $77 million to the transportation authority  Thursday night.

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The KCATA Commission said, unless the ordinance passes, theyll be forced to begin cutting routes and potentially shut down services entirely by mid-August. This is because they havent received any of the nearly $47 million approved back in late April, KCATA said.

KCATA is currently operating on a line of credit, but thats now been exhausted.

If the city council punts this to their next meeting, it could be too late since theyre off next week. By the time they reconvene, KCATA will already be planning route cuts, employee layoffs and possibly complete shutdown in Kansas City, Missouri  according to Bridget Williams, vice chair of the KCATA Commission.

Williams shared the following statement with FOX4 Thursday:

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The council had a chance to secure bus service in Kansas City today. Their failure to act now threatens essential transportation for thousands.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A 25-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man is facing charges after an attempted robbery incident last month ended in a deadly shooting.

Jackson County prosecutors charged Hajji McDonald III on Thursday with second-degree murder and attempted stealing  physically take.

Shawnee police looking for suspect following stabbing Thursday afternoon

According to court records, officers with the Kansas City Police Department responded to a disturbance at a business around 8:40 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, in the area of Winner Road and Hardesty Avenue.

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When officers arrived on the scene, they located a man, identified as 18-year-old Jeremiah Jones, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to court records. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Court documents say video footage and seven 9mm spent castings were recovered from the scene.

Video footage showed McDonald loitering around the front of the business just after 8:20 p.m. Another man arrived on an electric dirt bike, went into the business, and made a purchase, court documents say.

While inside, the man stood in the doorway and spoke to someone before leaving the store and speaking to another man on a bicycle. Court records say one of the men made a hand gesture at the electric dirt bike and walked toward McDonalds location off camera.

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On July 9, the owner of the dirt bike responded to KCPD headquarters with his lawyers to give a formal statement and surrender his firearm.

He said he rode his bike to the business on June 22 to buy tobacco. While inside the store, he saw a man continually looking at his bike and thought he wanted it.

When he left the store, two men, including McDonald, walked up behind him while eyeing him. The man said that once he knew they were coming for him, he tried getting away, but they pulled him to the ground.

The two men attempted to take his bag, which contained his wallet. The man said, while he was on the ground, he saw nobody around to help him.

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Court documents say at one point the man thought he heard one of them say, pop him. He then stated he pulled his firearm out of his waistband and had to fight for control of it. He said he thought he was going to be shot by McDonald because he thought he also had a firearm. He fought to his feet and tried getting away again but was pulled to the ground a second time.

Once he gained control of his firearm, he shot at Jones approximately seven times, court documents say.

McDonald was arrested on Wednesday, July 30, and interviewed by KCPD detectives. He stated he was smoking fentanyl at the gas station with some friends when Jones approached him, asking where he could get drugs. McDonald stated he was walking him to his drug dealer when they walked in another mans way, whom he admitted he did not know.

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McDonald stated he tried breaking up what he described as a fight between the two. When he saw the man pull the gun out, he pushed Jones and ran away. He denied reaching toward the other man and fighting with him for control over the gun.

Court records show McDonald has an active felony warrant for second-degree robbery and aggravated fleeing a stop or detention out of Jackson County.

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Webster police are searching for two people who left a crashed car on Friday, and one of them could be armed, police said.

The two people crashed near Big Belly Cafe along Route 16, with several police agencies searching, Webster police said in a short statement on Facebook. One of the two suspects is wanted in connection with a shooting in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

Residents are asked to keep an eye out, Webster police said.

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One suspect is described as a man with a black shirt, blue shorts, and he could be armed, police said. The other is described as a woman in dark shorts and a tie-dyed shirt. He ran toward Indian Ranch, while she ran toward Rawson Road.

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If you havent yet used The Telegraphs interactive tool to see how your name ranks in the newborn popularity stakes, then I would urge you to do so. With holiday flights cancelled, junior doctors threatening strikes until Christmas  and Britain appearing both lawless at home and toothless abroad  it brings some much-needed light relief.

I thought Camilla would become extinct after being named 30 years ago as the third person in Princess Dianas crowded marriage to Prince Charles, but 62 girls were called it in 2024. Confirmation, perhaps, that were a forgiving bunch when it comes to royals, except perhaps the Duke of York and Meghan (peaked at 101 newborns when she married Harry in 2018, now down just 14 namesakes last year).

Prime ministers usually enjoy a bounce in the newborn name charts after taking office  with Boris and Rishi both experiencing a moderate rise in popularity. Even the number of girls named Liz went up after Trusss 49-day tenure in 2022, although that may have had more to do with the death of Queen Elizabeth II two days after she entered Downing Street.

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Yet, despite being the first son of a toolmaker to become PM last year, no one called their own male descendant Keir to mark the occasion. Not one.

Such is the lack of affection for the current incumbent of No 10 that devoted mums and dads preferred Gordon, Tony  Clement, even  to their Labour successor. The revelation reflects how far Starmer has sunk in the estimation of the great British public, who are increasingly regarding him as a national embarrassment.

After U-turning on winter fuel, rape gangs and welfare cuts, he was already considered a domestic policy dud. Even Gary Neville is turning against his tax policy. He has tried triangulation, one moment warning Britain is becoming an island of strangers, the next back-tracking after a brief pushback, and it hasnt worked. His approval rating, according to one July poll, has plunged to -43.

And now, Never Here Keir can also add his recent foreign affairs failures to the lengthy list after presiding over a truly humiliating week for Britain. He is failing by his own standards, neither a domestic visionary nor even an international statesman. Having won some rare plaudits for securing a historic UK/US trade deal in May (thanks largely to the Brexit vote he desperately tried to reverse in Opposition), he then squandered any advantage in Turnberry with an appearance alongside Donald Trump which made Blairs poodle act look positively Rottweilerish.

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At least when George W Bush famously greeted our former prime minister with a fratboyish cry of Yo Blair! at the 2006 G8 summit, it spoke to the bromantic nature of the special relationship. Although supplicant, Blair was far from invisible; indeed, the criticism was that they were standing shoulder to shoulder as Iraq-invading soulmates.

By comparison, Starmer was completely overshadowed by The Donald in Scotland, the US President dominating the tartan-clad meeting despite it being held on British soil. He barely made any valuable contributions to the 72-minute press conference, where he appeared to perfect the art of the thousand yard stare, seemingly unable to cope with the spontaneity of the Q&A. They called Theresa May the Maybot  but Starmer is fast resembling Westminsters own C3PO; unbending in his fussy and fastidious adherence to the rules at all costs.

Much as we all enjoyed Trumps assault on nasty London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Starmers spineless hes a friend of mine defence was nothing short of pathetic. Call out a colleague widely blamed for the capitals descent into borderline lawlessness? Computer says no. Undeterred in the face of such insipidity, the Commander in Chief went on to say: I think hes done a terrible job. Agree or disagree, at least the guy says what he thinks rather than sticking to some vapid pre-arranged script dreamed up by No 10 types who appear to have less human contact than Tatooine Womp rats.

The friendly rhetoric is welcome, though it jars with what Trump seems to make of other Lefty liberal European leaders. As he remarked earlier of French President Emmanuel Macrons plan to recognise the Palestinian state, for instance: Heres the good news: What he says doesnt matter. Its not going to change anything.

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Were Starmer not such a paranoid android, obsessing over backbench rebellions, the resident oddballs of the SNP and now, Corbyns new Left(field) Party, he might have had the guts to side with the Yanks and Israel on Gaza. Theyre two of our closest allies, after all. Sadly, he appears incapable of independent thought, and instead appears to be buffeted either by events or his backbenchers.

Offered an alternative to the status quo, this man  who famously once said he preferred Davos to parliament  will cowardly plump for the consensus every single time. Even more cravenly, hell kowtow to his fellow conformists by using the cloak of international law to defend his actions  even when theyre shown to be morally questionable. Then, if met with criticism  hell gaslight the public by changing tack for political expediency  while pretending nothing has changed.

The complete and utter mess hes made of rushing to recognise Palestine is a case in point. First, he announces that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel halts the appalling situation in Gaza and agrees to a two-state solution.

Recognition of Palestine will happen regardless of whether or not Hamas release the remaining hostages. Then, sensing a growing backlash, No 10 tries to pivot, with a spokesman clarifying that they must be released while still demanding that Israel desist from removing Hamas by force. Meanwhile, its pointed out Starmers plan is actually in breach of international law.

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So we now have a prime minister who is willing to give away the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on the basis of an International Court of Justice ruling that wasnt even legally binding in the interests of anti colonialism  while ignoring the actual international treaty on recognising statehood when it comes to Palestine, which is all a little, well, imperialist.

And who could forget the Brexit reset, in which we traded our fundamental freedoms for some technical benefits, such as access to passport e-gates on the continent, which may in some cases not be realised.

All the while, were to believe that this is statesmanlike Starmer acting in the national interest. In fact, its simply to save his own bacon. Yet the Government could lose a vote on the issue in the House of Commons and increasing numbers of Muslim voters could opt for independent or Green alternatives to Labour.

Theres a name for all this, and it isnt leadership.

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Kemi Badenoch has said she no longer identifies as Nigerian and does not hold a passport for the country.

The Tory leader, who grew up in Lagos and is of Yoruba heritage, said that she had not had a Nigerian passport for two decades.

Mrs Badenoch said that while she knew the country very well and had an interest in what happens there, she felt that her home is where my now family is.

Speaking on the Rosebud podcast, she said: I have not renewed my Nigerian passport, I think, not since the early 2000s.

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I dont identify with it any more, most of my life has been in the UK and Ive just never felt the need to.

She added: Im Nigerian through ancestry, by birth despite not being born there because of my parents, but by identity Im not really. I know the country very well, I have a lot of family there, and Im very interested in what happens there.

But home is where my now family is, and my now family is my children, its my husband and my brother and his children, in-laws. The Conservative Party is very much part of my family, my extended family, I call it.

When her father, Femi Adegoke, who was a doctor, died in 2022, Mrs Badenoch said she had to get a visa to travel back to Nigeria, which she described as a big fandango.

Mrs Badenoch, seen here with her grandfather, was born in London but raised in Nigeria

The Tory leader was born in a private hospital in Wimbledon, South West London, in 1980 before her parents took her home to Nigeria.

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She was one of the last people to receive birthright citizenship rules in Britain, before they were abolished by Margaret Thatcher the following year.

Mrs Badenoch said that she felt both British and Nigerian while growing up in Lagos.

Finding out that I did have that British citizenship was a marvel to so many of my contemporaries, so many of my peers, she said.

I think the reason that I came back here was actually a very sad one, and it was that my parents thought, there is no future for you in this country.

Never felt I belonged there

She added that she remembered never quite feeling that I belonged there in Nigeria.

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The Tory leader has previously come under fire from politicians in Lagos over comments made about the country.

She has repeatedly talked about growing up in a country affected by corruption and governed by military dictatorship, and Lagos as a city where fear was everywhere.

Last December, Nigerias vice-president said that Mrs Badenoch has every right to remove the Kemi from her name if she was not proud to be from Nigeria.

Mrs Badenochs spokesman later said that the Tory leader stands by what she says and that she is not the PR for Nigeria.

The Tory leader came to the UK aged 16 to study, and told the podcast she had not experienced racial prejudice in Britain in any meaningful form.

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I knew I was going to a place where I would look different to everybody, and I didnt think that that was odd, she said.

What I found actually quite interesting was that people didnt treat me differently, and its why Im so quick to defend the UK whenever there are accusations of racism.

I did not experience prejudice in any meaningful form. That doesnt mean prejudice doesnt exist, that it doesnt happen, many people do. But I didnt, not seriously.

Mrs Badenoch described the parliamentary party as an extended family with lots of drama.

I do see the Conservative Party as family, so much of what we do goes beyond party policy, she said.

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Its instinct, we recognise each other, we have the same sort of squabbles and its why when people ask me about plots I just think, eh this is extended family stuff. Anybody whos got an extended family with lots of drama will recognise that.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56)  Kentucky Democrats will be largely absent from this years Fancy Farm Picnic.

Its not that we cant disagree, but the heat of the political rhetoric does need to cool down, Colmon Elridge told FOX 56.

Elridge, who chairs the Kentucky Democratic Party, explained why he believes the partys current strategy to connect with voters is a better use of time and resources than taking the podium of the Fancy Farm stage, one he believes has become a bit too toxic.

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Father, son found dead in Nicholasville hotel room

What theyre going to do this weekend at Fancy Farm is talk about these big wedge cultural issues. And frankly, and unfortunately, thats what Fancy Farm has become, Elridge said.

Elridge said in his view, the event is still relevant to those who attend, but whats more relevant to Kentucky Democrats is meeting voters where they are.

Only one Democrat will be speaking at this years Fancy Farm, John Drew Williams, the 2026 challenger to Congressman Jamie Comer.

Elridge said Democrats are mobilizing by knocking on dozens of doors and continuing a rural listening tour launched earlier this year. He said these opportunities to connect with Kentuckians on issues like Medicaid and rural hospital cuts give Democrats an opportunity to hear their stories and influence policy development.

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When asked if skipping the event was a missed opportunity to not amplify their message further, Elridge said, Its not really a missed opportunity. The missed opportunity is if we focus on one event instead of doing what we have done and what we will continue to do, which is just to mobilize across the Commonwealth, focus on events where we dont need a big stage, we dont need cameras, we dont need the fanfare. We just need to connect with voters where they are.

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A spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky shared the following statement with FOX 56:

Were not surprised Democrats are skipping Fancy Farm. The KDPs executive director was recently quoted in the Courier Journal saying social media makes face-to-face voter contact less important.

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Democrats arent interested in leaving their safe-space liberal echo chambers in Louisville or Lexington. This proves our point that the so-called rural listening tours were nothing more than clickbait for fundraising.

Theyve clearly given up on rural voters and seem content with Republicans being the dominant force in Kentucky politics.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
LG&E and KU's coal-fired Mill Creek Generating Station in September 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)

Kentuckys largest utility is proposing to delay the retirement of a coal-fired power plant unit and move forward with building billions of dollars of gas-fired power generation as part of a proposed settlement agreement before the state utility regulator.

The proposed settlement offered by Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities (LG&E and KU) this week would build two new natural gas-fired power plants, each with a capacity of 645 megawatts, costing a total of more than $2.7 billion. Mill Creek 2, one of four coal-fired units at the utilitys Mill Creek Generating Station, would have its planned retirement delayed from 2027 until one of the new gas-fired power plants is operational in 2031.

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The settlement is a part of a months-long case LG&E and KU brought before the Kentucky Public Service Commission requesting to build more fossil fuel-fired power generation that the utility says is needed to meet unprecedented projected energy demand driven by an influx of data centers.

As Kentuckys largest regulated utilities, we have an obligation to serve all customers and new economic development load in the lowest reasonable cost manner. This agreement reflects the importance of that role and the critical needs addressed in our long-term generation investment plans, said LG&E and KU president John Crockett in a released statement.

The proposed settlement  which the commission could approve, deny or change  was agreed to by groups including Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers representing energy-intensive manufacturers; the Kentucky Coal Association; the Southern Renewable Energy Association; and Republican Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who praised the settlement as promoting affordable and reliable energy for Kentucky families.

This agreement taps into Kentuckys abundant natural resources and our all-of-the-above energy strategy to power the commonwealths bright future, said Coleman in a statement. By securing our affordable energy future, weve also kept our commonwealth open for new business investment, job creation and economic growth.

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Coleman also touted the settlement for proposing to partially and temporarily offset the costs of one of the proposed gas-fired plants through revenues associated with data centers.

However, intervenors in the case representing affordable housing advocates in Louisville, environmental stakeholders and others lambasted the settlement as saddling Kentuckians with billions of dollars of costly, polluting infrastructure based on hypothetical future demand.

Byron Gary, an attorney for the environmental legal group Kentucky Resources Council representing the intervenors, in a statement said the settlement prioritizes corporate interests over affordability, public health, and climate action.

Tony Curtis, the executive of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition in Louisville, one of the intervenors opposed to the settlement, in a statement said the risk and cost of building two new gas-fired power plants based on speculative need is not in the best interest of ratepayers, especially low-and fixed-income residents.

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Curtis said data centers driving the energy demand, not ratepayers, should bear the risk with proposed gas-fired generation.

Intervenors critical of the proposed settlement also stated they were disappointed in local governments for Louisville and Lexington not advocating for each cities goals to mitigate climate change. The two cities leaders agreed to not oppose the proposed settlement. A spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg did not provide a response to emailed questions about the proposed settlement.

Susan Straub, a spokesperson for Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, in an emailed statement said the city was not comfortable with the level of additional power generation permitted in the settlement. But the city did support other aspects of it, such LG&E and KU removing an additional request to build a utility-scale battery storage system.

An influx of prospective data centers, some to power artificial intelligence services, has created a projected surge of demand for electricity across the country, though its unclear whether a number of proposed data centers will be built. Data centers have also driven an increase in electricity costs for ratepayers.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission will begin a public hearing on LG&E and KUs case and the proposed settlement Aug. 4 at 9 a.m. ET at its Frankfort office. The hearing will be broadcasted live on the agencys YouTube channel.
LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56)  A Kentucky woman was arrested in May for reportedly trying to sneak free methamphetamine into Disney World.

According to the Orange County Sheriffs office, on May 20, Brandi Asher, 37, of London, said she forgot she had meth with her when Disney security found it while at the transportation and ticket center near the entrance to Magic Kingdom.

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Upon investigation, officers claimed they identified the substance as meth with a hollow cylinder-shaped tube.

Asher pleaded not guilty to the third-degree felony in June.

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NEED TO KNOW

A Kentucky woman was arrested after allegedly possessing meth at Walt Disney World

Brandi Asher, 37, was stopped by security on May 20 after employees found suspicious items inside a tin can

According to the arrest report, Asher received the substance from a stranger in the parking lot of her hotel





A Kentucky woman faces methamphetamine possession charges after she was arrested at Walt Disney World Resort.

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According to an arrest report filed by the Orange County Sheriffs Office and obtained by PEOPLE, 37-year-old Brandi Asher was arrested at the parks Ticket and Transportation Center after a substance she carried tested positive for meth. The London, Ky., resident was stopped by park security on May 20 after they noticed a tin can with suspicious objects inside.

The security employee asked Asher what the items were, and she allegedly told them it was medicine, calling them goodies, headache power.

Joe Raedle/Getty The Transportation and Ticket Center at Walt Disney World The Transportation and Ticket Center at Walt Disney World

Asher, who appeared shaken, allegedly told the employee to just throw the items away. After explaining that wasnt an option, the guest tried to put them away in her pocket. But she was instructed to put them back in the bin before deputies arrived.

When I opened the tin can, I observed whiteish, clear, crystal-like substances inside the can. I also noticed a hollow cylinder-shaped tube, officer Lucas Arreguin wrote in his report. Based on my training and experience as a law enforcement officer, I know these items to be associated with illegal narcotics.

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Visually, the officer was confident the substance was meth and the device was a snorting tube. After performing a field test, his suspicions were confirmed.

Per the report, Asher, who was very honest about the situation, explained to the officer she was on a trip to Orlando with her family. While staying at the West Gate Resort in Orlando, she claims an unknown individual came up to her at the hotel and offered her meth.



She did not tell her husband about the methamphetamines, the report stated. She believed the methamphetamine was in her other bag that she had left at the hotel and didnt realize that she had brought it into the security line until the security guard pulled it out.



The total weight of illegal substances on Asher equaled 1.5 grams.

Asher was escorted to the security office, where she received a trespass warning from Disney World, then she was transported to the Booking and Release Center.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

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Asher was released from jail the following day after a $5,000 bond. The accused pleaded not guilty on June 1.

Neither the Orange County Sheriffs Office nor a representative for Disney World immediately replied to PEOPLEs request for comment.

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Earlier this month, another Disney World guest was arrested after she allegedly shoved a teen to get a better view of a parade at Magic Kingdom.



Martha Lucia Zapata-Echeverri, 51, of Spain, was arrested for alleged child abuse on Monday, July 21 by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, per an arrest affidavit PEOPLE obtained. Allegedly, Zapata-Echeverri grabbed a nearby teen by the arm and pulled her to the side, causing a bruise and abrasion on her right arm.

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The woman appeared in court on July 22, her attorney told WESH. Her bond was reduced to $2,500 and a judge said she cannot return to any Disney property. Her attorney shared she was scheduled to return to Spain on July 23.

Read the original article on People
Kenya may have become an organ trafficking hub matching wealthy foreigners with those desperate enough to sell their kidneys for cash, a government taskforce has admitted.

An inquiry into the countrys top kidney transplant hospital found dozens of men from Azerbaijan had donated organs, while dozens of Israeli men travelled to receive transplants at the same facility.

Paperwork at the hospital was woefully inadequate, suggesting legal safeguards may have been deliberately flouted.

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An 18-member health department taskforce has now recommended an inquiry to see if four senior Indian doctors at the Mediheal Hospital had broken organ trafficking laws .

The three-month probe was ordered after German media reports alleged foreign transplant tourists at the hospital in Eldoret were paying up to 150,000 ($200,000) to receive transplants.

Poor donors were allegedly selling organs for as little as 3,000.

The Kenyan investigation is the latest to spotlight an international black market preying on those desperate enough to sell their organs, by matching them with wealthy recipients and carrying out transplants at unscrupulous private hospitals.

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Two years ago, one of the worlds biggest private hospital groups was embroiled in a cash for kidneys racket after a Telegraph investigation showed desperate villagers from Myanmar were being flown to a prestigious Delhi hospital and paid to donate their kidneys to rich Burmese patients.

Middlemen said they were able to use forged documents to circumvent a ban on strangers donating organs, and make it look like the donor and recipient were related.

The Apollo Hospitals Group denied any wrongdoing.

Globally, one-in-10 transplanted organs have been trafficked, estimates suggest.

In 2021, dozens of villagers in Western Afghanistan near the Iranian border revealed they were selling their organs for transplant at a private hospital in Herat.

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The Telegraph visited one poor Herat suburb where elders said at least 32 people had sold kidneys, as poverty combined with the desperation of those needing transplants to create a thriving black market. Donors showed off their surgical scars and said they had received around 2,700. Many said they had subsequently fallen ill and were too weak to work.

The hospital again denied any wrongdoing.

Some of the young men from Herat show the scars from where their kidneys were surgically removed - Andrew Quilty

The Kenyan taskforce  whose report was published on July 22  found suspicious transplant statistics at the hospital revealed Kenyas possible role as a significant organ trafficking hub.

Under Kenyan law, organ donations are allowed to relatives or for altruistic reasons, but not for money.

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While most donors and recipients were Kenyan, data showed the hospital had seen 62 Israelis receive transplants from 2018, almost all of them men, but only 10 Israelis act as donors.

By contrast, there had been 50 Azeri donors, again almost all of them men, and one Azeri recipient.

The imbalance was evidence of the classic exploitation model where organs flow from poorer to richer nations, the 331-page investigation said.

Poor paperwork also meant the nationality of more than a fifth of donors and of recipients had never been recorded.

The lack of paperwork suggested either gross negligence in record-keeping or deliberate obfuscation of illegal activities.

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Investigators also raised doubts about the authenticity and consistency of signatures, on paperwork.

The report said there were alarming disparities in payment patterns that raise significant ethical concerns about potential organ commercialisation.

Suspects of a separate kidney racket in Delhi after their arrests in 2016 - The India Today Group

When investigators tried to call recipients to check if they were related to the donors, the recipients frequently hung up.

One hospital whistle-blower earlier this year told German media that the buying and selling of transplants had begun years earlier.

They claimed recipients at first came from Somalia and donors from Kenya, but later recipients had increasingly come from Israel and then Germany.

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Donors for these well-paying customers were allegedly flown in from countries including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan or Pakistan.

Donors were asked to sign documents claiming they were relatives to recipients they never met, according to the joint investigation by Deutsche Welle, ZDF and Der Spiegel.

Kenyas investigation found the hospital was so busy that during one 14-day period in December 2024, a single surgeon and a single anaesthetist operated on 24 patients.

Four senior staff should be investigated for their potential criminal involvement in organ trafficking and for possible violations of national transplant laws and ethical standards, the investigation said.

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Dr Mishra, the hospital chairman and director, this week strongly denied any wrongdoing and said the taskforce report was malicious and lacking factual basis.

He also rejected the original German media reports, saying they were false.

He told a press conference: The medical facility is not involved in donor selection, transaction, or any form of influence, pressure, bribing, or commercialisation. We do not even suggest donors to patients.

Dr Mishra is an Indian-born Kenyan who has been an MP and is said to be on good terms with the president William Ruto.

The president earlier this year suspended Dr Mishra from his role as chairman of Kenya BioVax Institute, when the media allegations first emerged.

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Kenyas health ministry originally commissioned an investigation into Mediheal Hospital two years ago and reportedly found that donors and recipients were often not related and almost all procedures were paid in cash. That investigation reportedly recommended that the allegation of organ trafficking must be investigated by relevant authorities.

Yet, the 2023 report was never made public, and no action was taken.

Mediheal Hospital did not respond to Telegraph requests for comment.

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Editors note: This story has been updated to include details about Lewis criminal record for further context of the shooting.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  Over four months after a federal jury awarded $30.5 million to the family of a man shot and killed by a Kern County Sheriffs deputy in Mojave, the county is looking to appeal the decision  but will have to secure a $17 million bond to do so.

On Oct. 3, 2020, 39-year-old Mickel Erich Lewis Sr. was driving home with his girlfriend and her two teenage daughters with ice cream sundaes from the Mojave Wienerschnitzel. At some point, Deputy Jason Ayala stopped them for a vehicle code violation.

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In the end, Lewis was shot five times, twice in the back.

Federal jury decides against Kern County, awarding $30.5 million to Mojave family

In November that same year, the Kern County Sheriffs Office review board ruled Ayala acted within the departments policy. Officials have previously said Ayala knew Lewis was on probation and possibly in possession of a gun when he stopped him.

Lewis was convicted of resisting an officer, spousal battery and failure to register as a sex offender in at least 22 cases in California. Lewis was on probation and had multiple pending cases when the incident in Mojave occurred.

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However, in a lawsuit filed by Lewis family in March of 2021, a federal jury in Fresno found Ayala used excessive and unreasonable force and was negligent. The jury awarded $30.5 million to Lewis family, which will be divided among Lewis seven children.

Kern County issued a statement disagreeing with the decision.

Kern County disagrees with the courts ruling and maintains that the Kern County Sheriffs Office and the Deputy Sheriff responded appropriately, adhering to departmental policy and the law, the county said. The County is reviewing the decision and will consider all legal options, including  an appeal.

According to the latest Kern County Board of Supervisors agenda, defendants who want to stay enforcement of a judgment while appealing a ruling have to secure a bond that equals 125% of the judgment.

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Kern County requested a reduced bond amount and the court ultimately reduced the bond to $17 million on July 6, the agenda says.

The deadline to post the bond is Aug. 20. The fee for posting a bond is $85,000 per year until a decision for the appeal is made  which can last multiple years, according to county officials  and the monetary judgment is fully paid.

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County staff have been working with Travelers Casualty & Surety Company of America, a property casualty insurer, to secure the $17 million bond. However, the county still has to execute an indemnity agreement, which makes the county agree to protect the insurer from any losses and expenses, the agenda says.

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In the agenda, the County Counsel is asking the Board of Supervisors to allow an indemnity agreement to be signed with the insurer.

The board is expected to approve the indemnity agreement to secure the $17 million bond at its meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  Kern County released a statement announcing strong support for Gov. Gavin Newsoms proposed bill that would make the permitting of new oil wells across California easier, including in Kern County.

The bill, if passed, would establish plug-to-drill permitting through 2036, which would require companies to permanently plug two existing wells before drilling a new well on the same field.

The bill would also allow new well permits to move forward without review by Californias Geologic Energy Management Division, also known as CalGEM, as long as the necessary conditions are fulfilled.

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Newsom proposal would ease process for oil drilling permitting

Kern County is ready to be part of the solution, Kern County Board of Supervisors Chair Leticia Perez said in the countys press release. As long as demand for petroleum remains, California needs local, responsibly produced oil to keep fuel prices stable and accessible for working families.

According to the countys press release, the bill would affirm the legal sufficiency of the countys oil and gas zoning ordinance and its certified final environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, which the board approved back in June.

This legislation gives Kern County and the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) the regulatory certainty to issue permits without further delay or risk of litigation, said Lorelei Oviatt, director of the Kern County Planning and Natural Resources Department, in the statement. It does not exempt Kern County from CEQA  it ensures that our existing, court-tested environmental analysis is honored.

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While the proposed bill is expected to block ongoing and future legal challenges for Kern Countys environmental review, county officials said they will continue to use its environmental review process without seeking exemptions or waivers.

In the statement, county officials said Kern County produces 80% of Californias oil.

County officials said during this weeks board of supervisors meeting the assessed value of oil and gas properties in Kern County saw an overall decline of 64.37% since 2014. Oil and gas value represents only 9% of the countys total value in fiscal year 2025-2026.

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A trail development project in the Kernersville area will get a large cash infusion from a state grant announced Thursday among among 70 projects across the state receiving a total of nearly $11 million worth of Great Trails State Program awards.

The General Assembly established the Great Trails State Program in 2023. The program offers matching grants to North Carolina local governments, public authorities, NC Regional Councils of Government, and nonprofit organizations.

The Piedmont Triad Regional Council will receive $500,000 for the Piedmont Greenway's Triad Park/Reedy Fork Segment.

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One other award involved a nearby project: The town of Summerfield will receive $500,000 for the Bandera Farms Park Trails, involving both the Piedmont Greenway and equestrian trails.

The Piedmont is known for its cities and world-class universities," Gov. Josh Stein said in a press release announcing the awards, "but from Pilot Mountain to the Haw River, its also home to some of our states most amazing wildlife and natural wonders. This funding will spur local tourism and encourage more people to explore North Carolinas incredible beauty.
Aug. 1After nearly three decades in elected office at the municipal and state level, Kettering Mayor Peggy Lehner will not seek another term.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed serving in the city, both as mayor and previously as council member and certainly as a state legislator. I've enjoyed every minute of it," said Lehner, 75, who said it's time to give younger people a chance to step up.

Lehner was elected mayor in November 2021, returning to the Kettering City Council where she was an at-large councilwoman from 1998 to 2008. She served for 12 years in Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio Senate, where she led the education committee.

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As a state senator, the Republican in 2015 unveiled a bipartisan bill to overhaul Ohio's charter school system to bring more oversight. She also co-sponsored a bill requiring schools to notify parents within two hours if a child doesn't show up for school, according to Dayton Daily News archives.

There are still a lot of issues and needs in the greater community, including those affecting children and the poor, she said.

"I don't think any of us can afford to walk away from some of these public issues, and I don't intend to. I just won't do it as mayor, but I will serve as called and where I think I can make a difference," Lehner said.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)  Kierra Clark, a key suspect accused in the of kidnapping Huntsville realtor Ronald Dumas Jr., appeared in a Madison County courtroom for an Aniahs Law hearing on Friday.

The family of Ronald Dumas Jr., a father of three and Huntsville realtor who was abducted on December 15, 2024, attended the hearing.

Im devastated, and Im shocked with some of the some of the details that we found out during the hearing today, said Shakeria Samples, the mother of Dumas child.

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Clark is one of the five suspects wanted for the disappearance of Dumas. Both Clark and Quintarius Shikelion White were arrested in April by the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force, the Memphis Police Department Fugitive Unit and the Shelby County Fugitive Apprehension Team. They were booked into the Shelby County Jail.

Both of them were originally held without bond; however, Shelby County Jail records show that on June 27, Clark posted a $500,000 bond. Shelby County Jail officials told News 19 Wednesday that Clark was released on July 30 to be transferred to the custody of the Huntsville Police Department.

Madison County Jail records show Clark was booked in at 4:40 p.m.

During the hearing, HPD Investigator Robert Brady shared details regarding some of the evidence they have collected in this case. He says they have tied Clark to another suspect, Quintarius White.

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Brady said HPD believes the pair thought Dumas had money, and in the texts, Clark encouraged White to torture him to get information about his bank account.

The state said today that those messages show Clark has the potential to be violent, meaning she should be denied bond.

Judge Alan Mann denied Clark pretrial bond in an order filed Friday afternoon, saying she poses a significant threat to the community.

She is facing other charges, including aggravated kidnapping related to another case in Memphis. While she has not gone to trial for those charges in Tennessee yet, the state of Alabama says that case is very similar to this one.

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Now, we can move forward with our case against her, and hopefully, the rest of the people involved in this case will be in Madison County soon so we can move forward on them, said Madison County chief deputy district attorney Tim Gann.

Dumas was last seen on Dec. 15, 2024. A missing persons report was filed on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, and he was placed on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys Missing Persons List as a missing adult on Dec. 23.

The family of Ronald Dumas also announced an increase in their privately funded rewardnow offering $7,500 for information that leads to his safe return or provides credible details regarding his whereabouts.

We know someone out there has answers, said a family spokesperson. This reward is not just about moneyits about bringing a father home to his children and a son back to his parents. We wont stop until we find him.

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If anyone has information, please report it to Huntsville Police Department or visit www.crimedesk.tips or call +1-256-254-4240.

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ROME (AP)  Elon Musk may have tumbled from political grace in Washington, D.C., but as he seeks to build a new political party, his power on X  where he commands the most popular account  remains unchecked.

Musk is a kingmaker on the platform he acquired in 2022 for $44 billion. He has used his influence to cultivate hard-right politicians and insurgent activists across Europe. A retweet or reply from Elon Musk can lead to millions of views and tens of thousands of new followers, according to an Associated Press analysis of public data.

That fact has not been lost on influencers who have tagged Musk persistently, seeking a reply or a retweet. It has also fueled concerns in Europe about foreign meddling -- not from Russia or China, but from the United States.

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Every alarm bell needs to ring, Christel Schaldemose, a vice president of the European Parliament who works on electoral interference and digital regulation, told AP.

The Associated Press analyzed more than 20,000 posts, which were compiled by Bright Data, over a three-year period from a sample of 11 European figures who had significant interactions with Musk and frequently promote a hard-right political or social agenda.

These case studies are not meant to be representative of a broad universe; rather they showcase the ways in which Musks engagement can have an impact on local influencers that share his views.

Musk has sweeping power to direct attention on X

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Since acquiring Twitter in October 2022, Elon Musks followers have more than doubled, to over 220 million. No other large account has shown such high or consistent growth.

The result: If Musks X account is his megaphone, it has gotten a lot bigger since he took over -- a change that has global implications.

The accounts Musk has been promoting are part of a growing global alliance of nationalistic parties and individuals united in common cause to halt migration, overturn progressive policies and promote an absolutist vision of free speech, which has rattled the foundation of a trans-Atlantic bond that guided U.S. and European relations for over eight decades.

Several of the accounts AP analyzed belong to people who have faced allegations of illegal behavior in their own countries. Tommy Robinson, an anti-immigrant agitator in the U.K., was sentenced in October to 18 months in prison for violating a court order blocking him from making libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee. Bjoern Hoecke, a politician from Germanys Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party, was convicted last year of knowingly using a Nazi slogan in a speech.

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Italian vice premier Matteo Salvini was acquitted in December of allegations he illegally detained 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship

Among the others examined by AP: Alice Weidel, who helped lead Germanys Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party to its best electoral showing this year; Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch influencer known as the shieldmaiden of the far-right; Naomi Seibt, a German activist dubbed the anti-Greta Thunberg now living in what amounts to political exile in Washington DC; Ruben Pulido and Foro Madrid, both associated with Spains populist Vox party; and Fidias Panayioutou, a politician from Cyprus who has also advocated for Musks companies.

These accounts collectively gained roughly 5 million followers from the time Musk took over Twitter in October 2022 through January of this year. Most saw triple-digit percentage increases in their followers -- as high as 920%, or in one case of a tiny account exploding over that time, topping 6,000%. Even some accounts that grew more steadily on their own saw their follower counts sharply begin rising once Musk started interacting with them. Similarly, on days Musk interacted with a post, the number of views the account got soared  in most cases, accruing two to four times as many views, with a few seeing boosts 30 or 40 times their normal daily viewership.

More established players in Musks orbit -- like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose ruling Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots  benefit less when Musk interacts with them on X, AP found.

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Attention seekers know that getting Musk to engage can be transformative

Musks dominance creates a strong incentive for people to get Musk to engage with their content.

Naomi Seibt, a German climate skeptic, pinged Musk nearly 600 times over the past three years. Musk finally engaged in June 2024, when he asked her to explain why the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is so controversial in Germany.

Since then, Musk has replied to, quoted or tagged Seibt more than 50 times, and her followers have grown by more than 320,000 since Musk took over the platform. On days Musk interacted with Seibt, her posts, on average, got 2.6 times as many views.

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I didnt intentionally invade Elons algorithm, Seibt told AP. Obviously Elon has a lot of influence and can help share a message even with those who are usually glued to the legacy media, particularly in Germany.

Musks online influence has real-world political and financial impact

Alice Weidel, who helps lead the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, saw her daily audience surge from 230,000 to 2.2 million on days Musk interacted with her posts on X. After Musk hosted a livestream with Weidel on X, vice president JD Vance broke protocol and met her in Munich. Weidels party, which is fighting a lawsuit to block the German governments decision to designate it as an extremist group, went on to secure its best electoral showing ever.

Musk has also used X to advocate for the leader of Italys hard-right League party, Matteo Salvini. On days Musk interacted with Salvinis account, average views were more than four times higher than usual. Now serving as vice premier, Salvini has urged his government to move ahead with controversial contracts for Starlink and pushed back against European efforts to regulate content on X.

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And Musk has a friend in Brussels: Fidias Panayiotou  a 25-year-old social media influencer from Cyprus. Before winning a surprise seat in the European Parliament last year, the Cypriot spent weeks on a quest to get Elon Musk to hug him. In January 2023, his wish came true. Their embrace went viral. Since taking office, Panayiotou has praised X on the floor of the European Parliament, pushed back against regulations that impact the platform, and credited Musk with sparking his call to fire 80% of EU bureaucrats.

Musk, evidently, was pleased. Vote for Fidias, he wrote on X. He is smart, super high energy and genuinely cares about you!

The endorsement has been viewed 11.5 million times.

-

Kessler reported from Washington

-

Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/
About three-quarters of the countries in the United Nations recognize the Palestinian state, which holds a Permanent Observer State status within the intergovernmental body  allowing it to be part of the proceedings but unable to vote on resolutions.

Three more countries  close U.S. allies  have joined the tally in the last week.

Last week, France said that it would recognize Palestinian statehood, with President Emmanuel Macron stating the move is part of a commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

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France became the first nation within the Group of Seven (G7) to do so.

The announcement came shortly after negotiations over a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas broke down, with Israel and the U.S. pulling their negotiators from Qatar. President Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff pinned the blame on Hamas and argued that the officials will consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said last week that neither international conferences disconnected from reality nor unilateral statements at the UN will lead to peace.

Then this week, as the international outrage over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has continued, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom was ready to recognize Palestines statehood if Israel does not manage to take action to end the war with Hamas, a conflict that has been ongoing since the Palestinian militant groups terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

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Starmer set the deadline for the U.N.s General Assembly in September, calling for an uptick in aid being delivered into the war-torn enclave and for Hamas to release the remaining hostages.

Ive always said that we will recognize a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution, with that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act, Starmer said.

Canada became the third close U.S. ally this week to announce it would recognize Palestinian statehood.

Canadas Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa would provide recognition of the state in September at the U.N.s General Assembly, a decision that would entail the Palestinian Authority holding general elections in 2026 in which Hamas can play no part, and to demilitarize the Palestinian state.

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Trump said on Truth Social that Canadas decision would make it hard for Washington to reach a trade agreement with Ottawa.

On Monday, the president said the U.S. would set up food centers in Gaza as food distribution in the enclave has come under intense scrutiny amid the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza from starvation.

Trump also acknowledged there is starvation among the roughly 2.1 million people in Gaza, sharing a different view from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said no one is starving in the enclave.

The White House said Thursday that Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee would travel Friday to Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear first-hand about this dire situation on the ground.

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At least 11 progressive House Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.), have signed on to a letter calling for the U.S. to recognize a Palestinian state in the wake of moves by several American allies to do so before the United Nations convenes in September.

Recognizing a Palestinian state is an idea whose time has come. The response of my colleagues has been overwhelming, Khanna wrote on social platform X. We will build support and release prior to the UN convening.

The letter was first reported by Jewish Insider. In the same post, Khanna charged that someone had leaked the letter to the paper in order to sabotage the effort.

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Signatories, Jewish Insider reported, include Texas Democrats Reps. Greg Casar, Veronica Escobar, Lloyd Doggett and Al Green, alongside Reps. Mark Pocan (Wis.), Jared Huffman (Calif.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.). Prominent progressive Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Maxwell Frost (Fla.) also signed on.

Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, has also signed the letter, Khannas office confirmed to The Hill.

The letter follows announcements from France, Canada and the United Kingdom that they would move toward recognizing a Palestinian state. France plans to do so at the U.N. summit in September, while Canada said recognition was contingent on demilitarization and holding democratic elections without Hamas. The U.K. plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September if a ceasefire is not reached by then.

The moves by the members of the Group of Seven are largely symbolic, but they signal growing diplomatic pressure on Israel over a worsening hunger and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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A draft of the letter from Democratic lawmakers circulated July 31 states that recognition by the U.S.  an unlikely prospect regardless  would be contingent on a Palestinian state recognizing Israel and adopting a framework to guarantee Israels security, including the disarmament of and relinquishing of power by Hamas.

We believe recognizing Palestinian statehood and obligating Palestinian leaders to abide by the international law binding on states and their governments will make that far more achievable and sustainable than decades of statelessness and repression have, the draft letter reads.

The Palestinian Authority is an observer state at the United Nations, meaning it cannot vote. The Vatican holds the same status.

There have been efforts to make the Palestinian Authority a full member state, which requires the assent of the U.N. Security Council, where the U.S. holds veto power, alongside a two-thirds vote from the U.N. general assembly. The United States blocked a move for full Palestinian membership in April 2024.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  A local baking company is looking to fill about 15 full-time positions.

To do so, Klosterman Baking Company is hosting a job fair on Tuesday, Aug. 5.

These positions offer weekly pay, comprehensive benefits and on-the-job training designed to support long-term career advancement, the company says.

The job fair will be hosted at the companys Springboro bakery on 350 S. Pioneer Blvd. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Walk-ins are welcome to attend and encouraged to bring a resume.

Click here to learn more about available positions.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.
Organizations across Los Angeles County are available to help immigrants and allies in the community.

Ongoing know your rights resources

The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for immigrant rights in Los Angeles County and throughout the nation. It holds in-person and virtual weekly workshops. For more information, visit the organizations website or call (213) 353-1333.

Long Beach Forward is a local nonprofit organization that offers community outreach sessions and educational workshops. You can learn about the next session by checking the organizations calendar , calling (562) 436-4800 or following its Instagram account .

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The East Los Angeles Occupational Center has prerecorded immigration rights and resources webinars on its website from Los Angeles Unified School District officials. The recordings are in English and in Spanish.

RepresentLA is a public-private partnership that provides legal representation to immigrants in custody or in the community, as well as those who face deportation or are seeking relief. The organization hosts an immigrant workshop on the last Wednesday of every month from noon to 2 p.m. at the South Whittier Community Resource Center, 10750 Laurel Ave.

The workshop covers topics such as avoiding scams, understanding your rights in immigration court and determining eligibility for family-based immigration and citizenship.

The L.A. County Office of Immigrant Affairs has an online calendar of know your rights and legal assistance workshops. The offices website also serves as a hub of information and immigration resources.

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Catholic Charities of Los Angeles conducts regular workshops as well as informational sessions on citizenship and applications related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The organization has an online calendar that lists its monthly events.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandezs office is collaborating with Mijente, CHIRLA, the Central American Resource Center and other advocacy groups to facilitate regular training as well as provide free red resource cards at local field offices. The office has partnered with Mijente and deployed a community defense organizer to train local leaders and build rapid response networks specifically in Council District 1.

You can reach the council members City Hall office at (213) 473-7001, the Glassell Park field office at (323) 709-1800, or the Westlake district office at (213) 314-6290.

Childrens Institute has an in-person Keeping Our Communities Safe workshop in English and Spanish every Thursday from 3 to 5:30 p.m. During the sessions, the staff reviews constitutional rights, how to identify different law enforcement agencies and how to respond safely during different types of encounters with these agencies. The institute is at 2121 W. Temple St., Los Angeles.

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U.S. Africa Institute offers "Know Your Rights" webinars that are tailored to support college students who are undocumented, refugees, immigrants or international students, and their families. The webinars are held on the fourth Thursday of every month from noon to 1 p.m. when school is in session. Registration links are shared throughout the school year via social media platforms such as Instagram, X and Facebook. For more information email info@theafricainstitute.org.

Rapid response contact information

You can call your local rapid response network to report ICE activity and enforcement actions. Participating organizations document immigration enforcement and can send trained individuals to assist anyone who is being stopped or questioned by agents.

These networks can also provide you were referrals, information, resources (such as food and financial assistance) and, in some cases, direct support if your loved one was detained by immigration enforcement agents.

Here is a list of local rapid response contacts compiled by the ACLU of Southern California and California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice.



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Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, (888) 624-4752

Boyle Heights Immigrant Rights Network, (323) 805-1049

Promesa Boyle Heights, (323) 922-5644

ORALE (Long Beach), (562) 276-0267

Long Beach Community Defense Network, (562) 245-9575

Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, (909) 361-4588

Southern California Bilingual Rapid Response Legal Resource Hotline, (213) 833-8283

U.S. Africa Institute, (310) 951-7721

Available legal representation

There are several organizations and law offices who are offering their services, in some case at a low-cost, to those affected by immigration enforcement operations.

Your options for legal help include:



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You can also search for an immigration lawyer through the American Immigration Lawyers Association online locator tool.

How to spot a fake immigration attorney:

Scammers try to confuse immigrants into thinking theyre an attorney by calling themselves a notario, notary public, accountant or consultant, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

In Latin American countries, a notario or notary public is an attorney or has legal training, but thats not the case in the United States.

How to protect yourself from the scam:



Do not hire an immigration consultant or a notary. Only lawyers, accredited representatives and recognized organizations can give you legal advice or represent you in immigration court. Immigration consultants  who may call themselves immigration experts, notarios, notaries public or paralegals  cannot do so, according to California Atty. Gen. Rob Bontas office.

Do not give your original important documents to anyone, unless you see proof that the government requires the original document, according to the FTC.

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You can verify whether a lawyer is legitimate by searching for them on the State Bar of California website and determining if they have an active law license.



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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  Gage Park will be filled with food trucks, live music and activities for the whole family in August.

The third annual Food Truck Fest will be one of the largest free events in Shawnee County this year from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24 at Gage Park. More than 23 different food trucks, vendors and entertainers will be at the park for the event.

Aaron Parrish with the Poppin Squeeze food truck founded the festival in 2022.

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Junction City man nominated to Kansas Music Hall of Fame

After Covid I saw a real lack of large events for (food) trucks and the community, Parrish said. There was a big change from when we founded our truck in 2011 to post-Covid, and we really wanted to provide the kind of event like the ones we used to have.

The festival is exclusively made up of Shawnee County vendors and entertainers. New to the event this year are the Dallas Pryor & The Lazy Wayne Band, a petting zoo and even the KC Wolf.

Parrish wanted the public to know this event is free and that families can easily make a day of it by exploring Gage Park, the nearby Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center, Kansas Childrens Discovery Center and trying something new at this local event.

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Kansas girl lands catfish almost as big as her in birthday surprise

For more local eats news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

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In late July and early August 2025, a claim (archived) circulated online that U.S. President Donald Trump would build a $200 million golden ballroom at the White House paid for by himself and private donors.

The X account Libs of TikTok shared this claim along with an illustration of the alleged room, captioned "BREAKING: Trump is building a 90,000 square foot White House ballroom and it's being funded mainly by Trump himself!"

BREAKING: Trump is building a 90,000 square foot White House ballroom and its being funded mainly by Trump himself! pic.twitter.com/N1EBPcJZBt  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 31, 2025

The news  widely reported in national and international media  also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Reddit (archived) and Bluesky (archived), where some posters claimed the Trump administration would actually use taxpayer money to fund the construction of the ballroom. Snopes readers also wrote in about the topic.

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However, we found no credible evidence that the Trump administration's proposed $200 million ballroom would be paid for using taxpayers' money.

Rather, both Trump and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and private donors would pay for the project. The Rapid Response 47 X account, an official account of the Trump administration, wrote (archived) in a July 31 post that the project would be "fully funded by President Trump and other private donors  not taxpayers."

It was unclear at the time of this writing whether the $200 million amount included costs for "enhancements and modifications" that the White House statement said the U.S. Secret Service, a taxpayer -unded government agency, would provide. We reached out to the White House for clarification on this point and await a reply.

Karoline Leavitt and the White House announced the project, called the White House State Ballroom, on July 31, 2025. According to the White House statement, the room would sit near the current East Wing and seat 650 people  more than three times as many as the current East Room, which seats 200 people. The White House statement described the new ballroom as an "exquisite addition of approximately 90,000 total square feet of ornately designed and carefully crafted space."

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On funding, the White House statement said, "President Trump, and other patriot donors, have generously committed to donating the funds necessary to build this approximately $200 million dollar structure. The United States Secret Service will provide the necessary security enhancements and modifications."

Trump himself also spoke about the ballroom while signing an executive order on July 31 (time code 21:46, our emphasis):

Reporter: Mr. President, can you talk about your plans for the new ballroom that was announced today? The $200 million, that's going to be paid for by yourself  Trump: By me, yeah. Reporter:  private donations? Trump: It's a private thing, yeah, I'll do it and we'll probably have some donors or whatever, but it's about $200 million. We've been planning it for a long time, they've wanted a ballroom at the White House for more than 150 years but there's never been a president that was good at ballrooms. (unintelligible) really good. In fact, I looked at one we just built in Turnberry in Scotland and it's incredible. We're good at building, I'm good at building things and we'll get it built quickly and on time, it'll be beautiful, top of the line.

Nearly two months earlier, on June 6, 2025, Trump posted on his social media network Truth Social, "Just inspected the site of the new Ballroom that will be built, compliments of a man known as Donald J. Trump, at the White House."

Days before the White House announcement, Trump teased the idea while meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, at his Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland (which, he said, had recently had its own ballroom fitted). Trump said (video time code 1:43), "We're building a great ballroom at the White House. The White House has wanted a ballroom for 150 years, but they never had a real estate person, you know, nobody, no president knew how to build a ballroom." Trump did not mention the financing of the project while speaking at Turnberry.

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Trump has floated ideas for a ballroom at the White House since at least 2010, according to former U.S. President Barack Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod. According to Axelrod, Trump offered to build "a ballroom you can assemble and take apart" in 2010.

Trump recounted the encounter to ABC News in 2011, according to a New York Post article. At that time, Trump reportedly priced the project at $100 million, half the 2025 ballroom estimate.

The idea surfaced again in 2016, when Obama's press secretary Josh Earnest laughed off (video time code 36:53) another Trump offer of a ballroom as "not something that was at all seriously considered."

"I'm not sure that it would be appropriate to have a shiny gold Trump sign on any part of the White House," Earnest said.

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The White House's July 2025 announcement included illustrations of the proposed exterior and interior of the White House State Ballroom by McCrery Architects. The illustrations showed plans for a gold-accented dining room, though they did not include any gold Trump signs.

Sources:

Campanile, Carl. Trump's W. House Ballroom. 20 Apr. 2011, https://nypost.com/2011/04/20/trumps-w-house-ballroom/.

Janssen, Kim. "Will Trump Now Build His $100 Million White House Ballroom?" Chicago Tribune, 24 May 2019, https://archive.ph/5swjs.

The Obama White House. "2/1/16: White House Press Briefing." YouTube, 1 Feb. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clV2QyVL9Os&t=2212s.

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The White House. "President Trump Meets with the President of the European Commission." YouTube, 27 Jul. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/mnOwtHlBSFo?t=103s.

---. "President Trump Signs an Executive Order, July 31, 2025." YouTube, 31 Jul. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/NC09z2oqpDg?t=1305s.

---. "Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Briefs Members of the Media, July 31, 2025." YouTube, 31 Jul. 2025, https://www.youtube.com/live/qAfsDtV8iLg?t=609s.

"The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin." The White House, 31 Jul. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/07/the-white-house-announces-white-house-ballroom-construction-to-begin/.


The Willamette Falls Trust, a nonprofit led by Native American Tribes, is an initiative to make the urban falls publicly accessible. (Meghan Kearney/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is considering vetoing a plan to allocate $45 million to the Willamette Falls Trust, along with three other bills from the 2025 legislative session.

The 2025 legislative session adjourned June 27. Kotek has 30 days to sign a bill if it was delivered to her after adjournment and must announce any plan to veto a bill at least five days before filing her decision.

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The Legislature approved allocating $45 million from lottery funds to the Willamette Falls Trust to acquire land for a project led by the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to make Willamette Falls publicly accessible. Located in the Willamette River between West Linn and Oregon City, the falls are natural and horseshoe-shaped.

Koteks office said she is committed to using public funds in the most equitable, responsible manner possible, but that shes interested in seeing how past lottery fund allocations have been spent in city parks and nature bonds.

The governor supports the opportunity of creating public access to the natural wonder that is Willamette Falls, from both sides of the falls, according to a statement from her office on Friday. She is exercising her due diligence to understand more fully the use of these dollars and wants to hear more from all interested parties.

The Legislatures grant to the Willamette Falls Trust, a nonprofit organization led by former Gov. Kate Brown, has proven controversial as the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde asserts it should have sole control over the falls. The Grand Ronde Tribes were part of the trust but withdrew in 2022.

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Other bills Kotek is considering vetoing include:

House Bill 3824, which allows physical therapists to practice dry needling.

Senate Bill 976, which allows people to verify whether cattle are pregnant without holding a valid license issued by the Oregon State Veterinary Medical Examining Board under certain circumstances.

Senate Bill 1047, which requires Curry County and the Water Resources Department to expedite review of applications for use on specified lands.

Kotek did not give a reasoning for the potential policy vetoes but said her team will continue to review these bills and consider all perspectives to inform her decision.

She has until Aug. 8 to make a decision. A two-thirds vote of both houses can override a governors veto. The Oregon Legislature is meeting on Aug. 29 to meet for a special session to pass legislation to pay for basic road maintenance and operations, local government transportation spending and transit needs.

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The death toll from Russias heavy bombardment of Ukraines capital this week has risen to 31 people, marking the deadliest single attack on Kyiv in a year, Ukrainian officials said on Friday.

The vast majority were killed in a single strike on an apartment block.

Rescue workers have now recovered the bodies of at least 28 people from the destroyed apartment block, including five children, the State Emergency Service (SES) told CNN. At least 159 people were also wounded in the blast.

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This is the highest number of injured children in one night in Kyiv since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

More than 100 rescuers scrambled to the scene in Kyivs western Sviatoshynskyi district, working through the night and removing more than 2,000 tons of rubble as they searched for survivors in an ongoing operation.

The building was one of dozens of sites in the Ukrainian capital struck by Russian missiles and drones in the overnight attack, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyivs military administration. He described the strike as a direct hit on the nine-story apartment building, hitting just before 5 a.m. local time Thursday (10 p.m. ET Wednesday).

I was just sleeping. I woke up atop the rubble downstairs, a survivor of the attack, Veronika, told Reuters news from the hospital, where she is nursing a broken leg. The 23-year-old was blown from the ninth floor of her apartment building.

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On Friday, residents of a neighboring apartment block donned hard hats and helmets to retrieve what belongings they could from their homes. Excavators worked to clear away rubble and tear down the building torn in half by the Russian strike. Personal effects lay scattered amid huge pieces of cracked concrete. In one corner, behind the caterpillar treads of a backhoe, a makeshift memorial stood, with flowers, toys and photographs of dead loved ones.

Once again, this vile strike by Russia demonstrates the need for increased pressure on Moscow and additional sanctions, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday. No matter how much the Kremlin denies their effectiveness, sanctions do work  and they must be strengthened.

Zelensky added that in July alone, Russia used over 5,100 glide bombs against Ukraine, more than 3,800 Shaheds (drones), and nearly 260 missiles of various types.

Emergency personnel work at the site of a partially collapsed apartment building hit in a Russian strike on Kyiv overnight into Thursday. - Thomas Peter/Reuters

A resident looks at the site of a Kyiv apartment building hit during Russian missile and drone strikes on July 31, amid Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. - Thomas Peter/Reuters

Russia also struck the regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv overnight into Thursday. A strike on a five-story block in the Donetsk region city of Kramatorsk, which partially destroyed the building, killed three people.

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That was followed by more strikes on Ukraine overnight into Friday, which killed at least three civilians and injured 27 others.

This week, US President Donald Trump cited Moscows killing of Ukrainian civilians as he shortened a window for Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a ceasefire or face greater sanctions.

Putin reaffirms maximalist war goals

Meanwhile Friday, Putin said Russian forces are advancing along the entire line of contact in Ukraine, indicating no change in Moscows position one week ahead of the deadline the Trump administration gave him to reach a ceasefire.

The Russian leader said he hopes peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continue, but reiterated that the Kremlins maximalist war goals remain unchanged.

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Zelensky on Friday reaffirmed his willingness to sit down with Putin for peace talks, calling for dialogue beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings.

We have heard the statements coming out of Russia. If these are signals of a genuine willingness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace  and not merely an attempt to buy more time for war or delay sanctions  then Ukraine once again reaffirms its readiness to meet at the level of leaders at any time, the Ukrainian president said in a statement.

The Kremlins aerial attacks on Ukrainian population centers have ramped up sharply this year, leaning heavily on cheap-to-manufacture drone swarms that are intended to overwhelm Ukraines air defenses.

Drone and missile attacks are launched nearly every night, with much larger salvos now happening more regularly. The interval between large-scale salvo attacks has gone from about a month to as little as two days, according to new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington DC-based think tank.

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Meanwhile, the number of munitions Russia uses in these larger scale attacks has risen from about 100 munitions several years ago to nearly 300 munitions in 2025, the CSIS analysis found.

CNNs Laura Sharman, Nick Paton Walsh, Natalie Wright and Angus Watson contributed to this report.

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A 23-year-old woman, Veronika, miraculously survived after falling from the eighth floor during Russias large-scale attack on Kyiv on the night of 30-31 July. She is currently in hospital.

Source: Suspilne; BBC

Details: Veronika said she had been feeling anxious that day. She was returning home late in the evening when the drone attack began.

"I heard these Shahed drones flying. I hid from them under the trees as I was walking home," Veronika recalls.

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Veronika says she never goes to the bomb shelter during air-raid warnings. She doesnt remember how she fell off the eighth floor of her apartment building.

"I dont know how. I was asleep, and when I woke up I was on the wreckage below. I must have slid down somehow. I dont know how it happened at all. Its as if I levitated down," she told reporters.

Veronika thinks she was probably thrown out of the apartment still in her bed.

"I didnt realise what I was doing, I just had a shock. I looked at my leg and felt even more panicked," she says.

The BBC has reported that Veronikas parents died in the attack, but she has not yet been informed.

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Veronika is now in hospital. She was found to have a broken leg, a brain injury and concussion, says Serhii Dubrov, the director of the hospital where Veronika is undergoing treatment.

"It is weird  she fell from the eighth floor with nothing but minor injuries. But she has had an acute psychological reaction to the stress. She doesnt know what happened to her parents yet," Dubrov says.

Background:

On the night of 30-31 July, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, firing 317 drones and missiles, most of which targeted Kyiv. As of the morning of 1 August, 31 people were confirmed killed in Kyiv, including five children, the youngest of whom was two years old. At least 159 others were injured.

Among the victims was six-year-old Matvii Marchenko, a member of the Kyiv-based Sen-Bin karate club.

Nataliia Haiova, a preschool teacher from the village of Ivankovychi, was killed with her two sons, aged 17 and 22, and her brother.

Russia also took the lives of neurologist Roman Moskalenko, Vitalii Raboshchuk, who practised Japanese martial arts, and Vlada, his 18-year-old daughter.

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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV)  Highland Village in Jackson will soon welcome a new dining experience from chef and restaurateur Alex Eaton, the owner of Aplos Simple Mediterranean.

La Presa Taqueria, a fresh and elevated take on Mexican cuisine, will open its doors across the courtyard from Aplos. La Presa is a collaboration between Eaton and longtime operator Cristian

Rodriguez.

Ridgeland ALDI location under construction

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We like to elevate concepts people already love, said Eaton. La Presa is our vision for what great Mexican food can be in Jackson  flavorful, accessible and delivered with structure and pride.

The restaurant will feature a secluded patio, as well as a second bar in the kitchen. The full La Presa menu will include exciting options such as authentic tacos, reginal Tex-Mex entrees, appetizers and a drink menu.

Construction is currently underway on the new space in the Highland Village Courtyard. La Presa is slated to open in early Fall.

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Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer praised President Trumps decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after the Friday release of the July jobs report.

In a statement on social media, Chavez-DeRemer hailed Trumps decision to fire BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after the agency, which is housed in the Labor Department, released a stunningly bad jobs report earlier Friday.

I agree wholeheartedly with @POTUS that our jobs numbers must be fair, accurate, and never manipulated for political purposes, Chavez-DeRemer wrote without offering any evidence to support Trumps claim.

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A recent string of major revisions have come to light and raised concerns about decisions being made by the Biden-appointed Labor Commissioner, she continued. I support the Presidents decision to replace Bidens Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS.

While McEntarfer was appointed by former President Biden to lead the BLS, she had previously served for more than 20 years in the federal government in administrations led by both Democrats and Republicans.

Former BLS Commissioner William Beech, who was appointed by Trump and served from 2019-2023, strongly condemned the firing of his successor.

The totally groundless firing of Dr. Erika McEntarfer, my successor as Commissioner of Labor Statistics at BLS, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines the statistical mission of the Bureau, Beech wrote, sharing a statement of concern from other BLS veterans.

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Trumps move to fire McEntarfer triggered outrage among economists and analysts across the ideological spectrum.

Erika McEntarfer has devoted her career to public service. She has conducted herself as BLS Commissioner with great integrity. There is no evidence whatsoever that BLS data are politically biased, Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Insitute, wrote on social media.

By incorrectly asserting that the data are biased, President Trump is undermining the integrity of the information that policymakers, businesses, households, and investors use to make important decisions that affect the welfare of the nation, he continued.

It is imperative that decisionmakers understand that government statistics are unbiased and of the highest quality. By casting doubt on that, the President is damaging the United States, Strain wrote.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  It was started as a space for community, where women could gather in fellowship, to teach and to learn. It hosted presidents and leaders like Susan B. Anthony, lectures and performances.

Now, the 138-year-old Ladies Literary Club building in downtown Grand Rapids is reopening to the community and returning to its original use.

Penny Loafer, an organization owned by Penny Hock that is working to get its nonprofit 501-C3 status, has taken over operating the building at 61 Sheldon Boulevard south of Fulton Street. It will once again be a community space, with a cafe serving breakfast and lunch, a library and study space, and a theater and event space.

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Read more: The history of the Ladies Literary Club

It will officially reopen to the public for tours Friday, and the cafe will celebrate its grand opening Tuesday.

An undated historical photo from the Grand Rapids History Center of the Ladies Literary Club.

FILE  The Lit GR, the former home of the Ladies Literary Club leaders, in Grand Rapids. (Oct. 29, 2024)

A RETURN TO ITS ROOTS

The building, once one of the first womens clubhouses in the country, was most recently a wedding venue. After it was put up for sale last year, Loafer said the building had some interest as it sat empty, including from another nonprofit shes involved in that decided it wasnt the right fit.

When she first stepped foot in the building, she had no intention of starting her own organization.

Grand Rapids African American Museums new space icing on the cake, leaders say

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I wasnt looking for a place to have a cafe or anything like that, she said. I walked through the building  I couldnt stop thinking about it.

The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025)

She approached the propertys owners about operating it herself.

They said yes.

My vision  was to return the building back to what the original intent was when the Ladies Literary Club was established and moved in here, she said. And that was to create a place of fellowship and community and comfort, as well as a library and a place for the community, for the arts.

Her plans for the building include hosting everything from comedy nights and yoga classes to candlelight concerts and vintage movie nights. The first big show booked for the space is the Grand Rapids Great Lakes Mens Chorus  the brother group to the Grand Rapids Chorus of Sweet Adelines that Hock is in  which is set to host its cabaret show at the building on Oct. 10.

The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025) The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025) The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025) The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025)

Hang out and pet cats at new Holland-area cat lounge

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It will still host some weddings, with two already on the books, along with other community events.

Hock said it will also serve as an accessible venue for those in the performing arts. If youre someone looking for a stage, they have one, she said.

That is the whole point, is to give our upcoming artists and musicians a place to become what they want to be, she said.

HONORING STORMY

Shes reopening the space with the help of some of the women in the Grand Rapids Chorus of Sweet Adelines. That includes Patti Fitzgerald, Penny Loafers retail and operations manager.

Hock had reached out to her about selling some of the items she makes, like aprons and bracelets, and her role grew from there.

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Her items are available at the cafes Storm Cloud Boutique, named in honor of their friend and fellow choir member Stormy, who died after a battle with cancer.

The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025)

Shed asked Fitzgerald for a particular style of headband, but died before she could make it.

Hock suggested that Fitzgerald make them anyways, in honor of her.

Theyre also working on a partnership with the nearby Trinity Health cancer center, offering VIP cards for those going through cancer treatment that will get them a free meal, drink and item from the boutique.

Thats another reason why I decided to work with Penny and do this, because its what Stormy would want me to do, Fitzgerald said. Not only are we here for the women in our community; Were here for the community itself. More now than ever, we really need a place where we can feel welcome, where we can all feel loved and we can all feel encouraged.

RED CURTAIN REVIVAL

As you walk through the property, you still catch glimpses of its past. A Tiffany stained glass window, donated in 1916, is in what was originally a fellowship space and is now the cafe. Books on the shelves in the upstairs library date back to the 1800s. Several pieces are original to the building, like the wrought iron gate at the front, a chandelier  and the stage.

The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025)

The Ladies Literary Club in Grand Rapids is reopening. (July 31, 2025)

Those are the original scuff marks from the bottoms of the shoes of three presidents who spoke here, and women who taught people in Grand Rapids how to read and write and where the Ladies Literary Center established an appreciation for classical literature and performance, Hock said. Being a performing artist my whole life, it is an inexplicable connection. And I find myself just standing on the stage looking out here, trying to imagine what it would have been like 130 years ago when they first did that. Its electric.

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As they transition the building into its next chapter, a transition theyre calling the red curtain revival, they said they couldnt have gotten to where they are without the women in their life, just like the women who started the Ladies Literary Club back in 1887.

An undated historical photo from the Grand Rapids History Center of the Ladies Literary Club leaders.

Inside WOODTV.com: Building West Michigan

Theres really nothing we cant do if we work together, Fitzgerald said. A bunch of women who love each other and support one another  regardless of what their backgrounds are theres really no limit to what the possibilities are.

It feels really, really good to be able to accomplish this, Hock said. To do it surrounded by the women in my life, and then for it to be the building erected by women over 100 years ago, it makes me feel like thats what the intent was supposed to be all along.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
A report on Lady Eleanor Donaldson's health condition is due to be completed next week, a review hearing in Belfast has heard.

The 59-year-old is a co-accused in a sex offences case involving her husband, the former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

The pair are due to stand trial at Newry Crown Court in November.

Both deny all charges against them.

Lady Donaldson's lawyer informed judge Paul Ramsey that a psychiatrist's report would "hopefully" be obtained on Monday.

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The court was also told an application will be made to obtain records from Craigavon Area Hospital.

The case is to reviewed again on 11 September, when neither accused is required to attend.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is accused of 18 offences, including one count of rape. [PA Media]

Sir Jeffrey, 62, is accused of 18 offences, including one count of rape.

Lady Donaldson faces five charges relating to aiding and abetting.

The offences were allegedly committed between 1985 and 2008.

The trial was due to have taken place in March, but has been put back due to Lady Donaldson's health.
LAGRANGE  The 2026 Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship application is now available in LaGrange County through the LaGrange County Community Foundation. The Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship Program will provide 147 scholarships statewide and one scholarship in LaGrange County. LECSP scholarships may be used for otherwise unreimbursed full tuition, required fees and a special allocation of up to $900 per year. The special allocation may cover the costs for required books and required equipment for four years of undergraduate study on a full-time basis leading to a baccalaureate degree at any eligible Indiana public or private nonprofit college or university.

The program, administered statewide by Independent Colleges of Indiana and locally in LaGrange County through the LaGrange County Community Foundation, is open to all Indiana residents who graduate from an accredited Indiana high school by 2026 and receive their diploma no later than June 30, 2026; intend to pursue a full-time baccalaureate course of study at an eligible college or university in Indiana; and meet criteria specific to their local community foundation.

To be eligible in LaGrange County, students must be a LaGrange County resident, graduating from an accredited LaGrange County high school by June 30, 2026, with a 3.75 GPA minimum.

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Students will be evaluated on the following criteria including academic achievement, demonstrated service to others, leadership ability, motivation to succeed, employment history, extracurricular involvement and essay responses. Two recommendations must be submitted with the application: one from a teacher and one from a community member.

Students can learn more about the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship in LaGrange County and at LCCF.net/LillyScholarship. Applications must be completed and submitted by Monday, September 15, 2025, at 4:00 pm to be considered.

The Lilly Scholarship Advisory Committee will review applications in September and select five finalists. The top five finalists will be announced in early October and invited to attend the Scholarship Workshop on October 14, 2025.

At the workshop, finalists will be required to complete an impromptu essay and Community Foundation staff will share tips about the interview process.

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Five students will be selected as finalists and invited to interviews during the day Oct. 21 at the LaGrange County Community Foundation. All finalists will be responsible for preparing a five to seven minute digital presentation for the Lilly Scholarship Advisory Committee.

Following the interviews, the LaGrange County Community Foundation will nominate one local graduating senior for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship; their name will be submitted to ICI for final approval.

The scholarship recipient will be announced in early December.

The finalists not selected for the Lilly Endowment Community Scholarship will receive the Lambright Leadership Scholarship, a $1,000 four-year renewable scholarship.

Lilly Endowment created LECSP for the 1997-98 school year and has supported the program every year since with tuition grants totaling more than $505 million. More than 5,400 Indiana students have received Lilly Endowment Community Scholarships since the programs inception.
LAKE COUNTY, Tenn.  Austin Drummond, 28, is now on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Most Wanted List, suspected in the deaths of four family members and the kidnapping and abandonment of a baby girl.

Drummonds criminal history is well-known to authorities in Dyer County, where he has previously faced charges and appeared in court multiple times. His record includes gun, drug, and contraband charges while incarcerated.

Austin Robert Drummond (TDOC) Courtesy of U.S. Marshals

He was already on our radar, said Danny Goodman, District Attorney for the 29th Judicial District. We had charges, hes already appeared a few times in our court and circuit court, so we were already familiar with him and his cases.

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Suspect identified in deaths of 4 people in West TN

Drummond was serving a 13-year sentence for aggravated robbery and retaliation for past actions, which ended on September 1 of last year.

Upon release, he faced new charges, including attempted first-degree murder and contraband in a penal facility.

Once that happens, he had these new charges pending from where it occurred inside the prison, but once that happens and he is released, its no different from anyone else who is on the street and receives a charge, Goodman said.

When he was released, Drummond racked up more charges. In December, he was reportedly charged with attempted first-degree murder and contraband in a penal facility.

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Hes not a stranger to violent offenses, so he is a dangerous individual, and people just need to take precautions, said Goodman.

Criminal background of Lake County homicide suspect

He is considered armed and dangerous and should not be approached, authorities say. If you see him, call 911, 731-415-7962, 731-333-0811 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.

A scheduled press conference is expected to provide updates on the case. WREG will let you know when we hear back.

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OAK CREEK, Wis. (WFRV)  Authorities in southern Wisconsin say one person was rescued from the waters of Lake Michigan on Thursday night.

According to a release from the Oak Creek Fire Department, crews responded at around 8:00 p.m. to reports of someone struggling in the water at Oak Creeks Bender Park.

Upon arrival, officials say they confirmed that one person was floating in the water of Lake Michigan just to the south of the break wall.

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Sheboygan County Sheriffs Office identifies driver in Mondays crash that injured 23-year-old

Bystanders at the scene threw the life ring to the victim, and once they reached shallow water, personnel from the fire department were able to assist them back to shore.

After being brought to shore, the victim was taken to St Lukes South Shore, where they were evaluated and determined to have no injuries.

We want to reiterate that Northeast winds at any time of ear create unsafe water conditions along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Even strong swimmers can be caught in dangerous rip currents that put their lives and the lives of potential citizen rescuers in imminent danger. It is imperative that swimmers do not enter the water when these prevailing winds create high waves and dangerous rip currents. The Oak Creek Fire Department

No other information is available at this time.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now)  A man will spend five days in jail after street racing a Lamborghini alongside a Cybertruck in a video that went viral in October of 2024, officials announced Thursday.

In a news release, Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney Steve Descano announced that 38-year-old Carlos Montero of Sterling was sentenced to 90 days in jail. A judge suspended 85 of those days and also imposed fines of $1,000, with $250 suspended, and $200.

Drivers involved in viral street race between Tesla Cybertruck and Lamborghini arrested, Fairfax County police say

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The viral video showed Montero and a Cybertruck driver  48-year-old Christian Camacho of Vienna  racing down Leesburg Pike in broad daylight.

Elon Musk commented on the video on his X platform, causing the video to get over 100 million views.

Descano said that Camachos sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 28.

This reckless behavior attracted a lot of online attention-I hope the consequences do as well, Descano said in the news release. Plain and simple: street racing is dangerous, it needlessly puts the lives of others at risk, and it has no place on the highways and roads that you and your family frequent.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
Every morning, Nepali primary school teacher Bina Tamang steps outside her home and checks the rain gauge, part of an early warning system in one of the world's most landslide-prone regions.

Tamang contributes to an AI-powered early warning system that uses rainfall and ground movement data, local observations and satellite imagery to predict landslides up to weeks in advance, according to its developers at the University of Melbourne.

From her home in Kimtang village in the hills of northwest Nepal, 29-year-old Tamang sends photos of the water level to experts in the capital Kathmandu, a five-hour drive to the south.

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"Our village is located in difficult terrain, and landslides are frequent here, like many villages in Nepal," Tamang told AFP.

Every year during the monsoon season, floods and landslides wreak havoc across South Asia, killing hundreds of people.

Nepal is especially vulnerable due to unstable geology, shifting rainfall patterns and poorly planned development.

As a mountainous country, it is already "highly prone" to landslides, said Rajendra Sharma, an early warning expert at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

"And climate change is fuelling them further. Shifting rainfall patterns, rain instead of snowfall in high altitudes and even increase in wildfires are triggering soil erosion," Sharma told AFP.

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- Saving lives -

Landslides killed more than 300 people last year and were responsible for 70 percent of monsoon-linked deaths, government data shows.

Tamang knows the risks first hand.

When she was just five years old, her family and dozens of others relocated after soil erosion threatened their village homes.

They moved about a kilometre (0.6 miles) uphill, but a strong 2015 earthquake left the area even more unstable, prompting many families to flee again.

"The villagers here have lived in fear," Tamang said.

"But I am hopeful that this new early warning system will help save lives."

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The landslide forecasting platform was developed by Australian professor Antoinette Tordesillas with partners in Nepal, Britain and Italy.

Its name, SAFE-RISCCS, is an acronym of a complex title -- Spatiotemporal Analytics, Forecasting and Estimation of Risks from Climate Change Systems.

"This is a low-cost but high-impact solution, one that's both scientifically informed and locally owned," Tordesillas told AFP.

Professor Basanta Adhikari from Nepal's Tribhuvan University, who is involved in the project, said that similar systems were already in use in several other countries, including the United States and China.

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"We are monitoring landslide-prone areas using the same principles that have been applied abroad, adapted to Nepal's terrain," he told AFP.

"If the system performs well during this monsoon season, we can be confident that it will work in Nepal as well, despite the country's complex Himalayan terrain."

In Nepal, it is being piloted in two high-risk areas: Kimtang in Nuwakot district and Jyotinagar in Dhading district.

- Early warnings -

Tamang's data is handled by technical advisers like Sanjaya Devkota, who compares it against a threshold that might indicate a landslide.

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"We are still in a preliminary stage, but once we have a long dataset, the AI component will automatically generate a graphical view and alert us based on the rainfall forecast," Devkota said.

"Then we report to the community, that's our plan."

The experts have been collecting data for two months, but will need a data set spanning a year or two for proper forecasting, he added.

Eventually, the system will deliver a continuously updated landslide risk map, helping decision makers and residents take preventive actions and make evacuation plans.

The system "need not be difficult or resource-intensive, especially when it builds on the community's deep local knowledge and active involvement", Tordesillas said.

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Asia suffered more climate and weather-related hazards than any other region in 2023, according to UN data, with floods and storms the most deadly and costly.

And while two-thirds of the region have early warning systems for disasters in place, many other vulnerable countries have little coverage.

In the last decade, Nepal has made progress on flood preparedness, installing 200 sirens along major rivers and actively involving communities in warning efforts.

The system has helped reduce flooding deaths, said Binod Parajuli, a flood expert with the government's hydrology department.

"However, we have not been able to do the same for landslides because predicting them is much more complicated," he said.

"Such technologies are absolutely necessary if Nepal wants to reduce its monsoon toll."

str/pm/abh/dhw/sco
HARRISBURG, Pa.  State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, plans to introduce legislation that would eliminate all vehicle emissions testing in Pennsylvania. He is currently looking for co-sponsors.

Langerholcs proposal is coming at the same time that Republican President Donald Trump and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are considering repealing current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from automobile tailpipes.

This goes just with that to put our state on par with that, just to repeal emissions across the board, Langerholc said.

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He added: This common-sense legislation is about putting working Pennsylvanians first. Emissions testing is an outdated government mandate that serves no legitimate purpose other than cost hardworking Pennsylvanians that live in certain counties additional dollars during inspection time. It is high time to end this program. I wont stop fighting until we get this done.

Langerholc has been a proponent of eliminating emissions testing since he took office in 2017. He has gotten multiple pieces of legislation through the Senate over the years, but it just dies in the House (of Representatives), he said.

The federal Vehicle Emissions Inspection and Maintenance program requires annual emissions testing in 25 Pennsylvania counties.

Earlier this year, the Senate passed his Senate Bill 35 that would remove Blair, Cambria, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mercer and Westmoreland counties from the states emissions testing program, and Senate Bill 49 that would exempt the five most recent model year vehicles from testing requirements.

The bills await consideration in the House Transportation Committee.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Las Vegas Metro police are searching for an armed woman who is accused of committing at least two robberies at Las Vegas businesses just days apart, according to police.

The first robbery was reported on July 16 at 8:24 p.m. in the central valley near the 3000 block of East Flamingo Road, just west of Valley View Boulevard.

The second robbery was reported on July 19 at 8:37 p.m. in the south Las Vegas valley, near the 4000 block of West Cactus Avenue, just east of Arville Street in Las Vegas.

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The woman is described as wearing a black knitted ski mask, eyeglasses, a dark shirt or New York Yankees Sweatshirt under a black jacket, white shoes and carrying a light colored backpack. The woman was also described as 56 to 58 tall and between 30 to 60 years old.

Those with information are urged to call the Las Vegas Metro police commercial robbery section at 702-828-3591.

To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555. Tips directly leading to an arrest or an indictment processed through Crime Stoppers may result in a cash reward.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Retailer Curacao is taking action to support immigrant families, amid intensifying ICE raids across the country. Their free Essential Needs Assistance Program started in California and is now making its way to the valley.

A lot of people are feeling a little bit scared right now because of the current situation going on, Las Vegas store manager Gerber Barrera said. The store is at Meadows Mall.

The program is providing free household items, such as microwaves, refrigerators, TVs, and even groceries, directly to peoples doorsteps.

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We have a lot of customers that are not able to leave their homes, Barrera said. So when they are in need, we feel extremely happy that we can support our families.

Curacao is helping immigrant families with their free Essential Needs Assistance Program. (KLAS) Curacao is helping immigrant families with their free Essential Needs Assistance Program. (KLAS) The Curacao store at Meadows Mall. (KLAS) The Curacao store at Meadows Mall. (KLAS) A sign in the window at Curacao at Meadows Mall. (KLAS)

Assistant Manager Jenny Gonzalez told 8 News Now, within her own circle, shes witnessed the fear firsthand, among both family and friends.

They are even scared to go out, Gonzalez explained. Places they used to go all the time, they dont go  even to go to the grocery stores.

This program keeps peoples identities confidential. Families can apply online at their website.

Were going to be reviewing case by case just to make sure we reach those families who need it the most, Gonzalez said.

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Curacao is currently taking applications and said they will do so as long as they have resources to fulfill the requests.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
The Brief

China has published dozens of military-linked studies detailing methods to disrupt Starlink.

Starlinks use in Ukraine heightened fears about its strategic power.

Beijing is building its own competing satellite constellations to match Musks reach.

LOS ANGELES - As Elon Musks Starlink satellite network continues to expand around the globe, China is sounding the alarm  and studying how to take it down.

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Dozens of papers published by Chinese military-linked researchers lay out strategies to disrupt, disable, or counter Musks system, which they view as a direct threat to national security. The constellations role in Ukraines battlefield communications has only intensified Beijings concerns, leading to detailed research on how Starlink might be jammed, sabotaged, or outmaneuvered.

From laser-armed submarines to orbiting shadow satellites, the proposed countermeasures read like science fiction  but they reflect real geopolitical anxieties about the growing influence of a satellite network controlled by a private U.S. citizen with unpredictable political ties.

Why is China targeting Starlink?

The backstory

Since launching in 2019, Starlink has become the backbone of low-orbit internet communications. Operated by SpaceX, the network now accounts for nearly two-thirds of all active satellites, according to Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

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Beijing sees that dominance as a strategic risk. Though Starlink doesnt operate in China, its satellites still fly overhead  providing potential surveillance or connectivity capabilities that could be used against China in a military confrontation.

In a 2023 paper , professors from Chinas National University of Defense Technology wrote that "as the United States integrates Starlink technology into military space assets to gain a strategic advantage over its adversaries, other countries increasingly perceive Starlink as a security threat in nuclear, space, and cyber domains."

How the Ukraine war changed perceptions

Big picture view

Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point in how Starlink is perceived internationally. Ukraine used the network to coordinate drone strikes, maintain battlefield communication, and reconnect infrastructure.

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But the power to control access remained with Musk, who refused to extend service during a Ukrainian counterattack in Crimea.

"Ukraine was a warning shot for the rest of us," Nitin Pai, director of the Takshashila Institution in India, told the Associated Press. He added that many nations had long warned of the risk of relying on Chinese tech firms tied to Beijing  and now see similar vulnerabilities with American private companies.

Beachgoers watch as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The expanding Starlink network has drawn global attention  and concern  for its military and geopolitical impact. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Chinas response has been both strategic and scientific. Researchers affiliated with the Peoples Liberation Army, government cybersecurity teams, and state universities have published at least 64 papers on Starlink since the war began.

Theyve explored satellite tracking, signal interference, and possible vulnerabilities in Starlinks supply chain. One PLA paper proposed launching small satellites equipped with corrosive chemicals to degrade Starlink batteries or solar panels mid-orbit.

The other side

Beijing isnt alone in raising red flags. Some U.S. allies have started to question the wisdom of relying on a foreign billionaire for access to critical communications infrastructure.

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"We are allies with the United States of America, but we need to have our strategic autonomy," Christophe Grudler, a French member of the European Parliament, told the Associated Press. Grudler helped lead legislation on the EUs own satellite network, known as IRIS2. "The risk is not having our destiny in our own hands," he said.

By the numbers

While China prepares its own satellite networks, other companies and countries are also playing catch-up.

Amazons Project Kuiper has launched 78 satellites, aiming for more than 3,200. OneWeb, backed by Eutelsat, has around 650 in orbit. Chinas Guowang system has launched 60 satellites out of a planned 13,000. Shanghai-backed Qianfan has launched 90 and is courting clients in Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Africa.

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Despite these efforts, none come close to Starlinks scale. SpaceX operates over 8,000 satellites and plans to deploy tens of thousands more.

Could Starlink be taken down?

Chinese researchers have studied Starlinks operations in minute detail  from its round-the-clock coverage patterns over Beijing and Taiwan to its reliance on over 140 first-tier suppliers.

A 2023 paper from Chinas Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team identified gaps in cybersecurity and argued that Starlinks broad supply chain could be exploited. Other papers recommended using commercial telescopes to track satellites, or diplomatic channels to restrict Starlinks international contracts.

Engineers from the PLA even proposed building a tailing fleet of microsatellites to gather data, jam signals, or disrupt operations with ion thrusters.

What's next

China is expected to accelerate its own satellite launches while continuing to explore Starlinks technical weaknesses. Meanwhile, governments around the world are reevaluating what it means to outsource strategic infrastructure to a private business person whose influence extends from Earth to orbit.

The Source

This article is based on extensive reporting from the Associated Press, which reviewed 64 peer-reviewed Chinese research papers and interviewed experts in satellite policy, international security, and global telecommunications. Additional satellite data came from astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell and public records of recent commercial launches. Quotes from elected officials and analysts were obtained directly by the AP.
President Donald Trump s latest tariff moves drew worries from Wall Street as stocks slumped Friday and Treasury yields fell sharply.

Trump signed an order the previous night imposing steep tariffs on 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands, to go into effect Aug. 7, after he originally threatened them for April but postponed twice after that until Aug. 1.

The markets were also reacting to government reports of a dramatic slowdown in hiring as businesses, investors and the Fed operate under a cloud of uncertainty from months of tariff policy news.

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Here's the latest:

Senate delays annual August recess, for now, as Trump presses for more confirmations

There has been a stalemate over the pace of confirmations. Democrats have slowed the process by forcing procedural votes on almost all the presidents picks. Trump recently declared that his nominees should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT.

Caught in the middle, Majority Leader John Thune says he will keep the Senate in session over the weekend at least to hold confirmation votes while also negotiating with Democrats to speed up consideration of dozens of nominees. The two sides have yet to reach an agreement, and its unclear if Trump, who has publicly called on Republicans to cancel their break, would be onboard with any bipartisan deal.

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Thune said Friday that he was leaving some negotiations to Trump and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Thats how this is going to get resolved, Thune said. Well see where that leads.

Senators in both parties are eager to leave Washington.

 Read more about the Senate and nominations

The Smithsonian removes a Trump impeachment reference from an exhibit but says its temporary

A label about impeachment was added in 2021 to the National Museum for American Historys exhibit on presidential power.

Smithsonian spokesperson Phillip Zimmerman said the section needed an overhaul, and the impeachment reference will be restored after revisions.

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The decision comes as the White House presses for a more positive view of American history. Since January, Trump has demanded changes across Washington cultural institutions, including the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, and the Kennedy Center.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the Smithsonian has highlighted divisive DEI exhibits which are out of touch with mainstream America for too long.

We are fully supportive of updating displays to highlight American greatness, he said in a statement that did not address the removed reference to Trumps impeachments.

Trump is the only president to be impeached twice, in 2019 and 2021.

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Trump says Sean Combs hostility toward him makes pardon less likely

Trump said Combs became hostile toward him during the 2020 election after theyd been very friendly for years, and that the behavior makes a pardon more difficult to do.

Asked by Newsmax during an interview broadcast Friday if he was more likely to not issue a pardon for Combs, Trump told the conservative outlet, I would say so.

The 55-year-old music mogul is being held in a federal lockup in New York City awaiting sentencing Oct. 3 following his recent conviction on two prostitution-related charges.

Combs said in 2020 that white men like Trump need to be banished.

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Russian and US space chiefs meet to discuss continued cooperation

Russias space chief has visited the United States to discuss cooperation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station and lunar research with NASAs acting chief, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than seven years.

Dmitry Bakanov, director of Roscosmos, met Thursday with NASAs acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, prior to the delayed launch of a U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew to the space station.

Once bitter rivals in the space race during the Cold War, Roscosmos and NASA cooperated on the space station and other projects. That relationship was beset with tensions after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, but they continued to cooperate, with U.S. and Russian crews flying to the orbiting outpost.

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Plans for broader cooperation, including possible Russian involvement in NASAs Artemis program of lunar research, have fallen apart.

New York immigrant advocacy groups sue Trump administration over immigration court arrests

The lawsuit filed Friday in Manhattan federal court by the New York Civil Liberties Union and others argues that arresting immigrants as they appear in court for mandatory hearings is unprecedented and unlawful and violates their due process rights.

A similar lawsuit was filed last month in federal court in Washington over the large-scale immigration court arrests, which began in May.

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Spokespersons for the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agencies named in the suit, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Brazils Supreme Court stands firm on Bolsonaro trial despite foreign pressure

Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the court will not yield to sanctions or foreign pressure. He did not specifically name the U.S. or its president, but tensions between the countries escalated this week.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against De Moraes for alleged suppression of freedom of expression, and Trump signed an order imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods.

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Washington cited what it called political persecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro as the reason. Bolsonaro is accused of orchestrating a plot to remain in power after losing the 2022 election, and his trial is expected later this year.

De Moraes, who is overseeing the case against Bolsonaro, emphasized the independence of the judiciary.

The Supreme Court will always be unwavering in the defense of national sovereignty, in its commitment to democracy and the rule of law, in its commitment to the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional principles of Brazil, he said.

Senate confirms anti-DEI stalwart Andrea Lucas to second term at top workplace civil rights agency

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In a 52-45 party-line vote, the Senate confirmed Lucas to another five-year term as commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, demonstrating firm Republican support for her efforts to root out diversity programs, roll back protections for transgender workers and prioritize religious rights in the workplace.

Democratic lawmakers and prominent civil rights groups fiercely opposed Lucas confirmation, saying she has subjected the EEOC to the whims of the president, who elevated her to acting chair in January and, in an unprecedented act, fired two of the agencys Democratic commissioners before their terms expired.

Lucas, who was first appointed to the EEOC in 2020, has firmly aligned the agency with Trumps civil rights agenda, declaring during her confirmation hearing last month that she doesnt consider the EEOC to be independent, a position she acknowledged was a shift from her previously stated views.

Who is Erika McEntarfer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner fired by Trump?

The head of the agency that compiles the closely watched monthly jobs report usually toils in obscurity. But on Friday the current holder of that job was loudly fired by the president.

McEntarfer bore the brunt of Trumps unhappiness with the latest jobs report, which showed that hiring slowed in July and was much less in May and June than previously estimated. He accused her without evidence of manipulating the numbers and noted that she was appointed by President Joe Biden.

McEntarfer, a longtime government worker who served as BLS head for a year and a half, did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment. But her predecessor, former co-workers and associates denounced the firing, warning about its repercussions and saying she was nonpolitical in her role.

 Read more on what to know about McEntarfer

Judge allows the NSF to continue withholding hundreds of millions of research dollars

U.S. District Judge John Cronan declined a request by 16 Democratic-led states to force the National Science Foundation to restart payments immediately. The agency can continue withholding the funding from researchers until litigation aimed at restoring it plays out, he ruled.

Cronan said he would not grant the preliminary injunction in part because it may be that another court, the Court of Federal Claims, has jurisdiction over what is essentially a case about money. He also said the states failed to show that NSFs actions were counter to its mandate.

The states lawsuit, filed in May, alleges that the NSFs new grant-funding priorities as well as a cap on whats known as indirect research expenses violate the law and jeopardize Americas longstanding global leadership in STEM.

A lawyer for the NSF said it has the authority to fund whatever research it deems necessary  and has since its inception in 1950.

Judge pauses Trump administrations push to expand fast-track deportations

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb agreed to temporarily block the administrations efforts to expand expedited removal for immigrants who legally entered the U.S. under a process known as humanitarian parole. The ruling could could benefit hundreds of thousands of people.

Cobb ruled that the Department of Homeland Security exceeded its statutory authority in its efforts. The judge said those immigrants face perils that outweigh any harm from pressing pause on the administrations plans.

The case presents a question of fair play for people fleeing oppression and violence in their home countries, Cobb said in her order.

In a world of bad options, they played by the rules, she wrote. Now, the Government has not only closed off those pathways for new arrivals but changed the game for parolees already here, restricting their ability to seek immigration relief and subjecting them to summary removal despite statutory law prohibiting the Executive Branch from doing so.

Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler steps down, giving Trump slot to fill on powerful board

Kugler, who did not participate in the Feds policy meeting this week, would have completed her term in January. Instead she will retire Aug. 8. She did not provide a reason for stepping down in her resignation letter.

Federal Reserve governors vote on the central banks interest rate decisions and also on changes to bank regulations and other financial rules.

The Trump administration could take advantage of Kuglers resignation and appoint a potential replacement for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to her position. Powell, who has been repeatedly attacked by Trump for not reducing the Feds key short-term interest rate, completes his term as chair in May 2026.

Trump said Friday afternoon that he was very happy to have an opportunity to name someone to the board.

Asked about potential candidates, Trump said he has about three very good  Ive got a lot of good candidates.

Trump orders 2 US nuclear subs repositioned over statements from Russian ex-leader Medvedev

The president gave the directive after what he called highly provocative statements by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The two have have feuded online in recent days.

The impact on U.S. nuclear submariness  which normally and routinely patrol global hotspots  remains unclear. But the move potentially escalates tensions between Washington and Moscow at a delicate time, as Trump threatens new sanctions in an attempt to push Russia toward a ceasefire in its war with Ukraine.

Trump said Friday evening that he had to reposition the subs. He said Medvedev made inappropriate threats and, When you talk about nuclear, we have to be prepared.

House Republicans delay Ghislaine Maxwells subpoenaed testimony before Oversight Committee

In a letter to Maxwells lawyers, Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, said the committee is willing to delay your deposition as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation until after the conclusion of an appeal she filed to the Supreme Court. That appeal is expected to be resolved in late September.

Maxwells team had notified congressional investigators that she would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination unless the committee meets certain demands, including a granting of congressional immunity; for the deposition to take place outside of her Tallahassee prison; a preview of the questions; and the conclusion of her appeal.

Comer wrote that while Maxwells testimony is vital to the investigation, the committee would not provide immunity or advance questions. The committee is willing to engage in good faith negotiations and will continue its long-standing practice of engaging in forthright and detailed discussions about scoping, Comer added.

Restaurant industry leader says the cost of eating out is likely to rise due to tariffs

The National Restaurant Association, which represents more than 1 million U.S. eateries and food service providers, said Friday that tariffs could increase the cost of popular menu items like coffee and hamburgers as well as ingredients like spices.

Chef Phila Lorn walks through his restaurant, Mawn, after opening for the day in Philadelphia, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Michelle Korsmo, the president and CEO of the association, said restaurants operate on such tight margins that the tariffs will force many to raise prices. Higher prices will cause diners to eat out less often, jeopardizing an industry that supports millions of jobs.

Korsmo said the association wants food and beverages to be exempted from tariffs.

We ask the Trump administration to continue with sensible trade agreements, Korsmo said in a statement. While addressing trade deficits is important, food and beverage products are not major contributors to these imbalances.

US depends on spices coming from abroad

Laura Shumow, the executive director of the American Spice Trade Association, said Friday that many essential spices like cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla require tropical conditions to grow and cant be cultivated in the U.S. on a commercial scale.

Tariffs on such products wont incentivize U.S. production or create American jobs, but they will place a financial burden on food companies and restaurants, Shumow said.

Shumow noted the Trump administrations framework for its trade agreement with Indonesia would allow the U.S. to lower tariff rates on commodities that arent naturally available or domestically produced in the U.S.

Shumow said she hopes the final trade agreements with Brazil, India, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and other spice providers will contain similar language.

We firmly believe that smart, targeted trade policies can support the U.S. spice industry and other American businesses while helping to keep grocery costs down for families, Shumow said in a statement.

Brewer outlines the toll of Trump's latest tariffs

Brewers across the country have been struggling with labor costs driven up by inflation and generational shifts in alcohol consumption. Tariffs have made sourcing everything from cardboard to aluminum cans more expensive.

Trumps latest round of tariffs on European goods are putting special pressure on Utepils Brewing in Minneapolis  which specializes in pilsner, Kolsch and other classic styles from the continent. For Dan Justesen, president of Utepils, that means sourcing hops and malt from farmers in Germany and the Czech Republic.

You might ask, Why dont we buy American-grown hops? They dont grow the same styles, and they dont taste the same, he said.

The latest tariffs are already taking a toll. One supplier notified Justesen Thursday that they would no longer split the additional costsleaving Utepils on the hook with no relief in sight.

Even when the tariffs have been dropped temporarily at times, we dont see a price reduction. Prices go up, go up, and they go up, Justesen said.

New tariffs could raise costs of coffee and hamburgers, restaurant group says

The National Restaurant Association, which represents more than 1 million U.S. restaurants and food service providers, said Friday that the tariffs could increase the cost of popular menu items like coffee and hamburgers as well as ingredients like spices.

Michelle Korsmo, CEO of the association, said restaurants operate on such tight margins that the tariffs will force many to raise prices. Higher prices will cause diners to eat out less often, jeopardizing an industry that supports millions of jobs.

Korsmo said the association wants food and beverages to be exempted from tariffs. We ask the Trump administration to continue with sensible trade agreements, Korsmo said in a statement. While addressing trade deficits is important, food and beverage products are not major contributors to these imbalances.
Far-right provocateur Laura Loomer is crowdsourcing help to get more officials she deems disloyal to President Donald Trump kicked out of their jobs.

Loomer, a conspiracy theorist and self-described proud Islamophobe, has set up an anonymous tip line to help find her next so-called scalp.

Know an Obama-Biden holdover inside the Trump admin who needs to be exposed for their misdeeds? Loomer posted on X while linking to the tip line.

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Loomer has risen from a fringe extremist into an influential figure with the ear of Trump since he returned to office. A Daily Beast analysis found that at least 16 people have been fired since January after Loomer targeted them online and accused them of disloyalty to Trumps agenda.

Laura Loomer has described the 9/11 terror attacks as an

Speaking to Politico, Loomer said she expects to purge hundreds more for failing her loyalty test, and claimed that some of the people using her tip line will be within the Trump administration itself.

Im happy to take peoples tips about disloyal appointees, disloyal staffers, and Biden holdovers, Loomer said. And I guess you could say that my tip line has come to serve as a form of therapy for Trump administration officials who want to expose their colleagues who should not be in the positions that theyre in.

The latest scalp for Loomer is Jen Easterly, head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency under President Joe Biden, who had just been named the Robert F. McDermott Distinguished Chair in West Points social sciences department.

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In a furious Tuesday X post looping in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Loomer asked why Biden holdovers were getting elevated to high-level jobs under the Trump admin? The very next day, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll confirmed the offer to Easterly had been rescinded.

Also on Tuesday, Dr. Vinay Prasad was removed as the top vaccine official at the FDA after just three months into the job after a Loomer-led pressure campaign. This includes unearthing a 2021 audio clip of Prasad joking that he stabs a voodoo doll to curse Trump.

Its called getting Loomered. Vetting matters, Loomer posted on X while sharing an article about landing two targets within 24 hours of each other.

The U.S. Army rescinded its job offer to Jen Easterly after Laura Loomer complained about the appointment. / STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images

On Thursday, a Free Press report revealed that a former Trump administration official said its not uncommon for people inside the White House to contact Loomer when they want a rival taken down.

She talks to the president about stuff, and she knows how to characterize things and successfully move the needle on issues, a source close to the White House told The Free Press. I think she is f---ing crazy, but she is also influential.
President Donald Trumps second term White House has been marked by far less palace intrigue and personnel drama at the senior staff and Cabinet level than his first.



And yet, the firings are piling up.



More than a dozen high ranking officials across the administration have been forced to leave their jobs or had their nominations or promotions derailed in the first six months of Trumps return to Washington. Nearly all of the ousters have come after individuals were targeted by outside allies who convinced the president that they werent sufficiently loyal. And in many of those cases, the axe came down after officials found themselves in the crosshairs of right-wing activist Laura Loomer.

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In an interview with POLITICO, Loomer said she is now fielding tips from administration officials about colleagues they want exiled amid what she called a serious vetting crisis, predicting there are hundreds more she expects to purge.



Im happy to take peoples tips about disloyal appointees, disloyal staffers and Biden holdovers, Loomer said. And I guess you could say that my tip line has come to serve as a form of therapy for Trump administration officials who want to expose their colleagues who should not be in the positions that theyre in.



Loomer has emerged as a blunt enforcer of allegiance to Trump.



Donald Trump has always valued loyalty, said one presidential ally outside the White House granted anonymity to speak candidly about the approach to personnel. But what youre seeing now is on another level  theres zero tolerance for anything else.

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The purges have rippled through the Pentagon, the White House national security council and several other executive branch agencies. To a large degree, the firings align with the approach taken by the Department of Government Efficiency to slash the federal bureaucracy  or with eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts that were a point of emphasis for the last administration. The at times ruthless firings also reflect the ethos of Trumps sharp-elbowed personnel director, Sergio Gor, who has blocked several individuals whose MAGA credentials were at all suspect. Gor did not respond to a request for comment.



White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administrations staffing decisions: President Trump has put together the best Cabinet and staff in history, and the historic achievements over the past six months prove it, she said.



In certain cases, firings based on accusations of leaking also laid bare the strain of paranoia thats long been a feature inside Trump-run organizations.



Trump is famous for asking friends and outside allies for their opinions about his own staff. So much so that, during his first term, former chief of staff John Kelly tried to limit access to the Oval Office in an effort to exert some control over who was influencing the president. It backfired.

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Trump often refers to his current chief of staff, Susie Wiles, during Cabinet meetings as the most powerful woman in the world. The now familiar riff almost always elicits chuckles in the room. But Wiles power comes from not attempting to rein in the presidents impulses or restrict his circle in any way.



I know this from working for John Kelly, its just impossible to control Trump this way. He has lots of different telephones, said Kevin Carroll, a former CIA officer and lawyer representing intelligence officials fired by the Trump administration. Hes just on some random cell phoneand it could be with Laura Loomer.



One of his clients, Terry Adirim, the former top doctor at the CIA, has alleged that Loomer played a key role in her dismissal. Adirim was terminated by the Trump administration earlier this year after some of the presidents supporters criticized her for her role in the mandatory Covid vaccination of members of the military.



This week, the White House requested that Congress delay a hearing for Brian Quintenz to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission after cryptocurrency billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss urged Trump to dump Quintenz in a conversation last weekend.

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Also this week, Trump ordered the removal of the FDAs top vaccine regulator, Vinay Prasad, after just three months on the job. He did that despite opposition from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary  and after hearing from Loomer.



Loomer engineered a public backlash to Prasad that began with her labeling him on her website a progressive leftist saboteur undermining President Trumps FDA. Other conservative voices, like former GOP Sen. Rick Santorum and The Wall Street Journal editorial board, piled onto the criticism of Prasad and his approach to rare disease therapies  a concern that Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) raised with the White House on Monday, a day before Prasad was fired.



Also on Tuesday, Trump removed the National Security Administration's top lawyer, April Doss, after Loomer shared the conservative magazine Daily Callers investigation into Doss, which called her a transparently partisan activist.



Carroll said Loomers influence created a dangerous situation with somebody outside the government, no national security experience, whos got hire and fire authority over some of these really, really important jobs.

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In the White House, administration officials appear willing to overlook the disruption associated with frequent staff changes. And Loomer says she has strong relationships in the West Wing.



It is not only appropriate, but critical for the Administration to recruit the most qualified and experienced staffers who are totally aligned with President Trumps agenda to Make America Great Again, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said.



Desai added that the administrations record of peace deals to trade deals show that Trump has assembled the best and brightest talent to put Americans and America First.



Loomer has reportedly visited Trump at the White House on multiple occasions. Her Oval Office meetings have more than once preceded presidential decisions to cut people loose.

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I have people in the West Wing, Loomer said, adding that she gets along with Wiles very well. I have people in pretty much every single agency within the federal government like me, every main agency coming to me with concerns.



Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Wednesday directed the U.S. Military Academy to terminate an agreement with Jen Easterly, the onetime head of the nations cyber defense agency under former President Joe Biden. It came hours after Loomer posted on X, tagging Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, that Easterlys West Point hiring was horrendous.



While an Army spokesperson told POLITICO this was part of crafting a deliberate approach to ensure that our future officers are best prepared to meet the demands of the modern battlefield, Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell later posted on X that we are not turning cadets into censorship activists.



Easterly wrote on LinkedIn the day after the termination that her job at the academy was a casualty of casually manufactured outrage that drowned out the quiet labor of truth and the steady pulse of integrity.

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In May, Trump pulled the nomination of former Fox News contributor Janette Nesheiwat to be surgeon general after Loomer encouraged the president to go in a different direction.



@DoctorJanette is not ideologically aligned with Donald Trump or his admins health initiatives, she posted on X. How can she be confirmed in front of the US Senate on Thursday? She cant.



The next day, her nomination was yanked.



Six officials on the National Security Council, including senior director for intelligence Brian Walsh and senior director for international organizations Maggie Dougherty, were all fired by Trump in April, a day after Loomer reportedly met with Trump. She later took credit for the firings, writing on X: You know how you know the NSC officials I reported to President Trump are disloyal people who have played a role in sabotaging Donald Trump?

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Former national security adviser Mike Waltz also felt the wrath of Loomer, who persuaded Trump to dump his staff. In reality, according to two people familiar with the matter and granted anonymity to discuss it, Waltzs departure stemmed more from his alienation of Wiles and others inside the White House because of his often brash behavior and attempts to push policy, especially in the Middle East, in a more hawkish direction.



Loomer acknowledges she has made some enemies with her approach.



Professional jealousy is a terrible disease, and there are many people in the White House who have been infected, Loomer said. I think it's just human nature to dislike people who maybe pose a threat to your job because they're better at your job than you are.



Among other people who were fired shortly after Loomers intervention was Adam Schleifer, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles; and Maurene Comey, a prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys office who had handled some of its highest-profile cases, including those against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

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Loomers outsized influence with the president came under heightened scrutiny in April after she reportedly encouraged him to oust Gen. Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, and his deputy, Wendy Noble, who were largely seen by lawmakers on both sides as uncontroversial and nonpartisan.



Haugh received minimal pushback during his confirmation hearing. But reportedly after Loomer told Trump Haugh was chosen by Gen. Mark Milley, the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with whom Trump has repeatedly butted heads, the president abruptly fired him with little public explanation. This move was widely condemned by Democratic lawmakers and cybersecurity experts, with many accusing Trump of undermining the nations cybersecurity.



Jake Traylor, Kelly Hooper, Erica Orden, Maggie Miller, Eric Bazail-Eimil, Nahal Toosi and Jack Detsch contributed to this report.


FIRST ON FOX: A House lawmaker is making a push to hold mayors of sanctuary cities responsible for illegal immigrants committing murder within their jurisdictions.

Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., is introducing the Establishing Responsibility for Illegals Crimes and Adding Deterrence and Accountability for Mayors Sanctuary Cities Act, or the ERIC ADAMS Act, on Friday.

If passed, the bill would open sanctuary city mayors to criminal liability if illegal immigrants living there were found guilty of murder.

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Comer Dismisses Biden Doctor's Bid For Pause In Cover-up Probe: 'Throwing Out Every Excuse'

It's named after New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is up for re-election this November.

Carter, meanwhile, is running to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in the November 2026 midterms.

Read On The Fox News App

The bill's introduction comes days after the Trump administration moved to sue the Big Apple for its sanctuary policies, one of multiple such lawsuits President Donald Trump's officials are pursuing against Democrat-run cities and states.

Far-left Firebrand Says She 'Never Had A Concern' About Biden's Mental State As House Probe Heats Up

Rep. Buddy Carter is leading a bill to make sanctuary city mayors criminally liable for illegal immigrants committing murder in their jurisdictions.

Under the terms of Carter's legislation, a sanctuary city mayor could be found guilty of "criminal negligence resulting in manslaughter" if an undocumented person committed murder there and if "the mayor knowingly adopted, maintained, or failed to repeal a sanctuary policy that materially restricted cooperation with Federal immigration enforcement, and such policy directly and foreseeably contributed to the failure to detain or remove" the person before the crime was committed, according to bill text obtained by Fox News Digital.

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It would carry a penalty of up to seven years in prison, as well as certain fines.

Enforcement would be left to the attorney general, the bill text said.

"Laken Riley and countless other loved ones could still be alive today if our immigration laws were respected by mayors of sanctuary cities," Carter told Fox News Digital, referencing a nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant in early 2024 in Georgia.

"As far as Im concerned, they have blood on their hands and should be held personally accountable for creating a lawless environment that allows criminal illegal aliens to commit murder."

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Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Adams, told Fox News Digital when reached for comment: "Its often said that if both the left and the right are angry with you, you might be doing something right."

"Mayor Adams is focused on what best protects and serves all the people of New York City. Keeping New Yorkers safe also means making sure they feel safe, and Mayor Adams has been clear: no one should be afraid to dial 911 , send their kids to school, or go to the hospital, and no New Yorker should feel forced to hide in the shadows," the Adams spokesperson said.

"Thats why the mayor supports the essence of the local laws put in place by the City Council, but he has also urged the Council to reexamine them to ensure we can effectively work with the federal government to keep violent criminals off our streets."

Fox News Digital also reached out to Adams' campaign for comment but did not hear back.





Original article source: Lawmaker unveils 'ERIC ADAMS Act' threatening criminal penalties for sanctuary city mayors
Missouri is taking action to reel in the spread of invasive species, including one harming a lucrative industry and another spreading a stink across the state  literally.

As detailed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has signed Senate Bill 105, a measure banning state-licensed nurseries from knowingly or intentionally selling a variety of invasive species, including Bradford pear and perilla mint.

Also known colloquially as a Callery pear, the Bradford pear has experienced a stunning decline in its reputation after first arriving in the United States in the 1900s as a potential solution to a blight that was threatening the commercial pear industry and as an ornamental plant.

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For one, despite their gorgeous flowers, Bradford pear trees exude an odor some have likened to rotting fish. The aggressively growing trees also bloom earlier than native flowers and milkweed. As a result, native plants can't get the sunlight they need to thrive.

This could lead to devastating consequences for food supply-supporting pollinators, such as the endangered monarch butterfly, which rely on these species for their survival.

What's more, the weak branch structure of Bradford pears boosts their risk of creating property damage, particularly during severe storms. In years past, conservation groups in Missouri have even offered Bradford pear buy-back initiatives to help homeowners rewild their yards.

As for the perilla mint, Missouri Cattlemen's Association lobbyist Shannon Cooper suggested that the abundantly reseeding plant is dangerous to the Show Me State's economic development because it is toxic to cattle.

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"They get into it, they eat it and they die," Cooper said at a legislative hearing, per the Post-Dispatch.

According to the Missouri Department of Agriculture, the cattle industry brings more than $1.6 billion each year to Missouri's economy and supports nearly 41,000 jobs. All in all, agriculture accounts for more than 38% of all jobs in the state.

SB105, which Gov. Kehoe signed on July 14, also prohibits sales of burning bush, climbing euonymus, Japanese honeysuckle, and sericea lespedeza. Along with the Bradford pear, burning bushes will no longer be legal for sale beginning Jan. 1, 2029, according to the Post-Dispatch. The other invasive species will be banned for sale starting on Jan. 1, 2027.

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.

Meanwhile, a $500 million-plus renovation of the Missouri state capitol complex may also work to limit the spread of Bradford pears by removing them, which would surely pay economic dividends down the line with invasive species causing billions in damages globally each year.

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"The intent will always be to align what works best for the intended purpose of the landscape while prioritizing native species and ones that best represent the great state of Missouri," said Shayne Martin, spokesman for Missouri's Office of Administration.

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Six years ago, the First Christian Church in Lancaster was a victim of deed fraud.

It was an absolute nightmare. An absolute shock to get letters from the Dallas County appraisal district asking us what we sold our property for. Because we did not sell it, church board chair Robert Brown told Texas lawmakers during a hearing earlier this month.

It took the church two years to get the property back into their name, and another three to see the fraudster convicted of the crime. It was a long process that involved two lawyers, Lancaster police and the Dallas County Clerk's office, Brown said.

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The Texas Senate voted unanimously on Aug. 6 to approve Senate Bill 15, which would strengthen protections against deed fraud and create new criminal penalties.

The proposal now heads to the House, where the fate of the legislation, as well as every bill being considered during this years special lawmaking session, remains uncertain after Texas House Democrats fled the state to block a Republican-led effort to redraw Texas congressional maps.

Deed fraud, one of the lesser-known items on this years jam-packed special legislative session, is a form of real estate fraud in which scammers file fraudulent deeds and use them to sell someone elses property. In other cases, fraudsters take out loans against the stolen deed.

Brown said the legislation is needed to protect people.

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People can just walk into the county clerks office and give them this paperwork, that everything on it is fraudulent. Everything, Brown said. They just waltz in and nobody asks them any questions. Nobody asks for identification.

SB 15, filed by state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, would make it mandatory for county clerks to request identification when a property transaction is filed.

The bill tells us exactly word for word what you do, what you can do, because right now we can't demand to see their license. We may in some counties, Victoria County Clerk Heidi Easley testified on Aug. 1.

SB 15 passed the upper chamber on Aug. 6 with an amendment from Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, stating that the changes would only affect in-person filings, among other language clarifications.

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In Dallas County, which West represents, more than 100 properties have been involved in deed fraud this year, Assistant District Attorney Phillip Clark said. In April, Harris County attorney Christian Menefee filed a lawsuit against a Houston couple who created fake deeds and ownership records for at least 35 properties.

It's a surprisingly big issue, Clark said during the hearing. In the scope of all the land and houses and properties in the state of Texas, it's a small number. But it is a growing number and it's particularly devastating to the victims.

Its unclear exactly how widespread the problem is in the state since there is no criminal code for deed fraud. During the Aug. 1 hearing, lawmakers agreed to merge SB 15 with Senate Bill 36, which would create new criminal offenses and penalties for real property theft and expand the statute of limitations for prosecution to 10 years.

Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Senate Bill 648 in May, a previous version of deed fraud legislation that passed during the regular lawmaking session earlier this year.

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In his veto, Abbott said SB 648 would have been particularly burdensome for low-income landowners. That bill would have required the presence of an attorney, a title agent or a similar service provider to file documents related to any real property transaction. It would have also required property owners without any legal representation to jump through additional hoops and name every heir to the property in an affidavit.

Abbott added deed fraud to his agenda for the special session so lawmakers could fix the legislation.

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.
The New Mexico Supreme Court on July 21, 2025 limited in-person visits to the Bernalillo County Courthouse, and two other Second Judicial District Court locations in Albuquerque, after the county sheriffs office reduced the number of deputies it assigns for security. (Photo by Marisa Demarco / KUNM)

Operating hours at New Mexicos busiest courthouse remained limited on Thursday because of what state judicial officials say is a potentially dangerous decision by the local sheriffs office to limit how many deputies work security there.

The dispute over security staffing at the Bernalillo County Courthouse comes as judges and court administrators are telling lawmakers they feel unsafe doing their jobs across the state.

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The interim legislative Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee invited county and state court officials to meet with them July 31, a week after the New Mexico Supreme Court limited how many people can enter three court buildings in downtown Albuquerque. Court officials described the operational change as a precautionary safety measure in response to Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office staffing reductions, a characterization the sheriffs office disputes.

On Thursday, Second Judicial District Court Chief Judge Marie Ward told the committee the number of Bernalillo County Sheriffs deputies working security at the courthouse started to decrease in January, and by July 10 stood at roughly half of what it was normally. The sheriffs office, in a news release, has said it restructured staffing to identify inefficiencies and achieve the same level of security and service with fewer deputies.

The situation remained unresolved on Thursday, despite ongoing negotiations between Ward, Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen, County Manager Cindy Chavez and county commissioners.

The Administrative Office of the Courts last month pointed to examples of violent threats against judges and court staff across the state as reasons for state lawmakers to consider allocating more funding for court security and creating an internal security force for the courts rather than relying on local police.

Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Peter Golden told the committee the Legislature could solve court staffing problems by allowing more retired police officers to return to work as court security specialists while keeping their pensions.

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New Mexico last year allowed police who retired by the end of 2024 and who havent worked for at least three months to return to certain public safety jobs. However, Golden said the new law limits his recruitment pool because it only allows retired cops to receive their pensions for three consecutive years while working, and they must be hired by the end of June 2027.

I have individuals right now that are willing to rehire as court security specialists, but they will not forgo a continuous full-time position in retirement for one that only has a limit of 36 months, he said.

The Legislature could consider changing the criteria, but wont be able to for months, said Committee Vice Chair Rep. Christine Chandler (D-Los Alamos). Lawmakers next regular session is in January; the governor is expected to call a special session later this month or in early September, but agenda items will be limited to the governors discretion.

A short-term solution, Golden said, would be for the Legislature to provide $1 million to pay for deputies overtime working court security.

Chandler called that idea a non-starter.

Thats something that needs to be brought up to the county commission, she said.

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New proposed legislation in the Cayman Islands could prevent tourists and visitors from keeping fish they catch in an effort to protect vulnerable marine species.

According to the Cayman News Service, the new legislation would only allow local Caymanians to catch and keep fish, with non-locals being required to obtain a license to catch and release some fish species, and only being permitted to do so in certain areas.

Overfishing is an issue that can be seen in waters around the world. Recently, a ban on the commercial fishing of sea cucumbers was extended to protect the species in Oman.

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When any species is overhunted or disproportionately endangered, there's a risk to biodiversity. This can not only wreak havoc on animal or marine life but also trickle down and impact humans, making waterways less clean or even affecting the food supply.

Chief Officer of the Ministry of Health, Environment and Sustainability Tamara Ebanks spoke to the Cayman News Service about next steps in drafting the legislation.

"Initiating legislative drafting is an important step," Ebanks said. "While the legislative drafting work is underway, government will consult with the various stakeholders to develop the implementation and operational plans for the new regulation, including enforcement and managing visitor access through controlled catch-and-release opportunities."

The precision in the drafting process is key, as previous restrictions have been attempted but were overturned or deemed ineffective.

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"Even with the current protections, given Cayman's growing population and the fact that anyone can fish in the designated areas, fish stocks in Cayman are under constant pressure," the Cayman News Service reported. "A law that only allows Caymanians to fish is an obvious step, likely to be welcomed by locals."

Protections for this local tradition and boundaries for visitors would hopefully bring more balance and healthier aquatic life in Cayman. Plus, ensuring the legislation makes room for protecting vulnerable or endangered species will promote the longevity of ocean life in the islands.

"These measures will help maintain the health of our reefs and marine life, safeguarding both our natural resources for this and future generations," Cayman Environmental Minister Katherine Ebanks-Wilks told the Cayman News Service.

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.

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On Wednesday, 12 Democratic members of Congress filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Trump administration for obstructing lawful congressional oversight visits to federal immigration detention centers.

The lawsuit argues that a new rule implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which prohibits visits to ICE field offices and requires at least seven days' notice before touring a facility, blocks members of Congress from ensuring DHS compliance with federal law and properly overseeing how taxpayer dollars are being spent.

Section 527 of the DHS Appropriations Act protects the legal right of members of Congress to visit immigration detention centers, stating, "none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Homeland Securitymay be used to prevent" members of Congress or their staff "from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the [DHS] used to detain or otherwise house aliens." According to the act, no prior notice is required for lawmakers, but DHS may require congressional staffers to provide notice at least 24 hours in advance.

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The ability to oversee these facilities is particularly important since President Donald Trump took office and began implementing his mass deportation agenda. In the last six months, immigration detentions have reached record highs, leading to reports of overcrowded conditions and increased due process violations.

Following a clash in May at the Delaney Hall detention center in New Jersey, in which Newark Democratic Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested for trespassing while three members of Congress attempted an oversight visit, ICE Director Todd Lyons and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem issued conflicting statements. Lyons recognized that members of Congress have the right to visit facilities unannounced, while Noem dismissed the incident as a "political stunt."

"If these three members had simply asked for a tour," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a follow-up press release, "these three congressional members would have been easily allowed into Delaney Hall and would not have had to resort to assaulting law enforcement to enter the facility."

But skirmishes between Democratic officials and federal agents continued, as members of Congress were continuously stopped from entering detention facilities without prior notice.

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In June, ICE released updated guidance noting that "ICE Field Offices," which are now being used to house detainees as bed space at other facilities fill up, "are not detention facilities and fall outside" Congress' legal purview under section 527. ICE also requested that federal lawmakers provide at least 72 hours' advance notice for oversight visits48 hours more than congressional staff.

The lawsuit filed on Wednesday to challenge this rule change alleges that representatives were denied entry in July after DHS "adopted a new policy and practicewithout any congressional revision to the text of section 527, that purports to require notice 'a minimum of seven (7) days in advance to schedule visits to DHS detention facilities,' absent authorization by the secretary of DHS."

"These members of Congress could have just scheduled a tour; instead, they're running to court to drive clicks and fundraising emails," McLaughlin told the Associated Press in an email regarding the lawsuit challenging the new visitation rules.

Even if the lawsuit is merely a political stunt to "drive clicks and fundraising emails," it is still worthwhile to protect congressional authority to check government power and demand accountability for due process violations. On July 4, Trump signed legislation appropriating $45 billion to expand ICE's detention capacity to at least 116,000 non-citizens, despite ongoing legal challenges regarding the administration's current detention practices. Such a huge amount of funding alone demands oversight, but without proper redress, rights violations will skyrocket right alongside the rapidly expanding immigration industrial complex.

The post Lawmakers Sue ICE To Protect Right To Visit Detention Centers Unannounced appeared first on Reason.com.
CARTHAGE, Texas (KETK)  A lawsuit filed in Panola County accuses several officials of misconduct, racketeering and operating a duck fund to trade favorable trial outcomes for cash.

Longview chemical plant sued after residents diagnosed with cancer

The lawsuit was filed on July 8 in the 123rd Judicial District Court by Lisa and Steven Broomfield, joint permanent managing conservators of a minor child, amid ongoing family court proceedings.

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The lawsuit was filed against:

Eric Scott Rick McPherson: Current County Court at Law Judge and former Acting Assistant District Attorney for Panola County

Joey Fenlaw: former Acting Assistant District Attorney for Panola County

Danny Buck Davidson: former Panola County District Attorney

10 unnamed Panola County officials and agents

This petition seeks relief based on a coordinated pattern of official misconduct, prosecutorial

fraud, suppression of criminal investigations, and concealment of incapacitation within the

Panola County District Attorneys Office, the lawsuit complaint explained. These actions obstructed justice, violated statutory duties, compromised custody proceedings, and endangered the safety of [the minor child].

Key allegations from the lawsuit include:

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The lawsuit alleges that Lisa submitted a sworn affidavit detailing misconduct but was ignored, and that a fake affidavit was entered into a criminal case, resulting in the dismissal of a felony charge.

Lisa claimed that multiple public records requests were delayed or ignored by Panola County officials and staff, and that Collin Underwood, City of Carthage Attorney, was hired for $6,000 to handle records requests, a potential misuse of public funds.

The lawsuit claims that Davidson was unable to medically or cognitively serve as District Attorney and that officials concealed Davidsons alleged condition.

Broomfield alleged that during Davidsons tenure as DA, there was a discretionary prosecutorial fund known as the Duck Fund, which allegedly took payments for favorable outcomes in cases.

The lawsuit also cites violations of the Texas and U.S. Constitutions, the Texas Penal Code, the Texas Local Government Code, Judicial Canons and the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Conduct.

Sanderson Farms among East Texas businesses to file lawsuit over water dispute

Further allegations include a violation of the federal RICO Act, accusing officials of engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity through obstruction, retaliation, misuse of funds and improper case dismissals within the DAs office.

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Lisa alleged that she asked Panola County Sheriff Cutter Clinton to investigate the District Attorneys Office but that he declined by stating either expressly or by clear implication, that initiating an inquiry into District Attorney Danny Buck was politically untenable and could jeopardize his career advancement.

She then alleged that during Davidsons tenure as DA, there was a discretionary prosecutorial fund thats reportedly known as the Duck Fund. This fund is alleged to have taken payments for favorable outcomes in cases.

Petitioner, upon information and belief, alleges that select local attorneys  to be identified through discovery  in conjunction with Danny Buck Davidson and/or his assistant district attorneys and a magistrate or judge, worked together to dismiss (primarily) DWI and drug charges, even for repeat offenders as the record and testimony will show, the lawsuit alleged.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue injunctive orders, including prohibiting the use of outside counsel for statutory government functions without public approval or judicial oversight, and mandating independent reviews of cases resolved under Davidsons last two years of service.

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SFA women athletes fight for their sports in court

In an affidavit attached to the lawsuit, Lisa called for other cases to be examined in light of this alleged misconduct, including the Bernie Tiede case, which was depicted in the 2011 film Bernie, where actor Matthew McConaughey played former DA Danny Buck Davidson.

KETK reached out to the Panola County District Attorneys Office about these allegations and received the following statement from current District Attorney Larry Fields:

The allegations contained in the lawsuit occurred before I took office on January 1, 2025. As such, I have no personal knowledge of the facts surrounding the allegations, Fields said.

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Lisa is representing herself and Steven in the lawsuit and plans to try the case in a jury trial. A trial date has not yet been set, though citations have been served to the defendants.

In June, Sheriff Clinton and former Deputy Sheriff Jeffery Dale Martin came to a six-figure settlement in a lawsuit alleging that Clinton violated Martins First Amendment right to run for office during the 2024 Republican Primary for the Panola County Sheriffs race.

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STAR-ADVERTISER FILE Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Joe Logan gave an update, in October 2024, about an HPD officer involved shooting of an 18-year-old man during a domestic dispute with another man at a Waipahu home. Logan filed a civil lawsuit Thursday, accusing Mayor Rick Blangiardi of forcing him to retire by threatening to make it very difficult  for him and his family if he refused to step down.

STAR-ADVERTISER FILE Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Joe Logan gave an update, in October 2024, about an HPD officer involved shooting of an 18-year-old man during a domestic dispute with another man at a Waipahu home. Logan filed a civil lawsuit Thursday, accusing Mayor Rick Blangiardi of forcing him to retire by threatening to make it very difficult  for him and his family if he refused to step down.

Former Honolulu police Chief Arthur Joe  Logan filed a civil lawsuit Thursday, accusing Mayor Rick Blangiardi of forcing him to retire by threatening to make it very difficult  for him and his family if he refused to step down.

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The 15-page complaint filed in Oahu Circuit Court alleges that on May 28, Blangiardi summoned  Logan to what was supposed to be a regular weekly meeting, instructing him to come alone,  and later added the city managing director to the meeting.

The lawsuit alleges that Blangiardi told Logan, You knew this was coming, I am telling you to resign, or I will make it very difficult for you and your family, and you know I can.

Logan took this as a clear threat against himself and his family and became distraught causing severe emotional distress,  the lawsuit says.

Logan alleges that Blangiardi told him that he didnt want to drag the department and yourself through the drama.

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Blangiardi said in a statement today that he was deeply disappointed that former Chief Logan has chosen to file this meritless complaint against the City.

He voluntarily stepped down as Chief and had every opportunity to rescind his resignation if he has changed his mind over the last two months,  Blangiardi said. The City will vigorously defend against these claims as we remain firmly focused on strengthening public safety in communities across Oahu, advancing officer recruitment, and increasing public confidence in government.

Logan countered Blangiardis demand and made a case for him to remain in charge of the largest law enforcement organization in Hawaii.

Blangiardi allegedly told Logan his pitch to keep his job was very persuasive  but stated, Ive made up my mind, you need to resign,  according to the civil complaint. The mayor allegedly told Logan that he was to resign, not retire.

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Logan told the mayor he would speak to his family about resigning /retiring and walked out of the meeting.

Immediately after the meeting with Blangiardi, Logan texted, called, and spoke  with three Honolulu police commissioners and told them Blangiardi was forcing him to resign by threatening him and his family  and that Logan wouldnt want the department dragged through the drama, the suit says.

Logan also told his personal secretaries at HPD that the mayor was forcing him out.

, Logan told Blangiardi he would step down and asked to stay on until a new chief was selected or until Aug 1.Blangiardi allegedly told him, No, it has to be the end of June.

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Blangiardi announced that Logan was retiring  and that at a news conference.

Logan accused Blangiardi of having a Hawaii News Now camera team set up and ready to film him walking in and out of Blangiardis office on June 2, leaving him shocked and humiliated.

Logan and his attorney, Joseph T. Rosenbaum, will address the lawsuit and take questions from the news media at a 10 a.m. news conference in Rosenbaums office.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  A national group facilitating organ donations has filed a lawsuit to halt changes to the Arkansas organ donation law.

Officials with Little Rock-based Southern Legacy of Life (SLL) filed a lawsuit on Thursday to halt Act 861 from going into effect. Act 861 changed the law by allowing someone with power of attorney, relatives or guardians of an organ donor to halt their organ donation.

Benton police officers become inseparable through kidney donation

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The act also requires any organ procurement organization to report to the legislative council each year its activity level and the number of times a donation was halted under the terms of Act 861.

SLL officials said Act 861 has the potential to impact dozens of lives each year in Arkansas.

Act 861 was signed into law without an emergency clause, meaning it is due to go into effect on Aug. 5, 90 days after the legislature adjourned in full. Court records show that SLL attorneys have asked for an immediate temporary injunction to prevent the law from going into effect.

Arkansas organ recipient and donors father become found family each Christmas

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SLL attorneys maintain the act is unconstitutional, violates federal regulations and jeopardizes public trust and lives waiting to be saved.

Act 861 undermines donor authorization, confuses medical systems, and conflicts with federal law, SLL CEO Mark Tudor said. Every Arkansan who joins the donor registry deserves to have that decision respected.

Tudor added that the act unfairly moves legal decisions to family members above decisions made by donors.

Act 861 says their decision does not count, and incredibly, the law gives more legal protection to a family members decision made after death than to the donors own legally valid choice made during life, he said. This unequal treatment strips registered donors of the very rights the law grants to those who never made a decision at all. Instead of honoring and protecting a donors gift, the law punishes them for making a decision.

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US organ donation system faces scrutiny and changes after reports of disturbing near-misses

Because of this, the law is discriminatory, Tudor said.

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A Jersey defence lawyer has been jailed for seven months for admitting he drunkenly drove away from a crash.

The island's Magistrates' Court heard how David Steenson, 57, drove his Jaguar for more than a mile from the accident on La Route de St Jean with his front wheel scraping along the road at a 90-degree angle.

The collision with a white mini cooper happened on 16 May, 10 days after Steenson finished a community service sentence for assaulting a taxi driver, an incident from 2024 also involving alcohol.

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Steenson previously admitted drink-driving, failing to stop and report an accident and two counts of dangerous driving. His lawyer told the court the advocate was "deeply ashamed".

The driver of the white mini cooper Steenson collided with suffered whiplash and has had trouble sleeping since the accident [States of Jersey Police]

He added the defendant's professional achievements meant he had further to fall.

The court heard the car Steenson crashed into was being driven by a woman who was taking her daughter home from a dance event.

Steenson had the "drunken, impaired belief" that he had hit a pavement instead of another car, it was told.

The woman suffered whiplash and has struggled to sleep since the collision.

Steenson also told police he had not been drinking moments before he failed a roadside breathalyser test. He registered 82mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than double the local limit (35mcg/100ml).

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In delivering the sentence, the relief magistrate Tan Ikram, a UK judge, said the crimes were "so serious" there was no alternative but to sentence him with immediate imprisonment.

He said they were made more serious because Steenson had only just finished his previous sentence and, as a lawyer, he should have been aware of the risks of reoffending.

Steenson was also suspended from driving for 30 months and, since the incident, has sought professional help for his relationship with alcohol.

After Steenson pleaded guilty for common assault in December 2024, the Royal Court suspended him from legal practice for three months.

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Steenson's defence lawyer told the court this most recent sentence would not be the end of his punishment as it had done "enormous damage" to his career and reputation.

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The related video above showcases Leadville and all it has to offer as part of FOX21s Discover Leadville week, part of our summer getaway series.

(LEADVILLE, Colo.)  St. Vincent Health has been voted the seventh most beautiful hospital in the country in a national contest by healthcare and education staffing provider Soliant Health.

Soliants Most Beautiful Hospitals contest garnered over two million votes to name the top 20 most beautiful hospitals, recognizing excellence in healing design, compassionate care, and community dedication. Leadvilles St. Vincent Health garnered over 11,000 votes from patients, staff, and supporters, giving them the #7 spot.

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St. Vincent Health has earned the admiration of its community by fostering a warm, welcoming atmosphere that supports healing in every sense, said David Alexander, CEO of Soliant Health. Its recognition in this years contest is a reflection of the strong bond it has built with patients, staff, and the surrounding region.

St. Vincent Health has been in operation since 1879, making it a healthcare fixture for the Lake County region. The hospitals recently completed renovation combines state-of-the-art facilities, modern architecture, and connections to the areas mining history. This gives the Leadville care provider one of the most beautiful atmospheres to heal in the country.

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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (WCMH)  Leaked emails are giving more evidence to a story NBC4 Investigates first broke two years ago.

In 2023, sources inside a Chillicothe hospital revealed that a cardiac surgery was performed on three patients by a doctor who was not properly credentialed.

The hospital denied it then, and denies it now.

NBC4 Investigates obtained internal emails that contradict the hospitals stance.

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For the past two years, Adena Health in Chillicothe has claimed all doctors at Adena Health are credentialed for all medical procedures they perform.

Emails that we obtained this week, sent between Adena accounts, show hospital leadership knew the doctor lacked the proper credentials.

The surgery in question is a transcatheter aortic valve replacement or TAVR. It is a surgery to replace a damaged heart valve without cutting open the patients chest.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services require two credentialed doctors in order for a hospital to bill for the procedure.

In our original report, our sources confirmed one doctor was not credentialed when he performed three TAVR procedures on March 1, 2022.

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This week, NBC4 Investigates obtained emails between top Adena employees. One dated March 7, 2022, from the vice president of quality and safety, asking: Are they considered privileged and credentialed now? And a response: No, they are not.

That email was sent six days after those surgeries.

Another email that same day reads: Once [the doctor] is approved, he will have privileges.

At least two of the high-level people included in these emails still work for Adena today.

In 2023, Adena Health denied the doctor lacked credentials for the TAVR procedure, sending us a statement saying: Claims to the contrary are patently false.

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On July 31, an Adena spokesperson sent a statement saying: Adena Health upholds the highest standards as it relates to credentialing our providers. Out-of-context emails, such as those obtained by the news station, provide an inaccurate and incomplete picture.

This credentialing process related to the TAVR procedure was reviewed by multiple regulatory bodies, which have found Adena to be compliant and even overly compliant. Adena Healths focus will remain on delivering quality care close to home with compassion, excellence, trust, and integrity.

When NBC4 Investigates continued to ask if the doctor was credentialed at the time of the March 1, 2022 procedures, despite having emails that say otherwise, Adena said: Both [doctors] were appropriately privileged and credentialed for their parts in the procedure on March 1, 2022.

CMS requires two doctors to perform a TAVR procedure and deploy the valve. The CMS website states: The heart teams interventional cardiologist(s) and cardiac surgeon(s) must jointly participate in the intra-operative technical aspects of TAVR.

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We dispute the claim that the emails are out of context. In fact, you can read them for yourself below.

Scanned-from-a-Xerox-Multifunction-Printer-3_718826050Download

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  A planned vote on a new 10year lease for the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) headquarters was delayed after union members raised concerns about what they call an unhealthy workspace.

The Special State Properties Committee was set to approve the lease for 101 Friendship St. in Providence during Tuesdays meeting, but questions from SEIU Local 580the union representing roughly 300 DCYF employees prompted the panel to postpone the vote and schedule a public comment session. A date has not yet been announced.

Union members claim the building, a retrofitted former jewelry factory, has been plagued by health complaints for decades and subjected to three federal investigations. They argue it was never intended for safe, modern office use and its lease should not be extended.

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Photos of the buildings condition, reportedly taken July 25, were shown at the meeting, printed on large sheets of paper. They depict black mold on vents, a decomposing rat, and water leaking through ceilings.

DCYF removes children from unsafe homes, yet it holds parent-child visits in this public office building? Neither the kids nor DCYF workers should be exposed to an unhealthy, taxpayer-funded office space, the union wrote in a statement.

(Story continues below.)

DCYF building conditions (Courtesy: SEIU Local 580) DCYF building conditions (Courtesy: SEIU Local 580) DCYF building conditions (Courtesy: SEIU Local 580) DCYF building conditions (Courtesy: SEIU Local 580) DCYF building conditions (Courtesy: SEIU Local 580) DCYF building conditions (Courtesy: SEIU Local 580)

Union members claim the heating and cooling system is chronically inefficient despite rising operational costs. They said DCYF is proposing to spend nearly $24 million in taxpayer money over the next decade to lease a building they allege contains toxic materials. They also criticized the $1.2 million in taxpayer money spent on parking in fiscal year 2024.

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Union leaders argue the building is underutilized and unnecessary due to more mobile field work and technological advances.

READ ALSO: DCYF frontline workers call for funding protections amid persistent vacancies

In a survey of 580 unionized DCYF workers, more than 85% said they do not want the department to continue leasing the building, citing illness, unsafe conditions, cost inefficiency, the buildings age, and poor air quality.

All this building does is get you sick, one member wrote.

It is filthy, has documented health concerns, causes allergic reactions to people with mold and dust allergies, there are heavy metals littered in a place that serves children. We wont allow children in foster homes with lead, but allow them in this building, another said. It is so expensive for a death trap.

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The building is falling apart. I am on the fifth floor and there is literally stuff falling from the ceilings every day to the point I cant have a coffee cup unless it has a cover on it, one worker wrote.

According to an August 2021 email, DCYF employees had previously raised concerns about sicknesses they believe were tied to the building, including congestion, allergies, watery eyes, headaches, and difficulty breathing. A 2020 survey of 82 workers included requests for better maintenance, improved air circulation, and rodent removal.

Meanwhile, DCYF officials said they addressed certain circumstances that have arisen and further affirmed the building is safe.

DCYF headquarters  101 Friendship Street, Providence

Chief of Staff Misty Delgado expressed disappointment in the lease not being executed on schedule. She told the committee she photographed the images shown at the meeting and would look into it to see if its valid, but called much of what was presented theatrics.

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We stand on our position that this is the best location and building for our workforce, Delgado added. Neither of us would make a decision to put our workforce in an unhealthy or unsafe building.

Earlier this week, Gov. Dan McKee told 12 News a fivepage reportreportedly released just minutes before Tuesdays meetingwas shared with the union and found no need for any action in that building.

I think the report speaks for itself, McKee said. But we will continue to monitor all conditions in all buildings, especially where our staff is working on a day-to-day basis.

WATCH: July 29 interview with Gov. McKee

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The report from Regan Heating and Air Conditioning shows air quality testing from July 23 through July 25 revealed no action necessary regarding particulate levels, chemical pollutants, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

The testing has confirmed that the building is operating at safe and acceptable levels  and that the building is a safe environment as related to indoor air quality, the report states.

(Story continues below.)

DCYF building IAQ Testing July 2025 Report Download

However, SEIU Local 580 President and DCYF caseworker Matthew Gunnip said the union never received the report and accused DCYF administration of misleading both the governor and the State Properties Committee.

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The State Properties Committee questioned both the validity of the last-minute test results suddenly produced by DCYF and whether there was a conflict of interest involving the vendor that conducted the testing, Gunnip wrote in a statement to 12 News.

He called the situation especially troubling and said union members are rapidly losing confidence in DCYF leadership. The union also has multiple pending lawsuits before the labor board for alleged violations of workers legal rights, which Gunnip said McKees office committed to resolving.

For DCYF to dismiss frontline workers serious health and safety concerns as theatrics during todays hearing shows a continued pattern of blatant disregard for their staff, he stated.

The current lease expires Nov. 30. If a new lease is not signed, officials said the agency could remain in the building on a month-to-month basis until a more permanent solution is found.

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NEXT: Neronha revises conditions to speed sale of Roger Williams, Fatima hospitals

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Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Russian drones and missiles hit Kyiv in a barrage killing 31 and collapsing an apartment block.

Three of the dead were children, ages 3, 6, and 17, Ukraine's interior ministry said. About 159 others were injured.

Russia has continued its attacks despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to give Russia tougher sanctions if it doesn't agree to a ceasefire by Aug. 8.

"Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal," said acting U.S. acting representative to the United Nations John Kelley to the UN Security Council on Thursday.

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Senior police lieutenant Liliia Stepanchuk, a patrol officer who had served in Kyiv's police force since 2017, was killed in the attack. Her body was recovered from the rubble in Sviatoshynskyi district during rescue operations, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Three police officers and 12 children were among the injured. Thirty people, including five children, are hospitalized, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. First responders are still working at the scenes of the attacks.

Klitschko said the number of children injured was the highest recorded in the city since the beginning of the war. The deadliest attack on the capital was in December 2023, when 33 people were killed.

Russian forces launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles against Ukraine overnight, targeting Kyiv and other regions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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Aug. 1 has been declared a Day of Mourning in Kyiv. Flags will be flown at half-staff on all city buildings.

"Today, the world once again saw Russia's response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe," Zelensky said in the wake of Friday's attacks. "But forcing Moscow to make peace, compelling them to come to a real negotiating table - all the tools needed for this are in the hands of our partners."

Trump had previously offered a 50-day window earlier this month before the United States would impose 100% tariffs on Russia and its trading partners if Moscow fails to reach a peace deal with Ukraine. But during a press conference Monday at Turnberry in Scotland, Trump shortened that to a "new deadline of about 10 or 12 days from today."
At least 91 people were killed near aid centers across the Gaza Strip between Wednesday and Thursday, according to reports from Hamas and local hospitals. Israeli forces were reported shooting at the crowds.

The deaths at aid sites come as international aid agencieswarn of dire hunger in the territory. A global initiative monitoring hunger said this week that a "worst-case scenario of famine" is unfolding in Gaza.

Hospital officials told ABC News that 14 Palestinians were killed near an aid center in Muraj. At another aid center in Netzarim, at least 13 people were killed, local hospitals told ABC News.

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MORE: At least 37 killed, 270 injured while seeking aid in northern Gaza: Hospital

Deaths from a single major incident on Wednesday near an aid distribution site near Zikim rose to 58, the health ministry said, increasing the toll from the 37 it published on Wednesday. Another 579 were injured, the health ministry added. Later, the health ministry upped the overall death toll from all aid sites over the past day to 91.

On Thursday, the IDF released a statement on the shooting in Zikim, saying dozens of Gazans were gathered around aid trucks, in close proximity to its troops. According to the statement, IDF troops fired warning shots in the area in response to the threat posed to them. The IDF said it is not aware of any casualties as a result.

Israeli officials have long accused Hamas of seizing humanitarian goods and selling them to fund militant activity. Hamas denies those claims.

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Israel on Sunday said it was beginning daily 10-hour "tactical pauses" in several densely populated areas to facilitate the movement of aid into the territory.

Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have recorded two new deaths in the past 24 hours due to malnutrition, according to the health ministry, bringing the total number to 159 people, including 90 children.
Lebanon police are looking for a person they say was involved in a stabbing Thursday morning in Colburn Park.

Police received a call at 8:52 a.m. about an assault in the park. Officers found a person suffering from a stab wound. The victim was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment.

The suspect, wearing a gray hoodie and khaki shorts, was spotted on surveillance images leaving the area on foot after the incident and was later seen walking along Interstate 89 southbound near Exit 18.

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Police are asking for the publics help to locate the suspect. Anyone who saw the suspect is asked to contact the Lebanon Police Department at 603-448-1212.

Tips can also be sent through the departments tip line at 603-448-CLUE (2583) or at lebanonnh.gov/CLUE.
TUPELO  Lee County officials are continuing their efforts to restore one of the oldest remaining buildings in the heart of Downtown Tupelo, with architects ready to design the renovation plan.

Landon Voller, an architect with Belinda Stewart Architects, presented preliminary work on a complete renovation of the old Lee County Courthouse, which is the current home of the tax collector and tax assessors offices, during a Wednesday morning Lee County Board of Supervisors meeting.

This is a project that is near and dear to the hearts of a lot of people in the community, County Administrator Ronnie Bell said. This is like a big cookie. We are going to eat it one bite at a time.

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The project will be multi-phased, Voller said, while going through a slide of issues the county wants to tackle first, including exterior renovations like a new roof, repairing the dome, repairing the sidewalks and an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramp and replacing the doors at the entrances.

Voller said the roofing will be replaced and reverted to its original style, Spanish-style roofing on the pitched portion. The lower-sloped areas will be thermoplastic polyolefin, which he said was easy to repair and more durable than the current roof, which has an array of leaks.

Following the report, the board voted unanimously among present members to approve the preliminary design and authorize the architects to move to the next step of the project, which is design development.

(Were) still very early in the design process, Voller said. "(The courthouse) is in pretty (good) shape for its age, but it is definitely time to work on a lot of it."

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When asked if the renovations will close the tax offices, Voller said that for the first phase, operations will continue as normal.

The estimate for Phase 1 is about $2 million. Bell said the county is about $1.5 million short for the project as of Wednesday, but the county isnt the only entity that will provide funding, including the state and federal funding.

The county previously received state approval to spend money garnered through a new fine attached to convictions on renovations to the courthouse. House Bill 1965, passed by the Mississippi Legislature in March, allows Lee County to levy an assessment of $25 for each conviction in its county, circuit or justice courts and $50 for each DUI conviction.

Boyd Yarbrough, a local historian, attended the presentation, noting that he was very impressed with the work done so far. He also said he planned to provide more photography of the buildings interior for later projects.
An anarchist group called Kommando Angry Birds has claimed responsibility for a sabotage attack on a train line, which caused travel chaos in Germany this week.

In a post on Indymedia, a left-wing blogging site, the group said it caused major disruption to commuter trains and airport shuttles on Thursday by setting a fire in a cable tunnel.

We just caused a disruption north of Dusseldorf Airport, said the statement, which added that many things would be infinitely better without the industrial system.

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The name Angry Birds is a reference to a hugely popular mobile phone game, in which the player uses catapults to launch cartoon birds at pigs and buildings.

Pranksters and copycats

Police in Dusseldorf said they had also received a copy of the letter and were working to verify it. Pranksters and copycats have previously sent letters to police falsely claiming responsibility for sabotage.

The sabotage on a stretch of railway line between the western cities of Dusseldorf and Duisburg caused major disruption on Thursday, delaying trains to the airport, commuter trains and intercity services.

Police said that the attackers set fire to some cables inside a tunnel, disabling around 60 metres of cables on the railway line, which will now need to be replaced.

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In the same statement, Kommando Angry Birds claimed to have posted a manual online with instructions on how to sabotage rail networks, which it said it relied on for the attack near Dusseldorf.

Serving the powerful

The statement said the group wished to distance itself from moderate environmental activists, whom it accused of not being fully devoted to the cause.

The most capable members of the mainstream environmental movement are forced to earn their living by learning flattery and dedicating themselves to serving the powerful, the letter said.

Germany has a long history of struggling with far-Left activists and extremists, such as the Red Army Faction [RAF], also known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang, which carried out a string of bombings and assassinations in the late 20th century.

Suspected Russian saboteurs

On Friday, Bild newspaper reported that there had been a second sabotage attack launched on Thursday, which also used an incendiary device to target train lines in northwestern Germany. Both of the fires broke out at the same time.

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Germany is already on high alert for sabotage attacks committed by Russia, as part of Moscows hybrid war on the West over its military support for Ukraine. Suspected Russian saboteurs and their agents have targeted arms factories, US military sites and airplane logistics centres in Germany, as well as wider Europe.

The Telegraph disclosed in March that German authorities are exploring the theory that Russia could also be behind a series of recent terror attacks carried out in German cities by rejected asylum seekers.

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On Friday, lawyers for Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, confirmed that she had been moved from a low-security facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to a minimum-security federal prison camp in Texas.

Maxwell's move came amid renewed attention on the so-called Epstein files, with Donald Trump facing intense scrutiny over his administrations handling of the matter. It also comes a week after she sat down with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for nine hours over two days in Florida.

Before Maxwells arrival in Texas was reported, MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin was asked about the interactions between Maxwell and the Trump administration on Thursdays Deadline: White House, and called the timeline curious.

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Rubin recounted that before that late July meeting between Blanche and Maxwell, the Trump administration, through Solicitor General D. John Sauer, submitted a brief to the Supreme Court arguing Maxwells conviction should stand. (Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 after being convicted of sex-trafficking-related crimes.) In that July 14 filing, Sauer shot down Maxwells claim that she was protected from prosecution due to Epsteins 2007 plea agreement in Florida.

But the following day, Rubin recalled, on July 15, Trump was contacted by reporters from The Wall Street Journal about an alleged birthday card he had written to Epstein in 2003. Trump has denied the Journals reporting, but the president was inundated with questions about the details of his relationship with Epstein.

One week later, Blanche posted to social media that the Justice Department would reach out to Maxwell for an interview, and later that week, he met with her in Florida.

Rubin noted that the government had two days of conversations with her, not in the federal prison where shes serving time, but in a U.S. Attorneys Office, so she theoretically could be more comfortable during those conversations.

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While we know that the meeting took place, Rubin stressed that many of the details are still unknown: We still dont know who else from the Department of Justice was there. We dont know how that conversation was recorded, if at all. And yet, we still dont know what the resolution is.

You can watch Rubins full recap of where things stand in Maxwell's case in the clip at the top of the page.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
A gay makeup artist from Venezuela who entered the U.S. legally last year only to be deported to El Salvadors notorious prison for gang members in March says he was sexually assaulted by guards during his 125-day stay, according to a harrowing account he shared with The Washington Post.

Andry Hernandez, whose brutal journey through the U.S. immigration system has been widely documented by the media and human rights groups, says that prison officers at El Salvadors Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, took him to an isolation cell, where four officers put their clubs between his legs and one forced him to perform oral sex on him.

Its a nightmare. I thought it would never end, Hernandez said of his time in CECOT upon returning to Venezuela last month as part of an international prison swap.

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The crime he was being punished for was bathing in an attempt to cool down.

Venezuelan stylist Andry Hernandez greets family members after returning home in Capacho village, Tachira State, Venezuela on July 23, 2025. JOHNNY PARRA via Getty Images

Hernandez, now 32, entered the U.S. legally last year with an immigration appointment, and a U.S. border agent at the California crossing determined he had credible fear of persecution as a gay man living in Venezuela. But he was immediately detained in a migration center, still run by the Biden administration, and questioned because of his snake and crown tattoos, which U.S. authorities have linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

That was the only evidence they had against him, his friends and family told CNN earlier this year. He told them that lawyers and a judge handling his case indicated things were progressing favorably for him, and hed soon be released into the U.S., away from the homophobic harassment he was facing while working at a government-affiliated TV network.

Instead, he became one of the hundreds of migrants that the Trump administration loaded up onto planes in March and brought to CECOT, a prison the Salvadoran government opened in 2023, where Trump officials boast theyre sending the worst of the worst illegal criminals.

Photos from inside CECOT provided by Bukele's government. via Associated Press

Hernandez told the Post he pleaded with the guards as he cried out for his mother.

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Why are you shaving my head? he said he asked them. Im a makeup stylist, Im gay, Im not a gang member.

Hernandez is one of 16 former CECOT inmates who spoke to the Post about their time in CECOT, where they were taken after the U.S. paid Salvadoran President Nayib Bukeles government $6 million to hold them and other Venezuelans.

According to their accounts, they were subjected to repeated beatings that left them bruised, bleeding or injured, and the prison staff restricted medical care for detainees suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure or kidney failure. They were kept in a crowded room with no windows, forced to sleep in metal bunkbeds, usually without any cushioning. They had no access to lawyers.

CECOT seemed like it was for animals, former detaineeJulio Fernandez Sanchez told the Post. It was designed for people to go crazy or kill themselves.

Protestors carry a sign in support of Andry Hernandez during the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 29, 2025. Arun Nevader via Getty Images

Another, Marco Jesus Basulto Salinas, described what he called the most perverse form of humiliation from medical staff. The doctor would watch us get beaten and then ask us How are you feeling? with a smile, he recalled.

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He was living in the U.S. with temporary protected status, working legallyin restaurants to send money home for his mothers breast cancer treatments, when he was taken to CECOT.

Those who spoke to the Post recalled some detainees attempting suicide bytying sheets around their necks or using rusted pipes to cut their veins.

Damian Merlo, a U.S.-based lobbyist for Bukele, told the Post that their claims are baseless. Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, insisted that the detainees were members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Starting Friday, qualifying Lenexa homeowners can apply for the citys expanded Property Tax Rebate Program.

Its intended to provide tax relief to Lenexa homeowners who meet certain criteria.

Kansas City air deemed unhealthy as wildfire smoke casts haze across skies

The program is intended to reduce the tax burden resulting from rising home values, the city said on its website. It offers a rebate for the citys share of a homeowners property taxes.

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All applications will be reviewed after the Oct. 31 deadline.

In 2024, Lenexa introduced a Property Tax Rebate Pilot Program. This year, Lenexa has broadened the eligibility criteria to reach more residents who may benefit from additional financial relief.

The Lenexa City Council approved policy revisions that expand program eligibility to more residents. To be eligible to apply, you must:

Be age 62 or older be a disabled veteran with a 50% or more disability rating

Own and live in your home in Lenexa

Have a home valued at no more than $467,962

Be current on your property taxes

Have an annual household at or below the 2024 low-income limit from the Department of Housing and Urban Development

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If eligible, residents can get a rebate worth up to 75% of the portion of their property tax bill that goes to the city.

The exact amount youll receive depends on how many people apply. Most homeowners can expect to get between $500 and $1,000 back.

Full eligibility details and an application are available at lenexa.com/rebate. Residents can also call 913-477-7688 for assistance or to request a printed application.

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Hoosier kids shouldnt be in orientation and buying school clothes by late July. Alas, children will soon be back in the classrooms instead of finishing out a nice summer.

Fair warning: I am entering grumpy, boomer territory. But its not just my age. Even the younger members of the Indiana Capital Chronicle believe this has gotten out of control.

September is how the Lord (and the harvest) intended, a reporter quipped during a Slack conversation.

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Indeed, all of us remembered starting the academic year around Labor Day, and we grew up across at least six different states.

In 2009, parents pushed the Indiana General Assembly to require a uniform start date, or at least one that was after Labor Day. There were hearings, but ultimately, local control was retained.

Students return from summer break Monday, July 26, 2021, at Southport Middle School in Indianapolis.

The decision is left to individual districts. The Metropolitan School District of Warren Township in Indianapolis started July 24, for instance. Many others scheduled their returns for July 30, July 31 or Aug. 1.

An IndyStar listing covering more than 30 Central Indiana districts or schools had Aug. 14 as the latest start date  but that was just one Catholic high school.

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The creep toward earlier starts began when educators saw learning loss from the long summer. And thus began the balanced calendar.

But as far as I can tell from recent scores, students arent doing any better in recent decades than they were before.

Schools also say its necessary to meet the states 180-day instructional requirement.

One parent at a 2009 legislative hearing counted the weekdays between the fourth Monday in August and the end of May, showing plenty of days available to meet the requirement without infringing on summer.

Summertime is a magical time in a childs life, he testified. Three months of fun. No responsibility.

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Briggs: Indiana's school letter grades will help housing prices more than parents

Instead, schools have largely redistributed time out of the classroom, adding weeklong fall breaks, additional days in December and other small breaks.

Others have argued that utility costs are higher in August, and that kids going back early impacts tourism activities that rely on youth workers.

Its not just Indiana, though. Pew Research Center found in a 2023 analysis that some students start in late July, with many back by mid-August.

There are differences across geographic regions. Schools tend to start earlier in southern regions than farther north, broadly speaking.

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Here is what Pew found:

More than two-thirds of students in the U.S. Census Bureaus East South Central division (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee) went back to school the week of Aug. 7. They joined another 19% of students who had started classes earlier.

In the West South Central division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas), 94% of students returned to school between Aug. 7 and Aug. 18.

But in the six New England states, almost no one goes back to school before the week of Aug. 28.

And students in the Middle Atlantic states (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania) go back even later. About three-quarters wont hit the books until after Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 4 this year.

Briggs: The IPS-charter school fight puts politics over children

Indiana falls into the East North Central region, with the majority starting in mid-August.

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I think its time to re-evaluate the school calendars with an eye toward starting later.

Some of my concern is absolutely nostalgia. But I also dont think the shift has netted students and parents anything of value.

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: Why Indiana schools should start after Labor Day | Opinion
A west London council has ended a two-year trial allowing Lime e-bikes in the borough.

Hounslow Council has instead offered a contract to rival e-bike rental firms Forest and Voi, listing "stricter enforcement for designated bay use" as one of the benefits of the updated scheme.

BBC London reported complaints from a resident in 2023 who claimed Lime bikes were deliberately being parked in "dangerous places".

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A Lime spokesperson said: "We're disappointed by Hounslow Council's decision. We're proud of our bid, which we believe offered the best overall value for Hounslow residents."

The contract, which will give Voi and Forest exclusive operating rights in the borough, will begin on 11 August.

A council spokesperson said the decision followed a competitive procurement process "shaped by widespread community feedback" requesting stronger parking compliance and more affordable pricing.

There are more than 250 e-bike parking bays across Hounslow and the council said it is "reviewing enforcement procedures to "maintain clear pavements and discourage poor parking behaviour".

Pavement blocking has been a concern across London since e-bikes were introduced [Getty Images]

The move follows a wider crackdown on poor e-bike parking across London's boroughs - with all firms facing some degree of criticism.

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Transport for London (TfL) said in June it had begun issuing fixed penalty notices to Lime and Forest for abandoned e-bikes on the capital's roads.

In February, the City of London seized more than 100 e-bikes to tackle pavement parking.

Both firms have said they are working to address issues around users' poor parking.

Hounslow Council's spokesperson said that since the e-bike scheme began in 2023, more than 1.7 million journeys have been made, with 127,000 made in June this year alone.

The Lime spokesperson said: "We're also disappointed for the thousands of Hounslow residents that rely on our bikes daily to connect to other areas of London.

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"Built over seven years operating in the capital, Lime's service has allowed people living in Hounslow to access all parts of the city, and cycle as far as Hackney and Lewisham in one easy journey."

They added that since launching in the borough, the number of Lime rides has more than doubled year-on-year.

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

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LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  A woman is facing a capital murder charge after an infant died at the hospital, according to the Limestone County Sheriffs Office.

LCSO said that early Friday morning, deputies responded to an infant medical call at a home on Estate Drive in Athens. Deputies said that, when they arrived, they found an unresponsive infant who had been severely beaten and showed no signs of life.

Life-saving measures were performed on the infant, and a pulse was regained, LCSO added. However, the infant later died at the hospital.

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Through an investigation, authorities were able to determine that the childs mother, Morgan Skye Thornton, was responsible for the injuries. Investigators obtained and executed search warrants for the home and a blood sample from Thornton, because deputies said she looked intoxicated at the time.

She was initially charged with aggravated child abuse. After the infant died, the charge was upgraded to capital murder.

Thornton is being held at the Limestone County Jail without bond, according to court documents.

She has a preliminary hearing set for August 5 at 1:30 p.m.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
Plain Local Schools: Tuesday, Aug. 19 for grades 5, 7 and 9; Wednesday, Aug. 20 for all other grades; pre-K and kindergarten staggered by last name Wednesday, Aug. 27 and Thursday, Aug. 28
The UAV that entered Lithuania's airspace from the territory of Belarus on 28 July was found on the fifth day of the search.

Source: European Pravda; LRT, Lithuanian public broadcaster

Details: A UAV flew from Belarus to Lithuania on 28 July and was discovered at the Gaizunai training ground in the Jonava district on Friday 1 August.

This information was confirmed by Lithuanian National Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene.

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"We confirm that the drone has been found. More detailed information will be provided in the near future," Sakaliene said.

Early reports indicate that the UAV looks similar to a Russian Shahed drone. Military investigators and bomb disposal experts have arrived at the scene.

Background:

On the morning of 28 July, Lithuanians living near the Belarusian border reported to the police that they had seen and heard something resembling a drone. Video footage from one witness suggested it may have been a Shahed-type drone.

Sakaliene suggested that the drone might have entered Lithuanian territory due to the impact of Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.

The commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces added that more air defence systems would be deployed closer to the Belarusian border and that from next year, Lithuania would begin using a Ukrainian acoustic drone detection system.

On July 29, a special air defence unit in Lithuania was moved closer to the border with Belarus due to the drone threat.

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The Lithuanian Armed Forces have released photos of a drone, likely a Gerbera-type, which entered Lithuania's airspace from the territory of Belarus on Monday and was discovered in Lithuanian territory later in the week.

Source: Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Photos of the UAV found at the Gaiziunai training ground have been posted on the official pages of the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

The drone

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Photo: LRT

Quote: "Early assessments indicate it is a Gerbera, but information is still being gathered Tests will be carried out to determine whether it poses any danger, after which the same procedures will be applied as with the first Gerbera in early July."

Details: Until now, the only images of the UAV came from a video recorded by a bystander, which showed only its silhouette and captured its distinctive sound.

Background:

Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene suggested that the drone might have entered Lithuanian territory due to the impact of Ukrainian electronic warfare systems.

On 1 August, the drone was found at a training ground in the Jonava district  almost in the centre of the country, near the city of Kaunas. Following this, a representative of the Belarusian embassy was summoned to the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give an explanation.

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  A Little Rock woman was convicted on Tuesday of abusing an adult by stealing an elderly womans money.

Attorney General Tim Griffin said 27-year-old Heather Shofner pleaded guilty to felony abuse of an endangered or impaired adult after getting access to an elderly womans banking information and stealing her money.

Former Pulaski County Clerks Office employee arrested after being accused of voter fraud

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Griffin said Shofner was sentenced to one year in jail and a suspended sentence of two years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. She was also ordered to complete a drug treatment and rehabilitation program and pay $454.31 in court costs and restitution.

The conviction was the result of a unit in his office, Griffin said.

I want to thank my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) for their work in securing this conviction, especially Special Agent Heath Nelson and Assistant Attorney General Gabrielle Davis-Jones, Griffin said. I also thank Prosecuting Attorney for the Twenty-Third Judicial District of Arkansas, Chuck Graham, for the assistance of his office in this case.

FBI reports elder fraud in Arkansas on the rise, more than $27 million in 2024 losses

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The MFCU receives 75% of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Griffin said, with the remaining 25% coming from Arkansas general revenue.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
(NewsNation)  The National Transportation Safety Board on Friday wrapped up its public testimony over the Jan. 29 midair collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet over Washington, D.C.

Investigators so far have highlighted several factors that may have contributed to the collision, which left 67 people dead. Chairperson Jennifer Homendy urged the Federal Aviation Administration to do better, citing warnings about helicopter traffic the agency had ignored years before the crash.

The board has said its too early to identify the exact cause of the crash and that a final report will not be released until next year.

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Dad, daughter die in small plane crash near Yellowstone

It became clear Wednesday how small the margin of error was for helicopters flying the route the UH-60 Black Hawk took the night of the nations deadliest plane crash since November 2001.

The incident was the first in a string of crashes and near misses this year that have alarmed officials and the traveling public, though statistics show flying remains the safest form of transportation.

Concerns of military helicopters flying near Reagan National

Witnesses described the challenges of identifying aircraft at night, noting pilots often request to use visual separation, basically relying on their eyesight to avoid other aircraft. Thats what the Army Black Hawk pilot had agreed to do the night of the Jan. 29 crash.

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However, Rick Dressler, an official with medevac operator Metro Aviation, told the board that spotting aircraft near Reagan National Airport at night is extremely difficult, particularly if the onboard locator system is off, which is often the case for Army helicopters.

I dont like saying this. Ill say it again on the record, said Dressler, a former Army aviator and retired Air Force officer. Im speaking for my group there. We are all very uncomfortable when those two units are operating.

Dozens hospitalized after Delta flight hits strong turbulence

Dressler said he and other civilian helicopter pilots in the area have long been concerned about the military helicopters flying around the airport.

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Clark Allen, an FAA training manager who worked at Reagans control tower, confirmed visual separation between helicopters and commercial flights is used routinely.

NTSB: Black Hawk helicopter was above altitude limit

NTSB board members revealed the Black Hawk was flying above its altitude limit when it collided with the American Airlines regional jet, which was traveling from Wichita, Kansas.

A video animation was presented, showing the path of the helicopter and airliner leading up to the collision, and how the helicopter flew above the 200-foot altitude limit before colliding with the plane.

Child seriously injured in horse-drawn buggy crash

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Investigators on Wednesday said the flight data recorder showed the helicopter was flying 80 to 100 feet higher than was indicated by the barometric altimeter, which pilots rely on to determine altitude. The NTSB conducted tests on three other helicopters from the same unit during a flight over the same area and found similar discrepancies.

Previously disclosed air traffic control audio showed the helicopter pilot telling the controller twice that they saw the airplane and would avoid it. The presentation ended with surveillance video showing the helicopter colliding with the plane in a fiery crash.

Older Black Hawk helicopter models had transmission system issues: NTSB

The NTSB said during the hearing that all eight of the older Lima-model Black Hawk helicopters used by the 12th Aviation Battalion had issues with their ADS-B, or local transmission systems, including the one involved in Januarys crash.

The ADS-B systems had an issue in which they incorrectly entered time settings, hindering pilots abilities to transmit location data to other aircraft.

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It was not discovered or fixed until after the crash.

The Army has ordered 1,700 new ADS-B systems to upgrade its helicopter fleet, and the 12th Aviation Battalion will be prioritized for receiving these upgrades.

NewsNations Libbey Dean and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  The Hawaii Department of Health has issued a warning for residents who use electric or battery-powered medical devices. The warning encourages those impacted to prepare for outages as a wildfire Red Flag Warning remains in effect through 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 1.

Power may be shut off in high-risk wildfire areas to prevent sparks from power lines, said officials.

HIEMA: Portions of state under Red Flag Warning

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These Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS, may happen without much warning. Officials are asking families to have backup plans in place now.

Families should review and update their emergency plans, the department said. If backup power is not available, consider relocating until power is restored.

State officials are recommending that people who rely on powered medical equipment speak with their physician about other options.

Sam Cole, a resident who is a Type 1 diabetic, said he relies on his devices 24/7.

Its imperative that folks with electronic medical devices know about these advisories since our lives depend on how well these machines function, Cole explained.

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The Department of Health is also urging residents in Honolulu, Maui and Hawaii counties to take action by following Hawaiian Electrics PSPS guidelines.

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How to prepare for a shutoff:

Check if your home is in a PSPS zone.

Sign up for alerts about outages.

Fill out the Medical Needs Communication Form.

Download the HECO app and turn on notifications.

Call your electric provider if you need help.

If you have questions, then you can use these contacts:

Oahu residents should call 808-548-7311.

Maui residents can call 808-871-9777.

Molokai and Lanai: 877-871-8461.

Hilo: 808-969-6999.

Kona: 808-329-3584.

Waimea: 808-885-4605.

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative can be reached at 808-246-4300.

You can also click here for more tips and resources.

Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHONs morning podcast, every morning at 8

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As Hawaii moves through this latest Red Flag Warning period. It is important to have an evacuation plan that everyone in your family is aware of what they need to do to be safe.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN)  Not having funds needed to care for the animals in their shelters is a growing problem that humane agents face nationwide, including in the Valley.

For years, Animal Charity of Ohio  the only humane agency serving Mahoning County  has been providing services free of charge to local communities. Directors with the charity said they soon could be forced to make some very difficult decisions.

There are shelters closing everywhere. There is mass euthanasias happening everywhere, said Jane MacMurchy with Animal Charity of Ohio. Were doing the absolute best we can, but were at the point now where those free animal control services are going to start being cut.

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There are currently more than 220 animals being housed at Animal Charity of Ohio, and since the beginning of the year, agents have taken in nearly 170 animal control cases from the City of Youngstown alone.

Those cases include strays and abandonments, where owners can no longer care for their pets. While other Ohio cities have their own animal control offices, Youngstown does not, and it has never paid Animal Charity of Ohio for the service.

Its never been something that the citys focused funds on economically, so were trying to help them find other funds and really be as supportive as possible, said Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown.

With growing support in Ohio to eliminate property taxes, county commissioners said they are not in a good position to provide immediate financial help either.

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If this property tax passes and we dont have it anymore, the county still has to provide mandated services, said Mahoning County Commissioner Carol Righetti.

Directors have already started reviewing where changes and cuts can be made, and theyre hoping donors  both large and small  and local philanthropy can pull them through.

In the meantime, Animal Charity is holding a donation drive. Starting Friday, all donations made through Tuesday, Aug. 5, will be matched  up to $10,000. Donations can be made online or dropped off during business hours from 8 a.m.  4 p.m. Monday through Friday) at 8469 Southern Blvd.

The goal is to raise $10,000.

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Chelsea Simeon contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
WILLOWICK, Ohio (WJW)  A mother told the FOX 8 I-Team that her daughter went to daycare and left with a broken collarbone.

Alexis Higham said on May 1 she received a call from the daycare that her daughter tripped and fell over a cot.

When she got to the daycare, she found her daughter in pain. She said her daughter said she got hurt when an employee grabbed her by the arm and tossed her on a cot.

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We were in the ER for five hours, Higham said. Her collarbone was broken.

2 sentenced in Garfield Heights shooting that injured baby

Willowick police investigated and in June, officers filed charges of felonious assault and endangering children against Mary Stewart, 48, of Euclid. The charged were filed in Willoughby Municipal Court.

According to court records, Stewart waived her right to a preliminary hearing and on July 22, her case was bound over to the Lake County Grand Jury. It will be up to the grand jury to determine if she should be indicted.

The mother told us her daughter no longer goes to that daycare. We reached to the daycare to discuss the issue. So far, we have not heard back.

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Plane crashes into house next door to school, pilot and passenger hospitalized

Higham also filed a lawsuit in Lake County Common Pleas Court against the employee and the daycare.

Its important that we make sure these facilities are learning a lesson and not just the people that are working there, said Attorney Marco Bocciarelli, who represents the mother and daughter.

Higham said she wants justice for her daughter.

I wanted to speak out, Higham said. Because just staying silent only protects the abusers.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
CANFIELD, Ohio (WKBN)  The Canfield Fairgrounds is hosting the annual Steel Valley Cluster, where local dogs compete in different challenges.

The dog show started Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

One of Fridays challenges focused on the Dash N Splash.

Theres conditioning, grooming, care. You know its kinda like raising your child, said Martha Henck, Columbiana County Kennel Club president. Theres a lot of conditioning, a lot of work that goes into anything that we do.

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The Columbiana and Beaver County Kennel Clubs help put on the event, along with the Fort Steuben Kennel Association and the Mahoning Shenango Kennel Club.

The event is open to the public and costs $5 for entry. More information is available on the Steel Valley Cluster website.

Brian Oehlbeck contributed to this report.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)  Virginias tax-free holiday starts August 1st, just in time for the new school year. Its aimed to ease the cost of school supplies for families, and many organizations want to help out.

Both United Way and the Salvation Army of Roanoke are out this weekend collecting supplies for students across the valley.

United Way, along with Franklin County Schools and the Rocky Mount Police Department, is out in full force this weekend at the Rocky Mount Walmart, aiming to help parents provide their students with school supplies.

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Some students are not able to start the school year with the supplies that they need. So an event like this makes sure that all of our students have equal access to the materials that they need to start a school year, Jennifer Talley, the Director of Instruction and Programs with Franklin County Public Schools, said.

This is very important to us because we get to see not only parents, but also we get to see the children, in our community, they see us in a different light, Ryan King, the Special Operations Sergeant with the Rocky Mount Police Department, said.

Best deals on back-to-school essentials for K-12

United Way is hoping, with the communitys help, to fill two school buses this year.

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We all work together, and this little county that we have here, everybody tends to work together, Lashara Wade, a community health worker with United Way, said. The police department, Walmart, the school systems, United Way. We all come together and work and support each other.

Salvation Army of Roanoke will have its bins inside both the Walmart at Clearbrook and Bonsack, so you wont even have to leave the store to make a difference. They received a large donation of backpacks, so they are looking for the basics: paper and pencils.

Parents should not have to, you know, look at their children and say, Am I putting food on the table or pencils in your backpack?' Tesa Price, the volunteer and special events coordinator with the Salvation Army of Roanoke, said, The Salvation Armys main goal is to meet people where their needs are, where theyre at. If were able to provide what some families cant, were going to do it.

Unite Way will be at the Rocky Mount Walmart on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Then on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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The Salvation Army of Roanokes red bins will be at the Clearbrook and Bonsack Walmarts until Sunday, August 3rd.

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LONDON, Ky. (FOX 56)  Two former London Housing Authority members have alleged that they were harassed, retaliated against, and forced into medical leave by the mayor.

It came to light in a letter sent to city officials by Attorney Brandon Voelker, notifying the London leaders that he plans to represent the two former housing authority members if the city council doesnt intervene.

LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS:

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His clients, Stephanie Newsome and Bethani Smith, claim they received termination letters in October 2023 from a London public safety officer and were told to just do as he says, and you wont have any issues. They were later allegedly told by Weddle that he was not dicking around.

It further claims that Weddle gained control of the London Housing Authority and removed board members without proper clearance, bypassing state law that requires approval from the city council.

Voelker accused Weddle of abusing power, threatening city employees, and violating state and federal housing regulations.

Read more of the latest Kentucky news

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This isnt Weddles first run-in with Voelker. He represents two clients who have filed defamation lawsuits, naming the mayor, in February.

FOX 56 has reached out to City Attorney Larry Bryson for comment.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
The London Police Department kicked off its 2025 Citizens Police Academy with an orientation session held Thursday, July 24.

The 10-week program is designed to give residents a behind-the-scenes look at law enforcement operations, procedures, and training. On Thursday, the group met at the London Community Center to hear a presentation from Public Information Officer Hobie Daugherty. During the presentation, Officer Daugherty provided attendees with an overview of the departments history, staffing, and responsibilities.

Established in 1826, the department was one of the first in Kentucky to become an accredited law enforcement agency. It currently employs 30 sworn officers, including administrative staff, investigators, patrol officers, and K9 units. Officers operate in two 12-hour shifts, covering around-the-clock service.

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Daugherty outlined the training process new officers undergo. Basic academy training includes over 800 hours of instruction  20 weeks in person and several weeks of online coursework. Topics include patrol procedures, criminal law, physical training, DUI enforcement, tactical response, and more. Graduates then enter a 16-week Police Training Officer (PTO) program, where they are mentored on real-world responsibilities such as traffic stops, local geography, department policy, and response protocols.

Attendees also learned about the day-to-day duties of both patrol officers and investigators. Daugherty shared that patrol officers handle traffic violations, look into incidents, and provide services such as funeral escorts to the community.

Meanwhile, investigators respond to more serious crimes  including deaths, sexual assaults, and shootings  process crime scenes, collect evidence, and handle cases that require extended follow-up, including drug and financial investigations.

Acting London Police Chief Bobby Day also addressed attendees briefly.

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You guys are going to have a blast. Youve got 10 weeks. Youve got 10 different classes, Day said. Youre going to be exposed to a lot of different things. Youre going to have the opportunity to be tased... you will have a firearm simulator... and youll see that a lot of those split-second decisions that people have tons and tons of time, after the fact, to scrutinize really start becoming a tougher decision once you get that.

After wrapping up at the Community Center, the group walked with Daugherty to the London Police Department building, where they were shown areas such as the 911 Communications Center and the departments meeting room. Around 15 participants attended the orientation.

This week, the group is scheduled to meet at Center Target at 6 p.m. on Thursday for the next session of the academy.
A Long Beach man was sentenced to centuries in prison on Thursday for murdering a 17-year-old high school senior and trying to shoot four other teens weeks later.

Troy Lamar Fox, 34, was sentenced to 358 years to life in prison for killing Briana Soto just steps from her Long Beach home in March 2024, as well as an April 9, 2024, shooting in which he opened fire on a car carrying four minors, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office said in a news release.

Troy Lamar Fox, 34, is seen in a photo from the Long Beach Police Department. / Briana Soto, 17, seen in a family photo.

Soto was fatally shot the night of March 6, 2024, while walking home from her job at McDonalds.

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On April 9, 2024, Fox exited a vehicle near Pine Avenue and 14th Street while armed with a rifle and opened fire on a vehicle containing four people.

No one was killed, but the shooting resulted in attempted murder charges, prosecutors said.

Fox was convicted on charges of first-degree murder, a special allegation that he personally used a gun in the killing and four counts of attempted murder on March 27. Hed previously been convicted of attempted robbery and making criminal threats.

Briana Soto had her whole life ahead of her  she was getting ready for her prom, her 18th birthday, and graduation, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. Todays sentence ensures the person who stole her future will never be free to harm another innocent person. While this punishment cannot undo the pain he caused, it is a step toward justice for Briana, her loved ones, and our community.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Seventeen-year-old Briana Soto was walking home from her job at McDonald's last March when she was shot and killed just steps from her Long Beach home. Now, her killer will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

On Thursday, Troy Lamar Fox, 34, received a sentence of 358 years to life for the first-degree murder of Soto and the attempted murder of four others in a separate shooting two weeks later.

Fox shot the high school senior as she approached her home at 11th Street and Lewis Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on March 26, 2024. She died in a hospital three days later, prosecutors said.

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Then, on April 9, Fox exited a car holding a rifle and opened fire on another vehicle carrying four minors near Pine Avenue and 14th Street in Long Beach, prosecutors said. The minors survived the attack, but the shooting resulted in attempted murder charges against Fox.

Six months after Soto was attacked, Fox was arrested in connection to her killing. Authorities said they pursued DNA and video and cellphone evidence to identify Fox, who they discovered was already in Los Angeles County sheriffs custody on an unrelated weapons violation.

Outside a court hearing last October, Soto's mother, Ana, said she wanted one thing, "that justice be done for her, that is what I ask," according to reporting from the Long Beach Post.

Fox has a long criminal record. He was convicted of making criminal threats in 2013; was convicted for grand theft in 2015, 2017 and 2018; and was convicted of commercial burglary in 2019, according to court records.

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In March, a jury found Fox guilty of one county of murder, four counts of attempted murder, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Briana Soto had her whole life ahead of her  she was getting ready for her prom, her 18th birthday, and graduation, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement Thursday. Todays sentence ensures the person who stole her future will never be free to harm another innocent person. While this punishment cannot undo the pain he caused, it is a step toward justice for Briana, her loved ones and our community.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
More than 30 years after the brutal murder of his entire family, Florida Death Row inmate Edward Zakrzewski has been executed.

Zakrzewski was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. ET at Florida State Prison in Raiford on Thursday, July 31.

In his final words Zakrzewski said "I want to thank the good people of the Sunshine State for killing me in the most cold and calculated, clean, humane and efficient way possible. I have no complaints whatsoever."

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Zakrzewski was the ninth inmate put to death in Florida in just the first six months of 2025, breaking previous modern day records with two more inmates already scheduled to become the 10th and 11th executions of the year.

Live updates: Florida death row inmate Edward Zakrzewski has been executed

Zakrzewskis death was justice long delayed, said those who worked on the case.

Zakrzewski was a 29-year-old tech sergeant stationed at Eglin Air Force Base in 1994 who was unhappy that his wife, Sylvia, was considering divorce. Zakrzewski couldnt stand the thought that Sylvia might take the couples two children, 7-year-old Edward and 5-year-old Anna, to her native country of South Korea, so he used a crowbar and a rope to bludgeon and strangle his wife.

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Then he called his children one after the other into a bathroom of their Mary Esther home and hacked them to death with a machete he had purchased that day.

Joe Nelson, a retired detective from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, was assigned as the lead investigator charged with building the case against Zakrzewski. He made the four-hour trek to be at the execution  the first he has ever attended.

Nelson said he spent long grueling hours at the crime scene following the June 9, 1994 murders. He recalled a blood-covered little boy lying in a bathtub with the bodies of his mother and sister draped over the same tub.

"Personally, I have never seen a more violent crime scene than that," he said. "It was terrible. You could see the rage in the way the kids were cut."

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Nelson, who has been retired for 17 years, said there were times in the last 30 years when he wondered if Zakrzewski would outlive him.

"It has given me closure I've wanted for a long time. I felt like it needed to come to an end and it's over now," he said. "There was a time I didn't know if he was going to die in my lifetime. It's been a long time coming."

Zakrzewski woke on his last day at 5 a.m., said Paul Walker, deputy communications director for the Florida Department of Corrections. For his last meal he had fried pork chops, fried onions, potatoes, bacon, toast, root beer, ice cream, pie and coffee.

He had one visitor Thursday morning, who was not identified, and he did not take advantage of meeting with a spiritual advisor. No family members of either Zakrzewski or his victims were at the execution, Nelson said.

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Prior to his execution, Zakrzewski quoted Robert Frost''s famous poem, "He Stopped by Woods on a Snowy Evening," stopping part way through.

The execution phase got underway after he spoke, at about 6:04 p.m. His breathing slowed nearly immediately after a few hard gasps, and he was pronounced dead by 6:13 p.m.

A small group of protestors, including Maria DeLiberato with Floridians for Alternatives, set up outside the prison.

"In no other state in the country, or even present day Florida, would he be eligible for execution," DeLiberato said prior to the execution.

DeLiberato conduced a prayer service for Zakrzewski, victims of his crimes and the families of all those involved.

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Despite Zakrzewskis confession and the brutal nature of his crimes, a 12-person jury voted 7-5 to put him to death for the killings of his wife and son Edward, but did not even reach a majority in the case of 5-year-old Anna.

The narrow margin by which the jury in the Zakrzewski decided in favor of the death sentence was one crutch those defending him during appeals had leaned on. Florida changed its law in 2017 to require juries to vote unanimously in order for the death penalty to be imposed, but under Gov. Ron DeSantis the law was changed to require a simple 8-4 majority.

DeLiberato said that in her 22 years of practicing law she has never witnessed the "frenzied pace of executions" the state of Florida is seeing this year

"The governor solely decides who lives and dies," she said. "He is certainly responsible for the number of killings this year."

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Two additional inmates are scheduled to be executed in August.

Kayle Barrington Bates is currently scheduled for execution on Aug. 19 for the 1982 murder of a woman in Bay County. Kayle Bates was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and attempted sexual battery in the1982 slaying of 24-year-old Janet Renee White of Lynn Haven.

DeSantis also signed a death warrant this week for Curtis Windom, who was convicted of killing three people in 1992 in Orange County. Windoms execution is scheduled for Aug. 28.

Nationwide, there are 10 planned executions remaining in 2026, at least at this time, including Barrington Bates and Windom.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida execution of Edward Zakrzewski carried out July 31
CENTRAL TEXAS (KLFY)  Catholic Charities agencies from across Louisiana and Southeast Texas united to support families affected by the devastating July 4th flooding in the Texas Hill Country.

Through region-wide coordination and direct partnership with Catholic Charities of San Antonio, these agencies provided 176 pallets of in-kind relief supplies, $42,520 in gift cards and $175,580 in monetary donations to aid on-the-ground emergency services and long-term recovery in Kerrville and surrounding flood-impacted communities.

KLFY and Catholic Charities team up for Texas supply drive

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Our region has long known what it means to be both in need and in solidarity with others, said Kimberly Boudreaux, CEO of Catholic Charities of Acadiana. Organizing a oneday, itemspecific drive gave our community a clear, concrete way to respond in compassion.

Stephanie Sterling, Executive Director of Catholic Charities Diocese of Baton Rouge, added how being from Louisiana, a state where communities experienced similar disasters, brought a sense of union between the survivors and volunteers.

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Louisiana is no stranger to the devastation caused by disasters. Being part of the Catholic Charities USA network allows us to stand with our brothers and sisters in their time of need. Sterling said. The generosity of our local community, combined with support from the broader southern region, ensures we can deliver meaningful assistance to survivors and help them begin to rebuild their lives.

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Cajun Navy groups aid Texas after deadly flood

J. Antonio Fernandez, President/CEO of Catholic Charities of San Antonio expressed their gratitude for the relief effort of the Catholic Charities USA network across diocesan lines.

We are so very grateful for the outpouring of love for the Texas Hill Country community, Fernandez said Support from around the country is received as love, respect, and dignity for our neighbors in need.

As families in the Texas Hill Country continue to rebuild, Catholic Charities of San Antonio will remain in the region, offering emergency assistance, wraparound services, and providing faith counseling and community.

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A new Louisiana law is part of an effort from anti-abortion advocates to crack down on doctors who ship abortion-inducing medication to states where the procedure is illegal. (Getty Images)

Two new Louisiana abortion restriction laws took effect Friday, including one that allows Louisianians to sue out-of-state providers of abortion-inducing medications.

House Bill 575 by Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Springs, was dubbed the Justice for Victims of Abortion Drug Dealers Act. It extends the window for abortion lawsuits to be filed from three to five years after the abortion occurs and allows out-of-state doctors and activists to be sued.

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The legislation is part of an effort from anti-abortion advocates to crack down on doctors who ship abortion-inducing medication to states where the procedure is illegal. In nearly all instances, abortion has been illegal in Louisiana since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Also taking effect is House Bill 425 by Rep. Josh Carlson, R-Lafayette, which expands the definition of coerced abortion. It is now defined in state law as the use or threatened use of force, control, or intimidation against a pregnant woman to compel her to undergo an abortion against her will, regardless of whether the procedure has been attempted or completed.

Carlsons legislation originally sought to expand the definition of coerced abortion to include the pregnant persons actions. It was substantially trimmed back in committee to add battery, assault, simple kidnapping, false imprisonment and extortion involving another person.

The two bills easily passed the Republican-supermajority legislature earlier this year, although both were whittled down from their original, far-sweeping versions.

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Ventrellas law has the support of Attorney General Liz Murrill, who is currently prosecuting a New York doctor accused of providing abortion-inducing medication to the mother of a pregnant minor in West Baton Rouge Parish. Gov. Kathy Hochul has refused to extradite the doctor to Louisiana to face the charges, citing New Yorks shield laws.

The doctor and the minors mother were both indicted. Murrill has alleged the minor was coerced to take the medication, though her mother was not charged with that crime.

Murrill and other attorneys general called on Congress this week to prevent states where abortion is legal from shielding doctors who prescribe abortion-inducing medication for people in states where the procedure is banned.

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Loved ones are devastated after a Southern California father was shot to death at a 7-Eleven store in Lawndale.

On July 27, Los Angeles County deputies responded to the 7-Eleven store on the 15800 block of Prairie Avenue just after 8 p.m.

The victim, George Victoriano, 34, was making a purchase when the male suspect entered the shop. For reasons still unknown, investigators said the men got into an argument before the suspect opened fire.

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Arriving deputies found George suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect fled the store in a getaway car.

Georges wife, Kaylee, recalls the panic she felt when she was told her husband had been shot.

I dropped everything I had and just ran as fast as I could to 7-Eleven and it was already too late by that time, she told KTLAs Lindsey Pena.

George Victoriano, 34, is seen with his children in a family photo. (GoFundMe) George Victoriano, 34, is seen with his children in a family photo. (Victoriano Family) Kaylee Victoriano speaks with KTLA about her husbands murder as loved ones gather for a memorial on July 31, 2025. (KTLA) Police investigate a fatal shooting at a 7-Eleven store in Lawndale on July 27, 2025. (KNN) Police investigate a fatal shooting at a 7-Eleven store in Lawndale on July 27, 2025. (KNN) A makeshift memorial honors George Victoriano who was fatally shot at a 7-Eleven store in Lawndale on July 27, 2025. (KTLA) A makeshift memorial honors George Victoriano who was fatally shot at a 7-Eleven store in Lawndale on July 27, 2025. (KTLA) Police investigate a fatal shooting at a 7-Eleven store in Lawndale on July 27, 2025. (Citizen.com)

Kaylee believes her husband was targeted and that the shooter is a neighbor with whom theyve had issues for years.

She said the first argument they had was over parking on their neighborhood street. The tense confrontations escalated over time and theyve reported him to law enforcement on multiple occasions.

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They thought it was a very small problem because it was just a neighbor confrontation, but it was more than that, she said. Ive complained so many times and no one listened to me until now.

As detectives continue searching for the gunman, Kaylee said she hopes he is caught soon before he harms someone else.

They know who he is, she said. They know where he is and theyre just looking for him. He fled. Its just a waiting game at this point.

George leaves behind four young children. Kaylee said that amidst the heartbreak of losing her husband, shes also worried about how shell provide for her children.

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I dont know how Im going to pay rent, pay my bills, she said. I might have to move. Its put me in a really sticky situation.

She said she misses her husbands laugh and the joy he brought to their family. Authorities have not identified the suspect as they continue investigating the case.

A GoFundMe page to help the Victoriano family with funeral expenses 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 KTLA.
LEBANON, Mo.  The Lebanon Police Department (LPD) reports that Sidney Fredrick Wilson V, 25, of Stoutland, has been charged with the murder of 21-year-old Reagan Lynn Wilson, who was shot at her Lebanon home in June, and her unborn son.

Wilson, courtesy of LPD.

Wilson faces charges of first-degree murder for both victims and armed criminal action. Hes being held without bond at the Laclede County Jail.

Sidney was Reagans spouse, although they were separated to the best of my knowledge, LPD communications manager Derek Gean told Ozarks First.

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Reagans stepfather Jeff Ice told Ozarks First that Sidney was the father of Silas.

Ice said theres a sigh of relief with the arrest, calling it long overdue.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said members of Operation Relentless Pursuit arrested Wilson at a residence in Nixa on Thursday, July 31.

According to previous Ozarks First coverage, the LPD responded to a report of a shooting at 11:37 p.m. June 5, in the 700 block of North Adams Avenue.

Officers found Reagan with gunshot wounds at the residence. She was pronounced dead shortly after the incident. She was pregnant at the time of the shooting, and her baby, Silas, died June 13.

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Our entire team mourns the loss of this young mother and child. Our team and our partners are disgusted by this loss of life and will relentlessly pursue justice for Reagan and her child, Chief Harrison said in a press release. We are grateful to the Laclede County Sheriffs Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, FBI, and the ATF for their assistance.

The investigation remains active. Those with information are encouraged to contact the Lebanon Police Department at 417-532-3131 or submit tips anonymously through the online tip system at www.lebanonmissouri.org.

This is a developing story.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  After the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requested voter information from Utahs Lieutenant Governor, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has, in part, granted their request, handing over Utahs publicly available voter list along with data on how many voters have been removed from the rolls over the last two years.

Weve offered the public voter list, Henderson told ABC 4. If they want protected data, theres a process for government entities to request it for lawful purposes. Well address that if it comes, but so far we havent identified any federal or state statute that would justify handing over to the federal government the personal identifying information of 2.1 million Utah voters.

The letter, sent from the DOJ on July 15 as part of their push to contact all 50 states about their voting law compliance, also specifically asked for the number of non-citizen voters, incompetent voters, and felons who had been removed from November 2022 to 2024.

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Hendersons letter said all the information provided was publicly available, meaning voters whose registration is set to private or withheld would not have had their data shared. Publicly available data includes name, addresses, birth year, and a history of elections in which the voter voted.

In her newly released response, the LG notes that four non-citizen voters were removed from voter registration records between November 2022 to November 2024. Zero voters were removed from voter rolls due to incompetence, and 4,225 voters were removed because of felony convictions.

The DOJ said that it wanted to make sure that Utah was complying with national election law, known as the NVRA or National Voter Registration Act, and was worried about Utahs low rate of disqualifying voters based on incomplete survey responses from Utahs county clerks. They are required to participate in a survey every election, known as the Election Assistance Commissions Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS).

The letter also asked for the data from those incomplete responses, like duplicate voters removed from the rolls.

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The statewide total of removed voters between December 1, 2022 and November 30, 2024 is 109,346. When the actual number of removed voters is used, the percentage of removals changes from 0.08% to 5.4%, the letter states.

In her response, Henderson called Utahs process for checking the rolls robust and wrote that the state of Utah has complied with federal election law, including NVRA.

Utah has safe, secure, and timely safeguards and processes for maintaining voter registration lists, she wrote, which are outlined in Utah Election Code.

Heber City Council candidate previously arrested for trespassing at Lagoon now facing child abuse charge

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As to why information was missing from the latest EAVS report, Henderson stated that it is because of the limitations of the states 25-year-old legacy system. That system cannot provide aggregated reports of this kind of information for every county, and instead, it is stored within each voter record.

As such, the Lt. Governors office reportedly spent the last two weeks manually compiling the requested data. Henderson also said that Utah is in the process of upgrading its election system to a modern system with enhanced reporting capabilities, which will be in place by the beginning of 2027.

Judge dismisses SUWA lawsuit that attempted to stop Utah from suing federal government for public land

The letter includes tables of data from November 2022 to November 2024 of voter registration removals by county and by reason for removal, merged voter records by county, and returned confirmation cards by county. You can view those tables here.

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The most prominent reasons that voter registrations were removed were because of annual processing (52,761 records removed statewide), because the person died (32,803 records removed statewide), and because the person moved out of the county they were registered in (20,998 records removed statewide).

A total of 4,683 duplicate records were found statewide, and those records were merged in order to correct the error. Salt Lake County had the most duplicate records, with 1,304 records merged.

Across the state, 269,799 voters were sent confirmation cards, and 108,699 were marked by clerks as returned, which means that 45.4% of confirmation cards were returned. The DOJ reported that there was a discrepancy in the numbers, and Henderson explained that the discrepancy was because the data was incomplete.

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The global buildout of data centers continues to put a spotlight on the energy needs of those facilities. LuxConnect, a Luxembourg-based data center firm, has made sustainability one of its main goals, pursuing energy efficiency through the use of biomassin this case burning wood wasteto produce electricity and more for its operations.

1. This diagram of the Kiowatt facility provides a detailed look at the trigeneration plant. Courtesy: LuxConnect

Kiowatt (Figure 1), which began operating in October 2013, is a joint venture (JV) between LuxEnergie and Groupe Francois. The JV operates a trigeneration facility in Bissen, Luxembourg, a plant (Figure 2) that utilizes 42,000 tons of end-of-life wood annually to produce about 24 GWh of green electricity. The facility also generates 108 GWh of thermal energy per year, which is used for pellet production, district heating, and to cool LuxConnects Data Center DC2making DC2 the first green data center in the world, according to the companies. The group told POWER that the data center is one of the only examples in Europe where digital infrastructure is being powered and cooled by locally sourced, waste-derived energy in this way.

2. The trigeneration facility in Bissen, Luxembourg, utilizes 42,000 tons of end-of-life wood annually to produce about 24 GWh of green electricity in addition to 108 GWh of thermal energy. Courtesy: LuxConnect

LuxConnect has said it is committed to energy efficiency, and told POWER its most significant example is DC2. The company said the data center is a major step in its Low-to-No-Footprint energy-sourcing policy, with the integrated energy concept at DC2 enabling the production of cold based on the exceeded heat generated by the Kiowatt trigeneration site. Producing cold with heat is possible thanks to two absorption chillers that are fed by superheated water from the cogeneration plant located across the road from DC2. The cold water is transported via an underground network to the data center. LuxConnect said Kiowatts energy efficiency innovation is at the heart of the installation because, using wood waste, it simultaneously produces heat and electrical energy. The cogeneration plant burns wood waste to produce electricity; the wood is transported to a boiler where as many as five tons are burned per hour. The combustion heat causes the water contained in the walls of the boiler to evaporate. The flue gases are used to superheat the steam to 420C (788F). The steam produced is used to turn the turbine, which produces electricity that is fed into the public grid. The steam is then transferred via a condenser to a secondary network, where the remaining energy is involved in the production of pellets, cooling the data center, and powering an urban heating network. The company said the energy produced by the cogeneration supports the LuxConnect production process, and is delivered to the power grid to serve both business and residential sites. LuxConnect said the heat generated by the steam turbine is used in a variety of ways. About 5% is delivered into the heat network of the artisanal and business zone Klengbousbierg, the chosen area for the implementation of MeluXina, Luxembourgs new high-performance supercomputer. Some 30% is used to dry the fresh wood for pellet production. Every year 35,000 tons of pellets are produced, equivalent to about 1 million liters of fuel. The remaining 65% of the heat produced in the cogeneration plant is used by DataCenterEnergie to cool LuxConnects data center. Paul Konsbruck, CEO at LuxConnect, told POWER the Kiowatt project serves as a benchmark for sustainable industrial development in Luxembourg. It demonstrates that by collaborating with the right partners, its possible to build infrastructures that significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Kiowatt, for example, combines heat and power generation from biomass with the needs of a high-performance data center, showing that energy-intensive sectors like digital infrastructure can align with the countrys sustainability goals. Said Konsbruck: DC2 is a prime example of circular and sustainable infrastructure. Powered by green energy from Kiowatts biomass cogeneration, the data center uses renewable sources to cover its energy needs. Its integration into an eco-industrial model minimizes environmental impact while maintaining high performance and reliability. By reusing waste heat and leveraging local, renewable energy, DC2 actively supports Luxembourgs broader goals for energy transition and carbon footprint reduction. LuxConnects data centers also serve the Clarence JV between Proximus and LuxConnect, offering Europes first disconnected sovereign cloud solution. Clarencea combination of Clarity & Transparency, which the companies said are core valueswas unveiled in October 2023 as part of the Google Distributed Cloud Launch Event. The Clarence solution is hosted within LuxConnects data centers, which benefit from a uniquely green energy supply through the Kiowatt infrastructure in Bissen, said Konsbruck. This allows clients to indirectly benefit from a highly sustainable and low-carbon digital environment. Konsbruck told POWER that LuxConnect is actively exploring new sustainability-driven initiatives. One such project under study involves recovering waste heat from the Bettembourg data centers and supplying it to a residential and commercial neighborhood being planned adjacent to our campus. The recovered heat would be used to preheat domestic hot water, reducing the neighborhoods energy needs and carbon footprint. Groupe Francois S.A. is a key partner in the Kiowatt joint venture. The company specializes in producing electricity and heat via cogeneration systems fueled by end-of-life wood waste, as well as in the production of wood pellets. Their expertise in biomass energy enables the entire system to function efficiently and sustainably, contributing to both local energy needs and circular resource usage, said Konsbruck. The burning of wood waste is not a major part of Luxembourgs energy sector; Konsbruck noted that biomass-based energy from wood waste is currently limited in scope, serving primarily the commune of Bissen. However, while not widespread, the Kiowatt project still plays a valuable role in Luxembourgs national effort to diversify energy sources and reduce emissions. Every such initiative, no matter the scale, helps the country move toward its climate goals. Konsbruck said the pellets produced at the site are distributed exclusively through a dedicated supplier, primarily in bulk. One key sector using these pellets is the hospitality industry, where they are burned for heating purposes. This creates a localized, renewable heating solution that supports sustainable practices in commercial settings. LuxConnect in January of this year announced it would host one of the control centers for the European Unions upcoming Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite (IRIS 2) satellite constellation. IRIS 2 is a project led by the European Unionin collaboration with the European Space Agencythat is developing a multi-orbital constellation of 290 satellites with the SpaceRISE consortium. Said Konsbruck: We are incredibly proud to have been selected for this pivotal project. LuxConnects recognized expertise in managing high-security and high-connectivity infrastructures played a crucial role in our selection. Our team is committed to contributing our skills and experience to support Europes ambition for a resilient and secure digital future. The use of waste heat to support data centers energy needsand district heatingcould become more prevalent. Qarnot, a French data center firm, in June announced it launched a new data center at the Lamarmora power plant in Brescia, Italy, in partnership with A2A, a local energy group. Qarnot said the waste heat from liquid-cooled data center pods will be used in A2As district heating network in the city. Paul Benoit, Qarnots CEO, in a statement said the company is fully committed to leveraging our cutting-edge data center technology to actively contribute to A2As decarbonization strategy and to support the broader transition towards a more sustainable energy landscape. Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.
On Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show," Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro disscussed the April arson attack on his home, the community who helped them heal, and the current political landscape.

When Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro showed up on The Late Show last week, Stephen Colbert asked him a very important question: Have you ever lost an election?

Shapiro chuckled before recounting his getting whupped and finishing third in 11th grade when he ran for student body president.

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The governor forgot to mention who won that race (it was me) or why he lost  the mother of all campaign promises (an ice cream vending machine in the student lounge) and the best campaign poster ever (a portrait of the candidate as Indiana Jones courtesy of Fred Raskin, now a film editor who works with the likes of Quentin Tarantino and James Gunn).

Shapiro may have left out the key details of that 1990 race at Akiba Hebrew Academy, a middle school and high school in suburban Philadelphia now known as Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, but he did showcase the style and themes that could make him a formidable candidate in 2028.

Colbert kicked off the interview by asking about the April arson attack on the governors mansion where he and his family were sleeping just hours after hosting a public Passover seder.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks outside a Harrisburg firehouse, April 17, 2025 (credit: screenshot)

After recounting the details of the attack, Shapiro quickly turned spiritual. Not some anodyne, wont-offend-atheists spiritual. Good old-fashioned amen spiritual.

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And Ive got to say, for as dark as that moment was, Lori and I found a whole lot of light in the days after from the people of Pennsylvania, Shapiro said, to a burst of applause.

Im a prayerful person, he continued. I pray every day. But I never had people praying for me like that. People from all different faiths, all different backgrounds. And, Stephen, I know this sounds crazy, but I actually could feel their prayer, I actually felt strengthened by their prayers, and that helped me and Lori and our four children heal.

From there, Shapiro recounted how Pennsylvanias first family organized a thank you meal cooked by celebrity chef Robert Irvine for the North Penn Township Volunteer Fire Company, repeating a story he told publicly in the immediate wake of the arson. According to Shapiro, the units 83-year-old chaplain approached him and said: We dont share the same faith, but every single member of our fire department wrote you this letter, and signed it and I wrote my personal favorite prayer on the back for you.

That prayer he wrote, Shapiro told Colbert, is a prayer that I know as the priestly blessing, a prayer that I make over my children each night from the Old Testament. He used that prayer because it was important to him, a person of Christian faith, giving it to a person of Jewish faith to help us heal. And what I learned from that experience is prayer is not only powerful, but it can be universal and can lift people up regardless of how they worship. There is a universality to it and it was a beautiful thing.

Judaism within the political landscape

Faith. Prayerful. Old Testament.

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Shapiro was the target of plenty of razzing last summer over his Obama-style speechmaking. Yet when it comes to talking about his Jewishness, he channels the late Joseph Lieberman, still the only Jew to be tapped for a major-party presidential ticket.

Like the Democratic 2000 vice-presidential candidate, Shapiro wears his religion on his sleeve  and talks about being a practicing Jew in terms that can feel more Archbishop Ryan than Akiba Hebrew.

Lieberman penned a book-length love letter to Shabbat and titled it The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath. Shapiro kicked off his run for governor with a biographical campaign spot that started out with his letting voters know that he always makes it home Friday night for Sabbath dinner, because family and faith ground me.

Its true that most Jews say Shabbat or Shabbos when talking about the sabbath  not to mention say they were davening when being prayerful or cite the Torah or Bible when quoting from the Old Testament. Of course, most Jews arent explaining their religious identity to the wider voting public while running for statewide or possibly national office.

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Call it pandering. Call it bridge-building.

Either way, so far its working.

Not just on Colbert, where the audience ate it up.

Shapiro delivered a whupping of his own in the 2022 governors race, with a 56.5%-41.7% win over Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano. Trumps choice in the GOP primary, Mastriano was a MAGA favorite who had promoted Christian political power, flirted with the QAnon conspiracy movement and took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol protests after advancing discredited claims of widespread election fraud in 2020.

During the race, Mastriano tried to paint Shapiro, then the states attorney general, as the out-of-touch candidate, saying he had disdain for people like us because he attended and then sent his children to a privileged, exclusive, elite school. That line of attack went over about as well as a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt at an Eagles game.

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For those keeping score, Shapiro not only trounced Mastriano  he outperformed Trumps 50.4% win in the state two years later, in part because of his relatively strong showing for a Democrat in red parts of the state.

Colbert asked Shapiro about Pennsylvanians who voted for both him and Trump, giving the governor a chance to show off a maneuver not many prominent Democrats can pull off so seamlessly: unabashedly bashing Trump (he might do Lieberman vibes Friday night, but never forget hes all Birds Sunday afternoon), while simultaneously praising and speaking to the concerns of his voters and their communities.

Shapiro dismissed Trump as talking a good game, but turning his back on his supporters, saying Trumps Big Beautiful Bill will lead to 310,000 people in the state being cut from Medicaid, including 154,000 in areas that voted for Trump.

As for those voters who went for both Shapiro and Trump: I talk to them every day. I show up in their communities every day. These are good folks, the governor said, describing them as fed up with a government system that has often ignored them and their problems, while seeing others as getting an unfair advantage. I show up in communities where Democrats often dont go, especially in our rural areas. And I not only listen to them, I learn from them. I go back to those communities and I deliver for them.

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Shapiro has clearly internalized important lessons from his failed fly-by-night high school campaign that was undone by a failure to understand what mattered most to the voters (its the ice cream sandwiches, stupid!).

Since then hes pulled of an uninterrupted string of impressive victories, built on a formula of outworking his opponents on the campaign trail, intense message discipline and a successful bet that what the voters of Montgomery County and the rest of the Keystone state want most is a highly disciplined common-sense problem-solver focused on getting things done, who comes with plenty of God and apple pie. The big question now is whether that statewide winning formula melts away in the heat of a national race as Democrats turn left in search of their own chaotic and polarizing disruptor, or provides much-needed relief to an exhausted silent majority, like the perfect cone on a sweltering summer day.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
As much as Donald Trump talked about lowering the costs of prescription medications in his first term, the presidents underwhelming efforts fell short, and drug costs continued to climb. The Republicans second term, however, was supposed to be different.

In fact, just a couple of months ago Trump appeared on Fox News to claim hed been studying the pharmaceutical industry, and he declared, I figured it out. Around the same time, the president signed an executive order ostensibly about lowering drug costs, although the directive didnt do much.

The good news is that Trump still appears to be focused on the issue. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, he even talked about lowering prices by up to 1,500%, which was literally and mathematically impossible. The bad news is that the president still doesnt have an effective plan. NBC News reported on new letters the White House has sent to more than a dozen major pharmaceutical companies, demanding that they lower consumer prices within 60 days.

In the letters  which Trump published on his social media platform Truth Social  the drugmakers were told to offer the full portfolio of their existing medications to Medicaid patients at the same prices paid abroad, also known as the most favored nation rule. He also told drugmakers to guarantee that patients on Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance get the same lower prices that are paid abroad for all newly approved drugs both upon launch and moving forward.

While its likely the companies and their legal teams read the presidential correspondence with great interest, consumers shouldnt get their hopes up. As The New York Times explained, Despite the strong language in the letters ... Mr. Trumps demands amount to a request that drug companies act voluntarily: His administration has not put forward a clear legal authority to compel them to lower their prices.

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As regular readers might recall, Trump actually broke with Republican Party orthodoxy in 2016 on lowering prices on prescription drugs. In fact, he complained bitterly before reaching the White House about the pharmaceutical industrys powerful lobbyists and said drug companies were getting away with murder.

In his first term, the president even accused the drug industry of corruption, arguing that pharmaceutical companies contributed massive amounts of money to politicians as part of a scheme to keep the cost of medicines higher.

That posture didnt last. Trump ultimately put a pharmaceutical company executive in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, and just as importantly, he tapped a top lobbyist for a pharmaceutical company to serve as one of the key architects of his first-term drug pricing plan.

With this in mind, around this time seven years ago, Trump unveiled a policy he seemed quite excited about, boasting to Americans that in two weeks (its always two weeks) the public would see massive drops in prices thanks entirely to a presidential directive hed signed.

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There were no massive price drops. The Republicans entire policy proved to be a bust that was rejected in the courts, and his bold promises went unfulfilled.

It fell to Joe Biden to make progress on an issue where Trump had failed.

Years later, the incumbent president nevertheless returned to the issue with unnerving hype, and he declared on his social media platform in May, DRUG PRICES TO BE CUT BY 59%, PLUS!

No such cut followed.

Complicating matters, when it comes to his administrations and his partys approach to the issue, Trump continues to conveniently overlook some relevant details. The New York Times reported about a month ago:

The sweeping Republican policy bill that awaits President Trumps signature on Friday includes a little-noticed victory for the drug industry. The legislation allows more medications to be exempt from Medicares price negotiation program, which was created to lower the governments drug spending. Now, manufacturers will be able to keep those prices higher.

The Times cited an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that found the Republican-imposed change will save the industry  the one the president claims to have studied  nearly $5 billion over the next decade.

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Consumers arent catching a break, but the drug industry appears to be benefiting quite a bit from Trumps and his partys efforts.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Many of the lawyers who used to work for Donald Trump have been richly rewarded for their service. Pam Bondi, for example, was part of one of the presidents legal teams, and shes the attorney general. Todd Blanche was one of his criminal defense attorneys, and hes now also helping lead the Justice Department. D. John Sauer was also a Trump lawyer, and the president tapped him to serve as the solicitor general. Emil Bove represented Trump, and as of a few days ago, hes a federal appellate judge.

Even Alina Habba, who was serving as counselor to the president, was recently named an acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey.

Some of the other lawyers who grew close to Trump, however, have fared far less well. Take Jeffrey Clark, for example. The Associated Press reported:

Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who aided President Donald Trumps efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, should be stripped of his law license, a Washington disciplinary panel ruled on Thursday. Clark, who is now overseeing a federal regulatory office, played a key role in Trumps efforts to challenge his election loss to Joe Biden and clashed with Justice Department superiors who refused to back his false claims of fraud.

Im mindful of the fact that Trump world is filled with assorted figures, and there may be some readers asking right now, Wait, which one is Jeffrey Clark? So lets revisit our earlier coverage and review why hes significant.

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Shortly after Trumps 2020 election defeat, the then-outgoing president considered a ridiculous plan in which hed fire acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and replace him with Clark, a relatively low-profile environmental lawyer within the administration. The motivation for the change was obvious: Clark, unlike Rosen, was telling Trump what he wanted to hear about keeping him in power, despite his defeat.

In fact, Clark sketched out a map for Republican legislators to follow as part of a partisan plot, even as he quietly pressed Trump to put him in charge of the Justice Department.

Ultimately, that didnt happen. The then-president ultimately backed away from the plan to make Clark the acting A.G., not because the plan was stark raving mad  though it certainly was  but because the Justice Departments senior leadership team threatened to resign en masse if Rosen was ousted.

It was around the same time when there was a high-level meeting at which a White House lawyer said that if Trump remained in office despite his defeat, there would be riots nationwide. According to a federal criminal indictment, Clark allegedly responded, Well ... thats why theres an Insurrection Act.

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In other words, if Trump claimed illegitimate power and Americans took to the streets, the Republican White House, from Clarks perspective, could use the Insurrection Act to deploy the U.S. military against American civilians.

In the years that followed, the lawyer did not fade into obscurity. On the contrary, he became a rising legal star in Republican circles  even after Clarks indictment in Fulton County, Georgia  and when Trump headlined a fundraiser for Jan. 6 criminal defendants, Clark appeared alongside the president.

The attorney also became directly involved in the Project 2025 initiative, and even attended a Mar-a-Lago screening of a conspiratorial movie about the persecution of Jan. 6 rioters.

As the AP report noted, after Trump returned to power, Clark returned to the executive branch, serving as the acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, a part of the Office of Management and Budget that is responsible for reviewing executive branch regulations.

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Its against this backdrop that the D.C. Board of Professional Responsibility concluded that Clark should be disbarred, a recommendation that will now go to the D.C. Court of Appeals for a final decision.

A Politico report added that Clark is not without company: Rudy Giuliani was similarly sanctioned by the D.C. Bar, as well as bar authorities in New York, and ultimately disbarred. Conservative attorney John Eastman has been suspended from practicing law while he fights a disbarment recommendation made by a California judge. Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis agreed to a three-year suspension of her law license in Colorado after acknowledging she made false claims about the 2020 election  and after pleading guilty to her role in the effort in a criminal case in Georgia. And Kenneth Chesebro, an architect of Trumps last-ditch bid to remain in power, lost his law license in New York.

For his part, Clark responded to the latest developments with a social media message that read, The fight continues. Watch this space.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
When Donald Trump accepted a superluxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar, there was a long list of questions about the arrangement, and by any fair measure, the president created a legal, ethical and political mess. But hanging overhead was a related question: What happens to the plane after the Republican exits the White House?

The administrations official line has long been the Qatari aircraft should be seen as a gift, not to Trump personally, but to the United States. The same administrations official line has also been that the not-at-all-free jet will apparently head to his future presidential library.

How does the White House resolve the conflict between the first talking point and the second? So far, by ignoring it.

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Some Senate Democrats, however, came up with a more straightforward idea. The Washington Post reported:

A Senate panel narrowly voted down an amendment Thursday that would prevent the military from transferring a Qatari jet to be used as Air Force One to President Donald Trumps future library. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), failed on a 14-15 party-line vote before the chambers appropriations committee.

As the Connecticut Democrat explained in items published to Bluesky, the amendment wouldnt have changed much in terms of the status quo: The Trump administration could still accept the plane from Qatar; it could still take steps to refurbish the jet; it could still move money around to try to pay for it; etc.

What Murphys proposal would instead do is prevent the Republican from taking the plane with him at the end of his second term.

This is an extraordinary amount of money to be used on a plane retrofit that will likely only be in service for a short period of time. Well, the administration has essentially refused to brief us on the full cost, the senator told his colleagues. Reports are that this number could be easily $1 billion.

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Murphy added, To most Americans, thats a lot of their money to be spent on a plane that is not going to be in the service of the United States military, in the United States Air Force, for perhaps any longer than a few months, because the president has, in fact, stated his intention to take this plane with him when he leaves office.

But when the amendment came up in the Senate Appropriations Committee, every Democrat voted for it  and every Republican voted against it.

By way of an explanation, Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, questioned the premise behind the effort, saying, The president has never came out and said hes putting this in the library. He said it in a joke one time.

To the extent that reality matters, that wasnt true. The administrations position about the plane and the library has been repeated for months, and theres never been any indication that the president was kidding about his intentions.

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For that matter, if Trump was just joking around, then what would be the harm in having Congress impose some restrictions to ensure the plane remains in the publics hands after January 2029?

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
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In the summer of 2022, Donald Trump badly needed criminal-defense lawyers. Tim Parlatore, who was already working for the former president on an unrelated civil matter, joined the team defending Trump after an FBI search found classified government documents stored at his Florida estate. Parlatore had represented prominent Trump allies in their interactions with the congressional committee investigating the January 6 attacks; that was helpful, because Trump also faced charges stemming from the riot. Parlatore was a star lawyer in Trump world, so its more than a little surprising that, in the fall of that year, he hired a close associate of one of the most notorious villains in the extended MAGA universe: Jeffrey Epstein.

Before he joined the Parlatore Law Group, Darren Indyke was Epsteins personal attorney for nearly a quarter century and reportedly among his closest associates and advisers. Parlatores decision to hire Indyke appears to have escaped public notice. But Indyke, by his own account, has been working for the firm since October 2022.

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Indyke is also a co-executor of Epsteins estate, which has made settlement payments to more than 100 alleged victims of the deceased multimillionaires sex trafficking. Two women have sued Indyke, along with Epsteins former accountant, claiming that they helped administer a network of dozens of bank accounts, corporate entities, and money transfers that enabled Epsteins crimes. In court filings, Indyke has categorically denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epsteins alleged crimes.

I called Parlatore earlier this week after I noticed Indykes photo and bio on the law firms website. He has skills doing a bunch of stuff that I dont know how to do, as far as corporate work, Parlatore told me during a brief conversation. He added that Indykes experience on the legal side of the Epstein business was valuable. For instance, Indyke knows how to structure financial arrangements and purchase aircraft, Parlatore said. I hired him because of that.

[Read: Inside the White Houses Epstein strategy]

Those kinds of financial skills are what the two women who sued Indyke allege were at the heart of Epsteins criminal enterprise. In his bio, Indyke touts his experience as general counsel to family offices, serial entrepreneurs, investors, and other ultra-high-net-worth clientele. He doesnt mention Epstein. Among his other capabilities: Complex business and commercial transactions, as well as aviation, marine, and other exotic asset purchases, sales, and operation.

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Indyke came to me because he was looking for a job, Parlatore told me. He said he was aware of the allegations in the ongoing civil lawsuit, which was filed in 2024, after Indyke had joined the firm. But he said that Indyke had assured him that the FBI looked into it, and they didnt find anything.

Indyke has not been charged with a crime. He did not respond to an email or a text message I sent, or to a voicemail I left at the number listed for him at the firm.

When he hired Indyke, Parlatore told me, the Epstein stuff, as far as I was concerned, was irrelevant to me.

The Epstein stuff is highly relevant, however, and of the utmost political salience to Trumps base. For many Trump voters, the Epstein story captures how rich and powerful people can use their influence and connections to cover up one anothers dark deeds. Its the kind of corrupt back-scratching that Trump has long pledged to stamp out. For weeks now, Trump has been at pains to distance himself from Epstein, once a close friend. Parlatores work with Indyke seems unlikely to help that effort, particularly because Parlatore is now working closely with a key member of Trumps Cabinet, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

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To describe Parlatore simply as what he isHegseths personal lawyer and a Pentagon adviserwould overlook the symbiotic relationship that allowed both of them to rise inside Trumps circle.

Parlatore began representing U.S. troops accused of grave misconduct when Hegseth was catching Trumps attention as a Fox News host, during the presidents first term. Hegseth made defending troops a personal on-air cause, arguing the military court system unfairly prosecuted warriors who had made tough decisions in the heat of battle.

Parlatore represented Navy Chief Eddie Gallagher, who was charged with premeditated murder following the death of a 17-year-old suspected Islamic State fighter in Iraq in 2017. Two years later, a court acquitted Gallagher on all charges except for taking a photograph with the corpse, and the Navy demoted him. Trump then pardoned Gallagher and reinstated his rank.

Parlatore had also become Hegseths personal attorney. In 2024, after Trump nominated Hegseth as defense secretary, Parlatore threatened legal action against a woman who had filed a police report seven years earlier saying that Hegseth had assaulted her in a hotel. Parlatore told CNN that Hegseths accuser was free to speak publicly, because a confidentiality agreement covering her and the nominee was no longer in effect. But he said he would consider suing her for civil extortion and defamation if she made what Parlatore described as false claims that might jeopardize Hegseths chances of Senate confirmation.

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Parlatore aggressively criticized reporters who questioned Hegseth's qualifications to run the Defense Department, and he helped his client prepare for a contentious nomination hearing. Hegseth squeaked through, after Vice President J. D. Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to confirm him.

Parlatore has been by Hegseths side since he entered the Pentagon in January. A former naval surface-warfare officer, Parlatore rejoined the service as a reserve commander in the JAG Corps. Hegseth swore him back into uniform.

[Read: When Pete Hegseths Pentagon tenure started going sideways]

Even as Hegseth has fired or dismissed a number of advisers, Parlatore has survived, and many officials in the Pentagon see him as the key intermediary to reach Hegseth. When journalists call the Pentagon with questions, theyre often directed to Parlatore.

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Parlatore has also backed up Hegseths policy agenda, supporting the removal of hundreds of books flagged for DEI-related content from the library of the U.S. Naval Academy, from which Parlatore graduated.

Before Trumps reelection, Parlatore was a central member of the legal team representing the former president in the classified-documents case and even testified before the grand jury investigating the matter. He oversaw searches for additional classified documents at Trump properties.

Parlatore left Trumps legal team in May 2023, shortly before the former president was charged in the documents case, amid disputes with another attorney who Parlatore thought was hindering Trumps defense.

According to Indykes LinkedIn profile, he is of counsel at the Parlatore Law Group, which usually describes a lawyer who is not a partner, but also not a junior employee. Some lawyers who are of counsel work on special projects or with particular clients.

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Parlatore told me that Indykes work on the Epstein estate has kept him so busy that he didnt have time for much else. Indyke also represents a few individual clients, Parlatore said, without naming them.

Meanwhile, Parlatore has been dabbling in conspiracy theories about the death of his colleagues former boss. On the Shawn Ryan Show podcast in May of last year, the host asked Parlatore why cases like Epsteins are just being whisked away into nothing.

The obvious reason Epsteins federal prosecution for sex trafficking did not move forward in 2019 was that he hanged himself in his Manhattan jail cell. But Parlatore sensed darker forces at play.

Theres always pressure being brought when certain cases could reveal embarrassing things about people in power, he said. He speculated that Epstein had never stood trial because he was permitted to kill himself. By whom, he didnt say.

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Earlier this week, Parlatore posted a monologue on social media dismissing the idea that Epstein kept a client list, the white whale of the saga that would supposedly identify powerful men for whom Epstein procured young women and girls. Parlatore suggested that Epstein didnt create such a list, but that the Justice Department lawyers who prosecuted him may have done so.

Government lawyers, he argued, only really pursued the theory that Epstein trafficked girls for himself. They didnt bother looking for who else was involved.

Left unsaid was that some of Epsteins victims have gone looking for others involved in enabling Epsteins misconduct, and they claim that one trail leads to Indyke.

Last year, Epsteins estate, which Indyke administers with Epsteins former accountant, received a nearly $112 million tax refund from the IRS. With most large claims against the estate having been settled, that newfound cash isnt likely to make its way to victims of the disgraced financier, The New York Times reported in January. But some of the assets could go to Indyke, as well as other beneficiaries that Epstein named before he died.

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I asked Parlatore if he was aware that his associate stood to reap a financial windfall. That was news to him, he said, then added that if Indyke does come into a large amount of money, perhaps hell quit the law firm.

Nancy A. Youssef contributed reporting.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
A video of Sen. Elizabeth Warren taking a tumble on the Senate floor has sparked ridicule in MAGA corners online.

A live feed from Wednesday evening shows the 76-year-old Massachusetts Democrat lingering in the well of the Senate during a vote on President Donald Trumps nominee to lead the U.S. Marshals Service.

Leaning back with arms crossed, Warren presses against a deskonly to feel it give way beneath her. She loses her balance and topples backward onto the floor.

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The moment sparked a rare display of bipartisan camaraderie, with a swarm of colleagues rushing to Warrens aid. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, 54, who previously suggested Warren could have a penis while telling a crude joke in 2022, helps her up by the arm.

Elizabeth Warren just FELL on the Senate floor pic.twitter.com/J3GH6y0Red  TheBlaze (@theblaze) July 31, 2025

Warren appears to be unhurt, tapping Cruzs hand to reassure him, before settling against a sturdier table. Other senators huddle around the desk, rocking it back and forth and reenacting the mishap in disbelief that it could falter.

Warrens fall lit up MAGA social media after conservative outlet Blaze Media posted the video Thursday, with users suggesting it was a sign of her age and calling for her retirement.

Boom! Pocahontas herself, Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren, just took a nasty fall on the Senate floor. Perhaps its time for her to retire? the media website Conservative Brief wrote, using the derogatory nickname Trump, 79, has used to reference Warrens past claims of Native American heritage.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has often clashed with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and suggested that she

MAGA podcaster Benny Johnson wrote, Yikes. Down she goes.

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Ian Miles Cheong, the Elon Musk-loyalist and right-wing commentator, lamented, Its too bad Elizabeth Warren didnt fall on her face.

The Senate ultimately voted to advance the confirmation of Gadyaces Serralta as director of the U.S. Marshals Service. Warren joined 38 other Democrats in voting against Serralta, the current U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida.

Earlier in the day, Warren voted for two resolutions introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, 83, aimed at blocking arms sales to Israel, joining roughly half of Senate Democrats. With Republicans unified in opposition, both measures failed to pass.

While Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, 53, sent the lower chamber home early for summer recess in order to avoid a showdown over the Jeffrey Epstein files, Senate GOP leadership is rushing to speed through Trump nominee confirmations.

The Daily Beast has reached out to Warrens office for comment.
A crowded field of Democratic candidates are vying to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in Maine.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Senate President Troy Jackson; Hannah Pingree, the former Maine state House speaker, former director of the Governors Office of Policy Innovation and daughter of Rep. Chellie Pingree; and Angus King III, an energy executive and son of U.S. Sen. Angus King, are running in the Democratic primary.

The candidates running for the Republican nomination include state Sen. James Libby, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Charles, real estate executive David Jones and University of Maine trustee Owen McCarthy.

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Maine is solidly Democratic at the presidential level, and Democrats are favored to win the governors race in 2026.

Governors and state legislatures have become increasingly important and visible as the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress have delegated policymaking on abortion, child care, LGBTQ+ rights and more to the states.

Mills and President Donald Trump notably clashed over the issue of transgender athletes in sports, which became a political flashpoint in the state earlier this year.

Democrats have also sounded the alarm about the impacts of Republicans party-line tax and spending cut legislation on Maine, a largely rural state where many residents rely on Medicaid, food assistance and energy assistance programs subject to steep cuts under the bill.

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In all, 36 governorships are up in 2026. Five Democratic-led states won by Trump in 2024 (Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) are holding elections for governor in 2026, while two Republican governors in states won by former Vice President Kamala Harris (New Hampshire and Vermont) are up for reelection.

The post In Maine, the next generation of Democrats emerges to succeed Gov. Janet Mills appeared first on The 19th.

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With seven FM stations, Maine Public President and CEO Rick Schneider said the organization is the backbone of Maines emergency alert system. (Photo by Twenty47studio/ Getty Images)

Maine Public will still be here for you tomorrow, said the organizations president and CEO, Rick Schneider, after news broke Friday that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be shuttering its doors due to a lack of federal funding.

The announcement came just one day after a major Senate appropriations bill omitted funding for the nonprofit that funds public media and a week after President Donald Trump signed a bill into law that yanked $1.1 billion in previously approved spending for CPB.

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Schneider said while the news is not a surprise, it is still a very sad day to see that CPB is actually taking the steps to wind down.

He said after Congress voted to rescind previously approved public media funding, it was inevitable, but it is still a blow to see it happening. That said, its not the end of PBS programming, or of NPR, or of Maine Public.

Maine Public was slated to receive about $2.5 million in grants from CPB for the coming year and $5 million over the next two years, Schneider said, noting this amounts to 12% of its overall budget. Maine Public will now have to figure out different ways to plug that budget hole, he added.

Since the Trump administration first announced its intentions to claw back public media funding, there has been an outpouring of support for local public broadcasting stations nationally and in Maine, Schneider said.

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We are grateful for all the people stepping up now, and we will have to convince them and let them know that this is support that we will need on an ongoing basis, he added. He also emphasized his gratitude for the listeners who contacted lawmakers in support of public media.

The state also contributes 9% of Maine Publics budget, but Schenider explained that covers costs for the extensive network of transmitters across Maine. As the only statewide broadcaster, with a total of 21 FM stations, he said the organization is the backbone of Maines emergency alert system, coordinating with the Maine Emergency Management Agency to get alerts out that are then picked up by commercial broadcasters.

It is not yet clear what CPBs closure will mean for the out-of-state public radio programming that is picked up by the local broadcaster. Schneider explained that local outlets pay dues to NPR, which make it possible to produce distributed programming, but if there are less stations, or less stations that can pay those fees, we are all interconnected, and that will be hard.

Shauneen Miranda contributed to this reporting. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Maine Public has seven FM stations, not 21.

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John Chisholm has been interested in sharks as long as he can remember. Growing up in Plymouth, Mass. in the 1970s, he spent a lot of time searching for great whites on his dads commercial fishing boat.

An adjunct scientist at the New England Aquariums Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, Chisholm wasnt the first in his family to take an interest in great white sharks. In 1921, Chisholms great-great grandfather caught white sharks on Prince Edward Island in mackerel nets while working as a lighthouse keeper.

Chisholm spent summers on Prince Edward Island as a kid and heard that story from his grandparents. Now, he says theres scientific evidence, including fossil shark teeth, that white sharks have long been swimming in northern waters.

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White sharks have always been here. They predate colonization by Europeans, said Chisholm. So it's kind of frustrating when you see people saying they're now moving into Canadian waters. They've always been in Canadian waters. They've always been in Maine waters.

The presence of sharks are an indicator of an ecosystems good health, according to shark biologist Kyle Oliveira, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maine and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences. Between the late 1800s and mid 1900s, the white shark population took a hit due to overfishing, meaning there were less recorded sightings of white sharks along the East Coast.

Thanks to protection measures like the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 and Shark Conservation Act of 2010, which make it illegal to remove shark fins from sharks at sea and promote sustainable shark management, those who track white sharks are beginning to see the populations recover.

As with any predator, sharks will tend to go where the food is. That could be one factor driving the sightings reported in Casco Bay in July. Both Chisholm and Oliveira pointed to a high concentration of striped bass in the Gulf of Maine, which is a source of prey for sharks.

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Everybody thinks the sharks are here for seals, Chisholm said. While catching a seal is a metabolic windfall full of the lipid-rich nutrients adult sharks need, the predators have plenty of other food sources, too. Juvenile and sub-adult sharks tend to feed on schools of fish, according to Oliveira, who said recent research has found younger sharks are often the ones visiting Maine.

When it comes to finding food, Oliveira said convenience is key. White sharks are really lazy animals, and they try and get whatever meal is gonna be easiest for them to catch, Oliveira said. One favorite is a floating whale carcass because it provides easy access for sharks to chomp off pieces of blubber, another source of lipids.

Independent of shark population numbers, technology may be another driver of reported white shark sightings. When Chisholm started tracking white sharks in the Atlantic in the late 1970s, hed hear about sightings second or third hand. Hed spend weeks, months, or occasionally years tracking down witnesses to interview them about what they thought they saw, being careful not to ask leading questions that would sway the answers one way or another.

In 1985 I might have only had three sightings for that year. That doesn't mean there were only three white sharks. It just means I tracked down three people that saw them, Chisholm said.

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Nowadays, Chisholm opens up social media to track sightings across videos and photos posted to Instagram and X. Many of those sightings turn out to be basking sharks rather than white sharks, but the information contributes to data on multiple shark species and their behavior throughout New England.

Through his role at the New England Aquarium, Chisholm is also responsible for verifying shark sightings reported on the Sharktivity app. The app is a form of citizen science, allowing witnesses to contribute to a growing database that helps inform work done by researchers across the region.

A screenshot of the Sharktivity app showing shark sightings and pings in the past month in the Gulf of Maine.

As of July 31 this year, there have been 15 confirmed sightings of white sharks off of Maines coast, with one sighting reported as far north as Camden.

In addition to reporting shark sightings on the app, Chisholm recommended that those who spot a shark contact their local harbor masters with the location and time of the sighting.

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Doing so can help spread awareness and reduce paranoia. One rule of thumb is to avoid swimming with the bait, Chisholm said. Beyond that, Oliveira encouraged beachgoers to remember that the ocean is home for sharks.

It's a sign of a healthy, productive ecosystem, so having white sharks around is a really good thing, Oliveira said.

As the climate changes, researchers like Oliveira are working to understand how white sharks will be affected. Sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Maine are warming faster than 99% of the global ocean as a result of climate change, yet sharks can regulate their internal body temperature and find suitable habitat in waters ranging from 37-89 degrees fahrenheit.

Whats unclear, Oliveira said, is how lower levels of the food chain will fare under changing conditions. Impacts there could eventually work their way up to white sharks at the top.
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)  A New York man is facing charges after allegedly attempting to meet with someone he thought was a teenage girl.

Alan Cebula, 43, was charged after 814 Pred Hunters, a group that poses as underage minors on social media sites, reached out to police with information that Cebula was in contact with one of their decoys. The organization told officers that Cebula believed he was talking to a 15-year-old female, according to the criminal complaint.

When police reviewed the messages between Cebula and the decoy, which lasted from July 2 through July 31, it was noted that he allegedly messaged first. The decoy stated that she was 15 at the beginning of the message thread, according to the affidavit.

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Cebula proceeded to make multiple comments about not wanting to get in trouble and that its major jail time for me, as well as sending explicit photos of himself and, in turn, asking explicit questions about the decoys body, according to the complaint.

The two had arranged to meet Aug. 1 at a gas station in Brookville. Police arrived at the scene and took Cebula into custody. Officers noted in the criminal complaint that they believed Cebula took the steps necessary to attempt to commit sexual crimes against a minor as outlined in the Pennsylvania Crimes Code.

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He is now facing charges of criminal attempt of statutory sexual assault of someone 11 years or older, criminal attempt of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 16, along with other related charges. Cebula is in the Jefferson County Prison after being unable to post his $30,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12.

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Man in life-threatening condition after shooting in Dayton

A man was critically injured after a shooting in Dayton Thursday.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Around 7:10 p.m., Dayton police were called to the 500 block of East Fourth Street for a shooting.

TRENDING STORIES:

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News Center 7 obtained the 911 calls that brought police to the scene.

I see some dude. His door is open right now, and he dont look like hes alive, one caller told dispatchers.

A different caller told dispatchers they heard six or eight shots fired, and the man was shot in the head.

The man was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition, according to Lt. Dan Perkins with Dayton police.

Perkins said he did not believe there was a threat to the public.

Nora McIntosh lives in an apartment complex near the shooting.

I remember hearing some loud bangs when we were around the corner, but I didnt think anything of it, she said.

Police said they are working with witnesses to identify a suspect.

We will continue to follow this story.

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  Mali's former prime minister was taken into pretrial detention on Friday after expressing solidarity in a media post with jailed critics of the military junta ruling the West African country, his lawyer and a close associate said.

Moussa Mara's arrest is the latest in a crackdown on dissent by Mali's military rulers following the country's first pro-democracy rally since soldiers seized power nearly four years ago.

Abdoulaye Yaro, a close associate of the former prime minister, told The Associated Press that Mara was arrested after a cybercrime prosecutor ordered his detention pending trial for expressing compassion for people jailed for political beliefs.

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A member of the cybercrime unit said Mara has been accused of damaging the states credibility and that his trial would start on Sept. 29, 2025. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Maras lawyer Mountaga Tall said on X that the former prime minister faces charges including undermining state authority, inciting public disorder, and spreading false information. Mara's legal team is contesting the charges and detention, Tall said.

On July 4, Mara posted on X that he had visited jailed critics of the military junta.

As long as the night lasts, the sun will obviously appear! he wrote and added, We will fight by all means for this to happen as soon as possible!

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Mali, a landlocked nation in Africa's semiarid Sahel region on the southern fringe of the Sahara desert, has been embroiled in political instability that swept across West and Central Africa over the last decade.

Since orchestrating two coups in 2020 and 2021, Gen. Assimi Goita has led Mali. In June, he was granted an additional five years in power, despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The move followed the military regimes dissolution of political parties in May.
WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH)  A Waterbury man was charged with murder Friday in the shooting death of a 17-year-old girl in Waterbury.

Shamar Atwater, 40, was arrested without incident at a home on Sunny Lane in Watertown. Waterbury police held an active arrest warrant charging Atwater with the murder of Carizma Fox in the early hours of July 11.

Neighbors told News 8 that at the time of the arrest, they saw several police officers, drones and machine guns on the dead-end street.

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Waterbury police search for suspect who killed 17-year-old girl

Atwater was charged with the following:

Murder

Criminal use of a weapon

Unlawful discharge of a firearm

First-degree reckless endangerment

Criminal possession of a firearm

Carrying a pistol without a permit

Illegal sale or transfer of pistols or revolvers

Atwater is being held on $3 million bond and is scheduled to be arraigned in court on Aug. 4.

The search warrant was executed by the Waterbury Police Departments Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), Waterbury Regional Emergency Response Team (ERT), the Connecticut State Police Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Watertown Police Department.

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An Ohio man has been arrested and charged for threatening to kill Republican Rep. Jim Jordan for supporting Medicaid cuts.

Jeffrey Dorsey of Dayton allegedly left a voicemail late last month at Jordans Washington, D.C. office in which he told the lawmaker he would be a dead f--k, NBC News reported Wednesday.

If you vote to take my f--king Medicaid away, Im gonna cut your f--king head off, Dorsey said, according to a transcript shared by the FBI in a court filing.

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Youre an embarrassment, and a bag of s--t as a man, and I cant stand you, he added. So, f--k the hell off. But I tell you this, clearly to your brain, if you f--k with my Medicaid youre a dead f--k.

A few days later, Jordan voted to approve the GOPs budget bill, which made substantial cuts to the social security program. The legislation means about 10 million fewer Americans will be enrolled in Medicaid by 2034, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Jordan was among the 218 House Republicans to approve the Trump-approved package, which includes steep cuts to Medicaid. / Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Jordan told NPR before the vote that the legislation is good because the left hates it.

And the left hates it because it actually empowers people, empowers families, doesnt empower government, he went on.

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If youre an able-bodied adult and youre getting help from the taxpayers in one of our social welfare programs, then youre going to have to work. And that is just good common sense.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast. Neither did Jordans office.

The FBI, citing information from the Ohio attorney generals office, said in the filing that Dorsey receives Medicaid services, though its unclear for how long.

The 60-year-old has a detention hearing scheduled for Friday. He is charged with making a threat to injure over interstate communications, a federal crime that has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine.
The man accused of setting fire to Pride flags in a string of arsons had an outburst in court during a hearing on Friday, Aug. 1.

As 52-year-old Thomas Niehaus was being escorted out of the courtroom at the end of an arraignment in Hamilton County Municipal Court, he shouted, "Fighting for the children!"

Niehaus is charged with four felony counts of aggravated arson. Officials said he could face more charges after the investigation is complete, Cincinnati Fire Department officials announced July 31.

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Judge Mike Peck set bonds totalling $400,000 and ordered Niehaus to stay away from the victims should he be released on bond.

After the outburst, Niehaus was brought back before the judge and began speaking before being interrupted by his attorney. Niehaus then apologized to the court.

Several Clifton and Northside residents had their properties set ablaze on July 30 in a specific targeting of flags, including flags known to be a symbol of pride for the LGBTQ+ community.

In the early hours of Wednesday, July 30, a home security camera recorded someone walking up to a home and setting a flag on fire.

Home security video of a man setting fire to a flag on fire. Thomas Niehaus, 52, has been arrested and charged in connection with a string of flag arsons in Clifton and Northside.

It's not clear what flag was set on fire in the video, but it resembles the progress Pride flag, which includes the rainbow colors from the original Pride flag, as well as blue and pink arrows, representing the transgender community, and black and brown colors representing Black people and other people of color.

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The man in the video can be seen wearing a necklace with a pendant that resembles a Russian Orthodox cross.

While being questioned by fire investigators, Niehaus admitted "to participating in an arson spree" and setting fire to flags attached to several homes, according to an arrest document.

Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor David Hickenlooper said the fires were set at four different homes and that the residents were "presented with a risk of serious physical harm by (Niehaus) setting their property on fire."

According to the FBI, a hate crime is a violent or property crime  murder, arson, assault, or vandalism  that is motivated at least in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity. 46 states and the District of Columbia have hate crime laws, including Ohio.

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However, hate crime laws in Ohio do not include sexual orientation or gender identity as a protected class. During the Aug. 1 hearing, prosecutors did not address whether prejudice was Niehaus' motivation.

"Mr. Niehaus recognizes the serious nature of the allegations," said Robert Jones, Niehaus' public defender. He said Niehaus is a lifelong Cincinnati resident with no prior criminal cases in Hamilton County.

The case is expected to be presented to a grand jury by Aug. 11. The grand jury will decide whether Niehaus is prosecuted in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, where felonies are tried.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Pride flag burnings: Man accused of arsons has outburst
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)  A Miller Street man accused of breaking into several South Side businesses was indicted Thursday by a Mahoning County grand jury.

Brandon Crespo, 27, faces 10 counts of breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony.

Crespo is presently in the Mahoning County jail, where he has been since his June 4 arrest by city police at a home in the 1300 block of Powersdale Avenue.

Crespo had been wanted for several break-ins in the area around Indianola Avenue and Midlothian Boulevard, including a May 29 break-in at Midlothian Boulevard and Market Street Dunkin Donuts.

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Boardman police were later able to find the cash register from the Dunkin Donuts.

Crespo was found by city police sleeping in a car in a driveway on Powersdale Avenue, reports said. Officers were called there for a report of a male with warrants.

Crespo has other theft-related charges in municipal court and Mahoning County Common Pleas Court dating back to 2018.

In 2023, he was sentenced to a year in prison for three separate break-ins he pleaded guilty to committing in 2022.

Court records show he was placed on three years of parole when he was released from prison.

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DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)  The Dayton man accused of threatening U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan is facing federal charges, and wont be getting out on bail any time soon.

On Friday, 60-year-old Jeffrey Dorsey appeared in federal court in Dayton for his detention hearing.

Dayton man arrested after allegedly threatening to organize mobs, kill 30K by Sunday

The judge had two major concerns: whether Dorsey would actually listen to court orders and whether he poses a threat to the community.

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Dorsey was arrested after allegedly leaving an expletive-filled voicemail with threats to kill Jordan. Prosecutors say he left the voicemail on Jordans DC office phone in June, warning hed cut off Jordans head if his Medicaid was taken away.

The call came just before President Trump signed a GOP bill  backed by Jordan  that included Medicaid cuts in early July.

The prosecution argued Dorsey shouldnt be released on bond, presenting past police reports where he threatened to kill or beat people, including family members who said they feared him.

The defense said Dorsey has been homeless for 20 years and struggles with mental health and alcohol issues. They asked for his release so he could get treatment.

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After reviewing evidence about Dorseys past criminal history and the violent phone threats he made, the judge denied bond, deciding that Dorsey would stay behind bars until trial.

However, the judge did request that Dorsey undergo a detox program while in custody. The court also said it would be open if the defense were to make a request for a mental competency hearing.

At this point, no competency hearing has been requested. Dorsey remains behind bars.

2 NEWS will share updates as this story progresses.

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Originally appeared on E! Online

One California man has taken dating red flags to a whole new level.

Christopher Earl Lloyd was arrested on July 24 on a 14-count federal indictment after he allegedly used dating apps to scam his dates out of $2 million, according to a July 24 press release from the Central District of Californias U.S. Attorney's Office.

The 39-year-old from Whittier, Calif., was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in property related to the fraud, according to the indictment. He faces 20 years in federal prison for each of the 13 wire fraud counts and up to 10 years in prison for the monetary transaction count.

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The attorneys office said Lloyd used dating apps including Tinder, Hinge and Bumble from April 2021 to February 2024 to con his victims out of their money by giving them the impression that he was financially successful and knowledgeable about investments.

More from E! Online

Lloyd claimed that he had been a financial manager for years, was vice president of a company called Planet 13 Holdings and had worked for an investment company called Landmark Associatesall of which were falsehoods, according to the press release.

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He allegedly offered his victims financial advice, telling them he would invest their money for them and guaranteed a return on those investments, saying they could pull out their money whenever they chose, per the doc.

Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

He then took it a step further by giving his victims contracts to sign, per the attorneys office, which notes that the dates would send him money via wire transfers, Cash App, Zelle, or cash payments.

The release said that Lloyd would then use the money for his personal benefit, including withdrawing $40,000 that a victim sent him to write a check for a Lexus dealership in Mission Viejo, Calif.

Lloyd made his initial appearance for arraignment on felony charges on July 24 at the United States District Court in Santa Ana. E! News has not been able to confirm if he has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf.

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The Brief

LASD deputies shot and killed a man in Hacienda Heights on Thursday night.

Deputies were called out to a house where a woman was allegedly being assaulted.

Deputies said they heard screaming coming from the house, and when they went in, they saw a man with two "large" knives, and ended up shooting him.

HACIENDA HEIGHTS, Calif. - Los Angeles County deputies shot and killed an assault suspect in Hacienda Heights on Thursday.

What we know

The shooting happened around 4 p.m. at a home on Sigman Avenue in Hacienda Heights, according to the LASD.

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Deputies responded to a home after reports that a man was assaulting a woman with a knife. When they got there, they heard screaming from inside the home, officials told FOX 11.

SUGGESTED: California man, 79, calls 911 to say he killed someone, gets shot by deputy at home: Officials

According to Lt. Daniel Vizcarra of the LASD's Homicide Bureau, when deputies went into the house, they saw a man "armed with two large knives." That's when they shot the man.

Paramedics took the man to the hospital, where he died. No one else was injured.

What we don't know

The man who died was not identified.

The Source

Information in this story is from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and an interview with Lieutenant Daniel Vizcarra of the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Editors note: This article has been updated to correct biographical details about the victim. We apologize for the error.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A 53-year-old man was arrested in North Portland in connection with the murder of a man in 2021, authorities said.

On Wednesday, U.S. Marshals arrested Isaac S. Harden near 1500 N Rosa Parks Way, the Portland Police Bureau said. He is accused of murder and other charges in connection with the death of the 47-year-old Portland resident OLance A. Upton.

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Wilson: Portland to comply with Trump DEI demands

Uptons body was discovered on June 25, 2021, near the intersection of SE Clatsop Street and 147th Avenue, authorities said. Initially, Portland Fire and Rescue requested a death investigation from the police.

When Portland police officers arrived, they determined it was a suspicious death at the time.

Harden was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center and faces charges that include second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm.

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BERLIN, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  Berlin police arrested one man Thursday after a victim described a near-strangulation.

Authorities arrived at the scene in the woods between Airport Road and Shaws at some time on Thursday. Police said they spoke with a victim, who described being choked by a male subject until he was unable to breathe.

Police: Barre man threatened other with gun

Jae Martinez, 47, a transient resident of Berlin, was arrested as a suspect and charged with aggravated assault. He was taken to a state prison, the Northeast Correctional Complex in St. Johnsbury, after a judge set bail at $10,000, and is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

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Man arrested on child rape charges following chase through streets of Milford

An El Salvadorian national was arrested in Milford early Friday morning on charges including rape of a child and child pornography

Milford Police, alongside the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) and the United States Marshals Service saw Manuel Umana Solorzano exit his home around 5:41 a.m. and approach a Ford Transit van.

As police closed in on him, Solorzano allegedly ran off on foot down North Bow Street. Officers eventually cornered him in the backyard of the home.

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Police say Solorzano squared up with officers, assumed a fighting stance and reached into his waistband. Officers then allegedly tased him and took him into custody.

Video shared by Milford police shows officers chasing the suspect as he runs down the street.

Solorzano is expected to be arraigned in Mulford District Court on Friday on the following charges: indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, possessing child pornography, reckless endangerment of a child. photographing sexual or intimate parts of a child, statutory rape of a child with at least a five-year age difference, rape of a child with force, lascivious posing or exhibiting a child in the nude and resisting arrest.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  The Baton Rouge Police Department has arrested a man in connection with a shooting that left two people dead on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

Raheem Starwood, 26, is facing two counts of first-degree murder and illegal use of weapons in the shooting deaths of Byron Howard, 44, and Jordan Scott, 22.

Raheem Starwood has been arrested on first-degree murder charges.

Officers responded to the 6000 block of South Sherwood Forest Blvd. and found that both victims had been shot multiple times while inside a vehicle. Howard, the driver, was pronounced dead at the scene. Scott, his passenger, was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries on July 21.

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Second victim in Baton Rouge shooting dies from injuries, police say

According to BRPD, Starwood has a prior arrest record related to possession with intent to distribute Schedule IV drugs.

Latest News

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WIAT)  A man was recently arrested in Mississippi, where he was charged with allegedly kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from her home in south Alabama and sexually assaulting her.

At approximately 9 a.m. Thursday, deputies with the Jackson County Sheriffs Department were called to a Circle K gas station in St. Martin, Mississippi, where a woman claimed that she had been taken from her home in Alabama and sexually assaulted by her ex-boyfriend.

According to the victim, she was able to escape from her ex, whom she identified as Melvin Hill of Mobile, Alabama, after fleeing the store and alerting employees of her condition.

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Hill reportedly tried to flee back to Alabama, but was later arrested by deputies.

Hill is charged with kidnapping, motor vehicle theft and sexual battery. He is being held at the Jackson County Sheriffs Departments Adult Detention Center.

More charges from surrounding jurisdictions could be coming.

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Man arrested, firearms seized after SWAT incident

DURANGO, Colo. (KREX)  A man is behind bars after he was arrested by the Southwest Regional Colorado SWAT Team in Durango.

According to law enforcement, a high-risk search and arrest warrant was served Wednesday afternoon. The property was secured and turned over to the Durango Police Departments investigations division as part of an ongoing menacing case.

Two people were detained without incident, while one of them, Jacob Messier, was arrested. Several firearms were removed from the property during the search.

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Messier was booked into the La Plata County Jail for menacing, violation of a protection order, harassment, domestic violence and additional related charges.

The SWAT team was made up of officers from the Durango Police Department, La Plata County Sheriffs Office, Bayfield Police Department and medics from Durango Fire and Rescue.

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Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4)  An unhoused man in Salt Lake County has been charged after allegedly trying to remove a baby from a stroller and pushing the childs mother away while at a Trax platform.

Benjamin Dillman, 56, has been charged with attempted child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and assault, a Class B misdemeanor.

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According to court documents, on July 29, a woman was at a Trax station in Salt Lake County with her 3-month-old baby, who was in a stroller. The woman told police that she was approached by an unknown male, later identified as Dillman.

Orem man charged after meeting and allegedly sexually abusing 12-year-old he met online

The woman began moving away from Dillman as he approached the two, and he allegedly began pursuing. Documents say that he stated, This is my baby, give her to me, as the mother tried to get away. Dillman allegedly struck the mother in the face when she attempted to stop him from getting to her baby.

A witness and the mother reported the Dillman was actively trying to unbuckle the 3-month-old from the stroller and pick her up while claiming that the baby belonged to him. A bystander allegedly pushed Dillman away from the baby, and he left the area.

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The incident was captured on Utah Transit Authority (UTA) surveillance footage, and UTA police located and arrested Dillman. The arresting officer stated that Dillmans actions were particularly brazen and constitute a substantial danger to the community.

He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, where is currently being held on a no-bail warrant.

Latest headlines:

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NORTH CHICAGO, Ill.  A man has been arrested and charged for selling meth out of a home that operated as a daycare in North Chicago, according to the Lake County Sheriffs Office, but the daycare owner claims she moved her business from the home before the danger.

Delwin Hodge, 27, of North Chicago, is charged with three counts of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and endangering the life/welfare of a child.

Illinois Attorney General, City of Chicago file lawsuit alleging asbestos mishandling during building renovation on the Northwest Side

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The sheriffs offices Special Investigations Group says it was tipped off that Hodge was selling meth, so they began an undercover operation.

Delwin Hodge, 27 (Lake County Sheriffs Office)

During that investigation, Hodge sold to undercover detectives over 200 grams of methamphetamine, Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for Delwins home and conducted the search on Thursday. Covelli said materials for narcotics distribution were found in his bedroom in addition to an unsecured gun and ammunition. They also found evidence of a daycare operation.

WGN-TV found the home was advertised as a daycare on multiple websites, and city officials confirmed it wasnt licensed, but the day care owner, the suspects mother, says theres a reason.

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I havent been running a daycare out of here for over a year, Yamisha Hodge said.

She said when her son moved back into the house where she operated the daycare, she moved out and moved the business to a building a mile away.

I just didnt want to associate my daycare because he keeps coming home on a leg monitor. Hes a felon, she said.

WGN-TV checked state records and found Yamishas new daycare location is licensed. Yamisha added daycare children were never at risk.

Teacher charged in Arkansas Devils Den double murder grew up in Chicago

Not daycare kids, but there are children who live [at the home], Yamisha said.

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Somebody coming to buy methamphetamine, statistically speaking theres a high probability theyre armed. Theyre dangerous, Covelli said. Meth being in a home where children are being cared for is a huge risk as well as a loaded firearm.

North Chicago is now filing a nuisance complaint against the property owners.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has also been notified.

Police said Delwin was on parole at the time of his arrest and a parole violation had been issued by the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was ordered detained during a detention hearing Friday.

Anyone who wants to check to see if a daycare is licensed can find out through the Department of Children and Family Services by clicking here.

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NANTICOKE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  A Nanticoke man has been charged in a scheme that the Department of Justice said defrauded over $850,000 of emergency pandemic funding.

According to the Department of Justice, Joseph Kaminski, 55, of Nanticoke, defrauded the Small Business Administration (SBA) of over $850,000 in emergency pandemic funding that was made available to small business owners through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

DUI conviction overturned due to unauthorized blood draw

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Kaminski also allegedly fraudulently obtained over $40,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits, which he was not entitled to.

Kaminski has been charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements to the SBA.

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MERIDEN, Conn. (WTNH)  A man is facing several sexual assault charges on a minor in Meriden, police said.

Cody Cavrudatz, 46, was arrested on Tuesday. He was charged with two counts of sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the second degree, sexual assault in the fourth degree and three counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Man facing drug charges after backing into police cruiser during traffic stop in East Haven

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Authorities in Wallingford notified Meriden police in December 2024 of a sexual assault that had happened.

During an investigation by the Special Crimes Unit, it was found that an 8-year-old was allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulted by the suspect, police said.

Police said they also uncovered another sexual assault that happened in Southington and reported the incident. Authorities in Wallingford, Meriden and Southington obtained arrest warrants for the various sexual assault charges.

Authorities found the suspect in Griswold with the help of Homeland Security and the FBI.

Southington authorities said they are coordinating with courts to serve an arrest warrant on their investigation.

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Cavrudatz was held on an $800,000 surety bond.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A Kansas City, Missouri man is facing charges in connection with a shooting Sunday night in the Waldo neighborhood that left a man with life-threatening injuries.

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced on Friday that Ivory Bridgewater is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Attempted murder charge filed against man accused of Shawnee stabbing

According to court records, officers with the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) responded to a shooting in the area of 75th Street and Wornall Road on Sunday, July 28, around 10:30 p.m.

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When officers arrived on scene, they located a man lying on the ground with apparent gunshot wounds to his back. He was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to court documents. The victim is now reported to be in critical but stable condition, with six gunshot wounds to his back.

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the incident, which showed the victim standing outside a car when a blue Tesla pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of the car the victim was standing next to.

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According to court records, the Tesla stays parked there for a few minutes and then the victim turns to walk away from the car. Bridgewater is seen leaving the Tesla and then firing shots at the victim before leaving the scene.

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Bridgewater was arrested in Tukwila, Washington by the Tukwila Police Department on Thursday night and is being transported back to Jackson County, where he will be held without bond.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Rochester police shared more details after two officers shot and killed an armed man on Ernestine Street Thursday night.

Around 5:23 p.m. Thursday night, a call was made reporting a suspicious person on Ernestine St. who walked on the deck of a home and wandered door-to-door. The suspect, a man in his 30s, was allegedly wearing red clothes.

Multiple other calls came in alleging that the suspect was trying to get into an occupied car parked in a driveway on Milton Street and that he was sitting on the hood of a car.

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According to the Rochester Police Department, officers arrived at the area around 7:30 p.m. Officers located the suspect on Ernestine Street and attempted to stop him.

One officer put his hands on and physically took hold of the suspect to stop him from leaving. The suspect allegedly knocked the officer to the ground and then tried walking away. RPD said the suspect turned around, faced the officers, and pulled a loaded handgun out of his hoodie pocket.

Despite repeated commands to drop the weapon, he did not comply. Both officers then fired their department-issued handguns, striking the man multiple times.

Officers rendered aid until EMS arrived and pronounced the man dead at the scene. A loaded handgun was recovered next to the man, according to police.

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Any loss of life in our community is tragic, RPD Chief David Smith said. This is something these officers are going to live with for the rest of their lives. Its a human tragedy all the way around on many different lives.

No officers were injured in the incident. Both have been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure following police-involved shootings.

The RPDs Major Crimes Section, the departments Professional Standards Section, and the New York State Attorney Generals Office are all investigating the incident. Officials say body-worn camera footage is being reviewed, and additional witnesses are being interviewed.

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RPD says they will not reveal the name of the suspect until the family is notified.

Back in May, Rochesters Police Accountability Board lost its power to investigate and report incidents of police misconduct after a ruling by a Monroe County judge.

Executive Director Lesli Myers-Small said the case will still be reviewed by the board. She also plans to meet with the chief to determine next steps.

This is a situation where people are going to want transparency to occur and so, the goal and from hearing from the chief today, I believe he will do that to make sure the public is made aware to the extent he can, Myers-Small said. There needs to be an investigation which he said is going to be launched and so well just continue to follow to hear what outcomes are.

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Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call 911.

FULL NEWS CONFERENCE:

Check back with News 8 WROC as we will continue to update this developing story.

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The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation fined a man over $100,000 for operating an illegal dump site.

The DEC was first alerted to the site in March 2021, according to The Post-Star. Officials received reports of objects  from "sinks to cars to oil"  being dumped at a location on Corinth Road in the town of Lake Luzerne.

The dump, owned by Anthony Smith, reportedly spanned 32 acres despite Smith only being registered to operate a 3-acre property.

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Smith had apparently shared with DEC officials that he had a permit for operating a land-clearing debris landfill, which means he could dispose of natural waste such as trees, soil, and rocks. However, officials also found garbage, construction waste, boats, campers, and over 1,000 tires, all of which were unlawfully disposed of.

"All three department staff witnesses, with decades of combined experience, testified that the site is the largest illegal waste disposal site they have encountered," DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton told The Post-Star. "Impermissible disposal of solid waste is a serious violation; the uncontrolled release of solid waste poses a risk to public health and the environment, including groundwater resources and surface waters."

The illegal dump site, near the Hudson River, has the potential to contaminate the waterway. The Hudson River estuary provides drinking water to millions of people in the Hudson Valley and New York City, according to Riverkeeper.

If heavy metals and other toxic chemicals, which leach from tires and other waste, make their way into waterways, they can increase the risk of cancer. This pollution can also threaten the livelihood of fish and have a ripple effect on our own health if consumed.

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Lefton shared that part of Smith's civil penalties were suspended in order to incentivize the dump operator to invest in the cleanup of the site. This was done in hope that the environmental damage could be mitigated as soon as possible.

While it can be disheartening to hear news about reckless dumping, residents can find solace in the state's efforts to preserve the environment and wildlife, which protects them in the process. You can help your community reach climate goals by taking action locally.

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Jul. 31Jurors on Thursday convicted Joseph Gonzales in a 2022 shooting death that began with a dispute over speeding in a South Valley neighborhood.

Jurors deliberated less than an hour before finding Gonzales, 46, guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 35-year-old Abner Antillon during an argument outside Gonzales' home in the 1600 block of Val Verde SW, near Isleta and Blake.

Gonzales faces up to 20 years in prison. His sentencing hearing before state District Judge David Murphy has not been scheduled.

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A jury last year acquitted Gonzales of first-degree murder in Antillon's killing but failed to reach a verdict on a lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Witnesses this week viewed video and audio from a neighbor's security camera that captured much of the fatal encounter.

Shortly before he was killed, Antillon was driving a vintage red International Scout when Gonzales shouted "slow down," the video showed. Antillon put the vehicle in reverse and stopped in front of Gonzales' residence, initiating an argument between the two men.

Prosecutors told jurors that Gonzales drew a handgun from a holster and fired a single shot into the ground, followed quickly by three gunshots at Antillon as he retreated toward his vehicle.

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Gonzales' attorney, Marcus Cameron, told jurors Monday that Gonzales acted in self-defense when he fired the four gunshots.

Assistant District Attorney Emilie Edmonds told jurors that Gonzales fatally shot the unarmed Antillon in the back as he was retreating to his vehicle.

Antillon's killing on Aug. 29, 2022, came only a month after Gonzales testified in the July 2022 trial of his brother, Fabian Gonzales, in the death of 10-year-old Victoria Martens.

A judge sentenced Fabian Gonzales in October 2022 to 37 1/2 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of child abuse resulting in death, seven counts of tampering with evidence and conspiracy.
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY)  Bruce Hisle, the man accused in the December 2023 shooting death of James Carter at his store on Lindenwood Avenue in Norfolk, was found guilty of second-degree murder Thursday.

Norfolk murder trial underway in death of popular store owner

The jury heard a series of phone recordings from one of Bruce Hisles co-defendants, Tamika Credle. Those calls came shortly after she, Bruce Hisle, and his brother, Dennis Hisle, were arrested in connection to Carters shooting death.

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While it wasnt a police interrogation, and it wasnt a sworn statement, in those conversations, she implicated Bruce Hisle as the one who killed the 84-year-old Carter, the popular Triple-C convenience store owner.

Right after Carter was shot dead, police arrested three people  Credle, Bruce Hisle and Dennis Hisle, the latter of whom was originally charged with killing Carter.

Eleven months later, the Commonwealth transferred the murder charge from Dennis Hisle to Bruce Hisle, with Commonwealths Attorney Ramin Fatehi saying the evidence showed Bruce Hisle should be the one tried for the killing. Credle was found guilty in March of being an accessory after the fact in a felony and was sentenced to a year in prison, with six months suspended and 12 months of unsupervised probation.

The day after the three were arrested, Credle made three phone calls that were recorded while she was sitting in a room in police custody. She called the daughter she shares with Bruce Hisle, his mother and her own father.

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The jury in Bruce Hisles murder trial heard and saw that recording, and, at various times in that one-hour, 40 minute recording, Credle says her to daughter, Your  dad decided to shoot. Again, to her daughter, Bruce [Hisle] shot Mr. Carter, and Im the one being punished.

And in the call with her father, Credle said Bruce [Hisle] decided to shoot somebody, and he killed someone.

Deputy Commonwealths Attorney Scott Miles showed those three clips in his closing argument. The jury returned the guilty verdict after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

My grandfather was a pillar to the community, and its crazy that the same community that he gave his all to was the same one that took him away, Breonna Carter said outside the courthouse. Justice was served today. Its very unfortunate, but it needed to be done.

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Defense attorney Cole Roberts said Bruce Hisle plans to appeal.

Certainly my client is disappointed. Its not over, he said. This was a difficult case, it was like herding cats with a lot of these witnesses. So it was a tragic event. The jury had to deal with quite a bit.

Originally, it was Bruce Hisles brother, Dennis Hisle, who was charged with killing Carter until last fall, when Commonwealths Attorney Ramin Fatehi announced that the evidence showed, instead, that Bruce Hisle should be the one tried for the killing.

Hisle had been charged with first-degree murder, but the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder.

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Its been really tough, Breonna Carter said regarding the past 20 months. Its been a long time coming, a lot of disappointments, a lot of delays. But today was the day that we really needed as a family.

The jury had previously heard from Carters daughter, Georgia Carter, who had warned her father not to go outside after she heard men arguing that evening, but almost as soon as he went out, a bullet struck Carter in the head, killing him.

Bruce and Dennis Hisle had gotten into a heated discussion with Dommion McLean outside the convenience store. McLains friend since childhood, Shontel Credle, who served 25 years in prison, testified he wanted to be a peacemaker.

Shontel Credle walked across Lindenwood Avenue to a white Toyota Sienna van where, according to his testimony, the Hisles were selling liquor. He then returned back across the street toward McLain and the front of the store, and thats when the shooting began, with one of the bullets striking and killing Carter, and another hitting Shontel Credle in the right rib and exiting out his back.

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On the second day of the trial, Dennis Hisle refused to be sworn in to testify, and he was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to an additional year in prison, which went on top of the two years he is currently serving after a plea agreement had him admit to two gun charges. That deal did not require him to testify.

The prosecution still called him as a witness, and as he entered the courtroom in his jail jumpsuit, he looked at Judge Tasha Scott and said, Im not testifying. After three attempts to get him to be sworn in, thats when the judge gave Dennis Hisle the additional year in prison.

Fatehi praised his prosecutors, Miles and Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Anthony Balady, in what Fatehi called a terrible crime.

We judge ourselves on hard work and caring, no matter what the verdict, Fatehi said in a statement. Thank you to the jurors for showing up and working carefully through a complicated set of facts. Above all, my continued condolences to Mr. Carters family and to everyone who loved him. Nothing we have done will bring Mr. Carter back, but I hope that the convictions in these cases will offer a measure of peace.

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CHESAPEAKE, Va.(WAVY) A man is hurt after being stabbed in Chesapeake Thursday night.

According to police, personnel with the Chesapeake Fire Department were called to the 2400 block of Gum Road at 10:13 p.m. for the report of a man having chest pain. While assisting the patient, they learned he had been stabbed.

He was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A Chesapeake Police officer met with the victim at the hospital. Officers canvassed the area of the original scene but did not locate a suspect.

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If you have any information about this case, you can submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading the P3 tips app to a mobile device, or visiting www.P3tips.com and submitting a tip.

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Ondrej Sidelka kept a Dropbox folder of firearms manuals, as well as racist, homophobic, antisemitic and neo-Nazi materials [Counter Terrorism Policing North East]

A 21-year-old man has been jailed after he admitted having an online library of terrorist material.

Leeds Crown Court heard Ondrej Sidelka, of Elwyn Road, Bradford, kept a Dropbox folder on his phone containing manuals on how to build firearms.

He also saved racist, homophobic and antisemitic documents, such as Hitler's Mein Kampf and a graphic video of the 2019 attack on a New Zealand mosque by Brenton Tarrant, in which 51 people died.

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Sidelka was sentenced to two years in prison and will spend a further year on licence.

The court heard Sidelka had been arrested in November 2022 for an unrelated matter when he was 18 years old.

When police searched his phone, they found a large quantity of neo-Nazi material, as well as guides on how to manufacture explosives and poisons.

Propaganda material from the proscribed extreme far right terrorist groups Atomwaffen, Feuerkrieg Division and Terrorgram were also found in his cloud storage accounts.

On 25 May 2023, Sidelka was arrested by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East.

'Subjected to torment'

Frida Hussain KC, defending, said Sidelka had moved to Bradford with his family from Slovakia.

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"He was subjected to torment by others which has led to him being isolated and turning to the internet," she said.

"He spent a lot of time gaming and accessing this material, he had no social life."

Between the school years of nine to eleven, Ms Hussain claimed Sidelka had been "set fire to, attacked and had his nose broken" by a group of boys.

"He felt like an outsider and was paranoid to leave home," she added.

A probation officer described Sidelka as immature and of low intelligence, with no real attachment to the mindset identified in the materials.

"He does not present as a well-rehearsed, well-connected racist," Ms Wilson concluded.

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The court heard Sidelka had no connections to or memberships of terrorist organisations.

He pleaded guilty to eight counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Sentencing the defendant, Judge Bayliss said: "You're a man who held racist, antisemitic, homophobic and neo-Nazi views.

"You weren't just interested in the manufacture of firearms, you did it in the context of holding extreme right wing views.

"It is terrifying to think someone with your adherence to that ideology could contemplate having these in your possession.

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"There must be an immediate custodial sentence."

Sidelka will be subject to a Terrorism Notification Order for 10 years after he is released.

'Shocking and disturbing'

Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "The shocking and disturbing racist material Sidelka downloaded, as well as his interest in extreme violence and manufacturing homemade firearms, show the threat he posed to the community.

"The efforts he made to disguise his true identity online, and to post opinions on social media which were not as extreme as those he held in private, indicate that he knew how unacceptable his views really were."

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He added that Sidelka was 18 at the time of the offences and young people were "particularly vulnerable" when it came to being influenced by harmful ideologies.

"I would urge people to act early and help us to stop young people being drawn into extremism," he said.

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Three men face capital murder charges in the June 20 shooting death of a Las Vegas man at a Motel 6 in Garland, with authorities linking the crime to an earlier robbery and sexual assault at another local motel.

The individuals are currently detained at the Dallas County Jail, and each is being held on an immigration hold.

Garland police responded to reports of a shooting at the Motel 6 in the 12700 block of LBJ Freeway just after 5 a.m., finding 48-year-old Santiago Lopez Morales with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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The suspects, Yosguar Aponte Jimenez, 20, Jesus De Nazareth Bellorin-Guzman, 23, and Jose Luis Trivino-Cruz, 35, were arrested and charged with capital murder. Bellorin-Guzman also faces an aggravated robbery charge, while Trivino-Cruz is charged with aggravated robbery and indecent assault. Their bonds are set at $1.5 million, $2.25 million, and $3.255 million, respectively, and all three are detained in the Dallas County Jail.

According to an arrest affidavit, Morales and four witnesses arrived at the Motel 6 in a pickup truck. One witness, a woman, had been robbed earlier that morning at the Deluxe Inn on Leon Road. She informed Morales.

Morales reportedly began messaging the suspects, posing as a prostitute online, to arrange a meeting with the suspects at the Motel 6.

Surveillance footage detailed the incident: at 4:21 a.m., Morales pickup arrived, followed by a Toyota sedan at 4:47 a.m. and a gray Acura at 4:54 a.m. At 5:07 a.m., one suspect exited the Toyota, approached room 137, and knocked. Morales, dressed as a security guard and armed, confronted the suspect, leading to a struggle.

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A second suspect from the Acura shot Morales, who fell motionless. The three suspects fled in the Acura and Toyota.

Two men from the pickup threw rocks at the second suspect during the altercation, while two women later approached Morales body, one seemingly calling 911. Police arrived at 5:19 a.m. to administer first aid.

Investigators linked the shooting to an aggravated robbery at the Deluxe Inn around 2 a.m. that day. A woman there reported two Hispanic men forced their way into her room, held her at gunpoint, sexually assaulted her, and stole cash, jewelry, and her ID before fleeing in the same Acura and Toyota seen at the Motel 6. She identified the suspects from the Motel 6 surveillance footage as her attackers.

The suspects admitted to targeting sex workers, believing they were less likely to report crimes. Jimenez confessed to over 25 robberies, while Trivino-Cruz admitted to two additional robberies that day.

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Investigators believe this to be an isolated incident and are actively working to determine the events leading up to the shooting, the Garland Police Department stated on Facebook.

The investigation continues, with authorities seeking information on the suspects countries of origin. Anyone with details is urged to contact the Garland Police Department at 972-485-4840.
Russ Miller is inspiring community action on Kentucky's Red River, earning the nickname "River Cowboy" for his innovative approach to tackling toxic waste.

As The Guardian detailed, Miller realized that the Red River had an "embarrassing" problem when he and his wife moved to the edge of the Red River Gorge in the 1980s: Discarded trash, particularly old tires, was floating along the river like "a conveyor belt."

Besides the waste being unsightly, industry experts, including Performance Plus Tire and Automotive Superstore, estimate that tires take anywhere from 50 to 2,000 years to break down.

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Miller didn't want to let his home fall victim to continued contamination, as tires contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

The Environmental Protection Agency shared data from the Rubber Manufacturers Association that found the U.S. got rid of around 290 million tires in 2003. With car ownership steadily increasing in the country since then, as Statista detailed, that number has likely soared.

One fall, Miller repurposed old milk jugs into a cost-effective flotation device for the tires, and with the help of his friends, he ushered the waste down the river for removal.

"That's how he got the 'River Cowboy' name," Kentucky Waterways program director Laura Gregory told The Guardian. "He was the guy herding tires down the river."

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In 1996, Miller helped found Friends of Red River to protect the National Natural Landmark, which supports dozens of fish species and attracts thousands of visitors each year for outdoor activities like fishing, kayaking, and rafting, per the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

The Red River is the only Kentucky river that is part of this system  established by Congress in the late 1960s to "preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations."

To date, Miller has removed an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tires from the Red River, according to The Guardian. With limited access to legal disposal, particularly in rural areas, tires often end up contaminating the treasured waterway. Unfortunately, trash entering Kentucky water sources is not a new issue.

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.

"Garbage service was sparse in regulation," said John Burchett, board member of Friends of the Tug Fork River. "You took your trash out the back door and threw it over the creek bank.  Now we're dealing with the sins of our forefathers."

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As for Miller's Friends of Red River, it hosts monthly community cleanups from June to September as it works to raise awareness about the benefits and importance of conservation.

"While I sometimes feel helpless, I am also hopeful it will change," Miller told The Guardian. "Once the awareness is there, the journey has begun.

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As the search continues for a 28-year-old man who allegedly killed four family members and left their baby alive, authorities said they have arrested and charged two other men accused of helping the suspect after the slayings.

The suspect in the killings, Austin Robert Drummond, is considered armed and dangerous following the killings of 38-year-old Cortney Rose, Rose's children 20-year-old Adrianna Williams and 15-year-old Braydon Williams, and Adrianna Williams' boyfriend, 21-year-old James "Michael" Wilson, according to authorities and family.

The victims were killed on Tuesday and found along a road in Lake County, in northwest Tennessee near the states borders with Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky, authorities said.

Courtesy Wilson Family - PHOTO: James M. Wilson, 21 and Adrianna Williams, 20, and the baby that had been abandoned, Weslynne

Wilson Family - PHOTO: Courtney Rose, 38 (left) and Adrianna Williams, 20 (right).

The same day, Wilson and Williams' baby was left in a car seat in a "random individuals front yard" in nearby Dyer County, according to the Dyer County Sheriffs Office and Danny Goodman, district attorney for Dyer and Lake counties. The infant was treated by paramedics and is now safe and being cared for, authorities said.

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Drummond has been at large since the killings, though officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have said they believe he is still in the area.

On Saturday, the bureau said it had arrested and charged two men, described as associates of Drummond, who are accused of assisting him after the killings.

The TBI said it had obtained warrants charging 29-year-old Tanaka Brown and 29-year-old Giovante Thomas, both of Jackson, with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.

Brown, who was also faces one count of evidence tampering, was booked into the Lake County Jail where he is being held without bond. Thomas was already being held at another jail on an unrelated charge and will be sent to Lake County Jail to be arraigned on the new charge, the TBI said.

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Officials have said the killings were not random. Investigators believe Drummond knew the victims, the district attorney said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation - PHOTO: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released this image in the search for Austin Robert Drummond, 29, who is wanted in connection with a quadruple homicide in Tiptonville, TN.

MORE: Teacher charged in Arkansas couple's murder held without bond

Drummond is wanted on four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, the TBI said.

"While this was an extremely tragic and violent event," the TBI said on social media, "there was a sign of compassion ... that tells us there's a possibility that Austin may have a sense that there is hope for him to be able to come in and have a conversation about what happened."

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation - PHOTO: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released this image in the search for Austin Robert Drummond, 29, who is wanted in connection with a quadruple homicide in Tiptonville, TN.

TBI Director David Rausch said Drummond's white 2016 Audi was found in Jackson, Tennessee, where Drummond has ties, according to officials.

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The TBI said earlier Saturday that this 1988 white Ford pickup truck linked to Drummond was found in Dyer County. Authorities ask anyone in the Burnt Mill Road area to review their surveillance cameras for footage or Drummond or the truck from Tuesday morning.

We are now asking anyone in the Burnt Mill Rd. area with cameras to review your footage from Tuesday morning to see if you spot Drummond or this truck.



Send tips to TipsToTBI@tbi.tn.gov or call 1-800-TBI-FIND.



2/X  Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (@TBInvestigation) August 2, 2025

Goodman said Drummond had been out on bond for an attempted murder charge, which stemmed from an alleged incident while he was in prison for attempted robbery.

A $17,500 reward has been offered for information leading to his arrest.

Authorities urge anyone with information to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
(FOX40.COM)  A 27-year-old man was sentenced to 17 years to life in state prison for the aggravated sexual assault of his girlfriends 13-year-old sister, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorneys Office.

Officials said Cornelio Heras raped the minor while she spent the night at her older sisters house.

Video Above: More than 200 suspected child sex abuse offenders arrested

The investigation also led to the discovery that Heras had inappropriately touched the victim three years prior.

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This young girl and her family showed tremendous courage in coming forward and facing this painful ordeal, said District Attorney Ron Freitas. No child should ever have to endure such a violation, and were committed to standing by survivors, fighting for justice, and making sure those who prey on the vulnerable face the consequences.

Reno Casino shooting suspect dies in hospital overnight

The San Joaquin County District Attorneys Office reminds parents and guardians to educate children about body safety to help prevent child sexual abuse.

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POLK COUNTY, Texas (KETK)  A man was sentenced to 25 years in prison as a habitual offender for engaging in organized criminal activity, which involved stealing and selling copper materials.

UPDATE: 18-wheeler driver indicted in fatal crash on I-20 in Kaufman County

Raymond Leroy Smelley Jr. was booked on Nov. 14, 2024, and was charged with:

Mugshot of Raymond Leroy Smelley Jr., courtesy of Polk County Jail Records

Engaging in organized criminal activity

Theft of material less than $30K

Theft of property between $2,500 and $30K

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The evidence presented to the jury proved Smelley and others stole telecommunication wire from Highline before selling the copper material for profit, the DAs office said.

Copper and other material theft cases have the potential to disrupt services such as phone lines, critical medical devices and access to news outlets for Polk County residents.

After being found guilty, Smelley was sentenced to 25 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a habitual offender on July 16.

Driver admits to striking teen cyclist near Lake Tyler, fleeing scene

The Polk County Sheriffs Office assisted in providing the evidence and support necessary for the prosecution of this case, the DAs office said. Thanks to their diligent work and thorough investigation, the District Attorneys Office was able to prosecute this case fully. The District Attorneys Office is thankful for our law enforcements continued hard work and cooperation as these cases move forward.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee announced Thursday that a man has been sentenced in connection with multiple carjacking offenses.

The USAO said in a release that a rideshare driver was in an Antioch parking lot on the afternoon of May 30, 2019, when Estifanos Kumssa  then 18 years old  banged on the window of the drivers car with a pink and black handgun, demanding money. When the driver reportedly told Kumssa that he had no money, Kumssa allegedly put the gun through the cracked window, took the drivers wallet and demanded that the driver get out of his car.

ORIGINAL STORY | Uber driver carjacked in Antioch parking lot

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Then, Kumssa got into the drivers seat, unlocked the passenger door for an accomplice to climb in and fled the scene. The rideshare driver later positively identified Kumssa as the person who put the gun through his open window during the carjacking.

Less than six hours after that carjacking, dispatch operators were alerted to another carjacking in the 2500 block of Murfreesboro Pike. In the second incident, the vehicle owner was cleaning a business at the time of the carjacking while another victim was sitting in the vehicle waiting for the business owner to finish.

The person who had been waiting in the car said that Kumssa approached with a drawn pistol, demanded the keys and ordered him to get out of the vehicle. Kumssa and an accomplice then got in the vehicle and fled the parking lot.

Authorities issued a be-on-the-lookout alert to the public, and a patrol officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department saw the vehicle in a parking lot near Bell Forge Road and Bell Road. Officers reportedly tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled along Bell Road before it was eventually stopped with spike strips. Kumssa was arrested after a brief foot pursuit, and police recovered the pink and black firearm in his path.

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MAY 2019 | Teen arrested for 2 carjackings in Nashville, accomplice sought

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Tennessee said that Kumssa had previously been convicted of three other state felonies, including two counts of auto burglary related to events in September 2017 and a carjacking in January 2018. The federal jury convicted him of two counts of carjacking and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, but he was acquitted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

This defendant was already released on bond in state court for a violent crime when he committed more violence, so it was critically important for us to step up to protect our community, Acting U.S. Attorney Robert E. McGuire said. This conviction and the serious sentence he received should illustrate our commitment to prosecuting violent offenders to the fullest extent and holding them accountable so they cant victimize anyone else in our community.

Earlier this week, Kumssa  26 years old as of publication  was sentenced to 260 months, or more than 21 years, in federal prison. Following his term, he will be on supervised release for three years.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  Jason Chaisson Jr., the man arrested in connection with a deadly boating crash on the Tickfaw River in July 2024, has been sentenced to prison.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) responded to a crash near Kings Point that involved a 25-foot Sea Fox boat operated by Chaisson and a 25-foot pontoon boat. The collision overturned both vessels.

Rescuers found Thuy Gustin, 31, pinned under the Sea Fox, and she later died at the hospital. Emergency responders pronounced Chase Sharkey, 36, dead at the scene. Several others sustained severe injuries.

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Investigators determined that Chaisson was impaired when he crashed into the pontoon boat.

On Aug. 1, Chaisson received a sentence for two counts of negligent homicide and five counts of negligent injuring. The judge gave him five years for each homicide charge. These sentences will be served one after the other. However, he will only serve one year for each count. He received six months for each injury charge. These sentences will run at the same time as the others.

Greensburg man killed in crash Thursday night

In total, Chaisson will serve two years in prison. He is also required to complete a substance abuse evaluation, attend a driver improvement course, and participate in a victim impact panel.

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LDWF initially booked Chaisson on two counts of vehicular homicide, five counts of first-degree vehicular negligent injury, second-offense DWI while operating a vessel, and careless operation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
Seattle police are investigating a shooting that injured one man Thursday afternoon along the citys waterfront, according to a department spokesperson.

Officers were called to the the Waterfront on Alaskan Way at 4:41 p.m. after reports of gunfire near Pier 55.

When they arrived, they found an adult man with a gunshot wound to the chest.

Seattle police are investigating a shooting in the 900 block of Alaskan Way. Adult male victim shot in the chest, treated by SFD, going to HMC in serious, but stable condition. Adult male suspect is in police custody, gun recovered by SPD.  Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) July 31, 2025

Seattle Fire Department medics treated the victim at the scene before taking him to Harborview Medical Center.

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According to the Seattle Fire Department, the 68-year-old man was in serious condition.

Police say they arrested an adult male suspect at the scene and recovered a gun.

According to Seattle Police, the victim and suspect got into an argument before the shooting. Police said the victim in the wheelchair was upset when the suspect took an item of his.

Police said the victim pulled out a knife and motioned towards the suspect while in his wheelchair.

Thats when the suspect shot the man, police said.

The suspect was booked into King County Jail for investigation of assault.

Screenshot courtesy of citizen.com
HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11)  A man was stabbed to death during a fight with his boyfriend in Harlem on Friday, sources told PIX11 News.

Police said officers responded to 250 West 138th St. around 4 a.m. A 34-year-old man was found in the residence with multiple stab wounds to his legs, according to authorities.

More Local News

Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Its unclear if police have anyone in custody in connection with the stabbing.

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Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Domestic and family health violence are common problems estimated to affect 10 million people in the United States every year. Anyone looking for help can find resources here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.




NEED TO KNOW

Joseph Hennessey, 41, of South Paris, Maine, was pronounced dead following a July 26 incident during a fireworks display, authorities said

An initial investigation indicate that the victim was struck and killed by a projectile discharged by a mini cannon, according to the Maine State Police

The incident remains under investigation





Authorities in Maine said a man died after he was struck by a projectile shot by a mini cannon earlier this month.

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The incident occurred on Saturday, July 26, at about 9:24 p.m. local time, the Maine State Police (MSP) said in a news release, Emergency responders were dispatched to a home in the town of Roxbury following a report of a man who collapsed during a private fireworks display,

Joseph Hennessey, 41, of South Paris, was pronounced dead after he was taken from the scene by emergency medical personnel, according to police. The fire marshals office and the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit were also summoned to assist with the investigation.



https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta conducted Hennessys autopsy.

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Initial findings in the investigation indicate that Mr. Hennessey was struck and killed by a projectile discharged by a mini cannon at the time of the fireworks display, police said in the news release.

Kevin Boutin, a neighbor, recalled hearing a loud noise, ABC affiliate WMTW reported.

"I heard a pretty big bang, which I thought was probably a cannon because I've heard them and I've seen them at different places that I've been at," Boutin told the outlet. "Then the fireworks stopped and then all of a sudden, the ambulance was here and the fire trucks."

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The incident remains under investigation.

Read the original article on People
A disturbed man told a 999 call handler he was walking with a knife before killing his family and himself.

Bartlomiej Kuczynski, 45, told the handler he had lost the plot but was told to seek medical attention, and no officers were sent.

Police did go to the house in Costessey, Norfolk, an hour later after a call by a concerned dog walker, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

Kuczynski was found dead with his two daughters Jasmin, aged 12, and eight-year-old Natasha and their aunt Kanticha Sukpengpanao, 36, on the morning of Jan 19. Post-mortem examinations showed that all four had died of neck wounds.

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The deaths of the two girls and their aunt were treated as murder. Mr Kuczynskis death was not being treated as suspicious.

Norfolk Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the killings.

Kanticha Sukpengpanao, the childrens aunt, was visiting from her home in Thailand - CHP

In an audio recording of the 999 call, Mr Kuczynski said: I am walking with the knife, I have just lost the plot. He expressed concerns about his mental state and said he was confused.

The call handler advised him to seek medical advice, and police did not attend the property as a result of the call.

Initially suspended

A police spokesman previously said: About an hour before officers were deployed to the address, police had received a 999 call from Mr Kuczynski, which did not result in the deployment of resources, or a call log being recorded.

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The previous call was identified after the staff member returned to work later in the evening on 19 January and reported it to their supervisor having seen the media coverage.

When questioned as part of the IOPC investigation, the call handler said he did not hear the word knife and would have acted differently had he done so.

The call handler was initially suspended, but returned to work following a review and was put on restricted duties.

Misconduct meeting

On Friday, Norfolk Police said a member of staff had been given a final written warning following a misconduct investigation into the handling of the call.

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A force statement said: The IOPC investigation concluded the call handler had a case to answer for misconduct based on their handling of the call and failing to record their risk assessment in their decision making.

The force accepted this conclusion, and a misconduct meeting was held on June 26 2025 where the chair determined misconduct to be proven and issued a final written warning for 12 months.

The misconduct meeting was not held in public.

A full inquest into the deaths is anticipated to take place next year pending the completion of a domestic homicide review.

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PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)  The Panama City Police Department is actively searching for an escaped suspect near East 7th Street and North MacArthur Avenue.

Officers said that 28-year-old Rashaun ONeal Mitchell was arrested Thursday and was taken to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay to be medically cleared before being taken to jail.

However, Mitchell escaped on Friday morning while officers were trying to put him into the patrol car. He was still handcuffed and was wearing a black t-shirt and red shorts.

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Mitchell is facing the following charges: trafficking various narcotics, possession with intent to distribute, tampering with evidence, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest and escape.

Anyone with information about Mitchells whereabouts is urged to contact the Panama City Police Department at 850-872-3100 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 850-785-TIPS.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.
France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Malta announced plans this week to recognize a Palestinian state that does not yet exist.

Nearly 150 of the 193 members of the United Nations have already recognized Palestinian statehood, most of them decades ago. The United States and other Western powers have held off, saying Palestinian statehood should be part of a final agreement resolving the decades-old Middle East conflict.

This week's announcements were largely symbolic and rejected by Israel, whose current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood.

A two-state solution in which a state of Palestine would be created alongside Israel in most or all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem  territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war  is still seen internationally as the only way to resolve the conflict.
A Marine sergeant died last month after he collapsed during a physical fitness test in Florida, according to a recent Naval Safety report.

Sgt. Gordon Reed, a motor vehicle operator with 4th Marine Logistics Group, collapsed at the Navy Reserve Center Orlando during a PFT on June 24. He was transported to a local hospital where he died, according to the safety report and Marine officials.

The death is under investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service as well as a safety investigation by Marine Forces Reserve. A command investigation will begin once NCIS has completed its investigation, 1st Lt. Quiarra Barros told Military.com.

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Our hearts and condolences are with his family during this difficult time, Barros told Marine Corps Times in an email statement on Thursday. We are unable to comment further given there is an ongoing investigation into the matter.

Reeds cause of death has not yet been determined and Barros declined to comment on what factors may have played a role.

I can confirm that NCIS is conducting a thorough investigation into the death of Sgt. Gordon Reed, as we do for any non-combat, medically unattended deaths of Department of the Navy service members, said Darwin Lam, a spokesperson for the law enforcement agency. Out of respect for the investigative process, NCIS will not comment further while the investigation remains ongoing.
US President Donald Trump set an August 1 deadline for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to sign a new trade deal. Negotiations have reached a serious impasse, and theres no resolution in sight, with the president signing a late night executive order on Thursday increasing tariffs on Canada to 35 per cent.

Who should we blame for this? Trumps decision to impose punitive tariffs on Canadian products in February was obviously the initiator of this trade dispute. But Carney is the main reason why negotiations for a new deal have now collapsed.

Carneys initial conversations with Trump were fairly cordial. They had a constructive conversation on March 28, and agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the [Canadian] election. They spoke again the day after Carneys Liberals won. The leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the United States working together  as independent, sovereign nations  for their mutual betterment, the transcript read. They agreed to meet in person.

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Trump wasnt even that bothered that Carney had blasted him on election night for trying to break us, so that America can own us. When a reporter asked him about it, he responded: I think were going to have a great relationship. He called me up yesterday. He said lets make a deal. You know, he was running for office  He couldnt have been nicer and I congratulated him  Hes a very nice gentleman, and hes going to come to the White House very shortly.

That visit occurred on May 6. Trump dominated the conversation with Carney, as I wrote for the Telegraph at the time. Carney did emphasise that Canada wont be for sale, ever and put Trump more at ease than his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, ever did.

Credit: Reuters

Nevertheless, its fair to speculate that Carney realised during this meeting that he wouldnt be able to tame Trump. Carney has years of experience as an economist and central banker, but none of that was likely to help him in the completely different context of negotiating with President Trump.

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As the deadline for reaching a deal approached, Carneys attitude underwent a significant shift. His somewhat positive remark in June that Canada was in intensive negotiations with the Americans turned into a negative assessment in July: Were working hard to get a deal, but well only accept the right deal with the United States. The right deal is possible, but nothings assured. This raised more than a few eyebrows.

The Canadian straw that broke the American camels back was twofold.

Instead of focusing solely on rebuilding the tattered Canada-US relationship, Carney decided to look elsewhere, signing a new partnership agreement with the European Union. He suggested to reporters that Canada was the most European of non-European countries. It was almost calculated to leave Trump and his advisers unimpressed.

Carney then dropped a political bombshell by jumping on the Palestinian statehood bandwagon. Although he said that Canada would only support this position if certain conditions were met, including demilitarisation and Hamass return of Israeli hostages, his announcement only served to infuriate Trump. Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine, Trump wrote on Truth Social. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh Canada!!!

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Negotiations for a new Canada-US trade deal were always going to be fraught. No-one suggested that Canada should give in to all of Trumps demands. But most political observers assumed that Carney would work in good faith with Trump to find a solution. The Canadian PM did no such thing.

Michael Taube, a columnist for the National Post, Troy Media and Loonie Politics, was a speechwriter for former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

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Key Points

Mars announced its "Mars Protect the Peanut Plan," a program backed by a $5 million investment that will focus on protecting peanut crops from climate change.

Research for the program will center on developing peanut varieties that are resistant to issues like pests, weather, and disease.

This follows a previous $10 million investment from Mars that led to the mapping of the peanut genome.





From increasing arsenic levels in rice to raising the price of coffee, it has become clear that climate change poses a threat to many parts of our food supply. That pressure extends to sweet treats too, with chocolate companies like Hershey raising prices as cocoa crops struggle. However, its competitor Mars is hoping to protect at least one crucial component of candy production with a massive investment in engineering a peanut variety that will last long into the future.

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On Thursday, Mars announced the "Mars Protect the Peanut Plan," its first organized program aimed at "safeguarding the peanut against increasing pressures that threaten the reliability of global supply." Mars currently owns two of the biggest peanut-centric candies on the market, Peanut M&M's and Snickers.

Its mission, the brand explains, is to help reduce crop losses across the peanut supply chain from the farm to the candy factory, which it notes cost farmers "millions" in revenue. And it's not just about ensuring peanuts are ready for candy. The company also details that it wants to protect a "key source of protein for millions of families worldwide."

"We have long believed that Mars can play a unique role as an engine of innovation, which is why we're thinking in generations and betting big on science to protect the peanut," Amanda Davies, the chief research and development, procurement, and sustainability officer for Mars Snacking, shares in the announcement.

According to Davies, "We know that the perfect peanut won't be discovered by accident. It will take long-term investment, scientific ingenuity, and the dedication of our incredible partners to keep turning potential into progress, from the greenhouse to the farmer's field. After all, innovation without implementation is just imagination."

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The program is backed by a five-year, $5 million investment, which will go toward funding research to advance the genomic science of peanuts and develop hardier peanut varieties that can withstand environmental challenges like "pests, disease, and unpredictable weather."

Related: Heres Why You Should Consider Buying Frozen Produce Over Fresh Right Now

This announcement follows another decade-long, $10 million investment from Mars into a "suite of state-of-the-art scientific efforts," including mapping the peanut genome. That investment has led to the mapping of more than 2.5 billion base pairs of DNA, according to Mars, which it adds is "roughly equivalent to the human genome." The consumer-packaged-goods company has made the data from its research open source to ensure all scientists have access to the information.

This research has already assisted the University of Georgia's Wild Peanut Lab in developing more resilient peanut varieties, which it says can boost crop yields by up to 30%. As The New York Times notes, the team at the University of Georgia has already developed a peanut plant that can grow in Georgia fields infested with nematodes, ensuring higher crop yields in spite of the pests.



"The cultivated peanut was a once-in-a-millennium accident of nature, but we can't afford to wait for chance to strike twice. Creating more resilient peanuts requires transformative science, discipline, and partnership," Dr. Soraya Bertioli, senior research scientist in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia, shares. Bertioli also points out that "our breakthroughs would not be possible without the long-term support of Mars."



Read the original article on Food & Wine
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  The Marshall County Sheriffs Office says a teenager was arrested for an armed robbery that happened last week.

MCSO said Alex Rice, 17, of Grant, was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery after the search of a Grant home on Wednesday.

One killed in motorcycle wreck in Marshall County

The sheriffs office said that the search came after investigators received a report of a person saying they had been robbed at gunpoint. According to authorities, the investigation showed that the robbery happened in Grant, and Rice was developed as a suspect.

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MCSO said on Wednesday, the Marshall County Joint SWAT team, the Marshall County Sheriffs Office, the Marshall County Drug Task Force, and the Grant Police Department executed a search warrant at a home on Lashea Road in Grant. Authorities said Rice was located inside and was taken into custody and charged as an adult.

The sheriffs office said Rice is being held in the Marshall County Jail with no bond pending an Aniahs Law hearing.

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NEED TO KNOW

A boy in Maryland tragically died after being swept into a storm drain amid flash flooding in the Mount Airy area

Police said they were able to recover the individual but they "unfortunately, succumbed to injuries sustained during the event"

The tragic incident occurred on Thursday, July 31





A Maryland boy has died after being pulled into a storm drain as heavy storms swept the state.

On Thursday, July 31, the Mount Airy Police Department confirmed that around 5:20 p.m. they responded to a call alongside the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company of "an individual" who had become "trapped in a storm drain, located at 201 W. Watersville, Apartments."

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In a statement from Chief Michael Ginevra on Facebook, he noted that the tragedy occurred amid "rapidly rising floodwaters."



Ginevra said that the Mount Airy police department and fire company collaborated with the Carroll County Sheriffs Office and "other emergency responders" who "worked tirelessly in an attempt to rescue the individual."

Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company firetruck Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company firetruck

"Despite their heroic efforts, the operation transitioned from a rescue to a recovery," the statement read. "The individual was ultimately recovered from the storm drain but, unfortunately, succumbed to injuries sustained during the event."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time," Ginerva added. "We ask the community to keep them in their hearts and to recognize the dedication of the first responders who answered the call without hesitation."

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The Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company told 11 News that the victim was a young boy who "was with a group of kids playing during flash flooding."



According to reporting by the outlet, "a bystander found the boy's body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene."

Maggie McBain, a neighbor who was driving by, told the outlet that she "flew out of the car, jumped into the water and started yanking on him. We just couldn't get him out."

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Doug Alexander, the public information officer for the fire company, noted that "it rained really hard," saying, "The water came up very quickly."

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Speaking to CBS' Baltimore affiliate WJZ, he said that the boy was "waist deep" in the waters when emergency responders arrived on the scene.

"The pipe is so small, and this is a child's body that fits in there, was pushed in there by the current," he explained. "The current was extremely strong, according to the guys who were on the scene here. I've been in this with the Mt. Airy Fire Department for 58 years, and this is, this is one of the worst situations I've seen."

Chadwick Colson, another neighbor, told WJZ that his house flooded amid the storm.

Describing the area where the storm drain was located, he said that water "really kind of comes through here, like a river" when it rains.

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"You would think it would be some type of metal bars, metal grate, something blocking the hole," he said.

Colson also spoke with WBFF, saying that he saw the victim and another child playing shortly before the flooding began.



The victim's identity has not been revealed. Although he was initially identified as being 13 years old, Alexander told WBFF that the fire company might have been incorrect in the report, noting that an update might be made.

Getty Stock image of police lights Stock image of police lights

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WJZ reported that the tragedy occurred as flooding swept through parts of Maryland, bringing disaster in its wake with people needing to be rescued from trapped cars.



PEOPLE has contacted the Mount Airy Police Department and the Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company for additional information.

Read the original article on People
Gov. Wes Moore (D) watches a passing high-speed maglev train on April 12, 2025, during a trade mission to Japan. Moore supported the plan to operate a high-speed train between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ken Katsurayama/Governor's Office)

No high-speed train will be zooming through parts of Maryland, after the concept was rejected by the federal government.

The Federal Railroad Administration has determined the potential multibillion-dollar investment to construct the proposed Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Magnetic Levitation rail line, known as maglev, is no longer feasible.

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An upcoming notice in the Federal Register, scheduled to be published Monday, highlights a few of the federal properties along the route between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore that would have been affected, such as Fort George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County.

Following extensive consultation with these agencies, the railroad administration determined the direct effects would have substantial negative effects to agency operations or to important resources managed by federal agencies, according to the notice. In addition, indirect effects would also significantly impair critical infrastructure and operations and ongoing agency missions.

The decision does not preclude future deployment of maglev technology in the U.S., according to the notice, but it said the Baltimore-Washington project was not the one to carry it forward. The U.S. Department of Transportation has estimated the capital cost to build the project at nearly $20 billion.

We want big, beautiful projects worthy of taxpayer dollars  including high-speed rail, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a statement Friday. This project lacked everything needed to be a success from planning to execution. This project did not have the means to go the distance, and I cant in good conscience keep taxpayers on the hook for it.

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Opponents, like Prince Georges County resident Susan McCutchen, were ecstatic with the decision.

Its a huge deal and it feels a bit overwhelming, almost to the point that you cant quite believe it, she said Friday. Were optimistic, but were keeping an eye out still.

That cautious optimism surfaced after a letter was circulated late Thursday night from Drew Feeley, acting administrator for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Feeleys letter to Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, whose last day on the job was Thursday, called on MDOT to take action to close out the project and that the FRA would rescind a 2016 notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement on the project.

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Since the award was obligated in 2016, the environmental review process has been paused twice on the Federal Permitting Dashboard. It remains on pause today, where it has been since August 24, 2021, Feeley wrote Thursday. Given the substantial delay and cost overruns associated with the Project, FRA does not see a viable path to continue investment in the Project.

Wiedefeld responded in a letter Thursday that the state will comply with the administrations request to submit final reports to terminate and close out a cooperative agreement on the project. The railroad administration first awarded the state Department of Transportation $27 million in 2016 for preliminary engineering and environmental review.

MDOT understands that FRAs decision reflects the significant challenges posed by the project, including substantial impacts to federal agencies and federal properties, Wiedefeld wrote. MDOT appreciates FRAs partnership in advancing rail infrastructure and safety improvements in the State of Maryland.

One major supporter of the project was Gov. Wes Moore (D), who watched a high-speed maglev train in April during a trade mission to Japan.

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Moore spokesperson Carter Elliott IV said in a statement: In order for this to be Marylands decade we must continue to investigate innovative technologies that better connect people from where they live to where they work. Although this project had challenges that were insurmountable, we look forward to working with FRA to advance transportation solutions that improve the safety, reliability, and efficacy of our transportation system.

Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail is the company that had been slated to develop the project labeled Northeast Maglev. It said the train would have connected Washington, D.C., to Baltimore in 15 minutes at a speed of 311 mile per hour; and a trip between Washington and New York in an hour.

The company said in a statement Friday afternoon the administrations decision represents a missed opportunity.

The SCMAGLEV would have resulted in over $6 billion in private investment, created more than 160,000 jobs, and replaced 16 million car trips, the company said. With cars being the largest source of pollution in Maryland, significant air quality benefits would have been realized. Instead, the Washington, DC metro area will remain number one in the country for the worst traffic, delays, and congestion.

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Besides the company highlighting private investments of nearly $158 million, Northeast Maglev received representation from two of the states biggest lobbying firms: Evans and Associates and Manis Canning and Associates, both based in Annapolis.

However, several state lawmakers have expressed displeasure with the project.

In 2023, Del. Nicole Williams (D-Prince Georges) and state Sens. Pamela Beidle (D-Anne Arundel) and Malcolm Augustine (D-Prince Georges) and then-state Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Prince Georges) sponsored legislation to prohibit the use of state funds toward the maglev project. The legislation didnt advance out of the respective committees.

Before Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince Georges) was elected to the House of Delegates, he opposed the project back in 2017.

This result is a culmination of years of advocacy, Martinez said Friday. To be here in 2025 and finally have a decision that speaks to what weve said the from start, and that this particular project for this particular community doesnt work from the environmental impacts to the lack of economic development to the impacts of peoples homes. Im just really appreciative that we can now put this train to bed.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa.  A Maryland man entered a guilty plea Wednesday in Cambria County court to lesser charges in the 2023 shooting death of a Johnstown woman.

Michael Lyles Jr., 36, accepted a plea deal with the Cambria County District Attorneys Office that could result in him facing 22 to 45 years in prison.

The incarceration range is not only for a third-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Lyles girlfriend Kandace Mervin, 38, but also for a charge of endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of strangulation.

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Arthur McQuillan and David Chontos, Lyles court-appointed attorneys, worked to combine the homicide case against Lyles with two of the other outstanding cases against him. The result was the deal that he accepted, they said.

The plea today resolves a difficult situation for both parties, McQuillan said.

Chontos agreed, adding that consultation with the district attorneys office allowed for amicable terms to be accepted.

The deal was acceptable to all parties except the victims family, Cambria County Assistant District Attorney Jessica Weil said in court.

Ms. Mervins family are, I would say, not happy with this plea, she said, adding that the way the family described it was that they begrudgingly accept the agreement.

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Lyles admitted in court Wednesday to shooting and killing Mervin in front of her child after a July 2023 domestic dispute. He also acknowledged strangling her during a separate incident in January 2023 and strangling another victim in February 2021.

Johnstown police officers responded early on the morning of July 8, 2023, to Mervins home on Wood Street in the citys Hornerstown section, where they found her and Lyles fighting and separated the two.

Hours later, officers were called to the home by Mervin when Lyles returned, and the gunshots that killed her can be heard on the 911 call, followed by a child saying that Mommys boyfriend pulled the trigger.

Weil said there is surveillance footage of Lyles leaving Mervins residence after the shooting, and police apprehended him in the vicinity of the home minutes after finding Mervin dead.

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Lyles was facing charges of criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person and tampering with evidence.

According to Cambria County Judge Michael A. Carbonara, the statutory maximums for the charges to which Lyles pleaded are up to 40 years in prison for third-degree murder; up to seven years for endangering a child; and up to 10 years for each strangulation count, which were downgraded to three years of probation each.

His time in prison may also be altered by his being on parole or probation in Maryland.

Lyles is scheduled to be sentenced by Carbonara at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 11.
After years of grappling with a migrant crisis, Massachusetts has closed the remaining emergency state shelters in hotels and motels, Gov. Maura Healey said Friday.

Healey has also ended an emergency declaration issued in August 2023 as Massachusetts saw an unprecedented surge of families from other countries seeking emergency shelter.

All hotel shelters closed as of Thursday, months ahead of schedule, saving taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and putting families on a path to self-sustainability, the governor said in a statement.

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The Norfolk Rapid Shelter located at the former Bay State Correctional Center and the Chelsea Rapid Shelter site have also closed.

MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale on Friday reacted to Healey ending a state of emergency declaration for the states shelter system, which was overwhelmed in 2023 and 2024 by a historic influx of migrants under the Biden administration.

The end of Massachusetts emergency shelter crisis is the result of strong border policies, enacted by the Trump administration, which stemmed the tide of unchecked immigration that took place in the Biden administration, Carnevale said in a statement.

A crisis continues, however, in the Commonwealths HomeBASE program, where illegal immigrants ineligible for legal employment are receiving taxpayer subsidies to pay their rent, Carnevale said. Governor Healey should work with federal authorities to return these individuals to their home countries, opening up apartments for citizens in Massachusetts strained housing market.

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Healeys announcement on Friday comes nearly two years after she declared a state of emergency and imposed a cap on the system at 7,500 families in 2023.

When we took office, families were being placed in hotels all across the state, and families were staying in shelter for months  sometimes years  at a time, Healey said.

There was no plan in place to reform the shelter system to handle the surge in demand, protect taxpayer dollars or help families leave shelter, Healey said. We can all agree that a hotel is no place to raise a family. So we took action.

Healey said the decreases are a result of a number of reforms she made to reduce caseloads and the cost of the states Emergency Assistance family shelter system.

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These include a six-month length of stay requirement, workforce training and job placement for residents, and increased case management to help families find stable housing.

In January, Healey announced that families staying in Massachusetts emergency shelters must be in the U.S. legally and must also undergo a criminal background check before staying at shelters.

Those were among the significant changes that Healey proposed to the states Right to Shelter law in January amid a migrant crisis in Massachusetts.

Migrants were housed in emergency shelters throughout Massachusetts, including in Framingham.

The proposed changes were announced in January after a Dominican national living at a state-run emergency family shelter in Revere was arrested in December for allegedly having an assault rifle and five kilograms of suspected fentanyl at the shelter.

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Healey ordered the inspection of all state-run emergency family shelters on Jan. 6 following his arrest.

In May 2024, a migrant was indicted for raping a 15-year-old girl at a Rockland hotel being used an emergency shelter in March 2024.

For the past three years, thousands of families have been arriving in Massachusetts in droves from other states and other countries seeking shelter, officials have said.

The state turned to hotels and motels to shelter the large numbers of migrants and homeless families.

Shelters sites that opened up across Massachusetts in 2023 included a migrant shelter and resource center on the campus of Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy and a Cape Cod military base that opened as a shelter site.

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Unexpected influx: Norfolk officials share concerns about turning former state prison into shelter

In 2014, 1,500 families were being sheltered in hotels across the state, officials said.

Then, in 2022, the number of families seeking shelter began to dramatically increase due to the housing crisis, failed federal immigration policy, and a lack of safeguards to control the expansion of the shelter system, Healey said in her statement.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration inherited two dual challenges when it arrived in office in 2023: an unprecedented surge of families seeking emergency shelter and a flawed shelter system that was ill-equipped to handle such a surge, Healey said in her statement.

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To meet this unprecedented challenge, Healey said she initiated a number of reforms to lower the caseload, reduce taxpayer costs and improve safety.

Last June, state officials announced that notices to families reaching length-of-stay limits in the states emergency shelter system would be going out amid the migrant crisis in Massachusetts.

In March 2024, state officials announced new requirements for migrants.

The states Emergency Assistance family shelter system operated at capacity for months amid a large influx of migrants to the Bay State. Dozens of migrants were often seen sleeping overnight inside Logan International Airport.

We are deeply grateful to the frontline teams whose extraordinary work make all the difference for families, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus said in a statement on Friday.

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The dedication of our shelter providers ensured that thousands of families had access to safe shelter and support when they needed it most, Augustus said. We also thank the communities and partners across the state who stepped up to help families in need.

The Emergency Assistance program is for families with children or pregnant women who are experiencing homelessness, state officials said. Approximately half of families in the states Emergency Assistance system are new arrivals to Massachusetts.

Last fall, state officials said that the system could no longer safely or responsibly expand and the state established a waiting list.

In November, Healey announced that her administration would phase out the use of hotels and motels as shelters by the end of 2025.

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In May, the number of families in shelter dropped below 5,000 for the first time since July 2023, officials said.

Since the start of 2025, triple the number of families have exited shelter (approximately 4,500) than have entered shelter (approximately 1,500), officials said.

On Friday, officials said approximately 85 to 90 percent of families seeking shelter are now longtime Massachusetts families.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Despite passing a bill to increase wages for private defense attorneys in Massachusetts, lawmakers did not sufficiently address the crisis thats rocked the states court system this summer, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (MACDL) said.

We know this is not enough ... The rates for bar advocates in Massachusetts remain insufficient and will not solve the current constitutional crisis, a statement from MACDL on Friday read.

Bar advocates currently make $65 an hour but want a raise that would bring their hourly rate up to $100.

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The bill does not bring the rate of pay for bar advocates anywhere near the rate of pay for appointed attorneys in neighboring states, the association said.

The criminal defense lawyers stance comes after a vote came before the state House and Senate on Thursday to pass a $259 million funding bill over to Gov. Maura Healeys desk.

Lawmakers agreed upon a $20 raise over the next two years for the private attorneys, called bar advocates, following the attorneys work stoppage in protest of stagnant wages since Memorial Day, which has left more than 4,000 criminal defendants without lawyers.

They also chose to award $40 million to the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) to lessen the agencys reliance on bar advocate attorneys, who currently take on 80% of indigent cases.

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The work stoppage was a catalyst for action, according to MACDL.

The gravity of this issue would not have reached Beacon Hill without the collective advocacy of bar advocates and the elected officials who have chosen to stand with them, the criminal defense lawyer association stated.

It urged legislators to continue holding conversations for a sustainable solution with bar advocates, MACDL, CPCS and all others involved, and remains committed to advocating for the bar advocates.

Additionally, the antitrust provision included in the legislators bill to prevent bar advocates from holding another work stoppage seeks to punish those who stood together for constitutional protections and is especially troubling, the criminal defense lawyers said. It will undermine the independence and strength of the bar advocate system.

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At a time when courts are desperate for qualified, experienced attorneys, this proposal does nothing to encourage participation. It does the opposite. It deters it, the statement read.

Bar advocates have also made their fury over the decision known. A group of 36 attorneys appeared on the staircase inside the State House on Thursday afternoon as lawmakers voted on their bill.

The right to counsel is only words to them. They dont understand the Constitution, said bar advocate attorney Sean Delaney, who serves in Middlesex and Barnstable counties.

They certainly dont understand the hard work that our advocates do day in and day out throughout this commonwealth, Delaney said.

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In light of the bill, Delaney and other bar advocates do not intend to start taking on new cases again, he said.

This state Legislature, specifically, the Democratic leadership, has not disregarded and disrespected myself, my colleagues here and my colleagues in courts throughout the Commonwealth, but they certainly disregarded and disrespected every defendant is entitled to have representation regardless of how much money they have in their bank account, Delaney continued.

Delaney added that its so vital ... to have a lawyer beside you, from the moment youre accused and the moment youre arraigned in district court. You have to understand  95% of the criminal cases in Massachusetts start in the district court.

As time goes on, evidence gets lost or destroyed, and witnesses disappear or die. Theres a whole host of things in terms of being able to protect a defendants rights," he continued. Our clients do care, for the short term, where they may be held for a period of time ... [but] they want a lawyer beside them whos going to advocate zealously. Time is the enemy of our clients ... in the long-term, its very detrimental they dont have a lawyer.

Lavallee Protocol

Read the original article on MassLive.
SPRINGFIELD  Edward Wright walked hand-in-hand with his wife outside of the Hampden County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon.

Wright, 63, spent more than four decades behind bars for the murder of his friend, Penny Anderson. He maintains he was wrongfully incarcerated. A judge in April tossed his conviction.

On the courthouse steps, Mimi Olivier, Wrights wife, rested her head on her husbands shoulder as his legal team expressed their hope that the Hampden District Attorneys Office would end their injustice against Wright, as the charges hes faced are still active.

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This case is still hanging over his head, but he is not fighting this from a cage. He is free today, and we hope to be back here very soon to be able to say that he has been exonerated, said Radha Natarajan, executive director of the New England Innocence Project.

Earlier on Thursday, Sarah B. Hamilton, a Superior Court associate justice, allowed Wrights motion to reconsider release on bail, and Wright was released on his own recognizance after his probation hearing.

Wright has a number of conditions to his release: He will live with his wife at her home in Medford; he will have a curfew of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; he will be monitored by GPS; he must attend all court hearings and report to the courts Probation Department once a week; he must not leave the state, cannot apply for a passport and must sign a waiver of rendition; he cannot possess any firearms or other dangerous weapons; and he must not contact any of the states witnesses, court documents say.

Probation proceedings took one-and-a-half hours Thursday afternoon.

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While it was clear Wright was happy to be outside of the courthouse, Natarajan said neither he nor his family would speak to the press at this time.

Both the DAs office and Wrights team agree that Wrights case is not retriable; still, the DAs office could choose to move to retry the case, Natarajan said.

He is taking his first steps of freedom after so long, she said of Wright. The journey has been long, but it is not even over today, because even as of today, the charges still remain.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said in April that he believes Wright received a fair trial in 1985. That conviction, he said, was upheld repeatedly by the Trial Court and the Supreme Judicial Court, until recently.

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Serge Georges, a justice for the Supreme Judicial Court, denied the commonwealths right to appeal in its latest ruling, and Wrights conviction remained overturned, Natarajan explained.

On Thursday evening, Gulluni said in a statement Andersons murder was a violent and cowardly act.

We disagree with the decision to allow the motion for new trial, which was the defendants sixth bite at the apple, Gullunis statement said.

But, it is important to note, the very judge who allowed the motion stated in his decision that the incriminating evidence against the defendant was quite strong, and despite the considerable incriminating evidence against the defendant, the court finds  (he) has met his relatively low burden  which might have affected the outcome of the trial," said Gulluni.

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The DAs office is evaluating its legal next steps, he said.

What led to Wrights release?

In April, Hampden Superior Court Judge Jeremy Bucci overturned Wrights first-degree murder conviction from 1985.

The judge cited evidence that was not shared with the defense, and that new DNA tests point to Wrights innocence in the killing of Anderson on May 14, 1984.

Wright, who is Black, was 22 when he was convicted by an all-white jury.

Wright had tried five times to overturn his conviction, his attorneys said this spring.

In an April statement, Gulluni expressed disagreement with Buccis decision.

We stand by the integrity of the original prosecution and the many judicial reviews that this case has already received over the past four decades, Gulluni said at the time. The murder of Penny Anderson in 1984 was a senseless and tragic act of violence that tore a family apart and shook a community.

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Anderson was 24 when she was found dead inside her Dwight Street Extension apartment. She had been bound and stabbed more than 60 times.

Prosecutors claimed that Wright and Anderson, who worked as an exotic dancer at Club 418 on Worthington Street, left the club and went to her apartment. They alleged that Wright tied her up and stabbed her multiple times.

Natarajan said Thursday there have been multiple pieces of evidence that prove Wrights innocence.

So much has come to light to support his innocence, including evidence of a man who confessed to killing the victim in this case, twice, she said.

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She said Wrights legal team is prepared to fight regardless of what the DA offices decision in the case is.

Whats next for Wright? For the first time in more than 40 years, hell get a chance to eat a real cheeseburger as a free man, said Natarajan.

more news from Western Massachusetts

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A Brockton man was sentenced to life in prison for killing another man in a stabbing incident in 2021, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruzs office said on Friday.

Keith Disharoom, 44, was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, Cruzs office said in a statement. On Tuesday, a Plymouth County Superior Court jury said Disharoom was guilty of first-degree murder in killing 44-year-old Eric Cohen.

I hope that after todays sentencing, the family of Eric Cohen can find some measure of peace and comfort knowing that justice has been served, Cruz said in the statement.

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On July 18, 2021, Brockton police went to 553 North Main St. about a report of an assault and battery with a knife, Cruzs office said. Officers found Cohen unresponsive at the scene with two stab wounds to his upper chest.

Cohen was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton before being transferred to Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, where he was pronounced dead, Cruzs office said. Through witness interviews and a review of security video footage, investigators discovered that Disharoom and Cohen got into a fight during which Disharoom stabbed Cohen.

Codefendant Mark Stroud, 29, is accused of hitting Cohens service dog and a nearby woman with a bat while the two other men were fighting, Cruzs office. Stroud is charged with first-degree murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and animal cruelty in connection with the incident.

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A Milford man ran from police after they approached him in connection with child rape and possession of child sex abuse material, before he was subdued with a Taser by police, the Milford Police Department said Friday.

Manuel Umana Solorzano, 29, faces the charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, possession of child pornography, reckless endangerment of a child, photographing sexual or intimate parts of a child, statutory rape of a child (five-year age difference), rape of a child with force, lascivious pose/exhibit of a child in the nude and resisting arrest.

He was booked by Milford police at 5:49 a.m. on Friday and is expected to be arraigned in Milford District Court later on Friday, police said in a statement on Friday.

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Someone who is suspected of taking advantage of children will find no quarter in Milford, Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino said in the statement. There will be no shelter, no safe haven, no sanctuary for people who are suspected of such crimes against children. My sincerest thanks to the Massachusetts State Police and the U.S. Marshals for coordinating with our detectives in apprehending this suspected child predator."

At around 4:10 a.m. on Friday, Milford police detectives working with the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section and the United States Marshals Service conducted an operation in the area of 16 Court Square, police said. They arrived to arrest Umana Solorzano.

Police, detectives and marshals conducted surveillance until around 5:41 a.m. before they saw Umana Solorzano leave his home and walk to a waiting Ford transit van, police said. Law enforcement approached him and he ran off toward North Bow Street.

Detectives followed him to the backyard of a home on North Bow Street until around 5:43 a.m., when he turned toward a detective, assumed a fighting stance, and reached for his waistband, the statement read. Detectives told him to stop, used a Taser to subdue him and then arrested him.

More local crime stories

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BOSTON (WWLP)  Beginning August 1, Massachusetts prohibits landlords from requiring renters to pay broker fees, making renting more affordable.

Governor Maura Healey has signed a provision in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget that prohibits landlords from requiring renters to pay the landlords broker fees. The new Massachusetts law will save renters thousands of dollars each time they move and make the rental process less burdensome.

Healey: Im getting rid of brokers fees for renters

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Housing costs are already way too high and moving is already way too complicated. This new law will save renters thousands of dollars each time they move and make the rental process more fair and less burdensome, said Governor Healey. Were here to support renters, landlords and brokers through this change to make sure everybody knows how they will be impacted and what their rights are. Im grateful to the Legislature for approving this change and for their strong partnership in our ongoing work to make housing more affordable in Massachusetts. We wish everyone good luck this moving season, stay safe and avoid moving trucks on Storrow Drive!

These fees, paid upfront when a renter signs a new lease, cover a real estate brokers services in helping the renter find a property and secure a lease, regardless of whether the renter or landlord hired the broker. They typically cost the equivalent of one months rent, which is an average of $2,800 in Massachusetts.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has released an FAQ for renters, landlords, and brokers to help them navigate this new policy and know their rights.

Massachusetts will be following New York Citys example, as an Act banning brokers fees for renters unless the renter hired the broker themselves went into effect there last month.

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Starting today, renters in Massachusetts will not be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fees for a service that they themselves never contracted in the first place, said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). The House remains committed to ensuring that state government does all that it can to bring down the cost of housing here in Massachusetts, and were grateful to Governor Healey and our partners in the Senate for their shared commitment to that goal.

Local News Headlines

WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.

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FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI)  A ban on cellphones during the school day is one step closer to becoming law in Massachusetts.

The state Senate passed legislation in a 38-2 vote Thursday that would bar students from using their phones while at school.

When students are not distracted by phones during the school day, they learn better, state Sen. Jason Lewis said while arguing in favor of the bill on the Senate floor.

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READ MORE: Rhode Island is about to ban cellphones in schools. Heres when it could take effect

Other lawmakers who support the proposal said it would help students be more productive and reduce bullying.

A cellphone in the classroom with unbridled access to a cellphone is fundamentally corrosive to the educational process, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr said.

If the bill becomes law, all school districts would be required to create a phone ban policy by the 2026-2027 school year. There are exceptions for IEP students and those with health issues.

Cellphone bans have already been adopted by some districts, including Fall River. Theirs went into effect in October 2024 and covers grades 8-12.

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BACKGROUND: Fall River schools start cell phone ban

Mayor Paul Coogan said he thinks the policy has improved the climate in the citys schools.

Our kids are not even allowed to take them out during lunches, so you see people sitting in lunch talking to each other, Coogan explained.

Critics of the bill argue it would prevent parents from contacting their child during an emergency. Coogan disagrees, saying his district has policies in place for emergencies.

There are so many safety protocols in school[s] right now I think that those should take precedence, Coogan said. Contacting people randomly and opening the doors to them is not a positive during a real crisis.

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The bill also has the support of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Massachusetts.

The legislation passed by the Senate today takes a common-sense approach, providing our schools with the tools and guidance they need to create cellphone-free learning environments in a way that works best for their students and educators, AFT Massachusetts said in a statement.

Next up for the bill is to pass the House. Its unclear when a vote will be held in that chamber.

NEXT: A humble gentleman: Block Island plane crash victim identified as NY county legislator

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FORT LEE, N.J. (PIX11)  Firefighters from the Fort Lee Fire Department responded to an active structure fire on Bergen Boulevard Thursday evening, according to officials.

The three-alarm fire was reported at the Smile Auto Services Inc. autobody shop.

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Bergen Boulevard is closed by Edsall Boulevard and the Route 1 South ramp to Bergen Boulevard.

The owners of the auto body shop recently got permission to expand their footprint, causing concern to residents behind the building who say living here is too close for comfort.

People living in nearly 300 units in Westlake apartments scrambled to move their cars from also be burned up in the stubborn fire.

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Kareem Shah lives right next door  so close in fact, he was evacuated as the flames began to melt his vinyl sliding. I was scared out of my mind because of how big the flames are.

The inferno not only destroyed the business but also the dozens of vehicles being worked on in the lot, including an ambulance.

The owner of the shop was too distraught to speak as he watched Bergen County arson investigators pick through the pieces of what was left.

Officials say one firefighter suffered injuries during the operation, but will recover.

Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here.

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VIENNA, Ohio (WKBN)  Best Friends Lemonade Stand is hopeful for sweet success in raising money for a new playground at Mathew Elementary.

Back in April, the district tore down its playground to make room for a new gym. And no playground left a group of students with a sour taste in their mouth.

It takes our energy out, so we can actually learn, said student Madelyn Fetty. We have fun on the playground, and we just are out there doing our thing. There is really nothing to do.

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Right now, we have nothing but a track to run on, said student Lennan OHalloran.

So, the girls went to their mom, who gave them the idea to raise money for the cause they care so much about.

I was tired of hearing Maddie come home from school complaining about recess because shes very bored at recess, and there is very little to do, said parent Mandi Fetty. So I said, what do you want to do about it? What can we do to make a difference instead of sitting here whining, complaining about it?

They got the stand together, selling lemonade, baked goods, chips, and friendship bracelets, giving it a fitting name.

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The fact that we call it The Best Friends Lemonade Stand, they know its something to do with their friends, and that makes it more special for them, Mandi Fetty said.

The kids are hoping to have the same kind of fun on their new playground one day, but theyll need some help to get there.

Im hoping that this raises some community awareness and some other people take some initiative to either donate or look for donations, Mandi Fetty said. I think the goal is $300,000 for the new playground, and the last I knew, we were at about $40,000. Theres still a long way to go. Hopefully, we can get some more people involved, and more people will want to help.

The lemonade stand is run by Mathews Elementary students on Warren Sharon Road in Vienna, less than a mile east of Route 193, until 4 p.m. Friday. The stand will also be open from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday.

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The lemonade stand is just one of the local efforts to raise funds; another is a pancake breakfast Saturday at the Cortland Masonic Lodge, which will also have a 50/50 raffle.



More information about the Mathews (Baker) Playground Project can be found on its Facebook page.

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Frances Chief of Defence Staff General Thierry Burkhard believes that Russia could become "a real threat" to Europe within five years. In his view, European military methods must evolve and adapt to the new conditions.

Source: Burkhard in an interview with The Economist, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Burkhard is convinced that in a conflict, the Russian people would survive "five minutes longer than us". "Russias combat experience, huge mass and capacity for endurance make it dangerous," the general noted.

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Given the threat posed by Russia, Burkhard believes the United States will not abandon Europe. He also places hope on the development of relations between France, the United Kingdom and Germany, which he sees as a future lever of influence.

He is convinced that this alliance, which has been strengthening in recent months, could become "a European pillar of NATO".

The general also described a shift in the methods of warfare, stating that high-tech weapons such as SCALP cruise missiles will be crucial. However, these are expensive and must be complemented by cheaper munitions intended to exhaust the enemy.

In addition to equipment, tactics and organisation should not be neglected. Today, all armies have unmanned aerial vehicles, but the most effective will be those able to combine them "on land, air and sea".

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After outlining these recommendations, Burkhard admitted that if France were truly threatened by Russia, "it is not a matter of conventional weapons, it is a matter of nuclear deterrence".

Background:

Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron called for a significant increase in the countrys defence spending, particularly because of the threat from Russia.

He also emphasised the special role of Paris and London in ensuring European security.

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MAUI, Hawaii (KHON2)  The Maui Police Department has released the final After-Action Report in regards to the 2023 wildfires in Lahaina, outlining recommendations for future emergency protocols and reviewing the departments response.

The final report, which was released on July 31, added three more recommendations on top of the original 32 recommendations originally published in February 2024.

After-action report in the works to examine lessons from Lahaina fire

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The report outlines the following three new recommendations:

Ensure full staffing of dispatch teams and to hire additional employees as needed. In addition to hiring additional personnel, ensure that all team members are cross-trained to improve responses to mass casualty events. In keeping up with eligible staff, maintain a list of trained individuals, such as retired employees, who may be able to assist during a similar event.

Expand and develop Maui Countys aerial capabilities.

Work together with the Maui Fire Department to create a unified command structure for those in supervisory roles to improve coordination. Conduct joint training and integration efforts between MFD and MPD to strengthen the Incident Command System.



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As we reflect on the devastating fires that claimed 102 lives, we do so with deep respect and an unwavering commitment to learning, improving and honoring those we lost, Police Chief John Pelletier said. This final report is not only a record of what transpired, but also a blueprint for how we can move forward as a stronger and more resilient community.

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In full, the report documented the role of police personnel during the disaster, including successes and challenges. It also goes in depth in regards to evacuations, road closures, search and rescue, dispatch and more.

In addition to the above recommendations, the Real-Time Operations Center that is being expanded and enhanced will serve as a key hub in responding to disasters.

While the losses we have suffered are immeasurable, our resolve remains unshaken, MPD said. We are  and will always be  Maui Strong.

For the full After-Action Report, visit the MPDs 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.
Sixteen months have gone by since Sade Robinson was killed and heinously dismembered.

Maxwell Anderson, the man who a Milwaukee County jury said was the one responsible for her death, was in court Aug. 1 to learn his punishment.

When it finally came time for him to speak, he claimed innocence.

That didnt sit well with the judge or Robinsons family.

Circuit Judge Laura Crivello ordered the Navy veteran and bartender to spend the rest of his life behind bars, without the possibility of parole.

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My daughter had to cross his demonic path. He plotted and planned to kill her. How dare you, a visibly enraged Sheena Scarbrough said to Anderson, seated at the defense table, just a few feet away. Youre not a man. Youre a (expletive).

More: In court filings, Sade Robinson loved, grieved by family and strangers 'who will never forget her'

Sheena Scarbrough, right, is joined by a loved one outside of Milwaukee County Courthouse on Aug. 1, as they react following the life sentencing without parole for Maxwell Anderson, who was convicted of killing her daughter, Sade Carleen Robinson. Anderson was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, hiding a corpse and arson in the April 2024 in the death.

At 19, Robinson was on pace to do something positive  she was holding down a job at a pizza parlor and was just weeks from getting her criminal justice degree.

She was going to be somebody.

An ill-fated first date with the man her mother now calls the devil derailed all of that.

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A jury convicted Anderson, 34, on June 6 of first-degree intentional homicide and other charges in the disappearance and slaying of Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College.

Anderson later dumped her body parts at different spots around Milwaukee County, then burned her car in an empty lot at North 29th Street and West Lisbon Avenue.

Anderson spoke for just 30 seconds in what were his first public statements since his April 4, 2024, arrest in connection with her death.

His innocence claims didnt sit well with Scarbrough and the rest of her family, many of whom showed up to court wearing pink T-shirts with images of Robinson on the chest.

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You can no longer hurt my baby. Shes in heaven. Shes protected, Scarbrough continued. When you touched my daughter, you (expletive) with the wrong family. You should have never touched my daughter.

More: Prosecution team confident during Maxwell Anderson trial: 'The evidence just spoke for itself'

Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan recounted Robinsons final moments from the time she and Anderson shared drinks in some of downtown Milwaukees most popular hotspots, to Anderson incapacitating her at his home, taking her defenseless body to a park and dismembering her.

He later burned her car, then took a county bus home.

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A walker found a leg in Warnimont Park the next day.

Sade was a completely innocent victim who died alone in an unfamiliar place, he said. He tried to make her disappear from the world.

It was simply evil and heartless behavior.

More: Milwaukee killer Maxwell Anderson played Netflix series with mutilation the night he killed Sade Robinson, juror says

More body parts that were later found to belong to Robinson began turning up elsewhere in the days and weeks that followed, in the Milwaukee area, and even in Waukegan, Illinois.

The grief in Robinsons family continues to run deep.

No one eats well. Sleeping is hard; there are nightmares.

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More: Jury seated for Maxwell Anderson's homicide trial in Milwaukee

Even reassurances and hugs from well-meaning strangers, some offering to pray for them, can cause stress.

Adrianna Reams, Robinsons younger sister, described picking up her mother, stricken by moments of grief, from the floor of their home.

He stole Sades chance to be an adult, said Reams, 16. He stole my ability to have the momentary ability to experience happiness. Hes made it to where holidays are about mourning instead of celebrating.

At sentencing, Anderson spoke for just a few seconds:

I offer my deepest and most sincere condolences to Sades family as well as everyone else affected by this tragedy. That being said, your honor I took this to trial without ever once trying to make a plea deal of any kind  because I did not commit these crimes. So, Im planning to appeal my convictions. While I hope and pray that further investigation will not only prove my innocence, but find and deliver true justice.

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The convicted killer's father, Steven Anderson, also offered condolences to the victim's family, acknowledging "there are no words that I can share that will reduce your pain."

"Youre all in my thoughts every single day," the elder Anderson said.

Steven Anderson, speaking on behalf of his entire family, then turned his attention to his son.

"To Max ... we want you to know, we love you," he said.

Maxwell Anderson's attorney, Anthony D. Cotton, has said his client plans to appeal his conviction.

Carlos Robinson said his daughter made him realize after her birth that life is bigger than myself.

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She was amazing. She lit up every room she went in, Carlos Robinson said. People lose their children. Thats sometimes part of life.

But to lose your child in this manner  theres no therapy, no kind of treatments for that.

Maxwell Anderson maintains his innocence while speaking at his sentencing on Aug. 1 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Judge Laura Crivello sentenced him to life in prison without parole in the homicide of Sade Carleen Robinson. Anderson was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse, hiding a corpse and arson in the April 2024 death of Robinson.

This story was updated to add new information and videos.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Maxwell Anderson gets life in Sade Robinson's killing, won't be eligible for parole
On the eve of Maxwell Anderson's sentencing, his attorney states Anderson maintains his innocence in connection to killing and dismembering Milwaukee college student Sade Robinson in 2024, and requests his client should be eligible to seek parole in 25 years.

That's according to an eight-page sentencing memorandum filed late on July 31 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court by Anthony D. Cotton, Anderson's attorney.

The report goes on to say that, when asked by a pre-sentence investigator about Robinson's family, Anderson, 34, "became emotional" and said he "respected the immense loss the family must feel" and he "understood their hatred toward him."

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Robinson, 19, worked at a pizza restaurant on Milwaukee's east side and was just weeks away from graduating from Milwaukee Area Technical College with a criminal justice degree. Then she met Anderson for a date on April 1, 2024.

Anderson, however, continues to maintain he didn't commit the crimes for which a jury convicted him, Cotton wrote in the report.

In the memorandum, Cotton argued that despite wrestling with mental health challenges (a traumatic brain injury he suffered at the age of 3, leaving him with ADHD, anxiety and depression), Anderson has the "capacity for growth" and is committed to "better himself as much as he can."

Allowing Anderson to seek parole, "allows the Department of Corrections and the Parole Commission, many years in the future, to evaluate who Mr. Anderson has become  not just who he was when this crime occurred," Cotton wrote.

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Getting to Anderson's sentencing day by the court is the crescendo of a lengthy and emotional legal odyssey that captivated many in Milwaukee and the rest of Wisconsin. Anderson's murder touched off months of heartbreaking demonstrations, marches and vigils. Images of Robinson, with her distinctive bright eyes and wide smile, became a fixture on billboards, posters and digital media screens all over the state.

It's a foregone conclusion Anderson, 34, will be ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison during his Aug. 1 sentencing hearing.

A jury convicted Anderson on June 6 of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilation of a corpse and arson in Robinson's disappearance and slaying. Wisconsin law calls for life in prison for a defendant found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, especially those with criminal enhancements.

That means the only thing Circuit Court Judge Laura Crivello will determine is whether Anderson will ever be eligible for parole, or even able to ask for it at any point during his imprisonment. Cotton's sentencing memorandum provides insight into the information he will share with the court.

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The sentencing hearing begins at 8:30 a.m., in courtroom 620 of the Milwaukee County Safety Building.

More: Weeks after Maxwell Anderson trial, Sade Robinson's mother pushes again for legislation

Sade Carleena Robinson

More: Jury seated for Maxwell Anderson's homicide trial in Milwaukee

Here's what happened the night Sade Robinson went missing

Robinson and Anderson first went to the Twisted Fisherman, a popular tavern and eatery on Canal Street. Anderson once worked there as a bartender.

He convinced her to meet her there so he could pick up his W-2 form.

They later went to Dukes on Water, another downtown night spot on Water Street.

Video from inside the bar, which was shown to jurors during Anderson's trial, shows the pair sitting together and having several drinks and playing beer pong with another couple.

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By 9:03 p.m., the pair are seen are walking out of Dukes and toward Robinsons car.

Sheena Scarbrough, left, mother of Sade Robinson, and Carlos Robinson, father of Sade Robinson, hold doves to be released in memory Sade Robinson at her public memorial service, May 10, 2024 at the Baird Center in Milwaukee. Robinson, a 19-year-old Milwaukee woman, was murdered. Maxwell Anderson, 33, was charged with the first-degree murder of Robinson and the dismemberment of her body.

It would be the last time she'd be seen alive.

A walker found a leg in Warnimont Park the next day.

More body parts that were later found to belong to Robinson began turning up elsewhere in the days and weeks that followed in the Milwaukee area and washed up on the shores of Lake Michigan in Waukegan, Illinois.

Jurors sat through nine days of grisly testimony and graphic autopsy photos as Assistant District Attorney Ian Vance-Curzan stitched together an eerie timeline of Robinsons final hours.

Maxwell Anderson, left, sits with one of his attorneys, Jason Findling, right, at his jury status hearing in Milwaukee County Court on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 in the courtroom of Judge Laura Crivello. Anderson is accused of brutally killing and dismembering a Milwaukee college student.

The evidence

Vance-Curzan and co-counsel Megan Newport entered more than 600 exhibits and pieces of evidence during the trial to build their case against Anderson.

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Robinson's digital breadcrumbs: Investigators triangulated her phone's location using data from cell towers as well as an app on Robinson's phone called Life360. Those data points were mapped out to show the movements of her phone across the city that night. Warnimont Park was one of its last locations before it ran out of battery.

Anderson's cellphone: Jurors got to see images from inside Anderson's home that were shot the night of the killing. One of the photos showed Robinson lying face down, and presumably dead, on his couch. In another photo, a hand is seen cupping one of Robinson's breasts.

Various videos: Milwaukee police and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office worked together to recover hours of video footage from neighbors' Ring cameras and surveillance equipment from businesses.

Some footage came from cameras mounted on Milwaukee County Transit System buses, which proved crucial in helping prosecutors piece together Anderson's final steps after Robinson's death. In one clip, Anderson is seen walking from between two buildings near 35th Street and Lisbon Avenue. Robinson's car can be seen in the same frame, burning in the background.

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Anderson also will be represented in court by Jason A. Findling.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Maxwell Anderson faces life in prison, attorney asking for parole in 25 years
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against the Mayo Clinic, which operates a hospital in Arizona, on July 31, claiming it refused to make a religious accommodation to its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for its staff.

The EEOC stated in the news release that Mayo Clinic unlawfully threatened to fire a security guard who requested the accommodation and was forced to receive the vaccine, which violated his conscience and religious beliefs to save his job.

The security guard offered that he would be willing to receive COVID-19 tests and wear a mask, the news release stated.

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Mayo Clinic rejected his request for a religious accommodation because it did not believe the employees religious beliefs were sincere, the EEOCs news release stated.

According to the lawsuit, in October 2021, the Mayo Clinic implemented a policy that required all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by December 2021 or face termination unless they received a medical or religious exemption.

Cody Schultz, the security guard who worked at Mayo Clinic's Rochester, Minnesota, site, requested the religious accommodation in November 2021, stating he was a member of the Assemblies of God Church, a Pentecostal denomination, the lawsuit stated.

Ingredients in the vaccine were "inconsistent with his religious belief," and "he could not put those ingredients in his body," according to the lawsuit. He cited several Bible passages to support his belief, the suit said.

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Schultz became religious after contracting COVID-19 in 2020 and stated his faith helped guide him through the sickness, the lawsuit stated.

He received the vaccine in December 2021 after the Mayo Clinic denied his accommodation twice and notified him he would be terminated if he was not inoculated, the lawsuit stated.

The EEOC stated the "unlawful employment practices" were done "with malice or with reckless indifference to the federally protected rights" of Schultz.

Andrea Lucas, the EEOCs acting chair, in a statement, said employees have the right to request religious accommodations without fear of retaliation, including for vaccine policies.

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Lucas alleged the clinic had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which includes religious protections.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, where Mayo Clinics headquarters are located.

The EEOC will seek monetary damages, including compensatory and punitive damages and seek injunctive relief and policy changes designed to prevent such unlawful conduct in the future, according to its news release.

The Mayo Clinic declined to comment on the pending litigation, said spokesperson Kristy Jacobson.

The clinic has been in Arizona for 38 years and, as of 2024, was the state's 12th-largest non-government employer, with about 11,000 employees, according to The Arizona Republic's database of the state's largest employers.

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The Phoenix campus of the Mayo Clinic provides care through approximately 750,000 patient appointments per year when outpatient visits, hospital visits and admissions are combined, a number that's expected to continue growing.

In March, it was announced that it would invest $1.9 billion to expand its Phoenix campus and that the project is expected to add 3,500 local jobs during the next decade.

(This article was updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Federal government sues Mayo Clinic over COVID-19 vaccine policy
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) said the Democratic Party is failing to connect with voters due to insensibility.

I think voters feel like Democrats have sort of been aholes to them, McBride told Politicos Dasha Burns during an interview for The Conversation set to air Sunday.

McBride, a first-term lawmaker, made history in November by becoming the first transgender member of Congress.

I do think that a voter asks two questions when theyre considering who to vote for. The first question is: Does this candidate, does this party like me? And by extension, do they respect me? she told Burns.

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If you cant answer that first question to a voters satisfaction, they wont even get to the second question, which is: What does this party think? What does this candidate think? And I think we lost that first question, McBride added.

Democrats are reeling from widespread election losses in November, leading to a Republican trifecta.

Party members are working to regain voters attention ahead of midterm elections and the 2028 presidential race.

For McBride, a major objective is to rally working-class Americans on behalf of Democrats.

I do think that we have to basically create a tent that is united on three fundamental principles, McBride said in the interview, which was recorded Wednesday, according to Politico.

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One is working people need more support and help. Two, democracy and freedom are good. And three, were not going to be aholes to voters.

The Delaware Democrat said to remove the negative stigma, party members need to combat online rhetoric that isolates or alienates different demographics.

The reality in todays environment is that your party ecosystem is defined not just by politicians or the party, but also some of the loudest voices online that in voters minds reflect and represent that broader coalition, McBride said.

When we have an environment where weve got some very loud people who are shaming and calling people who disagree with them  even in rhetoric  bigots, when we have those folks saying that to a wide swath of voters, including voters we could win, and we arent explicitly stating something to the contrary, then a voter will then just paint us all with one broad brush, she added.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
I was in middle school when our English teacher asked students where we find trustworthy news. I smugly suggested "non-biased" news publications and received a well-deserved dressing down. Didn't I know that every publication has biases? Every editorial decisionfrom story selection to sources to sentence structureinevitably reflects the writer's preference or bias, he noted.

Point taken. I remembered that lesson when I pursued a journalism career. I've worked on news pages, but found opinion writing more freeing than trying to suppress my own point of view. The media have since changed dramatically, as the internet, social media, talk radio, and cable news have swamped Americans with alternative sources, thus bypassing traditional gatekeepers.

The new media environment seems more opinionated than ever, yet one old debatedating to the Reagan administrationhas come to the fore. That's the battle over federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Founded in 1967, it provides tax funds to NPR, PBS, and their member stations. Congress recently voted to slash that $1.1 billion (over two years), which will go into effect after Donald Trump signs the budget. He previously called for such cuts.

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Now that cuts are coming from Congress rather than executive order, I'm all for iteven if the president's rationale is typically ill-tempered. An official White House statement said that the outlets "spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'" Trump was upset by NPR's lack of coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the run-up to the 2024 election. His statement cherry-picked examples of "trash" news segments, including a Valentine's Day feature on "queer animals."

Public broadcasting supporters point to myriad noteworthy, uplifting, and unobjectionable programs, ranging from All Things Considered to Sesame Street to Planet Money, but there's no point debating the biases of specific programming. With the exception of perhaps Car Talk, I've always found NPR and PBS acquired tastes that I never managed to acquire. Of course, those networks are biased. Everything is biased. In my opinion, they don't spread radical viewpoints, but cater to the preferences of their affluent, culturally liberal listeners.

Government shouldn't fund any media. It's not a proper use of tax dollars. Taxpayers shouldn't be forced to fund viewpoints they abhor. Any media's funding source obviously distorts its coverage. I once spoke to a group of reporters about a donor-funded journalism outfit that I managed. They were fixated on our donors. I finally said something to this effect: "Go back to your editor and pitch an investigative story about the business practices of the largest advertisers in your newspaper and get back to me." They broke out laughing, but understood.

The NPR and PBS subsidies aren't huge in the context of nearly $7 trillion in federal spending and a host of more anger-inducing subsidies, but that's not the point. It's hard to get too worked up about the coming funding cuts upon closer examination of the overall NPR and PBS budgets. (Ironically, NPR has published some of the most even-handed coverage of the funding-cut issue.) Its recent report notes that, "NPR receives only about 1% of its operating budget directly from the federal government. Other revenue includes donations, returns from its endowment, and corporate sponsorship."

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NPR, the report adds, also receives 30 percent of its funding from programming fees from member stationsand they receive 13 percent of their funds from the federal government. No organization likes to see tighter budgets, but such relatively modest cuts don't justify the hysteria. Most traditional media operations have seen vast reductions in their advertising revenue over the past decade or more, so PBS, NPR, and their member stations will just have to tighten their belts like everyone else, expand their corporate sponsorships, and come up with new revenue sources.

Maybe they can widen their listenership by limiting their stories about why cannibalism is "perfectly natural." Or not. If taxpayers don't have to contribute to the networks' budgets, then it's of little concern to usand certainly not to a presidential administrationwhat they broadcast or publish. Viewers can just choose one of the many privately funded disseminators of clickbait, political conspiracies, or other garbage. It's not even that hard to find something trustworthy and illuminating amid the plethora of modern news choices.

Ben Sheehan, who hosts a civics podcast that streams on PBS, argued in a recent Daily Beast column that the cuts are a threat to local news coverage: "In light of these cuts, consider making a donation to your local PBS or NPR affiliate. Because if the government won't take care of us, it's up to us to take care of each other." Government doesn't take care of us, of course, but he's right that it's up to public broadcasting's supporters to pick up the slack. It might even help taxpayers and lead to better programming, which is just my biased opinion.

This column was first published in The Orange County Register.

The post Media Outlets Shouldn't Get Public Funds, No Matter Their Political Bias appeared first on Reason.com.
MT. GILEAD, Ohio  Flying Horse Farms, a medical specialty camp that provides experiences for kids with serious illnesses and their families at no cost, is thrilled to announce its annual Campfire fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.

Campfire is an evening under the stars. This years event will mark 15 years of delivering hope and joy through medically and emotionally safe camp programming, so every camper has the opportunity to just be a kid. Throughout the night, guests will be immersed in camp magic with stories from camper families themselves, self-guided tours of camp and programming that celebrates FHFs impact  with delicious camp-inspired bites from Cameron Mitchell Premier Events.

At 5:30 p.m., the evening will kick off with Bonfire Circle at the Campitheater, where guests will gather for an intimate setting to hear stories, enjoy food and gain connection before heading into the rest of camp to see all FHFs accessible programming in action.

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Since opening, Flying Horse Farms has been a place where every kid belongs. Where kindness and connection drive hope, said Nichole E. Dunn, president and CEO of Flying Horse Farms. This year, our theme, make the world like camp, gave us the opportunity to see how the spirit of camp goes beyond our gates. Together, the camp community is creating a world that feels a little more like camp, a place where everyone is seen, supported and celebrated.

Guests are invited to come "camp chic" and enjoy complimentary valet parking. Proceeds ensure that all campers, whether theyre living with cancer, heart conditions, blood disorders, craniofacial diagnoses, spinal cord injuries or internalized mental health challenges, can attend camp free of charge.

To purchase a ticket or sponsorship, visit www.flyinghorsefarms.org/events/campfire. Tickets for Bonfire Circle are $1,000 each and General Admission is $250. For additional information, please email events@flyinghorsefarms.org or call (419) 751-7077.
NEW YORK (PIX11)  There is a diverse group of candidates running to be mayor of New York City in the general election slated for Nov. 4.

The Democratic nominee is Zohran Mamdani, and the Republican nominee is Curtis Sliwa. There are several independent candidates, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Lawyer Jim Walden.

PIX on Politics: Roadmap to City Hall is a breakdown of the biographies of the candidates, followed by a discussion with J.C. Polanco, political analyst, attorney, and assistant professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent. Polanco and Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX11 News, set the table in the race for mayor, discussing early polling that favors Mamdani.

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Housing: Where the candidates for NYC mayor stand

Candidates for New York City Mayor have a variety of plans when it comes to creating desperately needed housing in the city.

From how they would encourage more units to be built to their policies on rent control, to zoning reforms, there are a variety of views among the candidates running to lead the city.

Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX11, breaks down all the positions among Democratic Nominee Zohran Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and independent candidates: former Governor Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Lawyer Jim Walden.

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J.C. Polanco, political analyst, attorney, and Assistant Professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, helps analyze all the proposals.



Affordability and Jobs: The major proposals of candidates for NYC mayor

From city-run grocery stores to increasing the minimum wage to childcare proposals, to tax changes, the candidates seeking to be Mayor are proposing big ideas to make life more affordable to New Yorkers.

Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX11, breaks down all those positions candidate-by-candidate, including Democratic Nominee Zohran Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and independent candidates: former Governor Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Lawyer Jim Walden.

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Many of the ideas will be subject to approval and funding help from state lawmakers in Albany. J.C. Polanco, political analyst, attorney, and Assistant Professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, helps break down how plausible each proposal is, and which can have the biggest impact.



Crime and Policing: How candidates for NYC Mayor say they would keep the city safe

Public safety and running the NYPD are among the top jobs for the Mayor of New York.

The candidates seeking to be Mayor come January 1st, 2026, will have to decide if they will keep Commissioner Jessica Tisch, if they will hire more police officers, and if they will change patrolling and outreach policies. Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX11, breaks down the plans of Democratic Nominee Zohran Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and independent candidates: former Governor Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Lawyer Jim Walden.

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Nicole Johnson, public safety correspondent at PIX11, joins Rosoff for an in-depth discussion of current crime stats, concerns over NYPD overtime, and Mamdanis plans specifically.



Transportation: From buses to bikes, where the candidates for NYC Mayor stand

Democratic Nominee for Mayor Zohran Mamdanis pledge to make buses fast and free has dominated the conversation around transportation in the race for New York City Mayor.

Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX 11, fully breaks down Mamdanis position and the transit proposals of Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and independent candidates: former Governor Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Lawyer Jim Walden.

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Greg Mocker, transit reporter at PIX11, joins the conversation to discuss all the candidates proposals, offer insights into what it would take to accomplish some of the more ambitious plans.



How candidates for NYC Mayor would respond to President Trump

President Donald Trumps policies and personality are already looming large over the race for New York City Mayor.

The Presidents cuts to Medicaid and food benefits in the GOPs big bill will create fiscal challenges for the next Mayor, and each candidate will need to contend with Trumps increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement efforts.

Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX11, breaks down how each candidate running for Mayor said they would push back or work with President Trump.

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The Democratic Nominee is Zohran Mamdani, and the Republican nominee is Curtis Sliwa. There are several independent candidates, including former Governor Andrew Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Lawyer Jim Walden.

J.C. Polanco, political analyst, attorney, and Assistant Professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, adds analysis about who is best positioned to handle the President.



Social media and Latino voters, key factors in the race for NYC Mayor

Henry Rosoff, senior political reporter for PIX 11, and J.C. Polanco, political analyst, attorney, and Assistant Professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, discuss key factors in the race for New York City Mayor.

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Democratic Nominee Zohran Mamdanis social media strategy that proved incredibly successful during the Primary is now being replicated, including by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is staying in the race as an independent.

Polanco also highlights his research into Latino voters and their important impact on the race for New York City Mayor.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
England's first permanent public memorial dedicated to Roma victims of the Holocaust has been unveiled.

The memorial has been erected outside Newcastle City Council's headquarters to remember the victims of the genocide and honour soldiers from the region who helped liberate concentration camps in Europe.

It is estimated up to 500,000 Roma and Sinti people were murdered by the Nazis during World War Two and the memorial was funded by the Tyneside Roma community.

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Irma Karchnakova, of the Roma Right Path Project, said her great-grandfather Jan was murdered at Auschwitz and the statue "means a lot" to her family.

She said she was "very proud" of the local Roma community for creating the tribute.

Nicu Ion, of the Roma Access Association, said the monument was a "powerful statement that history needs to be remembered, commemorated, and that we need to educate younger generations about the atrocities of the past so that those mistakes won't happen again".

The former city councillor led the efforts to establish monument and told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he hoped it would help tackle hate crime and racism experienced by his community.

Romanian embassy delegate Mariam El-Hek said the memorial was a "long overdue act of justice" [BBC]

"Prejudice against the Roma community is increasing and we need to do a lot of education and outreach so people can understand how hatred and extremism can lead to devastating our communities and people's lives," he said.

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Dalibar Ferenc, 18, hoped the memorial would spread awareness of the impact of Nazi persecution on Roma people.

"I never actually learned much about it, especially at school," he said.

Ruth-Anne Lenga, associate professor at the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education, praised the city's efforts campaigning for the monument.

"I think it will help to challenge anti-Roma discrimination.

"We need to know these things. We live in such a fragile world where genocide can happen again, is happening again," she said.

The memorial was unveiled the day before European Roma Holocaust Memorial Day, which takes place on Saturday.

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During the ceremony traditional Roma songs were sung and wreathes laid.

Council leader Karen Kilgour said there were about 4,000 Roma people in Newcastle and they had "enriched our city for the better".

She said: "This monument is a long overdue tribute to the men, women and children whose lives were stolen by hatred and persecution.

"It is also a tribute to those from our own region, soldiers from the North East who bore witness to the horrors of the camps and played a vital role in their liberation.

"Their bravery and the lessons history learned must never be forgotten."

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Local political and religious leaders and members of the Roma community were joined at Friday's event by representatives of the Romanian Embassy and the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.

Romanian embassy delegate Mariam El-Hek said the memorial was a "long overdue act of justice and act of remembrance".

Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

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Four men have been jailed for conspiring to smuggle about 18m worth of cocaine into the UK after being chased by police in a boat off Cornwall.

Scott Johnson, Terry Willis, Michael May and Edwin Tabora Baca were all sentenced at Truro Crown Court on Friday.

Johnston and Tabora Baca were caught by police running away on a beach having disembarked from a boat laden with drugs after being chased for 28 miles, while May and Willis were arrested elsewhere on the Cornish coast waiting to transport the drugs.

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Judge James Adkin said the cocaine was destined for the streets of London and Essex and had the "potential for grave societal harm".

He said: "This was an international conspiracy to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine into the UK via a smuggling operation into the South West."

Johnson, 37 from Havant in Hampshire was sentenced to 24 years in prison, and Willis, 44 from Chelmsford in Essex to 21 years and eight months.

May, 47, from Kelveden Hatch in Essex received a sentence of 19 years, with Tabora Baca, 32, a Colombian from Honduras of no fixed abode getting 17 years and 7 months, and a deportation order.

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Three other men Alex Fowlie, 35, from Chichester in Sussex, Bobbie Pearce, 29, of Brentwood, Essex and Peter Williams, 43, from Havant will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard a South American cargo ship had dumped 20 water-tight bales of cocaine into the sea, fitted with GPS tracking devices to help the gang find and retrieve them.

The group had only been able to locate 11 of the bales, with Border Force recovering six of those - estimated to have a wholesale value of 10.2m.

Three of the men had been pursued at sea for about an hour by officers before they attempted to run away after going aground on Gwynver Beach near Sennen on 13 September 2024.

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Police later tracked down other members of the group using CCTV and phone records.

Barry Vinall, senior investigating officer with the National Crime Agency, said the investigation was "highly complex", but the the sentences sent a "clear message to anyone considering getting involved" in smuggling.

He said witnesses who saw the boat and beach chase described it as like "something out of movie scene".

"These are substantial sentences for four men who didn't care about the misery cocaine causes, they just wanted to make a profit.

"Cocaine is one of the most harmful illegal drugs in the UK, linked to thousands of deaths and fuelling violent crime that wrecks communities and lives."

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May and Johnston had denied the charge but were convicted after a trial at Truro Crown Court in June.

The other men admitted conspiracy to import Class A drugs.

Willis also admitted money laundering and possessing a revolver and live ammunition, which were found in a rucksack in his bedroom cupboard.

The judge said two organised crime groups were involved - one in the South West to retrieve the drugs, and the other in Essex where the cocaine would have been cut and sold on to street dealers.

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SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KETK)  Two men who planned to kidnap, rape and murder a Texas woman have now both been sentenced to decades-long prison sentences.

Parents arrested in Van Zandt County after children found abandoned in hot car, RV

Mugshot of Dustin Adlai Yates, courtesy of the Smith County Jail.

Brad McKinney, 53 of Kilgore, was sentenced to 25 years in state prison on Thursday after he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit capital murder on June 23. Dustin Adlai Yates, 52, was sentenced to 30 years in state prison for conspiracy to commit murder on July 15.

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According to an arrest affidavit, Yates contacted McKinney to gather information on Yatess ex-girlfriend and would pay him for his services. The Smith County Sheriffs Office arrested Yates on Dec. 27, 2024 for stalking, after his ex-girlfriend informed them that Yates was contacting her by email on Oct. 31, 2024.

Yates was attempting to contact her despite warnings from the Houston Police Department not to contact her following a family violence case.

The woman sent screenshots of the following messages from Yates on Dec. 1, 2024, to detectives:

Id be vigilant if I were you

You were a busy girl in 22

I wonder what your expiration date is, and I think its soon

You have a very predictable schedule and daily driving routes

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Yates was interviewed after being arrested. According to his arrest affidavit, he admitted to running several background checks on his ex-girlfriend through multiple websites and that he learned where she was working in Tyler.

Dustin stated he wanted [the victim] to be scared and looking over her shoulder, the affidavit stated. Dustin stated, without being asked or the topic being brought up, that he had no intention to kill [the victim], and if he wanted to, he would have killed her months ago.

Mugshot of Brad Michael McKinney, courtesy of the Smith County Jail.

Later, the sheriffs office got a search warrant for Yates phone. According to an arrest affidavit, messages revealed that McKinney was paid around $1,300 for gathering the information and that they discussed a payment of $15,000 to film the planned kidnapping, rape and murder of Yatess ex-girlfriend.

Arrest affidavits for the two men revealed that they would talk about McKinneys experience as a sniper, what kind of bullets would hurt the most, where to shoot Yates ex-girlfriend and potentially posing as a UPS delivery guy or a pizza delivery guy and then going to addresses associated with Yates ex-girlfriend.

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At one point, Yates told McKinney he wanted to take his own life and McKinney reportedly told him to take out some filthy people in our country and go down swinging buddy, according to an arrest document.

McKinney was contacted by the Smith County Sheriffs Office detective at his home in Kilgore, where his arrest affidavit said he admitted to taking money from Yates to collect information on Yates ex-girlfriend

McKinney was then arrested for conspiracy to commit murder, stalking and two warrants from Harrison and Gregg counties on Jan. 11. His 25-year sentence in state prison started on July 31. Yatess 30-year sentence in state prison started on July 15.

You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24/7 on your smart TV with KETK+, our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite neededwatch for free, anytime. Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.

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WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  Hours ahead of the DC Councils vote on the RFK Stadium deal, Chairman Phil Mendelson expressed optimism about the Washington Commanders return to the District and the impact it would have on the local economy.

In an interview with DC News Nows Sunrise on the Hill team, Mendelson said he believed the current text was the best deal the Council could get, substantially improved from what was initially submitted.

I think its about the best we can get with the team and wanting to get the team back at the RFK site, he said on Friday morning.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE: DC Council schedules vote on RFK Stadium Deal

Mendelson acknowledged some of the adverse opinions on the deal, such as one editorial piece in The Washington Post that called the venture corporate welfare.

The article refers to an economic impact study conducted by the Council, which shows that if the city did not have a stadium, but instead residential and commercial development at the site, there would be more tax revenue over time.

If youre only looking at a balance sheet and youre looking over the next 60 years, yes, not having a stadium is better economically  But, as I said, theres a lot of excitement around this and for the next 20 years for sure the stadium is a better deal in terms of income to the city itself, said Mendelson.

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All of that analysis, he said, leaves out the intangible: The excitement of having the Washington Commanders return to Washington.

RELATED COVERAGE: Washington Commanders respond to public concerns regarding RFK stadium deal

As the Council has worked with the Commanders team leadership over the past few weeks, there has been immense pressure from Mayor Muriel Bowser and Congress to accelerate the vote and come to a deal.

I really wanted this vote to not occur today, but happen later, so there was more time. In part because weve just finished working on the budget  the mayor had sent that to us two months late, he acknowledged.  The team really, really wanted us to work overtime to get to this deal, and in return, they were willing to make concessions.

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In one particularly aggressive move in mid-July, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform called on Mendelson to act swiftly.

In a letter, Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said officials were disappointed to see the Councils vote on the stadium deal delayed, particularly given the significant economic benefits at stake and the clear mandate provided by federal legislation.

Whats in the new RFK Stadium deal?

In his interview on Friday, Mendelson said he thought that intervention was unnecessary.

Weve had very good discussions with the Commanders  I think he fact that where we are today is proof that the Council was acting as quickly as possible and [that pressure] was just unnecessary, he said.

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In all, Mendelson said he was optimistic and expected the vote to pass on Friday. He also shared D.C. residents excitement over the teams return to the District.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has pledged to help German steelmakers, saying his government "will do everything we can to preserve the steel industry and steel production in Germany."

"Germany will also need a steel industry in the future, a modern steel industry, including a green steel industry," Merz said on Friday during a visit to Saarland state in western Germany.

The chancellor noted that maintaining steel production in Germany is in the country's "strategic interest."

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Merz is in the process of holding talks at steel manufacturing sites and speaking with steel workers, a process which he hopes to intensify in the coming weeks. He said Germany needs "a resilient, reliable steel strategy."

Following the tariff deal between the United States and the European Union, the task now is to "negotiate the small print, so to speak," Merz said with regard to US tariffs of 50% on steel.

"This must now be made up for, and it will be particularly about quotas that we can then also export without being burdened by excessively high tariffs," Merz added.

Saarland Premier Anke Rehlinger has repeatedly called for the German government to commit to the steel industry. In talks with Merz, there was "very strong agreement" that economic development and therefore growth are the top priority for the country, she said.

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Steel companies need clarity quickly when switching to the production of green steel - in terms of framework conditions, energy prices and the development of the hydrogen infrastructure, Rehlinger added.

Merz came to Saarland for his inaugural visit. After being received by Rehlinger in the State Chancellery, he visited the Volklingen Ironworks World Heritage Site and the Helmholtz Centre for Information Security (Cispa).
Europe ought to do more for its "technological sovereignty," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday in Saarbrucken, the capital of Saarland, a small western German state on the border with France.

He also wants to make cooperation in the field of technology the topic of a Franco-German Council of Ministers in the south of France at the end of this month.

This was necessary, Merz asserted, "because we need to become stronger as Europeans."

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Merz had previously also visited the Helmholtz Centre for Information Security (Cispa) during an official inaugural visit to Saarland. He described its research work as "world class."

The Cispa centre is one of the top research centres in the field of cybersecurity.

"The dependencies we had on Russian gas are only part of the truth. The second part of the truth is that we are not sovereign enough in our own defence," Merz added. "And the third part of the truth is that we are also not sovereign enough when it comes to technological developments."

He added: "We must not repeat the mistake that we all made together with regard to Russian gas in our defence and in our technological sovereignty."

Germany relied on cheap Russian gas to a strong degree before Russia's attack on neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022.
(FOX40.COM)  A Mesa Verde High School teacher has been arrested for alleged sex crimes against minors.

 Video above: How to report a public safety threat

According to the Citrus Heights Police Department, police received a report involving a subject who was allegedly annoying or molesting a minor on March 6, 2025. The CHPD Investigations Unit took over the case and identified the alleged suspect as Augustine Sanchez, 48, of Citrus Heights.

Sacramento man arrested in online predator sting

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Sanchez was placed on administrative leave by the San Juan Unified School District, CHPD said. During the investigation, there were a total of six victims who were identified.

Once the investigation was coming to an end, the case was sent to the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office for charging, CHPD said.

On July 18, CHPD stated that an arrest warrant was issued for Sanchez. Police said he surrendered to the Sacramento County Jail on Thursday and was booked on charges of annoying or molesting a minor.

At this time, CHPD stated that they do not believe there are any additional victims. If there is anyone with any information about this incident, they are encouraged to contact the police departments Crime Tip Line at 916-727-5524.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  The Mexican Consulate held a remembrance ceremony on Friday morning, Aug. 1, for the victims of the Walmart shooting, as the anniversary will land this Sunday.

Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso Mauricio Ibarra Ponce de Leon says the ceremony was held to honor and remember those who were killed in the Walmart shooting.

I think that this was an event that left a big scar in this community, so we need to be aware and keep remembering the people who died, Ponde de Leon said.

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Patrick Crusius killed 23 people on Aug. 3, 2019, and injured more than 20 others in a racially motivated attack at the Cielo Vista Walmart.

As KTSM 9 News has previously reported, the shooter pleaded guilty to state charges in April and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The shooter pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder of multiple people and 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The shooter also pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal charges and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms without possibility of parole.

Recently, new information has emerged on the case, which was first reported by El Paso Matters, including interrogation video that was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

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New information about Walmart mass shooting emerges in recently released evidence

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
A Miami Twp. man was arrested by FBI agents for allegedly making a racially motivated social media post threatening to kill tens of thousands of people in Cincinnati this weekend.

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Scott Michael Hanna, 30, was charged with making an interstate communication with a threat to injure after posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, about organizing mobs to kill 30k by Sunday.

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Hannas post tagged both Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio State Highway Patrol and appears to be about the viral video that showed a large group of people targeting and attacking a couple.

Hanna was accused of saying he was working to organize mobs to kill thousands, according to an FBI spokesperson and federal court documents obtained by News Center 7.

The FBI aggressively investigates those who threaten our communities with violence. Threats like this impact the entire community and have serious consequences, FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola said in a media release Friday.

TRENDING STORIES:

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News Center 7s Mike Campbell was in the federal courtroom in Dayton Friday when Hanna made his first court appearance. Cameras are not allowed to record proceedings in federal courtrooms.

During the hearing, Hanna was informed of the charge he is facing, and a detainment hearing was set for August 7.

Agents told Campbell they were taking Hanna to the Shelby County Jail, where hell be held until his next hearing. As of late Friday afternoon, he is still not listed as an inmate in that jail.

Hanna faces a maximum punishment of five years in prison if convicted.

According to federal court documents, police were already familiar with Hanna due to previous incidents at his home on Orchard Run Road. On Sept. 11, 2024, Hanna had called 911 and threatened to kill a woman.

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While (police were) enroute, Hanna called dispatch and requested to speak with a detective and told them if they were not going to charge a specified individual then he was going to cut off her head, FBI investigators said in federal court documents obtained by News Center 7.

Hanna was accused of using a racial slur towards an officer during his arrest in September, federal investigators said in court documents.

Hanna was initially charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct from the incident, according to municipal court records reviewed by News Center 7. He later pleaded guilty to the charge of resisting arrest, and the disorderly conduct charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of 29 days in jail, provided he completed one year on probation.

Federal investigators said Miami Twp. police were also familiar with the woman Hanna threatened to kill in that Sept. 11 incident. The two had a previous encounter where Hanna claimed she tried to break into his home, leading him to swing a sword at her neck. This caused a serious injury described as a partial decapitation.

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Federal court documents did not indicate the date of the sword attack, and a request for information from Miami Twp. police by News Center 7 has not yet been fulfilled. However, the request was acknowledged by a township spokesperson that it was being fulfilled.

News Center 7 did not find any public records in municipal courts or the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas indicating Hanna was charged with the sword attack mentioned by the FBI spokesperson and included in the federal criminal complaint.

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Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks to reporters at the G. Mennen Williams Building in Lansing, Mich., on May 15, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday that shes joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump administrations effort to restrict access to medically-necessary care for transgender, intersex and nonbinary youth.

The lawsuit challenges recent federal action to deter doctors and medical providers from offering gender affirming care to youth under the age of 19 years old, including states like Michigan where that care is legal and protected.

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Nessel and other attorneys general have asserted that President Donald Trumps White House is overstepping its authority, using threats of criminal prosecution and federal investigations to pressure health care providers.

The Trump Administration is attempting to strip away lawful, essential healthcare from vulnerable youth. These orders are illegal and dangerous and have no medical or scientific basis, Nessel in a statement. I will continue to protect families, defend doctors, and stop politicians from putting our kids lives at risk.

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Trump in the beginning of this second administration signed an executive order stating that the U.S. would only recognize two sexes, and called for an end to what Trump labeled gender ideology. A second order focused on medical restrictions, directing the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue enforcement actions related to that care.

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Since then, Nessels office said the Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to providers under the guise of criminal law enforcement, but the attorneys general filing the lawsuit Friday argue those efforts lack legal standing and are intended only to intimidate.

Health care decisions for kids should be made by parents and doctors, not by politicians, said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, a LGBTQ+ advocacy group, in a statement. The federal government is using funding as a weapon to force providers to abandon their patients and override parents rights to make health care decisions for their own children.

Patricia Wells, a doctor and the medical director of The Corner Health Center, said in a statement that she and her colleagues are distressed by new punitive changes to funding and regulations, which threaten to dismantle essential care.

These policies do not protect children; they endanger them, Wells said. They undermine trust in the medical system and place affirming providers in an impossible position, forcing hospitals to close clinics and providers to stop offering the very care that helps young people survive and thrive. The loss of these services would not simply be a policy failure; it would be a moral one.

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Wells said the nation must do better.

These young people deserve our compassion, our evidence-based care, and our unwavering commitment to their well-being, she said. I applaud the leadership of the state of Michigan for protecting transgender and gender nonconforming youth, their families, and the caregivers who are saving lives every day.

Joining Nessel are the attorneys general of New York, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD)  Michigan school districts are preparing for a new academic year with only an estimation of what funding the state may provide.

Michigan lawmakers are a month behind on passing an education budget. The states fiscal calendar starts in October, bug schools must have a budget by June 30. The annual deadline of July 1 for the states education budget is meant to compensate for the gap.

State Legislature fails to finalize K-12 budget by deadline

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Comstock Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Thoenes said the uncertainty comes as his district is negotiating a contract with educators. They decided to wait to discuss the pay side of the agreement until the state education budget is passed. Thoenes said changes to pay can be retroactive, allowing for the adjustment in negotiations. For now, district leaders and teachers are focusing on other parts of the contract.

He said while the state gridlock hasnt changed the start of the school year, the district did budget more conservatively.

We kept enrollment increases at a minimum. Weve had four years in a row of enrollment increases, so we have to go on that trend and decide to go lower than maybe were hoping for, Thoenes said.

Theres a mix of emotions in the few administrators he has spoken with.

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Were all feeling a little bit frustrated, might be the right word. Concerned also mixed in. Also mixed in that hopeful that it will be resolved soon before school starts, he said.

Teachers union advocates for higher pay at GRPS board meeting

Lakeview School District Superintendent William Patterson agreed with his Kalamazoo County counterpart. He said the Calhoun County district also carefully budgeted, not knowing how much the schools would get per student. But it comes with drawbacks.

By playing it conservative, were not able to maybe add some of the supports in the district that we would like to or plan to or know that would help our district. So all of those things get on hold, any kind of filling or hiring, Patterson said.

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State House and Senate Republicans have placed the blame on Senate Democrats. Republicans say the Democratic senators adjourned their session instead of working late to come to a vote. Michigan Democrats refute that, saying Republicans did not ever mean to meet the July deadline.

Declining enrollment is contributing to West Michigan school closings

Education advocates gathered in Lansing earlier in the week to call on the legislature to finalize the education budget. Peter Spadafore with Michigan Alliance for Student Opportunity said there could be real risk to having the debate drag on, leaving schools to shift with a changing tide.

Youre seeing a world in which school districts have to create multiple budgets. They have to plan multiple things and theyre spending a lot more time worrying about what is going to come out of the state capitol than figuring out how to run the district, Spadafore said.

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Superintendents and advocates tell News 8 that if the uncertainty is extended, some districts will have to make job cuts or find funds for somewhere else in their coffers.

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By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Brazil's antitrust enforcer CADE has opened an investigation into Microsoft, days after Norwegian browser Opera complained about Microsoft's Edge, according to a CADE statement published late Thursday on its website.

Opera, in its complaint filed on Tuesday, alleged that Microsoft pre-installs Edge as the default browser across Windows devices and computers, thereby preventing rivals from competing on the merits of the products.

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Opera had 6.78% of the Brazilian desktop browser market in June versus Edge's 11.52% and market leader Google Chrome's 75%.

CADE said it had opened an administrative inquiry and set an August 15 deadline for Microsoft to respond to Opera's allegations about its Windows operating system licences, the Microsoft 365 software and its Jumpstart programme.

The Jumpstart programme allows Microsoft clients to build autonomous artificial intelligence agents for routine tasks, a move which could help the company monetise its billion-dollar investments in AI. Other Big Tech companies have similar tools.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

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Opera has been complaining about its competitor since December 2007 when it took its grievance about the latter's internet Explorer browser bundled with its Windows operating system to the European Commission, resulting in a 561-million-euro ($640 million) fine for the U.S. tech giant.

($1 = 0.8764 euros)

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Fact checked by Sarah Scott

PARENTS/ GETTY IMAGES

Key Points

A recent report from NWEA found that middle schoolers are showing a noticeable decline in reading abilities.

The findings surmise that this is in part due to lack of in-person instruction during the pandemic, which affected elementary aged students' ability to learn critical literacy skills.

Experts suggest parents approach reading as an ongoing journey that doesn't end when your child first learns to read.







Most parents assume childrens early years are a critical time for developing reading skillsand they're not wrongthose years are in fact crucial. But a recent report found that many kids struggle with reading even during middle school.

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According to the report, the pandemic may be to blame for some of thisafter all, many kids who are in middle school now missed in-person school during elementary school, when key reading skills are taught. But the pandemic isnt the only factor at play here, notes the researchers and the other experts we connected with.

Here, well unpack what the researchers uncovered, what factors are influencing middle school literacy problems, and how teachers and parents can help kids develop and hone their reading skills.

What the Report Found

On July 24, NWEA, an education research organization, released a report which found that many eighth graders arent reaching middle school reading standards. The findings surmise that this is due in part to lack of in-person instruction during the pandemic, which affected elementary aged students' ability to learn critical literacy skills. Those students, now in middle school, are showing a noticeable decline in reading abilities.

Researchers from the report advise that many eighth graders need an additional year of reading instruction to match pre-pandemic levels and standards for their age, and suggests school policy recommendations for addressing this literacy crisis, including:

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Regular assessments of middle school literacy skills

District policies that promote literacy throughout the school day, and in various subject classes, including non-English classes

A deeper understanding of the specific literacy needs of middle schoolers and an investment in teacher literacy training across academic disciplines

Connection with community organizations and non-profits to support literacy and offer resources for students

What Parents Need to Know

Miah Daughtery, EdD, NWEA VP of Academic Advocacy at HMH, NWEA's parent company, and one of the co-authors of the report, says that above all else, she hopes this raises awareness about declining reading abilities among middle schoolers, and underscores that fact that building literacy skills is a process that isn't over when your child first learns to read.

The highlight of the report is that learning to read is an ongoing journey that does not end in elementary school, Daughtery says. Middle school students are still learning to read, with a focus on more complex text, decoding words with more than two syllables, building knowledge and vocabulary, and reading fluently.

In other words, students need continued instruction and support in all of these aspects of literacy and readingboth in school and at home. Daughtery emphasizes that this report shouldnt cause panic, but rather arm you with information that empowers your approach.

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I don't think parents need to be worried, Daughtery says. I do think parents need to be aware that their child needs ongoing reading instruction and practice in and out of school and that parents need informative data on their child's reading ability.

Why Are So Many Middle Schoolers Struggling?

Interestingly, although the NWEA study emphasizes the role that the pandemic played in this crisissharing the fact that todays middle schoolers are essentially one year behind their pre-pandemic peers when it comes to literacy skillsthe researchers and experts we connected with dont fully blame the pandemic for this problem.

The pandemic alone is not to blame, Daughtery says. When I was a middle and high school reading and English teacher 20 years ago, reading was a real challenge for many adolescents. But back then, few people were talking about it or doing anything about it, she says.

The pandemic highlighted the literacy needs of tweens and teens, Daughtery explains. Now that we can see the challenges more clearly, we can work to provide adolescents the academic and home support they need to grow in their reading and writing ability.

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Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education Systemand How to Fix It, agrees that although the pandemic definitely made this problem worse, its not the only contributing factor. As Wexler points out, NAEP reading test scores were either stagnant or declining even before the pandemic hit, and the gap between high- and low-scorers was also widening before the pandemic.

Social and class inequities are a part of the problem and shouldnt be ignored, Wexler notes. It's clear that many middle schoolers are struggling with reading and writing, and that's especially likely to be true if they come from less highly educated families and therefore are less likely to pick up academic knowledge and vocabulary at home, she says. This is a problem that doesn't stop at middle school. At high-poverty high schools, it's not uncommon for many students to be reading at elementary school levels.

Finally, Kellie Kopach, EdD, educator at Deer Path Middle School, notes that certain lifestyle trends that are common these days are likely contributing to the literacy achievement gap noted in this new study. Students appear to be overscheduled with activities which could increase stress, anxiety, and burnout, she says. This impacts students performance and productivity at school, because overscheduled and highly stressed students are also often exhausted and distracted.

Focusing on good sleep, less screen timeand yes, more readingwould all help, Dr. Kopach says.

How Schools Can Remedy This

The report lays out some ideas for schools and school districts to adopt in order to remedy this problem, including regular reading assessments of middle schoolers, weaving in more literacy instruction into all subject classes, and connecting with community resources to help kids both in and out of school.

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Without a doubt this issue can be remedied, says Naomi Hupert, MSEd, senior research scientist and expert in K-12 literacy at the Center for Children & Technology at EDC. The recommendations from the NWEA report are a great start, she says, and many states are already starting to implement these changes.

Additional ideas that may be helpful for districts and schools include giving educators extra resources to implement literacy skills in their classrooms. Educators need to have access to information about content-area literacy instruction, and need more resources to ensure that a lack of reading skills does not turn into diminished access to age-appropriate content, exposure to the concepts and vocabulary relevant to middle and high school academic experiences, suggests Hupert.

She says that technology can also be leveraged to help teach literacy to the middle school cohort.

Technology can be a huge asset in this instance, allowing a student to experience via video and audio the information that is presented in a text book, or accessing an eBook in order to prepare for engagement in a literature discussion if a text is challenging, she describes.

What Parents Can Do

If your child is struggling with literacy skills in middle school, you should know that you arent alone. Not only that, but there are things you can do to help your child grow and thrive when it comes to reading and writing.

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Here are some tips from Daughtery:

Prioritize reading and writing at home

Read the books that your children read and discuss the storyline and characters together

Ask your child about their interests, and use the local library to find books that align with them

Read aloud to your children and have your child read aloud to you, this helps practice reading fluency and strengthens comprehension

Take note of how accurately your child reads aloud and if they read with expression

Engage in conversations with your childs teachers. Ask specific questions like How is my child's reading fluency? and What knowledge are you building in class this month? How can I support knowledge building at home?



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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Its almost time to dust off the backpacks as summer break comes to a close and students prepare to return to the classroom.

The first day of school can sneak up on families, as some Middle Tennessee school districts are scheduled to start their fall semester in the last week of July.

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According to the Tennessee Department of Education, the Volunteer State is comprised of 147 public school districts across the state.

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News 2 has compiled a list of key start dates for students attending elementary, middle and high schools in and around Middle Tennessee. See the list below:

First day of school dates:

Bedford County Schools: School begins on Friday, Aug. 1, with an abbreviated 2-hour day. The first full day of school will take place on Monday, Aug. 4. To view the districts 2025-2026 calendar, click here.

Benton County Schools: Students return to school for the first full day on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The districts calendar is available here.

Cannon County School District: According to the schools 2025-2026 calendar, the first full day is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 6.

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Carroll County: For students in Carroll County, Tuesday, Aug. 6, will be a half day. The following day, Aug. 7, will be the first full day. A full school year calendar can be found here.

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Cheatham County School District: The current school event calendar shows students in grades 1-9 will return to school on Thursday, Aug. 7 for an abbreviated day. The following day, Aug. 8, first to twelfth graders with have their first full day. Then, preschoolers and kindergartners will have their first full day on Thursday, Aug. 14.

Clay County Schools: School starts back up for all students on Monday, Aug. 4. The districts board approved calendar is available here.

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Coffee County School District: The first full day of school for Coffee County students took place on Thursday, July 31, according to the 2025-2026 calendar.

Cumberland County School District: All grades will return for their first full day on Monday, Aug. 11. To view the districts calendar, click here.

Decatur County Schools: Students attending Decatur County Schools will have their first full day on Monday, Aug. 4. Check out the districts calendar here.

DeKalb County Schools: The first day of school will be on Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to the 2025-2026 calendar.

Fentress County Schools: Students return to class on Thursday, July 31. To view the districts events calendar, click here.

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Franklin County School District: For schools in the Franklin County School District, students will have an abbreviated day (8 a.m. to 10 a.m.) on Friday, Aug. 1, and will return for a full day on Tuesday, Aug. 5. A calendar of events can be found on the districts website.

Franklin Special School District: In Williamson County, students within the Franklin Special School District in grades 1-8 will begin school on Aug. 8. Then, kindergartners will return to class for their first full day on Aug. 15. Finally, preschoolers are scheduled to have their first day on Aug. 22. See the entire calendar here.

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Giles County Schools: The first day of school for students in Giles County Schools will be on Friday, Aug. 1. View the districts full calendar on their website.

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Grundy County Schools: All grades will return for their first full day on Monday, Aug. 4. Check out the districts 2025-2026 calendar here.

Henry County Schools: Students in Henry County will return on Friday, Aug. 1, for an abbreviated day. With the exception of some kindergartners, those in first to twelfth grade are scheduled to have their first full day on Monday, Aug. 4.

According to the school district, only kindergarten girls will attend for a full day on Monday, Aug. 4, followed by kindergarten boys on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Then, all kindergartners will attend for a full day on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Hickman County Schools: School picks back up in Hickman County for a half day on Friday, Aug. 1. Then, students will return on Tuesday, Aug. 5 for a full day. The districts calendar is available online.

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Houston County Schools: With the earliest start date in Middle Tennessee, students in Houston County returned to school on Wednesday, July 23. You can view the districts calendar here.

Humphreys County Schools: The first full day for Humphreys County Schools will be on Monday, Aug. 4. To find important dates within the school year, follow this link.

Lawrence County Schools: According to the districts 2025-2026 calendar, the first full day is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 4.

Lebanon Special School District: School starts back up for all students on Friday, Aug. 1. View the districts 2025  2026 school year here.

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Lewis County Schools: Students will return to school on Monday, Aug. 4 for an abbreviated day, followed by a full day on Aug. 5. The districts calendar is available here.

Lincoln County Schools: All grades will return for an abbreviated day on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Then, Aug. 6 will be the first full day. See all the districts events on their website.

Macon County Schools: The first day of the fall semester is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 5. View the districts full calendar here.

Manchester City School District: The district took to Facebook to announce students will report to school on Friday, Aug. 1 from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Then, will return on Aug. 5 for their first full day.

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Marshall County Schools: School picks back up in Marshall County for a half day on Monday, Aug. 4. Then, students will return on Wednesday, Aug. 6 for their first full day. The districts calendar is available online.

Maury County Schools: Students return to class on Monday, Aug. 4. To view the districts events calendar, click here.

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Metro Nashville Public Schools: The 2025-2026 calendar shows that 1st to 12th graders will have their first full day on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Meanwhile, students in pre-k and kindergarten will report for a half day on Aug. 5  6. All grades will return for a full day on Thursday, Aug. 7.

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Moore County Schools: For schools in Moore County, students will have an abbreviated day on Friday, Aug. 1, and will return for a full day on Tuesday, Aug. 5. A calendar of events can be found on the districts website.

Murfreesboro City Schools: Grades 1-6 will return to school on Wednesday, Aug. 6 for a half day. They will have their first full day two days later on Friday, Aug. 8. Meanwhile, kindergarteners with A-L last names will report for a half day on Aug. 11; M-Z last names will report on Aug. 12. Grades K-6 will have their first full day on Thursday, Aug. 14. Check out the districts calendar here.

Overton County Schools: The first day of school for students in Overton County will be on Friday, Aug. 1. View the districts full calendar on their website.

Paris Special School District: Students in the Paris Special School District will return on Friday, Aug. 1, for an abbreviated day.

According to the school district, only kindergarten girls will attend from Monday, Aug. 4 to Tuesday, Aug. 5. Only kindergarten boys will attend Aug. 6-7. Then, all kindergartners will attend for a full day on Friday, Aug. 8.

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Pickett County Schools: Graders 1-8 in Pickett County will return to class through Phase-In Days. On Monday, Aug. 4, students with A-M last names will report to school and N-Z names on Tuesday, Aug. 5. All students will return on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Meanwhile, Aug. 4 will be the first day of school for ninth and tenth graders. Then, on Tuesday, Aug. 5, tenth and eleventh graders will attend. All students return on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Putnam County Schools: All grades will return for their first full day on Monday, Aug. 4. To view the districts calendar, click here.

Robertson County Schools: School starts back up on Tuesday, Aug. 5 for an abbreviated day. Students will report for a full day on Wednesday, Aug. 6. The district calendar can be found here.

Rutherford County Schools: According to the district, Wednesday, Aug. 6 is a 2-hour school day that will serve as an orientation day for students. Then, on Friday, Aug. 8, students will return for their first full day.

Smith County Schools: For schools in Smith County, students will have an abbreviated day on Friday, Aug. 1, and will return for a full day on Monday, Aug. 4 . A calendar of events can be found on the districts website.

Stewart County Schools: School picks back up in Stewart County for a half day on Friday, Aug. 1. Then, students will return on Tuesday, Aug. 5 for their first full day. The districts calendar is available online.

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Sumner County Schools: The first day of the fall semester is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 4. View the districts full calendar here.

Tennessee School for the Blind: Students return to class on Monday, Aug. 4. To view the districts events calendar, click here.

Trousdale County Schools: School begins in Trousdale County on Thursday, July 31. The districts calendar is available here.

Tullahoma City Schools: According to the districts 2025-2026 calendar, the first full day is scheduled on July 31, Thursday.

Van Buren County Schools: The first full day for Van Buren County Schools will be on Friday, Aug. 8. The districts calendar is available online.

Warren County Schools: All grades begin school Tuesday, Aug. 5, according to the districts 2025-2025 calendar.

White County Schools: School picks back up in White County on Friday, Aug. 1. You can view the districts school year calendar here.

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Williamson County Schools: Grades 1-12 will return for an abbreviated day on Monday, Aug. 4. Then, Aug. 5 will be the first full day.

Meanwhile, kindergarten and pre-k students will have their first day on Monday, Aug. 11. See all the districts events on their website.

Wilson County Schools: Fall semester will begin in Wilson County on Friday, Aug. 1. If youre looking for the districts school year calendar, click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Aug. 1A Butler County grand jury has determined no criminal charges are warranted against Middletown police officers involved in a July 13 shooting where two people were killed.

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser released the decision today following an investigation into the shooting.

"It is again worth repeating that pointing a firearm at a police officer or police officers in the performance of his or their duties will be met with lethal force to neutralize the lethal threat presented with death the likely consequence," Gmoser said.

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Ronald Kerr, 60, and Consuelo Kerr, 53, were the two people who died of gunshot wounds July 13 following the officer-involved shooting.

Ronald Kerr was wheelchair bound after the amputation of both of his legs, according to police.

Around 4:42 p.m. July 13, Middletown police responded to a residence in the 3000 block of Mohawk Street following reports of a woman suffering from a gunshot wound allegedly inflicted by her husband.

The circumstances occurring before the police responded and the motive for her death are still under investigation by Middletown police, according to the prosecutor's office.

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Upon arrival, Middletown officers announced their presence and identified themselves as police officers. While negotiating with the male suspect, the suspect allegedly discharged his weapon at the officers.

In response, officers returned fire, shooting Ronald Kerr four times in the head and three times in the torso.

A loaded Walther 9mm pistol was found in the location where the body of Ronald Kerr was found.

Upon entering the residence, officers found both the man and woman dead.

Consuelo Kerr was found with one gun shot wound to her head and 10 gun shot wounds to her torso, presumably caused by her husband, Ronald, according to prosecutors.

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In late May, there was an officer-involved shooting in Middletown, which resulted in the death of Michael Anthony Baker, 47, of Middletown. Police were cleared of wrongdoing in this case by a Butler County grand jury.

Though this is the second Middletown officer-involved shooting in about two months, Gmoser said the incidents are "random."

"There is no systemic problem in Middletown with respect to officer-involved shooting cases," he said.
The military is walking back its previously announced plans to discontinue some weather forecast data after public pushback.

The Navys Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center will still distribute data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program beyond Thursday, according to a statement.

The government previously said the data would be discontinued after Thursday.

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program has collected weather data for military operations for more than 50 years.

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Rick Spinrad, who led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under then-President Biden, previously told The Hill that getting rid of this data could worsen the countrys hurricane forecast abilities.

Navy spokesperson Ferry Gene Baylon said in an email that the meteorology and oceanography center had planned to phase out the data as part of a Defense Department modernization effort.

But after feedback from government partners, officials found a way to meet modernization goals while keeping the data flowing until the sensor fails or the program formally ends in September 2026, Baylon said, adding that the September date is not new.

Previously when it had announced it was shutting down the data, the government cited a cybersecurity risk. The Navy spokesperson did not directly address The Hills question about what happened to this risk.

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Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), who previously worked as a meteorologist, praised the decision to keep the data flowing.

Im glad the Department of Defense has heeded the warnings of meteorologists, like me, who were concerned their short-sighted decision would degrade forecasts, he said in a written statement.

The nations weather forecast services generally have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after more than 130 people were killed in deadly flooding in Texas.

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El Salvadors millennial dictator can now seek indefinite re-election after his party-controlled congress approved a sweeping constitutional reform that also extends presidential terms.

Nayib Bukele, 44, who has been president since 2019 and was re-elected in 2024 with 85 percent of the vote, now holds near-total control over the countrys institutions and has opened the door to ruling forever.

In a fast-tracked vote, 57 of 60 members of congress passed measures allowing re-election without reservation, extending the presidential term from five to six years, and doing away with a second round of voting in elections.

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They also shortened the current presidential term by two years, moving general elections to March 2027, which would allow Bukele to seek a longer new term earlier than scheduled if he wins.

Congress also voted to synchronise legislative, presidential and municipal elections.

Opposition lawmaker Marcela Villatoro declares the death of democracy in El Salvador after indefinite presidential re-election was passed - Marvin Recinos/AFP

Fireworks erupted in the main square of the capital San Salvador, as congress members ratified the reform in a second late-night plenary session. Thank you for making history, colleagues, said Assembly President Ernesto Castro of Bukeles party.

Bukele enjoys enormous support at home for his heavy-handed campaign against criminal gangs, which has reduced violence in the country to historic lows.

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However, he has also drawn sharp criticism from international rights groups. The reforms came shortly after a wave of arrests targeting human rights defenders and government critics, prompting dozens of journalists and humanitarian workers to flee the country.

A close ally of Donald Trump, Bukeles international image has been dented by his handling of detainees.

His government held 252 Venezuelans for four months in a mega-prison he built for gang members. Many later alleged torture and abuse.

Emboldened by its relationship with Trump, the Bukele administration detained human rights defenders in May and June, including prominent lawyer Ruth Lopez, who had denounced alleged cases of government corruption.

Democracy has died

Under the ongoing emergency regime, roughly 88,000 people have been arrested on gang-related charges. Rights groups say thousands were detained arbitrarily, and more than 400 have died in custody.

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Bukeles 2024 re-election had already sparked concern, with critics arguing it violated the constitution and was enabled by a ruling by loyalist judges.

Ruling party politician Ana Figueroa, who introduced the reform, said Salvadorans can now decide how long to support their president.

Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, can keep running for office after the reforms were passed - Marvin Recinos/AFP

However, opposition politician Marcela Villatoro denounced the move.

Today, democracy has died in El Salvador, she said, criticising the reforms approval just as the country enters a week-long vacation. Theyve taken off the masks... Theyre shameless.

Juanita Goebertus, Human Rights Watchs Americas director, said El Salvador is following Venezuelas path.

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It begins with a leader who uses his popularity to concentrate power, and ends in a dictatorship, she wrote on social media.

Miguel Montenegro of the nongovernmental Human Rights Commission said the reforms completely dismantle what little democracy remained.

In a speech marking the first year of his second term, Bukele said he does not care if people call him a dictator, brushing off international criticism over the arrest of humanitarian activists.

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MADISON, Wis. (AP)  A Milwaukee man who killed a 19-year-old college student on their first date and spread her body parts around the area was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A jury convicted Maxwell Anderson in June of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, arson and hiding a corpse in connection with Sade Robinson's death last year. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial.

Parents lash out during hearing

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During a sentencing hearing that was by turns somber, emotional and horrifying, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Laura Crivello repeatedly questioned how Anderson could commit such a heinous crime. Prosecutors related details of how Anderson cut up Robinson's body and dumped one of her legs near a playground.

Robinson's mother, Sheena Scarbrough, said Anderson messed the entire community up" and deserves no protection in prison.

Judge, I'm asking this demon be respectfully returned back to hell as soon as possible, Scarbrough said.

Robinson's father, Carlos Robinson, suggested to the judge that someone dismember Anderson.

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Everything that he did should be done to him, he said. No man should be able to live after what he did. That's just how I feel. I can't get past this. I can't.

Mandatory life sentence

First-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin carries a mandatory life sentence. The only question for Anderson was whether the judge would allow him to seek parole.

Anderson's attorney, Tony Cotton, asked the judge to make Anderson eligible for parole after 25 years. He argued that Anderson served in the U.S. Navy and suffers from obvious mental health issues.

Cotton acknowledged that Anderson has been convicted of multiple misdemeanor disorderly conduct counts in connection with domestic violence but they're not significant offenses compared to most homicide defendants. He added that he has concerns about Anderson's safety in prison.

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That is a real consideration, Cotton said. At the end of the day, there is not mob justice in this country.

Anderson says he didn't do it

Anderson told the judge that he's innocent and plans to appeal his convictions. He didn't elaborate, although Crivello later noted that Anderson had told an investigator that some stranger must have kidnapped Robinson after she left his apartment following their date.

I hope true justice will be delivered, Anderson said Friday.

Unconscionable crimes out of a horror story, judge says

Crivello refused to offer Anderson a chance at parole. She dismissed Anderson's claims of innocence, saying his view of reality differs from the rest of the world." Trailing off at times and shaking her head, she said he's irredeemable, called his crimes unconscionable and likened the case to something out of a horror novel.

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Its beyond imaginable to not know whether your child is dead or alive, and then learn theyre dismembered and disgraced, is beyond understanding, she said.

She also sentenced Anderson to 7 1/2 years on the dismemberment count and a year and a half on the arson charge. Online court records indicate she dismissed the fourth count of hiding a corpse on Friday after Cotton argued Anderson can't be convicted of both mutilating and hiding a corpse.

First date turns deadly

Anderson and Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, met at a bar in March 2024 a week before her death. Surveillance video and cellphone text and tracking records show they spent the late afternoon and early evening of April 1 drinking at two bars before heading back to Anderson's apartment.

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Photos on Anderson's phone show Anderson groping Robinson as she lay face down on his couch. Prosecutors have argued she was incapacitated and couldn't resist.

Surveillance video shows her car leaving his apartment early on the morning of April 2 and arriving at a park along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Prosecutors maintain that's where he cut her body into pieces. He later burned her car behind an abandoned building and took a bus home.

Searchers discovered one of Robinson's legs in the park and her other leg and a foot near a playground close to where he burned the car. A human torso and an arm believed to be Robinson's remains washed up on a beach in suburban South Milwaukee.

Her head is still missing.

___

This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the mother's name to Scarbrough, not Scarborough.
A Milwaukee man who killed a 19-year-old college student on their first date and spread her body parts around the area was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A jury convicted Maxwell Anderson in June of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse, arson and hiding a corpse in connection with Sade Robinsons death last year. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial.

Parents lash out during hearing

During a sentencing hearing that was by turns somber, emotional and horrifying, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Laura Crivello repeatedly questioned how Anderson could commit such a heinous crime. Prosecutors related details of how Anderson cut up Robinsons body and dumped one of her legs near a playground.

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Robinsons mother, Sheena Scarbrough, said Anderson messed the entire community up and deserves no protection in prison.

Judge, Im asking this demon be respectfully returned back to hell as soon as possible, Scarbrough said.

Robinsons father, Carlos Robinson, suggested to the judge that someone dismember Anderson.

Everything that he did should be done to him, he said. No man should be able to live after what he did. Thats just how I feel. I cant get past this. I cant.

Mandatory life sentence

First-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin carries a mandatory life sentence. The only question for Anderson was whether the judge would allow him to seek parole.

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Andersons attorney, Tony Cotton, asked the judge to make Anderson eligible for parole after 25 years. He argued that Anderson served in the US Navy and suffers from obvious mental health issues.

Cotton acknowledged that Anderson has been convicted of multiple misdemeanor disorderly conduct counts in connection with domestic violence but theyre not significant offenses compared to most homicide defendants. He added that he has concerns about Andersons safety in prison.

That is a real consideration, Cotton said. At the end of the day, there is not mob justice in this country.

Anderson says he didnt do it

Anderson told the judge that hes innocent and plans to appeal his convictions. He didnt elaborate, although Crivello later noted that Anderson had told an investigator that some stranger must have kidnapped Robinson after she left his apartment following their date.

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I hope true justice will be delivered, Anderson said Friday.

Sade Robinson - From Erika Brown

Unconscionable crimes out of a horror story, judge says

Crivello refused to offer Anderson a chance at parole. She dismissed Andersons claims of innocence, saying his view of reality differs from the rest of the world. Trailing off at times and shaking her head, she said hes irredeemable, called his crimes unconscionable and likened the case to something out of a horror novel.

Its beyond imaginable to not know whether your child is dead or alive, and then learn theyre dismembered and disgraced, is beyond understanding, she said.

She also sentenced Anderson to 7 1/2 years on the dismemberment count and a year and a half on the arson charge. Online court records indicate she dismissed the fourth count of hiding a corpse on Friday after Cotton argued Anderson cant be convicted of both mutilating and hiding a corpse.

First date turns deadly

Anderson and Robinson, a student at Milwaukee Area Technical College, met at a bar in March 2024 a week before her death. Surveillance video and cellphone text and tracking records show they spent the late afternoon and early evening of April 1 drinking at two bars before heading back to Andersons apartment.

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Photos on Andersons phone show Anderson groping Robinson as she lay face down on his couch. Prosecutors have argued she was incapacitated and couldnt resist.

Surveillance video shows her car leaving his apartment early on the morning of April 2 and arriving at a park along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Prosecutors maintain thats where he cut her body into pieces. He later burned her car behind an abandoned building and took a bus home.

Searchers discovered one of Robinsons legs in the park and her other leg and a foot near a playground close to where he burned the car. A human torso and an arm believed to be Robinsons remains washed up on a beach in suburban South Milwaukee.

Her head is still missing.

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The Milwaukee Common Council unanimously passed a resolution from the Milwaukee Youth Council that would allocate funds intended to help youths aged 11 to 21 go toward unhoused youths and suicide prevention.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson in Milwaukee on July 24, 2025.

The money comes from a Community Development Block Grant program.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed the resolution at a signing celebration on July 31. Johnson congratulated the Youth Council on its dedication to helping young people in their community. Common Council President Jose Perez said the resolution should be a sign to get more youth involved in city government.

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"No matter how much we know about your current path, your world is extremely different than ours," Perez told the youth council.

After the signing, youth council member Corbeau Martin Caldwell said he was excited and relieved it passed.

"I think a lot of the time youth are demonized or stigmatized. Youth can make fantasitc and positive impacts in our community if only local leaders and elected officals and those in power give us the opportunity to," Martin Caldwell said.

The funds will be split among four non-profit groups. Walker's Point Youth & Family Center and the Hmong American Friendship Association will receive $33,325 each to combat youth homelessness. Pathfinders Milwaukee will receive $30,000 and The Silver Spring Neighborhood Center will receive $33,350 for youth suicide prevention services.

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"It's just our way that we can give back because realistically 30,000 isn't much, but it's just reaffirming to know that we are doing something to help," Youth Council member Svetlana Her told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Council signs grants for unhoused youths, suicide prevention
Physicists have caught neutrinos from a nuclear reactor using a device weighing just a few kilograms, orders of magnitude less massive than standard neutrino detectors. The technique opens new ways to stress-test the known laws of physics and to detect the copious neutrinos produced in the hearts of collapsing stars.

They finally did it, says Kate Scholberg, a physicist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. And they have very beautiful result. The experiment, called CONUS+, is described on 30 July in Nature.

Challenging quarry

Neutrinos are elementary particles that have no electrical charge and generally dont interact with other matter, making them extraordinarily difficult to detect. Most neutrino experiments catch these elusive particles by observing flashes of light that are generated when a neutrino collides with an electron, proton or neutron. These collisions occur extremely infrequently, so such detectors typically have masses of tonnes or thousands of tonnes to provide enough target material to gather neutrinos in relevant numbers.

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Scholberg and her collaborators first demonstrated the mini-detector technique in 2017, using it to catch neutrinos produced by an accelerator at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The Oak Ridge particles have slightly higher energies than those made in reactors. As a result, detecting reactor neutrinos was even more challenging, she says. But lower-energy neutrinos also allow for a more precise test of the standard model of physics.

Scholbergs COHERENT detector was the first to exploit a phenomenon called coherent scattering, in which a neutrino scatters off an entire atomic nucleus rather than the atoms constituent particles.

Coherent scattering uses the fact that particles of matter can act as waves  and the lower the particles energy, the longer their wavelength, says Christian Buck, a leader of the CONUS collaboration. If the wavelength of a neutrino is similar to the nucleuss diameter, then the neutrino sees the nucleus as one thing. It doesnt see the internal structure, says Buck, who is a physicist at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. The neutrino doesnt interact with any subatomic particles, but does cause the nucleus to recoil  depositing a tiny amount of energy into the detector.

Catching sight of a nucleus

Coherent scattering occurs more than 100 times as frequently as the interactions used in other detectors, where the neutrino sees a nucleus as a collection of smaller particles with empty space in between. This higher efficiency means that detectors can be smaller and still spot a similar number of particles in the same time frame. Now you can afford to build detectors on the kilogram scale, Buck says.

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The downside is that the neutrinos deposit much less energy at the nucleus. The recoil induced on a nucleus by a neutrino is comparable to that produced on a ship by a ping-pong ball, Buck says  and has until recent years has been extremely challenging to measure.

The CONUS detector is made of four modules of pure germanium, each weighing 1 kilogram. It operated at a nuclear reactor in Germany from 2018 until that reactor was shut down in 2022. The team then moved the detector, upgraded to CONUS+, to the Leibstadt nuclear power plant in Switzerland. From the new location, the team now reports having seen around 395 collision events in 119 days of operation  consistent with the predictions of the standard model of particle physics.

After COHERENTs landmark 2017 result, which was obtained with detectors made of caesium iodide, Scholbergs team repeated the feat with detectors made of argon and of germanium. Separately, last year, two experiments originally designed to hunt for dark matter reported seeing hints of low-energy coherent scattering of neutrinos produced by the Sun. Scholberg says that the standard model makes very clean predictions of the rate of coherent scattering and how it changes with different types of atomic nucleus, making it crucial to compare results from as many detecting materials as possible. And if the techniques sensitivity improves further, coherent scattering could help to push forward the state of the art of solar science.

Researchers say that coherent scattering will probably not completely replace any existing technologies for detecting neutrinos. But it can spot all three known types of neutrino (and their corresponding antiparticles) down to low energies, whereas some other techniques can capture only one type. This ability means it could complement massive detectors that aim to pick up neutrinos at higher energies, such as the Hyper-Kamiokande observatory now under construction in Japan.

This article is reproduced with permission and was first published on July 30 2025.
HAMBURG, Germany (AP)  Watching his dad make a brand-new miniature train car look old, placing the wooden parts to weather in the sun and rain, pulled Peter Martinez into the world of miniatures. He recalls his father, who made model trains mostly for collectors or hobbyists, wondering why anyone would pay him to do what he thought was the most fun part of the hobby.

But luckily they did, and we were able to build an industry around it," Martinez said.

The Argentine family business, United Scale Arts, is now partnering with Germany's Miniatur Wunderland, a museum that houses the largest model train set in the world, to develop new exhibits depicting parts of South America, including the Amazon rainforest and Atacama Desert. But with miniature power comes great responsibility  and both Martinezs company and the museum are determined that the miniature world reflect both the good and bad of the real thing.

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Real world problems

So alongside the perfectly shaded rocks and trees, they depict poverty, crime and environmental degradation. In the exhibits already running in Hamburg, built by a team that has grown over the years to hundreds of people, it means that tiny trains pull tiny coal cars into a mining town, but also, on a city bridge, a tiny semitruck hauls the tiny giant blade of a wind turbine.

And the builders say it means the new models won't shy away from illustrating real life in the Amazon: they will include scenes of illegal mining, deforestation and forest fires.

These are social problems that exist in the real world, and we need to show them also in the models, because I think its important not to make this kind of idealistic view of the world, but also to show reality and to use these tools as a learning experience for everyone that visits the Wunderland, Martinez said.

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Replicas of famous landmarks

Visitors have a lot to see in the multistory warehouse that is Wunderland. From Las Vegas to Miami Beach, from Rio de Janeiro to Monaco, cars zoom past tiny replicas of buildings as throngs of people, with heads smaller than your fingernail, mill about famous landmarks.

Cargo ships dominate the glasslike surface of a tiny bay as they chug in with their deliveries. Planes taxi down the runway of an airport. And of course, plenty of trains roll through every landscape to the delight of kids and adults alike.

A dream come true

Twin brothers Gerrit and Frederik Braun joined with business partner Stephan Hertz and took out a loan to create Miniatur Wunderland after they left the nightclub business. Frederik had visited a model railroad shop in Zurich, called his brother and suggested they create their own  but a whole lot bigger.

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Gerrit laughed at first. Unlike his brother, he loved the nightclub. But he eventually agreed and now can't imagine doing anything else.

Its a dream come true that we sit here 25 years later, and playing all day, he said, chuckling.

Serious work mixed with play

But he takes the work seriously. The brothers came up with most of the initial plans for the museum within two weeks, Gerrit said. It's grown in scope and ambition since then.

Ten years ago, we were looking to the old section and saw the real world has changed in this time, Gerrit said. They realized they needed to update the exhibits to include technologies like electric cars, wind turbines, nuclear power and more. I have children, and I believe in global warming and Im sure that we have done it ... So if you believe in this, and you have the possibility to show the images, why not?"

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Political issues

There's no one process by which the designers and model builders decide what to include in their models, but as they have added to the collection, they haven't shied away from depicting technology or from political or contentious topics.

In 2017, when Donald Trump was first elected U.S. president, the Wunderland put up a model concrete wall with barbed wire around the section with the American landscapes. In 2019, Wunderland launched a scathing exhibit on the treatment of animals in large-scale farming that sparked deep criticism from the agriculture industry.

Next came weeks of conversation, farm visits and the eventual launch of a special exhibit aimed at depicting the current reality of pig farming, featuring industrial production and organic farms.

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They're usually striving to depict the world exactly as it is. But building models also reminds Gerrit that you can build the world a little bit like you want, he said.

Feelings of nostalgia

Its an art form that can have practical purposes but also can capture longing, nostalgia or other feelings about a particular time or place, said Kit Maxwell, a curator with The Art Institute of Chicago, which houses the popular Thorne Miniature Rooms.

One of the most compelling things about these rooms is that you imagine yourself in them," he said.

Aware of that power of imagination,Martinez also said builders have to be careful not to unfairly cast countries in a bad light as they seek to include imperfections.

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You need to kind of balance, when you show the bad things in contrast with the good things, that they are not overdone or they are not too much, he said. You want also that the people that go there have a good time and not get really sad after seeing this model.

___

Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social.

___

The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
A police officer who had a woman jailed for over two years on false charges in connection with a bogus sex-trafficking ring cannot be sued, a court confirmed last week, because she was acting under color of federal lawa puzzling reminder of the inverse relationship between power and accountability in government.

Hamdi Mohamud's legal woes stretch back quite a ways. As I wrote in 2021:

For years, St. Paul police officer Heather Weyker was swamped. She gathered evidence, cultivated witnesses, filled out the police reports, testified under oathall in connection with an interstate sex trafficking ring run by Somali refugees. But perhaps most impressive is that she did all that while fabricating the same ring she was investigating, which resulted in 30 indictments, 9 trials, and 0 convictions.

In 2011, Mohamud, then just 16 years old, found herself swept up in that morass after a woman named Muna Abdulkadir attacked her and her friends at knifepoint. Inconveniently for Mohamud, Abdulkadir was crucial to Weyker's sex-trafficking investigation that would later unravel. After a call from Abdulkadirduring which she reportedly informed Weyker she had carried out a knife attack and was worried her arrest was imminentWeyker advised other members of law enforcement that Abdulkadir was a federal witness. She had information and documentation, Weyker noted, that Mohamud and her friends were out to intimidate Abdulkadir.

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"The first part was true, but everything else Weyker said was false," summarizes Judge David Stras for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit. "There was no 'information' or 'documentation' that anyone was trying to intimidate Abdulkadir. Nevertheless, based on what Weyker told him, Officer [Anthijuan] Beeks arrested Mohamud and the others for witness tampering."

The government would ultimately dismiss those trumped-up charges, but only after Mohamud spent 25 months in federal custody.

When Mohamud sued over that injustice, she succeeded. The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in 2018 declined to give Weyker qualified immunity, finding it was already clearly established at the time of her arrest that Weyker's alleged misconduct violated the Fourth Amendment.

Two years later, Mohamud's luck would sour on appeal. Though the 8th Circuit conceded that Weyker's sex-trafficking investigation was "plagued with problems from the start"the trial judge found, for example, that she fabricated information and lied multiple times under oaththe court said she was, in fact, immune. But that wasn't because she was entitled to qualified immunity. Rather, although Weyker was a St. Paul police officer, she had been cross-deputized on a federal task force to carry out the investigation, making available to her the legal protections afforded to federal law enforcementa much higher bar for alleged victims to clear.

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Lawsuits against federal employees are subject to the Bivens doctrine. Named after the landmark 1971 Supreme Court case Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the ruling allowed a man to sue the federal agents who conducted a warrantless raid on his home and then strip-searched him at a courthouse.

But the Supreme Court has made it almost cartoonishly difficult for plaintiffs to make use of what was a very good decision. In 2017, the Court ruled in Ziglar v. Abbasi that Bivens claims against federal agents can survive only if they clear a two-pronged test. Step one: Does the claim arise in a "new context"in other words, is it "different in a meaningful way from previous Bivens cases decided by" the Supreme Court? Unless a complaint mirrors the original facts of Bivens almost identically, or the facts of the small handful of cases that were allowed to proceed in times past, then the answer is "yes." That leads to step two: Are there any "special factors counselling hesitation"that is, reasons the judiciary should think twice about creating a new damages remedy against federal agents? The answer in the courts to that latter question, it seems, is also essentially always "yes," which dooms a claim.

"The focus in Bivens was on an invasion into a home and the officers' behavior once they got there. Here, by contrast, Weyker did not enter a home, even if the actions she allegedly tooklike manufacturing evidence and lyingwere just as pernicious," wrote Stras for the 8th Circuit in 2020. "Lying and manipulation, however bad they might be, are simply not the same as the physical invasions that were at the heart of Bivens."

Mohamud's remaining hope, then, came down to proving that Weyker was acting under color of state law, because federal employees are, somewhat arbitrarily, granted even greater legal leeway than state agents. It "makes little difference that the federal task force described the St. Paul Police Department as the 'lead agency,'" wrote Stras in July. "Even if Weyker's cross-deputization and the involvement of the U.S. Attorney were not enough to make her actions federal, the investigation had grown to include at least one other state, Tennessee, and multiple federal agencies.She then purported to act based on her federal authority when she explained Abdulkadir's significance to Officer Beeks and provided an affidavit supporting the filing of federal charges against Mohamud."

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Federal authority is arguably the most powerful form, especially in law enforcement. And yet Mohamud's case bafflingly illustrates that greater power comes, paradoxically, with diminished responsibility.

The post A Cop Lied, Fabricated a Sex-Trafficking Case, and Jailed a Teen on False Chargesand <i>Still</i> Can't Be Sued appeared first on Reason.com.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  The once quiet farm town of Bakersfield began to evolve at a new, dynamic pace starting in 1900.

Horse drawn carriages were still the only conveyances on the citys main thoroughfares, but the tide was turning.

Tom Means and a handful of partners had discovered the Kern River oil field just the year before and black-gold prospectors were eyeing oil seeps at Elk Hills, Midway and Belridge. Within three years, Kern River would be the top-producing oil field in the United States, nearly equal in volume to all of Texas.

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19th Street had become a reflection of that rapid change. The wide, unpaved street was bustling with oilfield roughnecks, their pockets heavy with silver dollars, their appetites for drink and companionship at times insatiable.

After 10-year absence, architect came home to Bakersfield to help remake his citys downtown

Serving the Bakersfield of 1900  population just under 5,000  were 13 churches, 17 lawyers, eight nurses and 65 saloons, 22 of which were clustered on 19th Street, within a single three-block stretch.

One was called the Mint.

Built in 1895 at the corner of 19th and M streets, it was one of the first businesses in the city to have a telephone. Youd pick up the mouthpiece and have the city switchboard connect you to BLACK 153.

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In 1905, the Mint had a handsome mahogany bar, but it was torn out in 1920, when Prohibition came along. From that point, owners Amerigo Pierucci and Allesandro Melone operated the establishment as The Mint Buffet  wink, wink.

A new, longer bar was installed in 1933 when the 21st Amendment restored the status quo.

The Mint had a second floor in those early days, as did many ground floor businesses prior to the 1952 earthquake. Thats when seismic shifting accomplished what decades of law enforcement couldnt or wouldnt  wiping out six blocks of hotels-slash-cathouses  which of course simply changed their business models.

Walter Walston owns the Mint today. He inherited it from his father, the mayor of 19th Street, John Bud Walston, who bought the Mint in 1960.

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19th Street has always been the street for the downtown bar scene, he said. Its really weird. One block up, the bars really dont do very good. One block down, bars havent really done good. Theyve always done well between, say, M Street and H.

Within that same half-mile length of asphalt, there is only the Mint. But Eastchester  as that downtown district is known  is undergoing big changes, and 19th is at the epicenter.

19th Streets transformation has Eastchester businesses excited

New restaurants, new bars, new amusements. The Woolworths building will have a basement concert venue, music rehearsal space, a financial services company and the last surviving Woolworths luncheonette in America. Bakersfield Community Theater, the oldest continuously operating community theater in California, moves to 19th in two or three years.

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The Stack, a food and drink playground of Jenga-style shipping containers, offers offbeat potential.

Construction is underway on a project to be announced at the southeast corner of 19th and L, across from two pawn shops, a tattoo parlor, a vinyl record store and an adult movie house. Yes, the neighborhood has its challenges. But coffee bars, wine bars, restaurants and brewpubs, all promise to bring back the 19th Street of a century ago. Minus, presumably, the virtually unrestrained prostitution trade.

But its much the same ol thing at the Mint. Theyve got an ATM machine now. Those were hard to find in 1900. A digital jukebox, too  televisions and flushing toilets. And theyre refurbishing their neon sign out in front. Thats about it as far as change.

The city is putting some money into the downtown, finally, Walston said. The Downtown Business Association is doing a lot of work too. So, theyre finally going through and theyre cleaning up the streets. Theyre fixing the sidewalks. Down here, the sidewalks  these two or three blocks down here are kind of dilapidated.

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Woolworths grand opening set for October, but soft open still likely later this summer

This town has come a long way but the Mint still has a bit of its Old West roots.

Dont confuse it with the Porterville Mint, where in 1902, for a time, murderer Jim McKinney actually worked as the saloons doorman and was known to shoot randomly, drunkenly, into the ceiling. One night he put a slug right through the heart of an electric fan. The following year he was killed in a shootout with lawmen at a Chinese Joss House in Bakersfield, four blocks from this citys Mint saloon.

Shall we categorize the Mint as a dive? Seems fair.

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An LGBQT-friendly dive bar where everybody knows your name and fan dancing is, if not encouraged, abided. Where jump shots in billiards are, if not always legal, abided.

How will the Mint fit with the new, reimagined 19th Street? It has survived two world wars, floods, fires, earthquakes and Prohibition. Whats a little downtown redevelopment?

Heres to the next 125 years.

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SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  Shannon Medical Center is celebrating its Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen on Thursday, July 31, to raise funds for the Childrens Miracle Network.

$1 from every Blizzard purchased in the Concho Valley, including Dairy Queen locations in San Angelo, Brady, Sterling City, Junction, Eden, Ozona, Menard and Senora, will be donated to the Childrens Miracle Network. The event will last all day.

Shannon Medicals fundraisers aids Childrens Network

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So you get to enjoy ice cream but also help sick and injured children who need your help, said Lindy Stone, a Marketing Director at Shannon.

Shannon ordered over 400-500 Blizzardsthat were preordered for Shannon staff members who could not leave to support.

Funds generated from the event will serve the 16,000 children treated annually at Shannon. 100% of the funds raised from the event will help create miracles by funding the necessary medical equipment, training, and therapy for Shannon Medical Center.

Shannon CMN will host a telethon on KLST on Aug. 16.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
A man covers his face with his hands and peeks through his fingers.

Noticing somebody fidgeting can be distracting. Vexing. Even excruciating. But why?

According to a study published in 2021, the stressful sensations caused by seeing others fidget are an incredibly common psychological phenomenon, affecting as many as one in three people.

Called misokinesia  meaning 'hatred of movements'  this strange phenomenon had been little studied by scientists until recent years, but was noted in the context of a related condition, misophonia: a disorder where people become irritated upon hearing certain repetitious sounds.

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Misokinesia is somewhat similar, but the triggers are generally more visual, rather than sound-related, researchers say.

Watch the video below for a summary on the research:

YouTube Thumbnail

"[Misokinesia] is defined as a strong negative affective or emotional response to the sight of someone else's small and repetitive movements, such as seeing someone mindlessly fidgeting with a hand or foot," a team of researchers, led by first author and psychologist Sumeet Jaswal, then at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, explained in a study published in 2021.

"Yet surprisingly, scientific research on the topic is lacking."

Related: Angry Outbursts Could Literally Be Putting Some People's Heart at Risk

To improve our understanding, Jawal and fellow researchers conducted what they said was the "first in-depth scientific exploration" of misokinesia  and the results indicate that heightened sensitivity to fidgeting is something a large number of people have to deal with.

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Across a series of experiments involving over 4,100 participants, the researchers measured the prevalence of misokinesia in a cohort of university students and people from the general population, assessing the impacts it had upon them, and exploring why the sensations might manifest.

Misokinesia creates strong emotional responses on seeing small, repetitive movements. (PeopleImages/Getty Images)

"We found that approximately one-third self-reported some degree of misokinesia sensitivity to the repetitive, fidgeting behaviors of others as encountered in their daily lives," the researchers explained.

"These results support the conclusion that misokinesia sensitivity is not a phenomenon restricted to clinical populations, but rather, is a basic and heretofore under-recognized social challenge shared by many in the wider, general population."

According to the analysis, misokinesia sometimes goes hand in hand with the sound-sensitivity of misophonia, but not always.

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The phenomenon seems to vary significantly among individuals, with some people reporting only low sensitivity to fidgeting stimuli, while others feel highly affected.

"They are negatively impacted emotionally and experience reactions such as anger, anxiety, or frustration as well as reduced enjoyment in social situations, work, and learning environments," explained UBC psychologist Todd Handy.

"Some even pursue fewer social activities because of the condition.".

Handy began researching misokinesia after a partner told him he was a fidgeter and confessed she felt stress when he fidgeted (or anybody else for that matter).

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"As a visual cognitive neuroscientist, this really piqued my interest to find out what is happening in the brain," Handy said.

So, the million-dollar question stands: Why do we find fidgeting so annoying?

In the study, the researchers ran tests to see if people's misokinesia might originate in heightened visual-attentional sensitivities, amounting to an inability to block out distracting events occurring in their visual periphery.

The results based on early experiments were inconclusive on that front, with the researchers finding no firm evidence that reflexive visual attentional mechanisms substantively contribute to misokinesia sensitivity.

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While we're still only at the outset then of exploring where misokinesia may spring from on a cognitive level, the researchers do have some hypothetical leads for future research.

"One possibility we want to explore is that their 'mirror neurons' are at play," Jaswal said.

"These neurons activate when we move but they also activate when we see others move For example, when you see someone get hurt, you may wince as well, as their pain is mirrored in your own brain."

By extension, it's possible that misokinesia-prone people might be unconsciously empathizing with the psychology of fidgeters. And not in a good way.

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"A reason that people fidget is because they're anxious or nervous so when individuals who suffer from misokinesia see someone fidgeting, they may mirror it and feel anxious or nervous as well," Jaswal said.

As to whether that's what's really going on here with misokinesia, only further research into the phenomenon will be able to say for sure. A follow-up study conducted by Jaswal in 2024 on 21 volunteers found the condition may be linked to challenges in disengaging from a stimulus, rather than about the initial distraction.

One thing is certain though. From the results seen here, it's clear that this unusual phenomenon is much more usual than we realized.

"To those who are suffering from misokinesia, you are not alone," Handy said. "Your challenge is common and it's real."

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The findings are reported in Scientific Reports.

An earlier version of this article was published in September 2021.

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The U.S. Armys new missile defense radar has landed in Guam and is preparing to be put to the test.

The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, arrived in Guam earlier this month with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll visiting Task Force Talon, the unit that will manage the LTAMDS radars on the island, over the weekend.

Defense News broke the news earlier this year that the Army would be sending the Raytheon-developed LTAMDS prototype radars to the strategic island as part of a larger effort initiated by the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. The Army hopes to test the advanced technology in real-life formations even before the development phase has formally concluded.

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Our soldiers on Guam are at the tip of the spear for homeland defense and deserve the very best, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told Defense News in a statement.

We deployed the brand new [LTAMDS] radar to exercise in an operational environment. This radar will significantly improve the range and lethality of our weapon systems, he said. Were thrilled to test it in the [Indo-Pacific Command] region and continue making improvements as it comes online.

The Army is already beginning to integrate the sensors for testing and experimentation in order to continue to refine its capabilities in a real-world environment rather than within the confines of a testing range in the U.S.

The Pentagon is in the midst of developing a robust air-and-missile defense architecture to defend Guam from evolving threats.

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LTAMDS is slated to be a part of a comprehensive air-and-missile defense shield, which is currently under development on the island.

As the hostilities posed by China continues to grow, the Defense Department had pledged to deliver a foundational capability to help stave off a potential attack directed at Guam by the end of 2024. That schedule has slipped.

Guam is an island of nearly 170,000 people that sits in a vulnerable position  it is closer to Beijing than it is to Hawaii. The island plays host to a significant amount of U.S. combat power and would therefore be an attractive target for China in the event of a war in the Taiwan Strait.

LTAMDS joins the Armys major missile defense asset there, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System, or THAAD, which has been deployed to Guam since 2013.

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The service developed LTAMDS to replace the current radar in Patriot air-and-missile defense systems, improving its detection and discrimination capability and giving it the ability to see threats from 360 degrees.

In addition to the two prototypes on Guam, the Army also plans to send another LTAMDS radar to Guam in 2027.

The Army approved LTAMDS for low-rate initial production in April. The service has been working to replace its aging Patriot system for over 15 years, initially running a competition for a full system before canceling those plans in favor of developing a new command-and-control system and radar separately.

The service awarded Raytheon a contract in 2019 to deliver prototypes over five years. Building the radar rapidly was an ambitious challenge and the Army decided to keep the sensor in testing for an extra year to ensure it was fully mature and ready for prime time.

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LTAMDS went through eight major missile flight tests along with roughly 10,000 hours of other testing, including radiate time, radar tracking time and testing against wind, rain, dust and road marches. The system is expected to reach full-rate production in 2028.

This fall, LTAMDS will participate in operational testing on Guam as part of the Armys Transformation in Contact initiative that puts new capability directly into the hands of soldiers that will operate it prior to formal fielding in order to further to refine the system and inform how it will be used in realistic operations.
MAGNOLIA, N.C. (WNCT)  UPDATE: Katherine Holmes has been found and is reportedly safe.

The Magnolia Police Department in North Carolina is searching for 23-year-old Katherine Holmes, who has been missing since July 29.

Katherine Holmes, also known as Kat or Kit-Kat, age 23, has been missing since July 29 after leaving her mothers home in Magnolia, North Carolina.

Her family is concerned for her safety and is seeking help from the public to locate her. Holmes is described as being 52 tall and 196 lbs, and was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt, black shorts, black sandals, and a black bonnet.

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She may be in the Warsaw or Kenansville area, but could be anywhere. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call (910)-296-1911 or message the family directly.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT.
CHICAGO  A search is underway for a man who Chicago police say went missing on Thursday and may be in need of medical attention.

According to police, 77-year-old Anthony Pulli has been missing since Thursday, July 31.

The missing man was last spotted near the 5000 block of North Kenmore Avenue, in Uptown on the Far north Side.

Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines

The missing man, who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs around 170 pounds, is bald with some gray hair and has hazel eyes.

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Additionally, a photo provided by Chicago police of the missing man shows him with a gray beard, though it is unclear if he had one at the time of his disappearance.

Photo provided by Chicago police shows 77-year-old Anthony Pulli, who officers say has been missing since July 31, 2025.

Details about the missing mans disappearance were shared by police in a news release on Friday, but officers did not say he was last seen wearing.

In the release, police also indicated that Pulli may be in need of medical attention, but did not disclose why.

LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 77-year-old Anthony Pulli is asked to contact the CPD Area Three SVU at 312-744-8266 or dial 911.

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Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously.

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WASHINGTON  Senators moved to swiftly replenish the Pentagon's ammunition stockpiles, citing concerns they've been severely depleted by the Ukraine war and the Trump administration's two-month bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26-3 on July 31 to approve a version of next year's defense policy bill that jacks up the Pentagon's $9 billion request to buy and produce ammunition by another $7.3 billion.

"Recent operations in the Middle East illustrate how quickly modern warfare can exhaust our arsenal of critical munitions," Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, the committee's chairman, said on July 31. "The administrations request did not fully maximize production capacity for certain critical munitions."

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Sen. Chris Coons, the defense subcommittee's top Democrat, told reporters it was one of the main areas that lawmakers want to fund far beyond what the Trump administration requested.

"Recent experiences like the counter-Houthi campaign in the Red Sea, for example, demonstrates how quickly we're going through advanced munitions," Coons said.

"Keeping pace with resupply to Ukraine has been a challenge," he added.

Concerns about U.S. weapons stocks arose in July after the Pentagon paused deliveries to Ukraine for weeks during a "capability review" to ensure it had enough weapons for U.S. needs. Some lawmakers have said worries over U.S. stockpiles running low don't justify cutting off Ukraine's weapons.

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The Pentagon keeps its inventory of munitions classified. Its initial budget request included $2.5 billion to expand missiles and munitions production, and another $1.3 billion for "supply chain improvements," the Defense Department said.

The Department "has robust air defense capabilities to protect American personnel and interests around the globe," it said in a statement. "We will not go into our inventory due to operational security, however I can tell you that the DOD [Defense Department] remains postured to respond to any threat."

Houthi attacks burned through munitions

President Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, at an unspecified location in this handout image released March 15, 2025.

President Donald Trump's bombing campaign against Houthi militants in Yemen  dubbed Operation Rough Rider  put a dent in U.S. stockpiles.

In less than two months, the Pentagon spent at least $500 million on weapons on the operation, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly. Add in the cost of operations and the loss of several aircraft, and the bill tops $1 billion. It also attacked Houthi targets with some of the U.S. military's most sophisticated weapons, said the official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

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A Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity also said the operation had burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons.

The Defense Department has not informed Congress of how much the operation expended, the aide said.

Over the course of the operation, two F/A-18E planes, valued at around $60 million apiece, accidentally slipped off aircraft carriers and sank into the Red Sea. The Houthis also downed nine MQ-9 Reaper drones, according to reports. Those cost $270 million in total.

Ukraine has used U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to defend against Russian drone and missile attacks.

Trump abruptly cut off the operation on May 6, claiming that the Houthis "say they will not be blowing up ships anymore."

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That isn't how the conflict played out. The Houthis attacked and sank a Greek cargo ship in the past week and claimed responsibility for a missile launched towards the Israeli city of Jaffa.

The Iran-backed group reiterated on July 27 its vow to attack any commercial ships destined for Israeli ports, no matter their country of origin, to pressure Israel to lift its blockade and siege of Gaza.

Senators zero in on air defense

Out of the $7.3 billion funding increase, the Senate Appropriations Committee wants $5.2 billion to buy more of those weapons.

The remaining $2.1 billion would cover the cost of boosting production lines for advanced air defense, chief among them coveted air defense interceptors, including Patriot and THAAD missile systems, which can take out ballistic missiles.

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Patriots play an increasingly important role for Ukraine as Russia's missile and drone attacks have increased in recent months to their highest intensity in three-plus years of war.

A ship fires missiles at an undisclosed location, after President Donald Trump launched military strikes against Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis over the group's attacks against Red Sea shipping, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released on March 15, 2025.

Trump said on July 13 he would send Ukraine "Patriots, which they desperately need." European allies have also offered to finance the weapons systems for Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on July 25 that Germany would pay for two systems, and Norway for one.

Israel has used THAAD batteries provided by the United States to defend against volleys of Iranian missiles, including during the 12-day aerial war between the two countries in June.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: More missiles: Senators want to renew stockpiles after Houthi strikes




NEED TO KNOW

The U.S. Navy has identified Aviation Boatswains Mate (Launch/Recovery Equipment) Airman Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV as the sailor missing from the USS George Washington

Rivera Lynch vanished from the aircraft carrier in the Timor Sea, north of Australia

The extensive search for him was suspended on Wednesday, July 30





The U.S. Navy has identified a sailor who went missing during a training exercise while onboard the USS George Washington in the ocean north of Australia.

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On Wednesday, July 30, USS George Washington spokesperson, Lieutenant Commander Mark Langford, confirmed in an email to PEOPLE that it was "with a heavy heart" that the search for the sailor had been suspended as of that day.

It comes after the U.S. Navy announced that they had responded to reports of a possible sailor overboard in the Timor Sea, in a Monday, July 28 release.

The missing male has now been identified as Aviation Boatswains Mate (Launch/Recovery Equipment) Airman Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV, per a release posted online and obtained by PEOPLE, alongside a photograph of the sailor.

U.S. Navy courtesy photo Airman Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV Airman Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV

The aircraft carrier is currently operating in the Timor Sea as part of the multinational Talisman Sabre 25 exercise organized by Australia and the U.S., per USNI News.

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"After more than 45 hours of continuous search and rescue efforts covering roughly 2,200 square miles, the U.S. Navy and Australian Defence and Australian Border Forces suspended search efforts in the Timor Sea on July 30," the release shared on Friday, Aug. 1, stated, noting that the search had involved multiple U.S. Navy vessels.

Rivera Lynch had enlisted in the Navy in June of 2024, before reporting to USS George Washington in January, the statement added.

The Asahi Shimbun via Getty A photo of the USS George Washington A photo of the USS George Washington

Captain Tim Waits, commanding officer of the USS George Washington, said, Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of our shipmate, Airman Rivera Lynch."

I am sincerely grateful for the support and coordination from all units who assisted in the search effort, including our partners from the Australian Defence Force and Border Force," he added in the release.

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Rear Admiral Eric Anduze, commander, Carrier Strike Group 5, shared, Our thoughts and prayers remain with Airman Rivera Lynch's family, friends, and shipmates during this incredibly difficult time."

The courage and dedication shown by all personnel involved in this operation exemplifies the professionalism and commitment that defines our Navy," he continued, per the release.

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty A photo of the USS George Washington A photo of the USS George Washington

The release confirmed that the search for the missing sailor involved "U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 77, HSM 51, Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG 86)."

"Fixed wing aircraft attached to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, two P-8 Poseidon aircraft and patrol boat from the Australian Defence Force, Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Cape Otway, and an Australian Border Force Dash-8 aircraft [also] assisted in the search," the post added.

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The George Washington was carrying out its first patrol since returning to Japan in November 2024, USNI News reported.

The Australian Defence Force didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.

Read the original article on People
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56)  Franklin County deputies are asking for the publics help finding a teen who was reported missing.

The sheriffs office posted on Facebook around 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 1 asking for help finding 16-year-old Jeremiah Cole.

According to law enforcement, he was last seen in the Preston Way area of Frankfort

Authorities said Cole is 6 feet, 1 inch tall, weighing 140 pounds. Per photos shared by deputies online, he also has dark hair and may be wearing glasses.

Deputies with the Franklin County Sheriffs Office are asked for help on Aug. 1 finding Jeramiah Cole, 16. (Franklin county Sheriffs Office)

Cole was last seen in the area of Preston Way in Frankfort. (Franklin County Sheriffs Office)

Cole was also reported missing on July 28, per a Facebook post from the sheriffs office, but was later located safely on July 29.

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Anyone with information that could help find Cole is asked to contact the FCSO dispatch at (502) 875-8582. Anonymous tips can also be sent to deputies over Facebook Messenger.

This is a developing story. Stay with FOX 56 News for updates.

Camille Hantla contributed to this story.

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JACKSON COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV)  Jackson County deputies said a man was arrested for kidnapping his ex-girlfriend in Alabama and for sexually assaulting her.

Deputies responded to the Circle K gas station in St. Martin around 9:00 a.m. on July 31 after receiving a call about a kidnapping.

Vehicle recovery worker shot multiple times in South Jackson

When deputies arrived, the victim said she was kidnapped from her home in Alabama by Melvin Hill and sexually assaulted in multiple jurisdictions. They said she was able to escape from Hill after running into the convenience store and alerting employees.

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According to investigators, Hill was arrested by deputies as he attempted to flee back to Alabama. He was transported to the Jackson County Adult Detention Center. Hill was charged with kidnapping, motor vehicle theft and sexual battery.

Melvin Hill (Courtesy: Jackson County Sheriffs Office)

Deputies said additional charges in neighboring jurisdictions are forth coming.

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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV)  Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R-Miss.) announced applications are now available for funding from the Victims of Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation Fund.

Working together, we can put an end to human trafficking in our State, said Fitch. I am pleased to announce that the 2025 application period for the Victims of Human Trafficking Fund is now open, and organizations that are helping human trafficking victims recover and heal are invited to apply. Applications must be received by August 28.

72 arrests made in Mississippi human trafficking operation

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The fund is managed by a seven-member committee, including appointees by the Attorney General, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, and Commissioner of Child Protection Services, and one representative of a services provider. The fund is administered by the Attorney Generals Office.

Since its establishment, the Committee has distributed $8.5 million for human trafficking victim services.

Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. CT on August 28, 2025.

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LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo.  A Missouri foster mother accused of trading a child for an exotic monkey is out on bond, several months after her arrest.

According to Missouri court records, Brenda Deutsch, 70, posted a $5,000 bond on July 14, which represents 10% of the $50,000 bond originally ordered.

Deutsch was released from jail under several bond conditions, including surrendering her passport, remaining in Missouri, wearing a GPS monitoring device, having no contact with victims and having no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, according to court documents.

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The Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorneys Office previously charged Deutsch with endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of abuse or neglect in connection with the case.

A probable cause statement from the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office indicates an anonymous call was made to social services in November alleging abuse. Authorities say the Winfield School District reported excessive absences involving the child in February.

Child accidentally shoots brother with rifle left on the couch

Sometime that month, a school resource officer was notified about the child missing school. As the school began investigating, they learned the child was in Texas. The SRO was told a rumor that the child was exchanged to an individual in Texas for a monkey.

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The probable cause statement also details several alleged instances of abuse. Deutsch is accused of hitting the child with a paddle, wooden trim from walls, and shoes. Deutsch also accused of taking clothes from the child and not providing enough food.

According to previous FOX 2 reports, Deutsch had fostered hundreds of children and allegedly had more than 200 hotline calls linked to her address before her arrest.

Deutsch has a case review hearing scheduled for Sept. 26, according to Missouri court records.

NOTE: Video attached to this story is from FOX 2s April 2025 coverage of Deutschs arrest.

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HONOLULU (KHON2)  Mixology Month starts in August at the International Market Place and will be filled to the brim with special drink offerings and ono appetizers. You can also cheer on your favorite bartender at the Battle of The Bartenders on Aug. 13, 20 and 27 at 4 p.m.!

Check out more news from around Hawaii

The following restaurants will have unique Mixology Month offerings: Eating House 1849, Stripsteak Waikiki, Kuhio Avenue Food Hall and Moani Waikiki. Be sure to collect your purchase receipts, you can redeem them for a special tiki cup if you spend a total of $350!

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Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news

For more details head over to the malls website.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Both drivers involved in a deadly April crash along Donelson Pike have been charged, according to an update from Metro police.

On April 18, at around 6:30 a.m. at the entrance ramp to Interstate 40 East, a Chevrolet Silverado was reportedly traveling north along Donelson Pike when it approached a yellow light. Metro police said a Mercury Mystique turned in front of the Silverado, causing the vehicle to strike the passenger side door of the Mystique.

ORIGINAL STORY | La Vergne woman killed in crash along Donelson Pike

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The Mystiques passenger, later identified as 56-year-old Kimberly Odell of La Vergne, died from injuries sustained in the crash at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

(Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN)

On Thursday, the MNPD said the alleged driver of the Silverado, identified as 47-year-old Curt Scott of Smyrna, surrendered himself to authorities. He has been charged with vehicular homicide by reckless conduct and aggravated assault.

Man facing numerous charges following Allen County crash

Police added that an investigation revealed Scott had been traveling 54 miles per hour in a zone with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour.

Additionally, police issued an arrest warrant charging the driver of the Mystique, 42-year-old Derrius Sanders of Nashville, with driving under the influence.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Interim Superintendent Catty Moore knew what she was stepping into when she agreed to steer a fiscal ship through waters roiled by a massive deficit and outrage from angry taxpayers wholl foot the bill in one way or another.

She did it anyway, and for public consumption at least, Moore has asked for neither pity nor grace while being turned away by county commissioners, and more than likely, state legislators after rattling the tin cup seeking bailouts for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.

She didnt bargain for this, said a longtime school employee whos come to sympathize with the interim superintendent. Shes just the clean-up woman.

Indeed.

But if even a fraction of the worst-case fears rippling out this week come true, the worst may be yet to come.

WS/FCS would need to take draconian measures to further reduce expenses  likely for years  to free up funds to pay this debt, wrote school board chair Deanna Kaplan in a letter requesting $50.1 million from the state legislature. Given the extensive cuts already made, we would not be able to shield schools and students from the impact of further reductions.

A hard hiring freeze, cutting open positions and layoffs have been teed up. A list of school closings floated recently could be one step nearer and plans for new construction mothballed.

And none of those things take into account a pending report from the state auditors office.

Bailout from NC lawmakers? Dont count on it

The other shoes, a veritable Imelda Marcos closetful (you can Google it, kids) has been dropping since the spring when the state Department of Public Instruction informed then-Superintendent Tricia McManus that Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools had blown a deadline for submitting an annual audit by four months.

The public soon learned the school system had run up some $16 million in debt  an amount that would change as often as the explanations for how it happened.

Best we can tell, if public proclamations are taken into account, is that the situation is complicated, the result of negligence rather than rank stupidity or theft and nobodys fault. It was a collective foul-up.

Still, in the eyes of the public at least, former chief financial officer Thomas Kranz and McManus are the most likely suspects followed closely by a school board that fell flat on oversight.

Whatever the answer, the debt has now blown past $46.1 million and almost certain to increase once the IRS swoops in. Moore said as much during a called school board meeting Tuesday and again Wednesday to another meeting with administrators.

One of the things that is more difficult for us as a district this year with Month 13 (bills from fiscal 2024-25 that arrive in July and August) is that expenditures coded for the year before can usually be paid with savings from that same year, Moore said Tuesday. But we have no carryover this year  no additional funds from within the year to do that.

So, whats to be done?

Unlike individuals whove maxed out a credit card, getting a second job or holding a yard sale  surplus buses up for auction online make fine Christmas gifts  wont work.

The school board has tried panhandling to little avail. Commissioners stomped on two soft bailout requests for $32.1 million and $18 million. A third request for $8.5 million seems destined for the same fate.

Ditto for the $50.1 million SOS sent to Raleigh.

Does anyone seriously think a General Assembly, hell-bent on diverting tens of millions from public education to cover private school vouchers, will bite?

How deep will the cuts go?

The rock having met the hard place, Moore and other school officials will have little recourse other than cutting more expenses.

Some could come from closing schools. Declining enrollment seems to justify it, though savings wouldnt be realized until 2026.

So, about the only place left to look is at the workforce. Any business owner whos ever met a payroll will tell you people are the most expensive item in a budget.

Some 80 jobs at Central Office, officials said, have been eliminated or consolidated. And earlier this week, Moore noted in an email that a departing deputy superintendents job wouldnt be filled and that a reorganization is underway.

Time and money will tell whether thats reshuffling deck chairs or actually substantive.

Meanwhile, principals are scrambling to protect what they have. Redundant district supervisors, the smart ones, are polishing resumes and others are busy looking busy.

Meanwhile, everyone awaits the auditors report. Moore said in June that its expected to detail missteps, mismanagement and lack of competence by the recently departed and reiterated that when she cautioned school employees that state accountants have been focused on the possibility of fraud.

That remains to be seen.

Stupidity isnt a crime. Spending public money without authorization, even for a legitimate purpose, is.

Catty Moore didnt ask for the broom. Yet here she is.

And for that she, more so than anyone else aboard the school system ship of state, deserves some grace. Whether she asked for it or not.
CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI)  The Cranston woman convicted in connection with her 9-month-old sons death will spend the next two years behind bars, 12 News has learned.

Katherine Castaneda, 30, was sentenced to 10 years, with two to serve, one-and-a-half on home confinement and the remainder on probation. Castenada was found guilty of manslaughter back in May.

Castaneda was taken into custody in June 2022, more than a year after her son, Jason Jay Jay Flores, was found unresponsive inside her Lincoln Avenue home. He was rushed to Hasbro Childrens Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

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The R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) later determined that Jay Jays death was a result of maltreatment.

Prosecutors said an autopsy revealed that the infant died from a complex skull fracture and an epidural hematoma.

Prior to her sentencing, Castaneda claimed she didnt know her son was injured and wouldve ensured he received treatment if she was made aware.

It did not happen with me, nor did anyone tell me about my son falling, Castaneda said. How was I supposed to know?

Jay Jays father, Jose Flores, asked the judge for leniency. Flores described Castaneda as a dedicated mother who would never intentionally hurt either of their children.

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She does not deserve this because she was the best mother, Flores said.

But Special Assistant Attorney General Shannon Signore argued that Castaneda acknowledged something was wrong with Jay Jay and chose not to do anything about it.

She did nothing but put him to bed, Signore said. He was dying that night.

Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Louis Matos explained that, although he has only received letters of support for Castaneda from the victims family, justice still has to be served in some form.

Baby Jay Jay isnt here, and his voice needs to be heard as well, Matos said.

Court records indicate that Castaneda has already filed an appeal.

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Mom fights for change after sons sudden loss

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A shooting on the side of the interstate claimed his life. John Ryan Ingram was only 23 years old.

About 2:00 that morning, I had had a dream that I was at Johns funeral, and I asked God, What are you trying to tell me?' Rhovonda Liggins said. I prayed, and I went back to sleep.

Liggins jumped out of bed hours later.

Banging and screaming. All I could hear was, Mom! Open the door! Mom, please come to the door! Johns been hurt! Liggins said.

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It was June 22. She found out Ingram was in the hospital.

Original Story: Man charged with murder after fatal interstate shooting

So actually on my way, I saw the accident, she said. I said then, I bet that is where my child was hurt.

The ER doctor confirmed her suspicion.

He said he had bad news. John is gone. Hes dead, she said as she held back tears. It was almost like I was having an out-of-body experience.

Her mind was filled with faith-shaking questions.

I felt like I had failed to keep him safe. That hurt. I had a conversation with him just a couple of weeks before that, Liggins said. I told him he was a good kid. He will go out of his way to help people, but I told him, John Ryan, youll be the one who ends up dead. Shot and killed. Everybody else will be okay, because youre such a good guy, youll be trying to help somebody. For that to happen exactly like I told him, rips me on the inside.

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Court records state that on Sunday morning, a car pulled over on I-240 near the Airways exit. They went on to state an argument escalated when Robert Hudson walked up to the car and pulled [a passenger] out by the hair.

Ingram tried to help her, but when he intervened, Hudson reportedly shot Ingram in the chest.

Hudson is charged with second-degree murder.

Man accused of fatal interstate shooting gets $800K bond

He was out on a $10,000 bond in connection to multiple people who were shot in a neighborhood in 2023.

His bond is now set at $800,000. The case is awaiting a grand jury.

My question is, why? Liggins said. You cant make me understand that. It hurts to see this precious city being torn apart by a few people that continue to perpetuate evil.

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Liggins vows to fight for change in her sons honor.

The mothers. Weve got to get together. Everybody that holds an office in Tennessee, we are going to have to bombard their offices with letters and visits. Everything we need to until we get laws changed, she said.

Dr. Benjamin Smith said he hears her call for action loud and clear. Hes the senior pastor at Ingrams church, Miracle Temple Ministries in Southaven.

Just listening to her, I still feel tears coming, he said. [Ingrams death] literally gave the church a cloud that we have not been able to recover from as of yet.

Smith said he will help Liggins fight for change. He stressed root issues must be addressed, people must get to know their neighbors again, offer support and prayer.

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I love this city, but Ive seen the decline in so many facets, he said  Ingrams death being one of them.

He was set to join the Air Force this month. He was funny, smart, caring and genuine. His mother said his laugh was infectious.

All of those things are things I miss. I never got to see him get married or have kids, she said.

Liggins has since found a journal in his room.

It was funny, because he said if you are not John, you should not be reading this journal, she said.

But she did.

Before his passing, he wrote, God is right beside me every step of the way.

Every page he talked about his relationship with God, she said.

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The journal now provides her some comfort.

It helps me. It helps me, she said. However, it does not bring him back.

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A woman was arrested on suspicion of attempting to bring fentanyl into a Los Angeles youth facility while visiting her child, according to a release from the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

Jeny Morenoparra, 42, was initially arrested in 2023 during a visit to the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar after a supervising deputy probation officer found her in possession of more than 30 pills that contained fentanyl, according to an additional release from the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Soon after the arrest, she was released while authorities reviewed the case, the department said. In May, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said in a statement that he reopened the case and filed an arrest warrant for Morenoparra.

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"Fentanyl is too dangerous a threat  50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine  to not treat its lethality with the seriousness and immediacy it requires," Hochman said.

Read more: Body scanners? Drug-sniffing dogs? L.A. County wants a contraband crackdown inside juvenile hall

Morenoparra was taken into custody on July 11 by the Probation Department's Special Enforcement Operations team, the statement said.

She will appear Friday in the San Fernando Courthouse, where she faces felony counts of bringing an illegal substance into a jail facility, employment of a minor to sell or carry a narcotic and possession for sale of a controlled substance.

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"Introducing drugs into a secure facility endangers public safety and lives, and undermines rehabilitation," Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a news release. "We appreciate the District Attorney's focus on accountability and public safety."

Earlier this month, The Times reported that the same juvenile hall was deemed "unsuitable" for holding youths by the Board of State and Community Corrections. In an inspection report, the board reported that staff members of the facility were inadequately trained, inattentive to juveniles during safety checks and unfairly confined youth to their rooms.

The case remains under investigation, authorities said.



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RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD)  The mother of the man accused of stabbing 11 people at the Walmart in Traverse City said her son needs help for the mental illness that drove him to the kind of violence she didnt think he was capable of.

Beverly Gille said the mental health system failed her son and society.

Brad was scared, she told News 8 on Thursday. I can guarantee you he was scared. Thats not Brad. That is somebody else. Thats not my son. Hes very, very ill.

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Walmart stabbing victims mom: Suspect looked more scared than those hurt

Her son, Bradford Gille, 42, is in the Grand Traverse County Jail on charges of attempted murder and terrorism.

Gille said she barely recognized the man she saw on the TV news the day after the July 26 stabbings  her son, accused of the rampage that sent 11 people to the hospital.

Her son Brads childhood photo is the screen saver on her phone. It was taken at his third or fourth birthday at La Senorita Restaurant in Petoskey. He was born in California, the youngest of three boys who were raised in northern Michigan.

He had a sense of humor, she said. He kept us laughing. He was great. He was enjoyable to have, you know. Just a typical little boy, you know.

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Then, at 14, she said, he smoked marijuana, still his drug of choice, but that time laced with something. They were living in Pellston.

He came in and got on his knees. He goes, Mom, Im in trouble. He said, I had some bad pot,' she recalled. Dad was there, were like holding him, trying to calm him down and it just got worse. He got into a fetal position. We wrapped him up in a blanket, and we took him to ER.

We lost Brad at 14. We lost him. But we never stopped loving him.

Traverse City Walmart stabbing suspect had history of digging up bodies

Since then, theyve lived through nearly three decades of psychotic episodes, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and assaults against her and her husband  one that sent her to the hospital.

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Beverly Gille said she lost track of how many times her son was institutionalized, only to be released and then stop taking his meds. He was off and on homeless. A mental health worker had warned her not to let him live with her, she said. She and her husband, who died of Covid-19 in 2021, had tried without success to get guardianship.

Her sons mental condition has put her family through hell and back, and hell again. And hell again, again, again.

He was living off Social Security disability, taking bus trips around the country.

There was the bus trip when he was about 30 to Pennsylvania and Ohio, where he was caught running naked down a highway.

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In 2016, he dug up a grave at a cemetery in Petoskey, with a shovel stolen from Home Depot, leading to his arrest, a not guilty by reason of insanity plea, and a court-ordered year in a psychiatric hospital.

He thought his dad was there, and he needed to get his dad out of the tomb, she said. He needed to get him out of there, and that was his goal and you know? Thats mental illness.

Bond raised to $1 million for suspect in Traverse City Walmart stabbing

She believes the mental health system could have done more.

They didnt handle him well. I mean, hes a very, very sick man now, and he was my child. He was a wonderful little boy and then he got sick, and hes not going to get better unless hes treated and he has stability in his life. He needs a place to live, Beverly Gille said.

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She was especially frustrated that mental health workers would refuse to talk to her about her son, citing privacy, when all she wanted to do was help.

I just want to know my sons OK. Im not asking you where hes at, Im not asking you anything, but I want to know my sons OK if you know hes OK, and if hes sick tell me hes sick, she said.

She said she tried to track him through text messages, last hearing from him on July 24, a short time after yet another out-of-state bus trip. He said he was OK.

Two days later, her son is accused of stabbing 11 people in a rampage at Walmart in Traverse City  arrested after being subdued by Good Samaritans.

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Video: Group appears to confront, stop suspect in Michigan Walmart stabbing

She learned about it while watching the news the next morning  recognizing his face on TV.

Im mom, to my child, and to see him do that is just  When I saw him, his face, is that Brad, is that Brad? I knew when they said hes 42 years old, I knew it was him. Because I know how sick he can get, she said.

Beverly Gille said she feels horrible for the victims.

Its not Brad. Hes ill. Hes ill, she said.

She also had a message for the man who held her son at gunpoint until police arrived.

I want to thank him for not killing my son. I want to thank him for not doing that, she said.

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Bradford Gille is expected back in court next week. Hes being held on a $1 million bond. His mom hopes he gets help.

I would say, invest some good doctors in Brad. I would hope, I would pray that would happen for him, that hed get the help he deserves in his life.

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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY)  Several counties and state lawmakers in West Virginia have now officially opposed the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link (MARL), a high voltage transmission line that has been proposed to be built across several states.

This week, the Monongalia County Commission unanimously voted to formally oppose MARL, which, if it moves forward, would cut through the northern part of Monongalia County, as well as Preston County, Mineral County and Hampshire County in West Virginia. This follows a similar decision by the Preston County Commission back in May.

On Friday, Delegate Geno Chiarelli (R-Monongalia) announced that he has also decided to firmly oppose the transmission line project, echoing the stance of fellow Delegate David McCormick (R-Monongalia).

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This project may solve an energy transmission challenge for another state, but it would do so at the direct expense of our communities, Delegate Chiarelli said in a press release. It threatens property values, places undue burdens on our residents through rate increases and offers no tangible benefit to the people of West Virginia.

Rabid raccoon in Monongalia County bit person: Health Department

The MARL project by NextEra Energy would include building a 105-mile, 500-kV transmission line from Fredrick County, Virginia, to Greene County, Pennsylvania.

According to NextEra Energys website, the MARL will help power our communitys future by providing a stronger, more resilient grid built to support hospitals, emergency response, fire departments and other essential services. It even has a photo of downtown Morgantown on its website, although residents and officials in West Virginia question whether the state will see any impact.

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MCLEAN, Va. (DC News Now)  Months after the Trump Administrations upending of the federal workforce, D.C.-area former federal workers are still trying to land on their feet, while many fear that the region is heading towards an economic downturn.

During a roundtable discussion at the Mclean Government Center on July 31, former federal workers and contractors shared their stories with Fairfax County supervisors James Walkinshaw (Braddock) and Jimmy Bierman (Dranesville).

DC Council approves RFK Stadium deal in first vote

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One man said that he was set to take a federal research position upon completing his PhD. By the time hed completed the background check process to receive a security clearance, he learned there was no longer a government job for him. Now, hes considering job offers from European governments.

I was in the process Im getting my security clearance. After everything had been done, the case had been accepted, they canceled it. So it was $40,000 that the American taxpayer wasted on a singular security clearance, he said.

Others shared similar experiences; Theyre highly trained and skilled in specific fields without complementary private-sector roles. Reductions in force have left many underemployed or unemployed.

Virginia has posted six consecutive months of increasing unemployment claims.

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Walkinshaw, who is vying for Virginias 11th congressional district seat, which was left vacant by the late Gerry Connolly, said congressional action could prevent such rapid workforce downsizing in the future.

The first thing we can do is stop whats taking place. Theres legislation in Congress to reinstate federal employees who were fired because they were under probationary status, he said

He faces GOP challenger Stewart Whitson.

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Moorhead public works truck driver strikes, kills 9-year-old boy in crosswalk originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

A 9-year-old boy was killed when he was struck by a City of Moorhead public works truck driver on Thursday.

The Minnesota State Patrol confirmed that the boy was the victim of the incident at the intersection of 40th Avenue South and 14th Street South at around 11:45 a.m.

The boy was reportedly riding his bicycle in a crosswalk at the time he was struck by the 2018 Mack 700 Straight Truck, which was driven by a 64-year-old West Fargo man.

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The intersection at 40th and 14th is a four-way stop, and is next to SG Reinertsen Elementary School.

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Authorities are expected to identify the boy later on Friday.

The City of Moorhead has said the Minnesota State Patrol will be the investigating agency in the collision.

Few details about the circumstances of the collision have been released, and no arrests have been made.

Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcements latest version of events, and may be subject to change.

This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
DAVIESS COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)  Police in Daviess County are investigating a fatal crash that involved a FedEx truck that collided with another vehicle before striking an individual on a moped.

According to the Daviess County Sheriffs Office, the three-vehicle accident happened at the intersection of State Road 257 and U.S. 50 around 4:41 p.m. Thursday, July 31.

The sheriffs office said the initial investigation showed Gina Graber, of Loogootee, was driving a Ford SUV eastbound on U.S. 50 when a collision occurred at the intersection of U.S. 50 and S.R. 257 between her and a FedEx truck driven by Daniel Altmeyer, of Huntinburg, traveling southbound on S.R. 257.

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Single-vehicle wreck leaves one injured in Daviess Co.

The collision resulted in the FedEx truck hitting a moped stopped on the south side of the intersection, said the sheriffs office. The driver of the moped was identified as Jake Kuykendall, of Olney, Illinois.

As a result of the collision Mr. Kuykendall was thrown from the moped. He was transported to Daviess Community Hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Evansville where he passed away during the night. Mr. Kuykendalls family has been notified, said the Daviess County Sheriffs Office.

Multiple people dead following crash in Daviess County

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More 16- and 17-year-olds are gaining the right to vote. Could this become the norm?

Amid all the worries about the perennially elusive youth vote, theres a promising trend to talk about: In a growing number of towns and cities across the U.S., 16- and 17-year-olds are gaining the right to vote. The numbers are still small, but the momentum is real. Advocates say its about nurturing lifelong voters. Votebeat looks at the growing trend of youth voting.

Take Newark, New Jersey, which allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in its school board election in April. Teen turnout was only about 3%. But that was better than the adults managed. Besides, as Sam Novey from the University of Marylands Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement puts it, the city started from nothing.

Indeed, adding younger teens to the voter rolls involves building a lot of things from scratch. After Newark passed its ordinance last year allowing youth voting, officials had to rewire voter registration systems and launch a full-scale education campaign. It was about 14 months before 16- and 17-year-olds could cast their first ballots.

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Comparatively lightning fast, Novey said.

And theres a payoff to look forward to.

Research shows that those who are allowed to register and begin voting at 16 are more likely to vote later in life than their peers, said Joshua Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky. Its an important way to increase participation.

In short: Get em young, and theyll keep coming back. The act of voting becomes normal, even expected. And school, Douglas said, is an ideal environment for that first civic nudge  with teachers and peers available to discuss the issues.

The research Douglas cited looked at Scotland, which allowed 16-year-olds to vote in its 2014 independence referendum. The decision was initially controversial, but nothing bad happened, said Jan Eichhorn, a political science professor at the University of Edinburgh who studies youth participation and cowrote the study. Adults realized teenagers were paying attention, often more than adults.

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Public support for youth voting soared in Scotland after that.

The U.S. has been slower to move. The U.S. Constitution guarantees voting rights only for people 18 and older. But at the local level, things are heating up.

Right now, Maryland leads the way. Several municipalities there have already lowered the voting age for local races, taking advantage of state law that makes it easy for municipalities to accommodate registration and ballots for 16- and 17-year olds. A local council vote is enough to change quite a lot of election rules, including, for example, allowing noncitizens to cast ballots.

Compare that with Oakland, California, where voters approved youth voting back in 2020  only to have to wait four full years for Alameda County to get around to updating its registration systems, a much longer delay than Newark.

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In other words, even when the people say yes, the bureaucracy can say, Well get to it eventually.

Thats what Novey wants everyone to know: that lowering the voting age isnt just a matter of changing policy. It touches on a lot of different systems and issues, he said. Some cities might be able to handle the transition in-house, but others may need new tech, new training, and a lot of patience and support.

In Newark, one of the biggest forces behind the policy was the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Attorney Micauri Vargas, the associate counsel for the institutes Democracy & Justice program, who drafted the ordinance, said supporters knew it wasnt going to get done statewide, despite Gov. Phil Murphy mentioning it in his last two State of the State speeches. So they went local, to the states largest city, where the mayor and City Council were supportive  and, notably, where the movement had been started by the students.

Not everyone was cheering. People still just dont feel comfortable with young people having a say in what they think are only money matters, but they arent, Vargas said.

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Even some teenagers were skeptical. But then other young people would ask them if they trusted themselves, and they always said they did, Vargas said. They changed their minds.

This question is about more than voting rules. Its about trust  not just in systems, but in young peoples ability to shape them. And like Eichhorn said, some adults might just need to spend more time with teenagers to see what theyre capable of.

Of course, there are critics of expanding the franchise this way. Some argue that its a slippery slope, or that teenagers are too immature or uninformed to handle voting responsibly. But Douglas points out that we dont typically take voting rights away from adults on that basis  even ones who may be legally incompetent. Yet bright, informed 16-year-olds cant vote. Fair point.

For now, youth voting in America is a patchwork, enabled by quirks in local laws, driven by ambitious students, and supported by researchers like Novey and his Vote 16 Network, which offers best practices for cities.

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And its still far from mainstream. But so was same-day registration once. So was voting by mail. So was early voting. All of those ideas sounded radical at some point  until they didnt.

Chalkbeat Newark Bureau Chief Catherine Carrera contributed.

This story was produced by Votebeat and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
A group of state attorneys general, led by New York, has filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of mounting an unconstitutional pressure campaign against gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The lawsuit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, challenges actions taken by the Justice Department to investigate and halt gender-affirming care across the country.

The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration is pursuing a backdoor strategy to restrict gender-affirming care at the federal level through threats of criminal and civil penalties, while skirting state laws that protect transgender patients health care.

As federal investigations and funding threats roll out, hospitals across the country are shutting down their gender-affirming care programs for minors  including in areas where access to this care is protected by state law. Clinics and medical programs have shuttered in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois and Washington, D.C., among others  despite state laws that protect the cares legality. Multiple hospitals have attributed shuttering or pausing their gender-affirming care programs to President Donald Trumps executive orders and federal administrative actions, including the Yale health system and Denver Health in Colorado.

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The White House recently celebrated these closures as a direct result of Trumps executive orders.

The administrations actions put providers in an impossible position: either comply with unlawful federal threats or violate state laws that require nondiscriminatory access to medical care, New York Attorney General Letitia James office said in a statement.

James and other attorneys general suing the Trump administration argue that these actions are not based in law, since no federal statute prohibits gender-affirming care in the United States. Instead, these actions are an intimidation tactic to suppress the health care, the lawsuit alleges. Through the courts, they are attempting to halt the Justice Departments actions.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the attorneys general of states where gender clinics have recently shuttered, as well as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. They assert that gender-affirming care is legally protected in all of their states and that federal efforts to block that care violate states rights provided by the 10th Amendment.

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Over the past few months, federal agencies have begun to follow through on Trumps executive orders regarding gender-affirming care.

In early July, Chad Mizelle, chief of staff at the Justice Department, announced that the agency had launched at least 20 subpoenas into clinics involved in gender transition care, alongside subpoenas to drug manufacturers and investigations into hospitals providing the care. Doctors are being subpoenaed for patients private information, the New York Times reports. The agency is following the White House directive it received in January, via executive order, to broadly investigate gender-affirming care. In these directives, the Trump administration has incorrectly conflated the care with female genital mutilation.

The New York lawsuit challenges these actions, as well as FBI criminal investigations into three childrens hospitals that currently provide gender-affirming care or have done so in the past. Although the lawsuit is being brought against Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department, it also references other actions taken by federal agencies targeting gender-affirming care  including an all-day event hosted by the Federal Trade Commission. That event, titled the dangers of gender-affirming care for minors, is where the Justice Department first announced its subpoenas for confidential patient information.

Major medical groups including the American Medical Association, American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have endorsed gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The new president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which sets global standards for doctors and nurses providing health care to trans patients, has expressed concerns that banning gender-affirming care will simply drive the care underground and endanger patients.

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Transgender people, as well as the families and parents of transgender youth, are feeling increasingly worried and scared as the Trump administration targets their identities and their health care. For years, states have banned gender-affirming care for minors in red states and through Republican-controlled legislatures; but now, with the crackdown taking place on a national level, trans people living in blue states and liberal cities face the same threat.

The post More than a dozen states sue to protect gender-affirming care from federal investigations appeared first on The 19th.

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Officials in 16 states and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit Friday to block the Trump administrations investigations into hospitals and doctors who provide transition-related care to minors.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the administration, by threatening to prosecute providers, is trying to institute a national ban on puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries for transgender minors even though Congress has enacted no such federal ban.

The federal government is running a cruel and targeted harassment campaign against providers who offer lawful, lifesaving care to children, New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is leading the coalition of states in the suit, said in a statement. This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and are putting countless lives at risk in the process. In New York and nationwide, we will never stop fighting for the dignity, safety, and basic rights of the transgender community.

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More than half of states have laws that restrict or completely ban transition care for minors. Care is legal in all of the states that joined Fridays complaint. They are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, as well as Washington, D.C.

Within days of his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict such care nationwide for anyone under 19 years old. Among its provisions, the order sought to bar federal funding from going to medical schools and hospitals that provide such care. As a result of the order, several hospitals announced they were pausing transition care for people under 19. Multiple judges blocked that part of the order, and many hospitals resumed care.

Despite the injunction, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo in April that said the Justice Department would use a variety of existing laws to investigate providers of gender-affirming care for minors. According to Fridays complaint, the DOJ has issued guidance that threatens baseless civil and criminal prosecution of providers, and, just last month, issued more than 20 subpoenas to providers of such care across the country demanding that they give the federal government private patient information.

The lawsuit, which names Trump, Bondi and the DOJ as defendants, challenges Trumps executive order seeking to restrict access to transition care for minors, Bondis April memo and another June memo from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate that directed the DOJs Civil Division to prioritize investigations into doctors who provide such care.

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The complainants, 16 attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania, argue that transition care is legally protected in all of their states and that federal attempts to block the care trammel on State power in violation of the Tenth Amendment. They also argue that the administrations actions force providers to make an impossible choice of either defying the federal threats or complying and violating their states laws against discrimination in medical care.

These efforts to chill the provision of healthcare for adolescents  even in states where such care is legal and protected  show that the Agency Defendants have adopted and are engaged in a systematic effort to leverage the threat of criminal and civil enforcement to eliminate medically necessary care for transgender adolescents in the United States, the complaint states.

Taylor Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that Americans support Trump's efforts to stop "the despicable mutilation and chemical castration of children," using inflammatory language to describe transition care.

"The President has the lawful authority to protect Americas vulnerable children through executive action, and the Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue," Rogers said.

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A DOJ spokesperson, when asked to comment on the lawsuit, said in a statement, "As Attorney General Bondi has made clear, this Department of Justice will use every legal and law enforcement tool available to protect innocent children from being mutilated under the guise of care.

As the DOJ has opened investigations into some providers of transition care for minors, a rising number of hospitals  including those in states without laws that restrict trans health care  have announced that they plan to close their youth gender clinics.

Just in the last two months, the Childrens Hospital of Richmond at VCU, Yale New Haven Health, Connecticut Childrens Medical Center, Childrens National Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, UChicago Medicine and the Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles have announced they will end gender-affirming care programs for minors and, in most cases, anyone under 19.

The complaint notes that the administration has celebrated these announcements, pointing to a press release from the administration last week titled, President Trump Promised to End Child Sexual Mutilation  and He Delivered.

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These changes have been touted by Defendants as precisely what was intended by their unlawful and disingenuous targeting: the end of healthcare for transgender individuals under 19, the complaint states.

The plaintiffs ask the court to declare unconstitutional the portion of Trumps order that would bar federal funding from going to hospitals that provide transition care to people under 19 and prohibit the DOJ from enforcing the memos from Bondi and Shumate.

Nearly all major medical associations in the United States, such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, support access to transition-related care for minors and oppose restrictions on it.

Some European countries have restricted access to such care, but only the United Kingdom has indefinitely banned new prescriptions of puberty blockers to treat minors for gender dysphoria, the medical term for the distress caused by a misalignment between someones birth sex and gender identity.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
This story has been updated to reflect the latest number of people arrested.

Cincinnati's mayor and police chief expect more arrests and charges in the viral street fight that has drawn national attention, they said in a press conference Aug. 1.

They also unveiled how they will increase police presence in Downtown, including a bike patrol on and around Fountain Square and using Ohio State Highway Patrol officers for traffic details on highways.

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The press conference came nearly a week after the July 26 street fight in the Downtown business district. Three people have been arrested after videos of the fight have gone viral, becoming part of a broader national argument about politics, crime and race.

Multiple videos of the 3 a.m. fight Downtown circulated on social media over the weekend, showing a fight breaking out in a crowd. In one, people threw punches, kicked and jeered as a man on the ground tried to fend off the blows and a woman tumbled to the concrete, bloody and disoriented.

Here are six takeaways from the press conference on how city leaders are addressing the fallout from the fight and the rising concerns over crime.

Attorney: Video shows racial slurs that 'triggered' downtown Cincinnati brawl

Dozens of community leaders stood with the mayor

Mayor Aftab Pureval speaks during a press conference on Aug. 1, 2025, at a press conference at Riverfront Park in Cincinnati.

Dozens of community leaders flanked Mayor Aftab Pureval, Police Chief Teresa Theetge and City Manager Sheryl Long as they addressed the media in a room below the carousel along the city's riverfront. They included activist and pastor, Rev. Damon Lynch III, multiple City Council members, Visit Cincy President Julie Calvert and activist and city consultant Iris Roley.

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Pureval called for unity.

"Too many Cincinnatians don't feel safe," Pureval said. "We have to make the city safer right now."

More arrests likely

Six people have been charged with felonious assault and aggravated rioting, four of which have been arrested, Theetge said. Police are still looking for the other two and will name them when they're apprehended, she said. They plan to release more footage of the incident next week, she said.

"This remains an open investigation, and I assure you, we will not stop until justice is fully served," Theetge said.

Others could be charged, the mayor said, but she wouldn't provide specifics.

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"This incident will require further investigation, further charges and further arrests for every single person involved," Pureval said.

'Slapper' being investigated

Some videos show a man slapping another individual, which led to the brawl's escalation. The city is actively investigating him, Pureval said.

Lynch raised the question of why only Black people in the video have been arrested.

"When I see the mugshots, I only see people who look like me," Lynch said. "I don't see the person who ... slapped another Black man. So I don't see the slapper's mugshot."

Mayor Aftab Pureval speaks during a press conference on Aug. 1

Lynch recounted what he saw in the videos. He said a Black man and White man were engaged in a verbal altercation. He said a second Black man stepped in and try to calm things down. Then, the White man reengaged and slapped a third Black man.After that happened, Lynch said the White man was met with "disproportionate force."

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The police have reached out to the man who administered the slap but were stopped by the man's attorney, Theetge said.

"The counsel said, 'No,'" she said. "He did not want the police talking to his client. So therefore we have not had a conversation with him yet."

11 officers were in Downtown business district during fight

Cincinnati police had 11 officers in the Central Business District at the time of the fight between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., Theetge said. They assign the number of officers based on historically what has been needed at that time. She said normally things quiet down after 2 a.m. for that particular weekend, which included the Cincinnati Music Festival at Paycor Stadium, she said.

"So this is a weekend that we've had for many years, music festival, Reds games, whatever's going on," Theetge said. "This is not new territory for us as far as policing. We work with a schedule that we think is best for the events that are occurring."

Police will be more visible downtown

The mayor and police chief outlined steps they will take immediately to address concerns over rising crime.

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People will see more police on downtown streets, Pureval said.

"They're going to see police officers on foot," Pureval said. "They're going to see police officers on bike patrols. They're going to see police officers in squad cars. They're going to see police officers on Segways and on Segways that have three wheels. We are prioritizing visibility in our urban core in order to not just maintain safety, but to make sure people feel safe when they're going out."

Pureval and Theetge announced a new bike patrol that will patrol the area around Fountain Square. He didn't say how many officers would be part of that bike patrol.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Pureval spoke on Wednesday, with the governor agreeing to send Ohio Highway Patrol troopers to help. Troopers will work traffic details on the highways to free up Cincinnati police to patrol and investigate in the urban core, Pureval said. This will last on a week-by-week basis until it's deemed no longer necessary, Pureval said.

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Theetge said the Hamilton County Police Chiefs Association will form a committee of law enforcement and judges to look at ways to reform the justice system and "work for a safer Cincinnati." She didn't reveal any more specifics about the new committee.

Mayor, council member critical of how city is being portrayed

Pureval and others took aim at those who they see as sensationalizing the event.

"The racial dynamics of this fight are unavoidable, and some have cynically used the opportunity to divide us along racial lines," Pureval said. "That is a choice we must reject."

Councilman Scotty Johnson, who chairs City Council's public safety committee, slammed the media for fixating on the fight and the divisiveness.

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"When you continuously run a loop where you have national leaders that are speaking irresponsible, showing Black and White people trying to knock each other's heads off," Johnson said, "what role do you play, media, in continually showing that level of violence?"

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mayor, city officials respond to fallout from Cincinnati street fight
More Twin Cities highway shutdowns this weekend. Here's what you should know originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

Additional closures are coming this weekend to major Twin Cities highways, including a long stretch of Interstate 694 in the north metro, as a busy season of road construction continues.

From late Friday to early Monday, more than six miles of eastbound I-694 will be closed between Brooklyn Center and Arden Hills; portions of I-94, I-35E and U.S. Highway 52 will be closed in St. Paul; and a small stretch of State Highway 5 in both directions will be closed in Eden Prairie.

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All four closures will be in effect from 10 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday

The following information is from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Rachel Ryan

I-694 closure in the north metro

Eastbound I-694 will be closed between Shingle Creek Parkway in Brooklyn Center and Snelling Avenue in Arden Hills.

Motorists can detour north on Hwy. 169, east on Highway 610 and Highway 10, then south on I-35W to the Highway 10 diagonal to reach the eastbound interstate. Drivers may also travel east on I-94 from the west end of the closure to reach Minneapolis.

All ramps to and from the interstate along eastbound I-694 will close starting at 7 p.m. Friday and there will also be no access to the eastbound interstate from cross streets in the project area.

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At the same time, the ramps from northbound and southbound I-35W to eastbound I-694 will close and drivers are encouraged to use Highway 36 and I-35E to reach eastbound I-694. Access from southbound I-35W and the eastbound Highway 10 diagonal to Snelling Avenue and the eastbound interstate will remain open in Arden Hills.

I-94 closure in St. Paul

Westbound I-94 will be closed between I-35E and Highway 280, as crews continue work on nine bridges over I-94 and I-35E in St. Paul.

Traffic will be directed from northbound I-35E to Highway 36 to southbound Highway 280.

The Marion Street bridge over I-94 is also closed through late September.

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MnDOT has more info on the bridge replacement project, which requires additional periodic weekend closures of I-94 and partial bridge closures throughout the summer and fall.

Minnesota Department of Transportation

I-35E closure in St. Paul

Southbound I-35 E will be closed between University Ave. and I-494, also as a result of bridge maintenance.

Traffic will primarily be directed from eastbound I-94 to Highway 52 to westbound I-494. There will be an alternate I-35 E detour for Saturday from midnight to 5 a.m. where traffic will be directed from eastbound I-94 to Highway 10 to eastbound I-494.

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Highway 52 closure in St. Paul

Northbound Highway 52 will close between I-94 and Cesar Chavez Street/Concord Street, as crews work on the emergency repair of a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the roadway, which was damaged by an overweight load.

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Signs will direct drivers to detour using I-494, Highway 61 and I-94.

Highway 5 closure in Eden Prairie

Both directions of Highway 5 will be closed between Eden Prairie Road and Mitchell Road, as part of an ongoing improvement project.

Traffic will be detoured to Highway 41 in Chaska and Highway 212 in Eden Prairie.

Crews have also reduced both eastbound and westbound Highway 212 and Highway 5 to one lane between I-494 and Eden Prairie Road through September to repair concrete pavement. Motorists should expect delays.

Minnesota Department of Transportation

Related: You aren't imagining it. There's a lot of road construction happening this summer.

This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Russia is floating a new negotiation framework just a week before U.S. President Donald Trump's self-imposed deadline to end the war in Ukraine arrives.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on August 1 the creation of three working groups for new online peace talks with Ukraine  but insisted the format would remain behind closed doors.

"It was agreed that we could hold these negotiations without cameras, without any political codswallop  in a calm manner and with a focus on finding compromises. So far, those (talks) have not begun," Putin said.

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Further details on the concrete aims of each proposed working group were not disclosed.

Moscow has consistently rejected a 30-day unconditional ceasefire ever since it was proposed in a joint call between Kyiv and Washington in March.

Putin blamed what he called "excessive expectations" from the West for stalled peace efforts and reiterated that Russia's demands remain unchanged: Ukrainian withdrawal from occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, along with permanent neutrality and a ban on NATO membership.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that high-level U.S.-Russia talks took place earlier this week but yielded "no progress" toward a ceasefire.

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"We've not seen any progress," Rubio said in a July 31 interview with Fox News Radio, adding the discussions involved "some of Putin's top people" but not the Russian president himself.

Trump has demanded a peace deal by Aug. 8, threatening "severe" new tariffs on Russia and its economic partners, including China and India, if the Kremlin fails to halt its full-scale invasion.

Despite widely held doubt that the president would follow through on such secondary tariffs, new U.S. tariffs placed on India came with a direct condemnation from Trump towards New Delhi for continuing a close miiltary and economic relationship with Russia.

As reported by Reuters, Indian state-run oil refineries have stopped imports on Russian oil in light of the announcements.

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Speaking at the White House on July 31, Trump condemned Russia's recent airstrike on Kyiv, which killed at least 31 people and injured more than 150, calling the attacks "disgusting."

"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing... I think what Russia's doing is very sad," Trump said.

Read also: Editorial: Democracy won the day in Ukraine  but it will be tested again

President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Putin's newest manoeuvers by saying Ukraine is ready for talks "at the level of leaders at any time"  but only if Moscow shows a genuine willingness to end the war "with dignity."

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"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia," Zelensky said on Aug. 1.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said on Aug. 1 that talks with the U.S. on Ukraine had been "substantive" and "fruitful." He credited Trump's pressure for prompting Ukraine to agree to restart talks in the Istanbul format and said Russia had proposed forming working groups on political and military issues.

Lavrov suggested the U.S. was now more ready to understand the "root causes" of the war  repeating a phrase often used to explain Moscow's unwillingness to accept a ceasefire  adding, "It is encouraging that the United States remains open to a respectful and honest conversation."

Lavrov also accused Washington of ignoring human rights abuses against Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine  a common propaganda line used by Moscow to justify aggression.

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The Kremlin continues to escalate military pressure, both on the front line and in its long-range strike campaign. The July 31 missile strike on Kyiv was the most deadly single on Ukrainian capital in the full-scale war, leaving at least 31 dead and 159 wounded, including 12 children.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said it was the highest number of child casualties in the capital since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Read also: Despised by the Kremlin  5 things you might not know about Dmitry Medvedev

In response to the deadly attack, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the U.N. Security Council will convene an emergency meeting on Aug. 1, calling it a necessary response to "Russia's latest escalation of terror."

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Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned that Trump's escalating ultimatums could drive Russia and the U.S. toward direct conflict. "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step toward war  not with Ukraine, but with his own country," Medvedev wrote on X.

On Aug. 1, Trump said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be deployed to "appropriate regions" in response to what he called foolish and inflammatory rhetoric from Medvedev.

"Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that."

Read also: Trumps India tariffs show Russias allies he will act if Ukraine ultimatums ignored, experts say

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The mother of Irish soldier Sean Rooney who was killed on a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon has said she believes "justice was not done" following a trial that convicted and sentenced those involved.

Pte Sean Rooney was in an armoured UN vehicle which came under fire while travelling to Beirut on 14 December 2022.

The 24-year-old was the first Irish soldier to die while on UN peacekeeping duty in Lebanon in more than 20 years. Three others were injured in the incident.

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In a statement, Mr Rooney's mother Natasha Rooney said the family felt "extreme disappointment and heartbreak at the recent court proceedings in Lebanon".

The main defendant in the case is Mohammad Ayyad. It is understood he did not appear in court on Monday.

A number of other men were convicted in relation to the shooting.

Unifil, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said Lebanon's permanent military court found six individuals who were charged over Mr Rooney's killing guilty. One person was acquitted.

The death sentence was announced at a military tribunal in Beirut, according to Irish broadcaster RTE.

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"What happened in Lebanon is unreflective of what we regard as a trial process," Ms Rooney said.

"The trial into the murder of my son was heard and determined in less than half a day. Not only was justice not done, it was not seen to be done, with little to no information being disclosed or challenged in open court," she said.

"Instead, we are forced to believe the answers provided by a Lebanese justice system which from the outset has failed to hold those responsible to account."

Ms Rooney called the process a "sham trial".

She also criticised that the proceedings, originally scheduled for September 2025, were brought forward to this week, something she said caused "unforeseen pressures".

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In a statement on Tuesday, Tanaiste (deputy Irish prime minister) Simon Harris said he raised his "deep frustration at the slow pace of proceedings" before the Lebanese Military Tribunal.

Irish government reaction

"While noting the sentence handed down to the main defendant, I am disappointed and share the disappointment of Pte Rooney's family at the lighter sentences imposed on a number of those convicted today," Harris said.

He added: "I appreciate that this is an incredibly difficult day for the family of Private Rooney. None of us can fathom their unimaginable pain and grief and all my thoughts remain with them at this time."

In her statement, Ms Rooney criticised the Irish government for issuing public statements before speaking to the family.

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Ms Rooney said that "in a country where victims' rights ought to be paramount, it would perhaps be wise for the Tanaiste to speak to me, before seeking to speak for me, in his public statements".

Harris said he wants to support Ms Rooney's quest for justice [PA Media]

Harris visited Beirut last March and met with the Lebanese Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Defence.

RTE News on Thursday reported that Harris said in a statement he "cannot imagine the pain and suffering experienced by the Rooney family".

"I look forward to meeting Mrs Rooney and arrangements are underway to ensure this happens.

"Above all, I want to support her quest for justice in any way I possibly can."

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Unifil said it "welcomes the conclusion of the trial process and the Government of Lebanon's commitment to bring the perpetrators to justice".

"Once again, we offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Private Rooney and the Government of Ireland."

Ms Rooney said that she will "dedicate every bone in my body to ensure justice for Sean, and to highlight the uncomfortable truths about the systemic failings by the United Nations, the Irish Defence Forces and the Lebanese justice system".

"That is the very least I owe my son Sean. It is the very least I owe Sean comrades."

More on this story
Cristen Brink witnessed the unthinkable. Then she did the unimaginable.

While on a family hike at Devils Den State Park on Saturday, Cristens husband Clinton was ambushed and stabbed by an attacker, according to Arkansas State Police. First, investigators say, she ran away with their young daughters to get them out of danger. Then Cristen Brink went back to try to save Clinton.

The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids, said state police Maj. Stacie Rhoads in a news conference Thursday. We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help her husband.

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Investigators say the suspected attacker  identified as 28-year-old Andrew McGann  killed the parents as their girls, ages 9 and 7, told other adults at the park what happened. McGann faces two counts of capital murder.

They absolutely protected those girls to their fullest extent, to the point that it cost them their lives, Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said. Were in awe of this mom and dad. Were also in awe of these girls.

A hiker on the trail saw the Brink children and took them to safety, then found the bodies of their parents, according to a probable cause document filed by prosecutors. More time passed before the hiker was able to call 911 and report the deaths because that part of the park has no cell service.

Four days after the murders, an intense manhunt ended 30 miles from where it started, with McGann quietly taken into custody at a hair salon. State police say he admitted to the crimes during police questioning.

McGann and victims didnt know each other

McGann, who has no known adult criminal history, made his first court appearance Friday morning in Fayetteville. He wore a striped jail uniform and did not speak except to acknowledge his name. A judge granted McGann a public defender and ordered him to remain jailed without bond pending his arraignment on August 25.

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While investigators are releasing more details about the circumstances of the grisly crime, they are still trying to determine why the killings happened.

We have no reason to believe that there was any known association between our suspect and our victims, said Carter. Theres nothing to indicate that at all. It appears to be a completely random event.

The trail head to the Devil's Den trail at Devil's Den State Park was closed Monday as police searched for a murder suspect. - Michael Woods/AP

At first, the only description of the suspect police had was provided by the children who had just seen their parents attacked.

All the information that were working off of started with two little girls that witnessed the most horrific thing that you could ever imagine, Carter said.

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But another witness, who saw a man leaving the trail with blood on his face, was able to identify the suspected killers car, a Kia Stinger, despite tape on the vehicle that investigators believe was designed to obscure the model. Searching Arkansas registration records ultimately led them to make McGann their chief suspect, according to Rhoads.

Everyone speculates that there was a lot of thought that went into this to conceal his identity, she said. I will say that, on the other side of that, he was also very sloppy.

The same car described in public advisories as the suspects vehicle was parked in front of Lupitas Beauty Salon & Barber Shop, where a lanky man with stringy blonde hair walked in and asked for a fade.

Something felt off about him. He looked pretty scary, stylist Adriana Ruiz told CNN affiliate KFSM Thursday. He didnt look like he was okay. He was very timid. His eyes just looked sunken. Kind of like, soulless.

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When officers arrived, McGann acknowledged the car was his, according to police. Investigators noticed in speaking with McGann that there were several cuts on his hands, a court document states.

Surveillance video shared with CNN by the salon showed McGann did not put up a fight as he was handcuffed.

He was completely cooperative, Rhoads said.

McGanns car was searched, and blood was found inside, according to the probable cause statement.

After being provided his Miranda warnings, he made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides, the document states.

Learning more about the suspects background

The motive in the killings of Clinton Brink, 43, and Cristen Brink, 41, remains a mystery, investigators say. McGann had moved to Arkansas earlier this year and was set to become an elementary teacher in the Springdale Public Schools, the district told CNN.

Andrew McGann is seen in a booking photo shortly after he was arrested at a hair salon in Springdale, Arkansas. - Washington County Sheriffs Office

Statements from school districts in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas indicate McGann had been hired to be a teacher in at least five different districts in those states since 2022: Sand Springs Public Schools, Broken Arrow Public Schools, Lewisville Independent School District, Springdale Public Schools and Plano Independent School District. He did not log any classroom time with students in the Springdale and Plano school districts.

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At Donald Elementary in Flower Mound, Texas, McGann was placed on administrative leave in the spring of 2023 following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism, the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement to CNN.

An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students, the district said. The teacher resigned from the district in May 2023.

Later, McGann worked at Plano Independent School District for four days in August 2024. He resigned before the first day of school, the district told CNN.

All district employees must undergo strict hiring processes and procedures as prescribed by law, including background checks and fingerprinting, to which there were no findings upon the time of his hire, the district said.

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Despite understandable concern being raised by McGanns proximity to young students, the prosecutor said they had no evidence of any intention to physically harm the Brinks daughters. From what we know right now, we have no indications that suggest the girls were his target, Carter said.

McGann faces possibility of death penalty

In addition to McGanns admission of killing the Brinks, state police say his DNA matches blood evidence they collected.

The defendant in this case is innocent until hes proven guilty, but I am confident that we have the right defendant in this case and that the public need not worry going forward, said Carter.

We have absolutely no reason to believe there was anyone else involved, added Col. Mike Hagar, director of the Arkansas State Police.

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The lead prosecutor says he will not shy away from pursuing the death penalty if McGann is convicted.

This case certainly has the aggravators that exist where a jury should get to decide what the punishment for this defendant is. It is my intention to pose that to a jury, Carter said. The state will not be waiving the death penalty in this case.

As the wheels of justice begin their slow turn in the case, officials say their immediate thoughts are to make sure the daughters who witnessed the attack  along with a third daughter who was not at the park on Saturday  get what they need as they move forward without their mom and dad.

They have very, very strong family support in place, Hagar said. I have no doubt that those three girls are going to be well taken care of.

CNNs Dianne Gallagher, Caroll Alvarado and Stephen Watts contributed to this report.

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DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  Nearly three months after a woman died in a Dickson County crash, her family is still mourning. Meanwhile, a man with a history of arrests for driving under the influence is being held in jail in connection with the case.

According to Dickson County Jail records, Timothy Kiefner, 46, of Indiana, was booked on July 12 for multiple felony charges, including aggravated vehicular homicide, DUI, and speeding.

It all stems from a deadly crash that happened shortly before 10:40 p.m. on May 1 at Beasley Drive and Lakeview Park Drive in Dickson.

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Authorities responded to the scene and found a crushed black 2004 Chrysler SRT. The driver  identified as 34-year-old Caitlyn D. Conquest of McEwen  died at the scene.

Tennessee father, daughter killed in plane crash near Yellowstone National Park

Meanwhile, Kiefner was driving a white 2017 Toyota RAV4, which was also severely damaged.

According to the Dickson Police Departments report, not only did Kiefner have very slurred speech, but when he was asked if he had consumed any alcoholic beverages before the crash, he said he had four to five beers.

News 2 talked to the victims family on Thursday, July 31. Conquests mother and three of her cousins gathered together, all wearing shirts in Conquests favorite color, purple, with her face and date of death on them.

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Conquests cousin, Heather Anglin, called her a sweet loving and good person who loved her mother more than anything. Anglin added that Conquest loved to color her hair, often changing its tint to fit her personality.

Anita Robison became very emotional talking about her only daughter, youngest of two children. Robison called Conquest the most amazing and caring young lady she had ever known.

Man facing numerous charges following Allen County crash

Robison told stories how her daughter, a manager at a nearby store, would often pay out of her own pocket to help mothers who didnt have enough money for diapers and food.

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According to Robison, her daughter was her best friend. Not only did the two live together, but Robison said Conquest would call her every night after work, using a hands-free phone holder so they could chat on her way home.

On the night of May 1, Robison said her daughter was talking about a vehicle tailgating her before the driver turned off. That was the last thing Conquest said before the phone went dead.

Robison knew something was wrong, so she started driving to the scene. She said she tried calling her daughter multiple times, but it kept going to voicemail. Then, once authorities contacted her, she knew the worst had happened.

A few minutes later the police showed up and told me that she was gone, that shed been killed, and my life from that moment on stopped. My heart went into a million tiny little pieces that I can never put back together. She was my world. She was everything to me, Robison told News 2 while she cried. I go to her room and I lay on her bed and I hold her pillow; I get her ashes and I hug her ashes because thats the only hug I can have now.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

According to the crash report, Kiefner was driving 72 mph in a 40 mph zone when he left his lane and hit Conquests car head on. In addition, per the indictment, the Indiana mans blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit.

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The affidavit indicates he had prior DUI convictions in Indiana from July 2003, September 2007, and May 2009.

Its been one of the hardest things Ive ever had to go through. Im lost, I dont know where to turn, Im sad, Im angry that he thinks that he can get away with this, and I dont think its justice if he does, Robison explained. He needs to pay for what he has done. He has taken the most precious thing from my family that was ever born.

News 2 requested a jailhouse interview with Kiefner, but he declined. His bond is currently set at $250,000.

Meanwhile, Robison shared this message for the man charged in connection with the death of her only daughter: What would you feel like if the police came to your door and told you that your child, that you had loved and nurtured for 34 years, was never coming home again? How can you walk the streets when my precious angel is in a box? I had to bring my baby home in a box! Whats fair about that? I hope and pray to God, every day and every night, my screams and my babys face haunt him daily, and I hope he never, ever, ever gets a moments peace for the rest of his life! I want this to haunt his dreams. It haunts mine every night.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
The mother of a congressional intern killed in a drive-by shooting one month ago harshly criticized the Washington, D.C., Council, saying its residents "are not being protected."

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, a 21-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst , was shot June 30 at around 10:28 p.m. He died at an hospital July 1. Tarpinian-Jachym was in Washington, D.C., as an intern for Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan.

Police said the shooting, which didn't target Tarpinian-Jachym, also left a 16-year-old male and an adult female injured. As of Friday, no suspects are in custody. The shooting happened in the 1200 block of 7th Street, Northwest, near the Mt Vernon Sq 7th St-Convention Center Metro stop.

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Several people exited a car and began shooting, killing Tarpinian-Jachym.

Trump Pens Letter To Grieving Mother Of Slain Congressional Intern: 'Held In My Heart

Eric's mother, Tamara Jachym, told Fox News Digital she feels the D.C. Council is treating violent crime like a "joke."

Read On The Fox News App

"Your constituents are dying. They're getting killed and maimed.  This isn't OK. And it's not. I'm speaking for everybody. I'm angry that this is happening," Jachym said. "These people are not being protected.

"The council needs to work with the federal government and stop this stuff and stop their pettiness. Get the money to hire the cops, to pay them the overtime, to get more people on the force. This isn't a joke anymore. People are getting killed. I don't care what color you are. I don't care if you have money or not."

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Jachym said Eric was an "old soul" who would often visit elderly people in his area.

Mom Of Congressional Intern Murdered In Dc Warns Parents It Could Happen To Their Kids

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym

"He enjoyed people. He was really, he really liked older people, like, you know, elderly people. He would help them. He would stop by and talk to them. I think because he wanted to learn, like, knowledge-wise. He liked everybody, and it didn't matter where you came from, what your background was, if you were rich or poor or working class, if you had a disability," Jachym said. "He was just a good kid, and he loved life."

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym

Former homicide Det. Ted Williams told Fox News Digital arrests are harder to make in investigations such as this one, because police are starting from scratch.

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"Drive-by shootings are always very difficult to resolve. And, yet, there are a lot of individuals who know a great deal and who, and some of these individuals, these witnesses, actually know who the shooter or shooters are. But because of the intimidation factor here in the District of Columbia, you'll find that these individuals will remain silent," Williams said.

Estes said in an earlier statement to Fox News Digital Tarpinian-Jachym would be remembered for his "kind heart."

I will remember his kind heart and how he always greeted anyone who entered our office with a cheerful smile," Estes said in a statement. "We are grateful to Eric for his service to Kansas 4th District and the country. Please join Susan and me in praying for his family and respecting their privacy during this heartbreaking time."

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym celebrates with his mother.

The FBI and Metropolitan Police Department are offering a $40,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and conviction and are encouraging them to contact 202-727-9099.





Original article source: Mother of slain congressional intern says DC Council treats violent crime like a 'joke' amid unsolved killing
Quick thinking and two handwritten notes turned a potential disaster into a happy ending for a mother and her young son who became stranded in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Getting lost in the woods can be a traumatizing experience that can result in serious injuries or even death. Unfortunately for the mother-son duo, a brief camping adventure quickly turned into a harrowing ordeal that left them trapped for over 24 hours. But thanks to their own resourcefulness, they were able to lead rescuers to their location.

The tandem's rescue was detailed in a Facebook post from the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office. On July 11, a 49-year-old mother and her nine-year-old son left the Sacramento area and headed to Camp Wolfeboro near Arnold, California. However, after not returning or answering their phones, the Calaveras County Dispatch Center received a call the next day reporting their disappearance.

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A Search and Rescue Team was then deployed to the area, where they organized with the Calaveras County Volunteer Team, which was participating in a monthly training session nearby at Spicer's Reservoir.

After receiving a 911 text from campers who spotted the vehicle matching the description of the missing mother and son the day before, rescue team members then came across one of the messages that the mother left.

"Help. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911," reads the message. "We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!"

A short distance later, the team discovered the second note, which included a telephone number and the names of the missing mother and son.

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"Help. Me and my son are stranded up the road to the right," reads the second note. "Please get help for us. Follow the strips of brown sheet. Thank you."

After following the note's instructions, rescuers continued up a road for a mile until they came across a vehicle and the mother and son. The pair, whose conditions were not revealed in the post, was then taken to a nearby command post, where family members welcomed them.

As noted in the Facebook post, the nine-year-old boy had the wherewithal to use his whistle and periodically deploy three short bursts, an internationally recognized signal for help.

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MARION COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW)  A motorcyclist was seriously injured Thursday afternoon in a head-on crash on K-15 in Marion County.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the crash happened around 1:40 p.m. on a rural stretch about 10 miles south of Goessel. Troopers say a southbound car crossed the center line for unknown reasons and struck a northbound motorcycle.

Driver gets nearly $650 ticket for speeding on Kansas interstate

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The rider, a 50-year-old woman from Newton, was wearing a helmet and was taken to Wesley Medical Center with suspected serious injuries. The driver of the car, an 18-year-old man from Goessel, suffered minor injuries and was also transported to the hospital.

The crash remains under investigation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  A young Mountain View woman who worked as a software engineer for Google was killed in a freak accident while hiking with friends in Yosemite National Park, according to a GoFundMe page.

Angela Shih Lin, 29, died on July 19 after she was struck by falling tree branches in the iconic parks Tuolumne Grove. The grove is home to ancient giant sequoia trees.

Angela Shih Lin (Photo courtesy GoFundMe)

The victim was an outdoor enthusiast who cherished nature and the outdoors, whether it was strolls along the beach, hikes in the mountains, or simply walks outside, her loved ones wrote on a verified GoFundMe page.

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Lin studied at the University of California Berkeley and the University of Texas before she was hired by Google, according to reports.

Angela Shih Lin (Photo courtesy GoFundMe)

The page continued, Angela was known for her kindness, sincerity, and genuine and deep connections with others. She was an avid swing dancer in the SF Bay Area. She found pleasure in singing and playing guitar, and was active in choir groups during high school.

Woman attacked 9-year-old boy to steal his bike, Novato police say

Officials with the Tuolumne County Sheriffs Office told the New York Times that an autopsy determined Lins death was caused by accidental blunt injuries.

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Lin was saddened by recent defunding of public media, the page states. In her memory, the GoFundMe is asking people to donate to support KQED, a PBS member station in San Francisco.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Hundreds of people gathered in County Clare to pay their respects to a mother and her two children who were murdered in County Fermanagh.

Vanessa Whyte, 45, her 14-year-old son James Rutledge and her 13-year-old daughter Sara Rutledge died after being shot in their home in Maguiresbridge.

During a service of removal in the village on Wednesday, the priest, Fr Raymond Donnelly, told mourners the victims had their lives "taken in an unspeakable way".

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Roads in Ms Whyte's home village of Barefield had been closed as hundreds attended the Church of the Immaculate Conception where the priest, Fr Brendan Quinlivan, described Ms Whyte as "vivacious and lively".

Vanessa Whyte and her children, James and Sara lay in repose together until 19:00 local time on Thursday and the Bishop of Ferns, Gerard Nash, joined the remaining mourners to lead the prayers of removal.

Their three coffins arrived in the village just after 14:00. Three hearses adorned with floral tributes stopped in tandem.

The bells rang out as Vanessa's coffin was carried in first, draped in Barefield GAA colours, followed by her adored children.

People are lining up in County Clare to pay their respects [BBC]

Fr Brendan Quinlivan from the Diocese of Killaloe, said there has been such an "incredible sense of sympathy and empathy and outpouring of grief for all of Vanessa's family".

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Speaking about Ms Whyte and her life in Barefield, he said "she was a very vivacious and lively young person when she grew up here, and she worked so hard to go on to study veterinary science and had a great passion for her career, and ultimately went into public service, which of course, is a reflection of the generosity of spirit that would have been very much part of her and her family, and that she received from her family".

Many people in the community have volunteered to be stewards at the church.

Fr Brendan Quinlivan said: "It has not been any challenge in many ways to get people to volunteer, to become part of the support network for Vanessa's family, and for all those who love her, who are so deeply grieved at this time," he said.

"There are no words that are adequate to describe the depth of feeling and the sense of tragedy that is being felt by Vanessa's family, but also by the community at large here, and we can't find reasons, and we can't find explanations."

'No one can understand'

Breda Butler says it's been "terrible" for everyone in the community [BBC]

Among those attending was Breda Butler, from just outside Barefield, who said she wanted to show her support for Ms Whyte's mother.

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"She's such a lovely lady and it's just so hard to see what has happened to her grandchildren and her daughter."

Breda said it's been "terrible" for everyone in the community.

"No one can understand."

Breda came to the repose in a blue floral dress, because people have been asked to wear bright colours.

"I said I wouldn't go dark."

Tom Roche says he knows the Whyte family well and recent days have been "so sad" [BBC]

Tom Roche has also come to pay his respects and said he knows the Whyte family "very well" and knew Vanessa in her "young days".

"It's so sad," he said, adding, "it's shocking".

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He said seeing the three coffins together "is hard".

Christy O'Grady and Joan O'Grady are neighbours of the Whyte family in County Clare [BBC]

Joan O'Grady said she was attending "because they're neighbours and we must be here for them. We have to be here for them, not now, not today, but tomorrow and the next day. "

She said it's been "tough" for the community.

Christy O'Grady said: "I haven't slept since it happened."

Joan said everybody's been asked to wear bright colours "to remember" Vanessa Whyte and her children James and Sara, and "not to be all sad, but it's difficult not to be sad".

Fr Pat Conway and his brother Tom Conway live in nearby Ennis.

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Fr Pat Conway said: "I often say mass in Barefield, particularly when Vanessa would have been here on Sundays."

Tom Conway said: "It's a very tragic thing. It's awful."

Fr Pat Conway and his brother Tom Conway paid their respects on Thursday afternoon [BBC]

There will be a private removal on Saturday morning, with the funeral cortege arriving at the chapel for a funeral Mass beginning at 12:00.

Ms Whyte, James and Sara will be buried together in Templemaley Cemetery.

On Sunday, people gathered in the County Clare chapel for a prayer service, during which parish priest Fr Tom Fitzpatrick described the killings as an "unspeakable tragedy".

Vanessa Whyte and her children, James and Sara will lie in repose together until 19:00 on Thursday [BBC]

Emergency services were called to the home of Ms Whyte and her children on the Drummeer Road on 23 July, a rural area about 75 miles (121km) west of Belfast and about eight miles from the county's largest town, Enniskillen.

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Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene and a third died later that day in South West Acute Hospital.

Hours after the attack, police said a man from the same household was in hospital with gunshot wounds.

Following the shootings, police said a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for detectives.

On Monday night, the man suspected the killings, 43-year-old Ian Rutledge, died in hospital.

Detectives investigating the shooting also reiterated their appeal for "anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward".
Work is set to begin on a rapid transit connection between Brooklyn and Queens  the first since since the creation of what is now the G train line in the 1930s.

Gov. Hochul, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, and a host of local elected officials and transit advocates gathered in a little-used, open-cut rail passage in Dyker Heights Friday to announce the start of design work on the Interborough Express, or IBX.

People often dream big, but the execution becomes impossible, Hochul told reporters. People give up on their dreams  they take a plan, put it on a shelf, and it gets dusty over the years.

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Were here to say that that era is over: were turning these old tracks into something remarkable.

The IBX  a favored project of the governors  aims to provide what precious few transit options in Gotham can claim: a one-seat ride between Brooklyn and Queens without a Manhattan detour.

To accomplish this, the plan is to piggyback along already existing rail infrastructure, adding light rail tracks to a pair of barely-used freight railways in order to carry riders between Sunset Park and Jackson Heights.

The MTAs board voted earlier this week to approve a $166 million contract with a joint venture between consulting firm Jacobs and design firm HDR to conduct the preliminary design work.

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That means a lot of planning is going to occur  looking at the stations, tracks, vehicles, signals, so we can get shovels in the ground and make this become a reality, Hochul said.

Along the 14-mille route, IBX will connect riders to 17 of the citys subway lines  the A, C, E, N, Q, R, B, D, F, M, J, Z, and L as well as the Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 7 trains  and two stations on the Long Island Rail Road.

A ride from end to end will take 32 minutes, Hochul said to applause. Thats an hour back in your life.

Youll be able to see your kids a little bit longer at the end of a workday, maybe go for a run in the morning  pack school lunches, she said.

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The bulk of the MTA light rail will run alongside the old Bay Ridge Branch of the LIRR, which has been a freight-only rail line since 1924. The northern section of the route will run alongside CSX freight tracks in Queens.

Along the way, the line will run through a tunnel under the All Faiths Cemetery in Middle Village  a plan that will either require the widening of the existing freight tunnel to meet federal passenger-rail standards, or else require an additional tunnel under the cemetery.

Today is a huge milestone, MTA chair Lieber said. I am so proud that were moving back into the transit-building business.

This is going to be the first end-to-end rapid transit line built in the city in New York since the G [train] opened in 1937, he added. The stations will be the first built in Brooklyn since the 40s, and the first in Queens since we got the end of the E line in the 1980s.

The full IBX project is expected to cost $5.5 billion.
HAZEL GREEN, Ala. (WHNT)  Multiple agencies responded to a crash involving two vehicles in Hazel Green on Friday.

According to HEMSI spokesperson Don Webster, the crash happened along Loveless Road around 11:16 a.m.

Webster said that one patient is in critical condition and another patient is still being evaluated.

According to Webster the crash involved a van and commercial truck.

Toney Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Bobo Volunteer Fire Department, Madison County Rescue Squad, Madison County Sheriffs Office and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency all assisted during the incident.

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According to Toney Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Loveless Road is shut down between Mcfarlen and Pawleys Ct.

Stay connected with News 19 as we will continue to update the story 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 WHNT.com.
Multiple emergency service teams worked together for two hours to rescue an injured person stuck on rocks above the sea.

Jersey Fire and Rescue Service (JFRS) said its crews had worked with the coastguard, police, paramedics and the RNLI due to the difficult position of the incident at Grosnez on Thursday morning.

The person was eventually lifted up the cliff using a basket stretcher and was taken to hospital, said station commander Mark Bailey-Walker.

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"This incident was complex and the rescue took almost two hours from the first phone call to the casualty being handed over to paramedics," he added.

A member of the public had called the police at about 11:00 BST to report a person stuck on rocks and unable to get up to the headland.

JFRS sent a rope rescue team, 10 firefighters and the rescue unit, and were joined by Jersey Coastguard, the honorary police, the ambulance service and the RNLI.

HMS Tyne stood by offshore in case the crew's assistance had been required and a helicopter from Cherbourg had also been put on standby.

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Mr Bailey-Walker said: "Multi-agency collaborative working was essential to the safe and successful resolution of this incident."

Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.

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A community group from Omagh has "saved lives" for hundreds of women, its members have said.

Support 2gether offers support and education to mothers who are living with antenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety.

A finalist in the BBC's Make a Difference Awards 2025, the group was co-founded by Una Leonard along with her sister in response to experiencing postnatal depression 17 years ago.

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Run by four women, the organisation provides counselling, peer support and one-to-one services.

What is Make a Difference?

Make a Difference is a BBC initiative seeking to recognise and celebrate members of the public who make life better for others where they live.

This year is the first time the awards have been held across the UK.

Ciara O'Goan turned to the charity for help before giving birth to her second child.

"They were there through very dark times, they are the reason I'm still here," she said.

She is now part of the team and uses her insight to help families in similar circumstances .

"I've done the full 360 from being totally ashamed and having a stigma and suffering in silence to now shouting it from the roof tops," she said.

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"I know the difference Support 2gether can make. It's a pinhole of hope.

"We have mummys that have told us we've saved their lives."

The charity was selected by judges as one of four finalists in the Community Group Award, along with:

Killeeshil and Galbally Community First Responders, which provides emergency medical assistance in rural areas before ambulance services arrive. In December 2024 the group responded to a heart attack incident and helped stabilise the patient before hospital transfer.

Hope House Ireland, which provides free respite stays for adult cancer patients in two homes at Browns Bay. It was founded by sisters Dawn and Jacqueline, both of whom have personal experience with cancer.

Sound Friends Deaf Children's Society, a parent-led support group for families of children with hearing loss. It offers offer advocacy, information, family support, educational events and inclusive social activities to help children and families navigate hearing challenges

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Co-founder Una Leonard said the Support2gether's leadership team was a "beacon of hope" for the community.

"I have lived with postnatal depression and it has not defined me," she said.

"When a mummy comes to us she is often surviving for the sake of her baby and at the end when she is surviving for herself, that is mighty."

The charity supports women through a combination of support and education.

It provides one-to-one support by a perinatal support worker, counselling, talking therapy and peer-to-peer support through workshops and get-togethers.

"There's no judgement, everybody is suffering something similar and everyone's journey's different," Ciara said.

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She said the members of the group were "buzzing" to be nominated.

Una said: "It gives that recognition, that ripple effect through our community and beyond, and gets people to talk more about the illness."

This year's categories include:

Volunteer Award: For an individual who makes a notable difference to their community by giving their time voluntarily to help others

Young Hero Award: Given to someone aged under 16 who has made a positive impact in their community or achieved something exceptional

Great Neighbour Award: Presented to a person who helps to make their neighbourhood a better place to live or work in, either on a regular basis or through a single act of kindness

Active Award: For an individual or group who have used physical activity or sport as a way of improving the lives of those in their community

Animal Award: Either bestowed on a remarkable animal that improves people's lives, or given to an individual or group of people who improve the welfare of animals

Green Award: For an individual or group who improve or conserve their local environment

Fundraiser Award: Open to an individual or group of people who have gone the extra mile to raise funds for a good cause

Community Group Award: Presented to a group that has helped to change the lives of others within their community. This award is supported by the BBC show Morning Live.

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Four finalists have been selected by a panel of judges in each category.

Overall winners from each category will be announced live on BBC Radio Ulster's Vinny and Cate show on Friday 26 September.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this story you can find information and support on the BBC Action Line website.

More on this story
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN)  The Murfreesboro City Council has rejected the settlement offer surrounding the Middle Point Landfill.

The city filed the lawsuit against the company Republic in 2022 because of concerns about environmental health.

The Murfreesboro City Council said no to BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee and Republics effort to settle the lawsuit over Middle Point Landfill.

PREVIOUS | Murfreesboro City Council to vote on Middle Point settlement

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Officials said the landfill causes air and water pollution.

When it comes to the landfill, I ask myself what is right and wrong, Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland said. There are some good things in this agreement, but why are they not doing it already?

The companys offer included building a treatment system, providing monthly chemical sampling, and having a gas and odor plan.

Residents spoke up at Thursdays council meeting about their concerns.

City councilmembers expressed their lack of trust in BFI and Republic to fulfill their side of the deal.

They also want a jury to look at this case.

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If we reject this settlement and we go to court, we may lose, McFarland said. We may lose the lawsuit but at least we went fighting and not just taking what we could get, and I think that the residents of Murfreesboro deserve better than that.

Details of proposed landfill settlement to be considered by Murfreesboro officials

BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee released a statement following the Murfreesboro City Councils decision.

We respect the Murfreesboro City Councils process, but the proposed settlement was the result of hard work, sound judgement and significant resources on both sides. We are confident in the facts that support our position and will evaluate next steps. BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
ROME (AP)  Hard-right commentators, politicians and activists in Europe have uncovered a secret to expanding their influence: engaging with Elon Musk.

Take the German politician from a party whose own domestic intelligence agency has designated as extremist. Her daily audience on X surged from 230,000 to 2.2 million on days Musk interacted with her posts. She went on to lead her party to its best-ever electoral showing.

Or the anti-immigration activist in Britain, who was banned from Twitter and sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court. Since Musk let him back on the platform in late 2023, hes mentioned, reposted or replied to the billionaire more than 120 times on X  and gained nearly a million followers.

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Even a little-known social-media influencer turned politician from Cyprus has benefited from the Musk effect. Before winning a surprise seat in the European Parliament, where hes advocated for Musk, the influencer seemed to have one ambition: to hug the worlds richest man. He got his hug  and political endorsements. On days Musk has interacted with his account on X, the mans audience exploded from just over 300,000 to nearly 10 million views.

Elon Musk may have tumbled from political grace in Washington -- he stepped down as an adviser to President Donald Trump in May and has since traded insults with the president -- but as he works to build his own political party, his power on X remains unchecked.

Musks influence on the platform he bought for $44 billion has made him a kingmaker at home and abroad. Among those he has chosen to cultivate are hard-right politicians and insurgent influencers across Europe, according to an Associated Press analysis of public data. His dominance, which has real-world financial and political impacts, is fueling concerns in Europe about foreign meddling -- not from Russia or China this time, but from the United States.

Every alarm bell needs to ring, said Christel Schaldemose, a vice president of the European Parliament who works on electoral interference and digital regulation. We need to make sure that power is not unbalanced.

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In seeking to quantify Musks effect on European politics, The Associated Press analyzed more than 20,000 posts over a three-year period from 11 far-right European figures across six countries who frequently promote a hard-right political or social agenda and had significant interactions with Elon Musk since he purchased Twitter. Tens of thousands of posts by Musk on Twitter, now known as X, were also collected.

The AP used the records, obtained from data provider Bright Data, to analyze how Musks account interacted with the European influencers, and vice versa, and the extent to which Musks engagement boosted their reach.

These case studies are not meant to be representative of a broad universe; rather, they showcase the ways in which Musks engagement can have an impact on local influencers who share his views.

Due to limitations on data collection, the dataset is not a complete record of all posts made by these accounts. Even so, it captured at least 920 instances in which one of the European accounts tagged, replied or otherwise attempted to interact with Musks account, and at nearly 190 instances where Musks own posts interacted with the Europeans.

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The AP also analyzed records of daily follower counts, using data from Social Blade, to measure any growth in the European accounts audience that occurred in the wake of Musks online interactions. This kind of analysis is no longer possible. In March, Social Blade removed X from its analytics, saying that X had increased its data access fees to prohibitive levels, making the platform harder to research.

Among those included in APs analysis are several people who have run into legal trouble in their own countries. An anti-immigrant agitator in the U.K., for example, was sentenced in October to 18 months in prison for violating a court order blocking him from making libelous allegations against a Syrian refugee. A German politician was convicted last year of knowingly using a Nazi slogan in a speech. An Italian vice premier was acquitted in December of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship.

Others examined by AP were an influencer known as the shieldmaiden of the far-right; a German activist dubbed the anti-Greta Thunberg now living in what amounts to political exile in Washington, D.C.; and two politicians who have advocated for the interests of Musks companies as those firms seek to expand in Europe.

APs analysis shows how Musk is helping unite nationalists across borders in common cause to halt migration, overturn progressive policies and promote an absolutist vision of free speech. While his efforts have sparked backlash in some countries, Musks promotion of a growing alliance of hard-right parties and individuals has helped rattle the foundation of a transatlantic bond that has guided U.S. and European relations for over eight decades.

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Engagement from Musk does not guarantee a surge in followers or page views. But AP found it can have a huge impact, especially on up-and-coming influencers. One account that began with around 120,000 followers when Musk took over Twitter in October 2022 topped 1.2 million by January of this year. Seven other European accounts saw six-figure increases in their follower counts over the same period.

Most of the 11 accounts examined saw triple-digit percentage increases in their followers. Even some that grew more steadily on their own before Musk interacted with them saw their follower counts rise sharply after he began engaging with their posts. Similarly, on days Musk interacted with a post, its account saw its views soar  in most cases, accruing two to four times as many views, with a few seeing boosts 30 or 40 times their normal daily viewership.

Musk is not the only factor influencing the growth of these accounts, of course, but their rising fortunes are a measure of how the platform has evolved under his leadership. When Musk acquired X, he pledged to turn it into a haven for free speech, declaring himself a free speech absolutist. APs analysis adds to growing evidence that instead of serving as a neutral forum for free speech, X amplifies Musks speech.

This shift has given him sweeping power to direct peoples attention.

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Theres an extreme asymmetry in the way Musk is able to leverage and shape the platform, said Timothy Graham, an associate professor in digital media at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, who has studied data anomalies on X. Theres an unequivocal sense when you go onto the site that youre entering Musks kingdom.

Musks megaphone: Bigger than Trump and Taylor Swift

Since he acquired Twitter in 2022, Musk has come to dominate the platform. His followers have more than doubled, to more than 220 million  growth so tremendous that it easily outpaced the other Top 10 accounts. Not even Taylor Swift has been able to keep up.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose followers grew by 21 million  or 25%  from October 2022 through January, clocked a distant second. Donald Trumps followers grew by 14%, or around 12 million, while Taylor Swift mustered a mere 3% growth, or 3 million new followers.

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None of the other Top 10 accounts have shown such consistent follower growth, month after month, AP found. The result is a further concentration of power for the worlds richest man, who now commands the most popular account on a social media platform used by hundreds of millions of people around the world.

Given the opacity of the algorithms that power X, its hard to determine with certainty what array of factors might be driving such unusual  and unusually consistent  growth in Musks account. But researchers who have analyzed data patterns on X argue that the platforms algorithm has, at times, been altered to amplify Musks voice.

How X promotes content is a growing point of contention in Europe. In January, the European Union expanded its investigation of X to assess how the platform pushes content to users and why some material goes viral. In February, French prosecutors opened a separate investigation into X over allegations that Musk changed the platforms algorithms to promote biased content.

Musks public attacks on left-leaning politicians, support for hard-right policies and loose handling of facts have prompted rebukes from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, former German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre.

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X did not respond to requests for comment.

Musk is Xs kingmaker

Musks dominance creates a strong incentive for people seeking to increase their clout  or their revenues, through the platforms monetization options  to exploit these network effects and try to get Musk to engage with their content.

People know that hes gearing everything towards him, said Graham, the digital media scholar in Australia. Theyre doing everything they can to get close to this person because he is the moneymaker.

Germanys Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, for example, has benefited from the Musk effect. AfD coleader Alice Weidel helped lead the party, which advocates for nationalist and anti-immigrant policies, to second place in German parliamentary elections in February.

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When Musk interacted with her account in the run-up to those elections, the average number of daily views she got rose from about 230,000 to 2.2 million.

Germanys domestic intelligence agency in May classified Weidels party as a right-wing extremist organization, which would subject the AfD to greater surveillance. The party, which maintains that its a victim of politically motivated defamation, promptly filed a lawsuit against the move, which Musk, along with top U.S. officials blasted as an attack on free speech. The designation has been suspended pending judicial review.

The AfD denies any association with Germanys Nazi past  though, in a chat with Musk livestreamed on X in January, Weidel falsely described Hitler as a communist, socialist guy.

The chat has gotten 16 million views. Musk also appeared at AfD rallies and endorsed the party in a German newspaper.

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AfD officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Naomi Seibt, a German climate skeptic, pinged Musk nearly 600 times between October 2022 and Jan. 2025. Musk finally engaged in June 2024, when he asked her to explain why the AfD is so controversial in Germany.

Since then, Musk has replied to, quoted or tagged Seibt more than 50 times, and her followers have grown by more than 320,000 since Musk took over the platform. On days Musk interacted with Seibt, her posts, on average, got 2.6 times as many views.

I didnt intentionally invade Elons algorithm, Seibt told AP. Obviously Elon has a lot of influence and can help share a message even with those who are usually glued to the legacy media, particularly in Germany.

Seibt said shes now living in the United States because she fears political persecution in Europe. Washington DC is the political heart of America and thus also the safest place for me to be, she said. I fear the German state wants me locked up.

Musk has also boosted the influence of political insurgents in the U.K. Days before British national elections last July, Musk took to X to ask Nigel Farage, the leader of the populist Reform U.K. party: Why does the media keep calling you far-right? What are your policies?

Farage replied eagerly: Because we believe in family, country and strong borders. Call me!

Such interactions from Musk helped Farage more than triple his daily audience. Farage did not reply to requests for comment.

In Spain, Ruben Pulido, a columnist for a newspaper published by the populist Vox partys think tank, hit the jackpot in August, when Musk responded to two posts in which he argued that rescue boats operated by nongovernmental organizations effectively help smugglers move migrants to Europe. Pulidos visibility soared. On days Musk engaged with him, his account got nearly 300,000 views  roughly three times more than usual.

When Musk didnt interact with Pulidos account, the results were just as clear. In January, he again inveighed against migrant rescues and sought to get Musks attention.

Hi @elonmusk! Speak up, he urged.

Three weeks later, he tweeted: Perhaps @elonmusk might find this interesting.

That post garnered just 5,128 views.

Pulido did not respond to requests for comment.

While Musk helped boost the accounts of such fringe parties and rising influencers, his interactions did not provide as stark a benefit to more established politicians, AP found. That was true for both Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose ruling Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, and Dutch politician Geert Wilders, an anti-Islamic firebrand who has been called the Dutch Donald Trump.

What happens on X doesnt always stay on X

Musks interactions online have spilled into political endorsements, policy advocacy -- and money.

X helps users monetize their accounts, through ad revenue sharing and paid subscription programs as well as direct fundraising links. That means a surge in attention on X can bring a surge in revenue.

Tommy Robinson, a British anti-immigration agitator who was released from prison in May, after serving a reduced sentence of seven months for contempt of court, has a link to his fundraising page on his X profile. Interactions from Musk more than doubled Robinsons daily views, from around 380,000 to nearly 850,000. Robinson  whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon  could not be reached for comment

Radio Genoa, an account reportedly investigated by Italian authorities last year for allegedly spreading hate speech about migrants, used X to publicize a call for a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for legal defense. Radio Genoa has pinged Musk dozens of times over the last three years, and for good reason: On days Musk engaged with him, the views on his account doubled. Radio Genoas followers surged from less than 200,000 before Musks engagement to over 1.2 million. Radio Genoa could not be reached for comment.

Eva Vlaardingerbroek -- a conservative Dutch political commentator dubbed the shieldmaiden of the far-right whose account Musk has engaged with three dozen times -- uses X to solicit tips and has creator status, which allows her to charge subscription fees. So does Seibt, the German activist -- though she told AP her earnings from X arent enough to sustain herself. Vlaardingerbroek did not respond to requests for comment.

Musk has also advocated for Matteo Salvini, vice premier of Italy and the leader of the hard-right, anti-migrant League party. On X, Musks interactions boosted Salvinis daily visibility more than fourfold. Offline, Salvini has urged Italy to move ahead with controversial contracts for Starlink and pushed back against EU efforts to regulate content on X.

Before Fidias Panayiotou  a 25-year-old social media influencer from Cyprus with no political experience  won a surprise seat as an independent in the European Parliament last year, he spent weeks camped outside Twitter and Space X headquarters in a highly publicized quest to hug the worlds richest man. In January 2023, his wish came true. Their embrace went viral.

Soon, Musk was interacting with Panayiotous posts on a variety of subjects, expanding his typical audience on X by more than 3,000%.

Since taking his seat, Panayiotou -- whose positions often also reflect the views of Cyprus traditional leftist establishment -- has praised X on the floor of the European Parliament, pushed back against regulations that impact the platform, and credited Musk with sparking his call to fire 80% of EU bureaucrats.

Musk, evidently, was pleased. Vote for Fidias, he posted on X, an endorsement that was viewed more than 11.5 million times. He is smart, super high energy and genuinely cares about you!

In July, after AP asked for comment, Panayiotou posted a video to dispel any impression that he was Musks puppet. I dont have any relationship with Elon Musk, he said. We havent spoken at all since we hugged, neither through messages, nor by phone, and Ive never invited him anywhere.

He said that Musk, unprompted, began reposting his content after he was elected to the European Parliament.

I dont think its a danger to democracy honestly that Elon Musk supports me, Panayiotou explained in another video. I think this is the beauty of democracy.

__

Kessler reported from Washington. Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia and Suman Naishadham in Madrid contributed to this report.

-

Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org or https://www.ap.org/tips/
By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Friday revived part of a lawsuit accusing Elon Musk's X of becoming a haven for child exploitation, though the court said the platform deserves broad immunity from claims over objectionable content.

While rejecting some claims, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said X, formerly Twitter, must face a claim it was negligent by failing to promptly report a video containing explicit images of two underage boys to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

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The case predated Musk's 2022 purchase of Twitter. A trial judge had dismissed the case in December 2023. X's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Musk was not a defendant.

One plaintiff, John Doe 1, said he was 13 when he and a friend, John Doe 2, were lured on SnapChat into providing nude photos of themselves to someone John Doe 1 thought was a 16-year-old girl at his school.

The SnapChat user was actually a child pornography trafficker who blackmailed the plaintiffs into providing additional explicit photos. Those images were later compiled into a video that was posted on Twitter.

According to court papers, Twitter took nine days after learning about the content to take it down and report it to NCMEC, following more than 167,000 views, court papers showed.

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Circuit Judge Danielle Forrest said section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which protects online platforms from liability over user content, didn't shield X from the negligence claim once it learned about the pornography.

"The facts alleged here, coupled with the statutory 'actual knowledge' requirement, separates the duty to report child pornography to NCMEC from Twitter's role as a publisher," she wrote for a three-judge panel.

X must also face a claim its infrastructure made it too difficult to report child pornography.

It was found immune from claims it knowingly benefited from sex trafficking, and created search features that "amplify" child pornography posts.

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Dani Pinter, a lawyer at the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement: "We look forward to discovery and ultimately trial against X to get justice and accountability."

The case is Doe 1 et al v Twitter Inc et al, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-177.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
NEW YORK (WBTW)  A Myrtle Beach man was sentenced to nine months in federal prison on Friday for making hate-based threats against a New York reporter, court records show.

Austin Suman was arrested by federal authorities in Myrtle Beach in November and pleaded guilty in April to a charge of making threatening interstate communications. A judge in the U.S. Southern District Court in New York also sentenced him to three years of supervised release after his prison sentence, records show.

Suman could have received up to five years in prison. Two other charges against him were dismissed.

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According to a complaint, the threats against the Orange County, New York, woman were made via Facebook and email messages. The threats were motivated by an article the woman wrote several years ago about his arrest for threatening a former roommate with a firearm that resulted in his guns being taken away.

You are a dumb [sp], we [are] coming for you, one of the messages said. I will end you and your family. You better stay in [N]ew [Y]ork.

In another one of the threats, he said his guns had been returned and that I have more guns than ever, including ful[ly] auto[matic] weapons, the complaint said. The threats also included several ethnic slurs.

* * *

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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.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  SpaceX was back one day after a weather-related scrub and threaded the needle amid threatening clouds to send up the Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station.

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifted off from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Pad 39-A at 11:43 a.m. Eastern time carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov to space.

I have no emotions but joy right now. That was absolutely transcendent  ride of a lifetime, said Cardman, making her first trip to space.

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Boy, its great to be back in orbit again, Fincke added as he returned for his fourth trip to orbit. Thank you to SpaceX and NASA to get us here. What a ride.

The first-stage booster for this mission made its third flight and touched back down for what was SpaceXs final use of Landing Zone 1 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station sending a sonic boom across the Space Coast.

The quartet shot through a break amid darkening clouds and into space. The previous day, they had their launch scrubbed with one minute and seven seconds on the countdown clock when a storm cell opened up right over the pad. They actually had to put on raincoats over their spacesuits as they made their way out of the capsule for what turned out to be just a one-day delay.

The quartet, who arrived to KSC on Saturday, were back Friday getting prepped for launch, donning their spacesuits after 7 a.m. at the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building. They made their walkout after 8 a.m. to ride over to launch pad in black Teslas with license plates that read Live, Laugh and Launch.

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By 9 a.m. the had made their way up the launch tower to climb back on board their spacecraft. With an hour to go, all were prepped in their seats with the hatch closed awaiting fueling and arming of the launch escape system.

When it does launch, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said it will be groundbreaking for NASA use of a commercial spacecraft.

We worked very hard with SpaceX to complete all the reuse activities for this vehicle. We had certified the vehicles  the Dragons  for only five flights. Now, weve completed all that work, and were really ready to go, he said.

It was the same Crew Dragon that flew the first astronauts for SpaceX back in 2020, now part of a stable of five crew-capable Dragons. With Crew-11s launch, SpaceX will have flown 74 humans across 19 missions in just over five years.

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The mission will relieve the Crew-10 members who have been on board the space station since mid-March, but wont undock until they complete a short handover period during with the space station population will grow from seven to 11.

Crew-11 is targeting docking with the station around 3 a.m. Saturday after a 16-hour trip. The crew will be on the station for at least six months, but NASA could stretch the mission to as long as eight months.

For its members, Cardman and Platonov are rookies while Yui is making his second trip having flown to the station a decade ago, and Fincke is making his fourth trip to space having last flown to the station as part STS-134, the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, as well as two previous missions on Soyuz spacecraft.

Cardman had originally been tapped to command the Crew-9 mission, but was bumped after NASA needed space on board to allow for the return flight to the two Boeing Starliner astronauts that were left behind on the station when their spacecraft was sent home without crew because of safety concerns.

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Fincke and Yui had both been training to fly future crewed missions of Starliner, but were shifted to this SpaceX mission as Boeings beleaguered spacecraft continues to face delays.

With their arrival to the station, the orbiting laboratory will have welcomed 290 people from 26 nations. The station will mark 25 years of continuous human presence in November having began Expedition 1 in 2020. The Crew-11 crew will become of Expedition 73 when they arrive and continue on as part of Expedition 74 that begins in November when the next replacement crew from Russia arrives.

_____
Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnells office has been aware of The Boring Companys interest in constructing an underground tunnel connecting Nashville International Airport to downtown for about a year.

OConnell said as much during a roundtable with local reporters on Aug. 1, when he said his office learned of the Elon Musk-owned companys interest in developing in the area around late spring or early summer of 2024.

But then we didnt hear about it again for almost a year, OConnell said.

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That apparently was just ahead of July 28, when state officials, local business leaders and The Boring Company announced the Music City Loop project, which has since hastened toward the starting line at breakneck speed. The proposed roughly 10-mile tunnel has so far avoided local approvals since it aims to develop underneath Tennessee Department of Transportation-managed roads.

OConnell was absent from that event, but days later gave full credit to Gov. Bill Lees office and TDOT for communicating their interest in the project to the mayors office beforehand.

They were very transparent with us that this was a project they were interested in, OConnell said. They did advise us they would be making an announcement at the airport.

OConnells comments to reporters on Aug. 1 were his most detailed to date regarding the project. He'd previously issued only a short statement about the tunnel, saying his office had a number of operational questions to understand the potential impacts on Metro and Nashvillians.

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Now, OConnell has flagged what at least some of those questions are about, which he said a combined operational and safety team is working to ask of The Boring Company.

OConnell specifically said hes concerned about surface integrity along the Murfreesboro Pike corridor  which runs between the airport and downtown  and whether opportunities to improve sidewalks and other above-ground surfaces along the roadway will be affected.

Otherwise, OConnell said he doesnt expect the tunnel work to get in the way of Nashvilles efforts to improve public transit.

Weve seen what has been publicly announced, OConnell said. If they are completely utilizing under the surface right-of-way, nothing in Choose How You Move and our overall transportation improvement program appears to be disrupted by that.

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OConnell said for now its too soon to say whether the project will be a net positive for Nashville.

Weve been looking at ways to improve basic transit access to the airport, and this is one more access point, OConnell said. Thats a possibility. But I also feel like we have to make sure were doing (our due) diligence on it.

Austin Hornbostel is the Mero reporter for The Tennessean. Have a question about local government you want an answer to? Reach him at ahornbostel@tennessan.com.

Get Davidson County news delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville mayor aware of Elon Musk's tunnel interest since 2024
ELMHURST, Ill. - A 9-year-old boy who was reported missing in Elmhurst on Thursday has been found safe, according to police.

What we know

The boy was previously last seen on his red mid-sized Trek bicycle westbound on the Illinois Prairie Path near Spring Road at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Less than three hours later, police reported he had been found safe.

No further information was provided.

The Source

Details for this story were provided by Elmhurst Police.
The tropics remain quiet in the Atlantic basin, but forecasters are warning activity is expected to pick up this month.

"August arrives with a whiff of impending calamity," said Dr. Ryan Truchelut, chief meteorologist with WeatherTiger, who also described August as "the worst month of the year." Truchelut is a Florida meteorologist who works with the USA TODAY Network.

Water temperatures from the coast of Africa to the Gulf and southwestern Atlantic are at or above 80 degrees, which supports tropical development, according to AccuWeather.

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While the National Hurricane Center anticipates no tropical activity over the next seven days, AccuWeather forecasters are keeping an eye on an area showing potential for development off the U.S. east coast in early August.

"Historically, there have been about 30 August U.S. major hurricane landfalls in the last 175 years, with a clear preference for these most powerful storms to strike the western Gulf," Truchelut said.

Most storms develop between mid-August and mid-October, and forecasters said several signs are out there indicating activity will be picking up.

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The next named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season will be Dexter. The fourth named storm in the Atlantic basin typically arrives Aug. 15, with the average first hurricane forming Aug. 11.

Forecasters warn now is the time to prepare for a hurricane, and you can save on hurricane supplies starting today. A permanent ban on sales taxes for certain hurricane supplies began Friday, Aug. 1.

 Track active storms

In the Pacific, forecasters are watching five tropical systems, including Tropical Storms Gil and Iona. Gil is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later today.

 Pacific hurricane season up to 9 named storms. What about Atlantic?

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Here's the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center as of 8 a.m. Aug. 1:

What is the National Hurricane Center tracking in the tropics?

The National Hurricane Center is tracking three tropical waves in the Atlantic basin, including two in the Caribbean.

Tropical wave 1: A tropical wave is in the central Atlantic with axis near 55W, and moving west around 17 mph.

Tropical wave 2: A tropical wave is in the eastern Caribbean with axis near 66W south of 20N, moving west at 11 to 17 mph.

Tropical wave 3: A tropical wave is in the western Caribbean with axis near 81W south of 20N, moving west at 6 to 11 mph.

Is there a hurricane coming toward Florida?

No tropical development is expected in the Atlantic basin over the next seven days, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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"In the coming days, we will be watching the zone from northeast of Florida to just off the Carolina coast for tropical development," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said.

 Enjoy quietest start to hurricane season since 2009; but back half could be brutal

"Initially, this area, as well as farther west over the interior of the Carolinas, Georgia, northern Florida and southern Alabama, will be quite active in terms of drenching showers and gusty thunderstorms from this weekend to early next week.

"Fronts that stall near the warm waters of the southwestern Atlantic sometimes can slowly brew a tropical storm or a storm that forms along the front and becomes tropical over time. The latter tends to have much greater wind potential than a non-tropical storm and can go on to become a powerful hurricane.

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"Roughly from Saturday, Aug. 2, to Tuesday, Aug. 5, is the time frame for a tropical storm to develop just off the U.S. southern Atlantic coast," DaSilva said, adding steering breezes would likely guide any storm away from the U.S. later next week.

"By the middle of next week, its worth keeping an eye on the area between Florida, the Carolinas, and Bermuda, where one such wave may interact with a stalled-out cold front. But overall, I dont see significant tropical threats to the U.S. in the first third of August," Truchelut said.

"Historically, there have been about 30 August U.S. major hurricane landfalls in the last 175 years, with a clear preference for these most powerful storms to strike the western Gulf."

Could Florida feel any impacts from potential system off US coast?

Regardless of development, tropical moisture that interacts with the stalled front and low pressure associated with a brewing storm is likely to unleash torrential downpours along the southern Atlantic Coast to the northeastern Gulf Coast from this weekend to early next week, according to AccuWeather.

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In areas that receive these downpours repeatedly day after day, the threat for flash flooding will grow and increase, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said.

The worst rain is predicted to miss Florida, but areas across the Panhandle and North Florida could see between 2 to almost 4 inches of rain, according to NOAA.

The worst rain is expected to fall across southeast Georgia to coastal South Carolina, which could see 4 to 8 inches of rain over several days, AccuWeather warned. "Those with beach plans should be mindful of locally rough surf, thunderstorm downpours and the risk of brief tornadoes and waterspouts.

Tropical Storm Gil expected to strengthen into hurricane in Pacific

The National Hurricane Center is tracking four systems in the Pacific.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking four systems in the Pacific, including the seventh named storm in the eastern Pacific: Tropical Storm Gil.

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Tropical Storm Gil: Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph, with higher gusts. Further strengthening is forecast, and Gil is expected to become a hurricane today, Aug. 1.

Tropical Storm Iona: Iona is weakening, with maximum sustained winds now at 45 mph. Little change in strength is forecast during the next day or two. Gradual weakening is forecast to begin Aug. 3.

CP92: Disorganized showers and thunderstorms are associated with a trough of low pressure located well south-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. Environmental conditions are becoming increasingly unfavorable, anddevelopment is no longer anticipated.

An area of low pressure is expected to form well southwest of southwestern Mexico within the next day or two. Environmental conditions appear conducive for some gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this weekend or early next week.

An area of low pressure is forecast to form offshore of the coast of Central America and southern Mexico by the middle part of next week. Thereafter, environmental conditions appear conducive for some development.

Most of Florida under heat advisory

On July 31, almost all of Florida  the lone exception was Monroe County  was under a heat advisory. On Friday, Aug. 1, heat advisories have been issued for Florida except for the western tip of the Panhandle and most of the west coast.

Pensacola, western Panhandle: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 106.

Tallahassee, central Panhandle: A heat advisory is in effect through this evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon with gusty winds, frequent lightning and heavy rainfall.

Jacksonville, North, Northeast Florida: The heatwave is expected to continue into Saturday. Don't be fooled by slightly lower air temps this weekend; the humidity will make it feel dangerously hot, with heat index values hitting 105-112. A heat advisory begins at 10 a.m.

Daytona Beach to Stuart, central and eastern Florida: Stretch of hazardous heat continues. A heat advisory is in effect for all of East Central Florida today for heat index values up to 110 degrees. Showers and storms begin along the sea breeze by midday, moving inland in the afternoon/evening.

South Florida: A heat advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Offshore scattered showers continue on both coasts this morning.

Southwest, western Florida: temperatures trending back closer to normal as rain chances increase. Temps in the mid 90s, with heat index between 100 and 107.

2025 hurricane season so far

An average Atlantic hurricane season has 14 named storms, seven hurricanes, and three major hurricanes.

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Here's when this year's named storms have developed, compared to historical averages:

Tropical Storm Andrea: formed June 24. Average start date: June 20

Tropical Storm Barry: formed June 29. Average start date: July 17

Tropical Storm Chantal: formed July 5. Average start date: Aug. 3.

Next up, Dexter: Average start date: Aug. 15, with the average first hurricane forming Aug. 11.

 How to set up emergency cellphone notifications for flash flood warnings and safety tips

 Excessive rainfall forecast

Hurricane names for 2025 season

Here are the names for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, along with how to pronounce them:

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Andrea (June 24)

Barry (June 29)

Chantal (July 5)

Dexter: DEHK-ster

Erin: AIR-rin

Fernand: fair-NAHN

Gabrielle: ga-bree-ELL

Humberto: oom-BAIR-toh

Imelda: ee-MEHL-dah

Jerry: JEHR-ee

Karen: KAIR-ren

Lorenzo: loh-REN-zoh

Melissa: meh-LIH-suh

Nestor: NES-tor

Olga: OAL-guh

Pablo: PAHB-lo

Rebekah: reh-BEH-kuh

Sebastien: se-BAS-tee-en

Tanya: TAHN-yuh

Van: van

Wendy: WEN-dee

When is the Atlantic hurricane season?

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period, NOAA said.

The Atlantic basin includes the northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of America, as the Gulf of Mexico is now known in the U.S. per an order from President Trump. NOAA and the National Hurricane Center are now using Gulf of America on its maps and in its advisories.

When is the peak of hurricane season?

Hurricane season's ultimate peak is Sept. 10 but the season goes through Nov. 30. Credit: NOAA

National Hurricane Center map: See what forecasters watching now

Systems currently being monitored by the National Hurricane Center include:

Why does NHC say 'tropical cyclone' on its maps instead of hurricane or tropical storm?

Tropical cyclone is the generic term used by the National Weather Service, NOAA and the National Hurricane Center for any tropical system, even if it's in the tropical Atlantic basin.

To be more precise, a tropical cyclone is a "rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation," NOAA said.

Once maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph, what it is called is determined by where it originated:

Hurricane : for storms in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific.

Typhoon : for storms in the Northwest Pacific.

Cyclone: for storms in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.

Interactive map: Hurricanes, tropical storms that have passed near your city

Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text

What's next?

We will update our tropical weather coverage daily.

Download your local site's app to ensure you're always connected to the news. And look for our special subscription offers here.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Hurricane Center hurricane forecast, Florida impacts for August
(NewsNation)  Two Republican senators have proposed a way for Americas NATO allies to help replenish military equipment and weapons the U.S. sends to Ukraine.

The PEACE Act, introduced by Sens. Jim Risch of Idaho and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, would create a Treasury Department fund into which NATO members would pay, with the money reimbursing U.S. assistance to Ukraine.

The idea comes as more Republicans lawmakers are following President Trumps pivot toward Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rebuffed U.S.-brokered attempts to end the war.

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Trump threatens Russia with tariffs, says he is pissed off at Putin

Publicly, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin, a leader he previously has praised. The president has emphasized potential sanctions against Russia and has said NATO allies should assume a greater cost in helping Ukraine.

President Trump has made clear that he will not tolerate Russian tyrant Vladimir Putins continued targeting of civilians in Ukraine. The death and destruction must end, Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a news release this week.

NewsNation Washington correspondent Kellie Meyer reports Risch and Wickers proposal could end up in a defense bill in the coming months.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
Lithuania's military has located a drone - believed to have entered its airspace from Belarus - after several days of searching, the Lithuanian army said on Friday.

The unmanned aerial vehicle was found at the Gaiziunai military training ground near Jonava, according to the army. Initial reports suggest it is a so-called Geran drone, which outwardly resembles the Shahed combat drones used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.

It remains unclear whether the drone is equipped with explosives or contains fuel.

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The military and other Lithuanian authorities have been investigating an incident involving an aerial object reported by citizens since Monday. The object was last seen near the capital, Vilnius.

According to the army, the most likely explanation is that it was a drone diverted by Ukrainian air defences.

When asked how the aerial object crashed unnoticed on a Lithuanian military training ground, army representatives explained that no radar equipment is stationed in the area.

Lithuania, a NATO and European Union member, is demanding an explanation from the Belarus government.

Following the discovery of the drone, the government in Vilnius handed a protest note to the authoritarian leadership in Minsk, demanding an explanation. In response, the Baltic state has also deployed additional troops and air defence systems to the border with Belarus.

Belarus is a close ally of Russia. Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, drones have repeatedly entered the airspace of neighbouring Baltic states.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said he supports Berlins decision to provide Ukraine with two additional Patriot air defence systems.

Source: Rutte on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Rutte welcomed the announcement by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius that two Patriot systems will be delivered to Ukraine.

Quote: "This is great news and I welcome Germanys leadership! This will help ensure Ukraine is able to defend its skies, protect its people and deter Russian aggression."

Background:

Earlier on Friday, Germany announced that it will deliver two Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, starting with the launchers and then the other components of the system.

During a meeting with Rutte in Washington on 14 July, US President Donald Trump said that the United States would no longer supply weapons to Ukraine free of charge  instead, European countries and Canada would pay for their procurement.

Read also the interview with Ukraine's ambassador to Germany: Germany understands we need our people back to rebuild the country

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MILAN  NATO has deployed a maritime task group made up of Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese, and German vessels to boost its maritime presence in the Arctic and High North.

The alliances maritime forces assigned to the Standing Maritime Group 1, or SNMG1, have been operating in the strategic waters since this week.

These include the flagship vessel De Ruyter from the Netherlands, the Thor Heyerdahl from Norway, the Bartolomeu Dias from Portugal, and the Rhon from Germany. Additional maritime patrol aircraft have been complementing the ships activities.

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The NATO task group will conduct anti-submarine activities designed to protect critical sea lines of communication and ensure freedom of navigation in the region as well as routine patrols.

[They will also carry out] integrated operations involving the coordination of various surface ships and air assets to increase the alliances understanding of the maritime environment, enhance information sharing and rehearse navigational maneuvers, Commander Arlo Abrahamson, spokesperson for NATOs Allied Maritime Command, told Defense News.

He added that it will provide NATO maritime forces with valuable opportunities to enhance their knowledge of the polar regions and their ability to sustain operations in these waters.

The deployment comes a few days after Russia launched a major naval exercise in the Pacific, Arctic, Baltic and Caspian seas, according to the Russian defense ministry. The July Storm drill, which took place from July 23-27, was reported to have involved 150 warships and 15,000 military personnel.

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Over the last few years, experts have signaled an Arctic rapprochement between China and Russia displayed by organized joint military drills near the Arctic region as well as naval and air patrols over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan.

A recent report published by the Center for European Policy Analysis warned that both countries also share a willingness to disrupt critical undersea infrastructure, which could affect the interests of NATO states.

The disruption of critical undersea infrastructure (CUI) and seabed warfare activities represents another form of nefarious relations that Russia and China might further in the Arctic  both have a clear interest in disrupting CUI as part of a continued subthreshold operations against Western interests, the report said.

Seven NATO countries have territories located within the Arctic circle: Denmark, Canada, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
A pair of Navajo Nation tribal members were sentenced to more than 25 years in prison for murdering a transgender woman, the United States Attorneys Office District of Arizona announced July 30.

Isiah Adam Smith, 25, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced July 28, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in its news release. A U.S. district judge sentenced Smith to 324 months, or 27 years, in prison, according to the release.

Smiths codefendant, Trevor Joe Begay, 24, pleaded guilty to the same charges in September and received 365 months, or 30 years, in prison, said the release.

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In 2021, Smith and Begay murdered the woman because of her gender identity, the release said.

The two men had previously communicated with the woman online, where she told them she was transgender, the release said.

They decided to teach the victim a lesson and arranged to meet her in the middle of the night, the release said.

The two then took her cell phone so she could not call for help, drove the woman into the desert and beat her to death, according to the release.

Begay beat the victim with his hands, feet and a metal jack handle, court records said.

Smith helped Begay by holding the woman to the ground and hitting her while Begay beat her, according to court records.

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At one point, the woman tried to escape by running into the desert, but Smith chased her down and physically stopped her, documents said.

The men drove the woman to a second location on the Navajo Nation and left her there until she was discovered dead later that day, according to court records.

Smith and Begay attempted to get rid of evidence by burning their bloody clothes and the womans cell phone, records said.

A judge ordered the defendants to be placed in an Arizona prison, according to court records.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Navajo Nation men get decades in prison for transgender woman's murder
This week marks 80 years since the attack on the USS Indianapolis, which the Navy says had just finished delivering the parts of the atomic bomb that helped end World War II.

The Navy says 1,195 American sailors were onboard the ship when it was attacked by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945. 879 sailors died, 316 survived, and only one of them is still living today.

The USS Indianapolis that sunk in 1945 was the second ship to carry the name. Naval Station Mayport is home to the current iteration of the Indianapolis, the fourth ship to bear the name.

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It passes to us, the crew of our Indianapolis, to keep that legacy alive, said Commander Matthew Arndt, the commanding officer of the USS Indianapolis, ensuring their sacrifice is never forgotten and working tirelessly to uphold the values and traditions of those brave souls who came before us.

Photo: MC1 Brandon J. Vinson

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The Navy says more than 300 sailors were killed in the 12 minutes after the Indianapolis was attacked. The survivors of the ship spent the next five days without food and water before being rescued on August 2nd, stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Navy says the sinking of the ship led to the single greatest loss of life in the Navys history.

We are so proud. But at the same time, so humbled that the U.S. Navy would continue to honor not only our state and our capital city, but the men who served, said Todd Rokita, the attorney general of Indiana who flew to northeast Florida for the ceremony at Mayport.

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You can learn more about the history of the USS Indianapolis and the crew onboard the ship when it sank by clicking the link here.

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The U.S. Navy has identified the sailor who was reported missing earlier this week from the aircraft carrier George Washington as it transited the Timor Sea off Australias northern coast.

Aviation Boatswains Mate (Launch/Recovery Equipment) Airman Jose Antonio Rivera Lynch IV was assumed overboard from the carrier on Monday, Navy officials said in a release Friday.

The U.S. Navy and Australian Defence and Australian Border Forces suspended search efforts for Rivera Lynch on Wednesday after more than 45 hours of search-and-rescue efforts covering 2,200 square miles, officials said.

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Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of our shipmate, Airman Rivera Lynch, Capt. Tim Waits, commanding officer of the carrier, said in a statement. I am sincerely grateful for the support and coordination from all units who assisted in the search effort, including our partners from the Australian Defence Force and Border Force.

Rivera Lynch enlisted in the Navy in June 2024 and reported to the George Washington in January.

Our thoughts and prayers remain with Airman Rivera Lynchs family, friends and shipmates during this incredibly difficult time, said Rear Adm. Eric Anduze, commander of Carrier Strike Group 5. The courage and dedication shown by all personnel involved in this operation exemplifies the professionalism and commitment that defines our Navy.

U.S. Navy assets that assisted in the search included Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadrons 77 and 51, cruiser Robert Smalls, destroyer Shoup and fixed-wing aircraft attached to Carrier Air Wing 5.

Two Poseidon P-8 aircraft and a patrol boat from the Australian Defense Force, Australian Defence Vessel Cape Otway and an Australian Border Force Dash-8 aircraft also contributed to search efforts.
After nearly half a year without a Senate-confirmed uniformed leader, the Navy has a new top admiral.

In a voice vote Thursday night, the Senate approved Adm. Daryl Caudle, who has been the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command since 2021, to be the next chief of naval operations.

The confirmation ends a vacancy that opened in February when President Donald Trump fired the previous chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

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Read Next: The Army Reserve Is Gutting Aviation Units. Thousands of Soldiers Are Being Left in the Lurch.

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered no explanation for Franchetti's firing. But Hegseth, whose tenure has been defined largely by culture wars, wrote in a book before he became defense secretary that he viewed Franchetti, the first female chief of naval operations, as unqualified and elevated for political optics rather than merit.

The Trump administration took five months to nominate a successor to Franchetti. By the time Caudle appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, her firing was barely a factor in his confirmation hearing, with just a couple of Democrats noting their concern about the circumstances that led to his nomination.

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Caudle's confirmation hearing focused on boilerplate Navy issues, including shipbuilding, shipyard infrastructure and munitions production.

Caudle was also asked by Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, whether he would commit to providing his best military advice regardless of whether it conflicts with the views of a "famously strong-willed president."

"I am absolutely ready to do that," Caudle responded. "I think it's an obligation. I've sworn an oath to do that, and if confirmed, I will do that with my utmost ability."

In written answers to the committee, Caudle also promised to make quality of life a priority.

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"In my current role as commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, I have made sailor quality of life a top priority and will continue to do so," he wrote.

Caudle was viewed as an uncontroversial pick to replace Franchetti.

A career submariner, he served as commander of Naval Submarine Forces, considered to be the Navy's most senior operational submariner, prior to his most recent role as Fleet Forces commander.

Caudle made some waves in 2023 when discussing the difficulty of producing enough ammunition to arm both Ukraine and the U.S. Navy, prompting a spokesperson to try to clean up his comments.

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As head of Fleet Forces, which oversees most of the Navy's East Coast forces, Caudle also managed major mental health crises aboard ships and in facilities in the region.

Caudle was confirmed Thursday as part of a batch of dozens of military nominees that also included Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton's nomination to receive a fourth star and be vice chief of the Space Force. Bratton was nominated after the previous Space Force No. 2, Gen. Michael Guetlein, was picked by the president to oversee the development of the Golden Dome missile defense project.

Related: No More Female 4-Stars: Franchetti Firing Leaves Top Ranks Filled by Men
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  The N.C. Department of Transportation says construction for the Interstate 77 express lanes through south Charlotte could start by 2030.

The managed toll lanes, which will be partially funded by a private developer, are slated to be built between uptown and the South Carolina border, and would put them in place on I-77 though all of Mecklenburg County.

NCDOT officials told Queen City News that construction for the $3.2 billion project could start in the late 2020s or early 2030s. A more defined schedule will be created in the future.

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PREVIOUS: CRTPO board approves using private funding for I-77 Express Lanes in south Charlotte

The current project schedule shows a bid will be awarded in summer 2027, NCDOT officials said. From there, a developer will secure financing and complete design work, which will take another year or so.

The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization approved the funding model last fall. The CRTPO initially submitted it to state prioritization in 2014.

The project is in two parts, one from the state line to I-277/John Belk freeway, which has state funding for preliminary engineering, then from John Belk to Brookshire Freeway.

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The northern, 26-mile section of the I-77 managed lanes opened in 2019, and is operated by I77 Mobility Partners. It uses dynamic pricing to determine rates based on demand.

Toll lanes are also under construction for the southern section of I-485 that are slated for a winter 2025 opening.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Around 149,000 employees have left the federal government since President Donald Trump took office in January and began dismantling the administrative state, according to a new analysis.

The data from the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that advocates for a more effective federal government, offers a snapshot of the deep workforce cuts that have plunged morale at agencies across the bureaucracy. The administration has not been transparent about the reductions, making comprehensive estimates hard to come by.

The group said the largest workforce reductions have hit the Treasury, Agriculture and Defense departments, which have lost around 31,000, 22,000, and 20,000 employees, respectively. The Department of Health and Human Services has lost roughly 13,000.

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The U.S. Agency for International Development  the aid agency Trump all but demolished unilaterally  accounts for another 10,000 employees gone, the Partnership for Public Service said.

The federal government as a whole includes around 2.3 million civilian employees.

Max Stier, the groups president, told reporters on a call Thursday that the cuts have led to phenomenal waste, since the administration has pursued them willy-nilly and hurt critical government functions that will need to be fixed. He noted that in many cases agencies have tried to bring back workers who quit or were fired.

This is one of the things that were seeing repeated instances where they have, in a non-strategic way, let go [of] lots of people that provide vital functions, Stier said. And then they look up and realize, Wow, were not going to be able to do something that is quite important, and were going to have to rehire people.

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The White House has accomplished its workforce reductions through a combination of deferred resignation offers, early retirement programs and layoffs; many workers have chosen to leave since the administration seems intent on making them miserable. Just last week, the Agriculture Department told workers in the Washington, D.C., region they will have to move hundreds or thousands of miles away if they want to keep their jobs.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing ceremony in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on July 31. Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Partnership for Public Service said it cobbled together its estimate through official government reports as well as news stories. The group noted that its figures dont account for workers who may have been reinstated temporarily under court order, or those that have been put on administrative leave.

It could be months or even years before Trumps full cuts come into clearer focus. On Thursday, the Washington Post published a report saying the government is paying 154,000 employees not to work under its deferred resignation program, citing two administration officials. The program allowed qualified federal workers to give up their jobs and still be paid through September.

Labor unions challenged the legality of the deferred resignation program, but a federal judge later cleared the way for the program to proceed. Many workers opted to take the offer during a second round, while others chose to accept early retirement programs.

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A lot of the cuts were spearheaded by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which, according to the president, was headed by the billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk before the two had a falling out. On Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released a report from Senate Democrats estimating that DOGE had wasted $21.7 billion, the bulk of it by paying people not to work under the deferred resignation program.

Blumenthals report noted that the authors had to rely on news reports and make certain assumptions about the cuts, since the Trump administration seemed intent on keeping Congress and the public in the dark.
A popular toy kitchen set has just been recalled following the death of a 23-month-old childand parents who own one are being urged to act immediately.

Backyard Kids, LLC and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on July 31, 2025, affecting approximately 192,000 model play kitchen sets from the KidKraft Farm to Table line. The action follows the tragic death of a toddler whose clothing became caught on one of the accessory hooks, causing fatal strangulation. The product poses a risk to young children who might climb on the counter or crawl through the back opening, where plastic or metal hooks are placed to hold toy pots, pans, and utensils.

According to the CPSC, the Oregon toddler was climbing through the opening at the back of the toy kitchen when his shirt got caught on one of the hooks. He wasnt able to free himself in time and tragically died from asphyxia. The incident occurred in February 2023. No other incidents or injuries have been reported.

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Although the product is designed for children ages 3 and up, the potential risk comes from younger siblings or toddlers exploring the kitchen in unintended wayssomething many parents know is all too common in real life.

What exactly is being recalled?

The recall affects all KidKraft Farm to Table Play Kitchens, model number 53411. These kitchens are black and light gray with wood-like countertops, measuring roughly 44 inches long by 43 inches tall. The model number is printed on a sticker on the back of the kitchen set. They were sold online through KidKraft.com, Amazon, and Walmart between 2018 and July 2025, retailing between $120 and $270.

Related: 5 million backyard pools recalled after fatal child drowningswhat parents need to know

Who sold themand why is Backyard Kids handling the recall?

The recalled play kitchens were originally imported and sold by KidKraft, Inc. from 2018 until May 2024. After KidKraft filed for bankruptcy, Backyard Kids purchased the remaining 2,900 units and sold approximately 400 of them to retailers and consumers. Since KidKraft is no longer able to conduct a recall, Backyard Kids has stepped in.

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In an official statement, KidKraft noted: Backyard Kids has voluntarily agreed to recall and provide free replacement hooks (which hold toy accessories) for all units, even though only about 400 of the 192,000 recalled units were sold to consumers by Backyard Kids.

That applies to units sold in the United States. In Canada, however, Backyard Kids will only provide free replacement hooks for the units they directly sold to Canadian retailers or consumers.

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada. You can view the full official recall press release here.

Related: Popular nursery chair recalled for overheating hazardheres what parents need to know

What should parents do immediately?

If you own one of these kitchens:

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Stop using it immediately.

Remove all original hooks from the play kitchen and dispose of them. Here are instructions on how to remove them.

Take a photo of the play kitchen showing the hooks have been removed.

Complete the recall form at www.kidkraft.com/pages/recall to receive free replacement hooks.

If you have questions, call 800-882-0234 (MondayFriday, 8:30 AM5:00 PM ET) or email recall@kidkraft.com.



A sobering reminder for parents

Kids explore in ways we dont always expectclimbing, squeezing, and crawling through any space that sparks their curiosity. Thats why its worth taking a moment to check this play kitchen. If the recalled model is in your home, remove the hooks and request the free replacements. A small fix today can make their favorite play space a safer one tomorrow.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WSPA)  The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is continuing a bus service that connects passengers to cities across the state.

According to NCDOT, the intercity bus service will start again on August 1, nearly a year after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina.

The transportation service will pick riders up and drop them off on Ashland Avenue, near the downtown Asheville Rides Transit (ART) Station.

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The bus stop was previously located at a gas station outside of Asheville, but was destroyed by the hurricane, suspending bus services.

Both federal and state funding are provided for the service, which operates out of Greyhound buses.

The relaunch marks a major step forward in restoring vital transportation access for Asheville and surrounding communities, officials said.

Those traveling with the bus system will have direct access to Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Chapel Hill and Raleigh. Riders can also travel out of state and connect to Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia, Washington, D.C., New York, Atlanta and Greenville, South Carolina.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS.
U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn meets with prospective voters at a Big Red Keno in west Lincoln on Oct. 20, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  The chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party is singing a different tune about nonpartisan labor leader Dan Osborn this time around, compared to Osborns 2024 bid against Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.

Wednesday on X, Nebraska Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb posted, We are supporting Dan Osborn against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts in the 2026 midterms. She wrote it in response to a question from an X user about whether the party expects a Democratic candidate to join the race.

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., speaks to supporters during his campaign kickoff event Aug. 23, 2023, in Omaha. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

We believe a coalition of Dems, Indys, and Republicans can beat Ricketts and break up the one-party rule, Kleeb replied. We like the odds of a mechanic vs a billionaire.

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The states second-largest political party had hinted in an early July response to a question from the Examiner that leaders were not actively recruiting a candidate for the race. Kleebs online support carries weight partly because, in addition to her state role, she is essentially chair of state party chairs for the national Democrats, serving as president of the Association of State Democratic Committees.

On Thursday, state Democratic spokesperson Jose Flores, Jr. said the party doesnt endorse candidates and repeated that the party is not actively pursuing a candidate, though a Democrat could still join the race.

Our goal will be to defeat Ricketts with a coalition, Flores said.

The Ricketts campaign and Nebraska Republicans quickly used Kleebs tweet as its latest attempt to paint Osborn as a Democrat.

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Will Coup, a Ricketts campaign spokesperson, said, Fake Dan Osborn can continue pretending to be an independent, but he is endorsed by the Nebraska Democratic Party, funded by Democrats and backs the partys positions, which he called extreme.

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State voting records show Osborn has been a registered nonpartisan since at least 2004. Osborn has said that he maintains his independence from the Democratic Party and, if elected, wont caucus with either party. He is known for helping lead the Kelloggs strike in 2021.

Osborn told the Examiner on Thursday that he is running to fix a broken Washington and that voters from all different types of political leanings believe in what hes doing and want to help.

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Pete Ricketts has failed every single Nebraskan, and every single Nebraskan is welcome to join our campaign, Osborn said.

Osborn is campaigning this time against a former two-term governor with Nebraskas dominant political operation, but the labor leader has populism on his side. His bid comes as both political parties are increasingly unpopular, and some voters are losing faith in institutions and seeking alternatives.

The Ricketts campaign has relentlessly criticized Osborn for weeks, pointing out that he uses ActBlue, a fundraising tool often used by Democrats. Some other nonpartisan and Independent candidates in different states avoided using ActBlue to keep from being associated with the Democratic Party.

Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb is shown. (Ariel Panowicz for Bold Nebraska)

Nebraska Republican Party chair Mary Jane Truemper piled on Thursday with a tweet, writing Nothing says Independent like a full endorsement from the Chair of the Nebraska Democrat Party.

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Osborn in 2024 flirted with seeking Democratic and third-party support until it was too late for the Democrats to run a candidate of their own, which led to some grumbling by some of his potential supporters on the left.

Fischer, during that race, labeled Osborn a Democrat in sheeps clothing, but largely ignored him until after he had built a populist brand.

Toward the end of the race, Fischer and Nebraska Republicans alleged that many of the millions that poured into Osborns 2024 campaign had come from Democrats and Democratic-leaning donors. They often highlighted that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee gave him money once national leaders saw his momentum.

I didnt ask for that money, Osborn told the Examiner earlier this month. This time around, Im not going to ask for it again.

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NEED TO KNOW

A 36-year-old Nebraska father, Jeremy Hansen, has been charged with negligent child abuse after his 5-month-old son died from being left in a hot car

The infant was found unresponsive, and first responders were unable to revive him

The incident occurred during a 105 degree heat advisory







A Nebraska father is facing charges after his son died from being left in a car on a sweltering hot day.

Authorities responded to a call of a baby unresponsive in a hot car at a parking lot in Hastings on Monday around 5 p.m., KSNB, NTV and KETV reported.

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The five-month-old was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, the local outlets reported. A preliminary police investigation determined he died of extreme heat exposure.

Later that evening, police arrested and charged the father, Jeremy Hansen, 36, with his sons death. He faces a charge of negligent child abuse resulting in death.

This is a heartbreaking incident and our hearts go out to the family, friends, first responders and all those affected by this unimaginable loss, a statement from authorities said, per NTV.

On Tuesday, Hansen was formally charged by the Adams County District Attorneys office; he will have his initial court appearance Friday, per the local outlets. It wasn't immediately clear if he has retained an attorney or entered a plea.

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.

According to the U.S. National Weather Service, temperatures were around 105 degrees Fahrenheit in southern Nebraska at around 5 p.m. on July 28, when Hansen's son was found.

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We know we have at least a few days like this every summer," the NWS wrote in a Facebook post. "That doesnt make them any less dangerous to those vulnerable to heat, working outdoors, without AC and to pets, the National Weather Service wrote in a Facebook post.

According to the organization Kids and Car Safety, five children in Nebraska died in hot cars from 1999 to 2024. On average, 40 children die each year from heatstroke in cars across the country, according to the organization.

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
Necklace ripped off womans neck in May San Jose strong-arm robbery

(KRON)  The San Jose Police Department is investigating a strong-arm robbery that occurred in late May and hoping that the public can provide any new leads.

Woman attacked 9-year-old boy to steal his bike, Novato police say

SJPD said the incident happened on May 23 at 10:55 a.m. in the 600 block of N. 17th Street.

Detectives said two suspects confronted the female victim and snatched her necklace. The duo fled the scene before officers could arrive and remain at large.

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San Jose police did not disclose if the woman was injured during the robbery or if similar incidents have occurred in the area since then.

Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact the SJPDs robbery division at (408) 277-4166.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
The U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command announced a new policy that allows Navy graduates to spend time off base, according to a service spokesperson.

Sailors who have completed boot camp and are heading to advanced training school are now eligible for overnight liberty, an approved period of leave that allows service members to spend the night off base. Service members will be granted authorized time off from Thursday night until 9 p.m. Friday on the day after graduation.

As part of our on-going commitment to Sailor quality of service across all ranks at RTC, the Navy values the accomplishments of our Sailors successfully completing boot camp, a spokesperson for the U.S. Navy Recruit Training Command told Navy Times in an emailed statement. This well-earned privilege recognizes their commitment, discipline, and transformation into U.S. Navy Sailors.

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The spokesperson said the liberty would allow graduates to spend time with loved ones and recharge before the next phase of their career.

The policy, which went into effect July 31, began with Training Group 34.

The shift was the result of a coordinated effort between Naval Service Training Command, Naval Station Great Lakes and Recruit Training Command, the spokesperson said.

Navy to cut boot camp from 10 weeks to nine

Previously, the Navy did not permit overnight liberty for recruits.

Recruits will discover during boot camp whether theyre eligible for overnight liberty and which advanced training school theyve been placed into, according to a Navy FAQ page.

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There are a variety of schools located across the country.

Recruits who are attending A-School in the local area or transitioning to Future Fleet will be eligible for overnight liberty after they check in, according to the FAQ page.

New sailors need to wear their full uniform when leaving and returning to RTC, but they are allowed to wear their own clothes when outside.

New sailors are also not allowed to rent a hotel room or rental car on their own. They must spend the night with their Liberty Buddy, a family member or friend listed on the access list.

Sailors are also not allowed to drink alcohol, even if they are of the legal age.
A growing community in Austin, Texas, is tapping into geothermal energy to provide its residents with heating and cooling that is said to provide up to $2,000 in utility bill savings each year.

Whisper Valley is filled with modern homes, quiet streets, and rooftops outfitted with solar panels, while underneath lies a hidden network of pipes and man-made reservoirs that tap into the Earth's natural warmth, according to a report by the Texas Tribune.

When it's completed, this community should consist of around 7,500 homes, three schools, and various commercial spaces that are all able to connect to the geothermal energy network run by EcoSmart Solutions.

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Local resident Michael Wilt, who has lived in the community since its first phase six years ago, told the Tribune that he has never seen energy bills over $70 during the summer months, although this doesn't include the $60 monthly fee.

"It absolutely works better than the HVAC system I had in the house that I was renting before purchasing the house," Wilt said. "The geothermal system was definitely part of the appeal, but really it was kind of the entire 'agrihood' feeling of the whole development."

Although geothermal only accounts for around 1% of global energy demand, it holds potential for meeting 15% of global electricity demand growth by 2050, the International Energy Agency explained.

As that technology improves and costs drop, geothermal energy's technical potential earns it a spot that's second only to solar power among renewable sources, and according to the IEA, it could meet global electricity demand 140 times over.

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Most geothermal projects are concentrated in a few countries with easily accessible and high-quality resources, such as the United States, Iceland, and Italy.

However, the IEA said that advancements in geothermal technology are opening up opportunities in more regions across the world.

Techniques such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that were adapted from the oil and gas industry are now helping to advance this clean energy resource.

"Today, with the advances in modern drilling, we are now able to tap into that heat almost anywhere," Drew Nelson, vice president of programs, policy, and strategy at the Houston-based Project Innerspace, told the Tribune.

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"As more projects are implemented, costs will continue to come down," he added.

The Whisper Valley homes that are connected to the geothermal network use heat pumps that work by moving heat around in an energy-efficient way instead of burning through energy to change internal temperatures, as radiators and air conditioners do.

Although the costs are still high  it costs around $40,000 per home to install heat pumps and connect to the network  the Whisper Valley community is paving the way for future geothermal projects that help reduce planet-warming emissions.

"We can't keep doing the same things," Michael Thurman, one of the community's developers, told the outlet in regards to lowering emissions and leaning into more sustainable energy sources.

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"This isn't tough to do, but you have to have core values that make you want to do it."

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.
WORTHINGTON, W.Va. (WBOY)  Nearly every time north central West Virginia gets a heavy rain, the Town of Worthington sees its sewage issues rise back up to the surface. And this year, there have been many storms and floods in that area.

Worthington residents have told 12 News before that sewage issues arising now have always been there, but this year has gotten progressively worse.

12 News asked the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) why its consent order was sent in late 2024, when violations were recorded by the WVDEPs own consent order as far back as 2021.

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In a statement to 12 News, the WVDEP said that when violations occur, WVDEP issues Notices of Violations and gives the responsible party adequate time to take corrective action. If issues are not resolved, we pursue escalating enforcement measures.

The WVDEP added that in this case, the initial negotiations for what became Consent Order 10174 began in August 2023. A majority of collection-system related violations occurred during these negotiations. The required POCA must address all violations.

According to the WVDEPs consent order, the town needs to pay a civil administrative penalty of $19,463, with the initial installment of the penalty payment due 30 days after the orders effective date of July 17.

The first payment will be $1,621.91 and due by Aug. 16. The same payment is due by the first day of each month for the next 10 months, with an eight-cent difference in payment to be submitted by the first day of the final month.

If all violations are not resolved or the town does not submit a Plan of Corrective Action (POCA), the WVDEP can escalate enforcement, but what exactly that would look like is unclear. However, according to its statement to 12 News, the WVDEP does not have jurisdiction to assume ownership or control of a wastewater treatment plant or sewage collection facility.

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The statement said the Public Service Commission (PSC) of West Virginia has tools and mechanisms related to distressed and/or failing utilities.

According to the Distressed and Failing Utility Act of 2020, the PSC does have the authority to order the acquisition of the failing utility by the closest suitable water and wastewater utility.

You can read 12 News full Q&A with the WVDEP here.

According to Marion County Commissioner Linda Longstreth, the Marion County Commission has provided American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds worth more than $360,000 to the town for repairs, adding that the commission will continue to provide assistance.

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Some Worthington residents said they want the county commission to assume control of the town, effectively ending its status as a municipality. However, Longstreth said that state code does not outline a mechanism for a county to take over a municipality. However, she said that it would likely involve specific provisions by State statute related to dissolution or Annexation with a neighboring municipality. My understanding is the State would make 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 WBOY.com.
COLCHESTER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  Small businesses throughout Vermont continue to struggle finding qualified workers to fill their open positions.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) released its July jobs report Friday. They found that, after a long, steady increase in businesses looking to fill jobs broken only by a drop during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, job openings are now at their lowest level since 2020.

Vermont launches website to simplify starting a business

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The job market in Vermont remains tight, so small business owners are working hard to fill the gaps and keep up with their customers demands, said NFIB Vermont State Director John Reynolds.

Nationally, 84% of small business owners hiring or trying to hire in July reported few or no qualified applicants. Those numbers are based on NFIBs monthly survey of member small and independent businesses.

You can read the full national report at the link here.

NFIBs announcement comes as another report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research warned that spending is increasing more slowly than usual this year, saying that the weak numbers reflected slower real wage growth and slower employment growth along with increased uncertainty about the future.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44.
Tina Cordova, a founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, protests at the Trinity site on Oct. 21, 2023. (Photo by Danielle Prokop / Source NM)

New Mexicos nuclear victims waited 80 years for recognition and the right for compensation under the federal Radiation and Exposure Compensation Act.

It took less than a month for scams to develop targeting those victims.

RECA  created in 1990 to provide restitution to people sickened by exposure to radiation and uranium  excluded New Mexicos downwinders and post-1971 uranium miners, expired last year after years of lobbying for expansion by victims and New Mexicos elected leaders.

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But President Donald Trump signed a two-year expansion and extension into law earlier this month as part of Republicans so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

On Tuesday, both the New Mexico Department of Justice and the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium issued a warning that RECA scams have already developed. According to an NMDOJ news release, organizations and attorneys are soliciting people to file claims with them for a fee, despite the fact that New Mexico will have a legitimate claim submission process and guidance forthcoming.

The U.S. Department of Justice has not yet announced an official claims process for qualifying New Mexicans. Both U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) last week recently sent letters to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging them to issue guidance quickly for RECA given the short two-year timeline for compensation.

We are grateful to our Congressional Delegation who tirelessly advocated for the expansion of these critical compensation efforts, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement. New Mexicans who have been affected by these exposures deserve compensation  and they deserve to get that compensation free from bad actors attempting to take advantage of them. We encourage New Mexicans to file claims through legitimate entities to ensure they receive the maximum compensation they are entitled to through RECA, and also to file any reports of suspected fraudulent activity with our office.

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The news release notes that any entity that files a RECA claim on behalf of residents will charge a fee, which is capped at 2% by law, but can increase to 10% if that claim is rejected. Moreover, the state will have official RECA clinics to assist people.

The Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium said it will have official updates online.

The people of New Mexico have waited 80 years for acknowledgement of the harm they suffered as a result of being overexposed to radiation from the Trinity bomb, TBDC co-founder Tina Cordova said in a statement. We hope everyone will be patient a little longer as details of the claim process are developed. Please dont allow someone to take part of your claim out of fear or some sense of urgency. We will do all we can to assist with the claims process once the guidelines are released.

Source New Mexico is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Source New Mexico maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Goldberg for questions: info@sourcenm.com.
New Mexico health officials on Aug. 1 reported possible measles exposure at two Santa Fe locations, including the interactive exhibit at Meow Wolf's Santa Fe location, pictured here. (Kate Russell)

On Friday afternoon, the New Mexico Department of Health announced that a child from another state had visited New Mexico while infected with measles and might have exposed other people at a few locations in Santa Fe  including the popular interactive Meow Wolf installation: House of Eternal Return.

NMDOH says people may have been exposed during the following times and days at the following locations:

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10:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., Saturday, July 26, Meow Wolf, 1352 Rufina Circle, Santa Fe

10:00 p.m. Friday, July 25 to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, July 26. The Hampton Inn, 3430 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe

The department says people who have recently been at any location should check check their vaccination status and report any measles symptoms in the next 21 days to their health care providers.

The out-of-state residents infection does not count toward New Mexicos total measles case count, which remains at 96.

Summer travel can increase the risk of catching measles, NMDOH medical epidemiologist Dr. Chad Smelser said in a statement. We urge New Mexicans to be sure they are up to date with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination before traveling.

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According to the state, 46,145 New Mexicans received the MMR vaccination between Feb. 1 and July 31.

Measles, one of the most contagious airborne viruses, spreads through contact with droplets from an infected person coughs and sneezes. The virus can survive in the air for hours, and can spread days before and after symptoms appear. Additionally, patients can take one to three weeks to develop symptoms such as headache, fever, cough, red eyes and the spotty red rash.

Complications can include ear infections and pneumonia. Health officials urge people with measles to stay home to prevent further spread and contact either a health provider or the NMDOH Helpline at 1-833-SWNURSE (1-833-796-8773) for further guidance.

NMDOH offers more measles guidance online.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez spoke with reporters in July about his and 22 states attorney generals' lawsuit against the Trump administration over education funding. Next to Torrez is Bill Rodriguez, who directs the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program at Santa Fe Public Schools. (Photo by Austin Fisher / Source NM)

Initial judgments in lawsuits against the Trump administration have restored billions in federal funding for New Mexico government and some nonprofits, attorneys with the New Mexico Department of Justice told lawmakers Thursday.

The New Mexico Department of Justice is part of 25 outstanding multi-state lawsuits against the Trump administration over funding cuts, as well as alleged federal overreach in executive orders on election administration or stripping birthright citizenship.

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Attorney General Raul Torrez joined other Democratic attorneys general in March town hall in Phoenix, speaking to the litigation strategy a Democratic AG coalition has deployed against the Trump administration.

Since January of 2025, much of the Impact Litigation Divisions work has focused on protecting the interests of the State of New Mexico and our residents against federal funding cuts and agency reorganizations that have or would have impaired our state governments ability to serve our population, Anjana Samant, deputy counsel for impact litigation at NMDOJ, told the New Mexico Legislatures interim Federal Funding Stabilization Subcommittee.

Judges have granted temporary wins to the state, often restoring cut funds in several of the suits. This included $12 billion dollars in federal grants and loans already promised to New Mexico frozen by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget; just over $50 million for the states education department across several different lawsuits; $59 million for pandemic-era public health funding stripped out of New Mexico Department of Health and Health Care Authority budgets; and $18 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for electric vehicle infrastructure.

Samant noted that the division, beyond its lawsuits against the federal government, also pursued litigation against social media owners Meta and Snap Inc, which owns Snapchat alleging the companys policies fail to protect children.

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Samant requested lawmakers provide $3.2 million in additional funding in the 2026 session to hire more staff.To say that we are at capacity is an understatement, Samant said of the divisions five attorneys. We want to continue to do the amazing work that we are doing, but we also want to expand our impact.

Sen. William Soules (D-Las Cruces), the committees co-chair, said he supported that request.For a few million dollars, you all with an office of four or five, have saved a several billion dollars  that seems like a pretty good deal, Soules said. And I hope that in the next budget that were able to make sure that there is that funding.
The Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney said it will not charge a 44-year-old city lifeguard who was arrested this week after stopping a man with 76 criminal convictions from harassing Kuhio beachgoers.

Lifeguard Christopher Kekaulike Kam was arrested Monday on suspicion of felony assault after reporting an altercation with Tommy Joe Chiles, 60, a convicted sex offender who was allegedly drunk and challenging beachgoers to fights.

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney declined charges in an assault 2nd (degree ) case involving a Waikiki lifeguard because there was credible evidence to show that he acted in self-defense,  Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement. The alleged victim in that case, Tommy Chiles, was arrested for disorderly conduct for allegedly attempting to fight with people on the beach.

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Kam, who has more than a decade of experience with Honolulu Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services, is on leave pending investigation, which is standard procedure.

Chiles was convicted in a July 5, 1988, case of felony sexual assault and is documented on the state Department of the Attorney Generals database. He has a pending misdemeanor assault case brought by a woman on June 18. Chiles has 399 criminal cases and citations and 76 convictions, according to state court rec ords and the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.

Chiles convictions include two for second-degree felony sex assault ; four for misdemeanor assault ; domestic violence ; two for criminal trespass ; resisting arrest ; misdemeanor criminal property damage ; two for second-degree terroristic threatening ; 11 for disorderly conduct ; eight for harassment ; indecent exposure ; three for drinking liquor in public ; open lewdness ; 21 for violating park rules ; third-degree promoting a detrimental drug ; misdemeanor theft ; and littering.

Waikiki police and Kam know Chiles from previous encounters. Chileswho has no local address and is 5 feet 9 inches and 140 poundswas arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

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Chiles was bleeding from the mouth and had a scrape on his right knee but refused treatment at the scene from city Emergency Medical Serv ices technicians and cursed at them. He was eventually treated at the Straub Medical Center before being booked. He is being held at the Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $500 bail.

According to a Honolulu Police Department incident report, about 5 p.m. on Monday, officers responded to 2525 Kalakaua Ave. in Waikiki and a city Ocean Safety Lifeguard told them Chiles was attempting to fight people on the beach and that he already assaulted someone.

I observed Chiles yelling incoherently and appearing to square up to Kam, appearing to stand in a fighting stance with his hands open and out to his sides. Chiles appeared highly intoxicated at the time. Kam appeared calm and was not being argumentative,  wrote an HPD officer in the report.

To de-escalate the situation, the officer put Chiles in handcuffs because he was the only one being aggressive  and appeared to be trying to fight, according to the report. The handcuffed Chiles was placed sitting on a wall where he continued to yell incoherently.

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Witnesses told police about Chiles disorderly behavior,  but also related that Kam had assaulted Chiles during the incident,  the report said Kam, who told police he would testify against Chiles, provided a written statement to police about the incident.

He wrote that a beachgoer reported Chiles tried to start a fight with people at the beach and a large black dog. He approached Chiles and tried to de-escalate the situation, according to his statement.

Chiles became aggressive and raised his hands, Kam wrote.

I was forced to defend myself with a push /kick to create distance, the suspect attempted to grab (me ) and take me down again forcing me to defend myself again. The male suspect was intoxicated and has a geo-restriction in Waikiki,  wrote Kam. No weapons were involved and I did not give the suspect permission to harass, intimidate, or attempt to assault me or other beach-goers. I am willing to prosecute if necessary.
Quagga mussels from Lake Mead, in Nevada. (Dave Britton/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

This story originally published Thursday on Idaho Reports.

Two-thirds of the way through summer, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture announced it has not yet detected any quagga mussels after two years of aggressive treatment in the Snake River.

However, the microscopic mussel veligers were not detected in the water near Twin Falls until late September in both 2023 and 2024. ISDA treated the infected river with a copper-based solution both years.

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Monitoring efforts in the Snake River are ongoing and remain a top priority. While early negative results are a good sign, long-term monitoring is essential to determine the full effectiveness of treatments, according to an ISDA press release.

The department has collected over 200 negative samples from the affected area this season, the press release said.

The department said it has collected more than 2,500 water samples statewide this year to test for quagga mussels.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on April 15 rescinded their closure of the Snake River near Twin Falls to hunting, fishing, and trapping. The closure had been in place since September 29, 2023.

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All watercraft entering or moving throughout the state must be clean, drained, and dry to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species.

All watercraft entering or exiting the section of the Snake River between Broken Bridge (Yingst Grade) and Hansen Bridge must undergo mandatory inspection prior to launch and decontamination upon exit.

According to ISDA, the Centennial Waterfront Park, Shoshone Falls, and Twin Falls Reservoir check stations have completed over 16,361 inspections so far this year.

Our roadside watercraft inspection stations along with our roving crews have completed more than 112,479 inspections, the department noted. We are on track to break our record of 157,356 inspections from 2024.

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A firefighter with a drip torch sets a line of fire along state Route 24 during overnight operations at the Monroe Canyon Fire on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Forest Service)

Fire restrictions are now in place across Utah, amid what Gov. Spencer Cox called terrible conditions fueling a number of blazes, including the 48,000-acre Monroe Canyon Fire.

Speaking from Richfield on Friday near the fire, Cox said the entire state is a tinder box.

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These terrible conditions that are making it impossible for us to get ahead of this fire exist in every corner of the state right now, Cox said. It would be very easy to have more fires like this one, so we need people to be incredibly cautious.

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Burning east of Interstate 70 near Richfield, the Monroe Canyon Fire is the largest blaze in Utah this year. Its grown by more than 10,000 acres in recent days, and is just 7% contained. More than 1,000 firefighters are working around the clock, with a focus on protecting structures.

Youre getting 60-mile-per-hour winds and weve had a few near misses with firefighters who had to cut their way out of the trees with a chainsaw. Fortunately, weve had no real serious accidents and the firefighters can go home to their families, said state Rep. Carl Albrecht, a Republican from Richfield, speaking to reporters alongside Cox on Friday.

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A number of transmission lines have been burned, causing periodic power outages in the area, and at least seven structures have been destroyed. Residents in Burrville, Monroe Canyon, and parts of Poverty Flat are under evacuation orders.

This is a big one. Its been a long time since weve had a big one like this. The odds of us putting it out anytime soon are pretty low, just to be honest. We know that the forecast is not great right now. Weve seen erratic fire behavior all day long, even at night, Cox said. Weve seen a fire make a five-mile run. You cant stop a fire when its making a run like that.

The temperature and precipitation outlook for the rest of the month, according to the National Weather Service, calls for below average rain and above average temperatures. Its been exceptionally dry around the state, with humidity as low as 4% in the Monroe Canyon area.

Its August and were not in good shape right now. And were not seeing any moisture in sight, said Jamie Barnes, director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

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To that end, state officials imposed stage two fire restrictions on Thursday. That means the following is prohibited:

Fires and campfires, even in developed camping or picnic areas.

Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, at a developed recreation site, or on a paved area.

Fireworks, tracer ammunition, exploding targets or other pyrotechnic devices.

Cutting, welding or grinding metal near vegetation.

Operating a motorcycle, chainsaw, ATV or other small internal combustion engine without a working spark arrestor.

These restrictions apply to all state and private, unincorporated land, including state trust land, state parks and wildlife management areas. They also apply to the following federal lands:

The Color Country, Canyon Country, Green River, Paria River and West Desert districts, managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Dixie, Fishlake and Manti-La Sal national forests, managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Violating the restrictions is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000.

There are a number of other fires burning throughout Utah:

The Forsyth Fire, discovered on June 19, has burned almost 16,000 acres, destroyed more than a dozen homes and is now 99% contained. Its located near the Pine Valley community, about 15 miles north of St. George.

The Deer Creek Fire is burning along the Colorado-Utah border near the La Sal Mountains, outside of Moab. It is 17,700 acres and, as of Friday morning, 88% contained.

Discovered Thursday, the Little Pole Fire in northern Box Elder County near the Idaho border is now 487 acres and 0% contained.

Cox declared a 30-day state of emergency on Thursday related to wildfires. The order allows the government to use all available state resources to protect lives, homes, livestock and drinking-water supplies threatened by this years severe fire season, according to the governors office. It also allows for the deployment of the Utah National Guard if needed.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has introduced new legislation aimed at banning weather modification practices, claiming they pose a threat to public health, the environment, and even government transparency.

The proposal from Greene and team, titled the Clear Skies Act of 2025 (H.R.4403), aims to outlaw the use of technologies such as geoengineering, cloud seeding, and solar radiation management  different methods that involve the intentional release of substances into the atmosphere to influence weather patterns or sunlight levels.

We must get this bill passed. Man should not be playing God with our weather! Greene said in a post announcing the bill.

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Under the act, individuals or corporations caught participating in weather modification would face felony charges, with potential penalties including up to five years in prison and fines reaching $100,000 per violation.

The bill also proposes to repeal any federal authority that currently allows weather manipulation. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice would be in charge of enforcing the regulations, if passed, including investigating and prosecuting violations.

In addition, the bill would allegedly set up a public reporting system that would allow American citizens to submit tips about any suspected weather manipulation activity. In response, the EPA would be legally required to investigate such reports.

Greene has compared her federal proposal to Floridas Senate Bill 56, which was passed earlier this year. Floridas SB56 cuts off the states ability to issue weather modification permits, and also bans the use of chemical dispersion to impact the atmosphere or climate conditions.

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I also reiterated in Miami that Florida is not a testing ground for geoengineering. We already do not permit this activity, and I will be signing SB 56 to prohibit the practice in our skies. The Free State of Florida means freedom from governments or private actors unilaterally applying chemicals or geoengineering to people or public spaces, said Gov. Ron DeSantis in a press release published on May 6.

As of Thursday, the new Clear Skies Act had been referred to committee and was awaiting further legislative action.

Whether the bill will gain traction in a sharply divided Congress remains to be seen. But Greene has made clear her intent to push forward.

No more spraying chemicals in our skies. Its time to end this dangerous and unregulated practice, Greene added in a follow-up post to X.
KERRVILLE  Flood survivors fought back tears Thursday as they described losing children, going days without contact from emergency management and discovering human remains still scattered in waterways even after victims who had been partially recovered were officially marked as found.

The public testimony at the joint hearing of the Senate and House Select Committees on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding in Kerrville underscored the devastating human toll caused by the Hill Country flooding as Texas lawmakers scrutinized official disaster response. Throughout the room, people wore green dresses, shirts, and pins to honor the memory of those lost at Camp Mystic.

Alicia Jeffrey Baker testified on behalf of her 11-year-old daughter Emmy, who died alongside her grandparents near the Casa Bonita development in Hunt, their family retreat since 1990. Baker waited 12 hours at Ingram Elementary with no officials in charge and no information available. Her daughters body wasn't identified until July 10, recognizable only by her charm bracelet.

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Baker called for warning systems based on the precise level of river rise, saying that sirens going off every time the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issues an alert would be ignored.

Local contractor Bud Bolton, who lives just downstream from the RV parks on the Ingram-Kerrville border that suffered heavy losses of life, testified that he saw 108 RVs swept downstream, some of them with families still inside. Bolton, who woke up on his own when there was water on his doorstep around 4:15 a.m. said 20 fire trucks and rescue vehicles were parked near his home but no one knocked on his door to warn him. When Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, halted Boltons testimony, he seized the mic again saying, "I lost 27 people that I knew" before being cut off for exceeding his time limit.

"Nobody came, nobody came, nobody came for us," Auburn Gallagher, a 25 year resident of Sandy Creek said during the hearing. Credit: Ronaldo Bolanos/The Texas Tribune

Travis County survivors tell of neglect

Travis County officials failed to deploy emergency resources to the Sandy Creek area for days after the devastating July floods, leaving residents to organize their own rescue and recovery efforts, according to testimony from multiple survivors.

"Nobody came, nobody came, nobody came for us," Auburn Gallagher, a 25-year resident of Sandy Creek said through tears, describing how no emergency management personnel showed up in the hardest-hit Windy Valley area for more than 24 hours after the flooding. "We had Travis County employees tell us they were warned at midnight that we were going to flood, but nobody came. No fire, no EMS, no sheriff. Nobody came for us.

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We had an entire pallet of donated chainsaws that disappeared overnight, said Melanie Strong, who lives 20 minutes from Sandy Creek and volunteered in the area, while suggesting that the Texas Department of Public Safety failed to deploy enough officers to the area to prevent looting.

Strong testified that when her boyfriend, a Texas Department of Public Safety lieutenant in the Capitol Region, checked for official requests for assistance from Travis County to DPS on the morning after the flood, "his answer was no."

Debris and human remains in waterways

Survivors from both Kerr and Travis Counties testified that because of the methods that emergency management teams use to identify missing persons, human remains are still in areas affected by the flood.

I found a hip and a leg on my property, testified Ashlee Willis who lives near Sandy Creek in Travis County. Willis said Travis County marks people as found when they find body parts that they are able to match to DNA and that they are not coming back to find the rest of these people.

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The fact is that cadaver dogs need to be brought out. Residents shouldn't be finding body parts, said Sen. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, in response to Willis.

Sens. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, chastised Travis County Judge Andy Brown for the countys response after Bettencourt warned earlier in the day the panel would ask him very pointed questions. The two senators questioned Brown over discrepancies between witness testimony and Browns recounting of emergency response. They also alleged there were body parts still remaining in untouched debris fields and that 911 calls went unanswered.

I'm not sure who has your ear, but what I've heard today compared to what I've heard before with you, there's just such a conflict of where assets were and where they were absent, Campbell said.

Ann Carr noted a similar situation in Kerr County, where her property overlooks contaminated water. Carr testified there are vehicles emitting oil into a lake that abuts the Guadalupe River in Ingram.

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"What we have noticed since the flood is our lake has become a toxic pit," said Carr.

In her testimony, Carr raised concerns about how officials are handling body recovery efforts, aligning with Willis testimony that finding partial remains leads authorities to mark a missing person as recovered. "They'll find a finger, and they'll say that they recovered a body," Carr said.

Carr said that from her home she had seen cadaver dogs detecting possible hits off of Ingram Lake from the shoreline, adding that We have asked [divers who have been in the lake] direct questions, are there bodies in the water? Their answers are yes."

At a July 14 Kerr County Commissioner's meeting, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly said there is a plan in place right now to accomplish draining [Ingram Lake]. However, no steps have been so far taken to drain it.

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"Our lake is the lifeblood of our community," said Carr.

Bud Bolton spoke about evacuating his home the morning of July 4th and the aftermath in the early hours of the floods, during the hearing at on Thursday in Kerrville. Credit: Ronaldo Bolanos/The Texas Tribune

Some survivors too busy to make it to hearing

Brian Keeper, 68, was up late with a roof leak when he noticed the Guadalupe River had jumped its banks near his Hunt home. Within minutes, the artist was making frantic phone calls, waking 11 neighbors to warn them of the unprecedented flood bearing down on this small Hill Country community. Though Keeper has ideas for the county  he thinks it should install flood warning systems near Hunt and should also create a local call tree that allows neighbors to call many of their neighbors at once  he didnt attend Thursdays hearing.

Theyre demolishing half my house today, Keeper said Wednesday, adding that this is the first week hes been able to think about anything beyond just getting by day-to-day.Keeper, who is sleeping at a nearby summer camp, said that a volunteer donated a trailer that he will soon put in his driveway that will allow him to return to his property.

As for how he will actually rebuild his home, Keeper is unsure. He has lived in the house since he was a child and said it cost as much as a 10-speed bicycle when his family first bought it. Now, hes focused on getting what he can from FEMA and determining how much of the rebuilding he can self-finance.

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Volunteer contractors have offered to help Keeper rebuild. I just have to provide materials, he said.

The average FEMA home repair payment for this disaster so far is about $8,000 according to an analysis of FEMAs open database conducted by Madison Sloan, director of the Disaster Recovery & Fair Housing Project at Texas Appleseed.

Keeper, an artist, also builds boats to earn money. All of the boats that he had in stock were washed away during the flood. He hopes that when the process of recovery is over he can build boats again.

Disclosure: Texas Appleseed has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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.
COLUMBUS  The Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of State Fire Marshal and Ohio Department of Public Safetys Division of EMS are now accepting nominations for the 2026 Ohio Fire Service Hall of Fame and Fire Awards. This annual event honors the bravery, commitment and service of Ohios fire service professionals, departments and educators, as well as citizens who have demonstrated outstanding achievements or heroism.

Nominations for the 45th annual awards ceremony will remain open through Dec. 31, 2025. Award recipients will be honored at a special ceremony in spring 2026, where they will recognize those who have gone above and beyond in their duties, exemplifying the finest traditions of fire service.

Nominations can be submitted by visiting com.ohio.gov/HOFNOM. Those nominating individuals are encouraged to carefully read the criteria for each award to ensure their nominee is eligible.

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Ohio State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon says this event serves as a powerful reminder each year of the sacrifices and contributions of those within the Ohio fire community.

The Fire Service Hall of Fame and Fire Awards is always one of my favorite events of the year, said Reardon. These awards allow us to shine a bright light on the remarkable individuals who risk their lives and dedicate themselves to protecting communities throughout Ohio. Not only is it a privilege to recognize our heroes, this is also an opportunity to inspire others to follow their incredible example.

Last year, 22 individuals were recognized for their heroic actions and commitment to public safety.

Nominations of deserving candidates will be accepted in the following award categories:

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* Ohio Fire Service Citizens Award  Honoring citizens who save or attempt to save lives in emergency situations at great personal risk.

* Ohio Fire Service Valor Award  Recognizing extraordinary acts of heroism by fire service members under dangerous circumstances.

* Ohio Fire Service Distinguished Service Award  Celebrating individuals whose leadership and contributions have significantly advanced fire services in Ohio and beyond.

* Ohio Fire Department of the Year Award  Highlighting a department that exemplifies exceptional impact and leadership within its community.

* Ohio Fire Service Instructor of the Year Award  Recognizing a fire service educator whose teaching has significantly advanced fire service training.

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* Ohio Fire Officer of the Year Award  Honoring outstanding leadership exhibited by a fire officer.

* Ohio Fire Prevention Educator of the Year Award  Recognizing innovative prevention education efforts and their impact on communities.

* Ohio Fire Educator Lifetime Achievement Award  Celebrating long-term, impactful contributions to fire service education at the local, state, or national level.

For a complete description of awards, eligibility requirements and submission guidelines, visit the Hall of Fame and Fire Awards webpage. Submissions should include supporting documentation such as narratives, fire reports, letters of recommendation and other relevant materials that demonstrate why the nominee is deserving of recognition.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Rumors are circulating that Nordstrom may be leaving Portland after Mayor Keith Wilson shared details of a conversation he had with the companys CEO.

During a public meeting on Monday, Wilson said he had a conversation with CEO Erik B. Nordstrom, who reportedly said he was not sure how much longer the company could continue to operate in Portland, as first reported by The Oregonian.

Not a dime: More Pacific Northwest victims of barn contractor speak out

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However, Nordstrom shared the following response with KOIN 6 News.

Currently there are no planned changes to our Portland stores. We continue to work with the city to explore how we can best serve our customers and the Portland community.

These rumors come just one month after a former Nordstrom location at the Lloyd Center was demolished to make space for a new music venue by Monqui Presents.

The storefront at 701 SW Broadway is currently the only Nordstrom location in Portland.

Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  Theres nothing better than a fresh start, and thats exactly what graduates of a one-of-a-kind program in Madison County are getting. The North Alabama Homebuilding Academy provides all the training people need to enter a career in construction for free.

Thursday night, it held a graduation ceremony for its latest class and celebrated having more than 600 graduates.

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One of the NAHA graduates.

One of Thursdays graduates was Aaron Zeigler.

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Honestly, I thought it might be too good to be true, Zeigler told News 19.

He said his cousin was the one who told him about NAHA.

He had done it, he was managing a Chick-fil-A actually, and now hes making great money being a plumber, Zeigler said.

He decided to take the leap for himself, realizing what a great opportunity it could be.

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People are paying for you to come and learn, get hands-on training in skilled trade work, and theyre giving you the tools for free, and then theyre literally introducing you to the people that are going to interview you, and you can have a job literally before graduation, he said.

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After Zeigler graduated, he was handed his very own tool kit with all the tools he would need for his new job.

Aaron Zeigler gradating from NAHA.

Aaron Zeigler getting his toolkit.

I just got a job with Durham Services, and Im really excited, he told News 19.

Zeiglers new boss, Larry Durham, is one of the minds behind NAHA.

We had to find a way as an industry to rebuild our own workforce, Durham said.

Thats how NAHA was born. It teaches people the basics of carpentry, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical. After learning the basics of each trade, students then pick their preferred trade and learn more hands-on skills.

The program is designed to save the employer 6 to 9 months of on-the-job training, Durham said.

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NAHA officially launched in January of 2020, and since then, its impacted the lives of more than 600 people. Its also trained people to fill hundreds of open spots in the local homebuilding industry.

Earlier this year, the Alabama Legislature passed a bill that will pave the way for other home building associations across the state to launch their own programs.

Durham said the first expansion will happen in Mobile.

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.

Come January, theyre going to launch SAHA, the South Alabama Homebuilders Academy, Durham said.

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He said the goal is for places all over the state to have their own academies.

One of the legislators who helped pave the way for this expansion is North Alabama Representative Andy Whitt.

It was an easy sell for me. It was actually an easy sell for all the legislators because everyone wanted it in their community, Rep. Whitt told News 19.

NAHA Executive Director Tommy Davis said the next class will start up in two weeks. The program is clearly no longer one of Madison Countys best-kept secrets, because spots for the rest of the year are already filling up.

You can click here to learn more about the North Alabama Homebuilding Academy.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
NORTH AURORA, Ill. (WGN)  A North Aurora man has received an 11-year prison sentence for disseminating child pornography featuring children under the age of 13.

Officials said 46-year-old Aaron Latham agreed to the prison sentence of 11 years in exchange for pleading guilty of disseminating child pornography  children under 13.

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Prosecutors said on July 13, 2024, Latham uploaded and shared a video showing a child engaged in a sex act on social media. Latham also admitted to knowing the child was under the age of 13.

(Photo: Kane County Sheriffs Office)

In addition to the prison term, Latham must register for life as a sexual offender in accordance with the Illinois Sexual Offender Registration Act.

Fundraiser launched for McHenry County teens killed in suspected drunk driving accident

In accordance with Illinois law, Latham is eligible for day-for-day sentencing and receives credit for 322 days served in the Kane County Jail.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
The Brief

Aaron Lee Latham, 46, of North Aurora, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of sharing child pornography.

On July 13, 2024, Latham uploaded and shared a video depicting a child, under the age of 13, engaging in sexual acts on a social media platform, prosecutors allege.

Latham is also required to register as a sex offender for life.

ST. CHARLES, Ill. - A North Aurora man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for child pornography charges, according to the Kane County State's Attorney.

What we know

Aaron L. Latham, 46, of North Aurora, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to a felony charge of sharing child pornography.

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On July 13, 2024, Latham uploaded and shared a video depicting a child, under the age of 13, engaging in sexual acts on a social media platform, prosecutors allege.

Latham is also required to register as a sex offender for life.

Aaron Lee Latham, 46, of North Aurora

The case was investigated by Special Investigator Andrew Uhlir of the Kane County Child Exploitation Unit, a collaboration of the States Attorneys Office and the Kane County Sheriff's Office launched in 2022 to keep Illinois children safe from sexual exploitation.

What they're saying

"Child pornography is not a victimless crime. Children depicted in sexually compromising images and videos are victimized every time someone views them, even decades later," Assistant State's Attorney Ken Hudson said.

The Source

Details for this story were provided by the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.
After a decade of urging from clean energy advocates, utility Duke Energy finally has a plan to let its North Carolina customers access detailed information about their electricity use.

Approved by state regulators on July 16, the program has backing from the state customer advocate and the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. But critics say unresolved aspects, including the size of the fee Duke charges third parties for data access, will determine its success or failure.

The Duke plan is a step toward solving a common problem for utility customers, large and small: They dont have ready access to complete, granular information about their energy use or an easy way to share that data with others. That can complicate decarbonization efforts for a range of consumers, from households that want rooftop solar to cities aiming to shrink their carbon footprints.

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The city of Charlotte, for instance, owns one of the worlds busiest airports, which it aims to power entirely with clean energy by the end of the decade. But dozens of private entities within the facility have electricity accounts, so city officials dont know exactly how much power the entire complex uses  or how much renewable energy they need to meet their target.

At the other end of the size spectrum, individuals considering energy-efficiency improvements, rooftop solar panels, or switching to a heat pump often dont have a full picture of when their energy use peaks or which appliances gobble up the most power.

Limited access to energy-usage data is hardly confined to Duke, said Michael Murray, who cofounded the nonprofit Mission:data after realizing that getting usage data in his home state of California was like pulling teeth.

California actually had the first policy on this in the country in 2013, Murray said, thanks in part to his groups advocacy. Now, Mission:data engages with utilities commissions in about 10 states every year. To date, we've gotten policies in place for about 41 million electric meters in the country. Not all the policies are perfect, he said. Referencing the freshly approved Duke plan, he added, this is certainly one of those.

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Like North Carolina-based advocates, Mission:data has been cajoling Duke for better data access for years. And though the group declined to endorse the proposal put forward in November by the utility, in-state advocates, and others, Murray doesnt question the rationale of those who backed it.

It does make some progress for the communities who are interested in energy benchmarking, he said.

Thats especially welcome under the Trump administration, which has created countless new barriers to adopting clean energy. With the November proposal now blessed by regulators, communities and individuals alike are better equipped to take advantage of what federal climate programs still exist  and to decarbonize in general.

There are still some [climate programs] that are absolutely out there that are moving forward, said Ethan Blumenthal, regulatory and legal counsel for the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association.

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For example, North Carolinas federally funded $156 million Solar for All program, called EnergizeNC, is intended to help low-income customers put rooftop panels on their homes. Improved data access will enable them to right-size those installations.

[The state is] still dotting a lot of I's and crossing T's on program design, Blumenthal said, so this data access capability could be very useful.

Individual customers contemplating solar or high-efficiency appliances like heat pumps can still access a 30% federal tax credit, though only until the end of this year.

Aggregate data that shows the combined energy use of multiple utility customers can help cities like Charlotte administer a new state law that allows commercial building owners to borrow money for renewable energy and energy-efficiency upgrades and pay it back on their property tax bills.

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We do have a lot of large buildings with multiple tenants, Aaron Tauber, Charlottes sustainability analyst, said last fall when the access program was first proposed. Im just really excited for these building owners to really  for the first time  gain an understanding of how their buildings are using energy.

Granular details about energy use at 15-minute intervals are also helpful for customers as Duke and other utilities across the U.S. experiment with time-of-use rates and virtual power plants. Virtual power plants are networks of rooftop solar, home batteries, and other distributed energy resources that utilities can manipulate to support grid reliability at large, while time-of-use rates are electricity charges that vary over the course of the day to nudge energy use to periods of low demand.

Duke has been making this big push to time-of-use rates, Blumenthal said, noting that the utility just got a pilot program approved to encourage customers to charge their EVs overnight, when the grid is typically less strained.

But certain features of the new data access program remain unsettled, and the devil could be in those details, says Murray.

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Customers can receive two years of their own individual data for free. But Murray worries that regulators will allow Duke to charge exorbitant access fees for aggregated data or to third parties, which would undercut the program.

Authorized third parties will be charged commission-approved fees  but these will be determined later, and could be anything, he said. Maybe if the fees are $3, this is fine, but what if they're $100 or $200?

In the latter case, third parties would be more likely to resort to screen-scraping, a practice thats illegal at worst and inefficient at best, whereby energy service contractors obtain usage data by combing through customers online account profiles with their usernames and passwords.

Whats more, Murray said, third parties must meet Duke's cybersecurity risk assessment, which is unknown and could be unilaterally changed at Duke's whim, creating business uncertainty. There is also the risk of Duke discriminating against third parties and accepting some while rejecting others.

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Time is of the essence. Duke has pledged to implement the rules within 18 months  a promise underscored by the recent order from the Utilities Commission.

Asked when Duke planned to submit proposed fees and cybersecurity standards, Duke spokesperson Logan Stewart said it will file a plan with the Commission within 30 days of the order, which details the  plan for implementing the data sharing functionality.

That means a more fleshed-out proposal could come in mid-August, and Mission:data will be watching.

This is not the utilities proprietary business data that they can hide from disclosure, Murray said. This is the customer's data. They own their data. And they should be able to exchange that with whoever they want, even if the utility is not happy about that.


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  An Iredell County state representative says more needs to be done to regulate the sale of products that contain Kratom.

The Southeast Asian plant has traditionally been used to treat various ailments. But both lawmakers and sellers argue that the rise of uncontrolled, highly potent synthetics poses a danger to public health.

According to Rep. Jeff McNeely, North Carolina has become the wild west when it comes to Kratom. While acknowledging the plant can be used to treat anxiety and PTSD, he argued unregulated synthetics can be dangerously concentrated and contain unknown ingredients. That is why he filed House Bill 468, legislation that would regulate the sale and distribution of Kratom products.

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We have no regulations on it, so that 12-year-old kid peddles his bike up to the store, can go in and purchase that product along with any of the other CBD cannabis products, hemp products that are out there, said McNeely.

Cleveland County investigator on leave for allegedly falsifying information

Michael Sims, who owns Crowntown Dispensary in the Charlotte area, described some of the brands on the market as gas station heroin.

Sims carries a line of products containing Kratom, but insists he only uses a single brand that can verify its ingredients.

This is for people with chronic pain. This is for people looking to get off opioids. I do not recommend this recreationally, I do not recommend this just to try for fun to see what it does, said Sims.



Sims supports regulation but opposes an outright ban.

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It needs to be reasonably regulated and let adults make the decisions of what is best for them or not, but banning them does nothing but cause more problems, he added.

While McNeelys legislation stalled in Raleigh this year, he expects to get it across the finish line during a shortened session in April 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 Queen City News.
John Bjornson, right, director of Legislative Council, speaks during a meeting of the Legislative Management Committee next to Emily Thompson, center, director of the Legal Division of Legislative Council, and Allen Knudson, left, legislative budget analyst and auditor for Legislative Council, on June 26, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

The North Dakota Legislature is adding staff to help lawmakers better analyze policy and evaluate whether programs are effective.

Legislative Council is adding 25 staff members in 2025-27, starting with recruiting four policy analysts to help with research, policy proposals and other analysis. The goal is to expand the nonpartisan research arm of the Legislature and form a policy and program evaluation division, said John Bjornson, director of Legislative Council.

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Were excited about the idea of having this new resource on our staff where we can engage in what would be a greater legislative oversight function that weve never been able to provide before, Bjornson said.

More than 50 people applied for the initial openings, he said. The new hires could be on board as soon as September.

Legislative Council hired two policy analysts ahead of the 2025 legislative session to assist with property tax legislation and other bills. The additions would allow each legislative committee to have its own analyst.

Its been helpful to start it out small with these two, but now were ready to make the jump, Bjornson said.

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The agency also will add 10 program evaluators and a director to oversee the new division. The new hires will examine state initiatives, such as the state investments in child care through the Department of Health and Human Services, to ensure they are effective, he said.

The program evaluators are expected to play a role with the new Legislative Task Force on Government Efficiency. During the groups first meeting on Wednesday, members discussed the challenges of examining state programs.

With this new Legislative Council staff that we have, it will help us actually know what we passed, is it working? said Rep. Nathan Toman, R-Mandan, chair of the task force.

Because the Legislature only meets every two years, Toman said many of the policies and programs adopted by lawmakers sometimes feel like knee-jerk reactions.

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We build the program, we throw the money at it and we dont know anything about it, Toman said.

Legislative Council is expected to grow from 45 members to 70 during this budget cycle, which would still make it among the smallest five legislative support agencies when compared to other states, Bjornson said. Other new North Dakota legislative staff will include information technology, another attorney and editors to review documents, Bjornson said.

Montanas Legislature, which also meets every two years, had a permanent legislative staff of 143 people in 2021, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. South Dakota had the fewest with 28 permanent staff, according to NCSL.

North Dakota Legislative Council will gain additional office space on the 15th floor of the Capitol to accommodate the new staff members.

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Gov. Kelly Armstrong vetoed a portion of Senate Bill 2001, which would have reserved the floor for Legislative Council. One of Armstrongs objections was putting the office space in state law. He also raised concerns about lawmakers not getting input from his administration or Career and Technical Education, the department that occupies the floor now.

Bjornson said the floor had been identified by Capitol facility staff as being underused. The Department of Career and Technical Education is moving out of the Capitol and has a lease that starts Aug. 1 with Bismarck Public Schools.

In the meantime, the new legislative staff members will work out of vacant committee rooms on the ground floor of the Capitol.

Coincidentally, Bjornson added he will be moderating a session on legislative oversight next week at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Boston.

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Its something that has been going on for a long time in state government and we just havent had the ability to do it, he said.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  For nearly two years, construction of a gas station on the corner of MLK Boulevard and Alexander Road has blocked lanes of both roads.

Rodney Goings, who lives nearby, frequently sees the slowdown.

When Im coming up here and they got one lane, thats just a pain in the butt, you know what Im saying? Goings said. But it does slow down traffic, and it will make your commute a little longer.

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In early July, the City of North Las Vegas told 8 News Now that the project stalled due to actions of the adjacent property owner.

After multiple requests for clarification, the city sent a statement saying: According to the developer, he has had issues with the subcontractors and had to retain new ones.

During stretches of time, cones and fencing are up, yet nobody could be seen working  until this week. Contractors are at the site of the gas station, laying concrete and installing a new sidewalk.

Jose Turcios, project manager for the contractor laying concrete, said even when the sidewalk is done, it will still take some time for the cones to go away. He said it will be the duty of another contractor to finish the roads asphalt, which he estimates could be as quick as two weeks after starting.

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Turcios is hopeful the cones will be gone soon.

I would say that the owner is desperate to get it open, and obviously, he cant open until we get this all completed, he said.

His crews work should be done in around three weeks.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Update: North Las Vegas police announced that Reagor was located shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

We are pleased to report that Laryia Reagor has been located, the department said. We sincerely thank the public for their assistance in helping us bring this matter to a safe resolution. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  North Las Vegas police are asking for the publics help to locate a missing 19-year-old who is diagnosed with autism.

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According to police, Laryia Reagor was last seen on July 31 at around 5 a.m. near her residence in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard and June Avenue.

Laryia Reagor, 19, was last seen on July 31 at around 5 a.m. near her residence in the area of Martin Luther King Boulevard and June Avenue. (NLVPD)

Reagor has been diagnosed with autism and functions at the level of a 9 to 12-year-old child, police said. She requires medication and supervision from family members.

She is approximately 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs around 160 pounds. She has long brown hair styled in braids and brown eyes. Police said she was last seen wearing a long-sleeve gray shirt with a picture of Tupac Shakur on it and tan pants.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Reagor is asked to contact the North Las Vegas Police Department immediately at 702-633-9111.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
UPDATE: TGSO states all lanes are open on Highway 2105 and Northbound 87.

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  A two-vehicle crash has blocked off all Northbound traffic on Highway 87 on Thursday, July 31.

The TGSO sent out a Nixle alert at 5:39 p.m. stating a road closure at Highway 87 at 2105 due to a traffic accident. There is also no access to Highway 87 from FM 2105.

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The collision was between a red SUV and a white truck; the make and model of both cars are unknown at this time.

The TGSO, DPS, SAPD and the Grape Creek Volunteer Fire Department are all on scene.

No further information is available at this time.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  One of only a small number of hospitals in the Northeast Kingdom is getting even smaller. But the hospital says its part of a strategy to improve and expand in the future.

Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital announced Tuesday that it would be closing its Occupational Medicine office, which focuses on helping injured workers recover along with pre-employment physicals and drug testing, among other services.

UVM Health to lay off positions, cut projects

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The hospital is also ending a partnership with Littleton Regional Healthcare across the state line involving Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) services, and has eliminated three administrative jobs over the past few months, part of a total of eight positions that are being cut.

CEO Shawn Tester said the cuts were required if the hospital hopes to provide affordable care in the long term.  we must find savings. These difficult decisions are necessary to preserve our ability to serve the Northeast Kingdom well into the future.

Two arrested for St. Johnsbury arson, other charges

Even while the hospital aims to cut costs in the near term, a significant expansion of the emergency department is still on track. Its West Wing Project will add more than 8,300 square feet to the hospital, including an area for mental health support.

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NVRH has written up answers to frequently asked questions about what it calls cost-containment measures.

NVRH isnt going anywhere, said Tester. Were here for the long haul and were deeply grateful to our entire team for their commitment.

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LAS VEGAS, N.M. (KRQE)  A big bear right in the middle of a New Mexico mans trailer. Thats what Game and Fish officers were called out to in mid July after a 64-year-old man shot and killed the black bear that he says woke him up after breaking into his house.

Calvin Stoddard says he was sleeping in his trailer near Hermits Peak, northwest of Las Vegas, when around 11 p.m. he heard the bear rummaging around inside.

Stoddard told Game and Fish, the bear came in through the screen door of his 28-foot-trailer and was just three feet away from his face.

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An avid hunter and former hounds man, Stoddard says once he saw the bear he grabbed his rifle at the foot of his bed. And says without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

The close call has game and fish reminding people to stay bear aware this time of year, We do see a lot more bears coming into town during when they come out of hibernation. And if theres a drier area in parts of New Mexico, well see them try to find water sources and food,  said Wheeler Brunschmid, Associate Chief of Information, New Mexico Game and Fish.





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CHICAGO (WGN)  City of Chicago officials cleared a homeless encampment at Gompers Park on the Northwest Side earlier this year but the story didnt end there.

A new encampment popped up directly across from Gompers, upsetting some neighbors who say it has triggered an increase in reported crimes and drug use.

WGN Investigates recently visited the new encampment at Eugene Field Park near Foster and Pulaski avenues. We counted at least 15 tents.

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Joe Neal was among the people we interviewed.

He told us he moved to the encampment at Eugene Field, from a different site along the lake that he says grew too dangerous.

I had a lot of loss out here, Neal said. I lost my fiance and my mother last year. That will mess with your mental health.

Neal, a former college cheerleader, said hes forced to live in the encampment because of issues obtaining a state ID, which he says he needs to obtain housing.

I dont have enough paperwork that has my name and social [security number], he said. That is why Im still here, honestly.

Once you get stuck its very hard to get out add, he added.

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But thats of little consolation to some neighbors who pushed the city to clear out Gompers Park, only to have another encampment pop up nearby.

Related: City, some residents at odds over future of homeless encampments

WGN Investigates spoke with people who said theyve witnessed drug use and found needles near the park. Kate Jedynaks mother lives in a nearby senior facility.

[Residents of the encampment] have done trespassing, she said. Theyve broken down fences. Weve been finding used needles throughout the courtyard.

Chicago police data reviewed by WGN Investigates showed a sharp increase in reported crimes at the two-block stretch where Gompers and Eugene Field parks are located.

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Last year, there were 54 reported crimes such as theft and assault, a 200 percent increase compared to 2021.

WGN Investigates: Investigating public corruption, crime & fraud

We are seeing the exact same behaviors that we saw at Gompers Park, said Nicole Foster, of the Restore Gompers Park Coalition.

Residents voiced their concerns about the Eugene Field Park encampment at a recent Chicago Park District board meeting.

But officials said there are no immediate plans to clear the site.

Where the Eugene Field encampment is located does not impede park district programming, said Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, superintendent of the Chicago Park District.

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One of the problems is that we dont have enough shelter bedsenough housing for individuals experiencing homelessness, he said.

The citys Department of Family and Support Services says the AME at Gompers led to 21 cases of permanent or transitional housing. They argue, people showing up at Eugene Field Park are new residents who have arrived due to media attention.

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Donald Trump, beset by a week of bad news, has decided to rattle the most dangerous saber of all. In a post today on his Truth Social site, the president claimed that in response to recent remarks by former Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, he has ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions. (All American submarines are nuclear-powered; Trump may mean submarines armed with ballistic nuclear weapons.) Words are very important, Trump added, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.

And then, of course: Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Trumps words may mean nothing. The submarines that carry Americas sea-based nuclear deterrent routinely move around the worlds oceans. Each carries up to 20 nuclear warheads, on missiles with a range of more than 4,000 miles, and so almost anywhere can be an appropriate region. And Trump may not even have issued such orders; normally, the Pentagon and the White House do not discuss the movements of Americas ballistic-missile submarines.

Medvedev is a man with little actual power in Russia, but he has become Russias top internet troll, regularly threatening America and its allies. No one takes him seriously, even in his own country. He and Trump have been trading public insults on social media for months, with Trump telling Medvedev to watch his words and Medvedevnicknamed Little Dima in Russia due to his diminutive staturewarning Trump to remember Russias Dead Hand, a supposed doomsday system that could launch all of Russias nuclear weapons even if Moscow were destroyed and the Kremlin leadership killed.

The problem is not that Trump is going to spark a nuclear crisis with a post about two submarinesat least not this time. The much more worrisome issue is that the president of the United States thinks it is acceptable to use ballistic-missile submarines like toys, objects to be waved around when he wants to distract the public or deflect from bad news, or merely because some Russian official has annoyed him.

Unfortunately, Trump has never understood nuclear, as he calls it. In a 2015 Republican primary debate, Trump said: We have to be extremely vigilant and extremely careful when it comes to nuclear. Nuclear changes the whole ball game. When the moderator Hugh Hewitt pressed Trump and asked which part of the U.S. triad (land-based missiles, bombers, and submarines) would be his priority, Trump answered: For me, nuclear, the power, the devastation, is very important to me.

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That power and devastation, however, are apparently not enough to stop the president from making irresponsible statements in response to a Kremlin troll. One would hope that after nearly five years in officewhich must have included multiple briefings on nuclear weapons and how to order their useTrump might be a bit more hesitant to throw such threats around. But he appears to have no sense of the past or the future; he lives in the now, and winning the moment is always the most important thing.



Trumps nuclear threats are reckless. (I would call them silly, but that is too small a word when the commander in chief even alludes to nuclear arms.) But such threats serve two purposes.

First, they help Trump maintain the fiction that he wants to be tough on Russia, that he is willing to impose consequences on Moscow for its behavior, and that hes not about to take any guff from anyone in the Kremlin. He takes plenty of guff, of course, from Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he seems to genuinely fear. Trump has never aimed such invective at Putin, and using Medvedev as a surrogate helps Trump thump his chest without any danger of getting into a real fight with someone who scares him.

More important, Trump knows that a foreign-policy crisis, and anything involving nuclear weapons, is an instant distraction from other news. The media will always zero in on such moments, because it is, in fact, news when the most powerful man on Earth starts talking about nuclear weapons. (And here I am, writing about it as well.) Trump has had a terrible week: Hes dug a deeper hole for himself on the Jeffrey Epstein issue, the economy is headed in the wrong direction, and his approval rating is cratering. Using the implied threat of nuclear war to pick a fight with one of Red Squares most juvenile and odious figures is a convenient distraction.

Nuclear-missile submarines are not toys. No one understood this better than Trumps predecessors, the 11 presidents who have been the only other people in American history with the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons. They treated any declarations about nuclear weapons with utter gravity and sobriety. They avoided even mentioning such things unless they were articulating a carefully planned policy and communicating it to allies and enemies alike. They did not engage in petty spats with nuclear-armed foreign powers. And they considered using nuclear signals only when faced with crises that involved Americas vital interests.

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Trump, however, has now discarded all of these red lines. He has initiated a new era in which the chief executive can use threats regarding the most powerful weapons on Earth to salve his ego and improve his political fortunes. Once upon a time, America was governed by serious people. No longer.

For now, Americas nuclear-armed opponents seem to have priced in a certain amount of drama and foolishness when it comes to Donald Trump, and his most recent social-media bloviation will likely amount to nothing. But if such outbursts are ever taken seriously by our adversaries, the presidentand Americamay one day regret it.

Article originally published at The Atlantic
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. (KOIN)  A 9-acre spread in Ridgefield is the sort of picturesque horse property some people dream of for years.

Matt Concannon purchased the land early last fall.

He and his wife wanted to make some modifications to the giant barn, so they asked a barn contractor Wapiti Pacific, which they originally hired for a different job, if they could work on their new spot instead.

Would we be able to take our entire deposit and apply it to a remodel instead? And he said Yes, says Concannon.

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Months later, the husband and father says that was a huge mistake.

He was here for maybe a couple hours for two or three days, but he wasnt really getting much done, says Concannon.

A barn in Ridgefield, Washington, owned by Matt Concannon. July 31, 2025 (KOIN).

Gresham police officer facing dozens of child sex abuse charges

According to a report filed with the Clark County Sheriffs Office, the job essentially proved too overwhelming for Wapiti, so the parties agreed to go their own way. Concannon states in the report that there was also an agreement to, refund us the rest of our money.

That was in November.

Not a dime, not a dime. Never seen it, said Concannon.

The amount due was nearly $15,000, and in complaints filed with both the Washington equivalent of a contractors board, and the Washington Attorney General, more details of what transpired are outlined.

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The operator of Wapiti, Matt Brindell, did eventually respond to the AG complaint in March when he apologized and stated there should be a refund of $14.914.74.

It never happened.

Mayor Wilson: Portland to comply with Trump administrations DEI demands

Praise God that we didnt give him more money or get further down the road with it. I feel blessed we only lost $15,000, it couldve been way worse, says Concannon.

If the names Wapiti or Brindell sound familiar, its because KOIN 6 News first exposed issues with the company back in May.

A laundry list of high-dollar complaints to contractor boards were piling up in both Oregon and Washington, and even a dedicated Facebook group for one-time, angry customers surfaced online.

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Scott Becker joined that group and quickly realized dozens of others were facing similar problems.

We put a larger deposit payment down just to secure the prices of lumber and materials cost, he told KOIN 6 News.

Wall-to-wall nostalgia: Newsweek names Portland-area arcade best in the US

Becker says he put down more than $50,000 more than a year ago for a pole barn on his Estacada property, only to have nothing ever built.

Matt Concannon claims he was never given a refund from contractor Wapiti Pacific after they could not complete work on remodeling his barn in Ridgefield, Washington. July 31, 2025 (KOIN)



Earlier this year, he got the same mass email many customers did.

Hes closing down and thats when it all kind of went downhill, said Becker.

Becker and others in Oregon filed complaints with the Oregon Construction Contractors Board.

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Many tell KOIN 6 News Brindell simply never showed up for the mandatory mediation hearings.

Leslie Culpepper, a spokesperson for the board, couldnt discuss specifics about Wapiti but said they take complaints seriously.

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There are 42,000 contractor businesses in Oregon, and many different things happening every day, she said. Where its appropriate, fines or suspensions or revocations can occur.

Online records now show Wapitis license is revoked in Oregon, and suspended in Washington.

Wapitis website remains offline, and Brindell didnt respond to recent requests for comment.

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In May, he did say in an email to KOIN 6 News we were going to work through closing things out and figure out refunds and sending those when appropriate.

Concannon isnt holding his breath all these months later.

Plans for Portland-area In-N-Out restaurant moving forward: What to know

Yah, I feel taken but I feel really bad for some of the people who really got taken. Were going to be just fine, but I know some of the people in the horse community dont make a ton of money, he said.

Becker says he plans to take Brindell to small claims court to try and recover even a portion of the $50,000-plus he lost. He also filed complaints with the Clackamas County Sheriff and the Oregon AG, but was told it was a civil matter.

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Not as ideal as people thought: New broker fee law reveal potential higher annual cost for renters

Renters in Massachusetts are no longer required to pay fees to brokers who were hired by a landlord after a new state law that took effect on Friday.

The law states that the fees can only be paid by the person who first engaged and hired the broker to list or find a rental property.

The new rules are a relief to many renters who are fed up with paying a full months rent payment for a brokers fee every time they move.

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Some who are amid apartment hunting are realizing it may end up costing them more and not just once.

Landlords who have to now pay a fee are factoring it into rent. Rents are actually going up to offset the cost of the broker fee, said Van French, Director of Rentals at Gibson Sothebys International. Its not as ideal as people thought.

French told Boston 25 News that a one-time upfront payment could now be something renters are stuck paying every year.

He said that especially applies in Bostons most desirable neighborhoods, where demand is high, and inventory is low.

If it were a $3,000 apartment, now its $3,300. Theyre continuously paying each year a higher rate than they would have, he said. In the end, they end up paying more, unless they leave year after year.

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Renters can still pay a brokers fee if theyre the ones who sought out and hired a broker.

Moving to this city was a shocking reality of broker fees, said Clare Romano, who recently moved from Minnesota. I think were moving that barrier for people to move here and move around in the city.

Attorney General Andrea Campbells office says anyone whos asked to pay a broker they didnt originally hire should file a complaint. Landlords could face fines for illegal fees, and brokers could lose their license

For those hoping to cut around costs and score an apartment from an online ad, renters are advised to be cautious about fake listings.

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The Boston Police Department is warning people about a rise in apartment rental scams preying on the high demand for housing in the city.

These scams typically involve individuals fraudulently posing as landlords or rental agents. Scammers often post fake listings for properties that either do not exist, have already been rented, or have been copied from legitimate advertisements, said a BPD community alert issued on Friday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Warning: Graphic images and details below.

A retired U.S. Army officer who worked as a subcontractor for the shadowy Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is sounding the alarm over the atrocities he said he saw Israeli soldiers and American mercenaries carry out against starving Palestinians trying to access aid.

Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar, who served 25 years in the U.S. Army Special Forces as a Green Beret, was hired as an independent subcontractor by UG Solutions to serve as armed security for the private, U.S.-funded GHF, which launched its so-called aid delivery sites in May.

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When I first went into this, I was excited. I felt it was a noble cause, he told Democracy Now! on Tuesday. Within hours of being in Israel and seeing how this was going to unfold, I immediately had dire concerns as to the intentions, as to the execution, and what was going to happen when this fails.

Aguilar said he ended his contract on June 14 after witnessing his fellow security officers and soldiers with the Israeli Defense Forces repeatedly open fire on Palestinian civilians who had trekked to GHFs four aid hubs. Armed officers often celebrated hitting civilians at the sites, where the United Nations says more than a thousand Palestinians have been killed.

A young boy carries an aid parcel from the privately-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, on June 25, 2025. Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

The IDF has maintained that soldiers only use their guns to deliver warning shots for unruly crowds. But Aguilar said that officers attacked civilians with tank rounds, mortars and fully automatic weapons with at least 210 rounds each of green-tipped, armor-piercing ammunition designed to kill.

The sites have not only become death traps, they were designed as death traps, Aguilar told the outlet. All four distribution locations were intentionally, deliberately constructed, planned and built in the middle of an active combat zone.

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Since leaving Gaza, Aguilar has spoken to several media outlets and leaders about the horrors he saw while working for GHF, which was already under intense backlash from the international community for essentially weaponizing food aid against an entire people. Aguilar said to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) on Tuesday that a lightbulb went off in my head when he was told directly that UG Solutions client was the IDF.

UG Solutions and the GHF have both rejected Aguilars testimony as false, painting the officer as a disgruntled worker who wants revenge after allegedly being fired for inappropriate behavior. The IDF has said that it is investigating incidents of civilian harm at aid sites, though the military is known for either not completing probes or avoiding handing down consequences.

Palestinians check bodies of people killed while waiting for aid a day earlier, at the Al-Shifa Hospital's morgue in Gaza City, on July 31, 2025. Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed at least 30 people when they opened fire on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid on July 30. Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images

I didnt take on this mission for personal gain or money. I took this mission because I believed in it, Aguilar said. I resigned my contract and left, walked away from the money  and they were paying us a lot of money  walked away from that money, because nothing is going to buy my soul. Nothing is going to pay for my values and my patriotism as an American.

Aguilar also documented the violence and chaos occurring at GHF sites from when he worked there, showing Van Hollen photos hed taken of Palestinian civilians who were later attacked by Israeli soldiers and U.S. mercenaries. He also said that those very American mercenaries are in Gaza on a tourist visa  the same kind a family member would use to visit Israel.

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In one of his videos, first obtained by The Associated Press, gunfire can be heard at a site followed by American mercenaries whooping and cheering. One American says off-camera, I think you hit one, while another shouts, Hell yeah, boy! Aguilar said the shooters were UG Solutions contractors firing into a crowd of departing Palestinians.

GHF has accused Aguilar of forging documents and presenting misleading videos, to which the whistleblower pushed back on by saying his videos metadata and geolocation have been analyzed for credibility, and that he wrote those operational plans because no other staff members had the experience to do it themselves.

Inexperienced, untrained, no idea of how to conduct operations of this magnitude. That would be my most benign assessment. In my most frank assessment, I would say that theyre criminal, he told the BBC on Saturday. In my entire career I have never witnessed the level of brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population  an unarmed, starving population.

In a Wednesday report by France24 and Mother Jones, Aguilar recalled being ordered to find food for GHFs local Palestinian workers, who were hungry like the rest of the population. Officers eventually ordered 27 pizzas from a Dominos in Israel and had it delivered to the Kerem Shalom crossing  all while lines of aid trucks remained blocked from entering Gaza by Israeli authorities.

GHF has proudly claimed that its delivered 98 million meals in Gaza since May 26. But dividing that number by 2.2 million  the territorys estimated population  and then further dividing that by three for the nutritionally recommended number of meals a day  the result amounts to about 14.8 days of meals. GHF has been operating for 66 days.
Recreational marijuana will be sold legally in Delaware for the first time on Aug. 1.

The landmark day comes more than two years after legalization in 2023. There will be 12 dispensaries from Brandywine Hundred to Frankford selling legal marijuana to people 21 and older.

Just because it's legal now doesn't mean there are not regulations everyone has to follow. Nick Lee, who works at First State Compassion's marijuana cultivation facility, said Delaware has some of the strictest regulations in the country regarding the cleanliness and handling of the plant before it even is dried, packaged and used.

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For consumers, there are a variety of rules and regulations for personal use and buying marijuana.

How much marijuana am I legally allowed to have in Delaware?

Delaware law does not allow anyone to possess more than a "personal use quantity," which the state weed office defines as 1 ounce or less of marijuana in the form of leaf marijuana, up to 12 grams of concentrated cannabis, or cannabis products containing 750 milligrams or less of delta-9 THC.

Leaf marijuana comes straight from the flower of the cannabis plant, and concentrate cannabis products are extracted from the plant in wax, oil and similar products.

MARIJUANA IN DELAWARE: Gov. Meyer checks out cultivation facility days before first weed sales

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OPINIONS SOUGHT: Delaware recreational cannabis rollout prompts call for shoppers, retailer input

Where can I use marijuana in Delaware?

You cannot smoke marijuana in an area accessible to the public, like parks, sidewalks and more. Using marijuana in a vehicle is illegal, as well. Driving under the influence of marijuana is just as illegal as drunken driving. State law also prohibits growing your own plants.

Recreational marijuana sales will begin in Delaware with 12 dispensaries on Aug. 1, 2025. Two dispensaries will remain as medical only because of town bans on recreational weed sales.

(If you are having trouble viewing the map of marijuana dispensaries, click here.)

Where can I buy marijuana legally in Delaware?

There are 12 dispensaries selling recreational adult-use marijuana in Delaware starting on Aug. 1.

Columbia Care Wilmington - 5606 Concord Pike, Brandywine Hundred

Thrive Wilmington - 37 Germay Drive, near Elsmere

Field Supply Cannabis & Provisions - 4543 Kirkwood Highway, Milltown

Fresh Cannabis - 800 Ogletown Road, Newark

The Farm - 240 S. Dupont Highway, Suite #200A, near New Castle

Columbia Care Smyrna - 200 S. Dupont Blvd., Smyrna

Best Buds Dover - 516 Jefferic Blvd., Dover

The Farm Felton - 105 Irish Hill Road, Felton

The Farm Frankford- 34164 Dupont Boulevard, Frankford

Best Buds Georgetown - 23 Georgetown Plaza, Georgetown

Thrive Lewes - 12000 Old Vine Blvd., Building 4D, Unit 102, Lewes

Columbia Care Rehoboth Beach - 36725 Bayside Outlet Drive, Suite 760, Rehoboth Beach

Can I still use my medical card?

Every facility in the state selling recreational marijuana as of Aug. 1 is a converted medical marijuana dispensary, and state law requires them to continue operations as medical providers. Chief Commercial Officer of MariMed, the owners of First State Compassion in Milford and Thrive in Wilmington and Lewes, said medical customers are "number one."

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"Adult-use customers will be given a great level of service as well, but medical will be given a priority," he told reporters on July 30.

Why are some medical marijuana dispensaries staying that way?

The Fresh Delaware locations in Milford and Seaford are remaining medical-only for now.

Both municipalities have bans on marijuana retail.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware legal weed: 5 things to know if you're purchasing here
NORFOLK, Va.(WAVY)  Police in Norfolk are investigating a Friday morning shooting.

According to police, officers were called to the 400 block of Nicholson Street at 10:20 a.m. for the report of a shooting. This is located in the Young Terrance Neighborhood.

Police say a person has been taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

There is no suspect information at this time.

10 On Your Side is working to learn more details about this shooting.

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If you have any information about this case, you can submit an anonymous tip by calling 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, downloading the P3 tips app to a mobile device, or visiting www.P3tips.com and submitting a tip.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Incorrect altitude readings on the Army helicopter that collided with a passenger plane over Washington, D.C., in January contributed to the aircraft getting too close, but air traffic controllers warned about the hazards helicopter traffic presented years before the crash.

Those warnings came even before the 85 near misses near the airport in the three years before the crash. But despite the concerns that were raised about the route the Black Hawk helicopter followed that night, the Federal Aviation Administration didnt make changes to it or warn pilots about it.

The details came out of the first day of National Transportation Safety Board hearings in Washington, where investigators highlighted several of the factors that contributed to the crash between the American Airlines plane from Wichita, Kansas, and the Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport that was the deadliest aviation disaster in America since November 2001.

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Its so bureaucratic, NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said. I mean we heard it in the testimony today: Oh you could bring it up in another symposium or another group. or you could take this option or we said no. But then I asked did you provide an alternative? Thats why people are so critical of the federal government because you cant ensure safety.

Representatives of the Army and Federal Aviation Administration tried to deflect responsibility throughout the hearing. The Army acknowledged that their Black Hawks altimeters might be more than 100 feet (30 meters) off, but they seemed to say that was acceptable because their pilots goal is to maintain altitude within 100 feet of a limit.

Army officials instead raised concerns about the lack of separation between landing aircraft and helicopters flying on approved FAA routes near the airport. But later in the day, FAA and Army officials both implied that those routes were never supposed to ensure separation. Instead they suggested that it was up to the air traffic controller to keep helicopters from flying on that route anytime planes were taking off or landing from that runway.

Aviation lawyer Bob Clifford, who is representing several of the victims families said there was a lot of finger pointing and no acceptance of responsibility and accountability during the hearing.

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The boards final report wont be released until sometime next year, but it became clear Wednesday how small a margin of error there was for helicopters flying the route the Black Hawk took the night of the crash.

The January nighttime incident was the first in a string of crashes and near misses this year that have alarmed officials and the traveling public, despite statistics that still show flying remains the safest form of transportation.

Animation, altimeter discrepancy

A video animation showed where the helicopter and airliner were leading up to the collision. It showed how the helicopter flew above the 200 feet (61 meters) altitude limit on the helicopter route along the Potomac River before colliding with the plane.

Investigators said Wednesday the flight data recorder showed the helicopter was actually 80 feet to 100 feet (24 to 30 meters) higher than the barometric altimeter the pilots relied upon showed they were flying. So the NTSB conducted tests on three other helicopters from the same unit in a flight over the same area and found similar discrepancies in their altimeters.

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Dan Cooper with Sikorsky helicopters said that when the older Black Hawk helicopter involved in the crash was designed in the 1970s, it used a style of altimeter that was common at the time. Newer helicopters have air data computers that help provide more accurate altitude readings.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Kylene Lewis told the board that she wouldnt find an 80 to 100 foot discrepancy between the different altimeters on a helicopter alarming because at lower altitudes she would be relying more on the radar altimeter than the barometric altimeter. Below 500 feet (152 meters), Lewis said she would be checking both instruments and cross referencing them, although thats not something every Army pilot is trained to do.

Army officials said the greater concern is that the FAA approved routes around Reagan airport that included such separation distances as small as 75 feet between helicopters and planes when planes are landing on a certain runway at Reagan.

The fact that we have less than 500 foot separation is a concern for me, said Scott Rosengren, chief engineer in the office that manages the Armys utility helicopters.

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But Rosengren said that if he was king for a day he would immediately retire all the older Black Hawk models like the one involved in this crash and replace them with newer versions of the helicopters.

Questions over the route

Army officials and the head of a local medevac helicopter company that flies around Washington told the board they believed air traffic controllers would never let them fly the helicopter route involved in the crash anytime a plane was approaching the runway.

Chief Warrant Officer David Van Vetchen said after the crash that he talked to many of his fellow pilots and everyone had the same assumption that controllers would never allow them to fly across the path of the runway the American plane was approaching before the crash. But Homendy said other pilots in the unit told investigators they were allowed to fly underneath landing planes.

Citing the numbers for runways, Van Vetchen said that 100% of the time when I was on route four and 33/15 was active he would be instructed to hold until after the plane landed or took off from that runway.

Stepped on transmission

During the two minutes before the crash, one air traffic controller was directing airport traffic and helicopters in the area, a task that involved speaking to or receiving communications from several different aircraft on two different frequencies, according to the NTSBs History of Flight Performance Study released Wednesday.

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The air traffic controller had spoken to or received communications from the Black Hawk helicopter, an airplane that was taking off, an Air Force helicopter, an airplane on the ground, a medical helicopter and an inbound flight that was not the American Airlines plane that would crash.

All aircraft could hear the controller, but helicopters could only hear other helicopters on their frequency and airplanes only other airplanes, the report stated. This resulted in a number of stepped on transmissions as helicopters and airplanes were not aware when the other was communicating.

Stepped on transmissions are those that are unheard or blocked because of other transmissions. The NTSB report provides a list of 29 separate communications between the airport tower and other aircraft during approximately the 1 minute and 57 seconds before the collision.

Previously disclosed air traffic control audio had the helicopter pilot telling the controller twice that they saw the airplane and would avoid it. Officials on Wednesday also raised the use of night vision goggles, which limit the wearers field of view, on the helicopter as a factor.

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Investigations have already shown the FAA failed to recognize a troubling history of 85 near misses around Ronald Reagan National Airport in the years before the collision, and that the Armys helicopters routinely flew around the nations capital with a key piece of locating equipment, known as ADS-B Out, turned off.

On Wednesday, it came out that even if they had been turned on, the ADS-B Out systems on most of the helicopters in the same unit as the one that crashed wouldnt work because they had been installed incorrectly. When the NTSB uncovered that problem, the Army sent out an alert about it and worked to quickly reprogram the units so they would work.

Homendy highlighted that an FAA working group raised concerns about all the helicopter traffic around Reagan airport and the risk of a collision in 2022, but the FAA refused to add a warning to helicopter charts urging pilots to use caution when this runway was in use.

Homendy said every sign was there that there was a safety risk and the tower was telling you that. But after the accident the FAA transferred managers out of the tower instead of acknowledging that they had been warned.

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What you did is you transferred people out instead of taking ownership over the fact that everybody in FAA in the tower was saying there was a problem, Homendy said. But you guys are pointing out, Welp, our bureaucratic process. Somebody should have brought it up at some other symposium. Are you kidding me? 67 people are dead. How do you explain that?

Proposed changes

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, introduced legislation Tuesday to require all aircraft operators to use both forms of ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast, the technology to broadcast aircraft location data to other planes and air traffic controllers. Most aircraft today are equipped with ADS-B Out equipment but the airlines would have to add the more comprehensive ADS-B In technology to their planes.

The legislation would revoke an exemption on ADS-B transmission requests for Department of Defense aircrafts.

Homendy said her agency has been recommending that move for decades after several other crashes.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that while hed like to discuss a few tweaks, the legislation is the right approach. He also suggested that the previous administration was asleep at the wheel amid dozens of near-misses in the airspace around Washingtons airspace.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A Montgomery County-based nuclear reactor and fuel company will open its second facility near Frederick, as a testing ground for equipment before it is deployed in the company's nuclear reactors.

The company X-energy will renovate the 90,000-square-foot building at 7201 McKinney Circle for its first integrated test and training facility, according to a press release Wednesday from Maryland's Department of Commerce.

Testing in some parts of the building could begin by the end of the year, while renovations of other parts will take longer, company spokesman Jakub Lis said Thursday.

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The new Frederick facility will serve as a "proving ground" for the company's equipment to make sure it is working correctly before it is deployed into nuclear reactors and other facilities, Lis said.

The facility will not handle or use any nuclear material.

It will include a helium test facility, to test systems and equipment in a pressurized helium space such as inside a reactor, Lis said.

The facility will also include an experimental test facility and a training facility for operators and maintenance technicians, among other elements.

The training facility will include a full-scale simulator of a plant control room, for operators of the company's Xe-100 small modular nuclear reactor.

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That will be similar to a facility that is already at X-energy's Plant Support Center, located on Spectrum Drive in Frederick.

That facility, which had its grand opening in 2024, includes office space and two classrooms, along with the control room simulator.

X-energy develops advanced small modular nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel technology to generate clean energy.

The company is working with Dow Chemical Company to develop an Xe-100 plant on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as with Amazon on another Xe-100 project in Washington state.

That project has committed to creating up to five gigawatts of new nuclear capacity by 2039.

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Frederick County Executive Jessica Fitzwater hailed the second X-energy facility in the Commerce Department release as an investment that strengthens the county's tech sector.

The company's work in nuclear reactor and fuel design fits with the county's commitment to cutting-edge industries and sustainable growth, Fitzwater said.

The Frederick County expansion comes as X-energy plans to consolidate its headquarters operations from two locations in Rockville to a 125,000-square-foot facility in Gaithersburg.

The state's Department of Commerce is working to approve two conditional loans worth a combined $2.35 million.

When asked about the number of employees at the facility near Frederick, Lis responded in an email: "It will vary. However, the vast majority of our employees will work out of the HQ in Gaithersburg, and travel to the Frederick facility on an as-needed basis to conduct testing. While the facility itself is not expected to create large volumes of new permanent jobs immediately, it will support ongoing hiring in engineering, testing, and deployment roles."
NEW YORK (PIX11)  A state of emergency was declared in both New York and New Jersey on Thursday amid severe flooding that left some neighborhoods submerged underwater.

A tractor-trailer got trapped on the Clearview Expressway near Northern Boulevard in Queens. Two cars were underwater on Northern Boulevard, and one person had to wait on their vehicles roof to get rescued.

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Water rushed into basements along Northern Boulevard and 218th Street, with homeowners telling PIX11 News that the water was chest high at one point. At least 10 cars on 218th Street were also underwater.

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People had to be evacuated from an LIRR train due to flooding at the Bayside train station. Commuters were rescued after sitting two hours on a flooded track east of Flushings Main Street.

In Brooklyn, the 7th Avenue subway station was shut down after flooding left the platform submerged. Staten Island also saw major flooding near the Narrow Bay, leaving several cars submerged.

More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State

In New Jersey, tornado warnings knocked out power to nearly 20,000 residents.

No fatalities were reported during the storms in the tri-state area.

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.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
 This story first appeared in New York Focus, a non-profit news publication investigating New York state politics. Sign up for their stories at nysfocus.com/ newsletter.

New Yorks public radio and TV stations are facing major blows to their budgets after Congress two weeks ago approved a bill that cancelled over $1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB.

Twenty-seven media organizations in New York, including 18 public radio and TV stations, receive funding from the CPB for line items ranging from broadcasting and transmission to content development and community outreach.

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In total, the states public media organizations stand to lose at least $57 million in federal funding over two years, according to estimates that CPB funding recipients shared with New York Focus. Nearly $50 million of that will come from the budgets of public radio and TV stations, while roughly $7.6 million will come from the budgets of other types of public media organizations.

The cuts will be especially hard on rural communities in the state. Stations serving those areas tend to rely on federal funding more than stations that serve Albany and New York City. Roughly a fifth of rural radio stations nationwide service communities with only one or two other sources of daily news; some communities have no other source of daily or weekly news at all. For many people in rural areas, public media stations are also the lone source of information about weather emergencies, public meetings, elections, and government benefits for individuals, businesses, and community organizations.

New York stations either based in or broadcasting to rural areas will lose roughly $22.7 million  a far greater share of their annual budgets than the $27 million loss New York City stations face.

This is a devastating outcome, Mountain Lake PBS, a public TV station based in Plattsburgh that serves a large, rural region of state, wrote in a statement. [But] lets be clear, Mountain Lake PBS will not go dark.

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The federal public media funding model  which is actually a public-private partnership  leaves rural stations especially vulnerable. While CPB funds cover a portion of a stations budget, a station relies on a variety of other sources, including large and small donors, underwriters, commercial sponsors, state funding, and foundations, to cover the rest. In general, rural stations have smaller communities and donor bases to pull from, so their budgets tend to depend more on federal funding.

WNYC, New York Citys public radio station, will lose approximately $3 million a year  or just 4 percent of its annual budget  as a result of the federal cuts. By contrast, WSKG, a public radio and TV station that covers a large, rural part of New Yorks Southern Tier region, faces a shortfall of approximately $1.3 million a year  or 21 percent of its annual budget. Mountain Lake PBS stands to lose about $950,000 a year, or about 35 percent of its annual budget.

Mountain Lake PBS, whose coverage area includes the Adirondacks and Champlain Valley, was the only outlet to broadcast the city of Plattsburghs mayoral debate on TV last year, said Jennifer Kowalczyk, director of marketing and engagement at the station.

Its not just that we want to produce coverage, its that the people of this region deserve to have local media that covers them and reflects their stories and shows that we are still here, she said.

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North Country Public Radio, or NCPR, a rural radio station that covers the North Country, as well as parts of Vermont and Ontario, Canada, is facing a loss of around $340,000 a year, or about 1215 percent of its annual budget.

We have a coverage area the size of Switzerland, said NCPR station manager Mitch Teich. It costs a significant amount of time and money to go all around the North Country. Would we potentially look at doing stories in different ways? We might have to.

NCPR currently has a news staff of six people. The station has historically used CPB funding to buy national programming from places like National Public Radio or American Public Media. Now, it will try to use other sources of income, such as smaller donors, underwriters, and foundations, to fill the gap. Teich expressed optimism that NCPR will succeed, but said that if it couldnt, it may have to eliminate national programs, defer maintenance on the stations more than 30 transmitters, cut travel, or consider other options. (New York Focus regularly partners with NCPR and other public radio stations facing cuts.)

No other TV station or newspaper covers the whole North Country, Teich noted.

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WSKG President and CEO Natasha Thompson said that the cuts have already forced hard decisions in their newsroom. Its definitely impacted our decision to expand the newsroom into the Oneonta-Cooperstown area, which is our fourth largest market, Thompson said. As a result of the cuts, they decided not to fill a climate change reporter role, she added.

WSKG covers 22 counties, most of which are in New York; its news staff consists of just three reporters and one managing editor.

Local news organizations in the state had been struggling long before the federal cuts. New York has 13 counties with only one newspaper  and one county with none at all, according to data from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. The state saw a 40 percent decrease in newspapers between 2004 and 2019, the same research found.

From 2023 to 2024, New York Focus conducted a statewide listening tour to study the states local news landscape and found that even in areas where outlets remain, many have skeleton staffs. As a result, community members said they struggle to find basic civic information about public meetings, elected officials, and public benefits.

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NCPR, WSKG, and other stations facing cuts are members of the New York Public News Network, a novel collaboration, launched in 2024, through which the newsrooms have shared not only a reporter, but also resources and knowledge. The collaborative approach could help member stations weather the turbulence.

Denise Young, an executive editor of WXXI News in Rochester who helps lead the New York Public News Network, said that the network now sees collaboration as more important than ever.

New York state has long provided funding to its public media stations through the Department of Education. This year, the legislature approved $14 million in funding for public broadcasting, $13 million of which will go to TV. The legislature also increased funding for public radio with a $4 million pot that will be split evenly between 16 stations. Teich said that stations hope lawmakers will make this funding a permanent part of the equation.

The state legislature has made other efforts to help some local news outlets. Last year, New York state allocated $90 million in subsidies to help newsrooms hire and retain workers  although it excluded nonprofit outlets, including New York Focus. This year, the state Senate passed a bill to include nonprofits, but it died in the state Assembly.

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State-level policy efforts like these represent possible, if imperfect, pathways to alternative forms of public funding for journalism, beyond the CPBs support of NPR and PBS.

Republican presidents and federal lawmakers have targeted public media funding in the United States for decades, but none have been as successful as President Donald Trump.

US Representative Elise Stefanik, whose district overlaps with the regions that NCPR and Mountain Lake PBS cover, wrote a letter in 2021 to the Internal Revenue Service requesting that it revoke NPRs tax-exempt status. She has continued to campaign to defund NPR for years. In the aftermath of congressional approval for the cuts, Stefanik posted on X: Goodbye @NPR and @NCPR!.

But New Yorks public newsrooms arent backing down. The cuts will affect every aspect of our organization from our programming to our educational outreach, Kowalczyk, from Mountain Lake PBS, said. Its a tough blow, but it doesnt change what we are here to do.

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A lot of people are looking at it as a problem we have to find ways to solve, and were going to, said Teich, from NCPR.

The weekend after Congress approved the federal cuts, Teich appeared on NPRs Weekend Edition to share the perspective of rural stations. He heard from listeners across the country. Some expressed appreciation for public radio; others challenged him over whether NPR deserves federal support at all.

I wrote back to all of them and made the point that I wasnt defending the funding, Im simply explaining what the impact on a local station is, whose service is about providing more than NPR news, Teich said.

Many people were shocked to receive a personal message from him and softened in their replies, conceding that their argument wasnt with the local stations, he said.

As cliche as it is, this tells me that for the situation to get better for stations like ours, were going to have to work with people one by one, he continued. We cant afford to take a one size fits all approach. Which is what, Teich concluded, makes public media, and rural stations in particular, special.
Editors note: The video above aired in a previous newscast.

NEW YORK (PIX11)  On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a State of Emergency for New York City as heavy rainfall is expected to continue until Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of New Jersey and Long Island are also expected to be severely impacted.

State of Emergency declared in NYC: Hochul

Flooding could be locally severe, and an elevated threat to life [could] cause significant disruptions to transportation, read a flash flood threat posted to the NWS. Flood underground infrastructure and basements, and some first floors of residences and businesses. Water rescues would be likely. Minor to moderate flooding is possible along a few larger stem rivers.

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New York City, New Jersey, and parts of Long Island are expected to receive 1.5 to 3 inches of rain, with some areas potentially seeing up to 5 inches by Friday morning.

The flood watch is in effect until 8 a.m. Friday morning.

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.
NEW YORK  While juggling the balance of a busy home life and a corporate job, New York City shooting victim Wesley LePatner was adamant about getting home in time to spend evenings with her husband Evan and their kids.

That was nonnegotiable, a longtime colleague said.

It was, then, shocking to friends and family that LePatner, a Blackstone investment executive, was among the first people shot to death when a gunman stormed a Manhattan office tower on Park Avenue Monday evening and opened fire in the lobby and an upper floor, killing four people.

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How many of us thought that surely Wesley was safe, the colleague said Thursday at a crowded funeral for the LePatner, 43.

She was never in the office at 6:30. She was with her kids. Always.

Friends, family and co-workers filled Manhattans Central Synagogue on East 55th Street Thursday where they traded stories about how LePatner mixed her professional drive with a personal touch highlighted by care and compassion.

The 5-foot tall dynamo  friends said she insisted she was 5-foot-1  was a giant among her peers, who said LePatner always saw the best in everyone.

She led with her mind and heart, said Chris Lee, a former colleague at Goldman Sachs, where LePatner got her start. She didnt just show up for you. She lifted you. She wasnt just on your team. She was your biggest fan.

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Lee, a partner at KKR Real Estate in Manhattan, recalled how his friend struggled with her decision when she got an offer to move to Blackstone.

She wasnt sure, talking about work-life balance, Lee said. It was one of those aggressive pep talks that people have with each other. I said, If you dont accept this job by Friday, Im calling Evan. Its great to have someone you can have a relationship like that with.

Lee said that he and LePatner were brutally honest with each other.

She was more than a friend. She was a blessing, Lee said to LePatners children.

Your mothers an angel. You know that. And so does everyone in this room. Shes with us right now, smiling proud, rooting for us, maybe critiquing our speeches, but loving us.

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Rabbi Benjamin Goldschmidt said LePatner, a Yale University graduate, lifted everyone around her, and set an example for women  and men  in the workplace.

In order to empower others you need to possess power yourself, Goldschmidt said. Wesley knew she was a rock star.

LePatner was a graduate of Horace Mann High School who met her husband on their first day at Yale University, according to their wedding announcement in The New York Times.

She served on the boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Abraham Joshua Heschel School, the UJA-Federation of New York and the Yale University Library Council. She was also a trustee of the all-girls Hewitt School on the Upper East Side.

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A day earlier, mourners filled the same synagogue for Julia Hymans rites. LePatner, a personal friend of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, and Hyman, 27, a Cornell graduate who worked as an associate for Rudin Management, were killed along with security guard Aland Etienne and NYPD Officer Didarul Islam.

Hyman was the first victim laid to rest in the days after gunman Shane Tamara, 27, stormed the Park Avenue skyscraper, killed four people, and took his own life.

Islam, whose funeral was also held Thursday, was working a paid security detail at the East Midtown office building on his day off when Tamura, who was openly carrying an assault weapon, walked into the lobby and opened fire in what has become New York Citys deadliest shooting in decades.

We are experiencing an enormous, gaping hole in our hearts that will never be filled, LePatners family said in a statement. Yet we will carry on the remarkable legacy Wesley created.

_____
THE BRONX, N.Y. (PIX11)  The death of NYPD officer Didarul Islam, the first Bangladeshi-born officer killed in the line of duty, has deeply impacted his community in the Bronx.

Islam was more than an officer; he was a hero, a living symbol of hope, and possibly in his community, now the community is dealing with heartbreak and sorrow.

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The call to prayer carries more weight in Parkchester, a sound of strength as members of the community walked to a Mosque in silence and in grief. They are holding on to their faith.

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Imam Obaidul Haque said, I knew he was a very nice guy, I will pray Allah bless him.

Its a big loss for our community as a young person his wife is pregnant, two kids, young kids.

Monday evening, the officer was shot to death while working a security detail in a midtown building when a gunman entered the building with a long gun.

The loss has shaken the community to its core.

A friend of the officer, Maroof Ahmed, said, Its actually really painful, my wife was crying all night because I know what the family feels.

In Parkchester, the loss has also pulled people closer together. Everyone attended his funeral and made a commitment to take care of his family.

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Imam Haque said his two sons are following in Islams footsteps by joining the NYPD.

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OAKMAN, Ala. (WIAT)  Oakman Mayor Cory Franks talked to CBS 42 about the fire that devastated Wallys Restaurant early Thursday morning.

I got a call from my fire chief this morning about the fire and I was just hoping that it wasnt as bad as it is, said Franks.

The owner of Wallys Restaurant, Lisa Jordan, said she got a call that your restaurant is on fire at 12:50 am Thursday. By the time she arrived at 1:30 am, she said fire fighters had it under control. The building, which houses Wallys, is owned by two brothers, whose parents launched a dining tradition that dates back to July of 1960.

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The buildings co-owner Barry Evans tells CBS 42 News that the building is a total loss and hell probably end up having to tear it down. Evans surveyed the damage to his building Thursday morning. He leased it out to Jordan in 2023 so she could open Wallys Restaurant which is known for its burgers, Sunday dinners, and service to the community.

UnitedHealthcare, UAB reach agreement

76-year-old widow Genie Sherer, who stops by every night for dinner, said Wallys Restaurant was about more than just food:

People come in now and they know my name, or they know my nicknames, and I know their nicknames and its real family like, she explained.

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I just dont know what Im going to do, I mean , this was my go to place, she added.

It was a go to place for diners in Oakman for decades. According to Evans, his parents Rita and Searcy Evans first opened as Big R Rootbeer on July 4th of 1960. It later became Evans Drive-In, offering fried chicken and barbecue until 1997. The building was then leased out to other restaurant operators. Evan says he worked in the family business for 16 years:

I have spent many hours over a BBQ pit; 12-14 hours cooking pork shoulders and Boston butts, and mom had developed her own BBQ sauce, I still know how to make it.

Evans lost his dad in 2015 and his mom in October of 2024. We asked him how he wants the familys contribution to Oakman to be remembered:

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Good foodgood times, he replied.

CBS 42 is still waiting to hear back from the State Fire Marshals office, but Evans believes the cause of the fire was probably electrical in nature. The owner of Wallys has not decided if she will re-open in another location. However, Jordan said she still plans to hold the movie night for kids in the town square on Saturday, August 2 as scheduled.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
Editors note: Music City Malls dedication ceremony included powerful musical tributes to Americas heroes. Watch Erica Lane Garza and Damian Christian perform patriotic classics as Odessa honors the sacrifice of those who fought for our liberty. Found in the video player above.

ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A new bronze monument now stands at the heart of Music City Mall, offering a solemn reminder of the sacrifice behind Americas freedom.

On Wednesday, the mall unveiled a statue commemorating the iconic flag-raising at Iwo Jima, one of the most widely recognized images from World War II. The piece, created by Relong Art, depicts six Marines hoisting the American flag atop Mount Suribachi, a moment immortalized in Joe Rosenthals Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph.

Music City Mall General Manager Greg Morgan led the dedication ceremony, flanked by ICA leadership and community guests. Morgan, who has worked with ICA for nearly 25 years, called the project a labor of love and a tribute to the greatest generation.

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This statue is not just about remembering a battle, Morgan said. Its about honoring the courage, the blood, sweat, and tears that bought the freedoms we too often take for granted.

Originally slated for the new Bass Pro development in Odessa, construction delays prompted Morgan and his team to install the piece outside the mall instead, a decision he said they made to ensure the community could begin connecting with it right away.

At nearly two-and-a-half tons, the monument was placed on a bed of stones laid by mall staff, who handled both the technical and physical work of installation.

You could see the emotion in everyones faces as they helped place the rocks, Morgan said. It was inspirational.

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The event also featured musical tributes by local performers Damian Christian and Erica Lane Garza, whose husband is a Purple Heart recipient. Christian recalled crying during a school dedication years ago and said he now understands the depth of pride and gratitude that comes with being an American.

The statue, Morgan added, is a daily visual reminder for future generations who may never hear firsthand stories of World War II. He noted that his own 10-year-old son was born just after his grandfather, a WWII veteran who fought at Okinawa, passed away.

Theres a disconnect happening as time moves forward, Morgan said. And we have a responsibility to keep the lessons alive, to show our kids that freedom comes at a cost.

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Following the music, attendees bowed their heads in prayer as a veteran and former Marine Corps member led a reflection on military service, sacrifice, and the need for peace.

Freedom isnt free, he said. Its paid for in the blood of those who stood in the line of fire so we didnt have to.

The statue may eventually move to the Bass Pro site once construction ends, but for now, Morgan said he hopes it will draw in families and serve as a living history lesson.

Whether youre here to shop, eat, or just walk through, take a moment, he said. Read the plaque. Remember what was given for you to live the life you do today.

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A news release from the Carroll County States Attorneys Office has the results of an investigation into a shooting incident between four law enforcement officers and a suspect in a stolen truck in June.

The investigation report says the officers were involved in an incident that led them to shoot near the intersection of Webster Street and Main Street in Savanna on June 26. The suspect in the case, identified as Mark Feltmeyer, 59, was injured in the incident. He was taken to a local hospital but was released and remanded to the custody of the Stephenson County Jail.

Mark Feltmeyer (Stephenson County Jail)

The Illinois State Police were asked to independently investigate and provided a report to the Carroll County States Attorneys Office. The report, body cameras and squad car cameras were reviewed as part of the investigation.

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Aaron Kaney, Carroll County States Attorney, said in the report that, it is my opinion that the officers use of force was justified as they acted reasonable and lawfully in discharging their weapons as they believed such force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to themselves or others. Therefore, no criminal charges are warranted against the officers.

Feltmeyer had a hearing on July 17 in Stephenson County Court in Freeport. An oral request for release on GPS monitoring was denied and the case has been continued to a later date.

Feltmeyer was arrested after a chase through Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties on June 25 after officers received a report of a stolen car. When officers tried to arrest Feltmeyer in connection with the case, he resisted arrest and a squad car was damaged. Officers fired their guns and Feltmeyer was struck. He continued to evade officers before being taken into custody near the intersection of Chicago Avenue and Gilbert Street.

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A heat wave has hit the United Kingdom, and the high temperatures and lack of rain have put the country in a precarious position. According to The Independent, the Environment Agency is concerned that "up to five additional regions could potentially be declared drought zones in the next few months."

What's happening?

Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire, and Cumbria and Lancashire are all experiencing droughts. The three water companies in these areas have initiated hosepipe bans, which means residents can't water plants or their lawns. These droughts are due to "one of the U.K.'s driest springs on record," per The Independent.

The Environment Agency expects to see more regions issue hosepipe bans in the next couple of months if the U.K. doesn't receive 80% or more of its typical rainfall. These regions include the East Midlands, West Midlands, Thames Wessex, parts of Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, and East Anglia, as well as parts of the South Downs and the Solent.

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The Environment Agency is working closely with water companies, which are following drought protocols.

Environment Agency Drought Manager Stuart Sampson said, per The Independent: "These are in a worse position than in any other droughts over the past 20 years."

Why are the growing droughts in the UK concerning?

In addition to being unable to water their lawns, farmers face restrictions on irrigating crops. Some farmers are reporting low-quality crops and lower yields.

The warm temperatures are also causing fish die-offs and blue-green algae blooms, which are harmful to people using the water, pets, and the ecosystem.

The Independent reported that "scientists said the recent extreme conditions have been made more likely due to human-caused climate change, bringing wide-ranging impacts on farmers and the environment."

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Tech investor and journalist Molly Wood explained this further in a blog post. She said that the warming temperatures are like steroids for the weather. So, while weather events were already going to happen, the higher temperatures are intensifying them.

What's being done about the UK droughts?

One of the best ways to combat droughts is for society to reduce its reliance on dirty energy sources that contribute to global warming.

Additionally, droughts are complex issues to solve, so it's vital to explore critical climate issues to better understand how to tackle them.

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A dead dolphin washed ashore on Perancak Beach in Bali recently, prompting an investigation by local authorities, The Bali Times reported.

What's happening?

Local villagers discovered the Risso's dolphin and reported it to conservation groups. The Natural Resources Conservation Agency arrived shortly thereafter to figure out just what caused the death.

The dolphin was a female measuring three meters in length. Authorities discovered a 50-centimeter fishing line hanging from its mouth that was believed to be part of a snapped tuna fishing line.

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The Indonesia Wildlife Network later conducted a necropsy and discovered a large tuna hook embedded in the dolphin's organs that caused a severe infection. This also left it unable to defend itself against predators, and the combination likely killed the creature.

"The hook was about 5 centimeters long and caused significant internal injury," Ahmad Januar of the Jembrana branch of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency told the Times. "The dolphin likely couldn't eat properly, which led to its weakened condition."

Why is this important?

Animals in the sea are increasingly in danger from a variety of sources. Rising temperatures are threatening their natural habitats, with this change causing the loss of 14% of the world's coral between 2009 and 2018.

Irresponsible fishing practices and, of course, plastic pollution remain tremendous issues, as animals that ingest waste can end up with serious health problems. The biggest problem is that trash is everywhere. And plastic takes an extremely long time to break down, with a single plastic straw lasting for 200 years.

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Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. For instance, a pair of dolphins washed ashore in Australia after being tangled in fishing lines. In North Carolina, a whale washed up on a beach after ingesting plastic. And a diver had an incredible tale of a dolphin leading them to an abandoned fishing net that posed a danger to marine life in the area.

What's being done about this?

There are many ways to address the threats to marine life in our waters. One is to take local action. Helping educate communities and doing all we can to ensure ecosystems are strengthened and protected is key. For instance, strong local fishing regulations can prevent unintended consequences from abandoned nets and lines.

Another action we can take is to repurpose containers and packaging to prevent more plastic waste from ending up in landfills and oceans. And we can support eco-friendly initiatives by mainstream brands. By rewarding companies that are taking the threats to the planet seriously, more corporations will focus on responsible practices.

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Offshore wind leasing is effectively dead in the U.S. following a Trump administration order issued this week.

Large swaths of U.S. waters that had been identified by federal agencies as ideal for offshore wind are no longer eligible for such developments under an Interior Department statement released Wednesday.

In the four-sentence statement, Interiors Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said the U.S. government is de-designating over 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously targeted for offshore wind development across the Gulf of America, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, California, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic.

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The move comes just a day after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered his staff to stop preferential treatment for wind projects" and falsely called wind energy unreliable. Analysts say that offshore wind power can be a reliable form of carbon-free energy, especially in New England, where the regions grid operator has called it critical to grid stability. It also follows the Trump administrations monthslong assault on the industry, which has included multiple attacks on in-progress projects.

The outlook was already grim for new offshore wind leasing activity following President Donald Trumps executive order in January that introduced a temporary ban on the practice. Wednesdays announcement makes that policy more definitive. Wind power advocates say it will erase several years of work from federal agencies and local communities to determine the best possible areas for wind development.

My read on this is that there is not going to be any leasing for offshore wind in the near future, said a career employee at the Interior Department, who Canary Media granted anonymity so they could speak freely without fear of retribution.

Figuring out the best spot to place offshore wind is an involved undertaking. The proposed areas start off enormous and, according to the Interior staffer, undergo a careful, multiyear winnowing process to settle on the official wind energy area. Smaller lease areas are later carved out of these broader expanses.

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Take the process for designating the wind energy area known as Central Atlantic 2, which started back in 2023 and is now dead in the water.

The draft area  or call area  started out as a thick belt roughly 40 miles wide and reached from the southernmost tip of New Jersey to the northern border of South Carolina, according to maps on BOEMs website. Multiple agencies, including the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, and NASA, then provided input on where that initial area might have been problematic. NASA, for example, maintains a launch site on Virginias Wallops Island and in 2024 found that nearby wind turbines could interfere with the agencys instrumentation and radio frequencies.

The winnowing didnt stop there. By 2024, according to BOEMs website, its staff was hosting in-person public meetings from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Morehead City, North Carolina, to gather input from fishermen, tourism outfitters, and other stakeholders. Under a wind-friendly administration, a final designation and lease sale notice would have likely been released this year or by 2026, based on a timeline posted to BOEMs website.

But the Trump administration is no friend to offshore wind.

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Trump officials have repeatedly targeted wind projects by pulling permits and even halting one wind farm during construction. Last month, Trumps big, beautiful bill sent federal tax credits to an early grave, requiring wind developers who want to use the incentives to either start construction by July 2026 or place turbines in service by the end of 2027. The move is particularly devastating for offshore projects not already underway. Currently, five major offshore wind farms are under construction in the U.S., and when they come online, they will help states from Virginia to Massachusetts meet their rising energy demand with carbon-free power.

Wednesdays order halts all work on Central Atlantic 2 and similar areas, like one near Guam, and also revokes completely finalized wind energy areas with strong state support. One example is in the Gulf of Maine, where Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has been a fierce advocate for the emerging renewable sector.

These wind energy areas could hypothetically be re-designated by a future administration or the policy reversed, according to the Interior Department employee. Still, in the best case, that means developers will have to wait several more years for new lease areas to become available, further slowing down an industry whose projects already take many years to go through permitting and construction.


COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Some Ohio legislators are trying to make it more difficult to skip scheduled job interviews.

House Bill 395 would create an online registry of applicants who dont show up to job interviews without notice. The bill tasks the Department of Job and Family Services with making a simple way of reporting applicants who dont show up. The bills sponsors said it would protect employers and state unemployment services, but opponents said the bill could harm job applicants.

According to the Department of Job and Family Services, nearly 50,000 Ohioans filed for unemployment benefits last week alone. The state already prohibits people from receiving unemployment benefits if they are not doing enough to get a new job. This includes skipping interviews or ghosting employers.

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Amid Guardians investigation, DeWine calls for end to sports prop betting

Despite protections, H.B. 395 co-sponsor Rep. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) said his constituents are seeing more and more people skip job interviews without notice. In a study by Business Insider, some employers reported as many as 90% of applicants skipping interviews. Lorenz said having an online system for reporting those absences will help keep people accountable.

The bill rewards professionalism. If you value employers time, this process is going to value you, Lorenz said. And it just modernizes the employment process and it holds applicants accountable and it helps employers thrive.

Senate Democrat Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) said applicants are already held accountable to unemployment requirements. He said the bill would penalize workers who have emergencies. He said he nearly missed an appointment last week due to car trouble, and disagrees with the idea of penalizing Ohioans in similar situations.

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This bill is another answer, looking for a question, DeMora said. It is something thats not needed. I mean, there are procedures in line already for unemployment compensation.

The Department of Job and Family Services is in charge of unemployment in Ohio. A spokesperson said the department does not comment on pending legislation, but it already offers a way to report interview no-shows online. However, the form takes a few steps, so Lorenz thinks his proposal will streamline the process.

JD Vance spoke of lawlessness in Columbus, but mayor, police data tell different story

Were just trying to modernize and update Ohio to the 21st century, Lorenz said. When we do things like this it makes our state more competitive against the other states from an economic standpoint.

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DeMora said he thinks legislation like H.B. 395 does not truly help Ohios economy. He said the General Assembly should be prioritizing protections for workers and local governments instead of big businesses. He said he has not heard any similar concerns from his constituents, and feels like there are other problems legislators need to focus on.

All this is going to do is make somebody less likely to actually want to get unemployment compensation  Its just something else that penalizes people, DeMora said.

Lorenz said he has never skipped a job interview, joking his parents would kill him if he had. However, he said everyone runs into unexpected issues and sometimes missing an interview is unavoidable. DeMora said tracking those issues is not the governments role, but Lorenz said its the General Assemblys responsibility to protect Ohios businesses.

Were not looking to black list anybody or anything like that, were just trying to build and foster a culture of respect and accountability and stop wasting employers valuable time, Lorenz said.

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Lorenz and Gross introduced the bill on July 21, although the House has been out of session since July 1. Legislators are not scheduled to return until October, so its unlikely the bill will see any action until then.

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Ayman Soliman, the former Muslim chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital whom federal authorities are trying to deport on what his lawyers are saying is a trumped-up basis. (Photo courtesy of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance.)

A former chaplain at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital is suing the federal government in an attempt to regain his asylum status.

He said the government used a set of inaccurate claims and misinterpreted academic articles to revoke it in the first place. The academics themselves agreed, according to documents filed in a Cincinnati federal court last week.

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The story of Ayman Soliman has taken on a national profile since his July 9 arrest.

He came legally to the United States in 2014 after he was beaten and tortured by Egypts totalitarian government for working with western journalists during the Arab Spring uprising, his lawyers said.

Soliman was granted asylum in 2018, only to see the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service start the process of revoking it last December.

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The government claimed that Soliman provided material support to a terrorist organization.

The Muslim Brotherhood was the organization in question. However, Soliman didnt belong to it, and its not designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.

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In a motion to reinstate Solimans asylum status, his lawyer, Robert Ratliff, points out a key date the government got wrong in trying to revoke it.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services claimed that the Egyptian government designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization on Dec. 5, 2012.

That didnt actually happen until Dec. 25, 2013, and big changes happened in Egypt between the two dates.

Soliman worked with al-Jameya al-Shareya, a group that coordinated community-level social services in a country where nearly a third of people live in poverty and government services are scant.

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In 2011, Arab Spring uprisings toppled the long-time, authoritarian government of Hosni Mubarek.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group, had a legally registered political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, or FJP, that participated in ensuing elections.

The FJP were very successful in these elections, most notably when their candidate, Mohammed Morsi, won the two-round presidential elections in May/June 2012, Steven Brooke, faculty director of Middle East Studies at the University of Wisconsin, wrote.

International election observers judged these contests as free and fair, and their results were accepted as valid by the international community, including the United States.

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During that time, Solimans group worked occasionally with the Muslim Brotherhood on community-level programs, but Brooke wrote that, Individual instances of cooperation or overlap do not indicate that al-Jameya al-Shareya is organizationally allied to the Muslim Brotherhood.

On July 3, 2013, a military junta staged a coup, jailed Morsi and later jailed Soliman for his work as a journalist.

The repressive regime continues in power, with U.S. support.

Significant numbers of individuals, both affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood and not, were killed, imprisoned without trial  or forced to flee the country, Brooke wrote to the court. As part of this crackdown, the Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization in late December of 2013. Under this same military government, Egypt today is one of the most repressive and authoritarian countries in the region.

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Brooke was writing to the court to say that the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service had gotten its facts wrong, and was misusing his work in an attempt to deport Soliman.

In brief, the documents incorrectly date the Muslim Brotherhoods designation as a terrorist group by the Egyptian government by one year, Brooke wrote. The documents also treated the Egyptian governments designation uncritically, and do not contextualize what affiliation between the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Jameya al-Shareya represents.

Marie Vannetzel, of Frances National Center for Scientific Research, also wrote the court on Solimans behalf.

She said that in revoking Solimans refugee status, the Customs and Immigration Service lifted some of her work from its context  apparently intending to mislead.

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Government lawyers quoted a sentence in the middle of a paragraph. The middle sentence said the Muslim Brotherhood under Anwar Sadat in the early 1990s was allowed to work with Solimans group, al-Jameya al-Shareya, until the brotherhood won a spot on the board. Then the board was dissolved, the sentence said.

But government lawyers left out sentences before and after saying that al-Jameya al-Shareya was a venerable, large para-public Islamic charity with many members who had nothing to do with the Muslim Brotherhood.

I strongly disagree with the way these sentences are quoted and interpreted, Vannetzel wrote. I consider this a dishonest manipulation of my text and my work.

In a separate development in Solimans case, an immigration judge denied his application to be released on bail.

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had argued that because he was accused of supporting a terrorist group, the immigration judge didnt have jurisdiction to grant bail.

Immigration judges and their courts are not part of the judiciary. Instead, theyre administered by the Department of Justice, a part of an executive branch whose head is committed to mass deportations. Immigrant support groups say the arrangement is inherently unfair.

For now, Soliman will continue to be jailed in Ohio under a U.S. district judges injunction. Hell remain in the state at least until Aug. 14.

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A baby boy was born to an Ohio couple from an embryo that had been frozen for over 30 years, setting a new record for the longest storage time before a birth.

The baby, born to Lindsey and Tim Pierce, developed from one of a handful of embryos donated in 1994 by Linda Archerd, who turned to embryo adoption after struggling with infertility.

I felt all along that these three little hopes, these little embryos, deserved to live just like my daughter did, said Linda Archerd, who donated her embryos to the Pierces.

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Embryo adoption, a concept gaining traction since the 1990s, allows couples to adopt embryos that would otherwise be discarded, often supported by Christian-centered fertility clinics and advocates.

Linda Archerd initially created four embryos in 1994 with the hope of having more children, but after her divorce, she faced the dilemma of what to do with the remaining embryos.

She eventually found Snowflakes, a division of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, which facilitated the open adoption of her embryos to the Pierces.

The process involved complex logistics, including contacting her original fertility doctor in Oregon and shipping the embryos to the Pierces doctor in Tennessee.

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Of the three embryos donated, one did not survive the thaw, and two were transferred to Lindsey Pierces womb, resulting in the birth of their son.

Dr. John David Gordon, who assisted with the embryo transfer, confirmed it as the longest-frozen embryo to result in a live birth, surpassing a previous record.

The Pierces expressed gratitude for the support they received, emphasizing their desire to have a child rather than set a record.

Meanwhile, Archerd hopes to meet the Pierces and the baby in the future, reflecting on the emotional journey of embryo donation.

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A group marches for equal rights. (Getty Images.)

Ohio Equal Rights is now trying to get two amendments on the 2026 ballot: one to remove the ban on same-sex marriage in the Ohio Constitution, and the other to expand discrimination protections.

The second amendment would add language to the states constitution protecting citizens from discrimination based on race, color, creed or religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression regardless of sex assigned at birth, pregnancy status, genetic information, disease status, age, disability, recovery status, familial status, ancestry, national origin, or military and veteran status.

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Ohio Equal Rights, the group behind the amendments, originally had one proposed amendment, but the Ohio Ballot Board decided a few weeks ago their proposal actually contained two amendments.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said some voters could support removing Ohios ban on gay marriage from the constitution, but not want to add protections to all those groups of people.

We still think splitting the amendment creates unnecessary hurdles, Lis Regula, executive co-chair of Ohio Equal Rights, said in a statement. But we still think moving forward is our best shot.

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Ohio Equal Rights could have challenged the ruling in the Ohio Supreme Court, but decided instead to move forward as two separate amendments. The Republicans hold a 6-1 majority on the Ohio Supreme Court.

It could take months, if not years to appeal the decision in court, Regula said in a statement. Moving forward, even though it is double the signatures and paperwork, it is the best shot we have at securing equality for every Ohioan in a timely manner.

Ohio Equal Rights said their attorneys are writing up summaries, titles, and petitions for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost to certify. Once Yost certifies the petitions, Ohio Equal Rights can starting collecting signatures.

They will need to collect about 413,487 signatures from at least 44 of Ohios 88 counties  10% of the total vote cast for governor during the last gubernatorial election  for each amendment in order to get on the ballot. LaRose will then need to verify the signatures.

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Ohios constitution includes a ban on same-sex marriage after 61.7% of Ohio voters approved an amendment in 2004 that says marriage is only between one man and one woman. The United States Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2015 through the Obergefell case originating out of Ohio.

However, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called on justices to revisit Obergefell after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

The 2026 ballot will also include the governors race and other statewide executive offices.

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ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4)  An Ohio man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing a 15-year-old from California after he was captured and arrested in Cedar City in 2024.

Ryan Gary Patch, 28, of Dayton, Ohio pleaded guilty on March 27, 2025 to transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. He was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison and was also ordered to pay over $11,000 in restitution to the victim.

According to a news release from the Utah District of the United States Attorneys Office, Patch met the 15-year-old victim on Instagram.

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On the morning of July 24, 2024, Patch took the victim from her home in California and began to transport her to Ohio. He also broke and destroyed her phone before he took her, told her to factory reset other devices, and deleted both of their respective Snapchat and Instagram accounts.

However, the victim was able to contact her family from a new Instagram account on a newly gifted iPad, and she shared information with them about her location.

Payson man charged with third sexual abuse case, two victims were underage teens

From there, Cedar City Police received a call about an abducted minor being transported through Utah, and based on the location the victim provided, they were able to locate a victim matching the description of the car Patch was driving.

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Police found a teenager in the back seat and an adult man in the front seat  Patch  who repeatedly said that the girl was his sister. Police spoke to her and determined that she was the victim they were looking for.

Patch was arrested, and police also found child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) involving the victim on an iPad in the vehicle, and upon searching their Snapchat accounts, found more CSAM depicting the victim and chats detailing Patchs plans to come get the victim.

They found additional evidence on Patchs account of him messaging accounts belonging to other minors and exchanging explicit photographs.

The case was investigated by the Utah Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Investigation, and the Cedar City Police Department. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Utah.

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This case was part of Project Safe Childhood, which is a nationwide initiative to stop child sexual exploitation and abuse. You can read more about Project Safe Childhood on the Department of Justices website here.

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An Ohio man wanted for rape of a minor was arrested in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday morning.

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The Cleveland Municipal Court issued a warrant for 37-year-old Webster Portalatin-Castro back on June 3, CBS affiliate WOIO-19 reported.

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Members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force learned that Portalatin-Castro may have fled the Cleveland area and was hiding in the Boston area.

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Portalatin-Castro 30 miles north of Boston at an address in the 700 block of Haverhill Street in Lawrence, Massachusetts, WOIO-19 reported.

Portalatin-Castro is being charged as a fugitive from justice and is expected to be arraigned in Massachusetts pending his extradition back to Ohio, according to a release.

Portalatin-Castro is also in the United States illegally, WOIO-19 reported.

The U.S. Marshals Service will track down violent sexual predators such as this, whether they are in the city of Cleveland or have fled across the country. There is nowhere for them to hide when the Marshals are looking for them, U.S. Marhsall Pete Elliot said in a statement.

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Don't be fooled by politicians outraged about the ugly, viral brawl that left Cincinnati with a shiner so big the entire nation noticed.

Vice President JD Vance, Ohio gubernatorial candidate Viviek Ramasamy, and U.S. senators Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted of Ohio aren't upset about the incident that also drew criticism to Columbus and other large American cities.

The July 26 downtown Cincinnati fight that sent two to the hospital with non-life-threatening but shocking injuries was awful, but it was far from an example of the worst crime problems communities here or around the nation face.

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You wouldn't know that listening to Vance and the rest. That is by design and follows a very old playbook.

The Cincinnati victims are White. The suspects are Black.

Our Republican leaders' and possible future governor's collective outrage against it is "smart" but divisive politics that builds on a long tradition of freaking White people out about the scary Black uprising overtaking larger American cities.

Hell, it traces back beyond slavery, it is so old.

The rhetoric is shameful, but there are more substantial consequences.

The political games played by Vance, Ramaswamy, Moreno and Husted distract from the real conversations about violence that should happen in Cincinnati, Columbus and elsewhere in Ohio.

Ohio politicians rather finger-wag than put forth real policy

Why push for policies that improve the lives of Ohioans when you can race-bait and shake your finger at political opponents at the same time?

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Crime is an easy target against Democratic mayors of Ohio's large cities, but it isn't the problem of only Democratic mayors of large Ohio cities.

Ohio's representatives in Washington  Vance included  should be working for solutions.

Ohio Gov.. Mike DeWine, a Republican, gets that complaining about an issue is no solution.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval has accepted help from the governor's that includes traffic enforcement to free up police, data analysis of where crime happens and the use of a helicopter for criminal suspect searches, and vehicle pursuit mitigation from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

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It would be too much like work to push for policies that address the bevy of real problems that impact Ohio communities, big and small.

Vice President JD Vance visited Metallus in Canton on Monday, July 28.

Take gun violence and domestic violence, for instance.

As bad as the Cincinnati fight was, no soul was lost.

Gun violence is a real issue in Ohio

According to Johns Hopkins University, guns were the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2022. There were 1,831 deaths that year, including 102 children. According to the report, 1,046 of those gun deaths were suicides and 738 were homicides.

The prior year, there were 155 domestic violence-related homicides in Ohio. Nearly 70% were by firearm.

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In a press release, Moreno announced that the U.S. attorney general has launched an FBI investigation into the Cincinnati brawl, even though it was already being prosecuted in the Queen City.

Wouldn't it be nice if he were as passionate about advocating for gun violence victims?

For instance, where was the outrage when 17-year-old Cameron Moore was killed and five others were wounded in a mass shooting at a July 4 house party on Columbus' Southeast Side?

So much more could be done to keep guns out of the wrong hands, and people want those in power to do something.

Opinion: Are thugs ruining date nights in Columbus? JD Vance says so. What do you say?

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Poll after poll shows that Ohioans from all political persuasions overwhelmingly support gun policies like mandatory background checks, red flag laws, safe storage laws and training for concealed carry.

There are solutions to gun violence but our leaders on the state and national levels do not have the will to push for them.

It is easier and smarter to stoke fear.

Through their statements and social media posts, they conjure images of "lawless thugs" enabled by Democratic city leaders like Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who, according to them, lean so far to the left that they are barely upright.

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Pureval is considered one of the few stars in Ohio's politically weak Democratic Party. Of course, he's a target.

Pureval should have jumped ahead of the scandal. Part of a mayor's responsibility is to create safe environments for people in their cities.

People were hurt, and the city's reputation  at least in the short term  was damaged.

That doesn't change the fact that Vance, Moreno and the rest are using it to feed fear and score points with online trolls.

What's not happening in Columbus

Asked about the fight during a press conference in Canton, Vance's memory has to be jogged to remember that Moreno sent him a clip of a video.

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He then launched into a baseless rant about lawless thugs in great American cities, ignoring the fact that violent crime is down in most Ohio cities.

"How many of you all have wanted to go to downtown Akron or downtown Canton or downtown Columbus for a meal, but you're worried because the local authorities in these big cities have allowed lawlessness to run wild? We have got to make great American cities safe again for families and children," Vance said.

The Cincinnati resident might as well have said, Black city thugs beat up White people trying to enjoy a night on the town. "They are ruining date night in Columbus."

His assertions do not match facts.

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Opinion: Asking kids about guns in their homes helps save lives

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter decreased by 11.6% nationally in 2023 compared to the previous year, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Aggravated assaults were down nearly 3%.

There have been 45 homicides recorded in Columbus this year as of July 28, the city's lowest homicide rate in at least 12 years.

Felony assault cases were half of what they were two years ago on the same date  454 reports.

One case does not make a trend

A video of a fight in downtown Cincinnati, posted on July 26, circulated social media.

The facts of the fight are far less divisive than the notion that cities are infested with criminals.

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During the July 26 incident in downtown Cincinnati captured on multiple cameras, a White man was pummeled by multiple Black people after an apparent verbal argument escalated. A White woman seemingly lost consciousness after being punched in the head by a Black male.

Cincinnati officials should have addressed the public concerns sooner, but the crime hasn't been swept under the rug.

At the writing of this column, five people have been charged in connection with the viral brawl that pushed Cincinnati into the national limelight. Two victims were treated at a hospital and released, according to Cincinnati police.

Two victims treated and released won't get you reelected. Stoking the flames is sexier than simply saying "police are investigating."

In a video posted to his Instagram page, Husted said the victims were beaten to nearly the "point of death" and decried efforts to defund the police.

"Not only did people not intervene and help, but they actually participated in the beating of these victims," Husted said. "I called all three of them  and there may have been more. In conversations with them, they didn't understand why. I know maybe more facts will come out in this situation, but this is the point that's true: This is happening in America, across our cities, like it did in Cincinnati. It's not tolerable."

It shouldn't be tolerated, but it is flatly inflammatory to claim it is a common occurrence. There is no mass outbreak of people being beaten up on the streets of America.

Senator Jon Husted, official portrait in Washington, DC on March 13, 2025. (Official U.S. Senate photo by John Shinkle)

There are real problems and real solutions.

It saddens me that officials with the ability to do good won't do anything but make things worse.

It is an outrage that they'd rather divide us with racist tropes than bring us together.

Amelia Robinson is The Columbus Dispatch opinion editor.

T

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cincinnati fight makes good race-bait for Ohio politicians | Opinion
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A routine inspection at the Ohio State Fair turned into sweet savings for one candy vendor.

Im appreciative that they come in and do it, and they make sure that our business is running correct for both sides, for the consumer and for the business itself, Bulk Candy Store owner Brian Shenkman said.

A costly error was discovered on multiple Bulk Candy Store scales, which couldve added up to thousands of dollars in lost sales for the shop.

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According to state officials, these inspections are crucial in protecting both business owners and consumers.

For 34 years, hundreds of thousands have purchased sweets from Bulk Candy Store at the Ohio State Fair. Customers can fill up a basket and when it comes time to pay, the items are weighed. The system isnt always foolproof, though.

Sometimes during movement, the scale shakes, it gets out of adjustment, and stuff like that, Shenkman said. And personally, I want to know either way, if its on the customer side or our side. If its on our side, I definitely want to fix it. If its on the customer side, we have to get it fixed or get new ones in here right away.

This is why, each year before the fun begins, the Ohio Department of Agricultures Division of Weights and Measures inspects all food scales.

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When they come in, they test all parts of the scale, Shenkman said. They dont just test the middle because the middle is the strongest part.

Its a good thing those scales got checked. ODA staff found errors in four of them, which were each off by 15 cents per pound  60 cents per pound total.

Thats money that we would have lost out of our pocket, Shenkman said. We probably wouldnt have known about it but its something that, you know, in this economy, it helps.

Shenkman said that throughout the duration of the fair, hell sell about 14,000 pounds of candy. He estimates this annual inspection saved him about $8,400 in sales.

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But the scales could be the other way, too, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge said. So, if they would have been off in favor of the person selling, then our consumers would have been shorted. So, it is just a win-win on both sides of commerce.

Baldridge said ODAs Division of Weights and Measures also inspects all livestock at the state fair, ensuring equity for business owners and consumers.

Our shows here at the State Fair are shown by weight, Baldridge said. So, we want those animals to be in the right class, weighed in at the right weight and its a fair, even competition between the animals. But those animals are also sold after the fair, so we want to know exactly what that weight is.

Bulk Candy Store stops at multiple fairs throughout the year. While some states charge them to inspect their scales, Ohio does not.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
When Tiah McCreary bought a used Kia K5 from Taylor Kia of Lima, she thought she was driving away in her new ride for good. Instead, the dealership repossessed the car just a month later. That could have been the end of the story.

But McCreary noticed something the dealer apparently didnt: Taylor Kia of Lima had failed to renew the registration for its own business name with the state of Ohio. So she did what any scorned, resourceful customer might dream of doing: she registered the dealerships name for herself.

Then, she sent the dealer a cease-and-desist letter.

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Now, an appeals court is siding with her on at least one part of the dispute, and the case is headed back to an Ohio courtroom.

Don't miss

How a car purchase turned into a legal saga

McCrearys unusual story began in February 2024, when she visited Taylor Kia of Lima to buy a 2022 Kia K5, according to court filings. Like most car buyers, she signed a thick stack of paperwork  including a binding arbitration clause that said any disputes related to the purchase would be handled outside the courtroom.

She left the lot with a car and a loan provisionally approved by Global Lending Services.

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But that loan approval didnt stick. The lender later decided McCrearys income information wasnt sufficient, and the dealership repossessed the Kia while she was at work.

For many people, thats where the nightmare would end, with a repossessed car and a bruised credit report. But McCreary started looking into legal options and stumbled on a golden nugget: Taylor Kia of Lima had let its trade name registration lapse with the Ohio Secretary of State.

She filed for the name herself.

Then, she took the next step: suing the dealership and its parent company for fraud, unjust enrichment, and violations of Ohios Consumer Sales Practices Act. On top of that, she demanded they stop doing business under the name Taylor Kia of Lima, because according to state records, it now belonged to her.

Arbitration, appeals and a twist

At first, the dealership fought back by pointing to the arbitration agreement McCreary had signed. A lower court agreed with them and tossed her lawsuit, ruling the dispute should go to arbitration instead of open court. But the Third District Court of Appeals saw it differently. Earlier this month, the court ruled that while the arbitration clause covered the car purchase, it didnt apply to the fight over the dealerships name, because trademark and trade-name rights have nothing to do with her loan or the repossession.

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This claim is a separate matter that could be pursued independently of the other claims in the complaint, the court wrote.

That means McCrearys revenge-by-paperwork will get its day in court after all.

Read more: Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10)

Could you pull off a move like this?

While McCrearys case is unusual, its a reminder that businesses have to keep up with the boring paperwork that protects their names, trademarks, and reputations. If they dont, opportunists, or even angry customers, might step in.

But dont expect this to be an easy win for McCreary. The dealership could argue that its long-standing use of the name gives it priority under trademark law, even if the state-level registration lapsed. Legal experts say courts often favor businesses that can prove consistent use of a brand in commerce.

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Still, for now, McCreary has scored an upper hand, and the right to keep Taylor Kia of Lima in legal limbo.

What consumers can learn from McCrearys revenge

Check the paperwork: Whether youre buying a car, signing a lease, or starting a business, always know exactly what youre agreeing to. Arbitration clauses can limit your legal options. Public records are public for a reason: State business filings are easy to check online. McCrearys discovery came simply from doing her homework. Reputation matters: For businesses, letting registrations lapse can open the door to costly and embarrassing disputes.

For McCreary, the fight isnt over, but shes already proved that sometimes, the pen really is mightier than the tow truck.

What to read next

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Oklahoma City has struck back at shoddy or illegal roof repairs with a new permit and inspection ordinance.

Starting in August, Oklahoma City will require that major residential roof repair, replacement or removal projects must have a permit before starting construction.

Not every roofing project will need a permit, however. Here's what to know if you're in the market for a new roof.

OKC now requires roofing permit, inspection

Many home construction projects like plumbing, electrical and significant structural alterations require both a construction permit and follow-up inspection by city authorities.

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The city's building code includes roofing standards, but until now, though, roof repairs inside city limits didn't need a permit.

The new city roofing permit will only be required for jobs at single-family homes and duplexes. It won't be required for new home construction, or for roofing projects that are less than 500 square feet.

How to get an OKC roof permit

Residents and contractors can apply for a roofing permit online at okc.gov/access or visit the citys In-Person Business Center on the first floor of 420 W. Main St.

Permits will typically be issued on the same day they're requested and will cost $94.50. After the work is complete, a city inspector will come out to the site and verify that the work was done properly.

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"This ordinance establishes vital oversight of roofing operations within Oklahoma City," said Development Services Director Brock Rowe. "Given the frequency of severe weather in our region, it is critical that we protect homeowners, especially during times of crisis, by ensuring work is done safely, professionally, and in full compliance with code."

OKC expects the new permit will bring in $900,000 to $2.5 million annually.

Hail, severe storms threaten Oklahoma roofs

Severe storms that bring heavy wind and hail to Oklahoma are common, and so are warnings to beware unlicensed or unqualified contractors who flood neighborhoods when there's widespread damage.

It's not unusual for the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board to receive hundreds of complaints about roofing contractors during years when Oklahoma experiences significant amounts of severe weather.

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More: Be wary of fraudulent repair companies following a storm

Oklahoma's attorney general and insurance commissioner also frequently alert consumers about the dangers of fly-by-night contractors after severe weather.

But even regular roof maintenance and repairs can lead to bad outcomes.

"A lot of times when you have re-roofs, you will have moisture that builds up underneath the shingle and you'll have some rot around the eaves and edges, so we want to make sure that's all replaced correctly," Rowe told the Oklahoma City Council in June.

A roofer nails shingles along the ridge on a metro-area house.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New OKC law requires permit to repair your roof: What you need to know
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Oklahoma City Public Schools (OKCPS) is set to host two Back-to-School Bash events starting August 2, providing families with information, education, resources, and direct services to prepare for the upcoming school year.

Services being offered include medical screenings, immunizations, after-school program registration, and much more.

Why school supplies are exempt under Tax Free Weekend

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Services and back-to-school supplies will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis for families apart of the OKCPS district.

Enrollment and other OKCPS teams will be at the event to answer any questions.

The following dates are when and where the events are being held:

Saturday, Aug. 2, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Frederick Douglass High School (900 N Martin Luther King Ave.)

Saturday, Aug. 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at US Grant High School (5016 S Pennsylvania Ave.)

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Despite her agency finally winding up with a budget for the new fiscal year that's essentially flat, Oklahoma Arts Council Executive Director Amber Sharples said visitors to the state Capitol will see blank walls in some places that would normally showcase eye-catching works by Sooner State artists.

"In this particular climate, we are grateful that we ended up pretty much with level funding," Sharples told The Oklahoman. "We seem to be in the clear for now and are able to move forward, but there also is still, I would say, an undercurrent of uncertainty ... about what is to come and what obstacles or challenges we will face  both as a sector and as individual organizations  in the future."

The Oklahoma Arts Council is the official state agency for the support and development of the arts, as well as the state partner for the National Endowment for the Arts, or NEA, the independent federal agency that is the country's largest funder of the arts and arts education.

Amber Sharples, with the Oklahoma Arts Council, stands in front of the painting of Jim Thorpe by Charles Banks Wilson in March on the fourth floor of the state Capitol. The Oklahoma Arts Council is taking cost-cutting measures, including suspending its program of rotating exhibitions in the Oklahoma State Capitol galleries.

How delays on the federal level led to the delay in approving the Oklahoma Arts Council's budget

After a turbulent spring that saw hundreds of arts organizations nationwide  including some in the Sooner State  have their NEA grants canceled, the Oklahoma Arts Council's governing body, which is comprised of 15 governor-appointed Oklahomans representing communities statewide, approved the state agency's fiscal year 2026 budget on July 15.

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That's two weeks after the fiscal year actually started on July 1.

"We typically find out what our federal funding, our state partnership grant, is going to be from the National Endowment for the Arts in early April. And this year, we didn't find out until June. Therefore, we had to move our annual June council meeting into July, just so we would have enough time to build a plan that was responsive," Sharples said.

"Luckily, we've done this for numerous years, and we're very good, I think, at building a strong plan and looking at the different options. But it does have probably more of a domino effect ... in that you have hundreds of organizations not finding out what the potential state and federal investment is going to be in their work (until) 45 to 60 days after the normal time frame."

So, Oklahoma Arts Council staffers are working under a condensed timeline to process more than 250 grant applications for fiscal year 2026, while closing out in excess of 600 grant awards from fiscal year 2025. Organizations that applied for fiscal year 2026 grant funding from the state Arts Council have been warned to expect a delay in award notifications.

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"That is difficult on organizations that are already strained, and we want to recognize and acknowledge that. We know that is compounding the uncertainty they're facing (regarding) various other resources, whether it's federal, state or even just in the private sector," Sharples said. "We're probably going to see the repercussions of that for quite some time, in terms of organizational planning, their ability to move projects forward or operate themselves with certainty around their personnel and other decision-making."

Grant notices are expected to go out in August, while the awarded grants will cover the period of expenses that started July 1.

A woman pauses by a mural, "Labor Omnia Vincit" by Lucas Simmons, on the ground floor of the state Capitol. The Oklahoma Arts Council is taking cost-cutting measures, including suspending its program of rotating exhibitions in the Oklahoma State Capitol galleries.

How much in state and federal appropriations did the Oklahoma Arts Council receive for fiscal year 2026?

For fiscal year 2026, the Oklahoma Arts Council's state appropriations totaled $4,308,180.

That's a net increase of $355,855 over fiscal year 2025.

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The state agency received $405,855 in one-time funding, including $100,000 for state Capitol artwork risk mitigation measures and $305,855 for specialized museum collections storage equipment at the Jim Thorpe Building. A nearly century-old office building in the state Capitol complex, the Jim Thorpe Building is undergoing extensive renovations.

Through its National Endowment for the Arts State Partnership Grant, the Oklahoma Arts Council has been awarded more than $1 million for the second year in a row.

The $1,118,938 awarded to the state agency through its NEA partnership grant represents an increase of $116,838 from fiscal year 2025.

As with its state funding, the boost in the Oklahoma Arts Council's federal appropriation is largely due to one-time funding from the federal arts agency through the America250 and Arts and Health grant opportunities.

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To mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, President Donald Trump's administration is planning a full year of festivities across the country that will culminate on July 4, 2026, exactly 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Each state arts agency could garner as much as $25,000 in NEA grant funding under the America250 initiative, and the Oklahoma Arts Council applied for and received the maximum funding.

The state Arts Council also applied for and garnered the maximum NEA grant funding  $75,000  for Arts and Health.

"We're going to put together a statewide summit around bringing leaders that want to leverage the arts and health together for a professional development opportunity. Then, we're using a portion of the funds for our Creative Aging Initiative, since it serves older adults and really supports the idea of arts and health overall," Sharples said.

Launched in 2021, the Oklahoma Arts Council's Creative Aging Initiative was created to build capacity across the state for community-based arts education programs serving older adults in an effort to improve quality of life for the fast-growing segment of the population.

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Aside from the one-time funding for Arts and Health and America250, the state Arts Council received a 1.68% increase to its fiscal year 2026 federal funding compared to the previous year.

"The Oklahoma Arts Councils FY26 budget is modest  less than one dollar per Oklahoman. Yet, that investment yields a $50 million economic return each year. Over 80% of those dollars flow directly into local communities, supporting jobs, expanding access to the arts, and enriching education," said Danielle Ezell, executive director for Oklahomans for the Arts, a nonpartisan arts advocacy group, in an email to The Oklahoman.

"We must increase, not decrease or merely maintain funding, at both the state and federal level. We know investment in the arts is a smart investment that yields enormous economic benefits while enriching communities."

How is uncertainty over future federal funding leading the Oklahoma Arts Council to take cautionary measures?

Despite a small gain in federal funding, concerns remain in the state arts sector about the coming budget negotiations on Capitol Hill and how those might affect the Oklahoma Arts Council's fiscal year 2027.

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In May, President Trump unveiled a budget proposal that included $163 billion in spending cuts to non-military programs as well as plans to eliminate the NEA, National Endowment for the Humanities and Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Shortly after the president's proposal was unveiled, arts organizations nationwide, including the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Arts Institute and Sunny Dayz Mural Festival as well as the Tulsa Glassblowing School and Theatre Tulsa Inc., had their NEA grants canceled.

In July, the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee recommended a 35% cut to the NEA, which would set its budget at $135 million, down from $207 million. But the Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee followed by including $207 million for the NEA in its funding bill recommendations for next year.

In March, a man walks down the east hall gallery on the first floor of the state Capitol. The Oklahoma Arts Council is taking cost-cutting measures, including suspending its program of rotating exhibitions in the Oklahoma State Capitol galleries.

"Even a partial loss would be deeply felt  especially in rural communities with limited access to private funding. These dollars fund teaching artists, small-town theaters, and local festivals. They create jobs, drive tourism, and bring the arts into schools," Ezell said. "Cuts at the federal level mean fewer opportunities for Oklahomans, particularly those who already face barriers to access. In many rural communities, there are no major donors or corporations ready to step in if this support vanishes."

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In September, following the August Congressional recess, both the House and Senate Interior Appropriations bills will go to the floors of their respective chambers, and arts advocates, organizations and agencies will be watching closely.

Still, Sharples said the Oklahoma Arts Council is already taking cost-cutting measures, including scrapping the 2025 Oklahoma Arts Conference and suspending its program of rotating exhibitions in the Oklahoma State Capitol galleries. The latter is due to attrition at the curator of state Capitol exhibitions position, which will remain unfilled for the time being.

"Unfortunately, there will have to be (some) blank walls at this point, as we literally don't have the human power in order to fill those spaces, to keep those areas fresh with new artwork and make connections in studio visits to artists. We've had to cancel a really robust and exciting exhibition schedule with numerous artists from across the state that we had planned out for 18 months, and I know it was devastating to those individual artists," Sharples said.

"But out of an abundance of caution, we have pulled back and made some hard decisions to suspend certain programs so that we can see where the dust settles."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Arts Council's flat budget means blank walls at Capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  According to police, more than $1,000 in damage was done to a slot machine at an Oklahoma City casino.

Officials say police are looking to identify a man they say punched the front of a slot machine, shattering the glass.

Police investigating after slot machine damaged. Image courtesy OKC Police.

Police investigating after slot machine damaged. Image courtesy OKC Police.

Anyone with more information can contact OKC Crime Stoppers by calling 405-235-7300 or submitting an anonymous tip online.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  The Oklahoma County Sheriffs Office (OCSO) says its deputies rescued two dogs abandoned by their owners with very little food or water.

Authorities rescue 2 dogs left with little food and water, Image Oklahoma County Sheriff Office Facebook page

Authorities rescue 2 dogs left with little food and water, Image Oklahoma County Sheriff Office Facebook page

Authorities are reminding residents of the law in place Oklahoma Title 21-1691 which states, Any person who deposits any live dog, cat, or other domestic animal along any private or public roadway, or in any other private or public place with the intention of abandoning the domestic animal upon conviction, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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)  On Friday, Governor Kevin Stitt issued an executive order protecting unborn life, directing state agencies to cease all public individual or organization funding connected with abortion providers.

According to Governor Stitts office, the order follows the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. The case granted states to have the right to decide which providers can take part in their Medicaid programs.

Oklahoma is a pro-life state, and our policies should reflect that at every level of our government, said Governor Stitt. We wont allow tax dollars to indirectly subsidize and flow into the abortion industry under the guise of womens health. My order makes sure every public dollar aligns with our values and supports providers who respect life at every stage.

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State employee upset at mandate, says there is not enough office space

The executive order directs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) to:

Conduct a full review and revision of provider credentialing standards to ensure all participants align with Oklahomas pro-life public policy.

Terminate and refuse to renew any SoonerCare contracts with entities that perform, refer to, or are affiliated with abortion services.

Require all SoonerCare providers to sign a statement attesting whether they or anyone theyre connected to are involved in abortion-related activities.

Implement new rules and enforcement mechanisms to ensure ongoing compliance.

The OHCA is tasked with rulemaking to start within 60 days, full implementation of revised standards within 120 days, and submit a final report to Governor Stitt within 150 days regarding compliance measures.

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To read the entire Executive Order 2025-16 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.
Pictured on May 4, 2025, the Junior Achievement building serves as the site for the Biztown and Financial Park programs. (Photo by Karla Brizuela/For Oklahoma Voice)

OKLAHOMA CITY  Tens of thousands of students have received financial literacy and career readiness training through a new Oklahoma City program designed to simulate real-world experience.

Since the nonprofit center launched in October, students as young as fourth grade have translated the lessons theyve learned in the classroom to age-appropriate real-world scenarios such as how to budget or run a business.

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The idea to create the specialized programs came from the realization that students lacked essential business and financial skills, said Edward Pope, regional director of Junior Achievement of Oklahoma, the group leading the effort.

We realized students did not have the appropriate knowledge, and so we wanted to create a nonprofit that would help students learn about business and learn how to conduct them, Pope said.

Oklahoma lawmakers require students in grades seventh to 12th to demonstrate a satisfactory knowledge level of 14 financial literacy topics before they graduate. Those topics include the importance of work and budgeting, balancing a checkbook, saving and investing, and the consequences of bankruptcy.

Supporters of the program said that they developed two distinct programs designed to align with Oklahomas financial literacy graduation requirements and state standards. There are now two of these centers in Oklahoma. The other is located in Tulsa.

One of the mock businesses is pictured inside the financial literacy center. (Photo provided by Junior Achievement of Oklahoma)

The newest center, located in northwest Oklahoma City, connects volunteers with students to teach them how to navigate real-world financial and business scenarios.

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BizTown, which is designed for elementary students, teaches students how to manage a business in a simulated town.

It merges skills learned in the classroom with a visit to an imitation town where students practice the skills theyve learned in the classroom, learn how to keep their own checkbook, read a paycheck and work a simulated job. Students take on jobs roles within storefronts sponsored by local companies.

The experience gives students a chance to earn and spend money while practicing communication and collaboration, Pope said.

Finance Park is geared toward high school students. It focuses on personal budgeting and long-term financial planning. Students begin by choosing a career path and education level, and then they navigate adult decisions such as marriage, housing, child care and transportation.

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Pope said the students progress through three or four life stages. At the end, they find out if they met their financial goals, he said.

Both pathways are free to schools across the state, and over 250 schools have arranged field trips to the center. Supporters said over 4,000 people have volunteered at the center since its launch last year. Over 80% of its funding to pay for the programming comes from several hundred corporate sponsors.

During the 202324 school year, Pope said an analysis of the programs show they reached 59,367 students and resulted in over 860,000 contact hours. Over 90% of program participants said the trainings either increased their confidence about joining the workforce or helped set them on a path to set financial goals.

The organization said that number grew to more than 62,000 students during the 2024-25 school year, and the organization said it worked with 270 schools in 96 districts and 1,200 teachers.

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Norman teachers Wanda Dyer and Lynndi Cox, who teach at Irving Middle School, said they both incorporate the programs into their classrooms.

Dyer said the center enables her to create engaging modules by combining group activities, personal finance lessons and career exploration exercises.

Theyve practiced balancing budgets, thinking through life decisions, and identifying career goals, Dyer said. By the time they go to the simulation, theyre not just guessing  theyre making informed choices.

She believes introducing students to the program in eighth grade helps them start thinking about careers before entering high school.

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They can go ahead and start working and have a game plan, she said.

Cox said some of her students didnt even know certain jobs existed before visiting the center.

It gives them options outside the traditional academic path and shows them how their interests can translate into careers, she said.

Rachel Kanady, senior vice president at NFP, an Aon company, and a Junior Achievement board member, said the centers age-specific curriculum is able to be adjusted as needed to meet the needs of students and the state.

Our curriculum is designed to engage students at the right age level, aligning with what theyre learning in school, she said.

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Pope, the regional director, said the center hopes to grow and impact more students.

As more schools and volunteers get involved, the hope is that even more students across the state will leave better prepared for life after graduation, he said.

Editors note: This story was produced through a reporting partnership between Oklahoma Voice and the University of Central Oklahomas journalism program.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  27 individuals have been sentenced for being a part of a drug trafficking organization that was managed inside Oklahoma prisons by using contraband cell phones.

According to the United States Department of Justice, 35-year-old Zachary Clark, 42-year-old Brandon Horne, and 32-year-old Johnny Ross were inmates in custody at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and have been sentenced for their roles inside the prison while directing a major methamphetamine drug trafficking organization.

As part of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) and Dangerous Drugs two-year-long investigation, around 90 kilograms of methamphetamine, 22 firearms, and nearly $350,000 in drug proceeds were seized by law enforcement officials.

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Former Oklahoma teacher charged with murder in AR killings

27 individuals in Oklahoma were arrested as a result of the investigation, and all 27 of them pleaded guilty. They will serve nearly 235 years collectively, while one individual, Zachary Clark, will serve a life sentence.

The arrest, conviction and sentencing of members of this organization and its leadership has undoubtedly made neighborhoods throughout Oklahoma a safer place for our children and families, said Joseph B. Tucker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of DEA Dallas. The DEA will continue to work hand in hand with our state and local law enforcement partners to hold those distributing poison in our communities accountable for their actions.

Public records state that in early 2024, Ross, Clark, and Horne were inmates at the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC). The three individuals ran a drug trafficking organization that had ties to an Irish Mob Gang.

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They used contraband cell phones and depended on individuals who were not incarcerated to distribute drugs, mainly methamphetamine, and the collection of drug proceeds.

Officials say that Ross was indicted by a jury on April 16, 2024, for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Clark and Horne were indicted on May 21, 2024, also for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

All three have pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy, while 24 others have been charged in related cases, including a mixture of drug and firearm offenses.

Zachary Clark was sentenced to life in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy.

Brandon Horne was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy.

Johnny Ross was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy.

Tiffany Manovsky , 42, was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for two counts of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Jerry Ward , 54, was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy

Mondale Larue Golston , 33, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Kelly Dwayne Russell , 43, was sentenced to 170 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Sarah Christine Annesley , 39, was sentenced to 165 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Teresa Denise Dill , 34, was sentenced to 132 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Logan Eugene Stapleton , 36, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Ronni Kita-Jean Love , 36, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy.

Jennifer Delacy Smith , 44, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.

Armando Neri ,43, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Troy Hickey , 35, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for distribution of methamphetamine.

Sharla Jo Cummins , 39, was sentenced to 90 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Sarah Deanne Fryhover , 37, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Tina Jane Combes , 49, was sentenced to 84 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

James Buchannon Wiyninger , 50, was sentenced to 80 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for drug conspiracy.

Tabitha Sue Frair , 40, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Gloria Leshell Bills , 30, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

Clayton Frank Adcock , 47, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, followed by four years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

James Russell Kearney , 54, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Carlos Alfredo Herrera Jimenez , 31, was sentenced to 44 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for drug conspiracy.

Jacqueline Lynette Aguilar Avila , 43, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

William Ray Cooper , 51, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Tera Michell Warren , 39, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Emily Walker, 38, was sentenced to a five-year term of federal probation for drug conspiracy and being a drug user in possession of firearms.

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Almost 700,000 were enrolled to Oklahoma's public school system during the last academic year, per the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Credit - Jonathan Kirn - Getty Images.

Oklahomas education department has announced plans to introduce an America First certification test to ensure that teachers moving from liberal states align with its values.

"One of the things that we wanted to do is, first of all, make sure that they're great teachers, right? And No. 2, make sure we're not getting these woke, indoctrinating social justice warriors in the classroom," the states Superintendent Ryan Walters said in an interview with Fox Digital.

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Walters said that every teacher moving to work in Oklahoma must pass the test in order to begin teaching, and that Conservative think-tank PragerU will assist in the development of the test.

We put the Bible back in our history standards," Walters said, adding that the America First test would include questions based on American history and common sense.

Walters said the teaching of gender identity in other states was one motivation for the test, which will roll out in time for the upcoming school year. We started seeing states like California, New York, Maine as well, that are putting out directives saying In this state youve got to teach your 27 genders, he said.

Read more: As Trump Moves to Dismantle the Department of Education, We Need a Constitutional Amendment

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California state law requires students to be taught about gender, gender expression, gender identity, and explore the harm of negative gender stereotypes schools must teach about all sexual orientations and what being LGBTQ means, the states Department of Education says.

None of the Education Departments in California, New York, and Maine make reference to teaching students about 27 genders.

Maine has pushed back against President Donald Trumps directive to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports.

At the start of his second term in office, Trump issued an executive order saying that there are only two recognized genders.

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We love President Trump in Oklahoma, Walters said, adding that the MAGA agenda is saving education.

Walter also claimed teachers coming into Oklahoma were "fleeing the teachers unions, the grip that they've had on them in these blue states.

In 2023, Walters announced a maximum $50,000 bonus for teachers moving to the state with more than 5 years of experience, and for those in the top ten percentile in the United States. Smaller bonuses were offered depending on length of experience and what districts teachers had previously worked in.

A spokesperson for PragerU said: We fully understand why superintendents of education, like Ryan Walters, feel compelled to protect their students from the extreme left-wing ideologies being promoted in schools through teachers who often do not even realize the damage caused.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Protestors wave the flags of Mexico and Guatemala as a large crowd gathers in front of the state Capitol in Oklahoma City on Feb. 3, 2025, to protest deportations and immigration enforcement in schools. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)

Oklahoma schools find themselves in a challenging position, suddenly caught in the middle of the Trump administrations push to deport illegal immigrants.

Schools have found themselves at the forefront of immigration debates before, but this feels different.

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They face so many more challenges ranging from the threat of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids to decreasing attendance rates as families choose to keep their children home to avoid the trauma associated with them. The Trump administration has withheld funding for school programs, including migrant education and services for English language learners. And State Superintendent Ryan Walters policies, such as trying to require schools to collect data on the immigration status of students, are further destabilizing our education system.

This isnt the first time Ive attended OK Justice Circles Breaking Bread panel and group discussions. This panel has met 14 times since 2020 in order to increase community awareness of the lived experiences of racial and ethnic minorities in Oklahoma City area.

The latest Breaking Bread topic, which focused on the harm state and federal policies are causing to our states Hispanic community, was the most emotional one Ive ever attended during the last five years.

For instance, as a panelist was leaving for the conference, a student told her that she is studying the Holocaust and could see parallels forming between that horrific event that ultimately resulted in the deaths of 6 million Jewish people and the ramping up of our countrys immigration enforcement efforts.

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An elected school board member, who represents a majority Hispanic district, reported receiving death threats.

Another urban district reported seeing an alarming surge in absenteeism.

I heard stories about how students now come to school every day with their birth certificates in their backpacks just in case ICE raids their schools. I cant remember the last time a child had to prove they were an American citizen while in school.

These raise tough questions about what schools can do to protect the students theyre entrusted to serve.

Schools cannot politicize the issues they deal with, but they can help provide wrap-around services like increased access to food and or solutions to housing insecurity. They can also address the physical and mental health issues their students are experiencing. And, they can refer students to nonprofit and public agencies that have support structures.

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But those solutions require trust in the law and the procedures that ICE agents are required to follow. It is really difficult to trust the immigration enforcement process right now.

The Trump administration held funding for English language services. I worry that federal leaders could one day try to take it even a step further by denying access to public school to undocumented children.

That would inflict incredible hardships on families and untold amounts damage on our states social and economic future.

Fortunately, Rep. Arturo Alonzo-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, gave me some reason for hope. Over 20 anti-immigration bills were introduced to the Legislature this year, but only one became law.

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Only time will tell if the majority of Oklahomans can find the courage to push back on the policies that are causing immeasurable harm to our Hispanic neighbors.

I often find myself wondering, what would it say about Oklahomans and our integrity if we did not stand up and reject todays cruelty?

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Spates of taxi-related violence in South Africa are commonplace and usually deadly. Images of minibus taxis set alight in North West province began circulating on social media in July, but the context is misleading; the pictures were taken in 2022 after community members clashed with taxi drivers and set their vehicles on fire. Since then, the images continue to resurface out of context.

Taxis set alight in Sisa North West. Members of the community became angry after Taxi drivers stopped vehicles with more than three occupants on their way to work forcing them to use their Taxis, reads a Facebook post published on July 24, 2025.

The post, shared more than 3,400 times, includes two pictures of burning minibuses  vehicles commonly used in South Africas informal public transport sector.

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, published on July 24, 2025

Similar posts circulated on X, garnering over 13,000 likes, and on TikTok and Instagram.

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However, the claims are misleading.

2022 violence

A reverse image search revealed that the pictures have been online for more than three years and first featured in local articles and community newspapers that described two taxis set alight at Thembelani Mine in Rustenberg in the North West province (archived here and here).

The incident occurred after some taxi operators had allegedly beaten up three mineworkers for taking away their business by ferrying passengers using their vehicles, Platinum Weekly, a local community paper, reported on May 20, 2022.

The photos were also published on X, with the same caption as the claims circulating in 2025 (archived here).

Taxis set alight in Sisa North West. Members of the community became angry after Taxi drivers stopped vehicles with more than three occupants on their way to work forcing them to use their Taxis. pic.twitter.com/sFkcXC54fB  CrimeInSA (@sa_crime) May 17, 2022

The same claim was debunked in 2024 after another X user posted the misleading pictures (archived here).

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Provincial police spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone told AFP Fact Check on August 1, 2025, that they are not aware of recent incidents of taxi violence.

Not so in other provinces, however.

In neighbouring Gauteng, officials announced the formation of a specialised task team in July to combat ongoing taxi violence after at least 59 people linked to the industry were killed in the first three months of this year (archived here and here).

Screenshot of July 18, 2025, interview with the provincial government

Another task team is operating in the Western Cape, in partnership with the local taxi industry, to quell a similar spate of deadly disputes over lucrative routes (archived here).
Created in collaboration with NASA during the height of the space race, Space Food Sticks were Pillsbury's innovative solution to the challenge of fueling astronauts on space missions. Developed by food scientist Howard Bauman, these chewy tubes were an energy-dense snack for zero-gravity conditions that later landed in grocery stores across America. In the 1970s, they became a quirky household favorite  not just for their portability, but for offering kids a taste of space-age excitement. What began as a scientific solution to fuel astronauts became an edible emblem of a forward-looking era, briefly blurring the line between astronaut fuel and after-school treat.

Space Food Sticks were among the first foods engineered specifically for space conditions: crumb-free, shelf-stable, and packed with essential nutrients. It's unclear if all versions of Pillsbury Space Food Sticks had the same basic contents. However, some ingredient lists reveal a mix of soy and milk proteins, glucose, sugar, vegetable fats and emulsifiers. The available flavors of chocolate and peanut butter were all-American, but they offered kids a taste of outer space with no rocket required. Chocolate itself had already made its way into orbit in the early 1960s. Yuri Gagarin became the first astronaut who brought it into space, proving that even sweet treats could make the journey. The popularity of these snacks reflected the nation's obsession with astronauts and exploration, placing them alongside a wave of other space-inspired food experiments. Even iconic brands jumped into orbit, like Coca-Cola, which produced the first soda to go to space after an ambitious mission to prove soft drinks could be enjoyed in zero gravity.

Read more: Canned Ham Brands Ranked From Worst To Best

From Orbit To The Snack Aisle

Pillsbury Space Food Sticks ad - Demolition Kitchen Video / YouTube

As Space Food Sticks faded into the darkness of space exploration lore, novelty snacks like freeze-dried ice cream and strawberries captured the public imagination, even if they rarely flew in spacecraft. First introduced to museum gift shops in the mid-1970s, the crunchy Neapolitan treat was created for the NASA Apollo 7 mission. However, it's not clear if the product was actually used in that capacity. Smithsonian space history curator Jennifer Levasseur explained that the astronauts might have had "a chance to try it out before the mission to see if they liked it." Her own experience tasting the chalky snack led her to claim it was "like eating foam." Despite never actually becoming standard astronaut fare (the International Space Station received freezers for real ice cream in 2006), it has cemented its place in pop culture. It continues to sell in the gift shops of places like the Kennedy Space Center, even decades later.

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The fascination with space-themed eats may have started with food sticks, but didn't end with ice cream. Even today, NASA continues to experiment with food and snacks designed for actual missions, like this seven-ingredient space salad  full of nutrients and free of dressing that they hope to one day grow entirely in orbit. Space food may have evolved since we first landed on the moon, but its legacy still fuels curiosity and snack cravings across the galaxy.

Read the original article on Mashed.
IOWA  Isabella Hagemann will be the first to admit the last year hasnt been an easy one for her three-year-old daughter, Ali.

Its been a lot of ups and downs, she says. Shes had a few bouts with pneumonia, and we made a trip to the hospital on New Years Day.

But compared to Alis first two years, its also been a relative cake walk.

Born with a congenital heart defect, spent months in the NICU. Then, in January of last year, her heart began to fail, and she had to be confined to the University of Wisconsin Childrens Hospital while she waited for a transplant.

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The call finally came, and on July 31, 2024, the doctors in Madison replaced Alis heart with a new one.

They said it was a perfect fit, Isabella remembers. They said it started working immediately.

A year later, nothing has changed. Ali and her new heart have combined to rush headlong into the wide world of an American toddlerone whos had some catching up to do.

From Johnston to Xfinity, Sammy Smiths journey to success behind the wheel

I was expecting her to really struggle socially to be around kids because she couldnt be around them for like nine months straight, Isabella says, but she is a great friend.

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Shes really starting to be more of a kid and interact and play, says grandfather, Al Hagemann. Its just been so fun to watch.

Since we last saw her in October, Ali has been able to put on needed weight and lose the yellow tube that fed medication through her nose.

She now blends in with the crowd of three-year-olds at daycare.

She doesnt have any mobility issues, Isabella says, her scars healed fine, shes doing well.

Having reached a full year since the transplant, Alis family can now do something theyve been looking forward to since last July.

Im hoping to meet the donor family, Isabella told us in October. I want to thank them. I want to say thank you for my baby.

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Panorama School District collects signatures for $19.6M bond referendum to update schools

For now, all she can do is hand the donor network a letterone shes written and rewritten three times.

It mostly just talks about my gratitude for their selfless decision, she says. It has a picture of Ali and me enclosed.

The decision to open or even agree to receive the letter will be left up to the donor family. At this point, the Hagemanns know absolutely nothing about them. Despite the opportunity for closure, gratitude, or even celebration, the reality is only a small fraction of these potential meetings between recipients and donor families ever happen.

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Isabella knows this.

You just never know the circumstances, she sighs. That family has lost their baby.

Nonetheless, the Hagemanns are crossing their fingers and allowing themselves to imagine such a day.

Ill start with thank you, Al says. But then Im really hoping that maybe theyll want to listen to Alis heart. Both the parents, the siblings, whateverto be able to listen to Alis heart becausethats a part of them.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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One of Britains last five major oil refineries is expected to halt operations on Friday after running out of crude oil supplies.

The Lindsey oil refinery, previously run by the Prax group, will be wound down imminently after the collapse of its parent company.

It has been in the hands of the Insolvency Service since the end of June and officials have been unable to find a buyer willing to take the whole site on. Around 400 workers have been told they will remain employed until October 31.

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It is understood that staff who stay until that date have been promised a retention bonus, as they are needed to safely shut down the equipment.

After October, workers have been told that some will also be needed to remain for a further year to carry out decommissioning.

The end of refining at Lindsey, where roughly 10pc of the UKs fuel was produced before the recent crisis, has prompted warnings that Britain will be left more dependent on foreign imports.

Another refinery in Grangemouth, Scotland, closed earlier this year  with the remaining facility now only being used as an import terminal.

Earlier this week political leaders in Lincolnshire including Reform UKs Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, called for an urgent meeting with Ed Miliband on future options for the refinery.

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They claimed Lindseys closure, together with Grangemouth, would result in the loss of 25pc of the UKs refining capacity within a few months.

According to local media, Dame Andrea said: The refinery is not just a local employer  it is a national asset.

Its closure would be a devastating blow to our communities and a reckless step backwards for the UKs energy resilience.

We need urgent action from the Government to protect this vital infrastructure.

The Government has dismissed the refinerys importance to national fuel supplies, arguing it is the smallest of the countrys remaining facilities.

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On Friday, a spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero insisted UK fuel supplies were resilient.

However, it is understood that the Official Receiver will continue selling Lindseys refined output for several more  allowing petrol stations and other buyers more time to adjust.

Michael Shanks, the energy minister, said: We are deeply disappointed with the untenable position in which the owners left Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery.

As a result, after a thorough process to determine whether a sale was possible, no credible offers have been made to purchase the entire refinery and it will be winding down operations, while the Official Receiver continues to pursue interest in individual assets.

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Our sympathies are with the workers, their families and the local community.

While we continue to strongly encourage the owners to do the decent thing and publicly commit to making a voluntary financial contribution to support workers, all those directly employed at the refinery are guaranteed jobs over the coming months.

Unpaid tax bill worth 250m

The refinery, which employs more than 400 people, was previously part of the wider Prax Group, which includes some 200 petrol stations and oil and gas operations west of the Shetland Islands.

It supplied more than one tenth of the countrys fuel supplies  including petrol, diesel, fuel oil, kerosene, aviation fuel and bitumen.

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Prax, which is owned by the businessman Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai, purchased the facility from French oil giant Total in 2021.

Mr Soosaipillai (right, pictured with wife Arani) had been in talks with the Government about the refinery since April

However, the company had been experiencing cash-flow problems for more than a year, partly due to an unpaid tax bill thought to be worth 250m.

Mr Soosaipillai had been in talks with the Government since April about its situation, but Whitehall sources said he was unable to answer basic questions about Praxs finances.

Despite this, Prax is understood to have repeatedly assured officials that the refinery was not under immediate threat.

But that position suddenly changed when bosses revealed they were rushing to declare insolvency at the end of June, a move that blindsided ministers.

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Mr Miliband has since ordered an investigation into the circumstances behind Praxs collapse.

Meanwhile, Mr Soosaipillai is facing legal action from administrators who are now in de facto control of the remaining Prax group, excluding the refinery.

According to refinery and Whitehall sources, his whereabouts are currently unknown and the Telegraph has been unable to contact him.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A verbal altercation escalated to a shooting early Friday morning in the Marion Franklin neighborhood of south Columbus.

Columbus Police said officers responded to the area of Fairwood Avenue and Marion Road shortly after 2 a.m. Friday on reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, they found an adult suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body. The victim was hospitalized and is expected to survive.

Police said they quickly learned the shooting had happened at the 1500 block of Jonathan Drive after a verbal altercation between the victim and a suspect. Police said they arrested Curtis Strickland, 53, as the suspect.

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Police are still investigating the incident, and anyone with information is encouraged to call police at 614-645-4141.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  The identity of the man killed in a small airplane crash at Maplewood Drive and Bridge View Drive near the Genesee River on Friday has been released.

Rochester Police as well as the Rochester Fire Department responded to the plane crash just after 1:30 p.m.

Inside the plane were two men. One was extricated from the plane and taken to the hospital. The other, identified as 80-year-old Thomas Stewart of Churchville, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Once the airplane was stabilized, fire officials said fuel was leaking, prompting a response from the hazmat team.

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Bridge View Drive was closed by Rochester Police until Saturday.

Where the two people were flying remains under investigation, according to Rochester Police.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate to determine what led up to the crash.

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WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  D.C. police arrested a suspect in a bank robbery in Northwest on Thursday, but one is still at large.

Unidentified suspect. Courtesy: MPD

Around 2:15 p.m. on July 31, the suspects entered the Truist Bank on the 6400 block of Georgia Avenue, Northwest. One of the suspects approached the counter and passed a note to the teller, demanding money, police said.

Man stabbed during robbery in Northwest DC; suspect in custody

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The teller complied, and both suspects fled the bank with a large sum of money.

Police said a weapon was not used during the robbery.

Officers arrested one of the suspects, identified as 46-year-old Bobby Ransome. He was charged with robbery of an establishment.

Investigators are still searching for another suspect who was captured by surveillance. He was seen wearing a multi-colored polo that is primarily yellow.

Anyone who knows the person shown in the picture above is asked to call the police at 202-727-9099.

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Superyachts are a telltale sign of extreme luxury, and many people who see them either marvel in amazement or imagine the financially elite cruising through the waters with little guilt over the significant pollution they cause to operate.

On Reddit, a user shared a picture of a superyacht seen in Monaco at the time the post was made, and the comments led to both types of reactions.

Photo Credit: Reddit

"Unique 50m Superyacht  recently refitted, currently in Monaco," the caption said.

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Reactions went from calling it a "beautiful ship" to calling it "so shoddily made, that the owner would have trouble giving it away," to simply stating that "billionaires are ruining our planet."

The three-tiered, red and white joyMe yacht is reportedly powered by two motors and carries 60,000 liters of fuel on board, according to the Superyacht Times.

Yachts as large as the joyMe have a carbon footprint of an estimated 5,672 metric tonnes, a sum of pollution that would take the average person 860 years to generate, according to Oxfam.

Superyacht pollutants come from the loads of gas they guzzle, as well as the maintenance and energy required for pools and air conditioning.

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The Bennetti 50m, another superyacht the same size as the joyMe from the Reddit post, consumes 400 liters of fuel per mile at maximum speed, per a Yachts Invest pamphlet.

When superyachts use such intense amounts of greenhouse gases in only one hour, pollutants are released into the air from combustion, posing a risk to the planet, marine life, and human health.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, these gases hold heat in the atmosphere, creating imbalances in the Earth and altering climate and weather patterns worldwide, sometimes resulting in extreme weather events.

Do you think billionaires spend their money wisely? Definitely No way Some do Most do Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

These extreme weather events not only result in harm to people, property, and infrastructure, but can also be detrimental to all forms of life.

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While it is true that just about all human life is responsible for the release of these gases into the atmosphere, the wealthy pollute the Earth at a disproportionate rate with their superyachts, private jets, and other overconsumption.

One study published in Nature Climate Change concluded that the wealthiest 10% of people in the United States and China are responsible for about two-thirds of global warming between 1990 and 2022. The not-so-wealthy, however, are just as negatively impacted by the wealthy's overconsumption.

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.








Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) analyzed the 2022 congressional election results in two words: candidate quality. It was a very insightful statement of the obvious that escapes far too many people in the political game.

Since 2010, Republicans have kicked away golden opportunities to win Senate races across the country, from Nevada to New Hampshire and from Delaware to Georgia. Republican primaries far too often produced inferior candidates.

Sometimes this is the fault of high-profile Republicans like President Trump making ill-advised endorsements of sub-par candidates. Sometimes it is the fault of Republican primary voters who make stupid choices voting for candidates who have no chance of winning in November.

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And sometimes it is simply the refusal of good candidates who can win in November to get into a race and expose themselves and their families to public scrutiny and the sacrifice that running a statewide race entails.

That seems to be a developing narrative for Senate Republicans as we approach the 2026 midterm election. Over the last several weeks, Republicans have failed to recruit A-list candidates in both New Hampshire and Georgia.

Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) announced that he will pass on the 2026 open seat race, just as he did in 2022 when he was governor. Apparently he has an aversion to Washington, unlike his father, a former White House chief of staff and his older brother, a former U.S. senator.

In Georgia, popular Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has opted out of the Senate race against incumbent Democrat John Ossoff.

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As governor, Kemp has aggressively pushed conservative principles and it appears that he is interested in a national future. There will be no shortage of interested Republicans in the Senate seat but none wear the aura of likely winner that Kemp wielded.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, must be beside himself, as he has been unable to add to the list of endangered Democratic held seats.

At the same time, Republicans hold on the North Carolina Senate seat is tenuous at best. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) would have been in a 50-50 fight for reelection. His retirement confuses the partys effort to hold the seat.

The presidents daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, has added her name to the list of potentially strong Republican candidates taking a pass in favor of time with her young family and her Fox News television gig.

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That moves Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley to the front of the line. Whatley has never held public office and may be vulnerable to the accusation of being excessively partisan. That is the job of a state party chairman and a Republican National Committee chairman, after all.

The North Carolina seat was always going to be tough for Republicans to hold. Now that Democrats have convinced former popular Gov. Roy Cooper (D) to enter the race this one should be marked as lean Democratic.

It is important to understand that while North Carolina leans conservative, it is not part of the Old South. The Research Triangle around Raleigh is a highly educated white-collar hub, and Charlotte has become a major finance center that houses the headquarters of Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Educated professionals define the demographic Republicans have shed in recent years.

And then there is Maine. The Republicans have one opportunity to hold the Maine seat. Her name is Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).

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For all my MAGA friends there is a lesson to be learned here. The Maine Senate seat will either be filled by Collins or by a liberal Democrat. There is no alternative. There is no Republican bench in Maine.

In 2020, Donald Trump lost Maine by eight points. On the same night, Collins was reelected by 9 points. Enough said.

Thus far, the Democrats have failed to recruit a top notch challenger and are pinning their hopes on incumbent Gov. Janet Mills (D).

If the Democrats succeed in Maine where Republicans have failed in New Hampshire and Georgia, the only Republican held Senate seat in New England and the mid-Atlantic will be on very shaky ground.

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In the Lone Star State, Texas Republicans have managed to shoot themselves in the most expensive cowboy boots imaginable. Incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) will each spend millions to destroy the other in their race for Senate. A Paxton primary victory will make the eventual Democratic nominee an even bet to become the first Democratic senator from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen retired in 1993.

Republicans can ill afford any surprise retirements. Iowa conservatives who are grumbling about incumbent Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) should stop before she walks away to the peace and quiet of the Iowa countryside.

Recent reports say the Trump White House is encouraging Ernst to run again. Thats the smart play. A multi-million-dollar battle in the middle of America for a Senate seat that should be a gimme for Republicans could be the tipping point that makes Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Senate majority leader again.

And now you know how 53 Republican senators turns into 49.

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Kevin Igoe is the former deputy chief of staff of the Republican National Committee and former executive director of Maryland Republican Party. He served as chief of staff of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management and was a Reagan White House appointee.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said all the right things last week after Hong Kong issued arrest warrants for 19 pro-democracy activists in other countries, including in the U.S.

The extraterritorial targeting of Hong Kongers who are exercising their fundamental freedoms is a form of transnational oppression, Rubio declared in a statement. We will not tolerate the Hong Kong governments attempts to apply its national security laws to silence or intimidate Americans or anyone on U.S. soil.

But we already tolerate the transnational oppression of one large group on our soil: Chinese students. And for the most part, our universities have kept silent about that.

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Thats because of the billions of dollars that Chinese students bring to American colleges, of course. Were already facing an expected decline in Chinese enrollment because of the Trump administrations threats against international students, which higher-education leaders have rightly condemned.

But if we really cared about those students  and not just their tuition fees  we would also speak out against the Chinese governments extraterritorial targeting of their fundamental freedoms. Anything less makes us look petty, scared and small.

In a report issued last year  titled On my campus, I am afraid  Amnesty International showed how Chinese and Hong Kong students in the U.S. and Europe faced surveillance and intimidation from Chinese authorities. Students reported being photographed and followed at protests, and that their families back home had been harassed.

At Georgetown, for example, a Chinese law student who handed out pamphlets denouncing Chinas zero-COVID policies was videotaped by members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, an organization sponsored by the Chinese government.

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They told him that the pictures would be sent to security officials in China. And soon after that, his family was interrogated and warned that they could face penalties if he continued to speak out.

None of this is news, unfortunately. In 2021, ProPublica reported that Chinese intelligence agents were using local informants to threaten and harass students in America. Some Chinese students said they avoided taking courses with other students from their country, because they did not know who was working for the government  and who might report on them.

And in 2020, when COVID forced universities to move online, the Wall Street Journal revealed that some professors had told Chinese students that they wouldnt be evaluated on class participation. The faculty didnt want their students to feel the need to speak up and risk getting on the wrong side of Chinese security officials, who were likely monitoring them on Zoom.

There is no way I can say to my students, You can say whatever you want on the phone call and you are totally free and safe,' one Harvard professor admitted.

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But most of our university leaders are keeping quiet about the matter. They dont want to take any risks, either, with so much money at stake.

A welcome exception is Purdue University, which denounced Chinese spying after ProPublica revealed that one of its students was harassed by security agents for posting a letter about the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Thats a taboo topic in China, which has prohibited public discussion and commemoration of the event.

Any student found to have reported another student to any foreign entity for exercising their freedom of speech or belief will be subject to significant sanction, declared Mitch Daniels, Purdues president at the time. We regret that we were unaware at the time of these events and had to learn of them from national sources, Daniels added, referring to the 2021 ProPublica report.

The rest of us have no excuse, especially now. Everything we have learned over the last four years confirms the same fact: China is intimidating students at our institutions.

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And so is the Trump administration, of course. It has arrested and deported international students who made pro-Palestinian comments. And it has been screening the social media accounts of student visa applicants to find any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States. Nobody knows what that means, so applicants have been scrubbing their accounts of material about Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and anything else that might put them in the administrations crosshairs.

To me, that sounds more like China than America. Our most important founding principle is freedom of expression. And we are flouting it by harassing our international students, even as we accuse them of being hostile to it.

But we cant make a persuasive case against Trumps assault on freedom if we ignore the Chinese attacks on it. Anticipating that many international students wont be allowed to come here, some universities  including my own  are creating online courses and programs to serve them.

Thats a great gesture, but it also leaves the students even more vulnerable to harassment by internet snoops back home. And thats why we have to speak up for the students and make it clear that we wont tolerate intimidation of them, just as Rubio said.

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Thomas Jefferson  who knew something about Americas founding principles  swore eternal hostility against every form of tyranny. He didnt care where it came from. Neither should we.

Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the advisory board of the Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest.

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The market for first-time home buyers in America is dismal. Since 2021, the annual income needed to qualify for a mortgage has increased by 60 percent, driving the median age of a first-time home buyer to 38 years old  a record high.

One reason young Americans are struggling to buy their first homes is that we arent building enough of them. In May, new home construction rates in the U.S. fell to their lowest level since the pandemic. On an annual basis, new home construction is down nearly 5 percent.

The U.S. needs to increase its housing supply to put the American dream of homeownership back in reach for average families. Congress, however, has a knack for taking complex problems and making them worse by forcing a one-size-fits-all solution on communities that we havent set foot in.

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The housing problem must be solved at the local level, and this starts by removing nonsensical regulations. Today, costs associated with homebuilding regulations make up 25 percent of the sticker price for a new single-family home and 40 percent of the cost of a new apartment complex.

These regulations also prolong the building process. Nowhere is this problem clearer than in Los Angeles.

When wildfires ripped through Los Angeles in January, officials estimated that it would take upwards of 18 months to clean up the 2.5 million tons of debris left behind. The Trump however, worked with state and local officials to complete the clean-up in just six months  a tremendous accomplishment. During those same six months, however, Los Angeles County officials approved only 90 of the more than 1,200 building permit applications it received in the wake of the fires.

In other words, its easier to clean up 2.5 million tons of wildfire wreckage than it is to clear Los Angeles building-permit red tape. And Los Angeles wonders why families are fleeing.

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Congress shouldnt force one-size-fits-all building codes on every community, but the federal government has an obligation to avoid wasting taxpayer dollars on cities that sacrifice the American Dream at the altar of overregulation.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and I introduced the Build Now Act to incentivize new home construction by tying each citys funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Developments Community Development Block Grant Program to their rate of homebuilding.

Heres how it will work: Cities that fail to increase their rate of homebuilding faster than the national median rate would lose 10 percent of their Community Development Block Grant funding. HUD would then reallocate those funds to cities that exceeded the national median rate of home building. Cities with the most growth will receive the biggest pieces of that pie.

Americas metropolitan areas will have two years to start building homes before HUD crunches the numbers to determine whether they will receive the carrot or the stick from the Community Development Block Grant Program.

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Cities that have homeownership costs under control, such as those where the median home price is below the national median, wont see any changes to their Community Development Block Grant funding. Nor would any city that issued an emergency disaster declaration in the last year. The rest of our major cities, however, will need to start allowing builders to build.

The solution to Americas housing crisis isnt going to come out of Washington. A strategy that works in Baton Rouge may not work in Boston. But too many cities are regulating away the possibility of homeownership, and Congress is done throwing good money after bad policies.

The U.S. is the freest, most prosperous nation in the world. Buying your first home shouldnt feel like a pipe dream. Its time to start rewarding the cities that are working hard to make homeownership a reality for American families  and stripping funding from those that dont.

John Kennedy is the junior U.S. senator from Louisiana.

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NewsNation National Correspondent Robert Sherman has found himself on the frontlines of some of the worlds biggest stories: from Ukraine to Israel and across the United States. He shares what hes seeing on the ground. Subscribe to his newsletter: Frontlines with Robert Sherman here.

(NewsNation)  It almost looks normal.

Maybe its the bustling McDonalds our team got coffee at this morning.

Maybe its the young couple sharing an ice cream cone in Independence Square.

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Or the police officers stationed on the highway with their radar guns preparing to write tickets to speeders, as if that were the biggest concern in the world.

It look little time for reality to sink in for our NewsNation crew.

WATCH: Sleepless night in Kyiv

Overnight, Ukraines capital of Kyiv came under fire from a Russian attack. Sirens blared and intercoms urged people to take shelter as people hastily headed for lower ground. For some, that meant taking shelter in the subway station beneath the city for safety.

That first missile impact, which rocked the capital, sent a pulsing wave through the whole city, rattling my hotel. It was several miles away, but the laws of physics (and for that matter the might of modern warfare) made it seem anything but.

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We stayed put in the center of Kyiv, which locals say is about as safe as it gets here. The sunrise couldnt come sooner. But when it did, new clarity came with the beating rays of this Eastern European Thursday morning.

Our team made our way to one of the impact sites in Kyiv hours after the attacks subsided, and what we saw was a residential building blown to pieces. Half of the structure was collapsing in on itself as first responders worked hastily to pick through the rubble.

Even before we spoke with the local officials leading the operation, we knew what was happening. The giveaway was the countless faces, concealed by cupped hands over mouths, staring incredulously at the site. The anxiety in their eyes, in too much shock to produce tears, could not unglue from the building.

Hundreds were waiting for news. Did their loved ones survive? Could there be a harmless reason they were considered missing?

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VIDEO: Back in Ukraine

Moment by moment, as first responders called the surnames of family members, the painful truth became evident. They were gone. Buried beneath the rubble and lost in a single moment in time.

The death toll from this one incident alone is still fluid as of this writing Thursday evening, but its confirmed to be at least 16 including two children, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The president also says more than 150 are injured including 16 children and six police officers.

It was impossible to know the nature of the drone and missile attack from our vantage point in the early morning hours. Even standing there at the scene, I couldnt possibly get the full scope of what transpired.

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But when I started to see the videos coming in of the Kyiv skyline and multiple plumes of fire erupting, everything started to come into focus. It was a large-scale attack that even locals called crazy.

Just days after President Trump announced he was upping the pressure on Russia to make strides toward peace, imposing a new deadline of 10 or 12 days from Monday which would be sometime in the territory of Aug. 7-9, Russia made its next move.

VIDEO: Whats New, Whats the Same?

Kyiv didnt sleep last night. And in our conversations with the people on the streets today, they dont anticipate that will be changing anytime soon.

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Our NewsNation coverage from Ukraine will continue through next week. Ill be filing some exclusive reports in the coming day that I hope will shed some insight on what this war looks like nearly three and a half years in.

If you have a question or observation, please write to me at rsherman@newsnationnow.com or through any of my social media channels such as Facebook, X, Instagram or TikTok.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of NewsNation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation.
The June NATO summit in the Hague achieved great success by reaching a consensus among its members to increase the target of national defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. In addition, the cost of military aid to Ukraine is allowed to be included as part of the defense budget. Details of modernization plans were discussed earlier and are secret.

But one area that was not discussed is the reform and standardization of command and control systems of NATO countries. All this new spending and effort will come to naught if the command and control system is confused and ineffective at best or captured by the enemy at worst. NATO must give priority to reform of the command structures in its members that will make them effective and compatible with the overall NATO command.

Former communist countries, in particular, have Soviet legacies that can have significant impact on their military performance at the time of crisis or war. These legacies were revealed by Ryszard Kuklinski, a Polish military officer and liaison with the Soviet High Command, who became a U.S. spy in the 1970s.

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He provided 35,000 Warsaw Pact documents, which gave details of Soviet plans to invade Western Europe, Soviet military equipment and the Soviet command and control structure. He was concerned that the Soviet Armys planned march across Poland to invade Western Europe would result in the U.S. nuclear retaliation against Soviet forces in Poland in an effort to stop the invasion.

The information that he provided led to far reaching changes in the U.S. geopolitical posture. For one, it led to a change in NATO defense strategy. Instead of planning massive nuclear retaliation against Soviet satellites, former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski in 1997 stated, [Kuklinskis] information permitted us to make counter-plans to disrupt command and control facilities rather than only relying on a massive counterattack on forward positions, which would have hit Poland.

Second, Kuklinski leaked Soviet plans to invade Poland in response to the founding of Solidarity in December 1980. President Carter issued both public and private warnings to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev that implied knowledge of Soviet plans, thereby deterring the planned invasion.

Third, Kuklinski described the Warsaw Pact system of military command and control, which was dual in nature for peacetime and wartime. The Soviet General Staff could take control of its satellites armed forces at a time of war or crisis without knowledge or permission of satellite governments or even their communist parties. It was formalized in a document, Statute of the United Armed Forces and the organs for directing them in time of war, adopted in the late 1970s. This most clearly demonstrated the lack of sovereignty of Eastern European countries allied with the Soviet Union.

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After 1989, the East European countries established the civilian control of the military and moved to reform Soviet force and command structures. Power struggles between entrenched communist elites and outside reformers resulted in uneven progress in different countries and sometimes a regression.

In Polands case, in 2014, pro-Russian President Bronisaw Komorowski brought back the old dual system of general and operational command for the time of war and peace. In 2011, he signed an agreement with the National Council of the Russian Federation, creating the danger that the Russians can use old channels to render the Polish Army ineffective in case of national emergency and war. This structure lacks clear lines of authority and creates two centers of competing commands. Furthermore, it requires time to transition from peacetime to wartime at a time when it is most vulnerable to outside interference.

As a matter of fact, it is well known that Russias strategy for invasion consists of a decisive, initial attack on the civilian and military command structures in the first hours of war. The Russian military has special units whose particular task is to destroy enemy command centers at every level. Thus, if Russia destroys NATOs ability to command its own forces and sow confusion, the war may be over before Western troops get out on the battlefield.

Exiting Polish President Andrzej Duda, elected in 2015, who is also the commander in chief, made reform of the dual command system his signature project. Last year, he introduced legislation to abolish the old dual structures and establish a combined operational command, overseeing restored commands of types of armed forces, such as, land army, air force, navy, special forces and territorial defense. This would establish a unified principle of peacetime and wartime readiness, which will not require precious time to transition from peace to war.

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This new system would be similar to those that are being adopted by other NATO countries and by Ukraine. It would be virtually the opposite of the system that exists now.

However, this legislation has not been acted upon, just like his previous attempts at reform. In ten years, he did not get very far. The command system remains split for peacetime and wartime. The opposition of old Communist officers and politicians is strong. The essence of the old system remains.

NATO is in the process of transformation with increased spending, defense industrial production and recruitment in virtually all members. But this is not enough. The secure and functional command system is the key to military effectiveness. All NATO members, but particularly those from the former Warsaw Pact, should make this task a priority. But NATO must be a supervisory agent, so such important tasks do not become hostages of domestic politics.

Lucja Swiatkowski Cannon, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the Institute of World Politics in Washington and a strategist, expert and author on Eastern Europe, Russia and U.S.-East European relations.

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When Republican Sen. Thom Tillis announced on June 29 that he would not pursue re-election, he did it with a warning. In Washington over the last few years, its become increasingly evident that leaders who are willing to embrace bipartisanship, compromise, and demonstrate independent thinking are becoming an endangered species, the North Carolina senators announcement read.

But after airing his grievances with the culture of partisanship that has eroded the legislative process, Tillis concluded on a more optimistic note. Without the pressure of seeking re-election, Tillis claimed to look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit.

As it turns out, he doesnt make a great umpire.

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Exactly one month later, Tillis revealed the hollowness of his words when he voted on Tuesday to confirm President Donald Trumps former attorney Emil Bove to a lifetime appointment to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

And yet, Boves behavior and statements, both confirmed and alleged, made it incredibly clear that he was unbelievably unqualified to serve in this key judicial post. If ever there was a time for Thillis to serve as an independent arbiter of bipartisan truth, this would be it.

In January, days into his term as acting deputy attorney general, Bove ordered the firing of dozens of prosecutors involved in cases against rioters in their attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Since then, multiple whistleblowers have alleged that Bove misled the Senate Judiciary Committee in a sworn testimony last month, suggested Justice Department personnel may need to defy court rulings that stood in the way of Trumps aggressive deportation agenda and was involved in the controversial dismissal of the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Bove also refused to take a public stand on the constitutional question of whether a president can serve a third term as part of a written questionnaire submitted to the Senate, and he gave a notably equivocal answer to the question: Do you denounce the January 6 insurrection?

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In the type of political culture Tillis professes to yearn for, one in which service to country supersedes fealty to party leaders, the Senate would unanimously reject any nominee with such an extensive catalog of concerns. And yet, only Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska had the courage to break from their party. Tillis, on the other hand, told reporters in July that he didnt trip the switch on January 6. And apparently that was enough.

Tillis also tried to argue that the anonymity of the whistleblowers somehow made their allegations less credible, an absurd excuse. First, one of the whistleblowers did identify himself: Erez Reuveni, a now former acting deputy director in the Justice Department.

Second, the reality that whistleblowers often have good reason to shield their identity is one Tillis in particular should appreciate, given that he was a founding member of the Whistleblower Protection Caucus. If Tillis can recognize the risks of retaliation against whistleblowers, then surely he can find a way to evaluate their accounts regardless of how openly they feel comfortable identifying themselves.

Perhaps what feels most disappointing about Tillis partisan submission here is that we know he could have done better. In May, Tillis opposition ended the egregious nomination of Ed Martin for U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia before it even reached the stage of a Senate confirmation vote. Just over a month later, the North Carolina senator stood his ground in opposition to Trumps "big beautiful bill" despite the presidents attacks and threats, ultimately forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote.

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Now, Tillis is even more independent than ever  allegedly. Free from the rat race of primaries and fundraising cycles, some Democrats hoped that he would continue to stand as a check against the more radical items of his partys agenda. But for all of Tillis rhetoric about higher principles, his vote to confirm Bove demonstrates just how comfortable he still is taking the easy way out.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Terminal 6 is the states only international shipping container terminal based in Portland. (Courtesy of the Port of Portland)

Oregons top legal officer said he expects the legal battle over President Donald Trumps tariffs will end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield traveled to Washington, D.C., for a court hearing on Thursday before an 11-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit about whether Trump is misusing his authority to impose tariffs.

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I expect that both sides, no matter the outcome, will appeal this to the Supreme Court, he told reporters in a video conference Thursday afternoon.

Rayfield and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who filed the suit in April, are leading the case alongside 10 Democratic other states. The lawsuit lists Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its leader, Kristi Noem, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and its leader, Peter Flores, as defendants.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield speaks to reporters from Washington D.C. over Zoom on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Screenshot from Zoom)

The states argue Trump is misusing emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose widescale tariffs. Implemented in 1977, the law gives the president the authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions during a state of national emergency.

For example, Rayfield said, Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order declaring a national emergency against Brazil and imposed a 50% tariff on the country. The executive order claims the government of Brazil is interfering with U.S. companies, infringing on free expression rights and wrongfully persecuting former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro  who faces a trial for his role in trying to overturn the results of his countrys 2022 election.

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And on Friday, Trump is expected to impose higher reciprocal tariffs on goods from nearly 200 countries.

In a social media update following the hearing, Oregon Solicitor General Benjamin Gutman  who argued on behalf of the states in court  said he found the court to be very engaged.

(There were) a lot of questions for both sides, Gutman said. The questions really reflected that the judges were prepared and had thought about the issues and frankly had a lot of skepticism of some of the arguments the federal government was making.

Were at a very different time: Oregon AG says about Trump administration

Oregon is involved in 35 lawsuits against the Trump administration  an increase from Trumps first presidency, Rayfield told reporters.

There were only three or four lawsuits at that time, Rayfield said. The Trump administration is pushing the bounds of our Constitution and attacking existing federal law that has been well understood for decades, so were at a very different time in our country.

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Oregon has taken legal action against the Trump administrations attempts to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood, share of Oregon residents Medicaid records with federal immigration enforcement officials and demand that states turn over personal data about residents receiving food assistance.

Rayfield said he expects the court to make a decision on the tariff case in the coming weeks or months. Other states joining the lawsuit include Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A man from Keizer was sentenced to federal prison on Wednesday for trafficking more than 17 pounds of fentanyl and meth in the Pacific Northwest, authorities announced.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Oregon said 28-year-old Caden Christman was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison with five years supervised release.

The case goes back to February 21, 2024, during a drug trafficking investigation, when law enforcement officers in Powell County, Montana pulled Christman over in a traffic stop and arrested him and his co-conspirator.

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Mayor Wilson: Portland to comply with Trump administrations DEI demands

While searching the vehicle, officers seized nine pounds of meth, more than 5,000 fentanyl pills, around $17,000 in cash and two loaded guns.

Days later, investigators obtained search warrants and seized 15,000 fentanyl pulls from Christmans home along with four pounds of fentanyl powder, two pounds of meth and heroin, more than $21,000 in cash and 12 guns.

On April 16, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment, charging Christman with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, meth and heroin along with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

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Oregon hospital paused endoscopies due to issues with quality control, cleaning

Christman later pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl on Feb. 4, 2025.

Authorities explained that fentanyl  a synthetic opioid  is 80-100 times more powerful than morphine and 30-50 times more powerful than heroin.

A two-milligram dose of the synthetic opioid  or a few grains of the substance  is enough to kill an average adult male.

The wide availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state, the U.S. Attorneys Office noted.

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If you or someone you know is facing addiction, help is available through the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline.

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Oregon's U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate on July 30, 2025, raising concerns about starvation in Gaza and calling on U.S. leaders to send more humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. (Screenshot from video/Sen. Jeff Merkley's Office)

Oregons two U.S. senators, both Democrats, are typically in lockstep on major votes in Congress.

But theyve diverged on votes to send billions of dollars worth of U.S. military weapons to Israel over the last year as it wages war against the militant and political group Hamas in Gaza. The military campaign has killed 60,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and left most of the remaining population of Gaza today displaced and facing famine.

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Sen. Jeff Merkley, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, co-sponsored six bills in September 2024 with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, to halt a $20 billion U.S. arms sale to Israel. Merkley was also among a majority of Senate Democrats who voted on Wednesday in favor of two Sanders bills brought to the Senate to halt a $675 million bombs sale to Israel and shipments of 20,000 assault rifles.

We have a profound moral responsibility to end this collective punishment of innocent civilians, Merkley said in a statement, adding that until the Israeli government makes critical international food and medical aid available to Palestinians in Gaza, the U.S. should not send any more weapons.

But the attempt to block the U.S. weapons sales ultimately failed, with all Republicans voting against it, along with a handful of Democrats that included Oregons other senator, Ron Wyden.

Wyden voted against all of the recent measures to stop weapons sales to Israel.

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He said in an email that Israel needs weapons to defend itself from Iran. He said he supports diplomatic efforts to secure the release of remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the start of the war, deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians and negotiate a permanent end to the war in Gaza.

Wydens continued support of Israel has been a contentious issue at his frequent constituent town halls for more than a year. The son of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, Wyden has been adamant that Israel must have the right to defend itself even as he gradually ramped up criticism of the countrys prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Wyden called the civilian death toll in Gaza unacceptably high, and criticized Netanyahu for causing widespread hunger and malnutrition by blocking food and medicine to Palestinians in Gaza.

On Tuesday, both Wyden and Merkley signed a letter with 39 other senators to Marco Rubio, secretary of state, and Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, to express concerns about the growing malnutrition crisis in Gaza, and urging the administration to resume diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement and end the war.

Rising death toll

The U.S. has sent more than $20 billion in weapons and military aid to Israel since Oct. 7, 2023.

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Israeli soldiers have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since then, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, whose figures are widely accepted by the United Nations and international institutions.

Nearly 2,000 of the dead are under the age of 2, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages. More than half of the hostages have been released or rescued, and about 30 who are still being held captive are believed to be alive, according to the Israeli government.

Israeli forces have, in the last 20 months, displaced about 90% of the remaining population of Gaza, a 25-mile-long territory along the Mediterranean Sea that borders Israel and Egypt, and left most of the remaining population facing famine while Israeli soldiers block food and medicine from entering.

In March, Israels military broke a ceasefire agreement in place with Hamas since January, bombing a large swath of the Gaza Strip, and imposing a complete blockade on food, medicine, fuel and other goods entering Gaza. Since May, Israel has allowed some U.S. aid to be distributed at sites inside Israeli military zones, but there have been near-daily reports of Israeli soldiers firing at Palestinians waiting for food. More than 8,500 Palestinians have been killed since March, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and more than 1,000 Palestinians have been shot by Israeli soldiers since May while waiting for food at those distribution sites.

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More than 140 people have died of hunger since the start of the war, including 88 children, according to Gaza Health Ministry figures. Most of those deaths were in recent weeks. Between April and July, more than 20,000 children in Gaza were seen by doctors for acute malnutrition, and more than 3,000 of those children are severely malnourished, according to a recent report from The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, a global initiative that provides food security analysis for charities and U.N. agencies.

Complicit

Wyden said he has long believed a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is the best solution for long-term peace between the nations.

But Netanyahu, Israels prime minister, said in May that the Israeli government and military plan to control Gaza indefinitely. He said the government would move Gazans to other countries under what he called voluntary emigration, and which human rights lawyers call forcible expulsion that would constitute a war crime and violate international law.

Benjamin Netanyahu is putting his self-interest above all else, turning his back on longstanding efforts towards peace, and putting Jews in the region and around the world in danger, Wyden said.

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Merkley also criticized Netanyahu in his statement and said the U.S. is enabling more deaths in Gaza by sending weapons to Israeli Defense Forces while Netanyahu blocks life-saving food and medicine from reaching Palestinians in Gaza.

Every moment the U.S. fails to demand a massive influx of food or to provide that massive influx of food ourselves, we are complicit in Netanyahus strategy of starving Palestinians. This breaks every moral code and every religious code, he said. Until every child and every mother have sufficient nutrition, America should not send a single dollar or a single bomb to Netanyahus government. No more bombs. More aid.

Correction: Wyden and Merkley both signed a letter sent Tuesday to Rubio and Witkoff expressing a need for more aid to Palestinians in Gaza. An earlier version of the story reported Merkley had not signed the letter, but Wydens website was hosting an outdated version of the letter, according to Merkleys spokesperson.

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1. Yes. The district should save money wherever possible. Consolidating schools is worthwhile.

2. Yes. KISD did this as part of its bond initiative in 2018, and it has paid dividends.

3. No. Closing and consolidating schools often involves busing and inconveniences families.

4. No. District residents paid $426 million for new schools in 2018. Why close campuses now?

5. Unsure. Its hard to say. There are likely some good arguments on both sides of the issue.

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This report includes discussion of sexual assault and/or rape. If you or someone you know needs help, call the Rape & Sexual Assault Crisis Line 1-888-421-1100.

WEST HAVEN, Utah (ABC4)  A 36-year-old Orem man has been arrested and charged after allegedly meeting with a 12-year-old he met through Snapchat and sexually abusing her.

Andrew Thomas Oldroyd, 36, has been charged with rape of a child, a first-degree felony; object rape of a child, a first-degree felony; sodomy on a child, a first-degree felony; sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony; and distributing material harmful to a minor, a third-degree felony.

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According to court documents, a 12-year-old child reported to her mother that she had engaged in sexual intercourse with a 36-year-old man, later identified as Oldroyd. The mother reported what happened to police, and the child victim was interviewed at the Childrens Justice Center.

During the interview with the 12-year-old victim, she told police that she and Oldroyd had met after he added her on Snapchat. The two had allegedly exchanged inappropriate sexual photos with each other through the app. During their conversations, they planned a meet up.

READ NEXT: Payson man charged with third sexual abuse case, two victims were underage teens

In July 2025, while at a pool party the victim was attending, Oldroyd showed up to meet with the child. According to documents, the two went into the womens bathroom shower area, where Oldroyd sexually abused the 12-year-old.

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The Weber County Sheriffs Office, which investigated the case, found surveillance footage of the two entering the bathroom at different times. The video revealed information about the vehicle Oldroyd drove, allowing investigators to locate him with his license plate.

Oldroyd was arrested and booked into the Weber County Jail, where he is currently being held without bail. If found guilty of three of his charges, he will face a minimum of 25 years to life.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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An Orkney farmer is part-funding her own abattoir so her rare breed Boreray sheep no longer have to be taken on a seven-hour trip to the mainland for slaughter.

The islands have been without a slaughter house since 2018 but Jane Cooper says she hopes to have her Tiny Trailer Abattoir - the first of its kind in the UK - by next year.

It will fit on two trailers - one for the humane slaughter of the sheep and the second to store and chill up to 20 carcasses.

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The trailer system can be operated by one slaughterman.

Jane's Boreray rams are called George, Corin and Benedict. [Rob Flett BBC]

It will be able to move between farms around the islands, but each place it operates will have to comply with all regulations and be licensed separately as if it was a fixed abattoir.

Scottish island abattoirs are now able to use local vets to fulfil the role of official veterinarian supervising the process.

Rural abattoirs across the UK are shutting down at an alarming rate. According to industry reports, more than a third have closed in the past two decades due to high running costs, retaining skilled staff and increased regulation.

Ms Cooper said the ability to slaughter sheep on her own farm would greatly improve animal welfare standards.

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"At the moment, I have to transport the animals on a ferry and then drive them to Dingwall," she said.

"It's a seven-hour trip. I'd rather walk them a few steps from the field and into a trailer."

She added that her system would produce almost no waste.

"We will be able to use many more byproducts than just the skins and horns that we collect from the abattoir in Dingwall," she said.

She is funding up to half the 150,000 herself, with the rest coming from another cooperative.

She expects the trailers will be on her farm by springtime next year.

Jane has been breeding native Boreray sheep on her farm in Orkney for 12 years. [Rob Flett BBC]

Ms Cooper has been farming her distinctive sheep on the Orkney mainland since 2013.

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The animals are descendants of native sheep from Boreray island in St Kilda.

In 2017, they were registered as a distinctive breed in their own right.

Several flocks are now established in Orkney which work together through the Orkney Boreray Co-op Ltd.

The Tiny Trailer Abattoir will be owned, operated and hired out by the Co-op on a not-for-profit basis.

Ms Cooper said the design was a new concept in the UK but she was confident it would be a success.

"The butchers we already supply are confident their customers will be more than happy to pay an extra premium for our mutton once the sheep are slaughtered on our farm," she said.

"We are transitioning our farm business here at Burnside from mostly breeding to bringing in and finishing Orkney Boreray sheep bred and reared by other members of the Co-op."
Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)  Officials with the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office have released an update detailing terminations, suspensions, corrective actions and an official timeline after an inmate was mistakenly released from the Orleans Parish Justice Center on Friday, July 25.

New Orleans police investigating two fatal shootings near St. Roch Thursday morning

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The inmate mistakenly released has been identified as 30-year-old Khalil Bryan, who was booked on both violent and non-violent charges. Officials said he was let out due to human error and inadequate protocol adherence, stemming from Bryans shared last name with another detainee.

Khalil Bryan (Courtesy: Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office)

OPSO policy reportedly calls for a deputy to confirm the inmates identity by checking the wristband and comparing it to the picture on their wristband before escorting them through the intake release corridor and handing the inmate off to the designated release deputy. A deputy also has to provide the inmates name, date of birth, reason for release and folder number.

As a result of the mistaken release, OPSO officials said two deputies have been fired for a severe breach of duty and process, five deputies have been suspended for procedural failures and negligence in the identification process and changes have been implemented to assist in preventing errors like this from happening in the future.

Those changes reportedly include a mandatory supervisor review for all releases, in which a sergeant or higher has to verify and approve all releases, revised operating procedures for the inmate release process and mandatory training for staff on the procedure. Additionally, an audit is being undertaken reviewing IPC rank structure, staffing competencies and leadership accountability.

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The OPSO also released the following timeline, detailing what happened in this incident, and when:

1:17 a.m.  Khalil Bryan mistakenly released from 1B housing unit.

Around 5 a.m.  Count takes place.

Around 7 a.m.  Roll call takes place.

11:10 a.m.  OPSO records, in conjunction with partners, realized the error.

11:36 a.m.  OPSO begins investigation to locate Khalil Bryan.

Around 12:45 p.m.  OPSO began informing criminal justice stakeholders and those impacted including Criminal District Court, Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office, Attorney Generals Office, New Orleans Police Department, Louisiana State Police and victim.

3:45pm  Public notified.

6 p.m.  New bond received for Kavin Bryan. (NOTE: Kavin could not be released until this happened.)

10:40 p.m.  Kavin Bryan interviewed by SID at Bryans request. (NOTE: Kavin requested to be interviewed by SID.)

10:54 p.m.  Kavin Bryan properly released from OPSO custody.

Man struck, killed by vehicle in Algiers

OPSO officials say the public wasnt informed of the incident until 3:45 p.m. as Khalil Bryan wasnt considered an immediate threat to the public and was in custody primarily for non-violent charges, having already bonded out on previous violent offenses. Apprehension efforts reportedly started quietly at known addresses to avoid jeopardizing the search.

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Anyone with information that can help to recapture Khalil Bryan can contact 911, the OPSO at 504-881-7520 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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The Brief

An Orthodox synagogue in Orange County, the Orlando Torah Center, is suing Orange County over a denied zoning request.

The lawsuit alleges religious discrimination and cites antisemitic opposition.

The synagogue seeks to expand amid space limits and rising security concerns.

ORLANDO, Fla. - An Orthodox synagogue in Orange County has filed a federal lawsuit accusing county officials of violating religious freedom laws by denying its request to expand.

What we know

The Orlando Torah Center (OTC), an Orthodox synagogue in Orange County, has filed a federal lawsuit alleging religious discrimination after the Orange County Board of County Commissioners denied its zoning request to expand.

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The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, claims the decision violates constitutional and federal protections, including the First Amendment, RLUIPA, and Floridas Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

What we don't know

It remains unclear how the county will respond to the allegations or whether it plans to revisit the denial. The specific rationale behind the Boards vote and the extent of consideration given to public oppositionsome of which allegedly included antisemitic remarkshas not been fully detailed by county officials.

The backstory

OTC has operated in the Sand Lake Hills neighborhood since 2015, serving a growing Orthodox Jewish congregation. Though multiple churches, a public school, and a daycare have reportedly received similar zoning approvals in nearby districts, OTCs request was rejected following a contentious public process. The synagogue contends that unequal treatment and religious bias influenced the outcome.

What they're saying

Attorneys for the synagogue argue that Orlando Torah Center (OTC) was unfairly denied zoning approval to expand its facility, despite similar permissions being granted to nearby churches, a public school, and a daycare center in comparable zoning districts.

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"The tenor of the opposition has not been about the effect of the actual congregation on the neighborhood, but rather about who is going to worship there," said Roman Storzer, counsel for OTC and a national expert on First Amendment and religious land use law. "There is a growing community of orthodox Jews in the area, and they do need a place of worship that they can walk to because they cannot drive motor vehicles on the Sabbath."

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The lawsuit claims the county has approved similar requests for other churches in residential areas and that the county denying the centers request to expand is infringing on their right to exercise their religion.

The other side

Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said its not about religion, but about the center impeding on neighboring homes in the housing subdivision with excessive parking and noise violations.

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"I will speak for myself. I was not swayed on religion. I dont have any disrespect to any religion as a proud Catholic. I have never even considered that as an issue," said Commissioner Uribe. "We didnt discuss religion. We discussed respect and acknowledgment of the community that was frustrated on the code enforcement violations that were taking place."

The Source

This story was written based on information shared by the Orlando Torah Center (OTC).
A US plan to destroy women's contraception products reportedly worth $9.7 million spurred growing outcry on Friday in France, where the products could be incinerated.

The contraceptives -- which were intended for some of the world's poorest countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa -- were purchased by the US foreign aid agency USAID under former president Joe Biden.

His successor Donald Trump's administration, which has slashed foreign aid and pursued anti-abortion policies, confirmed earlier this month that it plans to destroy the contraceptives, which have been stored in a warehouse in the Belgian city of Geel.

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According to several media reports, the unexpired products were planned to be incinerated in France by the end of July by a company that specialises in destroying medical waste.

AFP has not been able to confirm this from an official source.

Sarah Durocher, the head of the French women's rights group Family Planning, told AFP that some contraceptives have already left the Belgian warehouse.

"We were informed 36 hours ago that the removal of these boxes of contraceptives had begun," Durocher said on Thursday.

"We do not know where these trucks are now -- or whether they have arrived in France," she added.

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"We call on all incineration companies not to destroy the contraceptives and to oppose this insane decision."

- 'Absurdity' -

Since Trump replaced Biden in the White House in January, his administration has dismantled USAID, with help from his former adviser, the world's richest person Elon Musk.

French company Veolia confirmed to AFP that it has a contract with the US firm Chemonics, USAID's logistics provider.

But Veolia emphasised that the contract concerns "only the management of expired products, which is not the case for the stockpile" in Belgium.

The products, which are mostly long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs and birth control implants, are reportedly up to five years away from expiring.

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French disposal company Suez meanwhile told AFP that it "does not provide waste management services for all contraceptive products purchased by USAID".

The US plan has provoked outcry in France, where rights groups and left-wing politicians have called on their governments to prevent the contraceptives from being destroyed.

"France cannot become the scene of such operations -- a moratorium is essential," said an opinion article in the newspaper Le Monde on Friday signed by five NGOs including MSI Reproductive Choices, condemning the "absurdity" of the US decision.

Charles Dallara, the grandson of the politician who legislated in favour of the contraceptive pill in France in 1967, went on French television on Friday to urge President Emmanuel Macron to act.

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Macron has yet to make an official statement on the contraceptives, but the country's health ministry has said it is "closely monitoring the situation".

A petition launched by French feminist groups and unions on Wednesday calling for the contraceptives to be saved has been signed by more than 10,000 people.

lmd-mad-mep-dl/rlp
JEFFERSON COUNTY (TRIBUNE)  A lengthy investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office resulted in a search and seizure of over $600,000 in illegal drugs and cash, according to Henry Irby of JCSO.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Detectives concluded a long-term investigation into a suspected narcotics trafficker by executing a search warrant in the 10 block of 12th Court NW, Center Point, Alabama, Irby said. The Jefferson County Sheriffs Office SWAT Team and SNET made entry into the residence and immediately apprehended a male suspect without incident. Upon searching the residence, Detectives located and seized narcotics, weapons and money.

The suspect has been identified as Marcus Allen Harper, age, 41. Harper has been charged with drug trafficking with no bond. Harper is in the custody of the Jefferson County Jail.

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This seizure highlights the effectiveness of our dedicated efforts and teamwork, demonstrating that when we continue to work together, we can dismantle illegal operations and ensure safety for all, Sheriff Mark Pettway said.

Narcotics seized included 14,916 grams of cocaine (32.88 lbs.) with a street value of $300,000, 232 grams of methamphetamine with a street value of $1,500, 2 grams of Adderall; with a street value of $20, 6 grams of Ecstasy; with a street value of $60, 50 grams of crack cocaine; with a street value of $2,000, 488 grams of marijuana; with a street value of $1,000, 16 grams of synthetic marijuana with a street value of $50 for a total street value of $304,630.

Additionally, $336,753 in cash, FN 5.7X28 semi-automatic handgun, PSA G3-10 .308 Semi-Automatic Rifle, Rev Arms AR-15 5.56 semi-automatic rifle, Smith and Wesson SD40 semi-automatic handgun, digital scales, narcotic packaging material, assorted ammunition, cell phones, DVR box were seized.

The case is still under investigation, Irby said. If there is anyone who has information pertaining to the case, they are encouraged to contact the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office at 205-325-1450 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

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The Brief

Oviedo's mayor is sending letters to high water users, urging conservation without penalties.

The city cites concerns over aquifer depletion and rising treatment needs.

Reactions are mixed, with some praising the effort and others calling it government overreach.

OVIEDO, Fla. - The mayor of Oviedo is raising eyebrows and awareness with a campaign aimed at curbing excessive water usage by some residents  including sending letters to the citys highest water consumers.

What we know

Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek has launched a campaign aimed at reducing excessive residential water use.

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The city compiled a list of high-usage households  some consuming more than five times the average monthly amount of 8,000 gallons  and is sending letters to inform them of their usage. One household reportedly used 41,000 gallons in a single month.

What we don't know

It remains unclear how many residents are on the high-usage list, whether any water leaks or billing errors contributed to the spikes, and whether the outreach will lead to long-term behavior changes. Its also unknown whether the city has future plans for enforcement if voluntary efforts fail.

The backstory

Oviedo, like many Florida communities, is grappling with the challenge of managing dwindling water resources from the Upper Floridan Aquifer. As demand grows, municipalities are relying on lower-quality water sources, which require more treatment. The mayors effort reflects a broader push for sustainability in the face of environmental strain.

Big picture view

Water conservation is becoming increasingly urgent across Florida as aquifer levels drop and cities dig deeper to access water.

What they're saying

Mayor Megan Sladek said the city has compiled a list of households that are using significantly more water than the average Oviedo family.

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"Were not trying to shame anybody," Sladek said. "Were just trying to educate people."

The city is mailing letters to those on the list, notifying them of their unusually high usage and offering resources to help them conserve. Sladek emphasized that the effort isnt about enforcement or penalties but about encouraging voluntary changes.

"Were hoping to just make people aware  hey, youre kind of an outlier here. Do you want to be an outlier?" Sladek said.

The mayor said the majority of the excessive usage appears to be due to overwatering lawns. However, she stressed that the city isnt forcing anyone to cut back.

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"If somebody calls and says, I got this letter, I dont want to change anything Im doing, I like my high water bills  more power to you," Sladek said. "If somebody reaches out and wants to talk to somebody on city staff who can help them, connect them with resources to conserve, that person will go talk with them."

Sladeks Facebook post about the campaign sparked a flurry of reactions. Some residents expressed concern over privacy, while others saw potential benefits, such as catching leaks they hadnt noticed.

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"If they pay for their services, mind your business," one commenter wrote.

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Another added, "This could be helpful. We had two leaks at once and didnt know for months."

"You are joking, right?" asked another commenter. "I'm sad that we are tracking this. It's not a thing that I think should be done. Please reconsider because residents are due a right to privacy in my opinion."

Another commented, "This could be helpful. We bought a house and within one year, we had two leaks happening at onc,e and we didn't realize for a few months because it was slow at first."

Opinions were mixed among residents on the ground as well.

"That sounds like too much government getting in my way," said Oviedo resident Ron Lay. "Whatever water I use, I pay for."

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Sladek said water conservation is critical as Florida continues to strain its freshwater resources.

"Most cities in Florida have already used as much of the Upper Floridan Aquifer as they can," she said. "Now theyre turning to deeper wells, which bring up lower-quality water  and we have to figure out how to clean that water to meet the standards were used to."

Why you should care

While residents are legally allowed to use as much water as they can afford, the mayor hopes education and transparency will lead to more mindful consumption.

The Source

This story was written based on information shared by the City of Oviedo, Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek and Oviedo residents.
HADLEY, Pa. (WKBN)  The Pennsylvania state budget was due July 1. Its now four weeks late, and thats a problem for schools.

Michelle Goehring is the business manager of the Commodore Perry School District. With critical state payments being delayed, schools have to rely on what they have. Goehring knows Commodore Perrys general fund balance is helpful right now.

We received a letter that said we would not receive basic education or transportation or special education funding for July or August, Goehring said.  For a couple of months, well be ok, but much longer than that, it will really start to make us really nervous.

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Some Pennsylvania school districts have had to borrow money already. Schools had to submit their budgets to the state by June 30. Commodore Perry crafted its spending to create a balance, so it could weather the storm.

Weve tried to be very frivolous with our funding, only purchase the items that we absolutely have to have, Goehring said.

Commodore Perry has watched its hiring and spending for years as the district has changed size, while still meeting the needs of the districts K-12 students. It will have 450 students starting school August 25, and hopes the state budget is done.

It would be great if we had that opportunity that we could breathe a little bit and know the funding is coming that we dont have to touch our reserves to be able to support the district, Goehring said.

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Mercer County has twelve school districts. The ones WKBN 27 First News spoke with felt comfortable having money for a month or so, but felt the situation could change if theres no budget in place before school starts. An official from one district said that if the budget isnt approved by October, it will need a loan.

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MERCER, Pa. (WKBN)  A woman from Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in an investigation where she was accused of stealing over $317,000 in a fraud case.

According to the Mercer County District Attorneys Office, Caroljean Kane, 55, pleaded guilty to first-degree misdemeanor theft.

District Attorney Pete Acker said five felony theft charges were consolidated and four felony forgery charges were dismissed.

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Acker said this ruling was due to a civil settlement agreement in the state of Florida, where restitution was waived, as well as a challenge of venue.

Kane was sentenced to three years of probation.

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QUETTA, Pakistan (AP)  Pakistans independent human rights commission on Friday called on authorities to drop terrorism charges against a 7-year-old boy, a day after police in the southwestern province of Balochistan sought his arrest for sharing an anti-government speech by a rights activist on social media.

The case has sparked outrage among human rights defenders, who say applying anti-terror laws to a minor highlights an intensifying crackdown on dissent in the volatile region.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the case in a statement on X, calling it highly reprehensible and asked the government to protect the rights of the minor. The boy isn't currently in police custody.

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The boy was charged with terrorism by police on Thursday in Gwadar, a port city in the insurgency-hit Balochistan province, according to his lawyer, Jadian Dashti. Such charges in the country are initially filed by police, and suspects are later produced in court for a pretrial hearing.

Dashti said that the child is accused of provoking violence by sharing a video of an anti-state speech that was delivered by a local rights activist, Gulzar Dost, during a rally in Gwadar last month to demand better facilities for education, health and jobs in the region.

Dost, who is known for his fiery speeches against the federal government in Islamabad and security forces as well, was arrested over the speech and was freed on bail this week pending a trial. Police accused him of spreading hate against the government.

The case against the boy comes as supporters of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, or BYC, a rights group, are rallying in the capital, Islamabad. Rights activists allege that Baloch people advocating for a fair share of the provinces wealth are routinely detained, an accusation that the Pakistani government denies.

The BYC says it wants an end to enforced disappearances in Balochistan, which has been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with the separatists seeking independence from the central government in Islamabad. Although Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, violence has persisted.
Sir Keir Starmer has announced his plan for the UK to officially recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets a number of conditions.

The Prime Minister laid out these terms in a speech at Downing Street. They include Israel agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and committing to a two-state solution.

In a Telegraph poll, readers were overwhelmingly opposed to the decision, with 86 per cent of more than 50,000 voters saying Palestine should not be recognised.

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Toby Roberts, a Telegraph reader, is stringently opposed to the idea of a Palestinian state, saying: There is no evidence the Palestinians are capable of establishing and running a viable state, and a great deal of evidence to suggest that they are not.

A Palestinian state promises to be oppressive, corrupt, impoverished, aid-dependent, resentful, radicalised, and riven by vicious internal factionalism.

He concludes that it is a mystery to me how anyone can think that such an outcome would be in the interests of the neighbouring Arab states or the West.

Margaret Northey, another reader, says Hamas does not want a two-state solution and, as a result of Sir Keirs announcement, Hamas will now have even more reason not to agree to a ceasefire.

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John Culley echoes this sentiment, expressing dismay that conditions have been imposed on Israel but not on Hamas: If we are going to recognise Palestine, surely the conditionality should be aimed at the Palestinians, what about releasing the hostages and Hamas surrendering and/or dissolving itself.

The current conditional approach still gives the Israelis a partial veto over the process and incentivises Hamas to try and provoke Israel. It is absolutely bonkers diplomacy.

Nancy Brooks remarks that she thought the report of Sir Keirs announcement must be incomplete as no demand was made that the remaining hostages be released, adding: Clearly, a solution is not what this is about, entirely a vote-gathering exercise. Shame on him.

Another reader agrees that the announcement was intended for a domestic as well as international audience: Starmers focus on Gaza is an indication of where power and influence now lies in the Labour Party and the organs of government.

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His pronouncement had nothing to do with peace, justice, morality, or ending the war. It was a piece of theatre pandering to Labours shrinking voter base; gesture politics of the most shameless kind.

Only solution is a two-state one

A minority of Telegraph readers sought to make the case in support of the Prime Ministers announcement, with one saluting Sir Keir for having the leadership to stand up to bullying and intimidation from Trump and Netanyahu.

Hedley Smith argues that the announcement did not reward Hamas and you either recognise a state out of principle or you dont, adding: The conditions of statehood are either met or they are not: it shouldnt be conditional and used like a bargaining chip. I think they should have been a state a long time ago and I dont believe that right can be bargained away.

Nik Hill and Jennifer Morris both take a historical view when it came to arguing in favour of recognising Palestinian statehood.

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Nik said: The UN called for an independent Palestine and Israel to be recognised back in 1947. Its about time it actually happened.

Thats not rewarding Hamas (no Hamas in the West Bank for example). Its simply accepting that the only solution is a two-state one.

Jennifer concurred and cited the Balfour Declaration of 1917 that expressed British support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine but also that the rights of the existing inhabitants would be protected.

She says that no government stepped in as Israel took more land for their settlements and that it is time to do the right thing for the Palestinians.

The Arab world gets it. Starmer doesnt

Many readers also compared and contrasted the reaction of the British state with that of the Arab world. Soon after Sir Keirs announcement, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt called for Hamas to surrender control of Gaza and disarm.

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Natalie Brooks writes that the Prime Ministers ultimatum to Israel has proven to be as ineffectual and meaningless as he is even Arab nations are suggesting Hamas needs to come to the table.

Other readers weigh in: You couldnt make it up! Arab nations insist that Hamas surrenders, while the British Prime Minister (unintentionally, no doubt) offers it encouragement to continue! The Arab world gets it. Starmer doesnt.

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Leelamma Lal's family is about to celebrate the milestone it has waited for since a hospital patient nearly beat her to the point of blindness in February.

The 67-year-old nurse will return home on Aug. 2.

It will mark the first time that Lal has step foot in her Royal Palm Beach house, where she raised her children and studied to become a nurse, since she left for work at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital on Feb 18.

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That day, a Wellington man who had just become a patient at the hospital attacked her as she entered his room. He then fled from Palms West and Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies apprehended him as he ran along Southern Boulevard.

"While she still faces a long road ahead, this marks a deeply emotional milestone," the law firm of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley said in a prepared statement. It is representing Lal in a lawsuit against Palms West over security on its campus.

Lal, a Palms West nurse for 21 years, has spent most of the past four months at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, undergoing intensive physical therapy.

She went there after doctors at St. Mary's Center in West Palm Beach rebuilt the right side of her face with titanium plates. The beating was so extensive that deputies feared it broke nearly every bone in Lal's face and would leave her blind.

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The beating alarmed nurses and health care workers across Palm Beach County and the U.S. about workplace safety. A GoFundMe account for Lal has raised over $200,000.

The family of Leelamma Lal, the HCA Florida Palms West Hospital nurse beaten by a patient in February 2025, shared this April 2025 photo of her as she recovers at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville. She still is battling double vision in her right eye.

Lal's daughter, Melbourne physician Cindy Joseph, has said her mother's recovery has been tough. She said Lal has shown signs of improvement but still couldn't see from her right eye and doctors were assessing whether the beating had damaged her brain.

The highlight of Lal's time at Brooks came when the late Pope Francis sent her a personalized apostolic blessing, weeks before his death. Her son Chris said Lal, a devout Catholic, was looking forward to framing it once she returned home.

A spokesperson for Lal's attorney said Lal hopes to give a brief statement when she returns home but is not expected to answer questions.

67-year-old nurse attacked by patient at HCA Palms West

The Wellington man for whom Lal was caring, Steven Scantlebury, is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge. His attorneys have informed the court they intend to pursue an insanity defense. Family members have said the 33-year-old man had shown signs of paranoia in the days preceding the attack.

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Scantlebury had come to Palms West on Feb. 18 complaining of chest pain. His behavior led doctors to evaluate him for mental-health issues, and they were preparing to transfer him under the state's Baker Act to a hospital credentialed to care for psychiatric patients when the attack happened.

After Lal entered his room, Scantlebury allegedly jumped on top of her and hit her face repeatedly with his fists, the sheriff's office said. Scantlebury fled from the hospital dressed only in shorts.

Besides the attempted second-degree murder charge, the sheriffs office placed a hate-crime enhancement on the case after deputies said Scantlebury had "made utterances" about Lal's race after the attack. Lal is of Indian descent.

In February, Circuit Judge Howard Coates ordered pretrial detention for Scantlebury, citing safety concerns.

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Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palms West nurse to return home, nearly 6 months after patient attack
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB)  A Panama City man was sentenced on Friday after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Florida, 30-year-old Jericho Rayne Skipper received five years in prison and 10 years of supervised release. He is also required to pay $66,000 in restitution to the victims.

In July 2024, the Bay County Sheriffs Office and the Panama City Police Department found that Skipper used social media and online chat apps to trade images of adults engaging in sexually explicit conduct with young children, infants, and toddlers.

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The U.S. Attorneys Office said Skipper confessed to collecting the illegal images.

Keeping kids safe is a top priority, and it takes strong teamwork across agencies to make that happen, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said. Im proud of the partnership that helped bring this predator to justice.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations also helped in the investigation of this case.

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WEST FORK, Ark. (KFOR)  28-year-old Andrew McGann went to college in Oklahoma, getting his Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. News 4 spoke with parents from a school where he worked in Texas, who describe his behavior with students as eerie.

Image Washington County Sheriffs Office

Communities across Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas are shaken to the core after the arrest of the 28-year-old man from Springdale, AR.

It shook melike thats McGann, thats the guy that my kid was around every week at school, said Lindsay Polyak, parent of a student who attended Donald Elementary in Flower Mound, TX.

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McGann was arrested while getting a haircut at an Arkansas salon. Police say hes allegedly behind the killings of the Arkansas married couple, Clinton (43) and Cristen (41) Blink, at Devils Den State Park over the weekend.

RELATED: Former Oklahoma teacher charged with murder in AR killings

Tyler Yeakley, an Arkansas native who frequents the park, said, It definitely lets you know the craziest things can happen any day out of nowhere, especially in Arkansas.

You may be wondering how McGann has ties to Oklahoma.

Records show he graduated from OSU Tulsa in the Spring semester of 2022 and became a teacher at Donald Elementary in Flower Mound, Texas, that fall, for the 2022-2023 school year.

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He then taught for Broken Arrow Public Schools and Sand Springs before moving to Arkansas.

Polyak described McGann as a sick pervert.

Polyak and another parent, Megan, who asked News 4 to conceal her last name, tell us McGanns behavior was unusual.

I heard from my son that there were girls that Mr. McGann would tickle, Polyak said.

Polyak added, I started hearing other things from parents whose kids were in his classroom full time, alleging that during lunch time, when all the kids went to the cafeteria, he would invite special girls to stay back and to have lunch with him in his classroom.

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RELATED: Devils Den double homicide suspect booked into Washington County Jail: What we know about his arrest

Megan said parents reported McGanns behavior to Lewisville ISD and Donald Elementary staff.

Everything just kind of got swept under the rug, Megan said.

Parents then learned McGann was placed on administrative leave before submitting his resignation letter to staff in the middle of the 2022-2023 school year.

Polyak said, If he could have just been terminated by our district, that would have been on his record, that would have raised suspicions and questions by the next districts that he went to. But it wasnt.

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McGann was set to teach at a school in Arkansas this fall, but hadnt made contact with any parents or students.

McGann now faces two counts of Capital Murder charges.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Dr. Melinda Cail from Primary Health Partners joins us in the KFOR Studios on Thursday afternoon to discuss Parkinsons disease.

The cause of this disease is still being explored, but it is believed to be a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

Symptoms of Parkinsons:

Tremor, mainly at rest

Pill rolling hand movement

Slowness

Limb stiffness

Gait & balance problems

To learn more, watch the video above.

And to learn more information on Dr. Cails practice, click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Editors note: This story contains a description of rape.

A 70-year-old man convicted of raping a woman at knifepoint nearly four decades ago in New Bedford was denied parole this week following his first appearance before the parole board.

The board found he hadnt taken responsibility for his crimes.

Steven Correia was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after being convicted of aggravated rape in 1990 for the rape four years earlier. He was also convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to eight to 10 years to run concurrently with the life sentence.

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On Feb. 12, 1986, around midnight, a woman pulled into a parking space near her grandmothers apartment in New Bedford. As she opened the car door, a man carrying a knife approached her. The man, later identified as Correia, forced his way into the car and held the knife to the womans throat while grabbing her hair.

Correia ordered her to start the car and drive down Highland Street, telling her to park near the overpass. He made her turn the car off and get in the passenger seat, at which point he pushed up the drivers seat and ordered her into the back.

The woman pleaded with Correia, but he told her to take off her clothes. Correia then raped her. After the rape, Correia threw the womans clothes at her and she got dressed. Correia drove the car back to the womans grandmothers apartment building, and told her he would kill her grandmother if she reported the rape.

Correia got out of the car and told the woman to drive away, which she did. The woman quickly found a police officer and reported the rape. Correia was arrested the next day near the scene of the rape, and the woman identified him in a lineup, pointing out some of the clothes he was wearing.

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In its decision, the board said the 70-year-old Correia did not appear forthright and honest before the board. Correia maintains his innocence of the underlying conviction and of other convictions in sexual assault crimes, despite incriminating testing after his conviction.

Correia had escaped from prison from an earlier incarceration when the 1986 rape occurred, the board noted. He has spent more than four decades behind bars.

While board members acknowledged some of Correias achievements, including getting a bachelors degree from Boston University and participating in multiple committees. But the board encouraged Correia to do more, like enrolling in the Sex Offender Treatment Program.

Correias family and a friend testified in support of parole, while a Bristol County prosecutor testified in opposition.

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The Board concludes by unanimous decision that Steven Correia has not demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society, the decision reads.

Correias next hearing before the board is in four years.

More on the Massachusetts Parole Board

Read the original article on MassLive.
(WVNY/WFFF)  Vermonts Junior Senator wants to keep prescription drugs affordable for people in lower income and rural communities. Hes calling it The PATIENTS ACT.

The PATIENTS Act would protect whats known as the 340b Drug Pricing Program, which allows community hospitals and health centers to buy prescription drugs for their patients, at a reduced price from manufacturers.

Georgia Maheras works with the Bi-State PCA, the non-profit supports those federally qualified health centers. She says over the last several years, manufacturers have tried to limit the number of pharmacies that providers can use.

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The best way for patients to get access to their prescription drugs is to go to the place that is close to the providers office or their home, right? Weve had a shrinkage around some pharmacies, so we really want to make sure people have access wherever they are to get their medication, says Maheras.

Senator Welchs bill would require manufacturers to offer the discounted prices regardless of where the drug is distributed. Including many of the national chains that arent eligible under the current law.

Welch says the money saved would then go back to the providers to expand critical services such as mental health care and substance use disorder.

Welch says, If you have a loved one, a child, you have a partner who has an illness where the prescription is going to help them, youll get a second mortgage, youll sell your house, youll max out your retirement, to help the person you love. the drug companies know that. and they just put the price through the ceiling. He goes on to say the act would the increase competition, which will drive down prices, and stop manufacturers from creating multiple versions of the same drug.

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Theyre abusing the patent system, by getting a patent if they change the color. and theyre extending that market power and exclusive period where they can price whatever they want, and its a rip off.

Manufacturers who violate the new rules will be fined.

The reduced drug prices are specifically for low income or rural communities. Which welch defines as folks on Medicaid, or those who get their medical care from community health centers, which there are several in the region.

Congress is yet to vote on the legislation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC22 & FOX44.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN)  After the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said its shut down has begun Friday, PBS North Carolina released a response to the announcement.

PBS NC CEO and General Manager David Crabtree said in a statement that PBS NC is saddened by the announcement of the CPBs closure.

For over 50 years, CPB has been a foundational pillar of Americas public media landscape, championing trusted journalism, educational content and access for all, Crabtree wrote.

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Crabtree said funding from CPB makes up about 15% of PBS NCs yearly budget, but CPBs value goes beyond money.

We are profoundly grateful for CPBs steadfast support and for the meaningful partnerships weve built with its dedicated team, Crabtrees statement reads. Their belief in our mission has helped us serve North Carolinians with integrity, purpose and care.

Crabtree added PBS NC is exploring ways to manage the loss of funding, while maintaining its commitment to the public broadcasting companys mission.

Crabtrees statement ends with, To everyone who believes in the power and promise of public media: thank you. Your continued support is more important than ever.

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The CPB cited legislation passed by Republicans last month that yanked back two years worth of advanced funding at the request of President Trump, amounting to a clawback of more than $1 billion for fiscal 2026 and 2027, as the reason for the shutdown.

It also pointed to a lack of funding for the CPB in an annual funding bill advanced by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, saying it was the first time in more than five decades the funding had been left out.

The CPB said most of its employees jobs would conclude at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, while a small transition team would work through January to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations.

Many Republicans have defended cutting funding for the CPB, accusing NPR and PBS, both of which receive CPB funding, of political bias. Those same Republicans have repeatedly downplayed the threat of the cuts on media access.

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Some Republicans have raised concerns about the cuts they say will have a disproportionate impact on local stations.

Some members are hopeful of Congress approving some funding for local media ahead of a looming Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government for fiscal 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 CBS17.com.
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB)  Panama City Beach lifeguards are marking the end of a camp they say is increasing beach and water safety.

This week, the second session of the PCB Junior Lifeguard program is coming to a close.

They held the first session earlier this month for younger kids, and the second was intended for older groups.

They covered a variety of topics, including water safety, rescue techniques, beach flag education, and more.

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Staff said the program helps them build a relationship with those who use their beach all year.

I think they pass on the education that they learn here to beachgoers when theyre out with their families, said PCB lieutenant Hannah Anderson. Theyll recognize rip currents and be able to say, hey, lets not swim there, lets move over this way instead. And that obviously helps to get the message out about return on responsive messaging.

Anderson said they hope to eventually expand the program to kids interested in pursuing a lifeguard career.

For more information on the program, you can click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was spotted this week with a cheering crowd at a Lady Gaga concert in San Francisco.

"It was a fabulous show in San Francisco!" Pelosi, the 85-year-old speaker emerita, said in a post Tuesday on X.

"The most fun Ive had in a long time."

Nancy Pelosi Erupts When Asked By Cnn's Jake Tapper About Allegations Of Insider Trading

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recently attended a Lady Gaga concert in San Francisco.

A video of the event, part of Lady Gaga's global Mayhem Ball Tour, shows Pelosi walking to her seat close to the stage as Gaga performs. She is then seen moving to the performance as Lady Gaga plays the guitar.

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The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Pelosi attended the concert with her husband, Paul Pelosi.

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Tickets for the concert ranged from roughly $175 to $550, while the range for VIP tickets was $700 to $1,000.

Lady Gaga sported an ornate Philip Treacy hat on the red carpet.

In 2021, Pelosi attended a Lady Gaga concert with Tony Bennett at Radio City Music Hall in New York, the newspaper reported.





Original article source: Pelosi calls Lady Gaga concert in San Francisco 'the most fun I've had in a long time'
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)  A Pennsylvania childcare worker has been charged with aggravated assault after two babies were severely injured.

The Montgomery County District Attorneys office says Catalina Baldwin was arrested after a 5-month-old and a 7-month-old were injured.

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The DAs office says on July 9, police and EMS responded for an unresponsive girl at Oaks Early Learning Center. The baby was taken to Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia in King of Prussia and diagnosed with several injuries, including subdural hematoma with mass effect, injuries to the ligaments of her cervical spine, and numerous retinal hemorrhages in both eyes.

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The child was flown to CHOP in Philadelphia for emergency surgery during which part of their skull had to be removed. The child remains hospitalized at this time, according to the DAs office.

The DAs office says the child was in their third day at the school under the sole care of Baldwin, and that the schools director responded to the infant room to find the child unable to hold their head up.

Information was downloaded from Baldwins phone, and, according to the DA, Baldwin allegedly texted another teacher that the child is a nightmare minutes before asking the school director to respond to the infant room.

Baldwin is also alleged to have searched Shaken Syndrome on the internet two days later.

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The DA says during the investigation, they learned that on May 29, a 5-month-olds mother was notified their child was injured after Baldwin said the child put a broken basket in their mouth. The child was taken to CHOP and required a feeding tube due to lacerations in their mouth.

The child was also said to be in the sole care of Baldwin at the time of their injuries.

Baldwin was arrested on July 31 on two counts of Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Recklessly Endangering Another Person. She was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Marc Alfarano, who set bail at $500,000, 10 percent, with additional conditions of no unsupervised contact with minors and no contact with victims and their families.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m., Aug. 12, 2025, in front of Magisterial District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Former Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn has removed herself from consideration for a senior post in the U.S. Department of Education. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74 to get more like this in your inbox.

Updated

Penny Schwinn, in line to serve as second in command of the U.S. Department of Education, has withdrawn from the nomination, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced Thursday.

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Instead, the former Tennessee education commissioner will take on a different role for the department.

I am grateful to Dr. Schwinn for her commitment to serving students, families, and educators across the nation, McMahon said in a statement. Penny is a brilliant education mind and I look forward to continuing working with her as my chief strategist to make education great again.

Schwinn, in a statement, said she gave the decision thoughtful consideration and said she will remain committed to protecting kids, raising achievement and expanding opportunity  my lifelong mission and north star.

Considered a champion for improving reading outcomes and high-dosage tutoring, Schwinn was among President Donald Trumps early picks for department posts. Many perceived her as a more bipartisan choice than others joining the administration, but among Tennessee conservatives, many who felt she was too liberal, opposition to her nomination was strong.

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The timing of Schwinns withdrawal couldnt be worse, according to some conservatives.

Her decision to remove herself from consideration to become deputy secretary hurts students, educators, and the Trump administration, said Jim Blew, co-founder of the Defense of Freedom Institute, a think tank. Secretary McMahon has been charged by Congress and the president with huge tasks under the One Big Beautiful Bill and several urgent executive orders.

As head of the Education Department, McMahon is striving to turn more authority over education to the states. Its now unclear who will step into the deputy position and take the lead on the states requests for more flexibility over education funding. At least two states, Iowa and Oklahoma, have already submitted requests for block grants, and Indiana is currently gathering comments from the public in preparation for a similar proposal. Kirsten Baesler, North Dakotas long-time education chief, is currently awaiting confirmation to be assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education at the department. In February, she joined 11 other GOP chiefs in asking McMahon for greater freedom to direct education funds toward state-level needs.

Controversies and questions over Schwinns conservative qualifications have followed her for years. Far-right groups, including Moms for Liberty, said her past support for equity initiatives, like hiring more teachers of color, was evidence that she was not a good fit for an administration determined to eliminate such programs. Others remained angry over Schwinns pandemic-era plan to conduct well-being home visits. Even though she scrapped the plan, parents and members of the legislature considered it an example of government overreach.

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More recently, Steve Gill, a conservative commentator in Tennessee, reported that while she was deputy superintendent of the Texas Education Agency, Schwinn recommended individuals who advocate for comprehensive sex education, including abortion rights, to advise the state on health curriculum.

Gill told The 74 he shared his TriStar Daily article about her stance on these issues with Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as the states congressional delegation. Blackburn, who is expected to run for governor next year, was considered a possible no vote for Schwinn.

According to Gill, Blackburns office has been working tirelessly behind the scenes with the White House, Secretary Linda McMahon and Majority Leader [John] Thune to block the confirmation.

But Madi Biedermann, spokeswoman for the department, said the agency strongly disagrees with that characterization.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is rumored to have been working to block Penny Schwinns nomination. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Blew said its unfortunate that politics got in the way, noting that Schwinns experience in both blue and red states would have brought valuable expertise to the Ed Department role. In addition to her jobs in Tennessee and Texas, Schwinn founded a charter school in Sacramento and also served in the Delaware Department of Education.

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Its sad that a handful of demagogues are standing in the way of giving Secretary McMahon the team she needs to succeed, he said.

Others praised Schwinns record of prioritizing the science of reading in Tennessee schools and directing COVID relief funds toward tutoring.

This is a setback for all who want to see Washington slashing red tape, advancing literacy and fighting for common sense values, said Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

For some critics, Schwinns business ventures since leaving the top spot in Tennessee two years ago raised questions as she waited to appear before the Senate education committee.

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In June, a day ahead of her joint hearing with three other nominees, The 74 reported that shortly after Trump tapped her for the job, she registered a new education consulting business in Florida, New Horizon BluePrint Group, with a longtime colleague. Before Schwinn filed ethics paperwork with the federal government, her sister replaced her as a manager on the business.

When a reporter from The 74 asked questions about the new project, Donald Fennoy, her colleague and a former superintendent of the Palm Beach County School District, dissolved the business.

Ethics experts say candidates for an administration post often distance themselves from new business entanglements to avoid any appearance of a conflict, but Schwinn has faced accusations of poor judgment before.

While she was in Texas, the state agency signed a $4.4 million no-bid contract in 2017 with a software company where she had a professional relationship with a subcontractor, according to a state audit. And in Tennessee, the education agency made an $8 million deal in 2021 with TNTP, a teacher training organization where her husband Paul Schwinn was employed at the time. Lawmakers considered the deal a huge conflict.

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Ethics was a crucial concern, said J.C. Bowman, executive director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-union organization. He was among those who sent letters to the Senate, asking them to remove her from consideration. Her personal business interests and possible conflicts could potentially influence educational decisions in ways that many found difficult to overlook.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized the role Penny Schwinn will take on in lieu of serving as the deputy education secretary. Schwinn will be taking on an advisory role at the Education Department.

This story [link to The 74 story URL] was produced by The 74, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in America.
US defence contractor Raytheon has been awarded a contract worth up to US$3.5 billion to produce AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles. Ukraine is among the recipients.

Source: US Department of Defense

Details: Under the Pentagon contract, Raytheon will manufacture AMRAAM missiles, telemetry systems, initial and field spare parts, and perform other engineering tasks related to production.

Deliveries will be made under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and will include Ukraine as well as Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Spain, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, Israel, and Kuwait.

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Production will take place in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by the third quarter of fiscal year 2031.

AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles are used by various fighter jets, including the F-16 aircraft operated by the Ukrainian Air Force. Additionally, they are integrated into NASAMS air defence systems, which play a key role in protecting Ukrainian airspace.

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Around 250 National Guard troops will stay in Los Angeles to help protect federal personnel and buildings after the latest drawdown ordered by the Department of Defense (DOD).

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the release of about 1,350 California National Guard members from the federal protection mission on Wednesday. Those troops were initially deployed to help contain protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement Thursday that those troops remaining in Los Angeles will protect federal personnel and property.

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We greatly appreciate the support of the more than 5,000 Guardsmen and Marines who mobilized to Los Angeles to defend Federal functions against the rampant lawlessness occurring in the city, Parnell said.

Apart from some 4,000 National Guard troops, another 700 Marines were also directed to help curb the protests in light of President Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration.

State and local lawmakers, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), strongly criticized the deployment of soldiers, arguing the administration was hiking tensions.

Some 2,000 National Guard troops were pulled by the Trump administration in mid-July. Days later, Hegseth directed that all 700 Marines be called off from Los Angeles, with the DOD arguing their unmistakable presence in the city was instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who filed a lawsuit arguing the administrations deployment of the National Guard was unlawful, welcomed the Pentagons decision to downsize the National Guards presence in Los Angeles, claiming that Trumps political theater backfired.

This militarization was always unnecessary and deeply unpopular. The President must do the right thing to end this illegal militarization now because the economic and societal impacts are dire, Newsom said in a statement on Thursday. The women and men of our military deserve more than to be used as props in the federal governments propaganda machine.

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Sorry Californians, former vice president Kamala Harris isn't running for the state's next governor after her failed 2024 presidential bid.

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On July 30, Kamala shared why she decided not to throw her hat in the race to replace term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2026. "I love this state, its people, and its promise. It is my home," she wrote. "But after deep reflection, I've decided that I will not run for Governor in this election."

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Related: 27 Disturbingly Dystopian Photos People Took When They Realized We're Practically Living In "1984"

In the statement, she explained she spent the last six months "reflecting on this moment in our nation's history, and the best way for me to continue fighting for the American people and advancing the values and ideals I hold dear."

Bloomberg / Getty Images

"I am a devout public servant, and from the earliest days of my career, I have believed that the best way I could make a difference in people's lives and fight for a better future was to improve the system from within. And it has been a profound honor to do that work and serve the people of California and our nationas a prosecutor, Attorney Gnereal, United States Senator, and Vice President."

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And on Thursday, Kamala appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and explained why she isn't running for any public office. "To be very candid with you, I don't want to go back in the system. I think it's broken," she said, explaining she will use the time instead to travel and meet the people without asking for their vote.

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When Stephen said her response was "harrowing" and it sounds like she doesn't want to "stay in the fight," Kamala pushed back. "Oh no, I'm absolutely going to stay in the fight. That's not going to change. I'm absolutely going to be part of the fight. But I think that we have to acknowledge and agree that... the power is with the people."

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Related: 32 "Why Would You Put That In Writing?!?!?" Photos That Prove Some People Are The Worst

Well, the people have heard Kamala's reasons for not running for California's governor and not going "back in the system." They're frustrated, disheartened, and a few are understanding. Here is what the people are saying:

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There were some people who believed we really took the former vice president for granted.

Related: I'm Crying Laughing Over These Hilarious Job Tweets From June

Others felt that maybe the United States, in this timeline, wasn't ready for someone like her to help lead the government.

And by someone like her, they made it clear she was definitely qualified to hold office, but understood why she needed to step away.

Even celebrities like Sophia Bush and Michelle Monaghan chimed in to praise the former vice president.

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Related: 29 Tweets By Women That Made Me, A Fellow Woman, Laugh So Hard I Peed A Little

Understanding, as some might be, folks were definitely "frustrated" that her loss led to this current Trump era.

What do you think about Kamala not wanting to return to the "broken system," or run for California's governor? Share your thoughts in the comments or use this anonymous form.

Also in Internet Finds: Private Investigators Are Sharing The Most Disturbing Cases Theyve Ever Gotten, And Wow

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is getting put on blast after she once again demanded that President Donald Trump be given the Nobel Peace Prize.

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President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office, she said as she listed some of those efforts. Its well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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While Trump has had his hand in some ceasefire agreements, his efforts overall have been a mixed bag.

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A ceasefire between Israel and Iran, for example, came only after he launched a US strike on Iranian facilities.

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And some of the biggest conflicts have continued to rage.

Related: I'm Not Gonna Lie, I Got A Little Sad When I Looked At These Historical Pictures Of The Rose Garden Before Trump Paved Over It

Trump vowed repeatedly to end the war between Russia and Ukraine on his first day in office, but the situation has only worsened. Hes also promised to end the war in Gaza, but Israels assault in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks has continued, and the humanitarian crisis has escalated.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Trump has instead complained that he didnt get a thank you from Gaza for sending money intended for food aid.

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But Leavitts demand is in line with Trumps longtime grievance over the award.

Hes complained repeatedly about not getting one during his previous term in office, insisting that he should have had four or five of them by now.

And he really doesnt like that President Barack Obama was awarded one.

JEWEL SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images

Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had nominated Trump for the honor in a move many observers believed was just a blatant attempt to curry favor.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

As a result, Leavitts critics fired back with a number of facts about her boss. Some also noted that she seemed to pronounce Nobel as noble, which, ironically, is how Trump himself has spelled the name of the prize in the past.

Related: 14 MAGA Voters Are Finally Realizing What They Voted For, And The Stories Are Shocking

And a few compared her over-the-top praise for her boss to North Korean propaganda.

Trump should have long ago been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, says White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt.Disgraceful. No serious statesman begs for awards and factually, since Trumps so-called toe-dip into diplomacy, Putin has only ramped up his campaign of terror, pic.twitter.com/tysip1zU79  Shaun Pinner (@olddog100ua) August 1, 2025

@olddog100ua

When a propaganda mouthpiece has an absence of shame as her boss. Sad to see the depths of cringe that they both would go to. https://t.co/89GoYYTc5h  Errol Mendes LSM (@3mendous) July 31, 2025

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@3mendous

People in North Korea are like "man, she's laying it on a bit too thick" https://t.co/Y9p4PcZDkH  scary lawyerguy (@scarylawyerguy) July 31, 2025

@scarylawyerguy

Why not physics for creating an alternate universe  Dj Omega Mvp (@DjOmegaMVP) July 31, 2025

@djomegamvp

Related: If You Want To Know How MAGA Feels About The Epstein Files And Trump RN, Consider This Clip Of A Fox News Host Being Booed

We are North Korea now. https://t.co/A22DdeqGr9  Jim Stewartson, Antifascist  (@jimstewartson) July 31, 2025

@jimstewartson

Remember sending the National Guard to California? Thats not peace.  Mermaid78 (@mermaid8861) July 31, 2025

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@mermaid8861

WAIT! Karoline Leavitt just made this bizarre demand from the podium that Donald Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.Is she acting CRAZY?  pic.twitter.com/vUEvZDKwEX  Lucas Sanders  (@LucasSa56947288) July 31, 2025

@LucasSa56947288

Karoline Leavitt: It is well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. For what exactly? pic.twitter.com/yQBWuGj1gF  Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 31, 2025

@rpsagainsttrump

@gregtsargent

Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize? Whats next, naming a civics award after George Santos?  Chetter  Beacon for Democracy (@ChetterHub) July 31, 2025

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@chetterhub

Related: Donald Trump Is Going To Scotland, And This Brutal Scottish Newspaper Cover "Welcoming" Him Is Going Viral

A less-than-noble effort at pronouncing Nobel, to be sure. https://t.co/w8UYDN6A7Y  Brett Baker (@BrettSBaker) July 31, 2025

@brettsbaker

Trump really wants his participation trophy  Shayne (@ShayneALong) July 31, 2025

@ShayneALong

Karoline Leavitt: President Trump has brokered, on average, one peace deal or ceasefire per month. It's well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.These people are living in their own reality. pic.twitter.com/x9hxCd4Mte  Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) July 31, 2025

@ronxyz00

I agree in giving Trump the "noble" peace prize (just don't tell him that it's not the Nobel Peace Prize ). https://t.co/PkKrVa9N4E  Brynt (@JohnBrynt) July 31, 2025

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@johnbrynt



This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Also in In the News: Trump Can't Stop Talking About Pete Buttigieg, And Pete Responded With One Simple Tweet

Also in In the News: Gavin Newsom Has Been Roasting MAGA Left And Right, And WOW, Is It Entertaining

Also in In the News: President Obama Just Responded To Donald Trump's "Bizarre" Claims Of Him Committing Treason

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  State Rep. Vince Perez, D-El Paso, says Republican plans to do a mid-decade redistricting on congressional districts in Texas amount to the most overt racial engineering Texas has experienced since the end of the Civil War.

Perez said on Friday, Aug. 1, that Republicans are intentionally reducing the value of Hispanic votes to about one-third and Black votes to about one-fifth the value of white votes.

Perez will host two public community listening sessions on redistricting this weekend: at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug 2 at the Valle Bajo Community Center and Library, 7380 Alameda Ave., and 12:30 p.m. that same day at the Pat ORourke Recreation Center, 901 N. Virginia St.

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The redistricting proposal unveiled by Texas Republicans represents the most overt racial engineering Texas has experienced since the end of the Civil War. Under this plan, Republicans are deliberately elevating one racial groups political power at the expense of others. Although Latinos and Anglos each comprise roughly 40% of Texas population, the new congressional boundaries mirror segregationist-era tactics, disproportionately amplifying Anglo representation to nearly double their population share, Perez said in a detailed statement sent to the media.

Perez said that the map proposed by Republicans would result in white Texans receiving

one congressional representative for every 445,000 white residents, while Hispanic Texans

receive just one representative for every 1.4 million Hispanic residents.

This structure makes an Anglo residents congressional representation more than three times greater than that of a Hispanic resident, Perez said.



Black Texans fare even worse under the proposed map, with only one congressional

representative for every 2 million Black residents, meaning an Anglo vote in Texas carries more

than four times the political weight of a Black residents vote, Perez said.

Michael Aboud, chairman of the El Paso County Republican Party, said the current congressional map is gerrymandered in Democrats favor and that anytime Democrats dont like a proposal or initiative, they pull out the race card.

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Well, its not working because many of the people the Democrats racist behavior is meant to target have come to realize that the Democrat Party has left them and no longer pretends to consider who they are or how they can best be served. If you will take a look at this current congressional map of Texas, it is easy to see the excessive gerrymandering of a large percentage of those districts.

Since this illegally drawn map benefits the Democrats, they are happy to keep it, and dont care how it hurts the people of Texas regardless of anyones ethnicity. Of course, the Democrats dont want to admit they worked hard to get this current map and had the sole intent of their party keeping more congressional seats than they should have, given the current voting trends happening in Texas and across the county, Aboud continued.

Aboud said El Paso Countys main congressional district is drawn to help the Democrat Party hold on to a seat in Congress.

When political districts are drawn to help a politician, that politician and political party start to ignore the people they are supposed to be representing. Currently the El Paso office holders act as if they only represent part of the populace, and that the people who support them will blindly follow along like sheep no matter how bad their policies get, Aboud added.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
Security at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base fatally shot a person Friday trying to illegally access the base just outside of Tucson, Arizona, officials said.

Around 2:30 a.m., the suspect, a non-military civilian, failed to stop and identify themselves at the main gate, the Air Force said in a news release. The person was driving erratically, crashed into the deployed vehicle barrier and reversed the vehicle, the release said. A member of the security unit on the base, the 355th Security Forces Squadron, then shot the suspect.

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona. / Credit: AP Photo

"We certainly regret the loss of life that occurred early this morning," Col. Jose Cabrera, the commander of the 355th Wing, said in a statement. "Our Defenders have a very difficult job and acted in accordance with their training and policy to ensure the security of the installation and safety of our Airmen."

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The base is home to 11,000 airmen from 34 unique mission partners, which support six combatant commanders around the world. It also serves as the retirement setting for some of the nation's most heralded military aircraft.

Arkansas officials reveal new details about Devil's Den murders of husband and wife

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer discusses new tariffs, employment data

Trump trade representative defends administration's policies after weak jobs report
President Trumps decision to bypass the Senate and reinstall Alina Habba as interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey  after her nomination was rejected by a federal judicial panel and blocked by two senators  might seem like just another Washington power struggle. But this episode, along with the administrations defiance of court orders on deportations and punishment of reporters for unfavorable coverage, reveals a concerning pattern that more and more observers see as a systematic erosion of the unwritten rules that make American democracy work.

Alina Habba speaks after being sworn in as interim U.S. Attorney General for New Jersey, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on March 28, 2025. | Associated Press

These arent mere political norms or Washington etiquette. They are constitutional norms  the informal expectations that translate the Constitutions broad text into actual governance. For over two centuries, these unwritten rules have filled the gaps the framers couldnt anticipate, ensuring that presidents comply with court orders, respect the Senates confirmation role and avoid punishing the press for critical coverage. Their breakdown threatens the legal protections every American depends on.

The framers designed our system knowing they couldnt draft rules for every crisis. George Washington and his contemporaries relied instead on good faith, restraint and habits of compliance to make the Constitution work. The documents deliberate ambiguity wasnt a flaw but a key feature, and it depended on leaders respecting the system even when breaking it might offer short-term advantage.

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These informal guardrails have been tested before, sometimes severely. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War. FDR threatened to pack the Supreme Court and authorized Japanese internment. Nixon defied congressional subpoenas during Watergate. Reagans administration circumvented Congress during Iran-Contra. The Bush administration expanded surveillance and detention powers after 9/11.

In each case, constitutional norms ultimately reasserted themselves. Lincolns emergency measures ended with the war. FDR retreated from court-packing when public opinion turned against him. Nixon resigned rather than face impeachment. Iran-Contra led to prosecutions and congressional reforms. Post-9/11 overreach faced judicial pushback and legislative constraints. Even when presidents pushed boundaries, violations carried political costs and triggered corrective responses that reinforced the systems limits.

In the Trump administration, we are seeing an inverting of this incentive structure. Rather than facing political costs for norm-breaking, the president has discovered that defiance energizes his base. Rather than an unfortunate necessity, dismissing constitutional expectations seems almost to have become a deliberate tactic. This transforms violations from exceptions that prove and further reinforce the rule into a continued erosion of the rules themselves.

The consequences extend far beyond Washington power games. Presidential appointments of prosecutors without Senate oversight undermine the independence that protects citizens from politically motivated investigations. Executive defiance of court orders signals that legal protections are negotiable, weakening remedies for everyone from immigrants facing deportation to citizens challenging government overreach. And punishing journalists for critical coverage chills press freedom and deprives voters of the independent information democracy requires.

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Not every constitutional norm deserves preservation. Some have protected injustice for example, Senate courtesy rules that allowed Southern senators to block civil rights legislation for generations. The mere existence of a tradition doesnt make it sacred. But theres a crucial difference between reforming norms to promote equality and discarding them for partisan advantage. Thoughtful reform strengthens constitutional governance; systematic violation hollows it out.

Conservative Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson captured this distinction in his recent opinion critiquing the administrations defiance of a Supreme Court order. Judge Wilkinson contrasted this current resistance unfavorably with Eisenhowers decision to send federal troops to enforce desegregation  a case where a president accepted judicial authority despite enormous political risk. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has similarly warned that defiance of court rulings erodes public trust in the judiciary itself.

The framers left constitutional gaps because they assumed leaders would respect limits even when inconvenient. That assumption, once a strength of American democracy, now looks like a vulnerability. If bypassing confirmation processes, defying court orders, and punishing critical coverage become routine political moves, then the Constitutions unwritten rules become no rules at all.

George Washington is depicted in the 1856 painting "George Washington Addressing the Constitutional Convention" by Junius Brutus Stearns, depicting a climactic moment at the end of the convention. | Associated Press

Whats at stake isnt just institutional dignity or democratic norms in the abstract. Its whether Americans can count on legal protections when they need them most. Will courts have authority to stop government overreach? Will prosecutors be independent enough to follow evidence wherever it leads? Will journalists be free to report uncomfortable truths?

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Constitutional norms exist to ensure these questions have reliable answers. Their erosion leaves citizens more vulnerable to the very government abuses the Constitution was designed to prevent. In a system where compliance with legal limits becomes optional, law becomes politics by another name  and the presidency escapes its constitutional constraints entirely.

The choice isnt between rigid adherence to outdated traditions and necessary democratic reform. Its between a constitutional system where informal rules reinforce legal protections and one where those protections depend entirely on the goodwill of whoever holds power.

Americans have confronted presidential overreach before, but never in a context where norm-breaking itself becomes politically rewarding rather than costly. The systematic nature of current violations  and the incentives that drive them  represents uncharted territory for American democracy.
A Canadian-born Peterborough man was allowed to cross the border and return home to his family this week after being stranded for nearly a month due to decades-old marijuana-related misdemeanor convictions, his attorney said.

Christopher Landry, 46, is a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) who has lived in the United States since he was 5 years old and was allowed to go back and forth to Canada many times before without incident. But border agents flagged him at a Houlton, Maine, crossing on July 6, when he was coming home after visiting family.

During the past month, I faced a lot of fear and anxiety, unsure if I would be able to return to my family. The thought of being separated from my children for any longer was heartbreaking, Landry said in a statement released by his immigration attorney, Ron Abramson of Shaheen & Gordon in Manchester.

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Landry has five children.

On July 24, a Cheshire County Superior Court judge vacated Landrys convictions, Abramson said in a news release.

While many U.S. citizens might pursue an annulment of criminal charges to negate the impact of a poor decision they made years ago, immigration law does not recognize such annulments, Abramson said. The age of the convictions and subsequent years of law-abiding behavior do not matter to immigration authorities. An individual must instead demonstrate that there was a defect in the original conviction  as we have shown in Mr. Landrys case.

Landrys argument to vacate his two previous convictions centered around him not being informed when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and paid fines in 2004 and 2007 that it could affect his immigration status. And until this year, the convictions hadnt prevented his travel.

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The United States Supreme Court has held that defense counsel has a Sixth Amendment obligation to advise a non-citizen criminal defendant client as to the specific immigration consequences of a conviction, especially in the context of entering a plea, the news release said. New Hampshire law requires that a person facing potential incarceration knowingly waive their right to counsel.

Landry intends to pursue U.S. citizenship, Abramson said.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who stood by me during this time, especially my family, who remained patient and supportive. This ordeal has been a stark reminder of how much I cherish the time I have with my loved ones. I look forward to embracing the next chapter of my life and focusing on being the best parent I can be. I ask for privacy as my family and I move forward, Landry said in his statement.

dpierce@unionleader.com
LONDON (Reuters) -Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Friday lost their bid to overturn a ruling that their COVID-19 vaccine infringed one of Moderna's patents at London's Court of Appeal.

Last year, the High Court ruled that one of Moderna's patents relating to the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology which underpinned its COVID-19 vaccine was valid and that Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine had infringed it, meaning Moderna is entitled to damages in relation to sales after March 2022.

The High Court also ruled that the other Moderna patent under challenge in the case was invalid. Moderna was refused permission to appeal against that decision.

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But Pfizer and BioNTech were granted permission to appeal in an attempt to try and invalidate Moderna's second patent and appealed earlier this month, arguing Moderna's developments of mRNA technology were obvious developments of previous work, rendering the patent invalid.

Judge Richard Arnold, however, rejected Pfizer and BioNTech's appeal.

Pfizer and BioNTech said in a joint statement that the decision "does not change our unwavering stance that this patent is invalid" and the companies will seek to appeal.

"This decision has no immediate impact on Pfizer and BioNTech or Comirnaty," the companies added.

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Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Friday's decision in the latest ruling in the legal dispute between the two sides over their competing vaccines, which helped save millions of lives during the pandemic.

The companies have also been involved in proceedings in Germany  where a court ruled in Moderna's favour in March  the United States Patent Office, which held that two Moderna COVID-19 vaccine patents were invalid, and elsewhere.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Catarina Demony)
HOPKINS, Mich.  Citizens of various Potawatomi (Bodewadmi) nations participated with tribal pride in the Parade of Nations on Thursday evening, the fourth day of the 2025 Pottawatomi Gathering currently underway in West Michigan. The gathering is being hosted by the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, commonly known as the Gun Lake Tribe.

Approximately 5,000 Potawatomi from across the United States and Canada are expected to attend the week-long annual event.

Earlier on Thursday, Potawatomi leaders from nine Potawatomi tribes signed Articles of Confederation that established the Bodewadmi Confederation of Tribal Nations.

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Thursday's Parade of Nations served as a prelude to the powwow, which will be held Friday evening and Saturday at the tribes scenic powwow grounds at Jijak Camp in Hopkins, Michigan.{gallery}Pottawatomi Gathering Gun Lake Thursday

{/gallery}

Editor's Note: All photos by Levi Rickert.

About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
(KRON)  A newborn squirrel is recovering after it fell from its nest and was quickly rescued by an animal control officer, said the Alameda Police Department.

Photos: Cat rescued from storm drain in Antioch

APD said Animal Control Officer Onesko responded to the area on Wednesday for the report of an abandoned neonate squirrel.

Photo courtesy of Alameda Police Department. Photo courtesy of Alameda Police Department.

Alameda PD believe it fell from its nest that was perched high above in a nearby tree.

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The young squirrel is now in the safe hands of the Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue (YUWR) and Education Center.

YUWR will nurse and care for the squirrel until its ready to be released back into Alameda, said Alameda police in a social media 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 KRON4.
Pictures have been released of the woman beaten unconscious during a public brawl in Cincinnati in a possibly racially motivated assault.

The victim, a white woman from Russia known as Holly, was punched in the face after intervening in the melee to come to the aid of a man being attacked by a group.

Photographs of the aftermath show Holly, a single mother, according to reports, with deep purple bruising around her swollen right eye and a split lip.

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She is said to have spent several days in hospital being treated for severe concussion and other injuries before returning home to Russia.

Footage from the attack on Saturday has attracted the attention of leading figures including JD Vance, the vice president, and Elon Musk, the tech billionaire and former senior advisor to President Donald Trump.

Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general in the US Justice Department, suggested the attack may have been motivated by race and that federal hate crime charges could be brought.

Montianez Merriweather, left, Dekyra Vernon, centre, and Jermaine Matthews - Hamilton County Sheriff's Office

Nobody in our great nation should be the victim of such a crime, and where race is a motivation, federal law may apply, she said.

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Sharing the pictures online, Republican state Senator Bernie Moreno said: This is Holly. She wanted to have a nice evening out with friends. Instead, she got this.

Holly gave me permission to release the photos so that others will never suffer what she did. We need and deserve change.

Videos of the attack have circulated widely, leading to speculation it was racially motivated, although there is no evidence at this stage.

Two black men, Montianez Merriweather, 34, Jermaine Matthews, 39, and one woman, Dekyra Vernon, 24, have been charged with felonious assault, assault and aggravated riot.

Cincinnati councilwoman Victoria Parks, in an online post that has been condemned by conservative politicians and public figures, said the pair begged for that beat down. I am grateful for the whole story.

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Ms Parks made the comment on a video showing an excerpt of the brawl in which a white man slaps the cheek of a black mans face before being set upon and beaten to the ground by the mob.

Ms Parks has defended her comments, saying that when a black person is hit by a white person, generations of frustration, pain and terror is released.

In an interview with Local 12, a Cincinnati news channel, she said: When I first saw the brawl, I was devastated. But then I realized that there was more to the story.

A woman was punched in the face and knocked to the ground during the incident. She was later helped up by bystanders

Asked if they deserved being beaten, she replied: Nobody deserves a beating.There is such [sic] thing as inappropriate actions, and there are consequences to actions.

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Cincinnati police have said there is video evidence of the Caucasian victim being hit by the suspects before the slap.

The melee broke out just after 03:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Saturday, according to Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge.

Footage of the incident went viral after being posted online, including to a local crime-focused Facebook page.

A white man is seen reaching out to slap a black man dressed in a red T-shirt while the pair argue surrounded by a group.

Several people are then seen kicking, punching and throwing themselves at the man while he attempts to protect himself.

He falls to the floor and multiple people stamp on the mans head.

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Another clip, apparently later in the altercation, shows Holly being punched in the face by a man and collapsing on the street.

The FBI and the Department of Justice have confirmed a federal investigation into the assaults is ongoing.

Mr Merriweather appeared in court Thursday, where his family claimed afterwards the fight has only drawn so much attention and outrage because of race.

If it was an African American woman who got knocked out We wouldnt have been going through all this, one of his unidentified loved ones told WLWT news outside the courthouse.

Desire Merriweather, Mr Merriweathers cousin, expressed sympathy for the victims but insisted her relative is not a racist, pointing to his biracial son as evidence.

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Mr Merriweather was indicted earlier in July on weapons charges and a count of receiving stolen property, but was released on bail after paying 10 per cent of a $4,000 (3,000) bond.

Records indicate Mr Merriweather is now being held on $500,000 bond and that Bond has been set at $200,000 for Ms Vernon and $100,000 for Mr Matthews.

The FBI and the Department of Justice have confirmed a federal investigation into the assaults is ongoing.

Vivek Ramaswamy, an Ohio gubernatorial candidate who has claimed to have spoken with Holly, said in a post on X Shes a single working mom who went to a friends birthday party.

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Its unconscionable that there were no police present in that area of Cincinnati on a Friday night, or even an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

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Jul. 31PICURIS  Craig Quanchello, Picuris Pueblo's lieutenant governor, has been dreaming of big air since he was a kid.

In the '70s, tribal elders would shake their heads as he and his friends rattled along the arroyo on their White's Auto banana-seat bikes, past the tribal offices and over a jump they'd scooped out by hand. To them, every inch off the ground felt like freedom  a way forward, if not a way out.

Last month, Quanchello's dream of helping future generations fly even higher became a reality.

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Picuris officials and their partners unveiled a new progressive All-Wheel Park on July 19 with a series of competitions open to the public, awarding a total of $8,000 in prizes to riders from all over the region.

Bikers vied for best tricks in the new jump park and fastest times in a pump track, a loop of rollers completed in 2023 not unlike the jumps that helped Quanchello and his friends get airborne all those years ago.

"It needed to be on the edge, right?" Quanchello told the Journal this month as he described Picuris Bike Park and the towering jumps recently installed there. "It needed to be something that they work up to and something worthy of competition. Being a kid, we always wanted the biggest jumps, and when freestyling came in, we wanted to be able to do what we saw or heard about in the magazines. Now it's come full circle."

The idea to develop the park was born out of the doldrums of the pandemic, during which tribal youth and elders were under strict orders to stay on Native land. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, which in 2022 scorched the southeastern corner of Taos County where Picuris Pueblo and nearby Penasco sit, also underscored the need for more activities for tribal members.

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"We had a swing set, but, you know, that's for the younger kids, so we never had anything for our older kids," Quanchello said. "That became the mindset from there on, and we were very lucky to get some funding from the state."

The tribe started with building a skate park in 2022 with the Missouri-based American Ramp Co. before building the pump track a year later. Last year, as plans coalesced to construct a more expansive bike park, the tribe added a bowl to the skate park.

To fund the All-Wheel Park, Picuris consulted with the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division about six months prior to applying for a $500,000 Trails+ Grant, which has awarded $30.6 million toward local economies and industries aimed at "enhancing community well-being," according to the division's website.

Picuris won the $500,000 grant and matched it with $200,000 of tribal funds.

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"Our mission is to really increase outdoor access for New Mexicans," said Karina Armijo, Outdoor Recreation Division director. "When somebody's interested in not only doing something like this for their community, but also to benefit the whole region, that's something we get really excited about. This fit really nicely into our mission, and we were happy to do it."

To build the park, Quanchello hired Santa Fe- and Chimayo-based builders Rocket Ramps to create a cutting-edge course. Teddy Jaramillo, co-owner of Rocket Ramps, said he and his partner, Henry Lanman, saw an ad Picuris had placed in a local newspaper and picked up the phone, assuming it was a long shot.

"We just kind of cold-called them," Jaramillo said. "We just said, 'Hey, we're based out of Chimayo and Santa Fe, and we design and fabricate ramps.' We clicked when we first met (Quanchello), and we came back a second time to do a PowerPoint presentation. They gave us the contract, which was amazing since we're a really small company. It was cool that they gave the little guys a shot."

It was a tall order, literally, as Quanchello and other tribal officials envisioned a park to encourage kids to advance and bikers from around the country to see Picuris as a destination for mountain biking in the Southwest.

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"They didn't want any extra small or small lines," Jaramillo said. "They just wanted medium through extra-large so that kids wouldn't get bored of it. And so it's a little more exciting and advanced, which I think is really cool, and there was only so much space to utilize, so it worked out super well."

Quanchello still remembers skimming through pamphlets his dad brought him as a kid. They showed BMX riders flipping and tail-whipping off jumps similar to the ones that now sit not far from his home at Picuris.

He said he at one point aspired to gain entry to the X Games. He hopes that tribal youth today will, too, find the inspiration to aim high.

"I still ride my bike," Quanchello said, "but I might have to upgrade it now."
An ancient British pilgrimage route is at risk of being blighted by a solar farm that residents have compared to a prisoner of war camp.

The green energy site is proposed on St Jamess Way  the English segment of the Camino Way, which leads to Santiago de Compostela in Spain and has been used for 1,000 years.

Residents in the rural village of Monk Sherborne, in Hampshire, said the 216-acre solar farm and its 9ft-high security wall would make it look like Stalag Luft III.

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There have already been over 50 objections to the proposal  due to be built on land owned by Queens College, Oxford  with several citing the harm it may cause to St Jamess Way.

The 68-mile route from Reading to Southampton forms an important part of the Camino Way, which became the first road on the Unesco World Heritage Site list in 1993.

Paul Cave, 72, a retired consultant and local councillor said: With the over two metre-high wall around the outside, it will look like Stalag Luft III. It will be like a scene from The Great Escape.

I think the people that made the decisions did so on Google Maps from their desks. We havent seen them out there at the right times looking at the effects it will have on people.

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If built, the solar farm would also surround numerous Roman sites, including a recently uncovered villa, a Grade I-listed church and the grave of George Austen, the brother of the author Jane, which is in the churchyard.

The site, known as the Stokes Lane Solar Farm, will provide energy to power 9,390 homes annually and will operate for 40 years.

Concerns have also been raised about the environmental impact of the development on local wildlife, including skylarks, hares, owls and badgers.

Simon Minas-Bound, who sits on Basingstoke and Deane borough council, said: I just cant believe that, out of all the places in the area, this is the one that they chose.

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He said he feared it would cause permanent damage to the landscape and was setting a dangerous precedent for future developments.

Kim Fleming, 60, who has been a resident of the village for 18 years, said the solar farm will directly impact on the extremely small yet historically significant village.

She added: We just feel totally betrayed by Queens College Oxford. We feel this massive solar farm will engulf this village, swallow it up and it will not have any benefit for the village.

Local councillors Simon Minas-Bound (l) and Paul Cave are campaigning against the proposal - Solent News & Photo Agency

Company director Bryony Crowther, 51, said she has nothing against solar per se, but was critical of the carbon footprint associated with a foreign company using panels imported from China.

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She added that the solar farm would be almost bigger than the entire village, and said: Please, please see sense and help protect our English villages and communities.

Monk Sherborne parish councils letter of objection said: While we acknowledge the role of renewable energy in meeting national sustainability targets, this proposal is unsuitable for its intended location due to the significant and lasting harm it would cause to the local landscape, ecology, and heritage assets.

The solar farm site is close to All Saints Church, in Monk Sherborne - Solent News & Photo Agency

A spokesperson for Solar2, the renewable energy developer behind the proposal, said: Viewed within the context of the climate emergency, energy security, environmental degradation, and growing risks to UK food production, this proposal is a necessary and urgent response.

We believe the need for projects such as Stokes Lane Solar Farm outweigh their minimal and localised impacts  a view that we explain consistently through our engagement strategy.

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The Telegraph has contacted Queens College Oxford for comment.

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(WJW)  Thousands of childrens play kitchens are being recalled after a toddler died of asphyxiation, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

According to the recall alert, the KidKraft play kitchen, sold through popular retailers like Amazon and Walmart.com, poses a risk of serious injury or death to young children who are climbing on the counter or crawling through the opening at the back of the play kitchens.

High Noon issues recall over vodka seltzers mislabeled as Celsius energy drinks

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The public announcement states that in February 2023, an almost 2-year-old child was asphyxiated after his shirt got caught on one of the hooks used to hold toy kitchen accessories, such as play pots and pans. The child was unable to free himself and died.

KidKraft, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in May 2024. The recall announcement states that Backyard Kids has agreed to provide free replacement hooks to all consumers with affected units as a part of the recall.

Backyard Kids has voluntarily agreed to recall and provide free replacement hooks for all units, even though only about 400 of the 192,000 recalled units were sold to consumers by Backyard Kids. In addition, 12 were sold in Canada, states the recall.

Why Taron Egerton says he wont be next James Bond

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The play kitchens were sold online at KidKraft.com, Amazon.com and Walmart.com from 2018 through July 2025 for between $120 and $270.

Consumers are advised to stop using the play kitchens immediately, remove the original hooks, and contact Backyard Kids for free replacement hooks.

Visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for details on how to contact the company and to learn more.

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Is there anything more quintessentially American than blue jeans? Denim is so entrenched in the American psyche that it can be easy to forget that most jeans have been manufactured overseas for decades.

[To listen to the podcast, CLICK HERE.]

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To explore this disconnectand to dive into the trials and tribulations of bringing domestic denim manufacturing backSourcing Journal themed its Summer SJ Denim edition the Made in America Issue.

In this podcast episode, Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journals executive editor and denim editor, chats with Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio, about what Made in America denim really means and why it is so hard to fully achieve.

More factories would help, but whos going to invest in building those? said Velasquez. The closure and upcoming auction of a Vidalia Mills in Louisiana is a prime example of how much is required to get an operation up and running. Then there are other factors, like a skilled workforce. A couple of the companies I spoke with said they relied on former employees from Kontoor or White Oak to help perfect their fits and fabrics, but that knowledge will eventually die off.

To read SJ Denims Made in America Report, click HERE.
WARSAW, Poland  In a bid to expand the tracked vehicle fleet of the countrys land forces, the Polish Ministry of National Defence has ordered 180 K2 Black Panther tanks with 81 accompanying vehicles from South Koreas Hyundai Rotem. The deal is worth around $6.5 billion.

The contract was signed today in Gliwice, Poland, in the presence of Wadysaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, the nations Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister, and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back who is on an official visit to Poland.

Under the plan, the tanks are to be supplied to the Polish Armed Forces between 2026 and 2030. Of these, 116 tanks will be produced in the K2GF variant which is manufactured in South Korea, and 64 vehicles will be procured in the K2PL variant, the Polish ministry said in a statement.

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After the first three K2PL units are made at a South Korean plant, Polands defense industry will take over manufacturing activities for the remaining 61 tanks of this version. Bumar-abedy, a subsidiary of the state-owned PGZ group, will handle their production.

The new units will be better equipped than the existing ones, and production will be launched next year. In the years 2028 to 2030, we plan to have full-scale domestic production, Kosiniak-Kamysz said during the signing ceremony.

The latest development marks Polands second executive deal for the purchase of K2 tanks. In 2022, the country ordered the first batch of 180 tracked vehicles. Under the framework contract, Warsaw can acquire up to 1,000 K2s which could make it the main tank used by the nations land forces.

The tank deal comes following heated negotiations between Warsaw and Seoul on the financial terms of the contracted South Korean weapon deliveries secured by the previous Polish government.

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In addition to the K2 framework agreement, the centrist cabinet of Prime Minister Donald Tusk inherited numerous major contracts for the purchase of FA-50 light attack aircraft, K9 howitzers , and Chunmoo launchers.

Poland has accelerated efforts to expand its tank fleet in the aftermath of Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Looking to benefit from South Koreas mass production capacities and lenient policy toward technology transfers, Warsaw has moved to acquire South Korean defense equipment at a scale that makes it Seouls key client in Europe.
Two people were shot in Hartford on Thursday night, leaving one of them, a 19-year-old, in critical condition.

Police responded to Hartford Hospital shortly after 9:30 p.m. when they learned that two gunshot victims arrived and were seeking treatment, according to Lt. Aaron Boisvert of the Hartford Police Department.

One of the victims, a 19-year-old male, was treated for a life-threatening gunshot wound and was listed in critical condition, Boisvert said. The second victim, a man in his 30s, received treatment for a gunshot wound not believed to be life-threatening.

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According to Boisvert, investigators believe both men were shot in the area of 1630 Main St. The Hartford Police Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

Police are still investigating and are asking anyone with any information to call the Hartford Police Department Tip Line at 860-722-TIPS (8477).
An Albuquerque man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting five children, bribing or threatening them to keep silent and, in one instance, strangling two of them, faces nearly 60 rape charges in the 2nd Judicial District Court.

Francisco Agosto, 40, was ordered by a state district judge on Wednesday to be held until his trial. The order comes more than two weeks after a criminal complaint was originally filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court and two days after he was indicted by a grand jury in District Court. He is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center, where he was admitted July 14.

In all, Agosto faces 59 rape charges for conduct some of the children, who are relatives of Agosto, allege happened as frequently as three times per week. The charges range from forced or coerced second-degree criminal sexual penetration to first-degree criminal sexual penetration of someone under 13.

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Agosto also faces nearly a dozen charges of criminal sexual contact of a minor, four counts of child abuse, three charges of manufacturing child sexual abuse material, four charges of bribing a witness and three charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

This repulsive pattern of conduct involving sexual violence against children illustrates how the defendant is a serious danger to the victims and to any child unfortunate enough to be in his vicinity, prosecutors wrote in a motion seeking to have Agosto detained until his trial. ... He is a continuing danger to the victims and to any children in the community.

An attorney for Agosto did not return a call requesting comment Wednesday.

The children, who were fostered and then adopted by a family that had moved frequently throughout their lives  settling in cities in Texas and New Mexico, with Albuquerque being their most recent stop  were not on the radar of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, spokesperson Jessica Preston wrote in a statement.

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Preston said she could not disclose the current location of the children, most of whom are now teens.

In a case where a legal adoption has occurred outside of New Mexico, there is no interstate agreement necessary, she wrote, adding, "some states require documentation if the family receives an adoption subsidy" to notify agencies of their change in address.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokesperson Marissa Gonzales declined to answer multiple questions from The New Mexican about the family.

"Adoption records are sealed and investigations are confidential according to Texas statute, so we cant provide details about this specific case," Gonzales wrote in an email.

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For many of the children, police allege in the criminal complaint, the rapes began when they were between 9 and 11. Agosto sometimes filmed the acts, the children told police.

One of the accusers told a detective she was the first adult the girl had informed of the abuse because of Agostos alleged threats.

Francisco would often threaten to kill her and her siblings if she ever told anyone, so she didnt, police wrote in the complaint.

The children told police their mental health suffered from Agostos alleged abuse, saying they feared to go to places they associated with their rape and experienced suicidal thoughts.

The children also described to police being physically hurt during the abuse, including two who allege they were strangled.
ST. LOUIS  The St. Louis Police Departments Force Investigative Unit is investigating an officer-involved shooting that left one suspect dead.

Officials released the suspects identity Friday morning, being 18-year-old Carlos Jackson.

Police did release images of the firearm and an extended magazine they say were recovered from the suspect.

That is why we engage these individuals in pursuits because they are likely to commit other violent crimes in our community, especially when theyre targeting innocent people, said Mitch McCoy, director of Public Affairs and Information for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

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Police allege the suspect was involved in a violent, early-morning carjacking, forcing the victim out of their car. Hours later, police said they spotted the suspect.

Two officers pursued the suspect on foot while repeatedly telling the suspect to drop his weapon, according to Maj. Janice Bockstruck, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

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One officer discharged his firearm, she said. Both officers in the foot pursuit were wearing body cameras.

The scene of the officer-involved shooting was in an alley near Salisbury and N. 20th Streets. The carjacking was several blocks away, near Palm Street and Blair Avenue.

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Dee Jefferson lives nearby and said the carjacking did not surprise him.

Its a violent neighborhood, he said.

According to the most recent available crime statistics, there have been 36 carjackings in the City of St. Louis in 2025.

Three of those carjackings have been reported in the Hyde Park Neighborhood.

When you pull an innocent person out of their car, and you rip them out, and you put a gun in their face, you dont care about that human being, said McCoy.

He said investigators are searching for additional suspects related to carjacking and encouraged anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers.

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Bockstruck said the carjacking victim was from out of state and was pulled from his vehicle.

He was thrown to the ground, she said. He sustained minor 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 FOX 2.
A man has been detained after Seattle Police say he fired a gun multiple times inside his West Seattle apartment late Thursday night.

Police were called to a building on California Ave SW, just southwest of West Seattle High School, around 11:50 p.m.

Police told KIRO 7 the man may have been having a mental health crisis.

No one was injured when the man fired shots.

He came out of his apartment when police commanded and was detained without incident.

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Police are still investigating to see if there is property damage from the shooting.

Its unclear if charges will be filed against the man.

This is a developing story.

KIRO 7 will have updates as they become available.
Knife crime has fallen by more than 25% in the West Midlands after work to arrest offenders and educate young people, police have said.

West Midlands Police (WMP) said crime involving under-25s where a knife has been used to threaten or hurt someone had fallen by 15% since 1 April.

From April 2025 to date, the force has recorded 102 offences compared to 120 in the same period last year, it said. This followed an 18% reduction in 2024-5.

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The government set up a dedicated taskforce across seven police forces last October. A WMP spokesman said efforts in the West Midlands also focused on carrying out repeated patrols in hotspot areas.

The West Midlands said it saw 380 serious youth violence knife offences between April 23 to end March 24, which fell to 309 in the period from April 2024 to the end of March 2025, a drop of 18%.

'Huge amount of work' needed

Separate figures released by the Home Office after the targeted police action in seven high-risk areas showed the West Midlands saw a fall in knife-enabled robbery of 25% in the nine months from October 2024.

The overall reduction across all seven areas was 6%.

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WMP Chief Constable Craig Guildford said the force had seen "impressive reductions in knife crime", adding: "While it's certainly pleasing, there's still a huge amount of work for policing and wider society to do to tackle this problem.

"It's part of our ongoing commitment to make the West Midlands a safer place for everyone."

The force released the figures as a ban on ninja swords came into force under Ronan's Law - named after Ronan Kanda who was killed in Wolverhampton on 29 June 2022, in a case of mistaken identity.

In July 2024, the West Midlands police area recorded the highest rate of knife crime offences in England and Wales, but the force said a new policy had seen increased arrests.

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By May this year, reported knife crime had fallen by 6% with the region second highest after London.

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The police department in Amherst, New York, has identified the murder victim in the case involving a man who attempted suicide in Saint Peter Cathedral.

The victim is 27-year-old Emmaya Sims of Amherst. She was found by the police in a motel where she lived.

Man in custody in City of Erie allegedly involved in New York murder

The suspect in the case is 37-year-old Daniel Negron of Buffalo, New York.

Negron was arrested in Erie on July 29 after threatening suicide in the cathedral.

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Buffalo man in police custody after allegedly killing girlfriend in NY, fleeing to Erie church

Amherst police said they and the Erie County, New York, DAs Office are working with authorities here in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Anyone with any information in the case is being asked to call Amherst police at 716-689-1311.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Police say they are investigating a shooting in Northwest Oklahoma City Friday morning.

According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers responded to the area of Hefner Rd. and Western Ave. at around 1:30 a.m. regarding a shooting.

Upon arrival, they found one victim who was taken to a nearby hospital. Officials say they are expected to be okay.

No arrests have been made as the investigation continues. No more information is available at this time.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Police say a teenager responsible for a shooting is on the run after he cut off his ankle monitor.

Its not as difficult as you may think. They do it all the time, Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh told Channel 11.

It was no surprise to Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh  to hear police say 16-year-old shooting suspect, Tristan Lassic, cut off his ankle monitor and shot a man multiple times.

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Mr. Lassic has a lengthy history, he added.

Earlier this year, prosecutors with the DAs office argued to keep the teenager behind bars after a firearms charge, but a judge released him on bond.

We objected to him being released. We had a hearing in front of a judge, and a judge allowed him to post bond, then sent him home on an ankle braceletwhich he cut off, Walsh said.

Now, months later, police are searching for Lassic after they say he shot a man several times in the back early Tuesday morning .

Channel 11 was there as detectives gathered evidence. According to investigators, they found Lassics ankle monitor on his bed, next to a long knife.

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Im not happy that anybody attempts to kill anybody. And Im also not happy that its someone we objected to being released [and] was able to cut off his bracelet, and not be detected, and commit another crime, Walsh added

Its a crime that could have been prevented had Lassic stayed behind bars instead of being released and made to wear an ankle monitor.

We dont get our way all the time. Thats why we have judges, and they make those final decisions, not us. It is what it is, Walsh added.

The victim in this latest case is recovering at Presby. Police ask if you know where Lassic is to call 911 .

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Police raided a suspected illicit massage business in Concord Wednesday in an ongoing statewide push against human trafficking and prostitution.

A Concord Police Department release describes the raid as the culmination of an 11-month investigation into Oriental Bodywork Spa at 288 N. State St., just across from the New Hampshire State Prison for Men in Concord.

The site is suspected to be involved with human trafficking and prostitution-related offenses, according to the release.

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The Concord Police Department executed a criminal search warrant at the business on July 30 with assistance from the state Attorney Generals Office, Department of Labor, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the IRS.

Concord Police arrested two people in the raid and charged them with Class A misdemeanors. Xueying Weng, 49, is charged with simple assault and sexual assault. Suhua Tang, 52, is charged with prostitution.

Tang is scheduled for arraignment at Concord District Court on Aug. 1. Weng has already been arraigned and has a pending court date of Aug. 27.

Police ask anyone with pertinent information related to this investigation to call the Concord Police Department at 603-226-3100.

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Anyone who has information and wishes to remain anonymous can call the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100, submit information online, or text TIP234 followed by their message to CRIMES (274637).

The Attorney Generals Office announced July 9 that 40% of known illicit massage businesses across the state have been shut down through a targeted enforcement campaign launched in November.

These are not real spas  they are hubs of organized trafficking hiding in plain sight, said Attorney General John Formella. They profit from the abuse of vulnerable women and have no place in our state.
DENVER (KDVR)  Aurora police responded to a report of a shooting in a parking garage at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus on Friday night.

The Aurora Police Department said on X that its patrol officers responded to the parking garage near Childrens Way and Colfax Avenue at around 10:15 p.m., to assist the University of Colorado Boulder Police Department, following reports of a shooting.

21-year-old arrested in connection to Saturday night LoDo shooting that injured 4

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Aurora police said a suspect was taken into custody following a brief pursuit that the APD said did not leave the medical campus.

No officers or community members were injured during the incident, according to APD, which said the CUPD will be leading an ongoing investigation.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.




NEED TO KNOW

Ruby Moir, 13, and her younger sister Lola Moir, 12, were last seen at the Wellgate Shopping Centre in Dundee, Scotland, on Tuesday, July 29

The siblings, who are known to regularly visit the mall, have not been seen since 5 p.m. local time on the day they went missing.

Police are growing increasingly concerned, Police Scotland said in a statement





Police in Scotland are continuing to search for two sisters after they were last seen visiting a local mall.

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13-year-old Ruby Moir and her younger sister Lola Moir, 12, were last seen at the Wellgate Shopping Centre in Dundee, Scotland, on Tuesday, July 29.

Police said the siblings, who are known to regularly visit the mall, have not been seen since 5 p.m. local time on the day they went missing.

While it's not thought that the sisters have access to a cellphone, authorities believe they could have a bus pass and a small amount of cash.

Police Scotland Ruby Moir Ruby Moir

Police Scotland are appealing for information regarding Ruby Moir, aged 13, who has been reported missing from the Dundee area, authorities wrote in a release on Wednesday.

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Ruby is described as white, slim build, 4 feet 10 inches with long black hair. The last time Ruby was seen, she was wearing a black jacket, orange shorts and white crocs.

Police are growing increasingly concerned for Rubys welfare, the statement added.

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.

Police Scotland Lola Moir Lola Moir

Authorities also shared a missing report for Lola, describing her as "white, slim build, 5 feet 2 inches with long black hair."

She was also wearing a blue Nike T-shirt and light blue jeans with tears on the knees when she went missing.

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"Lola regularly frequents the town centre in Dundee, the release continued, before stating that officials were concerned about her welfare.

Wellgate Shopping Centre for comment did not immediate reply to PEOPLE's request for comment.

Read the original article on People
A second suspected arson attack was carried out on a key railway line in Dusseldorf, German police said on Friday, a day after a fire in a cable duct caused widespread disruption on the same line.

The incendiary device used was of the same type as the one discovered following Thursday's blaze, police told dpa, adding that damage has once again been caused to the line.

Thursday's incident shut down a major railway line between the western cities of Dusseldorf and Duisburg. The blaze broke out in a cable duct that is part of the signalling system. According to investigators, the fire was started deliberately.

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Hours later, a letter claiming responsibility for the act was published on the left-wing platform Indymedia. In it, an "Angry Birds Commando" claimed responsibility for the offence.

"Many things would work infinitely better without the industrial system," the letter reads, adding that this is the reason why the group "caused a disturbance."

Dusseldorf police confirmed that the authorities had also received the letter, the authenticity of which was yet to be confirmed.

Repair work is expected to continue all day on Friday, a spokesman for the rail operator in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia told dpa. Originally, the rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, had indicated that the traffic disruptions could be cleared by 3 pm (1300 GMT).

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The Duisburg-Dusseldorf route, which is frequented by more than 620 trains daily - not counting freight trains - is one of the busiest rail connections in Germany.

Massive disruption to rail traffic

The first fire, which investigators believe was deliberately set, brought the route to a standstill on Thursday, causing significant disruption to long-distance traffic as well.

A dpa reporter learned at the scene on Thursday that unknown individuals had placed an ignition device in a cable tunnel. A train driver saw smoke billowing from the duct and raised the alarm.

The second fire damage was discovered during an inspection of the route on Friday, about 2 kilometres away.

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"We assume that both attacks were carried out simultaneously," said a police spokesman.

There is no information about further acts in recent weeks. The letter claiming responsibility states that several attacks have been carried out in the greater Dusseldorf area.

The state security force is investigating.

What alternative options are there?

Deutsche Bahn has set up a shuttle bus service and is diverting long-distance traffic via Dortmund and Wuppertal. Additionally, construction work on a parallel freight route in the Duisburg district of Wedau was temporarily halted to handle part of the traffic via this route.

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Nevertheless, many travellers were stranded at the main stations in Duisburg and Dusseldorf. There were numerous train cancellations and delays.

The cables belong to a railway control centre in Duisburg, but the fires broke out in the Dusseldorf city area, said a Deutsche Bahn spokesman.

Numerous lines affected

The damaged cables caused disruptions in local and long-distance traffic. The InterCity Express (ICE) lines to Berlin and Frankfurt, as well as connections to northern Germany, southern Germany and the Netherlands, are affected, Deutsche Bahn reported.

In local transport, the S1 commuter line and several regional lines are affected, the website zuginfo.nrw reported. The entire area around the Grossenbaum district in the south of Duisburg is impassable.

Several regional trains are being rerouted. Others start and end prematurely, with stops between Dusseldorf and Duisburg being omitted. This also affects travel to Dusseldorf Airport, which is located between the two main stations.
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Prince Georges County police are searching for a vehicle that was involved in a deadly hit-and-run in the Camp Springs area Friday morning.

According to the Prince Georges County Police Department (PGPD), the crash happened in the area of Branch Avenue and Auth Road around 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 1.

When officers arrived, they found an unresponsive man lying in the road. He died at the scene.

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Boy drowns after being swept away in flash floods in Carroll County

Police said the vehicle involved in the crash did not stay at the crash site, and investigators are working to learn what led up to the collision.

As of 4:10 a.m., all northbound lanes on Branch Avenue and Auth Road remained closed.

Drivers are encouraged to follow police directions in the area and find alternative routes.

Check DCNewsNow.com for updates. To keep up with the latest news and weather updates, download our Mobile App on iPhone or Android.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
Police shoot, critically wound man accused of hijacking trash truck near Encore Casino, DA says

A man who hijacked a Republic Services trash truck and crashed on a bridge near the Encore Casino in Everett remains hospitalized in critical condition on Friday morning after being shot by police, authorities said.

Trash

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It all started around 12:45 p.m. when police in Medford received a call about a man acting erratically at a Sunoco gas station.

The man, later identified as 33-year-old Admilson Vizcaino, of Everett, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced during a Thursday night news conference. By the time police arrived on the scene, the suspect had left in a black Chevrolet SUV.

Medford police issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for the vehicle, and around 1 p.m., Stoneham police spotted the SUV and tried to pull over the driver, who didnt stop, according to Ryan.

About an hour later, around 2 p.m., the car was spotted at a 7-Eleven in Billerica, where reports of a shoplifting incident had taken place, Ryan said.

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Then, around 3:15 p.m., authorities received a phone call from one of Vizcainos family members alerting the police that he was in Malden, according to Ryan. By the time officers arrived, the suspect had left, and Malden officers began to give chase but lost sight of the car and notified Everett police.

Shortly after, Vizcaino crashed the SUV on Broadway in Everett near the Encore Casino and drove a short distance before it became completely disabled.

Vizcaino then ran off, allegedly attempting to enter several cars in traffic. Massachusetts State Police troopers swarmed the area, later finding a gas container inside the SUV that the suspect was seen carrying at the 7/11.

At that point, Vizcaino bolted out into the roadway and hijacked a Republic Services trash truck, according to Ryan.

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At least one police officer opened fire on Vizcaino as he forced the operator of the truck out of the drivers seat, according to Ryan. He then drove the truck for about a half mile, with police on hot pursuit, striking light poles, fire hydrants, and several other things before crashing on the sidewalk on the Alford Street Bridge.

Vizcaino was then taken into custody and rushed to a local hospital with critical injuries.

Vizcainos mother tells Boston 25 News she became worried with the way he was expressing himself and that some of the things he was communicating did not make sense. Thats when she says she called police for help.

Middlesex and Norfolk they oversee investigations into police shootings. Is the use of force by the officer justified based on the circumstances they had at the time? Is it lawful so thats a criminal investigation into the use of force, said Former Boston Police Chief Daniel Linskey.

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Everett Police Chief Paul Strong said that the officer who shot the suspect has been placed on administrative leave as per their policy.

A witness told Boston 25 News that they heard about 10, 11, 12 gunshots ring out.

Vizcaino is charged with four counts of attempted armed carjacking, two counts of armed carjacking, assault, armed assault with intent to rob, and various motor vehicle charges, including leaving the scene and property damage.

Ryan said that pending the suspects health, he will be arraigned at a later date.

Boston 25 News has reached out to Republic Services for comment. The trash services company and Teamsters Local 25 Union have been in a dispute over a new contract for the last several weeks.

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Mass State Police referred Boston 25 News to the Middlesex DA. They say they are looking into Everett PDs use of force at this time.

All of Thursdays incidents remain under investigation.

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A man charged with espionage against Warsaw and its allies was remanded in custody for three months by a Polish court on Friday 1 August.

Source: Tomasz Siemoniak, the coordinator of Polands special services, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Siemoniak said a "citizen of an Asian country that emerged after the collapse of the USSR" was detained by officers from Polands Internal Security Agency on Wednesday 30 July.

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"This is a career military intelligence officer who conducted intelligence activities against the security of Poland and allied military structures," the Polish official said.

The man was taken into custody for three months after being charged by the Polish prosecutors office.

Background:

Earlier this week, it was reported that Polish special services had detained a 27-year-old Colombian man who had been working for Russian intelligence and was behind two arson attacks on construction warehouses in Warsaw and Radom in 2024.

Earlier this year, Polish prosecutors charged two Ukrainian nationals suspected of involvement in a 12 May 2024 arson attack on a shopping centre in Warsaw.

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Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski has said that work is ongoing on the next two packages of military aid for Ukraine, which continues to defend itself against Russian aggression.

Sikorski said this following a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at his house in the Polish village of Chobielin on Friday 1 August.

Source: Sikorski, as cited by Polish news agency PAP and reported by European Pravda

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Details: Commenting first on the latest Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, Sikorski said he believes that "Poland will always support a free and independent Ukraine".

"We are doing this in the best interests of our neighbour, but above all in Polands own interests. A free Ukraine means a safe Poland," he stressed.

Sikorski also said he and Sybiha had discussed the implementation of the 47th military aid package, announced back in May, and the ongoing work on the 48th and 49th packages.

"Within these packages, it will be possible this year to provide substantial support for our neighbours defence capability," Sikorski underlined.

Background:

In May, Piotr ukasiewicz, Polands charge d'affaires to Ukraine, said that the transfer of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv was entirely possible and that the relevant negotiations were ongoing.

The Telegraph has reported on Sikorskis role in the resumption of US military aid supplies to Ukraine.

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A new poll from Emerson College shows that Vice President JD Vance currently has a small lead over three Democrats who may run for president in 2028.

While Vance is currently positioned as the Republican partys likely candidate for the next presidential election, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are all potential Democratic opposition.

According to Emerson Colleges poll, which surveyed 1,400 registered U.S. voters between July 21 and 22, Vance has a slight edge over all three politicians, although its the closest race between Vance and Buttigieg.

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In a hypothetical 2028 presidential election, 44% of voters would support Vance, while 43% would support Buttigieg. In a similar hypothetical, 41% of voters would support Ocasio-Cortez, in comparison to 44% for Vance; in a Newsom-Vance matchup, 42% would cast their ballot for Newsom, and 45% would opt for Vance.

In all three hypothetical elections, 13-15% of voters remained undecided.

A key takeaway from the ballot tests is that about 13% of the electorate remains persuadable, while the other 87% have already settled on a party preference, said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

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Read the original article on MassLive.




NEED TO KNOW

A group of young Catholic influencers teamed up to get Pope Leo XIV his favorite dish from his hometown

Earlier this year, the 69-year-old Chicago native made history as the first American pope

Seeing the logo made him light up, and his smile was from ear to ear, Madeline Daley, 22, said of the delivery





Pope Leo XIV has a devout following who always makes sure to deliver  even when its pizza!

The 69-year-old Chicago native, previously known as Cardinal Robert Prevost before he made history as the first American pope in April, received a special care package from back home that was gifted to him by fans as he rode through Saint Peter's Square in Rome on Wednesday, July 30.

Footage shared online showed the pope riding in a vehicle, making his way through a crowd. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted with a familiar sight: a sign donning the Aurelios Pizza logo.

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Madeline Daley, a 22-year-old Cincinnati resident who made the trek to deliver the treat, recounted the viral moment with NBC News.

When Pope Leo came around, he kept grabbing babies to bless them, but as soon as he saw the pizza, he had babies in his hand, but hes still saying, like, Get me that pizza, I want that pizza,  she told the outlet in a video interview.

Daley added, And seeing the logo made him light up, and his smile was from ear to ear and he was extremely excited about it.

TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost in The Vatican on May 8, 2025 Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost in The Vatican on May 8, 2025

The popes brother John Prevost confirmed that the pontiff ate his six-inch Aurelios pepperoni pizza, which was shipped using dry ice, the medical unit from Chicagos WGN-TV reported.

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Joe Aurelio, president and CEO of Aurelios Pizza, told NBC News he was surprised to see the amazing delivery.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Pope Leo has been a lifetime Aurelios fan and going to Aurelios Pizza in Homewood, Ill., since the 1960s, the CEO said. So its been part of his life and for him to recognize [the pizza] and actually stop there in the audience was amazing.

In May, the family-owned pizzeria closed its Chicago South Loop location in what Aurelio described as a decision to help the company focus on new territories and expand our franchise," per ABC 7.

ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Pope Leo XIV, St. Peter's square in the Vatican on July 30, 2025 Pope Leo XIV, St. Peter's square in the Vatican on July 30, 2025

The Illinois restaurant chain specializes in thin crust varieties of Chicago-style pizza. Aurelio's Pizza has three corporate owned stores and 37 franchised locations in six states.

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Daleys friends told WGN-TV they were part of a group of young Catholic influencers who made it their mission to get the pope the pizza.

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.

Jayden Remias of Ohio and Jake Ochave of Virginia traveled to Chicago for the pickup.

We went to Chicago. It was about a six-to-seven hour drive, Ochave told the local news station. Daley was then able to help with their group effort by getting the dish to Rome.



Read the original article on People
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  A Port Allen man faces multiple drug charges after an undercover investigation by West Baton Rouge deputies.

Sheriff Jeff Bergeron announced that Ira Jackson, 48, was taken into custody on July 16, after narcotics agents conducted a series of controlled drug purchases.

Ira Jackson (West Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office)

According to WBRSO, the investigation into Jacksons suspected methamphetamine distribution began in June. During the operation, agents made three controlled purchases of meth, all of which took place within the parish.

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Jackson was booked into the West Baton Rouge Parish Detention Center and charged with three counts of distribution of Schedule II narcotics (methamphetamine).

Denham Springs man arrested, linked to unlicensed massage parlors in Baton Rouge

He remains in custody on a $300,000 bond, WBRSO said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
Ready to fly to the frozen North? Toronto-based Porter Airlines is adding more nonstop flights between Canada and the Sunshine State.

The new routes connect Hamilton International Airport (YHM) in Ontario with Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), according to a release, with three-times-weekly roundtrips for each one starting in December.

We always enjoy seeing our airline partners grow at FLL," said Mark E. Gale, CEO and director of aviation, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. "With the addition of the Hamilton route, Porter Airlines now serves four destinations from FLL to Canada, which is our top international market. This expansion provides travellers with even more options for seamless connectivity.

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The flights will run until April, the company said. One-way fares start at $96 for Orlando and $101 at Fort Lauderdale, depending on dates and availability, according to the FlyPorter.com website.

Porter's new routes come as air traffic to the U.S. from our northern neighbors continues to decline. Canadian's return trips from the U.S. by air dropped more than 22% in June year over year, according to Business Travel News, and returns by car dropped 44%. Canadian residents have expressed anger at President Donald Trump's repeated suggestions to add Canada to the United States and his on-again,. off-again tariffs, as well as fears over a newly aggressive border patrol.

What are the new routes between Ontario, Canada, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando?

Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Hamilton International Airport (YHM) in Ontario: Nonstop, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, starting Dec. 12

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to Hamilton International Airport (YHM) in Ontario: Nonstop, Monday, Thursday and Saturday, starting Dec. 13

What do passengers get on Porter Airlines?

Porter boasts two seats per aisle every row (no middle seats!), complimentary beer and wine in glassware, free snacks, and free WiFi. More legroom, premium liquor and meals are available for a fee.

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Passengers who buy the cheapest fares are assigned seats don't get electronic boarding passes on their mobile phones (they must print out emails) and can't change their trip. Basic fares also include a small carryon, but overhead and checked bags will cost extra.

You can pay for any of those amenities individually, upgrade to Standard, Flexible or Freedom fares to get the ones you want, or buy PorterReserve to get all of them.

The flights are operated by Porters Embraer E195-E2 aircraft.

More airline deals, bag policies, Brightline and more

It's been a big year for airlines, good and bad, and many of them have been making changes to their services and fare lineups.

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Spirit Airlines reworked its ticket lineup to make the choices easier to understand and to emphasize that the budget airline offers high-value options as well. The company also updated its loyalty program and started offering extra legroom seating for "Premium Economy" ticketholders.

United Airlines started requiring all domestic passengers to be checked in for their flights 45 minutes before departure. Previously, check in for passengers without checked bags closed half an hour before departure.

JetBlue announced the airline was teaming with Florida's passenger rail service Brightline to offer "a seamless air-and-rail booking experience for travel across Central and South Florida" by allowing JetBlue passengers to book both a plane and train trip directly on jetblue.com as part of a combined itinerary.

Southwest announced that the airline's new assigned seating policy will begin Jan. 27, 2026. Earlier this year, Southwest ended its free baggage policy and added a new Basic fare.

What Florida airports does Porter Airlines fly to?

According to its destinations webpage, Porter currently flies to six Florida airports:

Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport (FLL)

Miami International Airport (MIA)

Orlando International Airport (MCO)

Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)

Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW)

Tampa International Airport (TPA)

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida flights from Porter Airlines added to Ontario
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  An LGBTQ+ Portland nightclub that was slated to shutter in just a few days is no longer closing.

In early June, CC Slaughters announced that it would permanently close on Sunday, Aug. 3. Management has since revealed that the closure plans were due to its owners upcoming retirement, but an unnamed bidder expressed interest in taking over on July 30.

Vanport Jazz Festival, Labubu Fest among Portland weekend events

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The business will now remain open during its regular hours in hopes that the sale is finalized soon, according to a social media post.

We appreciate all the support weve received over the past 2 months, since announcing the closure, and understand this has been an emotional time for our staff, friends, and the queer Portland community, CC Slaughters wrote. We look forward to continuing to serve the Portland community as we have now for over 44 years.

This wasnt the nightclubs first time announcing a closure. Back in October 2020, it shut down due to challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The space reopened to the public in April 2021, with new health restrictions from both management and the Oregon Health Authority.

News of the more recent closure rocked many Portlanders, as several LGBTQ-friendly businesses had also closed their doors in the past several months.

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Is Nordstrom leaving downtown Portland? CEO responds to rumors

Sissy Bar on Southeast Morrison Street permanently closed with its final Halloween party in October 2024, after three years of operations. Also in the Central Eastside District, Crush Bar shuttered following its final New Years Eve party. Northeast Portlands Misfits Bar + Lounge closed later in May, after failed fundraising attempts.

Darcelle XV Showplace, the long-running drag venue that neighbors CC Slaughters, was also at risk of closing roughly 16 months after Walter Cole  who performed as Darcelle  died. The venue named Coles longtime friend Jeremey Corvus-Peck as the new owner in February.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)  A pregnant teenager who was shot in the early morning hours on Sunday has died, according to authorities.

17-year-old Keianna McFadden was shot during a house party early Sunday in the 2600 block of Juniper Avenue around 1:15 a.m., according to Columbus police.

McFadden was taken to Piedmont Columbus Regionals Midtown campus and eventually airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was initially listed in critical condition. McFadden was pronounced dead on Friday at approximately 4:08 p.m. She reportedly also lost her unborn child following the shooting incident.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Pregnant teen shot near Juniper Avenue still in critical condition

Authorities say that in a connected incident several blocks away, an 18-year-old female also suffered multiple gunshot injuries in the shooting incident near Japonica Drive.

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WRBL News 3 spoke to Columbus PDs Assistant Chief Lance Deaton, who broke down what led up to the incident.

So this initially was a 21st birthday party being held at this residence. A car drives by multiple times, fires at the house, and into the crowd of people where the first victim got shot, Deaton recalled. Then, also, the people from inside that same vehicle fire into another vehicle just a short distance away.

The shooting remains under investigation by the Columbus Police Departments Violent Crimes Unit.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Neighbors near Interstate 70 and Noland Road are getting ready to welcome Wallys Travel Center to their neighborhood.

The company hosted a neighborhood meeting on Thursday night to meet their new neighbors as well as address some of the concerns surrounding the project.

Some residents brought up concerns about safety, homelessness, property values and the traffic on Noland Road. When the project is done, Wallys will have 84 gas nozzles and more than 53,000 square feet of space inside their store.

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KC City Council fails to pass ordinance for KCATA funding; bus service could shut down

The Missouri-based company says that its spent the majority of the past two years working to address traffic at the new store. They said theyre committing $5-$7 million to improve Interstate 70, Noland Road and some of the side streets surrounding the new store.

Co-Founder and CEO Michael Rubenstein says that its their way of investing in the city not only for our guests that are coming to stop at the store and to make sure that they have on and off access, but as well as the citizens and the people who live here and to be good corporate citizens and make sure where were part of the community and providing solutions and not problems.

Neighbors at the meeting said that they were impressed by the commitment.

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Its always going to be a busy road, said Independence resident Lucy Young.

And the amount of money that theyre willing to put into this out of their own pocket to try and rectify some of the existing problems is so unusual in the corporate world.

Rubenstein says he hopes the store serves as a meeting space for the community and invites more people into Independence.

We think its just a its a great place for people to be and to see your neighbors and to see people coming in and really drive people to come off the road and spend time in Independence.

Kansas City woman working to rebuild salon after car crashes into building

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Young says that she hopes the investment will spur others to invest along Noland Rd. as well.

Where a lot of businesses existed, now its nothing but empty asphalt, and hopefully, this business will drive businesses to move further north and really make improvements where its literally sat there for 20 years vacant.

Wallys hopes to break ground on the site in the fall and estimates that it will take 14 months to complete construction.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
President Dina Boluarte has blasted the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for its opposition to a recently passed bill that would grant amnesty to soldiers, police officers and other security personnel involved in Perus internal conflict from 1985 to 2000.

On Thursday, Boluarte asserted that the international court had overstepped its authority by seeking the laws suspension.

We are not anyones colony, she said, posting a snippet of her speech to social media.

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And we will not allow the intervention of the Inter-American Court that intends to suspend a bill that seeks justice for members of our armed forces, our National Police and the self-defence committees that fought, risking their lives, against the insanity of terrorism.

Since passing Perus Congress in July, the amnesty law has been awaiting Boluartes approval. She can either sign it into law, allow it to take effect automatically or send it back to Congress for revisions.

But the bill has prompted international outcry, not least because it is seen to shield security forces from accountability for the atrocities that unfolded during Perus war.

The legislation would also offer humanitarian amnesty to perpetrators over age 70 who have been convicted of wartime crimes.

People carry fake coffins representing their relatives who died amid political violence, on July 28, 2025 [Martin Mejia/AP Photo]

Some 70,000 people were killed in the internal conflict, the majority of them from rural and Indigenous communities.

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Soldiers and police officers were ostensibly tasked with combatting armed uprisings from rebel groups like the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. But the conflict became infamous for its human rights abuses and massacres of civilians with no ties to any rebel group.

Francisco Ochoa was 14 years old when residents in his Andean village, Accomarca, were slaughtered by soldiers. He told Al Jazeera earlier this week that he and other survivors felt outraged and betrayed by the new amnesty law.

International organisations have likewise denounced the law as a step backwards for Peruvian society.

Nine human rights experts with the United Nations signed a statement on July 17 expressing alarm at the bills passage through Congress. They called on the government of Peru to veto the bill.

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The proposed legislation would prevent the criminal prosecution and condemnation of individuals who committed gross human rights violations during Perus internal armed conflict, they said.

It would put the State in clear breach of its obligations under international law.

A week later, on July 24, the president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Nancy Hernandez Lopez, ordered Peru to immediately suspend the processing of the bill. She ruled that the legislation violated previous rulings against such amnesty laws in the country.

If it is not suspended, the competent authorities refrain from enforcing this law, she said.

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She noted that a session would be convened with survivors, Peruvian officials and members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

In previous rulings, the Inter-American Court has found that amnesty laws and statutes of limitations are unlawful in the case of serious human rights violations like forced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.

It also declared that age is not a disqualifying factor for suspects accused of grave human rights abuses. Such exemptions, the court said, are only acceptable under international law for lesser or nonviolent offences.

The National Human Rights Coordinator, a coalition of humanitarian groups in Peru, estimates that the countrys latest amnesty law could overturn 156 convictions and disrupt more than 600 ongoing investigations.

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A previous amnesty law implemented in 1995, under then-President Alberto Fujimori, was later repealed.

Still, President Boluarte on Thursday sought to frame her governments actions as in line with international human rights standards.

We are defenders of human rights, of citizens, she wrote on social media, while emphasising that her government was free, sovereign and autonomous, apparent jabs at the Inter-American Courts decision.
Despite his fiery rhetoric this week that slammed removal threats from the mean-spirited Florida attorney general, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings on Friday signed a new agreement with immigration authorities that would allow local corrections officers to transport immigrant detainees to federal detention centers.

Demings capitulation on the issue came shortly before Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet appeared in Orlando Friday morning at the Florida Highway Patrol Troop D Headquarters, where the governor announced the creation of a new immigration unit within the Florida Highway Patrol.

Last month, the Orange Board of County Commissioners rejected the transport plan, with Demings contending that immigrant transport is a federal responsibility and such a plan would further tax his understaffed jail.

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That set off a fury this week, with Attorney General James Uthmeier threatening to remove the mayor and commissioners from office if they didnt sign such an agreement. Uthmeier said they could be kicked out for adopting a sanctuary policy because they were not putting forth their best efforts to support immigration enforcement.

Demings, a former Orange County Sheriff and Orlando Police Chief, fired back at Uthmeier, saying the county did not have sanctuary policies and he wont back down to mean-spirited politics from a young man that is over-aggressive.

But a county attorney warned Demings and other commissioners that a new Florida immigration law  that DeSantis signed earlier this year  gave them little choice but to sign the agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Demings planned a press gathering at 4 p.m. to explain his decision to sign.

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Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad said she was shocked the mayor had set aside his objections to allow corrections officers transport immigration detainees to far flung detention facilities like Alligator Alcatraz, but her meeting with county legal staff offered some insight.

She said County Attorney Jeff Newton outlined severe penalties facing the board  and mayor  if they said no.

Youre in a corner. Youd be breaking state law and you will be replaced by an appointee of the governor, she said Newton told her. If you care about the people of Orange County, the best thing to do is to stay in your seat and find other ways to serve the public.

Semrad also cited spending controversies with Glen Gilzean, a DeSantis appointee who was Election Supervisor for 10 months. He tried to use $2.1 million in taxpayer funds to create a scholarship fund at Valencia College in his own name, among other fiscal problems, officials said..

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Commissioner Christine Moore, a Republican, said she had decided to flip her no vote on the transportation agreement for a similar reason.

Yes, no question, yes, she said about how shed vote. What good does it do for us to end up with seven Glen Gilzeans?

At his Friday press conference, DeSantis did not initially mention Orange County, instead praising FHP and the states overall immigration removal policies. Theres no other state in the country that can match our efforts, DeSantis said. In fact, theres no other state that is even in the ballpark of our efforts.

But in response to questions about the standoff with the county, and whether he would have removed Demings if the mayor continued to resist, DeSantis said he expected everybody to fulfill their obligations under law.

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If you dont meet your obligations under that under the law, if you dont fulfill the duties that have been imposed upon you, you absolutely will be suspended, DeSantis said. The reality is, I just want to get it right. I just want to land the plane right. And so Im glad it worked out that way.

He added if any local government was upset about transporting and you would rather just release [detainees], then any crime that happens is on you for doing that.

DeSantis also dismissed Demings concerns about the costs to the county for ICE transport, saying that the state had created a pool of grant funding as part of its package of immigration laws, which cities and counties can access if they apply.

We want to get the funding out the door for localities, the governor said. Theyll use it well and it will enhance the mission.

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While Demings statement said he would be taking the new ICE agreement to the board for ratification, it was unclear if the board needs to legally approve Demings decision. Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava quietly signed a similar agreement last month without informing that countys board.

implying there would be no vote.]

Despite the war of words this week, Uthmeier also did not specifically mention Orange County in his Friday remarks, instead lashing out at Democrat officials critical of his creation, the Alligator Alcatraz detention camp in the Everglades.

He also echoed right-wing rhetoric in claiming the Left wanted to replace the United States voter base. We almost lost the country, Uthmeier said. They wanted to change the makeup of our country as we know it, and thank God they werent able to get away with it.

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Shortly afterward, Uthmeier posted to X, Thank you, Mayor Demings, for changing course this morning and doing what is right and required by Florida law. We appreciate Orange Countys efforts to support ICE with immigration enforcement.

Uthmeier posted his statement atop a Wednesday post from Demings in which the former sheriff had attacked the 37-year-old Uthmeier, writing that he spent more years on the streets of Florida, patrolling as a law enforcement officer, than [Uthmeiers] been alive.

The Friday news conference also came as the county prepares for an audit from the Department of Governmental Efficiency, or DOGE, an entity overseen by Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. Ingoglia also did not mention Orange specifically in his own remarks at the news conference.

DeSantis said the new FHP immigration unit will be a team of mission-dedicated troopers, [who] will work in close contact with local, state and federal law enforcement partners to identify, locate and apprehend criminal aliens across the state, DeSantis said.

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David Kerner, the executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said that while 2,000 FHP troopers were already out there doing the Lords work, the new unit will be 24/7.

Were about to have hundreds, if not thousands of sheriffs deputies and police department officers coming online, Kerner said. This unit will be responsible for coordinating with the federal government and making sure were maximizing our utility as law enforcement officers to apprehend and deport illegal immigrants.
Prince Andrew is dismayed that his name has been dragged back into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, friends of the prince have said.

Andrews name flashed across front pages in Britain this weekend after Ghislaine Maxwell allegedly included him among 100 men she discussed in a jailhouse meeting with the Department of Justice.

The photo of Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell that destroyed his reputation. / US Department of Justice

The Mail on Sunday, which broke the Andrew angle to the story, gave no details of what Maxwell said about Andrew, or how long she spoke about him. Maxwells lawyer, David Oscar Markus, did not return a request for comment from the Daily Beast, but had previously said Ghislaine was holding nothing back. The DoJ likewise declined to say what Maxwell said, or about whom.

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Andrews role in the scandal also resurfaced when Donald Trump said this week that Epstein stole Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago club, where she was employed in the spa.

Giuffre accused Andrew of raping her three times and secured a reputed $12m out of court settlement from him. She alleged that she was trafficked by Epstein to hundreds of other men for sex. She suffered with severe mental health difficulties and died by suicide earlier this year.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, with a photo of herself as a teen, when she said she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein. / Miami Herald / TNS/Getty Images

Andrew has always denied meeting Giuffre and has suggested the famous photograph showing them together was fake. The Daily Beast revealed in 2022, shortly before she settled with Andrew for an undisclosed sum believed to be several million dollars, that Giuffre had lost the original photo.

Friends of the duke told the Daily Beast that Andrew is dismayed to be dragged back into the Epstein scandal yet again.

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The duke knows he made mistakes and has accepted responsibility, one said. He has stepped down from the royal family and no longer has any public role. All he is doing is trying to get on with his life in private. Just a few weeks ago it was being reported the FBI investigation was closednow it seems to be open again. Of course, he and his family are dismayed his name is being dragged back into it, but he is well aware that it comes with the territory and he has been through it all before.

Another friend said Andrew is living quietly at Royal Lodgethe palatial Windsor home his brother King Charles tried and failed to evict him from last year. He does his horse riding, works, does a bit of maintenance around the place. Other than that, its all about his children and grandchildren, like anyone else his age. Hes not hosting wild parties. Its monstrous that this is all being brought up again. It bears repeating that Andrew has never been found guilty of any crime. He would have fought Giuffres claims in court. He was ordered to settle by his family, who didnt want the scandal.

One of Prince Andrews oldest friends told the Daily Beast that it was not surprising the Virginia Giuffre story continues to haunt him.

Lady Victoria Hervey, who briefly dated Andrew and has been a long-standing friend of the prince, told the Daily Beast: This story is not going to go away until Andrew is exonerated for a crime he clearly did not commit, and those people behind the setup have been fully exposed as liars. Virginias suicide was tragic, but Im afraid that doesnt change the fact that everything she said about being forced to have sex with Andrew was fabricatedjust as her outlandish claims about being forced to have sex with Alan Dershowitz were revealed to be. I said this publicly and regularly while she was alive, and she never sued me or challenged me. The whole case against Andrew was a gigantic shakedown.

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Ghislaines brother, Ian Maxwell, made similar claims about Giuffre on a British radio station on Friday.

That Andrews long and controversial friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell is coming back to haunt him just weeks after reports that the FBI had closed their inquiries into him is yet another extraordinary new twist in what has become one of the most damaging associations in royal history.

Andrew said in an infamous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview that he met Maxwell when she was at university in the U.K. By the late 1990s, she had introduced him to Epstein, and the trio moved in elite social circles together. A photograph shown during Maxwells trial captured her and Epstein at a lunch hut on the Balmoral estate in 1999a trip Andrew arranged and is believed to have arranged. Balmoral is considered one of the monarchys most private and protected spaces. Epstein and Maxwells presence there caused widespread unease over how close they came to the heart of the British establishment.

Giuffre claimed Maxwell recruited her into Epsteins trafficking network when she was 17, after spotting her at Mar-a-Lago.

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This week, Trump acknowledged this for the first time, telling reporters who asked if she was one of the employees the now-deceased Epstein took from him: I think she worked at the spa. I think that was one of the people. He stole her.

Trump added: Other people would come and complain, this guy is taking people from the spa. I didnt know that. And then when I heard about it, I told him, I said: Listen, we dont want you taking our people, whether it was spa or not spa, I dont want you to take our people. And he was fine, and then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said: out of here!

Giuffre alleged that Maxwell and Epstein forced her to have sex with powerful men, including Andrew. Giuffre said she had sex with Andrew three times, including once in Maxwells London townhouse, where the alleged photo showing Andrew with his arm around Giuffres bare midriff was taken.

Andrew, in the Newsnight interview, claimed to have no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre and questioned the photos authenticity, saying, I have absolutely no memory of that photograph ever being taken. He also said that had he been out in London, I wouldve worn a suit and tie, unlike the casual clothing in the image.

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He further dismissed Giuffres account of him sweating profusely while dancing at Tramp nightclub, saying a medical condition from an overdose of adrenaline during the Falklands War left him unable to sweatan explanation widely mocked at the time.

In 2022, he settled Giuffres civil suit in the U.S. without admitting liability. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 on multiple counts of sex trafficking.

Andrew Lownie, a writer who later this month will publish Entitled, an investigative biography of Prince Andrew and his wife, Sarah Ferguson, told the Daily Beast: I dont think Ghislaine Maxwell is about to give up Andrew. I imagine she will name a few Democrats and other people unpopular with the current administration. Of course, its not helpful for Andrew that every time Ghislaine or Epstein or Giuffre are mentioned that he gets named, but he really should be much more concerned about the scandals of his financial behavior, as opposed to his sexual behavior, emerging. Thats what I focus on in my book.

The duke no longer has a formal press spokesperson. A communications expert who previously worked with him did not return a request for comment.
Between 1400 and 1780, an estimated 100,000 people, mostly women, were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe. About half that number were executed  killings motivated by a constellation of beliefs about women, truth, evil and magic.

But the witch hunts could not have had the reach they did without the media machinery that made them possible: an industry of printed manuals that taught readers how to find and exterminate witches.

I regularly teach a class on philosophy and witchcraft, where we discuss the religious, social, economic and philosophical contexts of early modern witch hunts in Europe and colonial America. I also teach and research the ethics of digital technologies.

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These fields arent as different as they seem. The parallels between the spread of false information in the witch-hunting era and in todays online information ecosystem are striking  and instructive.

Birth of a publishing empire

The printing press, invented around 1440, revolutionized how information spread  helping to create the eras equivalent of a viral conspiracy theory.

By 1486, two Dominican friars had published the Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer of Witches. The book has three central claims that came to dominate the witch hunts.

First, it describes women as morally weak and therefore more likely to be witches. Second, it tightly links witchcraft with sexuality. The authors claim that women are sexually insatiable  part of what leads them to witchcraft. Third, witchcraft involves a pact with the devil, who tempts would-be witches through pleasures such as orgies and sexual favors. After establishing these facts, the authors conclude with instructions for interrogating, torturing and punishing witches.

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The book was a hit. It had more than two dozen editions and was translated into multiple languages. While Malleus Maleficarum was not the only text of its kind, its influence was enormous.

Prior to 1500, witch hunts in Europe were rare. But after the Malleus Maleficarum, they picked up steam. Indeed, new printings of the book correlate with surges in witch-hunting in Central Europe. The books success wasnt just about content; it was about credibility. Pope Innocent VIII had recently affirmed the existence of witches and conferred authority on inquisitors to persecute them, giving the book further authority.

Ideas about witches from earlier texts and folklore  such as the fact that witches could use spells to make penises vanish  were recycled and repackaged in the Malleus Maleficarum, which in turn served as a source for future works. It was often quoted in later manuals and woven into civic law.

The popularity and influence of the book helped crystallize a new domain of expertise: demonologist, an expert on the nefarious activities of witches. As demonologists repeated one anothers spurious claims, an echo chamber of evidence was born. The identity of the witch was thus formalized: dangerous and decisively female.

Skeptics fight back

Not everyone bought into the witch hysteria. As early as 1563, dissenting voices emerged  though, notably, most didnt argue that witches werent real. Instead, they questioned the methods used to identify and prosecute them.

Essayist Michel de Montaigne, painted around 1578 by an unknown artist. Conde Museum/Wikimedia Commons

Dutch physician Johann Weyer argued that women accused of witchcraft were suffering from melancholia  what we might now call mental illness  and needed medical treatment, not execution. In 1580, French philosopher Michel de Montaigne visited imprisoned witches and concluded they needed hellebore rather than hemlock: medicine rather than poison.

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These skeptics also identified something more insidious: the moral responsibility of people spreading the stories. In 1677, English chaplain, physician and philosopher John Webster wrote a scathing critique, claiming that most demonologists texts were straightforward copy and paste jobs where the authors repeated one anothers lies. The demonologists offered no original analysis, no evidence and no witnesses  failing to meet the standards of good scholarship.

The cost of this failure was enormous. As Montaigne wrote, The witches of my neighborhood are in mortal danger every time some new author comes along and attests to the reality of their visions.

Demonologists benefited from the social and political status associated with the popularity of their books. The financial benefit was, for the most part, enjoyed by the printers and booksellers  what today we refer to as publishers.

Witch hunts petered out throughout the 1700s across Europe. Doubt about the standards of evidence, and increased awareness that accused witches may have been suffering from delusion, were factors in the end of the persecution. The skeptics voices were heard.

Psychology of viral lies

Early modern skeptics understood something were still grappling with today: Certain people are more vulnerable to believing extraordinary claims. They identified melancholics, people predisposed to anxiety and fantastical thinking, as particularly susceptible.

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Nicolas Malebranche, a 17th-century French philosopher, believed that our imaginations have enormous power to convince us of things that are not true  especially fear of invisible, malevolent forces. He noted that extravagant tales of witchcraft are taken as authentic histories, increasing peoples credulity. The more stories, and the more they were told, the greater the influence on the imagination. The repetition served as false confirmation.

If they were to cease punishing (women accused of witchcraft) and treat them as mad people, Malebranche wrote, in a little while they would no longer be sorcerers.

Todays researchers have identified similar patterns in how misinformation and disinformation  false information intended to confuse or manipulate people  spreads online. Were more likely to believe stories that feel familiar, stories that connect to content weve previously seen. Likes, shares and retweets becomes proxies for truth. Emotional content designed to shock or outrage spreads far and fast.

Social media channels are particularly fertile ground. Companies algorithms are designed to maximize engagement, so a post that receives likes, shares and comments will be shown to more people. The more viewers, the higher the likelihood of more engagement, and so on  creating a cycle of confirmation bias.

Speed of a keystroke

Early modern skeptics reserved their harshest criticism not for those who believed in witches but for those who spread the stories. Yet they were curiously silent on the ultimate arbiters and financial beneficiaries of what got printed and circulated: the publishers.

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Today, 54% of American adults get at least some news from social media platforms. These platforms, like the printing presses of old, dont just distribute information. They shape what we believe through algorithms that prioritize engagement over accuracy: The more a story is repeated, the more priority it gets.

The witch hunts offer a sobering reminder that delusion and misinformation are recurring features of human society, especially during times of technological change and social upheaval. As we navigate our own information revolution, those early skeptics questions remain urgent: Who bears responsibility when false information leads to real harm? How do we protect the most vulnerable from exploitation by those who profit from confusion and fear?

In an age when anyone can be a publisher, and extravagant tales spread at the speed of a keystroke, understanding how previous societies dealt with similar challenges isnt just academic  its essential.

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: Julie Walsh, Wellesley College

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Julie Walsh receives funding from the National Science Foundation
KANSAS CITY, Kan.  Shawn Harris, the man accused of killing Wyandotte County Deputy Elijah Ming, is not listed on the KBIs Public Offender Registry  but some say he should be.

Had Shawn Harris been prosecutedproperly, he would have been in prison, and he would not have been in a position where he could have killed Deputy Ming, said James Spies, an attorney in the Kansas City Metro.

Spies said, in 2024, Harris picked up two felonies for separate cases in Anderson County, Kansas.

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Shawnee police looking for suspect following stabbing Thursday afternoon

The first was failure to register as an offender, so what that tells me is he had some prior qualifying conviction.

Under Kansas law, Harris was required to register.

There was a charge filed against him, indicating or alleging that he had not registered as required, then he picks up abuse of a child in Anderson County, Spies told FOX4. That case itself, if convicted, would have carried up to 136 months in prison because of his prior criminal record. The failure to register would have carried 46 months in prison, due to his prior criminal record.

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What I understand is that the child abuse case went to a preliminary hearing, but he was not bound over for trial for child abuse. The judge did not find probable cause, so he was facing two misdemeanors in the case. In a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to those two misdemeanors, and the State agreed to dismiss the offender registration violation.

Spies said someone wouldnt necessarily be sent to prison for their first offense of violating the Kansas Registration Act.

However, while that case is pending, he gets charged with abuse of a child and you as a prosecutor are so firmly convinced that he commended that crime even, in the face of the judge, that does not bind him over, the way to see to it that he is punished, is to insist upon that prison sentence of that offender violation, he said.

Lets say it was even plea negotiated down to 24 months, he would have been in prison instead of shooting Deputy Ming.

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Harrison Butker joins President Trump on reestablishing Presidential Fitness Test

Harris was charged in March 2024 for violating the Kansas Offender Registration Act after failing to report in February. It was then dismissed.

It says he failed to report a job change, Spies said, looking over court documents.

Then (the) Order of Dismissal in December 2024.

For the two battery counts in Anderson County, It looks like time served [was] just 208 days in jail.

Seven months later, he was accused of killing a Kansas deputy.

In the case of Shawn Harris, he was convicted back in 2012, 2013[for] a robbery charge, Spies said.

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Wyandotte County did their job; in that case, sounds like sending him to prison for 10+ years.

Shawn Harris had a criminal history in Kansas that is the worst scorable criminal history in Kansas  an A, which demonstrates a history of violent offenses on his record, Spies said.

Based on that criminal history, if a prosecutor in Anderson County had insisted on a guilty plea to the offender registration, he would have been looking at prison. He would have been looking at up to 46 months in prison, and even if they would have cut him some sort of plea deal, where they had reduced the amount of time, likely he would have been in prison instead of shooting Deputy Ming.

Lawsuit: Bill to keep Chiefs, Royals in Missouri unconstitutional

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FOX4 reached out to the Prosecuting Attorney in Anderson County at the time, who decided to dismiss the offender registration violation. We have not heard back.

FOX4 also reached out to the Garnett, Kansas Police Department (an agency listed in court records related to Harris child abuse and battery counts). The Chief of Police had no comment and referred us to the County Attorneys office.

On Friday, FOX4 received a response from Anderson Countys current county attorney, Steve Wilson, who shared the following statement:

Any suggestion by my predecessor that the court failed in its responsibility to the public would certainly be misplaced. At a preliminary (probable cause) hearing the bar is very low, but the prosecution must show that there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that the defendant committed said crime. After hearing the evidence presented by the prosecutor, the court determined that the prosecution did not meet the standard necessary to bind the defendant over for trial. The court can not be faulted for doing its job.

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Earlier this week, Harris and his attorneys pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, brought down by Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree, in relation to Deputy Mings death; those include one count of capital murder and one count of criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.

He is being held on a $2 million bond.

Harris next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 21. He remains behind bars in Johnson County, Kansas. Harris is being represented by the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit.

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NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY)  The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk has extended its end of summer school supplies and coat donation drive.

Donate to WAVYs Operation School Supplies

The zoo will now be collecting items through August 10. The drive began back on July 1.

The zoo will distribute the donated *school supplies with support from partner organizations Big Homies and Reck League. Local organization S.T.A.R Haven is accepting the donated *coats.

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Anyone who contributes items to this drive will be entered into a raffle for the chance to win one of three prizes:

Virginia Zoo Household Plus Membership (valued at $159)

One (1) week of Zoo Safari Camp for one child (valued at $375)

One (1) Behind-the-Scenes Animal Tour (valued at $300)

Donations can be dropped off at the Virginia Zoo Membership Office daily from 9:30 a.m.  4 p.m.

The more you give, the more raffle entries you get. A list of accepted school supplies and how many entries you can gain from each is available on the zoos website, at this link.

The Virginia Zoo will draw the prize winners during its End of Summer Bash, which is happening Saturday, Aug. 2. from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. The bash is included with general admission.

*All donated school supply items must be BRAND NEW with the original tags or packaging. All donated coats must be new (with tags) or CLEAN and gently used.

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Remote workers are clocking off at 3pm on a Friday, claiming they deserve to enjoy the summer, data has revealed.

There is an an 8pc dip in internet traffic between 3-5pm at the end of the week during the summer months compared with the winter, broadband data released by Virgin Media showed.

At the same time nearly 61pc of workers think they have earned the right to log off early after four days of work.

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The same survey by Virgin Media revealed that one in 10 admitted taking their laptops to the pub to get their weekend started early.

However, the majority (59pc) dont feel any guilt giving themselves an early clock-off, and believed dropping a few hours on a Friday makes them work harder during the week.

It comes amid struggling public sector productivity, which fell by 0.3pc in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Telegraph revealed in April that more than 2,000 public sector workers were allowed to work from foreign countries. Yet the majority of civil servants believe remote working has had a positive impact on Whitehall, according to a survey by YouGov.

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Bosses have started to order staff back to the office, with companies such as Amazon requesting five days a week in person.

Yet despite this, councils and charities are trialling four-day weeks with no pay reduction, with supporters claiming it can deliver more efficient working and attract better candidates for jobs.

This month South Cambridgeshire became the first council to permanently adopt a four-day week last week, including for bin collectors, council tax administrators and social housing officials. It is understood that as many as 25 councils are in talks with the Four Day Week Foundation, the campaign pushing for the change, despite warnings that reduced working hours do not represent the best possible value for money for residents and taxpayers.

In January the Four Day Week Foundation announced that 200 UK companies had signed up for a permanent four-day week.

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Separately, an investigation by The Telegraph found that charities were reducing the working hours of their staff. Non-profit businesses making the change include the British Red Cross, which received 32m in government funding last year. It is trialling compressed hours, allowing some UK-based staff to work 32 hours rather than 35 a week.

If passed into law Labours Employment Rights Bill will make the right to request flexible working the default, building on reforms under the previous Tory government that made flexible working available from the first day in a job.

Bart van Ark, of research organisation The Productivity Institute, said: In practice, hourly productivity tends to decline if we put in longer hours per day or per week. Of course, what we would expect is that people get more productive from the remaining hours they work, because they have more energy and are better motivated. There is some albeit mixed evidence for that.

Data from LinkedIn showed that 40pc of jobs advertised across the UK last November were hybrid roles, compared to fewer than one in three postings in Germany and France offering some sort of remote working.

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LinkedIn said it was highly likely that Britain would remain the capital of working from home in Europe for the foreseeable future.

Jeanie York, of Virgin Media O2, said: Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays.

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The practices deployed by federal immigration officers to implement President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, such as making arrests at immigration proceedings and agents wearing masks and plain clothes, have come under scrutiny and raised due process concerns. Now, a new tactic has come to light: smashing car windows.

An investigation by ProPublica has revealed nearly 50 instances of officers shattering windows while conducting immigration-related arrests in the last six months. Although not comprehensive and hard to verify without government statistics, only eight occurrences were found in the decade preceding Trump's return to office. The uptick in window destruction coincides with growing uneasiness around how federal agents conduct themselvesand how aggressive behavior may even be rewarded within the Trump administration.

"There's been an emphasis placed on speed and numbers that did not exist before," Deborah Fleischaker, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief of staff under Joe Biden, told ProPublica. The Trump administration increased the immigration arrest quota from 1,000 to 3,000 arrests per day in May.

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The instances compiled by ProPublica provide accounts of immigration officers smashing car windowssometimes multiplewith various tools, including batons and sledgehammers, to unlock and open vehicle doors. "At least 10 people have said they were injured this year during broken-windows arrests," reported ProPublica. One 49-year-old woman described being pulled through the window that an ICE agent had broken, causing jagged cuts on her forearms.

American citizens have also been implicated during these forceful arrests. In a since-deleted Facebook Live video, agents pulled over Jennifer Gribben, a U.S. citizen, and her boyfriend Martin Rivera (ProPublica did not note his citizenship status), and told them they were looking for a fugitive named Garcia. Officers then smashed the car's window to arrest them. Gribben said in a Facebook post that she was hit in the head by officers and that Rivera suffered a broken arm. She was later charged with resisting arrest and third-degree assault, to which she pleaded not guilty.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended immigration officers' authority to break car windows when their commands aren't followed in a statement to ProPublica. She said that agents are trained "to use the minimum amount of force necessary."

In some instances, officers who smashed windows have been rewarded. Matthew Elliston, ICE's former Baltimore field office director, was promoted to a senior position overseeing field operations in Washington, D.C., after he told WBFF FOX45, a Fox News affiliate in Baltimore, that he would "smash the fucking window out" and drag occupants out who refused to comply with his commands.

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Vehicles have fewer constitutional protections under the Fourth Amendment than a homea fact often exploited by law enforcement. During a stop, occupants who refuse an officer's lawful command to exit the car may be viewed as obstructing or resisting. And while the Fourth Amendment limits how much and when an officer can use "objectively reasonable" force to gain compliance or custody, the standard is difficult to apply. The standardwhich must be judged "from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight," according to the Supreme Court's ruling in Graham v. Connor (1989)provides law enforcement with a large degree of deference to use force.

While the tactic of shattering car windows isn't prohibited, it also isn't explicitly mentioned in the DHS' use-of-force guidelines. Training instructors and students told ProPublica the tactic wasn't covered during training either. In the guidelines, the Court's objective reasonable standard laid out in Graham is referenced, along with the department's principles of de-escalation to "minimize the risk of unintended injury or serious property damage" and warnings to "afford the subject a reasonable opportunity to voluntarily comply before applying force." But some accounts claim immigration officers have given vehicle occupants very little time to respond to commands before applying force. A video recording of an arrest in Florida revealed officers pulling occupants out of a van almost immediately after an one answered that he was undocumented, bragging about having used a stun gun to detain one of them, and celebrating the possibility of earning a $30,000 bonus.

Until now, law enforcement officers have chosen to limit window breaking based on a cultural norm rather than a hard and fast rule or prohibition, but that is changing under the Trump administration.

The post Shattering Norms: Federal Immigration Agents Aren't Afraid to Smash Your Car Window appeared first on Reason.com.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA)  A Springdale man accused of fatally stabbing a Prairie Grove couple at Devils Den State Park could be eligible for the death penalty if convicted, according to authorities.

Andrew James McGann, 28, was arrested on July 30 at a barber shop in Springdale. He is facing two counts of capital murder connected to the deaths of Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41.

During a presser at the Arkansas State Police Headquarters in Little Rock on Thursday, Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said it is [his] intention to use the full weight of [his] office to bring this defendant to justice for the Brinks family.

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TIMELINE: Prairie Grove couple killed at Devils Den State Park

Carter said he wanted the public to know they are safe. While suspects are innocent until proven guilty, he said, we have the right defendant in the case.

When asked if his office would pursue the death penalty against McGann, Carter said the case has all the aggravating factors to warrant a jury deciding whether a death sentence is appropriate.

The state will not be waiving the death penalty in this case, Carter said.

After McGanns arrest, he was interviewed by ASP investigators, where he made statements indicating he had committed two homicides, according to a preliminary report.

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McGann appeared in court on Friday, where he was ordered to be held without bond. His arraignment is set for Aug. 25.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The man accused of shooting and killing a rival YouTuber and that mans wife in a video streamed live from the Las Vegas Strip will face the death penalty should a jury convict him, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

Manuel Manny Ruiz, 41, also known as Sin City Manny, is accused of shooting and killing Rodney Finley, 44, also known as Finny Da Legend, and his wife, Tanisha Finley, 43, near the Bellagio Fountains on June 8.

In court two weeks ago, Ruiz maintained his innocence as prosecutors announced Ruiz could face the death penalty. Since then, a death review committee within the Clark County District Attorneys Office determined that prosecutors will seek the death penalty if a jury convicts him.

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Nevada law requires prosecutors to cite aggravating circumstances when seeking death. Prosecutors cite the deaths of the Finleys and a great risk of death to others in making their decision.

Earlier this month, a Clark County grand jury voted to indict Ruiz on two counts of murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Ruiz has yet to make a formal plea in court.

The June confrontation stemmed from a beef between the two YouTube streamers, police said. Ruiz later turned himself in to Henderson police and told detectives he acted in self-defense.

During a previous court hearing, Ruizs public defender said there were four terabytes of discovery.

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Prosecutors will announce their decision during Ruizs next court appearance on Monday, Aug. 4. Ruiz was expected to enter a plea at that hearing.

While Nevada has the death penalty, the state has not put a person to death since 2006. Murder cases in Nevada often end in plea deals and no trial, which result in life sentences without parole.

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DPS Secretary Mike Hagar (right) discusses the arrest of Andrew James McGann, alongside Maj. Stacie Rhoads (left) and Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter (center) on July 31, 2025. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Advocate)

Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the man accused of killing two people at Devils Den State Park over the weekend, officials announced Thursday.

Washington County Prosecuting Attorney Brandon Carter said the man arrested and charged in the case, Andrew James McGann, is innocent until proven guilty. Still, Carter said it was his intention to use the full weight of my office to bring this defendant to justice for the Brinks family.

Andrew James McGann (Courtesy of Arkansas State Police)

This case certainly has the aggravators  it is my intention to pose that to a jury, so the state will not be waiving the death penalty in this case, Carter said.

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The two victims, Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were visiting the popular state park south of Fayetteville on July 26 with their two daughters, ages 7 and 9, when officials say the parents were stabbed and killed in a heinous and completely random act of violence.

The girls were not injured and are safe with family, according to an Arkansas State Police news release.

State Police officials said at a press conference Thursday that a motive was still under investigation.

The family had recently moved to the state from North Dakota, and were originally from California, according to officials.

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Investigators have not identified any connection between the Brinks and the 28-year-old suspect, officials said.

McGann was arrested Wednesday without resistance by ASP special agents at a barbershop in Springdale.

Officials said close to ten videos sent in by members of the public helped them eventually determine that the vehicle seen leaving the park was a Kia Stinger.

Investigators then used descriptions provided by the Brinks daughters and another witness who had seen the man leave the park to search through vehicle ownership data and narrow their search to McGann.

The isolation and lack of cell service at the location of the crime also posed a challenge for investigators.

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I want to thank the public for providing images and videos that directly resulted in this person being brought into custody, Department of Public Safety Secretary Mike Hagar said. It allowed our investigators a starting point to move forward.

Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of ASPs Criminal Investigation Division, said when investigators interviewed McGann, he made an admission that he had committed the murders, but she would not elaborate further on what he specifically said. Investigators believe he acted alone.

State police learned Thursday that DNA collected from blood left at the scene matched McGanns, Hagar said.

Rhoads said they have not identified any previous adult criminal history, nor are they aware of any connections to other incidents in Arkansas.

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McGann had recently moved to the area and got a job working at a local school district after stints living in Oklahoma and Texas and working in schools in those states, officials said. Springdale Public Schools confirmed it had hired McGann but said he had not yet begun employment, 40/29 News reported.

ASP officials said they were still looking into whether he had a history of mental illness.

Rhoads said the case was one of the most disturbing of her 27-year career.

This is, it was every agents worst nightmare, Rhoads said. In a typical investigation  you can typically narrow down your suspect pool. We had no way to do that in this case, so it made it particularly difficult.

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She also said the suspect was very sloppy.

Once investigators determined McGann was their suspect, he was taken into custody within the hour, Rhoads said.

The image referenced by Maj. Stacie Rhoads in her remarks during a July 31 press conference about the arrest of Andrew James McGann. (Courtesy of Arkansas State Police)

Rhoads said investigators found unspecified evidence at McGanns home consistent with an image police previously released of the suspect. Rhoads said investigators have not yet identified if any of the knives they collected from McGanns home match the one used to kill the Brinks.

Hagar emphasized that state parks are safe for the public despite the violence of the deaths. Violence of this magnitude is quite rare at state parks, according to reporting from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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Rhoads also criticized keyboard warriors for social media posts that absolutely hindered their investigation into the killings and caused hurt and emotional toil to the victims family.

Misinformation hurts, Hagar said, adding that the family expressed to him that the ensuing social media discussion has resulted in people speculating and saying things that simply arent true.

They dont deserve to be victimized any further than they already are, Hagar said.

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Hundreds protested on Friday across Sweida in southern Syria, rejecting the Syrian governments newly announced investigation committee and demanding an independent international probe into recent violence, activists and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Demonstrations were held in several areas, including al-Karama Square in Suwayda, Shahba, and Salim village, the website Suwayda24 reported.

Protesters chanted against the government and its local allies, accusing them of besieging the province.

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They also carried banners reading We dont trust you and We demand an independent international committee.

On Thursday, the Syrian Justice Ministry announced the formation of an investigative committee composed of four judges, two lawyers, and one army officer.

It is tasked with identifying those responsible for the recent violence between Druze militias and Sunni tribal groups supported by the government in Damascus. The committee must complete its work within three months.

Demonstrators reject government inquiry

Protesters dismissed the move as lacking credibility, demanding international oversight and urgent humanitarian relief.

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One protester held a sign in German: Sweida is under siege lift the blockade.

Videos posted on Suwayda24s Facebook page showed crowds shouting, The Syrian media are liars, as they called for the withdrawal of all affiliated forces and the opening of a humanitarian corridor to Jordan.

Activists accuse government forces of sealing off the province, saying the main highway connecting Sweid to Damascus remains blocked by pro-government armed groups, restricting both civilian movement and trade.

The government denies imposing such a siege.

Although a ceasefire has been in effect since July 20, tensions remain high following the violent clashes which killed more than 1,300 people, according to human rights activists. Neighbouring Israel also bombed areas in the south and in Damascus with the stated aim of protecting the Druze.
Following loud protests during a summer interview of of far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) leader Alice Weidel - public broadcaster ARD is planning for more disruptions this Sunday when a Green Party politician is in the hot seat.

Two demonstrations have been registered with the authorities, as is required under German law, for when Green Party co-leader Felix Banaszak will face journalists this Sunday, according to a report by the Welt newspaper on Friday.

"We are keeping a close eye on the situation," a spokeswoman for the Berlin police told dpa, adding that the police is in close contact with ARD's capital studio.

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The pro-nuclear energy association Nuklearia plans to protest on Sunday in front of the Bundestag where the interview will take place, the newspaper reported. The group aims to advocate for "the reintroduction of nuclear energy in Germany for environmental protection and secure, affordable energy supply."

An association spokesman assured that no acoustic disturbances using loudspeakers or megaphones are planned, the newspaper reported. However, the group intends to position their protest banners "within the view of television cameras."

Loud protests during Weidel interview

The summer interview is a German public broadcaster tradition. It is usually recorded on the terrace of the Bundestag or German parliament.

On July 20, during the live-streamed interview with AfD leader Weidel, a loud protest took place, which included a demonstration on the opposite bank of the Spree river featuring whistles, horns and loud music with anti-AfD slogans, which were clearly audible in the broadcast.
Providence City Councilor Helen Anthony, who chairs the councils finance committee, announced she will step down from her post Sept. 1. (Providence City Council Photo)

Providence City Councilor Helen Anthony announced Friday she will step down from her post Sept. 1, citing her continued recovery from injuries sustained in a serious accident in a California state park two years ago.

The Ward 2 councilwoman, who chairs the councils finance committee, announced her resignation in a letter to her constituents Friday.

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As I continue to heal from the traumatic injuries I suffered when I was struck by a van in June 2023, my neurologist has recommended that I devote more time to my recovery, Anthony wrote. Im proud to have served Ward 2 and the City of Providence and to have chaired the councils Finance Committee. Unfortunately, the demands of those roles is hindering my ability to heal.

Anthony, who has served on the council since 2019, also submitted a formal resignation letter to the city clerk, which will be on the agenda for the City Councils next meeting on Sept.4. The City Council is in recess for August.

The council will formally accept Anthonys resignation at its September meeting, triggering a special election within 90 days, per the city charter. The Board of Canvassers will set the date once the seat is officially declared vacant.

Ward 2 covers a portion of the capital citys East Side and includes the neighborhoods of Blackstone, College Hill, and Wayland.

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The residents of Ward 2 have had a wonderful representative; residents of every neighborhood have had a steadfast advocate in Helen, Council President Rachel Miller said in a Friday statement. While I will miss her leadership on the council, and in particular her deft stewardship of the Finance Committee, I am proud of her decision to prioritize her health.

As Helens colleague and friend, I was in awe of her resilience and tenacity as she recovered from the accident, and I am in awe of the grace with which she is making this difficult decision today, Miller added.

Anthony was struck by a large, van-sized ATV in a crosswalk at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, the Boston Globe reported in October 2023. The vehicles driver, an 82 year-old park volunteer, had mistakenly hit the gas pedal. Anthonys extensive injuries  including a brain bleed, broken bones, and a bruised heart  required her to be hospitalized in California for more than two weeks, where she underwent multiple surgeries. She returned to the City Council in October 2023.

I take immense pride in the stands I have taken for transparency. It was not always easy, but I have done my best to communicate with you and to represent the citys long-term interests, Anthony wrote in her letter to constituents. This years budget was particularly difficult given the financial challenges facing the city. While no single councilor can solve the citys problems, I am proud that my team and I set a new bar for educating colleagues and residents about how the citys budget and taxation processes work, and striving to encourage meaningful public input.

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During the transition period after Anthony leaves her post, the City Council Office encourages Ward 2 residents with concerns or questions to call constituent services at (401) 521-7477 or email council@providenceri.gov.

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI)  A popular Providence night club has been ordered to pay a $1,500 fine after a block party erupted into chaos last week.

The Providence Board of Licenses also revoked Noir Lounges license to stay open until 3 a.m. and ordered the owner to cancel the block party slated for this weekend.

The decision was made nearly a week after a disturbance outside the Union Street night club in which an officer was injured.

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Officers were called to the Noir Lounge last Friday after several patrons began arguing over the cover charge and trying to force their way into the building, according to police.

Police said a man in the crowd, later identified as 24-year-old Louis Stevenson, became combative and grabbed an officer.

Stevenson was taken into custody after a brief struggle and charged with simple assault on an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Dozens of officers swarmed Union Street in an attempt to break up the crowd, which had amassed outside the lounge earlier in the evening for a block party. The fight broke out just as the block party was wrapping up and patrons were trying to head inside the night club, despite it already being at capacity.

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Steven Little, Noir Lounges legal counsel, told the Board of Licenses that the owner did everything he could to deescalate the situation. He also said the night club has hosted numerous block parties in the past with no issues.

How do you problem solve for somebody who decides on their own to take a swing at a police officer? Little asked. Not only did [the owner] do the right thing, he did more than the right thing.

I represent a lot of license holders, but he did stuff that I dont think any other license holder would have done, he added.

Little noted that the owner voluntarily canceled the block party that was scheduled for the following night in light of what happened. He said it cost the owner $15,000 to cancel that block party, and hes on track to lose another $15,000 this weekend.

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The Board of Licenses acknowledged that the owner did everything right in this situation, but explained that its too soon to allow him to host another block party.

The neighborhood needs a little bit of a break, Board of Licenses Commissioner Erlin Rogel said. The immediate neighbors, I think, just need a cool down period.

The owner stormed out of the meeting after the Board of Licenses made the decision to revisit whether to give the night club a license for its next block party, which is scheduled for Aug. 31.

In the meantime, the Board of Licenses has requested the owner come up with an enhanced crowd control plan.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com.
CUMBERLAND  Roughly 200 public comments include overwhelming opposition to the proposed MidAtlantic Resiliency Link project.

The project aims to build a 105-mile, 500-kV transmission line from Frederick County, Virginia, to Greene County, Pennsylvania, and a 500/138-kV substation in Frederick County, Virginia.

NextEra Energy Transmission, LLC  the company selected by the regional grid operator to develop the MARL  hasnt chosen a definite route for the project, but got support from state Sen. Mike McKay and Del. Jim Hinebaugh to strip wildlands designation from Big Savage Mountain Wildland, Bear Pen Wildland and Dans Mountain Wildland for construction of the overhead transmission lines.

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The two elected officials, who represent voters in areas including Allegany and Garrett counties, sponsored legislation for the wildlands exemptions that passed both chambers and was approved by Gov. Wes Moore.

According to the Maryland General Assembly, synopsis of the law states the Public Service Commission must require an applicant for a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the construction of a certain overhead transmission line to provide wildland impact mitigation guarantees.

Marylands Department of Natural Resources said it hasnt taken a stance on the project, but has been collecting public comments on the issue.

In response to a request from the Cumberland Times-News, which DNR required to file under Marylands Public Information Act, the department provided comments it reportedly received between Feb. 28 and June 12.

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DNR last week said it summarized the comments on its website under Proposed Mid-Atlantic Resiliency Link Transmission Line Project, but the page lists reworked questions rather than specific comments.

The comments

Comments and questions DNR released under the Public Information Act include a mix of handwritten, typed and online notes.

DNR redacted street addresses but included names of the comment authors.

Here are some of them, which DNR logged on or before March 13:

Strongly oppose the transmission line impacting any of the beautiful and peaceful wild lands in western Maryland. Be creative and work to utilize the significant power line easements that are currently in place.  Beth Glasstetter

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The area is getting torn up and uglier by the day, we do not need more land and trees destroyed for this crap.  Robert McMillan III

Our wildlands were designated wildlands so that they would stay WILD.  Ashley Moreland

I strongly oppose any construction through land that is habitat for wildlife and has flowers, shrubs and trees growing in the area. I believe the environmental impacts are too great to justify any construction.  Noreen Krispin

I am concerned by the lack of public input our delegate and senator sought prior to introducing a bill that would allow for the permanent impact of wildlands that are currently protected to the highest levels.  Andrew Sauder

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Judging by the specifics of the exemptions being considered by legislature right now, they seem to know more about the proposed route(s) than the DNR or the public. I am not against progress, but I expect more transparency. I am presently against this project on that basis alone.  Charles McFarland

With any project that will inevitably disturb the natural landscape, I am VERY concerned about the impact on our waterways, wildlife habitat and our community residents.  Erica Seaver-Engel

This appears to be a politically-driven project that benefits no one in Maryland other than local politicians and an out-of-state energy company.  Patricia Nordstrom

As a taxpayer and electric ratepayer living in Western MD, I strongly oppose a transmission line of this magnitude crossing our most sensitive public lands while providing little to no benefit to our area. Its not worth ruining our forest.  Richard Dellinger
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  A nightclub shooting in western Puerto Rico early Friday left one teenager dead and five other people wounded, including two women in serious condition, authorities said.

The victims in the shooting in the coastal town of Mayaguez range in age from 18 to 21, police said. Authorities identified the dead teenager as 19-year-old Jonathan Cruz Gonzalez.

It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the shooting. No one has been arrested.

At least 257 killings have been reported so far this year in the U.S. Caribbean territory of 3.2 million, compared with 308 during the same period last year.
A police pursuit that began on westbound I-90 ended with a crash on State Route 900 in Issaquah, blocking all lanes in both directions Thursday, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The Snoqualmie Police Department said the chase started after officers tried to stop a driver they believed was under the influence.

When the driver did not stop, officers chased the vehicle onto I-90, eventually executing a controlled PIT (pursuit intervention technique) maneuver on SR 900 in Issaquah.

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Officers were able to safely stop the vehicle and take the driver into custody.

Emergency crews responded to the scene, but as of Friday afternoon, there was no estimated time for when the road would reopen.

All SR 900 traffic was being detoured onto I-90. Drivers were asked to avoid the area and expect delays.

Snoqualmie police said the investigation is ongoing and more details would be released when available.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that peace talks with Ukraine have been stalled due to inflated expectations as leaders continue to urge the Kremlin to shift course.

All disappointments come from inflated expectations, Putin told reporters Friday, according to The New York Times.

In order to solve the issue in a peaceful way, we need deep conversations, not in public, but in the silence of a negotiating process, he added.

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One of the most vocal critics of Russias repeated airstrikes has been President Trump, who promised to end the conflict in Ukraine within 24 hours if elected to the presidency.

As his administration surpasses its six-month mark, negotiators have been unable to make headway as a past temporary ceasefire agreement fell through.

After Trump issued a a 50-day timeline for Russia to agree to a peace deal in mid-July, he shrunk the deadline on Monday and said he wanted to see progress in 10 to 12 days. Trump is threatening to impose strict tariffs on the Kremlin and their trading partners, including India and China, if headway isnt made.

I gave him to a lesser number, because I think I already know the answer whats going to happen, Trump said Monday while standing beside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland.

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But Russias leaders have brushed aside the presidents ultimatum.

Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, wrote in a mid-July post on the social platform X.

Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didnt care, added Medvedev, who also previously served as president and prime minister of Russia.

In a Monday post on X, Medvedev continued the battle.

Trumps playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 he wrote. He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isnt Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war, Medvedev wrote. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Dont go down the Sleepy Joe road!

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Trump hit back on Friday urging the leader to watch his words.

I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory! the president 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.
By Dmitry Antonov

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks with Ukraine but that the momentum of the war was in its favour, signalling no shift in his stance despite a looming sanctions deadline from Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will impose new sanctions on Moscow and countries that buy its energy exports - of which the biggest are China and India - unless Russia moves by August 8 to end the 3-1/2 year war.

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He has expressed mounting frustration with Putin, accusing him of "bullshit" and describing Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine as "disgusting".

Putin, without referring to the Trump deadline, said three sessions of peace talks with Ukraine had yielded some positive results, and Russia was expecting negotiations to continue.

"As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule," he said.

"But in order to approach the issue peacefully, it is necessary to conduct detailed conversations. And not in public, but this must be done calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process."

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He said Russian troops were attacking Ukraine along the entire front line and that the momentum was in their favour, citing the announcement by his Defence Ministry on Thursday that Moscow's forces had captured the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar after a 16-month battle.

Ukraine denied that Chasiv Yar is under full Russian control.

Ukraine for months has been urging an immediate ceasefire but Russia says it wants a final and durable settlement, not a pause. Since the peace talks began in Istanbul in May, it has conducted some of its heaviest air strikes of the war, especially on the capital Kyiv.

The Ukrainian government has said the Russian negotiators do not have the mandate to take significant decisions and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called on Putin to meet him for talks.

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"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too," Zelenskiy said on Friday on X, reiterating his call for direct talks between him and Putin.

"The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness."

Russia says a leaders' meeting could only take place to set the seal on agreements reached by negotiators.

Ukraine and its European allies have frequently said they do not believe Putin is really interested in peace and have accused him of stalling, which the Kremlin denies.

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"I will repeat once again, we need a long and lasting peace on good foundations that would satisfy both Russia and Ukraine, and ensure the security of both countries," Putin said, adding that this was also a question of European security.

Putin was speaking alongside his ally Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, at talks on an island in Lake Ladoga that is the site of a famous Russian monastery.

Russian TV earlier showed the two men greeting monks at the Valaam Monastery, where they have met several times before, and holding candles during the chanting of prayers.

(Additional reporting by Maxim Rodionov and Marina Bobrova; Writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Andrew Osborn and Philippa Fletcher)
Weve grown used to blood-curdling nuclear threats from Russias leadership  but this time, Donald Trump has very publicly reacted to them by moving two nuclear-armed submarines closer to Russia.

Russia has primarily used nuclear sabre-rattling as part of its information warfare to scare the West. Sadly, it has delivered results. Western states moved cautiously after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, in part because of the Kremlins nuclear threats.

Trumps submarine move is a direct response to social media posts by Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president. Many Russians believe that Medvedev is a heavy drinker, and some have suggested that some of his posts were written while drunk. His role within the Russian regime hierarchy is now as a snarling attack dog, hurling blood-curdling threats at the Kremlins enemies.

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It is good that Trump is beginning to see through the Russian regime. He is clearly angry that his policy of appeasing the Kremlin hasnt worked  despite his extraordinary tactic of offering, over the heads of the Ukrainians, a peace deal that would have allowed Vladimir Putin to pay virtually no price for the appalling actions of his armies.

It is perhaps not so good that Trump has made it clear that he is reacting directly to Medvedevs nuclear bluster. The Russian regime now knows that it is possible to goad the president into real-world actions if they can upset him enough online. They have spent years studying the president and their understanding of human motivation is deeply researched. There is a risk that nuclear policy  which historically has been agonised over by experts due to its extraordinary importance and the terrible risks of getting it wrong  is now part of high stakes trash talking on social media.

While the risk that Putin will order the use of nuclear weapons is small, it is not non-existent. Ever since the Russian leader began his political and military conflict with Ukraine back in 2005 to force it into eventual unification with Russia, he has escalated crises when he has failed to achieve his aims.

The Russian leader did so in 2014 with the partial invasion of eastern Ukraine, and then in 2022 with the full invasion. Will he escalate again with nuclear weapons? There is a much-speculated-on secret nuclear theory in Russia called escalate to de-escalate, in which nuclear weapons are used to regain control of a conflict, forcing an enemy to surrender, or face annihilation.

Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers roll through Moscow in the Victory Day military parade in May - MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Confidential Russian papers have suggested that a first stage might involve a demonstration strike, perhaps a one-off strike on water. The second would be the targeting of a low-population site on land, potentially an abandoned town or city. The third would be a deterrence-demonstration on a potential military target such as a transport hub. From there, nuclear use would escalate to multiple tactical nuclear strikes across a theatre of operations.

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Putin has already weakened the grounds for using nuclear weapons. Russias 2014 Military Doctrine gives two main grounds for using nuclear weapons: either in response to their use by others or when the existence of the Russian Federation is threatened.

A more recent 2020 document allowed for a nuclear strike if Russia is facing an imminent nuclear attack (so pre-empting a pre-emptive strike), or if Russia would lose control of its arsenal via, for example, multiple, conventional precision strikes. Both are inherently dangerous. Twice in the Cold War, junior officers of the then-Soviet Union refused to react when technology or their superiors told them to prepare nuclear weapons. Their brave actions saved the world from a potentially catastrophic escalation.

Last year, Putin lowered Russias nuclear weapon threshold again, decreeing that an attack on Russia with conventional missile systems might justify a nuclear response, although Ukraines infamous Spiders Web attack on his bomber fleet this June did not result in a nuclear response. Ukrainians have long argued that Russias threats are a bluff to hide a failing army weighed down by a million casualties.

What can be done? There are no good options, and this crisis may get more dangerous yet. Putins regime is bent on war  there is no simpler way to say it. He doesnt want peace. I have been in Kyiv this week discussing my book on Russias new form of warfare and the city is under regular and, on occasions, prolonged missile attack. Putin has strung Trump along.

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The best bet for the West is for Ukraine  with allied support, especially in air defence to protect its resilient but suffering citizens  to fight Russia to a standstill and (hopefully) force a snarling Russian leader to end the war. Most of the alternatives dont bear thinking about.

Bob Seelys book The New Total War is out now, published by Biteback

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced hopes for further peace talks with Ukraine - but stressed his troops were "advancing on the entire front line", despite the threat of tougher US sanctions if a ceasefire was not agreed upon.

"All disappointments arise from inflated expectations," Putin said, in an apparent reference to Trump's "disappointment" with the Russian leader for not bringing an end to the war.

Speaking a day after one of the deadliest Russian air attacks on Kyiv, he repeated his demands for Ukrainian neutrality and recognition of the occupied territories, which Ukraine views as a capitulation.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was ready to meet Putin "any time".

An entire block of a residential house in Kyiv collapsed after a Russian drone and missile attack on Thursday [EPA/Shutterstock]

Speaking on Friday at the Valaam Monastery on an island in north-western Russia, Putin said he expected negotiations with Ukraine to continue, adding that he viewed "negotiations positively".

But in a veiled reference to growing pressure from Ukraine and its Western allies to agree to a long-term ceasefire, he said: "As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations.

"Our enemies and ill-wishers... now have one fiery passion: to stop our advance [on the front line in Ukraine] at any cost".

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Ukraine and its allies have repeatedly accused Russia of stalling peace negotiations and rejecting any meaningful ceasefire, saying Moscow is trying to seize more Ukrainian territories.

Three rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkey, in recent months ended without any major breakthrough. The two sides, however, agreed to swap several thousands of prisoners of war.

Speaking shortly after Putin's comments, Zelensky questioned whether Russia was showing "serious readiness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace" or whether it was "just an attempt to buy more time for war and postpone sanctions".

In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its deadly drone and missile strikes on Ukraine.

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On Thursday, at least 31 people - including five children - were killed in a Russian aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital.

US President Donald Trump condemned Russia's actions, threatening new sanctions.

"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing," he told journalists.

When in July Trump announced his original 50-day deadline for Russia to end the war, Putin didn't react. When that was reduced to 10-12 days, Putin said nothing.

But on Friday the Kremlin leader left little doubt that he would not be swayed by a White House ultimatum.

Trump may claim to be "disappointed" with Putin for not making peace - but the Russian leader is unrepentant.

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His guest on the Valaam island, Belarus' authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko, was more direct in his dismissal of Trump's deadline.

"50 days, 60 days, 10 days. You don't do politics like that," Lukashenko said.

Experience shows that, for Trump, deadlines are not set in stone. But on paper, at least, his latest deadline expires on 8 August.

If by then Russia hasn't signed up to a ceasefire in Ukraine, it will face more sanctions  so in theory will countries that buy Russian oil.

But judging by what the Russian state media has been saying in recent days, many in Moscow doubt the White House will go through with its threat of tougher sanctions.

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What's more, from what Putin said on Friday about Russia advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine, he clearly believes a ceasefire now is not in Moscow's best interest.

Ukrainian officials on Friday said Kyiv had received "positive signals" from the US about potential new sanctions.

A day earlier, senior US diplomat John Kelley told the UN Security Council that Russia and Ukraine "must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace".

"It is time to make a deal," he said.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is currently in Israel, would visit Russia next, the US president said earlier this week. He gave no further details.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday attempted to shift responsibility onto Ukraine for the lack of progress in negotiations to end the war he launched over three years ago.

Putin said he supported engaging in talks with Ukraine, but that expectations about the outcomes should not be "excessive."

He spoke at a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Valaam, an island in north-west Russia.

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"In order to reach a peaceful solution, we need thorough talks, not public ones. This should be done quietly, in the silence of the

negotiation process," Putin said, according to the TASS news agency.

"If the Ukrainian leadership believes that now is not the time, that we need to wait, well, we are ready to wait."

Putin was responding to recent remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he said meaningful negotiations will only be possible after a change of power in Moscow.

However, Zelensky signalled openness to dialogue on Friday.

In a post on X shortly after Putins remarks, Zelensky wrote: "If these are signals of a genuine willingness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace  and not merely an attempt to buy more time for war or delay sanctions  then Ukraine once again reaffirms its readiness to meet at the level of leaders at any time."

Moscow and Kiev resumed direct discussions in May for the first time since 2022. The subsequent three rounds of talks resulted in exchanges of prisoners and bodies, but no breakthrough on a halt to the fighting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday attempted to shift responsibility onto Ukraine for the lack of progress in negotiations to end the war he launched over three years ago.

Putin said he supported engaging in talks with Ukraine, but that expectations about the outcomes should not be "excessive."

He spoke at a meeting with Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko in Valaam, an island in north-west Russia.

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"In order to reach a peaceful solution, we need thorough talks, not public ones. This should be done quietly, in the silence of the

negotiation process," Putin said, according to the TASS news agency.

"If the Ukrainian leadership believes that now is not the time, that we need to wait, well, we are ready to wait."

Putin was responding to recent remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he said meaningful negotiations will only be possible after a change of power in Moscow.

However, Zelensky signalled openness to dialogue on Friday.

In a post on X shortly after Putins remarks, Zelensky wrote: "If these are signals of a genuine willingness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace  and not merely an attempt to buy more time for war or delay sanctions  then Ukraine once again reaffirms its readiness to meet at the level of leaders at any time."

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Moscow and Kiev resumed direct discussions in May for the first time since 2022. The subsequent three rounds of talks resulted in exchanges of prisoners and bodies, but no breakthrough on a halt to the fighting.

Putin sidesteps Trump's deadline

Putins comments come as US President Donald Trump continues to pressure Moscow, threatening harsh tariffs on Russian oil exports if the war is not ended within a set timeframe.

Earlier this month, Trump threatened to hit Russia's trading partners with "severe" tariffs if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire within 50 days, giving Putin a deadline of September 2.

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But on Monday Trump said he would "reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number," saying this could be "10 or 12 days."

Trump justified the move by saying he was disappointed with Putin, who had shown no willingness to compromise.

Putin has not commented on the new deadline. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the Russian leader had taken note of the threat.

Putin reiterated that Russia's war aims remain unchanged. These include Ukraine giving up large swaths of territory and disarming and installing a pro-Russian government in Kiev, effectively demanding Ukraine's total surrender.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has made his first public comments regarding negotiations to end Russias aggression against Ukraine and the ultimatum issued by US President Donald Trump.

Source: European Pravda

Details: Speaking to Kremlin-aligned media during a visit to Russia's Valaam Island, Putin addressed his comments to those who are "disappointed" with Russias policies, without directly naming Trump or anyone else.

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"As for any disappointment felt by anyone, all disappointment stems from excessive expectations. Thats a well-known general rule," said the Kremlin leader.

He noted that ending Russias aggression against Ukraine requires "serious discussions  not in public, but calmly, in the quiet of the negotiation process".

Meanwhile, Putin has confirmed that Russias official position has not changed since his 2024 ultimatum, which included Ukraines renunciation of its NATO aspirations and recognition of Moscows territorial claims.

Background:

Earlier this week, Trump announced that the United States will begin imposing tariffs and resorting to other measures against Russia within 10 days unless Moscow demonstrates progress in ending the war in Ukraine.

He also said Russias actions were "disgusting" when asked about its latest large-scale missile strikes on Ukraine.

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MOSCOW (AP)  President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia has started production of its newest hypersonic missiles and reaffirmed its plans to deploy them to ally Belarus later this year.

Sitting alongside Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Valaam Island near St. Petersburg, Putin said the military already has selected deployment sites in Belarus for the Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile.

Preparatory work is ongoing, and most likely we will be done with it before the year's end, Putin said, adding that the first series of Oreshniks and their systems have been produced and entered military service.

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Russia first used the Oreshnik, which is Russian for hazelnut tree, against Ukraine in November, when it fired the experimental weapon at a factory in Dnipro that built missiles when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union.

Putin has praised the Oreshniks capabilities, saying its multiple warheads that plunge to a target at speeds up to Mach 10 are immune to being intercepted and are so powerful that the use of several of them in one conventional strike could be as devastating as a nuclear attack.

He warned the West that Moscow could use it against Ukraines NATO allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

Russias missile forces chief has declared that Oreshnik, which can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, has a range allowing it to reach all of Europe.

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Intermediate-range missiles can fly between 500 to 5,500 kilometers (310 to 3,400 miles). Such weapons were banned under a Soviet-era treaty that Washington and Moscow abandoned in 2019.

Last fall, Putin and Lukashenko signed a treaty giving Moscow's security guarantees to Belarus, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to help repel any aggression. The pact follows the Kremlin's revision of its nuclear doctrine, which for the first time placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella amid tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.

Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for over 30 years and has relied on Kremlin subsidies and support, allowed Russia to use his countrys territory to send troops into Ukraine in 2022 and to host some of its tactical nuclear weapons. Russia hasnt disclosed how many such weapons were deployed, but Lukashenko said in December that his country currently has several dozen.

The deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, which has a 1,084-kilometer (673-mile) border with Ukraine, would allow Russian aircraft and missiles to reach potential targets there more easily and quickly if Moscow decides to use them. It also extends Russias capability to target several NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe.

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The revamped nuclear doctrine that Putin signed last fall formally lowered the threshold for Russias use of its nuclear weapons. The document says Moscow could use nuclear weapons in response to the use of nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, as well as in the event of aggression against Russia and Belarus with conventional weapons that threaten their sovereignty and/or territorial integrity.

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Russian leader Vladimir Putin has declared that his demands to Ukraine, outlined in the summer of 2024, remain unchanged.

Source: Russian news agencies quoting Putin during a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus

Details: In 2024, Putin laid out his so-called "conditions for ending hostilities in Ukraine".

At the time, he said that Ukrainian forces "must be completely withdrawn from the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts within the administrative borders".

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Meanwhile, on Friday 1 August, Putin said that he "positively assesses" the negotiation process in Istanbul and that steps must be discussed to establish "a long-term  without any temporary limitations  peace in Ukraine".

Speaking to journalists, Putin did not directly comment on an ultimatum issued by US President Donald Trump but remarked that "all disappointments from anyones side arise from excessive expectations".

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PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN)  The City of Pflugerville spent more than $250,000 on a brand-new dispatch and record management system for its police department. But records show just one year later, the city is ditching the new system and cutting ties with the developer. This week on Inside the Investigation, Senior Investigative Producer David Barer explains the issues city officials say they faced during their brief experience with the software.

Related stories

Pflugerville abandoned new police dispatch system after $250K payment

Investigation alleges former Pflugerville police chief pointed gun at lieutenants leg

You can watch all new episodes of Inside the Investigation on the KXAN+ app every Friday starting at 1 pm. Search for KXAN on your preferred streaming devices, such as Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.

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You can also listen to KXANs investigative podcast, where we feature audio versions of our weekly Inside the Investigation episodes. You can find new episodes every Friday morning wherever you get podcasts  search for KXAN Investigates.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
WORTHINGTON, W.Va. (WBOY)  For the past few months, 12 News has been closely following the issues with Worthingtons sewage system that continue to plague both the towns residents and residents of Marion County who utilize the towns sewage system. As part of that coverage, 12 News approached the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) about its role in getting this situation resolved.

The following is a Q&A session between 12 News Reporter Barbara Ron and WVDEP Chief Communications Officer Terry Fletcher, starting with a question about the WVDEPs consent order that it sent to the town of Worthington in 2024, highlighting violations found as early as November 2021.

Q: I was hoping the DEP would be able to break down the reason for the length of time it takes for the consent order to be sent, as there were multiple violations tracked each year for multiple years, and I know that in speaking with residents theyve told me sewage coming into their homes has been happening for years as well, its just gotten progressively worse.

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A: The WVDEPs goal in enforcement is to remediate problems, ensure they do not recur, and promote compliance going forward. When violations occur, WVDEP issues Notices of Violations and gives the responsible party adequate time to take corrective action. If issues are not resolved, we pursue escalating enforcement measures.

WVDEP consent orders are negotiated administrative orders. Developing a consent order requires a thorough investigation, documentation of violations, and coordination with the permittee to establish enforceable corrective measures. This ensures that the order is both legally sound and that the responsible party is both able and willing to address any and all violations.

In this case, the initial negotiations for what became Consent Order 10174 began in August 2023. A majority of collection-system related violations occurred during these negotiations. The required POCA (plan of corrective action) must address all violations.

State and local agencies speak out on Worthingtons sewage issues

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Q: In the consent order, it also detailed that the town needs to pay a civil administrative penalty of $19,463. Where does the town currently stand with its payment?

A: The initial installment of the penalty payment will be due 30 days after the Orders effective date of July 17, 2025.

Q: If the towns issues are not resolved or a POCA is not submitted, is there any chance for a potential takeover from the DEP, or what threshold does the town need to cross in order for this to happen?

A: Consent Order 10174 requires that all violations must be resolved. If all violations are not resolved, or the town does not submit a POCA, the WVDEP would escalate enforcement, as appropriate.

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The WVDEPs jurisdiction in these situations is to ensure that the permittee complies with the terms and conditions of its WVDEP-issued permit(s). We do not have the authority to assume ownership or control of a wastewater treatment plant or sewage collection facility.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission has tools and mechanisms related to distressed and/or failing utilities and we recommend reaching out to their office for more guidance.

Q: I contacted the Marion County Health Department (MCHD) about whether or not it has received complaints from residents about sewage in their homes and getting ill from it, and the MCHD said all of those complaints have been forwarded to the DEP.

What happens next with those cases? Some residents Ive spoken with have expressed frustrations over contacting the correct authorities, but they feel that not much has changed and that their health is still affected. When should residents expect a response or help in these cases?

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The following is the MCHDs statement sent to 12 News:

We have received complaints in regards to the Worthington Sewage system and the issues that they are havingWe have had requests from citizens in regards to enforcement of the issues and we dont have the purview to do so, that falls to the WV DEP when its a PSD. We have also forwarded the complaints we get to the DEP so they are aware of each instance.

A: The Marion County Health Department is correct that WVDEP has enforcement jurisdiction as it relates to WV/NPDES permitted systems like Worthingtons system. We have taken enforcement action against the Town of Worthington, required corrective measures through a Plan of Corrective Action, and assessed a monetary penalty. WVDEP continues to monitor compliance to ensure the system is improved and that violations are addressed.

While WVDEPs role is to enforce environmental laws and permit conditions, we do not have the authority to evaluate or diagnose specific health impacts of sewage exposure, nor can we advise whether residents should relocate. Citizens experiencing health concerns are encouraged to seek guidance from medical professionals or their local health department. Our focus remains on ensuring the sewage system is brought into compliance with environmental laws that are designed to protect both human health and the environment.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com.
A love triangle may be to blame for the death of a 23-year-old man who was fatally struck by a car belonging to his ex-girlfriends new boyfriend near a Queens street corner, police sources said Friday.

Cops responding to a report of an assault in progress at the corner of 101st St. and Liberty Ave. in Ozone Park around 10:45 p.m. Thursday found the man sprawled out in the street with severe injuries across his body, cops said.

The victims ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend were sitting in a car nearby when cops discovered the body, police said. The couple told police that the victim had followed them to 101st St. and then stormed up to their car and flashed some kind of weapon at the window of the boyfriend, who was driving, police said.

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Upon seeing the weapon, the boyfriend, 31, drove off southbound on 101st St. trying to get away, hitting the victim in the process, according to police.

EMS rushed the victim to Jamaica Hospital, where he died about 45 minutes later. His name was not immediately released.

An autopsy has been scheduled to determine exactly how the man died.

Police are questioning the current boyfriend about the 23-year-old victims death.

A representative from the Queens District Attorneys Office said no charges will immediately be filed and that they are still investigating the incident.
A Rhode Island man was arrested early Wednesday morning after he and two other suspects stole a Kingston womans jet ski from her backyard, then led police on a nearly 50-mile car chase across Southeastern Massachusetts, according to police.

Providence resident Livan Sarit, 21, was the only one of the three suspects to be captured after the police pursuit, Kingston police said in a press release. But, as investigators have extensive video evidence of the theft and car chase, they are confident that the other two suspects will be identified, charged and arrested soon.

Sleep well tonight gentlemen, well see you soon  and dont worry, we extradite from Rhode Island," the police department wrote.

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On July 30, a Kingston woman called 911 around 3:15 a.m. to report that a group of thieves was in the process of stealing her jet ski and trailer from her backyard, police said. She later gave police security video of the theft.

Officers responded to the home and found the suspect vehicle  a dark-colored pickup truck  fleeing the area with the jet ski trailer attached to it, police said. It was later discovered that the truck had fake license plates and had been reported stolen out of Rhode Island.

Officers tried to pull the truck over, but it drove away, police said. This sparked a lengthy car chase across southeastern Massachusetts during which Kingston and State Police pursued the truck down Route 3 south, onto Route 6 west and then on Route 25 west.

Due to the brazen nature of the crime and the limited vehicular traffic in the middle of the night, the pursuit continued for approximately 47 miles, the police department wrote.

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At one point in the chase while passing through Bourne, the stolen jet ski and trailer detached from the truck, police said. State troopers eventually deployed stop sticks to deflate the trucks tires, but the driver continued traveling at over 90 mph.

The trucks deflated tires caused debris to fly up behind it and smash into the windshield of a pursuing Kingston police cruiser, police said. The officer was sprayed with shattered glass, but continued his relentless pursuit of the felons.

The truck eventually led police west on I-195 into downtown New Bedford, police said. The chase ended when the truck crashed on the highway and caught fire.

Three suspects ran from the truck after it crashed, police said. Sarit jumped over a guardrail on I-195 into the opposing lane of traffic, but was chased down and arrested by police. The other two suspects jumped off an overpass on the highway and fled into the city.

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Sarit and the other two suspects may have been involved in other similar larcenies that are under investigation in the Kingston area, police said. No one was hurt during the incident, and the property of two different victims was recovered.

Let this serve as notice to anyone who considers committing crimes like these in our town. Dont risk it. Not in Kingston. Well chase you until your wheels fall off  literally," the police department wrote.

More local crime stories

Read the original article on MassLive.
Children struggling to meet reading standards for their age have been developing their confidence through story sessions with rabbits.

An animal therapist has teamed up with a school in Rotherham to organise the sessions and rabbits are allowed to sit on pupils' laps.

The presence of the animals has a calming effect and improves literacy skills, according to teachers.

Only 60% of children in Yorkshire leave primary school meeting the expected level of reading for 11-year-olds, compared to a national target of 74%, according to the most recent government statistics.

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The Magna Lane Centre has been holding the Read to Rabbits sessions for the past nine months.

Children can select a book to read aloud to one of the rabbits - aiding fluency and reducing tension.

The rabbits were described as a "captive" audience.

Children can choose a book to read aloud to a rabbit [BBC]

The centre is based at Foljambe Primary School and is run by the Wickersley Trust to provide support for children with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Centre manager Lisa Stones said: "The children might lack confidence, they might feel anxious, but when they come to the session that all goes away. They're able to relax, practice their reading skills in a safe and calm environment, and form a positive association with reading."

Nichola Habberjam supplies the rabbits as part of her animal therapy business, which runs educational visits [BBC]

The rabbits come from Four Paws Animal Assisted Therapy, which is run by Nichola Habberjam.

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She said: "The children at Magna Lane have their favourite rabbits, they've got really good bonds with them, and they really do enjoy the sessions."

She described animal therapy as "physically and mentally beneficial".

"Being around the animals reduces stress and anxiety."

The animal therapist also has hand-reared sheep and goats which take part in visits [BBC]

Ms Habberjam, whose business is based near Rotherham, also uses dogs, goats, sheep, guinea pigs and a miniature Shetland pony for her therapy visits.

"I take them to nursing homes, which is particularly beneficial for people with dementia. We also visit student accommodation, psychiatric hospitals and eating disorder clinics."

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Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Weeks after the discovery of a noose on the construction site of the new Nissan Stadium, authorities said that racist graffiti was discovered.

A spokesperson with the Metro Nashville Police Department told News 2 the graffiti, found on a wooden plank, was a racist comment. The construction company has since removed the graffiti from the site.

 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts 

This morning, racist graffiti was discovered on the jobsite. We condemn this act unequivocally. It is a direct violation of the values we uphold and the inclusive, respectful work environment we are committed to maintaining. The affected area was secured, and an investigation is underway. We have narrowed the timeframe in which the incident occurred and are actively working to identify the individual responsible. Acts like this are unacceptable on a project site, our community, and society. What sets this project apart is our commitment to acknowledging and confronting them. We report what we see, investigate thoroughly, support those affected, and take decisive action to uphold our standards. We continually reinforce the message that hate has no place in our workplace. We encourage respectful behavior, monitor for compliance, and lead with accountability. This incident is a painful reminder of why that vigilance mattersand why we remain unwavering in our efforts to build a culture of respect, dignity, and safety for everyone on site. Statement from the Tennessee Builders Alliance

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

A noose was discovered on the construction site on July 18. The Tennessee Builders Alliance called it a racist and hateful symbol in a statement sent to News 2 following the discovery. On July 24, the MNPD said that no charges are anticipated to result from the investigation.

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An investigation into the graffiti is ongoing, the MNPD added.

News 2 has reached out to the TBA for more information.

 Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go.

 Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.

 Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee.

This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) The latest protest against the Trump Administration is scheduled to take place at the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building on Saturday.

The movement that organized the No Kings protest in June and the Good Trouble Lives protest in July, 50501 Harrisburg, returns to the steps of the state capitol on August 2.

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The event details highlight that the event intends to be the latest national day of non-violent action in response to attacks posed on the civil and human rights by the Trump administration and to remind them that in America, the power lies with the people.

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Protests will run from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. and will feature speakers, music, and more.

A core principle behind our Rage Against the Regime actions is a commitment to nonviolence in all we do. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values. Weapons of any sort are not welcome at this event, 50501 Harrisburg said.

According to 50501 Harrisburg, the event had been permitted and approved by the city.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather nationwide on Saturday, Aug. 2 to  as organizers have dubbed it  Rage Against the Regime of President Donald Trump.

Organizers say the demonstrations, the latest in a series of peaceful summertime protests in hundreds of locations across the country, are meant to mobilize masses of people against the administration's actions.

They are particularly concerned about aggressive immigration enforcement, dismantling of government programs and agencies from Medicaid to the National Weather Service, and attacks on democratic institutions, according to a news release. They also want to draw attention to the Trump administration's refusal to release more information about deceased child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

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The name of this day of protest is both a play on the name of the American rock band Rage Against the Machine, and an expression of public frustration.

People dont know what to do with their rage, Hunter Dunn, a national spokesperson for the 50501 protest group, which is organizing the rally, told USA TODAY. Lets give them something productive.

In June, people demonstrated in 2,100 locations as part of the No Kings protests, scheduled to coincide with both President Donald Trumps 79th birthday and the military parade honoring the Armys 250th anniversary. They argued that the president was taking too much power for himself, directly contradicting the nation's original purpose, declaring independence from the King of England.

On July 17, protesters took to the streets in 1,600 cities and towns for Good Trouble demonstrations honoring the late Georgia Congressman John Lewis, a Democrat and former civil rights activist, who argued that people should get into "good trouble" by peacefully protesting social ills.

"Rage Against the Regime" protests are set to take place across the United States on Aug. 2, 2025, the same day as Vice President JD Vance's birthday.

Saturday is also Vice President JD Vances 41st birthday, though Dunn said most organizers hadnt considered Vance in setting the date on the first Saturday of August.

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The White House referred questions about the protests to Vances office. A spokesperson for Vance didnt immediately respond to USA TODAYs request for comment.

The band Rage Against the Machine, which played from 1991 until disbanding in 2024, was known for its leftist politics, including anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian messages. USA TODAY reached out to the band for comment but did not get an immediate reply.

In Kansas, 50501 event coordinator Scott McFarland said he had never heard of the band. He sees the protest he's organizing for outside the state Capitol in Topeka, as both an outlet for people to express their anger and to show them they aren't alone in what he called an autocratic society seeking to divide Americans.

Bruce Springsteen shown in 2014 performing with Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello.

A Massachusetts protest is billed as a festival of nonviolent resistance." At Cambridge Common, near Harvard University, the festival includes music, ice cream and art, and also calls for action, including mutual aid to help immigrant rights and learning about boycotting, a a news release said.

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It starts at a very local and personal level, and then becomes a collective thing, Samantha McGarry, a local volunteer, said. Over time, the hope is that it kind of weakens the pillars that are upholding an authoritarian regime using nonviolent measures.

Dunn, of 50501, said there are upwards of 400 "Rage Against the Regime" demonstrations planned  far fewer than the 1,500 "Good Trouble" protests.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Rage Against the Regime' protests planned against Trump admin
Tennessee is set to have another set of demonstrations this weekend in protest of President Donald Trump.

Organizers say that the demonstrations are part of a series of peaceful protests scheduled to take place this summer in many locations across the country. Their goal is to gather large numbers of people to protest against the administration's actions.

The Aug. 2 rallies are meant to advocate against the administration's "fascist actions, for the release of the Epstein files, and in protest of this administration's leniency to Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange for her tainted testimony."

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Here's what to know about the upcoming protests in Tennessee.

Know your rights: Protesting in Tennessee: What are your rights?

What are the 'Rage Against the Regime' protests?

The band Rage Against the Machine, which played from 1991 until disbanding in 2024, was known for its leftist politics, including anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian messages.

Much like the "No Kings" and "Good Trouble Lives On" protests in June and July, these protests aim to gather people in large numbers to protest against the current presidential administration.

When are the 'Rage Against the Regime' protests?

All protests under the "Rage Against the Regime" name will take place on Saturday, Aug. 2.

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Saturday is also Vice President JD Vances 41st birthday. However, Hunter Dunn, a national spokesperson for the 50501 protest group, which is organizing the rally, said that most organizers hadnt considered Vance when setting the date for the first Saturday of August.

Where are the 'Rage Against the Regime' protests in Tennessee?

There are seven Rage Against the Regime protests scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 2.

Chattanooga: starts at 9:15 a.m. ET

Clarksville: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CT

Jackson: 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT

Kingsport: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET

Knoxville: 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET

Nashville: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CT

Paris: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CT

Tullahoma: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. CT

How many protests have taken place against President Trump in 2025?

The "Rage Against the Regime" protests mark the fifth wave of national protests in the United States against the president since his inauguration.

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In June, it was estimated that more than 5 million people participated across approximately 2,100 communities in the U.S. during the June 14 "No Kings" protests, which coincided with Trump's 79th birthday and the Army's 250th anniversary parade in Washington. D.C.

On July 17, the "Good Trouble" protests, hosted by the same organizers as "No Kings," took place across six Tennessee cities, with more than 1,600 demonstrations nationwide.

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: When are the 'Rage Against the Regime' protests in Tennessee?
A grandmother has said the halting of railway services through a major station for three weeks will leave her feeling "vulnerable" on her disrupted journey home at night.

No trains will be running though Stockport station from 2 to 23 August while the bridge which goes over the railway line is demolished and then replaced, National Rail said.

First constructed in 1958, the Greek Street road and roundabout crosses over the West Coast Mainline which links trains from Stockport to Manchester and is Europe's busiest mix-use railway.

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Trains will either be diverted or passengers will have to use replacement buses for the 21-day period.

Christine Costello, who will be travelling to Stockport twice a week from Crewe to look after her grandchildren in the school holidays, said she had been told she would have to take a train from Crewe to Wilmslow and then a bus between Wilmslow and Stockport.

She said: "It's going to be a real nuisance because it'll take so much longer.

"I think the coming up won't be so bad, it's the going back at night that I don't like, you feel quite vulnerable.

"It's a real problem for me, I'm not a young person."

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Network Rail has apologised for the disruption but said it was a "key piece of infrastructure" that needed replacing for the safety of both road users and the railway.

The company said it was working with the council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Avanti West Coast to make sure people were aware of how the work would impact them.

The road and roundabout is on a bridge which crosses over the railway [Network Rail]

More than 500 trains usually pass through Stockport each day, according to Avanti West Coast.

Another commuter who regularly travels to London from Stockport said he was having to do "a lot of forward planning" to avoid the journey.

"If needs be, I'll have to try somewhere and try to get my way there because I can't even get a train from Stockport to wherever I can get the London train from," he said.

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Stockport Railway Station manager for Avanti West Coast Lisa Magee said the station and ticket office would remain open during the works, allowing people to walk through via the subway.

"Our advice to customers travelling is to check before they travel, allow a little bit more time for the journey and there's going to be plenty of staff available to help them with onward connections," she said.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

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German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has issued a stern warning to Israel not to annex the West Bank, during a visit to the Palestinian territory on Friday.

Wadephul also strongly condemned the increasing violence by Jewish settlers against the Palestinian population.

After a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, the conservative politician emphasized, "We support the right of the Palestinians to have their own state at the end of a political process."

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Wadephul said that Germany is ready to actively support the reconstruction process after the end of the Gaza war. For this, he said, a renewal of the democratic legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority is necessary.

However, the authority must not be financially starved. Wadephul called on the Israeli government to transfer withheld tax revenues, which rightfully belong to the Palestinians, to the authority.

The Palestinian extremist organization Hamas should not play a political role in a future Palestinian state, he added.

Germany will not recognize annexations

The source of concerns about annexation are statements by Israeli politicians and a recently passed resolution by the parliament. In it, the right-wing religious government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urged to extend the "sovereignty" of the state of Israel to all Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

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"We clearly reject any annexation fantasies, whether for Gaza or the West Bank, which are also brought forward by parts of the Israeli government," Wadephul said. "They would not be recognized by Germany."

Condemnation of Israeli settler violence in West Bank

Wadephul sharply condemned violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank, as he visited the village of Taybeh earlier in the day.

"Such acts are crimes, they are terror and they finally need to be prosecuted," Wadephul said, adding his visit to the West Bank community was "a sign of solidarity with all people suffering under settler violence."

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Taybeh has been repeatedly attacked by Israeli settlers over the past few months, amid a surge in violence directed at Palestinian communities in the occupied territories since the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.

"As an occupying power and a constitutional state, Israel must enforce security and order and prosecute offences," said Wadephul.

"It must protect the Palestinian population from these offenders," he urged, adding that Berlin is in favour of imposing further sanctions on violent settlers at EU level.

The situation in the West Bank has significantly worsened since the start of the Gaza war. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 960 Palestinians have been killed there in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists.

Germany pledges another 5 million in Gaza aid

Germany is set to provide another 5 million ($5.7 million) in aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, Wadephul said at the start of the second day of his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Friday.

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Wadephul said the money would go to the UN's World Food Programme to be used primarily for "bakeries and soup kitchens to provide the people of Gaza with bread and hot meals in the medium term."

Berlin also plans to fund a field hospital run by the Order of Malta to provide urgently needed basic health care in Gaza City, the minister added.

Foreign minister calls for close cooperation with UN

Wadephul called on the Israeli government to quickly resume close cooperation with the United Nations and its organizations on the ground to improve the distribution of humanitarian aid in the embattled Gaza Strip.

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UN staff had "clearly shown that they are able to provide sufficient supplies to all people in Gaza if they are allowed to do so and if they can work in safety," he said.

According to the German Foreign Office, German humanitarian aid for the Palestinian Territories has totalled more than 330 million since the start of the fighting in Gaza in October 2023.

More than 95% of the money is used for the population in the Gaza Strip, it said. Most recently, aid was increased by up to nearly 31 million in May.

German military planes begin air drop over Gaza

German military aircraft have begun dropping aid over the Gaza Strip, the Defence Ministry said on Friday, as Berlin joins international efforts to relieve the dire humanitarian situation there.

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The transport aircraft dropped 34 pallets containing almost 14 metric tons of food and medical supplies, the ministry said.

The air drops come amid outrage over the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, which the United Nations has warned is on the brink of famine.
The Brief

GloRilla, legally known as Gloria Woods, was arrested for felony marijuana possession after her home was burglarized, sparking debate on law enforcement's treatment of crime victims.

Attorney Tom Church criticized the basis for the search warrant and warned of a chilling effect on crime reporting, while the sheriff defended the deputies' actions.

State Rep. Eric Bell advocates for House Bill 464, which aims to protect crime victims from arrest, highlighting the need for legislative reform in response to Woods' arrest.

CUMMING, Ga. - The recent arrest of rapper GloRilla, legally known as Gloria Woods, following a burglary at her Forsyth County home has ignited a debate about how law enforcement handles crime victims and prompted renewed calls for legislative reform.

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PREVIOUS: GloRilla facing drug charges in metro Atlanta after burglary investigation

GloRilla arrest

The backstory

Forsyth County deputies were called to the home of the rapper, whose legal name is Gloria Woods, last week in response to a burglary during which shots were fired. By the time deputies arrived, the intruders had fled, reportedly taking some of Woods jewelry.

During their investigation, deputies said they detected the smell of marijuana and subsequently obtained a search warrant. According to the sheriffs office, a "significant amount" of marijuana was later found in a bedroom closet.

Woods, who was not home at the time of the burglary, returned later and turned herself in. She was charged with felony marijuana possession and released on $22,000 bond.

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Woods commented on the incident on social media, posting, "my house gets home invaded and Im the only one that gets arrested."

GloRilla's arrest chilling,' attorney says

What they're saying

"This is pretty outrageous," said Tom Church, a metro Atlanta-based trial attorney. "Its going to have a really bad chilling effect on people calling the police to report crimes. And that's already something that we see in certain communities."

PREVIOUS: Calls for rapper GloRilla's charges to be dropped; Georgia lawmaker weighs in

Church also questioned the basis for the search warrant. "They claimed to have smelled marijuana during a time in a legal framework where there are products that look like marijuana, smell like marijuana, that are actually legal hemp products," he said. "So it's already a very thin basis to go back to the house and execute a search warrant."

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The sheriff has defended the deputies actions, stating that while investigators remain committed to finding the burglars, they must "continue to uphold and enforce the law in all aspects of this case."

Church said that approach is troubling. "Thats not really how we want officers to respond when they're there to investigate crime," he said. "They don't need to be looking around or manufacturing evidence of crime."

GloRilla performs during halftime during the AT&T WNBA All-Star Game 2025 on July 19, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images | Copyright 2025 NBAE)

GloRilla arrest reignites push for HB 464

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State Rep. Eric Bell, who is calling for the charges to be dropped, says the arrest highlights the need for House Bill 464, which he co-sponsored. The bipartisan bill would provide protections for victims of certain crimes by preventing their arrest in some circumstances.

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"If we passed HB 464 into law last year in Georgia, when she would have made that phone call, she wouldn't have been arrested," Bell said. "How dare do we criminalize a victim when they're seeking for help?"

Church agreed that reform is necessary but urged caution in crafting new laws. "Theres probably some more things we need to flesh out, because, again, you don't want to stop the police from acting on the dead body they find in the basement," he said. "That's not what we're going after. What we're going after is making sure a situation like this doesn't happen again."

What's next

The sheriffs office says the investigation into the burglary remains ongoing.

What we don't know

Attempts to reach her representatives for comment were not immediately successful.

The Source

FOX 5's Rob DiRienzo spoke with Tom Church, a metro Atlanta-based trial attorney, and State Rep. Eric Bell for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reports were also used.
Editors note  This story has been updated to add more context to the reporting.

KIDDER TOWNSHIP, CARBON COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  For the past few months, raw sewage has been leaking into a lagoon which flows into Lake Harmony and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says it came from a pump station at a popular resort in the Poconos.

Every flush, every shower just overflows and fills it into the back of the building, homeowner Victoria Mann claims.

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An unknown amount of raw sewage is leaking into a lagoon that connects to Lake Harmony in the Poconos, according to a DEP notice of violation sent to the resort on June 16.

In the notice obtained by 28/22 News, the DEP issued a violation to Split Rock Resort for pollution and unpermitted discharge of sewage into a lagoon at three pump stations around the resort back in May.

The leak violates section 201 of Pennsylvanias Clean Streams Law, which states, No person or municipality shall place or permit to be placed, or discharge or permit to flow, or continue to discharge or permit to flow, into any of the waters of the commonwealth any sewage, except as hereinafter provided in this act.

Split-Rock-Pump-Station-NOV-6-16-25Download

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Victoria Mann is a homeowner in the area and is deeply concerned.

Man accused of murder, burning womans body has court appearance

Even though I dont physically live in the Split Rock community, their wildlife is our wildlife. Their ground is our ground. Water, the sewage could possibly be going into aquifer, could be getting into a stream, could be being sent anywhere. It just doesnt seem fair to have it happen to our beautiful community that we all love here, said Mann.

Mann says she just wants the pumps fixed, and if they arent fixed, the building should be shut down until they are.

There was an excessive amount of raw sewage that was pouring into the area behind the pump. We just want to have some kind of future moving forward and some security from Split Rock, knowing that this will not continue to happen, said Mann.

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In a letter to DEP and the Kidder Township Supervisors on July 10, Split Rock Resort said the situation has been completely rectified.

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28/22 News reached out to DEP for more information and were told of another overflow which DEP says Split Rock reported on July 30. DEP provided the following statement.

DEP is aware there was an overflow from a pump station to the lagoon. We are not aware of any recreation uses of the lagoon. Split Rock reported an overflow on July 30, 2025. DEP has followed up seeking additional information and a timeline for repair. A Compliance and Maintenance Plan is forthcoming.

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DEP is continuing to work with the resort regarding this matter.

28/22 News has reached out to Split Rock multiple times and is awaiting their response.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to 28/22 News.
Tampa Bay Rays and St. Petersburg officials discussed a $40 million settlement to buy the team out of playing at Tropicana Field instead of fixing the hurricane-damaged stadium, said a council member who was briefed on the talks.

Richie Floyd told the Tampa Bay Times on Friday that a representative of the Rays called him directly late last year, before team officials said in December they had changed their minds and wanted the Trop fixed, to inform him of that possibility. He said city officials also floated that $40 million figure to him in other conversations.

Floyd said he didnt know which party first pitched that amount, but said his understanding was that St. Petersburg would pay the club to buy out of the citys obligation to repair the stadium. City Council members recently learned the price of those repairs has climbed to $59.7 million and could rise more.

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The city and the Rays are under an agreement from 1995 to play at the Trop through the 2028 season. The agreement was extended one year after Hurricane Milton put the dome out of order for this season, sending the team to play its home games at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees spring training home in Tampa.

It wasnt like, Hey this is what were trying to do. It was just something floated like, Were having a conversation of how we might end the use agreement or how we might move forward with the use agreement. Admitting that like all possibilities were on the table, Floyd said.

Two city spokespersons did not immediately return a call, texts and an email seeking comment at 11 a.m. Friday. One of them, Samantha Bequer, responded by text shortly before 4 p.m. that they were in a meeting and that Mayor Ken Welch had no availability.

A spokesperson for the Rays declined to comment.

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As repair costs to the Trop rack up beyond initial estimates, Floyd has repeatedly voiced dismay with city officials reluctance to negotiate a settlement. City Administrator Rob Gerdes has said that the city preferred a settlement tied to building a new stadium to make it worthwhile to forgo a potential reimbursement for repairs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The fact that there was a number that I cannot even point to the origin of, I didnt feel was as important as a detail as there wasnt an analysis done around insurance and FEMA, Floyd said, adding that he wouldve preferred to dig into those numbers in public for the best outcome.

Rays president Brian Auld said the team preferred a settlement at a November City Council meeting, but didnt publicly state a dollar figure. At the time, the city, the Rays, developer Hines and Pinellas County still had an agreement to build a $1.3 billion stadium and surrounding development. All that was left to approve were votes to take out bonds for public funding for the project, which were delayed and then approved in December.

After the hurricanes, the Rays said that terms of the deal no longer worked for them financially. The club announced in March that it would not move forward and let a key document in the deal expire at the end of that month.

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Today, that sounds like a pretty sweet deal, said council member Gina Driscoll, who said she recalls talks about a settlement toward a stadium deal in lieu of paying for repairs but not an exact dollar figure.

If city officials knew then that the Rays would back out of the stadium agreement, there may have been a completely different ending, she said.

Floyd said that the settlement was discussed in the context of a stadium deal still being in play. Now that the project is legally over, Welch wants to move forward with a new vision of the Historic Gas Plant District once located at the stadium site. It would include senior housing, a new home for the Woodson African American Museum of Florida and job training. But not every parcel can be developed as the city must provide space and parking to the Rays under the current use agreement.

The council is scheduled to discuss the next round of Trop repairs next week. More expenses are still slated for approval and possible tariffs on roof fabric shipped in from China have not kicked in. A city report from November estimated that the total cost to fix the Trop would be at least $55.7 million.

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Having a number floated to me a couple times over a course of four months doesnt mean I have any faith in it, but knowing those conversations exist and were not able to discuss them, and theyre not being brought to us in a manner that we cant determine our fiscal interests, Im not down for it, Floyd said.

It might not have (been cheaper) from the citys perspective, Floyd said. Its totally possible that it made more financial sense for us to rebuild the stadium based on FEMA and insurance. But for us to not have those numbers laid out in front of us is an irresponsible way for the city to make decisions.

Council chairperson Copley Gerdes said he never heard an exact dollar figure discussed in terms of a settlement, but believes that number is too high given how many local businesses around the Trop are hurting without Rays games there this summer. St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chris Steinocher told council members Thursday that some businesses there are seeing 30% less revenue.

Having baseball here is an economic development issue that brings a lot of business, Gerdes said. Hundreds of regular jobs and thousands of gameday jobs are not being utilized right now and thats a big deal to me.

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So far, the city has only received $7.6 million in insurance payouts. City officials are optimistic that FEMA will come through, but St. Petersburg hasnt received any federal reimbursement for the dome repairs.

City officials say the Trop is on schedule to be repaired for an opening day tentatively set for April 6.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  Rapid City police are on the lookout for a suspect in a shooting that happened Thursday night.

According to a news release from the RCPD, around 7:05 p.m., an officer was flagged down by a passing vehicle in the area of Mount Rushmore Road and Allen Avenue.

Sturgis Rally riders part of states crash numbers

The driver told the officer that the man in the passenger seat of his vehicle had just been shot. RCPD detectives learned the shooting was the result of an interaction with people in another vehicle in the 700 block of Farlow Avenue.

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Police spoke with multiple witnesses and identified the suspect responsible for the shooting as 29-year-old Kenneth Norman of Sioux Falls. Hes currently on parole, and wanted for a parole violation.

Information obtained by witnesses indicate that the victim knew the suspect, and the shooting was not random. Its believed that Norman may be headed to Sioux Falls following the shooting.

RCPD said in their press release that he should be considered armed, dangerous, and should not be approached. Anyone with information on Normans whereabouts is asked to contact Detective James Halterman (605) 394-4131.

Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting the letters RCPD and the information to 847411.

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The victim sustained serious injuries from the shooting, and remains hospitalized, according to the RCPD.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Southeastern Louisiana University deployed four buoys in Lake Maurepas on Feb. 1 for independent, scientific monitoring as part of Air Products work on its carbon storage project. Scientists will use data captured directly from the lake to closely monitor the ecosystem. (Photo credit: SLU)

I write as a two-time graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University (Class of 2001 and 2005) to express my outrage and deep disappointment over the universitys treatment of Dr. Fereshteh Emami, as detailed in the Louisiana Illuminator.

Dr. Emami, who led a major research project on Lake Maurepas, was abruptly removed after exposing dangerous levels of toxic metals, including arsenic and lead. Her research identified serious environmental threats, yet instead of being supported by her institution, she was removed from the project, excluded from a documentary, and reassigned to teaching-only duties without explanation.

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This is nothing short of shameful. Southeastern appears more concerned with protecting political and corporate interests than upholding scientific integrity or safeguarding public health. The universitys silence, complicity, or worse, its cooperation with those trying to bury this research, is a betrayal of its mission and of the public trust.

As an alumnus, I am ashamed of my university. The administrations actions send a chilling message to all researchers: tell the truth, and youll be punished. That is not education. That is cowardice.

Southeastern must be held accountable  for Dr. Emami, for the truth, and for the people who deserve to know whats in their water.

Amanda Jones, educator, author, founding member of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship

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SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

This such blatant corruption  and the fact that these Air Product corporate bullies and Southeastern evidently think were to stupid to see the connection of how their money connections to the university clearly strong-armed this decision  is an insult to educated people!

This blatant biased decision also clearly shows the intentions of this Air Products project is obviously not in the best interest of the environment, wildlife or people of Lake Maurepas or the surrounding waters! She needs to be reinstated as a researcher immediately.





Wendy G. Clark
We all need to change to fight climate change

Manhattan: The repeating heat waves and heat domes weve been enduring and cause New Yorkers to cool off with open fire hydrants should inspire us to take on the right mindset described by emergency management professional Kelly McKinney (Always being ready for a new emergency, op-ed, July 28).

Our emergency is the mounting climate breakdown thats already upon us. The right mindset, according to McKinney, is one thats bereft of false hopes, one that our leaders in Albany fortunately had six years ago when, bereft of false hopes themselves, they passed the Climate Leadership Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Wisely, the act included deadlines for cleaning up our air and bringing down the heat. The deadlines were built into it to prevent future leaders  our current leaders  from bending to the false hopes flashed at them by the fossil fuel industry and its supporters.

One such hope is that some as-yet-undiscovered and untested technological trick will magically undo the atmospheric damage we are now inflicting on our world. Hopefully, our leaders in Albany, especially Gov. Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, will advance the far-sighted wisdom of CLCPA and shut out this kind of false hope.

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To help them accomplish this, all of us New Yorkers need to assume McKinneys emergency manager stance ourselves and encourage our Albany leaders to recall the 2019 mindset they had when they really knew what kind of heat waves and heat domes were coming for us  and acted to prevent them. Lisa Meyer

Codified ageism

Catskill, N.Y.: I am disappointed with Hochul and state Democrats for neglecting numerous opportunities to remove the age limit for hiring police. Particularly, it should have ended the moment Proposition 1 was approved by voters in November. Why did we amend the state Constitution to protect people from discrimination if were going to ignore it? Do we plan on treating ethnicity, nationality, disability, sexuality, identity and autonomy with the same disregard? Those are the other supposedly protected categories, and failing to acknowledge one sets a dangerous precedent for all. Additionally, Republican state Sen. George Borrello has been introducing bills to address this problem for years. If politicians cared more about the immediate needs of the public than two-party politics, our majority leader would have expedited his bill for the greater good during this years legislative session. Instead, we are still waiting for Hochul to put her own spin on things. John Pinder

Same old stuff

Staten Island: Once again, the MTA and our elected officials are sticking it to the working stiffs who have to drive to work or doctor and hospital visits. Once again, they lie and fudge numbers, saying they only lost $700 million last year because of fare-beaters. Once again, they feel they can add congestion pricing to subsidize the poor people who take buses and subways, and 46% of those dont even pay. Once again, they only increase bus and subway fares 10 cents and drivers get hit with an increase of more than 50 cents to pay for the lowlifes who refuse to pay. And once again, the people of New York will vote for the Democrats who continue to punish drivers. And our unions endorse these same Democrats who continue to stick it to their members. Tony Anastasio

Party in power

Howard Beach: What does a Democrat do for New Yorkers? Lets see. First they say they need money to fix the transit system, so they create congestion pricing. But now they say they need a 3% fare hike. We thought congestion pricing was going to cover that, right? Keep voting for Democrats, New Yorkers. After all, if you do not have enough money because youre taxed higher than any state in America, you can find a second job and work weekends! And if mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani gets elected, he will have to raise your taxes to cover all the things he wants to give to New Yorkers, like fewer police and a free ride on buses. Oh, you dont take NYC transit? Well, you will still have to pay for it. Nick Di Pasquale

Made to kill

Manhattan: The editorial Guns are the problem (July 31) emphasizes the continuing horror of unregulated guns of war. The Second Amendment states that the right to own firearms is permitted to those who are members of well-regulated militias  that is, our National Guard and Army Reserves. Who benefits from the ongoing trade in machine guns? The companies that make the guns. Shame on this nation for letting a gun fulfill its purpose on Monday evening  the purpose of killing people quickly. Thank you for your coverage of yet another sad mass shooting murder story. Noah Kaufman

Troubled minds

Brooklyn: Your editorial focused entirely on the gun situation in this country. I agree 100% on all that was stated. Congress needs to do more to get these guns off the streets. However, you failed to mention the dark cloud hanging over us thats getting bigger each day: mental illness. All of the killings you mention were committed by someone who was mentally ill. In my opinion, this country does not do enough for them. You cant just prescribe a pill and put these people back on the street. How many more innocent people have to die because of someone being allowed to walk the streets who is mentally challenged? John De Angelo

Left defenseless

Brooklyn: A person senselessly killed four people in the Park Ave. building, including a brave NYPD officer trying to make an extra dollar to support his family. These people basically had no chance against a semi-automatic rifle. Politicians here say tougher gun laws are needed, yet this one was from Las Vegas. Our mayor and governor have made it almost impossible for hard-working citizens of the city to protect themselves against mentally disturbed people or violent criminals on the streets of NYC, or even on mass transit. Conceal-and-carry laws do not allow firearms in many places in the city, which is disturbing at this time. The Supreme Court allowed conceal-and-carry in NYC and a few other states a few years back, but because of restrictions put in place and numerous steps to acquire a permit, people who can pass a background check are unable to defend themselves or loved ones. Joseph Comperchio

Keep out

Staten Island: Most commercial buildings in Manhattan, if not all, have a concierge/security desk in the lobby where you have to swipe your employee card to get access to the elevator banks. I would suggest having the card swipe outside of the building to not allow anyone else access. For issues of deliveries and expected visitors/guests, Im sure that could all be worked out with some strategic planning. Myra B. Goodman

Busted narrative

Manhattan: Will someone please tell ICE Barbie and her thugs that most immigrants, like Didarul Islam, are good people (Relatives of slain officer had planned gathering, now they plan funeral, July 31)? He died doing what he loved. He died serving others. Why have there been no comments from Kristi Noem? Ill tell you why. Because she knows she is wrong in her view of immigrants. She should go to Alligator Alcatraz. Joie Anderson

Sins of silence

Gotland, Sweden: Consider this an urgent SOS! Where are former leaders, like Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as the deranged President Trump continually violates his oath of office and all standards of decency and humanity? Where are former leaders of the first Trump presidency, like Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, FBI head James Comey and many other rejects who Trump 45 threw under the wheels of his bus? America needs to hear from them  now! We join the host of loyal Americans who are dismayed at the senseless sounds of silence from former leaders whose voices, pens and computers absolutely need to be raised at this time of gross abuses of power and endless violations of common humanity and decency, leading to national and world peril. The need is great, and time is short! Eugene and Birgit Elander

Refocused

Hammonton, N.J.: Amazing article by S.E. Cupp (The Democratic Party has to grow up & go young, column, July 31). Zero mention of Trump. I didnt think she was able to do that. William Cook
August brings with it a hint of what the tropics could bring, along with some potential relief from the heat that's prompted several heat warnings and heat advisories during the week.

But first ...

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Heat advisories are in effect across much  but not all  of Florida today, Aug. 1. That's a drop from the heat advisories issued for almost the entire state, all except for Monroe County, on July 31.

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 See when heat watches and warnings could be issued in your area

Forecasters are watching an area northeast of Florida for potential tropical development in the coming days. Regardless of development, it could bring tropical moisture to the Southeast, including some to Florida, providing some relief from the relentless heat.

Heat warnings, watches, advisories in effect across Florida Friday, Aug. 1

Quick look at conditions around Florida Friday, Aug. 1

Rain forecast for Florida Aug. 1-6, 2025.

Pensacola, western Panhandle: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 106.

Tallahassee, central Panhandle: A heat advisory is in effect through this evening. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon with gusty winds, frequent lightning and heavy rainfall.

Jacksonville, North, Northeast Florida: The heatwave is expected to continue into Saturday. Don't be fooled by slightly lower air temps this weekend; the humidity will make it feel dangerously hot, with heat index values hitting 105-112. A heat advisory begins at 10 a.m.

Daytona Beach to Stuart, central and eastern Florida: Stretch of hazardous heat continues. A heat advisory is in effect for all of East Central Florida today for heat index values up to 110 degrees. Showers and storms begin along the sea breeze by midday, moving inland in the afternoon/evening.

South Florida: A heat advisory is in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Offshore scattered showers continue on both coasts this morning.

Southwest, western Florida: temperatures trending back closer to normal as rain chances increase. Temps in the mid 90s, with heat index between 100 and 107.

Will Florida see any rain soon? When will cooler weather arrive?

There is some potential for rain over the weekend and into the first full week of August, according to the National Weather Service.

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The Panhandle and North Florida are expected to see the most rain, up to almost 4 inches in some locations.

Even for areas expected to see some rain over the weekend and into early next week, don't expect temperatures to drop much. National Weather Service forecasts call for temps to remain in the upper 80s to mid 90s across the state.

What is a heat advisory?

A heat advisory is issued for dangerous heat conditions that are not expected to reach warning criteria, according to the National Weather Service.

When a heat advisory is issued also depends on where you are in Florida.

For most of the state, a heat advisory is issued if the heat index is expected to be between 108 to 112 degrees.

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Here is the breakdown by each NWS region. A heat advisory is issued when the heat index is expected to be:

Western Panhandle: 108-112 degrees

Central Panhandle, North Florida: 108 to 112 within the next 6 to 24 hours or air temperature is forecast to reach 103 degrees

Northeast Florida: 108-112 degrees

East Central Florida: 108 to 112 degrees

In South Florida : 108 degrees in South Florida or 105 degrees for Miami/Dade and Broward counties

Southwest, West Central Florida: 108-112 or the air temp is greater or equal to 103 degrees

The National Weather Service Miami said Miami/Dade County wanted a lower threshold for a heat advisory for its population.

What should you do when there is a heat advisory?

"Residents are advised to consider postponing or rescheduling outdoor activities, especially during the heat of the day," the National Weather Service said.

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"If you must be outside, be sure to drink plenty of water and take frequent breaks in the shade. Stay in a cool place, especially during the heat of the day and evening."

Heat index and temperature map for US, Florida

See expected temperatures across Florida through first weekend of August:

High temperature forecast for Florida Aug. 1, 2025.

Weekend weather forecast for Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola Friday: High 91. Heat index 106. Chance of showers and thunderstorms, 40%. Saturday: High 90. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Sunday: High 88. Chance of showers and thunderstorms 70%.



Weekend weather forecast for Tallahassee, Florida

Tallahassee Friday: High 96. Heat index 107. Chance of showers and thunderstorms 50%. Saturday: High 94. Heat index 107. Chance of showers and thunderstorms 90%. Sunday: High 88. Chance of precipitation is 90%.



Weekend weather forecast for Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville Friday: High 98. Heat index 110. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Saturday: High 95. Heat index 110. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Sunday: High 90. Chance of precipitation is 90%.



Weekend weather forecast for Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach Friday: High 93. Heat index 106. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Saturday: High 92. Heat index 103. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Sunday: High 90. Chance of precipitation is 70%.



Weekend weather forecast for Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne Friday: High 93. Heat index 108. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Saturday: High 93. Heat index 105. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Sunday: High 92. Chance of precipitation is 30%.



Weekend weather forecast for Port St. Lucie, Florida

Port St. Lucie Friday: High 95. Heat index 107. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Saturday: High 93. Heat index 103. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday: High 93. Chance of precipitation is 50%.



Weekend weather forecast for West Palm Beach, Florida

West Palm Beach Friday: High 88. Heat index 103. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday: High 88. Heat index 100. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Sunday: High 88. Chance of precipitation is 40%.



Weekend weather forecast for Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers Friday: High 93. Heat index 102. Chance of precipitation is 50%. Saturday: High 92. Heat index 101. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday: High 93. Chance of precipitation is 50%.



Weekend weather forecast for Naples, Florida

Naples Friday: High 91. Heat index 105. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Saturday: High 91. Heat index 103. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday: High 92. Chance of precipitation is 40%.



Weekend weather forecast for Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota Friday: High 90. Heat index 102. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday: High 89. Heat index 100. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Sunday: High 90. Chance of precipitation is 50%.



Weekend weather forecast for Orlando, Florida

Orlando Friday: High 95. Heat index 105. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday: High 95. Heat index 103. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday: High 94. Chance of precipitation is 60%.



National Hurricane Center tracking three tropical waves

All is quiet in the tropics, with no development expected over the next seven days. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical waves, including two in the Caribbean.

Stay informed. Get weather alerts via text

What's next?

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This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida weather forecast, heat, rain, tropics




NEED TO KNOW

Beauty and the Geek Australia alum Tamika Chesser was accused of murdering her partner, Julian Story

Julian Story was found dismembered in June, but his head was not with the rest of his body

A skull believed to be Story's was located by a dog





The head of a man whose reality-star partner is accused of murdering him is believed to have been located after a search that lasted more than a month.

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Former Beauty and the Geek Australia star Tamika Chesser, 34, was accused of murder after Julian Story, 39, was found dismembered without his head in their apartment in Port Lincoln, South Australia, in June, South Australia Police said in a statement.

Police said they were called to the scene following an initial report of a small fire.

Police said at the time that "Julian's body had been dismembered," adding, "Julian's head had been removed during the dismemberment and, despite extensive searches, has not yet been located."

Related: Former Reality Star Is Accused of Murdering, Dismembering Her Partner. 10 Days Later, Police Are Still Searching for the Man's Head

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In an update on July 31, police said they found human remains believed to be Julian's.

Detective Superintendent Darren Fielke reported that a skull was found by a dog walking in the area.

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.

"One of those situations where the dog ran off into the scrub, the dog didn't come back immediately on being called," Fielke said in a press conference.

Authorities previously released CCTV footage of Chesser around the time of Story's death, and asked the public for help tracking her movements the night of the murder.

Chesser starred in the 2010 season of the Australian version of Beauty and the Geek. The American version was hosted by Ashton Kutcher.



Read the original article on People
Late last week French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris would recognize a sovereign Palestinian state, with the official pronouncement to take place in September at this years United Nations General Assembly. His announcement was followed this week by first Britain and then Canada, which declared that they too would recognize a Palestinian state in September. London conditioned its recognition on Israel and Hamas not reaching a ceasefire before September, while Canada conditioned its recognition on the Palestinian Authority, the body currently governing the West Bank, committing to a series of democratic reforms.

These declarations coincided with a U.N. conference this week on the possibility of achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. France, the U.K. and Canada also co-signed a joint statement deploring the conditions for civilians in Gaza during the war, which has now lasted for 22 months. While Israel blames the conditions there on Hamas, Paris, London and Ottawa hold that Israel is failing to meet its obligations under international law as the occupier of the region to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the Palestinian civilians living there. They are also concerned about plans Israel has discussed to remove the Palestinian population from Gaza.

The logic apparently underpinning the diplomatic moves by France, the U.K. and Canada is that recognizing the Palestinian Authority, which already has observer status at the U.N., as the rightful government over both the West Bank and Gaza will pressure both Israel and Hamas to end the conflict. But critics, including both Israel and the U.S., see the move as counterproductive, as it could make Hamas reluctant to end the fighting.

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Setting aside for the moment the specifics of the Palestinian case, the episode offers an opportunity to reflect on the general role and purpose of recognition as an instrument of state policy and practice in international politics. Why should we care about the decision of one government to recognize another?

To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter.

Recognition is intimately tied to the idea of sovereignty, which is essentially the notion that a government has both control over its territory and that other governments legally acknowledge that control. As political philosopher Jean Bethke Elshtain wrote, sovereignty has become the sine qua non if a people is to attain its full stature and recognition in a world of states.

For many actors in the international system, the internal element of sovereignty, that of territorial control, and its external elementthe recognition by others of that controlwork together and reinforce one another. Take the French government as an example. It is the final authority over what happens within the territory of France, and other nations acknowledge that authority.

Whether a state is recognized is as much about what the recognizing state wishes to gain from the recognition as it is about whether recognition is truly warranted.

But there are other actors in the international system for whom it is less obvious whether the external or internal element of sovereignty applies. Some governments exercise clear control over a territory but are not formally acknowledged by others as doing so, with Taiwan being the most illustrative example. The government in Taipei clearly controls the territory of the island of Taiwan, but only 13 other sovereign states in the international system recognize it as the sovereign over the island.

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Notably, two of the nations that do not offer such recognition are the U.S. and the Peoples Republic of China, even though they are on opposing sides of the question of whether Taiwan should remain an autonomous entity. Beijing wants to bring about unification with Taiwan, over which its historical claims of sovereignty are hotly contested. For its part, while Washington does not officially recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation, neither does it want to see Beijing bring the island under its control. While former U.S. President Joe Biden was blunt in asserting that the U.S. would help defend Taiwan militarily in case mainland China sought to seize it by force, the current administration of U.S. President Donald Trump maintains an ambiguous position vis-a-vis Taiwans status.

Palestine is in a similarly ambiguous position as Taiwan when it comes to its sovereignty, but for opposite reasons. Though the government in Taipei exercises clear control over Taiwanese territory, it is not recognized by most of the international system. By contrast, neither government in Palestine, whether the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank or Hamas in Gaza, exercises control over the totality of the territory widely understood to belong to the Palestinian state, in part due to Israel occupying and exercising effective control over much of the West Bank and now Gaza, but also because neither Palestinian faction recognizes the others partial territorial control as legitimate.

Nevertheless, over 140 sovereign states in the international system recognize Palestine as being sovereign. In that sense, while the declarations of recognition by France, Britain and Canada are symbolically important because of those states power and influence in the international system, they are far from setting a precedent.

The cases of Taiwan and Palestine underscore the complexity of sovereignty and recognition, while the subjective application of recognition is an illustration of how the international system can often amount to what international relations scholar Stephen Krasner called organized hypocrisy. Whether a state is recognized is as much about what the recognizing state wishes to gain from the recognition, or at times even who that power hopes to harm from the recognition, as it is about whether recognition is truly warranted. And thats especially the case when the recognizing state is a major power. As the political scientist M.J. Peterson observed years ago, recognition has long been of interest to lawyers and policymakers: for lawyers because recognition is a long-standing legal institution that has the important function of identifying major actors in the international system; and for policymakers because the looseness in the rules allows them to use recognition not only to identify actors, but also to express opinions about them or to secure concessions from them.

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If there is any nation whose history serves to illustrate how recognition can be a tool of power politics, it is the United States. The decision during the American Revolutionary War by France to recognize the independence of Britains rebellious colonies was as much about France seeking to undermine the power of its global rival as it was about the true merits of those colonies being viable independent actors on the world stage. For similar reasons, during the U.S. Civil War, then-President Abraham Lincoln feared that France or Britain might recognize the seceding states of the Confederacy in order to weaken and contain U.S. power in the Western Hemisphere. That neither did was a product of deft action by Lincolns administration, inept diplomacy by Confederate officials and luck.

Returning to the cascade of recent promises to recognize a Palestinian state, these diplomatic declarations may not ultimately change the course of the war in Gaza or set the stage for achieving a lasting multistate solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But they do illustrate how recognition is not just political theater. It is an instrument of power politics that, when wielded by the powerful, can sometimes be performative, in the technical sense of creating the reality it expresses. Whether that is the case with regard to Palestine, and whether that ultimately benefits the Palestinians in Gaza, remains to the seen.

Paul Poast is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago and a nonresident fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The post Recognizing Palestinian Statehood Isnt Just Political Theater appeared first on World Politics Review.
EAST HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)  The American Red Cross in Connecticut is assisting four families after an early morning fire in East Haven on Friday resulted in extensive damage to a residential building.

Ashford house fire under investigation

According to the East Haven fire chief, a bedroom fire had been extinguished by sprinklers on the sixth floor. There was extensive water damage that ran from the sixth to the first floor, and some occupants were relocated to a hotel.

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No injuries were reported during the incident. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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By Chayut Setboonsarng, Martin Petty and Huey Mun Leong

BANGKOK/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Southeast Asian countries breathed a sigh of relief on Friday after the U.S. announced tariffs on their exports that were far lower than threatened and levelled the playing field with a rate of about 19% across the region's biggest economies.

U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariffs offensive has shaken Southeast Asia, a region heavily reliant on exports and manufacturing and in many areas boosted by supply chain shifts from China.

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Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia joined Indonesia and the Philippines with a 19% U.S. tariff, a month after Washington imposed a 20% levy on regional manufacturing powerhouse Vietnam,

Southeast Asia - with economies collectively worth more than $3.8 trillion - had raced to offer concessions and secure deals with the United States, the top export market for much of the region.

Its countries, many of them key players in the global supply chain, vied to stave off the prospect of losing market share to each other and of multinational firms shifting operations and orders elsewhere.

Malaysia's Trade Ministry said its rate, down from a threatened 25%, was a positive outcome without compromising on what it called "red line" items.

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Thailand's finance minister said the reduction from 36% to 19% would help his country's struggling economy face global challenges ahead.

"It helps maintain Thailand's competitiveness on the global stage, boosts investor confidence and opens the door to economic growth, increased income and new opportunities," Pichai Chunhavajira said.

The extent of progress on bilateral trade deals with the United States was not immediately clear, with Washington so far reaching broad "framework agreements" with Indonesia and Vietnam, with scope to negotiate further. Pichai said Thailand was about a third of the way there.

The United States on Friday slashed the tariff rate for Cambodia to 19% from earlier levies of 36% and 49%, a major boost for its crucial garments sector, its biggest economic driver and source of about a million manufacturing jobs.

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"If the U.S. maintained 49% or 36%, that industry would collapse in my opinion," Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister and top trade negotiator Sun Chanthol told Reuters in an interview.

STATUS QUO

In Thailand and Malaysia, business groups cheered a tariff rate that could signal a maintenance of the status quo between rival markets, among them beneficiaries of so-called "China plus one" trade.

"It's very good - we're on par with Indonesia and the Philippines and lower than Vietnam ... we're happy," said Werachai Lertluckpreecha of semiconductor manufacturer Star Microelectronics.

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Chookiat Ophaswongse of the Thai rice exporters association said the similar rate to Vietnam would maintain its share of the U.S. market, while Wong Siew Hai, president of Malaysia's semiconductor industry association, said the latest tariffs would level the competition.

"I don't see the companies doing anything special. It will be business as usual for now, until they figure out what is the next best move," Wong said.

Much remains to be worked out by the Trump administration, including non-tariff barriers, rules of origin and what constitutes transshipment for the purposes of evading duties, a measure targeting goods originating from China with no or limited value added, where a 40% tariff would apply.

Vietnam has one of the world's largest trade surpluses with the United States, worth more than $120 billion last year, and has been often singled out as a hub for the illegal re-routing of Chinese goods to America.

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It was a first-mover in trade talks and reached an agreement in July that slashed a levy from a threatened 46% to 20%, but concerns remain among some businesses that its heavy reliance on raw materials and components imported from China could lead to a wider application of the 40% rate.

"That is the real issue," said one businessman in Vietnam, who asked not to be named to allow him to speak more freely.

Andrew Sheng of the University of Hong Kong's Asia Global Institute said the similar tariffs mean Southeast Asian countries should be relieved that policy uncertainty was over for now.

"The tariff announcement looks like a classic Trump Art of the Deal deal - lots of hype and threats, and with one flourish, the other side feels that it has a reasonable deal," he said.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar and Mandy Leong in Kuala Lumpur, Chayut Setboonsarng, Orathai Sriring, Thanadech Staporncharnchai, Martin Petty, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Devjyot Ghoshal in Bangkok and Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Growing up in his South Philly neighborhood, Tyrique Glasgow fell into street life at a young age. The experience left him with 11 bullet wounds and a prison record  all of which had roots in the same place.

(I) sold drugs on Taney Street. Got shot on Taney Street. Everything in the negative handbook, Glasgow said.

Today, Glasgow is a force for good in the community. Since 2012, hes dedicated his life to making the area safer and stronger through his Young Chances Foundation, which provides hot meals, afterschool programs and crucial resources to those in need  work that earned him recognition as a CNN Hero in 2022.

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But for the last five years, Glasgow also worked on a more symbolic effort: renaming Taney Street. Recently, his efforts paid off and the new street signs that went up in March became a daily reminder to Glasgow and his neighbors that change is possible.

Rename Taney

In March of 2020, Glasgow learned that the street that loomed so large in his past had been named in honor of Roger Taney, the US Supreme Court justice who wrote the 1857 Dred Scott decision. In this now-infamous opinion, Taney declared that Black Americans were inferior and had no rights under the US Constitution.

He basically said that were not as equal to everyone else in the country, Glasgow said. Its so offensive.

Glasgow first heard about Taneys pro-slavery decision from local activists who had launched an effort to rename the street. He soon joined their group, the Rename Taney Coalition.

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We told him what we were trying to do and because hes Tyrique, he can get stuff done, said Samaya Brown, one of the groups founders. The ball really started rolling when he got involved, thank God.

Glasgow was happy to use his energy  and his contacts around the city  to achieve this goal.

I decided to make that one of our staples in our organization, he said. For us, it was about how do we change tomorrow.

Glasgow and the rest of the coalition worked hard to build support for their plan  meeting with politicians, working with community groups, and lobbying residents who lived on the street.

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We went door-to-door and got petitions. We hired a band. We did a parade, Brown said. Anything that we could do to educate people.

Over the five-year effort, volunteers knocked on every door along the four-mile street, and according to the group, 94% of residents were in favor of the change. Even one of Taneys descendants, Joy Taney, supported the effort.

Philadelphias Rosa Parks

The public was also encouraged to weigh in on whom the street should honor. Ultimately, they selected Caroline LeCount, an educator and activist who fought to integrate the citys streetcars in the 1860s  considered by some to be Philadelphias Rosa Parks. Glasgow helped develop a coloring book to share her story.

The coloring book was something that we gave the kids, not just to have fun with, but to learn the history, he said. She was someone that I respect.

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Despite strong public support, renaming the street was no easy task and involved coordinating with the US Postal Service as well as the city. Finally, last November, the city council held a public hearing where Glasgow, Brown, and others spoke and the bill unanimously passed. In December, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker signed it into law, making LeCount the first Black woman to have a street named after her in the city.

CNN

Glasgow relished the victory and how people had come together to achieve it.

It was a good team effort, from the re-naming committee to the youth, the community groups, the elected officials.  Everyone had a voice in it, he said.

Taney Street no more

When the street signs on his block were finally replaced in March, Glasgow was there.

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To see it come down and hit the ground was really humbling, he said. To put someone up there that respected our life [sic]  and wanted our tomorrow to be better, makes me feel proud.

Glasgow continues to find new ways to help his neighbors. He recently renovated his nonprofits community center and created a junior broadcast center for local youth. This summer, he has been holding free classes to teach teens how to use the cameras, editing systems, and podcasting equipment. He believes its an important way to empower them and showcase the positive news in the neighborhood.

Theyre going to be able to  tell their own story, he said.

Gun violence continues to blight Glasgows neighborhood, most recently in a deadly gun battle last month that left three people dead and 10 wounded. Incidents like this deeply affect him  he knew most of the recent victims  and even in grief, he continues his mission. And now, when he walks down the block, the LeCount Street sign is a powerful reminder that his work does make a difference.

It really made me see that it takes time, but its the legacy that you leave behind thats important.

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PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD)  Rent prices across all Illinois Counties have outpaced the state minimum wage of $15, according to a new report.

The study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition measures the average hourly wage someone would need to earn to rent a modest 2-bedroom apartment. Across Illinois, you would need to earn $29.81 per hour. Locally, in Peoria, you would need to earn $19.29 per hour and $20.77 in Bloomington-Normal.

The study also assumes the person is working full-time, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks in a year with no unpaid breaks. Bob Palmer the policy director at Housing Action Illinois, said for most people this is unrealistic.

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For people that are students, for people with disabilities on Social Security or other types of fixed income, the housing situation, and in order to be able to find an affordable place to rent, is actually much worse, Palmer said.

If someone is paying more than 30% of their rent, theyre considered rent burdened. Those that are rent burdened struggle to save money and pay for necessities such as groceries, gas and utilities.

Most of the time, these people are one bad car accident, one expensive bill or hospital trip to becoming homeless. A professor of finance at Bradley University said the high wages needed to rent not only make it difficult to stay off the street, but also almost impossible to save enough money to buy a home.

If youre earning $29.81 an hour doing a 40-hour week for 52 weeks, thats around $62,000. So, if you cannot afford proper housing with that sort of earning, then the situation is really dire, said Dr. Amit Sinha.

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The housing affordability crisis hasnt been completely ignored. Local non-profits and groups have tried to create new ways to keep people in homes.

In Bloomington-Normal there is a community land trust non-profit called BNCLT. They buy homes, put cheap mortgages on the bought house, then allow a low-income family to live there and pay the mortgage on the basis that they dont try to remodel or flip the building.

On the other side of the Illinois river, the Peoria Opportunities Foundation helps low-income groups by creating a set price for rent. Director of the non-profit Irina Riggenbach said this can stop the issue of landlords arbitrarily raising rent prices.

All of our rents are set at 30% of the income that the tenant has, Riggenbach said. So, if a tenant is low income, then they only have to pay 30% of what they make.

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At the state level, House Bill 3564 would have banned landlords from imposing junk fees, such as a fee to set up a utility portal, a routine maintenance fee and an application fee, among others. The proposal made it through the House but stalled on the Senate floor.

Palmer said that some of the best fixes to the housing affordability crisis are by repealing outdated zoning laws.

Trying to remove obstacles to building more rental housing, looking at innovative ways to build and construct housing through modular housing can help, Palmer said.

If you are close to experiencing or are experiencing homelessness, call 2-1-1 to get emergency housing services in your area.

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Less than a week after the House Ethics Committee admonished him for a lack of candor and violations of the Code of Official Conduct, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly was recalcitrant in dismissing the committees report.

At the end, they said there was nothing, Kelly insisted in an interview following an appearance in Meadville on Thursday. I dont know how much the government, the taxpayers spent on doing an investigation of somebody making a private investment in their hometown steel mill  and thats an ethics violation?

Thats a WTF for me, he added, using the common abbreviation for a three-word question that combines What the with a profanity.

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The report released last Friday was approved unanimously by the committee of five Republican and five Democratic members of the House, and came after a four-year investigation into a stock purchase by Victoria Kelly, the congressmans wife, in April 2020.

At the time, Mike Kelly, a Republican whose 16th District includes Crawford County, had been actively lobbying the first Trump administration to implement trade protections forCleveland-Cliffs Inc., a steelmaker with a plant in Butler, where the Kellys live. The plant was the only U.S. maker of specialized steel components for electrical transformers, and without tariffs on Mexican and Canadian steel, it would likely be closed, taking with it 1,300 jobs.

One day after Kelly learned that the administration was moving to protect the plant  and five days before the information became public  his wife purchased 5,000 shares of the company. About eight months later, she sold the stock for more than $87,500, profiting more than $64,000 from the transaction.

The House Ethics Committee did not find sufficient evidence of insider trading on Kellys part in regard to his wifes purchase.

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At the same time, however, the investigation found no viable explanation as to why [Victoria Kelly] purchased Cleveland-Cliffs stock when she did. In fact, the report stated, Kelly acknowledged to investigators that his wife may have overheard his discussions about the matter while he was working from home recovering from COVID. Victoria Kelly refused to cooperate with the investigation, according to the report.

Though investigators reviewed more than 25,000 pages of documents, including materials submitted by the Kellys, the report noted that the couple was significantly delayed in making their productions to the Committee, and the records they did provide were largely nonresponsive. When the couple was asked to respond to written questions regarding a second purchase of Cleveland-Cliffs stock, both refused to cooperate altogether, according to the report.

The report also found that Kelly did not clearly violate conflict of interest laws and standards, but it stated that Kellys ongoing financial interest in the company creates an appearance of impropriety. Both Kelly and his wife were advised to divest of their remaining investments in Cleveland-Cliffs and to donate any resulting profits to charity.

With regard to the Houses Code of Official Conduct, however, the committee found substantial evidence that Kelly failed to meet his duty of candor in response to the investigation and reproved him for the violation.

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Kellys comments Thursday suggested the report had little impact.

We got completely exonerated, he said, suggesting that news coverage of the report had been slanted. I love the media  they pick up on what they want to pick up.

Kelly went on to suggest that future investigations of a similar nature could discourage people from public service.

Its kind of weird whats going on, he said. What investment are you allowed to make?

The comments came one day after Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri joined Democratic members of the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee to advance legislation that would ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks.

Kelly said he had been home from Washington for days and was unfamiliar with the proposal.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A recent report analyzing water pollution across the country found that a large majority of Ohio beaches tested in 2024 showed potentially unsafe levels of fecal contamination.

Environment America, a nonprofit advocacy organization, released a report titled Safe for Swimming? in July, which compiled 2024 water quality testing data from beaches across the country.

The analysis included locations listed under the BEACH Act of 2000, a federal statute that set standards for recreational water testing. Each year, states bordering the Great Lakes and oceans are required to submit water quality data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the law.

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Researchers obtained water testing data for the 76 beaches where Ohio is required to submit data to the EPA under the BEACH Act, all of which are located along the Lake Erie shoreline.

The report found that 70, or 92%, of the beaches tested in the state had potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria on at least one testing day in 2024. It additionally revealed that 27 of the beaches, or 36%, showed potentially unsafe levels on at least 25% of all days tested.

I dont think we want to be swimming in water with nasty bacteria and pathogen risks, said John Rumpler, a co-author of the report and clean water director for Environment America. This is not the experience that Ohio families want when they go to the beach.

Fecal indicator bacteria are microorganisms found in the intestines of warm-blooded animals, including humans, that are used to detect fecal contamination in water. The report considered water samples potentially unsafe if they exceeded the EPAs Beach Action Value threshold, which triggers public health advisories and indicates an estimated illness rate of 32 people per 1,000 swimmers.

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The Ohio beach with the most potentially unsafe days for swimming last year was Villa Angela State Park in Cuyahoga County, recording 42 potentially unsafe days out of 121 testing days.

Lakeview Beach in Lorain County ranked next, seeing 37 potentially unsafe days out of 58 testing days, and was followed by Euclid State Park in Cuyahoga County (34 potentially unsafe days out of 121 testing days).

While Rumpler said the data included in the report did not determine the cause of the potentially unsafe bacteria levels at Ohio beaches, general causes of such contamination include sewage overflows, stormwater runoff and factory farms.

There are huge factory farms that are in the Lake Erie watershed and animal manure is flowing off of those industrial scale livestock operations into Lake Erie, Rumpler said.

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Nationwide, 1,930 out of 3,187 tested beaches (61%) experienced at least one day of potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria in 2024. Additionally, 453 beaches (15%) had potentially unsafe levels on at least 25% of testing days.

When asked how Ohios water quality fares compared to other states, Rumpler said it is hard to make reliable comparisons due to limitations in the data, including the fact that different beaches are tested at different frequencies.

The point of our report is not to say that Ohio is better or worse, Rumpler said. Our point is to just say that all too often there are health risks at Ohio beaches, and we can do better.

Public health experts estimate that there are 57 million instances of illness in the country each year from people swimming in contaminated water, according to Rumpler. These conditions include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, respiratory illness and ear infections.

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Cleveland organizations have been working toward healthier waterways, through initiatives such as the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer Districts Project Clean Lake. The program aims to reduce pollution in Lake Erie through the improvement of water treatment plants and local infrastructure.

We have seen a reduction, not an elimination, but a reduction in sewage overflows from the Greater Cleveland area and that is progress to celebrate and build on, Rumpler said. Many other Ohio communities are looking to invest in fixing their stormwater pollution, their runoff pollution, their sewage system, but all of those projects take money.

In order to help remedy unsafe bacteria levels in waterways, the EPA estimates states across the country will need a total of $630 billion to address wastewater, sewage and stormwater runoff issues over a 20-year period.

Rumpler said that last week, the U.S. House Appropriations Committee unfortunately approved a 26% cut to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federal initiative that provides low-interest loans for water quality infrastructure projects.

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Unless Congress steps it up with more resources, were going to see more unsafe conditions at Ohio beaches in years to come, Rumpler said.

NBC4 reached out to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) for comment on the report.

The Ohio EPA did not provide a comment. The ODH did not directly address the report but said the department is concerned with protecting the health and safety of Ohioans and therefore runs a Beach Guard page on its website, which includes a searchable map of beach advisories due to unhealthy water conditions. The webpage also allows users to see a beachs history of advisories and water sampling results.

The ODNR said in part: Beach advisories are not uncommon across the nation and are most often due to our native waterfowl, such as Canada geese, congregating on beaches and leaving behind their droppings which may contribute to elevated levels of bacteria in the water.

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The report also lists animal waste from wildlife as one of many causes of pathogens at beaches throughout the country.

The natural resources agency recommended state park visitors check the Ohio Beach Guard website for advisories before swimming. A yellow flag advisory urges children, the elderly and those who have weakened immune systems not to swim, and a red flag recommends all people and pets to avoid the water.

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Report: State auditor says Josh Guillory broke the law in St. Martin Parish spoil banks removal

(KLFY)  A draft report not yet released by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor says the decision by Josh Guillory administration to secretly remove spoil banks in St. Martin Parish in February 2022 was against local, state and federal law, according to a report by The Current.

The outlet reported the LLA confirmed that it is finalizing the report, which does not yet have a release date, and that the report will be forwarded to state and federal prosecutors.

Lafayette Consolidated Government removed spoil banks along the Vermilion River without the knowledge or consent of St. Martin Parish Government, which led to a lawsuit by LCG in advance of a threatened suit by St. Martin Parish against LCG.

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The dirt levees had lined the river for years. At the time, Guillory said it would ease flooding in both parishes, but St. Martin Parish then-President Chester Cedars said it could make flooding worse in areas of St. Martin Parish.

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The Current reported the overnight removal cost $3.7 million and was authorized through a change order on a $360,000 as-needed excavation contract. Both the LLA and LCGs own auditors concluded the project should have gone out for public bid due to the change in scope and cost.

LCGs 2023 audit, from independent firm Kolder, Slaven & Company, reported two dozen widespread deficiencies that led to overpayment, bad bidding practices and poor internal control over LCGs spending.

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In his response, Guillory lambasted the LLA as a political weapon.

For three-and-a-half years, the Louisiana Legislative Auditor has reviewed this project, only to reemerge with the very same tired talking-points its political patrons trotted out in 2022 and 2023 and is now being repackaged as a sort of exit memo that reeks of lawfare, not oversight, Guillory wrote.

Federal judge recommends LCG lawsuit vs. St. Martin Parish be dismissed

According to The Current, the LLAs 2025 draft document agrees with previous audits in saying the project violated state law, federal law, a St. Martin Parish ordinance and Lafayettes Home Rule Charter.

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In the draft report, LLA investigators said the Guillory administration treated the risk of litigation and payout as a cost of doing business, the outlet reported.

Guillory, now a radio host on conservative talk station KPEL, accused the LLA of political prostitution and defended the controversial project.

The draft reported by The Current, which is subject to change before being released, stated that LCGs resolve to move ahead with the project despite legal risks, along with its decision to overpay for the land where the spoil banks were originally located, underscores deficiencies in public accountability, legal judgment, and financial stewardship.

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Two Nashua police officers were legally justified in shooting and killing a 41-year-old man who had a handgun in the parking lot of a Lowes store in Nashua last year, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General.

The AGs Office released its final report on the death of Ryan Prudhomme, 41, Friday afternoon.

Nashua police were called to the store at 143 Daniel Webster Highway around 8:45 p.m. on June 2, 2024.

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Officer Jay Atchue fired two less-lethal rounds and Officer Joshua Martin fired a single shot from his pistol, which hit Prudhomme in the chest and killed him, according to the report.

No criminal charges will be filed against either officer, according to a news release.

Police had pinged Prudhommes cellphone after hed threatened to kill himself during a family argument at his home in Pelham, according to the report. Prudhomme tried to flee the scene in his truck before he was stopped by Martin in his marked cruiser. Prudhomme exited with a handgun.

Martin yelled for Prudhomme to drop his weapon. Mr. Prudhomme would not do so, and repeatedly responded that he wanted to die and expected Officer Martin to kill him, the report reads.

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Atchue approached with a less-lethal projectile launcher without Martin knowing he was there.

Seconds after Officer Atchue arrived at the standoff, he fired once at Mr. Prudhomme with the less-than-lethal launcher in order to incapacitate and disarm him, the report reads.

When Martin heard the shot, he thought it was Prudhommes pistol, the report says. Martin claimed he saw Prudhomme move the pistol up to his chest level, pointed toward me.

According to the report, Martin had been with the Nashua Police Department for only about three months with law enforcement experience dating back to 2020.

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Body-worn cameras on Atchue, Martin and Gabriel Iacoviello all had run out of battery power and did not record the incident. Surveillance cameras from Lowes were too distant and not useful in the investigation, according to the report.

Dash cameras did record the entirety of the shooting incident.

At one point, Officer Martin warned Mr. Prudhomme that he did not want to but would shoot him, to which Mr. Prudhomme responded I know you will. Just before Mr. Prudhomme was shot, he announced, I am going to die tonight, the report says.

Police arrived to the scene with reports that Prudhomme had a handgun and was not in a good place. Earlier in the night, Prudhomme had pointed the gun to his head and threatened to kill himself in front of a family member, the report said.

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Mr. Prudhommes behavior when confronted by the police legitimately added to safety concerns. He left his truck holding a handgun, and despite numerous and clear directives to disarm did not do so, the report said.

The report concludes that Martins misapprehensions in thinking Prudhomme had fired his gun were reasonable.
A 17-year-old New Mexico girl was found dead in Ciudad Juarez last week after she came to meet an acquaintance, but was kidnapped and held for ransom, Mexican authorities announced Tuesday.

The girl, identified only by the initials "D.C.LL.G.", was apparently found buried in the backyard of a home in the city on July 22, the state of Chihuahuas Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Strategic Operations wrote in a news release.

The girl was from Hobbs, El Paso news station KVIA-TV reported.

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The discovery of the girls body came days after she traveled to Mexico to meet an unidentified acquaintance, the Chihuahua office said. Later, her family received multiple texts over messaging service WhatsApp demanding a ransom for the girls safe release. It's not clear what actions the family took.

Three days later, authorities located a home in a housing development in the southeast part of the city, where they ultimately found the girls body. She was strangled, authorities said.

Hobbs police would not confirm if the girl was from there, saying only the investigation was being headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations office in Albuquerque.

FBI spokesperson Margot Cravens, in turn, declined to answer multiple questions sent by The New Mexican, including about the girls identity, circumstances surrounding her death and any potential arrests in the incident.

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As a matter of longstanding policy, we do not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, Cravens wrote.

The Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Strategic Operations could also not immediately be reached over the phone on Thursday.
Aug. 1 (UPI) -- According to multiple media reports, police are responding to a shooting at a bar involving numerous people in Anaconda, Mont.

There are no details on the victims, though initial reports say four people are dead.

The suspected assailant has been identified as Michael Brown and remains at large, law enforcement officials said, adding that he was last seen driving a 2007 white Ford F-150 pickup with Montana plates DTY493.

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Brown is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair.

The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation told CBS News that the incident happened at The Owl Bar at about 10:30 a.m. local time.

A SWAT team later cleared Brown's house, according to one report.

CNN, citing a social media post by the Denver office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the state's Gov. Greg Gianforte was monitoring the situation.

This is a developing news story. Check back for the latest.
In a rowdy town hall on Thursday night, Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil was booed when he expressed support for President Donald Trump's trade policies.

An attendee pressed Steil on Trump's tariffs against scores of U.S. trade partners.

"I really feel that this is a terrible tax that's going to be placed on the citizens of the Unites States. I would like to know what dire economic circumstances put Trump in a position of deploying tariffs on over 190 countries?" the attendee asked, prompting applause from the crowd. "You have allowed him to do that and it's sad. So tell me the dire circumstances that triggered his tariff wars."

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MORE: Trump unveils sweeping tariffs in 'new system of trade'

Steil's response prompted loud boos from participants.

"As we look at the broader tariffs back and forth with the administration, this really is, at its core needs to be, an opportunity to make sure other countries are treating the United States fairly," the congressman said.

Mark Hertzberg/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock - PHOTO: First District Congressman Bryan Steil holds an in-person listening session at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, July 31, 2025.

In the Elkorn town hall, the congressman was also pressed on other topics, including the impacts Trump's megabill will have on Medicaid and other services.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the cuts to Medicaid included the sweeping tax and spending cut bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4, will result in 10 million Americans losing health insurance.

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MORE: Inside the GOP's mission to deliver Trump's megabill

Mark Hertzberg/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock - PHOTO: First District Congressman Bryan Steil holds an in-person listening session at Elkhorn High School in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, July 31, 2025, as a constituent loudly criticizes him from the audience.

Responding to the event on X, Steil wrote "despite a handful of individuals attempting to disrupt the discussion, we had a great dialogue about the issues that matter most." He committed to holding future events.

Some in the room were local protestors, ABC News affiliate WISN reported, including members of a group who last week carried a mock cardboard coffin to Steil's home to protest Medicaid cuts.

Earlier this year, Rep. Richard Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, encouraged House Republicans to do more virtual events over in-person town halls after several House Republicans faced fiery constituents at in-person town halls.

House Democrats are being challenged at their town halls, too, facing pushback on topics such as the response to the war in Gaza. Earlier this week, Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat, hosted a town hall event where he was repeatedly interrupted by anti-war protesters.
At least three candidates have now entered the race for the Woodbury-area Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Nicole Mitchell last week after her felony burglary conviction.

Republican Dwight Dorau on Wednesday announced his intention to run in Senate District 47 in an upcoming special election. Hed be the first Republican in the race.

Rep. Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger and Rep. Ethan Cha, both Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers from Woodbury, also plan to run.

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The outcome of the special election could tip the balance of power in the Senate, where the DFL has a one-seat majority. Woodbury has favored DFL candidates in recent elections.

Mitchell, a DFLer, won election to the Senate with nearly 59% of the vote in 2022. Hemmingsen-Jaeger won District 47A with more than 60% of the vote in 2024 and 2022.

Dorau, a retired Air Force Commander, ran against Cha in the 2024 election for House District 47B and lost by nearly 9 percentage points.

The special election for District 47 is scheduled for Nov. 4. If necessary, there will be a special primary election on Aug. 26.

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Candidates could start filing paperwork to run on Wednesday this week and have until Aug. 6, to submit affidavits of candidacy.

District 47 is a Washington County seat that includes the suburbs of Woodbury and parts of Maplewood.

There are two upcoming special elections in Minnesota. The other is planned in District 26 following the death of Sen. Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo. That district is seen as a Republican stronghold.

With the two vacancies, DFLers currently hold 33 seats in the Senate to Republicans 32.

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In March, GOP leadership discouraged its lawmakers from holding in-person town halls amid mounting backlash to the Trump administration.

Representative Bryan Steil of Wisconsin was the first Republican in the state to disobey this directive. After constituents held weekly protests outside his office urging him to hold an in-person event, Steil finally relented with what his office called a listening session.

After months of virtual-only town halls, there was lots of listening to do.

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Steil entered the Elkhorn High School auditorium on Thursday to resounding boos and faced a raucous crowd for the duration of the 80-minute session, including fierce questions on his support of Trumps agenda, as well as frequent interruptions, chants, and jeering.

Attendees were evidently fired up over Steils support of Trumps budget, poised to tilt taxes in favor of the rich while tattering the social safety net. Steil defended his vote on the bill, which is also estimated to balloon the national debt by trillions of dollars. (When the lawmaker mentioned national debt as a pressing issue, one attendee interjected: Thanks to you!)

He also voiced his support of Trumps controversial immigration policiesa topic that elicited some of the loudest boos, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Rep. Bryan Steil in Elkhorn answering questions from a rowdy town hall crowd. Lots of folks asking about Wisconsinites losing access to healthcare, tariffs, federal cuts to medical research. @WISN12News pic.twitter.com/wdpOcBYbhI  Emily Pofahl (@EmilyPofahl6) July 31, 2025

More than one person in attendance referred to the Florida immigrant detention camp callously dubbed Alligator Alcatraz as a concentration camp, which Steil objected to. A constituent noted that the difference between a prison or a detention center and a concentration camp is due process.

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Steil also had to address Trumps tariffs (which one attendee called a terrible tax thats going to be placed on the citizens of the United States), as well as Trumps push to all but abolish the Department of Education (Education is best resolved at the local level, Steil said).

Many questions Steil faced reflected a widespread perception that Steil is in Trumps pocket. One attendee said, Southeast Wisconsin has not been represented by you. President Trump seems to run Southeast Wisconsin through you.

Another made similar remarks in the context of immigration. What I see happening to our immigrant population embarrasses mehorrifies me, she said. You have not raised a voice to complain about it. Where do I see your leadership? I see no leadershipI see you following Trump 100 percent of the time. In response to this latter question, Steil, ironically, lauded Trumps executive orders and deportations, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.

At another point in the meeting, though, he insisted that he doesnt always line up with GOP leadership.

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He has somewhat of a point there, as holding the town hall at all certainly went against his party leaderships advice.

While resolute on enacting the more destructive elements of the presidents agenda, at least Steil eventually proved willing to hear his constituents concerns face to face. Its more than can be said for many other Republicans in Congress. As one of Steils critics in the crowd told him: I applaud you for standing up here and taking it.
Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday rejected what they described as a poison pill amendment that Democrats say is intended to block President Trump from taking the Qatari luxury jet that the Pentagon intends to use as Air Force One with him after his presidency.

The committee voted 15-14 against adopting the amendment during consideration of the annual defense funding bill.

The amendment offered by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a senior appropriator, sought to block funds from being used in a manner that would enable transfer of a presidential air transport aircraft that has been under foreign registry to a nongovernmental entity until the aircraft has served as a presidential air transport aircraft through the end of its service life.

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During the markup session, Murphy cited recent reporting about the potential costs of upgrading the Boeing 747-8, which was previously used by the Qatari royal family.

This is an extraordinary amount of money to be used on a plane retrofit that will likely only be in service for a short period of time. Well, the administration has essentially refused to brief us on the full cost, he said. Reports are that this number could be easily $1 billion.

To most Americans, thats a lot of their money to be spent on a plane that is not going to be in the service of the United States military, in the United States Air Force, for perhaps any longer than a few months, because the president has, in fact, stated his intention to take this plane with him when he leaves office.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), head of the subcommittee that crafted the Pentagon funding bill, pushed back on Murphys comments shortly after and said senators should not marinate on rumors and speculation about what could happen years from now.

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We should be briefed on the long-term disposition plans before rushing to take action such as this, for which this simply [has] no urgency. The amendment is intended as a poison pill and political theater, he said, arguing the amendment is better suited as part of consideration for the national defense authorization bill lawmakers hope to pass in the coming months.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), a member of the committee, argued in response to McConnells comments that beyond rumor and speculation that Senator Murphy just quoted the president firsthand with respect to his intentions.

To address this claim thats been made a few times, this is a poison pill, if I understand correctly, that means that the Senate would refuse to fund the Pentagon  unless it allows the president to accept a jet from a foreign prince, he said. If thats true, Id like to understand why that is the line in the sand that would be drawn.

The amendment came after both sides clashed over a previous measure proposed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), another senior appropriator, that sought to block funding from being used to operate or modify the jet.

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The report comes as previous reports from multiple outlets indicated the administration planned to transfer the jet to Trumps presidential library after his term ends.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a spending cardinal, argued the president has only jokingly said the jet would be transferred to his library, however.

The president has never came out and said hes putting this in the library. He said it in a joke one time, he said, adding that there have been talks instead about using the current one that has been in the air for over 35 years to possibly be retired and go in the presidential library.

Senator Mullin, on May 12, the president of the United States said this, this plane will, quote, Go directly to my presidential library at the end of my term,' Murphy later argued. There was no great chuckle from the audience after he said that you may interpret that as a joke. It certainly didnt seem to be intended as a joke.

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A reforestation project in Asia is reaping the benefits of incorporating local ecological knowledge into its efforts.

Nepal was on the brink of losing its hillside forest cover entirely because of livestock grazing and fuelwood harvesting. In 1993, the government made a critical decision to transfer management of public forest lands to local communities.

The results were remarkable; forest cover doubled between 1992 and 2016, per NASA.

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A study by a Japanese non-profit, published in the journal Mountain Research and Development, examined the impact of integrating local ecological knowledge into a reforestation effort in the western Gandaki province.

The initial results were promising. The researchers used satellite imagery to assess the density of vegetation across six sites, employing a process known as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index.

According to the study, in 2018, the NDVI was 0.0341, classed as sparse. By 2022, the value had increased to 0.0737, indicating highly dense vegetation  a remarkable transformation in such a short period.

One of the researchers, Teruyuki Takahashi, explained to Mongabay the importance of using local expertise: "Local people in these study sites held the best knowledge of weather, topography, soil characteristics and elevation that were suitable for native species selection and plantation."

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The project planted over 131,000 native trees drawn from 44 species. By leveraging local ecological knowledge, the trees flourished, providing a way of life for the communities and making them even more sustainable in the long term.

Ultimately, the study was a useful first step, but the authors acknowledged that further research is needed.

Drawing on local expertise has worked in other reforestation efforts around the world. For example, a similar project in the Amazon is underway with research teams collaborating with Indigenous communities. Also promising is research that reforestation methods aren't nearly as expensive as previously assumed.

Nepal's forest recovery is an example of nature's resilience and the power of climate action taken at the local level. By using local knowledge and working with native fauna, hillside forests have rebounded from the brink of extinction.

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.
ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY)  At the Vidrine Estate subdivision in St. Landry Parish residents are saying there has been an ongoing issue of gun violence and other disruptive activities, and they are hoping to see action from law enforcement.

Shooting their guns off the back porch, car racing down the road, driving excessively way too fast for kids in the neighborhood. So, they have like no respect for anybody in the neighborhood, said Whitney Decou, a resident in the subdivision.

Decou says the issue has only gotten worse from the disrupted houses down the street. With a shooting happening in the neighborhood as recently as this week and other complaints of dangerous driving and gunshots from back yards, Decou says multiple police reports have been filed from homeowners but there has been no updates or citations following multiple reports.

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Its gotten to be way too much for whats going on in a family-oriented neighborhood, said Decou. We have kids everywhere. I have so many people that have put their houses up for sale.

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With the incidents only becoming more constant and filing reports with the sheriffs office being more consistent, Decou hopes for action to be taken before someone gets hurt.

I would like for them to have some kind of consequence for their actions. said Decou. I mean, shooting guns in a neighborhood should be illegal by any means, whether its a hunting rifle in the country or whether its a handgun in the city. Shooting near residents should be off limits because, I mean, just because youre shooting a gun at your house doesnt mean its going to hit your house. You put in too many other people, in danger.

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A popular reservoir in Alberta is sparking concern after a steep and sudden drop in water levels left docks abandoned, boats grounded, and summer recreation plans washed out. Ghost Lake, a cherished summer destination just west of Calgary, has seen water levels fall dramatically  and locals say it's not just an inconvenience, but a risk.

What's happening?

After TransAlta, a hydro plant utility company, resumed full control of Ghost Lake's reservoir management in early July, water levels plummeted. The province had temporarily maintained higher levels during peak storm season, but as soon as that window closed, the elevation dropped  and fast.

"The water was only two feet deep. Normally, this time of the year, it would be four," longtime visitor Warren Wilson told CTV News. He's one of several residents frustrated over boats scraping gravel bars and docks sitting awkwardly on dry rock.

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Mayor John Walsh noted that residents scrambled to pull their boats from the lake, while some marina infrastructure now teeters on the edge of functionality. Walsh and others say they understand flood mitigation is a key concern, but they're frustrated by what feels like a lack of transparency. "They're not operating the dam like they used to, like they have for the past 80 years," Wilson said.

Why is this concerning?

For a province that sees a short summer season, access to the lake is precious  not just for enjoyment, but for economic and ecological balance. When reservoirs drop too low, it can hurt local ecosystems, endanger boaters, and throw community planning into chaos.

Low water levels can also disrupt fish habitats, increase sedimentation, and exacerbate shoreline erosion. Ghost Lake isn't just a summer retreat  it's a managed body of water designed to support hydroelectric power, recreation, and environmental health. Poor coordination among those priorities can create ripple effects that reach far beyond a spoiled vacation.

What's being done about it?

In a brief statement, TransAlta said they are "monitoring conditions closely" and plan to gradually refill the reservoir. But residents demand more transparency and consistency. Programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiatives work with the EPA to sustain water in lake bodies and ensure survival of the marine life they inhabit.

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In the meantime, if you're concerned about water scarcity in your own community, there are ways to protect both your wallet and the planet. Using water-saving appliances, collecting rainwater for irrigation, and supporting local efforts to improve water management all go a long way.

At the heart of it, Ghost Lake's story is a reminder: when our natural resources aren't handled with care, communities feel it first. But with smart management, transparency, and everyday choices, we can still turn the tide.

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.

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A new restaurant is slated to open its doors in Bostons South End on Aug. 6.

Louis Corner, a 48-seat gastropub, will move into the space previously occupied by the Butcher Shop at 552 Tremont Street, according to a press release sent to MassLive.

The restaurant will be owned by MAZI Food Group, a Boston-based restaurant group behind Desnuda Cocina & Bar, Gigi, Ilona, and Kava Neo-Taverna in Boston.

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Louis Corner will feature a menu rooted in core American cuisine with occasional Irish influences, the press release reads.

The menu has been curated by MAZI Food Groups executive chef and owner Jesus Preciado. Guests can expect regional delicacies from the Northeast to the South, including Rockefeller oysters, jambalaya, fish and chips and Cubano sandwiches, the press release continues.

Louis Corner will also serve cordials, wine, classic American cocktails and locally-made beer.

The restaurant will be open on weekdays beginning at 11 a.m. and weekends beginning at 9 a.m., according to the press release.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA)  A retired Fayetteville High School math teacher has been sentenced to life in prison after a Washington County jury found him guilty of raping a child under 14.

The verdict came late July 30 after a two-day trial. Judge Beth Storey Bryan followed the jurys recommendation and imposed the maximum sentence on 75-year-old Ronald Townsend.

Ronald Townsend, 75 (COURTESY: Washington County Sheriffs Office)

The case began on Jan. 28, 2024, when Fayetteville police received separate reports accusing Ronald Townsend of sexually abusing two children, ages 7 and 11.

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Both reported that Townsend, who lived on the same street, had raped and sexually assaulted them over the course of several years. According to the release, Townsend allegedly lured the children to his home with gifts and candy.

The children gave detailed accounts at the Childrens Safety Center in Springdale. A search of Townsends home uncovered evidence supporting their claims, and DNA testing later confirmed the charges.

Court docs: Springdale man admits to fatally stabbing couple at Devils Den

My hope is that this verdict will give the victims some amount of closure, and with continued therapy, they may go on to have enjoyable and successful lives Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Denis Dean said in the release. A Washington County jury once again sent the strongest message possible, that sexual predators in this community will not be tolerated, and if discovered, they will receive the harshest punishment allowable under the law.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
Dual Roles: Politicos White House bureau chief, Dasha Burns, is joining C-SPAN as the host of the networks new weekly program, Ceasefire. The show is CEO Sam Feists first major programming initiative since taking over the network in September 2024.

Set to debut in the fall, C-SPAN says Ceasefire will feature leaders and lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle paired together for honest and civil discussions about how to tackle the nations most pressing problems.

Dasha Burns is the perfect person to host Ceasefire, said Feist. She is a terrific interviewer, moderator, and one of the principal drivers of the political conversation in Washington today. Dashas non-partisan approach to her well-sourced reporting is what makes her an ideal fit for C-SPAN. Dasha Burns is the right person at the right time.

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Burns will still retain her Politico duties, including Playbook chief correspondent and host of the weekly podcast The Conversation.

C-SPAN has a respected, credible, and non-partisan brand which matches my approach to political reporting and the mission of Politico, said Burns. As polarized as this country may seem, Ceasefire will show that we can still work together as a nation to find common ground. I am looking forward to hosting this unique program and pushing people out of their comfort zones to move beyond partisan acrimony. There is nothing like it on TV today.

POLITICO's @DashaBurns discusses hosting C-SPAN's new program CeaseFire debuting Fall 2025: "I think that we are living in a time where most of what we see is partisanship, polarization, conflict. What if we had a space where that wasn't the case?" pic.twitter.com/iXDZxaWmOe  CSPAN (@cspan) July 31, 2025

Another Versant Appointment: The soon-to-be spun-off media company Versant has named Tom Rogers as a senior advisor. Best known as the first president of NBC Cable, helping launch CNBC and MSNBC, Rogers will serve as a strategic advisor to Versants leadership team, providing ongoing counsel on industry trends, new developments, and competitive dynamics. He will also offer insight into strategy, market positioning, business development opportunities, and ways to strengthen the companys lasting impact.

In Memoriam: The Fox News Media family is mourning the loss of longtime staffer and field producer Robert Shaffer. He passed away this past Saturday after a long illness, CEO Suzanne Scott and President and executive editor Jay Wallace informed staffers in a company memo on Monday. Roberts quick wit, hard work, kindness, and midwestern charm made him a favorite of field teams throughout Fox News Media, the executives added. Shaffer began his Fox News career as an assignment editor/field producer in the networks L.A. bureau in 2000. He then transitioned to the Seattle bureau in 2002. Over his 25-year career at the network, Shaffer traveled extensively as a field producer, covering wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, and Lebanon. During the Iraq War, he spent months in Kabul and at Bagram Air Base and served regular rotations in Baghdad.
South African scientists have launched an anti-poaching campaign in which rhinos' horns will be injected with a radioactive material.

The group, from the University of the Witwatersrand, said the process is harmless to rhinos but will allow customs officers to detect smuggled horns as they're transported across the world.

South Africa has the largest rhino population in the world, and hundreds of the animals are poached there every year.

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The university's venture, called the Rhisotope Project, cost around 220,000 ($290,000) and involved six years of research and testing.

"At least one animal a day is still being poached," James Larkin, a Wits University professor involved in the project, told the BBC.

"I think the figures are only going to go one way if we don't watch out.... this is a significant tool to help reduce the numbers of poaching, because we're proactive rather than being reactive."

Prof Larkin added that the pilot study, which involved 20 rhinos, confirmed that the radioactive material was "completely safe" for the animals.

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The Wits University researchers, who collaborated with the International Atomic Energy Agency, found that horns could even be detected inside full 40-foot (six-metre) shipping containers.

Jamie Joseph, a prominent South African rhino campaigner, said the Rhisotope Project was "innovative and much needed".

"It's not the endgame - only better legislation and political will can bring an end to the rhino crisis. But it will certainly help disrupt the flow of horns leaving the country and help experts better map out the illegal channels by providing reliable data," Ms Joseph, director of the Saving the Wild charity, told the BBC.

Each year since 2021, more than 400 rhinos have been poached in South Africa, conservation charity Save the Rhino says.

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Jessica Babich, head of the Rhisotope Project, said: "Our goal is to deploy the Rhisotope technology at scale to help protect one of Africa's most iconic and threatened species."

"By doing so, we safeguard not just rhinos but a vital part of our natural heritage."

The horns of African rhinos are often exported to Asian markets were they are used in traditional medicine and also seen as a status symbol.

White rhinos are considered threatened, while black rhinos are critically endangered.

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Richmond County deputies were involved in a shooting north of Ellerbe on Thursday evening after a wanted criminal attempted to evade arrest.

Teen charged in deadly shooting of Richmond County junior firefighter

The incident began when deputies received an alert about a wanted suspect.

When officers tried to stop the suspects vehicle, they took off, leading to a chase that ended on Highway 220 Business.

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During the encounter, the suspect pulled out a gun, prompting deputies to shoot the suspect.

No deputies were injured.

The suspect was transported to a trauma center by First Health EMS.

The condition of the suspect remains unknown at this time.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and further details are expected to be released as they become available.

As the investigation continues, authorities, including the SBI, are working to gather more information about the incident and the suspect involved.

VIDEO: 2-time convicted killer charged with attempted murder in Richmond County
For nearly 100 years, the Ripberger family has been working the soil in Rush County. Dustin Ripberger is a part of that legacy. Dustin and his wife Breanne are now raising their three daughters with the same ideals and purposes that Dustin grew up with on the local farm.

Dustin recalls many lessons learned growing up on the farm including perseverance, satisfaction, work ethic and overcoming obstacles.

Growing up on a farm has a lot of lessons to offer. For me, I think about perseverance. Farming often has you facing a task that feels overwhelming or tedious. I have learned that nothing ever gets done just looking at it. You just have to get to work and dont think about the mountain in front of you; only look at the next step, Dustin said. The end of the day always seems to come faster than you expect, and with it, the satisfaction of a good days work. I have used this lesson in many areas of life.

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Like many youngsters on the farm, his dad sparked the fire in Dustin for the love of farming. Others helped, but getting to follow his dad around the farm started it all.

Probably the same answer youll get from any farmer who grew up on a farm, my dad, Dustin said of the person that first built the love for farming in him. The farm was a central part of our familys day to day and there are a lot of memories that go way back to my toddler years. I started just following Dad around and then eventually, as I got old enough, he was good about trusting me with the responsibility of doing things on my own. I think his trust in me is a big part of what grew my love for farming.

Dustin has many fond memories growing up, but those harvest days have a special place with him.

Its tough to choose one memory, but I have always cherished the memories of getting to stay out late and help with harvest, Dustin said. There has always been something special about the crisp evenings in the fall during harvest.

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Dustin graduated from Rushville Consolidated High School in 2010 and then attended Vincennes University. He graduated from the John Deere tech program in 2013. His parents still live on the original homestead which was purchased by his great grandpa sometime around 1930. The Ripberger family is nearing 100 years at that farm.

Dustins wife works weekends at Rush Memorial Hospital. She is also a strong believer in the importance of raising a family on the farm.

My wife was born in Dayton, Ohio, and her family moved to her grandparents small farm in Fayette County when she was 12, Dustin said. Obviously, the farm lifestyle is very different from the average American family, but my wife has been my biggest supporter; and even though life can be difficult and unpredictable during my busy seasons, I think she would say theres no other way she would like to raise our family.

Growing up working with his family and now getting to pass that experience on to his three daughters is special to Dustin.

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My favorite part about raising a family on a farm is the opportunity to get to do your work with your family. To be able to show your children not just your successes, but the way you overcome your struggles, is a great privilege, Dustin said. There are more lessons to be learned from the struggles than the successes. Not every day is sunny, but we push on towards better days.

Our three girls favorite part of our hog barn is when we get a new group of pigs, he continued. They really enjoy the pigs and are starting to help out some with the care of the pigs. Its great to be able to share the experience and joy of what I do with them. I definitely feel a stronger sense of accomplishment when the work gets done with teamwork as a family. Its an irreplaceable feeling. Hopefully, they will have fond memories of the farm no matter where their life takes them, and they can take a few lessons with them along the way.

While corn and beans are the nucleus of the farm, Dustin has been diverse in his farming efforts.

I have worked towards diversification. My wife and I built a hog barn in 2017 and we now contract feed hogs for Legacy Feeds, Dustin said. In 2024, I also began contract growing pumpkins for a local produce supplier, and I also started a drone spraying business, Ace Aerial Applications, with a focus on custom applying fungicide on corn and soybeans.

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Dustin started the drone spraying business in 2024.

We hired a business to spray our corn with a drone the year before and I felt like this was an industry that was only going to grow and wanted to try and get involved in it as early as I could. It was also something that was a benefit to our operation as we would have to pay for some sort of fungicide application service regardless, Dustin said. When corn gets to the pollination and grain fill stage it can often get infected with a number of different diseases, and so to combat that we spray a fungicide. I do the same job you see the crop duster airplanes doing, just with a drone.

The drone flies autonomously and generates its own routes after I set up parameters for the selected field. As long as it goes well, its a fairly simple operation, Dustin continued. It is a whole different world compared to what I am used to. Thinking about aeronautics and what it takes for the drone to fly is just a different mindset. If something goes wrong while in flight, the drone could easily crash.

Pre-flight checks and paying attention to detail are vital to the success of a job spraying a field. There was a lot to learn and many hoops to jump through to make this business a go.

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The amount of regulation and licenses was a little daunting. I am required to have a remote pilots license from the FAA as well as federal and state pesticides applicators licenses. It all took a lot more time than I thought it would to get everything in order, Dusin explained. While I still prefer to work on equipment or be inside a tractor cab, I get a lot of fulfillment from drone spraying and knowing that Ive brought something new to not only our farm, but other farms in our community. Im always willing to learn something new, and try new things to benefit our operation.

This is just one area that technology has become so important to farming these days.

Technology is certainly important in farming today; however, I think its important to practice discipline in what technology you invest. There is always some new product or piece of technology that promises great returns. I dont believe its necessary to have all of the bells and whistles to be successful. We certainly use a lot of technology today to help push our efficiency and it is a powerful tool, but there is no replacement for paying attention to the details and doing a good job of the basics, Dustin said.

Challenges of various forms can arise at any time and any day. Those range from minor repairs to the challenge of making the most of the hand you are dealt.

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I think the biggest challenge that faces all smaller farms is the reality of the market we operate in. What I mean by that is the corn and soybean farmer produces a commodity, and that means my products are no different than anyone elses. We all get paid the same, Dusin said. This means the lowest cost producer wins. When youre competing with large operations that have the capital and land base to spread out the costs of efficiency boosting technology, they can lower their cost of production substantially.

For example, John Deere has recently released sprayer technology that allows sprayers to only spray individual weeds as opposed to broadcasting across the entire field. This allows for a huge savings in chemistry for the farmer, but the catch is the cost. It is unattainable for small operations to use this technology, which puts the small farms at a big disadvantage. This, among other reasons, is why I have tried to diversify our operation. I think the future could be grim for the smaller family farm. Diversification, and developing some sort of direct to consumer business/market to try and get away from the commodity market, I believe, are the best avenues to be successful.
The future on the high seas for the Navy may be one without sailors. Unmanned ships like the USS Mariner and Ranger, and the recently launched USX-1 Defiant, are opening up a world that gives the Navy and other branches incredible capabilities on the water, no seamen necessary.

This quest for drone warships began in earnest in 2010 under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencys (DARPA) Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program. The aim, as the name indicates, was to develop a boat that could follow submarines around the world without requiring a manned ship. The program produced a 132-foot trimaran-hulled boat called Sea Hunter, which launched in 2016.

During early testing off San Diego, Sea Hunter demonstrated continuous autonomous operation for over 5,000 nautical miles, with Navy observers tracking its performance. DARPA confirmed it could operate for 90 days without refueling. With those successes in hand, the Navy pushed ahead and launched Seahawk in 2021, a refined and updated version of Sea Hunter.

Seahawk, front, and Sea Hunter launch for the U.S. Pacific Fleets Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem 21, April 20, 2021. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Thomas Gooley.

While these sub-hunting unmanned surface vessels (USV) were developed in tandem with DARPA, the Navy began adapting those lessons into the USS Ranger and USS Mariner, launched in 2021. These vessels, converted from commercial support ships, became the backbone of the Navys uncrewed ambitions. Since then, theyve logged thousands of autonomous nautical miles, fired live missiles, and even conducted resupply missions at sea, all without a sailor on deck.

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Those vessels, and now many others of varying sizes, are what make up the Ghost Fleet Overlord program, which began in 2018. The idea behind the programis to use USVs to perform missions that are too dull, dangerous, or dirty for crewed ships. Think not just resupply at sea, but long-endurance surveillance, electronic warfare, mine detection, disaster response, or even as target ships.

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But even the most capable Ghost Fleet ships are still based on traditional hulls. They retain doors, walkways, compartments, and all the other features designed to support human lifefeatures that take up space, add complexity, and limit endurance.

Thats where NOMARS, or the No Manning Required Ship program from DARPA, comes in.

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NOMARS sought to design a ship from the keel up without a single human in mind. No hatchways, no gyms, no fancy officer ward rooms or enlisted berthings. The first iteration, dubbed the USX-1 Defiant, is 180 feet long and weighs in at 240 tons of nothing but purpose-built testbed for uncrewed operations.

Built by Serco and launched in March 2025 in Washington state, Defiant is currently undergoing sea trials. It draws from the same core autonomy and redundancy systems as Ranger and Mariner, but without the burden of human access or survivability requirements. Its deck is reportedly optimized for containerized systems, potentially allowing it to carry surveillance gear, electronic warfare payloads, cargo modules, or vertical launch systems.

While Defiant and Seahawk patrol the surface, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) are prowling the depths. Leading the pack is DARPAs Manta Ray, a glider-like submersible designed to hibernate on the ocean floor until its needed. It can carry modular payloads for surveillance, communications relay, environmental monitoring, and more without needing a ship to deploy it.

Manta Ray Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle (UUV) prototype, completed full-scale, in-water testing in the Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu Sea Range, March 2024. Photo courtesy of Northrop Grumman.

The Navy is also developing the Orca XLUUV with Boeing to handle missions like ISR, mine warfare, and even strike, and it has revived the Snakehead UUV program after canceling it in 2022.

Together, these surface and subsurface systems represent a shift in how the Navy projects power. We covered these and more in the latest video for YouTube that you can watch here.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  The Rochester Board of Education has approved a tentative one-year extension to the collective bargaining agreement with the Rochester Teachers Association, covering the 20252026 school year.

This modified extension includes a 4.0% salary increase and a $2,500 retention bonus for teachers, reflecting a shared commitment to recruiting and retaining instructional staff.

Teachers union seeks re-vote after tense RCSD contract decision

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This approval follows an earlier rejection of a similar contract extension in July, when the Board voted 4-3 against the proposal. That decision sparked tension between the Board and the teachers union amid concerns about teacher retention and morale.

The new agreement was reached through continued collaboration between RCSD leadership and RTA President Dr. Adam Urbanski, alongside Superintendent Dr. Eric Rosser. Both leaders emphasized the importance of stability and instructional continuity in guiding their negotiations. Superintendent Rosser said the agreement reflects a shared commitment to honoring educators and starting the school year focused on student success.

The extension includes a 4.0% salary increase for all RTA members, applied to the 20242025 salary schedule, as well as a $2,500 retention incentive for members who are active on June 1, 2026, and remain employed through September 15, 2026.

The retention bonuses total approximately $7.5 million and will be paid by September 30, 2026. The district confirmed that all costs related to the agreement are fiscally sustainable within its projected budget.

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Last July, RTA President Urbanski criticized the Boards rejection of the initial extension, warning that the district was losing teachers rapidly, with about 250 departing last school year through retirements and resignations, including mid-year departures. He said teachers felt betrayed and disrespected and called for a re-vote.

Veteran teacher Jason Valenti noted the competitive pressure from nearby districts offering higher pay and fewer challenges, describing the proposed raise as fair but expressing concern that the Boards reversal would damage trust.

Board President Camille Simmons acknowledged the vital role of educators but emphasized the need for a fiscally responsible, multi-year agreement that balances the needs of both students and teachers.

Superintendent Rosser expressed his commitment to working in good faith toward a longer-term agreement that supports both students and educators, aiming to promote academic success and organizational stability. The one-year extension now serves as a bridge to a more comprehensive contract intended to help retain teachers and provide consistency for students.

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Members of the Rochester Fire Departments Hudson Avenue Station held a traditional send-off for Camp Courage Thursday with a breakfast event.

The overnight camp, hosted by the Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association, includes young burn survivors ages seven to 17 for the opportunity to have fun and recognize what they have overcome.

I think a lot of people dont understand just how traumatic, physically and emotionally, a burn injury is. So, this is an incredible opportunity for these kids to come and number one, be kids and have fun, said Paul Schwartzman, executive director of the Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association.

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About 25 children are attending this summers camp. Thursday, they had the chance to bond with first responders at the fire station.

Dayvion Allens sons are attending this years event. Allen and his sister escaped a burning home on Rochesters Second Street about 15 years ago. RFD Capt. David Abdoch was on scene that day and helped to rescue them.

They will associate us with one of the hardest times in their life. And for us, it is, and were trying to bring a solution to it. And once we do that, we dont know anything else after that. But now, to have a breakfast like this and to see them, thats why were doing it, said Capt. Abdoch.

I would say its important to be around people who have the same and similar backgrounds as you have. In a way, it helps to cope with your new life, said Allen.

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Organizers say they strive to give those enrolled the skills to cope, with assistance from counselors who are burn survivors themselves.

For me personally, its resilience. I learn from them every year. The strength and ability to go on. Most of these kids become lifelong friends, said Schwartzman.

The Finger Lakes Regional Burn Association relies on donations to keep programs like Camp Courage running. More information about the camp and ways to contribute can be found here.

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Rock Island High School has tested for mold just days before fall classes are scheduled to begin, administrators say.

Pictures shared with Our Quad Cities News show what appears to be mold around the band room.



The instruments are just covered in mold, said one Rock Island High School student who asked to remain anonymous.

Another family shared a picture of a moldy textbook they say was given to their Rock Island High School student a year ago. It was absolutely disgusting knowing that I had been living in an area inhabited by something with mold on it, the student said.



(contributed photo)

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I know of people whove been complaining for years, who are now out of the school,

said the student. The initial attempts to resolve the issue were left unanswered. I sent an email to the superintendent late December [or] early January, somewhere around then, and she never responded to me, said the student.

(contributed photo) (contributed photo) (contributed photo)



Werner Restoration has been working 24/7 to remove the mold from inside the school, and has been since Friday, July 25. Superintendent Sharon Williams says she was made aware of the situation then.

Last week, last Friday, we were made aware of some issues with a certain wing at our high school, said Williams. We immediately called our partners at Werner Restoration who weve worked with over the summer and over the school year with some remediation issues at some of our schools.

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The remediation is scheduled to be completed by 11:59 p.m. Thursday once a mold hygienist signs off on the work. Williams is confident that the final report from this testing will confirm the classrooms are safe for students.

We have been very transparent about whats going on at the high school, said Williams. This is a very common occurrence unfortunately in schools  the experts in this area have told us that upwards of 50% of the schools across the country are dealing with some level of this kind of contamination.

We feel very confident that well be able to start school on time, Williams said. She says the families have been updated through the text system Remind and through email.

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Royal Caribbean Cancels Additional Cruises to Popular Island Destination originally appeared on Parade.

As the summer season continues to roll on, millions of travelers are heading out on exciting vacations to practically every corner of the globe.

Sadly, for those interested in visiting the Royal Caribbean port of Labadee, Haiti, the cruise company has recently extended their plans to cancel all trips to the Caribbean island nation, mainly owing to safety risks stemming from the country's uncertain political situation.

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Over the past several months, the U.S. State Department has maintained a Level 4 "do not travel" advisory for Haiti: the highest warning the government agency has for international travel.

According to the State Department's warning, Haiti has specifically seen a drastic rise in criminal violence, kidnapping, civil unrest and terrorist activity. As a result, Royal Caribbean hasn't allowed any of their ships to visit the island since earlier this past spring.

"Haiti has been under a State of Emergency since March 2024," the State Department said of their assessment for Haitian travel. "Crimes involving firearms are common in Haiti. They include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom. Do not travel to Haiti for any reason."

Unfortunately for adventurous cruisers traveling aboard Royal Caribbean's ships, the continued social upheaval in Haiti means that the company has extended their cancellations to Labadee well into the autumn season.

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Owing to these changes, Royal Caribbean has adjusted the itineraries for 23 different cruises across five of their fleet's ships, including Adventure, Radiance, Freedom, Icon and Oasis of the Seas.

Instead of scheduled stops at the private destination of Labadee, Royal Caribbean has since rerouted ships to nearby ports like Nassau, Bahamas or Grand Turk. Alternatively, some vessels have added at-sea days to make up for the change in schedule.

As of yet, there are no definitive updates on when Royal Caribbean might revisit to Labadee, with the earliest possible return being November of this year.

Royal Caribbean Cancels Additional Cruises to Popular Island Destination first appeared on Parade on Aug 1, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Royal Caribbean has suspended visits to Labadee, its private destination in Haiti, until October amid continued violence in the country.

The cruise line made the temporary change in an abundance of caution, according to parent company Royal Caribbean Group. We have communicated with guests directly on this change, the company told USA TODAY in an email.

The change is an extension of a previous suspension implemented earlier this year. The cruise line last visited Labadee in the first quarter of 2025, after pausing calls to the destination in 2024.

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Gang violence escalated in Haiti last year, and it has been under a state of emergency since March 2024. The country is currently designated as Level 4  Do not travel  according to a travel advisory from the U.S. State Department.

Crimes involving firearms are common in Haiti, the advisory reads. They include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom. Do not travel to Haiti for any reason.

If travelers do go to Haiti, the advisory urges visitors to steer clear of crowds and demonstrations; book transfers from the airport, make hotel reservations ahead of time, or have their host meet them on arrival; have plans for potential evacuation that dont rely on U.S. government help and more. A full list of recommendations can be found on the State Departments website.

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: Royal Caribbean cancels months of visits: See which port is impacted
(NewsNation)  Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry shocked the world in January 2020 when they announced they were planning to step back as senior members of the British royal family.

Their decision, while controversial, wasnt the first time members of royal families around the world decided to abdicate the throne or step back from their royal duties.

King Edward VIII

(Original Caption) 1937- France: Edward VIII, Duke of Windsor, sits with his wife Wallis Simpson at the Chateau de Cands in France. Photo shows a close-up view of the couple.

Edward, Duke of Windsor, was crowned King Edward VIII in January 1936 following the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.

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However, Edward, who was Queen Elizabeths uncle, abdicated the throne in December 1936, serving less than a year as king, so he could marry American Wallis Simpson.

Meghan, Prince Harry Netflix deal done; new season of With Love, Meghan likely

Given my character, my roving curiosity and independence, my life appeared to form a disconnected patternduty without decision, service without responsibility, pomp without power, Edward wrote in his 1951 memoir. Meanwhile, something had happened that, although I did not realise it at the time, was destined to change the whole course of my life. I met Wallis Warfield Simpson.

Prince Harry and Meghan

Meghan and Prince Harry pose for pictures after visiting the observatory in One World Trade in New York, on Sept. 23, 2021.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Nearly 2 billion people around the world watched Prince Harry and Meghan get married in 2018.

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However, less than two years after the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs wedding, they announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping back from their roles.

The decision followed rumors of heightened tensions with Prince William and Kate Middleton, People magazine reported.

After spending some time in Canada after leaving the U.K., the couple moved to Southern California and are raising their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Princess Diana

FILE  Britains Diana, Princess of Wales, is pictured during an evening reception given by the West German President Richard von Weizsacker in honour of the British Royal guests in the Godesberg Redoute in Bonn, Germany Monday, Nov. 2, 1987. Above all, there was shock. Thats the word people use over and over again when they remember Princess Dianas death in a Paris car crash 25 years ago this week. The woman the world watched grow from a shy teenage nursery school teacher into a glamorous celebrity who comforted AIDS patients and campaigned for landmine removal couldnt be dead at the age of 36, could she? (AP Photo/Herman Knippertz, File) FILE  Britains Prince Charles kisses his bride, Princess Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, July 29, 1981, after their wedding. (AP Photo, File) Princess Diana carries Prince Harry on her shoulders at Highgrove. (Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

The late Princess Diana lost her official title of Her Royal Highness after she and then-Prince Charles divorced in 1996, according to People magazine.

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Ozzy Osbourne celebrated during funeral procession through Birmingham

Diana was still allowed to use her apartment at Kensington Palace and retained an allowance.

Princess Mako

FILE  Japans Princess Mako and her fiance Kei Komuro look at each other during a press conference at Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo on Sept. 3, 2017. Komuro has passed the New York bar exam, defying detractors back home who had criticized their romance. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, Pool, File)

On Oct. 26, 2021, Princess Mako, whos the niece of Japans Emperor Naruhito, was forced to give up her royal title and benefits when she married Kei Komura in a no-frills ceremony due to Komura not being of royal descent, according to People.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience caused, and I am grateful for those  who have continued to support me, she said at her wedding, according to the BBC. For me, Kei is irreplaceable  marriage was a necessary choice for us.

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The British royal family tree: Whos who?

Komuro and Maco moved to New York City in 2021 and welcomed their first child earlier this year.

Margrethe II of Denmark

FILE  Denmarks Queen Margrethe and Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen attend a memorial ceremony in Gilleleje Church, in Gilleleje, Denmark, on Oct. 9 2023. Denmarks Queen Margrethe II has announced that she plans to leave the throne to make way for her son, Crown Prince Frederik. The queen announced during her New Years speech on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023 that she would abdicate on Jan. 14. (Ida Marie Odgaard/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who was the longest-running Scandinavian monarch after reigning for 52 years, stepped down as queen in 2024 so her son, King Frederik X, could assume the throne, People magazine reports.

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The sun is beating down and over the heath the air is still. There are no clouds up in the sky. Annelies van Niekerken, 66, has been on the move since 6 am, watching over her 650 moorland sheep grazing in the heath.

There's such silence and vastness under a big sky that seems truly infinite. Van Niekerken's flock is one of three in the Dwingelderveld National Park. Altogether, some 1,500 sheep ensure that the open landscape of bell and broom heath, herbs and moor grass is preserved. "Without the sheep, birch trees would soon take over and destroy the original heath," Van Niekerken says.

Time seems to have stood still in Dwingelderveld, located in the Dutch province of Drenthe some 100 kilometres northeast of Amsterdam. At 38 square kilometres, it is the largest wet heath area in the Netherlands, with more than 60 bog ponds and peat bogs.

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For hikers and cyclists the landscape is interlinked with several marked routes. One is the 36-kilometre Holtveen bicycle trail which takes in the Dwingeloo radio telescope. Erected in 1956, the antenna dish was the largest of its kind in the world at the time with a diameter of 25 metres.

Rural idyll, ancient burial mounds

Stories from the past and present meet in Drenthe province, a place known to few travellers. Most people race past on the highway to Amsterdam or the North Sea. And yet the scenic towns of Dwingeloo, Lhee, Ansen and the car-free museum village of Orvelte, with their thatched houses and farmsteads, are rural idylls where life slows down.

There's a good reason why Drenthe is referred to as the "Ur-Province of the Netherlands." For, along the Hondsrug (Hune Ridge) between Groningen and the village of Weiteveen there are 52 burial mounds alongside the national road N34. The mighty stone monuments originated in the Neolithic period between 3400 and 2950 BC as burial and cult sites.

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The Hunebedcentrum - Hune Burial Museum - in Borger takes visitors vividly into this past. How could people thousands of years ago transport and erect these massive Ice-Age stone blocks? Museum guide Harry W. te Horst, a retired banker, has a ready answer: "They piled mounds and moved the stones up the mounds on wooden rollers using muscle power. Once the side and top stones were positioned, the earth beneath was removed and cave-like chambers were created."

Touring the site, Harry W. te Horst leads his guests to the largest hunebed: 22.6 metres long, it was erected about 5,000 years ago. "The cover stone of this tomb alone weighs 20 tonnes."

Colonies for the poor that offered hope

The time-travel in Drenthe continues, leaping from Neolithic times to the 19th Century. Bitter poverty reigned over The Netherlands then, and families suffered from starvation and unemployment. But a nobleman, General Johannes van der Bosch, offered them hope: Whoever had work and farmed their own piece of land could free themselves from their dire condition.

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In 1818, the first families settled a colony of the poor in Frederiksoord. Other colonies followed in Wilhelminaoord and Veenhuizen. The settlers were provided fully-equipped cottages, one hectare of land apiece and work tools on loan by the charity society Maatschappij van Weldadigheid. With time, the settlers could pay off their debts and become free farmers.

Noteworthy in this was that the children in these colonies were schooled - 80 years before compulsory education was introduced in the Netherlands. In the Frederiksoorder Museum De Proefkolonie, this history is vividly conveyed in multimedia form. These poor colonies have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2020.

Vincent van Gogh inspired in Drenthe

Has the artist just stepped out for lunch? Or taken a break from his painting? It almost looks like it. The brushes and dashes of paint in the van-Gogh-Huis in Nieuw-Amsterdam - Veenoord recall the genius painter who, starting September 11, 1883, resided in the pension of the Scholte family.

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Vincent van Gogh spent almost three months there, painting and sketching in a little studied part of his career. His works show people labouring in the fields, farmers' wives, the church of Zweelo and bog ponds. "A Peasant Burns Weeds" and "The Peat Barge" were created in Drenthe.

The Drents Museum in Assen has several works by van Gogh. While in the area, he wrote to his brother Theo, "Drenthe inspires me to paint all my life. It is here so whole and everything I find beautiful. That is to say, there is peace here."

Cyclists can explore the countryside in van Gogh's footsteps on three new bike routes, each about 50 kilometres long.

Recalling a dark chapter: Deportation of Jews in WWII

The darkest chapter in Drenthe's history was written between 1942 and 1945 in the Westerbork transit camp. Some 107,000 Jews - three-fourths of the entire Jewish population of the Netherlands - as well as Sinti and Roma were deported from here by the Nazis to the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen, Sobibor and Theresienstadt. Only 5,000 survived.

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That's "107,000 different stories that touch every visitor," says researcher and journalist Jose Martin, who spends her time at the memorial documenting the names and last letters from camp inmates to relatives. Among the victims were the Jewish philosopher Edith Stein and Anne Frank, who was deported from Westerbork to Auschwitz in September 1944. Documents and photos hauntingly show what life was like in this "gateway to hell". Many visitors pause before the tin destination sign that reads "Westerbork-Auschwitz, Auschwitz-Westerbork."

A few kilometres from the museum is the actual camp: Small mounds of earth recall the former locations of the barracks. There are two railroad cars and a piece of railroad track. And 102,000 small steles - one for each murdered deportee.
MIDWAY  Some who live in Texas small towns say that if someone looks close enough, they will see why hemp-derived THC has taken root in rural regions.

Faded crosses on the side of the road and faces of once-promising teens on Dont drink and drive and fentanyl overdose billboards reveal the scars left behind in the isolated parts of Texas, where tight-knit communities have been permanently changed.

Anti-drug hardliners can argue rural Texas struggle with substance abuse is why THC has proliferated there and why it needs to be banned, but many cannabis users in the states small communities say it has spared them from spiraling further into the destruction of alcoholism and drug addiction.

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I spent over 10 years in the fire service, and I can tell you have seen more fatality and messed up accidents because of alcohol than any other drug, said Timothy Mabry, a hemp proponent from Canyon Lake. Also, the difference between someone who is violently drunk and someone who is happily high is drastic. And many of us here have seen it firsthand.

Hemp supporters say a ban on THC, which lawmakers are mulling, would be catastrophic to rural Texas.

The lack of access to the Texas Compassionate Use Program, the states tightly regulated medical marijuana program, and other traditional forms of medical care in those communities has steered users  even those who qualify for prescription drugs  toward consumable hemp products. This has unfolded as rural areas are home to some of the states sickest and oldest populations, many of whom are looking for relief from mental illness or chronic pain and find an antidote in cannabis use.

Amid growing addiction problems that hit rural communities harder than their urban peers, some have used hemp products to wean off alcohol or opioids, and farmers and small-town retailers are eager to meet those needs in hopes of boosting their downtown economies.

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My family lives in Belleville in Austin County, a big farm community with maybe 4,000 people total. That little town has maybe 30 storefronts, and three of them are hemp CBD shops. Its a big part of the economy in these rural areas, Andy Doc Melder, a Navy veteran and founder of Warriors Integrating Possibilities, a group aimed at ending veteran suicide and the opioid epidemic, especially in rural Texas.

On Friday, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 5 by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, which would criminalize products containing any detectable amount of any cannabinoid other than cannabidiol and cannabigerol, better known as CBD and CBG, non-intoxicating components of cannabis. This bill would eliminate the majority of hemp products, including those that are legal under the federal definition.

Hemp opponents have given various reasons for a ban, saying the industry is unregulated, caters to children, and that the long-term health effects of cannabis use are still unknown.

The effort by Republican lawmakers who support a ban has spurred blowback from their usual ardent political allies: rural Texans, from farmers to veterans, and the older generation.

Zach Lindeen pets Ruger, one of Romana Hardings dogs, as he listens to his mom, Piper Lindeen, speak about how cannabis quiets Zachs seizures. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

Limited access to medical marijuana

Texas has one of the largest rural populations in the country, with about 5 million of its approximately 31 million people living in rural areas. The health outcomes of Texans who live in these regions are significantly worse than their urban peers, partly due to the lack of physical and mental care access.

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The inability to find help has driven some people to seek relief elsewhere.

The funny thing is, my parents sent me to rehab when I was 15 for my cannabis use, and they hated the thought of it. Now they are using cannabis themselves for pain relief, Melder said.

Some lawmakers have insisted the Texas Compassionate Use Program is the best route for cannabis users with mental illness and chronic pain. However, those who live in rural parts of the state dont have much access to those dispensaries, and if they do, products are expensive and limited.

We dont have additional options, said Ramona Harding, a Navy veteran who lives on a 10-acre farm in Midway.

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Currently, the state has two medical marijuana dispensaries, both of which are based in Central Texas, and a third one that has been deactivated, according to lawmakers. Because state law requires those dispensaries to drive products they sell in other parts of Texas back to a designated storage site every day, overhead costs are high, which has driven up the price tag of medical marijuana products.

A $15 bag of hemp-derived THC gummies purchased online could be more effective than a $75 bag of medical marijuana gummies, hemp supporters have said.

Many rural Texans also dont have insurance to pay for the doctors visits required to sign up for the program and medical marijuana usually isnt a covered benefit under most plans. The costs to participate start to add up, Mabry said.

There is only a select number of doctors who can do it, so you have to travel, and anytime something touches a doctor's hand, it costs more, he said.

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Legislation passed earlier this year expanded the medical marijuana program by increasing the number of dispensaries and satellite locations while offering more types of products to users and removing the storage restriction. Medical marijuana producers say the law will help drop prices and increase accessibility but that it could take a few years to happen, including in rural Texas.

Even when the dispensaries expand, some families are unsure if it will still meet their complicated needs.

When Piper Lindeens son Zach became the second child to be accepted into the states medical marijuana program, she felt pride. After fighting for several years, she and her husband finally had legal access to medical cannabis products that could slow down their sons severe seizures.

At least thats what they thought.

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Although the Lindeens still participate in the program, Zach needs to supplement it with other CBD because some of the chemicals removed the medical marijuana under state regulations are needed to stop their sons seizures. They order hemp products from Oregon, which could become illegal if lawmakers approve a ban.

There is no hope to control his seizures, and we tried, the Sugar Land resident said of the medical marijuana program.

Amy Harper and Romana Harding embrace during an interview on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, outside of Midway. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

Combating alcohol and opioid addiction

In June, the Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth, the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas, the Andreas Project in Amarillo, the Sheriffs Association of Texas, along with other anti-drug groups, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott asking him to ban THC due to concern for children and the risk of impaired driving increasing.

Perry has said multiple times that cannabis might be responsible for veteran suicide, not preventing it, and has questioned the medical benefits since studies he has seen show long-term use causes dementia.

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With all those risks and the lack of resources in rural communities to address them, some rural lawmakers like Perry fear THC could wreak havoc in the neighborhoods they represent.

Research has yet to definitively show what long-term impacts of THC use in a community can be, but rural users said they envision safer environments free from more dangerous addictions like alcoholism and opioid abuse.

I know so many people who have used [hemp-derived THC] to get off tobacco, alcohol, or other pills and I think that is one of the biggest things it could be used for, Harding said.

All 177 rural counties in Texas are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for Mental Health, meaning there are not a lot of addiction treatment options in these regions.

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A 2022 study by UT Health San Antonios substance use disorder response program, Be Well Texas, found that more opioid prescriptions are dispensed to rural Texas residents per capita than to urban residents, contributing to increasing overdose rates and illegal drug markets.

For Harding, cannabis is how she can function each day, as she bears the physical and mental scars from a rape she endured while in service. If cannabis is taken away, she said her only other options are either the pills that were killing her liver slowly or alcohol, which killed her mother, father and brother.

I have run into so many people and lawmakers who are like, well, go have some whiskey. No. It killed my family, and it almost killed me. Alcohol isnt the answer for everyone in Texas, she said

Rural Texas farmers told The Texas Tribune earlier this year that banning THC would mean they would have to stop growing hemp altogether. Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune

The economic costs of a ban

While there isnt specific data on how many THC shops have opened in the rural parts of the state, a 2025 report by Whitney Economics, which studies data and does economic reports on global hemp and cannabis industries, found the number of physical locations had increased from 5,072 in 2022 to 7,550 in 2024 and was steadily growing all around Texas.

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Hemp-related licenses have increased steadily since 2022 for both retailers and manufacturers, the latter of which are usually located in the rural parts of the state. The $5.5 billion industry is estimated to employ more than 53,000 workers, receiving $2.1 billion in wages.

Rural Texas farmers told The Texas Tribune earlier this year that banning THC would mean they would have to stop growing hemp altogether, even if its not going to be consumed, because theres no way to have or manufacture this plant with no detectable THC in it.

Whitney Economics estimated a complete THC ban would shift $10.2 billion in economic activity out of the state, and it would disrupt the hemp supply chain throughout the United States.

The worst part is if this ban goes through, its going to send thousands of farmers, workers, retailers, and more around here and all over the state, belly-up, and for what? No reason, said Mabry.

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Russia has accelerated its gains across the front lines in Ukraine for the fourth consecutive month, new analysis has shown.

In one month, Vladimir Putins invasion force captured 275 square miles of Ukrainian territory, compared to the 30 square miles reclaimed by Kyivs troops, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said.

Moscow had made net gains of 195 square miles last month, 146 square miles in April and 92 square miles in March.

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In recent days, Russia has claimed to have captured the town of Chasiv Yar, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region. Kyiv disputes the claim.

Ukraine had lost around 8,000 soldiers, not including those who are still missing, since the war started - Inna Varenytsia

Russian forces have created at least four growing salients in the Donetsk region as they look to envelop the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk and capture the garrison towns of Kostiantynivka.

It comes as Donald Trump presses Vladimir Putin to end the war, threatening Russia with sanctions and tariffs on energy exports.

On Friday, he said Russia had lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year, while Ukraine had lost some 8,000, not including those who are still missing.

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Ukraine has also lost civilians, but in smaller numbers, as Russian rockets crash into Kyiv and other Ukrainian locales, he said.

While the situation is becoming increasingly perilous for Ukraine, the front line is not at risk of a complete collapse, Michael Kofman, of the Carnegie Endowment, a US think tank, said after a recent trip to the country.

Russian forces have been able to capitalise on improvements to the deployment of drones, whittling away the Ukrainian advantage, which had helped it overcome Moscows materiel and manpower advantages.

The Kremlin has also ratcheted up its long-range drone attacks on Ukrainian targets to the highest intensity since the start of the war.

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Russian forces fired more drones at Ukraine in July than in any month since it launched the 2022 invasion, according to an analysis by AFP, the French news agency.

Russia fired 6,297 long-range drones into Ukraine last month  up nearly 16 per cent compared with last month, and the third straight monthly increase.

Ukraine - Russia's advance has accelerated

Moscows armed forces also fired 198 missiles into Ukraine this month, more than in any month this year except in June, according to the data released by Ukraines air force.

On Friday, Ukrainian officials increased the death toll to 31 from the Russian drone and missile barrage against Kyiv on July 31.

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The number was revised after rescuers pulled three more bodies from the rubble from the 27 strike zones, which had included residential buildings, schools and a childrens hospital.

A day of mourning for the dead in Kyiv was observed on Friday, with Ukrainian embassies across Europe lowering their flags to half-mast.

On Friday, Germany announced that it had delivered a further two Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine as part of a deal with Mr Trump to increase shipments of US weapons to the war-torn country.

The scheme had previously delivered one of the surface-to-air batteries, which are crucial in defending Ukrainian cities against incoming ballistic missiles fired by Russia.

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This is great news, and I welcome Germanys leadership. This will help ensure Ukraine is able to defend its skies, protect its people, and deter Russian aggression, said Mark Rutte, Natos secretary general.

With less than a week before Mr Trumps threatened deadline for the introduction of Russian sanctions, at least two vessels loaded with Russian oil bound for refineries in India were diverted to other destinations, Reuters reported on Friday.

Firefighters work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian military strike in the Donetsk Region

The news wire, citing anonymous trade sources, said it was the result of US Treasury sanctions on 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities, and ships, some of which transport Russian oil. On Friday, India also began buying up oil from the Gulf and the US, Bloomberg reported.

The US president has threatened to hit Russia with a 100 per cent trade tariff and to also slap the same rate on countries buying fossil fuels from Moscow if Vladimir Putin refuses to end the war in Ukraine.

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He is preparing shock and awe sanctions on Russian exports, Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the powerful Senate foreign relations committee, has said.

On Friday, Putin signalled no change in his war plans despite the looming threat of US sanctions. The Russian president said his forces were advancing along the entire front line in Ukraine and claimed he would be willing to hold more peace talks with Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, also claimed he was prepared to meet Putin for face-to-face talks, doubling down on his attempt to show the Russians as the obstruction to peace.

He said he had discussed possible formats for peace negotiations at the level of leaders in a phone call with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on Friday.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Delhi's relationship with Moscow remains a "point of irritation" in India-US ties.

Rubio's statement comes a day after US President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on Indian goods "plus an unspecified penalty", for buying Russian oil and weapons.

In an interview to Fox News Radio on Thursday, Rubio called India an "ally" and "strategic partner" but added that Delhi's purchase of Russian oil was hampering its relationship with Washington.

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Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of India's oil imports in 2024 - up from 3% in 2021.

India has not officially commented on Rubio's statement.

Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a major energy importer, it must buy the cheapest available crude to protect millions of poor Indians from rising costs.

India ramped up its purchase of cheaper Russian crude after the Ukraine war began, triggered by sanctions from the West.

Rubio acknowledged India's reasons for buying Russian oil, noting that the country had huge energy needs and that it was buying from Moscow because of its discounted prices. But he added that this was fuelling the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

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"I think what you're seeing the President express is the very clear frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia," he added, alluding to Trump's threat of imposing penalties on Indian companies buying Russian oil and weapons.

Reuters news agency reported that India's state-owned refineries like Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) and Indian Oil Corp (IOCL) had stopped importing Russian crude since the past week due to lowered discounts.

The BBC has reached out to the companies for comment.

HSBC Global Investment Research also said there was a "significant decline" already in India's oil purchases from Russia in July.

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India's petroleum ministry has denied asking state-run refiners to stop buying Russian crude.

But last month, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India could meet its oil needs from other sources if US sanctions disrupted Russian supplies.

He said India had widened its pool of oil suppliers from 27 to about 40 countries.

Any diversification in India's oil imports away from Russia is expected to have a minimal impact on India's current account deficit - the gap between the value of a country's exports and imports and international transfers of capital - according to CareEdge, a ratings agency.

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"The price differential between Russian Ural and Brent Crude has significantly narrowed to around $3 per barrel from an average of $20 per barrel in 2023," CareEdge said in a note.

Meanwhile Trump's comments about India's trade ties with Russia have evoked a sharp reaction in Moscow.

On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he didn't care how the two countries handled their relationship.

"They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he wrote.

On Friday, the Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev responded to Trump's "dead economies" comment with what seemed like a warning.

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He urged Trump to imagine the zombie TV drama The Walking Dead, referencing the Soviet Union's system for a last-resort nuclear strike.

"As for the talk about the 'dead economies' of India and Russia, and 'entering dangerous territory' - maybe he should recall his favourite movies about 'the walking dead,' and also remember how dangerous the so-called 'Dead Hand,' which doesn't even exist, could be," Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

The 'Dead Hand' was a Cold War-era Soviet system allegedly built to launch nuclear weapons automatically if it detected an attack - without human orders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law significantly expanding the grounds for revoking naturalized Russian citizenship, now listing crimes such as extremism, murder, and collaboration against the state.

The updated legislation adds 72 new items to the list of offenses that could lead to the loss of acquired Russian citizenship, according to state-owned TASS news agency. Among these are severe violent crimes, including murder, violent sexual acts committed against minors, causing serious bodily harm, and involuntary manslaughter.

The revised list also targets actions deemed threats to national security, such as public calls for terrorist activities, the justification or propaganda of terrorism, and unlawful actions against Russias critical information infrastructure. Citizenship can now be revoked for cooperation with a foreign state if it is deemed to be against Russia's security interests.

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The law specifies additional grounds for revocation, including knowingly assisting in activities deemed to undermine Russia's security, publicly calling for actions against the state's security, public promotion or display of Nazi symbols, and collaboration with international organizations or foreign state bodies Russia considers hostile.

While Russia is now expanding the grounds for revoking naturalized citizenship, this move follows other recent legislation that has simplified the process for obtaining it, particularly in territories under Moscow's influence.

On May 17, Putin signed a decree making it easier for residents of Georgias Russian-occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia to acquire Russian citizenship, as reported by Russian state-controlled media.

Under this decree, any adult "citizen" of Abkhazia and South Ossetia who held that status as of August 26, 2008  the date Russia recognized the territories as "independent"  became eligible to apply for Russian citizenship via an expedited process, requiring only a formal request.

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Moscow effectively gained full control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia following its 2008 invasion of Georgia, maintaining a significant military presence in both regions ever since.

Russia has notably employed similar tactics in Ukraine.

In August 2024, Russias Interior Ministry claimed it had issued 2.2 million Russian passports to residents of the occupied Ukrainian territories  Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk  since October 2022. The claim could not be independently verified.

Read also: It was the end of the world  Russian missile and drone strike on Kyiv kills at least 16, injures over 130

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The names of three more people who were killed in the 31 July Russian attack on Kyiv have been confirmed. They are neurologist Roman Moskalenko, practitioner of Japanese martial arts Vitalii Raboshchuk and Vitaliis daughter Vlada.

Source: Dobrobut, a medical facilities network

Details: Roman Moskalenko graduated from the Bohomolets National Medical University in 2009. He worked at Dobrobut for nine years.

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"Yesterday, his family, friends and colleagues held on to hope all day. They believed he might still be found alive, but overnight, rescue workers recovered his body from under the rubble," Dobrobut stated.

They described Roman as a deeply compassionate and attentive person  "to patients, colleagues, to everyone".

Roman Moskalenko

Roman Moskalenko

The deaths of Vitalii and Vlada Raboshchuk were reported by Nippon Kempo Ukraine, the Japanese martial arts school where Vitalii trained.

Vitalii Raboshchuk

Vitalii Raboshchuk

"To this moment, the news still feels like a terrible mistake. Its impossible to accept. Words cant convey the grief and sorrow. Its like a nightmare," the school wrote.

Background:

On the night of 30-31 July, Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, firing 317 drones and missiles, most of which targeted Kyiv.

The strike destroyed an entire section of a multi-storey building in Kyivs Sviatoshynskyi district.

As of the morning of 1 August, 31 people were confirmed killed in Kyiv, including five children, the youngest of whom was two years old. At least 159 others were injured.

Among the victims was six-year-old Matvii Marchenko, a member of the Kyiv-based karate club Sen-Bin.

Nataliia Haiova, a preschool teacher from Ivankovychi, was killed in this attack along with her two sons, aged 17 and 22, and her brother.

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Russian attacks against Ukraine have killed at least three civilians and injured at least 37 others over the past day, regional authorities reported on Aug. 1.

Russian forces launched 72 Shahed-type drones from Russia's Millerovo, Kursk, and Primorsk-Akhtarsk airfields against Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force.

Ukraine's air defense and electronic warfare intercepted 44 drones, while another 28 reached their targets at nine locations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

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In Donetsk Oblast, Russian attacks killed two people and injured 11 in the city of Kramatorsk, while another six suffered injuries in the embattled town of Pokrovsk. Two people were also injured in the front-line town of Kostiantynivka and another one in the village of Sviatohorivka, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian attacks killed a 63-year-old man and injured another five in the Zaporizhzhia district. Russian forces launched 614 strikes across 12 localities in the region in the past day, according to the local military administration.

In Kherson Oblast, Russia targeted 32 settlements, including the regional center of Kherson, over the past day. As a result of the attacks, six people were injured, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia attacked the Synelnykove district, injuring a 35-year-old woman, as well as a 4-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl. Both children were hospitalized. Another Russian attack against the Marhanets community injured a 25-year-old man, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

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In Kharkiv Oblast, two men, aged 51 and 54, suffered injuries in the Russian strikes against the town of Kupiansk, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Read also: Russias rocket-powered kamikaze drones are now hitting Kyiv  heres everything we know

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On July 29, the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia experienced one of the 10 most powerful earthquakes since 1900. Buildings collapsed in Russian towns, injuring residents, and the magnitude 8.8 temblor triggered tsunami warnings as far away as French Polynesia and Chile.

The ocean waves from the quake ended up being much smaller than the massive tsunamis feared across the Pacific.

But for an endangered southwestern fish, half the size of a pinky finger, every ripple counts.

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About 25 minutes after the earthquake struck, water started to slosh in Devils Hole, a tiny water-filled cavern in a detached section of Death Valley National Park in Nevada, where a double-digit population of critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish resides.

The pupfish were already recovering from two previous earthquakes in December and February. Those quakes put the pupfish habitat through a kind of washing machine, tearing up the algae that the fish eat, along with the fishs eggs, and casting them into deeper waters where the fish cant get to them.

The pupfish population plummeted after the quakes, from a 25-year high of 191 fish in the spring of 2024 to one of the lowest counts in the last three decades  38 fish  in April.

The present size at near-record lows deserves our serious attention, said Michael Schwemm, senior fish biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in an April statement.

The critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish typically measures about an inch in length.

Quake effects could help the species

Fortunately for the pupfish, the Russian earthquakes effects werent as dramatic as the waves that tore through the habitat during the winter, according to the National Park Service. Although the population drop was dramatic, biologists say the pupfish are used to big fluctuations in their numbers, and earthquake-related waves can even benefit the fish in the long run by cleaning up their habitat.

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In the short term, this is bad, said National Park Service biologist Kevin Wilson in a statement following the December earthquake. But, in the long term, this type of reset is good for the pupfish. It cleaned off any decaying organic matter that could otherwise cause pockets of low oxygen.

Biologists arent taking any chances, though. The population drop triggered the NPS and other state and federal agencies to implement population recovery steps from their Devils Hole Pupfish Strategic Plan. The park service introduced 19 captive-raised fish to the pool to boost the population recovery and may also add supplemental food for the fish if necessary.

The actions in the strategic plan, including supplemental feeding and population augmentation, provide the best opportunity for recovery, Schwemm said in April.

Underwater photos of critical pupfish habitat in Devils Hole, Nevada, show algae levels before a December earthquake (upper image) and algae levels after the quake sent roiling waves through the small body of water (lower image).

A desert species: Tiny endangered pupfish return to this lake east of Phoenix after a year's absence

A watery home in the desert

Devils Hole pupfish are only found in Devils Hole, a sliver of blue in one of the driest regions of North America. The unique aquatic ecosystem is technically a water-filled cave approximately 12 feet wide and over 500 feet deep, with a water surface that is typically sheltered from wind and remains extremely calm, according to the NPS. The pupfish rely entirely on a shallow rocky shelf near the surface, where they feed on algae and spawn.

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The Devils Hole species is closely related to desert pupfish, also endangered, whose range includes a network of carefully managed refuge sites in Arizona; one of those is Ayer Lake at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Phoenix.

Pupfish are teeny-tiny  usually under three inches  and typically live for about a year. They can survive extreme temperatures, high salinity, and low oxygen levels. Scientists are unsure how long the fish have lived in Devils Hole, which is thought to have formed 60,000 years ago. Other micro-populations of unique pupfish species are scattered in similar watering holes around the desert southwest.

Screenshot of a video taken on July 30 shows pupfish swimming after an earthquake in Russia caused waves to reduce the amounts of algae on the shallow shelf in Devils Hole, critical habitat for the fish.

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Earthquake-related waves arent new to Devils Hole. Tremors shook the watering hole in 2018, 2019, and 2022. These long-distance wave phenomena are called seiches (pronounced saysh). Seiches occur when an earthquake sends seismic waves through the earth over long distances, manifesting as visible waves in closed bodies of water, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Biologists say that while the seiche in July removed some algae and eggs from the Devils Hole pupfishs special rocky shelf, the effects werent as bad as those in December and February. Despite the pupfishs low numbers, the wildlife officials say theyre optimistic about the tiny swimmers.

The pupfish, after all, are natural optimists. Biologists have observed that the pupfish increase their reproduction immediately after earthquake events, potentially in an effort to spur a recovery.

Austin Corona covers environmental issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send tips or questions to austin.corona@arizonarepublic.com.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Southwestern US fish species feels around by Russian earthquake
A 75-year-old woman was killed and two men aged 62 and 64 were injured in Russian attacks on Kharkiv Oblast on 1 August.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutors Office

Quote: "At around 13:15, Russian forces attacked the village of Lisna Stinka in the Kupiansk district. A 75-year-old woman was killed."

Details: Two men aged 62 and 64 were injured as a result of a munition being dropped from a drone in the village of Tokarivka in the Derhachi hromada. The men were taken to hospital. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories  ed.]

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Russias far east nuclear submarine base appears to have been damaged by the tsunami that swept the countrys Pacific coast on Wednesday, according to satellite imagery obtained by The Telegraph.

The waves, triggered by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, hit the Rybachiy base in Kamchatka peninsula, which houses most of the nuclear submarines in Russias Pacific Fleet.

A section of one pier has bent away from its original position, possibly indicating that it was detached from its moorings, images taken by the Umbra Space satellite on Thursday morning have revealed.

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It does not appear that a submarine was moored alongside at the time of impact and experts said damage to the structure alone would have little military significance.

However, questions were raised about whether the tsunami caused any further harm to the base, which was thought to have been hit within 15 minutes of the earthquake.

Two nuclear-powered Yasen-class cruise missile submarines docked at the base

The nuclear submarines housed there, including newer Borei-class craft and Soviet-era Deltas, are the closest to the US aside from those on forward deployment.

Rybachiy sits inside Avacha Bay, around 75 miles west from the earthquakes epicentre. Also in the bay are the Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky naval base, and separate missile-loading and shipyard facilities.

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Footage recorded elsewhere on Russias eastern coast showed waves up to five metres high swamping the shore.

Heavy damage can be seen in the port of Severo-Kurilsk, around twice as far from the earthquakes epicentre as Avacha Bay.

In satellite photographs taken on July 17, a submarine can be seen moored at the pier that now appears to have been damaged. In both sets of imagery, a surface ship is moored on the western side of the pier.

Umbra Space uses synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, which can penetrate the cloud cover that has prevented other systems from gaining a clear picture of the tsunamis impact on Rybachiy.

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Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said that there was no sign of any damage to the submarine fleet.

It looks like it was a surface ship that was moored at the pier rather than a submarine, which is noteworthy, he said.

Im not sure we can really ascertain more than that a pier was damaged, [which] I suspect probably wont change the tempo of activity [at the base] much at all.

The pier has been left at a terrible angle, said Tom Sharpe, a retired Royal Navy commander, which would make it awkward for a ship to enter or exit. There appears to be a tugboat by the tip of the twisted section, he added, which could be involved in initial repairs.

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If the base assumption is that a wave got in there and bent that jetty then yes, what else did it do? Mr Sharpe asked.

Submarines could be damaged by smacking hard into their moorings and water could enter open hatches or access points.

In separate Umbra imagery shared online, two submarines can be seen still moored at their piers after the tsunami. Boats undergoing maintenance would be particularly vulnerable to powerful waves, unable to set sail and escape.

Credit: east2west

However, experts stressed there was no sign of damage to the craft and the piers used by nuclear submarines are designed to withstand seismic impacts.

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Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlins chief spokesman, said the earthquake resistance of buildings and functioning alert system had ensured there were no casualties across Kamchatka.

A retired Russian navy officer, who told the War Zone website he had not heard of any serious harm to Rybachiy, said: These bases were designed and built with the possibility of a nuclear attack by the enemy in mind.

The facility would have been shielded somewhat by the geography of the bay.

A kindergarten damaged by the earthquake in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka Krai

Even minor damage to the base, however, has led some to question whether Moscow is wise to harbour so many of its Pacific Fleet assets in a single location.

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This is why having multiple bases is a good idea, because you never know when youre going to get rogered by something you havent seen coming, said Mr Sharpe.

The Russian navy might also reconsider the construction standards of the apparently damaged pier. While the other nine at the base are built entirely out of concrete, a lengthy top section of that one appears to be a floating extension.

It looks classically Russian, Mr Sharpe said. Taped on.

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MOSCOW (AP)  Russias space chief has visited the United States to discuss plans for continued cooperation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station and lunar research with NASAs acting chief, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than seven years.

Dmitry Bakanov, the director of the state space corporation Roscosmos, met Thursday with NASA's new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on a visit to attend the planned launch of a U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew to the space station. The launch was delayed by weather until Friday, when it blasted off successfully.

Roscosmos said Bakanov and Duffy discussed "further work on the International Space Station, cooperation on lunar programs, joint exploration of deep space and continued cooperation on other space projects.

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Once bitter rivals in the space race during the Cold War, Roscosmos and NASA cooperated on the space station and other projects. That relationship was beset with tensions after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, but Washington and Moscow have continued to work together, with U.S. and Russian crews continuing to fly to the orbiting outpost on each country's spacecraft.

Plans for broader cooperation, including possible Russian involvement in NASA's Artemis program of lunar research, have fallen apart.

As Russia has become increasingly reliant on China for its energy exports and imports of key technology amid Western sanctions, Roscosmos has started cooperation with China on its prospective lunar mission.

Speaking to Russian reporters after the talks with Duffy, Bakanov said that they agreed to keep working on keeping the space station in operation to the end of the decade.

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Our experts will now start working on those issues in details, Bakanov said, praising Duffy for giving a green light for those contacts despite geopolitical tensions.

The Russian space chief added that he and Duffy will report the results of the meeting to Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump to secure their blessing for potential space cooperation.

In view of the difficult geopolitical situation, we will need to receive the necessary clearance from the leaders of our countries, Bakanov said.

He added he invited Duffy to visit Moscow and the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan for the launch of another Russia-U.S. crew to the space station scheduled for November.

I will put my efforts into keeping the channel of cooperation between Russia and the U.S. open, and I expect NASA to do the same, Bakanov said.
Two adults and two children have been injured in a Russian attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the night of 31 July  1 August, and farms, an educational institution, infrastructure facilities, houses and cars have been damaged.

Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote from Lysak: "Drones attacked the Synelnykove district. Namely the Vasylkivka, Ukrainske and Mykolaivka hromadas. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town along with their adjacent territories  ed.] A 35-year-old woman was injured. Several fires broke out. Two farms, a lyceum [specialised secondary school  ed.] and a post office burned down. Fires also broke out at a house."

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Details: The Russians also attacked the Pokrovske hromada, damaging a house.

"Early reports indicate that two children have been pulled from under the rubble. We are confirming the details," Lysak noted.

Aftermath of the Russian attack.

Photo: Serhii Lysaks Telegram channel

Updated: Lysak later added that the children who were pulled from the rubble of a house in the Synelnykove district in the morning had been hospitalised.

"The condition of the 4-year-old boy is serious. The 15-year-old girl is in a moderate condition. They are being provided with the necessary medical treatment," Lysak noted.

Damaged house

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Photo: Serhii Lysak on Telegram

The Russians also attacked the Nikopol district. Russian troops hit the city of Nikopol; drones and artillery targeted the Chervonohryhorivka and Marhanets hromadas. A 25-year-old man was injured; he is receiving outpatient treatment. Infrastructure facilities and cars were damaged in the Nikopol district.

Lysak reported that the Air Force had destroyed three Russian UAVs over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight.

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One civilian has been killed and four others injured in a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Source: Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Details: Fedorov said two civilians had been injured in Russian strikes on the Zaporizhzhia district on 1 August.

A Russian shell hit a house in the village of Veselianka, killing a 63-year-old man.

A Russian attack damaged a residential building and caused a fire in Malokaterynivka. A 65-year-old man has been injured. He is receiving the necessary medical treatment.

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Updated: Later, Fedorov reported that two more people, a 36-year-old woman and a 77-year-old woman, had been injured. One was injured in Veselianka and the other in Malokaterynivka.

He later added that the number of those injured in the Russian strike on the Zaporizhzhia district had risen to four.

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Russian forces attacked Kyiv Oblast on the night of 31 July-1 August, causing large-scale fires at civilian businesses in the city of Bila Tserkva.

Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine on Telegram; Mykola Kalashnyk, Head of Kyiv Oblast Military Administration

Quote: "The Russians launched a series of strikes on the Bila Tserkva district on the night of 31 July-1 August. Large-scale fires broke out at civilian businesses in Bila Tserkva as a result of the attack."

Firefighter extinguishing fire.

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Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Details: No casualties have been recorded

Firefighter extinguishing fire.

Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Firefighting operations are ongoing. Over 100 firefighters and 34 fire appliances, including robotic equipment, have been deployed.

Updated: Later, Kalashnyk added that a fire had broken out at production facilities in the Bila Tserkva district and partial destruction of an office building belonging to a furniture business had been recorded.

Fire at the scene.

Photo: Mykola Kalashnyk on Telegram

"Firefighters are continuing to extinguish the fire at the production site," he said.

Firefighting robot at the scene.

Photo: Mykola Kalashnyk on Telegram

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Ukrainian reports are starting to document the use of Russia's new jet-propelled Shahed drones.

One version, unofficially dubbed the Geran-3, is said to fly up to 500 miles per hour.

Such speeds would pose key problems for Ukraine's air defenses if jet drones are launched en masse.

More signs are emerging that Russia is launching a new exploding drone said to fly much faster than its current Shaheds.

Ukraine's Air Force Command reported on Wednesday that it had encountered jet-powered attack drones while defending its airspace the night before.

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"A notable feature of the night attack was the use of up to eight jet-powered UAVs in the northern direction," it wrote in a regular update.

The announcement marks one of the first official reports of Ukraine's forces encountering the new loitering munition in combat.

In total, the Air Force Command counted 78 Shahed attack drones launched on Tuesday night.

The statement added that 51 drones were shot down or disabled by electronic warfare, interceptor drones, anti-air missiles, and mobile fire groups, which typically use truck-mounted machine guns.

The Ukrainian air force did not specify if any jet-propelled drones were shot down.

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"There were 27 drone impacts recorded at 7 locations, and falling debris from downed drones at 2 locations," Air Force Command wrote.

On Thursday, a Ukrainian Telegram channel that monitors the flight paths of Russian drones also wrote that it recorded launches of jet-propelled drones.

"On the map we've drawn for you, you can see the movement of cruise missiles, jet-powered Shaheds, and regular strike/decoy UAVs," it wrote. While not an official government channel, it's widely followed in Ukraine for city-specific alerts on incoming drones.

A major problem for Ukraine's air defenses

Russian jet-propelled drones are believed to be closely modeled after Iran's Shahed-238, an upgraded long-range loitering munition Tehran unveiled in November.

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Moscow has not officially detailed its own version of the new weapon, but Ukraine's intelligence and Western analysts have reported that it's likely building a model with the Tolou10/13 jet engine to vastly increase the drone's speed.

Open-source intelligence sources said as early as January that Ukraine may have shot down at least one Shahed-238-type drone, indicating limited Russian use. In June, images published by Ukrainian Telegram channels appeared to show destroyed fragments of such drones in the country.

In both earlier reports and the Air Force Command's update on Wednesday, it's unclear if these were prototypes or finalized drones.

But if deployed en masse against Ukraine, the new upgraded drone could pose a major problem for Kyiv's air defenses.

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The Shahed-238 is said to be much faster than the Shahed-136, which is locally produced in Russia as the Geran-2  the Kremlin's main attack drone against Ukraine.

While the Shahed-136 is known to fly at top speeds of 115 mph, a Russian general told state media in December that the Shahed-238 could fly as fast as 500 mph. Extended independent analyses on the drone's still aren't publicly available, and it's possible that the munition can only fly that fast while diving.

At such speed, however, the jet-powered drone would be nearly as fast as a cruise missile.

That would be a nearly impossible target for Ukraine's mobile fire groups, or the vehicle-mounted machine gun crews it's relied on to fight off Shahed-136s.

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This year, mobile fire groups are already being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Russian Shahed-136s launched every night. To shore up the gap, Ukraine has started prioritizing interceptor drones, which also risk being rendered obsolete if jet-powered Shaheds become mainstream.

Ukraine has seen limited use of interceptor drones to down the Shahed, but has in recent months been driving hard at development to counter Russia's growing drone waves. Wild Hornets/Telegram

Interceptor drones, built secretly by Ukrainian companies, already need to fly much faster than the Shahed-136 since they must catch up to the loitering munition after it's detected.

A Shahed-238 or Geran-3 moving at 500 mph would require an intercepting drone to fly nearly three times as fast as before.

"In such a case, promising antiaircraft interceptor UAVs, unfortunately, will be powerless," wrote a Ukrainian military blogger in late June.

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Ukraine does have advanced anti-air missile defenses for faster targets, such as the US-made Patriot system, which has even been reported to take down the hypersonic Kinzhal missile.

Still, Ukraine typically reserves these expensive anti-air munitions for ballistic missiles; expending them to neutralize waves of Shahed drones would be unsustainable.

Read the original article on Business Insider
RUTLAND, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44)  Big changes are coming to downtown Rutland.

The Vermont Economic Progress Council (VEPC) just gave the thumbs up to the first phase of the City of Rutlands TIF District plan. Pending voter approval, the city will be able to move forward on improvements to Center and Wales Streets, including upgraded utilities, buried power lines, fresh landscaping, and wider sidewalks. The city could even see a brand-new downtown hotel.

Rutlands Friday Night Live concludes with David Cook concert

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Were now one step closer to making long-overdue improvements in an area thats needed attention for decades, said Ed Bove, Rutlands Planning Director. This literally lays the foundation for private investment. Its an exciting time for Rutland.

The plan kicks off a multi-year revitalization effort in the heart of downtown. This is the first step in longer-term improvements that will target spots like the Downtown Plaza and the area known locally as Key West.

TIF is a tool that helps cities fund public infrastructure projects such as roads, sidewalk without raising taxes. Instead, the city uses future property tax revenue from new development in the area to pay off bonds.

VT Governor calls for action on housing legislation

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This approval marks another important step in Rutlands TIF journey, said Jessica Hartleben, Executive Director of VEPC. The first phase may not be flashy  but its the engine behind big, visible changes still to come.

The City of Rutland is now gearing up for a bond vote on October 7. If voters say yes, the city can get started on that first round of upgrades on Center Street.

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(Corrects dateline, shows peace deal was signed in June)

By Daphne Psaledakis and Robbie Corey-Boulet

WASHINGTON/DAKAR (Reuters) -Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday agreed on an outline for the regional economic integration framework, according to the U.S. State Department, as the two countries take steps toward delivering on a peace deal signed in Washington in June.

The tenets agreed on Friday summarize the framework, which includes elements of cooperation on energy, infrastructure, mineral supply chains, national parks and public health, the State Department said in a statement.

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Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in June at talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

As part of the deal, Kinshasa and Kigali agreed to launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said.

A source familiar with the matter said a preliminary draft of the framework has been agreed to and there would now be an input period to get reaction from the private sector and civil society before it is finalized.

The framework is planned to be signed at a meeting of heads of state at the White House. No date has been set yet for that meeting, the source said.

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In the Friday statement, Rwanda and Congo affirmed that each country has "full, sovereign control" over the exploitation, processing and export of its natural resources and recognized the importance of developing mineral processing and transformation capacity within each country, according to a copy seen by Reuters.

Kinshasa views the plundering of its mineral wealth as a key driver of the conflict between its forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo.

Reuters reported in May that Congolese minerals such as tungsten, tantalum and tin, which Kinshasa has long accused neighbouring Rwanda of illegally exploiting, could be exported legitimately to Rwanda for processing under the terms of the deal being negotiated by the U.S., according to sources.

The two countries are committed to ensuring that the minerals trade no longer provides funding to armed groups and to create a world-class industrial mining sector in the region, as well as to ensure better cross-border interoperability on mineral supply chains, according to the statement.

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NEW INFRASTRUCTURE

They also agreed to connect new infrastructure to the U.S.-backed Lobito Corridor, underscoring Washington's aim of greater access to resources in the region and efforts to counter China.

The Ruzizi III hydropower project and Lake Kivu methane exploitation were the only specific projects mentioned in the statement, despite U.S. emphasis on critical minerals. The countries said they intended to prioritize financing for Ruzizi and work together to exploit the methane gas sustainably.

Friday's announcement comes after the two countries held the first meeting of a joint oversight committee on Thursday in a step toward implementing the Washington peace deal even as other commitments are yet to be fulfilled.

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In the Washington agreement, the two African countries pledged to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days.

Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out a 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.

The deal also said Congo and Rwanda would form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.

But 30 days from the signing has passed without a meeting of the joint security coordination mechanism.

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The source familiar with the matter said the joint security coordination mechanism meeting would be held on August 7 in Addis Ababa.

Congo is also involved in direct talks with M23 hosted by Qatar, and last month the two sides pledged to sign a separate peace agreement by August 18, though many outstanding details need to be negotiated.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington and Robbie Corey-Boulet in Dakar; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya; editing by Diane Craft)
By Daphne Psaledakis and Sonia Rolley

(Reuters) -Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo held the first meeting of a joint oversight committee on Thursday, taking a step toward implementing a peace deal agreed last month in Washington even as other commitments are yet to be fulfilled.

The African Union, Qatar and the United States joined the meeting of the committee in Washington, which was established as a forum to deal with implementation and dispute resolution of the peace agreement.

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The deal in June between Rwanda and Congo marked a breakthrough in talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attracted billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

In the Washington agreement, the two African countries pledged to implement a 2024 deal that would see Rwandan troops withdraw from eastern Congo within 90 days.

It also said Congo and Rwanda would form a joint security coordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months.

Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out a 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe.

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But 30 days from the signing has passed without a meeting of the joint security coordination mechanism, and operations targeting the FDLR and the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers have yet to begin.

The joint oversight committee meeting, due to meet within 45 days of the signing, was on schedule.

Trump's senior Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, told reporters on Wednesday that the deal was not off track, adding that a meeting of the security mechanism was due to be announced in coming days.

Asked about lack of progress on operations against the FDLR and withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers, Boulos said: "There was no timeline for that... if you look at the chronology of what we've been able to do since April, it's been extensive, and it's been very much on point and very much in line with our aspirations. So it's not off track in any way."

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But sources with knowledge of the negotiations recognised delays in the implementation of the deal, but added it was not yet threatening the deal as a whole.

Military and diplomatic sources told Reuters that the parties in conflict, including armed groups as M23 and militia fighters known as Wazalendo, have strengthened their military presence on the front lines.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington and Sonia Rolley in Paris; Additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Toronto; Editing by Michael Perry)
Sir Sadiq Khan has been branded a coward after refusing to attend an emergency meeting on his police station front counter closures.

The Mayor of London, who also serves as the capitals Police and Crime Commissioner, will not appear before Assembly members next week, despite being summoned to explain the decision to close nearly half of all Metropolitan Police front counters.

Sir Sadiq has instead chosen to send his deputy, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, the former leader of Islington council, in a move that has sparked outrage across the Assembly.

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Susan Hall, the leader of the Conservatives in London, described his decision to avoid the meeting as outrageous, saying an emergency meeting about the police counter closures that are threatening communities across London, and yet the Mayor of London, who is our Police & Crime Commissioner, will not attend.

She added that the Mayors failure to attend the meeting will be no relief to those facing the loss of visible, accessible policing in their neighbourhood  he ought to be ashamed of his cowardice at such a crucial moment.

Susan Hall said Sir Sadiq Khan ought to be ashamed of his cowardice at such a crucial moment - Peter Nicholls/Getty Images

Last month, The Telegraph reported that the Met would be almost halving the number of front counters across the capital from 37 to just 19, with only eight operating 24 hours.

The changes were announced so quickly, City Hall insiders said frontline officers had been left blindsided.

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Sources at City Hall said some police officers were informed just hours before the announcement was issued to the press.

Several MPs in outer London boroughs were unaware of the decision at the time it became public.

The widespread closures are part of a cost-cutting plan as the largest force in the country attempts to address a 260mn budget gap.

Front counters no longer sustainable

Earlier this week, Sir Sadiq was challenged in the street by Laila Cunningham, a Reform Westminster city councillor, after he refused to debate Nigel Farage on crime in the city.

The councillor posted a video of the interaction on X, in which Sir Sadiq, surrounded by police and aides, appeared to respond to her questions on crime by asking her to say hello to Nigel.

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When the announcement of the closures took place, a Met spokesman said: Given the Mets budget shortfall and shrinking size, it is no longer sustainable to keep all front counters open.

Thats why we have taken the tough choice to pursue some closures and a reduction in hours, allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London.

Lack of in-person services

The closures mean that, in many areas across London, just one counter will remain open across a Basic Command Unit, a policing area that often spans three London boroughs.

Critics have warned that this will leave many Londoners without reasonable access to in-person police services.

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While the Met argue that just five per cent of crimes are reported at the counter, critics argue the changes represent a move away from community policing, at a time when trust and confidence in the police is falling.

The counter closures are expected to take place later this year, following consultations. City Hall will meet for an emergency session next week, without the Mayor or the Met Commissioner in attendance.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe and it is common practice for the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime to attend the Assemblys Police and Crime Committee.

Any change to the number of police front counters or their opening times is an operational decision for the Met  based on resources, funding and public demand for services - and after over a decade of cuts worth over a billion under the previous government, the Met is facing an extremely difficult financial situation.

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The Mayor continues to work closely with the Met to boost visible neighbourhood policing in our communities and is having ongoing discussions with Ministers and the Commissioner about the funding the Met needs to ensure we can continue building a safer London for everyone.

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Already fighting efforts to close the church doors, All Saints parishioners in Lockport are now heading to court to keep its assets from being used to help pay for the Diocese of Buffalos $150 million sexual assault settlement.

The church was one of four where members filed a joint lawsuit on July 22 against the diocese in Erie County Supreme Court in an effort to block it from using parish funds to cover the settlement. It is the second such lawsuit from a group of parishes filed by attorneys John J. Flaherty and James I. Myers against the diocese this month.

The other churches involved in the suit are Sacred Heart of Jesus in Bowmansville, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta in Depew, and Holy Apostles in Jamestown. The first lawsuit filed earlier this month involved Blessed Sacrament in Tonawanda, St. Bernadette in Orchard Park, St. John XXIII in West Seneca, Our Lady of Peace in Clarence, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga in Cheektowaga.

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The taking of 80% (of unrestricted savings and reserves) would cripple All Saints parish operations, would cause immediate and irreparable harm, impact the parishs robust ministries, and be contrary to the Vaticans decree of suppression of the Bishops decree of merger, the lawsuit states about All Saints.

All the churches in the suits are among the 78 that the diocese planned on closing or merging with other parishes as part of its Road to Renewal reorganization plan. Their mergers are on hold while the Dicastery for Clergy at the Vatican reviews appeals to remain open.

Flaherty said that when the diocese made its announcement in June that parishes would be contributing toward the settlement, including 80% of unrestricted savings reserves from parishes slated to close or merge, it did so without the Vatican agreeing to the mergers. Parishioners and members of Save Our Buffalo Churches have previously said this method of closing churches violates canon law.

We question the proper exercise of the bishops authority given the mergers suspension by the Vatican, Flaherty said.

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Diocese attorney Stephen Sharkey filed a motion to dismiss the first lawsuit, claiming that this legal attack on internal church governance and administration violates the First Amendment, has fallen short in its claims of injury, and would jeopardize the dioceses settlement agreement.

While the diocese previously said these mergers and closures are necessary to deal with both declining church attendance and the number of priests, Save Our Buffalo Churches claimed the churches chosen had no major issues and were made to look worse than they are.

The parishes across the diocese are expected to contribute up to $80 million to the settlement from their assets, the amount for those staying open ranging from 10% for churches with assets less than $250,000 to 75% for those with more than $3 million.

For All Saints, that amount, as reported by the Buffalo News, comes to $576,000. The lawsuit states the church is a viable parish with excellent finances, listing 16 active ministries the church operates, including a food pantry, a Girl Scouts program and a grief support group that would be impacted.

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All Saints Trustee Paul Reid, one of the plaintiffs named in the suit, was unavailable for comment.

The church is one of three Niagara County churches appealing to the Vatican to remain open. If successful, they will be refunded the difference between that 80% assessment and the rate that would have been applied otherwise.

The diocese had set a July 15 deadline for collecting the funds, but State Supreme Court Justice John Delmonte ordered a halt to the payments. A hearing for the first lawsuit is scheduled for Aug. 6, though it is expected that the two suits will be discussed together.

Flaherty said other parishes have approached him and Myers about following the same route, waiting to see how the first suits go before pursuing further. None of those parishes are in Niagara County.

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The diocese released a statement stating it does not comment on pending litigation.

We respect the publics interest in these matters and appreciate the news medias understanding of our position, the statement reads. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of conduct and will continue to cooperate fully with all legal processes as required.
SALTILLO  In just three months, Saltillo should have its first stand-alone fire station, conveniently located in the center of town and close to all the major traffic arteries.

Construction is moving along on schedule. We are expecting to open on time on Nov. 1, said Saltillo Mayor Copey Grantham. And, even though it was budgeted at $1.9 million, right now we are under budget by $100,000.

The new 4,500-square-foot building is currently under construction on Turner Industrial Park Road, just south of the Krystal restaurant. Grantham said M&N Construction usually has two crews on site working up to six days a week to ensure the project is completed on time.

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The circle drive is completed, allowing fire engines to pull around back to drive into the bays ready to respond to the next emergency. The interior walls are in place, giving the station more of a finished feel. The plumbing has been roughed in and, earlier this week, workers were building the concrete block walls of the fire engine bays.

The design features a storm shelter for employees inside the concrete engine bay. The office and living areas are metal stud construction. The exterior has brick up 3 feet on the outside to tie the fire station in with other buildings in the area.

Inside, the departments pride and support of the high school will be on full display. Accent walls and the kitchen tile will be in Saltillo blue, to match the color of the iconic and very popular blue fire engine.

The fire station also looks toward the future.

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There are two separate bedroom areas and two sets of bathrooms, so we will be ready in case we get a female firefighter, Grantham said. We also designed the drive with a wider turning radius so that it can accommodate a ladder truck, which we will eventually need.

The 27-foot-tall twin bays will easily hold the departments two fire engines. The bays are also long enough to accommodate a ladder truck. And if the city ever needs more space, the design allows for easy expansion of the bays to the south.

While the idea of a centralized fire station has been talked about for years, it is only now coming to fruition.

This has been a long time coming, said Saltillo Fire Chief Chris Jenkins. (Mayor Grantham) has worked on this from every angle and went the extra mile to secure the funding for this.

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Since the bulk of the money comes from a $1.5 million allocation from the state legislature, Grantham named the station in honor of Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. Another $100,000 came from federal COVID-19 relief finds. The Saltillo Board of Aldermen approved up to $300,000 in general obligation bonds to cover the remainder.

Since summer 2001, the Saltillo Fire Department has been housed in a 58,000-square-foot former furniture factory alongside city administration offices and courts, as well as the water, police and public works departments. That building is 50 years old and no longer suits the needs of the fire department.

The Saltillo Fire Department is a hybrid, with a handful of full-time employees augmented by up to 30 volunteer firefighters. In recent years, the number of full-time employees has grown to six and allows at least one to be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The department has held a Class 6 rating from the Mississippi State Rating Bureau since 2017. In order to drop to a Class 5 rating, one thing the city must do is staff all three shifts with at least three firefighters. The new station with two bedrooms each sleeping three will accommodate that switch.
JOPLIN, Mo.  The Joplin Salvation Army store has hit its 10-year anniversary, celebrating the occasion with a 50% off sale.

The sales are not exactly why people come to the store so frequently, its the sense of community and the warmth of the people who work there that keeps patrons coming back.

For the 10 years the store has been in its current location, Joplins Salvation Army has provided people with necessities like clothes and appliances, and other items in times of need.

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Food pantries and relocation assistance are part of those services provided to the community. Not only that, but $0.82 out of every one dollar the store takes in, goes to social and homeless services in Jasper and Newton County. The stores manager, Mike Boykin, says the community supports the store just as much as it does them.

They support us. And it shows just in my job, Ive, Ive felt good about it. I feel good about it every day. Just seeing the people that come in and out of here. Today, for example, how busy it is. I dont know if people realize just how much theyre helping folks, said Boykin.

Boykin says the stores mission is to continue helping people without discrimination, into the future.

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SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  As San Angelo approaches one month since the disastrous July 4 floods, the San Angelo Area COAD is taking measures to ensure that the communitys unmet needs are addressed as flood recovery efforts continue.

The San Angelo Area COAD announced on the morning of Aug. 1 that it has activated its Long-Term Recovery Group to address needs that have not been met in the wake of the historic floods. The organization said the groups focus will be on case management and providing long-term community support.

The San Angelo Area COAD Long-Term Recovery Group is committed to supporting individuals and families impacted by the recent flooding across our county and surrounding areas, the San Angelo Area COAD said.

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Concho Valley water well test results come back unsettling

The COAD also stated that it has launched a Needs Assessment Survey to help it better understand the ongoing needs in our region. The survey webpage prompts citizens to provide information about themselves, their households, how they were affected by the July 4 floods and what needs they have as they recover from the flood, among other details.

Your input is essential for identifying unmet needs and guiding our efforts to assist those still recovering, the San Angelo Area COAD said.

To fill out the survey, visit the survey webpage by clicking here.

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SAN DIEGO  San Diego city officials say they are working closely with the community to clarify the new guidelines for waste pickup.

While some residents have raised concerns about private companies reaching capacity, the city insists that haulers are still taking new customers.

Were seeing progress each day, said Jeremy Bauer, assistant director of the citys Environmental Services Department. Each of the haulers has been taking on new customers. Were tracking it daily.

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Under the new policy, properties with four or fewer residential units on a single lot remain eligible for city trash pickup. Properties that do not qualify must arrange for collection through a private, city-franchised hauler.

Officials emphasized that the city will not allow trash to accumulate, even for those who miss the transition deadline. Instead, theyre focused on a smooth rollout.

If this continues to be a cost to the city, there may come a point when we have to recover those costs through citations, Bauer said.

In the meantime, the city is using general fund dollars to support trash service for properties in transition. Bauer noted that roughly 25% of affected property owners have already secured a private hauler, and that number is growing.

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For those transitioning and not eligible for city services, were helping them identify private haulers, Bauer said. But under the city ordinance, we dont have the ability to charge them for services we dont provide.

One challenge for residents is that, under the citys open-market system, haulers are not assigned to specific neighborhoods. This means homeowners must do their own research to find available providers.

Despite the complications, Bauer said city staff are committed to supporting residents and ensuring a successful rollout, so long as property owners remain proactive.

In a statement, the City of San Diego acknowledged that the transition may be frustrating for some, particularly in areas where only limited services, such as dumpster-only collection, are available.

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The haulers have assured us that they have the capacity to take on all transitioning customers, the city said. However, not all haulers currently operate in every part of the city, and service availability may vary depending on location and property type.

To help smooth the process, the city encourages property owners to visit sandiego.gov/trash-service-updates for resources and contact information. Anyone experiencing delays or a lack of response from a hauler is advised to document their outreach and contact the city at wasteservice@sandiego.gov or 619-533-4440 if theres no reply after five business days.

So far, approximately 4,300 parcels have transitioned off city service, and the number is increasing daily. City officials say they remain focused on education and outreach through mailers, workshops, and online tools.

We want people to know were here to help, the city said. If someone is in the process of setting up a franchise hauler, the City will take that into account and work with the customer.

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Officials also noted that while citations may eventually be issued to recover costs, that will only happen after ongoing efforts to support and inform residents have been exhausted.

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Strong winds from a South Pacific anticyclone triggered a massive sand and dust storm in southern Peru on Thursday, catching residents in coastal regions by surprise, authorities said.

Peru's national weather service said wind gusts reached up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour in the Ica region, about 400 kilometers south of Lima.

The storm in Ica forced traffic to a halt on highways and disrupted tourism activities for three hours.

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The effects of the unusual weather event were also felt in the regions of Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna -- which borders Chile -- where winds reached up to 32 kilometers an hour.

Similarly strong winds were also recorded in the capital Lima, causing some trees to fall.

"This event was caused by the South Pacific anticyclone, which has intensified and is currently very close to the continent, generating high-speed downdrafts at the surface," Rosario Julca of the national weather service told Canal N television.

"An anticyclone is a clockwise circulation in the Pacific Ocean that, when it nears the continent, increases wind speeds," she added.

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According to Julca, the presence of such "downdrafts, combined with the desert terrain, has generated a sudden and massive dust uprising."

The weather agency said the "increase in wind speed, ranging from moderate to strong intensity," is expected to continue along the Peruvian coast through Sunday.

The National Emergency Operations Center said that local authorities are assessing the damage.

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NEED TO KNOW

Logan Gifford alleges his mother, Doreene Gifford, sexually abused him as a child

She gave birth when Logan was 11  a paternity test showed both Logan and his biological father are likely matches

Doreene was convicted of attempted sexual assault and incest in 2015





A Las Vegas man who says his sex offender mom subjected him to years of childhood sexual abuse now fears the unthinkable: that his younger brother may also be his biological son.

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Logan Gifford, 26, has stepped in to care for his 15-year-old younger brother  the child their mother gave birth to when Logan was 11 years old. The teen has disabilities, according to Logan, who said his brother requires additional support at home and school.

Their mother, Doreene Gifford, was convicted in 2015 of attempted sexual assault, incest and lewdness with a child under 14, per court documents.

Logan maintains that his mother repeatedly sexually assaulted him throughout his childhood, beginning when he was 10 and continuing for seven years, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 8 News Now and his GoFundMe initiative for court costs.



She took an Alford plea  meaning she did not admit guilt but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict  and was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison when Logan was 17.

"Sending her to prison was halfway vindicating since I thought the largest problem of my life was originally dealt with," Logan told 8 News Now.



After nine years behind bars, Doreene Gifford is now a registered sex offender in Nevada  she was released on parole in July of 2024, but was arrested this January after violating a condition that she have no victim contact. She was not listed in Clark County inmate databases as of August 2025; Logan told 8 News Now she currently resides in Massachusetts.

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In a statement on his GoFundMe for legal expenses, Logan said he is now in a custody battle over the teen, who had previously been living with their biological father.

"I believe he might be my son, a haunting possibility tied to the abuse I suffered around the time he was conceived," Logan wrote.

Look at the mess that Im left with, he told the Review-Journal. I didnt ask for any of this. I was a child when all of this happened and yet now Im responsible for picking up the pieces of something that really is still continuing to have an impact in my life and dragging me to deal with that. I feel that as though it is my obligation or my duty to [him] to do this and find out who his biological father really is.

Earlier this year, Logan filed a paternity petition in Clark County Family Court and asked for a judge to approve an advanced DNA test.

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He told 8 News Now and the Review-Journal that his DNA and that of his biological father both matched the teen's at 99.9%, suggesting that either man could be the father, due to shared genetic overlap among siblings.

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The judge offered Logan the option of pursuing more advanced testing, which could help clarify the boy's parentage.



DNA testing between a full sibling and a potential father can be challenging because both may share about 50% of their DNA with the child. Full siblings often match at the same genetic markers used in standard paternity tests, making it difficult to determine paternity without advanced genetic methods or additional family samples.

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"It's ugly and visceral, but it doesn't change the fact but it needed to be done," Logan told 8 News Now. "If it comes back negative, I'm still filing for custody, because it doesn't change the obligation that I have to him now."

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.



Read the original article on People
LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A devastating house fire has claimed the lives of a husband and wife and left a Lincoln County home destroyed.

The fire broke out just before 5 a.m. on July 24 along Windmill Lane south of Lincolnton. Crouse Fire Department was the first to arrive on the scene, getting there reportedly within four minutes of the initial call. They were joined by crews from the Southfork and Lincolnton Fire Departments.

Tragically, two adults, identified as Robert Whiteside Jr. and his wife, Barbara Whiteside, died in the fire. The home was a total loss.

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The Lincoln County Fire Marshals Office requested help from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), which is now leading a full investigation into the cause of the blaze.

Photos: Queen City News Photos: Queen City 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 Queen City News.
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)  As students return to class this month, theyll be met with a major policy change across South Carolina: a full, statewide ban on cellphones during the school day.

The rule, first introduced through a state budget proviso earlier this year, is now being enforced from bell to bell. Students are required to keep personal devices, including phones and smartwatches, turned off and out of sight throughout the entire school day.

We like the policy. Were not fighting phones, said Dorchester District Two Superintendent Shane Robbins. Toward the end of the year, when you talk to some of your teachers, they were very grateful for that policy. Students werent as distracted because of the cell phones.

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Dorchester District Two, like many others across the state, began implementing the new rules during the spring semester as part of a phased rollout. With the new school year beginning, district leaders say enforcement will be consistent across all campuses.

We are very grateful for it, Robbins said. We like the policy. I know our teachers like the policy.

The cellphone ban is part of a broader effort to reduce classroom distractions and keep students focused on learning. But officials acknowledge some students may still struggle, with or without a phone in hand.

All of our schools have an MTSS program, which stands for Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports, said Katie Barker, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. That is a program that focuses on supporting students in their learning.

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District leaders say theyre also working to balance the new policy with family communication needs, encouraging parents to reach students through school offices and ensuring staff are trained to handle any urgent concerns.

Were looking forward to continuing that policy, Robbins 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 WCBD News 2.
LINCOLN COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56)  The start of the school year in Lincoln County is being delayed due to construction issues at the high school.

The start of the school year will now be on Sept. 8.

We understand the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate the patience and support of our families and community as we work diligently to resolve these issues, Superintendent of Lincoln County Schools Bruce Smith said. We are very excited about the improvements being made for our students and staff and look forward to completing the project as soon as possible.

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The delay stems from unexpected structural issues found during renovations at Lincoln County High School.

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Officials said those issues need immediate attention to keep students and staff safe.

The last day of school is now set for May 27, 2026.

You can view the updated calendar online.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News.
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While Iowa school officials expressed relief that federal funding for English Language Learners and migrant families was unfrozen last week, the Trump administrations approach to the situation has left some feeling uncertain if they can rely on the federal government to fund these programs  and others  in the future.

On June 30, the Trump administration informed states it would put $6.8 billion in federal K-12 school funding on hold. This funding, for migrant education and English Language Learning (ELL) programs, as well as before- and after-school services, had already received approval from Congress. But the administration said it paused disbursement of the money, which typically occurred July 1, while it conducted a review of the programs receiving funding.

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The administration announced plans to release these funds to states July 25, after having completed the review. Though the funding is set to be available as schools start the academic year, some programs throughout the country have said the pause meant they had to stop programs during the summer and may face issues returning.

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In Iowa, there have not been reports of any programs stopping service because of the federal funding freeze. With funding restored, programs at many school districts are proceeding as planned  but the federal governments decision to conduct this review in July put some schools in a precarious position heading into the 2025-2026 school year.

Stacey Cole, superintendent of Storm Lake Community School District, said the district is cautiously entering the school year with status quo on funding these programs  but that the funding freeze will impact budget discussions in future years.

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I am concerned about this happening again, Cole said.

The Storm Lake school district has a large ELL and immigrant student population. The funding would have impacted both after-school and English learning programming, she said. Other services the school district offers also would have been affected, such as those that help immigrant families navigate the U.S. school system with assistance filing needed paperwork, getting insurance and other ways to adjust to their new community.

The funding for these programs had been approved earlier in 2025, largely going toward staff, Cole said, before the freeze was even announced. But the federal government action means the district will likely have to view the future of these programs differently moving forward, she said.

When we enter this school year, we still have those people in place, the programs will be in place, all the things. But as we navigate the waters this year, anytime theres an opportunity to think, well, is that something that we could live without? Were going to be thinking about that. Because Im not confident that we wont have a similar message next July, and Im going to have to be prepared for that.

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Theron Schutte, superintendent of the Marshalltown Community School District, said his district had faced a nearly $600,000 shortfall because of the funding pause. These federal dollars went toward historically underserved communities, he said, like low-income, English Second Language (ESL) and migrant students and their families, he said, as well as some students with special education needs, through programs like after-school tutoring for migrant students, swim lessons and summer school lessons.

As more than one-third of the Marshalltown school districts student population are English language learners, the funding freeze was a major concern as the district looked at how it could continue to provide support for the families that rely on these programs, he said.

It would have a huge impact, because we have a very large immigrant population in Marshalltown, Schutte said. Some of those services that would have been significantly reduced and jobs lost would have been in our Welcome Center, where we have staff that are devoted to helping orientate and register new families into the district, and to be able to accommodate families that speak different languages.

The Marshalltown school district did not have to stop any programs from the funding pause this year. But during the pause, the school district was considering having to close or reduce services in the following year, Schutte said.

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Even though the funding was restored, there are still questions about whether federal education funding pauses or cuts are on the horizon, he said. Combined with lower K-12 education funding from the Iowa state government in the past decade, he said, school districts are left in an unstable position when these funds are not provided.

Cole said the federal freeze for ELL and migrant programs will have an impact on how school districts will evaluate other programs and areas that receive funding from the U.S. government.

This felt like it came out of nowhere, and so it was something that we were extremely unprepared for, Cole said. I was not thinking in March that there would be an announcement that a significant portion of our federal dollars would not be coming. And so, as we think about that, Im also cautious with funding streams that werent talked about, right? And so its really difficult for us to plan.

Other Trump administration directives target education funding for migrant students

Though the funding for migrant and English Second Language K-12 students was restored, the Trump administration has also pursued other efforts focused on education funding that goes toward migrant families. In July, the U.S. Department of Education released a memo saying adult students without legal status must be banned from federally-funded classes, including English language, technical education and high school equivalency courses.

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People taking these courses will be citizenship and immigration verification requirements, according to the guidance. But many impacted institutions, including some K-12 schools that offer career education courses, said they are unsure about the implementation of verification steps, as students are not required to provide citizenship paperwork or other documents.

Many immigrant students legally in the country also do not have access to documents needed to verify their status, advocates say.

Des Moines Area Community College will receive necessary funding for its adult education programming as a result of federal funding being released, with a new caveat that officials say could make administrative burdens even heavier and result in a chilling effect among potential participants.

Erica Spiller, DMACC vice president for student affairs, said the community college received a memo saying it will see the same amount of funding as in past years for these programs, coming in at $741,600. Just under $3.5 million in adult basic education funding will be awarded to community colleges across Iowa.

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However, these dollars come with the new requirement that the colleges verify citizenship of those who take advantage of the programming, Spiller said. As an open access institution, Spiller said DMACC doesnt have the systems in place to easily take on this task, so departments across the college would feel hit hard by the extent of the new work.

When DMACC opens registration for its noncredit English Language Learner classes and high school equivalency tests, both of which Spiller said receive federal dollars, lines long enough to wrap around the building form, filled with people hoping to get a seat. If the citizenship of each of these people will need to be checked before they sign up for a class, the college will have to figure out how the process is going to work and how complicated it will be.

Its going to take more staff, its going to take more time, Spiller said.

Based on feedback Spiller has heard from the communities that utilize these services, she said the new rules will have a chilling effect on attendance. Programs focused on adult education are an important workforce driver, she said, and both Iowans and those who move here in the future need to be able to access them in order to gain skills that will make them more employable in the state.

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Im concerned that if it does have a chilling effect, if people cant access this, or dont access this, its going to have an impact on our economy, Spiller said.

A similar directive requiring citizenship verification has been issued for participation in Head Start, the federally funded preschool program, as well as for other Title X programs related to family planning.

Cole said it is unclear how these directives will impact the Storm Lake school district, or whether there will be new requirements on checking students or families documents for participation in other programs.

When thinking about these federal funding streams, she said, people may not realize the impact these services and programs have on their lives and their community, even if they do not directly interact with these programs. For example, Cole said, a child may not be in a program working with migrant students  but without that program, they may get less attention in class, as a teacher will have to focus more on catching other students up on certain material, or have to spend more time on classroom management.

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Its easy to look at these funding streams and to push them off and make them someone elses issue, she said. But the reality is, is that the loss of these funds are going to impact all kids. And I just want to make sure that people are thinking about that, and that the unintended consequences might be very detrimental to kids in our own lives that we really love and care about.

Reporter Brooklyn Draisey contributed to this article.

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The big story: Today marks the beginning of a monthlong sales tax holiday for Floridians.

Students return to classes starting Aug. 11, and the state touts this as an opportunity for families to save as they get their back-to-school clothing and supplies.

The list of eligible items includes clothes, shoes and backpacks priced $100 or less, personal computers and related accessories for $1,500 or less, and certain school supplies costing $50 or less per item. The list also details what doesnt count.

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Dont have kids? That doesnt mean you cant take advantage of the tax hiatus. Sellers cant opt out, and theyre not quizzing on what the items are for. Read more here.

Hot topics

Tuition: The University of South Florida became the fifth state university to increase out-of-state tuition for the coming year.  The University of Central Florida also raised the cost of attending for out-of-state students, Central Florida Public Media reports.

Teacher discipline: A Santa Rosa County teacher had been investigated for misconduct with a student before being arrested on allegations of engaging in a romantic relationship with a minor, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.

Superintendents: Finding a new superintendent is one of three unresolved issues facing the Alachua County school board, MainStreet Daily News reports.  The new superintendent of Lake Wales Charter Schools took office this week, the Ledger reports.

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Reading: St. Johns County school district leaders told parents that the district does not use Beanstack, an online platform the state has said pushes a political ideology, St. Johns Citizen reports.

Free speech: A national group rated 13 Florida universities for their rules relating to free speech and expression on campus, Florida Today reports.

Bus rides: Lee County school buses will have cameras to capture images of vehicles that illegally pass them, WBBH reports.

Budgets: Miami-Dade County school district officials call their budget historically difficult, WLRN reports.  Leon County superintendent Rocky Hanna said his district might not be able to sustain its balanced budget if the state does not increase funding, WFSU reports.

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Board members: Flagler County school board member Derek Barrs moved closer to confirmation as an administrator in the Trump administration. His approval would mean his resignation from the board, Flagler Live reports.  Alachua County school board member Sarah Rockwell defended her comments about Hulk Hogan at a meeting packed with detractors and supporters, WCJB reports.

From the court docket ... The Volusia County school district settled a lawsuit filed by a family that did not get notified that their child was diagnosed with scoliosis while at school, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reports.  The University of Florida has asked the state Supreme Court to rehear a case regarding student fees charged while campus was closed because of COVID-19, Florida Phoenix reports.

Dont miss a story. Heres the link to yesterdays roundup.

Before you go ... Geek? Nerd? Or engineer?
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Friday blasted President Trumps management of the economy after a new report from the Labor Department reported that the economy created only 73,000 jobs in July and revised down the job gains for May and June by 258,000.

It is disturbing to say but the chickens are coming home to roost on Donald Trumps destructive trade war, and the American people are paying price, Schumer said on the Senate floor. The American people are paying the price. You sow chaos, Donald Trump, you reap chaos. That is what the president is finding out this morning.

He called the revision of jobs gained in May and June a flashing red light.

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Donald Trumps chaotic tariffs are already bleeding our economy of good-paying jobs, he said.

He pointed out that the U.S. economy added fewer than 20,000 jobs in May and fewer than 20,000 jobs in June.

That is what tariff whiplash looks like. Businesses, small, large, medium always need stability but businesses are waving around their arms in the dark without a clue of what Donald Trump is going to do next, he said.

The weak jobs report came out the morning after Trump announced a new round of tariffs on major trading partners, including a new 35 percent tariff rate for imports from Canada and a 50 percent tariff rate on imports from Brazil.

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The administration also announced a 39 percent rate on imports from Switzerland.

Trump delays a 30-percent tariff on Mexican goods for another 90 days after previously saying that higher tariffs on it could go into effect Aug. 1.

As bad as his previous trade policies have been, today he is doubling down on his awful trade policies. Last night, he imposed a slew of tariffs on 68 countries around the world, including some of our most important trading partners, Schumer said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW)  A major container and packaging manufacturer will bring new investment and around 20 new jobs to St. Joseph.

According to a press release, Schutz Container Systems, Inc. is expanding to the St. Joseph area and will invest $31 million in a new manufacturing line for industrial packaging.

Governor Mike Kehoe said the expansion of the German-based company will enhance the manufacturing reputation of St. Joseph.

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Their investment reinforces the strength of our state's manufacturing sector," Kehoe said. "This expansion will bring quality jobs and continued economic momentum to Northwest Missouri, and we look forward to a strong partnership for years to come."

Schutz Container Systems was one of the companies visited during the 2022 Trade Mission to Germany. The Missouri Works Program will be heavily involved in ensuring the company has workers from which to choose and tax incentives for job creation in the area as the company expands.

Buchanan County Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson called the $31 million investment a "major milestone for Buchanan County.

The entire project involved a partnership with the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, the City of St. Joseph, Buchanan County, the State of Missouri's Department of Economic Development, Evergy and Spire.




NEED TO KNOW

A 40-year-old scientist, Tae Heung Will Kim, has been detained for more than a week at an airport by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents

Kim has a green card and completed community service for a minor drug charge 14 years ago

His attorney alleges that Kim has been subjected to "inhuman conditions"; officials have indicated his criminal record is to blame





A 40-year-old scientist and permanent U.S. resident was returning from his brother's wedding earlier this month when he was detained by immigration officials  and he has been held for more than a week without explanation, his lawyer says.

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Though the government has not publicly explained the nature of Tae Heung Will Kim's arrest, they have indicated it is related to a long-ago misdemeanor drug charge and said he is set to be deported because of this criminal record.

If a green card holder is convicted of a drug offense, violating their status, that person is issued a Notice to Appear and CBP coordinates detention space with ICE," says a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection. "This alien is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

Kim, a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University, has lived in the United States since he was 5 years old. He's been studying ways to prevent Lyme disease, according to the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium.



On Monday, July 21, he had just returned from the wedding in South Korea when he was held by immigration officials at San Francisco International Airport, NAKASEC said in a statement.

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He is being held in inhumane conditions without access to legal counsel, the organization said.

Kim's advocates say he has not been told why he was taken into custody. In 2011, he was charged with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession and then completed his court-ordered community service, according to NAKASEC.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Having taken responsibility and successfully paying his dues, Will should be able to rebuild and return to his life like anyone else, the organization said.

But behind bars, Kim has been subjected to inhumane conditions and held past CBP's own guidelines to not keep a person in its custody for longer than 72 hours, his supporters say.

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Kims lawyer, Karl Krooth, said in a statement that officers made him sleep in a chair and he only had access to water and concession stand food. The lights in his room were left on around the clock.

Eric Lee, a partner at Lee & Godshall-Bennett, LLP, a firm that is representing Kim pro bono, claims that while he was having a phone conversation with a CBP supervisor, the official said Kim did not have constitutional rights because of his immigration status, which is false.

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Kim with his family. Kim with his family.

When I asked whether the Constitution applied to Will, a green card holder who has lived here for 35 years, the officer said, No,  Lee recalled in a statement.

CBP did not respond to PEOPLEs questions about the alleged mistreatment Kim has received while in custody or the alleged comments about his constitutional rights.

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Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not respond to PEOPLEs request for comment.

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Kim's mom, Yehoon "Sharon" Lee, said that when they emigrated from South Korea, We believed that the U.S. was the best place for us to raise our family, and for decades we built our life here."

My children only know the U.S. as home," Lee said. "Will should not be trapped or treated poorly just because he made a mistake or is not a citizen. He deserves to go back to his normal life.

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Kim (right) with his family. Kim (right) with his family.

Kims case is one of a number making headlines since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and began cracking down on immigration.

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While Trump's successful campaign was centered on a law enforcement message to seal the southern border and remove millions of migrants in the country illegally  with a focus on dangerous people and people with criminal backgrounds  some of the deportations have stirred debate.

Stories have also emerged of people mistakenly arrested and of families being split up because of conflicting immigration statuses.

In a statement, NAKASEC Co-Director Becky Belcore called out the president.

CBPs arrest of Will highlights a dangerous escalation of the Trump regimes attacks on individuals, communities, and constitutional rights, she said. For many of our Asian and immigrant communities, we know too well the slippery slope toward authoritarianism when one person or communitys rights can be disregarded.

Read the original article on People
In the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands of South Africa, three scientists came across a whole new species of amphibian.

The creature was found in 2018, according to Good, Good, Good, but the discovery was only published in the African Journal of Herpetology in May 2025.

While looking for another rain frog species  the Bilbo's rain frog  the team encountered another grumpy alternative. It was dubbed the Boston rain frog (Breviceps batrachophiliorum), named after Boston, South Africa, rather than its American counterpart.

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The Boston rain frog's frowny face was similar to other rain frogs in the region. However, its call is what raised questions for the scientific team, who asked South African frog expert Louis Du Preez to investigate.

"We pulled over on the side of the road after hearing rain frogs calling," Nick Evans, one of the scientists on the expedition, explained on Facebook. "[They] are not easy to find."

After years of research on the newest rain frog on the block, it officially entered the scientific record in 2025.

In the case of this discovery, the existence of another species in a habitat is a positive sign for the environmental health of the area.

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Rain frogs in this region, for example, provide a food source for other animals and regulate insect populations. With ecological balance, habitats like these can help combat the overheating of the planet, as they become effective carbon sinks.

Protecting ecosystems, such as grasslands, can also have an impact on the surrounding human population. One study in Kenya even found that restoring local grasslands can lower rates of conflict, both between wildlife and among human populations.

Intervention can also slow the decline of vulnerable populations by 21%, according to another study.

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.

With the discovery of the Boston rain frog, researchers were also able to get a clearer picture of the Bilbo's rain frog population in the area.

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With the new information about their range and population size, the Bilbo's rain frog's status was escalated from "vulnerable" to "critically endangered."

While yet another surprising outcome for the team in their research, the updated status arms conservationists in the area to better protect the at-risk species.

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.


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Heres what youll learn when you read this story:

Researchers analyzed bone markings from 70,000-year-old artifacts to determine if artificial memory systems were in use.

The team found that patterns in markings differentiated between butchering, decorative, and counting use cases.

While not conclusive, the findings could show that cognitive abilities grew much earlier in the human timeline than previously believed.

Humanitys ancestors could have been counting long before any formal writing system existed. And it may have been advanced enough that entire societies knew what was going on.

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A team of researchers recently published a study detailing an analysis of 22 artifacts (dated to between 15,000 and 70,000 years ago) intended to determine how scientists could better identify artificial memory systems, or AMSs. As the authors describe them, AMSs are tools that allow for the storage and retrieval of coded information beyond the physical body.

Nowadays, we use computers and smartphones for the bulk of our out of body memory tracking, but the concept includes everything from systems of writing to sticks carved with tally marks known appropriately as tally sticks. Anything that would allow you to make a note of an idea and come back to it laterthat counts.

But these things arent easy to identifyespecially the earliest examples on record, which consist of nothing more than a few marks on an object. And over the course of millenia, marks can be collected by an object for a variety of reasons. So, the team behind this new paper set out to find a better method for identifying these early recording devices through the use of new statistical tools and empirical evidence.



Basically, the team wanted to be able to identify what markings meant AMS, and what markings meant, say, butchery or art. So, they analyzed their 22 artifactswhich included a 44,000-year-old baboon bone from South Africa, a 70,000-year-old bone, a reindeer antler from France, medieval tally sticks, and Indigenous calendarsin the hopes of gathering enough information to create descriptions of what features markings of different purposes would have. In particular, the team looked for signs of regular, intentionally spaced markings that would indicate an objet was being used as an AMS.

And according to the study, the team found what they were looking for. Upper Paleolithic AMSs, the authors wrote, are endowed with systematically different signatures that distinguish them from the other artifacts. Butchery marks were found to be clustered, and abstract decorative motifs displayed randomness in spacing (both had significant variation in angle). But potential AMSs show regular spatial patternswhat researchers claim are distinct separation[s] between the different types of markings.

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These findings, the researchers wrote, suggest that modern humans in at least Africa and Europe had sophisticated cognitive capabilities for information storage and retrieval, providing insights into the possible development of quantity-related cognition.

Some examples come from regions and time periods linked to Homo sapiens, while others could be tied to Neanderthals.

Questions, however, still abound. For instance, just what information these AMSs were recording remains a mystery. Possibilities include days of the week, lunar movements, community events, objects, and even numbers of people.

The researchers caution that they cannot truly speculate about the exact nature of these populations precise linguistic repertoire. But they surmise that the recording of information by marking objects offers a form of external representation, defining a communication technology that implies the transmitting of knowledge within a community, necessitating a shared understanding of the processes behind the production and use of these devices.

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Despite the mystery that still surrpounds many of these artifacts, there is no question as to the importance of the finds. These marks, the authors wrote, could reflect a crucial step in the transition from basic cognitive abilitieslike distinguishing between few and manytoward abstract concepts like numbers.

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Scientists recently challenged the government to urgently address an unprecedented, catastrophic harmful algal bloom ravaging waters in South Australia, the Guardian reported.

What's happening?

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are aptly named, caused by an overgrowth of algae, often of the toxic variety.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the precise confluence of circumstances behind a harmful algal bloom has yet to be identified.

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Changes to nutrient balances, ambient pollution, food chain fluctuations, invasive species, rerouted water flow, and an overheating planet "all play a role" in causing HABs.

The toxic algal bloom affecting Australia's waters was first identified back in March, and officials cited unusually high sea surface temperatures as an exacerbating factor. By July, the HAB had grown to over 4,500 square kilometers, or over 48 billion square feet.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said that over "400 different species of marine life" have been killed off or "had deaths" due to the HAB.

On July 24, Australia's Biodiversity Council published a report about the ongoing situation in Australia. The coalition of experts didn't mince words and challenged governments to act.

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"Australia is witnessing one of the worst marine disasters in living memory," they began, warning of consequences "devastating [to] marine life" as well as the nation's "most iconic and economically important ecosystems."

Why is Australia's algal bloom so concerning?

As the report continued, its authors were forthright, refusing to sugarcoat the scope of the disaster or its known causes.

The bloom "was [foreseeable] and even predicted," they explained, before cataloguing several likely causative conditions.

"It is a human-mediated disaster  enabled by an extended marine heat wave, likely fed by a large pulse of nutrient-rich floodwater and coastal upwelling, and exacerbated by widespread loss of marine ecosystems that once provided natural water filtering and resilience against natural as well as human threats," they said.

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In other words, while the exact causes for algal blooms have yet to be firmly established, scientists have a pretty good idea of why this one occurred and how it could have been avoided.

As the Biodiversity Council explained, harmful algal blooms aren't just unsightly and unpleasant  a NOAA review after a "record-breaking" HAB on the West Coast of the United States in 2015 sought to quantify their effects on people who live in coastal communities.

Economic losses were a major consequence, followed by concordant job losses. Food insecurity resulted from HABs in communities that rely on the sea for sustenance. Cultural and spiritual activities were disrupted, and "community identity and social interactions" suffered, too.

What's being done about it?

In their report, the Biodiversity Council asked governments to commit to seven direct actions "to respond to this event and to prepare for an increasingly dangerous and unstable future."

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The governments of Australia and South Australia allocated 28 million Australian dollars ($18.4 million) to research and remediate the algal bloom.

Previously, funds were made available to small businesses and fisheries in South Australia that were adversely impacted by the HAB.

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.
Thirty years ago, Scotland was the centre of the UFO world.

The 1990s started with a photograph that has achieved almost folkloric status as one of the best images of an Unidentified Flying Object.

Then came a flood of sightings of mystery objects in a part of central Scotland which came to be known as the Falkirk Triangle.

These captured the world's imagination, attracting journalists from around the globe and leading to claims of conspiracies, cover-ups and cheap publicity stunts.

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The truth may still be out there. It is certainly complicated. And three decades on, what actually happened is still the subject of passionate debate.

Some have embraced the idea that Scotland is an alien visitor zone [Alamy]

Bonnybridge is a village of about 6,000 people near Falkirk. It lies close to the main Edinburgh to Glasgow rail line and Forth and Clyde canal.

Like many of the surrounding towns and villages, the manufacturing industries which once prospered there are long gone. It is a quiet, tucked-away part of the country and was probably on few radars until 1992, when locals started reporting strange lights in the skies.

Malcolm Robinson has lived in the area for most of his life.

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He has been interested in UFOs and the paranormal since childhood and founded the amateur research group Strange Phenomena Investigations (SPI) in 1979.

In 1992, he became aware of something on his own doorstep.

"I heard about it on a local radio station," he says. "Billy Buchanan, the local councillor, was on there talking about these UFO sightings and I went: 'Wow, by God I really need to get in touch with him and see if I can lend any assistance'."

Councillor Buchanan had begun collecting reports from constituents who said they had seen strange lights and objects in the sky. Things they did not recognise, things they could not explain.

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Towards the end of that year, he had recorded more than 200 incidents.

Bonnybridge councillor Billy Buchanan became an international figure thanks to the Falkirk Triangle [Getty Images]

It is important to say that the term UFO means Unidentified Flying Object. It does not describe alien ships visiting the earth.

The Bonnybridge UFO reports covered a wide spectrum of events, including a motorist describing lights in the form of a cross hovering above a road before morphing into a triangle.

On another occasion a family witnessed a bright circle of light landing in a field.

Media interest was immediate and intense. The local newspaper and national tabloids were hungry for headlines. TV reporters joked about alien visitors but still came looking for stories.

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News crews were dispatched to cover a UFO watch, held on a cold November night. They left without a close encounter.

A public meeting was held in January 1993. Concerned locals were looking for answers. The term Falkirk Triangle was coined, covering the area between Stirling, Falkirk and West Lothian.

Those who study UFOs know that media reporting leads to greater public awareness and more sightings. That certainly happened around Bonnybridge.

One of the earliest photos relating to the Falkirk Triangle was said to be of a silent craft seen over the Grangemouth refinery in November 1991 [Malcolm Robinson]

Sightings continued to make headlines for another three or four years. In 1997, they were the subject of the prime time TV programme Strange But True.

In it, Billy Buchanan talks about writing to the recently elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, demanding an investigation. His request was declined.

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Videos, photographs and tales of unexplained encounters continued. But the story drew accusations of fakery, publicity-seeking and even tabloid newspaper claims that aliens had been in contact with locals.

Malcolm Robinson was there throughout - investigating the reports, following up what people said they had seen and checking air traffic, police and military records.

"I was astonished by how massive the story was," he says. "Everybody and their granny wanted to know about what was going on there. And quite rightly so.

"The problem we got is that some members of the media community were hyping things up. So if it was 100 sightings it suddenly became 1,000 sightings."

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Malcolm puts the total number of sightings in the region at about 350 between 1982, the year he began recording incidents, and today.

Craig Lindsay was a Ministry of Defence (MoD) press officer in Scotland during that period and remembers recording the reports.

"When I started work there in 1989 I fairly quickly discovered that nearly always in the evening there would be someone calling RAF Pitreavie about lights in the sky or something like that.

"Nearly always around Falkirk, Bonnybridge, to the point that we actually had what you call a pro forma form. If the controllers weren't busy, they would just fill in the form and send it off to London.

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"But if they were busy, they would divert the call to me, and I would speak to the person and get the details and I would fax the thing off to London and we never heard anything more about them. It was a fairly common occurrence.

"It was just, to be blunt, folks coming out of the pub and seeing things."

Calvine is a tiny hamlet in Perth and Kinross, close to the A9 and the Falls of Bruar [Getty Images]

But the Falkirk Triangle is not the only UFO mystery to come from that period.

This weekend, at a public talk in Perthshire, enthusiasts will gather to discuss one of the subject's most enduring mysteries.

What was captured by camera in the skies above Calvine on a summer's day in 1990?

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The photo we see today is grainy and indistinct. It is framed by the branches of a tree and a wood and wire fence. Between them, low in the sky, is a diamond-shaped object, a ridge along its middle.

Behind and slightly lower and flying right to left is a small, modern military jet. It has been identified as a Harrier, a fighter then in service with the RAF.

It appears to be approaching the object, which looks unlike anything generally seen crossing Scotland's skies.

The "Calvine photograph" was taken in August 1990 and appears to show a large craft and a Harrier fighter jet in the skies above Perthshire [Craig Lindsay/Sheffield Hallam University]

The aircraft seen below the object in the Calvine photograph is thought to be a Harrier jet, then in service with the RAF [Getty Images]

This is what we know about the photo.

It was taken by two young chefs from a Pitlochry Hotel while walking near Calvine at about 21:00 on 4 August 1990.

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According to the account they later gave the MoD's Craig Lindsay, the craft made no sound, left no smoke trails, and appeared to be hovering. They watched as the Harrier flew around it.

The men took six photos of the object before it flew away vertically, disappearing at great speed.

They sent the photos to the Daily Record newspaper, which got in touch with Craig at his office at RAF Pitreavie Castle.

After the paper sent him copies of the photos, he contacted his bosses in London, duly spoke to the men who witnessed the incident, filed the details and moved on.

Interestingly, the newspaper never ran a story, never published the photos.

Later that year, while on a routine visit to the MoD in Whitehall, Craig saw a copy of the best photo on display in a room.

"I opened a door and facing me on the wall was a big poster-sized print. I made some remark about 'oh crikey you guys are taking this thing seriously now' and we got talking and they produced prints of the other six," he says.

"After that I waited to see what was going to happen. London said they'd sent it off to the specialists and gradually I forgot about the thing. It just went out of my mind."

Craig came across a reference to the Calvine sighting six years later in Nick Pope's book Open Skies, Closed Minds.

Pope was a civil servant who worked on the MoD's "UFO desk" for three years in the 1990s, analysing reported sightings and assessing whether they posed a threat to national security.

He wrote: "The Calvine report remains one of the most intriguing cases in the Ministry of Defence's files. The conclusions, however, are depressingly familiar: object unexplained, case closed, no further action."

Dr David Clarke has been investigating UFO sightings for more than 30 years [Sheffield Hallam University]

Someone else who read that book was Dr David Clarke.

A journalist and academic, he has studied UFO reports for more than three decades and has been instrumental in analysing official records held in the National Archives in Kew.

In 2009, he found a reproduction of the photo in one of the files there. He was keen to know more but it took another 12 years of searching before the trail led him to Craig Lindsay, by then long-retired from the MoD and living quietly in Fife.

As David recounts in a 2022 article revealing the existence of the photo and his search for answers, Craig told him: "I have been for waiting for someone to contact me about this for more than 30 years."

Craig said he had not seen the picture in all that time but after searching through boxes of old papers and books stored in his garage, discovered a full-quality copy of the best image showing the craft and Harrier together.

A photographer colleague of David's at Sheffield Hallam University has analysed the picture and vouches for its authenticity.

The image shows a real object captured on film. Whatever it is, it was there in the sky.

As David sees it, there are a huge number of unanswered questions about the Calvine photo.

The identities of the men who took it remain a secret, nobody knows why the Daily Record never ran the story, no trace has been found of the Harrier or its pilot.

He is determined to find answers.

"I've got my MP involved now, asking questions of John Healey, the Minister of Defence. Saying, you know, you can't just say all we know about this is what's been released to the National Archives," he says.

"That's nonsense. There must be something about it somewhere that's not been released."

In 2021, Craig Lindsay discovered he had kept a copy of the Calvine photo [David Clarke]

All around the world, people continue to see strange things in the sky.

The US Congress has held hearings examining multiple reports from military pilots about unexplained encounters.

The big unanswered question about Calvine, the Falkirk Triangle, indeed any reported UFO sighting, is what did they see?

There is no consensus on this. David does not believe in alien visitors. In fact, few people seriously studying the topic think that.

Nor does he buy into some of the other theories put forward for the Calvine photo: that it is a mountain peeking through mist or something reflected on water.

One of the most common explanations given for UFOs for decades now is that they are secret, experimental spy planes.

The 1990s in particular were filled with reports of the US "Aurora" programme, said to be the next generation of very fast stealth aircraft.

Machrihanish air base in Kintyre, with its relatively remote setting and two-mile long runway, was frequently identified as the source of fast objects crossing Scotland's skies, making impossible manoeuvres.

But the US government has never admitted to building such a plane and no evidence links the base to any secret programmes.

The MoD closed its UFO desk in 2009 because it "served no defence purpose".

A spokesperson told BBC Scotland News: "The MoD has no opinion on the existence of extra-terrestrial life and no longer investigates reports of sightings of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena or Unidentified Flying Objects.

"This is because, in over 50 years, no such reporting to the department indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK, and it was deemed more valuable to prioritise MoD staff resources towards other defence-related activities."

Malcolm Robinson estimates there are still about 45 to 60 UFO reports in the Falkirk Triangle every year.

He and Billy Buchanan continue to lobby politicians at Westminster and Holyrood for a public inquiry.

"There still is phenomena attached to Bonnybridge or why would we go down to see subsequent prime ministers?" Malcolm asks.

"There is something definitely ongoing."

David Clarke is determined to find out what was in the skies over Calvine 35 years ago.

"It's straightforward. It's either a hoax or a prank that just got out of hand, or it's some kind of military exercise. There's no other explanation. I don't believe in aliens," he says.

"And I just want to get to the bottom of it because, as an investigative reporter, I hate mysteries."

Dr David Clarke will be speaking at Blair Atholl Village Hall at 16:00 on Saturday 2 August.
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (WHNT)  The Scottsboro Police Department says it arrested a man after he gave the department false information regarding a manhunt suspect on Saturday.

SPD arrested 36-year-old Daniell Hendon and charged him with Swatting under the newly established Alabama criminal code enacted in 2024.

According to SPD, during Saturdays active manhunt for Daniel McCarn in the shooting of Lt. Derek Porch, SPD was contacted by a local business regarding an employment application submitted under McCarns name.

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SPD said it immediately followed up on the information given but found that the application was fraudulent and served only to divert valuable resources away from the search efforts.

Later, on Monday, July 28, further investigative efforts were undertaken to identify the origin of the false application. Officers were able to determine its source and found Hendon as a suspect.

Hendon was interviewed and admitted to having submitted the false information.

He is currently being held at the Jackson County Jail.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
Editor's note: As part of our commitment to foster civil conversations in Viewpoints, we're inviting faith leaders to submit edited versions of their homilies that transcend religion, with messages that can appeal to people of all faith traditions.

Of all the scripture used to decorate homes and offices, there are a few verses that never make the cut.

Jesus warning in Matthew 19, Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven, cannot be found in aisles of hand-lettered wall art of Hobby Lobby. Neither can Matthew 7:5, You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbors eye.

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It seems that the owners of the Christian craft store have decided that no matter the font size or the frame style, some Bible verses just wont turn a profit.

Profit isn't the point of scripture

But thats not the point of scripture, no matter which verse is used.

Instead of decor, the sacred text is supposed to act as a shepherds crook, pulling us away from danger and guiding us towards paths of righteousness. Indeed, Matthew 7:5 could have been (and still might be) helpful to State Superintendent Ryan Walters, whose relentless crusade to put the Bible in every public classroom could be interpreted as an indication of his active engagement with its contents, but that is not at all evident.

Ryan Walters is infamous for his screeching about all that is wrong with public education, but hes done this while dragging the state all the way down to 50th in its education ranking. If only he would notice the log in his own eye that prevents him from seeing reality.

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Opinion: What do you think of the investigation into Ryan Walters, nudity on TV? Share your thoughts

His overwhelming desire for power has obscured a vision for free public schools that serve all students in Oklahoma. His dogged pursuit of a higher position has hidden from him a path that would lead us to improved academic outcomes, restored funding, and the establishment of our state as a mecca for teachers.

Alas, he may not be able to see past the alleged pornographic images on his office television that State Board of Education members said they witnessed.

Jesus offers some warnings about hypocrisy in the book of Matthew.

Ryan Walters isn't the only Christian who needs to this seriously

To be sure, Ryan Walters isnt the only self-professed Christian in need of taking seriously Jesuss warning about the log in our own eye.

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While most everyone seems to love to hate Ryan Walters right now, we cannot forget that he won the state superintendents race with 56.8% of the vote just a few years ago, and that was after he told Oklahomans exactly who he was as Secretary of Education and in his campaign for State Superintendent.

Opinion: Oklahoma students and teachers pay the price for Ryan Walters' bad calls

Before his election, he was very upfront about his disdain for federal dollars for public schools, including those that fund free and reduced lunch programs that 400,000 Oklahoma children rely on.

We elected him even though he didnt hide the ball about his low opinion of teachers, insisting that he would pursue mandating patriotic education for teachers through an out-of-state conservative Christian college. He was very direct about his intention to drain funding from classrooms as a foot soldier in the far-rights effort to bankrupt and privatize public education.

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Opinion: Partisanship that turns politicians into saviors does not belong in church

In the conversation about whats blocking Ryan Walters ability to see things clearly, we must confess that the log of unquestioning partisan allegiance (deepened by closed primaries and enabled by straight ticket voting) has rendered some of us unable to recognize a power-greedy Christian Nationalist who told us in no uncertain terms that he had no intention of shepherding public education towards green pastures.

As we deal with the fallout from the most recent scandal inside the State Department of Education, we must also reckon with how Ryan Walters ended up in that office in the first place. Regardless of what he decides to do next or how the investigation goes, we must clear our vision so that we can see what we need to do to ensure that our children, teachers and public schools flourish.

After all, nobody likes a hypocrite.

The Rev. Lori Allen Walke is senior minister at the Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ.

The Rev. Lori Allen Walke is senior minister at Mayflower Congregational United Church of Christ.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Walters should study the Bible he wants to put in OK schools | Opinion
Rescue teams in Chile searched Friday for five miners trapped after a partial collapse triggered by a tremor killed one colleague and halted operations at the world's largest underground copper mine.

At least 100 people were involved in the perilous search effort nearly 12 hours after the event was registered, said Andres Music, general manager of El Teniente mine in Rancagua, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of Santiago.

"So far, we have not been able to communicate with them. The tunnels are closed, they are collapsed," he told reporters on Friday.

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The miners had been working at a depth of more than 900 meters when the collapse happened. Their exact location has been pinpointed with specialized equipment.

"We will do everything that is humanly possible to rescue the five trapped workers," Maximo Pacheco, the president of Chile's state-owned mining company Codelco, told a press conference Friday afternoon.

"All of our experience, all of our knowledge, all of our energy, and all of our strength are dedicated to this cause and to seeing this through," he added.

Michael Miranda, brother of missing miner Jean Miranda, 31, told AFP earlier Friday that the men's families were desperate for news.

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"They haven't explained anything to us. No one has approached us to talk to us, to tell us if my brother is okay or not," he said outside the Codelco offices in Rancagua.

Jean's wife was pregnant, he added, "and no one from the company has approached her to talk. No psychological support, nothing."

Mining minister Aurora Williams earlier announced the temporary cessation of activity at the mine, which began operating in the early 1900s and boasts more than 4,500 kilometers (some 2,800 miles) of underground tunnels.

Last year, El Teniente produced 356,000 metric tonnes (over 392,000 tons) of copper -- nearly seven percent of the total for Chile.

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- 'Many irregularities' -

The cave-in happened after a "seismic event" Thursday afternoon of which the origin -- natural or caused by drilling -- is not yet known, according to authorities.

The tremor registered a magnitude of 4.2.

"It is one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, that the El Teniente deposit has experienced in decades," said Music.

Jose Maldonado, a union leader at El Teniente, said workers were demanding a "thorough investigation" and told AFP they had reported "many irregularities."

The search team included several of the rescuers who participated in successfully surfacing 33 miners trapped in a mine for more than two months in the Atacama Desert in 2010, attracting a whirlwind of global media attention.

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Chile is the world's largest copper producer, responsible for nearly a quarter of global supply with about 5.3 million metric tonnes (5.8 million tons) in 2024.

Its mining industry is one of the safest on the planet, with a fatality rate of 0.02 percent last year, according to the National Geology and Mining Service of Chile.

The metal is critical for wiring, motors and renewable energy generation.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Huntsville Police say they believe Alabama realtor Ronald Dumas Jr., who has been missing for seven months, was abducted in Huntsville and taken to the Memphis area.

Ronald Dumas Jr., 37, has been missing since December, and authorities have identified key suspects in his disappearance. Kierra Clark, one of these suspects, has been transferred from the Shelby County Jail to Alabama custody, while another suspect, Quintarius White, remains in custody in Shelby County.

Ronald Dumas Jr.

This has been going on for seven months now and its still surreal, said Shakeria Samples, the mother of Ronald Dumas son. Its like you never, you know, not recognize that is going on. But you have moments where it just hits you, like last night for me, she said.

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Investigators tracked Dumas cell phone to the Memphis area shortly after his abduction, leading to the arrest of five individuals in Parkway Village.

Suspect identified in deaths of 4 people in West TN

Shakeria Samples expressed hope that Clarks transfer to Alabama might encourage her to provide more information about Dumas disappearance. Im definitely hopeful that now that she, one of the suspects is here in Alabama, that shell be more willing to open up about what happened that night, Samples said.

The family is appealing to the Memphis community for any information that could help solve the case. I just again, want to plead with the community, all surrounding areas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, all of these areas, that this could happen to anybody, Samples mentioned.

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Next month, the family plans to put up billboards in Memphis and conduct a search in September, seeking volunteers to assist in their efforts.

Ronnies family is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his whereabouts, and Kierra Clark is expected to appear in court Friday in Huntsville. The family remains hopeful for answers as they continue their search.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
DES MOINES, Iowa  The Des Moines Police Department has announced a second arrest in a case involving the attempted theft of vehicles and a shooting that damaged a home and car last month.

Sgt. Paul Parizek, Public Information Officer of the Des Moines Police Department, said Elijah Gates, 18, was arrested on Thursday on the following charges connected to the incident:

Elijah Gates

Third-degree burglary (two counts)

Second-degree criminal mischief (two counts)

Intimidation with a dangerous weapon

Trafficking stolen weapon used in a crime

Persons ineligible to possess dangerous weapon

Conspiracy to commit a forcible felony

Going armed with intent

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Gates is being held in the Polk County Jail.

Des Moines man convicted of second-degree murder for stabbing girlfriend

The charges are connected to attempted vehicle thefts at the VA Hospital in Des Moines on July 19th and a shooting in the 2400 block of Saylor Road. Sgt. Parizek said a home and a vehicle were hit by at least 28 bullets in the incident. There were no injuries reported.

Additional charges have been filed against Gates related to stolen firearms discovered during the execution of a search warrant, as well as the July 29th assault of a woman.

Police arrested Michael Hargrove, 18, earlier this week in connection with the original incidents on July 19th.

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DMPD detectives are continuing to investigate.

Metro news

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com.
German police on Friday said a second arson attack was carried out on a key railway line in Dusseldorf, a day after a fire in a cable duct caused widespread disruptions on the same line.

The incendiary device used was of the same type as the one discovered following Thursday's blaze, police told dpa, adding that damage has once again been caused to the line.

Thursday's incident shut down a major railway line between the western cities of Dusseldorf and Duisburg. The blaze broke out in a cable duct that is part of the signalling system. According to investigators, the fire was started deliberately.

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Hours later, a letter claiming responsibility for the act was published on the left-wing platform Indymedia. In it, an "Angry Birds Commando" claims responsibility for the offence.

"Many things would work infinitely better without the industrial system," the letter reads, adding that this is the reason why the group "caused a disturbance."

Dusseldorf police confirmed that the authorities had also received the letter, whose authenticity was yet to be confirmed.
By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship appeared on Friday to be headed toward being declared unconstitutional by a second federal appeals court, as judges expressed deep skepticism about a key piece of his hardline immigration agenda.

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sharply questioned a lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice as to why they should overturn two lower-court judges who blocked the order from taking effect.

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Those lower-court judges include one in Boston who last week reaffirmed his prior decision to block the order's enforcement nationally, even after the U.S. Supreme Court in June curbed the power of judges to broadly enjoin that and other policies.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week became the first federal appeals court to hold Trump's order is unconstitutional. Its ultimate fate will likely be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Justice Department attorney Eric McArthur said on Friday that the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 after the U.S. Civil War, rightly extended citizenship to the children of newly-freed enslaved Black people.

"It did not extend birthright citizenship as a matter of constitutional right to the children of aliens who are present in the country temporarily or unlawfully," he said.

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But the judges questioned how that argument was consistent with the Supreme Court's 1898 ruling interpreting the clause in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, long understood as guaranteeing American citizenship to children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents.

"We have an opinion by the Supreme Court that we aren't free to disregard," said Chief U.S. Circuit Judge David Barron, who like his two colleagues was appointed by a Democratic president.

Trump's executive order, issued on his first day back in office on January 20, directs agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder.

Every court to consider the order's merits has declared it unconstitutional, including the three judges who halted the order's enforcement nationally. Those judges included U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston, who ruled in favor of 18 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia, who had swiftly challenged Trump's policy in court.

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"The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized children born to individuals who are here unlawfully or who are here on a temporary basis are nonetheless birthright citizens," Shankar Duraiswamy, a lawyer for New Jersey, argued on Friday.

The 6-3 conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 sided with the administration in the litigation by restricting the ability of judges to issue so-called universal injunctions and directing lower courts that had blocked Trump's policy nationally to reconsider the scope of their orders.

But the ruling contained exceptions, allowing federal judges in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and the 9th Circuit to issue new decisions stopping Trump's order from taking effect nationally.

The rulings on appeal to the 1st Circuit were issued by Sorokin and the New Hampshire judge, who originally issued a narrow injunction but more recently issued a new decision in a recently-filed class action blocking Trump's order nationwide.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio)
The Secret Service must move to "course correct" after reports a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife onto a Secret Service cargo plane accompanying President Donald Trump on his trip to Scotland, according to a former agent.

Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during the administrations of presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, said the alleged incident was unusual and that the agency must "step up" to address growing threats against Trump.

"The threats to the President are serious and growing," Miller said in an email Thursday to Fox News Digital. "This agency must step up to address these threats.  Imagine a world where our elected leaders are not safe to lead the critical issues facing our world?

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"The mission that they have been given requires the absolute best people available who have the highest level of commitment, experience, professionalism and skill."

One Year After Trump Assassination Attempt, Butler Widow Demands Accountability From Secret Service

President Donald Trump waves as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport July 25, 2025, in Prestwick, Scotland.

While Miller predicted conduct like this would have previously resulted in a suspension or firing of the agent, Miller said that is unlikely given that the Secret Service did not fire those on duty during the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.

Read On The Fox News App

The agency did, however, announce that it suspended six of its agents due to their response to the attempt.

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Likewise, Miller said he anticipates an investigation into the Scotland incident will be handled meticulously.

"I am confident that they will thoroughly investigate this matter," Miller said. "To that end, the Secret Service must course correct and hold agents accountable for these types of errors in judgment. The current threats are too high. Its time for high levels of accountability and a return to mission focus. The lives of our elected leaders depend on it! This truly is a no fail mission!"

Agent's Alleged Attempt To Smuggle Wife On Trump Scotland Trip Being Probed In Latest Secret Service Fiasco

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump during a meeting at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, Monday, July 28, 2025.

Even so, Miller said the agency did the right thing in identifying the threat and fixing the problem.

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"The bottom line is there is more to this story and, with the exception of one agents extremely poor judgment, the Secret Service did a good job identifying and correcting this issue," Miller said.

RealClearPolitics first reported that a Secret Service agent attempted to smuggle his wife aboard a Secret Service cargo aircraft during Trumps travels for his Scotland trip.

Trump told reporters Tuesday he had just heard about the alleged incident, describing it as a "weird deal." He also told reporters the agency is handling the matter.

"I don't know, that's a strange one. I just heard that two minutes ago. I think Sean's taking care of it.  Is that a serious story?" Trump told reporters on Air Force One Tuesday, appearing to reference Sean Curran, Secret Service director.

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The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that Trump had been briefed on the matter and that an investigation was ongoing.

Secret Service Changes The Agency Has Made Post-trump Butler Assassination Attempt

President Donald Trump listens to questions from reporters aboard Air Force One over the United Kingdom July 29, 2025, as he returns to Washington after a trip to Scotland.

"The U.S. Secret Service is conducting a personnel investigation after an employee attempted to invite his spouse, a member of the United States Air Force, aboard a mission support flight," a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

"The aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force, was being used by the Secret Service to transport personnel and equipment," the spokesperson added. "Prior to the overseas departure, the employee was advised by supervisors that such action was prohibited, and the spouse was subsequently prevented from taking the flight. No Secret Service protectees were aboard, and there was no impact to our overseas protective operations."





Original article source: Secret Service must 'course correct' after alleged smuggling episode on Trump trip, former agent says
The Secret Service was moving forward with renewing former Director Kimberly Cheatles top-level security clearance but reversed course after RealClearPolitics inquired about a key senators opposition, according to multiple sources in the Secret Service community.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and previously chaired the full Homeland Security panel, argued that Cheatle should not have her security clearance renewed after her leadership decisions contributed to the agencys numerous failures surrounding the assassination attempt against Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"Following the security debacle in Butler, the former director of USSS made the right decision to resign," Johnson told RCP. "I see no reason for her security clearance to be reinstated."

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Asked for comment on Johnsons opposition, the Secret Service issued a vague statement saying Secret Service Director Sean Curran, a Trump appointee, had decided that "not all former directors" should have their security clearances renewed.

The U.S. Secret Service, along with several top U.S. intelligence agencies including the CIA and FBI, has regularly updated the security clearances for all former directors. Although this practice is a matter of public debate, a Secret Service spokesman told RCP the purpose of the renewals "was so the agency can maintain formal and protected communication, including potentially sensitive and classified matters with former officials."

"Since appointed, Director Curran has been building a dynamic team of knowledgeable advisors that will help implement his vision for the agency," the spokesman said. "Additionally, Director Curran has been modernizing the intelligence apparatus within the agency. During that process, he has determined that not all former directors need to have their clearances renewed."

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee which conducted a joint investigation with the Homeland Security panel into the failures at Butler, maintains that Cheatles failure should prevent her from ever receiving a security clearance again.

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"Kim Cheatle disgraced the Secret Service by failing to prevent a horrifying attempt on President Trumps life," Blackburn said in a statement to RCP. "Not only did she oversee one of the greatest security failures in our nations history, but she also stonewalled congressional oversight and ran away from my colleagues and me when we confronted her. Under no circumstances should she be allowed to regain her security clearance, and it is shameful she would even try."

In the days after the assassination attempt that nearly took Trumps life, killed Corey Comperatore, and wounded two other rally attendees, Cheatle, who was hand-selected by former first lady Jill Biden, was the focus of congressional and public furor over what she conceded was "the most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades."

At the GOP presidential convention just days after the assassination attempt, a group of Republican senators, including Blackburn, confronted Cheatle and demanded more information about the agencys failures. When the director declined to answer in the packed convention hall, the senators chased her and peppered her with questions.

Cheatle subsequently resigned following widespread criticism over her testimony to the House Oversight Committee, in which she refused to answer several lawmakers questions and prompted ridicule with her claim that no law enforcement officer was positioned on the roof where the shooter fired the shots because of the safety risk presented by its slope. Before her resignation, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna called for Congress to level charges of inherent contempt and perjury against Cheatle. Cheatle, however, resigned, and calls to hold her accountable for her abysmal appearance before Congress quickly faded.

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Cheatle made headlines again on the anniversary of the Butler rally when Sen. Rand Paul, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, issued a blistering report accusing Cheatle of lying to Congress when she testified last year that she hadnt denied Trumps security detail the resources it requested. Speaking through her attorney Cheatle vigorously refuted Pauls allegations, arguing that she had directed additional assets to be provided, "particularly in the form of agency counter-snipers."

A General Accounting Office report, commissioned by Sen. Chuck Grassley and released on the weekend anniversary of the Butler assassination, found that top Secret Service officials received classified intelligence related to an Iranian threat against Trumps life 10 days before the Butler rally but failed to relay the information to federal and local law enforcement personnel responsible for securing and staffing the event.

Multiple Secret Service sources last year also asserted that Cheatle and her leadership team had repeatedly denied Currans requests for more security assets for Trump throughout his campaign, apparently because they were following an outmoded protocol that treated him merely as a former president - and not the highly polarizing nominee-in-waiting - and, thus, not in need of the top-level security assets that are routinely assigned to help protect sitting presidents, vice presidents and even first ladies.

So far, neither Paul nor Rep. James Comer,who chairs the House Oversight Committee, has pushed the idea of a criminal referal, but Comer is not ruling anything out.

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"If stark evidence of an intentional effort to deceive arises, or the Secret Service under new Director Sean Curran informs us that Ms.Cheatlewas not just wrong or confused but undertook a purposeful effort to mislead in her testimony, this Committee will respond," an Oversight Committee aide told RCP.

"Whether or not Ms.Cheatles testimony meets the legal definition of misleading Congress, its clear she failed in her mission leading the agency and appropriately resigned," the aide added. "Testifying witnesses always have a legal obligation to tell the truth."

Currans decision to halt the Secret Service practice of renewing security clearances of some former directors follows Trumps decision to revoke access to classified information for dozens of intelligence officials who served during the Biden and Obama administrations, and even some who served in his first term.

(The issue of not renewing a clearance is different than revoking one. Rank-and-file Secret Service agents, as well as intelligence and military officers and officials, hold clearances for five years until they are renewed or unless they are suspended and revoked. They can use these clearances to land national security jobs in the private sector, but their new employers then must seek to renew the clearances once they expire.)

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Less than 24 hours after returning to office, Trump ordered the revocations of security clearances for dozens of former intelligence officials who were either involved in an elaborate scheme accusing him of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election or had sided with Biden in the 2020 election. He issued an executive order specifically revoking clearances for the group of 51 former intelligence officials who signed a public statement in 2020 arguing that the emergence of Hunter Bidens laptop bore "all the classic earmarks of Russian disinformation." Those signing the letter include former CIA Directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden, former National Intelligence Director James Clapper, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, and Trumps former national security adviser John Bolton, who wrote a tell-all memoir following his time in office.

In March, Trump also signed an executive order suspending security clearances for employees of the law firm Perkins Coie, a powerhouse Democratic law firm that represented Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election and played a key role in commissioning the Steele dossier, the largely discredited political opposition research report at the heart of the Russiagate controversy. Perkins Coie filed suit, and a federal judge granted a permanent injunction barring the Trump administration from enforcing the executive order. Justice Department lawyers appealed the decision in early July.

Several former national security officials have argued that the practical effect of Trumps revocations was minimal to them.

Norm Eisen, a former special counsel to the House Judiciary, which oversaw Trumps 2019 impeachment, reacted to the cancellation of his clearance in January by arguing it would only encourage him to file more lawsuits against Trump.

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"Its like the third time hes announced hes revoking my security clearance. I mean, does he revoke it, then give it back to me so he can revoke it again?" Eisen, who served as an ambassador to the Czech Republic under Obama and now works as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, asked on X.com. "Who does he think I am, a big law firm or a billionaire whos gonna back down? It just makes me file even more lawsuits!"

During his first term, Trump considered revoking the security clearances of Brennan, Clapper, and several other top intelligence officials, whom he argued at the time were part of a cabal to politicize intelligence and undermine his presidency.

Trump ultimately held back and allowed the group to retain their clearances until his reelection. But the focus on former intelligence officials security clearance renewals and Trumps subsequent revocations has drawn heightened scrutiny of the practice.

Throughout the last several decades, top former intelligence agency officials have continued to retain access to classified material as a courtesy and as a way to allow the former officials to consult and collaborate with their successors. As Washington has grown hyper-partisan in recent years, that cooperation has broken down or ceased to exist altogether, spurring criticism that former top security officials were using this rarefied access to land lucrative positions at Fortune 500 companies or talking-head positions at cable networks without providing any benefit to national security.

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Sean Bigley, a national security law professor at Chapman University who previously specialized in litigating security clearance cases, made the case in a 2018 Wall Street Journal op-ed that "preferential treatment for former officials doesnt improve national security" but instead "creates a caste-system."

Bigley noted that a 1988 Supreme Court decision, Department of the Navy v. Egan, established that a president, in his role as commander in chief, has "absolute power to grant, deny, or revoke access to classified information."

A body of law and policy has since established that a "security clearance should be granted or continued only if it is clearly consistent with the interests of national security." Such authorization of access to classified information also must be joined with a demonstrated "need to know," Bigley argued.

At some indiscernible point in modern political history, a special carve-out of the "need to know" principle developed for those at the very top of the U.S. intelligence community. President Obama formalized the practice with a 2009 executive order but limited access to documents the officials had reviewed, signed, or received during their government service.

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Bigley has argued that the limiting instruction had been all but ignored, and a select few intelligence officials were continuing to receive finished intelligence products and briefings from their agencies long after parting ways, with "no discernible benefit to taxpayers."

"You have all of these former government bureaucrats, who are continuing to have access to the highest level of classified information, and then they can go and take that continued insider access and make themselves a hot commodity in the private sector or on the cable news circuit," Bigley told RCP in an interview. "Thats not what security clearances are supposed to be used for - its a fringe benefit that should be pulled."

Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics' national political correspondent.

&

James Eustis is an intern at RealClearPolitics. He studies politics at Washington & Lee University.
South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson speaks during a press conference about election security and integrity on Oct. 9, 2024, at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

South Dakotas secretary of state is taking responsibility for the release of sensitive voter registration data, after her office published a spreadsheet that labeled thousands of residents as having registered to vote at government assistance agencies.

As Secretary of State, I take full responsibility for the release of this information. My office is committed to both transparency and protecting voter privacy, Secretary of State Monae Johnson said in a statement Friday. Upon discovering the issue, we acted immediately to remove the data and prevent further dissemination.

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The data was posted online following the passage of a new law requiring the states full voter registration list to be freely available to the public. But among the fields included in the data was Source of Registration, which publicly identified people who registered at offices for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or the Women, Infants and Children program.

In all, 7,186 people were labeled as having registered to vote while applying for public assistance, according to a Searchlight analysis.

The release of the information drew criticism from lawmakers and the public alike.

This is what happens when you put the wrong people in charge, said state House Minority Leader Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls, who voted against the bill. We talk a lot about freedom and privacy in this state, so its a shame that this legislation led to this type of breach.

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The list contains the information of 668,419 registered voters  their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, party registrations and other personal information.

The South Dakota Secretary of States Office apologizes for the disclosure of information, according to the statement, and is committed to restoring public trust following this error.

While voter registration at a public assistance agency does not necessarily mean a person receives benefits, Johnson said her office will notify affected individuals by mail. She said county auditors have also been contacted, and individuals who accessed the original data will be asked to delete any copies.

The new law, which passed earlier this year with some bipartisan support and went into effect in July, was sold as increasing transparency in elections by making voter registration information accessible without a $2,500 fee. Activists who favor the hand-counting of ballots, oppose the use of vote-counting machines and deny the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election were among those who promoted the legislation as an election integrity measure.

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The Secretary of States Office said voters with concerns are encouraged to contact the office directly.

Meanwhile, the potential for a lawsuit against the state looms. The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota on Friday invited affected people to fill out the legal intake form on its website.

Removing these files does not wash away the damage that has been done, the ACLU said in a news release. Private information about South Dakotans has now been made public to anyone who downloaded the files in the past month.

EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated since its original publication with reaction from the ACLU of South Dakota.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (PIX11)  Rain swept through New York and New Jersey on Thursday, causing flooding in multiple areas.

Video posted to the Citizen App around 4:15 p.m. shows serious flooding on Front Street in Stapleton, Staten Island, which is right near The Narrows Bay.

State of Emergency declared in NYC: Hochul

Mayor Eric Adams spoke with PIX11 News to urge New Yorkers to stay off the roads during the rain.

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We executed a State of Emergency to let New Yorkers know this is a severe storm and to make sure New Yorkers arent driving through flooded areas, Adams said.

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.
Another nationwide protest against President Donald Trump is being planned by the 50501 protest group.

The "Rage Against the Regime" protest is planned to take place Saturday, Aug. 2, with locations highlighted on the group's website, including some in Florida. As of Friday morning, there weren't as many registered sites as two prior protests: the "No Kings" and the "Good Trouble Lives On."

People dont know what to do with their rage, said Hunter Dunn, a national spokesperson for the 50501 protest group, told USA Today. Lets give them something productive.

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Saturday, Aug. 2, is the birthday of Vice President JD Vance, who will turn 41 this year.

What is Rage Against the Regime?

"'Rage Against the Regime' is a mass mobilization to channel our collective rage against the Trump regime for its weaponization of ICE against our communities, construction of concentration camps, covering up of the Epstein Files, attacks on transgender rights, and its dismantling of Medicaid, SNAP, USAID, the Department of Education, NOAA, and the National Weather Service into collective action," according to 50501.

The group said local organizers will join with 50501 to take "to the streets to fight back against the growing fascist regime threatening our democracy, due process, our bodies, and our communities.

"On this day, we come together to transform anger into action, harnessing the energy of collective resistance. Our movement is rooted in non-violence, but it is far from passive.

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"We stand strong, bold, and unyielding, showing the world the irresistible force of communities united against injustice. Make Aug. 2 a day of lasting impact."

See map of Florida locations planning Rage Against the Regime protests

As of 10 a.m. Aug. 1, 22 locations were listed in Florida. A total of 321 protests were listed across the U.S. on 50501's website.

What is 50501?

"50501 is a grassroots movement, and all local events are organized by independent volunteers," the group said on its website. "50501 is first and foremost a movement of, by, and for the people. We are not nationally incorporated and have no plans to change that."

50501 described itself as a "non-violent movement" with a strict no-weapons policy for events.

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National organizations that have supported 50501, including supporting events or sharing resources, include:

Political Revolution: "A political action committee dedicated to progressive grassroots activism."

No Voice Unheard: "An informational hub for peaceful protesters, marginalized voices, and aspiring activists."

Voices of Florida: "A black and queer-led 501(c)(4) organization defending human rights and reproductive freedoms."

Build the Resistance: "A resource hub and megaphone to #BuildTheResistance against Trump, fascism, and plutocracy in America."

What groups are involved in the Rage Against the Regime protest?

Among the partners listed on the 50501 website are:

Rage Against the Regime

Indivisible

Safety tips for protesters

Human Rights Campaign has tips for those participating in a peaceful protest to help ensure their safety and well-being:

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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



Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today; C.A. Bridges, USA Today Network-Florida

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida protests map for anti-Trump Rage Against the Regime
Faduma Abukar, photographed in Addis Ababa on July 9, 2025. Credit - Charlie Campbell

It was heartbreak that almost ended Faduma Abukar. But an opportunity enabled her to turn it into a new beginning. For years, the Somali refugee had treated painting as a lonely release while living in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, a catharsis to express the pain and frustration of being stuck in a foreign land with few prospects and an uncertain future.

Every time Fadumas mother went to the local Internet cafe to speak to their father, who was toiling as a migrant worker 5,000 miles away in northern Europe, she would beg the manager for scraps of used printing paper to bring home to Faduma and her six sisters. The family had no television at home and barely enough foodjust two meals a day of rice and vegetables. Meat was a real luxury we had maybe once every three months, Faduma, 26, tells TIME.

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As refugees without official documentation, school or official work was out of reach, rendering drawing and painting their only escape from a bleak existence inside those four walls. Because we didn't have money, we just had to stay at home, Faduma recalls. You cannot go to school; you cannot really go outside.

A childhood friend who had earlier moved from Addis to Canada and had been suggested as a possible husband for Faduma offered a ray of hope. My mom loved him; my sisters loved him, she says. He was really the perfect guy for me. But there was a problem. As the suitor belonged to a rival Somali tribe, Fadumas father stubbornly refused to sanction the union. He was so angry, recalls Faduma.

Around the same time, a dear cousin of Fadumas died after falling into a deep depression sparked by her parents similarly rejecting a love match. I saw my cousin getting sicker and I thought I faced the same destiny, recalls Faduma, eyes welling.

Fadumas heartbreak and ongoing acrimony with her father led her to embrace art as a form of therapy, pouring her pain and rage onto the page. Then, in late 2022, Faduma heard that the French Embassy was calling for submissions for murals on its perimeter wall to celebrate 125 years of bilateral relations with Ethiopia. Despite no formal artistic experience or training, Fadumas application was accepted.

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It was really such a big wall! she recalls. But they give us many colors, brushes, and everything. I was so happy to paint there.

The result is remarkable: a wave of primary pointillism as a lone figure aided by supporting hands pushes away a grey tableau of grim torture. This highly acclaimed work brought Faduma into contact with more local artists and with it more opportunities. Before long, her work was featured in UNICEFs U-Report Ethiopia program, and she has since even held a solo exhibition. Today, Fadumas paintings fetch several hundred dollarsenough to support her family and provide some semblance of independence. I think art saved my life, says Faduma.

Faduma Abukars mural. Courtesy of Faduma Abukar

Fadumas story is a remarkable example of a lamentably common phenomenon amongst the global refugee communitythat of hidden talent that simply requires an outlet to thrive. How to unlock that potential is an increasingly hot topic given recent sweeping aid cuts just as the global displaced population breaks new records, with 123.2 million people forcibly displaced at the end of 2024. Thats one out of every 67 people on Earththe vast majority of whom are desperate to contribute but forced to live on handouts or toil in societys shadows. In simple economic terms, its a colossal waste of productivity.

Still, how to handle refugees, asylum seekers, and economic migrants has become a charged issue in the West, contributing to resurgent right-wing politics across Europe and North America. Ethiopia, however, has taken a refreshingly progressive tact despite its significant economic and social challenges. The landlocked East African nation of 130 million is the continents second biggest host of refugees, numbering 1.1 million from a total of 38 countries, though predominantly from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea.

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Since March last year, Ethiopia has started giving refugees versions of the national digital Fayda IDs, facilitating access to services like healthcare, education, and financial institutions. For Faduma, it meant she was able to open a bank account to sell her paintings openly for the first time. This is the thing that Im most grateful for, she says. It helped me a lot to have a bank account.

Legitimatizing refugees has had a transformative effect. In Ethiopia today, Eritrean refugees have opened cafes, Yemenis now make and sell handcrafts, and at least one refugee from Burundi is working as a photographer. They can help not only themselves but their communities also. Raba Abdur fled her native Sudan to Ethiopia in 2011 and is currently studying psychology after winning a scholarship from a University in Kenya. I want to be a counselor as my community, especially women and girls, face a lot of issues in the camps, she says. Some of them get married early and cant continue school. So I really want to help educate them.

As well as easing access to documentation, the UNHCR is also moving away from housing refugees in the archetypal tented refugee camp, embracing a new paradigm dubbed Solutions from the Start in partnership with donors such as the World Bank and African Development Bank.

When a crisis occurs, instead of setting up tent cities with food, education, healthcare, sanitation, and other necessary services, refugees are housed within existing communities, which have their infrastructure and facilities augmented by donor funding. Hospitals receive more doctors and beds; schools get more classrooms and teachers. Not only is it inclusive but its also cost efficient, because it eliminates the need for expensive parallel systems. It enhances the existing facilities for nationals and also expands them to include refugees, says Andrew Mbogori, UNHCR Representative for Ethiopia. This builds quite a lot in terms of cohesion between refugees and the host community.

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More than 70,000 Sudanese refugees fleeing the nations civil war have been hosted among existing communities in Ethiopias Benishangul-Gumuz region, as well as another 50,000 Somalis in its border region of Bokh. There are no parallel arrangements at all, says Mbogori. Its an expansion of already existing [services], which is a win-win situation.

However, integrating refugees and granting them rights remains politically sensitive. While donors are generally in favor of integrated communities, Mbogori says that the hardest challenge is getting governments on board. Drastic cuts to USAIDwhich had allocated $12.7 billion to sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, including 1.2 billion for Ethiopiahas spurred a growing realization that integrating displaced people and allowing them to contribute to the local economy can turn a perceived burden into a boon. When we see refugees, we should see opportunity, says Mbogori. They can fend for themselves and come with a lot of skills.

Faduma is no stranger to the challenges of displacement camps and scant legal status. Like many refugees, her story is complex. Although ethnically Somalian, her parents fled her homelands civil war in 1992 to Yemen, entrusting their lives to people smugglers on board a boat that ended up spending 16 days at sea with no food and water. Many people died, including my cousin and grandma, Faduma says. Afterwards, my parents had a really big phobia of boats.

Which is why when Yemens civil war broke out and the family decided to flee to Ethiopia, Fadumas mother insisted on flying. Aside from lumbering them with five years of debt, arriving into Addis Ababa Airport in 2014 brought other complications. After Houthi rebels seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, it became impossible to retrieve educational certificates and other paperwork that codified their UNHCR refugee status.

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And so, despite being safely ensconced in the Ethiopian capital, the quest for official documentation led the family to travel for three days over land to the Somalia border to present themselves as freshly arrived refugees. After a lengthy registration process, they were given ID cards and sent to a squalid displacement camp. It was quite the awakening. There was a donkey in our tent! recalls Faduma. The place was unbelievable.

In the end, a refugee whose son had just died allowed the family to stay in the extra tent that had been allotted for the funeral preparations. It was so cramped with all of us in there that if you fell asleep on one side you couldnt turn over, recalls Faduma.

The family found the camp a frightening place, especially for eight women staying alone. Whenever we went to get water, people would chase us, recalls Faduma. Men would tell my mom, You have a lot of girls, why dont you give us one of them, and then we can make things easy for you.

Before long, the family decided to go back to Addis. However, leaving the camp meant they were no longer eligible to receive healthcare, education, and other services provided by the UNHCR. But our main purpose was to get the refugee card, says Faduma. And the situation in the camp was miserable. So we went back to the city.

Courtesy of Faduma Abukar

Advocates for Solutions from the Start say another benefit of the scheme is that refugees are no longer beholden to camps for basic services. Moreover, providing refugees legal working status removes opportunities for exploitation and graft. Often in host countries with poor governance a gray economy emerges where undocumented migrants must bribe venal officials for documentation to live or work. Faduma herself worked for seven years teaching Arabic at a local school in Addis before receiving her Fayda ID.

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I never heard of a refugee who was refused a job because they didnt have a work permit, says Faduma. But they might not pay you fairly and use the fact you are a refugee to make problems for you.

In many places refugee populations are ostensibly permanent. The presumption that refugees move over borders for just a few weeks to escape some crisis then quickly return home is pollyannaish. The typical stay of refugees in Ethiopia is some 15 years, says Mbogori.

In southern Lebanon, almost half-a-million Palestinian refugees have lived in cramped displacement camps for decades, remaining largely stateless without access to public services while facing restrictions on employment and property ownership.

At Thailands riparian border with Myanmar, at least 90,000 refugees have lived in nine camps under similar conditions since the early 1980s. Governments in Southeast Asia still look at refugees through a national security lens and have an extremely allergic reaction to any sort of integration into the local community, says Phil Robertson, the Bangkok-based director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates.

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Objectors to refugee integration often talk about a magnet effect, whereby making conditions easy for refugees will encourage more to arrive. And certainly theres a correlation between progressive policies and refugee numbers. Uganda, which operates an open door policy for refugees including providing land and basic services, hosts 1.5 million displaced people, Africas most.

But its a question of perception whether displaced people are truly a burden or opportunity. Faduma says her success shows what can happen when people are given a chance. Whereas her previous life was essentially in limbo, waiting to be reunited with her father or married off, forging her own career has provided not only a sense of independence but also self-worth. If I really want to be free, I must depend on myself, she says.

Other than painting and teaching art to local children, Faduma is in the process of setting up a local artistic center and community hub NGO, where refugees alongside locals can learn new skills and put on exhibitions and performances. The hope, she says, is to provide others with the same opportunities that turned her life around. I don't just want to survive, Faduma says. I want everyone to be a survivor with me.

Write to Charlie Campbell at charlie.campbell@time.com.
In Georgetown, Delaware, 94-year-old Austin Okie has been donating forests and farmlands to conservation groups for years, ensuring that at least some of them are preserved from being acquired by corporations. In fact, some of the most environmentally sensitive areas are protected because of Okie's efforts, per Delaware Online.

"It's hard to imagine what Delaware would look like without Austin Okie's decades of generosity and passion for our natural spaces," said Lori Brennan, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

"He and his family have protected and preserved thousands of acres of important forests and open space in Delaware, safeguarding an irreplaceable mosaic of plant life and wildlife habitat."

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According to Delaware Center for the Inland Bays Executive Director Christophe Tulou, Okie has a deep connection to the area and knows that future generations will appreciate the land being saved. Okie has also expressed his dedication to conservation.

"It almost seemed like fate or something like that," Okie said. "I knew somehow it should not be sold to developers. It should be used for protecting the environment, and I was right."

Okie was a mechanic and a self-proclaimed late bloomer, but he's not one to brag. Ryan Faucett, Okie's first cousin twice removed, said his respect for the natural world inspires him. By taking steps to conserve Sussex County's ecologically valuable areas, Okie is showing respect to the native Americans who once lived on the land.

Okie's grandfather, Linford P. Faucett, was a major landowner in southern Delaware, and his daughter Isabel ended up leaving behind much of the land for Okie.

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"I started looking into who I was and I was so damn surprised," Okie said. "I didn't have a clue."

In 1997, Okie and his family first donated land to The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit. The 400-acre Bullseye-Ferry Landing Preserve is located on the Indian River in Millsboro and houses rare flora, fauna, and more than 65 species of migratory birds. Okie's family farm is also part of the preserved land, making it that much more special.

Okie made sure to commemorate the native Americans who once occupied the land, with a historical marker located on the conservancy that reads: "Before Dutch control of what is now Sussex County, Native American Iwatama Socuum held 'Long Reach,' now Bullseye-Ferry Landing Preserve."

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.

To keep the land untouched, Bullseye-Ferry Landing is closed to the public.

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In 2007, Okie and The Nature Conservancy set aside an additional 118 acres at Poplar Thicket in Long Neck. The Marian R. Okie Memorial Wildlife Preserve, now managed by the state, is one of the few undeveloped properties along Long Neck Road.

Okie said that it's a popular spot with birders and amateur photographers, because it's one of the only pieces of untouched wilderness left in Delaware. The beautiful property contains tidal salt marsh, forests, fields, wetlands, and an isolated beach on the Indian River Bay.

He's also donated two forested properties to the town of Fenwick Island, which will be named the Faucett Okie Family Preserve. The town plans to open the preserve to the public before Memorial Day, with a formal ceremony scheduled for the fall.

The nonprofit Delaware Center for the Inland Bays' Austin F. Okie Watershed Society was created last year to honor Okie's contributions. Society members have given more than $50,000 to the Center and will likely continue to donate to help protect such a sacred landscape.

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"This is a very special place we call home, and I feel a strong responsibility to protect our unique bays and wildlife," Okie told Center representatives, per Delaware Online.

"My hope for the future is that many, many more people will support the Center for the Inland Bays' efforts to protect and restore them."

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  Sen. Bill Cassidy officially launched his reelection campaign at Dragos Seafood Restaurant in Metairie Friday.

Cassidy was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2014 and won reelection in 2020. Challengers he faces in the 2026 election cycle are Republicans, Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming and Louisiana State Sen. Blake Miguez.

Louisiana governor pushes Trump to weigh primary challenger to GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy, AP sources say

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Louisiana and our country face serious challenges, Cassidy said. Im running for re-election to work with the people of Louisiana and my fellow Americans to not just face these challenges, but to make our state and our country even greater.

According to Cassidys office, $2.1 million was raised in the last quarter, and he enters the new quarter with $9 million cash on hand.

His team said Cassidy maintains a productive working relationship with President Trump. The president recently praised the incumbent U.S. Senate candidate at a Make America Healthy Again-related health technology event and an economy event.

Trump signed Cassidys HALT Fentanyl Act in July, which cracks down on the opioid epidemic by permanently scheduling fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I controlled substances.

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Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn will soon introduce a trio of bills to counter the malign influence of foreign adversaries stateside and cement actions already taken by the Trump administration, RealClearPolitics is first to report.

The first bill would ban the purchase of "agricultural land" by any foreign individuals or businesses associated with an adversarial country. Chinese interests already own as much as 370,000 acres of farmland, according to one estimate, some of it near U.S. military bases. Fueling the bipartisan concern: fears that proximity to those sensitive installations could make them prone to drone attack or surveillance.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last month that the federal government would move to ban sales of farmland nationwide to buyers tied to China. If signed into law, the Blackburn bill would deliver on that promise.

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While China is the primary target, the legislation would also prohibit purchases from North Korea, Iran, and Russia.

The second bill focuses on the capital city: It would require the District of Columbia to end so-called "sister city" arrangements with adversarial nations. Washington, D.C., has entered into no less than 15 non-formal arrangements with cities around the world. Some are innocuous, such as Athens and Paris. One is a relic of hopes not realized.

Then-Mayor Marion Barry signed the Washington-Beijing Sister City Friendship agreement in 1984 when the U.S. still hoped that normalizing relations with China would lead to liberalization. It did not. Blackburn and other Republicans now warn that "sister city" arrangements, while informal, provide an adversarial regime a sort of soft power through diplomatic legitimacy and access to sensitive U.S. institutions.

The third bill would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development to work with state and local governments to assess whether and how foreign buyers, including those using shell corporations, "are distorting U.S. housing markets and threatening national security."

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The legislation comes as Trump shakes up the world stage through a series of new trade deals and reevaluated alliances. Even as the president insists that U.S. relations with China are improving, his administration has taken steps to gain an upper hand in the rivalry with the communist superpower. He has bolstered military spending. He has deregulated the artificial intelligence industry in order to maintain U.S. dominance in that field. He insists that the United States will remain preeminent.

Perhaps most significantly, Trump made a rising China a bipartisan concern. While previous administrations cast a wary eye on an increasingly bellicose Beijing, his first candidacy thrust the issue front and center nearly a decade ago. And former President Joe Biden did not throttle back during his time in office, notably keeping Trumps tariffs on China in place and describing the coming century as a competition between autocracy and democracy.

Blackburn shares those concerns. Her current effort focuses on the domestic front.

"The United States cannot allow foreign adversaries like Communist China to quietly embed themselves in our communities and near our critical infrastructure," the senator told RCP.

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"We have a responsibility to identify and address these threats," Blackburn added, before describing her legislative practice as an effort that "shines a light on these activities and will help protect American property and sovereignty."

Philip Wegmann is White House correspondent for RealClearPolitics.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., took a tumble on the Senate floor Wednesday during a vote.

Footage showed Warren attempting to sit on a desk when she fell backwards, tipping over the desk and falling to the floor.

In a rare showing of bipartisanship, her Republican colleagues, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Susan Collins of Maine, rushed to help her up.

Bernie Sanders To Force Senate Vote On Blocking Arms Sales To Israel

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., fell on the Senate floor this week. during a vote.

Warren got up as Cruz gave her his hand.

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Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and John Barrasso of Wyoming were seen walking over to offer assistance.

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The fall happened as the Senate was taking a vote on two resolutions to block military sales to Israel, which Warren voted in favor of.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Warren's office.

Senate Fails To Reject Trump's National Emergency On Tariffs, As Republicans Splinter

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a town hall meeting.

The resolutions were proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a harsh critic of Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Every Republican voted against it.

Former President Joe Biden had several slips and falls while in the White House. In 2023, he tumbled to the ground during the commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Then-President Joe Biden is helped up after falling during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy, just north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, on June 1, 2023.

In 2024, he slipped while walking down the stairs after exiting Air Force One in Michigan.





Original article source: Sen. Elizabeth Warren falls on Senate floor as Republicans offer bipartisan assistance during Israel vote
ST. LOUIS  Missouri Senator Josh Hawley is calling for Boeing and its president, Robert Ortberg, to take action, following a recent toxic chemical leak that happened at its facility in north St. Louis.

Hawley alleges that Boeings facility in north St. Louis leaked thousands of gallons of toxic nitric acid into Coldwater Creek.

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In his letter to Ortberg, Hawley referenced another incident in 2023 involving Coldwater Creek and Boeing.

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This is not the first time Boeing has polluted Coldwater Creek with toxic waste. In June 2023, a Boeing industrial wastewater treatment plant released high levels of hexavalent chromiuma carcinogeninto the creek, Hawley said.

The senator is demanding for the company to take remedial action and provide transparency for Missourians, who deserve to know more by Aug. 15 by answering the following questions:

Have Missourians been harmed by the July 25, 2025 toxic spill into Coldwater Creek?

If so, what actions have you taken or will you take to remedy such harms?

What actions have you taken or will you take to ensure that similar leakages of toxic chemicals do not occur in the future?

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
Senators confirmed a flurry of senior military leadership posts, including the new top uniformed leader of the Navy and the new head of U.S. Special Forces Command, amid a rush of confirmation votes on Thursday evening.

In contrast to a series of contested nomination votes this week, the military confirmations were done by a simple voice vote without objection. The moves fill several top Pentagon and military service slots ahead of the congressional summer break, allowing the leaders to step into their roles in the coming days.

Adm. Daryl Caudle, who has been the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command since 2021, was approved as the next chief of naval operations, ending a nearly six-month vacancy in that role.

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The Trump administration had dismissed previous CNO Adm. Lisa Franchetti without a stated reason on Feb. 21. Adm. James Kilby has been filling in as acting CNO since then.

Trumps pick for CNO faces few hurdles in confirmation hearing

Caudle testified at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 24 that America is in the midst of a crucial era, defined by global competition, technological saturation and unpredictable threats that challenge our American dream.

He addressed issues of environmental remediation at Red Hill, issues with a bloated budget for the dry dock replacement at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Navy accountability for late deliveries and mistakes made in defense programs, among other issues.

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Caudle has also criticized manning shortages, a sentiment that aligns with the Trump administrations intention to overhaul the maritime industrial base.

Also on Thursday, Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton was confirmed as vice chief of the Space Force, replacing Gen. Michael Guetlein. Last month, Defense Department officials announced Guetlein would step aside from the role in order to lead the new Office of Golden Dome for America, coordinating efforts for that defense project.

Vice Adm. Frank Bradley was named the next head of U.S. Special Operations Command. Lt. Gen. Dagvin Anderson was confirmed as the first Air Force general to lead U.S. Africa Command.

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. David Bligh, who currently serves as the staff judge advocate to the commandant of the Marine Corps, will take over as the judge advocate general of the Navy, the first Marine to hold that post in more than a century.

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And Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte was confirmed as the next superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. Hes the first Marine to hold that post, although his appointment comes amid controversy.

Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, the schools first female superintendent, had led the academy since January 2024 but was reassigned by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amid a host of reforms at the school.

The Senate could approve more senior defense posts in coming days. Lawmakers were expected to debate through the weekend on clearing a backlog of nominations pending in the chamber, and Trump has suggested cancelling the Senates planned August recess altogether to finish the work.
Several Senate Democrats are calling for an investigation into the Department of Justices (DOJ) decision to settle a lawsuit blocking Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks.

Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) raised concerns to the DOJ inspector general Friday about the circumstances surrounding the proposed settlement.

Two top officials in the agencys antitrust division  Roger Alford, principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Bill Rinner, deputy assistant attorney general and head of merger enforcement  were recently fired for insubordination.

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The firings reportedly followed internal disagreements over merger policy, in which Attorney General Pam Bondis chief of staff overruled the antitrust divisions head, Gail Slater, to approve the HPE-Juniper settlement.

In all, these events reflect a concerning pattern of behavior within the DOJ and point to possible politicization of the process by which the DOJ analyzes proposed mergers and acquisitions, as well as undertakes and resolves enforcement actions, the senators wrote in a letter to acting DOJ Inspector General William Blier.

We are concerned that, in addition to improper interference in the enforcement of our laws, the full extent and parties involved in this coercive campaign are not known and that other improper conduct could have occurred, they continued.

The Justice Department sued to block the merger between the nations second- and third-largest wireless network providers in January, shortly after President Trump took office. The lawsuit marked a key point of continuity with the Biden administration, which had been preparing to challenge the merger.

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HPE and Juniper pushed back on the lawsuit at the time, arguing the DOJs analysis was fundamentally flawed and the merger would allow the companies to more effectively compete with global incumbents.

In late June, the agency announced a settlement, allowing the acquisition to go forward as long as HPE divests its division for small and medium businesses and licenses Junipers software to independent competitors.

Axios reported Wednesday that the U.S. intelligence community weighed in on the lawsuit, urging the DOJ to allow the merger to proceed to boost American companies competing with Chinas Huawei.

The senators argued the settlement fails to address the issues raised in the DOJs initial lawsuit, which suggested the merger would essentially result in a duopoly in the market between HPE-Juniper and Cisco.

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They also underscored HPEs reported decision to hire lobbyists with close ties to the Trump administration, as well as the subsequent firings of antitrust officials.

The same four senators raised concerns to HP Inc. president and CEO Enrique Lores in a separate letter Friday about what they described as the companys hiring of political consultants in an apparent attempt to assert undue influence, if not coercion to settle the DOJ lawsuit.

Lores is the head of HP Inc., not HPE, which split off from the former in 2015. Blumenthals office noted that the letter was still correctly transmitted to HPE as intended.

HPEs hiring of these consultant close to the Trump family and White House creates the appearance that it sought to use outside political pressure and retaliation against the Antitrust Division to end its lawsuit and reporting suggests that the full scope of HPEs consultants or influence campaign has not been disclosed, they wrote.

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They pressed the company for information about the consultants, the nature of their work and any discussions they had with the DOJs antitrust division or members of the Trump family.

HPE spokesperson Adam Bauer said in a statement that the company is confident the Juniper acquisition is in the public interest and will promote further competition in the market.

The transaction was appropriately approved with certain remedies by the U.S. Department of Justice, and it was unconditionally approved by 13 other antitrust regulators around the world, Bauer added. We respect the role our regulators play in maintaining competitive markets and appreciate the professional and constructive way in which the DOJ engaged with us in approving the deal.

Updated at 4:40 p.m. EDT

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Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., clashed with Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., this week when he, in a fiery floor speech, tried to block a package of police funding bills as he called for greater resistance to President Donald Trumps policies.

Afterward, Booker alluded to his efforts in the face of criticism from Cortez Masto saying, Whats bothering me right now is we dont see enough fight in this caucus.

In an interview, Cortez Masto had her own message.

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I dont need a lecture from anybody about how to take on and push back and fight against Donald Trump, Cortez Masto said.

She took a shot at long speeches as a form of resistance, calling them ineffective as Democrats seek to win back Congress and eventually the White House. In April, Booker broke a Senate record by speaking for 25 hours, warning of the grave and urgent threat Trumps administration posed to the country.

He posted a personal record fundraising haul after that speech.

If we really are going to take on Donald Trump, we need to win. Its not long speeches on the floor, Cortez Masto said. Its showing the American public that were there fighting for them, that were passing commonsense legislation that they care about.

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Booker's office declined to comment.

The whole spat, a rare intraparty clash that played out in public, is indicative of a larger question vexing Democrats as they look toward the midterms and 2028: Is the party hankering for a fight, or does it just want its lawmakers to get the nuts and bolts done for their communities, even if it means working with Republicans?

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada told NBC News that Democrats need to stick to kitchen table issues to win back Congress and the White House. (Ben Curtis / AP file)

Cortez Masto, who also heads ModSquad, a political action committee that works to elect moderates to the Senate, is leaning into a Sen. Lisa Murkowski-like strategy that makes bringing home the goods priority No. 1. Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the deciding vote on Trumps big, beautiful bill because of provisions she believed benefited her state  even as she said she didn't overall like the legislation, which heavily cut Medicaid.

Just this week, Cortez Masto and fellow Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada were the only Democrats to vote to confirm Republican Sam Brown as undersecretary of veterans affairs. Cortez Masto then asked Brown for an update on the construction of a national cemetery in rural Nevada to benefit veterans and their families.

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Cortez Masto said the path to a Democratic majority is paved by moderates, those who oppose Trump but still work across the aisle to specifically address their states. She pointed to former North Carolina Gov. Roy Coopers Senate candidacy and the new ad her group just released. It focuses on Coopers getting stuff done and doesnt even mention Trump.

"In North Carolina, its not about Republican or Democrat. Its about what youll do for our families," the ad says.

To Cortez Masto, who faces re-election in 2028 in a battleground state that Trump won in November, the answer is less about taking hard-line stances against Republicans or disruptions on the Senate floor than about sticking to kitchen table issues that drove the narrative in the last presidential election.

The state of the economy, public safety and health care are among the issues dominating conversations with constituents in her home state of Nevada, Cortez Masto said. Some small-business owners fear closing or facing debilitating losses due to Trumps tariffs, grocery prices havent relented, and gas prices  nearly $4 a gallon in the Reno area  are still too high (though lower than their peak in 2022), she added.

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"Yes, we want to fight Trump and push back on him and hold him accountable and take him on," she said. "But that doesn't mean at the same time we are doing that we are stopping and harming the people in our states."

She didnt think the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files ranked high on the list of issues she would talk about back home.

If youre asking me is it the No. 1 issue I hear in my state, no, its not, but do some of my voters care about it? Yes, they absolutely do, she said of the war in Gaza. On Epstein, she called for transparency while protecting victims but reiterated that she didnt hear her constituents asking about it.

Cortez Masto was among a group of senators who sent a letter to the White House calling for greater action to get aid to people starving in Gaza. But in a sign of support for Israel, she voted against resolutions put forth by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., that would block the sale of weapons to Israel.

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The arms sales all already occurred. So it was, most importantly, a symbolic gesture. At the same time, I understand why theyre doing [it].  I dont think we all have to be on the same page for everything, she said in explaining her vote.

To Cortez Masto, the moderate path means supporting border security but taking a stand against raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that she described as absolutely extreme.

Theres fear in my community. I see it. I talk and visit with them all the time. Rightfully so; we have less people going to church, going to school. Some of our workforce are gone. Theyre too afraid to come forward, said Cortez Masto, whose state is roughly one-third Latino. These arent hardened criminals. These are people who came to our country for a good life and opportunity. Theyre paying taxes. They want a better life for their kids. They havent committed violent crimes, but theyre being swept up intentionally by this administration because thats what they want to do, and thats where I think this administration has gone too far.

Separately, Cortez Masto said she fully supported any Democratic efforts to redistrict and create additional seats in Congress for her party the same way Republicans have done in Texas.

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Right now the process is Republicans are going to redistrict so that they can gain control. The Democrats should, too. Why wouldnt we fight to take control? she said. Does the general public, do we all like the way that redistricting is played for that power? No, we dont, and we should change the laws, ultimately. But theyre not changing now."

"The Republicans arent going to change them," she added. "Republicans are going to benefit, and so until we can gain control and win some of these races, we should be playing by the same rules that the Republicans are using against us and fight back.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The Senate Appropriations Committee rejected the Trump administrations massive proposed funding cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), advancing a measure that would increase the agencys budget by $400 million.

The White House budget called for slashing NIH funding by $18 billion, a decrease of 40 percent. Instead, the committee advanced the bill on a 26-3 vote, delivering a bipartisan rebuke of the administrations efforts to defund medical research.

This committee has had multiple hearings over the last several months and heard from patients, families and researchers about the importance of NIH funding, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said. This committee has, in a bipartisan manner, prioritized NIH and the research it supports to develop life-saving treatments and cures for devastating diseases.

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The committee rejected the administrations plan to revamp the way the NIH pays universities, medical schools and other research centers for overhead costs, as well as a proposal to restructure the agency and consolidate all 27 NIH institutes into eight new entities.

The bill includes a $100 million increase for Alzheimers disease research, a $150 million increase for cancer research, and a $30 million increase for the Office of Research on Womens Health.

To the scientists wondering if there will even be an NIH by the end of this administration: this committees resounding message is yes, said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the committees vice chair.

Congress has your back  were not going to give up the fight against cancer, Alzheimers, or rare diseases, Murray said.

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Democratic committee members also expressed frustration at the White House Office of Management and Budgets (OMB) repeated encroachments into the appropriations process and attempts to halt spending of money that was already approved by Congress.

Since President Trump took office, the NIH has terminated or frozen nearly 5,000 awards totaling $4 billion, while another approximately $15 billion has not yet been obligated.

Right now, they are illegally hiding apportionments data that would let us know whether funds we passed are being spent as intended and help us strengthen the bills we are in the middle of writing on. It is absurd we have to mark up bills, while being kept in the dark, Murray said.

Murray and other members repeatedly mentioned an OMB memo from earlier this week that, through a footnote, abruptly prevented the NIH from issuing grants. While the decision was reversed, Democrats said it showed the administrations disdain for congressional spending authority.

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One footnote, from an unelected bureaucrat  overruling Congress and even NIH, to block $15 billion in funding for things like cancer research, Murray said.

Outside of the NIH, the bill maintains flat funding for other health agencies and programs, including the Title X family planning program and domestic HIV prevention.

The bill also rejected the nearly $4 billion  or 50 percent  cut and consolidation to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention programs included in the White House budget request.

But looming over the process is the possibility of another rescissions package from the administration.

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Should the administration put forward a new rescissions package, in many cases, in our bill, we have rejected proposals that the President has made to make drastic cuts. Thats Congress speaking up and saying we have a different position on that, and so I expect my Republican colleagues will stand by the decisions weve made, Baldwin told reporters ahead of the hearing.

Still, the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget is far from being final. The House has so far only passed two of its annual funding bills and has not held an Appropriations Committee markup on its version of the HHS bill.

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HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)  U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered some floor remarks on August 1 regarding his continued efforts to protect childrens health, support industrial hemp and support CBD.

In his remarks, Sen. McConnell stated, I rise today to discuss the original intent of the 2018 Farm Bills federal hemp legislation, and the need to restore it. Earlier this year, a report from the University of Kentucky found that cannabis-related poisonings among Kentuckians under age 18 rose 43% between 2023 and 2024. And, emergency room visits are rising steadily, too. Calls to the Poison Control Center in Kentucky regarding cannabis have doubled in the last five years and more than 40% have been about children younger than age 12. Children all over the Commonwealth, from Laurel County to Jefferson County, are facing serious health and safety concerns due to THC poisoning from hemp derived products. So are children all across the country. How did we get here? Lets take a step back.

Sen. McConnell says in 2014, he led the effort to secure pilot programs for industrial hemp, and he led the effort to legalize the crop in 2018. According to him, this industry has seen tremendous growthespecially in Kentucky. He says hemp is used in food, clothing, paper, plastic and many other consumer products. He notes hemps versatility gave farmers hope for a new, profitable cash crop.

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Trump trains his fire on GOP allies, and worries Republicans

Sen. McConnell says, Unfortunately, some companies looking to make a quick buck have been exploiting a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill by taking legal amounts of THC from hemp and turning it into intoxicating substances. They take these synthetic chemicals and use them as ingredients in appealing, snack and candy-like products and distribute them in familiar packaging.

According to Sen. McConnell, the packaging on these THC snacks is nearly identical to a pack of popular snack food children reportedly take interest in. He says, however, these look-alike products are all laced with intoxicating, synthetic chemicals and are definitely not the snacks the kids recognize.

Sen. McConnell continues, Young children are consuming these snacks, thinking theyre candy, not poison. On top of that, these products are easily accessible and can be purchased at convenience stores. Some of them are even more intoxicating than actually smoking marijuana. Let me repeat that. Products more potent than marijuana can be bought off the shelf of a gas station. For years, I have called on the FDA to regulate these products. They have not taken the initiative to do so, and that is disappointing. So thats why were here today. The language I recently attempted to secure in the agriculture appropriations bill would have kept these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers.

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Sen. McConnell clarified, For the sake of those misguided by my opponents on this issue, let me clarify a few things. You will hear from some that this language would have meant the total destruction of the hemp industry. Theyre wrong. Under my language, industrial hemp and CBD would have remained legal. Period. Some predicted there would be widespread economic downturn for farmers should this language have become law. Wrong again. Hemp makes up less than one hundredth of one percent of all farmed acres in the United States. I want this number to grow exponentially. Thats why I secured the legalization of hemp production in the first place.

Sen. McConnell also says his language would have remained in the appropriations package had an unnamed Senator not derailed the process.

Senate panel advances funding bill with $1 billion for Ukraine

Sen. McConnell remarks, You know, its one thing to call yourself an advocate for hemp farmers. But if you didnt support the 2014 pilot program And you didnt support the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp production And you would have blocked a major step forward on this appropriations package if it had included my language to close the bad-actor loophole Then what does being an advocate even mean?

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He adds that this package funds a significant portion of the federal government, from agencies that provide critical resources to farmers, law enforcement, military and veterans, just to name a few.

Sen. McConnell says, We need the appropriations process to function. Congress needs to do its job and fund the government. And I, for one, do not intend to be an obstacle. So, in order to move this package forward, I allowed for my language to be stripped from the bill. But my effort to root out bad actors, protect our children, support farmers and reaffirm our original legislative intent will continue.

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Formerly classified documents newly released by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley purportedly show the Hillary Clinton campaign came up with the plan to suggest President Donald Trump was colluding with Russia when he first ran for office in 2016.

The information collected by Clintons campaign was later used to justify a CIA-led surveillance operation into Trumps campaign, and a special counsel investigation during the first few years of his presidency.

Grassley said he believes the documents show the FBI under the Obama administration failed to adequately review and investigate intelligence reports showing the Clinton campaign may have been ginning up the fake Trump-Russia narrative for Clintons political gain, which was ultimately done through the Steele Dossier and other means.

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These intelligence reports and related records, whether true or false, were buried for years, Grassley said in a press release. History will show that the Obama and Biden administrations law enforcement and intelligence agencies were weaponized against President Trump. This political weaponization has caused critical damage to our institutions and is one of the biggest political scandals and cover-ups in American history.

Also, the FBI recently found burn bags filled with sensitive documents related to the 2016 Trump-Russia probe, according to Fox News. Thousands of documents were apparently found.

Burn bags are common lingo at the FBI, former agent Nicole Parker told Fox News, Anything that you basically use or touch at the FBI, goes into a burn bag. ... Those documents are literally escorted to an incinerator by armed agents.

She added that there could have been a number of reasons as to why those documents werent destroyed  negligence, avoiding blame, or lack of procedural knowledge.

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There are a number of reasons that this could have occurred, but the key is that these documents were found, she said.

Evidence found in the bags included the classified annex to former special counsel John Durhams final report, showing that in early 2016, Democratic operatives, including thenDNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, held confidential discussions with senior officials at billionaire George Soros Open Society Foundation.

Grassley also released the classified annex to Durhams report. The documents allegedly show plans within the Clinton campaign to tie Trump to Putin and convince the public the two were colluding.

Open Society senior vice president Leonard Benardo was also allegedly involved in the coordination with Clinton campaign staffer Julianne Smith, according to a series of emails in late July 2016 that were discovered, according to a review of the documents by The New York Post.

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Julie (sic) says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump, Benardo wrote on July 25. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire.

He wrote a few days later, HRC (Hillary Rodham Clinton) approved Julias idea about Trump and Russian hackers hampering U.S. elections. That should distract people from her own missing email, especially if the affair goes to the Olympic level.

Durhams team and certain intelligence officials also considered the documents likely genuine, according to the annex, but their exact origin is still disputed. If confirmed, the documents imply a planned effort and anticipated institutional support aimed at shaping public opinion against Trump.

In June, FBI Director Kash Patel appeared on Joe Rogans podcast and claimed that former FBI Director James Comey and others concealed documents from the public, which is what he and his staff have been investigating.

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Just think about this, Patel told Rogan. Me, as director of the FBI, the former Russiagate guy, when I first got to the bureau, found a room that Comey and others hid from the world in the Hoover Building, full of documents and computer hard drives that no one had ever seen or heard of. Locked the key and hid access and just said, No ones ever gonna find this place.

Earlier this month, Comey and the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Brennan, were put under investigation by the Department of Justice for potential wrongdoing in the Trump-Russia probe during the Obama administration.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard walks to the podium to speak with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Washington. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson

And last week, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, accused former President Barack Obama and leadership in his national security cabinet of lay(ing) the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump in a press release.

Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former President Barack Obama have all denied wrongdoing related to the investigation into Trumps ties to Russia.

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Clapper and Brennan, in an op-ed in the New York Times, called the allegations that they tried to undermine Trump patently false.

In making those allegations, they seek to rewrite history, they said.
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The top diplomats of the United States and South Korea reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and the enforcement of international sanctions against Pyongyang during a meeting in Washington on Thursday, both governments said.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held their first talks since the election of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung last month. Their meeting took place one day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a tariff deal with Seoul and said that he would host a summit with Lee at the White House within two weeks.

The two diplomats "reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of the DPRK [and] the full implementation of international sanctions," State Dept. spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a readout Thursday.

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

They also "expressed serious concerns about North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia," Bruce said.

North Korea has deployed troops, artillery and weapons to Russia to aid in Moscow's war against Ukraine, and is believed to be receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology for its own weapons programs in return.

The diplomats "both welcomed the announcement of a full and complete trade deal and the forthcoming visit of ROK President Lee Jae Myung to Washington," Bruce added, using the official acronym for South Korea.

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South Korea's Foreign Ministry issued a readout of the meeting on Friday, saying Rubio and Cho "agreed to maintain a robust combined defense posture and firmly uphold the goal of North Korea's complete denuclearization."

Cho also revisited President Lee's invitation for Trump to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which will be held in Gyeongju from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. Rubio said Washington "is well aware of this and will actively consider it," according to the ministry.

On Tuesday, North Korea dismissed the notion of engaging in nuclear negotiations with President Trump.

"Any attempt to deny the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... will be thoroughly rejected," Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by official media.

"The recognition of the irreversible position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state ... should be a prerequisite for predicting and thinking everything in the future," she said
We gotta get less woke, the centrist politicians say, and meet the American people where they are. What does that mean? On the Democratic side, at least, its often left unsaid  getting too specific would alienate the majority of Democratic voters  but it typically signifies a willingness to be a little-to-a-lot less accepting of transgender people as human beings with equal rights to participate in society. And this vague gesturing toward greater intolerance is generally presented as courageous truth-telling.

Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone, Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., told The New York Times days after the 2024 election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris had been mocked by the Trump campaign as the candidate for they/them, while the Republican billionaire was presented as for you; the Harris campaign chose not to respond to the televised line of attack, which by last October had aired more than 30,000 times in the battleground states that helped return Donald Trump to the White House.

To Moulton, who spent several weeks running for president in 2019, and other Democrats who have dabbled in the anti-social justice critique, the American people decisively ruled against the increased visibility and social acceptance of trans people when a slim plurality voted for Trump and a Republican trifecta in Washington. I have two little girls, Moulton told columnist Maureen Dowd. I dont want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat Im supposed to be afraid to say that.

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Beth Andres-Beck isnt so sure about all that. A software engineer by trade, they identify as agender, trans and queer  and hope to demonstrate that Democratic voters want practical progress: realism about whats possible in Washington, but combined with a firm commitment to inclusive, liberal values. That means not conceding that a handful of trans athletes in a nation of some 350 million people is a crisis that demands national politicians rolling back their support for a persecuted minority.

In an interview with Salon, Andres-Beck spoke about why they decided to challenge Moulton in the September 2026 Democratic primary and how they would go about representing Massachusetts deep-blue 6th congressional district.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

In a recent interview, you said that its been frustrating to watch your party fail to rise to the moment. So I just wanted to ask you, as somebody whos decided to run as a Democratic primary candidate, what has been so frustrating, and how did that lead you to enter the race?

Andres-Beck: Specifically, my representative. I went to a town hall that he held and he lectured all of us on the importance of being polite, and talked about bipartisanship and then offered no actual solutions for all of the egregious behaviorthe just absolutely wild stuff that we see going on. Recently he was giving a talk somewhere, standing in front of a marble fireplace, talking about how Democrats are out of touchand I think hes absolutely rightand just the lack of self-awareness to realize that he is part of that problem is part of the problem.

One thing Ive noticed about the likes of Seth Moulton  and Ive seen Sen. Chris Murphy make similar comments  is they make just a general, broad statement that Democrats have become a little bit too woke, and weve alienated people who might broadly agree with us on like the minimum wage and stuff, but weve gone down this culture war route. And they kind of suggest selling out trans people, in particular, but in a kind of vague, non-specific way. How do you respond to that kind of argument: that the Democrats got too woke?

Well, one, they never define woke, right? Thats just the word they throw out there. And I think we just saw with Rahm Emanuels [recent] interview, that theyre just pursuing their own things they want to see happen. This isnt some noble cause trying to represent whatever their imaginary median voter is; voters arent frustrated and cynical about politics because of any particular policy. Theyre cynical about politics because a lot of representatives on both sides of the aisle are taking money from the companies they regulate.

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There are some notable exceptions. I think we certainly have principled members. We have people who arent doing that, but they have a harder time. Theyre doing more work in order to not accept corporate donations or run PACs on the side or whatever. All of the ways that people are taking advantage of the money in politics right now. I think people are more cynical about the process than they are any individual policy details.

Most people arent paying attention to whats on page 500 of the budget bill. And so trying to propose, as a solution to that, we should spend more energy on whatever is on page 500 of the budget bill isnt going to solve the problem, which is that we have a whole bunch of people who went to either law school or business school at Ivy League institutions, after graduating from private schools, and thats who is representing us in Congress, even though they dont look like most of the people that theyre trying to represent.

Im guessing from that answer that you did not go into business or law after attending private school and an Ivy League college.

I did not. I did attend Smith, which is a very good school in Western Massachusetts. Its what brought me to Massachusetts, but then I went and waited tables, worked at a hospital, worked my way into tech, became a software engineer and never went back to graduate school for anything else. I got these practical skills and experience with technology that isnt, right now, well represented in Congress. You can watch all of the hearings where they interview the CEOs of these Big Tech companies, and they ask them questions that make no sense  that demonstrate that they dont understand the technology that theyre trying to regulate. And it makes sense: Theyve been in Congress for longer than that technology has been around. So I think its important to get experiences into Congress that are relevant to the work that Congress is trying to do.

How do you think your experience in software and technology would inform your votes on, say, crypto legislation? We just saw the Congress pass the GENIUS Act, which legalized stablecoins.

Theres no consumer protections. I think when theyre coming to Congress and asking for favors, thats the right time to say that with power comes responsibility. We have 100 years of experience regulating financial institutions. If they want to be financial institutions, we should be providing a similar structure to protect the users of these technologies, rather than just legalizing scams.

I think a lot of the lawmakers that would present themselves as the most tech savvy members of the Democratic caucus tend to be also the ones most likely to vote for things like the GENIUS legislation or to promote the AI industry.

Yeah, I think theyre mostly talking to people who own these companies. There are organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation that are doing their best, but theres not an Electronic Frontier Foundation caucus in Congress. The people who theyre talking to are mostly people who are on the business side of these companies, not the users of these companies or the employees of those companies

Some on the left see how Congress passed the GENIUS Act and view that as kind of legalizing the next financial crisis. And they also saw Elon Musks role in government earlier this year, and I think that has led to a kind of general animosity towards technology  not returning to the 19th century or anything like that, but just kind of general skepticism of Big Tech and AI and all the claims made about that. How would you, as somebody whos worked in the industry, perhaps present a more, I guess, progressive vision of how technology can actually help the United States?

I think one of the qualifications I bring is that Ive spent my 20-year career in tech fighting people like Elon Muskpeople who are incompetent but want to use technology to enrich themselves, personally, rather than make peoples lives better. Technology should work for workers. It should work for the people using the technology. It should work for the people who are building the technology, first and foremost. And then when we provide the value that technology can provide, thats how the companies can make money.

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But the first responsibility is to the people that were serving. And that attitude is not particularly, Id say, popular among the venture capitalists who are going to make lots of money off of flipping a company. Weve all seen when our favorite product gets bought out by some other company, and then it gets killed because they were just acquiring it for some tiny piece of it, right? Those are things that provide more value to America or Americans. And I think its time to ask: What is technology doing for us? How can government provide better services through technology rather than worse service? We shouldnt be replacing Social Security workers with a chatbot  thats not going to make things better. But Direct File was great.

I think everyone has some technology that theyve used that is built around helping them, and we know how to build those. Thats not a mystery. We just have to choose to do it. And thats what I want to bring to Washington is having the government build software, well, for regular Americans.

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Sort of a progressive fulfillment of what some people, I think, thought they might be getting from DOGE and the idea of getting a bunch of tech guys into government. It is kind of weird that you have to print out this form and mail it into the office  maybe some people believed we were just getting a technological overhaul of government, and that sounded pretty nice.

But instead, what we got was the people who come into companies do massive layoffs, and then, you know, two years later, try to hire those same workers back as contractors at twice the pay, because it turned out they were important after all.

I wanted to jump back to what I opened up with, which is just the kind of failure of the Democratic Party in general. You talked about your congressman, who youre challenging, of course. Im wondering if youre happy with how Democratic leadership has approached the second Trump administration.

I think it is important to put the bulk of the blame on Republicans, because they control both houses of Congress right now. They have given up all the power of Congress. I think the founding fathers assumed that people would have more ambition and self-respect than any Republican in Congress has managed to muster so far. So with that said, I think we are having a challenge in the party  were negotiating what the coalition is, right? Were figuring out what, as millennials hit midlife crises, as Gen Z moves into the workforce, all of these just linear progressions of time as boomers have retired, as Gen X is starting to retire; those transitions are always going to be a conversation more broadly. And I think making sure that people see a path forward for themselves in the party is an important part of keeping the party vital. We see energy in places like New York, but also Colorado, and I hope that the party can see those as opportunities rather than threats.

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The world is different now; its really out of control. Now we have masked federal agents roaming the streets, kidnapping people, but turning that anger on other members of the party  on people who are trying to do things, on people who are passionate right now about getting involved and standing up for democratic ideals  is a waste of energy, when we could be using that to throw sand in the gears of Congress or the administration, or actually investigate the things going on.

Ive been very heartened by the willingness to rise up and demand the release of the Epstein files. Being willing to fight for transparency is a necessary part of fighting the rampant corruption and all of the crimes that are going on right now.

You mentioned how the onus should be on Republicans, who, of course, control both houses and the executive branch and have, I think, objectively speaking, ceded much of their authority to the president. At the same time, some have argued that Democrats are not living up to their end of the bargain by pushing for the constitutional remedy to remove an out-of-control president, which is, of course, impeachment. On your website, you talk about Donald Trump having committed various alleged impeachable offenses, so Im wondering how you would approach the issue of impeachment and how you will talk about it during your campaign.

Is it something that you think Democrats fall into a trap talking about  that its what Republicans want them to talk about, which is impeaching the president, rather than presenting a positive vision for the country or what have you? Or do you think its a necessary conversation to have right now?

Well, given that this corrupt Supreme Court has declared that impeachment is the only possible way to enforce the law, I think if we are standing up to the rule of law, impeachment has to be part of that. And as much as it may be routine  like there are so many crimes  any one of those is an impeachable offense. Its very easy to become numb to how corrupt this administration is, how much nepotism is going on, how much self-dealing is going on. Jimmy Carter sold his Peanut Farm, right?

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I feel like we have very much lost the plot, so continuing to be outraged is a radical act, because they want us to give up. They want us to get used to this, to accept it, to let them just loot the country for parts, and we need to not do that. And its going to take energy. Its going to take creativity. Its going to take a tenacious commitment to enforcing the law. But we should be Javert here: just keep going until we successfully get to the end.

Its not like Trump is trying to redeem himself, right? Hes doing more things every day. He is ignoring even the Supreme Court. He is ignoring court rulings. He is selling [crypto] so he can take open bribes. He is coercing news networks. Hes turning news networks into arms of the state. All of that is egregiously illegal; violates the Constitution. And I think the Constitution is worth standing up for, even if thats going to take energy, even if its hard, even if it is not going to happen overnight. The only way people are going to know these things are even happening is if we talk about them. And so we have to keep talking about them, and we have to keep making them as big a deal as they are.

Do you think calling and pushing for an impeachment vote is the vehicle to do that? To say, Hey, these are a bunch of crimes, and the Constitution has a remedy. It compels us to talk about this.

I think impeachment is the constitutional remedy to this. And every time there is a crime, we should be attempting to impeach. We should be pushing for the expectation that if a president commits a crime, they get impeached. And I dont think that thats a partisan thing. I think that thats the basic way the rule of law works.

Another thing you talk about on your website is your commitment to practical progress. The question I have, though, is given the time that we live in  where bipartisanship is pretty much dead, and we have most Republicans co-signing what you consider to be criminal offenses by the Trump administration what could practical progress possibly look like in such a fractured, contentious time?

I think theres a couple of aspects that. One is, we dont know what Congress is going to look like after the midterms. I think people, a lot of people, are very frustrated right now. My general approach, and this is something that Ive used in my local work on the [Middleton] Affordable Housing Trust, is theres a lot of things that arent all political props yet. If we can get people to agree on goals, then you can try things that no one has yet thought of. And so Im willing to work with anyone who agrees with my goals on pursuing those particular things.

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For example, health care for all Americans  no one is going to come out and say you should not get to go to the doctor. That would be a great way to lose elections. But once you get down into the nitty-gritty details of Medicare for all or Medicaid  we just saw them cut massive amounts for Medicaid, and they had to pretend that it wasnt going to take anyones health care away, and obviously thats a lie  but I think there are things we could try there that we just havent tried yet. Investment in community health clinics that provide free care, which is what I used when I first moved to Boston; investment in telehealth, which can serve rural communities where people have trouble getting to the hospitals. Those are things that we could try that people dont necessarily have those calcified opinions around yet. And so those are pathways I see.

Obviously, the goal should be, down the line, providing a base level of care to every American. In the meantime, there are things we could do that would help right now and that we could get a broader group of people invested in. This is also why Im interested in pursuing a robot tax, the idea being that, right now, its much cheaper to employ a robot than it is a human, because our tax code prefers them. So if we could make automation not the preferred policy of the government  its not something that anyone has decided yet is a Democratic idea or a Republican idea. It solves a problem that we havent bothered trying to solve yet. And thats where I think we can make sort of concrete progress. We can deliver things for real Americans, whether or not we manage to solve everything about how dysfunctional Washington is.

Im curious if theres anyone in Washington you would like be flattered to be compared to, or anyone you see as meeting the moment and being perhaps a model for the Democrats going forward, and for your own career were you to enter public office.

One person I was struck by was Sen. Chris Van Hollen when he went to El Salvador; putting people first and trying something that he had no idea whether this was going to help at all, but he was willing to go out on a limb like that. I think thats the kind of creativity we need in Washington.

Youre referring, of course, to going to El Salvador at a time when some Democrats were wary of maybe fighting on what was seen as Donald Trumps turf of immigration.

Right. And Kilmar Abrego Garcia was there being tortured. And him going there, in addition to bringing attention to that, got Mr. Garcia out of that detention facility. So it both made a concrete difference to a persons life and was able to break through the propaganda and the control of media  I think that it takes real courage to stand up [for] something, to not be ruled by polls, to do something just because its right. And thats the kind of politician I want to be.

The post Seth Moultons primary challenger: He surrendered to MAGA appeared first on Salon.com.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  An Israeli settler accused of killing a prominent Palestinian activist during a confrontation captured on video in the occupied West Bank will be released from house arrest, an Israeli court ruled Friday.

The video shot by a Palestinian witness shows Yinon Levi brandishing a pistol and tussling with a group of unarmed Palestinians. He can be seen firing two shots, but the video does not show where the bullets hit.

Witnesses said one of the shots killed Awdah Hathaleen, an English teacher and father of three, who was uninvolved and was standing nearby.

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The Israeli military is still holding Hathaleens body and says it will only be returned if the family agrees to bury him in a nearby city. It said the measure was being taken to prevent public disorder.

The confrontation occurred on Monday in the village of Umm al-Khair, in an area of the West Bank featured in No Other Land, an Oscar-winning documentary about settler violence and life under Israeli military rule.

In a court decision obtained by The Associated Press, Judge Havi Toker wrote that there was no dispute that Levi shot his gun in the village that day, but she said he may have been acting in self-defense and that the court could not establish that the shots killed Hathaleen.

Israel's military and police did not respond to a request for comment on whether anyone else may have fired shots that day. Multiple calls placed to Levi and his lawyer have not been answered.

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The judge said Levi did not pose such a danger as to justify his continued house arrest but barred him from contact with the villagers for a month.

Levi has been sanctioned by the United States and other Western countries over allegations of past violence toward Palestinians. President Donald Trump lifted the U.S. sanctions on Levi and other radical settlers shortly after returning to office.

A total of 18 Palestinians from the village were arrested after the incident. Six remain in detention.

Eitay Mack, an Israeli lawyer who has lobbied for sanctions against radical settlers, including Levi, said the court ruling did not come as a surprise.

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"Automatically, Palestinian victims are considered suspects, while Jewish suspects are considered victims," he said.

Levi helped establish an settler outpost near Umm al-Khair that anti-settlement activists say is a bastion for violent settlers who have displaced hundreds since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Palestinians and rights groups have long accused Israeli authorities of turning a blind eye to settler violence, which has surged since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, along with attacks by Palestinians.

In a 2024 interview, Levi said he was protecting his own land and denied using violence.

Some 70 women in Umm al-Khair said they were beginning a hunger strike on Friday to call for Hathaleen's body to be returned and for the right of his family to bury him in the village.

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Israel's military said in a statement to the AP that it would return the body if the family agrees to bury him in the nearest authorized cemetery."

Hathaleen, 31, had written and spoke out against settler violence, and had helped produce the Oscar-winning film. Supporters have erected murals in his honor in Rome, held vigils in New York and have held signs bearing his name at anti-war protests in Tel Aviv.
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)  A man was back in the Wichita County Jail days before completing a probation sentence for indecency with a child after prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his sentence.

Nicolas Baugh, of Wichita Falls, was booked into the Wichita County Jail on Friday, July 25, 2025, after the motion to revoke his probation sentence was filed. As of the publication of this story, he is being held on a $100,000 bond.

Baugh was given a deferred sentence of 5 years of community supervision after he pleaded guilty to indecency with a child in August 2020. Prior to his arrest, the probation was set to be completed on August 4, 2025.

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PREVIOUS STORY: Teen gets probation for indecency with 14-year-old girl

The motion to revoke Baughs probation was filed on July 24, 2025, alleging that Baugh had violated the conditions of his probation in multiple ways.

According to the prosecutions motion, Baugh admitted to using marijuana in April 2023, consuming alcohol in May 2023, and using opiates in December 2024. The motion also alleged that Baugh was behind on required payments and community service hours.

The motion to revoke also alleged that Baugh was unsuccessfully discharged from the required Sex Offender Treatment Program. It also alleged that Baugh admitted to being at the mall in January 2024 while in the company of young girls.

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According to the states motion, Baugh was also observed on several occasions in the presence of four children under the age of 11. The motion also alleged that Baugh was observed within 1,000 feet of a school.

The prosecutions motion also alleged that Baugh admitted to maintaining contact with a female under the age of 18 and allowing her to move into his residence.

The prosecutions motion is currently pending in the 78th District Court.

The charge against Baugh stems from June 2019, when officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department responded to a residence in the 1100 block of 16th Street to check on a runaway teen.

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Police said when they arrived, the teen was found to be sitting in the lap of a 20-year-old man. They said the teen then admitted to having sex with the man, as well as with Baugh. They said Baugh also later admitted to having sex with the teen.

According to court records, Baugh was ruled incompetent to stand trial in May 2020, but his competency was restored before he entered his plea in August 2020.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texomas Homepage for updates as more information becomes available. All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of 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 Texomashomepage.com.
Donald Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000. Credit - Davidoff Studios-Getty Images

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite who is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking underage girls for Jeffrey Epstein, has been quietly transferred to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas.

Maxwells transfer from a federal facility in Tallahassee, Florida, to Federal Prison Camp Bryan comes just one week after she met with Department of Justice (DOJ) Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche amid ongoing controversy over the Trump Administrations handling of the so-called "Epstein files".

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The Trump Administration has faced sharp criticism from the public, and many of the president's own supporters, following the release of a July memo from the DOJ denying the existence of a client list, ruling Epsteins death a suicide, and closing the case.

Trump has faced questions over his own relationship with Epstein in recent weeks following a report in the Wall Street Journal in July that claimed the Department of Justice had told the President his name is in the Epstein files, along with many other influential figuresalthough that is no indication of any wrongdoing.

When asked by reporters about the possibility of a pardon for Maxwell last week, Trump said: Im allowed to do it, but its something I have not thought about.

Read more: Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell? The Epstein Associate the Justice Department Is Interviewing

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The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a Friday statement to TIME that Maxwell has now been moved to the federal prison camp in Bryan, though they did not state the reason for her move.

David O. Markus, Maxwells attorney, has not publicly commented on the transfer.

The Bryan facility houses 635 female inmates and is known for holding incarcerated people who are serving non-violent offenses and white-collar crimes, according to the BBC. Other prominent figures have been housed at FPC Bryan include Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Star Jen Shah, who was convicted of wire fraud, and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was found guilty of defrauding investors.

The family of Virginia Giuffre, a victim of Epstein who filed a lawsuit against him and Maxwell for sexual abuse and defamation, respectively, hit out at the move on Friday and accused the Trump Administration of granting Maxwell preferential treatment.

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Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency, the family said.

The Trump Administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better, they added.

Trump and Epstein were friends for over a decade from the 1980s and were regularly spotted at parties together in the New York social scene.

The President has sought to play down his connection to Epstein over the years. He has said consistently that he broke off his friendship long before any allegations of Epstein's crimes came to light. This week, he gave more detail about the split when he said he fell out with the financier after Epstein stole an employee from the Presidents spa at Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

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He took people that worked for me. And I told him, 'Dont do it anymore.' And he did it, Trump said when questioned by reporters on Tuesday.

Trump was then asked if one of these employees was Giuffre, the most well-known of Epsteins victims, who was 16-years-old when she was working at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, to which he said: I think she worked at the spaI think so. I think that was one of the people. He stole her.

Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, said that she met Epstein and his accomplice Maxwell while working at Trumps Mar-a-Lago spa as a teenager.

The Trump Administration's announcement that there was no Epstein "client list" contradicted numerous statements made by key figures in Trump's inner circle, including U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, before they joined the cabinet.

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Renewed interest in Maxwell comes as her attorneys seek an appeal for her conviction, which was filed to the Supreme Court in April. The Justice Department in July asked the Court to reject her appeal, before its recent interviews with Maxwell.

House Oversight Chair James Comer has also subpoenaed Maxwell to testify, but her public testimony seems unlikely as Congress refused to grant her immunity, which her attorneys listed as part of her demands for testifying.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Audra Doody said a new state law in New Hampshire mandating a $500 fine for someone convicted of paying for sex is vindication for the 11 years she suffered as a sex-trafficked victim held hostage to past drug addiction.

From age 18 to 29, Doody said she engaged in paid rape, as her pimp withheld drugs or left her stranded until she made enough money for him, first in Manchester and later in Dracut, Mass.

Doody said in an interview that a department store manager first coerced her into the world that she said shuffled her from hotel room to hotel room throughout New England and down the East Coast.

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This bill is everything to me as a survivor. We are finally holding the demand, the sex buyers, accountable. For far too long it was always the prostituted person who was shamed, ridiculed, and publicly blamed and labeled as the problem, Doody said.

The demand is what drives the sex trade. Traffickers would not sell people if people didnt buy them.

Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a former attorney general, said she was proud to sign the bill (SB 267) on Monday that had overwhelming bipartisan support and goes into effect Jan. 1.

People who participate in these crimes are enabling human trafficking. New Hampshire will continue to protect victims and hold offenders accountable, Ayotte said in a statement.

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Im grateful to the brave survivors and advocates who fought for tougher penalties for those who pay for or attempt to pay for prostitution.

State Sen. Donovan Fenton, D-Keene, was the bills prime sponsor.

This law makes it clear that buying sex is not a victimless act, rather it fuels exploitation. With SB 267, New Hampshire is cracking down on demand and taking real steps to end human trafficking in our state, Fenton said.

Proceeds from the fines would go to the state Department of Justice to support the work of the Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force.

One of my biggest things I was worried about when I was in the life was being exposed. I felt so dirty and shameful because that is what I was told to believe. No one would believe me. I am just trash, Doody recalled.

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Until I met another survivor, I always kept that part of my story hidden. But that is where I took control back. I finally was able to name what had happened to me.

World Without Exploitation, the nations largest anti-trafficking coalition, brought other survivors to the State House last spring to make the case for the legislation.

Like any marketplace, demand drives supply. But unlike other industries, violence in the commercial sex trade isnt the exception  its the norm, said Lauren Hersh, the groups national director.

For far too long, those sold in prostitution have shouldered the legal and emotional burden, while buyers have acted with near-total impunity. We are ecstatic that New Hampshire is leading the way by creating a course correction to this injustice by targeting the source of harm  the sex buyers  while funding crucial services for survivors.

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Critics raised concern about unintended consequences

The Senate passed Fentons bill on a voice vote. The House approved it by a 292-72 count with Republicans voting 146-52 in support and Democrats backing it, 145-19. The two independents voting in the House split over that bill.

Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright, D-Nashua, said she opposed it out of concern about unintended consequences.

We heard much testimony about trafficking; however, this bill is specific to holding a patron only accountable. The danger in doing so, may push the sex workers into hiding again. Again, this is not a trafficking bill, Harriott-Gathright said.

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Doody said she has been sober since 2017.

Shes proud of having forged a loving relationship with her 15-year-old son that she said she was absent from for more than six years.

He knows that I am his mom, and he knows a lot about my past. I get to see him whenever and he comes down on the weekends, Doody said.

Today Doody is co-executive director and chief programs officer with the Safe Exit Initiative, a Worcester, Mass., nonprofit that last year served 600 individuals through all of its programs. Over the past two years, no one has been arrested for offering sex for a fee in that city, Doody said.

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She said her work helping those like her has been fulfilling.

Professionally, I get to do something I am so passionate about. Its not just a job, its a calling for me. I get to help other women just like me every day, Doody added.

klandrigan@unionleader.com
Context: Video aired Jan. 24, 2024.

TOPEKA (KSNT)  West Ridge Mall is requesting $48 million in industrial revenue bonds from Shawnee County for renovations.

Advisors Excel purchased the mall in 2023 with plans to turn part of it into the companys headquarters, while enhancing commercial and retail space. The mall is requesting taxable Industrial Revenue Bonds to help finance the construction, renovation, improvement and furnishing of the property.

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Industrial Revenue Bonds are among the most popular and cost-effective methods of financing up to 100 percent of a new or growing business land, buildings and equipment, according to the state commerce department.

On Monday, Shawnee County commissioners will consider issuing bonds, which will enable the company to receive a sales tax exemption on labor and materials purchased for the project. The company would also be exempt from state income tax on the interest paid on the bond.

Topekas AE Wealth Management passes $40 billion in assets

State law allows for IRBs to develop the general welfare and economic prosperity of the state through the promotion and advancement of industrial development, the commerce department said.

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The commission meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Monday at the Shawnee County Courthouse, 707 SE Quincy.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

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Jul. 31A woman was arrested Wednesday morning in Limestone County after she was caught in the act of theft and struck a patrol deputy's vehicle from another county near the state line, according to the Limestone County Sheriff's Office.

At approximately 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff's Office said deputies from both Limestone County and the Giles County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee responded to a report of a suspicious female in the Lester community.

When deputies arrived in the 29000 block of Lester Road, they encountered 43-year-old Bethany Paige Thornton Garcia of Athens. Deputies said Garcia was located in a garage attempting to steal a vehicle and tried to flee the scene when confronted by law enforcement.

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"In the process, Garcia struck a Giles County patrol vehicle twice before crashing through the garage wall, causing significant property damage and disabling the vehicle," the Limestone County Sheriff's Office said.

Garcia was charged with driving under the influence, third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief. She was booked into the Limestone County Jail in lieu of a $6,000 bond, according to jail records.

Court records show that in 2021, Garcia pleaded guilty to first-degree theft of property stemming from an arrest in August 2020. She received a five-year suspended sentence and three years of probation.

 wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
Democrats condemned President Donald Trumps call to fire the head of the Labor Department official in charge of producing jobs data after the latest report showed job growth lower than expected.

Trumps social media post demanding the firing of Commissioner of Labor Statistics Erika McEntarfer was met with swift criticism from Democratic leaders, who accused Trump of blaming underwhelming economic data on the official rather than on policies they say contributed to worse economic conditions.

"What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech moments after Trumps post. That's just what happened with the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Instead of helping people get good jobs, Donald Trump just fired the statistician who reported bad jobs data that the wanna-be king doesn't like, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said on X.

Other Democrats likened Trumps demand to actions taken by totalitarian governments. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich called the move pure Soviet shit.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that oversees the Department of Labor, said Trumps statement reminds him of what authoritarians do. Sanders is an Independent but caucuses with Democrats.

Today's jobs report shows what many Americans already knew: despite record highs in the stock market, the economy is not working for ordinary people, Sanders wrote on X. Rather than accept reality & try to address it, Trump chooses to fire the bearers of bad news.

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some Republicans reacted warmly to Trumps call and agreed with the presidents skepticism over the accuracy of the departments jobs numbers. Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, called for somebody non-political" to replace McEntarfer.

I'd like somebody that just put out the darn numbers, he said in an interview on Friday. All the numbers we get up here are all massaged because somebody has an agenda."

Sen. Roger Marshall from Kansas, who joined 85 other senators to confirm McEntarfer last year, praised the president for seeking to fire her.

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I have been raising concerns for the past year about inaccurate job numbers put out by Dr. Erika McEntarfer. Her cooked-up numbers have misled the American people for too long, he wrote on X.

Jacob Wendler contributed to this report.
POCATELLO, Idaho (ABC4)  As the Great Salt Lakes water levels continue to drop, one band of the Shoshone Nation is taking matters into their own hands.

Seven years ago, the Northwest Band of the Shoshone Nation bought 350 acres of its own ancestral land along the Bear River in southern Idaho. Their goal was to reconstruct the river to resemble what it looked like before the arrival of white settlers.

What were going to try to do is bring back whats called Battle Creek where our people camped for time and memorial, said Brad Parry, Vice Chair of the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation.

Restoration work of the Bear River Massacre site, courtesy of the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation

Restoring water and heritage

Since buying the property, the Northwest Band has begun a massive project to restore the land. The Band has already planted over 60,000 trees and found artifacts that date back 400 years, before the river was channelized by Mormon settlers.

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According to Parry, the process of channelizing the river has caused severe damage to the landscape and even limited how much water ends up in the Great Salt Lake.

The water quality is just horrendous, he said, adding that the project, will have a positive impact on the Great Salt Lake.

The Northwest Band says the project will return 13,000 acre-feet of water to the lake.

What were doing here at this site is to try to preserve our heritage, Parry said about the land, which is the site of the nations largest massacre of Indigenous people.

The Bear River Massacre

On top of restoring the water system, the Northwest Band also aims to maintain remembrance of a massacre that took over 400 lives of the Shoshone nation in 1863.

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According to Darren Parry, a Shoshone tribal member and Brads cousin, before the arrival of Mormon Pioneers, northern Utah and southern Idaho belonged to Shoshone Tribe.

Where people are living now, that was our aboriginal territory, Brad told ABC4.com.

By 1856, thousands of Pioneers had settled on the land and had already begun to deplete its natural resources.

They didnt discover this land, there were people that lived here,: Shoshone Tribal Elder tells the untold side of the Pioneer Day story

The late BYU historian, Harold Schindler, wrote in 2012 that tensions began to grow between settlers and the Shoshone, who, faced with dwindling lands and food sources, had resorted to theft in order to survive.

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The saints began writing letters to Salt Lake for somebody to come take care of the Indian Problem, Darren told ABC4.com, adding that the letters eventually made it to U.S. Soldiers at Fort Douglas.

According to Schindler, on January 29, 1863, soldiers from Fort Douglas attacked a Shoshoni camp on the Bear River near modern-day Preston, Idaho, killing nearly 300 men, women, and children. However, many Shoshone believe the number to be closer to 400, making it the largest massacre of Indigenous people in the history of the U.S.

Restoration work of the Bear River Massacre site, courtesy of the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation

Restoration work of the Bear River Massacre site, courtesy of the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation

Restoration work of the Bear River Massacre site, courtesy of the Northwest Band of Shoshone Nation

Fostering understanding

Brad says since beginning the project, hes heard stories of Mormon settlers who were friends of the Shoshone and were abhorred by what happened during the Bear River Massacre.

Brad says their relationship with the settlers wasnt always negative. Many, hes found, were viewed as friends.

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Its taken two cultures that never shared information, and now theyre sharing information and finding out we had a lot of commonality, Brad added. If we know each others story then well treat each other better.

Next week the Northwest Band will begin construction on the river restoration project which is expected to last another two years.

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FREETOWN (Reuters) -The eco-lodges and tree-covered footpaths of West Africa's largest chimpanzee refuge have been devoid of tourists for more than two months as its founder stages a protest about rampant deforestation in Sierra Leone.

Authorities acknowledge that the country's rich wildlife is threatened by land seizures and illegal logging, but the founder of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Bala Amarasekaran, says they have not yet done enough about it to convince him to reopen to visitors.

"A few months back, we could see the land grabbing and the encroachment coming closer to the sanctuary," Amarasekaran told Reuters at the refuge, which is home to more than 100 mainly orphaned chimps and normally lets guests stay in its lodges.

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"(Deforestation) is really threatening the sanctuary's existence, because it's too dangerous when people come close to a wildlife preserve like this," said Amarasekaran, who founded the refuge 30 years ago and has led it through crises including civil war and the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic.

Sierra Leone lost approximately 2.17 million hectares (5.36 million acres) of tree cover between 2001 and 2024, representing about 39% of the total in 2000, according to online tracker Global Forest Watch.

The Western Area Peninsula, home to the capital Freetown and Tacugama, lost more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of tree cover during that same period.

Amarasekaran said deforestation in the area was fuelled by "land grabbing" for development.

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The consequences of rapid deforestation were highlighted by a mudslide on the slopes of Mount Sugar Loaf in 2017 that killed an estimated 1,000 people.

A 2019 paper published by the Geological Society of London blamed the incident on a mix of heavy rain, deforested slopes and unchecked construction. It said tree loss had weakened the soil's ability to absorb water and hold together, worsening the mudflow.

"It's a serious problem, an existential problem," Sierra Leone's Information Minister Chernor Bah told Reuters.

"We regret that the Tacugama authorities have taken the step that they have taken to shut down here, but it's one that we understand."

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Amarasekaran said President Julius Maada Bio's government had dispatched a task force to conduct some raids on illegal logging operations, but complained about a lack of follow-up operations.

Bah said the government was committed to protecting the peninsula's forests.

(Reporting by Umaru Fofana and Ibrahim Miles Kamara;Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet;Editing by Helen Popper)
By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -A U.S. appeals court on Friday revived a lawsuit seeking to hold firearms maker Sig Sauer liable to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who was injured when his P320 gun went off accidentally during a training drill.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said a trial judge erred by dismissing Keith Slatowski's lawsuit after excluding testimony from two experts about whether the gun's design could cause injury.

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Sig Sauer and its lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company has faced several lawsuits over alleged unintentional P320 firings.

Slatowski's gun discharged from within its holster after his hand hit the grip in September 2020 at a New Castle, Delaware firing range. A bullet went through his upper right hip and out his thigh.

While unsure whether debris or the holster itself caused the trigger to depress, the former Marine said the lack of an external safety to prevent unexpected firings made his gun unsafe. Slatowski sought $10 million in damages.

Writing for a three-judge appeals court panel, Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas said the trial judge properly excluded testimony from the two experts about whether Slatowski's gun caused his injury, because they hadn't done testing.

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But the appeals court said testimony about possible design flaws should have been admitted.

It returned the case to U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick in Philadelphia for a possible trial.

"The P320's design is technical and probably needs explaining," Bibas wrote. "From there, ... Slatowski must rely on his lay eyewitness testimony. It may not prove persuasive. But that is up to the jury, not the judge."

Slatowski's wife is also a plaintiff. Their lawyer Robert Zimmerman said in an email: "Our clients are thankful for the opportunity to present their case to a jury."

The case is Slatowski et al v Sig Sauer Inc, 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 24-1639.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Diane Craft)
Some Silicon Valley startups are embracing Chinas outlawed 996 work culture, expecting employees to work 12-hour days, six days a week, in pursuit of hyper-productivity and global AI dominance. The trend has sparked debate across the U.S. and Europe, with some tech leaders endorsing the pace while others warn it risks mass burnout and startup failure.

Silicon Valleys startup hustle culture is starting to look more and more like an outlawed Chinese working schedule.

According to a new report from Wired, Bay Area startups are increasingly leaning into models resembling Chinas 996 working culture, where employees are expected to work from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., six days a week, totaling 72 hours per week.

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Startups, especially in the AI space, are openly asking new starts to accept the longer working hours. For example, AI start-up Rilla tells prospective employees in current job listings not to even bother applying unless they are excited about working ~70 hrs/week in person with some of the most ambitious people in NYC.

The companys head of growth, Will Gao, told Wired there was a growing Gen-Z subculture who grew up listening to stories of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, entrepreneurs who dedicated their lives to building life-changing companies. He said nearly all of Rillas 80-person workforce works on a 996 schedule.

The rise of the controversial work culture appears to have been born out of the current efficiency squeeze in Silicon Valley. Rounds of mass layoffs and the rise of AI have put pressure and turned up the heat on tech employees who managed to keep their jobs.

For example, in February, Google co-founder Sergey Brin told employees who work on Gemini that he recommended being in the office at least every weekday and said 60 hours is the sweet spot for productivity.

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Other tech CEOs, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, have stressed that productivity among workers is king, even if that means working hours or days of overtime. In November 2022, Musk infamously told remaining X, then Twitter, employees to commit to a new and extremely hardcore culture or leave the company with severance pay.

Part of the reasoning for the intense work schedules is a desire to compete with China amid a global AI race. Especially after Chinese startup DeepSeek released an AI model on par with some of the top U.S. offerings, rocking leading AI labs.

China has outlawed 996

China has actually been trying to clamp down on the 996 culture at home. In 2021, Chinas top court, the Supreme Peoples Court, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security jointly declared Chinas 996 working culture was illegal. At the time, the move was part of the Chinese Communist Partys broader campaign to reduce inequality in Chinese society and limit the power of the nations largest tech companies.

But the practice has already spilled over to other countries. Earlier this summer, the European tech sector also found itself in a heated debate over the working culture.

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Partly exacerbated by an ongoing debate about Europes competitiveness in the technology and AI space, some European VCs warned that more work and longer hours may be needed to effectively compete.

Harry Stebbings, founder of the 20VC fund, said on LinkedIn in June that Silicon Valley had turned up the intensity, and European founders needed to take notice.

[Seven] days a week is the required velocity to win right now. There is no room for slip up, Stebbings said in the post. You arent competing against random company in Germany etc but the best in the world.

Some other founders weighed in, criticizing the rise of the 996 working culture and warning that it could quickly lead to burnout culture. Among them was Ivee Miller, a general partner at Balderton Capital.

Burnout [is] one of the top 3 reasons early-stage ventures fail. It is literally a bad reason to invest, Miller said on LinkedIn.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
The Osceola County Sheriffs Office has issued a Silver Alert for 84-year-old Ezequiel Barrera, who was reported missing on Friday.

Barrera was last seen on July 31, 2025, near Gold Dust Circle in Kissimmee, FL, after being dropped off by a family member. His disappearance was discovered when relatives found both him and his vehicle missing from his residence.

Barrera is described as a Hispanic male, 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds, bald, with a mustache, and uses a walking cane.

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The clothing he was wearing at the time of his disappearance is unknown.

Deputies say his vehicle, a 2017 gray Toyota Highlander with Florida license plate Z02ARI, was last detected by traffic cameras in Gibsonia, Florida, at approximately 1:10 p.m. on Aug. 1.

The vehicle is identifiable by a Colombian flag and a religious cross displayed on the dashboard.

The Osceola County Sheriffs Office is urging anyone with information about Barreras whereabouts or who spots his vehicle to contact them immediately at 407-348-2222 or dial 911.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  The Sergeant Floyd River Museum is hosting a living-history encampment honoring the 1804 Lewis and Clark Expedition stay where what is now Sioux City.

See authentic tents, camp equipment, uniforms, and period firearms at the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center along the Riverfront. Sergeant Floyd Honor Guard will bring in local historical re-enactors to interact with visitors, demonstrate the daily life of the Corps of Discovery, and bring the overall expedition to life.

Story continues below

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On top of the encampment, the Sergeant Floyd Burial Re-enactment Ceremony will take place at the Floyd Monument. The re-enactors will recreate the burial of the only casualty from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Sergeant Charles Floyd. Guests are welcome to bring lawn chairs for this event.

Sergeant Floyd Memorial Encampment hours:

Saturday, August 16: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with childrens activities from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Saturday, August 16: beginning at 6 p.m., Sergeant Floyd Burial Re-enactment Ceremony

Sunday, August 17: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

All events are free and open to the public. The Sergeant Floyd River Museum & Welcome Center can be found at 100 Larsen Park. For more information on the event, visit the Sioux City Museum website.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  The Great Plains Zoo and Butterfly House and Aquarium announced the names of some new faces.

Float down the Big Sioux in style

The name of a penguin chick born at the zoo earlier this year was named by Dr. Clarissa Barnes and Chris Dabney, who won naming rights in the Zoofari silent auction, a news release said.

Puddles

The chick was named Puddles, after a poem about the penguin written by Barnes and Dabneys daughter.

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Meanwhile, the three axolotls acquired by the zoo in May were named by a voting campaign. Here were the top names.

The pink male axolotls name is Kirby. The male wild type/dark-colored axolotl is Montezuma (Monte) and the female wild-type/dark-colored axolotl is named Mudkip.

The axolotls are housed at the Butterfly House and Aquarium campus.

The Sioux Falls City Council voted to approve a new master plan for the Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium. The new master plan overviews several expansion projects that will take place over the next 15 to 20 years and potentially costing upwards of $200 million.

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J. Garret Renville, chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, speaks to visitors from the State-Tribal Relations Committee about the tribe's artifacts on July 31, 2025. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

AGENCY VILLAGE  The chairman of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate said Thursday during a meeting of South Dakotas State-Tribal Relations Committee that an earlier social media post from one of his districts state representatives was inflammatory and racially charged.

Chairman J. Garrett Renvilles tribe hosted the meeting at its headquarters in Agency Village. Earlier in the day, he helped guide some members on a tour of the tribes 25-bed, under-construction jail, and joined them for a lengthy visit with the tribes historian in a room filled with artifacts, many of which had been repatriated back to the tribe from museums.

Renvilles comments during the afternoon meeting came in response to a now-deleted July 4 social media post from Rep. Logan Manhart, R-Aberdeen, that read its white boy summer and the boys are back in charge #MAGA.

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Manharts district, District 1, includes parts of the Lake Traverse Reservation, home to the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe.

The post drew criticism from state Democrats, who said the phrase white boy summer is used by white supremacist organizations. The post also drew criticism from some members of Manharts own party, though House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach rejected calls by Democrats to address the issue with the seriousness it demands.

Odenbach is a member of the State-Tribal Relations Committee, but attended Thursdays meeting virtually.

A copy of a South Dakota Searchlight article on Manharts post, reprinted in the Mitchell Republic, was pinned to a bulletin board outside the tribes education office on Thursday. A reference to his status as a lawmaker with Lake Traverse constituents was underlined in black pen.

Remarks from Renville

Renville welcomed the lawmakers at the start of the meeting and thanked them for offering a forum for discussions on relations between the state and its sovereign tribal nations. After the meeting, he handed the members a blanket as a gift from the tribe.

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This committee represents one of the few formal venues in South Dakota where tribal voices are not only heard, but are central to the discussion, Renville said.

Before ending his opening remarks, however, he said he wanted to address comments that do not reflect the diversity or the values of District 1. It was a reference to Manharts Instagram post.

I typically dont lend weight to inflammatory or racially charged remarks. Often, I know they are intended to distract or appeal to the lowest instincts in politics, and history has taught us that those strategies rarely produce progress, Renville said, reading from prepared remarks. It certainly doesnt reflect the kind of leadership that we needed here.

From left, Rep. Eric Emery, D-Rosebud, Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal Chairman J. Garret Renville, Sen. Mike Rohl, R-Aberdeen, Sen. Tamara Grove, R-Lower Brule, and Rep. Heather Baxter, R-Rapid City, pose for a photo with a blanket given by the tribe to lawmakers on the State-Tribal Relations Committee. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Renville then thanked Sen. Mike Rohl, R-Aberdeen, who represents part of the reservation and sits on the committee, for his willingness to communicate and stay engaged in spite of disagreements on policy.

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Despite these disappointments and comments made by one of the district reps, I still believe in the promise of public service, Renville said. I believe theres always hope, hope that other leaders, such as yourselves, will continue to lead by example.

Response from lawmakers

The committees chairman, Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson, told Renville the committee shares your sentiments to a large extent.

I want to assure you that those are not reflective or commonplace with this Legislature, said Mortenson, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. This committee doesnt associate ourselves with it.

Manhart did not respond to a message seeking comment on Thursday.

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Odenbach, who wrote an email in July to his colleagues in response to Democrats criticisms of Manhart, did not speak during the Thursday committee meeting. Odenbachs July email said its not for him to divine the underlying meaning of legislators social media posts, and rejected what he described as Democrats insinuation that South Dakota is a state founded by racist oppressors, or that our great citizens of today are the cause of continued harm to Native Americans and other marginalized groups.

The majority leader did not respond to a message seeking comment on Renvilles remarks.

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BELGRADE (Reuters) -Six people, including a former minister, were arrested on Friday over their involvement in reconstruction of a railway station, whose roof collapsed last November killing 16 and triggering Serbia's biggest anti-government protests in decades.

The office of the prosecutor for organised crime said Tomislav Momirovic, former infrastructure minister, was among those arrested.

The six are suspected of inflating invoices from a consortium of the two Chinese companies - China Railway International Co and China Communications Construction Co - who were given the task of reconstructing both the railway station at Novi Sad and tracks, the statement said.

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They are suspected of damaging the state budget by $115.6 million, the statement said, and also said that by inflating invoices the Chinese consortium benefited by $18.8 million, but gave no further details.

In December 11 people, including Momirovic's successor Goran Vesic, were detained on suspicion of committing a criminal act against public safety.

Months of protests across Serbia following the roof collapse, including university shutdowns, have rattled the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic, a former ultranationalist who converted to the cause of European Union membership in 2008.

The protesters, who blame corruption for the disaster, demand early elections that they hope would remove Vucic and his party from power after 13 years.

They accuse Vucic and his allies of ties to organised crime, violence against rivals and curbing media freedoms. Vucic denies the accusations.

(Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by David Holmes)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren isnt convinced that Paramount Global and Skydance Media did not engage in corrupt side deals or political favors with the Trump administration to get their merger approved.

Warren, the senior U.S. senator from Massachusetts, had sent letters to Skydance CEO David Ellison (on July 21) and Paramount Globals three co-CEOs (on May 19), co-signed by Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon). The senators asked questions about Paramount and CBSs $16 million settlement with President Trump over his 60 Minutes lawsuit and the Skydance-Paramount merger deal  with the senators suggesting the settlement amounted to a bribe.

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Both Skydance and Paramount replied to the senators in letters dated July 31, with executives from both companies affirming they complied with all laws. But Warren wasnt satisfied with their answers.

These dodgy responses raise even more questions about whether Paramount and Skydance engaged in corrupt side deals or political favors to get their merger approved  and reveal why we need a full, independent investigation into whether there was any criminal behavior, Warren said in a statement Friday.

Reps for Paramount Global and Skydance declined to comment.

In the letter to Ellison, the senators noted that Trump has claimed he had a side deal with Skydance under which the new owners of the merged company are expected to contribute $20 million in advertising, public service announcements and similar programming that promote causes he favors. That purportedly would be in addition to Paramounts $16 million payment to settle his lawsuit accusing 60 Minutes of deceptively editing a pre-election interview with Kamala Harris.

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Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, Skydances general counsel and co-president of business operations, in her reply to the senators, didnt directly address the question of whether Skdyance has a side deal with the president for free advertising or other airtime. She wrote, Skydance was neither a party to the lawsuit nor to Paramounts settlement of its litigation with the President. Paramount has said that its settlement with Trump does not include PSAs or anything related to PSAs.

Warren on Friday said the alleged secret side deal between Trump and Skydance is a big open question.

Paramount contradicts President Trumps claim, while Skydance does not deny the existence of this side deal  and refuses to disclose any terms, Warren said. She added, Skydances statements regarding meetings with not just federal regulators but also the Administration raises serious concerns and more questions: Did the Skydance CEO meet and speak with President Trump or top White House officials? Who met whom, when, and what other deals were made?

On July 24, the FCC approved the Skydance-Paramount deal, which is now set to close Aug. 7. Two days prior to the agencys approval, Skydances McKinnon sent letters to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr promising that Skydance would install an ombudsman at CBS to review complaints of bias or other concerns and guaranteeing that the merged Skydance-Paramount would not implement any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

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Paramount Global, Trump and the FCCs Carr have each said the approval of the Paramount-Skydance deal was separate from Trumps lawsuit against CBS. Skydances McKinnon wrote in her July 31 reply, Throughout its history and during the review of the proposed acquisition of Paramount, Skydance has fully complied with all applicable laws, including our nations anti-bribery laws.

The senators also asked Ellison if he or other Skydance execs were involved in CBSs decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. According to McKinnon, Skydance was not part of that decision. Paramount did provide notice of its decision to Skydance [about Colberts show being canceled], but only after Paramount reached its own independent decision, and shortly before Paramount publicly acknowledged the cancellation, she wrote. CBS said the cancellation of Colberts show was purely a financial decision and has said Skydance did not participate in the decision.

In response, Warren said, Skydance admits it knew in advance that Paramount canceled the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, just days after Colbert called out Paramount for its big fat bribe. These giant corporations must think Americans are fools if they think these half-answers resolve serious questions about whether they bribed their way to a merger approval.

In their July 31 reply to the senators inquiry, Paramount co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy wrote that, regarding the $16 million settlement, the entire amount (except for fees and costs) will be allocated to a future non-profit presidential library. No amount will be paid directly or indirectly to President Trump personally, they said.

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The settlement does not include a statement of apology or regret, or a commitment to air public service announcements (PSAs) and expressly recognizes that we stand by our reporting. There are no other material terms to the settlement, Cheeks, Robbins and McCarthy wrote.

The Paramount execs also referred to comments made by Cheeks, who also serves as CEO of CBS, at the Paramount Global shareholder meeting on July 2, when he said in part: Companies often settle litigation to avoid the high and somewhat unpredictable cost of legal defense, the risk of an adverse judgment that could result in significant financial, as well as reputational damage, and the disruption to business operations that prolonged legal battles can cause.

According to the Paramount execs, the company did not alter its oversight of 60 Minutes or block any 60 Minutes content to facilitate approval of the proposed transaction. They noted that in January 2025, Paramount appointed Susan Zirinsky as interim executive editor of CBS News with responsibility for standards throughout the news organization, including 60 Minutes.' They said Zirinskys appointment and other personnel decisions involving CBS News were unrelated to the litigation or the proposed merger.

In April, Bill Owens, just the third executive producer of 60 Minutes, announced he would leave the show. Owens cited interference from Paramount execs as preventing him from making independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience.

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The Paramount co-CEOs letter is available at this link, and the Skydance letter is at this link.

RELATED: Elizabeth Warren on Colbert Late Show Cancellation: Is the Paramount Trump Payoff a Bribe?

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA)  Washington County Circuit Judge Doug Martin has recused himself from a lawsuit filed against Fayetteville-based restaurant chain Slim Chickens.

R-Solution claims that 15 of the 17 sauces offered in stores are mass-produced by third-party vendors (images from the lawsuit).

The reason for the recusal was not disclosed in court documents as of Aug. 1.

The suit, filed in June by franchisee group R Solution Companies, alleges fraud and breach of contract, claiming Slim Chickens misrepresented its franchise models profitability and scalability.

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The 140-page complaint also alleges that Slim Chickens has inflated data and is falsely advertising fresh and house-made food.

Slim Chickens denies the allegations and has asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing the franchisee is shifting blame. The company also seeks to disqualify R Solutions legal counsel over a conflict of interest, which R Solution contests.

Walmart and Zest Labs reach settlement in $222 million lawsuit

Slim Chickens said the following in a statement to KNWA/FOX24 in June.

Slim Chickens categorically denies the allegations made by Gary Grewe, owner of R-Solutions. The complaint is without merit and is an attempt to shift blame for longstanding, well-documented performance issues by this lone franchisee. We are confident in our position and will vigorously defend ourselves against these unfounded claims through the appropriate legal channels at the appropriate time.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 1: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) walks towards the Senate Chamber as the Senate stayed in session throughout the night at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. Republican leaders are pushing to get President Donald Trump's so-called "One, Big, Beautiful Bill," Act through Congress and to his desk before the July 4 Independence Day holiday. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin says she supported a pair of Senate resolutions aimed at cutting off arms sales to Israel despite missing both to appear on a late-night talk show.

Michigans junior Democratic senator issued a statement late Thursday following her absence from recent Senate votes regarding two Joint Resolutions of Disapproval aimed at blocking arms sales to Israel in reaction to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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Slotkins trip to New York City Wednesday to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert resulted in her missing eight Senate votes including the two sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).

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I owe it to my state to make clear where I stand: Had I made it back for the vote yesterday, I would have voted yes to block offensive weapons to Israel based on my concerns over lack of food and medicine getting to civilians in Gaza, Slotkin said in the statement.

While reiterating her strong support for Israel, she said images of emaciated children are hard to turn away from, and emphasized that the U.S. needed to hold the Israeli government accountable for its actions.

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The United Nations Human Rights Council said those actions include a blockade of food, fuel and lifesaving aid, as well as the systematic destruction of local food production, that has left the Gaza Strip on the verge of famine.

But it appears today that the Netanyahu government thinks that there are no limits to what they can do while still receiving U.S. support. And so, I believe a message has to be sent. Should similar votes on offensive weapons come up in the future, I will take them on a case-by-case basis, with the hope of important humanitarian course corrections, Slotkin said.

Her statement follows a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, calling for the immediate opening of all checkpoints into Gaza.

Israels offensive in Gaza  launched in retaliation to the militant group Hamass Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel  has killed more than 60,000 people according to Gazas health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government.

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While both of the resolutions were voted down Wednesday in the Republican-led Senate, for the first time ever, a majority of Democrats in the upper chamber voted in favor of cutting off arms sales to Israel.

Slotkin finds herself caught in a political conundrum between progressive activists who have sharply criticized her ongoing support for Israel, accusing her of turning a blind eye to what they describe as a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and centrist and pro-Israel elements pressuring her to more forcefully condemn rising antisemitism.

While Slotkins efforts at navigating that divide have threatened her standing as a Democratic Party leader amidst a deeply polarized electorate, she said that her votes have not been driven by ideology, but instead based on the facts as they existed at the time.

[O]ver these last two years, few issues have been as raw as this one. I have therefore worked very hard to call balls and strikes based on my experience and the facts on the ground, even as most people fall firmly into one side or another, and are often reluctant to consider new information, Slotkin said in her statement.

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She said that she felt compelled to issue the statement out of her deep concern and conviction for Israels long-term security, and its right to demand the immediate release of all hostages, but that the Netanyahu government actions threaten to unravel the bipartisan consensus that has helped keep Israel safe.

No one leader should so significantly threaten the long-term security of the state of Israel. I urge the Trump Administration and the Israeli Prime Minister to get aid in as soon as possible and save lives, Slotkin said.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said Thursday she would have voted to block arms sales to Israel over hunger in Gaza after missing a series of Senate votes Wednesday night to appear on Stephen Colberts show.

The Michigan senator said she was worried about the lack of food and medicine entering Gaza and that images of emaciated children are hard to turn away from.

Should similar votes on offensive weapons come up in the future, I will take them on a case-by-case basis, with the hope of important humanitarian course corrections, she wrote in a lengthy statement on social platform X. While the leaders of Hamas deserve what theyre getting in response to October 7, and Israel  like any other country in the world  has the right to defend itself, that doesnt include letting children go hungry.

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The resolutions, sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), would have blocked more than $675 million in weapons sales to Israel and barred another transfer of tens of thousands of assault rifles. They were resoundingly defeated in the Senate, although a record number of Democrats  more than half the caucus  voted in favor.

The votes came amid growing worry in the Democratic caucus over what the United Nations termed mounting evidence of famine and widespread starvation in Gaza, where Israels war is nearing its two-year mark.

President Trump has also expressed concern with the situation, acknowledging earlier this week that there was real starvation in the territory.

Slotkin, who is Jewish, served three tours in Iraq as a CIA analyst in the early 2000s. She said in her statement that her experience in the Middle East showed her that aid could be safely distributed in complex war zones.

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[E]ven in the most violent years of the war, the U.S. still had the responsibility to facilitate humanitarian supplies into places like Fallujah, she wrote. And militaries that can pull off dangerous and complex operations overseas can also ensure aid is safely distributed in occupied areas.

Slotkin also said the conduct of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had significantly undermined the countrys standing among American lawmakers, writing that he had threatened the longstanding bipartisan consensus that have helped keep Israel safe since its inception.

Still, Slotkin appeared to garner criticism from fellow Michigander Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D), the only Palestinian American in Congress.

Shame on every senator who voted to continue arming the Israeli apartheid regime or didnt even have the courage to show up and vote, the representative wrote on X.

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Michigan is home to one of the largest populations of Arab Americans in the country and was the epicenter of backlash during the 2024 election against the Biden administrations support of Israel.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP)  Slovenia has announced that it will ban the import, export and transit of all weapons to and from Israel in response to the country's actions in Gaza.

Slovenia, which has often criticized Israel over reported atrocities in Gaza, called the ban, announced late Thursday, the first such move by a European Union member state.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has said on multiple occasions that Slovenia would act unilaterally in the absence of concerted EU action, the state STA news agency reported.

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The EU is currently incapable of completing this task due to internal discord and disunity, the government press release said. The result thereof is shameful: People in Gaza are dying because they are systematically denied humanitarian aid. They are dying under rubble, without access to drinking water, food and basic health care.

Tiny Slovenia has almost no arms trade with Israel and the decision to ban weapons trade with Israel is mainly a diplomatic message meant to step up pressure as international outrage over Israels conduct and images of starvation in Gaza.

Slovenias embargo on arms to Israel is a symbolic but nevertheless important measure, said Zain Hussain, arms transfers researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

The ban follows other steps by the government of Slovenia. It banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country in July, accusing them of inciting extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians with genocidal statements.

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Slovenias decision to cut off arms transfers to Israel, which is using imported weapons against civilians in Gaza in a manner that clearly violates international law and basic human decency, is an important breakthrough, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, which has lobbied the U.S. government to cut Israels supplies of American war material.

In June 2024, Slovenias parliament passed a decree recognizing Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway and Spain.

Last year, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmers government suspended exports of some weapons to Israel because they could be used to break international law. Spain says it halted arms sales to Israel in October 2023. The Netherlands has also cracked down on weapons trade with Israel, and there are court cases in France and Belgium around weapons trade with Israel. But none of the three has announced a blanket ban on all trade and transit similar to what Slovenia announced.

Ruling Slovenian coalition parties Friday welcomed the governments decision to impose an arms embargo on Israel, while the conservative opposition was more reserved, warning about the potential fallout.

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The government should have acted against Israel in collaboration with the EU rather than doing it solo, said Janez Cigler Kralj, an opposition official.

___

Associated Press writer Samuel McNeil contributed from Brussels.
Slovenia has become the first country in the European Union to ban all weapons trade with Israel over its war on Gaza.

The move by the government comes two weeks after the Central European nation declared Israeli ministers persona non grata.

The arms embargo was announced by Prime Minister Robert Golob after a government session on Thursday.

Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export and transit of weapons to and from Israel, the government said in a statement.

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It said it was moving ahead independently because the EU was unable to adopt concrete measures  due to internal disagreements and disunity.

Amid the devastating war in Gaza, where people  are dying because humanitarian aid is systematically denied them, it was the duty of every responsible state to take action, even if it means taking a step ahead of others, the statement said.

It added that the government had not issued any permits for the export of military weapons and equipment to Israel since October 2023 because of the conflict.

Early in July, Slovenia  also in an EU first  banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country.

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It declared both Israelis persona non grata, accusing them of inciting extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians with their genocidal statements.

In June 2024, Slovenias parliament passed a decree recognising Palestinian statehood, following in the steps of Ireland, Norway and Spain, in moves partly spurred by condemnation of Israels bombing of Gaza.

Last week, France, the United Kingdom and Canada also announced they may recognise a Palestinian state. Israel decried these announcements, saying they were a way of rewarding Hamas for its October 7, 2023 assault on Israeli territory.

Israel has been waging a nearly 22-month war in Gaza that human rights groups and United Nations experts have compared to a genocide.

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More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israels military campaign, with more at risk of dying from hunger as a result of Israels blockade of the territory.

Several countries, including South Africa, have also brought cases before the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

The United States, however, has been an unwavering ally of Israel throughout its war in Gaza, and President Donald Trump has also warned that recognition of Palestinian statehood would serve as a reward to Hamas.
Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Slovenia on Friday imposed a ban on all weapons trading with Israel becoming the first European country to do so over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave in Israel's ongoing war.

Its government said in a statement that at the initiative of Prime Minister Robert Golob, Slovenia signed off on its decision that prohibits "the export and transit of military weapons and equipment from or through the Republic of Slovenia to Israel, as well as the import of such goods from Israel into the Republic of Slovenia."

It added that Israel's actions had constituted "serious violations of international humanitarian law" and that Slovenia would prepare "some more national measures" in the "coming weeks," according to the statement.

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The prime minister's decision, according to the Slovenian government, stems from a promise to "act independent" if the EU "failed to adopt concrete measures" by July.

"Due to internal disagreements and lack of unity, the European Union is currently unable to fulfil this task," the statement said in part.

Displaced Palestinians received food aid on Wednesdy from a U.S.-backed foundation that pledged to distribute humanitarian assistance through a distribution point at the so-called "Netzarim Corridor" in the central Gaza Strip. Photo by Hassan Al-Jadi/UPI

On Monday, a European Commission proposal to partly suspend EU weaponry aid to Israel was blocked as Sweden became the most recent to apply pressure over trade.

Nearly 70% of Israel's arsenal is imported from the United States with Germany its second-biggest supplier and Italy at third.

On Wednesday, a Palestinian man carried aid after receiving it from the US humanitarian aid distribution centre in Rafah, southern Gaza. On Friday, Slovenia became the first European nation to ban weapons to Israel over Gaza's growing humanitarian crisis. Photo by Anas Deeb/UPI

Slovenian officials have repeatedly called for a cease-fire and its government increased aid delivery to the war-torn territory.

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On Friday, it said people in Gaza are dying "because humanitarian aid is systematically denied to them. They are dying under the rubble, without access to drinking water, food and basic healthcare."

Slovenia's government called it a "complete denial of humanitarian access" and a "conscious prevention of basic conditions for survival."

Last year in June, Slovenia became one of the first in Europe to recognize Palestine as a state.

Israel has exported more than $560 million in weaponry since October 2023 when Iran's terror syndicate attacked and took Israeli hostages.

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Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands have since either restricted or halted exports.

This week, the Dutch government banned Israel's national security minister and finance chief from its borders.

The foreign ministers of Britain and 28 other nations including Canada, France, Italy and Australia recently issued a joint statement saying Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza had "reached new depths" and "must end now."

Qatar in March called on international leaders to bring Israel's nuclear facilities under the watch of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Chile's president has sharply criticized Israel's military actions in Gaza as the South American nation seeks to replace Israel as Chile's primary arms supplier.

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Golob visited the United States last year in October and met with then-U.S. President Joe Biden prior to November's presidential election.

"It is the duty of every responsible state to act," the Slovenian leader's statement continued. "Even if this means taking a step ahead of others."
A single-engine Pitts 12 biplane made an emergency landing Thursday afternoon, July 31, in Alger County, east of Munising, the Michigan State Police said.

The pilot landed on M-28 near Star Siding Road in Alger County, east of Shingleton. Police closed M-28 in both directions while the removed the plane from the scene.

The pilot was not injured in the incident, which happened after 6 p.m. Thursday. Police did not immediately identify the pilot or say where they were flying to or from.

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Police said the plane's "engine blew mid-flight."

A Pitts 12 aerobatic biplane is shown parked along M-28 in the Upper Peninsula on July 31, 2025, after it made an emergency landing east of Shingleton.

Troopers, Alger County Sheriffs Office deputies and and Munising Fire Department firefighters all assisted at the scene. The road, a main east-west route across the UP, was closed nearly 3 hours.

More: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore renown for colorful cliffs, but there's more to see, do

The plane was loaded onto a flatbed tow truck operated by U.P. Wilderness Towing and Recovery and was transported to Hanley Field Airport in Wetmore with troopers escorting the vehicle.

According to the images provided by MSP, the plane's tail number, C-GDZX, refers to a Pitts Model 12 aircraft, an aerobatic biplane.

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Canadian aircraft registry says an plane with that tail marking was built in 2019 and is registered to a pilot from York, Ontario, Canada.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Aerobatic plane lands on M-28 near Munising, closing highway. What happened
The Smithsonian National Museum in Washington, D.C. has scrapped references to President Donald Trump in an exhibit dedicated to presidential impeachments  at least for now.

The revamped exhibit, which was first reported by the Washington Post on Thursday, removed a temporary label about Trumps two impeachments that had been there since September 2021. The move came amid White House pressure after Trumps executive order in March demanding the removal of anti-American ideology from Smithsonian museums.

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Now, the exhibit only goes up to 2008, and includes a note saying only three presidents have seriously faced removal  without mentioning which presidents it is referring to specifically. Three presidents  Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Trump  have been formally impeached, while Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 amid a looming impeachment.

In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the Limits of Presidential Power section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed, a Smithsonian spokesperson told the Post.

The spokesperson added: The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.

The Post noted the blog accompanying the Smithsonians exhibit briefly mentions Trumps impeachments, without offering much detail. The museums website also includes 125 impeachment-related references to Johnson, Nixon and Clinton and one for the president.

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After the outlets story ran on Thursday, a Smithsonian rep said a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments. So if you are visiting the museum to read about Trumps two impeachments, from 2019 and 2021, hang tight.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, meanwhile, said in a statement to media that the Smithsonian has highlighted divisive DEI exhibits which are out of touch with mainstream America for too long.

We are fully supportive of updating displays to highlight American greatness, he said, but did not address the missing reference to Trumps impeachments.

The post Smithsonian Ditches Trumps Name From Impeachment Exhibit Under Pressure From White House appeared first on TheWrap.
In a move that has reignited concerns over political interference in cultural institutions, the Smithsonians National Museum of American History has removed references to Donald Trumps two impeachments from an exhibit on the American Presidency.

The Washington Post reported this week that the museum had taken down a temporary label that outlined Trumps unique distinction as the only U.S. president impeached twice. The label was added in 2021. The change was made in July as part of what the Post described as a content review that the institution had agreed to take on under pressure from the White House.

In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the Limits of Presidential Power section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed, a Smithsonian spokesperson said in a statement to the Post. The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.

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With the reversion to the 2008 version, the exhibit now states only that three presidents have seriously faced removal from office, referring also to Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, the two presidents other than Trump to have been impeached, and the near-impeachment of Richard Nixon.

After the Post story was published, the American history museum said in a statement that a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments but did not provide an exact timeline.

This is not the first time the Trump administration has clashed with the Smithsonian this year. In March, Trump signed Executive Order 14253, which aimed to shape how the story of American history is told. According to the the presidents order, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology, and the policy would seek to remove improper ideology from such properties.

Just months later, National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet resigned after efforts by the White House to remove her, saying that stepping down was the best way to serve the museums interests. The president had accused her of being highly partisan and a strong supporter of DEI.

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Now, with the American History Museums removal of Trumps impeachments from its exhibit, critics are condemning both the museum and the president for what they see as an attempt to erase recent history.

Look, Trump is who he is. Hes a pathological liar. Hes incapable of shame. Hes a fascist. Does no good to call him out, wrote former GOP Congressman Joe Walsh on X. Its time to call out the fascists enablers  all those who bow to & cave to him. Shame on you Smithsonian.

Trump can pretend it didnt happen all he wants, but the facts dont lie  he was impeached twice, added Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc. I know. I was there.

The post Smithsonian erases Trumps impeachments from history museum exhibit appeared first on Salon.com.
The Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History removed an exhibit this month referencing President Trumps two impeachments, according to the institutions spokesperson  drawing fire from Democratic Party lawmakers.

The decision, part of an internal content review the museum agreed to participate in, came after facing pressure from the Trump administration to axe its art museum director, according to The Washington Post, citing an unnamed source who was briefed on the matter.

A large permanent gallery like The American Presidency that opened in 2000, requires significant amount of time and funding to update and renew, a Smithsonian spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Hill. A future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.

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The change ignited criticism from some Democrats, who argued Trump wants the public to forget about the impeachments.

Trump can pretend it didnt happen all he wants, but the facts dont lie  he was impeached twice. I know. I was there, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) wrote on social media Thursday night.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), another frequent critic of the president, shared front-page stories of The New York Times print edition of House impeaching the commander in chief twice, writing on the social platform X: this is what Donald Trump wants you to forget. America never will.

In late March, Trump penned an executive order directing the removal of divisive narratives from the Smithsonian Institution that do not align with the White Houses vision to remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage.

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In September 2021, the museum installed a temporary label on content concerning the impeachments of Donald J. Trump, the Smithsonian spokesperson told The Hill. It was intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025.

The exhibit at the museum now states that only three presidents have seriously faced removal, the Post reported, citing a photograph of the temporary sign.

In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the Limits of Presidential Power section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed, the spokesperson added.

The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion, they continued. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.

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Trump was impeached twice by the House during his first term  the first one over a phone call in which he reportedly asked Ukraine to probe then-former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and the other over his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The Senate acquitted Trump both times.

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms (D) office also jabbed at Trump Thursday night on X, claiming the president is censoring the Smithsonian like its the Epstein List. History gets erased when it implicates him.

Kim Sajet, former director of the National Portrait Gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian, resigned from her post in mid-June after facing pressure from Trump, who accused her of being highly partisan and a supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History removed references to President Donald Trump's two impeachment proceedings from an exhibit on the "Limits of Presidential Power," a Smithsonian spokesperson confirmed to ABC News. The spokesperson said a future exhibit will include all presidential impeachments.

The museum decided to "restore" the section of a permanent exhibition to its "2008 appearance" because various topics had not been updated since that year and therefore they removed references to Trump, the Smithsonian spokesperson told ABC News on Thursday.

Trump is the only U.S. president to have been impeached twice.

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"In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the 'Limits of Presidential Power' section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed. The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion," the spokesperson said.

MORE: Artist Amy Sherald cancels Smithsonian exhibit, citing 'culture of censorship'

The exhibit now only includes references to the impeachment proceedings against Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868, Richard Nixon in 1973 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Nixon is the only U.S. president to resign following the commencement of impeachment proceedings.

Wangkun Jia/Adobe Stock - PHOTO: Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington.

While serving as the 45th President of the United States, Trump was first impeached twice by Congress during his first term  with the first proceeding beginning on Dec. 18, 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction in connection with an alleged quid pro quo call with the Ukrainian president. Trump was acquitted when the trial concluded in the Senate on Feb. 5, 2020.

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Following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Trump was impeached for a second time on Jan. 13, 2021, on the charge of incitement of insurrection, but was again acquitted on Feb. 13, 2021, days after he left office after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

Trump denied all wrongdoing in both of his impeachment cases.

Following Trump's first impeachment proceeding, the Smithsonian released a statement on Jan. 21, 2020, about the collection of objects regarding Trump's impeachment.

The statement said that as the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History "actively engages," with history, curators are following Trump's impeachment trial and will determine "which objects best represent these historic events for inclusion in the national collection."

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The Smithsonian spokesperson on Thursday said the museum "installed a temporary label on content concerning the impeachments of Donald J. Trump" in Sept. 2021, which was "intended to be a short-term measure to address current events at the time, however, the label remained in place until July 2025."

"A large permanent gallery like The American Presidency that opened in 2000, requires a significant amount of time and funding to update and renew. A future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments," the spokesperson added, in explaining the removal of Trump references.

An online description of the exhibit of the Smithsonian's website still referenced Trump's two impeachments as of Friday morning.

The removal of references of Trump's impeachments was first reported by The Washington Post on Thursday. The report cited "a person familiar with the exhibit plans, who was not authorized to discuss them publicly," who told the Post that "the change came about as part of a content review that the Smithsonian agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director."

Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Newspaper front pages are on display at the Newseum in Washington, Dec 19, 2019, after President Donald Trump's impeachment by the House of Representatives, Dec. 18, 2019.

Asked by ABC News about this claim, the Smithsonian spokesperson did not immediately comment.

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Museums and parks must remove some items related to race and gender: Executive order

The Smithsonian affirmed its autonomy from outside influences in a June 9 statement after President Trump announced that he fired National Portrait Gallery head Kim Sajet for allegedly being a "highly partisan person." Sajet resigned on June 13, a Smithsonian spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images - PHOTO: An article of impeachment for incitement of insurrection against President Donald Trump sits on a table at the U.S. Capitol, Jan. 13, 2021 in Washington.

"Throughout its history, the Smithsonian has been governed and administered by a Board of Regents and a Secretary. The board is entrusted with the governance and independence of the Institution, and the board appoints a Secretary to manage the Institution. All personnel decisions are made by and subject to the direction of the Secretary, with oversight by the Board. Lonnie G. Bunch, the Secretary, has the support of the Board of Regents in his authority and management of the Smithsonian," the statement said.

"The Board of Regents is committed to ensuring that the Smithsonian is a beacon of scholarship free from political or partisan influence, and we recognize that our institution can and must do more to further these foundational values," the Smithsonian added.

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Trump signed an executive order in March placing Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of supervising efforts to "remove improper ideology" from all areas of the Smithsonian and targeted funding for programs that advance "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology."

The order -- called "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" -- directed Vance and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum to restore federal parks, monuments, memorials and statues "that have been improperly removed or changed in the last five years to perpetuate a false revision of history or improperly minimize or disparage certain historical figures or events."
Peoria, Ill.  Smoke from Canadian wildfires has returned to Central Illinois bringing significant reductions in air quality to Central Illinois. Air Quality Alerts have been issued for much of the state through Friday.

As of July 23rd, more than 300 wildfires were burning across Canada, many of them quite large. Over the past several weeks, most of that smoke has generally remained north of the Canadian border thanks to a strong ridge that kept the jet stream north of the area and brought hot and humid temperatures to the region.

A Canadian cold front brought cooler and more comfortable temperatures to Central Illinois Wednesday night. Unfortunately, it also brought copious amounts of smoke that have pooling north of the border for the last few weeks.

Smoke models show near-surface smoke lingering through Friday morning and gradually thinning out throughout the afternoon. Smoke thats more elevated is expected to remain over the region and will actually get a little worse as smoke from fires burning in Arizona and Utah drift over the region.

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The Brief

Unhealthy air forced cancellations at some outdoor kids' camps in St. Paul and changed the plans at others across the Metro.

Minneapolis Parks & Rec directors say they know some parents need summer camps for childcare, so they adapt by going indoors and/or reducing outdoor activity intensity.

A pulmonary physician told us everybody reacts differently to the smoky air, but nobody is immune to the negative effects. He says the signs that someone needs filtered air quickly are coughing or even just slowing down.

(FOX 9) - The Twin Cities had the third or fourth-worst air quality in the world for most of Thursday.

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The unhealthy air forced changes at a lot of summer camps and created problems for some parents.

Smelly summer

Cool but canceled

St. Paul moved some of its camps indoors but canceled others, which is why fields at the Northwest Como Recreation Center were empty instead of filled with kids in the scheduled multi-sports camp.

Minneapolis Parks & Recreation hasnt canceled any of its camps with outdoor activities, but biking can be pretty strenuous, so the ride from Logan Park for kids to an outdoor biking camp was a lot shorter today.

The gaggle of bicyclists returned to the park on Thursday afternoon with a lot more energy than originally planned.

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Instead of a long ride along the Mississippi River, they stopped at Boom Island Park for a relaxing afternoon of magnet fishing.

Parks for parents

Keeping up care

About 1,200 kids spend their summer days at Minneapolis Park & Rec camps, and organizers know how important it is to keep going even when its hard to see downtown from Boom Island.

"I think a lot of families use this as a childcare in the summertime, and so we're doing our very best to modify rather than cancel so that the young people can still have all the opportunities, all the fun that they want in the summer and then families can have the service that we've been providing," said Steve Thompson, a Parks & Rec director.

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YMCA camps also have had to move a lot of activities indoors this week, sometimes for entire days.

"They're still going to have a great time, I promise, right?" said Michel Tigan, a senior vice president for YMCA of the North. "They're in gyms, they're swimming, they are playing, but we need the filters and the air conditioning systems to help really remove that particulate out to keep kids safe."

But it's finally nice

What's the risk?

Dr. Andrew Stiehm told us not everybody has the same vulnerability to the smoky air, and a lot of people will insist on going out after staying indoors because of heat or storms for much of the summer.

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"But [the air is] a big problem," said the Allina Health pulmonary physician. "You get cooped in and you want to get out in the exercise because the weather is great today."

He warns that kids are not immune to the impact, even if they feel invincible.

So its especially important right now for parents to monitor kids outdoor activities.

"Watch," said Dr. Stiehm. "If you notice they're not running as fast or they're coughing some. It may be time to have them start breathing more shallowly, have them rest on the sidelines or rest on a bench, or even just come indoors with the window shut and let them clean out a little bit."

Future plans

What's next

Parents with kids in St. Paul camps should get notified about Friday soon if not already, but the air quality warning lasts through Saturday afternoon, so theres at least a chance of more cancellations.

At Logan Park, theyre good to go, but at a slower pace.
Sister Patricia Murphy took risks for love.

Thats how the Rev. Larry Dowling described her Thursday morning to hundreds of people who gathered at a church in Mercy Circle Senior Living Center in Mount Greenwood to honor her life and commitment to social justice and immigrant advocacy.

The 96-year-old nun  known as Sister Pat  was diminutive but bold. She was rarely seen without her closest collaborator, Sister JoAnn Persch, with whom she was inseparable in action and purpose. They worked in sync until the day Sister Pat died, July 21, in her home in south suburban Alsip, surrounded by loved ones.

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Together, the activist nuns were arrested four times at different demonstrations over the years. They pushed to pass state legislation allowing religious workers to visit people in detention processing centers in Illinois. Their impact was recognized at the highest levels, from being entered into the Congressional Record for Womens History Month in 2018 to receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award  a prestigious honor recognizing dedication to community leadership and issues like immigration from Chicagos Cardinal Blase Cupich in 2023.

Weve done the stuff that other people didnt feel OK with, and thats fine, because not everybodys called to the same thing, Sister Pat told the Tribune in January.

Thursdays tributes to Sister Pat also served as a call to action. Yogi Wess, who did social work in Chicago with her at Little Brothers  Friends of the Elderly for nearly 50 years, said that if Sister Pat had been in the building that day, she would have likely told people in the audience to stand up for the forgotten, the unnoticed, the undocumented and unseen.

She was a modern-day saint. She lived for others, said Wess, 68, who noted that Sister Pat went to great lengths to help her plan her wedding, for which she remains grateful to this day.

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Sister Pat was born in Chicago, one of five children, to Frank J. and Thelma Murphy. She graduated from high school in 1947 and joined the Sisters of Mercy. She admitted that shed always wanted to be a nurse, but became a teacher instead. She met Sister JoAnn at an elementary school in Wisconsin.

Then, in 1960, the Sisters of Mercy community put out a call for a volunteer to go on a mission in Sicuani, Peru.

I filled out the form, ran across campus, and put it into the mail slot, she recounted to the Tribune in January.

She lived there for eight years, in what she called a house for the houseless with no running water. In remembering her life there, she focused on the beautiful aspects  the lady who owned the house, named Isabel, who would cook soups and traditional Peruvian dishes, and how the smell would drift through the rafters. Pat picked up Spanish and the local dialect of the region.

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Photos of her from that time were pinned onto a poster board at Mercy Circle. She is smiling and wearing a habit. James Connelly, 67, said his great-aunt went and visited her while she was in South America and brought him back a llama fur vest.

Now, I cant really fit in it, he joked.

Connelly admitted that he was a little afraid of the traditional nun garb as a kid, but said he always admired her compassion and dedication.

She set an example as a strong, female leader, he said. And she passed that on to all the children she taught.

Indeed, when she returned from her time abroad, she reunited with Sister JoAnn and the two trailblazers took advantage of a burgeoning movement in American Catholicism, where many nuns moved from traditional roles to activism. Sister Pat did stints at Mercy Hospital, Little Brothers  Friends of the Elderly and Austin Career Education Center, helping teen dropouts and adults prepare for the GED.

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But in her later life, shaped by her experiences in Peru, Sister Pat prioritized helping immigrants.

She and Sister JoAnn in the 1980s and 90s opened Su Casa Catholic Worker House, a home for survivors of torture from Central America, on the South Side of Chicago.

Several years later, they started praying outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview. And they collaborated with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to successfully pass a bill allowing religious workers to enter immigrant detention centers. They spent long hours with immigrants in detention.

Sister Pat warmed up the guards with homemade cookies and wrapped candy canes. Because she could speak Spanish, she was able to help detainees connect with family members.

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They just loved her, Sister JoAnn said in January. Imagine how much of a help she was to them, speaking Spanish like she did.

The sisters stopped visiting immigrants in detention during the pandemic. And under the current Donald Trump administration, ICE has been unwilling to let anyone  even elected officials  inside, said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at ICIRR, who attended the funeral.

Sister Pat always used a particular word to describe the immigration detention system: demonic, said Tsao.

The sisters meant to retire after the pandemic, they said, but felt called to step in and help the tens of thousands of migrants who were bused to Chicago from the southern border by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. They founded a nonprofit called Catherines Caring Cause to help asylum-seekers settle, opening 17 apartments to house 100 people.

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They shifted to provide Know Your Rights information to their tenants when Trump was elected. In a final essay that Sister Pat co-authored with Sister JoAnn, they wrote about one Venezuelan family assisted by their nonprofit, who they said was recently deported to Costa Rica.

The parents and their five children were seized at a local ICE office when they reported for a routine check-in as required by law, the essay reads. ICE officials accused the husband of having a criminal background, which he denied. He never had a chance to present his case in court.

On Thursday morning, a migrant family lingered a little longer in the hallway outside the church sanctuary after her casket was brought out. They said they were blessed to be connected to Sister Pat through a nonprofit in El Paso, Texas. Their family of four was staying in one of the apartments the sisters rented.

Pat was our angel, said Jose Ramos, 37, whose daughter is disabled and needs extra support. She called us all the time to check in.

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His wife, Victoria Naranjo, 34, said Sister Pat often encouraged her to write a book about her migrant journey.

Its not easy being a migrant, Naranjo said. She thought more people should know that.

Ramos said he thinks he might have been one of the last to speak to her before she could no longer use her voice.
When the weekly newsletter from the primary school in the south of England arrived in parents inboxes at the end of June, there appeared, at first, to be nothing unusual in the contents.

In her message, the head teacher gave advance warning of a lockdown drill that would be taking place before the end of term. Staffing changes were also announced, including fond goodbyes to two teachers followed by a warm welcome to several new staff members who would be joining in September.

It was at this point that some parents became a little confused. Because among the names of the newcomers was what appeared to be a male teachers name with the honorific not of Mr, Mrs, Miss or even Ms but Mx.

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Enquiries to the school followed and the parents discovered that a new teacher who would be teaching children under eight was indeed a man. He was, parents were told, said to have neither a male nor female identity.

Staff already appeared to be referring to him as they. Meanwhile, some children had mentioned meeting the new teacher and he had been wearing nail polish and had sounded a bit like a girl. The teacher was, it seemed, non-binary, and the ripples caused by his appointment speak to the dilemma that schools face in handling gender issues today, in a fog of equality law in which schools have to balance their own legal obligations with the rights of staff and pupils.

According to Stonewall, the foremost LGBT charity in the UK, non-binary is a term for people whose gender doesnt sit comfortably with man or woman. However, legally it does not exist in the UK. Non-binary individuals are not permitted to have an X  rather than the standard M or F sex marker  on their passport.

Parents concerns

A number of parents are said to be pulling their children from the school and trying to find new places for them only weeks before the new term.

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At first I thought the Mx was a spelling mistake, one mother told The Telegraph. But when we found out he was non-binary and the staff were all calling him they and them already, I said to the head teacher: That was a bit sneaky. You didnt mention anything about his identity in the newsletter. And she just dismissed it, saying: Not really.

But I am really concerned. This will be very confusing for the children.

My son, who would be in this mans class next year, has some learning difficulties. I dont want him being told that the man in front of him isnt a he or a him. Thats very mixed up. What message is that sending out to children?

Id heard about him wearing nail polish and so I asked the head teacher whether he would be able to dress as a woman. She simply said that he would be expected to follow the school dress code  but I took that as meaning he could wear either male or female [dress].

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She adds: Some of the other parents think were just making a fuss over nothing and that its only a name and it doesnt matter what this man wears.

But I feel that this is more about what a male teacher wants  acceptance and validation from young children  rather than whats best for the children themselves.

I dont trust the school any more so Im taking my little boy out and will home-school if necessary until I find another school. Im not the only one. I know of around eight or nine families all doing the same.

Although there is no suggestion that the new teacher is anything other than professional, another parent says that the unwillingness of the head teacher to discuss the matter at a group meeting with parents is creating an atmosphere of animosity.

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Im sure this teacher is a nice guy, but if you dont know what gender you are, what else are you going to be teaching our children? he says. My daughter is already calling this man Miss and I dont know if thats because shes always had a female teacher in the past or that shes been told to call him Miss or doesnt know how to pronounce Mx. (According to gender activists it can be pronounced as either mix or mux.)

He adds: The school doesnt seem to want to answer any questions about it. We email them and they wont answer in writing. They have insisted that the only way to discuss this is by meeting us individually with a representative from the [local] council.

Some cant take time off work and others dont want a meeting where it could be one parent up against two or three school officials.

The legal situation

It is thought there are a number of teachers and teaching assistants going by the title of Mx in schools in the UK, mostly in secondary schools, and some safeguarding experts believe it is an unacceptable imposition of gender ideology.

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Non-binary is not a status with any definition or meaning in law, as confirmed by the Supreme Court, and anyone claiming to have both (or neither) male and female identities should not be working in any capacity with children, says Tracy Shaw of the Safe Schools Alliance. Safeguarding must always come first.

Campaigners Helen Joyce and Maya Forstater celebrate outside the Supreme Court in April following its ruling on the definition of a woman - Henry Nicholls

Keeping children safe in education [KCSIE] statutory guidance used to be the bedrock of safeguarding in school but more and more we see diversity and inclusion being prioritised.

KCSIE says that staff and leaders must always act in the best interests of the child, even when it is uncomfortable to do so, and adult needs, whether personal, professional or reputational, should never take precedence over a childs right to be safe.

MP Rosie Duffield says parents and teaching staff contact her about gender issues all the time.

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Professional adults should never require young children in their care to confirm or validate aspects of their private life or personal identity in a work setting, she says, adding: This person is, of course, entitled to live as they choose, but it has nothing to do with their professional paid job and raises complex, age-inappropriate issues which appear not to have been considered with much depth.

Legal experts say employers are currently in a difficult situation when employing someone who claims to be non-binary.

The teacher may have a protected belief in gender identity theory which he is manifesting, says Audrey Ludwig, an equality law consultant. But the requiring of children to use the terms Mx and they/them brings his rights into potential conflict with their and their parents rights. Whether it amounts to unlawful harassment of the children or parents is untested to my knowledge.

Peter Daly, a lawyer who specialises in employment and discrimination, says the problems lie with how the law has been interpreted. Over the past decade, an incorrect interpretation of law has arisen, which has led employers wrongly to believe that non-binary identities are legally on a par with male/female sex, he says, adding: The proliferation of this misinterpretation has led many genuinely to believe that there are formal legal requirements to recognise non-binary identities.

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When The Telegraph approached the school, a spokesman said: We have offered or scheduled individual meetings with the small number of parents who have contacted us about the matter. These meetings are the right forum for discussing any concerns. The school declined to comment on individuals or their employment, for reasons of confidentiality.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)  South Carolinas Tax-Free Weekend is underway.

It comes at a welcome time as many parents are facing higher prices while shopping for back-to-school essentials.

For three days, items such as backpacks, pencils, tablets, clothing, and even dorm room necessities can be purchased without paying the states six percent sales tax or any local taxes.

This includes both in-store and online shopping.

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As long as the item is eligible, and the sale occurs during tax-free weekend, online purchases are tax-free. Online retailers can be in-state or out-of-state, said Cydney Milling, SCDOR Deputy Director  Tax Policy Services.

Milling said this tax-free weekend is a great time to save on items you plan to use in the classroom or for school assignments, including headphones, earbuds, musical instruments, uniforms  band, sports, swimwear, and graduation caps and gowns.

You can also stock your dorm room with comforters, mattress pads and toppers, towels, pillows and pillowcases, and shower curtains  all are exempt.

Items not exempt from sales tax during the Tax Free Weekend include digital cameras, smartphones, jewelry, cosmetics, eyewear, wallets, watches, and furniture.

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Click here for a shopping checklist from the South Carolina Department of Revenue.

SCDOR said South Carolina shoppers bought more than $22 million in tax-free items during the tax-free weekend last year, and shoppers saved more than $1.3 million in sales tax.

Tax-free weekend runs through Sunday, Aug. 3.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Koreas jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol again refused to attend questioning by investigators Friday, using a new method to resist: He took off his prison uniform and lay down on the floor at his detention room.

Yoon, removed from office in April over his ill-fated imposition of martial law, was sent back to prison last month as he stands a high-stakes trial over rebellion and other charges. Yoon, a conservative, faces investigations into other criminal allegations that are not related to his Dec. 3 martial law decree but target him, his wife and others.

On Friday, Min Joong-ki, a special counsel named by his liberal rival and new President Lee Jae Myung, sent investigators to retrieve Yoon from a detention center near Seoul after the former president twice defied requests to attend questioning. Min's team is tasked with delving into allegations surrounding Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee, including that she and her husband exerted inappropriate influence on the then-ruling party's election nomination process in 2022.

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Min's team had a court-issued detention warrant that authorized them to bring Yoon out of his detention facility by force, but said they were hoping for his voluntary cooperation.

Without wearing his prison uniform, the suspect lay down on the floor and strongly resisted his detention, assistant special counsel Oh Jeong-hee told a televised briefing.

Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho separately told lawmakers that Yoon took off his shorts and short-sleeved shirt and put them back on after investigators left.

Oh said her team members refrained from using physical means out of safety concerns, but notified Yoon that they would execute the warrant next time. She urged Yoon to cooperate as the Korean people are closely watching whether the enforcement of law is applied to everyone equally.

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Yu Jeong-hwa, a lawyer for Yoon, accused the special counsel team of trampling on Yoons dignity and honor by discussing his dress in prison, according to local media reports.

Yoon's defense team earlier said Yoon was unable to attend his trial and undergo questioning by investigators because of heath problems. They said in a statement Thursday that Yoon has cardiovascular, autonomic nervous system and eye issues. They cited an unidentified hospital as saying that Yoon faces the risk of blindness because he failed to receive medical treatment for the past three months.

Yoon's imposition of martial law, which brought armed troops into Seoul streets, lasted only several hours before lawmakers voted down his decree unanimously.

Yoon has argued his decree was a desperate attempt to draw public support of his fight against the wickedness of Lee's Democratic Party, then the main opposition party which had obstructed his agenda, impeached top officials and slashed the governments proposed budget.
South Korea's impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol lay on his prison cell floor in his underwear to resist attempts to interrogate him, prosecutors said Friday.

Prosecutors obtained a fresh arrest warrant on Thursday to forcibly bring the former leader in for questioning over allegations of election tampering.

However, they were "unable to do so due to his strong refusal", prosecutor Oh Jeong-hee told reporters.

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"The suspect refused arrest while lying on the floor without wearing his prison-issued clothing," she said.

"Due to concerns over safety incidents, physical force was withheld, and the execution of the warrant was temporarily suspended."

Yoon was wearing "a sleeveless top and prison-issued briefs," prosecutors said, calling it the "most appropriate way" to describe his attire given the "serious nature of the situation".

There was no information on the colour of his underclothing, they added.

Prosecutors informed Yoon they would have to carry out physical force if necessary in the next attempt.

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Yoon was arrested after he tried to impose martial law on December 3, sending troops to parliament to prevent lawmakers from voting down his declaration and plunging the country into political turmoil.

He faces a litany of charges, from insurrection to election tampering, but has refused multiple times to appear at his summons.

Yoon's legal team said the prosecutors had shown a "disturbing disregard" for "basic human decency".

"The special counsel turned what should have been a press briefing into a stage for personal humiliation," Yoon's lawyer Yoo Jeong-hwa told AFP.

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"What kind of legal institution in a civilised country gives a real-time report and commentary to journalists on a detainee's clothing, especially in a cramped cell nearing 40 degrees (Celsius) (104 degrees Fahrenheit)?"

Yoon's lawyers said the former president suffers from "several underlying conditions that pose significant challenges to maintaining his health", making it difficult for him to fully cooperate with the investigation.

hs/dhw
A Southern California man was sentenced to 111 years to life in prison for raping and sexually assaulting five women he met through dating apps and social media.

Dustin Ronald Alba, 30, of Oxnard, was convicted of the crimes by a jury on June 9, the Ventura County District Attorneys Office announced. On July 31, he was sentenced for the crimes.

The crimes occurred from 2012 to 2020 and took place in locations across Thousand Oaks, Oxnard and Los Angeles.

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Many of Albas victims met him through dating apps or social media. They would typically meet up in person before being forced into sexual acts by Alba, prosecutors said.

Despite repeated pleas for him to stop, he would use his body weight to pin down the victims and ignore their objections, court documents said.

In an August 2020 incident, Alba met up with a woman he had connected with on a dating app. The woman told him ahead of their meeting that she was not looking to hook up.

Dustin Ronald Alba, 30, of Oxnard, was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting five women he met through dating apps and social media. (Ventura County Sheriffs Office)

They spent the day together before ending up at his home. Thats when Alba ripped her clothing, pulled her onto the bed, and proceeded to digitally penetrate and rape her, against her will, court documents said.

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Out of fear, the woman complied. She immediately reported the rape to law enforcement when she left his home.

While the Ventura County Sheriffs Office investigated the case, Albas cell phone was searched and detectives discovered text messages showing other women who had been victimized, sexually assaulted and raped by him.

Four additional victims were later found. One of the victims was under 18 years old at the time, authorities said.

On June 9, Alba was convicted of nine felony counts of forcible sex acts, including rape, sodomy and attempted forcible rape, on five separate victims.

Special allegations found true included that there were multiple victims, that he took advantage of a position of trust, the victims were vulnerable and that he had engaged in violent conduct.

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The defendants sexual violence caused profound harm to many victims, warranting the sentence imposed, said Rosa Romero, a Ventura County deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case. While nothing can erase the pain endured, it is my hope that the victims will begin to heal.

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A Victorville man was found guilty of transporting a girl to Mexico for illicit sexual activity just before her quinceanera, with evidence showing he wanted to impregnate her, the FBI announced Friday.

Court documents confirmed 41-year-old Daniel Navarro was found guilty on all federal charges late Thursday, three years after his July 2022 arrest. He was convicted of the following: two counts of sexual exploitation of a child to produce a sexually explicit visual depiction, one count of attempted enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of transporting a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.

The four-day-long trial found that Navarro, who sometimes went by the alias Angel, began this slew of crimes by posing online as a teenage boy to entice the teenage victim into having a sexual relationship.

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Evidence pulled from one of Navarros Instagram accounts revealed his online conversations with the teenager, where he professed his love for this victim and discussed having sex with her to impregnate her, stated the FBI.

The victim, only identified as a 15-year-old girl from Arizona, was spending her summer in the Central Coast town of Nipomo at the time. It was not immediately made clear by officials how long the two had been communicating before she was taken.

During the same summer, Navarro brought the girl from San Luis Obispo County to Tijuana, Mexico, with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity  just before her quinceanera.

Authorities arrested Navarro 10 days later, when he entered the United States from Mexico. The FBI said Mexican authorities rescued the girl from a Tijuana residence after Navarros arrest.

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The trial later revealed that Navarro also used Instagram to exchange child pornography with the victim and also carried those photos on his phone while traveling between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Luis Obispo County before returning to Tijuana. The evidence at trial also showed that Navarro used Instagram to persuade, induce, and entice another second victim to send him sexual images, stated the FBI.

A federal judge scheduled an Oct. 24 sentencing hearing, at which time Navarro will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.

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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH)  A new mural is being painted on Binghamtons Southside.

The mural will honor Vietnam war heroes at the site of an old memorial that was moved to Veterans Park on Conklin Avenue. Southside Commons was initially chosen as the memorials site because of its proximity to Hannigans Bar, which was owned and ran by a former World War II Veteran.

During the Vietnam War era, customers who were drafted or enlisted had their names written on a wall in the bar. This mural will pay homage to Vietnam Veterans as it will feature young men playing pool at a bar and then transition to them as soldiers reading letters from home.

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One of the Department of Public Arts founding members, Mark Bowers says that this mural will be unlike anything theyve done before.

We thought doing this would be unique, itd be the first time weve ever done this before, says Bowers. And I think as they say, the proof will be in the pudding.

Artists Larry and Phil Guidici are currently working on the cement work of the mural. After that is complete, artist Jackie Conti will put on the finishing touches by completing the final painting.

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Southwest Airlines has been undergoing a pretty drastic transformation in recent months, changing several longstanding policies highlighted by its new bag fees and charges for seat selection. Now, the company has announced yet another policy change that will impact Southwest's larger customers.

With Southwest now charging for seat selection and moving away from its longtime open-seating policy to an assigned seating model, Southwest has also made some policy changes that will impact its plus-size customers.

Southwest Airlines has long had a Customer of Size policy, which helps accommodate customers who may need to use more than one seat.

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Under the current policy, customers who encroach on the seat next to them are required to purchase an additional seat. However, if that seat is not necessary, Southwest has offered refunds after the flight. However, the refund policy has now changed, Southwest confirmed this week.

For flights on or after January 27, 2026, Southwest will only refund additional seats if, the flight departs with at least one open seat (or with passengers traveling on space-available passes), both seats are purchased in the same fare class, and the refund request is submitted within 90 days of the travel date, according to Upgraded Points.

Additionally, the boarding policy has changed.

"With the move to group boarding and assigned seating, customers of size will no longer be allowed to preboard. If a traveler arrives at the airport without reserving the space they need and its determined an additional seat is required, theyll need to purchase it on the spot at the day-of-travel fare," Juan Ruiz wrote for Upgraded Points.

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"Additionally, if there arent 2 adjacent seats available or the flight is sold out, Southwest will rebook the passenger for a later flight with the necessary space. Thats why the carrier strongly encourages eligible travelers to book any extra seating in advance so there are no surprises on their travel day."

With all of these policy changes, Southwest Airlines will not feel like the same airline in the coming months.

Southwest Airlines Confirms Changes to Yet Another Policy first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 31, 2025
By Joey Roulette

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An international crew of four astronauts launched toward the International Space Station from Florida on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a routine NASA mission that could be the first of many to last a couple months longer than usual.

The four-person crew - two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and Japanese astronaut - boarded SpaceX's Dragon capsule sitting atop its Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and beat gloomy weather to blast off at 11:43 a.m. ET (1543 GMT). After a roughly 16 hour flight, they will arrive at the ISS at around 3 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday.

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While normal crew rotation missions last roughly six months, the Crew-11 crew may be the first to settle into a new routine time of eight months, intended to better align U.S. mission schedules with Russia's missions, NASA said.

Over the next few months, NASA officials will monitor the health of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which remains docked to the ISS, before committing the mission to a full eight months.

Thursday's mission, called Crew-11, includes NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui.

A previous attempt to launch on Thursday was scratched at the last minute because of bad weather.

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A delegation of senior Russian space officials, including the head of Russia's space agency, Dmitry Bakanov, was in Florida for the launch attempt on Thursday, but it was unclear whether they stayed in town for Friday's launch.

Their visit on Thursday included the first face-to-face meeting between the heads of NASA and Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, since 2018. Roscosmos said Bakanov and acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy discussed continued ISS operations and cooperation on the moon.

The space cooperation is a bright spot in otherwise largely frosty U.S.-Russia relations since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

However, apart from ISS cooperation, Russia's invasion isolated Moscow's space program from the West and foiled plans to cooperate on NASA's Artemis moon program. Russia opted to partner on China's moon program, which rivals Artemis.

No new commitments on any space programs were made during the brief meeting between Bakanov and Duffy, a person familiar with the discussion said.

(Reporting by Joey RouletteEditing by Frances Kerry)
Law enforcement officers have reportedly conducted a search at the residence of Rostyslav Shurma, former Deputy Head of the Office of the President, in Germany.

Source: Spiegel

Details: "Rostyslav Shurma was Deputy Head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyys Office. At the request of Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators, Bavarian investigators carried out a search at his house in the town of Starnberg (Bavaria)," Spiegel states.

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Spiegel reported that the investigative actions took place on 15 July.

According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, on the same day, Shurma  who has not appeared in Ukraine since leaving the country in 2024  called a senior official from the Office of the President and informed them that detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, together with German law enforcement, had conducted a search at his residence in a suburb of Munich and seized his phone.

Spiegel emphasises that the Bavarian investigators searched Shurmas property in Starnberg based on a mutual legal assistance request from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

Background:

Earlier, Ukrainska Pravda's sources reported that in mid-July, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine conducted a search at Rostyslav Shurma's residence in a suburb of Munich, Germany. Shurma was the official overseeing the entire economic sector on behalf of President Zelenskyys Office.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the search at Shurmas residence was one of the final straws for President Zelenskyy, who, a week later, publicly accused the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutions Office of being "ineffective" and signed a law significantly limiting the independence of these institutions.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Jul. 31Alaska Airlines will soon add year-round, daily service to Orange County, Calif., starting in January, according to news release from Spokane International Airport.

The daily service will begin on Jan. 7 from Spokane to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif.

"This new route not only reflects a growing demand for nonstop service to the Los Angeles region, particularly Orange County  one of Spokane's top underserved markets  but importantly creates more convenient nonstop and connection opportunities for our guests," Kirsten Amrine, a vice president at Alaska Airlines, said in a news release.

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The new daily flights will depart John Wayne Airport at 11:15 a.m. and arrive in Spokane at 2:15 p.m. Out of the Lilac City, the flight departs at 4:30 p.m. and arrives in Orange County at 7:16 p.m.

"We're honored by Alaska Airlines' support of this vision and additional investment in the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene region," Frank Miller, interim CEO of Spokane Airports, said in the release. "More than 400 Inland Northwest passengers travel per day each way between GEG and the Los Angeles area, and we look forward to supporting Alaska's efforts to increase connectivity to this key market."
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA)  A Springfield attorney is being fined and could face additional penalties after admitting to using artificial intelligence in briefs where he cited eight nonexistent cases  a situation that may be the first of its kind in the Illinois Appellate Court.

On Nov. 4, 2024, the circuit court of Sangamon County appointed Springfield attorney William T. Panichi to represent someone in an accelerated appeal from the termination of the respondents parental rights filed under an Illinois Supreme Court rule.

Springfield arson suspect denied pretrial release

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An opinion filed on July 21, 2025 by Carla Bender in the Fourth District Appellate Court states that following an in-depth review of the briefs, the court recognized that Panichi cited eight apparently nonexistent cases in the respondents opening and reply briefs. In one instance, he provided a direct quote from one of these cases.

Being concerned that the respondents briefs contained citations to apparently nonexistent cases, this court ordered Panichi to file copies of the following cases:

In re M.F., 2022 IL App (2d) 210614

In re A.G., 2022 IL App (1st) 220119

In re R.C., 195 Ill. App. 3d 827 (1st Dist. 1990)

In re R.D.S., 2021 IL App (2d) 200092

In re M.H., Jr., 196 Ill. App. 3d 976 (1st Dist. 1990)

In re Brandon E., 382 Ill. App. 3d 389 (2d Dist. 2008)

In re K.L.P., 381 Ill. App. 3d 817 (4th Dist. 2008)

In re Ca. B., 386 Ill. App. 3d 507 (2d Dist. 2008)

Panichi was then further ordered to appear before this court personally and to show why he should not be sanctioned.

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As a result, on June 16, 2025, Panichi filed a two-page response to this courts rule. In part of his response, he stated that two of the eight cases accused of being nonexistent were valid, published Illinois Appellate Court decisions and were properly cited.

He also said that another one of the cases is a valid published decision but was incorrectly cited. Later in his response, Panichi admitted that the five remaining citations in the Appellants Brief were determined to be nonexistent or invalid.

UPDATE: Springfields 6th Street, Oberlin Ave reopen after crash

On June 18, 2025, he appeared before the court and acknowledged he was familiar with principles in the Illinois Supreme Court and rules of the states Professional Conduct. He also said that he was compensated for his work at the rate of $150 per hour for a total of $6,925.

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Panichi later said that the payment he received for this case was more than [he] usually charges[s] and that this case was out of the ordinary in terms of time spent because his office did some exceptional work trying to get some other information before the court by filing a brief trying to open up the proofs, but he did not remember the exact matter.

Addressing Panichis response, the court pointed out to him that despite his claims that two of the cases were valid and properly cited, he had actually cited in his brief two completely different citations.

He said that he was not currently familiar with the content of the cases but claimed he had been so at one time. He also admitted that he did not read either of these decisions prior to filing his response to the courts rule to show cause.

Panichi said he misread the courts rule to show cause as citing Brandon A., when it cited Brandon E. He also acknowledged that he did not list a citation for Brandon E. in his response and never looked up whether Brandon E. existed.

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Springfield man arrested after search reveals 59 bags of suspected fentanyl, cocaine, more

The court said during the hearing that a case Panichi claimed to have intended to cite did not contain the quotation for which he cited in his reply brief. He then admitted he did not know where he obtained the quote and did not believe it was accurate.

As a result, the court stated that Panichi may have mislead the court.

Later on, Panichi said his incorrect citations in the briefs he attached to his response to the rule to show cause might be an example of poor lawyering, poor arguing, stretching principles, I dont have an answer for that.

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On the other hand, he then claimed that to the best of [his] knowledge, [these cases] were cited for the appropriate principles. However, he did admit that he had only read one of the three cases he attached to his response and could not remember which one.

This court then turned to Panichis response and asked about how the five nonexistent citations appeared in his brief. At first, he clarified that he did not claim to have an excuse, just an explanation.

Suspect arrested after attempted kidnapping in Springfield

Panichi then admitted that in preparing the briefs and conducting research in this case, he used artificial intelligence to write a draft of the brief, then looked it over and [he] did not read the cases that were in support of the brief.

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He further explained that at the time he filed the briefs, he was both extremely busy and not thorough enough. Panichi stated that his use of AI was prompted by a perfect storm of temptation of AI out there at a time when [he] was busy and trying to meet deadlines.

Panichi also claimed to have since learned about AI hallucinations, in which the AI dreams things up when it doesnt have an answer. He acknowledged that he should have read the cases that the AI presented to him and admitted he was between research software when he prepared the briefs.

He told the court he did not intend to use AI anymore going forward.

Panichi admitted that the whole thing stems from the fact that [he] barely did any personal work [him]self on this appeal. He further said he was careless and reckless in his actions and said he was wrong for what he did.

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He also acknowledged that while he relied on the legal assistant in his Springfield office a great deal, he, as the attorney, was ultimately responsible in this matter.

Sangamon, Menard Co. Crime Stoppers seeking tips in 2024 homicide

As a result of this situation, Panichi has been ordered the following sanctions:

He must disgorge the payment of $6,925.62 he received for his work on this appeal to the Sangamon County treasurer within 30 days of the filing of this opinion and must submit, within five days after payment, a receipt to this court reflecting the payment

He must pay $1,000 as monetary sanctions to the clerk of the Fourth District Appellate Court within 30 days of the filling of this opinion

The clerk of the Fourth District Appellate Court shall send a copy of this opinion to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission

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The opinion also stated that this appears to be the first issued opinion in the Illinois Appellate Court to address the citation of fictiti ous ca ses generated by AI, and the additional penalty of $1,000 was issued to help deter other attorneys from following in Panichis footsteps.

Panichi shared the following statement with WCIA as a result of this opinion:

I want to apologize to the Appellate Court for the extra trouble I put them through. I am responsible for this without any excuse, and I am working on closing out my practice appropriately and surrendering my license. Attorney William T. Panichi

The opinion also stated that nothing within it is intended to categorically forbid attorneys from using AI tools. The Illinois Supreme Court AI policy even explicitly permits the use of AI. However, it urges attorneys to use AI tools wisely.

We reiterate the supreme courts reminder that [a]ll users must thoroughly review AI-generated content before submitting it in any court proceeding to ensure accuracy and compliance with legal and ethical obligations.AI Policy, supra, part of the opinion states.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW)  A possible benefit for property owners could cause funding challenges for local libraries.

Discussions about changes in property tax laws in Missouri, highlighted by statewide discussions about the future of the tax, have raised concerns about the future funding stability of libraries statewide, including the two library systems which serve St. Joseph.

St. Joseph is served by two library systems: the St. Joseph Public Library and the Rolling Hills Library. Although both systems have library foundations and private donors who help support them, it's estimated that over 90% of their funding comes from property taxes assessed within boundary lines.

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Those lines are set by laws that prevent residents from being double taxed" for libraries. St. Joseph Public is funded by taxes assessed within the boundary of the 1965 city limits of St. Joseph. Rolling Hills is a county-based system that serves Andrew County and portions of Buchanan County through taxes assessed to properties outside of the 1965 city limits of St. Joseph.

Michelle Mears, the Rolling Hills library director, said its new library, which is projected to open in 2026, is not affected directly by changes in property taxes, but the future of its staffing activities would be.

"Our future operations could well be affected," Mears said. "If we lose a significant part of our funding, who is going to pay the electric bill, and how are we going to pay staff?"

Mary Beth Revels, St. Joseph Public Library Director, echoes those concerns, noting that while no one enjoys paying taxes, libraries are just one of the many community necessities that come from property taxes in Missouri.

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"Tax revenues support cities and schools," Revels said. "It also supports libraries, and when that revenue is frozen, then our budget doesn't grow, even though our expenses continue to grow.

Tune in to News-Press NOW at 5 p.m. on Thursday for this Special Report.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO.  Saint Louis Countys Pet Adoption Center issues an urgent appeal to the community to provide foster or adoptive homes for 60 dogs.

Officials are hoping to find homes for the dogs by next Friday, Aug. 8, to address a large number of dogs onsite.

We are deeply committed to providing the best possible care for all animals in the shelter. However, the current capacity crisis is overwhelming, and we urgently need the support of our community to help us continue our lifesaving efforts, said Dr. Kanika Cunningham, director of the Department of Public Health, via a news release Friday.

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Finding temporary or permanent homes for the dogs currently in our care is crucial as we are over capacity, said Malik Johnson, Division Manager for Animal Care and Control. We are asking for the support of our community and appealing to the shared responsibility we all have for the welfare of these animals.

Those interested in helping by fostering or adopting a dog are urged to reach out to the

Pet Adoption Center directly. For more information, click here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
St. Paul mayor: Cybersecurity risk 'very low' for most amid breach to city's IT systems originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

Most people in St. Paul don't need to worry about their personal information being stolen as a result of the cyberattack identified by the city on its information systems late last week, according to Mayor Melvin Carter.

During a press conference on Thursday, the mayor said the risk of average residents being impacted from a cybersecurity standpoint "is very low." That said, the breach remains under investigation, and it's still unclear whether city employee information related to payroll has been accessed illegally.

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"In fact, the city maintains very little data," Carter said. "The city doesn't have social security numbers on random residents. The city doesn't maintain that type of sensitive information on community members who don't have some type of fiscal relationship with the city in that way."

The city has advised its staff to take measures to protect their digital footprints, like resetting passwords and monitor their online bank accounts.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter speaks during a press conference on Thursday.

"We do not have any specific information to tell us that employee data has been stolen, but like I said, out of an abundance of caution because we cannot rule it out, that's advice that we are providing," Carter said.

Carter declared a local State of Emergency on Tuesday related to "a deliberate, coordinated digital attack" that was detected on the city's network last Friday. He said the city initiated a "full shutdown" of the city's information systems on Monday as a "defensive measure" to stop the spread of the cyberattack.

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During the Thursday press conference, Carter didn't share any information related to the investigation, including who's behind it and what's their motive.

The city is working with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, plus two national firms, to trace the source and scope of the breach. That includes the Minnesota National Guard, which Gov. Tim Walz activated on Tuesday.

Emergency services are fully operational in St. Paul, but some backend software challenges are continuing as the city's servers remain down. Carter said there's no specific timeline for when everything will be back up and running.

"For the vast majority of people who live, work and play in this city, we're sure that none of their personal, sensitive information has been accessed through this crime," Carter said on Thursday.

This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
Standing outside the George Latimer Central Library by downtown Rice Park, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter told a group of news crews that 911 calls will get through, police and fire will respond to calls for service, and municipal pools, beaches and libraries will remain open despite a week-long cyber-attack that has forced City Hall to unplug itself from most of its Internet-based information systems.

Our city employees will receive their paychecks as normal, said Carter, noting some departments are reverting to manual record-keeping to log employee hours. Thats a goal that we actually even prioritized above getting our networks back on. Its going to require a lot of work, and its going to feel different than it did the last pay cycle.

What the mayor was not able to confirm is when the security breach, which was first detected last Friday, would be fully contained.

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Carter said he was unaware of any personnel data that had been obtained by the unidentified cyberattackers or of a request for ransom, but he acknowledged the city is not leading the criminal investigation, which has roped in the FBI and the Minnesota National Guards cyber security unit.

Ongoing forensic analysis

The mayor said the city is undergoing a forensic analysis  ensuring the efficacy and the cleanliness of all (city) servers before bringing them back all online.

This is an incredibly fluid environment, Carter added. We have had moments where it felt like there was less activity, even over the weekend, and then all a sudden theres more activity happening.

Key city services such as online bill payments have been waylaid by the citys precautionary decision to unplug itself as of Monday morning from most internet networks, though some cloud-based services have been brought back online.

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A spokesperson for St. Paul Public Works said road construction continued uninterrupted, and the mayor emphasized that St. Paul Police squad cars will still respond to emergencies, though theyll do so by phone and radio dispatch, and without the aid of squad laptops.

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Delay in informing the public

Some have questioned why the city chose to wait four days until Tuesday morning to go public with the breach and call a local state of emergency.

Carter and other city officials have said it wasnt until Monday that they realized the citys Office of Technology and Communications would not be able to handle the breach on its own and that federal authorities and national experts would have to be called in. Shortly afterward, Gov. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard.

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I can only assume that the threat actor is listening in on every word that we say, the mayor said. We wanted to publicly communicate as soon as we could when we were in a space where we could reasonably believe we had set up the defenses we wanted to set up.

When city officials determined they could not rule out that city personnel data had been compromised, the mayor changed course and alerted workers and residents to the attack on Tuesday, Carter said.

The realization that there was a possibility of city employee information having been accessed, at the point where that became something that I couldnt rule out, it felt imperative to say that out loud to our city employees as soon as possible, he added.

Carter said the city took several steps over the last few years to boost the citys security efforts, including establishing a full-time chief information security officer to train and educate city staff on internet threats. Earlier this year, he said, the city launched a major network infrastructure and modernization effort  to strengthen our defenses against cyber-crime.

Emergency declaration

The mayors emergency declaration, issued Tuesday, gives him temporary powers to coordinate resources across departments at a moments notice, leapfrogging over typical procedures such as getting spending approvals from the city council or putting requests for assistance out to bid.

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The St. Paul City Council will meet at noon Friday to discuss extending those emergency powers, and Ramsey County officials are expected to declare their own state of local emergency on Tuesday.

Ramsey County Board Chair Rafael Ortega said the declaration is largely technical, as it would allow the city to apply to the state down the line for reimbursement of funds spent on the emergency.

Ortega said while Ramsey County shares many functions with the city, such as a Public Health department, county government has taken pains to detach itself from the citys Internet-based information systems.

Weve had zero problems, he said.

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A drone show celebrating the St. Pete Piers fifth anniversary was called off nearly an hour and a half after it was scheduled to begin Sunday following an intense rainstorm that soaked equipment.

St. Petersburg city officials told City Council members in an email Thursday evening that the event has been rescheduled for Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. The city is also holding Oct. 19 as a rain date.

City Development Managing Director Beth Herendeen wrote in an email that the 1,000 drones were preset in Vinoy Park and covered, with control equipment under a tent, when an intense rainstorm began around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

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Prior to the storm, the equipment was wrapped, and the tent was lowered, however, the amount of rain, coupled with the wind and saturated ground damaged multiple drones and some computer equipment, she wrote.

Herendeen said the drone company, Sky Elements from Texas, dried and replaced computers and drones and rebooted their system several times. But its workers could not restore the system to the point that they felt the computers were communicating with all the drones properly, and for safety reasons were forced to cancel.

Many people who arrived for the 9 p.m. event took to the citys Facebook page to complain that a DJ kept repeating that the show will go on, only for the city to announce around 10:29 p.m. that it was canceled.

St. Petersburg spent $425,000 on the monthlong Pier celebration. The city budgeted $725,000 for the event but reduced that amount last year at the urging of City Council members and the public. The drone show cost at least $115,000.

Editors note: This story has been updated to correct the estimated cost of the drone show.
One person was reportedly killed and two others hospitalized after a stabbing early Friday during Santa Barbaras iconic Old Spanish Days celebration  the multi-day Fiesta that draws thousands of visitors each year.

The attack happened just after midnight near a bar on the 500 block of State Street, in the heart of downtown, where crowds had gathered for the festivals second night. It happened near a bar that was not part of an official Fiesta event.

According to the Santa Barbara Police Department, officers on foot patrol for Fiesta were flagged down at about 12:23 a.m. by a passerby who reported a man with a knife.

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Responding officers quickly found a man with a stab wound lying on the ground. Two more stabbing victims were located nearby, police said. Officers immediately began rendering emergency aid while awaiting paramedics.

The 500 block of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara is seen during the week-long Fiesta celebration. July 2025. (KTLA) A bar on the 500 block of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara is seen during the week-long Fiesta celebration. July 2025. (KTLA) The 500 block of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara is seen during the week-long Fiesta celebration. July 2025. (KTLA) The 500 block of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara is seen during the week-long Fiesta celebration. July 2025. (KTLA) A bar on the 500 block of State Street in downtown Santa Barbara is seen during the week-long Fiesta celebration. July 2025. (KTLA)

Santa Barbara Fire crews and AMR units arrived and transported all three victims to Cottage Hospital. Their conditions have not yet been released.

Local news station KEYT reports that one of the victims has died and a suspect has been taken into custody, according to police. KTLA has not independently confirmed the fatality or arrest.

A large section of State Street was cordoned off overnight as detectives conducted a crime scene investigation around The Red Piano.

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Police say the attack appears to be an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to public safety. No arrests have been publicly announced as of Friday morning.

Our police department was on the scene of todays State Street stabbing scene in moments to render aid and immediately find anyone involved, stated Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse. Thank you to the valuable witnesses who helped our officers, fire department and AMR at the scene. All city resources are deployed to make sure everyone has a safe Fiesta weekend at all of the events taking place and throughout downtown. If you see something of concern always say something and call the police.

The incident comes during the 101st annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta  a beloved tradition dating back to 1924 that celebrates Santa Barbaras Spanish, Mexican, and Indigenous heritage through parades, dancing, music, and food. The event transforms city-wide areas like downtown streets, plazas, and landmarks like the Mission for the five-day street festival, drawing tens of thousands of residents and visitors each summer.

Anyone with photos, video, or information about the incident is urged to contact the Santa Barbara Police Department at 805-882-8900.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
The Brief

A man is in custody after police say he barricaded himself inside a home on Eugenia Place after firing at officers during a drug-related raid.

Officials say no one was injured in the SWAT standoff and that the man was arrested after officers entered the home. Authorities say they have made other arrests in connection with the case.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is expected to join the case due to the involvement of an officer discharging a weapon.

MARIETTA, Ga. - An overnight SWAT stand at a home in Cobb County has ended with multiple people facing charges.

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The standoff happened for hours on Thursday night at a home on Eugenia Place after officials say a man barricaded himself inside and started shooting at law enforcement officers during a drug-related raid.

Eugenia Place warrant being served

What we know

The warrant was being served at a home along Eugenia Place, off Austell Powder Springs Road.

According to the Cobb County Police Department, officers approached a residence to execute a search warrant when someone inside fired at them.

A member of the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna (MCS) Drug Task Force returned fire, according to law enforcement officials.

That officer is not affiliated with the Cobb County Police Department but is part of the task force.

Law enforcement officials surround the scene of an officer-involved shooting and SWAT standoff along Eugenia Place off Austell Powder Springs Road in Cobb County on July 31, 2025. (FOX 5)

After hours of trying to contact the man, officials say SWAT members entered the home and took him into custody.

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No one was injured in the operation, authorities told FOX 5.

On Friday, investigators identified the suspect as 36-year-old Jose Azanza Cruz of Austell. Cruz is charged with three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

After searching the home, deputies say they seized drugs, a firearm and other evidence.

Authorities tell FOX 5 that they made multiple arrests in connection with the case but did not release any further details about who was in custody.

What they're saying

"We can confirm that no officers were injured in this incident." said Officer Wilson, public information officer for the Cobb County Police Department.

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Due to the joint nature of the MCS Task Force, determining which agency fired a weapon can be complicated. "This is a little confusing because it is an MCS incident," Wilson said. "There are multiple different agencies represented within this task force."

Law enforcement officials surround the scene of an officer-involved shooting and SWAT standoff along Eugenia Place off Austell Powder Springs Road in Cobb County on July 31, 2025. (FOX 5)

What is the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna Narcotics Task Force?

Dig deeper

The incident involves the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna (MCS) Narcotics Task Force, a multi-agency unit made up of officers from across Cobb County, including those from Marietta, Smyrna, and other local departments. While the task force operates under the Cobb County Sheriff's Office, its members are deputized from various jurisdictions within the county.

What's next

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is expected to join the case, as is standard protocol whenever an officer discharges a weapon.

What you can do

If you have any information that could help with the investigation, call the Cobb County Police Departments Organized Crime Unit at (770) 499-4111.

The Source

The Cobb County Police Department provided the details for this article.
Starbucks plans to build a new chain location at the former Biwater Industries site in Clay Cross, North East Derbyshire, according to the Derbyshire Times. The council application includes proposals for large illuminated brand signs that nearby residents are vehemently opposing.

What's happening?

Starbucks plans to place large illuminated advertisement signs outside the proposed new chain establishment. According to Derbyshire Times, one of these signs will measure 9 meters tall, or about 29.5 feet. This sign would loom over the building itself, which is only about 7 meters or 23 feet tall.

Residents have written to the North East Derbyshire District Council to express their objections to Starbucks's proposed signs.

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"The excess height of this sign will be intrusive to the surrounding residential properties immediately opposite. ... The illuminated nature of such a sign will create light pollution for the surrounding houses and the St Modwen development in general.  Any sign mounted in this location should be no higher than the 2.5m to keep it below the surrounding houses' upstairs living areas," wrote Christopher Green, resident at Miners Avenue in Clay Cross, per Derbyshire Times.

"The cumulative effect of this extensive illumination will cause significant light pollution that will directly and detrimentally impact our home," wrote Morne Dercksen, per Derbyshire Times. He called the massive sign a "terrible idea."

Residents in Austin, Texas, were similarly frustrated by Tesla's shocking amount of light pollution from Tesla's new Gigafactory last year.

Why is light pollution concerning?

Exposure to artificial light, particularly at night, has detrimental effects on human health.

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Humans use the natural day and night cycle to regulate their sleep cycles, which can be disrupted by artificial light sources, such as a large illuminated sign.

With the sign towering over the establishment and situated on an elevated point, the impact of the sign's lights may disrupt the sleep schedules and subsequent health of nearby residents.

Wildlife that depend on moonlight for migration, such as birds and turtles, may become confused and lost when following the illumination of artificial light sources in the sky. According to National Geographic, many often die embarking on migration journeys and being misguided by artificial light sources.

Running a large illuminated sign continuously also uses significant energy, even when it is not truly necessary, which goes against Starbucks's commitment to a sustainable future.

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While the company has taken steps to implement sustainability initiatives, such as rolling out a new cup design to improve the recyclability of its cups and launching a ceramic mug standard  offering free in-store refills for customers  Starbucks has also taken steps backward, such as implementing a daily AI virtual assistant, a technology notorious for large amounts of energy consumption.

How can I help?

You can help reduce light pollution at home by minimizing your outdoor lighting. Motion sensor outdoor lighting provides lighting when needed, but avoids unnecessary light pollution.

Your town may also have street lighting, which can help improve nighttime safety. You can advocate for the use of warmer-colored bulbs instead of blue-light bulbs, which minimize the extent of light emissions.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal judges overturned a Baton Rouge mans murder conviction Thursday.

The court reversed Curtis Lee Stewart Jr.s second-degree murder conviction and life sentence due to insufficient evidence. The case stemmed from an April 2021 shooting near a store on Prescott Road that left Devonta Ennis dead.

Judges wrote that the trial courts conclusion that shots were fired by Stewart was speculative, given the lack of physical evidence tying him to the case.

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Very simply put, if two vehicles were involved, and we have no evidence putting the defendant in either vehicle at the time of the shooting, and we cannot say that the defendant was the shooter, the State failed to negate a reasonable probability of misidentification, the panel of three judges stated.

The judge in Stewarts 2023 bench trial was Judge Eboni Johnson Rose, who was suspended by the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2025 after findings of judicial misconduct. Johnson Rose returns to the 19th Judicial District Court, but will be assigned to a civil docket starting Aug. 11.

Man found guilty of murder in death of 2-year-old Nevaeh Allen appeals conviction

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
CALHOUN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  When Hurricane Michael hit the panhandle in 2018, it didnt take long for Calhoun-Liberty Hospital administrators to realize theyd need a new facility.

For the last seven years, theyve been working out of the section of the old facility that they were able to salvage.

The new state-of-the-art Calhoun Liberty Hospital is set to expand access, enhance patient care, and bring cutting-edge medical technology to the region, opening to patients on August 17th.

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The advancement of the type of care that were going to be able to provide a higher acuity, said Calhoun Liberty Hospital CEO Emily Brown. Weve got built-in telemetry and built-in monitoring, and weve got an expanded E.R. extension and our lab services. But also additional new services such as the cardiac pulmonary rehab, outpatient therapies, were soon to offer mobile MRI, and cardiac diagnostic procedures such as echocardiograms. So all of these things together will bring large health care resources for our residents.

Calhoun Liberty Hospital is a critical access facility, serving a rural area that is more than an hour from the next closest hospitals.

FSU Panama City nurse anesthesia students start next chapter

This is a good example of what healthcare in the future will be, said Former State Senator Bill Montford. This facility is state of the art, weve got a good staff here. And it was mentioned earlier, but when businesses are looking at communities, theres really two things they take a look at and that is what kind of education system do you have, and healthcare system do you have? 

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With a good education system and a new state-of-the-art hospital, Calhoun County is anticipating future growth.

Im a fourth-generation panhandle native, and so I was born and raised in Panama City, and now I live in Crawfordville, said OVID Solutions CEO Julie Dennis. This is my stomping grounds. And so this is where my friends go to get health care. This is where they go to the doctor. This is where I go to the doctor. And Im just so excited for this community. Its going to be such an asset for moving to the future.

Calhoun Liberty staff are looking forward to caring for their patients in the new facility.

Im excited for it because I see in a hospital setting, when I on staff, just what certain disease processes do to the patients, said Respiratory Therapy Service Director Sandra Schul. So the fact that they have a rehab and they can grow and get healthier, little by little, instead of just being inpatient and sending them home, they can come back and come to the rehab.

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Hospital officials are already hoping to fund Phase 2 of Calhoun Liberty Hospital, which would add a second floor and provide even more space.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) can once again be described as a confirmed far-right extremist party in the eastern state of Brandenburg following the dismissal of an urgent application by the party.

The Interior Ministry of the state which surrounds Berlin on Friday cited several conclusions from the report on the classification of the party, which is to be published on August 14.

The AfD Brandenburg represents positions that are not compatible with Germany's de facto constitution, or Basic Law. It is highly xenophobic, partly racist and primarily targets Muslims, it said.

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The AfD Brandenburg imagines itself in a "spiritual civil war" and longs for "revolutionary conditions" to abolish the "party state," according to the statement.

The party does not recognize the people of the state as a community of equal citizens, it said, adding that it excludes German citizens who have a different cultural or religious background; It also aims to establish a state hostile to freedom, which would undermine pluralism and the existence of diversity.

AfD wants quick publication

The domestic intelligence agency, known as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, had classified the AfD branch in Brandenburg as a confirmed far-right extremist party, having previously been a suspected case.

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The AfD responded with an urgent application and a lawsuit. It called on Brandenburg Interior Minister Rene Wilke in mid-July to make the report on the classification public so that the public could learn the reasons for the step.

The minister pointed out to the AfD that its legal action had itself ensured confidentiality. He urged the party to clear the way for publication. Last week, the AfD withdrew its urgent application. However, the lawsuit in the main proceedings remains.
Eric Doster, attorney for Small Business for Better Michigan, proposes changes to the proposed summary language for the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Supporters and opponents of a proposed constitutional amendment to fund schools with a new tax on wealthy Michiganders came out in force on Thursday, as members of the Board of State Canvassers worked to finalize petition language summarizing the effort.

However the board ultimately deadlocked on the summary language, unable to find a middle ground on language detailing how the amendment would impact small business owners and whether the proposal can guarantee funds are used for specific investments into schools.

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While the board previously approved language for the Invest in MI Kids initiative at its June 27 meeting, procedural issues resulted in the board rescinding its approval, sending the initiative back to the beginning of the process.

The initial summary presented to the board on Thursday used the same language they approved in June. However, the board was split with Vice Chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz and Canvasser Heather Cummings, both Democrats, in support of reapproving the previous language, while Board Chair Richard Houskamp and Canvasser Paul Cordes argued they should alter the summary in light of Thursdays testimony.

We approved the summary. And now everybody who doesnt like the summary wants, as Ms. Cummings says, they want a second bite at the apple, and I dont think we should give it to them, Gurewitz said.

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The Invest in MI Kids coalition is proposing a 5% fair share surchargeon individual filers making more than $500,000 and over $1 million for joint filers, with the coalition arguing the effort would address $4 billion to $5 billion of underfunding Michigan schools.

However, business groups from throughout the state argued before the board that the effort would amount to a graduated income tax and would bring harm to small businesses owners.

Many small businesses are organized as S corps, LLCs, partnerships and sole proprietors, which means they claim business income on their individual income tax. And this proposal narrows in on that specifically, said Kelli Saunders, vice president of policy and engagement for the Small Business Association of Michigan. The $500,000- $1 million reportings are not their take home pay. Small business owners must leave earnings in the business for hiring, expanding salary and benefit packages, cost increases, capital expenditures and normal increases in day to day operations to keep the doors open.

Anne Kuhnen, Kids Count policy director for the Michigan League for Public Policy, said the proposal would raise over $1.5 billion in revenue to help educate the future workforce, emphasizing that the tax would be applied to individuals, not businesses.

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The surcharge applies to all income an individual taxpayer earns from salaries, gambling or lottery winnings, investments, capital gains, spousal incomes and businesses, as well as other eligible sources. But it is not a business tax.This surcharge also does not enact a graduated income tax. Instead, it proposes a new separate tax at a simple flat rate, Kuhnen said.

Michigan Board of State Canvassers Vice Chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz and Canvasser Heather Cummings. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Canvasser Paul Cordes and Board of State Canvassers Chair Richard Houskamp. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Eric Doster, attorney for Small Business for Better Michigan, proposes changes to the proposed summary language for the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

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Lobbyists and members of the public supporting and opposing the Invest in MI Kids ballot effort packed the Board of State Canvassers meeting room. July 31, 2025 | Photo By Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

State Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park) offers comment to the Board of State Canvassers in support of the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative. July 31, 2025 | Photo By Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Lobbyists and members of the public supporting and opposing the Invest in MI Kids ballot effort packed the Board of State Canvassers meeting room. July 31, 2025 | Photo By Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

A copy of the petition to be circulated by the Invest in MI Kids Ballot Proposal Coalition. July 31, 2025 | Photo By Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

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Molly Sweeney, organizing director of 482Forward, a member of the Invest in MI Kids ballot proposal coalition tells reporters the group plans to begin circulating petitions. July 31, 2025 | Photo By Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Daniel Ziegler, an attorney representing the Coalition to Stop the Business and Family Tax Hike objects to his exclusion from negotiations on summary language for the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Daniel Ziegler, an attorney representing the Coalition to Stop the Business and Family Tax Hike objects to his exclusion from negotiations on summary language for the Invest in MI Kids ballot initiative. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

Michigan Director of Elections Jonathan Brater and Deputy Director of Elections Adam Fracassi. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

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Steve Liedel, attorney for Invest MI Kids offers comment on the Michigan Board of State Canvassers proposed summary for the proposed Constitutional Amendment. July 31, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance

While the amendment would require money from the additional tax go toward classrooms in local school districts, including funding for career and technical education, attracting and retaining high-quality educators and reducing class sizes, Brian Shoaf, vice president of Public Policy and business advocacy at the Detroit Regional Chamber, argued the Legislature and the governor have the final say over how these funds are spent.

State Rep. Regina Weiss (D-Oak Park) disagreed, offering her opinion as a lawmaker and former chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Education that the Legislature could not spend that money for any other purpose than what is outlined in the amendment language.

In hopes of breaking the deadlock, Steve Liedel, attorney for Invest in MI Kids, offered to meet with Michigan Director of Elections Jonathan Brater and Eric Doster, attorney for Small Business for Better Michigan, which is opposing the effort, with Brater drafting a new summary based on the conversation.

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Not included in the conversation was Daniel Ziegler, an attorney representing the opposing Coalition to Stop the Business and Family Tax Hike, who objected to his exclusion.

However, the new proposal language, and the subsequent tweaks made to the summary were not enough to bring the board into agreement. With Gurewitz bringing a vote to approve the revised petition summary, the board voted on party lines, failing to approve the language.

However, the board did vote to approve the form of the constitutional amendment. With that approval, Molly Sweeney, organizing director of 482Forward, a member of the ballot proposal coalition, said the plan is to move forward and distribute the petitions using the language previously approved by the board and presented by Brater earlier in the meeting.

Were going to make sure it gets through and we believe the laws on our side. We have an approved petition, we have an approved form, and were ready to go, Sweeney said.

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While petitioners can ask the director of elections to prepare a summary to be approved or rejected by the board, they are not required to use that summary. However, a summary approved by the Board cannot be challenged on the grounds that it is misleading or deceptive.

Regardless, Liedel dismissed any concerns that the effort would not be permitted to move forward under the previously approved summary.

In order to make the ballot in 2026, Invest MI Kids will need to gather 446,198 signatures within 180 days to be placed on the statewide ballot in the 2026 election.

However, Houskamp told reporters that if the matter does make the ballot, the next battle over this petition will likely involve the ballot summary language.

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In addition to arguing the proposal cannot truly require the Legislature to spend funds raised by the amendment in specific ways and that the matter amounts to a graduated income tax, Houskamp also took issue with placing tax policy directly into the Michigan Constitution, where it cannot easily be altered.

The 1,000-word summary doesnt mean anything at the end of the day. The trouble is, if you catch somebody standing in front of the library and you read that 100-word summary, that makes it sound like this is a great deal. You flip it over and read the petition, and you really read it, well, yeah, its got a couple flies in it. And I think that those little issues with that petition are not little issues. I think theyre major issues, Houskamp said.
HONOLULU (KHON2)  The Hawaii State Department of Education will see a change in school meal prices this upcoming academic year, which also includes more access to free school meals for keiki.

Act 139, which was signed into law in May by Governor Josh Green M.D., provided this expanded free meal access to students beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. Per the act, qualifying students will now receive a free breakfast meal, as well as a free lunch meal daily.

HIDOE students feast on sweet potatoes

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Removing the cost for reduced-price meals ensures more students are fed, focused and ready to learn  no matter their familys financial situation, said Superintendent Keith Hayashi.

Last school year, approximately 11,000 students qualified for reduced-price meals. Act 139 would make these reduced-price meals completely free for the students this upcoming year.

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As a mother and grandmother, I have seen firsthand how hunger affects a childs ability to focus and learn, said Senate Vice President and Education Committee Chair Michelle Kidani, who introduced the act to the legislature. I still remember visiting classrooms in my district where teachers kept granola bars or crackers in their desks, just in case a student came to school without breakfast.

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For Kidani, equitable access to nutritious meals is not just a matter of hunger  its a matter of ensuring a successful future for keiki.

This bill is about more than food. Its about dignity, equity and ensuring every child has a fair chance to succeed, she said. Well-nourished students learn better, and I am proud to have authored this bill.

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The only price increase for meals are for second meals and adult meals, with the prices increasing by just over a dollar for breakfast and two dollars for lunch.

Students in the state that receive free meals will be categorized as reduced-price eligible per federal guidelines, with their meals being 100% reduced and their state-designated category being Reduced  No Charge.

Heres the full list of meal prices for the 2025-2026 academic year:

PreK through eighth grade $1.10 Ninth through 12th grade $1.10 Reduced-price, PreK through 12th grade Free Student second meal $3.50 Adult Meal $3.50

PreK through eighth grade $2.50 Ninth through 12th grade $2.75 Reduced-price, PreK through 12th grade Free Entree $2.25 Student second meal $7.50 Adult Meal $7.50

To apply for the free and reduced meal program, visit the EZMealApp or the HIDOE website.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
Stealth submarines fitted with space-shooting lasers, supply-chain sabotage and custom-built attack satellites armed with ion thrusters. Those are just some of the strategies Chinese scientists have been developing to counter what Beijing sees as a potent threat: Elon Musk s armada of Starlink communications satellites.

Chinese government and military scientists, concerned about Starlinks potential use by adversaries in a military confrontation and for spying, have published dozens of papers in public journals that explore ways to hunt and destroy Musks satellites, an Associated Press review found.

Chinese researchers believe that Starlink  a vast constellation of low-orbit satellites that deliver cheap, fast and ubiquitous connectivity even in remote areas  poses a high risk to the Chinese government and its strategic interests. That fear has mostly been driven by the companys close ties to the U.S. intelligence and defense establishment, as well as its growing global footprint.

As the United States integrates Starlink technology into military space assets to gain a strategic advantage over its adversaries, other countries increasingly perceive Starlink as a security threat in nuclear, space, and cyber domains, wrote professors from Chinas National University of Defense Technology in a 2023 paper.

Chinese researchers are not the only ones concerned about Starlink, which has a stranglehold on certain space-based communications. Some traditional U.S. allies are also questioning the wisdom of handing over core communications infrastructure  and a potential trove of data  to a company run by an unpredictable foreign businessman whose allegiances are not always clear.

Apprehensions deepened after Russias 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine made clear the battlefield advantages Starlink satellites could convey and have been exacerbated by Musks proliferating political interests.

Musk pumped tens of millions of dollars into President Donald Trumps reelection effort and emerged, temporarily, as a key adviser and government official. As Musk toys with the idea of starting his own political party, he has also taken an increasing interest in European politics, using his influence to promote an array of hard-right and insurgent figures often at odds with establishment politicians.

Musk left the Trump administration in May and within days his relationship with Trump publicly imploded in a feud on social media. SpaceX, the rocket launch and space-based communications company that Musk founded and that operates Starlink, remains inextricably linked with core U.S. government functions. It has won billions in contracts to provide launch services for NASA missions and military satellites, recuperate astronauts stranded at the International Space Station and build a network of spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.

Starlinks space dominance has sparked a global scramble to come up with viable alternatives. But its crushing first-mover advantage has given SpaceX near monopoly power, further complicating the currents of business, politics and national security that converge on Musk and his companies.

Starlink dominates space

Since its first launches in 2019, Starlink has come to account for about two-thirds of all active satellites, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who writes a newsletter tracking satellite launches. SpaceX operates more than 8,000 active satellites and eventually aims to deploy tens of thousands more.

Beijings tendency to view Starlink as tool of U.S. military power has sharpened its efforts to develop countermeasures  which, if deployed, could increase the risk of collateral damage to other customers as SpaceX expands its global footprint. The same satellites that pass over China also potentially serve Europe, Ukraine, the United States and other geographies as they continue their path around the earth.

Starlink says it operates in more than 140 countries, and recently made inroads in Vietnam, Niger, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Pakistan. In June, Starlink also obtained a license to operate in India, overcoming national security concerns and powerful domestic telecom interests to crack open a tech-savvy market of nearly 1.5 billion people.

On the companys own map of coverage, it has very few dead zones beyond those in North Korea, Iran and China.

No other country or company is close to catching up with Starlink. Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos has taken aim at rival Musk with Project Kuiper, which launched its first batch of internet satellites into orbit in April. So far Amazon has just 78 satellites in orbit, with 3,232 planned, according to McDowell, and London-based Eutelstat OneWeb has around 650 satellites in orbit, a fraction of the fleet it had initially planned.

The European Union is spending billions to develop its own satellite array  called the IRIS2 initiative  but remains woefully behind. EU officials have had to lobby their own member states not to sign contracts with Starlink while it gets up and running.

We are allies with the United States of America, but we need to have our strategic autonomy, said Christophe Grudler, a French member of the European Parliament who led legislative work on IRIS2. The risk is not having our destiny in our own hands.

China has been public about its ambition to build its own version of Starlink to meet both domestic national security needs and compete with Starlink in foreign markets. In 2021, Beijing established the state-owned China SatNet company and tasked it with launching a megaconstellation with military capabilities, known as Guowang. In December, the company launched its first operational satellites, and now has 60 of a planned 13,000 in orbit, according to McDowell.

Qianfan, a company backed by the Shanghai government, has launched 90 satellites out of some 15,000 planned. The Brazilian government in November announced a deal with Qianfan, after Musk had a scorching public fight with a Brazilian judge investigating X, who also froze Space Xs bank accounts in the country. Qianfan is also targeting customers in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan and Uzbekistan and has ambitions to expand across the African continent, according to a slide presented at a space industry conference last year and published by the China Space Monitor.

Russiais invasion of Ukraine supercharges concerns

Concerns about Starlinks supremacy were supercharged by Russias 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The war was a turning point in strategic thinking about Starlink and similar systems. Ukraine used the Starlink network to facilitate battlefield communications and power fighter and reconnaissance drones, providing a decisive ground-game advantage. At the same time, access to the satellites was initially controlled by a single man, Musk, who can  and did  interrupt critical services, refusing, for example, to extend coverage to support a Ukrainian counterattack in Russia-occupied Crimea.

U.S.-led sanctions against Moscow after the full-scale invasion also curtailed the availability of Western technology in Russia, underscoring the geopolitical risks inherent in relying on foreign actors for access to critical infrastructure.

Ukraine was a warning shot for the rest of us, said Nitin Pai, co-founder and director of the Takshashila Institution, a public policy research center based in Bangalore, India. For the last 20 years, we were quite aware of the fact that giving important government contracts to Chinese companies is risky.

Nearly all of the 64 papers about Starlink reviewed by AP in Chinese journals were published after the conflict started.

Assessing Starlinkis capabilities, vulnerabilities

Starlinks omnipresence and potential military applications have unnerved Beijing and spurred the nations scientists to action. In paper after paper, researchers painstakingly assessed the capabilities and vulnerabilities of a network that they clearly perceive as menacing and strove to understand what China might learn  and emulate  from Musks company as Beijing works to develop a similar satellite system.

Though Starlink does not operate in China, Musks satellites nonetheless can sweep over Chinese territory. Researchers from Chinas National Defense University in 2023 simulated Starlinks coverage of key geographies, including Beijing, Taiwan, and the polar regions, and determined that Starlink can achieve round-the-clock coverage of Beijing.

The Starlink constellation coverage capacity of all regions in the world is improving steadily and in high speed, they concluded.

In another paper  this one published by the government-backed China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team  researchers mapped out vulnerabilities in Starlinks supply chain. The company has more than 140 first-tier suppliers and a large number of second-tier and third-tier suppliers downstream, they wrote in a 2023 paper. The supervision for cybersecurity is limited.

Engineers from the Peoples Liberation Army, in another 2023 paper, suggested creating a fleet of satellites to tail Starlink satellites, collecting signals and potentially using corrosive materials to damage their batteries or ion thrusters to interfere with their solar panels.

Other Chinese academics have encouraged Beijing to use global regulations and diplomacy to contain Musk, even as the nations engineers have continued to elaborate active countermeasures: Deploy small optical telescopes already in commercial production to monitor Starlink arrays. Concoct deep fakes to create fictitious targets. Shoot powerful lasers to burn Musks equipment.

Some U.S. analysts say Beijings fears may be overblown, but such assessments appear to have done little to cool domestic debate. One Chinese paper was titled, simply: Watch out for that Starlink. ERIKA KINETZ & ELSIE CHEN, ROME, MDT/AP

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As part of Marylands efforts to modernize state government, the State Department of Education is moving out of its long-term Baltimore home and now seeking private office space elsewhere in the city, the Department of General Services announced Friday.

The Maryland State Department of Education has been based out of the Nancy S. Grasmick building at 200 W. Baltimore St. for decades, the announcement from the Department of General Services says. But the structure built in 1911 has not been renovated since the 1970s, making it unfit for the needs of a modern workforce, Department of General Services secretary Atif Chaudry said of the building in a statement.

The cost to renovate the building would be nearly $100 million, according to the department. But moving the education department and the Maryland Higher Education Commission, which is also currently housed in the Grasmick building, into private commercial space would save the state $37 million over 20 years, the statement says.

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Relocating to a more efficient, modern leased office space is about more than just a new location  its an investment in the people who serve Maryland every day, Chaudry said.

The state Department of Education is looking for 97,000 square feet of office space in Baltimores downtown central business district, according to the announcement. Over 750 employees will come along with the department when it finds its new home.

Relocating government offices out of state-owned buildings and onto the private market is part of a modernization and cost-cutting plan from Gov. Wes Moore. About a mile away from the Grasmick building, downtown Baltimores State Center office complex, once home to many state agencies, is emptying out as officials now plan for a mixed-use redevelopment of the site.

The Department of General Services anticipates the request for proposal process will take about six months, with all MSDE employees relocated within two years, the statement says.

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While the relocation marks the end of an era, it represents a much-needed step toward modernization, said State Superintendent of Schools Carey Wright in the statement.

We are excited to collaborate with the Department of General Services in this process and look forward to serving Maryland students and schools from our new location for years to come.

Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at rbazos@baltsun.com, 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is requiring employees to return to the office.

The first day back is Monday, but an employee there who wants to remain anonymous says, not only is there not enough space in the building for all of the workers, it isnt safe either.

They have made the cubicles really, really small so that they can fit everybody, the employee said. They are putting three, four people into areas that were like made for one person office.

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They say they are not sure how things will go with everyone required to return to the office full-time.

They are creating offices in areas that really are not designated for offices, more like a closet, the employee said.

The move brings the agency into compliance with an executive order signed by Gov. Kevin Stitt last December.

Former Governor of Oklahoma, George Nigh, dies at 98

The department kept employees remote part-time due to a lack of space, but that changed when Gregory Slavonic took the reins as interim commissioner.

Basically this is what is happening, and if you dont like it, then your option is that you can leave, the employee said. The only reason he gave us is it will increase work morale and nobody agrees with that.

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They add that safety is also a concern.

Our fire escapes, some of them are blocked off, like things are in the way of the fire escape, the employee said.

ODMHSASs Central Office is returning to full-time in-person operations beginning August 4 to fully comply with the Governors executive order. This phased transition ensures all employees have safe, designated workspaces upon return. The department is supporting staff and supervisors through this change and addressing individual concerns with care. The building meets all safety standards, including OSHA and fire code requirements. While transitions can be challenging, the Department remains focused on fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive work environment, ODMHSAS Spokesperson said.

The employee we spoke with says they are not so sure about that.

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Again, the new mandate goes into effect this coming Monday, August 4th.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  State commissioners approved the first public step to build an underground tunnel from downtown to Nashvilles airport Thursday morning.

On Monday, state and federal leaders officially unveiled the plan for the Music City Loop. They said taxpayers wont be responsible for the costs, but they need a construction staging site to get started on that project. The temporary lease submitted by The Boring Company requests the use of the 0.8 acres of a state parking lot off Rosa Parks Boulevard, just below the Capitol.

Music City Loop proposal draws comparisons to Sin Citys Vegas Loop

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Thursdays hearing focused on approving a lease with The Boring Company, which was founded by Elon Musk.

If we hand over this land, what are we actually getting back? Nashville resident and High Schooler Jacob Francy asked. Nothing.

This is a temporary lease of approximately 22 months, if not shorter, for the duration of the construction activity that would occur for the Music City Loop, Interim Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, Jeff Holmes, said.

The building commission meeting was just a formality, Sen. Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) said. The tents are already up.

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Several city and state leaders said the process has felt rushed, with many learning about the tunnel plans with the rest of Nashville as it was as it was announced Monday. Theyve been left with many uncertainties and questions.

How does this impact traffic from Murfreesboro Road? Metro Councilmember Delishia Porterfield said. How does this impact families and businesses that live along that corridor?

Will you commit to halting the project if environmental impact studies reveal significant concerns? Oliver asked.

Officials with the project have claimed that there will be minimal disruptions to traffic. However, residents, city and state leaders said this is just the start of a project that wouldnt help with public transportation. Theyve also argued that the project would increase flood risks, hurt local jobs and residents, and only benefit tourists.

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I live in Antioch and I am about to deal with more construction, but nothing is benefiting me, Nashville resident Shani Glapion told commissioners. Why arent yall more focused on real traffic solutions rather than a tourist attraction? Governor Lee is cutting back-room deals with billionaires, giving away public land while his constituents are needing real solutions.

We have way more questions than answers that can be answered today, Oliver said. But it speaks to the fact that you all work harder for billionaires.

The hearing ended with the vote to move forward with leasing the state parking lot.

If you are rich enough, connected enough or loud enough, you can bypass public process and get free land in Downtown Nashville, Francy said.

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A state official said at Thursdays hearing that the state has secured lines of credit to restore the leased parking lot if necessary.

Nashville mayor responds to tunnel announcement

The Metro Councilmember who oversees the impacted area along Murfreesboro Road, Russ Bradford, told News 2 in part:

Our city faces pressing challenges: deteriorating roads, under-resourced public transportation, rising housing costs, and widening disparities in opportunity across neighborhoods. Yet instead of addressing these urgent needs, state and airport leadership is asking taxpayers to consider a multi-billion-dollar tunnel designed not for residents, but for the convenience of tourist. [..] We should not be building tunnels for tourists while entire neighborhoods go without sidewalks, drainage, or safe public transit. I urge city, state, and airport leadership to rethink this project and realign our priorities with the real, everyday needs of our residents.

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Montanans stand in line to register to vote at the Lewis and Clark County Elections Office on Nov. 5, 2024. Three bills passed in 2025 changing voter laws have been challenged in court. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)

The Republican National Committee and the Montana Republican Party last week filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit challenging two commonsense election laws passed during the 2025 Legislature.

The Montana Federation of Public Employees filed a suit in May before Lewis and Clark County District Court, challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 490, which changed voter registration opportunities, and Senate Bill 276, which strengthened voter ID laws.

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The Republican groups brief in support of the motion to intervene said the lawsuit would impact the Republican Partys distinct interests in an efficient and reliable 2026 election that voters trust.

Voter ID and accurate voter registration are essential to secure elections, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. Democrat extremists are attacking Montanas voter ID requirements and registration safeguards. The RNC and MTGOP are stepping in to protect the integrity of Montanas elections and ensure only eligible Montana voters can cast a ballot.

Both bills were sponsored by state Sen. Mike Cuffe, R-Eureka.

SB 490 tightened the deadline for voters to register to vote to noon on Election Day and eliminates registration on the Monday before an election, but opens it on the prior Saturday, which previously was not a day voters could register.

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Under previous Montana law, anyone in line at the ballot box by 8 p.m. on Election Day could register to vote, which has occasionally led to long lines at voting locations.

Last November, some voters waited in line at the Gallatin County Courthouse until the early hours of the morning in order to register and cast their ballot.

Cuffe, in an opinion piece published by Lee Newspapers, cited that example  when votes were cast as late as 4 a.m.  as a reason for passing his bill.

The intent is to smooth out the process and avoid votes being cast many hours beyond the intended closing of the polls at 8 p.m., Cuffe wrote.

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SB 276 enacted photo identification voting in Montana, and expands the variety of ID options allowed to include tribal photo ID cards, military IDs, U.S. Passports, drivers licenses and student ID cards.

But a 2024 decision from the Montana Supreme Court struck down a 2021 law seeking to eliminate Election Day voter registration, and another that and another that sought to narrow the list of acceptable photo IDs allowed

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Blackfeet Nation, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, as well as tribal advocacy nonprofit Western Native Voice, filed to join the lawsuit as intervenors last month, saying the Legislature was insisting on making it more difficult for Native Americans in Montana to vote, by restricting registration opportunities.

In the Republican groups brief, they cited several reasons for inclusion in the lawsuit, including that declaring the laws unconstitutional would undermine Republican voter confidence in the electoral system and create administrative problems that could undermine Republican turnout.

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It would also force the state and federal political party to divert resources from other mission-critical activities toward get-out-the-vote activities to reinspire Republican voter trust in Montanas electoral system, to independently verify the accuracy of Montanas voter registration rolls, and to educate voters and candidates concerning Montanas changed registration requirements.

The lawsuit is just one challenging a number of laws passed by the Montana Legislature earlier this year. Another, brought by the Montana Public Interest Research Group, challenged a law that would require Montana residents to vote in the county reside in full time, which excludes locations where they attend college.
Jul. 31SANTA FE  While top New Mexico health officials have raised the alarm about the impact of a federal budget bill signed last month by President Donald Trump, the state plans to apply for money from a rural health fund added to the bill just before its approval.

A state Health Care Authority preliminary estimate projects New Mexico could receive $175 million  or more  annually under the plan, which could at least partially offset a reduction in funding in other areas.

A top legislative staffer said last week the rural health fund could be a "windfall" for New Mexico, which has long struggled with recruiting and retaining health care providers in rural parts of the state.

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Under the $50 billion rural health fund, a total of $10 billion will be distributed annually over five years. Half of that money would be split evenly among approved states, with the other half divvied up based on a formula that's expected to include rural population and other factors.

Given that backdrop, a Health Care Authority spokeswoman said this week the state agency projects it could receive at least $175 million annually over the five-year period if the state's application is approved.

A deadline for applications has not yet been set, but HCA spokeswoman Marina Pina said a federal agency is requiring all applications to be approved or denied by the end of this year.

New Mexico's two U.S. senators  Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan  joined other Senate Democrats this week in sending a letter to Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, seeking more information about how the $50 billion rural health fund will be spent.

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The letter criticized the fund's creation as a way to buy the votes of Senate Republicans and provide them with political cover.

"The rural health slush fund appears to be nothing more than a political parachute to pay off members of Congress for their unpopular votes," said the letter, which was signed by 16 senators.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's administration has warned that six to eight rural hospitals in New Mexico could close over the next several years due to the federal bill's Medicaid changes.

State health officials have also predicted nearly 90,000 state residents could lose health care coverage, while more than 250,000 residents could face new co-pays and increased administrative hurdles to remain enrolled.

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New Mexico has the highest percentage of Medicaid enrollees in the country, with nearly 40% of the state's population getting their health care from the joint federal-state program.

A recently created legislative interim committee has been studying the state-level impacts of the federal budget bill, and the governor's chief legal counsel told lawmakers this week that bills dealing with Medicaid and food assistance are expected to be on the agenda of a special session.

Lujan Grisham has not yet set a specific date for the special session, which is likely to also feature debate on other issues.

But some lawmakers have pointed out many of the federal bill's provisions do not take effect until 2027, including a new funding match requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, that some states could face.

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Meanwhile, states that receive money from the new rural health fund will be able to use it to pay for health care services, expand their rural workforce and promote care interventions, according to a Kaiser Family Fund analysis.

But the nonprofit group's analysis also said the federal law does not require transparency about how funds are distributed and why certain state applications are ultimately approved or denied.
(NewsNation)  States of emergency were declared in New Jersey and New York City as rain lashed much of the northeast Thursday.

Both areas, along with Philadelphia, were hit with heavy rain, stranding many motorists in deep water.

The worst of the weather is expected to hit the area into the night.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned those living in basements to seek higher ground immediately. Officials also issued an advisory asking New Yorkers to avoid travel from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon.

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Devils Den suspect admitted to killings after DNA found, police say

The Travel Advisory and Flood Watch are in effect until 8 AM. Stay where you are if you can. Dont drive. Roadways are flooding, and crews are responding, Adams said in a X post.

Traffic cameras and social media posts showed stranded vehicles.

State officials in New York City and New Jersey were sent home early. In Maryland, multiple water rescues were reported in communities north of Baltimore.

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SARATOGA, N.Y. (ABC22/FOX44)  Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville) on Friday called on federal officials to raise pay at FCI Ray Brook, saying that prison staff are struggling with the growing gap between their compensation and the states rapidly rising cost of living.

Stefanik said that the pay rate at the medium-security prison in western Essex County should be raised to match that of New York City, comparing its situation with that of FCI Otisville in Orange County.

New York funding free calls for incarcerated people as FCC stalls

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Currently, Essex County falls in the Rest of U.S. category for federal pay adjustments, which means that Ray Brook officers and staff are paid the same as those in lower cost-of-living areas of the country. According to National Association of Realtors statistics, the average home price in the county is over $223,000, higher than in about half of U.S. counties, though considerably lower than in New York City.

Several years ago, a federal employee union put up a sign outside the Ray Brook prison warning of understaffing. Law enforcement told the union that they needed to take the sign down.

New York launches summer meal program for kids

Stefanik has pushed for a pay increase for Ray Brook staff before, reintroducing a bill in June to expand federal pay adjustments at prisons. She added that the pay increase would not only improve workforce morale and stability but also ensure that these law enforcement officers receive the support and compensation they have earned.

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Islanders living in tall buildings in Jersey are set to be consulted on proposals which experts say will improve safety.

The Government of Jersey said there were more than 125 tall residential buildings on the island, towering 11m (36ft) or more, which housed thousands of home owners and renters.

Officials said proposed fire safety regulations would implement some of the key recommendations from the Grenfell Tower phase one inquiry report, aimed at maintaining and improving safety.

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States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service area commander, Jason Masterman, said the regulations would ensure self-closing fire doors and smoke control systems were "regularly checked and maintained".

Mr Masterman said proposed regulations would give fire crews access to accurate building floor plans [BBC]

He added: "Residents will also receive clear fire safety information, and our crews will have access to simple accurate building floor plans and signposting to help them respond more effectively in emergencies"

A total of 72 people, including 18 children, died in the Grenfell Tower fire which happened on 14 June in 2017.

Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Deputy Mary Le Hegarat, said: "Thankfully, no similar fires have occurred here, but that does not mean we should not seek to make the places where so many islanders live as safe as possible.

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"Approximately 19% of Jersey's tall residential buildings are estimated to be closely meeting the English regulatory requirements, with some others partially achieving them."

Officials said while there had been no "significant evidence of excessive fire risk", the island's tall buildings, as a group, were at risk of falling behind similar buildings in England in three areas.

The areas included the frequency of routine key fire safety checks, the provision of fire safety instructions to residents and the quality of building information provided to the fire service.

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Officials said there was currently no dedicated Jersey fire safety law which required the buildings to manage and maintain their fire safety measures on an ongoing basis.

Le Hegarat added: "Creating regulations to implement some of the key building fire safety recommendations from the Grenfell Tower phase one inquiry report is a logical and sensible step in the light of the inquiry's findings."

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Stevie Nicks fans will have to wait a bit longer to catch her in Detroit: The Fleetwood Mac star has postponed her Little Caesars Arena concert to Oct. 28 after suffering a broken shoulder.

Nicks was scheduled to play LCA on Sept. 7. That show date followed a pair of scrapped concerts with Billy Joel scheduled at Ford Field, following his diagnosis of a brain disorder.

Tickets for Nicks' Sept. 7 show will be honored for the Oct. 28 rescheduling.

Stevie Nicks performs onstage during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California.

Her fractured shoulder is affecting concerts in nine cities, including Toronto, Boston and Cincinnati. Nicks is scheduled to resume touring Oct. 1 in Portland, Oregon.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stevie Nicks moves Detroit show to Oct. 28 after shoulder injury
Late summer is that notorious time of year when spotted lanternflies transform from inconspicuous, polka-dotted nymphs to big, bumblebee-sized insects clinging to tree trunks and fluttering through the air.

These non-native insects in the planthopper family were accidentally introduced to the U.S. in 2014possibly on an international shipment bound for Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania.

While harmless to humansand actually rather beautiful to behold, thanks to their crimson and yellow markingsthe bugs feed on over 70 different kinds of plants and trees in the U.S. alone, making them an invasive species. They have a taste for certain plants, namely tree of heavenalso an invasive species from Asiaas well as native species, such as black walnut, several species of maple, hops, and grapevines.

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The threat posed to American agriculture is why a bipartisan group of lawmakers recently introduced a bill called the Spotted Lanternfly Research and Development Act, which would make competitive grants available for research projects related to the mitigation of the invasive species.

"Across our community, I hear time and again about how devastating these pests can be, says Pennsylvania Representative Chrissy Houlahan in a press release. Whether you're a farmer, a homeowner, or just someone who enjoys the delicious produce grown by our community's farmers, the invasive Spotted Lanternfly poses a serious problem.

Heres what to know about the invasive species, and whats being done to minimize their harm.

(Inside the race to kill an invasive menacebefore it gets to a town near you.)

Why spotted lanternflies are so bad for plants

While lanternflies dont appear to kill most trees outright, as was initially feared, large aggregations can affect plant health.

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As true bugs in the order Hemiptera, spotted lanternflies suck nutrients out of host plants with mouthparts that act like a hypodermic needle.

Its really different from what most insects do, which is chew on plants, says Holly Shugart, an entomologist and postdoctoral researcher at Pennsylvania State University.

Spotted lanternflies sucks the nutrients out of plants, which can weaken them and potentially lead to their death. Photograph By Marc McAndrews/Redux

Worst of all, the spotted lanternfly is a skilled hitchhiker, able to cling to surfaces that travel at high speeds, such as cars and trains. Their putty-like egg masses, each of which contain between 30 to 50 eggs, can survive months of extreme weather and cold on a variety of surfaces, such as tree bark or the side of a shipping container.

Where are spotted lanternflies wreaking the most havoc?

Since arriving in the U.S., spotted lanternflies have exploded in number and can now be found from Massachusetts and Virginia to Illinois and Tennessee. Unfortunately, the insects arrived in a new location last yearone long feared by those in the wine industry.

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Weve always told the growers in the Finger Lakes, its not a matter of if they get here. Its when theyll get here, says Hans Walter-Peterson, a viticulture specialist for Cornell Universitys Cooperative Extension.

(Invasive spotted lanternflies have a taste for grapeswhat does that mean for wine?)

When too many lanternflies siphon nutrients from a grapevine, they can reduce fruit yields, affect fruit quality, and even kill the host plant. They can also transmit nasty pathogens to those plants, such as black sooty mold, which is difficult to eradicate. This is why researchers are focused on prevention.

Because of these factors, researchers in one study estimated that in Pennsylvania alone, spotted lanternflies could lead to an economic loss of $554 million annually and almost 5,000 jobs.

Can we eradicate spotted lanternflies completely?

While people in parts of the Northeast and Midwest are already well aware of the insects, and some have even been smashing them on sightas many local governments and scientists have suggestedvigilante bug hunters wont be enough to curb the spread, experts say. You can continue to kill them if you want, but doing so isn't going to change much.

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Fortunately, however, theres evidence that native predators are starting to get a taste for the foreign insect. In lab tests, spined soldier bugs and Carolina mantises have proven to be effective lanternfly predators, and blue jays, cardinals, chickens, spiders, yellowjackets, and ants have all been observed eating lanternflies out in the wild.

Lanternfly-sniffing dogs are also emerging as a promising new avenue in the effort to prevent these spotted insects from popping up in new places. Just as canines have been trained to sniff out explosives, drugs, and even viruses like COVID-19, the animals may also be a critical tool in the fight against invasive species.

(Learn how dogs put their noses to work sniffing out wildlife.)

Pretty much everything has a smell, says Sally Dickinson, a doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech.

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And that goes for spotted lanternfly egg masses, which the insects produce in the fall and secrete in out-of-the-way hiding spots. In nature, that might mean the underside of a branch, but in human-dominated environments, that includes metal or plastic, like a railroad car, just as well as wood.

Other researchers are working on new pesticide formulations and application methods, but so far, no one has landed on a silver bullet solution to the lanternfly problem. Thats why funding new science on eradication is so critical.

This invasive pest inflicts severe damage, threatening not only our crops but the livelihoods of hardworking farmers and the very future of our agricultural communities, says New York Congressman Langworthy in the press release. This crisis can no longer be ignored.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) confirmed the arrest of former legislator Au Kam San, 68, on suspicion of violating the national security law.

He was scheduled for transfer to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday morning.

The PJ confirmed in a statement at noon yesterday that the suspect, surnamed Au and aged 68, is the former Legislative Assembly member born in 1958. This followed reports that authorities had taken Au from his home on Wednesday.

Au served as a city council member in Macau from 1993 to 1999, prior to the handover, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly through direct elections in 1999.

He served five consecutive terms from 2001 to 2021.

In the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections, Au announced he would not seek re-election. His long-time campaign partner, Ng Kuok Cheong, along with several other candidates from the democratic camp, were accused of disloyalty to the Macau Special Administrative Region, resulting in their candidacy qualifications being revoked.

On Wednesday evening, several local media outlets got word that the former lawmaker had been arrested and was set to be transferred to the MP by the PJ at 10 a.m. the following morning, although the reason for the arrest was initially unclear.

Later, the Times learned from a source that the incident was linked to the provision of June 4-related materials to the Chinese Alliance for Democracy.

Notably, before the arrest news leaked, a post circulated on social media featuring an image that stated, Au Kam San willingly serves as a puppet for anti-China, pro-chaos forces in Macau, using the pretext of justice to actually harm and disrupt Macau.

Yesterday morning, around 10 a.m., several media outlets arrived outside the MP building in ZAPE to learn more about the incident but saw no sign of Au.

However, it was reported that at around 10:23 a.m., a seven-seater vehicle without PJ markings drove into the parking lot, its windows covered by black curtains, suspected to be transporting Au.

While this was happening, Aus wife arrived at the prosecutors office accompanied by relatives.

Before entering the building, she spoke to the media, expressing uncertainty about the situation while confirming that she had been designated as a witness in the case. She reportedly later requested the prosecutors office to terminate her status as a witness and left the building at around 12:30 p.m.

Since the enactment of the national security law in Macau in 2009, and the implementation of its revised version in 2023, authorities had not disclosed any related cases until yesterday. However, they have now announced in a statement the first case that is suspected of violating this law.

According to the PJ statement, the police conducted an extensive investigation and gathered evidence over a long period, successfully identifying the suspect believed to have been colluding with an overseas anti-China organization since 2022.

The suspect was apprehended at his residence in the central district on July 30 and taken to the PJ headquarters for questioning. The following day, he was transferred to the prosecutions office and charged with violating the national security law, which prohibits establishing connections with external organizations, groups, or individuals and engaging in acts that threaten national security.

The PJ stated that their investigation revealed the suspect had been providing a significant amount of false and inflammatory information to the overseas anti-China organization since 2022, which was used for public displays abroad and online.

Even after the amended national security law took effect in 2023, the suspect continued supplying information to sustain the organizations activities. He maintained long-term contacts with multiple overseas anti-China entities and provided them with false information about Macau.

The intent was to incite hatred toward the central government and the Macau Special Administrative Region government among both local residents and the international community, disrupt the 2024 Chief Executive election, and encourage foreign countries to take hostile actions against Macau.

The PJ, citing substantial evidence, noted that the suspect has been working with foreign groups that are considered hostile to the country for a significant amount of time.

During yesterday afternoons regular joint meeting between the PJ and the Public Security Police (PSP), media representatives sought additional information about this case.

However, the PJ spokesman responded that all cases scheduled for announcement had already been addressed and that there were no additional comments on other matters.

MP decides

preventive detention

According to the MP, the suspect is believed to have established connections with foreign organizations or individuals in a manner that endangered national security.

In a statement last night, MP said that following a preliminary investigation, the criminal investigating judge, acting on a request from the MP, ordered the application of preventive detention as a coercive measure, in accordance with Articles 18 and 25 of the national security law and relevant provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

The office reiterated its commitment to thoroughly investigate and hold accountable those who attempt to undermine national security.

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As summer crowds flock to Southern Californias coastline, lifeguards are reporting a sharp increase in stingray injuries, particularly in Seal Beach.

According to Seal Beach Marine Safety Chief Joe Bailey, lifeguards typically treat about one stingray sting per day. Recently, however, that number has climbed to around a dozen daily, with some days reaching as many as 20 reported cases, he says.

Stingrays are bottom-dwellers that often sting when stepped on.

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KTLAs Chip Yost spoke with Seal Beach visitor Cash Kovaleff, who described the sensation as more intense than a bee sting, followed by tingling and discomfort that only subsides after soaking the wound in hot water.

Some frequent beachgoers, like Michael Pless Jr., have even kept dislodged stingray barbs as souvenirs.

To prevent such injuries, Bailey recommends the stingray shuffle, a technique where individuals drag their feet along the ocean sand to scare away nearby stingrays.

Beachgoers who are stung are advised to alert a lifeguard immediately. Most lifeguard towers are equipped with treatment kits that include hot water baths, the primary method used to relieve pain and reduce the effects of venom.

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The water should be as hot as the individual can safely tolerate, and the wound should be monitored for signs of infection or complications.

Lifeguards continue to urge the public to remain aware and take simple safety precautions to avoid painful encounters with stingrays.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Gov. Kevin Stitt speaks at his weekly media availability on May 28, 2025. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice)

Oklahomas governor this week directed all state agencies to cease providing public funding to individuals or organizations affiliated with abortion providers.

Gov. Kevin Stitt said he ordered the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to terminate and refuse to renew any Medicaid contracts to doctors or entities that performs, refers for, or is affiliated with the performance of abortions not permitted under state law. He said the agency must also implement enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance and require Medicaid providers to sign a document attesting to whether theyre connected to anyone providing abortion-related activities.

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He said only providers who are fully aligned with Oklahomas public policy objectives, including the protection of unborn life will be eligible to participate in Medicaid, which is funded jointly by state and federal money.

We wont allow tax dollars to indirectly subsidize and flow into the abortion industry under the guise of womens health, he said in a statement. My order makes sure every public dollar aligns with our values and supports providers who respect life at every stage.

Stitt said his executive order follows a June U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming that states can determine who takes part in their Medicaid programs. That includes the right to ban any affiliated individuals or organizations with ties to abortion providers, he said.

Oklahoma currently has no licensed abortion providers. State law bars all abortions except to save the life of the mother.

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An Oklahoma Health Care Authority spokesperson did not know Friday how many providers were expected to be impacted by the order. She wrote in an email that the agency was still analyzing the impact on provider counts and the order to determine next steps as we ensure compliance and maintain services for our members.

Nearly 1 in 4 Oklahomans are enrolled in Medicaid, also known as SoonerCare.

Under Stitts order, the Health Care Authority must implement the revised standards within 120 days and report back to Stitts office on the number of impacted providers.

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The Tennessee Building Commission approved a no-cost lease for Elon Musk's Boring Company to use a state-owned parking lot near the Capitol to launch its tunneling project. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

With little discussion, Tennessees Building Commission approved a no-cost lease Thursday for state property near the Capitol for Elon Musks Boring Company to launch its tunneling project.

A few logistical questions are: Where are they going first, what about the potential environmental impact and who owns all the rock? Will the state give up its mineral rights?

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Critics of the project also want to know why the state is giving away property  on top and under the ground  to a billionaire without a public vetting?

Why are we rushing this process? Whats the hurry? Why dont we have an impact study? Because were dealing with a billionaire? D.J. Porter asked the group of state officials.

Despite opposition from a packed room, the Building Commissions Executive Subcommittee approved the lease of a parking lot on nearly an acre deemed to be surplus property at 637 Rosa Parks Blvd., just down the hill on the southwest side of the State Capitol, where the boring machine could start digging.

Are they headed next to the Capitol and Music City Center, up and down Broadway and then to the airport? The plan calls for using zero-emissions electric vehicles to ferry people from one station to another, a plan that critics said will only help Musks companies transport tourists, not Nashvillians.

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Department of General Services Commissioner Jeff Holmes told the panel the state secured a line of credit from Boring in case it abandons the tunneling project. The company also obtained a license to work at the parking lot where it already put up a construction fence.

Jim Bryson, commissioner of Finance and Administration, and Jeff Holmes, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services, confer during a July 31, 2025 meeting of the Tennessee Building Commission. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Sen. Heidi Campbell, a Nashville Democrat, speaks against a state project that will turn over state land to Elon Musk's Boring Company at a press conference following a meeting of the Tennessee Building Commission. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Protesters of an Elon Musk project packed the state building commission meeting Thursday. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

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A view of opposites: Opponents of a project to allow Elon Musk's Boring Company to create tunnels to be used by Tesla electric vehicles faced members of the Tennessee Building Commission. (Photo: John Partipilo)

State officials are playing it close to the vest, though the lease of the Rosa Parks property makes it pretty clear where the tunnel could start. After all, theyve got to dig a hole somewhere to go underground.

Committee members didnt make themselves available for questions or declined to talk to reporters after Thursdays meeting.

Everythings running through Gov. Lee, who called it the coolest project hes introduced in his two terms.

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The Governors Office this week announced the start of a public process to evaluate potential routes, engage stakeholders and finalize plans for the projects first 10-mile phase. With that in mind, it doesnt appear the first part of the Music City Loop will start at the convention center south of Broad and go to the airport, only that it will connect those at some point with an eight-minute transit time using underground tunnels beneath state-owned roads.

State Sen. Becky Massey told the Lookout this week the state will sign a long-term lease with the Boring Company, enabling it to build the tunnel on or under state right of way.

What happens with the extracted rock remains to be seen, since the state holds mineral rights to everything under its above-ground right of way, to the center of the Earth. Will the state require Boring to pay for the limestone it removes, or will it give up those rights as part of a long-term lease? Will the state use the rock to build roads?

Considering this is being called a public-private partnership, what is the states role, other than providing the land, and how does it benefit? Few answers are being supplied as this deal steams down the track.

Education leader zaps feds

Lizzette Reynolds, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education, took a perhaps inadvertent slap at the Trump administrations handling of federal education funds. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

Tennessees education commissioner inadvertently gigged the Trump administrations handling of federal funds for public education this week, saying its still getting its sea legs.

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The U.S. Department of Education initially withheld billions of dollars from states but then reversed course and released the money, giving states some modicum of relief as students return to school in August.

Asked this week if she would like to see more consistent policy from the federal level, Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds told reporters the state hasnt gone through a full year yet with the Trump Administration but she expects improvement.

I think theyre getting their sea legs underneath them and trying to figure out all the landscape. I think once the appointees get confirmed, I think therell be a lot more consistency, Reynolds said. So I think thats kind of been a little bit of a holdup. Get the people in there that understand public education and can help support states. Not that they dont support public education.  That kind of came out wrong.

We know what she means, since thats what many people are thinking but afraid to say out loud.

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Reynolds spoke to reporters after a meeting of the legislatures Federal Education Deregulation Cooperation Task Force, possibly one of the longest committee names in state history, which is supposed to figure out how to handle a major reduction.

Tennessee receives $1.3 billion in education funding from the federal government, mainly for nutrition, disadvantaged students, disabled children, extended learning, teacher instruction, career and technical education, English language learnings and rural and low-income schools.

Tennessees Republican leaders have wanted to eliminate the federal education department for years. Reynolds and her staff complained in Tuesdays hearing that the department is inundated with paperwork to satisfy the feds.

Reynolds told lawmakers theyd like to receive the federal money in a block grant, or lump sum, and disburse it to their liking. Yet the department wouldnt cut staff, only repurpose their work.

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Even though many lawmakers have spent months and years blasting the U.S. Education Department, Republican state Sen. Bill Powers of Clarksville told the group he assumed the release of funds was a breath of fresh air across the state of Tennessee.  It was for my district.

Later, Powers said the federal Education Department is in a state of flux, but he added, when the edict comes down from on high, the state is prepared to handle it.

Its still unclear, though, whether Tennessee would be able to handle the shortfall if the feds pull back the money, possibly next year.

Asked that question by committee Chair Dawn White of Murfreesboro, education officials said they would have to get back with you.

Working on teacher license

Commissioner Reynolds admitted to reporters this week she still doesnt hold a teacher license, even though state law requires the states education leader to be qualified to teach at the highest grade over which she has authority.

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I work on it on weekends, and I do my best, Reynolds said.

The departments new spokesperson, Maggie Hannan cut off the conversation, more or less ending Reynolds first interview with Capitol press corps members in, well, maybe ever.

Following Reynolds appointment by Gov. Lee, Democrats said in early 2024 she was unqualified to hold the job because she wasnt licensed to teach in K-12 here.

Reynolds enrolled in a teacher education program at UT-Martin and received a tuition waiver before she had been with the state department the required six months, after signing an affidavit stating she was eligible for the money. Reynolds reportedly repaid the money after questions arose.

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Reynolds pushed the governors private-school vouchers, a new program that gives $7,000 to 20,000 students in its first year to enroll in private schools, regardless of whether they attended public or private schools the previous year.

After going head-to-head in 2024 with critics of the proposal, Reynolds rarely, if ever, visited committee hearings this year. Lawmakers narrowly passed the $146 million program, and the Education Department is continuing to enroll applicants until July 31, less than a week before school starts.

Likewise, Reynolds is running out of time to earn her teaching license. Gov. Lees second term will run out in early 2027. Will she get the license before then, or is this an exercise in futility?

Public at last

The Registry of Election Finance released a document this week showing the Professional Board of Responsibility dismissed a complaint against Nashville attorney Cynthia Sherwood. The release came nearly two weeks after the Lookout requested a copy of the letter.

Bill Young, leader of the Registry, which oversees the states campaign finances, filed the complaint last fall after Sherwood sent a private investigator to his home to question him. Young declined to speak to the PI because Sherwoods client, Cade Cothren, has pending cases before the Registry. Young is represented by staff counsel and the state Attorney Generals Office in the case.

Registry board members said the incident was an ethical violation and voted to send a complaint to the Board of Professional Responsibility.

In early July, the board sent the letter to Young stating, Our inquiry has not revealed sufficient evidence to proceed against the attorney (Sherwood) for violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Dismissal of the case was approved and set to become final in 30 days, absent a written appeal.

During the Registry boards July meeting, the dismissal letter was considered closed to the public. Registry members asked the AGs Office for an opinion on whether it should be a public record.

Sherwood later provided a copy of a letter she received on the cases dismissal to the Lookout.

By the time the board meets again in September, the question could be moot. But the Registry board probably wont be happy with the cases dismissal.

Not so tough

A Nashville Criminal Court judge ordered former state Rep. Jeremy Durham to serve seven days in jail for DUI after suspending most of a year-long sentence, the Tennessee Journal reported.

The attorney for Durham, a Franklin Republican, requested a lighter penalty that would allow him to serve 48 hours at a Rutherford County facility where offenders can pay for better digs than jail.

Former Republican state representative Jeremy Durhams 2022 booking photo after being arrested for DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia. (Photo: Metro Nashville Police Department)

The former rep hit a car just off Broadway in Nashville late one night. He was charged with felony reckless endangerment, DUI, resisting arrest and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia.

Apparently, he tried to get out of the arrest that night by telling police he was an attorney and former legislator. That didnt help his cause.

Judge Jennifer Smith called the situation egregious and questioned whether Durham appreciated the gravity of it, according to the report.

Durham must have failed to mention he was expelled from the House in 2016 for not-so-exemplary behavior toward more than 20 women who worked in the legislature. But whos counting?

Forty nights to sit and listen to the midnight train to Memphis. *

*Chris Stapleton, Midnight Train to Memphis

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A group of federal judges has pleaded with U.S. leaders to cool off with attacks on members of the judicial system, following a rise in the number and severity of intimidation and death threats.

In a judicial forum hosted by the group Speak Up for Justice, several judges spoke about their personal experiences of receiving hatred and harassment and urged those at the top to stop using irresponsible rhetoric.

It comes after President Donald Trumps consistent attacks on the legal system, which have intensified since returning to office. The president has claimed the justice system has been weaponized against him and blamed the Democrats for using what he calls lawfare.

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Recently Trump and his allies have lashed out against judges including James Boasberg who had blocked the administrations efforts to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that her office had filed a misconduct complaint against Boasberg.

In a judicial forum hosted by the group Speak Up for Justice Thursday several judges spoke about their personal experiences of receiving hatred and harassment and urged those at the top to stop using irresponsible rhetoric (Speak Up For Justice)

Though Trump was not mentioned specifically by name, attacks were being led from the top down by White House spokespeople, according to Esther Salas, a District Court judge in New Jersey.

Salas noted that state-level judges, as well as federal judges, were now being targeted.

The fix check is so easy in some ways, right, because what we need is our political leaders from the top down to stop fanning these flames, to stop using irresponsible rhetoric, to stop referring to judges as corrupt and biased and monsters that hate America. We need our leaders to lead responsibly, Salas said at the virtual forum on Thursday.

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Stop demonizing us, stop villainizing us, because what they're doing when they do that irresponsible rhetoric is they are inviting people to do us harm because our leaders are calling us idiots and deranged, and monsters.

It comes after consistent attacks on the legal system by Trump and his administration, including AG Pam Bondi (pictured right), which have intensified since the presidents return to office (Getty Images)

Salas gave an emotional address to the forum, noting that this month had marked the fifth anniversary of her son Daniels death. The 20-year-old was killed while celebrating his birthday in 2020 shooting by a gunman who had intended to kill his mother.

Judge Esther Salas gave an emotional address to Thursdays forum, noting that this month had marked the fifth anniversary of her son Daniels death. The 20-year-old was killed while celebrating his birthday in 2020 shooting by a gunman who had intended to kill his mother (Speak Up For Justice)

So we just need civility, Salas said. If you're a leader in this country. Lead responsibly. That's all we're asking. She also thanked the other judges, on behalf of her son and family, for speaking out about their experiences.

I know it wasn't something you wanted to do, she said.

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Paul R. Kiesel, who moderated Thursdays forum, added that such attacks from higher-ups was unprecedented.

This has never happened before this isnt just another cycle of criticism, he said. This is unprecedented. We're coming out here today because this has never happened in this country before.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.

In a statement shared with Politico a White House spokesperson said: Attacks against public officials, including judges, have no place in our society and President Trump knows all too well the impact of callous attacks having faced two assassination attempts.
One woman was killed and another person injured in a San Bernardino park after the two were mauled in an attack involving more than a dozen stray dogs on Thursday, police said.

San Bernardino police converged on Perris Hill Park in the 1100 block of East Highland Avenue after receiving a call that someone was being attacked by dogs in the park, said Sgt. Chris Gray of the San Bernardino Police Department.

Officers encountered multiple dogs when they arrived, he said.

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"It appears they may have been stray dogs," Gray said.

At least one of the dogs began to charge at one of the officers, Gray said, prompting the officer to fire at the pit bull.

The pit bull was struck and died at the scene.

Read more: Man is killed by pit bulls, who block paramedics from victim, authorities say

It was not immediately clear where the dogs came from or how many were directly involved in the attack,Gray said.

"It was a bit of a chaotic scene at first because there were multiple dogs out there," Gray said.

However, officers were able to find two people who appeared to have suffered several dog bites in the attack, he said.

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Officers rendered aid to the two victims. One of them, a woman, was taken to a hospital and died.

She was identified as Teodora Mendoza, 51, by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's coroner division.

Alex Lozano, 21, told The Times that Mendoza was his mother and said she often stayed at Perris Hill Park with a male companion.

His mother had been homeless for more than a year now, Lozano said.

Mendoza usually split her time between San Bernardino and Banning, where Lozano now lives, he said. However, he said he had not spoken to her for some time.

"My grandpa from Texas called and said that my mom was attacked by pit bulls," he said. "That's how I found out."

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It was unclear if the two victims knew each other, he said.

Animal services officials were called to assist police officers and took a total of 14 dogs from the park, said Araceli Mata, spokesperson for the Police Department.

Deaths related to dog bites are rare, but have increased across the country in recent years.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35 deaths in the U.S. were attributed to being struck or bitten by a dog in 2018. That number jumped to 81 people in 2021, climbed again to 98 in 2022, and in 2023, the most recent year with available data, the CDC reported 96 deaths attributed to dogs.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) As Georgetown County students returned to school Friday morning, district leaders said safety, support, and academic growth are the top priorities this year.

For some, it was their very first time walking the halls bringing a mix of excitement and nerves. But educators say their focus is clear building confidence and helping every student succeed. Georgetown County is one of just two districts in the Lowcountry that resumed classes today. Administrators are leaning into strategies that led to success last year especially when it comes to academics.

We have what we call 1% goals here at Maryville Elementary, said Principal Dr. Carla Brandon. Every staff member has a one percent goal. Our mindset is that what we did last year, were going to do it one percent better.

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The district serves about 7,500 students across 19 campuses. Last school year, nearly 50 student threats were investigated none turned out to be serious, but district leaders said it was a wake-up call.

To enhance safety this year, metal detectors are now in place at all middle and high schools, and every school will have a school resource officer (SRO) on site. A new threat assessment system is also launching, which will immediately notify SROs of any reported threats or bullying.

School officials said this isnt just about enforcement its about creating a culture of kindness and accountability.

I try to teach kids: good thoughts, good choices, good people, said Bryan McKay, a school resource officer with the City of Georgetown Police Department. If you have good thoughts, youre probably going to make good choices and thats a step closer to being safe.

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The district is also taking a whole-child approach promoting mental and physical wellness. That includes vaping prevention, wraparound services, and a progressive discipline plan aimed at helping students make healthy, positive choices.

We want to encourage them to do whats best for their health and safety, said Dr. Bethany Giles, superintendent of Georgetown County School District. Were providing the support they need to make those decisions.

To further build a supportive culture, the district is rolling out a kindness campaign designed to promote respect, inclusion, and early intervention to keep small problems from escalating into bigger ones.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT)  Summer break is coming to an end for thousands of Tri-State students, with EVSC resuming classes Monday. And in western Kentucky, the annual Stuff the Bus event is being held at both Owensboro Walmart locations to help local students have everything they needs for the new academic year.

School supplies can be dropped off between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.. The following supplies can be donated for the event:

Backpacks

Pencils

Erasers

Pens (Blue, black and red)

Crayola crayons (24 pack

Crayola markers

Crayola colored pencils

Highlighters

Glue sticks

Folders (3-prong and solid colors)

Notebooks (solid colors)

Three ring binders

Loose leaf paper

Pencil pouches

Pencil top erasers

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Eyewitness News. Everywhere you are.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW)  The Siegel & Shuster Society has worked toward a Superman statue in Cleveland for years, and Saturday morning that is coming true at the corner of St. Clair and Ontario downtown.

The Siegel & Shuster Societys mission is to educate people about Supermans origins in Cleveland, including paying tribute to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

8 Superman filming locations you can walk to in downtown Cleveland

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Siegel created Superman and Shuster was the illustrator when they were teens attending Glenville High School in the city.

Superman is widely considered as the first superhero to show up in the comic book medium.

A relative of Siegels, Gary Kaplan, is the president of the Siegel & Shuster Society. Hes so happy that theyll finally be unveiling the Superman statue.

Siegel & Shuster Society WJW photo Siegel & Shuster Society

People all over the world know who he is, but they dont know it started here, and thats our mission statement. We want the world to know it started in Cleveland. This is the birthplace, Kaplan said. Its going to be super exciting. I mean, its unbelievable. Its finally happening after all these years. I dont think Ive ever been this excited ever.

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On top of an 18-foot, stainless steel statue depicting the Man of Steel, there will be three bronze figures of Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Siegels wife Joanne, who was the inspiration for Lois Lane.

Special place: Superman director says farewell to Cleveland

Additionally, there is a phone booth with Clark Kents clothes and glasses inside of it, forming a full tribute plaza outside of the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland.

The daughter of Jerry and Joanne Siegel will speak at the unveiling ceremony Saturday morning.

Shes going to be there and shes going to speak at the ceremony, and Ill probably have tears in my eyes at that point, Kaplan added.

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The timing is perfect, according to Kaplan, who noted this is happening on the heels of the new Superman film, which was partially shot in Cleveland.

Kaplan said hes seen the move twice and thinks its a great film with a phenomenal cast, especially David Corenswet as Superman, that is very true to the comics Siegel and Shuster created.

This is the summer of Superman, 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 Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
Dozens of people filled the pews at the Sunnyside New Life Community Church on Thursday as members and local officials unveiled a new historical roadside marker commemorating the community's legacy.

The historical marker to honor the church and school in southwest Frederick founded in the late 19th century by formerly enslaved people comes after great efforts from the community  especially Roxanne Weedon, a descendant of its founders, who worked for seven years on helping the community get recognized in this way.

"Only clusters of families know about us, but this way, the whole state, the whole county, everyone will understand how important this land is to us," Weedon said.

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She hopes people who see this sign learn persistence, endurance and devotion.

Almost a decade ago, the rights to the property of the church were turned over to the congregation after a two-year fight with the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, The Frederick News-Post previously reported.

The Maryland Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust, funded the tall, cast metal roadside marker, which will be installed next week at the intersection of U.S. 15 and Mountville Road, according to Julie Schablitsky, the director of the state department's Office of Cultural Resources.

"Any way that MDOT can help amplify these stories and share it with the public, we love doing that, especially when it's a way that, along our roadways, we can help educate the traveling public," Schablitsky said.

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The sign marks the historically Black community's Mountville School, established circa 1888, and the church, constructed circa 1899.

"Many purchased land by mortgaging their homes," the sign reads. "Before completion of the school and church, services were held in homes."

Ahead of the unveiling, Roxanne Weedon reached out to notify her distant cousins, Anna Weedon and Wendy Whiten, whose maiden name is Weedon  a pair of sisters who grew up in the Sunnyside area.

They said both their father and grandmother were born in the area.

When the sisters, who now live elsewhere in Frederick, learned of this event, they decided to come out to support the recognition.

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Whiten hopes the sign educates people on the history of the church and makes them interested in learning more about it.

"They were true believers. They were spiritual people, and they founded this whole thing on love," Anna Weedon said of the founders. "My hope for this church is that they remember that these were spiritual people, and their goal was to bring love and forgiveness and all the wonderful, good things that's in God's word."

Dwyane Bell, who is originally from Prince George's County, became the Sunnyside church's pastor in 2019.

He has been part of the church since 2003 after marrying his wife, who grew up attending it.

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"This church has been a fixture in this community and this county, and we continue to grow as we inspire the next generation to serve the one and only true God," Bell said. "I'm just so blessed to be a part of it."

Local and state officials, including Maryland state Sen. William Folden, Frederick County Council President Brad Young and County Council Vice President Kavonte Duckett, also attended Thursday's event.

"This is an important marker to ensure the legacy and the contributions of this church to the community is forever marked, is forever remembered," Folden told attendees.

After this significant marker, Roxanne Weedon said the community hopes to continue church restoration projects to "make it better than what was left to us for the next generation."

"I'm just overwhelmed with the outpouring of love that came through that door today," she said. "It was more than I even imagined."
The police chief at Suquamish PD is praising one of his officers after he helped rescue an injured eagle near Doe Kag Wats estuary in Kitsap County on Thursday.

According to the chief, a caller told Officer Charlie Wilson that the bird was diving and slammed into the ground, where it remained.

Officer Wilson coordinated with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Department to bring the bird to a rescue on Bainbridge Island.

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Such an honor... such a blessing, Officer Wilson wrote in a text to his police chief.

Suquamish PD says they are waiting to hear the prognosis for the eagle, and hope to have Officer Wilson at the release back to the wild if that happens.
On The Agenda

Cushman & Wakefields latest Greater Bay Area Residential and Commercial Real Estate Investment Market 1H 2025 Review and 2H Outlook, published this week, shows that the regions residential market remained broadly stable, despite weakening sentiment in the second quarter due to escalating geopolitical risks and ongoing trade tensions.

Government support continued across Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities, with both central and local authorities maintaining demand-side easing and supply-side financing relief measures. These included the extension of the four cancellations and four reductions initiatives, as well as special-purpose bonds to acquire idle land and unsold homes. Guangzhou notably became the first Tier-1 city to fully lift its three restrictions on housing.

From January to March, traditionally a slower season, the primary residential market recorded moderate growth. By midyear, the GBA logged approximately 137,000 new home transactions, up 3% year-on-year. First-tier cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen saw stronger momentum, though total transactions fell 26% compared to the second half of 2024. Market sentiment softened in April as ChinaU.S. tariff uncertainties resurfaced, prompting buyers to adopt a cautious wait-and-see stance. April sales dropped 16% from March, while May and June held steady.

Home prices in the primary market were driven largely by the quality of new launches, while developers used more pragmatic pricing to offload inventory. Secondary home prices, especially in Shenzhen, rose 4.0% in Q1 but then dipped 4.4% in Q2 as caution set in, resulting in a slight year-to-date decline of 0.5%.

Cushman & Wakefields Alva To noted that high-quality units in prime locations remain in demand despite market volatility. He expects continued support from first-time buyers and upgraders, forecasting monthly new home sales of 27,00028,000 units in the second half. Still, he warned that full-year home prices may correct by up to 5%, especially if uncertainty lingers into Q3.

The commercial real estate (CRE) sector in the GBA saw a strong first half, with investment volume reaching RMB24.7 billion  a 108% increase year-on-year and about 31% of the mainland total. Most transactions were under RMB1 billion, signaling ongoing caution among investors.

Industrial and logistics properties dominated, accounting for over half the total volume, with 14 major deals. Tier-2 cities like Dongguan, Foshan, and Zhuhai were particularly active. Dongguan stood out as a logistics hub thanks to its strategic location.

Retail assets also drew increasing interest, especially community malls with stable rental yields. Nine transactions were recorded in H1. Charli Chan, Deputy Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, expects logistics and retail to remain hot sectors in H2. However, a surge in warehouse supply may raise vacancy rates and pressure rents. Still, pragmatic pricing is narrowing the buyerseller gap, creating opportunities for long-term investors. Retail projects in mature Tier-2 communities are becoming prime targets for institutional capital. By Times reporter

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Turning the corner on 6th and Main Streets, an hours-long line of potential customers has been waiting to get a final dip and drink at Cole's French Dip. It's been this way since July 7, when owner Cedd Moses and his Pouring With Heart company announced the imminent closure of the historic restaurant and saloon.

"It's back to the old days temporarily, when we were packed all the time before the pandemic," Moses said Thursday.

The last day of service for the landmark restaurant, which claims to have invented the French dip, was meant to be Aug. 2. Now, due to the outpouring of support from the community as well as advocacy from local organizations including DTLA Residents Association, Independent Hospitality Coalition, Historic Core BID, Central City Association and the DTLA Alliance, Moses has struck a deal with the space's landlord to extend service for 45 days.

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"Diners and imbibers have been visiting from all across Southern California to say their goodbyes, for which we couldnt be more grateful," read a statement announcing the extension. "Though it's likely not going to be forever, it is still a gift to keep the ovens on, the drinks flowing and our family of staff employed for a little bit longer."

Moses declined to detail the terms with the landlord but said sales have jumped dramatically since the closure announcement. Notably, the restaurant, which in the recent past has sold more drinks than food, is now selling as many dips as drinks, he said. As of last weekend, the restaurant is opening at noon on Saturdays and Sundays to accommodate the crowds.

Locals fill the Cole's French Dip landmark restaurant to taste their signature dishes for the last time. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

"When places are closing, it's always such a celebration and a cast off," said Eddie Navarrette, the executive director of the Independent Hospitality Coalition. "People want to get in there and get emotional and have some of that nostalgic memory with a cocktail.

"It's the experience of being in the room one last time."

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Moses, who also sits on the board of the Independent Hospitality Coalition, said he is grateful for the surge in business. But he said it's unlikely Cole's will remain open indefinitely.

"We understand people are coming in now to say goodbye, and we can't count on that business being sustainable," he said, adding that the restaurant business in L.A. remains a "broken model."

In addition to the lack of demand since the pandemic, Moses said increasing costs, particularly of labor, have been a major drag on the business.

"Coming out of the pandemic, we just assumed business would come roaring back," he added. "But unfortunately we never saw that surge of business that we expected until just this couple of weeks, ironically after we announced our closing."

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In the interim, Moses is actively looking for a new buyer of the business  one that will respect the historic value of Cole's, the oldest restaurant in the city.

"We have a lot of love for Cole's, so we don't want to sell it to just anybody," he said. "We want someone that's going to continue to take care of it in the future."

Reflected in the restaurant windows, locals flock to Cole's French Dip. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Police have arrested a suspect in the death of a 21-year-old Lebanon woman and her unborn son.

Sidney Fredrick Wilson V was arrested in Nixa on July 31, 2025, according to a Lebanon Police Department press release, and is facing two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in the deaths of Reagan Lynn Wilson and their unborn son, Silas Quinn Wilson. He is being held without bond in Laclede County Jail.

Sidney Wilson is listed as the father of Silas Wilson in Reagan (McKinney) Wilson's obituary.

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According to the press release, Lebanon police responded to the report of a shooting in the 700 block of North Adams Avenue at 11:37 p.m. June 5, 2025, where they found 21-year-old Reagan Wilson with multiple gunshot wounds at the residence. Wilson was pregnant at the time of the shooting and was pronounced dead shortly after.

Silas initially survived but died more than a week later on June 13, 2025, due to an undisclosed condition "caused by a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain, often before or shortly after death," according to the probable cause statement.

"Our entire team mourns the loss of this young mother and child. Our team and our partners are disgusted by this loss of life and will relentlessly pursue justice for Reagan and her child, said Chief Jerry Harrison of the Lebanon Police Department in a statement.

Harrison thanked the Laclede County Sheriff's Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the ATF for their assistance in the investigation and Gov. Mike Kehoe's Relentless Pursuit Team for coordinating the arrest. The highway patrol said in a news release that the U.S. Marshals Service, the Greene County Sheriffs Office and Christian County Sheriffs Office assisted in the arrest.

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The investigation is still active and anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Lebanon Police Department at 417-532-3131 or to submit tips anonymously online at www.LebanonMissouri.org.

Suspect's story inconsistent with cellphone data

According to the probable cause statement written by a Lebanon Police Department employee whose identity was redacted, a doorbell camera captured gunshots  the number was redacted  within a 6-second timeframe around 11:30 p.m. on June 5.

"Through my training and experience, I know that whenever that many shots are fired towards one person, the suspect typically knows the victim personally and is considered 'overkill,'" wrote the unidentified Lebanon Police Department employee.

The probable cause statement goes on to outline the investigation into Sidney Wilson, who initially told police that he was at his home from about 9:30 p.m. June 5 until 12:41 a.m. June 6, when he went to Mercy Hospital Lebanon.

Sidney Fredrick Wilson V was arrested July 31, 2025, and is facing two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in the deaths of Reagan Lynn Wilson and their unborn son, Silas Quinn Wilson. Sidney Wilson is being held without bond in Laclede County Jail.

During a second interview, LPD obtained Wilson's cellphone and consent to search it. Google Maps data indicated that that Wilson left his residence around 10:30 p.m. on June 5, 2025, and was on Interstate 44 headed toward Lebanon, according to the probable cause statement, which contradicted his initial story.

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Throughout the investigation, the LPD employee also noted that "(Sidney) Wilson has never once asked about the status of the investigation and where we were on locating a suspect in the investigation, he only asked about when he could get his vehicle back."

More: Pregnant woman fatally shot, baby survives as Lebanon police seek information

Resources to stay safe during pregnancy

Pregnancy can be one of the happiest times in a person's life, but it can also one of the most dangerous.

A study of police and medical examiner records in 11 U.S. cities showed that pregnancy significantly increased one's risk of becoming a victim of intimate partner homicide, according to the World Health Organization.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of homicides to people who were pregnant or within a year of pregnancy involved intimate partner violence.

If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner violence, help is available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 online at thehotline.org, by phone at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.

Additionally, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network's (RAINN) National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Man arrested, charged in death of pregnant Lebanon woman, baby
A suspect is in custody Thursday evening after crashing a stolen car near Encore casino in Everett, then carjacking a Republic Services trash truck and crashing it on a bridge into Boston, according to police.

The suspect crashed the first car  which was stolen from Medford  on Broadway in front of the casino after police tried to pull it over, Everett police said in a Facebook post. The suspect then ran away and carjacked the trash truck, but soon crashed it on the Alford Street Bridge, police said.

The incident led to a large police response from Everett, Boston and State Police near Encore Thursday afternoon. The police departments are processing three crime scenes, Everett police said.

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It is anticipated that Lower Broadway corridor will be closed for another 2 to 3 hrs for crime scene and hazmat cleanup, Everett police wrote on Facebook at 5:15 p.m.

Republic Services unionized employees walked off the job on July 1 and are still on strike. This has led to a waste pile-up in the many Greater Boston communities that contract with the company to provide municipal waste services.

No further information  including the suspects name  has been released, but Everett police said more information about the incident would be shared with the public later on.

More local crime stories

Read the original article on MassLive.
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF)  The Washington County Sheriffs Office said a suspect wanted in connection to a shooting that left two dead in Sandersville was taken into custody Friday.

According to police in a Facebook post, Damian Reaves into custody in connection with a double homicide that occurred in Sandersville on Sunday. Reaves was arrested shortly after 2 p.m. on Habersham Street in Milledgeville on Aug. 1.

The U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Milledgeville Police Department, and Baldwin County Sheriffs Office all assisted in the arrest and are continuing to investigate.

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We are deeply grateful for the collaboration and swift response of all involved agencies and for the support of the public, Sheriff Joel Cochran said in a statement.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  The suspect in a fatal daylight stabbing at a Muni stop in San Francisco last weekend is due in court Friday. Sean Collins was arrested Saturday in the fatal stabbing of Colden Kimber, a 28-year-old man who moved to San Francisco from New York State.

Gunman who killed woman in San Leandro hunted for victims, boyfriend says

Officers responded to a report of a stabbing in SFs Taraval District at Ocean and Lee avenues at 4:12 p.m. and found a man, later identified as Kimber, suffering from a stab wound. The victim was transported to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Colden Kimber (Photo: GoFundMe)

The San Francisco Police Department arrested 29-year-old Sean Collins who was booked into the San Francisco County Jail on homicide charges.

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According to a GoFundMe set up on his behalf, Kimber was waiting at the bus stop with his girlfriend when he was attacked by a knife-wielding Collins. The bus stop was surrounded by families and children when the attack occurred, according to the GoFundMe.

Collins is due to be arraigned Friday at 9 a.m. at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
SANTEE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI)  An armed suspect shot and killed by law enforcement in Santee last weekend has been identified as 55-year-old Michael Redding.

Around 11:57 a.m., San Diego County Sheriff deputies responded to a call about an assault with a firearm and criminal threats at 9033 Willowgrove Avenue.

When they arrived on scene, law enforcement spoke to victims who had left the scene for their safety. They told authorities that the suspect was in the home still armed with a handgun.

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Deputies attempted to call the suspects phone number, but he refused to speak with them and remained barricaded in the home, according to authorities.

After several hours of negotiation, a gunshot was heard from inside the home. Authorities then breached the door and used a drone to locate him and found him further barricading himself inside the home.

Pedestrian fatally struck by vehicle in Chula Vista

Chemical agents were deployed into the house and the suspect exited through the front door firing rounds at the deputies.

Authorities say the shots struck the armored vehicle parked in front of the residence, prompting three deputies to fire their weapons at the suspect who died from the gunshots.

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The deputies who fired their weapons have been identified as Luke Vories, Kevin McCauley and Parker Robbins. Vories has 13 years of experience with the Sheriffs Office, McCauley with nine years and Robbins with seven years.

San Diego Police Homicide Detectives are investigating the incident per the countywide memorandum of understanding regarding officer involved shootings.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Weeks after an armored truck was robbed in Las Vegas, police in Texas arrested the suspect.

The robbery occurred in the 9800 block of West Charleston Avenue near South Hualapai Way at around 12:15 p.m. on July 16, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

The robbery involved an armored truck outside of a bank, and an estimated $300,000 was taken, according to a source from Metro.

Las Vegas police were investigating an armored truck robbery on the west part of the valley Wednesday afternoon. (KLAS) Las Vegas police were investigating an armored truck robbery on the west part of the valley Wednesday afternoon. (KLAS) Las Vegas police were investigating an armored truck robbery on the west part of the valley Wednesday afternoon. (KLAS)

Through the investigation, detectives identified Devonte Jackson, 29, as the suspect.

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On July 29, Texas State Troopers, with the help of the FBI, took Jackson into custody in Centerville, Texas.

Police booked him into the McLennan County jail in Waco, Texas, for one count of robbery with the use of a deadly weapon and one count of coercion with force with the use of a deadly weapon.

He was pending extradition to Las Vegas as of August 1.

No injuries were reported during the 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 KLAS.
The Swede, identified in court documents as Osama Krayem, was sentenced to life in prison for participating in the execution of Muath al-Kasasbeh.

A Swedish man was found guilty of serious war crimes and terrorism on Thursday over his role in the murder of a Jordanian air force pilot who was burned to death in Syria a decade ago, the Stockholm district court said in a verdict.

The Swede, identified in court documents as Osama Krayem, was sentenced to life in prison for participating in the execution of Muath al-Kasasbeh, who was burned alive in a cage after being captured in Syria in December 2014.

Convictions for attacks in France and Belgium

Krayem, 32, has previously been convicted of involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016, and was transferred to Sweden from France to stand trial in Stockholm.

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Krayem has denied acting with intent. His Swedish lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Henrik Olin, Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the National Unit for Security Cases, and Reena Devgun, Senior Prosecutor at the National Unit against International and Organized Crime, attend a press conference on 27 May 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Swedish Prosecution Authority has indicted Swedish man (credit: TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer/via REUTERS)

The Islamic State terrorist group, which once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people inSyria and Iraq, captured the Jordanian pilot and later released a video showing his execution.

While the evidence showed that the fire that killed al-Kasasbeh was lit by another man, Krayem was also involved in the killing, the court said.

"The District Court has found that the defendant, through his actions, contributed so actively to the death of the pilot that he should be considered a perpetrator," presiding Judge Anna Liljenberg Gullesjo said in a court statement.

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Islamic State controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, before being defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019.

Under Swedish law, courts can try individuals for violations of international law committed abroad.
Ray, a New York voter in his mid-30s, backed Donald Trump last year after having voted for Joe Biden in 2020, pointing to Trumps pledges to boost the economy. Now, he is not happy with the results on all of those pledges.

President Trump has made a lot of promises that hes not really cashing out, Ray said.

But Scott, a 29-year-old Missourian who also flipped from Biden in 2020 to Trump in 2024, said he's happy with Trumps presidency so far.

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In general, hes keeping his promises, Scott said.

The two men's opposing views of Trumps presidency underscore the wide range of opinions among swing voters who helped return Trump to the White House  and who may hold the key to the results of future elections, too.

Both men were among eight voters who spoke to NBC News again in recent days after having detailed their hopes for the Trump administration back in January. NBC News is not using the last names of some of the eight voters to allow them to speak more freely about national politics.

These voters, who participated in the final NBC News poll of the 2024 election and backed Trump after supporting Biden or not voting in 2020, were largely optimistic that a second Trump presidency would bring about change, especially on the economy and immigration issues.

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Now, theyre split on Trumps presidency.

Four of the recontacted respondents were happy with Trumps performance so far, while two offered more mixed reviews and two disapproved of his first six months back in office. (The 10 other voters who participated in January were not reachable or declined interviews.) Overall, public opinion polls have shown Trumps approval rating declining since he took office, though not as far as at this point in his first term.

These voters also diverged on Trumps signature policies, including tariffs, deportations and the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill.

While Trumps first six months have been dominated by those policies, the recent controversy surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died by suicide while facing sex-trafficking charges in 2019, has clouded some of these voters views of Trump.

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Some who were happy with Trump pointed to the Epstein issue as one point of contention, saying Trump has broken that promise to release documents surrounding the case.

Scott, the Missouri voter who was generally happy with the presidents administration and its performance, said the Epstein matter had somewhat dampened his support for Trump, but added, Im still seeing how thats going to play out.

Stephen, whos in his mid-30s and works in the film industry in California, said that while hes happy with Trump for the most part, Trumps handling of the Justice Department's files related to the Epstein case makes me angry to my soul.

That pissed me off, he said. But he later added that he would still vote for Trump again if given the chance to redo his 2024 vote  a potential sign, though in just one interview, that the Epstein case is angering Trump's base but not necessarily breaking it.

Economic struggles

The voters who were unhappy with Trumps performance so far pointed to his handling of the economy, after his pledges to boost the economy and bring down prices during the campaign.

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Rather than putting American values and American lives first, hed rather focus on international issues, which isnt really what he promised, said Jorge, a Florida independent who was too young to vote in 2020 but backed Trump last year. His campaign was more or less about helping the economy, helping the working class, and really helping out when it comes to taxes.

Jorge said in January that he was skeptical of Trump, despite voting for him. Now, he says he would not vote for Trump again if given the chance.

Janice Dunn, 82, of North Carolina, said she was thoroughly disappointed in Trump so far, pointing to the sweeping federal employee layoffs that marked the early weeks of his second term. She also voiced concerns that high prices have not come down.

He said he was gonna get gas down, he was gonna get groceries down, said Dunn. Now he put tariffs on half the stuff we buy and things are going up, up, up. I feel like a lot of his plans are backfiring.

People wearing "MAGA" hats wait in line before a town hall event with Donald Trump at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., on Sept. 27. (Emily Elconin / Getty Images)

Ray, the New York voter, also said the presidents tariffs on other countries goods have contributed to economic instability.

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But other Trump voters praised his tariff policy and gave him positive marks on the economy. (The interviews were conducted before new tariff announcements from Trump and his administration this week.)

Javan Potts, 23, of Ohio, said he views tariffs as negotiating tactics, saying they have been effective and blaming the media for raising alarms about them by saying prices would skyrocket.

Rhonda, a 54-year-old gas station clerk in Illinois, said Trump is doing well on the tariffs and said she has not noticed a change in prices of everyday goods.

Despite what they said to begin with, it seems to be working out well, she said.

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Gonzell Turner, a 40-year-old Maryland resident and federal employee, said in January that the economy and high prices were top issues for him in 2024, and he praised Trump on those issues.

I feel like hes put it at the top of his list as far as what he wants to get done for the American people. So I feel like hes done his part and hes trying, said Turner, who also chalked the federal layoffs up to staff turnover that occurs at the start of a new administration.

Trump's signature issues

Trumps first six months have also been dominated by his focus on deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally, which also received mixed reviews from this group of voters.

Potts, from Ohio, said that we cant just ignore the problem because we want to be empathetic and added the U.S. needs a better system for people to come legally.

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If I went to Spain the next day illegally, Id get deported. Its not just a U.S. thing, its an around-the-world thing, he said.

Rhonda, of Illinois, said she supports the removal of immigrants in the country illegally, but noted that she wants Congress to come up with a solution for Dreamers, the undocumented young adults who came to the U.S. illegally as children.

But Ray, the New York voter who said in January that border security was a top issue for him, said that Trump was taking deportations a step too far and that the approach to deportations had been very heavy-handed.

Jorge noted that he has seen Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in his Hispanic community in Florida. He also said he was recently pulled over by a local law enforcement officer who asked to see his identification.

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Im an American who now has to be afraid, Jorge said, adding that he was not surprised by the focus on deportations given Trumps campaign rhetoric. Still, he criticized the administration for not distinguishing between immigrants in the country illegally with criminal records from those who work and benefit our society  an issue that has stuck out in polling on Trump's immigration agenda.

Its disappointing, Jorge said, later saying of Trump, He thinks he can just take everyone.

Most of these voters were wary of Trumps other signature accomplishment of his administration so far: the sweeping tax cut and spending measure known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Though supportive of Trump overall, Scott was torn on the bill. He supports increased funds for immigration enforcement but was skeptical of the trillions of dollars it could add to the deficit, calling the measure a hard pill to swallow.

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Stephen said that while he would have voted for the bill if he were in Congress, he does not like large spending bills because theres always stuff smuggled in, noting that immigration policy and no taxes on tips are in the same bill.

Both sides lump everything all together in one thing, because they know if they can get enough popular things on it, then thats how they get their unpopular s--- through, he said.

Jorge, Janice and Ray were also all critical of the measure, taking issue with the spending measures and questioning if they would feel the benefits.

This is another one of Trumps policies that he said he would do but he hasnt really, which is cut government, cut taxes on the little people, said Ray. Really its just filled with tax cuts and more bloat.

But even with his concerns, Ray, a registered Democrat, said he would not take back his vote for Trump last year.

Unfortunately I probably would still vote for Trump expecting that he might just crash everything and America gets the restart, Ray said, noting that he tends to support candidates who speak their minds.

Ray noted that he supported Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City earlier this year.

Like Trump, I dont agree with all his views, Ray said of Mamdani. But he makes the effort to go out and talk to people and reach out to people and try to actually do things that are better for the working class.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Syria has pledged to investigate clashes in the southern province of Sweida which killed hundreds of people last month -the second major episode of sectarian violence since the ouster of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

In a decree dated July 31, justice minister Muzher al-Wais said a committee of seven people - including judges, lawyers and a military official - would look into the circumstances that led to the "events in Sweida" and report back within three months.

The committee would investigate reported attacks and abuses against civilians and refer anyone proven to have participated in such attacks to the judiciary.

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The violence in Sweida began on July 13 between tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in the name of the Druze.

The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had longstanding tensions over land and other resources.

A U.S.-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week.

In March, hundreds of Alawite civilians were killed after government-aligned forces deployed to Syria's coastal areas following a deadly attack on new government forces by militias still aligned with Assad, who hails from the Alawite minority.

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Assad's brutal crackdown on protests against him in 2011 from within Syria's Sunni majority spiralled into a nearly 14-year war. Western leaders are keen to ensure the new government, led by a former Sunni Islamist group that has its roots in global jihad, conducts an orderly democratic transition.

The fact-finding committee established after the March killings last month referred 298 people suspected of carrying out abuses against Alawites to the judiciary.

The committee said it found no evidence of commanders ordering troops to commit violations and that 265 people had been involved in the initial attack on government forces.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said in a statement that Grandview Casino, a satellite casino operated under Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, S.A. (SJM)s license, was closed in the early hours of yesterday, following the established procedures.

The closure was coordinated between the DICJ and several other departments, ensuring compliance with legal terms and the orderly execution of the process.

After the formal closure of Grandview Casinos doors at 11:59 p.m., the DICJ proceeded with suspending the operation of all the tables, having coordinated with the various public services and monitored the clearing of all people from the premises.

As in the initial phase, the DICJ noted that the process had taken place in an orderly manner.

During the casinos closure, the Labour Affairs Bureau dispatched personnel to the site to provide information to employees and support them through a dedicated hotline. Public Security Police Force and Judiciary Police personnel monitored the entire process.

The DICJ said it would continue to optimize its oversight mechanisms, promote the normalization and healthy, orderly development of the gaming sector, and create more favorable conditions for the adequate diversification of the economy.

Grandview was one of the 11 satellite casinos notified to close or be acquired by concessionaires by December 31 this year. It was the first from this group to close its doors, and the others are expected to follow suit by the end of the year.

According to information previously provided by the government, only two casinos from this group are expected to resume operations after December 31  one at the LArc Hotel and another at Ponte 16. These casinos also operate under the SJM license.

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The committee would investigate reported attacks and abuses against civilians and refer anyone proven to have participated in such attacks to the judiciary.

Syria has pledged to investigate clashes in the southern province of Sweida, which killed hundreds of people last month - the second major episode of sectarian violence since the ouster of longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

In a decree dated July 31, Justice Minister Muzher al-Wais said a committee of seven people - including judges, lawyers, and a military official - would look into the circumstances that led to the "events in Sweida" and report back within three months.

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The committee would investigate reported attacks and abuses against civilians and refer anyone proven to have participated in such attacks to the judiciary.

The violence in Sweida began on July 13 between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions. Government forces were sent to quell the fighting, but the bloodshed worsened, and Israel carried out strikes on Syrian troops in support of the Druze.

The Druze are a minority offshoot of Islam with followers in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Sweida province is predominantly Druze but is also home to Sunni tribes, and the communities have had longstanding tensions over land and other resources.

This aerial view shows evacuating members of the Bedouin community riding atop a truck moving along a road in Taarah, in Syria's southern Sweida province on the way to Daraa, on July 21, 2025. (credit: RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

A US-brokered truce ended the fighting, which had raged in Sweida city and surrounding towns for nearly a week.

New Syrian regime faces instability

In March, hundreds of Alawite civilians were killed after government-aligned forces deployed to Syria's coastal areas following a deadly attack on new government forces by militias still aligned with Assad, who hails from the Alawite minority.

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Assad's brutal crackdown on protests against him in 2011 from within Syria's Sunni majority spiraled into a nearly 14-year war. Western leaders are keen to ensure the new government, led by a former Sunni Islamist group that has its roots in global jihad, conducts an orderly democratic transition.

The fact-finding committee established after the March killings last month referred 298 people suspected of carrying out abuses against Alawites to the judiciary.

The committee said it found no evidence of commanders ordering troops to commit violations and that 265 people had been involved in the initial attack on government forces.
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)  Syria's new authorities have set up a committee tasked with investigating attacks on civilians during recent sectarian violence in the country's south, officials said Thursday.

The fighting in Sweida province earlier in July killed hundreds of people, displaced tens of thousands, and threatened to unravel Syrias fragile postwar transition.

It was sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans, mostly Sunni, and fighters with the Druze religious minority, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Syrian government forces intervened to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans.

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Disturbing videos and reports soon surfaced of Druze civilians being humiliated and killed in public, sometimes accompanied by sectarian slurs. Druze groups later launched revenge attacks on Bedouin communities.

Syria's Justice Ministry said the committee would work to uncover the circumstances that led to the events in Sweida," investigate attacks and refer those implicated in them to the judiciary, state-run news agency SANA reported. The committee is to submit a final report within three months.

A similar committee was formed in March, when sectarian violence on Syrias coast killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, also a Shiite offshoot.

Attacks by armed groups affiliated with former President Bashar Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, prompted Damascus to send security forces, which descended on the coast from other areas of the country, joined by thousands of armed civilians.

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That committee found there had been widespread, serious violations against civilians, including by members of Syria's new security forces and that more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed.

Its four-month investigation identified 300 people suspected of crimes, including murder, robbery, torture and looting and burning of homes and businesses. The suspects were referred for prosecution, the committee said but did not disclose how many were members of the security forces.

The outbreaks of violence have left Syria's religious and ethnic minorities increasingly suspicious of the country's new authorities, led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who previously led the Islamist insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Donald Trumps pausing of higher import taxes on a wide range of Mexican products a day before they were set to start saw the president relentlessly mocked on social media with the now-familiar TACO taunt.

The nickname TACO, short for Trump Always Chickens Out, stems from the presidents habit of making tariff threats, resulting in a drop in the markets, only for him to change course and see the markets rebound.

Trump announced the move in a Truth Social post following a phone call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday, hours before the supposedly firm Aug. 1 deadline for his global trade tariffs being put into place.

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He said the conversation had been very successful in that, more and more, we are getting to know and understand each other and suggested that the American trade relationship with Mexico is different from other countries because of the complexity of the border situation.

Trump announced he was pausing higher import taxes on a wide range of Mexican products after talks with Mexican President Gloria Sheinbaum on Thursday (AFP/Getty)

We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper, he added.

The reaction from some of Trumps most fervent critics was swift, predictable, and Mexican food-themed, invoking the TACO nickname investors have bestowed on the president for his economic flip-flopping.

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms press team was quick to pounce after Trumps announcement hit Truth Social, writing that it was TACO Thursday.

Another critic, writer Paul Rudnick, posted a dual screen grab noting headlines stating that Trump had said he wouldnt extend his tariff deadlines just a day before he announced yet another extension.

And a Democratic congressman, Rep. Chuy Garcia of Texas, twisted the knife a bit further, pointing out on X that consumers  not the Mexican government  pay the tariffs at issue.

Trump announces another 90-day pause on tariffs on Mexico. It may not be Tuesday, but we're calling it TACO Thursday ! And guess who pays the tariffs? Not Mexico, but you! https://t.co/toKmY56Xbh  Congressman Chuy Garcia (@RepChuyGarcia) July 31, 2025

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Another X user, added: SHE OWNS tRUMP ...TACO THURSDAY.
By Yimou Lee and Wen-Yee Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday that the new 20% tariff rate set by the Trump administration on goods imported from the island is "temporary", and the government expects to negotiate a lower figure.

Lai also noted that rates for semiconductors, electronics as well as information and communication technology will be subject to separate U.S. sectoral tariffs and are still to be worked out.

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A Thursday executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs ranging from 10% to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of trading partners.

While the 20% rate for Taiwan is less than the 32% threatened in April, it notably exceeds the 15% rates secured by Japan, South Korea and the European Union in trade deals.

"The 20% tariff rate was never Taiwan's target to begin with. We will continue negotiations and strive for a rate that's more favourable for Taiwan," Lai told a press briefing.

A U.S. official said Lai's statement that negotiations were continuing was "accurate".

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"The interim rate is lower than the original rate, and it's much lower than that of several other major trading partners with ongoing negotiations. We can interpret this as Taiwan's offer being well received and being close to a final agreement," said the official who declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the issue.

CHIP TARIFFS

Rates on semiconductors and other key tech goods are the subject of a U.S. national security probe, which is being conducted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962.

Lai said once the probe has concluded, Taiwan's negotiating team will enter into further talks. The U.S. plans to announce the results of the probe in two weeks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday.

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Neuberger Berman portfolio manager Yusuf Huang said Section 232 levies are likely to be higher than so-called reciprocal tariffs.

"If the tariff rate is set too low, companies would just keep producing in Taiwan and other countries and still face a 15%, 18%, or 20% tariff. That would defeat (Trump's) goal of reshoring manufacturing to the U.S., so it's likely to be set higher," he said.

Taiwan had the sixth-largest trade deficit with the U.S. last year, exporting about $74 billion more than it took in.

According to Yuanta Securities, the reciprocal tariff rate would only affect about a quarter of its U.S.-bound exports.

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"This tariff rate is only an outpost battle in the intense Taiwan-U.S. tariff negotiations," it said in a note to clients on Friday.

Sectors such as machinery and plastics would be among those affected by the reciprocal rate, according to a Friday internal report by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs seen by Reuters.

The report also noted that many Taiwanese companies produce tech goods in Southeast Asia and Mexico, and those goods would be subject to the rates for those countries.

The severity of chip tariff rates is a focal point for Taiwan, which is home to TSMC, the world's biggest contract chip manufacturer and producer of advanced AI chips, as well as a raft of other semiconductor-related companies.

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TSMC, which counts Nvidia and Apple as key clients, announced plans for a $100 billion U.S. investment with Trump at the White House in March. That came on top of $65 billion pledged for three plants in the state of Arizona.

The U.S., like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China regards as its own territory, but is its strongest international backer and main arms supplier, bound by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself.

Lai said on Friday that the trade talks were a means to deepen economic cooperation with the U.S., especially in defence and tech.

The TAIEX stock index ended Friday trade down 0.5%.

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Wen-Yee Lee; Additional reporting by Faith Hung, Roger Tung, Jeanny Kao and Reuters staff; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Edwina Gibbs)
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)  Basin Lighthouse will be holding a symposium this Friday called Taking Back Our Community, where community members, professionals, and organizations can discuss issues in the neighborhood. What to do with behavioral health and substance misuse challenges that affect the area is one of the topics that will be discussed during the event.

Keynote speakers, panel discussions, breakout sessions, resource tables, and opportunities to network will all be available at the symposium.

Event Details:

 Date: Friday, August 1, 2025

 Time: 9AM to 3PM

 Location: TTUHSC  321 Dotsy Ave, Odessa, TX 79763

 In-Person Registration: $15 (includes lunch)

 Virtual Attendance: Free via Zoom

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)  Ever wish you could talk shop with Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman?

Well, this fall you have a chance. Hell be coming to the College Street Music Hall on a book tour with Lee Buchanan on Friday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m.

Musician set to play now canceled Soundside Music Festival books new Connecticut show

The event, hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers, invites attendees for a-family friendly evening of conversation and tomfoolery with Little Woodchucks,' the pairs illustrated woodworking guide.

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The duo plans to do hands-on woodworking demonstrations, sing, and talk with the audience.

Questions for this event can be submitted on the RJ Julia Booksellers website. Questions can be about any woodworking projects you or your children may have.

Offerman is best known for his role as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation, but hes also a master woodworker and accomplished author.

His newest book, Little Woodchucks, offers 12 new family-friendly woodworking projects designed for kids. Projects include a handmade kit and a little free library.

Tickets are on sale on the RJ Julia Booksellers website and EventBrite.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.
The painted murals emblazoned across Tampa Bay streets could soon be washed away or painted over at the behest of state and federal leaders.

Jared Perdue, Floridas transportation secretary, posted a letter in July on social media ordering cities to keep their streets free and clear of political ideologies. His letter came soon after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a massive transportation bill in June that took aim at painted roads.

In his letter, Perdue warned local transportation agencies that his department could withhold state funds if they dont remove street art installations.

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The state budget this year set aside more than $680 million for transportation projects in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, primarily for highway construction and maintenance.

If local officials maintain displays like the rainbow-striped mural at the intersection of Central Avenue and 25th Street in St. Petersburg, transportation projects around Tampa Bay could lose critical funding. If they agree to remove the art, the area loses one of its best features, said St. Pete Pride President Byron Green-Calisch.

All of these (crosswalks) are visual representations of inclusion, he said. Even if youre just driving through, you know this is a safe space.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to governors around the country in July encouraging them to implement consistent markings on roads and crosswalks. Later, he clarified his message on social media.

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Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks, he wrote in a July 1 post on X. Political banners have no place on public roads.

Green-Calisch said he was disappointed, but not surprised, by the push to get rid of the Pride art on Florida streets.

Since 2023 and before, we have continued to suffer the assaults of elected officials that look to erase LGBTQ people, he said.

The rainbow flag mural in St. Petersburg has a special place in his heart, Green-Calisch said, because he was involved with its conception. St. Pete Pride raised $7,600 in 2020 to paint and maintain the mural, according to previous reporting from the Times.

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Tampa Bay is home to several road murals, including a Black Lives Matter installation, which now reads Black History Matters, in front of The Woodson African American Museum of Florida in St. Petersburg and a Back the Blue piece outside the Tampa Police Department headquarters.

St. Petersburg is known for its murals, many of them painted on private buildings. It hosts the Shine Mural Festival, which adds more public art to the city every year.

The Florida Department of Transportation has banned crosswalk art for several years, but its regulations around other pavement markings were more flexible. The department approved the rainbow flag mural in the Grand Central District in 2020.

The transportation department can allow existing street art projects to remain if the local agency can demonstrate good cause for doing so, according to Perdues letter.

A spokesperson for the city of St. Petersburg said in an email that the city would discuss whether any of its public art qualifies for an exemption.
The number of people being held in Tampa Bay jails for immigration authorities has risen sharply in recent months amid President Donald Trumps mass deportation push.

In Pinellas, the number of people being held on detainers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement  more commonly known as ICE  has quadrupled compared to two years ago. There was an average of 162 such people being held in the jail each day in June.

The number of detainers has also increased sharply in Manatee, Pasco and Polk counties, according to data provided by each to the Tampa Bay Times.

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In Manatee County, the number of people held on ICE detainers in the first six months of this year is 42% higher than in all of 2023. In Pasco, its up 76% over the same period. Polk County saw one of the most striking surges  rising from just four detainers in all of 2023 to 83 in the first half of this year, a more than twentyfold increase.

Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office declined to release data on immigration holds, citing a federal law that places such records under the control of ICE and limits public access. The restriction typically applies to individuals held directly for ICE and may exempt names and personal information about detainees. Other counties in the Tampa Bay region did not cite any legal barriers and released data upon request.

Detainers arent new to immigration enforcement; theyve long been a tool used by ICE to apprehend and deport individuals not authorized to be in the U.S.

However, increases have put a strain on some of the jails capacities.

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In early July, the Pinellas County Jail exceeded its operational capacity, forcing more inmates to sleep on the floor due to delays in ICE transfers to federally run detention centers.

We had to tell them [ICE], look, you cant keep bringing people in and not taking anybody out, said Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.

Gualtieri told the Times that at one point, 220 people were sleeping on the floor, far exceeding the usual number of between 130 and 150.

In general, local jails may hold individuals on ICE detainers for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be eligible for release  such as after posting bail or completing their sentence. However, Pinellas County has an agreement with ICE that allows its jail to hold people solely for immigration enforcement purposes, regardless of any pending criminal charges they may be facing.

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Under the agreement, the county can detain individuals for up to 72 hours after ICE reviews their immigration status, before transferring them to a designated federal detention facility. In exchange for housing these individuals, Pinellas is paid a daily per-person fee of $118 by ICE.

Six other county jails in Florida  in Collier, Baker, Glades, Orange, Martin, and Walton counties  have agreements with federal agencies to hold individuals for immigration-related purposes only.

Starting August 4, more county jails in the state will start to accept individuals for immigration cases only, expanding participation from seven counties to all 67. The rollout will happen in two phases: First, counties from Sumter north will begin implementation, followed by the southern part of the state at a later date.

The move to allow all 67 Florida counties to accept individuals for immigration cases builds on a coordinated effort by state leaders like Governor Ron DeSantis and law enforcement to deepen collaboration with federal immigration authorities.

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The opening of Alligator Alcatraz, an immigration detention facility at the former Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, eased pressure on Pinellas County  for now according to Gualtieri. The facility, which can hold up to 3,000 people, has already sparked scrutiny and drawn multiple lawsuits.

Sheriffs are not informed where detainees are taken once theyre transferred from local custody to ICE. The Tampa Bay Times was able to track some transfers from Pinellas County jail to the Krome Detention Center. Former Tampa Bay residents with final orders of removal can be placed in Alligator Alcatraz.

The numbers are only expected to grow.

Over 500 sheriff deputies in Floridas credentials have been issued within the past week or two. Thats going to result in more arrests, said Larry Keefe, executive director of the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, at a recent board hearing.

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These credentials allow local deputies to make immigration arrests on their own  something that, until recently, had been limited to a few agencies like the Florida Highway Patrol. Now, sheriff deputies across the state are preparing to do the same.

To handle the increase, the state is looking to expand detention capacity further north. Camp Blanding, a Florida National Guard training site, is being considered as a facility that could hold thousands more.
ST. LOUIS  The White House is holding firm to the Aug. 1 trade deal deadline. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said countries that have not previously gotten a tariff letter from President Donald Trump or negotiated a trade deal will be notified of their likely tariff rates by mail or in Trumps executive order.

It ought to be a one-time impact. In other words, once we absorb this initial price hike, there wont be additional tariffs coming and coming and coming, Scott Colbert, chief economist for Commerce Bank in St. Louis, said. It should be relatively stable once we work through the initial tariff hurdle.

Colbert says tariffs will impact everyday consumers most in four sectors: consumer electronics like computers and phones; apparel, such as clothes and shoes; the automotive industry, and something you may not have considered.

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We dont buy furniture that often, but when you do, almost all the furniture in this country anymore either comes from Vietnam or China, and the prices on that are simply going to go up, he said.

Counties with the highest STI rates in Missouri

Most tariff talk tends to focus on negative impacts, but Colbert believes they could help boost domestic manufacturing.

This will certainly increase the price of imported steel. No doubt about it, he said. It already has and that will allow domestic steel producers the chance to compete on a more even footing compared to the subsidized Chinese steel or perhaps even less expensive Korean steel.

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The White House has disputed just how much tariffs will raise costs for consumers. While that exact figure will vary for every household, Colbert says these tariffs here to stay.

I think theyre likely to be sticky and I dont think youre going to see them come down anytime in the near term, Colbert 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 2.
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, our team looks at Trumps tariff agenda on the eve of his deadline for reimposing some of the duties he announced and then delayed in April, as well as a legal case looming over all of the tariffs. Meanwhile, Jonathan Allen outlines the thought process that awaits Kamala Harris ahead of the 2028 election.

Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.

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 Scott Bland

Trumps tariffs face another inflection point, and a court test

President Donald Trumps most sweeping tariffs, the ones he originally announced in April, are set to go into effect (again) on Friday. But on Thursday, his whole tariff agenda faced a stern test in federal court, NBC News Steve Kopack reports.

The Court of International Trade initially blocked the tariffs in late May, though they were allowed to stay in place pending appeal. The court said the law Trump cited in many of his executive orders did not delegate an unbounded tariff authority to the President.

It also said the tariffs did not meet the test of interceding against an unusual and extraordinary risk to the country, after Trump implemented them by claiming a national emergency.

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All of Trumps tariffs on major trading partners, such as Canada, Mexico, China, the European Union, Japan, India, Brazil and a handful of other countries, have been deployed using the law.

On Thursday, an appeals court took a skeptical view of the Trump administrations argument that imposing the tariffs is well within the presidents authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, per NBC News Ryan Balberman. Some of the judges noted that Trumps use of the law effectively cuts Congress out of tariff policy, though the law doesnt mention tariffs.

Meanwhile, Trump extended the deadline for negotiations with Mexico before imposing new tariffs there. Hes hit India, Brazil and South Korea with new tariffs as the deadline looms.

Altogether, as NBC News Rob Wile and Steve Kopack write, since the April tariff rate announcement Trump dubbed Liberation Day, the president backed down  and since then has steadily been reintroducing elevated tariffs at levels not seen since the 1930s.

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Whats next? Well find out more on Friday. And more still when that appeals court makes its decision.

What Kamala Harris will weigh ahead of 2028

Analysis by Jonathan Allen

There are more than 2 million reasons for Kamala Harris not to run for president again: Thats the margin she lost by in 2024.

Moreover, no Democrat has lost a general election and come back to win the presidency since Grover Cleveland in 1892. The last Democrat to win the partys nomination, lose the general election and come back to win the nomination four years later was Adlai Stevenson in 1956.

But what may ultimately be more compelling to Harris are the arguments for mounting a third bid for the Oval Office in 2028. In passing on a run for governor of California this week, she said that for now, her focus is not on elective office. That left open the door to a future campaign, and theres only one job above the one the former vice president held most recently.

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If Harris does hope to make a comeback, she will have to reckon with the most glaring deficiency of the 107-day campaign she ran in the shadow of President Joe Biden: She didnt articulate a clear vision for the country that met the needs of voters who were dissatisfied with his leadership. While she has time to hear voters, develop an agenda and brush up her presentation skills, she would have to devote herself to executing on those goals to win a primary and the presidency.

Still, Harris would walk into a primary race with a set of advantages over most of her rivals. For starters, and for better or worse, everyone in her party knows who she is. Most candidates have to spend exorbitant amounts of time and money to build name recognition outside their states. Thats not a problem for Harris, who received more than 75 million votes in 2024.

Candidates also have to spend money on television ads and field operations, which can be prohibitively expensive. Harris would start the race with the strongest record of raising money  much of it attributable, of course, to the fact that she was the partys nominee  and the biggest list of donors. Again, she would start the race farther down the track than prospective opponents.

In her 2024 and 2020 campaigns, the latter of which actually ended in 2019 when she ran out of money and support, Harris showed she had a lot to learn about creating and communicating a message. In 2028, she would not be dealing with the scrutiny of the national media and the exhausting crunch of day-to-day campaigning for the first time. Again, these are edges she would have over first-timers.

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One question she will have to answer for herself  and its one that helped dissuade Hillary Clinton from running in 2020  is whether she would still run if she were convinced she could win the nomination but was unlikely to defeat a Republican in November.

Theres plenty of time for Harris to determine her own appetite for another campaign, the electorates interest in her and the pure political calculation of her chances of ending up in the White House. It may be that Americans have seen the last of Harris on a ballot.

But while a Democrat last avenged a defeat in the distant past, one very present politician did it less than a year ago: Donald J. Trump.

Elon Musk gives millions to Republican super PACs ahead of the midterms

By Ben Kamisar and Bridget Bowman

Billionaire Elon Musk may be gone from President Donald Trumps White House, but he may not be done with Republican politics.

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Musk made a pair of $5 million donations on June 27 to the main super PACs backing House and Senate Republicans. That made Musk the largest individual donor to both groups in the first six months of 2025, according to new campaign finance reports filed Thursday.

The new contributions are further proof of how Musk can make a big splash in politics by putting his signature on just one check. And they raise the question of how much more there might be before the midterms, despite Musks messy post-White House breakup with Trump and his statements in July about starting a third party, made after the donations.

Musks June 27 donations supporting the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund, the two GOP super PACs, came about a month after leaving his official post as an adviser to Trump and days before he began publicly discussing the idea of starting a new political party.

Meanwhile, other new campaign finance reports show Musk pumped $45.3 million into his own super PAC in the first six months of this year. The tech billionaire gave nearly $17.9 million directly to the group and sent another $27.4 million in in-kind contributions, with Musk covering funds for million-dollar prizes to voters who signed petitions.

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Read more 

 Today's other top stories

 In her words: Harris announced that she is releasing a memoir about her failed 2024 presidential campaign. Read more 

 Middle East visit: The White House announced that special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will travel to the Gaza Strip on Friday. Read more 

 SCOTUS talks: Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh defended how the Supreme Court has handled an increasing number of emergency cases brought by the Trump administration, pushing back against the criticism that the justices are failing to explain themselves. Read more 

 On your mark: Trump signed an executive order reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test implemented in public schools from 1956 until 2013. Read more 

 From the campaign trail: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley officially announced that hes running for Senate in North Carolina. Read more 

 Drug price reform: Trump sent letters to more than a dozen major drugmakers Thursday demanding that they lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. within 60 days. Read more 

Thats all From the Politics Desk for now. Todays newsletter was compiled by Scott Bland 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
The Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau has forecast unstable weather along the Guangdong coast starting this weekend due to intensified southwest monsoon activity. From August 3 to 5, the Pearl River Delta may see heavy rainfall, with some areas expected to receive over 100mm of rain in a single day. Authorities warn of potential severe convective weather, including frequent lightning, hail, and strong gusts.

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At Taste of India, downtown Yorks newest restaurant, good things take time  and its worth the wait.

Dil Ghalley doesnt believe in cutting corners, especially when it comes to his menu, composed of classic, beloved North Indian dishes. Much of his cooking starts out in an authentic Tandoor clay oven.

Freshly made garlic naan is cooked in the traditional oven, leaving it puffy, slightly charred and chewy in texture, perfect for dipping in a pool of creamy, spiced chicken tikka masala. The mango lassi yogurt drink is even made with fresh mango pulp.

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Born in Nepal, Ghalley grew up loving to cook. He spent seven years in India, learning to cook Northern Indian cuisine  known for its rich, creamy curries, and breads such as naan and roti  while working at various restaurants.

When he came to the United States, he and his wife Naomi opened their first Indian restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia near the University of Virginia campus. For two years, their business thrived  until the pandemic, when they ultimately decided to close.

From there, they moved to Elizabethtown to be closer to family members already living in the area. This year, Ghalley saw that the vacant space at 401 North George Street was available and wanted to bring his restaurant to life again. The site recently housed El Despertar restaurante, a quick-serve restaurant serving Spanish food, and prior to that, a Jamaican restaurant.

Chicken Chili at Taste of India at 410 N. George St in York.

For several months the shop went through a full renovation and now operates as a sit-down and takeout restaurant, decorated with burgundy red walls and golden accent pieces throughout.

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A Taste of India serves various curries, biryani, vegetarian options, and more, in addition to a handful of Nepali specialties including momo dumplings, a popular Nepali appetizer filled with vegetables or chicken.

Owner Dil Ghalley at Taste of India at 410 N. George St in York.

Experienced in the restaurant industry, Ghalley is aware that the business will see good days and bad, but despite that, he said, his desire for making people happy fuels his passion for cooking.

After your meal, youre even welcome to try a spoonful of mukhwas, a colorful South Asian after-meal snack at the hostess stand, made with aromatic seeds, spices and herbs, to cleanse your palette.

Taste of India is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Taste of India a new Indian restaurant is now open in downtown York PA
A teacher arrested in the murder of a married couple found stabbed to death on a trail in an Arkansas park was held without bond after a brief court appearance on Friday.

Andrew James McGann, 28, of Springdale, Arkansas, was appointed a public defender and is set to return to court on Aug. 25 for his arraignment. He has not yet entered a plea, prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter said.

McGann is charged with two counts of capital murder in the killings of 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and his wife, 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink, Arkansas State Police said. The Arkansas Public Defender Commission, which was appointed to represent him, has no comment at this time.

Washington County Sheriff - PHOTO: The booking photo for Andrew James McGann.

MORE: Teacher arrested for Arkansas double murder admits to killing married couple: Police

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The Brinks were "fatally attacked" while out hiking with their two daughters at Devil's Den State Park on July 26, police said.

Following a dayslong manhunt for the suspect, McGann was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a barbershop in Springdale, about 30 miles north of the park, police said. Investigators were able to track him down based on a description of the suspect's vehicle, police said.

According to a newly released preliminary report from the prosecutor's office, a witness reported seeing a person who "emerged from the trail with what appeared to be blood on his face" and got into a black sedan.

Another witness reported the vehicle as a Kia Stinger, which was located at the barbershop in Springdale on Wednesday, according to the report. Investigators observed what appeared to be blood inside the vehicle, the report said.

Michael Woods/AP - PHOTO: The trail head to the Devil's Den trail at Devils Den State Park remains closed, July 28, 2025, in West Fork, Ark.

Investigators had found a trail of blood believed to belong to the victim leading from the crime scene in the park, according to the prosecutor's report. DNA from blood recovered from the crime scene matched McGann's DNA, Hagar said.

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The suspect had sustained cuts on his hands during a struggle with the victims, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. Investigators who spoke to McGann at the barbershop observed cuts on his hands, according to the prosecutor's report.

MORE: Police release photo of person of interest sought after couple killed while hiking in Arkansas park

During an interview with police following his arrest, McGann admitted to killing the couple, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar said during a press briefing on Thursday. He "made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides," the prosecutor's report stated.

The report claimed the killings were planned and the suspect "waited with deliberated purpose and killed two hikers at the Devil's Den State Park."

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Asked about a motive in the double homicide on Thursday, Hagar said it remains under investigation, though he did say it appeared to be a "completely random event."

The state will not be waiving the death penalty in the case, according to Carter.

Washington County Sheriff's Office - PHOTO: Mugshot of Andrew

McGann had recently moved to the area from Oklahoma and had been hired to work at a local school though he had not yet started, officials said. He had previously worked in school districts in Oklahoma and Texas.

In a statement, the Lewisville Independent School District, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, confirmed McGann was employed as a teacher at an elementary school there during the 2022-2023 school year.

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The school system said McGann had been placed on administrative leave that spring "following concerns related to classroom management, professional judgment, and student favoritism." An internal investigation found no evidence of inappropriate behavior with students, but McGann ultimately resigned from the school district that month.

The Brinks had recently moved to Prairie Grove from North Dakota, police said.

Their children, ages 7 and 9, were not harmed in the incident thanks to the actions of their mother, police said.

"We believe that the mother took them to safety, and then returned to help her husband," Maj. Stacie Rhoads with the Arkansas State Police said during Thursday's press briefing.

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The couple has a third daughter who wasn't at the trail that day, Hagar said.

Their children are safe and in the custody of relatives, according to police.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect prosecuting attorney Brandon Carter's corrected statement that McGann has not yet entered a plea.
CHICAGO (WGN)  Authorities in Arkansas have charged a man for the murders of a mother and father who were out hiking with their daughters on a popular local trail. The catch? The alleged murderer has ties to the Southwest Side of Chicago.

Anthony Morales, a Chicagoan who lives near West 55th Street and South Austin Avenue in the citys Garfield Ridge neighborhood, recalls the family who previously lived in his house before he purchased the property.

That family had a son, and two years ago, he stopped by to see the childhood home he grew up in.

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That familys son was 28-year-old Andrew James McGann, who is accused of committing a fatal double stabbing at Devils Den State Park in Arkansas, according to Morales.

He came with his girlfriend, just to show it off, Morales said. She was impressed because he used to live here, but like I said, I never let him inside the house.

Arkansas State Police (ASP) said they arrested McGann at a barbershop in Springdale on the far northwest side of the state. He is charged with two counts of capital murder after being accused of fatally stabbing 43-year-old Clinton David Brink and his wife, 41-year-old Cristen Amanda Brink, while the two were hiking with two of their three daughters at Devils Den State Park.

He did indicate that he committed the murders, ASP Maj. Stacie Rhoads said during a news conference Thursday. When asked to elaborate, she said: I would call it an admission.

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Law enforcement said Clinton Brink was stabbed first and Cristen Brink rushed their daughters, ages 7 and 9, to safety. When Cristen Brink returned to help her husband, she was then stabbed to death.

Authorities have not said if the girls witnessed their parents murders.

According to the Associated Press, McGann holds active teaching licenses in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. However, public online archives in Illinois indicate that he was a student at Oak Parks Fenwick High School, from which he graduated in 2015 before moving out of state.

More info: Teacher admits fatally stabbing couple on a hike with their kids in a random attack in Arkansas

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Arkansas authorities said McGann has no discernible connection to the Brink family, and are actively working to determine a motive for the attack.

McGann is being held without bond.

*Reporting from the Associated Press contributed toward this article.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
A 28-year-old teacher has admitted to fatally stabbing a married couple who were hiking with their two young daughters at Devils Den State Park on Saturday, in what authorities describe as a random and chilling attack.

Andrew James McGann, of Springdale, was arrested Wednesday at a barbershop and is being held without bond after a brief court appearance on Friday.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were attacked Saturday while hiking with their daughters, ages 7 and 9, on a trail about half a mile into the 2,500-acre park near West Fork, about 45 miles north of Fort Smith. The couple, who had recently moved to Prairie Grove from North Dakota, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their children were unharmed and are now in the care of relatives, authorities said.

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We believe that the mother took them to safety, and then returned to help her husband, said Maj. Stacie Rhoads, commander of the Arkansas State Polices criminal investigation division, during a Thursday press briefing.

Investigators said Clinton Brink was stabbed first, followed by his wife, who was attacked after returning to aid him. The couples third daughter was not present during the incident, according to Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar.

McGann, who had recently relocated from Oklahoma to take a teaching position with Springdale Public Schools, was apprehended after a days-long manhunt. Authorities tracked him down using a witnesss description of a black Kia Stinger, its license plate taped over, seen leaving the park.

A preliminary prosecutors report noted a witness observed a person with blood on their face emerging from the trail and entering the vehicle. Investigators later found what appeared to be blood inside the car at the barbershop where McGann was arrested.

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DNA evidence from blood at the crime scene matched McGanns, and he sustained cuts on his hands during a struggle with the victims, according to a law enforcement official.

Hagar confirmed McGann confessed to the killings during an interview, stating he made statements indicating that he had committed the two homicides. The prosecutors report described the attack as planned, pointing to the taped-over license plate as evidence of premeditation. He alleged that McGann waited with deliberated purpose and killed two hikers at the Devils Den State Park.

In my 27 years that Ive been with the State Police, this is probably one of the most heinous that weve had, especially the aspect of just how random it was, Rhoads said.

No motive has been disclosed, with Hagar noting it remains under investigation but appeared to be a completely random event. Authorities found no prior connection between McGann and the Brinks.

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Washington County prosecutor Brandon Carter said the state will not waive the death penalty if McGann is convicted. McGann, who has no known criminal record, was appointed a public defender during a brief court appearance Friday, where he entered a not guilty plea, according to Little Rock ABC affiliate KATV.

McGann had not yet started his role at Springdale Public Schools, and the district confirmed he had no contact with students or families. He previously taught fifth grade in Oklahoma and fourth grade in Flower Mound, Texas.

The attack has shaken Northwest Arkansas, prompting the closure of the trails at Devils Den State Park.

Our entire state is grieving for the tragic loss and senseless and horrific crime thats taken place in this area, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a Wednesday press conference.
Unionized workers of Airgas on Oahu and Hawaii island have been on strike since Monday, and negotiation set for today have been canceled.

Teamsters Local 996 President Kevin Holu said company Vice President Michael Murphy informed the union that the company would not be available to come to the table today, a date that had been set over three weeks ago.

Airgas, a unit of the French multinational company Air Liquide, was taking media inquiries by email, and workers at its stores were not allowed to speak to the media. Airgas officials did not return an inquiry made by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Thursday.

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The company has about 35 union members, including truck drivers, but not including store workers. Airgas sells a variety of gases, including medical and industrial gases, as well as gas equipment, welding and safety products, tools and hardware.

Holu said the main issues are :Weingarten rights violations. Among those rights, according to the National Labor Review Board, is the right to request representationsuch as a union steward, business agent or officer, or fellow employeeduring an investigatory interview that the employee believes could lead to discipline.Management doing bargaining unit work.Management directly dealing with union members, instead of with the union.Management charging sick leave hours without notifying member.

On Thursday, Holu said a scab  driver of an Airgas truck struck him while he was walking the picket line in Kona. He said he went to the hospital to get checked out and was OK, and drove to Hilo to check on striking workers there.

A Hawaii County police spokesperson said the 8 :30 a.m. incident is under investigation.
Social media companies are blocking wide-ranging content - including posts about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza - in an attempt to comply with the UK's new Online Safety Act, BBC Verify has found.

The new legislation, which came into effect last Friday, imposes fines on social media companies and other websites which fail to protect under-18s from pornography, posts promoting self-harm, and other harmful content. In serious cases, services could be blocked in the UK.

But BBC Verify found a range of public interest content, including parliamentary debates on grooming gangs, has been restricted on X and Reddit for those who have not completed age verification checks.

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Experts warn companies are risking stifling legitimate public debate by overapplying the law.

Sandra Wachter, a professor of technology and regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute, expressed alarm at the restrictions and told BBC Verify that the new bill was "not supposed to be used to suppress facts of public interest, even if uncomfortable".

Organisations can be fined up to 18m or 10% of their global revenue if they are found to have failed to stop harmful content appearing on their platforms. Under the act harmful content includes posts containing pornography, or any which encourage self-harm, eating disorders or promote violence.

Professor Sonia Livingstone - an expert in children's digital rights at the London School of Economics - said that companies might "get better over time at not blocking public interest content while also protecting children" as the law beds in over time.

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Among the restricted content identified by BBC Verify was a video post on X which showed a man in Gaza looking for the dead bodies of his family buried among the rubble of destroyed buildings. The post was restricted despite not showing any graphic imagery or bodies at any point in the clip. X subsequently removed the warning after being approached by BBC Verify.

When users who had not verified their age attempted to access the post they were met with a message reading: "Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age."

[X]

The same warning was experienced by users who attempted to view a video of a Shahed drone destroyed mid-flight in Ukraine. The Iranian-made drones, which are widely used by Russia in the full-scale invasion, are unmanned and nobody was injured or killed in the clip.

Reddit has introduced similar restrictions. The platform, which hosts countless communities which discuss major news events, now requires age checks for some groups when users try to access them via search engines.

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Among the Reddit communities which have been restricted is one called R/UkraineConflict, a message board with 48,000 members that frequently posts footage of the war. Similar restrictions, which urge users to "log in to confirm your age", have been imposed on several pages which discuss the Israel-Gaza war and communities which focus on healthcare.

Meanwhile, clips of parliamentary debates have also been swept up in the restrictions. A speech by Conservative MP Katie Lam, containing a graphic description of the rape of a minor by a grooming gang, is available to view without restriction on Parliament's official streaming website, ParliamentLive, but is restricted on X.

Lam, who was elected in 2024, wrote on social media: "The British state won't protect children from mass gang rape. But it will 'protect' adults from hearing about it."

Katie Lam (R) has hit out at the act after her speech on grooming gangs was restricted [Getty Images]

Another post restricted on X shared an image of Francisco de Goya's 19th-century painting entitled Saturn Devouring His Son. The striking work depicts the Greek myth of the Titan Cronus - known as Saturn by the Romans - eating one of his children in fear of a prophesy that one would overthrow him and has been described as depicting "utter male fury".

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The examples gathered by BBC Verify are largely focussed on X and Reddit, as they clearly flag age-restricted content. Meta has a different system whereby 'teen' profiles are a different type of account with parental control - making it harder for us to identify which content is age-restricted.

It is unclear exactly how many posts commenting on debates of public interest are being restricted. X and Reddit did not respond to a request for comment.

But Prof Livingstone noted that it was "possible that the companies are over-blocking to undermine the Act".

X owner Elon Musk has been highly critical of the Online Safety Act. The billionaire has launched a stream of attacks against the legislation online and X suggested that it could dissuade companies from launching products in the UK.

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"[The law's] purpose is suppression of the people," Musk wrote on X on Monday, before sharing several posts by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson which also opposed the law.

Data suggests that the legislation could heavily impact adults in the UK. Large proportions of users - up to 37% on X and 59% on Reddit - access these platforms whilst logged out, according to data from the platforms. This means those users won't be age-verified and will experience the internet in the same way as children.

The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) emphasised to BBC Verify that it was up to social media platforms themselves to decide how to implement the requirements of the act, but insisted that the risk-based approach must not "censor political debate".

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Ofcom, the UK media regulator tasked with enforcing the act, has warned that firms could face fines not only for failing to protect children, but also for breaching freedom of speech under the act.

BBC Verify's analysis also suggested that the legislation had succeeded in blocking some harmful material online. Since Musk bought X, previously called Twitter, the platform has earned a reputation for being flooded with pornographic material, as well violent, antisemitic and racist posts.

However, we found that violent and pornographic content was significantly restricted when using an account without age verification.

The new obligations effectively puts firms in a position where they must comply with the law. Prof Livingstone suggested that they could still be in a period of "working out how best" to make judgements over the sort of content on their sites, which could be refined over time.

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But Prof Wachter said that the level of self-regulation afforded to tech companies in choosing how to comply with the Online Safety Act called for well-staffed moderation teams equipped with "time, resources, expertise and nuance" to effectively make decisions.

She also noted that many major social media companies, such as X and Meta, have slimmed down their moderation teams in recent years or dissolved them completely.

"This trend is very worrying when opaque rules are now applied to make these take down decisions, especially in the current political climate," Prof Wachter said.

[BBC]

What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
A 16-year-old boy was airlifted from a mountain hut Wednesday after suffering a severe allergic reaction while hiking on Mount Washington with a summer camp group, New Hampshire Fish and Game said in a news release.

The Appalachian Mountain Club notified Fish and Game around 4 p.m. that the teen was experiencing anaphylaxis at the Lake of the Clouds AMC Hut, located on the Crawford Path, officials said. The boy had accidentally eaten something that triggered the reaction, according to the release.

An AMC staff member trained as an emergency medical technician administered epinephrine and monitored the patient, but authorities determined additional medical intervention was needed, Fish and Game said.

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Due to the severity of the situation and an available helicopter landing area near the hut, Fish and Game requested the Dartmouth Hitchcock Advanced Response Team.

The DHART helicopter navigated thunderstorms and cloud cover around Mount Washington before landing at the hut at 5:17 p.m., Fish and Game said. The crew loaded the patient and departed for Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon 11 minutes later.

The teen was in stable condition at the time of transport. His current condition was not available Wednesday night.
A teenager has been sentenced to 18 years detention after carrying out a "brutal" zombie knife attack at the Notting Hill Carnival last year.

Rumarni Tuitt, 19, from Walthamstow, north-east London, stabbed 18-year-old Kamani Spooner with the 12in (30cm)-long weapon on the evening of 26 August 2024.

After a two week trial at the Old Bailey he was found guilty of attempted murder, having earlier pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article.

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Sentencing him, Judge Judy Khan KC said it was a "brutal and wholly unjustifiable attack" and that there could be no justification for carrying a knife of that nature on to crowded streets, still less to Carnival.

Judge Khan said it was not the first time Tuitt had travelled to the event armed with a "fearsome weapon", and on this occasion had used it to "devastating effect".

"This was a particularly serious offence committed in the heart of Europe's biggest street festival," she said.

The judge quoted a police statement saying that every knife-related crime had a significant impact on the victim and created "widespread fear and anxiety within the community".

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Warning: This article features distressing details

The trial heard that Tuitt sliced open the victim's stomach with the zombie knife and that four of the five stab injuries he inflicted were life-threatening.

There was no evidence to suggest that the victim and the defendant knew each other, the prosecution said.

The attack had occurred in daylight on a summer's evening in Canal Way, off Ladbroke Grove, and was witnessed by a police officer who had noticed the defendant appearing agitated and having an argument with another man.

The officer then saw the defendant reach into his waistband and "plunge his knife towards a group of people".

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Tuitt ran off and tried to dispose of the weapon by throwing it on the ground, but it was recovered by police.

After spending a month in hospital the victim was able to make a statement to police.

Mr Spooner said that he remembered towards the end of Carnival he had seen people around him fighting and throwing punches, before he was hit in the back.

He then looked down to see that his intestines were hanging out and had to put his hand over them and run away.

'Harm and distress'

At the sentence hearing, prosecutor Mark Paltenghi said the defendant had also been arrested for possession of a knife at Notting Hill Carnival in 2023.

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On that occasion Tuitt had become involved in an argument with a member of the public who was walking his dog and had produced a large Rambo knife and "swung it back and forth", but had been detained by police officers.

He was convicted for that offence in June last year and given a community order which was still in place when the attempted murder occurred, the court heard.

In mitigation Tuitt's barrister, Sheryl Nwosu, said the defendant was "genuinely sorry for the hurt, the harm and the distress he has caused".

The defendant had been attending Carnival with relatives and friends and had the knife "defensively", she said.

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Tuitt, of Sutherland Road, Walthamstow, was given a concurrent sentence of one year for possession of a bladed article.

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The Brief

A teen has died after police say he was found suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and face outside of a North Philadelphia church Friday morning.

Police say spent shell casings were found just feet from where the victim collapsed.

Philadelphia police now say that two teens who showed up to the hospital a short time after the incident were hurt in an unrelated shooting.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police are investigating a shooting that left a teen dead outside of a North Philadelphia church.

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Investigators say the incident was captured on real-time crime cameras and video showed the victim walking with two other males before the shooting.

What we know

Officers responded to a call of shots fired on the 1700 block of West Huntingdon Street just before 2 a.m. Friday morning.

When police arrived on the scene they found a teen laying on the street in front of a church suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and face.

He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Two other teens, ages 16 and 17 arrived at a nearby hospital a short time after the shooting, and police said they were investigating a possible connection between those incidents. Police now say those teens were injured in an unrelated shooting.

Dig deeper

Police say two spent shell casings were found just a few feet away from where the deceased victim collapsed.

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Investigators also say the incident was captured on real-time crime cameras and captured the victim walking with two other males westbound on the 1700 block of Huntingdon. When the shots were fired, the other two males can be seen running eastbound on Huntingdon.

Police say those two males were wearing dark-colored clothing, gloves, and masks.

What we don't know

The identity of the victim has not been released at this time.

The Source

Philadelphia police provided information on this incident at the scene.
MOUNT AIRY, Md. -- A heartbroken community in Mount Airy, Maryland, is mourning the loss of a 13-year-old boy, who died during the flash flooding in the mid-Atlantic Thursday.

He was just playing with a friend outside when torrential rains sent water rushing down a grassy area and swept him into a small drainage pipe.

Neighbors first jumped into action, trying to get him out, but the current was too strong.

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Chadwick Colson lives steps away from where it happened and had placed a flower on top of the pipe Friday morning.

"Obviously, theres a mother and a father that put that there that dont have a son no more," Colson said. "Thats always terrible."

Colson said firefighters had hoses going into the drain trying to pump out as much water as they could.

"You could tell they were definitely holding on to something or someone," he said.

This was one of many water rescue efforts across the region, as strong storms moved up and down the I-95 corridor.

In Mount Airy, Doug Alexander, the public information officer for the volunteer fire company, said at least 50 first responders desperately tried to free the boy. But by the time they got him out, he had already died.

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"The water was deep  it was about 5 feet deep at the pipe," Alexander said, adding water spread about 30-40 feet each side of the drainage ditch.

One rain gauge in Mount Airy picked up at least 4 inches of rain in less than 3 hours.

The town is now organizing a fund for people to help the family of the boy who died.





Original article source: Teen killed when swept into drainage pipe during Maryland's flash flooding Thursday


INTERVIEW

The GuangdongMacau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin  established four years ago with a focus on the big health industry  features Serensia Woods as a flagship project. Despite significant development pressures and a lack of sustained policy support, founder Amber Li told the Times, in an exlusive interview, she remains confident in Hengqins long-term potential and has no regrets about her decision.

As of May this year, according to the Hengqin GuangdongMacau In-depth Cooperation Zone Commercial Service Bureau, 7,002 Macau-invested enterprises had set up in the zone. Serensia Woods is recognized as a leading enterprise in Hengqins health sector.

In the realm of elderly care  despite the Chinese governments growing attention to support services  older adults still largely face two options: living in a nursing home or staying at home. Li argued that retirement planning should not be postponed until ones 70s or 80s; it should begin in ones 50s. While many people wish to age in place, home-based care poses significant challenges, especially the lack of adequate services  as she explained in a recent interview.

With shifting family structures, many households no longer live with elderly relatives, complicating caregiving responsibilities. In modern cities, services like laundry and cooking have become increasingly vital. Even when families can afford domestic helpers, managing them becomes difficult as elderly health deteriorates.

A MACAU COMPANYS COMMITMENT

Guided by this vision, Li  who returned to Macau from abroad in the 1990s  has actively engaged in the big health industry within Hengqins cooperation zone. In 2022, she shelved her original plans to develop in Beijing or Shanghai and instead chose to act on the governments call to help build Hengqin. As chair of HN Group Limited  a century-old Macau-based enterprise  and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), she led the establishment of a high-end senior care facility in the zone.

The development of Macau companies in Hengqin was logical, Li said. There were many policies at the time that could be prioritized, allowing us to pursue initiatives that other mainland cities could not. However, when asked about current conditions in the big health industry, she expressed disappointment: Many policies  including those related to residents daily lives and customs clearance  have yet to be implemented.

She noted that the actual progress has diverged from the original plans, and that Hengqin currently lacks the industrial policies needed to support Macau enterprises. For instance, Hainan Island already has relatively mature policies in the health and wellness sector, while Shenzhen, Nansha, and other pilot zones are advancing much faster, particularly in areas like cell therapy.

Hope amid hurdles: the long-term bet

According to Li, Serensia Woods serves clients from mainland China and Hong Kong, offering wellness management services for issues not easily addressed by hospitals, such as insomnia and detoxification. The facility emphasizes care for functional decline and age-related conditions, prioritizing professional support and precision.

As a premium senior living option, Serensia Woods provides a unique, comfortable setting that encourages those in their 50s and 60s to engage in cultural activities and social interaction, Li said. Recognized by the Hong Kongbased non-profit Golden Age Foundation, the project is viewed as an industry leader. Aging is not about fading away  its about continuing to live vibrantly in the right environment.

Yet, Li pointed out that urgently needed policies in the big health sector remain unimplemented, which hampers Macaus diversification. She argued that the complementary potential between Hengqin and mainland markets is far from fully realized  particularly in cell therapy. Current restrictions prevent Macau companies from administering drugs outside hospitals, despite outpatient clinics being otherwise qualified, creating barriers to integration and efficient resource use. Li called this deeply regrettable.



She also observed that Hengqin remains relatively new, with limited foot traffic and underdeveloped appeal to mid and high-end tourists. Visitors from Macau to Serensia Woods are significantly fewer than those from the mainland or Hong Kong. Despite promotional efforts in Macau, local engagement remains low  prompting concerns about whether residents truly understand Hengqins evolving role.

Li encouraged Macau residents to step out of their comfort zone: Just staying in Macau doesnt mean understanding the outside world. If we dont take the initiative to explore, future opportunities will slip away.

The country has given us a favorable environment  the younger generation must dare to venture out. She added that Macau, unlike Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai  where most areas are within a one-hour commute  must adapt its mindset to stay competitive. We need to treat surrounding areas as our soil, she concluded.

Looking ahead, Li said she remains optimistic about Hengqins long-term prospects. While challenges such as undeveloped policies and limited customer traffic persist, she believes in the zones future. She revealed plans to introduce new offerings  including cancer treatment and rehabilitation programs  to leverage the combined strengths of Macau and Hengqin in building an international health hub.

Key Takeaways

Policy gaps are slowing health sector growth in Hengqin

Despite early optimism and government backing, the lack of concrete and timely industrial policies  especially in areas like customs clearance, outpatient drug use, and cell therapy  is limiting the effectiveness of Macau enterprises like Serensia Woods in driving the health industry forward.

Macau Residents Show Low Engagement with Hengqin Projects

Serensia Woods sees far greater interest from mainland and Hong Kong clients than from Macau locals. Founder Amber Li warns that without a mindset shift and greater outward engagement, Macau residents risk missing out on regional opportunities.

Long-Term Confidence Remains Despite Early-Stage Challenges

While acknowledging delays, underdeveloped infrastructure, and foot traffic issues, Li remains confident in Hengqins future and plans to expand into areas like cancer treatment and international wellness programs, signaling a sustained commitment to the regions potential.

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In late July, lawyer Indira Jaising mounted a challenge against the legal age for having sex in India - which is 18 years - in the Supreme Court, renewing conversations around the criminalisation of teen sex.

Ms Jaising argued that consensual sex between 16 and 18-year-olds is neither exploitative nor abusive and urged the court to exempt it from criminal prosecution.

"The purpose of age-based laws is to prevent abuse, not to criminalise consensual, age-appropriate intimacy," Ms Jaising has said in her written submissions to the court.

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But the federal government has opposed this, saying that introducing such an exemption would jeopardise the safety and protection of children (persons under the age of 18, according to Indian laws), opening them up to abuse and exploitation.

The case has re-ignited debate around consent and whether Indian laws, especially the country's main law against child sexual abuse - Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 or Pocso - should be altered to introduce a provision exempting 16 to 18 year-olds having consensual sex from their ambit.

Child rights activists say exempting teens protects their autonomy, while opponents warn it could fuel crimes like trafficking and child marriage.

Experts question whether teens can bear the burden of proof if abused. More importantly, who decides the age of consent laws - and whose interests do they truly serve?

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Like many countries, India has struggled to set its age of sexual consent. Unlike the US, where it varies by state, India enforces a uniform age nationwide.

India's legal age for having sex is also much higher than most European countries, or places like UK and Canada, where it is 16.

It was 10 years when India's criminal code was enacted in 1860 and was increased to 16 in 1940 when the code was amended.

Pocso introduced the next major change, pushing the "age of consent" to 18 years in 2012. A year later, India's criminal laws were amended to reflect this change and the country's new criminal code, introduced in 2024, has adhered to this revised age.

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But over the past decade or so, many child rights activists and even courts have taken a critical view of the country's legal age to have sex and have called for it to be lowered to 16 years.

They say the law criminalises consensual teen relationships and is often misused by adults to control or block relationships - especially those of girls.

Sex remains a taboo topic in the country even though studies have shown that millions of Indian teenagers are sexually active.

"As a society, we're also divided along caste, class and religious lines, which makes the [age of consent] law even more susceptible to misuse," says Sharmila Raje, co-founder of Foundation for Child Protection-Muskaan, a non-profit working to prevent child sexual abuse for over two decades.

Many schools in India do not have sex education as part of the curriculum [Getty Images]

In 2022, the Karnataka High court directed India's Law Commission - an executive panel that advices the government on legal reform - to rethink the age of consent under Pocso, "so as to take into consideration the ground realities".

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It noted several cases where girls over 16 fell in love, eloped, and had sex, only for the boy to be charged with rape and abduction under Pocso and criminal law.

In its report the following year, the Law Commission ruled out lowering the age of consent, but recommended "guided judicial discretion" during sentencing in cases involving "tacit approval" from children aged 16 to 18 years, meaning where the relationship has been consensual.

Though this is yet to be implemented, courts across the country have been using this principle to allow for appeals, grant bail, make acquittals and even quash cases after taking into consideration the facts of the case and the victim's testimony.

Many child rights activists, including Ms Raje, urge this provision be codified to standardise enforcement; left as a suggestion, courts may ignore it.

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In April, the Madras High Court overturned the acquittal in a case where the 17-year-old victim was in a relationship with the 23-year-old accused and the two eloped after the victim's parents arranged her marriage to another man. The accused was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

"The court adopted a literal interpretation of the Pocso Act," Shruthi Ramakrishnan, a researcher at Enfold Proactive Health Trust - a child rights charity - noted in her column in The Indian Express newspaper, calling it a "grave miscarriage of justice".

The Pocso Act was introduced to protect children against all forms of sexual abuse [Getty Images]

Ms Jaising argues that judicial discretion at sentencing isn't enough, as the accused still faces lengthy investigations and trials.

India's judicial system is infamously slow with millions of cases pending across all court levels. A research paper by India Child Protection Fund found that as of January 2023, nearly 250,000 Pocso cases were pending in special courts set up to try these cases.

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"The process is the punishment for many," Ms Jaising notes.

"A case-by-case approach leaving it to the discretion of judges is also not the best solution as it can result in uneven results and does not take into account the possibility of bias," she adds.

She urges the court to add a "close-in-age exception" for consensual sex between 16- and 18-year-olds in Pocso and related laws. This "close-in-age exception" would prevent consensual acts between peers in that age group from being treated as crimes.

Lawyer and child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu warns that a blanket exception could be misused in cases of kidnapping, trafficking, and child marriage. He advocates judicial discretion paired with a justice system overhaul.

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"We need faster processes so that cases are disposed off in a time-bound manner. We also need better rehabilitation facilities and compensation for victims," he says.

Enakshi Ganguly, co-founder of HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, however, agrees with Ms Jaising.

"We can't shy away from making changes because we're afraid of the law being misused," she says, adding that Ms Jaising's argument is not new as over the years, many activists and experts have made similar recommendations.

"Laws need to keep pace with changes in society if they are to remain effective and relevant," she says.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The family of a man killed inside a Las Vegas-area prison is demanding answers.

Jordan Canteberry, 34, died on July 26 from multiple stab wounds, the Clark County Coroner determined.

Inmates escaped cells before alleged murder inside Las Vegas-area prison: sources

It just hurts were going through something so horrific and traumatic, Jasmine Canteberry, the sister of Jordan, told the 8 News Now Investigators. I dont think theres anything that could have prepared me for this day, for that day when I found out. I still like cant even forget like I how I felt that day.

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2 Nevada prison deaths, 10 days apart, now murder investigations

Staff reported that several inmates appeared to have tampered with their prison cell doors to free themselves from their cells moments before attacking Canteberry, according to documents obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators.

Corrections officers found Canteberry stabbed inside a unit at High Desert Prison on Saturday morning. When they responded, several inmates ran back inside their cells, according to documents. Staff noted that at least two inmates, including the main aggressor, must have tampered with their cell doors because they were not authorized to be in the common area at the time.

Corrections officers found Canteberry stabbed inside a unit at High Desert Prison on Saturday morning. (KLAS)

Canteberry informed staff that at least eight inmates attacked him and his cellmate was not part of the attack, according to a report. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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Staff found at least one prison-made weapon inside a mattress with a sharp edge, according to documents.

Authorities are investigating Canteberrys murder. The inmate identified as the main aggressor told staff Canteberry should not have entered his cell, according to documents obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators.

Canteberry began serving a 12-to-30-month sentence for robbery and possession of a firearm by an ex-felon in June, according to records. His robbery charge stemmed from December 2024, records show. Canteberry agreed to a plea deal in a second case after he was initially charged with three gun charges.

Jacqueline Canteberry said with credit for time served in jail, she hoped her son would be home before the end of the year to pursue a drug treatment program and his goal of becoming an electrician.

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I got to get the answers to what happened to my son, she said.

Jacqueline Canteberry said with credit for time served in jail, she hoped her son would be home before the end of the year to pursue a drug treatment program and his goal of becoming an electrician. (KLAS)

Attorney Bob Beckett represented Jordan Canteberry in his criminal case.

When I heard the news, I was just shocked, Beckett told the 8 News Now Investigators. I was saddened because he was really looking forward to a fresh start and starting a new life.

Canteberry leaves behind two children and an infant grandson, according to his family. He sent his sister a letter dated July 5th.

I love you, and please send my love to our family, he wrote. Tell my kids that I promise I will do better.

High Desert State Prison is a maximum-security prison facility located near Indian Springs, which is approximately a 45-minute drive north of Las Vegas.

High Desert State Prison is a maximum-security prison facility located near Indian Springs, which is approximately a 45-minute drive north of Las Vegas. (KLAS)

The facility transitioned from a medium-security prison last year. Two thousand inmates, including Nevadas death row population, were transferred from Ely State Prison, located nearly 300 miles north of Indian Springs.

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Sources said infrastructure problems, including faulty cell door locks, have been ongoing issues.

The 8 News Now Investigators reached out to the Nevada Department of Corrections for comment on Wednesday and asked about the alleged faulty prison cell doors and whether the problem had been fixed.

After a follow-up email on Thursday, a spokesperson replied, Unfortunately, we dont have the answers to those questions yet as the investigation is still ongoing.

Jacqueline Canteberry said she is considering filing a lawsuit against the Nevada Department of Corrections.

To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email vmurphy@8newsnow.com

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  After several days of mid- and high-level clouds, Friday will showcase more in the way of afternoon sunshine, with temperatures heading for the mid-80s in the Portland metro area.

Expect temperatures in the 60s and lower 70s along the coast with plenty of sunshine out there as well.

Fed grants uncertain for Burnside Bridge project

Showers and thunderstorms will slowly taper off across eastern Oregon on Friday, August 1, 2025 (KOIN). Temperatures expected to be in the mid-80s in the Portland area on Friday, August 1, 2025 (KOIN).

Showers and thunderstorms will return across eastern Oregon later Friday. As the latest system moves off to the east, a few scattered storms may linger into the weekend.

A mainly dry and mild summer pattern continues with afternoon highs about average for this time of the year, in the lower 80s. By early next week, temps will drop into the upper 70s for a cooler first week of August in Portland.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Tenants in a block of council homes said they were being "failed" after a regulator identified serious issues with the service.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH), a government watchdog, inspected East Suffolk Council in its role as a landlord and said it had "serious failings".

Issues were raised over the standard of homes as well as damp and mould, but the council said it was addressing this.

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Natasha Robinson, 47, has lived in a block of East Suffolk Council homes in Lowestoft for the past three years and says it is "horrendous".

"It's just not very nice to live in, there's anti-social behaviour, no security, many things," she said.

Tenants in the block said it was unclean and they often faced anti-social behaviour [Martin Giles/BBC]

Ms Robinson said she had struggled to get her broken window panes replaced for two years and the main gate into the block was broken - which posed a security risk. She said as a result she was often calling the police.

"I don't think families should be put here," she added. "The stuff my kid has to deal with is just not right.

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"They just don't care. They don't have the funds maybe to do what it is we need doing."

Shauni Stannard said tenants' general rubbish was often not collected on time [Martin Giles/BBC]

Shauni Stannard, 32, lives with her three children in the same block and felt the conditions were "quite poor".

"They give [the block] a deep clean once a month, but that is them coming around with just a brush and brushing away the dirt and dust," she explained.

"They haven't cleaned the walls; you can't bring too many people here because as you come up the walls it looks like people have put poo, paint, mud, dirt, it's all on the walls.

"They don't get a proper clean."

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She was not surprised by the RSH report and said the tenants had been "failed".

Some tenants said they had seen rats around the area [Martin Giles/BBC]

Andrew Fisher, 33, has also lived in the block for the past five years with his partner and their four children.

"The conditions just aren't really good enough," he felt.

"It's filled with asbestos that they were supposed to have [removed] last year; they are now doing it at the end of the six weeks' holiday apparently when they're going to put us into temporary accommodation.

"It's not cleaned, they're supposed to come up and clean it all.

"My partner actually cleans most of it which we're told we're not allowed to do, but we have to because it's disgusting.

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"It's not a very nice place at all."

Peter Byatt said tenants should not be afraid to contact the council with their problems [Martin Giles/BBC]

Peter Byatt, leader of the Labour group at East Suffolk Council, said it was a "wake up call" to ensure tenants were being focused on and received the "best they could get".

He encouraged residents to come forward and ask for support.

Asked what he thought had gone wrong, Byatt said: "I think it's maybe communication in terms of tenants realising that it's not something they're going to get slapped on the wrist about for not looking after council property properly because that's not what it's about.

"It's about making sure they get the best and those council houses are our assets, we need to make sure they are in the best condition they can be for our tenants and future tenants."

Tenants said the block was not deep cleaned and there was often dirt on the walls [Martin Giles/BBC]

David Beavan, an Independent councillor who is cabinet member for housing, said the council was "incredibly disappointed", but was "entirely committed to addressing" the issues raised.

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"Over the last few months, we have been able to appoint additional capacity to key roles, with further recruitment planned over the coming weeks," he added.

"We are committed to improving the services and quality of homes we deliver to tenants."

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  To attend school in Tennessee, children must get the vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But this year, one conservative lawmaker tried to roll back a state rule that puts the responsibility on the parents to make sure their kids get the shots.

Tennessee law says parents and guardians are responsible for ensuring their child receives the vaccines on the CDCs childhood vaccine schedule ahead of school.

Before students return to school, the Metro Public Health Department extends its hours and hosts mobile vaccine clinics to make sure every child can receive the required shots.

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A closer look at the vaccines required to enroll in Tennessee schools

The reason we recommend vaccines at all is because its helpful for the student themself who gets it. Its also helpful to all their classmates, Matt Peters with the Metro Public Health Department said. We really just want to make sure that everybody is able to access these health services because they are so important. By expanding hours here, by adding mobile clinics around town and specifically in peoples neighborhoods where they need them, we hope that everybody is able to access.

While Tennessees list of required childhood vaccines hasnt changed in years, one conservative lawmaker tried to change part of a state law that makes parents and guardians responsible for ensuring their child receives those shots.

Rep. Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet) argued the statute is unconstitutional under the Supreme Court case, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, because the state is delegating its powers to another governmental or private entity.

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We have not looked into the CDCs ever growing list of vaccinations  that ever growing list of vaccinations schedules. We havent looked into it at all, so we are simply delegating all of our rights to the CDC, giving up everything to the CDC, and the nondelegation doctrine says states cant do that, Lynn said. All were saying is: parents, youre not going to be charged with a misdemeanor because youre not following this law.

However, Tennessees attorneys disagreed. In a House subcommittee, a legal representative told lawmakers the state law doesnt violate the Constitution, and it actually protects parents from being punished for not abiding by the law, contrary to Lynns statements.

Specifically, it says no parent or legal guardian should be criminally prosecuted, nor civilly liable for failure to comply with the provisions of this part, so a parent will not be civilly liable or criminally prosecuted for not abiding by current law with the responsibility of vaccinating your child, a state attorney said.

Other conservative lawmakers argued that Jacobson v. Massachusetts gave the states the authority to require vaccines and said states can limit individual liberties to protect public health and safety.

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Tennessee pediatrician concerned over downward immunization trend

According to the CDC, 64.4% of 24-month-olds in Tennessee received the recommended doses of the combined seven-vaccine series born in 2020-2021. Democrats worry that if the state eliminates parental responsibility over their childs vaccines, that number would get even worse.

The reason the Tennessee code refers to the CDC, it doesnt delegate, it refers to the CDC for the purpose of vaccinations is because the CDC is the nations leading, science based, data driven, service organization that protects the publics health, Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) said. The state of Tennessee does not have that resource; the state of Tennessee does not have the resources to provide those services. Theres a reason that we necessarily refer to the CDC for guidance on vaccinations. Its to protect the public health.

The bill was ultimately shelved in the House subcommittee and sent to summer study.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A Tennessee inmate on death row has selected his last meal ahead of his execution scheduled for next week.

Byron Black is set to be executed on Tuesday, Aug. 5 for the 1998 murders of Angela Clay and her two young daughters, LaToya and LaKeisha. The three were reportedly shot and killed in a Nashville home.

Triple murder victims family speaks out ahead of Byron Blacks execution

Byron Black (Courtesy: Tennessee Department of Correction)

However, a legal debate continues as Blacks attorneys argue that his implanted heart-regulating device should be deactivated to avoid a torturous death. The inmates attorneys also argued that the now 67-year-old suffers from dementia and severe brain damage, making him no longer mentally competent to be executed.

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RELATED: Hospital says it never agreed to deactivate death row inmates heart implant days before scheduled execution

In fact, Davidson County District Attorney General Glenn Funk agreed with that claim, stating that Blacks condition made him ineligible for capital publishment under Tennessee law. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court later denied a request for a hearing after ruling there was not enough medical evidence to intervene, which cleared the way for the state to proceed with the execution.

On Thursday, July 31, a judge ruled in the states favor to execute Black without deactivating his heart implant.

According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, Black has selected pizza with mushrooms and sausage, donuts, and butter pecan ice cream to be served for his last meal. The meal will reportedly be served on Monday, Aug. 4.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Earlier this year, TDOC announced the execution dates of several inmates, including Black, with News 2:

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Oscar Smith, who found found guilty of killing his estranged wife Judith in 1989, was executed on May 22. He was served hot dogs, tater tots and an apple pie with vanilla ice cream for his final meal.

Donald Middlebrooks, who was convicted for the 1987 murder of Kerrick Majors, has an execution date of Sept. 24, 2025.

Harold Nichols, who was convicted of rape and first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Karen Pulley, has a new execution date of Dec. 11, 2025.

Unless a stay is granted, Black is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 5 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)  Authorities searching for the man wanted in the killing of the parents, grandmother and uncle of an infant found alive in Tennessee uncovered a car Friday that they believe the suspect was living in and offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

The unoccupied car that police said 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond had been driving was found in Jackson, Tennessee, about 70 miles from where the bodies were found and some 40 miles from where the baby was left in a car seat in a front yard.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said at a news conference that he believes it was a targeted attack by Drummond, who had a relationship with the family. He is most likely still in the area and should be considered armed and dangerous, Rausch said.

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Drummond dropped off the infant and brought attention to people nearby to come get the child, Rausch said. The baby is safe and being cared for, said Stephen Sutton, a spokesperson for the Lake and Dyer county sheriffs.

While this was an extremely tragic and violent event, that there was a sign of compassion, if you will, that we know happened," Rausch said. "That tells us that theres a possibility that Austin may have a sense that there is hope for him to be able to come in and have a conversation about what happened.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has said it obtained warrants for Drummond charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and weapons offenses.

Authorities have not yet answered questions about the manner in which the four were killed.

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According to court records, Drummond had spent years in prison for robbing a convenience store as a 16-year-old and threatening to go after jurors.

He was tried as an adult for the July 2013 robbery in Jackson, Tennessee. During the incident, he pointed a pistol at the gas station store worker and ordered the cash register to be opened, taking the $44 inside, court records show.

At a 2020 hearing in which he was denied parole, Drummond said he was on Xanax the night of the robbery and doesn't remember robbing the gas station. He said the gun was a BB gun.

After the jury convicted him of one count of aggravated robbery in August 2014, he made threats to go after jurors, Drummond said during the parole hearing. He pleaded guilty in February 2015 to 13 counts of retaliation for past action.

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The district attorney that covers Madison County, Jody Pickens, urged against early release for Drummond, writing a letter in 2020 that called him a dangerous felony offender and a confirmed member of the Vice Lords, a street gang.

Pickens wrote that Drummond made the threats against jurors and the victim in the robbery during a phone call with his father.

The Associated Press obtained audio and documents from the parole board hearing through public records requests.

Drummond was given a combined 13-year sentence. His sentence ended in September 2024, according to Tennessee Department of Correction records.

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As of the 2020 parole hearing, Drummond had more than two dozen disciplinary issues in prison, including possession of a deadly weapon, assault, refusing a drug test and gang activity. Drummond said the assault and the deadly weapon charges occurred because he was almost beaten to death.

Drummond was charged criminally for activities inside the prison, included attempted murder, after he completed the sentence that put him behind bars, District Attorney Danny Goodman said at the news conference. Drummond was out on bond on the other charges at the time of the killings, Goodman said.

The investigation began after an infant in a car seat was found in a front yard in the Tigrett area on Tuesday afternoon. The Dyer County Sheriffs Office said in a statement posted on social media that a caller reported the infant had been dropped off by a minivan or mid-size SUV at a random individuals front yard with a photo of the baby in a paramedics arms.

After identifying the infant, the sheriffs office said later that night that they were working with investigators in neighboring Lake County where four people had been found dead.

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On Wednesday, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the four people found dead in Tiptonville as James M. Wilson, 21; Adrianna Williams, 20; Cortney Rose, 38; and Braydon Williams, 15.

Wilson and Adrianna Williams were the infants parents, and Rose was Adrianna and Braydon Williams mother, according to Goodman. All four of the victims lived in Dyer County, he said.

Immediately after discovering the infant, investigators started looking for the babys family and soon learned the four relatives had not been seen since the night before, Goodman said. Then a relative called 911 after finding two vehicles in a remote area. The four bodies were found in nearby woods, Goodman said.

All four victims had been killed, Goodman said, but he declined to say how.

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Authorities did not name the infant, but an obituary for Wilson says he is survived by his daughter, Weslynne Wilson.

An attorney who represented Drummond in his case as a teenager did not immediately return a message requesting a comment.

A telephone listing for Drummond could not be found.

___

Reporter Sarah Brumfield contributed from Cockeysville, Maryland.
Authorities have revealed that the man accused of killing four people in Tennessee was out on bond when the incident happened, after he was charged with attempted first-degree murder in 2024.

A manhunt is underway for 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond, who allegedly killed James M. Wilson, 21, Adrianna Williams, 20, Cortney Rose, 38, and Braydon Williams, 15, according to the Dyer County Police Department.

Police said an infant that was found on the front lawn of a random individual's house is related to all four individuals.

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The four were found on Tuesday in Tiptonville, Tennessee, located roughly 125 miles from Memphis.

Tennessee District 29 District Attorney Danny Goodman said during a Friday press conference that Drummond was out on bond for trying to kill someone while he was in prison on Dec. 12, 2024.

"It was a targeted attack," Danny Goodman Jr., attorney general for the 29th Judicial District of Tennessee, told "Fox & Friends" on Friday. "We don't think theres a need for the community to be concerned, as far as it being some type of random act or anything like that."

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Tennessee Authorities Hunt For 28-Year-old Suspect In Quadruple Murder Linked To Abandoned Baby

Police said Austin Drummond killed four people.

Goodman revealed the four victims were family members of Drummonds current girlfriend. Rose and Adrianna are half-sisters, and both of Williams siblings are her nephew and niece.

The killings have been linked to the discovery of an infant found in a car seat on the lawn of a "random" persons house, after a witness saw the child and called 911.

"The call came in on [Tuesday] about the baby being dropped on the side of the road," Goodman said. "Once that call came in, then obviously the first thing we started to do was look for the parents of the child."

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Illegal Immigrant Convicted Of Shooting At Small-town Officer In High-speed Chase

Austin Drummond seen in a previous prison booking picture.

Local officials have asked the public to remain on the lookout for Drummond, who is considered to be "armed and dangerous." Drummond is described as 5-foot-10 and weighing 190 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and a goatee.

He is believed to be driving a 2016 Audi A3 with Tennessee license plate RI 01896 and damage to the driver's side.

A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson told Fox News on Friday that the vehicle was found in Jackson, Tennessee, but Drummond wasn't inside. A law enforcement official briefed on the matter told Fox News Digital that Drummond is likely still in Tennessee.

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Authorities posted a photo of the child on Facebook, leading to the discovery of the parents identities and leading officials to the bodies of the victims.

The baby is related to all four victims, according to FOX 13.

Drummond was convicted of carrying out an armed robbery when he was 17 years old, according to Goodman. He was released from prison despite having pending attempted murder charges from when he was incarcerated, Goodman told "Fox & Friends."

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is currently following "several leads" as they continue to search for the alleged killer, according to Goodman.

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Blue City Mayor Nearly Kidnapped After Claiming City Is Getting Safer: Police

"We have strong evidence that we know this is the person who was at the scene," Goodman said.

Drummond is wanted for alleged first-degree murder, kidnapping, four counts of a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

"This is a deeply saddening day for our community," Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box said. "We are committed to uncovering the truth and ensuring justice is served."

TBI and the Dyer County Police Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

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Anyone with information about Drummond's whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Dyer County Police Department by calling (731)-285-2802 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.





Original article source: Manhunt on for Tennessee quadruple murder suspect who DA says was out on bond for 2024 attempted murder charge
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  Construction was to start this summer, but all progress has been lost. The Tent City building, located at the corner of Dewey and Lyell Avenues, has now been slated for demolition and is considered a total loss following the five-alarm fire that occurred last night.

WATCH: Burning Tent City building collapse caught on video

Unfortunately, this year, a developer sought to transform the former Tent City building into affordable housing, ideally for formerly homeless veterans and their families.

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280 Lyell Avenue was originally a chair factory on the bank of the Erie Canal. From 1959 to 1999, it housed Tent City, a lively store catering to campers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

The building has been largely vacant for over 25 years, Deputy Commissioner for Neighborhood and Business Development Erik Frisch said earlier this year in a Rochester First article. There has been significant deterioration, but its held together, and it sets the stage for a bright future.

The project, named Gardners Loft, was a $72 million investment. Rochester City Council signed off on a $2.5 million construction loan, alongside a 30-year PILOT agreement.

Former Tent City building to be redeveloped in 88 affordable housing units

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Frisch explained why this area and the building were targeted for redevelopment.

Theres no question this building  having sat vacant for over two decades  on Lyell is not helping to move Lyell Avenue towards a revitalized corridor, he said. This project will help to change perceptions and to generate more investment in the community.

Frisch stated that efforts to revitalize the space had been discussed for over a decade, but the previous set of plans had fallen through until this year.

Winn Development Company began to redevelop the over 130,000 sq. ft. space into 88 affordable housing units. The area consisted of six interconnected five-story buildings.

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Of those 88 units, 45 were to be designated for veterans at risk or transitioning out of homelessness. The veteran support group Soldier On was also to have a peer mentor on site.

Also planned for the development were green energy systems, common area amenities, and 10,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.

In a statement from WinnCompanies, the company says it will remain committed to creating new affordable housing in the City of Rochester. They also confirmed that construction had not begun at the time of the fire.

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A jihadist set to be freed within days told inmates he masterminded the 9/11 and 7/7 terror attacks.

Haroon Aswat, 50, could be released from a secure hospital unit in the UK in the near future without a full risk assessment because of his mental health treatment.

He was jailed in 2015 in the US for 20 years after he admitted trying to start a terrorist training camp in Oregon.

Aswat was visited by a British psychiatrist in America before he was deported back to the UK in 2022 where he declared: Im a terrorist.

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Now newly surfaced US court documents, first reported by The Sun, show Aswat also confessed to being a mastermind behind the [9/11] attacks and a 2005 attack in the UK.

In addition to his connection to the 7/7 London terror bombings, which killed 52 people, Aswat has also threatened to murder Jews, Christians and certain sects of Muslims.

Haroon Aswat was linked to the 7/7 bombings in 2005 - Eddie Mulholland

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said Aswat must remain behind bars for the rest of his life.

This despicable man was behind one of the most deadly attacks in modern history. He should never experience freedom again, he said.

Police have assessed Aswat and found he continues to be a security risk. However, a High Court judge has ruled he can be released from a secure hospital after completing treatment for mental ill-health.

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Justice Robert Jay said the release of Aswat from his detention under the Mental Health Act was now expected in the relatively near future, enabling him to return to his family in Batley, West Yorkshire.

Despite officials admitting their concern and Mr Justice Jay acknowledging there was evidence of an ongoing risk, Aswat will only be subject to a notification order upon his release.

Training with al-Qaeda

A document from the US District Court, which has been released for the first time, described Aswat as a terrorist and foot soldier of al-Qaeda, and revealed he openly admitted to his involvement in terrorist activities.

In March 2017 the defendant stated, if you think I am a terrorist, I dont shy away from my responsibility and also stated he was a mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks and a 2005 terrorist attack in the UK, it said.

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The papers showed that Aswat revealed his associations with Osama bin Laden and that he had spent time training in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan just months before the terrorist attacks of Sept 11 2001, which claimed more than 3,000 lives.

His name was also found on a ledger discovered in a house in Pakistan where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of 9/11, had been staying.

Other activities included helping Abu Hamza, an extremist Islamic preacher, establish a US terror camp in 1999. Aswat also stayed at a house in Pakistan in 2002  where he met two of the 7/7 bombers  and possessed a terror manual and alleged bomb materials.

Police also traced 20 calls made by the 7/7 bombers to a phone connected to Aswat.

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Det Ch Supt Gareth Rees, head of operations for the Mets SO15 Counter Terrorism Command, said of Aswat in a witness statement: Based on my experience, this is conduct which gives me grave concerns about the risk which the defendant poses to the UKs national security and to the public.

Islamic violent extremism

A report compiled by Dr Richard Taylor, who travelled to America in the summer of 2022, found Aswat still posed a risk to the public. It stated that in 2017 Aswat made remarks to prison staff in support of al-Qaeda and made violent threats against them.

In 2022 he sent letters which made demands and death threats, seemingly motivated by a terrorist ideology.

Dr Taylor concluded that he openly endorsed an extremist ideology, but there was no evidence that Aswat was mentally ill.

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However, he had had limited opportunity to address the extremist mindset and showed traits of glibness, superficial charm, charisma, intelligence and elements of manipulativeness and narcissism.

Even when mentally stable he continued to express violent, extremist Islamic ideology, Dr Taylor found. The diagnosis showed a schizoaffective disorder with symptoms showing unpredictable and aggressive behaviour.

Dr Taylor concluded the risk of Islamic violent extremism remained, as well as targeted terrorist behaviour given his threats to kill Jews, Christians and certain groups of Muslims.

He added: There is also a risk of him influencing other vulnerable individuals, as when he is in an abnormal mental state his religious extremist rhetoric is amplified by mental illness.

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Det Insp Karen Bradley, who was involved in the case, concluded that Aswat remained a risk to national security.

Aswat was born and grew up in Yorkshire but moved to Wood Green in north London, where he fell under the spell of Hamza  and together they planned a terror training camp in Oregon with Aswat moving to Seattle to organise it.

He also spent time in Afghanistan and in Pakistan, where he met and associated with Mohammed Sidique Khan, a fellow Yorkshire terror sympathiser, and Shehzad Tanweer, his accomplice.

They would go on to carry out the deadly 7/7 bombings in London that killed 52 people on underground trains and a bus in July 2005.

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Aswat served most of his sentence in America and was deported to the UK in December 2022.

He is currently detained at Bethlem Royal Hospital in Bromley, south-east London.

A Government spokesman said: Protecting our national security is the very first priority of this Government and if any individual poses a threat to that security, the police and intelligence services have a range of powers they can apply to deal with that threat.

We will always do whatever is necessary inside the law to protect the public from any risk posed by former terrorist offenders or people of terrorist concern.

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The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) attended the 65th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Tourism Working Group Meeting, held in Korea from July 29 to 31. This year, MGTO Deputy Director Jennifer Si Tou led a delegation to attend the 65th APEC Tourism Working Group Meeting in Incheon, Korea. The meeting focused on the progress of implementation and practices in four priority areas of the current Strategic Plan of the APEC Tourism Working Group: digital transformation, human capital development, travel facilitation and competitiveness, as well as sustainable tourism and economic growth.

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It appears that Tesla's new Los Angeles diner is about as sturdily built as a Cybertruck  which is to say, not at all.

As TMZ reports, a pair of young parents are mighty perturbed after a large, pole-bound outdoor patio covering on the Hollywood diner's roof came loose and struck the mother in the head, missing their baby's head by inches.

In an interview with the website, George, the husband and father, said that the massive contraption briefly knocked out his 21-year-old wife Valentina and left her confused after it "brutally" struck her cranium.

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After the couple alerted the diner's staff, video footage of the incident was reviewed and they confirmed it to be real, which is apparently how they handle customer service and safety at the "epic bacon"-peddling restaurant. The Los Angeles Fire Department was also called, and although the woman had slight swelling on her head, she wasn't bleeding and declined to take an ambulance to the hospital.

The couple said they plan to file a lawsuit against Tesla, which did not respond to comment when TMZ reached out.

CEO Elon Musk also doesn't seem to have responded about his restaurant's snafu either, though considering the bad press it's gotten since opening a week ago, that's not all that surprising.

Along with having an infuriatingly expensive and basic food menu and weird customer service, the Tesla Diner has apparently been a nuisance to live near since 2023.

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In interviews with 404 Media, people who lived near the retrofuturist restaurant on Route 66 said they have for nearly two years dealt with everything from massively bright floodlights and illegal middle-of-the-night construction to destructive guests and protesters alike.

Kristin Rose, a former resident of an apartment building next door, told her building's management company back in February 2024 that living next to the Tesla Diner construction felt "like we're at the world's worst rave" due to the bright strobing lights going off at the site all night. She told 404 it was "absolute hell" to be near, which is why she no longer lives in her previously well-located building right by LA's famous Santa Monica Boulevard. (Tesla, naturally, didn't respond to 404's request for comment.)

In the end, the Tesla Diner serves as a metaphor not just for the way the company builds, but also for the way it handles issues: by building an eyesore, operating outside legal boundaries, and without any consideration for the people who have to deal with it.

More on Tesla: The Cybertruck Is Aging Like Fast Fashion on Temu
STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now)  A 19-year-old was charged after an unprovoked road rage incident Thursday in Stafford County, deputies detailed.

The Stafford County Sheriffs Office (SCSO) said a deputy was called to Richmond Highway near Coal Landing Road just before 2 p.m. A man told the officer that, while driving on the highway, a white Tesla forced him out of his lane.

Shortly later, the driver of the Tesla reportedly pulled out a gun.

Courtesy of the Stafford County Sheriffs Office.

The deputy was able to quickly find the Tesla and conducted a high-risk stop in the 2600 block of Richmond Highway, where 19-year-old Jayden Horton was detained.

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13-year-old boy drowns after being swept away in flash floods in Carroll County

SCSO said deputies found a BB gun with a laser attachment within the Tesla.

Horton was charged with brandishing a firearm and held at the Rappahannock Regional Jail on a $1,500 secured bond.

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A Florida jury found Tesla partly liable for a 2019 crash that left a 22-year-old woman dead.

The federal jury awarded the plaintiffs in the case $329 million in total damages.

Tesla, in a statement, called the verdict "wrong" and said it plans to appeal.

In a major blow to Tesla, a Florida federal jury on Friday found Elon Musk's electric car company partly to blame for a 2019 crash that left a 22-year-old woman dead and her boyfriend seriously injured.

The jury sided with the plaintiffs, awarding the family of Naibel Benavides Leon and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, a combined $329 million in total damages  $129 million in compensatory damages and $200 million punitive damages.

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Jurors, after about six hours of deliberations, awarded $59 million in compensatory damages to Benavides Leon's family and $70 million to Angulo, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and broken bones among other injuries.

The jury found Tesla 33% responsible for the crash, with the driver responsible for the rest. Tesla will have to pay the full punitive damages amount, and a third of the compensatory damages, which equals $42.5 million. That's a total payout of $242.5 million.

The verdict marks a major defeat for Tesla and its Autopilot driver-assistance feature that the attorneys for the plaintiffs said was engaged at the time of the deadly collision and had design flaws.

Tesla, in a statement, said it plans to appeal "given the substantial errors of law and irregularities at trial."

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"Today's verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla's and the entire industry's efforts to develop and implement life-saving technology," said Tesla.

The company added, "To be clear, no car in 2019, and none today, would have prevented this crash. This was never about Autopilot; it was a fiction concocted by plaintiffs' lawyers blaming the car when the driver  from day one  admitted and accepted responsibility."

The plaintiff's attorney, Brett Schreiber, said the verdict "represents justice for Naibel's tragic death and Dillon's lifelong injuries, holding Tesla and Musk accountable for propping up the company's trillion-dollar valuation with self-driving hype at the expense of human lives."

The verdict follows a three-week civil trial that included testimony from Angulo, Benavides Leon's family members, and the driver of the Tesla that plowed into a parked SUV and struck the couple as they were stargazing outside the vehicle alongside a Key Largo road.

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The case stems from a wrongful-death lawsuit that the plaintiffs brought against Tesla. The lawsuit argued that the carmaker's vehicles were "defective and unsafe for their intended use."

Tesla, the lawsuit said, programmed Autopilot "to allow it to be used on roadways that Tesla knew were not suitable for its use and knew this would result in collisions causing injuries and deaths of innocent people who did not choose to be a part of Tesla's experiments, such as Plaintiffs."

"Despite knowing of Autopilot's deficiencies, Tesla advertised Autopilot in a way that greatly exaggerated its capabilities and hid its deficiencies," said the lawsuit, which pointed to multiple comments from Musk touting the safety and reliability of the software.

Tesla driver George McGee had Autopilot on when his 2019 Model S blew past a stop sign and a flashing red light at a three-way intersection and plowed into Angulo's mother's Chevrolet Tahoe at more than 60-miles-per-hour, the lawsuit said.

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McGee  who previously settled a separate lawsuit with the plaintiffs for an undisclosed amount  said he had dropped his cellphone during a call and bent down to pick it up moments before his Tesla, without warning, T-boned the Tahoe.

He testified during the trial that he thought of Autopilot, which allows the vehicle to steer itself, switch lanes, brake, and accelerate on its own, as a "copilot."

"My concept was it would assist me should I have a failure" or "should I make a mistake," McGee said in testimony, adding, "I do feel like it failed me."

"I believe it didn't warn me of the car and the individuals and nor did it apply brakes," McGee testified.

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Attorneys for Tesla have argued that McGee was solely responsible for the April 25, 2019, crash.

In the trial's opening statements, Tesla attorney Joel Smith said the case was about a driver, not a "defective vehicle," and had "nothing to do with Autopilot."

"It's about an aggressive driver, not a complacent driver, a distracted driver who was fumbling around for his cellphone," Smith said. "It's about a driver pressing an accelerator pedal and driving straight through an intersection."

Tesla's attorneys said that just before the crash, McGee hit the accelerator, overriding the vehicle's set cruising speed of 45 miles per hour and its ability to brake on its own.

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Autopilot mode, Tesla says on its website, is "intended for use with a fully attentive driver, who has their hands on the wheel and is prepared to take over at any moment."

Schreiber, the plaintiff's attorney, said in his opening statements that was McGee was a "bad actor."

"But the evidence in this case will show that every actor needs a stage," Schreiber said. "And Tesla set the stage for the preventable tragedy that brings us all here."

Read the original article on Business Insider
HOPE, Ark.  Arkansas State Police officials said a Texarkana man was arrested in connection with the July death of a road worker.

According to the ASP, 64-year-old George Willis was charged Thursday with one count of leaving the scene of a collision involving death. The charge stems from a July 21 incident.

Officials said troopers responded to a deadly hit-and-run collision near Mile Marker 18 on Interstate 30.

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Jacksonville family speaks out after Sherwood woman arrested for deadly hit-and-run of loved one

The victim, 44-year-old Jonathan Gary Williams of Sherwood, was a contractor for the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

ASP officials said Williams was struck and killed by a 2004 Buick Century while he was applying reflectors to the center line of the road from a specialized trailer. The car was disabled at the scene and abandoned. Witnesses told officials the driver fled on foot.

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Although not specifically named in Gov. Greg Abbotts list of directives for the current special legislative session, state lawmakers have filed several bills to shore up the safety of youth camps in the wake of the devastating Hill Country floods.

So far, nine bills have been proposed that would address everything from emergency plans and camper disaster drills, to better communication systems and life jackets inside every cabin. They are all in response to the July 4 floods that killed 137 people, including 27 campers and counselors at storied Camp Mystic. The camps longtime owner Dick Eastland was also among the victims.

My hope is that these common sense reforms would help prevent confusion during floods and ensure every camper has the tools and information needed to act quickly when every second matters, said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, who has filed three of eight camp safety bills.

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Realistically, its tough to see how any camp safety proposal will pass by Aug. 19, when the special session ends, when so much is vying for the Texas Legislatures attention. Many flood-related proposals that will likely take priority over camps are aimed at fast-tracking disaster funding to businesses and improving emergency disaster response.

And theres no guarantee that all camps will be on board with the proposed safety regulations.

While some camp industry representatives have told The Texas Tribune they welcome regulation as they grieve alongside their impacted peers, these businesses, particularly more profitable camps, have influenced legislation or circumvented certain mandates in the past. Two weeks after the flooding, the Associated Press reported that Camp Mystic had in recent years successfully appealed to FEMA to have several of its buildings removed from federal flood zone maps, which could have lowered Mystics insurance cost and made expansion of the camp easier to do.

The youth camps dont like regulation, state Rep. Vikki Goodwin told The Texas Tribune when asked about concessions she had to make to certain camps on a 2023 safety bill.

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Whether the camp safety bills make it, are re-filed in another special session or resurface in the 2027 regular legislative session, one thing is certain: The small but politically astute camp industry is expected to face a lot more questions from lawmakers and specifically, Texas parents, about how it keeps campers safe, particularly the large contingent of sleepaway camps along the states lakes and rivers.

Whatever is coming out, especially from the Legislature or state law, we're going to gladly take it and run with it, said Dan Neal, the chair of the states camp advisory committee and whose family owns Georgetown-based Camp Doublecreek. And the camps that I know that I work closely with are going to be happy to take what that is, and really, I would say, make it even better than what is just gonna be probably the base regulation.

Camp safety bills

The Hill Country flooding largely exposed the lack of preparation by youth camps when confronted with disastrous weather events.

Although they may not have mitigated the devastation that caught residents and community leaders off guard in the early hours of July 4, recently filed legislation aim to prevent another catastrophic death toll at childrens camps.

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Among them include:

Senate Bill 35 and House Bill 223 requiring camps along a river to have flood safety equipment in each cabin, including life jackets and a cabin-to-cabin communication system.

SB 49 requiring safety drills for campers.

HB 124 requiring the state to establish better rules about building a camp within a floodplain.

HB 211 and HB 239 requiring all camp emergency management plans to be filed with the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The last bill addresses the call from some parents to have camps emergency plans more available for public scrutiny.

Currently, camps are governed under the states health and safety code which contains very general rules about how camps will be inspected by the Texas Department of State Health Services. For example, camps must have an emergency plan, including ways to evacuate in case of a disaster, but those plans are merely verified  not evaluated  by state licensing workers and copies of them are not maintained by the state.

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During a joint legislative hearing Thursday on the disaster, Kerr County Emergency Management Director William Dub Thomas revealed the county had never had a county-wide evacuation drill and wasn't able to access six of the 19 youth camps in the area. One Houston mom who traveled to Kerrville to attend the hearing pleaded with lawmakers to make youth camps post their emergency plans on their websites.

After hearing about the camp emergency plans or lack thereof, please address that, said Keli Rabon, whose sons Braeden and Brock survived their flooded cabins at La Junta camp on July 4. That should be mandatory and published on every camp website for the public to view, not in an office somewhere.

To be licensed by the state health agency, all youth camp emergency plans are required to be posted in every occupied camp building. But the state does not require them to be posted on a youth camps website or on the agencys website. Parents can ask a camp to see their emergency plans.

HB 211 is more prescriptive than current law on what must be included in emergency plans. It would require TDEM to obtain the plans, which would presumably allow the public to request them. The states disaster response agency would also be required to set emergency procedures for camps and provide feedback to camps about their plans.

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We remain committed to working with lawmakers and the state to ensure any legislation is approached thoughtfully, with room for collaboration and reflection following the tragic July 4th floods, said Tommy Ferguson, a retired camp director and spokesperson for Camp Association for Mutual Progress, the trade association for the states major overnight camps, including Camp Mystic. Camper safety is always C.A.M.Ps top priority.

The camp industrys influence

The youth camp industry is hardly different from other industries in Texas, a pro-business state famously allergic to strict regulation. Youth camps, like most private enterprises and even counties and cities, hire lobbyists to protect their interests via a trade association during legislative sessions.

The top request of that organization, C.A.M.P., is to end the ever-changing start of Texas public schools, which forces camps to readjust their summer schedule and impacts their bottom line. While the state has not sided with it on that issue, C.A.M.P. can and has pushed back successfully behind the scenes on blanket regulations.

Camps also have a little-known state committee that advises DSHS, the very same state agency that licenses them, on requirements and policies. The Youth Camp Advisory Committee and similar advisory groups point to their necessity in a state without a full-time Legislature. Instead of waiting on state lawmakers to meet as scheduled every two years to pass laws, youth camps, which make up six of the nine members on the advisory group, meet semiannually to request rule changes to the state agency and the Legislature when it convenes.

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I mean, it is purely advisory, said Neal, who chairs the committee. We have really no say in creating a rule. In other words, we're not legislators.

But they can influence how much a rule impacts them.

The youth camp committees March meeting provides a glimpse into the give-and-take nature of its operation. For example, while the state rejected the advisory groups request to exclude staff from wearing protective helmets during horseback riding, the state sided with camps on tweaking a rule to allow them to have a physician assistant or nurse practitioner on call instead of a doctor, which are harder to come by in rural areas.

The camp advisory group also tries to protect camps from blanket regulations.

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Im all about improving camps but sometimes Im a little hesitant to make another requirement on a camp that is maybe not needed, said Camp Mystic Cypress Lake director Britt Eastland during the March meeting as members discussed training policies on handling camper behavior.

Neal says one of the primary concerns of both C.A.M.P. and the state committee is to protect families from unregulated camps.

We also want to not have people out there that use the name camp and are not committed to the same regulations as we are, Neal told The Texas Tribune this week. Safety has always been at the forefront of every single [camp] director and owner and you know, its something that keeps us up at night.

While the state and the committee have beefed up background checks and staff training to screen out sex offenders, a check of the committees meeting minutes posted online since 2007 reveal that theres been no discussion of disaster planning, camp emergency evacuation or procedures in case of any natural disaster or threat.

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Neal, who has served on the committee for three years, said camps know their emergency preparation will be highly scrutinized by the state and by the public moving forward.

Whatever is in the past is in the past, he said about the committees history with disaster planning. Were ready to get down to work, whatever that looks like, to make sure we can keep this a top priority, camper safety.

One grieving familys legislative experience

Kori DelaPena at her at desk in her Jonestown home on July 24, 2025. Credit: Lorianne Willett for The Texas Tribune

Seven years ago, Jonestown resident Kori DelaPena dropped off her daughter Cati to the High Hopes Summer Camp with strict instructions to staff that the 6-year-old could not swim and if she were taken near water, she must wear a life jacket. DelaPena even spelled out the instructions in writing to the day camps staff who assured her that precautions would be taken.

Cati drowned in a local pool during the camps second day. The little girl was found without a life jacket. An investigation would later reveal that life jackets were available and the number of campers exceeded the pools own capacity rules.

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The DelaPenas contacted their state Rep. Vikki Goodwin to discuss creating a law that would force all Texas youth camps to comply with stricter water safety rules. Until then, Goodwin recalls, she had no idea that there were different rules for different youth camps.

I didnt understand that theres different regulations for the camps like Camp Mystic versus just a day camp, child care center type of thing, Goodwin said.

Goodwins bill ended up exempting the 375 camps licensed by DSHS to avoid pushback from C.A.M.P. Texas private schools, some of which have water features like ponds or pools and operate camps on their campuses, had concerns about the overly broad language in the original bill text. Language was tweaked but private schools as well as public schools are required to adhere to the new law.

Tommy Ferguson, a retired camp director, speaking for C.A.M.P. said that exemption of DSHS-licensed youth camps had nothing to do with undue influence. He said their inclusion wasnt necessary because existing state law requires camps to test campers swimming ability and to keep children confined to the limits of swimming skills for which they have been classified.

Youth camps  already had state-mandated waterfront safety standards, he said in a statement.

Initially, DelaPena was disappointed. My job will always be [about] what we lived, these other families dont live it, she said. But she came to understand that in legislation, you have to pick your battles."

Left: As her husband John looks on, Kori DelaPena points to a photo of her late daughter, Cati, in her home office in Jonestown. Right: DelaPena shows childrens lifejackets embroidered with Live Like Cati, the non-profit she founded in honor of her daughter. Credit: Lorianne Willett for The Texas Tribune

Today, the DelaPenas are satisfied with the resulting law they campaigned so hard for. Day camps operated by child care centers and other organizations using pools for water activities must now get a parents signature on a form attesting to their childs swimming ability if that child is younger than 12. If that child cannot swim, they must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket before entering a pool. Additionally, the couples non-profit, Live Like Cati, offers water safety training and raises money to provide life jackets to organizations.

The DelaPenas understand better than anyone else the grief, the demands for accountability and the questions that will go unanswered that face the families who lost children during the July 4 disaster. They encourage them to stay strong and for decisionmakers to enact changes for summer camps, particularly those near open water.

Be persistent, don't give up, DelaPena said. Try and do not let your anger or grief take over your mission. Do it for the love of your child and God will guide you and open the doors you need to walk through.

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!

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Clarification, Aug. 1, 2025 at 10:03 a.m. : The story has been updated to say that to be licensed by the Texas Department of State Health Services, camps must post their emergency plans on occupied buildings, but they are not required to post them online.
DALLAS  Texas Republicans want to make it harder for cities and counties to raise property taxes  a move that would put local governments in a tighter financial bind as the state grows.

Lawmakers on a key Texas Senate panel Friday advanced a proposal to put a tighter limit on how much more cities and counties can collect in property taxes each year without asking voters. The idea is to keep tax bills from exploding by forcing local governments to lower their tax rates if property values rise.

The taxpayers are being pushed to the brink, state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who authored the proposal, said during a committee meeting.

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Cities and counties could face further financial pressure as they try to provide basic services to residents and keep up with growth, local officials told state lawmakers Friday.

The legislation is the latest effort by GOP lawmakers to rein in the states high property taxes. This year, legislators committed $51 billion over the next two years to enact a new round of cuts to school property taxes and maintain existing ones. Some Republican lawmakers, as well as conservative activists and policy analysts, have shown frustration as theyve plugged billions of dollars into cutting school property tax bills only to see taxes from cities and counties outstrip those gains.

Gov. Greg Abbott called on lawmakers to pass bills reducing the property tax burden on Texans and imposing spending limits on entities authorized to impose property taxes during a 30-day legislative sprint.

[Lawmakers advance bill to protect Texans from real estate fraudsters]

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Such limits would arrive at a tricky time for cities and counties, already facing financial headwinds.

Localities have seen their budgets squeezed in recent years under the states existing limits on property tax revenue. Further complicating their finances: weakening sales tax revenue owed to a slowing economy and uncertainty over future federal funding. Meanwhile, cities and counties face a litany of rising costs, including salaries for police officers and firefighters.

Major cities like Austin, San Antonio and Fort Worth project budget deficits in upcoming years  with local leaders eying spending cuts, voter-approved tax hikes or some combination of both to make up for the shortfall.

A tighter property tax cap would make it harder for Fort Worth, now home to more than 1 million people, to keep up with infrastructure needs brought on by the citys robust population growth, Brady Kirk, a Fort Worth budget official, told lawmakers Friday. Such a cap could force even deeper cuts, which, instead of maximizing value for residents, would lead to lower service levels.

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Under pressure to rein in rising property tax bills, state lawmakers in 2019 enacted a law that limits how much more in property taxes cities and counties can collect each year without voter approval to 3.5%.

Tax-cut proponents credit that law with keeping the growth of property tax bills in check. Though tax bills grew, they grew at a slower pace than they otherwise would have, thanks to lower city and county tax rates, they argue.

The owner of a typical home in Dallas, for example, saw the taxes they pay to Dallas Independent School District shrink by about $310 between 2018 and 2024, according to a Texas Tribune calculation. But they paid almost $1,200 more to the city, county and other taxing entities in 2024 than in 2018. Though tax rates fell, they didnt fall enough to offset increases in the owners home value.

The total amount of property taxes collected statewide by cities and counties has remained relatively steady despite that change, figures presented by Bettencourt show. Thats at least in part because voters have signed off on higher tax rate increases at the ballot box, according to an analysis by the business-backed Texas Taxpayers and Research Association.

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Senate Bill 9, by Bettencourt, would further tighten that cap to 2.5%, a provision that would only apply to localities with more than 75,000 residents. Cities like San Antonio, Arlington, El Paso and Corpus Christi would each have collected tens of millions of dollars less in property taxes from 2021 to 2024 had that measure been in place, according to Bettencourts estimate. Dallas would have lost more than $100 million in that span.

We're asking you to tighten your belts, Bettencourt said.

Lowering that limit would give voters a more direct say when cities and counties adopt tax rates, said Jennifer Rabb, who heads the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. I think thats a step in the right direction.

If localities need more money than whats automatically allowed, they can ask the voters, the bills proponents said.

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Enacting that tighter cap could complicate localities public safety efforts, others noted. State Sen. Royce West, a Dallas Democrat, noted that Dallas voters last year adopted a measure compelling the city to hire hundreds more police officers, which could prove difficult if they have to do so with greater revenue constraints. City and county officials asked lawmakers to consider some kind of carveout for spending on police protection and firefighting, which tend to make up the majority of a given localitys budget, an idea Bettencourt appeared open to.

As Texans deal with the high cost of living, cutting property taxes may not be the best way to help them, state Sen. Molly Cook, a Houston Democrat, said.

If you're driving down the road and the road's busted up and you pop a tire, well, that's because the government didn't spend money on roads, and now you're spending money on tires, Cook said. So how does this whole picture fit together to really address affordability?

Disclosure: Texas Taxpayers and Research Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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.
The Brief

A Fort Worth couple volunteering at the Grand Canyon were forced to evacuate campers on their first day.

The evacuation was due to a wildfire that was threatening the campground they were hosting.

The couple and their campers are now safe, but the wildfire situation is ongoing.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK - A couple from Fort Worth volunteering as campground hosts at Grand Canyon National Park were forced to evacuate their guests as the first assignment on the job.

Grand Canyon wildfire evacuation

Grand Canyon wildfire

Becky Johnson and Dave Russell decided to volunteer with the National Park Service as campground hosts, freely giving their time at the Grand Canyon as points of contact for a campground on the North Rim.

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The typical assignments given to volunteers in this position include maintaining sites, answering campers' questions, checking in with guests, and enforcing burn bans in effect.

Within the first day at their post, however, the couple was given a life-or-death task.

What they're saying

"Our first day as volunteer hosts, our assignment was to evacuate the campground," Dave said. "And then our second day as volunteer hosts, we had to evacuate ourselves."

When the park issued the first evacuation order, the fear was that the fire was moving to a position that would block traffic from leaving the park. The second order, which included the Texas hosts, a separate fire threatened to burn the campground. Ultimately, Dave said, the grounds did burn.

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The couple had been interested in working with the NPS for some time. In fact, Becky worked as an environmental professor at Texas Christian University for several years, and said she was delighted to receive a post like the North Rim as her first assignment with Dave.

When the evacuation order was given, the couple said many of their campers had already set up their sites and left the grounds to watch the sunset at the rim. Due to spotty service within the park, they had difficulty reaching some of the guests, and several campers who returned after dark were faced with a blind pack-and-evacuate situation.

Grand Canyon wildfire

The backstory

A large fire, named Dragon Bravo, had started in the park on the Fourth of July. At the time of their assignment, Dave and Becky were aware of the fire, but they say it was being treated as a "what if" situation rather than an imminent threat of evacuation.

What's next

The wildfire situation is ongoing at the Grand Canyon, but Becky and Dave say they are safe at their current post.

The Source

FOX 4 meteorologist Kylie Capps spoke with Becky Johnson and Dave Russell on Texas Weather Live.




NEED TO KNOW

Troy Koehler was found dead inside a washing machine at his Texas family home on July 28, 2022

His adoptive father, Jemaine Thomas, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his murder

Troy's adoptive mother Tiffany Thomas' sentencing has been set for Sept. 10





Three years after 7-year-old Troy Koehler was found dead inside a washing machine at his family home, his adoptive father has been sentenced for his murder.

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According to a press release from the Harris County District Attorney's Office and court records reviewed by PEOPLE on Wednesday, July 30, Jemaine Thomas, 45, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for murdering Troy after pleading guilty.

Troys former first-grade teacher, Sheryl Reed, read a victim impact statement in court.

Harris County Sheriff's Office Jemaine Thomas Jemaine Thomas

Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. That was always Troy. He loved reading. If he finished early, hed head straight to our class library. Then hed go right back to share those stories with classmates...always lifting others up with the joy he carried," she said.

Court records reviewed by PEOPLE show that Troy's adoptive mother, Tiffany Thomas, 38, has been charged with injury to a child under 15 b/injury. Her bond has been set at $300,000. She pleaded guilty and her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10.

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An additional charge of injury to a child by omission was previously made against Tiffany but dismissed, court records show.

As previously reported by PEOPLE, Jemaine and Tiffany are believed to have adopted Troy in 2019.

Harris County Sherriff's Office Tiffany Thomas Tiffany Thomas

Troy was discovered dead on July 28, 2022, when his parents filed a missing persons report.

When officers arrived at the home, they "did a brief interview for the missing person report" with Troy's parents, Lt. Robert Minchew of the Harris County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit said in a previous press conference.

"Things that they observed led them to search the house thoroughly at that point. They found a deceased 7-year-old child in the washing machine in the garage," he said. Troy was found clothed in the top-loading washing machine at 7:20 a.m.

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According to court documents reviewed by KPRC 2 Houston, Troy was threatened with being put inside an oven, after he allegedly ate some of Tiffany's oatmeal cream pies. Prosecutors said text messages revealed Jemaine was also upset after allegedly discovering that Troy had eaten his doughnut sticks.

I need to get the [locks]. Im going to end up kill[ing] him," he allegedly wrote in the text message, per KPRC 2 Houston.

In November 2022, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced on X that forensic scientists conducted an autopsy on Troy, which revealed that he "suffered new and previous injuries" as a result of the incident. His death was ruled a homicide.

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.

According to KPRC 2 Houston, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services later confirmed that Child Protective Services had a prior history with the family.



Read the original article on People




NEED TO KNOW

Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator William B. Thomas IV spoke out at a hearing on Thursday after questions were raised about his whereabouts during the July 4 floods

Thomas said he began feeling unwell two days before the flood, and was resting when the flood began in the early morning hours of July 4

To those who ask, what would you have done differently? The honest answer is that, based on the data we had at the time, there was no clear indicator that a catastrophic flood was imminent, he remarked





A Texas official is speaking out after questions were raised about his whereabouts during the July 4 floods that killed more than 130 people.

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William B. Thomas IV, the Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator, made his first public comments about the flooding disaster during a joint hearing held by the Texas Senate and Houses select committees on disaster preparedness and flooding on Thursday, July 31.

I want to directly address the questions about my whereabouts that night," he said, stating that he began feeling unwell two days before the flooding began.

"On July 2, I worked a full day, despite not feeling well," he said, without elaborating on the nature of his illness.

That day he said he attended a meeting "where no concerns were raised and no indications of elevated weather risk were noted beyond what is typical for this region during the summer.

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By the time he returned home that night, he said his symptoms had worsened.

Thomas, who had previously requested to take a personal day on July 3 because of a "commitment to my elderly father," said that instead, he spent the day recovering at home.

He went on to say that his supervisors and sheriffs office leadership were aware that I was off duty" and that when he did "briefly" wake up around 2 p.m. that afternoon "there was no local rainfall or indication of elevated risk."

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Thomas was woken up by his wife around 5:30 a.m. on July 4 after receiving a call from a Kerrville official.

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"I reported immediately to the sheriffs office," he said, adding that while "there was no visible flooding on my drive into the office, but it quickly became clear that the situation was escalating."

By 6 a.m., he was "actively coordinating our countys response."

This testimony came after weeks of frustration from members of the community over a lack of answers from Thomas.

Though he was in attendance at this meeting, he was not in attendance for a meeting last week with officials in the City of Ingraham, where he is based out of, to discuss the response to the tragedy, according to NBC News.

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Thomas was not the only official who was asleep when the flooding first hit.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha said he was woken up by on-duty deputies at 4:20 a.m., according to NBC News.

Meanwhile, Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county's head of emergency management, said that he was not in Kerr County at the time of the flooding and was instead preparing for a family gathering at his lake house near Austin, reported ABC News.

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.

As noted by the outlet, several lawmakers brought up that multiple alerts were issued by the National Weather Service, including on July 3. However, Kelly insisted that while they had "received hundreds of alerts during the summer," none suggested that "an extreme weather event was imminent."

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"My first indication that this storm was different came when I woke up to texts and calls from Chief Kidd, Sheriff Leitha and Dalton Rice," he testified, acknowledging that by the time those messages were sent, "the flooding had already overtaken Camp Mystic, part of the hills in La Junta and several other upriver camps."



Eric Vryn/Getty rees emerge from flood waters along the Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. rees emerge from flood waters along the Guadalupe River on July 4, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas.

Asked about why he did not send out an alert through the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, Thomas said that he chose not to because several similar alerts had already been issued by the National Weather System, reported NBC News.

Meanwhile, according to ABC News, Kelly said that it was too late to send a Code Red alert  and that many residents havent even signed up for the system anyway.

To those who ask, what would you have done differently? The honest answer is that, based on the data we had at the time, there was no clear indicator that a catastrophic flood was imminent, Thomas said, according to NBC News. The situation evolved faster than anyone could have predicted.

Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Volunteers and neighbors work to removed the remains of a trailer and other property debris from damaged trees along the Guadalupe River after heavy rain in Kerville, Saturday, July 5, 2025. Volunteers and neighbors work to removed the remains of a trailer and other property debris from damaged trees along the Guadalupe River after heavy rain in Kerville, Saturday, July 5, 2025.

At the hearing, officials asked for a better system to alert Kerr County residents about flooding, including a siren alert system, according to ABC News  with Kerrville Mayor saying he wants to see a new system in place along the Guadalupe River by next summer.

As of Thursday, July 31, three people remain missing in Kerr County.

Read the original article on People
In July, torrential rains swept across Texas, leaving many families devastated and 141 lives lost.

That devastation was caused when a storm-triggered flash flood rose the Guadalupe River 25 feet in two hours, marking it as one of the deadliest flash floods in U.S. history.

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For Cynthia Thomas, a longtime resident of the Hill Country and a survivor of the Guadalupe River flooding, the disaster hit home. While she was safely in Houston celebrating the Fourth of July, her house was severely damaged. But the thought of flood insurance was never a pressing concern, but now insurance is unaffordable.

Although she told NBC News that the flood insurance quote for her neighbor was $6,000 per month, high risk areas have an annual rate of $1,021 a month.

Paying for protection

Thomas admits shes seen flooding before, but never anything this severe. She even recalls making it through Hurricane Harvey and with resilience and perseverance, she will make it through the Guadalupe Rivers devastation.

However, living a good distance from the river, and at higher elevation, she never felt the need for the extra coverage.

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Everybody knows that it doesnt flood like that, she told NBC News.

As she weighed her next steps to rebuild, she admitted that others in her community, including Camp Mystic, may never recover. After decades without a major flood, she said shes simply paying for it now.

I know the people who are not going to be able to rebuild, she said. Most of all, Im grieving terribly about the loss of life, because some of them are friends  but I feel so blessed and lucky I was not there. Because Im alive.

According to Insurance.com, homeowners in Texas pay an average of $3,851 per year for home insurance  about $1,250 more than the national average. Standard home insurance typically doesnt cover flooding, which means homeowners need a separate flood policy.

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The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) determines flood insurance premiums based on a propertys specific risk factors, including the likelihood of flash floods, a homes elevation, foundation type, proximity to water and the cost to rebuild. These rates arent fixed  shifts in weather patterns, infrastructure or community development can all cause premiums to rise.

Read more: Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10)

The importance of community

Thomas isnt the only homeowner whos gone without flood insurance, but shes fortunate to have a place to stay and reconnect with childhood friends from Camp Mystic.

When you go to a camp like this, I felt really heard and I felt encouraged to be myself, Thomas said. We lived together. We learned each others quirks, annoying habits, all those kinds of things.

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She said the community support has been a source of strength during a difficult time. Even if you dont live in a traditional flood zone, inland flood insurance can offer crucial protection. FEMAs NFIP partners with more than 40 private insurers, and standalone policies may also offer more competitive rates.

For those already impacted by the Guadalupe River flooding, FEMA provides resources through DisasterAssistance.gov, its mobile app, or by calling 800-621-3362. And while financial recovery is critical, leaning on your community  whether its friends, neighbors, or local organizations  can make the journey back to normalcy feel far less overwhelming.

What to read next

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
The United States and Pakistan reached a trade agreement expected to allow Washington to help develop Pakistans largely untapped oil reserves and lower tariffs for the South Asian country, officials from both nations said yesterday.

Officials did not specify where the exploration would take place, but most of Pakistans reserves are believed to be in the insurgency-hit southwestern province of Balochistan, where separatists say the provinces natural resources are being exploited by the central government in Islamabad.

We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership, Trump added. Who knows, maybe theyll be selling oil to India someday!

Total U.S. trade with Pakistan was an estimated $7.3 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the United States Representative, which said on its website that U.S. exports to Pakistan in 2024 were $2.1 billion, up 4.4% ($90.9 million) from 2023. U.S. imports from Pakistan totaled $5.1 billion in 2024, up 4.9% ($238.7 million) from 2023, it said.

There was no immediate comment from the Baloch nationalists and separatist groups. Balochistan has long been the center of violence mostly blamed on groups including the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, which the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in 2019.

Separatists in Balochistan have opposed the extraction of resources by Pakistani and foreign firms and have targeted Pakistani security forces and Chinese nationals working on multibillion-dollar projects related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Oil reserves are also thought to exist in the southern Sindh, eastern Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

Pakistans Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the long-awaited deal and thanked Trump for playing a key role in finalizing it.

Pakistan had been pursuing a trade agreement since May, when Trump mediated a ceasefire between Pakistan and India following an escalation triggered by Indian airstrikes on Pakistani territory in response to the killing of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistans Finance Ministry said in a statement early yesterday the agreement aims to boost bilateral trade, expand market access, attract investment and foster cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

The breakthrough came during a meeting in Washington between Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and senior U.S. officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

The deal includes a reduction in reciprocal tariffs, particularly on Pakistani exports to the U.S., the statement from the ministry said. MUNIR AHMED, ISLAMABAD, MDT/AP

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Communities hit by the deadly Independence Day floods face a desperate and confused recovery bereft of state and federal aid, survivors told a field hearing of the Texas Legislature in Kerrville on Thursday.

With no resources to drain Lake Ingram, it has become a toxic pit, resident Ann Carr told the legislators.

Weve talked to divers that have been out there. They have found vehicles. We have asked them direct questions, Are there bodies in the water? Their answers are yes, Carr said.

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Now, the city of Kerrville is refusing to drain the lake, which bubbles with oil from submerged automobiles, Carr said. With $28 billion in the state rainy day fund, she added, I think the state of Texas can help us clean our lake out.

Others pointed to the consequences of the catastrophic flood damages, which hit a region where about 99 percent of residents didnt have flood insurance.

With as much as $25 billion in uninsured losses, many landowners are at high risk of losing their land, said Terri Hall, a Kerrville resident who runs an anti-property tax group.

Hall said landowners lost outbuildings that neither insurance nor the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for, leaving them as easy pickings for private equity. The affected areas, she said, have a high vulnerability to having big corporations like BlackRock swoop in and buy up our beautiful riverfront and turn Kerr County into something that we wont recognize.

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State leaders mostly listened and murmured their support to survivors. But earlier in the hearing, they were unsparing in their criticism of local officials on the subject of training and warnings.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) told County Judge Rob Kelly that he didnt know where you were on Day One, on July 4, but you should have been here. You should have been here directing that response. That is your responsibility.

Everyone was here that day working their ass off, and you were nowhere to be found, Patrick added.

The three guys in Kerr County who were responsible for sounding the alarm were effectively unavailable. Am I hearing that right? Houston-area state Rep. Ann Johnson (D) demanded of local officials. Is there a protocol that needs to be put in place? That, if the three folks who are responsible at this moment are not available for whatever reason, what should we do?

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When Kelly told legislators that it wouldnt be hard to institute a better program of training, state Sen. Charles Perry (R) said that fact, while true, was sad.

I dont know how you can be good at what you do if you havent practiced what youre supposed to, Perry said.

In addition to the need for state and federal aid, residents and survivors coalesced around a few consistent themes, including a muddled and chaotic official disaster response, which survivors testified sometimes featured state resources showing up too late or not at all  or sometimes being sent away by locals.

We had an entire pallet of chainsaws that were donated to disappear overnight, one Austin-area volunteer told the panel. Another said that officials had stopped giving out aid to those whose houses had been swept away because a truck from beloved state grocery store HEB had showed up.

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Well, HEB, at that point, was giving out small little bags of groceries to people  just enough for an evening, they said.

In Travis County, the state was almost entirely absent, said Timothy Mabry, who said he took trailers from the disaster site in Kerrville to Leander, just north of Austin, where local churches were running out of food, water and formula.

In that region, Mabry said, It was not the state doing the cleanup. It was not the government helping. It was the citizens. It was Texans helping Texans who are doing the work, and theyre still doing the majority of the work. It was only after many cries and pleas for help and coordination with myself and many others of why resources in the state finally acknowledged what was going on there.

Nobody came, Leander resident Aubrey Gallagher told the committee. There were no resources.

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Other testimony focused on evacuation routes and warnings  or the lack thereof. Survivors described being trapped in deadly bottlenecks as they raced to escape the floodwaters, with steep ravines and fenced-off private land on one side and a rising river on the other  a direct consequence of the short notice that disaster was coming.

Our home was 35 to 40 feet above the normal river water level, and by 3 a.m., the water was already at the house  and we had no warning, one woman told the committee.

She and her family raced to their cars and out onto Highway 39, but there was nowhere to get out, and the water was rising too quickly to make it to higher ground, so we climbed onto our cars and into the trees.

Perched there, she said, they watched other cars shoot down the river and massive trees, and prayed and planned for what we would do if our trees fell down.

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They were lucky, she said  other friends and neighbors drowned that night.

Many residents missed cell warnings, which went out late, because they didnt have cell service. Others who did found they didnt matter.

Alicia Baker, whose parents and 11-year-old daughter died in the floods, was in a cabin on stilts when the floodwaters hit. They had signal, but the alert said seek higher ground. Were on stilts. Where were we supposed to go?

Pulling at the shoulders of her blouse as she fought back tears, Baker urged the installation of smart flood meters  something the county had voted against in the past.

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We should actually have sensors in our water that would then alert sirens to go off, she said. If I got an alert that said 6 to 7 inches, Ive been like, cool, thats the dock. It wouldnt have made that much of a difference. Now, when youre talking 30 feet, thats a whole other story.

There was a bigger elephant in the room, one Kerr County man argued: that Texas development codes havent kept up with the rise in extreme weather, and permit construction in the path of floods.

Who is going to talk honestly about land use? Im not asking necessarily for zoning mandates, but people should be informed when they build in flood areas.

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As a 26-foot wall of water surged down the Guadalupe River, wiping out entire homes, the only official warning was a 4:39 a.m. text message stating Evacuate: Wildfire.

So says Auburn Gallagher, a 25-year resident of flood-ravaged Sandy Creek, describing a chaotic scene with little warning and no help.

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Nobody came. No fire. No EMS. No sheriff. Nobody came for us. Nobody, Gallagher told a July 31 hearing by the Texas Senate and Houses select committees in Kerr County, the area most devastated by the recent floods.

Gallagher says it was a neighbor who warned her at 6 a.m. on July 5 as flood debris began tearing through the fence on her property. Two of her neighbors homes were destroyed in a scene she described as a warzone.

While many survivors are outraged by what they call a meek response from officials, some experts argue that a faster alert system may have done little to stop the death and destruction that unfolded.

Left in the dark

At the hearing, lawmakers heard conflicting accounts from residents and officials. Multiple witnesses testified they received no advance warning before the floodwaters surged.

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With poor cell service and no running water, Gallagher turned to social media to plead for help. Her Facebook post caught the attention of Melanie Strong, a resident from a nearby town who quickly stepped in.

Strong testified that residents were left in the dark and they did not have resources to dig themselves out. She urged her partner, a lieutenant with the Austin Capital Region, to drive out to Sandy Creek to see the devastation firsthand.

Since he is typically looped into emergency alerts, she asked whether he had received any notifications  an email, a call, anything. He hadnt.

When they arrived, they encountered a lone sheriffs deputy, one of the only officers assigned to cover the entire Sandy Creek area during the flood. He told them he had fielded more than 50 calls for help but was unable to respond to most.

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Their 911 calls went unanswered, Strong stated.

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The flooding, which struck over the July 4 holiday, killed at least 135 people  including 37 children. While the National Weather Service issued a general flood watch on July 3, it wasnt until 4 a.m. on July 4 that it sent a more urgent alert, warning of a particularly dangerous situation.

Many residents, including Gallagher, are questioning why no sirens sounded and why local authorities failed to implement stronger warning systems that could have saved lives. Kerr County considered installing a flood alert system along the Guadalupe River nearly a decade ago but rejected it due to cost concerns.

What's the real failure?

While better warning systems might have bought residents more time, experts say the real failure wasnt just in communication  it was in preparation.

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William Rector, director of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, told lawmakers the real issue was in the absence of flood mitigation infrastructure altogether.

The region has no diversion dams to help slow the surge of water pouring down the river. Rector emphasized that these physical barriers, along with non-structural strategies like zoning and long-term planning, are essential tools to reduce flood risks and limit the damage.

Referencing the tragedy at Camp Mystic, where several lives were lost, Rector said a warning system likely wouldnt have made a difference. The floodwaters moved too quickly.

There was just no time for a warning system. Flood mitigation is the answer to flash floods, Rector said on the panel.

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Over the past decade, Texas has reportedly relinquished $225 million in federal grant money it has been provided for disaster prevention. It also hasnt spent $505 million of the $820 million it received after Hurricane Harvey hit years ago.

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California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference with Texas lawmakers at the Governors Mansion on July 25, 2025 in Sacramento. California Newsom met with Texas lawmakers to push back on Texass redistricting maneuver that aims to tilt the outcome of the 2026 midterm elections and on how California plans to respond. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.)

How much could an unusual mid-decade redistricting push matter for control of Congress next year?

Experts are split, but generally see little advantage in the frantic activity by both parties to squeeze extra seats from lines that already favor Republicans in Texas and Florida and Democrats in California.

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Texas Republicans proposed a new set of maps Wednesday, in response to a request from President Donald Trump to boost GOP numbers in the U.S. House of Representatives by redrawing the lines to favor Republicans. Left-leaning California, meanwhile, has pledged to retaliate by redrawing its congressional districts to create more Democratic seats.

The unusual plan to draw new districts in mid-decade for political purposes is not unprecedented  Republicans in Colorado and Texas moved to redraw districts after taking unified control of those states in 2002. But generally, states draw new districts only when federal law requires it after a new decennial census.

Trump reportedly asked Texas Republicans to target five Democratic incumbents to shore up their thin U.S. House majority against anticipated losses in midterm elections next year. He also pressured Missouri Republicans to redraw a Democratic Kansas City-area district. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he would follow suit.

California has threatened a retaliatory plan to increase Democratic seats there and a Democratic super PAC has created a $20 million fund to target Texas Republicans next year as payback.

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Its not impossible for Texas to come up with five more Republican seats that would withstand legal challenge, said J. Miles Coleman, political cartographer at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. But Coleman said it would take some creative line drawing.

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Paul Brace, an emeritus professor of legal studies science at Rice University in Houston, said the proposed Texas maps released today target Democrats in majority-minority districts in Houston, the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and South Texas, where Trump showed surprising strength in last years election.

Theyre trying to dilute those areas with more white Republican areas to give themselves a better chance, said Brace. He said hes skeptical Texas Republicans can draw five more GOP seats that will withstand legal scrutiny, though they might be able to get one by redrawing the Houston-area district that has been unrepresented since Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner died in March.

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Other changes are not as clear-cut, he said.

Kimball Brace, a redistricting expert and consultant in Virginia who is not related to Paul Brace, said Texas might have already reached its maximum number of GOP seats.

The question about Texas is, are they already maxed out for Republican strength? Theres not much wiggle room left, he said.

Kimball Brace said there may be some benefit to Republicans in redrawing South Texas districts, where Republican strength was greater than expected last year, but theres nothing like five seats in play. He said he thinks California is in a similar situation, since for decades, California Democrats have drawn maps to maximize their advantage and might not have much more room to maneuver.

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Coleman disagreed, saying he sees opportunities in both states for new seats.

For the purposes of keeping score, Texas and California could basically cancel each other out. But I think Democrats would be hurt if the redistricting wars escalate beyond those states, Coleman said.

Florida and Missouri could add more Republican seats, and theoretically Colorado, New York and Virginia could add more Democratic seats, but the Democratic states will run into self-imposed obstacles like redistricting commissions that limit partisan maneuvers, Coleman said. Republican-dominated Ohio will also be a factor, since its planning to redraw districts because of court fights.

That will almost certainly be to the benefit of Republicans, so its another example of Republicans having more levers to pull than Democrats, Coleman said. .

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Earlier this week, New York unveiled its own mid-decade redistricting plan, but it wouldnt take effect in time for next years midterm elections.

Kimball Brace said Michigan, where he has worked as a consultant, could add more Democratic seats in theory, but a fragile compromise on a politically independent redistricting commission makes it unlikely.

Parties in power generally draw districts that favor their own with methods known as packing and cracking. Packing refers to concentrating opposition party voters in a small number of districts to reduce competition elsewhere. Cracking means scattering opposition voters across districts, so they have little chance to influence votes.

Texas and Florida already have wrung more partisan advantage from their congressional seats than any other states, by one measure.

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PlanScore, a project at Harvard Law Schools Election Law Clinic that measures bias in redistricting, found at least some partisan bias in congressional districts in many states where data on voter registration was available.

About two of Californias 52 U.S. House seats are Democratic but would be Republican under a perfectly balanced plan based on statewide party registration. Texas already squeezes about five extra Republican seats out of its 32 U.S. House districts, one of the most skewed maps in the country. Florida has an extra four GOP seats, out of 28 total.

Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@stateline.org.

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AUSTIN (Nexstar)  Texas House lawmakers will discuss a new proposed congressional map that aims to give Republicans an advantage to pick up five seats in the 2026 midterms.

The map was proposed by State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, who will lay out the bill in the committee hearing Friday at 10 am. The meeting agenda said the first 90 minutes of the hearing will be reserved for the bill layout, an opportunity for lawmakers to ask questions about the proposed map.

Following the bill layout, the committee will hear public testimony that will be capped at a maximum of 10 hours. People can only testify in person at the Capitol and will only have two minutes to speak.

How we got here

Rumors about redistricting started in June when reports came out that the White House wanted the Lone Star State to redraw its congressional maps to help Republicans pick up more seats ahead of the 2026 midterms.

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Gov. Greg Abbott placed redistricting on the special session call in light of constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice. A letter from the DOJs Civil Rights Division claimed four of Texass congressional districts were racially gerrymandered.

However, President Donald Trump told reporters in early July that the redistricting effort was to pick up five seats.

The House select committee on redistricting held three public hearings in July to allow people to testify on what they think about redrawing the congressional maps. Those meetings were held in Austin, Houston, and Arlington. A majority of the testimony in those meetings was critical of the redistricting effort.

Hunter filed his proposed map early this week under House Bill 4. You can zoom in on the map below to see which district you would fall under the proposed plan:

The proposal moves some Democratic incumbents out of their current districts and places them in another district, either in competition with a Republican member or in competition with someone in their own party. However, the U.S. Constitution said that a candidate for Congress must live in that state, but not necessarily in the district they are running for.

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The proposed map appears to target congressional members in the states largest cities. Brian Smith, a political professor at St. Edwards University, explains the map makers are taking democratic districts that are already safe and making them even safer, which then may make the neighboring Republican districts more Republican.

The map below shows you how the districts have been changed in some of the biggest cities in Texas:

What are they saying?

National and Texas Democrats have been outspoken in their frustration with a mid-decade redistricting. This process is usually done at the beginning of each decade when new Census data is available. Based on population trends, states can either gain or lose seats in Congress.

I think Trump has taken a hatchet to Austin and to really the entire state, in order to preserve his one-man rule, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D  Austin, said of the proposed map. In the proposal, his district was combined with parts of Democratic U.S. Rep. Greg Casars district. Doggett said he plans to run again in 2026.

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Texas House Democrats have been traveling to different Democratic states  Illinois, California, and New Mexico  to speak with their governors about the process and to continue the Caucus national effort to build a firewall against the corrupt, racially-motivated redistricting scheme being forced on Texans by Donald Trump via Greg Abbott, according to a press release.

Texas House Republicans have remained mostly silent on the whole process. State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R  Fort Worth, did post on his X account Wednesday a picture of the proposed map with the caption, Looks like 5 seats flipped RED! Lets GET IT DONE!

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A search is continuing for a man believed to be armed after he fled from Nevada State Police Highway Patrol troopers near Winnemucca on Thursday.

A photograph of John Travis Stanley has been released on social media by the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office. The photo was taken from video footage when troopers stopped him. On Thursday, officials shut down the Water Canyon Campground near Winnemucca as they searched for Stanley, who was believed to be on foot with two bit bull terrier dogs.

John Travis Stanley. (Photo: Nevada State Police Highway Patrol)

He was wearing a black shirt with a pit bull and the word Loyalty across the top, black pants and sunglasses with white rims.

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Stanley is wanted on outstanding felony warrants in Texas, according to the sheriffs officials.

As of 7:30 a.m. Friday, the search was continuing, according to an update from Bureau of Land Management officials. Its unclear if Water Canyon is still closed to the public.

Stanleys vehicle was found in the campground and towed.

The search involves a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies in the area. Anyone who spots Stanley is advised to call the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office immediately.

Winnemucca is located on Interstate 80, about 465 miles north of Las Vegas.

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A Texas man is accused of violently attacking and sexually assaulting four women in New Bedford in 2013, the district attorney said Friday.

Orlando Robles, 51, was held without bail without prejudice after his arraignment in Fall River Superior Court on Wednesday following his rendition from Texas, Bristol Count District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in a statement.

Robles is charged with kidnapping, two counts of rape, nine counts of assault and battery, and indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, assault with the intent to commit an indecent assault and battery and use of a vehicle in the commission of a crime.

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The charges lodged against Robles stem from a series of violent sexual assaults on four female victims in New Bedford that happened between June and July of 2013, Quinn said.

Robles was a stranger to all four victims, Quinn said. Two of the women were attacked outside of their homes.

The first victim was walking home in June 2013 when a male offered her a ride in his vehicle, indicating he was on his way to pick up his child, prosecutors said.

Once the victim was inside the vehicle, he drove to a secluded area where he attacked the victim, choked her, grabbed her breasts, and attempted to further sexually assault her, prosecutors said. As the victim struggled and attempted to pull away, he began striking her in the head.

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The second victim was attacked as she tried to exit her vehicle in the driveway of her home. Prosecutors said a male grabbed the victim by the throat, forced her into the vehicle, and raped her. He punched her in the face as she struggled to get away.

The third victim was attacked as she was exiting her vehicle outside of her home. Prosecutors said a male attacked the victim, grabbed her by the throat, forced her into the vehicle, raped her and fled.

The fourth victim was attacked as she entered her vehicle in downtown New Bedford. Prosecutors said the male opened her car door and punched her in the face. The victim struggled with the male, who then raped her and fled.

Robles truck was identified as being in the area of the fourth attack.

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Police interviewed Robles, who indicated he was from Texas. He fled Massachusetts and went back to Texas the next day, Quinn said.

Robles was identified by certain victims out of photo arrays. Quinn said that DNA evidence linked Robles to the crime scene.

Robles is due back in court on Sept. 9 for a pre-trial conference.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  A Dallas, Texas, man was arrested this morning near Summerset, South Dakota, after a pursuit with law enforcement.

According to a press release, around midnight Friday morning, a Summerset Police Officer found a stopped vehicle near Stagestop Road and I-90.

Murdo mourns late firefighter with funeral procession

The driver was asleep behind the wheel of the running vehicle. Upon approach, the officer spotted a drug pipe in the drivers lap and an open container in the center console.

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When the officer attempted to wake the driver, the suspect fled west on I-90, starting a pursuit. The pursuit ended approximately three miles east of Pleasant Valley Road.

The 29-year-old male driver from Dallas, Texas, was taken into custody by the officer. Hes charged with aggravated eluding, possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence and several other related offenses.

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Editors note: This article contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault.

A Texas man was charged in connection with four women who were sexually assaulted in New Bedford in 2013, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn IIIs office said Friday.

Orlando Robles, 51, was charged with kidnapping; two counts of rape, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14; nine counts of assault and battery; assault with the intent to commit an indecent assault and battery; and use of a vehicle in the commission of a crime.

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He was arraigned in Fall River Superior Court on Wednesday and was ordered held without bail, Quinns office said in a statement. He is next expected to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Sept. 9.

Robles is suspected of four sexual assaults on women between June and July 2013, Quinns office said. The first assault was on a woman who was walking home and he offered to drive her in his car, indicating he was on his way to pick up his child. Once she was in the car, he drove to a secluded area, choked her, grabbed her breasts and sexually assaulted her. As she tried to pull herself away, the man hit her in the head.

The second woman was sexually assaulted after she tried to leave her car parked in her homes driveway, the statement read. A man grabbed her by the throat, forced her back in the car, hit her face and raped her as she tried to get away.

This similarly happened to a third woman before he fled, Quinns office said.

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A fourth woman was sexually assaulted as she entered her car in New Bedfords downtown area, the statement read. A man punched her in the face, raped her and then left, but his truck was identified in the area of the attack.

Police spoke with the man, who said he was from Texas, Quinns office said. The next day, the man left Massachusetts for Texas.

Robles was convicted of the violent sexual assaults of four different women in Texas between August and September 2013, as well as exposing himself to a woman and her daughter, Quinns office said.

He was sentenced to serve 20 years in prison before he was rendited to Massachusetts regarding the charges he faces in Bristol County Superior Court, Quinns office said.

More local crime stories

Read the original article on MassLive.
In early July, as President Donald Trump was pushing Texas to redraw its congressional map to better favor Republicans, the Department of Justice sent state leaders a letter.

Four of Texas congressional districts were unconstitutional, the department warned. Three, the 9th, 18th and 33rd, were unconstitutional coalition districts, where Black and Hispanic voters combine to form a majority. The 29th, while majority Hispanic, was also unconstitutional, the letter said, because it was created by its two neighbors being coalition districts.

It is well-established that so-called coalition districts run afoul of the Voting Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment, assistant attorney general Harmeet Dhillon wrote, threatening legal action if Texas didnt bring the districts into compliance.

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On Wednesday, Texas House Republicans released their first draft of a redrawn map designed to give the GOP five new seats in next years midterms.

As for the four districts that troubled Dhillon?

In the Houston area, the 9th and the 18th districts, where no one race currently constitutes a majority of eligible voters, would be redrawn as just over half Hispanic and half Black, respectively. But as a result, the nearby 29th District  a fixture of east Houstons Latino community  would lose its Hispanic majority, becoming 43% Hispanic, 33% Black and 18% white.

The 33rd District in North Texas, although entirely redrawn, would still have no single racial or ethnic group that constitutes a majority.

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Texas has long maintained that it drew these maps without an eye toward race. But tinkering with the lines now that these racial concerns have been raised risks triggering a Voting Rights Act complaint, legal experts said. States generally cannot redraw districts based on race without a compelling argument that its necessary to protect voters ability to elect their candidates of choice, said Justin Levitt, a redistricting expert at Loyola Law School.

It sure seems like they have actually done what the DOJ, without any basis, accused them of, Levitt said, noting that he had not done sufficient analysis to say for sure.

Legal experts say the DOJs interpretation of the law around coalition districts, and thus its legal threats to Texas, are based on faulty logic that could be backing the state into a discrimination lawsuit.

Nothing in this decision suggests, much less holds, that the VRA prohibits the very existence of coalition districts, Ellen Katz, a redistricting expert at the University of Michigan Law School, told the House redistricting committee at its first hearing last week. There are hundreds of these districts nationwide in which jurisdictions relying on traditional principles create these districts.

Coalition districts

Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 says states cannot engage in election or voting practices that dilute the electoral power of voters of color, including by packing them into a single district or diffusing them throughout multiple.

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For decades, courts held that states can satisfy the requirements of Section 2 by creating districts where multiple politically cohesive racial voting groups constitute a majority. Currently, Texas has nine districts where no one racial or ethnic group has a majority; in eight of them, Black, Hispanic and Asian voters combined create a majority.

In 2024, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears Texas-based cases, reversed a prior ruling and said coalitions of different racial or ethnic groups within one district cannot claim their rights have been violated under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Citing this ruling, Dhillon told Texas that its coalition districts were nothing more than vestiges of an unconstitutionally racially based gerrymandering past, which must be abandoned, and must now be corrected by Texas.

But this reflects a misunderstanding of this case, legal experts say. Under this ruling, the Voting Rights Act cant require states to create coalition districts, but that doesnt mean coalition districts are inherently unconstitutional.

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All it says is that you dont have the affirmative obligation to purposely create [a coalition district] at the outset, said Mark Gaber, a lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center who is representing a group of plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against the current maps. It certainly doesnt say, go through the map and eliminate all of the ones you drew.

Texas leaders have contradicted themselves and each other on the question of whether the state has coalition districts and what should be done about them.

Gov. Greg Abbott, days after receiving Dhillons letter, included redistricting on his agenda for the Legislatures special session, citing constitutional concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice. He later told Dallas Fox 4 News that redistricting was necessary because of the 5th Circuits ruling.

We want to make sure that we have maps that don't impose coalition districts while at the very same time ensuring that we will maximize the ability of Texans to be able to vote for the candidate of their choice, he said.

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At a House committee hearing Friday, GOP Rep. David Spiller of Jacksboro asked Rep. Todd Hunter, who carried the 2021 maps in the lower chamber, whether Texas currently has coalition districts. Hunter said the law was different then.

You had coalition districts being interpreted differently, he said. Today, you have a 2024 5th Circuit case absolutely changing the law.

But in court, Texas has long argued it has not drawn coalition districts to address racial disparities, because it draws race blind maps. Attorney General Ken Paxton doubled down on this argument in response to the Dhillon letter.

The Texas Legislature has led the Nation in rejecting race-based decision-making in its redistricting process  it has drawn its current maps in conformance with traditional, non-racial redistricting criteria to ensure Texas continues to adopt policies that will truly Make America Great Again, Paxton wrote.

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At the request of Democrats, the House and Senate redistricting committees have invited Dhillon to testify on the letter and her allegations against Texas, but neither she nor any representative from the DOJ has responded to the request. The Senate panel this week voted not to subpoena her.

What happened to the Houston DOJ districts

Three of the districts Dhillon cited in her letter are neighbors in the Houston area. All three would be radically redrawn by the Houses proposed map.

The 9th Congressional District is a multiracial district made up of 45% Black voters, 25% Hispanic voters, 18% white voters and 9% Asian voters. The district, which covers parts of southwest Houston and outlying suburbs, voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 by 44 points, and has reliably reelected Democratic Rep. Al Green since 2004.

Under the Houses proposed map, the 9th District has been redrawn around an entirely new part of Houston, retaining just 2% of Greens current district and scooping up conservative swaths of east Harris County. The Hispanic population would climb to just over 50% and the white population would almost double to 34%. Black voters would drop to 12% and Asian voters to 2%. In 2024, this new district would have voted for Trump by 15 points.

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Green, who is essentially drawn out of his district, condemned the proposal as racist, saying the DOJ demanded that the race card be played, and the governor dealt the people of Texas a racist hand.

Republicans pointed to the changing preferences of Latino voters, who swung sharply for Trump and other GOP candidates in 2024, to defend these new lines.

Each of these newly-drawn districts now trend Republican in political performance, Hunter said. it does allow Republican candidates the opportunity to compete in these districts.

Some of Greens existing district has been pushed into the newly drawn 18th Congressional District. While this was previously a seat with no single racial majority, its electorate would become 50.8% Black, while cutting the Hispanic and white populations. It would also tilt even further to the left; Harris carried the district by 40 percentage points in 2024 and would have won it by a 54-point spread under the new lines.

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Next door, Rep. Sylvia Garcias 29th Congressional District would also be reconfigured, with Hispanic residents making up 43% of its new eligible voting population  down 20 percentage points from the current makeup. The districts Black and white populations would increase to create a district without a single racial group dominating. It would become more strongly Democratic.

In challenging Texas maps, plaintiffs have contended that Houstons population justifies two majority Hispanic districts. Instead, the one strong majority Hispanic district has been eliminated, and replaced with a district that is almost exactly half Hispanic, alongside one that is almost exactly half Black.

50.5% is unlikely to perform for Latino preferred candidates, or Black preferred candidates, Gaber said. And they know that. Its a mirage.

What happened to the North Texas DOJ district

In her letter, Dhillon also said the 33rd Congressional District ran afoul of the Constitution through its coalition status. The district is currently anchored in Fort Worth, with an electorate that is 44% Hispanic, 25% Black, 23% white and 6% Asian. The district went for Harris by 34 percentage points and has consistently reelected Rep. Marc Veasey, a Black Democrat.

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A decade ago, Texas, and the federal courts, asserted that the 33rd was not a coalition district.

District 33 is not a minority coalition opportunity district in which two different minority groups band together to form an electoral majority, the state and plaintiffs said in a joint advisory to the court. A district court judge agreed, saying it was not intentionally drawn as a minority coalition district.

The revised 33rd Congressional District maintains about a third of Veaseys old district, moving out of his Fort Worth base. The proposed new lines would reduce the Hispanic and Black population and increase the white population, while maintaining about the same Democratic lean.

Just like in the current map, the proposed 33rd district does not have a single racial group that dominates. Legal experts say that is not inherently a problem, despite what the DOJ letter alleged, as long as voters of color have sufficient power to elect their candidate of choice.

At a House committee hearing last week, Nina Perales, the vice president of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the groups suing over Texas current maps, testified that the Dallas-Fort Worth area, like Houston, should have an additional Hispanic-majority district on top of Veaseys Hispanic-plurality seat.

In light of the growth of the population over the past two decades, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act does require the creation of additional districts, Perales said. If the committee and the legislature decides to take up redistricting, it is certainly true that you cannot subtract from the current level of representation that we have.

Few districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area went without major changes in the new draft map. In the reshaped downtown Dallas district of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, 50.2% of the voting population would be Black, not unlike the two new Houston districts to inch just past the majority threshold.

If Hispanic or Black voters were electing their candidate of choice, there is no legal reason to move more voters of one group into the district to hit a perfunctory benchmark of 50%, Levitt said.

It tells me youre trying really hard to hit a particular target, such that the target itself was the predominant reason for moving people in or out of the district, Levitt said. Thats exactly what the courts have said you cant do.

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.
Federal agents in Texas claim they intercepted millions in cocaine, arrested an alleged Honduran sex offender trying to re-enter the country, and seized a truckload of illicit currency headed south for Mexico in a series of high-stakes enforcement actions across the border.

Here are this weeks biggest immigration-related interdictions and arrests:

1. Approximately 5 Million In Cold-Caine Seized

Federal authorities announced two major cocaine busts this weekone at an inland checkpoint in Kingsville and another at the Laredo Port of Entrytotaling more than 110 pounds of the drug and potentially worth millions on the street.

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On July 26, agents at the Kingsville Station discovered approximately 72 pounds of cocaine hidden in the ceiling of a tractor-trailer, according to a July 30 post by Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez.

RGV Agents seized ~72 lbs of cocaineworth $2.3Mhidden in a tractor trailer ceiling. The U.S. citizen smuggler will face prosecution, Chavez wrote.

Photographs posted alongside the announcement showed rectangular bricks of the suspected narcotics laid out on a law enforcement vehicles hood. Based on prevailing black-market prices ranging from $60 to $200 per gram, the haul could be worth between $1.96 million and $6.53 million, though Border Patrol officials pegged the value at $2.3 million.

 Drug Bust at Kingsville Station

On July 26, RGV Agents seized ~72 lbs of cocaineworth $2.3Mhidden in a tractor trailer ceiling.

The U.S. citizen smuggler will face prosecution. Relentless. Vigilant. Honor First!#RGV #USBP #DrugBust #BorderSecurity #Kingsville #HonorFirst pic.twitter.com/2F0jcciSks  Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez (@USBPChiefRGV) July 31, 2025

Several days earlier, on July 24, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Laredo Port of Entry say they stopped another tractor-trailer attempting to smuggle cocainethis time concealed in the vehicles cab.

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They might slip into a crowd but NOT across the border, Donald R. Kusser, Director of Field Operations, posted on social media. @CBP Laredo Port of Entry seized 15 packages containing 39.68 lbs of cocaine concealed within a tractor cab. Federal prosecution was accepted.

Kussers post included a video of a suspect being escorted by officers, with text overlayed that read, We wont catch you at a Coldplay concert, but we will at the border. The reference appeared to allude to a recent viral incident involving a corporate executives public display of affection at a Coldplay concert to a co-worker who was not his spouse.

They might slip into a crowd but NOT across the border.@CBP Laredo Port of Entry seized 15 packages containing 39.68 lbs of cocaine concealed within a tractor cab. Federal prosecution was accepted. Because when it comes to protecting our border, we're ALWAYS watching.  pic.twitter.com/J2xkO4dF2G  Director of Field Operations, Donald R. Kusser (@DFOLaredo) July 24, 2025

Officials have not released the identity of the suspect nor any details regarding charges or court proceedings. At street prices, the nearly 40-pound load could be worth between $1.08 million and $3.6 million, according to Zinnia Health.

2. Cash Seized from Visa Holder Trying to Exit U.S.

Border agents say they uncovered five bundles of illicit cash totaling more than $24,000 during a routine traffic stop in Harlingen, Texas, just north of the border.

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On July 30, Chief Michael W. Banks posted on X: ILLICIT MONEY HEADED SOUTH OF THE BORDER  SEIZED! 7/21-USBP agents assisted CBP OFO, ICE, and the Cameron County Sheriffs Office intercept an 18-wheeler attempting to smuggle currency into Mexico. During a routine traffic stop on Highway 77 in Harlingen, TX, law enforcement discovered 5 bundles of illicit cashtotaling over $24,000hidden in the sleeper of the cab. The driver, traveling on a B1/B2 visa, had a small bag of cocaine in his pocket. He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and now faces visa revocation.

ILLICIT MONEY HEADED SOUTH OF THE BORDER  SEIZED! 7/21-USBP agents assisted CBP OFO, ICE, and the Cameron County Sheriff's Office intercept an 18-wheeler attempting to smuggle currency into Mexico. During a routine traffic stop on Highway 77 in Harlingen, TX, law enforcement pic.twitter.com/IfQFtWXrwV  Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) July 30, 2025

No additional details on the drivers identity or whether federal charges have been filed were available as of press time.

3. Convicted Sex Offender Caught Sneaking Across Border

Agents in the Del Rio sector say they apprehended a man from Honduras who had previously served more than a decade in prison in Florida on sex offense charges, according to a July 28 post from @USBPChiefDRT.

Convicted sex offender arrested by Eagle Pass North agents

The arrest was made after this dangerous criminal from Honduras re-entered the U.S. illegally and attempted to evade law enforcement. His criminal record includes more than a decade of prison sentences in Florida. pic.twitter.com/RROHf5mIwe  U.S. Border Patrol Del Rio Sector (@USBPChiefDRT) July 28, 2025

Authorities released a photo of the man but did not disclose his name or the exact nature of his prior convictions. No booking records or pending charges were made available publicly.

Texas Takedown Weekly is a recurring series from The Dallas Express chronicling the most significant immigration-related arrests and interdictions across the state. Read last weeks edition here: Texas Takedown Weekly: Feds Seize Fentanyl, ICE Officer Injured, 101 Smuggled In Locked Trailer (July 25).
The Youth Entrepreneurship Aid Scheme, launched by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) in 2013, has received 2,956 applications as of June.

This reflects a stable entrepreneurial environment in Macau, where Tang Yu Ming from the University of Macau (UM) emphasizes that success depends on adaptability and innovation. He urges entrepreneurs to explore low-cost startup methods and gain practical experience.

The France Macau Chamber of Commerce (FMCC) held its monthly Breakfast Talk Rendez-Vous earlier this week, titled From Lab to Market: Bridging Academia and Industry for Startup Success.

The event featured a keynote speech by Tang, who highlighted the growing need for business diversification in Macaus commercial sector and showcased his students from the local brand Funny Eye Brewery, who successfully transformed academic theories into a thriving real-world business.

According to Tang, Macaus entrepreneurial environment is relatively stable, providing favorable investment opportunities that reduce risks and allow entrepreneurs to make bolder decisions  especially when compared to regions like Hong Kong, which struggle with high unemployment and reliance on foreign labor.

Furthermore, Macau benefits from ample financial and resource support, along with various government policies that foster entrepreneurship. And while the market size is small, the influx of external capital facilitates the launch of new projects, helping entrepreneurs turn their ideas into reality.

He also noted that the rise of online sales platforms has opened up new opportunities for entrepreneurs. However, success depends on prioritizing product quality and efficient logistics management, as these factors help lower costs and allow businesses to stand out in a highly competitive market.

Referring to the innovation gap between academia and industry in Macau, Tang highlighted the bottlenecks in the commercialization process, noting that many projects depend on government support, which is especially crucial within the context of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

Given the varying capabilities across regions, Macau students must distinguish themselves in this environment and showcase their strengths, he said.

Tang urged students to boldly innovate in their fields and collaborate with various stakeholders to create a greater social impact. He emphasized that success is rooted in asking the right questions rather than simply seeking answers.

To achieve this, students should immerse themselves in their areas of interest, gaining valuable experience and insights, he stated, believing that Macaus relatively free cultural environment fosters better growth opportunities for students.

He expressed optimism about the potential of Macau students, highlighting their strengths compared to mainland Chinas students, particularly in flexible thinking and innovation.

Nevertheless, he cautioned aspiring entrepreneurs about the challenges of information asymmetry, advising them to engage in meaningful dialogue, assess social needs, and learn from these issues to develop solutions that can be transformed into viable business opportunities.

Regarding the governments youth entrepreneurship policy, Tang noted both advantages and disadvantages.

While the policy encourages entrepreneurship, it can also lead some individuals to blindly follow trends and ultimately fail, he said, stressing the importance of having a clear plan for fund usage and spending wisely.

Tang also highlighted that both Macau and Hengqin present entrepreneurial opportunities but emphasized that the key to success lies in finding the right partners and institutions to collaborate with.

When choosing an incubation center, its crucial to ensure that your project aligns with its mission, he stated. Success in entrepreneurship, or any career path, including government work, necessitates continuous learning. Understanding whether your field of study is recognized, the examination standards, and other relevant factors is essential. Each step demands research and learning to excel in a competitive landscape.

He concluded by stressing that a strong sense of responsibility is the most important quality for startup leaders.

Reuse of discarded playing cards

The scholar revealed that one of the entrepreneurial projects involving his students focuses on the reuse of discarded playing cards, aiming to transform unused cards into useful products.

As the demand for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards rises, it is estimated that around 12,000 tons of solid waste are generated annually from playing cards, with one-third of this waste originating from casinos. This highlights the growing need for sustainable waste management, making it increasingly critical.

To tackle this issue, Tang and his team have begun experimenting with converting playing cards into pulp and filter materials.

They are collaborating with Chinese paper manufacturing companies and 3D printing firms to develop new materials aimed at reducing production costs. Additionally, they have partnered with a civil engineering professor to investigate the potential of mixing fibers from playing cards into soil to enhance its structural integrity.

In 2023, the team received an FDCT (Science and Technology Development Fund) grant to establish a laboratory for further research. Currently, they are evaluating product samples from various factories, and several companies have expressed interest in large-scale production.

Tang emphasized that the team is focused on scaling up pilot production, assessing different machines to determine the optimal solution, and plans to establish a factory to collaborate with major casinos on implementing reuse solutions.

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This article is the first in a series by The Dallas Express that focuses on the Texas water crisis and the various proposed solutions to address the crisis.

Despite the recent and tragic flooding in the Texas Hill Country, the real story isnt too much water  its not enough of it where Texans actually need it.

Texas is in the middle of an increasingly critical water crisis: A perfect storm of explosive population growth, aging infrastructure, and rising demand from residents, agriculture, and industry is draining the states most precious natural resource  one arguably more critical than oil or gas.

If you think this is a problem for the next generation, think again.

The Texas Water Development Board, in its 2022 plan, warned that parts of the state could be facing a major water shortfall by 2030.

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So the question is  What, if anything, is being done about it? Build more reservoirs? Pray for rain? Punt to the next legislative session?

Kyle Bass and his team at his new company, Conservation Energy Management (CEM), believe part of the answer is found in allowing the private sector to solve a problem the government hasnt yet solved  and without any cost to Texas taxpayers.

Photo: Kyle Bass and Dr. Phil at a recent Texas Department of Public Safety Fundraiser hosted at Bass Bluebonnet Ranch

One Answer Is Right Under Our Boots Literally.

Bass, a Dallas-based investor, best known for his blockbuster bet against the subprime mortgage market and role advising the Trump administration on national security matters, has a new play  and its not on Wall Street.

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Its in Anderson, Henderson, and Houston Counties in East Texas. In Henderson County lies the 4,000-acre Bluebonnet Ranch, and in Anderson and Houston counties lies the 7,200-acre Redtown Ranch.

Bass believes the key to the Lone Star States water future lies beneath Texans boots. Specifically, in the monstrous Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, a vast, clean groundwater reservoir that spans 23 million acres across 66 Texas counties.

According to the Texas Water Development Board, approximately 55% of Texas water comes from groundwater  the water under your feet that Bass refers to is groundwater stored in underground aquifers. Surface water  found in lakes, rivers, streams, and reservoirs  makes up another 42% of Texas water supply.

Photo: Bluebonnet Ranch

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The problem, as Bass attorney Ed McCarthy explains, is that the vast majority of Texas groundwater isnt where its needed. East Texas, where Bluebonnet and Redtown are located, is rich in groundwater, which is incredibly scarce in much drier West Texas. Bass plan (once it is permitted) is to pump the water from his own resource-rich properties and transport it to areas in need  for a profit, of course.

Hes drilled test holes, hired experts, and gathered scientific data. Bass says his team could draw just a sliver of water from the aquifer  enough to make a difference for many communities in need without breaking a single law or threatening the local water supply in any way. So far, Bass has only applied to drill exploratory test wells to prove up and further support his existing science; production is not even on the table yet.

But some state and local officials in the counties where Bass and his company own these properties have sounded the alarm on CEMs plan, which raises a bigger question: Who actually owns the water in Texas?

To understand whats at stake, an understanding of Texas private property and groundwater law is necessary.

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In Texas, surface water  rivers, lakes, and reservoirs  belongs to the state. You need a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to use it for anything beyond livestock or domestic purposes.

But groundwater is different.

Groundwater is a private property right. Thanks to a 121-year-old Texas Supreme Court-authored legal doctrine called the Rule of Capture, landowners can pump as much water from beneath their property as they want. No permit required. No limits. As long as the withdrawal isnt maliciously aimed at a neighbor or wasteful, its perfectly legal.

This is why the Rule of Capture is often referred to as the law of the biggest pump.

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But like all things in Texas, its never that simple.

Too Many Cooks in the Water Kitchen?

Water in Texas isnt just a natural resource  it can be a regulatory labyrinth despite the Rule of Capture.

At the top, youve got the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), which handles water planning and development. Then theres the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), which regulates environmental quality and public water systems.

Add in the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which oversees water utilities in deregulated areas, and the Texas Water Foundation, which serves more of an educational and advocacy role, and you start to see the problem.

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Nobodys steering the ship.

No one is accountable for working together to get things moving. Thats how the state ends up with conflicting rules, missing data, and endless delays  while the demand for water keeps climbing.

Layers of Bureaucracy and Conflicting Authority

In addition to state agencies, we have Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs)  local boards charged with regulating groundwater pumping. Many are underfunded and staffed with part-time members who lack expertise in groundwater. Some counties dont even have GCDs.

These various agencies use measurements like:

MAG (Modeled Available Groundwater): the maximum annual amount of water that can be pumped sustainably

DFC (Desired Future Conditions): long-term aquifer health goals

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Not every county has MAG data. Anderson County didnt  until Bass stepped in.

The Politics of Groundwater  Legitimate Concerns or Political Theater?

At a recent Texas House Committee on Natural Resources hearing called by Rep. Cody Harris, who represents Anderson County and chairs the committee, Bass testified following 8 hours of mostly hostile testimony from various elected officials, water experts (including some questionable experts like a one-man water well drilling business owner), and various other stakeholders.

The House Natural Resources Committee has no actual regulatory authority over Bass plan, which has led Bass and some observers to question the real purpose of the hearing. Harris has led the opposition to Bass plan. Hes conducted media interviews, posted his opposition on social media, and even hosted a local town hall meeting to educate his constituents and rally resident opposition.

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Harris has otherwise historically been a staunch private property rights advocate, but was recently censured by both the Henderson and Navarro County GOPs in his own district for not supporting the House Republican Caucus vote for David Cook for Speaker, voting to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, and 15 other allegations. Harris challenged the censure votes and strongly refuted the counts of the respective county parties, calling them, factually incorrect and incongruent with Republican principles.

Photo: Texas State Representative Cody Harris

The hearing started contentiously with Harris trying to discredit Bass before Bass testified by suggesting he had been drilling wells without a permit. Other committee members echoed that claim throughout the hearing. When Bass and his attorney, Ed McCarthy, took their turn to testify following 8 hours of what appeared to be organized opposition, they quickly dispelled the claim.

Once called to testify, Bass and his attorney adamantly dismissed the allegation that he was drilling wells without a permit, then explained that his team is providing aquifer data that the county didnt even have.

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Sen. Bob Nichols, who attended the hearing, acknowledged the credibility of Basss legal counsel, calling him a legend in Texas environmental and water law.

Bass reinforced in his testimony that he plans to operate well within MAG limits. His attorney testified that they would draw no more than 0.02% of the aquifer, which they characterized as a statistical blip. Bass offered to share the MAG data from his drill test sites with the appropriate GCDs.

Photo: Bass and his attorney Ed McCarthy testifying before the House Natural Resources Committee

A longtime capital staff member sought DX out at the hearing to comment, This was all set up to drag Mr. Bass through the mud for political reasons. They want to make an example of him for personal political gain because hes wealthy, successful, and makes a convenient target.

Another attendee commented, This is all fearmongering for political reasons, which is the biggest obstacle to innovative solutions to actually solve the crisis, like what Mr. Bass is proposing.

Power, Politics & Property Rights

When asked about the suggestion of a personal political motive behind the hearing, Harris told DX, That suggestion is just absurd on its face and doesnt dignify a response.

Bass also said that Harris has never reached out to him, his attorney, or other representatives from CEM to meet privately to discuss his project and the supporting data.

Harris replied, I really cant imagine a more tone-deaf response from Mr. Bass. He buys property under the guise of wildlife conversation and environmental management, then is surprised when the entirety of the population of those counties rises in strong opposition to him stealing billions of gallons of water out from under us, then thinks its a political set up when I call a hearing while hes doing all this in the county of the chair of the committee with jurisdiction over water?

Harris continued, A political setup would have been to have the hearing without inviting him to testify.

The hearing lasted 10.5 hours in total, finishing just around midnight.

Bass summarized his message to the committee: hes following the law, filling a gap in state water demand/infrastructure, and putting private capital to work where the government hasnt been able to solve a real need without burdening Texas taxpayers.

Despite Bass testimony, Harris and other elected officials continue to promote a narrative to their constituents that Bass is stealing Anderson Countys water  a claim that the hearing proved doesnt hold up legally or factually, said McCarthy.

Harris acknowledged that, from his point of view, the Rule of Capture that Bass is legally operating under needs to be updated, at least from the point of view of high-capacity wells. It was wind-driven windmills in 1904, Harris said. They couldnt contemplate high-capacity wells then. The amount of damage being done is not the original intent.

The problem for concerned legislators is that Bass isnt stealing anything  at least not by current law.

He owns the land.

Hes using private money.

Hes operating under the same legal framework thats been in place for more than a century.

As Bass testimony went on deep into the night, it was acknowledged by most legislators in attendance that Bass was breaking no laws. Some lawmakers stepped out of the hearing room following the end of the hearing to take photos with him and thank Bass for attending and bringing forward-thinking solutions for them to consider.

Bass has since met with other state legislators from the regions of the state interested in need of water who are interested in CEMs plan to transport water to their districts.

A Texas-sized Opportunity or Opportunity for Profiteering From a Critical Natural Resource?

Bass further told DX that his plan is like what was seen during the natural gas boom. Landowners leased or sold their mineral rights and shared in the upside.

The same private property rights that apply to oil and gas apply to water. Texans are allowed to responsibly monetize whats under their own land  especially when the state hasnt taken any action to solve the water crisis.

Its one step, but a step we need to take before its too late, Bass said.

When Bass asked the legislators if any of them had fully read the 2022 Water Plan, HD 9 Rep. Trent Ashby acknowledged he had not read the complete document. Ashby indicated that Bass was likely following the law, but he would oppose the project anyway. DX reached out to Ashby to ask him on what basis of law he opposed the project, but did not receive a response.

We acquired Redtown Ranch in July of 2022, Bass told DX. We then invited local leaders (including Anderson County Judge Carey McKinney, superintendents, and others) to walk the land with us. We explained our vision: regenerative ranching with Red Angus cattle, selective pine thinning to restore sunlight and succulents, and thoughtful hydrological studies to explore water project potential. The response was overwhelmingly positive. They saw that we were proper stewardsnot speculators.

Since Bass appears to be following the law in his request for new test well permits, the next step in the process is for CEM to attend a meeting of the State Office Administrative Hearings (SOAH), which will try to resolve the conflict between the law and the complicated supporting data.

That hearing has yet to be scheduled. In the meantime, Texas keeps searching for solutions to its water crisis.

Editors note: Dallas Express Publisher owns property in Henderson County in Representative Harris district. DXs Chief Executive Officer attended college in overlapping years with Mr. Bass at Texas Christian University.
Thailand and Cambodia may have reached a ceasefire to halt their bloody border clashes, but cyber warriors are still battling online, daubing official websites with obscenities, deluging opponents with spam and taking pages down.

The five-day conflict left more than 40 people dead and drove more than 300,000 from their homes.

It also kicked off a disinformation blitz as Thai and Cambodian partisans alike sought to boost the narrative that the other was to blame.

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Thai officials recorded more than 500 million instances of online attacks in recent days, government spokesperson Jirayu Huangsab said on Wednesday.

These included spamming reports to online platforms and distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks -- halting access to a website by overloading its servers with traffic.

"It's a psychological war," Cambodian government spokesman Pen Bona told AFP.

"There's a lot of fake news and it wouldn't be strange if it came from social media users, but even official Thai media outlets themselves publish a lot of fake news."

- Disinformation -

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Freshly created "avatar" accounts have targeted popular users or media accounts in Thailand.

On July 24, a Facebook post by suspended Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra condemning Cambodia's use of force was bombarded with 16,000 comments, many of them repeating the same message in English: "Queen of drama in Thailand".

Another, similar post by Paetongtarn on July 26 was hit with 31,800 comments, many reading: "Best drama queen of 2025", with snake and crocodile emojis.

Government spokesman Jirayu said the attacks were aimed at "sowing division among Thais" as well as outright deception.

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Similarly, Cambodian government Spokesman Pen Bona said fake news from Thailand aimed to divide Cambodia.

Apparent bot accounts have also published and shared disinformation, adding to the confusion.

Videos and images from a deadly Cambodian rocket attack on a petrol station in Thailand were shared with captions saying they showed an attack on Cambodian soil.

Other posts, including one shared by the verified page of Cambodian Secretary of State Vengsrun Kuoch, claimed Thai forces had used chemical weapons.

The photo in the post in fact shows an aircraft dropping fire retardants during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.

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AFP contacted Vengsrun Kuoch for comment but did not receive a reply.

- Obscenities -

Hackers from both sides have broken into state-run websites to deface pages with mocking or offensive messages.

One of the targets was NBT World, an English-language news site run by the Thai government's public relations department.

Headlines and captions on articles about acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai were replaced with obscenities.

Thai hackers meanwhile, changed the login page of Sachak Asia Development Institute, a Cambodian education facility, to show an image of influential ex-leader Hun Sen edited to have a ludicrously exaggerated hairstyle.

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The image was a reference to a video -- much mocked in Thailand -- of Cambodian youths sporting the same hairstyle visiting one of the ancient temples that were the focus of the fighting.

Online attacks -- whether disinformation messaging or full-blown cyber strikes to disrupt an adversary's infrastructure or services -- are a standard feature of modern warfare.

In the Ukraine conflict, Kyiv and its allies have long accused Russia of state-backed cyberwarfare, disrupting government and private IT systems around the world.

And earlier this week, Ukrainian and Belarusian hacker groups claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Russia's national airline that grounded dozens of flights.

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Jessada Salathong, a mass communications professor at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University, said the border clashes had invoked the full spectrum of information disorder, carried out by both sides.

"In an era when anyone can call themselves media, information warfare simply pulls in everyone," he told AFP.

tii-suy/pdw/lb
Thailand and Cambodia separately planned border visits for foreign diplomats to observe damage from the nearly weeklong clashes, as violence that continued after a ceasefire appears to have eased.

The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect at midnight on Monday, but it was quickly tested as Thailand and Cambodia continued to accuse each other of violating the truce agreements.

Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday it is organising a trip to the border for military attaches of foreign missions and the media on Friday to show the impact of the clashes on the ground.

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Cambodia is also organising a border visit for foreign diplomats on the same day.

It held a similar trip on Wednesday attended by representatives from 13 countries, including the US and China.

Thai residents who fled homes following the border clashes rest at an evacuation centre in Surin province, 30 July, 2025 - AP Photo

Thailand's government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said on Thursday that there had been no new clashes reported overnight into Thursday.

But tensions on other fronts continue to simmer. Officials in Thailand's border province of Surin, one of the critical locations of the conflict, cautioned evacuees on Thursday against returning home as they were surveying affected areas for any ammunition that might still pose a risk.

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A spokesperson for Cambodias Defence Ministry Maly Socheata said on Thursday that Cambodia had received the body of one of its soldiers from Thailand.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the military is now in contact with its Thai counterparts to facilitate the return of about 20 other soldiers captured by Thai forces.

"I hope that the Thai Army will return all our soldiers who are currently in the custody of the Thai Army to Cambodia as soon as possible," he said.

Torched motor cycles lie in ruins in a bombed building in O'Smach in Cambodia, 30 July, 2025 - AP Photo

Thai foreign minister Maris Sagniampongsa said the Cambodian soldiers were being well taken care of and would be sent back once Thailand is confident they no longer pose a threat.

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He said security officials would determine when the return would be.

Hun Manet and Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, agreed on Monday to an "unconditional" halt in the fighting which killed at least 41 people.

The peace talks were hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). He called the ceasefire a "vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security."

The ceasefire was brokered with US pressure as President Donald Trump said he would not move forward with trade agreements if the conflict continued.

Cambodian villagers cook their lunch under a tent at a resettlement camp in Wat Phnom Kamboar, 29 July, 2025 - AP Photo

But both countries continued to blame at each other and Thailand accused Cambodia of launching new attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday after the agreement took effect.

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Cambodia's Major General Chan Sopheaktra of Preah Vihear province said on Wednesday that the Cambodian military has been strictly adhering to the ceasefire agreement and that there had been two ceasefire violations by Thai forces since the agreement took effect. He did not elaborate on the violations.

Tensions had been growing since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and upended Thailand's domestic politics.

That erupted into cross-border fighting last week after a landmine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  Thursday was 17 News reporter and anchor Rob Hagans last day at KGET.

As Hagan himself said Thursday, hes leaving for a good reason  hes leaving KGET and Bakersfield to be closer to his daughter.

In two years at KGET, Hagan has done just about everything. He was the weekend anchor, reported from just about all corners of Kern County and even did weather when called upon. he covered the full range of emotions of the community  the tragic, the fun, the offbeat, and of course, the good of the community of Kern County.

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In our newsroom its been said no matter what happens during the day of a reporter, Hagan doesnt come back empty-handed.

Hagan said he loves Bakersfield and will miss the community, but of course, being closer to his daughter outweighs all of that when it all comes down to it.

Hagans next move is to a TV news station in Oklahoma. Good luck and thank you for everything, Rob Hagan.

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LEBANON, Mo.  Sidney Fredrick Wilson V, 25, of Stoutland, has been charged with the murder of 21-year-old Reagan Lynn Wilson, who was shot at her Lebanon home in June, and her unborn son, Silas.

Wilson faces charges of first-degree murder for both victims and armed criminal action. Hes being held without bond at the Laclede County Jail.

Law enforcement take Sidney Wilson into the Laclede Court Courthouse on Thursday evening. KOLR STAFF PHOTO.

Wilson was Reagans husband and the father of Silas, although he and Reagan were reportedly separated at the time of her death. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said members of Operation Relentless Pursuit arrested Wilson at a residence in Nixa on Thursday, July 31.

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Lebanon Police Department Chief Larry Harrison tells Ozarks First that no law enforcement officers were injured during the operation.

Jeff Ice, Reagans stepfather, told Ozarks First theres a sigh of relief with the arrest, calling it long overdue.

Were very thankful we can start getting some closure from this point on, Ice said.

Wilson was seen in a black, unmarked car being brought into the Laclede County Courthouse earlier this evening.

Reagans mother, Sarah Ice, said that while Wilson has been arrested, her family has remained affected by the incident.

Our almost-adult kids are struggling and terrified to go outside at night, Sarah said. Their sister was just taken, for no reason.

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Sarah said Reagan was like every emotion rolled into one, and she could always light up the room with her energy.

According to previous Ozarks First coverage, the LPD responded to a report of a shooting at 11:37 p.m. June 5, 2025, in the 700 block of North Adams Avenue.

Officers found Reagan with gunshot wounds at the residence. She was pronounced dead shortly after the incident. She was pregnant at the time of the shooting, and her baby, Silas, died June 13.

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The Brief

A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the 2022 home invasion murder of Irah Sok in South Everett.

The 24-year-old woman was apprehended in Renton and faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder.

The investigation is ongoing, and authorities urge anyone with information to contact the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

RENTON, Wash. - A third suspect has been arrested in the home invasion murder of Irah Sok, a mother who was shot to death during a 2022 break-in in South Everett.

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The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of a 24-year-old woman in the case on Thursday. She is believed to be one of three armed suspects tied to the homicide, which occurred on August 19, 2022.

This follows the arrests of 28-year-old Kevin Thissel and 23-year-old Chris Johnson in August 2024, who remain in custody related to the case.

The backstory

According to detectives, three suspects forced entry into a home on 96th Street Southeast in Eastmont and fatally shot 36-year-old Irah Sok in her bed, next to her 7-year-old child. Sok's husband was forced to the ground and zip-tied as the suspects stole thousands of dollars' worth of luxury goods from the home.

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The suspects are allegedly part of a violent home invasion ring across western Washington, tied to at least seven crimes from May to August 2022, including multiple armed robberies, kidnappings and the murder of Irah Sok.

Slain Everett mother Irah Sok

The 24-year-old suspect was arrested in a Renton parking lot on Wednesday. She was booked into Snohomish County Jail for first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, and first-degree theft.

The other two suspects, Kevin Thissel and Chris Johnson of Pierce County, were previously indicted for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) and RICO Conspiracy. Johnson's trial was continued to October 2025.

The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office says this remains an active investigation, and anyone with information is asked to call the SCSO Major Crimes tip line at 425-388-3845.

The Source

Information in this story came from the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A man who was in the country illegally pleaded guilty Thursday as part of the raid at a Kings Mountain manufacturing plant in June, the Department of Justice announced.

According to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Western North Carolina, Jose De La Cruz-Lopez, a 43-year-old from Mexico, was charged with misusing a Social Security number and using false identification documents. He was one of eight people charged from the search warrant executed June 25 at Buckeye Fire Equipment Company by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the third to enter a guilty plea.

At least 8 face federal charges after ICE raid at Kings Mountain business

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The operation, which involved more than a dozen local, state, and federal agencies, resulted in at least 30 people being detained.

According to plea documents and other court filings, De La Cruz-Lopez, who is not authorized to work in the United States, admitted to obtaining employment at Buckeye Fire Equipment using the Social Security number and personally identifiable information of another individual who is eligible to work in the country.

He allegedly used that information on false identification documents, which included a drivers license bearing De La Cruz-Lopezs image and the name of another individual and a copy of the individuals Social Security card.

An overhead shot of Buckeye Fire Equipment on June 25

Court documents show that De La Cruz-Lopez, who had been employed at the company since 2022, falsely attested on the I-9 employment eligibility verification form that he was the person presented on the ID and that he was a citizen of the United States.

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Humberto Guzman Lemus, 32, from Mexico, and Angel Antonio Lara Reyes, 52, from Honduras, have pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and are awaiting sentencing. They were previously deported in 2019 and 2024, respectively.

Identity theft is a pervasive problem that can wreak havoc on a victims life, said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson in a statement. We take it very seriously, particularly in cases like this where it undermines our employment laws and the integrity of the hiring process. As this investigation continues, we want to remind employers to exercise vigilance and remain alert for counterfeit documents used to establish a workers identity and employment eligibility.

Charges against others are expected after additional investigation. Here are the remaining current suspects from the operation:

Geovany Lopez Lopez, from Guatemala, was previously deported in 2011 after being arrested in NC. ICE records show no evidence he was allowed to return to the U.S legally.

Enrique Gil Rojano, from Mexico, has a criminal history dating back to the 1990s in California, including a felony perjury conviction. He was deported in 2005 but is now back in the country illegally, federal records show.

Alberto Perez Mendoza was deported multiple times between 2006 and 2015.

Arturo Albarras Altunar has a similar history. ICE said he was deported from Texas three separate times in early 2016.

Angel Antonio Lara Reyes, from Honduras, was deported in 2014. Officials said he re-entered the U.S. unlawfully.

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Agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency, IRS Criminal Investigations, U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Customs and Border Protection, and multiple local agencies participated in the Kings Mountain raid.

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EUCLID, Ohio (WJW)  Video sent by a FOX 8 viewer shows thousands of dead fish found washed up on the shoreline of Lake Erie at Sims Park.

Kelly Hart told FOX 8 News the dead fish were seen Friday along a mile stretch of shoreline at the Euclid park.

Beach hazard statement: Dont swim in Lake Erie

(Courtesy of Kelly Hart) (Courtesy of Kelly Hart) (WJW photo)

The residents are really concerned. I talked to the park maintenance man, and hes never seen anything like it, Hart wrote in an email. The sight is pretty scary because the park patrons are unsure if this is a natural phenomenon, or if there is something serious going on with the lake.

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Its a natural occurrence, usually happening in summer, but its not expected to impact the overall fish population, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources told FOX 8 News Tino Bovenzi.

The department has received numerous recent reports of dead or dying freshwater drum  also called sheepshead  from Euclid to Bratenahl and as far as Geneva.

Its likely due to low oxygen in the lake, said Ann Marie Gorman, the fisheries biology supervisor at the departments Fairport Fisheries Research Station in Fairport Harbor. The phenomenon, called hypoxic upwelling, is believed to have been caused by the strong winds that swept through the region on Thursday, Gorman wrote in an email.

More items included in Ohios sales tax holiday

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Strong winds can force water with less oxygen to the shore, according to ODNR. Lake Erie fish are then forced closer to the shoreline to avoid that oxygen-depleted water. If theyre unable to escape, they suffocate and are often found dead along the shore.

Water temperature and dissolved oxygen forecasts from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science show low oxygen levels along portions of the shoreline.

Such fish kills due to low-oxygen conditions have become more common in recent years, according to ODNR, and conditions that lead to them are present every summer.

Beachgoers may notice a slight or even strong odor of decomposition, related to Thursdays winds, according to ODNR. But before long, scavengers like herons, bald eagles and raccoons will help clean up.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW.
Thousands of New York City police attended funeral services for slain officer Didarul Islam at the Jame Masjid mosque in the Bronx on July 31, 2025. Islam, 36, who was working security in uniform on a day off from his job, was among four people killed by Las Vegas resident Shane Tamura during a shooting at an office building at 345 Park Ave. in New York City on Monday.
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The Trump administration is expanding how much federal civil servants can talk about their religious beliefs at work  and with you.

This week, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the agency that manages the federal workforce, released a memo titled Protecting Religious Expression In the Federal Workplace. In it, the Trump administration details federal workplace behaviors that are now acceptable under the guidelines.

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One of them? Telling your co-worker that they should rethink their religious beliefs because yours are correct.

During a break, an employee may engage another in polite discussion of why his faith is correct and why the non-adherent should re-think his religious beliefs, the guidelines read.

But dont worry, the Trump administration has come up with a foolproof way to ensure this doesnt veer into harassment: However, if the nonadherent requests such attempts to stop, the employee should honor the request, the memo continues.

The memo goes further, detailing how coworkers can interact with each other, how supervisors can discuss their religious beliefs with their direct reports and how government workers can use their religious expression when engaging with the public. It even includes an appendix of permissible activities. Notably missing are activities that arent permitted  which may lead some staffers to believe that almost anything is allowed.

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Asked for comment about the new guidance, OPM directed HuffPost to a press release.

This guidance ensures the federal workplace is not just compliant with the law but welcoming to Americans of all faiths, OPM Director Scott Kupor said in the statement.

The Trump administration has dressed up the memo as a victory for religious freedom. But advocates of free speech and even people of faith see it as another step toward something more sinister.

OPM wants you to talk about your religion in the workplace, said Annie Laurie Gaylor, the co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for the nonreligious.We see this as the implementation of Christian nationalism in our country.

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The vast majority of the examples of permitted activities in the memo are related to Christianity, such as instructions that an employee may display crosses, rosary beads, or invite colleagues to church for an Easter service. There is one mention each of an employee displaying the Star of David and a mezuzah, symbols of Judaism. No other religions are mentioned. The memos focus is overwhelmingly on the ability of Christians to promote their religion without pushback, despite the fact that Christianity is already the dominant religion in the United States: 63% of American adults identify as Christian as of 2024, according to Pew Research.

Thats because in the MAGA version of Christianity, the rights of white conservatives and Trump supporters, who are likely to be evangelicals, are of the most importance and theyre the ones under attack.

Turning Christianity into the official doctrine for the entire country has been a decades-long mission for the right. Starting in the 1980s, the Republican Party aligned itself with evangelical Christian churches. They lobbied against issues like abortion rights, birth control and same-sex marriage. They pushed for prayer in public schools and religion in government, despite the First Amendment prohibiting the government from imposing religion on the public.

Trump has since taken up the mantle. During the racial justice protests in 2020, Trump had police clear demonstrators with tear gas, so his photo could be taken in front of a historic church. And when a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump on the campaign trail last year, he said it was God who had saved his life.

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As he panders to the Christian right  despite his two divorces, alleged affairs, and generally sordidpast  Trump is also carrying out a broader attack on the civil servants who make up the federal government. Under the auspices of cutting waste, fraud and abuse, the Trump administration has required agency heads to conduct mass layoffs at agencies across the government. Thousands of federal workers have been laid off or are in limbo while their firings make their way through a legal limbo. Now, those who remain could be subjected to being evangelized by their coworkers and bosses.

The new guidance follows other attempts to inject Christianity into the federal government. In February, Trump signed an executive order called Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias. The order baselessly accuses the Biden administration of unfairly targeting Christians and creates a task force whose goal is to root out so-called anti-Christian bias in government.

Last month, the IRS said churches and other tax-exempt nonprofits are now free to campaign for and endorse political candidates, ending a decades-long policy that barred political activity from the pulpit. Critics say this will now allow churches to use their deep pockets to promote their preferred candidates while still receiving tax breaks funded by the public.

This OPM memo is just the latest move in the effort.

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This isnt the first time an administration has weighed in on religious expression in the federal workplace. The memo is similar to guidelines written decades ago by the Clinton administration. But there are some apparent differences.

The 1997 memo clearly defined what is permissible and what isnt in the workplace when it comes to religious expression  for example, using open conference rooms to pray during lunch breaks is allowed, but a group of employees belonging to the same faith attacking those who dont believe is not.

But constitutional law experts say the Trump administrations memo doesnt set any boundaries about what is permissible.

They invite some serious constitutional problems, Chip Lupu, a law professor at George Washington University, told HuffPost. The new memo fails to include any safeguards against harassment, particularly given the permission for coworkers to attempt to persuade their colleagues that their own religious views are correct.

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It uses the word harass[ing] once, Lupu said. It just barely hints at the possibility of harassment, leaving supervisors with very little guidance.

A federal worker whos a zealot is going to see this as a green light, Gaylor said.

The problem isnt just with interactions between peers in the federal workplace. While it says supervisors can engage in the same activities as other employees  including proselytizing for their religion  theres no mention that an employee might feel as if theyll be retaliated against if they dont participate in their boss preferred religious activities.

This memo shows no sensitivity to it, Lupu said.

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Then theres the issue of how federal employees are allowed to practice their religion even when theyre dealing with members of the public.

According to the memo, a park ranger leading a tour through a national park can join the tourists in prayer, and a doctor at a Veterans Affairs hospital is permitted to pray over a patient.

It doesnt say if the patient agrees or consents, Lupu said. We dont even know if the patient is conscious.

The appendix also cites a receptionist praying with his colleague in the patients waiting room as a permissible activity.

This is intrusive, Gaylor said. This is sending the message that this is a religious VA, something thats not open to everybody.

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The memo hardly concerns itself with the fact that a federal worker promoting a religion could be perceived as speaking for the government  and the government, as per the First Amendment, should not be persuading anyone to join a religion. Instead, it states that if a government employee acts in their official capacity, there could be consequences for religious expressions, but the boundaries of this are not defined.

Nor does the memo seem particularly interested in the impact on religious minorities or religiously unaffiliated people, who might feel pushed out or unwelcome if they have to engage in religious discussions to do their job or access public services: About 6 or 7% of Americans belong to religions other than Christianity, and a full 28% are not religiously affiliated at all.

This is a power flex, its not about protecting freedom of religion, the Rev. Paul Raushenbush, CEO and president of Interfaith Alliance and an ordained Baptist minister, said. (Raushenbush previously worked as a religion editor at HuffPost.) This is trying to exercise control and trying to impose your religion on everyone else.

But even for Christians, which the memo seems eager to champion, the Trump administration has put clear boundaries on how far speaking about your beliefs is protected. When members of the clergy have spoken out against Trumps policies, theyre met with hostility.

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At a January prayer service typically held after Inauguration Day at the Washington National Cathedral, Episcopal bishop Mariann Budde made a direct plea to the president on behalf of LGBTQ+ children and immigrants who feared a second Trump presidency.

Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God, she said. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.

She was met with vitriol. The president lashed out, calling her a Trump hater and demanding an apology for her boring service.

This is actually the most anti-religion administration, Raushenbush said. The only religion they care to protect is their own.
Thailand and Cambodia separately planned border visits for foreign diplomats to observe damages from the nearly weeklong clash, as violence that continued after a ceasefire appears to have eased.

The ceasefire reached in Malaysia was supposed to take effect midnight Monday, but it was quickly tested as Thailand and Cambodia continued to accuse each other of violating the truce agreements.

Thailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it is organizing a trip to the border for military attaches of foreign missions and the media today to show the impact of the clashes on the ground.

Cambodia is also organizing a border visit for foreign diplomats on the same day. It held a similar trip on Wednesday attended by representatives from 13 countries, including the U.S. and China.

Thailands government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said yesterday that there had been no new clashes reported overnight Wednesday.

But tensions on other fronts continue to simmer. Officials in Thailands border province of Surin, one of the critical locations of the conflict, yesterday cautioned evacuees against returning home as they were surveying affected areas for any ammunition that might still pose a risk.

A spokesperson for Cambodias Defense Ministry Maly Socheata said that Cambodia has received the body of one of its soldiers from Thailand.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said the military is now in contact with its Thai counterparts to facilitate the return of about 20 other soldiers captured by Thai forces.

I hope that the Thai Army will return all our soldiers who are currently in the custody of the Thai Army to Cambodia as soon as possible, he said.

Thai foreign minister Maris Sagniampongsa said the Cambodian soldiers were being well taken care of and would be sent back once Thailand is confident they no longer pose a threat. He said security officials would determine when the return would be.

Hun Manet and Thailands acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, agreed Monday to an unconditional halt in the fighting which has killed at least 41 people.

The fighting began last week after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers.

The peace talks were hosted by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He called the ceasefire a vital first step towards de-escalation and the restoration of peace and security.

The ceasefire was brokered with U.S. pressure as President Donald Trump said he would not move forward with trade agreements if the conflict continued.

But both countries continued to blame at each other and Thailand accused Cambodia of launching new attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday after the agreement took effect.

Cambodias Maj. Gen. Chan Sopheaktra of the Preah Vihear province said Wednesday that the Cambodian military has been strictly adhering to the ceasefire agreement and that there had been two ceasefire violations by Thai forces since the agreement took effect. He did not elaborate on the violations.

Cambodia and Thailand have clashed in the past over their 800-kilometer border.

Tensions had been growing since May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailands domestic politics. JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI & SOPHENG CHEANG, BANGKOK, MDT/AP

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP)  Three cars of a passenger train derailed near Lahore in eastern Pakistan on Friday, injuring at least 27 people, including women and children, officials said.

The Islamabad Express was en route to Lahore when three of its cars went off the tracks in the town of Kala Shah Kaku, railways spokesperson Babar Raza told reporters.

He said emergency responders and paramedics were quickly dispatched to the site, and all the injured were listed in stable condition.

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Raza did not provide further details but said an investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the accident.

Train accidents are relatively common in Pakistan, where the railway system has suffered from decades of underinvestment, outdated tracks, and aging signal infrastructure. In 2023, at least 30 people were killed when a passenger train derailed in the southern city of Nawabshah in Sindh province.
One person is dead and two others were wounded during a fight overnight in Santa Barbara, according to police.

A 29-year-old man was arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing, which occurred as the city celebrates its annual Old Spanish Days Fiesta Week.

Police officers on foot patrol were flagged down shortly before 12:30 a.m. Friday by a person who said they saw a man with a knife in the 500 block of State Street. When officers went to investigate, they found three people stabbed in the area, including one person who was lying on the ground.

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Police provided emergency aid to the victims until paramedics with the Santa Barbara Fire Department arrived at the scene. All three victims were transported to Cottage Hospital, according to police.

One of the stabbings victims died from their injuries, according to police. The victim's name was not released pending notification of their next of kin. The other two victims are in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries, police said.

Investigators arrested a suspect, Luis Gerado Terrazas, in connection with the stabbings.

A portion of State Street was blocked off for several hours Friday morning as police scoured the area.

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"Based on the Santa Barbara Police Departments initial investigation, this incident appears to be isolated and there is no immediate outstanding threat to public safety," police said in a statement.

Authorities say that the victims and Terrazas may have known each other, police said.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call police at (805) 882-8900.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A three-vehicle crash on American Greeting Card Road Friday resulted in one fatality, multiple injuries, and the arrest of one driver on a vehicular homicide charge.

According to a release by the Laurel County Sheriffs Office, the crash occurred around 12 midnight Friday morning, approximately 11 miles south of London. A Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Kimberly Hedrick, 55, was traveling southbound when it crossed the centerline, striking a northbound Chevrolet Aveo head on and critically injuring its driver, Benita Vickers, 55, of Corbin.

The Tahoe then collided with a Hyundai SUV and went airborne, landing on a guardrail. The Aveo and Hyundai came to rest blocking the roadway.

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Vickers was reportedly transported to Baptist Health Corbin and pronounced dead shortly after arrival by Whitley County Coroner Andy Croley. A male passenger in her vehicle was also injured and taken to BRMC. Hedrick was taken to Saint Joseph London for treatment of minor injuries.

Deputies noted the odor of alcohol and slurred speech, and Hedrick was charged with vehicular homicide while under the influence and lodged in the Laurel County Correctional Center.

The driver of the Hyundai, identified as David N. Wynn, 39, of London, fled the scene. Investigators say he is wanted on an outstanding warrant. Two female passengers in the SUV were taken to BRMC.

Authorities are actively seeking information on Wynns whereabouts at this time, with sheriffs accident reconstructionist Detective Brad Mink investigating.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  A former commander with the San Francisco Police Department is calling for an investigation into San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio. The claim is that the supervisor altered public records to conceal a politically motivated meeting.

Supervisor Engardio represents the district that the Great Upper Highway runs through. The claim is that he met with political leaders who wanted the highway shut down and then tried to hide the meeting from the public. On Thursday, residents in the sunset held signs showing their support for the recall of Engardio.

They listened as former commander with the San Francisco Police Department Richard Corriea shared screen shots of the supervisors schedule.

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Today were here to highlight another form of betrayal. This time in the form of corruption, Corriea said.

SF Sheriff Paul Miyamoto endorses MAGA GOP candidate for governor

Corriea says he made a public records request to see the Supervisors schedule from May 28, 2024, and that a meeting from the schedule had been omitted from past records requests. The claim is that the meeting was with two men in favor of Measure K, which voters passed in November to shut down the Upper Great Highway, Tod David and Lucas Lux.

Lucas Lux is the main advocate and promoter of closing the Great Highway, said Corriea. In his capacity as friends of the Great Highway Park and principle of the Outer Sunset neighborhood just to mention a few organizations who are hard to figure out whos behind them.

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Supporters of the recall of Supervisor Engardio are upset with his support of the shutting down of the highway, which has since been turned into a park.

Former San Francisco Supervisor Quentin Kopp says Engardio should be investigated by the citys ethics commission for tampering with his public records schedule.

A ballot measure supported by people who dont live in the Sunset, or the Richmond districts, said former Supervisor Kopp.

Residents and business owners like Albert Chow also spoke out against the supervisor Thursday. The recall will be decided by voters during a special election on Sept. 16.

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But Chow wants Engardio to step down from office before then.

If he has any shred of decency, he should save the taxpayers and the people of San Francisco the torture of being voted on and he should do as Nixon did and resign, said Chow, owner of Great Wall Hardware.

These people are tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists, a spokesman for Supervisor Engardio told KRON4. Next, they are going to ask Joel to release the alien footage from Roswell and proof that we actually landed on the moon.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
Over the years, we've seen several small business owners and small entities go head-to-head with big-name corporations. There was the time a small German city took McDonald's to court about packaging taxes and won, or the time some tried to sue Subway over the length of the "footlong," but the case fell apart before getting very far (among other times fast food chains were sued). Usually, we root for the underdog, and in the case of a tiny Canadian pizza shop that found itself on the wrong end of a lawsuit against a mega pizza chain, justice came fresh out of the oven.

Once upon a time, a corporate giant named Domino's  the restaurant chain that invented the pizza box  tried to sue a small, Newfoundland-based restaurant named Domino Pizza House on account of trademark infringement. The case quickly fell apart in court when the owners of Domino Pizza House proved that they opened the restaurant two whole years before Domino's ever filed for a trademark. The whole fiasco might have been avoided, but there was an unfortunate mix-up when the Yellow Pages ran an ad for the Canadian restaurant mistakenly using the Domino's logo, angering the pizza powerhouse. In the years since the lawsuit, Domino Pizza House has kept both its name and the loyal customer base that's been returning for over 60 years.

Read more: For Fresh, Not Frozen Fast Food, Try These 12 Popular Chains

Domino Pizza House Is Very Different Than The Other Domino's You May Know

The exterior of Domino Pizza House - Rahat Rahman/Facebook

Domino Pizza House was originally opened by Claude Estoppey in 1963 under the name "Domino Tearoom," since Estoppey was a trained pastry chef from Switzerland. Before opening the restaurant, he worked at the mess hall of the American Air Force Base in Stephenville, where he quickly garnered a reputation for his cooking. Soon after opening the business, its name evolved to Domino Pizza House, and the restaurant became known for its beloved subs, donairs, and yes, pizza. As a Canadian-based single-entity restaurant, the Estoppeys didn't even know that the Domino's pizza chain existed until a random trip to Florida, especially since the first Domino's pizza chain didn't open in Canada until 1983.

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Six decades later, Domino Pizza House has remained a staple of the Stephenville area. The locals love it with a passion that's unparalleled to the big-name pizza chain of a similar name, regularly encouraging others to try the famous savory pies. On one Reddit thread, one user claims that it serves the "best pizza on the island," while another considers it a local "institution." When residents are back in town visiting friends and family, they always stop at the brick building in the center of town that not only serves unforgettable pizza and subs but also notoriously took on one of the biggest pizza chains in the world and lived to tell the tale.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
The Tolkien Society has written to the Bank of England to suggest that JRR Tolkien should feature on a future banknote.

The charity, based in Bicester, Oxfordshire, wrote to the chief cashier Victoria Cleland to highlight his impact on modern culture and argued he should feature like other writers who previously had, such as Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.

On its website, the Bank of England said the consultation on banknote themes is now closed and the responses were being considered.

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The Tolkien Society chief executive, Shaun Gunner, said it was "a unique opportunity" to honour the Lord of the Rings creator.

The author's works have previously been honoured with coins and stamps, such as this one drawn by Christopher Tolkien depicting a map of areas from Middle-earth [PictureLake]

The society said Tolkien was not only the "Author of the Century" but also "a gifted poet, artist and philologist" whose academic works "continue to have impact to this day".

He grew up in Birmingham, with the city and his surroundings greatly influencing his writing.

But he later studied at Exeter College in Oxford and became a University of Oxford professor.

"The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have sold 100 million and 150 million copies respectively, making Tolkien one of the best-selling authors of the 20th Century," a letter from the society read.

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Mr Gunner added: "This is a unique opportunity to honour Tolkien. His life. His works. His inspiration. His impact.

"And imagine the pride the city of Birmingham would have knowing that one of their own is commemorated in this way."

Tolkien has previously been honoured on both coins and stamps in the UK and across the world.

The Bank of England said among its six potential themes for the next series of banknotes are notable historical figures and arts, culture and sport.

It recently received a high volume of ideas from young people.

You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins is standing by his offices decision to refer election-related charges against St. Louis County Executive Sam Page to prosecutors.

Page was indicted this week on four counts: two felony theft charges and two misdemeanor election offenses.

The allegations of criminal wrongdoing stem from an April election where St. Louis County residents voted on Proposition B.

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Page, a Democrat, has denied wrongdoing, saying the mailer was for educational purposes and was legal. But the states top elections officer disagrees.

STL Boeing workers strike after rejecting contract offer

Thats illegal in the state of Missouri, said Hoskins, a Republican serving in his first year as the states chief elections officer.

Hoskins said it was no secret Page was campaigning against the ballot initiative. However, Hoskins said Page went beyond the scope set for educating voters by allegedly using public funds to campaign against the measure.

In my opinion, this seems like a very blatant violation of Missouri state law, Hoskins said.

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Initially, the Secretary of States office referred their investigation to prosecutors in St. Louis County. A conflict of interest was later determined and the Missouri Attorney General took on the case as a special prosecutor.

Hoskins applauded the legal and elections division within his office for their work on the case.

Our office takes its role in protecting fair and lawful elections extremely seriously, he said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
KERRVILLE, Texas (KXAN)  Kerr County leaders are facing mounting scrutiny over their handling of the Fourth of July flooding. On Thursday, the questions came from state lawmakers who traveled to the flood zone for a special session hearing.

Inside the packed Hill County Youth Event Center, which has been taken over by emergency responders, pointed comments were directed at local leaders.

You were nowhere to be found

Everyone was here that day working their a** off and you were nowhere to be found, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, R-Texas, told Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly. I dont know where you were on day one, on July 4th, but you should have been here directing your response. Thats your responsibility.

State lawmakers met with residents, local leaders at a hearing in Kerrville on July 31. (KXAN Photo/Matt Grant)

Kelly said he was out of town at a house at Lake Travis. He sat at a table across from lawmakers next to other local officials. Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator W.B. Thomas said he was ill and asleep. Sheriff Larry Leitha said he didnt wake up until after people were already trapped on roofs.

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Asked why an evacuation wasnt issued, Kelly replied: It was too late. It was too late, saying the wall of water was too massive and arrived too quickly.

During more than three hours of testimony, it was revealed there are no records of communications with Camp Mystic, where at least 27 campers and counselors died. A CodeRED mobile alert requested at 4:22 a.m. wasnt issued until 5:01 a.m.  almost 40 minutes later  with dispatchers overwhelmed, Leitha said, noting other life-saving measures were taking place.

The three guys of Kerr County who were responsible for sounding the alarm were effectively not available, remarked Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston.

We have a lot of folks who have titles but when the time came to act they did not do so in a timely fashion, said Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo.

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Live Blog: Lawmakers hear testimony in Kerrville on deadly July 4 floods

Rep. AJ Louderback, R-Victoria, spoke with KXAN before the July 31 hearing. (KXAN Photo/Chris Nelson)

For state lawmakers, the hearing was about seeking solutions  including warning sirens and upgrading communications equipment, from radios to cell towers.

Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring told lawmakers he would like to see a flood warning system  sirens or a data-driven alerting system  installed in Kerr County by next summer.

Some proposed ideas related to sirens and ensuring radios work between different agencies were introduced in House Bill 13, co-authored by committee member Rep. Joe Moody during the recent legislative session. It failed to pass.

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Another solution mentioned mirrored one from a recent KXAN investigation. Sonoma County, California Emergency Management Dep. Director, Sam Willis, said after deadly fires in 2017, they began holding weekly drills to practice using their emergency alert system.

Lessons that we painfully had to go through, which is we have to understand what the capabilities and limitations of systems are, Wallis told KXAN. We have to come up with policies and procedures before the disaster, so we know exactly what to do, and we need to practice, practice, practice.

Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, asked how the emergency leaders how often their plans are rehearsed and suggested: Plans are great unless theyre rehearsed  rehearsals are key.

As Kerr County leaders avoid alert questions, new audio surfaces in CodeRED timeline

I wish I had superhuman power to see the future

There were so many lives lost here, Rep. AJ Louderback, R-Victoria, told KXAN before the meeting started. So, Im interested in looking at the entire process.

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Louderback said he hoped to be able to clearly understand the process here, what happened in order to more efficiently, more effectively  save our citizens during future disasters.

The Upper Guadalupe River Authoritys director, Dr. William Rector, who is appointed by the governor, told lawmakers flood sirens were never installed  and its eight property-tax funded river gauges arent locally monitored  with data instead collected by the National Weather Service.

I would say that you should be in the business of protecting people from the things that are going on in the river, said Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels. I dont see how the Upper Guadalupe River Authority helped in any way in this flood.

Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr. spoke with KXAN investigative reporter Matt Grant before the July 31 hearing. (KXAN Photo/Chris Nelson)

Lawmakers questioned what had been done since the UGRA was created in 1939 and floated the idea of merging it with the Guadalupe Blanco River Authority.

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KXAN also had our own questions for Herring after records we obtained showed he never saw emails from the Texas Division of Emergency Management asking him to join a Situational Awareness Call for Severe Weather Affecting the State of Texas the day before the flood.

I think I read your reporting and it said, if Im remembering correctly, that you reviewed those slides from that presentation, the mayor told KXAN, referencing TDEM briefing materials, which warned of a slight risk for flash-flooding. So, what I think, honestly, is that the event that occurred here was beyond the limits of current meteorology science.

Do I wish I had seen that email? I do, Herring added. But, even if Id seen it, I dont know that it would have prepared me for the event that followed.

KXAN asked, looking back, what, if anything, he wishes he could have done differently.

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Well, Herring replied, I wish I had superhuman power to see the future.

Before the meeting, KXAN sent our recent investigations to every member on the House and Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. Lawmakers told residents it will take not just this special session but future legislative sessions to address the fallout from the flood and make necessary changes.

The flooding killed 108 people, including 37 children in Kerr County. Two people are still missing, as of 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 KXAN Austin.
At least one White House official is apparently feeling inspired by El Salvadors move to end presidential term limits.

President Nayib Bukeles ruling New Ideas party voted overwhelmingly to amend the countrys Constitution, paving the way for Bukele to remain in power indefinitely, Reuters reported.

Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino shared an AP link with news of El Salvadors approval of indefinite presidential reelection and wrote Thursday in a social media post, What to see heads explode? CC:@realDonaldTrump.

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He also added an emoji of a thinking face and pointing finger for good measure.

It wasnt the first time Trump loyalists have floated the idea of ignoring the U.S. Constitutions requirements on presidential term limitsor expressed admiration for Bukeles authoritarian regime.

The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution explicitly says that no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.

MAGA loyalists have nevertheless called on Trump to run for reelection in 2028, and his newest appointee to the federal appellate bench, Emil Bove, refused during his Senate confirmation process to rule out supporting another run.

Some MAGA voters want Trump to run again. / JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Senate Republicans confirmed Bovewho briefly told government lawyers to ignore judicial rulings while serving as Trumps principal associate deputy attorney generalto a lifetime appointment.

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The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

Bukele won reelection last year in a landslide victory even though the countrys Constitution previously only allowed single five-year presidential terms. During his first term, he had packed the courts with loyalist judges, who allowed him to run for a second term, according to Reuters.

Emil Bove refused to rule out a third term for Trump as president. / Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag

After his 2024 victory, his opponents worried he would overhaul the Constitution and try to rule for life like neighboring Nicaraguas Daniel Ortega, who has been in power since 2007, Reuters reported.

Trump has been an open admirer of Bukeles authoritarianism, calling him one hell of a president during an April meeting at the Oval Office.

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The 42-year-olds popularity stems from his massive security crackdown, which all but eliminated gang violence and small business extortion in what was previously one of Latin Americas most dangerous countries.

His strategy involved suspending civil liberties and indefinitely jailing more than 75,000 Salvadorans without any charges in the countrys notorious CECOT mega-prison, where inmates are regularly beaten and are not allowed to have recreation, education, or even access to legal counsel.

Theres also evidence he secretly cut a deal with MS-13 during the early years of his presidency, offering gang leaders money and power in exchange for votes and reduced homicide rates, ProPublica reported in June.

The Trump administration has deported some migrants to the supermax CECOT, and hes expressed a wish that homegrown criminals could be next.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited CECOT in March. / Pool / Getty Images

Bukele enjoys near-total control of El Salvadors Legislative Assembly, which voted 57-3 to scrap term limits.

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Today, democracy has died in El Salvador, said opposition legislator Marcela Villatoro, from the Republican National Alliance.

Trump doesnt have the numbers to amend the U.S. Constitution, which requires two-thirds majority votes in the U.S. House and Senate, or for two-thirds of State legislatures to call for a constitutional convention.

But he has already shown a willingness to disregard whats written in the Constitution.

In January, Trump signed an executive order declaring that children of immigrants are not entitled to U.S. citizenship despite the 14th Amendment to the Constitutions guarantee that, All persons born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.

A federal appeals court ruled last month that the executive order was illegal.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  Topekans only have a limited amount of time left to enjoy the local pools before they shut down for the year.

Shawnee County Parks and recreation (SCP+R) is getting ready to wrap up its summer swimming season as kids get ready to return to classrooms for the 2025-2026 school year. Many local pools and aquatic centers will close this coming weekend.

Ashley Gilfillan with SCP+R told 27 News that all of the countys pools and aquatic centers will open for the last time on Sunday, Aug. 3 before closing down for the year. However, some other locations will stay open for a little longer.

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Just a real gift to the world: Topeka moms death leaves hole in the community

Gilfillan said the Rossville Pool will remain open daily through to Sunday, Aug. 10. Staff will also open the Shawnee North Family Aquatic Center for one more weekend on Saturday, Aug. 9 and Sunday, Aug. 10.

The reason pools close so early is due to staffing, Gilfillan said. The majority of our guards and cashiers are high school and college students, meaning they are moving back to school, or gearing up with practices and school activities. We are able to consolidate staff from surrounding pools to cover an additional weekend of activity at one location.

SCP+R is offering its annual dog swim days after the local pools close. These will be held on Aug. 4 at Blaisdell Family Aquatic Center and on an undetermined date at Shawnee North Family Aquatic Center.

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KDOT to shut down Topeka bridge over I-70 for most of 2026

Dog swims are offered after normal swim activity has halted at participating locations for sanitary purposes, Gilfillan said.

People are encouraged to bring their dogs to Blaisdell and Shawnee North to let them enjoy a rare opportunity to play in the water. Dog swims cost $5 per dog, per session with two dogs allowed in per owner. Dog owners can bring in toys and floaties but are not able to join their furry companions in the water.

SCP+R will offer dog owners the option to bring their pets in for a small dogs session from 4 p.m. to 5:25 p.m. or for the any size session from 5:35 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the day of the event. People will be required to sign a waiver upon entry and must maintain control over their animals for the duration of the activity. You can learn more about local pools, aquatic centers and dog swim days by heading to the SCP+Rs website by clicking here.

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Shawnee County post office may relocate

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
Two senior overseas executives of Bank of China Ltd. (BOC) have become unreachable, with one reportedly detained by anti-corruption authorities, according to Caixin Global. This is the second disappearance of a Macau banking executive in less than a month.

Attempts to contact Jia Tianbing, president of BOC Macau, and Jiang Xu, president of BOC Peru, have been unsuccessful since Sunday. Both have failed to respond to phone calls or WeChat messages, according to the report.

While the exact reasons remain uncertain, sources told Caixin that Jia was detained during a recent trip back to Beijing from Macau. Several of his relatives have also reportedly been taken into custody.

The precise reason for their disappearances remains unclear, but Caixins sources suggest the two are likely caught up in Chinas anti-corruption campaign targeting the financial sector and focusing on senior officials from the overseas arms of the so-called big four state-owned commercial banks, including BOC and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC).

Jias case follows the recent downfall of Jiang Yisheng, the former chairman of ICBCs Macau branch.

Reports indicate that Jiang was taken into custody over ties to real estate loans approved by ICBC Macau, primarily for the luxury Windsor Arch project linked to local billionaire David Ng Lap Seng.

At this stage, it is unclear whether there is a direct connection between Jia and Jiangs cases.

However, some insiders indicated to Caixin that Jias investigation may relate to his previous tenure at BOCs provincial branches, particularly in Guizhou, where he overlapped with others who have faced corruption probes.

According to Caixin, Jias interest in government-related business and strong relationships with local officials were well known. Jia had long sought an overseas assignment, a goal he achieved with his appointment to Macau in 2024.

Jiang Xu, president of Bank of Chinas Peru subsidiary, remains unreachable, with very limited public information available.

Jiang joined Bank of China in 1995, initially serving as deputy general manager. Since 2017, Jiang has held a position at the banks Milan branch before assuming leadership of the Peru branch earlier this year. Times Reporter

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Take cover, a tornado watch was issued by the National Weather Service in Denver on Friday, Aug. 1, from 2:48 p.m. until 10 p.m.. This warning applies to Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Weld counties.

See weather radar for Northern Colorado

What are NWS meteorologists saying?

At 2:48 p.m., the NWS issued a statement:

"THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH 564 IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 p.m. MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN COLORADO THIS WATCH INCLUDES 6 COUNTIES IN NORTHEAST COLORADO LOGAN MORGAN PHILLIPS SEDGWICK WASHINGTON WELD THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF AKRON, FORT MORGAN, GREELEY, HOLYOKE, JULESBURG, STERLING, AND WINDSOR."

How do you stay safe during a tornado?

During a tornado, the NWS recommends:

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Get as low as possible. A basement below ground level or the lowest floor of a building offers the greatest safety.

Put as many walls between yourself and the outside as possible.

Avoid windows.

What should you do if you're driving during a tornado warning?

If you're driving, particularly on interstates or highways, do not try to outrun a tornado.

If you are driving in an area with a tornado warning, you should look for ways to safely get off the road and out of your vehicle, preferably by seeking refuge in a sturdy building.

As a last resort, lie flat in the nearest depression, ditch or culvert and cover your head with your arms.

What is the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?

A tornado warning is issued when a tornado is either sighted or indicated on radar, meaning there is imminent danger to life and property.

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If you are in the area of a tornado warning, take cover immediately in the lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a vehicle or a mobile home, move to the closest sturdy shelter and take cover.

A tornado watch is issued when the environment is capable of producing tornadoes. If you are located in the area of a tornado watch, the NWS recommends having a plan in place in the event a tornado forms. Be ready to act quickly if a tornado warning is issued.

See the latest weather alerts and forecasts here.

Reporters Diane Pantaleo and Jana Hayes contributed to this article.

This weather report was generated automatically using information from the National Weather Service and a story written and reviewed by an editor.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Tornado watch issued for Northern Colorado
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD)  A tourist won big during a recent trip to the Palmetto State.

State lottery officials said a Powerball ticket worth $150,000 was purchased in May. The winner was vacationing at the beach when he stopped on his way home to get gas at the Speedway on N. Main Street.

He also purchased a Powerball ticket for several advanced, future draws.

The man returned to South Carolina in July to cash the ticket, which came within one number of winning the Powerball Jackpot on June 21.

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It was fantastic, the winner told South Carolina Education Lottery officials. It was like icing on the cake.

The convenience store earned a $1,500 commission for selling the claimed ticket.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCBD News 2.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (FOX 44)  Our Town: Bryan-College Station continues with a look at one of the key cogs in making the hub of the Brazos Valley a great place to live and do business  a local business giving back in very special ways.

We are happy to be part of Bryan-College Station, says Erica Archer, Senior Vice President/Treasury Sales Manager of VeraBank.



Its part of the banks way of saying Hello at this College Station location  welcoming customers as it has since 1930 while giving back to communities like Bryan-College Station in hundreds of thousands of ways, as well.

We are very committed monetarily, annually year over year. We give around $850,000 or more to local charities, nonprofits and organizations within our communities that we serve, Archer says.

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VeraBank is a privately owned community bank serving 20 counties in east, central and southeast Texas, with community involvement beyond the monetary contributions  including donation drives, financial education resources, scholarship programs, and volunteering initiatives.

Its wonderful. Ive raised my family here, but we give back through volunteer, Archer says. This community cares about the people that live here as we do, so we want to support that. So we want to support that in every way we can  whether its through volunteering our time and energy to being on boards or service within those nonprofit organizations, whether its financial information well-being and information, we can get into the hands of underserved individuals within our communities so they can learn and thrive, as well.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44.
DENVER (KDVR)  A serious injury crash closed the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 on Thursday evening at Colfax Avenue, but the roadway appeared to be back open as of about 7 p.m.

The crash was reported by the Denver Police Department at about 5:36 p.m. on X. Colorado Department of Transportation cameras showed the crash occurred almost under Colfax Avenue on I-25 north.

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The agency said that all northbound traffic was being diverted from I-25 north onto Auraria Parkway. At 7 p.m., the Colorado Department of Transportation reported lanes on I-25 had reopened. There was no update from the Denver police.

Backups were visible as far south as Santa Fe Drive.

The police department was recommending alternate routes for drivers, but its unclear how long the roadway could be closed.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
A colony of feral cats trapped inside an abandoned day care have been hauntingly meowing out for help  but activists claim theyve been told the felines have already been evacuated.

A squad of volunteer rescuers has corralled three of the felines during two separate moments they were allowed access into the shuttered childcare center at the Sheepshead Bay New York City Housing Authority complexs childcare center.

The rescues came after NYCHA insisted there were no kitties locked inside the closed center, activists said.

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Basically, they dont care about the cats, said Olga Hudyno, who has worked as a trap-and-release rescuer for five years under her organization Midwood Cats. They just wouldnt open the doors, they wouldnt do it for us. Their main idea is that, there are no cats inside. We saw them. We heard them.

As many as 13 cats were trapped inside a nursery at the Sheepshead Bay Houses when NYCHA workers cemented all the access points. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post

The back-and-forth began on July 25, when a regular cat feeder noticed that the centers gated windows had been tightened and holes at the base of the building had been filled to stop the felines from slipping in and out.

But there were still feral animals inside when they closed everything up.

As many as 13 cats were trapped in the Beachbrook Therapeutic Nursery School, which has been shut down for the past two years, and were screaming to be released.

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The cats were left without any exit points, food or water, and were trapped during a sweltering heat wave, the activists told The Post.

It was horrible. It was horrible, said Miriam Melendez, a 20-year-old Sheepshead Bay resident whose windows overlook the nursery. They just kept crying, it was constant. There was nothing we could do, and they couldnt get out.

NYCHA allegedly told the rescuers that they wouldnt be able to access the nursery because it was being leased to a private tenant, but then did an about-face and revealed their intent to smoke them out  a practice that is widely discouraged as cruel for deterring felines.

The housing agency finally began taking action after social media videos of the trapped cats sparked widespread rage.

Activists believe at lest three are still hiding inside. Instagram/greenpoint_cats

NYCHA confirmed to The Post that it had gained access to the building on Monday after coordinating with the site operator and had located and safely removed two live, unharmed cats.

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NYCHA has also installed a video monitoring camera for additional observation, spokesperson Michael Horgan said, adding that the staff had continued to place food and water inside.

The Authority, in coordination with the relevant and responsible city agencies, continues to monitor the space and conduct regular searches to locate and safely remove any cats that enter the location.

NYCHA officials allegedly told the rescuers several times that cats had been cleared out, but tenants and activists continued to hear cries and see the felines begging at the windows.

Olga Hudyno of Midwood Cats has trapped three cats since she was finally allowed inside the nursery. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post

It was horrible. It was horrible. They just kept crying, it was constant. There was nothing we could do, and they couldnt get out, said Miriam Melendez. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post

Animal rescuer Suzanne Hernandez alleges NYCHA repeatedly claimed the cats were vacated, despite seeing them inside the nursery. Katherine Donlevy/NY Post

Every day theyve been saying, no more cats. I begged to go inside, they wouldnt let me go inside, said Suzanne Hernandez of Strays in Our City, who said she received multiple videos of cats still inside from concerned tenants who alleged that NYCHA was lying.

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This could have been over in a day if they let us in to help.

The activists took matters into their own hands and, with permission from the nursery operator, finally entered the site on two occasions since Wednesday, both times leaving traps. They have caught three cats since.

They believe at least three others are still inside hiding in the dilapidated centers crevices, vents and cat-made tunnels  a tuxedo and two tabby cats seen in videos have not yet been recovered, they said.

The rescuers feel confident that the story is close to having a happy ending this time around, but emphasized the incident is just a microcosm of the animal abuse within NYCHA complexes.

Its a systematic issue. It did not just happen this past week. NYCHA, its a nightmare, said Hudyno.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  At a public hearing in Kerrville Thursday, Travis County Judge Andy Brown defended the countys response to floods that damaged roughly 200 properties and claimed lives in the western part of the county.

Those questions came during the Texas Legislatures joint Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. Unlike its prior visit to Kerr County, the hearing allowed public comments.

I spent the next few hours walking down the creek and witnessing the neighbors and volunteers with chainsaws and bobcats and small excavators digging each other out. I spoke to many of them, and their testimony was all the same. Nobody came. No emergency services came to them in the hours after the flood waters receded, their 911 calls went unanswered, said Melanie Strong, a woman who volunteered in Sandy Creek, during her testimony.

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Some of those concerns, that the county didnt response fast enough or with enough resources, were addressed by Brown later in the hearing.

Im in touch with TDEM the entire time. So we asked them to send the teams that we needed to help us search on Saturday, they sent those right away. Those teams had to leave to come back here to Kerr County Saturday night into Sunday, Brown said. So on Sunday, it was our group that was doing the search. So I met at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. I was out there at the Round Mountain Baptist Church, thats where we set up the initial command.

KXAN was with Brown that Sunday morning as he showed up to the search and rescue briefing at the church, with dozens of firefighters who later took to combing through debris piles and knocking on doors and car windows. KXAN followed those crews around for most of that day.

Travis County search and rescue crews meet in the Sandy Creek neighborhood, joined by Travis County Judge Andy Brown, on July 6, 2025 (KXAN photo/Grace Reader)

No question that we had every resource possible there from Travis County, from TDEM, on those first two days, those were the days where they were  they were doing search and rescue, Brown said during the hearing.

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What could have been done better in Travis County? State leaders asked that question of Brown who said the countys regular contact from the National Weather Service left earlier this year and was not replaced.

BLOG: Lawmakers hear testimony in Kerrville on deadly July 4 floods

They did not replace him. But he was the person who would say, hey, Travis County. I know you get, you know, flash flood alerts, thunderstorm alerts all the time. But this, this is a big one. You need to pay attention to it. He was the human being in there that is no longer there, Brown said.

Brown also said the county could have better communicated directly with the residents of the impacted areas so they would know exactly what Travis County and state responders were doing.

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He added that while there were several search and rescue crews looking for missing county residents, that work should have been communicated better to the public.

What they said is true for them  they did not see enough of it, Brown said.

Finally, Brown talked about the Sandy Creek neighborhood specifically. He noted that the community was built without a second access point. This was why, when its only bridge in or out of the neighborhood was damaged by floodwaters, hundreds of residents were trapped.

If there had been a second entrance in that subdivision back whenever they built it, that would have helped. So I would think having that as building code across the state is something I dont know if it is or not, but that would be great, Brown said.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
AGENCY VILLAGE, S.D. (KELO)  Recognizing tribal police in South Dakotas state laws was one of the suggestions made during a meeting of legislators on Thursday at the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyates tribal council chambers.

The SWO captain of police, Gary Gaikowski, spoke about it to the Legislatures State-Tribal Relations Committee. State law, for example, makes it a felony to commit assault on a law enforcement officer.

Arrest made in E. 41st and Southeastern crash

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But the states definition of a law enforcement officer means any employee or officer of the state or any political subdivision thereof and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the criminal or highway traffic laws of this state and doesnt include tribal officers.

The Roberts County states attorney, Dylan Kirchmeier, said hes found it frustrating when a tribal officer has been assaulted but he couldnt file a state felony charge against the alleged attacker.

Kirchmeier described such situations as a disservice to tribal officers who are doing the same job as those officers who are covered by the state law. Its a bad loophole or oversight in the state definition, in my opinion, he told the legislators.

The meetings theme was law enforcement. The panel also heard from the Roberts County sheriff, Tyler Appel; South Dakota Public Safety Secretary Robert Perry, a former FBI agent; state Highway Patrol Capt. Randi Erickson; and state Tribal Affairs Secretary Algin Young, who was the Oglala Sioux Tribes chief of police and a member of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement division.

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Perry said the South Dakota Highway Patrol has one agreement in place with the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe and would like to have agreements with some or all of the other eight tribal governments whose lands are within the states boundary.

It would be at their request, at their direction, and we would be done when they say we are done, Perry said.

Highway Patrol Capt. Erickson said the state agency, despite not having legal jurisdiction over tribal people on tribal lands, provides assistance to tribal governments in a variety of other ways including crash investigation reports, helping with pursuits and officer-related safety calls, providing patrols when requested by tribes, participating in a law enforcement surge operation currently under way on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, holding job and career fairs on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, and providing weather related information on interstate highway closures.

The state Division of Criminal Investigation last year held its first-ever training session specifically intended for tribal officers. Perry said that locating a stand-alone federal training center for tribal officers in South Dakota, similar to the U.S. Indian Police Academy at Artesia, New Mexico, would cost more than the South Dakota state government can currently afford and would need federal financial support.

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Sheriff Appel noted that the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate law enforcement and the tribes child protection services have contracts to place people in the Roberts County jail, which has a capacity of 73.

Republican Rep. Will Mortenson is a co-chair of the State-Tribal Relations Committee. He said at the conclusion of the meeting Thursday that the testimonies gave him a lot of confidence.

As to disagreements, such as various tribal governments banning Kristi Noem from their reservations while she was governor, Mortenson remarked, It seems its more of a political problem than a law enforcement problem.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com.
Sisseton-Wahpeton Police Captain Gary Gaikowski speaks to the State-Tribal Relations Committee on July 31, 2025, in Agency Village. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

AGENCY VILLAGE  If a Sisseton police officer gets punched on state land in Sisseton, Roberts County States Attorney Dylan Kirchmeier can charge the assailant with a felony for assaulting a police officer.

If that assailant also punches a tribal police officer whos there to assist, Kirchmeier doesnt have that option.

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South Dakota law doesnt include tribal police in its definition of a law enforcement officer, Kirchmeier told members of the State-Tribal Relations Committee on Thursday. But in Roberts County, tribal police work alongside sheriffs deputies and city officers on a regular basis, sometimes as backup, sometimes as first responders when theyre closer to the scene when a call comes in.

I feel like that is doing a disservice to the tribal officers, because theyre doing the same job that any state law enforcement officer is, Kirchmeier said. Its a bad loophole.

Roberts County State's Attorney Dylan Kirchmeier, left, and Sisseton-Wahpeton Police Captain Gary Gaikowski speak to the State-Tribal Relations Committee on July 31, 2025 in Agency Village. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Roberts County States Attorney Dylan Kirchmeier, left, and Sisseton-Wahpeton Police Captain Gary Gaikowski speak to the State-Tribal Relations Committee on July 31, 2025, in Agency Village. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Roberts County includes parts of the Lake Traverse Reservation, where the Sisseton-Wahpeton Police Department and tribal courts have jurisdiction. But the checkerboard nature of tribal land  one side of the road can be tribal, the other state  means that policing agencies wind up interwoven, for the safety of their officers and residents alike.

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Its not uncommon for suspects to cross tribal and state lines in the course of committing a crime, Kirchmeier said, particularly in vehicle pursuits.

Gary Gaikowski, the tribal police captain for the past 20 years and a longtime member of South Dakotas Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission, said the working relationships benefit both sides and public safety.

Everything that affects the state, Roberts County, the city of Sisseton, affects us, Gaikowski told the committee. And most of the time, its the same individuals that were arresting.

That should move the Legislature to change the law to recognize tribal officers as law enforcement.

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It does kind of, excuse my language, suck, to not be recognized as law enforcement officers, he said.

Both men urged the committee to explore changes to the law to protect tribal police who aid their stateside counterparts.

Mutual aid agreements: Thorny territory

Gaikowski said he understands the thorny nature of cooperation between tribes and outside law enforcement. Attempts to push for more formal mutual aid agreements have met political resistance at the tribal council level, he told the committee.

Algin Young, South Dakotas secretary of tribal affairs, told the committee he faced some of the same resistance during his stint as chief of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Police Department in Pine Ridge.

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Tribal governments dont want state officials arresting their citizens, Young said, but might nonetheless see value in outside help. Working with the tribe and Pennington County eventually led to a setup in 2022 that opened the door to mutual aid between the county and the tribe, Young said, without giving the county the power to enforce state law on tribal land.

That should be the model for a state agency like the Highway Patrol, Young said.

South Dakota Tribal Relations Secretary Algin Young speaks to the State-Tribal Relations Committee on July 31, 2025, in Agency Village. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

We have to be sensitive to what the tribes want, he said. Well go when they want, and well leave when they ask us to.

Bob Perry, secretary of the Department of Public Safety, told the lawmakers on the State-Tribal Relations Committee that the state is working with tribes to convince them to allow more agreements like that. He recently traveled to the Yankton Sioux Tribe to meet with leadership on the possibility of agreements with the Highway Patrol.

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The states closest formal partnership is with the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, which uses state troopers for law enforcement only during its annual powwow, but Perry said there are other signs of progress on public safety cooperation.

Theres currently a Highway Patrol saturation operation taking place on the Standing Rock Reservation. Highway Patrol captains meet quarterly with officials on that reservation, and on the Cheyenne River Reservation.

All law enforcement understands this is a good, good thing, Perry said of mutual aid. But theres still some mistrust in the tribal communities that we have to overcome.

Possible model: Missing people and violent crime

Perry pointed out that the Highway Patrol does accident reconstruction in fatal crashes on tribal land, and it doesnt hesitate to put helicopters in the air if a child goes missing on tribal lands and tribal officials reach out for help.

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Mark Van Norman, a special counsel for the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, told the committee that the prevalence of missing and murdered Indigenous people and the widespread hunger to address the issue among tribal governments could serve as a building block for trust.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to address the MMIP issue, Van Norman pointed out, so theres a willingness at the federal level to improve cooperation.

Weve been thinking that when we have missing people, that we would like to get an immediate response so that we can try and rescue the people within 72 hours, Van Norman said.

Department of Public Safety Secretary Bob Perry, left, and Highway Patrol Captain Randi Erickson speak to the State-Tribal Relations Committee on July 31, 2025, in Agency Village. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Agreements for mutual aid in missing people cases could naturally extend, Van Norman said, to cooperation on cases involving violent crime.

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Concerns about jurisdictional challenges arent especially pronounced for Gaikowski, Kirchmeier and Roberts County Sheriff Tyler Appel, the sheriff said. Appels jail holds adult and juvenile inmates for the tribe, he said, and major cases like homicides are all-hands-on-deck situations.

Perceptions from community members tend to be more of a challenge than us working together, Appel said. Captain Gaikowskis department and I work very well together. Gary and I share phone calls and text messages on a pretty frequent basis.

Fort Pierre Republican Rep. Will Mortenson, the committees chair, said he was encouraged to hear that, and said he hopes the state can make more progress in allowing police to help each other across tribal lines.

It seems like what we need is for the politicians to have the trust in law enforcement that law enforcement has in each other, said Mortenson, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The more I think about this issue, the more I think weve got a politician problem, not a law enforcement problem.

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After the meeting, Mortenson said his comments were a reference to politicians on any side who might monkeywrench mutual aid.

The committees next meeting will take place in mid-September, he said, and will be hosted jointly by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

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Fighting between the armies of Uganda and neighbouring South Sudan, which are longtime allies, erupted this week over demarcations in disputed border regions, leading to the death of at least four soldiers, according to official reports from both sides.

Thousands of civilians have since been displaced in affected areas as people fled to safety amid the rare outbreak of violence.

A gunfight began on Monday and comes as South Sudan, one of the worlds youngest countries, is facing renewed violence due to fracturing within the government of President Salva Kiir that has led to fighting between South Sudanese troops and a rebel armed group.

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Uganda has been pivotal in keeping that issue contained by deploying troops to assist Kiirs forces. However, the latest conflict between the two countries armies is raising questions regarding the state of that alliance.

A truck enters a checkpoint at the Elegu border point between Uganda and South Sudan in May 2020 [Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images]

What has happened?

There are conflicting accounts of the events that began at about 4:25pm local time (13:25 GMT) on Monday, making it hard to pinpoint which side struck first.

The two agree on where the fighting took place, but each claims the site as being in its own territory.

Ugandan military spokesperson Major-General Felix Kulayigye told reporters on Wednesday that the fighting broke out when South Sudanese soldiers crossed into Ugandan territory in the state of West Nile and set up camp there. The South Sudanese soldiers refused to leave after being told to do so, Kulayigye said, resulting in the Ugandan side having to apply force.

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A Ugandan soldier was killed in the skirmish that ensued, Kulayigye added, after which the Ugandan side retaliated and opened fire, killing three South Sudanese soldiers.

However, South Sudan military spokesperson Major-General Lul Ruai Koang said in a Facebook post earlier on Tuesday that armies of the two sisterly republics had exchanged fire on the South Sudanese side, in the Kajo Keji County of Central Equatoria state. Both sides suffered casualties, he said, without giving more details.

Wani Jackson Mule, a local leader in Kajo-Keji County, backed up this account in a Facebook post on Wednesday and added that Ugandan forces had launched a surprise attack on South Sudanese territory. Mule said local officials had counted the bodies of five South Sudanese officers.

Kajo-Keji County army commander Brigadier General Henry Buri, in the same statement as Mule, said the Ugandan forces had been heavily armed with tanks and artillery, and that they had targeted a joint security force unit stationed to protect civilians, who are often attacked by criminal groups in the area. The army general identified the deceased men as two South Sudanese soldiers, two police officers and one prison officer.

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The fighting affected border villages and caused panic as people fled from the area, packing their belongings hurriedly on their backs, according to residents speaking to the media. Children were lost in the chaos. Photos on social media showed crowds gathered as local priests supervised the collection and transport of remains.

Map of Uganda and South Sudan [Al Jazeera]

What is the border conflict about?

Uganda and South Sudan have previously clashed over demarcations along their joint border, although those events have been few and far between. As with the Monday clash, the fighting is often characterised by tension and violence. However, heavy artillery fighting, which occurred on Monday, is rare.

Problems at the border date back to the demarcations made during the British colonial era between Sudan, which South Sudan was once a part of, and Uganda. Despite setting up a joint demarcation committee (unknown when), the two countries have failed to agree on border points.

In November 2010, just months before an anticipated South Sudanese referendum on independence from Sudan, clashes erupted after the Ugandan government accused the Sudanese army of attacking Dengolo village in the West Nile district of Moyo on the Ugandan side in multiple raids, and of arresting Ugandan villagers who were accused of crossing the border to cut down timber.

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A South Sudanese army spokesperson denied the allegations and suggested that the assailants could have been from the forestry commission. Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni and South Sudans Kiir met a few days later and pledged to finalise the border issue, but that did not happen.

Little was reported on the matter for several years after that, but in October 2020, two Ugandan soldiers and two South Sudanese soldiers were killed when the two sides attacked each other in Pogee, Magwi County of South Sudan, which connects to Gulu district of northern Uganda. The area includes disputed territory. Some reports claimed that three South Sudanese were killed. Each side blamed the other for starting the fight.

In September 2024, the Ugandan parliament urged the government to expedite the demarcation process, adding that the lack of clear borders was fuelling insecurity in parts of rural Uganda, and Ugandan forces could not effectively pursue criminal cattle rustling groups operating in the border area as a result.

Following the latest flare-up of violence this week, the countries have pledged to form a new joint committee to investigate the clashes, South Sudan military spokesperson, General Koang, said in a statement on Tuesday. The committee will also investigate any recurring issues along the border in a bid to resolve them, the statement read.

South Sudans President Salva Kiir, right, and Vice President Riek Machar, left, attend a mass led by Pope Francis at the John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, South Sudan, on Sunday, February 5, 2023 [Ben Curtis/AP]

Why does Uganda provide military support to South Sudans President Kiir?

Ugandas Museveni has been a staunch ally of South Sudans independence leader, Kiir, and his Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) party for many years.

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Museveni supported South Sudans liberation war against Sudan, especially following alleged collusion between the former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group originally formed in Uganda but which regularly attacks both Ugandan and South Sudanese locations in its efforts to overthrow the Ugandan government.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in January 2011. In 2013, Uganda sent troops to support Kiir after a civil war broke out in the new country.

Fighting had erupted between forces loyal to Kiir and those loyal to his longtime rival, Riek Machar, who was also Kiirs deputy president pre and post independence, over allegations that Machar was planning a coup.

Ethnic differences between the two (Kiir is Dinka while Machar is Nuer) also added to the tensions. Machar fled the capital, Juba, to form his own Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).

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The SPLM and SPLM-IO fought for five years before reaching a peace agreement in August 2018. About 400,000 people were killed in the war. Uganda deployed troops to fight alongside Kiirs SPLM, while the United Nations peacekeeping mission (UNMISS), which was in place following independence, worked to protect civilians.

This year, a power-sharing deal has unravelled, however, and fighting has again broken out between South Sudanese forces and the White Army, a Nuer armed group which the government alleges is backed by Machar, in Nasir County, in the northeast of the country.

In March, Uganda again deployed special forces to fight alongside Kiirs forces as fears of another civil war mounted. Kiir ordered Machar to be placed under house arrest and also detained several of his allies in the government.

Jikany Nuer White Army fighters hold their weapons in Upper Nile State, South Sudan, on February 10, 2014 during the countrys civil war [File: Goran Tomasevic/Reuters]

Are there concerns about Ugandas influence in South Sudan?

Some South Sudanese who support Vice President Machar, who is still under house arrest, are opposed to Ugandas deployment of troops in the country, and say Kampala is overreaching.

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Since the Monday skirmish with Ugandan troops, some South Sudanese have taken to Facebook to rail against the army for not condemning alleged territorial violations by Ugandan soldiers, and mocked the spokesman, Koang, for describing the nations as sisterly.

I wish the escalation would continue, one poster wrote. The reason why South Sudan is not peaceful is because of Ugandas interference in our countrys affairs.

What did South Sudan expect when they cheaply sold their sovereignty to Uganda? another commenter added.

Since joining forces to fight the rebel White Army, South Sudanese forces and the Ugandan Army have been accused by Machar and local authorities in Nasir State of using chemical weapons, namely barrel bombs containing a flammable liquid that they say has burned and killed civilians. Nicholas Haysom, head of the UN mission in South Sudan, confirmed that air strikes had been conducted with the bombs. However, Uganda has denied these allegations. The South Sudan army has not commented.

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Forces local to Machar, including the White Army, have also been accused of targeting civilians. Dozens have died, and at least 100,000 have been displaced across northeastern South Sudan since March.

In May, Amnesty International said Ugandas deployment and supply of arms to South Sudan violated a UN arms embargo on the country, which was part of the 2018 peace deal, and called on the UN Security Council to enforce the clause.




FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT)  Imagine this: Youve got a boat. You and two of your buddies cruise along the river, recruiting local musicians to play impromptu, and you host a live broadcast right there on the water.

For Galen Huckins, Reid Lustig, and Brian Benson, this isnt just some dreamy wanderlust for three friends we met in Florence at McFarland Park. Its a reality and one of the coolest things Sound Bites has seen in a while.

Ten years ago, the three friends traveled the mighty Mississippi. They are now puttering along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers from early July to late August, in their riverboat radio station.

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This is the Channel Princess riverboat, says Galen Huckins, the boats captain. It was built in the late 60s on the Missouri River in South Dakota. I found it on a dock in Oregon; it had just sunk in a storm. Some divers brought it up, and the previous owner was selling it.

Now, the 30-foot Channel Princess is a floating serialized radio story  eccentric, funky, and as Americana as it gets.

Its all part of a live, free-floating radio show, which they write, record, and broadcast while floating downriver, called The River Signal. Each performance streams live for anyone who wants to listen, with sunsets and riverbanks as the backdrop.

You know, the other night we were on the Chickamauga River in Chattanooga, recalls Reid Lustig. The sun was going down, music was happening cool air, rosy sky. You could just tell everyone was in a really special place.

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The crew  Galen, Reid, and Brian  knows their way around the Channel Princess. They recently docked at McFarland Park in Florence, Alabama, where they welcomed local musicians aboard for a session.

Theyre the ones behind the scenes  coordinating musicians, setting up performances, and ensuring the floating stage runs smoothly.

We wanted to make these connections with musicians  have them aboard, says Galen. As we went down the Mississippi, people would recommend others downriver. Musicians would come to the boat, wed record and film them, and incorporate them into a weekly show. Its similar to what were doing now.

And the project has turned into more than just a radio show series  its a cultural exchange on water.

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I think one of the biggest things I get excited about is the microcultures we come across, says Brian Benson. I knew nothing about this area before getting on the boat. Everything from the landscape to  I mean, the poetry scene in Huntsville  I was kind of blown away by whats happening and how beautiful the work is.

Sure, there are challenges  the heat, the mosquitoes, the slow speed of drifting at four miles an hour.

But for these three friends, its pure heaven on the Tennessee River.

Were all people who like to wander, travel, and do creative projects, says Reid. Were also open to accommodating one another. Our friendship and our wanderlust came together and we found we were just a really good trio.

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You can watch the Muscle Shoals Artists recordings HERE.

If you know of any musicians or writers or storytellers who live nearby (or will be passing through), and that might be into collaborating have them reach out to theriversignal@gmail.com.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
For most Jewish Americans, whatever their political persuasion, support for Israel has been a bedrock principle. Thus its notable that a broad swath of U.S. Jews  reacting to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza  have been urging the Israeli government to do more to ensure the delivery of food and medicine.

There is no overwhelming consensus. On the left, some U.S. Jews contend that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government is guilty of genocide. On the right, some conservative Jewish news outlets have suggested that the widely verified food crisis in Gaza is a hoax.

What is clear is that the ranks of American Jews alarmed by the current conditions in Gaza have swelled and now include major organizations that customarily avoid critiques of Israeli policies.

What are major Jewish organizations saying?

The American Jewish Committee  a prominent advocacy group that strives to broadly represent Jews in the U.S. and abroad  stressed in its statement that it stands with Israel in its justified war to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas.

At the same time, we feel immense sorrow for the grave toll this war has taken on Palestinian civilians, and we are deeply concerned about worsening food insecurity in Gaza, said the AJC, urging Israel and other key parties to increase cooperation and coordination in order to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

The Rabbinical Assembly, a New York-based organization representing rabbis of the Conservative Movement, sounded a similar note.

Even as we believe Hamas could end this suffering immediately through the release of the hostages and care for its civilian population, the Israeli government must do everything in its power to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need, the assembly said. The Jewish tradition calls upon us to ensure the provision of food, water, and medical supplies as a top priority.

Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, told The Associated Press he and his colleagues are proud, sad, and angry. 

We remain proud of Israel and its army, the only moral fighting force in the region striving to abide by internationally accepted laws of war, he said via email. We are genuinely sad about the mounting human costs which  as intended by Hamas  this war is inflicting on Israelis and innocent Palestinians.

A spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the staunchly pro-Israel group better known as AIPAC, welcomed Israels latest moves to boost aid to Gaza.

The true key to improving the humanitarian conditions is for Hamas to surrender power and free all 50 hostages, including the 2 Americans, Marshall Wittmann said via email.

Of major nationwide organizations, perhaps the most vehement statement came from the Reform Jewish Movement, which represents the largest branch of Judaism in the U.S.

Hamas has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to sacrifice the Palestinian people in its pursuit of Israels destruction, but Israel must not sacrifice its own moral standing in return, the Reform statement said.

No one should be unaffected by the pervasive hunger experienced by thousands of Gazans, it continued. Nor should we accept arguments that because Hamas is the primary reason many Gazans are either starving or on the verge of starving, that the Jewish State is not also culpable in this human disaster.

Rabbis share their thoughts

Over the past few weeks, as images and reports of starvation and violence in Gaza dominated the news cycle, Rabbi Jon Roos felt a shift in how the Israel-Hamas war is discussed in Jewish circles.

There was a real change in the tone of the conversation, but also in the depth and content of it, said Roos, who leads Temple Sinai, a Reform synagogue in Washington, D.C. I felt it from members of the congregation. Ive felt it in the Jewish communal world.

The clergy of Temple Sinai signed onto a letter with more than 1,000 Jewish clergy calling on the Israeli government to allow extensive humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. It stated that we cannot condone the mass killings of civilians  or the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

Roos said the Jewish community can hold two truths at once: that Oct. 7 was deplorable and so is the situation in Gaza.

One of the critical parts of Judaism is that we really value that ability to hold nuance and two truths, even if theyre both incredibly challenging and self-critical, Roos said.

Rabbi Aaron Weininger in Minnetonka, Minnesota, also signed the clergy letter. He leads Adath Jeshurun, a Conservative Jewish congregation.

Zionism is big enough and strong enough to care about the safety, wellbeing, and dignity of Israelis and Palestinians. Naming their suffering doesnt weaken Zionism nor does calling on members of the government not to occupy Gaza. Signing the letter honors Zionism as compassionate and just, he wrote in an email.

The response of his community has been largely positive, with some disagreement  both with the idea of publicly disagreeing with the Israeli government and with the characterization of suffering in Gaza, he wrote. But taking moral stands and holding disagreement have always been part of what it means to be a faith community. DAVID CRARY & TIFFANY STANLEY, MDT/AP

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'I truly thought the plane was going down': Passengers share terror on flight diverted to MSP originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam are recounting their near-death experiences following an emergency landing in Minneapolis.

Delta flight 56 was diverted to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Wednesday evening after it encountered "significant" turbulence over Wyoming less than an hour into the flight, according to local and national reports.

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I truly thought the plane was going to go down, passenger Joseph Carbone, a Utah resident, told CNN.

A pilot allegedly said the plane plunged 1,000 feet during one of three distinct waves of turbulence, according to Carbone, who described the waves as "bad, to worse and way worse." Delta officials have not confirmed such a drop.

Yesterday evening, Delta flight #DL56 diverted to Minneapolis after encountering turbulence. 25 people on board were transported to local hospitals. https://t.co/MXMV7CHivA pic.twitter.com/yYc69mbyyG  Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 31, 2025

The turbulence sent service carts, personal items and people flying into the air, Carbone said, including a flight attendant who "just about crashed into the ceiling. He expressed that he's never seen anything like it before, though he flies quite a bit.

Fellow passenger Leeann Nash said in an interview with KSTP that anyone who didn't have a seatbelt on "hit the ceiling and then fell to the ground." She told the local TV station that she also thought the plane was going to crash.

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When the plane landed around 7:50 p.m. Wednesday, paramedics evaluated passengers and crew on site, then transported 25 of them to the hospital for further medical attention. According to Delta, all seven crew members who were injured and the passengers who were willing to share their status with the airline had been treated and released by Thursday morning.

After we got off the plane, we kissed the ground, and Delta took us to the Delta Lounge and got us hotels and rebooked our flights, Carbone said.

There were a total of 275 passengers and 13 crew members on board the Airbus A330-900 aircraft.

A Delta A330-900.Steven Byles, Flickr

The overwhelming majority of the folks taken to the hospital for evaluation and treatment have been released, a Delta spokesperson told CNN on Thursday morning.

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Another passenger, Leslie Woods, said in an interview with WCCO that a crew member had broken ribs and someone else had a broken leg, per information shared by flight attendants. She told the local TV station that she herself got whiplash and feels lucky to be alive.

"There was a little girl across the aisle from me that was just terrified. She's screaming, 'We're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die,' so I was trying to keep her calm, and I really thought we were going to die. It was that scary," Woods said. "It was like an earthquake. It was just, the plane was shaking so hard and it would stop and it would start again, so it was kind of traumatizing."

CNN reports that the flight experienced the turbulence at about 35,000 feet over southwestern Wyoming, which had been identified as a potential trouble spot by federal aviation forecasters earlier in the day due to severe weather forecasts.

BREAKING: Delta Flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam Hits Severe Turbulence, 25 Passengers Hospitalized



What's going on? pic.twitter.com/gKgML3NMAE  TaraBull (@TaraBull808) July 31, 2025

The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident. A preliminary report is expected in about a month.

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News that a "full-scale review" will determine whether the weather could have been spotted in advance.

"Safety is our No. 1 value at Delta, and our Delta Care Team on Wednesday night and Thursday personally reached out to customers who were on the flight to assist them with their immediate needs, as well as coordinate their onward travel," the Atlanta-based airline said in a statement.

Delta plans to operate a special flight from MSP to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport so travelers can reach their planned destination.

This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
Republican Representative Bryan Steil thought it would be a good idea to go have a meetup with constituents Thursday night in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Steil represents Paul Ryans old district and in fact used to work for Ryan. Hed had a rocky week: A few days before, some protesters plopped some flowers and a coffin on the doorstep of his Janesville home, an act meant to symbolize the ill effects of the Republicans big, ugly bill on the most vulnerable.

Things didnt get much better Thursday night. Steil was booed repeatedly, particularly on immigration, with one woman saying, with reference to Alligator Alcatraz: The difference between a prison or a detention center and a concentration camp is due process. Asked another, about ICE agents, to robust applause: Why are they wearing masks, and why are they unidentified?

Congress is in recess now for the new month, so we can be sure that Steils fellow Republicans took note and will spend the month hiding from constituencies and hanging out at country clubs where tax cuts for the rich are popular and nobody needs Medicaid (or at least they think they dont).

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Donald Trump, it is said, is frustrated. He wonders why hes not more popular. He complains, we read, that hes accomplished a great deal and that hes keeping his campaign promises, and looked at a certain way, these statements are true, to a point. So he cant figure out why hes at 37 percent.

I could tell him why. Two reasons, and theyre both obvious. First, his policies are horrible, and people dont like them. If youre accomplishing things that large majorities of people dont want, do they count as accomplishments? Film director Uwe Boll somehow manages to keep making movies. But hes a punch line. Most of his movies have been commercial flops and critical train wrecksa career so lame that he once promised to quit the business if a petition demanding that he do so garnered a million signatures (alas, it fell short).

Thats Trump: the Uwe Boll of policy.

The recent polls have told us over and over and over. The big, ugly billunpopular. Rounding up poor guys hanging out at Home Depot looking for workunpopular. Putting people in, yes, concentration campsunpopular. Cutting his Palm Beach pals taxesunpopular. Imposing these absurd tariffsunpopular. I could go on. There is literally not a single important item on the Trump domestic agenda that polls well.

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Then there are the promises hes broken. He said hed lower prices on day one. Which, youll recall, was the same day on which he was going to end Russias war on Ukraine. And bring peace to the Middle East. Its a pleasant surprise here lately that hes talking smack about Putin and Netanyahu because theyre gumming up his glide path to the Nobel Peace Prize. But his criticisms dont change the fact that the crises in both Ukraine and Gaza have gotten worse, not better, since he took office. Look, Im glad that hes flip-flopped on aid to Ukraine. But still, its a flip-flop. I remember when Republicans thought flip-flopping on a matter of war and peace was a sign of weakness.

So thats number one. He has either (1) executed his policies as promised, but people hate them, or (2) blown them off or reversed himself, exposing his campaign statements as nonsense. That the Harris campaign couldnt figure out how to mock his obvious bullshitdont get me started. One thing Im not celebrating this summer is Kamala Harriss reemergence on the public stage, and I pray shes not delusional enough to think she ought to run again in 2028.

Number two is also simple. Hes a sleazeball, and more and more people are finally coming to realize it. The Jeffrey Epstein matter is Exhibit A, of course, but there is much more. The way he and his family are getting rich from the presidency is just obscene. Have you ever gone to TrumpStore.com? If not, have a look. Its relentlessly garish, of course, but more than that, its relentlessly and proudly, defiantly overpriced. Yet these idiots buy this crap by the millions.

But its Epstein that is catching up with him. And that story is a long, long way from being over. We cannot of course at this point state that Trump is guilty of anything. But allegations are out there. Have you read the testimony of Katie Johnson? You might want to familiarize yourself with it. Obviously, I have no idea whether its true. If a third of it is, and its ever corroborated, it will be by far the biggest presidential scandal of all time.

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And even if none of it is true, were still dealing with a president of the United States whose best friend for 15 years was a serial child rapist. Let that sink in. Again, why the Democrats couldnt make this an issue last yearaarrgh. I know. Im sure they have all kinds of reasons. But you know what? If Donald Trump were running against someone whose best friend for 15 years was a serial child rapist, hed have made sure America knew. In any case, theyre figuring it out now. And if he pardons Ghislaine Maxwell or commutes her sentence or anything like that, millions of Americans will jump to the obvious conclusion.

It all leaves Bryan Steil and his GOP congressional colleagues ducking their constituents, because God forbid they have to explain to voters why they voted for a sick bill that punishes working people and lines the pockets of the megarich and will shove many billions of dollars into the creation of a police state no one wants. That would be accountability, which would be uncomfortably close to democracy. Cant have that.

This article first appeared in Fighting Words, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by editor Michael Tomasky. Sign up here.
[Source]

The Trump administration has released plans to implement its executive order restricting birthright citizenship even as federal courts blocked the policy for the third time in less than a month.

How theyll do it: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which processes immigration applications and visa petitions, released an implementation plan on July 25 limiting automatic birthright citizenship to children with at least one parent who is either a citizen or lawful permanent resident. Children whose parents are in the country unlawfully or hold temporary legal status  including parolees, Temporary Protected Status holders and deferred action recipients  would be excluded, while asylees, conditional permanent residents and refugees would remain eligible.

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Other agencies have also developed new procedures requiring parents to prove their immigration status when applying for their childrens Social Security numbers or passports. For one, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has indicated that birth certificates alone would no longer establish citizenship for affected children, requiring additional documentation of parental status. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the USCIS, said it would develop measures to prevent immigration consequences for children born to parents with lawful temporary status.

The latest block: U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts issued the latest nationwide block on Friday, criticizing the administration for failing to explain how implementation would work as its approach defies legal principles. The ruling followed a 2-1 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on July 23 declaring the executive order unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante in New Hampshire granted class-action status to block the policy.

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These court victories occurred despite a June Supreme Court ruling that limited judges authority to issue broad injunctions, though the justices allowed class-action lawsuits as an alternative mechanism for nationwide relief. The administration has indicated plans to appeal.

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Why this matters: The administrations plans would significantly impact Asian American families, particularly those on temporary work or student visas. The question of a childs citizenship in the United States ought not to be dependent on the stature or circumstances of their parents, said Priya Purandare, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA). Trumps order directly challenges the 1898 Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court decision, which granted citizenship to a Chinese American born to non-citizen parents during the era of Chinese exclusion laws and established a precedent that has protected immigrant families for over a century.

Implementation would deny citizenship to more than 150,000 newborns annually, creating a generation without access to fundamental rights and services. Since the Supreme Courts decision, parents have lived in fear and uncertainty, wondering whether they should give birth in a different state, whether their newborns would be subject to deportation, and what kind of future awaits their children, said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus.

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The case will likely return to the Supreme Court for final determination on both procedural and constitutional questions.

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(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is blocking funding for a swath of public-health programs run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.

These include youth violence prevention programs, research on preventing gun injuries and deaths and efforts targeting diabetes, chronic kidney disease and tobacco use, according to the report.

The money withheld could not be determined, but it could be as high as $200 million, the WSJ reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

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The CDC did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The White House has previously stated its intention to reduce U.S. health spending by more than a quarter next year, with the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention facing the brunt of billions of dollars in cuts.

Earlier this week, Susan Monarez was confirmed as CDC director to lead a downsized agency as the White House moves to slash its budget by nearly $3.6 billion, reducing it to about $4 billion.

The cuts follow a layoff plan enacted by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that eliminated 2,400 positions in CDC, though roughly 700 of those workers have since been rehired.

(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey and Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Anil D'Silva)
The Trump administration is cutting UCLAs federal research funding, and claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons, the universitys chancellor announced.

UCLA received a notice that the federal government, through its control of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies, is suspending certain research funding to UCLA, Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a statement to the Bruin community on Thursday. This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants. It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.

The university stands to lose nearly $200 million in federal funding, prompting the cancellation of hundreds of NSF grants that had already been approved, the Los Angeles Times reported. About half of the funds were already distributed, and researchers were expecting the other half to come at a later time, according to the report.

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That is why the news we received is so deeply disappointing, Frenk said. This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.

The U.S. Department of Justice believes UCLA failed to address antisemitic incidents on its campus in the wake of the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel or the pro-Palestinian protests that took place on campus about six months later.

We share the goal of eradicating antisemitism across society. Antisemitism has no place on our campus, nor does any form of discrimination, Frenk said in his letter. Earlier this year, we took concrete action by creating a new Office of Campus and Community Safety, instituting new policies to manage protests on campus, and taking decisive action for conduct that violates our policies.

Frenk also pointed to the new Initiative to Combat Antisemitism that reports directly to him.

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Earlier this week, UCLA reached a $6 million settlement to end an antisemitism lawsuit.

The lawsuit was brought by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty last year after the encampments cropped up at the university that spring and a video went viral of a Jewish student being blocked from entering a certain part of campus.

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The Trump administration is cutting research funding from UCLA, the universitys leader announced, the latest prestigious university to be targeted in President Donald Trumps war on higher education.

In a letter to the campus community Thursday night, university Chancellor Julio Frenk said the school had been notified that the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, along with other agencies, are suspending certain research funding to the school.

This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants, Frenk wrote. It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.

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Frenks letter said hundreds of grants may be lost but did not provide further details on the scope, but the Los Angeles Times reported that it accounted for about $200 million in funding. POLITICO has not independently confirmed that number, and spokespeople for UCLA and the U.S. Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UCLA is the latest university to come under fire from the Trump administration, which purports it is targeting elite colleges and universities in an effort to root out antisemitism in higher education.

The Trump administration has been locked in conflicts with several universities over similar cuts  including most notably Harvard. There are interlocking legal battles to stop the Trump administrations efforts to block foreign students from attending the university and to restore the flow of billions of dollars worth of federal grants.

Several major universities have agreed to significant settlements with the administration in order to get their funding restored, including Columbia University and Brown University earlier this week. Frenk wrote that the university is actively evaluating our best course of action.

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In his letter, Frenk  who is of Jewish heritage and recounted that his paternal grandparents and father left Germany in the 1930s to escape that climate of antisemitism and hate  says the administration "claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons for the cuts to UCLA.

This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination, he wrote.

The funding cut to UCLA comes just three days after the university agreed to a $6.5 million settlement in a lawsuit with Jewish students and a professor, who alleged that the university did not do enough to protect them from harassment and discrimination by pro-Palestinian protesters last year.

On that same day, the Department of Justice alleged that UCLA had violated federal civil rights law in its response to the encampments on campus.

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We share the goal of eradicating antisemitism across society. Antisemitism has no place on our campus, nor does any form of discrimination, Frenk wrote Thursday. We recognize that we can improve, and I am committed to doing so.

Through the beginning of his second term, Trump and other administration officials have used the power of the federal government to target his perceived critics and enemies. In addition to the targeting of major universities, his administration has launched investigations into former government officials from past administrations and attacked law firms that have represented clients the president dislikes.
Donald Trumps so-called Department of Government Efficiency has spent nearly $21 billion in taxpayer funds on employees whove been paid not to work, according to a new Senate report.

Compiled by Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthals staff on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, the report accuses DOGE  the entity Trump and Elon Musk ginned up to gut federal programs under the guise of efficiency  of generating at least $21.7 billion in waste across the federal government in just the first half of this year. It notes that this total is more than twice the amount of the Trump-backed rescissions package Republicans recently passed to codify DOGE-backed cuts to federal programs.

The report reads:

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been used since the start of the second Trump Administration to effectuate the Presidents agenda of agency closures, mass layoffs, the halting and termination of funds, increased bureaucracy, and the spread of misinformation. With Elon Musk at its head for its first four months, it is unsurprising that DOGE modeled itself on a defunct corporate motto, seeking to move fast and break things. Yet DOGE seems to have stopped there, never taking the time to fixlet alone understand the things it had broken. By prioritizing disruption over governance and failing to identify solutions for any of the problems it purported to solve, DOGE has created its own forms of waste.

Blumenthal also sent letters to inspectors general across more than two dozen federal agencies asking them to assess any negative financial impact caused by DOGEs activities.

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Of the alleged $21.7 billion in waste generated by DOGE, the report says the bulk of that  $14.8 billion  went toward the Deferred Resignation Program that is paying approximately 200,000 employees not to work for up to eight months. It says another $6.1 billion of that waste was designated for over 100,000 employees who have been fired or are in the process of being fired, many of whom were paid to not do their jobs for weeks or months.

Hows that for efficiency?

Other reported losses include $253 million in fees and interest the government was slated to collect but didnt after the administration froze loans for energy projects, and $110 million in food and medical aid the Trump administration allowed to spoil in warehouses rather than distribute.

Back in April, when Musk was rounding out his time at DOGE, polls suggested that a majority of Americans disapproved of the organizations work. Needless to say, this new evidence that the organization has been a tremendous waste of time and money  with likely devastating long-term consequences  probably wont make folks feel better about it.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
It feels like the first eight months of Trump 2.0 have lasted a lifetimeand if deputy White House chief of staff Dan Scavino has his way, maybe they will.

On Thursday, El Salvador approved changes to its constitution to allow for indefinite presidential reelection. Scavino shared the news on X, saying Want to see heads explode? and CCing the president.

Dan Scavino Jr. @DanScavino Want to see heads explode? CC: @realDonaldTrump  Quote tweet: Breaking911 @Breaking911 BREAKING: El Salvador approves indefinite presidential reelection and extends presidential terms to six years - AP

Though Scavinos post is self-admittedly an attempt to spark hysteria among Americans who still care about democracy, the potential for a third Trump term is no joke. Just yesterday during an interview with Fox about Senator Josh Hawleys stock trading bill, Senator Rand Paul objected to how Trump could hypothetically be impacted by the bill, despite its carveout for the current administration.

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Future presidents wouldnt be allowed to own things, so Donald Trump or the next president, which, you know, or some say he might run for a third term, Paul said on Fox Business.

And Trump himself said in March that there are methods for him seeking a third termand has clarified that he is not joking.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, an ally of President Trump, scored a Friday win after the countrys lawmakers passed constitutional amendments eradicating term limits.

The measure was passed in a 57-3 vote just one year after Bukele broke with the law setting term limits by saying he would seek a second term as president.

The nations Supreme Court ruled in 2021 it was his right to run again, foreshadowing the actions by lawmakers.

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This is quite simple, El Salvador: only you will have the power to decide how long you wish to support the work of any public official, including your president, said elected official Ana Figueroa, who proposed the bill, according to Reuters.

You have the power to decide how long you support your president and all elected officials, she added.

The bill backed by Bukeles New Ideas party also extends presidential terms from five years to six and omits the possibility of run-off elections. It also aligns presidential elections with congressional races, ensuring the two occur in the same year.

Some decried the move, claiming it would compromise election integrity.

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Democracy in El Salvador has died, opposing lawmaker Marcela Villatoro of the Nationalist Republican Alliance said, according to NPR.

You dont realize what indefinite reelection brings: It brings an accumulation of power and weakens democracy  theres corruption and clientelism because nepotism grows and halts democracy and political participation.

A human rights organization also shared its disapproval for the bills passage.

The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely and we continue to follow the well-traveled path of autocrats, said Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal, according to Reuters.

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Bukele has overseen the Trump administrations deportation orders by containing immigrants sent from the U.S. in the regions notorious CECOT prison.

Bukele backed Trumps previous decision to keep a wrongfully removed Maryland man behind bars overseas and mocked Democrats who attempted to have him freed, siding with the presidents immigration enforcement policies.

Now, he has a chance to remain in office indefinitely after the successful passage of five constitutional amendments, making Bukele an available key figure for the Trump administrations international plans.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The entrance to Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, closed to the public, is pictured in Freetown, Sierra Leone June 21, 2025 (Reuters)

The eco-lodges and tree-covered footpaths of West Africa's largest chimpanzee refuge, the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Sierra Leone, have been devoid of tourists for more than two months. Its founder, Bala Amarasekaran, is staging a protest against the rampant deforestation plaguing the nation.

While authorities acknowledge that Sierra Leone's rich wildlife is indeed threatened by widespread land seizures and illegal logging, Mr Amarasekaran states they have not yet taken sufficient action to convince him to reopen the sanctuary to visitors.

"A few months back, we could see the land grabbing and the encroachment coming closer to the sanctuary," Amarasekaran told Reuters at the refuge, which is home to more than 100 mainly orphaned chimps and normally lets guests stay in its lodges.

"(Deforestation) is really threatening the sanctuary's existence, because it's too dangerous when people come close to a wildlife preserve like this," said Amarasekaran, who founded the refuge 30 years ago and has led it through crises including civil war and the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic.

A drone view of illegal constructions and residential buildings encroaching on chimpanzee habitat in the protected forest of Tacugama Sanctuary, in Freetown, Sierra Leone June 9, 2025 (Reuters)

Sierra Leone lost approximately 2.17 million hectares (5.36 million acres) of tree cover between 2001 and 2024, representing about 39% of the total in 2000, according to online tracker Global Forest Watch.

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The Western Area Peninsula, home to the capital Freetown and Tacugama, lost more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of tree cover during that same period.

Amarasekaran said deforestation in the area was fuelled by "land grabbing" for development.

The consequences of rapid deforestation were highlighted by a mudslide on the slopes of Mount Sugar Loaf in 2017 that killed an estimated 1,000 people.

A 2019 paper published by the Geological Society of London blamed the incident on a mix of heavy rain, deforested slopes and unchecked construction. It said tree loss had weakened the soil's ability to absorb water and hold together, worsening the mudflow.

An exterior view of Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, closed to the public, in Freetown, Sierra Leone June 9, 2025 (Reuters)

"It's a serious problem, an existential problem," Sierra Leone's Information Minister Chernor Bah told Reuters.

"We regret that the Tacugama authorities have taken the step that they have taken to shut down here, but it's one that we understand."

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Amarasekaran said President Julius Maada Bio's government had dispatched a task force to conduct some raids on illegal logging operations, but complained about a lack of follow-up operations.

Bah said the government was committed to protecting the peninsula's forests.
US President Donald Trump has announced that Steve Witkoff, his Special Envoy for the Middle East, will visit Russia.

Source: Trump during a briefing in the Oval Office

Details: During a speech in Washington, Trump confirmed that Witkoff will head to Moscow on a diplomatic mission immediately after concluding his visit to Israel.

"Yeah. Going to Israel. And then he's going to Russia. Believe it or not," he said.

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Previously: The New York Times, citing sources, reported that on Thursday 31 July Witkoff held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem. The purpose of his trip was to discuss the humanitarian situation in the region and to participate in coordinating international assistance for the Gaza civilian population.

Background:

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President Trump announced tariff rates for dozens of countries Thursday that will take effect Aug. 7, potentially upending the global trade system.

Trump signed an executive order that modified tariff rates for dozens of countries after he had twice delayed plans to implement reciprocal tariffs on other nations. Tariff rates range from as high as 41 percent on goods from Syria to as low as 10 percent, the baseline established for all imports.

Some trading partners have agreed to, or are on the verge of agreeing to, meaningful trade and security commitments with the United States, thus signaling their sincere intentions to permanently remedy the trade barriers  and to align with the United States on economic and national security matters, the executive order stated.

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Other trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters, it continues.

The executive order states that all imports will face a 10 percent tariff. The order goes into effect Aug. 7.

Some nations have negotiated separate trade agreements to lock in tariff rates. For example, Indonesia and Thailand agreed to a 19 percent tariff, South Korea and Japan negotiated deals that included a 15 percent tariff and the United Kingdom struck a deal for a 10 percent tariff.

Certain other nations that have not negotiated deals will face higher rates.

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Trump announced he was hitting Brazil with a 50 percent tariff, in part citing the countrys prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro over his efforts to remain in power after losing an election. Trump has also announced Canada will face a 35 percent tariff, citing frustrations with the flow of fentanyl into the United States.

Other tariff rates established in Thursdays executive order include Laos (40 percent), Switzerland (39 percent), Iraq (35 percent), South Africa (30 percent), India (25 percent), Algeria (30 percent), Moldova (25 percent) and Nicaragua (18 percent).

Many other countries are facing a 15 percent tariff.

The timing and severity of tariffs on other nations have been shifting targets since Trump took office, after vowing on the campaign trail to aggressively impose duties on imports. He has reportedly threatened tariffs on other nations, only to back off or delay their imposition.

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The president announced reciprocal tariffs on dozens of other countries April 2. But a week later, he lowered those rates to 10 percent for 90 days as markets reacted negatively, giving time for negotiations. The 90-day window was set to expire in early July, only for Trump to extend the deadline to Aug. 1.

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President Donald Trumps decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he didnt like Fridays jobs report is a terrible idea that will undermine the publics confidence in the governments economic data, a former labor official said.

Its preposterously stupid and deeply dangerous for our economy, Seth Harris, who served as the deputy labor secretary under former President Barack Obama, told HuffPost.

Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday that he was terminating BLS Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer in the middle of her term. The agency reported Friday that the economy only added a disappointing 73,000 jobs in June, which was less than expected, and revised the counts from two previous reports downward by a combined 258,000 jobs.

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Trump claimed McEntarfer had rigged the data to make Republicans look bad, but Harris said Trump had nobody to blame for the disappointing employment numbers but himself.

There is absolutely no chance that the BLS commissioner or anyone else at BLS manipulated the jobs and unemployment data to hurt Donald Trump politically, said Harris, now a law professor at Northeastern University.

Donald Trump produced these bad job and unemployment numbers with his policies, he said. Its not the people counting the jobs  its the guy whos overseeing the economy.

The BLS is an office within the Labor Department that produces crucial economic data, including the unemployment rate, that policymakers and businesses rely upon. Trump has stoked outrageous conspiracy theories about the agency for years, alleging its employees mess with the numbers to hurt him and help his political adversaries.

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During his first run for the presidency, Trump told voters not to believe the phony numbers under the Obama administration, claiming the real unemployment rate was as high as 35 percent.

McEntarfer was confirmed as BLS commissioner in January 2024 and is supposed to serve a four-year term.

Harris said firing her would mark a grave escalation in Trumps habit of sowing doubt about the governments economic research. He said capitalism depends on certainty and transparency, which isnt what the country would get if the commissioner were beholden to the president.

The danger is that the public, economic actors, decision-makers in government and the business community and everyone else whos trying to figure out whats going on in our economy will doubt the validity of the numbers, he said. If you do not have an accurate picture of what is happening in the economy, you cannot make sound decisions.

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He added that if anyone had manipulated data, a number of whistleblowers would have stepped forward.

Key senators also had harsh words for Trump.

This is the act of somebody who is soft, weak and afraid to own up to the reality of the damage his chaos is inflicting on our economy, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.

Wyden warned that while the BLS might sound obscure to people outside of Washington, D.C, Trumps interference with jobs data is a nightmare scenario that will cause lasting damage.

Bottom line, Trump wants to cook the books, he said.

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Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who sits on the Senates finance and banking panels, emphasized that McEntarfer is a nonpolitical career civil servant who oversees economic data.

Firing the ump doesnt change the score, he said. Americans deserve to know the truth about the state of the Trump economy.
The suffering in Gaza is unconscionable.

If [President] Donald Trump wants to distract the world from his connection to the Jeffrey Epstein files, why doesnt he do something kind and worthy, like demanding a ceasefire or Israel is cut off [from U.S. aid] and feed the Palestinian people?

Opinion: 'Russia, Russia, Russia' isn't the hoax Trump wants you to believe

The entire world would take notice. He seems to enjoy power, lets hope he will use it for good.

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Nancy Knowlton, Boynton Beach

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: If Trump wants better Epstein deflections, try Palestine aid | Letter
Millions of dollars in funding are at risk across several Arizona public media organizations after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it would begin the process of shutting down.

The corporation is a private nonprofit group that provides support for hundreds of public media stations across the country. It said in a statement that it was beginning an "orderly wind-down of its operations" on Aug. 1, with most jobs expected to be cut by the end of September.

The move comes after Congress voted to revoke more than $1 billion in funding already set aside for the corporation, citing political bias  an accusation the group has firmly denied. President Donald Trump previously shared his desire to slash public media in an executive order in May titled "Ending taxpayer subsidization of biased media." The order called the government funding of news media "outdated and unnecessary" and questioned the stations' journalistic independence.

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Public broadcasting leaders across the nation have staunchly denied any claims of bias in their reporting and operations. They said the mass cuts will have a significant impact on the millions of Americans who use their services.

"Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country, said Corporation for Public Broadcasting President and CEO Patricia Harrison. We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.

More than 70% of the federal funding it previously received went to local stations through the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio. Leaders have warned that rural stations are likely to be hit the hardest.

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How will CPB's shutdown affect Arizona PBS?

Arizona PBS received more than $2 million in federal funds from the corporation, making up roughly 13% of the station's budget. The station has been exploring other funding options in hopes of filling the gap created by the loss in federal money, said senior director of brand engagement and marketing Jeremy Cauthen.

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"The loss of that funding will impact programming and station services, but it's really too soon to know what those exact impacts will be," Cauthen wrote in an email to The Arizona Republic. "For example, we're not sure how this clawback of funding will affect other public media stations nationwide  and specifically their ability to continue producing programs broadcast and streamed here at Arizona PBS."

The corporation plans on guiding local stations and producers through the upcoming "profound challenges," Harrison said.

CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care," Harrison said in a statement.

Arizona PBS has not planned for any staff cuts, but plans to hire for several new positions have stopped. Cauthen said, "Arizona PBS remains committed to serving as a resource to the people of Arizona, and that won't change."

What's the impact on KJZZ?

Jon Hoban, the general manager of KJZZ and KBACH in Phoenix, told The Republic in a previous interview that 9% of the station's budget comes from federal funds. The cuts are most likely to affect their music programming, but Hoban said he didn't envision any programming changes in the immediate months.

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Hoban said in July that station leadership had been working on alternate budgets to protect jobs and was looking for alternative funding streams from community and corporate sponsors, as well as listeners.

Our content creators and audience service teams are the reason we do this so we will try to find savings in other areas, including changes to existing contracts, cutting vendors and trimming in all other areas," Hoban said.

Maricopa County Community College District Spokesperson Lindsey Wilson was not immediately able to comment. KJZZ is a public service of Rio Salado College within the district.

KJZZ shared on Facebook this week that the station is facing a $732,000 federal funding cut. The station posted a link where listeners could donate in support.

What have Arizona politicians said about cuts to public media?

Arizona lawmakers, like most of their colleagues, have fallen along party lines on the issue. Before the Senate vote in July, Sen. Mark Kelly spoke in support of an amendment vote that would have reversed the cuts. That vote was later blocked.

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"This whole thing is a bad deal for the American people," Kelly said. "It's a gut punch to rural communities and makes us weaker and less safe on the world stage."

Both Kelly and fellow Democrat Ruben Gallego said the stations that see the largest portions of their budgets covered by federal funds are on tribal land, where internet access can often be less reliable.

Republican lawmakers have largely reiterated similar concerns as Trump, saying taxpayers should not have their money directed to media they don't support.

"With his vote for this first rescission package, Congressman Hamadeh once again made good on his promise to his constituents to eliminate wasteful spending and put America First," a post shared on U.S. Rep. Abe Hamadeh's X account read following the passage of the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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The corporation was authorized by Congress in 1967. In addition to supporting public stations across the country, it is also the largest single source of funding for research into public radio and television.

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Bill Goodykoontz and BrieAnna Frank contributed to this article.

Helen Rummel covers higher education for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at hrummel@azcentral.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @helenrummel.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutdown means for Arizona
US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines Friday in an extraordinary escalation of what had been an online war of words with a Russian official over Ukraine and tariffs.

Trump and Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's security council, have been sparring on social media for days.

Trump's post on his Truth Social platform abruptly took that spat into the very real -- and rarely publicized -- sphere of nuclear forces.

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"Based on the highly provocative statements," Trump said he had "ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that."

"Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances," the 79-year-old Republican posted.

Trump did not say in his post whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.

But in an interview with Newsmax that aired Friday night, Trump said the submarines were "closer to Russia."

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"We always want to be ready. And so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines," he said.

"I just want to make sure that his words are only words and nothing more than that."

Trump's remarks came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had started mass producing its hypersonic nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile, and could deploy them to Belarus, a close Russian ally neighbouring Ukraine, by year-end.

The nuclear sabre-rattling came against the backdrop of a deadline set by Trump for the end of next week for Russia to take steps to ending the Ukraine war or face unspecified new sanctions.

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Despite the pressure from Washington, Russia's onslaught against its pro-Western neighbor continues to unfold at full bore.

An AFP analysis Friday showed that Russian forces had launched a record number of drones at Ukraine in July.

Russian attacks have killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians since June. A combined missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Thursday killed 31 people, rescuers said.

Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half year invasion were "unchanged".

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Those demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO.

Putin, speaking alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, said Belarusian and Russian specialists "have chosen a place for future positions" of the Oreshnik missiles.

"Work is now underway to prepare these positions. So, most likely, we will close this issue by the end of the year," he added.

- Insults, nuclear rhetoric -

The United States and Russia control the vast majority of the world's nuclear weaponry, and Washington keeps nuclear-armed submarines on permanent patrol as part of its so-called nuclear triad of land, sea and air-launched weapons.

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Trump told Newsmax that Medvedev's "nuclear" reference prompted him to reposition US nuclear submarines.

"When you mention the word 'nuclear'... my eyes light up. And I say, we better be careful, because it's the ultimate threat," Trump said in the interview.

Medvedev had criticised Trump on his Telegram account Thursday and alluded to the "fabled 'Dead Hand'" -- a reference to a highly secret automated system put in place during the Cold War to control the country's nuclear weapons.

This came after Trump had lashed out at what he called the "dead economies" of Russia and India.

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Medvedev had also harshly criticized Trump's threat of new sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Accusing Trump of "playing the ultimatum game," he posted Monday on X that Trump "should remember" that Russia is a formidable force.

Trump responded by calling Medvedev "the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President."

Medvedev should "watch his words," Trump posted at midnight in Washington on Wednesday. "He's entering very dangerous territory!"

Medvedev is a vocal proponent of Russia's war -- and generally antagonistic to relations with the West.

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He served as president between 2008-2012, effectively acting as a placeholder for Putin, who was able to circumvent constitutional term limits and remain in de facto power.

The one-time reformer has rebranded over the years as an avid online troller, touting often extreme versions of official Kremlin nationalist messaging.

But his influence within the Russian political system remains limited.

In Kyiv on Friday, residents held a day of mourning for the 31 people, including five children, killed the day before, most of whom were in a nine-storey apartment block torn open by a missile.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said only Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders.

"The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia's readiness," he wrote on X.

burs-sms/sco/tym
US President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines in response to his ongoing dispute with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

This is being done "just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.

Where the submarines will be sent is unclear. In his post, Trump only referred to "appropriate regions."

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"Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances," he said.

Trump and Medvedev have been publicly clashing for days. The dispute began after Trump gave Russia a new ultimatum for a ceasefire or peace agreement with Ukraine, shortening the deadline from 50 days tp 10 to 12. It now expires next week.

In response, Medvedev threatened a direct military confrontation between Russia and the United States, stating on the platform X that any ultimatum was a step towards war.

He also referred to Trump as "grandpa" and mocked him, saying the US president should remember the dangers of zombies when philosophizing about the death of the Indian and Russian economies.

Trump had previously stated that he intended to impose at least 25% tariffs and a "penalty" on India because it buys a lot of energy from Russia, calling both economies dead.
President Donald Trumps administration keeps denying that the Department of Veteran Affairs is headed toward privatization  just like it couldnt stop denying that mass layoffs of 80,000 employees wouldnt impact veteran care. But facts have a way of catching up.

After intense pressure from veterans groups and Congress, the administration was forced to walk back its plan  cutting 30,000 jobs instead. Already, though, the VA has lost thousands of health care staff since January  including 688 physicians and 1,882 registered nurses  while still claiming its services remain unaffected.

The budget numbers dont lie  even if Trump and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins do.

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This year, the Trump administration requested a record-breaking $441 billion VA budget for fiscal year 2026. Thats a 10 percent increase over last year and, in theory, should be good news for veterans and the people who care for them.

Yet, buried in the fine print is a deeply concerning contradiction: Even with the budget expansion, the VA plans to eliminate nearly 3,000 jobs, including over 2,000 from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), which handles disability claims, education benefits, and more.

In other words, the VA is spending more money  just not on the people who keep the system running. Some are forced to work out of closets due to untenable working environments, while others are being overworked or incentivized to find work elsewhere.

While the administration claims its focused on eliminating waste and empowering local leaders, in reality, it is hollowing out the VAs internal capacity. VA staff are being stretched thin, even as more veterans enter the system.

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Instead of hiring more nurses, claims processors, or crisis responders, the administration is pushing billions of dollars into the private sector via expanded community care programs. This seems less like reform, and more like privatization by attrition.

In the House of Representatives, where the Veterans Affairs Committee advanced the Veterans ACCESS Act, the path toward privatizing veterans health care becomes clearer. Framed as a way to reduce wait times and empower veterans through online self-scheduling, the bill would expand veterans ability to seek care outside the VA system.

No one denies that veterans deserve choices in their health care. But choice without access to quality, specialized care isnt really a choice at all. Long-term cuts to Medicaid  totaling more than $1 trillion  will inevitably force the closure of many rural hospitals that veterans depend on. And with a hollowed-out or dismantled VA system, these veterans will be left sicker, poorer, and without access to the care theyve earned.

The VAs own internal analysis, the Red Team report from May 2024, has been removed from the VA.gov website. It warned that rising costs of private-sector care  $30 billion in FY2023 alone  are threatening to materially erode the VAs direct-care system. This erosion isnt hypothetical. Its happening. Staffing shortages are so severe that 82 percent of VA facilities report critical nurse vacancies  and now even more jobs are being cut.

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Rather than fix the staffing crisis, the Trump administration is shifting resources away from VA hospitals and clinics and into for-profit care. For example, Trumps executive order, Remaking the Federal Workforce, states: Upon expiration of the Day 1 hiring freeze and implementation of the hiring plan, agencies will be able to hire no more than one employee for every four employees who leave federal service (with appropriate immigration, law enforcement, and public safety exceptions). All while the Veterans ACCESS Act flies though Congress. It was introduced six months ago and is already out of committee, in lightning speed for Washington.

Combined with cuts to food assistance that many veterans rely on, reductions in federal agency staffing where one in three employees is a veteran, cuts to housing programs that prevent veteran homelessness, and deep cuts to Medicaid  on which over a million veterans depend  it has never been more clear: Trump and the GOP hate taking care of the veterans.

Editors note: This piece has been updated.

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President Trump doubled down Thursday on his call for the Senate to stay in session and confirm his nominees before breaking for its annual August recess.

The Senate must stay in Session, taking no recess, until the entire Executive Calendar is CLEAR!!! We have to save our Country from the Lunatic Left, Trump wrote Thursday night on Truth Social. Republicans, for the health and safety of the USA, DO YOUR JOB, and confirm All Nominees. They should NOT BE FORCED TO WAIT. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Trumps demand has been a consistent rallying cry in the past few weeks, as the Senate gears up for its extended break, with several key nominations remaining in limbo. He notably pressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to keep Senate Republicans in town, with Thune saying last week he could consider the move.

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Were thinking about it. We want to get as many [nominations] through the pipeline as we can, Thune said.

Thune told reporters Wednesday there is an expanding interest within the Senate GOP conference for a potential rule change that would accelerate the confirmation process amid the Democrats effort to slow-walk progress.

Theres certainly interest in looking at options that might enable us to break the logjam and expedite consideration of nominees in a way that, in the end, would benefit both parties when their party has the presidency, Thune said, according to CBS News.

GOP lawmakers have argued Democrats strategy is a break from tradition from how Republicans acted toward nominees during former President Bidens tenure. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumers (D-N.Y.) office hit back, with a spokesperson saying in a statement that Historically bad nominees deserve historic levels of scrutiny.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Donald Trump issued a full-throated endorsement of Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters for the role of Republican National Committee chair after pre-endorsing him for the role last week.

"He will be a wonderful Chairman!" the president declared in a lengthy Truth Social post.

Gruters is currently listed as the RNC's treasurer.

Florida Gop Lawmaker Wants To Ban Smoking On Streets, But Supports Legalizing Marijuana

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The president endorsed RNC national committeewoman from New York Jennifer Saul-Rich to take on the Treasurer post.

FILE - Joe Gruters, Florida state senator, talked with reporters ahead of Donald Trump announcing his run for president in the 2024 U.S. election during an event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, Nov. 15, 2022.

"She will be a FANTASTIC Treasurer!" he declared in the post on Friday.

Read On The Fox News App

Current RNC Chairman Michael Whatley announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in North Carolina. Trump has endorsed his campaign.

"Michael Whatley has my Complete and Total Endorsement  HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" the president said in a Friday post on Truth Social.

Trump Secures Record-shattering $1.4B For Political War Chest, Will Be Dominant Force For Gop In Midterms

FILE - Trump was seen with Joe Gruters, then chairman of the Republican Executive Committee of Sarasota County, at an event where Trump was presented as its Statesman of the Year in Sarasota, Florida, Aug. 26, 2012.

Last week, Trump pre-endorsed Whatley and noted that he would back Gruters to helm the RNC.

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"Fortunately, I have somebody who will do a wonderful job as the Chairman of the RNC. His name is, Joe Gruters, and he will have my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump noted in the post last week. "So, should Michael Whatley run for the Senate, please let this notification represent my Complete and Total Endorsement. HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!"

Trump-backed Rnc Chair Jumps Into Marquee Senate Race In Battleground North Carolina

Since GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced earlier this year that he will not seek re-election, the Senate contest will be an open race.

WATCH: INTERVIEW WITH WHATLEY ON HIS SENATE CAMPAIGN:

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is also running for the Senate seat.





Original article source: Trump endorses 'MAGA warrior' for RNC chairman after Whatley launches Senate campaign
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday accepted the World Banks Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2025-2031, marking a significant step in the 80-year collaboration between the Philippines and the World Bank Group.

Department of Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressed gratitude for the World Banks support, noting the CPFs strong alignment with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 and the nations long-term vision, AmBisyon Natin 2040.

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We welcome the World Banks Country Partnership Framework for 2025-2031, which supports our national vision as articulated in the AmBisyon Natin 2040, Balisacan said.

This framework reinforces our shared commitment to sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth by focusing on high-impact interventions promoting high-quality job generation, human capital development, climate resilience, good governance and digital transformation, he said.

Balisacan commended the World Bank for aligning the CPF with the Philippines development strategies and reaffirmed the governments dedication to implementing these reforms to achieve its socioeconomic goals.

The World Banks support will be instrumental in advancing reforms and investments that foster long-term prosperity and well-being, he said.

We look forward to working closely with the World Bank to ensure the effective implementation of the CPF. Together, we aim to translate this strategic partnership into meaningful and tangible outcomes that accelerate our progress toward a more inclusive, innovative, resilient and sustainable Philippine economy, he said.

Zafer Mustafaoglu, World Bank Groups division director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei in the East Asia and Pacific region, detailed the CPFs three transformative outcomes aimed at accelerating the countrys development.

He said the CPF seeks to advance human capital development through improved health and education. Investments in universal healthcare, child nutrition and primary care aim to provide 19 million more people with access to quality health services.

The CPF will support curriculum reform, teacher training, and digital platforms, benefiting 15 million students with enhanced educational opportunities.

Secondly, the CPF will assist the country in generating more and better jobs by supporting policy and regulatory reforms that boost competitiveness, modernize agriculture and expand digital infrastructure.

These efforts are projected to extend broadband access to an additional 19 million people. Through investments by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the CPF aims to position the Philippines as a more attractive destination for investors, mobilizing $2 billion in private capital and helping create four million higher-quality jobs.

Thirdly, the CPF will help build resilience to climate change and other shocks by supporting the modernized Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and expanding adaptive social protection to cover 12.5 million beneficiaries. The framework will also help 13 million people become more resilient to climate and disaster risks through improved infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, and enhanced disaster risk financing.

Mustafaoglu also cited the CPFs role in strengthening public sector efficiency, aiming to provide 20 million people with access to improved digital government services, further supporting inclusive and sustainable growth in the Philippines.

By supporting the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the CPF directly contributes to the Philippine governments efforts to reduce poverty, promote social and economic inclusion, and enhance the countrys capacity to withstand future shocks, Mustafaoglu said.
United States President Donald Trumps special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has travelled to Gaza to inspect aid distribution as pressure mounts on Israel over its starvation policy in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Witkoff and Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, visited aid distribution sites run by the controversial US- and Israeli-backed GHF on Friday.

Condemnation of Israel is growing over famine in Gaza and reports that more than 1,000 desperately hungry Palestinians have been killed since May at the GHF sites.

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The diplomats spent over five hours inside Gaza, Witkoff said in a post on X, accompanied by a photo of himself wearing a protective vest and meeting staff at a distribution site.

He added that the purpose of the trip was to help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.

But during Witkoffs visit, medical sources reported that elsewhere in Gaza, Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians seeking aid, including a 12-year-old boy who was reportedly shot dead while he tried to find food for his family.

We were hopeful about Witkoffs visit. We were saying, Thank God, maybe hell help, maybe hell push for a ceasefire, local resident Mahmoud Awad told Al Jazeera.

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But instead, the gunfire increased, and there was even more insistence on killing as many young men and children as possible, he said. We were hoping for a ceasefire, but instead a child died. Why did the child die?

At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other pic.twitter.com/aCtLuMuhq1  Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) August 1, 2025

Witkoffs trip came a day after more than 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the territory and health officials reported the deaths of two more children from starvation.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 162 people, including 89 children, have died from famine and malnutrition since the war began in October 2023.

On Friday, dozens of Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the Strip, hospital sources said. More than 80 people were also injured.

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Witkoff met with Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly after his arrival in the country on Thursday, the Israeli leaders office said.

Earlier this week, Trump contradicted Netanyahus insistence that reports of hunger in Gaza were untrue, with the US leader saying the enclave was experiencing real starvation.

The United Nations and independent experts had warned for months that starvation was taking hold in Gaza due to the Israeli military blockade on humanitarian relief, and this week, they said famine is now unfolding.





War crime

In a report on Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Israels use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war a war crime.

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Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families, said Belkis Wille, the groups associate crisis and conflict director.

US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths, she added.

The rights group called on states to press Israel to immediately stop its use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians and lift its restrictions on the entry of aid into Gaza. It also urged the US and Israel to suspend the GHF distribution system.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Friday, Martin Griffiths, the former under-secretary-general of the UN humanitarian affairs office, said GHFs aid distribution system has turned into a catastrophe.

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They are, in fact, under instructions by [the Israeli military]. All of this is a crime. All of this is a deep betrayal of humanitarian values, said Griffiths, who is now the director of Mediation Group International.

I think its a catastrophe more than a disappointment, he added. I think its a great sin. I think its a great crime.

The UNs rights office in the Palestinian territory said at least 1,373 people have been killed seeking aid in Gaza since May 27, including 105 in the last two days of July.

Act quickly to prevent mass starvation

Meanwhile, angered by Israels denial of aid and ongoing attacks on Gazas population, the United Kingdom, Canada and Portugal this week became the latest Western governments to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state.

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Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron said France will recognise Palestine at the UN General Assembly in September, following Spain, Norway and Irelands lead.

Some 142 countries out of the 193 members of the UN currently recognise or plan to recognise a Palestinian state.





Following a meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday, Germanys Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the humanitarian disaster in Gaza is beyond imagination.

Here, the Israeli government must act quickly, safely and effectively to provide humanitarian and medical aid to prevent mass starvation from becoming a reality, he said.

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On Friday, Wadephul said Germany would provide another $5.7m in aid for the civilian population in Gaza, giving the money to the UNs World Food Programme.

Germanys Bundeswehr armed forces started dropping aid supplies over Gaza, starting with two Luftwaffe flights carrying almost 14 tonnes of supplies, according to the German Federal Ministry of Defence. France also started to airdrop 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid.

Faced with the absolute urgency, we have just conducted a food airdrop operation in Gaza, President Emmanuel Macron said on social media platform X on Friday.

Airdrops are not enough. Israel must open full humanitarian access to address the risk of famine, he added.




President Donald Trumps Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, along with Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, visited an aid distribution site in southern Gaza on Friday.

The two officials visited the facility in Rafah operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was established in February and is backed by the U.S. and Israel. The foundation has overseen most of the aid distribution in the Palestinian enclave since a new system launched in May.

Their visit follows Witkoffs meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday to discuss the urgent humanitarian situation taking place in the enclave, CNN reported.

Fridays visit to Gaza

At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other pic.twitter.com/aCtLuMuhq1  Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) August 1, 2025

Trump sent his envoy to serve as his eyes and ears on the ground, reflecting his deep concern and commitment to doing whats right, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation spokesperson Chapin Fay said in a statement, according to CBS News.

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Fay added, We were honored to brief his delegation, share our operations, and demonstrate the impact of delivering 100 million meals to those who need them most.

In a post on X, Huckabee said he went to Gaza to observe the humanitarian food program by US launched GHF, noting the program had over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months.

In another post, Huckabee stated he traveled with Witkoff to learn the truth about the GHF aid sites, attended briefings with Israel Defense Forces and spoke to folks on the ground.

This handout photo from U.S. Embassy Jerusalem shows White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, visiting a food distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed organization approved by Israel, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. | David Azaguri

He praised GHF for delivering more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!

The hunger crisis in Gaza

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported Thursday that since late May, 1,300 Palestinians have died while seeking food, with 859 deaths occurring in the vicinity of GHF sites and 514 individuals killed along food convoy routes.

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The Gaza Health Ministry said Thursday that at least 91 Palestinians were killed, with more than 600 wounded, while seeking aid in the past 24 hours, as reported by The Associated Press.

The report continued to note the toll is only expected to rise, as those wounded were taken to hospitals in northern Gaza that are undersupplied and those individuals were not counted at the time of the reports release.

Doctors Without Borders commented on the food crisis in Gaza, noting that the way supplies are distributed to the thousands of starving Palestinians forces them to walk long distances to reach the four distribution sites and fight for scraps of food supplies.

Palestinians carry bags of flour after storming a U.N. World Food Program warehouse in Zawaida, Central Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. | Abdel Kareem Hana

The report continued, These sites are especially difficult to access for women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. People are often killed and wounded in the chaotic process; over 500 people have been killed and nearly 4,000 have been wounded while trying to get food.

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Last week, the World Food Program, a United Nations agency, described the Gaza hunger crisis as reaching new and astonishing levels of desperation.

On Monday, Trump acknowledged real starvation in Gaza. After viewing images of Palestinians, Trump remarked that those children look very hungry, adding that you cant fake that.

Trump stated the U.S. would establish food centers in Gaza because we have to get the kids fed, contradicting Netanyahus assertion that there is no starvation in Gaza, NBC News reported.
US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has for the first time visited a controversial Israel- and US-backed aid distribution site in Gaza.

Witkoff said the purpose of the trip to a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) site was to give Trump "a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza".

The visit follows near daily reports of deadly shootings at GHF points, with the UN reporting at least 859 Palestinians killed in the vicinity of the sites - a figure the GHF rejects.

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Israel says its troops have only fired warning shots and that they do not intentionally shoot civilians.

International journalists, including the BBC, are blocked by Israel from entering Gaza independently, making it difficult to verify claims.

The BBC understands Witkoff visited one of the GHF sites near Rafah in southern Gaza on Friday.

He was accompanied by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Posting on X afterwards, alongside pictures of their visit, Witkoff said: "Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies."

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Huckabee said they had received "briefings from the IDF and spoke to folks on the ground".

He claimed GHF sites were delivering "more than one million meals a day", calling it an "incredible feat".

The GHF said it had delivered 1.3m meals across three distribution sites on Thursday. It has not yet released figures for Friday. The UN says the number of meals provided by the GHF falls far short of overall nutritional requirements.

UN agencies have repeatedly warned that man-made, mass starvation is taking place in the territory.

Some Gazans who spoke to the BBC denounced Witkoff's visit as a "media stunt".

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Louay Mahmoud, who lives in Gaza, said: "Steve Witkoff won't see the hunger, only the narrative Israel wants him to see.

"This visit is a hollow media stunt, not a humanitarian mission. He comes with no solutions, only talking points designed to polish the image of an administration complicit in our suffering."

The starvation crisis in Gaza has led to international outrage [Anas Zeyad Fteha/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Amer Khayrat, a father of two who lives in Gaza City, said: "What Gaza needs isn't another envoy with a press team. We need the siege lifted, the bombing stopped, and the blind American support for this war brought to an end."

Oxfam's Americas director of peace and security, Scott Paul, said Witkoff and Huckabee during their visit would have been "confronted by scenes of countless Palestinian children and their families on the brink of starvation displaced in flattened communities outside their convoy windows".

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He added: "This must be what finally spurs the US to use its full influence to put an end to this catastrophe before we pass the point of no return."

Former US State Department official Annelle Sheline, who resigned from her role in protest at Joe Biden's policies towards Gaza last year, said Witkoff and Huckabee's visit was a "glorified photo-op, meant to obscure the reality of a dire humanitarian crisis that America has helped to author".

[BBC]

A retired US special forces officer who worked at GHF centres told the BBC last week he witnessed IDF troops and US contractors shooting at crowds of Palestinians near sites he worked at.

Lt Col Anthony Aguilar, a special forces veteran of the US Army's Green Berets, said he had never witnessed such a level of "brutality and use of indiscriminate and unnecessary force against a civilian population, an unarmed, starving population" in his entire career.

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The GHF has called Aguilar's allegations "categorically false", describing him as a "disgruntled former contractor who was terminated for misconduct", which he denies.

On Friday campaign group Human Right Watch (HRW) accused Israeli forces and US-backed contractors of establishing "a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distribution into regular bloodbaths".

HRW called for Israeli authorities "to immediately stop using lethal force as crowd control against Palestinian civilians" and called for the US and Israel to suspend the operation.

GHF aid sites replaced the UN distribution mechanism in May, sparking international outrage. Israel accused Hamas of looting UN aid, a charge Hamas denies.

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There are four GHF sites, which are located inside Israeli military zones and are operated by US private security contractors.

Eyewitnesses and medics have on several occasions described Israeli forces opening fire on crowds near the aid points.

The IDF said 126 packages of aid were airdropped into Gaza on Friday by seven different countries - Belgium, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, France, Spain and Germany.

Aid agencies say much more needs to be allowed in by land and have warned that airdrops cannot deliver the quality of aid needed.

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The UN's human rights office (OCHR) said on Thursday that at least 1,373 Palestinians had been killed while trying to get food aid in Gaza. Of those, 859 have been killed near GHF sites, it said.

The OCHR said most were killed by the Israeli military, and while they were aware of other armed groups in the same area, it added that they "do not have information indicating their involvement in these killings".

The office said it had "no information that these Palestinians were directly participating in hostilities or posed any threat to Israeli security forces".

Israel has accused Hamas of instigating the chaos near the aid sites. The GHF rejected the UN's numbers when approached for comment by the BBC.

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Meanwhile, at least 10 people have been killed in southern and central Gaza since dawn on Friday, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency.

The figure includes eight people who were killed in two separate Israeli air strikes targeting tents sheltering displaced people - in Khan Younis in the south and Deir al-Balah in the centre of the strip, the agency said.

Two others were killed and at least 20 more injured when Israeli forces opened fire near an aid distribution point along the Morag corridor, north of Rafah, the civil defence added.

Local residents said hundreds of people had gathered to get food when the shooting began.

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The BBC has approached the Israeli military for comment.

The Hamas-run health ministry said on Friday 82 people had been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours, 52 of whom were reported to be seeking aid.

Witkoff met Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Thursday for what were described by a US spokesperson as "productive" talks.

There were discussions of a major reformulation of the ceasefire negotiations, according to Israeli media reports, which include an "all-in deal" that would see all hostages held by Hamas released in a single exchange, alongside the full disarmament of Hamas. Previously, hostages were to be released in phases.

Hamas has said it will not return to the table until more aid is allowed into Gaza to address starvation.

The US and Israel pulled out of ceasefire talks last week, accusing Hamas of lacking coordination and not negotiating in good faith.

Hamas accused the Israeli side of intransigence over key sticking points in the negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine are "disgusting," adding the Kremlin has "about eight days" to make a peace deal or face sanctions, he told reporters at the White House on July 31.

"Russia, I think it's disgusting what they're doing ... I think what Russia's doing is very sad," Trump said at the briefing.

He also said Steve Witkoff, his Special Envoy for the Middle East, will pay another visit to Russia after his current trip to Israel. He did not specify the dates or agenda of his visit.

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The announcement came after a deadly Russian attack on Kyiv that killed at least 27 people and just over a week before Trump's new Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to make a peace deal to end the war against Ukraine.

Trump said the Kremlin has "about eight days" to make a deal or face sanctions though he was vague about the penalties Washington would impose if Moscow failed to reach a peace settlement.

"Yeah, we're gonna put sanctions  I don't know that sanctions bother (Russian President Vladimir Putin) ... I don't know if that has any effect, but we're gonna do it," he said.

Senior U.S. diplomat John Kelley told the United Nations Security Council on July 31 that the White House wants a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine by Aug. 8. Days earlier, Trump warned that tariffs on Moscow would take effect within 10 days unless the Kremlin agreed to a ceasefire.

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Witkoff has held in-person meetings with Putin on several previous occasions. A real estate developer with no prior diplomatic experience, Witkoff has emerged as the Trump administration's key representative in Moscow, though his reliance on Kremlin translators and comments about Russian-occupied territories have sparked concern and controversy.

As Trump's public rhetoric towards the Kremlin has toughened in recent weeks, Witkoff has also reportedly been pushing to ease sanctions against Russian energy.

Read also: When hope and horror share the night: 12 hours in wartime Kyiv (PHOTOS)

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
By Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration is actively discussing with Azerbaijan the possibility of bringing that nation and some Central Asian allies into the Abraham Accords, hoping to deepen their existing ties with Israel, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter.

As part of the Abraham Accords, inked in 2020 and 2021 during Trump's first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after U.S. mediation.

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Azerbaijan and every country in Central Asia, by contrast, already have longstanding relations with Israel, meaning that an expansion of the accords to include them would largely be symbolic, focusing on strengthening ties in areas like trade and military cooperation, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Such an expansion would reflect Trump's openness to pacts that are less ambitious than his administration's goal to convince regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia to restore ties with Israel while war rages in Gaza.

The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without steps towards Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state. A soaring death toll in Gaza and starvation in the enclave due to blockage of aid and military operations by Israel have buoyed Arab fury, complicating efforts to add more Muslim-majority countries to the Abraham Accords.

The war in Gaza, where over 60,000 people including tens of thousands of women and children have died according to local health authorities, has provoked global anger. Canada, France and the United Kingdom have announced plans in recent days to recognize an independent Palestine.

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Another key sticking point is Azerbaijan's conflict with its neighbor Armenia, since the Trump administration considers a peace deal between the two Caucasus nations as a precondition to join the Abraham Accords, three sources said.

While Trump officials have publicly floated several potential entrants into the accords, the talks centered on Azerbaijan are among the most structured and serious, the sources said. Two of the sources argued a deal could be reached within months or even weeks.

Trump's special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, in March to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aryeh Lightstone, a key Witkoff aide, met Aliyev later in the spring in part to discuss the Abraham Accords, three of the sources said.

As part of the discussions, Azerbaijani officials have contacted officials in Central Asian nations, including in nearby Kazakhstan, to gauge their interest in a broader Abraham Accords expansion, those sources said. It was not clear which other countries in Central Asia - which includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan - were contacted.

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The State Department, asked for comment, did not discuss specific countries, but said expanding the accords has been one of the key objectives of Trump. "We are working to get more countries to join," said a U.S. official.

The Azerbaijani government declined to comment.

The White House, the Israeli foreign ministry and the Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Any new accords would not modify the previous Abraham Accords deals signed by Israel.

OBSTACLES REMAIN

The original Abraham Accords - inked between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan - were centered on restoration of ties. The second round of expansion appears to be morphing into a broader mechanism designed to expand U.S. and Israeli soft power.

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Wedged between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan occupies a critical link in trade flows between Central Asia and the West. The Caucasus and Central Asia are also rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, prompting various major powers to compete for influence in the region.

Expanding the accords to nations that already have diplomatic relations with Israel may also be a means of delivering symbolic wins to a president who is known to talk up even relatively small victories.

Two sources described the discussions involving Central Asia as embryonic - but the discussions with Azerbaijan as relatively advanced.

But challenges remain and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached, particularly with slow progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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The two countries, which both won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh - an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.

In 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh, prompting about 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both sides have since said they want to sign a treaty on a formal end to the conflict.

Primarily Christian Armenia and the U.S. have close ties, and the Trump administration is wary of taking action that could upset authorities in Yerevan.

Still, U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump himself, have argued that a peace deal between those two nations is near.

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"Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there," Trump told reporters earlier in July. "And it's pretty close."

(Reporting by Gram Slattery in Washington; Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington, Emily Rose in Jerusalem and Nailia Bagirova in BakuEditing by Humeyra Pamuk and Deepa Babington)
As part of the Abraham Accords, inked in 2020 and 2021 during Trump's first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.

President Donald Trump's administration is actively discussing with Azerbaijan the possibility of bringing that nation and some Central Asian allies into the Abraham Accords, hoping to deepen their existing ties with Israel, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter.

As part of the Abraham Accords, inked in 2020 and 2021 during Trump's first term in office, four Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel after US mediation.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Azerbaijan and every country in Central Asia, by contrast, already have longstanding relations with Israel, meaning that an expansion of the accords to include them would largely be symbolic, focusing on strengthening ties in areas like trade and military cooperation, said the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Such an expansion would reflect Trump's openness to pacts that are less ambitious than his administration's goal to convince regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia to restore ties with Israel while war rages in Gaza.

The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without steps towards Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state. A soaring death toll in Gaza and starvation in the enclave due to the blockage of aid and military operations by Israel have buoyed Arab fury, complicating efforts to add more Muslim-majority countries to the Abraham Accords.

Washington DC, USA - September 15, 2020: Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan attend the Abraham Accords ceremony in The White House (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

The war in Gaza, where over 60,000 people have died, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, has provoked global anger. Canada, France, and the United Kingdom have announced plans in recent days to recognize an independent Palestine.

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Another key sticking point is Azerbaijan's conflict with its neighbor Armenia, since the Trump administration considers a peace deal between the two Caucasus nations as a precondition to join the Abraham Accords, three sources said.

While Trump officials have publicly floated several potential entrants into the accords, the talks centered on Azerbaijan are among the most structured and serious, the sources said. Two of the sources argued a deal could be reached within months or even weeks.

Trump's special envoy for peace missions, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Azerbaijan's capital, Baku, in March to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Aryeh Lightstone, a key Witkoff aide, met Aliyev later in the spring in part to discuss the Abraham Accords, three of the sources said.

As part of the discussions, Azerbaijani officials have contacted officials in Central Asian nations, including in nearby Kazakhstan, to gauge their interest in a broader Abraham Accords expansion, those sources said. It was not clear which other countries in Central Asia, which include Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, were contacted.

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The State Department, asked for comment, did not discuss specific countries, but said expanding the accords has been one of the key objectives of Trump. "We are working to get more countries to join," said a US official.

The Azerbaijani government declined to comment.

The White House, the Israeli foreign ministry, and the Kazakhstani embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Any new accords would not modify the previous Abraham Accords deals signed by Israel.

Obsticles still remain

The original Abraham Accords - inked between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan - were centered on the restoration of ties. The second round of expansion appears to be morphing into a broader mechanism designed to expand US and Israeli soft power.

Advertisement Advertisement

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Wedged between Russia to the north and Iran to the south, Azerbaijan occupies a critical link in trade flows between Central Asia and the West. The Caucasus and Central Asia are also rich in natural resources, including oil and gas, prompting various major powers to compete for influence in the region.

Expanding the accords to nations that already have diplomatic relations with Israel may also be a means of delivering symbolic wins to a president who is known to talk up even relatively small victories.

Two sources described the discussions involving Central Asia as embryonic, but the discussions with Azerbaijan as relatively advanced.

But challenges remain, and there is no guarantee a deal will be reached, particularly with slow progress in talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement Advertisement

The two countries, which both won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh - an Azerbaijani region that had a mostly ethnic-Armenian population - broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia.

In 2023, Azerbaijan retook Karabakh, prompting about 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia. Both sides have since said they want to sign a treaty on a formal end to the conflict.

Primarily Christian Armenia and the US have close ties, and the Trump administration is wary of taking action that could upset authorities in Yerevan.

Still, US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump himself, have argued that a peace deal between those two nations is near.

"Armenia and Azerbaijan, we worked magic there," Trump told reporters earlier in July. "And it's pretty close."
President Donald Trump directed his Administration on Friday to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after the agency released a report that showed that the U.S. added fewer jobs in July than many economists had expected, indicating that job growth has stalled in the aftermath of Trump enacting a number of controversial economic policies.

The President slammed Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the bureau, on Truth Social, saying that the country's jobs report was "being produced by a Biden Appointee."

"We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump said in his post. "I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they cant be manipulated for political purposes."

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The report, released earlier in the day, found that the U.S. added 73,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate increased slightly, from 4.1% in June to 4.2% in July.

The data come after economists have expressed concern that the Trump Administrations flip-flopping tariff policies and sweeping layoffs at federal agencies could slow economic growth. Some Democratic lawmakers slammed the Administration upon the release of the Labor Departments report.

American families deserve an economy that works for them. But under president Trump, job growth is slowing, costs keep rising, and the Big Ugly Law is stripping health care from millions, Democratic Rep. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, said in a press release. While he hands out tax breaks to billionaires and stokes reckless trade wars, middle-class families are left paying the price.

Read More: Why Growing the Economy from the Bottom Up is Americas Best Bet

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Heres what to know about the latest jobs data.

The report made significant revisions to data from past months

In addition to releasing July employment data, the Labor Department also revised data from May and June based on recalculations and additional information received from businesses and government agencies.

The revisions, the report says, were larger than normal. Employment in May and June combined is 258,000 lower than what the department previously reported. Those revisions meant that only 19,000 jobs were added in May (before, the department had reported 144,000) and just 14,000 jobs were added in June (the department had previously reported 147,000). The significant revisions to the data suggests that the labor market may be struggling more than experts previously thought.

The federal government sector continued to lose jobs

Federal government employment fell again in July, with a loss of 12,000 jobs, according to the report. The sector has lost 84,000 jobs since the start of the year. The report notes that employees who are on paid leave or are receiving ongoing severance pay are considered employed, and so are not included in this tally.

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The Trump Administration has initiated mass layoffs across a number of federal agencies in recent months, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, among others.

Read More: Achieving Sustainable Growth Requires Rethinking the Economy

The manufacturing industry lost jobs for the third month in a row

The U.S. also lost 11,000 manufacturing jobs last month, marking the third month in a row that employment has declined in that industry. The sector lost 15,000 jobs in June and 11,000 in May.

The Trump Administration has said that tariffs would help manufacturers and push Americans to buy products domestically. But reports have indicated that manufacturers have struggled as tariffs have driven up the cost of materials from other countries.

Where jobs are still growing

Employment continued to increase in two industries: health care and social assistance.

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The health care industry added 55,000 jobs in July, above the average monthly addition of 42,000 jobs over the prior 12 months. Job gains in that sector last month occurred particularly in ambulatory health care services and hospitals, according to the report.

About 18,000 jobs were added in social assistance last month. According to the Wall Street Journal, health care and social assistance are industries that typically thrive regardless of the state of the economy.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of science, medical and other federal grants to UCLA worth more than $300 million, citing the university's alleged "discrimination" in admissions and failure to "promote a research environment free of antisemitism."

The decision to pull funding comes after Atty. Gen.Pam Bondi and the Justice Department said this week that UCLA would pay a "heavy price" for acting with "deliberate indifference" to the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students who complained of antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Israel's ensuing war in Gaza and campus protests the events spurred last year.

Read more: Ivy League universities paid hundreds of millions to settle with Trump. Is UCLA next?

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The cancellation of grants is the first large-scale targeted funding claw-back against UCLA under the Trump administration. Until now, the White House has largely focused its attempts to remake higher education on elite East Coast schools such as Columbia, Brown and the University of Pennsylvania. Each has reached deals with the government in recent weeks over issues including admissions, Jewish student life, student discipline, antisemitism training and gender identity in sports.

In a letter to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk dated Wednesday, the National Science Foundation wrote that it was terminating grants because "the University of California  Los Angeles continues to engage in race discrimination including in its admissions process, and in other areas of student life."

Dozens of NSF grants have been canceled. About half of the funds were already distributed. Before the letter was released Thursday, researchers were expecting the other half to follow.

In a letter to the university community Thursday, Frenk wrote that the canceled grants are from NSF, NIH and other federal agencies, but he did not give a dollar amount or list the other agencies. A partial list of suspended grants reviewed by The Times Thursday added up to roughly $200 million. The list was provided by a source who was not authorized to share the information.

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Updated information shared with The Times on Friday by UC and Trump administration officials showed the figure at greater than $300 million, including suspended grants from the Department of Energy.

Frenk called the government's decision "deeply disappointing" and "a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do."

"In its notice to us, the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons," Frenk wrote. "This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination."

Spokespersons for the NSF and NIH did not immediately reply to requests for comment Thursday.

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Read more: UCLA violated Jewish students civil rights with deliberate indifference, feds say

The federal government's decision to cut UCLA off from significant federal funds follows a similar playbook to its dealings with Ivy League institutions.

The Trump administration this spring canceled billions of dollars in federal grants to Harvard, which has sued in federal court to reverse the terminations and stop a Trump move to rescind its ability to host international students. Harvard is separately in negotiations with the White House to end the legal fight.

Columbia University in July agreed to pay more than $200 million to the federal government to resolve investigations over alleged antisemitism amid its response to 2024 pro-Palestinian protests. On Wednesday, Brown University also came to a $50-million agreement with the White House. The Brown payment will go toward Rhode Island workforce development programs.

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The Department of Justice said this week that it had found UCLA guilty of violating the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli students. The department also indicated that it wanted to the university to enter into negotiations to avoid a federal lawsuit.

The department gave UCLA a Tuesday deadline to communicate its desire to negotiate. If not, the DOJ said, it was ready to sue by Sept. 2.

The University of California, in a statement, was unclear on whether it would settle or go to court.

Read more: Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220 million in deal with Trump to restore federal funding

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"UCLA has addressed and will continue to address the issues raised in [the] Department of Justice notice," Stett Holbrook, associate director of Strategic and Critical Communications, wrote in a statement Wednesday. He cited a $6.45-million settlement the university reached with Jewish students who had sued over claims that the 2024 encampment had discriminated against them.

"We have cooperated fully with the Department of Justices investigation and are reviewing its findings closely," Holbrook wrote.

In his Thursday letter, Frenk shot back against the cuts.

"Let me be clear: Federal research grants are not handouts. Our researchers compete fiercely for these grants, proposing work that the government itself deems vital to the countrys health, safety and economic future," he wrote.

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"Grants lead to medical breakthroughs, economic advancement, improved national security and global competitiveness  these are national priorities," Frenk wrote, adding that "we are actively evaluating our best course of action. We will be in constant communication as decisions move forward."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
President Donald Trump says he did not know why sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein stole Virginia Giuffre from his Mar-a-Lago spa, as the family of the abuse survivor demands answers from the president.

Earlier this week, as the firestorm over the Epstein files continued, Trump hit out at Epstein for stealing young women from his Mar-a-Lago staff, including Giuffre, the sex trafficking victim who accused Prince Andrew of assaulting her.

Virginia Giuffre, with a photo of herself as a teen, before her death by suicide. / Miami Herald / TNS

The revelation marked the first time Trump has acknowledged that Giuffre had been recruited by the disgraced financier and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, from the grounds of his Palm Beach resort, where she worked at the spa when she was 17.

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This prompted her family to release a statement on Wednesday night, saying: It makes us ask if he was aware of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwells criminal actions, especially given his statement two years later that his good friend Jeffrey likes women on the younger side  no doubt about it. We and the public are asking for answers; survivors deserve this.

Asked on Thursday if he knew why Epstein had poached Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago, Trump replied. No, I didnt know, before hitting out the ABC reporter who asked the question.

REPORTER: Do you know Epstein was taking those young women, including Virginia Giuffre?



TRUMP: No, I didn't know. I figured it would be ABC fake news that would ask that question. One of the worst. But no I don't know really why. pic.twitter.com/Gm9SaMTr40  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 31, 2025

But no, I dont know, really, why, he continued.

But I said if hes taking anybody from Mar-a-Lago or whatever hes doing, I didnt like it. We threw him out, we dont want him at the place. I didnt like it.

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Trump also insisted that this was a story thats been known for many years.

However, in the past, stories about Trump kicking Epstein out of his club had been attributed to two other scenarios: the first was that they fell out over a property dispute; the second was that Epstein hit on a club members child.

President Donald Trump and late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein were friends for at least 15 years. / Davidoff Studios Photography / Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images

The White House has also previously said the sex trafficker was thrown out because he was a creep.

The discrepancies have raised further questions for the president, who spent years socializing with Epstein, but insists he had nothing to do with his sex trafficking of young women and girls.

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Epstein pleaded guilty in a Florida state court in 2008 to procuring a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute. He died by suicide in a Manhattan jail on August 10, 2019 as he was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving underage girls.

In 2022, Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years prison on federal charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy for helping Epstein recruit and abuse underage girls.

Giuffre, who became one of Epsteins most vocal survivors as she demanded justice for his victims, died by suicide in April.

In her 2016 deposition, Giuffre said she was sitting outside the womens locker room at Trumps Mar-a-Lago spa around 2000, reading a book on massage therapy, when Maxwell befriended her and then ultimately recruited her as one of Epsteins sex slaves.

She told me that she knew somebody that was looking for a traveling masseuse, she said at the time. If the guy likes you then, you know, it will work out for you. Youll travel. Youll make good money.
President Donald Trump is once again pushing the widely disputed claim that Barack Obama attempted to stage a coup after the 2016 election, and insists those involved must pay.

In a flurry of posts on Truth Social, the president has returned to his familiar playbook of trying to distract his MAGA base from the ongoing fallout of the Epstein files by repeating unfounded accusations against Obama and former U.S. intelligence officials who concluded Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

The Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX is now TOTALLY UNDISPUTED! THE FACTS ARE ALL THERE, IN BLACK AND WHITE, Trump posted Friday morning. It is the biggest scandal in American History. The perpetrators of this CRIME must pay a big price. This can never be allowed to happen in our Country again!

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He then shared a video from The Daily Signal featuring right-wing historian Victor Davis Hanson accusing Obama-era intelligence leaders of conspiring to destroy Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton. They must pay for the crime of the Century, Trump added.

Barack Obama said the claims against him were so

The renewed attacks stem from claims made earlier this month by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who cited newly declassified documents to allege a treasonous conspiracy by Obama and senior national security officials to fabricate Russian election interference in order to undermine the legitimacy of the results.

Gabbard alleged that Obama, as well as national security officials, engaged in a treasonous conspiracy by manufacturing evidence of Russian interference at the 2016 election, and therefore trying to undermine the legitimacy of the results.

Gabbard accused Obama and his team of trying to lay the groundwork for what was essentially a years-long coup against President Trump while presenting misleading information.

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Gabbards claims rely heavily on an apparent contradiction regarding U.S. intelligence findings in Jan. 2017 that Russia ran an influence campaign to help Trump in 2016 and separate unfounded claims that Moscow successfully manipulated votes in favor of the Republcian.

However, the Obama administration never claimed Russia changed vote totals or hacked voting machines.

In 2020, a report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, which included the current Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also found that Russia had tried to help Trumps 2016 campaign.

Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes, Obamas office said in response to Gabbards allegations.

Tulsi Gabbard recommended a criminal investigation into the claims surrounding the Obama administration and the 2016 election. / Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Elsewhere, a number of Trump loyalists including Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino have reacted with glee after declassified documents showed the FBI investigated intelligence reports alleging Clinton approved a plan to try and vilify Trump by linking him to Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2016 election.

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However, as noted by The New York Times, an annex to a 2023 report by Special Counsel John Durham suggests that this supposed approval from Clinton may have been out together by Russian spies.

The Truth Social posts from Trump attacking Obama came as the president continues to dig himself deeper into the furore about what he knows about the crimes of Epstein, the billionaire pedophile who died in Aug. 2019.

After years of claiming their friendship ended over a real estate dispute, Trump now says he cut ties with Epstein because the financier stole young workers from Mar-a-Lago.

He took people. I say, Dont do it anymore, you know, they work for me, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. He took some others. Once he did that, that was the end of him.

One of the women Trump alleged Epstein stole from him was Virginia Giuffre, a sex trafficking victim of Epsteins who died via suicide in April.
President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. on Tuesday welcomed the launch of the World Bank Groups Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for the Philippines, calling it a vital step toward achieving a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable nation under his administrations vision.

Speaking during the ceremonial turnover of the CPF 20252031 at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacanang, Mr. Marcos outlined the frameworks alignment with his five-year development plan, emphasizing its focus on healthcare, education, private sector job creation, and climate resilience.

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Our economy has grown steadily, and investments are creating quality jobs, President Marcos said.

But we know there is more work to be done to ensure progress is truly felt by every Filipino, wherever they may be, he added.

The CPF outlines three key outcome areas: improving health and education systems, creating quality private sector jobs, and enhancing disaster and climate change preparedness.

The president noted these align closely with his State of the Nation Address commitments, including expanded access to healthcare, improved education, and more robust disaster response infrastructure.

In particular, the president cited the Philippines Health Systems Resilience Project as a cornerstone initiative in delivering equitable healthcare, especially in underserved regions like the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

We are giving our people not only longer lives, but hope, security, and dignity, Marcos said.

He also stressed the importance of matching students skills with industry needs to prepare the youth for future leadership and innovation roles.

On job creation, the president highlighted ongoing efforts to streamline regulations, enhance infrastructure, and attract more investors to stimulate household income growth and economic competitiveness.

He said climate resilience has become more urgent in the face of global environmental changes.

We are redefining resilience not just as the ability to bounce back, but to bounce forward, through sustainable urban planning, environmental conservation, and anticipatory governance, President Marcos stated.

He emphasized digital transformation and e-governance as pillars of a more reliable and transparent government, while expressing gratitude to the World Bank for its eight decades of partnership with the Philippines.

From building infrastructure to confronting climate challenges, the World Bank has been with us every step of the way, Mr. Marcos said.

You have not only provided financing but also technical expertise and a collaborative spirit that pushes us to deliver lasting impact, he added.
By Christian Martinez

(Reuters) -The small African country Lesotho received a modified tariff rate of 15% Thursday from U.S. President Donald Trump as the nation continued to reel from high tariffs the administration had threatened to implement earlier this year.

In an executive order, Trump modified reciprocal tariff rates for dozens of countries, including Lesotho, which had been under threat of a 50% rate since April, the highest of any U.S. trading partner.

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The Trump administration defended its tariff rate on the mountain kingdom in Southern Africa as reciprocal, stating that Lesotho charged 99% tariffs on U.S. goods.

Lesotho officials have said they do not know how the White House arrived at that figure.

After announcing the barrage of reciprocal tariffs in April, the administration paused implementation to give countries time to negotiate.

Under the tariff threat and uncertainty, many U.S. importers canceled orders of Lesotho-produced textiles, leading to mass layoffs.

"If we still have these high tariffs, it means we must forget about producing for the U.S. and go as fast as we can ... (looking for) other available markets," Teboho Kobeli, owner of Afri-Expo, which makes jeans for export, told Reuters earlier this year.

(Reporting by Christian Martinez; Editing by Jamie Freed)
President Donald Trump said on Friday he's ordered two nuclear submarines to move to the "appropriate regions" in response to what he called "highly provocative statements" from the deputy chair of Russia's security council, Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump announced the move in a post to his social media platform. He did not specify in the post exactly where the submarines would be going or what capabilities the submarines have.

"Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump wrote.

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"Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances," he added.

Trump spoke more on the move as he left the White House on Friday afternoon.

"Well, we had to do that. We just have to be careful," he told reporters. "And a threat was made and we didn't think it was appropriate. So, I have to be very careful. So, I do that on the basis of safety of our people."

"A threat was made by a former president of Russia and we're going to protect our people," Trump added.

AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Belgrade, Oct. 19, 2019 and President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, July 29, 2025.

The White House has not elaborated on questions surrounding Trump's announcement, including when the submarines were deployed, whether there is a mission statement for the moves and whether the submarines were nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered.

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A White House official declined to give any specifics, saying only that it is all part of a plan of "strategic ambiguity."

The Defense Department has not provided any information either, instead referring all questions from reporters to the White House.

Despite the silence on any pertinent information, White House officials were quick to tout the move on social media. White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields reposted a screenshot of President Trump's post with the caption "USA!" on X.

Russia's Medvedev has recently sounded off on social media on Trump's deadline for Russia to come to a ceasefire agreement with Ukraine or face severe sanctions.

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"Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10 He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!" Medvedev posted on X earlier this week.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted Trump's statement on X.

Specialist 1st Class Ryan Riley/U.S. Navy - PHOTO: The Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Maine transits the Puget Sound during routine operations, March 18, 2025.

MORE: Ukraine, Russia respond to Trump's new ceasefire deadline as strikes continue

Trump has expressed growing frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. Russia launched a record 6,443 drones into Ukraine in July, ABC News reported.

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On Monday, Trump announced he was moving up the timeline for Russia to make peace or face what he called secondary sanctions from 50 days to 10 days.

"I want to be generous, but we just don't see any progress being made," Trump said. "I'm not so interested in talking anymore."
Donald Trump announced that he had ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines towards Russia in response to threats from the countrys former president.

The US president said he was sending the vessels to appropriate regions in a move that broke decades of Pentagon secrecy around high-level deployments.

It comes after Mr Trump was engaged in a war of words with Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and the deputy chairman of the countrys security council.

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Earlier this week, Mr Medvedev warned the US president to soften his stance on the Ukraine war, reminding him of Russias nuclear arsenal.

Mr Trump wrote on social media:

Trump's Truth Social post

Asked on Friday evening about his decision to deploy nuclear submarines to Russia, Mr Trump told reporters it was to protect our people.

The US presidents threats come as he has been rapidly increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine.

Putin has less than a week to respond to Mr Trumps 10-day deadline for him to move towards peace or face Russias closest trading partners, such as China and India, being hit by crippling sanctions.

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It is not clear which submarines Mr Trump has moved, but experts said some nuclear armed vessels were already likely to be positioned around Russia.

However, Nato nuclear doctrine dictates that all movements remain shrouded in secrecy to maintain strategic ambiguity. Deployments are kept secret in order to keep adversaries guessing and minimise the threat of escalation.

US presidents have only publicly signalled movements in moments of extreme pressure, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 or the Yom Kippur War of 1972.

The announcement carries the risk of a response-in-kind from Putin and an escalatory spiral from there. However, experts said the Russian president would be able to understand Mr Trumps signalling, and a material escalation was unlikely.

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On Thursday, Mr Trump had said he was disgusted with Russias deadly drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, in the latest of a series of signals that his patience with a leader for whom he once expressed admiration has snapped.

On Friday, analysis showed that Russian forces had fired a record number of drones at Ukraine in July. Russian attacks have killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians since June.

The president revealed on Friday he had been informed that almost 200,000 Russian soldiers died this month while Ukraine had only lost approximately 8,000 since the beginning of the year, while calling once more for an end to the fighting.

Moscows army has launched a series of gruelling offensives on the eastern front that have delivered rising territorial gains at great cost. In July, it captured 275 square miles, on top of 227 in June and 196 in May.

Ukraine - Russia's advance has accelerated

Putin showed no sign that he would bend to pressure from Mr Trump in a statement issued on Friday afternoon, which cast the US presidents turn against Moscow as the product of unreasonable expectations.

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As for any disappointments on the part of anyone, all disappointments arise from inflated expectations. This is a well-known general rule, he said.

Without progress in negotiations, Mr Trump has threatened to announce steep tariffs against Russia and nations that purchase its oil, such as China and India, on Aug 8.

On Friday, two vessels loaded with Russian oil on their way to refineries in India were diverted to other destinations, Reuters reported. India is seeking alternative supplies from Azerbaijan, Nigeria and the US, in a sign of concern among its leadership. It also moved to purchase oil from the Gulf, trade data showed.

Mr Trumps nuclear threats followed his war of words with Mr Medvedev, who had invoked Russias semi-automated nuclear launch system, saying the US president should remember how dangerous the fabled Dead Hand can be.

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The former Russian president has become the regimes most outspoken voice over the course of the war, with Ukrainian officials making much of a rumoured drinking problem and even some inside the Kremlin deeming him a loose cannon.

Dmitry Medvedev has been locked in a war of words with Donald Trump - Ekaterina Shtukina/Sputnik

The US Navy has 71 nuclear-powered submarines in its fleet, all of which can travel thousands of miles at high speeds.

Military experts said Mr Trump was most likely to have deployed two Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. Each vessel is armed with up to 24 Trident II nuclear missiles.

Dr Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, said that [Trumps] implicit nuclear threat is significant.

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However, he added that a portion of the US strategic nuclear submarine fleet is continuously at sea and deployed in areas which would enable it to strike targets if need be. He said: I dont think theres a massive change there operationally. Its more the fact that hes chosen to publicly discuss the deployment of these capabilities.

Mr Kaushal said that, given Russias nuclear exercises and the Russian presidents threats to use an atomic bomb, it seems unlikely they would misunderstand the signal.

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US President Donald Trump ordered the positioning of two nuclear submarines in the appropriate regions Friday, in response to what he described as highly provocative and inflammatory statements from Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russias security council.

Trumps order was given a day after Medvedev warned in a Telegram post of Russias nuclear strike capabilities. Earlier in the week, the former Russian president said that new US sanctions on Russia would be considered a step towards war. In July, Trump accused Medvedev of throwing around the N word (Nuclear!).

Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, Trump wrote in a social media post announcing Fridays move. I hope this will not be one of those instances.
US President Donald Trump says he has moved two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions in response to threats from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of the dictator Vladimir Putin.

Its an almost completely meaningless gesture, however. The United States has 14 Ohio class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines: at least two of them will already have been ready to strike Russia before the current war of words between Medvedev and Trump began. Each boat carries up to 24 Trident II missiles, each of which generally carries four warheads  each one powerful enough to rip the guts out of a city.

For many decades now, every second of every hour, around the clock, every day of every year, there have been US (and French, and British) submarines ready and in position to destroy Russia. There was no need to move any of them to achieve that.

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Indeed, there would be good reasons not to do so, at least in the case of the subs already in place. A deterrent submarine on patrol is trying extremely hard not to be found: thats the whole point of putting ballistic missiles on submarines  doing so means they are all but impossible to locate, and so all but impossible to knock out in a pre-emptive strike.

A patrolling deterrent boat, therefore, moves through the water very slowly and stealthily. Changing location significantly would probably involve speeding up and becoming easier to find, which would not be a particularly good idea. The President might, of course, have ordered additional boats onto station: but the ones already on duty would be plenty. And as commander-in-chief, Mr Trump could perfectly well claim to have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned simply in the normal course of business.

Words matter, especially in the context of nuclear armageddon. Mr Trumps intention is no doubt to signify that he is not cowed by Medvedevs bluster. But as a practical matter, the action he says he has taken doesnt change anything very much.

Lewis Page is a former officer of the Royal Navy

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Its Tariff Day, the day when President Donald Trump said he would impose severe tariffs on countries that failed to sign trade deals beneficial to the U.S. economy. Whatever ones take on tariffs in general, Trumps specific threats and actions amount to a case study of incoherencerooted in personal pique, shameless extortion, a dim understanding of global supply chains, and a style of thinking that lacks a strategic dimension.

First there are the inconsistencies. Earlier this week, Trump insisted that the Aug. 1 deadline was inviolablethen, the day before it set in, he allowed Mexico a 90-day extension (repeating the delay he allowed Mexico and Canada just before a similar deadline earlier this year), making the rest of the world wonder just how serious these threats are.

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Second, the trade deals reached so far are hardly what they seem. Trump announced, and much of the American media duly reported, that Japan avoided higher tariffs by agreeing to set up a $500 billion investment fund, which Trump would control and of which the U.S. Treasury would share half the profits. Japans official readout of the deal included no such language, yet the media reports inflamed distrust and debate within Tokyos parliament, which was already in turmoil after elections returned control of the upper house to the opposition party. Nice way to treat Americas major ally in Asia.

Similarly, the European Union reportedly agreed to a deal that would vastly increase purchases of fuel and military hardware from the U.S. Yet initial press reports omitted three vital bits of fine print. First, the specified amount of fuel exceeds European demand; the EU doesnt buy weapons (those purchases are made by individual governments); and the EUs official readout noted, in boldface type, that the deal was not legally binding. In other words, the EU was saying: Well do, and not do, what wed like.

Other countriesand, one hopes, the American universities from which Trump has extracted bribes in order to avoid deeper punishmentmight glean a lesson here: Its possible to put one over on Trump, as long as it looks like he won the faceoff, even for a little while. Once that first impression is made, hell lose interest; you can go about your business. As a Japanese official noted, If we dont put anything in writing, we dont have to fulfill Trumps demands.

Third, Trumps main target in all this is Chinawhich truly does have a record of unfair trading policies and should be dealt with in one way or anotherbut his tendency to view relationships as isolated transactions wrecks what leverage he might have.

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For instance, Trump announced today that he was imposing a 40 percent tariff not only on certain goods from China but also on transshipments of goods that go from China through a third country before moving on to the United Statesthis on top of whatever tariffs might already be leveled against the complicit parties.

Yet, not long after, he assured Philippines president Bongbong Marcos, during his visit to the White House, that he should feel free to have good relations with China because the U.S. has good relations with China as well.

U.S.China relations are complicated. The two countries have shared interests in some realms, conflicting interests in others. Managing both sets of interests requires a mix of cooperation and confrontation. This is a challenging task. But pounding China with high-pressure economic penalties, while encouraging one of our close Asian allies to do the opposite, is a recipe for confusion and self-defeat.

Fourth, some of the tariffs are weakening the American industries that Trump said (and probably really believed) they would help. U.S. automakersassumed to be the biggest beneficiaries of tariffsare in fact hurting, forced to raise prices because they import many of their component parts from China and other countries whose imports are taxed. The same is, or will soon be, true of many U.S.-based electronics firms, which also depend on foreigners for vital parts. Some of these firmsincluding a small Minnesota loudspeaker company profiled in the New York Timesmay relocate, possibly to Canada, in order to avoid paying higher prices for these parts. Thisthe inexorable result of the vastly entangled global supply chainis the exact opposite effect that Trump intended.

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Finally, those seeking rhyme or reason in Trumps trade policies will be further baffled by the clear fact that much of what hes doing is driven by pure personal spite. He threatened to levy a 50 percent tariff on Brazil unless its government dropped criminal charges against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was jailed for plotting a coup. Bolsonaro was a friend and ally of Trumps, therefore his arrest and prosecutionin the words of Trumps emergency executive order on the tariffthreaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

This is a mix of Don Corleone (Ill make you an offer you cant refuse) and King Louis XIV (Letat, cest moi), and its appalling that anyoneincluding any U.S. officeholdercontinues to respect, much less honor and obey, any president who so arrogantly conflates the nations interests with his own.

Brazils current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is openly resisting Trumps pressure. He can do so, in part, because Brazil doesnt depend much on the U.S. for trade. But Trumps vindictive move is not merely ineffective; its also damaging to U.S. interests. It has boosted Lulas popularity at home and triggered a wave of hostility toward the arrogant giant to the north. And it has opened up a market for China, whose trade officials jetted to Brasilia just hours after Trump published his edict. (Here again is another instance where even an ounce of strategic thinking could have averted a major politico-economic setback.)

Canada, alas, does not enjoy the same insularity from the U.S. economy. So when Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would recognize a Palestinian state, amid reports of Israels infliction of widespread starvation in Gaza, Trump said he would strike back with 35 percent tariffs on the neighbor to the north. Trump, who finds it irritating that Canadians laugh at his desire to turn the country into the 51st state, may have just been looking for an excuse. Carney cleverly eluded tariffs in his last faceoff with Trump, agreeing to do certain things that he was already doing. Its worth noting that 147 of the U.N.s 193 nations recognize Palestinian statehood, yet Trump hasnt cited that as cause for tariffing any of them.

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It is possible that Trumps moves, against Brazil and Canada in particular, are illegal. A federal district judge is currently mulling whether to rule all of his tariffs illegal. The question is whether Trump careswhether hell keep pushing for tariffs, regardless of what some judge saysand what the rest of the world will do in return.

The United States led the way in creating the international financial system at the end of World War II, largely because free trade seemed the best way to swell the American economy and to promote American interests throughout the world (or at least the free world). This is no longer so clearly the case; deindustrialization (especially in the face of lower wages in other countries) and the rise of economic competitors (especially China) have turned some of the rules against our interests. This is what has made tariffs, or other forms of protectionism, appealingand, in some carefully targeted cases, justified.

But it does nobody, least of all Americans, any good by turning the United States into a coercive power and twisting the entire global economy into the hunting grounds for one presidents vindictive escapades. Many countries may have to submit in the short run, but they will plotthey are already plottingpaths of revenge and resistance: reciprocal tariffs or boycotts where they can manage (try finding Kentucky bourbon or California zins in a Canadian liquor store); new supply chains that purposefully avoid the United States; succumbing to alternative suppliers, including China, whose influence they would rather avoid, in order to escape Trumps blackmail.

Trump is reshaping the world, but not in the way that he imagines.
Two senior Trump administration officials visited an aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip on Friday, as Washington's close ally Israel faces an international outcry over the widespread hunger afflicting the war-torn Palestinian territory.

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, toured a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed the US and Israel.

Huckabee shared photos of the visit on X, where he called the GHF's work "incredible."

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"We received briefings from the Israel Defense Forces and spoke to folks on the ground," he wrote.

Huckabee said he went to Gaza with Witkoff in order "to learn the truth" about the humanitarian situation there after 21 months of war.

In one of the photos, Witkoff could be seen wearing a black "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" hat.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the two officials would use the visit to help "secure a plan to deliver more food" to Gaza.

The GHF is highly contentions. With the help of US contractors, it distributes humanitarian aid through channels that bypass UN agencies, which have long played a leading role in delivering food, medicine and supplies to Palestinians.

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There are frequent reports of desperately hungry Palestinians being killed while attempting to access food at GHF distribution sites.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump said there was "real starvation" occurring in Gaza.

Israel has significantly limited aid deliveries for months, allowing little to no humanitarian access to the coastal territory, although its restrictions have eased in recent days.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites amid controversy over the distribution of aid in the Strip.

"Went into Gaza today [and] observed humanitarian food program by U.S.-launched GHF. Hamas hates GHF [because] it gets food to [people without] it being looted by Hamas. Over 100 MILLION meals served in 2 months," Huckabee wrote on X. In a separate post, Huckabee hailed GHFs work as "an incredible feat."

Huckabee, Witkoff Slated For High-stakes Gaza Visit To Address 'Dire' Starvation Crisis

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"At [President Trump's] direction, [U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee] and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with [GHF] and other agencies. The purpose of the visit was to give [President Trump] a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza," Witkoff wrote on X after the visit.

GHF also posted about the visit, saying it was the organizations "privilege and honor" to have the Trump officials at one of its sites as it delivered its 100 millionth meal.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speak with an air working in Gaza as they visit a distribution site run by the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: What To Know About The Us-backed Aid Group

Read On The Fox News App

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"The GHF food program is working. Its working very well," Huckabee told Fox News Brian Kilmeade on Friday. He also said that the situation in Gaza is "a mess" because of Hamas.

Huckabee dismissed two prevailing charges against Israel: that the IDF is randomly shooting Palestinians and that there is no proof that Hamas has been stealing aid. Both the U.S. and Israel have backed the GHF largely as a way to distribute aid to people and block Hamas from looting trucks.

The ambassador told Kilmeade that incidents of people being shot by the IDF at aid sites are "never random" and expressed his exhaustion with the narrative. Additionally, he dismissed claims that Israel lacked evidence of Hamas stealing aid as "ludicrous."

Huckabee said he had seen evidence of Hamas looting aid trucks and selling food on the black market for outrageous prices. According to Huckabee, a 4-kilogram (8.8-pound) bag of sugar is being sold on the black market for as much as $200.

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Hamas Losing Iron Grip On Gaza As Us-backed Group Gets Aid To Palestinians In Need

"People need to understand that until now, most of the humanitarian aid that entered Gaza was looted by Hamas and various clans. They sold the goods to Gazans for money," GHF executive chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore wrote in a recent Jerusalem Post op-ed. "As a result, prices of basic products in the Strip skyrocketed  Hamas created conditions that led to hunger in Gaza by denying food to the population that had no means, and with the money and supplies it looted, it managed to recruit new fighters and keep operating."

In the interview with Kilmeade, Huckabee went on to call out the United Nations, demanding it stop "pretending" that GHFs system isnt effective and instead work with the U.S.- and Israeli-backed organization. Huckabee also accused the international body of having more interest in acting like a humanitarian organization than doing the work.

Palestinians carry aid supplies which they received from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 1, 2025.

Israel Announces Immediate Resumption Of Gaza Aid Airdrops Amid Growing Hunger Crisis

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The U.N. and the GHF have been at odds since before the American-backed organization began distributing aid in May. While the U.N. has expressed concern that GHF sites are dangerous and ill-prepared to hand out food, the organization has pointed to the number of meals distributed as a success.

"When parents no longer have to plead with Hamas for flour, something good has happened. When women can safely collect food for their children, a small piece of dignity is restored. When children are fed without conditions or coercion, a bit of light breaks through the darkness. These are victories, even if others refuse to see them," Moore wrote in his op-ed.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a bilateral dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in attendance, at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025.

Huckabee and Witkoffs visit comes as the Trump administration appears to shift its messaging on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. While in Scotland this week, President Donald Trump pledged to set up new food centers in Gaza in an apparent break with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While Trump said he saw "real starvation in Gaza," Netanyahu sent exactly the opposite message.

"There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza, and I assure you that we have a commitment to achieve our war goals," Netanyahu said in a video statement on X.

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On Friday, Trump told Axios that he is working on a plan to "get people fed" in Gaza. The outlet noted that the president was concerned about starvation in Gaza, but placed the blame on Hamas. Additionally, Trump told Axios that Witkoff was "doing great work," but that he had not gotten a briefing from his special envoy yet.





Original article source: Trump officials visit Gaza aid sites as international community pressures Israel
The Trump administration has been flailing as it struggles to contain the fallout from its handling of the so-called Epstein files. Is there a way out?

Even on an overseas trip, President Donald Trump couldnt escape persistent queries from the press about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some of those answers  like Trumps statement on Tuesday that he cut ties with Epstein because the predator hired young women away from Trumps Mar-a-Lago spa  raise more questions.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle arent letting go either. Speaker Mike Johnson shut the chamber down in an effort to halt a minor revolt among his members and avoid uncomfortable votes on Epstein-related measures, but that may only have prolonged the GOPs discomfort until September, when the House returns.

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Public polls indicate that roughly 60 percent of the American public disapprove of Trumps handling of the situation. A paltry 16 percent approve, according to a Washington Post poll released this week.

Meanwhile, the administrations latest gambit  engaging with Ghislaine Maxwell  is getting messier. Maxwell, the only person convicted in the underlying scheme since Epstein died, has started making demands as a condition for giving testimony before the House Oversight Committee. (This is what happens when you give a criminal like Maxwell leverage: They try to use it.) The committee has declined to give Maxwell congressional immunity, but negotiations over the terms of a deposition are apparently ongoing.

The Justice Department and House Republicans could have avoided the embarrassment of publicly negotiating with a convicted child sex trafficker and confirmed liar, but Maxwells involvement is now dangling until who knows when. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who apparently thought it was a good idea to spend two days interviewing her, has promised to share additional information about what we learned at the appropriate time.

The whole thing has unfolded like a lesson in how to mismanage a political crisis. Making matters worse, Trump does not appear to have any good options for moving on from this controversy, in large part because of the legal complexities that surround the case.

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Below are a few of the potential paths forward, from staying the course to releasing everything to a few options in between. All have conspicuous downsides for the administration, the public or both, but its worth going through them.

Status Quo

Right now, the administration has two open lines of pursuit as it seeks to mollify critics who want more insight into the Epstein files: (1) unsealing grand jury transcripts from the criminal prosecutions, and (2) working with Maxwell as a potential government cooperator to obtain new information or leads that might shed further light on Epstein and Maxwells deeds and the involvement (or lack thereof) of other people.

Neither of these efforts is likely to prove particularly fruitful or satisfying to the public writ large.

The grand jury transcripts likely represent just a sliver of the information in the governments possession. That is because when prosecutors present testimony to a grand jury in order to obtain an indictment, they focus on the particular defendants and co-conspirators at issue and the evidence that they are likely to introduce at trial. If there was no evidence presented at trial about other particular individuals or subjects, it is fair to assume that they were not the subject of much grand jury testimony.

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Indeed, in court filings on Tuesday night, the Justice Department disclosed that there were only two witnesses who testified in the grand jury proceedings, an FBI agent and NYPD detective. It is routine for federal prosecutors when charging criminal cases to present grand jury testimony from only one or more of the government agents who worked on the investigation; but as a result, the odds are low that they would have provided materially more information to the grand jury than was presented in the indictment or introduced as evidence in the trial.

As for Maxwell, she is a particularly bad candidate to serve as a government cooperator, and it is unlikely that the Justice Departments engagement with her will generate credible information that the government can credibly rely or act upon.

Maxwell is in prison on a 20-year sentence on heinous charges. At trial, the government presented evidence from victims who testified  in the governments own words in a sentencing submission just three years ago  that Maxwell and Epstein worked together to identify girls, groom them, and then entice them to travel and transport them to Epsteins properties and that the girls  some of whom were as young as 14 years old  were then sexually abused.

On top of that, the DOJ already discredited Maxwell as someone who would speak honestly and charged her with two counts of perjury (later dropped after the trafficking conviction). Prosecutors said that Maxwell was willing to brazenly lie under oath about her conduct.

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The conduct at issue is also so old  going back more than three decades  that it would be difficult to corroborate Maxwells claims. Over time, witnesses memories fade and documents become harder to track down.

And of course, Maxwell has an obvious incentive to lie or shade the truth  both by pointing the finger at others and downplaying Epsteins connection to people who are politically aligned with the Trump administration, or Trump himself. Trump, as we now know from the Wall Street Journals reporting, was told in May that his name was in the files, though he has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the matter.

As a political matter, the exercise also seems highly risky. Maxwell is angling for a pardon or reduction in her sentence. If that were to happen  if the Trump administration were to provide Maxwell with an early release or pardon her altogether  some people could interpret this as confirmation of the very government-backed conspiracy that the administration has been trying to refute, that powerful child sex predators work with and protect one another. Indeed, according to one poll released this week, only 4 percent of respondents  that is not a typo  said that Trump should pardon Maxwell.

It is also always possible  perhaps even likely  that the controversy will eventually blow over at some point or be overtaken by some other all-consuming political story. That may not, however, undo whatever political damage has been done in the meantime.

Legislation

The bipartisan odd couple of Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have proposed a measure that would effectively force the government to publicly release virtually all of the unclassified material in the governments possession, with redactions for victim-related information, as well as internal DOJ communications. Similar measures could emerge in the coming weeks.

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If Trump for some reason decided to endorse the bill, it would surely pass. But on the merits, it is not a good idea to dump all of this material in the public domain.

The government does not typically release raw investigative material from criminal cases  and with good reason. The government acquired mountains of information in the course of its investigation, including a large amount of material gathered from electronic devices. The governments investigative material would also include FBI summaries of witness interviews that could include false leads and derogatory information that the government was unable to corroborate.

Releasing all of this material might offer some short-term relief in the sense that the Epstein files would finally be out. But in fact, it would simply prolong this drama and provide more fodder for more baseless conspiracy theories, potentially for years to come and with no end in sight.

Self-Disclosure

The Trump administration could also choose to voluntarily release the same material at issue in the Massie-Khanna legislation. That would be unwise for the reasons noted above.

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On top of that, the Trump administrations haphazard efforts in recent weeks have probably burned its public credibility on this topic among a sizable contingent of Americans. After spending years cultivating and promoting theories about an elaborate and wide-ranging child sex trafficking conspiracy, some of Americas most senior law enforcement officials have struggled to debunk their own nonsense while also appearing to suppress information about what they found.

There will be many people who do not trust the output if the administration tries to self-disclose and who will believe that government officials are withholding information about political and financial elites, including perhaps Trump himself.

Firings

Perhaps Trump could try one of his time-tested tactics: Firing people or otherwise forcing them out of their positions.

The most obvious candidates for the chopping block would be Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Deputy Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

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It is far from clear what dismissing Bondi would accomplish. Yes, she made some conspicuous missteps  like orchestrating a botched Phase 1 release of material to conservative influencers at the White House back in February  but the next attorney general would face even more pressure on the issue and confront the same political minefield that Bondi has attempted to navigate.

Patel and Bongino are in a slightly different category because they were instrumental in advancing Epstein conspiracy theories prior to Trumps election. But at this point  even assuming that Trump were inclined to remove one or both of them, which is far from clear  it seems unlikely that removing them would solve the administrations problems.

By now, the situation has spiraled way beyond those two men.

A Blue-Ribbon Commission

What about establishing a bipartisan commission, akin to the one that investigated the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001? They could review the material in the DOJs possession and report to the public on what is  and isnt  in there.

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The notion of convening a blue-ribbon panel of respected Washington figures is a political cliche, of course, but in this case, it may be a tempting idea, particularly given the fact that both the Republican and Democratic Parties arguably lack the widespread public credibility that would be necessary to do something similar on their own within Congress.

Problems, however, would quickly arise. For one thing, the effort would prolong things even further, at least until the commission completes its work.

As we saw with the Jan. 6 committee, there would also likely be serious disputes about who should sit on the committee. Should one or more prominent Epstein conspiracy theorists participate in order to lend some credence to the findings among skeptics, or would that fatally undermine the ability of the commission to do its job?

A Major Press Conference

Perhaps the best of the bad options is for the most senior law enforcement officials  Bondi, Patel or both  to give a press conference in which they provide a credible and confidently delivered readout of the governments investigative work and answer all of the questions posed by the media. Stay for as many hours as it takes.

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But for this to work, Bondi and Patel would have to fall on their swords.

They would need to explain in detail exactly what they did in recent months to review the investigation, and they would need to describe with greater precision what is in the governments possession and what it does and doesnt reveal about the broader conspiracies alleged by skeptics. They would need to firmly and definitively explain that the conspiracy theories that they cultivated are wrong.

Crucially, they would also need admit that they were wrong to promote and indulge those conspiracy theories themselves. And at this point, they would need to disclose  even if its in generalized form  what the Wall Street Journal has reported is in the governments possession that concerns Trump himself.

The overriding problem with this proposal, apart from Bondi and Patels willingness to do this, is that the public can no longer trust them on this subject. They have burned their credibility on the issue across the political spectrum, and people will be justifiably skeptical about whether they are receiving a complete and accurate account.



There is at least one clear takeaway from all of this and from the absence of any clear path forward for the administration: Trump officials never should have promoted or endorsed the Epstein conspiracy theories in the first place, despite whatever political or electoral upside they thought it provided.

Doing so was reckless and irresponsible, and it fell far below the professional standards that should apply to our most senior law enforcement officials. In hindsight  if not in real-time itself  their promotional efforts appeared craven, self-interested and highly distasteful.

Lest we forgot, there were actual victims here. They should not be political pawns, and they should not have become the subject of a years-long, ongoing political campaign that has, among other things, extended and re-publicized the horror of what they experienced.

Still, the original and most significant political liabilities were created by Trump.

No one forced Trump to associate with a creep like Epstein for years. No one forced him to tell New York magazine for a story in 2002 that Epstein was a terrific guy, and that It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. And no one forced him to endorse the release of the Epstein files as he was campaigning for reelection in a way that riled up members of his base but also lent further support to conspiracy theorists and grifters.

On top of that, no one forced Trump to select a vice president and senior law enforcement officials with their own baggage on this topic and whose comments over the years have practically been playing on a news media loop for the last few weeks. It is not surprising that the sort of people who behaved this way would now struggle to hold the publics confidence on this subject or to portray themselves as credible, sober-minded and responsible public officials.

These were all choices that Trump made himself. No amount of baseless finger-pointing or blame-shifting  at Democrats, the media or anyone else  can change that.


WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35% from 25%, effective Friday.

The announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept ... traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.

Trump has heckled Canada for months and suggested it should become its 51st U.S. state. He had threatened to impose the higher tariff on Canada if no deal was reached by Friday, his deadline for reaching trade agreements with dozens of countries.

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Earlier Thursday, the president said Canadas announcement it will recognize a Palestinian state would "make it very hard for the United States to reach a trade agreement with its northern neighbor. Trump has also expressed frustration with a trade deficit with Canada that largely reflects oil purchases by America.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had tempered expectations over tariffs, saying Ottawa would only agree to a deal if theres one on the table that is in the best interests of Canadians.

In a statement released early Friday, he said he was disappointed by Trump's actions and vowed to diversify Canada's exports.

Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes, he said, pointing to heavy investments in border security.

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Carney added that some industries  including lumber, steel, aluminum and automobiles  will be harder hit, but said his government will try to minimize the impact and protect Canadian jobs.

Canada was not included in Trump's updated list of tariff rates on other countries announced late Thursday. Those import duties are due to take effect on Aug. 7.

Trump sent a letter to Canada a few weeks ago warning he planned to raise duties on many goods imported from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the two North American countries that has undermined their decades-old alliance.

Some imports from Canada are still protected by the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which is up for renegotiation next year.

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The White House's statement said goods transshipped through Canada that are not covered by the USMCA would be subject to a 40% tariff rate. It did not say where the goods might originate.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that there would be a 90-day negotiating period with Mexico after a call with that countrys leader, Claudia Sheinbaum, keeping 25% tariff rates in place.
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions in response to remarks from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.

Security analysts called Trumps move a rhetorical escalation with Moscow, but not necessarily a military one, given that the United States already has nuclear-powered submarines that are deployed and capable of striking Russia.

Medvedev on Thursday said Trump should remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort, after Trump had told Medvedev to watch his words.

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Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev ... I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that, Trump said in Fridays social media post.

He added: Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.

Asked later by reporters why he ordered the submarine movement, Trump said: A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and were going to protect our people.

The U.S. Navy and the Pentagon declined to comment about Trumps remarks or on whether submarines had been moved. It is extremely rare for the U.S. military to discuss the deployment and location of U.S. submarines given their sensitive mission in nuclear deterrence.

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Trumps comments came at a time of mounting tension between Washington and Moscow as Trump grows frustrated with what he sees as President Vladimir Putins failure to negotiate an end to his more than three-year-old invasion of Ukraine.

He did not specify what he meant by nuclear submarines. U.S. military submarines are nuclear-powered and can be armed with nuclear-tipped missiles, although not all are.

But any talk by a U.S. president about potential nuclear military capabilities raises concerns, the security experts said, noting that the United States has historically refrained from matching Russias nuclear-saber rattling given the risks surrounding the worlds most devastating weaponry.

This is irresponsible and inadvisable, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association advocacy group. No leader or deputy leader should be threatening nuclear war, let alone in a juvenile manner on social media.

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Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists noted that U.S. nuclear submarines  part of the so-called nuclear triad with bombers and land-based missiles  were always positioned to launch nuclear-armed missiles at targets in Russia.

The subs are always there all the time and dont need to be moved into position, he said. He grants Medvedev a response to these crazy statements.

The United States has a total of 14 Ohio Class nuclear-powered submarines, each capable of carrying up to 24 Trident II D5 ballistic missiles that can deliver multiple thermonuclear warheads up to 4,600 miles.

Between 8 and 10 Ohio Class submarines are deployed at any one time, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative arms control group.

COMMITMENT TRAP

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, has emerged as one of the Kremlins most outspoken anti-Western hawks since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022. Kremlin critics deride him as an irresponsible loose cannon, though some Western diplomats say his statements illustrate the thinking in senior Kremlin policy-making circles.

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U.S. officials had told Reuters prior to Trumps latest remarks that Medvedevs comments were not being taken as a serious threat, and it is unclear what drove Trumps latest announcement beyond the public clash between the two on social media.

Trump and Medvedev have traded taunts in recent days after Trump on Tuesday said Russia had 10 days from today to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit with tariffs.

Kristensen said that Trump was creating a commitment trap by fueling expectations that he could resort to nuclear weapons if tensions escalated further with Russia.

Still, Evelyn Farkas, executive director of the McCain Institute and a former senior Pentagon official, played down the idea that this could lead to nuclear conflict.

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Its really signaling. Its not the beginning of some nuclear confrontation and nobody reads it as such. And I would imagine the Russians dont either, she said.

She added that Trumps actions, however, were unlikely to get Russia to change course in Ukraine.

Moscow, which has set out its own terms for peace in Ukraine, has given no indication that it will comply with Trumps 10-day deadline of August 8.

Putin said on Friday that Moscow hoped for more peace talks but that the momentum of the war was in its favor. He made no reference to the deadline.

Trump, who in the past touted good relations with Putin, has expressed mounting frustration with the Russian leader, accusing him of bullshit and describing Russias latest attacks on Ukraine as disgusting.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto, and Phil Stewart, Jonathan Landay, Mike Stone and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Rosalba OBrien)
Laura Loomer is rolling in the deep state these days.

While the MAGA provocateur has no official position in Donald Trumps administration, Loomer has played a fairly outsize role in the abrupt firings of more than a dozen top officials across the federal government. And she says shes gearing up for more.

The self-described strategist and journalist  who first rose to attention during Trumps first term by staging viral stunts in which she filmed herself screaming at prominent Democrats and posting the videos to social media  told Politico on Friday that she expects to be involved in hundreds more firings of administration appointees and career government workers.

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Loomer said shes enthusiastically acting as a sounding board for political appointees within the Trump administration who are eager to snitch on one another for perceived disloyalty to the president using her tipline.

Im happy to take peoples tips about disloyal appointees, disloyal staffers and Biden holdovers, Loomer said. And I guess you could say that my tipline has come to serve as a form of therapy for Trump administration officials who want to expose their colleagues who should not be in the positions that theyre in.

Laura Loomer, shown disembarking from Donald Trumps jet during the 2024 election, has played a key role in the firings of dozens of administration officials (AP)

The former Florida congressional candidate has long been a favorite of Trump, who repeatedly brought her on his private plane during last years presidential election.

He  or someone in the administration, though Loomer will not say who  has granted her multiple appointment passes to visit the West Wing and meet with administration officials.

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One infamous trip to the Oval Office early on in Trumps term ended with the ouster of multiple National Security Council officials after Loomer presented Trump with what she called vetting materials on appointees brought in by his then-National Security Adviser, Mike Waltz.

Loomer frequently posts to social media the results of what she calls vetting, which often includes digging through her targets family connections for anything that she can use to indicate disloyalty or other suspect qualities.

In the case of other targets, such as one of Waltzs then-deputies, Harvard-educated lawyer and North Korea expert Alex Wong, their race or ethnicity is enough to trigger Loomer into action.

In April, she began posting incessantly about Wong to highlight his Chinese heritage (his parents are immigrants from Hong Kong) and that of his wife, who is also of Chinese descent. Loomer also attacked Wongs wife for having worked as a federal prosecutor in Washington during the Biden administration even though his wife is a nonpartisan civil servant.

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Wong was fired the next month.

Loomer has also targeted top defense and intelligence officials on similarly spurious grounds. In May, she posted a series of attacks on Dr. Terry Adirim, then director of the CIAs Center for Global Health, highlighting the physicians role in Biden administration vaccine policy. Adirim was fired shortly thereafter.

And just this week, the administration sacked National Security Agency General Counsel April Doss, a career government lawyer, after Loomer posted to X about her.

For her part, Loomer described the Trump administration as being in the midst of a vetting crisis and said shes in frequent contact with top-level officials who use her as a sounding board.

I have people in the West Wing ... I have people in pretty much every single agency within the federal government like me, every main agency coming to me with concerns, she said.
Donald Trump, the US president, is preparing shock and awe sanctions on Russian exports, a senior Republican has said.

Senator Jim Risch, the chairman of the powerful Senate foreign relations committee, said Mr Trump would make good on his pledge to impose crippling economic penalties on Moscows trading partners by Aug 8.

The US president this week shortened his deadline for hitting Russia with the most severe sanctions on its oil experts to date, giving Vladimir Putin 10 days to reach a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

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When and if secondary sanctions hit, its going to be shock and awe, Senator Risch told The Telegraph, adding that things are going to change dramatically as a result.

The so-called secondary sanctions  which cut short the presidents previous 50-day timeframe  were slated to slap 100 per cent tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, with the biggest customers being India and China.

However, Mr Trump appeared to water down his pledge on Wednesday, announcing that India would be hit with a 25 per cent tariff.

India has always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russias largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine  all things not good! he wrote on Truth Social.

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India will therefore be paying a tariff on 25 per cent, plus a penalty for the above, starting on August first.

Mr Trumps post on Truth Social announcing the tariffs on India

The 25 per cent tariff is another drop after a Republican-backed bill initially proposed imposing 500 per cent tariffs against Russia and its allies, which was later revised to 100 per cent by Mr Trump.

On Friday, Mr Trump announced he was moving two nuclear submarines towards Russia in response to threats from Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president.

I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that, Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

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Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances.

The pairs war of words began when Medvedev, now a key Putin ally on Russias security council, criticised Mr Trumps threat to impose sanctions on Moscow in less than two weeks if it did not agree to a ceasefire.

Mr Trump responded by warning Medvedev, who he described as the failed former President of Russia, to watch his words.

Raising the stakes, Medvedev shot back, reminding Mr Trump that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort.

Witkoff to visit Russia

Steve Witkoff, Mr Trumps special envoy, is expected to visit Russia in the coming days following a trip to food distribution sites in Gaza on Thursday.

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Hes going to Russia, believe it or not, Mr Trump told reporters ahead of the visit, before describing Moscows recent strikes on Kyiv as disgusting.

Mr Witkoffs last known trip to Russia was in April, when he met Putin for talks at the Kremlin that did not yield a breakthrough.

Mr Trump said he had seen internal data revealing the catastrophic losses faced by Russia in a statement on Truth Social.

I have just been informed that almost 20,000 Russian soldiers died this month in the ridiculous War with Ukraine. Russia has lost 112,500 soldiers since the beginning of the year, he said, describing the tally as a lot of unnecessary death.

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Ukraine, he added, had lost 8,000 soldiers since the start of the year, adding that there had also been civilian casualties as Russian rockets crashed into Kyiv and other parts of the country.

This is a War that should have never happened  This is Bidens War, not Trumps. Im just here to see if I can stop it!

While Mr Trump confirmed he would proceed with fresh sanctions, he conceded they may have little effect on Putins mindset. I am not sure it bothers him or if it has any effect, but we are going to do it, he said.

Trump not worried about oil market chaos

Depending on the figure, imposing sweeping sanctions on Russian oil exports has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies given that Moscow ships 4.5 per cent of the worlds crude oil, according to the International Energy Agency.

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Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that he was not worried about potential chaos in the oil market, pledging to boost domestic production to offset any impact.

John Kelley, a Senior US diplomat, reiterated Mr Trumps message on tariffs to the United Nations National Security Council on Thursday, telling Russia and Ukraine: It is time to make a deal. He added: The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace.

Kyiv and Moscow have held three rounds of talks in Istanbul this year that yielded exchanges of prisoners and bodies, but no breakthrough to defuse the more than three-year conflict.

Addressing Putins failure to heed American warnings on secondary sanctions, Senator Risch said: Hes made a lot of mistakes, but this could be the biggest one yet.

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South African products exported to the US will be hit by a 30% tariff from 7 August, President Donald Trump has announced.

South Africa faces the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting Trump's strained relationship with the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Other African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have been hit with a 15% tariff, which will also come into effect in seven days.

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The decision is a huge blow to South Africa, as the US is its second-biggest trading partner.

Looking across the whole continent, including North Africa, exports from Algeria and Libya will now also incur a 30% tariff at the US border.

Tunisian goods are facing a 25% rate. Goods from Kenya and Ethiopia, on the other hand, will be charged at the lower 10% rate.

Tariffs are taxes charged on goods bought from other countries - typically, they are a percentage of a product's value.

Trump argues that introducing tariffs will protect American businesses from foreign competition and also boost domestic manufacturing and jobs.

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South Africa's automobile, farming and textile sectors had enjoyed duty-free access to the US market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), which was enacted in 2000 to help countries on the continent create jobs and grow their economies.

Trump's announcement effectively spells the end of Agoa, even though it is officially up for review in September.

Ahead of Trump's 1 August deadline, South Africa had been trying to agree a trade deal with the US, which included buying US liquefied natural gas, simplifying rules for US poultry imports and investing $3.3bn (2.5bn) in US industries like mining, according to the Reuters news agency.

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Reacting to the news of the 30% tariff, Ramaphosa said his administration would "continue negotiating with the US" and had "submitted a framework deal" to its US counterpart.

"In the meantime, government is finalising a package to support companies that are vulnerable to the reciprocal tariffs."

The government also noted that there were exceptions for certain goods, such as copper, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, some critical minerals, stainless steel scrap and energy products.

US-South Africa relations have hit rock-bottom since Trump took office in January.

The US president has stopped all aid to South Africa, accusing it of discriminating against its white minority. South Africa has repeatedly denied this.

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Ramaphosa held talks with Trump in May in a bid to mend relations but this failed to make any headway.

Earlier this week, Trump indicated he would "maybe send someone else" to the G20 Leaders Summit taking place later this year in Johannesburg.

"I've had a lot of problems with South Africa. They have some very bad policies," he told reporters.

South Africa Wine said Trump's announcement placed the sector at a "severe disadvantage" compared to competitor countries with lower tax rates.

The association urged the US and South Africa to "intensify efforts to resolve this matter swiftly to avoid long-term harm to trade, investment and jobs".

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The US is the fourth biggest importer of South African wine, which also enjoyed duty-free access under Agoa, according to a local report looking at wine exports.

Other African nations have also reacted to the tariffs announcement.

Kenya said it welcomed having the "lowest rate among nations with comparable export interests".

The east African country's trade and industry department also said it remained "committed to deepening its longstanding trade and investment" with the US and would continue engaging with its counterpart to "safeguard and grow the historical trade ties that have benefited both our countries".

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In Lesotho, Trade Minister Mokhethi Shelile lamented the announcement of the 15% tariff, telling the BBC that the country's textile and garment industry "will not be able to compete at all" with other markets.

Lesotho is one of the African nations that have benefited most from Agoa, exporting jeans for iconic American brands such as Levi's and Wrangler among others. It had initially been threatened with a rate of 50% - higher than any other country.

TZICC, a Lesotho garments factory that produced sportswear for American companies JC Penney, Walmart and Costco, said it was unhappy with the 15% rate because it "still affects our orders and buyers".

The textile industry, the country's largest private employer, has already been affected by the uncertainty around Agoa and the tariffs, leading to some factories cutting staff or shutting down altogether.

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Additional reporting by Shingai Nyoka

More BBC stories on South Africa:

[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

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The White House is reportedly working to remove traces of Elon Musks influence from the government agency that housed DOGE.

President Donald Trump appointed a new leader, Mike Rigas, at the General Services Administration earlier this month, stacking him above the former acting administrator, Musk-aligned tech entrepreneur Stephen Ehikian.

That move was reportedly part of a wider effort to install Trump institutionalists at the GSA, which Musk infiltrated for nearly five months while he headed up the Department of Government Efficiency.

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During his controversial tenure atop the cost-cutting DOGE, the billionaire made unconventional appointments into top roles, including tech-bro allies and Gen Z programmers with no prior government experience.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk were as thick as thieves for months before their relationship came to an acrimonious end. / Win McNamee / Getty Images

In recent days, the White House has assigned nine employees to the GSA from the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, in a clear attempt to dilute the influence of DOGE staffers from Musks circles such as Ehikian, Josh Gruenbaum, and Thomas Shedd, Politico reported on Thursday.

Most of those staff have ties to Rigas, and to Trumps first administration, rather than Musks orbit, per Politico.

One source close to DOGE told the site that with the appointment of Rigas, a Trump administration veteran, DOGE has lost all remaining influence. Its not clear if Ehikian intends to stay on.

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The White House and GSA did not immediately return requests for comment.

The General Services Administration (GSA) building, in Washington, D.C. / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images

All parties involved after the Presidents appointment of Mike Rigas as Acting Administrator are working collaboratively to ensure GSA continues delivering the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to the government and the American people, a GSA spokesperson told Politico.

The appointments from the OMB are said to include Stephen Billy, who contributed to Project 2025; the former director of intergovernmental affairs from the first Trump administration, Doug Hoelscher; David LaCerte, another Project 2025 contributor who served in Trumps first term; and former BlackRock investment analyst Kevin Hennecken.

Musk wrapped up his time as a special government employee at the end of May, promising at the time that Ill continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president.

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Days later, what had been a simmering feud between the two men erupted into all-out war, with Musk accusing the president of being named in the so-called Epstein files and slamming the megabill at the heart of his domestic policy agenda.

They traded barbs in the weeks that followed, and DOGEs influence has steadily waned, amid a staff exodus, legal issues, and bureaucratic obstacles.
President Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. would raise tariffs on certain Canadian goods from 25 percent to 35 percent beginning Friday.

Goods that are covered under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement will be exempt from the tariff rate, the White House said.

The White House announced the increase hours before higher tariff rates on several countries were set to go into effect. Canada is among the United Statess top trading partners.

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Canada has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs, and it has retaliated against the United States for the presidents actions to address this unusual and extraordinary threat to the United States, the White House said in a fact sheet.

Trump earlier this year imposed a 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada, citing frustrations that the countries had not done enough to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Experts have noted relatively little fentanyl crosses into the U.S. via the northern border compared with the southern border.

The president earlier this month threatened to raise tariffs on Canada to 35 percent, again citing the fentanyl issue.

Trump late Wednesday said Canadas decision to recognize the Palestinian state complicated efforts to broker a trade agreement.

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Trump has for months railed against Canada, claiming the U.S. has no need for Canadian goods and musing about annexing Canada as the 51st state.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian leaders have flatly rejected that suggestion and asserted that the two nations work better together as partners.

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In an alarming development, President Donald Trump on Friday fired Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer after accusing the economic researcher of manipulating the jobs data for political purposes.

A White House official confirmed the firing to ABC News and other outlets.

Trump provided zero evidence to support his earlier, extraordinary accusations against McEntarfer, which he shared in a social media post on Friday.

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The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to the position in 2024 by a vote of 86-8.

Trumps unhinged, on-again, off-again tariff scheme led to an unexpectedly weak jobs report, with the BLS revising May and June payrolls to show the U.S. added 258,000 fewer jobs than it originally tallied. Instead of acknowledging that his economic policies might be responsible for the economic health that results, Trump attacked the economists.

A HuffPost analysis of the data found Trump delivered the worst three months of job growth since the pandemic.

We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified, the president wrote in a social media post. The Economy is BOOMING under TRUMP despite a Fed that also plays games, this time with Interest Rates, where they lowered them twice, and substantially, just before the Presidential Election, I assume in the hopes of getting Kamala elected  How did that work out? Jerome Too Late Powell should also be put out to pasture. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Trump has long attacked and portrayed as fake anything that casts him in a less-than-flattering light  even, it seems, raw data.

A Washington Post tally from Trumps first term found he called jobs numbers fake, phony, or some other version of fraudulent 19 times. But firing civil servants who compile that data is a massive and troubling escalation.

It should be noted that the BLS regularly revises data, including job numbers, as more data becomes available to more accurately assess the overall health of the economy, even in retrospect.

Related...
In normal times, this would be an extraordinary, epoch-changing and terror-inducing moment.

Not even during the Cold War did a US president publicly move nuclear submarines towards Russian waters.

Never before has a US leader chosen to engage in nuclear brinkmanship of this kind.

True, the Soviet Union famously triggered a nuclear showdown in 1962 by moving nuclear warheads to within 90 miles of the US shoreline during the Cuban Missile Crisis. For 13 days, the world feared Armageddon.

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But given Donald Trumps quixotic style of governing, few are panicking today.

A Cuban Missile Crisis Mark II, this quite patently is not.

Yet, that does not mean that what the US president has just done is risk-free.

He has shifted Washingtons nuclear posture towards Russia in a way that none of his predecessors dared, climbing  almost casually  the first rung of the nuclear escalation ladder.

Should Vladimir Putin choose to respond in kind, a major crisis could follow.

That seems unlikely  a calculation Mr Trump has presumably made. In fact, he appears to be borrowing from the Russian playbook.

The deployment status of nuclear submarines is normally kept secret - Bryan Tomforde/US Navy

Putin has long used nuclear posturing as a tool of coercion. During bouts of tension with the West, he has deployed Iskander missiles, capable of firing nuclear warheads, to the exclave of Kaliningrad on the border with Poland, a Nato member.

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In 2023, he stationed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus  the first time since the Cold War that Russia has placed nuclear weapons outside its own territory. He has also repeatedly hinted at using a tactical weapon in Ukraine.

And on Friday, Putin announced that Russia had started producing Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate-range missiles, reaffirming plans to deploy them to Belarus this year. He boasted he had already selected sites for their deployment.

In recent days, Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and now Putins social media attack dog, who has previously rattled the nuclear sabre, warned that Mr Trumps threats could spark war between the US and Russia.

Donald Trump described Dmitry Medvedev as the failed former president - Eric Lee/Bloomberg Finance LP

Mr Trump, who has recently tempered his admiration of Putin, made it clear that he was calling Russias bluff. In so many words, he told Moscow he was taking its threats literally rather than figuratively  an inversion of the advice his supporters usually give about him.

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He wrote in a social media post directed at Mr Medvedev: Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences.

Mr Trumps threat is therefore best seen as performance  high-stakes, reckless performance, but performance all the same.

Other motives may be at play. In the coming days, the US president will have to unveil how he intends to counter Russias continuing aggression in Ukraine, underscored on Friday after an attack on Kyiv killed 31 people.

Secondary sanctions on countries buying Russian energy  chiefly China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates  pose a major diplomatic headache.

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Should Mr Trump choose to retreat on these threats, he can point to the submarine deployment as proof he is serious about Russia  a strategy whose stakes are higher but costs potentially much lower than escalating tariffs on allies Washington needs for goodwill in other arenas.

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References to Donald Trump were recently removed from a Smithsonian exhibit about impeached presidents amid MAGA's overhaul of the iconic institution

In January 2021, Trump became the first-ever U.S. president to be impeached twice, but the exhibit only cites three presidents  Andrew Jackson, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon  the last of whom resigned before Congress was able to move forward with his impeachment

Following The Washington Post's reporting on the change, the Smithsonian insisted in a statement that a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments





After Donald Trump's administration seized control of the Smithsonian Institution's messaging in March, the iconic museum network has been accused of rewriting history.

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On July 31, The Washington Post reported on the recent change to an exhibit at the Smithsonians National Museum of American History titled "The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden." A section of the display is dedicated to the U.S. presidents who have faced impeachment, and includes information about Andrew Jackson, Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon. (While Jackson and Clinton were successfully impeached, Nixon resigned the presidency before getting to that point.)

Since September 2021, the exhibit had featured a temporary label about Trump's two impeachments along with a notice for visitors, which read Case under redesign (history happens).

The Post reports that the label was removed in July "as part of a content review that the Smithsonian agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director." Without reference to Trump, the exhibit has now reverted back to suggesting that only three presidents have seriously faced removal.

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A Smithsonian spokesperson told the Post that the Trump label was merely intended to be "a short-term addition to address current events."

In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the Limits of Presidential Power section in 'The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden' exhibition needed to be addressed, the spokesperson said in a statement. The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.

Kevin Carter/Getty The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History

In January 2021, Trump became the first-ever U.S. president to be impeached twice. A bipartisan majority in the House impeached the president on one charge of "incitement of insurrection" for his role in encouraging his supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol in what became the deadly Jan. 6 riots.

The House voted 232-197 in favor of his second impeachment, with 10 Republican representatives joining the Democratic-led effort.

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Trump was previously impeached in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to a scandal in which the president allegedly withheld $400 million in military aid from Ukraine while also pushing the country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to dig into his political opponent, Joe Biden.

Following the publication of The Washington Post's story on the impeachment exhibit, the Smithsonian said in a statement that a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.



Trump began his plans to reshape the Smithsonian with a March 27 executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History."



In the order, Trump directed Vice President J.D. Vance  in his capacity as a member of the Smithsonian Institutions Board of Regents  to remove improper ideology from Smithsonian museums, research centers and the National Zoo.

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Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology, the order claimed. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.

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Trumps order specifically called out the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the American Womens History Museum for featuring exhibits aimed at ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.

He also directed Vance and Russell Vought  a Project 2025 architect who now leads Trump's Office of Management and Budget  to ensure that future funds directed at the Smithsonian prohibit expenditure on exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.



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WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump said Friday that he has ordered the deployment of two U.S. nuclear submarines in response to what he called "highly provocative statements" from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about Russia's nuclear capabilities.

Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump added, "Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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Tension between the U.S. and Russia has escalated this week as Trump and Medvedev have exchanged threatening statements.

Trump doubled down on the move later in the day, telling reporters as he departed the White House that he had ordered the submarines as a safety precaution.

"Well, we had to do that. We just have to be careful. And a threat was made and we didn't think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. So I do that on the basis of safety for our people," Trump said when asked about the deployment. "A threat was made by a former president of Russia, and we're going to protect our people."

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The Russian embassy in Washington, D.C. did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the remark on Friday.

In another post Friday, Trump spoke about the Russian and Ukrainian death tolls during their conflict and reiterated that it's a war "that should have never happened  This is Bidens War, not 'TRUMPs.' Im just here to see if I can stop it!

The president's pointed comment at Medvedev appeared to be in response to the Russian official's Telegram post on Thursday in which he wrote that Trump should "revisit his favorite movies about the living dead and recall just how dangerous the mythical 'Dead Hand' can be." Russia's so-called Dead Hand system is a secret automatic or semiautomatic nuclear weapons control system developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Medvedev's post seemed to respond to a Trump Truth Social post earlier in the day that said he doesn't care if India and Russia "take their dead economies down together."

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"Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory!" Trump wrote.

The president said during his trip to Scotland earlier this week that he was reducing his 50-day deadline for Russia to make moves toward trying to end its war with Ukraine down to a new deadline of 10 or 12 days.

We just dont see any progress being made," Trump told reporters. The president has also threatened more sanctions or tariffs targeting Russia's economy and said that he was sending special envoy Steve Witkoff to Russia after his trip this week to Israel.

Responding to Trump's new deadline, Medvedev wrote in a post on X that Trump is playing an "ultimatum game" with Russia.

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"Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Dont go down the Sleepy Joe road!" Medvedev said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump touted the expansive new tariffs on imports he imposed on global trading partners Thursday night, telling NBC News in a phone interview that it all was going "very well, very smooth."

He also said that with just a few hours to go before his self-imposed midnight deadline for trade deals, it was "too late" for other countries to avoid tariff rates set to snap in place next week, which he formalized in a new executive order.

But, he added, his door will always be open to compelling offers: "It doesnt mean that somebody doesnt come along in four weeks and say we can make some kind of a deal."

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In Thursday's executive order, Trump made official his agreements with trading partners such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the Philippines.

Trumps order unilaterally sets rates  which are set to go into effect Aug. 7  for trading partners that didnt reach agreements with him. For example, Switzerlands rate will be set higher than previously threatened, at 39%, while Taiwans will be set lower, at 20%.

Trump boasted of the tariff revenue the United States is already taking in  $26 billion in June, according to Treasury Department figures  and said there would be much more to come.

We will be taking in hundreds of billions of dollars, and very quickly, he said.

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Asked whether hes worried about potential spikes in prices for imported goods, Trump replied, The only price thats spiked is the hundreds of billions of dollars coming in.

Trump indicated that he was open to further discussions with Canada and said he may even speak to Prime Minister Mark Carney later Thursday night, but he said he wouldn't make a new deal with the country before the deadline.

Trump also said he was unfamiliar with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silvas recent New York Times interview suggesting Brazil was prepared to dig in and push back against the U.S. tariff program.

Told of its tenor, Trump responded: Thats OK. But he doesnt have to do business with the United States, which is fine with me.

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Trump also discussed the upcoming trip by special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who will travel to the Gaza Strip on Friday.

"We want to make sure people get fed," he said, referring to the hunger crisis in Gaza and saying he was looking forward to hearing their report on the situation.

A senior White House official told NBC News this week that Trump has been "troubled" by the pictures of children starving in Gaza.

We can save a lot of people, Trump said Monday during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland. I mean, some of those kids are  thats real starvation stuff. I see it, and you cant fake it. So were going to be even more involved.

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Asked Thursday whether he trusts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to administer U.S. aid in Gaza, Trump said that hes certainly a competent person and added that he remained concerned about Hamas stealing aid.

Good management will stop that," Trump said. "Hopefully the Israelis will provide that.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
President Donald Trump on Friday said he was redeploying a pair of American nuclear submarines in response to belligerent statements made on X by former Russian president Dimitri Medvedev earlier this week.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he was ordering the American boats to the appropriate regions due to what he called the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia and noted Medvedevs status as a deputy chair of the Russian national security council.

Trump said the move was a precautionary measure just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

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Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances, he added.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to deploying Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines that form one third of Americas nuclear deterrence triad or the Los Angeles and Virginia-class fast-attack submarines that are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy ships and submarines.

Both the ballistic missile and fast-attack boats are nuclear powered, but only the Ohio-class missile submarines are known to carry nuclear weapons.

The presidents claim to be ordering American submarines to a particular region is highly unusual because the vessels locations are never publicized.

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The U.S. Navy currently operates 14 Ohio-class subs that each carry 20 Trident D5 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles which can be equipped with multiple thermonuclear warheads.

Four additional Ohio-class boats have been converted to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles with conventional warheads.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported.

Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge.

I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY, Trump said on Truth Social. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified.

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Trump later posted: In my opinion, todays Jobs Numbers were RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad.

The charge that the data was faked is an explosive one that threatens to undercut the political legitimacy of the U.S. government's economic data, which has long been seen as the gold standard of economic measurement globally. Economists and Wall Street investors have for decades generally accepted the data as free from political bias.

Trumps move to fire McEntarfer represented another extraordinary assertion of presidential power. He has wielded the authority of the White House to try to control the worlds international trade system, media companies, Americas top universities and Congress constitutional power of the purse, among other institutions.

McEntarfer's firing was roundly condemned by a group that included two former BLS commissioners, including William Beach, who was appointed by Trump to the position. They particularly objected to the charge that the data was altered for political reasons.

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This rationale for firing Dr. McEntarfer is without merit and undermines the credibility of federal economic statistics that are a cornerstone of intelligent economic decision-making by businesses, families, and policymakers, the statement from the group, the Friends of BLS, said.

In addition to Beach, the statement was signed by Erica Groshen, BLS commissioner under former President Barack Obama.

Firing the Commissioner ... when the BLS revises jobs numbers down (as it routinely does) threatens to destroy trust in core American institutions, and all government statistics, Arin Dube, an economist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, said on X. I cant stress how damaging this is.

After Trump's initial post, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said on X that McEntarfer was no longer leading the bureau and that William Wiatrowski, the deputy commissioner, would serve as the acting director.

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I support the Presidents decision to replace Bidens Commissioner and ensure the American People can trust the important and influential data coming from BLS, Chavez-DeRemer said.

Fridays jobs report showed that just 73,000 jobs were added last month and that 258,000 fewer jobs were created in May and June than previously estimated. The report suggested that the economy has sharply weakened during Trump's tenure, a pattern consistent with a slowdown in economic growth during the first half of the year and an increase in inflation during June that appeared to reflect the price pressures created by the president's tariffs.

What does a bad leader do when they get bad news? Shoot the messenger, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said in a Friday speech.

McEntarfer was nominated by Biden in 2023 and became the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2024. Commissioners typically serve four-year terms but since they are political appointees can be fired. The commissioner is the only political appointee of the agency, which has hundreds of career civil servants.

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The Senate confirmed McEntarfer to her post 86-8, with now Vice President JD Vance among the yea votes.

Trump focused much of his ire on the revisions the agency made to previous hiring data. Job gains in May were revised down to just 19,000 from a previously revised 125,000, and for June they were cut to 14,000 from 147,000. In July, only 73,000 positions were added. The unemployment rate ticked up to a still-low 4.2% from 4.1%.

No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers, Trump wrote. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they cant be manipulated for political purposes.

Trump has not always been so suspicious of the monthly jobs report and responded enthusiastically after the initial May figures came out on June 6, when it was initially reported that the economy added 139,000 jobs.

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GREAT JOB NUMBERS, STOCK MARKET UP BIG! Trump posted at the time.

That estimate was later revised down to 125,000 jobs, prior to the most recent revision down to just 19,000.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump was more critical: He often attacked the jobs figures as they showed the unemployment rate steadily declining while Obama was still president, only to immediately switch to praising the data once he was in office, as steady job gains continued.

The monthly employment report is one of the most closely-watched pieces of government economic data and can cause sharp swings in financial markets. The disappointing figure sent U.S. market indexes about 1.5% lower on Friday.

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The revisions to the May and June numbers were quite large and surprising to many economists. At the same time, every monthly jobs report includes revisions to the prior two months' figures. Those revisions occur as the government receives more responses from businesses to its survey, which helps provide a more complete picture of employment trends each month.

In the past decade, companies have taken longer to respond, which may have contributed to larger monthly revisions.

The proportion of companies responding to the surveys has also fallen steadily over the past 10 years, but the survey still gets responses from roughly 200,000 business locations, which can be independent companies or franchises of larger chains.

The monthly jobs report has long been closely guarded within the BLS, with early copies held in safes under lock and key to prevent any leaks or early dissemination.
For most Americans, its common sense: You dont harangue your coworkers because of personal beliefs and behaviors, just because theyre different from yours. Depending on your workplace, lecturing your colleagues because they are or arent married, do or dont have kids, or spend their weekends woodworking instead of surfing could be recorded as anything from a basic etiquette violation to an H.R. matter. Minding your own business is generally considered morally righteous, and also a best practice, to make life easier for everyone.

But to hear Republicans tell it, being required to leave people alone is the 21st century equivalent of feeding Christians to the lions. On Monday, the Trump administrations Office of Personnel Management issued a guidance allowing federal employees to engage in conversations regarding religious topics with fellow employees, including attempting to persuade others of the correctness of their own religious views. The rule also permits federal employees to encourage their coworkers to participate in religious expressions of faith, such as prayer, and explicitly allows bosses to use their work hours to pester people theyre supervising with appeals to come to Jesus, or sermons on how their sinful lifestyles will send them to hell. Some have speculated the memo opens the door to permitting religious conversion attempts offices nationwide.

First Amendment issues aside, in the eyes of most people, its considered obnoxious, offensive and oppressive to tell a gay coworker theyre damned for eternity, or to harangue a Jewish colleague into reciting the Lords Prayer. According to the memo, however, expecting basic respect in the workplace is discrimination against employees of faith. Donald Trump is quoted as saying this change is necessary to protect Americas unique and beautiful tradition of religious liberty.

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In reality, this policy does the opposite. It allows Christian conservatives to deprive their colleagues of religious freedom by pressuring them to participate in religious rituals they dont believe in or practice. As the Freedom from Religion Foundation argued in their response to the guidance, when someones job security and promotions are at stake, employees will feel they must go along with the religious conversation or attend that Easter service.

Even if the pressure isnt coming from a boss, however, it can still be oppressive. The memo includes guidance stating that if the non-adherent requests such attempts to stop, the employee should honor the request. But asking a coworker to pray, or attempting to persuade them to convert, could make it hard for them to say no. Their rejection could be received with politeness and respect by the evangelist. Or it could spark hostilities. Having the legal right to say no means little when theres every reason to worry your coworker will try to make your work life hell for rejecting them.

The implied threat that can accompany soft coercion is bad enough. But as Rachel Laser of Americans United for Separation of Church and State pointed out in a statement, the Trump administration has created a separate enforcement mechanism to coerce the unwilling to participate in Christian prayer and rituals: The so-called anti-Christian bias task force. Using false claims that Christians in government routinely face persecution, the task force relies on an expansive definition of bias that could easily encompass every time a fundamentalist gets their feelings hurt because an uninterested coworker said no to the offer of a religious pamphlet. Under this regime, its easy to imagine the Christian Nationalists Trump has appointed proselytizing employees in the workplace  who then get reported and disciplined for anti-Christian animus when they object to this harassment, Laser said.

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For decades, many white evangelicals in particular have nursed a persecution complex that recasts disagreement over religion and spirituality as oppression. Right-wing movies like Gods Not Dead conflate having to tolerate difference with outright persecution, as if merely allowing an atheist to exist undisturbed is the same as being crucified. In her book Star-Spangled Jesus, former Christian nationalist April Ajoy  who, after leaving conservatism behind, has embraced an inclusive Christian faith  writes about how eager she was to experience Christian persecution, and how her fellow believers were so primed to presume they were being oppressed that any rejection of their views, however mild, was regarded as an outright attack.

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American Christians are the most privileged group to exist in the country, Tim Whitaker of The New Evangelicals  an organization devoted to rejecting Christian nationalism and promoting a faith centered on justice  argued in a recent TikTok that gently mocked evangelicals who think theyre about to be arrested for reading the Bible. But when youre afraid of losing the power and privilege you have, you become paranoid that any attempt to give others the same rights as you is an attack on your freedom.

One terrifying example of the topsy-turvy logic in action is the Christian nationalist apologetics of Russell Vought, one of Trumps most powerful appointees. Before he took over the Office of Management and Budget, this major author of Project 2025 argued a form of Christian theocracy is necessary to counter what he believes to be the oppression of his faith. Vought openly identifies as a Christian nationalist, arguing that forcing his religion on all Americans is the only way to preserve our countrys Judeo-Christian heritage, which he sees as under assault from LGBTQ people, feminists and secularists. He is fond of hyperventilating language, such as claiming the country is facing an existential threat from the left-wing revolution. But mostly, Voughts argument comes down to this: When people are free to not be Christians, more than he would like choose that option. Having all these non-Christians around is perceived as an assault on his freedom. So he would like to deprive everyone else of their rights, in the name of freedom.

This lack of logic shares much DNA with the rationales of abusers everywhere, who claim that having a boundary is actually abusing them, and therefore, the word no justifies whatever beatdown they inflict on the victim. Its also why its safe to say that, despite the generic language of religion and faith in the administrations memo, the right to bully and harass your colleagues in the name of religion will only belong to Christians. After all, the task force established to enforce these orders is explicitly about anti-Christian bias. Even if a Muslim wanted the same leeway to annoy his colleagues with constant appeals to convert to Islam, he could not go to the task force and complain about bias because he heard the word no.

The name of the task force makes it clear: The only persecution the Trump administration worries about is when conservative Christians get their feelings hurt from rejection.

The post Trump seems to want a tent revival  in the federal workplace appeared first on Salon.com.
President Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made a rare trip to Gaza on Friday, spending five hours on the ground touring an aid distribution center and vowing to address a humanitarian crisis amid a growing global outcry.

The purpose of the visit was to give @POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza, Witkoff wrote on X .

The visit is emblematic of the ongoing shift inside the White House as Trump, while still supportive of Israels campaign, has grown increasingly concerned about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza.

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A White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the presidents thinking, asserted that Trump hasnt changed his fundamental belief that Hamas is largely to blame for the protracted conflict. Still, referring to Trumps own comments in recent days, the official acknowledged some new concerns.

Those concerns, spurred by photos and accounts of starving children, are echoed within MAGA circles and the broader public. A Gallup poll this week showed that American support for Israels military action has dropped to 32 percent, a new low.

Trump calibrates his interactions based on what the issues are. And sometimes people make the mistake of not just listening to the president, said a senior White House official granted anonymity to discuss the presidents thinking. He's just straightforward on this stuff.  Like, what's going on with Gaza and Israel. He wants to settle it. Yes, you can't negotiate with Hamas. But, like, he doesn't want kids to starve. He doesn't want that to happen. It's just, that's it. You know, there's not more to it than that.

That doesnt mean Trump is ready to embrace some foreign allies call to recognize Palestinian statehood  although his opposition may not be quite as firm as it was a couple months ago.

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Trump earlier this summer privately urged French President Emmanuel Macron against recognizing a Palestinian state, according to two people familiar with the conversation, who were granted anonymity to share closely held details. The call, which has not been previously reported, did not produce the intended result and Macron announced his intention to recognize a Palestinian state last week.

But when Trump was asked about it while traveling in Scotland last weekend, he was nonchalant about Macron going ahead with something hed worked privately to forestall.

What he says doesnt matter, the president said. During a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, Trump seemed almost agnostic about Palestinian statehood, leaving his counterpart space to fall in line behind Macron.

Im not going to take a position, said Trump with Starmer seated at his side. I dont mind him taking a position.

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The White House declined to comment on Trumps conversation with Macron or his overall approach to the situation in Gaza. And on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president has expressed his displeasure and disagreement with both Macron and Starmer, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who also indicated support for Palestinian statehood.

Trump, Leavitt continued, still opposes recognizing Palestine as a separate state. He feels as though thats rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages, she said.

Even so, Trump has broken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not only acknowledging the humanitarian crisis in Gaza but also dispatching top aides to address it.

Witkoffs social media post included a picture of him and Huckabee meeting with the Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, to which the U.S. has committed $30 million. Scores of charities and aid groups have criticized the organization for failing to safely distribute aid and said hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to access its distribution sites. The Israeli military insists it fires only warning shots and blames Hamas for the violence.

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Trump on Friday said Witkoff had a "great meeting."

"He had a meeting on getting the people fed, and that's what we want, Trump said.

Concern for the plight of the Palestinians is a striking turn for the U.S. president who, just months ago, mused about creating a riviera in the Middle East, a plan that appeared to be centered on forcibly relocating Palestinians into neighboring countries and razing their homes in Gaza.

And it was Trump who gave Netanyahu explicit approval, if not outright encouragement, in March to end the fragile U.S. brokered ceasefire after just two months and resume Israels all-out war and near-total blockade of humanitarian aid . At the time, the president warned Hamas THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY! if continued to hold hostages and declared he was giving Israel "everything it needs to finish the job.

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The senior White House official said Trump just wants the bloodshed to end and is not deeply concerned about the details.

The president routinely preserves optionality and off ramps, the official said. That's kind of his way  a lot of exit strategies on any given thing that are somewhat acceptable.
President Donald Trump's super PAC holds nearly $200 million after donations from Elon Musk and other Silicon Valley heavyweights.

The funds may be spent to take on rivals in both the Democratic and Republican parties. During the first half of this year, the Trump group MAGA Inc. gathered about $177m in total from Musk, TikTok investor Jeffrey Yass, Silicon Valley executives Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, and others, a Thursday filing with the Federal Election Commission states.

Trump has held several fundraisers this year, costing as much as seven figures a seat, The New York Times noted. The dinners, which have often been held at one of the presidents properties, have allowed lobbyists and executives to make their case to Trump about their business interests.

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The filing states that the super PAC has $196.1m in cash on hand.

Politicians havent previously been so meticulous about raising money when they dont have a campaign in the future. Comparatively, a group backing term-limited former President Barack Obama raised $356,000 in the first half of 2013. That June, it had $3.4 million in cash on hand.

MAGA Inc. has collected almost double the money as the Republican National Committee. But the RNC is restricted by contribution limits.

Yass donated $16m to MAGA Inc. while Horowitz and Andreessen jointly contributed $6m. Trump has boosted the crypto industry from which his group collected several seven-figure donations. The group also received a $5m donation from a crypto entity co-founded by Sam Altman, the chief of OpenAI.

Elon Musk donated to Republican groups even after his public feud with President Donald Trump (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Some Republicans have grown confused as to why Trump has been raising so much money for the group. Some of the presidents top supporters have pushed for him to run for an unconstitutional third term.

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Trump aides have said it would be unwise not to take money that is essentially up for the taking. The funds can be used to attack the presidents enemies.

With such a sizable money pot, MAGA Inc. is set to play a significant role in Republican primaries, boosting the value of an endorsement from Trump. Some conservatives have grown worried about the amount of money collected by the Super PAC, with the group likely to be a bigger spender in the 2026 midterm elections than groups connected to the Republican leadership in Congress.

Trumps Super PAC has almost $200 million in cash on hand, despite the fact that the president is a term-limited (AP)

As of June 30, the Congressional and Senate Leadership Funds held $32.7m and $29.7m. Filings show that a super PAC supported by the crypto industry, Fairshake, had $140m on hand, according to filings.

Musk at first said he would spend roughly $100m on Trumps political operation, but in the end, he spent only $5m. Musk and Trumps close relationship has since come to an apparent end. Musk also contributed $5m each to the Senate and Congressional Leadership Funds some weeks after his public feud with the president. But soon after, following the passage of Trumps budget bill, Musk said he would leave the Republican Party to start his own party.

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Yass also donated $10m to a super PAC backing Vivek Ramaswamy, now an Ohio gubernatorial candidate.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison donated $1m to support South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
President Donald Trumps primary Super PAC has raked in over $200 million this year, with the donations ranging from unseemly to objectively funny.

Perhaps the most notable donor to the group, MAGA Inc., is Elon Musk, who gave $5 million in late June despite publicly feuding with the president ever since he left his role leading Trumps so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The worlds richest man made his contribution on June 27, several days before Trump publicly mulled deporting him.

Another comical name: Jared Isaacman, who had been Trumps nominee to lead NASA. The president decided to pull his nomination because he previously donated to Democrats, yet Isaacman gave $1 million a month later.

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Its not all fun and games, though. There was plenty of money to be found from billionaires, fossil fuel companies and executives, cryptocurrency firms and investors, health care behemoths, big banks, and other businesses with vested financial interests in policy decisions coming out of Trumps administration, according to MAGA Inc.s filing on Thursday. (Musk, for his part, remains a massive government contractor.)

The single biggest donor to MAGA Inc. since the start of the year is Jeff Yass, who gave $15 million in March. Yass financial firm owns a big stake in the Chinese parent company of TikTok. Trump has allowed the platform to continue operating in the U.S. despite Congress passing legislation last year banning TikTok from doing so unless its sold. Trump has twice signed executive orders extending the deadline.

MAGA Inc. received a combined $25 million in February from pipeline giant Energy Transfer LP and its CEO Kelcy Warren. On the first day of his second term, Trump rescinded Joe Bidens executive order blocking the permit for Energy Transfers controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. We want the Keystone XL Pipeline built! Trump posted on Truth Social a few days after the donations.

Americas largest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, donated $5 million to MAGA Inc. in January, days before Trump took office. The embattled insurer, which has been reeling in the wake of the murder of its CEO, is being investigated by the Trump Justice Department over its Medicare billing practices.

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The Super PAC received $5 million in February from Extremity Care, a company that sells so-called skin substitute bandages. In April, the Trump administration delayed a Biden administration policy that would limit Medicare spending on the wildly expensive bandages, which cost the essential health program billions of dollars each year.

As Trump and his family build a massive crypto fortune, he has aggressively pushed the industrys interests in Washington and sought to deregulate the exceedingly risky assets. He recently signed legislation creating new, light-touch regulations for so-called stablecoins, crypto assets with a price pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Crypto interests have poured money into his Super PAC. Foris DAX Inc., better known as crypto.com, donated $10 million. Blockchain.com gave $5 million.

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the crypto investors who lead the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, have each donated $3 million. Gemini Trust Company, a crypto exchange launched by billionaire twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, has donated $1.4 million; the twins kicked in another $1 million together. Crypto investment firm Paradigm Operations gave $1.2 million.

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Kelly Loeffler, Trumps Small Business Administration chief, donated $2.5 million to MAGA Inc. Warren Stephens, Trumps ambassador to the United Kingdom, gave $1 million to the Super PAC in February, two weeks after his nomination was formally submitted to the Senate.

Health care entrepreneur Elizabeth Fago contributed $1 million to MAGA Inc. in April. Weeks later, Trump granted her son, who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes, a full and unconditional pardon.

Tools for Humanity, an eyeball-scanning company co-founded by OpenAIs Sam Altman, is another major donor to MAGA Inc., giving $5 million. Tools for Humanity has reported lobbying the Trump administration on issues related to digital identification, artificial intelligence, privacy, and cybersecurity.

Other donors to MAGA Inc. include Estee Lauder heir Ronald Lauder ($5 million), Intercontinental Exchange chair Jeffrey Sprecher ($5 million), sugar giant Florida Crystals ($2 million), tobacco firm Reynolds American Inc. ($2 million), Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ($1 million), and big bank JPMorgan Chase ($964,000).

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MAGA Inc. also received nearly $14 million in dark money from Securing American Greatness, a pro-Trump nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.

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President Donald Trump has singled out Canada for punishment in his latest round of tariff announcements, with a key component allowing a delay for other countries.

Trump signed an executive order Thursday forcing new import taxes on dozens of countries under a new trade plan. As part of the latest tariff rollout, over 70 other countries will have until Aug. 7 until their new levies kick in.

The same could not be said about Canada, however. Trump signed a separate executive order Thursday that included a new tariff rateup from 25 percent to 35 percentand an earlier deadline: 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Aug. 1.

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The order stated CanadaAmericas second-biggest trading partnerhad failed to address illegal migration and showed a lack of cooperation in stopping fentanyl and other illicit drugs flowing into the U.S. as well as threatening to retaliate with its own tariffs.

President Donald Trump decided to push his tariff deadline back by a weekdespite declaring Wednesday that the Aug. 1 deadline

Trump had announced modified tariff rates in April, but put implementing them on hold following market turmoil.

Under the newly signed guidelines, Trump raised the baseline tariff rate from 10 percent to 15 percent for all countries with which the United States has a trade deficit. The 10 percent rate will remain for countries with a trade surplus.

The highest tariff is on goods from Syria, at 41 percent. Switzerlands rate, not far behind, increased from 31 percent to 39 percent.

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China, currently in talks with the administration, keeps its baseline tariff at 10 percent, as agreed upon in May. Although the average effective tariff rate on imports to the U.S. sits at its highest level in nearly a century, some countries saw their rates decrease following trade agreements.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to hit back at the U.S. / Jim Watson/Getty Images

Imports from the European Union, Japan, and South Korea will be taxed at 15 percent, all having struck deals with Trump in the last week. The levies will be paid by importers in the United States and would typically be passed on to American consumers.

The executive order effectively pushes the tariff deadline back by a weekdespite Trump declaring Wednesday on Truth Social, THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE IS THE AUGUST FIRST DEADLINE  IT STANDS STRONG, AND WILL NOT BE EXTENDED. A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA!!!

The delay is reportedly so Customs and Border Protection can make necessary changes, according to CNN and The Washington Post, but will also allow trading partners more time to negotiate.

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The increased tariffs for Canada, which come despite the country scrapping its digital services tax as a concession to Trump, apply only to goods not covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, so 85 percent of Canadian imports remain duty-free. Canada is the top buyer of U.S. exports, according to CNN. Trump had earlier agreed to a 90-day extension with Mexico to cut a trade deal, crediting it for negotiating more cooperatively than Canada.

Canada shouldnt settle for anything less than the right deal. Now is not the time to roll over. We need to stand our ground.



The increase in U.S. tariffs to 35 per cent is concerning, especially with tariffs still in place on steel, aluminum, autos, forestry and now copper.  Doug Ford (@fordnation) July 31, 2025

We have a good relationship with Canada; we work well with their officials and government, a senior administration official told reporters, according to CNN. But they havent shown the same level of constructiveness that weve seen from the Mexican side.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was disappointed in a statement after midnight Thursday, adding Canada accounted for 1 percent of U.S. fentanyl imports.

While we will continue to negotiate with the United States on our trading relationship, the Canadian government is laser-focused on what we can control: building Canada strong, he said.

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Canadas government is making historic investments in border security to arrest drug traffickers, take down transnational gangs, and end migrant smuggling... We will continue working with the United States to stop the scourge of fentanyl and save lives in both our countries.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the hike is concerning, and declared in an X post: We need to stand our ground. He also called for PM Carney to hit back with a 50 percent tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Thursday, slapping tariffs on many of America's trading partners, but the new duties are set to go into effect in seven days -- not Friday as was anticipated.

The executive order lays out rates to be applied against nearly 70 countries, ranging from 10% to 41% in what a Trump administration official hailed as the beginning of a "new system of trade."

The order was unveiled just hours ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline Trump had set for countries to make trade deals with the U.S. but the tariffs aren't going into effect immediately. Instead, they are set to roll out next week. In addition, there is an extended rollout for goods shipped into the country by vessel. As long as they are shipped by Aug. 7 and enter the U.S. by Oct. 5, they will not be subject to the new tariff rates.

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The countries facing the highest rates in the executive order are Laos and Myanmar at 40% and Syria at 41%. However, the president previously announced a 40% tariff on Brazil, which, when added on top of the 10% baseline tariff in the new order, means a 50% rate on the country's imports to the U.S.

Trump previously announced some of the rates, such as a 35% tariff on Canada, unveiled in a separate executive order, and a 25% tariff on India.

Countries not listed in the executive order will face a 10% tariff.

The White House has said the rates were determined largely based on the trade deficit the U.S. has with those trading partners.

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The new tariff rates resemble levies that were placed on more than 90 countries on April 2, though there are some differences.

Trump rolled out those so-called reciprocal tariffs in April, then delayed them, vowing then to strike roughly 90 trade deals in 90 days. In early July, Trump delayed the tariffs again, setting a deadline of Aug. 1.

The new executive order appears to add 15% tariffs on goods from several countries not initially included in the presidents "Liberation Day" executive order on April 2 -- including Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana and Iceland.

Other rates have been lowered, in part through trade deals the White House previously announced.

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The tariff on Vietnam is set at 20%, down from 46%. The rate for Japan is set at 15%, down from 24%.

The administration has struck other deals with major U.S. trading partners.

After the 'Liberation Day" tariffs were unveiled and then delayed, Trump sent letters to leaders of roughly two dozen countries outlining the tariff levels that would take effect if no deal were struck.

The Trump administration raced to strike trade agreements over the days preceding the deadline in an effort to win concessions from targeted countries in exchange for reduced tariff rates.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images - PHOTO: President Donald Trump holds up a chart while speaking during a "Make America Wealthy Again" trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House, April 2, 2025.

Ahead of Thursday's executive order, Trump brokered agreements with the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, the European Union and South Korea. The White House also reached a preliminary accord with China that lowered tit-for-tat tariffs previously imposed by the world's two largest economies.

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On Wednesday, Trump announced a 90-day delay of reciprocal tariffs targeting Mexico, which would have otherwise faced 30% levies. Instead, Mexico faces a 25% tariff for most goods as well as sector-specific tariffs targeting cars, aluminum and steel. Those levies exclude products compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a free trade agreement.

MORE: What have Trump's tariffs achieved so far? Experts weigh in

Tariffs put forward so far by Trump are expected to cost an average household an additional $2,400 this year, the Yale Budget Lab found on Wednesday.

Importers typically pass along a share of the tariff-related tax burden onto consumers in the form of price hikes.

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The Trump administration has touted tariffs as part of a wider set of "America First economic policies," which have "sparked trillions of dollars in new investment in U.S. manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure," according to the White House's website.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, a Trump administration official hailed the new tariffs as part of a "new system of trade" that aims to prioritize "fair and balanced trade" over efficiency at all costs.

For his part, the president has insisted that the on-again, off-again levies make up a key part of his negotiation strategy.

"The president and his trade team want to cut the best deals for the American people and the American worker," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month when she announced the Aug. 1 deadline.

ABC News' Jack Moore contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump is unhappy with Canadas decision to recognize the state of Palestine.

Just days ahead of joint trade talks with the important U.S. trading partner, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would join Western allies France and the United Kingdom in pledging to recognize Palestine as a sovereign territory, under certain conditions.

Canada has long been committed to a two-state solution, Carney said in a post on X, calling for an independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian state living side by side with the State of Israel in peace and security.

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In July, Trump announced a 35% tariff on imports of certain Canadian goods that is set to take effect tomorrow. Trump criticized Canada on Truth Social, blaming Carney for complicating a potential trade agreement as the two countries head toward the negotiating table.

Wow, wrote the president in his post. Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh Canada!!!

In a press briefing on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expanded on the presidents post.

The president expressed his displeasure and his disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada, she said.

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Leavitt noted that the White House believes that recognizing Palestine would be rewarding Hamas.

In his announcement of recognition, Carney called on the Palestinian Authority to institute much-needed reforms and a general election in 2026. In addition, he demanded that Hamas play no part in the elections.

The post Trump vents as Canada prepares to recognize Palestinian state appeared first on Salon.com.
At least 22 people, including a police officer, have been confirmed dead and over 200 injured in Angolas most widespread protests in recent years, sparked by a sharp increase in fuel prices.

The demonstrations began as a taxi drivers strike but rapidly escalated into violent unrest across major cities including Luanda, Huambo, Benguela, and Huila. More than 1,200 arrests have been made, while emergency services in the capital are reportedly overwhelmed. Medical personnel say the real death toll may be higher, with patients suffering from severe injuries and trauma.

Government officials, including Interior Minister Manuel Homem, have characterised the protests as acts of vandalism and blamed criminal infiltrators for intensifying the violence. President Joao Lourenco has maintained that the subsidy removal is necessary and accused protestors of exploiting the situation to destabilise the country. In response to the unrest, major businesses have shut down, infrastructure has been damaged, and international flights and consular operations have been disrupted due to security concerns.

The rise in diesel pricesby over 33%has severely impacted daily life, increasing transport fares and food prices in a nation already grappling with economic hardship. The opposition coalition, the Patriotic United Front (FPU), expressed solidarity with citizens affected by the crisis, while also condemning the destruction of property. As military and police presence intensifies, the situation remains volatile, with long queues at fuel stations and growing fears of further instability in the oil-rich but economically strained nation.
Sen. Josh Hawley is explaining why President Donald Trump went nuclear and attacked him for his bill that would ban elected officials from trading stocks.

On Wednesday, Trump attacked Hawley, a Republican ally from Missouri, calling him a second-tier senator after the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed his legislation to ban members of Congress and other federal elected officials as well as their spouses from trading stocks.

Hawley spoke to Business Insiders Bryan Metzger and The New York Suns Matt Rice and said that other Republican senators told Trump that the president would need to sell his Mar-a-Lago property under the legislation.

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What he said is that he had a number of people call him and say that the bill had been changed at the last minute to force him to sell Mar-a-Lago and his assets, which is, of course, totally false, Hawley said, adding: It exempts them.

The legislation would only require members to sell their stocks when their next term began, which Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) criticized during deliberation of the bill, since he said it should also apply to Trump.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) explained his dust-up with President Donald Trump this week. (Getty)

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) also criticized the legislation and tried to include a stipulation to investigate former House speaker Nancy Pelosis stock trading.

That meant that the legislation passed through committee with Hawley being the only Republican who supported the legislation.

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When we walked through the text of the bill, he was like oh, okay, Hawley said. And I said your assets are all protected. I mean, it doesnt apply. It applies to the next president. So, yeah. He finished by saying youre exonerated Josh, we love you.

Members of both parties ardently support legislation banning members from trading stocks. Sens. Elisabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) all support some version of it. In the House of Representatives, Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) support similar legislation.

But it has failed to get off the ground for many years. Hawley had sought to entice Republicans to support his bill by calling it the PELOSI Act. It was later renamed the HONEST Act and Pelosi, who still serves in the House of Representatives, later came out in favor of it.

The HONEST Act, as amended, rightly applies its stock trading ban not only to Members of Congress, but now to the President and Vice President as well, she said. I strongly support this legislation and look forward to voting for it on the Floor of the House.

Despite the fact the bill made it out of committee, it will likely not make it to the floor of the Senate any time soon. The Senate will break for recess after this week. And when Congress returns, it will have to pass spending bills to avoid a shutdown. In addition, the Senate is going into overtime to move through Trumps nominations.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump introduced last-minute stumbling blocks for several nations seeking reprieves on trade before his reciprocal tariffs begin to go into effect just after midnight.

Irked by Canada's support for Palestinian statehood, India's purchases of Russian oil and Brazil's prosecution of its former president, Trump threatened to punish the nations with higher tariffs, regardless of whether the actions directly harm U.S. exports or exacerbate existing trade deficits.

In a Truth Social Post, the U.S. president linked Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's announcement that his country would recognize Palestinian statehood to the negotiations with Ottawa to stop a 35% tariff from going into effect at 12:01 am ET on Aug. 1.

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More: Judges question whether Trump tariffs are authorized by emergency powers

"Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh Canada!!!" Trump said.

Trump has made a flurry of deals with America's trading partners as his Aug. 1 deadline approaches, including agreements with South Korea and Pakistan and a trade pact with the European Union. Other countries that are currently paying a baseline tariff of 10% and have not entered into a separate arrangement with the United States may see their fees go up.

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Indian flag and the word "Tariffs" are seen in this illustration taken July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo

Here's where Trump's tariffs and trade negotiations stand:

Trump expected to sign executive order Thursday setting new tariffs

Trump will sign an executive order during the afternoon or evening of July 31 setting the new tariff rates for countries around the world, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt (2nd-L), and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller (3rd-L), talks about his granddaughter Chloe (C) while speaking to members of the media aboard Air Force One on July 29, 2025 in flight.

Trump has already announced several of those rates, ranging from 50% on imports from Brazil to 15% tariffs on goods from several countries including South Korea and the European Union.

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In April, Trump imposed a baseline 10% tariff that applied to most countries. Trump has said he is likely to raise the baseline to either 15% or 20% beginning Aug. 1. - Joey Garrison

Countries to receive new tariff rates before midnight, White House says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said countries that have not received notice of their new U.S. reciprocal tariff rates will be alerted by the administration before midnight Aug. 1.

Tomorrow, Aug. 1, the reciprocal rates will be going into effect, Leavitt said during a July 31 briefing with reporters.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025.

Trump has pointed to Aug. 1 as the marker for higher reciprocal tariffs on goods from nearly 200 countries across the world to go into effect. Trump has already announced new tariff rates for several countries and reached deals with other nations, including Japan, Vietnam and the European Union, that includes their new tariff rates.

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Weve sent out 17 letters to countries around the world, and the rest those countries that either do not have a deal or have a letter, they will be hearing from this administration by the business deadline tonight, Leavitt said. - Joey Garrison

Mexico trade deal extended for 90 days

Trump says he's giving Mexico another 90 days to come to a longer term agreement with the United States to avoid higher tariffs.

After speaking by phone to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, he said in a Truth Social post that he was extending existing tariffs on Mexico for 90 days, and possibly longer, while the countries continued to negotiate.

Merchandise on sale on the day of an event by Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum to give details on the country's response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico, at Zocalo Square in downtown Mexico City, March 9, 2025.

"The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different than other Nations because of both the problems, and assets, of the Border," he said. "We have agreed to extend, for a 90 Day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, 25% Tariff on Cars, and 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper."

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Trump said that Mexico also agreed to "immediately terminate" all of its non-tariff barriers, without providing further details on that part of the agreement.

"There will be continued cooperation on the Border as it relates to all aspects of Security, including Drugs, Drug Distribution, and Illegal Immigration into the United States," he said.

Mexico had been facing a 30% tariff on non-exempt goods. - Francesca Chambers

Trump admin defends use of emergency power to impose tariffs in federal court

Demonstrators wearing costumes and masks depicting former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump take part in a protest against Trump's announcement of 50% tariffs on Brazilian products, in Sao Paulo, Brazil July 10, 2025.

President Donald Trump's tariffs may be headed for some rocky legal terrain. U.S. appeals court judges indicated during oral arguments on July 31 that they were skeptical the president has the legal authority to impose tariffs without congressional approval.

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Department of Justice lawyer Brett Shumate argued in opening remarks that Trump should be able to continue using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs. "But IEEPA has rarely been used, hasn't it," a judge immediately interjected.

More: Judges question whether Trump tariffs are authorized by emergency powers

Shumate said that since its inception in 1977, the statute has frequently been used by the government. "This is the first time IEEPA has been used for tariffs," Shumate acknowledged.

But he said Trump's actions incorporated language that former President Richard Nixon used in 1971 to impose tariffs that were later upheld by the court, and Congress was aware of the case when it passed a law giving the U.S. president emergency powers. - Francesca Chambers/Reuters

Trump cites Bolsonaro prosecution in Brazil tariff hike

Protestors display a large Brazilian national flag during an event in support of national sovereignty held in the Noble Hall at the USP Law School in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 25, 2025. US President Donald Trump has pencilled in 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian goods starting August 1, swatting aside a centuries-old alliance and a US trade surplus of $284 million in 2024.

In a July 30 executive order hiking tariffs on Brazil to 50%, he cited the nation's prosecution of former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, as a reason for higher import fees on some goods. The order moved an earlier deadline for the tariffs to go into effect to Aug. 6.

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He said that Bolsonaro, who's charged with plotting a coup, had been "politically persecuted." The administration also sanctioned the judge in the case in a separate action on the same day. - Francesca Chambers

India in the crosshairs for Russian oil purchases

U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 13, 2025.

Trump blasted India for purchasing Russian oil, which has helped to prolong Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine. He said in a social media post that he'd hit India with a 25% tariff.

He also took aim at the country's participation in the BRICS economic group. The club rivals the Group of Seven economic alliance for advanced economies and includes Russia, Brazil, China and South Africa.

In an overnight post on social media, Trump hit India again  and needled former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

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More: Trump's trade talks intensify with tariff deadline fast approaching

"I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World," Trump wrote. "Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Lets keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks hes still President, to watch his words. Hes entering very dangerous territory!"

Medvedev had previously issued a sharp warning to Trump over his threats to put steep tariffs on purchasers Russian oil.

"Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with (Trump's) own country," the former Russian president said. - Francesca Chambers

U.S. closes in on a China deal

US treasury secretary Scott Bessent (C) arrives at Sweden's government seat Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 29, 2025, ahead of the second day of trade talks between China and the USA. The world's top two economies are looking to extend a fragile trade truce in the face of President Donald Trump's global tariff war.

Trump's administration has continued negotiate with China, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a July 31 interview with CNBC that the United States' believes a deal is close at hand.

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"I believe that we have the makings of a deal," Bessent said.

Bessent was expected to update Trump on the status of negotiations later in the day. China faces an Aug. 12 deadline to reach an agreement with the United States.

The tariffs will also face a key legal test this week as the U.S. Court of Appeals hears arguments in a case challenging Trump's authority to tap into emergency powers to impose unilateral tariffs.

"If our Country was not able to protect itself by using TARIFFS AGAINST TARIFFS, WE WOULD BE DEAD, WITH NO CHANCE OF SURVIVAL OR SUCCESS," Trump said on social media ahead of oral arguments. - Francesca Chambers

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Midnight deadline looms for countries facing Trump tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump's India tariffs have shown Moscow's allies that he will follow through with his threat to impose secondary tariffs on countries that purchase Russian oil, though doubts remain about the practicalities of implementing them, analysts have told the Kyiv Independent.

Escalating pressure on countries that continue buying Russian oil, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Indian imports, a policy that came into effect on Aug.1.

"They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia's largest buyer of energy, along with China," Trump said on July 30.

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Just a day after Trump's announcement, Reuters reported that Indian state refiners had halted Russian oil purchases in the past week. According to Bloomberg, the Indian government instructed oil companies to prepare plans for alternative supplies.

Alexandra Filippenko, an American studies expert, said that while India has maintained ties with Russia, U.S. influence remains far more decisive.

"The American market is, of course, very important for India  far more important than Russia, and far more important than cheap Russian oil," she told the Kyiv Independent.

The decision to impose tariffs on New Delhi came just a day after Trump announced that secondary tariffs targeting Moscow  and impacting its trading partners like China, India, and Brazil  would take effect on Aug. 8 unless a deal to end the war in Ukraine is reached.

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If countries like India continue purchasing Russian oil, they could face up to a 100% tariff on exports to the U.S., potentially driving up prices for American buyers and putting pressure on Indian exporters.

"Trump is clearly showing that he's ready to impose tariffs," Filippenko said.

India-Russia energy ties

India hasn't been dependent on Russian oil for all that long.

New Delhi's reliance on Russian crude grew after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the beginning of that year, Russian oil accounted for just 0.2% of India's imports.

But as Western nations shunned Russian energy, India capitalized on steep discounts. By mid-2023, Russia was supplying over 2 million barrels of oil per day to India.

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In 2025, India overtook China as Russia's top crude buyer by volume, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Oil tanker trucks are seen outside an oil refinery operated by Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. in Mumbai, India, on April 4, 2025. (Dhiraj Singh / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) awards the Order of St. Andrew to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) for his contributions to relations between the two countries in Moscow, Russia, on July 9, 2024. (Sefa Karacan / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Despite those volumes, Filippenko said India is ultimately more exposed to American pressure than dependent on Russian oil.

"That's why there's real potential for U.S. leverage," she said.

From deal-maker to enforcer

Trump, who had pledged to broker peace in Ukraine within 24 hours of returning to office, has grown frustrated with what he describes as Russia's unwillingness to move forward.

On July 29, he warned that if Moscow failed to take real steps toward peace, the U.S. "gonna put on tariffs and stuff," likely meaning secondary tariffs on Russia.

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"What Trump might get instead is higher oil prices and more money for the Kremlin. That's the opposite of what he wants."

The U.S. president aims to weaken Moscow by cutting into its oil revenues, which make up around one-third of Russia's federal budget and are a key source of funding for its war in Ukraine.

Filippenko believes Trump's move on India is meant to signal that he's serious about following through on his promise to impose secondary tariffs.

Will the tariffs work?

While the promise has been made, some experts remain skeptical that Trump's strategy will deliver the intended results.

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Sergei Aleksashenko, a U.S.-based Russian economist, said the situation remains complex.

"So far, I don't see a clear alternative for India to replace Russian oil," he told the Kyiv Independent.

Russian opposition politician and energy analyst Vladimir Milov called Trump's secondary sanctions strategy flawed and difficult to enforce.

"It looks like a very complicated scheme, and nobody was ever able to explain how it's supposed to work. They are essentially talking about a full-scale trade embargo on major U.S. partners like China and India," he told the Kyiv Independent.

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Milov noted that both countries account for about 80% of Russia's oil exports and are engaged in sensitive trade negotiations with Washington.

"There's no indication that the issue of Russian oil has even surfaced in these negotiations," he said, warning that Moscow could ultimately benefit  a weaker ruble and rising oil prices may actually increase its export revenues.

"What Trump might get instead is higher oil prices and more money for the Kremlin. That's the opposite of what he wants," Milov warned.

Trump's rhetoric has already triggered market reactions. Following his threats, global oil prices climbed more than 3%, the ruble dropped by 4%, and the Moscow Stock Exchange fell over 3%, according to Reuters.

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Oleksandr Talavera, a professor of financial economics at the University of Birmingham, said the impact depends entirely on enforcement.

"Trump often makes bold announcements only to backtrack later. So there's political rhetoric here," he told the Kyiv Independent.

He added that while limiting Russian oil sales could disrupt markets, it's unclear whether Trump actually wants oil prices to rise, especially heading into a midterm election.

Talavera noted that tariffs on India mark a concrete step, and warned that if effectively implemented and backed by European enforcement, secondary sanctions could hurt Russia's oil revenues, but only if compliance is strict.

Beijing watches closely

China remains the most sensitive case in Trump's tariff strategy. It is Russia's largest energy customer by value and a major supplier of dual-use components fueling Russia's war machine.

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"China is clearly the main beneficiary here  cheap resources from Moscow, and now Russia buys everything from China after turning away from Europe," Filippenko said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C), and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) pose for a group photo before their trilateral meeting at the G20 Osaka Summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. (Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images)

"I don't know how much of a manageable burden that is for Donald Trump," she said.

Earlier this year, the U.S. and China entered a trade standoff, imposing steep tariffs  up to 145% on Chinese imports and 125% on American goods.

Just two months later, Trump announced a new trade deal with China that eased tensions, reducing U.S. tariffs on Chinese products to 55%, while Beijing lowered its duties to 10%.

Still, Filippenko noted that Trump is positioning himself to act if talks stall.

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"Trump is showing that if he wants to, he will impose tariffs," she said. "If no one makes deals and no one respects the ultimatums he sets, he'll act."

Note from the author

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President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made an extremely rare visit to Gaza on Friday amid the spiraling hunger crisis in the enclave under Israel's deadly offensive and aid restrictions.

The pair visited an aid distribution site in Rafah run by the controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has for months overseen the majority of aid distribution in the enclave under a new system launched in May.

"Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza," Witkoff said in a post on X. He said they spent that time "level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions," and meeting with GHF and other agencies.

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"The purpose of the visit was to give @POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza," he said.

Huckabee said in a separate post that he had joined Witkoff on the visit to "learn the truth" about aid sites run by GHF. He said they also received briefings from the Israeli military and "spoke to folks on the ground." It was not immediately clear whom he was referring to.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, in an image shared by Huckabee. (@USAmbIsrael / via X)

In a post on X sharing images of the delegation in Gaza, he hailed the number of meals distributed by GHF  "more than one million meals a day" as an "incredible feat."

GHF has been predominantly responsible for the distribution of aid in Gaza since late May, when Israel said it would allow a basic amount of humanitarian supplies into the enclave after lifting a crippling blockade that barred the entry of food and other vital items for more than two months.

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Israel on Sunday announced measures to allow more aid into Gaza amid mounting global outrage over rising deaths from starvation. Since then, GHF has continued to distribute about 1.2 million meals a day, according to data shared by the organization. In a population of roughly 2.1 million people, that equates to just over half a meal per person per day on average.

Humanitarian groups have said the aid that has so far been allowed into Gaza over the past week is not enough to stave off famine in the enclave.

They have also condemned incidents in which hundreds of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach aid in the weeks since the new distribution system came into effect.

Since late May, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food, with 859 deaths "in the vicinity" of GHF sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys," the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, said in a news release Thursday. It said most of the killings were committed by the Israeli military.

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Witkoff and Huckabee made the trip as part of an effort by Washington to secure a plan to see more food delivered to Gaza as deaths from starvation in the enclave continue to rise, according to the White House.

It was not clear how arrangements for the visit, including the meetings with local Palestinians in Gaza, were being arranged, with Israel having maintained strict control over access to Gaza throughout the war, barring international media and foreign officials from entering the territory independently.

Basem Naim, a senior political official for Hamas, condemned the visit, writing in a statement addressed to Witkoff: "Gaza is not Animal Farm that needs a theatrical personal visit to take some pictures in front of the #Death_Factories that your American companies manage in collaboration with the fascist army of Israel."

Palestinians form a line to receive hot meals in Gaza's al-Zeitoun neighborhood Thursday. (Abdalhkem Abu Riash / Anadolu via Getty Images)

The trip comes as a growing number of Palestinians continue to die from starvation despite months of warnings from humanitarian groups about the impact of Israels offensive and the strict aid restrictions it has upheld.

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Huckabee would brief Trump "immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region."

She said more details would be forthcoming once the plan was "approved and agreed on by the president of the United States."

Their visit to Gaza comes after Witkoff traveled to Israel and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Thursday to address the dire humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave.

Trump said earlier this week that "real starvation" was taking place, citing images he had seen on TV in a break with Netanyahu, who has denied there is starvation in the enclave and sought to blame Hamas for the crisis.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
On Thursday morning, attorneys representing the administration stood before a panel of federal judges in Washington, D.C., to defend the President Donald Trump's use of emergency economic powers to levy tariffs.

By Thursday evening, however, a new executive order seemed to undermine the legal basis for those tariffs. With the enforcement of some tariffs postponed until early October, it's becoming ever more difficult to believe that the president is responding to "an unusual and extraordinary threat."

That's the key phrase in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the 1977 statute that Trump has invoked to apply tariffs on imports from Canada, China, Mexico, and now dozens of other countries. It is also at the crux of the lawsuit currently sitting before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In oral arguments on Thursday, Trump's attorneys argued that America's trade deficit constituted exactly such a threat, and that the law ought to allow Trump to take action. (Never mind thatas an economic matter rather than a legal onetrade deficits aren't emergencies and tariffs are unlikely to reduce them.)

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But if the administration seriously thinks this is an emergency, why is it responding so slowly?

Under the terms of an executive order published Thursday night, the Trump administration is postponing the enforcement of some tariffs until early October. Specifically, goods that are "withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption" by October 5 will not be subject to tariffs, even if they are imported after the August 7 deadline when the new tariffs are set to take effect.

Cynically, that provision might be seen as a way to avoid hiking prices in advance of the holiday seasonsince most stores will have stocked up on those items by early October. It also creates a bit more leeway for tariff advocates to keep claiming that the president's policies aren't raising prices, as the impact from tariffs will be blunted for the next few months.

It also creates an amusing bit of arbitrary government policy. Goods removed from a warehouse on October 4 are apparently the result of consensual and normal market processes, but goods removed from warehouses on October 6 represent a dire national security risk that requires expansive emergency powers to combat. That's just silly.

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More important, given the context of the legal challenges facing Trump's tariffs, is what this maneuver says about the supposed emergency that the president is responding to. By October, six months will have passed since Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement and the invoking of IEEPA to impose broad tariffs on nearly all imports. In what other situation would anyone wait six months to respond to an emergency? Imagine if that's how the fire department treated a crisis.

If an emergency exists, then there is no justification for further delays. But if, as seems obvious, Trump is merely using the claim of an emergency to accomplish routine policy goals, then the courts (and Congress) should move to block the tariffs.

The post Are Trump's Tariffs Responding to an Actual Emergency? appeared first on Reason.com.
The Brief

Orlando International Airport has introduced new TSA security lanes specifically for families with young children, called "Families on the Fly."

These lanes aim to reduce stress for traveling families and ease congestion at standard security lanes.

The program is set to expand to other airports, including Charlotte, Los Angeles, and Honolulu.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Traveling with young children can be stressful, but a new initiative at Orlando International Airport (MCO) aims to make the process a bit smoother for parents.

What we know

The Transportation Security Administration has launched a new initiative called "Families on the Fly" at Orlando International Airport (MCO), offering dedicated security lanes for travelers with children aged 12 and under.

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The program is designed to reduce stress for parents and ease congestion at standard security lines. Enrollment in TSA PreCheck is not required to use the family lanes, though discounted PreCheck rates for families will be offered soon.

What we don't know

Its still unclear when the discounted TSA PreCheck fees for families will officially launch, and whether the program will eventually expand to all TSA-serviced airports nationwide. TSA has also not detailed how long the pilot phase will last or whether it will assess passenger feedback before wider implementation.

The backstory

The TSA has been working to improve the passenger experience, particularly for families, amid growing travel demand and airport congestion. "Families on the Fly" is one of several recent hospitality-focused initiatives aimed at making air travel smoother at more than 400 airports across the U.S.

Timeline

The program has already launched at MCO and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT). Future rollouts are planned for John Wayne Orange County Airport (SNA), Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL), Charleston International (CHS), Jacksonville International (JAX), Rhode Island T. F. Green (PVD), Luis Munoz Marin International (SJU), and Tampa International (TPA). Additional airports are expected to be added in the coming months.

What they're saying

The "Families on the Fly" lanes are designed to reduce wait times and ease the strain of navigating airport security with kids in tow.

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"We understand that air travel can be challenging, especially for parents managing strollers, diaper bags, and young kids, "said TSA Federal Security Director for Orlando Pete Garcia. "This program goes beyond convenience; its about addressing the unique needs of traveling families to provide a smoother, more supportive experience at our security checkpoints."

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It's welcome news for travelers.

"It's extremely stressful. There's a lot of stuff, like all the iPads and all the teddies and all that kind of stuff," said Adam Luper, a visitor from the UK. Fanta Kaba, visiting from New York, added, "It's very exhausting. Especially when [the child] is crying. You have to pick him up. You have to drag the bag. So when the line is shorter, it makes it easier for the parents."

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"When the line is shorter, it makes it easier for the parents," said Fanta Kaba, a parent from New York who was traveling through MCO.

Michael Silata, the TSAs assistant federal security director in Orlando, said the airport was an ideal location to launch the program.

"This dedicated lane helps to ease the traveling public when they come through. And that same time, really add value when they travel through the airports," added Silata.

The family lanes are open to any travelers accompanied by children 12 or younger and do not require TSA PreCheck enrollment. In addition, the agency says it will soon offer special rates on TSA PreCheck for families as part of the initiative.

Why you should care

The introduction of family lanes at airports can significantly improve the travel experience for families, making it easier to navigate security with young children. This initiative also helps reduce congestion in standard lanes, benefiting all travelers.

What's next

"Families on the Fly" will roll out at select airports, including Charleston International Airport (CHS), Jacksonville International (JAX), Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD), Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), and Tampa International Airport (TPA) with additional airports slated for addition in the coming months.

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TSA officials say the program will continue expanding to other locations.

The Source

This story was written based on information shared by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Michael Silata, the TSAs assistant federal security director in Orlando, and travelers at Orlando International Airport (MCO).
TUPPER LAKE  A multi-year collaboration is helping the Tupper Lake Community Food Pantry serve up more healthy offerings to its clients.

For the last two years, the food pantry has been partnering with the Heart Networks Creating Healthy Schools & Communities program, which is funded by a grant from the New York State Department of Health.

One of the primary focuses of the CHSC program is to work with schools and communities across Franklin County to increase access to healthy food.

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We provide a critical service to our community, Lisa Kimpflen, the food pantrys director, said. Food security is among the most basic and important needs for individuals and families, here in Tupper Lake and across the North Country. But simply providing food to people isnt necessarily enough  its just as important to make sure that our offerings are supporting the health of our community. Access to nutritious food has a ripple effect on healthcare, education and so much more.

In August 2023, the Heart Networks community health improvement coordinator, Arriana Patraw, performed an assessment in collaboration with food pantry staff and volunteers, identifying opportunities to improve operations and increase the availability of healthy options. The assessment coincided with an increase in the number of clients the pantry served.

In 2023, it served approximately 50 individuals and clients per month; currently, the pantry serves about 94 families per month, which breaks out to 26 children, 77 adults and 86 older adults.

One of the first steps we took together was implementing a Healthy Food Pantry Policy, which outlined the pantrys commitment to offering nutritious options to the best of its ability, Patraw said. As part of this policy, we also introduced a simple labeling system on their menu marking healthier foods with an asterisk to make the nutritious choice more visible and accessible. As a result of the policy, Lisa and the volunteers have changed their menu to increase the healthier options.

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Kimpflen noted that in addition to stocking more healthy items, the pantry eliminated certain processed foods.

Were trying to move people toward better choices, she said. For example, were giving clients ground poultry instead of beef in our casserole-style meals, offering Quick Oats instead of instant oatmeal packets, and have completely eliminated frozen French toast sticks, Pop-Tarts, potted meat and Vienna sausage.

In addition to the Healthy Food Pantry Policy, CHSC funds were used to purchase shelving to reorganize the pantry and make foods easier to rotate and stock into bags.

The Tupper Lake Community Food Pantry and The Heart Network will continue to build upon the last two years of work, striving to add more healthy options and to refine current offerings to ensure nutrition is prioritized as much as possible.

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Were grateful to our volunteers, supporters and The Heart Network for helping the food pantry be the best resource it can be for people in need  our community deserves nothing less, Kimpflen said.

The Tupper Lake Community Food Pantry is located at 40 Marion Ave in Tupper Lake. The pantry is open from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, and from 1-4 p.m. Thursdays. For assistance and more information, email tlcfoodpantryinc@gmail.com or call 518-359-3080.

In addition to enhancing access to healthy food in Franklin County, the Heart Networks CHSC program strives to increase opportunities for physical activity in school and community settings. It also includes an early childhood component through a partnership with the Child Care Coordinating Council of the North Country, engaging with providers to adopt policies and practices that promote nutrition and physical activity for young children.

For more information about the CHSC program at the Heart Network, visit heartnetwork.org or contact Patraw at apatraw@heartnetwork.org.
A senior leader of Turkey's beleaguered main opposition party accused the government of fabricating enemies in a politically motivated crackdown to reassert control after its election defeat last year, in an interview with AFP.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP party "politically named the new enemy on March 19 -- (and) the new enemy is the CHP," said Burhanettin Bulut, a deputy leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP).

Bulut, in charge of the party's public relations and media, said Erdogan was threatening the country's democratic foundations through his government's campaign of arrests and lawsuits.

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Turkish authorities have detained a string of elected officials on charges ranging from graft to terror-related offences, including, on March 19, Istanbul's powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- Erdogan's main rival.

"This government keeps itself alive by constantly defining an enemy," Bulut told AFP in an interview at the party's headquarters in the capital Ankara.

The government "sustains its political strategy through polarisation -- manufacturing a foe and launching relentless perception campaigns in a bid to consolidate its voter base", he said.

A year after Erdogan's allies suffered heavy losses in local elections, Imamoglu's detention triggered the country's largest street protests in over a decade.

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"This isn't just about the CHP," Bulut added.

"From the grocery store clerk to the apprentice, from businesspeople to artists and journalists -- people across this country are afraid."

- 'Dynamite' for republic -

Since Imamoglu's arrest, Turkish authorities have detained 16 CHP mayors, including ones in key districts of Istanbul, and replaced elected officials in at least three municipalities with government-appointed trustees.

Among those detained is the acting mayor of Istanbul's Buyukcekmece district, a party source told AFP.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, re-elected at an emergency party congress a month after Imamoglu was jailed, has come under mounting legal pressure meanwhile.

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He faces lawsuits on alleged offences including "insulting the president" and vote-buying at a party congress.

Media reports have suggested efforts were under way to lift Ozel's parliamentary immunity so he could face prison.

Bulut alleged the crackdown "creates a smokescreen for the real issues facing society -- poverty, injustice, the erosion of democracy and individual rights -- that are pushed out of the public agenda".

Arresting Ozel, he said, would be "like planting dynamite under the foundations of the Republic" -- but he played down concerns for its impact on the CHP, which he said was "not a leader-centred party".

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He dismissed government claims of a crisis in the CHP as "political theatre".

"It's a founding party, with a deep-rooted history, led by some of the most important figures in Turkish political life  starting with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk," founder of the modern Turkish republic, he said.

"That's why interfering with the leadership of this party is not something that can be done easily."

- Turkish democracy and justice -

The government's crackdown started with a key arrest seven months after the March 2024 local elections.

Authorities detained the CHP mayor of Istanbul's working-class district of Esenyurt, Ahmet Ozer, accusing him of membership of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

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They have since removed CHP mayors in three districts in Ovacik in the east as well as in Esenyurt and Sisli and replaced them with trustees.

The government has insisted the arrests have judicial legitimacy but critics say they are aimed at neutralising dissent in big cities where the opposition won in the elections.

The government recently claimed a historic breakthrough by overseeing the disarmament of the PKK, ending its decades-long campaign of attacks.

In that context, Bulut argued: "You can't claim to support democracy and justice while appointing trustees at the same time.

"If you're serious about democracy, then local consensus must be part of the process."

Despite pressure and fear tactics, he insisted the CHP would "be the clear winner" in the next election, expected by 2028.

fo/ach/rlp/rmb/tc
ANKARA (Reuters) -The migration route from Libya across the Mediterranean, used by thousands seeking a way to get to Europe, was a top issue at a meeting on Friday between the leaders of Turkey, Italy and Libya in Istanbul, Turkey's presidency said.

President Tayyip Erdogan met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah to discuss migration and other potential cooperation areas.

"Erdogan pointed to the importance of the cooperation between the three countries against the tests that the Mediterranean basin is facing, including irregular migration flows," the presidency said in a statement.

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He added that "long-term and sustainable solutions" were needed to stop such migration flows, and that a multilateral coordination was needed to achieve this, it said.

Major energy exporter Libya, long split between rival eastern and western factions, is one of the main jumping off points for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa.

Rival regional powers - Russia, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates - have also been drawn into its political divisions.

NATO member Turkey has militarily and politically supported Libya's Tripoli-based internationally-recognised government. In 2020, it sent military personnel there to train and support its government and later agreed a maritime demarcation accord, which has been disputed by Egypt and Greece.

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In 2022, Ankara and Tripoli also signed a preliminary accord on energy exploration, which Egypt and Greece also oppose.

NATO allies Turkey and Italy meanwhile have strong ties, and have pledged to boost cooperation in the defence industry, while also increasing their reciprocal trade.

Italy's Leonardo and Turkey's Baykar announced in March that they were setting up a joint venture to produce unmanned aerial vehicles, while Ankara has been inching closer to securing a procurement of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets from a consortium that includes Italy.

Erdogan's office also said the three leaders agreed to meet to evaluate any decisions taken by their cooperation committees later.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever and Tuvan GumrukcuEditing by Frances Kerry)
ISTANBUL (AP)  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in Istanbul on Friday for a summit centered on addressing migration, enhancing cooperation, and supporting Libyas political stability.

A statement issued by Meloni's office following the closed-door session said the three discussed strengthening cooperation in the Mediterranean region, starting with the management of migration flows.

Meloni praised the excellent results achieved through collaboration with Turkey on migration control, saying that the lessons learned from working with Ankara should be used to support the Libyan Government of National Unitys efforts on migration, according to a statement by her office.

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Erdogan stated that long-term and sustainable solutions were needed to eliminate the root cause of migration, according to a statement from his office.

Libya is a dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Drowning incidents near the countrys coast have been common. In December, at least 61 migrants, including women and children, drowned off the town of Zuwara on Libyas western coast.

The Italian prime minister also reaffirmed Italys commitment to Libyas stability, unity, and independence, and its support for a Libyan-led, United Nations-facilitated political process leading to elections.

The Turkish presidential statement said the three leaders would reconvene to evaluate decisions taken, following lower-level technical meetings.

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Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the disarray that followed, the country split into rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

Turkey has been allied with the Tripoli-based government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government as well.

In 2019, Turkey reached an agreement with the Tripoli-based government which delineated maritime boundaries between Libya and Turkey, angering Greece and Cyprus which say the agreement infringes on their rights.
Somalia and Djibouti on Wednesday, July 30, formalised an agreement for the expanded deployment of Djiboutian Armed Forces within Somali territory, reaffirming a joint commitment to regional peace and stability. The accord, signed in Djibouti City in the presence of senior officials from both nations, outlines the modalities of intervention, mutual responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms aimed at reinforcing bilateral military cooperation.

The move comes amid intensifying attacks by the al-Qaeda-linked militant group al-Shabaab, particularly in south-central Somalias Hirshabele state, where the Somali National Army (SNA) and allied militias have recently lost control of strategic towns and villages. The joint statement emphasised Djiboutis unwavering support for Somalias security architecture and its dedication to fostering peace in the Horn of Africa.

Djibouti, a longstanding contributor to African Union peacekeeping efforts, already maintains a military presence in critical areas such as Beledweyne, Buula-burte, and Jalalaqsi in the Hiraan region. The additional deployment aims to bolster frontline support to the SNA as it faces renewed pressure from al-Shabaab insurgents, who have waged a violent campaign against Somalias government and civilians for over 16 years.
Turning Point USA co-founder and Executive Director Charlie Kirk at a TPUSA event in Florida in July 2025. Photo by Gage Skidmore | Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0

A student-led Democratic PAC has filed a complaint against Turning Point USAs political arms accusing it of violating Arizonas dark money disclosure law by not revealing its funders who are providing money to run a campaign backing U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs bid for governor.

The Voters Right to Know Act, or Proposition 211, was overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2022 with the aim of eliminating anonymous election spending. It requires entities that spend at least $50,000 in statewide or legislative campaigns reveal the identities of individual contributors who give more than $5,000. Individuals who give $2,500 or more in local elections have to disclose their names, mailing addresses and employers.

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Unity Rising USAs Executive Director, Jacob George, filed the complaint Thursday against Turning Point Action and Turning Point PAC, which have been spending heavily to support Biggs. The veteran congressman is seeking the GOP nomination against businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson.

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Failing to properly disclose donors undermines the fairness and honesty Arizonans deserve from candidates and the partners supporting them, George said in a press release announcing the complaint. This isnt the first time Turning Point has failed to follow the rules, and it probably wont be the last.

The complaint alleges that the two political advocacy arms of TPUSA have not filed the needed financial disclosures that are required under the Voters Right to Know Act which requires that the identities of each donor who contributes directly or indirectly more than $5,000 for campaign media spending to be revealed in a report that is available to the public.

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Despite this obligation, as of the date of this complaint, neither TPA nor TPP has filed a single report under the ACT, the complaint says. And while TPPs federal PAC reports indicate that it has donors under $5,000 who need not be listed on Act reports, it indisputably has donors above that threshold who are reportable.

Turning Point Action recently also gave $500,000 to Turning Point PAC to spend on media buys to support Biggs for Governor.

Along with this contribution, TPA was obligated to provide TPP with the names of its own donors who gave TPA over $2,500, so that TPP can report subdonors as required under the Act, all the way back to original sources, the complaint says. But instead, TPPs failure to file any Act reports has resulted in the nondisclosure of TPA at all, much less its original sources.

The complaint also notes that none of the public communications by either entity include the names of the top three donors as is required under the Act. The Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission is tasked with enforcing the dark money disclosure rules.

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Turning Point Action did not respond to a request for comment on the complaint.

If the Citizens Clean Elections Commission deems the complaint to be valid, it will have 14 days to then send a copy of the complaint to Turning Point Action and Turning Point PAC. The Commission can set a deadline for them to respond of up to 30 days; not responding can be seen as an admission of guilt.

If Turning Point Action and Turning Point PAC are found to be in violation, then the commission can enforce civil penalties or seek relief in court. Those civil penalties can be up to three times the amount of the improper contribution.

If the organizations are found to be in violation, it would not be the first time. Last year, Turning Point Action was fined $18,000 by the Federal Elections Commission for failing to disclose more than $33,000 in contributions, and in 2022, the Arizona Secretary of States Office investigated them for possible campaign finance violations.

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Some allegations of campaign finance impropriety go back as far as 2017, and the organization has always been secretive about its donors.

Regardless of party, I think Arizonans expect everyone to play by the rules, especially after the years spent by Turning Point leadership decrying non-existent fraud in Maricopa County, George said in the press release about the complaint.

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Twin Cities' hot, wet July among warmest in a decade. What's coming in August? originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

July could be described as hot and wet for most of the country. There were several notable flooding events in Texas, New York City, Washington D.C., and scattered throughout the Midwest.

On the temperature front, most of the North, Central, and Eastern U.S. were hotter than normal. In particular, the East experienced a prolonged mid-month heat wave that pushed temperature averages significantly above normal. Texas, on the other hand, was notably cooler thanks to persistent wet weather, which kept them from seeing as many of their typical 90- to 100-degree days.

WeatherBell

In Minnesota, temperatures averaged 1 to 2 degrees above normal for the month of July. In the Twin Cities, the average July temperature is expected to land around 76.1F  making it the second-warmest July of the past 10 years.

WeatherBell

When it comes to rainfall, two notably soaked areas stand out: the Midwest through the Ohio River Valley into the Mid-Atlantic, and central Texas Hill Country. The former saw widespread deficits, as most of that swath was well below normal for rainfall. The latter, meanwhile, was drenched, with July totals more than 10 inches above normal, including the deadly flash floods that struck on the Fourth of July.

WeatherBell

In Minnesota, July was wet for about 90% of the state. Only a narrow swath of north-central Minnesota ended up below normal  just the unlucky draw in an otherwise wet pattern. In the Twin Cities, we finished 1.31 inches above normal, which is roughly one-third more rainfall than a typical July.

WeatherBell

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Looking ahead to August (the final month of meteorological summer) theres general agreement among medium- to long-range models that some of Julys heat will shift westward. The Plains, central and western Canada, and parts of the West look to stay hot, while the East could flip from July's heat to a cooler-than-normal August.

WeatherBell

The cooler forecast for the East appears to be tied to a wetter, stormier pattern setting up in those areas. Most models are showing above-normal rainfall in the East and Southeast, possibly driven by an uptick in whats been a quiet tropical season so far.

Meanwhile, the Plains  and especially the Midwest, which saw a very wet July  are expected to dry out in August, according to most model guidance. Will Minnesota flip from a wet spring and summer to a dry finish? We did last year, though more so in September.

WeatherBell

The official NOAA Climate Prediction Center forecast is generally in line with model consensus: heat and dryness shifting west, while the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast trend wetter.

NOAA

This August pattern could be the early setup for whats likely to persist into September, based on forecast probabilities for the AugustSeptemberOctober period.

NOAA

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This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Brief

In 2022, Terry and Travonte Ardoin were arrested and charged for the death of Shaquille Lewis.

Federal officials say the shooting was tied to a gang war between the Freemoney gang and a rival group.

If they're found guilty, the suspects face up to life in prison or possible death sentences.

HOUSTON - Two men are facing life in prison or a possible death penalty for their deadly involvement in a Houston gang war, according to federal officials.

Houston crime: Freemoney gang members charged

What we know

Terry and Travonte Ardoin, 24 and 27, are reportedly charged with the following:

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Murder in aid of racketeering Attempted murder in aid of racketeering Use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence Causing death through the use of a firearm

(Courtesy: FBI Houston)

In November 2022, Houston Police said Terry and Travonte were arrested for the July 2022 shooting death of 29-year-old Shaquille Lewis.

The two allegedly shot Lewis in the parking lot at Houston's Fondren Square.

According to federal officials, the shooting was tied to "an ongoing gang war" between the Freemoney gang and a rival group.

Officials say Terry and Travonte followed Lewis' vehicle into the parking lot, got out of their vehicle with masks on, then shot at him and another person who was in the vehicle.

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Houston Police said the other person wasn't hurt.

Federal officials say members of the Freemoney gang "engange in robbery, home invasions, drug distribution, and murder." According to a press release from Oct. 2022, Terry and Travonte were among seven alleged gang members who faced federal charges tied to robbery and drug trafficking.

If they're convicted of Shaquille Lewis' death, officials say Terry and Travonte Ardoin will face up to life in prison for a possible death penalty.

What we don't know

It's not clear if either victim in the shooting was tied to another gang.

The Source

FBI Houston, Houston Police Department, and the Texas branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office.
DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA)  Two people from Chicago and northwestern Indiana were arrested in Danville overnight after police said they fled from a traffic stop, going almost 100 miles per hour at one point.

The sequence of events started around 12:36 a.m., Sergeant Andrew Brooks wrote in a news release. An officer patrolling the area of Fairchild and Griffin Streets saw a car driving with no headlights, and the car didnt stop completely before proceeding through the intersection.

The officer stopped the car near Griffin and Knox Drive, but Brooks said that when the officer approached, the driver of the car sped away.

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Officers pursued the vehicle for a short distance, going more than 95 MPH in a 30 MPH posted zone, Brooks wrote. The driver lost control of the vehicle going over train tracks near the intersection of Williams Street and Short Street and subsequently crashed.

Youth-led town hall looking to provide solutions to gun violence in Danville

Two people inside the car got out and tried to run away but were caught. Brooks identified them as 28-year-old Carvell Thomas of Gary, Ind. and a 15-year-old from Chicago.

After being cleared by medical staff, Thomas was booked into the Vermilion County Jail on the preliminary charges of aggravated fleeing and eluding, criminal damage to property over $500, and obstructing/resisting a Peace Officer, Brooks said. The 15-year-old juvenile was booked on the preliminary charge of obstructing/resisting a peace officer and was later released to a family member.

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Court records indicate Carvell was later formally charged by the state with two counts of aggravated fleeing and eluding, both Class 4 felonies. He has not appeared in court yet for arraignment.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, Brooks added. Both individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of 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 WCIA.com.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  The Shawnee County District Attorneys office announced that it has formally charged two Topeka men with crimes related to a double shooting that happened in East Topeka.

On July 24, the Topeka Police Department (TPD) responded to reports of a crash in the area of Southeast 6th and Southeast California Avenue. Police were also called for an alleged shooting that happened nearby.

Police said one person was in critical but stable condition. The second sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

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Kansas game wardens bust boaters at huge Milford Lake event

On July 25, the TPD arrested a 20-year-old and a 19-year-old for the shooting incident related to the crash response.

According to the District Attorneys office, the 20-year-old was charged with:

Criminal Discharge of a Firearm at an Occupied Vehicle (resulting in great bodily harm)- Level 3 Felony

Aggravated Battery (knowingly great bodily harm)- Level 4 Felony

Aggravated Battery;(knowingly cause bodily harm with a deadly weapon or in a manner whereby great bodily harm can be inflicted) Level 7 Felony

The 20-year-old was issued a $250,000 bond and was in custody at the time of the announcement.

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Just a real gift to the world: Topeka moms death leaves hole in the community

The 19-year-old was formally charged with:

Criminal Discharge of a Firearm at an Occupied Vehicle (resulting in great bodily harm)- Level 3 Felony

Aggravated Battery (knowingly great bodily harm)- Level 4 Felony

Aggravated Intimidation of a Witness (attending or giving testimony at trial) Level 6 Felony

Aggravated Battery;(knowingly cause bodily harm with a deadly weapon or in a manner whereby great bodily harm can be inflicted) Level 7 Felony

Criminal Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon- Level 8 Felony

The 19-year-old was in custody at the time of the announcement and has other unresolved criminal cases in Shawnee County District Court. His bond is pending his next court appearance.

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For more crime 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.
In separate letters, the MKs described Wasserstein's extensive combat service during he ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the severe psychological toll it took on him.

Disclaimer: This article discusses sensitive topics, including suicide and PTSD.

MK Meirav Ben Ari of Yesh Atid and MK Etty Chava Atia of the Likud appealed to Defense Minister Israel Katz on Thursday to reconsider the IDF's decision not to recognize reservist Roi Wasserstein as a fallen soldier.

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In separate letters, the MKs described Wasserstein's extensive combat service during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the severe psychological toll it took on him.

"I am addressing you on behalf of the Wasserstein family, with an urgent request to recognize their son, Roi, of blessed memory, as a fallen soldier of the IDF," Ben Ari wrote. "Roi, 24 years old, served as a combat soldier in the 401st Battalion, in the Armored Corps, in a regular combat unit. During the war, he took part in intense combat operations in the Gaza Strip for over 300 days."

"As a result of the intense fighting, Roi suffered severe emotional trauma and returned home deeply affected, both mentally and emotionally," she continued. "Unfortunately, Roi did not receive proper psychological and professional treatment.

IDF has taken over 11 military outposts in the Gaza Strip since the start of Operation Swords of Iron, November 11, 2023. (credit: IDF)

"Just a few days after completing his military service, on Wednesday, July 30, Roi took his own life."

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Ben Ari urged Katz to reconsider the IDF's decision, saying, "His role in the combat zone, the severe psychological impact he endured, and the heavy price he paid with his life, demand such recognition and national responsibility."

Similarly, Atia wrote in her letter to Katz, "The harsh and prolonged fighting in Gaza left deep psychological scars that tragically led him to take his own life."

"Despite this, Rois inner world remained tightly bound to his military experience and unit, and it is clear that the trauma he carried stemmed directly from his combat service. His fellow soldiers, commanders, and family testify to the suffering he endured and to the terrible price he paid."

"As someone who is well-acquainted with the procedures of the Defense Ministry, I understand the complexities in recognizing Roi Wasserstein zl as a fallen IDF soldier," she added. "However, I am convinced that in this case, given the proximity of his death to his discharge, the severe post-trauma symptoms, and the testimonies of those closest to him, this is an extraordinary circumstance that warrants extraordinary consideration. Even if his death did not occur in a combat zone, it was clearly the result of injuries sustained in one."

Katz's response

Katz responded to the situation after receiving the letters from the MKs, saying he had instructed the IDF to provide "all possible assistance" to Wasserstein's family, including assisting with funeral arrangements and military honors.

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Additionally, Katz added that the IDF Personnel Directorate is "in ongoing and continuous contact with the family."

Wasserstein, who served over 300 days as an IDF reservist in the 401st Armored Brigade, committed suicide on Wednesday. The military said it was refusing to recognize Wasserstein as a fallen soldier as he was not on reserve duty at the time of his suicide, Army Radio journalist Doron Kadosh first reported on Thursday.

According to Kadosh, who wrote his report with the Wasserstein family's permission, Roi had been sharing difficult experiences from his reserve service and spoke repeatedly about the horrors that he had experienced.

Kadosh reported that the IDF told him that "a civilian who is not in active reserve service at the time of suicide is not recognized as an IDF casualty, and there is no intention to change this." Wasserstein's most recent reserve duty ended in May, Kadosh noted.

He faced experiences which traumatized him during his role in the brigade's medical evacuation unit, Kadosh clarified.
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian rescuers recovered more than a dozen more bodies from the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Kyiv overnight, bringing the death toll from Russia's worst air strike of the year on Ukraine's capital to 31.

A two-year-old was among the five children found dead after Thursday's sweeping Russian drone and missile attack, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday, announcing the end of a more than 24-hour-long rescue operation.

A total of 159 people were wounded in the multi-wave strike, in which Russia launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles early on Thursday, the latest in a campaign of fierce strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities.

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Video on the presidential website showed Zelenskiy chatting with residents of areas where high-rise apartment buildings suffered heavy damage.

"The state will definitely provide help and support to everyone affected," Zelenskiy wrote on the website.

In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city in the northeast of the country, a drone attack on Friday injured 10 people, including three children, one of them a five-month-old infant. Five people remained in hospital.

The worst damage in Kyiv was to an apartment building that partially collapsed in the Sviatoshyn district in western Kyiv. Damage was also reported in at least three other districts of the capital.

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U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday sharply criticised Russia's "disgusting" behaviour against Ukraine, while saying he was not sure whether sanctions would deter Russia. He has given President Vladimir Putin until August 8 to make a deal or else he will respond with economic pressure.

Natalia Matviyenko, 65, sitting near the damaged apartment building, said she did not place much faith in Trump's tough rhetoric.

"Trump just says, 'I'm upset with President Putin's behaviour.' And what? No results," she said.

Trump on Friday said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be moved to the "appropriate regions" in response to threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

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The U.S. leader, who returned to power on a pledge to swiftly end the war, has in recent weeks rolled back his earlier conciliatory approach toward Moscow and signalled openness to arming Ukraine.

But a diplomatic effort to end the war has stalled, with Moscow not backing down from what Kyiv and its allies describe as maximalist demands.

'WILL PUTIN LISTEN?'

On Friday, mourners laid flowers and lit candles at the wrecked apartment block, where rumbling excavators hoisted heavy pieces of rubble. The makeshift shrine included brightly coloured stuffed animals.

Oksana Kinal, 43, who was placing flowers to honour a co-worker who had been killed alongside a son, said she hoped Trump would follow up on his threat but also expressed doubt.

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"I think America has a lot of points of leverage that can be used against Russia," she said. "But will Putin listen to this? I don't know."

Kyiv's air force said on Friday that Ukrainian air defences had destroyed more than 6,000 drones and missiles across the country in July alone.

"The world possesses every instrument required to ensure Russia is brought to justice," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X on Friday. "What is lacking is not power  but will."

(Additional reporting by Anastasiia MalenkoWriting by Dan PeleschukEditing by Philippa Fletcher, Peter Graff, Ron Popeski and Sandra Maler)
The Rhode Island Truck Center on Amaral Street in the Riverside section of East Providence is in a legal dispute with Daimler Trucks North America, LLC over a competing dealership selling the same Freightliner trucks 18 miles away in Raynham, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)

Can a relevant market area in Rhode Islands general law extend beyond the states borders?

A federal appeals panel in Boston posed this very question to the Rhode Island Supreme Court in February 2024 while considering the constitutionality of a law halting competing truck dealerships from operating within 20 miles without giving notice to the state.

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The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finally heard back with an answer Tuesday: Yes, Rhode Islands law does reach across the state line.

We take judicial notice of the fact that the state of Rhode Island is only 37 miles wide, Rhode Island State Supreme Court Associate Justice Melissa A. Long wrote in the courts July 29 opinion. Given the states size, a circle with a radius of 20 miles will always encompass an area outside the state.

The question over the reach of Rhode Islands dealer law is at the center of a legal dispute that began in 2019 after Daimler Trucks North America authorized Advantage Truck Group to sell Freightliner-brand trucks at its dealership on Route 44 in Raynham, Massachusetts.

Advantage Truck is 18 miles from Rhode Island Truck Center in East Providence, which was authorized by Daimler to sell the same brand in 2016.

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In 2022, Rhode Island Truck Center filed a protest petition against Daimler before the Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Dealers License and Hearing Board, a board created under the states dealer law to hear disputes between manufacturers and dealers. The five-member panel ultimately dismissed the case during the meeting held June 1, 2022, due to a lack of jurisdiction.

This board lacks the authority to apply the provisions of the Rhode Island dealer law in an extraterritorial manner and therefore cannot prohibit respondent from establishing or moving a dealership outside the boundaries of this state, wrote then-Chairman James Botvin.

The board had cited a 1994 case in which a Massachusetts-based Nissan dealership protested the establishment of a competitor in Rhode Island, only for the petition to be dropped on the grounds that out-of-state dealers lacked standing to protest under its dealer law.

Rhode Island Truck Center appealed the boards dismissal in Providence County Superior Court, which Daimler then had moved to the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island where Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ruled in favor of Daimler on Oct. 24, 2022.

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McConnell ruled that Rhode Islands law violated the U.S. Constitutions Dormant Commerce Clause, which prohibits states from engaging in protectionist practices against other states.

We take judicial notice of the fact that the state of Rhode Island is only 37 miles wide. Given the states size, a circle with a radius of 20 miles will always encompass an area outside the state.

 Rhode Island State Supreme Court Associate Justice Melissa A. Long

Rhode Island Truck Center appealed to the 1st Circuit Court in Boston, which submitted a certified question to the Rhode Island Supreme Court to define the states dealer law. Its a process that doesnt get used too often, Roger Williams University School of Law professor Michael Yelnosky said in an interview.

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The last time the Rhode Island Supreme Court answered a certified question was in 2021 over the definition of civil action under the states insurance law.

For a federal court to certify a question, Yelnosky said two things are required: First, the case must hinge on an essential question of state law. Second, the state courts should not yet have answered that question in any prior cases.

When a question is certified, Yelnosky said, its done under the legal doctrine of constitutional avoidance  a way for the federal court to resolve a case without relying on constitutional grounds.

A constitutional question does go away if the court had said it only applies in Rhode Island, he said.

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But Longs answer now means the federal appeals court must decide on the constitutionality of Rhode Islands dealer law.

As a general matter, state A cant control the matters of state B, Yelnosky said. Thats a violation of state Bs sovereignty.

Andrew Johnson, head of communications for Daimler North America, based in Portland, Oregon, declined to comment on the case.

We dont comment on pending litigation, he said.

A representative from Advatange Truck Raynham did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Joe Travers, Rhode Island Truck Centers director of operations, called the state Supreme Courts answer to the certified question a big win for the company, which employs 50 people.

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Its definitely been an impact on business, he said of having a competitor so close to the truck center. Im not sure how equitable it is for us. When you look at all the things impacting economic conditions right now, does that justify having that kind of saturation?

But Travers said the dealership has managed to maintain its regular customers including the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, along with municipalities like Pawtucket, Warwick, and Warren. Rhode Island Truck Center also holds accounts for numerous oil companies in the area, Gold Medal Bakery in Fall River, Massachusetts, and the National Lumber Company in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

We have a pretty diverse customer base, he said.

Not mentioned in any of the legal filings is how Massachusetts own dealer law defines relevant market area  which is set at an 8-mile radius between competing franchises within Bristol County.

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But Yelnosky said the Massachusetts limit is irrelevant to the federal appeals courts proceedings since its focus is squarely on Rhode Islands law.

Still, he said he found it cute to see Rhode Islands small size noted in the state Supreme Courts opinion.

We dont think about state lines here as much as people do in other parts of the country, Yelnosky said. You can drive in and out of two or three states in the matter of a couple hours here.

Updated: Added that Advantage Truck Raynham did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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To celebrate the anniversary of its first flight 70 years ago to the day, a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane just set several new records, a U.S. Air Force official confirmed to The War Zone. The official could not immediately say what records were set, but the pilots conversation with air traffic control said it was an endurance record for category and class for aircraft.

So were gonna uhwe took off about 930 last night, California time, the pilot said Friday morning Eastern time, according to an audio recording of a portion of that conversation obtained by The War Zone. Well land there this afternoon, then right before we start our descent, well zoom climb to set the altitude record.

The recording was provided to us by our friend, scanner enthusiast Bill Bagley.

DRAGON 70 (U-2) wkg ATLANTA CENTER on UHF explaining they are trying to set an endurance and altitude for category and class of aircraft. 



OTD 70 years ago, Anthony LeVier made the first flight of the Lockheed U-2 at Groom Lake on August 1st, 1955.



Its too bad their ADSB is pic.twitter.com/cvF0BHWiWA  Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) August 1, 2025

The zoom climb at the end of the mission would put the aircraft at a low fuel state and very light weight  especially if its configured without mission systems  the exceptionally rare TU-2S trainer may be ideal for this, or a stripped U-2S. This would allow for it to streak skyward as quickly as possible.

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It is unclear at the moment whether the U-2 landed or details about the records that were set. Weve reached out to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, the jets home unit, for more information and will update this story with anything pertinent provided.

U-2s can fly at over 70,000 feet. You can see an amazing view of one flight in the following video.

The flight comes as the Air Force is looking to retire the turbofan spy plane, developed during the Cold War to gather intelligence about Russia. The Lockheed and CIAs top-secret U-2 program, code named Aquatone, coincided with the founding of Area 51, with the aircraft taking its first flight from there on Aug. 1, 1955.

The specter of the U-2 being put out to pasture has been loomed over the community for many decades, but it has never come to pass. Its record for budgetary survival may finally be coming to an end as the USAF questions its ability to survive in the air. Despite what it can bring to the table in terms of the ability to fly high and linger long while collecting intelligence and sharing data, the Air Force plans to retire the fleet over concerns of its vulnerability in a potential future conflict.

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As we have noted in the past:

The increasing vulnerability of the aging U-2 to air defenses operated by even lower-tier potential adversaries, let alone near-peer competitors like China and Russia, has long been an argument in favor of retiring the jets. China, in particular, continues to expand its anti-access and area denial bubbles and push them further and further from the mainland.

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin confirmed that U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes flew missions around the border with Mexico. (USAF) USAF

The U-2s vulnerabilities are not necessarily a new issue. The jet became a household name during the Cold War when a Dragon Lady flown by Francis Gary Powers was shot down by a surface-to-air missile deep over Soviet territory on May 1, 1960.

Regardless, the Dragon Lady continues to be a uniquely high-flying ISR platform capable of carrying a wide array of different imaging, signals intelligence, data-relay and other sensors simultaneously. U-2s, which regularly operate from a variety of forward locations and fly long missions near enemy territory, provide immense flexibility, especially compared to satellites that are constrained by their orbits and very short times over the collection target. The U-2 also flies domestic missions, including on missions around the border with Mexico as part of the U.S. militarys support for southwestern border security efforts.

F-16 Fighting Falcons, A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, U-2 Dragon Ladys, and C-12 Hurons taxi stand parked on the runway at Osan Air Base during the Mammoth Walk training event on May 5, 2023. This training event showcased Osan Air Bases capability to rapidly and safely generate airpower for any contingency. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Joshua J. Garcia) Joshua Garcia

The U-2 can fly higher than any other non-orbital platform the U.S. military has, at least that we know about. A very public show of those capabilities came last year when a Dragon Lady flew over a Chinese spy balloon to gather intelligence about it as it soared through U.S. airspace before it was ultimately shot down. Perched in the stratosphere, which requires U-2 pilots to don what are effectively space suits, the jets can also peer obliquely into denied areas.

A U-2 flew over the Chinese spy balloon that traversed the U.S. in February of 2023 before being shot down. (USAF)

With the end possibly close on the horizon  2026 was the planned out of service date  for the Dragon Lady community and its rich history, its amazing to think that after 70 years, these old spy jets are still setting records.

Update: 7:05 PM Eastern 

A U.S. Air Force official provided the following update on the record-setting flight of DRAGON70.

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DRAGON70 landed at Beale this afternoon, California time, the official told us, declining to provide specific details. The jet set records for how long it flew and how far. However, it did not break the altitude record.

The official declined to provide specifics.

Though the flight was to honor the U-2 community as a whole and all the pilots who came before, the Air Force had already been planning to test how high it could fly anyway, and the two events coincided, the official added.

Update: 9:32 PM Eastern 

Staff Sgt. Frederick Brown of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing wrote a story about the historic flight. You can read the full piece here.

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The flight took off on the evening of July 31st from Beale.

Seventy years after the very first Lockheed U-2 Dragon Ladys accidental maiden flight in 1955 by Tony LeVier over Groom Lake, Nevada, the U-2 would finish the longest single flight this platform had ever attempted, flying across all 48 contiguous states of the United States, said Brown. When the Dragon Lady landed the next day at Beale AFB, it had flown longer than 14 hours and traveled over 6,000 nautical miles, breaking the endurance records for an aircraft of its class.

Update: 10:11 PM Eastern 

Brown also took some photos as well. You can see the full gallery here.

Members of the 9th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (RS) prepare DRAGON70 at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), California, Aug. 1st, 2025.

DRAGON70 is about to launch. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Frederick A. Brown)

Fourteen hours later, the U-2 returns home. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Frederick A. Brown)

Cory ULTRALORD Bartholomew, 1st Reconnaissance Squadron (RS) assigned flight safety officer and U-2 instructor pilot, and Lt. Col. JETHRO, 1st RS instructor pilot and U-2 chief pilot, celebrate after landing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Frederick A. Brown)

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Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, Ill. (WCIA)  The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded a University of Illinois lab $15 million. The money will support the development of AI tools, to help scientists quickly and efficiently synthesize molecules for medicine, energy, industry and more.

The money will be going to the Molecule Maker Lab Institute (MMLI)  which is based on the U of Is campus, in partnership between Pennsylvania State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. U of I chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Huimin Zhao directs the lab.

Zhao said functional molecules like drugs chemicals are important in todays society, but the process of discovering new molecules is slow and expensive. He believes AI can change that.

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U of I launches $30 million advanced AI system

We have developed AI tools and generalizable, automated molecule-making systems that can overcome this challenge and enable the rapid discovery and synthesis of more functional molecules that benefit society, Zhao told the U of I news bureau.

Since 2020, the MMLI has made advances in AI models  and the work done in the lab has led to 166 journal and conference papers, 11 patent disclosures (six of which have been licensed) and two start-up companies.

Within the next five years, the MMLI plans to continue developing AI agents that will discover and synthesize functional molecules, and advance drugs and other materials enabled by AI. The lab also plans to continue refining the tools developed since 2020.

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We are most excited about the next-generation AI tools that we will develop in this next chapter for molecular discovery and synthesis, Zhao said. We plan to develop a large language model for modular chemistry, AI agents with critical thinking capabilities and generative AI models for catalyst discovery. These AI tools should greatly accelerate the process of discovering and synthesizing functional molecules that benefit society.

You can read more about Molecule Maker Lab Institute 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.
On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which is observed globally on 30 July, attention has turned sharply to Africa, where conflict, economic hardship, and displacement have created a fertile ground for human traffickers across many regions, not least Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and Nigeria.

In Sudan, the ongoing war has left over 7.6 million internally displaced and nearly 5 million refugees, most fleeing to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. These vulnerable populations  especially women and children  face rising exploitation through forced labour, sexual violence, kidnapping, organ removal, and extortion, according to UNHCR and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies. The country remains in Tier 3 in the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, indicating minimal effort to combat trafficking.

In the Horn of Africa, traffickers increasingly target educated youth, luring them with false job offers only to trap them in scam centers abroad. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) notes a disturbing rise in trafficking for forced criminality, as regional conflict and weak judicial systems undermine enforcement. Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the Adinya Arise Foundation (AAF) warns of a surge in child trafficking, sex slavery, and organ harvesting. Advocacy groups call for urgent reforms, improved survivor support, and regional cooperation.

Under this years theme  Human Trafficking is Organized Crime: End the Exploitation  activists stress that without sustained action, trafficking will become a defining legacy of Africas conflicts and humanitarian crises. This goes hand in hand with this years UNODC-led campaign theme, which is centered on the vital role of law enforcement and the criminal justice system in dismantling organized trafficking networks while ensuring a victim-centered approach.
The states two most veteran U.S. representatives are meeting with Oklahomans to discuss their work in Congress, including the freshly signed budget reconciliation bill that has been at the center of controversy since its introduction.

Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, visited Purcells Sonnys Cafe on Wednesday, July 30, to speak with members of the Heart of Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce during its July coffee meeting. About 40 miles north, U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas spoke with the West Oklahoma City Rotary Club at the Embassy Suites in Oklahoma City near the airport.

In Purcell, roughly 40 people sat in the back room of the restaurant where Cole spoke about recent legislation passed by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress, including President Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill. About a half a mile away, about a handful of people held a small demonstration in opposition.

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The president signed the reconciliation bill earlier this month and has drawn opposition from medical experts in Oklahoma who say the bill could cripple rural hospitals. Republicans Cole and Lucas backed the bill alongside the House's GOP majority.

More: Rural Oklahoma has limited food access. Banning dyes won't help, experts say

Independent health policy group KFF has estimated that overall, Oklahoma would see a decrease of $8 billion  $13 billion of the bills $793 billion federal Medicaid cuts.

When asked by an attendee about the Trump-backed reconciliation bills potential impacts on rural hospitals, Cole said its too early to know exactly what the consequences may look like.

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He later told The Oklahoman that Congress will have to evaluate the outcomes of the bill and reassess.

We have to start getting a handle on out-of-control expenses, Cole added.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole talks with residents July 30 at Sonny's Cafe in Purcell.

Most of the audience was receptive to Coles remarks throughout his speech, though a couple of people pushed back on his talking points regarding immigration, the funding cuts to public broadcasting and the war in Gaza.

Two people voiced concern about immigration agents increasingly hiding their faces behind masks during law enforcement encounters. Cole said immigration enforcement is mostly targeting criminals, adding that agents do a tough job.

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Another member in the audience questioned Trumps push to cut funding from broadcasting stations PBS and NPR, to which Cole called the latter slanted.

NPR lost all support from the Republican side because of its news coverage, he said.

A woman in the audience asked Cole, What are you planning to do to pressure the Trump administration to stop the genocide in Gaza?

Signs are pictured July 30 as people protest while U.S. Rep. Tom Cole speaks at Sonny's Cafe in in Purcell.

The congressman responded that Trump has been clear that he wants Israel to let more food into the region. He also claimed Israels attack on Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas releases Israeli hostages.

That doesnt justify the starvation of children, the woman replied.

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The number of Palestinians reported killed in the region recently crossed the 60,000 threshold as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification issued a hunger alert, sounding the alarm for a worst-case scenario of famine in Gaza.

After addressing the audience, Cole told The Oklahoman the mixed reactions he received were expected, adding, People always have questions about the specific things that interest them.

He said his biggest priority when he returns to Washington, D.C., is passing the budget and avoiding a government shutdown.

The next stage is going to take the two parties working together, and the president working across party lines, he said. Thats going to be a big job.

Lucas addresses West Oklahoma City Rotary Club

In Oklahoma City, over two dozen people were in attendance for Lucas remarks. The crowd listened intently and receptively as Lucas reported updates to Oklahomans on a variety of hot topics. Extra chairs were added to the space to accommodate the unexpected turnout.

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Lucas, who serves on the House financial services and agriculture committees, said Trumps budget reconciliation bill was much discussed and fought over, but it is now signed into law.

Lucas also discussed the trade wars imposed by Trumps tariffs and how they affect Oklahomans. He said this has been hugely controversial for energy producers and those in agriculture.

But, he said, the results are beginning to show and pointed to the latest measure of economic growth in the U.S.

The nation's gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services made in the U.S., grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3% in the April-June period, the Commerce Department said July 30.

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He said the budget reconciliation bill extended a part of the farm bill that deals with programs like crop insurance, price protection and conservation, which will provide stability and ensure needed food.

Lucas also briefly discussed China, the war in Ukraine and the discussion over how to maintain the independence of the Federal Reserve.

U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas speaks July 30 during a West Oklahoma City Rotary Club meeting at an Embassy Suites.

The audience was tuned in as they asked questions, including his approach to being an effective legislator and concerns about the fiscal budget for the upcoming year.

He said Congress has been operating under a continuing resolution, which means "funding next year at last year's level."

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"Which is not a good way to run any business, any enterprise, any household," Lucas added. "It's not a good way to do it."

And Lucas expressed his excitement to be home as the House is in its annual August recess.

Referring to "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck and the Dust Bowl, he said his parents and grandparents lived through that event.

So Im very sensitive about government policies, government tax codes that actually inflict pain on people, Lucas said. I cant, as a member of Congress, make everybodys life better, but part of my assignment is to make sure the federal government doesn't hurt you economically or personally.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' a hot topic for Frank Lucas, Tom Cole
UCLA has been notified that it will be losing some of its federal research funding over claims of antisemitism and bias, according to the schools chancellor.

UCLA received a notice that the federal government, through its control of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies, is suspending certain research funding to UCLA, said UCLAs chancellor Julio Frenk in a statement released on Thursday. This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants. It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work, health, and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do.

Frenk said hundreds of grants may be lost due to the decision.

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MORE: 1 dead and at least 22 sick from Legionnaires' disease cluster in New York City

The news we received is so deeply disappointing. With this decision, hundreds of grants may be lost, adversely affecting the lives and life-changing work of UCLA researchers, faculty and staff, the chancellor said. In its notice to us, the federal government claims antisemitism and bias as the reasons. This far-reaching penalty of defunding life-saving research does nothing to address any alleged discrimination.

Just earlier this week, UCLA reached a $6 million settlement with Jewish students to resolve a lawsuit alleging it allowed pro-Palestinian demonstrators to prevent Jewish students and faculty from accessing parts of campus.

MORE: At least 30 injured after car plows into crowd outside music venue in Los Angeles

Mario Tama/Getty Images - PHOTO: People walk on the plaza outside Royce Hall, the site of 2024 pro-Palestinian protests, on the UCLA campus on July 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

MORE: US Marshals operation leads to recovery or location of 60 critically missing children in Florida

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We share the goal of eradicating antisemitism across society. Antisemitism has no place on our campus, nor does any form of discrimination. We recognize that we can improve, and I am committed to doing so, Frenk said in his statement on Thursday. Confronting the scourge of antisemitism effectively calls for thoughtfulness, commitment, and sustained effort -- and UCLA has taken robust actions to make our campus a safe and welcoming environment for all students.

UCLA said it is actively evaluating our best course of action following the announcement that it is set to lose some of its federal research funding.

MORE: Suspect arrested in alleged antisemitic road rage incident involving Rep. Max Miller

For the past several months, our leadership team has been preparing for this situation and have developed comprehensive contingency plans. We will do everything we can to protect the interests of faculty, students and staff -- and to defend our values and principles, Frenk said.

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Federal research grants are not handouts. Our researchers compete fiercely for these grants, proposing work that the government itself deems vital to the countrys health, safety and economic future, the chancellor continued. Grants lead to medical breakthroughs, economic advancement, improved national security and global competitiveness -- these are national priorities.

ABC News' Vanessa Navarette contributed to this report.
Another Chicago hospital has ended gender-affirming pediatric surgery amid threats to its federal funding.

But Illinois and 15 other states are fighting back in a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for intimidating providers into denying such care.

On Friday, UI Health became the latest hospital to suspend gender-affirming surgical procedures for adolescents effective immediately, according to an announcement posted on the hospitals website.

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After careful review of recent federal government actions, UI Health has made the following changes to its gender-affirming surgical services, the health system posted. Effective Aug. 1, 2025, UI Health has suspended gender-affirming surgical procedures for patients under age 19. Any patient working toward or scheduled for surgery will need to postpone surgery until they reach age 19.

UI Health is an academic health system associated with the University of Illinois Chicago. Its main facility is the 438-bed University of Illinois Hospital  the states only public general hospital  which is on Taylor Street at the center of the Illinois Medical District.

In response to a request for comment Friday, UI Health forwarded its posted announcement and added a clarifying statement, leaving the door open to gender-affirming adolescent surgery in the future  if allowed by federal policy.

We recognize the importance of gender-affirming care in supporting the health and well-being of our patients, UI Health said in the statement. We are committed to working closely with affected individuals and families to ensure continuity of care and support. UI Health remains steadfast in its mission to provide compassionate, inclusive, and patient-centered care for all. We are closely monitoring federal updates to determine if or when to resume these services to patients under age 19.

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The move by UI Health to suspend gender-affirming pediatric surgeries follows similar recent actions by other major Chicago hospitals.

On July 18, UChicago Medicine announced it was discontinuing all gender-affirming pediatric care, while Rush University System for Health paused hormonal care to new patients under the age of 18 beginning July 1.

A Jan. 28 executive action by President Donald Trump precipitated the gender-affirming care policy changes for hospitals across the U.S.

Trumps order to prevent children under 19 from undergoing chemical and surgical mutilation threatened to withhold federal research grants as well as Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for institutions that provide such pediatric gender care services.

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The impact was immediate for some hospitals, with Lurie Childrens Hospital pausing gender-affirming surgeries for patients younger than 19 in February, a policy which remains in place.

Meanwhile, UI Health allegedly canceled an Illinois teenagers gender-affirming chest surgery, according to a February filing in a Maryland federal court.

In the case, which is ongoing, the teens mother said in a declaration the UI Health surgeon called her the day after Trumps executive order was issued to say the hospital was worried about losing millions of dollars in funding and would not allow them to proceed with the scheduled surgery.

On Friday, Illinois joined 15 other states in suing Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department for denying access to gender-affirming care for patients under 19.

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The Trump administration is intimidating providers into ceasing care through threats of civil and criminal prosecution, according to the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court.

These threats have no basis in law, the lawsuit states. No federal law prohibits, much less criminalizes, the provision or receipt of gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents. In fact, federal health care programs have reimbursed the provision of such care for years.

The lawsuit is seeking to declare Trumps order unconstitutional and unlawful, and to set aside subsequent federal actions targeting doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that provide medically necessary gender-affirming care to adolescents.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
UK Kings Daughters is pleased to welcome Wes McGraw Jr., D.O., interventional pain specialist, to its medical staff. Dr. McGraw is now seeing patients at UK Kings Daughters facilities in Portsmouth.

Dr. McGraw earned his medical degree in 2020 from Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Glendale. He completed a residency in anesthesiology at UK HealthCare in 2024 after which he completed a fellowship in anesthesia pain medicine at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

As an interventional pain specialist, Dr. McGraw provides advanced treatment for a wide range of chronic and complex pain conditions, including:

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* Pinched nerves

* Herniated discs

* Spinal stenosis

* Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)

* Sacroiliac (SI) joint dysfunction

* Degenerative disc disease

* Arthritis of the spine

* Compression fractures

* Sciatica

He specializes in procedures such as nerve blocks, radio frequency ablation, SI joint and epidural steroid injections and spinal cord stimulator implantation and management.

Dr. McGraw sees patients at Kings Daughters Kinneys Lane, Suite 202, 1729 Kinneys Lane, Portsmouth. Procedures are performed at UK Kings Daughters Ohio, 2001 Scioto Trail.

Patients are seen by provider referral only. To refer a patient or request additional information, please contact our spine health nurse navigator at (740) 991-BACK (2225).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has strongly condemned the public message from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in which he supported the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; El 19 Digital, a Nicaraguan newspaper with close political ties to Nicaraguas ruling party

Details: The Ukrainian foreign ministry stressed that such statements are a gross violation of international law, including the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter, UN General Assembly resolutions and Nicaragua's own international obligations.

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The ministry said that Ukraine "will reserve the right to respond in a manner commensurate with the unprecedented level of unfriendly actions".

The ministry emphasised that any recognition of the Russian occupation of Ukrainian territories directly contradicts UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) Definition of Aggression, which prohibits the recognition of territorial changes acquired by force.

Quote: "The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, as well as the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions were and always have been integral parts of Ukrainian territory. Any so-called referendums, consultations, or statements by the occupiers, as well as the recognition of these illegal actions by third countries, are legally null and void and have no legal consequences."

Details: In 2020, Ukraine had already imposed sectoral sanctions against Nicaragua due to that country's opening of an honorary consulate in Simferopol, a Ukrainian city occupied by Russia.

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In light of the situation, Ukraine has called on the Nicaraguan authorities to officially refute Ortega's statement immediately if it does not reflect the country's official position. Ukraine will consider a failure to issue such a rebuttal in the near future as confirmation of the statement, with all the corresponding consequences.

Background: On 30 July, Ortega sent a letter to Putin, in which he "expressed full support and complete recognition of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts as an integral part of the Russian Federation". He also expressed support for "the heroic battle that Russia is fighting against Ukrainian neo-Nazism, supported by NATO".

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Ukraines drone manufacturers are scrambling to reach the Russian equipment that lurks beyond the radio horizon  the distance where the earths curvature blocks the video signal that Ukraines cheap strike drones depend on.

Over the past year and a half, short-range drones, like first-person-view (FPV) drones, have cleared a no-mans land of roughly 20 kilometers on either side of the front line, where neither Ukraine nor Russia dares to put high-value weapons.

The area just beyond that current FPV drone range has become a major logistical nexus for Russia's war  and the latest goal for Ukraine's strike drone makers and pilots alike. They are designing, testing and just starting to mass produce new configurations of drone signaling that maintain connection into prime targets at 50 kilometers and, ideally, further.

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The Ukrainian military has grown acutely aware of high-value targets like Russian tanks, anti-air batteries and rail junctures sitting just outside of the range of their current drone arsenal. They are looking to a combination of signal repeaters, mothership drones, auto-piloting, and extravagantly long spools of optical fiber to push into this near deep target range.

"Right now, we have nothing reliable to strike with beyond the range of artillery or FPV drones," Oleksiy, a director of development at drone company WarBirds of Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent. Out of concern for his safety, he asked not to publish his last name.

"You can get about 20 kilometers on an optical fiber line. You can fly on radio guidance to about 30 kilometers."

But the latest models are workable enough, says Serhiy, a drone pilot based outside of Kharkiv, who says new drones are reaching further into Russian territory.

A drone uses optical fiber to fly at an undisclosed location in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Jan. 29, 2025. (Tetiana Dzhafarova / AFP via Getty Images)

An operator controls a drone via a fiber-optic cable during a test flight in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Dec. 26, 2024. (Viktor Fridshon / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

"We can already reliably hit targets at a range of 30 kilometers," Serhiy told the Kyiv Independent. "Now theres a new wave of development, so in a year theyll have completely different capabilities."

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Signal repeaters, either airborne or otherwise, can extend the range of connection. Mothership drones do something similar, while also dropping off a number of FPV drones  themselves limited by short battery life as well as signal range  nearer to identified Russian targets.

WarBirds, for example, converted its cheap and light-weight reconnaissance drones into a bomber drone, Puhach. They have been outfitting the Puhach with a variety of fixings to make it function as a "mothership" drone that drops quadrocopters as far as 37 kilometers away and then functions as a signal repeater to communicate with them.

Vyriy, one of the largest FPV makers in Ukraine, recently announced its largest quadrocopter yet, the MAX 15, designed to carry more battery and explosive charge and "capable of overcoming a distance of up to 50 km depending on the weight of the warhead, the battery, and the presence of a signal repeater."

Vyriy, one of Ukraine's largest FPV manufacturers, recently unveiled its largest quadcopter, the MAX 15. (Vyriy / Facebook)

Brave1, a government-funded initiative that directs Ukraines military tech start-ups, is likewise working on a solution. In fields outside of Kyiv, they are testing new means of reaching high-value Russian firepower in the near-deep.

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Among those are EW-resistant fiber-optic controlled drones. Ukrainian firms are winding spools of up to 40 kilometers onto thick-framed FPVs that trundle off into the distance.

Development is, says Oleksiy, about the "golden medium" of balance between the trifecta of range, payload, and accuracy. Cost is also a major consideration.

Ukraine has poured money into deep-strike drones that hit Russian targets like weapons-producing plants and stationary military positions thousands of kilometers away from the border. But those deep-strike drones are too expensive, and Ukraine doesnt produce enough of them to keep up with the part of the line just beyond the radio horizon.

Another cause for alarm is that Russian electronic warfare seems to have rendered U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets  which have a range of 80 kilometers depending on the ammunition supplied  ineffective, notes James Lythgoe, who heads the Ukraine office for U.S. drone company Shield AI.

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Far more expensive than drones, HIMARS have gone from 90% accuracy to about 20% against Russia today, Lythgoe told the Kyiv Independent.

Shield AIs V-BATs are long-range reconnaissance drones that can log 13 hours in the air during a single flight. They consequently specialize in the zone beyond where today's FPV drones reach, thanks to expensive connectivity equipment and staying at high altitudes.

Lythgoe tallies that the firm's V-BATs have found 140 high-value Russian targets, including artillery and air defense for the Ukrainian military. But in over a hundred of those instances, they could not find a Ukrainian strike drone that could reach those targets in time. He recalls a recent instance of a V-BAT following an SA-22 Pantsir, a surface-to-air missile system.

"We were watching it for over an hour and 40 minutes, and we could not find a strike platform. And that's a mission-critical capability; an SA-22 is a $15-million plus asset. And that was at 110 kilometers (beyond the line), said Lythgoe, who said he's seeing a "scramble" to fill in the near-deep strike gap.

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Another constraint is that many Ukrainian drones can already fly to these depths past the Russian line but cant be trusted to identify their own targets once they get there, absent the control of a pilot.

As with many elements of drone warfare, many are waiting on better targeting, particularly enhanced by AI.

Oleksiy said WarBirds had managed to use new auto-targeting modules to set up strikes "from three kilometers away from the target, at an altitude of 800 meters, where youd get the radio horizon, which is the most important thing. And then after that, we dont have to do anything with it."

Author's note:

Hi, this is Kollen, the author of this article. Thanks for reading. Ukraine is holding up in the face of a tense summer and persistent Russian assaults, including on the capital. Along with a resilient population, Ukraine's defense tech wizardry has been a core pillar of the country's resistance. If you want more stories like this, consider joining our community today to help support our work.

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Read also: Under constant attack, Ukraines arms makers take shelter in European factories

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine's Defence Procurement Agency delivered over one million first-person view (FPV) drones for the needs of the Armed Forces between January and July 2025. In total, the agency has contracted more than 2 million FPV drones for 2025.

Source: Ukraines Defence Ministry

Details: The agencys director, Arsen Zhumadilov, said that transferring a million FPV drones is an important milestone, but not the final one.

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Quote from Zhumadilov: "We have launched additional tools for the mass supply of UAVs. These are framework agreements in the Prozorro system and DOT-Chain Defence. The latter enables units to independently select the drones they need. We are working to ensure that the Armed Forces receive high-quality, necessary UAVs funded by the state budget."

More details: The Defence Ministry added that the Agency has launched new approaches to procurement to ensure further growth in supply volumes, including framework agreements based on tactical and technical characteristics and the DOT-Chain Defence weapons marketplace.

The ministry explained that these framework agreements allow manufacturers to contract not by specific product names but by their drones' compliance with TTX requirements (TTX is a subset of simulated exercises).

"This means a wide range of manufacturers can be involved in the procurement process, and it ensures competition between them and transparency because the bidding takes place on Prozorro," the agency said in a statement.

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The DOT-Chain Defence IT system allows the military to independently select UAVs in a marketplace-style format, ensuring targeted and rapid delivery of drones to the front. The platform is currently in pilot mode, with 12 combat brigades ordering the specific drones they require.

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BELGRADE (Reuters) -Europe must start seeing Ukraine as a European country, and the Ukrainian military as a European army, Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition activist, said in Belgrade on Friday.

"The Ukrainian army is not only protecting Ukraine, it is protecting Europe from Russian aggression," he told hundreds of Russians who now live in Serbia.

Yashin was imprisoned in 2022 for criticising Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and released last year, along with 15 other prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails.

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His speech at a Belgrade concert hall was the first such public appearance of a high-profile Russian dissident in Serbia since 2022.

Between February 2022 and 2024, more than 74,000 Russians registered for temporary residence in Serbia, according to the latest Interior Ministry data, many fleeing conscription or persecution for their opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

"This is a meeting with a true hero," said Petr Nikitin, a Belgrade-based Russian and an anti-war activist who came to hear Yashin.

Serbia's relations with Moscow soured this year after Russia's SVR spy agency complained about sales of ammunition to Ukraine, and Yashin's visit would likely further complicate their ties.

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The Russian embassy to Serbia could not be immediately reached for comment.

Serbia, which aspires to join the European Union, balances its policies between its historical ties to Russia and the West.

Belgrade has repeatedly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow.

In May, President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to Moscow to meet with Putin and attend a parade marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in World War Two.

But Belgrade also recognises Ukraine in its entirety, including territories held by Russia. In June, Vucic visited Ukraine for the first time.

Russia remains Serbia's biggest gas supplier, and the Balkan country's only oil refinery is majority-owned by Gazprom and Gazprom Neft.

(Aleksandar VasovicEditing by Rod Nickel)
Ukraine is set to receive its first two Patriot air defense systems from Germany in the coming days as part of the deal the U.S. government struck with NATO last month.

Germany said Friday it will back Ukraine with two U.S.-made Patriot launchers and fork over additional Patriot system components in the next two to three months, according to Germanys Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

As part of the agreement forged with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), Germany will be the first country to receive the latest-generation Patriot system at an accelerated pace. Berlin is providing the funding.

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The prerequisite was that the U.S. manufacturer would deliver new Patriot systems as quickly as possible in return so that we could continue to meet our NATO obligations. This commitment from the U.S. side has been made, Pistorius said in a statement.

Germany can therefore support Ukraine first with launchers and then with further Patriot system components, the defense minister added. Once again, Germany is by far the strongest supporter of Ukraine in air defense.

President Trump announced in mid-July that he brokered a deal to send more weapons to Ukraine without placing a major burden on U.S. military supplies. As part of the agreement with NATO, the weapons would be sourced from NATO allies in Europe.

Were going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and theyll be sent to NATO, Trump said at the time. NATO may choose to have certain of them sent to other countries where we can get a little additional speed, where the country will release something and be itll be mostly in the form of a replacement.

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The Patriot system is one of the few weapons systems around the world that can blow up Russian ballistic missiles, a proven critical capability as Russia has stepped up its aerial attacks on Ukraine.

Germany has sent three Patriot systems to Ukraine since Russias invasion kicked off in late February 2022.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Friday welcomed Germanys decision to send more.

This is great news and I welcome Germanys leadership! This will help ensure Ukraine is able to defend its skies, protect its people and deter Russian aggression, Rutte wrote on social platform X.

Updated at 11:15 a.m. EDT.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 72 Shahed loitering munitions and decoy drones of various types on the night of 31 July-1 August. Ukrainian air defence has managed to down 44 of these drones.

Source: Ukraine's Air Force

Details: Starting at 21:30 on 31 July, the drones were launched from the Russian cities of Millerovo, Kursk and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.

Early reports indicate that, as of 09:00, air defence had downed or jammed 44 Russian drones in Ukraine's north, south, east and centre.

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Hits by 28 UAVs were recorded in nine locations. The Russians targeted frontline areas of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts as well as Kyiv Oblast.

Aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare units, unmanned systems units and mobile fire groups from Ukraine's defence forces were involved in repelling the attack.

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A rare and deadly clash erupted earlier this week between Ugandan and South Sudanese troops near the disputed border in Central Equatoria, killing at least eight soldiers and displacing over 100 civilians, officials said.

The firefight, described by South Sudanese authorities as a surprise attack by Ugandan forces, took place in the border county of Kajo Keji. Backed by tanks and artillery, Ugandan troops reportedly crossed into South Sudanese territory and opened fire on a joint unit. Five South Sudanese soldiers and three Ugandan troops were killed, according to both government and church sources. Bishop Joseph Aba Nicanor of the Episcopal Diocese of Liwolo, who helped mediate the recovery of bodies, said the attack sowed chaos among civilians. Children went unattended as they got separated from their parents, the elderly remained scattered as they began to get out of the bushes to look for their unaccompanied kids, and the sick and injured had no medicine to be given, he said.

Though both nations have historically enjoyed strong security ties  with Uganda repeatedly supporting President Salva Kiir  tensions have simmered over contested border areas and accusations of Ugandan encroachment and resource exploitation. Ugandas military spokesman, Gen. Felix Kulayigye, offered a competing account, saying we had to apply force after South Sudanese forces refused to vacate Ugandan land. Both sides have agreed to a ceasefire and the formation of a joint investigation committee. Analysts warn the incident reflects rising volatility in South Sudan, where a fragile peace deal is unraveling amid renewed power struggles and deepening humanitarian crises.
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's online safety law risks suppressing free speech due to its heavy-handed enforcement, social media site X said on Friday, adding that significant changes were needed.

The Online Safety Act, which is being rolled out this year, sets tough new requirements on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X, as well as sites hosting pornography, to protect children and remove illegal content.

But it has attracted criticism from politicians, free-speech campaigners and content creators, who have complained that the rules had been implemented too broadly, resulting in the censorship of legal content.

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Users have complained about age checks that require personal data to be uploaded to access sites that show pornography, and more than 468,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the act to be repealed.

The government said on Monday it had no plans to do so and it was working with regulator Ofcom to implement the act as quickly as possible.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday that those who wanted to overturn it were "on the side of predators".

Elon Musk's X, which has implemented age verification, said the law's laudable intentions were at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach.

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"When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of 'online safety'," it said in a statement.

"It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made."

X said the timetable for meeting mandatory measures had been unnecessarily tight, and despite being in compliance, platforms still faced threats of enforcement and fines, encouraging over-censorship.

It said a balanced approach was the only way to protect liberty, encourage innovation and safeguard children.

"It's safe to say that significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK," it said.

Ofcom said on Thursday it had launched investigations into the compliance of four companies, which collectively run 34 pornography sites.

(Reporting by Paul SandleEditing by Mark Potter)
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's online safety law risks suppressing free speech due to its heavy-handed enforcement, social media site X said on Friday, adding that significant changes were needed.

The Online Safety Act, which is being rolled out this year, sets tough new requirements on platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X, as well as sites hosting pornography, to protect children and remove illegal content.

But it has attracted criticism from politicians, free-speech campaigners and content creators, who have complained that the rules had been implemented too broadly, resulting in the censorship of legal content.

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Users have complained about age checks that require personal data to be uploaded to access sites that show pornography, and more than 468,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the act to be repealed.

The government said on Monday it had no plans to do so and it was working with regulator Ofcom to implement the act as quickly as possible.

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said on Tuesday that those who wanted to overturn it were "on the side of predators".

Elon Musk's X, which has implemented age verification, said the law's laudable intentions were at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach.

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"When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of 'online safety'," it said in a statement.

"It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made."

X said the timetable for meeting mandatory measures had been unnecessarily tight, and despite being in compliance, platforms still faced threats of enforcement and fines, encouraging over-censorship.

It said a balanced approach was the only way to protect liberty, encourage innovation and safeguard children.

"It's safe to say that significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK," it said.

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A UK government spokesperson said it is "demonstrably false" that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech.

"As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression," the spokesperson said.

Ofcom said on Thursday it had launched investigations into the compliance of four companies, which collectively run 34 pornography sites.

(Reporting by Paul SandleEditing by Mark Potter)
AMHERST  A researcher whose controversial use of marmoset monkeys to unlock the secrets of Alzheimers, aging and womens health drew the fury of PETA has closed her lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

In a message posted to her own website, Agnes Lacreuse says caring for primates requires top-quality infrastructure and resources. She is grateful to the National Institutes of Health and others for more than $6 million in federal funding.

However, current efforts to destroy science and slash research funding undermine my ability to continue support for nonhuman primate research at UMass, she said.

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The lab is finishing up a research project concerning the topic of breast cancer.

Above all, my heart goes out to each one of the beloved monkeys who helped advance scientific knowledge and improve the lives of humans and other animals, she said.

The University of Massachusetts released a written statement:

The lab, whose work has been dedicated to studies that advance the knowledge of the aging process with a focus on Alzheimers disease and womens health (including breast cancer treatments), recently completed NIH grant-funded research using non-human primates. The funded experiments ended as planned, within the scheduled end of the grant.

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PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, declared victory in a news release.

We were determined to close this laboratory and end the torture of these tiny monkeys, and we did, says PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo. Lacreuses reign of terror is over.

PETA described how Lacreuses laboratory staff drilled holes in marmosets skulls to implant electrodes, cut into their necks and threaded wires through their bodies.

Stories by Jim Kinney

Read the original article on MassLive.
Donald Trump announced he is raising Canada's tariff rate from 25% to 35% hours before his August 1 trade deadline. Rep. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joins MSNBCs Jonathan Capehart to discuss the devastating impact Trump tariffs are already having on her home state of Minnesota, where businesses rely on trade with Canada.
Screenshot of Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings in Orlando on August 1, 2025.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signed an updated agreement with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement (ICE) on Friday, although he later said he did so under protest and extreme duress.

It came days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened the mayor and all six county commissioners that their failure to do so would result in their removal from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

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Yes, we signed the damn thing because we really had to. We were put in a tough spot, Demings said during a late afternoon press conference in Orlando. I cant let our entire board of county commissioners and myself be removed from office.

Demings signed an addendum to modify the 287(g) Warrant Service Officer (WSO) Memorandum of Agreement that will allow county jail officials to transport immigration detainees to ICE facilities  although he said he still needs to assess the readiness of his corrections department staff to do so while keeping everyone safe at the county jail. He said that there are 212 vacancies within the Orange County corrections department right now, a vacancy rate of 24%.

Speaking in Orlando earlier on Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that local governments could apply for grants from the state to reimburse their costs for detaining and transporting detainees. I think the detention transport, thats something that would be appropriate to do, and we approved the guidelines for the grants to go out, he said.

In his letter posted on X earlier this week (which Demings said his office had just received on Friday), Uthmeier wrote that prohibiting your corrections officers from transporting arrested aliens to ICE-approved detention facilities squarely prevents your corrections officers from cooperating with ICE and participating in federal immigration operations.

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Failure to back down, he added, would result in removal from office by DeSantis.

Demings, the former chief of police for Orlando who has led Orange County since 2018, said earlier this week that he was not going to allow Uthmeier to bully him or other Orange County leaders. But he said on Friday that with the possibility that not signing the addendum would allow DeSantis to insert his minions, he really had no choice in the matter.

I thought it was urgent that we had to take action now to preclude the possibility that the elected body here in Orange County could be removed from office, he said. I hope you understand that. That was a calculated risk that we had, obviously. People that had no elected responsibility to our county would be inserted or put in place. That would be catastrophic to the continuity of government here in Orange County. That is something that I certainly did not want to happen.

Uthmeier and DeSantis have previously asserted that other local governments in Florida that do not fully cooperate with ICE would be defined as employing sanctuary policies, which are prohibited in Florida.

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In doing so, they ensured that local governments in Fort Myers and Key West ultimately did sign 287(g) agreements with ICE, though in fact cities are not legally required to sign such agreements under Florida law  even if counties are.

Demings said he didnt understand why state officials had to be so confrontational when it came to enforcing immigration policy in Florida.

Were not enemies, he said. Local governments are subdivisions of the state. Our state officials in government should act like it. They should remember that we are part of the state of Florida. The state of Florida works best when we work in collaboration, across political lines. The comments Im making today have nothing to do with partisan politics. It has everything to do with public safety in our community.

The Orange County Commission must still approve the addendum. Members are scheduled to meet next Tuesday.

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New York State Police and State Park Police received some help Wednesday in their search for the remaining victim of July 23s boat crash in the upper Niagara River.

ASI Marine offered its assistance to New York State Park Police with a underwater search of the area around the NYPA water intakes in efforts to find missing boater Jerome Williams.

The company, with offices in Orchard Park and Canada, uses advanced robotic vehicles that are equipped with the latest in sonar and video imaging, survey, and inspection technologies. Through the use of its sonar technology, ASI can create highly accurate 3D models of underwater infrastructure, according to its website.

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ASI staff used a remote operated vehicle (ROV), sonar, and a camera during the search but were unsuccessful in locating Williams.

Wednesdays search followed the recovery of the body of Natalie Sansivero of Grand Island, on Friday evening. Searchers made that recovery roughly one mile from where the accident occurred.

Williams of Buffalo and Sansivero were killed when their 35-foot, 2015 Scout Boat slammed into the main water intake for the Niagara Falls Water Board.

The Park Police Marine Bureau is conducting an investigation and accident reconstruction of the crash.

Witnesses said the boat was traveling west on the upper river, just north of Navy Island, at around 9:40 p.m. on July 23 when it slammed into the water intake. The force of the crash sheared off a piece of the boat, leaving debris hanging from the intake.
Undocumented children will be barred from Head Start preschool under new Trump rule

Undocumented children will no longer qualify for federally funded preschool through the Head Start program under a major policy shift the Trump administration announced Thursday.

In a news release, the Department of Health and Human Services said it was rescinding a nearly 30-year-old interpretation of federal law issued under President Bill Clinton that allowed undocumented immigrants to access certain programs because they were not considered federal public benefits.

As President Donald Trump pursues his anti-immigrant agenda, this change may be the most direct and far-reaching effort to target children after his attempts to end birthright citizenship. His administration has also ramped up immigration enforcement and deportations, withheld funding for English learners, and threatened to punish states that offer in-state tuition to undocumented college students.

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Administration officials have said they hope many immigrants will self-deport if the United States makes life here more uncomfortable. Health and Human Services leaders cast the change as a way to protect benefits for Americans.

For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release. Todays action changes that  it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.

Early childhood education advocates, meanwhile, condemned the change as violating both the spirit and the letter of the 1965 law that authorized Head Start. They also warned the change could scare away eligible families, Chalkbeat reports.

This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children, Yasmina Vinci, the executive director of the National Head Start Association, a nonprofit that represents Head Start staff and families, said in a written statement. Head Start programs strive to make every child feel welcome, safe, and supported, and reject the characterization of any child as illegal.

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The change is also at odds with how the Supreme Court has treated K-12 education. In the landmark Plyler v. Doe decision from 1982, the justices ruled that children have a right to a free public education regardless of immigration status. However, the courts have upheld laws restricting immigrants access to welfare benefits.

Head Start provided preschool to over 544,000 children from low-income families, according to the latest federal data from the 2022-23 school year, while Early Head Start served more than 186,000 infants, toddlers, and expectant parents.

The program, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, has reached 40 million children but has recently faced a number of challenges, from federal staff layoffs to threats of eliminating the program.

Head Start will now be considered a public benefit, the Trump administration said, because it offers services that are similar to welfare. Officials said the change aligns with Trumps executive orders, including a February order titled Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders.

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While Head Start provides for school readiness, it also provides low-income children and their families with health, educational, nutritional, and social and other services, that are determined based on family needs assessment, federal officials wrote in a notice announcing the change. Further, it may serve as child care for parents of young children.

Classifying Head Start as welfare, rather than education, could be a Trump administration strategy to avoid having to address whether the protections extended to undocumented children in Plyler apply here, said Nate Ela, an assistant professor of law at Temple University, in an email.

Reflecting Trumps America First agenda, Health and Human Services officials said in their press release that Head Start will be reserved for American citizens from now on.

But a spokesperson for the Administration for Children and Families clarified that U.S. citizen children and qualified immigrant children would be eligible for Head Start. Under federal law, that includes legal permanent residents, children whove been granted asylum, refugees, and children with humanitarian parole.

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In its statement, the National Head Start Association said providers were alarmed that programs would have to check the citizenship or immigration status of children before they could enroll. The law that governs Head Start has never required documentation of immigration status as a condition to enroll, the organization said, and attempts to impose such a requirement threaten to create fear and confusion among all families.

It is unclear exactly how the new rules will be enforced. Guidance based on the new legal interpretation is forthcoming, the Administration for Children and Families spokesperson said.

Are they going to monitor us when they come out for their federal review? asked Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, the executive director of the Illinois Head Start Association. Will there be something attached to our grant that we have to certify?

The latest version of the law governing who is eligible for Head Start says nothing about immigration status, but it does say that the program can use federal funds to train staff, counsel children, and provide other services that are necessary to address the challenges of children from immigrant, refugee, and asylee families, homeless children, children in foster care, limited English proficient children, children of migrant or seasonal farmworker families, [and] children from families in crisis.

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The law says that children who are experiencing homelessness or whose families have incomes below the federal poverty line qualify. The Migrant Seasonal Head Start program also guarantees child care for the children of farm workers and seasonal workers.

This is not the first attempt to roll back educational rights for immigrant children and families. A number of Republican state legislators have backed bills that would limit enrollment for immigrant children or track their immigration status in ways that could intimidate families. So far, none has been successful. Meanwhile, the author of a brief from the conservative Heritage Foundation that called on states to charge undocumented children tuition to attend public school now works in the Education Department.

Restricting Head Start access could have ripple effects

Federal officials estimated that the Head Start change would free up $374 million a year for U.S. citizens and qualified immigrants to access Head Start, which represents about 3% of the programs annual budget in recent years.

But keeping children out of Head Start could lead to more costs down the road for public schools, advocates warned. Kindergartners who dont go to preschool may need more help with basics like learning their ABCs, colors, and how to work with classmates. They also may have missed out on health screenings.

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Were really shortchanging our community by cutting them off from strong early childhood programs that are going to put them on the right path to be successful in K-12 schools where they have a guaranteed right to attend, said Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, co-founder of the National Newcomer Network and deputy director of Californians Together, groups that advocate for immigrant rights in education.

There are typically many more children in poverty who qualify for Head Start than the program has funding to serve. A 2024 Government Accountability Office report found, for example, that for every 100 young children in poverty, there were typically 28 Head Start seats, with much larger gaps in some states.

Keeping out immigrant children wouldnt necessarily close those gaps. The main factor limiting Head Start seats is a lack of trained teachers, said Diane Schilder, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a public policy think tank.

A lot of programs are having challenges hiring teachers in preschool and infant-toddler classrooms who meet the requirements because the wages are not adequate, Schilder said.

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Low-income families are less likely to have documents proving their children are citizens, Schilder said, and anti-immigrant sentiment can scare away even eligible families from applying. Parents are less likely to work when they dont have access to child care. The effects of these changes would be felt most strongly in urban areas and in communities with a large agricultural workforce.

Head Start providers worry that verifying childrens immigration status will create more administrative work and could make it harder for all families to enroll. Federal officials estimated the cost of assembling documents and reviewing paperwork would be an additional $21 million a year.

And there would be more transition costs to change Head Start protocols, the federal notice stated.

Federal officials said the change would take effect as soon as it is published in the Federal Register. It has not been published, but has been submitted, the Trump administration said. The public will have 30 days to submit comments.

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For now, Heather Frenz, the executive director of the Colorado Head Start Association, said her organization is telling Head Start providers to wait for further instructions before un-enrolling any children.

Reconsidering the eligibility or enrollment of children who are already attending Head Start would be expensive and time-consuming, Frenz said. The process involves everything from measuring childrens height and weight to drawing up individual plans.

And if undocumented children miss out on preschool and other services Head Start provides, Frenz said it could put a lot of strain on other public entities when those children get older.

They may not speak English or have never seen a dentist, Frenz said. Thats going to be a heavy load on the public school education system.

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Chalkbeat New York reporter Michael Elsen-Rooney, Chalkbeat Philadelphia bureau chief Carly Sitrin, Chalkbeat Chicago bureau chief Becky Vevea, and Colorado bureau chief Melanie Asmar contributed reporting.

This story was produced by Chalkbeat and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
The University of North Florida (UNF) celebrated the graduation of 1,016 students during its Summer 2025 commencement ceremonies at the UNF Arena.

The diverse group of graduates ranged in age from 20 to 62 and hailed from 14 different countries. Notably, 34% of these graduates were the first in their families to attend college.

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The ceremony awarded degrees from 109 different combinations of majors, with many students achieving a 4.0 GPA, and 80 graduates having military connections.

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Graduates from the following colleges will move directly into careers with notable companies, including:

Brooks College of Health: Brooks Rehabilitation, Adventhealth, Mayo Clinic, UF Health, Florida Department of Health, and CVS Pharmacy

College of Arts & Sciences: CSI Companies, Jacksonville Jaguars, Department of Defense, and Ally Financial

Coggin College of Business: Fidelity Investments, Florida Blue, Miller Electric Company, and Bank of America

College of Education & Human Services: Federal Education Program, Sporting Club Jacksonville, Clay County, Duval County, Nassau County, and St. Johns County Schools

College of Computing, Engineering & Construction: The Haskell Company, Hal Jones Contractor, and Auld & White Constructors

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Graduates from various colleges within UNF are set to embark on careers with prestigious companies. For instance, Brooks College of Health graduates will join organizations such as Brooks Rehabilitation and Mayo Clinic, while those from the College of Arts & Sciences have opportunities with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Department of Defense.

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The UNF Alumni Association recognized Mackenzie Morris with the Senior Service Award for her exceptional volunteerism and service. Morris, a first-generation college student, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, concentrating in public health.

Her contributions included over 175 hours of volunteering and initiatives to improve student resources.

Joy Bowerman was the inaugural recipient of the Graduate Service Award, acknowledging her volunteer work and leadership in mental health advocacy. Graduating with a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Bowerman has been involved in numerous initiatives aimed at supporting foster children and breaking mental health stigmas.

The UNF Class of Summer 2025 joins a growing alumni network, contributing to the universitys legacy of issuing over 126,000 degrees since its inception in 1972.

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United Airlines pilots declared a "Mayday" shortly after departing Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia last week

The Munich-bound flight carrying 219 passengers experienced a left engine failure, according to radio recordings

All passengers and crew deplaned safely after the "mechanical issue," according to a United spokesperson





Pilots operating a United Airlines flight declared Mayday after experiencing an engine failure shortly after takeoff last week.

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On the evening of Friday, July 25, United flight 108 departed Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Virginia. The Munich-bound flight operating a Boeing 787 carried 219 passengers and 11 crew members.

But as the plane ascended to 10,000 feet, the pilots noticed an issue.

Failure, engine failure, left engine, United 108, pilots told air traffic controllers in a recording obtained by You can see ATC on YouTube. Declaring an emergency.

Mayday, mayday, mayday, they added while flying at 5,000 feet.

Air traffic controllers immediately instructed the pilots to make a right turn and return to the airport, given the clear airspace. But as the plane turned around to land, the pilots determined the aircraft was too heavy since it was fueled for a transatlantic flight. It forced them to stay in the air until they were cleared to adjust the weight of the passenger jet.

Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty A United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner A United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

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After closing a second loop around the airport and dumping the necessary amount of fuel, crews were able to land at IAD after more than 30 minutes in the air. All passengers and crew deplaned safely

A spokesperson for Washington Dulles told PEOPLE the plane landed safely and was checked by Airports Authority Fire and Rescue personnel then towed to a gate.

According to the airline, the plane experienced a mechanical issue.

Alamy Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport

United flight 108 to Munich returned to Washington Dulles shortly after takeoff to address a mechanical issue, a spokesperson shared in a statement with PEOPLE. The plane landed safely, and all passengers deplaned normally at the gate.

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They added the flight was canceled and the carrier made alternate arrangements for travelers.

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.

Earlier in July, a Delta Air Lines flight departing Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was forced to turn around after one of its engines appeared to burst into flames after takeoff. The Friday, July 18, flight landed safely after a reported engine fire, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In video footage captured by YouTube channel L.A. Flights, flames appear out of the planes left engine.

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Delta flight 446 returned to Los Angeles shortly after departure following an indication of an issue with the aircrafts left engine. As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and crew, the flight crew followed procedures and safely returned to the gate, a Delta spokesperson shared in a statement with PEOPLE.

The Delta representative added all 226 passengers deplaned normally and were accommodated on a new aircraft.

The FAA confirmed it will investigate the Los Angeles incident.

Read the original article on People
The entrance to The Miriam Hospital on Summit Avenue in Providence, one of four Brown University Health hospitals that no longer accepts insurance for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)

Thousands of Rhode Island seniors and disabled residents no longer covered for non-emergency visits at four local hospitals can switch insurance plans ahead of the fall open enrollment period.

Gov. Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging announced a two-month special enrollment period for UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage patients on Thursday  exactly one month after the health insurers existing contract with Brown University Health ended.

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determined the insurance change period was needed after reviewing UnitedHealthcares notice of the soon-to-cease contract, submitted in May before coverage ended.

The health system and the health insurer failed to negotiate a new agreement due to disputes over reimbursement rates  a point of contention between insurance companies and providers nationwide. This, in turn, meant thousands of Rhode Islanders were suddenly considered out of network for most treatments and physician visits at Rhode Island Hospital, Hasbro Childrens Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, and Newport Hospital.

Mailers and online information pages sought to alert affected patients ahead of the July 1 termination date for coverage. But conflicting narratives about when coverage ended left some plan participants surprised to find their surgeries suddenly canceled, according to news reports. Losing insurance coverage could also force affected patients to pay more for the same treatments.

This is important news for seniors in Rhode Island whose coverage was disrupted earlier this month, McKee said in a statement Thursday. Without this special election period, every impacted individual had to submit an individual waiver request to change carrierswith no guarantee that they would be granted. Our team at the Office of Healthy Aging stands ready to assist impacted Rhode Islanders.

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Jessica Wharton, a spokesperson for Brown University Health, expressed gratitude to state officials for advocating for patient health care access in a statement Friday.

We remain committed to delivering exceptional, patient-centered care to the Rhode Island community and supporting individuals as they navigate their coverage options, Wharton said.

The health care provider maintains its physicians will still treat United Medicare Advantage patients through June 2026. UnitedHealthcare previously said this was inaccurate.

UnitedHealthcare did not respond to inquiries for comment Friday.

The special enrollment period was triggered by Uniteds notice to federal regulators of the end to its contract with Brown University Health. The Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging and the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General also submitted letters to CMS asking for a special window for plan participants to change insurance plans or carriers.

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We were primarily concerned about the impact on our senior population, Steven Boudreau, a spokesperson for the Office of Healthy Aging, said in an interview Friday.

We were primarily concerned about the impact on our senior population.

 Steven Boudreau, a spokesperson for the Office of Healthy Aging

Federally reported data estimates 129,000 Rhode Islanders are enrolled in Medicare Advantage health insurance plans available for people 65 and older, or with disabilities or chronic conditions like end-stage kidney failure or ALS (also known as Lou Gehrigs disease.) The commercial alternative to government-run traditional Medicare has grown in popularity nationwide and in Rhode Island with the promise of additional benefits and cost savings to participants. Participation in Uniteds Medicare Advantage program in Rhode Island grew 10.1%, to 37,000 plan participants, in 2023, according to the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioners (OHIC) 2025 annual report.

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However, private providers have faced backlash for inflating testing and diagnostics as a means to increase their bottom lines.

Complaints are very few

The Office of Healthy Aging continues to field inquiries  though very few complaints  from affected plan participants, Boudreau said.

We certainly prepared ourselves for a heck of a lot more, he said.

The most common question Boudreaus office has gotten: What are my options?

The Attorney Generals office also continues to receive consumer questions, Timothy Rondeau, an office spokesperson, said in a text. The AG has updated its webpage about the insurance coverage change to include information about the new special enrollment period.

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Once UnitedHealth mails notices to affected patients, they have 60 days to switch to a different Medicare Advantage plan, or return to government-run Medicare. Other commercial insurers that offer Medicare Advantage in all or parts of Rhode Island include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Aetna, Humana, WellCare, and Cigna.

Terms of the special enrollment period are set by CMS, including a one-month delay between when coverage ended and the new enrollment begins to give affected enrollees enough time to make informed decisions about changing their coverage, Boudreau said.

Eligible individuals can get help deciding which insurance option is right for them by contacting the State Health Insurance Assistance Program hotline at 1-888-884-8721.

The regular open enrollment period for changing health insurance runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

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The end to the contract between Brown University Health and United did not affect dual Medicare and Medicaid recipients, nor did it affect coverage at Brown University Healths Massachusetts hospitals. There are also assurances for continuity of care in certain cases, including patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed cancer, or those in active cancer treatment. United Medicare Advantage plan participants whose insurance is covered through a former employer under a group plan may also continue to receive care at Brown University Health hospitals.

Updated to include comments from Brown University Health.

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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:

Fusobacterium varium and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii exhibit cell-to-cell contact. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Intestinal bacteria are important for human health as they help digest food and regulate immune function. Thus, in recent years, it has become clear that gut microbiota dysbiosis, an imbalance in types and composition of intestinal bacteria, is associated with digestive disorders and other diseases. However, the mechanism by which bacteria interact in the intestine to maintain the microbiota balance remains unclear.

A research group led by Associate Professor Koji Hosomi at Osaka Metropolitan University's Graduate School of Veterinary Science studied two bacteria: Fusobacterium varium (F. varium), an oral and intestinal bacterium linked to inflammation and colon cancer, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (F. prausnitzii), an intestinal bacterium that produces butyrate, a beneficial compound for health.

The study is published in Microbiome.

The research team used stool samples from 236 participants. The team then analyzed the interactions between these bacteria using next generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry.

The results revealed that F. prausnitzii inhibits the growth of F. varium. This effect is due to the increased acidity and amount of -hydroxybutyric acid caused by F. prausnitzii. In contrast, F. varium promotes the growth of F. prausnitzii. This interaction is likely to occur through direct contact between these bacteria.

"Going forward, further clarification of the relationships between these bacteria could provide new insights into medical and health methods for improving the intestinal environment and find new methods for preventing or improving intestinal disorders and diseases. Further understanding these bacteria could pioneer the development of foods and supplements that enhance the power of bacteria to support gut health," stated Professor Hosomi.

More information: Koji Hosomi et al, Metabolite-mediated interactions and direct contact between Fusobacterium varium and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Microbiome (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s40168-025-02168-w Journal information: Microbiome
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT)  The University of Alabama at Birmingham says the UAB Health System has reached an agreement with UnitedHealthcare in principle on a new health insurance contract.

According to UAB, the new agreement will ensure that UnitedHealthcare members can continue to access care from UAB-affiliated medical providers without any disruption to services.

UnitedHealthcare released the following statement:

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Weve reached an agreement in principle that will provide continued, uninterrupted network access to UAB. Our organizations have extended our current contract through Aug. 8 as we work to finalize the terms of a long-term agreement.

UAB stated that, once completed, the new contract will be in place for a multi-year term.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
A unresponsive person was rushed to the hospital after a tree fell on their car Friday afternoon.

First responders arrived on Prentice Street around 2:24 p.m. after receiving a report that a tree had fallen onto a vehicle.

Holliston police officers and firefighters found an unresponsive person in the vehicle. They were pulled from the vehicle and rushed to a nearby hospital.

Residents and drivers were asked to avoid the area.

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The incident is being investigated by Holliston police and Massachusetts State Police.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  An upcoming Baton Rouge dog show has received criticism from some community members because of its promotion of a controversial exotic breed that experts said is genetically predisposed to have health problems.

The Top Quality Bully Event is slated for Aug. 10 at the River Center in downtown Baton Rouge. Marketing materials prominently display micro-bullies, an unofficial exotic breed that has become more popular over the years. The miniature animals are often cross-breeds of boxers and other small dogs, and experts said they can have a litany of health issues.

If we start breeding them within each other or other breeds, then the problems get worse, said Dr. Krista Miller, LSUs PetCo Love Community Outreach Veterinarian.

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Miller said people who own these animals are often loving dog owners, but some buy and sell them for profit or for social status. They often spend thousands of dollars on these animals because of the look, she said.

The front half of the dog is much larger than usually the back half, Miller said. Likely, theyve been exercised, treadmill, or taken additional medications that may not be healthy to create this look.

Miller recalled a time when she watched a microbully dog die in front of her during what was supposed to be a routine vet visit.

The owner says, Hey, my dogs been coughing a lot,' Miller said. I said, Hey, lets just get him to the room.'

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Miller never got the chance to save the animal.

The pet ended up coding and dying because of congestive heart failure, Miller said.

Miller said this can happen to any pet, but microbullies bring genetic baggage that can mean more health problems.

Amy Anderson lives in Baton Rouge, and she said she was disappointed when an advertisement for the dog show popped up on the internet.

This is not just a harmless dog show, Anderson said. This, unfortunately, is part of the problem of exploiting animals for money.

Anderson created an online petition to stop the dog show that has garnered several hundred signatures. The petition does not have any legal teeth, but Anderson said it allows people to make their voices heard.

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This is my city, Anderson said. I want to see animals and people here, especially ones without a voice, be heard and seen.

The organizer of the event did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The River Center sent a statement through a spokesperson, reiterating that the organizers went through the correct channels.

Our role as the venues managers is to facilitate rental opportunities for a wide variety of events and organizers. Our venue operates as a rental facility, open to inquiries from individuals and organizations interested in hosting events here. For event organizers who have not previously hosted an event in our venue, we require at least two references from reputable venues where they have held similar events. These references are thoroughly vetted as part of our booking process. This policy is in place to help ensure the safety of the patrons who attend events here, our staff and our venue. Baton Rouge Raising Canes River Center

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
DANVILLE  The following are upcoming events this week (Monday, July 27 to Saturday, Aug. 2) at the Danville Public Library, located at 319 N. Vermillion Street.

Rubber Ducky Readers: Join this fun Beanstack Challenge. For every 10 books read, the child will get a rubber duck, every 100 books equal a book, a sticker and a certificate, 1000 books equal a goody bag filled with a book, a sticker, a completion certificate, a stuffed animal, a blow-up rubber duck, etc. This challenge is for ages 0-6. Visit https://danvillepubliclibrary.beanstack.org/ to join the fun.

Monday: Free Lunch & Learn: Synergy Seminar Series. Join us for a free lunch* provided by Synergy HomeCare while Morgan McConnell from 360 Benefits Group talks Medicare. Well cover the basics, discuss how the upcoming closure of Health Alliance Medicare plans will affect our area, and answer all your Medicare questions in an extended Q&A. *RSVP required for free lunch. Space limited so sign up here: https://forms.office.com/r/s65qy4tvFe or call 217-477-5220, ext 116. 11 a.m. to noon in the second floor conference room.

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Tuesday: Teen Crafternoons. Stop by the library Tuesdays in August for an hour of fun, hands-on crafts  think watercolors, origami, bracelets, DIY projects, and more. No registration needed  just bring your creativity and hang out. This is for ages 13-19 and will be held from 3  4 p.m. on the second floor.

Tuesday: Wee Wigglers Story Time. Join us for action rhymes, stories, and songs for children ages 5 and under. This event will be at 10 a.m. in the Program Room.

Wednesday: Teen Writing Club. Join us every Wednesday for Teen Writing Club. Journals and pens will be provided for our teen writers, along with writing prompts. This will take place from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. on the second floor.

Wednesday: Wordy Wednesdays. Puzzle lovers, mark your calendars. Every Wednesday, head on up to the second floor reference desk for a variety of word puzzles. Available anytime during our regular business hours.

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Aug. 9: Lit Fit with Mandy. Join us Saturdays for a dance fitness series thats as fun as your favorite book. All fitness levels welcome  just bring your water bottle and wear clothes that can handle your best moves. This program takes place from 2:30  3:30 p.m. in the Howard Rutan Meeting Room.

Aug. 9: Sensory and Bilingual Story Adventures. A unique programming experience combining bilingual storytelling with sensory-friendly activities, designed to engage children of all abilities. This inclusive program creates a welcoming space where stories come to life through interactive elements, fostering language development and sensory exploration in a fun and supportive environment. This will take place at 11 a.m. in the Childrens Department.

Adult Craft: Stop by the reference desk on the second floor for Augusts Paintable Magnet take-and-make craft.

Coloring Contest for all ages: Color a picture and win a prize. Return entries by the end of the month. Entries will be displayed in the Children's Room. Winners will be notified. Ages Preschool to adult. Pick up coloring sheets at the library or visit https://danvillepubliclibrary.org/coloring-contest

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Explore More Illinois: a free service provided by your library that provides instant online access to free and discounted tickets to museums, science centers, sporting events, zoos, park districts, theaters, and other fun and local cultural venues. Log in with your library card credentials and browse for passes by date or attractions.

Instagram: Follow us on Instagram! Username: danvilleil.publiclibrary. https://www.instagram.com/danvilleil.publiclibrary/

Library Mobile App: Danville Public Library now has an app available for your mobile devices. Search for books, etc., keep in touch with our social networks, or view our upcoming events, all on your phone! Search for SHARE Mobile Library or visit tinyurl.com/DPL-App for download links.

Starbooks Used Book Store. Step into Wonderland, where every book is a delightful find. Shop by card suit: spades: free items, hearts: $0.50, clubs: $1, diamonds: $2. At Starbooks, the magic never ends, and every visit is a new adventure.

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Weekly Crafts. Drop by for fun crafts in the childrens department. Available Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. New craft each week. This week: Silly Coconut.

The operating hours for the Danville Public Library are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The library is closed on Sundays.
A 13-year-old boy died on Thursday evening after being swept into a storm drain during a flash flood in Mount Airy, officials said.

The incident occurred at approximately 5:20 p.m. near the Mount Airy Apartments at 201 W. Watersville Road, according to a statement from Mount Airy Police Chief Mike Ginevra.

"Mount Airy Police and Fire Departments, along with the Carroll County Sheriff's Office and other emergency responders, worked tirelessly in an attempt to rescue the individual," the statement said. "Despite their heroic efforts, the operation transitioned from a rescue to a recovery."

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Local officials have not identified the boy, but he is believed to have been a resident of the apartment complex, according to Mount Airy Volunteer Fire Company spokesperson Doug Alexander.

"The privacy of minors is strictly protected, and out of respect for the family during this very difficult time, we will not provide details regarding the childs name or other personal identifiers," Ginevra wrote in an email on Friday.

"We ask for the communitys compassion and understanding as the family grieves," he continued. "Any additional updates will be provided only when they are both appropriate and consistent with the wishes of the family."

In an interview on Friday, Alexander said the boy was part a group of children who were playing in a low-lying common area between apartment buildings when it began to rain.

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A stormwater pond for the community overflowed, creating a "rapid river" that was about five feet deep, Alexander said. The 13-year-old boy was swept away and became trapped inside a drainage pipe down the hill.

Alexander said first responders could do little to help the boy until the water subsided, which took between 45 and 50 minutes.

"The rain at that point was absolutely torrential," Alexander said.

After the rain slowed, first responders were able to free the boy from the storm drain, but he ultimately died at the scene of injuries he sustained while trapped.

According to Alexander, roughly 50 emergency personnel responded to the incident including about 20 fire and rescue units and about 10 police units.

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The response involved specialized units such as the Carroll County Advanced Tactical Rescue Team and a dive team from the Gamber and Community Fire Company, which is also based in Carroll County.

Reached by phone on Friday, Frederick County Fire Chief Tom Coe confirmed that his agency assisted in the rescue and recovery effort in Mount Airy on Thursday, but said he could not provide any more details.

At the time of the incident, a flash flood warning was in effect for Carroll and Frederick counties and a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Frederick County.

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service shows that over four inches of rain fell on Mount Airy during Thursday's storm.

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In a statement to The Frederick News-Post, Mount Airy Mayor Larry Hushour said all of the rain fell within a two-hour period. He said flooding in the area was widespread on Thursday.

"We are saddened to learn the tragedy of a drowning victim who became trapped in a storm drain at a local apartment complex. Despite the valiant rescue efforts of friends and first responders, the victim could not be freed before drowning in the quickly rising water," Hushour wrote.

"Our hearts go out to his family and as a community, we will extend all our available resources to provide comfort and assistance," the statement continued.

Hushour said town officials received a call from the office of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who expressed concern for the community and offered the state's help.
By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY, August 1 (Reuters) -The joint U.S. and Australian military exercise Talisman Sabre extended across 500 km (300 miles) of remote northern coast in Papua New Guinea this week, Australian officials said, the first time the war games have been taken to another country.

Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia last month involved 40,000 troops from 19 countries.

For the Papua New Guinea component, U.S., Australian and PNG forces are conducting disaster recovery and survival exercises through seven regions of PNG, moving through terrain from Wewak to Lae that saw fierce fighting between Japan and the U.S. in World War Two.

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The PNG activities test "combined capabilities across sea, land, air, cyber, and space operations", a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said in a statement.

The Talisman Sabre closing ceremony will be held on Monday in the PNG city of Lae.

The U.S. military gained access to Lae's major seaport under a 2023 defence deal with PNG, signed after China struck a security pact with neighbouring Solomon Islands.

The PNG defence agreement will "enhance security and prosperity for both nations", the U.S. embassy spokesperson added.

Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape met the U.S. under secretary for defence policy, Elbridge Colby, in Washington last month to discuss regional security challenges, with Marape raising "the importance of defending Papua New Guinea's sovereignty", said the embassy spokesperson.

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Colby has reportedly pressed U.S. allies Australia and Japan to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan.

China has been a major infrastructure lender to PNG, and Marape's office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Another key PNG site listed in the U.S. defence agreement is the Lombrum Naval Base, which PNG's Defence Minister Billy Joseph recently said will be officially handed over by Australia in a ceremony later this month, after a multi-million dollar renovation.

Australia outbid China to upgrade the strategically located navy base in 2018.

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China's embassy in PNG last week posted social media images of Joseph at a local event celebrating the founding of the People's Liberation Army, and said China was willing to deepen military cooperation with PNG.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Michael Perry)
The US Middle East envoy is set to travel to Gaza on Friday as pressure grows on the White House to address suffering in the enclave.

Steve Witkoff plans to visit an aid distribution site run by a US-backed organization; Palestinians seeking food have reportedly been killed by Israeli forces at the groups locations.

US President Donald Trump earlier this week acknowledged real starvation in Gaza, breaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who Trump believes is prolonging the conflict to hold on to political power, two officials told The Atlantic. But Trumps frustration likely wont result in any major policy shift, they added: He is now putting the onus on Hamas, not Israel, to end the war.
A version of this story appeared in CNNs What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here.

Americans are used to whiplash in their climate policy. The US has been in and out and in and out again of the key Paris climate agreement over the past four presidencies.

But in his second administration, President Donald Trump is not just approaching climate science with skepticism. Instead, his administration is moving to destroy the methods by which his or any future administration can respond to climate change.

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These moves, which are sure to be challenged in court, extend far beyond Trumps well-documented antipathy toward solar and wind energy and his pledges to drill ever more oil even though the US is already the worlds largest oil producer.

His Environmental Protection Agency announced plans this week to declare that greenhouse gas emissions do not endanger humans, a move meant to pull the rug out from under nearly all environmental regulation related to the climate.

But thats just one data point. There are many others:

 Instead of continuing a push away from coal, the Trump administration wants to do a U-turn; Trump has signed executive orders intended to boost the coal industry and has ordered the EPA to end federal limits on coal- and gas-fired power-plant pollution thats been tied to climate change.

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 Tax credits for electric vehicles persisted during Trumps first term before they were expanded during Joe Bidens presidency. Now, Republicans are abruptly ending them next month.

 The administration is also ending Biden-era US government incentives to bring renewable energy projects online, a move that actually appears to be driving up the cost of electricity.

 Republicans in Congress and Trump enacted legislation to strip California of its authority to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles beginning in 2035.

 Trump is also expected to overturn national tailpipe standards enacted under Bidens EPA and is also to challenge Californias long-held power to regulate tailpipe emissions.

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 The authors of a congressionally mandated report on climate change were all fired; previous versions of the report, the National Climate Assessment, which showed likely effects from climate change across the country, have been hidden from view on government websites.

 Other countries, large and small, will gather in Brazil later this year for a consequential meeting on how the world should respond to climate change. Rather than play a leading role  or any role at all  the US will not attend.

 Cuts to the federal workforce directly targeted offices and employees focused on climate change.

The list goes on.

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But it is the Trump administrations move to undo the endangerment finding that could have the most lasting effect. The 2009 declaration that planet-warming pollution from fossil fuels endangers human health is what allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Turning the EPA into a deregulatory agency

Now, anticipating the end of that endangerment finding, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin bragged of the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.

Thats the kind of statement that will excite people who dont see a threat from climate change and strike fear in the hearts of those who do.

Zeldin is a former congressman with little background in environmental policy but a demonstrated loyalty to Trump. He has described his mandate at EPA less in terms of protecting the environment than in terms of unleashing businesses from regulation.

The governments new climate report was written by skeptics

The Trump administration is justifying its move to gut the endangerment finding based on a report it commissioned from five climate skeptics.

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After a public comment period, the Trump administration can move to undo the endangerment finding in the fall. It would essentially close off the Clean Air Act as a vehicle to combat climate change.

Energy secretary has a unique take

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who made millions in the fracking industry, commissioned the report. In a preface, he did not deny that climate change exists.

Climate change is real, and it deserves attention, he wrote. But it is not the greatest threat facing humanity. That distinction belongs to global energy poverty.

In other words, Wright sees more damage to humans from cutting back on carbon emissions.

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That is a minority view in the scientific community, which has a much, much larger body of peer reviewed studies that raise the alarm about climate change. Most notably, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issues peer-reviewed reports with hundreds of authors from around world. The Trump administration has barred US government scientists from taking part in the next installment, due out in 2029.

You dont need a government report to see the effects of climate change

Katie Dykes, the commissioner of Connecticuts Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told me that you no longer need a government report to see the effects of changing climate.

We see that the impacts of climate change have become part of everyday lives of our residents and our communities, Dykes said. In ways that scientists were predicting years ago, were seeing those impacts are happening faster and theyre more severe than we had anticipated.

By moving to declare that greenhouse gas emissions dont endanger humans, the Trump administration is shifting the burden for dealing with climate change.

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This effort to undo this long-standing framework is really abandoning our communities and our residents to shoulder these costs and these impacts of climate change, Dykes said.

Those include health risks like respiratory illness, safety risks from extreme weather events, and impacts on infrastructure, housing and neighborhoods.

Weve seen these impacts already in our state in terms of extreme heat and drought, wildfires and flooding, Dykes said.

Seeing EPA walk away from decades of their core mission of protecting public health, reducing pollution and setting common sense standards at a national level is really concerning, she added.

Cows graze in a field near the coal-fueled Oak Grove Power Plant on April 29, 2024 in Robertson County, Texas. - Brandon Bell/Getty Images/File

A legal document, not a scientific one

The Trump administrations report should not be viewed as a scientific document, according to Andrew Dessler, director of the Texas Center for Extreme Weather at Texas A&M University.

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Their goal is not to weigh the evidence fairly but to build the strongest possible case for CO2s innocence, he told my colleague Ella Nilsen. This is a fundamental departure from the norms of science.

Nilsen reached out to numerous scientists after the reports release.

Phil Duffy, the chief scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, a nonprofit focused on climate change, told her tens of thousands of Americans die every year as a result of particulate pollution, but the numbers have declined as the US has reduced its dependence on coal. The Trump administration would reverse that trend.

Michael Mann, director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media, sees a hostility to science in the Trump administration.

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Not since Stalin and Soviet Lysenkoism have we seen such a brazen effort to misrepresent science in service of an ideological agenda, Mann told Nilsen, referring to the disastrous effects of political interference in the scientific process in the Soviet Union.

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By Gram Slattery, Mike Stone and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. and NATO are working on a novel approach to supply Ukraine with weapons using funds from NATO countries to pay for the purchase or transfer of U.S. arms, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The renewed transatlantic cooperation on Ukraine comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed frustration with Moscow's ongoing attacks on its neighbor.

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Trump, who initially took a more conciliatory tone toward Russia as he tried to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine, has threatened to start imposing tariffs and other measures if Moscow shows no progress toward ending the conflict by August 8.

The president said last month the U.S. would supply weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but did not indicate how this would be done.

NATO countries, Ukraine, and the United States are developing a new mechanism that will focus on getting U.S. weapons to Ukraine from the Priority Ukraine Requirements List, known under the acronym PURL, the sources said.

Ukraine would prioritize the weapons it needs in tranches of roughly $500 million, and NATO allies - coordinated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte - would then negotiate among themselves who would donate or pay for items on the list.

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Through this approach, NATO allies hope to provide $10 billion in arms for Ukraine, said a European official, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was unclear over what timeframe they hope to supply the arms.

"That is the starting point, and it's an ambitious target that we're working towards. We're currently on that trajectory. We support the ambition. We need that sort of volume," the European official said.

A senior NATO military official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initiative was "a voluntary effort coordinated by NATO that all allies are encouraged to take part in".

The official said the new scheme included a NATO holding account, where allies could deposit money for weapons for Ukraine, approved by NATO's top military commander.

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NATO headquarters in Brussels declined to comment. The White House, Pentagon, and Ukrainian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Russian forces are gradually advancing against Ukraine, and control one-fifth of Ukraine's territory.

FASTER ARMS RESTOCKING

If a NATO country decides to donate weapons to Ukraine, the mechanism would allow that country to effectively bypass lengthy U.S. arms sales procedures to replenish its own stocks, said one U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Money for the arms would be transferred into a U.S.-held account, possibly at the U.S. Treasury Department, or to an escrow fund, although the exact structure remains unclear, the official said.

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The new mechanism would be in addition to the United States' own effort to identify arms from U.S. stockpiles to send to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the U.S. president to draw from current weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency.

At least one tranche of weapons for Ukraine is currently being negotiated under the new mechanism, two sources said, though it was unclear if any money has yet been transferred.

Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress have introduced legislation, known as the PEACE Act, that aims to create a fund at the U.S. Treasury in which allies can deposit money that would pay to replenish U.S. military equipment donated to Ukraine.

Ukraine's needs remain consistent with previous months - air defenses, interceptors, systems, rockets, and artillery.

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The last statement of need from Ukraine came in a July 21 video conference of the country's allies, known as the Ramstein group, now led by Britain and Germany.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Mike Stone, Phil Stewart in Washington; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington and Andrew Gray in Brussels; editing by Michelle Nichols, Rod Nickel and David Gregorio)
The US military is taking lessons from the Ukraine war to inform its training for future wars.

An American veteran serving in Ukraine said the US needs to prepare in a few broad ways.

He told BI the US needs to forget about the Middle East wars and focus efforts on air superiority.

To prepare for the next major conflict, the US military needs to forget nearly everything it has learned from two decades of fighting wars in the Middle East, an American veteran in Ukraine told Business Insider.

Scooter, who serves as an instructor with the 4th Ranger Regiment of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, said Russia's invasion offers lessons for the West about how it can prepare for future combat. The American could only be identified by his call sign for security reasons.

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"The first lesson I would recommend to NATO and the United States is to forget the last lesson they learned," the American said during a video chat from an undisclosed location in central Ukraine. A counterinsurgency, like the ones American forces fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, is "nothing like a conventional war" in terms of the intensity of combat and the types of threats.

Scooter, a former US Navy sailor who fought Russia for two years alongside other foreign volunteers in Ukraine's International Legion before eventually joining the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, said threats that soldiers face in this war  rocket fire from helicopters, fighter jet strikes, accurate artillery shelling  are vastly different from the scenes in the Middle East.

"Commanders need to be training their people to deal with a threat, very similar to what we were expecting during the Cold War, with whoever we end up in a war with next," he explained. "They need to be training them for much of the same threat that we would've faced in the 1980s."

'Airpower wins wars'

In a modern war, achieving air superiority through the suppression or destruction of enemy surface-to-air missile systems is critical. In the Middle East campaigns of the past couple of decades, this mission was much less of an issue for US forces, which could operate relatively uncontested in the skies.

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Russia failed to achieve air superiority during the early stages of its invasion despite fielding a force of fighter jets and bombers vastly superior to that of Ukraine. This would come back to haunt Moscow, which is locked in a grinding, attritional fight, unable to make significant battlefield gains.

A Russian Su-34 bomber drops a glide bomb to strike Ukrainian positions in August 2024. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Advanced air defenses on both sides prevent Russia and Ukraine from operating their aircraft too close to the front line, providing the kind of close-air support needed to facilitate maneuvering. Most strikes are carried out from standoff ranges.

For US and NATO military planners, the ability to suppress enemy air defenses and establish air superiority  the ability to control the airspace without restrictive interference  will be key in a conventional war against a peer adversary like Russia.

And they know that.

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US Air Force Gen. James Hecker, who served as the commander of NATO's air command before he retired this year, said previously that "if we can't get air superiority, we're going to be doing the fight that's going on in Russia and Ukraine right now."

"And we know how many casualties that are coming out of that fight," he said.

Given the dangers of failing to achieve air superiority, Scooter said he "would suggest to our leadership to make the quality of our pilots, maintainers, and logistics core a huge priority  if not number one."

"In this type of conflict, airpower wins wars," he continued. "Infantry take and hold ground. It's really hard to take and hold ground when you have to contend with enemy artillery and aircraft. The party holding air superiority and the ability to suppress enemy air defense is typically the party doing the bombing of ground troops."

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Scooter stressed that ensuring squadrons are well-maintained and at solid readiness levels is a significant capability to chase.

Even then, there's no guarantee that air superiority can be achieved. Some military leaders have said that there may only be windows of opportunity rather than persistent dominance in the air, but those bursts can be exploited for potential breakthroughs on the battlefield.

'Throw the book away'

US Army National Guard soldiers fire M142 HIMARS rockets during an exercise at Bemoko Piskie in Poland on June 16, 2017. US Army/Markus Rauchenberger

Lessons learned from Ukraine extend beyond the leadership level and run down to the unit level, down to the soldier.

For individual soldiers, it's important to be quick, stay mobile, and avoid drawing unnecessary attention. This means concealing weapons or anything that can make someone a target. Others in the war have told BI that appearing important on the battlefield is definitely something to avoid. Sitting around in a spot can also be a bad decision.

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"Speed saves. The faster you go, the longer you live," Scooter explained.

He said that it's good practice for special operations forces in the US to think outside the box. This might mean working against the training manual or standard operating procedures in situations that might call for it, like evacuating wounded soldiers from the battlefield.

"Throw the book away, throw the manual away. Get rid of it, and pay attention to how things are actually done here," Scooter said. "So much of what we train in the United States is completely not applicable to reality."

Scooter isn't the first US vet in Ukraine to arrive at that conclusion. One told BI last year that "we've gotten so used to the idea of just fighting guerrilla wars and fucking fighting terrorists and everything else that we kind of forgot what it means to actually fight a war."

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A critical area of focus for the US will need to be keeping pace with drone warfare, which is rapidly evolving in Ukraine, as Kyiv and Moscow routinely adapt their tactics and unveil new innovations to one-up the enemy.

Officials and analysts have said that the US is unprepared for the type of conflict that Ukraine and Russia are locked in  specifically, the drone conflict  and that dramatic steps will need to be taken to step up readiness for that kind of fight.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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:

Aedes aegypti, also called Yellow fever mosquito, another type of mosquito responsible of transmitting chikungunya virus to human. Credit: BGI Genomics

A sudden surge of chikungunya cases has been reported in Foshan city in China, increasing from 478 cases to almost 3,000 cases within a week, according to South China Morning Post.

France has reported over 53,000 cases in its overseas territories this year, reflecting a wider outbreak trend. Italian officials last week reported two deaths following 32 cases of West Nile virus, another mosquito-borne disease. Transmission dynamics are complicated by mosquitoes' ability to carry multiple viruses simultaneously.

For complex infections that may involve multiple viruses and pathogens, metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS) technology is a more comprehensive approach. It offers in-depth reports for rapid and accurate detection. BGI Genomics PMseq, using mNGS technology, supports global efforts in the diagnosis of complex infectious cases and tailors effective treatment.

Rapidly expanding global threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently warned of expanding chikungunya outbreaks, with cases spreading from Indian Ocean islands to several African nations like Madagascar, Somalia, and Kenya.

"Just like 20 years ago, the virus is now spreading further to other countries," said Dr. Diana Rojas Alvarez, WHO lead on arboviruses, in a warning that underscores the virus's cyclical resurgence.

Among the hardest-hit is the French overseas territory of Reunion, where more than 53,000 cases have been confirmed this year. The island, home to under a million people, has seen approximately two-thirds of its population infected within a year, with hospitals recording nearly 600 admissions and 28 deaths.

China is also facing its most significant chikungunya outbreak since the virus first emerged there almost two decades ago. In Guangdong Province alone, around 4,800 cases were reported in just one month3,000 of them concentrated within a single explosive week.

Chikungunya cases surge sixfold in South China City in a week. Credit: BGI Genomics

Imported cases to locally acquired

Chikungunya virus transmission occurs in a human-mosquito-human transmission cycle. This pattern of transmission, both imported and locally acquired cases, complicates the containment strategy.

Imported cases occur when individuals contract the virus while traveling in endemic regions and later fall ill back home. Domestic mosquito vectors can facilitate locally acquired infections and spread the virus locally once it arrives.

To combat mosquito-borne diseases at the community level, residents should regularly remove stagnant water and clear debris to destroy breeding grounds, while also using personal and home protection measures to prevent bites.

Anyone experiencing symptoms like fever, rash, or joint pain should seek immediate medical attention and report their travel history and any mosquito bites to health care providers. Early detection allows for timely intervention before symptoms progress to severe stages.

Genomics unmask infectious origin

Chikungunya symptomsfever, joint pain, and fatigueare notoriously similar to those caused by other mosquito-borne viruses like dengue and Zika. This clinical overlap makes timely diagnosis difficult, especially in areas where multiple arboviruses are circulating simultaneously.

To address this challenge, many regions now employ reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test kits, which are effective in detecting known viral genomes with high specificity. It identifies the virus' genetic material with high sensitivity and specificity. These PCR tests work best within the first 8 days of infection, when viral RNA is still present in the blood. RT-PCR provides fast, accurate results by targeting specific viral genomes.

Aedes albopictus, also known as Asian tiger mosquito, is responsible of transmitting chikungunya virus to human. Credit: BGI Genomics

For broader pathogen coverage, targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS) technology offers broader detection capacity, along with high sensitivity and high specificity. It allows clinicians to pinpoint known infections and detect hundreds of unexpected pathogens within the target library.

Complex co-infections with unclear pathogens require more comprehensive testing. BGI Genomics PMseq Pathogen Metagenomics Sequencing, supported by metagenomics next-generation sequencing technology, can provide comprehensive and in-depth reports for rapid and accurate detection of difficult- and critical-to-detect infections.

The mNGS technology operates by extracting all nucleic acids from the clinical samples, performing high-throughput sequencing, and comparing the resulting sequences against a specialized pathogen database. The PMseq detects over 36,000 pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, etc., significantly improving the positive rate of pathogen detection.

Genetic tools for disease prevention

Beyond diagnostics, scientists are exploring genomic solutions to halt mosquito-borne diseases at their source. A team of researchers recently made headlines after tweaking the genome of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. They disrupted the parasite's ability to complete its life cycle by altering a single amino acid, making the modified mosquitoes largely incapable of transmitting malaria. Published in Nature at the end of July, the study demonstrated how gene editing, and particularly gene drives, could revolutionize disease control.

Gene drives operate by skewing genetic inheritance. Instead of the standard 50% chance of passing on a gene, the altered trait is inherited by nearly all offspring. Though chikungunya differs from malaria in its viral nature, the gene-editing approach may hold promise for other mosquito-borne illnesses.

The fight against chikungunya and other mosquito-borne diseases requires an integrated approach. It requires close surveillance, rapid diagnostics, targeted treatment strategies, and forward-looking genetic technologies. As outbreaks grow worldwide, early detection and precise diagnosis will be key to infectious threats in this rapidly changing world.

Provided by BGI Genomics
US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is offering recruitment bonuses of up to $50,000 (37,700) and student loan help to "brave and heroic" Americans interested in helping with the Trump administration's deportation drive.

The agency is specifically hoping to recruit deportation officers, along with attorneys, criminal investigators, student visa adjudicators and other roles.

In total, ICE hopes to add 10,000 new personnel, doubling the agency's headcount as it ramps up deportations across the country.

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The funding for the recruitment drive comes from approximately $165bn allocated for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Donald Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.

As part of a new recruitment drive announced on 29 July, DHS unveiled recruitment posters akin to those used during World War Two, with the words "America Needs You" and "Defend the Homeland" with images of Uncle Sam, President Trump, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem and other officials.

"Your country is calling you to serve at ICE," Noem said in a statement. "This is a defining moment in our nation's history."

In addition to the signing bonus and student loan repayment and forgiveness of up to $60,000, ICE is promising potentially hefty overtime pay for deportation officers and "enhanced retirement benefits".

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The students loans offer comes as millions of people signed up for a Biden-era relief payment plan will start seeing interest accrue to their accounts starting on Friday.

Deportation officers, who would be tasked with helping apprehend and process undocumented migrants for removal from the US, receive salaries of between $49,739 and $89,528 per year, depending on experience and education.

An image accompanying the job description for the role includes armed officers riding in an armoured vehicle.

ICE currently has 20,000 officers and support personnel, spread across the country at 400 offices.

This image appears on the recruitment website advertising various ICE roles and benefits [Department of Homeland Security]

The recruitment drive comes just weeks after President Trump signed the "One, Big, Beautiful" tax and spending bill into law.

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The bill included more than $76bn allocated to ICE - almost 10 times of what it had been receiving previously - and making it the highest funded federal law enforcement agency.

President Trump, Secretary Noem and other administration officials have vowed to ramp up the pace of deportations to one million per year.

Approximately 150,000 people have been deported in the first six months of the Trump administration, according to data obtained by CBS, the BBC's US news partner.

If that pace - of about 800 a day - continues, ICE will have carried more than 300,000 deportations in Trump's first year in office, well below the administration's self-imposed goal.

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In an interview with the Associated Press, former ICE chief staff Jason Houser said that while the agency has long needed more staff, he is concerned that standards may fall amid the deportation drive, comparing it to the enlargement of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the early 2000s.

"If they start waiving requirements there like they did for Border Patrol, you're going to have an exponential increase in officers that are shown the door after three years because there's some issue," he said.

It is unclear how many people have so far applied for the newly advertised jobs with ICE.

The BBC has reached out to ICE and DHS for comment.
By Kanishka Singh and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Differences between the U.S. and India cannot be resolved overnight to arrive at a trade deal, a senior U.S. official told reporters late on Thursday, citing geopolitical disagreements.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Washington was still negotiating with India on trade after announcing earlier that day the U.S. would impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from the country starting on Friday.

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The 25% figure would single out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threaten to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a strategic partner of Washington's and a counterbalance to China.

KEY QUOTES

"Our challenges with India, they've always been a pretty closed market... there are a host of other kind of geopolitical issues," the U.S. official said. "You've seen the president express concern about, you know, membership in BRICS, purchases of Russian oil and that kind of thing."

While saying there were constructive discussions with India, the official added: "These are complex relationships and complex issues, and so I don't think things can be resolved overnight with India."

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CONTEXT

India has faced pressure from the West, including the U.S., to distance itself from Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. New Delhi resisted that pressure, citing its longstanding ties with Russia and its economic needs.

Trump has cast the BRICS group of developing nations - of which India is a key part - as hostile to the U.S. Those nations have dismissed that accusation and the group says it promotes the interests of its members and of developing countries at large.

Trump has also drawn India's frustration by repeatedly taking credit for an India-Pakistan ceasefire that he announced on social media on May 10. The ceasefire halted days of hostilities between the nuclear armed Asian neighbors.

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India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their issues directly without outside involvement.

Trump has reached a trade deal with India's rival Pakistan.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
The senior aide said that eliminating Hamas serves American interests, but continued support for Israel risks making American citizens targets of reprisal attacks by Hamas and its allies.

The deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza could trigger a 9/11-style terror attack on US soil, senior Republican figures warned, according to a report by The Telegraph on Thursday.

A senior congressional aide told The Telegraph that while the elimination of Hamas serves American national security interests, continued US support for Israel amid worsening conditions in Gaza risks making American citizens targets of reprisal attacks by Hamas and its allies.

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Ending Hamas is beneficial to American national security, but at what cost? the aide said. If we continue to see this humanitarian crisis exacerbate, it will further damage Americas standing globally.

Ultimately, we dont want to see another 9/11, the source added.

The aide stressed that while Israel is fighting a valiant and fair and worthy fight, the tactics employed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF risk further inflaming tensions with the broader Muslim world and provoking escalation against the West.

Al-Sahaba market in the Gaza Strip, July 28, 2025. (credit: TPS-IL)

The comments come amid growing international pressure on Israel to ensure humanitarian aid reaches the Gaza Strip. Aid groups have warned that thousands of children face starvation, with the territory teetering on the edge of famine.

Trump acknowledged there is 'real starvation' in Gaza

US President Donald Trump, in a rare break from Netanyahu, acknowledged earlier this week that there is real starvation in Gaza and announced that the US would establish aid centers. We have to get the kids fed, he said.

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Trump pushed back on Israels assertion that reports of starvation were Hamas propaganda. I see it, and you cant fake that, he said, referring to graphic images of severely malnourished children in the enclave. However, he stopped short of directly criticizing the Israeli leader.

Vice President JD Vance took a firmer stance during a visit to Ohio, describing the images from Gaza as heartbreaking and stating it was up to the Israelis to ensure humanitarian aid is allowed in.

Meanwhile, divisions are emerging among prominent Republicans, largely from Trump's base, some of whom are voicing sharp criticism of Israels handling of the war.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch Trump ally, became the first GOP lawmaker to accuse Israel of committing genocide, comparing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the atrocities of October 7. Greene, who has previously defended Israel in Congress, referred to the situation as a genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation.

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She was joined by former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who said on his War Room podcast that Israel now has almost no support among younger MAGA voters and accused Netanyahu of trying to save himself politically by dragging America in deeper to another Middle East war.

A former senior Trump administration official told The Telegraph that Greene and Bannon are at the early stages of building momentum around their criticism of Israel, warning that their voices could gain traction within Trumps base.

There are an increasing number of people across the board who think Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu] is taking advantage of us, said a former official from the George W. Bush administration.

Another congressional source acknowledged the shift in tone. My team and I have been going back and forth on how to message this differently. I think its definitely becoming a more nuanced issue, the source said. Those who are not willing to accept that are not in step with the majority of Americans.

Eroding American public opinion of the war in Gaza

A recent Gallup poll found that just 32 percent of Americans currently approve of Israels military campaign in Gaza  the lowest level since November 2023, one month after the Hamas-led assault on October 7.

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Some Republicans now warn that the growing devastation in Gaza may embolden isolationist voices within the MAGA movement to push for reduced military aid to Israel, which currently receives $3.8 billion annually from Washington.

The further the humanitarian crisis goes on without it being addressed by Israeli top officials, the stronger and more popular the argument among the isolationists within the administration becomes, said a senior Republican aide.

Another former Trump official said the criticism of Israel from Bannon and Greene is driven purely by ideology and politics with the cover of it being based on humanitarian concern.

You cant divorce US taxpayer spending from the conversation about American support for Israel, the official added.
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed new sanctions on a global procurement network accused of supporting Iran's growing military drone program, according to a statement on July 31.

The measures target five companies and one individual based in Iran, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, allegedly involved in sourcing sensitive technology for the Iranian Aviation Manufacturing Company (HESA), a state-owned defense firm linked to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

Iran has been a key ally to Moscow and provided the country with ballistic missiles and thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones  developed and manufactured by HESA  for its war against Ukraine. Russia has also launched production of its own Shahed equivalents called Gerans.

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"Iran continues to pursue the development of asymmetric weapons capabilities, including unmanned aerial vehicles, to carry out attacks on the U.S., our service members, and our partners and allies in the region," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley.

Irans Control Afzar Tabriz Co. Ltd., which allegedly procured CNC machine tools for HESA, is among those sanctioned. Hong Kong-based Clifton Trading Limited, accused of acting as an intermediary to conceal Control Afzars role, is also targeted.

The list includes Taiwanese firms Mecatron Machinery Co. Ltd. and Joemars Machinery and Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., which reportedly supplied the equipment, along with China-based Changzhou Joemars Industrial Automation Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Joemars Machinery.

The U.S. also sanctioned Javad Alizadeh Hoshyar, CEO of Control Afzar Tabriz Co. Ltd., who allegedly coordinated all procurement activities.

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As a result of the sanctions, all assets of the designated individuals and entities under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. U.S. persons and companies are barred from engaging in transactions with them without authorization from OFAC.

Entities that are 50% or more owned by sanctioned individuals are also automatically subject to the restrictions. Foreign financial institutions that conduct business with the designated parties risk secondary sanctions, including limits on access to U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts.

Russia has been regularly deploying Shahed-type drones for nighttime attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses with massive swarms.

Ukraine's intelligence has warned that the Russian defense industry seeks to ramp up the production of the strike drones, aiming to deliver 500 unmanned aircraft per month for Russia's war effort.

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Read also: Russias rocket-powered kamikaze drones are now hitting Kyiv  heres everything we know

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The US Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved the draft defence budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which includes US$1 billion in support for Ukraine, despite calls from Donald Trump's administration to exclude this funding from the budget.

Source: Reuters

Details: The US Senate Committee on Appropriations approved a defence budget totalling US$852 billion on Thursday 31 July, which is US$21.7 billion more than Trump's administration requested. The bill received broad bipartisan support, with 26 votes in favour and three against, giving it the green light to be considered by the full Senate.

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"Not only the prior administration, but this administration as well, have underestimated the level of challenge that we have," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

Quote from Reuters: "The bill includes US$800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and US$225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, much of which ends up supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion."

Details: McConnell stressed that the US is learning important lessons from the war in Ukraine.

"Shutting off engagement with Ukraine would undermine our military's efforts to prepare for the modern battlefield," he said during the committee meeting.

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For the bill to become law, it must be approved by the full Senate and then reconciled with the House of Representatives' version, which currently does not include provisions for supporting Ukraine. After that, the document will go to the White House, where Trump will either sign it or veto it.

Background:

On 11 July, the US Senate Armed Services Committee approved the allocation of US$500 million dollars for security assistance to Ukraine as part of the draft defence budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

On 23 July, the US Department of State approved the sale of two military aid packages to Ukraine. The first package includes HAWK Phase III air defence systems and their maintenance, while the second includes Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and their repair.

Trump also announced the transfer of up to 17 Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine in the near future.

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A U.S. Senate committee approved a spending bill that includes $1 billion in support of Ukraine on July 31, despite the Trump administration's previous pledge to reduce funding allocated for military assistance to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget.

The Senate Appropriations Committee voted in favor 26-3 of a $852 billion Defense Department budget, which includes $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), and $225 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, most of which is allocated in support for Kyiv.

The budget allocation, which totals to 2.6% more than what U.S. President Donald Trump previously requested, comes as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced during a congressional hearing on June 10 that anticipated budget cuts for Ukraine. Hegseth did not disclose details as to the extent of the funding cuts to Ukraine.

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While the committee-approved bill still needs to be voted on by both chambers of Congress and be signed by the president, the committee approval appears to paint a growing divide on lawmakers' views of the war in Ukraine.

"Shutting off engagement with Ukraine would undermine our military's efforts to prepare for the modern battlefield," Senator Mitch McConnell, the chair of the panel's defense subcommittee, said during the committee meeting.

The White House has not yet commented on the developments stemming from the Senate Appropriations Committee. It was not immediately clear as to whether the proposed bill will have enough support to be passed into law.

In recent weeks, Trump has seemingly shifted his policy towards support for Kyiv, amid mounting frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin's refusal to implement a ceasefire in Ukraine.

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Senior American diplomat John Kelley told the U.N. Security Council on July 31 that Trump wants a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine by Aug. 8. Trump previously warned on July 29 that tariffs on Russia would take effect within 10 days unless the Kremlin agreed to halt its full-scale invasion.

The proposed tariffs include sweeping secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, and other exports  a move that would directly impact major trading partners such as China and India.

As Russia continues to increase the intensity of its attacks against Ukrainian cities, peace talks with Moscow continue to make "no progress," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on July 31.

Amid the foreign policy shift, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 25 he had reached an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sale of Ukrainian drones to the United States, in a deal worth upwards of $30 billion.

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(NewsNation)  The U.S. is moving two nuclear submarines to appropriate regions in response to inflammatory remarks by Russias former leader, President Donald Trump announced.

President Donald Trump made the announcement on Truth Social.

I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances, Trump wrote.

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Trump fumes at Powell, urging Federal Reserve board takeover

The deployment of submarines is not typically announced because they are often used for secretive missions, including surveilling the submarines of adversaries.

The U.S. has both nuclear-powered submarines and submarines capable of launching a nuclear attack. Trump did not clarify whether he would be sending subs that could launch a nuclear strike.

The inflammatory remarks were made by former Russian President and current Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.

Trump and Medvedev traded insults overnight after Trump gave Russia a 10-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or be hit with tariffs on both Russia and countries that buy its oil. Moscow has shown no signs of agreeing to meet the deadline.

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Camp Bliss a concentration camp for migrants: Commissioner

But Medvedev and Trump have antagonized each other going back over the past few days, with Medvedev warning Trump that he was entering dangerous territory when it comes to ultimatums. Both referenced the Soviet-era Dead Hand system.

The semi-autonomous system was designed to launch a retaliatory nuclear attack even if the leadership was wiped 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 NewsNation.
When many think of America's food-growing hubs, they may think of the vast farm fields of the Midwest or South. In reality, their minds should head to the west coast, where California holds a relatively commanding position atop America's agricultural production. Among the many varieties of produce grown in the Golden State is one that's especially prolific; so much so that California grows more than three-quarters of the entire world's supply of it. This highly desirable (and often controversial) item? Almonds.

In recent years, approximately 80% of the global almond supply has come from roughly 8,000 almond farms throughout California. According to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, subjective survey data suggests that the yield for 2025 will amount to about 2.8 billion pounds. While impressive, that's still below the 2020 harvest, which crossed the 3 billion pound mark.

More than half of California's almonds are sold overseas to countries such as India, China, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates, with the remainder consumed domestically in the United States. This heavy reliance on international trade can have serious ramifications when the market experiences major shocks. For example, extreme disruptions to global supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic were a key reason California ended up with more than a billion pounds of extra almonds in 2022.

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Dominant Globally But Not The Biggest California Crop

Hand holding processed almonds - Media Lens King/Shutterstock

Despite this dominant position in the global market, almonds are still just the fifth most-lucrative agricultural product produced in the Golden State. With approximately $3.88 billion in sales in 2023, they're beat out by lettuce ($3.93 billion), cattle ($4.76 billion), grapes ($6.52 billion), and dairy products ($8.13 billion).

While there's no denying almonds can be a satisfying snack, they don't come without controversy. They're a notoriously water-intensive crop. The California Water Impact Network has claimed that the nuts use roughly 5 million acre-feet of water per year in the state and that this is roughly equal to the amount used by California households in 2020. With both short-term droughts and long-term groundwater and climate concerns, the crop has become a frequent target of conservationists and those seeking to shift water usage priorities away from an item often seen as a luxury. It even earned a spot on our list of nuts you shouldn't be eating.

To be sure, other countries (such as Spain and Iran) produce this crop, too. However, their yields are just a fraction of the level seen in the U.S. So, the next time you're enjoying a popular plant-based milk, gluten-free flour, or snack made from almonds, you can be relatively sure the product came from America's agricultural center, California.

Read the original article on Mashed.
By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Friday seeking to block policies the U.S. Department of Justice adopted under President Donald Trump to crack down on providers of medical gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

Sixteen states, along with the District of Columbia, in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston, argued Trump unconstitutionally trampled on their rights to regulate medicine with an executive order in January that directed prosecutors to prioritize investigations of transgender youth care.

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The executive order, which also directed an end to all federal funding or support for healthcare that aids the transition of transgender youth, formed the basis of two recent Justice Department directives that the lawsuit also challenges.

Those policies include an April memo from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directing prosecutors to investigate cases involving procedures that she said would violate a federal law barring "female genital mutilation."

Bondi also directed the department to launch civil investigations into medical providers and pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and distribute puberty blockers and hormones prescribed by doctors.

The Justice Department last month said it sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children.

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Democratic state attorneys general argue the Justice Department's efforts are part of a campaign by the Republican president's administration to intimidate healthcare providers into ceasing to provide such treatments to people under the age of 19, even in states where such treatments are legal.

"This administration is ruthlessly targeting young people who already face immense barriers just to be seen and heard, and are putting countless lives at risk in the process," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

The states argue that by invoking the female genital mutilation statute, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the False Claims Act, the Justice Department is relying on laws that were never intended to be used to address the conduct at issue.

They say Trump's executive order violates the states' rights under the U.S. Constitution's 10th Amendment. Regulation of the practice of medicine has long been left to the states.

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Conservative lawmakers in 25 states have in recent years adopted bans on various forms of gender-affirming care for adolescents. The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld one such ban in Tennessee, delivering a major setback for transgender rights advocates.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in BostonEditing by Rod Nickel)
By John Kruzel and Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court signaled on Friday that it will assess the legality of a key component of a landmark federal voting rights law, potentially giving its conservative majority a chance to gut a provision enacted 60 years ago that was intended to prevent racial discrimination in voting.

The brief order issued by the court raises the stakes in a case already pending before the justices involving a legal challenge to an electoral map passed by Louisiana's Republican-led legislature that raised the number of Black-majority U.S. congressional districts in the state from one to two.

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The justices said they will consider whether it violates the U.S. Constitution for states to create additional voting districts with populations that are majority Black, Hispanic or another minority as a way to remedy a judicial finding that a state's voting map likely violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The case, due to be heard by the justices in their next term that begins in October, sets the stage for a major ruling expected by the end of June 2026 that could affect the composition of electoral districts around the United States. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority.

The dispute strikes at tensions between the Voting Rights Act, passed by Congress during the U.S. civil rights era to bar racial discrimination in voting, and adhering to the constitutional principle of equal protection, which limits the application of race when the borders of electoral districts are redrawn.

Boundaries of legislative districts across the country are reconfigured to reflect population changes every decade in a process called redistricting.

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The court previously heard arguments in the case in March. But in June, the justices declined to issue a ruling and indicated they would invite the parties to address additional questions.

Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA, called the stakes enormous, writing in a blog post that the court seems to be asking whether the section of the Voting Rights Act at issue "violates a colorblind understanding of the Constitution."

The action follows a major ruling by the court in 2013 in a case involving Alabama's Shelby County that invalidated another core section of the Voting Rights Act that determined which states and locales with a history of racial discrimination need federal approval for voting rule changes affecting Black people and other minorities.

"This Court is more conservative than the Court that in 2013 struck down the other main pillar of the Voting Rights Act in the Shelby County case," Hasen wrote. "This is a big, and dangerous, step toward knocking down the second pillar."

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The matter is being litigated at the Supreme Court at a time when Republican President Donald Trump is taking steps to eliminate programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion that aim to promote opportunities for minorities, women, LGBT people and others.

In the Louisiana case, state officials and civil rights groups appealed a lower court's ruling that found the map laying out the state's six U.S. House of Representatives districts - with two Black-majority districts, up from one previously - violated the constitutional promise of equal protection.

A group of 12 Louisiana voters identifying themselves in court papers as "non-African American" sued to block the redrawn map. A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not respond to requests to provide the racial breakdown of the plaintiffs. The state and the rights groups are seeking to preserve the map.

Black people comprise nearly a third of Louisiana's population.

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During the first round of arguments in the case in March, lawyers for Louisiana argued that the map was not drawn impermissibly by the legislature with race as the primary motivation, as the lower court found last year. The map's design, the Republican-governed state argued, also sought to protect Republican incumbents including House Speaker Mike Johnson and No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise, who both represent districts in the state.

Black voters tend to support Democratic candidates.

Arguments in the case centered on Louisiana's response to U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick's June 2022 finding that an earlier map likely violated the Voting Rights Act and whether the state relied too heavily on race in devising the remedial map.

Dick ruled that a map adopted earlier that year by the legislature that had contained only one Black-majority district unlawfully harmed Black voters. Dick ordered the addition of a second Black-majority district.

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The Supreme Court in 2023 left Dick's ruling in place, and it previously allowed the map at issue in the current case to be used in the 2024 election.

A three-judge panel in a 2-1 ruling in April 2024 found that the map relied too heavily on race in the map's design in violation of the equal protection provision.

The Constitution's 14th Amendment contains the equal protection language. Ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the amendment addressed issues relating to the rights of formerly enslaved Black people.

(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)
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:

President Donald Trump has introduced a new effort to help Americans more easily share their health records with doctors, using new technology and artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

"Today the dream of easily transportable, electronic medical records finally becomes a reality," Trump said during a White House event with leaders from major tech companies, including Google, Amazon, Apple and OpenAI.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will oversee the new system, which is designed to let people upload medical records and use QR codes to share health and insurance details with health care providers.

Patients could also use AI assistants to help understand medical information and get help between doctor visits, officials said.

Trump said the new system could help people with conditions like diabetes and obesity manage their care.

Many health providers already allow patients to schedule appointments and view test results online. But the new system would go a step further by reducing paperwork and allowing patients to share records across providers without repeating forms.

"The system will be entirely opt-in, and there will be no centralized government-run database, which everyone is always concerned about," Trump said, as reported by The New York Times. "People are very, very concerned about personal records. They want to keep them very quiet, and that's their choice."

But privacy and tech experts raised questions about how safe the system would actually be.

"It's not something that can be done overnight without changing existing regulations and resolving the tension with existing laws," Peter Jackson, a privacy lawyer in Los Angeles, told The Times.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) limits how personal health information can be shared.

For example, technology firms that work directly with providers and insurance companies fall under federal privacy laws. But, The Times reported, makers of third-party apps that are not affiliated with a provider or insurer do not if someone voluntarily shares private medical information.

David Holtzman, a retired privacy expert, said much of the technology already exists and that past federal efforts to set up similar systems "have proven to be ineffective," The Times reported.

What's unclear, he added, is whether patients using third-party apps would have their data protected.

Amy Gleason, a former health care executive who now leads the Department of Government Efficiency, told The Times that patients could use QR codes to share medical information and get help from an AI tool that would "fill in the gap between visits," adding that the AI would not replace doctors.

More information: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more on your personal health records.

 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
France, Germany and other NATO allies, as well as Austria, are accusing Iran of a growing number of intelligence threats, including a surge in kidnapping and assassination plots, across Europe and North America.

We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty, the joint statement released on Thursday said.

These services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America," it noted.

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France, Germany, the US, the UK, and other NATO allies, including Albania, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden signed the statement.

Non-NATO member Austria, home to the UN nuclear watchdog headquarters, also signed.

While the statement did not point to a specific incident, the signatures called on Iran to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in (their) respective territories.

The US and the UK have previously warned of Tehran-backed plots on their soil. Just last month, the UK Intelligence Committee reported 15 murder and kidnap attempts against its citizens and residents between January 2022 and August 2023.

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Iran's embassy in London had denied the allegations, calling them "unfounded, politically motivated and hostile."

"Such accusations are not only defamatory but also dangerous, fuelling unnecessary tensions and undermining diplomatic norms," the embassy said in a statement.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)  U.S. officials announced Friday they are aware of reported bribery attempts aimed at destabilizing Haiti, raising concerns that the troubled country could sink further into crisis.

The announcements were made on X by the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.

Officials did not provide details except to say that they commended members of Haitis transitional presidential council for their rejection of corruption and for collaborating with the current prime minister to work together to stabilize the country.

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We will hold accountable anyone who attempts to undermine this collaboration, the embassy wrote on X.

The announcement comes as infighting threatens the stability of the council while gangs that control up to 90% of Haitis capital continue to seize more territory in Port-au-Prince and in Haitis central region.

The councils voting members did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did the U.S. Department of State nor the office of Haitis prime minister.

Some people on social media mocked the announcement as they accused some council members of being corrupt.

In October last year, Haitis anti-corruption unit accused three council members of bribery and corruption involving the government-owned National Bank of Credit. No one has been charged, and the council members remain in their positions.

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Haitis political stability has been fragile ever since a powerful gang federation known as Viv Ansanm launched attacks early last year on critical government infrastructure including police stations and the countrys main international airport, forcing it to close for nearly three months.

The attacks prevented then-Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to Haiti. He eventually resigned, unable to enter his homeland following an official visit to Kenya to talk about a U.N.-backed mission that police from the eastern African country are currently leading to try and quash gang violence.

The council is under pressure to hold general elections by February 2026, with the previous ones held nearly a decade ago. No date has been set yet.

The council was created in April 2024 as the international community scrambled to meet with Haitian officials to rebuild the country's government after Henry resigned. Political stability remains fragile, with three prime ministers having been appointed in the past year.

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Meanwhile, gang violence continues to surge in the aftermath of the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moise.

In a report released Friday, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti noted that at least 1,520 people were killed and more than 600 injured from April to the end of June. Nearly 80% of those incidents happened in Port-au-Prince, with nearly 20% reported in Haitis central region.

More than 60% of the killings and injuries occurred during operations by security forces against gangs, with another 12% blamed on self-defense groups.

The report noted that Johnson Andre, best known as Izo and considered Haitis most powerful gang leader, was injured in drone strikes earlier this year, as was gang leader Renel Destina, who goes by Ti Lapli and leads the Grand Ravine gang.

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From April to June, more than 400 homes and other buildings including schools and health centers were ransacked, burned or destroyed by gangs, the report stated.

Gang violence also has displaced more than 1.3 million people in recent years.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Evens Sanon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti contributed.
USC briefly closed part of campus on Friday after hazardous materials were discovered, with some media reports indicating the dangerous item was a military grenade.

The item, however, was later deemed to be inert, school officials said.

The school confirmed shortly after 1 p.m. Friday that out of an abundance of caution, access to the Downey Way Parking Structure at UPC will be temporarily restricted while LAPD evaluates hazardous materials discovered in a garage storage area.

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The Los Angeles Police Department said they responded to the 3600 block of McClintock Avenue at about 12:35 for a suspicious item. That address corresponds to the parking garage.

Media reports indicate the item found was a grenade, though school and police officials have not yet confirmed that.

Shortly after 2:30 p.m., the school posted to social media that access to the parking structure has been fully restored.

LAPD determined suspected hazardous materials were inert, the school added.

In another grenade-related incident, three Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputies were killed by a grenade they thought was inert last month.

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Luis Zuniga contributed to this report.

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EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  Clint Independent School District announced its Child Nutrition Program receives a national honor from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), according to the news release on Thursday, July 31.

According to the school district, its Child Nutrition Program was awarded the USDAs Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals Award for the 2024-2025 school year.

The recognition shows the districts creative, student-centered approach to enhancing school meals and providing a healthy, engaging dining experience for all students, according to Clint ISD.

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We are incredibly proud to receive USDAs Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals Award. This achievement highlights the dedication of our team and their ongoing efforts to serve meals that are both healthy and fun for our students, Carlos Villalobos, Child Nutrition Program director, said. Every day, we strive to create a positive dining experience that encourages students to make nutritious choices and enjoy whats on their plate.

The USDAs Innovation Award recognized school districts that take original and effective steps to improve how meals are prepared and served, the news release read.

Clint ISD said the district was honored specifically for its Limited Time Offers program at the middle and high schools.

The initiative featured a variety of rotating, student-approved menu items offered throughout the year, giving students a chance to enjoy new meals for a short time, Clint ISD said.

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Additionally, Clint ISD said these limited-time meals were seasonal and trend-driven, which generated high levels of student interest and participation.

Clint ISD highlights that it offers students free breakfast, lunch and dinner meals every weekday.

With so many delicious and nutritious choices offered, students can find options that they love to eat, read the news 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 KTSM 9 News.
Katherine Ostler votes while her 8-year-old son Henry looks on at the Main Library in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

This week, Utah joined a growing list of states getting requests for confidential voter roll data from the federal Department of Justice. If these states say no, the law, federalism, and election security are on their side. That is exactly what they should do.

Back in March, the Trump administration issued an executive order on election integrity. This order sought to standardize some state election laws and security standards, citing federal laws such as the National Voter Registration Act and Help America Vote Act. Among other things, it criticized states for embracing various methods of voting and ballot counting.

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Fast forward to today. In recent weeks, states from Maine to California (including my home state of Utah) have gotten letters from the federal Department of Justice requesting private voter information. It has been reported that the DOJ told the National Association of Secretaries of State that it intends to send these letters to all 50 states. These letters cite the Help America Vote Act and suggest that the DOJ is seeking to ensure compliance with this federal law.

The requested information includes descriptions of various state election processes and procedures, as well as a states current statewide voter registration list. The latter presents a serious problem that jeopardizes legal compliance and election integrity.

Some of the information on voter rolls is public information that is required to be public under federal law. On the other hand, some voter roll information is sensitive, private identifying information.

When it comes to disclosing confidential voter roll information, election officials in Utah and elsewhere should follow the wisdom taught to school children in dealing with people pushing harmful things on them: Just say no.

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Sound legal analysis puts the law on the side of doing so. The federal Privacy Act of 1974 requires federal departments like the DOJ to provide public notice of any effort to collect data  even publicly available data  to allow public discussion and comment on the desired federal data gathering before it takes place. That hasnt happened. Additionally, states that share voter roll information with the DOJ without entering into data-sharing agreements required by law may be subject to legal liability.

Just as problematic is how the DOJ request for voter roll information undermines election security by making it easier to commit election fraud.

The foundation of the integrity of American elections lies in our tendency to avoid centralizing authority and information regarding elections  prioritizing federalism over politics. Federal entities create voter equipment standards, states typically maintain voter rolls, local election officials handle and count ballots, and voters themselves ensure their ballot remains secure until it is cast.

In other words, widespread voter fraud in the United States under the current system requires the co-opting of all levels of government or society simultaneously. This is why there is so little concrete evidence of actual voter fraud in America, even with so many elections happening every year. There are anecdotal stories that raise the specter of possible fraud, such as when someones friend or relative is sent a ballot that they shouldnt have gotten, but these stories primarily illustrate how the people themselves are preventing possible fraud.

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It is federalism  the disbursed responsibilities and safeguards at every level of government across the nation  not top-down federal attempts like this latest DOJ compliance effort, that ensure election integrity.

How much easier would election fraud become if the DOJ collected all voter data in a central database? Potential fraudsters would breathe a sigh of relief if they only had to hack one federal voter database instead of 50 state voter databases.

Whether based on the law or election security principles, and regardless of which party controls the federal executive branch, states should say no to the federal DOJ request for private voter information. They will be protecting election integrity if they do.
ROME, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY)  New York State Police arrested a Utica man Thursday night after leading troopers on a chase in the City of Rome.

Police observed a vehicle acting erratically at approximately 10:35 pm on Thursday, July 31. The truck  being driven by 55-year-old Pavel Brutsky of Utica  was observed traveling eastbound on Route 365 in the city of Rome. When troopers observed Brutsky failing to maintain his lane and operating erratically, they initiated a traffic stop.

When officers initiated the stop, Brutsky failed to comply and fled the scene. He continued traveling eastbound on State Route 49 and eventually onto Interstate 790.

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Police were eventually able to stop the vehicle on Interstate 790, near the intersection with State Route 5. Brutsky was taken into custody without further incident. However, he also refused to submit to field sobriety tests, as well as a chemical test.

Brutsky was eventually transported to the Oneida County Jail in Oriskany, pending his arraignment. He is currently being charged with:

Driving While Intoxicated with a prior DWI conviction within the last ten years, a Class E Felony,

Circumvention of an Interlock Device  operating a vehicle without a court-ordered interlock device, a Class A Misdemeanor,

Third-degree Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle, a Class A Misdemeanor,

first-degree Aggravated Unlicensed Operation  Permanent Revocation of Drivers License, a Class E Felony,

Reckless Driving, an unknown Misdemeanor,

Speeding,

Failure to Signal Less Than 100 Feet Before Turning, and

Moving from Lane Unsafely. The last three violations are all Vehicle and Traffic Law violations.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)  VA registered nurses hosting a town hall meeting Thursday night in response to the Administrations actions against federal workers and cuts to veterans healthcare.

The National Nurses Organizing Committee along with community members and other organizations gathered to discuss protesting the VA along with federal workers and veteran care.

Dozens gathered at the Transforming Lives Baptist Church to listen to different people from the organization speak about their experiences.

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Irma Westmoreland, RN, Chair of National Nurses Uniteds VA Division, tells me how these cuts can affect the nurses quality of care.

I dont care how many times you say that we are not cutting services to the veteran if you dont bring on staff, youre cutting services to the veteran. What we need is for the VA to be fully funded, whats happening is were starving the VA of resources money wise and were starving the VA of resources people wise, Westmoreland said.

Westmoreland explains how the community can help.

To come together and demand from our Congress, from our Senators, from our Congress people to step up and do the right thing and fully fund the VA so that every veteran can get their care at the VA like they should, said Westmoreland.

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Zee Cook is a local veteran who served 10 years in the Navy an now is the Lead Organizer for 50501 Augusta.

She says it is important for veterans to attend these events so they know what is going on.

Gets them a little bit more involved with trying to make a difference and trying to stop these cuts. It also lets veterans know that obviously this is not something that people are just not working or not putting in the same effort they were before. These workers that support our veterans at the VA, they care so much about the quality of care they give to the veterans, said Copk.

To learn more about National Nurses United you can find the link here.

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Travis Pope remembers his dad was flipping through channels on the family radio in 1997 when he found the NPR affiliate in Richmond, Virginia. He has listened ever since.

Pope didn't grow up with a lot of money or access to resources, but through public media, he learned about classical music, mortgage-backed derivatives and church burnings in the South.

"Public media is a thing that I have listened to, consumed, watched or read since I was roughly 7, 8 years old," said Pope, who is now the leader of Fort Wayne's WBOI. "And the idea that it might not be around for another 7- or 8-year-old is the thing that I take very seriously."

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Indiana public media leaders told IndyStar they are concerned that the mission of public radio and television is being misunderstood amid Republicans' intense attacks on NPR and PBS nationally. And, following crippling government spending cuts, they said, these misunderstandings could debilitate access by rural communities that rely on public broadcasting the most.

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.

Over the next two years, Hoosier stations combined will lose nearly $9.4 million in federal dollars and $7.4 million in state funding. At least four stations will lose over 50% of their revenue.

Public media leaders said their noncommercial funding structure was a feature, not a detriment, to their mission. However, as critics demand that public media outlets support themselves without tax dollars, that structure means that budgets are harder to balance.

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"It is just putting the news out there without a monetary gain," said Amanda Miller Kelley, president and general manager of WNIT - PBS Michiana. "It has served so many people to have a place where they're not worried about who's funding it, who's benefiting from it."

Role of public media

NPR and PBS have long acted as noncommercial news gatherers and educational outlets, stemming back to the reason the federal government started funding public media as an impartial information source.

When Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act in 1967, it injected local and national news, educational programming, and emergency alerts into areas that often went without, usually due to cost.

"We are sometimes the only ones in the county to get out the information," Harmon-Baker said. "If something happens to rural stations like us, people aren't going to get the information they need and they're not going to get it in a timely manner."

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At the time, President Lyndon B. Johnson and lawmakers agreed that this new swath of local radio and television access would serve instructional, educational and cultural purposes.

In the half century since, over 1,500 National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service affiliates grew to reach 99% of Americans.

Indiana is home to 17 stations, including in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Evansville, Vincennes, Muncie, West Lafayette, South Bend, Merrillville and Elkhart. Many of those stations cover and reach about two dozen counties each.

That's why the federal government saw the value in funding public media, Miller Kelley said. Their reach extends into the corners of the country where commercial and nonprofit news is not financially feasible. A Muck Rack analysis found local journalism is declining across the country, and news deserts in Indiana and elsewhere are expanding.

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"It is an equalizer," she said. "That has been the intent of public media since the beginning. It was to make the content that you can find on PBS and NPR available to everyone."

No ads, no pressure

Public media leaders interviewed by IndyStar said the funding structure of public media meant stations don't need to worry about clickbait headlines or selling advertisements.

That means, they said, that viewers are able to obtain information free of any commercial motives or sway. They can cover stories solely due to their importance to residents, Pope said, rather than for their commercial value.

"We have the ability to not ask ourselves how many clicks this gets," he said. "We get the ability to first ask ourselves: 'Is this the right thing? Is there a story here?'"

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A 2025 study published in the Journal of Communication found that viewers, regardless of their political leanings, largely consume public broadcasting because they feel it's unbiased and they trust it because it's publicly funded.

The study also found 47.4% of respondents thought it was an "excellent" use of tax dollars. Prior to this month's rescissions bill, the federal government allocated about $545 million annually, amounting to about 0.0073% of federal spending.

In line with their FCC license, public broadcasting stations cannot run traditional commercials that seek to sell a product or are overly promotional. Instead, these stations have corporate sponsorships that vary in message and delivery.

Part of what makes NPR and PBS special is the complete divorce from commercial interests, said Shelli Harmon-Baker, WVPE news director and local host. She said she doesn't have to worry about angering sponsors, like she did in commercial radio, for reporting out sensitive stories.

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"That's not something we think about here," she said. "You do the story for the sake of the story so that people know what's happening in their community."

The lack of advertising is also critical for PBS's vast number of children's programs, Miller Kelley said. All of the shows are educator-vetted and based on curricula, she said. That programming is not sustained by ad buys, she said.

"When your kid is watching PBS Kids, they're not going to come to you and say, 'I want that new Barbie,'" she said. "They are focused on learning, which is a gift to a parent in the moment because your kid isn't coming to you and making a laundry list of demands."

Local vs. national perspective

Opponents cite a departure from public media's impartial mission as their reason for defunding public media. In May, the White House published a list of stories it said were "trash that has passed for 'news' at NPR and PBS."

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Trump and his conservative base argue NPR and PBS should not receive tax dollars to "spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.'"

When asked about concerns that public media is too liberal, station leaders said that national narrative is one they largely don't hear from their patrons and that they believe is a misrepresentation of local news.

"I don't think that woke narrative applies to us at all," Harmon-Baker said. "In fact, I think we go out of our way to make sure that we're just covering things that people are interested in and of local importance."

Miller Kelley, Harmon-Baker and Pope told IndyStar about how their small staffs cover their local communities. Harmon-Baker spoke about her staff's coverage of an animal cruelty case involving a major local business. Miller Kelley said her station airs six weekly shows covering news, local talent, food, arts and culture. Pope said local artists have an outlet through his station.

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"It is hard for me as a GM to see the incredible work that the staff here does to lift up voices and bring attention to stories that might otherwise go unheard," Miller Kelley said. "It's very difficult as a general manager to hear all of that brushed aside under the politicization of media."

When Pope encounters people with the opinion that public media is biased, he said, he tries to understand how a person came to their opinion and see how he can do better to address any local concerns.

He doesn't buy that people like himself in public media are trying to push a political narrative. Instead, he said they are covering city council meetings, organizing volunteer DJs and covering high school sports.

"We are always trying to make sure that we are being a voice for everyone's perspectives," he said, "because what we want to create is a broadcast that gives you the information you need and then allows you, respects you enough, to think about that, to marinate about what we've talked about and make a conclusion."

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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, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana public media is far from woke, its leaders say
[Source]

The traditional advantage of higher education is being put into question as unemployment continues to rise among recent college graduates, challenging the value of degrees Asian American families have long prioritized.

By the numbers: The unemployment rate among recent graduates has risen to 5.8%, while that of the broader group of workers aged 22 to 27 has risen to 6.9%, according to the latest Federal Reserve figures. The situation is equally challenging for those with advanced credentials: Gen Z graduates with masters degrees or higher reportedly faced a 5.8% unemployment rate in the first half of 2025, up from 3% in the same period last year. Meanwhile, 41.2% of recent graduates are underemployed, working jobs that typically do not require bachelors degrees, up from 38.9% last December.

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Why this matters: These employment difficulties especially affect Asian Americans given their educational priorities. Among those aged 18 to 24, Asian Americans have the highest college enrollment at 61%, followed by white students at 41%, those with two or more races at 36%, Black students at 36%, Hispanic students at 33%, Pacific Islander students at 27% and American Indian/Alaska Native students at 26%, according to most recent figures from the National Center for Education Statistics. For those 25 and older, 56% of Asian Americans hold bachelors degrees or higher, well above the 36% rate for all U.S.-born people, as per the Pew Research Center.

As it appears, degrees no longer guarantee job security. At Harvards MBA program, for example, 23% of job-seeking graduates from spring 2024 were still unemployed three months later, the Wall Street Journal reported in January. Financial pressures also increase as 43% of workers have turned down job offers because pay was too low to handle educational debt.

Trending on NextShark: SF chef breaks silence amid severe fallout from viral belittling of TikTok influencer

Whats behind this: Various factors have transformed the employment landscape. Federal hiring freezes reduced government positions, while employers increasingly prioritize skills over degrees. Even internships are tough; listings on college job platform Handshake, for one, reportedly dropped more than 15% from early 2023 to early 2025.

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For now, some students are pursuing alternative routes. Male college enrollment declined by about 1 million between 2011 and 2022, while vocational school enrollment has increased 20% since 2020. Economic recovery may hinge on healthcare and other service sectors as the population ages, plus entirely new careers that integrate artificial intelligence technology.

Trending on NextShark: Value of college education tested as Gen Z grads face rising unemployment

This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter  a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.

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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A wave of vandalism at the historic Cookeville City Cemetery has left dozens of headstones damaged and city officials, along with local residents, calling for justice.

The cemetery, a well-known site of remembrance and local history, was targeted twice this week. The first act of vandalism occurred Tuesday evening, when eight headstones were damaged, according to a release from the city. Then, on Wednesday afternoon, Cookeville Mayor Laurin Wheaton said more graves were damaged, bringing the total number to 27.

We actually host historic walks though the cemetery because its over 100 years old. Weve got graves and some headstones from the 1800s that are there, so its a large part of Cookeville history, and so we take a lot of pride in it, Wheaton said. As the mayor, I first want to apologize to the family members who were affected by this. This is such a tragic event and one that I dont think anyone would expect to happen this day and age. A cemeterys a very sacred place.

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PREVIOUS: 20+ headstones vandalized in Cookeville cemetery

In response, the Cookeville Police Department has increased foot patrols in the area and is actively seeking leads to identify the individual or individuals responsible.

Meanwhile, one local business, Ameri-Stone, volunteered materials and labor to repair the damaged headstones at no cost to the city.

That would have been a financial cost to us, which we would have been happy to [cover], Wheaton said. But we saw our community members reach out to us and say, Hey, we want to help repair these.

Thanks to those efforts, nearly all of the damaged headstones have been restored.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Still, city officials urge anyone with information to come forward. Some of the vandalized graves are so old that there may no longer be surviving relatives to notify.

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Thats going to be a challenge, Wheaton noted. We want to make sure that those family members are made aware if possible.

If you want to know whether your loved ones grave was impacted, you can contact the Cookeville Cemetery or the city directly. Meanwhile, anyone with information on those responsible for the vandalized headstones is asked to call the Cookeville Police Department at 931-526-2125.

As the investigation continues, Wheaton hopes the community will remain united in protecting the citys heritage: We want to come together as a community and make sure that we protect places like this that have a special meaning.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
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 synthetic opioid 1,000 times more potent than morphine is infiltrating the street drug trade in Adelaide, Australia, sparking fears of a wave of overdoses that could be lethal.

In the first study of its kind in South Australia, University of South Australia researchers have detected traces of nitazene in samples of discarded injecting equipment, plastic bags, vials and filters from public disposal bins at local needle and syringe program sites.

Their findings are published in the Drug & Alcohol Review.

Using highly sensitive chemical analysis, researchers identified nitazenes in 5% of 300 samples, mainly in combination with heroin and mostly found in syringes.

Nitazenes led to 32 overdose deaths in Australia between 2020 and 2024, with 84% of patients unaware the synthetic opioid was present in the drug they consumed. It is increasingly hidden in illicit drugs such as fentanyl and heroin, posing extreme overdose risks, often with fatal consequences.

"Nitazenes are among the most potent synthetic opioids in circulation today, some stronger than fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin," according to lead researcher UniSA Associate Professor Cobus Gerber.

"These substances can be lethal in tiny quantities and are often mixed with other drugs, making them incredibly difficult to detect and monitor through traditional means," he says.

Several different nitazenes were identified, some of them combined with the non-opioid veterinary sedative xylazine, which is not approved for human use.

"This is particularly alarming," says Assoc Prof Gerber, "as xylazine has been linked to severe adverse effects, including necrotic skin lesions, prolonged sedation and depression.

"Finding xylazine alongside nitazenes in the same samples is a worrying sign because it mirrors what we are seeing overseas, especially in the United States, where these drug combinations are contributing to a wave of overdose deaths and complex clinical presentations."

Less than one in five nitazene-related emergency cases in Australia involved people who knowingly took the drug, with most people mistakenly believing they consumed heroin, methamphetamine or other familiar substances.

"Accidental exposure is a key risk," says co-author UniSA researcher Dr. Emma Keller.

"When drugs are contaminated with nitazenes, the margin for error narrows dramatically. Standard doses can become fatal, especially for people who don't know what their product contains or who don't carry naloxone, a medication that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose."

The detection of these substances in South Australia comes amid growing calls for expanded drug-checking services, including the use of nitazene-specific drug strips and public health alerts.

Associate Prof Gerber says that chemical testing of used drug paraphernalia is a noninvasive, effective way to identify emerging threats in the drug supply.

"This kind of data can trigger rapid alerts to health agencies, treatment services and peer networks, allowing people who use drugs to make more informed choices."

Wastewater analysis is also used to detect illicit drugs in the community, but due to the sporadic nature of drug use, other monitoring approaches like chemical testing are necessary.

Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia, who co-authored the study, has shared the findings with community advisory groups, health care providers and the state's early warning system network.

More information: Emma L. Keller et al, Searching for a Needle in a Haystack: Chemical Analysis Reveals Nitazenes Found in Drug Paraphernalia Residues, Drug and Alcohol Review (2025). DOI: 10.1111/dar.70010 Journal information: Drug and Alcohol Review
More than 400 million metric tons of plastic is produced annually, and only a small fraction is recycled. The rest ends up in landfills, or leaks into the natural environment, which is impacting everything from human health to the climate.

Representatives from countries around the world will gather in Geneva in August to try to finalize a legally binding UN treaty to combat plastic pollution. Environmentalists hope that could help limit plastic production and better manage waste, but countries have failed to reach agreement in previous meetings.

Plastic waste at Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, Pine Bend sanitary landfill. - Michael Siluk/UCG/Getty Images

Many experts and advocates agree that structural, society-wide change will be required to address the problem. But in the meantime, they say that consumer efforts can still have an impact. While many people already make efforts to switch to reusable tote bags, water bottles and straws, there are plenty of other ways to make life greener, from the kitchen to the bathroom.

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Here are some ideas on how you can use less plastic in your daily life.

Greener partying

This July is the fifteenth that Rebecca Prince-Ruiz has attempted to go plastic free. The Australia-based founder of the Plastic Free July campaign has been joined by hundreds of people across the world trying to reduce their reliance on single-use plastic.

This year, shes creating a party kit that contains 15 reusable cups, plates, bowls and decorative items like bunting. She plans to make it available for her neighbors when they host parties.

A children's birthday party with reusable tableware. - Klaus Vedfelt/Digital Vision/Getty Images

When it comes to gifts, she suggests reusable fabric wraps instead of wrapping paper, which can contain plastic  or gifting experiences or vouchers instead.

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Hosts can also request that guests not bring gifts and do away with items like glitter, which is mostly made with a plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Microplastics from glitter are commonly found in sewage sludge, according to researchers at the University of Melbourne, and could harm lakes and rivers, according to another study.

The nonprofit The Party Kit Network offers tips for anyone to put together reusable partyware. It also provides a directory for people across the world, including in the UK, Australia and the US, to find places to borrow kits locally.

Greener hygiene products

Every minute, 300,000 disposable diapers are sent to landfills globally, according to the World Economic Forum. Diapers can contain plastic polymers like polypropylene and polyethylene to aid absorption and prevent leakage. By some estimates, it can take a diaper 400 years to decompose.

Mark Miodownik, a professor of materials & society at University College London (UCL), says diapers are around 40% plastic, adding that they are going to landfill, into oceans, into rivers, or getting burnt openly.

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Some brands offer lower-plastic versions, but they still release climate-warming methane when they decompose in a landfill, and while washable diapers are an option, they come with their own environmental cost, including the water and energy consumed when washing and drying them.

A young girl potty training with her parent. - Fly View Productions/E+/Getty Images

Miodownik says that thinking outside the box is necessary. Parents might consider early potty training to be more environmentally friendly. He points out that in wealthy countries, the average age of potty training is trending upwards, increasing the length of time parents rely on disposable diapers. Many wet wipes also contain plastic.

There are similar environmental issues with tampons and pads. Prince-Ruiz says that during her second Plastic Free July, she switched to reusable menstrual products. Period underwear and menstrual cups are available as are reusable tampon applicators.

Get creative in the kitchen

Packaging comprises nearly 40% of the planets plastic waste. Instead of buying snacks off the shelf, Prince-Ruiz is exercising her creativity in the kitchen, by making her own crackers. Her quick and easy recipe consists of slicing a baguette thinly, putting a bit of olive oil on it, and grilling for a few minutes.

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She makes her own granola using ingredients purchased without packaging from a bulk store. And she makes stock at home, storing bones and vegetable scraps in the freezer until she collects enough or needs stock.

Homemade granola being prepared. - invizbk/E+/Getty Images

She also cooks her own beans, which she buys unpackaged. Canned foods are often coated with a layer of plastic to keep the metal from corroding.

But there are items she hasnt been able to find suitable replacements for, like tortilla wraps. My kids dont like the ones that I make, and we dont have a handy local source.

Bhavna Middha, a senior research fellow at Melbournes RMIT University focused on sustainable consumption, says that re-thinking things like bringing homemade food to work or school instead of relying on packaged granola bars can have a positive environmental and health impact. A study she did found that the installation of microwaves on RMITs campus enabled people to eat food they brought in from home. But she believes that cultural change around plastic use is needed, instead of putting the onus on individual consumers.

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Going totally plastic free today isnt possible, says Prince-Ruiz, but thats not the point. Its about lots of people making small changes that add up to make a difference and create cultural change, which then puts pressure on business and government, she says, rather than just a few zero wasters being perfect.

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JOHNSON COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56)  Two people were taken to an area hospital after a vehicle hit a pedestrian before crashing into an excavator Thursday afternoon in Johnson County.

At 1:20 p.m., firefighters were called to the scene of the accident, where they found an individual lying in a ditch.

Car vs. excavator crash in Johnson County (W.R. Castle Fire Rescue)

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Both the pedestrian and the driver of the vehicle were taken to a Paintsville hospital to be evaluated.

The Johnson County Sheriffs Office is investigating the crash.

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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV)  Jackson police are investigating after a vehicle recovery worker was shot multiple times.

The shooting occurred in the area of TV Road and Gertrude Drive around 10:30 p.m. on July 31.

Man accused of killing wife at Jackson apartment complex, arrested after standoff

Detective Tommie Brown, with the Jackson Police Department (JPD), said the victim was attempting to locate a vehicle when the suspect(s) fired shots at him. The victim received multiple gunshot wounds and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

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Police have not released any suspect information. The investigation is ongoing.

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SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)  New information regarding the Sioux City murder trials for Angela and Jessica Bino was released Thursday afternoon.

District Judge Tod Deck will render a verdict in early August in the case of a Sioux City woman accused of killing her mother.

Court documents indicate that Deck will announce a verdict on August 8 for Angela Bino, 60. She has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her mother, Suzette Occhibone. Her bench trial wrapped up in early April.

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Story continues below

Jessica Bino, 33, is Angelas daughter. She is scheduled to have her sentencing hearing on August 8. Earlier in July, a judge found Jessica guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of her grandmother, Occhibone.

In October 2023, officials said Angela and Jessica assaulted and stabbed Occhibone to death. Authorities said the pair removed her body from an apartment that the three women lived in together, placing the body in the trunk of a vehicle.

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To read more of KCAU 9s coverage on this case, click here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA)  As the calendar flips to August, many families are scrambling to get ready for school to start again, including getting physicals.

On Thursday, OSF and Vermilion County Public Health joined forces to help make the transition a little less hectic. The Central Illinois hospital brought in their Care-A-Van, which is their mobile health unit. OSFs pediatricians provided physicals, which are mandatory for certain grade levels or to play sports.

Community Spotlight: First Fridays Danville

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Organizers said normal appointments for this care fill up fast.

Developing preventative health and physicals, said physician Lance Thurlow, Its just so very much important. And if you stay on top of your health, it prevents you getting sick.

They van will be at First Friday on Aug. 1 from 5-8 p.m., and the Danville Boys and Girls Club on Saturday from 12-4 p.m. Physicals cost $35, can be charged to insurance, or OSF also has financial help available.

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AUTHORS NOTE: This story contains details from court documents regarding allegations of sex crimes committed against a child victim. Due to the content of this story, discretion is advised before reading. If you know or suspect that someone is being abused sexually, please call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1 (800) 656-4673.

WILBARGER COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL)  A business owner from Vernon pleaded guilty to charges related to a sexual relationship with a teenage girl.

Miguel Delacruz, 26, of Vernon, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child in the 46th Judicial District Court in the Wilbarger County Courthouse, with Judge Cornell Curtis presiding, on July 31, 2025, according to Jon Whitsitt, 46th Judicial District Attorney.

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PREVIOUS STORY: Vernon business owner accused of child sex crimes

Delacruz was sentenced to seven years of probation, according to Whitsitt. In addition to his probation sentence, Delacruz will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, and a lifetime protective order was put in place in favor of the victim.

According to Whitsitt, the victim and her family were supportive of the plea bargain. Whitsitt issued a statement in a press release following the plea hearing, which can be found below:

Even before this case was brought before a grand jury, my office has been in contact with the victim and her family. We stayed in contact, discussed all the possibilities, and updated the victim and her family at every step of this case, including the day that the defendant pleaded guilty. When faced with the possibility of a jury trial and the victim being forced to testify at trial, the victim and her family felt a plea bargain offer of probation and lifetime sex offender registration was appropriate. It is important to remember that if the defendant does not abide by each and every requirement of his probation, it could very well lead to a prison sentence. Also, the defendant will have to register as a sex offender for life, and the victim will be protected from any further contact of any sort with the defendant by virtue of a lifetime sexual assault protective order.  John Whitsitt (46th Judicial District Attorney)

Delacruz was initially arrested on Feb. 6, 2025, and charged with one count of sexual assault of a child and three counts of indecency with a child. Less than three weeks later, on Feb. 24, 2025, Delacruz was arrested again on two counts of possessing child pornography.

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All six charges against Delacruz stem from an outcry made by a 16-year-old girl to her mother. According to the arrest affidavit, the girls mother said her daughter told her she and Delacruz were having sexual intercourse.

PREVIOUS STORY: Vernon business owner now facing child porn charges

According to the affidavit, Delacruzs phone was seized during the investigation. A search warrant was obtained for the phone, which was sent to a Computer Forensic Analyst with the Wichita Falls Police Department for extraction.

Vernon police officers said when they reviewed the digital evidence taken from Delacruzs phone, they found two sexually explicit videos of the teenage girl that were saved on the phone on Jan. 22 and Jan. 30.

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According to the affidavit, the alleged victims mother told police shed found handwritten love letters from Delacruz expressing his love and affection for the victim. Police said the girls mother also accessed the victims phone and discovered inappropriate content in the teens Snapchat.

The affidavit said Delacruz agreed to an interview with the Vernon Police Department. Officers said Delacruz was shown the nude Snapchat photos and videos from the girls phone. Police said Delacruz affirmed it was him but denied having sexual intercourse with the girl.

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The Brief

The fiancee of Leo Kelly, a 23-year-old killed in a DUI crash, is speaking out against a plea deal offered to the driver, Griffin Kjar. She says the proposed sentence of six to eight years for manslaughter and reckless endangerment is not enough.

Kelly's fiancee, Kaylynn Dawe, said the loss has turned her world upside down, and she is frustrated by the perceived lack of justice. She noted that Kjar will "get out in seven years and live an entirely full life," while she and Kelly's family will be left grieving.

PHOENIX - Leo Kelly, a 23-year-old described as an old soul with big dreams, was killed on March 3, 2024, when he was hit by a drunk driver in Phoenix.

What we know

More than a year later, his fiancee, Kaylynn Dawe, is speaking out against a plea deal offered to the man accused in his death, saying it's not enough.

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"Leo was a very giving and loving person. He was very quick to help anybody that needed help," Dawe said. "We grew up together. We did everything together. He was my soulmate. He was going to be the father of my children."

They also shared a passion for rescuing animals.

Photos: Leo Kelly (left & right) Leo Kelly & Kaylynn Dawe (center)

According to Phoenix Police, 25-year-old Griffin Kjar was driving at least 77 mph when he ran a red light at Happy Valley Road and 23rd Avenue, hitting and killing Kelly.

Dawe, who was engaged to Kelly, said the plea deal offers Kjar a sentence of six to eight years for manslaughter and reckless endangerment. She believes the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

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"He told me we do not want to be greedy by asking for homicide," Dawe said. "How is that greedy? How am I being greedy for wanting justice for Leo?"

Dig deeper

Dawe says the loss has turned her world upside down, and she is frustrated by the perceived lack of accountability for Kjar.

"When he finally got arrested, they asked if he had adequate time with his family to say goodbye," Dawe said. "I don't see me having adequate time with Leo."

She feels a short prison sentence can't compare to the lifetime of grief she and Kelly's family face.

"We're expected to live the rest of our lives grieving him," she said, "while Griffin is going to get out in seven years and live an entirely full life."

Griffin Kjar

Court documents show that THC was also found in Kjars blood the night of the crash.

What's next

Kjar's sentencing is Tuesday, Aug. 5, and Kelly's family says many loved ones will be there.

Map of the area where the crash happened
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ)  A Pennsylvania Representative is looking to stop the sale of puppy mill dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores while also protecting consumers from misleading sales tactics.

The legislation, also known as Victorias Law, authored by Rep. Jeanne McNeill (D-Lehigh), is named after a German Shepherd that was rescued from a Pennsylvania puppy mill after 10 years of breeding. By the time she was rescued, she was paralyzed as a result of a genetic, neurological disorder called Degenerative Myelopathy, which is a disease she passed down to the estimated 150-200 puppies she produced while at a puppy mill.

McNeill is now looking to honor Victoria and stop the process currently in place with her newest bill. The legislation would do the following:

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Drive the Pennsylvania pet market towards more humane sources like shelters, rescues and responsible breeders.

Stop the sale of puppy mill dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores.

Protect consumers from misleading sales tactics.

Require advertisers to include license numbers on their advertisements so that consumers have access to information on both responsible and unscrupulous breeders and so that enforcement officers can easily identify unlicensed breeders.

By making these changes, more pet stores will partner with shelters and rescues to promote adoption and decrease the demand for the puppies produced at puppy mills, The legislation reads. Responsible breeders will benefit by their promotion and be able to continue to provide Pennsylvanians with healthy, socialized dogs. Puppy-selling pet stores could thrive by converting to a more humane business model by partnering with, and receiving assistance from, organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States.

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More than 400 localities in the United States, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Wilkinsburg, Sharpsburg, Bellevue and Allentown, as well as states such as California, Illinois, Maine, Maryland and New York, have passed similar laws.

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Multiple ambulances and police vehicles respond to a shooting at CrossPointe Community Church in Wayne, Mich., in June. Homicides fell 17% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to the Council on Criminal Justices latest crime trends report. (Photo by Emily Elconin/Getty Images)

Amid recent political rhetoric about rising crime and violence in American cities, a new analysis shows that violent crime has continued to decline this year.

Homicides and several other serious offenses, including gun assaults and carjackings, dropped during the first half of 2025 across 42 U.S. cities, continuing a downward trend that began in 2022, according to a new crime trends report released Thursday by the nonpartisan think tank Council on Criminal Justice.

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Homicides fell 17% in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, among the 30 cities that reported homicide data, according to the report.

During that same period, five cities saw increases in homicide  ranging from 6% in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to 39% in Little Rock, Arkansas.

While the reports authors say the continued drop in violent crime  especially homicides  is encouraging, they note that much of the decline stems from a few major cities with historically high rates, such as Baltimore and St. Louis.

More than half of the cities studied have higher homicide rates than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, though, the analysis found that there were 14% fewer homicides during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2019.

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The authors say more research is needed before crediting any specific policy or practice for the continued drop in violent crime.

The groups findings come as President Donald Trump continues to amplify concerns about crime, at times citing misleading statistics and narratives.

In a Truth Social post earlier this week, Trump claimed that cashless bail  a practice that allows people charged with a crime to be released pretrial without paying money, unless a judge deems them a threat to public safety  were fueling a national crime surge and endangering law enforcement.

He wrote: Crime in American Cities started to significantly rise when they went to CASHLESS BAIL. The WORST criminals are flooding our streets and endangering even our great law enforcement officers. It is a complete disaster, and must be ended, IMMEDIATELY!

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Some research suggests that setting money bail isnt effective in ensuring court appearances or improving public safety. Opponents of ending cash bail often raise concerns that released suspects might commit new, potentially more serious crimes. While that is possible in individual cases, studies show that eliminating cash bail does not lead to a widespread increase in crime.

The Truth Social post also marked a sharp shift from Trumps remarks during a June roundtable with the Fraternal Order of Police, where he claimed the national murder rate had plummeted by 28% since he took office  a figure that overstates the decline and overlooks the fact that murder rates began falling well before he returned to office.

According to data consulting firm AH Datalytics, which manages the Real-Time Crime Index  a free tool that collects crime data from more than 400 law enforcement agencies nationwide  the number of homicides between January and May 2025 was 20.3% lower than the same period in 2024.

Similarly, data released in May by the Major Cities Chiefs Association showed that homicides fell roughly 20% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the first three months of the prior year. The groups data is based on a survey of 68 major metropolitan police departments nationwide.

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Researchers at the Council on Criminal Justice note in their report that its difficult to pinpoint a single reason for the drop in homicides, but they note that fewer people appear to be exposed to high-risk situations, such as robberies.

Most major crimes fell in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period last year, according to the councils report.

Motor vehicle thefts dropped by 25%, while reported gun assaults fell 21%. Robberies, residential and non-residential burglaries, shoplifting, and aggravated and sexual assaults also saw double-digit declines

Drug offenses held steady, while domestic violence reports rose slightly  by about 3%. Carjackings declined 24% and larcenies were down 5%.

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Compared with the first half of 2019, before the pandemic and nationwide reckoning over racial justice and policing, overall homicides are down 14%, robberies by 30%, and sexual assaults by 28%.

Still, more than 60% of the cities in the councils study sample report homicide rates that remain above 2019 levels.

Motor vehicle theft remains the only crime tracked in the report that is still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels  up 25% since 2019  although it has declined sharply since 2023.

The council also released another analysis on the lethality of violent crime, showing that while violent incidents have decreased, the share of violence that ends in death has increased significantly. In 1994, there were 2 homicides per 1,000 assaults and about 16 per 1,000 robberies. By 2020, those figures rose to 7.2 and 55.8, respectively.

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Stateline reporter Amanda Hernandez can be reached at ahernandez@stateline.org.

(Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.)
TOPEKA (KSNT)  Police are issuing a warning to Topeka residents as they see an uptick in local children participating in a viral social media challenge that could have disastrous results.

Russell Klumpp with the Topeka Police Department (TPD) issued a statement on Friday, Aug. 1 through the TPDs Facebook page. He said police are seeing a rise in local children and teens participating in behavior consistent with a social media challenge originating from the platform TikTok.

This TikTok challenge is currently referred to as the door-kick challenge where young people are encouraged to kick the doors of random houses and then they run away, Klumpp said.

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Just a real gift to the world: Topeka moms death leaves hole in the community

Klumpp said there are two crimes that come into play with this challenge. He said charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage both can apply to people caught participating in the door-kick challenge.

Those charges both could apply in these situations, so theres a criminal element, Klumpp said. More disturbing however, and the reason for this safety message, is the dangers that are associated with conduct in these challenges. So, when you go to a random residence and you start kicking on the door, residents inside can easily mistake that for an attempted burglary, somebody trying to break into their home and cause them harm.

Major I-70 ramp set to close in west Topeka

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Klumpp said participants in the challenge may be harmed by residential homeowners who are unfamiliar with the viral social media and may respond with acts of violence against a perceived intruder. He said there are reported situations in other parts of the nation where challenge participants have been seriously hurt or killed.

None of these things are worth risking your safety to do, Klumpp said.

The TPD is asking for people in the community to be aware of the social media challenge and is encouraging local parents to have a chat with their children about the potentially dangerous activity. Klumpp said it is important to take action now to prevent a possible tragedy from happening in the future.

Woman shocked to find boa constrictor on her front porch in Topeka

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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: Alex Green from Pexels

A growing number of Americans are turning to ketaminelong used as a surgical anesthetic and known for recreational misuseas a powerful treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. A new University of Florida study, led by 2024 graduate Shahar Almog, Ph.D., suggests that the drug may offer even more mental health benefits than previously thought.

When used under medical supervision, ketamine may help people with PTSD disconnect from their emotions and better process traumatic experiences. About 6% to 7% of U.S. adults will develop PTSD in their lifetimes, often alongside depression and anxiety, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. But while these comorbid conditions tend to go hand in hand, they are usually treated separatelya gap UF researchers are hoping ketamine can help fill.

"While only a small fraction of U.S. adults may receive a PTSD diagnosis, many of those traumatic events trigger depression, anxiety and other conditions, which can impact functioning and living a fulfilling life," said Meredith Berry, Ph.D., an associate professor in the UF College of Health & Human Performance's Department of Health Education & Behavior, who co-authored a recent study on the topic in the European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation.

The researchers looked at real-world patients who were prescribed ketamine in community clinics. The study gained deeper insight into the patients' perspectives and explored the impact of other types of therapies. Most of the patients received treatment for anxiety or depression, but nearly half also reported PTSD.

"We see that a lot of people have trauma and suffer from PTSD, and ketamine offers a way to process the trauma and improve a variety of symptoms," said Almog, the study's lead author, a former postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Health Education & Behavior and a current postdoctoral fellow at Florida Atlantic University. "People are describing it [ketamine treatment] as a lifesaving medication  it's so hopeful that there might be a good treatment option."

Of the 202 patients who responded to the researchers' anonymous online survey, 98 reported a PTSD diagnosis. After treatment, more than 80% of those with PTSD reported sleeping better, feeling less anxious, experiencing fewer trauma triggers and enjoying a better quality of life overall.

Additionally, the study found that, while those with PTSD started off with more severe depression, anxiety and difficulty sleeping, they improved with ketamine treatment just as much as the group without PTSD. Even though 72% of the PTSD group also received other forms of therapy like talk therapy and art-based therapy, these additional treatments did not result in added improvements in depression, anxiety and sleep outcomes.

"Medical [ketamine] induces a controlled dissociation that separates the patient from trauma without being drawn into the fear," Almog said. "It allows the patient to look at the trauma without reexperiencing it."

Almog and Berry will next evaluate the effects of a program that combines ketamine therapy and trauma-informed yoga, which builds body-mind awareness while encouraging healing from the effects of traumatic memories.

While the researchers believe the latest study provides tangible evidence for the benefits of ketamine therapy on PTSD symptomsand on depression, anxiety, sleep and overall quality of lifeadditional research is needed to better understand the role of other therapies coupled with ketamine.

"It can be harmful [when misused], so we need to continue to better understand who it is good for and how to avoid harm," Almog said. "We don't want another opioid epidemic."

Additionally, changes in label use are critical for patients to safely access and afford ketamine treatment. Policy changes are also essential to improve access.

"We need more research to get it to insurance," Almog said. "Some people can't afford it."

More information: Shahar Almog et al, Self-reported improvements in comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, and sleep among real-world patients receiving medical ketamine: Exploring the role of adjunct therapies, European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.ejtd.2025.100572
The family of Virginia Giuffre  one of the women who accused Jeffrey Epstein of sex trafficking and who died by suicide earlier this year  said Thursday that she would have wanted documents related to the disgraced financier to be made public, as the Trump administration faces mounting pressure around the case.

Amanda Roberts, Giuffres sister-in-law, told CNNs Kaitlan Collins on The Source that in one of their last conversations, Giuffre called for the release of the documents.

She wanted the world to know what theyve done to her and so many other survivors, and she had been fighting that till her very last day, Roberts said.

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Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who also alleged that Britains Prince Andrew abused her when she was a teenager, died by suicide in April at the age of 41. In 2019, Epstein died awaiting trial on federal charges accusing him of sexually abusing underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.

Prince Andrew repeatedly denied the claims.

Virginia Giuffre holds a photo of her younger self. - Miami Herald/Getty Images

President Donald Trump, who had decadeslong ties to Epstein, said earlier this week that the sex offender poached young women from Mar-a-Lago, including Giuffre, who worked at Trumps resort as a teenager.

I think she worked at the spa, Trump said of Giuffre. I think that was one of the people, yeah. He stole her.

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Sky Roberts, Giuffres brother, on Thursday took issue with Trumps use of the word stole, telling Collins, She wasnt stolen, she was preyed upon at his property, at President Trumps property.

Stolen seems very impersonal, feels very much like an object, and these survivors are not objects, Roberts said.

He added that Trumps comments raise questions about how much he knew during that time.

The White House has said Trump barred Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club for being a creep. Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

Earlier Thursday, Giuffres family expressed shock and raised questions about Trumps relationship with Epstein in a statement to CNN. Those comments were first reported by The Atlantic.

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Sky Roberts on The Source also weighed in on a top Justice Department official meeting last week with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins accomplice who has also offered to testify before Congress, but with major conditions, including immunity.

Giuffre was preyed upon by Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as many other predators out there. But she was preyed upon at Mar-a-Lago and we were very shocked and very surprised that they were giving her a voice and giving her a platform to essentially, possibly make a deal, Sky Roberts said.

Lanette Wilson, Giuffres sister-in-law, added that she doesnt see any real reason to speak with Maxwell.

She has perjured herself in the past and  were talking about a sex trafficker, a monster that could do unspeakable things to young women without conscience, Wilson added. So what would she do to get herself out of the situation that shes in?

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Maxwell was never tried or convicted of perjury. She initially faced perjury charges, but prosecutors later agreed to dismiss after Maxwells conviction on more serious charges, citing a desire to avoid further emotional trauma for the victims.

In recent weeks, Trump has been noncommittal when asked about the possibility of a pardon or commutation for Maxwell. But a senior Trump administration official said Thursday that Trump is not currently considering clemency.

Sky Roberts told Collins that Maxwell deserves to rot in prison where she belongs because of what shes done to my sister and so many other women.

Meanwhile, Wilson stressed that the possibility of Maxwell receiving immunity or a pardon sends a chilling message.

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It does send a message to the survivors that, you know, if youre in power, if youve got money, if youve got connections, then youre above the law, Wilson said, later adding: Its just sending a message to survivors that their voices and all of the hard work that theyve done for the last however many years, 10-plus years, doesnt matter.

Sky Roberts also told Collins that he wants two questions answered: When are we going to start believing survivors? and Why arent the documents being released?

They deserve justice. These survivors were  had something taken away from them they can never get back, Sky Roberts said. And its time for these monsters to be exposed and get something they can never get back, which is their freedom.

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The family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epsteins most prominent accusers, is urging the release of more documents related to investigations into the convicted sex offender, noting that its what she would have wanted as well.

Why arent the documents being released? They deserve justice. These survivors had something taken away from them they can never get back. And its time for these monsters to be exposed, Giuffres brother Sky Roberts told CNNs Kaitlan Collins in a Thursday interview.

Giuffres sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, said that its what her late family member had also wanted.

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She wanted the world to know what they had done to her and so many other survivors, Amanda Roberts told CNN, adding that its a sentiment Giuffre previously expressed to her in one of their last conversations. Unequivocally, yes.

Giuffre had spoken out about working at Mar-a-Lago and being approached by Ghislaine Maxwell during her time there. Shed also accused Epstein of sex trafficking and was a vocal advocate for survivors of sexual abuse.

Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 in April.

The recent statements from Giuffres family counter claims by the DOJ, which had stated that one of its reasons for avoiding more disclosures was to protect victims. In Giuffres case, at least, her family members noted that they were in favor of releasing more files and that she had previously called for these efforts, too.

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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the cosponsor of a bipartisan Congressional measure that urges the DOJ to take additional action, has emphasized that victims identities would be protected as part of the resolution that he and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have brought forth.

These women, theyve all gone on with their lives and theyve had kids and theyve bought houses and they have jobs, but this has still followed them, said Giuffres brother Danny Wilson, who said he absolutely wanted the documents to be disclosed.

Earlier this week, Giuffres family pushed back against President Donald Trump suggesting that Epstein stole her from Mar-a-Lago, putting out a statement condemning the language he used and questioning how much he knew about the disgraced financiers crimes.

Theyve also urged Trump to reject a pardon for Maxwell, citing her role in perpetuating crimes against survivors like Giuffre.

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Knowing they were so vulnerable and young, she targeted them specifically, said Amanda Roberts.

Related...
Virginia gubernatorial nominee and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) clashed with CNN reporter Manu Raju on Friday over her past criticisms of President Trump.

Raju pressed Earle-Sears over the Trump administrations cuts to the federal workforce this year, which have had a significant impact on Virginia, given its large population of federal workers.

Do you support the presidents purge of the federal workforce, yes or no? Raju asked the lieutenant governor.

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Oh, OK. If this is the way you want to go, then go ahead. Im just not going to participate, because I want to talk about real issues, Earle-Sears responded, adding that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) and his administration have tried to bring more jobs to the state.

Earle-Sears accused Democrats of blocking the jobs.

If they want to work together with me, we can get it done, she said.

Raju also pressed Earle-Sears about her previous criticism of Trump, specifically pointing to a 2022 interview with Fox Business in which she referred to Trump as a liability.

Do you stand by those comments? Raju asked.

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I voted for the president the first time around, I voted for him the second time around and I voted for him the third time around, Earle-Sears responded. I am going to vote for somebody who understands how everything works.

Im talking about who has brought us economic prosperity in the past, she continued. Im talking about somebody who understands how business works, who understands that the rogue nations of the world have to be told that were not going to let them fool around with America, that we will protect America, and thats what President Trump has done.

The gubernatorial hopeful added, Now because of your politics I suppose, you wanted to keep talking about the past when Ive already told you the president and I have been in the Oval Office, we have had discussion, and Im going to talk about things that should be held private.

Trump has yet to formally endorse the lieutenant governor to succeed Youngkin, who is term limited.

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Virginia Republicans have raised red flags about their chances in the states gubernatorial race, pointing to Earle-Sears significantly trailing her Democratic opponent former Rep. Abigail Spanberger in fundraising and polls.

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NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY)  At the E. Palmer Supermarket in the Berkley section of Norfolk, the profit margin is thin, but neighborhood needs weigh heavily.

Esron Palmer, owner of the supermarket founded by his father, has seen a recent increase in sales since he rearranged the placement of the produce section and started promoting the store on social and traditional media.

Were getting great feedback, Palmer said. Were seeing a lot of new faces in here, which I love to see, and theyre just saying that they were happy we are here.

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Just off the main entrance, a sign reveals that anyone using an EBT card for their produce purchase gets 50% off. Palmer said shoppers are taking advantage of the deal, as yellow watermelons, hefty Russet potatoes and fresh cabbage are on display.

We try to remind everybody that comes in the store whos using EBT that they should take advantage of that 50% off because we want our people to eat healthy, make sure that theyre living longer and eating what they need to do so they can stay safe, Palmer said.

Thanks to 2020 legislation from Richmond , on Jan. 1, any workers in Virginia who are paid the hourly minimum wage will get a mandatory annual pay adjustment every year, based on the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. In 2026, the minimum wage will increase 36 cents to $12.77 per hour, calculated by adding the 2.9% CIP increase to the current rate.

That should help some with putting food on their table.

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Meanwhile, the United States Department of Agriculture reports food prices in Virginia are 3% higher that last year. Additionally, the effects of global tariffs remain fluid.

As families prepare for the back to school routine, one parent, Tyeicia Bateman, urges caution at the counter.

Try to get non name-brand products for the kids, for school, Bateman said. But when it comes to electronics, get the good things. But we all can help each other to have churches and everything that can help you out. Always give back because you always [get] it back in return.

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Members of the Gary Teachers Union and concerned residents filled the union office for a standing-room-only meeting Thursday to discuss the Gary Community School Corporations decision to enlist virtual teachers amid a nationwide teacher shortage.

On July 9, the Gary School Board voted to retain Proximity, a company based in Austin, Texas, to supply up to 41 licensed online teachers for middle and high school classrooms.

The decision to use Proximity, drew sharp criticism at the meeting, with attendees alleging a lack of transparency, unfair labor practices, and a move toward privatization that they said could harm the local public school system.

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In the past, the district has relied on classroom teachers working under emergency state permits to address teacher shortages. These educators hold a bachelors degree but are not licensed to teach.

According to Jovanka Cvitkovich, chief human resources officer for the Gary Community School Corporation, about one-third of the teaching staff worked under emergency permits last year. Many of those permits could not be renewed because the teachers did not meet state requirements.

The dismissal of emergency permit teachers emerged as a major flashpoint for the Gary Teachers Union. GlenEva Dunham, Local 4 union president, told the crowd the union plans to take formal action against the school district.

We are in the process of filing an unfair labor practice, Dunham told attendees. The emergency committee is in our contract. We have a recognition clause that recognizes them as part of the union. And just because their license expired, their contract did not expire with this union, and we have an agreement with the Indiana employees relations board.

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Superintendent Yvonne Stokes affirmed the districts commitment to quality education by prioritizing licensed teachers and in-person instruction, adding it values its educators and is actively hiring while supporting those working toward certification.

We remain focused on providing the best for our scholars, which includes instruction delivered by highly qualified, licensed teachers, Stokes said.

We value our teachers and will continue to work to find a path forward to secure in-person, licensed instructors, she said. We are still hiring and remain in contact with those teachers who are demonstrating efforts to meet the guidelines set forth by the law to obtain their certification.

State Rep. Vernon Smith, the ranking minority member of the Indiana House Education Committee, voiced opposition to filling so many teaching positions with virtual instructors.

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Ive done a lot of research, and the topic has been discussed in the legislature quite frequently, about virtual education, Smith explained. It is not all what it is said to be, and the research shows that virtual education does not work with children of color and children living in poverty. It does not work with them.

State Rep. Vernon Smith said research shows virtual education is less effective with children of color. (Javonte Anderson/Capital B)

While lawmakers and residents voiced concerns, district leaders said the realities of todays hiring landscape require flexible solutions.

The current staffing crisis  locally, statewide, and nationwide  demands that we approach teacher recruitment and placement with both creativity and accountability, Cvitkovich said.

For far too long, we have relied on renewing emergency permits for individuals who have not shown sufficient progress toward full licensure, nor demonstrated the instructional effectiveness needed to move student achievement forward. This is no longer a viable or responsible solution.

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Teacher pay was also raised as a root issue for the lack of teachers.

You have a teacher shortage in this country, said Samantha Jordan, regional director for the American Federation of Teachers. But the reason we have a teacher shortage is because educators and paraprofessionals are not paid enough or respected to fully fund public education in this country, and now we no longer do, and that is also something that needs to change.

The General Assembly passed legislation this session that raises the minimum salary for teachers from $40,000 to $45,000.

NAACP Gary Branch President Steve Mays emphasized the need for stronger leadership and parent involvement.

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The leadership has to talk, Mays said. We did all this fighting to get the schools back. We get them back, and then we implode on each other. We raised everybodys tax bill on a referendum. How did that work out?

We have to do better. The parents have to do better. Parents are the missing ingredient. We often leave them off the table. They gotta get to the front of the table because the teachers cant do it all.

Dunham called for concerned residents to show up to the next school board meeting, which is set for Aug. 14. In addition, the contact information for each board member was passed throughout the room so that residents could have a direct line to express their concerns.

The post Virtual Teachers Spark Community Outrage in Gary; Union Cites Unfair Labor Practices appeared first on Capital B Gary.
A Volusia County businessman who was accused of taking advantage of homeowners after Hurricane Ian has been cleared of all charges.

Charles Chuck Ogden goes by the name Granite Gangster on social media.

He was facing up to 30 years in prison, but is walking away from his trial as a free man.

Ogden was initially charged with four counts of grand theft over $20,000, two counts of contracting without a license during an emergency, and an organized scheme to defraud over $50,000.

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The jury found Ogden not guilty on all charges on Thursday after less than 3 hours of deliberation.

During the trial, prosecutors had argued Ogden preyed on desperate hurricane victims, convinced them he was a contractor, and left their homes in bad shape.

State investigators testified Ogden did business without a valid contractors license, and victims testified they paid tens of thousands of dollars to Ogden. Still, the work was so bad that they were left unsafe in their homes.

This went so far beyond just poor work. It was untrustworthy work. You cant trust yourself to live in the house and feel safe in that condition, said Assistant State Attorney Kevin Sullivan during his closing argument Thursday.

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Sullivan claimed Ogden had intended to defraud clients, stating Ogden provided worthless contracts for work orders he never intended to fill, but jurors seemed to agree with the defenses depiction of events.

Ogdens defense attorney, Aaron Delgado, claimed Ogden did not own the business and was not the mastermind of a scheme to rip off clients.

Delgado claimed Ogden was just an employee doing his best to satisfy customers.

Theres a big difference between giving someone a product theyre not happy with and defrauding them, said Delgado.

Delgado argued the matter should never have been brought to criminal court, stating that the business worked with hundreds of clients and that this was a case of a few unhappy customers that could have been resolved in a civil proceeding.

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Theres no doubt that people were unhappy about the work done. But in America we dont put people on trial in a criminal court because they are unhappy about the quality or quantity of work, said Delgado.

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The Freight House Farmers Market is encouraging supporters to cast their vote in the 17th annual Americas Farmers Market Celebration by American Farmland Trust, according to a news release.

Freight House Farmers Market (freighthousefarmersmarket.com)

This annual contest seeks to recognize the nations favorite farmers markets, awarding $15,000 in prizes each year.

The Freight House Farmers Market has held the title of the Number 1 Farmers Market in Iowa for four years, and hopes to receive that honor for the fifth consecutive year. Between Aug. 1-Sept. 30, visit here, find your favorite market, and vote to put it in the running for national recognition and cash prizes.

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This year, the top 10 markets will received cash awards: $2,500 for first, $2,000 for second, $1,500 for third, $1,250 for fourth, $1,000 for fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and $875 for ninth and 10th place. These funds will be awarded to markets for marketing, communications, and other needs that help expand the markets reach and impact.

American Farmland Trust, a national nonprofit dedicated to saving farmland, promoting sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land, has run the celebration for 17 consecutive years, elevating the increasingly essential role farmers markets play in providing communities with access to fresh, locally grown food and connecting farmers directly with their customers.

In many regions, farmers markets have been vital to keeping existing farms in business, enabling new farms to get started, and creating jobs and opportunity in these communities, said John Piotti, American Farmland Trust president and CEO. At AFT, we believe that every farmers market in America is special in its own way, helping to connect farmers to customers, customers to healthy food, and the community to the local food system.

Were so excited to be a part of Americas Farmers Market Celebration again this year! It means a lot to us to be in the running, and were incredibly thankful for everyone who takes the time to vote, said Missy Carter, executive director of the Freight House Farmers Market. Every vote is a show of support not just for our market, but for all the amazing local farmers, makers, and small businesses who make this place so special. This kind of recognition helps keep our market growing and brings even more energy to our community. Were proud to be here, and were

grateful to be part of something so important to our area.

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For more information, visit here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
Khadidah Stone will never forget the day in 2023 she learned that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld voting rights in her home state of Alabama.

She was in a store when her phone buzzed, flooded with messages. I was standing in the aisle crying, she recalled. And the guy at the front of the store was like, Maam, are you OK?

Stone, 28, was one of the plaintiffs in Allen v. Milligan, arguing that Alabama needed two majority-Black congressional districts to accurately reflect its Black voter population. The court agreed, deciding that a map with one majority-Black district likely violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the crowning achievements of the Civil Rights Movement.

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I cried because I was like, Dang, theres hope, Stone, the director of network capacity at Alabama Forward, a nonpartisan civic engagement organization, told Capital B. To be honest, I didnt think that we would win because I knew that this was the John Roberts Court, that it was leaning conservative.

The Montgomery natives advocacy journey began at the age of 13, when her father was sentenced to 60 years in prison for selling marijuana. She became determined to learn about criminal justice, she said. And eventually, this interest prompted her to think about other freedoms  including voting rights in Alabama.

Khadidah Stone stands on the dividing line between Alabamas District 7 and District 2 in Montgomery on Sept. 20, 2022. The boundary was at the center of a major redistricting case. (Vasha Hunt/Associated Press)

But Stones joy has now evaporated. In the years since that courtroom victory, the future of the Voting Rights Act has appeared increasingly uncertain, as litigation threatens key provisions of the most important federal statute protecting the right to vote. Six decades after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, advocates say, its hanging by a thread.

Alabama Republicans in June appealed the yearslong redistricting battle to the Supreme Court. They hope to convince the courts conservative justices to scale back the protections that a section of the Voting Rights Act provides against dilution in the map-drawing process.

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This was only a few weeks before the court punted a decision in Louisiana v. Callais  a high-profile case that concerns this same section and a controversial congressional map  to next term. Some legal scholars worry that the court might use the case to further erode the Voting Rights Act.

Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University, told Capital B that this section is the last leg that the Voting Rights Act is standing on.

The decision in Allen v. Milligan should be controlling, she said. Its a problem that the court has taken up [the Louisiana case]. This very clearly signals that its not bound by its own precedents, even precedents issued two years ago.

U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Dick Durbin of Illinois in July reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bill would bolster aspects of the 1965 law that have been weakened in recent years.

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As supporters prepare to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, heres what to know about the status of its most significant sections and the ongoing challenges to Black access to the ballot box.

Heart of the Voting Rights Act

The first page of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark law protecting against racial discrimination in voting.

When Congress was crafting the Voting Rights Act, it decided that certain states  particularly those across the South with histories of discriminating against Black voters  would need the federal governments approval before they could change their election laws.

Section 5 was the enforcement mechanism that empowered the federal government to block potentially harmful state legislation through preclearance.

How the section has worked over the decades: It was extremely effective, and blocked restrictive voter ID legislation, unrepresentative redistricting maps, and more. Between 1970 and 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice introduced approximately 1,000 objections to changes proposed by states, according to a ProPublica analysis.

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How the section works today: In 2013s Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court sapped much of the power of the section when it eliminated the preclearance requirement. Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that racial disparity in voting in the covered jurisdictions was compelling evidence justifying the preclearance remedy in the past, but that there is no longer such a disparity.

It was Roberts opinion that made Stone, the Alabama advocate, skeptical that the court might uphold other sections of the Voting Rights Act.

In the decision, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg offered a dissenting opinion, arguing that the noticeable improvements in access to the ballot box were rooted in preclearance. Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes, she argued, is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.

A 1955 poll tax receipt from Hardin County, Texas, required Black Americans to pay $1.50  a days wages  to vote. Poll taxes in all elections were outlawed in 1966 by the U.S. Supreme Court. (Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)



Within months of the decision, previously covered states began to pass restrictive voting measures.

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Some observers say that it seemed as if Roberts supported Ginsburgs assertion about the necessity of this section: He included a table in his opinion. The table compares voter registration numbers from 1965 with those from 2004, illuminating how dramatically racial gaps in voter registration declined during this period.

Enforcing Reconstruction-era protections

Ratified in 1870  as the last of the Reconstruction Amendments  the 15th Amendment guarantees that the right to vote cant be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Another section of the Voting Rights Act, known as Section 2, helps to enforce this mandate through a wide range of protections. Some of these protections include allowing people to bring vote dilution claims and vote deprivation claims.

How the section has worked over the decades: Vote dilution often involves disputes over redistricting. This includes efforts to weaken Black voters influence by packing them into as few districts as possible or cracking or spreading them across a number of districts, advocates say, pointing to the countrys brewing redistricting fight. Vote deprivation might entail claims that its racially discriminatory to tie casting a ballot to showing a form of identification that Black voters are less likely to have.

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How the section works today: Since the Supreme Court hollowed out Section 5 in 2013, Section 2 has grown in importance for those seeking to challenge laws and maps that might discriminate in purpose or impact. It was this section that the court upheld in 2023 in the Alabama decision that stunned many court watchers who were familiar with Roberts well-documented opposition to the Voting Rights Act.

But cases out of Alabama, Louisiana, and North Dakota could threaten the future of this section of the Voting Rights Act. One argument some are pursuing is that individual citizens and groups such as the NAACP cant bring litigation enforcing the section because theyre not explicitly named in the Voting Rights Act. Only the Justice Department, the argument goes, has that authority.

The general concept of individual citizens and groups suing based on an alleged violation of a law, known as the private right of action, is in some ways the only game in town when it comes to voting rights litigation, according to Murray, the law professor at NYU.

States enacting suppressive voter laws arent likely to challenge themselves, she said. And this Justice Department is unlikely to raise challenges to suppressive voter laws.

Other efforts to restrict voting rights

The U.S. House of Representatives in April passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The bill is a major Republican priority and would require people to show in-person proof of U.S. citizenship  for instance, a passport or birth certificate  in order to register for federal elections. To overcome a filibuster and pass the U.S. Senate, the bill would need Democratic support.

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Advocates fear that the bill could lock millions of Americans out of the franchise, including older Black Americans who never received birth certificates because of discriminatory policies and women who changed their names after getting married or divorced.

The SAVE Act erects a discriminatory barrier to the ballot while pretending to solve a problem that does not exist, Janai Nelson, the president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said in an April statement.

Its a misnomer to call this bill the SAVE Act when it would cause nothing but harm to Black communities, rural communities, and so many others who would be stripped of their right to vote if it becomes law, she added.

Taiwan Scott, an individual plaintiff in a crucial 2024 Supreme Court case involving South Carolinas congressional map, echoed this frustration with lawmakers.

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A champion of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, Scott, 49, has long called on lawmakers to draw a map that isnt a partisan gerrymander so that Black South Carolinians, who primarily vote Democratic, have a fair shot at electing a representative of their choice.

After 2013s Shelby County decision, lawmakers in South Carolina didnt have to receive federal approval before their 2022 congressional map could go into effect. The map left Black South Carolinians, including Gullah Geechee people who want their representatives to do more to protect their land from climate and development challenges, vulnerable.

Congress designated this corridor to us, but then you have representatives who arent addressing our concerns, such as heirs property and generational land, Scott told Capital B. It boils down to: Whos listening? And how can we put more pressure on representatives to be our voice, or find other ways to protect our right to vote?

Taiwan Scott, a plaintiff in a South Carolina congressional map case, speaks at a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 11, 2023, as advocates call on the court to protect Black voters. (Shannon Finney/Getty Images for Rooted Logistics)

For some, the answer has been to enact state-level Voting Rights Acts that can bring back protections that have been lost through the chipping away of federal legislation. In May, Colorado became the eighth state to adopt such legislation.

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The seven other states are Minnesota in 2024, Connecticut in 2023, New York in 2022, Virginia in 2021, Oregon in 2019, Washington in 2018, and California in 2002. Advocates are pushing for similar legislation in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and New Jersey.

Sixty years after the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, advocates want everyone to remember its full history  from the rocky period before its passage to its uncertain future.

If we dont know our history, we dont know nothing, said Stone, the Alabama advocate, stressing that the voting rights of many marginalized groups  not only Black Americans  are at risk. Especially if you arent a white man, you need to be putting yourself on the line fighting for voting rights just as much as anybody else.

The post The Voting Rights Act Turns 60. Its Future Has Never Looked More Fragile. appeared first on Capital B News.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY)  A suspect is at large after evading a police pursuit in Chesapeake overnight on Friday.

Virginia State Police observed the driver of a black Mercedes A220 traveling on George Washington Highway with no headlights activated at approximately 2:35 a.m.

The vehicle continued onto I-64 and then exited to Great Bridge Boulevard, where a traffic stop was attempted after the Mercedes failed to stop at a red light. The driver refused to yield, and a pursuit ensued.

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The vehicle reached speeds of up to 90 mph as it passed multiple side streets and continued onto Military Highway. Upon entering the intersection of Canal Drive and George Washington Highway, the vehicle skidded and sustained tire failure, which caused it to become disabled.

The driver then fled the scene on foot.

Virginia State Police say they have no reason to believe there is a threat to the public at this time.

The 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 WAVY.com.
The Brief

A Lacey father and mother were found not guilty of second-degree attempted murder following a brutal attack on their daughter.

The incident occurred outside Timberline High School after the daughter claimed her parents planned to send her to another country for marriage.

The father was found guilty of second and fourth-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment, while the mother was found guilty of violation of a protective order.

LACEY, Wash. - A verdict has been reached in the trial of a Lacey father and mother accused in an attempted "honor killing" of their own teenage daughter.

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A jury found 44-year-old Ihsan Ali not guilty of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault. However, Ali was found guilty of second-degree and fourth-degree assault, and unlawful imprisonment.

The backstory

Ali was captured on video appearing to choke his 17-year-old daughter on the ground outside Timberline High School in October 2024. The assault happened after the teen ran away from home, claiming her parents planned to forcefully send her to Iraq to marry an older man.

(FOX 13 Seattle)

Multiple witnesses of the attack described seeing the daughter's eyes roll back as her father placed her in a choke hold. The victim's 16-year-old boyfriend attempted to intervene and was allegedly punched by the father, with another bystander eventually able to get the daughter to break away, according to court documents.

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The victim's mother, 40-year-old Zahraa Ali, was found guilty of violating a protective order, but not guilty of second-degree attempted murder, second-degree assault and second-degree burglary.

The mother was accused of attacking her daughter in a similar manner, and was also present during the attack. Court documents state the daughter previously reported abuse by both her father and mother prior to the incident.

The Source

Information in this story came from court documents filed in Thurston County Superior Court and the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

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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 provided by Rejoice and John David Gordon, shows the two embryos on Nov. 14, 2024, that survived being frozen for thirty years. Credit: Rejoice and John David Gordon via AP

A baby boy born last week to an Ohio couple developed from an embryo that had been frozen for more than 30 years in what is believed to be the longest storage time before a birth.

In what's known as embryo adoption, Lindsey and Tim Pierce used a handful of donated embryos that have been frozen since 1994 in pursuit of having a child after fighting infertility for years. Their son was born Saturday from an embryo that had been in storage for 11,148 days, which the Pierces' doctor says sets a record.

It's a concept that has been around since the 1990s but is gaining traction as some fertility clinics and advocates, often Christian-centered, oppose discarding leftover embryos because of their belief that life begins at or around conception and that all embryos deserve to be treated like children who need a home.

"I felt all along that these three little hopes, these little embryos, deserved to live just like my daughter did," said Linda Archerd, 62, who donated her embryos to the Pierces.

Just about 2% of births in the U.S. are the result of in vitro fertilization, and an even smaller fraction involve donated embryos.

However, medical experts estimate about 1.5 million frozen embryos are currently being stored throughout the country, with many of those in limbo as parents wrestle with what to do with their leftover embryos created in IVF labs.

Further complicating the topic is a 2024 Alabama Supreme Court decision that said that frozen embryos have the legal status of children. State leaders have since devised a temporary solution shielding clinics from liability stemming from that ruling, though questions linger about remaining embryos.

This photo provided by Rejoice and John David Gordon shows Tim and Lindsey Pierce in November 2024 at Rejoice Fertility in Knoxville, Tenn. Credit: Rejoice and John David Gordon via AP

Archerd says she turned to IVF in 1994. Back then, the ability to freeze, thaw and transfer embryos was making key progress and opening the door for hopeful parents to create more embryos and increase their chances of a successful transfer.

She wound up with four embryos and initially hoped to use them all. But after the birth of her daughter, Archerd and her husband divorced, disrupting her timeline for having more children.

As the years turned into decades, Archerd said she was wracked with guilt about what to do with the embryos as storage fees continued to rise.

Eventually, she found Snowflakes, a division of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, which offers open adoptions to donors from people like Archerd. She was also able to set preferences for what families would adopt her embryos.

"I wanted to be a part of this baby's life," she said. "And I wanted to know the adopting parents."

The process was tricky, requiring Archerd to contact her initial fertility doctor in Oregon and dig through paper records to get the proper documentation for the donation. The embryos then had to be shipped from Oregon to the Pierces' doctor in Tennessee. The clinic, Rejoice Fertility in Knoxville, refuses to discard frozen embryos and has become known for handling embryos stored in outdated and older containers.

Of the three donated embryos the Pierces received from Archerd, one didn't make the thaw. Two were transferred to Lindsey Pierce's womb, but just one successfully implanted.

This photo provided by Rejoice and John David Gordon on July 31, 2025, shows Thaddeus Pierce. Credit: Rejoice and John David Gordon via AP

According to Dr. John David Gordon, the transfer of the nearly 31-year-old embryo marks the longest-frozen embryo to result in a live birth. He would know: Gordon says his clinic assisted in the previous record, when Lydia and Timothy Ridgeway were born from embryos frozen for 30 years, or 10,905 days.

"I think that these stories catch the imagination," Gordon said. "But I think they also provide a little bit of a cautionary tale to say, Why are these embryos sitting in storage? You know, why do we have this problem?"

In a statement, Lindsey and Tim Pierce said the clinic's support was just what they needed.

"We didn't go into this thinking about recordswe just wanted to have a baby," Lindsey Pierce said.

For Archerd, the donation process has been an emotional roller coaster. Relief that her embryos finally found a home, sadness it couldn't be with her and a little anxiety about what the future holds next, with possibly meeting the Pierces and the baby in person.

"I'm hoping that they're going to send pictures," she said, noting that the parents have already sent several after the birth. "I'd love to meet them some day. That would be a dream come true to meetmeet them and the baby."

 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
The Washington state Capitol on July 25, 2025. (Photo by Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)

Employees at one of Washington states largest health agencies are bracing for layoffs due to ongoing funding challenges.

Though how many could lose their jobs and when arent known, the leader of the Washington Health Care Authority told workers in a Wednesday email that she didnt want to wait to let you know that layoffs will be part of our path forward.

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Despite significant efforts to close our budget gap, weve reached a point where workforce reductions will be necessary, wrote MaryAnne Lindeblad, the agencys interim director who will hand the baton to a new executive this month. These decisions are not a reflection of anyones performance or value; theyre driven by the size of our shortfall and the structure of our funding.

With roughly 1,900 employees, the agency is responsible for purchasing and coordinating health care services, including behavioral health treatment, for 2.7 million residents.

It administers the states Medicaid program known as Apple Health and health benefits for public and school employees. As of June, more than 1.9 million Washington residents, including over 850,000 children, were enrolled in Apple Health, according to the state Health Care Authority.

In June, Gov. Bob Ferguson hired Ryan Moran, Marylands deputy health secretary, to be the new Health Care Authority director. HIs first day is Aug. 18.

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A Health Care Authority spokesperson did not say if Moran had been consulted on the email before Lindeblad sent it out.

Nor did the spokesperson say if the layoffs are due to the agency receiving fewer dollars in the state budget or to the tangible threat posed by new federal rules for Medicaid funding.

A reduction in force at HCA is deeply difficult news for employees and the communities we serve, said Katie Pope, deputy chief communications director, in an email. We are working to responsibly manage limited resources while continuing to meet our legal and programmatic commitments to Washington residents.

Mike Yestramski, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees, said the union had not received formal notice of layoffs as required in collective bargaining agreements. The union represents 54,000 state government, higher education and public service workers including ones at the Health Care Authority.

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Folks are definitely concerned. They are definitely worried, he said. It is a combination. They wonder how long. I survived this round. Will I be around for the next one?

Whats happening at the Health Care Authority isnt an anomaly. State workers have lost jobs or been pressed into lower-paying positions in recent months as agencies comply with cost-cutting directives from the governor and reduced funding for some programs in the state budget.

Mike Yestramski, president of the Washington Federation of State Employees, on April. 9, 2025 in Olympia, WA. (Photo courtesy of Washington Federation of State Employees)

One example is the Department of Health where layoffs totaled 44 as of June 30. Less state dollars and the loss of federal pandemic money were the reasons. Further layoffs are anticipated as a result of state and federal budget reductions, a spokesperson said.

According to the Office of Financial Management, 176 people lost their jobs in the fiscal year that ended June 30 with another 96 bumping into a different position.

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The figure could surge in the coming 12 months because lawmakers did not fund 1,385 full-time-equivalent positions in state government in the current fiscal year, according to the governors budget office.

We knew there would be rounds of layoffs, Yestramski said.

Agency leaders seem to be trying to minimize the impacts on people, he said. In some places, positions are kept vacant and thus available for someone to bump into without bumping someone else out of their job, he said.

But you cant get away without some folks getting harmed, Yestramski said.

In June, Washingtons Employment Security Department started hosting webinars to teach state workers who were laid off, facing a furlough or expecting a workforce reduction about available unemployment benefits and reemployment services.

Four hundred people attended the first three. The fourth will be held Tuesday.
The Brief

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has signed an addendum with ICE, after initially declining to.

Mayor Demings said Orange County has supported ICE, but using corrections officers to transport ICE detainees to Alligator Alcatraz would be too expensive and take resources from the understaffed jail.

Attorney General Hames Uthmeier threatened that Mayor Demings and Orange County Commissioners could be removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis if they did not comply.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings on Friday signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to assist in the transport of suspected undocumented immigrants to Alligator Alcatraz, a detention facility in the Everglades.

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The signed agreement comes days after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier threatened to potentially remove Mayor Demings and members of the Board of County Commissioners from their positions if they did not sign the agreement, citing a violation of state law  and a power Gov. DeSantis has wielded before.

Florida Attorney General sends letter to Mayor Demings, Orange County Commissioners over ICE agreement addendum

"Florida law forbids sanctuary policies and requires locals to use "best efforts" to assist with immigration enforcement," Attorney General Uthmeier wrote in a post on X, which included a copy of the letter sent.

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"The Orange County Commission must adopt the ICE Addendum and allow Corrections Officers to transport illegal aliens to approved detention facilities."

Florida law forbids sanctuary policies and requires locals to use "best efforts" to assist with immigration enforcement.



The Orange County Commission must adopt the ICE Addendum and allow Corrections Officers to transport illegal aliens to approved detention facilities. pic.twitter.com/EvYEp476xt  Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) July 29, 2025

Orange County Mayor Demings: I won't be bullied

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings told news outlets that the county helps house detainees for ICE, but does not have the resources  people or money  to help transport those people to Alligator Alcatraz, which is hours away.

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"This notion that somehow we have not cooperated with ICE is a misnomer," Mayor Demings told reporters earlier this week.

"We already have shortages of correctional staff at the Orange County Jail," he said.

I find it somewhat ironic that the 37-year-old AG is attacking me, personally attacking our board. I spent more years on the streets of Florida, patrolling as a law enforcement officer, than hes been alive.



I am not going to be bullied by the state AG. https://t.co/biMruiyFvX  Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings (@OCFLMayor) July 30, 2025

He said pulling corrections officers from their duties would make the county less safe.

Orange County Mayor Demings signs the agreement

On Friday, shortly before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had a scheduled press conference with Florida Highway Patrol's Troop D  which oversees Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole, and Volusia  Orange County revealed the agreement had been signed.

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Attorney General Uthmeier thanked the Mayor for "changing course" and "doing what is right and required by Florida law."

Thank you, Mayor Demings, for changing course this morning and doing what is right and required by Florida law.



We appreciate Orange County's efforts to support ICE with immigration enforcement. https://t.co/C1bAUr4Afrpic.twitter.com/eNEZVhooub  Attorney General James Uthmeier (@AGJamesUthmeier) August 1, 2025

Press conference: DeSantis touts FHP success with ICE immigration enforcement

The Source

A spokesperson for Orange County, Florida, confirmed Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings signed the ICE addendum on Aug. 1, 2025. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference at FHP's Troop D Headquarters on Aug. 1, 2025, to discuss the state's immigration efforts. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier posted on X, thanking Mayor Demings for signing the agreement. Additional info from previous FOX 35 coverage.
Evelyn Bell, a visitor dangerously close to the action, decided to record the moment. She told video production company Ark Media that the interaction in Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive was the real-life equivalent of watching a nature documentary.

"Moments like these remind me how incredible and unpredictable wildlife truly is," Bell shared with Ark Media.

Bell initially posted the clip in an "Alligators of Florida" Facebook group, where users share alligator related content, on July 11.

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Bell, who saw the gator at a bridge, thought the apex predator "likely caught that carp in the canals nearby, where fish gather in shallow spots."

"Just another wild day at Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive and look whos hogging the right of way!" Bell wrote. "This bold gator casually strolled across the roadcarp in mouth, like its heading to a picnic."

Where in Florida are the most alligators?

To get a population estimate, Florida Fish and Wildlife using sample data from the state's Alligator Management Units (AMUs), which are established areas across Florida. "The population estimates provided use a set of analyses incorporating the current years size and count data, environmental variables (water levels, etc...), and detection probability to estimate the total population and adult population on a given waterbody," according to an email from FWC.

According to data from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, these were top 20 most alligator-infested lakes based on estimated total population in the Sunshine State in 2024:

Top 20 most alligator-infested lakes in Florida

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida alligator crosses road with jaw full of takeout dinner: Video
This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available.

TOOELE, Utah (ABC4)  A garage fire in Tooele burned two homes late Thursday evening, and it was fueled by propane tanks and other flammable materials in the backyard.

Tooele City Fire Department responded to calls of a garage and outdoor structure on fire at 8:52 p.m. Thursday night, according to Captain Bryan Steward with Tooele City Fire.

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When fire crews arrived, they saw that the fire had turned into an involved structure fire of the first home, and through exposure, it spread to a second home.

There were also reports of an explosion at the scene, which Captain Steward said happened because there were propane tanks and other flammable products in the backyard of the home. In one video, you can hear a police officer telling people to move across the street because there is a fuel tank that might catch on fire.

Upon arrival, crews started their initial attack on the first house, and they continued their attack as more units arrived. They surrounded the structure and prevented as much exposure as they could.

Crews had reports that everyone was out of the structures, and so they stayed defensive in their attack on the fire. No injuries have been reported from either civilians or firefighters at this point, but Captain Steward said that there is also no word on pets yet.

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When the fire started, both families were reportedly at home. The cause is still under investigation.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER  What seems routine is anything but, with the latest crew launching to the International Space Station amid NASAs attempts to navigate shifting priorities under the Trump administration.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Astronaut Nick Hague, left, and commentator Derrol Nail, who were part of the NASA broadcast team for Crew-11, watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lift off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off on the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Astronaut Nick Hague, left, and commentator Derrol Nail, who were part of the NASA broadcast team for Crew-11, watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lift off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Astronaut Nick Hague, left, and commentator Derrol Nail, who were part of the NASA broadcast team for Crew-11, watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lift off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Astronaut Nick Hague, left, and commentator Derrol Nail, who were part of the NASA broadcast team for Crew-11, watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lift off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 on the Crew-11 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (NASA) A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off on the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off on the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off on the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off on the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A SpaceX Falcon 9 topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off on the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) A support helicopter flies by the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center accompanying the Crew-11 astronauts being driven to KSC's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui waves sitting aside Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov as they are driven to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou) NASA astronaut Zena Cardman waves sitting aside NASA astronaut Mike Fincke as they drive out in their black Tesla to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 21A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour launches the Crew-11 mission from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. On board are NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)Expand

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavour blasted off from KSCs Launch Pad 39-A at 11:43 a.m. Friday. On board were NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

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I have no emotions but joy right now. That was absolutely transcendent  ride of a lifetime, said Cardman, making her first trip to space along with fellow rookie Platonov.

Boy, its great to be back in orbit again, added Fincke, a veteran of three previous missions including the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2011. Yui is the other veteran having flown once before to the station in 2015.

They had about a 16-hour trip to the station, with a docking set for around 3 a.m. Saturday.

The rocket shot through a break amid darkening clouds just ahead of a lightning storm on its nine-minute trip into orbit. The previous day, the crew had their launch scrubbed with one minute and seven seconds on the countdown clock when a storm cell opened up right over the pad. They had to put on raincoats over their spacesuits as they made their retreat for what turned out to be just a one-day delay.

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The quartet, who arrived to KSC on Saturday, were back Friday, though, once again riding over to the pad in a fleet of black Teslas with license plates that read Live, Laugh and Launch.

NASA Administrator Sean Duffy arrives to greet the departing Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, on their walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) NASA Administrator Sean Duffy arrives to greet the departing Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, on their walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) NASA Administrator Sean Duffy arrives to greet the departing Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, on their walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 4NASA Administrator Sean Duffy arrives to greet the departing Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, on their walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)Expand

It was a near repeat of their Thursday efforts, except a day earlier they got to meet with new interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, the nations Secretary of Transportation, one of President Trumps biggest allies in pushing forward his space goals. That includes slashing several science and research efforts in favor of exploration of the moon and Mars, and more reliance on commercial companies to accomplish goals.

The team has been so impressive at NASA, but also our corporate partners, again, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, that are building the vehicles that get us into space, Duffy said. What we learn on these missions is whats going to get us to the moon and then from the moon to Mars, which is, I think, the direction that NASA has to be. We are space exploration.

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When Crew-11 arrives, it will be the 11th operational crew rotation mission flown by SpaceX in just under five years. Endeavour itself made a fleet-leading sixth trip to space, having been the vanguard spacecraft for the Commercial Crew Program returning human spaceflight to the U.S. in 2020 nine years after the end of the Space Shuttle Program.

This is a really important mission, said NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich during a flight readiness press conference earlier in the week. We worked very hard with SpaceX to complete all the reuse activities for this vehicle. We had certified the vehicles  the Dragons  for only five flights. Now, weve completed all that work, and were really ready to go.

Left to Right, Crew-11 members: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov; NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke; and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, walk out on their way to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) NASA astronaut Zena Cardman waves sitting aside NASA astronaut Mike Fincke as they drive out in their black Tesla to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui waves sitting aside Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov as they are driven to Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Richard Tribou) Crew-11 member and NASA astronaut Michael Fincke, talks with loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 member and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman talks with loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 members Front Row, Left to Right, NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Back Row, Left to Right, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, walk out on their way to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Left to Right, Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman talk with loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 members NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, walk out on their way to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 member and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman talks with loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 member and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman talks with loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 member and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman talks with loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Left to Right, Crew-11 members: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov; NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Michael Fincke; and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, walk out on their way to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 members Front Row, Left to Right, NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Back Row, Left to Right, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, walk out on their way to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) The three Teslas carting the Crew-11 crew drive by the Vehiicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on their way to Launch Pad 39-A on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) The SpaceX Crew-11 crew walks out of the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center ahead of driving to Launch Pad 39-A for their mission to the International Space Station on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (NASA) Crew-11 launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, is scrubbed because of weather, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, will have to wait for better weather before their trip to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, is scrubbed because of weather, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, will have to wait for better weather before their trip to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, is scrubbed because of weather, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, will have to wait for better weather before their trip to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) Crew-11 launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, is scrubbed because of weather with one minute and seven seconds left on the clock, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. NASA astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, will have to wait for better weather before their trip to the International Space Station. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel) NASA astronaut Nick Hague and commentator Derrol Nail express frustration after realizing the SpaceX Crew-11 launch attempt was scrubbed with one minute, seven seconds on the countdown clock Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Richard Tribou/Orlando Sentinel) Show Caption1 of 21Crew-11 member and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman waves to loved ones during the walk out to their launch from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, on Thursday, July 31, 2025. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)Expand

With their arrival to the station, the orbiting laboratory will have welcomed 290 people from 26 nations. They will join Expedition 73 and remain on board as Expedition 74 begins this fall. The four members of Crew-10 who have been on board since March will fly back to Earth as early as August 5 for a splashdown off the California coast.

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For four years now, SpaceX has knocked out two trips to the station a year for NASA, but that could be dialed back while also reducing the number of astronauts who fly on each mission as the administration has pushed for major funding cuts to the orbiting laboratory.

Trumps proposed budget for NASA for 2026 looks to slash space station funding by more than $500 million.

The budget reduces the space stations crew size and onboard research, preparing for a safe decommissioning of the station by 2030 and replacement by commercial space stations, reads an overview of his plan. Crew and cargo flights to the station would be significantly reduced. The stations reduced research capacity would be focused on efforts critical to the moon and Mars exploration programs.

A Senate-driven funding addition to Trumps separate Big, Beautiful Bill, though, already allocated an additional $1.25 billion to the station that can be spent over the next several years, and Congress will ultimately decide how the International Space Station is budgeted annually.

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But NASA is already looking into extending this Crew-11 mission from the normal six months to eight, and the next operational mission could see fewer than the normal four astronauts on board.

Ideally, wed stay at four crew if were continuing to do the normal mission objectives that we have on our plate today, said Dana Weigel, NASAs International Space Station program manager. With the amount of science and research we do, it certainly takes more crew.

The normal complement at the space station is seven astronauts, with four flying up on SpaceXs crew missions from the U.S. and three from Soyuz missions from Russia.

Were looking at a range of scenarios, Weigl said. Its very dynamic right now in terms of what we might see in the budget, what we might end up with. So were looking at the entire spectrum.

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She said the decision to change crew size could come as early as Crew-12 in early 2026, but NASA doesnt yet to have to pull that trigger. Any cargo mission changes wouldnt come until next year as well.

Plans are to shutter the space station after 2030, with it deorbiting to burn up safely in Earths atmosphere somewhere over the open ocean. After that, NASA intends to rely on commercial space stations for low-Earth orbit needs.

Stich said the Commercial Crew Program itself will begin to take a staffing hit after this launch and return of Crew-10. Already more than 4,000 of NASAs 18,000-civilian workforce have opted to leave the agency.

For this flight, I would say we have had our entire team, he said. Most people that have chosen to take the deferred retirement program have decided to extend a little longer to get through this particular handover.

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Stich said their departures are bittersweet, having been with the program for the last decade.

For those people, you know, theyve made a choice. And so well have to look at the workforce going forward, he said.

Weigl said the space station program is in a similar boat.

We have years and years of expertise, which is great, but on the other hand, when you when you lose folks, or folks choose to leave before the end of the program, its really hard to rebuild some of that expertise, she said.

The space station is coming up on 25 years of continuous human presence, having begun Expedition 1 in November 2000.

We fly every day, even though not launching every day, Weigl said. We have humans on board every single day. Every single day is critical to us. And so we keep our team focused. We keep our eye on the target and make sure were working the top priority issues. At the same time, were trying to help the workforce through this challenging time.
The Daily Show on Thursday aired a damning montage of correspondent Jordan Kleppers past exchanges with Donald Trump supporters about late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the presidents onetime close friend.

The MAGA supporters expressed outrage over Epsteins crimes, but then backpedaled when Klepper pointed out his ties to Trump.

One woman agreed she could never support someone who associates with somebody like Epstein, only to fume when Klepper pointed out the Trump-Epstein link, likening him to a fake fucker who thinks youre a journalist, youre not. Klepper calmly replied, Im not.

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The clip underscored what Klepper described as a clear double standard among Trumps base, who are now demanding the release of documents on Epstein, which is being stalled by the Trump administration.

So how will this group react if the Epstein files are released and Trump is in there? Klepper asked. Im sure we can expect a very rational response  or maybe not.

Watch here:

Related...
The mournful notes of taps echoed through rainy Bronx neighborhood Thursday afternoon as six New York Police Department officers shouldered the casket of one of their own: Officer Didarul Islam.

They carried Islams remains out of a mosque where his funeral was held, and into the street where thousands of officers stood in silent salute. He was one of four people killed in a mass shooting in Midtown Manhattan on Monday.

As if signaled by the song, the trickle of rain began to fall in thick sheets over the funeral procession, soaking the green, blue and white NYPD flag draped over Islams casket.

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The somber scene, shown here in pictures and video, took place in Islams own neighborhood at the Parkchester Jame Masjid.

A sea of uniformed officers from the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies stood for blocks under the pelting rain, as if cast in stone.

Members of the NYPD and other law enforcement agencies lined the streets during the funeral procession, offering a salute for the slain officer. - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The 36-year-old father of two was preparing to welcome a third child with his pregnant wife and he was his parents only child. His death has reverberated through his tightly-knit Bangladeshi community in Parkchester.

Loved ones, Muslim community members and some of New Yorks most prominent leaders mourned Islam on Thursday as a dedicated father and hardworking guardian of his fellow New Yorkers.

Islam's family members walked behind his casket. Mayor Eric Adams called on New Yorkers to "stand in unison with this family and this city as we heal together." - Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Islam was fatally shot by an armed 27-year-old man in the lobby of a glossy skyscraper at 345 Park Avenue on Monday. The officer was off-duty at the time but was working security in the building.

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During the funeral service, NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced Islam had been posthumously promoted to detective first grade. Before continuing her remarks, Tisch knelt in front of Islams wife, and the pair embraced.

Everything for him was about building something for his family, for his mosque, for his adopted city and for his relatives back in Bangladesh. They were all in his care, and he found peace in watching them grow, Tisch said.

New York Police officers embrace outside Parkchester Jame Masjid. - Yuki Iwamura/AP

Officers flank each side of the white hearse carrying Islam's remains as it drives down White Plains Road after the funeral service on Thursday. - Yuki Iwamura/AP

Islam joined the NYPD as a school safety agent in 2019 and became an officer two years later, Tisch said.

In his own words, the police were a blanket of the community there to provide comfort and care, the police chief added.

Community members bow in prayer during the funeral services Thursday. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

NYPD Deputy Inspector Muhammad Ashraf, commanding officer of the 47th precinct, said Islams dedication to his job was an extension of his love of his community.

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Islam was not just a cop, Ashraf said. He was a son of this city and another land, a proud immigrant from Bangladesh who came to this country full of hope and who chose to serve the city with honor.

An NYPD officer wears a pin in honor of Officer Didarul Islam, who joined the department as a school safety agent in 2019 before becoming a police officer. - Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

An NYPD employee speaks with a woman outside the funeral service. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

For Foysol Ahmed, a community leader in Parkchester, the slain officer brought pride to his community through humble service. When one of their own is represented in agencies like the NYPD or the New York City Fire Department, he said, its something to be celebrated.

We feel proud, he told CNN earlier this week.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the pain of Islams death as searing and urged the Bangladeshi community to lean on other fellow New Yorkers. Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani sat with Islams family and remained inside the mosque for prayers, his campaign confirmed.

Police recruits stand in formation during the funeral services at the Parkchester Jame Masjid. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Islams brother-in-law, NYPD officer Kamrul Hasan, spoke on behalf of the family and remembered Islam as his best friend and protector.

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Islam was a proud father. He was an uncle. He was a brother, and he was a dependable person, Hasan said. He was a good leader. Anything anybody needed, anything, he came.

Hasan said he and Islam joined the police force within one year of each other, and the pair leaned on each other for support, often unable to bring the weight of their work home to their families.

Helicopters fly overhead as Islam's coffin is driven past a wall of loved ones, mourners and law enforcement officers. - Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Islam was a person officers would want by their side in times of crisis, Ashraf said.

One of his fellow officers described him as someone that brought calmness to any chaotic scenes, as someone that showed up with a smile on his face. He was humble, steady and reliable, the commander said.

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Ashraf said the loss is a sorrow that no words can truly heal, adding, But it is also a moment to honor a life of courage, devotion and purpose.

He reminded mourners: In the Muslim faith, we firmly believe  indeed, to Allah we belong, and indeed to him we will return.

CNNs Mark Morales, Gloria Pazmino and Dakin Andone contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON (DC News Now)  A wave of scattered heavy rains and storms barreled through the region on Thursday in what was -yet another- DMV First Warn Day.

Many DC News Now viewers in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area shared photos and videos of rushing water, dark clouds, and the occasional bolt of lightning.

FORECAST: Flooding, severe storms likely through the evening

At around 5:30 p.m., a toppled tree caused damage to a couple of cars near The Chesapeake Apartments in Northwest D.C.

(Anderson Rivera)

(Anderson Rivera)

(Anderson Rivera)

(Anderson Rivera)

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One viewer on X captured rushing water near Booze Creek in Bethesda, Md. They said there was so much rain that the runoff couldnt get through the opening.

Sami in Howard Countys Ellicott City captured a few drone shots of the dark, rolling clouds.

Edward McPike Jr., a viewer on X, captured the moment storms started rolling into Ashburn, Va.

(Courtesy of viewer Edward McPike Jr)

(Courtesy of viewer Edward McPike Jr)

Have a weather picture or video you would like to share? Email news@dcnewsnow.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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live.
Birds take flight over the Great Salt Lake on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said there will likely be a special session this fall that could address the Great Salt Lake, which has recently fallen to dangerously low levels.

This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake  and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late.

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Schultz told the Great Salt Lake Collaborative on Thursday hes asking the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands to reexamine how the berm that divides the north and south arms of the lake is managed  depending on what they find, Schultz said he might petition the governor to include Great Salt Lake legislation during a special session that will likely come in the fall.

We think that could add some additional tools to the toolbox to help the ecosystem on the south arm, said Schultz, R-Hooper.

The Great Salt Lake is currently at 4,192 feet in elevation, with the north arm at roughly 4,191.5 feet. Thats scary low, Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed said earlier this week, nearing levels not seen since the lake hit a historic low of 4,188.5 feet in fall 2022.

The berm that delineates the Great Salt Lakes north and south arms is used to manage salinity, a critical measure of ecosystem health. The south arm is where the majority of fresh water flows to the lake, from the Bear, Weber and Jordan rivers  therefore, lake levels in the south arm are typically higher.

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Now, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, which manages much of the lakes ecosystem, is going to see if its possible to raise the berm to 4,192 feet. That would cut off the north arm from fresh water inflows, increase levels on the south arm, and boost the south arms ecosystem.

Schultz said the north arm would not be permanently cut off, and that the state does not intend to kill one part of the lake to save another.

At some point in time, that berm would get opened back up and the lake would be equalized so that we are not killing the north arm of the lake. That is not an option for us, he said Thursday.

Currently, state code directs the division to close the berm if levels drop to 4,190 feet, a process that involves heavy machinery dumping boulders in the lake to form a closed causeway. Since the lake has not yet dropped that low, the berm is washed out and ineffective. If the division finds it feasible to raise the threshold to 4,192 feet, they would then close the berm. However, changing that threshold would require legislative approval, hence the special session.

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Jamie Barnes, director of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said the legislature could also amend state code so that changes to how the division manages the berm wouldnt require a special session.

Right now, were considering all options  what does it do for the ecosystem, what does it do for salinity, what does it do for the overall, whole area of the lake, Barnes said.

As the lake shrinks, the lakebed is exposed, which contributes to poor air quality as storms whip up toxic, heavy metal-laden dust that blankets the Wasatch Front. That can cause respiratory problems and other health issues.

Declining levels can also expose microbialites, organic deposits that are a crucial part of the lakes ecosystem. Microbialites are essential for brine fly populations, the main food source for millions of migratory birds that stop on the lake. If the microbialites are exposed for long periods of time, it can prompt a chain reaction ultimately impacting the entire ecosystem.

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Less water in the lake also leads to an increase in salinity levels, which can harm the brine shrimp population  that can also have devastating impacts on the ecosystem, while hurting the million-dollar brine shrimp fishing industry.

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A wave of resignations has swept through Spains political class amid growing scrutiny over falsified academic credentials, affecting figures across the political spectrum and prompting calls for greater transparency.

The controversy began on 21 July when Transport Minister Oscar Puente of the ruling Socialist Party raised questions about the academic record of Noelia Nunez, a lawmaker from the opposition conservative Popular Party (PP).

Nunez, 33, had claimed degrees in law, public administration and English philology but later admitted she had studied the subjects without completing any of the qualifications.

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She resigned the following day, saying she had never intended to mislead the public.

Since then, more politicians have come under fire for allegedly misrepresenting their educational backgrounds.

Among them is Juan Manuel Moreno, PP president of the Andalusian regional government, who was accused of falsely claiming a business degree. Pilar Bernabe, the central governments delegate in Valencia, has been accused of inaccurately stating she held a communications degree.

Puente himself has also come under scrutiny for referring to a master's degree that reports say is of a lower academic level than implied.

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On Thursday, Jose Maria Angel, a Socialist official overseeing flood recovery efforts in Valencia, stepped down after it emerged he had used a fake diploma to obtain a public sector job.

On Friday, Ignacio Higuero, a minister in the regional government of Extremadura, resigned after reports revealed he had claimed a marketing degree from a university that did not offer the programme at the time.

The growing scandal has triggered a broader national debate about political integrity and the need for verified academic qualifications for public officials.

In Spain, we continue to suffer from a chronic ailment: titulitis, that obsession with accumulating degrees that, all too often, are nothing more than empty ornaments, historian Joaquim Coll wrote in the daily newspaper 20 Minutos.

vab/ds/rmb
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

Federal health authorities, headed now by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are embracing vaccine hesitancy in a way they never have before.

In the nearly six months since being appointed by President Donald Trump, Kennedy has fired the full vaccine advisory committee, substantially changed COVID-19 vaccine guidance and pledged to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule.

Kennedy's actions have given new stature to a national effort that has found particularly solid footing in Texas: the self-titled medical freedom or medical liberty movement. At the core of that movement is a rejection of government-mandatedor government-recommendedvaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccine and tried-and-true vaccines such as the childhood shots that protect against measles and polio.

Kennedy and the federal government don't actually decide most vaccine policy. But because of the health secretary's prominence, his opinion carries weight with the state politicians who do make the policies.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better," said Nina Miller, an Austin-based healthy food blogger who's skeptical about public health guidance around vaccines, referring to Kennedy's appointment. "I feel like there could not be a better person for that role."

Texas anti-vaccine advocates, already sailing hard against public health standards they see as government interference, were pre-positioned to take advantage of the newly favorable winds. If their work is successful, Texas could emerge as a national leader in the movement, providing a blueprint for vaccine opponents in other states.

Public health experts see potential for harm in the movement's anti-vaccine work, which could set back decades-long efforts to curtail the spread of certain diseases.

Texas' massive measles outbreak, which started up and wound down almost exactly in line with the legislative calendar, seems to have done little to stem the tide of medical freedom legislation. During the 2025 regular session, state lawmakers pushed through several bills that have long been priorities of the movement, including making it easier for parents to opt their children out of school-mandated vaccines.

To attribute those shifts to Kennedy alone would be to overlook years of groundwork by anti-vaccine advocates in Texas.

"Did Bobby amplify our voices? Yes," said Jackie Schlegel, the founder of Texans for Medical Freedom. "But none of it would have been possible if we hadn't been in that building the last 10 years, educating and advocating."

It's not just the anti-vaccine advocates themselves who are claiming credit. Vaccine proponents say the same thing: Kennedy has stepped into power in the greater context of anti-vaccine activism that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He just didn't reappear on the scene in a vacuum," said Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at Baylor College of Medicine. "Now, Mr. Kennedy can come back in and it's already a well-oiled, well-greased machine."

While medical freedom advocates and sympathetic lawmakers celebrate their wins, public health experts worry the emphasis on personal liberty will cost lives.

Hotez said outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses, such as the measles outbreak that started in West Texas earlier this year, will become increasingly common if childhood vaccination rates continue to drop.

"This will become sort of a new normal," Hotez said. "And not only measles. Measles is usually the first thing you see because it's so highly transmissible, but the others will follow."

Less than six months into Kennedy's role as health secretary, Texas is already becoming an example of how much can change when federal leadership gives new credence to what some consider fringe groups. And those groups have no plans of letting this moment pass them by.

The work already done

Some of the most high-profile medical freedom advocates in Texas have been doing their work for more than a decade.

In national and Texas media, they've described their 2015 selves as the "mad moms in minivans," painting a picture of grassroots advocacy that was given short shrift by Texas politicians.

Whether they've been taken seriously politically or not, there is no debate that anti-vaccine voices are in the minority among the general public, particularly when it comes to childhood vaccines.

Statewide vaccination data indicates that, for the 2024-2025 school year, just over 93% of Texas kindergartners had received both doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. The vast majority of parents are thus opting in for standard childhood vaccines. However, the number of children without standard vaccinations has grown across the state and country in recent years.

While anti-vaccine and vaccine-hesitant parents are still in the minority, a small percentage can have a big impact on a community's health. For measles, for instance, about 95% of a population needs to be vaccinated or have survived a previous infection in order for the community to have widespread protection.

Texas schools as a whole have dipped below that herd immunity rate for measles, and some specific communities have fallen far below that threshold. At Fort Worth's Mercy Culture Preparatory, where the affiliated pastor has celebrated the low vaccination numbers, the measles-mumps-rubella vaccination rate is 14%.

That level of vaccine opt-out, even in relatively small pockets, doesn't happen overnight. It's a process that has felt, to some anti-vaccine advocates, painfully slow.

The movement gained speed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought issues such as masking and vaccine mandates to the forefront of public consciousness. With Kennedy now elevating anti-vaccine sentiment, though, the moves have accelerated again.

During this year's legislative session, medical freedom advocates scored some significant wins, including the passage of a bill that will make the vaccine opt-out form available online. That will give parents easier access to the form, which previously had to be requested and sent through the mail.

Rep. Steve Toth, R-Conroe, said it was significantly easier to pass medical freedom legislation this year compared with previous years, a shift he attributed in large part to disillusionment that grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout.

"People are like, 'Yeah, we need freedom,'" Toth said. "Because basically we got this damn jab shoved down our throat and it wasn't everything everybody said it was going to be."

The Dallas Morning News reached out to five additional state lawmakers who have authored or supported medical freedom legislation. Those five lawmakers either did not respond or were not made available for comment.

As public health skeptics ride the wave of support, there could be more changes still to come.

Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer at the Texas-based pro-vaccine organization The Immunization Partnership, felt the acceleration in Austin this year.

"There's this attempt to chip away, chip away and chip away," Lakshmanan said. "And then when they've got the cover from leadership at the federal level, then it's sort of like gloves have come off."

Looking to the future

Michelle Evans, the political director of Texans for Vaccine Choice, sees the shifts at the federal level as "a sea change." And Texas medical freedom advocates have no intent of letting their sails down now.

Both medical freedom advocates and vaccine proponents are split on whether Texas is already a trendsetter on actual anti-vaccine policy. But they agree the state has a robust anti-vaccine engine with a fierce and well-connected advocacy arm, particularly in Texans for Vaccine Choice.

Because of that, it's likely that anti-vaccine folks in at least some other states will look to Texas as a template. And that means that, just as the changes at the federal level impact Texas, the changes in Texas also matter for the rest of the country.

"Texas is a large state. It definitely serves as a tipping point, which means that there's a lot of responsibility on both sides," Lakshmanan, at The Immunization Partnership, said. "I do really think that what we start to see happen here in this state can impact other states as wellgood, bad or indifferent."

When Evans, at Texans for Vaccine Choice, imagines the Texas she wants to see in a few yearswith the acknowledgment that big changes take timeshe hopes vaccination will have become a fully private issue.

"I would love for my vaccination status, your vaccination status, every Texan's vaccination status to be completely irrelevant to their participation in society," she said. "So nobody feels like they have the right to ask you what your vaccination status is."

With the momentum her movement has, Schlegel wants to see the full unwinding of all vaccine mandates: on college campuses, in workplaces, for health care workers.

"We're going to continue to advocate to ensure that these decisions are left to you and your chosen medical provider," Schlegel said, "and not these bureaucratic entities who are dictating what field you can go into or the workplace."

If there's a short list of places where the medical freedom vision could come to pass, Texas is on it.

A tug-of-war

The problem with the medical freedom movement's vision, according to public health experts, is that vaccination is not just an individual decision. Instead, each person's decision also affects their community.

That's because vaccination for many illnesses only works if the vast majority of people are vaccinated. If there are some people who are not vaccinated, an illness can still take root in a community.

That would put people who cannot get vaccinated at particularly high risk, including babies, pregnant women or people who are immunocompromised.

"Do you have a responsibility to vaccinate yourself in the midst of an epidemic, to protect not only yourself, but those with whom you come in contact? Yes, you do," said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "But the medical freedom movement says, 'No, you don't.'"

Evans said she doesn't share the concerns about the public health impacts of her movement. She acknowledged that she isn't a scientist or public health expert, but also questioned whether vaccination really works and said she feels the science "is not 100% settled."

Millerthe Austin-based healthy food advocate who runs a blog called Good Food Fighter and was active in Kennedy's presidential campaignsimilarly brought up concerns about ineffective vaccines, as well as vaccine injuries, both of which she said are understudied.

Those argumentsthat vaccines might not be effective and that vaccines may cause harmare central to anti-vaccine messaging.

The arguments seize on rare cases of injury, public health experts note, and point to slivers of the population for whom some vaccines are less effective. But more importantly, experts say, those assertions ignore the bigger picture of vaccines' role in wiping out illness on a global scale.

A study led by the World Health Organization found that, across the world over the past 50 years, vaccinations have saved more than 150 million lives. More than 100 million of those lives were infants, according to the study, and the measles vaccine alone accounted for 60% of the infant lives saved.

In the U.S., the evidence of the measles vaccine's efficacy is in younger generations' lack of familiarity with the illness.

Before the vaccine was rolled out in the 1960s, nearly every child in the country caught measles by the age of 15. Widespread vaccination led to the illness being declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000taking measles from a rite of passage to a relative rarity.

Now, with measles vaccination rates dropping, outbreaks are again cropping up.

Schlegel, when asked the same question about the public health impacts of the medical freedom movement, pointed to the ideal of personal liberty. She sees that, she said, as a higher issue.

"What concerns me is we have a run-amok government that believes that they are best-suited to make these decisions," Schlegel said. "We are always going to stand with the parents and the individuals.  We live with the consequence of that decision, therefore, we must be the ones to ultimately decide whether a medical procedure is right or wrong."

Travis McCormick, a legislative consultant and the founder of Make Texans Healthy Again, similarly did not deny the public health rationale. Instead, he sees a larger concern.

"I understand the argument for herd immunity," McCormick said. "But I think at the end of the day, a parent's priority is their own child, and that should be respected."

That is the crux of the tension: While public health experts push for collective protection, medical freedom advocates pull for individual rights.

Texas' medical freedom movement has gained ground in the tug-of-war, with wins at the state Legislature and bolstered by the support of a prominent federal figure. The question now is whether the movement's leaders can keep those wins coming and make Texas into a national examplefor better or for worse.

2025 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Have you noticed hundreds of fireflies lighting up your yard this summer? You're not alone. From the Midwest to the East Coast, many people are seeing more flashes in the night sky than usual - and the weather may be playing a big role.

Firefly expert Christian Krupke told AccuWeather's Ali Reid that drought is the worst enemy of the fireflies, also known as lightning bugs in some areas.

A firefly blinks at night (Getty Images)

"We got timely rains [this year], though we've been in drought for years. Fireflies like moisture and moist soils; they're not a species that likes the dry conditions," Krupke explained.

Wet spring, mild winter was conducive to a bountiful year

A winter that was slightly warmer than the historical average and a wet spring helped firefly larvae thrive underground during a critical phase in the firefly life cycle.

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The period from December to June was unusually wet in much of the East, AccuWeather meteorologists found. The wettest weather compared to the historical average was from Texas to Ohio.

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"We saw a lot of fireflies that were mating and laying eggs, so we should have a large population of larvae going into overwintering. That's good," Krupke added. Overwintering is the process by which organisms pass through, or wait out, the winter season.

Iowa State University insect diagnostician Zach Schumm told Axios the fireflies have experienced perfect conditions to reproduce since last year in Iowa. Echoing what Krupke said, the warmer winter and rainy spring have helped their larvae, Schumm said, and the effect could last into next summer.

A long-exposure photo of fireflies in State College, Pennsylvania on July 4, 2025.

Popular Science says that parts of Pennsylvania and Illinois are reporting big concentrations of the blinking bugs this summer. Cities like Washington, D.C., and New York City have also had more firefly activity, which is a bit surprising because habitat loss and light pollution have been listed as contributing to their demise for years.

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Michael Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland, also quotes the winter weather as the cause for the upswing in reports of the bugs, and points out that it's not just them, but their prey that benefitted from the weather conditions.

'Fireflies' or 'Lightning Bugs?' It depends on where you live

Although it's not clear why, most residents of the western U.S. call the bugs "fireflies," while people in the Midwest and Southeast say "lightning bugs." Business Insider theorized that it could be because there's more lightning in the Southeast and more wildfires in the West, but they didn't consider that a good part of the East uses either interchangeably.

AccuWeather.com

Climate change, other factors have bug populations on the decline

In addition to declining habitats and light pollution, climate change is a long-term threat to firefly populations, Penn State says. Extreme temperatures and precipitation changes can make for poorer conditions for the larvae, resulting in fewer fireflies in summer.

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"Whether that's an indication that the populations are rebounding, I wouldn't go that far," Krupke said.

"Just because the weather is warm one day and cold the next doesn't indicate anything about long-term trends, and with fireflies and many insects, the trends long-term are in decline, so I would expect that to continue."
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH)  West Hartford police are investigating an alleged armed robbery attempt at a Family Dollar store on Thursday.

Police said the attempted robbery occurred at approximately 9:44 p.m. at the Family Dollar location at 939 New Britain Avenue. The suspect was described as being a heavy-set, short man wearing a black hoodie, black mask, glasses and gloves.

Injuries reported in ambulance rollover on I-91 in Windsor

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No injuries were reported and no arrests have been made. Police did not disclose if any cash or products were stolen.

West Hartford detectives are investigating the case. Police are asking anyone with information related to the case to call the West Hartford police tip line at 860-570-8969 or email whpdtips@westhartfordct.gov.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com.
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD)  Mosquito testing shows that West Nile Virus is increasing in McLean County, according to the McLean County Health Department.

The Environmental Health Division at the MCHD is reporting that a fourth mosquito pool has tested positive for West Nile Virus, said spokesperson Marianne Manko.

She also said the positive test was confirmed on July 31 in the Bloomington area.

Manko said that since July 8, three other mosquito pools in the 61705 zip code area have also come back positive.

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She said the primary carrier of West Nile Virus is the common house mosquito. West Nile Virus can cause encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain.

Mosquitoes feed on infected birds, then pass on the infection while feeding on humans, Manko said.

She said most cases will cause mild symptoms, such as a slight fever or headache. However, severe infections can lead to high fever, disorientation, and even paralysis or death.

Young children, adults 50 or older, and people with compromised immune systems are at the highest risk for serious illness, Manko said.

She said last year, there were 69 confirmed human cases of West Nile Virus across Illinois, as well as 13 human deaths.

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Manko said to avoid the virus and fight the bite, the health department recommends following the three Rs:

REPEL mosquitoes by using insect repellent that includes DEET, oil of lemon eucalyptus or picaridin; and wear clothing that covers your skin, especially at dusk and dawn (when mosquitoes are most active).

REDUCE the mosquito population by removing areas of standing water around your yard or business where mosquitoes can breed, such as old tires or unused planting pots. Mosquitoes need stagnant water to breed. It can take less than a week for eggs to hatch into larvae and become biting adults. Fixing any broken screens to keep mosquitoes out of your living space is also helpful.

REPORT locations where you see water sitting stagnant for more than a week, such as roadside ditches, flooded yards and similar locations that may produce mosquitoes. The local health department or city government may be able to add larvicide to the water, which will kill any mosquito larvae.

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A federal judge sentenced a Western Massachusetts man to serve three years in prison for possessing over 340,000 digital files of child sexual abuse material on Thursday, United States Attorney Leah Foleys office said Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge also sentenced Edward Dundphy, 79, of Turner Falls, to five years of supervised release, Foleys office said in a statement. Dunphy pleaded guilty in April to possession of child pornography.

Investigators started to look into online peer-to-peer file sharing networks used to distribute child sex abuse material in October 2022, Foleys office said. By February 2023, Dunphy was identified as a primary user.

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On May 18, 2023, investigators searched Dunphys home and found a computer with an internal hard drive, eight external hard drives, a cell phone and an SD card, among other items, Foleys office said. After searching these devices, investigators found over 340,000 files of child sex abuse material, including files depicting the sexual abuse or exploitation of an infant or toddler and depicting girls being sexually assaulted.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, five years to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

More local crime stories

Read the original article on MassLive.
(FOX40.COM)  The Westfield Galleria in Roseville is celebrating its 25th anniversary with Sip, Shop & Celebrate, an event happening every Friday through the month of August, according to Galleria officials.

Video Above: Sacramento County Sheriffs Foundation is gearing up for a big event in the fall

From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., guests can participate in a curated shopping experience that begins in Center Court, where they will receive a passport guide to help with their journey.

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Officials said the first stop would be the most recent addition to the Galleria, the Nespresso Boutique.

Guests can complete their passport by visiting five stories or spending $500.

According to officials, the completion of the passport unlocks access to the exclusive VIP lounge, Bubbles & Bites at Club 25, which includes:

A VIP Anniversary swag bag

Custom cocktails from a curated Retailer Pairing Menu

Entry into The Signature Shopping Spreea chance to win a $500 gift card and a curated retailer care package

Bay Area burger chain expands into Sacramento region with new location in Roseville

Were proud to celebrate 25 years of style, community, and innovation at Westfield Galleria at Roseville. Sip, Shop, and Celebrate is our way of thanking our guests for being part of our journeyand inviting them to be part of whats next, says Jeff Richardson, General Manager. This anniversary is not only a reflection of where weve been, but a celebration of the exciting experiences and new chapters still to come.

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Celebrations continue throughout the year, with a Sacramento Kings Tip-Off event in October and festive events during the holidays.

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WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)  Wichita Falls Fire Department responded to two structure fires during a thunderstorm.

Shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday, August 1, WFFD responded to a structure fire at #2 Overton Court. Firefighters found heavy fire and smoke coming from the roof. After entry, the fire was put out in about 20 minutes.

Damages are estimated at around $50,000 to the structure and $20,000 to the contents. A minor injury was reported on the scene, but no injuries to occupants were reported.

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Approximately 20 minutes later, another structure fire was reported at 4500 Barbados. Flames were seen coming from the roof of the home. Firefighters were able to contain the fire in about 15 minutes.

The roof of the structure was covered to prevent further damage from rain. No owners were home and no injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at $25,000 to the structure and $2,000 to contents.

WFFD confirms that both structures were caused by lightning strikes to the roof, causing heavy fire.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com.
A Delta Air Lines flight from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam that was hit by serious turbulence Wednesday, sending 25 people on board to hospitals and forcing the flight to divert to Minnesota, highlighted the dangers of flying through unstable air.

Several turbulence-impacted flights have been reported this year.

While turbulence-related fatalities are quite rare, the tally of injuries has grown over the years. Some meteorologists and aviation analysts note that reports of turbulence encounters also have been increasing and point to what climate change may be doing to flying conditions.

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Planes hitting bumpy air is mostly minor, however, and airlines have tried to improve safety. Experts advise travelers to stay vigilant, stressing wearing a seat belt whenever possible.

What causes turbulence

Turbulence is essentially unstable air that moves in a non-predictable fashion. Most people associate it with heavy storms. But the most dangerous is clear-air turbulence, which often occurs with no visible warning.

Clear-air turbulence happens most often in or near the high-altitude rivers of air called jet streams. The culprit is wind shear, which is when two huge air masses close to each other move at different speeds. If the difference in speed is big enough, the atmosphere cant handle the strain, and it breaks into turbulent patterns like eddies in water.

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Recent flights shaken by turbulence

In June, five people were taken to a North Carolina hospital for evaluation after an American Airlines flight from Miami hit turbulence on its way to Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The plane landed safely.

Earlier that month, severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing after violent turbulence injured nine people, German police said. The flight was traveling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members. Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt.

In March, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Singapore experienced severe turbulence over the Philippines. The plane was carrying 174 passengers and 14 crew members. Five people were injured and the plane landed safely in Singapore.

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Several flights were diverted to Waco, Texas, on March 3, because of turbulence. Five people were injured aboard a United Express plane flying from Springfield, Missouri, to Houston.

Last year, Italian authorities launched an investigation after two easyJet flight attendants were injured when their flight from Corfu to Londons Gatwick Airport was buffeted by turbulence. The pilot made an unscheduled landing in Rome.

In May 2024, a 73-year-old British man died and dozens of people were injured aboard a Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence. His death was under investigation. Authorities said he may have had a heart attack.

It's unclear how common injuries are

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Tracking the number of turbulence-related injuries worldwide is difficult. But some countries publish national data.

Most reports of in-flight turbulence from 2009 through 2018 resulted in one or more serious injuries and no damage to the plane, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.

Between 2009 and 2024, 207 people were injured seriously enough during turbulence to require hospital treatment for at least two days, according to the NTSB. Most of them were flight attendants, who are more likely to be out of their seats during a flight.

How pilots try to avoid it

Pilots try to avoid turbulence partly by using a weather radar display. Sometimes they can simply see and fly around thunderstorms.

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But clear-air turbulence is altogether another animal, said Doug Moss, a former airline pilot and safety consultant. It can be devastating, he said, because the time before the incident can be very calm, and people are caught off-guard.

Air traffic controllers will warn pilots after another plane runs into clear-air turbulence, Moss said. Many pilots also look for signs of wind shear, then plan to avoid those areas, he said.

Modern planes are strong enough to handle just about any turbulence. Cabin areas such as overhead bins may receive cosmetic damage, but these dont impact the structural integrity of the planes, Moss said.

Scientists look at climate change's influence

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Some scientists note that reports of turbulence encounters are on the rise. Several researchers have pointed to potential climate impacts as one of the possible explanations.

Professor Thomas Guinn, of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explains that some predict climate change could alter the jet stream and up the wind shear, which would drive up turbulence.

Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in England, said there was strong evidence that turbulence is increasing because of climate change.

Williams said in a statement last year that his research team discovered that severe clear-air turbulence in the North Atlantic has increased by 55% since 1979, for example. The teams projections signal that severe turbulence in the jet streams could double or triple in the coming decades if global conditions continue as expected, he said.

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There could be a rise in overall air traffic that may increase turbulence encounters as the number of flight tracks go up, said Larry Cornman, a project scientist at the National Science Foundations National Center for Atmospheric Research.

What travelers can do to stay safe

In short, buckle up. Turbulence can be tricky to predict, but experts stress that the first line of defense is keeping the seat belt fastened, whenever possible.

And airlines have taken steps for safety. Last November, Southwest Airlines said it was ending cabin service earlier so that passengers return to their seats and fasten seat belts sooner.

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The change was intended to reduce the risk of in-flight turbulence injuries, the company said.

Also last year, Korean Air decided to stop offering a beloved instant noodle, Shin Ramyun.

This decision is part of proactive safety measures in response to increased turbulence, aimed at preventing burn accidents, the Seoul-based airline said in a statement.
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Lightning strikes light up the sky in Montevideo, Uruguay on Feb. 20, 2022. | Credit: Mariana Suarez/AFP via Getty Images

"Thunder is impressive," Mark Twain wrote, "but it is lightning that does the work." Anyone who's watched a lightning storm will understand what he meant: Lightning is one of nature's most awe-inspiring phenomena, illuminating the skies with its fearsome forks.

According to the U.K. Met Office, lightning strikes the planet up to 1.4 billion times a year , or an estimated 44 times every second. And it's more than just a light show: Lightning plays a critical role in keeping Earth's electrical balance in check ; aids in fixing nitrogen , thereby helping plants grow; and potentially even helps to clear the atmosphere of pollutants .

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But some lightning strikes work harder than others. While most lightning flashes measure 2 to 3 miles (3.2 to 4.8 kilometers) in length, some truly colossal bolts occasionally crackle above our heads, forking their way across hundreds of miles of sky. But how big can lightning actually get? And should we be worried about these gigantic bolts?

Related: Can diamonds burn?

How lightning is made

Lightning arises in storm clouds when strong positive charge develops in one region of the cloud and strong negative charge develops in another, creating electrical forces between them.

"A lightning flash is initiated in a region where the electrical forces are extremely strong," said Don MacGorman, a physicist and senior researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma. "They become strong enough that the air can't withstand the electrical force anymore and breaks down."

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That means that, as the electric force grows, it breaks down the air's insulating power, which usually keeps areas of different charge separated from each other. Researchers think this occurs because the buildup of the excessive electrical force starts to accelerate "free" electrons  those not attached to an atom or a molecule  in the air, in turn knocking other electrons loose from their atoms and molecules, MacGorman said. This process continues, accelerating more and more electrons. "Scientists call this process an electron avalanche, and it's what we mean when we say the air breaks down," MacGorman told Live Science.

This eventually creates a very hot channel in the air that acts like a wire, whose ends grow outward toward the positive and negative charges that caused the breakdown. The growing channel eventually connects the positive and negative charges, and when it does, it triggers the immense electric current we know as a lightning flash.

"Think of it as a giant spark that has grown through the cloud," MacGorman said.

Sometimes, the lower region of a cloud, which usually contains positive charge, does not have enough charge on its own to stop the channel. So the lightning bolt continues growing, stretching downward toward the ground. As it does so, it draws an upward spark from the ground to meet it, triggering a lightning flash with huge electric currents that transport some of the storm's charge to the ground. These cloud-to-ground channels are what most of us commonly picture when we think of lightning  those vivid forks that strike Earth .

The cloud's the limit

But what factors limit the size of these massive bolts? Researchers have been trying to answer this question for decades. Vertically, the extent of a flash is limited by the height of a storm cloud, or the distance from the ground to its pinnacle, which is about 12 miles (20 km) at its highest.

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But horizontally, an extensive cloud system provides much more room to play with. This is where the heavyweights work their magic.

Related: Why do deserts get so cold at night?

Back in 1956, Myron Ligda, a meteorologist in Texas, used radar to detect a flash spanning more than 100 miles (160 km). At the time, it was recognised as the longest lightning flash ever recorded. Since then, advancements in technology have allowed researchers to measure much larger flashes, and more of them.

In 2007, researchers identified a bolt over Oklahoma that measured 200 miles (322 km) long. But only a decade later, that record was obliterated: In October 2017, clouds above the Midwest released a flash of lightning so huge that it illuminated the skies above Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Spanning more than 310 miles (500 km) across the three states, the jolt was so unprecedented that a group of researchers published a study about it in the journal Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society , describing it as a "megaflash." It was one of the largest lightning flashes ever recorded.

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But even that flash has been surpassed. Auspiciously, on Halloween 2018, a lightning bolt over Brazil was later revealed to have spanned more than 440 miles (709 km). Keeping meteorologists on their toes, the skies broke that record by releasing another behemoth on April 29, 2020  a megaflash that stretched from Texas to Mississippi, covering 477 miles (768 km).

More recently, satellite analysis of a 2017 storm revealed that an even bigger bolt traversed five U.S. states in just seven seconds to set the current record of 515 miles (829 kilometers).

While lightning has traditionally been observed from ground-based systems such as antennae and radar, many of these record-breaking flashes are now recorded using satellites. One of these, called the Geostationary Lightning Mapper , made up of sensors on two satellites orbiting Earth, helped reveal the enormous extent of the lightning flash in October 2017, said MacGorman, who is an author of a study about this former record-breaking flash. "That system responds to the light emitted from a cloud top, so we see the light from the lightning flashes and can then map it, pretty much all over this hemisphere," MacGorman said.

The making of giants

But even with these exciting visual insights, researchers still aren't sure about the precise mechanics that underpin such lengthy electrical illuminations. Cloud size is almost certainly a factor; also required, MacGorman said, are certain "mesoscale processes  large scale wind flows that enable that system to be tied together to persist for a long time."

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With the stage set by these monster clouds, what's actually happening within them? "These megaflashes appear to be like a continuous sequence of discharges in very close succession," said Christopher Emersic, a research fellow who studies thunderstorm electrification at the University of Manchester in the U.K.

Related: What's the coldest place in the universe?

He hypothesizes that if a cloud system is highly charged across a large area, a series of discharges can propagate through it like a line of falling dominoes. "If dominoes are all set up without too big a gap, one triggers another in a large series of topples," Emersic told Live Science. "Otherwise, it 'fails,' and in this case, you'll get only a smaller spatial lightning event rather than a megaflash."

The larger the parent cloud, the more opportunity there is for the discharge to continue propagating  "hence why megaflashes could, in principle, be as large as the parent cloud, should the charge structure be conducive," Emersic said.

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That also means there are likely much bigger flashes out there than we've already seen. "Storms can get larger than [the ones we've measured from]," MacGorman said.

Paired with more sophisticated detection tools, this makes it likely that lightning hunters will go on to find even larger bolts that break current records and increase our awareness of these immense natural feats.

Lightning bolts over a city | Credit: Shutterstock

Cause for concern?

Despite the apocalyptic picture they paint, megaflashes aren't necessarily more dangerous than regular lightning. "A spatially extensive flash doesn't necessarily mean it carries more energy," Emersic said.

related mysteries

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Because the cloud systems from which they originate are so vast, however, megaflash strikes can be difficult to predict. "Such events can often lead to ground strikes far away from the main lightning activity in the convective core," Emersic said. "Someone on the ground could think the storm has passed but be caught by surprise by one of these spatially extensive discharges seemingly from nowhere."

It's also possible that in a warming world, there might be an uptick in the types of storms that give rise to megaflashes, Emersic said. "And so, indirectly, that can make the conditions more likely, thereby increasing their frequency."

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For now, though, megaflashes aren't that common; MacGorman estimates that they make up only about 1% of lightning flashes overall. Nevertheless, researchers like him will go on hunting  and, no doubt, discovering  even bigger behemoths for us to marvel at.

Editor's note: Originally published on Live Science on Dec. 14, 2019, and updated on April 4, 2022 and July 31, 2025 to include new record-breaking lightning strikes.
Need to feel more centered? Take a day trip to the center of Mississippi.

Whether you live in Jackson, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Southaven or Vicksburg, the middle of the Magnolia State is just a short drive away, and there's plenty to do along the way for a fun weekend away or final summer road trip.

Where is the center of Mississippi? Here's what we know.

What is a geographic center?

"The geographic center of an area may be defined as the center of gravity of the surface, or that point on which the surface of an area would balance if it were a plane of uniform thickness," according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

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They noted there's no uniform way to determine it, and the curvature of the Earth, irregular land shapes and more factors could affect the outcomes.

Where is the center of Mississippi?

The center of the state is in Leake County, about 9 miles west-northwest of Carthage, according to USGS.

Carthage calls itself the Center of Mississippi.

More: World Atlas ranks 4 Mississippi lakes as the most snake-filled water in the state

Where is the center of the United States?

Looking for the center of the U.S.? The answer varies.

"No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as the geographic center of either the 50 States, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent," USGS wrote.

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The middle of the lower 48 states and the District of Columbia, according to USGS is close to Lebanon, Kansas in Smith County. The government agency noted that citizens hired engineers to find the country's "geographic center" and built a monument there.

However, a monument was erected in Lebanon, Kansas, by a group of citizens who hired engineers to determine the position of the "geographic center" of the United States.

Include Alaska, and the center shifts to an area near Castle Rock, South Dakota in Butte County.

But if you add Hawaii into the mix, USGS says the center is west of Castle Rock. (Remember, the center is based on the idea of where the land would balance in its middle, and this does not include distance between the non-contiguous states.)

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Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Where is the middle of MS? Geographical center point found here
Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks during the Washington Labor Council convention in Vancouver, Wash. on July 23, 2025. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)

With most jobs, you have to give your boss an idea of where you are and what you are doing during the workday. Gov. Bob Ferguson, who works for the people of Washington state, has not been doing this consistently during his first seven months in office.

Ferguson has mostly abandoned the practice of sending out advisories, letting the press know where he will be and when. The rare calendar updates that do go out are typically incomplete and sometimes arrive after the fact.

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Take, for example, the advisory his office sent for the week of July 14-20. It landed in our inboxes around 1 p.m. on Monday, July 14, and contained information about the governors schedule for one day: Monday, July 14, Orcas Island Day.

The governor was scheduled to attend four meetings and events on the island between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. By the time we received the advisory, start times for three of the four had passed.

Most weeks this summer, the press has received no calendar updates at all.

This was the case last week, when Ferguson attended the Washington State Labor Council convention in Vancouver. His office did not send notice that hed be there. We learned from the Labor Council that hed be making remarks on the main stage.

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A schedule for the governor we later obtained through a public records request showed he also met with union officials representing machinists, Teamsters and electrical workers.

That schedule also included meetings last week with the Quileute and Quinault tribal councils. He posted on social media about attending the opening of a new Quinault Indian Nation building that received funding from the states Climate Commitment Act.

Why does this matter? Washingtonians pay Fergusons $218,744 a year salary. Its not unreasonable to think they should have some window into what hes doing during the week  the events hes turning out for, who hes meeting with. Its a reflection of his priorities.

The handful of public appearances Ferguson has given notice about since the legislative session, and its subsequent flurry of bill signings, wrapped up have often focused on criticizing the president or congressional Republicans.

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Weve covered these events. But the governors responsibilities extend beyond reacting to federal policy.

Even the basics of his whereabouts are often a mystery. Is he working at his office at the Capitol in Olympia, or spending most of his time in Seattle? Has he traveled out of state, leaving the lieutenant governor in charge for a day or two? Much of the time, its difficult to know.

This is why, going forward, well include a new section in our Saturday newsletter, called Wheres the governor? Our goal is to recap some of what we do know each week about what Ferguson has been up to. (You can subscribe to our newsletter here.)

If Ferguson resumes sending out weekly calendars and more frequent advisories about where he will be and when, well distill highlights. If his lack of transparency continues, well keep doing our best to piece together how hes spending his time.

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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

New research to be presented at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (1519 September) suggests that living in a rural environment in the first five years of life could increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes compared with living in urban environments.

The study is by Samy Sebraoui and Professor Soffia Gudbjornsdottir, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disease where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells. This leads to little to no insulin production, a hormone crucial for regulating blood sugar levels. Without sufficient insulin, glucose (sugar) builds up in the bloodstream, causing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

T1D is typically diagnosed in childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood, but can occur at any age. Most people with the condition quickly progress to needing insulin replacement therapy for the rest of their lives.

Sweden has the second highest global incidence of T1D, with geographical variation suggesting environmental risk factors. Previous studies have focused on patient location at diagnosis, and only very few at the time of birth or before clinical diagnoses.

This new study explores T1D incidence in Sweden based on where people have lived over time, following patients from birth to diagnosis to identify high- and low-risk clusters over different life periods.

All patients diagnosed with T1D during 20052022 (ages 030 years) were identified in the Swedish National Diabetes Register. All residential addresses from birth to diagnosis were then identified by Statistics Sweden. Statistical analysis was used to identify significant high- and low-risk clusters.

A technique known as zonal statistics analysis was used to identify the land use / land cover characteristics of all identified clusters for the first five years of life exposure window.

The researchers found that 21,774 patients aged 0 to 30 years were diagnosed with T1D 20052022; 58% were male; and 15,426 (around three quarters) were under 18 years old at diagnosis. The mean age at diagnosis was 13.6 yrs (males 14.1, females 12.9). 24% of patients had relocated to a different municipality from birth to diagnosis.

Based on the residential location of all patients at the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, four significant high-risk clusters were identified, all located centrally in the country (all in the countryside, away from urban centers), where the relative risk of developing T1D was between 30% and 80% higher compared to what would be expected from national averages. No high-risk clusters were observed in people in major cities.

On the contrary, significant low-risk clusters were found in the largest cities, where the risk of developing T1D was found to be 20% to 50% lower (within the largest cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo).

The authors say, "This finding was unexpected and highlights the need for environmental studies to investigate potential risk factors in rural areas, as well as possible protective factors in urban settings. In Sweden, we have access to highly detailed environmental data covering the entire country, providing a unique opportunity to better understand the development of type 1 diabetes."

Then a second analysis, based on the main residential location during the first five years of life (regardless of age of diagnosis), 11 high-risk clusters were identified, all rural, with an increased risk of developing T1D of between 20% and 2.7 times higher compared with national averages.

The northern regions had the highest relative risks. For the same time period, 15 low-risk clusters were observed, all in cities across the country, where the risk of developing T1D was 20% to 88% lower than the national averagethe very lowest risk being found in middle-sized cities in southern Swedenthe cities with the lowest risk being Vaxjo (88% lower); Norrkoping (64% lower) and Halmstad (61% lower).

The land use / land cover analysis conducted by the authors revealed notable differences between high- and low-risk clusters for the first five years of life. High-risk clusters are characterized by land covered by forest or used in agriculture, whereas low-risk clusters are dominated by urban and open land.

The authors say, "There is a clear geographical variation in the incidence of type 1 diabetes in Sweden. The first five years of life exhibited the strongest association with high- and low-risk clustering. Our findings facilitate further research into environmental factors potentially influencing the development of type 1 diabetes.

"We hypothesize that the exposure of environmental factors, predominantly in rural areas and primarily during the first five years of life, elevates the risk for developing type 1 diabetes."

They discuss some possible theories that can be explored in future studies, saying, "Viral infections are more common in early life in urban areas and that could protect a person from future autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes. Living in rural areas could be associated with more exposure, for example, to pesticides and allergens. This is only speculation, but we have very good data to be able to investigate this in detail in future studies."

They conclude, "These findings were previously unknown and unexpectedit was a surprise that living in larger cities came with a lower future risk of type 1 diabetes. We will study in detail different environmental factors that might be protective or increase risk. We will also look into different lifestyles in urban versus rural areas."

Provided by European Association for the Study of Diabetes
Tens of thousands of people across the country, including in Wisconsin, are expected to take the streets this weekend in another protest against the Trump administration, the latest in a series of peaceful demonstrations this summer.

There are at least 400 "Rage Against the Regime" protests planned across the U.S. on Aug. 2, Hunter Dunn, a national spokesperson for the 50501 protest group, told USA TODAY.

Aug. 2 has been deemed another National Day of Action by the group, which has organized past demonstrations against the Trump administration. It also happens to be Vice President JD Vances 41st birthday, though Dunn told USA TODAY most organizers hadnt considered it when setting the date.

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More: 'Rage Against the Regime' protests planned against Trump

Here's what Wisconsinites should know:

What are 'Rage Against the Regime' demonstrations protesting?

Organized by the 50501 protest group, the demonstrations are a "mass mobilization" concerning the "collective rage" against the Trump administration, according to a Facebook post.

In particular, USA TODAY reported demonstrations are focusing on the administration's immigration enforcement, dismantling of government programs and agencies, bans on gender-affirming care and its refusal to release more information on Jeffrey Epstein.

"People dont know what to do with their rage," Dunn told USA TODAY. "Lets give them something productive."

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You can find out more information on the movement's website at https://www.rageagainsttheregime.org/.

Where are 'Rage Against the Regime' protests in Milwaukee?

In the Milwaukee area, protests will be held at Estabrook Park, 4400 N. Estabrook Drive, and Humboldt Park, 3000 S. Howell Ave. Demonstrations will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and donations will also be accepted for school supplies drives at both sites.

You can find a full list of locations at https://www.rageagainsttheregime.org/.

Eduardo Cuevas of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

More: Group run by billionaire Elon Musk spent more than $47 million in the first half of the year

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Rage Against the Regime' anti-Trump protests planned in Milwaukee
A technician works among a fleet of desktop genomic sequencing machines at the Cancer Genomics Research Laboratory, part of the National Cancer Institute. (Photo by Daniel Sone/National Cancer Institute)

The worlds leading manufacturer of DNA sequencing systems will pay $9.8 million to resolve allegations that it knowingly sold products with security vulnerabilities to federal agencies, Rhode Islands Acting U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced Thursday.

The settlement avoids a lengthy court battle for biotech manufacturer Illumina by ending a 2023 suit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island by whistleblower Erica Lenore, a former platform management director at the San Diego company who raised concerns about product security and was eventually let go.

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The $9.8 million settlement allocates $1.9 million to Lenore for initiating the suit and cooperating with federal agencies. Another $4.3 million is specifically labeled as restitution for the government. The company also needs to pay 4.33% interest on the settlement money, backdated to March 2025.

The settlement text does not specify how the remaining funds are broken down. The court case, which has now been dismissed and unsealed, rested upon the False Claims Act, which allows for prosecution of people and companies who knowingly defraud the government. False Claims settlements typically include money for other penalties or court fees.

The settlement resolves the governments civil allegations, and the government has not filed any criminal charges against Illumina, although the settlement allows for future legal action. A separate agreement settles Lenores personal civil claims.

According to the 2023 court filing, Rhode Islands federal court was eligible for jurisdiction over the case because of a research initiative at the University of Rhode Island  the Rhode Island IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence  that is funded in part by National Institutes of Health grants and used Illumina equipment.

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The lawsuit says that university researchers used the companys MiSeq line, which was recalled in 2023 over cybersecurity concerns.

Thursdays settlement was obtained through a joint effort by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Rhode Island, and the Justice Departments Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch and Fraud Section, with additional assistance from other federal investigators.

Among the federal agencies that purchased and used vulnerable Illumina products from 2016 to 2023 were the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, the Interior, Energy, Commerce and Veterans Affairs, as well as the Smithsonian, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Since 2001, Illumina has received $530 million in direct federal funding, with $43 million in 2022 alone, according to court documents. It also receives pass-through money via Medicare reimbursements, as clinical labs use Illumina systems for genetic testing.

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The security issues in Illuminas products allowed thousands of Illumina insiders and everyday users of its products the ability to access and manipulate HIPAA-protected patient genomic data including test results and to do so without detection, the suit argued.

Christine Douglass, a spokesperson for Illumina, shared a statement via email Thursday that denied the allegations. The company settled, Douglass wrote, to forego the uncertainty, expense, and distraction of litigation. As part of the settlement, it did not admit any wrongdoing.

Government agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are important customers and Illumina values these relationships, Douglass said. Illumina takes data security seriously and has invested significantly in its programs to align with cybersecurity best practices for the development and deployment of our products. We are pleased to put this matter behind us.

Douglass said that Illumina successfully remediated security issues for its customers from 2022 to 2024.

The exterior of U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island building is seen undergoing construction in downtown Providence on July 24, 2025. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

What the lawsuit says

The 72-page lawsuit explains that Illumina is the only servicer for its products, like the MiniSeq and NextSeq, both of which are named in the suit. Because Illumina is the only servicer for its products across their lifecycle, the company needs to contract with government agencies to provide maintenance as needed.

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The lawsuit alleged these government contracts were violated when it was discovered that Illumina had been selling products with unaddressed security holes, such as human-readable passwords coded into software.

Illumina improperly hard-coded credentials used to access confidential patient genomic data stored in the cloud, allowing everyday users to see the login information in plain text, the lawsuit alleged.

Another vulnerability involved software that was too liberal with elevated privileges for user accounts. That meant that thousands of everyday users, could exert considerable control over Illumina systems.

Illumina has improperly allowed elevated privileges to users running genetic tests on Illumina products that are connected to an open network, the suit reads. These users include everyone  research assistants, third-party vendors, laboratory technicians, scientists, clinical investigators, engineers, and research and development staff  individuals who have no need for access to confidential and HIPAA-protected patient data including genomic test results.

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Federal prosecutors strengthened their case for False Claims Act liability with several eyebrow-raising examples that the company was verifying compliance with government standards while knowing otherwise. In 2022, Illumina initiated a product recall only after its customer, the pharmaceutical giant Roche, informed it of a vulnerability in its sequencing software. Roche routinely tests software and hardware it uses for security flaws, but according to prosecutors, Illumina had not performed its own testing on the product in question.

The lawsuit says that, in another instance, an internal Illumina report noted that a product it was about to launch could most likely be hacked by a disgruntled ex- or current staff member, with access to the [local] network. Illumina launched the product three days later and did not disclose the security concerns to the feds.

Lumina did recall products multiple times, but the court complaint calls some of these efforts a half-truth, as Illumina allowed different products with the same vulnerabilities to stay on the market.

The company, which made $4.372 billion last year, accounts for about 80% market share of the genomic sequencing industry. Their products are used in research, medicine, and commercial gene testing.

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Illuminas cybersecurity failures have been driven by its singular goal to maintain its dominant market presence, the complaint reads. When faced with customer complaints related to the accessibility of data in its products, Illumina took fatal shortcuts.

Whistleblower Lenore  described in the complaint as a respected professional in the field of life sciences technologies and was hired by Illumina to oversee all of Illuminas on-market products  noticed some of these shortcuts during her time at the company, during which she balanced overlapping roles in product management.

Lenore became concerned about security issues that popped up and repeatedly brought her concerns to higher-ups, but was ignored, reprimanded, marginalized, and retaliated against by Illumina. Lenore ultimately lost her job in what the company called a restructuring, the lawsuit reads.

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The Trump administration said Thursday that construction on a new White House ballroom will begin this fall.

For 150 years, Presidents, Administrations, and White House Staff have longed for a large event space on the White House complex that can hold substantially more guests than currently allowed. President Donald J. Trump has expressed his commitment to solving this problem on behalf of future Administrations and the American people, read a statement from the White House.

What we know about the construction of the new ballroom

Construction is set to begin this September, and on Thursday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that it will be completed long before the end of President Trumps term.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up photos of the planned new White House ballroom during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Thursday, July 31, 2025. | Mark Schiefelbein

This new ballroom will be approximately 90,000 square feet, with a seated capacity of 650 people. This is a significant increase from the East Room of the White House, which has a 200-person seated capacity.

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The White House State Ballroom will be a much-needed and exquisite addition, reads the statement.

Leading up to the start of construction, Trump met with members of White House staff, the National Park Service, the U.S. Secret Service and the White House Military Office to discuss design features.

McCrery Architects has been chosen as the lead architects for the project.

I am honored that President Trump has entrusted me to help bring this beautiful and necessary renovation to The Peoples House, while preserving the elegance of its classical design and historical importance, said CEO Jim McCrery, according to the statement from the White House.

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Clark Construction will lead the construction team and the engineering team will be led by AECOM.

Where will the new ballroom be located?

The new White House ballroom will be separated from the main building of the White House, but its theme and architectural heritage will be almost identical, according to the statement from the White House.

A rendering provided by the White House shows plans for a new ballroom. | The White House

It will be located where the small, heavily changed and reconstructed East Wing currently sits.

Leavitt said that the necessary construction will take place on the East Wing in order to make room for the new ballroom. She added that those who are housed in the East Wing, such as the Office of the First Lady, will be temporarily relocated while the wing is being renovated.

How much will this ballroom cost?

The White Houses statement said that approximately $200 million will be needed to build the structure.

Trump and other donors have committed to donating the necessary funds.
A Portuguese island that once relied almost exclusively on expensive diesel fuel shipments to keep the lights on now runs entirely on wind and solar power for nearly half the year. Graciosa didnt just change its energy mix, it rewrote the playbook for whats possible, earning Graciosa Hybrid Renewable Power Plant POWERs 2025 Distributed Energy Award. In the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, roughly 1,000 miles from mainland Portugal, sits Graciosaa volcanic island barely 24 square miles in size that locals call the White Island for its distinctive pale volcanic landscapes. Home to about 4,300 residents scattered across fishing villages and farming communities, Graciosa represents one of countless remote islands worldwide that face a fundamental challenge: how to power modern life when surrounded by nothing but ocean. For decades, the answer was diesel fuel shipped in by tanker, an expensive and precarious lifeline that made electricity costs high and left the island vulnerable to supply disruptions. Located 31 miles northwest of its nearest neighbor, Terceira Island, Graciosa existed in the energy paradigm that has defined isolated communities for decadesnear total dependence on imported fossil fuels, with all the economic and environmental costs that entails. The islands geographic beauty, dominated by a central volcanic caldera (see opening image) and surrounded by sandy beaches, belied a harsh economic realityenergy security was always just one delayed fuel shipment away from crisis. Yet, this same isolation that made Graciosa energy-vulnerable also blessed it with something invaluableconsistent Atlantic winds. What the islands residents found was their remote location, long seen as a disadvantage, has become the foundation for an energy revolution that would transform not just their own lives, but serve as a blueprint for isolated communities around the world.

Hybrid Power Plant a Game-Changer

The Graciosa Hybrid Renewable Power Plant enables 1 MW of solar, 4.5 MW of wind power, and a 6-MW/3.2-MWh energy storage system to be supplied to the local grid. The hybrid renewable power plant is managed by Wartsila Energy Storages GEMS Digital Energy Platform. GEMS enables the island to achieve an integrated power system that combines renewables, engines, and energy storage to deliver economic, reliability, and environmental benefits. The GEMS platform uses artificial intelligence and data to control and balance multiple energy assets, automatically optimizing energy generation based on load patterns and weather forecasts, increasing the use of renewable energy, and decreasing the cost of diesel power generation while improving the reliability of the islands energy grid. The system has significantly reduced reliance on costly diesel fuel, eliminating the need for an estimated 17,000 liters of diesel per month, Luke Witmer, director of Data Science with Wartsila Energy Storage, told POWER. This has translated into lower operational costs for Graciolica Lda [owner and operator of the hybrid power plant] and the local utility, EDA, which ultimately benefits ratepayers. The island now has a more resilient, cost-effective system that reduces long-term exposure to fossil fuel price volatility and power outages, he said. Weather forecasting is critical. GEMS integrates third-party forecast data and pairs it with proprietary algorithms to generate highly accurate predictions. Forecast accuracy directly impacts decisions such as battery charge timing or when to pre-emptively start engines. Even small deviations in expected wind speeds can affect how much reserve margin is held, Witmer explained. As such, highly accurate weather forecasts are key to maximizing renewable penetration. GEMS leverages advanced forecasting and artificial intelligence to continuously analyze conditions such as grid demand, weather patterns, asset status, and market prices to make informed real-time decisions. On a typical day, GEMS starts by ingesting load and weather forecasts, then schedules and adjusts asset dispatch to optimize renewable energy usage. Throughout the day, it monitors fluctuations in solar irradiance or wind speeds and makes rapid adjustments to maintain grid stability, such as charging or discharging the battery, curtailing renewables when needed, or bringing engines online. The primary technical challenge for project developers was achieving seamless real-time coordination between intermittent renewable sources and thermal generation within the constraints of an islanded grid. Unlike mainland systems with larger balancing resources, Graciosas system requires extremely precise control of every assetsolar, wind, diesel, and battery storageto ensure both reliability and efficiency, said Witmer. Integrating these components under Wartsilas GEMS Digital Energy Platform allows for both individual asset control as well as system balancing to maximize renewable energy penetration.

A Model for Others to Emulate

The Graciosa Hybrid Renewable Power Plant (Figure 1) is highly scalable for other islands and off-grid environments. The same architecturerenewables, storage, thermal backup, and intelligent controlscan be expanded for larger regions or adapted to other geographies. GEMS is asset-agnostic and can manage everything from microgrids to multi-GWh utility-scale portfolios, making it applicable for small islands, remote mining towns, or mainland grids, asserted Witmer.

1. The Graciosa Hybrid Renewable Power Plant incorporates solar, wind, and energy storage resources. Courtesy: Graciolica Lda

The results have been compelling. Graciosa is a global benchmark. It is among the first to achieve over 60% annual renewable penetration without hydro or geothermal sources. It also serves as a rare example of sustained operation with 100% renewables for days at a time, said Witmer. In 2024, Graciolica achieved an annual average renewable penetration of 61% and a total of 139 days operating with only renewables. The potential is real and accelerating. With declining costs, technology innovations, and supportive policies, Witmer believes islands can feasibly eliminate fossil fuels entirely within the next decade. Meanwhile, additional machine learning enhancements for renewable power forecasts and load forecasts, as well as a probabilistic decision-making solution, are currently in development for Wartsila Energy Storages GEMS island solution. These enhancements, which have already been implemented in grid-connected hybrid projects, aim to improve accuracy and efficiency in energy management on islands even further.

Improved Designs Are Available Today

The core foundations of the Graciosa projectspecifically the hybrid integration of renewables, energy storage, engines, and real-time optimization through the GEMS Digital Energy Platform (Figure 2)remain highly applicable today, according to Witmer. However, since the commissioning of this project, Wartsila Energy Storage has introduced a new generation of energy storage hardware that offers significant advantages depending on the specific requirements of a project.

2. GEMS controls and optimization software gives users deep visibility across their systems, unlocking more accurate real-time decision-making. Courtesy: Wartsila

For example, Quantum High Energy utilizes higher-capacity battery cells to deliver approximately 9% more energy density than previous versions. This is particularly useful for island projects where land is limited and maximizing storage within a compact footprint is crucial, Witmer explained. Wartsila Energy Storage also introduced Quantum2, a containerized, plug-and-play solution designed for faster installation. Its robust, weather- and seismic-resilient construction makes it ideal for remote or logistically complex locations. Most recently, Wartsila Energy Storage launched Quantum3, which incorporates string inverters and an in-house battery management system for improved control, lower noise, enhanced cybersecurity, and a reduced environmental footprint. This project marked a significant milestone in our strategy for remote and islanded energy systems. As the leading pilot project, it has become a cornerstone, demonstrating the future of integrated energy solutions for these unique power scenarios, Witmer reported. Specifically, it was the first project to combine grid-forming battery inverters, co-optimized hybrid asset control, load forecasting, renewable forecasting, and engine control into a single, harmonized control platform, he said. This innovative integration has enabled more reliable and efficient energy management for remote and islanded systems. This foundational work paved the way for some of Wartsilas most advanced projects, which are now actively contributing to decarbonization efforts across the globe.

Aaron Larson is POWERs executive editor.
House Majority Leader Alex Riley speaks April 10 at a news conference in the Missouri House (Photo by Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications).

The possibility of a whites-only organization from Arkansas expanding into Missouri has inspired bipartisan outrage from state lawmakers and local officials who decry the group as racist and antisemitic.

The private membership association, called Return to the Land, owns 160 acres in northeast Arkansas, according to its website. Jews and non-whites are explicitly banned from membership.

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The groups leader recently said it is exploring the idea of expanding north and building a new enclave in the Springfield area.

We have the God-given right to form communities according to whatever values we hold dear, Eric Orwoll, co-founder of Return to the Land, said in a recent social media post, and the government does not have the right to tell free American citizens what values they have to live according to in their own private lives.

The idea of a segregated community coming to southwest Missouri was greeted with scorn by both Democratic and Republican legislative leaders from the area.

Racism in any form is evil and reprehensible, said House Majority Leader Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican. Groups engaging in racist conduct are not welcome in Springfield.

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State Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Springfield Democrat, said history has been very clear on what happens when you stay silent as groups discriminate based on race and discriminate based on whether or not someone is of the Jewish faith. I cannot believe that in 2025 we are retreading this ground.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said racial discrimination has no place in Missouri.

Attorney General Bailey is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all citizens, the statement said. The landmark Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer, which originated in St. Louis, made clear that government cannot enforce racially discriminatory housing practices, and Missouri will not tolerate efforts to revive them.

The Springfield City Council and City Manager David Cameron issued a joint statement this week declaring that there is no place in Springfield, or anywhere, for such a divisive and discriminatory vision.

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While it is improbable that such a project could legally or practically occur within city limits, silence is not an option, the statement said. As a regional leader, we will not stand idly by in the face of attempts to revive outdated, harmful ideologies.

On its website, Return to the Land its mission is to separate ourselves from a failing modern society, and we will make positive cultural changes in ourselves and in our ancestral communities.

It also includes a disclaimer that the group does not engage in the sale or rental of real estate.

Orwoll responded to criticism from Springfield elected officials in his social media post, denying that excluding people of color and Jews should be considered racist.

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We are not a hate group, he said. We have never expressed hate towards any ethnic group, racial group or religious group.

He took umbrage with Fogle calling the group racist, saying: She wants to call us racists because we prefer being among our own people.

Its not a supremacist group. Its not a hate group. Its not even a white nationalist group, he said. We are white identitarians. We value our identity and want to preserve it. Thats not hate. That is love for your own people.

Fogle, who was among the first public officials to condemn Return to the Lands possible expansion to Missouri, said she has been inundated with pretty horrific messages and pretty horrific responses on social media.

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But she said she has no intention of being silent.

Its my job to make sure Im using my platform to communicate that theres no place in Springfield, no place in Missouri, no place in this country for a group who is intentionally leaving behind people who have a different skin color or intentionally leaving behind people of the Jewish faith, she said. And I would expect every elected official at every level to use their platform to see the same things.

Across the state line, the group also drew the ire of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

The Republican announced his office would open an investigation of the group to ensure its activities didnt violate state or federal law. That probe, Griffin said in an email to The Independent, has not turned up any illegal activity.

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Racism has no place in a free society, he said, but from a legal perspective, we have not seen anything that would indicate any state or federal laws have been broken.

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MISSOURI INDEPENDENT  The possibility of a whites-only organization from Arkansas expanding into Missouri has inspired bipartisan outrage from state lawmakers and local officials who decry the group as racist and antisemitic.

The private membership association, called Return to the Land, owns 160 acres in northeast Arkansas, according to its website. Jews and non-whites are explicitly banned from membership.

A whites-only community could be coming to Missouri

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The groups leader recently said it is exploring the idea of expanding north and building a new enclave in the Springfield area.

We have the God-given right to form communities according to whatever values we hold dear, Eric Orwoll, co-founder of Return to the Land, said in a recent social media post, and the government does not have the right to tell free American citizens what values they have to live according to in their own private lives.

The idea of a segregated community coming to southwest Missouri was greeted with scorn by both Democratic and Republican legislative leaders from the area.

Racism in any form is evil and reprehensible, said House Majority Leader Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican. Groups engaging in racist conduct are not welcome in Springfield.

Advertisement Advertisement

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State Rep. Betsy Fogle, a Springfield Democrat, said history has been very clear on what happens when you stay silent as groups discriminate based on race and discriminate based on whether or not someone is of the Jewish faith. I cannot believe that in 2025 we are retreading this ground.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said racial discrimination has no place in Missouri.

Attorney General Bailey is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all citizens, the statement said. The landmark Supreme Court case Shelley v. Kraemer, which originated in St. Louis, made clear that government cannot enforce racially discriminatory housing practices, and Missouri will not tolerate efforts to revive them.

The Springfield City Council and City Manager David Cameron issued a joint statement this week declaring that there is no place in Springfield, or anywhere, for such a divisive and discriminatory vision.

Advertisement Advertisement

Advertisement Advertisement

While it is improbable that such a project could legally or practically occur within city limits, silence is not an option, the statement said. As a regional leader, we will not stand idly by in the face of attempts to revive outdated, harmful ideologies.

On its website, Return to the Land its mission is to separate ourselves from a failing modern society, and we will make positive cultural changes in ourselves and in our ancestral communities.

It also includes a disclaimer that the group does not engage in the sale or rental of real estate.

Orwoll responded to criticism from Springfield elected officials in his social media post, denying that excluding people of color and Jews should be considered racist.

Advertisement Advertisement

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We are not a hate group, he said. We have never expressed hate towards any ethnic group, racial group or religious group.

He took umbrage with Fogle calling the group racist, saying: She wants to call us racists because we prefer being among our own people.

Its not a supremacist group. Its not a hate group. Its not even a white nationalist group, he said. We are white identitarians. We value our identity and want to preserve it. Thats not hate. That is love for your own people.

Fogle, who was among the first public officials to condemn Return to the Lands possible expansion to Missouri, said she has been inundated with pretty horrific messages and pretty horrific responses on social media.

Advertisement Advertisement

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But she said she has no intention of being silent.

Its my job to make sure Im using my platform to communicate that theres no place in Springfield, no place in Missouri, no place in this country for a group who is intentionally leaving behind people who have a different skin color or intentionally leaving behind people of the Jewish faith, she said. And I would expect every elected official at every level to use their platform to see the same things.

Across the state line, the group also drew the ire of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

The Republican announced his office would open an investigation of the group to ensure its activities didnt violate state or federal law. That probe, Griffin said in an email to The Independent, has not turned up any illegal activity.

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Racism has no place in a free society, he said, but from a legal perspective, we have not seen anything that would indicate any state or federal laws have been broken.

This story was updated after publication with a quote from the Missouri Attorney Generals Office.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com.
How is it that Palestinian children in Gaza are starving and emaciated, while the adults cradling them appear reasonably healthy?

The question is circulating widely on social media  often to imply that parents of starving children are hoarding food, or even that the images of starvation coming from Gaza are staged or fabricated.

But the answer is horribly simple, say doctors: children are smaller and have less energy reserves to draw on when food runs out. The result is that they starve - and die - much faster than adults.

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Without food, a child will be gone within a fortnight or so. An adult can last between 40 to 70 days, Dr Andrew Prentice, Professor of international nutrition at the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine in The Gambia told The Telegraph.

Metabolically, the adults [in Gaza] will already be in real trouble too. Theyll be on the way to losing a lot more weight, and themselves become skeletal, but it is just so much quicker in the children, Prof Prentice added.

A child outside the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on July 31 - BASHAR TALEB/AFP

One in three people in Gaza - about 420,000 people - are going days at a time without food, while one in five are estimated to be at risk of starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Dr Muhammed Al-Deeb Palestine Red Crescent Society doctor at Al Quds Hospital in Gaza City, told The Telegraph: Children are suffering from severe malnutrition, and they are in need for food supplements, and they need the essential foods for them. They get dizzy, they get tired, they get drowsy, they get malnourished. We have received a lot of cases such as this who are suffering from severe malnutrition and even sometimes collapse in the street because of their malnutrition.

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Between March and June, just 56,000 tonnes of food entered the territory, less than a quarter of Gazas minimum needs and equivalent to around 810 calories per person per day: an intake on par with what prisoners in Auschwitz were fed in World War Two, according to historical estimates.

At the time of writing, the total death toll from malnutrition since October 2023 is 154, amongst them 89 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

More than half of those deaths  86  have occurred in the last 11 days.

Starvation takes time, but can accelerate very rapidly in children, experts say.

When a person eats less than they need, the body doesnt immediately start shutting down but wastes away gradually.

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In the first 24 hours with little or no food, the body relies on a form of stored sugar called glycogen, which is kept in the liver.

Once that sugar runs out  usually within a day  the body begins to burn fat for energy.

In adults, this transition can take longer because they tend to have slower metabolisms and larger energy reserves.

But in babies and young children, the switch happens much faster. Their bodies burn through energy more rapidly. Thats because, relative to their size, children require far more calories than adults just to stay alive.

A baby, for example, needs around four times as many calories per kilogram of body weight as an adult, according to Dr Prentice.

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Their organs, especially the brain and heart, are still developing and consume a disproportionately large amount of energy.

This means that when food disappears, children reach critical levels of starvation much sooner than adults, because their bodies are far less equipped to withstand its absence.

Prof Prentice describes children as a bundle of metabolic activity  their bodies are constantly working and need steady fuel to function.

Once a persons fat stores are used up, the body enters a dangerous phase: it starts breaking down muscle and organ tissue to make fuel.

At that point, the body is cannibalising itself to survive. Muscles shrink, and critical organs like the liver and kidneys start to deteriorate.

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Thats when things start to become really serious, says Prof Prentice.

A child leaves the GHF aid distribution center after receiving aid package in Rafah - Anadolu/Getty Images

Children are especially vulnerable because their bodies are made up of much less muscle than adults  only about 15 per cent, compared to 45 per cent  so they have less to fall back on when starvation sets in.

If you have 45 percent muscle, it will take a lot more time to reach starvation. If you only have 15 percent, very quickly  in two or three weeks without enough food  your body reaches starvation mode, said Alexandra Rutishauser-Perera, Director of Nutrition and Health at the NGO Action Against Hunger.

This advanced stage of malnutrition is what we are now seeing in Gaza, experts say.

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At this point, any morsel of energy obtained through food is immediately diverted to the vital organs in a desperate attempt to keep them functioningwhile virtually every other system in the body begins to shut down.

Muscles have significantly atrophied, leaving the arms and legs skeletal, with bones  ribs, shoulders, hips  clearly visible beneath thinning skin.

Faces appear gaunt, with sunken eyes and hollow cheeks.

The skin becomes dry, flaky, and discoloured, often bruising easily and healing slowly.

Hair turns brittle and dull, frequently falling out, while fine body hair may develop as the body struggles to retain heat.

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Despite the visible wasting, fluid retention caused by a lack of protein can lead to swelling in the feet, ankles, or tummy.

Many Telegraph readers will remember similar images of small children with large, protruding bellies trickling out from Biafara in the 1960s and Ethiopia in the 1980s.

People feel constantly cold; with the thyroid suppressed and fat stores gone, the body no longer generates enough heat.

Movement becomes slow and exhausting, even basic tasks may be impossible, and mental fog, apathy, or confusion set in.

Some will start to hallucinate, say experts.

If death doesnt come from heart failure, it often results from infection  something as simple as a cold or skin wound  because the immune system has collapsed beyond repair.

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Naziha El Moussaoui, Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihoods advisor, British Red Cross said:The trickle of aid reaching Gaza is nowhere near enough to address the scale of suffering. This is not just a crisis for today, its a crisis for generations to come.

Malnutrition weakens the immune system, leaving people - especially the most vulnerable - unable to fight off disease and infection. The long-term effects will echo far into the future. Without immediate and sustained humanitarian assistance, we risk impacting not only this generation but the next. With chronic malnutrition comes longer term health impacts which can be irreversible in children. This includes impacts on brain development, stunted growth, and organ functioning. We need a sustained flood of support  not just to save lives today, but to safeguard the future of entire communities.

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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (WJW)  New video released to the FOX 8 I-Team exposes yet another investigation swirling around the mayor of Cleveland Heights.

The video shows why police questioned the mayors wife about going into someones home.

So, we pressed Mayor Khalil Seren about a series of investigations.

We obtained video from the Cleveland Heights Law Department showing part of an investigation into a claim that the mayors wife walked into a strangers home.

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Local mayor says wife being falsely accused

The mayor said his wife simply stopped to ask about a home contractor working there.

But, a police report shows an officer told the mayors wife about security video, saying, it shows you opening the door and stepping in.

In one video clip, she appears to let herself into the home.

Police dont just show up unless theyre called, correct? we asked the mayor.

She walks up to the door and knocks on the door, and the door begins to swing open. She reaches in and closes the door. So, she leaves the property, he said.

In the video Cleveland Heights gave us, you dont see the mayors wife knock or yell to ask if anyones home. Shes out of view for 17 seconds.

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Cleveland Heights police were called to the home by a man who said he wanted to press charges. Due to a potential conflict of interest, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office is now reviewing the matter.

Have you talked to the homeowner? we also asked the mayor. The allegations are she went into the house.

Seren said he had not spoken to the homeowners, but he added that, no crime was committed.

The mayor has also recently made headlines for city hall security video that captured him going into the law department when city hall was closed.

Weve also learned the Cuyahoga County Sheriffs Department is investigating the questions surrounding the mayor walking through city hall after hours and going into the law department. So, we also asked about that.

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There are a variety of reasons why I go into the law department, both during and after business hours, he said.

Amid Guardians investigation, DeWine calls for end to sports prop bets in Ohio

Heres yet another incident that, you know, goes to the chaos of this administration, activist James Bates reacted.

Bates has been active in the push to have the mayor removed from office. A vote on that is set for September.

Back to the mayors wife suspected of entering a strangers home, a police report shows she even took a picture of a sign there supporting the recall.

Meanwhile, the I-Team also has been fighting in court to force Cleveland Heights to release police video of an earlier encounter the mayors wife had with police at city hall.

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Why are you spending so much time and public money fighting these daily battles that have nothing to do with the daily lives of most people of Cleveland Heights? we asked the mayor.

Im constantly engaged in activities to substantially and substantively improve the lives of Cleveland Heights residents, he responded.

The police report shows the investigation into the mayors wife at that house could lead to a criminal trespassing charge.

As for the investigation into the mayor and the law department, that could end up going to a grand jury.

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Former Democratic Texas Congressman Beto O'Rourke, who ran for president in 2020, is scheduled to hold a town hall at the Stutz in Indianapolis on Aug. 3.

O'Rourke's Indianapolis stop is part of a series of "community conversations" across the country hosted by his voter organization group Powered by People. Recent events have included his home state of Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

A press release for the event describes the Aug. 3 event in Indianapolis as "an opportunity for members of the community to ask questions about state and federal issues while joining their neighbors in a conversation about Americas future." O'Rourke's town hall will be held at VisionLoft Stutz at 3 p.m. The event is free, but people interested in attending the town hall are encouraged to RSVP at poweredxpeople.org.

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O'Rourke gained national recognition for his three high-profile campaigns: In 2018 challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, in 2020 for the Democratic presidential nomination and in 2022 for Texas governor against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. O'Rourke lost all three of those contests, but has hinted at another run for office ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

The Indianapolis visit will be O'Rourke's second time speaking in Indiana. During his 2020 presidential campaign, O'Rourke held a town hall in Gary.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Beto O'Rourke to hold town hall at the Stutz in Indianapolis
Ghislaine Maxwell has been moved to a minimum-security prison amid speculations that Donald Trump might pressure the Epstein co-conspirator to clear his name.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Maxwell had been moved to the Federal Prison Camp Bryan, a women-only, minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas. She had previously been held at FCI Tallashassee, a low-security facility in Florida.

Just 24 hours earlier, a Trump administration official told CNN that the government had no such plans to go easy on Maxwell. No leniency is being given or discussed. Thats just false, the official said. The president himself has said that clemency for Maxwell is not something he is even thinking about at this time.

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Maxwells sudden move arrives amid swirling rumors that the president may try to offer her a presidential pardon in exchange for helping him disperse the heightened scrutiny over his numerous mentions in the Epstein files, which the government had coincidentally decided not to release.

The family of Virginia Giuffre, the former Trump employee who claimed she was recruited by Maxwell at 16 to travel with the convicted sex offender, previously warned against giving Maxwell leniency and blasted Maxwells favorable treatment in a Friday statement.

It is with horror and outrage that we object to the preferential treatment convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has received. Ghislaine Maxwell is a sexual predator who physically assaulted minor children on multiple occasions, and she should never be shown any leniency. Yet, without any notification to the Maxwell victims, the government overnight has moved Maxwell to a minimum security luxury prison in Texas. This is the justice system failing victims right before our eyes. The American public should be enraged by the preferential treatment being given to a pedophile and a criminally charged child sex offender. The Trump administration should not credit a word Maxwell says, as the government itself sought charges against Maxwell for being a serial liar. This move smacks of a cover up. The victims deserve better.

Earlier this week, the president claimed that Epstein stole Giuffre, sparking widespread outrage and inviting even more questions about whether he had been aware of his old friends alleged sex trafficking.

Other high-profile inmates at the Maxwells new digs in the Lone Star State include fake-blood extractor Elizabeth Holmes and Jen Shah of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City infamy.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE)  Its prime time right now for one of New Mexicos big creepy crawly insects, and experts say theres a stronger chance you might see a tarantula this year. Tarantulas are in the middle of mating season right now, and experts said the wet summer in some parts of New Mexico is bringing more out.

Story continues below

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New Mexico State Universitys bug experts said its been a banner year for the conditions tarantulas thrive in, with twice the amount of moisture this year compared to last. They indirectly like moisture because plants are growing, so that means more insects and more food for them, Director of NMSU Arthropod Collection Scott Bundy said. And then also softer ground makes it easier for them to dig in the burrows.

Now heading into August, New Mexicans are far more likely to see males traveling around the state to find females to mate with, something that should last into mid-fall. You can see multiples at the same time, so thats why theres the tendency to call it a migration because it seems like theyre lining up to go to the same place, Bundy said.

Tarantulas pose no threat to humans, so if you see one, experts say you should leave it alone. They dont have venom that can hurt you, Bundy said. They have big fangs, so if they bite you, it would hurt. But its not life-threatening. They do have hairs that, if you bother them, theyll release some hairs that are spiny like cactus spines, so they can irritate your skin.

They eat insects and generally stay away from houses. But you might see their burrows in your yards, especially around evening hours.

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Female tarantulas live 20-30 years, while the migrating males only live to be about two. They can grow to about five to six inches. You can see them in metro areas, Bundy said. But most commonly theyll be out on old highways or out on trails.

NMSU said last year they got reports of large numbers of tarantulas in Santa Fe and southern New Mexico.

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Faisals view

In a historic move at the United Nations, Arab and European powers rejected Hamas and backed a path to a two-state solution. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, the UK, and others called on Hamas to disarm and cede Gazas governance to the Palestinian Authority. This can open a rare window for diplomacy, and its one that could benefit Washington and Tel Aviv.

The diplomatic breakthrough  with France committing to recognize Palestine and co-hosting a UN conference with Saudi Arabia  and the global backlash against the shocking images of starvation and suffering in Gaza, marks a turning point. Arab states are now publicly condemning Hamas violence and calling for an end to its control of Gaza, a shift from their previous positions. If Hamas relinquishes power, countries like Canada and the UK will join in supporting Palestinian statehood.

For Washington, the Saudi-French diplomatic initiative fits within American strategic interests and offers a route out of perpetual conflict. It could help stabilize the region, reducing the need for US military involvement. It aligns with Saudi and Arab efforts for regional stability and economic development. And it offers Israel long-term security guarantees, if its willing to abandon demands from its far right to annex the West Bank, alongside other maximalist positions.

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A viable two-state solution isnt just idealistic  its pragmatic. It addresses grievances, curbs extremism, and builds the framework for a prosperous, cooperative Middle East. And it doesnt reward Hamas, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims.

The Israeli press has documented and continues to question Netanyahus role  and long term policy  in propping up Hamas prior to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in order to weaken and divide Palestinians. Those questions and legal inquiries he faces are said to make him reluctant to end the war. He may not be serious about peace negotiations, but the world is ready to move forward and many Israelis see no alternative.

Hamas has no role in the future of Palestine. The fact that Arab countries are unified on that, and the measured approach taken by Arab and European countries should be applauded, not dismissed. This is a rare moment of consensus that might bring hope to a region long plagued by despair, if the US and Israel decide to engage.

Notable
A long-brewing division became public this past week when Gov. Kelly Ayotte paused the nomination of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) Commissioner Taylor Caswell to a third term.

Three of the four Republicans on the Executive Council made it clear that they would not vote to approve his reappointment as the states top business recruiter.

Supporters of Caswell see a high-energy administrator with more than three decades of private- and public-sector experience who is dedicated to keeping New Hampshire ahead of the curve, attracting new or expanded business during a time of great economic uncertainty.

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Opponents, however, see a bureaucrat who has become too much of a perfectionist while not keeping top of mind his works impact on taxpayers and regions struggling hardest to compete in a global market.

The controversy marks Ayottes first significant personnel setback. But Morgan Hughes, Ayottes director of appointments, echoed her bosss determination to win over the detractors.

Commissioner Caswell has received widespread support from his colleagues at BEA, our business community, and community leaders from across New Hampshire, Hughes wrote. The commissioner has Governor Ayottes full confidence and support to continue serving the state of New Hampshire.

There is still time

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Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye, said John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Area Chamber and chair of the N.H. Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, told her that he was livid at the councils opposition to Caswell.

John was beside himself, like many of us. I was shocked to learn his name had been withdrawn. There is still time to retain Taylor Caswell and we have to, Stevens said in an interview.

Janet Stevens

Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, R-Rye

Ayotte has privately told councilors of her concerns about making a change in BEA leadership given the challenges facing the nations economy.

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This past week, Caswell said entries from Canada into New Hampshire were down 30% and there remains plenty of anxiety in the business community about looming tariffs from the Trump administration.

This is not the time to make a dramatic change like this. It is such a stressful period for business owners in New Hampshire, Stevens said.

A new governor usually gets a honeymoon for a while, but this one hasnt, said Scott Spradling, a media consulting firm executive who has worked with Caswell on specific projects. Its the council, so hopefully the governor will be able to count to three by giving councilors something else they want and having a kumbaya moment between Taylor and the council majority.

Not careful with taxpayers money

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Councilor Dave Wheeler, R-Milford, doesnt see that happening.

David Wheeler

Executive Councilor Dave Wheeler, R-Milford

You can work until the cows come home; you are not getting the votes, Wheeler said. Everyone can speak for themselves, but thats the way I see it.

Wheeler points to several spending requests from Caswell that he rejected: a $150,000 business conference, a contract to pay a videographer lavish fees to take promotional pictures for the state that some vendors offered to do for free, and what he branded as corporate welfare tucked into the $100 million InvestNH Housing program.

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He just is not careful with the taxpayers money, Wheeler said. Its time for a change. See if we can do it better.

Taylor is leading the way

Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, said as a city councilor she saw Caswell take a leading role on the states top crisis  building more affordable housing.

Karen Liot Hill

Karen Liot Hill

She also points to Caswells roots in Littleton, a North Country town thats been an economic success story.

Littleton is one of the only places in the state where the average age is getting younger. Looking at his own hometown is a great example of what is working across our state and Taylor is leading the way. To my way of thinking, Littleton and Taylor Caswell have got the secret sauce for our state, Liot Hill said.

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I certainly hope I will have the chance to vote for him.

Caswells background

Caswells long career goes back to 1992 when he was legislative director for then-U.S. Rep. Bill Zeliff of Jackson. He later became regional administrator of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under former President George W. Bush and then ran the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority.

Then-Gov. Chris Sununu proposed creating the Department of Business and Economic Affairs through the breakup of the Department of Resources and Economic Development in 2017, and nominated Caswell to be its first commissioner.

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During COVID-19, Sununu asked Caswell to organize the Governors Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery in addition to his BEA duties. That office administered $2.6 billion in federal aid.

State Sen. Tim McGough, R-Merrimack, chairs the NH Canadian Trade Council and says he relies heavily on Caswell, who is vice chairman.

Caswell has spearheaded plans for Ayotte to make a trade mission to Canada next month.

As someone who has done marketing in the private sector, I know its hard to show the ROI (return on investment) when it comes to promoting the state, but you cant argue with the results. New Hampshire is hot and Taylors work is part of the reason, McGough said.

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Maine is eating our lunch

Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, has voted for Caswell twice but says he wont a third time, contending Caswell has let neighboring states beat New Hampshire on innovation.

Joseph D. Kenney

Joseph D. Kenney

Kenney said only $50,000 is dedicated to business marketing while travel and tourism gets $14 million. He also sees the state failing to support the forestry industry.

Right now, the state of Maine has a collaborative initiative focused on revitalizing Maines forest products industry through innovation and traditional methods. This includes supporting existing businesses, fostering new ventures, and promoting the use of both traditional and advanced technologies in forest management and product development, Kenney said.

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New Hampshire lags far behind in wood product markets. The current BEA has not taken a lead on this important issue. Maine is eating our lunch.

Kenney lamented losing a business adviser of the Small Business Development Center for the North Country.

The hardest call

Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, became the swing vote and told Ayotte of his decision while she was attending a recent National Governors Association meeting.

Executive Councilor John Stephen

Executive Councilor John Stephen

Its not personal and its the hardest call Ive had to make; Ive done my homework, Stephen said during a recent interview, pointing to a binder filled with his notes after interviewing many supporters and opponents of Caswells candidacy.

Keeping our leadership cutting-edge is job one for me; weve got to take this critical work to the next level.

Greg Moore, regional director of Americans for Prosperity, is a Stephen confidante, having managed his unsuccessful run for governor in 2010.

A lot of people came to Councilor Stephen about this pick, Moore said.

He noted Stephens father, former state Sen. Bobby Stephen, after leaving elective office worked in the Department of Resources and Economic Development, which Sununu broke up into parts, creating the BEA and making Caswell the first head of an agency solely focused on keeping and growing private enterprise.

Our sector is vibrant

Andrea Hechavarria, who leads New Hampshire Life Sciences, views Caswell as an essential partner in making that industry one of the four priority growth sectors in the state.

Our sector is vibrant we have been able to utilize that economic development talent attraction and recruitment with the help of Taylor and his whole team, Hechavarria said.

They have had an open door to understand what our concerns are; that is what you want in this department.

In his pitch to stay on, Caswell pointed to his continued work to complete Business Gateway, the first-of-its-kind online portal for all companies to receive state services, filings, reports, and technical assistance from one online location.

BEA is part of a small and nimble state government that provides New Hampshire an ongoing competitive advantage, which gives me a great deal of optimism for continued economic success of our Live Free or Die state, Caswell said. I look forward to continuing to contribute to this mission.

Some viewed it as a metaphor for the controversy that Caswell showed up in Pittsburg last week with his shoulder in a sling having suffered a fall while biking.

Caswell founded PRKR MTN trails in Littleton, a community-based, 20-mile multi-use trail network on over 500 acres; in the past hes logged up to 150 miles a week.

He told associates the injury will soon require surgery to repair it.

Caswells late father was the first orthopedic surgeon in the Littleton area.

klandrigan@unionleader.com
The wife who was killed in the double homicide at Devil's Den State Park in Arkansas went back to "help her husband" before the couple was both stabbed to death, authorities said Thursday.

Officials said Clinton David Brink, 43, was the first to be attacked. His wife, Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, guided their two children to safety before returning in an attempt to help her husband, authorities said during a news conference.

"The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids," Maj. Stacie Rhoads with the Arizona State Police Criminal Investigation Division said. "We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help her husband." The children were found about a half mile into the park.

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The couple was hiking with their two daughters, ages 7 and 9, when they were attacked, state police said. Their daughters were not hurt and are being cared for by family members. The couple has a third daughter who was not on the hiking trip.

Arkansas police have charged Andrew James McGann, a 28-year-old former schoolteacher, with two counts of capital murder. He was taken into police custody at a barbershop in Springdale following a five-day search and more than 500 tips from the public.

Officials said Thursday that McGann indicated he did kill the couple. Rhoads said she "would call it an admission."

Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said police have no reason to believe McGann knew the couple or their children. He said the motive for the attack is not yet known.

This image provided by Washington County, Ark., Sheriff's Office shows Andrew McGann. / Credit: Washington County Sheriff's Office via AP

McGann appeared in court for the first time on Thursday. He was charged with two counts of capital murder, the Associated Press reported. The judge ordered that he be held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center and assigned him a public defender. McGann's arraignment was set for Aug. 25.

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Police said McGann's DNA was a positive match to the DNA that was suspected to belong to him at the scene, Hagar said. McGann suffered an injury during the attack that resulted in blood loss, which allowed police to establish a DNA profile, Hager said.

Authorities also executed a search warrant at McGann's house in Springdale, roughly 30 miles north of the state's remote Devil's Den park, where articles were found "that are consistent with being involved in this particular crime," Hager said.

McGann was a teacher in a small Oklahoma school district until May of this year, and then he resigned to take a job in another state. Officials said McGann had no criminal history and no known mental illness history.

The couple was found dead on Saturday at Devil's Den State Park in Washington County, about 140 miles northwest of Little Rock, the state capital.

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The Brink family said the couple died "heroes protecting their little girls."

Arkansas officials reveal new details about Devil's Den murders of husband and wife

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BATON ROUGE, La.  A wife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of two was released from ICE custody on Monday after being detained in May during what she says she thought was a routine immigration office visit, she and her husband tell CBS News.

"I feel like a mom again, because well, I was, at some points, I was feeling guilty, like I failed my kids, because I was, you know, without them," Paola Clouatre, 25, said in a phone interview Thursday.

Asked how she feels being reunited with her husband and children, she said, "It feels good  good to be back with my family and my babies."

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She had just given birth to their second child and was still breastfeeding when she was detained on May 27.

She was taken to an ICE detention facility in northern Louisiana, about four hours away from their Baton Rouge home. Her husband, Adrian Clouatre, would drive eight hours round-trip each week to visit with their infant daughter and 2-year-old son.

"It was very difficult," Paola said. "They gave me a pump so I could pump milk and continue producing milk for when the baby came to be able to give it to her."

Adrian Clouatre, 26, served in the Marine Corps for five years as an intelligence analyst. He said his wife was put in handcuffs in the lobby of an immigration enforcement field office in New Orleans after wrapping up a meeting with a staffer from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about her green card application.

Adrian Clouatre takes a selfie of himself and his wife Paola on May 26, 2024, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. / Credit: Adrian Clouatre via AP

"I was furious," he said in an interview with CBS News in June about the arrest. "I felt betrayed. They told us we passed the interview. ... They knew I was a veteran, they knew that my wife was breastfeeding our 9-week-old daughter, they knew we had two kids. ... I cried the whole way to my car after I left the building."

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Asked about the conditions she experienced during her time inside the detention facility, Paola said, "It's difficult to be there, because they have a lot of rules. They are very strict. So it's very, very, hard to be there."

But this week, Adrian said he finally got the call he'd been hoping for  his wife said she was going to be released, and he needed to make the drive one last time to pick her up.

"She called me from a CPO [officer's] phone, like one of the ICE agent's phones," he said.

Paola said she didn't meet anyone else detained inside the facility who had a military family member or who was still breastfeeding.

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The couple met when he was still in the service in California, and they married in 2024.

Adrian says his wife now wears a monitor on her ankle, as part of her condition of release on a recognizance bond, and has to check in every two weeks with an ICE parole officer. The couple had one such appointment Thursday morning.

"It was good to meet him today in the morning," Paola said about meeting with the parole officer assigned to her case. "He is a nice person."

Paola says she and her mother came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was a child, but her mother abandoned her when she was still a teenager, leaving Paola homeless. She said she hadn't spoken to her mother in years. It wasn't until this spring that she learned her mother had skipped a 2018 immigration hearing, and she says she had "no idea" the federal government had issued a deportation order against both of them as a result.

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"There was no way for her to know about the removal order," Adrian said.

Adrian said they thought they were going through the proper channels to obtain a green card for Paola after their marriage, and the process had previously gone smoothly.

Instead, Paola became one of tens of thousands of people in custody and facing deportation as the Trump administration pushes for immigration officers to arrest 3,000 people a day. As of June 27, arrests by ICE during President Trump's second term had reached 109,000  an increase of about 120% from the same time period in 2024 under President Biden  according to a CBS News analysis of government data. The majority of those arrests took place in border and Southern states, figures show.

The couple's attorney, Carrey Holliday, a former immigration judge, said Paola's detention was unreasonable.

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"There are lots of reasons why this shouldn't have happened. No. 1, Adrian, her husband, is a marine veteran, discharged honorably. She's the mother of two small children, and was nursing one," Holliday said. "She really didn't know that she had an order of removal outstanding until about a week before she had an interview for a green card. They were trying to do things legally; they just didn't get the right advice."

Holliday said Paola's case is an example of the new administration's "hyper-enforcement environment."

"We're in a hyper-enforcement environment right now, and all the laws are being enforced without any real consideration for the individuals involved," Holliday said. "DHS is taking some positions that... they've never taken before, especially on bond... DHS has now decided that everybody who comes across illegally can be considered an arriving alien. That has never been the definition, and it's quite a bad legal argument to make, but that's what they're making, nonetheless, and some immigration judges are buying it."

Holliday said Paola no longer has a final order for removal, but she still has a long road of immigration court proceedings ahead to obtain a green card. Once some jurisdictional matters are resolved, they will seek to obtain a status called "parole in place," which helps immediate family members of military service members have a more streamlined path to obtaining a green card.

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On June 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services posted on social media about the case, writing that when Paola Clouatre "was apprehended by @CBP and ordered removed by a judge in 2018, she chose to defy the order and stay in the U.S. 7 years later, she had another bad idea and applied for a Green Card. @ICEgov took her into custody at our New Orleans office. @DHSgov has a long memory and no tolerance for defiance when it comes to making America safe again."

New federal priorities to detain immigrants with pending deportation orders are taking higher precedence than the deference previously afforded to military families, immigration law experts say. According to federal memos, the Trump administration has made any non-citizens with pending deportation orders a priority for arrests.

CBS News reached out to ICE for a comment for this story, but has not yet received a response.

During his wife's months in detention, Adrian sent letters to elected officials pleading for their help  even two letters to President Trump. He says it was office staff of Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy that stepped up and advocated for his wife's case. CBS News has reached out to Kennedy's office for comment, but has not received a response.

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"I'm ecstatic, I'm extremely grateful to my lawyer, to John Kennedy's office, and the community for all the support," Adrian said.

Paola echoed those feelings of appreciation.

"I feel happy, grateful," she said. "Thankful for the senator (staff) spending time with my husband. Thank you to the community."

Black swimmers teach others amid history of aquatic segregation

Lawyer says political pressure helped Marine Corps veteran, wife reunite after her ICE detention

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Jul. 31The wife of slain Coeur d'Alene Fire Battalion Chief John Morrison announced this week the end of a business that she started with her late husband: the Coeur d'Alene Cider Company.

Jill Morrison wrote on Facebook that Friday would be the shop's last day. It's located at 1327 E. Sherman Ave. in Coeur d'Alene

"The time has come to close the cider house," Jill Morrison wrote. "It's been a lot of fun over the years."

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John Morrison, 52, was shot and killed on Canfield Mountain on June 29 in what authorities said was an ambush by 20-year-old Wess Roley, who was found dead at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Also killed was Battalion Chief Frank Harwood, 42, of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, and injured was Coeur d'Alene Fire Department engineer David Tysdal. The 47-year-old continues to recover in a Colorado hospital after his wounds caused him to lose the use of his legs.

Jill Morrison, through department officials, said Thursday that she did not want to comment beyond what she wrote in her social media post.

"I wish I could keep it going, but life has changed, and I no longer have it in me to run it the way it deserves," she wrote. "To our customers: Thank you for your support, your loyalty, and for making this feel like more than a business.

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"I'm proud of what we built here, and I'm grateful to everyone who helped me make it what it was."

The business will be open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, according to its website.

"Thanks for being part of it," Jill Morrison wrote.

Following a month of grieving and honoring Morrison and Harwood, the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department has announced that officials have picked Captain Tom Hiltenbrand to become battalion chief.

Hiltenbrand replaces Morrison, "a man whose presence, wisdom, and courage shaped the very soul of our fire family," the department wrote in a news release. "His absence is deeply felt, but his legacy lives on in every life he touched  and in the continued service of those who follow in his footsteps."

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The announcement congratulated Hiltenbrand for the promotion.

"His dedication, strength, and compassion have long made him a pillar of our department," the statement reads, "and we know he will carry this new responsibility with the same integrity and heart he's always shown."
Aug. 1By Jeremy Olson, The Minnesota Star Tribune (TNS)

MINNEAPOLIS  Wildfire smoke has been easy to spot in Minnesota this week, coating the Twin Cities in a brownish haze that obscured the downtown skylines. But experts in lung health are more concerned about the particles you can't see.

Particles in the smoke are so small that they can evade some of the lung's natural defenses, causing not only breathing problems but also other health concerns if they enter the bloodstream. Smoke particles are typically less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, making them at least four times smaller than dust or pollen and 10 times smaller than sand grains.

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"You can just think of them as little sandpapers and you inhale them and they are just in your lungs kind of irritating, irritating, irritating," said Jessie Carr, an environmental epidemiology supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Health, who linked her gravelly voice Thursday to walking her dog Wednesday night. "And the smaller the particles, the deeper they get into your lungs."

Air quality alerts because of wildfire smoke have been issued 30 times so far this year by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. That brings the state closer to the 41 alerts issued in parts of Minnesota in 2023 and the 37 alerts in 2021. The five-day statewide alert issued this week through Saturday is tied for Minnesota's longest.

Preliminary state research has found an increase in emergency room visits during and immediately after wildfire smoke alerts in Minnesota. ER trips mostly increase among children and adults with respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that make them vulnerable to complications from smoke exposure.

Carr said the Health Department will be monitoring ER visits after future exposure events to validate the initial research. However, she said there is more than enough evidence over the health risks of wildfire smoke exposure to support its public health recommendations.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found an uptick in heart attacks causing ER visits in the Midwest in 2023 on days when wildfire smoke resulted in poor air quality. Other patients are treated for bronchitis, severe asthma flare-ups and even strokes.

Prevention tips for people at elevated risk of health complications include staying indoors in air-conditioned environments. Basic surgical masks don't reduce smoke exposure, but fitted N95 masks can help. Switching air conditioning in cars to the recirculating mode can help as well.

Carr said solutions often need to be localized; many people in Grand Marais don't have air conditioning because of the cooler climate along the Lake Superior shoreline, and yet they are often in the path of wildfire smoke plumes.

While the risks remain greatest for people with pre-existing conditions, doctors urged Minnesotans to beware if they start to feel short of breath, especially during outdoor activities. People at low risk who start to feel effects should get indoors and hydrate, said Dr. Alec Duffy, an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist at M Health Fairview.

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"Try not to do things in the house that lead to indoor pollution and particulate matter. So even candles, cooking at a high heat, things like that," he said.

Duffy's wife is pregnant and needs to move around, but the couple shortened their walks this week, as pregnant women also appear susceptible to complications from wildfire smoke exposure.

Health problems are largely the result of inflammation and swelling in the body as it responds to the inhaled particles. Inflammation clears with time, but researchers are examining what happens when multiple exposure episodes cause it to happen over and over again.

Limited research in wildland firefighters has found some evidence of diminished lung function as a result of repeated exposures to wildfire smoke, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, but there is no data on the harms from long-term exposure.

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Studies do show changes in the body even when people don't feel symptoms, said Dr. Matthew Prekker, a pulmonary and critical care specialist for Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.

"We can actually prove that even healthy folks can have a decrease in the amount of air they're able to force out of their lungs ... even though they may not have a whole lot of symptoms as they go about their daily activities," Prekker said.

On Thursday, Minneapolis ranked as having the third- or fourth-worst air quality of major cities in the world, according to IQAir, which aggregates global pollution data.

Prekker said July is usually low tide for respiratory problems compared to the flu season at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, but that changes during wildfire alerts.

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The primary air quality concern right now is the smoke itself, but that could change over the weekend as the smoke thins out and sunshine increases, according to the latest MPCA forecast. The organic compounds in the smoke can interact with the sunlight in a way that produces ozone, which can be a pollutant at ground level and cause inflammation and other health problems as well.

"Ozone is good when it's six miles above the earth in the ozone layer, protecting us from UV radiation," Prekker said, "but ozone is not good when it's on the surface in the air that we breathe."
WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  Wilson Countys school district has seen a slight increase in immunization exemptions over the years. Officials attribute that to growth and the COVID-19 pandemic reshaping the landscape when it comes to vaccines.

Our enrollment numbers continue to grow. Right now, were looking at around close to 21,000 if you include our PreKers, Bart Barker, Wilson County Schools public information officer, said.

Wilson County Schools is growing in more ways than one, including in vaccine exemptions.

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Whats causing an increase in rates of unvaccinated children

When you take a look at the last five to 10 years, because we have grown as a district so much over that time frame, we have had a slight increase in exemptions, Barker said.

Barker said the coronavirus pandemic changed the landscape when it comes to vaccines both in Middle Tennessee and across the country.

Largely procedures are still the same. However, awareness is much higher because its still fresh on the minds of many what we all experienced back in 2020, Barker said.

A closer look at the vaccines required to enroll in Tennessee schools

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According to state law, parents and guardians are responsible for making sure their students get the vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, when it comes to exempting a child from Wilson County Schools, the district works hand in hand with the Tennessee Department of Health for guidance.

In particular, the religious exemption, and if a family deems that as a truthful reason for their exemption, then they must file a form with the district at registration time, Barker said.

That form can be found on the school districts website. Its then handed over to the Tennessee Department of Health.

Tennessee pediatrician concerned over downward immunization trend

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The number one thing at the end of the day is health safety, school safety for our students, our staffs, everyone involved, Barker said.

However, when it comes to students rolling up their sleeves, Barker said the district still has a very strong immunization rate: We want families to understand that that is still very strong and very encouraging numbers.

If you have concerns over the required immunizations, Wilson County Schools recommends consulting with your doctor.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A Wingstop employee is accused of throwing hot oil at two customers during an argument, seriously burning one of them.

Johnisa Herring, 25, was charged with aggravated assault following the alleged attack on July 22 at the Winchester Road business.

Johnisa Herring (SCSO)

According to Memphis police, two women came to the restaurant to pick up an order when they got into a disagreement with Herring.

The woman said Herring went to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, filled it with hot oil, and threw it at them.

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One of the victims was hit in the face and torso and was transported to the Regional Medical Center with second-degree burns on over 18% of her body.

The other woman was burned on her right shoulder by the oil. Police have not said what started the fight.

Harris is being held on a $7,500 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX)  Elected officials and union members spoke out in La Crosse against Congressman Derrick Van Ordens support of the presidents One Big Beautiful Bill act.

Opponents of the bill saying Van Orden voting for it betrays working families and hurts communities.

Speakers at a press conference today claim the bill could lead to more than 270,000 Wisconsin citizens losing healthcare and 375,000 families could lose critical food benefits. They add that thousands of jobs are also at risk.

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Derrick Van Orden sold all of us out to give trillions in handouts to billionaires. Worse, Derrick knew he was cutting healthcare to millions. We arent going to forget these cuts because you hid them after the midterm elections. Were going to make sure that everyone in Wisconsin knows that you betrayed us for out of state billionaires, says AFSCME member Sue Cornad.

In response, Congressman Van Orden sent us a statement saying quote: The Democrats just dont want to admit that Republicans saved BadgerCare, provided funding for our rural hospitals, secured no tax on tips and overtime, delivered a huge tax break for seniors and working families, and restored integrity in critical programs like SNAP. Those are facts. The Democrat Party is so far out of touch, all they have to offer is fearmongering, anger, and lies.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
As global concern over the hunger crisis in Gaza intensifies, Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, on Friday inspected the U.S. and Israel-backed aid distribution system there.

Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza on Friday to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

Leavitt said that immediately following the visit, Witkoff and Huckabee would brief Trump in order to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region.

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Huckabee posted photos of the visit on X.

This morning I joined @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about @GHFUpdates aid sites. We received briefings from @IDF and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat! pic.twitter.com/GyVK5cwNgZ  Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@USAmbIsrael) August 1, 2025

MORE: White House envoy Witkoff will travel to Gaza on Friday amid hunger crisis

Witkoff posted as well on X, saying, "At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies. The purpose of the visit was to give @POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza."

At @POTUSs direction, @USAmbIsrael and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other pic.twitter.com/aCtLuMuhq1  Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) August 1, 2025

The president hinted at a new plan to address humanitarian concerns in Gaza on Monday following a meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

@netanyahu/X - PHOTO: Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, July 31, 2025.

We're going to set up food centers and where the people can walk in and no boundaries. We're not going to have fences, Trump said. He later added that he expected European nations to work with the U.S. on the initiative, and that he expected the plan to be operational very soon.

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But so far, both the White House and the State Department have declined to elaborate on the presidents comments or provide a basic framework for the new plan.

The Trump administration and Israel have backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial American non-profit now charged with distributing most aid that is allowed to enter Gaza.

The GHF -- with Israel's approval and despite rejection from the United Nations -- took over most of the aid distribution system in Gaza on May 27, after an 11-week Israeli blockade on all supplies from entering the strip. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid provided by the U.N. -- formerly the main distributor -- and others to fund its militant activity -- claims which Hamas denies.

Earlier this month, more than 160 charity groups and NGOs called for the GHF to be shut down, claiming that more than 500 Palestinians had been killed while seeking aid from the organization and that its distribution locations have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.

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But the administration has shown no signs of backing away from the GHF, which it has repeatedly touted as the only organization working in Gaza that is able to ensure aid doesnt benefit Hamas.

The U.S. has pledged $30 million toward GHFs efforts in Gaza and a U.S. official told ABC News on Wednesday that the money was expected to be distributed to the group within the coming days -- a sign of the administrations continued confidence in the organization.

As of now, GHF operates only four distribution sites across Gaza. Trump administration officials have always maintained that its operations could be scaled up, but theres no indication the administration has played any direct role in planning for its expansion.

Ahead of his visit to Gaza, Witkoff met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

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Following their discussion, an Israeli official told ABC News that the two had agreed to several tenets related to bringing the war in Gaza to a resolution, including that it was time to consider a ceasefire framework that would free all Israeli hostages, that Hamas must disarm, and that Israel and the U.S. should work together to increase the flow of aid into Gaza even as the conflict continues.

Witkoffs visit to Gaza of Friday will mark his second trip to Gaza this year.

In late January, when the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that was negotiated in part by both the Biden and Trump administrations was still in place, Witkoff became the first high-level U.S. official to enter Gaza in more than a decade when he toured an area of the Gaza Strip that was still occupied by the Israeli military.

-ABCS Michelle Stoddart and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
(NewsNation)  Special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee made a rare trip to the front line in Gaza on Friday as humanitarian conditions worsen there.

Witkoff and Huckabee inspected aid distribution sites and spoke directly with people affected after President Donald Trump recently pledged a new plan to deliver aid to the region.

I joined @SEPeaceMissions Steve Witkoff for a visit to Gaza to learn the truth about @GHFUpdates aid sites, Huckabee wrote on social media. We received briefings from @IDF and spoke to folks on the ground. GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!

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Why not enough food is reaching Gaza after Israel eased blockade

Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with @GHFUpdates and other agencies, Witkoff wrote on social media. The purpose of the visit was to give @POTUS a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.

According to the U.N. World Food Program, 1 in 3 people in Gaza are now going days without food, and more than 500,000 are facing famine-like conditions.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special envoy Steve Witkoff visit the front line in Gaza on Aug. 1, 2025, to address worsening humanitarian conditions. (U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee) U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special envoy Steve Witkoff visit the front line in Gaza on Aug. 1, 2025, to address worsening humanitarian conditions. (U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee) U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Special envoy Steve Witkoff visit the front line in Gaza on Aug. 1, 2025, to address worsening humanitarian conditions. (Special envoy Steve Witkoff)

Israeli PM and Steve Witkoff discuss Gaza aid

The visit follows a high-level meeting Thursday between Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the worsening food shortage was a key topic.

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Earlier this week, the Israeli military announced daily pauses in fighting in parts of Gaza to allow more aid into the region.

Following the visit to Gaza, Witkoff and Huckabee have said they will brief Trump, who is expected to finalize an aid plan that may include establishing food distribution centers.

Trumps trade deadline  and new tariffs  hit global economy

Trump has maintained pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages, tying any ceasefire progress to those efforts.

Huckabee echoed those sentiments on On Balance on Thursday night.

I just appreciate a president with the clarity to say Hamas isnt going to continue to live there, rule there, he said. Theyve got to be stopped, and the hostages have to be let go.

Growing push to recognize Palestinian state

As part of the pushback against Israels handling of the war, several countries have announced plans to recognize Palestine as an official state.

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So far, France and Canada have voiced their support, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has stated the United Kingdom could join them if the conflict does not end soon.

Trump has slammed Canadas position, saying, That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also pushed back on the idea, arguing it would incentivize Hamas against working toward a ceasefire.

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Witkoff's visit to Israel included a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as a visit to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the Gaza Strip.

US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, walked from his Jerusalem hotel to the Western Wall Plaza on Thursday, pausing to offer a personal prayer for the hostages and for the end of the war.

Witkoff was greeted at the site by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of theWestern Wall and holy sites, who briefly outlined the Walls spiritual and historical centrality to the Jewish people.

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Rabinowitz thanked Witkoff for Washingtons efforts to help secure the hostages release, calling the mission one of Judaisms greatest commandments.

Dozens of worshipers in the plaza shook Witkoffs hand and thanked him for his steadfast support for Israel.

The envoy also toured the "Gateway to Heaven," a recently opened multimedia exhibit that guides visitors through Jerusalems story across the generations.

US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff visits the ''Gateway to Heaven'' exhibit at the Western Wall, Jerusalem, July 31, 2025. (credit: WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)

Before departing, Witkoff slipped a note into the ancient stones, signed the sites guest book, and repeated his prayer: I pray for the hostages and for the end of the war.

Witkoff's Middle East Visit

Witkoff's visit to Israel also included a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as a visit to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in the Gaza Strip.

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"At President Trump's direction, Ambassador Mike Huckabee and I met yesterday with Israeli officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza," Witkoff said after visiting Gaza on Friday.

"Today, we spent over five hours inside Gaza  level setting the facts on the ground, assessing conditions, and meeting with the GHF and other agencies. The purpose of the visit was to give Trump a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza."
SILVER CITY, N.M. (KRQE)  Western New Mexico University has started its national search for its next president and has partnered with executive search firm Anthem Academics to lead the process.

WNMU said Representatives from Anthem spent several days on the Silver City campus conducting interviews and engaging in listening sessions to find out what qualities and experiences the campus community believes are essential in the universitys next president.

Story continues below

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Everything we do is driven toward the students, staff and community, said Michael Ballew of Anthem Academics. Were looking for someone who is already successful and contributing at a high level in their current organization.

The firm also launched an online presidential search survey that can be filled out by the public until 11:45 p.m. on Aug. 3.

Insights gathered from input sessions, along with responses from a public online survey, will be included in an official document that outlines the universitys mission, vision, challenges and the desired attributes of candidates for the university presidency, Anthem said.

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At this time, Dr. Christopher Maples serves as interim president of WNMU. Before Maples, Dr. Jack Crocker served as acting president and provost after former WNMU President Dr. Joseph Shepard stepped down in January amid allegations of improper spending at the school, which Shepard has denied.

Upon leaving the top university position, Shepard received a $1.9 million payout, which was approved by the former members of the Board of Regents. That agreement also guaranteed Shepard a $200,000 salary as a professor with the university and an eight-month sabbatical.

On Thursday, the current Board of Regents voted unanimously to invalidate the severance payment and faculty appointment, saying the Dec. 20 meeting, where the former board members approved the agreement, violated the states open meeting laws.

Shepard has already received the payment, and the New Mexico Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get the funds back. That lawsuit is still playing out in court, and a motion hearing/scheduling conference was scheduled for Oct. 6.

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KRQE News 13 received the following statement from Joseph Shepard in response to the regents vote on Thursday:

Todays vote by WNMUs Board of Regents to rescind my legitimate separation and faculty agreement with the University is the continuation of the highly orchestrated political smear campaign to damage and destroy my reputation, career, and livelihood. After serving 14 exemplary years of advancing the University, its troubling that this new, Governor- appointed Board has chosen this path. This is a matter before the courts. The Boards desire to attempt to circumvent the legal process is telling in that they know they cant win where facts matter and are doing all they can to prevent the truth from being shared. Joseph Shepard

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Sanity at last has returned to the top tier of Western New Mexico University.

The school's new board of regents in a 4-0 vote Thursday said a contract authorized by the former governing board illegally allocated $1.9 million in severance to Joseph Shepard, then Western's president.

Never in 47 years on daily newspapers had I seen a government body repudiate decisions of its predecessors on grounds they cheated the public. Western's new regents did just that.

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The old board of regents violated the state Open Meetings Act when it mades its deal with Shepard, said John Wertheim, one of Western's new regents. He led the movement to terminate all sections of Shepard's agreement with the university.

"It was invalid from the beginning. We disapproved it on that basis," Wertheim said in an interview.

Shepard and his wife, former CIA officer Valerie Plame, listened online as the new regents declared his deal void. I phoned Shepard's lawyer, John Anderson of Holland & Hart, and asked for the former president's comment. He did not respond.

Western's five former regents unanimously approved Shepard's seven-figure balloon payment, plus a lucrative professorship and an indemnity clause giving Shepard publicly paid legal assistance to ward off challenges to his severance package.

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It's been a horror show for taxpayers. After state Attorney General Raul Torrez sued the old regents and Shepard to recover the $1.9 million buyout, New Mexico residents were stuck paying Shepard's legal bills. They totaled $172,869 from Shepard's resignation Jan. 15 through June, said Western spokesperson Julie Morales.

The university's five former regents in a special meeting Dec. 20 unanimously approved the $1.9 million payment for Shepard in return for his resignation. Shepard on Jan. 2 collected $1.1 million after state and federal tax deductions.

In their public notification for the special meeting, the old regents described their agenda in two vague words: "President's Contract." No mention was made of a buyout for Shepard costing taxpayers seven figures, or that he would also receive a professorship and indemnity from legal challenges.

Wertheim, a lawyer as well as a new regent, said the meeting run by the former regents did not comply with state law. Instead, the old regents avoided any specifics about what their deal with Shepard entailed.

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So duplicitous was former regents' chairperson Mary Hotvedt that she never mentioned the $1.9 million buyout for Shepard once the public meeting began. Hotvedt praised Shepard for selflessness. Shepard and the regents had come under fire for exotic, taxpayer-funded travel.

Wertheim said the Open Meetings Act requires a list of specific items to be discussed or transacted at a meeting. "No action by the board of regents shall be valid unless held in accordance with the requirements," he said.

After Shepard cashed his severance check, Torrez sued the old regents and Shepard. Torrez said their arrangement was not in the public interest and violated the Open Meetings Law. The civil case is ongoing.

Shepard's buyout meant the former regents paid him much more not to work than to remain on the job. He was under contract until June 30, 2027, and would have made about $900,000 in base salary for the duration of his deal. The old regents handed him twice as much pre-tax income in a lump sum.

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The former regents in another section of the separation agreement hired Shepard as a full professor at a salary of at least $200,000 annually for five years. Morales said Shepard was scheduled to teach two online classes in the semester beginning this month. Because of the new regents' action, Shepard will not receive the professorship that would have made him Western's highest-paid faculty member.

Best of all for taxpayers, the new regents' decision blocks Shepard from obtaining any more publicly paid lawyers to defend himself in civil court.

Shepard recently was sued by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission. The agency claims Shepard while Western's president diverted money from a project of the Americans with Disabilities Act to build campus structures for his daughters wedding. Shepard says the allegations are false.

On June 12, a few weeks before the Ethics Commission filed its lawsuit, Shepard phoned Wertheim and left a recorded message. As a public official appointed by the governor, Wertheim said he felt obligated to return Shepard's call.

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Wertheim said he doesn't know Shepard well and had not expected to hear from him. According to Wertheim, across the years he and Shepard had run into one another a few times at the Bull Ring, a high-end steakhouse in Santa Fe that's popular with politicians and government executives.

Their telephone conversation in June was cordial, Wertheim said, but Shepard remained adversarial. He would fight rather than pay back money the old regents allocated to him. Wertheim said he steered the conversation to the possibility of a negotiated settlement to end litigation.

Responding to Wertheim, Shepard wondered if retired state Supreme Court Justice Judith Nakamura might be someone who could be hired to preside over settlement talks. Nakamura, a Republican, has mentioned the possibility she might run for governor, so her involvement in any negotiations might be a long shot.

Torrez, the Democratic attorney general, doesn't sound amenable to dealmaking. His chief of staff, Lauren Rodriguez, had this to say Thursday: "We appreciate that the newly appointed board of regents has formally recognized that their predecessors failed to comply with the Open Meetings Act, thereby nullifying Dr. Shepard's outrageous $1.9 million golden parachute. This action will have profound consequences for our pending lawsuit against Dr. Shepard."

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Defenders of Shepard on and around Western's campus in Silver City claim Democrats have unfairly attacked the former president. That is false.

Steve Neville, chairperson of the new board of regents, is a Republican who last year ended a long career in the state Senate. His colleague Wertheim once was chairperson of the state Democratic Party.

But there they were, Neville and Wertheim, voting in lockstep to undo a mess created by the old regents. That board was led by Hotvedt, a Democrat.
The Brief

A 19-year-old woman was shot early Friday on the 7800 block of South Marshfield Avenue.

Police found her unresponsive with gunshot wounds to her right eye and calf after hearing shots nearby.

She was taken to Christ Hospital in fair condition; no arrests have been made as Area Two detectives investigate.

CHICAGO - A 19-year-old woman was wounded in a shooting early Friday on Chicagos South Side, according to police.

What we know

Officers were patrolling around 12:48 a.m. when they heard gunfire and responded to the 7800 block of South Marshfield Avenue. At the scene, they found the woman unresponsive with a gunshot wound to her eye and another to her calf.

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The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where she was listed in fair condition, police said.

Police said no arrests have been made, and Area Two detectives are investigating the incident.

The Source

The information in this report came from the Chicago Police Department.
A 36-year-old mother of four from Sacramento County and her 8-month-old daughter vanished more than two weeks ago after a doctors appointment in Fresno, leaving family members desperate and law enforcement without any leads.

Whisper Owen, 36, and her daughter, Sandra McCarty, were last seen on July 15, according to a news release from the Fresno County Sheriffs Office.

The pair left Elk Grove, where Owen and her partner live with their three other children, at around 4 a.m. that day to make the approximately 160-mile drive to Fresno. Owens mother, Vickie Torres, told the Los Angeles Times that the 36-year-old stopped at her house before the appointment to change Sandras diaper and then checked in with the doctors office at 8:30 a.m.

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After the 8-month-olds doctor visit, Owen and her daughter visited her brothers Fresno home until about 2:45 p.m. that afternoon before once again stopping at her mothers and, eventually, leaving Fresno around 5 p.m.

At around 8 p.m., a license plate reader in Atwater, approximately 65 miles from Fresno, spotted Owens silver 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer, where Torres believes she likely stopped to use the restroom and, maybe, get baby formula for Sandra, The Times reported.

Surveillance footage from a nearby smoke shop in Atwater showed Owen changing Sandras diaper in the parking lot about a half hour before, authorities said.

No one has seen or heard from the pair since.

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Owens mother said its not uncommon for her to stay in Fresno for days at a time, so when she didnt hear from her daughters partner the night that she never made it home, it didnt occur to her to be worried.

It wasnt until three days later that Owens partner, who has not been identified, called Torres to ask about Owen.

So then everything started to get scary at that point, Torres told The Times.

Whisper Owen, 36, and Sandra McCarty, 8 months old, were last seen on July 15, 2025. (FCSO) Fresno County Missing Persons Bulletin for Whisper Owen and her daughter Sandra McCarty. (FCSO) The Silver 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer the pair were last seen in on July 15, 2025. . (FCSO) The Silver 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer the pair were last seen in on July 15, 2025. . (FCSO)

The Fresno County Sheriffs Office said that, so far, no information has been found to explain the pairs disappearance, and as of this week, the Fresno Police Departments Missing Persons Unit said there were no new developments in the case.

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In a statement to The Times, the police department said investigators havent found anything that would suggest foul play was involved.

Falling sequoia branch kills Los Angeles native hiking in Yosemite

Frustrated with the lack of headway in the case, Torres said she reached out to the Sacramento Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for help, though she added that they have not been responsive.

Family members, including Owens partner, have been searching the roads between Fresno and Sacramento, putting up flyers and posting information about the distressing situation on social media.

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Torres told The Times that Owens other children are losing their minds and that her daughter would never just run off and leave her other kids behind.

Owen is described as 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighing around 145 pounds with blue eyes and brown hair, while her daughter Sandra is described as 1 foot 10 inches tall, weighing around 17 pounds with green eyes and brown hair.

Officials with the Fresno County Sheriffs Department urged anyone who sees Owen and her daughter to immediately call 911.

It just makes it really hard for me as her mother to shut my brain off and not constantly imagine what couldve happened to her, Torres told The Times. And that beautiful little baby. God, I hope, whatever happened, shes with her mama.

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A Hillsborough County Superior Court judge deemed a woman charged with stabbing a 75-year-old Manchester man to death in March 2024 competent to stand trial and has ordered increased mental-health treatment.

Carrie Drake

Carrie Drake

The ruling came after multiple closed-door hearings over the past year. A competency hearing took place over two days on April 11 and May 13, according to the court records.

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Carrie Drake, 56, faces charges of second-degree murder for allegedly recklessly causing the death of Vernon Hayford by stabbing him inside his apartment on Chestnut Street. She is also charged with being a felon in possession of a deadly weapon and resisting arrest.

Judge David Anderson found Drake competent to stand trial July 8 and ordered her to be transferred to the states secure psychiatric unit at the state prison to receive a higher level of care.

In making this finding, the court noted that it is clear the defendants functioning and capabilities are at their strongest when she is receiving proper mental health treatment and that defendant is not currently receiving that level of care at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, Anderson wrote.

Doctors recommendations

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Two doctors recommended Drake receive a higher level of mental-health treatment, Anderson said. Andersons full ruling remains under seal.

Anderson had previously noted delays caused by either (the) defendants unwillingness or her perceived medical inability to be transferred for an evaluation... .

Drakes public defender, Pamela Phelan, requested a status conference because Drake had yet to be transferred as of July 18 and sought information on the delay.

In a filing from the Attorney Generals Office, the Department of Corrections argued the law does not authorize the court to order such transfers but will voluntarily effectuate a transfer of the defendant in this matter, consistent with the Courts July 8, 2025, Order.

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The DOC says it has the right to contest any further court-ordered transfers.

Drake received a 5- to 10-year suspended prison sentence on April 10, 2023, after pleading guilty in June 2022 to a charge of stabbing Hayford in the same building in 2020.

Hayford at the time told police Drake had a history of mental-health issues.

Drake had not been heard from for months leading up to the fatal stabbing after being evicted from a program in Manchester. At the time of the incident, there was a warrant out for her arrest after she failed to meet conditions of probation, according to court documents. She was last believed to be living in Concord.

A status conference is scheduled for Sept. 8.

jphelps@unionleader.com
A woman is facing charges after police say she tried to smuggle drugs into the Allegheny County Jail.

The Allegheny County Police Department said Alleayah Irene White, 22, of Pittsburgh, was working to get synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, into the jail.

White was in contact with two people inside the jail, police said.

When she arrived at the jail on Thursday for a visitation, detectives executed a search warrant on her and said she had 22 full pages of K2 in her clothing.

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Police later searched her house and found nine more pages of K2 there.

White faces charges of contraband, possession with intent to deliver and criminal conspiracy.

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NEED TO KNOW

A mother received a suspended sentence, avoiding jail time after her baby was found in a freezer in 2022

Monique Ellen Burton, 35, reportedly placed her newborn in a garbage bag and hid it behind a couch before her partner put the bag in a freezer

The judge said her motive was "in part a desire to avoid the consequences of your pregnancy and because of your psychological conditions"





An Australian woman who hid her newborn baby in a garbage bag before her partner placed it in a backyard freezer received a suspended sentence and avoided jail time.

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On Friday, Aug. 1, 35-year-old Monique Ellen Burton was sentenced in Perth District Court for interfering with a corpse and multiple counts of fraud related to a GoFundMe campaign, according to Australia's ABC, The Sydney Morning Herald and news.com.au.

Per ABC, the charges stemmed from when Burton gave birth in 2022, before leaving the baby boy in a garbage bag behind a couch. Shaun Bradley Balaam, Burton's partner, then placed the bag containing the baby into a chest freezer  with the mother later saying that the child was stillborn.

Your motive was in part a desire to avoid the consequences of your pregnancy and because of your psychological conditions, Judge Darren Renton said during the sentencing, per news.com.au. You had a sticking-your-head-in-the-sand approach to deal with stressors and would go into a state of avoidance and denial.

Per 10 News, the judge said her actions "involved a degree of indignity" and "callous disregard and moral repugnancy."

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Burton, who the judge said had "adjustment disorder" and was genuinely remorseful, had her 19-month total sentence suspended as she undergoes supervision and treatment, per ABC. According to the Herald, the 19-month prison term was suspended for 12 months and included a treatment program.

The Perth District Court did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for confirmation of her sentencing on Friday.

https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf

Alamy The District Court in Perth, Western Australia, Australia The District Court in Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Balaam and Burton, who had five children together before the 2022 birth, had been together for 14 years, according to news.com.au. Burton secretly gave birth to the child at her Geraldton home on Aug. 19, 2022, before wrapping the baby in clothing and hiding it behind a couch.

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After being taken to the hospital, Burton denied that she had given birth when questioned by medical staff, before eventually admitting to it. Police then discovered the baby's body hidden in the freezer on Aug. 25.

Per ABC, Balaam was determined to not be the baby's father following tests. He received a suspended sentence for interference with the corpse, while news.com.au specifically noted his 12-month community-based order came as he was charged with not having a lawful excuse to improperly interfere with a corpse.

The judge said it was not possible to determine how the baby died due to the condition the body was found, according to ABC, which reports that Burton claimed the child had been stillborn, made "no noise" and "looked like a doll." He said he believes it was "likely" the baby was. According to Renton, the mother previously concealed two pregnancies and one of her children died at a young age, per ABC.

As for the fraud charges related to the GoFundMe campaign, they stem from a fundraiser launched by a friend who was told Burton had a terminal illness before raising $3,000, according to ABC. She was allegedly aware the campaign was going to be created.



Read the original article on People
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A Dyer County man was charged with attempted first-degree murder after a woman was critically wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in the Middle City Community.

The Dyer County Sheriffs Office said Craig Bolden, 19, was taken into custody following the incident at a home on Lyte Circle just west of Dyersburg.

A 19-year-old was airlifted to a Level One trauma center for medical treatment and is listed in critical condition.

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Criminal background of Lake County homicide suspect

The Dyer County Sheriff stressed the incident was unrelated to the current quadruple homicide investigation in Lake County and the active manhunt for suspect Austin Robert Drummond.

This is a sad day for the victim and her family. We are committed to a fair and thorough investigation into this tragic domestic incident, said Sheriff Jeff Box. We appreciate the cooperation of the community and encourage anyone with additional information to come forward. Please remember this young victim in your prayers.

Deputies have been talking to witnesses who were inside the residence at the time of the shooting and said there may be additional charges as more information is gathered.

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If you have any information that can help investigators, contact the Dyer County Sheriffs Office at 731-285-2802

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A woman from Massachusetts is facing more than $20,000 in medical bills after a wild bat flew into her mouth while she was on vacation.

In August last year, Erica Kahn, 33, was taking photos of the sky in Arizona when a bat got stuck between her head and the camera, and partially entered her mouth as she screamed, according to KFF Health News.

Her doctor father urged her to get a number of rabies vaccinations, even though Kahn doesnt believe the bat bit her. She told the outlet she had recently been forced to leave her biomedical engineering job and purchased a health insurance policy online the day after the bat flew into her mouth to help with the treatments in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Colorado.

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But the insurance company rejected paying for the treatments and pointed to a 30-day waiting period.

Erica Kahn, seen along with her father Rich Kahn, faced horrible medical bills after a the incident in Arizona (Instagram / Erica Kahn)

Kahn believed she would be covered as long as she got insurance before going to the hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona, noting that she called the company before she bought the policy and that she was told services connected to an accident or life-threatening emergency would be covered.

The required waiting period for this service has not been met, said the company. After being treated at four different treatment centers, she faced bills of $20,749.

I thought it must have been a mistake, she told KFF. I guess I was naive.

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The outlet noted that Kahn has since acquired a new job, negotiated down one of the bills, put in place a payment plan for another, and is in the appeals process for the rest.

Erica Kahn said she regrets allowing gaps in her healthcare coverage after losing her job (Instagram / Erica Kahn)

She said she regrets allowing gaps in her healthcare coverage after she lost her job.

Thats a very big lesson I learned the hard way, said Kahn, who still looks back at the incident with a sense of humor.

Erica Kahn was taking pictures of the sky in Arizona last August when a bat flew into her mouth (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

I know what bats taste like now. Its an earthy, sweet kind of flavor, she told KFF.

Its actually a pretty funny story  if it werent for the horrible medical bill that came with it.
Woman falsely accused of bank robberies files lawsuit

A woman once accused of a string of bank robberies nearly 20 years ago is now getting her day in court.

Jodi Blanton lived under the cloud of a bank robbery investigation in Cleveland County. A lawsuit was filed this week at the federal courthouse.

The Cleveland County sheriff said neither the investigator nor the sheriffs office has been served with the lawsuit, but theyre aware of the allegations and plan to cooperate to uncover the truth.

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A judge said the man who pursued her, longtime Shelby investigator Carl Duncan, misrepresented key evidence to get her indicted. Court records said he ignored eyewitness descriptions and inserted his own falsely blaming her for the crimes.

Last year, a judge dismissed all charges with prejudice.

ALSO READ: Man arrested in Salisbury bank robbery, police say

A bank robber hit several banks, including First National and Alamance banks in Shelby, BB&T in Fallston between June 2005 and November 2005.

Carl Duncan with the Shelby Police Department was the lead investigator.

Both district attorneys at the time declined to prosecute Blanton because " everything was circumstantial."

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In 2015, Duncan retired and joined the Cleveland County Sheriffs Office as a cold case investigator. His new bosses wanted him to look at Blanton again because of another bank robbery.

Blanton is a white woman with blonde hair, but according to court records, a judge agreed with her lawyers who claimed Duncan changed some things to get an indictment.

For example, they claimed, He disregarded the eyewitness descriptions of the bank tellers and substituted his own perception as the bank robbers race and hair color.

The tellers allegedly said the suspect was a light-skinned Afro American female with brown hair.

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As a diversion, the robber allegedly made bomb threats at several stores and a school. Court records show that person was never identified as a man or a woman. However, Duncan identified the suspect as a woman.

During a hearing in 2024, Duncan was unable to provide a reasonable explanation as to why he made a sworn statement to a superior court judge that the person that made the bomb threat was a female.

This court dismissed the indictments against the defendant with prejudice.

In Blantons lawsuit, her attorneys claim that her civil rights were violated, because the investigator misrepresented material facts to the district attorney and to judicial officials.

Statement from the Cleveland County Sheriffs Office regarding allegations against investigator Carl Duncan:

The Cleveland County Sheriffs Office is aware of recent media reports alleging that one of our deputies, Investigator Carl Duncan, engaged in conduct involving the omission, distortion, or falsification of information in an effort to implicate an individual in a crime.

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While certain media outlets have reported the filing of a lawsuit related to these allegations, it is important to clarify that neither Investigator Duncan nor the Cleveland County Sheriffs Office has been officially notified or served with any legal action as of this time.

Given the serious nature of these claims, and in accordance with agency protocol, Investigator

Duncan-who serves in a part-time capacity-has been placed on administrative leave effective immediately. This action is not a determination of wrongdoing but a necessary step to preserve the integrity of any ongoing review and to maintain public confidence while these matters are addressed.

The Cleveland County Sheriffs Office remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability. We will fully cooperate with any lawful inquiries or proceedings and will take appropriate action based on the facts and findings as they become available.

No further comment will be made at this time due to the potential for ongoing legal proceedings."
BRYAN, Texas (FOX 44)  A 37-year-old woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for assaulting a police officer.

The Brazos County District Attorneys Office says Candis Evans was sentenced by Judge David Hilburn on Wednesday. Evans was convicted for assaulting a public servant by a Brazos County jury on April 15.

The Bryan Police Department originally responded to a major collision near downtown, at the intersection of William J. Bryan Parkway and Logan Avenue, on August 10, 2021. Civilians on the scene reported Evans was driving erratically before crossing lanes and crashing head-on into another vehicle.

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The D.A.s Office says first responders observed signs that Evans was intoxicated. She was not responsive to directions and attempted to leave the scene. Evans then bit a Bryan Police officer who was attempting to stop her from running into the street. The bite left a visible injury on the officers arm.

Evans was placed under arrest and transported to a local hospital, where she admitted to PCP use.

The D.A.s Office says that during the punishment phase of the trial, the judge heard evidence that Evans was previously sentenced to prison for causing injury to a child by biting the eight-year-old child on the shoulder. In that case, Evans was initially placed on probation.

That probation was modified due to probation violations and Evans was required to complete an in-custody drug rehab. After completing this program, Evans continued to violate her probation and was eventually sentenced to two years in prison in 2020.

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The D.A.s Office says the judge heard additional evidence that Evans attempted to bite a different Bryan Police officer in September 2023 during an investigatory detention.

Evidence was then presented saying while out on bond for this case, Evans was arrested on three separate occasions for Driving While Intoxicated. These three additional cases are pending.

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TRIAD  A Greensboro woman whose substance-abuse-treatment businesses operated in High Point for more than three years was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison Thursday in connection with more than $6 million of falsified urine tests billed to Medicaid, the U.S. Attorneys Office in Greensboro announced.

Jasmine Tiara Hoyle, 35, pleaded guilty in April to federal charges of health care fraud and money laundering. She was sentenced to 44 months in prison.

She owned and operated Harvest Focused & Consulting Services LLC and The Ultimate Sacrifice, both founded in August 2019 and based at 200 Greensboro Road in High Point until moving to eastern Winston-Salem in early 2023.

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Both offered substance abuse treatment services and billed Medicaid for eligible services, including significant quantities of urine drug tests, the announcement from Acting U.S. Attorney Randall S. Galyon said.

From mid-2020 to 2023, the two businesses collected more than $6.7 million in reimbursement for fraudulent Medicaid claims, according to a document filed with Hoyles plea agreement in U.S. District Court.
Jul. 31ROCHESTER  The mother of a John Marshall High School student accused of swinging a metal pipe at a different student has pleaded guilty to a gross misdemeanor.

Tiffany Natasha Kidd, 47, of Rochester, entered a guilty plea to fifth-degree assault and was given a year of probation with either a $400 fine or 50 hours of service work.

She entered a guilty plea to the downgraded charge July 18, 2025 which was accepted in Olmsted County District Court Thursday, July 24.

Kidd was accused of swinging a metal pipe at a juvenile during a schoolyard fight. She was initially charged with felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon after police responded to a report of a large-scale physical fight at John Marshall High School on May 10, 2022. She pleaded guilty to the lesser charge and a gross misdemeanor charge of third-degree riot was dismissed.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  A woman who was killed at a motel in Amherst on Tuesday has been identified by police.

Emmeya Sims, 27, of Amherst, was residing at 1951 Niagara Falls Boulevard when she was killed on July 29, Amherst police said. A 37-year-old man from Buffalo, Daniel Negron, is a suspect in the homicide and is currently being held in Erie, Pennsylvania on an unrelated matter.

An arrest warrant on a second-degree murder charge has been secured for Negron.

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Reporting by WJET Your Erie found that Negron fled to a church in Erie, Pa. Tuesday evening and was armed with a knife. He allegedly attempted to harm himself when police arrived before being taken into custody.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact Amherst police at 716-689-1311.

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.
Woman left clinging to tree by strong currents while tubing on Crow River originally appeared on Bring Me The News.

A woman was successfully rescued after she was left stranded by strong river currents while tubing in Meeker County earlier this week.

The Meeker County Sheriffs Office says deputies, ambulance crews and Minnesota DNR officers were called to a report of a woman clinging to a downed tree in the Crow River at around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, a day after severe storms swept through the state.

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Responders found the woman on the river between 675th Avenue and Highway 24 East in Forest City Township. Only her face and arms could be seen sticking out of the water, according to the sheriffs office.

The Crow River in Forest City Township.Google

First responders were able to crawl onto the downed tree and pull the woman to a rescue boat that brought her to shore.

The woman, identified as a 44-year-old from Darwin, said she had been tubing on the river when she was pulled downstream by a strong current.

The womans friend was able to get to shore, but she was left hanging onto the downed tree after falling off her tube. The woman was able to call her daughter, who called 911.

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"Due to high water levels, strong currents and numerous downed trees in the Crow River, Meeker County Sheriff Brian Cruze advises the public to refrain from tubing until the waters recede," the sheriffs office wrote in a release.

This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Aug 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Brief

Twanda Willingham was shot in August 2023 with a Glock that had been turned in at a police buyback but went missing in transit.

She is suing the City of Chicago and unnamed officers, alleging a cover-up; the gun later surfaced with a 16-year-old tied to multiple shootings.

The suit references slain Officer Krystal Rivera, whose name was on inventory records. She was cleared and is not named as a defendant.

CHICAGO - A woman who says she was shot with a stolen gun that had been turned in during a police buyback program is now suing the city of Chicago, alleging officials failed to safeguard the weapon.

What we know

Attorneys for Twanda Willingham say she was shot in August 2023 in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

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The .45-caliber Glock 21 used in the shooting had reportedly been surrendered months earlier at a Chicago Police Department gun buyback event held at Saint Sabina Church.

However, the weapon disappeared while in transit between the church and a nearby police stationjust blocks apart. It was not recovered until November 2024, when ballistics testing linked it to Willinghams shooting and at least two others.

Authorities later found the gun in the possession of a 16-year-old boy.

According to a report by the Chicago Sun-Times, a lawsuit filed this week references slain Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera, who died in June from friendly fire. Riveras name appeared on inventory records related to the missing gun, but she was cleared in an internal investigation.

What's next

Rivera is not named as a defendant in the suit. Instead, the lawsuit holds "unknown" police officers and the City of Chicago responsible, alleging a cover-up involving the guns disappearance.

The teenager who was found with the weapon has not disclosed how he obtained it but pleaded guilty in April to unlawful possession.
UPDATE: A spokesperson with the Metro Nashville Police Department has told News 2 that the case is being investigated as an apparent suicide.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A woman was found stabbed to death inside an East Nashville home Friday morning.

Officers were called to residence on West Avenue around 9:30 a.m.

Deadly shooting amid ATM theft at Murfreesboro gas station

(Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN) (Photo: WKRN)

According to Metro police, a woman was found dead inside the home with a knife in her chest.

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Detectives believe there is no threat to the community and they are not actively searching for any suspects.

No additional information was immediately released. The investigation is ongoing.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a prevention network of 161 crisis centers that provides a 24/7, toll-free hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.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 WKRN News 2.
KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY)  A woman has been charged in the case where a child reportedly shot another child with a pellet gun, causing his death.

Back in January, 12 News reported that 9-year-old Lane Sines had died suddenly in Preston County. At that time, law enforcement was not able to comment on the death because of the ongoing investigation.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by 12 News on Aug. 1, the child died after another juvenile shot him with a pellet gun. The complaint, which was filed by troopers with the Kingwood detachment of the West Virginia State Police, said that the shooting took place sometime prior to 12:13 p.m. on Dec. 30 at a home on Pell Road in Kingwood.

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According to the complaint, Lane died while receiving medical treatment at Preston Memorial Hospital.

Community members mourn 9-year-old Lane Sines at vigil on Jan. 1, 2025. (WBOY image)

The complaint said that the shooting happened at the home of Lianna King, age 32, and that the children were under her supervision at the time. Troopers said that King was still in her vehicle in the driveway and that the juveniles had just gotten out of the vehicle and were inside the home when the shooting took place.

Guns are the 3rd-leading cause of death for kids in WV; how to keep your kids safe

Troopers said that King transported Lane to the hospital after the shooting.

King has been charged with felony child neglect resulting in death in the case. According to the West Virginia Magistrate Courts online database, she was first booked into the system on July 23 and was given $100,000 bond on July 29, which was posted.

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She had pleaded not guilty, and a preliminary hearing in Preston County Magistrate Courtroom is scheduled for Aug. 6 at 9 a.m.

Editors note: This article has been updated to correct information regarding when the shooting happened. We apologize for the error.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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.
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) Police are searching for a woman wanted for allegedly stealing more than $1,000 worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets.

According to the Chambersburg Police Department, Amber Stine, 38, allegedly stole $2,000 worth of Pennsylvania Lottery tickets from the Kwik Fill on Wayne Avenue and is now wanted for retail theft.

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Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts is encouraged to contact Chambersburg Police or leave a tip online.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Patient Adrienne Jones-McAllister watched in terror as her husband, Keith, who was helping her at her MRI exam, was suddenly sucked into the magnetic machine and injured so badly he died from a series of heart attacks.

His body went limp  he went limp in my arms and this is still pulsating in my brain, the devastated Long Island woman told News 12 Long Island.

The horror began when the couple went to the Nassau Open MRI facility in Westbury, New York so she could get an exam on July 16.

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Adrienne says she was laughing with the technician when Keith, 61, who was wearing a heavy 20-pound chain around his neck for weight training, came into the room to help get her from the MRI table onto her feet.

To her horror, she saw the machine snatch him, Adrienne says. In that instant, the machine switched him around, and pulled him in.

Panic-stricken Adrienne and the technician battled to pull her husband from the magnetized machine that apparently had locked onto Keiths metal necklace.

Keith died the next day in a hospital following a series of heart attacks, says a source.

Adrienne is blaming the technician, saying: That was not the first time that guy has seen that chain. They had a conversation about it before.

A source notes that the powerful magnetic field in an MRI can forcefully pull in metal objects and also heat metal objects and possibly burn patients.
A woman who won a civil case against Conor McGregor is to sue him and two other people for damages alleging they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes.

In November, McGregor was ordered to pay 206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.

McGregor had intended to call Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins to give evidence at his appeal before withdrawing the application.

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McGregor lost his appeal on Thursday against the finding that he sexually assaulted Ms Hand.

The appeal was based around several issues arising from the civil trial at Dublin's High Court last year.

They included reference to the question "did Conor McGregor assault Nikita Hand?" being asked of the jury on the issue paper.

McGregor's legal team said it should have specified sexual assault.

McGregor also appealed on an issue around the handling of his answers in interviews with gardai (Irish police officers).

His legal team explained that the jury heard McGregor gave about 100 "no comment" answers to gardai.

Nikita Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action. [PA Media]

At the beginning of the process, Ireland's Court of Appeal was told that McGregor had withdrawn an application to have new evidence entered at the appeal.

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The proposed evidence was from couple Samantha O'Reilly and Steven Cummins.

A previous preliminary hearing was told that they claimed to have witnessed a row between Ms Hand and her former partner Stephen Redmond in December 2018.

The court heard McGregor believed the new evidence suggested that bruising on Nikita Hand's body could have been caused by her former partner.

In an affidavit, Ms Hand had described the allegations as untrue and lies.

The senior judges said it was "somewhat mysterious" that what they described as an "important and contentious" part of the appeal had been "cast aside".

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They awarded Ms Hand costs in relation to this aspect of the case.

'Retraumatised me over and over'

Speaking outside court on Thursday, Ms Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action.

"This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me," she said.

Ms Hand added: "To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please, don't be silenced.

"You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal."

More on this story
A 71-year-old woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer said had she left her screening any later her "story would've been very different".

A mammogram discovered Judith Brown from Backwell, near Bristol, had a tumour in April 2024. She had not been screened for "some years" due to routine checks stopping at 70.

Ms Brown said staff at Southmead Hospital told her to "spread the word" to women over 70 that they are still able to request a screening.

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She said: "My message is don't wait. Ask. Just because you can't feel something and you haven't had a mammogram or a test for any other cancer. Please, please go and ask."

Ms Brown had a lumpectomy, surgery that removes the tumour and surrounding tissue, she said: "The care and attention that I had has been phenomenal, Southmead are just amazing."

She also encourages others to take advantage of help that is on offer.

"There's so much support out there, I had the benefit of Macmillan counselling," she told BBC Radio Bristol:

"Thankfully I am fully fit again."

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Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK. Nearly 57,000 people diagnosed with it every year, most are women, however about 390 of these cases are in men.

One in seven women in the UK develop breast cancer during their lifetime and it is most common in women over the age of 50.

Phoebe McCulloh, a clinical nurse specialist in breast screening at Southmead Hospital, told BBC Radio Bristol: "It's not just about finding lumps. You want to look out for any changes to the skin.

"That could be brushes, that could be an orange peel-like texture to the skin, very tiny dimples. It could be the skin sort of puckering or pulling in."

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"It could also be any changes to the nipple or areola and that could look like nipple inversion, fluid from the nipple or redness."

As part of the "Wake Up Call" live broadcast series on BBC Radio Bristol's Breakfast Show presenter, Joe Sims, has been hearing from people who have had breast cancer in the hope it will encourage listeners to get checked for serious health conditions.

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.

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A child is in critical condition after falling through a Worcester apartment window.

According to police, around 12:50 p.m., Worcester Fire, EMS, and Police were dispatched to the area of 490 Shrewsbury Street to meet with a father in the process of driving his 2-year-old child to the Emergency room.

According to the father, his child fell from the window of their Hamilton Street home and was unresponsive.

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Police say that officers began CPR on the child, who was then transported by EMS to a local hospital.

Once at the hospital, Worcester detectives and crime scene investigators began a follow-up investigation, which then led to the family home.

Once at the home, detectives learned the child fell through a closed window screen, falling approximately 10-12 feet onto the driveway.

At this time, an investigation remains ongoing, and the child remains in critical condition.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on August 1 he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be deployed to "appropriate regions" in response to what he called "foolish and inflammatory" nuclear threats from former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Known for his aggressive rhetoric, Medvedev has repeatedly threatened nuclear escalation and echoed Kremlin propaganda portraying Russia as the victim of Western aggression.

"Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that."

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"Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances," he added.

The move comes amid escalating rhetoric between the two nuclear powers, triggered by Trumps ultimatum to Russia to halt its full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Aug. 8 or face new "severe" tariffs.

Medvedev responded on July 28 by warning that Trump's pressure campaign is a step towards war "not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country."

Trump earlier accused Medvedev of "entering very dangerous territory," calling him a "failed former president" and warning him to "watch his words."

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"Let's keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former president of Russia, who thinks hes still president, to watch his words, Trump wrote in a separate Truth Social post on July 31.

Following Trumps remarks, Medvedev mocked the U.S. president on social media, referencing The Walking Dead and the Cold War-era "Dead Hand"  a Soviet automated nuclear retaliation system.

In response to Trump's remarks, Medvedev said that if his words provoked such a "nervous reaction," it meant "Russia is right about everything and will continue to go its way."

Trump has threatened to impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russian oil unless Russia's President Vladimir Putin agrees to a peace deal by Aug. 8. On July 31, senior U.S. diplomat John Kelley told the United Nations Security Council that the United States is prepared to implement "additional measures to secure peace."

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Read also: Despised by the Kremlin  5 things you might not know about Dmitry Medvedev

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The International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion in July 2025 declaring that all countries have a legal obligation to protect and prevent harm to the climate.

The court, created as part of the United Nations in 1945, affirmed that countries must uphold existing international laws related to climate change and, if they fail to act, could be held responsible for damage to communities and the environment.

The opinion opens a door for future claims by countries seeking reparations for climate-related harm.

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But while the ruling is a big global story, its legal effect on the U.S. is less clear. We study climate policies, law and solutions. Heres what you need to know about the ruling and its implications.

Why island nations called for a formal opinion

The ruling resulted from years of grassroots and youth-led organizing by Pacific Islanders. Supporters have called it a turning point for frontline communities everywhere.

Small island states like Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Barbados and others across the Pacific and Caribbean are among the most vulnerable to climate change, yet they have contributed little to global emissions.

Waves hit the shore in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, during a storm on Nov. 27, 2019. Waves inundated parts of the island, washing rocks and debris into roads. Hilary Hosia/AFP via Getty Images

For many of them, sea-level rise poses an existential threat. Some Pacific atolls sit just 1 to 2 meters above sea level and are slowly disappearing as waters rise. Saltwater intrusion threatens drinking water supplies and crops.

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Their economies depend on tourism, agriculture and fishing, all sectors easily disrupted by climate change. For example, coral reefs are bleaching more often and dying due to ocean warming and acidification, undermining fisheries, marine biodiversity and economic sectors such as tourism.

When disasters hit, the cost of recovery often forces these countries to take on debt. Climate change also undermines their credit ratings and investor confidence, making it harder to get the money to finance adaptive measures.

The Maldives, shown in a satellite image from 2020, has an average elevation of less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) above sea level. With limited land where people can live, the country has tried to build up new areas of its islands for housing. NASA Earth Observatory

Tuvalu and Kiribati have discussed digital nationhood and leasing land from other countries so their people can relocate while still retaining citizenship. Some projections suggest nations like the Maldives or Marshall Islands could become largely uninhabitable within decades.

For these countries, sea-level rise is taking more than their land  theyre losing their history and identity in the process. The idea of becoming climate refugees and separating people from their homelands can be culturally destructive, emotionally painful and politically fraught as they move to new countries.

More than a nonbinding opinion

The International Court of Justice, commonly referred to as the ICJ or World Court, can help settle disputes between states when requested, or it can issue advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized U.N. bodies such as the General Assembly or Security Council. The advisory opinion process allows its 15 judges to weigh in on abstract legal issues  such as nuclear weapons or the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories  without a formal dispute between states.

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While the courts advisory opinions are nonbinding, they can still have a powerful impact, both legally and politically.

The rulings are considered authoritative statements regarding questions of international law. They often clarify or otherwise confirm existing legal obligations that are binding.

What the court decided

The ICJ was asked to weigh in on two questions in this case:

What are the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system  from anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases? What are the legal consequences under these obligations for States where they, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system?

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In its 140-page opinion, the court cited international treaties and relevant scientific background to affirm that obligations to protect the environment are indeed a matter of international environmental law, international human rights law and general principles of state responsibility.

The decision means that in the authoritative opinion of the international legal community, all countries are under an obligation to contribute to the efforts to reduce global greenhouse emissions.

To the second question, the court found that in the event of a breach of any such obligation, three additional obligations arise:

The country in breach of its obligations must stop its polluting activity, which would mean excess greenhouse gas emissions in this case. It must ensure that such activities do not occur in the future. It must make reparations to affected states in terms of cleanup, monetary payment and apologies.

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The court affirmed that all countries have a legal duty under customary international law, which refers to universal rules that arise from common practices among states, to prevent harm to the climate. It also clarified that individual countries can be held accountable, even in a crisis caused by many countries and other entities. And it emphasized that countries that have contributed the most to climate change may bear greater responsibility for repairing the damage under an international law doctrine called common but differentiated responsibility, which is commonly found in international treaties concerning the environment.

While the ICJs opinion doesnt assign blame to specific countries or trigger direct reparations, it may provide support for future legal action in both international and national courts.

What does the ICJ opinion mean for the US?

In the U.S., this advisory opinion is unlikely to have much legal impact, despite a long-standing constitutional principle that international law is part of U.S. law.

U.S. courts rarely treat international law that has not been incorporated into domestic law as binding. And the U.S. has not consented to ICJ jurisdiction in previous climate cases.

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Contentious cases before international tribunals can be brought by one country against another, but they require the consent of all the countries involved. So there is little chance that the United States responsibility for climate harms will be adjudicated by the World Court anytime soon.

Still, the courts opinion sends a clear message: All countries are legally obligated to prevent climate harm and cannot escape responsibility simply because they arent the only nation to blame.

The unanimous ruling is particularly remarkable given the current hostile political climate in the United States and other industrial nations around climate change and responses to it. It represents a particularly forceful statement by the international community that the responsibility to ensure the health of the global environment is a legal duty held by the entire world.

The takeaway

The ICJs advisory opinion marks a turning point in the global effort to hold countries responsible for climate change.

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Vulnerable countries now have a more concrete, legally grounded base to claim rights and press for accountability against historical and ongoing climate harm  including financial claims.

How it will be used in the coming years remains unclear, but the opinion gives small island states in particular a powerful narrative and a legal tool set.

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: Lauren Gifford, Colorado State University and Daimeon Shanks-Dumont, University of California, Berkeley

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Lauren Gifford receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture.

Daimeon Shanks-Dumont 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.
Crown Point

Bulldog Park: 183 S West St.  This years Awaken NWI event will take place at 4 p.m. September 14 at Bulldog Park. The event is a night of worship. For more information, visit: https://shorturl.at/wv2S4.

CrossPoint Church: 214 Court St.  CrossPoint Church will have an outdoor service at Bulldog Park beginning at 10:30 a.m. August 16. After the service, there will be bounce houses and outdoor games for recreation. Attendees should feel free to pack and lunch to picnic with friends and family.

Gary

Cathedral of the Holy Angels: 640 Tyler St.  The church will hold a Mass for Youth and Young Adults, ranging from middle school to adults up to age 39, at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The mass will be followed by a cookout. To register, visit garyoyya.org/jubilee.

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Marquette Park United Methodist Church: 215 N. Grand Blvd.  All are welcome to worship at 11:15 a.m. Sundays at Marquette Park United Methodist Church. There will be refreshments to follow in the Fellowship Hall.

St. Timothy Unity Church: 1600 W. 25th Ave.  The church will have Gospel Extravaganza, presented by Urban League of Northwest Indiana, at 4 p.m. Sept. 14. VIP tickets are $75, and general tickets are $25. For more information, call 219-887-9621 or visit Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gospel-extravaganza-tickets-1353361313119.

Portage

St. Peter Lutheran Church: 6540 Central Ave.  The church is hosting a rummage sale through August 2. The sale will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on August 2. Services are held every Sunday at 10 a.m.

Valparaiso

Porter County Expo Center: 215 E. Division Rd.  The Diocese of Gary will host Emmaus, a Missionary Discipleship conference, on Aug. 9 at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso. Breakout sessions are available in English and Spanish. To register, visit dcgary.org/emmaus.

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Valparaiso Baptist Church: 612 Emmettsburg St.  Valparaiso Baptist Church will have a family night at 6 p.m. August 6. There will be a teens of truth session and a team kid session at 6 p.m., with an adult Bible study at 7 p.m.

To submit worship news, email cnance@post-trib.com.
Aug. 1More than a decade after a Beavercreek police officer shot and killed a customer inside Walmart, a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the family of John Crawford III was voluntarily dismissed.

Crawford, a 22-year-old Fairfield resident, was shot to death Aug. 5, 2014, by Beavercreek police officer Sean Williams after a 911 caller told dispatchers a Black man was holding a rifle and appeared to be loading it and was waving it near people, including children.

Crawford later was determined to be carrying a Crosman MK-177 BB/pellet rifle he found unboxed on a store shelf.

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Dayton attorney Michael Wright, who represented Crawford's parents and two children, voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Walmart and all remaining defendants, according to a July 9 filing approved by federal Judge Walter H. Rice.

The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled.

It is not clear whether the dismissal means a settlement has been reached between the parties. Messages left with Wright were not immediately returned.

WATCH: 911 call, surveillance video together

The night of the shooting, Ronald Ritchie called 911 from inside the Walmart at 3360 Pentagon Road and reported a suspicious man with a gun.

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Wright previously said the family believed responsibility for the shooting remained with Walmart and the city of Beavercreek.

"Ritchie would not have called 911 had the BB gun been secure in the box," Wright said in a 2019 interview with the Dayton Daily News. "So, Walmart's ultimately responsible for this event."

Williams and Sgt. David Darkow responded to Walmart, and Williams fired within seconds of seeing Crawford after officers said they shouted out commands. Surveillance video and evidence showed Crawford was in a pet food aisle on his cellphone talking to the mother of his two young sons.

Crawford, known as "Trey," was shot twice in the left side and died that night. Shopper Angela Williams, of no relation to the officer, suffered a fatal cardiac arrest as she and other customers fled the store. She and her children had been shopping for school supplies.

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EARLIER: Feds won't charge officer in Walmart shopper's death

A federal grand jury in July 2017 declined to indict Williams in Crawford's death.

The city of Beavercreek in 2020 reached a $1.7 million settlement agreement with the Crawford family.

EARLIER: Beavercreek, Crawford family settle lawsuit from Walmart shooting death

Following the settlement, the city issued a statement that read:

"The Beavercreek police officers involved in the incident responded to the scene in accordance with their training, and their response followed accepted law enforcement procedures and protocols, based on the information reported by a 911 caller inside the store.

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"The city of Beavercreek and its personnel have made no admission of any liability or wrongdoing and they remain confident that the actions taken by their police officers that day were appropriate based on the information available at the time."

EARLIER: What's happened to policing in Ohio 5 years after John Crawford III's death?
FAIRMONT  Bonnie Shannons son was born premature and weighed two pounds and 13 ounces.

He required some five and half months in the hospital after birth. As he progresses, doctors diagnosed him with cerebral palsy and profound deafness at about a year old. Shannon has trouble transitioning him the from bottle to table food. Her sons doctor predicted the child would never advance past baby food.

However, the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities proved the doctor wrong.

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They really helped me with free services to give me some strategies and information about transitioning him through food and eating and how to help him do that, Shannon said. And we were very successful. They were successful in transitioning him to table food. The doctor was really shocked.

The WVU CED belongs to a larger network of programs called the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. The program has been around since 1963, and receives funding from the federal Administration for Community Living. However, President Donald Trumps budget will eliminate their services beginning Oct. 1 with his Department of Health and Human Services FY2026 budget proposal.

Lesley Cottrell, director of the WVU CED, said Trumps proposal eliminated the Administration for Community Living and redistributes the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities to the Independent Living Councils in each state and eliminates Centers funding. The budget proposal invokes culture war language as its rationale for targeting disabled people.

Savings come from eliminating radical diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and critical race theory programs, which weaponized large swaths of the Federal Government against the American people and moving programs that are better suited for States and localities to provide, the document states.

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The document then lists a series of programs targeted for elimination, such as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Chronic Disease Self Management Education and the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Sen. Shelley Moore Capitos office said the Senator authored a bipartisan bill that would restore funding for the Administration for Community Living and the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Capitos office couldnt provide an update on the bill at press time. Capitos office also didnt answer whether the Senator considered disability to be part of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The Trump administration divorces terms like woke, DEI, and critical race theory from their meaning and uses them to manipulate public opinion against subjects it does not like.

Cottrell said the proposed elimination would impact the four service areas the WVU CED provides. Direct service would slow down or cease, as would continued education for existing providers. The cuts would also negatively impact research work. Cottrell said they have plans in place up until October, as well as plan Bs in place to blunt the impact, but without the funding for the larger network, West Virginia will see a direct and immediate impact on services to individuals.

In a rural state, theres not a lot of services, Cottrell said. First and foremost, those that do exist often have a cost to them, and many times, people are driving two, two and half hours to get to those services. West Virginia fortunately just got to the point where we can start billing for services, billing insurance, we were behind the times on that, and so were behind the times on the types of services available to those families. So we have pretty long wait lists to be assessed and diagnosed and after that, receive services.

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Julie Sole, executive director of the Fairmont-based Disability Action Center, said her organization and WVU CED have a mutual relationship. The DAC helps make adaptive devices and assistive technologies available through their partnership. They also refer clients to each other.

For small nonprofits like the Disability Action Center, we lean on the expertise and the resources and the programs that the UCEDDS have, because they do have such a wide expertise and a wide wide variety of programs that can serve individuals with disabilities from birth all the way through the lifespan, Sole said. We would lose our assistive technology grant. Theres really no one that does it better than the WVU programs because they have all those tools and resources available to them.

Cottrell said lumping in disability services with diversity, equity and inclusion when it comes to budgetary matters is incorrect. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three West Virginian adults live with a disability, while the U.S. Census Bureau places the disability rate in West Virginia at roughly 19%, the highest in the country. If the funding is eliminated, 96 jobs throughout the state will be lost as will $11.2 million in leveraged dollars.

The combination of disability with [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] is definitely harmful, because again, its almost like the assumption is youre giving attention to that group and no one else can receive those services, Cottrell said. Thats not whats happening. While we are disability services or a center for individuals with disabilities, their siblings who may not have disabilities, their families who may not have disabilites, they are also receiving free services. Theres no exclusion of another group in favor this. But it is a center focused on disabilities.

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Shannon allowed for the possibility that lumping in disability with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was intentional, before walking back the possibilty. Her son passed away about three years ago at the age of 37. Shannon now works with WVU CED as a parent network specialist and helps provide resources, mentorship and support for families of people with disabilities in West Virginia. She said losing the programs would be detrimental to the community as a whole. People with disabilities do contribute, they are able to be out there and work. Advocates have fought for years to make sure something like this didnt happen.

These programs are a lifeline for families, Shannon said. These programs are provided for free, for a reason, because its not always covered by insurance. Parents and families and caregivers are not always able to afford something out of pocket, and thats what we provide. So I dont know if thats intentional, but I know theyre not informed enough, I think, to understand what these families are experiencing.
BRIDGEPORT  Newly installed West Virginia University President Michael T. Benson stopped by WVU Medicine United Hospital Center Thursday as part of his inaugural state tour.

WVU Medicine is a part of  I mean, you see the flying WV on each one of these facilities, so people associate these facilities with the University, Benson said. People will say, you know, thats my school. Thats my provider. Thats the place where I took my ailing mother, and they made all the difference in her life, so thats really important for us to support it and continue to grow it.

Benson began his Welcome Home tour on July 28. Hell visit 18 counties over five days, ending his first tour on Aug. 1. Benson plans to reach the rest of the states 55 counties in future tours. The new president also delivered his first report to the WVU Board of Governors on July 23, according to a press release.

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Benson told the board they have the opportunity to collaboratively shape the future. Benson is WVUs 27th president, coming to the school from Coastal Carolina, a small public higher education institution in South Carolina. Benson earned a doctorate in modern history at the University of Oxford. He also has a masters in nonprofit administration and a master of liberal arts.

Benson started the day in Braxton County at a 10-15 bed facility, before capping it off with a visit to one of the largest hospitals in the entire WVU Medicine system.

David Frederick Hess, president and CEO of WVU Medicine United Hospital Center, said Benson, as president of the University, is now by mandate also the chairman of the board for the health system. Hess said Benson is running right out of the gate, traveling throughout the state and learning to understand the fabric and fiber of the state for which he now manages a major university system.

Hess said Benson wants to really understand the culture and people of West Virginia.

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On Bensons tour, Hess highlighted specific sections of the hospital. Benson viewed the hospitals recently renovated emergency rooms followed by a visit to the surgical services area. Hess said the hospital receives over 40,000 emergency room visits a year. There was also a presentation on the seventh floor intermediate care unit, which opened up a little over a year ago.

Hess introduced Benson to the hospitals five year vision.

Were going to build an outpatient surgery center on our campus thats going to allow us to expand the surgical services were able to do, Hess said. Thats going to allow us to expand our orthopedic and spine center. Thats going to allow them better access and more room to come in and be seen by our doctors. Its going to allow us to recruit more doctors back to do surgery, and then the last part of our five year plan revolves around our cancer center.

Hess said theyre going to expand the cancer center by building a new facility on campus.

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Benson was impressed by what he saw.

Oh, its spectacular. I mean, Ive driven by it before, never been inside, and theyve got plans for even more expansion, Benson said. The ambulatory care center, oncology center, orthopedic center. Theyre continuing to meet the needs of a growing population here in this part of the state. Im bowled over by how clean it is. It was built in what 2010 and it looks like it opened yesterday.
A New York woman pleaded guilty Wednesday in relation to a multiyear investment scheme in which she falsely promised investors permanent resident status in the U.S. and sold foreign investors access to American politicians, including President Trump.

Sherry Xue Li, of Oyster Bay, N.Y., pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government by obstructing the Federal Election Commissions administration of campaign finance laws, according to the U.S. attorneys office in the Eastern District of New York.

Li faced up to 20 years in prison and agreed to forfeit $31.5 million and property at three locations as part of her plea agreement.

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Li defrauded more than 150 victims in the United States and abroad through years of lies and deception and sought to profit by selling access to the democratic process. In doing so, she attempted to corrupt a fundamental institution in this countryfair and transparent elections free from unlawful foreign influence, U.S. attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement.

Li, along with her co-defendant Lianbo Wang, falsely promised foreign investors that by investing in a fictitious development project called Thompson Education Center, they would be able to obtain lawful permanent residence through an EB-5 visa program. The duo defrauded investors of more than $30 million, prosecutors said.

Li and Wang siphoned off the money they fraudulently obtained from investors by transferring the funds through bank accounts held in the names of various companies that Li had created. Once the funds were in those accounts, the pair used capital to pay for housing, jewelry, upscale dining, clothing and donate to U.S. politicians.

The pair acted as straw donors for international investors to unlawfully donate to political campaigns and PACs. They would promise access to lawmakers in exchange for a fee, according to prosecutors. The money they gathered would be utilized for political donations, and they falsely identified themselves and other U.S. citizens as the contributors of the funds.

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The pair charged 12 foreign nationals $93,000 per person to attend a fundraiser. Then they made $600,000 of political contributions in their own names to the committee that hosted the event, according to the criminal complaint. Trumps campaign was not accused of wrongdoing.

Li, Wang, and their foreign national guests attended the June 28, 2017 Fundraiser and took photographs with the then-President of the United States [Donald Trump]. Li and Wang later used a photograph of Li and the President taken at the June 28, 2017 Fundraiser to solicit investments in the TEC Project, the U.S. attorneys office in the Eastern District of New York said in the press release.

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NESHOBA COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV)  The Neshoba County Fair is known for politics aimed at potential voters; however, younger Mississippians are also engaged in the political process.

Though statewide and congressional races are not occurring this year, local and state politicians are rallying fairgoers and Mississippians for their support in future elections. These potential voters are the target audience. However, some children who attended the fair not only supported leaders, but also questioned them.

One of the youngest examples of this was Mac Coward. The four-year-old first attended the Neshoba County Fair when he was seven months old. This year, Mac came with his family to support the gubernatorial campaign of Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson (R-Miss.).

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My favorite part is when he just threw his hat, Mac said, referring to a gesture Gipson made at the beginning of his stump speech on Wednesday.

Maria Hartness with her grandson, Mac Coward, at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV) Mac Coward holding a political sign as he follows his grandmother at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV)

His grandmother, Maria Hartness, is also a Gipson fan. The first general state election Mac could vote in is 2039. Still, Hartness said that she seeks to encourage her children and grandchildren to be informed about state government.

Politics is important, Hartness said. And who is, you know, in charge, its important to make the correct decision.

Helicopter damages cabins at Neshoba County Fair

McKenzie Cummings and Thierry Freeman will be old enough to vote in the 2027 state elections. The 17-year-olds are student journalists and rising seniors from St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison. When they arrived at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, it was their first time at the fair. They decided the best thing to do while there was to cover it as a news event. They were not intimidated about being the youngest reporters at the Neshoba County Fair.

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At the end of the day, were all trying to accomplish the same thing: we all want to put the news out there, Thierry said to WJTV 12 News.

Higher education and living costs were the main focus of their questions to state and local leaders. Their concerns as soon-to-be adults were the main reason why.

High school journalist Thierry Freeman engaging with Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann (R-Miss.) after his stump speech at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV) McKenzie Cummings and Thierry Freeman working as student journalists behind the stage at the 2025 Neshoba County Fair (WJTV)

Prices are going up, even on stuff that you wouldnt even expect, McKenzie said. Scholarships are being taken away, financial aid is being taken away.

On a journalistic and professional level, McKenzie and Thierry found the answers of many politicians at the fair to be wanting.

A lot of it was very surface level; more promises than calls to action and plans for the future, Thierry said.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  An investigation into the beating of two girls with a belt and the condition of the home they were living in led to the arrest of a Louisiana woman.

Katherine Mayo, 28, of Zachary, was charged with cruelty to juveniles.

Mayo was charged with cruelty to juveniles. (East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office)

The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office was called to Our Lady of the Lake Childrens Hospital just after 12:15 a.m. on May 4, 2025.

When they arrived, deputies started an investigation that involved a three-year-old girl and a four-year-old girl.

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The two girls were brought to the hospital by their father and were found to have infections, insect bites, bruises, rashes, erythema in the genitourinary region, scratches, lesions, and head lice, according to the affidavit.

EBRSO said there were no signs of sexual trauma in this case. Their father told authorities that he saw Mayo beating the girls with a belt buckle on TikTok. After seeing the livestream video, he contacted the Zachary woman.

He said she denied the allegations and told him to come pick up the children and be done with her, according to EBRSO.

The man picked up his daughters and took them home, where they played and had dinner.

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At some point, he and his fiancee determined that the two girls required medical attention. This was due to him finding rashes on them while changing their diapers and finding an unknown foreign object in one of the childs vaginal region, according to the affidavit.

East Baton Rouge corrections officer fired, accused of drug dealing

The father said Mayo lived with her parents and grandparents and their home was dirty with mold and a leaky roof. He said there were also multiple cats in the home, and it smelled like cat urine.

The man told law enforcement that the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services was contacted multiple times about the deplorable conditions that the girls lived in.

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As the investigation unfolded, EBRSO learned that there were four different cases that DCFS was involved in related to Mayo.

EBRSO said one case was validated for neglect and lack of adequate supervision.

Mayo was subsequently interviewed by law enforcement, during which she admitted to hitting the girl on their butts with a belt while on TikTok.

The Zachary woman said she was frustrated and kind of took it a little too far, according to the affidavit.

Mayo said she should have taken the girls to the hospital for their dermatological conditions, and she regretted not doing so.

A warrant was obtained, and the home where Mayo was staying was searched by EBRSO.

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Authorities said the home smelled like urine inside, and EBRSO referred to it as having substandard and hazardous living conditions.

They found the roof structure had been breached, and there was water damage along with mold.

EBRSO said they located dog feces on the back patio where the kids played. In addition, no medications were found to treat the childrens dermatological conditions.

During a follow-up interview, Mayo said it was inappropriate to discipline with a belt and accepted responsibility for the neglect.

The Zachary woman was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Wednesday, July 30.

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TALLAHASSEE  Edward Zakrzewski was executed Thursday evening for the 1994 murders of his wife and two children in their Okaloosa County home, as Florida set a modern-era record for executions in a year.

Zakrzewski, 60, was pronounced dead at 6:12 p.m. at Florida State Prison, according to the state Department of Corrections. He was the ninth inmate put to death by lethal injection this year. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed death warrants for two more executions in August.

Thursdays execution came a day after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final attempt to spare Zakrzewski.

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Zakrzewski was convicted of using a crowbar, a rope and a machete to murder his wife, Sylvia, 7-year-old son, Edward, and 5-year-old daughter, Anna, after his wife wanted a divorce. He fled to Hawaii after the murders and lived there for four months before turning himself in, according to a Florida Supreme Court decision. He pleaded guilty to the murders.

DeSantis on July 1 signed a death warrant for Zakrzewski. The previous modern-era record for executions in a year was eight in 1984 and 2014. That era represents the time since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 after a U.S. Supreme Court decision halted executions in 1972.

DeSantis also has signed a death warrant for Kayle Bates, who was convicted in the 1982 murder of a woman who was abducted from a Bay County insurance office. Attorneys for Bates, who is scheduled to be executed Aug. 19, have filed an appeal at the Florida Supreme Court.

In addition, DeSantis this week signed a death warrant for Curtis Windom, who was convicted of killing three people in 1992 in Orange County. Windom is scheduled to be executed Aug. 28.

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As they tried to halt Thursdays execution, Zakrzewskis attorneys focused on jury recommendations and a judges decisions in 1996 that resulted in three death sentences.

The jury voted 7-5 to recommend death sentences in the murders of Sylvia Zakrzewski and the 7-year-old boy. The jury deadlocked 6-6 in its recommendation in the murder of Anna Zakrzewski.

Circuit Judge G. Robert Barron overrode the jury decision on the deadlock, which otherwise would have led to one life sentence. Also, current Florida law requires that at least eight jurors recommend death for such a sentence to be imposed, while almost all other states that have the death penalty require unanimous jury recommendations.

Zakrzewskis attorneys contended that executing him after the 7-5 recommendations and the override would be unconstitutional. But Okaloosa County Circuit Judge Lacey Powell Clark and the Florida Supreme Court rejected the arguments. The U.S. Supreme Court, as is common, did not explain its reasons Wednesday for refusing to halt the execution.

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The state this year also executed Michael Bell on July 15; Thomas Gudinas on June 24; Anthony Wainwright on June 10; Glen Rogers on May 15; Jeffrey Hutchinson on May 1; Michael Tanzi on April 8; Edward James on March 20; and James Ford on Feb. 13.

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The Brief

The family of Zariah Dodd, a pregnant 16-year-old murder victim, is still seeking justice a month after her death.

Dodd was reportedly staying at a residential group home in Surprise and was found dead with a gunshot wound at Marivue Park on July 5.

No arrests have been made, and police are currently providing few updates, stating it is an ongoing investigation.

PHOENIX - Police remain tight-lipped with no real updates, calling this an ongoing investigation. The mystery remains: how did Zariah Dodd get from a group home in Surprise to a park in Maryvale, where she was found shot and killed?

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"Surprised that you called my family here to do this, but aint no faith there," said Sylquayn Bernard, Zariah's father, as he struggles to stay optimistic, hoping his daughter gets justice.

What they're saying

The pregnant teen was found dead with a gunshot wound at Marivue Park in Phoenix on the morning of July 5 near 55th Avenue and Osborn Road. Bernard said, "I dont believe she was murdered there. I believe she was dumped there."

In the Phoenix Police Departments media advisory, officials initially listed the victim as an adult woman.

"They had stated it was a 20-year-old woman found in the park. They hadnt mentioned anything about pregnancy. It was just a 20-year-old woman found in the park," Bernard recalled.

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Click to open this PDF in a new window.

The backstory

However, the case report number provided to FOX 10 by Phoenix PD matches the same case number given to Zariahs family. Zariah was 16 years old and reportedly left Sunshine Residential in Surprise near Cactus and Litchfield Roads at 8 p.m. on July 4, telling staff she was going for a walk. Sunshine called the police just after midnight on the 5th, and her body was discovered later that morning in Phoenix.

Her uncle, Erik Polk, says her family tried to get custody of her after she had lived in numerous group homes but were met with challenges by the Department of Child Safety.

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"All weve ever wanted to do is get Zariah, raise her and make sure she was a productive citizen out here," Polk said.

Why you should care

He is also raising broader concerns about the system.

"Im glad you guys are picking up the story because, again, this is her story, but this is many other stories that are happening to these kids and these teens that are not being watched after. How in the hell does a 16-year-old get pregnant in the system?"

A spokesperson for Sunshine Residential Homes says law enforcement and DCS were notified "promptly" once she didnt return. Zariahs family feels this could have been prevented. Questions remain: who was she last with? Why was she shot and killed? And who abandoned her body at the park?

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"They take a beautiful soul away. They took someone who had survivor mentality and wasnt really capable and able to really fully be a kid," Polk said.

Zariah and her unborn baby, Zaloni, will be laid to rest on Aug. 2.

What you can do

If you have any information about this case, call Silent Witness. You can remain anonymous and receive a cash award for tips leading to an arrest or indictment.

TIP LINE: (480) WITNESS

Map of the Marivue Park area




Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Aug. 1 that frustration over stalled efforts to reach peace in Ukraine stems from "excessive expectations" by the parties involved.

The statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump warned on July 29 that tariffs on Russia would take effect within 10 days unless the Kremlin agreed to halt its full-scale invasion.

According to the timeline put forward by Trump, Moscow's "deadline" to end its war will come on Aug. 8.

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Trump originally issued a 50-day deadline to Putin on July 14, threatening "severe" tariffs of up to 100% on Russia and its close economic partners if Moscow failed to agree to a peace deal. Later, on July 28, Trump said he was no longer willing to wait.

"All disappointments arise from excessive expectations; that is a well-known general rule," said Putin.

"But to reach a peaceful solution, detailed discussions are needed  not in public, but quietly, within the framework of the negotiation process."

The Russian president, who has so far only sent low-level representatives to peace talks in Istanbul, said he views the negotiation process with Ukraine positively, further claiming that Kyiv has responded favorably to Moscow's proposal to establish three separate working groups for online talks.

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"It was agreed that we could hold these negotiations without cameras, without any political codswallop  in a calm manner and with a focus on finding compromises. So far, those (talks) have not begun," Putin said.

Putin said Russia's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine remain unchanged. In 2024, Putin demanded the full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the illegally-claimed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, along with guarantees that Ukraine would not join NATO and would remain a neutral, non-nuclear state.

In response to Putin's comments, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 1 that Ukraine is ready to meet "at the level of leaders at any time," provided Moscow is genuinely seeking to end the war "with dignity."

"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too, he said, urging a shift from technical-level talks to direct negotiations. Zelensky also voiced support for Trump's efforts to end the war and achieve a lasting peace.

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Putin has consistently rejected holding a leader-level meeting with Zelensky.

Following Trump's remarks on July 29, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing that his patience had run out. "He has been patient... and that may have been misinterpreted by some people," Bruce said. "The time for misinterpretation is now over."

Russia has pushed back against the ultimatum. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, accused Trump of driving the U.S. and Russia closer to direct conflict. "Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country," he wrote on X on July 28.

Read also: Its disgusting  Trump says deadly Russian attack on Kyiv very sad, threatens sanctions

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that Russia launched more than 9,000 air targets of various types against Ukraine in July alone.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote: "In July alone, Russians used over 5,100 guided aerial bombs, more than 3,800 Shahed drones, and nearly 260 missiles of different types, including 128 ballistic missiles."

Details: The president also added that the 31 July attack on Kyiv killed 31 people, including 5 children.

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Quote: "This can only be stopped together  by the United States, Europe, and other global players. Every act of cooperation matters. Every single day counts."

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put out a statement praising President Donald Trumps efforts to broker peace and calling for direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We see and support President Trumps efforts to end Russias war, to stop the killing, and to achieve a dignified and lasting peace. We are grateful to everyone around the world who supports peace efforts and helps us protect lives," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

"We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this too. Ukraine calls for moving beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings to talks between leaders. The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russias readiness," the Ukrainian leader added.

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This Is Putin's 'Last Chance' To Get A Good Ceasefire Deal, Says National Security Analyst

Trump also announced on Friday that he was repositioning two nuclear submarines after a "highly provocative" conversation with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

"Based on the highly provocative statements of the former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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Zelenskyys message comes as Putin has just one week to meet Trumps deadline for ending the three-and-a-half-year war. Acting U.S. Representative John Kelley announced the deadline at a United Nations Security Council briefing on "Threats to International Peace and Security."

Trump, who has consistently voiced his desire to end the war, recently said Russias actions against Ukraine were "disgusting."

"Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace," Kelley said.

Kelley reiterated the U.S.s support of Ukraines right to defend itself in the face of Russian attacks.

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Trump Brushes Back Russia's Medvedev After 'War' Warning: 'Watch His Words'

"Our support for Ukraines defense cannot be compared to the supply of arms and material to Russia, which enables Russia to continue its full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory," Kelley said. "Last week, we called on all UN Member States to help bring the war to an end by ceasing any and all support to Russias war efforts. We do so again today."

The American diplomat explicitly named North Korea, China, and Iran as countries that have helped Russia both directly and indirectly. He said that while Beijing has not directly provided Moscow with weapons, it has acted as a "decisive enabler" by "being the most important supplier of Russias war industrial machine."

It seems unlikely that Russia would come to the negotiating table as it carried out a deadly airstrike against Kyiv and its representatives at the U.N. appeared to double down on Moscows desire to retake Ukraine.

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"We are not seeking to destroy [Ukraine], its culture or its identity. We would like Ukrainian [and] Russian cultures coexist in this country, as it used to be for decades without any problems or conflicts," Russias Mission to the U.N. wrote on X.

In the early hours of Thursday, Russia launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles that hit residential areas in Kyiv. On Friday, Ukraine mourned after 31 were killed in the strike, which was the deadliest air attack carried out by Moscow this year. The death toll includes five children, one of whom was just two years old, according to Reuters. Additionally, more than 150 people were wounded, including 16 children.





Original article source: Zelenskyy urges direct talks with Putin as Trump sets peace deadline
Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Moscow to move beyond exchanging statements and holding technical-level meetings and engage in leader-level dialogue.

Source: Zelenskyy on social media

Quote: "We have heard the statements coming out of Russia. If these are signals of a genuine willingness to end the war with dignity and establish a truly lasting peace  and not merely an attempt to buy more time for war or delay sanctions  then Ukraine once again reaffirms its readiness to meet at the level of leaders at any time.

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We understand who makes the decisions in Russia and who must end this war. The whole world understands this, too. Ukraine calls for moving beyond the exchange of statements and technical-level meetings to talks between leaders. The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russias readiness."

Details: Zelenskyy also noted that the Ukrainian authorities acknowledge and support US President Donald Trumps efforts to end Russias war, stop the killings, and achieve a dignified and lasting peace.

"We are grateful to everyone around the world who supports peace efforts and helps us protect lives," the Ukrainian president said.

Background:

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that his demands to Ukraine, which he laid out in the summer of 2024, remain unchanged.

That was when Putin issued an ultimatum stating that Ukrainian forces "must be fully withdrawn from the territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts within their administrative borders".

Meanwhile, Putin has said he "welcomes" the negotiation process in Istanbul and believes that steps should be discussed to establish a "long-term peace in Ukraine without any time limits".

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After hatching in April at England's Chester Zoo, 10 rare Humboldt penguin chicks are all thriving in what the zoo has called a "bumper year for penguins."

"It's fantastic news for the species and a brilliant success for the international conservation breeding program," Zoe Sweetman, the zoo's penguin team manager, told the BBC.

One penguin breeding pair had laid two eggs, leading the zoo's team to decide to place one with a same-sex penguin pair named Scampi and Flounder. Giving each egg to its own parental pair would give both chicks the best odds for healthy hatching and fledgling stages.

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To their delight, this plan worked perfectly.

"The fluffy new arrivals are all being looked after brilliantly by their parents, having nearly quadrupled in size since they first emerged," Sweetman said.

The team has been dutifully monitoring the health and milestones for all 10 chicks, watching them prepare to take to the water for the first time.

It's a key win for conservation, considering that the Humboldt is the most threatened of all the 17 penguin species in the world.

Humboldt penguins are classified as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

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One of the key threats facing their population is the disruption to their food supply caused by warm El Nino currents. Considering that global heating is already warming ocean temperatures dramatically, the outlook for the species has many scientists concerned.

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.

Other species face similar climate-related threats, which is why conservation programs like this one are so critical.

Fortunately, many such initiatives are achieving great success. For example, targeted breeding and habitat conservation has seen the golden lion tamarin increase its numbers by over 31% in Brazil, and a rare wild donkey has been reintroduced into Saudi Arabia's deserts.

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.
TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  Belarus has freed Siarhei Tsikhanouski, a key dissident figure and the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and 13 others following a rare visit by a senior U.S. official, Tsikhanouskayas team announced on Saturday.

Tsikhanouski, a popular blogger and activist who was imprisoned in 2020, arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, alongside 13 other political prisoners, his wife's team said. The release came just hours after Belarusian authorities announced that authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko met with U.S. President Donald Trumps envoy for Ukraine in Minsk. Keith Kellogg became the highest-ranking U.S. official in years to visit Belarus, Moscow's close and dependent ally.

A video published on Tsikhanouskaya's official Telegram account showed Tsikhanouski disembarking from a white minibus, smiling broadly despite his shaved head and emaciated frame. He pulled his wife into a long embrace as their supporters applauded.

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My husband is free. It's difficult to describe the joy in my heart, Tsikhanouskaya told reporters. But she added her team's work is not finished while over 1,100 political prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus.

Tsikhanouski, known for his anti-Lukashenko slogan stop the cockroach, was jailed after announcing plans to challenge the strongman in the 2020 election. Following his arrest, his wife ran in his stead, rallying large crowds across the country. Official results of the election handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham.

A crackdown snuffed out protests after 2020 election

Tens of thousands of people poured into the streets in the aftermath of the August 2020 vote, in the largest protests in the country's history. In the ensuing crackdown, more than 35,000 people were detained, with many beaten by police. Prominent opposition figures either fled the country or were imprisoned. Tsikhanouski was sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots.

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Lukashenko has since extended his rule for a seventh term following a January 2025 election that the opposition called a farce. Since July 2024, he has pardoned nearly 300 people, including imprisoned U.S. citizens, seeking to mend ties with the West.

At the meeting in Minsk, Lukashenko hugged and warmly welcomed Kellogg and the American delegation to his residence.

I really hope that our conversation will be very sincere and open. Otherwise, what is the point of meeting? If we are clever and cunning in front of each other, we will not achieve results, Lukashenko said. You have made a lot of noise in the world with your arrival.

Lukashenkos press secretary, Natalya Eismont, told Russian state media hours later that he freed the 14 prisoners following a request from U.S. President Donald Trump. Eismont said among those released were two Japanese nationals, three Polish nationals and two Latvians, as well as citizens of Estonia, Sweden and the United States.

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It was not immediately clear whether Kelloggs visit might pave the way for the lifting of some U.S. sanctions against Minsk, imposed over the brutal crackdown against the 2020 protests and Lukashenkos support of Russias all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Lukashenko is clearly trying to get out of international isolation, and the release of such a large group of political prisoners signals a desire to start a dialogue with the U.S. in order to soften international sanctions, Belarusian political analyst Valery Karbalevich told The Associated Press.

After five years, Lukashenko is trying to loosen the knot with which the Kremlin tied him, using him for the war against Ukraine, Karbalevich said.

Belarus has allowed the Kremlin to use its territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine, and also to station its forces and nuclear weapons there.

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A journalist walks free, but many more languish

Released alongside Tsikhanouski was longtime Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty correspondent Ihar Karnei, the U.S. government-funded broadcaster confirmed. Karnei, who had also worked with prominent Belarusian and Russian newspapers, had been serving a three-year service on extremism charges he rejected as a sham.

The release was a big surprise for me, Karnei told AP in a phone interview Saturday. I didnt believe it until the very end, but now I understand that other political prisoners deserve the same.

He said that he spent about six months in solitary confinement.

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Most people suffer simply for their beliefs and do not deserve these terrible conditions and terms, Karnei said.

RFE/RLs Belarusian service had been designated extremist in the country, a common label handed to anyone who criticizes Lukashenkos government. As a result, working for it or spreading its content has become a criminal offense.

We are deeply grateful to President Trump for securing the release of this brave journalist, who suffered at the hands of the Belarusian authorities, the broadcasters CEO Stephen Capus said Saturday in a press release.

Karnei was detained several times while covering the 2020 protests. Unlike many of his colleagues, he chose to stay in Belarus despite the ensuing repression. He was arrested again in July 2023, as police raided his apartment seizing phones and computers.

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The group Reporters Without Borders says Belarus is Europes leading jailer of journalists. At least 40 are serving long prison sentences, according to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists. Many face beatings, poor medical care and the inability to contact lawyers or relatives, according to activists and former inmates.

Belarus also freed an Estonian national who had set up an NGO to raise funds for Belarusian refugees. According to the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Allan Roio was detained last January, and sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison on charges of establishing an extremist organization.

Others remain behind bars

Many other prominent dissidents still languish in Belarusian jails, among them Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, a human rights advocate serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges widely denounced as politically motivated.

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Bialiatski, founder of Viasna, Belarus oldest and most prominent rights group, was arrested in 2021 during raids by the country's main security agency that still goes by its Soviet-era name, the KGB.

In March 2023, he was convicted on charges of smuggling and financing actions that grossly violated public order, and sentenced to 10 years. Authorities labeled him especially dangerous because of alleged extremist tendencies.

He, his family and supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated, and a U.N. panel of human rights experts called on Belarus to release him. In 2022, when Bialiatski was behind bars, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with the prominent Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraines Center for Civil Liberties.

Bialiatski has been serving his sentence at a penal colony for repeat offenders in the city of Gorki. The facility is notorious for beatings and hard labor. Bialiatskis wife warned last year about his deteriorating health, saying the 62-year-old battles multiple chronic illnesses.

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Also behind bars is Viktor Babaryka, a former banker who was widely seen in 2020 as Lukashenkos main electoral rival, and Maria Kolesnikova, a close ally of Tsikhanouskaya and charismatic leader of that year's mass protests. With her close-cropped hair and trademark gesture of forming her hands into the shape of a heart, Kolesnikova became an even greater symbol of resistance when Belarusian authorities tried to deport her. She responded by tearing up her passport at the border and walking back into Belarus.



Kozlowska reported from London.
On July 4, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked his followers on X  the social media platform he owns  whether he should create something called the America Party to give them independence from the countrys two-party (some would say uniparty) system.

More than 1.2 million users responded to Musks snap poll: 65% said yes; 35% said no.

By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! Musk vowed the following day.

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Since then, however, Musk hasnt taken any visible steps to deliver on his promise. A new Yahoo/YouGov survey  which captures a representative sample of the U.S. population, in contrast to informal social media polls  suggests possible challenges ahead: Just 14% of Americans say they would be open to supporting a third party created by Musk.

In contrast, 55% say they would not consider supporting Musks party.

Why Musk wants a new party

The survey of 1,729 U.S. adults, which was conducted from July 24 to July 28, comes a little more than a month after Musk and President Trump had a public falling-out over Trumps big, beautiful bill.

Trump claimed that Musk was upset about losing his EV mandate (the $7,500 federal tax credit that has made buying or leasing electric vehicles such as Teslas more attractive and affordable for consumers). Musk insisted he was concerned only with the legislations effect on federal spending  namely, initial estimates that showed it would massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit ... and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt, as he wrote on X.

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Im sorry, but I just cant stand it anymore, Musk continued. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.

When a revised version of Trumps bill passed the Senate in early July with a $3.3 trillion deficit projection, Musk unveiled his America Party idea. When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy, Musk wrote on X. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.

People dont love the 2-party system

Americans arent opposed to having alternatives at the ballot box  in theory. The new Yahoo/YouGov poll finds that more of them approve (39%) than disapprove (28%) of the concept of creating a third major U.S. political party to compete with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party; 33% say they are not sure.

Naturally, the idea of creating a third party is more popular with Americans who already identify as independents (56%) than with those who identify as Democrats (34%) or Republicans (32%). But the two parties themselves arent especially well liked either. Majorities see both unfavorably (55% for the GOP, 56% for the Dems) rather than favorably (38% for the GOP, 36% for the Dems). And when respondents are asked how well each major party represents their views, more than half say not very well or not at all for both the Democrats (51%) and the Republicans (52%).

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Yet the overlap between these two categories  individuals who say they dont like either party  is relatively small, which may pose difficulties for Musk. About a quarter (22%) have an unfavorable view of both the Republicans and the Democrats, and fewer (18%) say neither side represents their views very well or at all.

Musk keeps getting less popular

In the Yahoo/YouGov poll conducted immediately after Trump won reelection last November, Musk earned a net positive rating (49% favorable, 39% unfavorable). That made him the most popular of the eight incoming Trump Cabinet members and senior advisers respondents were asked to appraise.

Yet by April 2025  following several months as the leader of Trumps Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)  Musks ratings had flipped to 39% favorable, 55% unfavorable.

Today, he is further underwater (32% favorable, 59% unfavorable).

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Musk is currently seen in a negative light by a clear majority of Democrats (9% favorable, 88% unfavorable) and nearly two-thirds of independents (30% favorable, 64% unfavorable). He still gets a net positive rating from a majority of Republicans (59% favorable, 30% unfavorable), but their enthusiasm has cooled; while 52% of Republicans saw Musk very favorably last November, only 17% now feel that way about him.

Since March, the number of Americans who think Musk is mostly trying to help the country has fallen from 36% to 23%, whereas the number who think he is mostly trying to help himself has risen from 52% to 56%. The share of Republicans who think Musk is mostly trying to help the country, meanwhile, has declined by 30 points  from 73% to 43%.

The proposed policy focus of Musks America Party  stopping the federal government from bankrupting our country with waste & graft, as he put it  isnt peoples top priority either. Asked what they would want a third major political party to focus mostly on, 26% of Americans said cutting government spending. Significantly more (46%) said other issues.

__________________

The Yahoo survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,729 U.S. adults interviewed online from July 24 to July 28, 2025. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 election turnout and presidential vote, party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Party identification is weighted to the estimated distribution at the time of the election (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGovs opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 3.1%.
Fruit executive Peter Verbrugge sits in handcuffs in a Yakima County jail courtroom after his sentencing Wednesday, July 30, 2025. He was sentenced to nine months in jail after pleading guilty earlier to vehicular assault in an April 2024 crash that left a woman permanently injured.
Looking for a break? Test your knowledge of this week's news from the Yakima Valley.
Adrienne Harvey is a senior digital media strategist at Spry Social Media Marketing and adjunct professor of social media at South Puget Sound Community College with a masters degree in digital media from the University of Washington. Adrienne is originally from Prosser and lives in Tieton.
A mourner carries the body of a loved one killed by Israeli bombardment of the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during a funeral on Monday.
A major new exhibition titled DarlingtonTokyo Express opened on 13 July at the Hungarian Railway History Park, showcasing two centuries of railway development across 13 immersive stations. Jointly organized by the Hungarian Museum of Science, Technology and Transport (MMKM) and the Railway Park, the exhibition invites visitors on a journey through time  from the earliest steam locomotives to cutting-edge Japanese high-speed trains.

The launch of the exhibition coincides with a global milestone: the 200th anniversary of the first public steam-powered passenger railway line, opened in Britain on 27 September 1825, between Stockton and Darlington. The line, operated by George Stephensons Locomotion No 1, marked a revolutionary moment in transportation history, even though the engines top speed barely exceeded 24 km/h.



Housed on the third floor of the Railway Parks main Orient Hall, the exhibition is available in both Hungarian and English. It offers a panoramic view of rail technology and culture, covering engineering feats, design milestones, and the societal impact of train travel.



Upon entering, visitors are transported back to Darlington in 1825. Through 13 railway carriage installations, they explore curated artefacts, period paintings, archival documents, videos, animations, and interactive displays that highlight the evolution of railways and their influence on everyday life, art, music, and literature.



The exhibition also sheds light on lesser-known rail stories, records, travel habits, and pioneering inventions. In a dedicated section, attendees can contribute personal memories and photos, making it a living exhibition shaped by public experience and emphasizing that the history of railways is not only about engines and tracks  its about people and the connections theyve made.



International collaborations also play a role in the exhibition. Notably, a replica of the first Siemens electric motor is on display thanks to Deutsche Bahn, highlighting the strengthening of professional ties across borders during this bicentennial celebration.



The exhibition is supported by the Hungarian Jewish Heritage Foundation.



LokoPiknik, Garden Railways Meeting 2025



On September 27th and 28th, the Railway History Park will once again be hosting a number of exciting and colorful family programs at the LokoPiknik and Garden Railways Meeting.



The special feature of the event is that the organizers are preparing additional festive programs to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the railway.



In the Park, those interested can explore all of the many colorful programs outdoors: there will be no shortage of attractions and activities, and excitement awaits visitors on both Saturday and Sunday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.



The perennial favorite interactive programs will also be available, so families can try out the garden railway, the train, travel by steam locomotive, but they don't have to give up the thrills of the turntable either.



The '200 Years of Railways' exhibition, located in the upstairs exhibition space, awaits railway lovers with extra presentations.

Tickets can be purchased from the beginning of September in the Railway History Park webshop.



More details, including ticketing and schedules, are available at www.vasut200.hu



Exhibition location:

Hungarian Railway History Park

1142 Budapest Tatai ut 95.



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An Indian-American CEO has been ordered to pay $135,000 to her former domestic worker after a Labour Department investigation found she underpaid and mistreated her.
Authorities in Assam have rescued 26 girls from a human trafficking operation at Tinsukia railway station, in Assam. The victims, reportedly en route to Tamil Nadu with forged documents, were saved during a joint railway police operation. Five suspects were detained, and investigations are underway, officials said on Friday.
Despite a looming shortfall in combat aircraft, Indias fighter jet fleet is now close to matching Pakistans numbers. While a fast-track, China-style production model is being explored, bureaucratic delays in Delhi threaten to stall any real progress.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah condemned the poisoning of water tanks at a government school in Shivamogga as an "act of terrorism" after four children fell ill. The incident was averted from becoming a major tragedy due to the alertness of school staff. A police investigation is underway, and the CM has demanded strict action against the culprits. The incident has triggered outrage among locals and parents.
The Delhi Police had asked the DMRC to shut the gates after demonstrations against the alleged paper leak in one of the tests held by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on February 21.
Iran is interested in renewing the 2015 Nuclear deal The joint Comprehensive Plan of Action has managed to resolve most of the issues about the restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal The final draft of the potential nuclear agreement proposed by the European Union is being assessed in expert meetings in Tehran
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) classifies bank balances inactive for ten years as unclaimed deposits, transferring them to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) fund, though these funds can still be claimed. To facilitate this, RBI launched the UDGAM portal, a centralized online platform where registered users can search unclaimed deposits across multiple banks. Users provide account holder details and official ID to access information, including the Unclaimed Deposit Reference Number (UDRN). The portal links to banks websites for claim procedures. As of July 2025, over 859,000 users had registered, helping streamline the recovery of unclaimed funds.
Enduring legacy of anti-Japanese guerrilla base in northeast China

Xinhua) 08:42, August 01, 2025

Meng Qingxu, leader of the Hongshilazi Site excavation team, introduces a historical site at the ancient forests of Hongshilazi in Panshi City, northeast China's Jilin Province, June 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

CHANGCHUN, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Winding through the ancient forests of Hongshilazi in Panshi City, northeast China's Jilin Province, wooden boardwalks overlook faint semi-subterranean house foundations, the remnants of a secret network once housing a field hospital, arsenal and command post for the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

In the autumn of 1932, 27-year-old Communist Party of China (CPC) member Ma Shangde, under the alias Zhang Guanyi, arrived in the dense forests of Hongshilazi, which means "red rocks." His mission was urgent and perilous: to unite scattered anti-Japanese militias into a single front against the formidable invaders. He carried a rallying cry that echoed through the trees, clear, simple and powerful: "Chinese don't fight Chinese; save the bullets for the enemies."

He reorganized Panshi's anti-Japanese volunteer forces into the South Manchuria Guerrilla Force of the CPC-led Red Army, achieving several victories against enemy encirclement and suppression campaigns. As one of the founders and key leaders of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, Ma would later be immortalized by history under his heroic name: General Yang Jingyu.

These mountains, once the frontlines of guerrilla resistance, now tell a different story. As the CPC's first anti-Japanese base in northeast China, Hongshilazi and the wider Panshi region have transformed from battlegrounds into a thriving hub of "red tourism," where history lives on through footsteps and stories rather than ruins.

For decades, the heroic struggle of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army existed mostly in scattered documents and fading memories, a legacy historians often called "recorded in text, but absent on the ground." That began to change with the arrival of archaeologists, as their work has uncovered the long-lost physical traces missing from the historical record.

"Telling the story of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army inevitably leads you to Hongshilazi," said Wang Zhongshi, deputy director of the Hongshilazi Site protection center.

The earliest archaeological survey of the Hongshilazi Site began in 1958, carried out jointly by the history department of Jilin University and the Jilin provincial cultural relics management committee. In 2019, the site was designated as a major national cultural heritage unit under protection.

Launched in 2021, a five-year archaeological initiative -- the first systematic excavation of a nationally protected site linked to the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army -- has yielded remarkable results.

By the end of 2024, archaeologists had identified more than 3,300 ruins scattered across the mountainous terrain and unearthed 938 artifacts tied to the guerrilla force, including locally-made Jingal muskets, single swords used by the youth battalion, and even a Japanese-made iron box containing gun repair tools.

"No one really knew what the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army's sites looked like or what their hidden camps were like until now," said Meng Qingxu from the Jilin provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology, who is leading the Hongshilazi Site excavation team.

"These five years of work have resolved a long-standing issue: a history well recorded in writing but lacking physical evidence," he said. Today, Hongshilazi stands as the largest, best-preserved, richest in content, and most fully functional complex of Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army sites in China.

Preservation efforts at Hongshilazi extend far beyond excavation. A comprehensive master plan spanning 6,115 hectares divides the area into core protection zones, construction control zones and environmental buffer zones. While experimental backfilling protection is implemented in certain excavated areas, 2,400 meters of gravel paths and 600 meters of elevated wooden boardwalks now guide visitors through the terrain, offering access without disturbing the fragile ruins.

To bring history to life, five key structures, including sentry posts and a clothing factory, have been rebuilt. Surrounding them, nine themed squares and 13 interpretive signs bring to life the arduous years of struggle endured by the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army.

According to Meng, the next phase of site preservation faces significant hurdles, foremost among them the harsh climate of the forested region, marked by relentless freeze-thaw cycles that threaten the integrity of exposed remains.

"We're working with Jilin University to run long-term monitoring experiments, tracking surface temperature, humidity, pressure and watching how these variables shift across all four seasons," Meng said. "Only with that data in hand can we develop future protection strategies."

The smoke of battle has long since cleared, yet the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, rooted in the forests of Hongshilazi, lives on in Panshi.

Dozens of kilometers to the east, in Guanma New Village, tourists are arriving in growing numbers. In recent years, the village has embraced red tourism as a pillar of its rural revitalization, with the spirit of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army becoming a driving force for local development. A themed education exhibition hall now stands at the heart of the village, alongside a newly opened bookstore and cinema, transforming history into both a living classroom and a magnet for visitors.

Once a primarily agricultural mountain village, Guanma is now charting a new path of diversified development, with red tourism and history education at its core, according to Zhang Hongqiu, director of the Panshi municipal bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism. In 2024, Panshi welcomed 1.7 million tourists, generating 850 million yuan (about 118.9 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, with more than 70 percent of visitors drawn by red tourism.

Panshi's red heritage now threads through diverse sectors, from dining and homestays to local specialty agricultural products, enriching both the local economy and cultural landscape.

As cultural tourism flourishes, Panshi's agricultural development is keeping pace. On the hillsides above Beiguokui Village in Baoshan Township, 300 hectares of Jinxiu crabapple orchards burst into full bloom.

Village Party secretary Luan Rensheng noted that the village's unique blend of water and mountainous terrain is ideal for fruit tree cultivation. After years of varietal refinement, Jinxiu crabapples have emerged as the premier choice for large-scale planting, now cultivated as a premium product.

Not far from the village, in a bustling factory, young entrepreneur Yang Shangbin is gearing up to add two new production lines. Since returning home in 2016, he has set up cold chain facilities, invested in cutting-edge equipment, and driven research and development, all with strong support from the local government. His company's products, like crabapple wine, dried crabapples and crabapple tea, have quickly gained traction, with strong market demand.

"We're about to double our crabapple procurement this year," Yang said. "There's immense potential here at home. Starting a business brings promising opportunities."

Ma Chengming, Yang Jingyu's great-grandson, now in his late 20s, chose to work in Panshi after graduating from university. "In my senior year, Panshi was the first stop on my journey retracing the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army's route. Along the way, elders shared stories about their sacrifices," he recalled.

While working at the grassroots level in rural Panshi, Ma actively led initiatives to boost local prosperity. Beyond his primary responsibilities, he regularly gave talks on the red spirit in schools and communities, and volunteered as a docent at the village history museum. In sharing Panshi's story, Ma speaks not only as a local resident but also as the great-grandson of a national hero who once fought there.

Once, deep within the forests of Hongshilazi, fighters of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army laid down their lives to defend this land. Today, across the wide stretches of Panshi, a new generation is shaping its future with wisdom and hard work.

"The spirit of my great-grandfather has long been woven into this land," Ma said.

This file photo provided by the interviewee shows the scenery of Hongshilazi Mountain in Panshi City, northeast China's Jilin Province, Dec. 12, 2023. (Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
After years away from the franchise she helped build, Heidi Klum is officially back on Project Runway.

Heidi Klum

Season 21, which premiered on July 31, marks the supermodels first full-time return to hosting and judging duties since Season 16 ended in 2017.

Klum, who co-created Project Runway back in 2004, left alongside Tim Gunn to launch Making the Cut on Amazon.

But now, after a seven-season absence and the shows move to Freeform, the 52-year-old German-American icon is reclaiming her place at the helm of the series that redefined fashion TV.

Speaking to E! News, Klum described the return as feeling like coming home, while acknowledging the evolution the show has undergone in her absence.

Anticipated return

Klums return is more than just a nostalgic throwback. Its a calculated move to inject credibility and star power back into a show that once reigned supreme in the reality competition genre.

Her chemistry with Garcia is unmatched, and her ability to guide and challenge contestants - often in the same breath - has always set her apart from other hosts in the space.

Shes not just a presenter. Shes a brand. A force. And after watching the premiere, its clear Project Runway is all the better for having her back.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: How Destinys Child Redefined the Girl Group and Replaced the Old Guard.

The old guard meets the new

Klum isnt coming alone. Longtime judge and Elle editor-in-chief Nina Garcia also returns, cementing a familiar sense of continuity.

Christian Siriano, the shows most famous winner, continues as mentor.

But perhaps the biggest shake-up is the addition of celebrity stylist Law Roach.

Garcia has already warned viewers to expect a spicy season, while Klum expressed her joy over Roach:

Law [roach] also doesn't mince his words and I don't know if we've ever had this in the past, but I feel like there's going to be a lot of bleeping in this season.

Where and when to watch

Episodes air Thursdays at 10 PM EAT on Freeform, with next-day availability on Hulu and Disney+.

There will be ten episodes in total, with the winner walking away with $100,000 - and likely, a foot firmly planted in the fashion industrys door.

MORE FROM NICOLE POWELL: David Beckham, Lewis Hamilton and other celebs who celebrated historic England win at 2025 Womens Euro
Gaza is slipping into famine, UN-backed experts warned Tuesday, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said the death toll in the nearly 22-month war had surpassed 60,000.

The health ministry figure excludes deaths from hunger in the Palestinian territory gripped by dire humanitarian conditions made worse by Israel's total blockade of aid from March to May.

This week, Israel launched a daily pause in fighting and opened secure routes to enable UN and non-governmental agencies to distribute food on Gaza's devastated streets. Hundreds of truckloads of aid have begun to arrive.

But Israeli strikes continued overnight, killing 30 people in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Gaza's civil defence agency -- and experts warn a humanitarian catastrophe of historic proportions is imminent.

"The worst-case scenario of famine is now unfolding in the Gaza Strip," said the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC), a coalition of monitors tasked by the UN to warn of impending crises.

The World Food Programme's emergency director, Ross Smith, likened the situation to some of the worst famines of the past century.

"This is unlike anything we have seen in this century. It reminds us of previous disasters in Ethiopia or Biafra," Smith said via video-link from Rome. "We need urgent action now."

In a statement released ahead of the IPC report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office accused Hamas of distorting casualty figures and accused the group of looting food aid destined for Palestinian civilians.

"While the situation in Gaza is difficult and Israel has been working to ensure aid delivery, Hamas benefits from attempting to fuel the perception of a humanitarian crisis," the statement said.

"We already allow significant amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza every single day, including food, water and medicine. Unfortunately, Hamas... has been stealing aid from the Gaza population, many times by shooting Palestinians."

As late as Sunday, Netanyahu had been insisting there was "no starvation in Gaza" but even his close international ally, US President Donald Trump, has now warned the situation appears to be "real starvation".

Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza on March 2 after ceasefire talks broke down. In late May, it began allowing a small trickle of aid to resume, amid warnings of a wave of starvation.

Then on Sunday, faced with a mounting international chorus of alarm, Israel began a series of "tactical pauses" while allowed aid trucks to cross two border crossings into Gaza, and Jordanian and Emirati planes to airdrop aid.

Shipments have ramped up, but for the IPC this effort will not prove enough unless aid agencies are granted "immediate, unimpeded" humanitarian access.

"Failure to act now will result in widespread death in much of the Strip," it said, warning that 16 children under the age of five had died of hunger since July 17.

"Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," it said.

According to Netanyahu's office, the pause in military operations covers "key populated areas" between 10:00 am (0700 GMT) and 8:00 pm every day. Designated aid convoy routes will be secure from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm.

COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body in charge of civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said more than 200 truckloads of aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies on Monday.

Another 260 trucks were permitted to cross into Gaza to deposit aid at collection points, four UN tankers brought in fuel and 20 pallets of aid were airdropped from Jordanian and Emirati planes, COGAT said.

Overnight, however, strikes continued.

Gaza's civil defence agency said Tuesday that Israeli air strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians, including women and children, in the central Nuseirat district.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the strikes were carried out overnight and into the morning and "targeted a number of citizens' homes" in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The local Al-Awda hospital said it had received "the bodies of 30 martyrs, including 14 women and 12 children".

An Israeli military spokesman told AFP that he would need more information to enable him to look into the strikes.

With aid experts pushing for a ceasefire to enable a large-scale humanitarian operation, Israel's foreign minister addressed reporters in Jerusalem to denounce what he called a "distorted campaign" of international pressure.

Gideon Saar told reporters that if Israel was to halt the conflict while Hamas is still in power in Gaza and still holding hostages it would be a "tragedy for both Israelis and Palestinians".

"It ain't gonna happen, no matter how much pressure is put on Israel," he said.
The government has defended the decision to allow the importation of 500,000 metric tonnes of rice as a strategic intervention to the countrys current supply shortfall.

The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) explained that the global supplies disruption and elevated prices have made the staple grain even less affordable to most Kenyans, especially poor households.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi signed the decision officially in a gazette notice dated July 28, 2025. The directive permits the importation of Grade 1 milled white rice into the country duty-free up to December 31, 2025. The move sparked uproar from local farmers, prompting the government to respond.

This measure is aimed at safeguarding national food security, stabilizing prices and ensuring that rice remains affordable and accessible to all Kenyans, particularly low-income households, said AFA Director General Dr Bruno Linyiru.

It is a targeted short-term response to current market pressures, reinforcing the Governments ongoing commitment to food availability and economic resilience.

According to the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), Kenya consumes about 1.3 million metric tonnes of rice per year, whereas local farmers only produce 254,000 metric tonnes. The country relies largely on imports to cover the deficit.

To maintain quality, AFA stated that all rice brought into the country must be Grade 1 milled white rice that meets international standards. Importers also have to present a Certificate of Conformity from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) before the rice is cleared for entry.

Notwithstanding the fears by some, AFA guaranteed Kenyans that the importation of 500,000 metric tonnes of rice will neither destabilize local prices nor pose a risk to local producers.

Importation will not disrupt the local market or disadvantage Kenyan famers, said Dr. Bruno Linyiru, AFAs Director General.

Before this decision was reached, the Government, through the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) actively procured and continues to secure rice directly from paddy as it is milled. KNTC remains committed to supporting local rice farmers by providing a guaranteed market throughout the milling process.

Last year, Kenya produced only 191,067.5 metric tonnes of rice, forcing the government to import 933,434.5 metric tonnes to meet national demand.
The Anglo Leasing drama has taken a new turn after the High Court ordered three former Permanent Secretaries and two foreign entrepreneurs to file their defence in the Ksh3.5 billion corruption case.

In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, July 31, 2025, Justice Benjamin Musyoka overturned a previous acquittal, overturning a January 2024 ruling that had acquitted businessmen Deepak and Rashmi Kamani, and former Permanent Secretaries Joseph Magari, Dave Mwangi, and David Onyonka. The five now face trial over allegations tied to a controversial security tender.

One of the accused, Rashmi Chamanlal Kamani, has since passed away.

Justice Musyoka ruled that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) had established a prima facie case, showing that the project was authorised without any budgetary allocation. He pointed a finger at then-Interior Minister Chris Murungaru for endorsing the deal without ensuring funding was in place or providing clear policy guidelines after the contract received legal clearance from the Attorney General.

I hereby set aside the acquittal by the trial magistrate dated January 19, 2024, and order the accused persons to be placed on their defense on counts 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7, the judge directed.

Musyoka criticised the prosecution for failing to call Murungaru to the stand, stating that his testimony could have clarified whether the agreement he signed had been budgeted for. He noted that Murungaru could have clarified whether the multi-billion shilling security contract he approved had received any budgetary allocation. The judge further faulted the minister for neglecting to establish clear policy guidelines to oversee the contracts execution, even after it was legally cleared by the then-Attorney General.

The judge also cited the testimony of 37 prosecution witnesses, which indicated that Sound Day Corporation, a company allegedly linked to the Kamani family, did not deliver the security equipment meant for the Kenya Police. He noted that the National Police Service never confirmed receipt of the items, and the then-Commissioner of Police, Edwin Nyasemba, was not called to verify the delivery.

He added that the National Police Service, the agency meant to receive and confirm delivery of the equipment, never verified receiving it. Moreover, the prosecution failed to call then-Commissioner of Police Edwin Nyasemba to the stand to confirm or deny the delivery.

Regarding the Kamanis, the court ruled that they must explain why they received 1.2 million (about Ksh180 million) through Apex Finance Corporation, a Mauritius-registered entity at the centre of the Anglo Leasing scandal.

Justice Musyoka found that receiving such funds suggested they knew the money was the proceeds of crime. The Kamanis had denied having any links to Apex Finance, which, along with Sound Day Corporation, was single-sourced to supply equipment to the Kenya Police Laboratory.

The court also raised questions about the absence of Brian Mills, who signed the contract on behalf of Sound Day Corporation, from the trial, noting that no explanation had been offered for his exclusion.

While the judge upheld the accuseds acquittal on one count  conspiracy to defraud the Government of 40 million(approx. Ksh5,902,800,000)  he ordered all five to appear before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrates Court to present their defence on the remaining charges.
Detectives from the Operation Support Unit (OSU) have arrested Francis Talla Oufa, a Cameroonian national also known as Allain, who is believed to be the mastermind behind a high-level gold scam that defrauded a Canadian investor of more than USD 618,000 (over Ksh 79 million).

The Canadian victim was first approached in November last year while still in his home country. He was offered a lucrative deal to purchase 250 kilograms of gold, with the promise of a substantial return on his investment.

Tempted by the attractive offer, the investor flew into Kenya in April 2025 to finalize the transaction.

Upon arriving in Kenya, the victim was welcomed into a luxurious office by a man believed to be the business partner of the alleged mastermind, Allain. What seemed like a professional introduction was, in reality, a well-orchestrated trap designed to convince the investor that the gold operation was legitimate and above board.

Soon after, the victim was introduced to a group of fraudsters who posed as credible businesspeople. Their coordinated act, complete with convincing documents and smooth talk, gave the illusion of a lawful and profitable venture.

Trusting their presentation, the Canadian investor handed over USD 618,000, equivalent to over Ksh 79 million. It was only later that he uncovered the truth: he had been conned by a carefully staged network of impostors posing as legitimate traders.

Detectives launched investigations into the scam and began tracking the main suspect. Using forensic leads, they successfully traced and arrested Francis Talla Oufa, alias Allain.

Following his arrest, officers conducted a search of his vehicle and his residence in Belfair Park, Dagoretti. During the operation, they recovered several key pieces of evidence, including gold transaction documents, official-looking seals, a staff ID card from Sunshine Minerals Ltd listing Allain as an Engineer Mining, two laptops, three mobile phones, and other items directly tied to the fraudulent scheme.

The suspect is currently undergoing processing as police continue to follow up on fresh leads aimed at tracking down his accomplices.
Kenyas opposition leaders have sounded the alarm over a 25,000-metric-tonne consignment of imported sugar docked at the Port of Mombasa, which they allege is contaminated and unfit for human consumption. Despite these concerns, they say the government has shockingly cleared the sugar for repackaging in a Western Kenya factory, raising public health fears.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, Peoples Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, DAP-Ks Eugene Wamalwa, and Nyandarua Senator John Methu claimed the sugar had already been flagged as unsafe at its port of origin.

Were aware that a shipment of 25,000 metric tonnes of sugar, flagged as unfit for human consumption at the source, landed in Mombasa, said Karua. Yet the Ruto regime cleared it with alarming speed. What kind of leadership prioritizes corrupt interests over the safety of its citizens?

The opposition leaders called for the immediate condemnation and destruction of the sugar to prevent it from reaching consumers.

This sugar is already en route to a factory in Western Kenya for repackaging, Karua added. The speed of its clearance reveals the regimes cold disregard for human life. Money has become their god.

They slammed the government for what they described as commercial greed poisoning Kenyans, accusing officials of putting profit before public safety.

Karua, Kalonzo Decry Assassination Attempts

In the same address, the leaders also denounced rising police brutality and what they described as state-sponsored violence targeting opposition figures.

Citing recent attacks during peaceful meet-the-people tours in Muranga and Subukia, Karua revealed that some opposition members narrowly escaped assassination.

Specific members of our team were targeted for assassination, Karua said. The evidence is clear in the bullet holes aimed at specific vehicles. We thank the Almighty for His protection, otherwise we would be eulogising our own.

The coalition said it had submitted a formal complaint to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), demanding swift investigation and accountability.

We expect IPOA to treat this matter with the seriousness it deserves, she said. Any attempt to take the life of a human being must be condemned in the strongest terms.

They demanded action against Muranga County police commander and held Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome responsible for the alleged abuse of power.

The leaders also made a symbolic stand to honour victims of alleged police violence by wearing black armbands during the briefing.

This is a stark reminder of the souls felled by police bullets, lives lost in police custody. We remember them today, they stated.

Vowing not to relent, they pledged to keep pushing for justice and government accountability.

WanTam is not just a slogan, they declared. It is an eventuality.
The American Academy of Nursing will induct 16 members of the Emory community into its 2025 Class of Fellows.

The Emory inductees  faculty, alumni and administrators from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Rollins School of Public Health, Laney Graduate School, and Emory Healthcare  will be recognized for their substantial contributions to health care. They will join the more than 3,200 Academy Fellows working to improve health and health equity through nursing leadership, innovation and science.

Induction into the Academy represents the highest honor in nursing, says Academy President Linda D. Scott, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FADLN, FNAP, FAAN. Earning the FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) credential is a prestigious recognition of ones accomplishments and signifies the power of nursing to transform health and enact positive outcomes.

The 2025 Emory inductees include:



Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM

Associate Clinical Professor and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program Director, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

A critical care nurse practitioner (NP), Adamski has led national initiatives in critical care research and education and serves as president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the largest nursing specialty organization in the world. Her research focuses on trauma prevention, rapid response systems, and critical care/trauma advances in hemorrhagic shock, and she is a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine.





Curry Bordelon, DNP, MBA, CRNP, NNPBC, CPNPAC, CNE, ANEF, FNAP

Alumnus, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Bordelon is an associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing and chair of its Department of Family, Community, and Health Systems. An Emory MN alumnus, he is a neonatal and pediatric acute care nurse practitioner and has been an NP manager for three neonatal ICUs. His expertise is in curricula, leadership development, and neonatal care.

Brittany Butts, PhD, RN, FAHA

Assistant Professor and Alumna, Laney Graduate School

Butts is a cardiovascular nurse scientist whose work explores the links between heart disease, cognitive decline, and Alzheimers disease risk. With a PhD from Emory in nursing and immunology, she is an award-winning pathophysiology teacher whose research focuses on biological behavioral omics, health disparities, and caregiver well-being.





Nancye Feistritzer, DNP, RN, NEA-BC

Vice President, Center for Care Delivery and Innovation, Emory Healthcare

Adjunct Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Since joining Emory Healthcare in 2014, Feistritzer has held several positions, including chief nursing officer at Emory University Hospital (EUH) and Emory University Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital. She led EUH to its second and third Magnet redesignations for nursing excellence and Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital to its second Magnet designation. In her current role, she leads the design and deployment of innovative care delivery models for Emory Healthcare.





Ellen Harvey, DNP, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, TCRN, SCRN, FCCM

Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Harvey is a clinical nurse specialist at the Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Va. An Emory MN graduate, she has published on the nurses role in team performance and the impact of clinical nurse specialists on advancing evidence-based practice. A fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine, she is a regional animal therapy nonprofit board member and a licensed animal therapy handler.

Angela Haynes-Ferere, DNP, FNP-BC, MPH, FAANP

Associate Clinical Professor and Distance Accelerated BSN Program Director, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Rollins School of Public Health

Haynes-Ferere is also a family nurse practitioner (FNP) and educator who focuses on acute and chronic care, remote nursing education, experiential learning, global health, holistic care, and vulnerable populations. An Emory MPH, BSN, and MSN graduate, she leads a nonprofit organization that provides health care in the Cap Haitian region of Haiti.

Kay Kennedy, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CPHQ

Alumna and Adjunct Associate Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Kennedy is also CEO of uLeadership, a health care leadership development company, and co-author of Human-Centered Leadership in Healthcare: Evolution of a Revolution. She has held leadership positions from the bedside to chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services. She holds a DNP in executive leadership from the MGH Institute of Health Professions and an MN, BSN, and AA from Emory.

Andrea Knopp, PhD, MSN, MPH, FNP-BC

Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Rollins School of Public Health

A family nurse practitioner with MSN and MPH degrees from Emory, Knopp is a professor and associate director of graduate programs at the James Madison University School of Nursing. Her work involves international health, internal medicine, HIV primary care, health determinants, womens health, and primary care projects, and she has served in Egypt, Nicaragua, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.

Heather Meissen, DNP, ACNP, CCRN, FCCM, FAANP

Associate Clinical Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Emory University Hospital

Meissen works in the surgical ICU at Emory University Hospital and was the founding director of Emory Healthcares Critical Care Nurse Practitioner Fellowship, the nations first to be accredited as a practice transition program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Her research focuses on NP workforce development, including onboarding, retention, and staffing models.

Jennifer Moon, DNP, MPH, MSN, FNP-BC

Alumna, Rollins School of Public Health

As chief nurse officer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Rear Admiral Moon advises the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as the designated federal-level chief nursing officer for nurse recruitment, deployment, retention and development. A nurse practitioner and former emergency department nurse, she earned an MPH from Emory and has served in various federal government positions.

Anita Rich, DNP, RN, CHFN, CDCES, CGNC

Senior Clinical Instructor and Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

With a long career in the clinical management of heart failure, Rich is also CEO of Nurses Heart to Heart, a nonprofit that provides education and resources to nurses in developing and post-conflict countries. An Emory BSN alumna, she was the 2024 recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Centers Magnet Nurse of the Year in Transformational Leadership and the 2023 recipient of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Associations Heart Failure Nurse of the Year.





Bethany Robertson, DNP, CNM, FNAP

Clinical Professor and Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

An Emory MSN graduate, Robertson is also a clinical executive at Wolters Kluwer Health and has been a nurse, Certified Nurse Midwife, and nurse executive. Her work concentrates on workforce development models and programs focusing on interprofessional practice and education, health care quality and safety, and residency programs, including a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded FNP residency program with Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Trisha Sheridan, DNP, WHNP-BC, SANE-A, SANE-P, FAANP

Associate Clinical Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Sheridan is a forensic nursing leader and director of the Georgia Forensic Nursing and Southeast Alliance for Forensic Excellence (SAFE) Networks, where she trains health care, law, and social service professionals to improve care for survivors of violence. With a background in womens health, vulnerable populations, and interprofessional education, she is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.





Athena Sherman, PhD, PHN, RN, CNE

Assistant Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Shermans research involves multi-level intervention development to improve health outcomes for LGBTQ+ people. Specifically, they work with nursing schools internationally to integrate LGBTQ+ health content into nursing curricula and partner with transgender and gender expansive people to prevent and address the impacts of stigma, trauma and violence on mental health. A former Emory postdoc, they also have a San Francisco-based clinical practice in end-of-life care with VITAS Healthcare.





LeeAnna Spiva, PhD, RN

Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Spiva is the assistant vice president of nursing practice and operations at WellStar Health System in Marietta, Georgia. She has served the system in various positions across her 20-year career, leading the organization in achieving Magnet recognition and Pathway to Excellence designations and overseeing the implementation of a nurse residency program. An Emory BSN and MSN graduate, she is also a researcher with 175-plus combined publications and presentations on evidence-based models of care.

Paula Tucker, PhD, DNP, FNP-BC, ENP-C, FAANP

Associate Clinical Professor and Emergency Nurse Practitioner Program Director, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

Alumna, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing and Laney Graduate School

Tucker is an emergency nurse practitioner and national leader in health professions education, workforce development, and clinical practice. An Emory MSN and PhD graduate, she practices at the Grady Emergency Care Center and researches traumatic brain injury. She holds leadership positions in national NP organizations and helps shape policy and educational standards for the emergency NP workforce.

I am incredibly proud to see 16 members of the Emory community receive this prestigious recognition, says Linda McCauley, PhD, RN, FAAN, FRCN, dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. These individuals exemplify the best of Emory  advancing science, shaping policy, and transforming care. Their induction into this elite group of nurse leaders is a testament to their dedication and the bright future they continue to shape for our field.

With a commitment to exceptional care and mentorship, these inductees embody the spirit of Emory, says Sharon Pappas, PhD, RN, FAAN, chief nurse executive for Emory Healthcare. This recognition reinforces what we know to be true  when nurses lead, they elevate entire communities. Im proud to celebrate them as 2025 Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing.

The newest Fellows represent 42 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 12 countries. The Academy will induct them during its annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., in October.
Poshard poetry reading at SIU to benefit Saluki Food Pantry

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Hundreds of Southern Illinois University Carbondale students get a little help in overcoming food insecurity each year, thanks to the Saluki Food Pantry. A special event on Sept. 29 featuring former SIU System President Glenn Poshard will kick off a food drive to stock the facility for the new academic year.

Poshard, a three-degree SIU alumnus and former state senator and member of Congress, will present a free poetry reading entitled Beginnings and Endings at 11 a.m. in the Student Centers Ballroom B. All who attend the event, held during Hunger Action Month, are asked to bring nonperishable food items to help stock the shelves. Monetary donations will also be accepted, including online/credit card contributions. Poshard plans to recommend that the pantry be added to the donation list for the Poshard Foundation to consider when making charitable contributions.

Tours of the pantry will also be available after the event. Free parking for the event will be available for community members in Lot 13, across from the Student Center.

Impact by the numbers

During the 2024-2025 academic year, 280 students and their dependents were able to obtain food at the Saluki Food Pantry to ensure their nutritional needs were met and allow them to focus on their educational goals, said Emily Spann, Student Center associate director.

More than half of those students visited the pantry on more than one occasion, and 236 of them did not have a meal plan. Nearly all the students who obtained food attended full time, and more than half were working at least 11-20 hours a week. Over one-third were between the ages of 18 and 23, and 63% were first-generation students.

Since the pantry opened in 2016, it has served more than 7,300 Salukis and their dependents. SIU opened the pantry in response to research that indicated as many as one-third of college students were food insecure, meaning they were unable to obtain an adequate amount of food and sufficient nutrition at any given time.

Donations always welcome

In addition to accepting donations at the Poshard poetry reading, officials note that donations can be dropped off in the Student Center administrative office, located on the second floor, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email foodpantry@siu.edu to arrange for pickup of a larger donation or if your organization wants to coordinate a food drive to benefit the pantry.

Donations of these items are especially welcome:

Beans (kidney, refried, black, chili, etc.)

Macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cornbread and other boxed/packaged side dishes.

Spaghetti or tomato sauce.

Pasta (spaghetti, linguine, fettucine).

Canned meat (chicken, tuna).

Canned meals (SpaghettiOs, chili, beef stew, etc.).

Canned fruit (preferably in 100% juice or with no added sugar).

Canned vegetables.

Crackers.

White or brown rice.

Ramen noodles (chicken, beef, shrimp).

Peanut butter.

Snacks (granola bars, trail mix, chips, etc.).

Dried soup or chili mixes or canned soups, chili.

Breakfast items (oatmeal, cream of wheat, breakfast bars, etc.).

Other necessities, including flour, sugar, jelly/jam, baking mixes, salt, seasoning.

Monetary donations are also appreciated and can be made through the online giving tab on the website.

Students receive enough food at no cost so that each family member residing in their household can eat for about three days. For more information, visit the website or email foodpantry@siu.edu.
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - What began as protests against fuel price hikes in Angola have escalated into deadly unrest across the country, with at least 22 people killed and more than 1,000 detained, prompting calls from the UN for restraint and urgent investigations into possible rights violations by security forces
VMPL Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], August 1: In a pioneering move set to redefine healthcare access in India, STAR Hospitals, Hyderabad's premier healthcare provider, has partnered with MyGate, India's leading community management platform, to launch 'STAR Services on MyGate'. This landmark initiative was officially launched on 30th July 2025 at 12:30 PM at Pramana Hall, STAR Hospitals, Nanakramguda, followed by lunch. This first-of-its-kind initiative brings advanced medical services directly to gated communities through the MyGate platform, empowering residents with tech-enabled, on-demand access to quality Multispecialty services. The launch event was graced by distinguished dignitaries: Shri D. Sridhar Babu, Hon'ble Minister of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, Industries & Commerce, and Legislative Affairs, Government of Telangana, who served as Chief Guest. * Shri Arekapudi Gandhi, Hon'ble MLA of Serilingampally, as Guest of Honour. * Shri Rohit Jindal, Co-Founder & CBO of MyGate, as Special Guest. They were joined by STAR Hospital's leadership. * Dr. Gopichand Mannam (Managing Director) * Dr. Ramesh Gudapati (Joint Managing Director). * Dr. Rahul Medakkar (Chief Executive Officer) reiterated STAR's mission to make world-class healthcare more accessible and community-centric. Transforming Access to Healthcare Right at Your Doorstep This landmark collaboration integrates STAR's clinical excellence across 30+ specialties with MyGate's hyper-local reach across 1,800+ residential communities and over 5 lakh families in Hyderabad. For the first time in India, a hospital group and community mobile application platform are working together to proactively deliver healthcare in everyday life, not just in emergencies. Residents will now have access to: 1. Seamless specialist doctor appointments 2. Preventive health & early detection advisories 3. Information on specialty-specific hospital services 4. Emergency response protocols & first-response guidelines 5. Basic Life Support (BLS) awareness & training sessions From Vision to Action: Leader Insights Driving India's Community Health Renaissance "Before I speak as a Minister, let me speak as a citizen, one who has seen both the awe and the agony in the eyes of patients waiting for care. Healthcare is not just a sector; it is the soul of society. Today, in a city emerging as India's medical capital, we launch a first-of-its-kind partnership -- STAR Services on MyGate. For the first time, a hospital and a community-tech platform have come together to turn gated communities into health-aware zones. We are bringing specialist access, emergency readiness, and BLS awareness directly to the doorstep, where care begins before crisis strikes. The need is urgent. 5.2 million Indians die annually from treatable conditions, and 70% of urban emergencies are delayed due to lack of trained first responders. Telangana has contributed over 2.23 crore consultations to eSanjeevani. Yet, 60% of chronic conditions remain undiagnosed. While 80% of advanced diagnostics are limited to metros, the demand is growing -- home-based diagnostics are projected to cross $8.6 billion by 2027. This initiative is not just timely -- it's transformative. And for doctors, it brings support systems built on meaningful data, not to replace their intuition, but to reinforce it. This is the future Telangana envisions. With AI-enabled screenings, Digital Health Cards, and TGDeX for secure health data exchange, we're building a healthcare model rooted in both innovation and dignity. Our goal is clear: to contribute 10% to India's projected $30 billion digital health economy. But more than economic growth, we are investing in lives. From digital to dignity, from data to doorstep. Telangana is ready to lead India's Tech-Integrated Healthcare Renaissance."-Shri D. Sridhar Babu, Hon'ble Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, Industries & Commerce, and Legislative Affairs, Government of Telangana. "Community-first healthcare is no longer an aspiration, it's a necessity. This initiative ensures that residents across Serilingampally and beyond are more prepared, informed, and supported in their daily health journeys." - Shri Arekapudi Gandhi, Hon'ble MLA, Serilingampally. "At MyGate, we aim to empower communities with everyday solutions that matter healthcare being among the most essential. Our partnership with STAR Multispecialty Hospitals ensures that health becomes an integrated part of community living, not just an emergency response." - Shri Rohit Jindal, Co-Founder & CBO, MyGate. A New Chapter in Community Health: This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to building healthier, more connected neighborhoods through innovation. Community leaders, insurers, and civic stakeholders at the event welcomed this model as a scalable blueprint for future-ready urban health ecosystems. "STAR Hospitals has always led from the front whether in advanced specialties or now in reimagining community access. With MyGate, we're embedding healthcare where it belongs: into people's everyday lives." - Dr. Gopichand Mannam, Managing Director, STAR Hospitals "The future of healthcare lies in prevention and proximity. This partnership enables us to place life-saving information and care into the hands of residents before a crisis hits." - Dr. Ramesh Gudapati, Joint Managing Director, STAR Hospitals "This initiative is more than a service extension; it's a strategic leap towards anticipating healthcare needs, enhancing public health, and transforming urban wellness." - Dr. Rahul Medakkar, Chief Executive Officer, STAR Hospitals With 'STAR Services on MyGate', healthcare becomes more than just a visit to the hospital, it becomes a way of life. This first-of-its-kind partnership signals a new era in Indian healthcare where technology, community, and clinical excellence come together to ensure healthier futures for all. For More Details Please Visit: Star Hospitals / Call: 07969250191 (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 Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], August 1: In a significant step toward revolutionizing the education landscape in Maharashtra, the Government of Maharashtra and The Art of Living Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust (SSRDP) have signed a transformative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaboratively uplift 150 government-aided schools across 10 districts in the state. The MoU was signed in the presence of Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis, senior government officials and Shri Prasana Prabhu, Chairman, Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust. This collaborative partnership aims to make government schools aspirational spaces of learning and holistic development by enhancing digital infrastructure, revamping physical facilities and introducing comprehensive wellbeing and capacity-building programs for students and teachers alike. Speaking at the ceremony, the Hon'ble Chief Minister stated, "We are committed to transforming education in Maharashtra. Through this partnership with the Art of Living SSRDP, we aim to create environments that nurture not just academic excellence but also emotional, digital and moral intelligence in our students." Vision and Key Focus Areas The initiative seeks to provide students with equal opportunities for growth by implementing a wide range of interventions including: * Establishment of digital smart classrooms and computer labs * STEM and science labs to encourage hands-on innovation * Structured training programs for teachers on modern pedagogy * Yoga, meditation and emotional resilience sessions for wellbeing * Renovation of classrooms, libraries, and sanitation facilities * Installation of solar units for uninterrupted power supply * Creative and sports-based development programs * Vibrant, inspiring school environments with murals and learning corners Each school will undergo a baseline assessment to design tailored intervention plans, with the implementation phased over three years. The programs will be supported through CSR partnerships and philanthropic contributions mobilized by the Art of Living SSRDP. Shri Prasana Prabhu, Chairman Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust, said, "This MoU embodies Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji's vision of holistic education that empowers every child emotionally, physically and intellectually. Together with the Maharashtra Government, we will reimagine these schools into vibrant centers of learning and inspiration." Call for Collaboration The Art of Living SSRDP invites corporates, philanthropic institutions, and community stakeholders to join this mission and contribute to the transformation of these schools, making them models of inclusive and empowered education. Click to Contribute: ssrdp.artofliving.org/donate-ssrdp. Sri Sri Rural Development Program (SSRDP) is dedicated to uplifting rural communities across India. Inspired by the teachings of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, initiatives leverage sustainable technologies, value-based education, and strategic partnerships to empower farmers, enhance livelihoods, and foster a balanced, prosperous environment. Follow: www.instagram.com/srisrirdp/ Like: www.facebook.com/SriSriRDP/ Post: x.com/srisrirdp (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)
Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana's Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations on Friday issued a seven-day ultimatum to South African digital satellite pay TV company, MultiChoice, to reduce its subscription fees or risk the suspension of its licence
The executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Thursday has imposed flat 25 per cent tariff on all goods from India, with no product-level exemptions, according to a report by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI). This will apply till a bilateral agreement is reached between the two nations and another executive order is issued by President of the United States. Trump's executive order dated July 31 reads, "Certain foreign trading partners identified in Annex I to this order have agreed to, or are on the verge of concluding, meaningful trade and security agreements with the United States. Goods of those trading partners will remain subject to the additional ad valorem duties provided in Annex I to this order until such time as those agreements are concluded, and I issue subsequent orders memorializing the terms of those agreements." The GTRI noted that this blanket tariff is one of the toughest trade actions the U.S. has taken against a major trading partner in recent years. GTRI note stated "all goods from India will face a 25 per cent US tariff starting August 7, 2025. These will be over and above the standard MFN tariffs. India is subject to a flat 25 per cent ad valorem duty across all goods, with no exceptions by product or sector". The absence of exemptions for critical sectors like pharmaceuticals, crude oil, and electronics will doubly impact Indian exports of petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion in FY2025), smartphones (USD 10.9 billion), and pharmaceuticals (USD 9.8 billion) to the U.S. Other sectors like engineering goods, electronics, and textiles will also face the brunt of the higher tariffs. Quick estimates by GTRI suggest that India's goods exports to the U.S. may decline by 30 per cent in FY2026, from USD 86.5 billion in FY2025 to USD 60.6 billion. The U.S. has offered tariff exemptions to trading partners with whom trade agreement is reached for several key product categories. These include finished pharmaceutical drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and other essential drug inputs; energy products such as crude oil, refined fuels, natural gas, coal, and electricity; critical minerals; and electronics and semiconductors including smartphones, tablets, solid-state drives, and integrated circuits. Meanwhile, goods from India that are already in transit will be allowed to pay earlier tariff rates, 10 per cent on most products (except items like steel and aluminium which face 50 per cent), until October 5, 2025. However, further clarity is needed on additional 25 per cent duty on steel and auto, on which 50 per cent and 25 per cent respective tariff are imposed. For India, the most affected categories are expected to be petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and electronics, all of which have high import content and low domestic value addition. (ANI)
PNN Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 1: Bharat Network Group (BNG), a next-generation multi-brand platform, officially announced its launch today, bringing together some of Bharat's most influential media, technology, education, and consumer brands under one integrated network. Driven by a unified vision, BNG aims to streamline the operations, storytelling, and services of its growing brand portfolio: The Founder Media, The Banker Media, The Educator Media, Tech Disruptor Media, O2-Gears, Boothify, and NetconX -- each a leader in its own niche. "BNG is more than a network -- it's a movement built on the belief that Bharat's next big leap lies in sectoral collaboration, focused storytelling, and digital-first service ecosystems. We're building Bharat's future, brand by brand," said Dr. Ashish Srivastava, Founder & Director, Bharat Network Group. "We're not just launching a group of companies -- we're launching a mindset shift. A belief that growth can be purposeful, content can be powerful, and networks can create lasting change," said Dr. Anupam Gupta, Founder & Director, Bharat Network Group "BNG was born out of a need to simplify complexity. Across industries, we saw fragmented voices trying to create impact. With BNG, we bring those voices under one roof -- to amplify their reach, streamline their growth, and serve Bharat in a more connected, meaningful way," said Vaibhav Kumar, Vice President, Bharat Network Group Each brand under BNG continues to operate independently while gaining access to shared resources, technology, strategic direction, and market reach: * The Founder Media - A content-first platform showcasing tech startups, disruptors, and founders. * The Banker Media - A trusted voice for Bharat's BFSI and Fintech sector, offering insights, research, and awards. * The Educator Media - A digital platform for students and institutions focusing on college rankings, placements, and academic discovery. * Tech Disruptor Media - Covering enterprise tech leadership, CIO innovations, and digital transformation trends. * O2-Gears - A consumer lifestyle brand creating smart wearables and audio accessories for modern Bharat. * Boothify - A 360 event management company providing design-to-delivery solutions for brands and expos. * NetconX - A digital and IT solutions company offering development, cloud services, and technology consulting. With a footprint that spans across media, events, education, technology, and consumer products, BNG is positioned to become a force multiplier in Bharat's innovation ecosystem. Its platforms host flagship summits, publish industry-led magazines, enable digital experiences, and deliver tech-enabled solutions to a diverse audience. The launch campaign themed as "One Vision. Many Voices. One Network." showcases BNG's commitment to unify Bharat's growth sectors under one banner. Going forward, BNG aims to invest in scalable digital platforms, pan-Bharat outreach initiatives, and collaborative brand programs across its ecosystem. About Bharat Network Group (BNG) Bharat Network Group (BNG) is a multi-brand ecosystem built to drive Bharat's future through integrated platforms in media, technology, education, lifestyle, and events. Headquartered in New Delhi with teams across Bharat, BNG champions purpose-driven growth across sectors that shape Bharat's economy and identity. Visit: www.bharatnetworkgroup.com For Media Queries: Aishwarya Saxena Senior Associate Editor, BNGeditor@thefoundermedia.com (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
The overall dispatches fell to 69,131 units, compared to 71,996 units in July 2024.

However, the company, it recorded highest-ever monthly EV sales, a significant milestone in the zero-emission journey. The company recorded a42 per cent growth in EV sales from 5027 vehicles in July 2024 to 7124 vehicles in July 2025.

The dip was mainly attributed to a sharp drop in passenger vehicle (PV) sales which declined 11 per cent. PV sales also include electric vehicles, the monthly data revealed.

Tata's passenger vehicle segment saw a notable 11 per cent decline, with total sales dropping to 40,175 units from 44,954 units a year earlier.

The segment has been under pressure due to slower retail movement and inventory adjustments across dealerships.

In contrast, commercial vehicle (CV) sales provided some cushion, rising 7 per cent YoY to 28,956 units, up from 27,042 units in July 2024. This uptick reflects continued recovery in infrastructure and construction-related demand.

Total domestic sales for the month came in at 65,953 units, marking a 6 per cent decline from 70,161 units in the same period last year.

Domestic sale of MH&ICV (Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle) in July 2025, including trucks and buses, stood at 12,387 units, comparedto 11,174 units in July 2024.

Total sales for MH&ICV Domestic & International Business in July 2025, including trucks and buses, stood at 13,669 units compared to 11,886 units in July 2024. (ANI)
As India faces potential trade headwinds that could impact its USD 87 billion exports to the United States, the country must accelerate market diversification and leverage its strengths in services to maintain economic momentum, according to former Labour Secretary Sumita Dawra. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and an unspecified 'penalty', even as there were hopes of an interim India-US trade deal before August 1 deadline -- which would have otherwise helped avoid elevated tariffs. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in both houses of the Parliament, stating that the government is examining the impact of tariffs and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest. Speaking about the challenges facing India's export-dependent sectors, Dawra highlighted concerns for labour-intensive industries, including electronics, jewellery, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and leather goods, that could be significantly impacted by changing trade dynamics. However, Dawra emphasised substantial opportunities for diversification across multiple geographies. "We see strong growth coming from other countries, for example, Africa, the Middle East or Central Asian countries, and Europe. We are doing FTAs, we have just concluded with the UK," she noted. The former bureaucrat identified Africa as showing fast-growing demand for Indian pharmaceuticals, textiles, and digital services, while energy-rich countries in the Middle East and Central Asia present additional expansion opportunities. Recent trade agreement progress, including the concluded UK FTA and ongoing EU negotiations, further opens European markets. Dawra stressed the importance of strengthening ties within India's immediate neighbourhood, particularly through initiatives like BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), which includes Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. "These are countries with whom we can have stronger regional trade ties at this point in time, also low-hanging fruit, and we can also develop regulatory standards and build a stronger regional trade partnership using this challenge as an opportunity," she explained. She also suggested expanding UPI usage for regional trade, which would demonstrate India's digital public goods globally while generating licensing fees and technology integration opportunities for Indian IT companies. Highlighting India's position as the world's seventh-largest services exporter, Dawra emphasised this sector's resilience against tariff barriers. "Services are less vulnerable to tariffs. We are very strong in it, and business processing services are very strong in edtech. Edtech is a great sector to develop a low-hanging fruit, and also telemedicine, attracting more medical tourism." She advocated for developing digital economy partnerships similar to Singapore's agreements with Australia and the UK, creating digital corridors that reduce regulatory hurdles and promote business growth. The former secretary called for greater focus on high-value exports, particularly in electronics with backwards integration, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals moving beyond generic products, and green technology sectors. She also emphasised strengthening India's position as a global capability centre hub, leveraging competitive labour costs and available skills. Drawing parallels to India's COVID-19 response, Dawra suggested replicating the empowered group structure that enabled rapid decision-making during the pandemic. "During COVID, we had the Empowered group of secretaries... taking fast decisions, meeting the challenges head-on. So if we have empowered groups, maybe in the area of investments, or taking decisions where PLDP is concerned, in the area of trade deals, so maybe things could move much faster." Dawra reminded that India's domestically-led economy provides inherent stability. "India is a domestically led economy, so we should continue to be attractive for foreign investments," she said, emphasising the country's large, competitive labour pool as a continued advantage. The former secretary concluded that current challenges could serve as an inflection point for exponential growth, provided India demonstrates the same capabilities and determination shown during the pandemic response. With negotiations ongoing and outcomes expected by the end of August, Dawra's comprehensive strategy emphasises India's multiple strengths and diverse opportunities for maintaining economic growth despite potential trade disruptions. (ANI)
The US administration's 25 per cent blanket tariffs on Indian goods is "unfortunate" but are poised to be short-lived, as both the partner countries are working on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), Vimal Pruthi, Partner, International Trade, EY India, said on Friday. "This is an unfortunate move by the Trump administration...It will impact, in short term, on some of the export sectors like textile, gems, and jewellery, engineering goods, FMCG products. It is surely going to impact in the short term," Pruthi told ANI. He sees the impact of tariffs going away as and when the interim trade deal is reached. "We all know that Indian government is already in discussion with the US administration for a trade deal, so we can hope that in the coming months or so the trade deal will be concluded and this impact will go away," the EY India executive asserted. Asked whether he sees this move by the Trump administration as part of a larger protectionist agenda or India being specifically targeted, he said it can be seen from the lens of 'Making America Great Again' plans. "President Trump's policy is America first. So this is a move towards that. They want to protect their interests. It's their right. They are doing this with all the countries. There is nothing specific with India," he said. Should India retaliate with counter tariffs or what could be the ideal response from the central government, Pruthi opined that any aggressive steps can derail trade deal negotiations. "India can levy tariffs, but at this moment when we are already in discussions for a trade deal, any aggressive step can derail the discussions. So, therefore India should keep its cool. The maturity should be shown -- the momentous pleasure by responding to any remarks should not be taken." On Wednesday, President Trump announced the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and an unspecified 'penalty', even as there were hopes of an interim India-US trade deal before August 1 deadline -- which would have otherwise helped avoid elevated tariffs. There were some reservations from the Indian side on the US demand for opening up the agricultural and dairy sectors for the US. Agriculture and dairy are critical for India as these two sectors provide livelihood opportunities to a large section of its people. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in both houses of the Parliament, stating that the government is examining the impact of tariffs and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest. "Government gives utmost priority to the safeguarding of welfare of farmers, labourers, entrepreneurs, industrialists, exporters, MSMEs and stakeholders of the industrial sector. We will take all necessary steps to safeguard our national interest," Piyush Goyal said in Lok Sabha on Thursday. On April 2, President Trump signed an executive order for reciprocal tariffs on various trade partners, imposing varied tariffs in the range of 10-50 per cent. He subsequently kept the tariffs in abeyance for 90 days, while imposing a 10 per cent baseline tariff. The deadline was to end on July 9, and the US administration later pushed it ahead to August 1. In March, India and the US initiated talks for a BTA, with the countries stating that the first tranche would be signed by the fall of 2025. (October-November). US President Donald Trump had imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries with which the US has a trade deficit. Since assuming office for his second term, President Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to "ensure fair trade". (ANI)
PNN Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], August 1: As Rakhi approaches, Eternal Bright, a premium skincare brand trusted by dermatologists for over a decade, announces its Rakhi Sale with Flat 40% Off on all serums, plus 2 Insta Party Sheet Masks free with every purchase. This special offer is designed to make Rakhi gifting both meaningful and luxurious. Deepank Gupta, CEO of Eternal Bright, shared: "Skincare is not just a product; it's an investment in self-care. This Rakhi, we wanted to give brothers and sisters the chance to gift something truly lasting - healthy, radiant skin. Eternal Bright serums are scientifically formulated, dermatologist-trusted, and designed for those who value real skin health over trends." Why Eternal Bright Serums Are the Perfect Rakhi Gift? With Google searches like "Best Rakhi gift for sister 2025" and "What is the best skincare gift for Rakhi?" trending, Eternal Bright Serums answer both questions with science-backed formulations created by expert skin scientists and endorsed by leading dermatologists worldwide. Each serum is tailored to tackle specific concerns: * Vitamin C Serum - Triple complex of stabilized Vitamin C derivatives for ultimate glow and collagen boost. * Niacinamide Serum - Refines pores, balances oil and strengthens the skin barrier for daily radiance. * Retinol Serum - Advanced anti-aging with Retinol 0.8%, Ferulic Acid & Hyaluronic Acid for youthful skin. * Fadeout Pigment Correcting Serum - Targets hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and melasma with Tranexamic Acid, Azelaic Acid & 4-Butylresorcinol. The 50 ML Logic: More Value, Less Waste Speaking on Eternal Bright's decision to move to 50 ML packs, Deepank Gupta explained: "Most brands stick to 30 ML, but skincare is about consistency. By offering 50 ML packs at the same price, we not only provide better value but also reduce packaging waste, aligning with our commitment to the planet and our customers' long-term skincare needs." Offer Details & Availability: Flat 40% Off on all Eternal Bright Serums 2 Insta Party Sheet Masks Free (Worth 580) with every serum Offer valid from 1st to 6th August Available on: * Official Website * Amazon * Flipkart * Jiomart * Myntra * WhatsApp Order: +91 9724178751 * Instagram: @eternalbrightserum Why Skincare is the New Gifting Trend According to recent Google searches like "Is skincare a good gift?" and "Why gift skincare on Rakhi?", consumers increasingly prefer meaningful, self-care-oriented gifts over traditional options. Eternal Bright perfectly fits this trend by combining scientific efficacy with luxury and care, making it the ultimate Rakhi gift for sisters, wives, and loved ones. About Eternal Bright With over 10 years of trust, Eternal Bright is more than just skincare--it's science for skin health. Every ingredient is clinically studied for efficacy and safety, ensuring long-term results without false promises of "3-day magic." Our formulations are loved by millions globally for delivering healthy, radiant skin with consistent use. This Rakhi, give more than a gift. Give skin confidence. Place your Order Now at: https://www.theeternalbright.com/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN New Delhi [India], August 1: Shilaras, India's 1st Shilajit Honey Snap brand, announces the launch of its new, powerful, and tastier Shilajit variants, making daily wellness both effortless and much enjoyable. Shilaras's New Variants: Shilajit Gold Resin Snap with Super Herbs & 24 Karat Gold: A luxurious fusion of pure Himalayan Shilajit enriched with certified 24 Karat edible gold dust and time-honored herbs like Ashwagandha, Kaunch Beej, Safed Musli, Triphala, Saffron, and many more. Made to enhance strength, stamina, immunity and overall vitality, this Gold Snap is a daily ritual of power and purity. Shilajit Resin Snap with Ashwagandha: A powerful blend designed to boost physical and mental performance, help fight fatigue, and sharpen focus. Known for its adaptogenic benefits, Ashwagandha synergizes with Shilajit to promote restful sleep and everyday resilience. In response to the overwhelming love for the brand's Kesar Shilajit, Shilaras introduces 7 new flavors to make the wellness journey way more tasty. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Caramel: A smooth, indulgent blend with a hint of natural sweetness and energy. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Ginger: A revitalizing kick with immunity-boosting and anti-inflammatory benefits. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Strawberry: A fruity twist that balances wellness with flavor, perfect for everyday vitality. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Imli: A tangy, nostalgic delight that blends childhood memories with purposeful wellness. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Cinnamon: A warm, comforting combination that supports digestion and overall balance. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Chocolate: A decadent, mood-lifting fusion that satisfies sweet cravings while supporting stamina and strength. * Shilajit Resin, Honey & Orange: A zesty, citrus-powered blend that refreshes the senses and boosts daily immunity. Each flavor is formulated using pure Himalayan Shilajit, hand-harvested from high altitudes and known for its richness in fulvic acid and essential minerals. These blends are paired with raw honey for its natural sweetness and health properties, and infused with flavorful, functional ingredients to level up both taste and benefits. "At Shilaras, we believe wellness should be both powerful and pleasurable. With our new variants, we're redefining how people experience Shilajit," said Gayatri S Ahuja, Founder of Shilaras. "Every Snap carries authenticity, ayurvedic power, and modern-day convenience. Our mission is simple: to help people become the best version of themselves. With us, your health and wellness deserve only the best and the purest." Unlike many brands that dilute Shilajit with fillers, binders, or artificial sweeteners, Shilaras stands apart with its unadulterated formulations. Every batch is rigorously tested in a 3rd-party lab for heavy metals, microbial load, and authenticity, ensuring that consumers receive nothing but real Himalayan Shilajit in its natural and potent form. About Shilaras Rooted in tradition yet designed for modern life, Shilaras brings the power of pure Himalayan Shilajit in a most convenient and easy-to-consume form, for both men and women who want to naturally boost their strength, stamina, immunity, and overall vitality. Each serving contains 85+ minerals and over 70% fulvic acid. No measuring, no mixing, consumers just have to grab, fold, and squeeze the product. It's a mess-free wellness ritual that fits right into their busy lives. Every batch is 3rd-party lab-tested for purity and safety, making Shilaras a trusted name for those seeking real results with real ingredients. (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)
Faridabad (Haryana) [India], August 1: In a remarkable step forward for the future of body contouring in India, Dr. Khushboo Jha, founder of One Skin Clinic by K, hosted the official launch of ARTIQA - a revolutionary body sculpting technology based on Thermal Shock - at the prestigious Taj, Surajkund.

The elegant afternoon affair welcomed 90 to 100 distinguished guests, including politicians, industrialists, builders, medical professionals, and wellness enthusiasts from across Delhi NCR. The event was a celebration of innovation, science, and aesthetics, offering attendees a first-hand look at the next generation of non-invasive body contouring.

The grand unveiling of ARTIQA was performed by Mr. Dhanesh Adlakha, MLA of Badkhal Assembly, who appreciated Dr. Jha's commitment to bringing advanced global technologies to Faridabad. His words underscored the growing importance of cutting-edge aesthetic solutions in urban wellness ecosystems.

The occasion was further elevated by a ceremonial cake-cutting led by Mr. Pradeep Singh, Member of Parliament, who applauded the effort and vision behind introducing high-performance, patient-friendly innovations like ARTIQA to the Indian market.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Khushboo Jha expressed her pride and passion for pushing the boundaries of modern aesthetic care:

"ARTIQA is more than just a device-it's a movement toward safe, effective, and truly transformative body contouring. At One Skin Clinic by K, our goal is to empower our patients with the best technology the world has to offer."

The afternoon featured live demonstrations and expert discussions that allowed guests to understand the science behind ARTIQA - a device that uses alternating heat and cold to trigger Thermal Shock, enabling fat reduction, muscle toning, and skin rejuvenation without surgery or downtime.

Mr. Ashish Jha, Director of Photonence India Pvt. Ltd., the official distributor of ARTIQA in India, added:

"We're thrilled to partner with clinics like One Skin to bring ARTIQA to India. This is the start of a new era in non-invasive body transformation - and we're just getting started."

With its launch, ARTIQA sets a bold new benchmark in body aesthetics, and this inaugural event stands as a shining testament to the synergy of science, technology, and visionary leadership.

(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's shipbuilding industry is undergoing a transformational shift, as the Union Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi accelerates efforts to build a world-class maritime ecosystem--paving the way for a Viksit Bharat by 2047, asserted Sarbananda Sonowal, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW). The Union Minister was responding to a starred question by Rajeev Bharadwaj, MP from Kangra, in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. In line with the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the long-term strategic roadmap of Amrit Kaal, the Union Budget 2025 has announced a series of reforms and investments aimed at significantly enhancing the capacity and competitiveness of Indian shipyards. These initiatives are expected to strengthen India's position as an emerging global maritime power, as expressed by Sonowal. Highlighting the government's commitment, Sonowal underlined the "The Shipbuilding Financial Assistance Policy which is being revamped to address cost disadvantages," thereby helping Indian shipyards compete on equal footing with their international Counterparts. The inclusion of credit notes for ship breaking in Indian yards reinforces the push towards a circular and sustainable maritime economy, he said. To boost infrastructure financing, large ships above a specified size will now be classified under the Infrastructure Harmonised Master List, making them eligible for long-term, low-interest funding. Simultaneously, the government will facilitate the development of integrated shipbuilding clusters, equipped with modern infrastructure, skill development centres, and advanced technologies. This, the Budget notes, is aimed at "increasing the range, categories and capacity of ships" built in India. In a landmark move to address the industry's need for long-term capital, the government has proposed a 25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund, with up to 49 per cent government contribution. This fund will mobilise private and port-led investments to expand and modernise India's shipbuilding and repair capabilities. Recognising the long gestation nature of the industry, tax exemptions on Basic Customs Duty (BCD) for raw materials and components used in shipbuilding and ship-breaking have been extended for another 10 years. "Our commitment to empower and enable our maritime sector is absolute and it is with this intent we are working under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji," said Sarbananda Sonowal. These budgetary interventions come on top of ongoing reforms that are already reshaping the sector. Indian shipyards currently benefit from financial assistance for contracts signed between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2026. The grant of infrastructure status to shipyards has unlocked access to institutional finance at favorable terms, and the ability to issue infrastructure bonds--critical enablers for capacity enhancement. To give Indian shipbuilders a competitive edge in public procurement, the government has extended the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) for tenders floated by public sector units. As per the Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017, vessels valued under Rs 200 crore must be procured from Indian yards, thereby reinforcing the goal of self-reliance in maritime assets. "In line with Prime Minister Modi's call for efficiency and standardisation, five standardised tug designs have been released for use by major ports. These designs, to be built exclusively in Indian shipyards, are expected to streamline procurement processes and improve cost-effectiveness," said Sonowal. On the ship repair front, Cochin Shipyard Limited has inaugurated a Rs 970 crore International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) in Kochi. This facility marks a significant upgrade in India's maritime infrastructure, reducing dependency on foreign repair docks and positioning India as a regional hub for ship maintenance, Sonowal responded. Capacity-building is a core pillar of capability enhancement. Both CSL and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) are registered under the Prime Minister's Internship Scheme, offering young Indians hands-on exposure to the latest in shipbuilding and marine engineering. Speaking on the significance of these initiatives, Union Minister Sonowal said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji's vision for Viksit Bharat places the maritime sector at the heart of India's economic resurgence. A strong, self-reliant shipbuilding industry will not only generate employment but will also enhance our strategic and commercial standing on the global stage. India is not just building ships; we are building a resilient future. These reforms will unlock new opportunities for investment, innovation, and international collaboration in the maritime domain." (ANI)
Experts from across Indian industries have expressed confidence in the resilience of the Indian economy amid the US President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods, describing the move as impactful in the short term but unlikely to dent India's long-term economic growth story. Reacting to the tariff hike announced by President Trump, Sushil Mohta, Chairman of the Kolkata-based real estate player Merlin Group, said India's robust economy would absorb the shock with minimal long-term disruption. "I don't think it will make a huge difference. Our economy is very strong today, India is the fourth-largest economy in the world," Mohta told ANI. "The common people in India work very hard. Our growth is driven by that effort, not dependent on the policies of any one country." He pointed to the relatively muted response in domestic stock markets as proof of the economy's strength. "If there were a major global disruption, we would have seen an immediate reflection in the markets. That hasn't happened," he noted. On the issue of trade exposure, Mohta said that India's economy is not overly reliant on the US or any single country. From the agriculture sector, Dev Garg, Vice President of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation (IREF), noted that the US tariff move was "concerning" for rice exporters. "Last year, India exported around Rs 3,100 crore worth of Basmati and non-Basmati rice to the US. This year, we've only managed Rs 833 crore so far," he said. However, Garg also viewed the latest tariff development with cautious optimism. "This could be a blessing in disguise. Thailand and Pakistan, our two key competitors in the US rice market, face 19 per cent tariffs, while India now faces 25 per cent -- just a 6 per cent gap," he explained. Expecting the depreciation of the Indian Rupee and anticipated deflationary trends in domestic prices, Indian rice could still remain competitive. "We have record surplus stocks and a weaker rupee at Rs 88 per dollar. These factors may help us offset the tariff burden and possibly even surpass last year's export figures," he added. Meanwhile, Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman of the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), dismissed President Trump's remarks on India's economy being "dead," a comment echoed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. "India is currently the fastest-growing major economy with a GDP growth rate of 6.2 per cent to 6.7 per cent. There's no question of it (Indian economy) being weak," Hiranandani said. "We are strengthening self-reliance across defence, agriculture, and manufacturing. The ambition is clear (that) India must become truly self-sufficient," he added. Over the past few months, India and the US have been negotiating for an interim trade deal, but there were some reservations from the Indian side on the US demand for opening up the agricultural and dairy sectors for the US. Agriculture and dairy are critical for India as these two sectors provide livelihood opportunities to a large section of its people. On Wednesday, President Trump announced the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods plus an unspecified 'penalty', even as there were hopes of an interim India-US trade deal that would have otherwise helped avoid elevated tariffs. India and the US initiated talks for a just, balanced, and mutually beneficial Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) in March this year, aiming to complete the first stage of the Agreement by October-November 2025. On April 2, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order for reciprocal tariffs on various trade partners, imposing varied tariffs in the range of 10-50 per cent. He subsequently kept the tariffs in abeyance for 90 days, while imposing a 10 per cent baseline tariff. The deadline was to end on July 9, and the US administration later pushed it ahead to August 1. US President Donald Trump had imposed reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries with which the US has a trade deficit. Since assuming office for his second term, President Trump has reiterated his stance on tariff reciprocity, emphasising that the United States will match tariffs imposed by other countries, including India, to "ensure fair trade". On Thursday evening, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in both houses of the Parliament, stating that the government is examining the impact of tariffs and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest. (ANI)
STURGIS, S.D., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- 2LaneLife is excited to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally by first going on an adventure to reach South Dakota with twelve carburated Harley-Davidson motorcycles  some of which will be part of future giveaways  along with hosting and participating in a variety of events.

What started as a passion for Harley-Davidsons quickly turned into a lifelong mission to explore open roads and experience everything the world has to offer, which ultimately sparked the 2LaneLife YouTube channel along with what came after. And Sturgis 2025 is going to be another adventure for the books.

As part of the festivities, 2LaneLife will be hosting the first Annual Burger Bash at the Boars Nest in Lead, South Dakota. The company partnered with the Boars Nest team, Harley-Davidson along with special guest Thrashin Supply Co. to create something magical.

This event will be held on Sunday (8/3) at Boars Nest from 11am to 1pm with the first 100 participants receiving a free collaborative shirt and meal.

Additionally, after the event, the 2LaneLife team will head to Outlaw Square where they will support the culmination of the 6th annual Medicine Wheel Ride.

The goal for 2LaneLife is to share captivating experiences at iconic destinations, which is highlighted on their Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/2LaneLife

About:

2LaneLife is a team of motorcycle enthusiasts that decided to pursue their passion full-time while sharing their adventures along the way. What began as a YouTube channel has grown into a multifaceted company that includes a leading online store for motorcycle parts/gear, blog that delivers a variety of insights and so much more.

Contact:

2LaneLife

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(818) 340-0540

SOURCE 2LaneLife
The makers of John Abraham starrer 'Tehran' have finally released the much-awaited trailer of the film, offering a glimpse into a story of an Indian man who was hunted by Iran, abandoned by Israel and deserted by India as he takes on a life-threatening mission. Starring John Abraham, Manushi Chhillar, Neeru Bajwa and Madhurina Tuli, the film is a fictionalised version inspired by true events and unfolds against the simmering global tension between Israel and Iran. The film is directed by Arun Gopalan. As per the trailer of the film, the story draws inspiration from the 2012 bomb explosion near the Israeli Embassy in Delhi, a real-life incident that spiralled into complex diplomatic ripples. To solve the case, ACP Rajeev Kumar, played by John Abraham, crosses borders to solve the case, resulting in his hunt by terrorists, as shown in the trailer. The film is jointly produced by Dinesh Vijan, Shobhna Yadav and Sandeep Leyzell under the banner of Maddock Films. John Abraham shared the trailer of the film on his Instagram handle. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMzbvSiNFRE/? The director, Arun Gopalan, expressed his gratitude to John, Manushi and the other cast members for their "authentic" participation in the world of 'Tehran'. "Tehran, to me, is a mirror held up to a fractured world. A story about shifting loyalties, blurred identities, and the human cost hidden in the shadows of global politics. We approached it with honesty and restraint because the truth it draws from is far from fiction. Every decision these characters make carries weight; every silence, every betrayal leaves a mark. I'm thankful to John, Manushi, and the cast for stepping into this world with such courage and authenticity," said Arun Gopalan as quoted in a press note shared by the makers. John Abraham called his role of Rajeev Kumar as one of the most intense and layered roles of his career. "Tehran is a truly global film, rooted in real events but resonating far beyond borders. Playing ACP Rajeev Kumar in Tehran has been one of the most intense and layered roles of my career as he is not your conventional patriot. He's a man constantly torn between duty and conscience, and that moral conflict is what makes this story so compelling," said John Abraham. For Neeru Bajwa, her character's "strength and clarity" drew her towards the story of 'Tehran'. "Tehran is unlike anything I've done before--a gripping narrative that's as emotionally charged as it is politically complex. What drew me to this story was the strength and clarity of my character. She's someone who holds her ground and chooses integrity, even when the world around her is falling apart. It's a proud moment for me to represent a woman who is morally grounded and unafraid to stand up for what she believes in, in a story as intense and far-reaching as this," said Neeru Bajwa as quoted in a press note. 'Tehran' will exclusively premiere on Zee5 on August 14, 2025. (ANI)
Uttarakhand has received approval for a major project worth Rs 125 crore from the Government of India for landslide mitigation and management, under the continuous efforts and guidance of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The project is aimed at providing a long-term solution to areas in the state most vulnerable to landslides. As per the instructions of the Chief Minister, the proposals were prepared by the State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMMC), Dehradun, and sent to the Government of India. In line with the guidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs acted promptly and approved the Rs 125 crore project. In the first phase, an advance amount of Rs 4.5 crore has been released for exploration works and preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The Chief Minister expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister on behalf of the state government and the people of Uttarakhand for the support. He said the project marks a significant step towards a long-term solution for landslide-affected areas. Five highly sensitive sites prone to landslides have been selected on a priority basis. These include Mansa Devi Hill Bypass Road (Haridwar), Galogi Hydroelectric Project Road (Mussoorie, Dehradun), Bahuguna Nagar land-subsidence area (Karnaprayag, Chamoli), Charton Lodge landslide area (Nainital), and Khotila-Ghatdhar landslide area (Dharchula, Pithoragarh). Uttarakhand has been experiencing widespread damage due to heavy rainfall during the monsoon season, leading to loss of life, disruption of everyday life, and damage to infrastructure, including roads. Meanwhile, the Central government has approved Rs 615 crore to Uttarakhand as special capital assistance, of which Rs 380.201 crore has already been released, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said on Wednesday. In reaction to this, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed happiness over the approval of special central assistance and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this. The Chief Minister said that the state government is engaged with full readiness and commitment to fulfil the Prime Minister's vision of making this decade a "decade of development of Uttarakhand." "Uttarakhand is getting full support from the Central Government in this direction," the Chief Minister said, according to the CMO. As per the CMO, under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme, the Uttarakhand government had sought special assistance of Rs 619.42 crore for 37 schemes in the financial year 2025-26. (ANI)
Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc parties will protest in front of Makkar Dawar in Parliament on Friday at 10.30 am, demanding a discussion in both Houses on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. On Thursday, the INDIA bloc parties, in a unanimous decision at their meeting, resolved to intensify their protests against the ongoing SIR both inside and outside Parliament. The INDIA bloc's protest comes as the Election Commission is scheduled to publish the draft electoral rolls of Bihar on Friday. "The draft electoral rolls of Bihar are being published on Friday, August 1, at https://voters.eci.gov.in/download", Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, said in a message to voters. "Physical as well as digital copies will also be given to all recognised political parties in Bihar in all 38 Districts by all the 38 District Election Officers (DEOs) of Bihar." On Thursday, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi stood in solidarity with MPs of the INDIA bloc, joining their protest outside Parliament at Makar Dwar against the SIR. Sonia Gandhi joined the protest, holding the large banner 'SIR-attack on Democracy,' and stood beside her daughter and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi. The SIR cartoon portrayed a man labelled "EC" dressed in uniform and shackled, holding what resembles an EVM (Electronic Voting Machine), with a speech bubble saying "YES SIR." The tweet was captioned with a single, sharp hashtag: #SIR, a clear reference to the recent allegations by opposition parties that the ECI is functioning under pressure from the central government, especially in light of developments in Bihar. The Lok Sabha on Friday will begin its proceedings with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moving the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of the State of Goa Bill, 2024, for further consideration and passing. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh moved a Suspension of Business notice in the Upper House on Friday and demanded a discussion on the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States. He wrote, "I would like to draw your attention to a very important and serious issue that is linked to India's economic, trade and diplomatic policy. By the United States of America, a tariff of 25% has been imposed on India's major exports in sectors such as auto components, electronics, jewellery, textiles and processed food from August 2025." Sanjay Singh added, "In addition, economic punitive action has been taken on India's defence and energy relations with Russia, which has not only caused massive economic instability but has also seen widespread panic among domestic and international investors." (ANI) ,
Rajasthan has experienced its wettest July in nearly seven decades, with cumulative rainfall of 285 mm recorded across the state, according to the Meteorological Centre in Jaipur. This marks a 77% surplus compared to the state's long-period average (LPA) of 161.4 mm for the month. The last time Rajasthan saw such heavy July rainfall was in 1956, when the state recorded 308 mm, the highest ever for that month. This year's rainfall comes close to breaking that 69-year-old record. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Jaipur is currently experiencing 25.2C temperature with 95% humidity and southwesterly winds blowing at 5.6 km/h. The IMD has issued multiple alerts as heavy to very heavy rains continue to lash several regions of the state. Very heavy rainfall alerts are there for Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur, Jaipur, Dausa, and Sikar, whereas there are heavy rainfall alerts for Jodhpur, Pali, Ajmer, Bhilwara, Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Bundi, and Kota. Eareir, the Ana Sagar lake in Rajasthan's Ajmer overflowed on July 19 morning, following incessant rain, which caused waterlogging. Due to this, the road connecting Bajrang Garh to the market was closed. The locals used sandbags in an attempt to stop the flow of water. Municipal Corporation Chief Engineer Vinod Manohar stated that the cause of waterlogging is due to lake water entering through escape channels, which have been opened by nearly 30 inches. Following continuous heavy rainfall that led to waterlogging in several parts of Ajmer city, rainwater entered the government-run Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital on July 19. Earlier, Ajmer Municipal Corporation Health Officer Prithviraj Singh urged the public to remain at home and avoid areas with waterlogging. Prithviraj Singh said, "Today's red alert has been announced by the weather department. All the common people are asked to remain in their homes. Where there is excessive water, the general public is aware of all the affected areas; therefore, they should avoid going out there and pay special attention to those places." (ANI)
Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Friday moved an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India in Bihar ahead of the Assembly election. Submitted the adjournment motion, Manickam Tagore sought an emergency discussion on SIR, describing it as "mass disenfranchisement of 65 lakh voters in Bihar - deliberate assault on the constitution and democracy by the Modi government using the Election Commission." Calling the Election Commission a "tool" of the BJP government and "enabler of electoral apartheid," Tagore urged the house to be adjourned and take up the discussion. "Urgently take up discussion on the shocking and deliberate removal of over 65 lakh voters in Bihar by the Election Commission at the behest of the Modi Government, amounting to a direct assault on India's democracy, the Constitution, and the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar." "The Election Commission, which was once an independent guardian of free and fair elections, has today become a tool in the hands of the ruling regime-acting as an enabler of electoral apartheid." He added. The Congress MP alleged that SIR is "state-sponsored voter suppression," targeting the poor, Dalits, OBCs, minorities, migrant workers, and youth in Bihar. "The official confirmation of 65 lakh voter deletions in a single state, Bihar, is not mere revision. It is state-sponsored voter suppression-targeting the poor, Dalits, OBCs, minorities, migrant workers, and youth. These are not errors; these are acts of political cleansing-executed in the name of "Special Intensive Revision" (SIRs) to selectively erase the democratic voice of the most vulnerable," he said in the motion. "This is Manuwadi fascism in action-silencing the backward and empowering the powerful. The intention is clear: to rig the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections and the future Lok Sabha Elections by excluding lakhs of poor voices," he added. Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc parties will protest in front of Makkar Dawar in Parliament on Friday at 10.30 am, demanding a discussion in both Houses on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. On Thursday, the INDIA bloc parties, in a unanimous decision at their meeting, resolved to intensify their protests against the ongoing SIR both inside and outside Parliament. The INDIA bloc's protest comes as the Election Commission is scheduled to publish the draft electoral rolls of Bihar on Friday. (ANI)
Sharing an X post, PM Modi appealed to the public to share their suggestions on mygov.in and NaMo app.

"As we approach this year's Independence Day, I look forward to hearing from my fellow Indians! What themes or ideas would you like to see reflected in this year's Independence Day speech? Share your thoughts on the Open Forums on MyGov and the NaMo App," PM Modi wrote.

As per tradition, the Prime Minister of India hoists the tricolour at the Red Fort in Delhi and addresses the nation on August 15, India's Independence Day.

Last year, marking India's 78th Independence Day, PM Modi's speech was based on the theme of 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047,' aiming to drive the Government's efforts to transform India into a developed nation by 2047.

He touched upon the subjects- 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', ease of living in the country, women in the Air Force, 'parivarvad' (nepotism) in politics, safety of Bangladeshi Hindus, secular civil code and India's dream to host the 2036 Olympics.

Traditionally, after hoisting the tricolour, the Prime Minister receives a 'Rashtriya Salute'. Last year, the Punjab Regiment Military band, consisting of one JCO and 25 Other Ranks, played the National Anthem during the hoisting of the National Flag and presented the 'Rashtriya Salute'. Subedar Major Rajinder Singh conducted the Band.

Following the custom, he also paid a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat in the national capital.

This year's celebration will mark the 12th consecutive time PM Modi will address the nation from the Red Fort on Independence Day, making him the third Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to achieve this milestone. (ANI)
Visuals show thick plumes of smoke billowing from the trailer, which was seen engulfed in flames by the roadside.

Fire and emergency response teams rushed to the scene and have launched operations to bring the blaze under control.

Further details are awaited. (ANI)
New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned industrialist Anil Ambani for questioning in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case, official sources said on Friday. Ambani has been directed to appear before investigators at the ED headquarters in New Delhi on August 5 in connection with the probe pertaining to suspected financial irregularities and possible violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency is examining the role of various entities and individuals linked to the case, and Ambani''s statement is expected to play a crucial role in the investigation. The move comes almost a week after the ED launched a massive search operation at 35 premises, 50 companies and over 25 persons linked to a money laundering case against Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAGA) Companies. The raids were carried out on July 24. The action followed an investigation launched by the ED under the offence of money laundering by RAAGA companies, subsequent to the recording of a First Information Report by the Central Bureau of Investigation. As per the officials, ED''s investigations are based on information shared with the agency by other agencies and institutions such as the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and Bank of Baroda. "Preliminary investigation by ED has revealed a well-planned and thought after scheme to divert and siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions. The offence of bribing bank officials, including the promoter of Yes Bank Limited, is also under scanner," officials, privy to the development, told ANI. Preliminary investigation reveals illegal loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crores from Yes Bank (period 2017 to 2019). ED then said it had found that "just before the loan was granted, the Yes Bank promoters received money in their concerns." "ED is investigating this nexus of bribe and the loan." "ED has found gross violations in Yes Bank loan approvals to RAAGA companies, such as, Credit Approval Memorandums (CAMs) were back-dated, Investments were proposed without any due diligence and credit analysis in violation of the Banks Credit Policy inter alia," said the officials. In violation of the loan terms, the officials said, these loans were further diverted to many group companies and shell companies. "Some red flags found by ED include- loans given to entities with weak financials, no proper documentation of loans, no due diligence, borrowers have common addresses, and common directors etc., diversion of loans to promoter group entities, ever greening of GPC loans, loans onward lent on same date, loans disbursed on same date as date of application, loans disbursed prior to sanction, Misrepresentation of financials," the officials said. It is also informed that "Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is also learnt to have shared its findings with ED in the case of RHFL." "Dramatic increase in corporate loans by RHFL, from Rs 3,742.60 crore in Financial Year 2017-18 to Rs 8,670.80 crore in Financial Year 2018-19 is also under ED lens. Issues of irregular and expedited approvals, process deviations, and many other illegalities have been found," added the officials. As per officials, Reliance Communications Ltd has also committed a loan fraud of over Rs 14,000 crores. "Bank of India (SBI) had classified Reliance Communications (RCom) and its promoter, Anil Ambani, as ''fraudulent'' in accordance with RBI guidelines. SBI reported this classification to the RBI and is preparing to file a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)," officials said. It is also informed that "Reliance Communications Ltd has also cheated Canara Bank of more than Rs 1,050 crores." "Undisclosed Foreign Bank Accounts and Foreign Assets are also being investigated. Investigations are likely to reveal more," said the officials. It has also found that "Reliance mutual fund invested Rs 2,850 crore in AT-1 bonds of YES Bank (perpetual FDs) for suspected quid pro quo." "These bonds were eventually written down, money siphoned off. This was the money of the public, the mutual fund investors. CBI is also investigating this issue," said the officials. Furthermore, based on information received from SEBI, ED said it has found that Reliance Infra has diverted a large sum of money disguised as ICDs to Group Companies of RAAGA through C Company, an undisclosed related party company. Reliance Infra did not disclose C Company as its related party in order to avoid proper approval from the shareholders and the audit committee. "It was also hidden presumably to circumvent checks and balances imposed on related party transactions as per laws," said the officials. It has been found that "R Infra has taken a haircut of Rs 5,480 crore and only Rs 4 crore has been received in cash." "Remaining Rs 6,499 crores has been settled in the form of assignment, transfer of assets and economic rights mainly in certain discoms. These discoms don''t have any business for previous many years and are not operational. Therefore, there are zero chances of recovery of this amount. The loan diversion in this case is over Rs. 10,000 crores," the official said. (ANI)
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Tiruchi Siva on Friday morning moved a notice under Rule 267, demanding suspension of house business in upper house of Parliament to discuss the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being carried out by the Election Commission (EC) in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. In the notice, the Rajya Sabha MP said that the SIR drive in Bihar raises concerns about the disenfranchisement of citizens and threatens universal adult franchise in the country. "I seek your consent under Rule 267 of the 'Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States' to suspend Rules 15, 23, and 51, and any other business listed under any other Rule in the revised List of Business, for August 1 2025, to discuss the following issue of urgent importance: To discuss the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, which raises concerns about the disenfranchisement of citizens and threatens universal adult franchise in the country," the notice read. Earlier in the day, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh moved a Suspension of Business notice in the Upper House on Friday and demanded a discussion on the 25 per cent tariffs imposed by the United States. He gave the notice to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, under Rule 267 (Notice of Motion for Suspension of Rules) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). He wrote, "I would like to draw your attention to a very important and serious issue that is linked to India's economic, trade and diplomatic policy. By the United States of America, a tariff of 25% has been imposed on India's major exports in sectors such as auto components, electronics, jewellery, textiles and processed food from August 2025." Sanjay Singh added, "In addition, economic punitive action has been taken on India's defence and energy relations with Russia, which has not only caused massive economic instability but has also seen widespread panic among domestic and international investors." Rajya Sabha is set to take up significant legislative and procedural business, including a statutory resolution seeking the extension of President's Rule in Manipur and the consideration of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move a resolution for approval of the continuance in force of the Proclamation dated February 13, 2025, in respect of Manipur, issued under Article 356 of the Constitution by the President, for a further period of six months with effect from August 13, 2025, according to the List of Business issued by the Rajya Sabha. The President's rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, days after N Biren Singh resigned from the Chief Minister's position. Both houses of Parliament have witnessed heated exchanges and adjournments during the initial days of the Monsoon Session, but are expected to proceed with key legislative business today. The session is scheduled to continue until August 21. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has requested Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil's intervention as the Karnataka government plans to raise the height of the Almatti dam amid a fear of flooding in the state. In a letter to the Union Minister, CM Fadnavis stated that Karnataka's proposed plan of raising the height of Almatti dam to the Reduced Level (RL) 524.256 meters is a matter of concern for Maharashtra. He wrote, "I would like to bring your kind attention to Karnataka's proposed plan of raising the height of Almatti dam to RL 524.256, which is a matter of concern for Maharashtra....I sincerely request you to instruct the Government of Karnataka to reconsider the plan of raising the FRL of Almatti Dam." The Chief Minister asked Union Minister Patil to intervene to ensure the safety of the people living in Sangli and Kolhapur, who are likely to be affected by the Karnataka government's move. "This will greatly help in protecting the livelihood and safety of the people of Sangli and Kolhapur Districts. Your intervention in this matter would bring immense relief to the affected regions. It will be in the best interest of the communities dependent on the Krishna River system in both States," Fadnavis wrote. Highlighting the key issues, he added that the siltation caused by the dam delays the recession of floodwaters. "Siltation Issues: The impounding of Almatti Dam has led to extensive siltation upstream in the Krishna River and its tributaries. This has adversely affected the river system's carrying capacity, causing delays in the recession of floodwaters in Sangli and Kolhapur," the Chief Minister wrote. Mentioning the issue of insufficient waterways, he added, "The construction of barrages upstream of Almatti Dam with inadequate waterways has compounded siltation and inundation problems. This situation has further deteriorated the flood scenario in Maharashtra territory." Fadnavis stated that Karnataka's move to raise the height of the dam will worsen the flood conditions in Sangli and Kolhapur. "Impact of Raising FRL to RL 524.256 m: With the river bed level at the Maharashtra border being RL 518.00 m, raising the FRL of Almatti dam will result in 6 m of standing pool water in the Krishna River. This will severely worsen the flood conditions in Sangli and Kolhapur districts, affecting thousands of residents and agricultural lands," he wrote. According to the Karnataka government, the Almatti Dam is a hydroelectric project on the Krishna River in North Karnataka, India, which was completed in July 2005. The target annual electric output of the dam is 560 MU (or GWh). The dam serves as the main reservoir of the Upper Krishna Irrigation Project. (ANI)
AITANA RECEIVES PLATINUM CERTIFICATION FOR 'CUARTO AZUL'

THE METROPOLITANO BECOMES THE EPICENTER OF GLOBAL POP WITH AITANA'S MOST AMBITIOUS TOUR YET

FEATURING SPECIAL GUESTS SUCH AS DAVID BISBAL, HOMBRES G, ELA TAUBERT, AMAIA, AND AMARAL, AMONG OTHERS

& SHE KICKED OFF EACH SHOW WITH HER GLOBAL HITS FROM 'CUARTO AZUL,' "6 DE FEBRERO" AND "SUPERESTRELLA" WHICH HAD FANS SINGING ALONG FROM START TO FINISH

MADRID, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- AITANA, Spain's #1 pop artist of the moment, has made history with her most ambitious tour to date: 'METAMORFOSIS SEASON,' which brought together over 160,000 fans across three sold-out concerts in Barcelona and Madrid. An unprecedented production that turned the Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium into the new epicenter of global pop.

SOLD OUT STADIUM SHOW AITANA AITANA, ELA

From its debut at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona, in front of more than 48,000 fans, to the final double show at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano in Madrid, AITANA proved she is at the peak of her artistic career, firmly established as one of the leading figures in pop.

'METAMORFOSIS SEASON' is more than just a tour: it's a comprehensive artistic experience that blends music, fashion, stage design, visual storytelling, and deep emotional resonance. Each of the three nights was structured into three acts, reflecting AITANA's creative evolution, from the melodic innocence of 'Spoiler,' through the introspection of '11 RAZONES' and the empowerment of 'alpha,' to the sophisticated and mature concept of her record-breaking album 'CUARTO AZUL,' her latest work and the heart of this tour.

With a powerful voice, cutting-edge stage design, and flawlessly executed choreography, AITANA delivered one of the most stunning productions ever seen in Spanish pop. The stage, featuring 360 screens, pyrotechnics, special effects, and immersive projections, was enhanced by powerful lighting design, multiple costume changes, and a theatrical narrative that reflected each phase of her artistic transformation.

The first night in Madrid kicked off with a performance by talented Puerto Rican artist GALE, while David Bisbal took the stage to perform "Si Tu La Quieres" and "Mi Princesa" alongside AITANA. Hombres G fired up the crowd with "Devuelveme a mi chica," and the emotional duet with Amaia on "La Cancion Que No Quiero Cantarte" sparked a unanimous ovation.

The second night, July 31, opened with Latin GRAMMY winner ELA TAUBERT , who not only opened the show but also joined AITANA on stage to perform their collaboration "Para que volver?," one of the standout tracks from 'CUARTO AZUL.' Amaral, another pop legend, moved the audience with a joint performance of "Marta, Sebas, Guille y los demas."

On both nights, AITANA dazzled in exclusive looks from national and international brands such as FENDI, Dsquared2, Adidas x Luis de Javier, Faye Dream, Sheena, and Tiffany & Co.

Madrid also experienced the one-of-a-kind 'METAMORFOSIS SEASON' POP-UP EXPERIENCE, where the UMusic Shop (C/Carretas, 10) was completely transformed into the visual universe of 'CUARTO AZUL.' Fans were able to explore references to every stage of her career, purchase exclusive merchandise, customize shirts from the Aitana x Adidas collection, and enjoy immersive photo spaces.

From intimate stages to massive stadiums, AITANA has evolved into a new level of artistry. Today, she is recognized as Spain's #1 pop artist, with a powerful identity that resonates with a generation defined by empowerment, authenticity, and personal transformation.

With her record-breaking album 'CUARTO AZUL' and a tour that has raised the bar for live performances, AITANA solidifies her place as the most influential pop artist of her generation and a key figure in global pop.

'CUARTO AZUL' ACHIEVEMENTS

#1 Debut: The album debuted at #1 on the PROMUSICAE Top 100 Albums chart and was certified Gold in its first week (30,000 units).

The album debuted at #1 on the PROMUSICAE Top 100 Albums chart and was certified Gold in its first week (30,000 units). Chart Domination: The album topped Spanish charts for three consecutive weeks and reached #1 on Spotify Spain's Weekly Top Albums.

The album topped Spanish charts for three consecutive weeks and reached #1 on Spotify Spain's Weekly Top Albums. Global Success: The album charted in over 20 countries and amassed 7.5 million streams in its first 24 hours (4.9 million in Spain alone).

The album charted in over 20 countries and amassed 7.5 million streams in its first 24 hours (4.9 million in alone). Spotify Records: 'CUARTO AZUL' became the sixth-strongest national debut in Spotify Spain history and marked the biggest release of AITANA's career.

became the sixth-strongest national debut in Spotify Spain history and marked the biggest release of AITANA's career. Song Chart Success: All 19 tracks from the album entered Spotify Spain's Top 60 and Apple Music's Top 50, with "Cuando hables con el" standing out at #4 on PROMUSICAE.

A HISTORIC FINALE AND A FUTURE WITHOUT LIMITS

July 31 didn't mark an ending, but a new beginning. AITANA has completed a chapter, a metamorphosis, that places her in a new league within the international music scene. With her sights set on new creative territories and global markets, what lies ahead isn't continuity: it's expansion. "This tour hasn't been a finale. It's the prologue to a new era." - AITANA

METAMORFOSIS SEASON

JULY 19 ESTADIO OLIMPICO LLUIS COMPANYS, BARCELONA | SOLD OUT

JULY 30 ESTADIO RIYADH AIR METROPOLITANO, MADRID | SOLD OUT

JULY 31 ESTADIO RIYADH AIR METROPOLITANO, MADRID | SOLD OUT

SOURCE UNIVERSAL MUSIC LATINO
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) spokesperson TKS Elangovan trained guns on Tamil Nadu assembly Leader of Opposition (LoP) Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), labelling him as the "slave of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)". Reacting to the exit of expelled All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) from the NDA alliance, Elangovan said that EPS wants to protect himself and his family and thinks that his leadership position would be "weakened" if people like OPS remain in the party. "The BJP must have thought that because EPS is with them, he would not accept OPS or something like that. When the Prime Minister came, he did not meet OPS, which may also be the reason. He doesn't want them to come back to AIADMK. He believes that if these people return, his leadership position will be weakened. EPS is not a leader; he is now a slave of the BJP," the DMK leader told ANI. "Even if Anna was insulted, his partymen will watch it silently because they are against MGR's principles also," he added. His remarks come after Panneerselvam announced his exit from the NDA alliance ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, scheduled to be held next year. Earlier on Wednesday, EPS hit out at the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, calling it a "failure model" after the honour killing of a 27-year-old IT employee in Thoothukudi district. EPS condemned the DMK government and held it responsible for rising crimes rooted in caste-based violence and honour killings across Tamil Nadu. In a post on X, EPS said, "Under the Stalin-led Failure Model regime, honour killings are on the rise, and caste conflicts are also continuing." He added, "Yesterday, I was saddened to hear the news that a software engineer named Kavin was honour killed near Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district. Knowing that this has created a very tense situation in the area and that the Stalin Model police are acting unilaterally, I strongly condemn the Failure Model government." AIADMK leader also urged the government, saying, "I request the Failure Model government to immediately provide justice to the victim's family and take strict legal action against the wrongdoers." The BJP and AIADMK joined hands in April this year. Union Home Minister Amit Shah declared that the 2026 assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of Palaniswami. (ANI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis paid his respects to the mortal remains of former Chief Director of Rashtra Sevika Samiti Pramila Tai Medhe, who passed away in Nagpur. Pramila Tai, who was 97, breathed her last on Thursday at the Devi Ahilya Temple in Nagpur. Maharashtra CM in a post on X also stated the contributions made by Pramila Tai and expressed his condolences. https://x.com/Dev_Fadnavis/status/1950995588960624726 "The final viewing of the former Chief Director of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Venerable Pramilatai Medhe, was held today in Nagpur, and a heartfelt tribute was offered by placing a floral wreath on her mortal remains. Her contributions to the social, educational fields, and women's empowerment will always be remembered and will continue to inspire. On this occasion, a meeting was held with the Chief Director of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, Venerable Shanta Akkaji, and members of the Samiti, and condolences were expressed. Om Shanti," the post read. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Thursday also expressed grief over the demise of Pramila Tai Medhe. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1950904960641876278 In a post on X, PM Modi said, "I am deeply saddened by the demise of Pramila Tai Medhe Ji, who was the former pramukh sanchalika (chief) Rashtra Sevika Samiti. Her entire life was dedicated to the service of society and the nation. Her invaluable contributions to women's empowerment and social work will always be remembered. May God provide strength to her family and admirers in this hour of grief. Om Shanti!" PM Modi said on X. RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat told ANI "Pramila Tai Medhe worked very hard... She struggled alone in North Purvanchal's adverse conditions... She will always be missed and inspired." Medhe was the former pramukh sanchalika (chief) of Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the women's wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Medhe, the fourth Sanchalika of the organization had been unwell for the past three months, and her condition worsened in the last 15 days. She passed away at 9:05 AM at the Devi Ahilya Mandir in Nagpur, where she resided, according to a statement by the Rashtra Sevika Samiti. (ANI)
Amid the chaos over the anti-encroachment drive, Assam Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah promised appropriate action against the non-indigenous population and immigrants residing in the forest lands in Guwahati. He claimed that the immigrant and non-indigenous population was trying to "end Assamese culture" and change the region's demographic composition. "A significant number of non-indigenous individuals and immigrants or those who will end our culture are residing on forest land in Guwahati, altering the region's demographic composition. We will take appropriate action against them. This needs to be done. Otherwise, the indigenous people of Assam will not remain due to changed demography," Baruah told ANI. Earlier, the Assam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a statement, flagging the issue of the alleged population explosion of "illegal Bangladeshi-origin minorities". "Due to the population explosion of more than 1 crore (10 million) infiltrated illegal Bangladeshi-origin minorities" during the Congress regime, "their long-standing attempt to convert Assam into a Miya-land will never be allowed to succeed under any circumstances", the statement read. Assam Pradesh BJP's chief spokesperson Kishor Kumar Upadhyay said that already, "due to the aggression of East Bengal origin Muslims, the indigenous population in several districts of Assam is under severe threat". Amid Assam's ongoing eviction drive against illegal settlers in its reserve forests, Nagaland has been placed on high alert due to fears of a possible influx across the state's borders. Director General of Police (DGP) Nagaland, Rupin Sharma, IPS, addressed the situation on Tuesday, detailing the state's approach and urging public cooperation with law enforcement. Speaking to ANI, Sharma said, "The current issue, which has been flagged by various people and is also known to the state government, is primarily due to the eviction drives carried out by the Assam government and various reserve forests in Assam. He clarified that those being referred to as "illegal immigrants" are, in fact, illegal settlers who had encroached upon reserve forest areas in Assam." He added, "Their eviction is part of a drive undertaken by the Assam Forest Department and other state agencies, as permanent settlement is not allowed in forest land. The DGP expressed concern that many of these evicted individuals may attempt to enter Nagaland with their belongings, prompting heightened vigilance in the state." In response to concerns over illegal influx, Sharma said the Nagaland Police have intensified security along the state's border with Assam, where checkpoints have been heightened and patrolling has been established to prevent unauthorised entry. (ANI)
After paying homage to the bravehearts at 'Amar Jawan Jyoti', Vice Admiral Vatsayan received a Guard of Honour at the South Block.

An alumnus of the 71st course of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 1, 1988.

A specialist in Gunnery and Missile Systems, he has held a wide range of command, operational and staff assignments over his distinguished naval career spanning more than three decades.

Prior to his current appointment, Vice Admiral Vatsayan served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy & Plans) at NHQ and the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF).

Vice Admiral Vatsayan has also held various other important appointments, including Deputy Chief of IDS (Policy, Plans and Force Development), Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) at HQ Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), Chief of Staff Eastern Naval Command (ENC) HQs and Deputy Commandant of the National Defence Academy (NDA).

Vice Admiral Vatsayan has been recognized with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and Nau Sena Medal (NM) for his dedication to duty.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Vice-Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, took over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Western Naval Command at a ceremonial parade held in Maharashtra's Mumbai. Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan took over the post from Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh. (ANI)
The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna announced an immediate shutdown of all elective services and a conditional shutdown of emergency services starting 9 am on August 1 after an incident of alleged violence took place inside the hospital premises involving Chetan Anand, MLA (Sheohar), his wife Dr. Ayushi Singh, and their armed guards. According to the RDA's official notice, the incident occurred late on July 30, around 11 pm, in the Trauma Centre premises. The MLA and his armed escorts allegedly forced their way into the hospital, physically assaulted security staff, threatened resident doctors with death, and even brandished a firearm within the premises. A hospital security guard was reportedly injured after being struck with the butt of a weapon. Resident doctors said that they were subjected to threats, abuse, and fear inside their own workplace. Despite the severity of the assault, the RDA highlighted that no FIR has been filed, and the administration has taken no decisive legal or institutional action to protect its staff or pursue justice. This perceived inaction, the doctors said, has created "a climate of fear and helplessness among doctors and healthcare workers.". In its letter to the Medical Superintendent, the RDA announced: Immediate shutdown of elective services by resident doctors and complete shutdown of emergency services from 9 am, August 1, if their demands remain unmet. The doctors have put forward four key demands: Immediate lodging of an FIR against MLA Chetan Anand, Dr. Ayushi Singh, and the armed guards involved; deployment of adequate and permanent security personnel across the hospital; a formal written assurance and public condemnation of the incident by the administration; and Implementation of long-term security protocols to safeguard healthcare workers on duty. The RDA added in its letter, "We emphasize that our decision to halt services has not been taken lightly. We are committed to patient care, but we cannot and will not function under threats to our lives and dignity." They also warned that if no action is taken by the given deadline, the administration will bear full responsibility for the service disruption and its consequences. (ANI)
Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh who assumed charge as the Vice Chief of Army Staff on Friday laid a wreath at the National War Memorial and paid tributes to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty. He received a Guard of Honour at a ceremony held at South Block in the national capital after which he signed the visitor's book. Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh, an officer of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment, succeeded Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani as the VCOAS. His appointment marks a significant milestone in his illustrious career, spanning over 38 years of dedicated service to the Indian Army. The General Officer was tenanting the appointment of Director General Operational Logistics & Strategic Movement at Army Headquarters. Lt Gen Singh was commissioned into the 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) in December 1987. He is an alumnus of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, Lucknow University and the prestigious Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The General Officer has served in 'OP PAWAN', 'OP MEGHDOOT', 'OP ORCHID' and has had multiple tenures in 'OP RAKSHAK'. During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, the General Officer has held various Command and Staff appointments. He commanded a Special Forces Unit in the Kashmir Valley and on the Line of Control. He later commanded an Infantry Brigade and a Mountain Division in 'OP SNOW LEOPARD' along the Line of Actual Control. The General Officer was GOC of a Corps headquartered in Himachal Pradesh and responsible for sensitive Jammu, Samba and Pathankot areas. The General Officer has insightful knowledge and a deep understanding of operational dynamics on both Western and Northern Borders. He has attended the prestigious Staff Course at DSSC, Wellington, Higher Defence Management Course at CDM Secunderabad and Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration at IIPA. He holds a Master's in Management Studies from Osmania University and a Master's in Philosophy from the University of the Punjab. For his distinguished service to the Nation, the General Officer has been awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Sena Medal Bar. (ANI)
The inaugural session of the National Conference on Ageing in India on Thursday opened with a strong pitch for a dedicated "ease of living" charter for the elderly, aimed at ensuring dignity, security and active participation of senior citizens in society. During the session, experts cautioned that the country must prepare urgently for the demographic shift towards an ageing society. Delivering the special address, Vinod K. Paul, Member (Health, Nutrition and Education), NITI Aayog, said, "Shall we create a charter of ease of living by senior citizens, and then we work on it and we make life easy for these little things that work?" He added that empowering families to take care of their elders should remain the foundation of India's approach. In his inaugural address, Justice V. Ramasubramanian, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), noted that ageing is both an inevitable reality and an opportunity for India to strengthen its social fabric. "We all are ageing, and that is a process and a reality. But in the Indian context, there are certain issues, certain challenges, and more importantly, there are certain opportunities. I think that needs to be understood," he said. National Conference on Ageing in India was organised by the Sankala Foundation, supported by NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and NHRC. The session began with welcome remarks by Devendra Kumar Nim, Director (Programmes), Sankala Foundation, followed by the release of the report "Ageing in India: Challenges and Opportunities." Speaking on the report, Bharat Lal, Secretary General and CEO, NHRC, India, said, "The report will help us basically in just flagging issues, just to an advocacy. Let's make awareness more." He pointed out that India will have nearly 35 crore elderly people by 2050--one in every five citizens--making ageing a critical policy challenge. "Only one in five elderly people have health insurance, making them vulnerable to out-of-pocket expenses... Seventy-eight per cent of Indians have no pension... financial fraud, phishing and identity theft among elderly people are rising," he said, while stressing the need to evolve community-based care models rooted in India's family value system and supplemented by global best practices. The session concluded with the presentation of mementoes and a vote of thanks by Malvika Kaul, Director (Research and Communications), Sankala Foundation. (ANI)
Launching the 'Delhi Ko Koode Se Azaadi' campaign today, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta took part in the cleanliness drive and cleaned piles of waste at the Women and Child Development (WCD) Office, ISBT Kashmere Gate in Delhi. While speaking to reporters, Delhi CM criticised the previous AAP government for claiming to improve the system in Delhi but failing to do so. "I am in so much pain that I cannot tell you. These are the offices which claim to improve the system of Delhi. Considering the state of previous governments, under these circumstances, what can our officers do to benefit anyone...Water is dripping...This building caught fire in 2021, despite the fact that this building was not repaired or cleaned. Have these officers been kept here to lose their lives?" she remarked. Stating that it's her first visit to the WCD office, she said, "This is my first visit here, but seeing the wretched condition of such important committees/departments where there is no cupboard to keep papers, no chair, and one never knows when the fan would fall from the top. Cleaning orders are one thing we can do. They will be completed if everyone gets involved. However, seeing our officers working in such poor conditions is really painful for me." She accused the previous AAP government of investing 70 crores to build their own "Sheesh Mahals" and not spending any money on office improvements. Gupta said, "They (AAP) didn't get time to invest to fixing offices but had 70 crores to build sheesh mahal for themselves. If they had invested 2-4 crores here, then at least some offices would have been able to do well." Delhi CM also claimed that she will ensure the construction of new offices for all departments, create a conducive working environment, and provide them with adequate workstations to facilitate effective work. "An entirely new sector of Delhi should be built where every department gets a place. We will initiate the process today itself. We will find a location for our new sector of Delhi...where all our departments can be accommodated. Despite the current bad conditions, we will not spare our officers and will help them," she added. On Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Rekha Gupta said, "Swachhata Abhiyan has started in Delhi from today and it will continue till August 31. Today, we launched a campaign to clean up all the offices. Every officer, every representative in the entire Delhi is engaged in cleaning up their own offices. Today I came to WCD, which is my own department, for the first time. The e-waste, which had been collected here for years, along with electronic waste, rags, files, posters, and other items, is also being taken out from here. Somewhere or the other, there is a need to set all these things right." Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh and BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay also participated in the Swachh Bharat Mission in the Green Park area of Delhi today. (ANI)
Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, an officer of the Indian Army's Parachute Regiment, on Friday took over as the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS). Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh will be succeeding Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani as the VCOAS. His appointment marks a significant milestone in his illustrious career, spanning over 38 years of dedicated service to the Indian Army. Lt Gen Pushpendra Singh took part in the ceremony in South Block in the national capital as he took charge as the new VCOAS. The General Officer was tenanting the appointment of Director General Operational Logistics & Strategic Movement at Army Headquarters. Lt Gen Singh was commissioned into the 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) in December 1987. He is an alumnus of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, Lucknow University and the prestigious Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The General Officer has served in 'OP PAWAN', 'OP MEGHDOOT', 'OP ORCHID' and has had multiple tenures in 'OP RAKSHAK'. During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, the General Officer has held various Command and Staff appointments. He commanded a Special Forces Unit in the Kashmir Valley and on the Line of Control. He later commanded an Infantry Brigade and a Mountain Division in 'OP SNOW LEOPARD' along the Line of Actual Control. The General Officer was GOC of a Corps headquartered in Himachal Pradesh and responsible for sensitive Jammu, Samba and Pathankot areas. The General Officer has insightful knowledge and a deep understanding of operational dynamics on both Western and Northern Borders. He has attended the prestigious Staff Course at DSSC, Wellington, Higher Defence Management Course at CDM Secunderabad and Advanced Professional Programme in Public Administration at IIPA. He holds a Master's in Management Studies from Osmania University and a Master's in Philosophy from the Punjab University. For his distinguished service to the Nation, the General Officer has been awarded Ati Vishist Seva Medal and Sena Medal Bar. Earlier on Thursday, Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani was superannuated after 39 years of distinguished service in the Indian Army. Lt Gen Subramani laid a wreath to honour the supreme sacrifice of the army officers at the National War Memorial, and reviewed the Guard of Honour at South Block during the superannuation ceremony. Sharing an X post, Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army) wrote, "Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani, Vice Chief of the Army Staff, #VCOAS superannuated today after 39 years of distinguished service in the #IndianArmy. In a solemn ceremony, he laid a wreath to honour the supreme sacrifice of the #Bravehearts at the National War Memorial, #NewDelhi and reviewed the Guard of Honour at South Block." "The Indian Army expresses deep gratitude for his exemplary leadership, utmost professionalism & unblemished service to the Nation and extends best wishes for continued success and distinguished accomplishments in all his future endeavours," the X post read. (ANI)
An All India Congress Committee delegation will visit on Friday two Kerala nuns lodged in a Jail in Chhattisgarh's Durg after their arrest on the charges of alleged forced conversion and human trafficking. Congress MP Hibi Eden, who is part of the delegation, said that he hoped the State government would not oppose their bail and justice would be done. "We have been protesting inside and outside Parliament for the last five days in support of the nuns. We have come to meet them and know their health condition," Eden told ANI in Raipur on Friday. "We hope the government will not oppose their bail, and justice will be done. We all pray that they get bail today," he said. Congress MP K Suresh, another member of the delegation, told ANI that they will also participate in the rally organised by the Chhattisgarh Congress unit to protest against the arrest of the nuns. "This is the second delegation of the AICC. We are going to Durg to meet the nuns. We will also participate in the rally organised by the Chhattisgarh Congress unit to protest against the arrest of the nuns," he said. "Yesterday, almost all the MPs from Kerala met the Union Home Minister, who has assured us that the nuns will get bail as soon as possible" Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday told reporters in Delhi that the "law is doing its job" in the case against the nuns. The nuns were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25 over charges of human trafficking and religious conversion. On July 27, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) also strongly condemned the alleged incident, claiming that, according to reports, the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after being arrested. On Thursday, CPI General Secretary D Raja condemned the arrest and accused the BJP and RSS of pursuing a "politics of hatred and polarisation." Raja added that CPI MPs are now engaging with the central government, seeking a meeting with the Union Home Minister to address the matter. Speaking to ANI, Raja said, "Firstly, our party condemns what is happening in Chhattisgarh today, including the arrest of nuns. Our party and CPI(M) sent a delegation to Chhattisgarh. Our MPs and top women leaders went there. They met with nuns and raised the issue. Now, our MPs are trying to address this at the centre. They are attempting to meet the Union HM. Let us wait and see what the union government will say". (ANI)
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Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh and BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay participated in the Swachh Bharat Mission today in Aurobindo Market, Green Park area of Delhi. Speaking to ANI, Iqbal Singh stated how Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is pushing forward the mission of Swachh Bharat started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, "...On 15 August 2014, the country's PM, Narendra Modi, had called for a Swachh Bharat mission, and Delhi's CM, Rekha Gupta, appealed to all Delhiites to push forward the same mission. She has appealed to Delhiites to advance the mission of making the entire city clean." Delhi Mayor Singh also praised the Delhi Municipal Corporation for taking this initiative to make Delhi free from garbage. Singh mentioned that MLA Satish Upadhyay, Deputy Mayor, Local councillors, the commissioner, additional commissioners, the entire staff and the Delhi people have come together to clean this area. "...We will take an oath that we will clean the whole of Delhi, clean it, make it healthy, make it green and from here we will start the cleanliness campaign. Under this, everyone is participating in this cleanliness campaign," Singh added. Similarly, BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay also praised PM Modi's Swachh Bharat mission and said that the country will remain healthy only if it remains clean. "When Prime Minister Modi took the oath, he urged the countrymen to make cleanliness a part of their daily lives. The country will remain healthy only if it remains clean. Delhi's Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has called for making Delhi free from garbage from August 1 to August 30. She has said that we will clean every corner of Delhi, make Delhi clean and tidy, and make the air here pure," the BJP MLA said. He also thanked the MCD and Delhi's Chief Minister for this campaign for completely awakening the citizens of Delhi to the Swachh Bharat Mission. (ANI)
The preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers and retrieved consignments near the international border.

In a post on X, Punjab Police DGP said, "In a major crackdown, Amritsar Commissionerate Police busts two cross-border illegal arms smuggling modules and apprehends 4 operatives, including a juvenile. Preliminary investigation reveals that the accused were in touch with Pakistan-based smugglers and retrieved consignments near the international border."

https://x.com/DGPPunjabPolice/status/1951174633190793449

Police have seized seven pistols (1x9mm, 4x.30 bore including Glock, 2x.32 bore), 6 Live Cartridges and a Motorcycle.

Police have registered an FIR at Gate Hakima police station and B-Division Amritsar police station.

Further investigation is underway.

Earlier, BSF troops, in joint operations with Punjab Police, recovered 2 drones, pistol parts and ammunition in separate incidents across Tarn Taran and Ferozepur districts, an official said.

According to Public Relations Officer (Punjab Frontier) BSF, "In Tarn Taran, based on BSF intelligence, three separate recoveries were made from farming fields near Village Dal 01 plastic bottle containing pistol parts and 02 live rounds and 01 packet with pistol parts, 01 magazine and 15 live rounds. In third incident BSF and Punjab Police jointly recovered 01 DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone along with pistol parts from a farming field near Village Mehdipur, Tarn Taran (ANI)
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who recently visited the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, said that he believed travel broadens the horizons & the mind and that tourism plays a crucial part in India's economy, and the industry has the potential to employ lakhs of people. Abdullah responded to the social media post by PM Narendra Modi lauding the National Conference (NC) leader for his visit to the Statue of Unity, calling it an inspiring gesture that promotes national unity and encourages domestic tourism. In a post on X, Omar Abdullah wrote on Friday, "I'm a firm believer that travel broadens the horizons & the mind @narendramodi ji. It's especially important for us in J&K as tourism is a crucial part of our economy & has the potential to gainfully employ lakhs of people. That's why I & my colleagues are trying to convince more of our fellow Indians to visit J&K, especially after the tragic events earlier this year." Abdullah is on a two-day visit to Gujarat. As part of his itinerary, he visited the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad this morning. After visiting the Sabarmati Ashram, Abdullah in a post on X wrote, "My visit to Ahmedabad is now complete. I feel both humbled & privileged to have been shown around the Sabarmati Ashram of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. His teachings ring true even today & point us in the direction we should take, but seldom do." He further wrote, "True democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the centre. It has to be worked from below by the people of every village" - Mahatma Gandhi." During the visit, J&K CM also tried his hand at the Charkha (a hand-operated spinning wheel, traditionally used for creating yarn from fibres like cotton). Charkha is seen as a symbol of the Indian independence movement, and it resembles Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of self-reliance and non-violence. "I was also able to try my hand with a Charkha. I had a very patient teacher who tried to teach me to spin cotton in the same way that Gandhi ji did decades ago", said J&K CM. On Thursday, Omar Abdullah visited the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadia, Gujarat, and praised the project for bringing water to drought-affected areas. CM Abdullah also expressed optimism that with the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, similar projects could be considered for Jammu and Kashmir, to address the water and power shortage. Speaking to the reporters, Omar Abdullah said, "This dam has brought water to areas that knew nothing but drought... It has been J&K's misfortune that we could not even imagine such projects because we were not allowed to stop the water. Now that the Indus Water Treaty has been suspended, maybe there will be some such project in J&K too, so that there will be no shortage of power or water and electricity." The chief minister also visited the Statue of Unity in Gujarat, expressing his admiration, and said, "I had no idea that the Statue of Unity would be so magnificent. It is a true tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and a great identity for the new India." Earlier on Wednesday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah paid a courtesy visit to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar. The J-K Chief Minister arrived in Gujarat for a tourism fair, a step to attract a significant number of tourists from the state. Speaking on his visit, CM Omar Abdullah said that there are three states, including Gujarat, from where the maximum number of tourists reach Jammu and Kashmir. "Looking at the last 30-35 years, since tourism began, three states have been the primary sources of tourists to J&K: Gujarat, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. My team and I have come here for a tourism fair, to speak on behalf of J-K, hoping to see a good number of tourists from Gujarat very soon," he said. (ANI)
The once poverty-stricken villages of Bharova, Khalo, and Shanatra in Jammu and Kashmir's Bhaderwah, long affected by recurring droughts, are now emerging as shining examples of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) through their remarkable success in horticulture, especially the cultivation of exotic Italian pears. Their annual production is nearing an impressive 1.5 metric tons. Unlike many parts of the hilly Chenab region, where farmers traditionally grow maize, paddy, and fodder for cattle as primary crops, these villages have placed horticulture on an equal footing with farming, turning it into a viable and profitable livelihood. This transformation began two decades ago with Haji Mohd Shafi Sheikh (78) of Bharova village,18 kilometres from Bhaderwah town. Shafi Sheikh made a courageous decision to shift from maize cultivation to the successful growing of Italian pears on his 5-acre, drought-prone, rain-fed land located on a steep hillside. Mohd Shafi Sheikh said, "Traditionally, I used to grow maize, pulses, rajma, etc., but there were no proper sources of water, so we relied on rain-fed agriculture... it barely brought in Rs 20,000 annually. Before farming, I worked as a contractor and often visited Kashmir, where my younger brother showed me beautiful orchard trees. That inspired me to switch from agriculture to horticulture with support from the horticulture department." "Since switching to horticulture in 2002, and overcoming early challenges, my earnings grew from earlier Rs 20,000 to Rs 15 lakhs in 2015 and now to Rs 25 lakhs annually in 2025", he proudly shared. He has also employed 25 local villagers in his orchards, which now boast over 250 thriving Italian pear trees. He added that "During a routine visit of a team of scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendar, seeing my dedication and the urge to grow my orchard scientifically, one of the scientists - Dr Vikas Tandon gave me a few plants of Italian pears and that became a big turning point of my journey." Haji Mohd Shafi Sheikh's pioneering efforts in the successful cultivation of Italian pears not only uplifted his family but also inspired an entire community toward self-reliance, embodying the spirit of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat by promoting local innovation, sustainable farming, and economic independence in Bhaderwah. Not only for himself, Shafi has also become a ray of hope for the unemployed youths of his area, as they have been working with him for the last couple of years and are earning a livelihood. The exotic dark red colour fruit, which is extremely popular among the high-end customers, has also given a new Identity to Bhadarwah Valley and has become an added attraction for the visitors. Italian Pears, also sometimes called Red d'Anjou pears, were introduced to the market in the 1950s after being discovered as a bud sport on a Green Anjou pear tree. Red Anjou pears taste similar to the green variety, but they offer a stunning, deep red colour that adds a distinctive look to any dish that calls for Pears. Local workers are grateful for the opportunity. Kabir Ahmed, a 32-year-old resident of Shanatra Villages who has been working in Sheikh's orchard, said: "Earlier, we used to migrate to towns in search of labour work. But now we have steady seasonal employment here. Haji Mohd Shafi Sheikh Orchard has become a lifeline for many of us. Not only this, he even gave me an Italian pear sapling for my own land. Now, I not only work with Mohd Shafi Sheikh but also sell my own Italian pears in the market, which has doubled my income." By successfully cultivating Italian pears and uplifting his community, Haji Mohd Shafi Sheikh has not only redefined farming in Bhaderwah but also brought his village into the fold of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, promoting self-reliance through local innovation, sustainable agriculture, and inclusive rural development. Meanwhile, the implementation of the PMAY in Jammu and Kashmir's Bhaderwah mirrors the government's steadfast commitment to ensuring housing for all. In the financial year 2023-24, 718 beneficiaries were identified, and 679 houses have already been completed, marking a significant milestone in rural infrastructure and welfare. Bhaderwah Block Development Officer Yasir Ahmed Wani told ANI, "The completion of 679 houses in a single financial year under PMAY is a testament to our team's dedication and the government's vision of 'Housing for All'. Special focus was given to poor and tribal families who were living in unsafe and unhygienic conditions. Today, many of them have permanent homes with proper facilities, which has significantly improved their standard of living." As the region continues to benefit from the focused implementation of welfare programs, Bhaderwah stands as an example of how effective governance can bring about lasting, grassroots-level transformation. (ANI)
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of direct involvement in large-scale voter fraud with the Congress having "open-and-shut proof" of the alleged theft. Talking to reporters on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Congress leader alleged that the motive behind the voter fraud was to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rahul Gandhi said, "Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I'm not saying this lightly, I'm speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it (proof), the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They're doing it for the BJP." Gandhi said that the findings of an investigation by the Congress amount to nothing short of an "atom bomb," with implications severe enough to shake the very foundations of the ECI. "We had suspicion of voter theft, and we got into its granularity. Since the Election Commision was not helpful in the investigation, we did our own. It took six months and the things we found are an 'Atom Bomb' and when this atom bomb explodes you won't see Election Commission in the country," he added. Taking a hardline stance, Gandhi warned individuals within the Commission he alleged that the steps taken by EC are "no less than treason." "Most importantly, whoever in the Elections Commission is involved in this exercise, right from top to bottom, we will not spare you. You are working against India and this no less than treason. Wherever you are, even if you are retired, we will find you," said the Lok Sabha LoP. Meanwhile, Senior Congress leaders and Members of Parliament Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at Parliament House on Friday amid the continuing impasse between the ruling BJP and the Opposition bloc over the functioning of the House. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma on Friday asked whether the Congress was attempting to put pressure on the court by staging protests after two nuns from Kerala were arrested over charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking. "This has nothing to do with votes. Earlier too, a delegation from the Congress party had come, and we facilitated their meeting with them (the two nuns)," Sharma told ANI. "But they should understand whether by doing this, they are trying to pressure the court? This is a matter on which the police have taken action; whether bail will be granted or not, the court will decide," he said. The nuns from Kerala were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) strongly condemned the arrest, claiming that, according to reports, the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after being arrested. In Kerala, both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the Opposition United Democratic Front condemned the arrest and accused the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of undermining religious freedom. Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar has also expressed his support to the nuns and said that he did not believe the nuns were indulging in forced religious conversion. Today, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor condemned as "a grave injustice" the arrest of two nuns. "The arrest of nuns is a grave injustice. They have not done anything against the law," Tharoor told reporters in the national capital. He said that the nuns were just taking some tribal girls to the city for employment. "Seeing this, members of the Bajrang Dal raised a false alarm and the police came and arrested the nuns. This is not right. When everyone is raising objections to it, they are still in jail for the last one week... BJP's Kerala unit is saying they will travel to Chhattisgarh to get them bail. Nothing has happened so far," he said. Congress MP Jebi Mather said charging the nuns with human trafficking and human conversion is a gross injustice. "Congress has been standing, speaking, and protesting from day one, demanding that this unjust arrest be addressed. We have been condemning it and taking all steps, from writing letters to protests inside and outside Parliament. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal, and everyone else have been fighting for justice for the sisters," she said. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Damodar Agarwal on Friday backed the Union Commerce Minister's statement in Parliament after US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on India. Speaking with ANI, Agarwal said, "The Commerce Minister presented the government's stand in the House yesterday. The government will examine it and, after talking to industrialists, consumers, and entrepreneurs, will present its stand in the national interest..." Union Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in the lower House of Parliament a day after Trump announced the tariff. He later made similar statement in the Rajya Sabha. Goyal's remarks came a day after the government issued a statement on the US decision to impose tariffs. Goayl said the Mnistry of Commerce and Industry is holding talks with exporters, industries and all stakeholders and gathering information on their assessment of this issue. "On April 2, 2025, the US President issued an executive order on reciprocal tariffs...ten per cent baseline duty in effect since April 2025. With a 10% baseline tariff, a total of 26% tariff was announced for India. Full country-specific additional tariff was scheduled to come into effect on April 9 but on April 10 this was extended initially for 90 days and then extended till August 1 2025," Goyal said. "Government gives utmost priority to the safeguarding of welfare of farmers, labourers, entrepreneurs, industrialists, exporters, MSMEs and stakeholders of the industrial sector. We will take all necessary steps to safeguard our national interest. The Government is confident that we will continue our swift journey of inclusive and consistent development towards the goal of Viksit Bharat 2047. Aatmanirbharta ki ore Bharat aatmavishwas se badh raha hai," he added. The Union Minister said that in less than a decade, India came out of the 'Fragile Five' economies and it has now become the fastest-growing economy in the world. Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. He also threatened to impose an additional penalty for purchasing oil from Russia. The tariffs will be effective from August 7. (ANI)
Former MP Prajwal Revanna broke down in tears on Friday after an MP/MLA Special Court convicted him in the rape case of a domestic help in Karnataka. Prajwal, the grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda, was held guilty in one of the four rape cases registered against him, and the court will pronounce the quantum of punishment tomorrow, August 2. Prosecution lawyer Ashok Nayak told reporters, "MP/MLA Special Court convicted former MP Prajwal Revanna. Tomorrow, the quantum of sentence will be pronounced. In this case, we have examined 26 witnesses on behalf of the prosecution...A speedy trial has taken place." Advocate Nayak called it a "victory" and congratulated the SIT team for the investigation in the case. "It is a victory for the victim. I congratulate the SIT team for their investigation...The accused himself recorded the video of his sexual acts. We have taken the assistance of the digital evidence to find out the truth," the advocate said. B N Jagadish and Ashok Nayak were the prosecution lawyers while Arun and Vipul Jain represented Prajwal Revanna in the court. Based on the complaint filed by the victim woman from K R Nagar, Mysore, a case was registered against Prajwal at the Cyber Crimes Police Station under IPC sections 376(2)(N), 376(2)(K), 506, 354-A, 354(A), 354(B), 354(C) and Section 66E of the Information Technology Act. In this regard, the SIT officials collected 123 pieces of evidence and submitted a charge sheet of about 2,000 pages to the Special Court of People's Representatives at the end of last year. It was alleged that the victim was forcibly raped at Gannigarh Farm House in Hassan and later at Revanna's residence in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, and the act was captured on mobile. Prajwal Revanna was arrested by SIT officials on May 21, 2024, as he was returning from abroad. Prajwal has been in judicial custody since then. Four rape cases have been registered against Prajwal Revanna for allegedly raping a former Zilla Panchayat member and another woman who had promised to help her son get admitted to school. (ANI)
Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske on Friday accused the previous Congress government of propagating a "saffron terror" narrative to appease minorities while investigating the Malegaon blast case. "This is what is being exposed. The whole case was being diverted to another angle and creating a new propaganda of 'Saffron terror' to appease minorities and to protect the actual culprits," Mhaske told ANI. After an NIA court acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, retired Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Officer Mehboob Mujawar on Friday revealed shocking details, claiming that he was instructed to "arrest" Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the case. Mujawar said that he was jailed for refusing to carry out the orders that came from his bosses, including former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was the Additional Commissioner of the ATS at that time. "I didn't make any allegations, but presented what has been on the record. It has been proved in court. It is not about political pressure; rather, my boss, Param Bir Singh, and other top officials instructed me to arrest Mohan Bhagwat. There was this concept of 'bhagwa atankwaad (saffron terror)' running in the media. However, I refused to do this and was punished for it. I was arrested and put in jail. I was defamed," Mujawar told ANI. "I can request that the families of those who died in the bomb blast be given maximum compensation. The court announced Rs 2 lakh compensation, but they should be given more," he added. On Thursday, the Mumbai Special National Investigative Agency Court (NIA) acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 blasts of Malegaon, with the court saying the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The verdict has sparked reactions from spiritual leaders and political parties across the country, with the ruling party trying to corner Congress over "saffron terror" remarks. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad yesterday accused the Congress of creating a "conspiracy of Bhagwa terror" and demanded an apology from Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, further noting that Congress can do anything for votes. Speaking to mediapersons, Prasad said, "The Congress can go to any limits for the vote bank. Congress created a conspiracy of Bhagwa Terror and started spreading it... The court found that there was no evidence or chassis number of the motorcycle. The witnesses also said that they were tortured and forced to make statements..." Taking aim at Congress leader and former Union Minister in the UPA regime, P Chidambaram, BJP leader Prasad said, "Chidambaram not only give certificates to Pakistan... He raised the issue of Bhagwa terror as the Home Minister and conspired to create a narrative... Why is Rahul Gandhi running away from the truth?" While BJP leaders welcomed the judgment and demanded an apology from Congress, opposition parties said that the verdict was intended to suppress the big news of the US announcing the imposition of 25 per cent tariffs on India. On September 29 2008, six people were killed and 95 others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon City's Bhikku Chowk. Originally, 11 people were accused in the case; however, the court ultimately framed charges against 7, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya. The lawyer representing the victims' families said that he will be challenging the acquittal of the seven people in the High Court. (ANI)
According to a release, Vice Admiral Manish Chadha succeeds Vice Admiral CR Praveen Nair, AVSM, NM, who steered the Academy with vision, professionalism, and commitment.

A highly decorated Flag Officer, Vice Admiral Manish Chadha is an alumnus of the 78th course of the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1 1991.

A Communication and Electronic Warfare Specialist, he has done his Staff Course from Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Higher Command Course from the National Defence University, Washington, USA.

He has commanded Coast Guard Interceptor Boat CGS-05 and Indian Naval Ships Veer, Kirpan and Mysore. He has held various staff and operational appointments at the Naval and Command Headquarters.

He was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal in 2025 and Vishist Seva Medal in 2017. On promotion to Flag Rank on December 6, 2021, he was appointed as the Flag Officer Commanding Gujarat Naval Area, and subsequently he served as the Assistant Chief of Personnel (Administration and Civilian) at the Naval Headquarters and Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area.

Prior to taking over as Commandant INA, the Flag Officer tenanted the appointment of Assistant Chief of Personnel (Human Resource Development) at Naval Headquarters.

Under his helm, the Indian Naval Academy is expected to further strengthen its reputation as a centre of excellence for professional military education and leadership development of cadets from the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and maritime forces of friendly foreign countries. (ANI)
LOS ANGELES, July 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CleaDeep, a leading kitchen appliance manufacturer, will officially make its debut at IFA 2025 from September 4 to 9. The company will also unveil its new international brand, Arspura, with the brand's latest products showcased on the Dream Stage at IFA Next on September 4. The brand launch marks a significant milestone in the company's global expansion, highlighting a deepened commitment to combining technological innovation with aesthetic excellence in the home appliance sector.

"As awareness of healthy eating continues to grow, creating a kitchen environment that supports overall well-being is just as important," said Dr. Ray Ren, CEO of Arspura. "Arspura was founded with a clear mission: to harness technology in safeguarding the health of home cooking for every household."

The brand name Arspura draws inspiration from Latin roots"Ars" meaning art or technology and "Pura" meaning pureencapsulating a design philosophy that centers on clean living and intelligent functionality. With the slogan "Better Air, Pure Life," Arspura positions itself at the intersection of advanced engineering and elevated living, committed to delivering products that improve indoor environments while enhancing the emotional and visual experience of modern homes.

Built upon the deep technical foundation of its parent company, CleaDeep, Arspura extends the company's IQV (Inclined Quad-Vortex) technology and product design expertise into new global markets. With a long-standing focus on kitchen air ventilation, CleaDeep has earned international recognition, including the iF DESIGN AWARD 2025 and the Better Design Award. The company holds multiple design and utility patents, such as the EU Appearance Patent Certificate, IQV Technology Patent Certificate, and AU Design Registration. Its core products are also certified by major global standards, including CE and SGS.

Backed by CleaDeep, Arspura's product line will introduce cutting-edge technologies aimed at transforming kitchen environments into healthier spaces. One notable innovation is the IQV Technology designed specifically to prevent fume particles from escaping during cooking processes and deliver cleaner kitchen air:

Low-Pressure Cyclones : Powered by IQV technology, stable low-pressure cyclones form above the cooktop, actively drawing in smoke, odors, and PM2.5 particles to prevent them from dispersing into your kitchen air.

: Powered by IQV technology, stable low-pressure cyclones form above the cooktop, actively drawing in smoke, odors, and PM2.5 particles to prevent them from dispersing into your kitchen air. Ultra-High Airspeed : With airflow speeds exceeding 13 m/s and enhanced by the Coanda effect, the hood rapidly channels smoke into the intake, significantly improving ventilation efficiency and minimizing indoor smoke.

: With airflow speeds exceeding 13 m/s and enhanced by the Coanda effect, the hood rapidly channels smoke into the intake, significantly improving ventilation efficiency and minimizing indoor smoke. Anti-Escape Air Curtains: Dual air curtains create an invisible barrier above the cooktop, effectively containing smoke and fumes. This advanced design ensures consistent extraction performance, even with nearby windows open.

As part of its debut event at IFA 2025, CleaDeep will also host a special industry dialogue. Renowned experts in respiratory health, lifestyle influencers, and real users will be invited to discuss challenges related to kitchen health and explore opportunities presented by advancements in appliance technologies. Additionally, the event will feature a live demonstration area where visitors can directly experience how Arspura's products improve air quality in real-time cooking scenarios.

Details of Arspura's brand launch now are available on the IFA Berlin website. Media representatives interested in exploring this transformation are invited to register at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSchDOCvvWsuGnJgpX7BSJ3x03cFZ-XWEkwDhmNx-MsumJKJFA/viewform for more information or interview opportunities

About CleaDeep

CleaDeep (https://us.cleadeep.com/) is a hard-tech company dedicated to transforming kitchen ventilation through cutting-edge fluid dynamics and industrial-grade engineering. As the first company to introduce vortex airflow technology to home kitchens, CleaDeep has set new benchmarks in suction power, air quality, and energy efficiency. Patented innovations, such as the IQVTM (Inclined Quad-Vortex) and Wind EngineTM systems, enable ultra-fast fume capture, filter-free operation, and quiet performance.

Media contact: https://us.cleadeep.com/pages/contact-us

SOURCE CleaDeep
Amid the Telangana Government's objection to the Banakacherla project, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh claimed that the reservoir project will benefit the Telugu community and sought their support. He said that the TDP government in 2014-19 never objected to the construction of the upstream Kaleswaram project on Godavari, when the Telangana government started work without central approval. "The Telugu Desam Party stands for the rights of Telugu people everywhere. The TDP Government in 2014-19 never objected to the construction of the upstream Kaleswaram project on Godavari, when the Telangana Government started work without central approval," Lokesh said in a post on X. "We didn't write a single letter against it because the Telugu community would benefit from this project. The Banakacherla project utilizes only a small portion of the excess floodwaters of Godavari water draining into the sea each year. This project will benefit the Telugu community, and everyone should support it," he said. The Godavari-Banakacherla Link scheme is a major project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh Government at an estimated cost of Rs 80,112 crore. The plan involves diverting 200 TMC of water from the Godavari River at Polavaram to Rayalaseema through the Bollapalli reservoir and Banakacherla head regulator. The proposal seeks to interlink the Godavari, Krishna, and Penna rivers. The project, which forms part of a larger river interlinking plan, has drawn sharp criticism from Telangana, citing its potential impact on interstate water-sharing arrangements. On July 28, the Centre told Parliament that no construction had started yet on the Banakacherla-Polavaram project. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said the Andhra Pradesh government had submitted only a Preliminary Feasibility Report (PFR) for the project. In July, Telangana Labour Minister G Vivek Venkatswamy accused the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government of "neglecting" the state's interests in the proposed Banakacherla project. "On the issue of Banakacherla water or any other issue. These are all mistakes made by the TRS government. It was during their time that the TRS government encouraged the Andhra government, then led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, to divert water from the Godavari, rather than trying to protect the use of Godavari water in Telangana... They have neglected the interests of Telangana," Venkatswamy had said. (ANI)
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday hit out at the Narendra Modi government for not speaking the truth about the actual state of the Indian economy, saying that wages for most citizens have remained stagnant in the past decade, regardless of their class or sector. "The Modi government, its drumbeaters, and cheerleaders are living in a fictional world. They are avoiding speaking the truth about the real state of the economy," Ramesh posted on X. "In the past decade, the wages of most Indians have remained stagnant, regardless of their class or sector. This problem is even more severe in rural India. Household savings have seen a sharp decline, while household debt has risen rapidly. Private consumption, a key driver of growth, is faltering--while consumption of luxury goods has not decreased, which is a clear indication of growing economic inequality," he added. He held the Modi government responsible for "completely devastating' the economy with its decisions, including demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST). "In the past decade, the five shocks delivered by Prime Minister Modi have completely devastated the Indian economy. No one else can be held responsible for this. Demonetisation completely derailed our growth momentum and ruined the livelihoods of crores of Indians. The fundamentally flawed GST--neither good nor simple--has wreaked havoc on thousands of business enterprises across the country. Only those large companies that can afford the heavy costs of complying with GST regulations have survived," Ramesh said. He further stated that "record levels of imports" from China caused lakhs of MSMEs across the country to shut down, especially in Gujarat, where nearly one-third of MSMEs associated with the stainless steel industry ceased operations. "Exports in several key sectors are dependent on imports of raw materials, components, and intermediate goods from China," Ramesh said, adding, "Private investment is no longer as dynamic as it was between 2004 and 2014. Indian industrialists are increasingly taking citizenship in other countries. A regime of raids driven by political vendettas and extortion, coupled with the growing influence of cronyism, has deeply shaken confidence in the Indian economy." (ANI)
BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra launched an attack on the Congress party after a retired Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Officer revealed that he was instructed to "arrest" Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the Malegaon blast case. BJP MP Patra alleged that Congress asked the ATS officer Mahboob Mujawar to further the narrative of 'saffron terror'. Addressing reporters here, Patra said, "There have been two new developments in the Malegaon Blast case, both of which are political. First is the expose by an ATS officer, Mahboob Mujawar, who investigated the case. Mahboob Mujawar was an important part of the investigative committee formed to investigate the blast case." "He has exposed that his senior officers and senior leaders in the government put great pressure on him to further the 'saffron terror' narrative and arrest RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat," Patra said. He alleged that Mujawar's promotion was halted as he did not arrest Bhagwat. "Mohan Bhagwat's name was not there on the chargesheet, nor was it anywhere in the case. Citing the Constitution, Mahboob Mujawar refused to arrest Mohan Bhagwat. Some damning charges were pressed upon Mahboob Mujawar by his senior officers, as a result of which, his promotion was stopped. Later, he was acquitted by the court," he said. Patra alleged that it was part of the Congress' "vindictive attitude". He said, "This shows the vindictive attitude of the then Congress government. All this was being done on orders of the Gandhi family." Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha, Patra claimed that PM Modi had said that a Congress leader informed the USA's spy agencies that 'saffron terror' poses a great threat to India. "In his speech during the debate on Operation Sindoor, PM Modi clearly said that there is a very senior leader who went to the US and told their spy agencies that saffron terror poses a greater threat to India than SIMI. You know who that senior leader is, who told the US Ambassador that Hindu terror is the biggest threat to India... This was an agenda of the Gandhi family for vote bank politics," Patra said. Amid a row over the acquittal of all those accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, retired ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar claimed that he was instructed to "arrest" Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the case. He said that he was jailed for refusing to carry out the orders that came from his bosses, including former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was the Additional Commissioner of the ATS at that time. "I didn't make any allegations, but presented what has been on the record. It has been proved in court. It is not about political pressure; rather, my boss, Param Bir Singh, and other top officials instructed me to arrest Mohan Bhagwat. There was this concept of 'bhagwa atankwaad (saffron terror)' running in the media. However, I refused to do this and was punished for it. I was arrested and put in jail. I was defamed," Mujawar told ANI. On Thursday, the Mumbai Special National Investigative Agency Court (NIA) acquitted all seven accused of being involved in the 2008 blasts of Malegaon, with the court saying the prosecution failed to establish the case beyond a reasonable doubt. (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ANI) on Friday conducted searches at four locations in Odisha and West Bengal in connection with an investigation into a fake bank guarantee racket. The ED conducted raids at three locations in Bhubaneswar (Odisha), and one in Kolkata (West Bengal), as part of a money laundering investigation. The action is based on an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registered by the ED, following a case filed by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police on November 11, 2024. Pursuant to the investigation, ED searches are conducted under Section 17 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In Bhubaneswar, three premises linked to Biswal Tradelink Private Limited and its directors are being searched while one premise of an associate and operator is being searched in Kolkata. As per officials in ED, Odisha-based Biswal Tradelink Pvt Ltd, its directors, and associates are "found engaged in issuance of fake bank guarantees against a commission of 8 per cent." "Preliminary investigation indicates that the group has also facilitated fake bills for commission." As per officials, multiple undisclosed bank accounts have been detected, and suspicious transactions of crores of rupees found in these bank accounts. "The company is a mere paper entity and its registered office is a residential property belonging to a relative. No statutory company records were found at the address," pointed the officials, privy to the development. "Suspicious financial transactions with multiple companies have been traced." Key individuals of the group, the officials said, are found using the Telegram application with "disappearing messages" enabled, indicating attempts to conceal communication. In a related matter, they said, "evidence seized earlier (during searches on July 24, 2025 in the case of Anil Ambani group companies) has direct linkage with the present investigation." "A Bank Guarantee of Rs 68.2 crore submitted to Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) on behalf of Reliance NU BESS Limited and Maharashtra Energy Generation Limited has been established as fake," said the officials. In an attempt to prove that this fake bank guarantee is genuine, the officials added, the group used a "spoofed email domain. To create a facade of genuineness- instead of sbi.co.in, the domain s-bi.co.in was deployed to send forged communication to SECI, impersonating SBI." ED has sought domain registration details of s-bi.co.in from the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI). (ANI)
Madayipara in Kerala''s Kannur and a storehouse of biodiversity, has transformed into a mesmerising carpet of deep blue flowers as the heavy rains of the Malayalam month of Karkadakam sweep through the region. The vibrant blooms of Utricularia, along with the white flower heads of Eriocaulon and Rhamphicarpa, have painted the entire plateau in stunning shades of blue, violet, and white. Every year, the top of this ancient and serene laterite plateau in Kannur attracts numerous tourists and research students who come to observe and study its rich biodiversity. Madayipara is also a favoured spot for migratory birds, adding to its allure for nature enthusiasts. Boasting around 300 different plant species, Madayipara becomes a floral treasure trove during Onam, with children travelling long distances to collect native flowers. The annual deep blue bloom of Madayipara is a natural wonder that underscores the region''s ecological richness. While it continues to draw admiration from visitors, there is a growing need for conservation efforts to protect this unique landscape from environmental degradation. On July 8, Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas said the state government will go ahead with its action plan to support newcomers, especially women, to the tourism sector, aligning with the vision of inclusive and sustainable development of tourism. The Minister delivered the inaugural address at the state-level consultation workshop, aiming to develop a Gender Inclusive and Women-Friendly Tourism Policy as part of the women-friendly tourism initiative here. The Department of Tourism organised the workshop in collaboration with Kerala Responsible Tourism (RT) Mission Society and UN Women India. In her keynote address, Kanta Singh, Country Representative, UN Women, India, said Kerala has been showing the way for the country in many things, and it is a privilege to partner with the state government and the RT project to do more for women in the tourism sector. K Rupeshkumar, CEO, Kerala RT Mission Society, in his presentation of a framework for Gender Responsive Tourism Policy, said the upcoming policy will lay down guidelines for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of gender inclusive practices. "The major objectives of the policy include fostering women''s participation in the tourism industry, ensuring safety and security and women''s empowerment," he said. The Gender Inclusive Tourism Policy will include stakeholders like tourism entrepreneurs, tour operators, hotels, local communities, tourists from diverse backgrounds, especially women. Earlier in June, the Odapoo, a unique flower, attracted numerous visitors to Kerala''s annual 28-day Kottiyoor festival held in Kannur. The special flower is only found in Kottiyoor during the festival season and it is given by people to their relatives to symbolise sharing their joy and blessings after people visit the Kottiyoor temple. The Otapoovu, or Odappu flower, is made from bamboo pieces, and people buy the flowers to hang them up on their homes for over a year. (ANI)
Former Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi on Thursday proposed a "SWAT" (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) framework for senior citizens to guide policymaking on ageing in India, calling for coordinated efforts at the grassroots level to address challenges faced by the elderly. Speaking at a session on Leveraging Ageing for Growth and Development during the National Conference on Ageing in India, Bedi said, "All ministers and ministries responsible for senior citizen policymaking must come together once a month exactly like the Prime Minister does for major projects. I would like to offer a concept called SWAT for seniors' attendance." Elaborating on the idea, she said families, friends, professional and spiritual fraternities should be recognised as strengths, and policies should incentivise intergenerational living as done in countries like Singapore. At the same time, she flagged weaknesses such as lack of preparation for ageing, inadequate infrastructure, poor coordination at the village and RWA levels, and health concerns like joint care. "Yoga and healthy eating are solutions, but weaknesses like ignorance about the body and lack of exercise need urgent attention," Bedi stressed. She highlighted opportunities in the wisdom, skills, and time that elderly citizens possess, urging linkages with schools, NGOs, industries, and startups under the "silver economy." She also pointed to threats such as loneliness and financial insecurity. V. Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Pension and Pensioners' Welfare, underlined the government's focus on ensuring timely pensions, digital empowerment, and healthcare for senior citizens. "More than 1.62 crore pensioners submitted digital life certificates last year. This year, we expect more than two crore. Digital empowerment of pensioners has been a major area of work," he said. Srinivas added that recognition of lifetime contributions through initiatives like the Anubhav awards and dedicated healthcare facilities remains a core priority. Former Haryana DGP and ex-Railway Protection Force chief Manoj Yadav emphasised that the elderly must be viewed as both consumers and investors. "Many retirees have wealth, but are often targeted by fraudsters and dubious investment schemes. Financial education at the community level is essential to safeguard them. At the same time, the elderly can build social capital by mentoring children of disadvantaged families and contributing their skills in flexible ways through community models," Yadav said. He added, "I strongly believe that elderly are not an economic burden, but they are a demographic dividend--if we can create systems and structures capable of harvesting their potential." The session was chaired by former G20 Sherpa and ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, and also featured academics and policymakers. The discussion was part of the National Conference on Ageing in India organised by Sankala Foundation with support from NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and the National Human Rights Commission. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jagdambika Pal on Friday said that Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's objections to the voter list revision in Bihar are aimed at protecting illegal voters, including Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. He said the Election Commission is an independent body responsible for ensuring that only eligible Indian citizens can vote. Speaking to ANI, Jagdambika Pal said, "...As LoP, he should be aware that the Election Commission is a constitutional body and is completely independent. It is EC's responsibility to ensure fair and free elections. Before the elections, they must verify door-to-door the names of those who have died and ensure they are removed from the voter list. Similarly, those who have been transferred should also have their names deleted. Only individuals who are 18 years or older should be part of the voter list." "A person who is Rohingya, Bangladeshi, or an illegal foreigner, if they have illegally become a voter, has no right to vote, only Indian citizens can vote in elections. Whatever charges he is levelling are to protect the Rohingya, Bangladeshi, and illegal voters," he added. Earlier in the day, Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of direct involvement in large-scale voter fraud with the Congress having "open-and-shut proof" of the alleged theft. Talking to reporters on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Congress leader alleged that the motive behind the voter fraud was to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rahul Gandhi said, "Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I'm not saying this lightly, I'm speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it (proof), the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They're doing it for the BJP." He said that the findings of an investigation by the Congress amount to nothing short of an "atom bomb," with implications severe enough to shake the very foundations of the ECI. "We had suspicion of voter theft, and we got into its granularity. Since the Election Commision was not helpful in the investigation, we did our own. It took six months, and the things we found are an 'Atom Bomb' and when this atom bomb explodes, you won't see the Election Commission in the country," he added. Taking a hardline stance, Gandhi warned individuals within the Commission and alleged the steps taken by the EC are "no less than treason." (ANI)
A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said that the issue falls within the domain of the parliament.

"This is the domain of the Parliament. How can we interfere? It is a matter within the domain of policy," said CJI Gavai to senior advocate Shobha Gupta representing the petitioner.

The bench allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea with liberty to challenge a judgment of the Kerala High Court, which held that the POSH Act wouldn't apply to political parties.

The petitioner filed by advocate Yogamaya MG highlighted non-compliance with the Act by political parties, particularly when it comes to the constitution of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) to deal with sexual harassment complaints.

It sought direction that all political parties constitute ICCs in compliance with Section 4 of the PoSH Act, 2013 and declare that individuals engaged in activities within political parties fall within the scope of "employees" under Section 2(f) of the POSH Act.

"Direct the Election Commission of India to mandate compliance with the POSH Act as a prerequisite for political parties' registration and recognition under the Representation of the People Act, 1951," the petition stated.

The petition has made the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, All India Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, Nationalist People's Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party as respondents in the petition. (ANI)
In a post on X, Shambhavi said, "Respectful, affectionate meeting with parents...Met with the honourable Prime Minister of our country, our inspiration, the respected Shri Narendra Modi ji, along with family, and received his blessings and guidance, while also presenting him with a picture of Babu Jagjivan Ram ji, the hero of the 1971 war."

https://x.com/Sham4Samastipur/status/1951201904647610862

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited the Indian citizens to suggest themes and ideas for his Independence Day speech.

Sharing an X post, PM Modi appealed to the public to share their suggestions on MyGov in the NaMo app.

"As we approach this year's Independence Day, I look forward to hearing from my fellow Indians! What themes or ideas would you like to see reflected in this year's Independence Day speech? Share your thoughts on the Open Forums on MyGov and the NaMo App," PM Modi wrote.

As per tradition, the Prime Minister of India hoists the tricolour at the Red Fort in Delhi and addresses the nation on August 15, India's Independence Day.

Last year, marking India's 78th Independence Day, PM Modi's speech was based on the theme of 'Viksit Bharat @ 2047,' aiming to drive the Government's efforts to transform India into a developed nation by 2047. (ANI)
The contract was signed today under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category, reinforcing the commitment to indigenisation in defence manufacturing.

These next-generation trailers come equipped with hydraulic/pneumatic loading ramps and steerable and liftable axles, enabling swift and efficient transportation of tanks and other Armoured (A) vehicles across diverse and challenging terrain.

The advanced mobility solutions offered by these platforms will act as a force multiplier for the field army, significantly enhancing its logistical and operational capabilities.

This indigenous procurement not only marks a boost to the Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem but also promises sustained employment generation. It stands as a testament to the Indian Army's continuous efforts in strengthening self-reliance and building robust capabilities for future challenges.

Earlier on July 28, the Indian Army conducted 'Exercise DIVYA DRISHTI' in July 2025.

The exercise conducted in the high-altitude areas of East Sikkim tested new technologies designed to improve battlefield awareness, real-time surveillance and quick decision-making. Troops from Trishakti Corps used a mix of ground-based systems and aerial platforms, including UAVs and drones, to carry out realistic scenarios, the press release said.

A key highlight was the use of AI-enabled sensors linked to advanced communication systems. This setup ensured smooth and secure data flow between command centres, improving situational awareness and enabling faster, better decisions, creating a strong sensor-to-shooter link. (ANI)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- FinBe USA is proud to announce the launch of its newly revamped franchise and independent dealer programs, powered by cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. This significant investment in our pricing platform reflects our commitment to smarter, faster, and more competitive financing solutions for our dealer partners and customers nationwide.

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SOURCE FinBe USA
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at an event on Friday assured that no slum in Delhi will be removed without providing proper houses to its residents. She emphasised the need for collective effort to transform Delhi, criticising those who politicise slum issues, including Rahul Gandhi, who she noted is only now visiting the slums. Gupta guaranteed that every slum dweller would be provided with permanent housing before any demolition, allocating a budget of Rs 700 crore for slum development. The government plans to offer employment opportunities and skill training to slum residents, aiming to improve their living standards. "Delhi has to be changed, we have to work together. Those involved in politics in Delhi's slums have no connection to it. Rahul Gandhi is coming to the slums now... The people of Aam Aadmi Party, who completed their entire tenure and left. They never laid pipelines in the slums of Delhi. Today, I want to say that not even a single slum in Delhi will be removed without giving them proper houses. We will provide them with employment, skills, and houses. If there is a need to change the policy, we will change the policy...," said Delhi CM. Gupta is willing to amend policies to ensure dignity and housing for all, focusing on accelerated development and rejuvenating the Yamuna river. The Delhi government has initiated development projects in slum areas, including laying pipelines and constructing new roads. Gupta visited a slum camp near the railway crossing at Shalimar Bagh, assuring residents of proper rehabilitation and housing arrangements. She also mentioned that all ISBTs, bus depots, and the entire transport station need to be developed following the cleanliness drive at the Women and Child Development (WCD) Office, ISBT Kashmere Gate in Delhi. Delhi CM said, "I just came from ISBT...all the ISBTs have to be developed, all the bus depots have to be developed, and the entire transport station has to be developed. You bring the ideas...we will do the work. Bring your vision...it is our job to put that work in place. Delhi has to be changed, and for that we have to work together." Calling out Rahul Gandhi and the previous AAP government for using Delhi's slums as political props, Rekha Gupta said, "And let me tell you that those people who want to do politics in the slums of Delhi, who had no connection with anyone, even then Rahul Gandhi is coming to the slums. Have you ever come in your life to ask about the condition of slum dwellers? They only gave them a name, after that, they didn't give even the slightest facility to the slum dwellers." "Those AAP party people who completed their work and went away, never laid a single pipeline in the slums of Delhi...," Gupta added. Gupta claimed that even though the previous AAP left the government drowning in debt, she will make sure that houses will be given to everyone, and she will not allow demolition of even a single slum. She added, "...We have come to revive Delhi, to take Delhi forward..." Delhi CM launched the 'Delhi Ko Koode Se Azaadi' campaign today, and also took part in the cleanliness drive and cleaned piles of waste at the Women and Child Development (WCD) Office, ISBT Kashmere Gate in Delhi. Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh and BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay also participated in the Swachh Bharat Mission in the Green Park area of Delhi today. (ANI)
Following the arrest of two Malayali nuns in Chhattisgarh on the charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking, Congress MP Anto Antony said that both have serious health problems, the issue has been raised in the Parliament, and they stood for the justice for the nuns. Speaking to ANI Antony said, "We visited the nuns, both have serious health problems, and didn't get their medicines. They didn't get a doctor's facility. We requested the authorities to provide them with medicines and a doctor. If they get bail they are ready to go to a hospital. There is human rights violation. They were harassed at the railway station and police station. We asked the government to take case against those who harassed the nuns. We have already raised the issue in the Parliament. We stand for the justice for the nuns." The nuns from Kerala were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25. Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday said that the Chhattisgarh government has agreed not to oppose the bail applications for the two nuns. "We hope that they get bail in the coming days because the state government has agreed not to oppose their bail," Chandrasekhar told ANI. "Both the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the Home Minister (Amit Shah) have clearly said that justice will be given to the two nuns who have been arrested there under the local laws. Some mistakes have been made by the nuns in terms of uploading on the portal. Regardless of that, the Church reached out to me six days ago, and we have been working relentlessly to ensure that the nuns get justice and the judicial process moves forward to give them bail," he said. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) strongly condemned the arrest, claiming that, according to reports, the women had explicit written permission from their parents but were physically assaulted after being arrested. Earlier today, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma asked whether the Congress was attempting to put pressure on the court by staging protests after two nuns from Kerala were arrested over charges of forced religious conversion and human trafficking. "This has nothing to do with votes. Earlier too, a delegation from the Congress party had come, and we facilitated their meeting with them (the two nuns)," Sharma told ANI. "But they should understand whether by doing this, they are trying to pressure the court? This is a matter on which the police have taken action; whether bail will be granted or not, the court will decide," he said. In Kerala, both the ruling Left Democratic Front and the Opposition United Democratic Front condemned the arrest and accused the BJP government in Chhattisgarh of undermining religious freedom. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor condemned as "a grave injustice" the arrest of two nuns. "The arrest of nuns is a grave injustice. They have not done anything against the law," Tharoor told reporters in the national capital. He said that the nuns were just taking some tribal girls to the city for employment. "Seeing this, members of the Bajrang Dal raised a false alarm and the police came and arrested the nuns. This is not right. When everyone is raising objections to it, they are still in jail for the last one week... BJP's Kerala unit is saying they will travel to Chhattisgarh to get them bail. Nothing has happened so far," he said. (ANI)
In a major crackdown against the Pakistan-based D-Company gang, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has attached two immovable properties belonging to the accused in the 2015 Bharuch double murder case. The properties belong to the arrested accused Mohammad Yunus alias Manjro. The assets have been attached under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act following the orders of the NIA Special Court, Ahmedabad. The attached properties include his two residential houses in Bharuch City. Manjro was arrested for his role in the criminal conspiracy and murder of BJP workers, Shirish Bengali and Pragnesh Mistry, in November 2015, the NIA said in a statement. "These attachments by NIA are a very important step toward dismantling the terror ecosystem of the D-Company gang operating from Pakistan," added the agency. (ANI)
During this significant meeting, the Chief Minister discussed key issues related to the holistic development of Chhattisgarh and strategies to counter the Maoist challenge.

CM Sai apprised the Home Minister of the achievements under anti-Maoist operations and the roadmap ahead. He stated that the state has achieved notable success in its anti-Naxal campaigns over the past one and a half years. Since December 2023, a total of 445 Maoists, including top leaders, have been neutralised in 33 major encounters. Additionally, 1,554 Maoists have been arrested, and 1,588 have surrendered.

He further highlighted that the state is working under a comprehensive "Integrated Development and Security" policy aimed at fully eliminating Maoist influence. This includes the expansion of road infrastructure, education, and healthcare services in affected regions. These initiatives have not only reduced Maoist influence but also strengthened public trust in the administration.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister also expressed his gratitude to the Union Home Minister for his continued support and guidance in ensuring security and development in Bastar and other affected regions.

The Union Minister commended the Chhattisgarh government's initiatives, describing them as historic in the fight against Maoism. He assured full support from the Central Government in this ongoing mission.

The two leaders also discussed the preparations for the Amrit Rajat Mahotsav 2025, being organised to mark 25 years of Chhattisgarh's formation.

The Chief Minister informed that special efforts are being made to make this celebration grand and memorable. The event will highlight the state's cultural heritage, social unity, and economic achievements to a national and international audience. (ANI)
West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhankar Sarkar criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for staying silent on US President Donald Trump's claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Sarkar wonders why Modi hasn't responded strongly, especially with Trump now imposing a 25% tariff plus penalty on India. He drew parallels with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, suggesting she would have given Trump a fitting response. Speaking to ANI, Subhankar Sarkar said on Thursday, "...Why is Prime Minister Modi silent when US President Donald Trump claimed that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and has now imposed a 25% tariff along with a penalty on India? Indira Gandhi would have given him a befitting reply..." Meanwhile, earlier Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified that the ceasefire was a bilateral decision made through military hotlines, initiated by Pakistan's side, with no third-party involvement. India maintains that it doesn't accept third-party mediation in its dealings with Pakistan. On Tuesday, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha, stated that he still had not "categorically repudiated" US President Donald Trump's assertions of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. While speaking to ANI, Chidambaram emphasised that it would have been better if the government had categorically stated that Trump had no role whatsoever. "It was a 22-minute war, but it was a 2-hour 22-minute speech. He has not categorically repudiated President Trump's assertions. I wish the government had categorically stated that President Trump had no role in it whatsoever. That would end the matter... We just wanted to know if they were home-grown terrorists or had they come from across the border. Both these classes of terrorists have the support of Pakistan..." the Congress MP said. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Akhilesh Yadav criticised PM Modi's speech, saying that no one could defeat the BJP in words. Speaking to the media, Yadav, signalling to China, claimed that the BJP cannot see the bigger threat standing behind Pakistan, which is snatching away India's markets and encroaching on its borders. "BJP ko baaton mein koi nahi hara sakta. If the BJP doesn't see a threat standing behind Pakistan, then who can show them that? A country that is snatching away our market, which is encroaching on our borders...BJP should at least tell us if India's area has increased or decreased between 2014 and today. All of us want our borders to be peaceful and secure," the Samajwadi Party Chief said. (ANI)
In a strong endorsement of public-private collaboration, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said the Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown its openness to private sector participation across key sectors, including space, biotechnology, and nuclear energy, considering innovation and national development. Speaking at an event organised by the Assocham on the topic 'Sovereign Tech for India's Digital Transformation', Singh highlighted the transformation that has taken place over the past decade, driven by reforms and strategic collaborations between the public and private sectors. The Minister highlighted how the key sectors, such as space, biotechnology, and nuclear energy, are witnessing transformative reforms that pave the way for private innovation and leadership. "The government headed by Prime Minister Modi, is open to the private sector, so lot many things happening simultaneously at different levels...The space industry was cited as a major success story, with projections indicating that India's space economy could grow from $8 billion to $40-45 billion in the next 8-10 years. Initiatives like Interspace and Interface have been instrumental in bridging the gap between private innovation and public infrastructure," Singh said at the event. Biotechnology has also emerged as a priority area, especially in the aftermath of India's globally recognised vaccine development during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Minister. This success, Singh said, has positioned India as "a leader in preventive healthcare and bio-innovation." He emphasised the critical role of the private sector in this achievement, along with contributions to breakthroughs such as the country's first indigenous antibiotic and gene therapy development. Highlighting a broader shift in governance, the Minister urged private enterprises to step into roles traditionally occupied by the government, particularly in sectors like nuclear energy, which has recently been opened up. "Build capacity, innovate, and reduce dependency on government support," Singh passed the message to the private sector in his address. Noting that India's rising stature on the global stage is being bolstered by its science and research efforts, Singh said government-backed institutions like CSIR are partnering with private players in initiatives such as the purple revolution. At the same time, he said, the government is ramping up investments in science through increased departmental budgets and the establishment of the National Research Foundation. While public funding is growing, the Minister stressed the need for increased private investment. He outlined the importance of sustainable funding strategies and the startup ecosystem. "Startup is booming, with 49 per cent of new ventures emerging from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities." Looking ahead to 2047, Singh said the government envisions unlocking new growth areas, including coastal regions and underexplored health sectors. However, he reiterated that true transformation requires a mindset shift, with the private sector embracing modern strategies, technologies, and platforms, including social media, to drive collaborative and inclusive growth. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Parliament House here on Friday to discuss state's development and extended a formal invitation to him to attend the 'Amrit Rajat Mahotsav' (Silver Jubilee Celebration) of statehood as the Chief Guest on November 1 in Raipur. He also apprised the Prime Minister of the state government's key development priorities, upcoming schemes, and citizen-centric welfare initiatives. Marking 25 years since the formation of the state on November 1, 2000, Chhattisgarh is celebrating the milestone as its Amrit Rajat Jayanti Year. Emphasising the importance of the event for the historical significance of the state, the CM stated that the Prime Minister's presence would elevate its importance. The CM noted that under the leadership and guidance of PM Modi, Chhattisgarh is progressing rapidly on the path of development. He informed the Prime Minister about the state's visionary policy document 'Anjor Vision @2047', outlining the roadmap for inclusive and sustainable development in alignment with the goals of Viksit Bharat (Developed India). The document focuses on progressive reforms and innovation-driven initiatives across education, health, agriculture, industry, innovation, and environment sectors, a release said. The Chief Minister also informed PM Modi that inspired by the Centre's Jan Vishwas Act 2023, the state government has enacted the Jan Vishwas Bill 2025, aimed at improving transparency in the justice system and ensuring easier access to justice for the common citizen. CM Sai also shared details about the establishment of the Chhattisgarh State Capital Region Development Authority (SCRDA), formed to ensure the planned and rapid development of Nava Raipur. He said the authority is transforming the capital region into a modern, smart, and fast-growing urban centre. Highlighting industrial growth, CM Sai briefed the Prime Minister about the encouraging progress in investment and employment generation in the state. He said that the New Industrial Policy 2024-30, implemented in 2024, has significantly boosted investor interest. A Single Window System has been introduced to streamline industrial setup, making processes simpler and more transparent. Industries employing over 1,000 people are being offered special incentives. CM Sai further informed that between November 2024 and July 2025, the state received investment proposals worth Rs 6.65 lakh crore from 84 companies. He noted that India's first Semiconductor Unit has been launched in Nava Raipur, and construction of an AI Data Centre is also underway. Moreover, sectors like textiles, pharmaceuticals, ready-made garments, and IT services are being prioritised to position Chhattisgarh as a technological and industrial hub, the release said. Speaking on education reforms, CM Sai said that the state government is committed to ensuring quality education in rural and remote areas through the rationalisation of schools and teachers. In tribal regions, efforts are being made to integrate digital tools and trained educators to enhance learning through technology. The Chief Minister also shared that the state government is working swiftly on two ambitious projects -- Medicity and Edu City. The Medicity being developed in Raipur will be a state-of-the-art medical hub, creating large-scale employment opportunities and enhancing Chhattisgarh's standing in the healthcare sector. On the issue of Naxalism, CM Sai highlighted the state's ongoing rehabilitation and trust-building efforts. He said that due to the government's sensitive and visionary approach, a significant number of Naxalites have surrendered and are returning to mainstream life. Basic infrastructure like education, healthcare, communication, and roads is being rapidly expanded in these regions, which is strengthening public trust in governance and fostering aspirations for development and inclusion, the CM said. (ANI)
A 7-year-old boy came out of an open sewer on his own and returned home after a 24-hour rescue operation failed to locate him in Rajokri village of south Delhi, Delhi police said. According to the Police, on 31 July at around 01:15 pm, police received information from some local boys that a child had fallen into a sewer near Rajokri. Following a prolonged search operation conducted by multiple agencies until late at night, no child could be recovered from the sewer. The investigators examined CCTV footage from cameras near the site. They saw two boys running along the sewer; one fell into the drain, then both continued running further down the line. No camera captured his exit, but police discovered an open segment about 20 feet from the fall point, where the boy had climbed out. Police circulated the CCTV clips via local WhatsApp groups, schools, and adjacent police stations to trace the child's identity. The next day, a teacher at the MCD School in Rajokri identified the boy as a 7-year-old Class 3 student from Shera Colony, Rajokri Village. Later, the child was examined by the beat staff. According to his statement, he went for a rain bath with his friend, who resides in the same house and attends the same school. Due to rainwater covering the area, the sewer opening was not visible, and he accidentally fell into it. However, he managed to get out after a short distance and returned home safely. Further investigation is still underway. A day earlier, Delhi Police said that a man allegedly killed his 10-year-old son in Delhi's Narela area. According to the complaint filed by the deceased child's mother, who is living separately from her husband due to a dispute. The accused, identified as Narender, allegedly killed his minor child and later informed his wife about the murder. (ANI)
Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Patna held a protest on Friday against Sheohar MLA Chetan Anand alleging that he, along with wife and his armed guards, forcibly entered the hospital area, physically assaulted security staff, threatened resident doctors with death, and brandished a firearm within hospital grounds. Doctors and staff protested with slogans, "We want justice" and "Vidhayak ji maafi manage". The Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) sought legal action against the MLA and deployment of security personnel on the hospital premises. The protest comes after RDA of AIIMS, Patna, announced an immediate shutdown of all elective services and a conditional shutdown of emergency services starting 9 am on August 1 after an incident of alleged violence took place inside the hospital premises involving Chetan Anand, MLA (Sheohar), his wife Dr. Ayushi Singh, and their armed guards. According to a letter by the RDA to the medical superintendent of AIIMS-Patna, the incident occurred late on July 30, around 11 pm, in the Trauma Centre premises. The MLA and his armed escorts allegedly forced their way into the hospital, physically assaulted security staff, threatened resident doctors with death, and even brandished a firearm within the premises, the letter read. A hospital security guard was reportedly injured after being struck with the butt of a weapon. Resident doctors said that they were subjected to threats, abuse, and fear inside their own workplace. The RDA said that despite the severity of the assault, no FIR was filed, and the administration has taken no decisive legal or institutional action to protect its staff or pursue justice. This perceived inaction, the doctors said, has created "a climate of fear and helplessness among doctors and healthcare workers.". In its letter to the Medical Superintendent, the RDA said there will be an immediate shutdown of elective services by resident doctors and a complete shutdown of emergency services from 9 am on August 1, if their demands remain unmet. The doctors have put forward four key demands: Immediate lodging of an FIR against MLA Chetan Anand, his wife Dr. Ayushi Singh, and the armed guards involved; deployment of adequate and permanent security personnel across the hospital; a formal written assurance and public condemnation of the incident by the administration; and Implementation of long-term security protocols to safeguard healthcare workers on duty. The RDA added in its letter, "We emphasize that our decision to halt services has not been taken lightly. We are committed to patient care, but we cannot and will not function under threats to our lives and dignity." They also warned that if no action is taken by the given deadline, the administration will bear full responsibility for the service disruption and its consequences. Meanwhile, Anand claimed that he, his son, wife, and supporters were allegedly assaulted on Wednesday when he visited AIIMS, Patna, to see a patient. They were all allegedly held hostage in a hospital room following a confrontation with hospital staff. An argument allegedly broke out between them and the hospital staff, which escalated into a physical altercation. Both parties later submitted complaints, accusing each other of misconduct. (ANI)
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday clarified that the government is ready to hold discussions on any issue as per rules, but there cannot be a discussion on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as it is a process undertaken by a constitutional body, the Election Commission of India. "I want to clarify that the government is ready to hold discussions on any issue as per rules. There cannot be a discussion on SIR because it is a process undertaken by a Constitutional body, and it is not happening for the first time..." Rijiju told ANI. The Monsoon Session of Parliament has been disrupted due to the opposition's protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The opposition alleges that the SIR exercise is aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections. They claim that the large-scale deletions of voter names could be politically motivated, targeting marginalised communities and migrants. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of attempting to interfere with Bihar's voter rolls. The government has defended the SIR exercise, saying it's a transparent process with participation from all political parties and extensive public involvement. The Election Commission of India emphasised that names will not be deleted without proper notice and written orders. The Election Commission is set to publish the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, allowing claims and objections to be filed until September 1, 2025. Opposition MPs, including Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, have submitted adjournment motions and Rule 267 notices demanding a discussion on the SIR issue in both Houses. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been adjourned multiple times due to the opposition's sloganeering and protests. Earlier in the day, Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday and raised the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in poll-bound Bihar. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi stated that anyone in the Election Commission of India involved in the SIR exercise will not be "spared". "Most importantly, whoever in the Elections Commission is involved in this exercise, right from top to bottom, we will not spare you. You are working against India, and this is no less than treason," he said. Earlier today, Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc parties protested in front of Makar Dawar in Parliament. The Parliament proceedings in both houses witnessed sloganeering as the Opposition demanded a discussion on the SIR. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla adjourned the House minutes after it convened. Before adjourning the house, Lok Sabha Speaker said, "You are not representing the public by sloganeering. People have given you an opportunity to put their issues in the House." "This is wrong behaviour. You should follow parliamentary rules. If we have to strengthen democracy, issues have to be raised," he added. (ANI)
Experts taste wines served in premium airline cabins in the competition's 19th iteration

YARDLEY, Pa., Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Traveler proudly announces the results of its Wines on the Wing airline wine competition, the survey's 19th tasting.

The blind tasting, held June 29, took place at The Ned NoMad in New York City. Judges participated in a blind tasting of airlines' white, red and sparkling wines. Judges included wine makers, sommeliers, wine shop owners and other wine industry executives.

Airlines are required to submit five different wines  two red wines, two white wines and one sparkling wine/Champagne  to be eligible for the overall Top International First-Class Wines on the Wing award or Top International Business-Class Wines on the Wing award. This year, the winner for Top International First-Class Wines on the Wing was Swiss International Air Lines, and the winner for Top International Business-Class Wines on the Wing was Air Tahiti Nui.

In the white wine category, Top White Wine International First Class was Schloss Vollards Schlossberg Riesling Grosses Gewach QBA 2019, submitted by STARLUX Airlines. For business class, the winner was Air Tahiti Nui with AOC Les Grands Terroirs Samuel Billaud Chablis 2023.

Qatar Airways won for top first-class Champagne, serving Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2013. The top business-class Champagne was Condor's Champagne Pol Hensler Grande Reserve, France NV.

When it came to red wine, SWISS reigned supreme in the first-class category with Cayas Syrah 2022, Jean-Rene Germanier Vetroz, Valais AOC. Qatar Airways took the No. 1 business-class spot with Kangarilla Road Devils Whiskers Shiraz 2021.

Tom Gannon, a world-renowned wine expert, serves as the director of the Wines on the Wing airline wine survey. After moving to New York City and working as a bartender, Gannon took wine classes through the American Sommelier Association at Windows on the World in 2001. He was then sommelier at Rothmann's Steakhouse in Midtown for nine years before leaving to work for Spire Collection, the luxury portfolio of Jackson Family Wines. He splits his time between Nashville and New York City.

For the 14th year, Global Traveler also awarded the Top North America Premium Class Wines on the Wing. Airlines flying from a point in North America to another point in North America submitted first- and business-class wine samples, depending on their flight offerings.

Aeromexico was named Top North America Premium Class Wines on the Wing and also won for its red wine  Vino Tinto Lagar de Proventus 2018. It was actually a tie in the red wine category, with American Airlines also winning for its Castello di Verrazzano "Rosso Verrazzano" Toscana IGT, Italy 2020. AA also takes Top Sparkling Wine North American Premium Class for Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Premier Cru Extra-Brut, Champagne AOC France. Delta Air Lines was tops in the white wine category with its Invivo X by SJP Sauvignon Blanc.

Airlines also submitted wines served in international premium economy. As no airline submitted a complete submission of two reds, two whites and one sparkling/Champagne, there is no overall winner in this category; however, individual winners include Ethiopian Airlines, Top Sparkling Wine International Premium Economy for Pommery Brut Apanace; Air Tahiti Nui, Top Red Wine International Premium Economy for Chateau Le Vieux Fort Cru Bourgeois Medoc AOP, and Top White Wine International Premium Economy for Chateau de Montgueret Petit Saint Louis Saumur Blanc AOP; and Swiss International Air Lines, tied for Top Red Wine International Premium Economy for Assemblage de Romandie Domaine les Perrieres Geneva, Switzerland.

For the 11th year, Global Traveler awarded Best Alliance Wines on the Wing. The participating airlines were grouped by airline alliance. The overall points for each airline were tallied and averaged to determine the alliance with the highest total. Congratulations to oneworld, Best Alliance Wines on the Wing, second year in a row!

Global Traveler is the only U.S.-based publication to conduct such a survey in the United States.

The top airlines in each category are:

Top International First-Class Wines

on the Wing

Swiss International Air Lines Top Red Wine International First

Class

Swiss International Air Lines - Cayas

Syrah 2022, Jean-Rene Germanier

Vetroz, Valais AOC



Top Sparkling Wine International

First Class

Qatar Airways - Taittinger Comtes de

Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2013 Top Red Wine North American

Premium Class

American Airlines - Castello di

Verrazzano "Rosso Verrazzano"

Toscana IGT, Italy 2020



Top White Wine International First

Class

STARLUX Airlines - Schloss Vollards

Schlossberg Riesling Grosses Gewach

QBA 2019 Top Red Wine North American

Premium Class

Aeromexico - Vino Tinto Lagar de

Proventus 2018



Top International Business-Class

Wines on the Wing

Air Tahiti Nui Top White Wine North American

Premium Class

Delta Air Lines - Invivo X by SJP

Sauvignon Blanc



Top Sparkling Wine International

Business Class

Condor - Champagne Pol Hensler

Grande Reserve, France NV Top Sparkling Wine International

Premium Economy

Ethiopian Airlines - Pommery Brut

Apanace



Top Red Wine International Business

Class

Qatar Airways - Kangarilla Road Devils

Whiskers Shiraz 2021 Top Red Wine International

Premium Economy

Air Tahiti Nui - Chateau Le Vieux Fort

Cru Bourgeois Medoc AOP



Top White Wine International Business

Class

Air Tahiti Nui - AOC Les Grands

Terroirs Samuel Billaud Chablis 2023 Top Red Wine International Premium

Economy

Swiss International Air Lines -

Assemblage de Romandie Domaine les

Perrieres Geneva, Switzerland



Top North America Premium Class

Wines on the Wing

Aeromexico Top White Wine International

Premium Economy

Air Tahiti Nui - Chateau de Montgueret

Petit Saint Louis Saumur Blanc AOP



Top Sparkling Wine North American

Premium Class

American Airlines - Champagne Nicolas

Feuillatte Reserve Exclusive Premier

Cru Extra-Brut, Champagne AOC,

France Top Alliance Wines on the Wing

oneworld

Second Consecutive Year

For more information on the competition, check out the August issue of Global Traveler or visit globaltravelerusa.com.

About Global Traveler

With nearly 550,000 readers, Global Traveler connects brands with U.S.-based frequent, affluent travelers. According to MRI Simmons, GT readers have an average net worth of $2 million and 50 percent are CEOs and owners of companies. Our readers average 18 domestic flights per year and 93 percent travel internationally on a regular basis (18 round-trips in the last three years), mostly in first and business class. More than 80 percent stay in 4- and 5-star hotels, at an average 210 nights per year. Special editions complement monthly issues. Each year, Global Traveler awards the GT Tested Reader Survey awards and the Leisure Lifestyle Awards.

About FXExpress Publications, Inc.

FXExpress Publications, Inc., based in Yardley, Pa., is a privately held company publishing Global Traveler, globaltravelerusa.com, FX Excursions, eFlyer and seve v ral annuals. WhereverFamily LLC publishes whereverfamily.com and its related brands, and Trazee Travel, LLC publishes trazeetravel.com. FXExpress Publications, Inc. awards the annual Industry Leader Awards and FXExpress Traveler of the Year honors.

SOURCE Global Traveler
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday appealed to the public to maintain peace and cooperation after communal tensions flared up in Pune district due to an objectionable social media post shared by an outsider. The remark came after a tense situation had arisen in Yavat village at Daund Taluka of Pune District following an alleged objectionable social media post by a local youth. Villagers took to the streets and a few youngsters attempted to vandalise a structure. A heavy deployment of Police personnel was made in the area. Police said that the incident occurred in the village a week ago, so the situation was already tense. Speaking to the media persons, CM Fadnavis said, "We have only one appeal: everyone should maintain peace and no one should take the law into their own hands. If anyone does so, the police will take strict action against them," he warned. The CM assured that the situation had been brought under control and peace was restored in the area. CM Fadnavis said, "I have just gathered information about the matter. According to it, a person from outside had posted an objectionable status, which led to tensions. People came out onto the streets, and in order to control the crowd, a lathi-charge had to be carried out. The situation is now under control. People from both communities are sitting together, talking, and trying to resolve the tension." "Some people deliberately post such statuses to create tension, but strict action will definitely be taken against them. Just because a gathering or event took place, does that give anyone the freedom to post such provocative statuses? No one has the right to make offensive remarks against any religion in this manner," he said. He dismissed the claims that the unrest was linked to a recent public gathering, saying, "So, to say that the tension arose because of a public gathering is completely incorrect. At present, the area is entirely peaceful. In many such cases, doctored videos also come to light. Hence, that aspect must also be investigated." Furthermore, Swapnil Adinath Kadam, a bakery owner whose shop was vandalised and burned, said, "Some of my workers are Muslims and they have come from UP. A social media post surfaced in the morning, it was said that Muslims had posted an objectionable social media post. There is a mosque 150-200 metres from here. They were heading to the mosque. Someone said that this bakery belongs to Muslims. But the bakery belongs to us, and they (workers) are here on rent. They pelted stones at the bakery, took away the tin sheets, and hurled something inflammable inside. Our bakery is completely burned. None of our workers had to do anything with the social media post..." Further investigation into the post and the video clip is underway. (ANI)
Jail authorities have denied permission to 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack Mastermind Tahawur Rana to have a telephonic conversation with his family on a regular basis. Earlier, he was allowed to have a telephonic conversation with his family for a single time. Special Judge (NIA) Chander Jit Singh, after the response of jail authorities, disposed of Rana's application. He sought a regular call facility with his family. Legal Aid Counsel Piyush Sachdev appeared for Tahawur Rana. He confirmed that the permission is denied. On July 25, the court sought a detailed reply on Tahawur Rana's plea for a telephonic conversation with his family. Rana is in judicial custody after NIA interrogation in the 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attack case. He is the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was extradited from the USA in April this year. The court earlier had allowed a plea of Rana seeking a direction to provide a bed and a mattress in Tihar Jail. The jail authorities had opposed the plea by submitting that, as per jail rules, inmates aged 65 or more can be provided a bed. Rana has attained the age of 65. On the other hand, it was submitted on behalf of Rana that he is 64 years and 6 months old and has medical issues. After considering the submissions, the court had allowed Rana's plea. Additionally, the NIA informed the court that it has provided the complete medical history of Rana to the Jail authorities. Earlier, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on July 9 filed a supplementary charge sheet against Tahawur Rana in the 26/11 Mumbai terror case. The court had extended the judicial custody of Rana till August 13. This supplementary charge sheet contains procedural documents like arrest memo, seizure memo and other documents, Rana's counsel Piyush Sachdev had told ANI. The main charge sheet was filed by the NIA in December 2011. On June 9, the Court had granted Tahawwur Rana permission to make a single phone call to his family for the time being. The call was strictly conducted in accordance with jail regulations and under the supervision of a senior official from the Tihar jail authorities. Recently, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) collected voice and handwriting samples from Rana. The NIA had previously informed the court that Rana was confronted with substantial evidence related to the 26/11 attacks. The agency argued for further custody, citing his evasive behaviour during questioning and lack of cooperation. Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan and Special Public Prosecutor Narender Mann represented the NIA in the proceedings, while Advocate Piyush Sachdeva defended Rana. 64-year-old Canadian businessman of Pakistani origin, Rana, was extradited recently in connection with his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The devastating attack, orchestrated by Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed over 170 lives and left hundreds injured. (ANI)
On 31st July 2025, a team from NCB Guwahati intercepted two persons (both belonging to Lalpani, East Khasi Hills) near Jowai, in the West Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, while they were en route to East Khasi Hills in a public transport vehicle.

A thorough search of the persons led to the seizure of 1.95 kilograms of Methamphetamine, whose street price is estimated to be Rs 1.6 crore.

Investigation has revealed that the consignment originated from Manipur, transited through Silchar (Assam), and was intended to be smuggled into Bangladesh via Meghalaya.

This operation marks NCB's first seizure in the state of Meghalaya, an official statement said.

To fight against drug trafficking, NCB seeks the support of the citizens. Any person can share information related to the sale of narcotics by calling the MANAS- National Narcotics Helpline Toll Free Number-1933. The identity of the caller is kept confidential, an official statement said. (ANI)
The Chief Minister stated that it was a moment of immense pride that the sons of Himachal Pradesh are achieving new milestones in the service of the nation through their talent, dedication and commitment, as per the release.

Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan on Friday assumed charge as the 47th Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS). After assuming charge, Vice Admiral Vatsayan laid a wreath at the National War Memorial and paid tributes to those who laid down their lives in the line of duty.

After paying homage to the bravehearts at 'Amar Jawan Jyoti', Vice Admiral Vatsayan received a Guard of Honour at the South Block.

An alumnus of the 71st course of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, Vice Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan was commissioned into the Indian Navy on January 1, 1988.

A specialist in Gunnery and Missile Systems, he has held a wide range of command, operational and staff assignments over his distinguished naval career spanning more than three decades.

Prior to his current appointment, Vice Admiral Vatsayan served as the Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Policy & Plans) at NHQ and the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet (FOCEF).

Vice Admiral Vatsayan has also held various other important appointments, including Deputy Chief of IDS (Policy, Plans and Force Development), Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) at HQ Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), Chief of Staff Eastern Naval Command (ENC) HQs and Deputy Commandant of the National Defence Academy (NDA).

Vice Admiral Vatsayan has been recognised with the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and Nau Sena Medal (NM) for his dedication to duty. (ANI)
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday emphasised the importance of civil-military synergy in safeguarding national interests, highlighting the exceptional back-end support provided by different departments of Ministry of Defence (MoD) to the Armed Forces as key to Operation Sindoor's success, said a statement from Ministry of Defence. He was addressing the 84th Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) Civilian Services Day event at DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi on August 01, 2025. Defence Minister asserted that a war is fought not just by the military, but the entire country, and in today's rapidly changing security scenario, there is a need to move ahead with dynamism and innovative spirit while making constant improvements according to the evolving needs. "We cannot leave scope for even the slightest negligence or mistake," he added. Emphasising that a robust administrative system is integral for a strong military power, Shri Rajnath Singh commended the AFHQ Civilian Services for playing an important role in strengthening the country's security system during war as well as peace-time. "AFHQ Services acts as an institutional memory for the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It provides consistency, domain expertise and uniformity in the administration, while playing a key role in policy continuity and establishing civil-military synergy. It is a strong pillar of a modern and integrated national defence system," he added. Raksha Mantri laid stress on capacity development, urging the AFHQ officials to assess and embrace the best practices being adopted by their counterparts in other Ministries and countries in the fields of training and capability enhancement. "Emerging technologies, new challenges and changing global scenario indicate that training should not be just a formal process, but a continuous cycle of development. Skill upgradation, ethical orientation and behavioural excellence need to be added as integral parts of training," he said. Rajnath Singh added that training components must not be limited to technical proficiency, but also include value orientation, which can connect actions with national interests. This would make AFHQ a value-based institution along with an administrative structure, he said. As part of the event, Raksha Mantri launched a redeveloped website of Office of Joint Secretary & Chief Administrative Officer (www.caomod.gov.in), which will provide all relevant information about the office to the employees and general public. The employees would be able to get the latest orders and updates such as promotion, transfer, status of medical allowance, salary slips and Form-16 etc. Through the website, the employees can also apply for various training courses and workshops of Defence Headquarters Training Institute. Rajnath Singh also released a book 'Viksit Bharat@2047: Karmikon Ke Vichar' and a magazine 'Samvad'. The 'Viksit Bharat@2047' book comprises 40 articles written by employees of various ranks posted in Service Headquarters and Inter Service Organisations. The articles are on various topics related to Viksit Bharat such as digitisation, New Education Policy 2020, Artificial Intelligence, Aatmanirbharta in defence, Green Energy, and Poverty Alleviation. The 32nd issue of the 'Samvad' magazine contains travelogues, essays, articles, poems etc by the employees. Raksha Mantri also presented awards to AFHQ personnel for their achievements in various fields such as sports, and some of the children of the employees who excelled in academics. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Ex-servicemen Welfare) Dr Niten Chandra, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat and Financial Advisor (Defence Services) Dr Mayank Sharma and other senior officials of MoD were present on the occasion. AFHQ Day is celebrated on 1st August in recognition of the role of civilian personnel functioning shoulder-to-shoulder with the Service personnel, primarily in the three Integrated Service Headquarters, HQ IDS and 24 Inter-Service Organisations of MoD. The purpose of observing AFHQ Day is to foster esprit de corps of the civilian employees of AFHQ cadres who play the role of a bridge between Service Headquarters and MoD. (ANI)
The event was held in a ceremony in Guwahati on Friday and graced by the presence of the Minister of Skill, Employment & Entrepreneurship, Prashanta Phukan.

Among the recipients, 114 students from Scheduled Castes received free training in various trades through the Directorate for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backwards Classes under the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment, a press release said.

After completing their training over the past year, 54 trainees have secured job offers from overseas institutions, while others have received offers from reputed organisations within the country.

Congratulating the trainees, Minister Hazarika encouraged them to embrace these opportunities and build successful careers, noting that employment abroad also contributes to India's economic growth. He highlighted that many persons of Indian origin have excelled globally.

He emphasised that in today's changing world, skill-based education is essential, a vision strongly supported by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Additionally, the Minister mentioned that for the year 2025-26, the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment has arranged skill development training for another 240 students belonging to the Scheduled Castes. (ANI)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal launched an anti-drug curriculum for school students under the ongoing "War Against Drugs" campaign, stated a release. The syllabus, aimed at educating over eight lakh students from classes 9 to 12 across 3,658 government schools, marks a critical phase in Punjab's fight against narcotics. Calling it a "new chapter" in the battle against drugs, Kejriwal emphasised the importance of educating the youth early. "This initiative will soon serve as a model for other states. The youth must resist peer pressure and reject drugs at the first step," he said. The curriculum includes 35-minute sessions held every two weeks for 27 weeks, incorporating documentaries, quizzes, posters, and interactive modules. The focus will be on busting myths about drugs, strategies to say no, and building resilience against peer pressure. Scientists and mental health professionals will also contribute to the program. Arvind Kejriwal highlighted the state's aggressive crackdown on drug trafficking under the "Yudh Nashean De Virudh" campaign. Over 15,000 drug traffickers have been jailed, more than 1,000 kg of heroin seized, and properties of drug lords demolished. "Notorious drug dealers, once shielded by political figures, are now behind bars thanks to this honest government," he added, slamming rival parties for their past complicity. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann echoed these sentiments, blaming previous regimes for fostering the drug problem in Punjab. "They ruined our youth while living luxuriously and protecting smugglers. But today, schoolchildren--who don't even vote--are at the centre of our policy, showing we're here for the future," said CM Mann. He also announced steps taken to rehabilitate former addicts and provide them with skills and dignity. "Gyms and playgrounds are being built in every village to engage youth constructively," he added. A WhatsApp helpline (9779100200) has been launched for citizens to report drug-related activity anonymously. Mann vowed to continue legal proceedings against those involved in the drug trade, including senior political figures. "We will ensure exemplary punishment for those who devastated generations for profit," he said, referring to past ministers allegedly linked to drug cartels. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia praised Punjab's lead role in education reform and anti-drug efforts. "Now, children from Punjab will lead the nation in saying no to drugs," he said, noting that the syllabus will soon be introduced in private schools as well. Cabinet Minister Harjot Singh Bains highlighted the transformation in Punjab's education system and stated that the syllabus would play a key role in eradicating drugs from the state. "The roots of this crisis lie in the Akali-BJP regime, but the AAP government is committed to uprooting it completely," Bains said. (ANI)
The Hyderabad City Police, in coordination with the Child Welfare Committee, Labour Department, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Child Line, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Juvenile Bureau (JB) Unit, and various NGOs rescued 1,247 children under Operation Muskaan XI, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Women's Safety Wing, Hyderabad said in a press release. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police, Women Safety Wing, Hyderabad, "The Hyderabad City Police, in coordination with the Child Welfare Committee, Labour Department, Department of Women and Child Welfare, Child Line, Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU), Juvenile Bureau (JB) Unit, and various NGOs, has successfully conducted Operation Muskaan XI from July 01, 2025 to July 31, 2025. This intensive month-long operation was aimed at identifying and rescuing children involved in child labour, begging and those found in vulnerable conditions on streets and other unsafe environments." A total of 28 dedicated divisional teams were constituted across the city for this special drive. "These teams carried out inspections and rescue operations at various commercial establishments, traffic junctions, bus stations, railway stations, construction sites, and other suspected locations. The teams worked around the clock and displayed exceptional commitment in safeguarding the rights and dignity of children. As a result of this operation, a total of 1247 children were rescued, including 1173 boys and 74 girls. Among these rescued children, 673 belong to Telangana State, while 560 were identified as hailing from other states across India. Notably, 14 children were found to be from Nepal," police official further said. To ensure stringent legal action against the perpetrators, the police have registered 55 FIRs in various police stations against employers who were found engaging children in illegal labour practices. Furthermore, 939 cases under the Minimum Wages Act have been booked and a fine of Rs 47,75,921 has been imposed against erring employers. "Under the direct supervision of Viswaprasad IPS, Addl. CP Crimes, we conducted a coordination meeting with all stakeholders at the outset of Operation Muskaan XI, followed by a follow-up video conference with 28 divisional teams. This initiative motivated the teams to perform effectively and contributed to the success of Operation Muskaan XI," the official added. (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against industrialist Anil Ambani in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged Rs 17,000-crore loan fraud case, sources said. LOC is issued to prevent a person from leaving the country while the probe is underway. The ED has not released an official statement on the matter yet. ED's move comes after the agency summoned Anil Ambani for questioning in the case and directed him to appear before investigators at the ED headquarters in New Delhi on August 5. The probe pertains to suspected financial irregularities and possible violations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency is examining the role of various entities and individuals linked to the case, and Ambani's statement is expected to play a crucial role in the investigation. The move comes almost a week after the ED launched a search operation at 35 premises, 50 companies and over 25 persons linked to a money laundering case against Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAGA) Companies. The raids were carried out on July 24. The action followed an investigation launched by the ED under the offence of money laundering by RAAGA companies subsequent to recording of a First Information Report by the Central Bureau of Investigation. As per the officials, ED's investigations are based on information shared with the agency by other agencies and institutions such as the National Housing Bank, SEBI, National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and Bank of Baroda. "Preliminary investigation by ED has revealed a well-planned and thought-out scheme to divert and siphon off public money by cheating banks, shareholders, investors and other public institutions. The offence of bribing bank officials including promoter of Yes Banks Limited is also under scanner," Officials, privy to the development, told ANI. Preliminary investigation reveals illegal loan diversion of around Rs 3,000 crores from Yes Bank (period 2017 to 2019). Reliance Power and Reliance Infrastructure had said last week that the ED probe allegedly linked to money laundering case against Reliance Anil Ambani Group (RAAGA) Companies "have absolutely no impact on the business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders" of the two companies. The two Anil Ambani-owned Group companies had issued two different standalone statements on Thursday. "No Impact on Reliance Power, its business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders," Reliance Power asserted in its statement. "No Impact on Reliance Infrastructure, its business operations, financial performance, shareholders, employees, or any other stakeholders," Reliance Infrastructure said in its statement. (ANI)
These villages remained cut off since 17 July 2025, following multiple landslides along NH-2. The operation, aptly named OPERATION SAHYOG, was spearheaded by the unit at Aina, commencing in the morning till noon on 01 August 2025.

The mission facilitated the airlifting of six tons of essential supplies, including rice, pulses, and other daily necessities, supporting over 1,500 affected villagers.

Indian Air Force helicopters transported the relief material from Churachandpur to designated dropping zones across the Henglep Sub Division. Assam Rifles personnel ensured swift collection and equitable distribution of the supplies, reaching every village impacted by the natural calamity, as per an official statement issued by the PRO and Spokesperson, Ministry of Defence for Manipur, Nagaland, and Southern Arunachal Pradesh.

This coordinated effort underscores the unwavering commitment of the Assam Rifles and the Indian Air Force to assist distressed communities in remote and inaccessible regions, the statement said.

By responding promptly and effectively, both forces demonstrated their dedication to humanitarian service and regional stability, it added.

In a post on X, Manipur Governor Ajay Bhalla acknowledged today's emergency operation.

"Governor of Manipur, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, acknowledges today's emergency operation that reached the Santing area of Henglep Sub-Division with essential ration and non-ration supplies to villages cut off by heavy rains and landslides. Facilitated by the Home Department in close coordination with the Indian Air Force. The Hon'ble Governor commends the dedicated teams who overcame challenging terrain and severe weather to ensure timely relief," Raj Bhawan posted on X. (ANI)
SW China's Guizhou attracts tourists during peak summer travel season

Xinhua) 08:53, August 01, 2025

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

An aerial drone photo taken on July 30, 2025 shows people visiting Jiaxiu tower scenic area in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province. Guizhou Province, with its cool climate and rich tourism resources, attracts tourists from all over the country during the peak summer travel season. (Xinhua/Liu Xu)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Jewellok is a specialty gas automatic changeover manifold manufacturer and supplier, manufacturing semi-automatic and automatic stainless steel high-purity oxygen, nitrogen, helium, and argon gas changeover manifolds, automatic gas switchover systems, specialty gas fully automatic changeover manifolds, and so on.

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Press release distributed by PRLog

SOURCE Shenzhen Jewellok Technology Co., Ltd
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced major decisions concerning the slum clusters of the capital. She has directed the Railways, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and all government departments to ensure that no slum in Delhi is demolished. In cases where removal becomes unavoidable due to development projects or other reasons, alternative housing must be provided in advance, according to statement issued. The Chief Minister further stated that approximately 50,000 houses constructed years ago in the outer areas of the city will be renovated and allocated to slum dwellers. The Chief Minister has also taken two more decisions. She stated that if required, the government will amend the existing policy on slum clusters and will even approach the court to protect the housing rights of slum dwellers. CM Rekha Gupta emphasised that the pain of slum dwellers will not be ignored under any circumstances. CM Rekha Gupta said that the slums in Delhi are an inseparable part of the national capital, with residents who have been living there for decades. She criticised the opposition for using slum dwellers as a political vote bank, asserting that her government is making sincere efforts to ensure their rightful recognition as residents of Delhi. She added that continuous meetings are being held with various departments, and strong decisions are being taken to provide permanent settlement to slum dwellers. The Delhi government has made it clear that no slum will be removed in the capital. Accordingly, directives have been issued to all concerned departments, including the Railways and DDA, to ensure that no slum is demolished. The Chief Minister reiterated that if slums are removed for development or any other reason, alternative housing will be provided first. She also assured that if changes in the rules are necessary to protect slum dwellers, the government will not hesitate to make them. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that it is a matter of satisfaction that around 50,000 flats built years ago in the outer areas of Delhi will now be allotted to the poor. These dilapidated and vacant flats were constructed a few years ago under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). However, she expressed regret that the previous Delhi governments, despite claiming to work for the welfare of the poor and slum dwellers, never allocated these flats, rendering them uninhabitable over time. The Chief Minister announced that these flats will now be handed over to slum dwellers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U). She further highlighted that under JNNURM, Delhi government departments DUSIB and DSIIDC were allocated crores of rupees. Yet, due to the inaction of previous governments, this amount around Rs 732 crore was supposed to be returned to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). However, the central government has now approved the use of these funds for the renovation of these dilapidated flats. According to the Chief Minister, these thousands of flats will soon provide housing to the city's slum dwellers. The Chief Minister also stated that if required, the government would not hesitate to approach the court to protect the interests of slum dwellers. She added that her government has been holding continuous meetings to formulate a concrete plan. Criticising previous administrations, she said it was unfortunate that the Congress Party, which established slum colonies in the names of leaders like Indira and Rajiv, never provided any facilities to the residents and treated them merely as a vote bank. She further remarked that the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government went even further in neglect. Despite making grand promises for the welfare of slum dwellers, they failed to provide even basic amenities. "In these settlements, neither drinking water was supplied, nor roads or pavements constructed, nor proper drainage and sewer systems established. Instead, they left no stone unturned in pushing slum residents towards alcoholism," she said. The Chief Minister asserted that her government would now make the residents of these hundreds of slum clusters true citizens of Delhi so that they too can take pride in calling themselves Delhiites. (ANI)
Six persons, including two from outside Assam, were arrested on Friday in connection with a cybercrime case in Nagaon district, police said. Jayanta Baruah, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) of Nagaon district, told ANI that, so far, six persons have been arrested in connection with a cybercrime case. "We had received information regarding cybercrime, and accordingly, we conducted a raid in a hotel and apprehended two persons - one from Chandigarh and another from Amritsar. On their information, we have apprehended four other accused persons hailing from Nagaon district. After registration of a case, we arrested all six persons," the police officer said. He also said that further investigation is underway. Meanwhile, the Majuli district police on Friday recovered and seized 744 litres of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). According to the Majuli district police, based on credible information, a raid was conducted by the In-charge of Balichapori police post & staff and recovered and seized a huge quantity of IMFL ( 744 ltr). Legal action is being initiated. Earlier on July 29, one accused was arrested in Cachar district for storing illegal arms in his house and was reportedly involved in suspicious activities and extortion in the Barak River area. Cachar district police said, "On July 28, information was received from a reliable source that one person, namely Sarif Hussain, 36 years, a resident of Lakhipur, Cachar district, had illegal arms in his house and was reportedly involved in suspicious activities and extortion in the Barak river area (timber/Bamboo etc). In this regard, a search operation was conducted at his residence at around 12:30 am on July 29 in the presence of local witnesses." During the search, one factory-made black-colour pistol, one magazine loaded with five rounds of live ammunition and one android mobile Handset were recovered. (ANI)
Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday criticised the Indian government's response to US President Donald Trump's remarks on India's economy and the recent imposition of 25% tariffs on Indian goods. Chavan urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to respond strictly to Trump's comments, questioning whether Trump is lying. "Trump needs to be answered strictly by PM Narendra Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman. How can the Indian PM and citizens be insulted like this? The government is not ready to answer, which is why Rahul Gandhi raises the issue and asks them to respond to Is Trump lying?" What does it mean that the economy is dead? The central government is not giving any answer," Prithviraj Chavan told ANI. Chavan attributed the imposition of tariffs to the failure of India's foreign policy under the current government. He questioned the effectiveness of PM Modi's diplomatic efforts, highlighting his frequent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the lavish programs organised for Trump's visit. He said, "This is the failure of India's foreign policy. 'My friend Trump' and welcoming Trump were a failure. PM Modi lacks a clear understanding of foreign policy. He believes that personal friendships can lead to more successful foreign policies. PM Modi met Xi Jinping 18 times. What happened? Doklam took place. Huge programs organised for Trump, what happened? PM Modi does not understand that the country must defend itself on global grounds." US President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a shocking statement on his social media platform Truth Social after the announcement of 25 per cent tariffs against India and threatened an additional "penalty" for importing Russian oil. "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India; their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world." Trump said. Trump signed a fresh executive order imposing revised tariffs for 70 countries, including India and Pakistan, in a move that is expected to strain global trade relations further. Tariffs imposed on India's neighbouring countries are less than India's 25 per cent, except for Myanmar at 40 per cent. The new tariffs for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, and Sri Lanka are 19%, 15%, 20%, 19%, 15%, and 20%, respectively. The new tariffs, outlined in a sweeping order signed on Friday (IST), will come into effect from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 7. The executive order states that the revised tariffs are aimed at addressing the national emergency declared earlier under Executive Order 14257. Trump noted that he had "recently received, among other things", new information and had determined it "necessary and appropriate" to impose additional ad valorem duties on the goods of certain trading partners. These new duties will replace those previously imposed under the same order, as amended. Other countries on which the US imposed tariffs are higher than India include Iraq (35 per cent), Laos (40 per cent), Libya (30 per cent), Serbia (35 per cent), South Africa (30 per cent), Switzerland (39 per cent), and Syria (41 per cent). Countries that imposed lower tariffs than India include the UK (10 per cent), Vietnam (20 per cent), Taiwan (20 per cent ), and South Korea (15 per cent), to name a few. The order by Trump stated, "I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257 by imposing additional ad valorem duties on goods of certain trading partners".The executive order further directs that these changes will apply to goods entering the US for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses on or after the effective date. However, goods already in transit before the deadline, loaded on vessels and en route before August 7 and entering the US before October 5, 2025, will not be subjected to the revised duties but will instead continue under the previously applicable tariff rates under the amended Executive Order 14257. The government told the Parliament on Thursday that it is examining the impact of the recent events and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in the lower House of Parliament a day after Trump announced the tariff. He later made a similar statement in the Rajya Sabha. Goyal said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is holding talks with exporters, industries and all stakeholders and gathering information on their assessment of this issue. (ANI)
The situation is now under control in Yavat village in Pune district after tensions flared over an alleged objectionable social media post by a youth, said police. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Pune district, Sandeep Singh Gill, said a few villagers gathered in protest, and some youngsters tried to vandalise a structure, but no one was injured. The boy was taken to the police station and action was initiated. Speaking to ANI, Sandeep Singh Gill said, "Here in Yavat village, around 12-12.30 pm, Police received information that a young boy posted an objectionable status on his WhatsApp/Facebook. Following the complaint, the boy was brought to the Police Station. Action was initiated. A few villages also reached there. Our Police team started a meeting with the representatives of the village to maintain peace in the village. But by then, the message on social media had become viral." "An incident had occurred in the village a week ago, so the situation was already tense here. So, since the emotions were already heightened, villagers took to the streets and a few youngsters attempted to vandalise a structure. But nobody was injured in the incident. Police administration responded here and patrolled the village. The situation is peaceful right now," he added. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also appealed to the public to maintain peace and cooperation after communal tensions flared up in Pune district due to an objectionable social media post. Speaking to the media persons, CM Fadnavis said, "We have only one appeal: everyone should maintain peace and no one should take the law into their own hands. If anyone does so, the police will take strict action against them," he warned. The CM assured that the situation had been brought under control and peace was restored in the area. CM Fadnavis said, "I have just gathered information about the matter. According to it, a person from outside had posted an objectionable status, which led to tensions. People came out onto the streets, and in order to control the crowd, a lathi-charge had to be carried out. The situation is now under control. People from both communities are sitting together, talking, and trying to resolve the tension." (ANI)
Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta (UYSM, AVSM, YSM), General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command of the Indian Army, paid a courtesy call on Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at the Chief Minister's Camp Office on Friday. During this, discussions were held to establish better coordination between the military and civil administration in the border areas of the state. On this occasion, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the Indian Army is not only playing an important role in protecting the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the country, but is also actively participating in developmental works by establishing coordination with the civil society. CM Dhami said that in the border state of Uttarakhand, the Army is successfully discharging various social responsibilities to help the local communities. Along with this, the commendable cooperation provided by the Army in relief and rescue operations during natural disasters is highly commendable. Expressing gratitude for the contribution of the Indian Army, the Chief Minister assured that the state government will continue to provide full cooperation in all important initiatives of the Army. Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta informed the Chief Minister about the programmes being run by the Central Command for the overall development of the border areas. He said that the Indian Army is working with full commitment for social development along with security arrangements. He said that many important initiatives have been taken for the development of infrastructure in the border areas, community participation, dialogue with the youth and promotion of tourism in the forward areas. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed officers on Friday to maintain regular communication with MLAs to address various public issues in the assembly constituencies. The top priorities given by the MLAs should be expedited. If any issues arise in the work, the secretary and head of the department should consult with the MLAs of the concerned area to resolve the problem. For the successful implementation of the announcements made under all 70 assemblies of the state and other important schemes, he mentioned that the responsibility should be given soon to the officers of the Additional Secretary level as a nodal officer to act as a bridge between the government administration and the assembly constituency. Some innovations should be done in every assembly, highlighting its cultural traditions and heritage. (ANI)
The national-level "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Utsav Diwas" will be held tomorrow in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During the event, the Prime Minister will interact with and address farmers across the nation and release the 20th instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme. In line with this, the state-level "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Utsav Diwas" program will be held tomorrow, August 02, in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Simultaneously, a district-level ceremony will be organised in Rajkot under the chairmanship of Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address farmers during both events through a live broadcast. In this context, Agriculture Minister Raghavji Patel stated that under the 20th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will disburse over 20,500 crore to more than 9.7 crore farmers across the country. Out of this, over 1,118 crore will be directly credited to the bank accounts of approximately more than 52.16 lakh farmer families in Gujarat. During the state-level program, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will distribute assistance to beneficiaries of the PM-KISAN scheme as well as to farmers benefiting from various central and state government schemes. Furthermore, progressive farmers will be felicitated during the event. Moreover, the "PM Kisan Utsav Diwas" will also be organised in every district across Gujarat. The event will be broadcast live in all Gram Panchayats of the state as well as at 30 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). Across the state, these events will witness the presence of members of the State Cabinet, Members of Parliament, MLAs, other dignitaries and officials, along with the participation of approximately more than 2.5 lakh farmers. Notably, under the PM-KISAN scheme, 3.69 lakh crore has been disbursed through 19 instalments to more than 11 crore farmer families across India. Correspondingly, in Gujarat, beneficiary farmer families have received direct assistance of more than 19,993 crore credited to their bank accounts through these 19 instalments. (ANI)
In a major breakthrough, Bapatla District Police have successfully cracked a sensational cybercrime case involving a gang operating fake websites across India, an official statement said. Two accused from Rajasthan were arrested for creating fake websites in the name of prominent tourist and temple destinations and defrauding people. The gang created a counterfeit website resembling the official site of Haritha Resorts, Suryalanka, operated by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), and used it to scam tourists, as per the release. Similarly, they developed fake websites impersonating Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), Srisailam Devasthanam (AP), and Trimbakeshwar Devasthanam (Maharashtra) to deceive devotees, the press release stated. Multiple cases have also been registered against this gang at the Pahari Police Station and the Juhaira Police Station in Rajasthan. A total of 127 complaints have been reported across 18 states. Bapatla Superintendent of police Tushar Dudi said that the Cyber Crime team has dismantled a nationwide fake website racket. In this case, initially the complaint came with respect to a fake website of Haritha Resorts, which is the AP Tourism resort name. Mainly, the Surya Lanka Resort manager gave the complaint. After that, we began the investigation into this case. We have arrested two people from Rajasthan, namely Ramjit and Bittu, both are natives of the Delhi district. They have made multiple fake websites, not only of Haritha Resorts but of TTD, Tirupati Temple, Sri Sailam Temple, Meera Mahadev Resorts and many such popular destinations all over the country, the official said. Through the NCRB portal and other channels, we could, as of now, identify 15127 complaints against them in 18 states across the country. Mainly, 49 complaints are related to Haritha Resorts. We are further identifying as we have limited data as of now, official added. "After interrogation of them in police custody, we will be further able to identify the offenses which have been committed by them throughout the country". Under the leadership of District SP Tushar Dudi, IPS, two special teams were formed: One team included Bapatla Rural Inspector Srinivasa Rao and Reserve Inspector Srikant. Sub-Inspector Nayab Rasool led the other from the IT Core Team. The gang was found to be creating counterfeit websites for famous tourist destinations and temples. With the help of NCRP and coordination portals, their banking records were traced, revealing 127 cybercrime complaints and frauds amounting to around 46 lakhs. Acting on SP's orders, the team travelled to Sahasan village in Deeg District, Rajasthan, and arrested the accused at 7:30 PM on July 23, 2025. One Oppo F27 Pro 5G mobile phone with dual SIMs was seized from Paranjit. They were presented before the ACJM-II Court, Kaman, and brought to the Guntur District Jail under transit remand. The accused will be taken into police custody on August 1 and 2 for further interrogation. SP Tushar Dudi, IPS, urged the public to exercise caution while booking online and avoid clicking on suspicious or fake links. The police department is conducting awareness programs on cybercrimes to educate citizens. Victims of cyber fraud can report incidents by calling the toll-free number 1930 or by visiting cybercrime.gov.in. SP Tushar Dudi, IPS, honoured and rewarded the investigating officers and cyber team members with appreciation certificates and cash rewards. (ANI)
After expelled JD(S) leader and former MP Prajwal Revanna was found guilty in a rape case involving a domestic help, Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak said the verdict sends a clear message that everyone is equal before the law. He added that the punishment in the case could range from a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment. "...This happened 3-4 years ago, but she could not raise her voice due to her poverty... We examined 26 witnesses... Everyone is equal before the court; this is the message given by the court today... The punishment in the case can be from a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment," Nayak said. A special court in Karnataka has found Prajwal Revanna, expelled JD(S) leader and former MP from Hassan, guilty in a rape case involving a domestic help on Friday. The case is related to an incident at a farmhouse in Holenarasipura, Hassan district. The court will announce its punishment on Saturday. Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, was convicted in one of four rape cases filed against him. The conviction comes just 14 months after the case surfaced. Following the verdict, Revanna broke down in court. The matter came into light in April last year after obscene videos of sexual harassment against multiple women were leaked ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He was arrested in May 2024 after returning from Germany. He had earlier been denied bail by both the Karnataka High Court and the Supreme Court. A senior advocate, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Revanna, told the bench that the offence of Section 376 IPC (rape) was not mentioned in the complaint. Justice Trivedi pointed out that there are several other complaints. "You are so powerful," the bench told Revanna's counsel. Revanna had challenged the Karnataka High Court order dated October 21, whereby it dismissed his regular bail and anticipatory bail pleas. On May 31 last year, he was arrested at Bengaluru airport by CID's SIT on his return from Germany, where he had remained for 35 days, after hundreds of explicit videos surfaced, allegedly featuring him with multiple women. He lost the Lok Sabha election by over 40,000 votes. In June 2024, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police, which is investigating cases of sexual assault and harassment against Prajwal Revanna, registered a fourth case against him. Last year, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Karnataka Police filed a chargesheet of 2,144 pages against former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna in the sexual assault and rape case. While three cases registered against Prajwal Revanna invoked the Indian Penal Code (IPC)'s section for sexual assault, the fourth case was registered under sections for sexual harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation of a victim, as well as clandestinely recording and sharing images of the victim. Following the conviction of Prajwal Revanna, opposition parties strongly criticised the BJP and JD(S), accusing them of remaining silent on the matter. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, "I don't want to comment on it. The law of the land is the verdict." Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge called the incident "disgusting" and questioned the BJP's stand on its "Beti Bachao Beti Padhao" slogan. Kharge said BJP leaders have not spoken out against Revanna or JD(S), despite the seriousness of the crime. He also alleged that the BJP is using leaders like him and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar to divert attention from such issues. Speaking to the reporters, Kharge said, "Let's talk about this again. Isn't the BJP their coalition partner? Isn't their relative a minister in the central government today? BJP leaders need Priyank and DK Shivakumar to cover up all this. Otherwise, their true colours will be revealed, won't they? Tell me, have they spoken about this even once? Did they say even once that what JD(S) did was wrong? What Prajwal did was wrong...They are making excuses. Do they say what Munirathna did was wrong? All these are rape cases." "So they use us, the CM, the DCM, or Kharge sahab, to cover these up, as they say. The BJP and JD(S) should also answer this. Shame on you; this heinous act was committed. If he is convicted, he should have retired from political and public life...Definitely disgusting. BJP says 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao', what do you say to this now?" Kharge added. Special public prosecutor Ashok Nayak said the court has sent a clear message that everyone is equal before the law after former Revanna was convicted. Special Public Prosecutor Ashok Nayak also said the court's verdict is a victory for the victim. The sentence will be announced tomorrow. He added that the trial was completed quickly, and 26 witnesses were examined. He praised the SIT's investigation and said digital evidence, including videos recorded by Revanna himself, helped uncover the truth. "MP/MLA Special Court convicted former MP Prajwal Revanna. Tomorrow, the quantum of sentence will be pronounced. In this case, we have examined 26 witnesses on behalf of the prosecution...A speedy trial has taken place...It is a victory for the victim. I congratulate the SIT team for their investigation...The accused himself recorded the video of his sexual acts. We have taken the assistance of the digital evidence to find out the truth," Nayak said. (ANI)
Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, on Friday, graced the second anniversary celebration of the Agartala Government Nursing College. Although Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha was originally scheduled to attend the event, he could not join due to pressing official engagements. Representing the government, Minister Singha Roy addressed the gathering and shared key updates on the institution's legacy and future. In his address, the Finance Minister said that the Agartala Government Nursing College holds historical significance, having initially been affiliated with the Assam Nursing Council in 1994. It officially became known as Tripura Nursing College in 2020 and has since been functioning under the umbrella of the Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital. He noted that the state government has been continuously working to upgrade the infrastructure and services of both the college and the hospital. "We have already taken several steps to develop this institution, and more are planned for the future. A dedicated budget provision has been made in the recent Budget Session to support these development activities," he said. The event was attended by college faculty, students, health department officials, and other dignitaries. The celebration included cultural performances and reflections on the college's journey, showcasing its vital role in shaping the healthcare workforce of Tripura. Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Thursday attended a Blood Donation Camp and Vanamahotsav at Tripura Medical College (TMC) Hospital, Hapania in Agartala. Tripura CM also promoted community welfare by providing free Orthotics for Hip and Knee replacement patients and distributing spectacles to children under 14 years for a year as part of the program.TMC, Tripura Medical & Nursing College, and the Rotary Club of Agartala organised this program. Meanwhile, the 50th edition of Mukhyamantri Samipeshu, Tripura's flagship public interaction programme, was held on Wednesday, reinforcing the state government's continued commitment to people-centric governance, according to an official statement from the Chief Minister's Office. The initiative, which enables direct communication between citizens and the Chief Minister, saw a large number of individuals from various parts of the state presenting their grievances, suggestions, and appeals before the government. On the occasion, CM Manik Saha said, "Over time, I eagerly look forward to these Wednesday interactions. They have not only deepened my understanding of people's problems but also strengthened my resolve to serve them with greater empathy and dedication." (ANI)
Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader Dasoju Shravan Kumar on Friday launched a scathing attack on Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, criticising his recent remarks about young journalists. Reddy had stated that young journalists lack "common sense" and often make him feel like slapping them during press conferences due to their behaviour. Kumar condemned Reddy's comments, calling him unfit for his position and questioning his suitability as Chief Minister. Kumar claimed that Reddy is a product of social media, lacking grassroots experience and substance as a leader. He questioned how Reddy became PCC president despite this. The BRS party has requested Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's intervention, expressing concerns about Reddy's suitability as Chief Minister and potential consequences for the state. "We do not want such a person as our Chief Minister... Revanth Reddy is blabbering whatever is on his mind... The BRS party condemns him. He himself is a product of social media. He is not a public servant, nor has he done anything at the grassroots level. How did he become the PCC president?... What will your followers think after hearing these statements of yours?... If journalists are attacked, then who will take responsibility?... We request that Rahul Gandhi intervene. " Kumar told ANI. The controversy arises from Reddy's comments at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Sundarayya Vigana Kendram, where he expressed frustration with young journalists' behaviour during press conferences. Reddy stated that he refrained from slapping them due to his position and circumstances. Addressing the 10th anniversary celebrations of Sundarayya Vigana Kendram, the Telangana CM stated, "To analyse, they (journalists) keep their health and families at stake. To understand the problems of people, they go to remote areas for days and stay in public to publish their findings...Now, young journalists don't even know about those senior journalists. They don't even have the common sense to stand up when those senior journalists come. And they (young journalists) sit in the front rows during press conferences, looking at me as if I am not greeting them, and bowing my head. I sometimes feel like slapping them. But circumstances and position come in between," the CM said while addressing the audience. (ANI)
NEW YORK, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucas Bols USA, the North American arm of one of the world's oldest distilled spirits companies, has selected Breakthru Beverage Group as its new distributor partner in California, effective September 1, 2025. The transition follows the planned exit of Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) from the California market.

Lucas Bols USA Appoints Breakthru Beverage Group as New Distributor Partner in California

With this move, Breakthru will take on distribution of Lucas Bols USA's portfolio of premium spirits and liqueurs in one of the country's most dynamic and competitive markets. The portfolio includes celebrated brands such as Bols Liqueurs, Galliano, the original additive free tequila since 2005, Partida, world's leading passion fruit liqueur, Passoa, world's number one limoncello, Pallini, and an award-winning growing range of non alcoholic spirits, led by Fluere.

The appointment of Breakthru in California brings the Lucas BolsBreakthru partnership to 14 U.S. states plus Canada, significantly expanding the reach and alignment between the two companies in North America.

The announcement also coincides with Lucas Bols' 450th anniversarya global milestone that celebrates centuries of innovation, craftsmanship, and leadership in the spirits industry.

"This new partnership is a major milestone in our U.S. strategy and a fitting evolution as we celebrate 450 years of Lucas Bols," said Brett Dunne, Managing Director of Lucas Bols USA. "Breakthru Beverage Group brings the scale, sophistication, and shared passion to help us grow in a state as crucial as California. We're energized about what we can build together."

"We're thrilled to expand our partnership with Lucas Bols in California, helping bring their world-class portfolio to more Golden state consumers," said Amanda Hale, Breakthru Beverage Group SVP, Supplier Business Development. "Their strong portfolio of globally recognized spirits and premium liqueurs are a perfect complement to our existing brands, enhancing our ability to meet every need or occasion. Lucas Bols shares many of our growth ambitions, particularly in California, where we have expanded our team and made strategic investments in our operational capabilities and route-to-market strategy to provide better service to our partners."

Founded in Amsterdam in 1575, Lucas Bols has played a pioneering role in bartending culture and spirit innovation for centuries. In the U.S., the company continues to invest in trade advocacy, flavor exploration, and brand building to connect with the modern consumer.

Lucas Bols also extends its gratitude to RNDC for their years of partnership and dedication to the portfolio in California. RNDC remains a trusted distribution partner for Lucas Bols USA in other key markets across the country.

"As we grow, we remain focused on aligning with the best distribution partners in each region," added Dunne. "Breakthru's operational excellence and market focus make them the ideal team to help us drive the next phase of growth."

About The Lucas Bols Company: Lucas Bols is a global spirits company and one of the oldest active Dutch businesses, with a mission to create exceptional cocktail experiences worldwide. Present in over 110 countries, the company's portfolio includes three global cocktail brands and more than 20 regional and international liqueurs and spirits. Bolsthe world's first cocktail brandfeatures the #1 global liqueur range (excluding the USA), as well as Passoa (the leading passion fruit liqueur), Galliano, and ultra-premium Partida Tequila.

Lucas Bols is also the global leader in genever and showcases its expertise through the Bols Cocktail Experience and the Bols Cocktail Academy. With nearly 450 years of innovation rooted in Amsterdam, Lucas Bols continues to inspire bartenders and cocktail lovers around the world as true Masters of Taste.

About Breakthru Beverage Group: Breakthru Beverage Group is one of the leading beverage wholesalers in the United States and the largest broker in Canada, representing a portfolio of premier spirits, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic brands. Breakthru is family-owned and operates in 16 markets with more than $8.6 billion in annual sales and a team of nearly 10,000 dedicated associates. The company delivers world-renowned beverage brands to the doorsteps of North America's retail, convenience, bar, and restaurant businesses, and has been named a "U.S. Best Managed Company" for four years in a row. BreakthruBev.com

For media inquiries, please contact:

Collin Smith

Email: [email protected]

Colangelo & Partners

SOURCE Lucas Bols USA
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday wrote a letter to Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai over the arrest of two Kerala nuns, saying "religious persecution" of any kind has no place in a democratic and secular nation. The CM Sangma condemned the arrest and demanded the withdrawal of the "false case." The nuns from Kerala, Sister Vandana Francis and Sister Preethy Mary, were arrested at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh on July 25 for allegedly being involved in forceful conversion and human trafficking. In his letter, Sangma wrote, "Religious persecution of any kind has no place in a democratic and secular nation like India." He added that such "baseless accusations" not only put the lives and freedoms of innocent individuals at risk but also "reflect a worrying pattern of religious targeting." The Meghalaya CM urged his Chhattisgarh counterpart to "ensure that justice is served and intolerance is not tolerated." He said, "Justice must prevail. Intolerance must not." Meanwhile, Kerala BJP President Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said that the Chhattisgarh government has agreed not to oppose the bail applications of the two Kerala nuns. Congress MP Anto Antony said that both have serious health problems, the issue has been raised in the Parliament, and they stood for justice for the nuns. Speaking to ANI, Antony said, "We visited the nuns, both have serious health problems, and didn't get their medicines. They didn't get a doctor's facility. We requested the authorities to provide them with medicines and a doctor. If they get bail, they are ready to go to a hospital. There is a human rights violation. They were harassed at the railway station and police station. We asked the government to take action against those who harassed the nuns. We have already raised the issue in the Parliament. We stand for the justice for the nuns." (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the United States' decision to impose a 25 per cent tariff, along with an additional penalty on India for importing oil from Russia, would affect not just the nation but also the individual states. "It will impact the state also, and the whole country at large. I will discuss this issue with the concerned Minister," the Chief Minister told reporters. Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge expressed concern over the development, saying he hoped the central government would re-engage in dialogue with the United States to mitigate the tariff hike. Priyank Kharge said, "This is something that we might have to live with, but we'll see how it impacts. I'm hopeful that the central government will get its act together, get to the negotiating table, and do something practical that ensures the business thrives as usual. Hopefully, this time they'll be able to convince their friend Donald Trump to ensure that the tariffs are not this huge." US President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a shocking statement on his social media platform Truth Social after the announcement of 25 per cent tariffs against India and threatened an additional "penalty" for importing Russian oil. "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India; their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world." Trump said. Trump signed a fresh executive order imposing revised tariffs for 70 countries, including India and Pakistan, in a move that is expected to strain global trade relations further. Tariffs imposed on India's neighbouring countries are less than India's 25 per cent, except for Myanmar at 40 per cent. The new tariffs for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, and Sri Lanka are 19%, 15%, 20%, 19%, 15%, and 20%, respectively. The new tariffs, outlined in a sweeping order signed on Friday (IST), will come into effect from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 7. The executive order states that the revised tariffs are aimed at addressing the national emergency declared earlier under Executive Order 14257. Trump noted that he had "recently received, among other things", new information and had determined it "necessary and appropriate" to impose additional ad valorem duties on the goods of certain trading partners. These new duties will replace those previously imposed under the same order, as amended. Other countries on which the US imposed tariffs are higher than India include Iraq (35 per cent), Laos (40 per cent), Libya (30 per cent), Serbia (35 per cent), South Africa (30 per cent), Switzerland (39 per cent), and Syria (41 per cent). Countries that imposed lower tariffs than India include the UK (10 per cent), Vietnam (20 per cent), Taiwan (20 per cent ), and South Korea (15 per cent), to name a few. The order by Trump stated, "I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257 by imposing additional ad valorem duties on goods of certain trading partners".The executive order further directs that these changes will apply to goods entering the US for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses on or after the effective date. However, goods already in transit before the deadline, loaded on vessels and en route before August 7 and entering the US before October 5, 2025, will not be subjected to the revised duties but will instead continue under the previously applicable tariff rates under the amended Executive Order 14257. The government told the Parliament on Thursday that it is examining the impact of the recent events and will take all necessary steps to safeguard the national interest. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal made a statement in the lower House of Parliament a day after Trump announced the tariff. He later made a similar statement in the Rajya Sabha. Goyal said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is holding talks with exporters, industries and all stakeholders and gathering information on their assessment of this issue. (ANI)
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant on Friday hit out at retired Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer Mehboob Mujawar over his recent claims regarding Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, questioning why he had remained silent for several years. His remarks came after Mujawar alleged that he was instructed to "arrest" the RSS chief amid the controversy surrounding the acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. While speaking to ANI, Arvind Sawant said, "...Did someone keep him tongue-tied? Did he become a BJP man today? Na BJP ka bann, no Congress ka bann, sacchai ka bann. Speak the truth... Aise log kameene hote hain." Commenting on former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' reported statement that "terrorism was never and will never be saffron", the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP said, "Terrorists have no colour...Does a rapist have a caste or religion? He is a rapist. A terrorist is a terrorist. 'Bhgawa' can never be 'aatankvaad', 'Bhgawa' is always 'rashtravaad'. Terrorism has nothing to do with it..." Earlier in the day, Mehboob Mujawar said that he was jailed for refusing to carry out the orders that came from his bosses, including former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, who was the Additional Commissioner of the ATS at that time. "I didn't make any allegations, but presented what has been on the record. It has been proved in court. It is not about political pressure; rather, my boss, Param Bir Singh, and other top officials instructed me to arrest Mohan Bhagwat. There was this concept of 'bhagwa atankwaad (saffron terror)' running in the media. However, I refused to do this and was punished for it. I was arrested and put in jail. I was defamed," Mujawar told ANI. "I can request that the families of those who died in the bomb blast be given maximum compensation. The court announced Rs 2 lakh compensation, but they should be given more," he added. Mujawar's remarks come after the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, stating that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and 95 others injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque at Bhikku Chowk in Malegaon city. Initially, 11 people were named as accused in the case, but the court framed charges against only seven, including former MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur. Meanwhile, the lawyer representing the victims' families has stated that the acquittal of the accused will be challenged in the High Court. (ANI)
The US President held a conversation with his Mexican counterpart, where the two leaders discussed the goal of signing a trade deal. Trump said that Mexico would continue to pay tariffs on fentanyl, cars, among other items and would immediately terminate its non-tariff trade barriers. Speaking about the remarks during the White House Press briefing, Karoline Leavitt said, "Mexico is a very unique situation... because we share our southern border. We've seen an increase in cooperation between Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, and our administration on clamping down on drug trafficking and human trafficking at the southern border. We appreciate those efforts and will continue to work in good faith and continue to have these trade discussions". Her remarks followed after the US President had written in a post on Truth Social of concluding a telephone conversation with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, "which was very successful". He added, "The complexities of a Deal with Mexico are somewhat different from other Nations because of both the problems and assets of the Border. We have agreed to extend, for a 90-day period, the exact same Deal as we had for the last short period of time, namely, that Mexico will continue to pay a 25% Fentanyl Tariff, a 25% Tariff on Cars, and a 50% Tariff on Steel, Aluminium, and Copper. Additionally, Mexico has agreed to immediately terminate its Non-Tariff Trade Barriers, of which there were many. We will be talking to Mexico over the next 90 Days with the goal of signing a Trade Deal somewhere within the 90-day period of time, or longer." Trump mentioned in his statement that present at the meeting were Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, United States Trade Representative and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, and United States Homeland Security Advisor, Stephen Miller. He also said that there would be continued cooperation on the US-Mexico border as it relates to all aspects of "Security, including Drugs, Drug Distribution, and Illegal Immigration into the United States". (ANI)
UN experts have warned that ISIS-K is emerging as the "most serious threat" to the United States, Europe, and regional stability, as Afghanistan once again risks becoming a hub for foreign terrorists, Khaama Press reported. In a report to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, July 30, the experts said ISIS-K is actively using online platforms to recruit and radicalize extremists. They raised alarms over the group's growing reach and its ability to inspire global terror attacks. The report linked several recent terror plots to individuals radicalized by ISIS propaganda or those influenced by the ongoing Gaza-Israel conflict. Experts warned that the presence of returning foreign fighters in Afghanistan and Central Asia could further destabilize the region and bolster ISIS-K's influence. Khaama Press reported that the experts described ISIS-K's operations as having transnational ambitions, noting that it had even issued warnings of possible attacks on Americans. UN officials also stated that ISIS-K's expanding network and propaganda efforts now pose "the most serious threat" to Europe and the United States. According to Khaama Press, the group's growing reach and activities beyond Afghan borders are driving fresh international concern. US officials have cautioned that since the Taliban's takeover, Afghanistan risks reverting into a safe haven for ISIS, describing the group as a "serious and growing threat" to international security. As insecurity deepens, human rights groups have expressed serious concern over the growing number of executions of Afghan migrants in Iran, warning of rising injustice and lack of fair trials, Khaama Press reported. According to Iranian human rights organisations, at least 85 prisoners have been executed in Iranian prisons in the month following the Israel-Iran ceasefire. The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation reported that six of those executed were Afghan citizens, though their identities and charges were not disclosed. The rest included 15 Lur prisoners, 12 Turks, 12 Kurds, and six Baluch. Six individuals were also executed on charges of "spying for Israel," though it remains unclear whether any of them were Afghan nationals. Hengaw and other human rights groups say executions of Afghan citizens in Iran have sharply increased in recent years. In the first six months of 2025 alone, at least 40 Afghan nationals were executed, while 73 were executed in 2024, Khaama Press noted. Iran's broad application of the death penalty, including against Afghan migrants, has drawn sharp criticism from international human rights groups. They describe Tehran as one of the world's leading enforcers of capital punishment, Khaama Press reported. While many of these executions are reportedly tied to drug trafficking or political charges, rights monitors continue to raise alarms about opaque judicial processes. Trials often lack transparency and basic legal safeguards, raising serious concerns about due process for vulnerable individuals, including Afghan migrants, according to Khaama Press. (ANI)
Bangladesh has secured a 20 percent tariff rate after final talks with the US -- comparable to its key apparel-sector competitors such as Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Indonesia, which received rates between 19% and 20%. "As a result, Bangladesh's relative competitiveness in apparel exports remains unaffected," Bangladesh's Chief Adviser's Press Wing said in a statement on Friday. "We negotiated carefully to ensure that our commitments aligned with our national interests and capacity," said Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Bangladesh's National Security Advisor and lead negotiator. "Protecting our apparel industry was a top priority, but we also focused our purchase commitments on U.S. agricultural products. This supports our food security goals and fosters goodwill with U.S. farming states." "Today, we successfully avoided a potential 35% reciprocal tariff. That's good news for our apparel sector and the millions who depend on it. We've also preserved our global competitiveness and opened up new opportunities to access the world's largest consumer market," Dr. Rahman added. "We proudly congratulate the Bangladesh tariff negotiators on securing a landmark trade deal with the United States, a decisive diplomatic victory," Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said in a message. "By reducing the tariff to 20%, 17 points lower than anticipated, our negotiators have demonstrated remarkable strategic skill and unwavering commitment to safeguarding and advancing Bangladesh's economic interests," it added. "They have been working relentlessly since February and navigated successfully through a complex negotiating process involving tariff, non-tariff, and national security matters. The agreement they negotiated preserves our comparative advantage, enhances our access to the world's largest consumer market, and safeguards our core national interests," Yunus said. "This achievement not only underscores Bangladesh's rising strength on the global stage but also opens the door to greater opportunities, accelerated growth, and lasting prosperity. The future of Bangladesh is undeniably bright. Today's success stands as a powerful testament to the nation's resilience and its bold vision for a stronger economic tomorrow," the Chief Adviser said. Bangladesh has already signed a deal to purchase 700,000 tonnes of wheat annually from the US. Plans are underway to increase LNG imports and to purchase 25 Boeing aircraft from the US, Bangladesh's local media reported. A Bangladeshi official who participated in the talks told ANI that the US side has requested Bangladesh to import military equipment from their country. "We said, we are diversifying the purchase of military equipment. We are also buying military equipment from Turkiye and Eastern European countries. We also want to buy from the United States. The quality of US military equipment is good but the price is high. If we can, we will buy from the United States," the official said. Bangladesh will also increase import of soybean and cotton from the United States to reduce the trade gap of USD 6 billion, he said. "The United States has expressed concerns that Bangladesh is moving into China's orbit. We have said that China is our neighbouring trading partner. We are not part of any circle. The United States has requested Bangladesh to reduce its dependence on some countries," the official said. President Donald Trump announced new tariff rates -- up to 41% -- on imports from 70 countries, just ahead of the August 1 deadline for finalizing bilateral trade agreements. These agreements extend beyond tariff adjustments to include domestic policy reforms that the Trump administration views as contributing to trade imbalances. They also address broader economic and national security concerns. As part of the negotiations, countries were required to make explicit commitments to purchase U.S. goods to help narrow trade deficits. Given the scope of issues involved, the negotiation process has been complex and time-consuming. Tariff relief was tied not only to reductions in duties on U.S. exports but also to a country's willingness to address U.S. concerns on non-tariff barriers, trade imbalances, and security matters. President Trump's executive order made clear that each country's tariff rate would reflect the depth of its commitment across all these areas. Earlier, two days ahead of the July 9 deadline, US President Donald Trump issued a letter to Bangladesh, imposing a 35 percent tariff. According to the letter, the tariff will take effect on August 1. (ANI)
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expressed sharp disappointment over India's continued oil imports from Russia, calling it a "point of irritation" in the bilateral relationship and noting that such purchases are "helping to fund the war effort" in Ukraine. Speaking to Fox Radio's Brian Kilmeade, Rubio said, "India is an ally. It's a strategic partner. Like anything in foreign policy, you're not going to align a hundred percent of the time on everything." "India has huge energy needs and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy like every country does, and it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap and - meaning they have to - in many cases, they're selling it under the global price because of the sanctions," he explained. The US State Secreatary underlined the impact of this trade on the ongoing war in Ukraine. "That - unfortunately that is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India - not the only point of irritation. We also have many other points of cooperation with them," he said. "But I think what you're seeing the President express is the very clear frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia, which in essence is helping to fund the war effort -- and allowing this war to continue in Ukraine," he added. Rubio's comments came in the backdrop of President Donald Trump's post on Truth Social, where he announced a 25% tariff and additional penalties on India starting August 1, citing its Russian oil imports making up 35% of its overall supply in the first half of the year. Rubio also detailed the broader context of US engagement with Russia and possible punitive options, saying, "The President has waited over six months now and given the best efforts possible... We've not seen any progress." He added that Trump has options like "secondary sanctions on oil sales of Russia oil" and "sectoral banking sanctions" if there's no sincere interest in peace from Moscow. On Russian threats, Rubio dismissed former president Dmitry Medvedev's recent comments as inflammatory but irrelevant. "He's not a relevant player in Russian politics... he's certainly someone in an official position in Russia who's saying things that are inflammatory... I don't think that's going to be a factor one way or the other," he said. He also ruled out any real possibility of a U.S.-Russia war, saying, "That's not even a fathomable thing... I think what you worry more about is a skirmish or a miscalculation... since the Russians are not very good at conventional weaponry, they would almost invariably have to rely on some other means like a tactical nuclear weapon." Commenting on the recognition of a Palestinian state by some Western countries, Rubio called the move "irrelevant" and "counterproductive," warning it only emboldens Hamas and hurts ceasefire efforts. "There can be no Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to it... It's counterproductive," he said. He also credited Arab nations like Qatar for pushing Hamas toward a ceasefire but criticized the impact of international statements recognizing Palestine. "Israel actually made a bunch of concessions that Hamas had asked for... and then Hamas came back and just rejected the deal - and by the way, rejected it on the same day that Macron from France made his announcement," he noted. On China, Rubio acknowledged complex ties and recent trade talks: "We have plenty of issues that we disagree with China on... but a mature foreign policy requires strategic balancing of equities." He added, "There are vulnerabilities that we need to close... and I think it's time we have a responsible --" before being cut off by the end of the interview. Rubio also strongly defended his earlier Senate investigation into the 2016 US election interference, reiterating, "There was zero, zilch proof whatsoever - any evidence of any kind - that the Trump campaign in any way colluded with the Russians." He slammed the handling of the Steele dossier, calling it "a lie" that "cost millions of dollars in investigations - all chasing a hoax." He criticized US and international media for neglecting the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. "We've done more than, frankly, anybody else in terms of providing funding... You know what the cameras don't capture? The suffering of 20 people living in tunnels right now taken hostage by Hamas." Rubio's remarks highlight escalating tensions between Washington and its key allies, particularly over Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and the shifting geopolitical calculus around China, Israel, and West Asia. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) posted on Truth Social a letter he sent to Novartis CEO Vasant Narasimhan, directing the company to comply with his Executive Order on lowering drug prices for Americans or face consequences. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/114949068624952696 On July 31, in a letter addressed from the White House, Trump said that on May 12, he had signed an Executive Order titled Delivering Most Favored Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients "to stop global freeloading and guarantee that Americans pay the same prices enjoyed by other developed nations." He said that "right now, brand name drug prices in the United States are up to three times higher on average than elsewhere for the identical medicines," and that "this unacceptable burden on hardworking American families ends with my Administration." Trump said most proposals his Administration had received to resolve the pricing issue promised more of the same, shifting blame and requesting policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in handouts to the industry. He made it clear that the only thing he would accept going forward from drug manufacturers is a commitment that provides American families immediate relief from the vastly inflated drug prices and an end to the free ride of American innovation by European and other developed nations. "Accordingly, I am calling on Novartis and every manufacturer doing business in our great country to take the following actions within the next 60 days," he wrote. Trump directed Novartis to take the following actions within the next 60 days. He asked the company to extend Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing to Medicaid by providing the full portfolio of existing drugs at MFN rates for every single Medicaid patient. He also called on Novartis to guarantee MFN pricing for newly launched drugs. This would require the company to contract with the United States to guarantee that Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers receive MFN prices on all new medicines both upon launch and thereafter. Further, Trump asked Novartis to return inflated revenues abroad to American patients and taxpayers. He noted that domestic MFN pricing alone will not benefit all manufacturers, nor stop abusive pricing. Therefore, all manufacturers, including Novartis, must transfer a share of foreign profits back to American patients and taxpayers. He said this could be achieved through direct rebates, price reductions, or reinvestment in US operations. He added that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of the Treasury (DOT), and Department of Justice (DOJ) will ensure enforcement of the Executive Order and he expected full compliance from Novartis. Trump confirmed that his advisors Secretary Kennedy and Administrator Oz stand ready to implement these terms. "I expect your immediate action," he wrote. "My Administration is committed to using every tool available to put American patients first. Years of promises have produced no change for long, it is time they are held to their share. I look forward to your binding commitment on or before September 29, 2025. Any delay beyond this date risks federal action, including termination of contracts and a referral to DOJ for immediate attention in the vital national priority," he warned. (ANI)
A protest was staged in Bajaur in Khyber Pakhtunkwa against the ongoing military operation launched in various parts of Lowi Mamund tehsil that began on Tuesday, according to a report by Dawn. Residents from different regions of the district, primarily youths and political and social activists, participated in the demonstration held on Wednesday at Umary Chowk, the intersection connecting Lowi Mamund and War Mamund tehsils. The protesters, some adorned with black ribbons, voiced their strong concerns regarding the hardships faced by the local population during the current anti-militant operation in Lowi Mamund tehsil. Characterising the operation as unexpected, they claimed that authorities initiated the action without prior notification to the residents, as reported by Dawn. They also criticised officials for imposing a three-day curfew in numerous areas of Lowi Mamund tehsil, arguing that this decision created significant difficulties for the locals. Speakers remarked that the people of Bajaur are peaceful and desire to rid the region of all anti-peace and anti-social elements, which pose a serious threat to harmony and stability in the area. However, they contended that military actions are not an effective means to eradicate anti-peace elements, as such measures have historically resulted in further suffering for the population. They stated that the killing and injuring of innocent civilians during the ongoing operation reinforced their belief that force would not bring peace to the region, according to the Dawn report. "Every resident of Bajaur longs for lasting peace in the area, but past experiences over the last couple of years have demonstrated that the use of force has not yielded peace; rather, it has exacerbated lawlessness," they noted. Speakers also criticised the district administration for implementing a curfew across various locations in Lowi Mamund tehsil without consulting the community. They demanded an immediate halt to the current operation in Lowi Mamund tehsil and the lifting of the curfew. As per the Dawn report, three civilians lost their lives and ten others sustained injuries during exchanges of gunfire in different locations of Lowi Mamund during Tuesday's operation. On Tuesday, the Bajaur administration established a three-day curfew across 16 sites in the district and initiated a military operation aimed at militants in those regions. Bajaur District Police Officer Waqas Rafiq verified this information, as reported by Dawn. (ANI)
The ruling party of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has passed sweeping constitutional reforms that allow indefinite presidential reelection and extend presidential terms from five to six years, France 24 reported. The constitutional amendments, proposed by Ana Figueroa of the ruling New Ideas party, were swiftly approved in the National Assembly on Thrusday (local time) where Bukele's party holds a supermajority. The vote passed with 57 lawmakers in favor and only three opposed. According to France 24, the changes affect five articles of the constitution and also eliminate the need for a second-round runoff in presidential elections. "All of them have had the possibility of reelection through popular vote, the only exception until now has been the presidency," Figueroa told lawmakers while justifying the reforms, referring to legislators and mayors who already have the right to unlimited reelection. In a key move that could accelerate Bukele's political future, Figueroa also proposed cutting short the president's current term--originally ending June 1, 2029--to June 1, 2027. The shift would align presidential and congressional elections and allow Bukele to run for a longer six-year term two years earlier. The opposition criticized the move as a blow to El Salvador's democratic institutions. Marcela Villatoro of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena), one of the three lawmakers who voted against the proposal, declared, "Democracy in El Salvador has died!" She warned, "You don't realize what indefinite reelection brings: It brings an accumulation of power and weakens democracy ... there's corruption and clientelism because nepotism grows and halts democracy and political participation." Bukele, who won reelection last year despite a previous constitutional ban, was able to run again after a 2021 ruling by Supreme Court justices handpicked by his party. The decision interpreted the law as permitting a second consecutive term, according to France 24. The constitutional reforms further cement the control of Bukele, a leader who once described himself as "the world's coolest dictator." Though he has faced criticism over alleged negotiations with gangs and the erosion of civil liberties during a state of emergency, his popularity remains high due to his aggressive crackdown on violent street gangs. "Power has returned to the only place that it truly belongs ... to the Salvadoran people," said Suecy Callejas, the assembly's vice president, defending the changes. France 24 noted that Bukele did not issue an immediate comment on the passage of the reforms. His leadership style has attracted interest in the region, with several politicians seeking to emulate his strongman image and law-and-order governance. (ANI)
The World Intelligent Vehicle Conference 2025 Kicks Off

CHONGQING, China, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- China's intelligent vehicle industry is embracing global cooperation with openness and innovation, while international automakers reevaluate the strategic importance of the Chinese market. Crucially, China's auto industry needs stronger connections to the world and deeper integration through global collaboration.

The two-day World Intelligent Vehicle Conference (WIV) 2025 opened on July 30 at the Chongqing Yuelai International Conference Center. The conference, hosted by Asia Digital Group, was held under the theme of "Smart Mobility Powers Dual Circulation". The WIV adopted a "1+6+8" structure (one main forum, 6 topic forums, and 8 thematic activities). Over 100 distinguished guests from more than 20 countries were invited to attend the conference, spanning industry leaders (e.g., Mercedes-Benz, Qualcomm), engineering academia (the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Russian Academy of Engineering), specialists from global organizations and institutional investors, and corporate executives from Chinese top firms like Seres, XPeng, PCITECH and iFLYTEK. They discussed technical innovation for vehicle-road-cloud integration and further implementing the dual-circulation strategy, shaping the future of intelligent mobility together.

Pooling brilliant minds to seek the new driving force for intelligent automotive development

The automotive industry is increasingly shifting towards intelligent vehicles as its main path for evolution and improvement. Strengthening intelligent vehicle leadership through tech innovation, global collaboration on resource utilization, and vehicle-road-cloud integration is now the industry's top priority.

Mr. Fu Baozong, Deputy Director-General of the International Cooperation Center, National Development and Reform Commission, proposed three recommendations for the development of the intelligent vehicle industry: first, prioritize innovation to overcome critical technological bottlenecks; second, expand worldwide cooperation to build a global automotive industry ecosystem; third, consolidate the auto industry's foundation with coordinated industrial progress and robust security measures.

In his speech, Mr. Tu Xingyong, Deputy Director-General of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, emphasized that Chongqing will seize the opportunity of the "dual-pilot city", develop the new industry ecosystem for the intelligent and connected vehicles (ICV) fueled by convergent development of multiple technologies at a faster pace, and resolutely position the industry as the primary front for developing new quality productive forces. The municipality will continue to enhance its technological capabilities for industrial innovation, specifically by fostering a robust industry ecosystem and promoting the integrated development of technological innovation and industrial advancement in ICVs.

Mr. Zhu Dongfang, President of Asia Digital Group (hosting organization of the conference), said in his speech that according to IDC projections, global sales of connected vehicles will reach 78.3 million units in 2025, while autonomous vehicle sales are expected to hit 89.3 million units in 2026, representing a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.8%. Intelligent vehicles are rapidly gaining traction in the market and are serving as the primary catalyst for the automotive industry's ongoing transformation. This emerging sector still holds substantial, untapped potential for further growth.

Representatives from various quarters across the world had an in-depth exchange and discussion on intelligent vehicles in the main forum. In his keynote speech, Professor Ching-Chuen Chan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), Founder of the World Electric Vehicle Association, Founding Chairman of the International Academician Science and Technology Innovation Center, and Distinguished Chair Professor of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, emphasized that the automotive revolution needs to move beyond electrification to embrace intelligent and connected technologies, a process where China has consistently led the world. The reason lies in China's effective coordination of technical innovation, government policy, the auto industry, market, incentives, and investment. China boasts not only the world's most complete automotive industrial chain, but also the best cost performance of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide.

Professor Zhang Jianwei, International Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, mentioned in his keynote address that achieving truly reliable autonomous driving requires a crucial combination of traditional control methods and advanced data processing techniques. Future advancements will depend on a self-reinforcing data flywheel, continuously generating high-quality, real-world datasets through physical environments, simulations, and scenario engineering, ultimately enabling next-generation, universally adaptable intelligent driving systems.

Fabio Schina, Consul General of Italy in Chongqing, delivered a keynote speech, highlighting the importance of closer cooperation between Italy and China by signing more Memorandums of Cooperation and greater collaboration on the industry, higher education, research and so on. Cooperation is crucial under the circumstances of promoting EV revolution and expanding its market share in the EU and the rest of the world. He hopes there will be more international collaboration in this sector in the future.

Zhang Xinghai, Chairman and Founder of Seres Group, suggested that China's auto industry is evolving from delivering a "rigid physical environment" to offering a "dynamic and intelligent digital realm" at a faster pace. And the automotive supply chain has progressed into a converged network with multi-stakeholder participation, encompassing automakers, ICT firms, chip suppliers, and energy service providers, where effective resource integration, accelerated technological innovation, and enhanced product and service quality are achievable only through robust collaboration.

Liu Wei, Founder and CEO of PCITECH, said in his keynote speech that the development of TransHarmony, the transportation-focused HarmonyOS system, utilizes OpenHarmony and openEuler's technical architectures. Tailored to meet the industry's core demands for high reliability, real-time performance, and multi-source heterogeneous device interoperability, it has independently established a new, self-controllable, industry-grade IoT operating system through domain-specific enhancements. It is hopeful that TransHarmony not only delivers a robust infrastructure for smart transportation applications, but also offers extremely simple system topology and low latency communication, making future intelligent transportation more efficient, safe, and reliable.

Frank Meng, Chairman of Qualcomm China, pointed out that vehicle is more than a means of transport now as it is evolving into a highly intelligent and dynamic "third living space" at a faster pace. With the rapid rise of generative AI, automobiles have emerged as one of the most disruptive smart terminals since smartphones. AI is rapidly emerging as the new user interface (UI), coinciding with the accelerated development of software-defined vehicles (SDVs), and they are collectively reshaping the automotive industry. With over two decades in the automotive sector, Qualcomm will continue its technology partnership, collaborating with industry players, including those in Chongqing, to leverage the opportunities presented by the intelligent and connected vehicle era. Together, the automotive industry will elevate, fostering both advanced intelligence and a more premium experience.

Wu Xiaoru, President of iFLYTEK, said the company is committed to developing an AI-enabled interaction system that truly understands users, making smart cabin interfaces more intuitive and natural. The interaction system understands users' emotions and empathizes with them, equipped with long-term memory to retain important user events. This ensures communication feels genuinely human, avoiding a robotic interaction. iFLYTEK enables this through full-duplex interaction, multilingual support, and multi-emotion settings. The next generation of in-car systems will leverage cloud-edge integration, combining cloud and on-device processing to ensure reliable and responsive command execution. This approach aims to deliver a seamless user experience while guaranteeing that every command is carried out reliably.

During the summit dialogue session of the main forum, distinguished panelists engaged in an in-depth discussion on the theme "Smart Mobility Powers Dual Circulation", offering insights to advance China's intelligent vehicle development. The participants included Xu Kuangyi, Academician of the Russian Academy of Engineering and Chief Scientist of Jiangsu Pulsar Technology Co., Ltd., Ye Shengji, Chief Engineer and Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, Wang Tan, Co-Founder of XPeng AEROHT and General Manager of XPeng Motors Design Center, Yang Hong, Chairman and President of Shenzhen Hangsheng Electronics Co., Ltd., Antonio Wang, Vice President, Client System Research, Imaging, Printing & Document Solution Research, and Research Operation Center, IDC China.

Shaping the future of intelligent vehicles through a multidimensional collaborative approach

As the most dynamic and innovative automobile market in the world, China has seen its intelligent vehicle industry flourish. China's automotive market has also demonstrated formidable innovation capabilities. The country's auto sector is morphing from "the workshop of the world" to "the cradle of innovation".

The two topic forums were held in the afternoon of July 30. At the forum with the theme of "Towards a Future of Intelligent Mobility Tackling Core Technological Challenges in Intelligent Vehicles", business representatives from a host of companies, including Shenzhen Hangsheng Electronics, PCITECH, JOYNEXT, NAVINFO, ReachAuto, CARLINX, Nullmax, MORELITE, China Mobile, PCAUTO.com.cn, Xuanyuan Intelligent Driving, Volcano Engine, and TINNOVE, discussed enhancing basic research for intelligent vehicles and tackling core technological challenges, especially focusing on the latest technological advancements in vehicle-road-cloud integration. At the forum with the theme of "Global Expansion: Seizing Opportunities in International Markets", representatives from global organizations, including Electric Vehicle Association Of Malaysia, Association Pour le Developpement de la Nouvelle Route de la Soie (ADNRS), IDC, Plum Ventures, Volcano Engine, North American Auto Professional Association (NAAP) and Equal Ocean, examined worldwide investment trends, shared global expansion strategies and successful collaboration experiences, and explored the best practices of cross-border cooperation on intelligent vehicles. The dialogue provided actionable recommendations to support Chinese intelligent car manufacturers in achieving sustainable, high-quality global expansion.

Multiple thematic activities also commenced simultaneously on July 30. Highlights of the product release event included: AVATR's immersive showcase and technical presentation on its new AVATR 06 model; DENZA's comprehensive brand strategy presentation, featuring detailed explanations of its N9, Z9, and N9 product lineup; DEEPAL's full reveal of the S09  a six-seat smart flagship SUV designed for modern families; XPeng's debut of its latest G7 AI-powered family SUV, demonstrating tangible advancements in intelligent mobility. At the intelligent car technical innovation achievement exhibition area, a number of automakers displayed their latest products, including Tesla, Yangwang, AITO, Denza, Formula Bao, Li Auto, XPeng, NIO, ONVO, Deepal, Avatr, Wey, Voyah, Leapmotor, and BYD's Dynasty and Ocean series. MiracoMotor, Neolix, and Rino.ai presented their self-driving vehicles, demonstrating how autonomous technology is reshaping future lifestyles. The event also featured booths from Guangzhou Frontop Digital, Automotive Software Innovation Center (Chongqing), Kernelsoft, The Chongqing Representative Office of the World Trade Point Federation, Chongqing Automotive Accessories Industry Association, and BIZMEDIA Group. The Chongqing Intelligent Driving Experience transformed static displays into dynamic interactions. The participating guests can test drive vehicles from multiple brands and experience Chongqing's unique transport charm.

At the WIV Leaders' Roundtable and Chongqing Intelligent Vehicle Closed-Door Think Tank Meeting, experts from various fields and senior government officials focused their exchanges and discussions on the global development trends, technological orientations, and international development strategies of intelligent vehicles, as well as Chongqing's advantages in the development of the automotive and intelligent vehicle industries, relevant incentive policies, future development plans, and suggestions for industry progress.

Four topic forums with the theme of "Collaborative Innovation: Driving Cross-Industry Convergence", "Capital Empowerment: Unleashing New Investment Opportunities", "Global Connectivity: Exploring Cross-Border Growth Frontiers", and "Pilot Demonstration: Building Multidimensional Application Scenarios" will be held on July 31. Three thematic activities, Intelligent Mobility Ecosystem Matchmaking, Intelligent Vehicle Tech Innovation Challenge, and Chongqing Intelligent Mobility Ecosystem Tour, will also take place on the same day.

The WIV 2025 enables participants to bounce ideas, share resources, and seek win-win cooperation, safeguarding the high-quality development of the intelligent vehicle industry.

SOURCE Asia Digital Group
The Baloch Advocacy and Studies Centre (BASC), in partnership with the SOAS Iranian Society, organised a seminar at the Djam Lecture Theatre, SOAS, University of London which emphasised the serious and ongoing human rights abuses against the Baloch population in both Iran and Pakistan. This seminar held on July 30 represented the Centre's inaugural public event and offered a preview of insights from its upcoming Annual Human Rights Reports, set to be released in August 2025. The event consisted of two sessions, starting with opening remarks from Katayoun Shahandeh of the SOAS Iranian Society and Qambar Malik Baloch, General Secretary of BASC. The first session focused on state violence in Balochistan, Iran, particularly highlighting extrajudicial killings and their disproportionate effects on women and children. It also featured testimonies from relatives of victims of human rights abuses. Fariba Baloch, the President of BASC, presented an overview of the overarching human rights conditions in the region. Abdullah Aref, Deputy General Secretary of BASC, shared statistics on executions conducted in 2024, indicating patterns of state violence against Baloch civilians. The keynote speaker, Mai Sato, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Iran's human rights situation, elaborated on the issue of extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, voiced serious concern regarding the evidence provided, and pledged to bring this issue before the UN Human Rights Council. The second session shifted its emphasis to Balochistan, Pakistan, beginning with a historical overview of human rights matters delivered by Hassan Hamdam, Vice President of BASC. Khurshid Ahmed, BASC's Director of Research, followed with an in-depth presentation on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings that occurred in 2024, pointing out that students and laborers were among the most frequent victims, and emphasizing that many of these acts, carried out by Pakistani state forces, seem to be retaliatory measures and collective punishment aimed at the broader Baloch community. This session included keynote comments by Sabiha Baloch, a well-known Baloch leader and representative of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), who gave an update on the current state of affairs and stressed the urgent need for international focus and intervention. The seminar was attended by scholars, diplomats, media representatives, human rights advocates, NGO officials, and members of marginalised groups from both Iran and Pakistan. The event concluded with a heartfelt display of solidarity for the victims and their families, as well as support for those bravely advocating for justice, especially the Baloch Yakjehti Committee. BASC reaffirmed its dedication to research-based advocacy and committed to continuing collaboration with all entities striving for human rights and justice in the region. Established on May 11 by Baloch human rights advocates, writers, and researchers from both Eastern and Western Balochistan, BASC aims to enhance international awareness through research and advocacy regarding the shared and systematic injustices experienced by Baloch individuals across the region of Balochistan. (ANI)
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has urged Western nations to support regime change in Moscow to protect themselves from what he described as "Russian aggression," RT reported. Speaking virtually at a conference marking the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, Zelensky said, "I believe Russia can be pushed to stop this war... But if the world doesn't aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilize neighboring countries," RT reported. The Ukrainian leader also pressed for stronger financial measures against Moscow. "It's time to confiscate Russian assets, not just freeze them," he said, adding that Western countries should "put every frozen Russian asset... to work defending against Russian aggression." According to RT, the remarks came amid renewed accusations from Russian officials that the West has undermined the spirit of the Helsinki Accords. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a separate article, argued that the ongoing conflict is a direct result of the West's betrayal of the accords' core principle of equal and indivisible security. RT reported that Lavrov accused the European Union of sliding into a "Fourth Reich," citing what he described as increasing Russophobia and militarization. President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, alleged that Western governments are misleading their own citizens to justify inflated military budgets and cover up economic failures. Despite these tensions, Moscow has reiterated its willingness to negotiate peace with Ukraine. RT noted that several rounds of talks have been held in recent months, but Russia has accused Kyiv and its allies of not addressing the root causes of the conflict or acknowledging territorial realities. Moscow has also questioned Zelensky's legitimacy, pointing out that his five-year presidential term expired in May 2024. Citing martial law, Zelensky has not held elections. Russian officials have claimed that any documents signed under his authority could be challenged legally, asserting that true governing power now lies with the Ukrainian parliament, RT reported. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump issued a warning to former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev asking him to "watch his words," after the latter criticized Trump's foreign policy, The Hill reported. "I don't care what India does with Russia," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World." "Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory!" the president added. Since returning to office in January, Trump and his administration have pushed for an end to the more than three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, without much success. At times, the president has aired frustration with both sides over lack of progress on a ceasefire agreement, despite several rounds of peace talks. Earlier this month, he gave the two nations a 50-day deadline to reach a deal, threatening Russia and its allies, including India, with increased sanctions. Re-upping the pressure on Wednesday, Trump said he would impose a 25 percent tariff on India as a penalty for purchasing Russian military equipment and gas. He also signaled he could shorten the timeline -- which now falls in early September -- for the Kremlin to agree to a peace deal and end its onslaught on Ukraine, which has largely been on board with ceasefire proposals, The Hill reported. The president also said Monday, during a sit-down conversation with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, that he could start imposing sanctions on Russia in "about 10 or 12 days," according to The Hill. Medvedev, in response, knocked Trump for "playing the ultimatum game." "Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia: 50 days or 10... He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war," Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, wrote on the social platform X. "Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country." "Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!" he added, using Trump's nickname for former President Biden. (ANI)
Nearly 1.2 million Afghans have returned from Pakistan since September 2023, many to dire conditions, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said, warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis if urgent support is not provided, Khaama Press reported. According to a UNHCR report released Thursday, between September 15, 2023, and June 30, 2025, nearly 1.2 million Afghan migrants crossed back into Afghanistan from Pakistan. More than 156,000 returnees, including 98,000 registered cardholders, have received humanitarian assistance since their return, Khaama Press reported. The UN agency noted that women and girls comprise about half of those receiving aid, while approximately 2.2 percent of all returnees are people with disabilities. UNHCR further stated that over 315,000 Afghans returned in 2025 alone, including 51,000 forcibly deported by Pakistani authorities. Khaama Press reported that mounting political and security pressures in Pakistan are threatening the long-term status of more than two million Afghan refugees who have lived there for decades. "Many returnees face bleak conditions, lacking proper housing, jobs, and access to essential services in an already fragile Afghanistan," UNHCR warned. Aid agencies have urged Afghan authorities and the international community to scale up assistance, warning that "without sustained help, the wave of returns could deepen Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis," Khaama Press noted. This concern is compounded by Afghanistan's ongoing food crisis. Afghanistan continues to top the list of countries facing severe food insecurity, with more than 12 million people in urgent need of food assistance and 75 percent of the population facing livelihood instability, according to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Khaama Press reported. The report, released on July 30, highlights that 295 million people across 53 countries are currently experiencing acute hunger -- an increase of 13 million from 2023. Afghanistan remains the worst-affected nation, followed by Ethiopia, Nigeria, Congo, Syria, and Yemen. Afghanistan has featured consistently on FAO's chronic hunger list since 2016 due to a combination of political upheaval, humanitarian crises, and climate change, Khaama Press noted. The FAO stated that "widespread poverty remains one of the main drivers of Afghanistan's worsening food insecurity," with the return of over 1.6 million migrants from Iran and Pakistan, declining international aid, and rigid economic restrictions pushing millions deeper below the poverty line. "According to the UN, 75 percent of Afghanistan's population faces livelihood insecurity, and over 12 million people urgently need food assistance," the report said. Khaama Press reported that consecutive droughts, widespread unemployment, and damaged agricultural infrastructure have significantly reduced Afghanistan's capacity for domestic food production. In provinces like Ghor and Badakhshan, prolonged droughts have "destroyed crops and disrupted livestock farming -- the main source of rural income," the report said. Women and children are particularly vulnerable, the FAO observed. "Restrictions by the Taliban on women's work and education have further cut families off from critical income sources," it added. The World Food Programme (WFP) has also warned of worsening conditions. "Without increased humanitarian aid, hunger-related deaths in Afghanistan will continue to rise sharply," WFP officials cautioned. According to FAO officials, as cited by Khaama Press, the food crisis in Afghanistan is the result of a "dangerous mix of conflict, climate shocks, and collapsing livelihoods." Aid agencies are urging the international community to act. "Without sustained funding and access for relief operations, Afghanistan risks spiraling into one of the world's worst hunger disasters," the report concluded. (ANI)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukrainian officials of "cultural degradation bordering on savagery" following the offer to exchange exhumed remains of Soviet soldiers for Ukrainian prisoners of war. In an article published on Friday, Lavrov referenced an incident in which the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Lviv, Andrey Sadovy, proposed exchanging the exhumed remains of soldiers from a World War II memorial "whom he described as 'occupiers'" for Ukrainian service members captured by Russia in the ongoing conflict, RT reported. Moscow and Kiev have conducted prisoner swaps on an equal basis throughout the war, although Ukraine's pool of POWs for exchanges is reportedly seriously depleted. "The neo-Nazis have turned their fight toward the dead who once liberated Ukraine from Hitlerism," Lavrov wrote, branding the gesture emblematic of Ukraine's discriminatory policies. He further accused Western governments of ignoring such actions to shield their "client state" from criticism, according to RT. Several Eastern European countries have framed the Soviet era as a period of occupation. Russia firmly rejects this view, emphasizing the USSR's role in the defeat of Nazi Germany and its contributions to post-war reconstruction across the region. The removal of Soviet war memorials has been used by some governments to strengthen their narrative and to display political defiance towards Russia, RT added. Lavrov's remarks were part of an opinion piece he wrote to mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, a Cold War-era agreement aimed at strengthening European security, economic cooperation, and human rights protections. The Russian foreign minister argued that the West has weaponized the treaty and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to pressure post-Soviet states, while selectively ignoring its principles for its own benefit. "According to Lavrov, the OSCE may no longer have a reason to exist at this point," RT reported. This statement comes amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Kiev, with ongoing conflict and diplomatic disagreements shaping the regional security landscape. (ANI)
US-India Business Council (USIBC) President Atul Keshap has expressed concerns about the potential impact of the 25% tariff imposed by the US on Indian goods, but believes it's crucial for both countries to forge a mutually beneficial deal. In an exclusive interview with ANI, he said that the tariffs won't have a significant disruptive impact on the US economy, given India's relatively small share of US international trade, around 2.5%. "The truth is that India doesn't have the leverage that some other economies have on the US. India only represents about two and a half per cent of America's total international trade," said Keshap. However, he acknowledged the importance of Indian pharma imports to the US. Keshap noted that India doesn't have the same level of leverage as other economies, like China or European countries, which have more substantial trade relationships with the US. "I think the pharma that comes in from India is probably the most important element that comes into our country. Those items will be taxed a little bit higher. But I don't think it's going to have the kind of impact that similar tariffs on Chinese or European goods would have," said USIBC President. Indian pharma imports will likely face higher taxes, but Keshap believes the impact will be manageable. Despite this, Keshap expressed concerns about the uncertainty surrounding the tariffs, which has made both American and Indian companies nervous. "There are certain very strategic and very necessary imports that we make from those countries that I think have caused us to think a little bit more carefully about the impact on the American economy. But in the case of India, I don't think that impact is similarly going to be felt. So, I get the sense that if these tariffs happen will not really have a very disruptive impact at home," said Keshap. Keshap emphasised the importance of a mutually beneficial trade deal to foster economic growth and achieve the $500 billion trade target. The tariffs could lead to increased costs for American companies and consumers, potentially affecting the competitiveness of Indian goods in the US market. He stressed that despite the frustration, both nations have a strong and strategic future ahead -- one that last-minute breakdowns in talks must not jeopardise. "We have a future together to work on AI, semiconductors, and defence production that is critical to the future of the free world. If we fumble this negotiation at the goal line, we are all going to live to regret it..." he said, warning that the stakes are high for both countries. With a 25% tariff plus penalty on Indian goods looming, Keshap emphasised the importance of reaching a mutually beneficial agreement to strengthen the US-India relationship. Keshap highlights the potential for future collaboration in critical areas like AI, semiconductors, and defense production, which are vital to the free world. "We have future together to work on AI, semiconductors, defence production that is critical to future of the free world. If we fumble this negotiation at the goal line, we are all going to live to regret it...," said Keshap. He stresses that 25 years of bipartisan effort have built the US-India relationship, and now is the time to solidify it further. Keshap suggested a conversation between leaders could help resolve the issue and lead to reasonable accommodations beneficial for both countries. He warned that failing to reach an agreement would be regrettable, given the strategic importance of the US-India partnership. He advocated for productive negotiations to strike a deal that works for both India and the US, and acknowledged the significance of the American market for India and the need for a balanced agreement. "...What we need to figure out is how we can put the US-India relationship on a firm footing. We have 25 years of bipartisan effort in America and India to build the relationship to where it is. We need to keep building that relationship. I have put a very significant chunk of my professional life, along with thousands of others in Delhi, Washington and elsewhere in to building this relationship. Now is the time for sobriety; it's the time to think through what it would take to close this deal. I think there has been a lot of discussion between Delhi and Washington...I think the time has come to pick up the phone and talk at the leader level and basically come to reasonable accommodations which is what leaders can do when they negotiate productively and strike a deal that's good for India, for America. In this regard, the American market is important...We have future together to work on AI, semiconductors, defence production that is critical to future of the free world. If we fumble this negotiation at the goal line, we are all going to live to regret it...," said Keshap. The tariffs have made both American and Indian companies nervous, highlighting the need for predictability in business dealings. Keshap expressed that the White House is growing impatient with the ongoing trade negotiations between the US and India. With the August 8 deadline looming, Keshap said the US wants to finalise the deal soon, especially since India was the first to initiate discussions on trade agreements. Keshap noted that the US has settled trade agreements with other countries like the EU, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, and possibly China, contributing to the sense of impatience. Despite the impatience, Keshap emphasised that India is important to the US, and the desire to wrap up the negotiations stems from this significance. "I think there is clearly a sense of impatience coming from the White House. India was the first mover on all of these trade deals. But in the intervening months of negotiations, we have seen Agreements settled between the US and the EU, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea and possibly also a deal with China. So, I think there is impatience and there is a desire to wrap it up because India is important and so you are getting a lot of this signalling of impatience..." A finalised trade deal could boost the US-India relationship, fostering cooperation in areas like technology, defence, and the economy. A successful agreement would unlock the potential for increased trade between the two nations, aiming for a $500 billion two-way trade volume annually. (ANI)
The FBI has officially opened a standalone office in New Zealand's capital, Wellington, aiming to bolster joint efforts between the United States and New Zealand to counter China's expanding influence in the Pacific region, FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday, according to the Taipei Times. Patel, who spent several days in Wellington meeting with senior New Zealand government ministers, intelligence chiefs, and law enforcement officials, emphasised that the new dedicated FBI attache office will deepen Washington's longstanding cooperation with one of its key partners in the southwestern Pacific. In a statement released by the US embassy in Wellington, Patel said, "Some of the most important global issues of our times are the ones that New Zealand and America work on together, countering the CCP [Communist Party of China] in the INDOPACOM [US Indo-Pacific Command] theater, countering the narcotics trade, working together against cyber intrusions and ransomware operations and most importantly protecting our respective citizenry," as reported by the Taipei Times. The FBI has maintained a suboffice in New Zealand since 2017, with both countries collaborating closely on issues such as child exploitation and organised crime. The expanded office reflects growing concerns about China's increasing strategic presence in the Pacific, a region crucial to global security. New Zealand and the United States are both members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence-sharing alliance, which also includes Australia, Canada, and the UK. Patel acknowledged the critical role of this partnership, stating, "The FBI cannot do it alone; we need all of them to get after the fight and put the mission first," the Taipei Times reported. New Zealand's Minister of Defence, Judith Collins and Minister of Police Mark Mitchell welcomed the establishment of the new FBI office, highlighting its importance for enhancing the safety and security of New Zealanders. The US embassy further noted that the office will also oversee FBI partnerships in nearby regions, including Antarctica, Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands, and Tonga, reinforcing the United States' commitment to countering Chinese influence across the Pacific, the Taipei Times reported. (ANI)
The Government of India has made it clear that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, including areas under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), are shown as integral parts of the country in all official maps, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. In a written reply to a question raised by MP Anil Yeshwant Desai, the minister said, "The official maps published by the Government of India unambiguously represent entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including the territories illegally occupied by Pakistan, as parts of the Union of India." Singh reiterated that it has been India's "consistent and principled position" that the entire region of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including PoK, has been, is, and will always remain an integral part of India. He noted that this position was clearly stated in the unanimously adopted 1994 Resolution of the Indian Parliament. He wrote, "This was enunciated in the unanimously adopted 1994 Resolution of the Indian Parliament. The official maps published by the Government of India unambiguously represent the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including the territories illegally occupied by Pakistan, as parts of the Union of India. Responding to a separate part of the question, the MoS confirmed that Pakistan continues to occupy parts of Indian territory illegally. "Pakistan has been in illegal occupation of parts of the Indian Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh," he stated. Singh mentioned the Government of India has consistently called upon Pakistan to vacate all areas under its illegal and forcible occupation immediately. "India has lodged strong protests with the Government of Pakistan and rejects all attempts by it to bring material change in these occupied territories," he added. (ANI)
New Delhi [India], August 1 (ANI) South Korea is looking to India's healthcare professionals to help tackle its looming demographic crisis, as the country fast becomes one of the world's oldest societies, Lim Sang Woo, Charge d'Affaires at the Korean Embassy here, said on Friday. With life expectancy in Korea projected to reach 87.2 years by 2040, the diplomat said the country is simultaneously battling the world's lowest fertility rate, which stands at 0.72. Pointing to India's demographic strength, Lim said, "You are the most populous country in the world, and you don't have low birth rate problems like us. You have a lot of talents. Why don't we have all these great Indian people in Korea? We have schools shutting down because there are no more students, and I know there are a lot of great healthcare personnel in India. Why not let them come to Korea?" He was speaking at the National Conference on Ageing in India. Outlining his country's efforts, Lim said Seoul has rolled out five-year plans since 2006 to tackle both low birth rates and ageing. Policies include up to three years of parental leave for both parents, subsidised childcare, housing support for newlyweds, and financial incentives such as Incheon city's scheme that provides families up to USD 72,000 per child until they turn 18. On support for the elderly, Lim highlighted universal healthcare, contributory and non-contributory pensions, and a long-term care insurance scheme launched in 2008 to provide home and daycare services. Pilot projects for integrated community-based care are also being rolled out. Despite these efforts, Lim admitted that results remain limited. "We had some short-term results at best... last year we saw an increase from 0.72 to 0.75, the first in nine years, but we still have a long way to go." The session, chaired by NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod K Paul, was part of the inaugural of Shaping Futures: Preparing for an Ageing Society, organised by Sankala Foundation with support from NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, and NHRC. (ANI)
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is closely monitoring three Chinese research vessels operating without authorisation inside the country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), raising alarms over potential illegal marine scientific research (MSR) activities in contested waters of the South China Sea, Singapore-based Maritime Fairtrade reported. Using satellite data from Canada's Dark Vessel Detection Program, the PCG identified the vessels Bei Diao 996, Zhuhaiyun, and Xiang Yang Hong 10 within the West Philippine Sea, part of the South China Sea claimed by the Philippines under international law. "These vessels are suspected of engaging in illegal marine scientific research, prompting the PCG's commandant, Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan, to issue immediate orders to intercept and challenge them," Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said on July 31. Bei Diao 996, China's largest deep-sea test ship and the world's biggest SWATH catamaran designed for high stability in rough seas, was first detected about 185 nautical miles off Zambales province on July 23. The vessel, known for testing underwater acoustic sensors and sonar equipment, has been observed conducting operations near Scarborough Shoal, a hotspot of dispute between Manila and Beijing. While, Zhuhaiyun and Xiang Yang Hong 10 were spotted approximately 195 nautical miles off Palawan's Rizal town. Both vessels departed Guangdong on June 23 and entered Philippine waters on July 25, allegedly conducting joint MSR activities near Balagtas Reef, Maritime Fairtrade reported. Xiang Yang Hong 10 is a multipurpose research ship capable of deep-sea surveys and autonomous underwater vehicle deployment, while Zhuhaiyun is the world's first unmanned drone carrier for oceanographic research, reportedly suited for submarine route mapping and smart mine deployment. Philippine authorities remain sceptical of China's claims that these are civilian scientific missions, noting the vessels' advanced capabilities and proximity to sensitive maritime features. "The PCG remains committed to safeguarding the maritime domain and will take all necessary actions to enforce laws and protect national interests," Tarriela said. The PCG's alert follows a Philippine Navy report of 23 Chinese vessels, including China Coast Guard and People's Liberation Army Navy ships, operating in the West Philippine Sea between July 21 and 27. Concentrations were noted near Scarborough Shoal, Second Thomas Shoal, Sabina Shoal, and Thitu Island. Despite a 2016 international arbitration ruling invalidating China's sweeping "nine-dash line" claims, Beijing continues assertive patrols, dismissing the ruling as illegitimate. China recently accused the Philippines of being a "source of trouble and danger" in the South China Sea, rejecting Manila's territorial claims and alleging unlawful occupation of reefs and islands, Maritime Fairtrade reported. In a related strategic move, the Philippines and India will conduct their first-ever bilateral maritime patrol in the West Philippine Sea from August 4 to 8. Three Indian Navy warships are currently docked in Manila Bay, preparing for the operation, signalling growing regional cooperation against China's maritime assertiveness. The patrol coincides with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s state visit to India, marking 75 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries and underscoring a united front to uphold international maritime laws in the face of Chinese pressure, Maritime Fairtrade reported. (ANI)
BEIJING, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Song of the Earth | Artistic Documentary for a Better China 2025" exhibition series officially opened at Beijing International Club on July 28-29, marking the 20th anniversary of China's ecological development concept while counting down to the Beautiful China initiative's tenth anniversary.

The opening ceremony on July 29, themed "Collaborative Action", launched the Art Practice Index Report for a Better China. Gao Shiming, Vice President of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, emphasized how cultural and artistic practices have evolved into proactive engines for social transformation, moving beyond their traditional decorative role.

The preceding day witnessed an international dialogue with ambassadors from over twenty countries including Grenada, Slovakia and Samoa. This high-level forum saw the launch of the Better China International Dialogue, a joint effort by China Academy of Art and Beijing International Club to amplify China's ecological stories globally. The initiative represents a significant contribution to both the cultural exchanges under the Belt and Road Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

At the opening ceremony, representatives from across the nation shared innovative approaches and experiences in ecological conservation and sustainable urban-rural development. Diplomatic envoys from multiple countries engaged with these case studies through diverse lensesurban regeneration, social intervention, rural revitalization, and international dialoguewhile contributing their own nations' expertise in cultural preservation and urban transformation. This dynamic exchange created a vibrant confluence of practical wisdom across cultural boundaries.

Designed as a "constellation" of four interconnected sections, the exhibition forms a panoramic tapestry that mirrors the complexity and systemic nature of eco-civilization. It highlights the dynamic interplay between individuals, communities, local initiatives, and national strategiesbridging present actions with future visions. The exhibition's international editions in Seoul, London and Fiji further testify to its global relevance.

As Yu Xuhong, president of CAA profoundly stated, more than a retrospective, "Song of the Earth" is a living, evolving platform for social engagement and public discourse. By weaving together artistic practice and societal action, the 2025 edition aspires to create a broader narrative space, uniting diverse changemakers in collective pursuit of Beautiful China's next chapter.

SOURCE China Academy of Art
Protests among traders and residents in the Sost Port area of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) have surged in recent days, with demonstrators calling for an end to what they describe as "unjust taxation" and systematic exploitation by federal officials, as reported by WTV. The protests commenced with large demonstrations demanding the repeal of income tax and sales tax regulations in the region, which protesters assert are unconstitutional and imposed without local representation. Protesters indicated that nine people were peacefully occupying a designated area for port activities when local authorities allegedly threatened to forcibly evict them. They also claimed that high-ranking district officials, including the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Hunza, warned about using lethal force if the blockade of Chinese cargo trucks persisted. "We were directly told, 'We will kill you and allow the Chinese trucks to pass,'" stated one protest leader. "If we die defending our land and rights, we will be honoured as martyrs of Gilgit-Baltistan," a protester expressed, according to WTV. Traders contend that income and sales taxes should not be applied in a region that lacks constitutional recognition as part of Pakistan. They also protested against the removal of old vehicles from the Sost port and demanded that demolitions conducted by the National Logistics Cell (NLC) at the port cease. The demonstrators have requested that a fair share, specifically 10% of tax revenue from Arab trade passing through the region, be allocated for local development, benefiting small enterprises and youth organisations in Gojal and nearby areas, as reported by WTV. "The Customs have extorted merchants under the guise of port duties for years," a protester claimed, alleging extensive corruption. "They put Rs 10 into government accounts and keep Rs 2,000 for themselves." Protesters assert that even the local police are disheartened, with some officers reportedly refusing to act against the demonstrators. "Our officers receive Rs 500 to suppress their people. Many have chosen to stand down in embarrassment," one leader asserted. Demonstrators have cautioned that if the government fails to respond appropriately, the situation may escalate perilously. "We have been urging the administration to extinguish the flames with water, but they're adding fuel instead," one protester remarked, according to WTV. Residents in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) have been grappling with severe living conditions, enduring economic hardships, political neglect, and a deficiency of essential public services. Despite the region's abundance of natural resources, it remains underdeveloped, suffering from dilapidated infrastructure, frequent power outages, insufficient healthcare services, and limited access to quality education. (ANI)
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday responded to the US announcement of sanctions on Indian companies involved in trading with Iran. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during weekly media briefing stated that India has taken note of the sanctions and is currently reviewing the situation. Jaiswal stated, "We have taken note of the sanctions, we are looking into it." The US has imposed sanctions on 20 entities involved in Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical trade, and is identifying 10 vessels as blocked property, including seven India-based companies. Jaiswal emphasised that India's energy sourcing decisions are based on market conditions and geopolitical developments. When asked about Trump's comment on India potentially buying oil from Pakistan, Jaiswal declined to comment, stating, "I have no comments to offer in this matter." This response comes after Trump announced a deal between the US and Pakistan to develop Pakistan's oil reserves. "We have just concluded a deal with the country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive oil reserves," Trump posted on Truth Social. "We are in the process of choosing the oil company that will lead this partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India some day!," Trump said. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarified that India doesn't have any specific information on Indian oil companies stopping Russian oil purchases, emphasising that energy sourcing decisions are based on market availability and global circumstances. "You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation or circumstances. We are not aware of any specifics," said Jaiswal. Jaiswal highlighted that India's relationship with Russia stands on its own merit, unaffected by third-party perspectives, emphasising a steady and time-tested partnership. "Our ties with any country, or all the ties that we have with various countries, stand on their own merit and should not be seen through the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership," said Jaiswal. Jaiswal reaffirmed the strong India-US partnership, anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and people-to-people ties, expressing confidence in the relationship's continued growth. "India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has withstood several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that the two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward," said Jaiswal. Recently, Trump has signed a fresh executive order imposing revised tariffs for 70 countries, including India and Pakistan, in a move that is expected to strain global trade relations further. Tariffs imposed on India's neighbouring countries are less than India's 25 per cent, except for Myanmar at 40 per cent. The new tariff for Pakistan is 19 per cent, Afghanistan 15 per cent , Bangladesh 20 per cent, Indonesia 19 per cent, Japan 15 per cent, and Sri Lanka 20 per cent. The new tariffs, outlined in a sweeping order signed on Friday (IST), will come into effect from 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 7. The executive order states that the revised tariffs are aimed at addressing the national emergency declared earlier under Executive Order 14257. Trump noted that he had "recently received, among other things", new information and had determined it "necessary and appropriate" to impose additional ad valorem duties on the goods of certain trading partners. These new duties will replace those previously imposed under the same order, as amended. Other countries on which the US imposed tariffs are higher than India include Iraq (35 per cent), Laos (40 per cent), Libya (30 per cent), Serbia (35 per cent), South Africa (30 per cent), Switzerland (39 per cent), and Syria (41 per cent). Countries that imposed lower tariffs than India include the UK (10 per cent), Vietnam (20 per cent), Taiwan (20 per cent ), and South Korea (15 per cent), to name a few. The order by Trump stated, "I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257 by imposing additional ad valorem duties on goods of certain trading partners". The executive order further directs that these changes will apply to goods entering the US for consumption or withdrawn from warehouses on or after the effective date. However, goods already in transit before the deadline, loaded on vessels and en route before August 7 and entering the US before October 5, 2025, will not be subjected to the revised duties but will instead continue under the previously applicable tariff rates under the amended Executive Order 14257. (ANI)
The 7th edition of the Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology Platform (FIT) 2025 reinforced the strategic partnership between India and Germany in the critical sectors of microelectronics and semiconductors. A key milestone of the day-long event was the launch of a knowledge paper co-authored by Fraunhofer and the EPIC Foundation, outlining a collaborative roadmap for innovation, skilling, and technology development, Fraunhofer stated in a release. Organised by the Fraunhofer Society, Europe's largest applied research organisation, and supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, the conference brought together senior government officials, researchers, top academia, and industry leaders from both countries. According to Fraunhofer, with a focus on themes such as CMOS chip design, sensor systems, MEMS, advanced packaging, system reliability, and human capital development, the event showcased Fraunhofer's latest applied R&D and its relevance to India's evolving tech landscape. Fraunhofer's high-powered German delegation of over 12 experts across multiple institutes presented scalable innovations and technology partnerships for India. The German keynote was delivered by Professor Albert Heuberger, Spokesman of the Fraunhofer Microelectronics Group; Executive Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) and Chairman of the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD) Professor Heuberger highlighted in his address, "At Fraunhofer FMD, we bridge the gap between academic research and industry application, elevating microelectronics technologies to drive innovation. Our collaboration with India aims to inspire, exchange ideas, and support your ambitious semiconductor mission with our world-class expertise and infrastructure." He addedthat "Microelectronics is not optional. It is foundational." The knowledge paper released at the event outlines actionable strategies for India and Germany to co-develop semiconductor capabilities, drawing on Fraunhofer's lab-to-market model and EPIC Foundation's policy and ecosystem insights. It focuses on key areas including sensors, packaging, MEMS, chip design, power electronics, and skilling, as per Fraunhofer. In her welcome address, Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India, emphasised, "India stands as a beacon of hope and progress, breaking glass ceilings with audacious mission-mode programs. At Fraunhofer, we believed in India's growth story 18 years ago and have since generated over 70 million euros in contract research, with 60 per cent of this coming from medium-sized industries that have adopted innovation. Together with the Indian government and industry, we are building transformative partnerships to drive economic prosperity and inclusivity." The valedictory session featured addresses by Dr. Philipp Ackermann, Ambassador of Germany to India, and Shri Suman Bery, Vice Chairperson, NITI Aayog, followed by a panel discussion with industry leaders and Fraunhofer experts. The Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology (FIT) Platform is Fraunhofer's flagship IndoGerman knowledge exchange forum, launched in 2012. Held biennially, it brings together science, industry, and policy to spotlight applied research and foster meaningful partnerships in technology areas of strategic relevance to both countries. (ANI)
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday defended India's long-standing relationship with Russia, calling it "steady and time-tested," amid growing criticism from the US. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, during the weekly media briefing, emphasised that India's relations with any country are based on their own merit and shouldn't be viewed through the lens of third countries "Our ties with any country stand on their merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. As far as India-Russia relations are concerned, we have a steady and time-tested partnership," he said. Jaiswal's comments came after a series of statements from the US, including from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, criticising India for continuing to import discounted Russian oil despite Western sanctions over the Ukraine war. Trump, while announcing a 25% tariff on Indian goods starting August 8, had cited India's purchase of Russian oil and military equipment as one of the reasons for the punitive move. Rubio also called India's Russian oil imports a "point of irritation" in bilateral ties, suggesting that such purchases were helping fund the war in Ukraine. Jaiswal clarified that India's energy purchases are guided by market dynamics and national interests, adding that the government is unaware of any specific developments regarding Indian oil companies pausing Russian imports. "You are aware of our broad approach to energy sourcing requirements, that we look at what is available in the market and the prevailing global situation. We are not aware of any specifics," he said. MEA made it clear that India's partnership with the United States remains strong and resilient. Jaiswal stressed that the India-US relationship is rooted in shared values and interests and is capable of weathering external challenges. "India and the United States share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-to-people ties. This partnership has weathered several transitions and challenges. We remain focused on the substantive agenda that our two countries have committed to and are confident that the relationship will continue to move forward," he added. Earlier this week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament that the government is assessing the impact of the new US tariffs and will take all necessary steps to protect the national interest. (ANI)
Nepal's ancient city of Patan in Lalitpur on Friday observed Yala Panchadan, the festival of five summer gifts. The former royal kingdom that falls inside the Kathmandu valley in Newa is known as "Yala". Barefooted monks walked around the ancient town receiving alms and chanting hymns and prayers. This festival is celebrated by Bajrayana Buddhists, especially Shakyas and Bajracharyas, from the Newar community of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Panauti and Banepa. "In Yala Panchadan, we donate five items- wheat, rice, money, salt, and fruit as alms. In Hiranya Varna Mahavihar, the alms are provided to the topmost monks as well. This tradition of taking out Dipankar Buddha at various Vihar locations in Patan, where the alms are given," Bikash Singh Dhakwa, a resident of Patan, Lalitpur, told ANI. On this day, people donate according to their capacity, providing rice, money, and other items. Dipankar Buddha is kept at various locations and this festivity has continued for more than 700 years. On this day, Buddhist artefacts are displayed in monasteries and households, and giant idols of Dipankara Buddhas are paraded around town. People worship the Dipankara Buddhas and offer Panchadan, which comprises rice grains, wheat grains, fruit, salt and money, to alms-seekers. According to legend, the Panchadan festival has been celebrated every year since Nepal Sambat 512 (AD 1390). The festival of Yala Panchadan is believed to have started from Deepankar Kathagat's time. In Lalitpur, there was a king named Ramananda, and Panchadan started from his regime. People mocked him for donating the wealth he had inherited as king. He then got engaged to a low-earning profession- the work of metals; he meticulously worked for 12 years and saved money. He later used it to make donations, and it has been followed since then, according to various legends. The ancient city is also set to hold Samyak Mahadan, a reunion of Buddha's followers later this year, which brings together followers from all over Kathmandu Valley. The annual festival of Samyak Mahadan is marked every year at Bhaktapur, once every half-decade at Lalitpur, and once every 12 years in Kathmandu, where a total of 126 Buddhas are brought into a single place. (ANI)
India on Friday launched the first set of four development projects under the "India-UN Global Capacity Building Initiative," aimed at supporting countries of the Global South in meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as per MEA. The projects were officially launched by the Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Tanmaya Lal, at a ceremony attended by Heads of Missions of participating countries, UN Resident Coordinator in India Shombi Sharp, senior officials from UN agencies, and senior MEA officials. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar initially announced the initiative in September 2023 during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Since then, the Ministry of External Affairs and the UN team in India have been working jointly to identify and plan SDG-focused projects under the programme. According to the MEA, "The India-UN Global South Capacity Building Initiative is a natural extension of India's development partnership efforts. It combines India's longstanding ITEC programme with UN agencies to deliver demand-driven and specialised training." The initiative builds on India's flagship Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, which offers over 12,000 training slots every year to nearly 160 countries in more than 400 specialised courses. Since its inception, over 2.25 lakh training slots have been completed. Under the India-UN initiative, UN agencies will assist partner governments in identifying SDG-linked priority areas. At the same time, India will support implementation through training provided by ITEC-affiliated institutions, as per the MEA statement. In its first phase, the programme will support rice fortification and supply chain management in Nepal with the help of the World Food Programme, develop digital health platforms in Zambia and Lao PDR with UNDP support, train officials in census preparedness in Belize, Barbados, St Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago in collaboration with the UN Population Fund, and provide vocational training in South Sudan with UNESCO support. The selected training courses are scheduled to begin in September 2025 and will be carried out through designated Indian training institutes under the ITEC framework. (ANI)
The Indian Embassy in Ireland has advised all citizens to take precautions and be aware of their surroundings for their personal security following a recent increase in physical attacks against Indian nationals in the country. The Embassy further stated that they are in touch with the Irish authorities to address the situation. The Embassy has also provided emergency contact details for Indian citizens in need of assistance. The citizens can contact 08994 23734 (Mobile) and Email: cons.dublin@mea.gov.in. https://x.com/IndiainIreland/status/1951227149689430279 "There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently. The Embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned of Ireland in this regard," India in Ireland wrote on X. "At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours," the advisory added. https://x.com/IndiainIreland/status/1947937360345260036 In a separate incident on July 23, the Indian embassy shared a post on X, highlighting the physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, and stated that "The Embassy is in touch with the victim." "The Embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The Embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard," the Embassy wrote on X. Meanwhile, there are approximately 80,000 Indian origin persons in Ireland, of whom approximately 33,898 are PIOs, and approximately 40,000 are NRIs, along with approximately 10,000 Indian students. The bulk of the community is in health-care, IT, engineering and senior management positions, MEA stated. According to MEA, Ireland has become a significant destination for Indian students seeking higher education, particularly post-graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral students in the areas of engineering, technology, medicine, and management. There are about 10,000 Indian students in Irish educational institutions. The Trinity College and Thapar University, Patiala, have an MOU for a joint degree programme in five engineering and science disciplines. New forms of S&T collaboration between India's Dept of Science and Technology and the Science Foundation, Ireland, are being explored. A short-duration ICCR Chair on Indian Studies exists at Dublin City University (DCU) and University College Cork (UCC). (ANI)
The reinforcement was made against the background of the understanding that terrorist organisations (the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Global Jihad) are working more vigorously these days in efforts to harm Israel, explained the Council.

It is estimated that there is a growing motivation to take revenge after Operation "Rising Lion," in addition to growing anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian incitement since the beginning of the "Iron Swords" war and even more so following Hamas's "starvation campaign" in Gaza.

The Council noted that the United Arab Emirates has been under a Level 3 NSC travel warning for a long time. Recommendation to avoid non-essential travel, and therefore it is recommended to seriously consider arriving in this country. (ANI/TPS)
India has launched the first phase of four projects in nine partner countries for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the aegis of the India-UN Global Capacity Building Initiative. The details were shared by the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday. As per the MEA, the projects will focus on key areas including food security, health, vocational training, and census preparedness. In a post on social media platform X, MEA stated, "Fostering South-South cooperation to achieve SDG goals. The first phase of four projects in nine partner countries, under the aegis of 'India-UN Global Capacity Building Initiative', was launched today by Secretary (West) @Tanmaya_Lal. Heads of Missions, UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Shombi Sharp, diplomats, officials from ITEC implementing institutes, UN agencies & other partner organizations graced the event. The projects focus on food security, health, vocational training & census preparedness." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1951305076376535447 The United Nations in India also highlighted the scope of the initiative, stating that the first round of projects would support healthcare, vocational training, census preparation, and food security in countries across Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean. https://x.com/UNinIndia/status/1951339891738206344 Speaking at the launch event, Secretary (West) in MEA, Tanmay Lal, said the initiative assumes greater significance in light of SDG 17, which emphasises partnerships and international cooperation. https://x.com/UNinIndia/status/1951339895726940630 UN Resident Coordinator Shombi Sharp highlighted that under the ethos of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', India is expanding on its already long-standing leadership role in driving South-South Cooperation for SDG acceleration, leveraging the innovation & partnership power of Indian institutions and the UN system. https://x.com/UNinIndia/status/1951339900021915801 "The India-UN Capacity-Building Initiative is enriched through a strategic collaboration with the MEA's globally recognised ITEC programme & will take India's best practice models and institutional excellence to partner countries", the UN Chief of Staff India, Radhika Kaul, mentioned. https://x.com/UNinIndia/status/1951339903226351817 https://x.com/UNinIndia/status/1951339907512996196 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar initially announced the initiative in September 2023 during the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Since then, the Ministry of External Affairs and the UN team in India have been working jointly to identify and plan SDG-focused projects under the programme. Under the India-UN initiative, UN agencies will assist partner governments in identifying SDG-linked priority areas. At the same time, India will support implementation through training provided by ITEC-affiliated institutions, as per the MEA statement. (ANI)
The Indian Embassy in Niger is in regular contact with local authorities for the safe release of Ranjeet Singh, an Indian national abducted during a terror attack in the West African country last month, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. Ranjeet Singh, a resident of Ramban district in Jammu and Kashmir, was kidnapped on July 15 during an attack at a construction site in Niger's Dosso region. Two other Indian workers, Ganesh Karmali and Krishna Gupta, lost their lives in the attack. Their mortal remains have already been repatriated to India, as per MEA. Providing the latest update, Union Minister Jitendra Singh shared a letter from the MEA on X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, "Latest update regarding Ranjit Singh from district Ramban, who had gone missing in Niger. The Indian embassy is in regular contact with the host government for the safety and release of Ranjit Singh. Every effort is being made to obtain information about the whereabouts and safety of Ranjit Singh as early as possible." https://x.com/ANI/status/1951220203024441540 In the statement issued by Ravi Singh Thakur, PS to Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, it was mentioned that Indian officials have been actively engaging with senior leaders of the Nigerien government. "I met the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on July 16, called on the Minister of Interior on July 24, and the Minister for Commerce and Industries on July 30," Thakur wrote. He said during these meetings, requests were made to share information on the safety and location of Ranjeet Singh and to ensure his early release. However, no specific update on his whereabouts has been received so far. A fresh diplomatic note requesting an update on the case was also sent recently. "The Ministry will keep informed of the developments," the letter concluded. (ANI)
One Grand Prize Winner Will Receive a Korean-Inspired Getaway to NYC

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tous les Jours , a French Korean bakery known for transforming everyday moments into extraordinary experiences, is excited to announce the launch of its "Birthday Cakes For Life" social media contest and giveaway promoting its iconic Cloud Cake assortment. Running from August 113, 2025, the contest will award 100 randomly selected winners with one birthday cake per year for the next 30 years. One grand prize winner will also receive a Korean-inspired getaway to New York City, complete with culture, cuisine, relaxation, and of course, cake. The Grand Prize package includes:

Tous les Jours Launches Birthday Cakes For Life Contest

Roundtrip airfare for two to New York City

for two to 2-night hotel stay featuring a $500 Olive Young Korean skincare package and signature Tous les Jours pastries

featuring a Olive Young Korean skincare package and signature Tous les Jours pastries Private limousine breakfast to Tous les Jours' new Manhattan flagship cafe

breakfast to Tous les Jours' new flagship cafe Korean spa day for two at SoJo Spa Club

for two at SoJo Spa Club Dinner for two at Rockefeller Center's contemporary Korean restaurant, NARO

at Rockefeller Center's contemporary Korean restaurant, NARO All-In Express Passes at Top of the Rock Observation Deck

Tous les Jours strategically timed the launch of this contest to coincide with Augustthe most popular birthday month of the yearmaking it the perfect time to celebrate the joy of birthdays in a big way. To participate, fans must head to @touslesjoursusa on Instagram and follow four simple steps: follow @touslesjoursusa , like the official giveaway post, tag a friend in the comments, and fill out the form on the contest landing page .

Participants must be 18 years or older and reside in the United States. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PST on August 13, 2025, and winners will be selected at random and contacted directly via Instagram DM. Full terms and conditions can be found here .

"Our cakes have long been a centerpiece of celebrations, with stunning seasonal flavors and designs, complimentary candles, and a clever knife with built-in matches included with every order," said Regina Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer of CJ Foodville USA & Tous les Jours. "With this giveaway, we're honoring the tradition of celebration while giving both longtime fans and new customers across the country a chance to make Tous les Jours part of their birthdays for decades to come."

Tous les Jours' Cloud Cake Collection, known for its light, airy texture and numerous flavors, fillings and designs, is one of the bakery's most iconic offerings. Blending traditional French-inspired baking techniques with modern Asian flavors, Tous les Jours is a one-stop-shop for birthdays that transforms everyday moments into extraordinary occasions. Popular Cloud Cake varieties include: Mango, Strawberry Lychee, Green Tea, Blueberry, Earl Grey and Choco Cloud, among others.

For more information or to find a location near you, please visit www.tljus.com , or follow along @touslesjoursusa .

About Tous les Jours

Since its debut in the United States in 2004, Tous les Jours, a Korean bakery franchise owned by CJ Foodville, has evolved into a beloved bakery cafe chain, renowned for its premium, handcrafted baked goods made with the finest ingredients. True to its name, meaning "every day" in French, Tous les Jours offers a wide array of fresh, daily-made pastries, gourmet cakes, desserts, and handcrafted beverages. The menu also celebrates its Korean heritage, thoughtfully incorporating signature Korean flavors into many of its offerings. With a commitment to quality, the brand meticulously selects its ingredients to ensure each item is as fresh and delicious as possible. With over 100 stores in the U.S. and more than 1,750 locations worldwide, the brand's franchise model offers aspiring entrepreneurs a unique opportunity supported by ongoing guidance and expertise. Learn more about Tous les Jours and find a location nearby at www.tljus.com and on @touslesjoursusa .

SOURCE Tous les Jours
IWATE, Aug 01 (News On Japan) - A bear that broke into a home and rummaged through food in the kitchen has been captured in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture.

The animal, a fully grown male measuring 125 centimeters in length, was discovered around 7:30 p.m. on July 28th. According to police, a woman living in the house encountered the bear when she went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Startled by the sound of the door closing, the bear exited through a sliding window and fled the scene.

The kitchen floor was reportedly littered with torn packets of dried noodles.

No injuries were reported.

"The bears intrusion was definitely frightening," said a member of the affected family. "We get all sorts of animals, but this was the first time we've had a bear."

Source: FNN
TOKYO, Aug 01 (News On Japan) - Aeon has announced its 2026 New Year osechi offerings on July 31st, with reservations beginning on August 1st. Among the lineup is its most popular product, the "Kyoen" osechi, which maintains its price while expanding to a record 75 items under the Topvalu brand. The assortment includes a colorful mix of Japanese, Western, and Chinese dishes designed to appeal to all age groups.

To address rising prices, one version of the osechi will come in a smaller box to reduce shipping costs. Although the volume is slightly reduced, some ingredients have been upgraded to improve overall quality.

Aeon's osechi reservations from August 1st to September 1st, 2024, have already tripled compared to the same period the previous year. With a diverse lineup of products, the company projects sales to reach 1.15 times those of 2024.

Source: BIZ
OSAKA, Aug 01 (News On Japan) - Osaka's iconic Glico sign, known for its triumphant runner against a backdrop of blue, red, and white, has taken on a new design this month. On July 18th, the display briefly transformed into a massive QR codean initiative aimed at supporting vulnerable youth who gather beneath the sign, an area commonly known as "Guri-shita" (under the Glico sign).

The QR code links directly to the Osaka Prefectural Polices LINE consultation service, allowing young people to seek advice or help discreetly via smartphone. This marks part of a broader effort to not only crack down on illegal activity but also provide emotional and social support.

Minami's Glico sign is more than a tourist attractionit has become an informal gathering spot for teens, some grappling with isolation and troubled home lives. However, the site has also seen an increase in underage drinking, drug misuse including over-the-counter abuse (known as "overdosing" or "obado"), and cases of juvenile crime and exploitation.

In response, Osaka City installed a wall under the sign in March to prevent loitering. But many young people saw the move as disruptive. One teen said, "If they build a wall, well just move somewhere else." As expected, groups of teens have since relocated roughly 300 meters away to a different area referred to as "Uki".

On the night of the report, police officers were patrolling the area. Teens interviewed expressed a mix of fear, mistrust, and ambivalence about adult intervention. "When you're alone, it's hard to go home. But it's dangerous here too," one said. Many admitted feeling safer with their peers despite the risks.

Recognizing the need for more accessible support, the police teamed up with local high school students from Kojima Technical High School to develop the QR system. Scanning the code activates an AI chatbot that responds to questions and, if needed, provides the phone number for the Green Line, a direct counseling hotline.

Since the QR code went live on July 7th, the number of consultations has more than doubled, rising from 7 to 16 compared to the same period last year. Police officers expressed gratitude to the students at a ceremony, acknowledging their role in creating a solution that teens might actually use.

Teens on the street responded with amazement upon seeing the Glico sign transformed. "No way. That's crazy," one said. "This is the Glico sign on the river in Osaka. Thats wild."

Yet despite some optimism, others voiced skepticism about the adults behind the initiative. "It's like all the adults are doing different things that don't connect," a student remarked. "To be honest, I dont know what theyre trying to achieve."

The initiative underscores the growing demand for trust-based outreach efforts. As one official noted, "Coming here isn't inherently bad. If youre struggling, talk to us."

Source: KTV NEWS
CAES entomologist William Snyder and former CAES postdoctoral researcher Olivia Smith, now an assistant professor of horticulture at Michigan State University, collaborated on the study that led to contributing work on the winning paper. (Photo by Lavi Del Carmen Astacio)



Multifaceted research on the social and environmental impacts of diversified agriculture from institutions around the world, including the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), has been named one of three International Champions of the Frontiers Planet Prize.

An initiative of the Frontiers Research Foundation, the Frontiers Planet Prize recognizes transformational research that shows the greatest potential to address the worlds most urgent environmental challenges.

The 2025 International Champions embody the spirit of the Frontiers Planet Prize: bold science in service of humanity and the planet, said Jean-Claude Burgelman, director of the Frontiers Planet Prize. This prize is building a global community of researchers who are not only advancing knowledge but actively shaping the path to a sustainable future.

Frontiers Planet Prize honors global sustainability research

The International Champions of the third annual Frontiers Planet Prize were announced on June 17 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland, during an awards ceremony at the 2025 Villars Symposium. As the worlds largest science competition to enhance planetary health and mobilize the academic community, the prize, established by the Frontiers Research Foundation in 2022, fosters interdisciplinary and intergenerational collaboration among communities, scientists and youth leaders to help scale real-world solutions.

The U.S. winner, led by Zia Mehrabi of the University of Colorado Boulder, included a team of 62 researchers from institutions across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia who contributed to the winning article Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture.

Among the studys authors are UGA entomologist William Snyder and former UGA postdoctoral researcher Olivia Smith, now an assistant professor of horticulture at Michigan State University and leader of the Smith BIRDS Lab.

The research, published in the journal Science in April 2024, examines the outcomes of agricultural diversification and its potential to deliver simultaneous environmental and social benefits. Diversification in this context involves practices such as growing multiple crops and animal species, conserving soil and water, and enhancing natural habitat on farms.

The study uses a massive dataset drawn from 2,655 farms across 11 countries and five continents, combining qualitative field insights with rigorous statistical modeling across 24 datasets. Farms spanned a range of diversification levels, allowing researchers to directly measure outcomes of different farming practices.

According to the international prize announcement from the Frontiers Research Foundation, the study offers the first cross-cultural evidence that diversified farming systems can reduce environmental harm, strengthen rural livelihoods, and help agriculture operate within planetary boundaries.

The nine planetary boundaries are climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, biogeochemical flows in the nitrogen cycle, excess global freshwater use, land system change, the erosion of biosphere integrity, chemical pollution, and atmospheric aerosol loading. This framework is based on scientific evidence that human actions, especially those of industrialized societies since the Industrial Revolution, have become the main driver of global environmental change, according to the Frontiers Research Foundation.

Birds and biodiversity for better yields

Former UGA postdoctoral researcher Olivia Smith, now an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University and leader of the Smith BIRDS Lab. (Submitted photo)



UGAs involvement began with Smiths CAES study that identified the food safety risks posed by wild birds due to agricultural intensification published in the Journal of Applied Ecology in August 2020. She is listed as a top contributor to the Frontier Planet Prize-winning article, helping with conceptualization, investigation, visualization, writing, review and editing.

In my doctoral work, we were interested in how farm diversification  particularly integration of livestock and crop farming  influenced birds on farms and their impact on production and people. We were focusing on conservation of birds, specifically if birds can help control pest insects, which of course can help improve crop yields, and whether wild birds were causing food safety issues, Smith said. In the latter half of my Ph.D., we also surveyed farmers to see what they thought about the birds on the farm and how that influenced their well-being. Thats how we got the well-being data.

Smiths co-advisor on her doctoral project, Jeb P. Owen, an associate professor at Washington State University, was also a part of the co-author team on the award-winning paper.

The project was looking for datasets conducted around the world that looked at biodiversity, crop diversification and human well-being. Our study had to fit into those criteria and was one of the couple dozen globally that did. Thats how we got involved in the first place, Smith said. I got really interested in the project, so I started volunteering to do a little bit more. I joined the core team of five people (including me) and gathered landscape data for all the studies, among other things like making figures.

Snyder, whose work focuses on in finding natural solutions to problems in species conservation, sustainable agriculture and human health, helped with collecting, analyzing and validating data; writing, review and editing work included in the winning paper.

The study finds that diversified farming systems  those that integrate multiple crops, animal species, and ecological practices like soil conservation and habitat enhancement  support higher biodiversity compared to monocultures. These practices did not reduce yield, often maintaining or improving yields, and diversification was also associated with improved food access and security, especially among small producers.

This paper brought together different studies where researchers were looking at more than one diversification practice  no till, allowing natural habitats, livestock  and how humans benefit from that, whether it is in terms of yields, human well-being or social connection between farms, Snyder said.

International collaboration on farm diversification

Smith is gratified that the wide-ranging research included in the final paper supports what she has seen in her own work.

It shows, with a much larger dataset than before, that farm diversification can be beneficial environmentally and for people. Its been thoroughly established that its good for the environment, but not as clearly connected to human well-being. People often think diversification will come at the expense of production and well-being, but we found thats not really the case, Smith added.

Working on a project with so many collaborators was both challenging and enlightening.

Each study had its own objectives and things they looked at, so figuring out how to create a coherent dataset across them all was a big undertaking, Smith said. I think this also was an interesting template on how to do this type of collaborative work.

Each of the three internationals award comes with a $1 million prize to be shared among the winning authors to expand their work. That funding will allow the team to continue to work together in other ways, Snyder said.

Learn more about research opportunities and programs of study in the UGA Department of Entomology at ent.uga.edu.
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The United States has sent a strong diplomatic signal reaffirming its support for Moroccos sovereignty over Western Sahara, as two key figures from the Trump administration took steps to solidify Washingtons stance.

Duke Buchan III, nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as the next US ambassador to Morocco, appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 29. In parallel, Massad Boulos, Trumps special envoy for Africa and the Middle East, embarked on a regional tour.

Together, their actions underscore a consistent U.S. policy: support for Moroccos autonomy plan as the only viable solution to the long-standing Sahara dispute.

Buchan, a seasoned diplomat and former ambassador to Spain and Andorra, emphasized the historic and strategic nature of US-Morocco relations. Morocco is one of our oldest partners, he told senators, citing the 1786 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

For nearly 240 years, our bilateral relationship has made Americans and Moroccans safer, stronger, and more prosperous, he said.

He outlined three key priorities for his mission in Rabat: Deepening historical and strategic ties, strengthening security cooperation- including counterterrorism and joint military exercises like African Lion- and reaffirming US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.

Buchan reiterated that the U.S. views Moroccos autonomy plan as the only credible and realistic path to resolving the conflict.

The ambassador-designates remarks align with the 2020 presidential proclamation by Donald Trump recognizing Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara. That position has been reaffirmed by the current Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently restated US support during a meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita.

Buchan also highlighted Moroccos role as a model economic partner, pledging to expand trade and investment opportunities in sectors such as technology, agriculture, energy, and transportation.

While Buchan addressed lawmakers in Washington, Massad Boulos was in Algiers meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and senior officials. Despite discussions of potential cooperation, the US envoy made clear that Washingtons support for Morocco remains unchanged.

Boulos tour, which will conclude in Rabat, is seen as part of a broader US strategy to accelerate a resolution to the Sahara conflict. His message has been consistent: the autonomy plan is the only acceptable framework for peace, and the US intends to play a leading role in securing a final settlement.

With Buchan poised to take up his post in Rabat, Boulos actively engaging regional leaders, and Rubio maintaining a firm line at the State Department, the US has established a three-tiered diplomatic approach to the Sahara issue.

According to sources close to the administration, Washington expects progress in the coming months, signaling a shift from rhetoric to action.

For Algeria, which supports the Polisario separatist militias, the developments mark a clear setback. The US appears determined to close the chapter on the dispute and anchor the Sahara issue at the heart of its strategic partnership with Morocco.
As Morocco is becoming a popular tourist destination, airline companies see an opportunity to increase flights and routes to meet the growing demand for the North African Kingdom.

This is true for American Delta Air Lines and Transavia Airlines which have been attracted by the Moroccan destination. Delta has announced its decision to launch a new service from Atlanta to Marrakesh starting October 2025.

With its centuries-old traditions, vibrant souks and world-class luxury, Marrakech is a city that captivates the senses at every turn. As interest in Morocco increases, Deltas new service opens the door to this UNESCO-listed destination like never before.

American travelers can immerse themselves in the lively Medina of Marrakech, weaving through bustling markets and tranquil riads with sun-drenched courtyards. They can marvel at the intricate tilework of the Bahia Palace, feel the energy of Jemaa el-Fnaa Square and unwind with the soothing ritual of a hammam spa; each experience is a perfect blend of culture and relaxation, complemented by Moroccos bold, aromatic cuisine.

Travelers can also trek through the Atlas Mountains or escape to the serenity of a desert retreat. Deltas Atlanta-Marrakech flight will operate three-times-weekly on a Boeing 767-400ER.

For its part, Transavia, a Dutch low-cost airline, will launch a new seasonal service between Amsterdam and Oujda, Northeastern Morocco, starting December 10, 2025. The flights will operate twice weekly (Wednesdays and Sundays).

Transavia already flies from Rotterdam to Moroccan cities of Nador, Al Hoceima, Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat, and Tangier.
The United States, which recognizes Moroccos full sovereignty over its entire Saharan territory, is expected to release $5 billion funding for the development of the Moroccan Sahara, set to become a major regional economic hub, says Africa Intelligence news website.

After years of being frozen under Joe Bidens Democratic administration, the Trump administration will release the funding and encourage US companies to invest in the Moroccan Sahara.

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) has authorized the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to finance projects in the Moroccan Sahara. DFC has already conducted economic missions and meetings with Moroccan banks and companies to identify the most promising projects.

During Senate hearing, U.S. Ambassador designate Richard Duke Buchan, a diplomat and businessman, said Morocco is a model economic partner. The United States and Morocco have a robust trade relationship, characterized by a significant U.S. trade surplus.

My career has been built on finding and pursuing opportunities. If confirmed, I will strive to increase opportunities for U.S. businesses throughout Morocco, where America can offer world-class technology to support Moroccos ambitions to build its technology, transportation, agriculture, and energy sectors, Buchan said.

Morocco is one of our oldest partners. Our Treaty of Peace and Friendship dates back to 1786. For almost two hundred and forty years, our bilateral relationship has made Americans and Moroccans safer, stronger, and more prosperous, underlined the diplomat.

Morocco is the only country on the African continent having a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States. The FTA supports Moroccos goals to develop as a regional financial and trade hub, providing opportunities for the localization of services and the finishing and re-export of goods to markets in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, says the report.

The U.S. and Moroccan governments work closely to increase trade and investment through high-level consultations, bilateral dialogue, and other forums to inform U.S. businesses of investment opportunities and strengthen business-to-business ties.

Morocco, located at the confluence of Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East, seeks to transform itself into a regional business hub by leveraging its geographically strategic location, political stability, and world-class infrastructure to expand as a regional manufacturing and export base for international companies
The African Union (AU) has strongly rejected the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attempt to establish a rival government in Sudan, calling it a dangerous escalation that threatens to dismantle what remains of the countrys unity and derail peace efforts.

The AU Peace and Security Council issued a firm statement, using an unusually direct language, following the RSFs 27 July announcement of a 15-member Government of Peace and Unity, with RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, heading a new presidential council and former civilian leader Mohamed Hassan al-Taayshi named prime minister. The AU only recognizes the Transitional Sovereignty Council and the recently formed civilian transitional government, the Council declared, warning that the RSFs move could lead to the fragmentation of Sudan, entrench the countrys division and creating warring cantons.

Sudan has been locked in a brutal civil war since April 2023, with the military controlling much of the north, east, and center, and the RSF dominating Darfur and parts of Kordofan. The conflict has killed tens of thousands and triggered what the United Nations describes as the worlds largest hunger and displacement crisis. The AU also condemned foreign interference, amid widespread allegations that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has armed the RSF in violation of UN embargoes  charges Abu Dhabi denies. The Council called for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and urged international actors to halt all military support to Sudans warring factions.
A true leader is the one who leads by example, demonstrates integrity and gives credit to those who deserve it. This is the case of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun who has recognized in Algiers the important role played by Morocco in advancing Lebanons national reconciliation, leaving the Algerian rulers gobsmacked.

The internationally isolated Algerian regime was intending to use the visit of Aoun as a PR operation to polish its image to deflect the public attention from successive diplomatic setbacks and deepening social, economic, and political crises.

But the Algerian show fell into pieces by the hard reality and remarks of Lebanese President who was supposed to thank Algeria for its $200 million donation for Lebanons reconstruction. This donation has raised eyebrows as it comes after the visit paid to Algeria by the U.S. presidential advisor of Lebanese decent.

However, things did not go as planned for President Tebboune and his clique. Morocco played a historic and decisive role in Lebanese national reconciliation. We will never forget this fraternal contribution, said President Aoun, dealing a hard blow to Tebboune and his henchmen.

The delusional Algerian regime, which is claiming to be a global mediator, champion of all causes and guardian of Arab and international equilibrium, was hit hard by the statement of the Lebanese President.

He told them in an assertive tone that the Lebanese peace deal was sealed in Taif in 1989 thanks not only to Riyadh or Algiers but above all to Morocco.

In October 1989, Lebanon was ravaged by fifteen years of devastating civil war. To stop bloodshed, the Arab League set up a tripartite commission made up of Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Algeria to bring the warring Lebanese factions together.

Morocco played a key role behind the scenes, offering pragmatic mediation between Christians and Muslims and consolidating the institutional compromises that would lead to consensus. Saudi Arabia hosted the Taif negotiations, giving them international visibility. Algeria took part in the diplomatic framework, but took a back seat in the final arbitration.

The text signed in Taif redistributed power between the communities, put an end to the war and is remembered as a successful Arab collective mediation in which Morocco played a key role though often not mentioned. The Taif Agreement bears the hallmarks of Morocco as acknowledged by the Lebanese factions. Truth always prevails!
Palestinians in Gaza have highly commended the emergency humanitarian and medical aid sent on the instructions of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, in support of the Palestinian people, particularly the populations of the Gaza Strip, stated Ahmad Majdalani, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

We express our deep gratitude and great appreciation and esteem to HM the King, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, who issued his very high instructions for the dispatch of this humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, he told MAP, noting that this humanitarian initiative adds to the Sovereigns countless efforts and reflects the spirit of solidarity of the brotherly Moroccan people.

Majdalani praised the efforts and numerous initiatives undertaken by King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, to support the rights of the Palestinian people. These actions are not limited to the provision of humanitarian aid, but also include the political support provided by the Kingdom of Morocco to the Palestinian people and their cause, he said.

Majdalani also hailed the level of relations, ongoing political consultation, and coordination between Morocco and the Palestinian Authority.

Mahmoud El Habash, Advisor to the Palestinian President for Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations also hailed the Kings noble gesture that falls, he said, in line with the Sovereigns many initiatives in favor of the Palestinian cause.

For Palestinians, such humanitarian gestures are not new coming from the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco, he said, adding that they embody the commitment of the Moroccan King and people to uphold the values of solidarity and mutual support with the Palestinian people.

This humanitarian initiative is yet another illustration of the major role played by the King, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, in support of the Palestinian people and their just causes, said the Palestinian presidential advisor.

The Director of Al Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Omar Al Kiswani, on his part expressed deep gratitude to King Mohammed VI for the emergency humanitarian and medical aid sent in support of the Palestinian people, particularly the population of Gaza.

Sheikh Al Kiswani said this royal initiative is an act of benevolence to alleviate the suffering and respond to the needs of the population of Gaza which lacks means of livelihood.

He also extended his heartfelt appreciation and sincere thanks to Morocco for its tireless efforts in supporting the Palestinian people, and praised the various projects launched by the Kingdom in support of the Palestinian people, particularly through the programs and initiatives of the Bayt Mal Al Quds Asharif Agency, which aim to preserve the Holy City, safeguard its civilizational heritage and Islamic identity, and strengthen the resilience of its inhabitants.

These commendable efforts are highly welcomed by our families in Palestine and the residents of the Holy City, he added.

The first Moroccan planes carrying urgent humanitarian aid, ordered by King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee, to assist the brotherly Palestinian people, particularly the residents of the Gaza Strip, already landed, according to press reports.

The 180 tons of emergency humanitarian aid shipments were to be trucked into Gaza, via a specially arranged route to ensure its rapid and direct delivery to the affected Palestinian communities.

The total aid package includes infant formula, medicine, surgical supplies, tents, blankets, and other essential equipment.

The initiative reflects Moroccos unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian cause and comes as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens. According to the World Food Programme, more than 500,000 people across the Palestinian territories are now living in famine conditions. Gaza has entered what the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system defines as the worst-case scenario of famine.
Western Firms Eye Multiple Deals In Major Offensive To Take The Iraq Initiative Back From China And Russia

There are two distinct superpower strategies at play to capture the very heartland of the Middle East  Iraq. On the one hand, China and Russia want to end the semi-independent status of Kurdistan in the north, have it rolled into the rest of Iraq as a regular province, and then expel all Western firms from the then-unified country. The objective for Beijing and Moscow in so doing was delineated by a very senior member of the Russian administration to a senior source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry, and then exclusively relayed to OilPrice.com: By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq, the end of Western hegemony in the Middle East will become the decisive chapter in the Wests final demise. On the other hand, the U.S. and its allies want to bolster the independence of the Kurdistan region to act as leverage to extend their influence in the rest of Iraq to the south. Their objective is to have the Kurdistan region expel all Chinese, Russian and Iranian companies from the region, and then to gradually push for the same to happen in the rest of Iraq. Last week saw further evidence of this renewed impetus by the West to do just this.

Perhaps the most pertinent example of these zero-sum game strategies at play involved U.S. energy firm HKN. On the very same day that its Sarsang block in Kurdistan was hit by drone strikes from unknown assailants (Kurdistan has posited that it was Iran-backed Iraq paramilitaries, while the Iraq government has said it was not) HKN also signed an agreement with the Iraq government-owned North Oil Company to develop the Hamrin field in Salah ad Din province in the countrys north. Moreover, just prior to the signing of the Hamrin deal, the same firm was threatened with legal action by the Iraq government for signing another deal with Kurdistan to develop its Miran gas field in Sulaymaniyah without the approval of the federal government in Baghdad. On this occasion, then, it could be said the Baghdad, Beijing, and Moscow won that round. Indeed, every production shutdown in Kurdistan that resulted from the recent drone attacks can be regarded by the Iraq government and its twin sponsors of China and Russia as a very useful reminder to Western firms that doing business with the federal government is a lot less troublesome and costly than doing business with Kurdistan. An additional reminder that even if these firms continue to operate in Kurdistan they only do so by the good graces of Baghdad came in the form of its recent reiteration of original 2014 Budget Payments-for-Oil Deal that was supposed to govern all Kurdistan oil deals, as analysed in my latest book on the new global oil market order. This latest manoeuvre would involve the immediate transfer of all oil produced in the Kurdistan region to the federal government of Iraq-controlled State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) for export. Baghdad has offered to provide Kurdistan with an advance of $16 pb (cash, or in-kind benefit), based on a minimum delivery of 230,000 bpd, with any additional production to be included under the same mechanism. This would effectively put the control of Kurdistans oil sales -- and therefore finances  back in Baghdads hands. This deal in the past has seen the Iraq government perennially fail to meet its budget payments requirements and keep Kurdistan on the back foot by having to beg for the money due it and Western firms operating their under consistent pressure.

Related: Barclays Warns Traders against Chasing High Oil Prices

Ultimately, the idea is that these Western firms become so tired of these adjunct financial pressures placed on Kurdistan, and of constant threats of litigation from the Iraq government for engaging in oil sales independent of SOMO, that they either sign new contracts directly with the Iraq government  which has been offered by Baghdad  or just give up and leave Kurdistan. In either of those events, the already intense financial strain placed on Kurdistan by the fundamentally flawed (in that Baghdad does not want it to work and never has done) Budget Payments-for-Oil Deal will increase and, so the argument runs, Kurdistan would have little alternative but to accept being rolled into the rest of Iraq. Moving towards this end was the series of legal rulings by Iraqs Federal Supreme Court (FSC) on 21 February 2024 which underlined that the planned New Oil Law being worked on at that time by the government of Iraq in Baghdad would be the final agent of change aimed at ending any semblance of independence for Iraqi Kurdistan. To begin with, the FSC ruled that the Kurdistan region was compelled to turn over all oil and non-oil revenues to Baghdad. This marked the end of any meaningful debate over whether the KRI could count on continuing independent oil sales unimpeded by Baghdad. The final statement of intent came from Iraq Prime Minister, Mohammed Al-Sudani, who clearly highlighted that the new Unified Oil Law  run in every respect out of Baghdad - will govern all oil and gas production and investments in both Iraq and its semi-autonomous Kurdistan region and will constitute a strong factor for Iraqs unity.

There are, of course, several huge reasons why both superpower groupings want to control Iraq. One is that it has a very conservatively-estimated 145 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves (nearly 18% of the Middle Easts total, and the fifth biggest on the planet), according to the Energy Information Administration. Unofficially, it is extremely likely that it holds around 215 billion barrels. Another is that its geographical location puts it square in the centre of routes from the East to the West, with independent borders running into Syria (and the Mediterranean Sea) to the west and Turkey to the north. Its position here also allows it to act as a front for whatever Iran (and the same twin sponsors, China and Russia) wants to export into world markets, especially oil that can simply be rebranded as Iraqi oil and sent on. Its positioning makes it vital as well to Chinas multi-generational power-grab project The Belt and Road Initiative, which includes a corollary build-out of infrastructure and personnel that could be used to a dual civilian and military purpose. These broad and deep objectives are part of the far-reaching deals made by Chia with Iraq over the years  most notably, the foundation stone Oil for Reconstruction and Investment agreement signed in September 2019, which allowed Chinese firms to invest in infrastructure projects in Iraq in exchange for oil, and then the Iraq-China Framework Agreement of 2021, also fully analysed in my latest book on the new global oil market order.

Denying China and Russia these advantages is reason in itself for the West to act to reassert its influence in Iraq, although it benefits from the same positive aspects of a presence there as well. It is little wonder, then, that the biggest Western firms are now looking to either re-establish themselves in the country or expand their activities. Just last week, the Iraqi Cabinet authorised the Oil Ministry to sign a non-binding memorandum of principles with U.S. oil supermajor Chevron. This would focus on the huge Nasiriyah oil project, and the Balad oil field in the first instance. Around the same time, the U.S.s SLB signed a contract with the Oil Ministry to increase natural gas production at the enormously strategically vital Akkas gas field, as analysed in full by OilPrice.com, following the cancellation of a previous agreement with the Ukrainian company Ukrzemresurs. And Prime Minister Al-Sudani himself received a delegation from U.S. oil services firm Baker Hughes to discuss potential cooperation and investment opportunities, including the development of oil fields and the capture of associated gas. Many more deals are to come from the U.S. and its allies, according to highly-placed security and energy sources in Washington and London spoken to exclusively by OilPrice.com last week. With Irans regional security threat having been significantly downgraded, a new U.S.-backed rebuilding strategy underway in Syria, and Russias regional geopolitical influence having been dented, the timing of the U.S. and its allies to reassert their influence in Iraq could hardly look better.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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The takeover of German chemicals giant Covestro by Abu Dhabis national oil company ADNOC is facing significant hurdles, as the EU is at present assessing the possible competition distortion in European markets. While the German chemical company reported today that it has missed its Q2 2025 sales expectation, primarily due to US trade policies, the management remains confident that the ADNOC takeover deadline is being met. Covestro indicated that it is satisfied that the EU probe is not going to materialize in a blockade of the deal. Covestro is currently hit by a significant oversupply of its main products in global markets, including foam chemicals used in building, automotive, and mattresses. US tariffs have caused a substantial drop in prices, especially in Asian markets. In its financial report, Covestro stated that overall revenues decreased by 8.4% to 3.38 billion euros in Q2 (April-June), which is way below analyst expectations of around 3.55 billion. Earlier in July, Covestro already put out a warning that its full-year earnings will be lower. At present, Covestro expects earnings before EBITDA between 700 and 1.1 billion euros, which is a dramatically lower figure than the last update, 1-1.4 billion euros.

The market, already under pressure, is now eagerly awaiting the progress and outcome of the EU probe in the coming months. Since the proposed takeover by ADNOC last year, which entails a total of $14 billion, political pressure is mounting inside the EU to assess the role of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the Emirati government in the EU market. As ADNOC is a state-owned oil and gas company with opaque financial reporting, there are fears that the Covestro takeover could distort internal EU market competition. ADNOC has been refuting any claims about possible distortion tactics or threats to other competitors, but the market remains on edge.

Related: Enbridge Books Record Core Earnings on Power and Gas Demand

The current EU approach demonstrates a proactive stance by Brussels and its member states on non-EU investments in critical sectors of the European Union. This proactive stance underscores the EU's commitment to protecting its market from potential distortions. The move, based on rules implemented in 2023, and the concerns it addresses, can push potential Gulf-based investors and operators to consider other investment regions. ADNOC could now be considering its European options, especially in light of US President Trumps move to attract more foreign capital to the US via his America First Investment Policy.

Officially, the European Commission has opened the investigation based on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), as the Commission stated it has concerns about potential foreign subsidies by the UAE. The latter accusation is based on concerns that not only will ADNOC increase its committed capital into Covestro, but it has also offered an unlimited guarantee from the UAE. Brussels, especially, is looking at the option that, based on the two above-mentioned points, ADNOC has acquired Covestro not on market confirm pricing. Indirectly, the question is whether ADNOC has used UAE backing and financial structures to outperform other competitors for Covestro. Emirati backing is expected to have allowed ADNOC to propose a much higher price than regular competitors would have offered during the takeover period. The Commission, based on the fact that the transaction was notified to the Commission on May 15, 2025, has now until December 2, 2025, to make its own decision. Based on the FSR, companies should notify the Commission about a merger or acquisition entailing a company having an EU turnover of 500 million euros or more.

If the outcome of the EU probe is negative, the potential fallout could be massive, casting a shadow over other GCC investments in the EU. An adverse outcome could also have repercussions on ongoing deals between EU countries and ADNOC, especially in the areas of green hydrogen or ammonia, further complicating the situation.

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com

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Numbers Report  August 01, 2025

In the latest edition of the Numbers Report, we will take a look at some of the most interesting figures put out this week in the energy and metals sectors. Each week well dig into some data and provide a bit of explanation on what drives the numbers.

Lets take a look.

OPEC+ to Finish the Unwinding Job with September Superhike

Following the joint ministerial monitoring committee meeting last week, eight leading members of OPEC+ will be meeting on Sunday (August 3) to decide on the last tranche of the 2.2 million b/d voluntary cuts. The market expectation is that the oil group will approve another expedited 548,000 b/d production hike for September, marking the end of voluntary cuts from the Great Eight including Saudi Arabia, Russia and the UAE.Whilst OPEC+s decision was initially met with scepticism as adding further barrels into an already oversupplied market seemed a wild idea, prices are currently the same ($68 per barrel for WTI) as they were on March 4 when the first step towards unwinding was taken. Some industry watchers believe the OPEC+ unwinding is mostly internal housekeeping of production quotas as almost all leading producers were overproducing their initial targets. Saudi Arabias crude exports were only 200,000 b/d higher last month than in July 2024, at 5.8 million b/d. LNG Canada, We Have a Problem

Canadas claim to become a major LNG exporter, the $40 billion LNG Canada developed by Shell,
A poor U.S. jobs report led to a broader sell-off on Friday, with leading stock indices falling from record highs.

Friday, August 1st, 2025

Buoyed by Trumps Russia threats and news of Indian state refiners curbing purchases of Russian crude, crude oil futures have been trending above $70 per barrel throughout the week, settling on Friday slightly below the $71 mark. Towards the end of the week, sentiment has been sapped by expectations of yet another OPEC+ production hike, potentially even as high as 548,000 b/d, as the eight output-cutting countries aim to get rid of voluntary quota commitments.

US Slaps New Sanctions on Chinese Ports. The US State Department stated it would impose sanctions on 20 entities it suspects of trading Iranian oil and petrochemical products, including the Chinese oil terminal Zhoushan Jinrun, the fourth port facility in China to be directly targeted by the US.

Indian State-Owned Refiners Stop Russian Imports. Indias state-controlled refiners have stopped buying Russian oil as discounts narrowed to just -$1 per barrel to Dubai, further disincentivized by Donald Trumps announced 25% tariff on India if the country continues its purchases of Russian crude.

Saudi Budget Deficits Shrinks on Higher Oil. Buoyed by higher crude oil production on the heels of OPEC+ unwinding, Saudi Arabias budget deficit shrank to $9.2 billion in Q2 2025, a 40% decline compared to the previous quarter, putting the kingdoms public debt at 370 billion.

Trump Endorses Chevrons Venezuela Return. Confirming rumours from a week ago, the Trump administration has reportedly granted a sanctions waiver to US oil major Chevron (NYSE:CVX), allowing it to resume operations in Venezuela on the condition that no money reaches the Venezuelan state.

Chinas Polysilicon Industry Launches Its Own Revamp. Top Chinese producers of polysilicon, a key component of solar panels, are reportedly negotiating a $7 billion plan to purchase and shut down a third of the countrys production capacity, equivalent to 1 million tonnes per year, eyeing an industry revamp.

LNG Canada Runs into Problems. Shells (LON:SHEL) $40 billion LNG Canada is undergoing technical issues that halved its liquefaction capacity, with problems reported at the Kitimat plants gas turbine and refrigerant production unit, prompting at least one LNG tanker to divert away from the facility.

Egypts Favourite Oil Majors Expand Their Presence. Seeking to kick-start rapidly depleting offshore gas fields, Egypts state oil company EGPC signed a joint exploration deal with European oil majors ENI (BIT:ENI) and BP (NYSE:BP) to appraise the El Temsah block to the east of Chevrons Nargis discovery.

New Zealand Wants to Drill for Oil Again. The government of New Zealand has lifted its 2018 ban on offshore drilling introduced by the Ardern government back in the day, with crude production in the country gradually declining over the past years due to lack of investments, to just 17,000 b/d.

Power Outage Saps Freeport LNG Output. The US Freeport LNG terminal has been running at 50% of its capacity after a power outage had put the entire plant offline on Wednesday, representing a 1.1 BCf per day loss for feedgas demand in the country as it reported seven outage events in July alone.

Europe Mulls Pooling LNG Purchases from US. The European Commission suggested pooling LNG buying demand from European companies to ramp up imports of US-origin LNG in line with Brussels $250 billion energy import commitment, seeking to create some negotiating leverage with US suppliers.

Copper TACO Clears Chicago Premium. In a perfect example of a TACO trade, US copper futures plunged by 22% on Wednesday after the Trump administration exempted copper ores, concentrates and cathodes from its oft-hailed 50% copper import tariff, sending COMEX futures down to $9,650/mt.

US Refiner Gets Slapped with Giant Penalty. US downstream giant Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) was mandated to pay $800 million in damages to biofuels producer Propel Fuels for stealing trade secrets under the guise of gathering due diligence for a potential acquisition, according to a California state court ruling.

Egypt Eyes FSRU Start Next Week. Egypts government announced that flows from its recently deployed LNG regasification vessel Energos Eskimo are expected to start next week, seeking to further ramp up LNG imports after taking in an all-time high of 1 million tonnes last month, doubling June imports.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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The European Union has set a roadmap to end its dependency on Russian energy, aiming to halt all imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.

Despite this recent jump, Russia's total gas exports to Europe (pipeline and LNG) nearly halved in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, largely due to the cessation of gas flows via Ukraine.

Russia's natural gas exports via pipeline to Europe increased by 37% in July compared to June, driven by the completion of maintenance works on the TurkStream pipeline.

The end of maintenance works boosted Russias natural gas exports via pipeline to Europe by 37% in July compared to June, data calculated by Reuters showed on Friday.

Russian gas supply via pipelines to Europe has slumped since 2022, after Russia cut off many EU customers from its gas deliveries, and Nord Stream stopped supplying gas to Germany, after Russia reduced flows and after a sabotage in September 2022.

Russian pipeline gas supply via Ukraine stopped on January 1, 2025, after Ukraine refused to negotiate an extension to the transit deal.

However, some European countries, including Hungary and Slovakia, continue to receive Russian gas through the TurkStream pipeline via Turkey and the Balkansthe only remaining route for Russian gas to Europe.

Last month, Russias gas giant Gazprom sent 51.5 million cubic meters (mcm) per day via TurkStream to Europe, per the Reuters estimates based on data from Entsog, the European gas transmission group.

The gas flows were 4.7% higher compared to a year earlier and 37% higher compared to June, when maintenance had restricted some flows.

In the first half of 2025, Russias natural gas exports to Europe both via pipeline and LNG cargoes declined from a year earlier as flows via Ukraine stopped and some buyers shunned Russian liquefied natural gas.

Total gas exports from Russia to Europe nearly halved to 8.33 billion cubic meters in the period January to June 2025, down from 15.5 billion cubic meters for the same period of 2024, when Russian gas was still flowing via a pipeline route through Ukraine, according to data compiled by Reuters.

Russias total LNG exports also fell in the first half of the year, by 4.4% to 15.2 million metric tons, per data from LSEG quoted by Reuters. LNG exports to Europe slumped by 13% year on year, as an EU ban on Russian LNG transshipments came into effect in March.

Earlier this year, the EU unveiled a roadmap to end dependency on Russian energy, which includes a halt to all imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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Takalas backers in Tripoli appear to be moving quickly to assert control. There are reports of efforts to push through new nominations to the Central Bank and other key agencies before Mishris camp can challenge the outcome through legal or political means. But Takala does not yet have full control of the Council. Mishri

This matters because the HCS has formal powers over political appointments and legal coordination with the eastern-based House of Representatives. With the Council divided, its ability to approve appointments or negotiate election procedures is likely to stall. That gives the east, led by Aguila Saleh and backed by the Libyan National Army (aka General Haftar), an opening to claim that Tripoli-based institutions are no longer credible counterparts. Early signs suggest they may begin making decisions on sovereign roles without consulting the HCS.

Mohamed Takalas election as president of Libyas High Council of State (HCS) is likely to increase the risk of political paralysis in the countrys political west. He won 59 votes in a session attended by 95 members. His supporters claim a quorum was met and the process was valid. Khaled al-Mishri, who held the presidency for five years, disputes that. He says the vote was illegitimate and that the session itself was improperly called. Both sides are now pushing competing versions of legitimacy, and no internal mechanism exists to resolve the dispute quickly.

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict

Mohamed Takalas election as president of Libyas High Council of State (HCS) is likely to increase the risk of political paralysis in the countrys political west. He won 59 votes in a session attended by 95 members. His supporters claim a quorum was met and the process was valid. Khaled al-Mishri, who held the presidency for five years, disputes that. He says the vote was illegitimate and that the session itself was improperly called. Both sides are now pushing competing versions of legitimacy, and no internal mechanism exists to resolve the dispute quickly.

This matters because the HCS has formal powers over political appointments and legal coordination with the eastern-based House of Representatives. With the Council divided, its ability to approve appointments or negotiate election procedures is likely to stall. That gives the east, led by Aguila Saleh and backed by the Libyan National Army (aka General Haftar), an opening to claim that Tripoli-based institutions are no longer credible counterparts. Early signs suggest they may begin making decisions on sovereign roles without consulting the HCS.

Takalas backers in Tripoli appear to be moving quickly to assert control. There are reports of efforts to push through new nominations to the Central Bank and other key agencies before Mishris camp can challenge the outcome through legal or political means. But Takala does not yet have full control of the Council. Mishri still commands support from powerful blocs, especially members tied to Misrata and political Islamist networks. If Takala acts too fast, the Council could split into two active factions, each claiming to be the legitimate leadership.

The risk extends beyond procedure. The HCS is one of the last standing advisory bodies in Tripoli that still interfaces with both eastern and western actors. If it collapses into a power struggle, other processes (budget approvals, security coordination, and oil sector oversight) could become even more fragmented. The eastern leadership is already preparing to take advantage of this opening, and armed groups in Tripoli are beginning to signal alignment shifts based on which faction they believe will control revenue and appointments.

If the dispute is not resolved within weeks, either through internal mediation or external pressure, Libya will move closer to a formal split in its remaining national institutions.

A ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia took effect on July 28 after several days of cross-border artillery fire, drone strikes, and diplomatic expulsions triggered by contested territory in Oddar Meanchey province. Thai officials accused Cambodian forces of targeting civilian areas, while Phnom Penh claimed retaliation against Thai encroachments. The truce, brokered with support from Malaysia (and Washington and Beijing in the background), remains fragile amid continued troop movements near the border.

U.S. and Chinese negotiators opened a third round of trade talks in Stockholm aimed at extending the current tariff truce set to expire on August 12. At issue are semiconductor controls, fentanyl trafficking enforcement, rare earth export restrictions, and mutual market access. Both sides have publicly committed to avoiding escalation, but pressure is mounting from industrial lobbies that fear an impasse would trigger automatic tariff hikes and further supply chain chaos.

The newly ratified U.S.EU trade accord has drawn criticism from France, Germany, and Italy over a 15% blanket tariff the U.S. will apply to select EU goods starting in August. European leaders say the deal was rushed and overly favorable to Washington, with Frances finance minister calling it a structural imbalance that undercuts EU competitiveness. U.S. officials maintain the tariffs are offset by expanded quotas and tech transfer agreements, but the backlash may complicate future rounds of transatlantic economic coordination.

Discovery & Development

Ottawa and BC are throwing down $400M total to back Cedar LNG, a $5.9B floating export terminal set to launch in late 2028. Co-owned by the Haisla Nation and Pembina (TSX: PPL), itll run on hydro power and ship 3.3 mtpa of LNG to Asia via Coastal GasLink. Premier Eby pitched Canadian LNG as more reliable than U.S. supplies amid Trumps trade barbs, while PM Carneys new Bill C-5 aims to speed up project approvals. Cedar joins a rising global wave of FLNG builds, now seen as a nimble fix for growing gas demand and stranded reserves.

Egypt just inked a fresh exploration deal with Eni (BIT: ENI) and BP (LON: BP) for offshore drilling in the Mediterranean, aiming to boost gas output. The pact also covers near-term plans to drill a gas exploration well in Lake Timsah, a geologically promising zone tied to the Suez-Gulf fault line. This comes as Egypt eyes more export revenue via its LNG plants, especially with European demand still in play. For BP and Eni, its another move to shore up supply closer to home amid Middle East jitters and growing East Med activity.

Eni just signed a fresh offshore exploration deal with Ivory Coast for Block CI-707, committing at least $20M over the first three years. This adds to Enis growing West Africa footprint following major finds at Baleine and Calao. Baleines phased development is already underway, targeting 150,000 bpd at full tilt. With Ivory Coast aiming to 5x its oil output by 2035, Enis bet here looks both strategic and early.

Namibias oil dreams are edging toward reality as Galp seeks buyers for part of its 80% stake in the massive 10-billion-barrel Mopane find, with two FPSOs potentially producing 240,000 bpd. TotalEnergies is also pushing forward on its Venus project, targeting FID in 2026 and first oil by 2029, with a breakeven of just $20/bbl. While subsurface issues and recent dry wells have tempered early hype, analysts still forecast 300,000400,000 bpd by the mid-2030s. This is huge for a country with no oil output just three years ago. Infrastructure gaps and financing needs loom large, but the potential $5B/year windfall has Namibia betting on offshore oil to reshape its future.

Mergers & Acquisitions

MPLX (NYSE: MPLX) is buying Northwind Midstream for $2.38B in cash to boost its sour gas gathering and treating presence in the Delaware Basin. Northwinds system in Lea County, NM spans 200+ miles and 200K dedicated acres. An expansion will nearly triple capacity to 440 MMcf/d by late 2026. This is crucial as sour gas volumes outpace infrastructure. This move deepens MPLXs Permian footprint and is expected to immediately grow DCF, with the deal closing in Q3.

Adnoc Drilling is lining up a second acquisition in Kuwait and Oman, eyeing a deal similar in size and structure to its $112M purchase of SLBs local drilling ops back in May. The move extends its regional footprint as it looks to scale without overexposure, according to CFO Youssef Salem. While still anchored by contracts in Abu Dhabi, the firm is aggressively expanding via fracking in unconventional plays and offshore rigs at Upper Zakum (with Exxon) set to launch from 2026. Two more tech-linked acquisitions via its Enersol JV are expected this year, valued at a combined $350M.

Baker Hughes (BKR) is reportedly finalizing a $13.6B all-cash deal to acquire Chart Industries (GTLS), edging out Flowserve and offering a 22% premium at $210/share, per FT. Chart scrapped its earlier $19B all-stock merger with Flowserve as Baker Hughes bid proved more compelling. The move would deepen BKRs exposure to LNG and industrial gas markets, aligning with CEO Lorenzo Simonellis energy transition strategy. Chart shares surged 17% after hours on the news, lifting its market cap past $9B.

Energy Earnings

HF Sinclair (NYSE: DINO) crushed Q2 profit expectations with $1.70/share vs the $1.02 estimate, fueled by red-hot Midcon margins up 85% to $15.52/bbl. Overall refining margins hit $16.50/bbl, up 46% YoY, helping offset lower throughput from turnarounds at Tulsa and Parco. Despite volumes dipping 2.4% to 660,640 bpd and utilization slipping to 90.8%, the margin strength did the heavy lifting. CEO Tim Go hinted the Trump admins pro-refining stance is boosting the longer-term outlook.

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE: MGY) also had a great Q2 with record volumes and raised 2025 guidance againnow calling for 10% YoY growth with no hike in capex. The Giddings development area led the charge, making up 79% of output and hitting a new high; the development area expanded by 40,000 net acres, reinforcing inventory depth. Capex stayed tight at $430$470M, just 43% of EBITDAX, and LOE per BOE dropped to $4.88, showing top-tier capital discipline. MGY kept its dividend and bought back another 1% of shares, with analysts expecting a dividend hike next quarter and an upward price target revision.

Shell (LON: SHEL) beat Q2 estimates with $4.26B in adjusted net income, despite a 32% YoY drop driven by lower prices and a rare stumble in its trading unit. Cash flow came in hot at $12.3B vs. the $10.1B consensus, helping maintain its $3.5B share buyback pacemarking 15 straight quarters of $3B+ returns. CEO Wael Sawan is sticking to his $20$22B capex plan and continues cutting fat, with $3.9B in cost reductions since 2022, even as net debt ticked up to $43.2B. Volatility from Trumps trade salvos, a surprise OPEC+ supply move, and a short Mideast war made this a brutal quarter to trade, but Shell kept its footing better than most.

Cenovus (TSX: CVE) delivered strong operational execution in Q2 despite lower upstream output and benchmark prices, generating $2.4B in cash from operations and $355M in free funds flow. Total production averaged 765,900 BOE/d, down from Q1 due to planned oil sands maintenance and wildfire disruption at Christina Lake, but refinery throughput remained robust at 665,800 bbls/d with Toledos turnaround wrapping up 11 days early. The company hit key milestones at growth projects like Narrows Lake and West White Rose, maintained its $0.20 dividend, and returned $819M to shareholders. Capex stayed within guidance, and the balance sheet remains clean with net debt down to $4.9B as Cenovus eyes a $4B net debt target.

Oil States International (NYSE: OIS) delivered Q2 EPS of $0.09, meeting expectations, but missed on revenue at $165M vs. $170.7M forecast. Offshore and international projects now account for 72% of revenue, helping shield the company from weak U.S. land activity, where frac spread counts dropped 14% quarter-over-quarter. The backlog climbed to $363M, the highest since 2015, with a book-to-bill above 1.0, and full-year revenue guidance was trimmed slightly to $685$700M, though EBITDA guidance of $88$93M was reaffirmed. Free cash flow hit $8M, with capex raised to $30M to fund a new Indonesian facility and new workover riser systems tied to long-term contracts.

Eni (ENI) beat Q2 earnings and revenue estimates, posting $0.79/ADR and $21.7B in revenue thanks to higher liquids output, though both fell year-over-year. Production slipped 3% overall to 1.668 million boe/d, as natural gas volumes dropped and mature fields declined, offset partially by new output in Cote d'Ivoire, Mexico, and Congo. Despite weak refining and biofuel margins, its gas and LNG segment posted a 9% EBIT gain to 387M, while the upstream EBIT fell 33% to 2.4B. Eni reaffirmed its full-year capex will stay below 8.5B, with Q3 production seen between 1.701.72 million boe/d.
Midweek attention turned to escalating geopolitical risks that sharply lifted the markets risk premium. Former President Donald Trump issued a 1012 day deadline

Optimism extended into Tuesday as the U.S. and China resumed trade negotiations in Stockholm. The talks signaled potential resolution of long-standing trade frictions between the world's two largest economiesan outcome that could bolster global trade flows and support oil demand across logistics, shipping, and industrial activity.

The rally kicked off Monday on the back of a major U.S.-EU trade agreement that lifted the threat of sweeping tariffs and shifted market focus to long-term energy cooperation. The European Union pledged to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy products over three years, a move widely seen as supportive for transatlantic energy demand. The deal also included $600 billion in pledged EU investment in the U.S., further supporting confidence in global trade stability.

Crude oil prices surged this week, driven by significant trade diplomacy breakthroughs, tightening supply signals, and mounting geopolitical risks. However, a late-session pullback on Thursday trimmed gains as traders braced for potential fallout from U.S. trade actions. As of Thursdays close, Light Crude Oil futures settled at $69.26 per barrel, up $4.10 or 6.29% on the week.

Crude oil prices surged this week, driven by significant trade diplomacy breakthroughs, tightening supply signals, and mounting geopolitical risks. However, a late-session pullback on Thursday trimmed gains as traders braced for potential fallout from U.S. trade actions. As of Thursdays close, Light Crude Oil futures settled at $69.26 per barrel, up $4.10 or 6.29% on the week.

U.S.-EU and China Trade Progress Fuels Early Week Rally

The rally kicked off Monday on the back of a major U.S.-EU trade agreement that lifted the threat of sweeping tariffs and shifted market focus to long-term energy cooperation. The European Union pledged to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy products over three years, a move widely seen as supportive for transatlantic energy demand. The deal also included $600 billion in pledged EU investment in the U.S., further supporting confidence in global trade stability.

Optimism extended into Tuesday as the U.S. and China resumed trade negotiations in Stockholm. The talks signaled potential resolution of long-standing trade frictions between the world's two largest economiesan outcome that could bolster global trade flows and support oil demand across logistics, shipping, and industrial activity.

Sanction Risks on Russia, Iran, and Venezuela Drive Supply Premiums

Midweek attention turned to escalating geopolitical risks that sharply lifted the markets risk premium. Former President Donald Trump issued a 1012 day deadline for Russia to show progress in ending the Ukraine war, threatening 100% secondary tariffs on countries that continue to import Russian oil. Indias state refiners reportedly paused new purchases of Russian crude, a clear sign that Trumps ultimatum was already influencing market behavior.

China, Russias largest crude buyer, also came under scrutiny. Washington warned Beijing of possible punitive tariffs if it maintains its Russian import levels. The uncertainty around these measures added upward pressure to futures markets, as traders priced in the possibility of disrupted flows from one of the worlds top oil exporters.

Compounding the supply-side threat, the U.S. Treasury imposed fresh sanctions on over 115 Iran-linked entities and vessels, days after airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The action intensified the maximum pressure campaign, adding another layer of concern over global supply stability.

Meanwhile, Venezuelas PDVSA signaled plans to resume swap-based crude exports, pending U.S. reauthorization. Though volumes would initially be small, the potential reentry of Venezuelan barrels could impact longer-term balances, albeit not enough to offset broader supply concerns in the short run.

Mexican Export Cuts and U.S. Inventory Trends Feed Tightness Narrative

The bullish case was further supported by a sharp decline in Mexican crude exports. State oil company Pemex slashed shipments by 39% year-over-year in June to prioritize domestic refining, bringing export levels to their lowest since 1990. The drop reinforced the perception that incremental supply growth from non-core OPEC producers remains unlikely in the near term.

U.S. government data provided a mixed signal. Crude inventories unexpectedly rose by 7.7 million barrels last week due to lower export volumes. However, gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrelsmore than quadruple expectationshighlighting strong domestic driving demand at the height of the summer season. Analysts generally interpreted the data as neutral, though the product draw lent continued support to refined fuel markets.

Tariff Deadline and Record U.S. Output Temper Thursdays Gains

Despite the strong bullish tone for most of the week, oil prices edged lower Thursday as investors grew cautious ahead of Trumps August 1 tariff deadline. The White House unveiled its new tariffs late on Thursday, hitting Canada, Switzerland, and India particularly hard, but market reaction was relatively muted as the tariffs had largely been priced in.

The market views tariff uncertaintyespecially with Mexico receiving only a 90-day extensionas a risk to global demand. Adding pressure, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported record domestic oil production of 13.49 million barrels per day in May, underscoring long-term supply resilience from the U.S. shale patch.

Weekly Light Crude Oil Futures

Trend Indicator Analysis

The main trend is up according to the weekly swing chart. However, a trade through $62.69 will change the main trend to down.

Holding above the 52-week moving average at $64.44 indicates buyers are defending against another plunge. Additionally, the sustained move above the long-term pivot at $65.37 is signaling the buying is getting stronger.

There are two other pivots to note. The April bottom at $51.18 and the June top at $77.09 has formed a pivot at $64.13 that has acted as support the past five weeks.

Additionally, the short-term range is $77.09 to $62.69. This weeks breakout to the upside tested its major pivot at $69.89, extending to $70.51 before pulling back.

Essentially, bullish traders are looking for the 52-week moving average to hold as support and for a sustained breakout over $69.89 to eventually challenge the June top at $77.09.

Bearish traders want to see a complete breakdown under the 52-week moving average. This would open the door for a further decline below $60.00.

Weekly Technical Forecast

The direction of the Weekly Light Crude Oil Futures market the week ending August 8 is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the pivot at $69.89.

Bullish Scenario

A sustained move over $69.89 will signal the presence of buyers. If this creates enough upside momentum, we could see a near-term rally toward the June top at $77.09. Due to the way the market broke from this level, there is no minor resistance.

Bearish Scenario

A sustained move under $69.89 will indicate the return of sellers. The initial break could drive prices into a minor pivot at $66.66. A complete breakdown will target $65.37 to $64.13 with the 52-week moving average at $64.44 the most important support level.

Oil Prices Forecast: Bullish Bias Holds but Tariff Risks Cap Upside

Despite Thursdays pullback, the fundamental tone for crude remains cautiously bullish. Geopolitical supply risksled by Russia, Iran, and Venezuelaare providing a firm floor for prices. Demand indicators remain supportive, bolstered by easing trade tensions and healthy gasoline consumption.

However, the looming impact of Trumps tariff enforcement and record-high U.S. output could limit further upside. Unless additional trade barriers are avoided and supply disruptions materialize, prices may struggle to extend gains significantly above current levels. The short-term bias remains bullish, but with tightening room for error.
The cancellation is not merely tactical. Turkish policymakers and analysts have openly characterized the 1973 agreement as legally outdated and structurally ambiguousparticularly in cases where the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government

The timing is strategic. The Ceyhan export line has been shut since March 2023, when Turkey unilaterally halted flows following the arbitration decision. Despite high-level meetings, Iraq has not resumed northern exports (which is costing both Erbil and Baghdad over $1 billion a month in lost revenue). By revoking the underlying agreement, Ankara is increasing pressure on Baghdad to return to the table, not only to restart flows but to do so under revised terms that restore Turkish leverage. Turkish officials have framed their demand as one for full utilization of pipeline capacity, which in practice means an end to Iraqi delays and a deal that limits Baghdads ability to withhold approval or obstruct exports.

Turkeys decision to cancel the 1973 pipeline agreement with Iraq, retroactive to July 2022, signals a deliberate effort to reshape the terms of northern oil exports on its own terms. Far from a procedural adjustment, the move is designed to reset Ankaras legal exposure following the Paris arbitration ruling that ordered Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion for unauthorized exports of Kurdish oil, while simultaneously forcing Iraq into a new negotiating framework more favorable to Turkish interests.

Turkeys decision to cancel the 1973 pipeline agreement with Iraq, retroactive to July 2022, signals a deliberate effort to reshape the terms of northern oil exports on its own terms. Far from a procedural adjustment, the move is designed to reset Ankaras legal exposure following the Paris arbitration ruling that ordered Turkey to pay Baghdad $1.5 billion for unauthorized exports of Kurdish oil, while simultaneously forcing Iraq into a new negotiating framework more favorable to Turkish interests.

The timing is strategic. The Ceyhan export line has been shut since March 2023, when Turkey unilaterally halted flows following the arbitration decision. Despite high-level meetings, Iraq has not resumed northern exports (which is costing both Erbil and Baghdad over $1 billion a month in lost revenue). By revoking the underlying agreement, Ankara is increasing pressure on Baghdad to return to the table, not only to restart flows but to do so under revised terms that restore Turkish leverage. Turkish officials have framed their demand as one for full utilization of pipeline capacity, which in practice means an end to Iraqi delays and a deal that limits Baghdads ability to withhold approval or obstruct exports.

The cancellation is not merely tactical. Turkish policymakers and analysts have openly characterized the 1973 agreement as legally outdated and structurally ambiguousparticularly in cases where the Iraqi central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are in conflict. According to a July 2025 analysis published by Daily Sabah, Ankara is seeking to eliminate those ambiguities in a new framework that clearly defines approval mechanisms, liability terms, and authorization pathways. This would help Turkey avoid exposure to future arbitration and ensure continuous throughput under legally binding commitments. The proposal submitted to Baghdad reportedly includes expanded cooperation across oil, gas, petrochemicals, and electricity, signaling Ankaras intention to broaden the energy corridors strategic function.

Iraqs Ministry of Oil has confirmed that talks are underway, but the negotiating space is narrow. Baghdad remains politically constrained, with the Federal Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that Kurdish oil exports without central government approval are unconstitutional. That leaves little room for compromise without appearing to concede sovereign authority. Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), whose budget is already under strain, is lobbying for export pathways to reopen but has little direct influence over the negotiations between Ankara and Baghdad. Kurdish officials suspect that Turkey still views them as a potential partner in any future arrangement, but is unwilling to defy Baghdad openly until new terms are secured.

For Turkey, restoring pipeline flows would unlock transit revenues, reinforce its geopolitical role as a regional energy corridor, and reduce domestic fuel market stress. But the primary objective remains legal insulation. The original 1973 agreement did not clearly define control mechanisms in cases of internal Iraqi disputes. Ankara is now seeking to replace that outdated framework with a new intergovernmental accord that resolves questions of authorization and liability, particularly in relation to Kurdish-origin barrels.

What emerges from these negotiations will have long-term implications. A new agreement that centralizes control in Baghdad could marginalize the KRG and cement federal control over export routes. A more flexible framework (preferably including technical workarounds or third-party validators) could allow Erbil limited space to maneuver. Turkeys approach so far suggests it will continue to play both sides, but only within the bounds of a new legal structure that protects its interests and avoids another arbitration loss. Baghdad has not yet indicated whether it is willing to accept those conditions.
While watching summer demand and OPEC+ production policy, the oil market has started to pay attention to President Trumps threats to hit Russian oil buyers with secondary tariffs.

Earlier this week, President Trump threatened tariffs and stuff if Russia doesnt agree to a ceasefire in 10 days, shortening the 50-day deadline he had given Putin on July 14 to discuss peace or face sanctions.

Oil markets reacted on Tuesday to the much shorter deadline, with prices rallying to close 3% higher amid increased concerns that there could be some disruption to Russian oil supply.

After weeks of ignoring President Trumps threats to slap Russia with more sanctions and its customers with tariffs and stuff, the market now isnt fully discarding the idea that the U.S. President could make good on his threats this time.

Tariffs and Stuff

President Trump has previously backed off from the retaliatory tariffs on the world, pausing these to seek trade deals with individual countries.

But trade talks with China and India, Russias main oil customers, are dragging on amid many sticking points.

President Trump announced on Wednesday that Indian goods in the U.S. would be taxed with a 25% tariff, and India will also pay a penalty for buying the vast majority of its military equipment and a lot of Russian energy.

They have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russias largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE  ALL THINGS NOT GOOD! INDIA WILL THEREFORE BE PAYING A TARIFF OF 25%, PLUS A PENALTY FOR THE ABOVE, STARTING ON AUGUST FIRST, President Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In another post later on Wednesday, the President wrote, I dont care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World.

Related: U.S. Crude Oil Output Set New Record in May: EIA

President Trumps latest posts have sparked concern among Indian refiners. These have reportedly asked the Indian oil ministry for urgent guidance how to proceed with crude oil flows from Russia arriving after August 1, sources with knowledge of the refiners procurement practices told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the bans on Russian oil in the West, India has become a key buyer of Russian crude, alongside China. Russia, for its part, became the single biggest oil supplier to India.

OPECs market share in India slumped to an all-time low of below 50% of Indias crude oil imports in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, as Russian oil flows continued to rise and dent the share of the Middle Eastern producers.

Even if President Trump doesnt follow up on the threats of penalty for India, procurement would be disrupted in early August as Indian buyers will likely seek alternative sources of crude until the situation becomes clearer.

Separately, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned China that buying Russian and Iranian oil could lead to secondary tariffs due to legislation being considered in Congress.

I think anyone who buys sanctioned Russian oil should be ready for this, Bessent said on Tuesday, referring to President Trumps shortened 10-day deadline to Putin to make progress on a peace agreement in Ukraine.

If President Trump introduces penalties or secondary tariffs or whatever the word for additional sanctions, the oil market will suffer severe disruptions, and prices will spike.

Impact on the Oil Market

For now, the market appears to be calling President Trumps bluff and isnt pricing in too much disruption to Russian oil exports.

But should these exports be choked off due to penalties on buyers, the deficit on the market would surge so high that not even OPECs spare capacity could fill the void left by Russia, analysts say.

The US and India have struggled to come to a trade deal before Fridays deadline. Its still unclear how big a penalty India faces (the original threat was for a secondary tariff of 100%), ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a Thursday note.

This is causing plenty of uncertainty for Indian refiners, as well as the broader market, as to whether they can continue to import Russian oil, the analysts added.

However, given President Trumps on-and-off threats, inconsistent tariff policies, and his explicitly stated desire for low oil and energy prices, U.S. penalties on buyers of Russias oil are not the base-case scenario of analysts.

We would caution against assigning too high of a probability to a sustained material disruption in Russian supplies at this time, given several considerations that could blunt the effect, Barclays said earlier this week.

These considerations are the Trump Administrations priority to keep energy prices low, Russias ability to skirt sanctions since 2022, and potentially more difficult U.S. trade talks with China and India if Trump moves to impose secondary tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, Barclays notes.

Many market watchers and banks believe that the upside to prices from secondary tariffs is limited, mostly because the Trump Administration wouldnt want to inflate global oil prices, domestic gasoline prices, and energy costs for American consumers.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Chevron will transfer part of the oil it produces in Venezuela to the Maduro government, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed sources. The deal follows the U.S. granting a sanction exemption to the supermajor so it could continue operating in Venezuela.

The terms of the deal are similar to those of other international oil majors operating in Venezuela, Bloombergs sources said, notably paying royalties in the form of crude. Chevron specifically was banned by the U.S. federal government from making any cash payments to the Venezuelan government. It was a condition for the license to return to Venezuela.

The U.S. government has made it clear it wants to prevent the Venezuelan government from reaping any financial benefit from the countrys oil wealth, but this has proved difficult, since U.S. refiners are sizable buyers of Venezuelan crude and the chief reason why Chevron was granted that sanction exemption. Last year, imports of Venezuelan crude in the U.S. hit peaks of some 300,000 barrels daily, per data from Kpler.

Before it had the sanction door slammed in its face earlier this year, Chevron was producing some 240,000 barrels daily in Venezuela. This supply is now set to return to the market, with ING noting this will happen gradually over the second half of the year, with the suggestion that prices for heavy crude grades are set to suffer a negative impact from this return.

With a portion of this now going to the Venezuelan government, it would betray the purpose of Washingtons condition since thus oil can be sold abroad at a profit. However, trying to prevent any form of benefit for the state of Venezuela from Chevrons business activities in the country would likely trigger retaliation from the Maduro government, leading to the loss of these business activities and important barrels of heavy crude for Gulf Coast refiners.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Chinese solar power companies shed a third of their workforce last year, amid intense competition and overcapacity that drove losses, Reuters has reported, citing company filings.

Also, last year and this year so far, more than 40 sector players have gone bankrupt, delisted, or been bought by other companies from the industry, the report also said, citing a report from the countrys solar industry association. The layoff numbers stand at a total of 87,000 people, from five of the biggest solar businesses in China.

The industry has been facing a downturn since the end of 2023, a Morningstar analyst told Reuters. In 2024, it actually got worse. In 2025, it looks like it's getting even worse, Cheng Wang also said.

The downturn follows three years of frenetic expansion sponsored by the government, which elevated solar to a key industry for economic growth. This expansion resulted in overcapacity, which sank prices and destroyed profits for many.

The government realized the problem last year and took steps to solve it, as the competition for market share has prompted some Chinese manufacturers to sacrifice quality for the sake of higher profits.

The Chinese solar panel market remains oversupplied, and this glut could last up to two more years, one of the top manufacturers, Longi Green Energy Technology, said last year. Longi is one of the companies that laid off a lot of people last year.

Earlier in 2024, the China Photovoltaic Industry Association said that China urgently needed consolidation in the solar manufacturing industry as overcapacity and price wars were leading local companies to a race to the bottom.

A consolidation in the industry with the governments blessing is one way to prop up the solar industry. Tighter quality standards could also help, by forcing out outdated production capacity, per a recent statement by the industry and information technology ministry.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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A Kazakh appellate court has sided with the international oil majors operating the Kashagan oilfield, overturning a massive $4.2 billion environmental fine over sulfur storage practices.

The North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC)a consortium that includes Eni, Shell, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergieshailed the decision as confirmation that their sulfur handling meets both Kazakh legal requirements and global industry standards.

The dispute stemmed from Kazakhstans claim that NCOC had improperly stored sulfur byproducts at the $55 billion Kashagan project, one of the most technically challenging and delay-ridden oil developments in the world. Authorities had originally sought 2.3 trillion tenge (about $5.1 billion at the time) in penalties, citing environmental violations.

This win is just one front in a broader standoff. Kazakhstan has also taken the consortium to international arbitration over a jaw-dropping $160 billion in alleged damagesmostly tied to what it claims are lost revenues, but also including accusations of environmental harm and questionable contract dealings.

In an attempt to resolve the sulfur dispute last year, the venture partners offered to invest $110 million in local social projects over two yearsan amount they expected to recoup under the production-sharing agreement. They also floated additional payments tied to LPG supply and the creation of a new social development fund.

For now, though, the courtroom victory may slow the tide of pressure from Astana. Whether it cools the broader legal fight is another question entirely.

The Kazakh energy and environmental ministries have yet to comment on the ruling.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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OPEC+ is inching toward a pivotal decision this weekend: whether to greenlight another 548,000 bpd in production hikes for September, effectively fast-tracking the return of 2.2 million bpd in voluntary cuts a year ahead of schedule.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) already met last week and stopped short of recommending any fresh changes to quotas. But that was never really its jobits the full ministerial gathering this Sunday that holds the power to formalize the next move. Traders expecting Septembers barrels to hit the water soon may finally get the clarity theyve been waiting for.

Yet even if the expected increase in quota is approved, the bigger question looms: what happens next? And even if OPEC+ approves a quota hike, will that actually result in more barrels to market?

OPEC+ still has another 1.66 million bpd of sidelined supply technically scheduled to stay offline until end-2026. Delegates say the group is inclined to pause before touching itbut as this years accelerated rollout shows, plans can shift quickly, especially when market share is on the line.

At around $71 Brent, prices remain well below Saudi Arabias fiscal breakeven. Riyadhs Vision 2030 ambitions carry a hefty price tag, and analysts from Goldman Sachs to JPMorgan warn that further weaknesspotentially to $60could strain OPEC+ coffers even more if Chinese demand continues to sputter.

Still, any aggressive moves to reclaim market share would need to be balanced against fragile prices and persistent underperformance from several member states. Not every hike makes it into real barrels.

Crude watchers will be closely tuned into Sundays meeting for signs of whether OPEC+ plans to revisit the remaining 1.66 million bpdif not now, then when. Because until the group puts that question to bed, the specter of those idled barrels will continue to haunt the market.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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Pakistani refiner Cnergyico will import Pakistans first U.S. crude oil cargo in October following the trade and energy cooperation deal the two countries signed earlier this week.

Cnergyico will import on October 1 million barrels of American crude via top commodity trader Vitol, Usama Qureshi, vice chairman of the biggest refiner in oil-import-dependent Pakistan, told Reuters on Friday.

The cargo of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is set to load from Houston in August and arrive in Pakistan in late October, the executive said.

This is a test spot cargo under our umbrella term agreement with Vitol. If it is commercially viable and available, we could import at least one cargo per month, Qureshi added.

The cargo will not be for resale and will help diversify Pakistans predominantly Middle Eastern supply of crude oil.

This first U.S. crude purchase by Pakistan follows the trade deal announced earlier this week.

Following months of negotiations, the United States and Pakistan this week signed a trade deal that will involve the joint development of Pakistans oil resources.

We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media.

We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe theyll be selling Oil to India some day! Trump also said on Truth Social.

Pakistan is an importer of energy, but it may hold substantial reserves of oil and gas in shale formations.

This year, Pakistan also updated its oil and gas reserves estimate, revising the oil reserves part upwards by 23% from a year earlier, to 238 million barrels. The revision came on the back of seven fields where discoveries were made in the period.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Pakistans leading exploration and production firm, Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), on Friday announced an oil discovery in an exploration license in the southeastern province of Sindh.

OGDCL, the operator of the Tando Allah Yar (TAY) exploration license, found oil at exploratory well Chakar1, where tests showed that the well flowed 275 barrels of oil per day.

A second drill stem test (DST) is now being conducted to further assess its hydrocarbon potential.

The discovery at Chakar1 marks the 13th discovery in the TAY exploration license, and reflects the joint ventures sustained efforts to assess and unlock the hydrocarbon potential of the block, OGDCL said in a statement.

The results to date reinforce confidence that the area has geological potential and support ongoing exploration and appraisal efforts to further delineate its resource base.

The new oil discovery comes as Pakistan is looking to develop its domestic resources to reduce dependence on imported oil and gas.

Earlier this year, Pakistan recorded the first substantial increase in its domestic oil reserves since 2020, with new discoveries and higher production leading to a 23% annual increase in reserves to 238 million barrels as of December 2024.

The key fields contributing to the increase include Pasakhi/Pasakhi North East, Rajian, Kunar, Sono, Thora, Jhandial, and Lashari Centre, according to a report by Arif Habib Limited cited by Pakistani media.

Natural gas reserves in Pakistan remained relatively flat last year compared to the gas reserve estimate for 2023.

In recent weeks, Pakistan has signed cooperation agreements with Turkey and the United States to develop its resources.

Turkish energy firms will explore for oil and gas offshore Pakistan under agreements with local companies, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last month.

This week, the United States and Pakistan signed a trade deal that will involve the joint development of Pakistans oil resources.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Despite the slide in oil prices in the second quarter, ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) reported on Friday earnings that exceeded analyst estimates on the back of increased oil and gas production in the U.S. Permian shale basin and offshore Guyana.

Exxons earnings stood at $7.1 billion for the second quarter, or $1.64 per share, as the company achieved its highest second-quarter upstream production since the merger of Exxon and Mobil more than 25 years ago.

The Q2 earnings per share beat the analyst consensus of $1.57 EPS in the Wall Street Journal.

Exxons second-quarter net production was 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, an increase of 79,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day compared to the first quarter.

Year-to-date net production rose by 13%, or 520,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day, to 4.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day driven by the acquisition of Pioneer, partly offset by non-core asset divestments.

Exxons upstream earnings at $5.4 billion were down by $1.4 billion from the first quarter, due to lower crude and natural gas realizations. However, these lower realizations were partially offset by volume growth from Exxons key assets, which included record Permian production of 1.6 million oil-equivalent barrels per day, along with structural cost savings.

Despite the volatile oil and gas markets this year, Exxon affirmed the pace of its buybacks, aiming to repurchase $20 billion in shares this year.

This may alleviate concerns among analysts that the lower oil prices could jeopardize shareholder returns at Big Oil. Concerns were mostly focused on the European majors, but both Shell and TotalEnergies have reiterated the pace of their buybacks when they announced Q2 results in the past week.

In the first half of 2025, Exxon returned $18.4 billion to shareholders, including $8.6 billion of dividends and $9.8 billion of share repurchases, consistent with the company's plan to deliver $20 billion of share repurchases this year.

The second quarter, once again, proved the value of our strategy and competitive advantages, which continue to deliver for our shareholders no matter the market conditions or geopolitical developments, said Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chairman and chief executive officer.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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While Indian refiners are scrambling to understand the implications of President Trumps threatened penalties on India for buying Russian oil, at least four tankers carrying crude cargoes from Russia were staying idle off Indias west coast on Friday, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Three of the four tankers are sanctioned by either the EU or the UK, or both, and had loaded at Russian ports in June. Now that they have arrived in India, the vessels are anchored off major oil import ports in western India until refiners receive some clarification regarding penalties and sanctions threatened by the West.

India is struggling to determine the impact and is drawing up plans for the possibility that crude from Russia, its single biggest oil supplier, may become unavailable.

Indias top state refiners have not purchased any crude from Russia this week after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened secondary tariffs on the buyers of Russian oil and as discounts of Moscows crudes narrowed to alternatives, industry sources with knowledge of the procurement plans told Reuters on Thursday.

President Trump announced on Wednesday that Indian goods in the U.S. would be taxed with a 25% tariff, and India would also pay a penalty for buying the vast majority of its military equipment and oil from Russia, effective August 1.

Indian refiners have reportedly asked the Indian oil ministry for urgent guidance how to proceed with crude oil flows from Russia arriving after August 1.

Authorities in India have told state refiners to draft plans for alternative crude sourcing in case Russian crude oil flows stopped, sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg on Thursday.

The worlds third-largest crude oil importer, India, has significantly boosted Russian oil imports since 2022, when Russias oil was banned in the West. Russia currently accounts for about a third of Indias oil purchases, becoming the single largest crude supplier to India.

A halt of purchases of Russian oil by India would upend global crude flows and the procurement plans of other major oil importers as the South Asian nation would turn to more Middle Eastern, U.S., and West African supply.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Vector (NZX: VCT ) announces it has agreed to sell its HRV business to a consortium of current franchisees and management.

The sale, which was completed today, followed a competitive process with the sale price of $2.5 million which is below our materiality threshold.

We acquired the business, which provides ventilation, heat pumps/air conditioners, water filtration and home electric vehicle charging, in 2017. We wrote off the goodwill associated with this investment in 2019. HRV has struggled to achieve its performance targets and needs a significant turnaround. We believe this is a positive outcome for HRV and Vector as we focus on our core business.

We would like to thank HRV staff and management for their commitment and hard work for HRV customers. We wish them and the new owners all the best for the future as they take over a much-loved Kiwi brand.

ENDS

Investor contact

Jason Hollingworth, Chief financial officer

Jason.hollingworth@vector.co.nz 021 312 928

Media contact

Jane Luscombe, GM PR and communications

jane.luscombe@vector.co.nz 021 76 79 70

About Vector

Vector is an innovative New Zealand energy company, delivering energy and communication services to more than 630,000 residential and commercial customers across New Zealand. Vector has a leading role in creating a new energy future through its Symphony strategy which puts customers at the heart of the energy system. Vector is listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange with ticker symbol VCT. Our majority shareholder, with voting rights of 75.1%, is Entrust. For further information, visit www.vector.co.nz.

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By Taxpayers Association of Oregon

OregonWatchdog.com

A Portland couple, Sergey and Galina Lebedenko, who ran a local chauffeur and limousine service, were recently sentenced to federal prison for embezzling $34 million from two former clients.

For nearly a decade, this couple spent their stolen millions on many things that cannot be returned to their victim like world traveling, fancy restaurants, luxury gifts to friends, and their daughters wedding. This near-decade long of living in luxury has cost them only 4.7 years in prison. The prison time given is so light that it encourages people to go out and steal millions and go on a spending spree. That is because you will spend the same amount of prison time as you spent being a runaway millionaire. That is  if you get caught.

Here are more details behind the recklessness of this case:

In one instance in 2023, they made 17 separate charges to the victims credit card in a single day, amounting to $17,900. The Lebedenkos leveraged their illicit profits to support a lavish lifestyle, acquiring 14 homes and properties, 7 vehicles, a stake in a private jet, and an array of opulent items such as shoes, watches, wallets, jewelry, a $3,000 gold necklace and gold bars. Who knows how many gold bars went missing when it came time to return the stolen items. They charged their victims credit card a whopping 454 times for more than $1.3 million right before their daughters wedding. There was text messages during Christmas among the family where they joked that the victims credit card will come to the rescue and buy everything they want.

It also made headlines that Sergey Lebenenko was shown on camera engaging in physical activities at a time when he said he was frail and used a wheelchair.

Their criminal activities began in 2007 when Sergey was hired to drive a top Oregon businessman client to the airport. This client soon became a frequent customer, and by 2018, Sergey was providing almost daily transportation services around Portland. Meanwhile, Galina took on additional personal tasks, such as managing bills, organizing mail, and caring for the couples pets. This arrangement lasted from around 2018 until 2023, during which the victim entrusted the Lebedenkos with his American Express credit card details for direct billing.

Aside from a single invoice in 2013, the Lebedenkos never delivered any logs detailing their hours or service charges. For the majority of their work, only they were aware of the time spent on the services. When the victim raised questions about some charges, Sergey would often cite their long-standing, trustworthy relationship.

Both were handed down a 57-month prison term, followed by three years of supervised release.

Was this helpful? Contribute online at OregonWatchdog.com (learn about a Charitable Tax Deduction or Political Tax Credit options to promote liberty).
By Taxpayers Association of Oregon

OregonWatchdog.com

This week a mentally abused man walked into a secure New York office building and killed four people. This included one police officer (acting as security guard) and one security guard as shown above.

This is an example of how quick a massacre can occur. It could have been worse, if it wasnt for the fact that the gunman turned the weapon upon himself.

There have been a lot of lawsuits and investigations in Oregon of police officers who responded to a hostile actor with deadly or injurious responses. Many times people fighting with police reach into their clothes to pull out a possible weapon. Sometimes people charge officers with clubs or knives or glass or even unidentifiable objects at the time. Each time an officer has to make a split second judgement on what to do  a one second delay could cost the officer his life. Two New York security officials lost their lives in a scenario that appears to have little room for any delay.

Yet, Oregon political activists keep pressuring to have police use more non-lethal weapons, not travel with actual handguns (as de-escalation tactic), or not involving officers at all (instead using mental health mediators). Activists rage against even use non-lethal tools. The New York gunman is cited as being under medications at the time of the shooting. None of these options, or a smaller police force, would have helped in this NY scenario.

It is often criminals with a long history of violence who are putting our police officers in danger. When officers respond, the system goes hard after the officer. Very lengthy lawsuits and investigations end up going nowhere, and costing a drag on our court system and law enforcement budgets. Lawsuits and investigations are a necessary right, but they should be measured by the real-life dangers officers face as evidence this week in New York.
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 view inside the laboratory vacuum chamber, where collodial particles are suspended in a flat disc, lit by the green light of a laser, to study dusty plasma. Credit: Burton lab

Physicists have used a machine-learning method to identify surprising new twists on the non-reciprocal forces governing a many-body system.

The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the findings by experimental and theoretical physicists at Emory University, based on a neural network model and data from laboratory experiments on dusty plasmaionized gas containing suspended dust particles.

The work is one of the relatively few instances of using AI not as a data processing or predictive tool, but to discover new physical laws governing the natural world.

"We showed that we can use AI to discover new physics," says Justin Burton, an Emory professor of experimental physics and senior co-author of the paper. "Our AI method is not a black box: we understand how and why it works. The framework it provides is also universal. It could potentially be applied to other many-body systems to open new routes to discovery."

The PNAS paper provides the most detailed description yet for the physics of a dusty plasma, yielding precise approximations for non-reciprocal forces.

"We can describe these forces with an accuracy of more than 99%," says Ilya Nemenman, an Emory professor of theoretical physics and co-senior author of the paper.

"What's even more interesting is that we show that some common theoretical assumptions about these forces are not quite accurate. We're able to correct these inaccuracies because we can now see what's occurring in such exquisite detail."

The Burton lab developed techniques to track the 3D motion of individual particles in a laboratory dusty plasma. Running experiments allowed the researchers to validate AI inferences. Credit: Burton lab

The researchers hope that their AI approach will serve as a starting point for inferring laws from the dynamics of a wide range of many-body systems, which are composed of a large number of interacting particles. Examples range from colloidssuch as paint, ink and other industrial materialsto clusters of cells in living organisms.

First author of the paper is Wentao Yu who worked on the project as an Emory Ph.D. student and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. Co-author is Eslam Abdelaleem, who was also part of the project as an Emory graduate student and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Georgia Tech.

"This project serves as a great example of an interdisciplinary collaboration where the development of new knowledge in plasma physics and AI may lead to further advances in the study of living systems," says Vyacheslav (Slava) Lukin, program director for the NSF Plasma Physics program. "The dynamics of these complex systems is dominated by collective interactions that emerging AI techniques may help us to better describe, recognize, understand and even control."

Plasmas are ionized gases, meaning charged particles of electrons and ions move about freely, creating unique properties like electrical conductivity. Known as the fourth state of matter, plasma makes up an estimated 99.9% of the visible universe, from the solar winds flowing from the sun's corona to lightning bolts that strike Earth.

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.

Dusty plasma, which adds charged particles of dust to the mix of ions and electrons, is also common in space and planetary environmentsfrom the rings of Saturn to Earth's ionosphere.

The charged particles levitating above the surface of the moon, due to weak gravity, are an example of a dusty plasma. "That's why when astronauts walk on the moon their suits get covered in dust," Burton explains.

Watch dust spray from Neil Armstrong's boots as he maneuvers to gather rock samples from the surface of the moon. Credit: NASA Apollo 11 Library

An example of a dusty plasma on Earth can occur during wildfires when soot mixes with the smoke. The charged soot particles can interfere with radio signals, affecting communications between firefighters.

Burton studies the physics of dusty plasmas and amorphous materials. His lab conducts experiments on tiny, plastic particles suspended in a vacuum chamber filled with plasma as a model for more complex systems. By altering the gas pressure inside the chamber, the lab members can mimic the properties of real phenomena and study how a system changes when it is driven by forces.

For the current project, Burton and Yu developed a tomographic-imaging technique to track the three-dimensional (3D) motion of particles in a dusty plasma. A laser spread into a sheet of light moves up and down in the vacuum chamber as a high-speed camera captures images. The snapshots of particles within the plane of light are then assembled into a stack, revealing the 3D location of individual particles over centimeter length scales for several minutes.

A theoretical biophysicist, Nemenman searches for laws that underlie natural dynamical systems, especially complex biological ones. He's interested in particular in the phenomenon of collective motion, such as how human cells move about the body.

"General questions of how a whole system arises from interactions of tiny parts are very important," Nemenman explains. "In cancer, for instance, you want to understand how the interaction of cells may relate to some of them breaking away from a tumor and moving to a new place, becoming metastatic."

While Nemenman often collaborates with researchers from the life sciences, the project with the Burton lab offered a chance to delve into a system somewhat simpler than a living one. That presented an ideal chance to try to use AI to investigate the dynamics of collective motion to learn new physics.

"For all the talk about how AI is revolutionizing science, there are very few examples where something fundamentally new has been found directly by an AI system," Nemenman says.

One of the most famous examples of AI, ChatGPT, trains on the vast amount of information available on the internet in order to predict the appropriate text in response to a prompt.

"When you're probing something new, you don't have a lot of data to train AI," Nemenman explains. "That meant we would have to design a neural network that could be trained with a small amount of data and still learn something new."

Burton, Nemenman, Yu and Abdelaleem met weekly in a conference room to discuss the problem.

"We needed to structure the network to follow the necessary rules while still allowing it to explore and infer unknown physics," Burton explains.

"It took us more than a year of back-and-forth discussions in these weekly meetings," Nemenman adds. "Once we came up with the correct structure of the network to train, it turned out to be fairly simple."

The physicists distilled the restraints for the neural network to modeling three independent contributions to particle motion: the effect of velocity, or drag force; the environmental forces, such as gravity; and the particle-to-particle forces.

Trained on 3D particle trajectories, the AI model accounted for inherent symmetries, non-identical particles and learned the effective non-reciprocal forces between particles with exquisite accuracy.

To explain these non-reciprocal forces, the researchers use the analogy of two boats moving across a lake, creating waves. The wake pattern of each boat affects the motion of the other boat. The wake of one boat may repel or attract the other boat depending on their relative positionsfor example, whether the boats are traveling side by side or one behind the other.

"In a dusty plasma, we described how a leading particle attracts the trailing particle, but the trailing particle always repels the leading one," Nemenman explains. "This phenomenon was expected by some but now we have a precise approximation for it which didn't exist previously."

Overview of experiment and data workflow. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2505725122, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505725122

Their findings also correct some wrong assumptions about dusty plasma.

For example, a longstanding theory held that the larger the radius of a dust particle, the larger the charge that stuck to that particle, in exact proportion to the radius of the particle. "We showed that this theory is not quite right," Nemenman says. "While it's true that the larger the particle the larger the charge, that increase is not necessarily proportional to the radius. It depends on the density and temperature of the plasma."

Another theory held that the forces between two particles falls off exponentially in direct relationship to the distance between two particles and that the factor by which it drops is not dependent on the size of the particle. The new AI method showed that the drop off in force does depend on the particle size.

The researchers verified their findings through experiments.

Their physics-based neural network runs on a desktop computer and offers a universal, theoretical framework to unravel mysteries about other complex, many-body systems.

Nemenman, for example, is looking forward to an upcoming visiting professorship at the Konstanz School of Collective Behavior in Germany. The school brings together interdisciplinary approaches to study the burgeoning field of collective behavior, everything from flocking birds to schools of fish and human crowds.

"I'll be teaching students from all over the world how to use AI to infer the physics of collective motionnot within a dusty plasma but within a living system," he says.

While their AI framework holds the ability to infer new physics, expert human physicists are needed to design the right structure for the neural network and to interpret and to validate the resulting data.

"It takes critical thinking to develop and use AI tools in ways that make real advances in science, technology and the humanities," Burton says.

He feels optimistic about the potential for AI to benefit society.

"I think of it like the Star Trek motto, to boldly go where no one has before," Burton says. "Used properly, AI can open doors to whole new realms to explore."
August 1, 2025: The decision to build the U.S. Air Forces F-47 sixth-generation stealth fighter means cancelling the Navys F/A-XX combat. The United States could not afford both aircraft and selected the F-47 because it was most likely to be built and heavily used in any future war. F-47 is a sixth-generation fighter, and is moving forward with $3.5 billion to complete development of the aircraft.

F-47 specifications are unknown. No data has been released on how much it weighs, what weapons it carries, max altitude or much else besides a top speed of Mach 2 and a range of 1,900 kilometers. The air force plans to buy up to 200 aircraft that will enter service before 2029. The F-47 will cost three times as much as the F-35.

The military has reduced planned purchases of F-35s from 74 to 47 aircraft. The F-35 Block 4 upgrade provides many improvements for all variants of the F-35, including a new radar, improved electronic warfare capabilities, and an expanded arsenal. There have also been delays and cost growth. F-35s also need an additional set of hardware and software updates, called Technology Refresh 3/TR-3, to even be able to accept the planned Block 4 upgrades, work on which also encountered significant difficulties. The U.S. military went so far as to stop accepting deliveries of new F-35s for roughly a year due to issues with TR-3. Lockheed Martin have been publicly saying that their position is that the development of TR-3 is now complete, though the U.S. military had yet to formally sign off on that as of earlier this month.

Spare parts shortages, coupled with other maintenance and supply chain problems, have been long standing issues for the F-35 program. These problems, collectively, have been a major contributor to low readiness rates for all U.S. F-35 fleets for years.

The current American warplanes, the F-22 and F-35, are often called 5th generation fighters. This leaves many readers wondering what the other generations were. The first generation of jet fighters were developed during and right after World War II/German Me-262, British Meteor, U.S. F-80, Russian MiG-15. These aircraft were, even by the standards of the time, difficult to fly and unreliable, especially the engines. The 1950s 2nd generation included more reliable, but still dangerous to operate, aircraft like the F-104 and MiG-21. The 1960s 3rd generation included F-4 and MiG-23. The 1970s 4th generation included F-16 and MiG-29. Each generation has been about twice as expensive, on average, in constant dollars, as the previous one. But each generation is also about twice as safe to fly and cheaper to operate. Naturally, each generation is more than twice as effective as the previous one. The Russian 5th generation consisted of the 35-ton Su-57, which is the most expensive ever. This aircraft has not been used in Ukraine lest its new technology fall into Ukrainian and American hands. If that happens, the discovery will be found less impressive than expected.

One of the reasons the Soviet Union collapsed was the realization that they could not afford to develop 5th generation warplanes to stay competitive with America. The Russians had a lot of interesting ideas on the drawing board and in development. The bankruptcy of most of their military aviation industry during the 1990s has left them scrambling to put it back together ever since. Now, the Russians are thinking of making a run for the 6th generation warplanes, which will likely be unmanned and largely robotic. This project may have to wait until the 2030s to start, because of industrial chaos and cash shortage created by the Ukraine War.

Meanwhile the Chinese J-36 sixth-generation stealth fighter is already flying. The first flight was in late 2024. It has a two-man crew, three engines, diamond-shaped wings and is tailless. The stretched diamond double-delta wing provides reduced supersonic drag. This means all sensors and weapons are inside the aircraft. The J-36 appears to be about 24 meters long and weighs about 50 tons. The aircraft is powered by three WS-15 jet engines. The internal weapons bay appears to be 7.5 meters long, which means it could carry the PL-17 long range missile that is like the American AMRAAM. The main weapons bay is flanked by two smaller bays. This arrangement indicates that the aircraft will be used to carry out ground attacks using guided missiles and bombs.

At the same time another Chinese sixth-generation stealth fighter, the J-50 has also been seen in the air. This aircraft has a single pilot and a cranked arrow configuration with sharply swept lambda wings and articulating, swivelable wing tip control surfaces. The J-50 was designed to operate from Chinas growing fleet of aircraft carriers.

The Chinese aircraft will enter service before the F-47 and provide serious competition for the F-47. There will be about twice as many Chinese stealth fighters as the American F-47. It appears that nearly a century of American aerial domination is coming to an end, with China the new master of the air.

The Chinese have another problem to overcome, pilot quality. Only a few pilots have any combat experience. Going up against American pilots with substantial experience would not end well for the Chinese. Efforts increase Chinese pilot time in the air and use of dissimilar training exercises helps. The dissimilar training involves Chinese pretending to be U.S. pilots flying in American aircraft. Using American tactics, Chinese pilots train against the American facsimiles and get to know what it would be like. Not all Chinese pilots get this training and the quality of the training varies.

To test these aircraft China needs targets. The Chinese have taken some older aircraft and converted them to unmanned aircraft for use as realistic target drones. These are used for training pilots and testing air-to-air missiles. The first of these appeared in the 1950s using Russian MiG-15s. China built its own copies of later Russian aircraft, often improving them and using them long after Russia had stopped production. These included the J5/MiG-17, J6/MiG 19 and J7/MiG-21. China also built higher performance target drones using original designs. Again, this was similar to designs pioneered by the United States. In some cases, China obtained the wreckage of American target drones and reverse-engineered the tech. Recently, China has done something quite different with several hundred retired J6 fighters by turning them into J6W unmanned Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses/SEAD aircraft or, by arming them with half a ton of bombs, as cruise missiles pretending to be fighter-bombers. Satellite photos show these unmanned J6W aircraft stationed near the coast opposite Taiwan. China already developed its own versions of 5th Generation fighter drones using their own stealth technology.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon capsule lifts off from Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing's Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX.

The U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They'll replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for NASA's two stuck astronauts.

Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months.

Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who should have launched last year, was yanked along with another NASA crewmate to make room for Starliner's star-crossed test pilots.

"I have no emotion but joy right now. That was absolutely transcendent. Ride of a lifetime," Cardman, the flight commander, said after reaching orbit.

The botched Starliner demo forced Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to switch to SpaceX to get back from the space station more than nine months after departing on what should have been a weeklong trip.

"Every astronaut wants to be in space. None of us want to stay on the ground, but it's not about me," Cardman said before her flight.

NASA's Mike FinckeCardman's co-pilotwas the backup for Wilmore and Williams on Starliner, making those three still the only ones certified to fly it. Fincke and Japan's Kimiya Yui, former military officers with previous spaceflight experience, were training for Starliner's second astronaut mission. With Starliner grounded until 2026, NASA switched the two to the latest SpaceX flight.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Dragon capsule with a U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A in Cape Canaveral , Fla., on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

"Boy, it's great to be back in orbit again," Fincke radioed. He last soared on NASA's next-to-last space shuttle flight in 2011.

Rounding out the crew is Russia's Oleg Platonov. The former fighter pilot was pulled a few years ago from the Russian Soyuz flight lineup because of an undisclosed health issue that he said has since been resolved.

On hand for the first launch attempt on Thursday, NASA's new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, met with Roscosmos director general Dmitry Bakanov, an invited guest. The two discussed future collaboration, then left town after thick clouds forced a last-minute delay.

"What we learn on these missions is what's going to get us to the moon and then from the moon to Mars, which is I think the direction that NASA has to be," Duffy said in a NASA interview. "There's critical real estate on the moon. We want to claim that real estate for ourselves and our partners."

Astronauts, from left, Oleg Platonov, of Russia, Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and Kimiya Yui, of Japan, pose for a photo as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla. Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

To save money in light of tight budgets, NASA is looking to increase its space station stays from six months to eight months, a move already adopted by Russia's space agency. SpaceX is close to certifying its Dragon capsules for longer flights, which means the newly launched crew could be up there until April.

NASA is also considering smaller crewsthree astronauts launching on SpaceX instead of the typical fourto cut costs.

As for Starliner, NASA is leaning toward launching the next one with cargo before flying another crew.

Engineers are still investigating the thruster failures and helium leaks that bedeviled Starliner following liftoff. Time is running out as NASA looks to abandon the aging space station by 2030. An air leak on the Russian side of the station remains unresolved after years of patching.

Astronaut Oleg Platonov, of Russia gestures to family memberfs as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla. Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Dragon capsule with a U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew of four, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A in Cape Canaveral , Fla., on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Chris O'Meara

Astronaut Zena Cardman waves as she leaves the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla. Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

Astronaut Kimiya Yui, of Japan gestures as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla. Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

Astronaut Mike Fincke speaks to friends as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla. Credit: AP Photo/John Raoux

Engineering teams already are working on the plan for the space station's last days.

NASA's Ken Bowersox said the U.S. and Russia need to cooperate in order to steer the outpost into the Pacific with minimal risk to the public.

It will take at least two years to get the space station low enough to where a SpaceX vehicle can provide the final shove. Thrusters on the Russian side of the station will help with control, but that means more fuel will have to be delivered by 2028.

The latest timeline calls for SpaceX to launch the last mission for NASAthe deorbit vehicleto the space station in 2029. Astronauts would remain on board until the last four to six months of the station's life to handle any breakdowns, with the empty outpost plunging into the Pacific by late 2030 or early 2031.

 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Two summers ago, Alida, a retiree from Western Maryland, was buying groceries when her card was declined. On the phone, a bank official explained that $10,000 had suspiciously been deposited into her account under her name, and that it was being closed as a result, she recalled.

"They said, 'Lady, you're a criminal,'" recounted Alida, whose last name is being withheld.

As she fought the bank for a year, Alida watched her credit rating sink until she found a lawyer, who determined that she was a victim of identity theft, and likely of money laundering.

Her case is not isolated. With increasingly diverse ways to launder dirty money1980s-style drug dealers approaching tellers with cash-stuffed duffel bags have lost ground to electronic malfeasancejittery banks are deploying aggressive countermeasures that can harm innocent accountholders, freezing their assets without explanation.

That's one takeaway from a University of Maryland study published last month in Crime and Justice exposing banks' stunning failures to thwart money laundering. Co-led by criminologist and Distinguished University Professor Peter Reuter, the study analyzed reams of financial documents and news articles to produce the first empirical assessment of the world's anti-money laundering system since Reuter coauthored a similar study in 2005.

Among the study's many other conclusions, Reuter found that banks' policing efforts have become more sophisticated, expensive and intrusive, but there is no evidence that money laundering has declined since 1989, when the oversight system was established. Countries that pushed to create itparticularly the United Stateshaven't implemented critical elements of the plan, and while some banks overreach on enforcement tactics, others turn a blind eye to dubious transactions.

"The results of the global effort to control money laundering are somewhere between disappointing and wretched," said Reuter, who has a joint appointment in UMD's School of Public Policy and Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.

The study is also co-led by Mirko Nazzari, a postdoctoral research fellow at Universita degli Studi di Sassari, Italy, and described by University of Cambridge politics professor Jason Sharman as "a landmark in the broader study of money laundering." It challenges scholars and policymakers to ramp up scrutiny: "This is a critical area of study that criminologists, economists and political scientists can no longer afford to ignore."

Chief among the authors' findings is the high cost of modern surveillance tactics. Each year, banks spend hundreds of billions of dollars to intercept money deposited by drug traffickers and other criminals, but less than 5% is ultimately recouped, leaving trillions unaccounted for. The cost is borne by bank accountholders, said Reuter.

Banks' self-protection methods often ensnare innocent foreign nationals, said Reuter, using the hypothetical of a Russian studying at an American university and receiving money from home. "Banks say, 'Let's make our lives easy and close his account,' and then they send him a check," he said.

Conversely, many non-U.S. citizens are blocked from sending money to their native countries, the UMD study found: "A Somalian refugee wants to help his family, and his bank says, "We can't tell if this money is going to terrorist operations, so we won't facilitate the transfer," Reuter explained.

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"These mandates to constantly monitor customers and report anything suspicious should be troubling to the courts," said Jeff Rowes, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, a Washington public interest firm, who represents business owners running money-transfer operations near the Mexican border. Bound by federal law to obtain the identities of customers who make even modest transactions and report them to the government, his clients are losing business, Rowes said.

While many banks take extreme precautions against illicit deposits, others simply ignore them, the UMD study concluded, using the example of TD Bank, which last year agreed to pay $3 billion for allowing drug traffickers and other money-laundering networks to move $670 billion through their books over several years.

Banks may choose to risk such penalties for a variety of reasons: Federal regulations lack teeth, criminal prosecutions are rare, and investigations take time, allowing executives to transfer jobs in the interim.

To be sure, banks' crackdowns aren't without some benefit, as many transaction flags have helped law enforcement apprehend drug dealers, the study noted.

For banks taking overaggressive self-protection measures, people like Alida are caught in the dragnet.

On the back of the $10,000 check deposited into her account in Maryland, her name was neatly typed out, rather than signed, alongside her account number. She later recalled a months-old IRS notice warning of possible identity theft, but the bank ignored her pleas, she said.

Her account contained just a few dollars, but its freezing blocked her from receiving her Social Security funds. No other bank in Maryland would accept her, forcing her to borrow from her daughters for a month. "I didn't have a cent," she said.

Her case was taken up by Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, which convinced the bank to drop the red flag report and remove her name from two consumer agencies that track fraudulent activity. After the 16-month battle, the bank never explained its actions, said Alida's attorney, Courtland Merkel.

Because Alida's name might be on other blacklists and her identity was compromised, "this will most likely follow her for the rest of her life," Merkel said.

According to the UMD study, the United States is likely the largest destination of laundered money and has led global efforts to fix the system.

But "if a bank decides you're a money laundering risk and doesn't tell you why you've been kicked out, that's un-American," said Reuter.

More information: Mirko Nazzari et al, How Well Does the Money Laundering Control System Work?, Crime and Justice (2025). DOI: 10.1086/735665
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Pine forest in Lithuania. Credit: Antonio Jordan via imaggeo.egu.eu

Forests cover about 40% of the EU's land area. Between 1990 and 2022, they absorbed around 10% of the continent's man-made carbon emissions. However, the carbon dioxide absorption capacity of forests, also known as carbon sinks, is becoming increasingly weaker.

This is shown by calculations of multi-year carbon budgets by an international team of researchers in a recent Nature study. The continuous decline in the carbon sink of our forests jeopardizes the EU's climate targets. To halt or reverse the trend, the authors recommend practical measures in research and forest management.

Forests absorb carbon dioxide (CO) from the atmosphere, which they use for their metabolism and convert into biomass. Healthy and growing forests therefore act as carbon sinks, storing climate-damaging CO from the atmosphere in the long term.

Forests are the strongest natural carbon sink on land in the EU, but this function is under threat: between 2020 and 2022, the average carbon sink decreased by around 27% compared to the average value for the years 2010 to 2014. This is according to the EU greenhouse gas inventory published by the European Environment Agency in 2024.

The new figures for 2025 paint an even bleaker picture, with an even greater decline in the sink. If the trend continues, the EU will miss its target set in Regulation 2018/841 to save an additional 42 million tons of CO equivalents by 2030 compared to the average for the period 2018 to 2020.

Causes of declining carbon uptake

Between 1950 and 2020, EU forests more than doubled their biomass and roughly tripled their carbon sequestration capacity. This was due, among other things, to reforestation after the war years, improved forest management, new energy sources replacing wood, and increased nitrogen inputs.

The decline in carbon uptake now being measured has several causes. Timber harvesting has increased and climate change is leading to more frequent heat waves and droughts, which are impairing plant growth. This has reduced the biomass of trees and thus their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.

Climate change is also making sporadic threats to forests from insect infestations, storms, tree dieback, and forest fires more frequent and more severe. This is exacerbated by the fact that EU forests are not very resilient: around 30% consist of monocultures, which are more susceptible to climatic influences and pests.

These factors place a significant strain on forests in the EU and thus on their function as carbon sinks.

"Our research has been warning about these effects of climate change and climate extremes since the heat wave of 2003. Now it has been confirmed: they not only affect ecosystems in the short term, but also weaken the carbon uptake of our forests in the long term," states Prof. Markus Reichstein from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, Germany, who was significantly involved in the study.

However, a weakening of carbon uptake is also occurring in other forests around the world, as research at the Max Planck Institute has shown for tropical forests in the Amazon.

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Recommended actions

The consequences of climate change on carbon sinks require countermeasures on several levels: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing forests to make them more resilient to future climate conditions and extreme weather events, and adapting timber harvesting practices. In addition, we need better and more timely monitoring of all carbon stocks and of the health of our forests. These measurements should provide reliable data to develop the necessary policy and practical measures to restore forest carbon sinks and maximize their resilience.

"However, relying solely on natural carbon sinks is risky. Rather, those who reduce emissions will be rewarded many times overwith fewer climate extremes and, as a result, forests that can once again bind more carbon," concludes Reichstein.

The study outlines specific measures in the areas of forest monitoring, modeling, and forest management to prevent the decline of the forest carbon sink. Implementing these measures could advance the EU's 2024 Renaturation Act, several EU regulations, and its climate neutrality goal.

In addition to calling for integrated measures, the study presents an accompanying research roadmap as a guide for the necessary policy decisions. If timely regulations are combined with incentives for sustainable practices, the EU can still reverse the decline of its forests and maintain its expected contribution to climate neutrality by 2050.

More information: Mirco Migliavacca et al, Securing the forest carbon sink for the European Union's climate ambition, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08967-3 Journal information: Nature
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Tree-ring sample is taken from a tropical cedar tree in a Brazilian dry forest using a motorized drill. Credit: Peter Groenendijk

The top-line findings of a massive analysis of the growth rate of more than 20,000 tropical trees in more than 30 countries may at first seem reassuring: that droughts over the past century have had a minimal effect on their growth. Because tropical forests play a crucial role in naturally sequestering carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmospherecombating global warmingthe trees' resilience should be a relief.

However, the study, published on July 31 in the journal Science, also raises concerns that this resilience is highly likely to wane as the planet continues to warm and the frequency of droughts increases. As announced by the United Nations last year, the global effort to reach the "net zero" target for carbon emissions by 2050 will not succeed at the current rate of progressresulting in more frequent and severe extreme weather events.

More immediately, the large group of co-authors behind the new paper estimates that each dry year may cause enough tree mortality to result in extra CO 2 emissions roughly equivalent to that of Germany in a year, according to their data when combined with separate long-term forest monitoring studies.

One of the paper's co-authors is Erika Zavaleta, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Acclaimed for her groundbreaking research on biodiversity's importance to people and natureand on effective responses to climate changesZavaleta said the bottom line is that we should still expect declines in tropical forest carbon uptake as global warming leads to hotter, drier conditions.

"We found that tropical trees are fairly resilientone might say surprisingly soto intermittent droughts," Zavaleta said. "But I want to be careful: This study did not measure how climate change is affecting loss of tropical forests to increasing wildfires, clearing, disease and more; and deforestation itself continues to threaten them."

In their study, the researchers used the largest collection of tropical tree-ring data to date: more than 20,000 samples from nearly 500 locations in 36 countries. They calculated that, on average across the tropics, trees grew 2.5% less during drought years compared to years with normal or above-average precipitation.

"I agree, that's not a huge change, and that is positive because it means that increasingly dry conditions might have less devastating effects on tropical forest carbon uptake than feared," said Zavaleta, who, along with her former Ph.D. student Paulo Quadri, contributed tree rings from high-mountain tropical species endemic to the Mexican volcanic arc.

Quadri personally hiked to numerous sites near the treeline, the alpine upper limit for tree growth, and collected the cores for two chapters of his dissertation research on how tropical treeline and subalpine tree distributions are responding to climate changes. This new study analyzed tree-ring data collected at 483 locations spread across the tropics: from wet and warm Amazonian forests, to dry forests in southern Africa and cooler Asian mountain forests.

First, the researchers determined the driest years since 1930 for all locations. They then calculated how much narrower the tree rings were during those years, compared to normal years. They also measured the width of tree rings in the two years following a drought and found that this growth dip largely disappeared in the year following the drought.

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Locally stronger impacts

The effects of droughts differed significantly between the research areas, however. Trunk (stem) growth slowed down much more than the global averageby over 10%at a quarter of the locations. This happened mainly in hot and dry regions, such as in northeastern Brazil and southern Africa, according to lead author Pieter Zuidema, a professor of forest ecology and forest management at Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

He explained how the effects of droughts can be more extreme in hot, dry regions because trees shed their leaves quickly, and soil retains less moisture. The study found weaker effects in wetter areas such as Amazonian forests.

The researchers also warn that the resilience of tropical trees could weaken as droughts occur more frequently and intensify under aggravating climate change. They reported this happening at some research sites during the past decades. "Recent droughts have already caused stronger reductions in stem growth compared to earlier droughts," Zuidema said. "It gets harder for trees to recover."

When the researchers combined their data with information from other forest-monitoring studies, they estimated that each dry year may cause approximately 0.1% additional tree mortalityresulting in extra CO 2 emissions from rotting dead wood. Across the world's tropical areas, that seemingly small percentage roughly amounts to the equivalent of annual emissions for all of Germany. That's because, across the tropics, there are an estimated 800 billion trees, according to a 2024 study accounting for those more than 10 centimeters in diameter.

Taken together, lower carbon-absorption rates by tropical forests due to more frequent droughts slowing tree growth, along with extra emissions caused by higher tree mortality, the findings underscore the need for actions to curb climate change and prevent consequences that will accelerate it further.

"Many dry years in a rowor permanent drying, or much more severe drought episodesall likely affect mortality more than we saw in the study," Zavaleta said. "Dying trees have effects on more than carbon: They affect wildfire and landslide risk, wildlife habitat, disease outbreaks, water quality and more. Those are all potential areas for further research and timely action."

More information: Pieter A. Zuidema et al, Pantropical tree rings show small effects of drought on stem growth, Science (2025). DOI: 10.1126/science.adq6607 Journal information: Science
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Top scientists told AFP Thursday their research cited in a flagship climate report by the US Department of Energy (DoE) was misused to downplay the role of human activity in global warming.

The document released July 29 outlines the Trump administration's rationale for revoking a foundational scientific ruling that underpins the government's authority to combat climate change.

The paper was written by a working group including John Christy and Judith Curry, who have both in the past been linked to The Heartland Institute, an advocacy group that frequently pushes back against the scientific consensus on climate change.

It "completely misrepresents my work," Benjamin Santer, atmospheric scientist and honorary professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia in Britain, told AFP.

Santer said a section of the report on "stratospheric cooling" contradicted his findings while citing his research on climate "fingerprinting," a scientific method that seeks to separate human and natural climate change, as evidence for its analysis.

AFP and other media, including NOTUS, a US digital news website affiliated with the nonprofit Allbritton Journalism Institute, found inaccurate citations, flawed analysis and editorial errors across the document.

This is the third time since January, when Donald Trump took office, that scientists have told AFP a government agency has misrepresented academic work to defend their policies.

Previous instances included made up citations in the government's "Make America Healthy Again" report, which the administration then rushed to edit.

"I am concerned that a government agency has published a report, which is intended to inform the public and guide policy, without undergoing a rigorous peer-review process, while misinterpreting many studies that have been peer-reviewed," Bor-Ting Jong, an assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands, told AFP.

Jong said the paper made false statements about the climate model her team examined and used different terminology that led to a flawed analysis of her findings.

On Bluesky, the budding social media platform favored by academics, other researchers in atmospheric and extreme weather fields also deplored that the DoE document cherry-picked data and omitted or plainly distorted their academic findings.

James Rae, a climate researcher at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, who said his work is also misrepresented in the report, told AFP the shift in how the department uses scientific research "is really chilling."

"DoE was at the forefront of science for decades. Whereas this report reads like an undergraduate exercise in misrepresenting climate science," he said.

Contacted by AFP, a DoE spokesperson said the report was reviewed internally by a group of scientific researchers and policy experts from the Office of Science and National Labs.

The public will now have the opportunity to comment on the document before it is finalized for the Federal Register.

"The Climate Working Group and the Energy Department look forward to engaging with substantive comments following the conclusion of the 30-day comment period," the department added.

 2025 AFP
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Credit: Vladimir Srajber from Pexels

A UC Riverside study has found that as land in California's Central Valley sinks due to excessive groundwater pumping, so do local housing values.

The research found that homes in subsidingor gradually sinkingareas lost between 2.4% and 5.8% of their sale value. In dollar terms, that translates to losses between $6,689 and $16,165 per home.

These costs totaled $1.87 billion in aggregate housing value lost across the Central Valley due to subsidence, the study estimated.

"Basically, the land is sinking and so are the property values," said Mehdi Nemati, a UCR assistant professor of environmental economics and policy who led the study. "This is the first time anyone has quantified how much land subsidence costs homeowners in this region."

The study"The Impact of Land Subsidence on Housing Sale Values: Evidence from the San Joaquin Valley, California"is forthcoming in the journal Land Economics. It is co-authored by Ariel Dinar, a UCR distinguished professor emeritus of environmental economics and policy and by Michelle Sneed, a hydrologist who is retired from U.S. Geological Survey. Nemati and Dinar are with UCR's School of Public Policy.

Land subsidence occurs when groundwater is pumped out faster than it is replenished, causing underground clay and silt layers to compact. The result is a gradual, and sometimes irreversible, sinking of the land surface.

"Think of a sponge," Nemati explained. "If you squeeze water out and never let it soak again, it flattens and hardens. That's what's happening underground."

The San Joaquin Valley, the southern part of the Central Valley, is a globally significant agricultural hub with flat, fertile land that stretches as far as the eye can see and supplies world markets with almonds, grapes, pistachios, citrus fruits, and tomatoes, among other crops. It has also been ground zero for such over-pumping, especially during drought years. As surface water supplies shrink, farmers increasingly tap into groundwater reserves, accelerating subsidence.

Overpumping also has been blamed for reducing downward flows to springs and streams, which damages wildlife habitat. Resulting subsidence has also damaged canals, roads, and other infrastructure.

Subsidence also reduces the storage capacity of aquifers, making it more difficult to achieve future drought resilience.

"It's like permanently shrinking your savings account," said Nemati. "Once compaction occurs, some of the groundwater storage capacity is lost forever."

To determine the impact on home values, the researchers used satellite-based radar data to precisely measure ground-level changes. They then matched subsidence data with nearly 200,000 home sale transactions across eight counties. They applied advanced statistical modelsincluding fixed-effects and repeat-sales analysesto isolate subsidence as a factor influencing home prices.

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Dinar emphasized that the findings carry weight beyond the housing market.

"Our research shows that subsidence is not just an agricultural or environmental issue," Dinar said. "It is a serious economic issue that affects families and communities."

One reason for the drop in value, Nemati explained, is risk perception: Buyers shy away from properties in areas known for land instability. Insurance limitations and higher maintenance costs from cracked foundations and buckled roads only deepen the impact.

The damage isn't evenly spread. The biggest hits to home values were in areas that experienced the most dramatic sinking. Interestingly, the effect was more pronounced in communities with higher levels of education and where subsidence was a new or growing concern.

Nemati believes that this kind of analysis can better inform water policy. "If you can attach a dollar amount to the damage, it becomes easier to justify investment in mitigation and regulation," he said.

California has begun taking steps through the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which requires local agencies to balance groundwater withdrawals and replenishment by the 2040s. But Dinar warns that progress is slow.

"Subsidence has been happening for decades, but with climate change and more frequent droughts, the problem is getting worse," Dinar said.

The study underscores the importance of data-driven policy. "You can't manage what you don't measure," Nemati said. "Now we know that every inch the ground sinks has a real and measurable impact on people's lives."

And it's not just about money.

"There are families trying to build equity through homeownership," Dinar said. "When their property values decline because of something beyond their control, like land subsidence, it becomes a matter of social equity."

With nearly $2 billion in aggregate housing value lost across the valley due to subsidence, the study makes clear the stakes are high.

"It's a wake-up call," said Nemati. "Ignoring groundwater overuse doesn't just affect farmers and water agencies. It also hits homeownersespecially those living on sinking ground."

More information: Mehdi Nemati et al, Impact of Land Subsidence on Housing Sale Values, Land Economics (2025). DOI: 10.3368/le.102.1.092324-0083R
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The cell survival (left panels) and GFP expression (right panels) after the introduction of ALC-15 isomers. The (S,S)-form delivered GFP mRNA efficiently while showing low toxicity. Credit: Max-Planck-Institut fur Kohlenforschung/Hokkaido University

A team from the Max-Planck-Institut fur Kohlenforschung, Hokkaido University, and Osaka University has discovered that subtle differences in molecular structure can have a major impact on the performance of mRNA-based drugs. Their findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, open the door to the development of safer and more effective vaccines and therapies.

To deliver therapeutic nucleic acids like mRNA into cells, scientists rely on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs)tiny, fat-based carriers that protect fragile genetic material, enabling it to survive in the body and reach target cells. A key component of these LNPs are ionizable lipids, which help mRNA enter cells and then release it effectively. One such lipid, ALC-315, was notably used in the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, a medical breakthrough that played a critical role in controlling the global pandemic.

The overlooked impact of stereochemistry

While the vaccine is safe and highly effective, one surprising detail has remained largely unnoticed: ALC-315 is used as a mixture of three stereoisomersmolecules that have the same chemical formula but differ in their three-dimensional arrangement, much like left and right hands. This distinction is not trivial. It is well known that stereoisomers can behave very differently in biological systems, affecting how drugs are absorbed, distributed, and metabolized.

Until now, the three isomers of ALC-315,(S,S), (R,R), and meso, had never been individually studied in the context of LNP performance. In their study, Dr. Chandra Kanta De from the Max-Planck-Institut fur Kohlenforschung and his colleagues synthesized and tested each pure stereoisomer for the first time.

"We demonstrate that stereochemistry directly impacts both the efficacy and safety of LNPs," explains Dr. De. "In particular, we found that the (S,S)-form delivers mRNA just as efficiently as the standard mixture, but with significantly reduced toxicity."

Dr. Masumi Tsuda from Hokkaido University, Japan, who conducted the biological analysis of the ALC-315 isomers with Prof. Shinya Tanaka, stated, "We would be delighted if these research findings could contribute to the development of safer vaccines."

These findings are highly relevant, as LNP technology is rapidly expanding beyond COVID-19 vaccines, with applications ranging from gene therapy to personalized cancer vaccines. As the field pushes toward the next generation of mRNA-based therapeutics, the need for precise, optimized components becomes increasingly important. The study paves the way for improved LNP formulations, offering the potential for safer and more effective mRNA delivery in a broad spectrum of future therapies.

More information: Chandra Kanta De et al, The Overlooked Stereoisomers of the Ionizable Lipid ALC315, Journal of the American Chemical Society (2025). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5c08345 Journal information: Journal of the American Chemical Society
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Peru's national weather service said wind gusts reached up to 50 kilometers per hour in the Ica region, about 400 kilometers south of Lima.

Strong winds from a South Pacific anticyclone triggered a massive sand and dust storm in southern Peru on Thursday, catching residents in coastal regions by surprise, authorities said.

Peru's national weather service said wind gusts reached up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour in the Ica region, about 400 kilometers south of Lima.

The storm in Ica forced traffic to a halt on highways and disrupted tourism activities for three hours.

The effects of the unusual weather event were also felt in the regions of Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacnawhich borders Chilewhere winds reached up to 32 kilometers an hour.

Similarly strong winds were also recorded in the capital Lima, causing some trees to fall.

"This event was caused by the South Pacific anticyclone, which has intensified and is currently very close to the continent, generating high-speed downdrafts at the surface," Rosario Julca of the national weather service told Canal N television.

"An anticyclone is a clockwise circulation in the Pacific Ocean that, when it nears the continent, increases wind speeds," she added.

According to Julca, the presence of such "downdrafts, combined with the desert terrain, has generated a sudden and massive dust uprising."

The effects of the unusual weather event were also felt in the regions of Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna -- which borders Chile -- where winds reached up to 32 kilometers an hour.

The weather agency said the "increase in wind speed, ranging from moderate to strong intensity," is expected to continue along the Peruvian coast through Sunday.

The National Emergency Operations Center said that local authorities are assessing the damage.

 2025 AFP
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This map shows the density of vegetation above ground in forests, tundras and grasslands around the world, as seen by ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission with its L-band radar remote-sensing instrument. The legend is without units, as it's a measure of the extent to which radio waves can pass through the vegetation, with '0' (purple) showing the lightest vegetation and '1.5' (dark green) showing dense vegetation. Credit: Earth System Science Data (2025). DOI: 10.5194/essd-17-1101-2025

Forests play a central role in the global carbon cycle as trees store carbon in their trunks, branches, roots and leaves. However, climate change and human activities can change the ability of forests to absorb carbon and the annual changes in these carbon stocks are highly variable in space and time around the globe. That's why having continuous observations of the evolution of forest biomass over a long period is important for monitoring this essential climate variable.

In the study published in Earth System Science Data researchers have analyzed a method for estimating forest biomass over a 15-year period using vegetation optical depth data from ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity SMOS. This measurementVOD for shortquantifies the opacity of a layer of vegetation, serving as a reliable proxy for above-ground biomass. Based on observations from 2011 to 2025, the study enhances our understanding of how SMOS-derived vegetation optical depth can be used to monitor carbon stored in forest ecosystems.

SMOS: Doing far more than expected

SMOS, launched in 2009, is one of ESA's Earth Explorer missions, which form the science and research element of the agency's Earth Observation Program.

The mission carries one instrument, the Microwave Imaging Radiometer, which operates in the L-band microwave range. Although SMOS was designed to derive global maps of soil moisture and ocean salinity, it has gone way beyond its original scientific brief and has provided data for other usessuch as to measure thin ice floating in the polar seas accurately enough for forecasting and ship routing.

Its ability to measure vegetation optical depth, which can be used to understand more about biomass, has only been exploited in recent years and is one more example of how this mission has brought far more returns than expected.

Vegetation optical depth is a measure of the opacity of a layer of vegetationin this case, forests. The level of opacity is determined by the amount of biomass, its structure and the water stored in the vegetation layer. It is a vital measure, and due to its sensitivity to above-ground biomass, it is also an indicator of the carbon stored. The study looked at the method used to analyze the relationship between forest biomass and measurements of vegetation optical depth.

Matthias Drusch, Land Surfaces Principal Scientist at ESA, noted that SMOS is able to detect how the microwave radiation signal from its instrument gets weaker when it passes through vegetation. "That tells us about total mass: dry biomass plus water content. It's not direct, but it's very useful."

And ESA's SMOS and Biomass Mission Manager, Klaus Scipal, explained why the method of using the vegetation optical depth data from SMOS needed to be analyzed and better understood. He said, "Over the SMOS time series, you can spot major trendsbig droughts, floods, or shifts in vegetation structurebut interpreting them isn't always straightforward. Because the signal includes both biomass and water, we need to be cautious about what we're actually seeing."

However, while satellite observations from missions such as SMOS and Biomass can analyze vegetation properties on a large scale, continuous ground reference observations are also needed to validate the data.

Paul Vermunt, a scientist from the University of Twente in the Netherlands, is researching forest biomass from the ground. He emphasized the need for both ground-based data and for long-term datasets: "You need long time-series, but also a way to interpret them. That's why we're combining satellite data with on-the-ground measurements. The idea is to link what we see from space with what's happening inside forests and even individual trees."

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More detailed data from Biomass

ESA's Biomass mission, launched in April this year, also provides data on the biomass content of forests. Like SMOS, Biomass also has a radar remote-sensing instrument, but it is able to detect radio frequencies at longer wavelengths than SMOS. While SMOS detects wavelengths in the L-band and can penetrate some vegetation, the Biomass mission detects longer wavelengths in the P-band. This enables it to penetrate deeper into forests and capture far more accurate data on their biomass composition, as well as ground deformation.

Drusch said, "Biomass gives us detailed structural data, especially in the tropics. But it doesn't cover the globe and lacks a long time record. If we want maps without gaps, we have to combine multiple satellitesand that's only possible if we understand the uncertainties in each."

And Scipal added, "Biomass has a much finer resolution than SMOS, so it helps us zoom in on the structural details. But to see long-term trends, you still need SMOS. Together, they tell us more than either one alone."

The data on above-ground biomass derived from SMOS is consistent with data on biomass from ESA's Climate Change Initiative.

The Biomass mission will be able to build on this knowledge and will be able to provide more detail on the health of Earth's organic matter in the future. Scipal noted, "SMOS allows us to look on long-term trends on a global scaleand Biomass is now zooming in on spatial details and specifically at structural changes in the canopy."

More information: Simon Boitard et al, Aboveground biomass dataset from SMOS L-band vegetation optical depth and reference maps, Earth System Science Data (2025). DOI: 10.5194/essd-17-1101-2025 Journal information: Earth System Science Data
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A recent sociological study indicates that, despite increasing polarization and partisan animosity in the United States over recent decades, employers are not hiring based on political affiliation. The study "Partisan Affiliation and Hiring in Public Education: The Selection of School District Superintendents" appears by Greer Mellon (Brown University) in the American Sociological Review. The author explores the role of partisan biases in one of today's hotbeds of political divisionpublic schools.

Mellon reviewed ten years of data (20092019) on school district superintendent appointments in Florida and California to determine the extent to which school boardsfavored candidates who shared their own partisan affiliations.

Within these school districts, Mellon found no evidence that board members prefer superintendents with their own partisan affiliations. When evaluating candidates, school boards look for candidates who demonstrate empathy, listening, and relationship-building skills, drawing links between these interpersonal skills and effective management.

This pattern persists even in districts where board members have highly partisan views on some policies. "Contrary to expectations," says Mellon, "even deeply committed partisans can put aside political divisions when making decisions that affect their local community. Even with growing national polarization over cultural issues in education, this study shows that school board members consistently prioritize professionalism and expertise when selecting district leaders."

Mellon suggests these results can be applied to the rest of the country and have implications for the quality of local educational services and the health of democracy at the local level. While Mellon notes that this research "provides encouraging evidence of Democrats and Republicans forging a practical consensus on hiring for prominent local public sector leadership positions in the United States over the past decade, despite increasing polarization," she also sees a need for similar studies in the future to gauge possible growing polarization.

More information: Greer Mellon, Competence over Partisanship: Party Affiliation Does Not Affect the Selection of School District Superintendents, American Sociological Review (2025). DOI: 10.1177/00031224251346993 Journal information: American Sociological Review
Acknowledging starvation won't absolve Washington of responsibility for Gaza crisis

Xinhua) 09:04, August 01, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the "Making Health Technology Great Again" event at the White House in Washington, D.C, the United States, on July 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

GAZA, July 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump recently admitted that Gaza is experiencing "real starvation," and announced plans to set up new food distribution centers overseen by Israel in the territory.

Referring to the past chaos and killings caused by the U.S. and Israel-supported aid distribution mechanism in Gaza, Palestinian analysts and residents argued that Trump's recent change in tone is simply a political maneuver aimed at placating public opinion, and is unlikely to lead to a real change in U.S. policy regarding the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

"The U.S. acknowledgment of starvation carries legal and moral weight, but remains symbolic unless translated into meaningful policy change," Hussam al-Dajani, a Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua.

"When the most powerful country in the world acknowledges starvation somewhere, this carries obligations. But instead of leading to protective action, it has resulted in reinforcing the mechanisms of suffering by assigning aid oversight to Israel," he said.

Displaced Palestinians wait to receive free food from a food distribution center in Gaza City, on July 14, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

"This approach does not serve the interests of the civilian population but perpetuates their vulnerability," he added.

Al-Dajani explained that the aid model now being proposed by the United States risks turning humanitarian assistance into a political tool, rather than a means of relief.

"We are seeing an aid system designed not to save lives, but to manage and control populations under siege," he said.

Esmat Mansour, a Ramallah-based political analyst, shared similar concerns. He described the U.S. initiative as legitimizing an "aid regime" that is closely tied to military structures and security agendas.

"Israel does not deliver aid. It manages access to aid in ways that serve its broader strategic goals," Mansour told Xinhua.

"The United States has chosen to reinforce that framework instead of proposing an independent humanitarian mechanism, further blurring the line between relief and control," he said.

Palestinians carry bags of flour after the humanitarian aid entered Gaza through a border crossing, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, on July 27, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

According to Mansour, Gaza's humanitarian crisis is not only the result of war, but also of a carefully engineered system of deprivation.

"The goal appears to be to keep the population in a constant state of need and exhaustion," he said. "The starvation is being used as a soft pressure mechanism, and the United States is complicit by supporting the very structures that produce it."

Hani al-Masri, a Ramallah-based analyst, told Xinhua, "The U.S. announcement was likely a response to mounting international pressure and global media coverage, rather than a substantive policy pivot."

"This acknowledgment does not come from a place of humanitarian concern, but rather from the need to manage reputational damage," al-Masri said.

He warned that empowering Israel to distribute aid as its military operations continue could pave the way for "a reinforced occupation model."

"Providing food under fire, with no ceasefire in place, undermines any credibility the United States claims in humanitarian leadership," al-Masri said.

Since March 2, a renewed Israeli blockade has closed all Gaza crossings, halting the delivery of food, fuel, and medicine into the enclave. Ceasefire talks have stalled, with some critics pointing to unwavering U.S. support for Israel as a key roadblock.

Claiming to help alleviate the deteriorating humanitarian situation for Palestinians in Gaza, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation established two food distribution centers in late May. Subsequently, it opened two additional centers in central and northern Gaza.

A displaced Palestinian child is seen at a shelter in the west of Gaza City on July 26, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

However, residents said these food distribution centers haven't truly improved their lives or stopped them from going hungry.

Gaza-based health authorities said Wednesday that a total of 154 people, including 89 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition.

Khaled al-Za'noun, a Palestinian man from al-Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, told Xinhua that, "Every time we hear that an American food center has opened ... we rush there, wait for hours, and usually return with nothing."

"Four weeks ago, my cousin was shot trying to grab a bag of flour. We couldn't save him. We ran for our lives," he said, dismissing the centers as chaotic and unsafe.

In central Gaza's Maghazi refugee camp, 40-year-old widow Om Sami al-Sheikh waited for six hours outside a food distribution center. "I came back with nothing."

Her 11-month-old baby, visibly malnourished, lay beside her as she spoke.

"The United States says it cares, but it funds this suffering and sends food through centers that humiliate us," she lamented. "If they really wanted to help, we wouldn't be starving like this. They are not just bystanders; they're part of what's killing us."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
August 1, 2025: For the Ukraine War Russia has been forced to innovate. One of the more interesting innovations involves the use of under 18 children in the war effort. Russian teenagers 14-17 years old now have a military training course at school. Here they learn the basics of military life and are prepared for eventual mobilization into the military. Currently the children are put to work, learning how to operate and repair drones. Then comes actually building drones in school or at home. The young students get official recognition from their schools for their drone related activities. So far Russia has brought over 600,000 children into these programs. In addition to military training the children are encouraged to participate in programs where they learn how to operate drones.

The Russian experience is the latest chapter of the many times children have been used in combat zones. For example, the majority of the Islamic terrorist gunmen, suicide bombers, and helpers of all sorts come from Islamic schools called madrassas. Such schools are found all over the Islamic world, but the ones that produce the most terrorists are those that teach a conservative form of Islam, usually one that justifies militant Islam, hatred of non-Moslems and a favorable attitude towards Islamic radicalism. There are probably fewer than five million children attending these conservative madrassas. But these schools turn out thousands of potential terrorists each year.

An extensive study of the madrassas in Pakistan found that only about 1-2 percent of the nation's children were attending the religious schools. Most of the Islamic schools were concentrated in the Pushtun tribal areas, where they attracted as much as ten percent of the children in some districts. Earlier nationwide estimates ranged from 10-33 percent. The madrassas tend to teach a conservative version of Islam and stress the need to fight non-Moslem infidels, but they also teach basic literacy and some math. Since most Islamic states have terrible education systems, parents see madrassas as a viable option.

Even with the 20,000 or so madrassas in a place like Pakistan, you still have over a third of the children not in school. The national literacy rate is between 50 and 60 percent. It's lower in Afghanistan. The Gulf States only got high literacy rates in the last few generations, courtesy of all that oil money. Saudi Arabia and Iraq have achieved literacy rates close to 80 percent. But Pakistan and Afghanistan haven't got that wealth. Then again, neither does China, which has a literacy rate of over 90 percent, as do most of the East Asian nations. It's a cultural thing, which is not politically correct to even mention.

Even children going to state schools in Islamic nations, will get a lot of religious instruction. Parents who can afford it, send their children to Western schools that teach subjects that will help the children get ahead in life. For Moslem nations, students are encouraged to study religion, even in college. While many Moslem children realize that studying technical subjects will do them more good, at least economically, the Islamic nations turn out fewer technically trained graduates, per capita, than in the West.

This attitude towards secular education has left most Islamic nations illiterate, poor and incubators of terrorism. Trying to change that, brings out the wrath of the Islamic clergy, who insist that the best education is a religious one, and no education at all is best for girls. Thus many Islamic nations are turning out more terrorists than engineers.

Other parts of the world have different atrocities to inflict on children. For decades there has been a growing problem in Africa from the millions of AK-47s smuggled in during the 1990s and ending up in the hands of children and lawless young men. Even the local police have a hard time dealing with this. For example, Kenyan policemen have to deal with tribal outlaws, including children armed with AK-47s. The primary crime is stealing cattle and raiding villages occupied by farmers.

This new source of mayhem is largely the result of tribesmen getting access to cheap AK-47s. As a result the cattle raids, which are an ancient tradition, have gotten a lot bloodier. The AK-47 has become as much of a curse for Africa as many major diseases. Not just in the places you hear about, like Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Angola, Congo, and Sudan but in many others as well. Easy availability of firearms has produced a murder rate in South Africa that is, per capita, ten times what it is in the United States. In western Kenya alone there were over a thousand deaths from tribal clashes in a few years. The violence caused thousands of people to flee their homes and wrecked local governments in many areas. Sending in additional police and soldiers quieted things down somewhat. But the local men with the guns know where to hide and the government reinforcements don't. So, eventually, the police will leave and the AK-47s will still be there.

Foreign aid organizations have adapted by hiring some of the local gunmen to protect the relief operations from all the other gunmen. That just takes money away from more socially acceptable work. But the guns cannot be ignored. Local gangsters can steal a lot more armed with an AK-47 than in the old days, when all they had were spears or axes.

The disruptive effect of all these guns has halted, or reversed, decades of progress in treating endemic diseases. Death rates from disease and malnutrition are going up. All because of several million Cold War surplus AK-47s getting dumped in Africa. This happened because the tens of millions of assault rifles amassed by communist governments for decades were suddenly for sale when these dictatorships fell apart between 1989 and 1991. Before long the world market for such weapons was saturated. By the late 1990s the only market left was Africa but only if you were willing to sell cheap. That happened. At one point you could buy AK-47s in the bush for as little as $20.

The inexpensive AK-47 also made it possible to use 10-14 year old children as soldiers. This was a new development because the old weapons like spears, swords, and bows required muscle. But now, if you could lift a 4.5 kg AK-47 and pull the trigger, you were a killer. Child soldiers changed everything because warlords could just kidnap children and quickly brainwash them. These armies of young killers made insurrection and anarchy more common. Tens of millions of Africans fled their homes to avoid these tiny terrors, and many of those refugees died of starvation or disease. These victims were just as dead, even if the bullets didn't get them. In fact, few AK-47 victims died from bullets. It was the massive fear, and breakdown of society and the economy, that killed most people confronted by all these cheap AK-47s. The children weren't very good shots but if they got close enough to you, they were capable of unimaginable horrors.

The Taliban suicide bomber operations have long been fueled largely by brainwashed students from Pakistani Madrassa religious schools and Afghans convinced, deceived, or coerced into carrying out an attack. Eventually, getting these children from Pakistan became more difficult. Finding adult Afghans to fill in, at least competent ones, was very difficult. Suicide attacks are seen as a decadent Arab custom, not something an Afghan would do. Even kidnapping, taking one or more members of a family to coerce another to carry out a suicide bomb attack worked less frequently. The Iraqi Islamic terrorists went through the same pattern and eventually ran out of suicide bombers. Actually, the quality of available bombers declined to the point where few effective attacks could be carried out. The same pattern repeated itself in Afghanistan.
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Picture of the EM27/SUN instrument of the COCCON-Spain network observing the Sun, almost in the direction of the CAHA 3.5 m telescope. Credit: Calar Alto Observatory (CAHA)

University of Warwick astronomers, in partnership with institutions in Spain, are showing how astronomy tools, that are usually used to study stars, can be repurposed as climate sensors, helping us track how Earth's atmosphere is changing in the face of global warming.

On its journey to Earth, light from stars can change as it interacts with particles in regions containing gas and dust. This effect is especially noticeable when light crosses our atmosphere because the atmosphere introduces lines (like its own "bar code") into the light patterns observed from stars (stellar spectra).

These lines, known as telluric lines, are a nuisance to astronomers, who seek to "decontaminate" their observations by removing these unwanted features, but a new algorithm called Astroclimes, developed at the University of Warwick, aims to harness the absorption lines left by molecules in Earth's atmosphere in stellar spectra to measure the abundance of greenhouse gases (GHGs) at night, such as carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH), and water vapor (HO).

Marcelo Aron Fetzner Keniger, a Warwick Prize Ph.D. Student in the Astronomy and Astrophysics group at Warwick and developer of the Astroclimes algorithm, said, "Monitoring the abundance of GHGs is necessary to quantify their impact on global warming and climate change. Using telluric lines to measure the abundance of GHGs in Earth's atmosphere has been extensively employed using solar spectra, for example by the COllaborative Carbon Column Observing Network (COCCON). However, since they rely on solar spectra, these measurements can only be carried out during the day, so Astroclimes can hopefully fill the gap with nighttime measurements."

With this in mind, an observation campaign has been carried out this past July at the Calar Alto Astronomical Observatory (CAHA) in Almeria, Spain, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, the University of Almeria and the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET).

Astroclimes plot showing Telluric lines. Credit: Marcelo Aron Fetzner Keniger/University of Warwick

The main objective of this campaign is to demonstrate the unique potential of combining solar measurements (during the day) and measurements of other stars (at night, using Astroclimes) to study the carbon cycle, the role of GHGs in the current context of global warming, and the reinforcement of observation systems for these gases.

The daytime spectra were measured using a portable FTIR spectrometer (EM27/SUN) from the COCCON-Spain network, temporarily installed at the Calar Alto Observatory. During the night, starlight was analyzed using the Astroclimes algorithm on data from the CARMENES spectrograph on the observatory's 3.5 m telescope. The COCCON instrument can derive atmospheric concentrations of GHGs that are calibrated and on par with literature standards and are used to calibrate the abundances measured with the Astroclimes algorithm.

Marcelo Aron added, "If we can successfully calibrate Astroclimes with the help of COCCON measurements, it could provide a new network for measuring GHG abundances, complementing current networks with nighttime measurements."

The daytime observations taken by the EM27/SUN at about 2,100 m were complemented by a second instrument at sea level located at the University of Almeria (UAL). Joaquin Alonso Montesinos, University Professor and representative of the UAL in the COCCON-Spain project, said, "We are grateful to AEMET for counting on us for such an important project, which we believe will be a benchmark in the energy transition."

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"The COCCON-Spain national network aims to address the latent lack of atmospheric GHG observations in Spain through the implementation of a network of stations for measurement on a national scale. One of the main objectives of the COCCON-Spain network is to improve current knowledge of GHG sources and sinks, thus contributing to the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change," emphasizes Omaira Garcia-Rodriguez (AEMET-CIAI), coordinator of the network.

Jesus Aceituno, director of the observatory, concludes, "Calar Alto, with its photovoltaic plant and biomass boiler, aims at reaching energy sustainability. These greenhouse gas detections made with CARMENES demonstrate that an astronomical observatory can also serve to monitor our planet's climate."
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(a) Localized electron in a polar liquid. The scheme shows the probability density of a localized electron (contour) in an environment of solvent molecules with an electric dipole moment. (b) Longitudinal excitation of the spherical molecular cloud around a localized electron. The displacements of molecules in radial direction change the nanometer diameter of the molecular cloud. (c) Scheme of a transversal excitation of the liquid on a macroscopic length scale, which exceeds the diameter of the molecular cloud by far. Credit: MBI: T. Elsaesser / M. Woerner

The ultrafast placement of an electron in a polar liquid generates collective molecular vibrations in a spherical nano-volume. The vibrations change the diameter of this sphere periodically for more than 100 picoseconds.

New results from ultrafast spectroscopy reveal how such oscillations in radial direction are distinguished from transversal excitations and how the two of them govern the electric behavior of the liquid. Tuning the concentration of generated electrons allows for adapting the electric properties of different liquids. The findings are published in the journal Physical Review Research.

Polar liquids such as water and alcohols consist of molecules with an electric dipole moment. Via their dipoles, the molecules exert electric forces on each other, by which coupled collective motions of large groups of molecules are rendered possible.

Collective motions have a direct impact on the electrical properties of the liquid, e.g., the microwave absorption, but have been explored to a limited degree only and are not understood at the molecular level.

Ionization of molecules in a liquid by a femtosecond light pulse generates electrons, which are transferred to a localized ground state within several hundreds of femtoseconds. The localized electron is embedded in molecular cloud of nanometer dimension, which encompasses thousands of molecules.

In the early phase of the localization process, collective coherent vibrations of the molecular cloud, so-called polarons, are excited, which manifest in a periodic modulation of optical absorption in the terahertz frequency range (1 THz = 1012 Hz = 1012 vibrations per second). The oscillation frequency is determined by the electron concentration in the liquid.

Experimental results. Credit: MBI: T. Elsaesser / M. Woerner

Frequency spectra of polaron oscillations. Credit: MBI: T. Elsaesser / M. Woerner

New results from the Max Born Institute, Berlin, Germany, demonstrate that polaron oscillations are connected with radial, that is, longitudinal motions of molecules in the cloud and that such oscillations are decoupled from the environment beyond the cloud.

The diameter of the cloud is determined by the screening length of the electric field from the central electron, a length of a few nanometers over which this field is present in the liquid.

Experiments in which electrons were generated by two light pulses separated in time, reveal a polaron frequency determined by the partial electron concentration created by each excitation pulse individually. After the second excitation, the polaron frequency remains unchanged, although the total electron concentration has doubled.

This surprising observation demonstrates a minor mutual coupling of different vibrating molecular clouds and an effective decoupling from their environment.

In contrast, the transversal excitations occurring after electron generation are additive on a macroscopic length scale. The related step-like change of THz absorption is determined by the total electron concentration in the liquid.

A second study done in collaboration with researchers in the U.S. and the United Kingdom and published in Physical Review A shows how to make the electrical properties of different liquids nearly identical.

Control of the electron concentration in different alcohols results in identical frequencies and line shapes of the polaron resonance. This "driven impostor" approach allows for faking the properties of a system by manipulating another one, a concept with potential for applications in optoelectronics and information processing.
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The value of cottonseed could be improved with the partnership between The Texas A&M University System and Uzbekistans Center of Genetics and Bioinformatics at the Academy of Sciences, which is the next step toward commercial adoption of food-ingredient cottonseed. Credit: Beth McClosky/Texas A&M AgriLife

Texas A&M AgriLife Research has reached a major milestone in increasing the value of cotton, marking the initial step toward commercial adoption of food-ingredient cottonseed. This innovative development was led by Keerti Rathore, Ph.D., AgriLife Research plant biotechnologist in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

Rathore has spent more than 30 years improving the value of cotton, going beyond the growers' focus on the fiber and concentrating on the value-added use for the seed, which has a high protein and oil content. Cotton plants produce 1.6 times more seed than fiber by weight.

Rathore's development of ultra-low gossypol cottonseed trait has opened the market to expand beyond the historically restricted market of dairy cows to feed poultry, swine and aquaculture species, in addition to direct use as a protein source for human consumption.

To further advance adoption and demonstrate the global humanitarian potential of ultra-low gossypol cottonseed, AgriLife Research and Cotton Incorporated collaborated to make the trait available for noncommercial use a few years ago.

As a result of these efforts, Uzbekistan has become the first country to formalize a partnership with the Texas A&M University System through Texas A&M Innovation. The agreement, facilitated by Uzbekistan's Center of Genomics and Bioinformatics of the Academy of Sciences, will support the incorporation of the trait into cotton varieties adapted for Uzbekistan, in alignment with the nation's food security objectives.

In addition to validating this trait, U.S. cotton growers may see future benefits as germplasm and future biotech traits are shared back with AgriLife Research following Uzbekistan's adoption of ultra-low gossypol cottonseed.

Making cottonseed edible

The cotton plant produces more seeds by weight than fiber. However, gossypol, a naturally occurring toxic compound that deters insects, is present throughout the cotton plant, including the seeds. The gossypol prevents their use as food or feed for nonruminant animals. To date, the dairy industry's use of cottonseed as a feed has made it the No. 1 consumer of U.S. cottonseed.

Rathore's ultra-low gossypol cottonseed, TAM 66274, partially funded by U.S. cotton growers, was approved for field planting and food and feed consumption by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2018 and U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019.

With it fully deregulated in the U.S., the incorporation of ultra-low gossypol cottonseed represents an untapped market and an exciting opportunity for the industry to incorporate the trait into their commercial varieties, Rathore said.

Nobel Peace Laureate Norman Borlaug, Ph.D., renowned for saving a billion lives by developing high-yielding wheat varieties, supported ultra-low gossypol cottonseed and Rathore's work in a letter for a Nature manuscript back in 2005.

"This research potentially opens the door to utilizing safely the more than 40 million tons of cottonseed produced annually as a large, valuable protein source for improving the nutrition of monogastric animals, including man," Borlaug wrote.

Rathore's goal is the global adoption of ultra-low gossypol cottonseed. He envisions a future where cotton is valued for its fiber and as an alternative protein source. This dual-purpose use of the crop should improve the sustainability of cotton cultivation.

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Former student facilitates partnership in Uzbekistan

Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, Ph.D., Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences former student and current Uzbekistan Minister of Agriculture, facilitated this humanitarian relationship.

"The transfer of cutting-edge cotton innovation offers a significant opportunity for Uzbekistan's cotton industry," Abdurakhmonov said. "It is of interest to the research community, government and farmers, aligning fully with Uzbekistan's food security agenda."

The availability of this technology for research will facilitate the transfer of the ultra-low gossypol cottonseed trait into locally adapted Uzbek cotton cultivars soon.

Rathore said the Uzbekistan partner organization, the Center of Genomics and Bioinformatics, founded by Abdurakhmonov, is well-positioned to acquire this technology because of the researchers' expertise in transferring and commercializing traits.

Their expertise was demonstrated by the successful breeding and commercialization of long fiber cultivars in Uzbekistan, Abdurakhmonov said. Uzbek scientists jointly developed these cultivars with Texas A&M and the USDA-Agriculture Research Service.

"I hope this partnership and transfer of technology will be mutually beneficial and will help promote adoption of this technology in the U.S. and worldwide in cotton farming soon," Rathore said.

Further information regarding ultra-low gossypol cottonseed can be found in a 2020 article published in Critical Reviews in Plant 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:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The next four humans in the parade of SpaceX launches from the Space Coast will have to wait at least another day for their trip to the International Space Station after weather caused a late scrub Thursday.

"Hold, hold, hold. We are standing down due to violation of weather rules," came the callout from mission control with just one minute, seven seconds on the countdown clock. "Bad luck on weather there. We just got clipped by a cumulus cloud right over the pad, so ended up scrubbing for weather."

"Too bad, but we'll be ready next time," replied Crew-11 Commander Zena Cardman, who, along with her crewmates, were strapped into their seats aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A. They had been targeting a 12:09 p.m. Eastern time liftoff.

Cardman, fellow NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will have another chance to launch on Friday at 11:43 a.m. with more opportunities on Saturday and Sunday.

Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron has forecast an 85% chance of good conditions Friday. A backup to Saturday at 11:21 a.m. has similar launch conditions with cumulus clouds at the launch pad, the same concern. Rough seas, though, could be an issue along the ascent corridor off the U.S. East Coast, which needs to be clear in case the crew has to abort for an emergency.

The quartet, who arrived at KSC on Saturday, had climbed on board SpaceX's fleet-leading Dragon Endeavour, aiming to make its sixth trip to space. They had donned their spacesuits after 8 a.m. at the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building, then rode over the launch pad in black Teslas with license plates that read "Live," "Laugh" and "Launch."

The crew were strapped into the spacecraft and ready to go two hours before liftoff, but as the clock approached T-0, clouds rolled in and a lightning alert was issued over the space center.

"It's disappointing, but there's a reason we do it, and that's to keep everybody safe," said NASA astronaut and Crew-9 Commander Nick Hague, who was helping lead NASA's broadcast commentary.

Hague talked about the mental shift the crew will have to get into.

"They're already starting to think about what's the next opportunity and then having to get into the psyche of 'OK, let's do this again,'" Hague said. "And it is to the T, to the minute, do it again. So it is very much a Groundhog Day."

When it does launch, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said it will be groundbreaking for NASA use of a commercial spacecraft.

"We worked very hard with SpaceX to complete all the reuse activities for this vehicle. We had certified the vehiclesthe Dragonsfor only five flights. Now, we've completed all that work, and we're really ready to go," he said.

It was the same Crew Dragon that flew the first astronauts for SpaceX back in 2020, now part of a stable of five crew-capable Dragons. With Crew-11's launch, SpaceX will have flown 74 humans across 19 missions in just over five years.

The first-stage booster for this mission is making its third flight and will aim for what will be SpaceX's final use of Landing Zone 1 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

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SpaceX warns of the possibility that one or more sonic booms could be heard across parts of Central Florida, including Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie and Okeechobee counties. The last use of the landing zone during the Axiom Space Ax-4 launch had reports of the boom heard as far as Lake County.

The mission will relieve the Crew-10 members who have been on board the space station since mid-March, but won't undock until they complete a short handover period during which the space station population will grow from seven to 11.

Crew-11 will be on the station for at least six months, but NASA could stretch the mission to as long as eight months.

For its members, Cardman and Platonov are rookies, while Yui is making his second trip, having flown to the station a decade ago, and Fincke is making his fourth trip to space, having last flown to the station as part of STS-134, the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, as well as two previous missions on Soyuz spacecraft.

Cardman had originally been tapped to command the Crew-9 mission, but was bumped after NASA needed space on board to allow for the return flight to the two Boeing Starliner astronauts that were left behind on the station when their spacecraft was sent home without crew because of safety concerns.

Fincke and Yui had both been training to fly future crewed missions of Starliner, but were shifted to this SpaceX mission as Boeing's beleaguered spacecraft continues to face delays.

With their arrival to the station, the orbiting laboratory will have welcomed 290 people from 26 nations. The station will mark 25 years of continuous human presence in November, having begun Expedition 1 in 2020. The Crew-11 crew will become of Expedition 73 when they arrive and continue on as part of Expedition 74, which begins in November when the next replacement crew from Russia arrives.

2025 Orlando Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
More Speakers Announced for Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival 2025

Gibraltar Cultural Services (GCS), on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is delighted to confirm another headliner and a further eight authors who will be participating in the Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival 2025.

Our third headliner is Conservative MP and former Chancellor and Foreign Secretary, Sir Jeremy Hunt. In his book, Can We Be Great Again? Why a Dangerous World Needs Britain, he explores Britains role in a post-Brexit world and questions whether the UK can remain a global force amid shifting international power. Drawing on his experience in government, Hunt argues that Britain still has a vital part to play. Before entering politics, he founded the educational publishing company Hotcourses and established a charity supporting AIDS orphans in Africa, where he remains actively involved. Sir Jeremy Hunt will be In Conversation With The Chief Minister, The Honourable Fabian Picardo KC.

We are also pleased to announce a further line up of authors coming to Gibraltar for the Festival:

Lady Fiona Carnarvon, The Countess of Carnarvon, is a British author and historian. She lives at Highclere Castle, the real-life setting for Downton Abbey. Her most prominent books include Lady Almina, Lady Catherine and a new book to be released in September 2025 A Year at Highclere  Secrets and Stories from The Real Downton Abbey. These works offer a compelling blend of biography, history, and social insight into early 20th-century aristocratic life. Through her writing, she brings Highcleres rich past to life for modern readers and to a global audience.

Award winning Historian and author Carlo Greppi is known for his powerful storytelling and focus on human resilience. His book, A Man of Few Words  The Bricklayer of Auschwitz Who Saved Primo Levi, tells the moving true story of quiet heroism during the Holocaust. Greppi has authored over 14 works, exploring memory, resistance, and the power of hope in history. The EUs former Ambassador to the United States, the UN and the UK, Joao Vale De Almeida with his publication The Divorce of Nations: A Diplomats Inside View as the Global Order Collapses. Joao details a vivid and unique account of the first 1,000 days of Brexit; recalls the fifteen times he met Putin, the Great Financial Crisis, and the aftermath of 9/11; and shares many insightful accounts of interacting with world leaders.

Professor Janne Haaland and Professor Rob Johnson will present NATO and the Russian War in Ukraine. The talk will discuss how the Western defence alliance might turn Moscows war on Ukraine from a major challenge into a basis of renewal. The chapters are written with specific reference to the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has galvanised a new era of integration and alliance cooperation within NATO.

New York Times Illustration Award recipient, James Mayhew has published over 70 illustrated books including the Ella Bella Ballerina series, Once Upon a Tune and most recently A Symphony of Stories. His presentation at the festival will form part of the Schools Programme sponsored by the John Mackintosh Educational Trust combining stories, classical music and art both in an inspirational and fun setting.

Professor Khalid Bekkaoui from the University of Fez with his book Necklace and Pomegranates, a multicultural historical work set in the dynamic world of late Victorian Gibraltar. The book is a narrative of love, cultural heritage, history, memory and the complexities of identity. Professors Bekkaouis participation is made possible with the support of the Gibraltar Moroccan Business Association in Tangier.

Journalist and broadcaster Alice Mascarenhas MBE, presents a book on her late father, prominent journalist and broadcaster Manolo Mascarenhas, who is known for his Radio Gibraltar 1960s broadcasts of Palabras al Viento as the book is aptly titled. Palabras al Viento is central to this book which is not only biographical but a record of his writings in the newspapers from 1946 to 1972 and which cover most aspects of life in Gibraltar at the time. A panel discussion at this years festival will look back on Palabras al Viento which played a crucial role in keeping up the morale of the Gibraltarians in the face of the escalating Spanish political campaign against the Rock culminating with the closure of the frontier in 1969  safeguarding community identity and historical memory.

And in collaboration with Seabourn Cruise Line, British former royal butler and the UKs foremost etiquette expert, Grant Harrold with his new publication The Royal Butler. The book provides an unforgettable memoir and portrait of a royal household, telling the full story of how a boy who grew up obsessed with the royals ended up at the heart of their household.

Minister for Culture and Tourism, the Hon Christan Santos GMD MP, said: The Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival is no doubt a highlight of our Cultural and Tourism calendar and the amazing guest speakers are a testament to that. I look forward to another great festival later in the year.

The festival will be held from the 10th to 16th November 2025. For further information please contact the Festival Director on telephone: 20047309 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Gibraltar Port Authority Introduces Towage Charges for Broken-Down Pleasure Craft

The Gibraltar Port Authority (GPA) wishes to inform the public of the introduction of towage charges for pleasure crafts that require assistance within Gibraltar Territorial Waters due to breakdowns or recovery.

This new policy will come into effect from Friday 1st August 2025, and is part of GPAs ongoing efforts to ensure efficient use of port resources and promote responsible vessel operation within local waters.

Under the new towage cost structure, the following rates will apply:

 Weekdays (08:00  17:00): 133.00 per hour

 Weekdays (17:00  08:00), weekends, and public holidays: 265 per hour

 Emergency berth, first 24 hours free, thereafter 100 a day.

These rates will be applicable when assistance is rendered by the Gibraltar Port Authority.

The GPA remains committed to ensuring safety for all port users within Gibraltar waters. Vessel owners and operators are reminded of the importance of always maintaining their crafts in a seaworthy condition to avoid the need for emergency intervention.
At the Covenant Woods senior living community in Mechanicsville, many have gotten to know the resident war hero in their midst  Chief Warrant Officer Al Michaels.

During the Vietnam War, Michaels, 82, was one of approximately 3,400 Dustoff helicopter crew members responsible for evacuating approximately 900,000 soldiers and civilians.

Last fall, the Dustoff crews were collectively approved as recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award given by Congress.

On Wednesday, the Covenant Woods community held a surprise celebration to honor Michaels heroism and Congressional Gold Medal recognition.

I cant believe you got away with this, Michaels joked to the many attendees. Theres no secrets in Covenant Woods, but that was a well-kept secret.

Flying into danger

Originally hailing from Pittsburgh, Michaels joined the Army and served in Vietnam from February 1968 to February 1969.

He arrived in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, a period when North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attacked the South Vietnamese and United States militaries.

Michaels started off in the 4th Platoon, 45th Medical Company as an air ambulance co-pilot in Lai Khe, north of Saigon.

Seven months later, he moved to the 1st Platoon at Long Binh as a Dustoff pilot.

Dustoff, meaning Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces, was the call sign for medical evacuations during the Vietnam War.

The Dustoff crews performed evacuations from May 1962 through March 1973. Their duties came with great risk; one-third of the crew members were killed or wounded while serving in Vietnam.

Perhaps the best-known Dustoff crew member was Maj. Charles Kelly, a pilot and commander in his unit.

In 1964, Kelly was killed while taking heavy fire in a landing zone. Refusing to withdraw when asked, he instead said, When I have your wounded.

That statement became embedded in each of the Dustoff crew members who followed Kelly, including Michaels.

Michaels said he evacuated more than 2,100 casualties, and that crew members averaged 1,000 flight hours in a years time.

It was just an honor to be a Dustoff crew member, he said.

Described by his friends as humble, Michaels singled out two crew members who provided great help during his flights.

The two kids in the back, the enlisted men, were the bravest young men you would ever want to see, he said. You medical people would be amazed at the good care that they gave the wounded, and they kept them alive until we could get them to a major hospital.

Michaels lost many friends during the war, including Warrant Officer Timothy Cole Jr.

Cole, also a medical evacuation pilot, was killed on Oct. 18, 1968, when his helicopter was shot down during a rescue mission. Michaels escorted Coles remains to his home in Georgia and continues to keep in touch with his family.

Following his time in the Army, Michaels kept working as a helicopter pilot and became a certified airframe and powerplant technician. He also worked as a safety inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Al, we remain proud of your accomplishments, and we are thrilled that you and your Dustoff colleagues have received this gold medal recognition from a grateful nation, said Rick Richardson, a friend of Michaels for about nine years.

Honoring a hero

Last year, the Senate and House passed the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden on Sept. 26.

At Covenant Woods, residents, American Legion members and other guests filled the event room to celebrate their own Dustoff gold medalist.

Such stories of yours, as well as all those who have served, are truly inspiring to our community, Covenant Woods CEO Thom Wright said to Michaels.

The event included the presentation of the colors, a certificate of recognition presented to Michaels and the singing of God Bless the U.S.A. by the Creaky Crooners, a group made up of Covenant Woods residents.

I really appreciate this honor, Michaels said. To be recognized like this is just beyond belief.

For the Dustoff crews, a single gold medal will be produced to represent all the members and will be given to the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum in San Antonio.

With no physical gold medal available, Michaels fellow community members found a creative solution to depict their friend with a gold medal.

Don Charnock, a Covenant Woods resident, took an image of the Congressional Gold Medal design and superimposed it over a photo of Michaels he previously took.

A few years ago, Charnock took an old photo of Michaels late wife Nancy and spruced it up. When asked by Covenant Woods to create a picture of Michaels with the gold medal, Charnock was happy to do it.

He liked the picture that I did with her so much, and he seemed to be so appreciative of it, Charnock said of Michaels. I just wanted to duplicate the feeling all over again.
At least two injured in second aggressive Tulum land eviction

Tulum, Q.R.  Two people were reported injured by firearm during a new eviction operation in Tulum. A group of illegal settlers were evicted from property known as Tren Maya located about six kilometers south of the town.

Police, military and National Guard were part of the eviction that took place off the TulumFelipe Carrillo Puerto federal highway Thursday morning. There are reports more than 100 people were living on the land.

During the early morning eviction, residents clashed with authorities leaving at least two residents with injuries. Residents reportedly armed themselves with rocks and machetes when armed authorities stormed the property.

Municipal police, National Guard and military blocked them from reentering the area during the Thursday eviction. It is the second attempt to evict the large group of illegal squatters living on the land. Local authorities have not made any public comments on the latest eviction attempt.

On July 23, authorities stormed the same illegal settlement to evict those living on the land. Structures were destroyed during the eviction attempt. In response, the illegal residents lit tires on fire they used to block a section of federal highway.
Gunman shot in attempted robbery outside Cancun convenience store

Cancun, Q.R.  Police intercepted an attempted robbery on Bonampak Avenue Thursday morning. According to Cancun Police, an armed man attempted to rob a motorist in SM 3. When authorities arrived, the man shot at police before taking off on foot.

The armed man attempted to rob someone outside a convenience store Thursday morning.

The incident happened around 10:00 a.m. outside a convenience store at the intersection of Chichen Itza Avenue and Bonampak Avenue. A Red Alert was issued when the armed man fired at police.

Police returned fire, injuring the man in a leg. The injured man ran toward a nearby condominium complex where he was captured and taken to hospital under police guard.

There are reports that one of the involved officers was also injured in the firearm attack. He received a gunshot wound to a foot during the exchange of bullets.

Municipal Police thwarted a robbery in the city center. In an immediate response, officers from the Municipal Department of Citizen Security and Traffic managed to prevent a robbery of a motorist at the intersection of Chichen Itza Avenue and Bonampak Avenue, SM 3, Cancun Police reported in their afternoon statement.

The armed man was found injured after running toward a condominium complex.

The alleged assailant, who was carrying a firearm, fired at the officers as he attempted to flee. The officers repelled the attack and managed to immobilize him, thus ensuring the safety of the victim and the safety of the area. We reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding the well-being of those who live and travel in our municipality.
by Azadeh Amirsadri

A South Asian person I dated for a year complained to me one day that I was too Iranian. He said a lot of things I did had that tint and flavor to them. We were eating lunch that I had prepared, which consisted of rice and chicken, and I had a plate of fresh herbs that accompanies most meals in Iran. As he was enjoying his meal, he continued that he had never met someone as still ingrained in their own culture as I was. When I pressed for details, he said things like having pistachios and sweets at home to go with tea, or serving fruit for dessert. The irony of it all is that he loved it when I cooked Persian dishes and enjoyed them when I sent him home with leftovers, and really appreciated the snacks I had in my house to accompany his 5 pm scotch.

He, on the other hand, was adamant about his detachment from his own country, distancing himself from his childhood and background. He primarily discussed the Irish Catholic school he attended in Lahore, the university he studied at in Russia, and his work and life in Moscow. When I asked about his parents or family, he would tell me more about their positions as physicians in the military, their proper table manners, taking tea in the afternoon, and what behaviors were not acceptable in his family. They were not the type who showed emotions and kept things very formal, an oddity in that culture. I found it very interesting, when I wasnt confused by his comments, that he played Indian songs that his mother loved in the car during a trip we took to Arizona, as we were driving to the Grand Canyon. When he wasnt paying attention, he too would revert to his Pakistani self, instead of the British-Russian person he made himself to be, looking down at his own people. When he did spend time with his relatives, he acted as the outrageous boundary-pushing person who would not abide by his cultural rules. Making fun of his culture and himself was somehow his way of pushing it away and asserting the new self he had created a long time ago.

My Iranian friends tell me I have become too American, that I am too direct and dont tarof (a social system of politeness and etiquette) enough. I was also told that I was too direct as a teenager by my school friends in Iran, and for being honest back home. I was called naive, simple, and easily fooled. It may be true, since I do take people at face value, and also try to distance myself from formalities that can become a labyrinth of deceptions and conflicting messages. I lacked the street smarts that so many of my friends had and paid the consequences a few times.

These days, though, when its easier to explain something in English, since I have lived in the US for 49 years, I get some amused looks from my friends, but thankfully not much judgment. At one point in my life, I distanced myself physically and linguistically from all Iranians because I just had it with the unsolicited advice and opinions that are offered freely under the excuse of caring. I was also married to an American, so it was easier in general, not having to translate or explain the nuances of my mother tongue to him and his family. English can be a direct language, and it suited me and my personality. When I reintegrated myself back with the people of my own culture, I realized I had changed in some inevitable ways, still not big on tarof, but quite comfortable with cursing, although in English, to express exact feelings instead of dancing around them with too many words. Cursing in Farsi, though, is another issue. My sister says she cant even form the word for fuck in her mouth in Farsi as it is so bad and taboo. If we were to ever even say that word, wed whisper it in a joking way and laugh it off to make it hidden again.

The other day, after saying WTF in a group of Iranian friends, I had to explain the meaning to a woman who is highly educated and has lived in Tanzania when she worked for the UN. She looked at me and laughed, the same way my grandchildren do when they are explaining Sus and Rizz to me and all the other abbreviations that each generation comes up with.

Manners-wise, I am still very Iranian. I stand up when an elder enters the room or when I greet someone. I let others go in front of me as we enter or exit a place, I wait for others to be served before I start eating, and leaving a gathering and saying goodbye still takes me a long time, even though I wish I could just exit politely without too much fanfare. Yet, as I write this, I have to confess that I still enjoy the long goodbyes as they reconfirm the connections and contain a promise of more to come.

What bothers me a lot, though, is someone throwing things, especially food, at me. One time, in a large school meeting, this creepy assistant principal was trying to motivate the staff by calling their name and asking questions, and if you got it right, you would get candy, except he would throw it at you and make a comment on how well you caught it. When he called my name, I answered his question, but did not even try to catch the Snickers bar thrown at me. He paused the frenzy he had created with his candy motivation and said, You didnt get your candy, to which I replied, No one throws food at me. He stared at me for a few seconds and realized it was better to move on than challenge my irrational answer.
State government meets with Mahahual settlement leaders over irregular properties

Mahahual, Q.R.  A meeting was held between state government officials and settlement leaders of Mahahual Thursday. Personnel from the Strategic Projects Agency of the State of Quintana Roo (AGEPRO) met with the leaders after canceling a previously agreed upon July 30 meeting.

Carlos Flores, the General Director of AGEPRO said the meeting was set with the goal of providing legal certainty to families living in irregular settlements in the community of Mahahual.

He reported that the Thursday meeting was held with leaders of the settlements currently participating in the regularization process for properties owned by the Strategic Projects Agency of the State of Quintana Roo (AGEPRO).

Ongoing dialogue with citizens is key to advancing the regularization process and ensuring that the people of Quintana Roo live with legal security, said Carlos Flores.

The meeting was attended by Mahahual authorities, Undersecretary of Government Nabil Eljure Terrazas and residents, who, along with representatives from AGEPRO, listened to and directly addressed the concerns of citizens.
Suspect wanted for 4 murders, kidnapping and extortion in Quintana Roo arrested in Yucatan

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  A man wanted for murder in Cancun and Playa del Carmen was arrested in the Yucatan city of Merida. An outstanding warrant was executed against Andres N in Merida Thursday in collaboration with the Attorney Generals Office of Yucatan.

The Public Security Secretariat (SSP) of the State of Yucatan participated with other states in the country to locate and arrest him. According to the SSP, 46 year old Andres N, who originally from Tenosique, Tabasco, was taken into legal custody after being a fugitive since 2022.

Intelligence and surveillance work were carried out by the State Investigation Police (PEI), in coordination with the Yucatan State Attorney Generals Office (FGE) and in collaboration with authorities in the neighboring state, leading to his location.

The incident that led to his Merida arrest occurred in November 2022 when he allegedly used a firearm to kill 35-year-old L. E. L., with whom he had a financial dispute. Both were involved in illicit activities.

Police say Andres N has three additional open investigations against him for the murder of three other people along with kidnapping and extortion charges. He is also being investigated for the disappearance of a fourth person.

According to police investigations, Andres N is connected to the attempted extortion of land-invading families in Cancun, kidnappings and femicides. After the Merida arrest, the investigating officers in Yucatan handed him over to their counterparts in Quintana Roo.

In Quintana Roo, the State Attorney General (FGE) reported that, in collaboration with its counterpart in Yucatan, they achieved the arrest of Andres N, alias Chivis, considered a priority target of the Quintana Roo Crime Atlas.

He was wanted for his possible involvement in acts probably constituting the crime of aggravated homicide against a victim of reserved identity, in addition to being investigated for other homicides and for the crimes of kidnapping and extortion.

A judge issued a warrant for his arrest for the October 17, 2022 murder of a Belize man. Police say he allegedly ordered a subject by telephone to locate the address of the victim, a Belizean male, who according to him was dedicated to stealing from houses.

After locating the victim, the suspect was provided with instructions on where to find a motorcycle and the weapon to kill the Belize man. Police say after carrying out the order, he was warned not to speak or the same thing would happen to him.

The FGE says they currently have three additional investigations open for Andres N. One for the murder of three people that occurred on March 2, 2024 in the In-House invasion zone of Playa del Carmen and the second for the kidnapping of two people in July of this year at a ranch located on the Cancun-Leona Vicario highway in the municipality of Puerto Morelos.

The third investigation is for his alleged involvement in the crime of extortion against an aluminum shop worker in Cancun from whom he demanded 50,000 pesos to allow him to work.

Investigations conducted by the Investigative Police indicate that Andres N is one of the main perpetrators of violence in the In House invasion area of Playa del Carmen.

Police are working on connecting Andres N to the disappearance of a man who worked as a taxi driver. Police have not identified the taxi driver.
From behind a computer screen in the basement of his Moneta home, Evan Strauss stirred widespread chaos and fear.

Known as the Reaper, he was the leader of Purgatory, an online organization that placed false 911 calls about school shootings and other disasters, outed its perceived enemies by posting their personal information on the internet, and extorted women and girls to submit sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to its members.

We have essentially a criminal organization that was terrorizing people across the country, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Scheff said.

But behind the online persona was an autistic 27-year-old with severe mental and developmental disorders, someone who lived with his parents because he couldnt hold a job at a fast-food restaurant, maintain a bank account or develop a normal social life.

Reaper was everything Evan was not, Strausss attorney explained.

And so, when Evan logged on to his computer, he shed his distresses and trauma and insecurities (or so he thought) and he donned the persona of Reaper, the leader of an online community that sowed chaos  because it was cool, because it was a game, because it wasnt real life, Assistant Public Defender Beatrice Diehl wrote in court documents.

The two worlds met Thursday in Roanokes federal court, where Strauss was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stalking and possession of child pornography.

His cyberstalking and online victimization of a 17-year-old girl from Wyoming represent just a small part of the activities of Purgatory, described by authorities as a group that Strauss created and ran from his Franklin County home.

Last week, Strauss pleaded guilty in Marylands federal court to charges of conspiracy, cyberstalking, and making interstate threats to damage or destroy buildings by fire or explosives.

In a practice known as swatting, Strauss called police in Newark, Delaware, and claimed to have heard shots fired in a high school hallway. A second Purgatory member called 911 seconds later and threatened to shoot a teacher and students at Newark High School.

The school was placed on lockdown until it was determined that the threats were a hoax. Later that day, Purgatory members boasted online and posted images from news coverage of the event.

Similar disturbances attributed to Strausss group happened at a casino in Columbus, Ohio, an airport in Albany, New York, a mobile home in Dothan, Alabama, and a high school in Boston. The callers obscured their identities by using Voice over Internet Protocol services.

Strauss, who was charged along with two 19-year-old men from Columbus and Hagerstown, Maryland, is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

At his hearing Thursday in Roanoke, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon stopped short of imposing the 25 years sought by federal prosecutors, citing Strausss lifetime struggle with autism, anxiety, depression and developmental problems.

Neglected at an early age, Strauss was adopted by caring foster parents. But starting at age 2, he was prescribed a laundry list of medications for disorders that continued to plague him, Diehl wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Despite his troubles, Strauss was able to graduate from high school with a special education degree.

Unfortunately, after graduation, Evans life stalled, the report read. He lived with his parents as an adult, but was very much still a child.

In November 2023, Strauss met online a girl from Wyoming, knowing that she was only 17 and was suffering from mental health issues, prosecutors said. Within a matter of days, Mr. Strauss became controlling and abusive, Scheff wrote in court papers.

Strauss cyberstalked the girl and made threats against her and her family. He also directed her to cut herself and carve his Reaper moniker onto her thigh, forced her to send him nude photographs of herself, and secretly videotaped her sexual activities, according to court records.

With his own mental problems, Strauss could understand what she was going through, Scheff said. But rather than empathize, he took advantage of those vulnerabilities.

In a statement to Dillon before he was sentenced, Strauss apologized to the victim and her family and accepted responsibility for his actions. The computer was an escape from real life, he said. I could be someone else.

Strauss said he hoped to get treatment in prison and someday return home. I just want to be a normal person in society, he said.

Earlier in the proceeding, Scheff described Strausss conduct as evil, drawing this response from Diehl in her closing arguments:

Despite what the government is trying to claim, there is no devil on one side and angel on the other side. There are shades of grey, she said. We dont throw someone in prison for the rest of their adult life because they have mental health disorders.
Hit by a funding crisis, largely linked to a cut in the United States' contribution, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has been forced to announce the suspension of a fact-finding mission into human rights abuses committed in eastern DRC.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, announced last week that this mission could not go ahead "until - and unless - the funds are available."

"The situation is very worrying," a UN employee in the DRC confirmed.

In an email sent to RFI journalists, the High Commissioner wrote that he regretted that the next stage of the process could not be completed given that voluntary contributions are down by $60 million (51 million) this year.

The major cash crunch is caused by some countries failing to fully pay their contributions, compounded by major cuts in foreign aid by the United States under President Donald Trump.

Washington was still the institution's largest donor last year, with a payment of $36 million (33 million), but its contribution to the mission's funding fell to zero as of 31 May.

Turk warned that the funding cuts to his office only "serve to consolidate the position of dictators and authoritarian leaders."

Plagued by violence

The mission was launched in February following the adoption of a Human Rights Council resolution calling for the urgent establishment of a fact-finding mission and a commission of inquiry composed of three independent experts.

The work in eastern DRC had begun work with $1.1 million in funding from emergency reserves with an overall budget estimated at $3.9 million (3.3 million).

The procedure aimed to "collect, gather and analyse evidence" of allegations and human rights abuses committed in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

The fact-finding mission had already resulted in the collection of "a large amount of evidence from victims and witnesses in the DRC, Rwanda and Burundi, as well as other countries," Turk, said.

The resource-rich eastern DRC, bordering Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for 30 years and all parties involved have committed human rights abuses, some possibly amounting to war crimes, the UN office has said.

The Congolese rebel group M23, backed by Rwanda, launched a lightning offensive at the beginning of the year, taking control of key cities Goma, followed by Bukavu, and has set up to govern the regions under its control.

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Horrific crimes

The United Nations found that the M23 arbitrarily arrested police officers and large numbers of other civilians, including children during this time.

According to witnesses, those captured were, and are, still being held in "inhumane conditions," and many were forcibly recruited into the ranks of the M23.

The UN report also looked into cases of summary and extrajudicial killings as well as the "horrific" use of sexual violence by all parties as a means of reprisal against communities.

The evidence found by the commission can be used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court.

DR Congo and Rwanda on brink of historic US-brokered peace deal

Meanwhile, the President of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, said Monday that a peace deal with Rwanda aimed at ending the violence paves the way for "a new era of stability".

After several attempts at negotiation, Congolese and Rwandan foreign ministers inked an agreement in Washington on Friday.

The text - negotiated through Qatar since before Trump took office - does not explicitly address territorial gains by the M23.

(with newswires)
Our project started in 2016 with the goal of offering alternatives to apps with basic functionality that demanded  back then at install time  many permissions they did not need. From our humble beginnings with Privacy Friendly Torchlight, our apps have always been available in the Google Play Store. Our current selection of Privacy Friendly Apps has grown since then to more than 30. And with more than 350,000 installs we believe we left a dent. We want to take this opportunity to also thank all our users for their continued support!

However, in 2025, eight years after we took on this project, things have changed. Not in regards to apps demanding more permissions than they need. No, unfortunately not that. What changed, however, is the effort to keep the apps updated. The maintenance for the provision of privacy-friendly apps in the Google Play Store is significantly greater than on F-Droid and is no longer feasible for a research group.

Please note that existing installations of our apps on your devices will not be deleted or affected by this change. However, you will no longer receive updates through the Google Play Store, which means that our apps may eventually stop working properly as the Android operating system evolves and compatibility issues arise. We recommend switching to the F-Droid Store for continued support and updates.

Our Privacy Friendly Apps will continue to be available on the F-Droid Store. For your convenience, we created instructions that explains how you can easily make the switch to the F-Droid Store while keeping all your data: Migration Instructions

Contact: good-bye-googlesecuso.org
South Sudan's government under President Salva Kiir has told the Trump administration it is willing to consider accepting more migrants deported from the United States.

South Sudan has reportedly signalled a willingness to accept more deportees from the United States  in a move that could serve as diplomatic leverage in its tense relationship with Washington.

Officials in Juba have opened the door to receiving more migrants who are being expelled from the US under newly expanded deportation powers, according to a report published this week by Politico.

Many of the deportees are not of South Sudanese origin.

In return, it reportedly hopes to see a softening of US sanctions and improved economic cooperation.

Last week, South Sudan took in eight deportees, including only one of its own nationals, following a six-week legal dispute in the US.

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The others  originating from countries such as Vietnam, Cuba, and Myanmar were rejected by their home governments and ultimately rerouted to South Sudan via Djibouti, under a new US Supreme Court ruling allowing third-country deportations.

US to revoke all visas for South Sudanese amid row over repatriations

Political trade-off

In private diplomatic communications seen by Politico, South Sudan has linked its cooperation on deportations to several key demands: lifting a travel ban on its citizens, unfreezing a New York-based bank account, encouraging US investment in mining and energy sectors, and  most controversially  removing sanctions on high-ranking officials such as Benjamin Bol Mel, now South Sudans second vice-president.

Juba is also pressing Washington to take a more conciliatory stance on Riek Machar, the countrys first vice-president, currently under house arrest amid accusations of plotting a rebellion ahead of the 2026 elections.

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The US has called for Machars immediate release and a return to direct political dialogue.

The proposed deal highlights the geopolitical trade-offs in US immigration policy.

As Politico puts it, some nations see aggressive US immigration policy as an opportunity to push their own demands".

South Sudan is not alone  similar arrangements are being explored with Eswatini and Rwanda, with the US reportedly in talks with up to 15 African nations.

Rwanda in 'initial' talks to receive migrants deported from the US

Meanwhile, revelations of a $500,000 contract between Juba and the Washington-based lobbying firm Scribe Strategies & Advisors  aimed at overturning the travel ban and mending bilateral ties  have triggered backlash at home.

Critics, including civil society leader Edmund Yakani, have demanded transparency over the motivations and implications of accepting deportees with no ties to South Sudan.
SIOUX CITY  Death and taxes are often said to be the two most inevitable things in life. For two days per year, though, Iowans are exempt from one of them  no, it's not death.

Iowa's annual sales tax holiday takes place on the first Friday and Saturday of August each year. Exemptible items are pieces of clothing and footwear deemed "appropriate for everyday wear," according to the Iowa Department of Revenue, priced under $100. The shopper's total bill can be over that amount, but each individual article has to be in the single or double-digit dollar range to be eligible for a sales tax exemption.

Ramping up to the two-day event, local store managers and employees expressed mixed feelings about the statewide holiday. While they certainly hoped for more customers and business over the weekend, some said that this hasn't been the case in recent years.

"When it first came into effect, it did [have an impact]," Stacy Coenen, one of the key holders to a Bomgaars in Sioux City, said of the sales tax holiday. "But in the past few years, we haven't noticed an increase in sales on those days."

Iowa first facilitated the holiday in 2000 with the same $100 limit on items eligible for a sales tax exemption. Twenty-five years later, with virtually everything costing more, some feel that the current price cap on items is now too low to reel in as many shoppers specifically for these deals.

"When we do this one little weekend thing, we still do see quite a bit of traffic," Jes Kirk, the general manager of all three Rudolph's Shoe Mart locations, said. "The only bummer is the prices are continuing to rise, so that $100 threshold is a little less."

"A lot of our work boots and stuff don't come into play because they're over the $100 mark," Spencer Quitt, a veteran employee at Rudolph's in Sioux City, added. "Clearance room stuff makes a difference, and then some socks and stuff, but [the holiday] is not as effective as it used to be."

While not all states offer a sales tax holiday, many like Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Oklahoma have them in late July and early August. This often leads to their correlation with back-to-school shopping, which both attracts and deters shoppers.

"I'm sad to say we don't take advantage of [the holiday] like we should," Les Pedersen, of Cleghorn, Iowa, since 1983, said in a Bomgaars in Sioux City. "If we go back in our days and we had kids in school, we would really love to take advantage of it  I think it's a great family thing."

Pedersen said he preferred the quieter hours of shopping, like late on Thursday morning. Although some store workers felt that the holiday doesn't bring in as many new shoppers as it used to, some customers, like Pedersen, were intentionally out and about the day beforehand because they wanted to avoid crowds.

"Oh God, it's the no-tax weekend, it's going to be busy, I don't want to go," Dawn Zahnley said at Rudolph's Shoe Mart on Thursday. Zahnley, of Anthon, Iowa, was in Sioux City for the day with her adult son, Dawson Zahnley, and said that they were getting shoes on Thursday to be "in and out" of the store scene before the deals began.

The sales tax weekend starts Friday morning and is active through Saturday night at 11:59 p.m. The holiday applies to everywhere in Iowa selling clothing and footwear under $100  for full details about ineligible items and exceptions, visit revenue.iowa.gov/taxes/tax-guidance/sales-use-excise-tax/iowas-annual-sales-tax-holiday.
A high-level delegation from the Emirate of Sharjah led by Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi paid a courtesy call on the Junior Minister of Finance, Mr Dhaneshwar Damry, today in Port Louis.

At the core of discussions were the strengthening of bilateral economic and trade relations, particularly focusing on the Mauritius-United Arab Emirates (UAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which entered into force on 01 April 2025.

The Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, as well as the First Vice Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Sheikh Majid Faisal Khalid Al Qasemi, participated in the deliberations.

The CEPA represents a significant milestone in consolidating trade and investment ties between the two countries. It provides Mauritian exporters with preferential market access to the UAE, including immediate tariff liberalization on approximately 6,700 products and duty-free access on hundreds more within three to five years. Conversely, UAE exporters benefit from immediate duty-free or reduced tariffs on various goods entering the Mauritian market.

Beyond goods trade, the agreement opens new opportunities in over 100 services sub sectors such as financial services, telecommunications, and professional services, aligning with Mauritius' regulatory framework. A key feature of the CEPA is its focus on economic cooperation, with both countries committing to annual work programmes across sectors including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, ICT, and renewable energy. This cooperation aims to deepen bilateral ties and explore business opportunities within the broader African region.

Emirate of Sharjah

Sharjah, the third largest emirate in the UAE, covers 2,590 square kilometres and has a population of around 1.8 million. It uniquely borders both the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Known for its strong focus on education, culture, and innovation, Sharjah's Vision 2030 aims to promote sustainable development, economic diversification, and attract investment. Its economy is driven by manufacturing, construction, real estate, and emerging sectors such as greentech and logistics.
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In the 1950s, when the Soviets started to launch satellites into space, it caught the United States by surprise. The U.S. had to make a decision about the future of its space program. Would it try to compete with the Soviets just as an expression of the military, or would it launch a civilian program? The Eisenhower administration decided that it would launch a civilian space agency: NASA.

When John F. Kennedy came into office, he was not very interested in the agency. But the Soviets successfully sent the first person into space when Yuri Gagarin completed an orbit of Earth. The same month, the Bay of Pigs invasion failed. Kennedy decided almost spontaneously that he was going to take the most ambitious plan on the NASA shelf and implement it: putting someone on the moon in 10 years. This initiative successfully captured the public imagination and demonstrated what the government can do when it has the resources.

But after the Nixon administration takes over, it green-lights a fraction of the agencys wish list. And in this new era, NASA makes a series of choices in which, rather than keeping that expertise in-house, it ends up ceding all of this power to contractors.

They crafted a bargain with the contractors, letting them own some of the underlying intellectual property, Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer said. NASAs engineers started to get further and further away from the actual development of the rockets and the parts and the systems themselves.

On a recent episode of What Next, host Mary Harris spoke to Foer about how the history of NASA and its reliance on contractors paved the way for Elon Musks space monopoly. This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Mary Harris: Tell me about Elon Musk. How does he enter the picture as a contractor with NASA?

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Franklin Foer: Musk gets deposed from PayPal. Hes looking to figure out his next new thing, and hed always read science fiction. He was always interested in space, but the way he tells the story, theres a moment where hes coming back from a party in Long Island and hes talking to a friend about what he wants to do next, and he says, I really want to do something in space. And he goes to his hotel, and he logs on to the NASA website, and hes shocked at how the agency doesnt have plans to go to Mars. So he gets a warehouse in suburban Los Angeles and literally just starts to build rockets.

How quickly is he selling rockets to NASA?

He benefits from incredible timing because NASA, in the early 2000s, is beginning to start to think about phasing out the space shuttle. But it still needs a system to transport astronauts and cargo back and forth to the International Space Station. Its desperate. Almost off the bat, before hes done very much of anything, he starts to get grants from the Pentagon, then starts to get contracts from NASA, when he hasnt even actually launched a rocket yet.

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But even so, there was a moment when SpaceX was kind of on the brink and didnt look as if it would survive. What changed Musks fortunes?

During the Obama administration, Musk is really having a hard time successfully launching rockets. Hes burning through huge amounts of cash. But its at this moment that the administration decides that, rather than rely on the traditional defense contractors, its going to try to find a way to tap into this emerging space capitalism. The Obama administration ends up giving Musk a really big contract to be that provider.

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We really should underline the irony of the fact that Musk was brought in earlier this year to slash government spending and fire government workers, but his ventures have been so dependent on the federal government.

In my piece on NASA, I describe this as being kind of a story out of science fiction. In every story about technology, the monster, robot, or whatever ends up spinning out of control and consuming the inventor and the people who created it. Thats kind of whats happened with Musk. Having these contracts helped make him a very rich and powerful man. He turns around and uses that wealth and power in order to eviscerate the very thing that helped create him.

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Lets talk about where things are now. Last year, 95 percent of rockets launched in the U.S. came from SpaceX. But the company is also about satellites and telecommunications. It sounds as if Musk is really in this catbird seat. What does that mean for NASA?

We have somebody whos emerged essentially as a monopolist in a field that is essential to the security of the United States. And that type of dependence is totally dangerous over the long run.

It seems as if space is incredibly important to controlling the future.

Because of the way in which warfare has changed and the way in which communications have changed, global communications increasingly will run through space. It already does run through space for the most part, but thats the way its all going to run. If we ever fought a war with China, it would involve a fight for domination of space. Theres no question that its centrality to power has only increased in this century.

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It does feel as if were beginning to see some pushback, but its not especially strong. For instance, last September, Senate Democrats were arguing that reliance on SpaceX posed grave national security risks. That just seems fair. Theres also the fact that Musk has a tenuous relationship with Donald Trump, now the president, and that may put his relationship with the U.S. government in some kind of danger. Musk personally selected the person he wanted to head up NASA, Jared Isaacman, and that guy was very publicly not given the job by Trump in the end. Can you explain what happened there and how you see that influencing Musk in his relationship with the federal government?

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Isaacman ran a startup, made a lot of money, had a deep interest in space, bought himself a seat on a SpaceX rocket as a space tourist, and ended up, through his holding company, investing in SpaceX. Its hard to argue that he wasnt beholden in some way, shape, or form to Musk. I think hes a smart guy and had a lot of interesting ideas. But when Musk and Trump begin to fall out, Trump decides that hes going to try to hurt Musk in the place that he knows will hurt the most, which is that he announces that he is going to withdraw Isaacmans nomination to be NASA administrator. Musk kind of takes it as the worst thing that Trump could have done to him and begins to really vent in heated ways against Trump on X.

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This is the first time Musk talked about Trump being in the Epstein files, right?

Exactly, which brings us to this moment in politics where were at right now: Musk talking about creating a third party, Trump talking about maybe deporting Musk, who was born in South Africa. And its crazy to me that with all of this back-and-forth and with Trump being Trump and his desire to really inflict damage, that even despite all of that, the government doesnt have recourse. Trump actually cant take revenge on Musk because the cost for the United States would be too high.

Just because theres no ready replacement for what he does?

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Exactly.

Trump has threatened to cancel SpaceXs contracts. What would happen if that actually went forward?

The General Services Administration looked at this and determined that it couldnt do it because Musks satellites are central to the militarys ability to communicate. Also, youd have astronauts who would be stranded in the space station. Musk provides actual services to the government that are essential, and theres no place else to turn to fulfill them.

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Trump is said to be looking for a SpaceX competitor. Sen. Ted Cruz put a provision into the One Big Beautiful Bill setting aside $4 billion for Boeings space launch system. Is that something that could move forward?

There is this other rocket that NASA is developing, but its just not going to have the versatility that Musk has with the Falcon 9. Nobody is developing a rocket to rival Starship, which is the vessel that ultimately will be able to make its way to Mars. Its not clear that Musk is going to be able to build that, because the engineering challenges are so steep, but hes getting close.

Reading your writing about Musk and NASA, I really cant tell how you feel about it. You write that NASA is in a diminished state and express frustration that the shuttle program ran these incredibly repetitive missions to the space station, but you also note that the agency displays extraordinary acumen in science and confronts the greatest mysteries of the universe. So which is it?

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Ive always been very attracted to the Carl Sagan view of the cosmos. For Sagan, science was an enlightenment project. It was a way of helping understand ourselves and our place in the universe. And to me, the fact that the government and NASA are engaged in those projects feels profound and important and a public good and something that the private sector is never going to be able to replicate. I look at the broader Trump war on expertise, on science, and on the production of knowledge. I see NASAs vulnerability as being both representative and just a tragic casualty of this assault. Culturally, weve drifted to a point where, unfortunately, the public doesnt care enough that we have these extraordinary resources doing things on behalf of all mankind, as was NASAs slogan.

But we love watching people rocket into space.

Yeah. Theres this very primitive part of our brain that likes powerful rockets in the same sort of way we like muscle cars. And that to me is very hollow. Thats just an empty fetishization of something thats not even that sophisticated of an engineering problem.
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Its Tariff Day, the day when President Donald Trump said he would impose severe tariffs on countries that failed to sign trade deals beneficial to the U.S. economy. Whatever ones take on tariffs in general, Trumps specific threats and actions amount to a case study of incoherencerooted in personal pique, shameless extortion, a dim understanding of global supply chains, and a style of thinking that lacks a strategic dimension.

First there are the inconsistencies. Earlier this week, Trump insisted that the Aug. 1 deadline was inviolablethen, the day before it set in, he allowed Mexico a 90-day extension (repeating the delay he allowed Mexico and Canada just before a similar deadline earlier this year), making the rest of the world wonder just how serious these threats are.

Second, the trade deals reached so far are hardly what they seem. Trump announced, and much of the American media duly reported, that Japan avoided higher tariffs by agreeing to set up a $500 billion investment fund, which Trump would control and of which the U.S. Treasury would share half the profits. Japans official readout of the deal included no such language, yet the media reports inflamed distrust and debate within Tokyos parliament, which was already in turmoil after elections returned control of the upper house to the opposition party. Nice way to treat Americas major ally in Asia.

Similarly, the European Union reportedly agreed to a deal that would vastly increase purchases of fuel and military hardware from the U.S. Yet initial press reports omitted three vital bits of fine print. First, the specified amount of fuel exceeds European demand; the EU doesnt buy weapons (those purchases are made by individual governments); and the EUs official readout noted, in boldface type, that the deal was not legally binding. In other words, the EU was saying: Well do, and not do, what wed like.

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Other countriesand, one hopes, the American universities from which Trump has extracted bribes in order to avoid deeper punishmentmight glean a lesson here: Its possible to put one over on Trump, as long as it looks like he won the faceoff, even for a little while. Once that first impression is made, hell lose interest; you can go about your business. As a Japanese official noted, If we dont put anything in writing, we dont have to fulfill Trumps demands.

Third, Trumps main target in all this is Chinawhich truly does have a record of unfair trading policies and should be dealt with in one way or anotherbut his tendency to view relationships as isolated transactions wrecks what leverage he might have.

For instance, Trump announced today that he was imposing a 40 percent tariff not only on certain goods from China but also on transshipments of goods that go from China through a third country before moving on to the United Statesthis on top of whatever tariffs might already be leveled against the complicit parties.

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Yet, not long after, he assured Philippines president Bongbong Marcos, during his visit to the White House, that he should feel free to have good relations with China because the U.S. has good relations with China as well.

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U.S.China relations are complicated. The two countries have shared interests in some realms, conflicting interests in others. Managing both sets of interests requires a mix of cooperation and confrontation. This is a challenging task. But pounding China with high-pressure economic penalties, while encouraging one of our close Asian allies to do the opposite, is a recipe for confusion and self-defeat.

Fourth, some of the tariffs are weakening the American industries that Trump said (and probably really believed) they would help. U.S. automakersassumed to be the biggest beneficiaries of tariffsare in fact hurting, forced to raise prices because they import many of their component parts from China and other countries whose imports are taxed. The same is, or will soon be, true of many U.S.-based electronics firms, which also depend on foreigners for vital parts. Some of these firmsincluding a small Minnesota loudspeaker company profiled in the New York Timesmay relocate, possibly to Canada, in order to avoid paying higher prices for these parts. Thisthe inexorable result of the vastly entangled global supply chainis the exact opposite effect that Trump intended.

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Finally, those seeking rhyme or reason in Trumps trade policies will be further baffled by the clear fact that much of what hes doing is driven by pure personal spite. He threatened to levy a 50 percent tariff on Brazil unless its government dropped criminal charges against former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was jailed for plotting a coup. Bolsonaro was a friend and ally of Trumps, therefore his arrest and prosecutionin the words of Trumps emergency executive order on the tariffthreaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

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This is a mix of Don Corleone (Ill make you an offer you cant refuse) and King Louis XIV (Letat, cest moi), and its appalling that anyoneincluding any U.S. officeholdercontinues to respect, much less honor and obey, any president who so arrogantly conflates the nations interests with his own.

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Brazils current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is openly resisting Trumps pressure. He can do so, in part, because Brazil doesnt depend much on the U.S. for trade. But Trumps vindictive move is not merely ineffective; its also damaging to U.S. interests. It has boosted Lulas popularity at home and triggered a wave of hostility toward the arrogant giant to the north. And it has opened up a market for China, whose trade officials jetted to Brasilia just hours after Trump published his edict. (Here again is another instance where even an ounce of strategic thinking could have averted a major politico-economic setback.)

Canada, alas, does not enjoy the same insularity from the U.S. economy. So when Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would recognize a Palestinian state, amid reports of Israels infliction of widespread starvation in Gaza, Trump said he would strike back with 35 percent tariffs on the neighbor to the north. Trump, who finds it irritating that Canadians laugh at his desire to turn the country into the 51st state, may have just been looking for an excuse. Carney cleverly eluded tariffs in his last faceoff with Trump, agreeing to do certain things that he was already doing. Its worth noting that 147 of the U.N.s 193 nations recognize Palestinian statehood, yet Trump hasnt cited that as cause for tariffing any of them.

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It is possible that Trumps moves, against Brazil and Canada in particular, are illegal. A federal district judge is currently mulling whether to rule all of his tariffs illegal. The question is whether Trump careswhether hell keep pushing for tariffs, regardless of what some judge saysand what the rest of the world will do in return.

The United States led the way in creating the international financial system at the end of World War II, largely because free trade seemed the best way to swell the American economy and to promote American interests throughout the world (or at least the free world). This is no longer so clearly the case; deindustrialization (especially in the face of lower wages in other countries) and the rise of economic competitors (especially China) have turned some of the rules against our interests. This is what has made tariffs, or other forms of protectionism, appealingand, in some carefully targeted cases, justified.

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But it does nobody, least of all Americans, any good by turning the United States into a coercive power and twisting the entire global economy into the hunting grounds for one presidents vindictive escapades. Many countries may have to submit in the short run, but they will plotthey are already plottingpaths of revenge and resistance: reciprocal tariffs or boycotts where they can manage (try finding Kentucky bourbon or California zins in a Canadian liquor store); new supply chains that purposefully avoid the United States; succumbing to alternative suppliers, including China, whose influence they would rather avoid, in order to escape Trumps blackmail.

Trump is reshaping the world, but not in the way that he imagines.
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Almost as soon as Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Justice Department began lying to federal courts in an effort to conceal its flagrant lawbreaking. Most notoriously, DOJ lawyers falsely told a federal judge that the government would not deport Venezuelan migrants without due processa whopper that has subjected them to potential criminal contempt. But the agency sneaks smaller, less flashy falsehoods into its arguments all the time. These fibs might seem minor on their own, but they add up to a concerted campaign against reality, a dangerous attempt to reject out of hand any facts that reveal the administrations corruption and lawlessness. Lower court judges have consistently pushed back against this gaslighting. The Supreme Court, by contrast, seems to welcome it.

On this weeks Slate Plus bonus episode of Amicus, Mark Joseph Stern spoke with Leah Litman about the Justice Departments latest deception and a judges refusal to stay silent while government lawyers distort the truth. Litman is co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, and author of the new book Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. A preview of their conversation, below, has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Mark Joseph Stern: On Monday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston released a pretty unusual statement accusing the government of providing false information to the Supreme Court. What happened here?

Leah Litman: This is the case involving the federal unions challenge to the administrations mass layoffs. Its a follow-on from the Supreme Court pausing Judge Illstons decision blocking an executive order that had instructed these agencies to provide plans for reductions in force and agency restructuring. In that order, the Supreme Court said: Were not deciding whether an individual challenge to a particular proposed reduction in force is unlawful. That aspect of the case can proceed. So that is the issue to which Judge Illston turned her attention, looking at the individual proposed reductions in force for all of the relevant agencies. This came about through discovery, dating back to May, in which she ordered the government to produce plans for reductions in force for her to review so she could assess whether they were, in fact, legal.

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And what exactly did the government tell Judge Illston that she flagged as simply untrue?

This only arose because the government filed a petition for a writ of mandamus asking a higher court to block this discovery. And the judge said: OK, well, this is an occasion for me to clarify what is really going on here. The government, she noted, had told the Supreme Court that her initial orderwhich the Supreme Court stayedaffected 40 proposed reductions in force in 17 agencies. That mattered, because when the Supreme Court stayed her order, it found that the likelihood of irreparable harm weighed in favor of the government. The size of her orders impact purportedly mattered in their analysis.

But Judge Illston discovered that those numbers were wrong: Theres actually only 31 reductions in force applicable to 10 agencies. The government boosted the numbers in each category.

So the government made it sound like it was facing significantly worse harmif were defining harm as being unable to unlawfully purge civil servants from the federal workforceand ran to the Supreme Court jumping up and down with these eye-popping numbers. And Judge Illston came back and said: Those numbers were obviously wrong. And the fact that they were wrong shows exactly why I am allowing this discovery, because you are not giving the whole truth.

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Exactly. I mean, the judge was vindicated. And this is part of a pattern of what the administration is doing with lower courts: It is trying to block them from uncovering the facts, dragging its feet, then waving its hands to create some uncertainty about the factsall designed to obstruct lower courts ability to enforce the law against the administration.

Judge Illston is now approximately the thousandth jurist to warn us that this Justice Department simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth. At what point might the Supreme Courts Republican-appointed majority be made to care about all these lies?

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I mean, never? Its not like they dont know this administration lies. This goes back to the first Trump administration and the litigation over the Muslim ban. Part of the challenge in that case was whether the ban included a meaningful process of waivers, whereby the government would actually waive this ban as applied to individuals who could demonstrate that they were not a security threat and had adequate vetting. And before the Supreme Court, thenSolicitor General Noel Francisco represented that this waiver process was real, and consular officials could grant it.

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Well, some reportersincluding at Slatespoke to several consular officials who said, no, the directive is that we cant grant waivers. They have to go through the State Department, which underscores that the waiver process was not that meaningful. So the Supreme Court knows the Trump administration has already pulled the wool over their eyes. It has done so repeatedly.

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And its not just in this case: In an earlier matter involving the attempted closure and freezing of funds at USAID, the federal government represented to the Supreme Court that the lower court order blocking the funding freeze would have required them to immediately pay out a vast number of contracts, an amount of money that was just so difficult to disburse. But if you looked at the facts developed in the lower court, it turned out that, months before, the government was able to process that amount of money in hours. So the justices know this is happening. This has been brought to their attention. And the lying liars on the Supreme Court just dont seem to care that much about it.

Looking at the facts developed in the lower courtwhat a concept! It almost feels naive to think that these justices would do such a thing. They seem to start from the presumption that the lower courts are misrepresenting the facts if they rule against the Trump administration, which flips the burden on its head, but I guess thats just where we are?

They prefer alternative facts. Thats just the rule.
FILE - Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, center, is passed a helmet to sign next to District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, right, after announcing a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - People make their way to RFK Stadium in Washington before the start of an MLS soccer match between D.C. United and Toronto FC, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. D.C. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - People make their way to RFK Stadium in Washington before the start of an MLS soccer match between D.C. United and Toronto FC, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. D.C. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

FILE - Washington Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris, center, is passed a helmet to sign next to District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, right, after announcing a new home for the NFL football team on the site of the old RFK Stadium, Monday, April 28, 2025, at the National Press Club in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE - People make their way to RFK Stadium in Washington before the start of an MLS soccer match between D.C. United and Toronto FC, Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017. D.C. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Washington Commanders' hopes of returning to the site of their former home at RFK Stadium cleared a significant hurdle Friday when the District of Columbia Council approved the legislation.

The bill advanced by a 9-3 vote, but it still must be approved a second time by the council before being sent to Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser.

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Bowser negotiated an initial plan with Commanders owner Josh Harris in April, with the team contributing $2.7 billion and the city investing roughly $1.1 billion for the stadium, housing, green space and a sportsplex on land bordering the Anacostia River.

We are one step closer to securing a sure path to transforming 180 acres of land, which has been our promise to D.C. residents all along, Bowser said Friday.

The Commanders currently play at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, but aim to open a new venue in 2030.

Today's approval by the council is transformational for D.C. and brings the Commanders back to our spiritual home, Harris said in a statement. Like many fans, RFK was the site of memories that fueled my love for this team and this city. Now we're closer than ever to reigniting that energy for a new generation.

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The bill still faces a process called second reading and must be approved again in a vote that is expected in September. And its advancement Friday was not without some reservations. Councilmember Robert White Jr., who opposed the bill, had three amendments rejected. But one of them, proposing stronger penalties if the team fails to deliver on development commitments, drew a sympathetic response from the panel.

I want to see us do better than where we are, between now and second reading, said Councilmember Charles Allen, who supported the bill at this stage. I think you're going to hear enough voices on this dais that want to see us continue to work on this between first and second reading, to continue to make this better. ... The promises made have to be delivered, and we need to safeguard (so) that happens.

Councilmembers Zachary Parker and Janeese Lewis George supported the measure after announcing earlier in the day that a contract agreement between the Commanders and union partners had been signed.

The ownership group led by Harris has been considering locations in Washington, Maryland and Virginia since buying the team from Dan Snyder in 2022. Congress passed a bill transferring the RFK Stadium land to the city that was signed by then-President Joe Biden in early January.

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That paved the way for possibly replacing the old stadium with a mixed-use development, including the new playing field for the Commanders.

However, President Donald Trump last month threatened to block federal support for the stadium project unless the team reverted to its former name, Redskins. The debate over the team's nickname did not come up during Friday's council meeting, although Councilmember Anita Bonds did stress the need to pass this legislation as a way of avoiding possible federal intervention.

The land was transferred to us via a bill that passed Congress and signed by President Joe Biden two weeks before he left office. I don't need to remind everyone that times are very different now," Bonds said. "There is new leadership in our federal government, a new party controlling Congress, and perhaps others across the country and region that may be waiting for us to not approve this deal, so that they can take over. And trust me  if that happens, D.C. gets nothing."

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250801/heritage-for-sale-ukrainian-treasures-up-for-grabs-in-top-uk-auctions--1122534456.html

Heritage for Sale: Ukrainian Treasures Up for Grabs in Top UK Auctions

Heritage for Sale: Ukrainian Treasures Up for Grabs in Top UK Auctions

Sputnik International

Ukrainian cultural artifacts are being sold off to Western collectorsnot just museums. Sputnik's got the screenshots with price tags.

2025-08-01T10:25+0000

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1ST SLAVONIC BIBLE In 2023, Ivan Fedorov's Ostrog Bible, once held in Ukraine, was auctioned at Bonhams in London. This is the first complete Bible edition in Church Slavonic, with only 350 copies remaining today. WESTERN UKRAINE'S JEWISH TREASURES In December 2024, a late 19th-century mizrah and hanukkiah were sold at Sothebys. Richly decorated, they once belonged to wealthy Jewish families from Ukraines Galicia. BESSARABIAN CARPETS Bessarabian carpets and kilims seem to be the most popular Ukrainian-related items  sold at Sothebys, Christie's, and Bonhams. At Bonhams, the lot is still being prepared for an upcoming sale. The southwestern territories of modern Ukraine historically belonged to Bessarabia.UKRAINIAN ART AT SOTHEBY'S Three paintings by Ukrainian artists were sold at Sotheby's auctions in November'24 and July'25. One of them is a portrait of Ukrainian writer Lesya Ukrainka. THE AIVAZOVSKY'S PAINTING SECRET In 2021, one of Ivan Aivazovsky's Black Sea paintings was sold at Christie's. The auction house notes that it is now in a private collection in California. Its exact origins remain unclear, but the auction description highlights: "This lot has been imported from outside the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime." This suggests it may have entered Christie's through the Ukrainian art black market.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250801/israeli-foreign-ministry-orders-partial-evacuation-of-diplomats-from-uae---reports-1122529629.html

Israeli Foreign Ministry Orders Partial Evacuation of Diplomats From UAE - Reports

Israeli Foreign Ministry Orders Partial Evacuation of Diplomats From UAE - Reports

Sputnik International

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has ordered the evacuation of most of the diplomatic staff and their families from the United Arab Emirates, the Ynet news portal reported.

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The order for partial evacuation followed a warning against travel to the UAE, which was published by the Israeli National Security Council, the report said on Thursday. The warning speaks of the increased activity of terrorist groups seeking to "take revenge" on Israel amid an information campaign about the famine in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate general in Dubai are subject to evacuation, the report noted. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on July 23 that WHO was observing a rapid increase in malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza. He added that acute malnutrition affects over 10% of Gazas population, with more than 20% of screened pregnant and breastfeeding women suffering from malnutrition, often severely. He emphasized that the hunger crisis is worsening due to halted humanitarian aid deliveries and access restrictions. On Wednesday, Gaza's health ministry said that the starvation death toll in the enclave had risen to 154, including 89 children.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250801/nasa-willing-to-cooperate---roscosmos-chief-1122532242.html

NASA Willing to Cooperate - Roscosmos Chief

NASA Willing to Cooperate - Roscosmos Chief

Sputnik International

Russian state space corporation Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov said that acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy expressed a desire to continue bilateral collaboration.

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"We discussed strategic opportunities to continue cooperation, despite all the tension. And, most importantly, he expressed a desire for our cooperation not to cease," Bakanov told Russian journalists."We all understand the times we live in, but nevertheless, Sean said that he also understands the full extent of responsibility regarding the fact that these projects cannot be lost, cannot be stopped. He understands this," Bakanov said.NASA Confirms Readiness to Extend ISS Cross-Fight Deal Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy confirmed his desire and readiness to extend the ISS cross-flight agreement between the Russian and American space agencies, Bakanov underscored.NASA Speaks Out in Favor of Continuing Work With RoscosmosDuffy made it clear during talks with a Roscosmos delegation that "in a difficult period from a geopolitical point of view" the relationship between the two corporations should not be interrupted, Bakanov emphasized.He noted that Duffy "emphasized deep respect for the projects that we are jointly implementing."In response to a question about whether there are "any disagreements" at the level of the Russian and US space agencies, Bakanov replied: "we must give credit that all issues are being resolved."Roscosmos Urges NASA to Expand Unsanctioned Cooperation Bakanov said that at a meeting with Duffy, he proposed to expand cooperation in those projects that were not subject to sanctions.Talking About New Projects With NASA 'Slightly Ambitious' - Bakanov Talking about implementing "global new joint projects" between NASA and Roscosmos in the current conditions "would be slightly ambitious," Bakanov said."Today it was important for his subordinates to get approval from the head of NASA to continue interacting. Since it was the first meeting, we really did not want contacts to be broken. Therefore, in the current geopolitical situation, talking about the fact that we will now implement new global joint projects would probably be slightly ambitious," the Roscosmos chief noted.NASA Chief 'Gives the Go-Ahead' for Discussions of Joint Projects With RoscosmosDuffy "gave the go-ahead" for direct technical discussions between Roscosmos and NASA of joint projects, Bakanov stressed.He noted that these decisions "will depend, among other things, on the geopolitical situation and the mood in the relationship."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221215/nasa-to-continue-coordinating-with-roscosmos-to-aid-in-evaluating-soyuz-leak-1105504021.html

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Barely a year after restoring constitutional order and dominating elections, Chad's government is doubling down against opposition and free speech.

Chad emerged from its political transition in January following presidential and parliamentary elections. The country underwent regime change in 2021 when Mahamat Deby took office after the death of his father and long-time president.

The election results saw the ruling party, the Mouvement Patriotique du Salut (MPS), and transition president Deby dominate the political scene. This was unsurprising given that the MPS controlled the process from start to finish, and most of the opposition boycotted and contested the polls.

Despite its flaws, the MPS has used its election win to legitimise its resistance to dialogue with the political opposition. Since January, the crackdown on civic space has been reinforced by a campaign of legal pressure on all dissenting voices, including the media, the political opposition and civil society.

These tactics are reminiscent of the previous regime. Although he came to power promising democratisation, the late former president Idriss Deby Itno's administration was characterised by the dominance of his family and political circles. Over three decades, his reign undermined the foundations of democracy, triggering rebellions, deadly confrontations and weakening national cohesion and stability.

In 2021, his son took charge of a fragmented and unstable country. The transition promised dialogue, reconciliation, inclusion and building a strong nation. But protests, friction and bloody repression cast doubt on the authenticity of the transition agenda.

The legitimisation of Deby and his party through controlled elections reinforces the trend under his father of a single camp dominating public life. In one year of rule, the MPS system has gradually strengthened its grip on Chadian politics.

The judiciary is politicised, and dissenting voices are silenced through arrests and trials widely regarded as biased. Independent media, opposition parties and civil society are also being targeted. Journalists are threatened and arrested while doing their job, with six detained for several months since January.

In February, the head of an online media outlet was arrested for publishing an article on a financial scandal. In March, four journalists were detained on charges of 'intelligence with agents of a foreign power' - referring to the Russian group Wagner. Their lawyers deny the accusations and believe the trial represents the weaponisation of the justice system to restrict press freedom. After five months in jail, the journalists were acquitted.

Pressure on the media remains constant. In June, N'Djamena's public prosecutor threatened imprisonment for journalists and human rights organisations who visited a conflict scene in the south of the country.

The judicial system is also being used against prominent MPS opponents, such as Succes Masra, leader of the Les Transformateurs' party and former prime minister, who was arrested on 16 May. He is currently languishing in prison, accused of instigating a conflict in May 2025 despite evidence deemed fallacious by his defence team and much of the public.

Constant pressure is exerted on opposition parties and their leaders, such as the opposition collective Groupe de concertation des acteurs politiques. Tactics involve intimidation, surveillance and the poaching of activists.

The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation has cracked down on four civil society organisations, banning them from all activities nationwide. Demonstrations and public protests remain prohibited unless authorised by the ministry. But for over two years, all applications have been systematically rejected.

Meanwhile, Chad lacks real political alternatives. In the National Assembly, 124 of 188 members (66%) belong to the ruling party. The remaining seats are split between parties allied to the MPS, undercutting any chance of real debate in Parliament.

Similarly, 44 of the Senate's 46 elected representatives are MPS members. The constitution allows the president to appoint another 23 senators, all of whom are part of Deby's inner circle. The Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament are almost all under the MPS banner, raising fears of a drift to de facto one-party rule.

Chad's precarious democratic project is in danger. Less than a year after returning to constitutional order, the country is steadily taking an authoritarian turn, returning to conditions that weakened national cohesion and fuelled instability under the previous regime.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Chad Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

To take the political dialogue forward, former transitional prime minister Saleh Kebzabo has been appointed National Mediator between the government and the opposition. He should advocate for the protection of citizens rather than their harassment and arbitrary arrest, and for the independence of the judiciary to be respected.

At the regional level, the Economic Community of Central African States needs to re-engage with the Chad issue via its chosen mediator, Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi. His mediation previously facilitated the Kinshasa Agreement, which allowed the exiled Les Transformateurs party to return to the country and contest the presidential election.

Considering that the domestic political and governance challenges Tshisekedi faces may hinder his legitimacy, other international actors, including the African Union through its Peace and Security Council, must also support the dialogue efforts.

Remadji Hoinathy, Senior Researcher, Central Africa and Lake Chad Basin, ISS
https://sputnikglobe.com/20250801/sputnik-launches-247-fm-broadcasting-in-brazil-1122537012.html

Sputnik Launches 24/7 FM Broadcasting in Brazil

Sputnik Launches 24/7 FM Broadcasting in Brazil

Sputnik International

Starting today, Sputnik Agency is broadcasting around the clock in Portuguese on the FM band in Brazil. Listeners in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, home to 13.5 million people, will now have access to Sputnik's analytical programs, exclusive podcasts from its international team, and live on-the-ground reporting from Brazil and abroad.

2025-08-01T11:15+0000

2025-08-01T11:15+0000

2025-08-01T11:18+0000

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With this launch, Sputnik has become the first and only Russian media outlet to provide full-scale 24/7 broadcasting in Latin America's largest country.In addition to the podcasts on national and international politics and the evening talk show already familiar to Brazilian audiences, Sputnik will introduce new news and analytical programs covering pressing global and regional issues.Sputnik is one of the world's largest international radio and news agencies, operating in more than 30 languages.Wellington Dias, Brazilian Minister of Social Development:"Sputnik Agency plays an exceptionally important role in covering critical issues that concern not only Russia but the entire world  our whole planet."Luciana Santos, Brazilian Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation:"Long live Sputnik, which has established itself as a vital communication tool! It strives to shed light on pressing issues, provide clarity, and deliver information  and information is a fundamental right. So congratulations on this achievement!"Marcia Lopes, Brazilian Minister for Womens Affairs:"Id like to congratulate Sputnik on its 10th anniversary and emphasize how crucial it is for us to engage with alternative media outlets. Its essential to know our voices will reach the people."

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250801/talks-are-always-in-demand-and-important---putin-on-russia-ukraine-talks-in-istanbul--1122534274.html

Russias 2024 Conditions on Ukraine Remain Unchanged - Putin

Russias 2024 Conditions on Ukraine Remain Unchanged - Putin

Sputnik International

Putin and Lukashenko held a meeting to discuss the Ukrainian conflict as well as the most pressing geopolitical matters.

2025-08-01T11:23+0000

2025-08-01T11:23+0000

2025-08-01T13:26+0000

vladimir putin

ukraine

russia

istanbul

russia-us talks on ukraine settlement

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The main thing is to eradicate the causes of the Ukrainian conflict, Putin told journalists following his meeting with Belorussian President Lukashenko.Other Putin's statments:The conditions set by Russia regarding the Ukrainian issues announced in summer of 2024 remain unchanged. They include: Ukraine pledging not to join any military blocsUkraine maintaining its non-nuclear status Recognizing the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporozhye region as Russian territoriesLifting anti-Russia sanctionsPutin also said that the Russian armed forces are advancing along the entire fron line."Information about Russian troops taking control of Chasov Yar is completely true," Putin said, adding that attempts are being made by Ukrainian army to counterattack there. Lukashenko's StatementsUkrainians are demanding impossible in terms of the settlement of the conflict with Russia.If US President Trump wants peace in Ukraine, he should carefully engage in the settlement process. Lukashenko said he agreed with Putin to include Minsk in the negotiations with Ukraine if necessary.The leader of Belarus stressed that he absolutely supports Putin's position concerning the negotiations with Ukraine. Russia-Ukraine Talks in IstanbulThe third round of Russia-Ukraine talks took place in Istanbul on July 23 and lasted about an hour. The talks were held at the Ciragan Palace in a closed format after the heads of the delegations  Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky and Ukrainian National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov  had a private meeting. Among other things, the issue of returning civilians from Russia's Kursk Region displaced by military action was discussed, Medinsky said following the negotiations.A Russia-Ukraine high-level meeting should conclude the settlement process and finalize the results of expert-level work, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists following the third round of talks in Istanbul.At the moment, Moscow and Kiev's approaches are diametrically opposed, and it is unlikely they can be reconciled overnight, he emphasized.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250731/three-reasons-chasov-yars-fall-is-a-disaster-for-ukraine--and-what-comes-next-1122525321.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20250801/ukraine-using-russian-shrines-as-bargaining-chips-for-us-weapons-deeply-offensive-1122540133.html

Ukraine Using Russian Shrines as Bargaining Chips for US Weapons Deeply Offensive

Ukraine Using Russian Shrines as Bargaining Chips for US Weapons Deeply Offensive

Sputnik International

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said that the Kiev regime is prepared to pay for Western-supplied arms with its own cultural heritage.

2025-08-01T14:13+0000

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Ukraines claims about Russian missile strikes on Christian shrines kept at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is misinformation to justify the transfer of these relics to European museums, Roman Silantyev, director of the Human Rights Center at the World Russian People's Council, told Sputnik.He stressed that whenever there is political, economic, and civilizational decline in Ukraine, the country becomes vulnerable to all kind of plunder.Silantyev also said that the trail of how Ukrainian cultural assets end up in British museums is not hard to trace.Previously, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the Zelensky regime doesnt shy away from looting valuable items located on Ukrainian territory, sending them abroad under the guise of so-called rescue operation.

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Tripoli  Concern is growing over the growing displacement of Sudanese children in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, amid deteriorating living conditions and the increasing number of refugees fleeing the ongoing war in Sudan since April 2023. Hundreds of these children, aged between 5 and 16, face the risk of exploitation and recruitment by human, drug, and organ trafficking networks, amid a lack of adequate legal and social protection.

Social time bomb

Fadwa Seif El Din Awadallah, the women's secretary of the Sudanese community in western Tripoli and an activist on refugee issues, said that many of these children work in marginal jobs or beg in markets and streets, often accompanied by women in harsh conditions that threaten their lives and futures. Fadwa considered this situation a "social and humanitarian time bomb," especially given that begging and the exploitation of children are crimes punishable under Libyan law. She emphasised that the Sudanese community, in cooperation with UNICEF and the Sudanese embassy, is making efforts to contain the phenomenon through programs to integrate children without support into stable Sudanese families, who receive monthly financial support from UNICEF, as an urgent measure to reduce homelessness and the likelihood of exploitation.

The education crisis and the increasing educational loss

Regarding education, Fadwa pointed out that Libyan schools had already absorbed a number of Sudanese students at the beginning of the refugee wave. However, the significant increase in the number of refugee students prompted the establishment of alternative Sudanese schools, most notably the "Sudanese-Libyan Brotherhood School," which was expanded with the establishment of a secondary school, in addition to three schools in the areas of El Karimiyah, El Qarbouli, and Injila.

However, promises by some humanitarian organisations to provide free education have not been fulfilled, forcing school administrations to impose tuition fees ranging from $170 to $180 to cover operational costs. This has resulted in large numbers of children dropping out of the education system and exacerbating the phenomenon of "educational loss" among Sudanese refugees.

Living pressures and loss of skills

Fadwa spoke about the harsh economic conditions that have forced many Sudanese to work in professions that are not suited to their qualifications, given the scarcity of job opportunities and limited resources. A large number of families have been forced to live in overcrowded, camp-like collective housing, which has increased crime rates and legal prosecutions related to residency and irregular work.

She also pointed out that the deterioration of health services and the inability of many families to afford treatment have exacerbated their suffering, amid a near-total absence of free or subsidised medical care.

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An invitation to the media and organisations and an incentive for solidarity

Concluding her remarks, Fadwa expressed her regret for the media's neglect of the Sudanese refugee issue in Libya, saying, "The Sudanese refugee is not a party to the war, and it is their right that their country and the international community pay attention and care."

She called on Sudanese and Arab media outlets to pay more attention to the plight of refugees, and held organisations that have reneged on their pledges responsible for the worsening crisis.

She appealed to Sudanese families residing in Libya to continue embracing children without support, appreciating the noble humanitarian role taken by some families, and stressing that "these stances will remain engraved in the memory of the Sudanese nation."
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: Daan Stevens from Pexels

Apple on Thursday reported quarterly profit of $23.4 billion, topping forecasts despite concerns about the effect of US tariffs on its supply chain.

Revenue was $94 billion for the usually slow quarter ending in June, the iPhone maker said.

"Apple is proud to report a June quarter revenue record with double-digit growth in iPhone, Mac and Services and growth around the world, in every geographic segment," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

Apple shares were up more than 2% in after-market trading.

Revenue from iPhone sales during the quarter was $44.6 billion, compared with $39.3 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to Apple.

Global shipments of smartphones fell marginally to 288.9 million units in the recently-ended quarter, according to market-tracker Canalys.

Samsung was the largest vendor, shipping 57.5 million smartphones, while Apple finished second with iPhone shipments down 2% at 44.8 million units, Canalys reported.

"Apple's performance showed strong resilience amid fierce competition in China and an inventory correction in the US as it adjusted to the rapidly changing tariffs," the market tracker said in its findings.

Cook said that the Trump tariffs cost Apple $800 million in the quarter that just ended and are expected to cost the iPhone maker $1.1 billion in the current quarter.

"Assuming the current global tariff rates, policies, and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter, and no new tariffs are added, we estimate the impact to add about $1.1 billion to our costs," Cook said.

Tariffs are essentially a tax paid by those importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad.

More in US

Cook said that most iPhones sold in the United States now come from India as Apple works to navigate US President Donald Trump's trade war with China.

Trump has taken aim at India with a 25% duty to begin Fridayslightly lower than previously threatenedafter talks between Washington and New Delhi failed to bring about a trade pact.

Apple's tariff cost is up because sales are up, according to Cook.

"In terms of what we do to mitigate, we obviously try to optimize our our supply chain," Cook said of managing the tariff hit.

"Ultimately, we will do more in the United States; we've committed $500 billion investment in the US over the next four years."

Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen hefty US levies imposed on China, with Beijing setting retaliatory barriers on US imports.

Sales of iPhones in mainland China were $15.4 billion in the quarter, compared with $14.7 billion in the same period a year ago, according to Apple.

Revenue in Apple's services business selling digital content and subscriptions to fans of its devices grew to $27.4 billion in the quarter, Apple reported.

"The results show that Apple's iPhone strategy is working to offset the impact of looming challenges with AI development timelines, tariff pressures, and Google's antitrust issues," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne.

"The company's successful pivot to iPhone manufacturing in India, demonstrates supply chain flexibility, while its return to iPhone growth in China and continued services segment expansion, including deeper financial services offerings, show diversification beyond hardware."

 2025 AFP
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Pent-up demand created a global swell of fan excitement for the Switch 2.

Nintendo on Friday said quarterly revenue had more than doubled year-on-year thanks to the Switch 2, which became the world's fastest-selling console after its launch in early June.

Pent-up demand for the new gadget from the "Super Mario" gamemaker fueled fan excitement at the release that saw sold-out pre-orders and midnight store openings.

Like the hugely popular original Switch, the Switch 2 is a hybrid console that can be handheld or connected to a television, with a bigger screen and more processing power than its predecessor.

It smashed industry records by selling 3.5 million units in its first four days, and Nintendo said Friday that the figure had increased to 5.8 million units by the end of June.

"Net sales increased significantly in the first quarter, due mainly to the launch of Nintendo Switch 2," the Japanese company said as it reported a 132% on-year jump in sales for April-June, to 572 billion yen ($3.8 billion).

Net profit in the quarter rose 19% on-year.

However, a challenge for Nintendo will be maintaining a supply of hit games for the new system, gaming industry consultant Serkan Toto told AFP.

"There are new games from the Pokemon, Metroid and Kirby franchises coming later this year, but some fans have already started to ask for even more titles," he said.

But "the launch of Switch 2 has surpassed many people's expectations" and it will be hard for another console to match its strong start, Toto added.

"Nintendo should be able to comfortably ride on this momentum through the holidays and into 2026," he predicted.

'Major comeback'

The company expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 units by the end of March 2026a target it left unchanged on Friday.

Nathan Naidu of Bloomberg Intelligence said Nintendo was "likely" to hike this number, having already sold 40% of the target.

The Switch 2 launch positions the company "for a major comeback after four straight years of lackluster top-line momentum... barring punishing US tariffs that might prompt Nintendo to hike hardware prices", he wrote Friday.

While Nintendo is diversifying into hit movies and theme parks, consoles remain at the core of its business.

The original Switch soared in popularity during the pandemic with games such as "Animal Crossing" striking a chord during long lockdowns worldwide.

It has sold 153 million units since its 2017 release, making it the third best-selling console of all time after Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS.

The Switch 2, which has new features including controllers that can also be used like a desktop computer mouse, costs $449.99 in the United Statesmore expensive than a launch price of $299.99 for the original.

"Once the hardcore Nintendo fans are tapped out, the company will need to get to the next level by convincing mainstream players to make the jump to Switch 2," Toto noted.

But the postponed launch of the hotly anticipated "Grand Theft Auto VI" (GTA6) by US publisher Rockstar Games from this year to May 2026 will be a boon, he said.

"If GTA6 (had) launched this year, it would have sucked almost all the oxygen out of the room and made marketing Switch 2 definitely harder for Nintendo."

 2025 AFP
President Xi Jinpings top diplomat and Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi has arrived in the country on an assignment by the Asian countrys leader, seen as a special show of strong commitment by Beijing to grow relations with Harare in 2020.

Mr Wang arrived at the Robert Mugabe International Airport last night in what was his final stop-over on a five-nation mission that has seen him hold high-level meetings in Egypt, Djibouti, Eritrea and Burundi.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo welcomes the Chinese Foreign Affairs minister Wang Yi at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Interbnational Airport in Harare yesterday.-Picture: Tawanda Mudimu

In the past 30 years, China has made it a tradition for its foreign minister to visit African countries as the first overseas destination of the year, to show how Beijing values its relations with the continent.

That President Xi chose Zimbabwe as one of the five African countries for the annual visit underscores how he places a premium to his engagements with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Zimbabwe and China in 2018 elevated relations to Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships from All-Weather Friends and Minister Wangs visit is expected to see practical implementation of this enhancement of ties on the diplomatic as well as economic front.

China is the biggest investor of infrastructure projects currently underway in Zimbabwe and it is expected that the visit will also give fresh stimulus to mega projects such as the US$1,1 billion Hwange 7 and 8 power expansion project, the US$100 million New Parliament building in Mt Hampden and the US$153 million Robert Mugabe International Airport facelift, among other projects.

Speaking ahead of the visit last week, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Dr Sibusiso Moyo said Zimbabwe was honoured by Minister Wangs high-level deputation.

Yes, indeed the Peoples Republic of China Foreign Affairs Minister and State Counsellor is visiting Zimbabwe from the 11th to the 13th, he said,

Zimbabwe is the last lap of his five-nation journey in Africa. This is in tradition with Chinese visits at the beginning of each year.

This is a very important visit because it is from a very friendly nation to Zimbabwe. It is a nation that has contributed very much to the development of Zimbabwe and where it is today.

Dr Moyo said the visit by Minister Wang underlines how President Xi is keen to follow up on engagement that he had with President Mnangagwa when the two Heads of State met twice in China in 2018.

We believe that we are honoured to have the State Counsellor coming to Zimbabwe as a follow-up to issues that were discussed between President Mnangagwa and President Xi twice, during his State visit to China and during FOCAC.

The visit, Dr Moyo said, will see the two countries conducting comprehensive deliberations under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships theme.

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Sibusiso Moyo welcomes the Chinese Foreign Affairs minister Wang Yi at Robert Gabriel Mugabe Interbnational Airport in Harare yesterday.-Picture: Tawanda Mudimu

Minister Wangs visit will also present Zimbabwe with an opportunity to formulate strategies to expand trade with China, which is the worlds second largest economy.

We believe that we are going to have in-depth discussions on our Strategic Comprehensive Partnership and also ensure that we cement the political relations that exist between the two countries.

Furthermore, we will explore more ways of how China can enhance and support economic development of Zimbabwe.

In this regard, we are also going to have a discourse in the trade area framework so that we can improve the trade figures between China and Zimbabwe.

Already, trade has reached the US$1 billion mark and we hope that within the context of the 7 to 14 export strategy, we should be able to enhance our exports to China in a very competitive manner

We are going to be appreciating that industry, mining, agriculture, tourism and all the other key sectors will come up to speed so that we can be able to utilise the huge market being offered by China.

In a statement, Chinas Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Mr Geng Shuang said Mr Wangs visit to Africa was also in line with the 20th anniversary of the inception of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

According to Mr Geng, the Chinese Foreign Minister will seek to,  implement the important consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and African leaders and jointly follow through on the outcomes of the (last) FOCAC Beijing Summit with a view to advancing China-Africa BRI cooperation, building on China-Africa traditional friendship and moving forward the bilateral ties between China and relevant African countries as well as China-Africa relations as a whole.

At the last FOCAC Summit held in Beijing in 2018, President Xi extended an unconditional US$60 billion in loans and aid to Africa until 2021.

The money includes US$15 billion in grants, interest-free loans and concessional loans, US$20 billion in credit lines and a US$10 billion special fund for development financing.

Chinese companies were also encouraged to invest at least US$10 billion in Africa over the next three years.

Deliberations will also touch on Chinas signature foreign policy initiative, the Belt Road Initiative (BRI), in which the Asian Giant plans to invest US$750 billion in countries under the old Silk Road route and import US$24 trillion of goods into China.

This year, Zimbabwe and China will also be celebrating 40 years of diplomatic relations and a series of events are going to be held throughout the year in line with the anniversary.
analysis

When historians and the public think about the end of domestic slavery in west Africa, they often imagine colonial governors issuing decrees and missionaries working to end local traffic in enslaved people.

Two of my recent publications tell another part of the story. I am a historian of west Africa, and over the past five years, I have been researching anti-slavery ideas and networks in the region as part of a wider research project.

My research reveals that colonial administrations continued to allow domestic slavery in practice and that African activists fought this.

In one study I focused on Francis P. Fearon, a trader based in Accra, the Ghanaian capital. He exposed pro-slavery within the colonial government through numerous letters written in the 1890s (when the colony was known as the Gold Coast).

In another study I examined the Lagos Auxiliary, a coalition of lawyers, journalists and clergy in Nigeria. Their campaigning secured the repeal of Nigeria's notorious Native House Rule Ordinance in 1914. That ordinance had been enacted by the colonial government to maintain local slavery in the Niger Delta region.

Considered together, the two studies demonstrate how local campaigners used letters, print culture, imperial pressure points and personal networks to oppose practices that had kept thousands of Africans in bondage.

The methods Fearon and the Lagos Auxiliary pioneered still matter because they show how marginalised communities can compel power-holders to close the gap between laws and lived reality. They remind us that well-documented local testimony, amplified trans-nationally, can still overturn official narratives, compel policy change, and keep institutions honest.

Colonial 'abolition' that wasn't

West Africa was a major source of enslaved people during the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic trade was suppressed in the early 19th century, but this did not bring an end to domestic slavery.

One of the principal rationales for colonisation in west Africa was the eradication of domestic slavery.

Accordingly, when the Gold Coast was formally annexed as a British colony in 1874, the imperial government declared slave dealing illegal. And slave-dealing was criminalised across southern Nigeria in 1901. On paper these measures promised freedom, but in practice loopholes empowered slave-holders, chiefs and colonial officials who continued to demand coerced labour.

On the Gold Coast, the 1874 abolition law was never enforced. The British governor informed slave-owners that they might retain enslaved persons provided those individuals did not complain. By 1890, child slavery had become widespread in towns such as Accra. According to the local campaigners, it was even sanctioned by the colonial governor. This led to some Africans uniting to establish a network to oppose it.

The Niger Delta region of Nigeria had a similar experience. The colonial administration enacted the Native House Rule Ordinance to counteract the effects of the Slave-Dealing Proclamation of 1901 which criminalised slave dealing with a penalty of seven years' imprisonment for offenders. The Native House Rule Ordinance required every African to belong to a "House" under a designated head. It went on to criminalise any person who attempted to leave their "House". In the Niger Delta kingdoms such as Bonny, Kalabari and Okrika, the word "House" never referred to a single dwelling. Rather, it denoted a self-perpetuating, named corporation of relatives, dependants and slaves under a chief, which owned property and spoke with one voice. By the 1900s, "Houses" had become the primary units through which slave ownership was organised.

Therefore, the Native House Rule Ordinance compelled enslaved people in Houses to remain with their masters. The masters were empowered to use colonial authority to discipline them. District commissioners executed arrest warrants against runaways. In exchange, the House heads and local chiefs supplied the colonial administration with unpaid labour for public works.

African campaigners in Accra and Lagos organised to challenge what they perceived as the British colonial state's support for slavery.

Fearon: an undercover abolitionist in Accra

Francis Fearon was an educated African, active in the Accra scene during the second half of the 19th century. He was highly literate and part of elite circles. He was closely associated with the journalist Edmund Bannerman. He regularly wrote to local newspapers, often expressing concerns about racism against Black people and moral decay.

On 24 June 1890, Fearon sent a 63-page letter, with ten appendices, to the Aborigines' Protection Society in London. That dossier would form the basis of several further communications. He alleged that child trafficking continued.

As evidence, he transcribed the confidential court register of Accra and claimed that Governor W. B. Griffith had instructed convicted slave-owners to recover their "property".

Fearon's tactics were audacious. He remained anonymous, relied on court clerks for documents, and supplied the Aborigines' Protection Society with evidence. He pleaded with the society to investigate the colonial administration in the Gold Coast.

Although the society publicised the scandal, subsequent narratives quietly effaced the African source.

Lagos elites organise - and name the problem

Like Fearon, Nigerian campaigners also wrote to the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society. They denounced the colonial government in Nigeria for promoting slavery, but they did not remain anonymous.

By this time, the Native House Rule Ordinance had prompted some enslaved people to flee the districts in which it was enforced. They sought refuge in Lagos. Through these arrivals, Lagosian elites learned of the ordinance. They unleashed a vigorous campaign against the colonial state.

The principal figures in this movement included Christopher Sapara Williams, a barrister, and James Bright Davies, editor of The Nigerian Times. Others included politician Herbert Macaulay, Herbert Pearse, a prominent merchant, Bishop James Johnson and the Reverend Mojola Agbebi. Unlike Fearon's lone-wolf strategy, they mounted a coordinated assault on the colonial administration. They drafted petitions, briefed sympathetic European organisations, and inundated local newspapers with commentary.

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Their arguments blended humanitarian indignation with constitutional acumen. They insisted that the ordinance contravened both British liberal ideals and African custom.

After years of pressure the law was amended and then quietly repealed in 1914.

Why these stories matter now

Contemporary scholarship on abolition is gradually shifting from asking "what Britain did for Africa" to examining the role Africans played in ending slavery.

Many African abolitionists who fought and lost their lives in the struggle against slavery have long gone unacknowledged. This is beginning to change.

The two articles discussed here highlight the creativity of Africans who, decades before radio or civil-rights NGOs, used transatlantic information circuits. They exposed colonial governments that continued to rely on forced-labour economies long after slavery was supposed to have ended.

They remind us that grassroots documentation can overturn official narratives. Evidence-based advocacy, coalition-building, and the strategic use of global media remain potent instruments.

Michael E Odijie, Associate Professor, University of Oxford
When a club announces anew signing, often that's the exact moment when all lingering anxieties can be freed and fans can be certain that there is a new arrival. However, the cryptic case of Juan Roman Riquelme largely contradicts this common belief.

As an announcement on the official Everton site detailed his move to the Blues from Villarreal, an abundance of Blues wholeheartedly believed they had captured the Argentine. You just couldnt get him [Riquelme] off the ball, David Moyes confessed, in the Summer of 2005, following the first leg of an infamous tie with the Yellow Submarine.

However, the shocking and superb news was quickly dismissed. It was soon revealed that this incredible announcement was the result of a home page test display that went awry. Therefore, even if Everton officially announce a transfer, its not immune to collapsing.

Another Argentine midfielder who enjoyed a classy career in Spain was Ever Banega. Following an impressive loan spell at Atletico Madrid, it seemed the then 21-year-old was destined to prove his worth in the Premier League.

Work permits can often convolute transfer conundrums, yet Everton secured Banegas in August 2009, ahead of a season-long-loan deal from parent club Valencia. Moyes even declared Ever [Banega] is on a years loan, further strengthening the rumour.

This time, a technical error wasnt the cause of the failure, in fact it wasnt as complex. Banega decided he still had things to learn in Spain, and the transfer fell through during extremely late negotiations.

Nicknamed The Bouncer, Leroy Fer seemed like the perfect replacement for Marouane Fellaini, as his departure seemed probable in January 2013. A robust yet technical holding-midfielder, Fer had agreed an 8.6M deal with the Blues which would see him leave FC Twente and begin life in England.

Injuries would subsequently derail Fers career and equally stopped his move to Everton from materialising. After failing a medical due to a knee issue, the terms of the deal became fragmented, and the Dutchman joined Norwich City just 6 months later.

In contrast to the trio aforementioned, Henry Onyekuru was not only an exciting, pacy forward rather than a midfielder, but he also officially signed for Everton for a reported fee of 7M, back in June 2017.

Following a prolific 22-goal campaign for KAS Eupen, the Blues captured the former Nigerian international on a 5-year contract. A work permit proved to be a persistent barrier, however, forcing an immediate loan to Anderlecht, which was followed by a valuable loan to Galatasaray.

Both loans proved to benefit Onyekuru, who was rarely present  never making a single appearance  but was sold for just under double the amount the Toffees paid for him (12.5M). Smart business? Maybe, but it would have been interesting to see how the once highly sought-after winger would perform during the egregious reign of Ronald Koeman and beyond.

During Carlo Ancelottis first summer transfer window as Everton boss in 2020, Everton eagerly searched for a promising, proven centre-back who could emerge as a viable option alongside the likes of Yerry Mina and Michael Keane.

Targets included Ben Godfrey and none other than Arsenal sentinel, Gabriel Magalhaes. Before signing the former (Godfrey), it seemed the Brazillian international was set to sign for the Blues.

In a recent podcast, Magalhaes admitted, I went to Everton, did a medical exam, crazy bro... emphasising the proximity of him moving to Merseyside. Personal terms were agreed, a 30M fee was accepted, yet he didnt end up signing for the Toffees.

Instead, Arsenal hijacked the deal and completed the 27M signing in September 2020. Whilst Godfrey left Everton after an inconsistent 4-year stay, Gabriel has been integral to Arsenals fine defensive record. What couldve been...

Of course, there are undoubtedly a plethora of other players who were on the verge of signing for Everton, only to seek opportunities elsewhere. However, it would take as long as its taking for us to sign a quality winger to list every single one.

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INDIA is saying in no uncertain terms that it is independent in the fullest sense of the wor
Addis Ababa  "Rape culture is being normalised."

The silence over grave sexual violence crimes committed during the conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has enabled the spread of similar atrocities in other conflict zones, says a report co-authored by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Organisation for Justice and Accountability in the Horn of Africa (OJAH).

The report, "You Will Never Be Able to Give Birth": Conflict-Related Sexual and Reproductive Violence in Ethiopia, released today, documents systematic abuse in Tigray predominantly committed by Ethiopian soldiers and their Eritrean and ethno-militia allies during the 2020-2022 war, and how a lack of accountability led to revenge attacks in the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions.

Researchers analysed hundreds of medical records and surveys of health workers in Tigray, Amhara, and Afar to understand the intent of the widespread acts of sexual and reproductive violence.

The report concludes that, in Tigray, the aim was to prevent future Tigrayan births. Health providers relayed stories of women who had plastic bags, nails, stones - even abusive letters - forcibly inserted into their wombs to destroy their ability to have children, with the goal of "destroying communities, and the Tigrayan ethnicity".

Tigrayan women were also held in captivity where they were raped - by multiple attackers - resulting in forced pregnancies. Tigrayan men also suffered rape and sexual assault, the report found.

These acts constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, the report noted.

The lack of accountability for those crimes triggered yet more violence. When Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) soldiers advanced into parts of Amhara and Afar in 2021, they committed similar deliberate acts of sexual abuse, noted Payal Shah, the report's co-author and director of research at PHR.

"The intent of the violence in both Amhara and Afar regions suggests that, in some cases, these crimes were fueled by a lack of justice, accountability, or healing for crimes committed in Tigray," Shah told The New Humanitarian.

Breaking down the identity of the perpetrators, the report finds that, in Tigray, 84% of health workers surveyed indicated that survivors identified the Eritrean military as the main culprits.

The sexual violence did not end with the signing in 2022 of the Tigray peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa: Eritrean forces occupying parts of the northern border region have continued to commit acts of sexual abuse.

Silent crimes

Several human rights reports have flagged the grave and serious nature of sexual crimes in Tigray during the war. But international bodies, including the UN's International Commission of Human Rights Experts, were consistently stonewalled in their efforts to investigate by the Ethiopian government, which instead pushed for "an African solution to an African problem".

Yet, even the African Union's Commission of Inquiry on Tigray faced resistance and came to an abrupt end in October 2023 without publishing a single report on its work.

Days before the inquiry's mandate was terminated, the UN Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia stated that, "there is a high risk of further atrocity crimes in the country" and urged for continued scrutiny.

The trauma has been long lasting. The report found that the majority of survivors in the three regions came to seek medical help long after the violence occurred.

"They try to deal with it themselves for as long as possible, and they come to us at very late stages when they are at their worst," said a health provider in Tigray who participated in the study and whose name, like others in this article, is being withheld due to safety concerns.

Some come after multiple failed suicide attempts. "They would tell us that they took pills to take their lives but that it didn't work," the health provider told The New Humanitarian. "For every woman that has come to get help, there are a hundred who haven't."

Sexual violence becoming normalised

Across Ethiopia, there is an increasing number of cases of sexual violence. Many of the crimes being committed are by people taking advantage of the broader insecurity in the country, where forced displacement and poverty-driven early marriages make women's lives yet more vulnerable.

"It almost feels like sexual violence has been allowed, especially when you see the level of violence women are facing in Tigray," said a researcher on sexual violence, who asked not to be named so she could speak freely. "Rape culture is being normalised."

Sexual abuse is not just being committed by armed groups, but also from within communities. The report analysed 50 medical records from Amhara between February 2021 and July 2024 and found that 22 of the perpetrators were civilians, with 10 of them either family members or intimate or ex-partners.

A health worker who reviewed medical records at a hospital in Afar said gaining access to the records had proved challenging, and evidence of sexual violence from within communities was met with denial.

"The male healthcare workers say that there was no sexual violence - that these cases didn't happen," she explained.

The nationalist narratives entrenched by conflict are all about "us versus them", noted the researcher, but it obscures what is happening within. "So when communities are harming each other, when it's happening within the same region, then it's not convenient for this narrative."

Healthcare providers, as witnesses to the violence, have also faced real risks speaking out and participating in the report, said Shah. "The surveys allowed health workers to respond anonymously. That was very important in getting the number of responses that we received," she explained.

Children born out of violence

Sexual violence survivors are facing more than the physical and psychological trauma from what happened to them. There's also very limited access to healthcare to start a complicated path to recovery - partly the result of United States aid cuts.

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Tigray's healthcare facilities have also been decimated by the two-year war. Healthcare workers have spent years listening to stories that are difficult to hear and even harder to remedy.

But continued documentation of sexual violence crimes is the way to make sure that survivors get the care and justice they deserve, said Shah. For participants in the report, justice has a range of meanings: from treatment and access to healthcare for survivors to ensuring their attackers are held to account.

"When perpetrators face no consequences, violence is normalised, survivors are silenced, and peace remains fragile," noted an OJAH co-author of the report, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

"With conflict currently escalating in Amhara and tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea rising, breaking this cycle is vital not only for survivors, but for the future of Ethiopia and sustainable peace in the Horn of Africa," they said.

The health provider in Tigray who spoke to The New Humanitarian is deeply worried about the impact of the violence she has witnessed on the next generation.

"There are rape survivors who ask us if we can take their children, but we don't have the capacity," she explained. "There are countless orphans of the war, children whose mothers don't recognise them, born out of violence, what happens when they grow up? What does that mean for the next generation here?"

*A journalist whose name is being withheld due to security concerns

Edited by Obi Anyadike.
Both a federal grand jury and a Pima County grand jury have indicted a formerly deported man in a deadly midtown Tucson crime spree in June, officials say.

Julio Aguirre  a 42-year-old ex-con whod previously been deported to Mexico after a term in an Arizona prison  faces multiple charges ranging from first-degree murder, prohibited possession and burglary.

Aguirre was deported from the United States in 2013, but was residing in the United States when authorities say he shot and killed 70-year-old Ricky Miller, Sr. during an attempted carjacking on June 30. The shooting was part of a three-hour crime spree that included armed home invasions.

Aguirre was hospitalized after police found him hiding in a shed.

The case has sparked a feud between county and federal prosecutors.

County Attorney Laura Conover has complained that federal authorities took Aguirre into custody while he was still at the hospital and that access to him by prosecutors in her office has been limited.

Conover says her office plans to exhaust all legal options to move the case forward.

Conovers office is fighting to keep Aguirre in Pima County to face his local charges, she said.

Although the federal prosecutors office continues to focus on their carjacking case, we now have an indictment for first-degree murder and many other counts in order to seek justice for all eight victims who suffered harm that day, Conover said. We will continue to do everything possible to work this prosecution normally, despite the obstruction faced.

Federal officials counter that Aguirre committed crimes under their jurisdiction.

The alleged series of crimes in the indictment, starting with illegal immigration, escalating to prohibited possession of a firearm, and culminating in the death of an innocent individual is why the United States Attorneys Office takes this matter so seriously, Timothy Courchaine, the US Attorney for Arizona, said in a news release.

Feds note that the alleged carjacking resulting in death is a serious federal offense and that the FBI, in partnership with the Tucson Police Department and the U.S. Attorneys office remain steadfast in their pursuit for justice in this case.

Aguirre is currently in federal custody.
A 49-year-old Tucson man has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder in the killing of his elderly mother, police say.

Michael Andrei Lyons turned himself in to police on July 31, six days after the body of Sarane Lyons, 74, was found on the kitchen floor of the home they shared, Pima County Justice Court records indicate.

During his interview with police, Lyons allegedly told investigators he accidentally killed his mother after striking her head, causing her to fall and hit her head on concrete. He said that his actions happened in a sudden flash of rage, according to an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court.

The body of Sarane Lyons was found at about 6:30 p.m. July 25, after officers were called to conduct a wellness check at a home in the 4000 block of East Monte Vista Drive. A neighbor reported smelling a foul odor coming from the Lyons house in a neighborhood near North Alvernon Way and East Glenn Street.

Police found the womans body on the kitchen floor. Her son was not there and had not been seen for days, witnesses said.

The witness told police the last time he saw Lyons, the man was making nonsensical statements and appeared to be under the influence, according to the court filing.

After turning himself in, Lyons told police he attempted to put his mother on the couch, but she was too heavy, so he left her on the floor.

Court records show that Sarane Lyons body was in advance stages of decomposition by the time police went to the house.

Lyons told police he knew his mother was dead, but did not call authorities and stayed with her body for three days before fleeing the house, the complaint says.

After talking to investigators, Lyons was arrested on suspicion of second degree murder and booked into the Pima County Jail on a $1 million bond, police said
As the Tucson City Council approaches its first discussion of Project Blue, the mega-data-center proposal for the southeast side, skeptical voices are the loudest.

That doesnt mean, though, that the votes are there yet to defeat the plan. Mayor Regina Romero has said little about the project, which will be discussed at the councils Wednesday study session, though on Thursday she put out a memo seeking information on a possible new set of regulations for data center developments.

City Manager Tim Thomure has appeared to be supportive of the plan in public meetings, but of course he doesn't have a vote.

Heres what the council members have said their positions are on the proposal to initially build up to 10 data centers in an area near the Pima County Fairgrounds that must be annexed by the city in order for it to move forward. Listed in order of perceived degree of opposition:

Kevin Dahl of Ward 3 was the first member to say he is firmly against the project. In a July 17 letter to the Arizona Daily Star, he wrote, Any project that touts economic gain while potentially threatening our invaluable water supply, the air we breathe, or that exacerbates climate change should be rejected.

Karin Uhlich of Ward 6 and Paul Cunningham of Ward 2 have both said they are essentially hard no votes  unless something dramatic changes or arises.

On the Bill Buckmaster radio show Wednesday, Cunningham said, Anythings possible, but Im a no.

He objected to the secrecy that surrounded the project in the run-up, and to the citys water deal.

Uhlich said, Im a no at this time in a text message Thursday. Her main concern is the immense power demands of the project and the fact that Tucson Electric Powers deal with the developer is unlikely to become public before the decision.

Ward 1 Council Member and Vice Mayor Lane Santa Cruz has said little about the project, but her track record would make her a possible no vote.

I share my constituents concerns about the proposed data centers impact  particularly its high water use and energy demands in our vulnerable desert environment, she said in a statement.

Ward 3 Council Member Nikki Lee, who represents the area where the project would be built, has also expressed strong skepticism but may be more open to the project in the end.

She has put together a spreadsheet listing 120 questions about the project and is inputting answers as they arise. In her latest newsletter, Lee said: Im still doing my homework.

Ward 5 Council Member Rocque Perez, who was appointed in May to replace Richard Fimbres until the November election, has also said hes keeping his mind open.

However, in an Arizona Daily Star op-ed, he said, Many other cities have set a stronger bar  through community benefit agreements, enforceable labor standards, and robust climate policies  before greenlighting data centers. We can, and should, do the same.

A lot may ride on the position Romero eventually takes. She has also said shes evaluating the proposal. But as it stands, there are three strong votes against, and any other vote would scotch the existing deal, meaning it would either be over or have to be renegotiated.

Grijalva, Butierez agree on data centers

The two candidates running for Arizonas 7th Congressional District seat seem to be aligned on one local issue: Project Blue.

Democrat Adelita Grijalva, on the Bill Buckmaster Show Tuesday, said if she was a Pima County supervisor she absolutely would be a hard no on the project because of its massive water and power consumption, as well as the secrecy around it.

I think I would have voted against the project. I have major concerns for the water consumption and the resources, the electricity.  The natural resources that we need to be able to generate these data centers really far exceed the capacity in most of our communities, she said.

But Grijalva acknowledged that even if she still was a supervisor, her no vote probably wouldnt have changed the outcome of the countys land sale for Project Blue. Andres Cano, who was appointed to replace Grijalva after she announced her congressional bid, voted against selling the 290-acre parcel of county-owned land near the Pima County Fairgrounds, but the sale still passed 3-2.

Likewise, Republican congressional candidate Daniel Butierez isnt sold on the idea of the data center industry expanding in Tucson.

Im for bringing the jobs to Arizona, but Im not for risking our water and having no guarantees for we the people. I was at the (July 23 meeting), it sounded like there were no guarantees for us. If we were going into severe drought, we would still be required to give them the water allotment, he said Thursday. Not to mention our other natural resources, the electricity, the gas. ... To be honest with you, it sounds like Adelita and I probably agree on this.

Butierez also said local governments use of nondisclosure agreements in economic development projects feels a little shady to him. He said there is far too much secrecy in Project Blue, and the problem of government transparency should be a bipartisan issue.

Grijalva told Buckmaster she didnt sign any nondisclosure agreements and didnt know about Project Blue until I read about it and started getting calls.

That may not be completely accurate, however.

Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher, in a Feb. 24 memo on Project Blue, said the current chair and the immediate past Chair of the board had been advised on the impending business attraction being facilitated by the county.

Rex Scott was tapped to serve as chair of the Board of Supervisors in January, meaning the immediate past Chair referenced was Grijalva.

Genocide divides CD7 candidates

Gaza is where the two congressional hopefuls are not aligned.

Following the Project Blue discussion and after a commercial break, Buckmaster asked if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be accused of genocide, to which Grijalva responded: Oh, absolutely.

As a mom, as a human being, the images that were seeing of starving children in Gaza are just devastating, and I dont know how we as the United States can sit by and watch that suffering and not take action, she said. Theres a desperate need for limited supplies, but thats not an excuse to open fire on unarmed children. These are children, and I just dont know how you can be a human being, a mom, a dad, a grandparent, and not just cry at those images. Its horrible.

Butierez doesnt see it that way.

I know Israel keeps supplying them with food, and Hamas keeps stealing the food. I know its trying to be made out that Israels doing this to them, but theyre not. I mean, Im pretty informed on that, he said. It makes me sick to my stomach that this war is still going on, that theres so much, you know, hatred in the world, and the babies break my heart, whats happening to children.

He said he doesnt believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza at all.
More than 100 local, state and federal law enforcement officers were involved in a manhunt in the mountains west of Anaconda Saturday morning searching for a man who walked into a local bar 22 hours earlier and fatally shot four people.

Weve got helicopters in the sky with infrared technologies, Bill Everett, chief executive of Anaconda Deer-Lodge County, told The Montana Standard shortly after 8 a.m. Saturday. Weve got National Guard helicopters. Weve got two bears (helicopters) with infrared technology out of Kalispell, three different SWAT teams."

Its been phenomenal and Im very appreciative of that but we still havent got the guy, Everett said, referring to the suspect, 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown, a military veteran from Anaconda who lived next door to the Owl Bar where the shootings took place.

The names of the four victims were not being released yet, Everett said, but the owner of the Owl Bar said a bartender and three patrons were killed.

The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation said Brown walked into the bar around 10:30 a.m. Friday, fatally shot four people and took off in a white Ford F-150 pickup. Authorities found the pickup but Brown was still on the run, believed to be on foot in the mountains around Stumptown Road west of Anaconda.

Anaconda is a town of about 9,800 people in southwest Montana. The town is roughly 25 miles west of Butte and 80 miles southwest of Helena, Montana's capital city.

While law enforcement has not received reports of Brown harming any other individuals, he is believed to be armed and he is extremely dangerous, DCI administrator Lee Johnson said late Friday night. Residents in the area have been notified and are encouraged to stay inside their homes and on high alert.

The Owl Bar is at 819 E. 3rd St. and Brown lived in a house next door to the bar, authorities said. The bar is in what is called the "Goosetown" neighborhood.

DCI said the four victims have been identified but their names would not be released until authorities had more time to talk with family members.

The bar owner, David Gwerder, said the bartender and three patrons were killed, according to a report by Associated Press Friday evening. He was not at the bar at the time but said he believed the four victims were the only ones present during the shooting.

He said he was not aware of any conflicts between Brown and the victims.

"He knew everybody that was in the bar. I guarantee you that," he said, according to AP. "He didn't have any running dispute with any of them. I just think he snapped."

According to multiple media reports, Brown served in the U.S. Army from 2001 to 2005 and had been deployed at least once to Iraq. He was in the National Guard from 2006 to 2009 and his last known rank was sergeant.

Numerous social media posts from people who said they knew Brown claim he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had sought mental health help numerous times. Authorities have not confirmed those claims.

Johnson said several police agencies were involved in the search and investigation, including Anaconda Police and Butte-Silver Bow law enforcement, as well as the FBI, the ATF, Montana Highway Patrol and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Gov. Greg Gianforte confirmed Friday there were victims and called it a tragedy. He posted on social media he was closely monitoring the situation.

Please join Susan and me in praying for the victims, their loved ones, and the brave law enforcement officers responding to this tragedy, he said.

Authorities said if anyone spots Brown, they should call law enforcement immediately. Anyone with other information is asked to call Anaconda-Deer Lodge police at 406-563-5241.

Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff Ed Lester confirmed early Friday afternoon that there were fatalities. The Granite County Sheriff's Office said Brown's home in Anaconda had been "cleared by SWAT" but the man was still on the run.

Earlier police radio traffic indicated that law enforcement was trying to locate a man in a Ford F-150 pickup and someone on the scanner said four people were dead and the weapon used is believed to be a 7.62 assault rifle.

The Montana Highway Patrol said there is heavy law enforcement presence west of Anaconda near Stumptown Road and Anderson Ranch Loop Road.

Authorities are searching for a suspect believed to be armed. Please avoid the area, it said.

Jill Rowles, a patron at the nearby JFK Bar, said Friday mornings shooting left her scared and freaked out.

Eileen Thompson, who lives a street over from the bar, said she knew one of the victims and the tragedy was hard for Anaconda residents to understand.

Killing innocent people doesnt make any sense, Thompson said.

Another woman, who did not want to be identified, said she lived near the suspect, Michael Brown, and described the Owl Bar as a favorite watering hole for locals.

Everyone knew each other, she said.

Sandra Yi Barker, a spokesperson for the FBI's Salt Lake City office, confirmed the agency was assisting in the response. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also said it had agents responding.

Both U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke and U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said on social media they were aware of the shooting and monitoring the situation.

The Granite County Sheriff's Office also posted on social media.

"There is an active shooter in Anaconda Deer Lodge," the post said. "Granite County deputies are at the Georgetown Lake/Flint Creek area. The shooter is said to be wearing a tie-dyed shirt, blue jeans and an orange bandana. There is no threat to Granite County at this time."

State Sen. Sara Novak, a Democrat from Anaconda, said Friday afternoon she had been working in Philipsburg during the day and her family had been hunkered down after word of the shooting went out. She said she and her family were safe and would hopefully be reunited Friday evening.

Novak said the shooting and ongoing manhunt were a little close for comfort.

Im so sad for everybody thats been affected, she said.  Were grateful for all the local communities for the outpouring of support. Im just heartbroken and sad  its such a quiet, tight-knit community and everybody knows everybody.

Everett said it was mostly quiet in Anaconda Friday night.

"I don't know what to call the (mood) but nobody was out," he said. "It was very quiet and that helps."
China urges Japan to take effective measures to ensure safety of Chinese citizens: FM spokesperson

Xinhua) 09:07, August 01, 2025

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- China has noted relevant reports on two Chinese men seriously beaten in Tokyo, and urged the Japanese side to implement effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in Beijing on Thursday.

It was reported that two Chinese men were attacked by four men in Tokyo earlier on Thursday -- resulting in serious injuries.

In response, spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a press briefing that China has noted relevant reports, adding that the Chinese Embassy in Japan immediately expressed its concern to the Japanese side and is further verifying the situation.

"We urge the Japanese side to take effective measures to ensure the safety of Chinese citizens," Guo said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Hyderabad, India  I've just returned from the east coast of India, where I saw for myself the harsh challenges that older people in artisanal fishing communities confront daily. I saw how the community elders -- the keepers of marine traditions and the coastal environment -- are being forsaken by climate policy and their governments.

As their children head inland to find work, the ageing fishers are left behind with only their fading memories and a rising sea. Their survival hangs by a thread. The social pension for a couple is just over $50 a month, not enough to afford more than a single bowl of daily rice boiled in seasoned water. Tea has become a luxury. I met widows who, despite living in a fishing community, had not eaten fish in months, and older men who lie on mud floors to cool their blistering bodies down and pray for a gust of wind. Their stories are a stark reminder of the human toll of climate change.

Disregarding age in climate action is not just unfair. It is short-sighted. Older people could be more vulnerable to climate impacts if they are mobility-impaired, sick or socially isolated. But they are also keepers of knowledge, leadership and resistance. Age interacts powerfully with climate vulnerability, and failing to understand this interaction undermines both equity and efficacy

When they perish, they pass away silently, recorded as victims of "old age," not heatstroke - even in 47C heat waves. Cyclones might make them legible as statistics, but during heatwaves, they disappear, unnoticed. These are not isolated tragedies. This is global climate injustice at its most naked.

The International Court of Justice ruled on 23 July 2025 that the refusal to take climate protection measures is not only immoral and unjust but also unlawful under international law and a violation of the right to life.

As we confront the escalating climate crisis, with temperatures in 2025 set to surpass the record of 2024, the immediate impact on older people cannot be overstated. While cities in Pakistan sizzled at 50C, hospitals in Japan and the UK were overwhelmed with older patients. In Europe, a 2023 summer heatwave claimed the lives of 2,305 people in 12 cities, with a staggering 88% of the victims aged over 75.

The Lancet's 2023 Countdown on Health and Climate Change delivered a stark warning: deaths in people over 65 from heat spiked 85% between the decades 1991 and 2000 and 2013 and 2022. Yet these are the people whose voices remain largely absent from climate negotiations, national adaptation plans, and global media coverage. Why? Due to persistent and pervasive structural ageism.

Older people are often viewed as passive liabilities rather than as valuable resources. Take, for example, the contrast in the way the global media responded to Greta Thunberg's bold confrontation of world leaders. She was deservedly celebrated across global platforms as the voice of youth rebelling against climate injustice.

Yet when a group of older Swiss women won a historic case at the European Court of Human Rights, forcing the Swiss government to align its climate action with international commitments, the global media response was muted, revealing the age bias at the heart of public discourse.

At HelpAge International, we are working to change this narrative. In this UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030), we are calling for older people to be recognised as a distinct constituency in global climate policy, just as youth, women, and Indigenous peoples are.

We are urging climate finance institutions--including the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund, the Climate Investment Fund, and the Loss and Damage Fund--to establish dedicated windows to support older people-led adaptation and resilience initiatives.

As our planet ages and heats, it's crucial to address the blind spot in climate action: the age bias towards older people. By 2030, there will be 1.4 billion people aged 60 and above, and this number is expected to rise to 2.1 billion by 2050, constituting one-fifth of the global population.

It's high time that this demographic shift is considered in climate legislation, financial mechanisms, and data frameworks, which often fail to account for the unique vulnerabilities and contributions of older people.

Meanwhile, older people are not waiting to be included. They are actively leading community-based climate solutions worldwide.

For instance, older women in India's Thar Desert are revitalising rain-fed agriculture and constructing earthen dams for future food and water security. In Southeast Asia, older people's associations are producing bamboo biochar for carbon storage.

In Ethiopia and Thailand, established cooperatives of older people are developing climate-resilient value chains in honey, aloe vera, and agroforestry. These are not just experimental projects -- they are proven, scalable models of resilience. However, they require institutional recognition and support to reach their full potential.

We advocate for the implementation of an age-inclusive heat resilience strategy, drawing on practical approaches from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

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These approaches include retrofitting homes with traditional cooling methods, such as mud floors, shaded courtyards, and reflective surfaces; designing infrastructure that is age-friendly, including covered walkways, shaded transport stops, and accessible water points; and creating green public spaces that promote intergenerational ties and serve as natural cooling areas.

These strategies are not just beneficial for older people, but for entire communities, making them a wise investment in our collective future.

Disregarding age in climate action is not just unfair. It is short-sighted. Older people could be more vulnerable to climate impacts if they are mobility-impaired, sick or socially isolated.

But they are also keepers of knowledge, leadership and resistance. Age interacts powerfully with climate vulnerability, and failing to understand this interaction undermines both equity and efficacy. It's time to ensure that climate action is fair and just for all, regardless of age. There is no true climate justice without inclusion, and inclusion rings hollow when older people are excluded.

Hari Krishna Nibanupudi is a global climate change and ageing adviser with HelpAge International.
60 Minutes: Aug 3

In 2012 a gold prospector vanished in Far North Queensland. Dimity Clancey investigates.

Increasingly, 60 Minutes seems to focus on single stories, rather than its traditional 3 reports.

This Sunday, a look at a 2012 prospector mystery in Queensland.

Crime Scene Investigation

At more than 130 000 hectares, Palmerville Station in Far North Queensland is a massive cattle property. In area it is larger than all of Hong Kong. Its also, arguably, Australias biggest crime scene. Thirteen years ago, 48-year-old gold prospector Bruce Schuler was gunned down on Palmerville. Husband and wife station owners, Stephen Struber and Dianne Wilson, were convicted of his murder and imprisoned. But now there are growing claims of a miscarriage of justice. Supporters of the killer couple want to know how they can be guilty when the victims body has never been found and there is no DNA evidence linking them to the crime. As Dimity Clancey reports, on the other side of this confounding case Bruce Schulers distraught family are in no doubt the right people are behind bars. Theyre demanding Wilson and Struber finally take responsibility for their actions, and reveal where they dumped the body of the good man they ruthlessly murdered.

Reporter: Dimity Clancey

Producers: Anne Worthington, Toni Ambrogetti

8:40pm Sunday on Nine.
Magda Szubanski inducted into Logies Hall of Fame

Actor, comedian, activist and icon, Magda Szubanski AO becomes the fifth female inductee into the Logie Hall of Fame.

Much-loved performer Magda Szubanski is this years inductee into the TV Week Logie Awards Hall of Fame.

She becomes only the fifth female inductee since its inception in 1984.

The Hall of Fame recognises outstanding and continued contribution and enrichment to Australian television culture by an individual, a group of individuals, or a program.

Magdas contribution to comedy, literature, activism, and Australias cultural identity is described as profound and influential.

With a career spanning nearly four decades, she has helped define Australian comedy, creating some of the countrys most beloved and enduring characters. She rose to prominence in the late 1980s including The D-Generation, Fast Forward, Big Girls Blouse before her unforgettable portrayal of Sharon Strzelecki, a character she created, in Kath & Kim.

Her industry credits include Babe, Happy Feet, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, Bran Nue Dae, Ride Like a Girl, Something Stupid, Dogwoman, Farscape, My Life is Murder, Rake, Its a Date, 100% Wolf, After the Trial, The Weakest Link, Who Do You Think You Are? and Magdas Big National Health Check.

She has been a passionate advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, ahead of the Marriage Equality campaign, speaking at the National Press Club , co-hosting Mardi Gras for SBS and becoming a TV Marriage Celebrant for a same-sex wedding on Neighbours.

She was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2018, was the face of an Australia Post Legends of Comedy stamp and delivered the Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture in 2024.

But in May she revealed a battle with stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma.

Ill be lying very low while my immune system takes a hammering, so if you see me out and aboutdont hug me, kiss me, or breathe anywhere near me! Wave enthusiastically from a safe distance and know I love you madly, she said.

She is not expected to attend tomorrow nights ceremony.

TV Week Logie Awards from 7pm Sunday on Seven.

NB: TV Tonight Live blogging results AEST.
Singer Taylor Swift gets engaged to her footballer-boyfriend Travis Kelce 27 Aug 2025 | 3:40 AM Los Angels, Aug 26 (UNI) American pop superstar Taylor Swift today announced she is engaged to her partner

Travis Kelce after dating for approximately two years. see more..

KPop Demon Hunters emerges Netflixs most-watched movie 27 Aug 2025 | 2:43 AM Los Angels, Aug 26 (UNI) KPop Demon Hunters, the animated phenomenon of the summer, is now the most-streamed movie in Netflix history. see more..

Bruce Willis in Great Health Overall but Brain Failing Him', says actors wife 27 Aug 2025 | 2:28 AM Los Angels, Aug 26 (UNI) Hollywood star Bruce Willis who retired from acting due to aphasia more than three

years after and two years after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, is still very mobile, revealed

his wife, Emma Heming Willis, to ABC News. see more..

'Gilmore Girls' marks 25 years with anniversary documentary 'Searching for Star Hollow' 26 Aug 2025 | 11:38 PM Los Angeles, Aug 26 (UNI) The beloved television classic "Gilmore Girls" is returning to the spotlight, this time through a feature-length documentary titled, "Searching for Stars Hollow", commemorating its 25th anniversary. see more..
Kampala  The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Burundi authorities to immediately release La Nova Burundi reporter Sandra Muhoza, who remains in prison two months after an appeal court ruled that she was convicted by a court that did not have jurisdiction to try her, following her 2024 arrest.

"It is a grave injustice that Sandra Muhoza remains behind bars two months after an appeal court effectively invalidated her earlier trial and conviction," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Muthoki Mumo. "Authorities must do the right thing and release Muhoza without further delay."

In December 2024, Mukaza High Court, in eastern Bujumbura province, convicted Muhoza of undermining the integrity of Burundi's national territory and inciting ethnic hatred, in connection with comments she made in a journalists' WhatsApp group, and sentenced her 21 months in prison.

The Bujumbura Mairie Court of Appeal, in a May 30, 2025judgment reviewed by CPJ, said that it and the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to hear Muhoza's case. It cited a law on judicial procedures, which stipulates that a defendant should be tried by a court in the region where they were arrested, live, or where the crime was allegedly committed.

Muhoza was arrested in the northern Ngozi region where she lived. The appeal court ordered that the case be referred to a competent court.

Burundian authorities have previously convicted other journalists for anti-state crimes, such as Floriane Irangabiye, who in 2023 was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of undermining the integrity of the national territory. She was released in August 2024, following a presidential pardon.

CPJ's emails to the justice ministry, and text messages to justice minister Domine Banyankimbona, interior ministry spokesperson Pierre Nkurikiye, Prosecutor General's Office spokesperson Agnes Bagiricenge, and government spokesperson Jerome Niyonzima did not receive any replies.
In a heartfelt tribute to the late Adejumobi Adegbite, a U.S. Consulate Information Specialist and former Guardian journalist, the U.S. Consulate General has unveiled the Adejumobi Adegbite Fellowship for Young Journalists.

A statement on Thursday said the event--held at the American Corner in Lekki--brought together media professionals, U.S. Mission officials, and young journalists selected for the year-long fellowship.

U.S. Consul General Rick Swart, who assumed office in Lagos two weeks ago, delivered the opening remarks, expressing deep admiration for Adegbite's legacy and the critical role of journalism in sustaining democracy.

"This initiative honours the legacy of Adejumobi Adegbite, a gifted journalist and a passionate advocate for ethical and impactful reporting.

"Before his untimely passing in 2023, he worked on a program to mentor early-career journalists. Today, through this fellowship, his dream is being realised", Swart said.

Adegbite began his career 2006 at The Guardian and served in various communication roles with the British High Commission, ECOWAS, the Gates Foundation, and USAID projects before joining the Consulate in 2021.

Established in partnership with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, the Adegbite Fellowship seeks to train and mentor early-career reporters in ethics-driven, public interest journalism.

FIJ's Editor-in-Chief, Fisayo Soyombo, a U.S. government exchange programme alumnus, spearheads the programme's implementation.

Swart applauded Soyombo's efforts, saying, "Fisayo, your commitment to fostering investigative reporting and mentoring the next generation of journalists is both inspiring and essential to the health of democracy."

The 12-month fellowship will train participants in investigative techniques, data journalism, ethics, legal literacy, and multimedia storytelling.

The fellows--selected from a competitive pool of over 80 applicants from across Nigeria--will attend quarterly intensive workshops and receive continuous mentorship throughout the year.

Despite the profession's challenges, Swart praised the fellows for their commitment to journalism.

"To the fellows who journeyed from Yobe, Ibadan, and other parts of the country--thank you. Your passion and professionalism are the lifeblood of democratic societies. Journalism is not just a profession--it is a public trust.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria U.S., Canada and Africa Media By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

You are the guardians of truth", he said.

He noted that the challenges journalists face today--from disinformation to the erosion of public trust--make programs like this even more vital.

"Without a new generation of journalists to carry this work forward, we risk undermining the very principles that sustain our societies," he added.

Swart also highlighted the U.S. Mission's commitment to supporting the Nigerian media ecosystem through ongoing training and engagement opportunities.

He encouraged fellows and other journalists to connect with the Public Diplomacy Section for additional resources.

Swart said, "Congratulations to each of you. "We look forward to seeing the impact of the work you will do through this fellowship. Your voices, stories, and integrity matter."
In an era marked by rising global tensions and trade fragmentation, the EVFTA stands as a testament to inclusive, rules-based cooperation  one rooted in shared values, sustainability, and long-term strategic alignment.

Signed on June 30, 2019 and entering into force on August 1, 2020, the EVFTA is one of the EUs most comprehensive and ambitious trade agreements with a developing nation. It has already eliminated over 70 per cent of tariffs on various goods, with the remaining reductions, up to 99 per cent, to be phased in over the coming years. Beyond tariff liberalisation, the agreement also improves market access, strengthens intellectual property protection, and enhances regulatory transparency.

It also fosters the long-term alignment of values and standards  a point EuroCham chairman Bruno Jaspaert highlighted as central to the agreements success. In todays climate of mounting geopolitical uncertainty and unilateral tariffs, the EVFTA stands as a beacon of trust and cooperation. This year, August 1 not only marks the EVFTAs fifth anniversary but also a pivotal moment in the global trade landscape.

As the world turns its attention to the fine print of new trade deals and the real enforcement of reciprocal tariffs from the US, the EVFTA offers clarity and certainty. Its detailed provisions and mutual commitments between Vietnam and the EU show that aligned standards and open markets can deliver concrete growth and shared prosperity.

In fact, since its implementation, EU-Vietnam trade has grown significantly. Preliminary data from Vietnams National Statistics Office shows that EU-Vietnam two-way trade reached $298 billion between August 2020 and May 2025 alone. This five-year figure accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the $815 billion in cumulative trade recorded over 30 years of economic and trade cooperation since 1995, powerful proof of the EVFTAs catalytic impact.

Vietnam now leads in ASEAN and is 16th in the world for goods trade with the EU, exporting everything from electronics and textiles to furniture and agri-food products. In return, Europe is Vietnams third largest exporting destination and fourth largest source of imports, supplying high-tech machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, and green technologies.

Seizing opportunities and managing frictions

Beyond tariff reductions, the EVFTA has opened new doors for European businesses to tap into Vietnams rapidly growing domestic market, from public-private partnerships to incentivised foreign direct investment. With a population of 100 million, including a 55-million-strong workforce, Vietnam offers European firms wide-ranging opportunities for deeper supply chain integration and long-term market expansion.

In sectors such as sustainable agriculture, digitalisation, and green energy, European expertise complements Vietnams resource base and development priorities. For instance, European innovations in digitalised, sustainable farming are enhancing productivity and quality across Vietnams agri-food and aquaculture sectors, areas where Vietnam remains a vital supplier to the European market. At the same time, the EVFTA positions Vietnam as a reliable alternative hub in an increasingly disrupted global trade environment.

On the other side of the equation, the EU remains a highly attractive destination for Vietnamese exporters. With a combined GDP of $29 trillion (in purchasing power parity terms) and a population of over 450 million consumers, the EU is the worlds largest single market. Governed by transparent rules and predictable regulations, it offers a GDP per capita of more than $43,000, according to a World Bank report in 2024, making it a premium market for high-quality Vietnamese goods.

Yet even as benefits grow, challenges persist. Nearly 37 per cent of surveyed firms reported customs valuation discrepancies, while others cited unclear regulations, inconsistent enforcement, and lack of alignment between EU and Vietnamese authorities. These frictions limit the full potential of the agreement.

EuroCham vice-chair in charge of advocacy, Jean-Jacques Bouflet, who was among the EUs lead negotiators for the EVFTA, reflected on the evolving nature of the agreement. When we negotiated the EVFTA, every clause was designed to ensure both productivity and integrity. We anticipated complexity and worked hard to strike the right balance. But implementation is always a journey. It requires continual adjustments, constructive discussions, and a business-focused mindset.

Navigating trade diplomacy with origin stories

One such area of ongoing complexity is Rules of Origin. While central to securing tariff preferences, they remain difficult to apply in practice. Many Vietnamese exports rely on raw materials from third countries, making it difficult to meet origin criteria. Although the cumulation rule allows inputs from certain partner countries, complicated documentation and fragmented supply chains often hinder compliance.

Vice-chair Bouflet contended, At this point in time, the precise definition of the new requirements imposed by the US on so-called transhipped goods remains unclear. This uncertainty could severely affect established Rules of Origin, especially when imported inputs are incorporated into Vietnamese-manufactured products. That is why EuroCham continues to advocate for further lifting of technical and non-technical trade barriers, clearer guidance on HS codes and customs valuation, as well as cross-referencing frameworks within and between customs authorities.

These measures are essential to safeguard supply chain resilience and ensure businesses can move forward with confidence. More broadly, they highlight the importance of economies upholding shared values and honouring existing FTA commitments, agreements that have already delivered tangible results and require continued dialogue to reach their full potential, particularly in todays increasingly complex global trade environment, he added.

In this context, Certificates of Origin (C/O) have become indispensable tools for businesses navigating global trade. Today, 56 per cent of EuroCham BCI respondents submit C/O documents monthly. A growing number also cite them as critical for ensuring compliance, gaining preferential treatment, and building trust in end markets.

Gateway to deeper EU-Vietnam relations

According to the World Trade Organisation, there are now 328 FTAs in force globally, compared to just 98 in 2000. Vietnam has signed 17 FTAs, positioning itself at the heart of regional and global trade networks.

As the EU and Vietnam celebrate both five years of EVFTA and 35 years of EU-Vietnam diplomatic relations, the focus now shifts towards deepening and future-proofing this partnership. The EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement is still pending ratification by a few remaining EU member states, but once fully in force, it will provide a critical legal framework to protect and encourage long-term European investments in Vietnam.

Momentum is also building towards a comprehensive strategic partnership, a natural next step for two partners increasingly aligned on trade, sustainability, and global governance.

Five years in, the EVFTA is proof that real partnership works, said EU Ambassador Julien Guerrier. It has strengthened trust, encouraged trade, and brought tangible benefits to both sides. Of course, the global trade environment is evolving, but that only makes our continued cooperation more important. The EU remains firmly committed to working with Vietnam towards a green, resilient, and prosperous future.

EVFTA can be long-term success story While the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has benefited businesses for four years, there are still more advantages that can be sought out. Dominik Meichle, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, discussed with VIRs Bich Thuy about how to fully capitalise on future opportunities.

EVIPA requires methodical approach The European Commission is set to urge EU member states to expedite the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement to enhance investment flows.
Vina Kyoei Steel Co., Ltd., a joint venture with 60 per cent Japanese investment and 40 per cent from Vietnam Steel Corporation  is awaiting a response from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and its Tax Department to review and address issues related to the companys VAT refund case. The company has submitted all necessary legal documents to prove the authenticity and legitimacy of its transactions with suppliers. However, suppose a supplier later ceases operations at its registered address. In that case, Vina Kyoei is waiting for confirmation that it remains eligible for VAT refunds for valid transactions previously conducted, noted a document that a representative of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises (VAFIE) shared at a workshop in Hanoi in mid-July.

Before submitting its petition to the MoF and its Tax Department, the company filed a request with former Ba Ria-Vung Tau Tax Department, now part of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vina Kyoei Steel, which operates in iron and steel production, submitted a VAT refund application for input VAT related to export activities from December 2021 to November 2022 to the Tax Department in January 2023.

The department began a pre-refunded VAT inspection in February 2023. Almost two years after submitting the refund application, last November, the inspection team concluded that Vina Kyoei was ineligible for a VAT refund of $3.5 million.

The reasons cited were that the company used invoices from taxpayers who were no longer operating at their registered business addresses and those flagged as high-risk for tax purposes. The inspection team based its decision on the companys purchases from eight suppliers classified as high-risk for tax and invoice issues, despite Vina Kyoei providing comprehensive documentation proving that the transactions were genuine and had taken place.

The classification of high-risk enterprises is an internal tax authority management process and is not publicly disclosed. At the time of the transactions, Vina Kyoei verified the suppliers information but received no official notice from the tax authorities or other agencies indicating that these suppliers had ceased operations or that their invoices were invalid, the representative of VAFIE said.

The notices used by the inspection team to assess supplier risk were issued after the refund period requested by the company. The tax and invoice risk status of these suppliers on the tax authoritys internal system at the time of inspection cannot be used to negate the legality of transactions conducted earlier by Vina Kyoei, the representative added.

Last December, Vina Kyoei filed a complaint against the refund denial notice, which was rejected. Thus, the company decided to submit a second complaint to the Tax Department for further review. This issue significantly affects the companys ability to sustain operations in Vietnam, Vina Kyoei said. It expects to receive the Tax Departments clarification to safeguard the companys legitimate rights, enabling it to continue production confidently and contribute to the countrys economic growth.

In another case, Young Poong Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd. overpaid input VAT to two suppliers in the northern province of Bac Ninh, as these suppliers issued VAT invoices with a 10 per cent tax rate instead of sales invoices for processing activities, as previously guided by the tax authorities.

Last December, the Tax Department issued guidance on adjusting invoices, supplementing VAT declarations, and processing refunds for overpaid taxes. Although the company and its suppliers adjusted the invoices and declarations, more than six months after the guidance was issued, the company has yet to receive the refund. Bac Ninh Tax Department is still coordinating with Bac Ninh Peoples Committee to arrange for the refund budget allocation. The prolonged refund process caused our company a shortage of financial capital, hindering business operations and planned production expansion. We urge the MoF to prompt the Tax Office of Region V, managed by Bac Ninh Peoples Committee, to swiftly coordinate to secure refund funds for our suppliers, enabling us to receive the refunds, the company noted in the document submitted to VAFIE.

The cases of these two enterprises highlight delays in VAT refund procedures in some localities, causing inconvenience to businesses. This problem has also been highlighted at several major gatherings, such as the Vietnam Business Forum. Accelerating the refund process not only provides investors with capital for reinvestment but also boosts their confidence in the investment environment, encouraging long-term commitment, insiders said.

VAT refunds directly impact a companys cash flow, making predictability the most critical factor. Ideally, refunds should be processed within three months from the date of incurrence, or at the latest, within six months. However, this requires clear policy and implementation, Ko Tae Yeon, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam, told VIR.

For cases involving VAT refund disputes, active intervention by central authorities is crucial. I propose establishing a VAT refund consultation centre under the central government to directly assist businesses, Yeon added.

To resolve the concern of business and the investor community, the Tax Department in April issued a document urging regional tax branches to speed up the settlement of VAT refunds. The department directed them to review all outstanding VAT refund requests based on classifying item groups, especially textiles, footwear, wood and wood products, agricultural products, seafood, iron and steel, and electronic components.

The department also asked them to clearly identify difficulties and create deadlines to solve them. Besides that, it is necessary to arrange sufficient personnel, assign specific tasks, and organise weekly monitoring and inspection of implementation progress.

Amendments outlined for VAT refund eligibility matter The Ministry of Finance has proposed comprehensive modifications encompassing the amendment, abolition, and supplementation of various regulations pertaining to VAT refunds.

Appying VAT on fertiliser for sustainable development Applying VAT at 5 per cent on fertiliser will benefit various parties and contribute to the sustainable development of the industry.
Unlike previous generations, Vietnamese Gen Z are vocal and value-driven. A Dreamplex survey found that 77 per cent prioritise mental wellbeing, work-life balance, and flexible arrangements - even over salary.

Serene Koh, executive director, Talentvis

Meanwhile, according to a survey from a domestic newspaper, 72 per cent insist on work-life balance, 73 per cent seek a fun, active workplace, and 71 per cent want friendly colleagues. And they expect fast, continuous development: a TopCV Vietnam survey reported that 74 per cent desire upskilling and career growth right from day one.

This shift is transforming workplace culture across Vietnam. Companies can no longer rely on rigid hierarchies and annual performance reviews. According to PR Newswire Asia-Pacific, Gen Z demands real-time feedback, clarity, flexibility, and alignment with purpose. Over 90 per cent of Gen Z seek weekly feedback from managers, and 86 per cent prefer autonomy to explore independently before seeking help. Such cultural expectations create a unique challenge for employers: reject them at your own risk.

We have been observing and acting on this transformation. We partner with organisations to redevelop culture, processes, and branding to better resonate with young talent.

Gen Z is also socially conscious. Asia-Pacific Business Review research shows that 85 per cent of Vietnamese Gen Z expect employers to demonstrate sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Companies that fail to align risk losing talent, or never attracting it in the first place.

To respond, it is advised that companies redesign roles for autonomy. Gen Z employees want clear objectives with the flexibility to execute tasks. This reduces micromanagement and boosts engagement. One regional tech company, after redesigning their roles, saw a 32 per cent drop in first-year turnover.

Next, companies should modernise communication. Specifically, instant, two-way digital communication has replaced formal memos. Slack and Microsoft Teams allow Gen Z to express ideas transparently and often, building trust and faster collaboration.

In addition, it is necessary to embed development from day one. With 74 per cent expecting upskilling early, we have helped design learning journeys linked to real roles, using tools like Talentvis Academy to track growth. This approach has improved retention metrics for their clients by up to 25 per cent.

Companies also need to align brands with values. Employer branding is not cosmetic  it is foundational. We work with firms to articulate purpose; environmental, social, and governance credentials; and day-to-day culture in ways that resonate with Gen Z. In one case, a logistics company doubled its Gen Z applicant pool in three months after rebranding with clearer value messaging.

What is more, it is advised that companies reimagine office design. Gen Z values spaces that support both focus and collaboration. Feedback from Talentvis clients reflects demand for wellness zones, flexible seating, and cosy breakout areas, mirroring 80 per cent preferences for comfortable, modern, versatile offices.

Gen Z turnover is notably high in Vietnam. According to Navigos Group, their average job tenure is just 2.2 years, compared to 3.2 years for millennials and 4.3 years for Gen X. Exit interviews often cite lack of purpose or poor leadership as more common reasons for leaving than salary.

Vietnamese companies now face a clear choice: stick with outdated models and risk losing young talent, or evolve. Gen Z is already reshaping workplace culture, demanding more transparency, empathy, and continuous growth. Employers who respond to these expectations will not just hire, but they will retain and empower the next generation.

For companies ready to adapt, the opportunity to lead is now. The rise of Gen Z is already reshaping the future of work, and those who listen and adapt today will lead tomorrow.
Japfa Vietnam, in collaboration with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Long Ha Commune (Dong Nai province), presents day-old chicks and animal feed to local farmers

On July 29, Japfa Comfeed Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Japfa Vietnam), in collaboration with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Long Ha Commune (Dong Nai), presented 8,000 day-old chicks and four tonnes of animal feed to 80 disadvantaged farming households in the area. This event was part of a project themed Care & Share that Japfa has implemented over the years to improve farmers livelihoods and encourage sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable development remains a core pillar of the companys business strategy. Besides providing high-quality products to the market, Japfa is also committed to investing in impactful community initiatives that address the genuine needs of local communities, said a Japfa representative.

The initiative to donate breeding chickens and animal feed is not only a form of immediate support, but also aims to create long-term impact by helping farmers gradually improve their household economies. This marks the second consecutive year that Japfa has implemented the initiative in Long Ha commune, demonstrating the companys continuity and strategic approach to its community development efforts.

The donated breed this year is Mia, which is well-suited to local farming conditions, easy to raise, and delivers high economic efficiency. All chicks are fully vaccinated and sexed before being delivered to the beneficiaries. In addition, each household received 50 kg of animal feed to reduce initial costs and ensure proper nutrition during the early growth stages.

Nguyen Thi Huong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Long Ha Commune, shared, "Following the administrative merger, Long Ha is focusing on economic development and improving local livelihoods. In this process, the support of enterprises like Japfa is highly valuable, especially when initiatives are well-structured and designed for long-term impacts.

Alongside breeding chickens and animal feed, farmers will also receive on-site technical support from Japfa experts on farm design, feeding, vaccination, and disease control. The initiative aims to build a replicable livestock farming model, helping enhance rural living standards.

Dieu Minh Hung (Bu Ka 1 village) appreciated the quality of chickens provided by Japfa

Being one of the beneficiaries since 2024, Dieu Minh Hung from Bu Ka 1 village expressed his appreciation for the quality of Japfas poultry, highlighting their strong immunity and rapid growth. All the chicks I raised last year survived. They reached over three kilograms after three months with smooth feathers, and healthy, bright red combs, Hung said.

To raise chickens effectively, Hung pays particular attention to well-ventilated, hygienic housing conditions and proper care during the early stages. Following the technical guidelines provided by Japfa has helped his birds grow faster and minimise risks.

In pursuit of sustainable agricultural development, Japfa Vietnam continues to expand its community support initiatives aimed at improving livelihoods and fostering local economic growth. The company has donated nearly 100,000 breeding chickens to farmers in remote and ethnic minority areas across more than 10 provinces nationwide over the years. The initiative is expected to be further extended to other rural areas.

Japfa offers 300 gifts to support students on first day of school Japfa Comfeed Vietnam donated backpacks and notebooks on September 5 to underprivileged students who have demonstrated resilience and academic success.

Japfa Vietnam assists in typhoon recovery efforts Japfa Comfeed Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Japfa Vietnam) has reached out to customers and partners in northern provinces affected by Storm Yagi.

Japfa Vietnam serves nutrition to 1,500 children to year-end Japfa Comfeed Vietnam Co., Ltd. will organise the 'Nutrition Meal' initiative for students in Hoa Binh province in December following its successful implementation in Binh Phuoc and Dak Nong.

Japfa Vietnam aids livestock farmers in disease prevention Japfa Comfeed Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Japfa Vietnam), in early November, initiated a programme to donate 10,000 litres of disinfectant to Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Departments, households, and industrial farmers.
Amendments have been proposed to streamline investment into the countrys aviation arena

The Government Office on July 15 concluded the Government Standing Committees meeting on draft amendments to the Law on Civil Aviation of Vietnam, calling on the Ministry of Construction (MoC) to assess and revise mechanisms to promptly address practical limitations.

Among the key issues, the MoC has been tasked with amending the law to ensure open and enabling conditions to mobilise all economic sectors in developing aviation infrastructure. The state is to invest only in areas unattractive to the private sector, while administrative procedures are to be streamlined and simplified as much as possible.

The MoC has proposed several changes to current regulations, including amendments to policies on investment and operations at airports  especially dual-use facilities with both defence and security functions  and improvements to the public-private partnership (PPP) mechanism.

Aviation lawyer Tuan Nguyen said, The amendment is a good signal for the business community and the market, although some details still depend on further work from the MoC. PPP airports have generated interest among private sector players. However, barriers prevented them from taking the next steps. Now, they are pinning high hopes on new, positive changes ahead.

The current Law on Civil Aviation of Vietnam was issued in 2006 and was last amended in 2014. Experts have said it is time for the country to update the law to keep pace with domestic and international socioeconomic changes  especially to resolve long-standing bottlenecks.

Luong Thi Thanh Nga, senior private sector development officer at the Asian Development Banks Resident Mission in Vietnam, said, The key to the success of PPP investment is a consistent and clear legal framework, high political determination, and continuous improvement in the state sectors capacity to participate.

She explained that each PPP project typically includes three phases, and improving the success rate of PPP initiatives requires thorough research and scrutiny from the outset.

It is necessary to identify and select suitable projects for this investment model, assess full lifecycle costs, and allocate risks appropriately, Nga said. The next phase requires a competitive and transparent bidding process, while the final phase must involve effective contract enforcement to ensure reliability.

Expert Tuan Chu said that attracting private capital is not simply about raising funds, but about creating a safe and sustainable environment that inspires investor confidence.

It is necessary to offer more attractive financial incentives to reduce investor risk, he said. These may include tax exemptions, preferential financial programmes, and revenue-sharing models. Reducing the financial burden in the early operational stages can increase the appeal of aviation infrastructure projects.

More than seven years after Van Don International Airport  the countrys first airport developed under the PPP model  was put into operation, no other PPP airport projects have been successfully implemented.

Over that time, several projects were proposed but ultimately stalled. In 2022, the northern province of Lao Cai broke ground on Sapa Airport under the PPP model, but an investor has yet to be selected. Meanwhile, the investor for Phan Thiet Airport terminated the contract in 2023 after years of delayed construction.

Despite such setbacks, private investors remain interested in the PPP model within the domestic aviation sector, which continues to post double-digit annual growth and high demand for expansion. The government aims to raise the total airport capacity to 275.9 million passengers by 2030, but the state budget is expected to cover just 65.8 per cent of the required investment. As such, drawing in private capital remains a significant challenge.

In late June, the MoC sent a document to the National Assembly delegation of Gia Lai province regarding a proposal to supplement the medium-term public investment plan for the 20262030 period, covering five key transport infrastructure projects  including the proposed $506 million expansion of Pleiku Airport.

For the civil aviation portion of the project  including terminals, parking areas, and other facilities  Airports Corporation of Vietnam is responsible for investment in line with national planning. If it is unable to balance its capital sources, Gia Lai may study and propose a plan to mobilise social resources for airport development and submit it to the prime minister for consideration.

Pleiku Airport currently accommodates medium-range aircraft such as the A320 and A321, serving domestic routes that connect to major political and cultural centres nationwide. The airports capacity is currently 600,000 passengers per year.

In 2024, several new airport proposals were put forward. These included Quang Tri Airport, with a total investment of more than $232 million. The proposed investor  a joint venture between T&T Transport Infrastructure Investment and Development and CIENCO 4  plans to operate the airport within two years. The proposed design targets a capacity of one million passengers and 3,100 tonnes of cargo annually, with the passenger figure expected to double by 2046.

Lawyer Tuan Nguyen said, These moves show that the domestic market continues to attract private businesses. However, further enabling conditions are needed to enhance the appeal and turn proposed projects into successful ventures.

Expert Tuan Chu added, The government should consider raising the foreign ownership cap in aviation infrastructure projects to 49 per cent, in line with levels allowed in regional markets such as Thailand and Indonesia. This would make Vietnam a more competitive investment destination in the eyes of international investors.

New policies aim to advance aviation development Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chaired a meeting on June 16 on amendments to the Law on the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to align with international treaties and develop the sector.
The draft Law on Tax Administration, replacing the current version, is being widely consulted on, with many changes. One of the significant changes is management methods for business households, which will have to self-declare and pay taxes, and apply accounting and invoices.

Business households are classified into four groups. The first group with annual revenue less than VND200 million ($8,000) will not be subject to tax. The second group involves annual revenues of $8,000-40,000. The third group has annual revenue of $40,000 to $400,000, and the fourth group covers anything higher.

Under the draft, the tax authority encourages groups 1 and 2 to use e-invoices when buying and selling goods and encourages the use of e-invoices generated from cash registers connected to the tax authority, or invoices with codes. Groups 3 and 4 will have to use e-invoices with codes from the tax authority. If selling directly to consumers, e-invoices must be used from cash registers.

Le Thi Ha, who runs a garment business household in Nghia Do ward of Hanoi said that all business households would have to fill in seven types of accounting books regardless of their revenue.

Small businesses do not have enough money to hire an accountant to do all these books. So we would prefer a very simple mechanism, she said.

Nguyen Van Phung, former director of the Large Enterprise Taxation Department under the Ministry of Finances (MoF) former General Department of Taxation said, Households with clear accounting books should follow the business model, declaring input and output. Households with poorer records should declare simply and calculate taxes based on revenue. This way will be more flexible and easy for businesses to implement.

Mai Son, deputy director of the MoFs Tax Department, said, Classifying business households based on scale, location, and industry to simplify the implementation process ensures that business activities are profitable and still contribute to the state budget.

To support business households, the Tax Department is also considering a rise in the threshold for businesses not subject to VAT and personal income tax (PIT) of $8,000-16,000. That means business households with annual revenue less than $16,000 will not have to pay tax.

Agreeing with this proposal, Nguyen Thi Cuc, chair of the Vietnam Consultancy Tax Association, suggested a raise of the threshold to $20,000 for paying tax. With PIT, the exemption for taxpayers is $5,300 per year, with a family exemption for dependents at around $2,100.

While this exemption for PIT is being claimed so much and the MoF agreed that it is outdated, not keeping up with reality, and is preparing to amend it, the threshold at $8,000 for business households tax exemption is unreasonable, Cuc emphasised. Because this is revenue, not profit, meaning that even if the business is not profitable, but the revenue exceeds the above threshold, tax must still be paid. That will be a burden for them.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) commented that changing the tax management policy for micro-enterprises, including business households and individual businesses, needs a suitable implementation roadmap.

In the initial implementation phase, overload may occur when millions of business households will connect the system. So it is necessary to upgrade technology infrastructure and train technical support staff; improve the legal framework; provide simple accounting software and free e-invoices for household businesses; and organise training courses on bookkeeping and tax declaration skills, the VASS said.

In the next phases of implementation, household businesses may still need temporary tax incentives, supporting for accounting costs and access to preferential micro-credit. Financial support to households in disadvantaged areas is needed.

With a specific roadmap and appropriate support policies, the transition from lump-sum tax to tax declaration not only contributes to the transparency of the tax system but also creates stronger conditions for business households to develop sustainably and integrate into the formal economy, the VASS added.

The Law on Tax Administration will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval in October.
Free dementia support sessions to run at Wrexham Nationwide branch

Free dementia clinics offering specialist support for those living with the condition and their loved ones will take place in Wrexham.

Nationwide and Dementia UK have partnered to offer the face-to-face sessions in three of its Welsh branches.

Hosted by Dementia UKs Admiral Nurses, the clinics are open to anyone impacted by dementia, offering specialist support in a safe, comfortable and private space for people to discuss any aspect of dementia.

Nationwide Wrexham, on Regent Street, will host clinics on 26, 27 and 28 August.

Debbie Crosbie, Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide, said: Nationwide wants to help people live their best life possible, for as long as possible.

By working with Dementia UK to fund more Admiral Nurses and turning our branches into dementia clinics, were helping to tackle the countrys leading cause of death.

Ahead of the appointments, Dementia UK, the specialist dementia nursing charity, has shared tips on how to discuss dementia with a loved one and encourage anyone showing signs to seek medical advice.

Someone develops dementia every three minutes in the UK, and it is often a challenge to get an accurate diagnosis of dementia.

Tackling tough conversations  tips on speaking to someone who is showing signs of dementia from Admiral Nurses:

Act  if the person suddenly becomes upset or frustrated with themselves, this can be a good opportunity to have a conversation with them about the symptoms they are experiencing and if theyd like support with seeking help

Explain  the signs and symptoms of dementia are often shared with other conditions. Explaining this, and encouraging the person to seek advice from their GP can be less daunting than suggesting they seek a diagnosis of dementia. You can also explain that a prompt diagnosis of dementia will help them seek the right support sooner

Support  seeking support can be tough, and people will appreciate help in arranging the appointment and attending it. You can also help them to keep a symptom diary which will support a healthcare professional to make an accurate and timely diagnosis

Ruby Guild, Admiral Nurse at Dementia UK, added: Were looking forward to returning to Wales. Nationwide branches offer a safe and private space for people to access specialist support for dementia, and the Fairer Futures partnership is helping us bring face-to-face support to people in a familiar location.

The clinics in Wales are part of Nationwides social impact programme, Fairer Futures, which addresses four of the UKs biggest social issues through charity partnerships  family poverty (Action for Children), youth homelessness (Centrepoint), dementia (Dementia UK) and cancer (The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity).

Nationwide is funding 30 dementia specialist Admiral Nurse posts through Dementia UK, and is hosting 200 pop-up clinics in branches across the country.

To pre-book a confidential and in-person appointment with an Admiral Nurse in Wales visit Dementia UKs website.
Lessons learned from Betsi Cadwaladr Health Boards 9.4m blunder

Waless biggest health board says it has learned from the events of an historical 9.4M blunder.

A damning report by Audit Wales had confirmed that accounting errors by the then Betsi Cadwaladr University Hospital Board happened as a result of identified expenditure of 9.4m being accounted for in 2021/22, when it appeared to relate to 2022/23.

But following probes by NHS Counter Fraud and North Wales Police, no evidence of fraud was found.

Some finance department staff had raised confidential concerns regarding the recording of transactions through whistle blowing procedures.

The health board was also made aware of an unauthorised disclosure of an accounting report by EY (Ernst & Young) in mid-May, 2023.

The firm had written a scathing report after significant errors were identified.

Although the report had been restricted in terms of circulation, received by a small group of people within the health board, Audit Wales and NHS Wales Counter Fraud Service, the disclosure had constituted a breach of data legislation.

The board was also subject to a Board Effectiveness Assessment by Audit Wales which had reported in February 2023. Shortly afterwards, the Welsh Government escalated the organisation to a Level 5/Special Measures intervention.

A deeply worrying degree of dysfunctionality, within the then board and senior leadership, had been identified in the report.

Sue Hill, the then executive director of finance, had been on leave of absence since December 2022, but this had included 12 months due to major surgery and treatment. She resigned and left the organisation in December 2024.

Since November, 2023 the board has been led by CEO Carol Shillabeer, who was also the interim chief from May, 2023 until her appointment.

A final summary report on the accounting issues was discussed at the BCUHB meeting today (Thursday, July 31).

A statement by the board, released, 15 minutes ahead of the start of the meeting, said: Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board today discussed a final summary report on the accounting issues which occurred in 2021/22.

This is to provide transparency and accountability and to ensure learning, with measures in place to safeguard that such matters do not happen in future.

This was clearly a serious and complex matter and a wide range of reviews, investigations and other processes have been undertaken as a result.

No evidence of fraud was found through investigations by Counter Fraud Wales and North Wales Police.

The report demonstrates the learning and actions implemented and there are now strengthened systems, culture, and leadership in place. Audit Wales has issued an unqualified audit opinion (a true and fair view) on the Annual Accounts for the last two financial years.

External bodies, through various reports and assurances, have recognised the progress made by the Health Board. We have, and will continue to learn from this experience as we build a culture of integrity, respect, and transparency across all areas of our organisation.

It also outlined the boards summary of learning and action as:

Strengthened Financial Governance and Financial Improvement Plan in place  last two years clean bill of health on the Annual Accounts

Strong financial performance, reducing financial overspend, exceeding Welsh Government target for 2024-25

Improvements in Contract Procurement and Management

Significant improvement in the quality of the draft financial statement presented for audit

Further improvements in Information Governance processes

Frameworks now in place setting out ambition and expectations for effective leadership and governance  including risk management framework, Integrated Performance

Framework and an Integrated Planning Framework. These have underpinned improvement actions and organisational capability.

Strengthened Corporate Governance.

Leadership  at the Board level, successful recruitment has taken place of a new Chair, Vice-Chair and Independent Board Members; a substantive Chief Executive and a significant number of Executive Team member roles.

Culture of openness and transparency which Audit Wales and Welsh Government recognise.

Speaking at the meeting CEO Carol Shillabeer said her report had focused on issues that led to the qualification of the accounts in 2021/22.

The core issues had related to accounting practice, related, wider issues including contract procurement and management, HR management, information governance, culture and behaviours and the summary of key learning and action, taken and ongoing.

This matter has been very difficult for the people involved and for wider departments in the organisation and the health board in general, she said.

I hope that bringing this final report means that having brought out the issues, the learning and action we can now start to move forward.

By Dale Spridgeon  BBC Local Democracy Reporter
Wrexham hospice branded as pillar of our community by local MS

A Wrexham hospice has been described as a pillar of our community by the local Member of the Senedd.

Lesley Griffiths MS has praised Nightingale House Hospice during a recent visit where she met with Chief Executive, Lauren Emberton and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Chris Burgoyne.

In addition to providing specialist palliative care for those with life-limiting illnesses, Nightingale House also offers a wide range of services for individuals and families, including an out-patient clinic, occupational therapy, complementary therapies, physiotherapy including a hydrotherapy pool and an ambulance service.

A range of bereavement support services are offered including a specialist service for children and young adults.

In recent years, the hospice has undergone an extensive renovation, with the centrepiece being a state-of-the-art 12-bed in-patient ward.

In total, more than 5m was invested and the work was completed in May 2024.

Following her latest visit, Lesley Griffiths MS has written to the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care, Jeremy Miles MS, to invite him to visit the hospice.

She said: Nightingale House has provided vital care and support to patients and their families for more than 30 years and it is clearly appreciated by the local community.

It provides not just end-of-life care, but a wraparound service for patients with life-limiting conditions.

Special praise must go to the dedicated staff who deliver outstanding care and support and I also want to pay tribute to the 450 active volunteers who make such an invaluable contribution.

Lesley Griffiths MS added: It was good to catch up with Lauren and Chris.

Nightingale House remains a pillar of our community and I will continue to do all I can to support the hospice.
"Postoji toliko toga cemu se radujem da istrazim ovde u Srbiji - prelepa priroda, izvanredna hrana, tradicija i kultura, ukljucujuci i sport - veliki sam fan srpske kosarke. Iznad svega, radujem se susretima sa graanima Srbije", naveo je on.

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!
Plans are now underway to recover the barge that sank after last month's sudden storm, cancelling a popular July 4th fireworks show in Incline Village.

Incline Fireworks Inc. say its recovered now 96% of the submerged fireworks from the privately owned barge.

They say the fireworks found on July 4th were safely transported out of Incline Village in compliance with Nevada Department of Transportation regulations. An additional 18 fireworks found after July 4th were handed over to the Washoe County Sheriffs Office Bomb Squad for proper disposal.

They say the submerged barge rests at depths of 142 to 180 feet and will require the expertise of a certified dive team and most likely remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). They say video footage from the Washoe County ROV team has indicated that many of the missing fireworks are near the barge.

The organization says water quality monitoring and testing indicates there is no evidence of contamination that would pose a risk to public health.

The ATF is involved due to safety concerns related to the explosives. Persons in unlawful possession or misusing fireworks may be criminally prosecuted by the ATF as a felony.

If you discover any fireworks debris or unexploded materials, do not touch it. Report it to the Washoe County Sheriffs Office Non-Emergency Dispatch at 775-785-WCSO (9276) for disposal.

Update (7/10/2025, 12:00 p.m.):

Incline Fireworks, Inc. has released new details about the ongoing recovery and investigation following the July 4 fireworks barge incident in Incline Village.

According to the organization, more than 95% of the 1,270 fireworks intended for the show have been recovered, with 1,211 accounted for as of July 7.

Recovery efforts are being led by North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Washoe County Sheriffs Office, and Incline Village General Improvement District.

Fireworks recovered after the Fourth have been transferred to the WCSO Bomb Squad for safe disposal.

Video from the Washoe County ROV team suggests that many of the 59 shells still unaccounted for are likely submerged near the original barge site.

Recovery in that area is ongoing and remains restricted to authorized personnel.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is now involved in the investigation, citing public safety concerns.

The ATF may offer rewards for information leading to the arrest of individuals involved in theft or illegal possession of explosives.

Community members are urged not to handle any fireworks or debris. Instead, they should photograph the item, note its exact location, and call the recovery hotline at (775) 241-8572. Emergencies should be reported to 911.

Incline Fireworks also thanked the community and supporting organizations for their help in restoring Incline Beach and Ski Beach.

Hermit Beach remains closed, though kayak storage can be accessed via the bridge at Ski Beach.

Further updates will be released as more information becomes available.

Update (7/6/2025, 5:45 p.m.):

The Board of Directors of Incline Fireworks, Inc. has issued a statement regarding the destruction of the fireworks barge.

In the statement, the board thanks the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, Washoe County Sheriff's Office, Incline Village General Improvement District and Lantis Fireworks for their response to the incident.

"We are incredibly thankful for the swift action of our public safety partners, whose coordinated efforts helped protect the community and the environment during this unexpected event, said Board Co-President Shelia Leijon.

The recovery operation is still ongoing, as is a formal investigation into the cause of the incident.

Officials are asking community members who may come across any debris related to the fireworks or barge to take a photo of the debris, note the exact location, then call the recovery hotline at (775) 241-8572.

Update (7/5/2025, 5:35 p.m.):

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) has shared an update about the efforts to clean up after a fireworks barge was destroyed during storms on Lake Tahoe Thursday night.

Due to the efforts of all partner agencies, Ski Beach, Incline Beach and the boat ramp will open on Sunday, July 6.

Original Story (7/4/2025, 10:50 a.m.):

The Incline Village fireworks show is now canceled after the fireworks barge sustained storm damage during a recent storm.

On Facebook, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District posted: Out of an abundance of caution, Incline and Ski beaches will remain closed until further notice while community partners assess the situation and develop a recovery plan.

Your safety is our top priority. Please stay tuned for updates through official channels.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office says the boat ramp is also closed.

Burnt Cedar Beach is open - but only for IVGID Punch Cards and Pass Holders.

If you discover any fireworks debris or unexploded materials around Lake Tahoe, do not touch it. Report it to the Washoe County Sheriffs Office Non-Emergency Dispatch at 775-785-WCSO (9276) for disposal.

Andy Chapman, President & CEO of Travel North Tahoe Nevada released this statement:

"On this 4th of July, Travel North Tahoe Nevada extends its deep gratitude to the Washoe County Sheriffs Office, fire and other safety personnel who are leading the cleanup following the aftermath of last nights storm and the resulting damage to the planned fireworks display.

"Safety must be our shared, first priority and we commend the decision to cancel tonights fireworks display out of an abundance of caution as cleanup efforts continue. If you discover any fireworks debris or unexploded materials around Lake Tahoe, do not touch it. Please report it to the Washoe County Sheriffs Office Non-Emergency Dispatch at 775-785-WCSO (9276) for disposal.

"We encourage everyone in the area to exercise extreme caution, heed all law enforcement warnings and directions and stay informed by following official law enforcement pages. Travel North Tahoe Nevada will continue to monitor the situation and provide support where needed in addition to keeping the public informed as the situation develops."

MAY 13, 2025:

The night sky over Lake Tahoes northern shore will light up in a patriotic blaze once again, as the Washoe County Board of Commissioners has approved an Outdoor Festival Business License for a July 4, 2025 fireworks display in Incline Village, organized by Red White and Tahoe Blue II, now operating as "Incline Fireworks".

The show, expected to draw up to 6,000 people, will take place from 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on a barge in Lake Tahoe, in front of the Incline Village General Improvement District beaches, and presented by Lantis Pyrotechnic Inc.

According to the approved proposal, traffic control will begin at 5:00 a.m. on July 4 and continue through event close.

Parking will be available at multiple local lots, with many attendees expected to walk or bike, and additional portable restrooms and handwashing stations will be provided.

Cleanup will begin immediately following the show, with a community clean-up day scheduled for July 5.

The July 4 event has been a longstanding tradition in Incline Village. The first Red, White and Tahoe Blue community celebration was held in 2007 as a grassroots initiative led by residents who formed the nonprofit Red, White and Tahoe Blue Inc. to organize a community celebration

That group ran the event through 2018. It grew into a major annual event until changes in 2019, with responsibility for the fireworks show shifted to the Incline Village Crystal Bay Fireworks Coalition, while other organizations managed smaller events.

The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19, and no event was held in 2021.

In 2022 and 2023, a Drone Sky Show was produced in place of traditional fireworks by the Incline Village Crystal Bay Visitors Bureau in partnership with local entities including IVGID, IVCBA, the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, and the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation.

In 2024, the event was organized by a new organization, Red White and Tahoe Blue II who worked to resume the fireworks tradition, which continues this year under the same group now operating as "Incline Fireworks" with another fireworks display.

The 2025 event is planned as a repeat of last years format, focused on a single fireworks show, with other activities coordinated by separate groups.

The event is permitted by the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District and may also require approvals from the U.S. Coast Guard, the FAA, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

More details and information on the upcoming 4th of July Celebration can be found on the Incline Village Crystal Bay Community & Business Associations Website on their Local Heroes Events page.
EmployNV is hosting multiple career fairs and job events all over northern Nevadaand onlinein the month of August.

For all career events, EmployNV recommends pre-registering on the online event calendar on the EmployNV website.

The following events are taking place all over the next couple of weeks:

*Monday, August 4: A virtual event is being held for Specialized Protective Services, who is seeking dedicated security guards in Reno. The event runs from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at this website.

*Wednesday, August 6: EmployNV's Resume & Career Search Workshop will be taking place in Sparks at the EmployNV Career Hub on Pyramid Way from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

*Thursday, August 7: In Carson City, Sweetwater Pain and Spine is hiring full-time medical assistants. Interviews are taking place from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at the EmployNV Business/Career Hub on Carson Street.

*Thursday, August 7: In Sparks, Gastroenterology Consultants is holding a hiring event for medical assistants and authorization specialists from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. at the EmployNV Career Hub on Pyramid Way.

*Friday, August 8: EmployNV is hosting a Career Services Event in Silver Springs from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. at Lyon County Human Services.

*Friday, August 8: You can get resume assistance, job search help and more at the EmployNV Career Services Event at the Lyon County Library in Yerington from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.

*Monday, August 11: An EmployNV Career Services Event will be held at the Frontier Community Coalition from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in Battle Mountain.

*Wednesday, August 13: Lovelock hosts an EmployNV Career Services Event from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Pershing County Library.

*Wednesday, August 13: EmployNV's Mock Interview Workshop will be taking place at the EmployNV Career Hub on Pyramid Way in Sparks. The event starts at 2:00 p.m. and attendees should expect to stay for two hours.

For help with resumes, job referrals and training, you can head to the EmployNV website.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will slowly wind-down its operations after a federal rescissions package was recently signed into law by President Trump.

"For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates, and serves communities across the country. Through partnerships with local stations and producers, CPB has supported educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming, and essential services for Americans in every community," it said in a statement.

The CPB is a private nonprofit that serves as a steward of funding for public media. It provides funds to public radio and television stations, including PBS and NPR. It employs about 100 people.

"CPB informed its employees today that the majority of staff positions will conclude with the close of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. A small transition team will remain through January 2026 to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations. This team will focus on compliance, final distributions, and resolution of long-term financial obligations, including ensuring continuity for music rights and royalties that remain essential to the public media system."

The legislation would claw back nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount its due to receive during the next two budget years.

The corporation distributes more than 70% 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.

(CPB contributed to this report.)
BANGKOK (AP)  U.S. President Donald Trumps new tariff rates of up to 41% on U.S. imports from dozens of countries drew expressions of relief Friday from some countries that negotiated a deal or managed to whittle them down from rates announced in April. Others expressed disappointment or frustration over running out of time after hitting Trump's Aug. 1 deadline for striking deals with Americas trading partners.

The new rates are due to take effect on Aug. 7, but uncertainty over what Trump might do next remains. The way ahead for China, which runs the largest trade surplus with the U.S., is unclear after talks earlier this week in Stockholm produced no deal. Trump has yet to say if he'll extend an Aug. 12 pause on painfully high import duties on Chinese products.

The reaction from financial markets was muted. Benchmarks fell in Asia, with South Koreas Kospi dropping nearly 4% after the tariff rate for the U.S. ally was set at 15%. The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, trading at more than 150 yen per dollar.

Regret and disappointment for Canada and Switzerland

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government was disappointed by Trump's move to raise the U.S. tariff on goods from America's northern neighbor to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. Goods transshipped from unspecified other countries face a 40% import duty.

Trump cited what he said was a lack of cooperation in stemming trafficking of illicit drugs across the northern border. He also slammed Canada's plan to recognize a Palestinian state and has expressed frustration with a trade deficit largely fueled by U.S. oil purchases.

Canada accounts for only 1% of U.S. fentanyl imports and has been working intensively to further reduce these volumes, Carney said in a statement.

Many of Canada's exports to the U.S. are covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and face no tariff. But steel, lumber, aluminum and autos have been subject to still higher tariffs.

Switzerland was reeling after Trump ordered a 39% tariff rate for the land of luxury watches, pharmaceuticals and financial services. That was up from his original proposal of a 31% duty.

The Federal Council notes with great regret that, despite the progress made in bilateral talks and Switzerlands very constructive stance from the outset, the U.S. intends to impose unilateral additional tariffs on imports from Switzerland, the government said in a post on X. It said it would continue to seek a negotiated solution.

Still working on it

Just days after it was sealed with a handshake, France is already talking about possibly renegotiating parts of the EU-US deal on tariffs, to make it more favorable for European producers. The deal reached Sunday, which hasn't been published in writing, calls for a 15% tariff on EU goods.

Its a stage and we wont stop here, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Friday, speaking to broadcaster France Info. We want new concessions, guarantees on wine and spirits, a readjustment, a rebalancing on the service sector, in particular digital services.

The minister argued that European negotiators hadnt been feared enough by Trump.

Europe has to beef up its game. If Europe had been stronger, had it been feared by Donald Trump and the American negotiators, we doubtless could have obtained better results. Thats why we have to strengthen ourselves in every domain.

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said the 10% overall tariff on Australias exports to the United States was a vindication of his governments cool and calm negotiations. But he said even that level was not justified. The U.S. exports twice as much to Australia as it imports from its bilateral free trade partner, and Australia imposes no tariffs on U.S. exports.

Objecting to a 15% tariff rate, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre told the newspaper VG the Scandinavian country should have zero tariffs." He said talks were continuing.

Japan watches, while Taiwan keeps trying for a deal

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi was cautious in welcoming Trump's executive order setting Japans tariff at 15% after the two sides worked out an agreement, much to Tokyo's relief.

We believe it is necessary to carefully examine the details of the measure," Hayashi said. The Japanese government will continue to urge the U.S. side to promptly implement measures to carry out the recent agreement, including reducing tariffs on automobiles and auto parts.

Taiwans President Lai Ching-te said the self-ruled island had yet to engage in final negotiations with the U.S. side owing to scheduling difficulties and that he was hopeful the final tariff rate would be reduced even further after a final round of talks.

The Trump administration lowered its tariff for Taiwan to 20% from the originally proposed 32%. Taiwan is a key supplier of advanced semiconductors needed for many products and technologies.

20% from the beginning has not been our goal, we hope that in further negotiations we will get a more beneficial and more reasonable tax rate, Lai told reporters in Taipei Friday.

The U.S. is Taiwans largest ally even though it does not formally recognize the island. We want to strengthen U.S. Taiwan cooperation in national security, tech, and multiple areas, Lai said.

For some, relief that tariffs are lower than they might be

Cambodias Deputy Prime Minister Sun Chanthol, who led his nations trade talks with the United States, thanked Trump for setting the tariff rate on Cambodian goods at 19% and said his country will impose zero tariffs on American goods.

The rate for Cambodia that Trump proposed in April was 49%, one of the highest in the world. He said the U.S. estimated average Cambodian tariffs on U.S. exports at 97%.

Cambodia has agreed to up purchases of U.S. goods. Sun said it would purchase 10 passenger aircraft from Boeing in a deal they hoped to sign later this month. Several other nations had already announced similar aircraft purchase deals as part of their trade packages.

Trump had threatened to withhold trade deals from Cambodia and Thailand if they didn't end an armed conflict over border territory. The two nations agreed on a ceasefire that began Tuesday.

Thailand also is subject to a 19% tariff, a rate that its Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said reflects the strong friendship and close partnership between Thailand and the United States. That was down from 36% proposed earlier.

"The outcome of this negotiation signals that Thailand must accelerate its adaptation and move forward in building a stable and resilient economy, ready to face global challenges ahead," he said.

Pakistan welcomed a trade deal that sets a 19% duty on its exports, lower than the initial plan for 29%, saying in a government statement that it was a balanced and forward-looking approach that could boost trade and economic growth.

For Bangladesh, a new 20% tariff warded off an earlier threat of a 35% import duty for the South Asian exporter of garments and other light manufactured goods. Thats good news for our apparel sector and the millions who depend on it, said Khalilur Rahman, the country's national security advisor and lead negotiator.

"Weve also preserved our global competitiveness and opened up new opportunities to access the worlds largest consumer market, Rahman said. Protecting our apparel industry was a top priority, but we also focused our purchase commitments on U.S. agricultural products. This supports our food security goals and fosters goodwill with U.S. farming states.

AP journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
There are numerous gaps in the systems meant to shield older adults from fraud and exploitation.

Family caregivers may not know how to spot signs that their loved one is being targeted. Unscrupulous guardians can cause harm when their powers are left unchecked. Law enforcement officers may not be trained to respond to situations involving older adults with forms of dementia, or they may be overwhelmed by the volume of cases.

Members only

Sean Voskuhl, state director for AARP Oklahoma, spoke to these issues during a July 30 hearing held by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. AARPs efforts to fight these crimes are wide-ranging: The organization supports federal bills that would boost resources for law enforcement agencies to protect older adults and initiatives on the state level that regulate guardianship and maximize independence among older adults so they can handle their affairs.

Abuse isnt always the bruises you can see, Voskuhl told the committee. Sometimes its financial exploitation or intentional social isolation.

The FBIs 2024 annual report from its Internet Crime Complaint Center found that individuals over 60 reported nearly $4.9 billion in fraud losses in 2024, a 43 percent increase from the previous year.

Elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation are still happening every day, Voskuhl said.

AARP Oklahoma State Director Sean Voskuhl testifying before the US Senate Special Committee on Aging on July 30 on issues relating to elder abuse and guardianship, including AARP's efforts to fight it at the state and federal level. Courtesy U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging

Programs authorized under or funded by the Older Americans Act are critical in counteracting elder fraud. Some directly target the problem, such as legal assistance and the National Center on Elder Abuse, which disseminates research and other resources. Others are tangential but still key, such as in-home support, home-delivered meals or transportation services.

Authorization for the Older Americans Act expired last year, and AARP urges its reauthorization.

The Older Americans Act is a cornerstone of aging policy and a frontline defense against abuse, Voskuhl said.

He noted that its programs ultimately save money by helping adults live independently and avoid institutional care for as long as possible.


Quarterly Activities Report

Sydney, July 31, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - On 14 April 2025, Flagship Minerals Ltd ( ASX:FLG ) announced that it had entered into a Binding Option Agreement to Purchase 100% of the Pantanillo Gold Project.



Pantanillo hosts a qualifying foreign estimate (QFE) of 47.4Mt @ 0.69g/t Au for 1.05Moz Au that is amenable to open cut mining and heap leach processing, providing Flagship a substantial gold inventory.



Pantanillo is situated in the prolific Maricunga Gold Belt, adjacent to several substantial projects including Newmont-Barrick's 27Moz Au Norte Abierto gold project ~35km to the southwest, Kinross' 10.7Moz Au Maricunga gold project ~25km to the west, Hochschild's 11Moz Au Volcan gold project ~12km to the northwest, and Rio2's 5.7Moz Au Fenix gold project ~40km to the north.

The Exploitation and Exploration Concessions for the Pantanillo project cover an area of approximately 110km2.



The project is devoid of vegetation and occurs at elevations of 4000-4600m, and access to and throughout the project area is considered excellent. The nearest major centre is the mining city of Copiapo ~215km by road, with excellent services and infrastructure with multiple daily flights to and from Santiago.



Modern exploration commenced in 1983 and has been conducted by Anglo American, Empresa Minera Mantos Blancos (EMMB), a Chilean subsidiary of Anglo American, Kinross Gold Corp. (Kinross), Fortune Valley Resources (FVR) and Orosur Mining Inc (Orosur).



QUARTERLY HIGHLIGHTS



- Strategic repositioning around the Pantanillo Gold Project:



o 47.4Mt @ 0.69g/t Au for 1.05Moz Au (QFE, NI 43-101), with 99.4% in Measured and Indicated.



o Backed by NI 43-101 studies and 20,531m of drilling (~50% diamond core).



o Open-pittable, heap-leach oxide system with a nearby permitted reference project - supporting a low capex, low opex development pathway.



o Located in Chile's Maricunga Gold Belt, which hosts over 100Moz Au - with 60Moz within 35km of Pantanillo.



o Surrounded by gold majors including Barrick, Newmont, Kinross and Goldfields.



- Clear and focused strategy now in motion:



o FLG has pivoted to gold and copper - both metals with broad global demand, strong underlying fundamentals, and no product qualification barriers.



o Initial focus is on oxide projects suitable for straightforward heap leach processing.



o Pantanillo's advanced status supports a rapid path to resource growth and feasibility, with an initial target of 100koz Au pa for 10+ years.



o Lithium exposure rationalised: Tama Atacama option cancelled, RK under review.



- Corporate:



o FLG continues to build investor awareness following its strategic repositioning, with strong engagement at recent events such as the Gold Coast Investment Showcase and Sydney Mining Club.



o Hong Kong investor roadshow completed in April; follow-up meetings held with funds in Sydney and Melbourne during the quarter.



Flagship Minerals' Managing Director, Paul Lock, commenting on the Quarter said:



"This was a pivotal quarter for Flagship.



"We secured the Pantanillo Gold Project - a 1.05Moz project with the majority of the resource in the Measured category, supported by over 20,500m of drilling and extensive metallurgical testwork. Pantanillo sits in the same geology, geography and permitting environment as Rio2's Fenix Project - a fully funded, heap leach development now under construction - and is surrounded by majors like Barrick, Newmont, Kinross, Hochschild and Pan American, with more than 60Moz Au located within 35km radius.



"What sets Pantanillo apart is its maturity. The current resource is based on conservative assumptions - a US$1,035 gold price and a relatively high cut-off grade - providing a clear pathway to increase ounces when we convert to JORC.



"As Warwick Grigor recently noted, Flagship is shaping up as a deep value gold leverage play - currently trading at around $12/oz, well below peers. This reflects a significant disconnect that we're confident can close as awareness builds.



"Importantly, we've achieved all this without a major dilution event - adding over 1Moz of gold and advancing a highly 'doable' project while preserving shareholder value.



"Looking ahead, we're excited to progress both Pantanillo and the Rosario Copper Project. Together they give us exposure to gold and copper - two globally critical commodities with strong long-term demand and diversified market dynamics.



"We expect steady news flow and value-adding milestones in the quarters ahead."



*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/HA900IQ8





About Flagship Minerals Ltd





Flagship Minerals Ltd's (ASX:FLG) strategy is to secure and develop projects which it believes will position the Company as a low-cost producer of Copper and Lithium, metals that matter. Specifically, Flagship Minerals seeks to secure low capital intensity projects in low-cost jurisdictions and infrastructure rich settings, projects which are positioned for high margin outcomes, and projects which are proximal to industry, chemical processing, and manufacturing.

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LOCKSLEY COMPLETES OVERSUBSCRIBED PLACEMENT LED BY INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS



Completes Oversubscribed Placement for $5.3 million

Perth, Aug 1, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Locksley Resources Limited ( ASX:LKY ) ( LKYRF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to announce the successful completion of a heavily oversubscribed capital raising, securing firm commitments to raise approximately $5.3 million via a placement of new shares at $0.095 per share to professional and institutional investors.



Highlights:



- Successful Placement: $5.3 million raised at $0.095 per share



- Strong Demand: Placement significantly oversubscribed, attracting several high quality institutional and professional investors



- Cornerstone Support: Tribeca Investment Partners leading the raise, validating Locksley's U.S. critical minerals strategy



Use of Funds:



o Additional drilling at Mojave Project, targeting high grade antimony and rare earths



o Progressing U.S. downstream processing initiatives



o General working capital to support ongoing operations



o Strategic Positioning: Strengthened institutional shareholder base with long term supportive capital partners



The placement was cornerstoned by Tribeca Investment Partners, a globally recognised resources focused investment firm and received strong support from new and existing institutional shareholders. The raise was conducted under the Company's refreshed placement capacity pursuant to ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A, following shareholder approval at the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 31 July 2025.



Proceeds from the Placement will be applied toward:



- Drilling and exploration at the Mojave Project (California, USA), targeting high grade antimony and rare earth mineralisation



- Progressing U.S. federal permitting and downstream development initiatives



- General working capital



Locksley Chairman, Nathan Lude, commented:



"We are extremely pleased with the level of demand and the quality of institutional participation in this placement. Having Tribeca cornerstone the raising is a strong endorsement of our strategy and team.



In addition, we welcome more than a dozen new institutions to the Locksley register, providing us with a robust group of investors, capable of supporting our forward looking growth strategy. This funding places us in a strong position to execute our exploration and downstream plans across the Mojave Project and unlock the full value of our U.S. based critical minerals portfolio."



Placement Details:



The Placement was managed by Alpine Capital Pty Ltd, acting as Lead Manager and Bookrunner. Settlement of the Placement is expected to occur on or around 6 August 2025, with new shares to rank equally with existing fully paid ordinary shares. An Appendix 2A and cleansing notice will be released to the ASX in due course.



The Placement is structured under two tranches:



- Tranche One will comprise 45,833,332 new Securities to raise approximately A$4,354,167 conducted under the placement capacity of the Offer in accordance with ASX LR 7.1 & LR 7.1A; and



- Tranche Two will comprise 10,526,316 new Securities to raise A$$1,000,000 subject to shareholder approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).



Shareholder approval will be sought at the EGM to ratify the issue of Placement Securities under Tranche One and to approve the issue of Placement Securities under Tranche Two.





About Locksley Resources Limited





Locksley Resources Limited (ASX:LKY) (OTCMKTS:LKYRF) is an ASX-listed explorer focused on critical minerals in the United States of America. The Company is actively advancing exploration across the Mojave Project in California, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony. Locksley Resources aims to generate shareholder value through strategic exploration, discovery and development of critical minerals for U.S.

Mojave Project

Located in the Mojave Desert, California, the Mojave Project comprises over 240 claims across two contiguous prospect areas, namely, the North Block-Northeast Block and the El Campo Prospect. The North Block directly abuts claims held by MP Materials, while El Campo lies along strike of the Mountain Pass Mine and is enveloped by MP Materials' claims, highlighting the strong geological continuity and exploration potential of the project area.

In addition to rare earths, the Mojave Project hosts the historic "Desert Antimony Mine", which last operated in 1937. Despite the United States currently having no domestic antimony production, demand for the metal remains high due to its essential role in defense systems, semiconductors, and metal alloys. With surface samples grading up to 46% Sb as well as silver up to 1,022 g/t Ag, the Desert Mine prospect represents one of the highest-grade known antimony occurrences in the U.S.

Locksley's North American position is further strengthened by rising geopolitical urgency to diversify supply chains away from China, the global leader in both REE & antimony production. With its maiden drilling program planned, the Mojave Project is uniquely positioned to align with U.S. strategic objectives around critical mineral independence and economic security.

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Clare Stinton, head of workplace saving analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown: The number of employees saving into a workplace pension jumped by 800,000 in 2024  this is double the increase seen in 2023. The surge is largely due to the fact that people become part of auto-enrolment when they earn 10,000 and this threshold has been frozen since 2014/15. This can play a role in helping more people take a step towards a more secure retirement, but 10,000 doesnt go as far as it did when the threshold was set, so theres a risk it means more people opt out. Already, the proportion of employees opting out has crept up - with 8-10% of those newly enrolled choosing to opt out in 2024. Its understandable, but a big concern. Opting out means walking away from free money from your employer and tax relief  one of the most effective ways to keep more of what you earn long term. However, if youve done it because you cant make ends meet thats an issue. With the government launching the review into pension adequacy, it will need to look at where contribution levels are set longer term. Higher auto-enrolment minimums would mean higher earners can put more away, which can help them deal with the issue of under saving. However, blanket increases across the board may mean lower earners put themselves in financial difficulty in a bid to maintain their pension contributions. Its a tricky balancing act for government to juggle. It may be the case that government focuses on how to incentivise higher earners to boost their contributions. The data also reveals a divide in how much people are saving when it comes to public and private sector workers. Public sector workers tend to contribute more than their private sector counterparts, and as a result, they also receive a greater chunk of tax relief  extra money from the government paid directly into their pension. Private sector workers may be sticking to the auto-enrolment minimums, unless their employer nudges them higher, or offers a clear incentive to pay more through a matching scheme. It highlights a common misconception: many people still see auto-enrolment as a complete pension solution, when in reality its just the starting point. Workplace pension participation and savings trends of eligible employees: 2009 to 2024
From Soldier to Scapegoat: The Unforgivable Ordeal of Lt. Col. Shrikant Purohit and His Family 2

When a soldier dons the uniform, he takes an oathto protect the nation, to serve with integrity, to put the country before himself. Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit, an officer from a patriotic family in Pune, lived by that oath. He served in Military Intelligence, conducted counter-terrorism operations in hostile zones like Jammu and Kashmir, and risked his life in service to Bharat. And yet, this very nation turned its back on him.

In 2008, a bomb blast in Malegaon killed six people and injured over a hundred. Within days, Purohitwho was serving the country through intelligence workfound himself branded a terrorist. A soldier who was trained to fight enemies of the nation was now projected as the enemy himself. And just like that, without trial, without proof, without question, a man was ripped away from his uniform, his honour, and his familyand thrown into a cell.

He spent nine years in jailnine years without a single day of trial. The agencies slapped him with charges under UAPA, IPC, and the Explosives Act. But lets call it what it really was: a systematic political witch-hunt, driven not by facts but by agendas.

What was his crime? According to Purohit, he was doing his job too well. As an intelligence officer, he had infiltrated dubious groups and gathered critical reportsincluding details on Dawood Ibrahims underworld-Maoist nexus and the suspicious funding patterns of Zakir Naik. He compiled dossiers, some of which named influential politicians. That, perhaps, became his real mistake.

Purohits own testimony is chilling. He alleged that investigative agencies pressured him to name senior right-wing leadersincluding members of the RSS and even Yogi Adityanath, now the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He claimed that witnesses were tortured and threatened at gunpoint and that evidenceincluding RDXwas planted to frame him. According to him, officers from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) not only fabricated narratives but even orchestrated extrajudicial killings to close the case quickly.

The tragedy deepened when the courts took years just to acknowledge what was already visible. In 2017nine years after his arrestthe Supreme Court finally granted him conditional bail, acknowledging that several facts in the case required re-evaluation and that keeping him in jail indefinitely without trial was not justifiable. The NIA Special Court later observed that no direct evidence linked Purohit to the Malegaon blast and stated that applying UAPA was not appropriate.

But by then, the damage was irreparable.

This wasnt just a legal case. It was a complete and brutal character assassination. A respected Army officer, celebrated for his service, was suddenly painted as a terrorist. The media ran unverified stories. Political leaders passed comments. Public opinion was shaped not by facts but by headlines. And what of his family?

His wife fought a relentless legal battlepractically becoming a lawyer herselfjust to prove her husbands innocence. Their sons grew up with a father in jail, burdened by societys label: terrorist ke bachche. The younger one was just a toddler when Purohit was taken away. The elder son would later join the legal struggle as he grew up. Their schools, neighbours, and society did not see them as children of a soldierthey saw them as offspring of a traitor. What greater cruelty can a nation inflict on a loyal family?

Even today, Purohit has not been restored to full service. He is posted in an administrative role in Pune, not allowed to serve in the field. He cant leave the country without court permission. A man who wore his uniform with pride is now constantly reminded of the stigma that the system still refuses to fully erase.

This is not just Purohits story. It is the story of a nations utter failure to protect its own warriors. The rot in the system, the bias in investigations, the lethargy of the judiciary, and the complicity of the political class have together created a nightmareone that has lasted seventeen years and counting.

And now the nation must ask itself:

Who will return these stolen years?

Who will erase the label of terrorist from his childrens memory?

Who will restore the dignity of a man who risked everything for his country and was betrayed by the very system meant to protect him?

The people responsible for this miscarriage of justicethe investigating officers, the political masters who pulled the strings, the bureaucrats who looked away, and the judiciary that moved at a snails pacemust be named and held accountable.

Because if we can do this to a soldier, we can do it to anyone.

Because if our institutions can be manipulated to destroy lives on the basis of politics, no one is safe.

Because if justice delayed becomes justice deniedthen this wasnt justice. This was state-sponsored cruelty.

And because some wounds cant be healed by bail or verdicts.

The question remains: who will pay the price for destroying a patriots life?
Brighton Police Capt. Kenneth Hooteen arrested three men he said he caught stealing state-seized machines out of Joker's Bingo in Bright. (Special to AL.com)

Three men are under arrest after police say they were caught stealing illegal bingo machines that had already been seized by state officials.

Brighton police Capt. Kenneth Hooten was patrolling in the 5000 block of Bessemer Super Highway in Thursdays predawn hours when he noticed a large Metro rental truck outside Jokers Bingo Hall.

Hooten, who is also the citys assistant fired chief, stopped to investigate.

He found three men in the back of the truck with bingo machines insides.

They were machines seized by the Attorney Generals Office, Hooten said. When I caught them, they were already out and closing the back of the truck down.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall last year shut down 10 illegal gaming businesses across Jefferson County including Brighton, Midfield, Lipscomb, Bessemer and unincorporated portions of the county.

In June, the AGs Office shut down nearly a dozen more, and closed four businesses in Brighton, including Jokers Bingo on Bessemer Super Highway. The machines, though seized by the state, remained inside the businesses.

Brighton Police Capt. Kenneth Hooteen arrested three men he said he caught stealing state-seized machines out of Joker's Bingo in Bright. (Special to AL.com)

KeMarlin Dewayne Black, 22, of Midfield, and Rashad Ahmad Brown, 44, of Brighton, are charged with first-degree theft of property and third-degree burglary.

Both were booked into the Jefferson County Jail Friday afternoon. Bond is set at $45,000 each.

A third suspect - Derick Lavert Crenshaw -has also been charged but he has not yet been booked into jail.

Hooten said what the suspects planned to do with the machines remains under investigation.
Scottsboro police have arrested a man who they say impeded the search for a man accused of shooting a police officer.

Daniell Hendon, 36, of Scottsboro, has been charged with swatting under a new state law approved last year.

Swatting is making false police reports with the intention of eliciting an emergency response from law enforcement.

On Saturday, law enforcement agencies were engaged in a search for Daniel Victor McCarn, 29, of Scottsboro, who authorities said shot a Scottsboro Police Department officer, Lt. Derek Porch.

Porch sustained non-life threatening injuries in the incident.

McCarn was later taken into custody by 10 p.m. Saturday.

According to Scottsboro police, during the manhunt Saturday, investigators were contacted by a local business about an employment application submitted under the name of Daniel McCarn.

Due to the nature of the ongoing manhunt, this information required immediate follow-up, police said in a statement. Upon investigation, it was determined that the application was fraudulent and served only to divert valuable resources away from the search efforts.

On Monday, police investigated the false application and questioned Hendon, who admitted to submitting the information, police said.

Hendon is currently being held at the Jackson County Jail.

The Scottsboro Police Department takes these matters seriously, particularly when such actions interfere with critical law enforcement operations, a police statement reads. We will continue to pursue anyone who attempts to mislead or obstruct justice.
A Birmingham woman has been criminally charged after an Alabama foster care child was left inside her vehicle and found dead by police five hours later.

The Jefferson County District Attorneys Office on Friday announced it had issued a felony warrant for 54-year-old Kela Stanford in the July 22 death of 3-year-old Ketorrius KJ Starkes Jr.

Stanford, a former transport driver who worked for The Covenant Services, is charged with leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle.

She was booked into the jail at 7:04 a.m. Friday, and released at 8:14 a.m. after posing $30,000 bond.

This is a terrible tragedy that was completely avoidable and unnecessary, a statement from the D.A.s office read.

The charge, which is part of the Amiyah White Act, prohibits leaving a child or an incapacitated person unattended in a motor vehicle in a manner that creates an unreasonable risk of injury or harm.

Violations can result in fines, and if physical injury results, the offense becomes a misdemeanor or felony depending on the severity of the injury. In this case, it is a Class B felony.

In 2013, the Legislature passed a bill that established criminal penalties for leaving a child under age 7 or an incapacitated adult unattended in a vehicle.

That law was named after Amiyah White, a 2-year-old girl who died after being left in a van in Mobile.

Stanford on that Tuesday had picked KJ up from his daycare and taken him to a visit with his biological father at DHR in Bessemer.

When the visit ended, Stanford was to return KJ to his daycare but said she got sidetracked, forgot he was in her car, ran several errands and went home. She said she had no idea he was still in her parked, hot car until KJs foster mother since birth called looking for him and Birmingham police found him dead.

KJs death has outraged the community and lawmakers, who are calling for transparency and accountability from DHR. Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday said the childs death was the result of reprehensible and gross negligence.

This is a parents worst nightmare, said attorney Courtney French who is representing KJs family. This tragedy was preventable.

Based upon a preliminary investigation, the interior temperature of the car where KJ was trapped likely exceeded 140 degrees.

KJs funeral is set for Saturday at Sixth Avenue Beulah Baptist Church.

A candlelight vigil and balloon release in his memory will be held Friday night across the street from the DHR building in Bessemer.

On the day that he died, KJ, who had been with his foster family since birth, had a scheduled visit with Starkes Sr. at the DHR office in Bessemer.

When the visit ended, the transport driver was to return KJ to daycare.

Stanford, in a phone call apology to Ketorrius Starkes Sr. that was posted on Facebook, described what happened next in her telephone call with Starkes.

I got sidetracked and stopped off and got something to eat and when I came out instead of going to the left to daycare because I got called and said I didnt have a case, I said in my head, Well Im done for the day I can go home.

Instead of going to the daycare, I came home, she told KJs father and an unidentified woman who was also on the phone call with Starkes.

And I forgot he was back there. I am so sorry. 

The woman on the other end of the line told Stanford, Baby you got us sick over here. We cant breathe. You left a 3-year-old in the car. He couldnt defend hisself. You supposed to look in the back seat when you knew there was a child there from the get-go, she said.

Its nothing you can call to say to make him feel better, she said

Im not trying to make him feel better. Im not, Stanford said.

Theres nothing I can say to make him feel better. Im so sorry. Sorry dont even express how deeply sorry I am.

The woman told Stanford, You left that baby in your hot ass car and you went inside your home and you was in there under air comfortably and this baby died in a car. He suffocated. He didnt have no help, no nothing. You didnt think to look in the back seat?

That was not my intention, Stanford said. I promise you, I would not have done that to your son.

Stanford explained that she parked in the driveway because her husbands vehicle was in the garage.

She said she didnt remember KJ was in the back seat until the boys foster parent called her looking for the child.

I wouldnt have killed no child, Stanford said.

Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the vehicle was locked and the windows rolled up.

Yates said KJ was in the car from 12:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 6:03 p.m.

Asked about the transport drivers call to Starkes, family attorney French said, None of it makes sense.

French said Stanford picked up KJ from daycare at 9 a.m. for a supervised visit with Starkes, which ended around 11:30 a.m.

Rather than returning the child immediately to daycare, the worker stopped to pick up food for her family and shopped at a tobacco store, French said.
Huntsville-area real estate agent Ronald "Ronnie" Dumas Jr. has been missing since Sunday, Dec. 15. via Facebook

Details shared in an Aniahs Law hearing Friday reveal that missing Huntsville realtor Ronald Dumas Jr. may have been tortured after his disappearance last year.

Dumas was last seen on surveillance footage entering a liquor store with two women, Kelisha McKinney and Sabrina Chambers, on Dec. 15. He left the store with them, appearing unharmed.

During the hearing Friday for 27-year-old Kierra Clark, who is facing charges related to the kidnapping of Dumas, both women were identified as working for a prostitution website offering a 2 for 1 special, WAAY 31 reports. Investigators believe Dumas contacted them for prostitution.

After Dumas was reported missing, McKinney was found dead from a drug overdose.

Police said Friday they had discovered text messages where Clark instructed Quintarius White, who was described in court as Chambers pimp, to torture Dumas, according to WAAY 31.

The texts also revealed that White informed Clark about Dumas having $7,000 in his bank account, and Clark directed White to gain access to Dumas phone and funds.

Although Clark was never in Madison County, authorities said they believe she orchestrated the robbery plan from afar, the outlet reports.

Testimony said text messages between Clark and White revealed plans to return to Memphis with Dumas, who was believed to be alive when they left Madison.

Dumas car was found on Interstate 40 in Camden, Tenn., on Dec. 16. His phone was also tracked heading south from Memphis on Dec. 21.

He was placed on the Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys Missing Persons List as a missing adult on Dec. 23.

In February, Huntsville police said investigators had obtained critical new evidence indicating that [Dumas] was abducted.

Authorities issued warrants that month for Clark, White, Chambers, Toure Laron McLaurin, 33, and Carissa Cash, 33.

Chambers remains missing.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Investigator Gregory Hayden at (256) 427-5485 or provide an anonymous tip by calling (256) 532-7463.
An Athens mother is facing capital murder charges for allegedly beating her infant to death.

On Friday, at approximately 12:38 a.m., Limestone County Sheriffs Deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 15000 block of Estate Drive in response to a medical call involving an infant.

Upon arrival, they discovered an unresponsive infant who had been severely beaten and showed no signs of life, according to a statement.

Deputies immediately began life-saving efforts until Athens Fire and Athens-Limestone EMS personnel arrived and took over care. A pulse was eventually regained, and the child was transported to a hospital.

Through the course of the investigation, it was determined that the childs mother, Morgan Skye Thornton, was responsible for the injuries, police say.

Thornton appeared to be intoxicated at the time of her arrest, according to the release.

Thornton was initially charged with aggravated child abuse before the infant died from injuries sustained in the assault.

Her charge has since been upgraded to capital murder.

Thornton remains in the custody of the Limestone County Jail under no bond, pending an Aniahs Law hearing to be scheduled at a later date, according to the release.

Please keep this family and everyone who responded to this heartbreaking scene in your prayers, Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin wrote.

While the outcome is devastating, Im incredibly proud of our deputies, firefighters, EMTs, hospital staff, and DHR workers who did absolutely everything in their power to save this innocent child. Their dedication and compassion in the face of such horror reflect the very best of public service.
A statue of a jaguar stands in a plaza near the University of South Alabama's Moulton Tower. Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

Many Alabama students and their families can say goodbye to college essays and application fees.

The state hopes to rearrange the traditional college application process, where a student keeps track of dates, requirements and forms for multiple colleges.

Instead, starting this fall, high school students who fill out one online profile on Match may get direct admissions offers from community colleges and four-year colleges around Alabama -- no actual application required.

Instead of applying to college, colleges are basically courting them, said Chandra Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, a nonprofit that coordinated the initiative.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced the "Alabama Goes to College: Direct Admissions" initiative Thursday.

How do direct admissions work?

Schools around the country are trying direct admissions: They make offers to students who meet certain academic or demographic criteria. College Board and Niche also have direct admissions forms.

But efforts are usually school by school. Alabamas new statewide program is more like Illinois One Click College Admit, where students can fill out one form and get expedited offers from a set of state universities.

Alabamas process will work like a matchmaking service.

High school seniors fill out online profiles on Match and upload transcripts. Their profiles are reviewed by 39 Alabama colleges and universities who will make admissions offers.

So the college will match themselves to the student and they will receive a direct admissions letter saying welcome to their institution, Scott said.

What are benefits of direct admissions?

Theres no additional forms required, such as recommendation letters or essays, that are usually a hindrance to a lot of students or even just makes them afraid of the process.

So were removing all of those things that will slow them down or even alleviate them from the journey of seeking a post-secondary pathway, she said.

Scott said application fees cost between $50 to $100 and can be a financial barrier for families. Those fees can add up when students begin applying to multiple schools.

Thats the difference between a light bill or medication and a college application, Scott said.

The deadline for students wanting to attend college in 2026 is Sept. 23. Colleges will send admission offers on Oct. 6.

Which colleges are participating?

Statewide, 39 two-year and four-year colleges are participating.

Four-year colleges include University of West Alabama, Tuskegee University and Troy University. Families can find the full list of participating colleges on the Alabama Possible website.

The University of Alabama system campuses and Auburn University arent participating.

Match is powered by Concourse, an online platform that opened the college matchmaking program in 2022, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Chicago piloted a direct admissions program via Match several years ago.
When it comes to Alabama restaurants, there are a lot of hidden gems.

Through our Unsung Alabama series this summer, we set out hoping to shine a light on the Alabama eateries that have become beloved by locals and visitors alike. From old-school barbecue spots to roadside diners, seafood joints, ice cream parlors and more, there are plenty of good meals, no matter what youre craving, being served in our state.

You can check out some of the restaurants we wrote about below as well as some of our readers favorites.

Kenny's Hwy 198 Diner in Clayton, Ala. Amber Sutton

Kennys Hwy 198 Diner

334 Eufaula Avenue in Clayton

Kennys Hwy 198 Diner in Clayton isnt easy to miss -- especially given theres an alligator in a cowboy hat pointing the way -- but once youve had a meal there, it wont be easy to forget either. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Kennys menu has a little bit of everything, including homemade cinnamon rolls and other morning goodies as well as wings, pizza, pasta, flame-grilled burgers, fresh salads, steaks, seafood and more offered throughout the day. Pair whatever you order with one of their daily desserts -- whether it be German chocolate cake or cinnamon peach cobbler -- and youll be good to go.

The Shack BBQ

7744 Stemley Bridge Road in Talladega

If our Unsung Alabama series has taught us anything, its that there is a lot of great barbecue spread throughout the state, and The Shack BBQ in Talladega is one of them. In business for more than 40 years, The Shack is a family-owned restaurant beloved by locals and tourists alike thanks to its menu of jumbo barbecue sandwiches, potatoes, ribs and more served alongside all the classic sides. Whatever you order, be sure to save room for dessert (and good luck deciding between the homemade pecan pie and banana pudding.)

The fried oyster platter at Catalina Restaurant in Bayou La Batre. Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

Catalina Restaurant

14060 S. Wintzell Avenue in Bayou la Batre

For more than 60 years, Catalina Restaurant has been serving up seafood that is as fresh as it can get in the fishing village of Bayou la Batre, making it a hidden gem thats beloved by locals (and the tourists smart enough to spot it.) Housed in a former supermarket, the old-school restaurant features a menu filled with classic seafood fare, including gumbo, shrimp, oysters, catfish and crab. Plus, theres usually a blue plate special up for grabs as well, with dishes like fried pork chops and hamburger steak along with mashed potatoes, field peas and more Southern sides.

Reds Little Schoolhouse

20 Gardner Road in Grady

There are a lot of wonderful meat-and-threes throughout Alabama serving up comforting and filling Southern dishes, and that includes Reds Little Schoolhouse in the small town of Grady. The restaurant, which is housed in a one-room building that use to serve as a school, has been in business for more than 40 years and serves a changing menu of Southern classics, including fried chicken, slow-cooked roast, casseroles and more, during its lunch serves in addition to offering made-from-scratch pies ribeye steaks and more during dinner.

Candy toppings are on the menu at Unbothered Scoops, an ice cream shop in Bessemer, Alabama. (Mary Colurso | mcolurso@AL.com)

Unbothered Scoops

2231 19th Street North in Bessemer

Its hard to be stressed while holding an ice cream cone. At least, thats what Unbothered Scoops, an ice cream parlor in Bessemer that thrives on good vibes and fun flavors, believes. The shoppe, opened by Pastor Lawrence W. Jackson of Greater Grace Missionary Baptist Church, hopes to offer its customers more than just a sweet treat -- though it certainly has those with a variety of Hersheys ice cream flavors, like butter pecan, strawberry cheesecake and maple walnut -- but also a place to find a little peace and positive energy, too.

Rustys Bar-B-Q

7484 Parkway Drive in Leeds

When we asked readers what Alabama barbecue joints they thought deserved more love, Rustys Bar-B-Q in Leeds was among those to get a shoutout. The family-owned restaurant has a menu full of their flavorful take on old favorites like ribs, pulled chicken, brisket, barbecue pork, Conecuh sausage and more served alongside sides like Brunswick stew, collard greens, deviled eggs and other Southern classics. Theres plenty more on the menu, too, like loaded potatoes and salads, burgers, homemade pies and even a barbecue jackfruit plates for their vegetarian customers.

Corks & Cattle is a butcher shop, market and restaurant in Enterprise, Ala. Courtesy of Corks & Cattle

Corks & Cattle Market and Cafe

102 West Lee Street in Enterprise

While Corks and Cattle in Enterprise got its start as a butcher shop and wine market in 2014, these days it doubles as one of the best steakhouses in the state, offering a wide selection of meats and seafood as well as more than 2,000 bottles of wine to customers from near and far. In addition to award-winning steaks, the stylish restaurant, named one of the states best steakhouses as part of The Guide to Alabamas 2025 Best of Alabama Awards, also serves a unique array of dishes like ahi tuna nachos, Cornish game hen, crab cakes and lobster bisque as well.

Pappys Place

125 North Broad Street in Scottsboro

Looking for a menu that has a little bit of everything? Pappys Place in Scottsboro has you covered, which is likely why it came up early and often when we asked readers to share some of their favorite underrated restaurants throughout the state. From a variety of fully-loaded burgers to wings, country fried steak, shrimp and grits, barbecue, fried chicken and more, the family-owned restaurant has just about everything, and its all made fresh to order. Plus, you can top off your meal with some of their homemade ice cream, either as a scoop or in a milkshake.

Chicken wings with BamaBoi Hot sauce at RDs Smokehouse Barbecue in Harvest, Alabama. (Matt Wake/mwake@al.com) Matt Wake

RDs Smokehouse Barbecue

1811 Nick Davis Road in Harvest

Sometimes, the best restaurants are worth going out of your way for. RDs Smokehouse Barbecue in Harvest falls into that category. In business for more than a decade, the laidback barbecue spot has a full menu of classics, like ribs, smoked chicken, brisket and more you can order alongside catfish plates, loaded nachos and plenty of Southern sides. Oh, and if youre a fan of sauces, the smokehouse has several to choose from, including its signature sauces like the tangy SmackJaw, heated BamaBoi Hot and even hotter Fire Starter.

Uncle Micks Cajun Market & Cafe

136 West Main Street in Prattville

In 2009, Uncle Micks Cajun Market and Cafe opened in Prattville and became a popular eatery to many in the River Region. Tucked into the shoppes that make up charming downtown Prattville, the cafe, open for lunch and dinner, offers an array of made-from-scratch dishes, served cafeteria-style, for diners to choose from daily. Some of its offerings include shrimp la creme, crawfish etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice and other classic Cajun cuisine as well as plenty of Southern sides, fresh bread, homemade desserts and more to go with it.
Krispy Kreme and Crocs are teaming up for a limited-edition Krispy Kreme x Crocs Classic Clogs.

The collaboration, which has been a year in the making, officially drops on Aug. 5. The Krispy Kreme x Crocs Classic Clogs design features oversized charms and two interchangeable toe caps  chocolate and strawberry icing with sprinkles  that fans can swap out depending on their favorite flavor.

The Clogs pivoting heel strap also features the Krispy Kreme logo.

Its been so much fun working with Crocs to create what might be the sweetest Classic Clogs yet, said Alison Holder, Krispy Kreme Chief Brand and Product Officer, in a press release. Fans of both of our brands expect the unexpected and this collab certainly is next-level when it comes to that. We cant wait to see Krispy Kreme x Crocs clog social media.

At Crocs, weve always believed in comfort you can customize  and now, with Krispy Kreme, were serving up style thats glazed with personality and sprinkled with style, said Terence Reilly, Crocs, Inc. Chief Brand Officer, in the same release. Because when it comes to self-expression, we doughnut hold back.

Fans of both brands can get early access to Krispy Kreme x Crocs Classic Clogs on Aug. 4 by visiting any participating Krispy Kreme shop and scanning the displayed Crocs QR Code to order.

Krispy Kreme is also offering guests who come in wearing their Crocs on Aug. 9 a free Original Glazed Doughnut.
There are many forms of intelligence, but on a day like today -- when four cosmic squares stir tension and challenge -- emotional intelligence rises to the top. Squares bring friction, and friction brings growth, each challenge a teacher. Emotional skill improves relationships; lifts health; and touches on finances, energy and outlook.

ARIES (March 21-April 19). Theres joy in sensing what others need and making preemptive moves to serve it up. Its a rare and subtle gift, and it makes people trust you without really knowing why. They lean in closer. Theres strength in your way, and others want to walk beside you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20). This is the effort stage; youre intentionally choosing to direct your attention to the positive. Maybe youre naming gratitude, savoring a moment or shifting your thoughts away from irritation toward something that brings you joy. It takes awareness.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You are about to remember something beautiful about yourself or your life that you hadnt even realized you were missing. And it will land softly but meaningfully -- like a secret gift from your own heart.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). To put effort into being liked, impressive, agreeable might help you fit in or succeed briefly. But over time, it drains you. Today you put less into managing perceptions and more into simply living life.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Youre usually the team player, the adjuster, the easygoing one. But this day? Its for you. Do what feels good, say yes to your whims and skip anything that smells like obligation. The best thing you can give is a fully alive version of you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Youre magnetic, moving between giver and receiver, desire and design. Its a rhythm, a flirtation, a dance. You may not know whats fair, but you know whats fun -- and theres a deep beauty in trusting your sense of timing and delight.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). The work you do leaves your competition scrambling. Its about power moves, calculated chaos and an unmatched grind. You are shaking up the status quo with your raw ambition.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Frustration flares when things dont go as pictured. Want to feel better fast? Shrink the expectation. Open the timeline. Let it unfold in its own weird, lovely way. Youll still get there -- and maybe pick up something extra on the way.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Theres a long arc to this healing. You may not see the end yet, but youre further along than you think. Keep going. This path grows you in ways no shortcut ever could and leads to your well-earned peace.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Youre a fixer, but youre also a genius at prevention. Today is about keeping things smooth before the bumps arrive. A little tune-up here, a check-in there -- and you buy yourself time, calm and more room to roam.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). It is OK to resent. Indeed, there are times when resentment is not only appropriate; its necessary. It means youre awake to an imbalance. But let this day be about truth, not comparison. You are a rare flower, blooming under rubble.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). One crowd laughs; the next stares blankly. You roll with it, shifting gears like a pro. Your charm isnt in the lines; its in your read of the room. This is only the start of your run. There will be many electric moments to come.

TODAYS BIRTHDAY (Aug. 1). This year brings a new role -- one that deeply affects many lives and sometimes requires rehearsal to get just right. Every effort you make adds richness and the responsibility you carry becomes fulfillment. More highlights: Youll draw attention without effort, receive affection without pursuit and watch opportunities arise just as you were ready to move on. Money flows from lucky moves, including a few you first deemed mistakes. Virgo and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 9, 14, 4, 32 and 23.

Holiday Mathis debut novel, How To Fail Epically in Hollywood, is out now! This fast-paced romp about achieving Hollywood stardom is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit creatorspublishing.com for more information. Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.
Soldiers with the Alabama National Guard are preparing to go to the Sinai Peninsula.

The ANG announced a deployment ceremony will be held Sunday for the 1st Battalion of the 173rd Infantry Regiment, which is based in Enterprise.

According to the ANG, the unit will be deploying to support Multinational Force and ObserversTask Force Sinai.

The mission is promoting international peace and security within the Sinai Peninsula region, the ANG said.

The deployment ceremony will be Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Enterprise High School Performing Arts Center.

The Sinai Peninsula is in Egypt and is bordered on the east by Israel and the Gaza Strip

The ANG said the deployment is not related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Mack Muzio, director of public affairs for the ANG, said it is part of a scheduled deployment cycle, a standard support mission that the unit has been preparing for for five years.

See more:
Carol Nunnelley was a longtime reporter and editor for The Birmingham News. AL.com/File

A Birmingham-based nonprofit that has offered news coverage of the city has announced a temporary suspension of publication due to lack of funding.

Birminghamwatch.org, an online publication run by the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism, has ceased publication until at least Sept. 2, said Executive Editor Andre Natta in a post on the website.

Founded in 2015 by former Birmingham News Managing Editor Carol Nunnelley, former Weld editor Mark Kelly and attorney Jerome Lanning, the website has focused on government, education and environmental news issues. Nunnelley died in 2023.

The publication was awarded a 2-year, $100,000 grant for general operating support from the Press Forward coalition in October 2024.

Natta said the website needed to raise $25,000 in private donations during a summer emergency fundraising effort before the next grant payment of $50,000 expected in late September or early October. He said that $9,795 in private funds were raised, not enough to keep publishing during August.

This story was updated Aug. 3 to reflect information from Natta that the next expected grant payment is $50,000, not $25,000.
An ambitious 10-mile tunnel project would connect Nashville International Airport and the downtown Nashville area. Tennessee Governor's Office/ The Boring Company

Tennessee state officials this week announced an ambitious project to create a 10-mile tunnel connecting bustling Nashville International Airport (BNA) to the downtown Nashville area.

The project, called Music City Loop, would speed traffic between the two points to an 8-minute trip, officials said. The tunnel would follow a course roughly along the Murfreesboro Pike.

Enlisted in the project is billionaire Elon Musks The Boring Company, which is engaged in a similar project in Las Vegas.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said the project would be carried out at no cost to taxpayers. Estimates have the price tag for the project at more than $100 million.

By leveraging the innovation of private sector companies like The Boring Company, were exploring possibilities we couldnt achieve on our own as a state, Lee said. This partnership represents the kind of forward-thinking, fiscally responsible approach that will define the future of transportation in Tennessee.

The Music City Loop will be a game-changer for Nashville residents, TN businesses & @fly_nashville travelers  at ZERO cost to taxpayers.



Proud to join @SecDuffy, @nashchamber, @TNChamber, @_GNHA, @musiccitycenter & more in announcing this innovative plan thats a win for all. pic.twitter.com/8v7YXHL27E  Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) July 30, 2025

The system is described as an all-electric, zero-emissions, high-speed underground transit system. According to The Tennessean, it will use Tesla electric vehicles driven by Loop operators without the use of any semi-autonomous technology.

That means no one, not even Tesla owners, will be able to use their own vehicles in the tunnel. Travelers will have to buy a ticket.

The Boring Company intends to begin construction immediately following the approvals process, with the first segment of the system expected to be operational as early as fall of 2026, according to the governors office.

Announcing Music City Loop! The Boring Company is coming to the State of Tennessee.



Las Vegas Loop has already moved more than 3M passengers, and growing. Next stop, Nashville!



Thanks to the Tennessee Department of Transportation @myTDOT, Governor Bill Lee @GovBillLee, The pic.twitter.com/6BMjFynnF1  The Boring Company (@boringcompany) July 28, 2025

The project is not without its critics. Some Democratic lawmakers say the speed with which the loop project is moving, as well as the paucity of information, has them concerned, according to the Nashville Banner.

This tunnel is the privatization of public infrastructure  designed to benefit a select few, not the people who actually live and work here, state Rep. Aftyn Behn was quoted as saying in Axios. With over 20 million people passing through BNA every year, a low-capacity Tesla tunnel does nothing to solve the congestion crisis.

Councilman Russ Bradford, told WKRN, Our city faces pressing challenges: deteriorating roads, under-resourced public transportation, rising housing costs, and widening disparities in opportunity across neighborhoods. Yet instead of addressing these urgent needs, state and airport leadership is asking taxpayers to consider a multi-billion-dollar tunnel designed not for residents, but for the convenience of tourists.
The family of Jabari Peoples, the Aliceville 18-year-old shot to death by Homewood police on June 23, will get to view police body camera footage on Wednesday, according to an attorney for the family.

Lawyer Leroy Maxwell said he spoke with Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr to arrange the viewing.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys investigation into the deadly shooting was completed today and turned over body cam footage to the D.A. and Homewood police.

The Agency would like to thank the public for their patience and understanding during the ongoing investigation, a ALEA statement read.

Additionally, ALEA would like to thank Governor Kay Ivey and State Representative Juandalynn Givan for their steadfast support throughout this investigation.

Givan helped write and support the bill that Ivey in 2023 signed into law that allows the disclosure of body camera footage to the personal representative of an individual whose image or voice is the subject of the recording.

The law does not require a law enforcement agency to share the footage if it would affect an ongoing investigation.

I believe we need to give the family video, but I do not agree with any call to action for anyone to bring harm to anyone they think is involved, to the officer they think is the officer in question, to show up at anyones for any type of retaliation without seeing the body-worn camera and working through this process, Givan, who is running for Birmingham mayor, said at a July 7 press conference.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has made this case a top priority, and I am confident they are working to efficiently get this done, Ivey said on July 16.

As soon as their investigation is complete, the body camera footage will be turned over to the local district attorney who will be able to show it to the family and whoever else he deems appropriate.

It is not clear if, or when, the video will be shared with the public.
American Eagle's new Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans" campaign has received backlash for perceived racial undertones, including the promotion of features historically associated with Aryan races. Handout

Vice President JD Vance has jumped into the American Eagle Outfitters advertising campaign debate starring Sydney Sweeney.

My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi, Vance said jokingly on Fridays episode of the conservative Ruthless podcast. That appears to be their actual strategy.

I mean, it actually reveals something pretty interesting about the Dems, though, which is that you have, like, a normal all-American beautiful girl doing like a normal jeans ad, right? Theyre trying to sell, you know, sell jeans to kids in America and they have managed to so unhinge themselves over this thing. And its like, you guys, did you learn nothing from the November 2024 election?

Titled Sydney Sweeney has great jeans, the campaign sparked a debate about race, beauty standards, and the backlash to woke American politics and culture.

The use of the word genes instead of jeans when talking about Sweeney, 27, known for her roles in Euphoria and White Lotus have also dominated social media.

I actually thought that one of the lessons (Democrats) might take is were going to be less crazy, Vance said.

And the lesson they have apparently taken is were going to attack people as Nazis for thinking Sydney Sweeney is beautiful. Great strategy, guys. Thats how youre going to win the midterm, especially young American men.

So much of the Democrats is oriented around hostility to basic American life. So you have a pretty girl doing a jeans ad and they cant help but freak out. It reveals a lot more about them than it does us.

In one of the ads, Sweeney said, Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, then turns to the camera and says, My jeans are blue.

In another spot, she appears before a billboard that says, Sydney Sweeney has great genes, then the billboard is shown with genes crossed out and replaced with jeans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A 17-year-old boy was killed in a shooting Thursday in Birmingham's Collegeville public housing community. (Carol Robinson)

A barrage of gunfire in Birminghams Collegeville public housing community left a teen dead, the second 17-year-old year killed in the city in less than a week.

North Precinct officers were dispatched at 11:30 p.m. Thursday to a report of a person shot in the 2900 block of 29th Avenue North.

When they arrived, they found Lorenzo Davis Jr. unresponsive inside an apartment. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced him dead on the scene at 11:50 p.m.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said numerous shots were fired from outside of the apartment. It wasnt immediately clear if the teen was wounded outside and ran inside, or if he was in the apartment when he was struck.

The apartment did sustain gunfire damage, as did a parked vehicle nearby.

A 17-year-old boy was killed in a shooting Thursday in Birmingham's Collegeville public housing community. (Carol Robinson)

Investigators put out evidence markers in the double-digits, most of them noting the presence of shell casings.

No arrests have been made.

Dozens of family members and friends gathered outside the crime scene, visibly distraught. Both parents of the victim were also there and collapsed to the ground in grief.

My baby is dead, the tearful mother said.

Davis is Birminghams 47th homicide victim this year. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 72 homicides this year, including the 47 in Birmingham.

Last Friday, 17-year-old Reginal Pope, a Woodlawn High School student, was killed in a shooting inside an apartment in Gate City public housing community.
An apartment complex in south Alabama is being sued after allegedly enabling a spider and mold infestation in a unit that resulted in serious health problems for a plaintiff.

Lee Carter and his sister, Jimese Pritchett, filed a complaint against Oak Knoll Apartments in the Circuit Court of Mobile seeking $6,500,000 due to health issues caused by unhabitable living conditions ... black mold, spider infestation, sewer water inside the residence.

Attempts to contact Oak Knoll Apartments were unsuccessful.

According to Carters declaration statement, he is wheelchair bound and lived at the residence for six years prior to it deteriorating due to negligence on behalf of the landlord and property management.

Carter said the issues initially started after an air conditioning unit broke but was not repaired despite notifying the landlord. Then, a pipe broke soon after and although a repairman supposedly fixed the pipe, Carter said it broke again and began seeping into the walls causing mold to form.

But the problem would only get worse, according to Carter.

Approximately six months later, another pipe burst in the back of the home, this time carrying sewage, which also began flowing into the apartment, Carter said. As time went on, the flooring became saturated with water beneath the surface.

When I rolled my wheelchair across the floor, it would become wet underneath and humps began to form. I reported this to the property manager and informed them that the floor was becoming unsafe. They promised to send someone to repair it, but no one ever came.

Pritchett said that she moved in with her brother a year ago to assist him due to his disability but shortly afterwards began experiencing health complications.

Pritchett said her asthma started flaring up more often in addition to persistent skin conditions appearing that she never experienced previously.

Carter said mold piled up in the residence and made his bedroom uninhabitable yet the landlord never addressed the problem.

The moist environment also drew pests to the home and led to Carter being bitten, according to his statement.

Eventually, I was bitten twice by spiders living under the couch I was forced to sleep on, Carter said. One bite was so severe that I required emergency surgery, as it killed part of my bowel, which had to be removed. Another spider bite caused a large abscess on my bladder. My doctor stated that had I arrived at the hospital any later, I might not have survived.

Aside from Carter and his sister several other family members and friends provided statements attesting to the conditions at the residence.

Carter asserts that negligence from the Oak Knoll Apartments landlord and property management resulted in him being, severely harmed my physical health, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life.
Birminghams poet laureate, Salaam Green, is among 23 recipients of the prestigious Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship. Will McLelland

Birminghams poet laureate, Salaam Green, is a recipient of the prestigious Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship which will support her project for incarcerated teens.

The Academy will award Green and 22 other fellows $50,000 in support of their community-based poetry projects. In partnership with the Magic City Poetry Festival and Radical Reversal, Greens project, Lyrics for Life Birmingham, is a 10-week poetry and hip-hop workshop program. Green will lead teens at the Jefferson Youth Detention Center through weekly sessions about self-expression, personal development and rehabilitation.

This fellowship is an extraordinary honor, Green said in a statement. Poetry is how we navigate grief, joy, injustice and reconciliation. Teaching literary excellence as a form of healing is at the heart of my work. Through literary arts, we repair what systems have broken and Im eager to apply this work with incarcerated youth.

Green, a poet, educator and activist, is from Greensboro, a historic town in the Black Belt, known for its role in slavery, sharecropping and the Civil Rights Movement.

Her work focuses on racial healing, resistance, spirituality and Southern storytelling.

As part of the fellowship, Green will present work from her new book, The Other Revival, a collection of poems highlighting the stories of descendants of those enslaved on an Alabama plantation.

Greens work has earned her recognitions such as Kellogg Foundation Racial Healing Facilitator, Alabama Humanities Foundation Road Scholar and Healing Arts Practitioner.

Green has also held residencies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Auburn University and The Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation.

Greens work both in the community and on paper has amplified the voices of those who often go unheard.

The fellowship places her among other nationally recognized leaders, changemakers and trailblazers.

The Academy of American Poets is jazzed to champion wide-ranging poetry projects produced by poets laureate in big cities and small towns alikeall across the country, Tess ODwyer, board chair of the academy said in a statement.

At a time when more readers are turning to poetry to make sense of the world around us, American poets are beacons of free expression, cultural insight and civic engagement.
Jefferson County is seeing a dramatically lower homicide rate this year compared to last - even as the city of Birmingham, where most of the homicides traditionally occur in the county -- has reported a much lower murder rate than 2024.

Halfway through 2025, Birminghams homicide total is half what it was midyear 2024, a dramatic turnaround after a year of record-setting violence, according to a report by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.

An AL.com analysis revealed that Birmingham ended 2024 with 152 homicides, the highest number of killings in the city since 1933. According to PARCA there were 196 homicides in Jefferson County in 2024, with 47 of them happening outside the city of Birmingham. The additional homicides in the AL.com total from Birmingham could result from:

At least two victims who were shot in 2022 and died last year from their injuries

Another victim whose shooting in 2024 was ruled in early 2025 to be a homicide

A victim whose death was first listed as unclassified but later deemed a homicide

An unknown victim whose partial remains were discovered in August 2024, with evidence of a gunshot wound

A man who died in 2024 from injuries sustained in a shooting 32 years earlier

Generally, the number of homicides has been trending down since 2021 in Jefferson County, outside of Birmingham proper. Using data sourced from the Jefferson County Coroners Office, the PARCA report said that homicides in the rest of the county dropped from 87 in 2021 to 47 in 2024, marking a return to pre-pandemic levels.

A majority of homicides across Jefferson County result from gun violence, PARCA said.

The report sheds light on other crimes as well, showing that in Birmingham for the first six months of the year, crime was down in not just homicide but robbery and auto theft as well. Aggravated assaults, theft and burglary were up in Birmingham during the first six months of 2025 compared to the first six months of 2024.

Beyond Birmingham, in the portions of Jefferson County patrolled by the Sheriffs Office, homicides in the first half of 2025 were even with the total for the first half of 2024. Aggravated assaults were up, but other Part 1 crimes, including robbery, auto theft, theft and burglary, were down in the county, the report said.

Crime is trending down in Jefferson County Nick Patterson/AL.com

PARCAs data analysis resulted from the Birmingham-Jefferson County Justice Governance Partnership, a joint effort between Birmingham, Jefferson County, the Jefferson County Health Department, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, the Jefferson County District Attorney, and a wide array of other public agencies, nonprofits, and community groups.

The BJC-JGP brings stakeholders together around a common pool of community and public safety data. The aim is to increase public safety through effective response and by improving underlying conditions that leave communities more vulnerable to crime, the report notes.

The partnership is looking for data-based solutions to substantial local issues, in conjunction with the Aspen Institute of Criminal Justice Reform, which looks at cities like Birmingham, where there are more crimes per capita than the population should have, according to Terrika Shaw, PARCAs project director for the partnership.

It was funded initially by the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County Commission, Shaw said in an earlier interview. Shaw described the scope of the groups efforts as a huge undertaking.

So what we want to do is basically create data that we can share across sectors  So thats looking at health data, thats looking at crime, thats looking at emergency response, thats looking at community-based organizations and the services that they provide, making sure that we have members basically from all sectors, she said.

Birmingham and Jefferson County are really good for cobbling people together and coming together around an issue. But then, you know, administrations change, personnel at different agencies change, and those efforts are kind of lost in the sauce or lost in the transition of different people, Shaw said. So what we want to create is basically a sustainable governance structure where these people can come together annually for what we call a justice audit - basically looking at some of the issues that are going on in Birmingham and Jefferson County and then turning that into a justice reinvestment plan.

The partnership hopes to have a reinvestment plan early in 2026.
Donald Trump and Melania, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000. (Photo by Davidoff Studios/Getty Images) Getty Images

It was stealing involving real estate, not workers, that led to the falling out between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, according to the presidents biographer.

In an interview with MeidasTouch, journalist and Trump biographer Michael Wolff recounted how Epstein believed Trump betrayed him.

In 2004, according to Wolff, Epstein believed he was the high bidder on a Palm Beach, Florida, house Epstein offered to buy for $36 million.

Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 in a federal prison in New York after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, took Trump around to see the home to help him about moving the houses swimming pool.

Trump, thereupon, went around Epsteins back and bid $40 million for the house, and got the property Wolff claimed.

Epstein, who was deeply involved with Trumps scattered finances knew Trump did not have that kind of money to make the purchase, Wolff alleged.

Epstein believed the $40 million actually came from Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch.

Less than two years later, this same house that Trump had bought for $40 million was sold for $95 million and it was, in fact, sold to Mr. Rybolovlev, Wolff said.

This is all a red flag for money laundering, the biographer said.

Epstein was furious, Wolff claimed.

Theres something about these guys that nothing rouses them so much as a real estate betrayal, he said.

Epstein began to threaten Trump, including with filing lawsuits and going to the media with claims that Trump was a front for a money laundering operation, according to Wolff.

Trump panics at this point and Epstein believed ... that it was Trump who went to the police ... and, as Epstein said, dropped the dime on him -- that is to say, informed the police of what was going on and an investigation began and all of Epsteins legal problems for the next 15 years began to unfold.

Wolff said the story was included in Siege, his second book about the Trump White House in 2019.

Epstein read the book, Wolff said, and the financier panicked.

He called me with some alarm, and he said he was afraid he might have said too much, Wolff said.

Three weeks later, he returned to the United States from Paris and was promptly arrested on the tarmac of Teterboro Airport in New Jersey when his plane landed.

Wolffs recounting contradicts Trumps claim that he cut ties with Epstein because the disgraced financier poached young women from the Mar-a-Lago spa.

Last week, the Trump administration said the president banned Epstein from Trumps Mar-a-Lago club because Epstein was a creep.

But Monday, Trump said the falling out occurred because Epstein poached Mar-a-Lago employees.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that both explanations were the same thing, sort of. A little bit of the same thing.

He took people from that worked for me, and I told him, dont do it anymore. And he did it. And I said, stay the hell out of here, Trump said.
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 1 : CNN's Kaitlan Collins asks questions of President Donald J. Trump during an announcement on the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement in the Rose Garden at the White House on Monday, Oct. 01, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images) The Washington Post via Getty Im

Donald Trump berated a CNN reporter hes had a contentious history with after she followed up on the presidents claim that late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein stole employees from him.

Mr. President, you said earlier that Jeffrey Epstein was stealing young women from your spa. Did that raise alarms bells for you? asked CNN journalist and anchor Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday.

Trump, who appeared to be trying to hear another reporters question, shushed Collins by wagging his finger and telling her to be quiet.

The exchange gained traction on social media after appearing Wednesday on Mediaite.

Kaitlan Collins is awesome.



Trump ignoring the Epstein question of course. pic.twitter.com/XBiM2V4s4t  Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) July 31, 2025

The president did not answer the question.

Last week, the Trump administration said the president banned Epstein from Trumps Mar-a-Lago club because Epstein was a creep.

But Monday, Trump said the falling out occurred because Epstein poached Mar-a-Lago employees.

Trump claimed both explanations were the same thing, sort of. A little bit of the same thing.

He took people from that worked for me, and I told him, dont do it anymore. And he did it. And I said, stay the hell out of here, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump has been dogged by the Epstein case 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 staunchest backers turned on him over the memos release, angering them after posting to Truth Social that they should ignore the Epstein files.

Collins, an Alabama native, has been on the receiving end of several Trump attacks.

The then-former president called her a nasty person during a town hall moderated by Collins in 2023.

While trying to ask Trump a question during a NATO press conference last month, the president took aim at Collins credibility.

Fake news CNN. Here we go. Wait until you hear this question, Trump said, according to the Daily Beast. You should really say how great our soldiers and our warriors are.
The Atlanta Braves play against the Cincinnati Reds in an MLB game tonight. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m. CT on MLB Network. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Fubo TV offers a first-month discount to new users.

The Braves have struggled this season, as they enter this MLB game with a 45-62 record. The Atlanta squad has lost seven of its last eight games, so the Braves will look to turn things around tonight.

In order to win this matchup, the Braves will need a great performance from their star player Matt Olson. He currently leads the team with 18 home runs and 67 RBI, so he will try to continue his offensive success this evening.

The Reds enter this matchup with a 57-52 record, and they have won five of their last seven games. In their most recent game, the Reds defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2.

In order to win tonights game, the Reds will need to rely on their star player Elly De La Cruz. He leads the Cincinnati offense in home runs, RBI, and batting average.

Fans can watch this MLB game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Fubo TV offers a first-month discount to new users.
The Indiana Fever play against the Dallas Wings in a WNBA game tonight. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT on ION. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Fubo TV offers a first-month discount to new users.

The Fever enter this matchup with a 15-12 record, and they have won three consecutive games. In their most recent game, the Fever defeated Phoenix 107-101.

In order to win tonights game, the Fever will need to rely on their star player Kelsey Mitchell. She leads the team in scoring, as she averages nearly 20 points per game.

Notably, Mitchell is shooting better than 38% from three-point range this season.

The Wings enter this matchup with an 8-20 record, and they have lost three of their last four games. In their most recent game, the Wings lost 88-85 against Atlanta.

In order to bounce back tonight, the Wings will need a great performance from their star player Paige Bueckers. She leads the Dallas offense in scoring, as she averages more than 18 points per game.

Bueckers also leads the team with nearly six assists per game.

Fans can watch this WNBA game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Fubo TV offers a first-month discount to new users.
The San Francisco Giants play against the New York Mets in an MLB game tonight. The matchup is scheduled to begin at 6:10 p.m. CT on MLB Network/MLB.TV. Fans can watch this game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Fubo TV offers a first-month discount to new users.

The Giants enter this matchup with a 54-55 record, and they have lost six consecutive games. In their most recent game, the Giants lost 2-1 against Pittsburgh.

In order to bounce back this evening, the Giants will need a great performance from their star player Heliot Ramos. He leads the San Francisco offense with a .267 batting average this season, so he will look to continue his offensive success tonight.

The Mets enter this matchup with a 62-47 record, and they have lost three consecutive games. In their last game, the Mets lost 5-0 against the San Diego Padres.

In order to win tonights game, the Mets will need to rely on their star player Pete Alonso. He leads the New York offense with 81 RBI and a .259 batting average, which highlights his offensive prowess.

Fans can watch this MLB game for free online by using the free trial offered by DirecTV. Alternatively, Fubo TV offers a first-month discount to new users.










English News China-Europe freight train service brings more quality goods to China

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 28 Juillet 2025



Driven by efficient logistics and robust demand, the variety of inbound goods on China-Europe freight trains continues to expand. In 2024, the value of return goods handled by Chongqing trains reached $1.6 billion, with high-end items like vehicles, electronics, and machinery parts accounting for over 45 percent.

By Zhu Peixian, Gao Bing, Liu Xinwu, People's Daily China-Europe freight trains have completed over 110,000 trips, transporting goods worth more than $450 billion. More than 1,000 trains have been operated in a single month for 46 consecutive months. These impressive figures reflect the steady growth of this international logistics corridor.



Widely recognized for efficiently delivering Chinese-made products to Europe, these freight trains are also bringing a diverse range of high-quality goods back to China, creating new economic opportunities for countries along the route.



The impact of this exchange is visible at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in central China. A 1,000-square-meter supermarket in its waiting hall features imported products transported via the freight trains - including German dairy products, French wines, and Italian coffee beans.



"I wanted something special for my daughter after days of travel," said Mr. Zhang, a traveler browsing at the checkout counter. He proudly displayed two beetle-shaped candy thins decorated with French writing, along with a music box from the United Kingdom containing a hidden chocolate surprise.



Zhengzhou East Station accommodates around 120,000 passengers daily. In addition to the supermarket, the other two shops offer thousands of imported products - from food and household items to health products - at competitive prices, making them popular stops for travelers.



Zhengzhou has become a major hub for the China-Europe freight train service. The city operates 11 regular outbound routes that connect directly with over 130 cities across more than 30 countries. A robust logistics ecosystem has taken shape, involving more than 6,000 Chinese and international partners to facilitate the transport of over 1,000 commodity types.



In Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi province, another import-driven retail model is thriving. At Xi'an Chanba International Port, a store run by Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oil Industrial Group attracts a steady stream of customers. At one counter, staff serve fresh, hand-pulled noodles topped with sizzling chili oil. "Central Asian flour meets Shaanxi spices. What a combination!" exclaimed local resident Wang Yongzhao.



Aiju has established a grain processing base in North Kazakhstan Region, sourcing high-quality wheat and oil products that are shipped to China via China-Europe freight trains for further processing and sale. The company has also introduced contract farming in the region, guiding farmers on crop selection and acreage. In the initial phase, 1.5 million mu (around 100,000 hectares) of farmland was brought under cultivation.



One beneficiary is Bauyrzhan, a Kazakh farm owner. "In the past, our grain had no reliable market, and prices were unstable," he said. "Now we've made full use of idle land, and we no longer worry about where to sell the harvest."

By the end of June 2024, Aiju had imported 400,000 tons of wheat, flour, and edible oil from Kazakhstan.



At dawn on June 18, rows of containers bearing the the distinctive "Yuxinou" logo (denoting Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe rail route) stood ready at Tuanjie Village Central Railway Station in southwest China's Chongqing municipality. Among them was a shipment of vibrant red sedans from Germany, destined for bonded warehouses at the Chongqing rail port. After customs clearance, inspection, and registration, the vehicles would be delivered to dealerships across western China.



Since 2014, more than 40,000 cars have arrived in Chongqing via China-Europe freight trains, supplying dealerships in over ten provinces in China's southwest and northwest regions.



"Previously, imported cars came by sea from Hamburg, Germany, through the Suez Canal to Shanghai, and then overland to Chongqing. The entire process took about 35 days," said Tan Renyun, a marketing manager at Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics Co., Ltd. "Now, the train reduces that time to around 16 days. While marginally costlier than sea freight, the significant time savings offer distinct advantages."



Just days later, those same cars were parked at a dealership in downtown Chongqing. After a test drive, consumer Mr. Zhang promptly placed an order. "The delivery speed surpassed my expectations," he said.



As the world's largest auto market, China continues to offer compelling opportunities for global automakers. "Chinese consumers are increasingly looking for high-end vehicles," said one auto dealer. "The freight trains help us bring the latest models to market faster. We're planning to set up a regional distribution center in Chongqing to improve efficiency even further."



Driven by efficient logistics and robust demand, the variety of inbound goods on China-Europe freight trains continues to expand. In 2024, the value of return goods handled by Chongqing trains reached $1.6 billion, with high-end items like vehicles, electronics, and machinery parts accounting for over 45 percent.



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On the July 23, 2025 edition of the Fox News show, Greg Gutfeld, in speaking of the CBP agent that was shot in the face by an illegal alien, Gutfeld said, And you know Tyrus, when this story came out about this agent getting shot, the media wouldnt say he [the shooter] is an illegal suspect. They wouldnt say anything about him. Said an agent was shot on a rock in Central Park.

In response, Tyrus said,

I have a problem with this, and maybe this is just I dont believe in coincidences, and there has been a concentrated effort to out ICE agents. And for two men... grown a** men to get on a scooter to go riding in a park with guns, to go rob? That doesnt make much sense to me. But two guys looking to make a hit on somebody that makes sense to me. So, just how random is that? How many millions of people do we have in New York just walking around, and these two illegals just happen to stumble upon a guy, who just happens to be an off-duty officer? Bullsh**! Its a hit in my opinion and we are lucky he was able to get through it. And I would like to see the same vigor from our so-called government investigations that are dealing with this Epstein bullsh** and whatever Barack Obama did ten years ago. I dont give a d*** about any of that. That is not a table issue for me and my family. Right now, my table issue is our police officers, and our border agents are under attack. We have senators or congressmen who are demanding they [officers] take their masks off so they can see their face, so they can expose their family. So, I dont see we meant well at all. Theres that old saying, The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, we need to start sending some of these people to hell.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, (D-CA), infamous for having an affair with a Chinese spy, accused ICE immigration enforcement officers of behaving like bank robbers. He stated, I hope every state that is able to, and every community that is able to, unmasks ICE with their policies. If youre standing on the law, you can show your face.

Unfortunately, Swalwell had not considered that masks are needed for safety. Tom Homan defended the use of masks by agents stating, The attacks on ICE is unprecedented, 700% increased. And we are not even talking about the doxing of agents, their spouses and their children. Apparently, subversives are doxing ICE agents private information.

After a successful ICE raid in San Diego, CA, local city councilman, Sean Elo-Rivera posted on Instagram that ICE agents are terrorists and after criticism, stood by his comments. In response, acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons stated, Im sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks. 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. Then he asked, Is that the issue here that were just upset about the masks? Or is anyone upset about the fact that ICE officers families were labeled terrorists?

Illinois lawmakers are pushing to unmask ICE. California lawmakers are pushing to unmask ICE. Massachusetts lawmakers are pushing to unmask ICE. New York lawmakers are pushing to unmask ICE. Michigan lawmakers are calling for ICE agents wearing masks to be jailed. Democrats on Capitol Hill introduced legislation to require officers to identify themselves without masks.

House Speaker Mike Johnson stated that the Democrats who are pushing for ICE agents to unmask are the same people who mandated mask wearing for years in America during the COVID era.

Johnson stated that Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries say that ICE agents should not be wearing masks as they arrest these illegal migrants. Johnson stated,

From the people who mandated mask wearing for years in America. Its absurd. They need to back off ICE and respect our agents and stop protesting them. [The agents are] trying to uphold the rule of law, and they dont want to be targeted by Democrat activists.

In speaking of unmasking agents, Johnson continued and said, Why? So that they can target them? So they can put their names and faces online and dox them? Thats what these activists do. So we have to protect those who protect our communities.

In response to Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill trying to pass their unmasking legislation, President Trump stated,

Well, they would not be saying that if they didnt hate our country. And obviously, they do. These officers are doing a tremendous job. Theyre great patriots. If you expose them because of, you know, statements that have been made by Democrats and others on the left, usually mostly, I think, probably exclusively, you put them in great danger, tremendous danger. And its sort of funny when people picket in front of Columbia, in front of Harvard and they have masks on more than masks. I mean you cant see anything. Nobody complains about that. But when a patriot who works for ICE or Border Patrol puts a mask on so that they wont recognize him and his family, so they can lead a little bit of a normal life after having worked so hard and so dangerously, theres a problem with that. This is the problem with Democrats, they have a lot of bad things going on in their heads. Theyve become verytheyve lost their confidence, number one. And theyre really, theyve become somewhat deranged. I want to do whatever necessary to protect our great law enforcement people. And they are right at the top of the list.

So, with Democrat lawmakers demanding the unmasking of ICE and Border Patrol agents, are they tacitly encouraging criminal activity against our governments law enforcement agents and their families?

More articles by Richard Blakley can be found at Blakley on the Write.

Image from Grok.
I grew up in Africa, in a small city, in a small forgotten country, that was ravaged for years by a guerrilla war. There wasnt anybody, neither black nor white, who wasnt affected directly by the war. There were daily communiques, and all too often, the names of the dead were names that I knew. After spending some time in New York, I have now made my home in another (even smaller) war-ravaged country, Israel.

I know what war is. It is ugly and cruel. Sometimes, what looks the cruelest, though, can be the kindest.

Before today, Im not sure that I can remember a war, even a historical one, where one side willingly, or ever, gave supplies to the other, but I do stand to be corrected.

Israeli supplies entering Gaza. X screen grab.

Imagine a scenario where President Roosevelt puts a gun against Winston Churchills head and says to him, Winston, old chap, you need to give those nasty, Nazi Germans humanitarian aid. You know, food, fuel, and other essentials that are in short supply over there. Churchill knows that the fuel will be used against him and the food will strengthen the Nazis, so he says, But Mr. President, that will weaken our position and strengthen theirs.

Roosevelt answers, People are starving, and suffering, and more German babies are dying than British ones. Its all your fault, so you better give them the aid, or better still, just stop the war.

Ridiculous  right? Especially ridiculous considering that Germany was the aggressor!

This is exactly what is happening now, though, with the West forcing Israel to provide Gaza with food, fuel, and other essentials that are in short supply over there. This is an insane practice.

I know that Im not alone when I say that it has prolonged this Gaza war and caused the loss of many thousands more lives than necessary. In the words of Bob Marley, a hungry mob is an angry mob. Hungry, Hamas-oppressed Gazans are much more likely to stand up to their oppressors than sated ones. Now, there, while there is food in Gaza, it is expensive, it is controlled by Hamas, and they use the money and food to finance the war, and the fuel to support it.

Why would someone want to supply his enemies (or their supporters) with essentials, particularly those enemies who are calling for genocide?

The Hamas Charter calls for the eradication of the Jews and the destruction of Israel. They have stated it plainly, many times. The Hamas chant of from the river to the sea, chanted now and often, in American streets, by American kids, is a denial of the Israeli right to exist. Yet, it is Israel that is accused of genocide.

Under Jewish rule, Jerusalem has been besieged several times, many centuries before Islam existed. The concept of siege is as old as war itself; it is a very successful strategy. A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortified area to force its surrender. Israel should have been allowed to besiege Gaza.

The West is guilty of projecting Western ideals onto a population that overwhelmingly rejects such notions. The West has failed to hear that the Palestinians are not interested in a two-state solution. Palestinians wish for one state, Judenrein und Judenfrei. Neither Hamas nor Fatah has ever wavered from this position; they shout it from the rooftops, but the West will neither see nor hear.

The Wests approach to the Middle East has always been wrong. Westerners have been selectively listening for what they expect to hear...from another Westerner. The West is again failing to see that Gaza civilians are just pawns in Hamas game, that Hamas doesnt care, and that it is Hamas, not Israel, that should be stopped.

Instead, Israel is being forced to give aid to her enemies, thereby strengthening them. The starving human shields seem to work very well for Hamas, who play them like pawns.

The West seems to have forgotten that what Hamas did on October 7, and proudly broadcast live, was as grotesque and dehumanizing as anything can be. It has also forgotten that Hamas can stop it, the bombing, the hunger, all of it, completely, at any time. All that Hamas needs to do is release the hostages and leave Gaza. It is a war they should not realistically be able to win, and the world should long ago have called for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages, thereby cutting the war short and saving many thousands of lives.

Instead, the world calls on Israel to show restraint and feed the enemy. When I was younger, kids knew that there were certain other kids that you never picked on, if you wanted to eat the lunch your mother packed. Hamas knows that picking a fight with Israel isnt a bright idea, but they have been buoyed by their experience and

continue to attack, time after time. Time after time, Hamas is saved by the bleeding heart of the world, which refuses to place the blame for Gazan suffering at the door of Hamas. As the tide of recognition for the imaginary nation of Gaza rises, it cannot be overstated how well the policy of human shields works for Hamas. The recent starvation campaign is just an extension of the same.

Israels responses to Hamas attacks are called disproportionate. Hamass use of human shields and repeated attacks on Israel demonstrate that it actually invites civilian casualties. Those who die are called martyrs, and Gazan parents are proud of how many martyrs they have produced. Islam worships death, viewing death as the gateway to heaven and, for men, 72 virgins! Some may remember the plastic keys to heaven that Ayatollah Khomenei gave to Iranian soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war.

There is no negotiated or strategic response to fanatics, whose highest ambition is to die for their cause. There is only a logical response, which is to grant them their wishes. Otherwise, as long as they are fed, the way will never end. When the West became civilized, deciding that turning the other cheek was a better strategy, it forgot what religious zeal is. Islam has not.

The world has long had a double standard when it comes to Israel, paying lip service to the trope that Israel has the right to defend itself, while at the same time, applying the utmost pressure to ensure that she stops doing so. However, such statements are worded, no Western nation (other than America under Donald Trump, right now) has ever applied pressure to Hamas. That is why, since 1973, Israel has not been allowed to win a war....

Israel should be allowed to win its war with Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. The world really knows who needs to be stopped, but it has made the conscience decision, whether from cowardice or principle, to side with the Hamas death cult. Even now, Macron, Starmer, and Carney, are rushing to recognize a State of Palestine, with Germany (Germany!!) following behind, playing right into Hamas hands.

Donald Trump is the only Western leader who has done any original thinking about the Middle East. He should be pressuring the world to pressure Hamas, something they should have done a long time ago.

The world should pressure Hamas to

Release All the Hostages

Surrender

End the War

Instead, in a complete inversion of morality, decency, and rationality, the world pressures Israel.
The historic trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union agreed upon in Scotland marks a significant shift in the transatlantic relations. After the 2024 triumph of the conservative patriots in the United States, the long-standing alliance between Western democracies began collapsing.

European nations, well-known for their restraint in foreign policy, led the way to cautious denial of the new American vision, which President Trump called the complete restoration of America. It comes as a stunning change to the American people, especially given the fact that Europes high living standards are largely based on the U.S. support, dating back to World War II and continuing to the present day.

Europes Defense Issue

In recent years, the United States defense industry has seen a significant decline in European business. Countries like France, Germany and Poland, which have traditionally relied on Washington for support, have either cut their military spending or reduced their weapon purchases from American manufacturers. In addition, many of them have turned to Asian or Middle Eastern suppliers, whose military equipment often offers significantly poorer quality.

This is a crucial factor, as American arms manufacturers lose potential profits. Additionally, many NATO members have no real intention of fulfilling their new commitment to spend 5% of their GDP on defense, despite expressing public support for the initiative. Europes shift in defense procurement and spending can be seen as a technological and economic betrayal of its closest ally in the treaty.

Moreover, this issue concerns Washingtons peace initiatives, not just weapon purchases. Trump vowed to resolve the conflict and bring peace during his campaign, and he did make significant efforts. European nations, many of which had benefited from the U.S. support, have now become an obstacle to achieving even a ceasefire in war-torn regions like Ukraine or Gaza. However, other actors, including Ukraine itself, Europe, and Putin turned out to be substantial hurdles on a path to a comprehensive and sustainable deal.

The U.S.-EU Trade Agreement

The U.S.-EU trade agreement, signed on July 27, 2025, aims at restoring trade justice and enabling American businesses make more profits from the European market. One of the crucial parts of the deal is the provision for the 15% tariffs for EU goods. This measure comes as a significant economic relief for America after decades of unbalanced trade. Besides, EUs Ursula Von Der Leyen agreed to invest hundreds of billions in the U.S. economy. Moreover, the deal reaffirmed the White House as a leading defense and energy contractor for Europe. This agreement is more than trade, arms and fuel benefits. It is about redefining the terms of the U.S.-EU partnership, and reestablishing justice and balance in profits.

It is worth mentioning that European nations have sought support from Xi to better position themselves against Trumps tariff initiatives. Given that China has become a menacing adversary to the U.S., having our closest allies come to heel to Beijing after we asked to balance trade, raises lots of questions concerning their loyalty and trustworthiness.

Aggravating Partnership

Another actor pretending to be the most loyal partner to the U.S., but in fact has deliberately sabotaged the America first agenda, is Ukraine. President Trump has labeled the hostilities the Biden war, meaning it is the Democrat party and its weak leaders that are to blame for the crisis.

Surprisingly, the Ukrainians share the same view. Moreover, their actions suggest that they would prefer the Democrats to continue orchestrating the ongoing conflict. Otherwise, why would Zelenskyy have rallied for Kamala Harris at a military plant in Pennsylvania during the 2024 election campaign? Many pundits may have forgotten about Kyivs interference attempts, which were not recognized by the FBI and other intelligence community members. One can only speculate why this happened, but the answer may lie in the Democrat administration that occupied the White House at the time.

Nevertheless, as the 47th U.S. president clarified, this is not our war, not anymore. In fact, we have done a lot, more than Europe, more than anyone else. Given Sleepy Joe Biden donated some 350 billion taxpayer dollars, the new administration has decided to make some profit from our ties with Ukraine and make it a true partnership, not a blank check fraud.

Initially, the White House intended to make a deal concerning rare earth minerals. Essentially, we agreed to Kyivs offer, but on more favorable terms. But Ukraine failed on us, which resulted in the very Trump-Zelenskyy spat at the White House in February 2025.

The whole thing seemed as if support for Ukraine was nothing but our obligation, as if we owed them. However, there is no clause in the U.S. Constitution that requires American taxpayers to endlessly provide Zelenskyy with money because he is fighting Putin. Later, when Trump was left no choice but to put some pressure on Kyiv, we finally struck a deal. Yet, it is still unclear when the money will flow into the U.S. budget.

Is It Really About Democratic Values?

Zelenskyys recent actions have raised even more concern about Ukraines partner status. Once a post-Soviet republic that chose to become a Western-style democracy back in 2014, Ukraine is now halfway to downgrading to a Russia-like dictatorship. Zelenskyy introduced a law to reform the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), making the once-independent institution subordinate to the executive branch.

The controversial initiative sparked massive unrest across the country, inflicting severe damage to the authoritys reputation. Now, many Ukrainians demand either the bills abolition or Zelenskyys resignation. Protesters, many of whom are pro-Europe activists, criticize Zelenskyy, stating that he is gradually transforming into his main adversary  Putin. Others say the bill has made them feel the Yanukovych vibes, reminiscent of the ill-fated Ukrainian leader who was accused of severe bribery more than 10 years ago.

Zelenskyys recent sabotage of democratic values is not the only red flag we must pay attention to. Previously, Ukrainian officials imposed sanctions on their own citizens, even prominent backers of the regime like Oleksii Arestovich for their political views, which was a severe violation of human rights. Additionally, there are significant concerns regarding freedom of speech and censorship in Ukraine. The UN, as well as independent monitoring organizations, have sounded the alarm over the rapidly deteriorating state of affairs in Ukrainian media, claiming that state-owned outlets have replaced private ones, often with the help of law enforcement bodies. Not to mention the horrors of the local conscription officers. They have earned a bad reputation for their harsh methods. Judging by the videos on social media, the people hate them. Freedom of faith in Ukraine is also reported to be compromised.

The New Approach

Americans are fed up with false partners that make fools of us and earn profits under crooked Democrats rule; Trump just changed all that. The time has come for the common sense revolution and America First agenda. That is why we must reassess existing alliances and partnerships, especially with nations that have shown willingness to align with our adversaries or abolish our values like democracy and human rights.

Image from Grok.
Here are some things most of the media is avoiding like the plague:

All the revelations about how the establishment lied for years about Russian collusion. They do not want the public to see the Durham annex report thats now been declassified. MSNBC puts John Brennan on to run cover for the lie, and NYT prints an editorial by him but will not print the actual information from the report. They dont want the public to see how much they covered up for Hillary, the FBI, George Soros, or anyone else as they claim they only care about the truth and transparency.

The media and other Democrats pretend they care about free and fair elections, but their swamp has been interfering in elections for as long as I can remember. Isnt it amazing that no one who worked from within to destroy Trump and elect Hillary was charged with violating the Hatch Act? Which they all pretend to care about? They dont care!

I have yet to hear anything from the mainstream on all the hearings about the autopen and how they covered up that someone other than the clearly incompetent Biden was running the show.

Theyre mum on the arrests of human traffickers and other subhuman criminals, all of whom are here thanks to Bidens open borders. Instead they will find some sympathetic illegal to report about. The only outlets talking about Operation Dragon Eye are conservative-leaning ones:

MASSIVE STING: Authorities Arrest Dozens for Human Trafficking, Child Exploitation, Narcotics HHS partnered with state and local officials in Mississippi to carry out a two-week human trafficking sting leading to 72 felony and misdemeanor arrests and 29 victim rescues, 15 of whom opted to receive rehabilitation resources, according to data provided first to The Daily Signal.

The mainstream never wanted anyone to hear about the 300,000 children who disappeared under the Biden administration, and they dont want people to see how these children are used as laborers or sex slaves.

There was mob violence in Cincinnati the other day, where a group of blacks mercilessly beat up a young white couple. Heaven forbid that the public see the womans face who was beat up, and hear that only one person called 911. The rest participated or watched.

Theyll publish polls showing Trump is doing poorly, but then ignore the good ones. They do not show that he is higher in the polls than Obama and Bush were at this point in their respective presidencies. On August 1st of their respective second terms, Trump is more popular than either Obama or Bush. Trump - 46.3% Obama - 44.9% Bush - 44.4% My intelligent guess is that the polls are always skewed to help Democrats. I cant imagine that many of the independents who voted for Trump are ticked off at him for winning and winning and winning, and yet somehow only 29% of independents supposedly approve of Trump today. All they have to do is poll independents that voted for Biden.

They repeatedly report predictions about people who might lose Medicaid, but do not print that 18 million lost Medicaid coverage during Bidens last year.

They always complain about Trump trashing Powell, but barely cover that the Federal Reserve has been losing billions for years because they are paying big banks more for overnight money that they are earning on their portfolio. That is pure mismanagement and sure looks political.

They didnt report on Trumps great meeting yesterday with athletes, and his executive order which will restore focus on physical fitness and competition.

They arent reporting that Trump is getting universities to agree to stop discriminating and to protect all students, including Jewish kids.

Instead of reporting on real news, they are giving wall to wall coverage to Epstein, who they never cared about during the Obama and Biden years. And they dont really care nowits just a way to distract from Trumps historic accomplishments.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.
(See also, Britain accepting record-breaking arrivals of third world foreigners by Olivia Murray.)

An indigenous British friend of mine (yes, her forebears go back more than 1,000 years) sent me a disheartening email about a recent visit she made to Gloucester, a small city in Southwest England. Its worth reading her message to understand what has happened to the United Kingdom.

You dont have to know anything about Gloucester to know that it was originally a Roman fort. Thats because the cester in the name comes from the Latin word castrum, meaning a fortified place. In the case of Gloucester, it was one of the first places the Romans established, way back in 48 A.D. Its been continuously occupied since then and has played a significant part in British history.

In the next thousand years, Gloucester shuttled back and forth between the Romans, the Celts, the Angles, and the Saxons. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, the Gloucester barony was a major player in the massive mid-12th-century civil war between the Norman royal family. Fortunately, the barony picked the winning side, garnering a lot of grace and favor in the coming decades. By 1216, King Henry III was crowned in Gloucester Cathedral.

Gloucester Cathedral in 1905. Public domain.

Oh, and about that Cathedral, its gorgeous. Its location as a holy site goes back to the seventh century, and it has been a place of worship since then. Construction on the present building began not long after the Norman Conquest, although the most recognizable parts date to projects begun in the 13th century and carried on for the next several hundred years.

So it goes through British history, with Gloucester repeatedly playing a featured role. It was a major medieval wool processing center; Parliament met there for decades around the turn of the 15th century; the Tudors were frequent visitors; and it played a significant role in the Roundhead (Parliamentarian) victory in the English Civil War in the 17th century, an victory that led to many of the ideas about liberty that we Americans once believed.

After its role as a power player in early British history, Gloucester subsided gracefully into being a nice place to live and, because of its gorgeous location, buildings, and the Cathedral, a major tourist hub. Its also a big aerospace hub, as well as being a banking center. So, all in all, a nice place with a storied history.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 82% of the Gloucester population was born in England, although that doesnt actually tell you how deep their roots in England are. The real information lies in the ethnic groups data, which says that 6.5% of Gloucester residents say that theyre Asian, which means Muslim. The website adds that Asians generally are growing rapidly as a percentage of the population in Southwest England. In addition, the percentage of people identified as black is growing rapidly, too.

So, Gloucester in a nutshell went from a Roman fort, to an important historic city, to a quiet tourist, aerospace, and banking area. And slowly, slowly, its population is changing.

And that gets me to my friends recent visit:

Yesterday I was in Gloucester which is a historic city and could be a real go-to destination if the local council spent some money on it. It has a fine cathedral, interesting old docks with a waterways museum, shops and restaurants, and Roman and medieval remains. However, its the sort of place where you always have to keep looking over your shoulder, and I dont like being there after dark (which is unavoidable on an autumn or winter afternoon). Okayhere Im going to be racist and judgmental: At a guess, getting on for half the people on the streets are not indigenous British (that doesnt mean that they are elegant French women or hunky Icelanders. Most of the males have beards and a good proportion of the females are in head-to-toe black.) The Italian cafe on the waterfront which I used to love is now run by someone called Mohammed and the clientele are a mix of sub-Saharan Africans, Iraqis or Afghans, and Albanians or Rumanians. As for the other people in Gloucester, theyre divided pretty equally into those verging on the insane, those who are grossly obese, and those who go in for alcohol or substance abuse. I do occasionally spot someone, like myself, who still appears to be reasonably normal.

Having described in grim terms a city that shes visited regularly for thirty years, my friend had a further comment about life in Britain generally for those who remember it before Britains open-door policy to the Muslim swath of the Middle East and Africa:

Theres much about the UK which is depressing, and its galling to be told constantly that our lives are being enriched by diversity and that newcomers have so much to offer. I suppose that my reaction is just to get on with my life as best I can, and Im lucky to live in what is still a relatively safe and pleasant part of the country, although how much longer it will remain like that is anyones guess. I still havent given up on the idea of moving abroad permanently, though. I dont mind being a second-class citizen in someone elses country, but I do object to being one in my own!

Historic England was flawed, as all countries are, since humans are flawed. However, over the centuries, sometimes through bloody warfare (e.g., the Magna Carta), sometimes to avoid bloody warfare (e.g., the English Bill of Rights), and sometimes because of brilliant men who synthesized their culture, the Bible, and the philosophers of the ancient worldmen such as Adam Smith, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and Thomas Paineit is the country that, more than any other, gave the world the idea of liberty. It is tragic to witness its fall.